#so i assume she grew out of this look eventually when she stopped wanting edward's approval. but it's still cute

[forevercloudnine]

Riddler's daughter in the "Arkham Academy" storyline from Urban Legends #21-23... I quite like this take on her og look from the last continuity.

[imaginesforjohnnydepp]

A Conversation

for @kindalollipop

You and Johnny had been friends forever, practically since you were just starting out as an assistant director to Tim Burton during the filming of Edward Scissorhands, your first job since graduating college. It was your dream to direct a movie, ever since you were a kid. As a child during the holidays, you’d grab the camera, yelling directions at your cousins and siblings, although if someone asked them, they’d say you were bossing them around. Eventually, you directed your first short film during college and decided to move out to Los Angeles in the hopes of getting a directing gig, but no one was really hiring female directors in the early ‘90s. Fast forward a few decades later and now you’re an Oscar winning director, breaking box office records.

You and Johnny stayed friends through the years and you even directed a movie Johnny was in. You were by each others’ side through everything and thick as thieves, so it was no surprise to your friends and families when the two of you started dating a few years after Johnny’s divorce from Amber. You were in your home office sitting behind your computer desk getting ready for your interview. The movie you directed was set to premiere on a streaming platform due to the pandemic; the interview started out the same as any other, questions about the film, why you chose to accept the project after a few years away from the industry (you took some time off after being overworked and brought a nice little cottage in a rural area far away from Los Angeles). Then came the question that stopped you short.

“How’s your relationship going? You and Johnny Depp have been together for a while now. Do you think you’ll get married?” Yes, you and Johnny have been together for two years now, you love him so much and yeah, you’ve thought about what it would be like to be married to him, but after three failed marriages, you doubted Johnny would want to go through it again a fourth time. You felt your face getting hot and quickly ducked your head as you figured out how to answer. “Way to dive right in,” you joked. How to answer this without sounding desperate to get married.

“Johnny’s great, everything’s fine the way it is. He’s a wonderful man and I’m grateful to have him in my life,” you answered. You hoped that it didn’t sound too rehearsed. While Johnny had been married three times and has kids, you haven’t been married once, something your mother loves pointing out whenever you visit; she once had a very successful career as a wedding planner, and it was her dream to plan a wedding for each of her children, which she did. She just never planned one for you. You were the only one out of your siblings not to get married or have kids.

But that was fine with you; you got to dote on your nieces and nephews. After a few more questions about the movie and jokes between yourself and the journalist, you were let got and the screen turned black; as it was shutting down there was a knock on the door. Johnny poked his head in. “Lunch is ready if you’re hungry.” You smiled as you followed him to the kitchen, and the scent of grilled cheese and tomato soup greeted you.

The two of you ate in silence and the question from the interview kept playing in your head: “Do you think you’ll get married?” Should you bring it up? Turns out you didn’t need to. “How’d your interview go?” “It was okay, up till a point.”

Johnny raised his head and looked at you in confusion. “Did they make you uncomfortable?” he asked. “Not really. They just asked if we were getting married, that’s all.” You saw the way his mouth hovered over his sandwich. He took a bite and chewed, as if fishing out what to say next.

“What did you say?” The question had thrown you off guard, and you weren’t quite sure what to say. “Well... at first I didn’t know what to say, I wasn’t expecting it at all, but I told him that everything’s fine and that things are fine the way they are.” And things are fine the way they are, you and Johnny never talked about marriage, so you just assumed that he gave up on the institution of marriage altogether. “Y/N..” he started.

“Really Johnny, it’s fine. If you don’t want to get married, then we won’t get married. What matters is that we’re together. I understand.” You’ve seen what divorce has done to your brothers and sisters, seen them get married young only to get divorced a few years later and them warning you not to get married right out high school or just because you were pregnant. They also remarried and got divorced again. Your niece Nicole is already on her second stepfather, and you’ve seen how having three different fathers has taken its toll on her. Kids get attached, and when the relationship ends, they mourn the loss of the step-parent they grew attached to.

You didn’t want to put Lily-Rose and Jack through that, even if you did know them since they were babies. Johnny reached over and grabbed your hand, his thumb rubbing soothing circles. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?” “I’m okay Johnny, really.” He knew how important marriage was to you and he couldn’t believe that you were going against everything you ever said in support of marriage just to be with him.

“Yeah, it took us over twenty years to get to this point, but it was worth it. Johnny, I wouldn’t be saying any of this if I didn’t believe it.” It was Johnny’s turn to smile, and you could see the toll the last week had taken on him. And it was true. You loved him, and have since the moment you met him. You’d take him anyway you could have him.

a/n: this is a work of fiction and it should not set the tone for real life. NEVER give up the things you really love for someone else, man or woman, who isn’t willing to meet you halfway. if that person really loved you, they would never ask you to give up anything that is important to you. that is all. PLEASE find someone who shares the same values as you, and don’t settle just because you love them.

[twighlit]

Let Bella Be angry

Isabella Marie swan was a lot of things; an only child, smarter than average, in love with a vampire, but most of all Isabella swan was angry. Anger had replaced all the sadness she had felt since Edward had left. Anger at him, anger at his family, anger at her family, and anger at herself. She was worth more than the way they treated her, worth more than being told what was best for her, and tossed aside when they began to think that they were not. 

Coming home from Italy came with a large lecture from charlie that she mostly blocked out. She didn't particularly care about what his opinion on her actions had been, she did however have a few notes on his. The lecture was about to hit the 10 minute mark when Charlie said the words that started the eruption. 

“I should just send you back to Renee”. Bella was unsure what had come over herself but she suddenly found herself standing. Charlie grew silent as he noticed her growing agitation. 

“You cannot and will not send me anywhere”, Bella's voice was low as she stared her father in the eye, “you do not have any authority over me charlie, and you have run out of time to try and claim any.”. Red began to crawl up Charlie's neck towards his cheeks and he opened his mouth as his eyes hardened at the clear disrespect. Bella's hand was in the air in front of his face before he could say anything. 

“You and Renee left me to raise myself and you do not get to judge my choices now that the raising is done, you do not get a redo.”. Bella took a deep breath and softened her voice. 

“I'm an adult and if you want to remain in my life you need to accept my choices if you cannot do so then i will be out of the house by the end of the week.”. 

Charlie looked taken aback but he knew she would not waiver. It took him almost a full minute to decide if he wanted to press the issue, and in the end he did not. He nodded his agreement to her terms and he felt the shared relief between the two of them as Bella’s shoulders dropped. 

“Okay.”. They stood in silence for a moment before a light knock sounded from the front door. Charlie looked confused but Bella knew who would be behind the door. Alice would have sent Edward to pick her up, hoping that the shorter drive would not grow her anger. She turned towards the door and didn't look back towards charlie as she started to walk towards it. 

Charlie made a choking noise as she opened the door to Edward's forlorn face. Bella did not turn around as she told charlie she was going to the Cullen’s and would be back later. He made a noise as if to argue before her words from earlier came back and he instead settled for glaring at Edward. 

Bella ignored Edward’s attempts to start a conversation as he sped along the roads to his family's home. After his fifth attempt at asking her how she felt, Edward abruptly pulled the car to the side of the road. 

“Bella please say something, tell me what's going through your mind.”. He was pleading and Bella was not moved, how many times had she said the same thing to him before he left? 

“Bella i know you're mad-”. That's what did it, much like with her conversation with charlie these words started an explosion. 

“No Edward I am not mad.”, her voice was level and calm and she turned to meet his black eyes. 

“I was mad when you treated me like scum on the bottom of your shoe a week ago, I was upset when you left me with lies, I was overjoyed to save your life, but now? Now Edward I am Pissed off”. Bella took another breath and squared her shoulders. 

“I am incredibly pissed off that Alice came back only when she thought I was dead, I am pissed off that she still considers herself my friend. I am pissed off that you are still so determined to make this about you. You have learned nothing about this situation; neither one of you, because even now you disregard my decisions. Alice sent you to get me rather than let me drive myself because she wanted you to cheer me up. And you have stopped your car to have a conversation I didn't want to have because you think that you are entitled to me and my thoughts. Now Edward, if you would ever like me to even consider forgiving you, you will start this car and drive to your house, and you will do that in silence. 

Bella was out of breath by the end of her rant and she turned to look out the window as Edward silently started the car and brought it back onto the road. 

The lights of the Cullen house were bright in the darkness as the car came to a stop twenty feet from the front door. Bella threw her door open before Edward could say anything and began her walk to the house. He walked behind her silently almost like a saddened puppy. 

One of the Cullen’s opened the door too fast for her to decide who it was. The six of them were all standing in the living room. Bella had intended to go straight to Alice and give her a piece of her mind the way she had charlie and Edward, but instead as always her attention was stolen by Rosalie and she was surprised to find almost as much anger towards her as she had towards Alice. Halfway through her first step towards Alice she adjusted her angle and looked at Rosalie. 

“I have a few things to say to you.”. Rosalie couldn't hide the shock on her face fast enough even with vampire speed. Bella had never willingly spoken to Rosalie and definitely not so directly. She steeled her resolve and looked Rosalie in the eyes in a way she hadn't dared since she had glared so venomously at her in the cafeteria. 

“You had no right to tell Edward that.”. The blonde's eyes widened and she opened her mouth but shut it quickly as her eyes flicked barely over Bella’s shoulder, she was sure Edward had shaken his head. 

“You do not like me, and i do not care anymore, but since you have decided to hate me so much any information about me should not matter to you, therefore when you called Edward to tell him i was dead you did it specifically because you are selfish, i won't hold it against you because selfishness seems to run in your family-,”, Bella paused as she heard a gasp come from somewhere towards her right; Esme she assumed, “but from now on you are not to bother yourself with any information about me unless you get it from me specifically.”. Rosalie's face had frozen with unnatural stillness but Bella didn't care as movement in the corner of her eye drew her attention to Alice. 

Alice seemed to shrink as Bella glared at her and she felt a wave of calm attempt to take over her mind. She snapped her eyes to Jasper's and glared. 

“Do. not.”. His lip curled instinctively at the threat in her voice but he was quickly back to his passive face with a nod. 

“Bella-”. Her eyes snapped to Alice's and she went silent, seeing what was coming before Bella could speak the words. 

“Do not try Alice.”. Bella's voice had gone tired but the bite was still there.

“You were such a bad friend that you don't get to ask anything of me anymore.”. Alice shrunk back more as she saw Bella’s words moments before she spoke them

“As a matter of fact you would also not concern yourself with me for the time being, i will not play your doll anymore and you will no longer be able to dictate my life in the way you seem to think i gave you permission to do when we became friends. If you can handle that until i decide that I am willing to be your friend again then perhaps we will be able to be again.”. 

Alice's eyes were wide and clear almost as if she was about to cry, she nodded and then grabbed Jasper's hand and disappeared from the room. 

Bella’s shoulders relaxed as the anger left her, now she was tired but her mission was not yet over with. She turned to look at Carlisle for the first time since she had appeared at the Cullen house and he looked sad. She cleared her throat and gestured her head out of the room.

“Can i speak with you alone?”. He seemed to understand what was coming and nodded, releasing Esme's waist and walking at human pace towards the unused kitchen. Bella looked around for a minute to collect her thoughts before looking into the golden eyes of the vampire doctor. 

“The Volturi.”. He nodded and understood what she meant at once.

“They will come for you eventually to see if you have been turned.”.

“I know.”. Bella was almost ashamed to be so rude to the kind man but she had anger still in her mind directed at anything Cullen.

“I don't see much point in delaying the inevitable, but i would like to wait until after graduation.”. There was a sound from the living room as if someone had attempted to walk in and was blocked. Bella was sure that someone had stopped Edward from barging into the room, correctly assuming she had given him the type of speech she had given Alice and Rosalie. 

Carlisle nodded his agreement and a weight fell off her shoulders, suddenly she was exhausted. She gave Carlisle a smile and walked back into the living room. 

“Will you take me home Edward?”. His eyes looked angry but they softened at what she imagined was the dishevelment of herself. 

“Of course.”. 

The silence in the car felt calmer as Bella allowed herself to revisit the conversations from tonight. It was she thought, the first time she had properly stood up for herself. She rather liked the feeling.

Bella turned to Edward as the car came to a stop. 

“I'll call you tomorrow.”. The intent behind the words was clear: you are not welcome right now. Edward nodded with a twisted look of pain on his face. 

“I look forward to it.”. Bella tilted her head in acknowledgment and turned to the door. It had only opened an inch as he spoke again.

“I will earn your trust again Bella, and until you are ready just know I love you.”. A shudder went through Bella’s body hearing him say it but she gave no other outward signs of having heard him. 

Bella turned to look at the car as she unlocked her front door and gave a wave. She was sure she could heal her relationships, but first she had to heal herself. 

[joezworld]

Fools in Love (9/10)

Gordon, the spectacularly unobservant

June 17, 1985

Like most mornings, Gordon was unceremoniously ripped from his beauty sleep by the sounds of squabbling.

"I will and you can't stop me!"

"Fuck around and find out my dear!"

How unusual. It was usually James and Delta or Duck and/or Donald/Douglas. Henry and Bear were usually too friendly for even mock-fighting, let alone the legitimate anger that seemed to be colouring their tones.

"Why," he asked groggily. “Am I being woken up by you two? I thought that you’d moved beyond mere words.” 

Henry and Bear, who usually communicated through a series of significant glances, looked at Gordon as though they hadn’t realized he was there. 

“It’s nothing, Gordon.” Bear said after a moment of wild-eyed pause. “Just some... irritating people on the platform, is all."

Must be some irritation, Gordon thought to himself. He couldn’t remember the last time that he'd seen Bear's dander up that high.

No more words were said as his crew readied him for departure, and he could almost feel Henry and Bear's eyes on him as he left.

The arguing began anew as soon as he left the shed.

Now Gordon was concerned.

-

Arriving at the station brought even more worry - James had snorted out of platform two like he was auditioning to be a thundercloud, leaving a choking miasma of smoke and soot in his wake.

A crowd of people were holding signs and chanting slogans near the station Café as he backed onto his train. The Fat Controller was standing nearby, looking deeply upset, while station security tried to usher the people out. Considering the soot all over their clothes and signs, Gordon's first thought was that these people had been upset by James' departure, before he realized that these people had likely been the reason for James' upset in the first place.

Any lingering sympathy he might have had vanished as the leader of the group stood up on a box and started ranting about how the Fat Controller wanted to drive them out of the station, and they had a permit to demonstrate. 

Permit they may have had, but their language was filthy. It was no wonder that his friends were upset. 

Gordon decided that these people needed to leave. 

The guard blew his whistle, waved his flag, and Gordon didn’t move. 

The guard blew his whistle and waved his flag again, and Gordon still didn’t move. 

“Is something wrong, Gordon?” Asked the Fat Controller as he noticed Gordon’s uncharacteristically slow start. 

“No sir, but I wouldn’t stand there if I were you.”

The Fat Controller looked behind him. The crowd of people were about ten feet back and few feet behind him, slowly being shoved backwards towards the exits by the station staff. 

He looked in front of him. Gordon’s blowdown pipe was slowly dripping with water. 

“I can’t recommend that, Gordon.”

“Please move, sir.”

There must have been a look in Gordon’s eye, because the Fat Controller actually did move, waving off the station staff as he did so. The group of angry people relaxed slightly, not realizing that they were now alone on a section of empty platform.

The guard, who saw the Fat Controller move away, waved his flag and blew his whistle a third time. 

Gordon didn’t move, but his fireman jumped when he saw the pressure in Gordon’s boiler skyrocket. 

“Cripes!” He shouted, and pulled on the lever to blow off steam. 

Chaos ensued as steam roared out of Gordon’s boiler and into the station. Inside the enclosed building, it was so loud and so steamy that not even Gordon could hear or see anything, and men outside the station started running towards it, thinking that something had gone dreadfully wrong!

Eventually, the thunderous noise died down, and Gordon was able to see again. 

The Fat Controller, who had jumped into his cab as steam filled the building, poked his head out into the open air. His suit was soaked from the residual humidity, and his hat was ruined. 

The wall directly opposite Gordon now had a circular spot about a meter wide that was noticeably cleaner than the rest of the wall from where it had been effectively steam-cleaned. 

The angry people were angry no more - now they were frightened, soggy, and deaf. None of them were seriously hurt, but they still beat a hasty retreat from the station, leaving many of their signs behind. 

Speaking of which... now that the steam had cleared away James’ soot, Gordon could now see what their signs said. 

What an odd cause, He thought to himself. Why would they be against happy people?

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

February 14, 1987

They were at it again. 

Bear was being even more unusual than normal. He’d woken up at the crack of dawn, raced out of the shed at maximum speed, and seemed intent on setting a land speed record for pick-up goods.

Delta had seemed to be her usual overbearing self, but as the day had gone on she’d become more and more anxious. In the interest of being a good friend, Gordon had asked her what was wrong, only for her to tell him that she was "just excited, nothing to worry about and no offense but I don’t think that you’d understand.”

-

Gordon would have said that something had gotten into the diesel fuel, but BoCo had been similarly puzzled when they spoke at the junction. “I don’t know what’s gotten into them - it’s like they’ve got a hot date or something.”

“A date? With whom?”

“Search me. But half of my passengers are acting the same way - it is Valentine’s Day after all.”

"But that’s a human holiday. Why would they care?"

-

That also didn’t explain James, whose obsessing over his paintwork had reached new heights of neurotic.

"You will polish my tender until you can see your face in it! Understand?!" He shouted at the workmen.

-

That night, the sheds were tense, even if there wasn’t any reason for it.

Delta had come back on Bear's evening train - the Hymek himself was nowhere to be seen. Gordon considered it a good thing that Henry was in Barrow that night - he had a tendency to get lonely when Bear was somewhere else, and Delta and James were decidedly on edge all evening.

Without either of the big green engines, the sheds were somewhat emptier than usual, a sensation that grew more and more pronounced as engine after engine left for late-night trains.

Edward left for his late night local around 9, and was followed by BoCo half an hour later.

Percy, who had been sleeping in the sheds most of the day, was practically shooed out by a strangely apologetic James, and huffily left for Elsbridge with a goods train.

A visiting diesel was going home to London, and had been rostered to take the night express all the way to the capitol. When the Class 50 left a few minutes after Percy, Gordon became suddenly aware that the shed was empty aside from himself, Delta, and James.

"How strange," he remarked. "Normally we're all here by this point in the evening."

"I agree," Delta said quickly. "Especially considering that you have to go take something soon as well. I can’t remember the last time the big shed's been this empty."

"What train?" Gordon raised an eyebrow. "I have no trains tonight."

"What." James didn't phrase it as a question.

"Was there something I missed?"

"I thought that you'd have a train tonight." James said, looking panicked.

"I don't do night runs if I can help it James, are you two feeling alright?" Both red engines were looking increasingly alarmed.

"What about the Flying Kipper?"

"I assumed that Henry would take it."

"Henry's in Barrow!"

"Hmm. Why don't one of you take it?"

"Can't." | "We're busy." They said simultaneously.

"Doing what?"

"Not that." James said quickly.

Gordon was about to argue further when James’ crew wandered into the shed. 

“Alright boyo! Time for the night mail! Let’s get rolling!” His driver said with way too much joviality for the late hour. 

James looked horrified. “Night mail? I can’t take the night mail! I’m not in steam!”

A small wisp of smoke curled out of his funnel as he said that. His crew stared at it. 

“Gordon will take it!” James pressed on in desperation. “He likes running at night!”

Gordon, who did not like running at night, and was enjoying the pleasant sensation of his fire slowly burning out, was appalled. “I most certainly will not!” he said indignantly. 

-----

“Mate, you need to work on your negotiating skills.” James’ fireman said to Gordon as the blue engine was coupled to the mail train. 

“I didn’t hear you jump to my defense.” Gordon muttered darkly as he shivered in the cold February air. 

“‘Course not!” The fireman said. “You think I want to spend all night in James’ little phonebox of a cab? I’ve got so much more room in here!” He swung his shovel around for emphasis, causing a massive CLANG as he accidentally smacked it against the cab wall.

“Good for you...” Gordon grit his teeth and waited for the signal to drop. The sooner this was over the better.

-----

Two hours later

Fortunately for Gordon, the midnight run was more or less flawless - he had a green signal the entire way across the Island, and aside from having to slow down for track workers outside of Maron station, he made good time into Barrow.

 Passing his train off to the yard shunter, Gordon eagerly awaited his berth in the shed. Perhaps he could get some answers out of Henry as to why -

“Sorry mate - not going in ‘ere tonight.” Groused a diesel multiple unit that was sitting astride the points leading to the shed. 

“I beg your pardon?” Gordon was not amused. 

“Beg all ye like - teh basterds in ‘ere told me to sod off.” The Pacer was no happier than Gordon as he explained. “Said the shed was closed and made me sit outside in the freezin’ cold. Wankers...” 

“Who told you that?” Gordon was unaware of any engine who would willingly block the shed - except Duck. 

“Some Green bloke.”

“Henry?”

“No, not the kettle! Some other berk - a ‘eritage diesel or some shite like that.” The railcar shivered. “Big, Green, looked ancient, told me to keep out and make sure nobody else came in.”

“And you did what he said?” Gordon was rapidly losing patience with the railbus. 

“I wasn’t gonna, but...” The Pacer trailed off guiltily and looked down at his buffers. Gordon followed his gaze and saw that the little multiple unit had derailed on the points. 

“I see.” Gordon sighed. He wanted to blame the Pacer, but clearly there was some sort of preserved diesel who was truly to blame. 

“At least it isn’t bad outside other than tha cold.” The railcar said, trying to be cheerful.

Gordon stared murderously at the sheds. It had snowed six inches overnight.

To make matters worse, he was now being roped into the morning express - a duty he usually cherished, but would prevent him from knowing the identity of the blasted diesel that had kept him from his warm shed. 

-

Gordon had not been gone more than ten minutes when the shed doors opened and a diesel rolled out of it. 

“Oh look Henry, it snowed last night!” Bear called back into the sheds. 

“SHOVE IT UP YER INTAKES!” Yelled the Pacer from underneath his snowbank. 

[vintagedaydreams]

TLNRS Mini Reboot

               Guys, I did a thing. Sooooooo, a reader asked if sometime I would be able to write a chapter one reboot of TLNRS where the reader asked to be killed instead of punishing Carlisle. And I was all, ‘Sure! Great idea! Not sure when I’ll get to it, but if I come up with something, I’ll let you know!’ yadda yadda yadda. Welp. Here it is.

               I actually wrote 2 of them. 2 complete different stories, though the first half is the same in both.

               Uh….sorry, not sorry??

NOT GONNA LIE, THERE ARE SOOO MANY SCENARIOS THIS COULD TAKE: THERE MAY BE MORE OUTCOMES EVENTUALLY??

               These are not edited, not even proof read all the way and I honestly wasn’t sure how to end either one since I DO NOT want to make these into full stories since, you know, I already have 2 WIPs.

               So, be warned! They may suck.                                                                                                

               Buuuuuuuut, they’re written. So without further ado, the first one!

 @kettnerjanea @katsav17 @imyourapocalypse @bethanymccauley @whirlpoolsink @rasberryfon-fon

               Volterra, Italy. A walled city in the middle of Italy, you know, the country that's on the opposite continent of America? Yes, that Volterra, Italy. A place you'd never been to in your life.

               And yet, here you were. With the Cullen family and your mate. Your mate that you didn't know was your mate and who you actually thought was already happily mated to another. Another vampire. Your mate, Carlisle and Esme, his apparent not-mate vampire friend.

               Can you say homewrecker? Ever since you found out that Carlisle was your mate and not Esme's, (the woman who had treated you like another daughter since the day Bella dragged your human self over to their house), you'd been practicing that word. Homewrecker. Homewrecker. Homewrecker.

               Carlisle was a great guy...er, vampire, and let’s be honest, he was not only gorgeous, but kind, compassionate, caring, sweet, gentle, remember mentioning gorgeous?, but, he'd been taken! And quite happily for quite some time.

               Then you walk in, unprepared and unawares and suddenly, BAM!, no more 'I love you, Esme'. Did you ever feel like a heel, or what?

               To make matters worse, assuming they could get worse, you all had been summoned to Volterra. For multiple reasons. Apparently you and Bella being human still was something of a problem and because Carlisle and Esme had marked each other as mates, even though they weren't "true mates", Carlisle was going to be punished. Supposedly, since you were his mate yet he'd marked another and been marked in return, you were the one slighted.

               Quite frankly, you felt as if you should be the one getting punished. You'd just destroyed his and Esme's relationship that they'd had for like...decades!

               What if you didn't want to be the horrible human being who tore people apart?

               A gentle hand on your elbow startled you out of your thoughts and you turned to see Carlisle, looking down at you in concern.

               "There is nothing for you to be worried about, Y/N," he said quietly, with a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. You'd seen a lot of that recently. The mating pull, as Edward had explained to you, was in effect, making Carlisle super protective, possessive and worried about you.

               Which was pretty much a dream come true. Who didn’t want a handsome, sensitive, intelligent and caring man fawning over and providing for them?

               But you could see that he wasn't happy about it. He was no longer quite the care-free doctor you’d first met. Now, there was more of a stoop to his shoulders and it weighed heavy on your own heart to know that your mate wasn't content with you. That your mate was actually miserable being with you.

               Apparently this 'mating pull' went both ways. Super.

