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elliemarchetti · 5 months ago

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The Queen of the Quills - Jily Edition (Part 5)

Posting on Tumblr too because this fic's sister is already there.

Reading The Queen of the Quills - Blackinnon Edition will not be mandatory to understand the developments of James and Lily's story, but some details could be shared, therefore, for anyone wishing to fully enjoy the experience, I will leave this series' masterlist here.

This was @athenasparrow's gift for @jilymicrofics ' Exchange 2024, but if you like it and are willingly to reblog, it would be super appreciated since stories like this require quite some time and effort🥰

Taglist (if anyone wants to be added, please DM me or comment and I'll gladly add you!): @thaisthedreamer

Plot: James Potter, London's most evasive bachelor, an impertinent libertine, has decided to get married. He has also already chosen his wife, the debutante Lily Evans, a self-confident young woman who has not the slightest intention of being seduced by such a man. A Bridgerton inspired Regency AU.

Words: 4093

Mrs. Potter’s musicale proved to be a decidedly musical affair (not, this author assures you, always the norm for musicales). The guest performer was none other than Maria Rosso, an Italian soprano from the all-witch choir known as Spellbound who made their debut in London two years ago and has returned after a brief stint on the Vienna stage. With thick, sable hair and flashing dark eyes, Miss Rosso proved as lovely in form as she did in voice, and more than one, or it would be better to say more than a dozen, of society’s so-called gentleman found it difficult indeed to remove their eyes from her person, even after the performance had concluded.

The Queen of the Quills, May 17, 1813

Lily felt the exact moment he walked in the room. She tried to tell herself it had nothing to do with a heightened awareness of the excruciatingly handsome wizard, she couldn’t imagine that every woman didn’t notice him immediately, and furthermore, he arrived late – not very, but still enough he had to try to be quiet as he slipped into a chair at the front next to Mrs. Evans – still she noticed him before her own mother and sister did, and it rendered her unable to even breathe. He didn’t look her way, but several candles had been snuffed, leaving the room bathed in a dim, romantic glow, so the shadows must’ve obscured her face and the way she tried to keep her eyes on Miss Rosso throughout the performance, even if the woman couldn’t take hers off of Mr. Potter, and for some reasons, it didn’t improve her disposition. She should’ve rejoiced in the fact, it was just another piece of proof he was every bit the licentious rake she’d always known him to be, but she wasn’t feeling smug, or vindicated, she was just heavily, uncomfortably disappointed, so much so she felt herself slump slightly in her chair.

When the performance was done, she couldn’t help but notice how the soprano, after graciously accepting her applause, brazenly approached her suitor and offered him one of those seductive smiles, the sort Lily would never learn to do even if she had a thousand opera singers trying to teach her. There was no mistaking what she meant with that act, and he must’ve realized too, because he threw her a mysterious look and actually tucked an errant lock of her raven hair behind her ear.

Lily shivered in disgust. For Merlin’s beard, the man didn’t even need to chase women, they practically dropped at his feet and whispered sweet nothing in his ears! Maybe she praised him, or maybe she outwardly offered herself, because he leaned down enough to kiss her neck.

“Lily?” hissed her mother, decidedly irritated. “Stop watching Mr. Potter.”

“I wasn’t… well, all right, I was, but did you see him?” she whispered urgently. “He’s shameless.”

She looked back over at him, still flirting with Maria Rosso, no care in the world about who might see.

“I’m sure his behaviour isn’t any of our business,” replied Elizabeth, lips pursed into a tight line. “He has been kind in delivering the invitations to the musicale himself, but I’m certain he wants nothing to do with you after that fiasco in Hyde Park.”

If the situation had been different, Lily would have argued that it wasn't her fault that his dog had pushed her into the water and he jumped in to save her when she was already swimming toward the shore, but she didn't have the energy to argue right now, so she sagged her shoulders and followed her family as they greeted their lovely hostess. Mrs. Potter had fair hair and light eyes, and she was rather petite to have mothered such a large son, so Lily decided her late husband must’ve been a tall man.

“Mrs. Evans,” she said warmly, “what a delight to see you again. I so enjoyed our meeting at the last ball and I must say I’m very glad you decided to accept my invitation.”

“We wouldn’t dream of spending the evening elsewhere,” her mother rejoined. “And may I present you my daughters? The older one is Petunia, and the younger one is Lily.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both, and I would like to introduce you to Mr and Mrs. McKinnon’s daughter, Marlene,” she said, motioning to a young lady at her side. For some reason, Lily was convinced she had already met her, but maybe she was just a classmate she had passed a couple of times in the corridors at Hogwarts. After all, Londoners were used to minding their own business there too, and she had no doubt that someone so beautiful and seemingly delicate was constantly surrounded by flocks of other adoring young women. Anyway, Lily smiled warmly at the girl, who looked to be about the same age as her, even though the similarities between them ended here: her blonde hair were a perfectly styled field of lovely golden wheat and her face was angular, a rather sharp contrast with Lily’s roundness.

“Is this your first season?” she asked, already friendly.

Both Lily and Petunia nodded.

“How lucky!” she exclaimed. “I attended a few parties last year and may I say they were a bit… boring? Everything was so new the first time, but by the end of spring I already remembered everyone’s name. This way, I thought I could get an excellent match, but as you may see by yourself, I’m still unmarried.”

As Marlene spoke, Mrs. Evans glanced at her son, who kept flirting madly with the Italian opera singer, and frowned.

Lily felt something very uneasy in her stomach: according to recent issues of The Queen of the Quills, Mrs. Evans was on a mission to get her son married off, and while he didn’t seem the sort of man to bend to his mother’s will, or anyone’s, for the matter, she had a feeling the woman would be able to exert quite a bit of pressure is she so chose. Maybe that was why he was so intent on courting her.

After a few more moments of polite chatter, the Evans left Mrs. Potter to greet the rest of her guests and were soon accosted by Mrs. Bones, who, as the mother of three daughters, two still unmarried, always had a lot to say to Elizabeth – she had long declared herself on a first-name basis with the Evans – although that day her gaze was firmly focused on Lily, who immediately began to assess possible escape routes.

“What a surprise to see you there!” boomed the stout woman, leaving her interlocutor puzzled. “Gossip said you were ill.”

“Don’t worry, it was nothing that serious,” Lily retorted, with a weak smile. How Amelia had managed to become a pleasant person to have around with a family like hers Lily just couldn't explain.

“From what I heard, you contracted it in a rather serious way,” Mrs. Bones added, brows rising a good half inch. It was evident she knew, maybe she was even at the scene, but there was really no need to talk about it at the Potter’s.

“A way of little consequence, as you can see,” Lily countered firmly, although she was finding it difficult not to growl at the meddlesome woman.

Mrs. Bones opened her mouth, a sharp intake of breath telling she was preparing to launch into a lengthy monologue on the topic of the importance of good deportment, or good manners, or good breeding, but her youngest promptly interrupted her, offering to fetch lemonade for everyone.

“Lily, would you be so kind as to help me?” she asked, turning to the one she set out to save. “Unfortunately, I still don’t have enough hands to carry all those glasses.”

Lily tried not to appear too eager to accept, but everyone must’ve noticed their urgency to flee from how quickly they walked away, dodging those present with skill.

“Thank you,” she murmured to her saviour once they reached the lemonade stand and grabbed four glasses, for everyone except Petunia, who said she wasn’t thirsty.

“I know how my mother can be, I’m usually her favourite victim, so since I could avoid you what would’ve sounded like a lecture from an almost stranger, I took advantage of it. I’m sure somehow she would’ve found the opportunity to insert me into the conversation just to define me an impertinent social failure,” replied the other, and although a part of Lily wanted to pity her for that cruel fate – no mother should behave like that with her daughter – another part told her not to do so, because the girl needed an ally, not yet another young lady looking at her like a hopeless cause.

“Can we go back for a glass for ourselves?” asked Amelia as soon as they reunited with their families, and her mother nodded in a matter that told Lily everyone must know her youngest wasn’t her favourite.

“Why don’t we go out for a bit of fresh air? Since we’re together, we don’t need a chaperone,” suggested the redhead, who wanted a little more space to investigate on what the wizarding society really thought of Mr. Potter. Was he a hypocrite? A scoundrel? Or even a liar? Had he by chance deluded women and then abandoned them without any prospect? Did he have bastards? She didn't know why she cared so much, after all he probably believed her a menace to society, or he wouldn’t have acted as he was doing with Miss Rosso, still she needed to know if it was the norm or just a game to get back at her. So she asked, rather forward, as she and her friend sank into a cushioned bench about ten yards from the music room. They remained there for several minutes, more than pleased with the comfortable intimacy of their gossip, until they heard one particular voice rise slightly above the low rumble of the crowd, followed by decidedly musical laughter. After a shared look of realization, they hitched up their skirts by a few inches to save themselves from tripping and ducked into the doorway next to the bench, hoping Mr. Potter and his paramour would walk on by, and they could scoot back into the music room and laugh about their little adventure. As their eyes adjusted to the dimness of the room, they realized they were in some sort of office, with walls lined with books, although not enough to be a library, the place dominated by a massive oak desk with papers laid on top of it in neat piles. Clearly the place was lived, not just for show, and as curiosity got the better of them, they wandered toward the desk, Lily running her fingers along the wooden rim. The air still smelled faintly of ink, and maybe the slightest hint of pipe smoke. All in all, she decided, it was a lovely room, comfortable and practical, a place a person could spend hours in lost in lazy contemplation, but just as she was about to lean back against the desk, savouring the quiet solitude exuding from the place, she heard and awful sound. The doorknob clicked, and with a frantic gasp, Amelia disappeared, leaving her with no other option than dive under the desk, squeezing herself into the empty cube of space and thanking the heavens that it was completely solid rather than the short that rested on four spindly legs. Barely breathing, she listened, cursing herself for not taking Apparition class seriously.

“I had heard this would be the year we would finally see the notorious Mr. Potter fall into the parson’s mousetrap,” came a lilting feminine voice. Lily bit her lip, recognizing the Italian accent.

“And where did you hear that?” came James’ unmistakable voice, followed by another awful click of the doorknob that made Lily shut her eyes in agony. She was trapped in the office with a pair of lovers. Life simply couldn’t get any worse than this, unless she was discovered, though it didn’t make her feel much better about her present predicament.

“It’s all over town,” Maria replied. “Everyone is saying you have decided to settle down and choose a bride.”

There was a silence, but Lily could swear she could hear him shrug: “It’s probably past time.”

“You are breaking my heart, did you know?” she asked, making Lily nearly gag.

“Now, my sweet signorina, we both know that your heart is impervious to any of my machinations,” Mr. Potter murmured, and Lily pictured him as close as they were before, his lips nearly on her skin, because next came a rustling sound, which she took to be Maria pulling coyly away to state she wasn’t inclined for a dalliance.

“I don’t look for marriage, of course, that would be most foolish, but when I next choose a protector, it shall be for, shall we say, the long term,” she added, low and husky.

“I fail to see the problem.”

“Your future wife may not.”

“The only reason to give up one’s mistress is if one happens to love one’s wife,” Mr. Potter chuckled. “And as I don’t intend to choose a wife with whom I might fall in love, I see no reason to deny myself the pleasure of a lovely woman like you.”

Lily tried to imagine the reaction of the couple if she jumped out of her hiding place, screaming like a madwoman, asking what made him think she was the right match if that was his plan from the start. It nearly made her laugh, and at the same time she wanted to cry, because there was no way she could make the entrance she wished to make when she was squatting like a frog with her hands wrapped around her ankles. A few unintelligible sounds distracted her from her fantasies, and she dearly prayed they weren’t a prelude to something considerably more intimate. After a moment, though, Mr. Potter’s voice emerged clearly, asking to the singer if she cared for something to drink. Maria murmured her assent, and James’ forceful stride echoed along the floor, growing closer and closer, until he came into view, his athletic frame displayed to surprising benefit from her vantage point on the floor. If he just kept his face to the window as he poured, she might escape detection, but if he turned so much as halfway she would be as good as dead, for she had no doubt he would kill her. Frankly, she was surprised he hadn’t tried last week at the Serpentine.

“Is everything all right?” Maria called out, when Mr. Potter clinked the tumblers slightly together as he set them down before pouring two fingers of amber liquid into each glass.

“Perfect,” he answered, although he sounded vaguely distracted, like a dog sniffing the air around in search of his prey. Maybe that was why Lily froze and stopped breathing completely, eyes wide and unblinking, as he started to hum slightly to himself and his body slowly began to turn.

Keep walking, she screamed in her head, keep walking to your lover and don’t look back.

But it didn't go that way, and she watched with complete and utter horror as his eyes scanned her starting from her shoes and pinned her where she was.

__________________

James knew quite well why he’d brought Maria Rosso back to his study. Surely no warm-blooded man could be immune to the charm of her lush body and her intoxicating voice, and he knew from experience that her touch was equally potent, but even as he took in that silky sable hair and those full, pouting lips, even as his muscles tightened at the memory of other full, pouting parts of her body, he knew he was using her. He felt no guilt in that regard – she was using him as well, and she would at least be compensated for it, whereas he would be out several jewels, a quarterly allowance, and the rent on a fashionable townhouse in a fashionable part of town – no, if he felt uneasy and frustrated, if he felt like he wanted to put his damned fist though a brick wall, it was because he was using Maria to banish the nightmare that Lily Evans was from his mind. He never wanted to wake up hard and tortured again, knowing she was the cause, he just wanted to drown himself in another woman until the very memory of his recurring dream dissolved and faded into nothingness, because Merlin knew he was never going to act on that particular erotic fantasy because he shouldn’t like her like that. The though of making love to her, and not just bedding her, made him break out in a cold sweat, even as it swirled a ripple of desire right through his gut. Bloody hell, the woman must’ve bewitched him, there could be no other explanation for the dream, and besides, even now he could swear he could smell her. It was that maddening combination of lilies and soap, that beguiling scent that had washed over him while they were in Hyde Park.

“Is everything all right?” Maria called out.

“Perfect,” James said, voice sounding tight to his own ears. He began to hum, something he’d always done to relax, and he turned, even started to take a step forward, because after all Miss Rosso was waiting for him, but the damned scent followed him and his foot hesitated in midair, his step forward proved to be a small one instead of his usual long stride, and he kept turning, his nose instinctively twisting his eyes toward where he knew there couldn’t be lilies until he saw her under his desk, crouching like a frog. It was a wonder he didn’t drop the whiskey as their eyes met, and he saw hers widen with panic and fright.

Good, he thought savagely. What the hell was she doing here? Wasn’t making a scene after he doused himself in the filthy water of the Serpentine to rescue her enough for her bloodthirsty spirit? Did she need to spy on him as well?

“Maria,” he said smoothly, moving forward toward the desk until he was nearly stepping on Lily’s hand. “I have suddenly remembered an urgent matter of business that must be dealt with immediately.”

“This very night?” she asked, quite dubious.

“I’m afraid so. Allow me to walk you to the door,” he said, and although the singer’s eyes were curious, she still took his arm and forgave him for his rudeness for not taking her back to the music room.

“I am a grown woman, I believe I can manage the short distance,” she laughed, a low, sultry sound that should’ve seduced him. “And furthermore, I suspect there isn’t a woman alive who could deny you forgiveness with that smile.”

“You are of a rare kind, Maria Rosso,” he replied, hoping she couldn’t feel how far his head was from this conversation. Not too much physically, since Lily was just a few steps away, but metaphorically…

“But not, apparently, rare enough,” she murmured before floating out, finally giving James the possibility to shut the door with a decisive click, turn the key and pocked it. At the sound, Lily crawled out of her hiding place, leaning on the edge of the desk for support, apparently unable to start the much-needed explanation she had to give about her presence.

“Well?” he asked, breaking the bubble of silence.

“It was an accident!” she exclaimed. “I was sitting in the hall and I heard you coming. I was just trying to avoid you and your lover, to spare the embarrassment to everyone...”

“So you decided to invade my private office?” he asked, suspicious.

“I didn’t know it was your office. I…” she started, but was unable to finish her sentence, probably intimidated by his deliberate proximity. He could swear he was hearing the frantic beating of her heart coming from beneath the bodice.

“I think perhaps you did know this was my office,” he murmured, letting his forefinger trail down the side of her cheek. “Perhaps you didn’t seek to avoid me at all, on the contrary, you desired something else, something more… insane?”

Lily swallowed convulsively, long past the point of trying to maintain her composure.

“What do you say to that?” he asked, his finger sliding along her jawline.

Her lips parted, but she couldn’t have uttered a word if her life had depended on it. He wore no gloves, he removed them during his interrupted tryst with Maria, and the touch of his skin against her was so powerful it seemed to control her body, for she breathed when he paused, stopped when he moved. He had no doubt their hearts were beating in time as his breath kissed her lips, and he smiled, victorious, when she deleted the little distance still separating them. It was evident she was an innocent who wouldn’t know what it was like to have a man so near the heat of his body seeped through her clothes, who wouldn’t recognize the first prickles of desire, nor would she understand that slow, swirling heat in the core of her being, but it was there, he could see it in her face with only one look of his experienced eyes.

James told himself that if she hadn’t kissed him, he would’ve stopped right there, left her bothered and breathless, but he knew he was lying, he knew the moment there had been barely an inch between their faces back in her house and he resisted the pull to give in to her beguiling scent only because the footman might’ve saw them. But right now, there was no chaperone, they were in the privacy of his study, her mother was probably immersed in conversation and the prickles of desire he’d meant to spark within her suddenly ignited him, sending a warm claw of need to the very tips of his toes. Although her kiss had been chaste, and rather desperate, the fingers he’d been trailing along her cheek to torture her suddenly became a hand that cupped the back of her head, and his lips took hers in an explosion of desire, making her gasp against his mouth, something he took advantage of to slide his tongue between them. She was pliant in his arms, so James pressed his suit further by allowing one of his hands to slide down her back and cup the gentle curve of her derriere.

