#rolf smile talk

[ededdneddy-artrefs]

[devildomditzy]

"Wait, am I your lock screen?" + mammon + 🫣⛈️

His habit of keeping his phone away from you an out of your reach was one you mildly questioned, but ultimately learned to ignore. You figured the second born had something he wanted to keep private, possibly his latest failing stocks, or demanding texts from witches looking for compensation for his less than savory activities.

You ignored it, up until you turned to corner into the student council room, ears picking up several voices loudly talking over each other. Knowing this can only mean one thing, you prepare yourself to become Mammon’s attorney before walking in yourself.

“Ooo my! If it isn’t the person of the hour!”, Asmo coos from his chair, leaning over the edge of the table. “We were just talking about you, hun!”

“Talking about me?”, you ask, eyes circling around the room in both curiosity and confusion. You lock eyes with your first pact mate to ask a silent question, only to find him blushing furiously, attempting to simmer down from something that had just clearly upset him. He locks eyes with you for a brief moment before quickly averting his gaze.

Well, that’s typical. What wasn’t typical was the teasing stares of everyone else in the room, now centered on you.

“Well, we were just finishing up a student council meeting,”Asmo continues. “And you know how Lucifer always takes our D.D.D.’s before hand?”

“Yeah, but what’s that got to do with me?”

“Getting there, darling!”

You once again shift your eyes over to Mammon, who seemed to be having an internal battle with himself. One minute, it looked like he was going to bolt out of the room, the next it seemed he was so frustrated with his brothers that he was choosing to stand his ground.

“Lucifer starting passing them back out afterwards, and I noticed the cutest thing displaying on my dear older brother’s phone!”, Asmo finishes, bringing his cupped hands up to his face, almost as if he was looking at a newborn kitten.

“ROLF, this is super normie of him”, Levi chimes in, not looking up from his game, but still smiling to himself like he had just been told the funniest joke.

“I have to say, I know how idiotic you can be, but I didn’t expect you to display something you vehemently try to hide so prominently.” The smirk on Satan’s face makes you feel uneasy.

You hear a distinct tch come from the direction of the second born, who you now notice was clutching his D.D.D very close to his chest, with his grip tight around it. Like, real tight. Like, his knuckles are going white and you think he might break it tight.

Your eyes jump from brother to brother in confusion. “What are you talking about?”.

Asmo’s grin becomes lethal as he turns back to Mammon. “Weeelllll, go on Mammon. Do you want to tell them, or shall I?”.

You watch as Mammon turns redder somehow, if that was even possible, and starts to stutter. “I-it’s none of your business, okay?”

“Ooohh I beg to differ! I’d think a picture of our dear, dear MC is specifically their business!”, Asmo taunts in a sing song voice.

“A picture of me.. did you like, take an embarrassing picture of me or something?”, you question. Honestly, as much as you love the idiot, you wouldn’t put it above Mammon to blackmail you with an unflattering photo of yourself.

“N-no! It’s not you! I-I mean it is you but it’s not embarrassin’ or anythin’!”.

Oh the poor boy, he looks like he’s going to combust.

“Tick tock!”, Asmo once again pressures him to spit it out.

Mammon shuts his eyes as tight as they can go, and takes a deep breath, opening his mouth to say it before anyone else can-

Beel pipes up from where he’s been quietly munching on some hell newt chips.

“Why does it matter if MC’s his lockscreen?”

Ah. There it is. You watch all the color drain from Mammon’s face. He tenses up, his body language screaming ‘panic’.

“Wait, am I your lockscreen”, you question, hoping he notices your voice doesn’t hold an ounce of teasing, but instead genuine fondness.

His eyes remain trained on the table, his mouth drawn into a tight line, but he stiffly shakes his head in a confirming nod.

“Can I see?”

Mammon slides his D.D.D across the table to where you stand. Clicking on the screen, you see picture of yourself at Devil’s Coast. You’re turned to the side, not quite looking at the camera, but laughing brightly at something. The ferris wheel framed in the background of the shot makes the candid look like something out of a movie. Then it hits you - you’ve. never seen this picture before.

He must have taken it when you weren’t looking.

As laughter erupts throughout the room from his brothers, he’s shocked to not hear yours mixed in with the cacophony l. Instead when you speak, it makes the room go dead silent.

“Mammon… that is so sweet!”, and he can hear the smile in your voice as you run around the table to hand him your own. “Here, look at mine.”

He hesitates for a second, looking up at you for confirmation before taking it. Clicking on the screen, he stares back at a picture of himself. He’s in one of the outfits he wore for Devil Style, so this is definitely from his last shoot, but… this wasn’t professional by any means. It was clearly taken by you, a little shaky and a bit out of center frame, but you must have snapped a picture of him between sets.

And even more so - he’s shirtless in it.

“Ha…HA!”, Mammon exclaims, proudly showing the screen to each and everyone of his brothers. “See that? Of course MC’s got a picture of The Great Mammon as their lockscreen! Makes sense since I’m their first and their favorite!”

“Uggghh, gross”, groans Levi as he stands up to leave, “I knew I should have just went to my room.”

“Aww, MC, why not a picture of me?!”, whines Asmo as he drapes himself over your shoulders, much to Mammon’s annoyance.

“I can’t say that’s a sight I’d want see every time I have to take a phone call”, Satan says all snide and - you’ve had it.

Time to shut them all up.

“Of course I’d want a picture of Mammon as my lock screen. He is my boyfriend after all.”

“WHAT!?”, you hear all the voices in the room cry out at once.

“I am? I-I mean, of course I am! Ya hear that? MC’s taken by The Great Mammon! So all of ya better back off, ya got it?!”

You giggle at his bravado and the looks of disgust and disappointment on the remaining faces in the room, leaning down to kiss his cheek to really drive the point home.

Oh. Looks like he can get redder.

[shadowdaddies]

Reunited - Part II

Fenrys x Reader

Part I | Part III

Summary: after years of working as a spy in Adarlan, you are finally reunited with your cousin, Aelin, as you join the war to reclaim Terrasen and bring peace to Erilea. What you don't expect is to meet your mate in the middle of a war.

A/N: this story will have at least two more parts; this one is very angsty I’m sorry

Warnings: canon-typical violence, EOS spoilers

The door to the pub slammed behind Aedion with such a force that you flinched in your seat. 

“He will come around,” you murmured, reaching your hand across the table towards your father. You sighed softly at Gavriel’s dejected expression, taking his hand in your own as you mustered a weak smile. “I’ll talk to him,” you promised, knowing the sway you held with your brother.

Your father’s tawny eyes shone with something like pride as he squeezed your hand, his blonde hair swaying as he shook his head. “Aedion is right to feel the way that he does. I don’t expect him to come around easily. He is as stubborn as your mother,” Gavriel paused, a lump working in his throat as he studied you. “And you are as fiercely kind.”

You opened your mouth to say more, something to comfort him, when an alarm rang in the distance. Gavriel had drawn his dagger before you could blink, his body blocking yours protectively from the rest of the room. Another alarm sounded from the lookout tower, dreading realization crashing over you like the waves you looked to out the window. 

Jumping from your seat, you sprinted up the stairs to Rolfe’s office Aelin stood, her relaxed demeanor a stark contrast to Rolfe’s torrent of emotions. He regretfully reached a tattooed hand towards Aelin, the blonde gladly shaking it. “Thank you for your assistance, Lord Rolfe.”

The mischievous glint in your cousin’s eyes told you all that you needed to know, but Aelin wasted no time barking orders for everyone in the room to get to the ships and prepare for the Valg’s approach. 

Fenrys found you quickly, his arm wrapping protectively around your waist as you hurried towards the docks. Despite everything, the peace that filled you at his simple touch was undeniable. In the few days you had spent together, Fenrys had become an anchor in the storm of this impending war. 

“Are you okay?” he murmured, voice like a soft balm to your nerves as you took his hand from around your waist, weaving your fingers through his own. 

Your gaze flicked to his, the tenderness in his onyx eyes grounding you in the moment. “I’m alright,” you promised, squeezing his hand in reassurance. 

You reached the ship, Fenrys lifting you by the waist to help you over the ledge of the vessel, only for you to trip and stumble into his warm, toned chest. Your hearts pounded, synchronized even in the chaos as you made your way to the bow of the boat where Aelin and Rowan stood.

Salty air whipped around your face in breathtaking levels of wind, seawater splashing as Rowan’s wind propelled the ship unnaturally fast against the waves. Lysandra’s scales shone underneath the water, what would be a dazzling sight if not for the fear that had worked its way deep inside of you at the sight of the Valg fleet approaching. 

The next hour was a blur of fighting, canon fire, sea monsters, and every impossible thing you never believed could happen in this world. Nightmares followed the next several nights. The image of Aelin, burning out of control and falling into the sea, Fenrys’s hand ripping from your own as he dove after her.

~~~

That night, you awoke in a cold sweat, hands clawing at the edges of the mattress as you’d clung to the railing of the ship when you’d watched your mate dive out of sight. You had barely registered your surroundings - the peaceful inside of your cabin - when a familiar warm hand touched your shoulder. 

“Hey, it’s alright. I’m here,” Fenrys murmured in your ear, a silent sob breaking through you at his voice. “Can I hold you?” he asked, hand lightly rubbing your shoulder. 

You nodded, sniffling as you tugged Fenrys’s hand from your shoulder, wrapping it around your waist as you moved as close as possible to his warmth. “You scared me today,” you admitted, barely above a whisper. “I thought... I thought that this wonderful thing, this bond with an incredible male had come just in time for me to lose you. And I can’t. I can’t lose you, Fenrys. I’m sorry if it’s too soon for me to say that, but I don’t know how I’ve lived without you in my life.”

Blonde curls fell across your cheek as Fenrys leaned down, his lips warm as they pressed a lingering touch to your ear. “I understand completely. You have brought a light to my life that I did not think possible, and I would do anything to keep you safe and happy. That is why I dove after Aelin. She will keep you safe - I know that. And you are my priority now. You have given me new purpose.”

In all your years - even before those spent as a spy in Adarlan - you had never experienced such profound intimacy. Never connected, cared for someone as deeply as you did for your mate. It was frightening to consider, but his warm press against your body filled any cracks of doubt and worry, allowing you to sleep soundly in his arms. 

Each night passed the same way, Fenrys and you now sharing the same bed, simply holding each other. Your physical intimacy never went further than a kiss on the cheek, arms wrapped around one another’s waist, but the emotional connection was something you did not believe possible.

~~~

When Melisande’s fleet descended upon you, Fenrys kept you close to his side, the two of you working seamlessly as a team to defend your ships and allies from the Valg. Canon fire roared in your ears as you saw Lorcan’s dark form at the stern of the ship - his eyes set on the coast where he had left Elide. 

“Fenrys!” you called, desperate for your mate’s attention as Lorcan abandoned ship, the desperation with which he fought his way towards shore something you wouldn’t have understood until you met Fenrys. Your mate caught your gaze, his onyx eyes flaring wide as he tracked Lorcan’s movements.

“Elide is in danger. I need you to trust me - I will go help them, but I want you safe here on the ship,” Fenrys pleaded, hands cupping your cheeks as he blocked out the world to focus on you. 

“I can’t leave you again,” you admitted, hand coming up to hold his own. Silver lined your eyes as Fenrys’s forehead leaned against your own. “Please,” you whispered, voice broken as you held him close, as though you could stop him from leaving.

Your father’s hand clasped on Fenrys’s shoulder, drawing the two of you from your moment. “It’s now or never,” he spoke, voice firm yet warm as Gavriel nodded towards the dingy. “We will be able to hold off these forces, but we need to leave now if you want to help Lorcan and Elide.”

Without a second thought, you ran towards the dingy, hopping inside along your mate and father as the three of you rowed to shore. Stumbling through the sand, your legs ached from the strain of running towards the crowd of people further inland. And time stood still as you recognized the pale, black-haired female lashing out dark power at Aelin. 

Maeve’s eyes shone with wicked delight as people stood around, helpless while an exhausted Aelin crumpled before the fae queen. Your father rushed forward, leaving you behind with Fenrys as he pleaded Maeve to spare Aelin.

“Please,” Gavriel whispered, kneeling before Maeve. “Leave Aelin be. Take me instead. Take my life.” 

The scream that ripped from your throat was muffled by a large hand over your mouth, Lorcan’s intense gaze looking down upon you as he slowly shook his head. “Do not alert attention to yourself. She cannot know what you are to Fenrys,” he whispered. 

Every nerve in your body was on fire, panic coursing through your veins as you turned to see the male who swore to stay by your side, slowly inching further away. 

You were vaguely aware of your father, his own tears hitting the ground beneath him as he felt the pain of his blood bond being stripped away. Waves of horror knocked the breath from your lungs as Maeve called Aelin to bow, your cousin and Queen whipped before your eyes while no one took action.

Fenrys stood still, frozen under Maeve’s command as your mate could not afford to spare you a glance, leaving you at the mercy of Lorcan’s strong arm holding you back. “Do not make a scene, unless you want to make it worse for Fenrys,” he warned.

Salty tears streaked down your cheeks, your gaze locking with the tawny eyes of your father as he weakly managed his way over to you. Blinding anger coursed through you, confusion at how you could end up in this situation, surrounded by the most feared warriors, all of you forced into a position of waiting as your Queen was placed in an iron sarcophagus.

Fists clenched so hard your nails drew blood from your palms, disgusted with yourself as you allowed Aelin to be taken away so that your mate would be spared. And then the ground fell out from under you when Maeve ordered Fenrys to follow.

Your mate did not so much as spare you a look over his shoulder, but every muscle in his body seemed to strain as he fought against the order to walk away from you, from your father, your new family. 

You bit down hard, Lorcan hissing as your teeth sunk into his fingers, blood dripping from your lips as he released you. You charged after Fenrys, running with no plan other than willing to risk everything for the person who had become more than everything to you.

But once again, broad arms wrapped around your waist as your father held you in his arms. “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry” Gavriel whispered, tears streaking down his face as you felt his calm, healing power wash over you, the world fading to black as you lost consciousness.

[ramblingthoughtsofayoungadult]

Unpredictable Part 3-Limoreau x black!fem!reader fic

A/N: AAAH, thank you for all the support on this. I didn't think it'd be a series but I can't stop writing.

Warnings: toxic parents, body shaming, eating disorders, alcohol abuse, and swearing

Words: 7.7k

Series Masterlist

 “…and that’s how I knew that I was meant to do charity work,” the nasal redhead concluded.

That afternoon, the Si Chi house was packed with pledges in floral or puffy Selkie and Miss Selfridge sun dresses. A handful of servers circulated the foyer with trays of orange juice and mimosas. The combination of Prada Candy and Viktor Rolfe Flowerbomb made my head spin but I smiled through it as I nodded at different pledges’ stories. All of them were desperately trying to toe the line between interesting and bragging because one could never act too important for a potential house.

“That’s great news,” I glanced at her name tag, “Brenda since Si Chi regularly engages in philanthropic work.”

 Brenda smiled widely, making the hot pink blush on her cheeks even more prominent. “I know, that’s why I’m so interested in joining this---your house.”

“Well, we are glad that you took the time to visit us. Would you excuse me?”

As I weaved my way through the foyer, I plucked a mimosa from a passing server and started sipping. Exactly five seconds passed until I was surrounded by a new crop of bright-eyed freshmen.

“Oh my gosh, are you Y/N Y/L/N?” a willowy brunette asked.

“Guilty, and you are?”

“She’s Justine,” a shorter brunette interrupted.

Justine narrowed her eyes and thinly covered the glare with a smile. “I can introduce myself, thanks, Renee.”

Renee shrunk a little in her oversized light blue sundress and I glanced at Justine.

“So, why are you interested in our house?” I asked.

Justine straightened up and smiled like a pageant girl. “Well, I’m perfectly aligned with all the values of Si Chi: Sisterhood, respect, and intelligence. I am all about women empowerment and I respect people from all backgrounds----I’m exposed to a bunch of different people as an actress, anyway.”

“What about intelligence?”

“Well, I think there’s many different kinds of intelligence and, as an actress, I’m emotionally intelligent to the point where I’m exhausted by everyone else’s energy.”

“She really has to prioritize self-care,” Renee added.

“It’s great that you’re aware of that for yourself.”

She had to be one of the least self-aware people I ever encountered and that was a difficult fete. However, her socials had decent numbers and she had been in a few Vought Plus movies, which would help her win Sydney and Lydia, the vice president, over. The next two years with her and her friend would be irritating.