               The doors before you were suddenly opened and you were all beckoned into the throne room. You walked in beside Carlisle with Esme, Edward and Bella directly behind. You would rather have been just about anywhere other than here under these circumstances.

               Maybe you could just die? Cue mental snort. Okay, so that sounded a bit melodramatic. But...everything would go back to normal then, right? Esme, (whom you'd briefly started to think of as another mother), would get Carlisle back and Carlisle...well, he didn't seem too sold on this whole, 'You’re his mate' thing, so it probably wouldn't be that hard for him to bounce back. Bella would understand since she'd already tried dying multiple times for her loved ones and the rest of the Cullen family weren't incredibly happy with you for stealing their dad away from their mom.... This could work. 'Course, you'd have to make sure Carlisle wouldn't get punished again, but if you made it look like an accident and not that you’d actually died because of this whole mating thing, then he couldn't get into any trouble for it!

               You started to think of all the ways it could happen. Your family hadn't spoken to you since you moved to Forks almost four months ago, so they'd be fine. Stuff like this happens all the time. Well, not the whole 'suicide so your mate and his family can be happy like they were before you showed up', but accidents did happen all the time...

               A low noise brought you out of your thoughts and you looked around, a bit startled at the...growl?...that you could hear. Glancing over at Carlisle, you saw him looking back at Edward in confusion and worry.

               Curiosity peaked, you also turned to look at Eddie and your eyes widened in surprise. He was the one growling and he was....glaring at you? With a dangerous glint to his coal black eyes. You could've sworn they were gold when everyone stepped off the plane. His hunger couldn't be that severe- it’s not like half an hour would suddenly make him ravenous. Besides, all the veggie vamps fed before they boarded the jet to Italy.

               So what the hell was his problem?

               "Edward?" Carlisle asked quietly, his hand once again taking residence on your elbow. Pulling gently, the golden eyed doctor drew your closer to him.

               You had to will yourself not to melt into him. He was only doing this because of the mating pull. He really loved Esme, not you. And soon, he'd be free to love her again.

               Edward's growling suddenly grew louder.

               Your eyes widened and all the blood rushed from your face. Well shit. This whole mind reading thing was a serious pain the ass.

               Putting on your own scowl and matching glare, you turned further to face Edward.

               "Would you get out of my head already?" you demanded. And preferably not tell anyone what you heard since it's really none of your bloody business in the first place, you continued mentally.

               Bella was lucky she had some sort of mental block; what happened to privacy and common decency?!

               "Edward?" Carlisle asked again and when Edward didn't answer, only kept growling, Carlisle turned to you. "Y/N? What's the matter?"

               You turned away from Edward and back to the thrones in front of your procession where the three Volturi kings were seated and staring at you. Really. Floor, just open up and swallow you now.

               "Nothing," you muttered to the doctor. "Eddie just needs to learn personal boundaries." The Carlisle you had met before he'd realized the mating pull would've still been concerned, but dropped the subject since you obviously didn't want to talk about it.

               This new Carlisle who was forced to play dutiful mate, frowned and drew you into his side tighter before asking, "What were you thinking to make him growl like this?"

               You tensed and gave the poor guy a fake, sweet smile.  “If I wanted any of you to know, I wouldn't have thought it, I would've said it out loud."

               You internally winced at how…bitchy that sounded, how cold, but you had to distance yourself and fast. This was the first time that Carlisle had really initiated any sort of contact, especially any type of comfort and it was really starting to mess with you. It was obviously expected of him here in Volterra as your Mate, but you knew that if you weren’t here, he wouldn’t be initiating any kind of contact. Or even speaking to you. He was pretty damn good and avoiding and ignoring you.

                You’d always been drawn to Carlisle, from the beginning, and this sudden forced possessive and protective side to him was beginning to wear you down. If you weren’t careful, you really would be a homewrecker. Right now, you were trying your hardest to respect his wishes and not fall prey to the Pull. But as soon as you let it get to you, you would truly be the monster they all thought you were.

               All you wanted was for him to be happy. Even if it wasn't with you.

               Edward's growls suddenly died off and you gave a small smile, thinking he'd finally seen reason with your line of thinking and this was over.

               Boy, were you wrong.

               Aro had cleared his throat, focusing the attention on him.

               "A very spirited mate you have there, dear friend," was the first thing out of the vampire king's mouth. Carlisle gave a small smile. That once again was a shadow of his former smiles.

               "Thank you, Aro. She will certainly keep me on my toes."

               You mentally snorted again. Sure. But not for much longer.

               Aro suddenly stood and glided down to the group, stopping a few feet away. "My dear friend, I regret having to do this particular ceremony with you, but as is part of our laws and customs, it must be done."

               Carlisle inclined his head. "I understand, Aro. And I appreciate your sentiments on the matter."

               You felt your throat start to close up at the thought of Carlisle's punishment, whatever it would be, just because he marked and was marked in return by the women he loves. How was that fair?

               Your attention was suddenly diverted back to Aro as he took a few steps forward to stand in front of you.

               "My dear, if you would step up next to me?" he asked, holding out a hand. You'd heard about Aro's gift and mentally cursed. Great. All your ideas that you hadn't even finished yet, would be heard by yet another mind reader. But maybe there was a way to block certain thoughts? Edward had told Bella and yourself that Aro could hear every thought you'd ever had. Past tense. So maybe if you continued thinking your plans, they wouldn't be able to be seen...?

               It was worth a try. Not like it would hurt anything. If it failed, well, he would be able to see anything either way.

               So, with a deep breath, and more low growls from Edward, you stepped forward, placing your hand in Aro's.

               Surprisingly gentle, the vampire king pulled your away from the half of the Cullen coven and up towards the thrones. You had made it to the base of the stairs leading up to the other two kings when Aro suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, (no pun intended), and swiftly turned to stare at you.

               Because that wasn’t intimidating at all.

               Judging by the now tense atmosphere in the room, apparently this wasn't part of the normal proceedings.

               "Brother?" one of the kings, Marcus perhaps?, asked in a quiet voice. Still staring unblinking at you, Aro didn't answer for a moment.

               "Aro?" Carlisle asked, worry prominent in his voice. You tried to smother the wince that crossed your face, couldn’t you do anything right?, but judging by Aro's suddenly sharper gaze, you were pretty sure you failed. Apparently, he'd also read all your thoughts from just a little while ago, so change that fail to an Epic Fail.

               When did your life turn into this? Who did you piss off in a past life to deserve this?

               "Brother," Aro suddenly asked, seeming to snap out of his stupor and continuing you both up the stairs to his throne, "what do their lines look like?"

               Nobody in the room needed to have 'their' clarified and everyone waited with baited breath to see what Marcus would discover.

               Seeming to zone out for a few moments, Marcus' eyes suddenly refocused and he answered, "They are strong, brother. But not as strong as other true mates."

               All eyes turned to look at you. Edward's brows were drawn into a deep glare and you uncomfortably looked away. The family would either hate you because you were with their 'dad' or hate you because you freed him from your bond. Either way, there was no way to win.

               "Hm," Aro murmured thoughtfully, "I wonder if it is because she is human or because of...something else." He threw a significant look to you that you ignored the best you could.

               Edward started growling again.

               "Aro," Carlisle's voice growled out, impatient. "What is going on with my mate?"

               "I think, my dear friend, that that is a question best left for said mate to answer. However, first, I believe our ceremony should get underway."

               Immediately, all the Cullen's stiffened. Only Bella and yourself remained unaware to what exactly that meant.

               "Y/N," Aro said suddenly, taking a seat in his throne and gently pulling you to stand beside him, "your mate, Carlisle has marked and been marked in return by another. Now, as a human, you probably do not feel as insulted as a vampire would, for this is one of the worst things that a true mate can do to another. The highest form of cheating our world has."

               Carlisle's head bowed down as if under a huge weight and Esme looked from him to you with shiny eyes. Tears? Great, as if you didn't feel awful before...

               "As his actual mate," Aro continued when you didn't say anything, "you get to decide how he should be punished."

               It was quiet for a moment before you suddenly blinked and snapped your head down to meet Aro’s ruby eyes. "What? Me?"

               The vampire king nodded. "Yes, you. You were the one slighted and so, you are the one to demand the compensation. We've seen a few cases of this over the centuries. Some vampires have their mates tortured to teach them a lesson, others have had their mates kill the vampire they mistakenly marked while a few have even had their mates killed."

               Your eyes, which had gotten progressively wider now threatened to pop out of your head. Why was everything so violent with these people? You were suddenly even more thankful that you weren’t a vampire... You didn't want to feel the need to have Carlisle do any of those things!

               "Since you are human, my guard is at your disposal for whichever method you choose that you cannot fulfill yourself. Of course, you don't have to do any of those options. You are free to choose whatever you wish."

               You were silent as you stared at the Cullen's, mind racing to try and find a way that would appease the ceremony but that didn't involve hurting anybody. Especially Carlisle.

               It’s not like it was his fault that he found a woman and fell in love with her! Granted, it wasn’t your fault either that your eyes met, but maybe, you could fix it for him? After all, what kind of future could you have with Carlisle if he hated you for taking away his freedom and choice of mate?

               "Might I suggest the second option that other slighted mates have used in the past?" Aro spoke up after a few minutes of you trying to figure out what to do.

               Your eyes snapped back to his. "The option where you have your mate kill the woman he marked that was not you,” Aro continued with a barely concealed smirk. “I do believe this will solve quite a lot in this case."

               You’re not sure where you got the guts to do it, but you glared heatedly down at Aro's smirking face. He knew of your half baked plan to get Carlisle and Esme back together and was just saying that to get a rise out of the Cullen's.

               And boy, did it work.

               Bella gasped while Esme's eyes shot to yours. She quickly averted her gaze, though you could see her hands trembling. Edward was looking at you with an unreadable expression and Carlisle... Carlisle looked miserable and heartbroken. He honestly thought...they all honestly thought that you would...

               You felt tears sting your eyes. Did they really have so little faith in you? Think so little of you that they thought you would have Carlisle tear apart the women he loves because they had marked each other? Were you really that awful of a person to them? You didn't choose to be his mate! You didn't mean to take him away from anybody!

               A stubborn tear broke free and languidly trailed down the side of your face.

               Edward's face bore the softest expression you'd ever seen pointed in your direction and you shut your eyes to block him out. You didn't need his pity. Or anybody else’s.

               Taking a shaky breath, you drew your shoulders back. You’d made your decision.

               You opened your eyes and with as much courage as you could muster, you looked down to meet the expectant eyes of the Vampire King seated in his throne beside you.

               “Kill me instead,” you murmured quietly, though you knew that every vampire in the room could hear you if the sudden deafening silence was any indication.

               The smirk that had been playing around Aro’s mouth disappeared and he sat up even straighter.

               “What was that?” he asked, voice still friendly with faux cheer, but with an undercurrent of disbelief.

               You took a deep breath, before repeating even quieter, “I choose to be killed myself.”

               You weren’t able to keep eye contact with Aro for very long – those ruby eyes were boring into you and making you uncomfortable and self conscious.

               And you didn’t dare look over to the Cullens. You weren’t sure what expressions would be on their faces, but if you saw any relief from Carlisle or Esme that their Problem would soon be taken care of… You just couldn’t see their happiness at your death. It would crush you more than you already were.

               A loud snarl suddenly tore through the throne room and you jumped, head snapping towards the Cullens.

               Edward was furious.

               Eyes jet black and wild, fangs elongated and rage painted across his face, he truly looked the Vampire he was.

               “This is all your fault!” he roared at his sire, spittle flying from his lips as he advanced on Carlisle.

               Aro shifted as if to intervene, but surprisingly, the King on the other side of you, Marcus, rose first and was suddenly standing before Carlisle and Esme.

               The tension in the room skyrocketed and even Edward quickly backed down in the midst of the fury the brunette king was radiating, instead settling a bit and flashing over to Bella to draw her into his arms and soothe her as she was a bit lost over what was happening and the reason for Edward’s rage.

               “Your Bond Mate is wishing for Death,” Marcus growled out, seeming to grow even angrier when Bella gasped, horrified that you would ask for that, “and yet, you stand here, passive and quiet! Bond Mates are truly the most precious thing we have in this eternal life and you would toss yours aside to have her wallow in self doubt and loathing so you can continue a charade that has no future whatsoever!”

               Marcus’ hoarse voice had risen at the end and rang through the throne room. You were slack jawed standing by Aro’s throne – this was not the depressed and silent King that Edward had described. He was supposed to not care or pay attention to the goings on in the world.

               A quick glance around at the guards standing along the walls showed their own disbelief and wonder at the change in their King.

               What was going on?

               Something cold brushed against your hand and you looked down to see Aro’s fingers leaving your hand and then he was on his feet and growling…something that you couldn’t make out.

               But judging by the darkening look on Edward’s face and the fact that Carlisle and Esme had blanched, you figured he was telling everyone the thoughts that had been running through your head.

               Lovely.

               “I don’t want pity,” you muttered to yourself, pressing the heels of your hands to your eyes to stave off any more tears. “I just…want this to stop.”

               Surprisingly, yet another voice answered you and when you looked up, you were shocked to see it was the blonde, angry King, Caius speaking in your direction, while Marcus was still growling lowly at Carlisle and Esme.

               “Being angry, and rightfully so, at the atrocities committed by the Cullens in regard to you is not pity. My brother,” he gestured to Marcus, “had a Bonded and lost her. Aro and I have our own Mates whom we love dearly and would die for. To have Carlisle willingly neglect you is insulting, shameful and the height of idiocy.” Here he turned his attention from you to Aro. “I told you, brother, the Cullens are a waste of venom.”

               Caius’ ruby eyes bored into Edward and he gave a slight smirk. “Well, most of them anyhow.”

               “Aro,” Carlisle finally spoke up, voice soft and hesitant and you held back a shudder as best you could. The growls you could hear ratcheted up a notch and you really couldn’t decide if it was comforting or scary to have more than one vampire pissed for your sake.

               “My dear friend,” Aro interrupted Carlisle before he could say anything else, “when I heard of what had happened, with you finding your mate, I gave you the benefit of the doubt. After all, you have been alone for many years, and even though Marcus had informed you of your Bonded lines, I thought that maybe, you had just…lost patience. A remarkable feat for you, but it has been known to happen to other vampires, though none have had your control and restraint.”

               You felt like the air had been punched out of your lungs – Carlisle knew that he had a Mate? He knew that you were coming? Maybe not when you were going to show up or who exactly you were, (though Alice should have seen you, right?) but…he knew he had a mate? And that Esme wasn’t it? You felt your legs start to shake and a few more tears spilled down your cheeks. He…he hadn’t even tried to give you a chance. He’d already made up his mind about his mate before he’d even met you!

               Did…did Alice tell him about you? Did he decide that you weren’t worth it? Did you know how messed up you were, how you hadn’t always made the best choices, and just…didn’t want to deal with your shortcomings and failures? Did he not think you worthy enough of him?

               Cold hands were suddenly guiding you down into what felt like a throne, but you were too numb to care who or where, instead trying to figure out where you went wrong and how this could happen to you. You never wanted this to begin with, but for Carlisle to know and still not care… It’s not like having a mate would have blindsided him - He was expecting it!

               “But,” Aro had continued, voice steely and it would have frightened you had you been paying more attention, “to now have the full story, to know that you have been neglecting and blaming your Intended, that your – what do you call them, family? – has been harassing and abusing your Mate, pushing her to contemplate suicide and Death by our hands and you did nothing… Well, I do believe that it is time for the Volturi to step in and select your punishment.”

               Esme’s gasp pulled you out of your thoughts and you looked up to see her and Carlisle looking at you, their eyes pleading.

               “Y/N,” Carlisle suddenly said shakily, “If you can find it in your heart-“

               When you flinched at his begging tone, deafening roars sounded out.

               Carlisle was suddenly prone on the floor, a snarling Aro on top of him while Esme was already half dismembered by a furious Marcus.

               Edward had flashed away with Bella, coming to stand next to you, but his growling was still one of the loudest in the room.

               “How dare you?!” Aro thundered, eyes black as pitch and his entire being radiating menace and danger. “You throw your Bond in your Intended’s face until you feel that she can save you? We have been far too lenient with you, Cullen sire and it has cost her dearly. Let me be clear: there will be no saving you and Esme now.”

               You swallowed as Marcus continued to tear Esme apart and Aro was poised over one of Carlisle’s limbs.

               “Wait,” you said shakily, feeling drained yet determined. This…was not what you had in mind. Carlisle and Esme weren’t supposed to get hurt! You were the one who was going to disappear forever so they could be together.

               You couldn’t have their deaths or pain on your conscience!

               “They don’t deserve you,” Edward said quietly from beside you, suddenly kneeling by the throne in which you sat. “They don’t deserve any of your kindness or your sacrifice. They have made their decision and it wasn’t the right one. Now they have to pay the price for it.”

               “How can following your heart be wrong?” you whispered, another tear slipping down your face. For all his faults and horrible attitude to you, you were drawn to Carlisle and you just didn’t want him hurt or upset. How would torturing or killing him and Esme be the right thing to do? Just because he went with his heart and not with the Bond?

               “That Cullen is not following his heart,” Caius snorted from the other side of the throne and you jerked your head over to look at him. “He is simply too muddled, idiotic and soft to think like a proper vampire. Once Bond Mates’ eyes meet, there is no other – for either one of them. You feel a pull towards him, correct?”

               You nodded, a bit ashamed that you felt something towards Carlisle while he obviously felt nothing towards you.

               “If you, as a human, feel the Pull, what do you think he would feel, as a vampire? As much as he may deny it, and as much as it pains me to say it, Carlisle is a vampire. He feels the Pull the same way Aro and myself do, as Marcus did when Didyme was alive. There is no other for him – there never will be another. Him clinging to his relationship with Esme is nothing more than stubbornness and malice at this point, designed to not only hurt you who would dare to remind him that he is prey to the same vices as the rest of the Vampire world, but also in a last ditch effort to deny that which he is. Death would be a kindness to him, at this point. He is obviously not happy being a vampire and cannot be expected to help create anyone else’s happiness either.”

               You knew you were gaping a bit at the blonde next to you, but seriously, how could you not? The King that Hates Humans just basically gave you a reassuring pep talk?

               …What?

               A loud screeching noise jerked your attention back to the other two Kings and Carlisle and Esme, the latter completely dismembered.

               “Y/N!” Carlisle tried once more, golden eyes large, frightened and locked on your own, but Aro was quick to wrench his head from his shoulders.

               “Quite enough of that, I think,” the telepathic mind reader said nonchalantly, seeming back to his friendly and flamboyant personality.

               How many personalities did he have, exactly?

               Within moments, the rest of Carlisle followed suit; arms and legs yanked out of sockets and feet and hands separated from ankles and wrists.

               Part of you wanted to look away – they were destroying your Mate and his Marked in front of you! – but a larger part of you felt…vindicated.

               “As you should,” Edward said darkly from beside you, still cradling Bella to him as she watched on as well, brown eyes almost greedily taking in the destruction of the two Cullen leaders.

               “You have done no wrong, Y/N,” Edward continued, “and the fact that you wished for death…” He trailed off, closing his eyes that were once again black and leaning down to inhale Bella’s scent in an obvious effort to calm himself.

               “It is beyond despicable,” Caius grunted, heading back to his throne as Marcus and Aro regally ascended back up the stairs to the throne. A carelessly waved hand had the guards suddenly moving to dispose of the remains of Carlisle and Esme – permanently if the muttered remark about ‘matches’ gave any indication. They would not be leaving this castle again.

               Aro stopped in front of his throne, the one that you were currently occupying and you suddenly straightened, moving to stand and remove yourself from his seat.

               Another carelessly waved hand had you settling gingerly back down as Aro shocked you once again by taking a seat on the top step in front of you.

               “Now that that…unfortunate business is taken care of,” he began with a large smile and childish-like glee, “it is time to get to know one another a bit better!”

               You blinked once. Twice. Three times.

               “What?”

               Edward had also taken a seat, placing himself beside the throne with Bella pulled into his lap.

               “Aro, perhaps now is not the best time,” he suggested quietly, casting you a look that had your hackles raising a bit.

               Damn mind readers. Yes, you were human and yes, you had literally just asked to be killed not twenty minutes ago, but you weren’t fragile!

               “What on earth do you need to know that you haven’t already read in my mind?” you asked, beyond confused as to why one of the most powerful vampires in the world would want anything to do with you now that you’d pretty much made him kill one of his oldest friends.

               Edward thew a growl in your direction that had Aro impatiently holding out a hand to read Edward’s mind.

               And then Aro was growling softly at you.

               “You did not make me do anything, Y/N,” he said firmly, eyes narrowing. “What Carlisle did was inexcusable. And rest assured, when the rest of his Coven is destroyed as well, that too, will not be your fault.”

               You blanched at the easy way in which he talked about destroying Carlisle’s entire family.

               “What?! Why are they being destroyed?”

               All the vampires left in the room, even the few guards remaining, gave you a disbelieving look.

               You blushed. Okay, that was a pretty stupid question considering that they were just as bad, if not worse, than Carlisle. But still…a whole coven destroyed because of you?

               You slunk down in the throne a bit, feeling like the weight of the world was on your shoulders.

               Why couldn’t you have just had a happy ending? No deaths, no dismemberment, no misery? Just…happiness?

               “Because my sire was an idiot,” Edward said quietly to you, eyes once again a bright golden and focused on you. “This is in no way your fault, Y/N. You just had…a run of bad luck.”

               Your snort was echoed by one from Caius.

               “All of your coven mates fall under the description of ‘bad luck’,” the blonde mocked.

               “Why do you despise the Cullens?” Bella asked quietly from Edwards lap.

               To your surprise, Caius not only answered but gave her his undivided attention.

               “No real vampire would neglect who they are fundamentally. They wouldn’t feed off of animals, they wouldn’t feel shame for being who they are and they certainly wouldn’t neglect one of the very basic instincts of all vampires: Bond Mates.”

               “But…why is it bad that some vampires drink from animals? If it makes their life easier?” Bella asked, voice a little stronger now that the King was actually answering her.

               “It’s not the actual animal drinking that’s the problem,” Caius said darkly, “it’s the reason behind it. These ‘vegetarian’ vampires are ashamed to be what they are. They look down on those that have different feeding styles because they feel they are monsters. There are a lot of vampires that prey off of the scum of your human societies – the murders, molesters, rapists, thieves. And yet, they are villainized by those too weak to keep themselves from slaughtering Innocents when they are overwhelmed by scents because they are too used to barely scraping by on animals. There is no shame in being a vampire. Even those as noble as Carlisle have faults that can be greater than those they look down on.”  

               You stole a glance at Edward, finding him looking thoughtful at Caius’ explanation, rather than defensive or angry. Bella too.

               You gave a small smile, feeling your adoration for the two grow. They had been so kind to you, your rocks during all of this. You really could never repay them.

               “And you don’t have to,” Edward said quietly and you gave a watery laugh.

               Damn mind readers.

               Maybe this would be okay, you not having a Mate anymore. Perhaps there would be someone else out there for you. Someone you could actually have love you in return?

               “Perhaps,” Aro said suddenly, and you saw his hand drop from Edward’s once again, “we can keep you here in Volterra for awhile. Make sure there are no lasting side effects from your Mate’s…sudden demise. And perhaps we can see about finding you someone who can show you what a True Mate should be like, hm?”

               You looked at Aro in confusion.

               The black haired monarch gave a serene smile and leaned forward.

               “Tell me, my dear. Have you ever heard of a vampire named Garrett?”

[lesboaliceswan]

now ’til forever it’s all of me, all of you, just take my hand (Bella x Rosalie) 

request: Bella and Rosalie? (Either clean or nsfw works) For Anon

warnings: femslash pairing, a little talk of rape

word count: 1,869

a/n: hey anon! this was just run through grammarly, i apologize for mistakes. this is probably crappy but i like it, so here goes...

“How would you like to go on a date with me?” Rosalie blurted out one day in the parking lot. She glanced over at her family, and was met with shocked faces. Up until now, she had pretended that she hated the annoying teenager, but it was all a façade. She knew Bella was her mate from the beginning, but she didn’t want to have to put her family in danger. She just couldn’t stay away from her anymore. Her inner musings were interrupted by a shocked Bella stammering, trying to get her words out. She couldn’t form a complete word, and at that moment Rosalie knew she had to step in. She lightly grabbed the human girl’s hands and squeezed them ever so slightly.

“You don’t have to go with me if you don’t want to, I won’t pressure you into anything,” Rosalie explained and Bella furiously shook her head. That was not the answer Rosalie was expecting. The mate bond is felt by humans as well, but normally it isn’t nearly as strong. She was assuming that Bella would refuse and Rosalie would have to try again later. That wasn’t the case, as Bella squeezed Rosalie’s hands back and smiled.

“I would love to, Rosalie, you just caught me off guard.” Rosalie cringed at the slight hurt in Bella’s voice. She felt bad for making Bella feel like she didn’t like her. Rosalie just wasn’t good with emotions.

”How about this Saturday? I can pick you up if you’d like? Or not if you’d rather use your truck, although I’d rather you not drive that rust bucket back and forth-“ Bella cut Rosalie off from her rambling and smiled at her. Bella thought she was cute when she was nervous.

”Rose, you can pick me up if that makes you feel better. Just breathe.” The taller girl smiled at her shorter mate. She always knew how to make her feel better. Rosalie nodded and began to walk back to her family. When she got there, no one said a word, but everyone’s eyes were on her.