It was madness, he knew he should stop and he damned well shouldn’t have started, but his body was racing with need and he felt so good he had no intention of letting her go. It was like when he was younger, with no care in the world, and his father was still alive, ready to rule the family and gift him with the chance to mess up without consequences a little more, and at the same time he found she possessed something that suited him like no woman ever had before. Something about her was just right, maybe her smell, or maybe the way she felt in his arms, and he knew that if he stripped off all of her clothes and took her there on the carpet on the floor of his study, she would fit underneath him, around him, just right. A low, triumphant growl emerged from James’ mouth as he moved it to her slender neck and further down, in the expanse of skin usually hidden by the bodice he moved slightly, enough to not expose her right away but still more than decency allowed. With ragged and fast breath, he pinned her to his desk, crazed, frantic, leaving small red marks wherever he sucked, regardless of the consequences.

“Do you still hate me?” he asked, and when she slightly shook her head, he cupped one of her breasts, covering it entirely with his hand. Just as he was plotting the best course back to her lips, he heard the perfectly awful sound of Sirius’ voice outside the door.

“James!” he shouted. “I know you’re here and your mother does too. She needs your assistance and asked me to tell you to stop fucking Miss Rosso.”

Miss Evans, blissfully unaware of how close she’d come to having been pleasured utterly senseless, threw a horrified look to the door.

“One of these days,” James muttered, “I’m going to have to kill him.”

#jily #lily evans #james potter #marlene mckinnon #amelia bones #petunia evans #sirius black #regency au #bridgerton au #the queen of the quills

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god-whore · 1 month ago

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MDNI / D-trans DNI / CW Religious Themes

Hi! I go by many names, but Lucifer/Luci will suffice here. This blog is largely fantasy and includes religious roleplay!

I am nonbinary (they/them), queer, and looking to explore kinks and such in a semi-healthy manor. I am a switch. I am 22 and would prefer people who message me be around my age.

Kinks, Limits, and BYF below the cut!

Some Of My Kinks Include (but are not limited to):

blasphemy/religious kink

corruption/manipulation

praise/worship

royalty kink

vamps, demons, gods, etc

degradation

breeding

hypno (@spiral-whore)

dumbification/objectification

free use

intox

cnc (very heavy on the consensual)

being possessive / others being possessive of me

pet play? not sure yet

Limits:

- anal

- diaper stuff/age-play

- referring to me as dirty, nasty, ugly, impure, fuckmeat, cumdump, etc.

- needles, knives, guns

- choking

- snvff

- misgen, detrans, forcemasc/fem, bimboification, bioessentialism, sissy stuff, etc.

- treating me as inferior, replacable, or generally as if you don't like me (i am also not comfortable giving this treatment to a play partner)

- referring to my chest as tits, boobs, or anything other than my chest

- referring to my hole as a pussy or vagina (the terms cunt and hole are fine)

- diet control, sh, anything anti-recovery

- ai porn? weird ai captions?? stop it???

Before You Interact:

consent is mandatory.

aftercare is mandatory if we do a scene.

[edit] asks are open and anon is available. if people begin acting rude or weird, asks will be turned off. best behavior, please.

i am open to sexting/flirting but only with adults and as a rule, I generally avoid cis men.

feel free to try out different titles, but be respectful if i don't want to use one.

if i suspect any interaction from underage people, you will be blocked and reported.

i dont want to meet up, send pics, or receive yours (unless given explicit permission). this is a hard boundary and a blockable offense.

if you dm me wanting to play, please chat with me first. coming in strong with commands or weird remarks will result in a block. let's talk boundaries, safe words, aftercare, or just get to know eachother before getting into things.

mutuals are allowed to ask for my discord :)

if your blog primarily focuses on patriarchy, misgen, or similar, I will likely block you. not your fault, just not something i want to see.

[edit] don't be weird about personality disorders or bipolar disorder. they're not evil.

i will not reblog mutual aid posts. all due respect, but that's not what this blog is for.

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beardedmrbean · 1 year ago

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Why is reblogging an old Breitbart headline such an easy way to trigger the shit out of reactionary conservatives? It took so little that I think there's actually negative effort involved in making the post. ffs people, use your brain

That whole article I've been "debunking" since it first popped up, usually once I point out the details behind it people drop it for a while then forget and then it shows up again.

Lather rinse repeat.

It's great outrage bait, wish people would look at the date by now is all but for the most part I don't blame them it's a headline that is designed to get you seeing red not reading the article.

It's not one that it's easy to make sound good honestly.

Also I was way off on the romeo and juliet thing, it was 10 years and the age of consent was 14 so theoretically a 24 year old and a 14 year old could do the deed and the 24 year old could avoid being on the list for life.

New law didn't change that part just made it so oral and anal sex were counted the same as vaginal, so they could stay off the list.

the smart people came in with

Critics of the bill argue that rather than amending existing law to include vaginal intercourse with a minor as an act that requires mandatory sex offender registration, the bill aims to make all criminal sex acts with a minor over 14 equal by providing offenders with an opportunity to evade mandatory registration. "Any sex is sex," argued Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez. "I don't care who it is between or what sex act it is. That being said, I cannot in my mind as a mother understand how sex between a 24-year-old and a 14-year-old could ever be consensual."

Oddly enough now the critics of the bill got what they wanted in the end, so I'll call that a win.

General rule of thumb, if you see some freaky sex law coming out of CA scott wiener will be involved somehow and people will likely blow the wrong part of it out of proportion.

And remember kids, when I say I'm not a conservative you should probably listen and stop trying to label me, you'll likely be wrong.

#anonymous

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zeroducks-2 · 1 year ago

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To give a serious response to your last reblog, I think most people (maybe not the VOCAL majority) like to exclude tags they don't want to see, and then if something is tagged incorrectly you do just scroll past or stop reading the fic when something comes up. I know there are people who complain about it like it's the end of the world but yeah it is a common thing among most of my internet people to be like "aw man I didn't know [thing] was gonna be in this fic, I guess I'm gonna go read something else now" and I don't really see any problem with that. (As long as they aren't like harassing the author about it or anything obviously, which again I'm sure some people do and that's not cool)

Fair warning, this was supposed to be a quick response and it turned into a long ass ramble about purity culture and anti behavior, sorry about that. It is a long post so feel free to just skip to the TL:DR.

I agree with you, and as I mentioned I really really like the tagging system and the culture of putting content warnings and trigger warnings over content to help people avoid what they dislike and/or actively harms them. I like it in general, not just on AO3.

For what concerns AO3 I know that most people don't cause any kind of issue about it. I too had a situation where an anonymous guest commented to ask me to tag something in my fic. I hadn't thought about it because it was kind of just a vague mention but to them it seemed to be a big deal, so I apologized and added the tag (and they were really nice and polite about it anyway) and that was it. I don't mind people asking me to tag stuff. As an author I'm not omniscient and I don't have a team or even just an advisor to give a second opinion on my stuff, and tell me what I might have missed in the tags. So by all means do say it if you prefer this or that tag being added to my stories. I might have come off as someone who has issues with the tagging system and the culture around it, and I understand that it might be the case since my reblog was worded a bit harshly. I am sorry about that.

What I really was complaining about is people adopting anti or anti-ish behavior around fanfictions and fanfiction writers, acting like the fact that they come across content they dislike is the poster's fault when they're unable to curate their own online experience, and/or take responsibility as grown adults over the possibility of coming across something they dislike. At the same time holding fanfiction writers to absurd standards when it comes to laying out what their fics contain before someone engages with it, while it would be considered absurd to demand something like this from a novel, a movie, a videogame or anything non-transformative really. And not only there's the exclusion system on AO3 that helps people filter content they don't like, but also I want to highlight the fact that someone who is writing a fanfiction does not owe anyone anything in terms of tagging their stories. Tagging by itself is a form of courtesy that is not mandatory for most kind of content except the so called Archive Warnings, and even then you can avoid tagging anything by simply using "Creator chose not to use warnings" - which I'm sure you know means "this story contains potentially upsetting themes, proceed at your own risk". Most people will just politely ask to add tags, and most people will just tag their stories anyway. I very rarely ever came across a fic which was severely untagged to the point of making me wonder if the OP actually knew tags existed, and how they worked in the first place. I think it happened maybe twice and I've been reading fanfictions since AO3 didn't even exist. But there also are people who will harass the author if they didn't tag their fic "properly", and by properly it often times means that a character mentioned something the reader dislikes, or maybe a character they hate makes a very brief appearance, or there is a random OC created for a specific situation. Or anything that doesn't suit their tastes really, and that they demanded was laid out in front of them so they could avoid the gigantic effort of clicking on a story, read the first chapter and deciding by themselves if they liked it or not. These people are the ones who act like fanfiction writers and content in general should cater explicitly to them. Just check the comments of that post, you'll see an array of folks complaining that "authors do this on purpose!" and that who doesn't tag their fic properly is a terrible person.

There's this one saying that it's "so frustrating" and "really inconsiderate" on the author's part, referring to a fanfiction which has one of the characters genderswapped. Now I really, really dislike genderswap (nothing against it or against who likes it, but it really is not my cup of tea both in fics and in fanarts) and I generally stay away from it. But realistically, how long is it going to take me to realize that a fic has been written with one or more genderswapped characters? A couple of sentences? Maybe an entire paragraph? How "frustrating" is it gonna be to spend something like 3 minutes figuring that this story is not for me, and move on with my life?

It's not frustrating, and it's not inconsiderate on anyone's part. Sure I too would prefer it to be tagged, but it's a Me problem if I can't accept that I might end up seeing something I dislike on the internet, and it's not not a random fanfic author's responsibility to make sure I don't encounter something that makes me turn up my nose.

There is in general a lot of pressure on fanfic authors, in some fandoms more than others, and the whole "you have to absolutely nail the tags" conversation is another layer of said pressure. I know people that won't post longfics because they're unsure about the tags, especially of the fact that tags might change over time, and end up not posting at all. People deleting their entire fics over these kinds of demands because they can't meet them, because they don't know how their fic is going to change from here to the 15th chapter. People having to disable or moderate comments, take hiatuses, abandon fics - sure maybe the comment insinuating they were a bad person for not tagging "there's a random policeman OC in your detective AU" is not the main reason why they abandoned the fic, but it surely did not help.

This also leads to another phenomenon, which is that of over-tagging. Of people tagging rape/noncon "just to be safe", or tagging underage because "this character is 18 but there still is a big age gap", and the likes. That's not how tags work, that's actually how the tagging system gets bloated and becomes useless, because after the 4th fic which is tagged Rape and the rape doesn't happen, what often occurs is that the reader finds another fic tagged Rape and doesn't take it seriously. But in that one case the rape does happen and they get triggered, and it's an awful experience both for the reader and for the writer in case they get harassed over it (and this specific instance happened to me personally, because apparently the Rape warning on my story wasn't enough since the rape actually happened).

It's part of the reason why the Dead Dove: Do Not Eat tag exists and got so popular. If your story has some background/minor/past/mentioned/implied/referenced Thing happening, and you tag it as a Major Thing that happens, people who write stories which actually have Thing as a major topic don't know what to do, and end up using the Dead Dove tag which per se doesn't mean anything, it's just a way to say "MIND THE DAMN TAGS AND DON'T COME AT ME!". No one should feel forced to use the Dead Dove tag by the way. The Archive Warnings and the tagging system in general exist for a reason. If you're reading this and you've been harassed, just block the fuckers and ignore them.

So anyway, while I tend to be really irked by over-taggers especially when I'm looking for a specific kink, I don't really blame them. Purity culture kills artistic expression by making artists afraid of harassment if they post their work, among other things. I prefer an over-tagged fanfiction (or an under-tagged one) over no fanfiction at all.

TL;DR - I agree with you anon, I'm just mad at people who harass authors over tags. I don't think there's anything wrong with politely asking someone to tag their fanfiction, and if they repeatedly don't do it over major stuff that needs to be tagged, just block them and/or report them to the AO3 TOS.

#this is all purity culture's fault btw #tags have always been a courtesy and are not by any means mandatory (except Archive Warnings but even then there's the orange one)#people who cannot handle this are not able to handle fanfictions in general #I'm sorry but if you feel so upset if you find a tiny thing that you don't like in a fanfiction that is YOUR problem not the author's #you're free and capable of clicking away from that fanfiction no one is stopping you #and if you end up harassing the author instead of clicking away or politely ask to add a tag you're a fucking asshole #ramblings #my asks #fandom things #long post

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hisuian-history-makers · 2 years ago

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(Normally, I don’t ship SuperBat. But I will make an exception cause there are no drabble reblogs for this yet. Might write an angst one later.)

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

He knew various ways to regulate his heartbeat.

Batman had to learn them back in his training in everything phase. Those teachings were put to use many many times throughout his career.

The anxiety of seeing Dick—Nightwing, the first Robin—first grapple hooking across Gotham for one made the early days trying. Finding himself as a father figure tested several methods when the entire reality caught in his throat. Numerous mediation methods failed him back then when his paranoia plagued him. So many ways having a kid sidekick could have gone horribly wrong.

Jason’s pit rage episodes forced him to either remain calm or plan around his schedule. Even with his second son begrudgingly visiting the Manor, the bat-themed hero had nightmares. Of. Not being able to save him a second time.

Tim Drake was the smartest of the Robins purely on data and memory retention. It was no easy feat figuring out the secret identity of Batman and first Robin off an acrobatic move. His infamous paranoia skyrocketed in the years following that event even after Tim joined them.

Helping Damian unlearn many things Talia and the League of Assasins taught him.

Duke protecting Gotham during the day.

Barbara feeling sudden phantom pain.

Cass’ frustration at being misinterpreted.

Stephanie doubting her importance...

And the general craziness of his nightlife made being able to regulate his heartbeat necessary.

He wished his current predicament hadn’t become a reason to use those methods daily.

—

Playing the part of a playboy meant he knew how to recognize infatuation from many sides.

So he knew right when this all started.

—

It might have started earlier but the first solid lead began during a “team bonding” event.

Batman normally did not do non-mandatory social gatherings outside acting like the public image of Bruce Wayne. And yet here he was.

At a small get-together originally hosted by the younger heroes. In a rare time of most Leaguers being free—the Teen Titans and Young Justice hosted a gathering for everyone available. An event to get caught up with everyone outside hero work. Mount Justice rarely saw this many people yet had the capacity to host.

It strained his nerves after having to host a Gala on barely any sleep. He stuck to the side in his hero suit because unlike some he was still wary of other heroes knowing his identity. One habit he wasn’t willing to break anytime soon.

Imagine Batman’s surprise when Superman kept popping up in the peripheral. Despite being his usual sunny self, the alien spoke softly and had a strained smile that went unnoticed.

Well to everyone else that was caught up in mingling—Clark Kent seemed to be as chipper as ever. Something the detective didn’t want to investigate with him in his civilian attire. Really how simple glasses and a slouched posture worked kept the Kryptonian’s identity a secret...

How anyone could ignore his well-built stature, regularly occurring clumsiness, and impressive self-restraint—anyone in the know anyway.

Clark didn’t have to hide quite like Batman did in public. It was... simplistically brilliant in an infuriating way. Hiding in genuine plain sight.

—

Weeks passed with stopping new schemes and hero work taking up his time. Yet Superman still popped up in the corner of his eye after rather stressful cases. The Kryptonian would gravitate toward him when he was still on the clock.

It was an oddly subtle thing in the beginning.

Even to him. He picked on it then began to review their interactions—noticing a pattern.

Superman’s super hearing was something he used often. To find people under rubble. A villain hiding somewhere lead-lined. When comms made his ears ring too much, speaking over the distance helped. The sense being what he made those signal to tap into a frequency for.

What was odd though was why the Kryptonian sought hearing his heartbeat to de-stress.

—

(Urrgh. I’m bad at writing long pieces. Someone else is going to have to take up the slack. Wrote him as intelligent as I could without getting into being too descriptive, I guess. Did my best.

@confused-wanderer @dragonofthedepths)

We all know Superman knows Batman’s heartbeat by heart (pun intended) BUT can you imagine the repercussions? Especially if Bruce falls first??

Whenever the world gets too loud, or he gets too overwhelmed or stressed, tuning into his heartbeat is Clark’s favourite thing to do. Listening to that steady heartbeat flowing amidst all the chaos of life is enough to slowly help him calm down and relax, even drifting off to sleep sometimes. Because that was his rock. That made Clark feel protected.

The first time it rises it takes less than a blink before Superman’s banging on Bruce’s door, demanding to know what’s happening. And he noticed it increase when Bruce sees him. Then it happens again.

And again.

Now, Clark’s convinced Bruce sees him as a threat, and always goes into a spiral of trying to figure out what he did wrong and what to do to make up for it. Imagine a very sad and scared GOD hovering over Gothams Knight unsure of how to approach the issue but not wanting to leave him as well.

Meanwhile Bruce’s internally screaming as to why his crush is now following him around everywhere looking so adorably lost and vulnerable and how can he get rid of these feelings it’s making him want to act giddy and declare his love everywhere and it’s driving him insane.