A softer expression slipped across Justine’s face, and she took a step towards me. “I just want to say that I think it’s so brave that you’ve been participating in all the rush events despite your traumatic experience. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to see Luke,” she paused and placed a hand on her chest, “kill himself.”

Though it had been a week since, it still felt like a bomb rolled off Justine’s tongue when she said it. The wave of emotions that I experienced in that time was hard to describe; Shetty said that grief was a rollercoaster, and the influx of emotions was normal.

“As impossible as it may seem, one day you will come to accept what happened,” she’d advised. “You may experience more anxiety but, with your network, I am sure you will be able to cope.”

The network she referred to was strained at best and destroyed at worst. My “sisters” were as supportive as they could be: Alina gave me a Lush self-care kit, Sasha was not nearly as antagonizing as usual, Lydia gave me grief book recommendations, and Sydney let me pick what workout classes we attended. Emma and Cate were the only non-Si Chi people I spoke to since it was way too difficult to speak to the others.

Justine placed her hand on my shoulder. “If you ever need someone to talk to, you can count on me.”

“Thank you for the thought,” I replied, smiling tightly.

“You must be so grateful that Marie was there to stop him,” Renee quipped.

I sipped some more juice to keep the confusing feelings from bubbling up. Nothing could have prepared me for Marie and Andre being propped as the Guardians of Godolkin, which was arguably the dumbest name Vought could give them. The less I wanted to see them, the more I saw their promos and videos. It was horrible that the last time we spoke we had a fight but every time I saw her, I felt a weird wrench in my chest.

At the very least, Emma seemed happy for her.

Then, Coco Allen, a Si Chi junior, appeared from the crowd and squeezed between the freshmen. “There you are, Y/N, I have a crim freshman with a water manipulation ability who wants to pick your brain.”

“Sure. Will you excuse me?”

“Bye!” Renee called as Coco pulled me through the crowd.

When we got to the less populated living room, I exhaled a breath I did not know I was holding. Then, I turned to the beaming Coco.

“Thank you,” I said.

“You’re welcome. You know I hate entitled freshmen,” Coco mused.

Coco was the only other black girl in Si Chi and happened to be the first one to talk to me when I visited the house last year. She was a little shorter than me with deep mahogany skin that always glowed. She always wore her waist-length jet-black hair in tight curls and accessorized solely with gold jewelry. That day, she wore a fitted white sundress with espadrilles.

“Were there this many last year?” I asked.

Coco shook her head. “But there are a few more black girls so it’s promising.”

“That’s great! I hope I can find them before the event’s over.”

“That would be great.” Coco eyed me. “So, how are you holding up?”

“I’m okay, the mimosas don’t hurt though.”

“They never do. You didn’t have to come today, you know, you could have taken more time, get out of here for a minute.”

I shook my head. “I needed this, it’s a nice distraction or, it has been. Besides, what would it look like if the secretary didn’t attend?”

Coco nodded slowly but I could tell that the gears in her head were turning too much for her to be convinced. “You’re already Sydney and Lydia’s favorite and they might have let it slide.”

I cocked my head at her and she immediately started chuckling half-heartedly.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. The hoops they make us jump through are ridiculous,” Coco reflected.

“It makes sense why you didn’t want to be an officer even though you’re poli sci,” I commented.

Coco grinned. “Hey, I’m making decent connections just by being in this house. This is just a steppingstone on my path to become the first black woman supe president.”

Even though the title was long, if anyone could do it, it was Coco. One time last year I sat in on one of her debates in class and she had a senior in tears and their debate partner ready to put their laser eyes to good use.

“Well, don’t forget little ole me when you’re a big shot,” I teased.

Coco frowned. “What do you mean ‘little’? You have done too much to talk like that.”

I shrugged. “Not that they’re not as important but my four-year plan is less impressive than yours.”

“Oh yeah, the plan where you basically end up a trophy wife? No shade but, I think you’d be way too bored in that role.”

“Hey, I would have a city contract too. Plus, it’s what I want and what I see for myself every time I look into the future. Every step I have taken up until this point puts me closer to that.”

My voice was much stronger than I thought it would be but Coco was always pushing me. Some days it was motivating and on others, it was infuriating.

“Like I said, I’m not trying to crush your dreams or your plan but is that really all you want for yourself? Especially thinking about all the good you’re already doing with your powers?” Coco questioned.

Her words plagued me for the rest of the event and bugged me when we gave our ratings of the pledges to Sydney and Lydia.

“Oh, and Y/N, don’t forget to send me that compilation with all the pledges’ socials,” Sydney requested as I was on my way out of the foyer.

“Of course, you’ll have it by the end of the day.”

Everything was much quieter underwater, except for my thoughts, but those were much clearer. Every time I thought about where I would be in five years, it was the same: smiling at a city event on the arm of some suit. I never saw the man’s face but I knew he had to be somewhat attractive. My eyes fluttered closed at the bottom of the pool and I focused on my future.

It was the same image, complete with flashing cameras and I was wearing a gorgeous rose pink Oscar de la Renta gown. My hair was piled on top of my head in Senegalese twists, and I was smiling widely. However, when I tried to look at whose arm I was on, it was like I could not turn my head. The harder I tried, the sorer the side of my neck got.

After a few more seconds of trying, I pushed myself up to the surface and sucked in the air. The sky was a mix of orange, purple, and blue. Sydney was blasting “My Head, My Heart”, which signaled that she was getting ready to go out with Eric Landon, the president of Sigma Kappa. It would be nice to be asked on a date, a proper one without the expectations of sex later.

My face warmed at the fact that I had never actually been asked out. People constantly told me how good looking I was but that did not translate into boys falling all over themselves for me. There were the occasional fun nights out but it would always end in that same venue. I didn’t think I asked for too much: flowers, good morning and good night texts, respect, intelligence, and ambition. Emma told me I watched too many movies once and while that could have been true, I also thought that it wasn’t too much to ask a guy to hold a door open.

It also did not help that Jordan was the last person I ever got close to being intimate with. I groaned at the thought and dove underwater, making my way to the other side of the pool.

An almost-kiss should mean absolutely nothing but I could not stop thinking about it, just like I could not stop thinking about how Jordan would throw me under the bus to save themselves. I would never do that to anyone, especially not someone I cared about.

But you already did, the voice in my head hissed.

Marie didn’t count, I didn’t mean to do that; Andre, Luke, Cate, and Jordan decided for me. I would have stayed if it was my choice but that didn’t matter to Marie or any of them.

I pushed myself from the side of the pool and butterfly stroked my way to the other side. Thankfully, the water was heated and soothed my aching muscles. As I was about to resurface, I noted a blurry tall blonde figure standing above me. When I pushed up, Cate stood over me, her eyes worried.

“Hey,” I greeted.

“Hi, can we talk?”

“Sure.”

A few seconds later, I was wrapped in a fluffy towel and standing across from Cate. Her eyes shifted around for a moment before she suggested we headed inside. When we got to my room, she immediately closed the door behind us.

“Is there any way someone would have listening devices in here?” Cate asked.

“No,” I said slowly.

“Are you sure? There’s shit out now where they put it in the tiniest crevices and you would never know,” Cate argued.

“I would have seen it or had a hint about it. What’s going on?”

Cate finally sat on my bed, and I opted to stand across from her. “Andre and I found some stuff that makes Luke and Brink’s deaths way more complicated.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, for one thing, they totally cleared out his room the day after he died and I mean everything.”

My eyes widened. “Even the…special drawer?”

“Yes, and at first, I thought it was protocol but what would they do with all those----”

“I get it, Cate, what else did you and Andre find?”

As Cate continued to speak, I could feel my stomach sink further and further, until I was sure it was somewhere in the house basement. Nothing Cate said meant anything positive for anyone. If there was some kind of lab under us, that meant anyone could become a part of it.

“Have you told anyone else?” I asked.

Cate huffed and leaned back on my bed. “Well, Jordan’s been spiraling about Marie and the rankings, so I can’t get a word in about anything else.”

“They’re spiraling?” I asked.

“You haven’t talked to them since Luke died?” Cate asked.

When she said it like that, it sounded like I committed a cardinal sin. After that day, there was nothing else for me to say to them. Even though I saw them in class occasionally, I never spoke to them and desperately tried to avoid eye contact.

“They could have reached out too,” I muttered.

“You’re such a younger sibling,” Cate commented.

“It’s true!” I whined.

“Well, they’ve been freaking out about the rankings since they fell down to number five and Andre’s number one.”

Being in the Top Five was like Jordan’s lifeline. They’d always shared a friendly rivalry with Luke but I knew they wanted to be number one eventually. They spent almost all their time making sure they stayed in a high position and to drop to bottom of the Top Five must have been devastating.

“Oh no,” I whispered.

“Yeah, and your new best friend cracked the Top 100 and is Jordan’s new nemesis,” Cate added.

 I walked over to my dresser and pulled out a chocolate brown loungewear set. “Neither of them are my friends.”

Cate frowned. “Seriously, what is going on with you? The other night, you and Marie were inseparable, and you and Jordan were bantering. What happened?”

It must have been the fact that I was holding all my thoughts and feelings in because I burst.

“Marie and I can’t be friends since she thinks I’m a shallow bitch who would sacrifice her to save myself because I hang out with people who do. The funny part is that Jordan admitted they would backstab me if they could get ahead, which is definitely not something I would do to a friend or anyone I almost kissed!”

I was panting by the end and my chest felt a lot lighter. However, my nerves began to build when I noticed Cate’s mischievous grin.

“Who did you almost kiss?” Cate asked.

“That’s not the point,” I mumbled.

Cate stared at me for a second before lighting up. “It was Jordan, wasn’t it?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“You hesitated which means I’m right. It could have easily been Marie though since you were all over her.”

“Why do people keep saying that? I was being nice!”

Cate held up her hands in a relaxed defense. “Chill, Y/N, it’s okay to like more than one person at once.”

“I don’t like either of them.”

“At all?” Cate quirked an eyebrow.

“No,” I pouted.

Cate looked unimpressed and I felt even more unimpressed since I knew that I liked Marie and Jordan platonically.

“Okay, we’ll save that for later but, I don’t think Jordan would tell you that they would backstab you and they would not think about it. They would do it to other people, but not you.”

“You’re just saying that because they’re your friend and you weren’t there.”

Cate cocked her head to the side. “Think, Y/N, did Jordan really say, ‘I would backstab you if it would save my ass’?”

As I recalled the memory, I slowly rocked back and forth on my heels. “They didn’t say that but, they didn’t answer me when I asked if they would.” “You probably caught them off guard,” Cate reasoned. “I’m sure if you talked to them, things would go okay.”

I hesitated and set my clothes on my bed. “Let’s say that I decided to speak to them, I don’t know what to say. Even if I did, my class tomorrow isn’t with them.

“You’re not going to the Think Brink gala tomorrow night?” Cate asked.

Earlier that day, Mom mentioned something about a gala on the phone but I was only half-listening. In my defense, there was only so much complaining about her clients and Dad that I could stand. I grabbed my phone from my nightstand and “Go to Brink gala” was in bright letters on my calendar.

“I guess I am,” I concluded.

“Then, you have some time to figure it out. You might get lucky and not even have to say anything.” I nodded and messed with the charm on my phone. “But what about Marie?”

“You’ll figure that out too. Indira’s taking her to the gala so, you can get both your ‘friends’ back,” Cate said, putting “friends” in air quotes.

“Why did you do it like that? Don’t say it like that.”

“Just because you’re in denial doesn’t mean I am. Think about it, would you be this freaked out if we had a fight?”

The “yes” should have come immediately but it didn’t; it died in my throat, and I couldn’t look at Cate. Why were things different with Marie and Jordan? Why did I stress out about them when I tried to stop thinking about them?

“Can you just make me say the right thing?” I asked.

Cate mulled it over for a moment. “I think it’s best if you do it yourself. If you don’t have a vision about it, something will come to you.”

“Thanks, Cate. If you and Andre need any help snooping----”

“You will be the first person I text,” Cate assured.

“I was going to say that I’ll probably know before you.”

I narrowly avoided the pillow Cate tossed at me and laughed at her effort.

“Maybe you are getting a little too cocky, Y/N.” She stood and walked over to me. “And for the record, I would never betray you in any way, neither would Andre or Jordan. If either of them did, they would have to deal with me.”

“Thanks, I would hug you but I’m still soaking wet.”

“Yeah, that’s smart. I know this might be useless but try not to worry about everything.”

I shrugged. “It doesn’t hurt to try.”

“You’re taking the meds from Indira?”

“Yes, Mom,” I teased.

“Just trying to help.”

Strangely, that was the first night since Luke’s death that I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. The trend was that I would strain myself to have premonitions until I was exhausted and tried again in the morning. For once, sleep found me quickly.

After sitting through a two-hour lecture on trauma’s impact on villains and heroes, I was more than happy to wander back to the Si Chi house and decompress. In a few hours, Talia, Mom’s assistant, would arrive with options for the gala. Then, the glam team would arrive and do their best to ignore Mom while they did their jobs.

I needed all the relaxation I could get.

 As I was mentally reviewing which movies I could watch, my phone kept buzzing in my back pocket. I thought it was another flurry of comments on the TikTok Coco and I made yesterday but it was from a strange number.

XXX-XXX-XXXX: Y/N, pls come 2 my dorm, it’s an emergency.

XXX-XXX-XXXX: Im srry we haven’t talked in a while but it’s important.

I frowned and typed back, ????

XXX-XXX-XXXX: It’s Marie. Emma’s in trouble.

My stomach dropped and I replied, B there soon.

As I raced around other people on campus, my thoughts moved faster at the possibility of what could have been going on with Emma. The last time I had spoken to her was two days ago and she was okay then. If anything, she may have been tense because Marie and I were not speaking but she had not said anything else.

I was halfway to their dorm when I ran into something solid.

“Watch where you’re going, Y/N,” Maverick sneered.

“If you put on some clothes, maybe I’d see you,” I shot back as I continued down the hall.

When I finally got to their dorm, I was panting and could barely knock. Marie pulled the door open, pulled me in, and closed the door behind me.

“Did you sprint here?” she asked.

I nodded. “You said…it was…an….emergency…Emma.”

In the middle of me grabbing my bearings, I noticed something tiny next to one of the supports on Emma’s bed. Slowly, I slid to my knees and crawled over to it. When I realized who it was, a choked gasp escaped my mouth.

“What happened?” I whispered.

“I don’t know. She was like that when I got here and I didn’t know what to do so I called you since you’ve known her the longest,” Marie rambled.

Her words barely registered in my brain as I went to one of Emma’s drawers, grabbed a small set of clothes, wrapped her in it, and carefully set her on her bed. Emma was barely breathing and was ghostly pale.

“Emma, I know you’re probably not going to like this but, you’re going to need to eat something.”

She didn’t reply and for a second, I wondered if she could.

I started rifling through all her stuff until I found a box of crackers. My hands trembled as I broke them into small pieces and kneeled in front of Emma. She never looked at me as she nibbled on each crumb I fed her.

Eventually, she grew back to her normal size. As soon as she was, she pulled her knees to her chest.

“I’m sorry you saw me like that,” she muttered.

Slowly, I sat next to her and it was almost the same way zookeepers treated wild animals. If one moved calmly enough, they would not get attacked. Marie sat on her bed.

“It’s okay, I’m glad we were able to help,” I replied. “What happened?”

Emma sniffed. “I opened up to this girl in my class. We’re scene partners for a project and we were talking, and I guess I felt comfortable enough to tell her about how I get small. I thought it was just between us, but she posted this…this video on YouTube telling the whole world about it.”

“Who’s the girl?” Marie asked.

“How do you get small?” I uttered at the same time.

Emma froze for a moment and looked away from me. “I make myself…sick.”

When she said it, I suddenly remembered all those times she would go to the bathroom and then come out a miniature version of herself. However, all those times, it was for different commercials or other work-related events. Then again, there had to be times when she did it at home or at my house.

How did I never notice? “Emma, I’m so sorry. I wish you would’ve told me sooner,” I said.

Emma turned to me with a glare in her eyes. “Really? How would I work that into a conversation? ‘Hey, Y/N, I’m sorry to interrupt but, I make myself throw up to get small’?”.

“We’re friends, friends tell each other this kind of thing,” I insisted.

Emma scoffed. “Please, like you would get it if I told you. You’re perfect, you always have been. Your face, your hair, your body, your eyes, your life!”

“That’s not fair.”

“Emma, I think you need to get help,” Marie interrupted.