”What the hell was that?” Edward screeched. Rosalie winced at the volume of it. Super sensitive vampire ears don’t go well with an annoyed brother. Rosalie just shrugged.

”Asking out my mate, I guess.” All her family members gasped, including Edward and Alice. Edward quickly calmed down when he heard those words, but still seemed confused.

”Why did you let me try to get close to her if you knew she was your mate? Also, how didn’t I know this?” Alice echoed his last sentence, although she looked even more confused than Edward.

”I didn’t want her to be my mate. I didn’t want to ask her, but I couldn’t help myself.” Edward sighed and Alice squealed at the love-struck grin on Rose’s face.

”Understandable. I just wish I’d have know before I went through all that pain-“ Rosalie snarled at the other vampire.

”Put a sock in it drama queen, we all understand how terrible it must’ve been to be near her, even though I killed all my rapists without drinking a single drop of their blood. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a date to plan” With that, Rosalie hopped in her car with Alice and sped off.

Needless to say, Edward didn’t say a word to Rosalie for the rest of the day.

Saturday...

“Okay, I think it’s all set,” Rosalie whispered to herself as she looked at the picnic area she had set up. It wasn’t Edward’s meadow, it was ten times as good. It was a little hike away from the road, but not too far away.

Rosalie smiled to herself and ran back home to get in her car and drive to Bella’s house. She just hoped she would get this right.

Meanwhile...

”Bella, stop freaking out, it’s just Rosalie” Bella internally scoffed at herself for saying that. That’s the whole reason she was freaking out, because it’s Rosalie. She would never look as good as the other girl, not in a million years.

As Bella looked in the mirror, she was slightly taken aback at what she saw. Her hair was lightly curled and fell just below her shoulder. She had on an oversized flannel shirt that she stole from her dad, a black, tight-fitted crop-top, and light blue skinny jeans. She looked hot. She smiled to herself as she took in her appearance once more. It was casual, but she made it look good. She just hoped Rosalie would like it.

Just then, her doorbell rang. Her heart rate sped up and she heard a light chuckle from outside the door. Apparently, Rosalie had heard the change. Bella raced down the stairs, tripping twice but catching herself on the railing, and finally opened the door.

”Hi” Bella meekly said, which earned another chuckle from the blonde vampiress. Rosalie smirked at the younger girl, but it was wiped off her face as she took in her appearance. Bella smiled to herself at the look in the vampire’s eyes. Apparently, the outfit was acceptable.

”You look amazing, Bella” Rosalie said, and there was not a trace of doubt in her tone. She truly believed Bella looked flawless.

Bella raked her eyes over Rosalie’s form and her mouth instantly went dry. She had a light brown blazer overtop a black turtleneck. Her bottoms were plaid dress pants, and her shoes were short heels. It was normal of Rosalie to leave people speechless, but never to this extent before. Bella physically couldn’t speak for what felt like forever, but in reality was just a few seconds.

”Wow.” Bella mentally smacked herself at her lack of filter. Luckily, Rosalie understood what she was trying to say and giggled before responding with a soft “Thank you.”

”You ready to go?” Rosalie asked and Bella nodded. They both couldn’t wait for this night. Rosalie hoped Bella would enjoy, as this could make or break their relationship.

It didn’t take long to get there, and soon enough, Rosalie was pulling into a little abandoned driveway. Bella looked confused, but Rosalie smiled in reassurance and got out of her car. Of course, she opened Bella’s door for her, she always would.

”Hop on” Rosalie said and motioned to her back. Bella looked hesitant, but obliged. Rosalie took off as soon as Bella was secured into her back, and Bella let out a small shriek. Rosalie laughed, a loud boisterous sound. She was free out here, there was no one to hear her other than the woman on her back. Bella chuckled too, mainly at herself, but also at how a loud sound like that came out of a prim and proper lady from the 1930s.

Bella gasped at the sight as Rosalie screeched to a halt. The meadow was beautiful, even more so than Edward’s. There was a large lake in the middle, but the thing that caught her eye first was the picnic table Rosalie had set up. Bella grinned to herself, and then towards Rosalie. The blonde sighed in relief as she saw the look on her face. Apparently she had done good.

”Wait, what are you gonna have?” Bella frowned as she realized that Rosalie didn’t eat.

”I’ve already got that covered. Well, c’mon, let’s go sit.” Rosalie grabbed Bella’s hand and brought her to the table. As they sat down, Alice walked out of the woods and brought them their food in a picnic basket. Alice insisted she help, so Rosalie gave her this job to keep her happy.

”Thank you, Alice” Bella chuckled at the pixie-like girl and glanced at Rosalie. Rosalie just winked in response earning a blush from Bella.

Rosalie grabbed the basket and pulled out the food. She had bought a garden burger from the diner along with a berry cobbler and a coke. Bella smile grew at the selection which made Rosalie’s grin grow in response.

”How did you know?” Bella asked and Rosalie smirked.

”A little birdie looked into the future and told me what you’d react best to” Bella laughed and grabbed Rosalie’s hand from across the table. Rosalie faltered at the contact, but regained her composure before Bella could notice.

”It’s perfect” It was funny how two words could make someone so happy. It might’ve been the fact that her mate approved of their first date, but it also might’ve been the high from Bella’s touch.

The rest of the night was spent talking and laughing. Rosalie didn’t mind when Bella asked about her past, she just steered clear of anything about those bastards that took her innocence. That wasn’t first date material. Rosalie was mainly focused on Bella, but she also liked talking about herself. Not in a vain way, she just enjoyed Bella’s reactions.

”What was your most cringe-worthy moment?” Rosalie asked Bella after a few seconds of comfortable silence.

”The fact that when I’m around you, I don’t know how to speak. You never fail to take my breath away when you’re near me.” Bella said seriously. Rosalie was at a loss for words. What Bella had said was so raw, so filled with emotion, that she didn’t know how to response.

”Well I’m glad you’re the same way as me when I’m around you. You’re the most beautiful, most breathtaking woman I’ve met in my entire life.” Rosalie said, and for a moment she couldn’t believe she’d said that. Then, she realized that every word she’d said was true.

”You really mean that?” Bella was giddy that the other woman felt the same.

”I really do” Rosalie smiled and grabbed Bella’s hand. Bella smiled back and brought Rosalie’s hand to her mouth. It was only a small peck, but it sent electricity through every inch of Rosalie’s body. Rosalie looked at the sky and noticed that it was already getting too dark to stay there much longer.

”I’d better get you home before your father comes looking for you.” Bella frowned, but eventually nodded and hopped on Rosalie’s back so she could take her back home.

Later, at the house...

”I had a great time tonight.” Bella smiled as they both stood on the front porch of Bella’s house.

”Likewise, one might even say it was the best date they’ve ever been on.” Rosalie thought back to all her human and vampire years to confirm that it was the best. It was, indeed.

They both stared in each other’s eyes for the longest time. It wasn’t awkward, it was intimate. Bella slowly leaned in, giving time for Rosalie to back out, then gently pressed her warm lips to Rosalie’s cold ones. Electricity crackled through every inch of Bella’s body as their mouths moved in sync. Bella slowly pulled back, as she knew she wouldn’t be able to stop if she went any longer.

”Goodnight, Rosalie.” Bella ran her thumb across Rosalie’s cheekbone, then across her jaw and bottom lip before placing a chaste kiss onto her lips.

”Goodnight, my beautiful Bella.” Rosalie watched her mate retreat into the comfort of her home before climbing in the car and sitting in the driver’s seat.

For the first time in a very long time, Rosalie felt hope.

[hazzoranstories]

THE WHITE SUN AT MIDNIGHT | J.BLACK Ch. 18

Once the two wolves explained everything to Charlie, leaving out the whole werewolf imprinting part, he understood but was still a little awkward. He didn't love seeing the boy he saw grow up and his daughter kissing especially since Jake was Bella's best friend, and the list went on, but he eventually had to learn to tolerate it.

The next day Paige forced both her and Jake to go to school, so she found herself being dragged by Ryland from class to class until lunchtime, and she could have a break. She, Ryland, and Chloe all sat at the corner table, sprawling themselves freely across the open chairs because no student would be stupid enough to sit next to a bunch of werewolves, even if they didn't know what the three were.

The trio made drawling conversation, being bored out of their minds even if they were best friends. None of them really felt like talking. Until the cheerful Chloe asked, "so have you and Jacob made out yet?" Paige looked at her with a slight glare.

"For your information, we did yesterday. But Charlie kinda interrupted our moment," Paige stated, and Ryland chuckled, taking a bite of his apple.

"So, how was it? Good kisser?" the boy continued the interrogation.

"Obviously. I also told him that I loved him," she added.

"Finally!" both the Miller's yelled, and they all burst out laughing, causing Bella's table to look at them.

"I wonder where those two are from?" Jessica inquired out loud about Chloe and Ryland.

"They're from Montana as well. Friends of Paige's and tribe members," Edward answered, shocking all the humans besides Bella.

"A tribe? Is she in like some type of cult or something?" Mike joked, and the ordinary friends laughed.

"No, they're part of the Kootenai tribe. It's a large spread tribe in Montana, Idaho, and British Columbia. Paige is the daughter of her area's deceased chief and a possible future-chief," Jasper spoke up; he traveled to Montana once before he met Alice and encountered the people of Kootenai. They were descendants of wolves, just like the Quileutes.

"How do you guys know so much about this? Are you like stalking her or something?" Angela teased, and just like before, everyone giggled.

"Just history buffs," Edward lied, and Jasper smiled weakly.

Back at the werewolves table, they had listened to the entire conversation between the humans and vampires, and it made them all scoff at how the bloodsuckers thought they knew everything.

Once lunch was over, Paige had to walk to Biology by herself since none of the Miller's had that class with her. She was strolling through the halls when Alice attached to her side.

"Uh, no, Get off me," Paige grimaced and shoved Alice of her, who didn't take the insult to heart.

"I've decided to throw a party for graduation," Alice exclaimed, and Paige rolled her eyes.

"Cool. Have fun," she said sarcastically and picked up her pace.

"You're invited. And don't worry, Bella will be there so you won't be totally helpless. Jacob will also be there along with two of his friends," the short girl stated, and Paige stopped.

She turned towards Alice with raised eyebrows and muttered, "Jake would never go to a party thrown by leeches."

"Well, he is. I saw it in a vision-"

"Okay, let me tell you again because you're still not getting it," the Claymore cut her off and crouched to her level with a smirk. "I. Hate. You. I hate you and your entire bloodsucking family. So get the hint and leave me the hell alone if you want your head on your neck instead of placed on a stake. I will always hate vampires and don't expect a little graduation party to change that," the blonde hissed, but Alice's smile never fell; if anything, it grew wider.

"So you'll come?!" the black-haired vampire questioned with excitement.

Paige stared at her golden eyes emotionless, then spat out, "fine." She then walked into Biology without another word. Being in a bad mood for the rest of the day.

~:*:~

After school, Paige went to the police station to visit Charlie. She didn't know why she was doing this, but she wanted to hang around family, and Bella is . . . . well, Bella. She also had to tell him she couldn't make their plans to the dinner with Bella. She walked into the station and greeted Charlie before sitting next to his desk and listening to him talk to an older couple who's son went missing a year ago. His name was Riley Biers.

Mr. and Mrs. Biers soon left, and Paige followed Charlie outside, where Bella waited with Edward. Without Charlie noticing, Paige shot Edward a look that could kill.

"Hey. You two ready for dinner?" Bella asked the two.

"Yeah. It is still just us three, right?" Charlie questioned, glancing at Edward, who chuckled lightly.

"No, I'm just dropping her off," he told the Swan, then turned to Bella and whispered, "see you later."

"Bye," Bella replied sadly, and Edward walked to his car.

He then stopped and turned around. "Bella, my parents, wanted to remind you about the airline ticket you got for your birthday," he reminded his girlfriend.

"What airline ticket?" Paige and Charlie interrogated in sync.

"A round trip ticket to see Mom in Florida," Bella answered, and Paige narrowed her eyes slightly. She kept in touch with Renée over the years especially since her father died but she never had enough money to visit her.

"That was generous," Charlie commented.

"It expires soon, so you might want to use it this weekend," Edward cut back in.

"Well, I can't just drop everything and go," Bella told him firmly.

"It might be your last chance to see her before you graduate," the vampire advised, and Bella gave him a puzzled look; she knew it was about her transformation, but why would it have to be her last chance?

"Might not be a bad idea. Get out of town for a couple days. Get some distance," Charlie added.

Bella hesitated but eventually said, "yeah, I wouldn't mind seeing Mom." She then looked at Edward. "As long as you use the companion ticket," she begged him, and Paige rolled her eyes.

"Wait. There's two tickets?" Charlie questioned. "Super. That makes me really happy," he said with sarcasm.

"Actually, I think Paige should take my ticket. She probably hasn't seen your mother in a while and would like to visit," Edward suggested.

"What?" Paige rushed out with raised eyebrows, and that's when she realized that Edward read her mind. She scowled at him. Bella and Charlie looked at her.

"You should. I bet it's been a while," Bella assumed, and Paige looked at her with irritation.

"I'll pass. I've never seen my own mother in person and don't plan to in the future. If she wanted to see me, she wouldn't have left," the werewolf grit her teeth together, never taking her eyes off her step-sister. "I can't make dinner. I have plans with friends," she told Charlie, still staring at Bella, who had a look of guilt washing through her eyes.

"Paige!" a voice screamed from behind them, and everyone but Paige looked to where the voice came from to see the entire Quileute pack at the outskirts of the woods. Everyone besides Leah who choose not to come. As always, they were shirtless with just shorts from previously phasing.

Paige stole one last glance at her sister and glared at Edward before jogging over to the wolf pack. "Hey, guys," she greeted the group of boys as they walked back into the woods. Jacob threw his arm around her and kissed her head.

"Ew, dude, control your thoughts, please," Embry teased his best friend, and the group of shifters all laughed before phasing and running back towards the reservation.

[thepixelberrybush]

For DSAW Day 6: Side Pairings - Charlie x Oliver (as friends) Summary: Considering that Oliver's father murdered Charlie's, I headcanon they would have talked about it at some point. Tag: @distantshoresaw

Even in the midst of the chaos and confusion of the night, Oliver couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration of how quickly Mortemer’s pirate crew brought his vessel up to speed. The combined efforts of the Irish sailor and his twin companions saw the sails of The Intrepid catch the night winds with a snap, pulling them out of the harbour of Port Monarque before anyone could stop them. Their boatswain was more competent than any of his own, and they followed her like hatchlings to their mother, trying to keep up with her deft fingers as they secured lines. Every member of the crew knew their place, and Peyton had reclaimed hers at the helm as soon as she had changed out of her fine clothes.

“They’re heading east but we’re already losing them!” Mortemer called, lowering his spyglass. However, Peyton had already begun steering the ship east before Mortemer had said anything. For a brief moment, Oliver remembered the incredible story she had told him earlier that evening, about being from the future and the pull of the compass. As if she was a compass herself. But he quickly shook himself out of his reverie and delivered the last remaining orders to his crew as the chase began. He would return to those thoughts later.

Soon the ship was speeding into the night, with no one being certain of their course except Peyton. Credit had to be given to all the crew, especially the navy men who had not known Miss Bellamy long enough to trust her or her crew, yet remained dutiful to their lieutenant. Oliver felt a mix of emotions churn within him. He was proud of his crew, some of them he had trained himself, some he loved like brothers, and was still in awe that they had chosen to turn against their Admiral for him. For him, for a bunch of pirates. It went against everything they probably stood for, yet here they were.

Oliver found Mortemer’s quartermaster below deck. He had seen almost no women sailors in his life, as they were not allowed on board navy ships (although Oliver had always made it a point to allow his crew to bring their wives on board if they didn’t want to be apart), but Charlotte Smith was the epitome of the reason why he had always found that rule ridiculous. She was a force of nature, who moved about the ship as if it was a part of her. Despite all the jesting and banter between her and the other pirates, they clearly deferred to her.

But now in the dim light of the oil lamps, she seemed so small and fragile, leaning against the wall near steps leading up to the deck. Her face was strong and fierce, yet there was a melancholic, faraway look in her eyes.

“Miss Smith?” Oliver said, as he approached.

Charlie looked up with a start, as if noting his presence for the first time. She gave him a small, tired smile. “Hullo navy boy. I’ll be right with ya, just give me a moment.”

“I’m not here to get you back to work,” Oliver said. “The crew is doing a fine job and the ship is already travelling as fast as she can.”

“Aye, we’ve told you time and again we are the best damn crew in the Caribbean,” she said, flashing him a grin. It disappeared quickly. “Then why are you here?”

Oliver swallowed. “I’m here to apologise. And to offer my condolences. What my father did to yours…”

Charlie waved it off as if swatting away an insect. “You are not to blame, navy boy. You’re more than making up for it by helping us take him down.”

“Still, I promise I’ll do what I can to set things right,” Oliver said. “When this mission is over, I will give an account of what happened in Port Monarque and ensure your father’s legacy is preserved.”

Charlie shrugged nonchalantly. “He’s a right old bastard.”

But Oliver remembered her strangled gasp and muffled sobs and knew she cared more than she let on. It must’ve shown in his face, for a heartbeat later, she sighed. “But thank you, Oliver.”

He nodded. They stood there in silence for a moment, before Oliver spoke again.

“You were quite a force at the ball tonight. Your charm and wit outshine many aristocratic women I’ve met.”

Charlie laughed. “Don’t tell me you’re falling for me now, navy boy. Peyton would never have it.” At the look on Oliver’s face, she laughed again. “Come now, I’m just teasing you.”

Oliver offered a tight smile in response. He had half a mind to return to the deck, where he was likely needed, but a part of him still felt guilty. And while the rest of the crew was too preoccupied with keeping on the Admiral’s trail, Charlie was, at the moment, alone in her grief.

“The housekeeper, Dorothea, is quite fond of you,” he said. “She told me how she raised you after your mother was… removed from service.”

“My father didn’t want a scandal,” Charlie said. “But I assume you would be familiar with such a situation, lieutenant, considering you’d likely have friends as fancy as my father, if not fancier.”

“Have you tried searching for her?”

“Of course I have.”

“I would like to help, if you would allow me. My position here in the navy could give me leverage and it’s the least I can do.”

Charlie raised an eyebrow, her gaze roving over Oliver’s face. Unsure what she was searching for. Hints of insincerity? Empty words to try to get her to lower her guard? But whatever for? Oliver had long proven he was on their side, and he had a score to settle with Edward, not her.

“I have my own contacts across the Caribbean and am already well into my search, but thank you for your offer. I appreciate it,” Charlie said. “How about you tell me a little about your mother? Must be quite a woman to put up with your father.”

For a moment, Oliver floundered. The subject of his mother had been long buried, like a pirate’s treasure, and at first, he couldn’t quite find the words.

“She was… a good woman. I don’t think she fully understood how much my father craved power.”

Charlie studied Oliver in the dim light. “We have a lot in common, don’t we, navy boy? We both have rich aristocratic bastards for fathers who have high expectations of us, and we love the sea. We grew up with luxury, but chose to leave it behind.” Charlie laughed. She may have been raised as a servant in her father’s household, but had comforts some of the crew could never dream of.

“But we both chose very different paths.”

“Which are now crossing as we work towards our common enemy,” Charlie said. She straightened and moved closer towards Oliver, laying a hand on his shoulder. “I appreciate that you sought me out to offer some comfort from my grief, lieutenant. And I hope you will be able to detach yourself from your father’s deeds eventually. You’re not a monster like he is.”

Oliver swallowed, and nodded. “Thank you, Miss Smith.” He glanced briefly up at the deck, before turning back to Charlie. “And for the sake of our… friendship, I hope our paths would never have to cross again after this.”

Charlie knew what he meant. When the mission ended, her life of piracy would continue, and Oliver would return to the navy. He would continue to climb its ranks. He might be sent out after her in the future, not Mortemer. The silence was heavy between them.

“I’m thinking the crew could use both of us above deck,” Charlie said. “Shall we?”

[crossroadsfossil]

Fake titles!!!

"Giving matches to paper dolls"

"Making wishes out of Airplanes"

"For wheat is still wheat when mistaken for grass at a distance."

" you've got time to grow"

"Letters to myself"

"I begged god to spare you, 10yrs later he got the memo and knocked my front teeth."

-im sorry this^ title is so long-

"You and have a long walk home."

"We decided not to cry."

send me a made-up fic title and i'll tell you what i would write to go with it

"Giving matches to paper dolls"

OTGW fic. 

When Wirt was finished with high school, he decided to take a gap year, encouraged by his stepdad, who also offered to help fix up an old car. Wirt chose a moped. 

His stepfather held up a hand when Wirt wheeled the moped into the garage. Wirt stopped and waited, his stepfather massaging the bridge of his nose before turning around and entering the house. Less than three minutes later he returned with a photo album, an almost manic grin on his face. Wirt ended up learning a lot about his stepfather’s own gap year, and his moped. His stepfather suggested he go south. 

Looking back on it, Wirt realized that was probably not a great choice. He might not have ended up going through the kudzu covered wall in the rain and ending up nursing what he hoped wasn’t a broken ankle. 

The woods were dark, and oh so familiar. 

plot: return to The Beyond. World hopping Wirt and Greg. Eventual Beast Wirt. 

"Making wishes out of Airplanes"

Plot: The thing about living in large cities was that light pollution drowned out all stars. The heavens could be raining down wish bearing stars and no one in the city or its suburbs would be able to see them. 

That’s alright. Izuku was used to taking terrible situations and transmuting them into success like an alchemist of old. He did it when he was young, he would do it again. 

He just hadn’t counted on Tomura being sent back in time with him. 

"For wheat is still wheat when mistaken for grass at a distance."

Inko Midoriya could once move mountains. If you gave her enough time and a spoon, she would show you a new valley where it used to be. Marriage and the birth of her son had provided her the opportunity to retire - something she took with both hands and would refuse to give up. 

Or it had been until she had seen what Izuku was being sent into, what even the top ten couldn’t prevent from happening to her son. She was... disappointed. She had expected more of them and, well. There were few things that could prompt her into leaving retirement. Izuku was always one of them, and when he asked how to save a person, well. 

She pulled out the small black book with her cyphered contact list and began to call in favors and upon old friends. 

" you've got time to grow"

One of the first things he was told after being taken in by the commission was that he was to be called Hawks. Which was fine. He liked it. It sounded cool. It sounded badass. 

The second thing he was told was that he was being placed in a home. A pair of foster parents, carefully vetted. His mom had always told him to slow down, to not go as fast. Clearly, he didn’t listen to her. He didn’t regret it. Now, now he was forced to slow down. Bandages pulling at his back and shoulders, the echoing pain dulled by creams and medication. That wouldn’t stop him normally but the driveway that was half a kilometer to the road hindered him. The fact that the nearest town was an hour's drive beyond that was another factor. Until his wings grew back, if they grew back, he was stuck at his parent’s retirement home. 

“Hawks, honey, the farmhands are almost here.” His mother said, phone in hand. “Your mom says they picked up lunch on the way back. From the glee in her voice, I think she got several buckets. I swear.” She sighed fondly and left. Minutes later he heard the front door open, and the tromping in of several sets of feet. With a sigh, he got up and limped down to the dining area. 

At the threshold, he froze, seeing people he didn’t want to ever see again, and especially not with his mothers in the same room. 

“Hawks.” Spinner said, surprise written over his face. The heads of the rest of the league snapped hard toward him, surprise and creeping dread over everyone’s face.  

"Letters to myself"

If Phalnex could have written a letter to his past self, he would have encouraged another post. Any post. Any position would have been better than where he was currently. Yes, there were benefits but he would not consider this one of them. 

A large feline purred as he entered the hanger. It was the largest of the lions- that was what the humans were calling them. He wasn’t sure what their fascination with comparing wildlife to creatures they had on their homeworld. He saw where they drew the comparisons, but still. 

“Oh thank fuck.” A familiar voice said. His ears swiveled to pinpoint where the holder of the voice was and he spotted her held between the lion’s front two paws. 

“Vin.” He greeted. The Midoan smacked the paws until they loosened enough for her to wiggle out from between them. She offered him a sympathetic look as she sped by him. As soon as she cleared the door, he was being picked up, scruffed as if he was a kit. 

Gods, he couldn’t wait until that pilot returned. This lion was ungodly clingy without him. 

"I begged god to spare you, 10yrs later he got the memo and knocked my front teeth."-im sorry this^ title is so long-

This would actually be a series, a trilogy to be exact. Age/roleswap. 

I begged god to spare you, - 

If there was one thing Izuka was worried about, it was this year’s UA internships. Tokoyami was doing his best to reassure him, but even the antics of darkshadow (who was doing her best to imitate an overly fluffy utahraptor) weren’t easing the twisting in his stomach. Something felt wrong. He wasn’t sure what it was, but when the interns had left with his sidekicks, something trilled at him to go with them, even though Recovery Girl had assured him that between herself, Apex and Ravine, they would be fine. There was a knock and then Ochako stuck her head in. She had that look she got when dealing with Bakugo and paperwork in the same room- a mix of exhausted and simmering annoyance. 

“Guess who found trouble?” She said. Izuku groaned and let his head thump the table. 

10yrs later he got the memo - 

The two children before him were pale-haired, short, and one of them was looking at Izuku like he dared the hero to come closer. Toshi was letting Recovery Girl look over his arm, inspecting her work before moving on to Enji. The fire-user was giving a glare towards Toshi that, were his flames capable of shooting from his eyes, his classmate would be ash already. 