#batman #superman #dc comics #justice league #superbat #super hearing #misunderstanding #crushes #aka superman being oblivious about a racing heart meaning infatuation #batman’s a mess #kryptonians #connor and jon probably know what's going on #world’s greatest detective and hero with the best senses being so clueless #don’t normally ship superbat #drabble #gay panic

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rjalker · 2 years ago

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I am aroace. Being ace and aro are inexplicably tied together for me.

A few years ago now I made a post about how asexuality is not pedophilic, in direct response to seeing what I thought was a trusted mutual reblog a post saying, "It's important to teach kids it's okay to be gay, but it's pedophilic to teach them about asexuals" and teaching kids about it can only help them, so they know it's okay not to want to date or kiss other people.

And ever since I made that post people have been fucking getting pissy about me using "ace" and also talking about not feeling romantic attraction.

And a few years ago I did make an addition to the post apologizing.

But you fucking know what? No, I've changed my fucking mind. I'm not going to apologize for saying ace and also meaning aro.

Literally no other fucking orientation forces people to use the split attraction model, and I'm fucking tired of people acting like being ace and aro are completely disparate things that never have anything to do with the other -.-

You use the split attraction model? Cool.

Now, honestly, shut the fuck up and stop policing how other people are allowed to talk about their experiences.

People are allowed to just say "ace" and mean someone who does not want to have sex or date, or kiss, or do anything romantic either.

No, it is not fucking aromisic or acemisic for people who are both to talk about their experiences without always using the fucking split attraction model.

I usually refer to myself as aroace - but I shouldn't fucking have to. You know why I do? Because otherwise if I just call myself ace, people will ignore my aromantcism. If I just call myself aro, they ignore my asexuality.

And that is fucking unacceptable.

I am sick and fucking tired of the aspec community acting like the split attraction model is mandatory and applies to everyone, when it's fucking optional.

Fucking shit like assuming someone who says they're ace still experiences romantic attraction unless they state otherwise is literally fucking amatanormative. Someone saying they're aro and people assuming they still experience sexual attraction unless they state otherwise is literally fucking amatantormative!

Assuming that someone who says they're "ace" or "aro" still experiences the "other" form of attraction unless they state otherwise is literally amisia, by acting like people who are ace or aro need to be fucking redeemed by experiencing other forms of attraction, and they can still be fucking "shippable" and "normal".

I'm fucking tired of it.

I'm aromantic and asexual.

I should be allowed to make a post about being ace or aro without people fucking jumping down my throat about how I'm erasing people who use the split attraction model.

No other fucking sexuality or orientation treats the split attraction model as mandatory, and it's fucking amisic as shit that people in the aspec community think it's okay to do so.

Assuming I'm still redeemable or normal and am willing to date people if I say I'm ace is amisic as fucking shit.

Assuming I'm still redeemable and normal and willing to fuck people if I say I'm aro is amisic as fucking shit.

Leave aroace people alone, and stop fucking demanding people use the split attraction model.

Shit like this is why the first question out of amisics mouths when I tell them I'm ace is "okay, but who do you date?" and why they think it's okay to erase a character's orientation so they can still ship them, because "oh it's definitely ace, but romance was never mentioned!" even when the character is explicitly just as repulsed by romance as sex.

Stop fucking forcing people to use the split attraction model. Stop fucking acting like it's okay to assume someone can still be fucking redeemed by being "normal" in other ways. I'm going to rip the next amisic I see to fucking shreds, and no, fucking ace and aro people who use the split attraction model, you are not fucking exempt!

Especially because it seems like every few years there's yet another fucking form of attraction that you're assumed to experiences unless you state otherwise. "Oh you might be aroace, but you still want a QPR, right? Oh you still experience platonic attraction, right? You still want to get platonically married, right???"

How many more fucking times do I need to say no??

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cucumbers-and-olives · 4 years ago

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Enemies to Lovers Part 3

masterlist <<part 1 <part 2 part 3 part 4 (coming soon!) >

Summary: You leave the Gillespie house and head to the airport with Charlie after an eventful two weeks. While at the airport, your flight gets delayed and you learn of some interesting news...

Category: enemies to lovers, angst, fluff

Fandom: JATP

Paring: Charlie Gillespie x fem!Reader

Word Count: 2.5k

Warnings/Includes: arguing/fighting, small panic attack, cringy songs i wrote

A/N: so... i can never post on time. and i know its been a while since i posted the last chapter. i really hope you guys like this chapter! please reblog and comment and let me know what you think! your support means everything, and keeps me going, so thank you.

Mandatory Thanking of the Betas: thank you to @wrhen for giving me help and feedback with this chapter!

AO3 link here (coming soon!)

Please don’t repost my work without my permission, in part or whole. My work can also be found on AO3 @cucumbersandolives. Thank you!

Ice & Fire, and Enemies to Lovers are both my own songs that I wrote. All song rights go to me.

“Charlie! Y/N! Your cab is here!” Ms.Gillespie called. You checked under the bed one last time before grabbing your suitcase and backpack.

“Thank you so much for your hospitality Ms.Gillespie,” You said, walking up to her. “If you hadn’t invited me I would have spent Christmas alone, and this was so much better.”

“Christmas alone? What a loser,” Charlie remarked as he put his bag into the trunk of the cab. You just rolled your eyes.

“Charlie, be a gentleman and grab her suitcase.” Ms.Gillespie said with a calm yet authoritative tone. He grabbed your suitcase and did as he was told. “I’m sorry about him, but I’m happy you had a good time. Maybe you can join us next year?”

“I would be honored,” You said, taking a last glance around the house you had stayed at for the past two weeks.

“Hey! Let’s go!” Charlie hollered from outside. “We’re gonna miss the flight!”

“Thank you, Ms.Gillespie,” You adjusted your backpack and stepped outside to the man who had become a whiny teenager.

“Finally,” He said as you sat down. “She’s my mother, not yours.”

“I’m sorry about him,” You said to the lady in the driver's seat. “We’re all ready to go now, sorry for the wait.”

She nodded and began to drive. The scenery was nice, but it only took a couple of minutes for you to start yelling at Charlie.

“Fuck this,” You pulled out his earbud. The niceties could stop now that his mother wasn’t here. “I have tried to be nice to you this whole time, but now I can say this: You want to act like a little boy throwing a hissy fit? Fine, be my guest. But at least do it in someone else’s company, I have been nothing but kind to you, you-” You almost cussed again, but you reined yourself in. He was worth your anger but not that much of it.

He just rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Whatever you say, princess.” His words, taken in another context, could have easily been mistaken for something other than the daggers they were.

“It’s delayed,” He said, and that simple fact destroyed the rest of the day. “The plane has some issue. They think it’ll be at least two hours, if not more.”

“God, every time I try to like airports, something bad happens,” You said, slumping back into the uncomfortable airport chairs. You knew it wasn’t the airline’s fault, (well it kinda was), but you needed to get back to work. You fiddled with the cord on your headphones before putting them back on.

“Ah- Not so fast,” Charlie said, blocking you from putting them on. He showed you who was calling him. “If I have to talk to the boss man,” He said, referring to Kenny, “Then you do too.”

“See but I don’t,” You said, as you received a different call. “I have a different boss to talk to.”

“I mean, I’m not your boss-” The girl on the other end of the phone said, but Charlie cut her off.

“Are you actually going to talk to Jadah?” He said, about to accept Kenny’s call.

“No, Charlie. Sav’s phone died, so you talk to your boss and I’ll talk to mine.” You walked around for a bit to find a quieter corner of the airport.

“You okay, Y/N?” Jadah asked, finally.

“No, but that's for another time. What’s up?”

“So… Kenny is telling Charlie about the song showcase, but there’s one thing that he’ll leave out.” She said, leaving you on a cliffhanger.

“That is?” You said, prompting her.

“I- I may have slipped him your demos?” Jadah said slowly, and at that moment, all sense of keeping up public appearances went out the window.

“Jadah! Those were not yours to share! In any capacity!” You took a deep breath and asked your first question. “Where did you get them? I thought that the sound guy and I were the only ones with copies?” “I may have bribed him for a copy,” She said sheepishly. Even though you couldn’t see her, you knew she was nervous.

“Jadah, I have one other question.” You paused, trying to figure out how to ask nicely. “Which songs did you give him? Cause if you gave him Enemies-”

“I gave him Ice & Fire, Enemies to Lovers, and I can’t remember the third one. Please don’t be mad.”

“I’m not.” You were, a little bit. “Can you put Savannah on the phone though?” She gave a quick yes, and you could hear the phone being passed between hands.

“Y/N?” Savannah said.

“Did you know? A-about the demos,” You clarified.

“I knew you recorded them, and Jadah had me listen to them. You are amazing!”

“Thank you,” You said. “Uh, E.T.L. isn’t finished yet, but I had the time in the studio so I recorded it.” “Y/N, if you want to be a songwriter, you would be amazing!” She said, but you could tell what she meant.

“I won’t leave you in the middle of a show, Sav.” You were honest with your words. “I know.” She paused. You both knew what amazing opportunities would open up if you did. “Hold on one second, I’m going to go on mute really quick, okay?”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

You could see Charlie coming towards you. His walk had a purpose, but one that was unknown to you.

“Hello, Mr.Ortega! How can I help?” You put your hand out to Charlie, signaling to him that if he talked he would be dead as Kenny spoke.

“I’m not sure if the girls have told you, but we’d love to have you perform your songs at the showcase.” He said, and you chose your words wisely, so that way Charlie wouldn’t know.

“I’d love to! What time, and which ones would you like to hear?” You asked, as you pulled out a pen and rolled up your sleeves.

“Ice & Fire, Enemies to Lovers or uh, E.T.L., I believe that was how Jadah referred to it?” He said, and you could tell he wasn’t sure what to call it.

“Yeah, I can do that, any others?” You said, scribbling down quick abbreviations of the titles.

“Oh there was one more, How to Be a Heartbreaker, I loved that one.” He said, pausing. “And I believe that Jadah mentioned that you had a few others? If you want to pick one or two, that would be great!”

“Alright! I know it’s weird to ask this, but no one has given me any details, so what time is the showcase, and where is it?” You asked, excited for the opportunity to perform.

“4:30 this afternoon, in dance studio A.” You wrote down the time quickly.

“Sir?”

“Yes?”

“I’ll be landing from my flight only an hour before that.”

“Y/N?”

“Yes?”

“You can do it.”

You scoffed a bit as the call ended. “Fuck.” You cussed under your breath.

“Wow, you talked to Kenny, and that's your response to a conversation with him? Anyways, I’m going to grab a coffee, want one?” He offered.

“Uh, I’ll just take a muffin, if they have one.” As you walked away, your brain was moving a mile a minute as you tried to figure out how everything would work.

“C’mon Y/L/N, if there’s one thing you can figure out, it’s making this work. You can do this.”

“Owen!” You said, running over to him.

“Hi!” He said giving you a hug, and then he looked at you. “Sav told me, you look like a mess.”

“Yeah, I know. Look, can you fix my necklace?” You said pointing to the jumbled mess it had gotten into around your neck.

“Yeah, ‘course, turn around,'' He said, and you did so. He got surprisingly close as you moved your hair away from your neck, and as he fiddled with it, you could see Charlie out of the corner of your eye. He had a look that you couldn’t put your finger on, but it almost seemed like… jealousy?

“All done!” He said, patting you on the back.

“Thank you,” You said, adjusting your sweatshirt a bit.

“You got this,” He said, grabbing your hand. “Okay?”

“Okay-” You said, but Kenny’s voice rose above everyone else's.

“Hello everyone! If you could turn your attention to the mirror, that would be great!” Everyone’s eyes turned to him, standing on a chair with a mic in hand. “Here's how this is going to work. I’d like our lovely leads to come to the mirror. Anyone else who isn’t singing can stand off of the dance floor over there,” He pointed to an area.

“If you are singing, you can follow me,” Paul said, raising his hand.

“Okay, go!” Kenny said, and as you followed Paul, you could hear him as a question. “Where is Charlie? Jeremy, check that bathroom, and Owen, look in the break room.”

“That was amazing Anna! Okay, who is next?” Kenny said, motioning to the person in front of you to come out. “Ah, Kevin, what do you have for us?”

Kevin began to talk, but it was hard to hear anything over your beating heart. You tried to take deep breaths, but it just got louder, and your worries began to overwhelm you. You took a step back in the line, making your way to the back. That would give you some time to overcome your worries before you went out there.

The line seemed to move a warp speed, because before you knew it, Kenny was calling your name.

“Y/N? Are you back there?” He asked, and you could hear everyone start to whisper when you didn’t respond.

“Yeah, gimme one second!” You said, fixing your shirt a bit. You got this. You can do it.

As you stepped out onto the stage Kenny’s face lit up. “There you are! How was the flight?” His eyes were kind, but as you looked into the audience, there were many shook faces.

“It was rough, but I’m happy to be here,” You said, sitting down in the chair in the middle of the stage. You kept taking deep breaths, trying, desperately to calm your nerves.

“I know you have a couple, so whenever you are ready, just say the song's name, and what characters you wrote it for,” Kenny explained. You looked around to see who was there. There was the choreo team, some Netflix executives, the lead cast, and a couple of other people who you didn’t recognize.

“This is lce & Fire, and I pictured Alex and Willie singing it.”

“Oh the desire

Like Ice & Fire

Shout it out loud

They won’t bring us down

Not a disgrace

We’ve made mistakes

Our love is strong

So sing along

I’ve been looking for you for so long

(I couldn’t find you)

Now that I’ve met you I’ve

Done something wrong

Oh, Ohhhh, Oh

Oh the desire

Like Ice & Fire

Shout it out loud

They can’t pull us down

Runnin’ from our past

Met in a crash

Through thick and thin

We can win

I’ve been looking for you for so long

(I couldn’t find you)

Now that I’ve met you I’ve

Done something wrong

Oh, Ohhhh, Oh

The forces pullin’ us together

Can’t stop, won’t stop

Oh hold on a little longer now

We’re Ice & Fire

(Fire)

Two parts of one

(One)

Can’t you see the passion in my eyes

Of Ice & Fire.”

As you finished, the final chord rang out from your guitar. The room was silent until Kenny spoke.

“That was wonderful! Booboo, Owen, what do you all think?” He said, turning to the actors for their opinion.

Booboo nodded to Owen. “Well, I think that your song embodies the characters really well. Uh, I definitely would love to sing it in the show, and I, uh personally can see our characters singing it. You wanna go?”

“Yeah, I agree with Owen on so many levels. I’d love to sing Ice & Fire, if that's okay with you Kenny,” Booboo turned to Kenny and the smile that was on his face was slowly mirrored on yours.

“Let’s do it! You wanna sing any others?” The room held its breath waiting for a response. And so did you.

Your first song had passed the test. Made it through. Your knee started bouncing again and you looked up to Savannah.

You got this. She mouthed.

You cleared your throat and moved the capo on your guitar. “Yeah, uh, this one is called Enemies to Lovers, and I didn’t write this one about any specific characters so it can be changed to fit any of them.”

You started singing and getting into the song. A door creaked open and you looked up, curious, and you continued to sing and play.

It was Charlie. He looked like a mess, like he had just gone to hell and back. Moving among the cast to find his seat, he didn’t notice you singing. Until you started the chorus.

It’s like we’re written in the stars,

Enemies to Lovers

Swinging past the bars,

Baby, we’ll discover-

You, me, we’re not so different,

You, me, we always win it,

You and me, we’re better than we seem,

Enemies

He watched you as you sang, and you, in turn, watched him. As you went into the chorus for a second time, you saw something change in his face. A realization or something, and you turned back to face Kenny as you finished the song.

We are written in the stars,

That's how we became

Well, what we are

Bicker hard and far,

Maybe we’ll discover-

You, me, we are different,

You, me, we can’t beat it,

You and me, we’re worse off than we seemed

You strummed your guitar, leaving the song and the story unfinished.

“That was amazing, unfortunately, I don’t think we have space for it in our show.” He smiled. “Someone will contact you about using Ice & Fire.”

The panel along with the rest of the room, packed up their things and started to leave until just you and the main cast remained. You started to walk out of the room when someone called out.

“Y/N! Wait!”

It was Charlie.

You looked at him, “Yes?”

“What the fuck was that song? Who’d you write it about?” He asked, like a love struck boy.

“I wrote it about you, duh!” You watched his face turn into one of- slight happiness? You laughed and started to walk away. Of course, he would think it’s about him, but why would it be? “Fuck you, Charlie. I didn’t think you were that self-centered!”

“I’m not!”He countered, and you stopped walking to look at him.

“Really? Cause only a self-centered person would ask me that… Or, do you have a crush on me? Aww, that’s so sweet!” You mocked. “See you around, lover boy.”

I really hope you liked that chapter! Let me know what you thought!

Join my tag list here, or send me an ask! Send me an ask to be removed.

If your url has a strike through, please message me.

JATP: @n0wornever @calamitykaty @screwunsaidemily @crybabyddl @badwolf00593 @dream-a-little-bigger-x

ETL: @yagorlemmalyn @ifilwtmfc @kaitieskidmore1 @p0gue420 @robbstarkmademedoit @lukepattersonsimp @honeyheartzz @notasoftie @winterwallacehenderson @jatp-musician-spirits @nani-2305 @boggie-brainrot

Charlie: @thesweetestsinner

#cucumber writes #enemies to lovers pt ♾#julie and the phantoms #jatp fanfic #jatp rpf #charlie gillespie #charlie gillespie x reader #x reader #opj x reader #owen joyner x reader #julie and the phantoms fanfic #enemies to lovers #enemies to lovers fanfic

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arizonapoppy · 3 years ago

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Star Wars Story List

I would love to hear your thoughts on my stories! Comments, likes, reblogs, and asks are always welcome! Link to my ask box

An omnibus link to all my stories on Ao3 can be found here: Poppy on Ao3 . Note: most of my Ao3 stories are members-locked.