Emma’s gaze flickered to hers and I thought she might set Marie on fire. “I need to get help, that’s rich coming from you. You act like no one can see your scars.”

Marie flinched and her eyes narrowed slightly. “I do that for my powers, that’s different.”

Emma laughed callously. “Please, at least be honest. How about this: I’ll go to therapy when you admit to cutting.”

Emma’s voice had no tone and every word she said was like a hammer slamming into my chest. She wasn’t in the right headspace for any conversation and I kept reminding myself as I stood.

“We should talk later when we’ve all calmed down,” I suggested.

“I don’t want to speak to either of you again,” she hissed.

It took more effort than usual to swallow the lump in my throat as I let myself out of their dorm. Just as I was about to lean against the door and wallow, Marie slipped out behind me and shut the door. I took a step back, barely avoiding a pair of girls rushing past.

“Sorry,” she apologized.

“It’s fine.”

Silence filled the space for a moment, and I had no idea how to fill it. Cate said I would know what to say but I was at a loss.

“I’m sorry about what I said…that day,” Marie delivered gently.

My eyes snapped up at her. “Oh.”

She sighed. “I was just angry, and I thought you were a part of it but, Emma kept saying that you would never do something like that. I just didn’t know how to reach out or say anything.”

I know the feeling.

“I accept your apology but I’m also sorry that no one came back for you. I guess it worked out, though?”

Marie sighed and leaned against her door. “Sort of. The perks are nice and I’m in crim now but I feel like everyone’s looking at me and expects something from me; almost like they’re waiting for me to fail.”

“Really? They had me convinced you’d be the black Starlight,” I teased.

Marie laughed half-heartedly. “I still want to be a hero, though, someone like her people can look up to.”

“Anyone in particular?”

Marie hesitated. “My little sister. We were both obsessed with heroes when we were younger, but I was the one who got Compound V. She always looked up to me and I want to be someone who would make her proud.”

“That’s a really admirable goal,” I complimented.

She smiled softly. “What about you? Shouldn’t you be my competition to be the black Starlight?”

My expression faltered and I looked down at my French acrylics. “No, I don’t think I have the showmanship you do. Besides, my goal isn’t to be in the Seven.”

“Really? What do you want to do?” Marie asked.

“So, I have this four year plan and if I follow the steps I am on to a T, I will graduate with a city contract and be engaged to an eligible supe.”

Usually, when I told someone my four year plan, my chest swelled and my shoulders rolled back unconsciously. This time, it felt like I was a toddler showing my mom a drawing I made in school.

“Is that it?” Marie asked.

“I know it’s more traditional and maybe even a little lame but, it’s what I want,” I maintained.

Marie nodded slowly.

“What is it?”

“Nothing, I just imagined you doing something in, like, criminal AI or stopping criminals from re-offending.”

“Both are great, they’re just not me.”

“Which is fine,” Marie insisted.

She sounded a little too eager but I let it go as we started walking down the hallway.

“What should we do about Emma?” Marie asked.

“I’ve never seen her like that before but she’ll need time to cool off.”

“Sounds good, I just have nowhere to go until the gala tonight.”

“You could come to Si Chi for a bit. I can’t promise they won’t try to initiate you, though.”

Marie laughed. “Me, in a sorority?”

“Hey, we’re getting more black girls this year so you never know!”

“Whatever but, yeah, I’d like to hang out with you…at your house.”

Even though Marie rushed the last part, a smile quirked on the corners of my mouth. It would be nice to have a new friend over and it was even nicer that there was no more tension between us.

“You know, Emma never told us the name of that girl,” Marie pondered once we got outside.

“Oh, that’s easy.” I grabbed my phone and scrolled through my contacts until I reached the right one.

Shelby answered on the first ring. “Y/N, hi!” “Hey, are you on your way to class?” I asked.

“Yeah, if I’m late one more time, Professor Elix is going to make me do an improv one-woman show!” she panted.

“Well, I don’t want to slow you down but, you have class with Emma Meyer, right?”

“Oh yeah, Intro to Stage, why?”

“Cool. She told me her stage partner has an incredible Insta aesthetic, but she never told me her name and I need new inspo.”

“Oh, that’s Justine. I don’t know her last name but I’m sure you’ll find her.”

“Thanks, Shelby. Have fun in class.”

“Thanks!”

I hung up and turned to Marie, whose eyebrows were raised. “What?”

“What was that voice?” Marie asked.

“It was my voice. Haven’t you heard of code-switching?”

“Fine. Did you get the name?”

“Yes, Justine and I’ve met her.”

“What? How?”

“She’s rushing Si Chi.” I couldn’t keep the devilish smile from working its way into my mouth.

“What does that look mean?” Marie asked.

“It means that there are many more perks to being in a top house besides living in it.”

For some reason, everyone thinks that white girls have a monopoly on passive aggression and relational aggression. That was not the case at all; black girls simply are more inclined towards active aggression but we’re capable of both. I proved as much during Brink’s gala.

The ballroom was packed with board members, trustees, alumni, and the wealthiest GOD U students, the latter being my target of interest. They were all easy to approach since I had met them at some function or another.

“Y/N,” Bianca Peterson gushed as she hugged me.

Her Gucci Guilty perfume tickled my nose and I willed myself not to sneeze as I politely pulled away from her. “Bianca, it’s been too long. I think the last time I saw you was at Beta Ro’s Brunch for Boy Scouts.”

Bianca nodded, light auburn curls bouncing around her sculpted features. “Yes, we bonded over jewelry.”

“And you still have fantastic taste,” I mentioned, gesturing to the gold buckle around her wrist.

“Thank you, it was a present from Theo but I gave him a few hints,” she bragged lightly.

“How is rush going?” I asked.

“Pretty well, our pledges are shaping up nicely this year, not that they don’t every year,” she quickly added the last part.

“Of course. Do you have a lot of girls from Counting?”

“We’re interested in a couple, why? Are you trying to poach?”

I shook my head. “Not at all, I just wasn’t sure if you heard what Layla from Zeta Nu discovered.”

Bianca raised a microbladed brow. “No, I don’t think I have.”

I took a deep inhale and slowly shook my head in disbelief. “Oh, well, I should let it come from her then.”

A moment later, Bianca glanced across the room at Layla Ruthers, the president of Zeta Nu, who was smiling politely at a pair of hunched-over old men.

“In case I don’t have a chance to talk to her, what happened?” Bianca asked.

I glanced around us for a moment before leaning closer. “Apparently, a freshman posted a video about another girl’s eating disorder.”

“Really?” Bianca’s eyes widened.

I nodded. “Layla was insulted for the other girl and banned the pledge from rushing Zeta Nu. She even said that no respectable house would accept someone so low-class.”

“Oh,” Bianca uttered.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to take up all your time. I should go mingle.”

I made it about two steps before Bianca gently grabbed one of my arms.

“Wait, Y/N. Did Layla say the name of the pledge?”

My eyes wandered around the twinkling lights of the room for a second. “Justine something, I think.”

“Thank you. I’ll see you later.”

“Sure!”

The rest of my conversations followed that pattern. Each girl I spoke to was shocked and horrified by my words. Plus, none of them would dare speak to the other; that would mean another house had better information than them. My final target was easily the most important one: Sydney.

In her ice-blue mermaid dress and intricate updo, she looked more like Cinderella than a gala attendee. She was standing at a table, nodding her head at something a shorter guy was saying.

“Excuse me,” I politely interrupted, “I need to borrow Sydney for a second.”

The guy deflated slightly. “Sure.”

“I’ll see you soon.” Sydney huffed a sigh of relief as soon as we were out of earshot. “Thank you, I don’t know what he was even talking about.”

“Anytime,” I replied.

She snatched a champagne flute from a passing server and downed half of it. “I can’t wait for this night to be over.”

I nodded. “It is morbid despite their attempt to dress it up.”

“Yeah, and my parents won’t stop bugging me about my future. I can only apply to so many internships and not everyone is looking for a telekinetic,” she griped. “Sorry, how are you?”

“I’m alright. Ironically, I think he’d hate the name they picked but I didn’t know him super well,” I admitted.

“Right.”

Here it goes.

“So, I think the event the other day was a success,” I commented.

“Definitely. The house was packed. It’s too bad we can’t accept them all.”

Sydney smiled as she spoke.

“I know. It’s great that there’s so much interest.” I paused for a second. “But, I wanted to tell you that something came up with one of the pledges.”

Sydney gestured for me to continue.

“Even though my social media deep dive on the pledges was thorough, something came up today that I thought you should know when considering the pledges,” I explained.

“Okay.”

“Today, Justine posted a video exposing another girl’s eating disorder. Several of the girls were upset when they saw it.”

“That’s awful,” Sydney responded.

“It’s also so disappointing since I met Justine during that event, and she was saying how women empowerment is important to her. I know that women empowerment is a huge passion for you and a foundation for Si Chi and to imagine a pledge so willing to tear down another woman infiltrating the safe space you building is horrifying.”

Despite the liquor, I could tell Sydney was processing my words quicker than any computer. Her expression shifted from shock to anger to coldness. Then, she finished the last of her champagne and set it on the table closest to us. “Thank you for telling me, Y/N. I’ll see you later.”

As she walked away, I grinned widely at the response. Bid Day was going to be even more fun and interesting than last year. To celebrate, I grabbed myself a flute of champagne and sipped it as I started to wander the room.

“Y/N!”

My body froze at the masculine voice and my mind raced with what to say or do. Finally, I decided to face Jordan. They were in their masculine form and standing at a table by themselves. Though they looked fantastic in their navy suit, they looked like they hadn’t slept in days.

“Hello.”

I practically sang it and prayed for someone to make the floor swallow me.

“Can we talk?” he asked.

“Um, sure.” I walked closer to their table and rested my forearms on it.

 “It’s good to see you,” he started. “Outside of class, I mean.”

“You too.”

Jordan nodded and rubbed the back of his neck. “That’s good.” He paused. “I’m sorry about everything.”

I looked up from tapping my nails on the tablecloth. “Wh---”

“Please, let me finish. That day…I don’t know why I didn’t just tell you that I wouldn’t throw you under the bus but I wouldn’t even think about it. How could I do that to my little freshman?”

For the first time ever, my chest warmed at the nickname. However, I tried to bite back the smile that was worming its way onto my face.

I glanced away for a moment, crossing my arms over my purple sleeveless satin gown. “Well, I guess I forgive you,” I playfully grumbled before turning back to him. “But you still did it pretty easily to Marie.”

Jordan’s expression faltered and he sipped some champagne. “Don’t mention her.”

“Why not? She’s my friend and we did a very mean thing,” I argued.

“Look, I protected myself and you that night, I won’t apologize for that. Besides, she’s still here and she’s doing great,” he spat.

“I know you’re pissed about the rankings but, those can change, especially with how hard you work and how powerful you are.”

Jordan scoffed. “That’s how it should work but no one wants to back a bigender Asian.”

His words made me stop for a second. In all the time I knew them, Jordan seemed invincible to punches, laser beams, electric shocks, and words. They made succeeding at Godolkin look so easy but it must have been anything but. Plus, Luke and Brink’s death must have impacted everything else.

“We’ll see about that,” I challenged. “There’s about thirty trustees and every board member in this room. There will have to be a few who will like you.”

Jordan hesitated. “I’m not really in the mood to promote myself.”

“Then let me talk,” I offered.

He eyed me for a while before crossing over to my side of the table and looping one of his arms with mine. “Don’t make me look bad, freshie.”

“I think that’s impossible.”

The first target was easy: a thirtysomething white guy with floppy light brown hair and an oversized gray suit. I focused on him for a moment, gathering as much information as I could.

“Trevor Emerson, GOD U alum and old money beneficiary,” I muttered to Jordan.

“Isn’t he supposed to hate me?” Jordan hissed back.

“He’s overcome by white guilt since his recent discovery that all the black and brown people who built and managed his family’s manor were not salaried employees,” I explained. “He’s dying to look as much of an ally as possible.”

Jordan straightened up. “Good job, freshie.”

“I haven’t even gotten started.” I painted a polite smile on my face. “Mr. Emerson, it’s so nice to meet you, can we bother you for a moment?”

Two guilty and three haughty donors later, Jordan and I found ourselves at a different table. It was the first time that I saw him smile that night.

“You were amazing out there,” Jordan exclaimed.

“Thank you but you also made my job a little easier being talented and whatever,” I joked.

“Seriously.” Jordan grabbed my hand. “You might have saved my ass.”

I tried to ignore the tingle that shot up from my hand into the side of my neck. “It’s okay, I’m happy to help.”

When they announced that the video was about to start Jordan sulked again. “I can’t believe they’re making us sit through this shit.”

“Me neither.” I rest my hand on top of his. “I’m sorry I didn’t ask sooner but, are you okay?”

Jordan laughed humorlessly. “No but schmoozing with you did help a little. I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah.”

When we parted our separate ways, I wiped my sweaty palms on my dress skirt and approached my table. Fortunately, Mom and Dad had not burned down the ballroom with their arguing. In fact, when I got to their table, Mom was on her phone and Dad was rhythmically tapping his fingers against the tablecloth, looking anywhere but her.

“Hi, were you bored with me gone?” I asked, giving Dad a side hug.

“Not at all. I met a few board members and sold a few pictures,” he responded.

I nodded and slowly took the middle seat between them. The video was equal parts patronizing and infuriating. However, my parents’ whispers kept me from focusing too much on the video.

“Y/M/N, can you get off the phone for one second? They’re playing the video,” Dad hissed.

“I am about to cut the biggest deal of this quarter. They can send it,” Mom hissed back, waving a manicured hand for emphasis.

“Mom, people are starting to stare,” I quietly interjected.

“Let them stare. This is what’s paying for you to be here.”

“Don’t act like I don’t contribute!” Their words used to make me flinch but I forced myself to sit up straighter and breathe.

“I’m grateful for it, for both of you, really. You both paid to be here and I thought you would not want to miss the man they’re honoring,” I whispered.

Those words made Mom slowly mutter something into the phone before placing it face down on the table and leaning forward. At that same time, they flashed a picture of Brink and me across the screen. He had been meeting with my small group when the photographer appeared.

Dad squeezed an arm around my shoulder and I softly leaned into his touch.

“Thank God you lost that baby fat,” Mom commented.

“Y/M/N,” Dad said quietly.

“You know it’s true, Y/D/N,” Mom hissed back.

Suddenly, Dad’s arm felt like a boa constrictor, and I gracefully slipped out of its grasp. When the video ended, I drank a fresh flute of champagne. The bubbles instantly went to my head as I giggled at Dean Shetty introducing Marie.

She looked really pretty even though she was nervous.

“Do you know her?” Mom asked over the applause.

“We’re friends,” I replied.

“So why is she a guardian and not you?”

“She was more involved in stopping Luke than me,” I lied.

 When Dean Shetty cued everyone to return to socializing, Mom turned to me.

“Your grades are fantastic and your standing in your house is good,” Mom began. “But eligible bachelors will not notice you unless you stand out like her.”

“Y/M/N, leave her alone. Anyone who doesn’t notice Y/N isn’t worthy of being in our family anyway,” Dad defended.

Mom ignored him. “That girl, Marie Moreau, is not your friend, she is your competition. You are in the prime setting to have everything you’ve ever wanted but she could snatch it from you. You’re supposed to be able to see things like this coming, Y/N.”

“I do see things coming and I know Marie wouldn’t do that to me,” I quipped.

At that moment, Mom’s eyes bore so deep into me that I didn’t think that anyone could claw them out. Her eyes looked like they were going to bug out of her head at any moment and I could feel my breathing pick up.

“I’m sorry, it just slipped out,” I promised.

It felt like forever until she leaned back in her seat and grabbed her phone.

“Make sure it doesn’t ‘slip out’ again. Now go socialize.”

“I need a minute, Mom, I’ve been socializing since we got here.”

Mom rolled her eyes. “This again.”

“What?”

“Y/M/N, please.”

“No, no, Y/D/N, she is constantly using, what, anxiety to get out of speaking to people. You are always too soft on her and make me look like the bad guy. I’m the one helping her be normal,” Mom snapped. “Anxiety didn’t exist when we were her age, we just did what we had to do, and look where we are now.”

I wondered if Emma ever felt as small as I did in that moment. Then, I wondered if she ever made herself small to hide from people, even her mom. Wordlessly, I left the table and tried to avoid any cameras as the tears burned in the corners of my eyes.

I tried to take deep breaths to calm my trembling chest and keep my throat busy. My chest shifted from trembling to heavy and I started looking around the room.