The smaller of the two children clung to, what Izuku assumed was his older brother. Both were too skinny, and the smaller (younger?) of the two looked several minutes away from toppling over. 

“I’m Izuku.” Midoriya greeted. The kid that bit Toshi snarled and reached out a hand, only for it to be grabbed and pulled away. 

“Shigaraki.” The smaller sibling interrupted, shooting his brother a look. A silent conversation passed between them, and Izuku let them. No one knew what their quirks were, but judging by the fact that the yakuza had them, he was sure it was powerful and dangerous. Worst case scenario, he asked for Miss Eri and got Tenko in here to provide a pep-talk. 

and knocked my front teeth. - 

“Babysitting?” Touya asked, dropping his bag and removing his shoes. Tenko nodded. Around him, there was what appeared to be the entirety of Tenko’s comic collection. One child was eagerly engrossed, chattering excitedly at his brother. The brother glared at everyone, tracking their movements. He hoped Tenko had told his boss that he wasn’t keeping the brats overnight. Being roommates with a hero-ling was one thing. Being dragged into a literary trope was another, and as much as he enjoyed his college courses on such books, he didn’t want to live one. 

Tenko got up and pulled Touya into the hallway, just far enough that they could talk but not far enough that Tenko couldn’t lean back and keep an eye on them. 

“Midoriya-san is working on placement, but well. He was of the opinion that our apartment was the safest place for him. The yakuza are after them.”

Touya snorted. Of course Tenko got dragged into this. 

“Well, Deku isn’t wrong. We’ve got what, four heroes and an almost doctor here? If Himiko can make it, we can add one spy to the list.” 

“She’s not a spy.” 

“Uh-huh. And Iguchi hasn’t adopted half his class.” Tenko opened his mouth to negate that statement but a pale-haired child peered around the corner. 

“Who’s a spy?” of course that was what interested the angry child. 

"You and I have a long walk home."

This would be a FMA fic, mostly because I want to just have shenanigans as Ed and Al get kicked off a train and have to walk back. Post the end of the series and they go through a town they’ve been through before. Very soft and very sweet. Some Teacher!Edward and alphonse getting to do a lot of things he couldn’t the first time around, like pet all the barn cats and fondle the freshly washed wool and being buried in cuddly sheep. 

"We decided not to cry."

"The tears of a mermaid.” Ginko set the small bottle on the witch’s desk. She picked it up, tilting it before leveling a skeptical glare at him. 

“These certainly aren’t.” She set the bottle down, but stopped him as he went to put them back in his pack. 

“It doesn’t mean I don’t want them. I do want the story. What happened to the real tears?” 

Ginko smiled, sitting down. The witch leaned over and lit another stick of incense. He voiced his thanks before launching into the story. 

plot: mushishi episode basically. Will contain mermaids, mer-other things, and some potential murder. 

[bitchloveskcbaseball]

Rifts Apart

Pairing: Edward x MC

Tides of Fate Part 2

Part 1: Losing Resolve

Trigger Warnings: Violence/torture, death mention, language

A/N #1: So initially, I thought this was going to just be a two-part piece, but as a began writing it, it sort of took on a life of it’s own and is now a four-part piece. Just thought I’d give you all a head’s up!

A/N #2: Also, I apologize in advance if there for any errors there might be in here. I struggled a bit with this one and now I’ve read through it and reworked it so much, I’m not sure I’d notice if I’d spelled my own name wrong lol Also if I think about this too much longer I might be tempted to delete the whole damn series, so here we go lol

“Have I given you reason to think I’ll not?”

“Well, no. But…” Peyton trailed off, wishing that she could see Edward’s face. She did not want to be having this conversation with his back.

His grip on the door knob tightened to the point that his knuckles were turning white. “I am not going to pry the words from you, Miss Bellamy.” There was a cold emphasis to the way he said her last name that made her physically flinch. He’d never been so upset with her in all the time she’d known him.

Defeat washing over her, Peyton tried to shift her body to where she’d be able to stand, wanting to retreat back to her own bed to tend her wounds – both physical and emotional. However, when she slightly twisted her torso, the pain from what she could only assume were at least a couple of broken ribs intensified so sharply that it stole her breath and her vision began to swim. Her eyes slammed shut and she collapsed back against the pillows as she fought desperately to not pass out. It was several minutes later before she even realized that Edward had returned to her side, kneeling on the floor next to the bed while he ran his fingers comfortingly through her hair.

When she was finally able to peel her eyes open again, she found him staring back at her with concern and something else she was too afraid to let herself hope for. “Just what do you think you’re doin’?” Edward asked, the bite that had been present in his tone having vanished.

“Going…back…to my…own…bed…”

“Why?”

“To…leave you…in…peace…”

He let out a hearty chuckle before telling her, with a smile playing at his lips, “I’ve not had a moment’s peace since we met. Your sleeping arrangements have no bearing upon that particular situation.”

Peyton leaned into his touch and his hand stilled so that her cheek was resting against his palm. With her eyes still locked on his, she turned a little further and let her lips brush against his skin as she whispered, “Is that so?”

His eyes seemed to darken and he leaned almost imperceptibly closer, as if there were a string drawing him in. She searched his gaze, looking for any remnants of his anger and finding none. It left her feeling a different kind of breathless, with her heart hammering in her chest. Despite her mind warning against it, hope that he would finally give into this pull between them and place his lips upon hers flared within her. But as quickly as the desire flared in his eyes, it was gone and he was visibly putting his walls back up around him. He stood, pulling his hand back to his side with a shake of his head. He had to clear his throat before he could speak, but the distance in his expression and his voice wiped away the intimacy of just seconds before. “Miss Bellamy – “

“Sit down with me?” Peyton cut off whatever excuses he was likely about to make before presumably taking his leave of her. It had hit her suddenly that she needed to tell him what had happened during the time rift. She had to warn him. And, if she were being completely honest with herself, she wanted to tell him because she desperately wanted him to comfort her.

When Edward didn’t move, instead just staring at her apprehensively, she muttered, “I…I wanna tell you what happened. How I got hurt.”

He hesitated for just a few seconds more, but then lowered himself back to the spot he’d occupied after getting her settled in his bed. She longed for his touch, to let it give her the strength and comfort she was going to need if she was going to find a way to put what she’d experienced into words, but she didn’t dare reach out to him. With his walls back up, she was terrified that she would scare him away by pressing too hard, so she looked everywhere but him trying to distract herself. Even still, as her gaze settled on the waves crashing outside his window, the only thing she could focus on was how he was so close that his warmth was radiating over her, making her feel safer than she ever had before.

“Miss Bell…” Peyton’s eyes narrowed as they flashed up to Edward’s, causing him to trail off with a shake of the head. “Peyton. I believe you had something you wished to tell me?”

“Right! Sorry, I uh – “ she shook her head to focus her attention and give herself a moment to organize her thoughts. She let out a deep sigh before diving into her tale, “So, I’d been feeling restless all night and I’d finally given up hope of getting any sleep, so I decided to go out on deck. Thought maybe the sounds of the ocean and the fresh air would soothe me. And it was working until I started feeling that damned familiar sensation. It’s weird as hell, but I’ve come to realize it means I’m in a time rift, so I wasn’t altogether too concerned.”

She paused to let herself catch her breath, but also to gauge Edward’s reaction. While he was right when he’d said earlier that he’d never given her a reason to doubt that he believed her, he’d also never actually said that he believed she was from the future. And even if he did actually believe that, it wasn’t like it was an easy concept to understand. Hell, she was the actual time traveler and she still had no idea how or why it happened, let alone when one of these damned rifts was going to occur. When she decided he didn’t look too confused, she continued on, “Problem was, this time when I opened my eyes, Robert was standing in front of me, talking as if we were in the middle of a conversation. Having his face be the one I saw in that moment was more than a little disconcerting.”

Concern grew in Edward’s eyes, but they never left hers and it gave her a sense of comfort. She let it wash over her, giving her the confidence to continue on, despite how afraid she was that he’d be disappointed in her once she admitted what a spectacular failure she was. Not wanting to see that disappointment reflected on his face, she let her gaze drop to where her fingers were fiddling with a loose thread in the blanket across her lap. “He took advantage of how disoriented I was and got the jump on me.”

“Got the jump on you?”

“Yeah… He, uh…he charged at me, slamming me into the railing. My side caught the brunt of the impact.”

Edward took her hand in his own, then, and her breath hitched.  “Tis the reason you were screaming when I found you?”

“Um… Not exactly. That…that, uh, comes a bit later.”

“Then what – “

Peyton lifted her face to give him a pleading look as she cut him off. “I’ll get there. Just…please let me get through this, okay?” He simply nodded his head once and gave her hand a quick squeeze. Drawing strength from his touch, she continued, “He then delivered several swift kicks to the same spot for good measure, until both he and I felt my ribs crack. It…it was so excruciating I was afraid I was gonna pass out.”

“Christ.”

This time it was her squeezing his hand in an attempt to comfort him. Truth be told, she still hadn’t gotten to the worst part yet. The pain she could handle, would take any and every day over what came next. “Anyway, as he was tying me up, the rest of his merry band of misfits brought you and the rest of the crew out on deck. Lined you all up in front of me.”

There was a lump growing in her throat and she slammed her eyes shut in hopes of keeping the tears building there at bay. She desperately didn’t want to relive this part, but she reminded herself that he needed to know. Edward’s free hand came up to cup her cheek again, this time brushing away tears she hadn’t realized were falling. Leaning into his touch, she let out a sigh of relief when he didn’t pull away. The reassuring warmth of his hand on her skin was giving her the strength to relive the horror she'd had to endure.

After clearing her throat, she whispered, “Apparently I was the one he was most angry with. And since he had realized how important you all have become to me, he decided that the best way to get back at me would be through you guys. Especially you. He started with you, delivering a cut so deep that you would eventually bleed out, but not so deep that it would be quick. He wanted to make sure I would have to watch you suffer.” Her voice, which had been cracking, finally gave out with a sob.

Clearly trying to be careful of her injury, Edward slid forward on the bed and gently gathered her in his arms. He let her bury her face against his chest, while he rubbed circles against her back, but it did very little to soothe her. Peyton’s sobs tore through her body and she soaked his shirt with her tears, but even the pain in her side wasn’t enough to stop the onslaught. Seeing this man – the one she’d realized, with such clarity as she watched the life drain from his eyes, that she loved – suffer so brutally, die so brutally, was more than she could bear. And now that she was thinking and talking about it, it seemed to be playing on an inescapable loop through her mind.

“Peyton, I’m right here. Tis naught but a dream.”

Pulling back from him, Peyton practically shouted, “Did that” – she gestured angrily towards her right side – “look like it was a fucking dream, Edward?!”

“No. I suppose it didn’t,” Edward sputtered.

“I had to watch you literally be tortured to death! Had to watch everyone else be executed mercilessly. And then… Then they left me there, just tied up to the deck. Because Robert wanted to make it as excruciating as possible. And he was smart enough to realize that me having to wait for dehydration or exposure to take me could leave me there staring at your bodies for days.”

“I –”

“That is what I was screaming about! That is what you brought me back from!” Another sob choked her voice before she whispered, “That is our future!”

Edward pulled her against him again, wrapping his arms tightly around her and she bit back a whimper at the way it sent a searing pain through her. She needed to be in that spot more than she needed the ability to breathe. Burying his nose against her temple, he murmured, “I have no intention of letting such a fate befall us.”

Peyton sucked in a breath, and immediately regretted it. Her vision was swimming once again as her broken ribs wailed in protest. Edward eased her back so she was more fully stretched out and she forced her eyes open to gaze into his. Between desperate pants for oxygen, she asked, “How do you plan to stop it?”

His eyes hardened as he stared at a spot over her head, “You’ll not be here to find out.”

“What?!” Pressing her hand to her ribs in a vain attempt to counter her movements, she forced herself back up into a more upright position. Her voice was frantic as she asked, “What do you mean I won’t be here?”

“I’m sending you home. Immediately.”

Part 3: Becalmed

Tag List: @anotherbeingsworld @burnsoslow @mvalentine @rebel-alpaca @crazynutella @princess-geek @edgiestwinter

[initcne-arch]

@consequntial asked : all of them :)

1. how does your character think of their father?? what do they hate and love about him?? what influence - literal or imagined - did the father have??

Darlene’s feelings towards her father are incredibly complicated. We all know that Edward Alderson is the scum of the earth, but pre-canon and during the timeline of the series, Darlene has no clue what he was doing to Elliot. She was four fucking years old when he died. So let’s start with her feelings towards Edward Alderson pre and during canon, yeah??

She has few memories of him, but they’re mostly positive memories. Darlene mentions a few times throughout the show that she misses him, she wishes she had gotten to know him better, “what happened to Dad fucked me up too”, etc. I’ve discussed this before--I think growing up Darlene really idolized her father. Again, because the few memories that she has of him are positive, she wasn’t aware of what he was doing to Elliot, and her mother was blatantly neglecting her and berating her and occasionally beating the shit out of her. In Darlene’s mind, Edward could have protected them from Magda. I don’t know if Darlene ever really loved her dad. I think she had an idealized image of him because her mother’s abuse was so much more apparent.

Which leads us into post canon, whenever Elliot decides to tell Darlene about the sexual abuse. Again, incredibly complicated. It doesn’t change the fact that for twenty-five years, Darlene wanted nothing more than for her father to be there protecting them, that for twenty-five years she had this idea that if he were still around, things would have been better. Not great, but maybe he could have saved them from Magda, who’s abuse is much rawer in her mind. 

She’s furious with Edward. She hates the man. Despises him. She feels a tremendous amount of guilt for wanting him to be there. Realistically, she knows that she wasn’t aware of the abuse he was inflicting on Elliot, but she still feels guilty for wishing that he hadn’t died. She hates that their whole revolution was in his name. That they started all this to get back at the people who killed him. And those people needed to be taken down, just not for Edward Alderson’s sake. She hates that he had that influence on her. She wants nothing more than to beat him to death again with his own bones.

2. their mother?? how do they think of her?? what do they hate?? love?? what influence - literal or imagined - did the mother have??

Darlene hates Magda!! Hates the woman!! For all the shit Darlene has been through, she doesn’t think anything was worse than being in that house alone with Magda between the ages of fourteen and eighteen. She is, however, the only mother figure Darlene knows, and so she does regard Magda as her mother. Never mind the fact that Magda didn’t actually regard Darlene as her daughter. She loved to remind Darlene that they shared zero actual relation and the only reason Magda even “parents” Darlene is because she signed some paperwork claiming Darlene as her daughter. Darlene hates Magda for treating her and Elliot the way she did. She felt no guilt, no remorse over Magda’s death. It’s unclear exactly when Magda’s health started to deteriorate but Darlene sure as shit didn’t help out with getting her into memory care. Zero relation, remember, Magda??

As far as her biological mother goes, whoever she is, Darlene’s feelings about her are at a zero. Darlene doesn’t even know the woman’s name. Darlene was only a few months old when she dipped out of Darlene’s life. She does think about it from time to time--what is she like, what would have been different if she hadn’t left, does Darlene get her fire and anger from her or does nurture conquer nature?? 

3. brothers, sisters?? who do they like?? why?? what do they despise about their siblings??

Elliot!! Ultimately, Darlene loves him. They’ve been through thick and thin together. They work very well together. Both of them have a lot of their own unresolved shit that gets in the way of their relationship. Post canon they have a lot of work to do, both individually and between the two of them. Their relationship has ebbed and flowed over their lifetimes. Despite what canon says about them never being terribly close, I think they were close when they were younger, at least until Elliot was an older teenager. I seriously doubt that siblings who weren’t close would share the same bed or spend all day at the movies and arcade together or have goddamn code words with each other. Darlene was the only person who knew someone else was fronting from 2014-2015, the only person who knew her Elliot was gone. But they “were never close.” Bullshit. 

I get the impression that Darlene used to take it upon herself to take care of Elliot, when she was younger. Make sure he was getting out of bed in the morning, making both of them breakfast, packing both of them lunches. 

They grew up in an incredibly abusive and tumultuous household, each of them with their own unaddressed mental health concerns, and it doesn’t surprise me that they drifted apart as they grew older. Clearly, there was a period of time where Darlene attempted to rekindle their relationship, but it was too difficult and she ran away. It’s...a little more difficult to say if this rings true for Elliot as well, but Sam / the Mastermind blatantly admits that he’s treated Darlene like shit, that he’s been a shitty brother. I don’t think Darlene has always been the best sister, either. They’re never outright cruel to each other but again, lots of unresolved and unaddressed issues on individual levels. They aren’t always kind to each other. I do think Darlene idolizes Elliot to an extent as well, but considering he was the only person in their household who wasn’t absolutely awful, I can’t say that I blame her.

4. what type of discipline was your character subjected to at home?? strict?? lenient??

Inconsistent discipline. Depended on whether or not Magda wanted to deal with her on any given day. On Monday Darlene could get away with murder without Magda so much as glancing in her direction and by Tuesday, Magda would be slapping her for putting her dishes in the sink instead of the dishwasher. I’ve said before that based on Darlene’s behaviors as an adult, I’m pretty sure Magda was more emotionally / verbally / psychologically abusive and negligent towards Darlene than she was physically abusive but that didn’t stop Magda from smacking Darlene around from time to time. There was also a lot of restriction going on, like food restriction and medical restriction. For the most part, Magda just didn’t pay much attention to Darlene, and therefore, Darlene was not a well-disciplined child ( or adult, for that matter ).

5. were they overprotected as a child?? sheltered??

No. Again, Magda paid no mind to Darlene. She practically raised herself. Magda likely tried to shelter Darlene from things, given the woman was pretty staunchly religious, but since she didn’t want to be bothered with Darlene most days of the week, Darlene was free to do whatever she damn well pleased ( until those rare days Magda did pay attention. then there was hell to pay ).

6. did they feel rejection or affection as a child??

Big time rejection!! Starting with her biological mother leaving, someone who was supposedly genetically programmed to give a damn about Darlene. Then the woman who willingly married Darlene’s father and willingly adopted Darlene rejected her. Darlene was always kind of that weird, loud kid who no one really knew how to deal with, so a lot of her peers kind of left her alone, too. The only people Darlene really had were Elliot and Angela. They eventually had to grow up and start leading their own lives. As a young teenager, this certainly felt like they were cutting Darlene out of their lives. It was when those two went off to college that Darlene went really far off the deep end. 

7. what was the economic status of their family??

Given the cozy little house the Aldersons lived in, they seemed to be upper-middle class. Edward obviously worked for e-corp for a time and I assume the pay there was decent. There’s no indication that the Aldersons moved somewhere else after he passed away. Perhaps the mortgage was already paid off. Who’s to say. Upper-middle class.

8. how does your character feel about religion??

Darlene hates religion as an organization--Magda was an Evangelical Christian and loved to shove that down her children's throats. Above all, religion was used to shame Darlene, and thus, she despises it, despises that people will blindly follow some invisible being in the sky and be so cruel to others on the basis of what their invisible friend in the sky allegedly tells them. Spiritulaity, she believes, is very individualized, and if people get some comfort from it, then good for them.

9. what about political beliefs??

Tag walls, punch fascists, eat the rich, fuck the GOP, ACAB, BLM, etc. etc. Money is the invisible hand puppeteering all of our politicians and influences just about everything. She’s one whole entire lef.tist-social.ist-anarchist. Next question.

10. is your character street-smart, book-smart, intelligent, intellectual, slow-witted??

Darlene is definitely street-smart. She has to be, given her lifestyle. She’s a hacker and a con-artist--she has to be a smooth talker and she has to know her way around. She’s a pick-pocket, a lock picker, a smooth talker. She’s incredibly intelligent and quick-witted. Look at everything she’s accomplished!! She took down the most powerful people in the world!! Good for her!! I think Darlene could be book smart if she wanted to be, and I think she is to an extent. She talks about politics freely and clearly knows what she’s talking about when she does discuss them. There’s a certain amount of math involved with coding but she’s definitely not the scholarly type.

11. how do they see themselves: as smart, as intelligent, uneducated??

“I happen to be really smart and good at things.” Yes you are, baby. 

12. how does their education and intelligence – or lack thereof - reflect in their speech pattern, vocabulary, and pronunciations??

Darlene speaks very casually. She’s not peppering all these flowy, prosy words into her daily vocabulary, and god knows this woman has some colorful language and is an artist in profanity. She doesn’t speak like someone who’s uneducated nor someone who is educated. She says what’s on her mind. She is quite articulate and she can have quite the silver tongue when the situation calls for it. She scripted a handful of fsociety’s videos and completely adlibbed one in the span of ten minutes, for fucks sake.

13. did they like school?? teachers?? schoolmates??

Darlene only enjoyed school when it was an excuse to get out her house. As I previously mentioned, Darlene was always kind of the loud, weird kid that no one really knew what to do with. She liked to be around her schoolmates but she didn’t like to get too close to them. Her teachers were fine. Her schoolmates were fine. None of them were influential enough for her to remember particularly well. 

14. were they involved at school?? sports?? clubs?? debate?? were they unconnected??

Darlene was largely disconnected from school. She showed up often enough to pass her classes and graduate. Her after school activities consisted of ballet and getting high with others.

15. did they graduate?? high-school?? college?? do they have a PHD?? a GED??

She did graduate from high school. She completed exactly one semester of community college when she was nineteen, decided academia was absolutely not calling her name, and promptly dropped out.

16. what does your character do for a living?? how do they see their profession?? what do they like about it?? dislike??

Hacking and con-work. Darlene likes it well enough. She’s dead set on sticking it to the man. It’s also what she’s comfortable with. Darlene doesn’t like staying in one spot or doing one thing for too long. Maybe one day she’ll settle down and do some sort of freelance work--she did have a brief stint with freelance graphic design and she did enjoy doing that. She does desire some sort of stability. WIth how turbulent her life has been thus far, stability isn’t something she’s familiar with or comfortable with. So be gay, do crime.

17. did they travel?? where?? why?? when??

She skipped around the east coast when she was with [ REDACTED ]. That was mostly their decision, though. Running from whoever or whatever. Darlene won’t get into it. 

18. what did they find abroad, and what did they remember??

If you ask her, she’ll say nothing. Darlene doesn’t run for the sight seeing. She remembers many nights in shady motel rooms and countless fights with her own personal Humbert followed by her running away from them again until they either found her or she either came back because she had no where else to go. Rinse, lather, repeat. That’s what Darlene saw while she was “abroad.”

19. what were your character’s deepest disillusions?? in life?? what are they now??

That everything would magically be better once she turned eighteen. Darlene was fourteen years old when Elliot and Angela exited stage left. At that point, she had this fantasy that when she turned eighteen, she too would go to college, maybe live with Elliot or Angela again, and everything would go back to the way things were when they were kids. Her brother would be okay. There would be zero strain on their relationship. Elliot would be the same person he was in when he was fourteen / when he was fifteen / when he was sixteen / before he quietly started to remove himself from the home more often and gently distanced himself from Darlene, perhaps for his own sake, because he couldn’t take her with him. That she would be the same person, that she wouldn’t be this jaded, cynical adult who quakes at the thought of someone getting to know her too personally. That Angela would be the same person. 

Darlene is pretty grounded in reality. She fantasizes of a better world, certainly, but she did create some change in the world. Is that really disillusionment??

20. what were the most deeply impressive political or social, national or international, events that they experienced??

Repping the entire millennial generation here--Darlene has lived through a number of political catastrophes. 9/11, pandemics, the 2008 recession, and then she helped drive one of the biggest economic downfalls of them all with 5/9.

21. what are your character’s manners like?? what is their type of hero?? whom do they hate??

Darlene is like...make rude gestures at authority figures but tip your barista 20% every time and it’s not the end of the world if you have to wait 10 minutes for your food to come out. That pretty much sums up how she treats other people.

As for the second part of this question...it’s hard to say. She didn’t have a lot of great influences in her life. Her brother, certainly. Pre-canon and during canon, her father, but he has absolutely zero rights now. People who can look injustice in the eye and do something about it. The anarchists and the socialists. She definitely opposes celebrity culture and putting strangers on pedestals based on a public persona. So it’s hard to say.

22. who are their friends?? lovers?? ‘type’ or ‘ideal’ partner??

So Darlene very much needs people around her, because focusing on others is easier than focusing on herself, but when they get too close, she pushes them away. She doesn’t have many “friends”. She has acquaintances. She has people she sees from time to time in the same spaces. I think about the girls at the party she threw at Angela’s old place in 4x1. They’re not really friends, they clearly don’t know each other very well, but they know of each other and seem to hang out with the same circles. 

And she doesn’t have the most stable romantic relationships, either. Canonically we see her with Cisco. We know she breaks up with him when he makes her mad and then she goes back to him. She hit him with a fucking baseball bat when he was sending her photos to Dark Army. Before Cisco there was humbert, an awful and traumatic endeavor for her. I adore dom.lene but that wasn’t a relationship, and they both have a lot of their own personal shit to work on before they could even play with the idea of a relationship. 

I think Darlene’s ideal partner is someone who can match her intensity but has the ability to bring her down when she’s too intense. Someone who will call her out on her bullshit, but do it gently. Someone who brings out the best sides of her while also embracing her bad sides. Someone patient but firm. That’s a lot to ask for but Darlene is complicated and deeply flawed. At the present time, what Darlene really needs is to take a step back from everyone and focus on herself, because she is incredibly unstable in relationships and that’s simply not fair to the other person.