Do not copy my stories to another site. These stories are 18+ only.

Ficlets and longer:

A Bouquet of Meaning

Words: 600; Rating: G; Genre: fluff, language of flowers, 5+1 things

Grand Admiral Thrawn bombards Governor Pryce with flowers at her workplace.

A Dog Too Far (story fragment)

Words: (in progress); Rating: E; Genre: highSchoolTeacher!AU, angst, smut

Arihnda Pryce is a dedicated teacher who wants her students to do well on their end-of-year tests. If that earns her an assistant principal position at her old high school, the more the better! Nobody- not the Student Council, and not the new exchange teacher Mr. Nuruodo- will derail her.

Double Helping

Words: 1142; Rating: T; Genre: domestic fluff, clone!Thrawn

What would you do with an extra Thrawn around the house?

The First Annual Thunder Wasp Charity Calendar

Words: 1141; Rating: T; Genre: fluff, humor

The Thunder Wasp has an ingenious plan to raise the most money for the Imperial Combined Campaign by creating a charity calendar featuring noted members of the crew. There's only a slight problem: they forgot to get their commander's approval first.

I-S-Beach

Words: 5.4k; Rating: E; Genre: adventure, spy!AU, smut

Arihnda Pryce is on beach holiday on Rion with her best girl friends. A side mission for the ISB gets more exciting than planned, leading to a dinner-dancing date with Thrawn. She decides some relaxation is just what she needs.

It Followed Me Home

Words: 1.5k; Rating: G; Genre: fluff, crack

Arihnda finds a cute massiff kit in the creature stall, and persuades Thrawn they should adopt her.

One Week

Words: 9.1k; Rating: E; Genre: established relationship, smut

Arihnda and Thrawn are planetside for Coruscant's annual Ascension Week festivities. A disagreement on how to handle the pesky rebels spirals into a full-blown argument. Can they settle their differences and get a nice shag on before the week ends? An unapologetic songfic of "One Week," by Barenaked Ladies.

Procrastination Vacation

Words: 2.4k; Rating: M; Genre: acquaintances to lovers, smut

While on a business trip to take mandatory training, Arihnda and Thrawn are forced to share the last available room at the resort.

Three

Words: 2.7k; Rating: G; Genre: angst, locked in together

Arihnda Pryce thought she left her mining days behind her when she moved to Coruscant, but she'll need all her old job skills to keep herself and Grand Admiral Thrawn alive when a cave collapse traps them.

Whatever’s Past the Stars

Words: 957; Rating: E; Genre: smut, pwp

Warnings: tentacles

A rendezvous in the desert.

Drabbles:

A Very Merry Winter Solstice(s)

Fall Into Thryce

Flourish

Morning Paddle

Nova Hejmo

Potato, Potahto

Slattum

Toes

Trapped

The Waterfall

Chewing Gum and Slickplast

Words: 200; Rating: G; Genre: fluff

On the plus side, the Spectres were able to escape the Imperials after Chopper temporarily deactivated the artificial gravity of the Ghost. On the down side, he forgot to tell Sabine to stop smacking her gum right before. Or was it all part of his scheme? Will Space Mom successfully rescue Kanan's ponytail?

Chief’s Compliments

Words: 1026; Rating: T; Genre: gen hurt/comfort, acts of kindness; post-Rebels

Hera Syndulla is struggling with the trials of early pregnancy, when she receives help and support from an unexpected source.

Repairs

Words: 200; Rating: G; Genre: fluff, humor

During repairs to the Ghost, Hera falls for Kanan. Literally.

A Present for Master Billaba

Words: 8.1k; Rating: Gen; Genre: Fluff, everyoneLives!AU

Caleb Dume needs all his creativity and network of friends to successfully barter for the perfect solstice present for Depa Billaba.

A Teacher’s First Steps

Words: 200; Rating: Gen; Genre: slice of life, AU

With the threat of the unnamed "shadow" hanging over them, Ahsoka decides it is too dangerous to leave four-year-old Hedala Fardi untrained in the ways of the Force, and begins teaching her employers' young niece in secret.

Cassian and the Coat of Many Pockets

Words: 1902; Rating: Gen; Genre: humor, everyoneLives!AU

As the Rebel Alliance works to establish a base on Hoth, the Master Chief has the warmest coat on the base, and Cassian will do anything to get it. The Master Chief won't trade for anything. What happens when the irresistible force meets the immovable object?

Dantoo Trek

Words: 7.1k; Rating: Gen; Genre: adventure, fluff, humor

When Chopper strands them in the wilderness, Ezra and Sabine have to put aside their argument and work together as a team. How will they get to their detail at Dantoo Base? This epic buddy road trip calls for a MacGyver-ed boat and the smooth skills of Lothal's most notorious flim flam man.

Fuselage

Words: 1536; Rating: E; Genre: smut, crack

Luke has a quickie in his X-Wing with a maintenance tech.

The Porglets Decorate For Life Day

Words: 254; Rating: Gen; Genre: fluff, fairy tale

The porg population of the Temple Island on Ahch-To work together to decorate the Jedi Force Tree for Life Day, porg-style. (A bedtime story fairy tale improvised for my young son and his porglet stuffies.)

Relicts

Words: 5.0k; Rating: E; Genre: smut

Luke and a Nightsister negotiate for a Force artifact on Dathomir. Their contest of strength leads to more a more intimate sort of interaction.

Snack Break

Words: 400; Rating: G; Genre: fluff, humor

Eli teaches Thrawn how to eat an Oreo.

Solstice:

Words: 100; Rating: G: Genre: fluff

Luke and Mara watch the sunset together on the longest day of the year.

The Storyteller of Esfandia

Words: 978; Rating: G; Genre: humor

Hondo Ohnaka overhears a tall tale in a cantina on the borderlands of the Unknown Regions that might provide him with a lead toward finding Ezra Bridger.

Tooka in the Meal Bin (hiatus)

Words: (ongoing); Rating: G; Genre: fluff, adventure

"Even the smallest person can change the course of the future," goes the quote. In the aftermath of the disaster on Hosnian Prime, an elderly Loth-cat who wants nothing more than to sleep peacefully in her patch of sunslight with her stuffed toy is called to help the fledgling Resistance on Batuu.

Waffle’s Tooka

Words: 193; Rating: G; Genre: fluff, humor

A fearsome death trooper adopts a tooka kitten.

Welcome to the Cosmic Force

Words: 300; Rating: Gen; Genre: mystery, missing scene, crossover!AU

Ahsoka emerges from her journey through the watery underworld into a paradise inhabited by a woman in strange navy blue robes and her unusual droids. Will they reach a mutually beneficial arrangement over a nice cuppa?

#star wars #star wars fanfic #masterlist #fanfiction #star wars fanfiction #mind the tags

15 notes · View notes

fearlessinger · 2 years ago

Note

I've been meaning to reblog this and add my 2 cents ever since I finally finished HOO, which at this point is… several months ago, because never let it be said I can do things in a timely fashion 😅

I hope it isn’t too weird if I resurrect this post now, but I wanted to get my thoughts in order on what we have so far before TSATS comes out (cutting it reeeeeal close I know. Again, this is unfortunately who I am). So.

I agree on basically all the main points of the above reconstruction. My contribution here is mostly gonna be an attempt to iron out some of the finer/less clear details, especially re: Apollo’s words, actions & presumed thought processes bc well, he’s the character I spend most of my time rotating in my head like a rotisserie chicken… Under a cut bc as is often the case with me, this got long.

It makes total sense to me that the original plan would be to reunite the camps under Apollo’s patronage. Reuniting the camps was, any way you look at it, the sensible course of action at the time, and it’s worth noting that both Hera/Juno and Aphrodite/Venus, independently of each other and also of Apollo, state that they believe this (as usual, the gods are encumbered by their inability to act openly against Zeus/Jupiter’s dictates, and don’t trust themselves enough to talk/coordinate among themselves for fear of being ratted out by any potential coconspirator). Reuniting the camps in Apollo’s name, specifically, would have given Apollo a better standing to reclaim the right to oversee the safety and education of the demigod youth, and would have given Octavian a good springboard to elevate Apollo’s worship in New Rome above even that of Jupiter himself.

On this note, please allow me to open a small parenthesis to point out that Apollo’s popularity among the romans was never low. In fact, all the evidence points in the opposite direction.

Yes, in SON Frank gets mocked for preferring bow and arrow to other kinds of weapons, but he believes that being claimed by Apollo will actually put a stop to that. Make it MORE respectable that he’s an archer, not less. And as much as the romans may rate archery lower than other martial arts (except when it’s explicitly connected to Apollo, it sounds like, in which case it gains prestige), they still have mandatory archery classes for all their recruits. This isn’t even remotely the same as the New Roman Navy situation.

When Apollo looks at Jason’s model of temple hill, he complains that the miniature of his own temple is “not nearly as nice as the real thing, with its golden roof and platinum filigree designs.” He says he used to be annoyed that his temple wasn’t THE largest, which by itself implies that his temple is one of the largest.

When he gets to CJ in TTT, even though he's mortal and disgraced, he is welcomed with all honors. In fact, Meg is kinda bothered by how obsequious everybody is. The romans actually show far more reverence for him than the greeks do. Part of this is likely because they have had less opportunities for direct interaction with him/the gods than the kids of CHB have in recent years – tho it’s worth noting that Apollo is very familiar with New Rome, CJ, and even a good amount of the roman demigods. Which makes sense considering he admits to visiting the city incognito often, to enjoy the sights and the atmosphere:

New Rome … the likeliest city on earth to find Olympian gods lurking in disguise. (Followed closely by New York, then Cozumel during spring break. Don’t judge us.) When I was a god, I would often hover invisibly over the red-tiled rooftops, or walk the streets in mortal form, enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of our imperial heyday.

But a lot of it is because Apollo just IS one of the city’s most revered deities.

Lupa herself expressly entrusts the safety and survival of the roman community to Apollo. The words she uses to do so, even, are very significant: she literally tells him to "be Apollo". Not "be a leader", or "be strong", “dependable”, “brave”. Nothing like that. She says "be Apollo," implying that to her being Apollo encompasses the necessary qualities by default.

Now you might ask, why would Apollo stop sending his children to CJ if the romans do not discriminate against them and the answer is. Well. It's in the camp's name I believe. Controlling the gods' access to their children is one of the most effective tools in Zeus/Jupiter's arsenal to keep the rest of his family in line, and as the infinitely-easier-to-hit targets, compared to their godly parents, the kids are in danger of being used as emotional blackmail material… essentially… at all times. In this kinda situation, of course Apollo would want his children to live in the camp that's still… less completely under Zeus/Jupiter's thumb.

Back to the main topic: I think it’s clear that, with all the above being Apollo’s starting point, him actually becoming the patron god of the legion wasn’t THAT crazy a goal, actually. He and Octavian weren’t foolishly chasing after a chimera, no matter how Apollo and Artemis make it sound when talking abt it on Delos.

No, I don’t believe even for a second that Apollo was planning an overthrowing, for all the reasons outlined by Tsari up here, but he WAS trying to increase his own standing, his own power, to the point where he would at least be able to challenge his father's rulings. And he actually had good chances of succeeding. Even more so IF he is immune to the effects of the greco-roman schism, as has been theorized. The greco-roman war breaking out when it did, then, would have made Apollo look like an even bigger threat in Zeus/Jupiter’s eyes, which in turn lends even more credibility to Apollo’s anger toward Octavian at a time when he believes him to have started that war.

And this is all the more reason why the “little war” comment is so baffling – when I first read THO, when I still believed Apollo was going to have a traditional redemption arc, and had no reason to give Octavian the benefit of the doubt either, I thought absolutely nothing of it. But now, having a much better, firmer grasp of Apollo’s character, having read the whole greco-roman mythology saga from start to finish, and trying to put all the puzzle pieces together… it stands in contradiction to all logic.

Not only Apollo would never have approved of starting a war between the greeks and the romans, but Octavian did NOT, in fact, start the war (even tho BOO tried to retcon this. Which, coupled with the “little war” line in THO… almost makes it seem like Rick had been considering throwing Apollo under the bus along with Octavian for a second there. But then… that statement gets ZERO follow up in a pentalogy whose last 2 books have Apollo take responsibility for not just his own crimes but those of the entire pantheon, and apologize even to his literal underwear. It simply doesn’t add up).

The only way to make sense of that line to me is… it has to be referring to something *other* than a war against CHB. Perhaps something we never saw materialize bc the events took a different turn? Could it be that Apollo already knew in the fall about Gaea raising the giants and amassing an army of monsters to march on CJ, that he told Octavian, and that that's the war Octavian was supposed to win with the triumvirate's help... but Percy, Frank & Hazel's return from Alaska at the right moment, and/or the triumvirate somehow failing to get Octavian the support they had promised him in time... ruined this plan? And Percy was named praetor in Octavian’s place. Something along these lines.

It’s true that Octavian appears to be pretty anti-greek in SON and at the beginning of MOA already… (in words at least. I think it’s notable that the first thing he does upon realizing Percy is a greek is doing him a solid by keeping quiet about it. Exposing Percy as a spy would have given Octavian the perfect opportunity to push for war against the greeks, and yet… he didn’t do it.) But Octavian is a politician. A great orator by all accounts. Would it be that big a stretch to imagine his displays of anti greekness might have been mainly for show? Aimed at earning himself the favor of the more conservative romans? Make them feel understood and listened to? Make it so when it would be time to actually meet the greeks and work out a peaceful coexistence, those romans would trust him to have their best interests at heart?

We may never know for sure, but what we do know is: Octavian did NOT start the war (side note but he didn’t even actually give the order to fire the onagers at the end of BOO?? Can we talk abt this? Hello? My jaw was on the floor). The greek warship firing on New Rome, maneuvred by a Leo who’d been bodysnatched by Gaea’s minions, did. Without that incident there might never have been even a skirmish. Everything that happened afterwards cannot, I believe, be considered part of Apollo & Octavian’s original plan.

So Octavian found himself having to react to a completely unforeseen and unprovoked attack, and having to do it without being able to get Apollo’s counsel (although I agree, it looks like he still had his prophetic abilities – barring Juno’s interference re: Jason – up until the moment Python took over Delphi), because Apollo had stopped talking to him at some point before the end of the previous year. That’s what Octavian seems to imply, at least:

But as I’ve told you before, in strictest confidence, Apollo spoke to me clearly last year at Camp Jupiter! He personally blessed my endeavours. He promised I would be remembered as the saviour of the Romans.’

and I think this timeline makes a lot of sense, actually. It would make sense that the end of the year is when Zeus/Jupiter first discovered not only Juno’s, but Apollo’s and possibly even Artemis’s illicit activities too. Olympus has been in lockdown ever since, and the top of the Empire State Building is already thundering when we first get a glimpse of it in MOA. Apollo and Artemis have been taking refuge on Delos from the moment the war broke out at the latest, Artemis implies, as it’s the only place where they (she, if we go by the theory that Apollo isn’t actually affected) can be healed of the effects of the greco-roman schism. But we’re given strong reasons to suspect that the twins fled to the island even earlier than that, as they both admit, and Juno confirms it, that it’s the one place where their father’s wrath can’t reach them. I bet that they actually were there already when the war broke out, for exactly this reason.

This would not only line up with Octavian’s statement above but also with Apollo’s claim that he couldn't try to reason with/kill Octavian because to do so he’d have to step out of Delos, and the island protects the twins only as long as they remain fully on there.

But even if I buy that claim… and I… I don’t, actually. Forgive me for opening the nth parenthesis of the day but… It makes no sense to me that Delos, the soil that pledged itself to Apollo and Artemis, the sacred ground that gives them protection, that gives them (or at the very least Artemis) enough of a power boost to nullify the effects of the schism, would also at the same time somehow constrict their room for action.

But why would Apollo lie abt this? I think the answer is quite simple. He doesn’t want to explain the real reason to the demigods who have come visit because the real reason… kinda… does Apollo credit. And also it exposes the mechanics of Zeus’s abuse in a way that’s a little too transparent for the demigods to not pick up on it. These are two things that Apollo has shown in the course of 5 books to be extremely, extremely reluctant to admit to. And yes, ofc this means Artemis is in on the lie and also lying herself when she implies that she is physically unable to help the Hunters. The truth is that she is actually choosing not to do so, for the same reason Apollo does.

And that reason is that the twins are worried that their father would take any further unsanctioned action on their part as a provocation and, given his inability to hit THEM on Delos, would resort to striking down their family/friends/allies, who are still fully within his reach, in the twins’ place.

This, I believe, is why Apollo, after being found out, never tried to contact Octavian again. And ofc it’s also why he isn’t killing him now. Because yes, while I do not think that Apollo ever truly meant to make good on his threats to Leo, Frank & Hazel (in fact, Apollo chooses to aggravate his own already incredibly precarious standing with his father by giving Leo a chance at resurrection after learning that only Leo’s death, and not his subsequent survival, is necessary to defeat Gaea)… the Octavian situation is obviously different. It actually is possible that Apollo would like to kill Octavian for real at this point in time. Apollo talks so much shit abt Octavian in the Delos scene, and he never would if he didn’t wholeheartedly believe Octavian to be actually guilty of starting the war.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: that’s a blatant retcon. I hate that it was put in Apollo’s mouth first, but the real problem is that Leo, Frank and Hazel agree. The real problem is the way the narrative overall from this point onward treats it as if it’s true even though it isn’t. It drives me insane. I’m just gonna address the Apollo part of this because that at least can be explained, I think.