“I hear one piano…feel two fingers…smell three different alcohols…and see---”

“Y/N, are you okay?” Cate’s voice broke me out of my rhythm and I glanced to see her sitting with Marie and Jordan, who was in their feminine form.

My chest felt much lighter and I quickly wiped away my tears. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Bullshit,” Jordan called gently.

Cate pulled me into a hug and had me sit between her and Marie. “What happened?”

“My parents, well, my mom mostly. I guess I got too anxious for her, and she yelled at me,” I rambled.

Cate smiled softly. “Then you came at the perfect time. We were just talking about our horrible parents.”

My ears perked up. “Really?”

“Well, mine are dead,” Marie commented.

I turned to her and placed my hands on top of hers. “What? I’m so sorry. How did it…”

“I accidentally killed them with my powers,” Marie explained.

“That must have been horrible.”

Marie barely nodded and I squeezed her hands. “I just told my little brother to go away during a camping trip. He never came back and my mom pretty much locked me away,” Cate confessed. “I was seven.”

 “What?” I whispered.

“I killed my grandpa with my powers,” Jordan interjected.

We all turned to her and I cocked my head to the side.

“No, you didn’t,” Cate countered.

Jordan smiled. “You’re right, I was feeling left out.”

I didn’t think that I could laugh the way I did but it felt so nice. At least I had friends again.

When I started sipping on the whiskey Cate stole, I saw a brief image flash before my eyes. There was a guy with curly brown hair covered in dirt running away from several bloody bodies. He paused for a moment and opened his hand, revealing a tiny sleeping Emma. When the vision left, Andre was standing in front of us.

“Seriously?” I complained before he even spoke.

[conchiferrous]

two doodle page commissions from recently

[IMAGE ID, IMAGE 1: Doodle page featuring Rolf and Kevin from Ed, Edd n' Eddy. Drawing 1: Kevin hands Rolf a valentine card, but he's looking away shyly. Kevin says: "I felt bad that I didn't get you anything last year so.. Happy valentine's day... Dude." Rolf looks at the card, dumbfounded with big eyes and question marks over his head. There's an arrow pointing to Rolf's head labelled "meaningless gesture." Drawing 2: Rolf is screaming at Kevin and pointing at him while Kevin looks off into the distance, exasperated. Rolf is yelling: "Rolf has had enough of your tomfoolery! I challenge you to a duel!" The drawing is captioned: "Third time this week". Drawing 3: Rolf is riding on Victor's back and Kevin is riding on Wilfred's back. Both of them are holding a lance and a shield, but Rolf's lance and shield look a little nicer while Kevin's lance has scotch tape showing and his shield looks scuffed. Victor is walking forward and Rolf is looking over at Kevin, eager, mouth open like he's talking to him but no dialogue is written. Kevin looks annoyed, and Wilfred just stands in place, wall eyed. Drawing 4: Small drawing of Rolf and Kevin walking and talking together while Rolf plays with a yo-yo. They're both smiling. Drawing 5: Chest up drawing of Rolf and Kevin looking at something to the left off screen. They both look bewildered.

IMAGE 2: Doodle page featuring Kevin and Ed from Ed, Edd n' Eddy. Drawing 1: Ed stands behind Kevin while Kevin stands in front of his bike protectively. The front tire on his bike is deflated and Ed tells him: "I saw on TV how to fix a bike once." Kevin, panicked, responds: "NO, THAT'S OKAY!" Drawing 2: Ed and Kevin look at something curiously off screen. They're drawn from the side and Kevin has to peek out from behind Ed. Drawing 3: Kevin stands inside his house and is holding a VHS box for a movie. He looks annoyed, his free hand on his hip, and says : "Aw man! I rented Attack of 100 Giant Squids & Nazz didn't want to watch it with me." In the window behind him, Ed is sprinting towards him. Drawing 4: Ed holds up a comic book called "Killer Pig" smiling, and says: "Wanna read the new comic I got?" Kevin responds: "Are there girls in it?" Drawing 5: Ed sits on his armchair, and points to something to the left off screen while kicking his legs. He says: "This is when the needle man shows up!" Kevin is hiding behind the chair, panicked, and peeking out from behind it. His back is pressed up against the chair. He responds: "Wow, that's great..." Drawing 6: Ed and Kevin are sitting on the floor, and Ed is holding a large bowl in his lap. Ed says: "I make my own popcorn sauce!" and text behind him reads (it's gravy). The gravy is covering the popcorn entirely, and Kevin looks over at it, disgusted. Drawing 7: Kevin and Ed are sitting on the floor watching TV. Only the top of the TV can be seen. Ed points at the screen and says: "This is the funniest part!". Text above it reads (most gore ever in a movie). Kevin looks disturbed. Drawing 8: Kevin and Ed are sitting on the floor, with their backs pressed up against each others'. They're both reading comics. Kevin's is called "mutant lymph node" and Ed's shows an advertisement for a yo-yo in the back. Kevin looks at Ed, looking aloof, and says: Pretty cool, I guess..." Ed looks back at Kevin, positively giddy. END ID]

[dailyanimatronics]

[ID: a drawing split in half. the first part shows rolfe dewolfe and earl schmerle on a stage. rolfe is grinning and talking with a paw on his chest. earl is staring at him with his arms crossed. he's saying "thank you, thank you! you're a lovely audience." the second part is captioned "the audience in question:" and shows a room filled with empty chairs. billy bob is the only person there. he is smiling sympathetically at them. above him text reads "*crickets chirping*." at the bottom it says "day 12: audience." /end ID]

[zxrtql-x]

ABOUT ZXTRQL-X!?!?

• Anns / Anzle

•ADD ✅ + ADHD??

•Pansexual or Bi?

•She/They/Any

•Editor + Artist (I'm horrible at drawing but I think I'm pretty good at editing. I edit on my YouTube: @Yᴏᴜʀʟᴏᴄᴀʟ_ᴇᴅɪᴛᴏʀʀ ★

•Fav colors: Sage green + black + pastel purple + navy blue

•Cartoons and Shows I LOVE: Ed Edd n Eddy, Billy and Mandy, Rockos Modern Life, Amazing World of Gumball, Garfield, Smiling friends, Rick and Morty, YOLO, Friends, The Office, The 90's Show, Demon Slayer, One Piece, Jujitsu Kaisen, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Scream 1996, The Extremely Goofy Movie, Yu-Gi-Su, The Rugrats Movie, Fairy Odd Parents, Dexters Laboratory, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Kids Next Door, Spooky Month, Chowder, Sam and Colby, Total Drama Island, Invasion Zim, South Park, Etc.

•Fav ships: Eddeddy (eene) Kevrolf (eene) Mayed (eene) Eddmarie (eene) Maxley (tegm) Maxroxanne (tgm) Billymandy (b&m) Creek (sp) Stanley (sp) Zosan (op) Charpim (sf) and etc that I can't remember :333333

•Fav characters:

EENE: Rolf, Kevin, Eddy, Double d, Plank

TDI: Alejandro, Duncan, Cody, Noah, Gwen

B&M: Grim, Billy, Nergal jr.

Smilling Friends: Charlie, Pim, Glep, Fillmore, Mr. Frog

SF: Sal, Larry

SM: Streber, Kevin, Bob, Roy, Ross, Robert

OP: Zoro, Sanji, Luffy, Buggy, Ace

TEGM: Max, Bradley, Bobby, Roxanne

R&M: Morty, Rick, Mortys sis?

SCREAM: Stu, Billy, Randy

•Im jst on here to find new friends & talk to told ones! (not looking for anything weird, if u try to talk weird to me, you will be blocked/reported. I AM UNDER 18.)

[inmymagnetoera]

Hello! I have a prompt for you! My prompt is that Erik Lehnsherr finds out that he has extended family who managed to survive the Shoah/Holocaust and they celebrate Hanukkah together!

PLEASE THIS PROMPT IS SO CUTE

here it is for you! :D♡

______________________

The extended family

Erik had been sitting for an unknown period of time on one of his old kitchen chairs in his small suburban apartment. How long had he been standing motionless staring into nothing? He didn't know and couldn't even give a time range. That same morning he received a call that turned everything he had always believed upside down.

When he got up that same morning, after convincing Charles to let him go to prepare breakfast, receiving a groan in return, he didn't expect to find three missed calls from an unknown number. Who could it be? It wasn't a call center number because well, Erik was almost convinced he had blocked them all and the few contacts he had on his smartphone were all saved with name and surname, so it was rare for an unknown number to call him. He didn't want to call back initially but when the phone rang again, he found himself forced to answer.

"Yes? Who's talking?" He asked in an irritated voice to let the person on the other end know that he didn't feel like having a conversation.

"Is this Erik Lehnsherr?" A female voice asked.

"Who's talking?" Erik asked again.

"I'm Sarah Eisenhardt and I believe you are my cousin." The voice said with a slight tone of amusement on the other end.

Erik froze. Eisenhardt? Like, his mother's maiden name? Cousin? Did Erik have any other family besides Charles?

"What do you mean?" He asked, feeling his heart beat faster.

"It took me a while to find you, actually. You're very difficult to contact. My father is Rolf Eisenhardt and he's your mother's brother." Erik gripped the phone as tight as he could.

"My mother never told me about a brother."

"Yeah, I didn't know I had an aunt either until a few months ago. My father and your mother argued even before the war started. My father wanted to go to the States and take your mother with him, but your mother had just married and didn't want to leave. My father left and never saw her again." Erik was…angry. Why had this Rolf never looked for his mother or tried to contact him?

"I know this is most likely a shock for you but I can assure you that my father had tried to find his sister but after many years he lost hope. When he told me about it, I tried to investigate to find out if she had had children and I was able to trace it back to you. You don't have to be in our lives if you don't want to, but you know, Hannukah is coming up soon and my dad would be very happy to find out he has another nephew." Erik thought for a moment and made his decision.

"Okay. Yes, I would like to but I haven't celebrated Hannukah in a long time."

"Don't worry! We'll teach you everything in case."

"Ok then... if you give me the address I'll stop by." After ending the call with some awkward goodbyes, Erik sat back and thought.

"Erik? What are you doing?" Charles asked sleepily coming towards him and sitting on his lap.

"I have a family." He said in a small voice, holding the other close to him.

"What?" Charles asked now fully awake.

“A woman named Sarah who, apparently, is the daughter of my mother's brother, called me this morning.”

"Your mother had a brother?!"

“I had pretty much the same reaction.”

"Oh Erik, that's great! We should go see them." He said with a smile.

"They invited me to celebrate Hannukah with them. Will you come with me?" He asked hopefully, resting his chin on his lover's shoulder.

"Of course I'll come with you." He said kissing him.

A few days later, at the door of a large red house, Erik didn't know if he had ever been so agitated in his life. He gripped the neck of the bottle of wine brought as a gift tighter and, at the sight, Charles squeezed his hand.

"It'll be fine. They'll love you." He reassured him by ringing the doorbell. The door was opened by a woman who must have been a little older than Erik with thick, curly black hair, skin the same shade as Erik and eyes a shade darker.

"Are you Erik? It's so nice to meet you!" She said throwing herself forward and hugging him. Erik stiffened and placed a hand on her upper back.

"Oh I'm sorry, it's just so nice to have a new member in the family. And you are?" She asked looking at Charles.

"Erik's boyfriend. It's a real pleasure." He said holding out his hand only to be hugged back.

"There's no need for formalities. You're family too!" She said looking at him with eyes full of joy.

“Oh come, you must meet everyone.” He let them in and took them to the large dining room where about twenty people were talking, eating, drinking and having fun.

"Attention please, I have someone to introduce you to." Sarah said getting everyone's attention.

“Who is this guy, Sarah?” An elderly man sitting at the head of the table asked.

"Dad, this is Erik Lehnsherr. He's Edie's son." Everyone went quiet and the world was spinning in Erik's eyes. He felt his insides tremble. The older man looked at him with bulging eyes and stood up, walking slowly towards him. She looked at him intensely and, without anyone expecting it, burst into tears.

"My God, you're just like your mother. Let me look at you. Oh, my little sister had a son and I had no idea. Look at how big you are." He hugged him and Erik burst into tears.

"I didn't know anyone was still alive." He said as tears rolled down his cheeks.

"If only I had known what was going to happen, I would have taken my sister and taken her with me here to America. But I was young and angry and I didn't think twice about leaving her behind after she told me no. When everyone found out what the Nazis had done I couldn't live with myself and I looked for her, I swear I did but I never managed to find anything." He pulled away from the hug and wiped his eyes.

"Stop crying. These are days of celebration for us. Come and sit down, we have a lot of things to talk about." And so, Erik spent the holidays sitting at a large table, surrounded by people who until a few days before he had been convinced did not exist, listening to the stories his uncle told about his mother and the Eisenhardt family.

Charles squezzed his hand and Erik did the same and, for the first time in too long, he thought that life could be a little more beautiful than he thought.

[breaniebree]

Here's a little hint at the first 6 epilogues...

Many of them occur at the same time and time jump lots in each chapter so not everything is in chronological order.

31 - Hinny Epilogue One:

Molly looked slightly put out by this before she turned her gaze on Harry and Ginny.  “And what about you two?  Two years you’ve just celebrated and what have you to show for it?”

Ginny bit her lip before she exchanged a look with Harry.  “Actually, Mum, Harry and I do have some news to share.”

Molly shrieked, jumping up from the table.  “Oh my goodness!  I knew it!  I knew it!  I’m so happy!  Oh, Ginny!”

Ginny was pulled into her mother’s arms before she could say anything otherwise and squeezed tightly.  “Mum!”

“Oh, Ginny, you’re going to be such a good mum!  I just know you two are going to have boy!  I can feel it!”  Molly exclaimed, tightening her grip on her daughter.

Harry cleared his throat.  “Erm, Molly, we —”

“—and you!”  Molly said, throwing her arms around Harry.  “A baby!  This calls for a celebration!”

“MUM!”  Ginny shouted, making Molly turn to look at her.  “I’m not pregnant.”

Molly’s face fell.  “Not pregnant?  What do you mean by telling me that you are!”

“I didn’t,” Ginny said.  “I said that we had some news to share.”

32 - Luna Epilogue...

“I don’t like him,” Harry said again, crossing his arms in front of his chest.  “She was bloody starkers when he met her, Gin!  This bloke is dodgy, I can feel it!  I don’t like him.”

“You do, actually,” Ginny said, her eyes twinkling.  “In fact you like him very much.”  At Harry’s look, she smiled.  “His name is Rolf Scamander.”

“Rolf Sc — bloody hell,” Harry grumbled.

“He’s very nice, Harry,” Luna said.  “We’ve been together most of the last two and half months.  He makes me laugh and he’s kind.  When he kisses me, I feel things that I’ve never felt before and he doesn’t seem to mind that I need a lot of foreplay to make me come.  In fact, he rather enjoys spending time between my legs.  Ginny, one night I came five times.”

Ginny chuckled.  “He’s definitely a keeper.”

“Erm, sure,” Harry said, the back of his neck reddening.  “I’ll leave you two to talk more.”  He stood up and walked over to kiss Luna’s cheek.  “If he hurts you, I’ll kill him.”

Luna gave Harry an amused look.  “You know I can take care of myself, right?”

“Just pass it on,” Harry said, kissing her cheek again.  “No one messes with you or they answer to me.”

“He gives me the best orgasms, I’m going to keep him for a bit.”

“Er, right,” Harry said. 

33 - Theo Epilogue One...

"Theo, will you —”

"YES!"

Sebastian's lips curved.  "You didn't even let me ask you.”

"Right, sorry," Theo said. "Try again.”

"Will you —”

“YES!"  he squealed, biting his bottom lip.  “Sorry.  One more time, l'll be quiet, I swear.”

Sebastian beamed at him.  "Will you marry —“

"YES!"  Theo shouted, falling to his knees in front of Sebastian to kiss him.  "A million times yes!!”

Sebastian kissed him back fervently.  "You know, I had a plan here.  I didn't even get to show you the ring.”

Theo kissed him, speaking in between more kisses.  "Don't care.  More kissing.”

34 - Romione Epilogue One...

Ron waved his mum off.  “Nothing much, Mum, except for one thing — I’m calling for a vote.  I think we can all agree that I’m the Weasley who gave the most romantic proposal ever, right?”

Fred snorted.  “Pretty sure that’s a lie.  No way was ickle Ronnikins the most romantic.”

“Nothing from you,” Ron said.  “You haven’t even proposed to your girlfriend.”

Fred stuck his tongue out at his brother.  “Git.”