23. what do they want from a partner?? what do they think and feel of sex??

Again, Darlene doesn’t have the healthiest romantic relationships. She thinks she needs someone to take care of her so that’s what romantic partners are at her beck and call for. She wants someone around but only on her terms. As previously mentioned, what she really needs to do right now is take a step back and focus on herself. Go to therapy and what have you.

She enjoys sex for the most part, though obviously, that’s partner dependent. Her relationship with sex isn’t the healthiest either. It’s often used as a distraction or as a means to get her way. 

24. what social groups and activities does your character attend?? what role do they like to play?? what role do they actually play, usually??

For the lack of close friends, Darlene is a social butterfly. She enjoys clubs, parties, hackerspaces, etc. She can often be found in the center of the room dancing with a drink in hand, until she’s completely overwhelmed and screaming at everyone to get out or hiding in an empty room until she calms down. Aside from these spaces, Darlene doesn’t really have any other social groups.

As a sidenote, I thoroughly enjoy that mid-credit scene during the season 3 finale where she apparently just strikes up a conversation with a random sex worker and they have a full blown conversation about politics and money while walking back to Elliot’s apartment. Darlene is very social, she does enjoy talking to people. She simply is not comfortable with people Knowing her.

25. what are their hobbies and interests??

I was joking the other day about how Darlene needs to get more hobbies and I still stand by that. She has ballet, and she still greatly enjoys that. It’s very controlled. It forces her to focus on one thing at a time. She likes that. She’s good at it. She does enjoy gaming to an extent, though she mostly sticks to Nintendo and portable gaming because she’s constantly on the move and simply cannot be expected to carry a PlayStation in her backpack. She would probably jive with some multiplayer online games. She had a brief stint with freelance graphic design and she still enjoys graphic design. 

Darlene is big on the classic horror and sci-fi films and media. I do not think she has seen a single movie that has come out since 2005. She likes going to the movies, though. The movie theater was a comfort zone for her at one point and it still is. 

26. what does your character’s home look like?? personal taste?? clothing?? hair?? appearance??

Darlene does not have a steady place to live. She couch surfs and crashes at different friend’s places. Thinking about her apartment that she was staying in during season 3 when the FBI had eyes on her, it was...deeply depersonalized. There were no touches of Darlene in there. Even with a semi-stable place to stay, she couldn’t be bothered to decorate the place, add some of her own touches. She left Angela’s apartment as is in season 4. She has zero attachment to the spaces she stays in and treats them as temporary, just like she treats most things in life.

Darlene’s sense of style, though?? Absolutely impeccable. There is so much of Darlene in her clothing, hair, and makeup. She’s got the cool grunge look going on for her. Thrifted clothes that she alters and upcycles, boots for stomping, tastefully wild hair, and dark makeup. Darlene takes great care of her appearance. It’s the one thing she does have, the one aspect of her life that she can control. When everything else is out of her hands, at least she can have kickass winged eyeliner.

27. how do they relate to their appearance?? how do they wear their clothing?? style?? quality??

Literally just said it--Darlene’s appearance is one thing she can control and she puts quite a bit of effort into her appearance. She’s very eclectic with her clothing!! She pulls off so many looks!! I love in 1x2 where she makes a whole outfit out of clothes from Elliot’s closet and it’s probably her most iconic look to date. She rocks that old, musty looking jacket that belonged to Magda. Darlene’s clothing is largely thrifted, partly because fuck fast fashion, partly because she doesn’t have a ton of money, partly because she tends to leave clothes behind when she moves and doesn’t want to waste money on anything crazy expensive when she knows it will likely get lost in one of her many moves. She largely wears dark and neutral colors but we see her in a few bright colors. I, for one, adore that cozy looking colorful sweater she wears after the heist episode. Goes to show how she can pull off pretty much any look.

28. who is your character’s mate?? how do they relate to him or her?? how did they make their choice??

She doesn’t have one. Maybe one day Darlene will settle down but I’ve said it several times already and I will say it many more times, she is taking the time now to focus on herself. She needs to.

29. what is your character’s weaknesses?? hubris?? pride?? controlling??

Yes.

Darlene has a weird dichotomy going on, where she’s both very confident in herself while also constantly seeking validation from others. She knows what she’s doing, she knows what she needs to do, but she thinks she needs approval from others before going forward with it. She is prideful. She is controlling. She desperately needs someone else to tell her it’s okay before she will do something.

30. are they holding on to something in the past?? can he or she forgive??

The great thing about Mr. Robot (2015-2019) is that it says you don’t have to forgive your abusers. You do not owe them shit. Darlene holds onto a ton of resentment for her mother, for humbert, for her father, for many other people who have wronged her. Maybe one day she’ll be able to let go, but she sure as hell doesn’t have to forgive them for what they did and how they treated her.

31. does your character have children?? how do they feel about their parental role?? about the children?? how do the children relate??

Nope, nope, nope, nope.

32. how does your character react to stress situations?? defensively?? aggressively?? evasively??

All of the above. It depends on the situation, who’s involved, and she tends to cycle through all three. In 4x6, I think, whenever Dom has Darlene at gunpoint in the bathtub, I think about how Darlene kind of cycles through defense and aggression and evasion. She screams at Dom, tells her where to stick it, but then she cowers and cries and says, “you don’t have to do this, it’s okay, you don’t have to do this, it’s okay, it’s okay, Dom.” It’s an incredibly interesting cycle to watch. Hell, even clear back in season one, when Vera’s brother and his other goon have Darlene in their clutches. She’s very loud and aggressive until they actually have her, at which point she falls silent. Yet when Janice has her and Dom, she’s pretty openly defiant. Calls Janice a cuntstick and, once again, tells her where to stick it.

33. do they drink?? take drugs?? what about their health??

Haha yeah!! As far as drinking goes, she’s more of a social drinker than anything ( although her little flask in season one absolutely kills me, what a legend--we don’t see her drink in private after that, though ). She does use party drugs ( ecstasy, acid, etc. ) but again, only socially. I don’t think she’s dependent on cocaine in the same way Sam / the Mastermind was dependent on opiates, but it seems to be her drug of choice. She’s strung out on it a few times through the series. She likes to smoke weed, and she’s a heavy cigarette smoker.

Despite all this, Darlene’s health is weirdly pretty stable. She has awful sleeping habits and nutritional habits. She smokes cigarettes like her life depends on it. She’s definitely at least a little underweight and could stand to gain a few pounds. She catches an occasional cold and she’s maybe had the flu two or three times during her life. She doesn’t have any chronic conditions though.

34. does your character feel self-righteous?? revengeful?? contemptuous??

She sure does!! When Trenton said, “You want momentary anarchy,” she was 100% correct. Darlene is incredibly vengeful and contemptuous. Her entire reason behind fsociety and 5/9 was to get revenge on the people who killed her dad and therefore made her life a living hell. She specifically sought out Susan Jacobs’ home because Susan Jacobs was the lawyer who destroyed her family’s case against e-corp. There’s another meta here somewhere about the absolute whirlwind of emotions Darlene goes through when she learns about what an absolute scumball Edward Alderson actually was but the fact of the matter is, it was retribution for his death that she initially wanted and that’s what drove initially drove her.

35. do they always rationalize errors?? how do they accept disasters and failures??

Yes. For her sake, I think she has to. She would absolutely spiral if she couldn’t rationalize errors. Again, Darlene doesn’t have a ton of control in the things in her life, and she has to be able to rationalize that.

When thinking about the second part of this question, I think about the buildings blowing up, and I think about Elliot’s reaction to that vs. Angela’s reaction to that vs. Darlene’s reaction, or rather her lack of reaction, to that. Elliot and Angela were absolutely broken up over it and Darlene was...not. This is a revolution and sometimes people die and it’s for the greater good. It’s not ideal, but shit happens.

36. do they like to suffer?? like to see other people suffering??

Hell no, but she doesn’t really know any other way of living. She’s not always having fun but she doesn’t know what else to do with herself. 

Darlene does not like to see other people suffer. That’s precisely why she brought down ecorp, Whiterose, and the Deus group. Humanity doesn’t deserve to live in the shadows of evil rich corporations and to be controlled by a handful of the most powerful people alive. Darlene enjoys seeing those people suffer. Lowkey she had a blast fucking over Susan Jacobs the way she did. She straight up said so to Susan Jacobs’ face. 

37. how is your character’s imagination?? daydreaming a lot?? worried most of the time?? living in memories??

Darlene is clearly very creative and quick-witted, which leads me to believe she does do a lot of daydreaming. She has the drive to make those daydreams a reality, though. She desires a better world for herself and for other people, so what does she do?? Co-founds a hacktivist group, crashes the economy, and then doxxes and redistributes the wealth of the most powerful people on the planet. With that being said, she is very grounded and present. She does have one foot in the past, but most of her energy is in the now.

38. are they basically negative when facing new things?? suspicious?? hostile?? scared?? enthusiastic??

Once again, for her own sake, she has to be enthusiastic about change. Darlene’s life is constantly in motion. She’s constantly on the move, jumping from one thing to the next. Things aren’t working in the world, things need to change with the world. For as cynical as she is, Darlene does enjoy experiencing new things and she is often hopeful that things will be better this time around.

39. what do they like to ridicule?? what do they find stupid??

Anything, everything, most things. She’s mean. Big April Ludgate energy over here, honestly. Darlene never hesitates at the opportunity to absolutely decimate someone or something.

40. how is their sense of humor?? do they have one??

Very dry and deadpan and sarcastic. Sometimes it’s hard to tell when she’s joking or being serious. She’s always saying something about eating the rich and guillotining the president and she’s both joking and being very serious. I have absolutely referenced this tik tok before, spammed everyone I know with it, and I will post it again because it is pretty much PEAK Darlene’s sense of humor. She absolutely has a spoof twitter account where she just @ Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Zuckie 24/7, I do not make the rules.

41. is your character aware of who they are?? strengths?? weaknesses?? idiosyncrasies?? capable of self-irony??

Darlene has a lot of self-awareness but she lacks the ability to make much change. She knows what her strengths are and she knows what her weaknesses are. She’s confident, but she’s prideful. She’s very sure of herself, but she craves validation from others. She makes jokes about all of her psychological dysfunction but she has very little insight into how off the rails she actually is. She knows she’s a bitch but she doesn’t care and she will remain that way, thank you very much.

42. what does your character want most?? what do they need really badly, compulsively?? what are they willing to do, to sacrifice, to obtain??

It’s hard to say what she wants most. I do think Darlene craves stability. She’s not a stable person in really any sense of the word. At the same time, she enjoys the freedom of drifting from one place to the next. I think she wants a balance of that. The ability to do as she pleases while maintaining relationships with the people she loves. She’s only barely figuring out what she needs to do to obtain that. Therapy, for one, and actively working on her own shit, actively utilizing whatever coping mechanisms she’s taught, actively making changes to her lifestyle. She’ll eventually fall back into her ways of petty crime because she enjoys it and would rather perish than work for the man. But she wants to be able to do so without compromising her relationships anymore.

43. does your character have any secrets?? if so, are they holding them back??

Darlene keeps most things in her life a secret from others. You don’t ask, she doesn’t tell. Even if you do ask, she might not tell. It might not be as surfaced as Elliot, but Darlene is fairly paranoid herself and reveals very little about herself to others. She doesn’t own any credit cards and aside from her SSN and a driver's license, there’s little documented information on Darlene. Lord knows she’ll try and wipe her information from whatever database the FBI has.

44. how badly do they want to obtain their life objectives?? how do they pursue them??

She doesn’t have any life objectives, really. Traumatized individuals have difficulty comprehending the future and Darlene is certainly one of those people. She can’t make herself see anything more than a few weeks into the future because who knows where she’ll be in the next hour?? She very much lives in the present and takes things one day at a time. She doesn’t plan for the future, she doesn’t have any life objectives. Whatever happens happens and she doesn’t necessarily like that but again, she can’t make herself future trip.

45. is your character pragmatic?? think first?? responsible?? all action?? a visionary?? passionate?? quixotic??

Pragmatic, visionary, and passionate, yes, very much so. Think first, sometimes--there is a lot of thought, tact, and planning that has to go into programming and con work, but one has to be prepared for everything to wrong at the same time. All action?? Absolutely!! Responsible?? Fuck no. Quixotic, from time to time. Darlene’s a thinker and then she runs with what she has.

46. is your character tall?? short?? what about size?? weight?? posture?? how do they feel about their physical body??

Darlene is 5′5″ and weighs in at about 125 lbs. Average height but somewhat underweight. She’s quite petite and thin--if she wraps her hand around her wrist, she can touch her thumb to her pinky. She doesn’t have a lot of curves. She definitely has the posture of a ballerina. She holds herself very upright and the way she walks is very calculated. Her feet turn outwards slightly when she’s standing and when she walks, her steps are nearly parallel to each other. 

47. do they want to project an image of a younger, older, more important person?? does they want to be visible or invisible??

I wouldn’t say Darlene wants to project an image as being younger or older or more important. She definitely wants to come off as powerful and intelligent. Frankly, she achieves that. But she does like to remain anonymous. She doesn’t need people knowing what she’s all about. She’s fine with being underestimated because it means people are in for an even ruder surprise when she completely destroys them, and she gets a lot of satisfaction from that.

48. how are your character’s gestures?? vigorous?? weak?? controlled?? compulsive?? energetic?? sluggish?

Definitely very energetic and grand, often times erring on the side of aggressive. That’s simply a condition of Darlene’s existence. 

49. what about voice?? pitch?? strength?? tempo and rhythm of speech?? pronunciation?? accent??

Darlene is loud as fuck and good for her, honestly. She has very little volume control. Her voice can be shrill and it has the tendency to break when she’s overwhelmed or excited. She has a bit of that smoker's rasp, too. Her tempo is very controlled, though. She speaks at a pretty average pace, though she slows her speech when she’s being deliberate. There isn’t much to say in terms of an accent, though I still think it would be hilarious if she had a strong Jersey accent. There’s a lot of emotion in her voice and it fluctuates greatly.

50. what are the prevailing facial expressions?? sour?? cheerful?? dominating??

For as much as she emotes in the way she speaks, Darlene’s facial expressions are rather constricted, which is very interesting. She has a chronic case of resting bitch face and her facial expressions are rather subtle. 

[theasstour]

0109. Largo.

Saturday, 7 March 2015

FIC PAGE | CHAPTER SYMPHONY | WORD COUNT: 6k

NB: explicit language

“Have you guys heard the rumour going around about Harry?” Becky asked as she sat eating her cereal in the kitchen one Saturday morning.

“No.” Ian frowned, looking at Tiana who stood by the fridge and looked equally as confused as him. “What rumour?”

“Finger fucked someone in the women’s loos at The Grand.” Becky explained, eating her cereal and looking annoyed. “When we went out for his birthday.”

“Shut up.” Tiana said. “You’re taking the piss.”

Y/N suddenly stopped moving a bit where she stood cutting up a cucumber for her sandwich.

“Where did you hear this?” Ian asked. “Because I would assume he’d brag about it if he did. He’s a lad after all.”

“He’s not laddish.” Tiana rolled her eyes.

“Sure is.”

“You’re a terrible judge of person, Ian.” Tiana said. “Harry’s no Jack the lad.” She glanced at Becky, ignoring Ian as he started to protest. “Where’d you hear this rumour? It sounds absolutely ridiculous.”

“Some girls in one of me lectures.” Becky put her spoon down in the bowl, reaching her arms over her head and stretching. “Reckon she’s a slag. A fucking minger for sure.”

“How do they know Harry?” Tiana looked over at Y/N as she started washing her cutting board and knife. “He’s not that popular, is he?”

Becky raised her eyebrows, smiling a little. “He’s not exactly bad looking, is he? Everyone knows who the fit European Legal Studies bloke is.”

“How? I would never have noticed Harry had he not been in flat 8.” Tiana opened the fridge and got her carton of milk out, screwing the lid off. “He cannot be that popular.”

“He’s fit, Tiana, and that’s it. People remember a pretty face.” Becky sighed, letting her arms fall to rest on the kitchen table. “How I wish it was me had had finger fucked in the bathroom stall at The Grand.”

“Do you know who it was?” Ian enquired.

In that moment, Tiana looked over at Y/N who took a bite of her sandwich, eyes quickly adverted as she knew the second they looked at each other Tiana would know. Everything seemed to click into place, because her eyes grew wide and she almost spat out her mouthful of milk. She put the milk back in the fridge and walked over to Y/N who made sure to give Becky and Ian a look, both in deep conversation, before Tiana reached her.

“You’re fucking joking.” Tiana whispered. “You’ve got to be bloody joking.”

“What did I say?” Y/N asked after swallowing the bite of her sandwich.

Tiana looked over at Ian and Becky before she nodded toward the door leading out of the kitchen. Y/N got the memo, and walked toward it, holding the plate with her sandwich to her chest the entire time. Right behind her the whole way, Tiana locked the door into Y/N’s room once they reached it and squealed. She jumped up and down over to Y/N, who was watching her friend with big eyes and a confused mind. Tiana took the sandwich and placed it on Y/N’s desk before taking a grip of her shoulders.

“Did Harry finger you in that bathroom stall? Was that why you both left the toilets just as different times?”

Y/N’s mouth hung open, no coherent words coming to mind as Tiana put words to what had happened in the bathroom stall at The Grand early February. With huge brown eyes, Tiana took in every movement Y/N made and hung onto the slight puffs of air leaving her lips as if they could help her decipher anything. Letting a heavy breath leave her lips, Y/N looked at her sandwich, but Tiana shook her.

“Silence speaks louder than words!”

“Ti, don’t… don’t tell anyone.”

“Who would I tell?” Tiana asked clapping her hands together after letting go of Y/N’s shoulders. “I don’t tell anyone anything except for you. I’m just so ecstatic!”

“Why?”

“Because Harry bloody Styles fingered you in a bathroom stall at The Grand!” Tiana shout whispered, looking absolutely outraged that she had to spell it out for Y/N at all. “And you fancy him so much, just like he fancies you, and I think this is huge.”

Y/N sat own in the chair by her desk. “I’m just scared.”

Tiana frowned, sitting down in Y/N’s bed. “Why are you?”

“Because it’s too good to be true.” She answered. “Harry is too good to be true, him fancying me back is too good to be true, everything-“ She stopped herself, sighing. “This whole situation with Harry is too good to be true. I don’t know what… I don’t know what to think.”

“Y/N, it’s not.” Tiana shook her head. “You deserve good things, and Harry is one of them.”

Their eyes met and Tiana was smiling, something that eased the turmoil in Y/N’s head a little. It was good looking at her best friend, because seeing her happy made everything seem a little less intimidating and the world a little more balanced. Reaching over, Tiana took Y/N’s hands and held them tight, demanding Y/N to look at her as she spoke her next words.

“You’re only doubting what you have because… I don’t know why…” Tiana frowned a little, face turning sad. “Why are you?”

Y/N looked away, shaking her head and dragging her hands out of Tiana’s grip. “I… It’s…” She closed her eyes as she spoke. “I’ve been hurt before, I guess.”

“You guess?”

Y/N kept quiet.

“Y/N, you can talk to me.”

“I know.” She opened her eyes, nodding as she locked eyes with her best friend again. “I know, Ti.”

Tiana looked at her hands that had moments earlier been holding Y/N’s. “If I had to choose someone on this earth I’d never want to see hurting, it’s you. And whenever you want to talk I’m here, in a heartbeat. You’re one of the most important people in my life, yea?”

Y/N smiled a little. “Likewise.”

“Don’t shut things in.” Tiana warned. “Don’t do it. Because all things you keep pent up inside has a way of getting out eventually. You’ll burst if you don’t get things off your chest, Y/N.”

Y/N nodded, knowing this full well.

“And I don’t want to see that happening. Not to you.”

Y/N leaned forward and hugged Tiana, holding her tight until she hugged her right back. It was a comfort to have her close, to be held by her like having her arms around her made the world seem a little easier to conquer. Y/N tried not to think much about what had caused this conversation, the event in her own life that made her question everyone’s intentions. So, balling Tiana’s shirt into her hands, Y/N held onto her best friend for dear life as she tried to understand how she herself was feeling about this whole situation. She could never put words to it.

Tiana walked back to the kitchen after a little while, and Y/N was left with her sandwich. Whipping out her phone, she called Edward on FaceTime, feeling incredibly deprived of time spent with her brother and favourite person in the entire world. He answered fast, grinning at his phone screen as he appeared, waving his hand frantically at her.

“Hiya Maverick!” Y/N smiled. “Alright?”

“I’m good, Goose.” Edward smiled back. “What’re you up to?”

She showed him the plate with her sandwich.

“Looks rank.”

“For your information, it’s not.” Y/N rolled her eyes. “Anyway, how’s your day?”

“Boring.” Edward leaned back in his chair, the necklace resting on his chest glinting in the sun shining in through his bedroom window. “Dad’s out with the trees and mum’s in town I think. While I’m left in my room looking out my window.”

“Sorry I’m not home keeping you company, mate.” Y/N said, sticking her bottom lip out. “I’ll be home in a couple of days, though. For my birthday.”

“Yea.” Edward smiled. “Only four days now. And yes, I’m counting down the days. It’s boring here without you, you know that.”

Y/N felt suddenly guilty for leaving her brother behind when she went to university. He had said he would be fine with her living in London, had even encouraged it, but she knew he didn’t have many friends in college, and would often only hang out with Y/N because that’s when he had the most fun. Edward had made it obvious that he wanted Y/N to experience the world without feeling like she had to bring him along, and moving to London to study felt like a big, yet small, step. It wasn’t too far away from Hawkley, but far enough that she couldn’t go home every weekend.

For her birthday however, Y/N was going home to her brother and family. They had been ecstatic when she had shared with them the news of her coming home for a bit, and now that it was only a few days away she felt herself looking forward to her birthday, something she rarely did. Y/N hated the attention her birthday gave her, and knew spending it at uni would overwhelm her, so going home seemed like the best option. She knew Tiana would make a big deal out of it, so would Finn and Ian, and if she ever told Harry, then he might, too. It wasn’t a special day in her eyes. She was born on that day and was thankful her mother had given birth to her, but it didn’t go beyond that. Her family knew Y/N wasn’t too keen on her birthday and had always made her a cake, given her some gifts, and not made a big deal out of it. So, she was looking forward to coming back home, sitting down in her little boat in the lake by her house, reading a book and being by herself. And of course watching Top Gun with her Edward, something they always did together, but it was tradition t watch it on each of their birthdays. Edward’s was May 20th, and the two would always watch it as the sun went down, the door into the back garden open, the almost-summer sun shining in on the telly, and the smell of newly cut grass in the air. The thought made Y/N’s heart sing.

“Look at this.” Edward said, putting his phone in his lap as he rolled himself over to his wall. Picking his phone back up, he turned his camera around so Y/N could see his new painting. It was one of the many landscapes ones, this one of the row of Christmas trees behind the farm. Different shades of green and thin lines of black to indicate where one tree ended and another one started. Her brother had always had a talented for drawing, painting, and making things with his hand. He was incredibly artistic, and his ability to create something visual like he did had always impressed Y/N.

“Beautiful, Eddie.”

“Not my best, but something I painted to pass my time yesterday. You can bring it back to uni if you want.” He turned the camera back to his face. “So you remember how dull Hawkley really is.”

Y/N huffed. “Hawkley isn’t dull. Miss it quite a lot, actually.”

“Really?” Edward scrunched his nose, clearly not believing his sister the slightest. “You miss living in the middle of nowhere? Miss helping dad out at all times?”

“You know I love helping dad!” Y/N smiled. “You trying to make me remember things we used to hate about Hawkley won’t make me not look forward to coming home. Absolutely buzzing for it.”

“I just assumed you were smart.” Edward shrugged. “Guess you’ve lost some brain cells going to uni. Must be all the weed you’re smoking.”

“Stop!” Y/N laughed. “You know I’m not smoking anything, you knob.”

“Can’t be completely certain.” Edward said. “You’ve changed.”

“What?” Y/N frowned. “Have not.”

“Not in a bad way.” Edward clarified, a smile breaking out across his lips. “You’ve just changed. In the best way. You’re still Goose, but a more independent and freer one.”

Y/N smiled a little, surprised by her brother’s uttering.

“You’re still the shyest person I know, but you’re coming out of your shell.”

“I should be saying this to you, not the other way around.” Y/N said, making Edward chuckle. “You’re my little brother and you’re giving me a motivational speech?”

“Well, who else is going to tell you that you’re changing? No one knows you as well as I do, admit it.”

“Alright.” Y/N rolled her eyes. “Keep praising me.”

Edward laughed. “Shut up or I’ll never give you a compliment ever again.”

“How sad.”

Just then there came a loud knocking from Y/N’s door, and then Tiana shouting her name. Looking back on the screen at Edward who seemed a little taken aback by the sudden commotion, Y/N cocked her head to the side.

“I’ll call you in a bit? Just need to know what Tiana’s on about.”

“Sound.” Edward nodded. “Bye, Goose.”

“Bye, Maverick.”

Hanging up, Y/N put her phone away on her desk before she rose and opened the door for Tiana who took a hold of her wrist. She dragged her to her room and over to her laptop, Annie sitting on Tiana’s bed and Teresa on FaceTime on her MacBook. On the screen was an e-mail, and judging by the tight grip Tiana had of Y/N’s wrist, it was quite an important one.