I don’t believe he’s lying. I mean, he is lying because what he says is not true, but I don’t believe he is knowingly lying . For once lol. I think he must be genuinely misinformed because

1) We now know, from TOA, what is the pattern of Apollo’s lies. Throwing an innocent under the bus to get away with a crime is really, really not his style. Not even at his worst, Apollo would do this. He often does the opposite in fact, blames himself for things that other people did.

2) in this specific case Apollo has no reason to want to shift the blame anyway, because he is blameless. And so is Octavian. Gaea is the one who started the war, using Leo as a pawn. She not only would be a much better scapegoat, as blaming her wouldn't require Apollo to even take responsibility for having trusted and blessed the wrong person… she IS the actual culprit!

So no, I can’t believe Apollo would slander Octavian on purpose… but I can believe he’s arrogant enough to think himself immune from Gaea’s manipulations even at a time when he’s actually exceptionally vulnerable to them. His sight has been clouded at least since Python has retaken Delphi. A situation that's possibly aggravated by the triumvirate already having gained control of the other 3 oracles, even though nobody, Apollo included, knows that yet. This would be the perfect time for Gaea to feed Apollo misinformation. And he wouldn’t notice because he is so sure he’s the smartest person on the planet. THAT would be very in character.

He claims to have been led astray by the Mother Earth whispering in his ear but he doesn’t really believe it. He’s just trying to cover up the shame of having put his trust in the wrong person – except. Except he hasn’t! And does not realize it bc he’s too full of himself, too blinded by past betrayals that he’s still not done mourning (Commodus especially comes to mind), too furious at the idea of Octavian actually marching on CHB, planning to bring war to his children, to be able to.

I wish we could have seen Apollo have this realization in TOA, and I’d wager he’d have been pretty devastated by it. I believe Will was in fact ultimately right about what Apollo would have wanted, not just when talking about the war but also when he was trying to convince Octavian to not die taking down Gaea.

In the end, like Tsari said, Apollo had way too many and much more pressing matters to juggle all through the 6 months that are covered in TOA to be able to sit and think abt this long enough to reach the right conclusion, but I take the way he kinda changes the story when he’s briefly summarizing it in THO (“Gaea had duped [Octavian] into plunging the camps into a civil war”, he says), the way he reprimands himself immediately after he’s made a rather weak attempt at blaming all his current problems on Octavian (“who was the stupid boy? It wasn’t Octavian,” he thinks bitterly)... as a sign that at least subconsciously he's already having a vague sense that something doesn’t add up. Because he really ain’t stupid when he’s not blinded by how full of himself, and how full of feelings, he is.

I also wish that Will and Octavian’s confrontation in BOO could have gone differently. Because here’s two kids who are family, even if distantly, and who despite all their differences both believe in Apollo so hard, so unflinchingly, for opposite reasons because they’ve only ever seen opposite faces of him. Will only knows the soft, gentle silliness of his dad, while Octavian very likely is far more familiar with the sharpness of the god, and yet they both believe, and they are both right in believing. And without external interference, they would be BOTH right to believe Apollo is on their side too. Without external interference, they would have no reason to be enemies.

Oh, what could have been.

Thought on apollo and octavian's relationship, and how their bargain affects the plot in hoo🤔

Okay, this is a bit of a tricky topic to poke at for a few reasons but I do have some thoughts so I'll blab a bit about that.

Some things before we start: I am not an Octavian expert. I find his character interesting but I have not yet spent much time trying to take him apart and see how he ticks, so the conclusions drawn in this post will be based on what I know about Apollo, and some assumptions of Octavian based on the fact that I don't believe he's a malicious asshole.

On that note, if there's one thing that's similar between Apollo and Octavian in the books, it's how they're narrated - namely, we only see them through seriously unreliable narration. In Apollo's case, it's all his own doing, he wants us to hate him in TOA so he lies to us, the reader, and when he appears in the other books he's always acting so it's hard to pin him down (and I owe a lot of my analysis of Apollo to conversations with @fearlessinger and @flightfoot, who have spent far longer picking him apart than I). In Octavian's case, we are only ever shown him through the narration of people who, to varying degrees, all view him negatively, so it's important to remember our view of him is through the lens of several teenagers who, more or less, hate him. Just because their narration turns him into a two-dimensional villain doesn't mean he is one - and I will do my best to depict him as a more well-rounded character, but unlike Apollo I have not spent much time trying to pick him apart so my knowledge on his character is far more basic.

I'm also currently on holiday and don't have any rrverse books with me so this is more or less all me running from memory here, so the usual canon quotes will be entirely absent.

With those factors mentioned, on to the topic in question: Apollo&Octavian's relationship and what happened in HOO because of it.

I've tried to make sense of Apollo's reasoning for his interactions with Octavian before, because clearly he did interact - he tells us this himself in TOA - but the idea of Apollo approving of the camps clashing just isn't feasible with everything we know about Apollo's character.

In fact, there are a few options that aren't feasible when we take into consideration Apollo's personality and how he treats demigods, so I'll just run through those first:

- Encouraging Camp Jupiter to go to war against Camp Half-Blood. No only is Apollo the de facto patron of CHB so why would he want that anyway, he's also protector of the youth etc. and never puts demigods in harms' way in the series, so why do it here?

- Encouraging Camp Jupiter to go to war at all - again, Apollo is all about protecting demigods, this goes directly against that and makes no sense.

- Grooming or otherwise manipulating Octavian because he knew he was going to die. Again - why would Apollo do this? This doesn't fit in with his motives at all throughout the series, or his core personality. When prophecies say demigods are going to die, Apollo tries to find loopholes to protect them, he doesn't manipulate them until they're in the position to die. Apollo does not, and has never wanted, dead demigods.

- Genuinely wanting to dethrone Zeus. TOA's entire plotline is about Apollo learning to accept what he already knew re: Zeus' A+ Parenting and the bad treatment of demigods. It makes no sense if he's less poised to rebel at the end of TOA than at the start.

- Octavian manipulating Apollo in any capacity. Just. No. First of all, this suggests that Octavian is an irredeemable Bad Apple rather than a complex young man (if Luke can have his redemption at the end of TLO despite being older than Octavian, then don't tell me Octavian is set in his Evil, Evil Ways), and secondly - Apollo is smart. Apollo is incredibly smart, and Octavian is barely an adult. There is no way, no matter how sneaky Octavian might have the potential to be, that he could manipulate Apollo.

The only reasoning I've been able to reconcile with what we know of Apollo that would have him striking any sort of deal with Octavian that even remotely resembles what Octavian (and Apollo) claims in canon is that Apollo knows his power base is weakening, leaving him unable to protect those he loves (Artemis in TTC, the entire camp in BOTL and TLO), and Octavian saying he'll promote Apollo to even above Jupiter in the camp worship (when Apollo is currently very low overall, being too Greek to ever be fully Romanised), would give Apollo enough of a power boost that he might be able to finally protect his loved ones again.

In order to get the events of HOO, the only thing I can see happening is a misunderstanding between the two of them, which in turn is orchestrated by our good old nemesis, Gaia. (Now, the Triumvirate are also a possibility, and may be involved on a more physical scale as they both provided a lot of resources for Octavian, and also we know they're gunning for Apollo in particular, but I think Gaia has to have been involved as well for this to have happened the way it did).

An important thing to note is that Apollo does blame Octavian to at least some extent regarding what went down, and considering this is the same guy who spends almost all of TOA taking every single blame that's possible to assign onto his own shoulders whether it's deserved or not, that's interesting. It means that Apollo does feel betrayed by Octavian's actions, which I can see for reasons I'll come into later, but that still doesn't negate the possibility of other interference. In fact, I think it makes it more likely.

Whatever the deal was between Apollo and Octavian - whatever Octavian actually wanted in return for boosting Apollo's standing amongst the Romans and therefore giving him this much-needed power boost (which Apollo eventually gets though TOA anyway) - it went wrong. Octavian's anti-Greek prejudice (which is, again, interesting, considering his favourite god is clearly Apollo, the most Greek of the Roman pantheon) collided with something, the Eidolons made everything worse, and then we had a war that Gaia wanted and Apollo did not.

It's in Gaia's favour to incite the two camps into war, and Octavian is the most powerful senator, barring Reyna who isn't the orator he is, so using him as the instrument makes sense - and it's convenient, really, that he's already in contact with Apollo so there's a ready-made scapegoat that even Octavian himself will fall for.

Did Gaia cause misunderstandings in Octavian's perception of what Apollo wanted? Possibly, but that would have been quite difficult to pull off without Apollo twigging what was really going on, so I'm a little doubtful that she would have done it much.

What makes me think someone did interfere (and Gaia makes the most sense here), is Octavian losing his powers. Those prophetic powers of his (regardless how powerful they actually are and I have doubts about that but that's not relevant here) is his communication channel with Apollo. Having those suddenly cut off is bad. I don't recall if we're told when he loses them, but it's definitely by BOO and likely a lot earlier, otherwise I'm sure Apollo would have been far more pro-Greek at him and tried to do something about the prejudice or at least had some success in stopping the clash (worst case scenario, Octavian may have gone ahead but he would have known he didn’t have Apollo’s blessing and may have lost all faith in Apollo entirely). He may have lost them by the time SON rolls around but is just going through the motions to keep the legion's faith in him - off the top of my head, I can't think of any canon that disproves that, mostly because we rarely see him using his powers and quite frankly, cutting open a stuffed toy and then saying stuff is very easy to fake.

So. Octavian loses his powers, he's provoked certainly by the start of MOA into believing that the Greeks need to be defeated (and only much, much later acknowledges the true threat that is Gaia), and he's hearing nothing from Apollo.

In the meantime, we have Apollo trapped on Delos, certainly trying to get Octavian to stop this nonsense, and being ignored (he dodges the demigods' questions over whether or not he's tried to stop Octavian, which in Apollo-speak is as good as "yes but it's not working"). In the end, Apollo comes to the harsh conclusion that the only way to stop Octavian is to kill him, which is not something he would have reached lightly. At this point - and even up until the end of TOA itself - I don't think Apollo realises there's other interference. He's had enough worries on his plate that he doesn't really have the time to sit down and think it through either during or after the fact, and that's time he won't have until post-TOA, which would be why Octavian's rare mentions in TOA are still tinged with betrayal.

Whether Octavian continues to launch his attack on CHB because he's taking nothing from Apollo as "no news is good news" and therefore explicit approval, or whether he's doing it because he's desperate about Apollo's silence and is acting out as best he can think of to try and get his attention, I don't know. Both have interesting connotations, but regardless, they end the same way - Octavian is claiming that he has Apollo's blessing to do this, effectively taking Apollo's name in vain, and that, Apollo must have seen as a betrayal of his trust.

Will deliberately calls this out as nonsense when Octavian tries it in his earshot, and that's something I'll talk about, too, because that, to me, seems to be the turning point in Octavian.

Will is a son of Apollo, the son of the god Octavian exalts so highly, rather than a mere legacy like Octavian himself. When he tells Octavian, to his face, "this is not what Apollo would want", he is full of (correct!) conviction, and this seems to be the final straw for Octavian.

I don't think Octavian is stupid. I'm here talking about how he's been manipulated by Gaia into starting a war thinking he's got Apollo's approval, I know, but that doesn't mean I don't think Octavian had doubts - the fact that he admitted to anyone that his powers are gone meant that he felt like something was wrong. He builds himself up and up and up which makes it feel more and more hollow underneath, as though there were doubts but he felt like he was too committed to change anything (and he was, he had Gaia's forces as part of his own, he had villains back in the legion, he had marched them all across the country to CHB - Octavian could not have backed down without depriving CJ of their last major point of leadership, with no praetors around).

He also doesn’t change his tune immediately, which makes sense - he couldn’t suddenly bow to what a Greek was saying after everything else - but I think it shook his confidence. “You lie,” he says, curling his lip in what I have always taken to be some sort of defensive snarl. He doesn’t want what Will’s saying to be true, that he’s been going so steadfastly against what Apollo wants, but he knows, then, that Will isn’t lying. All those niggling feelings suddenly make sense and he hates it, he doesn’t want to believe it, but it’s true, and Octavian realises that.

Then Gaia rises, and the pieces fall into place. Who, exactly, gained from Octavian’s behaviour, who he was really working for without knowing it. Octavian gets desperate - his actions have lost all rationality by the time he’s at the catapult; he’s not listening to reason (or doesn’t care, but I don’t think if he was in his right mind he would kill himself, not when the legion would be left without a leader at all - bear in mind that Reyna should, by rights, have been exiled for her actions so her return does not automatically put her back in charge). He’s frantic, he, too, just like Apollo, is betrayed, and he lashes out at the betrayer - Gaia.

It’s a tragic ending, really. He dies alone and hated, manipulated by the real enemy and deceived into betraying the god he worshipped, his own ancestor. (And quite frankly, if Luke can get into Elysium for stabbing Kronos after being the major player in helping him rise, then Octavian can get into Elysium for helping blow up Gaia after being manipulated to work in her favour, just saying.)

I know there’s probably several holes in this - like I said, I haven’t looked too closely into Octavian yet (the scene I am most familiar with is the one with Will, purely because I keep doing Will research and analyses), and I’m not currently somewhere where I can check the books to see what might be running counter to my theory here - but with the facts I do remember, it’s the only theory I can put together that makes sense without turning one or both of them into an irredeemable villain - of which Apollo canonically is not, and I find it very difficult to accept that Octavian is, either.

#rrverse #toa #toa meta #not quite but close enough i guess #octavian

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caitlinsnicket · 4 years ago

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Newt Scamander SFW alphabet

Request: Can I request a sfw alphabet for Newt Scamander please! Thank you!

A/N: Two posts in a row? What the hell is happening? Anyways, this is a nice sfw alphabet for my favorite softboy newt scamander! I’m sorry for the delay. Feel free to like, reblog, or leave a comment!

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

Newt is a shy man, so his way to show affection is more subtle: he checks if you’ve eaten enough, if you’re warm, if you’re happy. It’s unusual for him to initiate any physical contact, like hugs or cheek kisses, but he’s happy when you do it.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

Newt is the most supportive friend you’ll ever have. If you need someone to go with you to the craziest places to do dangerous things, he’ll follow you and will help as much as he can. Your friendship would start with you asking about his creatures. Then, he’d want to show them to you, and you’d oblige happily. When his creatures took a liking to you, he knew it was true friendship.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

Would cuddle only if you two know each other for a long time and if he’s comfortable physically with you. And even then, he would be too shy to actually initiate a cuddle session, and if he took the initiative, Newt would probably wait for you to sit down somewhere and then would put his head in your lap. Running your hands through his hair is a bonus.

If you two are in a relationship, he’ll as for cuddles making a puppy face, or will hug you from behind while you do something else. Like to be the little spoon because he feels safe with you, but also likes to be the big spoon because he feels as if he can protect you.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

Newt has settled down: his suitcase! Even if you two travel to the farthest ends of the world, your home is always with you.

After spending so long traveling and taking care of creatures, he knows how to do his chores the right way.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

He would blame it on work. He wouldn’t look you in the eye and would be fixing things all over his workplace to distract himself. Then, after you would leave, he would let a few tears spill, and also in the middle of the night when he wakes up missing you.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

He would wait a while before bringing the subject up, and wouldn’t make a surprise out of it. If he felt like you weren’t going to leave him and that you actually loved him, Newt would sit down with you and talk about marriage.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

Newt Scamander is the gentlest man you’ll ever meet. He handles everything with all the care in the world: his creatures, his magic, and you. Physically, sometimes it will be hard to tell if he touched you or not, giving how softly he does it. If you want to be handled with less care, you’ll have to ask him.

Emotionally, he’s still getting the hang of it, and talking about any issues you two might have is mandatory for him. Each day that passes by, he learns something else about you and takes it to heart. The last thing he wants to do is hurting you.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

If you two are just friends, he’ll be a little more cautious in his hugs, and it will happen more rarely. They are quick and usually, there’s a reason behind them.

If you two are a couple though, he’ll do it more often and mostly when you two are alone. PDA is not really his thing, but he enjoys physical contact with you after intimacy is settled. His hugs will last longer and he’ll hold you more tightly.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

It takes some time, will only say it if you say it first and the first time he actually says it, he thinks you’re asleep.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

Newt doesn’t get jealous very often: he trusts you and he knows that people will want to hit on you. Though sometimes he gets insecure and needs reassurance, it doesn’t happen a lot.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

It’s like having a butterfly on your lips. He’s delicate, touches you very carefully and somehow always manages to leave you at ease. He likes your lips, of course, but also your wrists and the spot where your neck meets your shoulder. It’s an unconscious action: he hugs you and his lips end there.

He likes being touched- not by everyone, just a few people- so anywhere is good. He becomes jello if you kiss him on the neck, his heart sweells when you put your lips on his forehead.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

He likes children, though he sees them more as creatures than actual small humans.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

He wakes up very early, so it’s rare to spend the whole morning with him, as usually by the time you get up he’s already off doing something. He always leaves tea ready for you if you like it.

If he stays with you though, his shyness will go away and he’ll cling to you and the only way to get up is if you cuddle him for at least one hour. Kisses are also mandatory.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

He also goes to sleep very late, but so do you. Both too exhausted to talk or read or interact, you just lay down in a pile in the bed. It’s warm and comfortable, and Newt sleeps well.