“I don’t know,” Ginny said, smiling at her husband.  “Harry set up a romantic picnic before we went for a fly on his broom.  Then he wrote me a cheesy poem while he proposed during the sunset.  That’s definitely up there for mad romance.”

Ron waved her off.  “Yeah, yeah, Harry’s a contender!  But I definitely beat out Percy!”

“I thought the ring in the champagne glass was very classy,” Percy said, pushing his glasses up his nose.

“It was,” Audrey said, tapping her husband’s cheek.  “He took me out to a romantic dinner and told me how much he loved me.  It was perfect.”

“I don’t know,” George said.  “I think I win, I mean, I got Ange to propose to me.”

Angelina laughed.  “And it worked for us, but I wouldn’t exactly call it romantic, George.”

George gasped.  “How dare you!  You even gave me this gawdy ring!”  he exclaimed, wiggling his hand with the pirate ring on his finger.

Angelina picked up his other hand, the one that held his gold wedding band.  “I love this one more.”

He grinned.  “I’m a kept man and I like it.”

“Wait,” Ginny said, holding up her hands.  “Ron keeps going on about how he had the most romantic proposal, but I don’t think we’ve even heard how he proposed.”

“What’s important, Ginny, is that I win!”  Ron declared.

35 - Hinny Epilogue Two...

Harry kissed the top of her head.  “Gin, if this is what you want, you know that I’m going to support you.  You don’t have to work at all if you don’t want to.”

“I know,” Ginny said, tracing her fingertips into the groove of his abs.  “I think maybe I’d like to do something else eventually, but I think that when it gets closer, I’ll think more about it.  I just want to spend more time with our children and enjoy them, you know?”

Harry kissed the top of her head.  “Whatever you want to do.”

Ginny’s fingers trailed a bit lower to squeeze him.  “Then after I retire, maybe we can try for that magical number four?”

“Yeah?”  he asked, a little breathlessly.  “One more baby?”

“One more,” Ginny agreed.  “I think four is the perfect number, don’t you?”

Her thumb brushed under the head of his cock and his breath hitched.  “Yeah, that sounds perfect.  Let’s try for another girl.  Two and two, you know?”

Ginny smiled, slowly kissing her way down his chest.  She dragged her tongue over him, sneaking a look at him under her lashes.  “After I retire.”

“Deal,” he murmured and then her mouth wrapped around him and Harry watched her in awe, falling more in love with her all over again.

36 - Blaise Epilogue...

“I don’t even want to get married,” Blaise insisted.  “I’m working my dream job.  I have more money than I even know what to do with.  I can buy whatever clothes I want, travel wherever I want, and bloody shag whomever I bloody want… why would I want to settle down?  Seems boring.”

Theo sighed.  “One of these days, Blaise Zabini, some witch is going to turn her nose up at you and you won’t know what to do about it.”

Blaise laughed.  “Please.  I’m everyone’s fantasy.”

Sebastian snorted.  “His ego’s still working just fine, I see.”

Blaise grinned.  “And you two love me for it.”

“Well, instead of your ego, can we talk about our plan for Paris?”  Sebastian asked.

Theo pouted.  “It’s not fair that you both get to go to Paris and I have to stay here.”

“You have to work,” Sebastian told him. 

“And we’ll be working,” Blaise cut in.  “You and your team are taking over all of the investigation, am I right?”

“Yes,” Sebastian said.  “D, J, and I will keep track of it all and let you know what we find.  You’re only defending Lavigne, correct?”

“Yeah, but from what I’ve heard, it’s causing a rift in the Ministry.”

“And then some,” Sebastian agreed.  “My team is heading there tomorrow afternoon and as soon as know something, I’ll touch base.”

“Appreciate it,” Blaise told him.  “Now, let’s chat about what kind of outrageous gift we can get Draco before I head off to Paris to shag my way around the city.”

Theo turned to look at his husband.  “Why do we keep inviting him over?”

“Because you love him, baby.”

Theo wrinkled his nose.  “It’s bloody inconvenient that that’s true.”

Blaise laughed and clinked his wine glass with Theo’s.  “I’ll drink to that.”

_________

Epilogues 37-41 are still only partially finished as I've been procrastinating. LOL

[mysticbeaver]

How and when does Kevin realize he's also into guys? How would he handle this revelation?

When I read the question I thought "god that's difficult"... But actually it's been very entertaining to write about this 😁 Hope you get some laughs outta this!

Let me preamble this by mentioning the EddEddy kiss... Sure, he was looking for ways to embarass and humiliate Eddy, but that's on the surface... He totally had that idea cause he was curious to see two guys kiss. It's psychology 101 c'mon 🤓 Unconscious obviously, but imagine if at some point when they're older, Eddy confronts him about it "Remember, you wanted to see us kiss, Shovelchin 😈"

In all seriousness, he'd start noticing things at some point post-BPS, maybe in his teens. I think this mainly has to do with him getting a crush on Rolf lol (it's my ship you know).

He goes to bed at night and thinks back to earlier that day when he was at Rolf's farm and Rolf was toiling away... bare-chested... and he looked kinda... choice?

Or that time Rolf threw an arm around his shoulder with a hearty laugh... and then ruffled his hair... and that smile... wait...OH NO...

I wonder how Kevin's reaction would differ compared to Eddy coming to terms with his own sexuality. What if Eddy finally came out at some point and it struck a chord with Kev? Or maybe he'd hate the possibility of being so similar and start acting "homophobic-homosexual" LMAO

If he bottles it up I imagine Nazz, in her sensitivity, would slowly notice something's up. Either she's gonna talk to Kevin about what's on his mind, or maybe she'd wait for him to be desperate and finally seek her help.

"Hey Nazz... I-I need your help, umm... I think-"

"Let me guess... you like dudes."

"H-HOW DO YOU KNOW???"

"😏...the way you look at Rolf?"

Aside from Rolf, I'm also thinking of an accident where he accidentally lets it slip to Edd - maybe Dee is chatting with Nazz about some difficulties with Eddy, Nazz is trying to get those two finally hooked up (always the matchmaker 😁)... Edd's wondering whether Eddy even finds him an "attractive physical specimen" lmao, and Kevin butts in and says "No way, dude... If you can like that ugly bastard, he likes your cute looks for sure, hah! Uh, I mean..." *cue Dee and Nazz staring at him in awkward silence*

Overall, I think Nazz would be the one to reassure him about it. At some point they probably learn about Rolf's culture being more accepting... and Nazz takes it as the signal to proceed Operation Kevrolf... And on she goes to play matchmaker with yet another couple lol

[princess-of-thebes-1995]

New world

Chapter one

Christian Bale John Rolfe x Female Mutant Reader

Movie: New World.

I cannot believe there are John Smith x reader stories but not John Rolfe! He is a hunk! Anyway, I am done with studying and chores for the day. So, I wrote this junk. I cannot sleep despite being 12:26 am.

Being a Mutant with Telekinesis made the world a better place. You cleaned everything you imagined, thus saving wildlife. You reduced Global Warming over eighty percent.

That gave you wealth and fame. But, there was one problem. You needed heirs to continue your legacy. And you have been pestered with suitors and it irritated you.

You wanted true love and not alliance. Despite being the most beautiful young woman in the world, you were insecure. If you weren't gifted, beautiful, or rich you were sure no one wanted you.

So, you decided to go to Jamestown. A newly made city for Europeans to settle in Native American land. The King asked you to build and cultivate.

You arrived at the said place. North America was beautiful. The plants and the clear river were naturally immaculate to the tea. You might actually stay and live here. You were originally from (Country) but your parents passed away. And you were so lonely.

Gulping, you stepped off the ship and looked around. The villagers and workers suddenly stilled and then some bowed and curtsied when they saw you walking off to the flat land and away from the ship.

"Miss Name. Welcome to Jamestown." An elderly man with a pipe and suit walked up to you. Behind him trailed a young man about twenty five. You looked away immediately. Smiling at the elderly man, you nodded to him curtly.

The young man was so handsome. He had a sparse beard and shoulder length hair. Muscular and tall. With broad shoulders and expensive black leather boots which looked amazing with his brown fabric suit. 

You didn't notice the ogling of the young man. He was surprised that the rumors about you were true after all. No one exaggerated your beauty. He smiled at you, impressed.

"This is my son, John Rolfe." He gestured to the handsome gentleman behind him. 

John Rolfe did a little bow. To make things worse, he stepped up in front of you and kissed your hand. 

You blinked in surprise. "Thank you. You didn't have too .."

Chuckling. John Rolfe grinned. "So modest too.*

Nodding, Mr. Rolfe continued talking about the new pipes and water wells he wants. 

Without a moment to lose, you used your brain to easily connect the pipes and dig them inside the dirt ground and made holes in the grass areas to see water coming out of them.

"Amazing." John Rolfe smiled at you.  "Months of hard work done already. You are a blessing."

You thanked him out of politeness. 

"You must be tired from the long trip. My mother prepared a guest room for you. Please follow me."

You followed both father and son as they led you to a fancy log cabin with a brown picket fence. It was a cozy and comfortable house. You liked it. It wasn't tacky or too fancy. You loved fiber things. So, it wasn't simple either. Just right.

The whole dinner, John wasn't the only one studying you. So was his mother. Mrs. Rolfe was admiring not only your looks but your table manners. A lot of beautiful candidates for her son were not kind. You were a good God fearing soul with good moral values. She admired and respected you. It would be grand that you were her daughter she never had.

A perfect wife for her son too.

But, you were too famous and out of John's league. With a sigh she sipped her tea cup.

After settling into the guest bedroom, John was in his own bed. He couldn't sleep. He kept thinking of you. Your gentle and graceful demeanor. So elegant you were too. What a lady. 

Sighing, he remembered reading about your contributions to society in the newspaper. John was a businessman who traded goods and donated extra money to the poor.

He loved the way you thought. Not just your pretty face.

Finally, sleep overtook him. In a few hours, he woke up sweating and his male organ was wet.

He dreamed a beautiful dream…

You, sleeping next to him on a grand fancy bed and in a fancy luxurious room. In a place he has never been. He was pressed against your naked back. And you were curled around his muscular arms. 

And he saw something that melted his heart. A wonderfully crafted wooden crib and inside not one but two babies were sleeping inside it. Both had his hair and skin color. But they both had the same type of hair and lip color as you. Beautiful angel babies. 

Family of his own.

When John Rolfe woke. A tear slid down his right eye.

"I must have her. But how?"

[ededdneddy-artrefs]

[mkorpse13]

Description: Kevin defends Rolf from a bully.

Rolf sat down under a shady tree on the front of the Peach Creek High School campus. He decided to get there early so he could escape doing the morning chores on the farm.

Ever since he had moved to Peach Creek he was always managing the farm mostly on his own, at times his family would pitch in but would do the bare minimum. His papa was usually at the market, trying to make a living off of selling the vegetables and fruits grown on the farm. His mama was often cleaning and cooking inside the house which left him to do everything on the farm. It was practically Rolf’s farm at that point.

He leaned against the tree, staring at his rings that shined on all of his fingers. They glimmered from the early morning sunset. He smiled, the shimmer of them were very soft and satisfying to look at.

Rolf felt a sudden bang against the tree, looking up he had seen the a jock from the football team. He made a low groan, turning around to stare at the ground. He already knew what was coming. These jocks had often made fun of him, mocking him for having different customs.

The single jock confidently strolled around the tree to face Rolf. He smirked at Rolf, looking down and gazing at him. Rolf continued to ignore him, fidgeting with his hands.

Quickly getting impatient, the jock cleared his throat hoping that would signal Rolf to look up. Rolf finally lifted his head, glaring at him.

“Why do you bother Rolf at the early hours of the morning? Why bother Rolf at all?” He sneered.

“Because you’re weird. He scoffed “You come from a weird country with odd customs, and gross people.” He spat out, waving his arms around in the air, before coming back with another attack. “You’re also extremely fun to mess with.”

Rolf shot up from the ground, shoving the jock backwards.

“Leave Rolf’s country out of this!” He shoved a finger right into the jock’s face.

“Oh alright, then would you want me to talk about your piggish mother instead?” He raced back towards Rolf, slamming him hardly against the tree. Leaves fell down around them. Rolf groaned in pain, grabbing onto the back of his head and rubbing it.

“You made a big mistake pushing me, Vorlik.” He said the last name with much disgust, as if it had tasted bitter to say. “I’ll make you wish you had never left from that Old Country.” The jock had gotten in Rolf’s face, his hot breath hitting against Rolf and his fists clinging onto Rolf’s wool sweater.

“Hey! What are you doing to him?!” A angry voice came from afar. The voice was familiar to Rolf. It was Kevin! He trudged over to them, stomping angrily against the floor.

The jock had looked back with fear. He already knew what the consequences may be. He quickly released Rolf, causing Rolf to slump against the tree. He slowly backed away from Rolf, turning to Kevin to greet him.

“Oh come on Kevin, I was just playing around with him.” The jock placed his sweaty hand on Rolf’s head to ruffle his hair.

“Don’t lie to me man. I know what you were doing to him!” Kevin fumed, shoving his finger into the jock’s face. “You know I could get you kicked off the football team if this happens again, right?” He crossed his arms, glaring at him. Rolf is off limits. You got that?”

“Yeah, whatever man. You can never take a joke.” The jock walked off, hands in the pockets of his tight jean pants.

“Hey dude, you alright?” Kevin lended Rolf a hand and helped the taller boy up from the tree.

“Rolf is fine, just a slight aching in his head.” He chuckled, softly rubbing the back of his head.

“Wanna go get breakfast? It’ll probably make you feel better?” Kevin smiled, motioning his head to point towards the entrance of the school.

“Alright. Rolf will partake in this journey to the cafeteria, even though he would much rather have his mama’s spicy olive balls.” He smiled smugly.

“Maybe if you were to actually try something, you’d enjoy it.” Kevin pestered Rolf as they started walking towards the entrance of the school.

Hello everyone, hope this was a good read. Pretty small, yet I’m somewhat proud of it. There may be errors, if there are any flaws please forgive me as I’m am really tired.

[saiilorstars]

Ch. 33: Out in the Country

Fandom: Harry Potter (Hogwarts years 1-7) Pairing: Draco x OFC

taglist: @ocappreciationtag @arrthurpendragon @anotherunreadblog @maaaaarveeeeel @stareyedplanet @foxesandmagic @kmc1989

​​​​Story Masterlist // Romina’s Masterlist

Fanfic • Ao3 • Wattpad

If you’d like to be a part of this OC’s work/edits, let me know!

Romina never thought it would be possible to feel both heavy excitement and a heavy urge to throw up. Things were actually working out for her — like actually working. Rolf's parents, her uncle Adric and aunt Gemma, had come to their house to talk about the situation and what they hoped would be the arrangement. Romina was surprised that her uncle Lyonel managed to keep calm about the whole thing. Of course she'd already warned him that if he ruined this in any way, she would never forgive him. Blackmail, perhaps, but it worked.

At the end of the visit, it was agreed that Romina would visit her grandparents accompanied by Rolf and his parents. Neither Lyonel nor Sage felt prudent to come along for obvious reasons. Romina also suspected that Lyonel did it to avoid any conflicts during her visit, an act she would thank him for later.

"You have everything you need, right?" Sage was fixing Romina's primp curls and adjusting the collar of her blouse.

"Yes, auntie," Romina nodded fervently. It wasn't like she had checked her duffel bag over and over for the last day.

"Now remember," Lyonel stepped towards her, "If you feel bombarded or if you just want to come home, tell them. They understand that this can be difficult and they just want to make sure you're comfortable. Don't be afraid to tell them, okay?"

Romina nodded again. "Yeah."

A short moment later, their fireplace spit out the familiar face of Rolf Scamander and the semi-familiar face of his father, Adric.

"Romina!" Rolf beamed at the sight of her. "Hi!"

Romina could at least relax seeing him and knowing that he was going to be around for most of the visit. Still, when she met Adric Scamander's gaze, she drew in a shaky breath. "H-hi," she said dumbly. It was very hard accepting the fact she had another uncle.

Adric Scamander was a tall man with dark brown hair that tousled on the back. His eyes were a dark brown and the more Romina looked at him, the more she paid attention to some light freckles sprinkled over his face. "Hi Romina," he greeted her kindly. "Are you ready to go?"

Romina had no idea why she looked up at her aunt and uncle. She felt like a child who had no idea what to do. Way to stand your ground!

"Whenever you're ready, sweetheart," Sage said

Romina bit on her bottom lip. Her fingers curled tightly around the strap of her duffel bag. "I'm ready," she said, trying to act like she wasn't a nervous wreck at the moment.