“’Dear Tiana’,” said person read out loud. “’I am happy to inform you the landlord of the four-bedroom property 9 Alfriston Road, Clapham has accepted your application. You are now ready to make your admin fees and part deposit payments’.”

Y/N looked over at Tiana with wide eyes and a mouth agape. Her friend was only nodding back, bouncing back and forth on her feet with a squeal bubbling up from somewhere far down her throat. Y/N looked back, reading through the entire e-mail as all her other future flatmates were watching her. She smiled, looking at Teresa on the screen who was smiling, then Annie on the bed doing the same, and at Tiana who was clapping.

“We have a house for next year!”

“Oh, my God.” Y/N said, looking at the e-mail. “We have a house.”

“We just need to sign a contract, pay, and then show them some identification, then we’re ready to move in next year!”

“I can’t believe we got a house.” Y/N said. “And right by Clapham Common as well!”

“I know!” Tiana beamed. “It was the last one we looked at last week, remember? The one with three bedrooms upstairs and one downstairs?”

“The one with the small back garden and a bath?”

“Yes, bitch!” Tiana took the MacBook up from her desk, motioning for Y/N and Annie to get up. “Group hug!”

And with laughter in the air and arms slung around the others, all the girls felt an immense relief. Finally, they had someplace to live next year. Finally, they didn’t have to wonder what would happen if they didn’t find somewhere. Finally, they could stop worrying and start looking forward to a new year living together. The first thing Y/N told Edward when they FaceTimed again later was that her and the rest of her new flat had found somewhere to live next year, and once her father heard that, he broke down crying.

“Cannot believe my little poppet is moving into an actual house and has got to pay actual bills.” He sniffled. “Beyond happy for you.”

Tuesday, 17 March 2015

Harry What’re you up to today?

Y/N smiled.

Y/N Rehearsing some violin on campus. Why?

Harry Oh. Was just wondering if you wanted to chill or do summat, but don’t want to interrupt you rehearsing. Rain check?

For some reason, the fact that Harry so easily gave up made Y/N’s heart sink a little. She didn’t want him to just give in, she wanted to spend time with him, and if that meant less rehearsing and more Harry then so be it. So, Y/N did something she hadn’t really done before: took the initiative.

Y/N You could come chill in the room with me if you want.

Harry Really? Wouldn’t be a bad distraction?

Y/N I’m inviting you, am I not?

Harry Wicked.

Y/N smiled, looking at her violin in its case.

Harry Wait, where are you on campus?

Some days earlier, Y/N had reserved a study room for herself. Music students had specialised study room, soundproof ones that Y/N had never tried before. Though she had been a bit nervous about not finding it or using the wrong one, she had finally reached her study room, and planned on staying there for two hours. She had only been there for 30 minutes when Harry sent that text message, and though she knew she wouldn’t get much done with Harry there, she told him which number study room she was in and where to walk in the Antonin Artaud Building to get there.

While waiting for him, Y/N played Beauty and the Beast, one of the songs her and Teresa would be performing together. Closing her eyes, Y/N drifted off somewhere as she played, imagining Teresa’s voice flowing along with her notes and the magic they would create together. It didn’t take long for a knock to sound at the door, and when Y/N opened the door, Harry stood there with wide eyes.

“Hi.” He said, an instant smile on his face. “Alright?”

Y/N stepped aside and Harry walked inside, taking his coat off and putting it on the sofa. He was wearing his dark red turtleneck again, tucked into a pair of grey trousers. Right away, Y/N noticed how he wasn’t wearing his glasses. She loved it when he wore his glasses. He sat down in the sofa, letting go of a huge sigh as he settled himself in.

“Pretend like I’m not here.” He said, taking his phone out of his coat pocket. “Not about to ruin your rehearsing.”

Y/N giggled, walking over to the table where she had put her notes and her violin.

“But one question.” Harry said, sitting forth and resting his elbows on his knees as he looked up at her. Y/N glanced over her shoulder. Harry smiled. “How’s your day been?”

Y/N smiled, blushing slightly. “Decent, yours?”

“Decent.” Harry watched as Y/N got the violin out of the case. “Bloody majestic.”

Y/N knew that if she even dared look at Harry then, she would melt, because the mere way those two words left his lips – like warm breath meeting her freezing cheeks on a cold winter’s day – made her entire body tingle.

“You said you wouldn’t distract me.” She knew that if she answered him, he would say something back, and then they would be having a conversation. And she needed to rehearse. And not get distracted.

“Right.” He sat back, smiling a little as he turned his phone on. “Won’t say another word. Promise.”

“Doubt that.”

Harry glanced up at her again. “Oi, what you mean about that?”

“Just that you’re talkative.”

Harry huffed. “And that’s a bad trait? Quite like that part of my personality, thank you.”

“No talking!”

“Fine!”

The two laughed, and Y/N looked down at her music stand, reading the notes before placing her violin on her shoulder and raising the bow. Taking one glance at Harry to make sure he was actually keeping to himself and not watching her, Y/N started playing. The Elvis song she had found the notes to online floated into the air around her, and her entire body felt light. Creating music felt empowering, like being part of something bigger than oneself. It wasn’t words; it wasn’t a pronouncement; it wasn’t human. It was feelings; putting a sound to a feeling, to an emotion and way of being. It was magic in a sense. Because it was impossible to put words to everything, but with music you didn’t have to. Hearing a melody made you feel more than thousands of words ever could; a melody could hold more emotion than a single human could feel in an entire lifetime. As Y/N made a world of her own, a world where only herself and the music she was making was of existence, time and space evaporated from all around. A sky drifted across the blue morning sky and around the globe until it was no more, and that was how Y/N felt when playing her violin. She was floating, flying over the globe and the humans that inhabited it.

“Is that Suspicious Minds?”

Y/N stopped playing, opening her eyes to look at him.

“Shit, didn’t mean to interrupt you. Sorry.” Harry motioned zipping his lips shut and throwing the key away, going back to looking down at his phone.

“Yea.” Y/N nodded. “Elvis fan?”

He glanced at her again, eyebrows raised as he was a little shocked she wanted to talk and not rehearse. “Yea.” Harry said. “Favourite artist of all time.”

“What’s your favourite song?”

“By Elvis?”

Y/N smiled. “Of all time.”

“All the Way by Frank Sinatra.”

Y/N sat down in the office chair, tuning her violin as she nodded. “You like-“

“-No, wait.” Harry turned his phone off. “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by The Platters. Fucking tune.”

“I’ve never heard that one.”

“No?”

“Nope.”

“You’ll have to listen to it one time then.” Harry said, smiling as he watched her. “It’s magical.”

Y/N smiled, looking at her notes.

“How do you…” Harry glanced at the violin. “How do you play the violin?”

She looked over at him, feeling like someone squeezed her heart in the best way possible when she caught him actually looking intrigued by the instrument of her dreams. Biting her lip, she got her bow, and rolled her chair over to the sofa where Harry sat. He watched her, trying not to smile as widely as he seemed to want to. Y/N placed it on her shoulder and watched as Harry studied her every move, his gaze hot against her skin.

“Is it hard?”

“What?”

“Playing the violin.” Harry was almost whispering, as if talking to loudly in close proximity to the instrument would tarnish it in some way.

“Want to hold her?”

Their eyes met. “Her?”

“Yea. I call my violin a her. She’s my baby.”

Harry let out a single chuckle as Y/N removed her instrument from her shoulder.

“Want to?”

“Hold her?”

“Only if you trust me enough to.” Harry said, face turning serious. “I don’t want to hold her if you don’t like anyone else doing so, or something of the sort.”

“I trust you not to throw her across the room and ruin her.” Y/N said and Harry laughed. She motioned for him to hold his hands out so she could place the violin in his hands. Once he did, and their hands met for a single second, she felt just how cold his were. He had just walked here after all, but no matter how cold his hands were, his skin meeting hers still felt like hot electricity started flowing from the exact spot they had made contact.

Y/N cleared her throat, touching Harry making her a little dizzy. “Ehm, there’s… there’s no set way to hold the violin.” She looked up into his eyes, his already intent and on her. “This is just my way of doing it. Holding a violin is much like driving a car; there’s no exact way of doing it, just the general rules, but everyone has their own way of driving a car, just like everyone has their own way of holding their violin.”

Harry nodded, his green eyes wide with interest.

“You want to place it on our shoulder like this.” Y/N guided it down to his shoulder. “And rest your chin on the chin rest, as that’s what it’s there for.”

Harry leaned his jaw on the chin rest.

Y/N shook her head. Gently, she took a grip of the other side of his jaw, tilting his head till his chin was on the chin rest. “Want to be looking at the violin a you’re playing. The music stand and sheet will be there in that direction.”

“Hmm.” Harry mumbled, eyes closing for a long second, vibrating through Y/N’s finger still resting on his jaw. His skin was very soft there, Y/N realised, and he didn’t have that slight stubble he would sometimes have. He must’ve recently shaved. She drew her hand back, not allowing herself to let her mind wander.

“And that’s how you hold the violin. Of course, you’ll have different positions and all that, but you hold the neck very lightly as you need to change notes and stuff.”

Harry was eerily quiet as he sat holding the violin.

Y/N cleared her throat, deciding not to think too much into it. “Then the bow.” She held it out for him, and he took it with his right hand. “The wood of the bow is this,” Y/N pointed to the part Harry was holding carefully, sitting forward in her chair as he was holding it up to his face. She let her finger trace the wood, avoiding Harry’s fingers. “And underneath you’ve got the hair. Try not to touch the hair at all, because all the dirt, grease, and oils you have on your hands can easily be transferred to the hair and it can stop the hair absorbing the rosin we put on the bow, which helps the bow grip onto the strings-“

Right over the bow, Harry’s eyes were staring at Y/N with so much concentration and intrigue that it made her gasp a little. They sat there like that for a little while, just staring at the other. The bow hanging in the air between them and the quietness of the room deafening. Slowly Harry removed the bow from where it was, carefully putting it down on his coat before he looked back at Y/N. It took Y/N a bit off guard when his free hand reached for her face, thumb stroking down her cheek delicately as if she would break if he didn’t treat her with care. They were so close, the air hot with electricity around them. As Harry’s hand travelled down her neck and to the back of it, taking a light grip and guiding her forward to him, Y/N put wasn’t able to take her eyes off him. Neither of them closed their eyes until their lips met. Neither of them took a breath until their lips met. Neither of them could believe it had taken them this long to finally kiss. Because oh my God, Y/N thought, did it feel good kissing Harry. Every cell in her body was dancing, her heart was flying wildly inside her chest, and all blood rushed through her veins.

She was leaning forward to the point of almost falling out of her chair, so she let her hands rest on his thigh, to which Harry drew in a sharp breath. Their lips detached, only for Harry to tip his head a little to the side, gaining better access. This time, he was gentle as he slipped his tongue in ever so slightly, not wanting to overwhelm her in the slightest. Y/N only breathed heavily in response, and Harry squeezed the back of her neck. In return, she squeezed his thighs and Harry trembled a little, kissing her harder.

“Wait.” He mumbled into her mouth.

He got up, making Y/N draw back. Taking the bow, Harry walked over to the violin case and put the violin and bow neatly into their places before he came back.

“Come sit in my lap, darling.”

Y/N got up, and as she put both of her knees on either side of his hips, hands landing on his shoulders, she was reminded of the bathroom stall at The Grand. Harry seemed to be thinking the same thing, because he smiled as he kissed her again, hands resting at her knees. As their tongues tangled and lips locked and detached, Harry’s hands travelled up her thighs. Slowly he made his way up to her bum, where he let them rest for only a few seconds before placing both his hands on her hips to hold her. It was intoxicating to have Harry touch her like this, as if she had been drinking a whole bottle of wine, but she had only tasted his tongue and the moment they were sharing right now. She let her hands trail down his front, loving it when Harry slid his tongue over her bottom lip quickly before he kissed her again. Her hands stopped as she reached his navel, fingertips resting there as Harry whimpered under her. A low moan entered her mouth, and she was sure nothing she had ever tasted before could compare to it.

“Jesus.” Harry said, breathing heavily. “Know how to get a bloke at your complete surrender, don’t you?”

“Not really.”

“Well,” Harry chuckled. “I’m at yours, Y/N Picot. I’ve quite literally surrendered myself to you. Completely.”

Y/N couldn’t help her smile.

“Love to taste that,” Harry whispered, rubbing his nose once against hers. “Your happiness.”

Y/N smiled even wider, feeling herself giggle against his lips.

“Kiss me.” Harry breathed. “Always kiss me. And never stop.”

Wednesday, 25 March 2015

The sky overhead was a light orange, outlined with a pretty purple that made the darkening evening sky look like the creation of a marble. Y/N walked in the decent temperature with a dungaree Y/Net, hands in its pockets and her head raised high. Even London seemed to be relaxed, the bustling of people and cars that used to be along the Albert Bridge Road, Battersea Park, and Battersea University, weren’t as overwhelming as they usually were. Y/N made her way across the street, looking down on her phone at the text from Archie Poole.

Archie Meet you outside Gaskell Building. Xxxx

Y/N had been to the LGBTQ+ Society meetings before – maybe two – and each time she was looking more and more forward to going. The whole gang was so nice, welcoming her with open arms whenever she decided to show up. She found herself rather at home with the lot, there was a peace about them that felt like closing her eyes and drifting off into a deep and harmonious slumber. They held a security she had never before experienced with anyone. Before each meeting she had met with Archie beforehand so they could walk inside together. He was the only one she knew by name yet, though she was slowly but surely getting to know all of them. It was good distraction from uni, because as Y/N entered that room Y/N knew she was amongst people who wouldn’t judge her about anything. She was amongst people who knew her biggest secret; the part of herself she had yet to fully accept and tell the world about. And because of this, it felt incredibly good walking to campus that afternoon, knowing she’d meet with these people again.

As she crossed the street, walking up to the gravel walkway leading down to the university, Y/N heard voices further down the street. Thinking nothing of it as there were always loads of people out and about at all hours in London, she continued on her way, humming along to the piece she was learning for her and Teresa’s first set. Rounding the corner, on her way down the path to uni, she was suddenly stopped.

“Y/N!”

She looked over her shoulder, heart racing a bit. There was Becky, waving at her and giving her one of those smiles Y/N could never decide was fake or genuine. With her was El, Blessing and a group of other people Y/N didn’t know the name of. She assumed they were from Becky’s course, or someone El and Blessing knew. Regardless, they were walking in her direction. Her eyes flicked to the Gaskell Building where she saw Archie already waiting, looking down on his phone.

“Hi!” Becky said, still smiling.

“Hi.” Y/N did a once over of all her friends, giving them a small smile before meeting Becky’s eyes again.

“What’re you doing at uni this late?” Becky asked. Y/N noticed how her flatmate’s smile grew wider.

“Heading to the library.” She said. For some reason Y/N felt her heart racing, a small panic rising in her chest as if something was about to go very wrong.

Becky looked at Y/N’s shoulder real quick. “You don’t have your rucksack with you.”

That feeling of something about to head south intensified, because as Becky’s eyes went from Y/N’s shoulders and to her eyes again, she saw something in her eyes that made her stomach turn. “No, I-I’m getting a book.” Y/N said, shoving her hands into her Y/Net pockets. The whole group behind Becky was studying her, taking in her outfit and the careful way she held herself. They must’ve noticed along with Becky that something was off; that Y/N was lying.

Becky cocked her head a little to the side, the frown on her face a fake type of concerned. “And you’re just going to carry it back to the flat? Why not bring something to put it in?”

Y/N felt like throwing up. Becky knew what Y/N was doing there. There was no way Y/N was going to the library wearing normal wear, as it would just be stupid to get dressed up to go loan a book. The only event going on at uni right then was the one Y/N was actually going to. And no one but Y/N and the LGBTQ+ Society knew.

“Y/N!”

She looked over at the Gaskell Building where Archie stood, walking over now. Becky glanced at him, taking him in and quickly recognising him. Archie had stood by the booth at the Freshers Fayre, talking about the LGBTQ+ Society, and Becky had no doubt walked by and caught his face and cause. As he approached, Becky gave him that smile again before looking at Y/N.

“I’ll see you at the flat once you’ve loaned that book, yea?” Becky walked off with that, talking with her friends as she went.

Immediately, Y/N walked in Archie’s direction. Her heart was in her throat, panic prickling along every inch of her skin, tickling her. She felt like scratching all layers off herself till she was no more, till the only thing that was left was her bones. Her bones where she couldn’t hurt in any other way than physical; where she didn’t feel panic; where she didn’t feel the overwhelming need to run far away from Battersea and Becky and everything that made her feet yearn to escape.

“You alright?” Archie asked as they met, voice as feathery light as it always was. “What’re you running for, darl?”

Y/N looked at Becky and her friends who had disappeared from view, when she stared back at Archie, she didn’t know how to properly form words anymore. She was scared, shaken up, and unable to tell him that she wanted to go back home to Hawkley where nothing and no one could find her if she hid away in her boat by the lake.

“What’s up?”

Y/N inhaled sharply. “I…”

Archie nodded, urging her on.

“I’m…” Y/N swallowed, wrapping her Y/Net around herself. “I don’t want them to know.”

Archie knew what Y/N was saying, and his expression softened.

“I’m not ready for them… for her… to know.”

“They don’t.” Archie reassured her. “It’s okay, Y/N. They don’t know unless you want them to.”

But Y/N knew that wasn’t true. She bit her lip, feeling like her world was about to fall into a million tiny pieces she would have a very hard time finding and properly put back together.

TAGLIST

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In Another Life Series: Chapter 10 - The Sidekicks

…in which the protagonists aren’t always the only heroes.

Series description: Y/N and Harry are soulmates and destined to meet in every lifetime, but no matter how many times they reincarnate and find each other again, they never seem to get it right.

AU: reincarnation, soulmate!harry, prince!harry, assistant!y/n, witch!y/n.

Chapter 9 - The Witch: Y/N and Harry both have to choose.

Warning: This is the first time I’ve killed off a character guys. HOW DO WRITERS DO THIS?!!! Also this is about 6.5k word long so probably a ton of unedited mistakes in here.

wattpad link

.

“Hi, I’m here for the job interview?”

“Name?”

“Forman. Jason Forman.”

The hotel receptionist gave the young man a smile then told him to wait until the manager was done interviewing the other candidate as it would take around ten to fifteen minutes more. Being anxious as he was in job interviews, Jason would always arrive this early to mentally prepare himself. So he asked her where the toilet was and took the free time he had to go fix up and release his burden.

Jason followed the lady’s instruction, heading down the long hall and making a left turn; and as he was checking his phone while walking, he bumped into a girl. She immediately screamed at him to watch where he was going and as a habit he repeatedly apologizing for it. 

It took him a while to calm down but eventually he recognized that face. He wouldn’t have known who she was had it not been for his best friend spooky relationship with her boss. He’d done a lot of research on Harry Styles to know the girl he had just bumped into was no other than Harry’s ex-girlfriend, singer/songwriter/demon in the form of a pretty girl, Lillie Xander.

“You’re lucky my Gucci shirt is not crinkled! You obviously couldn’t pay for it!” She snarled at him and dusted off her shirt to storm off without one second look back. 

Jason had heard a lot about this woman from his best friend, but she was even worse than he’d imagined. He wondered how Harry Styles had gone through two years in a relationship with such an awful person, she was either a very good actress, or Harry was just really dumb, or maybe it was the curse that linked him to someone like her so as to match his previous lives’ storyline, whatever it was, Jason truly felt sorry for him.

When Lillie was finally out of sight, Jason proceeded to the toilet. Unexpectedly, another girl bumped into him for the second time!

“I’m sorry!” This one blurted out before he could, which surprised him for he expected the same attitude as Lillie. 

Not everyone is the devil, Jason! Said the voice inside his head.

“It’s okay, it was my fault…I’m really sorry…” he apologized, yet the girl seemed too distracted to pay attention to his words. “Are you alright, miss?”

“Have you seen Lillie Xander?” She blurted out, catching him off-guard. 

“I have, yeah…She just left. Why?” Jason’s eyes grew wide. “You know her?”

“Yeah, I was her assistant.”

Well, what are the odds…

“Was?”

“Yup, the bitch fired me for leaking her ‘private information’.” The girl did an air quote as she sticked out her tongue mockingly. “As if the whole world hadn’t already know about her constantly cheating on Harry Styles.”

“Cheating?! Is that true?!”

Judging by Jason’s weird reaction, the girl paused a bit to study his facial expression. She squinted her eyes, scanning him from head to toes, before taking a wild guess, “are you working for those tabloids who write shit about celebrities to ruin their lives?”

It took Jason a while to think of an answer. He rarely lied, especially about his identity, moreover he’d got a job interview in ten minutes or less, he didn’t have time for gossip, but he knew this girl hated her old boss and she would be willing to spill everything about Lillie, which might be able to help his best friend or at least his best friend’s soulmate (it was still weird for him to use that word). He just knew he couldn’t walk away from this opportunity, so he nodded his head quick.

“Y-Yeah? I am…” He chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. “Was it very obvious?”

“You just asked a lot of questions,” she told him then locked her fingers around his wrist. “Come with me, I have a lot to tell you about Lillie Xander.”

.

.

.

“Your Highness, you’re not allowed!” 

“Let me in! I need to see her! Mother!”

The armored guards turned a deaf ear to the prince despite how loud he was shouting and how hard he fought to break free from their grips. They only took commands of the Queen and the Queen only, they weren’t afraid of Edward’s empty threats. 

“I need to speak to my mother!”

“Your Highness, you need to calm down. Her Majesty doesn’t want to see anyone at the moment.”

Just as the servant finished his sentence, the door to the Queen’s chamber was unlocked and the Queen herself appeared, looking serene, she always was no matter the situation. She waved her hand telling her guards to let go of the young prince and giving him the permission to enter before retreating inside. Her son quickly followed. He was enraged and she knew exactly why he was here, in fact, she’d been expecting him to show up and make a scene.

“What have you done?!” He shouted at her when the doors were finally closed. “You’re gonna have her executed?!”

“Yes, that evil young girl is going to be burnt at the stake at sunrise.”

“No! Ann deserves a fair trial like all prisoners!”

“She’s not just any prisoner!” Argued the Queen. “She’s a witch. Your father would—“

“Father is still unconscious! This is your decision!”

The Queen took a deep breath then turned around to glared at her child, eyebrows knitted together as she asserted, “he would’ve done the same thing to the person who set him on fire!”

“I’m going to speak to her myself,” Edward declared then turned to leave. But before he made it out of the door, his mother raised her voice and stopped him in his tracks. 

“You’re forbidden!”

“Forbidden?” He turned around, eyes broadened in shock. “You can’t forbid me!”

“Your father is not dead yet so don’t speak like a King when you aren’t one. I am still your mother and your Queen.” 

He didn’t say anything else but he didn’t move either. So the mother marched towards her beloved son and laid a hand on his cheek, causing Edward to step away from her reach immediately. This wasn’t the loving mother he’d always adored. Every single one of her words was full of hatred, he didn’t recognize this woman. 

“Trust me, my dear…That girl is dangerous!”

Unfortunately, that one reason wasn’t enough to convince the young prince.

“That’s not why you don’t want me to see her…” he said, it was more of a realization than an assumption. “Does she…know father is still alive?”

For this question, Edward didn’t receive an answer or a reaction. However, he didn’t need one to know what he feared was true.

“She doesn’t, does she?” He nearly choked on his own words. “You had her think she’d killed the King!”

The Queen kept silent. The less she spoke, the more he was afraid of her. She had gradually turned into this monster in those bedtime stories she used to tell him when he was a kid, a cold-hearted monster, and he didn’t want to believe it, he needed to hear it from her.

“Or…you wanted her to think it was me who was responsible for her execution.”

“She’s a distraction, Edward! She clearly put a spell on you, don’t you see?!” 

That was a ‘yes’, and Edward quickly extended his arms to keep her from taking a step closer. His hands were trembling and his breathing became ragged. He just couldn’t believe that his own mother was capable of doing something so cruel.

“Did you…plan everything? Ann being in that room when father was set on fire!”

“You’re accusing me of plotting against my husband?” 

“You’ve always hated him and Ann! You have every reason to do that!” 

Edward’s screaming caused the Queen to instantly backed away. The look of fright on her face, however, did soften the devastated son as she was still his mother, and despite all the things she’d done, he still loved her. Nevertheless, he was broken to pieces for he didn’t know who else to trust, not even himself. That was why he needed to speak to Ann, and the thought of her being put away for something she didn’t do deeply wounded him as he stormed out of her room, dashing past the guards, neglecting his mother’s pleading for him not to go. 

Up in the highest tower, Ann was waiting for her death. She hadn’t eaten for days, she wished she could die of hunger, or be eaten by the rats. Any death would be better than being burnt by those spiteful people who was ruling this rotten country. 

The moonlight snuck through the small gap high on the wall and formed a bright line on the floor in front of her. She had been staring at it for a very long time, and judging by this light she assumed it was a full moon, just like the night she met Edward. Maybe it was all the work of fate. She was meant to meet him that night, fall in love with him, and receive her devastating ending. They said when you were approaching your death, you began to reflect your entire life, and she did. Ann had faced death once, she was very young and the King’s army burnt down her entire village, she had to watch her mother and sisters burnt alive in front of her eyes. If it hadn’t been for Madam Maggie, she probably couldn’t escape and lived until today. She had escaped death once, now it was coming back for her, and she knew she couldn’t run anymore, she had to accept it. The truth was, she didn’t regret anything, not even her decision to stay, not even loving Edward, not even believing his love for her was true. Nothing. 