If you’re not too tired, you might read a little of your book to him, or you might talk about your respective days, and he brushes your hair because he finds it so soft. Whispering everything and nothing, and then falling asleep. He always stays a little bit longer to stare at you and take in all your details.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

It takes time. He lets out little pieces of information for you, and if you pay attention at some point you’ll have the bigger picture.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

His name should be Newt Patient Scamander. Never gets angry at you, even if you screw up really badly. Like to teach you stuff when you don’t understand and if there’s a fight, prefers talking it out over staying mad.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

He remembers everything, as he’s good at keeping information. He never says he knows all about you though, so you never stop getting surprised when he mentions a little detail about you.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

The first time he showed you the inside of his suitcase, of course. Watching you interact with his creatures and how gentle you were with them made him realize he was falling in love with you.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

He knows how well you can take care of yourself, so he never interferes, only if you ask him to. His way of protecting you is making sure that you've eaten and that you are well-rested. He will never admit it, but he loves it when you get protective of him in a fight or in dangerous situations. He also loves when you cuss him for not sleeping enough because he feels taken care of.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

In his mind, everything you do together is a date, so he always acts romantic. Not a lot of effort, but always remembers you why you fell for him. Anniversaries and gifts, oh these are handmade and filled with love. He has a great time making them. In everyday tasks, as you share the things you have to do around the house, he makes sure to do all his assigned shores.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

Not sharing his worries. When it comes to problems in the relationship, he likes to talk about it, but if it’s something only him is going through, he says nothing. You wish he would let you in, but he doesn’t.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

He looks at himself a lot but doesn’t see himself as handsome or ugly. He always feels normal, so he’s not that concerned about how he looks. If you mention it though, he’ll blush and mess with his hair.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

It wouldn’t be a huge part of his life, but deep down he would have a feeling that something was missing.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

He likes sharing clothes. Whether it is shirts, sweaters, pants, socks, or ties, he just likes this feeling that you have a part of him and he has a part of you.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

Someone that lives only in their own world. He likes people who are involved in the things around them, he likes to share his interests and to learn about yours and he likes to discover new things together. If he were to be with someone stuck in their own bubble, it just wouldn’t work out.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?)

Only the necessary. If he didn’t pass out, then the nap was enough. Though, after you two started your relationship, his sleeping habits are better: he spends more time in bed because of you.

#fbawtft imagine #newt scamander #newt scamander imagine #newt scamander x reader #newt scamander x y/n #sfw alphabet

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jann-the-bean · 3 years ago

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I posted 671 times in 2021

349 posts created (52%)

322 posts reblogged (48%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 0.9 posts.

I added 1,217 tags in 2021

#reblog - 303 posts

#ask - 266 posts

#others art - 126 posts

#dragon-tamer-1 - 112 posts

#-> - 88 posts

#<- - 88 posts

#anonymous - 71 posts

#nightmare - 61 posts

#fluffynightkiller - 52 posts

#jann rambles - 50 posts

Longest Tag: 138 characters

#you won’t find another nightmaaaaaaaaare and nightmare you really just gotta talk to killer about how insecure you are… surely he would’ve

My Top Posts in 2021

Killer Night(s)

A Studio!Nightkiller fanfiction - Part 3/ Final

A simple story revealing how Nightmare’s and Killer’s relationship came to be. A time before their precious coffee bean entered their lives

TW: This fanfiction does have suggestive content!

•

Killer flopped on his bed face down, exhausted from the mandatory social gathering he just attended. He stared out the window in his room, reflecting on the conversation he had with Nightmare. A small smile formed in his lips. It appeared there was hope after all to salvage their friendship. He was aware it would take a while before they both could move forward, but he was more than glad to not have lost Nightmare completely.

Hope bubbled in his soul, at the small possibility that the violet skeleton would pay a visit. But it was ridiculous to think of such a thing. They had just started talking again, there was no possible way he’d want to see him so soon. Nightmare would probably need a break, distance himself before even considering talking to him again. Which was fine, Killer didn’t mind waiting. Yet, maybe just maybe Nightmare would stop by... even if there was a fraction of a chance.

He knew it was silly but he decided to give a description of the violet skeleton to the receptionist, in case Nightmare were to ask for him. He groaned and buried his face in the sheets. It was laughable the way he was behaving, like a grade school student anticipating a call from their crush. Not that Killer felt that way towards his male co-star. No, that would be insane. A phrase that the eyeless skeleton frequently repeated was “I dont catch feelings” and true to his words he never expressed romantic feelings for others. He was just looking forward to seeing his friend again.

Tick.

Tick

Tick.

It was late, a couple of hours had passed and the violet skeleton had yet to appear. Killer let out a heavy sigh, his shoulders sagged, as he came to terms that Nightmare wouldn’t visit tonight. Yet, why did his soul ever so slightly ache? It didn’t make sense. He knew it was a shot in the dark, it would take a miracle for Nightmare to come and knock on his door this second.

Knock knock knock.

Killer whipped his body with so much force he nearly lost his balance. As he sprinted towards the door, he stumbled a few times getting across the room . Could it really be? Maybe he hadn’t completely ruined everything! Even if Nightmare didn’t forgive him, even if all they remained were simple friends, not having anymore intimate nights, Killer was accepting of that. All he wanted was to be able to at least spend some time with the small skeleton. Just to see his reactions when he teased him before that night. To see those violet orbs of his. Hell, even just getting scolded by him! That’s all he asked for.

“Sir? Er, Mr. Cide?” A soft female voice called out from the other side of the door. Oh... it was just the receptionist. Killer hung his head and quietly laughed at himself. How foolish of him. Getting his hopes up that Nightmare was behind that door. He didn’t even sound interested in coming over. Why, was he so insistent in keeping that useless hope? It only caused his soul to wrench in pain.

“What can I help you with, sweetheart.” Killer responded attempting to act natural. Cide wasn’t his actual name, it was an alias he used so crazed fans couldn’t stalk him, well not as easily anyway. He opened the door half expecting to see a staff member ask for an autograph.

Except his body froze and his sockets fixated themselves on the person standing beside the female worker.

“Pardon for interrupting you so late... however, based on your description... I thought perhaps this was the gentleman you were referring to?” The receptionist nervously stated, possibly expecting Killer to yell at her for bothering him at this time of night.

“........... Yeah......... yeah... that’s him...” Killer stared at Nightmare, who appeared to be apprehensive, almost questioning why he was even here. The eyeless skeleton didn’t want to take his eyes away from the other. He felt that if he looked away Nightmare would vanish into thin air. This was just too good to be true right? He must be dreaming..

He almost forgot the receptionist was even there until he heard the rustling of her clothing. “Right Uh, thank you miss. I’ll take it from here..”

The receptionist nodded and returned to the front desk. Nightmare didn’t say a word, he only shifted from side to side awkwardly holding one of his arms in front of him. He was nervous, and ready to bolt down the hallway if needed. Killer knew he had to be careful, he didn’t want to scare the smaller skeleton away.

The eyeless skeleton cautiously stepped to the side, allowing Nightmare to enter if he pleased. “So... you going to come in or are you just going to stand there.....” Killer stated in a lighthearted manner. Hopefully it would ease the anxiety that was building within the small skeleton.

Nightmare glanced up to Killer then to the end of the hallway, from where he came. He was debating whether he should stay or leave. The only reason he came was...... well it was because.......

A pause.

Actually, nightmare didn’t have a valid reason to stay. His mind and body acted on their own accord, and before he knew it he was standing in front of Killer’s room.

He bit his lip and curled a hand into a fist. Why is it that he always found himself in this situation? He’d done so well to avoid this insufferable man, and now that they’ve talked once, he’s standing at his doorstep. He sure was pathetic wasn’t he? He hadn’t forgiven Killer- not fully, and he wasn’t sure if he ever would. Yet, a part of his soul yearned for the other. The violet skeleton blamed it on the alcohol, he wasn’t in the right state of mind.

A lie.

He had a high alcohol tolerance and he was sober enough to make conscious decisions. However, blaming it on the wine was easier than accepting that fact. What exactly was he expecting from the other if he stayed? Certainly they wouldn’t just talk.... no they never did. He knew that, and maybe a part of him was hoping that this would be the case even if he didn’t admit it.

He pondered for a second. Wait, the receptionist mentioned that Killer had been expecting him... or at least he fit the description of the man Killer was waiting for. The eyeless skeleton had no indication that Nightmare would arrive. So, was he awaiting and hoping that he would come and knock on his door?

Why....?

Why would Killer be expecting his arrival? Did he know him so well that he was certain he would show? Or was he just being optimistic and hoping that the violet skeleton would come banging on his door? But... with how stunned he looked when they made eye contact.... it appeared he really wasn’t sure if he would show or not.

~~~~

Killer shifted from his spot near the door, a flash of worry reflected across his face. How long had Nightmare been standing there? Was he having second thoughts? That wouldn’t be a surprise... maybe he regretted coming here... Yet, now that the small skeleton was standing before him he didn’t want to let the other go. He gripped the door handle tightly, as the idea of Nightmare leaving settled in.

Killer wanted to reach out, pull him inside, hold him close, and..... and...... no... just by having him nearby was enough. He had to respect the decisions that Nightmare made. If he chose to leave then so be it... he couldn’t afford to strain their relationship any further.

~~~~~

Nightmare sighed and turned to face the taller skeleton. He knew he’d regret it, that he’d hate himself for the next few days, but he couldn’t fight it any longer. It wasn’t fair how Killer had this effect on him, all rational left his mind once he gazed into the other’s eyes. Those damned eyes. It should be a crime to have eyes alluring such as his.

The violet skeleton swallowed dryly attempting to stifle the anxiety that threatened to overtake him. Finally, he took a couple steps forward entering Killer’s room. It was such a simple action. One that any other day wouldn’t have meant anything. But it was different today. Killer’s eyes widened in astonishment. This wasn’t the outcome he was expecting. Of course he wanted the smaller to stay, but he was certain he wouldn’t. Killer smiled in disbelief, this night sure was full of surprises wasn’t it?

He gently closed the door behind him before facing the small skeleton. Silence. It’s funny how the absence of sound could be the loudest noise one could hear. They were both at a loss on what to say. Killer’s typical flirtatious attitude was no where to be seen, he was still in shock that the skeleton was standing before him. What could he even say? Thanks for coming? Why are you here? He was the one who hinted at Nightmare coming over in the first place!

“So.... you were expecting me?” Nightmare voice tore him from his thoughts. He looked at him, vision resting on those lonely lips. “Killer?” The eyeless skeleton jumped as he snapped out of the fantasy that had quickly formed in his mind.

“Hm? What? Oh, uh.... no I wasn’t really... expecting anyone.“

“But the lady said-“

“I know what she said.. whether or not I was expecting you- someone is unimportant. What matters is that you’re here.. for some sort of reason right? Something on your mind Nightlight?” Killer tensed when he heard the words escape his lips. He wasn’t supposed to call him that but it was a habit to call him by his nicknames instead of his actual name.

Nightmare however didn’t say anything, in fact his cheeks for a second were flushed with a violet tint. Right a reason... he needed to think of an excuse... he couldn’t just say ‘I’m not sure why I’m here. Kinda wanted to see what would happen.’ Now could he? He pursed his lips together attempting to come up with a believable story.

“Well... you see I wanted to.... apologize... yes apologize! Uh.... I thought about it some more and.... well I shouldn’t have disrespected your found family. Blood or not... you still see Cross as your family er.. a brother. I should’ve been more conscious of that fact. And uh... I don’t think I could’ve slept with it nagging me all night. So... I’m sorry.”

He wasn’t lying... at least not fully anyway. He had contemplated long and hard the words Killer said. Yes, he should’ve listened that day let the other explain his side, but Nightmare was so upset he’d refuse to. It wasn’t something he needed to let Killer know right away. That’s not what was going to keep him up all night. No, had he not arrived he would’ve spent the rest of the night wondering ‘what if I had gone’ ‘what if Killer had something important to say’ ‘what if Killer wanted me there’ just ‘what if....’

“Oh, I see.... well I’m glad Nighty. It means a lot to me... thank you.” Killer smiled, but it wasn’t his classic smirk. It was that tender, warm, and gentle smile that had no right to melt Nightmare’s soul the way it did. Nightmare lifted an arm out to reach for Killer, he longed to pull himself closer, for their lips to touch, he wanted to be embraced against his broad chest.....

But Nightmare dropped his arm to the side.

No. That would be wrong, he’d constantly push Killer away, ignoring him. To pine for him now well.... he didn’t want to be that person. The one who uses someone when it was convenient for them. Except, he wouldn’t necessarily just be using Killer for physical purposes.. he wanted those moments where Killer wrapped him in a protective embrace... where he provided him with comfort... when they just laid in bed enveloped in the others warmth.... he missed it.

But surely the other didn’t care, he always said Nightmare wasn’t just another one of his... buddies. That he was more than that... said he was his friend... and even if that was true... was that it? Was Nightmare really just a friend? A twinge of pain shot through his soul. Yeah, that’s all he should be and that’s all he is.... a friend... Nightmare had made his decision already. He wouldn’t sleep with him any longer... there was no point.

Nightmare moved his weight from one foot to the other. “Right well....” They should just keep their friendship as is. No commitments... and no risk to developing any sort of attachments. Besides, isn’t that what Killer wanted? “That’s all I came here for.. so I guess I should head back now.” He had to leave. The violet skeleton took a few steps towards the door. Leave before he risked breaking down. Leave before his resolve weakened. Leave before-

“Wait!” Killer snatched the smaller skeletons arms, preventing him from walking any further. “Don’t.... I mean, you just got here... you can’t just leave..” What happened? Why did he want to leave? Did he do something wrong again? Everything appeared to be going so well... so why...? Why did Nightmare suddenly feel the urge to leave him alone?

Nightmare froze mid stride. “There’s... there’s nothing for us to talk about right..? Ive apologized... you’ve apologized. I already overstayed my visit... it’s late and we should sleep....” The violet skeleton looked away as to not make eye contact with the taller one. “I have no reason to be here anymore...”

Objectively, yes he was correct. Nightmare had no valid reason to stay in the first place, however he no longer had a reasonable excuse to stay any longer. Killer knew it shouldn’t be a big deal, right? Nightmare was just leaving for the night, surely they’d talk more later. Yet, something was telling him he’d regret letting him leave. He couldn’t understand why, but it was a gut feeling he knew better than to ignore.

“Well.... you’ve already come all this way, it would be rude to leave so soon. Besides, I was just about to watch a movie. Like you said it’s late, you can always go in the morning.” Perhaps Killer wasn’t being fully honest but he wasn’t trying to deceive the smaller skeleton. He was thinking about watching movie, since he wasn’t sure if he would be able to sleep. It was a poor excuse but perhaps it would persuade the other to extend his visit.

Nightmare pursed his lips contemplating his options. He could call his taxi... but it may be a few hours before they arrived, and besides the driver was probably sleeping by now. He could just book another room for tonight, but if Killer was offering... maybe he could just spend the night. As friends! Do nothing more than to just watch the movie. Just what friends do, right? “Alright, since you insist... I guess we could watch a movie together.... as friends...”

Killer smile was so radiant, Nightmare swore it lit up the room. As Killer led the small skeleton to the room with the T.V they began debating what genre they should watch. After much debate that two decided on an action type film. The two settled themselves on the bed and placed a blanket over their legs.

Killer had brought over some wine and popcorn for the two to enjoy as the movie played out. The two actors snickered and giggled as they pointed out several mistakes the main cast were making. Everything seemed to be going well between them at the moment. Just watching a movie, as friends. Nothing more, nothing less. That is of course until Nightmare began leaning against Killer and rested his head on the others shoulder. That was fine right? Friends do that all the time... it’s not what couples do or anything.

The eyeless skeleton shifted as he began to realize what the situation looked like. They were supposed to be hanging out as friends, so how is it that they managed to be all cozy and snuggled up next to each other? The tall skeleton glanced around his room. Wine, snuggling under the blanket, Nightmare resting his head on his shoulder.... it was all too romantic. Killer stiffened as panic began to settle in.

Romance was something Killer ensured to stray away from. It was all too complicated. You let yourself become vulnerable, let your emotions become bare for the world to see, and all because you like someone? That was stupid.

What’s worse is, what if that person didn’t even like you back? You’re left alone, unwanted, and humiliated. Why even risk something like that in the first place? It was best to continue a relationship where you could enjoy the benefits but not be committed to them. Besides, who needs those ridiculous feelings anyway? They’re too much of a hassle. Yet, here he was, in a situation he was sure most would deem as romantic. No, he had to fix that.

As he continued watching the screen he opened his mouth to say “So... you wanna screw?” Was that comment totally inappropriate for this situation? Absolutely. But did it have the effects of he was hoping for? It appeared that it had. He felt how the small skeleton tensed and slowly shifted away from him. The eyeless skeleton chuckled, as he could already feel the piercing stare the other was giving him.

Killer wasn’t being serious, or well not entirely anyway. He just needed a way to dissipate the romantic atmosphere in the room. Sure enough it appeared that it worked as the other huffed in frustration. “You’re unbelievable! We were having a good time then you go and ruin it by being.... well you!”

The eyeless skeleton laughed in response causing the other to become more infuriated. He couldn’t help it, he just loved to tease the smaller skeleton. His reactions were the best, from how he got flustered, embarrassed, annoyed, they were all some of the best reactions he’d ever seen. They were the only person who could entertain him in such a way. And let’s not forget the times he’d surprised Killer, like that one time Nightmare kissed him out of nowhere.