"C'mon Romina," Rolf was eager for the both of them, "Grandpa's going to show you the bowtruckles—those are my favorite!"

"What's a bowtruckle?" Romina asked. Suddenly the ten times she had read their grandfather's book disappeared from her head.

Rolf chuckled and reached for his cousin's hand. "They're these little green looking creatures. Kind of like walking plants."

"I think...I think I remember reading about them…" Romina said, letting Rolf walk them back towards the fireplace. Her head would need an extra minute or so to think for just about anything right now.

The adults smiled at the pair. Lyonel felt a little more relaxed seeing Romina more willing around Rolf. Then he felt the guilt for having robbed her of the relationship. He tried reminding himself that he'd done everything he could to make sure she was safe and happy.

"We'll have her back by tomorrow," Adric told him. "Unless you all decide otherwise."

Sage nodded. "Thank you. This means a lot to her."

Adric smiled. "Believe me, it means a lot for our family too. It's like Elora isn't completely gone." The mention of his older sister was bittersweet for both sides of the family. "Alright you two," he said, turning for the teenagers, "Ready or not…"

The flames erupted in the fireplace again and in a couple seconds, Lyonel and Sage saw their niece disappear with the rest of her family.

~ 0 ~

Romina was pretty much like a statue as soon as she left the fireplace. She was well aware that she was in another home, a nice home by the looks of it, and there was also a dark haired woman waiting for them.

Gemma Scamander, Rolf's mother, was eager to meet Romina and didn't hesitate to pull the girl into a tight hug. "Oh, you have no idea how much Rolf's talked about you in these last years!"

"Mum," Rolf said through gritted teeth. "She gets it, trust me."

Gemma winced and let Romina go. "Sorry, I tend to get a little overexcited."

"I'll say," Adric came around.

Gemma lightly whacked his arm. "Anyways," she said, though her gaze lingered on her husband for a moment before she continued, "Everyone's waiting at the house but I've reminded them that it may be a while before we get there. Romina, how are you feeling?"

Romina smiled lightly. "So far, so good." I haven't thrown up yet. She had yet to release the firm grip around her duffel bag's strap too but that was something else. "Um, have I met everyone here, though?" The house was rather silent but she had no idea if Rolf had any younger or older siblings.

Adric chuckled when he presumed Romina's thoughts. "It's just us, dear. Your aunt Kassia, though, you'll want to see her."

"Then let's," Romina said, drawing in a breath. It was basically now or never.

Adric and Gemma were more than happy to get them going. As they readied to re-enter the fireplace, Romina heard Rolf's comforting words that everything was going to be fine. Everyone was waiting anxiously to meet her. There was no reason to worry about anything.

Romina had no idea what to think nor feel when she entered the fireplace and came out once again in a whole new house. The living room was beyond spacious and had a touch of vintage to it? Romina took note of the warm colors and immediately thought of autumn for some reason. She spotted several portraits on the wall, a lot of them being awards of some type.

"We're here!" Adric's loud yell made Romina flinch in her spot.

Beside her, Rolf chuckled. "Yeah, Dad's got a big voice. You should hear him when I'm in trouble."

Romina cracked a smile at him. "That's my uncle Lyonel," she said and they both shared a laugh.

"I didn't expect you to be here so soon!" They heard a woman say and before Romina could decide on who it would be, a slightly younger woman than Gemma walked into the living room. Romina's eyes widened.

She had soft blonde hair and blue eyes, but what took Romina's attention was the fact that she was very pregnant.

"Oh wow," the woman breathed when she saw Romina. "Adric, she's got Mum's—"

"I know," Adric said with a small chuckle. "First thing I thought of when I saw her. Romina?" The girl stepped forwards as soon as he called. Adric placed a hand on her shoulder. "Romina, this is your aunt Kassia. And that—" he pointed at her pregnant belly, "—is the future Willow."

"Another cousin," Romina smiled slowly.

Kassia chuckled and nodded. "Oh yes, and a rowdy one judging by the kicks."

"Oh, is she kicking again?" Gemma moved over to test her luck and see if she could feel the baby's kicks.

"Oh!" Kassia huffed. "Hasn't stopped since last night! I can't wait for her to get out!"

"Romina, we can take your stuff to the guest room," Adric said, holding a hand out for the bag. "That way you can go outside." He glanced at his sister. "I imagine that's where they are?"

Kassia scoffed. "You know Mum, everything has to be perfectly decorated."

Romina's heart skipped a beat at the mention of her grandmother. "What is she decorating?" the question left her lips before she even finished thinking it.

Kassia smiled at her. "Why don't you come out and see?" She extended her hand towards Romina and waited patiently for the girl to decide whether or not she would want to take it.

Romina wanted to meet everyone in the house so badly that she didn't think twice about handing over her duffel bag to Adric then taking Kassia's hand.

"We'll be outside, Adric," Kassia said before he took off for the stairs. "C'mon then, better get a headstart. I'm a little slower than usual."

"How long till you have your baby?" Romina found herself asling. If Lyonel or Sage had been around, she was sure to have been scolded for such an imprudent question.

Kassia merely chuckled, however, easing Romina's nerves. "About a month now. Her father and I are so excited."

"You're married?"

"Yeah, your uncle Oliver is off in France, I'm afraid. Business trip."

Kassia led the group out into the biggest yard that Romina had ever seen. In fact, it was just a big ole field. It reminded her of the country houses she sometimes saw in movies where the characters went to "get away from it all". A high wooden gate was set around the house but there was truly no need for it. There wasn't anything around them. Beautiful plants adorned both sides of the gate and at the end there was a door to the outside. The plants didn't stop by the gates, though, they were pretty much everywhere! Twinkling lights were draped in the form of curtains over the gates. A wooden table, a big one at that, resided at the center with empty plates. And for some reason, there were half dressed mannequins and others that were right empty set sporadically around. It was funny but at the same time, Romina recognized them as the special mannequins that proper designers would use.

And finally, Romina spotted a tall woman with wavy blonde hair below her shoulders that seemed to be gray in some areas. She was using her wand to prop up a brand new set of twinkling lights near the gate door. She was humming something and it took Romina a moment to realize the woman was humming something in French.

Kassia cleared her throat and called out to the woman. "Mum?"

The woman dropped the twinkling lights when she looked back and found her visitors. "Oh!" Her eyes widened.

Romina felt like she might pass out when the woman looked directly at her.

"Bienvenue!" She lowered her wand and left it carelessly on the table. She took a long stride towards the group.

Romina immediately noted the elegant robes she wore all in pastel colors. Her face was wrinkled but there was a timeless beauty to her. Her lips were pink and stretched into a wide smile.

"Grandma! It's her!" Rolf exclaimed and immediately felt his mother's hard grip on his shoulder. She wanted him to be calm right now? Of all times!?

Romina swallowed hard when her grandmother chuckled. She even laughed softly and elegantly. How does one even do that?

"Oh, I know," the woman said, "You don't think I'd recognize my own eyes?"

Romina's hand ghosted around her eyes then. "Your eyes?" she repeated.

Her grandmother chuckled. "Well of course. I suppose you could have gotten them from your father but I hardly think so. They're mine. Same shade of brown. And big." She heaved a long sigh and gave Romina a look that the girl couldn't describe. "It is very nice to meet you, Romina. I'm your grandmother, Abigail."

"Yeah, I...I heard," Romina awkwardly smiled.

Abigail chuckled. "I suppose you have. I know Rolf has been talking to you. He is quite the talker. Didn't get that from this family."

"Hey," Gemma laughed. "I don't talk that much. And you should hear Adric, he gets going sometimes."

"I suppose he does," mused Abigail. She met Romina's stare and smiled. "Trying to picture me as grandma?"

"Kind of," Romina admitted. "I'm sorry—"

"Don't be," Abigail cut her off quickly. Her smile dropped to be replaced by an earnest face. "You take all the time you need, alright? We will all respect your boundaries, whatever you want them to be."

"Th-thank you…" Romina bit on her bottom lip, "Can I...could I...um, could I hug you?" She felt an insane heat blossom over her cheeks as soon as she croaked the question out.

Luckily for her, Abigail laughed. "That was definitely your grandfather. Come here!"

Romina practically jumped on the opportunity. Her hands wrapped around her grandmother tightly.

Abigail hugged her back within the second. "Welcome home, Romina."

Romina could feel stinging tears in her eyes so she decided to shut them before they decided to escape. She focused solely on the sweet hug her grandmother was giving her. She smelled so sweet—an elegant perfume no doubt. The anger she initially felt when she learned about their existence seemed to fade in that moment. Romina wouldn't wonder if it was going to come back, not right now.

"There, there," Abigail rubbed Romina's back. "From now on, if you'd like of course, you can have all the hugs you want."

"You're not going to pinch her cheeks?" Rolf asked and Romina heard the distinct sound of his hiss. His mother had just whacked him upside the head. "What?" He huffed. "I was just asking!"

Abigail shook her head. "My grandchildren," she slowly unwinded her arms and allowed Romina to take a moment. "My grandchildren."

"You really are French," Romina said, chuckling at her grandmother's light French accent.

"Oui!" Abigail bopped Romina's nose. "Born and raised."

"Is that why you design clothes?"

Abigail chuckled. "No, I've always liked creating things, not just clothes you know. I used to create things all the time when I was younger. Out of anything too."

"Mum, why don't you show her your room?" Kassia suggested. "While Dad finishes downstairs."

Abigail pointed at her daughter. "That's a good idea! But you might need to go downstairs and pull your father out. You know how lost he gets sometimes."

Kassia scoffed. "Just a little."

"What's he doing?" Romina asked, unable to stop the light feeling of disappointment that couldn't meet her grandfather right now.

"Taking care of his creatures, what else?" Abigail sighed with a chuckle. "But don't you worry, he's coming up for lunch. He's as excited to meet you as everyone else is. C'mon." She held her hand out for Romina. "I've got many things to show you. Kassia, Gemma, will you finish for me down here?"

"Of course," Gemma said. "Rolf, you can help."

"Can't I just go downstairs with grandpa instead?" Rolf said with a scrunched nose. He really didn't feel like decorating.

"Nope! Your father's going to help too! Go!"

Romina smiled when Rolf begrudgingly walked with his mother. She took Abigail's hand afterwards and walked with her back into the house.

"Are you well, my dear?" Abigail asked as they headed for the stairs. "Because you are more than welcome to tell me if you need some time or space…"

"I'm good, promise," Romina nodded. She was still nervous but the joy in getting to meet all of them was slowly winning out.

Abigail smiled and led her up the stairs. "Is there anything you want to know about me? Or anything you want to know in general?"

Romina could think of at least a thousand things she wanted to ask. It was hard deciding where to start. "If you're French, how'd you end up living in the English countryside?" That was probably the stupidest question of all but for some reason it was the easiest one to start with.

"After everything, your grandfather and I decided that we both wanted some peace. The cities are fine but I was always accustomed to living in these solitary houses and besides, I needed space and quiet to design. Your grandfather needed the space for his creatures."

Romina hummed. She eyed the portraits on hallway walls. Even the decoration upstairs was vintage-like. "Did you design this place? Style it?"

"Yeah, I have a knack for it, you could say." Abigail met Romina's gaze and shared a chuckle with her.

"Just a bit," Romina said, mimicking her aunt Gemma's tone from earlier. "My friend Daphne Greengrass is one of your biggest fans. She loves your clothes."

"The Greengrass family, yes," nodded Abigail thoughtfully. "They're avid clients of mine. What about you? Have you ever bought any of my creations?"

Romina shook her head. "No. I've lived in the muggle world all my life so I only really have muggle clothing, sorry. Bloomingdales and all."

"Don't apologize, Romina. It's nothing to be sorry about. From now on, though, you do have access to any of my designs. Your aunt Kassia has several of them too."

Romina smiled. "Thanks, although, I don't really attend any wizarding parties or balls."

"I also make casual robes, my dear," Abigail reminded her.

"Right…"

Abigail soon stopped them in front of a closed door. It was her designing room—a place where the magic literally happened. Romina faced a large room full of fabrics and sewing machines, half finished or half started creations. To her wonder, there were even half finished jewelry sets lying around.

"I am typically a neat freak but when it comes to designing...I have a different system," Abigail admitted with a sheepish chuckle.

"This is amazing!" Romina exclaimed. She zipped from one spot to the next to examine the robes that were being made. "You really work here?"

"Most of the time, yeah. Sometimes I meet Kassia at the factory but...I like my little workshop here."

"Grandma, this is incredible!"

Abigail's face softened when Romina addressed her that way. "Thank you," she whispered.

Romina stopped by a table with several different portraits. "Is this you?" she picked up one portrait of a moving blonde woman who was far younger.

Abigail moved up to see the frame. "Yes," she nodded. "That was my 17th birthday. My parents threw my a grand celebration for my coming of age. I had just graduated from the Beauxbaton Academy."

"The what?" Romina glanced at her grandmother curiously.

"The wizarding school in France, my dear. That's where I studied."

"Oh." Romian felt stupid. Abigail had said she was born and raised in France! "You look so pretty."

Abigail 'aw'd'. "You're too sweet."

Romina set the frame back in its place and moved onto another one. She recognized Abigail's young face this time and beamed when she saw who she stood beside. "That's him—that's my grandfather!"

It was her grandparents' wedding picture.

Abigail mused. "Yes, it is. Happiest day of my life."

"You guys do look so happy," Romina mumbled. She was studying every last detail of the picture. "Hey, Rolf kind of looks like him."

"Yes," Abigail chuckled. "It's funny how strong the genes can be sometimes."

Romina gazed over the picture for another minute then placed it back down on the table. Her eyes roamed over the next frames and curiously noticed her grandmother with another man, a shorter and chubbier man, and in the next frame she was in the middle of two women who were dressed to the nines in fancy robes. "Who are they?"

"Ah," Abigail scooted closer to her granddaughter, "You will of course be meeting them as well. They are my best friends in the entire world. That right there—" she pointed at the man, "—could technically be your uncle Jacob. He is like my brother, and for a while I truly believed he was."

Romina noticed the distant look that had suddenly settled over Abigail's face. "Grandma? Are you okay?"

"Yes, sorry," Abigail waved it off. "Part of a bigger story."

"I can listen to it," Romina immediately said.

"I'm not sure you're quite ready. At least not right now. All you need to know is that Jacob Kowalski is your uncle. Now those two women over in that one—that's Tina and Queenie Goldstein. Queenie's actually married to Jacob. They are my best friends and the reason I'm actually still here."

Romina sensed that this unknown story was pretty big and not every part of it was a happy one.

"They're like your aunts, Romina."

Romina nodded and looked at the last frame. It was the first frame she'd seen when she approached the table but she knew that getting to it would mean the happiness and giddiness would soon fade.

Adric, Kassia and Elora all smiled at the camera.

Romina didn't dare pick it up.

"It's alright, Romina," Abigail whispered. "Those questions—you're more than welcomed to ask. I just cannot guarantee that you'll like them."

Romina continued to stare at the picture, and Abigail noted the disdain in her granddaughter's eyes.

"She's got brown hair here..." Romina said suddenly, bringing Abigail's attention back.

"What, dear?"

"Elora, she's got brown hair there," Romina pointed.

Abigail silently noted the fact Romina did not call Elora her mother; she couldn't blame the girl.

"Every picture I have of her she has black hair."

"Yes, well, Elora was never fond of her hair. She dyed it as soon as she was old enough."

"Even when it's dyed hair, I still look just like her," Romina said, chewing on her bottom lip. "I have Caplan's eyes and hair but I still look like her." My dumb luck.

"You do," mused Abigail. "I imagine that it hasn't been easy coping with everything about her...and your father…"

Romina stared again, silently. Elora was smiling so genuinely in the picture, almost like she was happy and actually loved her siblings. "What happened?" She finally asked the question that had burned in her skull the moment she learned what her parents had done in the past. The only difference now was that she was with the woman who could possibly shed some light on Elora Oswell. Romina turned to her grandmother. "Why did my mother do everything that she did? What...made her become that?"

Romina had never found someone who was just as despondent as she was about Elora. Abigail's face contorted with deep pain. Her eyes fell on the frame of her children. "I don't know," she admitted. "Elora was always a bright child. She was my light before Adric was born. She...we gave her everything. Your grandfather and I, we had to fight a lot for this world and when everything was finally done, when we were finally able to settle down and enjoy our family, Elora was our everything."