Now as she was waiting for the sun to rise so as to end her misery at once, she thought about him. Maybe in another, when he wasn’t who he was now, they could be together at last.

“Ann, my love!”

When she heard that voice, she thought it was just her mind playing tricks on her. She thought she missed him too much so she started imagining things. But when the door was opened and he rushed into the room, her heart nearly flew out of her chest. It took her less than a second to burst into tears.

He shushed her and dropped down on his knees to pull her into his arms. They were both sobbing. 

“H-How did you—“

“I paid the guards…I…I had to see you…” he said, holding her face, tracing his fingertips across her features as if to take every single detail into his memory. “Did they hurt you, my love?”

She shook her head no, smiling sadly to him. It was obviously a lie, but he didn’t have to know. She didn’t want to worry him some more.

“I’m so happy to see you again…” She rested her forehead against his, closing her eyes and breathing heavily. “I thought you didn’t want to see me anymore…”

“No, no, no…” He had never shaken his head so fast. “I’m sorry love…I’m so sorry…” The words spilled out endlessly even though he knew they were all useless now, they wouldn’t be able to save her. 

“I don’t blame you…I…killed your father…”

“You didn’t, love, you didn’t. He’s alive.”

She squinted her tear-filled eyes in confusion and shock.

“My mother…She wanted you to believe he was dead, and that I was the one who…” He couldn’t say it, he couldn’t even say it. “I would never want you to get hurt…Never…”

“Thank you for letting me know.”

She was smiling. He had no idea why she was smiling, still he did too. Knowing these were probably the last few minutes they had together, at least he got to see that smile again.

“What are you thinking of, love?” He asked hoarsely for he’d been crying too much. She touched his face gently, the magic on her fingertips warmed up his skin in this dark cold room as her presence had done to his heart. Without her, he would probably break like ice, he wasn’t ready to let her go.

“Your eyes glow in the dark,” she said after a while, holding his gaze still as if to record the image into her memory and taking it with her to a place far away from here. “The first time we met they also glowed in the dark…I’ve never told you this, have I?”

“No, love.” He laughed in tears. “You hated me then.”

“Yes, and I didn’t even know you.” She giggled but that was the saddest sound he’d ever heard. “I’m glad you fell into that hole.”

“I’m glad I did…” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it softly.

“I’ll never forget you, Edward.”

“Don’t say that…Don’t—” The Prince pulled her back to his chest and laid gentle kisses all over her face. Ann could feel his heart beating, and this was all she needed right now, to feel his heart before hers burnt to ashes. She knew their time together was running out, so she asked him for a little favor.

“Edward, darling…Can you give me one last kiss?”

He nodded, watery eyes shut tight as he pressed his lips to hers, feeling everything at once, it was bitter sweet to know it was their last. Ann was the first to break away, holding tightly onto his shoulders as she looked straight into his green eyes.

“When…When I’m gone…” She struggled to release those words, yet there was no other way. “You have to move on with your life…”

“Don’t say that!”

“Listen to me! You have to promise me to move on with your life! You’re gonna be a great King, and you’re gonna love again, you’re gonna have a family, you’re not gonna be like your father and mother, you’re gonna have a happy marriage and many children.”

“No…”

“Edward!” She was sobbing so hard she could barely breathe, still she held onto him because he was all she had left. “You have to! But please be careful. The people around you aren’t who you think they are…”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t have time to explain, just promise me you’ll be careful.”

“I will love. I will…” He nodded fast. “But I won’t love anyone else…Just you.”

“I know…” She snorted in tears while caressing his face. “It may be over for us in this life but we’ll meet again.” She took a deep breath to steady her breathing and looked at him in the eye to make sure he paid attention to her each and every word.

“Find me in another life. Only when you’ve found me, then we can be together…”

“I will.”

“Promise me?”

The prince nodded rapidly. He wasn’t sure what she actually meant, still he gave her his words, swearing on his own life that no matter how many lifetimes it would take, he wouldn’t give up until he’d found her.

Just as they managed to hold onto each other for the very last time, a big tall man in armor kicked the door open. Without waiting for a reaction from Edward and Ann, the King’s guards grabbed each of them then forced them apart by violence. They did as they’d been told, they didn’t care who might get hurt, they showed up by their Queen’s command. 

“Don’t you dare hurt her!” Edward roared as he kicked and punched and tried everything he could to escape from the men twice his size who were holding him up like a rag doll. He threatened to take their lives if they refused to let go of Ann, but none of those men seemed bothered.

“I’m so sorry Your Highness,” said one of the guards as two others held each of his arms. “We only take command of His and Her Majesty.”

“It’s okay, Edward…I’ll be okay,” Ann assured him as she got up on her knees after one of the men had tossed her into the corner of the room. She was frightened on the inside but calm on the outside because she needed to be strong in order for him to be strong. If she broke now, he would give up on everything else that mattered to him, and she didn’t want that.

So they took him away, the heartless men wearing steel didn’t feel sympathy for the couple who had barely spoken their goodbyes. Before the door was closed between them, Ann saw Edward mouthing “I love you” to her and his beautiful green eyes like two little flames shining in the dark, just like the first time they met. To hear that he loved her, to know that he did, Ann couldn’t have asked for anything more.

.

.

.

Lisa knocked a couple times on her flatmate’s bedroom door and gave Jason a look as she raised her voice, “Y/N, Jason is here!”

“Tell him to go away!” was the answer they received.

Lisa released a heavy sigh as she kept trying to convince the heartbroken girl. “Honey, you’ve been in there for an entire day.”

“Just let me be, Lisa!”

Jason huffed in frustration then pushed Lisa aside so he could step nearer to the door and speak for himself, “Y/N, I have something I think you’d like to hear!”

There was no answer.

“Y/N?”

“Why is she so quiet?” Lisa looked nervous. “Should we break the door down?”

“Jesus, no!” Jason rolled his eyes in response to the girl’s crazy idea. “She always stays silent when she wants to end the conversation with someone, it’s fine, I think we should respect her wish to be alone.”

Lisa nodded understandingly as she followed Jason away from Y/N’s room. “So what are we gonna do with that recording? You’re gonna publish it online and end the little bitch’s life? I have multi fan accounts, I can—“

“No! God, would you calm down?!” Jason blew up his cheeks and gave out his hand. “Give me your phone. You have Harry’s contact right? In case something bad happened to Y/N on tour?”

“No, she gave me Jeff Azoff’s number though.”

Jason raised an eyebrow at her. “Who’s that?!”

“He’s Harry Styles’ manager, you old-fashioned baby!” Lisa scoffed as she handed the phone to Jason and let him go through the contact list to look for Jeff’s. 

“I can’t believe I trusted Harry Styles and he ended up breaking her heart,” Lisa spoke while looking at her phone in the younger man’s hand. 

Even though he didn’t look up at her, he still replied by saying, “he didn’t.”

“Are you actually defending him right now? Your best friend is crying her eyes out in her room, Jason!”

“Look, I can’t tell you what happened, not yet at least, but trust me, Harry loves Y/N as much as she loves him.”

Lisa shook her head. “I wouldn’t call it love, they barely know each other.”

Jason didn’t give any further comment, he knew Harry and Y/N knew each other very well, and had been for centuries. It was tragical how they would repeat the same ending until…eternity, if only he could find the cure and give her the happy ever after she deserved. Unfortunately, he didn’t have that power.

Jason dialed the number and put the phone to his ear, inhaling deeply while waiting for the voice on the other end of the line. 

“Hello, Mr. Azoff…No! Y/N is fine, I’m her best friend, my name’s Jason. I need to speak to you about something.”

.

.

.

Edward didn’t come to witness Ann’s execution. 

Ever since he was brought back to his room, he sat by his window until sunrise, like a dead corpse, ironically he really did wish he could be one. His life had had no meaning before she arrived, and now that she was gone, he’d lost his will to continue living.

Hours had passed, there was a knock on the door. Edward didn’t speak up, didn’t tell the person to come in or to leave, but said person entered the room anyway. It couldn’t be his father who was still unconscious, couldn’t be his mother either, she never left the King’s side, Edward knew no matter how much she’d said she hated him, she loved him much more than that; the only person left who could get pass his guards was his betrothed, Princess Emilie.

“The execution was just over…” she spoke up, and he didn’t even bother to bat an eye to her. He kept staring out at the window, at the lower roofs, at the skyline, at the clouds, anything that would take him away from this reality, even for just a moment.

Emilie shouldn’t have come here. She knew it herself, but she felt bad, yes, she felt bad for what she’d done. Ann was dead, and she should be glad, but all there was left in her heart was guilt. 

“Her Majesty asked me to come check on you, my dear…” Emilie carried on as she gulped down her fear. She’d never seen him like this before, he was so quiet, so intimidating. Who knew what he could and would do? She stood there for a while, waiting for a reply from the Prince, and when she was sure he would continue with his silence, she turned to leave. But it was not until then did he speak to her.

“Did you do it?”

“What?” She released a soft chuckle, yet anyone could tell she was scared because she was caught. She couldn’t play dumb for too long, she’d just witnessed a woman burnt alive, it wasn’t just something a normal person could get over easily.

“Did you—“ Edward finally stood up from the seat by his window and the look on his face as he turned to her could slit her throat open. “—or did you not give that note to Ann?”

“N-Note? What…What note?” She started stuttering now. A person who was telling the truth would never stutter.

“They found a note at the crime scene,” said Edward as he took a step towards the trembling girl and backed her up against the wooden door, eyes burning with anger, one of his hand tightened into a fist as he raised the other and showed her one finger. “I’m going to ask you one last chance to be honest to me. Did you, or did you not, give that note to Ann?”

“I—“

“Answer me!” 

He slammed his fist against the door beside her head and the words jumped right out of Emilie’s mouth before she could stop herself. 

“It was the Queen!”

“What?”

“The Queen…Her Majesty…told me to…I…I didn’t…I gave the note to one of your guards, I…”

“Did you know what was written inside that note?” She opened her mouth to answer, not knowing it wasn’t really a question until he cut her off by shouting at her. “Did you know what could’ve happened to Ann if she hadn’t defended herself against my father?! Did you know that note took away a person’s life?! Did you…” He had to pause to control himself, his voice was shaking, nearly breaking, and she didn’t know whether he was going to cry or hit her or scream or go insane. She just knew he was completely destroyed. Edward continued after closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. There was a lump in his throat and the next questions got out in pain.

“Have you ever thought about how it’d make me feel?” He questioned, eyes glued to hers, the agony was etched on his face. “To know that every single person around me, my mother, my father, my betrothed, had destroyed my only chance of ever being happy. To let people take away the only person I’ve ever loved. Are you happy to see me like this?”

“N-No…Your Highness…I—“

“If you’re going to apologize, don’t…Meaningless apologies won’t bring her back…” 

He backed away, and she could finally breathe again. He stood with his head hung low and hands on his hips, looking defeated. Then he called in his guards, leaving Ann bewildered when they barged into the room, ready to take his command.

“Make sure Princess Emilie is kept away from me from now on. I don’t care what my mother says, she is not allowed to speak to me, never again.”

“You can’t do that! I am going to be your wife!”

“I let you live because you are going to be my wife.” He pointed to her face and shut her right up, then turned to his men, nodding his head towards the door. “Now get her out of my sight.”

“You can’t do this!” Emilie cried out, choking on her own words as she fought to get away from the guards, but they had already grabbed her by the arms. “Please, Edward, please! I love you! Give me another chance please!”

Edward shook his head as he said to her, “I’m sorry, I can’t love you, and I never will.”

Then he signaled his men to drag her out of the room. Her screaming and crying didn’t bother him, he was tired; no, he was exhausted. Once he was left alone again, he went back to the window where he found peace and kept sitting there until sunset.

When Edward woke up, it was already night. He found himself lying in his bed, there was an old woman, a stranger sitting in a chair by his side, giving him a sweet smile. She had a gold front tooth, he knew every single one of the servants in this palace and he’d never seen this woman before, he would’ve remembered someone with such a unique appearance.

“What happened to me?” He asked her, and she answered by saying he had fainted.

“It’s okay, Your Highness. You’ll be alright.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t remember your name…”

“Because I don’t work in this castle.”

The Prince sat up right away, widening his eyes at the woman and was about to call for his guards when she shushed him and clicked her fingers to slam the windows by his bed shut, causing him to jump.

“Wait, you—“

“Yes.” She nodded. “I’m a witch, darling. I’m a friend of Ann’s.” The name of his lover got his stomach to twist. Her composure was in contrast with the shock in his eyes as he stared at her. And so she introduced herself, telling him to call her Madam Maggie.

.

.

.

Jeff turned off the voice recording on his phone and the hospital room sank back to silence. Harry, who was sitting on the edge of his bed, still in his hospital gown, didn’t say a single word. He stared at his feet, eyebrows pulled together leaving an uneasy grimace on his face. Jeff tried to guess what was on his mind but eventually gave up for he couldn’t decode that facial expression.

“I’m sorry,” was all he managed to say. He couldn’t come up with something better, what to tell your friend when he received the news his ex-girlfriend was pregnant only to find out it wasn’t his just two days later? Harry’s health was getting better (for some reason the doctors couldn’t explain) still it wasn’t good, Jeff could only hope this news wouldn’t be detrimental to his heart condition, which was the reason why he ended up in the hospital in the first place.

“Who sent this to you again?” Harry finally lifted his eyes to look at his manager, who was leaning his back against the edge of the table facing his bed, arms crossed as he gave Harry a shrug.

“Y/N’s friend, Jackson or something.”

“Jason,” Harry corrected him then asked fast, “did you…did you speak to Y/N?”

Jeff shook his head, leaving Harry disappointed.

“Sorry mate, she’s changed her number, I’ve tried contacted her a couple of times. She really doesn’t want to have anything to do with us anymore.”

Harry said nothing, but the frown he was wearing said it all. Jeff asked him what he would like to do with this news of Lillie’s baby being someone else’s because releasing this recording of her assistant confessing to all the bad things she’d ever done would save Harry’s reputation, even though it would do the opposite to Lillie’s and might even sabotage her career. Harry, of course, took the high road and asked Jeff to speak to Lillie’s team first, tell them to release their own apology statement and clarify Harry’s name, then get rid of the recording to save the little amount of dignity she had left. 

“Okay, if that’s what you want.” Jeff nodded, pursing his lips, it’d be a lie to say he wasn’t disappointed because he’d been wanting Lillie to pay for everything she’d done, however he respected his friend’s decision. “You should get some rest. I’ll be right back in a bit, yeah?”

Harry replied by thanking Jeff then lied back down with his back facing the entrance. He was clearly acting out of character, he hadn’t spoken much since the day Y/N left, Jeff knew there was something going on between them, everyone in his team knew. They just decided to not bring her up, it was the only way for Harry to move on. He wasn’t so unfamiliar with heartbreaks since most of his songs were about them. However, nobody, not even himself knew, this could be a heartbreak that he would never recover from, not in this life, not even in the next. 

Jeff exited the room and walked out into the hallway, ready to make a phone call to Lillie’s management team to end this all at once. But things just wasn’t that easy, by the lift, he found the main star herself. Lillie was trying to get to Harry’s room but was stopped by Sarah.

“Get out of my way I need to speak to H!”

“He doesn’t want to speak to you! Leave!” Sarah held her by the arm when she intended to pass. Lillie immediately shrugged her hand away.

“Touch me again and I’ll sue every single one of you!” She growled at her, eyes squinted. “I am the mother of his baby, I need to speak to him!”

“No you’re not!” Jeff’s voice caught the two women’s attention. Sarah sighed as she stepped aside, leaving Jeff to handle Lillie.

“What do you mean I’m not?” She scoffed, crossing her arms in front of her chest, then received an eye-roll from Jeff who was so done with her tricks and lies already.

He didn’t say another word, instead pulled out his phone and played the voice recording, all the three people in that hallway could hear loud and clear the voice of her assistant, and every single word she was saying. Jeff stopped the recording halfway through, after the girl had done talking about Lillie’s affair with a guy named Jake.

“I think that answered your question, Lillie.”

Lillie reached out to grab the phone but Jeff was quick to put it back into his jacket’s inner pocket.

“Has Harry heard this?” She frantically asked. Jeff just said a word “yes” and she immediately pushed him aside and ran straight to Harry’s room. Jeff and Sarah chased after to stop her but she already managed to burst right through the door, causing Harry to rise from his bed and slowly opening his sleepy eyes.

The second he saw her face, his expression altered and Lillie spoke quickly before he could yell at her to go, “please let me explain! Please, H!”

“Why is she here?!”

“I’m going to call security,” said Jeff as he turned away but Harry told him to hold on before switching his eyes back to Lillie, who seemed hopeful, probably thinking she might have another chance to fix this. Little did she knew, she’d already run out of trials.

“You have five seconds to say whatever the fuck you want to say to me before getting out of my sight,” he said to the girl, then gave Jeff and Sarah a look. His friends took the cue to leave, closing the door on their way out.

“Whatever you heard on that recording, she was definitely lying!”

Harry couldn’t take it anymore. He gave her another chance to come clean, and that was what he got, more lies. He was tired, exhausted, so he turned his face away from her and waved his hand to the door.

“Just fucking leave.”

“Baby, please I—“

“If you don’t go now, I’m gonna have to call my bodyguard,” Harry said as he reached for his phone but Lillie took hold of his wrist to stop him just in time. She dropped down on her knees by his bed, crying while pleading for forgiveness, she went on and on about how sorry she was and that she shouldn’t have done what she’d done to him, the same old shit he’d heard a thousand times before. She had put up an act for so long now it was impossible for him to feel any sympathy seeing her like this. He knew she never meant it, because if you were really sorry, you wouldn’t keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again.

“Leave.” He shrugged her hands away, pointing to the door, lips quivering as he said what he should have many times before, “I don’t want to see you…or hear from you…ever again. You stay away from me and my friends, okay? That’s all I ask of you.”

The girl started shaking her head, so fast it could fall off and it’d still be the last thing she cared about. She knew this was hopeless and desperate but what else could she do? She had a baby, a damaged reputation, and Harry was the only good thing left, now he was leaving her too.

“I’m sorry…” She repeated those two words for the millionth time despite knowing it was pointless. “Please…I’m very sorry…”

“For cheating on me?” Harry scoffed, furrowing his eyebrows. “Or for lying that the baby’s mine? Or for using me as promotion for your songs and albums?”

“For everything…”

“Then an apology won’t be enough,” he mumbled, eyes turned away from her since he was unable to look at her for too long without thinking about all the shit she’d put him through.

“But maybe it’s also my fault…” he trailed off, leaving her surprised. “I actually believed people couldn’t change that much. But you…I don’t recognize you anymore.”

The look on his face said it all, now Lillie feared it was really over this time.

“I’m still me…I’m still the same Lillie you met two years ago. Please don’t give up on me…you’re the only thing I’ve ever loved, please don’t do this…”

Hearing that from her made him laugh, in a bitter tone. He looked down, slowly shaking his head. “No. The only thing you’ve ever loved is yourself…”

Lillie parted her lips, yet Harry didn’t want to give her another chance to feed him with more of her lies. He took her hands and forced it off his knees, slightly pushing her away as he finally looked at her in the eyes.

“I hope that baby is going to change that…but I can’t forgive you, not anymore,” he straightforward told her and watched streams of tears running down her face. The sad thing about this was that he honestly couldn’t tell whether she was faking it or she was genuinely heartbroken, and he honestly didn’t even want to know.

Harry picked up the phone and called his bodyguard, leaving Lillie no choice but to send herself out of the room. Once she was finally out of sight, he secretly hoped this would be the last time he spoke to her, he hoped it was really over. He was more disappointed in himself than hurt over the fact that she’d done those things behind his back. It was him who had decided to give her plenty of chances she didn’t deserve, and as a result he received his own punishment. He guessed everything in this world happened for a reason then. 

A nurse arrived not so long after Lillie had left to do her daily checkup on Harry’s health improvement. The old woman probably had just run into that girl on her way to Harry’s room, so the first thing she did when she entered was to ask him, “why was that young lady crying?”

“She was probably faking it, I don’t really know anymore.” Harry scoffed as he found humor in his own bitter words. “She won’t be back though.”

“Was she your girlfriend?”

“Ex.” He didn’t know why he was telling this to a stranger, maybe it made his chest feel lighter as he could finally release these thoughts and feelings. “She cheated on me, and had a baby with someone else then she lied and said it was mine…”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay…I guess I deserve that.” 

“Why?” She asked, furrowing her brows at him questioningly. “Nobody deserves that, sweetie.”

“I don’t know but bad things happen to me very often.” He lifted his shoulders, sticking out his bottom lip. “I’m starting to think I might have been a very bad person in my previous life and now I’m paying for it.”

His comment made the woman smile. She proceeded to sort out his medications for the day as he kept the conversation going. 

“I’m sorry to bother you with my life problems when you don’t even know me,” he said, smiling a bit. “But I can’t really talk about these matters with people who already know me. I’ve troubled them enough…Not that I wanna trouble you too though!”

“It’s okay, sweetie, I’m all ears.” The old woman chuckled. That was when he noticed her gold front tooth, which at first he thought was pretty cool, then he started having a feeling that he’d seen her somewhere before, he wasn’t sure exactly where. Maybe it was just a hunch. 

“So all the bad things that you said were all related to love I suppose.”

“Not really…but yeah.” He groaned, watching her placing the pills on a tray and once she was done she pulled a chair to sit down by his bed, and so he began, “there was this girl…”

“There was always one, wasn’t there?” She smiled and told him to continue.

“I’ve never met someone like her before,” he said with a smile. He always smiled when he talked about her and he never realized it. “She’s like everything I’ve ever wanted, it’s like I’ve known her all my life. We have a lot in common, she cares about the things I care about, she cares about my thoughts and expectations and dreams, sometimes I actually believed she could be my soulmate.”

“But?”

“But she doesn’t want to be with me.”

“She doesn’t want to?” The old nurse raised an eyebrow with a mystery beam on her face. “Or she cannot even if she wants to.”

“Maybe a bit of both.” He shrugged. “Maybe she’s scared of being involved with someone with a complicated career like mine.”

“What do you do for a living?”

“I…mostly…sing…I’m a singer.”

“That’s understandable, but I’m sure that’s not the real reason.” She reached out to touch Harry’s shoulder, and he literally flinched for he felt a sense of familiarity, like they’d had this same conversation before. 

“Look sweetie, I have to go now. I’ll be back in a bit and we’ll continue this talk about this special girl of yours, alright?” She told him before rising from her seat. 

As she made her way to the door, he suddenly remembered something so he called to stop her before she was gone. “What’s your name, ma’am?”

“It’s Margaret,” she replied with a friendly grin, her special front tooth sparkled under the light of the room. “You can call me Maggie.”

“I’m Harry.”

“Nice to meet you, Harry.” 

And just like that she walked away.

[qualquercoisa945]

We See Things That Nobody Else Sees

AO3 Link

Title Inspiration: Dollhouse by Melanie Martinez

okay so this is all just a bunch of How Did The Kids Realize Their Dad Was An Asshole except eddie doesn't realize it quite yet

trigger warnings: cheating (shown on screen) and emotional abuse (mostly implied but still pretty clear it's what they're talking about)

Mary knew she shouldn’t be up and about by now. She knew she shouldn’t even be awake by now. But sometimes sleep didn’t come very easily for the young princess, and she found herself quietly wandering the halls of the castle to attempt to tire herself out enough so she could sleep.

This also meant she heard and saw courtiers out and about. Usually she could slip away before they saw her, and on the rare occasion they did notice her, she usually only ever got told to head back to her room, without any more consequences.

This also meant she knew a lot of the gossip that ran around court that they usually kept from its younger members, like Mary herself- the kind of gossip you murmur to your friend in the dark of night, with the door locked and having double checked to make sure no one would hear.

She also saw a lot of things meant only to those participating in it, but no one needed to know that.

Tonight seemed to be a relatively eventless night. She’d nearly been caught by one of the guards- Avery, she believed his name was- but ultimately was capable to slip away. She was on her way back to her room when she passed by the throne room. She frowned when she noticed the door was open, a faint light emanating for it indicating it hadn’t just been a case of her parents forgetting to close it.

“Relax, Mary. What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her, will it?” Mary frowned as she heard her father’s voice, walking closer as quietly as possible to hear better while her father spoke.

“I know, my lord, it is simply…” She recognized the second voice as well- Mary Boleyn, a relatively new courtier. She wondered what the two were doing together- she didn’t remember them having any sort of friendship, since Mary’s arrival at court hadn’t been that long ago. Why were they meeting alone then?

“Don’t you worry, my love. Catherine won’t hear a thing about this. No one will, if we’re quiet, and take the necessary precautions.” Her eyes widened at those words- they were far too similar to ones she’d heard being spoke while two courtiers shared more… intimate, moments, and very quickly she connected the dots.

She flinched as she heard her father’s heavy footsteps approach. As silently as possible, she pressed herself to the wall, using the angle the open door and the wall made to hide from him.

She stayed dead still and quiet, sucking in a breath and holding it when she noticed her father reach out towards the door handle, only releasing it once she was sure it was closed and he wasn’t standing next to it. She stayed there for a while, then proceeded on her way to her room, just as silent but twice as fast.