Speaking of kisses... those delicious lips of Nightmare’s sure looked pretty lonely.. he could risk it and steal a quick kiss. Nightmare was already frustrated and annoyed... what’s the worst that could happen? He would probably get slapped, and the smaller skeleton would storm off into the night. Worst case scenario he probably would distance himself. Well, it was a risk he was willing to-

Killer’s eyes widened as the smaller skeleton pressed his lips against his own. Nightmare wasn’t stupid, he’s spent more than enough time with Killer to realize what his intentions were. The eyeless skeleton wasn’t as slick as the thought himself to be. He made it painfully obvious what he was planning on doing. Nightmare feeling spiteful decided he would give Killer a taste of his own medicine. He knew the taller skeleton wouldn’t be expecting this, so why not give him a surprise?

The kiss wasn’t meant to last long, it was supposed to be brief, just enough to fluster the taller skeleton. However, as the seconds ticked by the small skeleton found it increasingly difficult to pull away. Nightmare had forgotten how amazing a simple kiss could be. The kiss was definitely a double edged sword, he didn’t think he’d miss kissing the other this much. Honestly if he wasn’t so prideful, perhaps he would’ve stayed in this position letting himself relish the taste of the kiss. But, he was that prideful and he needed to break the kiss, to not become prey to Killer’s tactics- oh... too late.

After getting over the initial shock, Killer pulled the small skeleton closer tilting his head to deepen the kiss. The eyeless skeleton already knew he’d miss the sensation of the others lips on his but damn.... he really missed him. He thought he would be satisfied with a kiss, but that wasn’t the case. It only served to bring to surface his buried desire for the other. He needed Nightmare with such intensity that he couldn’t ignore it any longer.

Nightmare let out a few muffled noises of protest as the other pressed their bodies closer. Killer, yet again was trying to take charge of the situation. Typically the violet skeleton would put little to no effort to protest, since he did enjoy letting the other take the lead. Yet, he felt like tonight he needed to put up a little more resistance. He had to play hard to get every now and then. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be any fun, right?

With just as much eagerness, Nightmare pressed his body as close as physically possible. The violet skeleton hissed as their teeth clanked a few times, but it was a sensation he welcomed. The kiss was uncoordinated and chaotic, definitely far from romantic. It had become a battle for dominance and neither of them would surrender.

Except, from the position they were in Nightmare had a slight advantage. He could easily press the other against the bed, and that’s exactly what he was planning on doing. Placing his hands against Killer’s chest, Nightmare used the weight of his body to gently ease the other against the mattress.

The violet skeleton wasn’t necessarily expecting to stay in this position long. Because, Killer enjoyed dominating and topping his partners. Nightmare just wanted to have some fun before allowing Killer to regain control. But, he had to admit, he did enjoy how the eyeless skeleton looked underneath him.

After a few minutes the two finally broke the kiss, and hungrily gasped for air. Their faces were flushed with tones of reds and violets, as they held each other’s gaze. Nightmare’s eyelights were sharp and unwavering, different then their first night together.

After settling down, Killer’s body tensed as he realized the position they were in. He was pinned between the bed and Nightmare. When did this happen? Was he so distracted by the kiss that he’d failed to realize what was happening? It appeared that way. He was at a loss on what to do, should he attempt flip them around? Or should he let Nightmare take control tonight? Anxiety began to churn in his non existent stomach.

“I think.... it’s about time... I take control don’t you think?” Nightmare said between breaths. He was mostly teasing. There was no way the other would submit, not when he was such a strong dominant man. He lightly began tracing Killer ribs through his clothes. He might as well enjoy this while he still can. It was only a matter of time before the other flipped them around.

Killer drew in a shaky breath. Nightmare sure looked excited... He supposed he could let the other dominate for once. “Oh.... I suppose you could....” He was nervous. Being in control was something he was comfortable with, because he knew what to expect, he knew what he needed to do, and it was all predictable. Once he let go of that control, he was at the other’s mercy. That thought terrified him. Not knowing what would happen next... it was unnerving. But, he trusted Nightmare. Surely he wouldn’t do anything to harm him.

Nightmare froze, as he registered what the skeleton underneath him just said. Did he hear him correctly? He was letting him take control? This was unexpected, not that he was disappointed or anything. He was rather surprised. He honestly never expected that he’d ever have an opportunity to top Killer. Nightmare let out a quiet “oh.” Well, now that the initial intensity had dissipated he’d have to reestablish the mood once again.

Nightmare paused for a second wait... this would be the perfect opportunity to relish and appreciate Killer’s ribs to the max! A small smile formed on his lips as drool began to pool in his mouth. Nightmare decided to resume his previous activity of just gently running his hands across the others chest, gently tracing his ribs through his clothes. As he did so, the eyeless skeleton cautiously ran a hand up the others leg. He needed to distract himself, he feared if he didn’t the nerves would overtake him.

He shivered as Nightmare continued to delicately run his hands across his chest. It didn’t feel bad, it was a pleasant sensation but he was too focused on remaining calm that he couldn’t fully enjoy it. He had to constantly remind himself that this is what he wanted. Nightmare wouldn’t hurt him. He knew that if he asked the other would stop. But, Killer wanted this... he really truly did. But the anxiety threatened to engulf him completely. Maybe if he ignored it long enough he’d forget about it....

The violet skeleton furrowed his brow bones. He could tell something was wrong, but he wasn’t entirely sure of what the problem was. Something about Killer seemed off, but what exactly? After a few seconds of observing the skeleton underneath him he realized something. The other skeleton seemed stiff... tense... as if he were nervous? No way.... that wasn’t possible was it? Killer being nervous? The same skeleton who was so boisterous when it came to having intimate relationships with others? There was no possible way.. but then why else would he be so tense?

“Killer... are you nervous?” The violet skeleton asked. He wasn’t being judgmental or anything. He was genuinely curious. Nightmare had never seen Killer in such a state before. So, he wanted to clarify with the taller skeleton to see if he was alright. Surely, if he were nervous he’d say something right? Or maybe not.... granted Nightmare wasn’t exactly the best at communicating his concerns either.

Killer’s eyes widened ever so slightly before scoffing in response. “W-what?? No! Im not... Don’t be ridiculous! Y-You’re the nervous shy one! Why would you ask such a stupid question.”

Nightmare narrowed his eyes slightly, not fully convinced by the other’s answer. He leaned down and placed a delicate kiss on the other’s neck. Killer’s nerves betrayed him, causing him to jump and flinch from the contact. He inwardly cursed at himself, ashamed he couldn’t mask his uneasiness. The violet skeleton pulled away- his brow bones knitted together. “You are nervous....”

Why was Killer so nervous? Did it mean he didn’t want Nightmare to top? Then why didn’t he say something earlier? Was it possible Killer didn’t see him as attractive as before? Perhaps he really didn’t want this after all. Nightmare bite his bottom lip, maybe it was a mistake to have stayed after all. “I shouldn’t have come..... I should probably go....”

Go...? As in leave? No... That’s not what Killer wanted. Despite what his nerves displayed he wanted Nightmare.... he did want this.... it didn’t feel bad... but unfortunately his anxiety was taking over. His fears refused to allow him to relax to enjoy this moment.

He felt the small skeleton begin to climb off, and panic enveloped his senses. No! He immediately reached out for Nightmare’s arm holding him in place. He opened his mouth to say ‘Stay’ but no words came out. Why...? Just why was he like this....? It wasn’t a complicated task... but his body refused to cooperate.

After a few seconds Killer responded with “Fine... I just... don’t get topped often.. it’s been a while since the last time....” His voice strained as he explained himself. He gritted his teeth together. He was absolutely pathetic! Why was he so scared to let go of control?? He wanted this so bad but why did his nerves betray him!! Nightmare wasn’t the type of person who would deliberately hurt him, he knew that! But his stupid mind created the worst case scenarios, and he was powerless to stop it. He just needed to get over it!

Their eyes locked together, and where words failed him- Killer’s eyes did not. Nightmare could see it, even without eyelights it was evident to him what the other was thinking. He was nervous, scared, he felt vulnerable. And even so he could see Killer wanted this as much as he did. He knew better than anyone what that feeling was like, because that was him not long ago. Killer had helped ease his concerns and fears, now it was his turn to return the favor.

“You know.... you have pretty eyes...” The violet skeleton quietly stated as their eyes remained locked together.

Killer’s eyes widened ever so slightly, his chest still pounding from the nerves that refused to disappear. “W-what...?” He wasn’t sure if he heard correctly, what did his eyes have to do with anything?

Nightmare slowly leaned down ensuring he wouldn’t startle the skeleton underneath him. He gently rested his head in the crook of his neck, gently nuzzling it. “You have beautiful eyes...” he repeated himself once more. He placed a soft and delicate kiss on Killer’s neck.

Killer’s breath hitched. Oh... funny how those simple words could have such an impact. His stiff shoulders loosened, evidence that what Nightmare was doing aiding in easing Killer’s anxiety. Nightmare continued to let his head rest near Killer’s neck, allowing him to grow accustomed to it. He wondered... would saying these words in his native tongue make a difference?

“Tienes unos ojos tan bellos... me recuerdan de una noche bajo la luna...” (You have such beautiful eyes... they remind me of a night under the moon...)

“...........”

“Podría mirar entre tus ojos toda una interinidad... nunca me podría cansarme de ellos...” (I could stare at them forever.... I could never grow tired of them...)

How could words he couldn’t understand alleviate his nerves and anxiety? Causing them to dissipate into the air? Killer wasn’t entirely sure, but he thoroughly enjoyed having the small skeleton’s soothing voice whisper in his ‘ear.’ It was a blanket of comfort and warmth that helped ease his worries away. He felt protected... he felt safe.. Huh... strange. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d felt so at peace before, it was.... nice.

Was this a romantic moment..? He wasn’t sure and right now he didn’t care. It was so calming, soothing, unhurried... a complete 180 then what he was used to... and frankly he wanted to absorb it all. Lost in the tender moment they were sharing, Killer couldn’t help but whisper “Moonpie...”

Nightmare froze as the word spilled from Killer’s mouth. He had grown accustomed to hearing the other’s nicknames for him but he’d never heard this one before. Especially not hearing him say it in such an endearing way. “Moonpie.... I... I don’t know what you said but.... please... say it again.”

The violet skeleton took a shuddering breath. It was strange seeing Killer in such a state of vulnerability, it awakened something within him. A sense of possessiveness...? He wasn’t sure if that was the right word, possibly protectiveness... he wanted to provide Killer with anything that he asked for... he wanted to make him feel good... hear him whine and cry out from pleasure... and maybe he could...

“Tus ojos son como una noche bajo las estrellas que iluminan la noche oscura... Me encantan tus ojos.. son tan hermosos...” (Your eyes are like the night sky under the stars that illuminate the dark night.... I love you eyes.... they’re so beautiful....) Nightmare slowly pulled away and gently cupped the skeleton’s face, carefully tracing his cheekbones. “Son un tesoro maravilloso para mi...” (They’re a marvelous treasure for me...)

Killer’s cheeks burned as he stared into those beautiful violet orbs. He was at the complete mercy of the skeleton on top of him, and he was enjoying it. He didn’t mind, not anymore. He knew he was safe, knew there was nothing to worry about, he knew that Nightmare would take care of him. Slowly, he slide a hand underneath Nightmare’s shirt tracing his bottom rib. The small skeleton shivered in response, those fingertips were cool against his heated bones. He took this as a sign to continue, and cautiously leaned down to press his lips against Killer’s.

It was soft and tender. No grating pressure or an intense need to rush, it was relaxed and sweet. It wasn’t like the one that sent an electric current through his bones. No, this was a kiss that gradually warmed their bones from the very core. This kiss was different from the rest they’d both had ever experienced, and they’d be lying if they said they didn’t like it.

Killer didn’t protest his body remained laxed as the kiss carried on, nightmare slowly lifted Killer’s shirt. Allowing him enough time to stop him if he wished, but Killer didn’t put up any resistance or trace of unease. Nightmare gulped as he removed Killer’s shirt exposing his ribs. He hummed as he gazed at his bones. The violet skeleton lightly pressed his lips against the ribs “Tus costillas también son hermosas...” (Your ribs are also beautiful...)

Killer shuddered at his words, he could only assume Nightmare was talking about his ribs. Especially with how intense he was staring at them. It felt strange having someone be so gentle with him. Not bad... just new. The eyeless skeleton swallowed hard as he gathered the courage to remove nightmare’s shirt. The skeleton in question didn’t rush the other, he was patient, allowing the taller to move at his own pace. It was a simple thing to do.. and Killer appreciated the action.

After a few seconds, Killer successfully removed the article of clothing. Man, he’d never seen a set of ribs as beautiful as his. Killer gently traced the smaller’s spine, carefully allowing his hand to glide up his back. He’d always admired Nightmare’s ribs but he never realized how porcelain white they really were. He supposed, that he never realized the small details when he was excited to rush the process.