"So...you spoiled her?" Romina asked. She could think of many kids who had been spoiled—Draco and Pansy came to mind first for some reason—but that would never explain how Elora ended up in Azkaban. Spoiling a child didn't make them horrendously dark.

Abigail shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe? I don't know. We disciplined her when we thought it was right. We taught her everything we knew, told her the stories of the fights that we had to face in the past just so she and every other child born after could live peacefully and without fear. For a while, Elora was fine. And then she went to Hogwarts. She started to change. She had already met your father but it wasn't the people around her who changed her. I think...I think it was always just her. It was something that had been locked away until she started doing dark magic. She found she was very talented at it. There was no stopping her from becoming who she did."

Romina felt like she was right back where she started. There was no clear answer about how Elora turned to the dark side. She would never get the answer — it wasn't like she would ever get to ask Elora directly.

"Romina, I feel like we owe you one huge apology," Abigail said, prompting Romina to look at her, "When Elora had you, we should have taken you. But we had hoped that you, her daughter, would be able to change her, but nothing was going to do that. We should've never placed that kind of job on you."

"Why didn't you come for me?" Romina blurted. Before coming, she had tried to plan on how she would ask the harder questions but the necessity to know why this part of the family had chosen to leave her be was much stronger than being "organized".

"Your uncle Lyonel took guardianship before we were able to find you," Abigail sighed. "By the time we caught up with what had happened, you were already legally under his care. He chose to take you away from this world and, as painful as it was to let you go, we knew that Lyonel would take care of you. A lot of people would have loved to get retribution against the Oswells and you, a toddler, would be an easy access point."

Romina stepped away from her grandmother, eyes downcast as the next question slipped from her. "Why didn't you try to see me when Rolf found out about me at Hogwarts? Things were calm by then."

"Fear," Abigail chuckled sadly and shamefully. "We had no idea who you turned out to be, but we knew that whoever you were was because of Lyonel. We didn't know if you knew about us, if you even wanted to see us. We didn't want to complicate your life."

"Could've helped me a lot, you know," Romina said. "I spent 14 years thinking none of my family wanted anything to do with me. I thought you gave up on me."

"We never gave up on you," Abigail shook her head. "We were afraid, I guess, that you would hate us."

"Hate you?" Romina said incredulously. "For what?"

"For what your mother did."

"What Elora did has nothing to do with you. I would have loved growing up having my grandparents in my life."

Abigail bit on her lip slightly, eyes shining with tears. "We could have, huh?" She exhaled a shaky breath. "I'm really sorry, Romina. If you would have us now...we would really like to be part of your life."

Romina didn't think twice before nodding. "I want to know who I am beyond that of an Oswell. I have cousins, aunts and uncles and...grandparents…" She made a weak gesture towards Abigail. "And god knows what else."

Abigail nodded. "We'll tell you everything you want to know, I promise. In the meantime, how would you like to help me finish this little necklace I'm working on."

Romina nodded. Working with her grandmother for the first time seemed like a great start to a new life. "Yes, I would like that."

Abigail motioned the girl to follow her to a table. Romina was dazzled with all the pretty stones and chains. It was an outright mess but somehow Abigail made it feel organized in her own way. She knew where everything was, even those smaller stones hiding under the bigger ones. While they worked, Romina got to learn more about Abigail.

She had lived in France for most of her life except for a short period in New York—this is where she had met that Kowalski man, the Goldstein sisters and of course her now husband. Romina noted that there were a lot of parts Abigail was purposely skipping over but for now, she thought it was best not to ask about it.

"So you're an only child like me," Romina said, ears perked up for any of the smallest details Abigail had to say. She held onto a silver wire for the unfinished necklace. Abigail was rummaging through a series of blue stones on the table.

"Mhm, I have a close cousin. She lives in France. You can meet her later on." Abigail flashed her granddaughter a smile, one that Romina immediately reciprocated.

Abigail Gejel belonged to an important pureblood family in France but as it turned out, they weren't part of any of the "nonsense muggle hatred" as she had put it.

Romina was relieved to hear that. She was also delighted to hear how Abigail had created the now exclusive fashion designing line. "You're a businesswoman!" Romina laughed. "Super cool! And back in the day too!"

Abigail hummed. "It was a challenge but I had the right support." She had finally found the right topaz stone she'd been searching for.

"You built your own business, that's really cool. And your designs are too. No wonder Daphne loves them!"

"You said Greengrass right?" Abigail used her wand to find the other topaz stones. She'd grown tired of manually searching for them. "Her mother is always upfront with the new lines. She pays in advance, you know?"

Romina chuckled lightly. "That sounds like Daphne would be. They're all about fashion."

"And you?" Abigail asked, pausing for a moment to glance at her granddaughter. "What are you about?"

Romina shrugged. "I don't know. I like fashion but not nearly as much as Daphne. I play violin—it's a muggle instrument—"

"I know," Abigail said, smiling at Romina's bashfulness. "Such a calming instrument." She prompted Romina to up the two ends of the wire then used her wand to slip the stones in. Romina was dazzled with the entire process and happily watched Abigail mend the sides to create a beautiful choker. "There we are," Abigail sighed contently. "It should match you well."

"What?" Romina blinked. "Me?"

"Well of course," Abigail said, turning to her with the choker in hand. "It'll match your headband. Beautiful shade of blue, by the way. Although, I may have added a stone that doesn't quite match—may I see it?"

"Huh?" Romina barely registered the question before she saw her grandmother's wand being waved again and the headband around her head untying. "Oh, wait!"

As soon as the headwrap was off, it reverted to its default silver color.

"Oh…" Abigail was naturally startled with the change.

"Yeah, I was going to tell you that…" Romina apologetically smiled. "It's charmed, you see? It's set to match whatever outfit I'm wearing. I chose blue today so…"

"It turned to blue," Abigail understood, "That's smart. I've heard of these but they kind of put me out of business, you know?"

Romina laughed with her. "It's cool but it'll never beat what you can make."

"These are high in the fashion world…" Abigail said, looking meaningfully at Romima. "You share you don't have an inkling for the fashion business?"

Romina shook her head. "Not really, sorry. It was a gift from a friend."

"Ah, well then, maybe she has the inkling."

Romina scrunched her face, her lips just barely holding back a laugh. "He has never mentioned that but, um, it would be fairly interesting." There, she had to snicker. She seriously doubted that Draco would ever have any type of desire to learn about fashion.

Abigail gave her granddaughter a sharp look. "Ah, is this friend a, um, special—"

"No!" Romina was quick to say. "It was Christmas, we all sent gifts to each other. Besides, if you ask me, I'm pretty sure his mother had to give him some pointers. When have you ever met a guy with good taste in accessories?"

Abigail's laugh faded into a hum. "Your grandfather has given me some peculiar things in the past."

"Yeah, I'm 90% sure that Narcissa Malfoy used her connections for all of us girl friends."

"Oh that woman," Abigail said with another hum, "She is our toughest customer but a wiz at events."

Romina snickered. "Yeah, that sounds about right."

Abigail still switched the topaz stones around to perfectly match the hair wrap. It was when she had finished that they heard a sharp 'Mum!' from downstairs. It was followed by 'He's done it again!'.

"Is something wrong?" Romina immediately asked, wondering if somebody had an accident of some sort. She relaxed slightly when she saw Abigail shaking her head with a light smile.

"Nothing I haven't dealt with before. Come on, I suspect you'll find it amusing." Abigail held a hand out for Romina and was soon leading them out of the room.

Romina had no idea what to expect but if Abigail wasn't nervous nor concerned, then she shouldn't be either. Voices started drifting towards them the closer they came downstairs.

"...I should say it's my turn!"

"Rolf, go help your aunt Kassia outside!"

"I am quite alright, just a bit of an accident…"

Romina hadn't recognized that voice. She stopped at the bottom step with Abigail and saw the commotion in the living room. Adric and Gemma, with a persistent Rolf, were standing around an older man whose back faced Romina and Abigail.

"Oh mon amour, what have you gotten yourself into now?" Abigail chuckled to herself as she walked over to the group. Rolf and his parents backed up a couple steps at the same time.

"Just—it was an accident," the older man continued to say, coughing afterwards.

"I'll say," Abigail mused over something on his face. Romina couldn't quite see. "What happened?"

"Long story short: wrong jar."

"Dad, you should really start labeling them," Adric said, causing a round of snickering from the rest.

"Stand still," Abigail said, pulling out her wand. "Tergio!"

Romina watched a light flash from the wand and felt even more curious to know what on earth had been cleaned off. She heard Lyonel and Sage often produce that same spell to clean the house faster.

"Honestly," sighed Abigail, "Did you plan on meeting your granddaughter with a soot-covered face?"

"Not precisely, no," her husband shook his head.

"Aha," Abigail mumbled. "Romina," her sudden call made Romina stiffen in her spot, "Come over here and meet your grandfather before he decides to get caught up in another mess." She flashed a smirk at her husband. "Not very unlikely, you'll come to find out."

Romina took slow steps towards the group, her wide eyes glued on the adults. She had no idea where to stop so she decided to come stand by Abigail. She soon met the gaze of her grandfather: a tall, slim man with tousled brown and gray hair, green eyes and freckles splayed over his wrinkled skin.

"Look at you—they're your eyes, Abby," he said in an out of breath manner. His eyes briefly flickered to Abigail who smiled sweetly in return. "It's always been your eyes going down the family line."

Romina couldn't help but flush. It seemed like that would be a common remark about her from now on. "Hi, um, I'm Romina…"

"Yes, I'm Newt, your grandfather." He had a lopsided kind of smile that seemed to just fit with his face. It gave Romina a sense of warmth. "It is very good to meet you at last."

Romina nodded. "Yeah. It's good to meet you too. I've, um, I read your book—again. I didn't know who you were during my first year so I didn't pay a lot of attention…"

Both Newt and Abigail laughed. "That's alright," Newt assured her in the end.

"I liked it, though," Romina went on, "Definitely learned a lot. Don't get me wrong, there are some creatures that I'm kind of afraid of, but it's still nice to learn about them."

"You don't have to be afraid of them, most creatures can be misunderstood. For example, most creatures large in size tend to be the ones most misunderstood."

"Oh! Like Buckbeak!" Romina exclaimed, glancing back at Rolf who agreed with a nod.

"Who?" Adric asked.

"The Hippogriff I told you about, remember?" Rolf said, "He scratched Draco Malfoy on his arm. He had it coming."

"Rolf!" His mother scolded him. "You know what? Didn't I tell you to go help your aunt outside? Let's go!"

"But Mum—"

Gemma wasn't letting him get away with it this time. She personally ushered Rolf out of the living room and a moment later, Adric decided to follow as well.

"He is right, though," Romina said, meeting her grandparents' gazes, "Hagrid, the, um, professor technically, he told us from the beginning that we had to be very careful when we came in contact with a Hippogriff."

"Hippogriffs are very proud creatures," Newt remarked. "It's all about showing them respect and knowing the boundaries. Most people fail to understand both concepts, I'm afraid."

Romina half smiled. "Yeah," she agreed. "I honestly thought they were kind of scary but I ultimately saw he was really loyal." Buckbeak was so loyal that he had helped Sirius Black escape death.

"I'm glad you did," Newt smiled at her with what Romina would like to think was pride. "It's all about the handling, really. You make one mistake and…" He made a gesture to his face for some reason.

Abigail chuckled beside him, understanding what he was trying to say. "You can end up with some cranky salamanders, eh?"

Newt tilted his head to the side. "It was an accident…"

"Oh, I have no doubt about that, mon amour. It wouldn't be the first time you came out of there with a soot covered face!"

"You have salamanders here?" Romina asked, eyes raking the room as if she would catch one of the lizards on the wall.

"That and more," Abigail said with a knowing smile.

"Where?" Romina couldn't see the place housing anything but a regular dog or a fish. Newt cleared his throat, gaining her attention, and pointed a finger down. Romina followed it to the floor and frowned. "What? You have a basement? Hardly the place to keep salamanders."

"Well, I don't know if you've noticed but your grandmother here is an expert decorator…" Newt made a gesture at the room, "I see myself skilled in maximizing space."

Abigail burst into laughter, starting Romina. Apparently, there was a joke she had missed or something. Newt seemed at a cross of pride over his words and embarrassed at the same time.

"A story for dinner, maybe," Newt told Romina when he saw her desperately trying to figure out why Abigail was laughing so much. "How about we have dinner and then afterwards, I can show you some of the creatures downstairs? Would you like that?"

Romina didn't hesitate to nod. "Aha!"

She followed them out of the living room to the backyard. The twinkling lights that Abigail had been working on were now completely finished, as was the table. Everything was set to eat. Romina sat down beside Rolf at the end of the table. On her other side was Abigail followed by Newt. Kassia was opposite of the teenagers followed by Gemma and then Adric. Romina eyed the mix of muggle and wizard food on the table with surprise. Even her own home didn't have that type so blatantly.

"It's good, I promise," she heard Abigail say.

Romina's cheeks flushed red with everyone's eyes on her. "Oh no, it's not that I didn't like it, it's just odd that there's all this food and…" She wasn't explaining herself very well and she knew it. "I think I'll just stop talking now."

The table shared laughs.

"Sorry," Romina said, biting on her bottom lip. "The only times I eat at a big table is when we're at Hogwarts but other than that it's just uncle Lyonel, aunt Sage and me. Guess I gotta work on my manners." She relaxed when everyone assured her she was doing just fine. They seemed to mean it so why shouldn't she believe it?

Lunch wrapped up way longer than it probably should've taken them. Romina found conversation with everyone and with such ease. For a while, she forgot about all the nerves that had been with her all day. She focused on the details she was learning about her family. Her aunt Gemma, for example, worked for the Daily Prophet. Her grandparents had long "retired" from their respective jobs but neither seemed to actually be able to stick to it. In fact, it was like they hadn't.

Romina soon felt the nerves start up again when her grandfather asked if she still wanted to go "downstairs" and see some of the creatures he had. She agreed but it was clear to everyone that she was a little reluctant. Perhaps she would've felt a little better if Abigail had accompanied them because she distinctly remembered Rolf mentioning that she was still a little frightened sometimes too. However, Abigail was a little preoccupied reprimanding her own son for something that Romina couldn't understand.

The woman was speaking incredibly fast and in French.

"She sounds really mad," Romina whispered as she and Newt headed for the living room. "And very...French…"

"Adric does go poking where he shouldn't," Newt said, sighing when they stopped and heard Abigail's distinct yell.

"REPOSEZ CE PLATEAU!"

Both Newt and Romina winced when they heard the shatter of a tray.

"Je vous ai dit que cela arriverait!" Abigail said in an exasperated cry.

Newt's lips were pulled into a knowing smile. "Adric also likes to think he's incredibly strong."

"Do you speak French?" Romina suddenly asked him curiously.

"Enough to know when she's upset," he said, making Romina giggle. "If the words are not 'mon amour', I am in trouble. Alright then, ready?"

Romina nodded and followed closely behind as he moved towards a study. She took note of all the books that filled the shelves and, of course, more family portraits. Before she inched close to any of them, she heard a creak and saw that her grandfather was pulling a part of the floor up, like a trap door!

She grinned. She should have figured that's what they had meant. They both went down the stairs and Romina then figured out another thing. Her grandfather was really good at maximizing space. "It's bigger on the inside," she remarked, earning a good laugh from him.

"Sort of, yeah," he nodded.

She shouldn't be surprised with it, really, but living in a perfectly normal muggle house in the muggle world sometimes made itself really present in her life. This basement didn't even look like a basement. There were waters as if there was an actual ocean within the house...with a sun! She couldn't tell where that sun was but it was strong! Grassy plain fields also filled some of the rooms—that's what she could tell from where they stood. She had yet to move. Along with the spacious rooms she heard the mix of several, and she meant several, growls from creatures.

"Romina?"

The girl blinked. She'd been staring at everything for too long, hadn't she? She straightened up and moved closer to her grandfather. "They're not...they're not going to bite me are they?"

Newt smiled and brought a hand to her back. "Remember what you said about the Hippogriff in Hogwarts?" She nodded. "Well, just apply that here. Rolf says you've dealt with creatures already and you always passed the assignments."

"W-well yeah but...that was at school," Romina said, unknowingly leaning closer to his side. "Hagrid's really good at supervising, you know? That whole mishap with Malfoy was a fluke. We didn't really handle anything dangerous."

"I don't have anything dangerous here, Romina, I promise," Newt said. He smiled at her encouragingly. "No creature is dangerous. It's all about the handling, remember?"