Killer carefully wrapped his arms around Nightmare, urging him to lean down and press their bodies together once more. Their lips brush against each other. It was still unhurried, soft, and gentle. Funny how such a delicate sensation could have him crave for more. Killer had completely submitted himself to Nightmare, melting under his touch. The two continued on relishing the newfound sensation that this night brought. No need to rush... no time for desperation to settle in... they were just letting the warmth of the other blanket their entire beings as the night progressed.

~~~~~~

The two skeletons lay wrapped underneath the blankets, unwinding from the events that unfolded. Killer was more than satisfied with how the night played out, if the blissful smile on his face was anything to go by. He hummed quietly letting his heavy eyelids close. He felt so at peace that it only took seconds before he let the exhaustion consume him. Nightmare on the other hand had his eyes wide open. He couldn’t sleep. How could he? Nothing made any sense.. not with how this night started and especially not with how it ended.

I mean first Killer apologized to him, practically wanted him to go to his hotel room, and what does nightmare do? He decides to pay the eyeless skeleton a visit. Next, Nightmare apologized which Killer accepted, and just as he was about to leave the other stopped him. He furrowed his brow bones together. Weren’t they meant to just watch a movie as friends? So, how was it that they ended up... like this? Nightmare could blame and say that Killer was going to kiss him either way, but that wasn’t the whole truth. No, had he really wanted he could’ve left-

A soft peaceful sigh escaped Killer’s lips as he shifted to face the violet skeleton, his eyes still closed. This small little action distracted Nightmare from his thoughts. Such delicate and tranquil features displayed on Killer’s sleeping face. The taller’s skeletons chest rose and fell evenly, and Night felt his soul skip a beat. It was similar to that morning after their first night. When he’d resist the urge to kiss the other, but today was different.

He wasn’t scared anymore, he wasn’t angry nor bitter, there was no negative emotions that impaired his thoughts. No, just an undeniable warmth that swirled within his core. He shook his head attempting to push those emotions aside. He wasn’t an idiot... or he liked to think he wasn’t.

Nightmare stared at the skeleton before lightly tracing the sleeping skeleton’s lips. Finally, he gave in to his desire, that he once ignored that morning and brushed his lips against the others for a few seconds.

A small smile formed on his lips as he turned around in the sheets. He should get some rest, surely it was the lack of sleep that was clouding his judgment. What else would explain these strange emotions that kept probing at his soul.

Because, he’d be a fool to fall for a playboy sleep around, right?

[First | Previous]

Alright here is the final chapter of Killer Night(s)! Gotta say this chapter had some of my favorite scenes- ones that I thoroughly enjoyed writing.

I can’t get into too much detail as to why Killer was so nervous, yet! (Another time for another story) but perhaps gayfish (and I) could share the headcanons we have regarding Killer’s backstory!

Also! @help-im-a-gay-fish was the one who came up with the idea of Nightmare mentioning Killer had beautiful eyes, and that it helped calm Killer down (that whole tender moment actually was gayfish idea!)

It was also gayfish’s idea to have Killer call Nightmare “Moonpie” for the first time here as well

I really enjoy Killer and Nightmare’s early relationship days.

Story inspired by @help-im-a-gay-fish (and inspiration also came from @atosofficial)

Studio AU/ Studioverse by @zu-is-here

Nightmare belongs to @jokublog

Killer belongs to @rahafwabas/ @rahofy-sketch

87 notes • Posted 2021-06-15 16:01:13 GMT

So I have another headcanon/ idea

Not really sure how original this is but I couldn’t stop thinking about it

What if the dark cream story actually took place within the same universe as studioverse!

All those events happened many years ago.. and well they reincarnated into these famous actors! Of course they don’t act the same because obviously they are different than their past lives.

I also like to think that others began talking about the events of dark cream as ways to teach life lessons, eventually it was turned into a book (refering to a certain story a certain skeleton was reading to his nephew @zu-is-here) then someone wanted to turn it into a movie! And wouldn’t you know it destiny brought everyone back together again with a few additional beans (like Ccino and many others like ink, error, blue etc..)

Hmmm... I’m going to tag my fellow headcanors (also let me know if you’d rather not be tagged)

@help-im-a-gay-fish @yuriyuruandyuraart @kotikaleo @zu-is-here

89 notes • Posted 2021-01-27 04:17:51 GMT

Headcanon!

Fluffynightkiller

Ok so this headcanon was based after our adorable trio were finally able to get married! And after talking with gayfish we couldn’t help but come up with these ideas.

Because the three had eloped they didn’t really have anyone close they could celebrate with... But that wouldn’t stop Killer from celebrating now would it?

Now picture this, as soon as they finish saying their vows and awkwardly kissing/ nuzzling each other (because as gayfish suggested it was probably cute and awkward for the three to kiss at the same time) that Killer is just bouncing with excitement.

So what does Killer do? Well obviously he picks up Ccino bridal style and runs out of the building. Ccino is super embarrassed and flustered because Killer begins shouting: “We’re finally married! We finally got to marry this cute fluffy marshmallow! Let the world know that his adorable skeleton is taken! He’s ours and I’ll fight anyone who tries to steal him!”

Ccino is a blushing mess trying to calm Killer down (but we know he’s really enjoying this) and Killer is still running around shouting from the top of his lungs. And he doesn’t stop there he also runs up to random strangers telling him the wonderful news!

Killer: hey sir guess what!

Stranger: uhm what?

Killer: I got married to two wonderful skeletons! Look at this adorable coffee bean! We got married to this fluffy skeleton!

Stranger: oh well congr-

Killer *continues to run to other strangers*

So as this is happening Nightmare is chasing after Killer while shouting for him to stop. After a few more minutes of his shenanigans Killer finally stops and he’s expecting to get scolded by Night. So he sets Ccino down but is surprised when Nightmare picks up Ccino bridal style (again) making a big fuss just like Killer did!

Ccino is just a giggly mess as this continues because well he’s just so happy and on a high of pure bliss right now (again this was suggested by gayfish)

So I didn’t really make Valentine’s Day content, but I thought I should share this wholesome ish post!

And I couldn’t resist and drew our wonderful OT3 (๑>◡<๑) Can you guess who is who?

Studioverse belongs to @zu-is-here

Ccino belongs to @black-nyanko

Killer belongs to @rahofy-sketch

Nightmare belongs to @jokublog

And of course I wouldn’t have come up with these if it weren’t for @help-im-a-gay-fish (as they also added to the headcanon)

I’ll also add my fellow headcanoners

@kotikaleo @yuriyuruandyuraart

105 notes • Posted 2021-02-14 13:01:04 GMT

HEADCANON/ SCENARIO

Ok so hear me out guys I remembered this old post that mentioned Post Dark Cream where Killer still calles passive/uncorrupted!Nightmare boss!

And I remember seeing another post from wonderful @zu-is-here where Dream called Cross “Sans”

So what happens when a certain skeleton boy wants to call someone “sans” ?

Ok ok ok so some time has passed since then (the first linked post) and maybe even at this point the three where dating so they’d obviously be comfortable at this point and might have even shared a bit about their past

And let’s just say Ccino is a sans but he’s also been called Ccino since birth so he’s just used to Ccino being his name.

So let’s say Ccino one day asked Nightmare “So.. Killer... is a Sans right?

Nightmare would probably freeze and then have a neutral expression “He used to be a Sans... yes.. he’s long renounced that name”

Ccino “But why? I mean it’s his given name... you can just... renounce it... that’s like rejecting a part of yourself... a part of your past...”

Nightmare would sigh “it’s very complicated... the ‘Sans’ that become outcodes... who abandon their name they... well let’s just say they’ve managed to survive by making sacrifices... and the less you know Ccino the better.”

Ccino “ok... but what would happen if I called him Sans?

Nightmare “Don’t. You. Dare. I don’t know what will happen if we do. And honestly I don’t plan on ever finding out and I strongly suggest you don’t think about it ever again

And that’s how it ends buuut of course Ccino being a little stubborn and curious decides he’s gonna try it out

Now what if.. one day when Killer was visiting Ccino (maybe with or without Nightmare Idk yet) and it was just a typical day

And Killer orders a drink and it Ccino prepares it but as he’s giving Killer his drink maybe Ccino says “Here’s your drink ‘Sans’

Now from here on everyone is free to decide what happens next

I personally feel like Killer would immediately go back to the dark times where maybe Chara was still uh ‘manipulating’ him and he vividly remembers everything that happen

So not being in the right state of mind and unsure of his surroundings maybe he unintentionally hurts Ccino (nothing serious maybe a minor cut or something) and maybe being semi-aware of his surroundings Killer decides to leave before he does something he’ll regret

Dark Cream by @zu-is-here

Ccino by @black-nyanko

Killer by @rahofy-sketch

Nightmare by @jokublog

Tagging a few people @help-im-a-gay-fish @yuriyuruandyuraart @kotikaleo @dragon-tamer-1

118 notes • Posted 2021-05-04 03:32:28 GMT

Fluffynightkiller

Day 1: There’s a first time for everything

•

“Hi welcome to-“ The barista gaped as a violet eyed skeleton entered his coffee shop. He was entranced by how elegant the skeleton maneuvered himself inside the shop. There was something familiar about this violet skeleton, but the barista couldn’t quite place his finger on it.

The other’s posture was tall, straight, and proud. Not a single limb out of place, no wasted energy in unnecessary actions. His eyes slightly narrowed, refusing to make eye contact with others. At first glance many may view him as arrogant, but not to Ccino. He noticed the slight clenching of his fist and his once graceful strides became rigid with every step he took. As if expecting someone to lash out and attack.

The proud skeleton sat at a table distanced from the rest. From his mannerisms it was obvious he disliked socializing with others. Even when sitting he didn’t slouch, his back remained upright, and his hands delicately placed on the table. How peculiar.. Ccino only ever recalled seeing just one other being who sat in a similar position. It was-

*Ding*

Ccino was pulled from his thoughts upon hearing the door open once more. This time a skeleton with no eyelights appeared. He wore a blue fluffed hoodie, with a strange black stain, and white shorts with a black strips on the sides. One of his sockets was half closed while the other fully open. He had a smile on his face which grew to a smirk upon laying eyes on the violet eyed skeleton. But his most notable feature was a bright red soul that was displayed for the world to see. Ccino hadn’t realized he was staring, he only noticed when the other raised a brow in amusement. He placed his hands in the pockets of his hoodie before making his way to Ccino’s direction. The barista gulped, unsure if he’d somehow offended the eyeless skeleton.

“Heya sweetheart, mind preparing us a couple of drinks?” The eyeless skeleton smiled as he placed his elbow on the table while resting his head in his hand.

“O-of course! What w-would you like?” The other responded trying his hardest to stay calm. His soul pounding violently against his chest as his nerves threatened to overtake him.

“I’d like an mochaccino with an extra shot of espresso” he turned to face the violet skeleton. “What do you want, boss?”

“Just get me a black coffee.” Ccino tensed for a brief second. That voice... it sounded way to familiar. As quick as the thought entered his head, Ccino was just as quick to dismiss it. He was working, he didn’t have time to think about non-work related things right now. However, the violet skeleton made eye contact with Ccino. In that brief moment, his stern features wavered for a fragment of a second, that the barista questioned if he imagined it.

The skeleton on the countertop chuckled and turned to face Ccino once more. “Alright, there you have it. One mochaccino with an extra shot of expresso and one black coffee.” The barista nodded and rang up his total. Ccino had told the skeleton he was more than welcome to sit and wait, but the other refused stating that “The view is better from here.” A wave of heat rose to his cheeks. He couldn’t tell if this skeleton was flirting with him, but it sure felt like it. The problem is... he was quite attractive... and charming too. Curse his amorous heart and falling for those who would never return his feelings. Especially for a certain black goopy skeleton.

At some point when Ccino was preparing the drinks the eyeless skeleton had to step out for a minute. The barista had forgotten to ask for a name to call out once the order was ready. He opted to just take the drinks to the violet skeleton’s table. It would probably be better than yelling across the shop trying to get his attention.

“Uhm... I’m sorry. I forgot to ask for a name, but here are your drinks.” Ccino gently set the drinks on the table and carefully ensured not to spill the hot beverages. “C-careful.. it’s really hot.”

Being in such close proximity Ccino noticed a few things he hadn’t before. It appeared that this violet eyed skeleton only had a single functioning eyelight. The other socket was a pitch black, with various cracks surrounding it. Actually, his hands and several visible bones appeared to be fractured. What could’ve happened to such a beautiful skeleton to have so many injuries throughout his body? It wasn’t a question he dared ask. It had to be something personal, and frankly none of Ccino’s business or concern. The violet skeleton nodded to Ccino’s warning but didn’t say a word.

The day passed like any other. Uneventful, and yet again the goopy skeleton had failed to visit. How long had it been since their last reunion? Months? Perhaps even years by now? He knew that Nightmare had used him. He was evil, a manipulator, ruthless, and unforgiving. But, he wasn’t a liar. From their very first encounter he was honest about the basis of their relationship. Ccino was good source to replenish his negativity, and in turn he wouldn’t harm him or his au. At least not in any physical way. The barista new he was being used, knew that the other didn’t see him as anything else but as a charging port. And yet, his silly little heart grew fond of the other’s presence. Perhaps it was because Nightmare was the first person he spent continuous time with. He became illusioned that for as long as he was alive he would have a companion of sorts.

Yet, one day he stopped showing. Sure Nightmare had the tendency to go weeks or months without visiting. However, this time it had been longer than usual. Ccino waited and waited until he slowly began losing hope. Perhaps, the other found a more suitable companion? Maybe realized the Ccino wasn’t worth being around? Decided it was no longer worth his effort to visit his pathetic AU just to see him? Tears burned the lining of his sockets. He shook his head and wiped his eyes. No, now isn’t the time for this. He still had to close up his shop- Ccino paused. Wait, those two why are they still here? He was referring to the eyeless and violet skeleton of course.

Strange, well they were newcomers and most likely didn’t know the shop hours. The barista removed his apron and gently placed it on the countertop, before making his way towards the two strange skeletons. “E-Excuse me.. I’m so glad you decided to support my shop today. But, uhm, it’s time for me to close for the day. You’re more than welcome to come back again tomorrow. I-If you’d like to of course.”

The two didn’t answer. It appeared as if they were contemplating what their response should be. A sinking feeling began to form in Ccino’s non-existent stomach. Were they going to rob him? He didn’t have much to offer just the money in the register! He could defend himself if needed but- he was outnumbered. Maybe he could manage to escape and call for help-

“Actually, we were hoping to talk to you in private.” The eyeless skeleton stated, his soul wavering for a brief second before shifting to an upside down heart. It was so beautiful and captivating. That Ccino had to resist the urge to be lost in its marvelous glow.

“P-pardon? You w-want to talk to me? About what exactly?” The barista was rather confused. He’d never seen these two in his entire life! How did they know about him? Were they maybe some of those ‘special’ people that Nightmare talked about? How they could travel to different universes? But what would they want with him?

“Well, being honest he,” the eyeless skeleton pointed to his companion. “Was hoping to have a conversation with you.”

The skeleton in mention tensed and averted his gaze from Ccino’s. It was clearer now that he was up close. The violet skeleton exhibited signs of slight anguish and remorse in his delicate facial features. But they were quickly concealed once again. No sign of pain, guilt, anxiety, or any other emotion were visible in the single eyelight.

The violet skeleton sighed before returning Ccino’s gaze. “Ccino.. it’s been a while hasn’t it? How have you been these past months.. perhaps even a year or years now? Hard to keep track of time in the void” The barista froze upon hearing his name slip past the violet skeletons mouth. How did he know his name? Did he introduce himself earlier? No, he didn’t think so... maybe his apron? No. He took that off. Then.... how? “You appear to be surprised. Well.. that is to be expected I suppose. How would you ever recognize me without my black attire.”

Ccino drew in a quick breathe. His body already having processed who exactly this skeleton was. Hot tears filled the lining of his sockets and spilled down his cheeks. His body trembled as his mind finally realized his identity. “N-Nightmare...?”

Nightmare tilted his head in acknowledgement. Smiling as if he were praising Ccino. “I’m impressed.. but you were always smarter than you looked.” A pause. Nightmare once again averted his eyes, a flicker of doubt flashed in that violet orb of his. “I didn’t come here to waste your time. So I’ll cut to the chase. As you can see, many things have changed since we last met. Clearly I’ve changed... and more than physically.... But.... I’ve done terrible- unforgivable things and I’m not some naive fool expecting mercy or to be saved. Yet, I do believe that you.. at the very least deserve an apology.”

Nightmare rose from his chair his eye never breaking contact with Ccino’s. “I sincerely apologize for my actions, and for using you to my own benefit. As I said, I’m not looking for forgiveness. I’m far beyond that. Don’t worry, you’ll never see my face again and you may live your life as you please. You are no longer shackled to me... you are free.... and this is my final goodbye.” The violet skeleton turned to face his partner. “Let’s go, Killer. We have overstayed our visit.”

Ccino couldn’t believe what he just heard. Was nightmare apologizing to him? Did that actually just happen? The once feared and powerful being in the multiverse had just apologized to him. I guess there really was a first time for everything. He blinked a few times resulting in fresh tears to stream down his face. Wait.. goodbye? Did that mean.. as in forever? No... No! No! No! No, he couldnt! He just got back! He just came back and now he’s leaving again? Now that was just cruel... how cruel and yet Ccino still couldn’t bring himself to hate Nightmare. His presence only succeeded in confirming what Ccino already knew. That he was in love with Nightmare.

Killer jumped to his feet and placed his hands in his hoodie. “Awe, you sure you want to leave so soon, boss? I don’t know, I’m sure there’s plenty to do here. Besides, how could you leave that cutie behind-“

“NIGHTMARE!” Ccino called out his voice cracking from the his sobs he continuously failed to hold back. Nightmare turned around to face the skeleton when- SLAP! The noise of Ccino’s hand making contact with Nightmare’s cheek echoed in the near empty shop. Nightmare and Killer were frozen on the spot. Killer wasn’t sure how to react. He was caught off guard and didn’t see it coming. He was half expecting Nightmare to crumble on the spot from his various fractures.

“T-that’s for everything that you’ve done to me! For using me! For leaving! For having the nerve t-to come back, apologize, and only to leave again! Y-you just want me to pretend like none of this ever happened don’t you!? To forget about you!!! Well guess what!? Screw you!” Ccino furiously rubbed his eyes trying wipe the tears away but to no avail. All his bottled emotions had erupted to the surface and there was no way to seal them away again. “How dare you?! Who d-do you think you are?! To just waltz in and out like you please!”

Nightmare turned to face the crying skeleton. He was more than confused. He was certain that Ccino would have been delighted to know he had been liberated from the chains of negativity. Free from him. He hurt him so many times, used him for his own personal gain, and never cared for his well being. So, why was he so upset now that he offered him freedom? He opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted when the small barista wrapped his arms around the violet skeleton.

“P-please... please stay! Please don’t leave me!” Ccino wailed as he clung to the skeleton before him. He dug his phalanges into Nightmare’s top refusing to let go, because if he didn’t hold on tight.... surely he’d disappear again. “I-I don’t want you to go! I don’t want to forget! Please! Please! Please! I’m begging.... Don’t a-abandon me.... n-not again.....” The white eyed skeleton trembled as he pleaded for Nightmare to stay. He knew it was hopeless he was begging for the impossible. All his cries and efforts for him to stay would be in vain. But, what else could he do? He had to try because maybe, just maybe the outcome may be different.

Nightmare was frozen, hands stuck in midair as he heard Ccino’s heartbroken cries. Ccino didn’t want him to leave...? Why? Why would he want him to stay? The very being that tormented him for his own amusement? Nightmare was at a loss. What should he do? Ignore the crying skeleton and leave once more? Or should he stay? Either way he wouldn’t be able to permanently stay in this AU. He’s made many enemies who would stop at nothing, until they saw him and those around him perish. He knew this, yet he couldn’t bring himself to leave right now. How could he just leave this fragile skeleton? Ccino always made things more difficult then they should be. It would’ve so much easier if he resented him and despised him. He should’ve screamed for him to leave- to never come back. But no, he was begging him to stay.

Something warm and wet trickled down Nightmare’s cheek. Panic settled in for a brief moment. Was he bleeding? How? He didn’t have any injuries! He quickly touched the liquid with his phalanges and was confused to see a clear substance with a tint of violet. It wasn’t marrow/ blood. Then he realized the liquid came from his sockets... was he crying? His eyes widen slightly. He was. Post his corruption he hardly ever shed any tears. Just once with his twin brother when that forsaken curse had finally been broken. The emotions he thought he’d locked deep in his mind had resurfaced with immense intensity.

Nightmare’s body moved on its own accord enveloping the weeping skeleton into his arms. He gripped his sweater tightly trying to ground himself, fearing he’d lose himself in his own overwhelming emotions. The two skeletons wept in silence as the eyeless one watched with a solemn expression. His soul flickered and wavered as he attempted to suppress his feelings. It was painful. Watching the one he cared for hurt, knowing he wasn’t the cause but another, and seeing for the first time another skeleton suffer because of their feelings for the violet skeleton. It was.. heart wrenching.

The two skeletons cried for hours until they could no longer produce tears. The smallest skeleton ridden with exhaustion lost that battle against his heavy eyelids. He rested his head against Nightmare’s shoulders, feeling a sense a protection and safety in his firm arms. “Don’t.... go.....” the barista pleaded one last time before succumbing to fatigue and drifting to sleep.

Nightmare held the small skeleton firmly in his arms. He glanced at Killer, who had faint black tear streaks on his cheeks. Then back to Ccino who, still in his sleep, clung to him desperately. For the first time, he was at a loss on what his next course of action should be.

Wooooo! What a way to start fluffynight killer week don’t you think? I know it ends on an angsty note but I thought it was fitting! This has actually been one of my few favorite stories to write! Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!

This story was inspired by some incredible headcanons and by Zu’s comic lodestar! Wouldn’t have been inspired to write this story if it weren’t for them <3

Killer belongs to @rahafwabas/ @rahofy-sketch

Nightmare belongs to @jokublog

Ccino belongs to @black-nyanko

Fluffynightkiller week by @help-im-a-gay-fish

194 notes • Posted 2021-05-29 10:30:47 GMT

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