"Yeah," Romina said. She read that over and over in his book and it did make sense. Everything and everyone had to be treated with respect in order to forge a good relationship, that included big creatures.

Sensing she was still slightly frightened, Newt suggested they look at something small. "I think you'll like this one," he promised as they moved further through the basement.

"How do you know?" Romina said. She'd clasped her hand around his tightly.

"Because your grandmother went through the same thing when we first met. Once she got to know him, everything else sort of fell into place."

"What is it?" Romina grew curious the more they walked.

Newt said nothing and instead stopped by what seemed to be a regular tree. Romina knew better than to believe that. Still holding onto her grandfather's hand, she leaned closer and gasped when she saw green moving.

"The Bowtruckles!" she exclaimed, proud of herself that she remembered them now. Rolf's reminders definitely helped! "You have a whole bunch of them!"

Newt gently pulled her slightly back. With his free hand, he reached for the tree with one finger sticking out. "Romina," he said as one particular Bowtruckle started climbing over his finger, "This is Pickett." Romina's eyes widened when he drew his hand back and the Bowtruckle was left between them. "He has been with us for a very long time. Your grandmother warmed up to him first."

"Hi there Pickett," Romina felt silly wiggling her fingers at the little green creature. She gasped when Pickett threw a raspberry at her. "Well!"

"Hey now," Newt turned slightly from Romina, giving the bowtruckle a stern look. "She's not a stranger. Abby's not going to be happy if you're not kind to our granddaughter."

Romina was fairly bemused when Pickett quickly climbed over Newt's arm, over his shoulder and to his other arm that was right in front of her. She giggled. He was trying to mend his behavior.

"I had him before I met your grandmother but two minutes with her made him absolutely adore her," Newt said, watching Pickett attempt to launch himself from his hand to Romina's arm. "...to the point of choosing to hide out in her pockets instead."

Romina giggled. She finally made it easier for the poor bowtruckle by raising her hand and allowing him a much safer passage. He didn't think twice in crawling over. "Hi there, I'm Romina," she introduced herself again. "You're kinda cute."

"Oh, that's exactly what Abigail said—I'll have to check your pockets before you go," Newt said, "He will hide if he gets the chance."

Romina laughed at the idea of bringing Pickett home only for Sage or Lyonel to find him creeping around the house. "You would definitely frighten aunt Sage."

Newt watched her toggle with Pickett for a minute or so. It was uncanny how stories repeated themselves. From Abigail...to Elora...to Romina.

Romina raised her gaze to him. "Can he stay with me while we're here?"

The story definitely repeated itself. Newt nodded, saying a clear 'of course'. He doubted Pickett would actually want to go back anytime soon anyways.

On their stroll, Romina got to see several other creatures. She saw some strange looking snakes that, to her awe, would turn to ash as soon as they laid some priceless eggs. She didn't say it but she figured that her grandfather already knew muggles would be all over those eggs. She wandered a little to follow an orange creature that looked incredibly a lot like a butterfly. When Newt caught what she was following, he told her it was a Flitterby moth.

"Why couldn't they just call it a butterfly?" Romina asked. She glanced at Pickett who had come to sit on her shoulder. He shrugged his leafy arms at her.

"These are not like butterflies, Romina," Newt said as he led her into another field-like room.

Romina was awed by the dozens of butterfly-like creatures. "Why not?" she asked.

"Well, for starters, they do that," Newt pointed to a couple of the moths whose wings were glowing scarlet.

Romina gasped. "Oh, that's pretty. Definitely not like butterflies."

"They also hum a little when they're flying—listen." Newt put a finger over his lips and motioned her to stay quiet. As soon as they had and got past the flapping of wings, they heard a few hums here and there.

Romina grinned. "Wow! They do! It's like they're laughing!"

"Yeah, that's what many people like to say."

"You know, I think Hagrid might have a few of these now that I'm thinking about it. I should probably visit more and then I'll see for real."

"You like the gamekeeper, then? Sorry, professor, right?"

"Mhm," Romina nodded. "He's kind of like you. He loves creatures, even the ones that most people would be afraid of. He's friends with this big spider—a king spider from the forest."

Newt smiled. "I would tell you to stay away from the forest but my reputation would laugh at me."

Romina side-glanced him. "You're still incredibly smart," she said, knowing full well from Rolf that their grandfather had been expelled from Hogwarts. For what reason, she didn't know and she didn't think she needed to know.

Newt thanked her for the compliment. "It'll be nice to see my grandchildren graduate, both of them at the same time."

"Even if, um, we're not both in Hufflepuff?" Romina asked sheepishly, bringing her hands together in front of her.

"Your mother was in Slytherin," Newt reminded her. "And I loved Elora."

"But she...she did a lot of bad stuff," Romina said, biting on her bottom lip.

"But not because of her House," Newt said, sighing much like Abigail had when they started talking about Elora. "I had a very good friend once and she was in Slytherin. She made a few mistakes but she was a good person. Your House does not define you, Romina. It certainly didn't with your mother."

"I know that every House has its bad apples but I feel like people just automatically see Slytherins as bad people. It has certainly made things harder for me sometimes. Many of my friends are in Gryffindor. The friends I have in Slytherin—most of them are good but there's others…" She balled her fists as soon as she thought of Pansy.

"I understand, Romina, trust me. I know what Hogwarts could be like. It's why sometimes I can't say I really missed going there. Everyone I met were people outside of it, really far from it actually."

Romina found the energy to smile. "Grandma showed me pictures in her room and all of your friends are Americans. Plus, grandma's French. How'd you meet?"

Newt's eyebrows raised as he thought of the story and how long it would be to tell it all. Plus, like Abigail, he thought she was too young for it anyways. "I was making a trip to New York and it so happened that your grandmother was living there for a while."

"Odd place to meet a French woman, especially in the 20s," Romina said, scrunching her face. "And, I guess, the love of your life…"

"You'll never know when something like that can happen so don't go knocking on it," Newt warned playfully, "You never know."

"Yeah, I doubt that whatever happened to me will happen to me," Romina said, "Unless you want to tell me the full story so I know how to avoid something like that?"

"There's no story," Newt said far too quickly.

Romina then glanced at Pickett. "What do you think? You were there."

"Pickett," came Newt's warning call. "Abigail wouldn't like it."

Pickett "decided" to crawl down Romina's cardigan to slip into her pocket. Romina snorted and looked at Newt. "You're not very good at lying, are you?"

Newt bobbed his head. "It's not one of my stronger suits, no."

"Well, if I ask you something one more thing, you'll tell me the truth?"

"I suppose I would." Newt looked at her while she decided how to ask her questions and when he thought she'd gone through enough, he helped her out. "We did love you, Romina. From the moment we knew about you, we loved you. Our hope was that you would be able to help Elora come back." Romina ducked her head; it was like her grandmother had said. "You were so young when Elora was captured and...Lyonel beat us, I guess."

"You could have looked for me," Romina said quietly.

"We knew that you were safe and at the end of the day we just...we didn't want to put you in the middle of two battling families. You deserved stability, you deserved a home filled with love and nurture."

"Away from the wizarding world," Romina pointed out with a long sigh to follow. "Because that's how I was raised. Away from everything, in a small little neighborhood."

"But were you loved?"

"Well, yes, but—"

"Then it wasn't all for nothing," Newt said. He sighed and brought a hand down on Romina's shoulder. "But I understand your anger towards us. It's been in my experience that families are not always easy to be with. Please know that we never forgot you. The moment Rolf told us you were attending Hogwarts, we've been present."

"So I guess you know all about my challenging years, then," Romina said, unable to look at her grandfather out of shame.

"Once again, I am no stranger to hard years at Hogwarts. And I also know that you have come out each time better than before."

"I'm not good," Romina whispered. "Rolf's told me about your past, how you fought in wars...I'm not good like that. I've hurt those who hurt me."

"To kill?"

"Course not, just...well..." Romina groaned just thinking about the stupid things Pansy had done to her in the past. When she told her grandfather about them, he offered her a comforting smile.

"At the end of the day, you're all still children. And with such raging emotions. You are not bad, Romina. Don't ever think otherwise."

Romina swallowed hard before meeting her grandfather's gaze. "I'm glad I met you guys. I don't want to lose any of you again."

"You won't," Newt assured her. "You're finally home with us, and if you're still interested, I'd love to show you more of my creatures."

Romina nodded at the idea. "I'd love to."

"You're not afraid anymore?"

"I have my grandpa with me, I'll be fine."

Newt smiled fondly at her. He watched as Romina curled her arm around his then excitedly asked him what else they could see. He was more than happy to show her around.

At the end of the day, Romina would eagerly ask her aunt and uncle if she could please stay for the night. And when they gave her permission and it was time for bed, Romina found that she had a roommate. A small, leafy green roommate.

[notelasts]

how does your muse carry emotion?

bold for always. italics for sometimes.

rolf “riff lorton” lautmann

𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒: being unable to stop smiling. laughter. bear hugs. happy tears. waving arms around. dancing. contently sighing. eyes twinkling. laughter lines. childlike playfulness. skipping. talking more. affection. cracking more jokes than usual. gesturing more when talking. higher pitched voice. squealing. jumping around. clapping.

𝐒𝐀𝐃𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒: tearing up. self-hugging. one-arm cross. an aching chest. scratchy throat. a runny nose. turning away. deep breaths. quivery smiles. crying. infantile sobbing. hands gripping each other or an object. covering mouth. puffy eyes. eyes appear red. voice breaking. a distant or empty stare. monotone voice. asking for comfort. faking a smile. crumbling. shaking. whimpering. depression. abusing an unhealthy habit. withdrawing from others. big teary eyes. doing something even if it could hurt them.

𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑: furrowed brows. baring teeth. passive-aggressive comments. avoiding eye contact. sarcasm. headache. sore muscles. hiding clenched fists. irritability. jumping to conclusions. raising voice. going silent. demanding immediate action. keeping it all in until exploding. body tensing. making risky decisions. middle finger.

𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐑: wanting to flee or hide. what-ifs. images of what-could-be flashing in mind. uncontrollable trembling. rapid breathing. screaming. a skewed sense of time. irritability. keeping silent. denying fear. turning away from the cause. pretending to be brave. nail-biting. lip-biting. scratching skin. a joking tone but a voice that cracks. fainting. insomnia. panic attacks. exhaustion. substance abuse. tics. rushing adrenaline. face draining of color. hair lifting on the back of the neck. feeling rooted to the spot. making body as small as possible. staring but not seeing. crying. a shrill voice. whispering. gripping something or someone. stuttering. flinching at noises. pleading.

𝐄𝐗𝐇𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍: constantly yawning. blurring words together. dark circles or lines under eyes. mood swings. hallucinations. calling people by the wrong name. dizziness. denying they’re tired. slow blinking. trouble concentrating. stumbling. leaning on a doorframe for support. sluggish movements. falling asleep someplace that isn’t a bed. becoming irritated by the smallest things. “i’m awake, i’m fine.” shaking so bad they spill their drink. falling asleep in their clothes. laying their head on the table because they’re so tired. passing out.

arthur “art” donaldson

𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒: being unable to stop smiling. laughter. bear hugs. happy tears. waving arms around. dancing. contently sighing. eyes twinkling. laughter lines. childlike playfulness. skipping. talking more. affection. cracking more jokes than usual. gesturing more when talking. higher pitched voice. squealing. jumping around. clapping.

𝐒𝐀𝐃𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒: tearing up. self-hugging. one-arm cross. an aching chest. scratchy throat. a runny nose. turning away. deep breaths. quivery smiles. crying. infantile sobbing. hands gripping each other or an object. covering mouth. puffy eyes. eyes appear red. voice breaking. a distant or empty stare. monotone voice. asking for comfort. faking a smile. crumbling. shaking. whimpering. depression. abusing an unhealthy habit. withdrawing from others. big teary eyes. doing something even if it could hurt them.

𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑: furrowed brows. baring teeth. passive-aggressive comments. avoiding eye contact. sarcasm. headache. sore muscles. hiding clenched fists. irritability. jumping to conclusions. raising voice. going silent. demanding immediate action. keeping it all in until exploding. body tensing. making risky decisions. middle finger.

𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐑: wanting to flee or hide. what-ifs. images of what-could-be flashing in mind. uncontrollable trembling. rapid breathing. screaming. a skewed sense of time. irritability. keeping silent. denying fear. turning away from the cause. pretending to be brave. nail-biting. lip-biting. scratching skin. a joking tone but a voice that cracks. fainting. insomnia. panic attacks. exhaustion. substance abuse. tics. rushing adrenaline. face draining of color. hair lifting on the back of the neck. feeling rooted to the spot. making body as small as possible. staring but not seeing. crying. a shrill voice. whispering. gripping something or someone. stuttering. flinching at noises. pleading.

𝐄𝐗𝐇𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍: constantly yawning. blurring words together. dark circles or lines under eyes. mood swings. hallucinations. calling people by the wrong name. dizziness. denying they’re tired. slow blinking. trouble concentrating. stumbling. leaning on a doorframe for support. sluggish movements. falling asleep someplace that isn’t a bed. becoming irritated by the smallest things. “i’m awake, i’m fine.” shaking so bad they spill their drink. falling asleep in their clothes. laying their head on the table because they’re so tired. passing out.

tagged by: @whatsbehindthefacade

tagging: @wcven, @eternaldark, @prodigum, & @starseized

[coolgirl32]

Disney guy John Rolfe x my oc Jacqulyn adventure 12. Damn he's so fine oh warning this has some smut but not a lot but you know since this is me I'm writing this so do not judge damn look at that smile of his in that hair too

As Jacqulyn woke up she realized she was back in America only the difference was it was winter time.

That's when Sarah appeared. When she looked at Jacqulyn she asked her what was wrong. Jacqulyn answered Sarah by asking her why is she back in America and why is it winter time. Sarah answered her question and told her that she is back in Pocahontas only this time it's Pocahontas 2. Jacqulyn was shocked by this she remember that there was a John Rolfe in the movie he was quite handsome. So they came up with a plan. After they came up with a plan Sarah poofed off and Jacqulyn was on her own as always. So while she was walking in the snow she saw a shop that was selling winter clothes she went inside and came back out with something warmer to wear. Meanwhile John Rolfe was riding on his horse when suddenly he almost hit someone. When he got off his horse to apologize he got a good look at the person he almost hit, his eyes why didn't when he saw it was a beautiful woman he immediately apologized to her kissed her hand and introduced himself to her after she introduced herself to him they begin to have a conversation John then got a idea. He asked her if she would like to stay with him at the castle he lived at she said yes. He then gave her a lift and there they went to his castle.where introduced her to the king and queen she did a curtsy to be polite of course. So that night Jacqulyn was getting ready for bed after she was done getting ready for bed she flipped up some pillows made her bed nice and cozy when she heard a knock at the door she opened it and there John Rolfe was right in front of the door. John was embarrassed to ask her this question he felt really bad that he almost hit her with his horse so when he said sorry she told me it was okay. She then invited him in as he began to talk he looked and saw that she was sitting on her bed she was motioning him to sit down next to her. It was a little awkward at first but then they started having another conversation they got to know each other very well. When John realized what time it was he said good night to her and asked her if she would like to spend time with him tomorrow morning she said yes.The next day Jacqulyn and John both spend the whole entire day having fun of course he was trying to catch up to her but she was seeing everything that was so beautiful. A few months went on John and Jacqulyn got to spend time with each other even more of course there were a few conflicts but they were solved later on John and Jacqulyn we're both married. That night they were on her honeymoon the fireplace was burning with crackling fire as moans were heard. Jacqulyn and John we're both making love John had his mouth wrapped around one of Jacqulyn's breast as he was resting inside her. He then decided to speed up his thrust hitting every good spot that's when they both climax and breathed heavily. He then lay down on his back while she was on top of him laying down they were both sweaty and ready to sleep. As they both went to sleep Jacqulyn got up and wrote a letter to John she put on her clothes and that's when Sarah appeared she asked her quietly if she's ready to leave she said yes so Sarah opened the portal and all they went through the portal. When John woke up he saw the letter and was very shocked he couldn't believe it so when he wrote a letter to his friends they were right about Jacqulyn of course John couldn't believe this was happening he was a bit upset but he understood so he hope that the next man who she was going to meet will be kind to her and love her as he did

To be continued

Hey everyone so sorry about not writing about Disney Guy x My OC I wanted to take a break so that was adventure 12 adventure 13 will come up in sometime but in the meantime I will be riding about something else like the DC guys x My OC nightmare so please have fun and also I'm going to be writing DreamWorks guys x My OC so please do enjoy