Still, it seemed the night wouldn’t end just yet for her. When she was about to start climbing the last flight of stairs up to her room, she was stopped by a hand resting on her shoulder. Turning around, she was met with her mum.

“Mi princesita, what are you doing up?” She didn’t sound mad, which was a relief- she’d seen her mum when she was angry, and it wasn’t nice. “It is much to late for you to be awake, let alone wandering around.” As she spoke, she gently pulled Mary up the stairs, leading her to her room.

“I couldn’t sleep, so I went for a walk.” She explained, taking her mum’s hand in her own and following her. “Helps make me more tired.”

“Well, next time I’d prefer you’d at least warn me, or one of my ladies in waiting, alright?” She nodded at her mum’s request, then stopped as she opened the door to her room. “What is it, Mary?”

“Is…” She hesitated, worried whether or not she should share this. “Is it normal for people to love more than one person?” She eventually mumbled, staring at the wooden floor.

She could almost feel her mum’s stare intensify, and for a moment she considered telling her to forget it, but before she could speak, her mum replied. “Why do you ask, mi princesita?”

“It’s just…” She sighed, finally looking up to meet her eyes. She didn’t seem mad, just… confused. “I heard dad and that new woman… Mary?” She waited for her mum to nod, showing she knew who she meant, then continued. “They were in the throne room. He called her “his love”. He only ever calls you that. Can people love more than one person? Is that normal?”

She watched her mum’s face, trying to figure out what she was feeling, but she stayed oddly calm. “That’s… complicated. There are different kinds of love. For example, I love you in one way, but I love your dad in another. Does that make sense?” Mary nodded, and her mum smiled, brushing  a stray bit of hair behind her ear.

“Clever girl. Just go rest, alright? I’ll talk to your father about this, it’s nothing you need to worry about.” Mary nodded, feeling more relaxed after her mother’s promises, and then they each went their own separate ways, Mary to sleep and her mum back down the stairs.

Of course, once she grew older she would find that what her father had done wasn’t normal, or alright. It certainly contributed to her growing distaste for her father, which was only heightened when he divorced her mother. And then once she was declared illegitimate… it was a recipe for disaster, and no one could blame her for holding a grudge.

Still, she stayed silent about it. Especially while Henry was king- she didn’t want to fall any more out of favor with him.

Elizabeth hadn’t even been 3 years old when her mother was beheaded. As a result, she had close to no memories of them together, but the few she did have had an inherent feeling of warmth, comfort, safety, attached to them.

Her memories of her parents together were also really fuzzy, but she had a vague memory that kept eating at her. One of her parents shouting at each other, presumably arguing. She also vaguely remembered being held during it. Had it been her mum? She hoped so, but she knew she had to be very small by then, so she wasn’t sure. And asking her father was definitely not an option.

And really, that wasn’t the question she truly wanted to ask. She was much more interested in figuring out whether how her father treated his wives was normal. She knew beheading them wasn’t, but… what about the others? The shouting, the ordering around… That had to be normal, right?

For years she had no one to turn to with these questions. That was, up until a few months after her tenth birthday, when her father remarried once more- this time, a woman named Catherine Parr.

At first, she’d assumed Catherine would’ve been like the others. Maybe she’d try to befriend her like Kath had, but she assumed that’d be the extent of it. But no- Elizabeth found herself being surprised as Catherine fought tooth and nail to bring both her and Mary back into the succession line- and she’d succeeded in it.

Elizabeth took a liking to her afterwards, beginning to spend more time with her. Not that they didn’t spend time together before, since Catherine made sure she was personally involved in both her and Edward’s education, but willingly this time.

And then, the arrest incident. Elizabeth was terrified when she first heard about it, thinking she’d lose yet another person to that god damn tower, and would have to add yet another name to her ever growing list of people she cared about that got beheaded. And yet, miraculously, she didn’t. Instead, Catherine managed to talk her way out of it. That only made Elizabeth look up to her more.

And then one day, the two were sitting outside by the lake on the castle grounds, and Elizabeth was listening to her ramble about whatever book she’d recently started reading. Her mind was elsewhere, however, her gaze focused on the water.

“Elizabeth, are you alright?” She blinked as Catherine rested a hand on her shoulder, turning to face her. “You seem distracted, is something bothering you?” Elizabeth hesitated, looking away once more.

“You know how dad can be… really loud and angry sometimes? Is that just how people show love?” The words were quietly mumbled out, Elizabeth herself barely feeling like she could speak them.

Catherine herself took a while to respond, which only served to make Elizabeth more worried. “He… has a lot going on, and he can’t always stay calm.” She began softly, reaching out and lightly squeezing Elizabeth’s hand. “But he does love you kids, and me. He just doesn’t always show it that well.”

Elizabeth nodded, leaning against her and dropping the subject. She felt Catherine’s arm move to wrap around her shoulders. “Just relax, yes? You don’t need to worry about it, I promise.” Elizabeth nodded once more, and the two sat there in comfortable silence.

But really, Elizabeth didn’t believe those words. She doubted that throwing someone away, especially when that someone was your child, was how you treated someone who you loved.

And the older she got, the more her believes were proven to be true. As she was hit by hardship after hardship- Thomas Seymour, losing Catherine, being locked up in the Tower of London, losing her brother, and then losing her sister, only to be thrown into the roll of queen- she found that people who truly loved each other didn’t leave each other to suffer, and certainly did not cause suffering to their loved ones intentionally.

Still, it had been a bit of a shock to finally accept that her father didn’t love her, or her siblings, or her mum, or any of her step mothers. When it hit her, it… it made her have to take a step back, and review essentially her entire life.

Still, she didn’t bring it up. By the time she’d realized it, Edward had died and Mary had fallen ill and had named Elizabeth as her heir, and she wasn’t going to put any more burdens on anyone else. She was the Queen now- she had to act like it.

Walking around the castle freely had taken some adjusting to. Edward was used to having to deal with courtiers following him around constantly, telling him to be careful, to not get hurt… And yet now, he could tell them “no” as much as possible, and they couldn’t talk back.

Because now he was the king.

It felt weird, to gain so much power at only nine years old. Two years later, however, and he felt like he was finally beginning to actually do a decent job of it.

Of course, getting people to listen took some time. And he obviously wasn’t making all decisions himself. But he had power now. He had a voice, and he could speak to his country and people would listen. That was nice.

Especially considering how much Edward grew up in the shadows. Sure, he’d been his father’s long awaited male heir, and had definitely grown up in the spotlight. Prince Edward Tudor, future King of England and Ireland. It had made him feel important.

And yet, he had his father’s reputation to live up to. That was a little scary, he admitted to himself as he walked down the hallways of the castle. His father had left big shoes for him to fill, and he knew he couldn’t afford to fail at that.

He stopped at a window, staring outside and shaking his head. “Keep it together, Edward.” He muttered to himself, leaning over to look out the window. He knew he had to keep up appearances. Now, he was King Edward VI, King of England and Ireland.

He had to support his people. He couldn’t let them look inside and see how scared he was of failing. That would make them worry, or worse- think he was unfit to rule. He was the last male Tudor heir, he had to ensure the family’s power stayed with the family.

That’s what his father had told him, anyways. And father was always right, right?

[mycatshuman]

Castle of Devils

Chapter 5

Word Count: 3, 028

Warnings: talks of not eating, supernatural stuff, a scene from a scary movie explained in detail, demon mention I think that's it, let me know if I missed any.

Pairings: eventual Prinxiety

Thank you so much to @civilsounds17 for listening to my ideas and helping me bring this story to life. I owe you my deepest appreciation. 💚💚💚💚

More Chapters

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Roman frowned as he ate while sneaking glances at Virgil, who, yet again, wasn't eating. He had wanted to immediately bring up his question about the Disney living room but his suspicions rose up again as he noticed his host had gone yet again without eating. Roman supposed it wasn't fair to say that Virgil didn't just eat in the time they spent together but it was weird to never have seen him eat with him. Maybe he just didn't feel comfortable eating in front of him? Roman nodded his head. Yeah, that had to be it. It had to be.

He cleared his throat. “I, uh, noticed that you had some themed rooms.”

Virgil's grey eyes lit up like glittering silver. “Ah, yes. I thought it would be fun to decorate the rooms according to a theme.”

Roman felt himself smiling at the others clear excitement despite himself. “Yes. I found them very well done and I really liked the themes.” Roman shifted slightly and looked down, only mildly embarrassed. “My, uh, favorite one was the Disney one. And, uh,” he bit his lip as he glanced up at Virgil. “I was wondering if, it'dbeokayifIsleptorjusthungoutinthatroomsometimes?” Roman trailed off into a mumble that was so quiet that Virgil surely couldn't have heard. He took a deep breath and prepared to repeat his question.

“Of course.”

Roman froze. What?

“While you're here, this castle is as much your home as it is mine. Feel free to do whatever you like.”

Roman blinked. “How did you even hear what I said? I wasn't exactly that audible.”

Virgil’s eyes moved away with a shrug. “I have good hearing.” Was his explanation.

Roman frowned and remembered a question from much earlier. “Uh, the villagers.” Virgil's eyes shot back over to look at him. Roman gulped slightly. “They warned me about the castle. And they said there were monsters and devils in here. Do you know anything about that?”

While he was talking, Roman had looked anywhere but Virgil. After he finished, he took a deep breath and looked up, staring Virgil straight (gay) in the eyes. Virgil was quiet for a few minutes. His eyes searched Roman's for, something, Roman wasn't quite sure. “This castle has been in my family for centuries Mr. Prinz.”

Roman frowned slightly, unsure how this had anything to do with the villagers. “I am sure you are aware of the most famous of the Stoker family, Abraham Stoker?”

Roman blinked.

Virgil rolled his eyes and sighed. “Perhaps you know him better by his nickname, Bram.”

Roman gasp. “Oh! You mean Bram Stoker! The writer of Dracula! I was wondering if there was any relation.”

Virgil nodded. “Yeah, that's sort of the reason the castle was nicknamed Castle Dracula.”

Roman's nose crinkled as if he had smelled something funny. “I didn't think Bram was a nickname. I assumed that was his legal name.”

Virgil grimaced, he wasn't creative with names. “Yeah,” he agreed. “You don't normally hear if Bram as a nickname for Abraham. Maybe Abe, but not Bram.” Roman nodded. “I suppose it started a few decades before Bram was born,” Virgil started. “I'm not entirely sure what started the rumors.” He frowned. “I think it might have been when bodies drained of blood began showing up in the village.”

Roman raised an eyebrow. Virgil, suddenly remembering the average lifespan of the human body, shook his head. “At least that might be when if I'm remembering the journals correctly. Anyway,” he said, quickly moving away from that bit. “Some accounts said that a witness noticed one of the Stoker family, or at least someone with similar facial features, slipping away from the scene of the,” Virgil grit his teeth slightly. “crime, with what they said to be blood on my- my ancestor's face. Ever since then, there was talk of what the locals called a Strigoi. In Romanian mythology, a strigoi is a troubled spirit that is said to have risen from the grave. It is often said to have abilities to transform into an animal and even become invisible. However, the locals were only able to say that my ancestor was one of the Strigoi through the fact that they are said to have drunk blood to gain vitality, or life through blood.” Virgil sighed.

“Bram grew up with the locals fear of himself, the family, and the castle. I believe that he wrote the novel Dracula to, cope? Or even in an attempt to understand where the fear was coming from.” Virgil shrugged. “But mostly I just think it was for fun.” It was for fun.

Roman looked thoughtful for a few moments. He looked up at the other. “What do you think?”

Virgil glanced at Roman. “What?”

“What do you think of the rumors of your someone in your family being,” he waved his hand, “practically a vampire?”

Vampire. The word sent a chill colder than Virgil's skin down his back. “Well,” he started slowly. “First off, I think vampires have a bad rep. And Stephenie Meyer didn't help.” Virgil's nose wrinkled.

Roman sputtered indigitantly. “ExCuSe Me! Edward Sullen! What did Twilight ever do to you?!?!?!?”

Virgil rolled his eyes at the others dramatic behavior. “Literally anyone could do better than Twilight. Like, I mean, I think Vampires are misunderstood, but like, what Twilight did was turn them into elves prancing around like clueless morons. Vampires are supposed to be feared! Not made fun of or sexualized for the majority of love sick teenage girls who go on a murder spree because forbid someone was on Team Jacob and not Team Edward.”

Roman rolled his eyes. “I'm not saying that I couldn't do better, Re-Volturi.”

“Then what are you saying?”

Roman finally looked at Virgil. The other was guarded. His shoulders tense and his jaw slightly clenched as if whatever Roman was going to say would hurt him. He had to be careful. “I'm saying that while Twilight's depiction of vampires is ridiculous, it's still something someone made and is possibly proud of. It's hard being a writer. Surely you know the struggles?”

Virgil blinked and looked down. Boy did he know the struggles. Getting started was a nightmare. And finding a good enough alias proved difficult, if Roman's reaction was anything to go by. Virgil cringed. Why did he even use a nickname? "Yeah, I suppose I can feel….some sort of sympathy for Meyer." Even if she did stain the name of all vampires with an elf like love sick boy.

------

Roman sat back with a loud, dramatic sigh. A small hint of an amused smile pulled at Virgil's lips and he tidied things up a bit before he too fell into his chair with a relieved sigh. Virgil stretched out his legs and leaned he head against the back of his chair, his eyes slipping closed as he let himself relax slightly. Roman found the look suited him. It was nice to see the other relax in his presence. He let himself enjoy the picture for a few moments before he cleared his throat.

Virgil cracked one eye open and raised a dark eyebrow at the other. Roman's eyes darted off to the side as he gathered his courage and swallowed the lump in his throat. "I-I was wondering if we could watch a movie together," Roman watched Virgil's face as he spoke. Finding no clear sign of disgust, he continued. "I just thought it would be fun."

Roman watched as Virgil's face reminded blank. The silence grew for an uncomfortably long amount of time until Roman felt like he was going to burst with an apology for being so stupid. "That does sound fun," Virgil started slowly, almost hesitantly, his eyes not looking at him. "I certainly wouldn't be opposed to it, Princey." Virgil couldn't help but notice the lights in Roman's eyes brighten at his words.

A broad smile spread across Roman's handsome face as he leapt from his chair and grabbed a hold of Virgil's wrist. "We're off on an adventure!" He declared as he dragged Virgil from the room to the hall with the doors that lend to the different themed living rooms. Virgil suppressed a giggle (A giggle!) at the other as he was dragged along on their "adventure".

Once in the hallway, Roman stopped and let go of Virgil's wrist. Virgil still felt the warmth from the others hand lingering on his skin. It made him startlingly aware of how cold the rest of his body was. Looking up at Roman, he noticed a small frown on the other's face. "Princey?" Roman broke out of his thoughts and looked over at Virgil. "You good there?"

Roman nodded. "Yeah, I was just wondering what movie we should watch."

"Oh." Virgil was silent for a few moments before speaking up. "I was thinking of watching the Conjuring Universe movies in the order they were released. If you would like to join me, we could start them tonight?"

Roman blinked a few times before he grinned. "Of course! Let's go!" Roman took a hold of Virgil's wrist again and pulled him into the correct room and plopped down on the couch as Virgil turned to set up the movie. He rolled his eyes fondly at the other, careful to keep Roman from actually seeing him with something other than a small smile, blank face, or the occasional scowl. Setting up the first movie, Virgil moved back to sit on the opposite end from Roman on the couch as he waited for the main menu to pop up so he could start the movie.

"So, Princey, have you ever watched something like this?"

Roman turned to him as the previews played through. "Um, not really." He shrugged. "I mean, I've watched movies similar to them but they didn't really intrigue me," Roman's eyes trailed back to the tv screen as he talked before snapping back over to look at Virgil. "What?"

Virg stared at him with wide eyes, his mouth slightly ajar as he tried to comprehend just what exactly had been told to him. It's not that he didn't understand what Roman had told him. No, he understood him perfectly. But the fact that he wasn't intrigued in these kinds of movies sorta irritated him for some reason. "Well, Princey, get ready to have your socks blown off because the Conjuring universe is one of the best set of movies like this."

"Sounds a little opinionated but okay."

Virgil sent a glare at Roman. Roman, despite having Virgil's icy glare directed at him, couldn't help but feel a excited shiver run through his spine. It was like he had found a match. A lot of people tended to agree with Roman, aside from his friend Logan. But even then, it was always playful arguments. They were like brothers. Hell, they were brothers. If not through blood but through bond.

This, this felt different. This thing between them was something entirely new and wonderfully mysterious. It was like something out of one of Roman's novels. It was terribly exciting and Roman felt himself anticipating every interaction with the dark man before him. He wondered why he wasn't like this before. Perhaps he was finally getting comfortable enough to show his true self. The one that, despite dark glares and deep frowns, Roman could tell were more playful than not. They were like a hurricane and a volcano. Both terribly, beautifully fierce and passionate.

The glare dimmed once the main menu popped up. Virgil turned to the tv. "Watch the movie, Princey." He pretended to not see the roguish grin Roman sent his way before the other turned to watch the screen.

-----

The two had moved slightly closer over the course of the movies. They had watched two by this point and were almost finished with the third: The Conjuring 2. And Roman couldn't say he wasn't enjoying the movies. They were very well done and, despite the moments after each movie when Virgil told him a few of the details that were fiction, Roman found they were quite scary. He jumped a few times, he wasn't going to lie. Now, they were nearing the end of the second Conjuring movie. Roman became absorbed in the story as what must have been the most climatic moment came on screen.

Lorraine Warren was pulling herself up through the hole in the floor as her husband, Ed, reached the room the possessed Janet was in. The window in front of Janet exploded as glass flew past her. Ed watched as Janet stepped up onto the window ledge, ready to jump from the window and impale herself on the split tree trunk that had been sharpened to a point. His eyes grew wide as he screamed her name, rushing forward to stop her. He caught her just as she fell from the window. He grabbed a hold on the curtain beside the window prevent both of them from tumbling out the window and to their death.

In the looting rain on the sidewalk below, the girl's mother let out a horrified shriek at the sight of her daughter dangling in the air, the only thing keeping her from being impaled was Ed's hold on her. Lorraine rushed up the stairs shouting Ed's name as he tried to pull himself and the girl inside by his arm. He let out a shout as one of the rings holding the curtain up broke, the two dropping farther out the window. Lorraine came to doorway and screamed as she noticed the two hanging over halfway out the window. The crosses hung up all over the walls of the room all began to turn upside down as Lorraine noticed a black mass in the corner beside the window. She let out a gasp as she noticed the demon that had been plaguing her since their case in Amityville. A demon nun, with face white as milk and covered in blue veins and glowing yellow eyes set deep in the skull, pitch black circles surrounding the eyes as it's habit blew about in the vicious wind.

Ed screamed Lorraine's name as lightning flashed outside and the curtain began to rip and another ring broke. Lorraine started forward only for the demon nun to let out a wicked roar and Lorraine flew back against the wall a few feet off the ground. Black lips surrounded yellow, rotting teeth as the demonic nun bared its teeth at her. Another ring broke and Lorraine screamed for her husband. The demon nun's grin was vile as it turned to look at Lorraine.

Lorraine turned her attention to the demon nun, her face set determinedly. "Your name gives me dominion over you demon. And I do know your name." The demon screamed, knocking crosses off the wall. "You are Valak!" Lorraine screamed as the demon continued to scream, flakes falling from its face at the use if it's name. "The defiler! The profane! The marquis of snakes!" She sneered. The demon let out a hell raising scream. "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I condemn you back to Hell!"

The demon screeched as it's face decayed and it fell in on itself before disappearing. Lorraine fell as the demon disappeared and she quickly rushed forward as another ring broke and the last ring slid forward. She grabbed a hold of her husbands wrist just as they were falling and quickly pulled her husband and the now normal girl inside.

Virgil turned to face Roman, a shit eating grin on his face, ready to tell Roman that he told him so but froze as he noticed Roman's awestruck face. He couldn't turn away. He was in awe over Roman's awe! And he felt the blood in his body rush to his face, his cheeks tinting with a bright pink. Even if he could look away, Virgil found he didn't want to.

A thunderous crash sounded down the dark hallway and both Virgil and Roman jolted. Their heads whipped over to look at the darkened doorway, hearts pounding in fear. A loud thump sounded and Roman jumped forward and gripped onto Virgil's chilled arm. "What was that?" He whispered, his voice wavering. Despite the moment, Virgil's cheeks darkened.

"P-probably just one of the cats," he stuttered slightly. Roman gulped. They waited as the credits rolled. Their ears alert as they tried to find any hint of someone in the hallway. Soon a small bright white cat trotted into the room and stared up at the two on the couch. "Meow!!!" The feline let out.

Roman closed his eyes in relief and let out a sigh. "Thank goodness."

Virgil nodded. "Do you want to go back to watching tv?" He asked.

Roman hesitated for a few moments before nodding. "Uh, yeah. But is it okay if we uh…." Roman stumbled with his words. "Uh.."

"I think we might have to sleep in here tonight. I don't think I'll have enough energy to get back to my room after this."

Roman almost let out a sigh of relief. "Yeah, I don't think I'll be able to either."

Virgil nodded and got up to change the movie. The white cat from earlier jumped up on the couch and climbed into Roman's lap. He smiled as he began petting the cat. Virgil turned around and let out a small laugh. "It seems Moonlight as taken a liking to you."

Roman looked up with a smile. "That's their name?"

Virgil nodded. "Yeah. She likes to nap in the moonlight; seemed only fitting." He sat down gave her a pet before turning to the movie and grabbing the remote. Roman smiled at the other, but frowned slightly as he noticed something flit past the doorway out of the corner his eye. He turned and inspected the doorway only to find it empty. He shrugged and turned back to the screen as Virgil hit the main menu button. Soon they were enthralled in the storyline of Annabelle Creation. And if they ended up leaning against each other halfway through the movie, nobody said anything.

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CoD taglist: @kittycake574 @rainbow-roman @icequeenoriginal @ilovemygaydad @roman-flair @comicsimpson

Everything taglist: @spxced-oxt @superwholocked-for-life @mirror2thespirit @aroundofapplesauce

[arosnowflake]

About arospec headcannon thing anyone from FMA of your choice and a character from a series/book that you have enjoying latelly!

“character from a series/book that you have enjoying latelly” bold of you to assume I’ve had the attention span to be reading anything anon. the only thing I’ve been reading lately is ‘The Bacchae and Other Works’, demonstrating that I can, in fact, be a smart literary reader every once in a while, but the only play I’ve finished is Ion, and like… sure Athena is aro, but I also feel like headcanoning a greek god as aro is kinda cheating, but in the spirit of ancient greek myths, I’ll be doing my fave aro headcanon, Percy Jackson. He’s going under the cut though, because Ed’s turned out… long. Sorry about that.

Anyway, from FMA, I’m (predicatably) picking Edward Elric, because I can’t and won’t stop:

What arospec identities do they have? (Can be as specific or vague as desired)

I generally headcanon Ed as nebularomantic, though I also really really like the headcanon of him having my exact aro experience because honestly, I like projecting onto him. But I usually go with nebularomantic because I feel like the headcanon possibilities for that are more interesting, so I’ll go with that in this post.

(Or arovague, a little more, maybe? He’s nebularomantic in the sense that a) alexithymia makes figuring out whether he’s feeling platonic or romantic attraction pretty much impossible, and b) he feels like he doesn’t really fit into society’s ideas of romance due to it heavily being tied up into neurotypical standards, and finds the concept of romantic relationships/romantic attraction somewhat inaccessible to him as a result. So he’s kind of a mix between nebularomantic, quoiromantic with the ‘disidentifies with the concept of romantic attraction’ definition, and arovague, I guess, but I think he’d just use nebularomantic because it’s easier and it still encompasses his experiences very well.)

How proud of being arospec are they?

Pretty proud, if only because he knows it pisses people off and he loves doing that. He’s not dropping it into every conversation ever, but he definitely has a couple pins and shows up at pride with the flag painted on his cheeks.

Do they prioritize their arospec identity over any others?

I’d say that on the Minority Identity tier, it’s probably his least important identity to him, definitely after autistic/ADHD (kind of the same thing to him) and nonbinary. It’s still pretty important to him, though. Maybe the only thing he prioritizes it over might be his amputee status, mostly because, since he grew up with a bunch of automail engineers and later living in Rush Valley with Paninya and Winry for a long while, amputees have kinda become the norm for him. However, I can also see that, due to the Circumstances surrounding the loss of his limbs, he might prioritize his physical disability anyway, because he’s had to learn to take pride in it, whereas for the nebularomanticism, that came pretty naturally.

Are they out? If so, how did they come out, and to whom?

He’s out to pretty much everyone, although the only people he actually sat down and had a conversation with were Winry, Paninya, and Al. Winry because she helped him figure out he wasn’t allo (even if he couldn’t pin down his specific aro identity), and Paninya because he brought it up when he proposed starting a qpr to sort of close a sort of ‘qpr’ triad between him, Winry, and Paninya. Al also knows because Ed talked his feelings over with him when he was still questioning, and then Mei found the identity ‘nebularomantic’ and told Al, who told Ed, and that’s how Ed figured out his identity.

How do they feel about romance? Romance-favorable? Romance-neutral? Romance-repulsed? Or does it fluctuate?

Romance-neutral, largely. I mean, he’s married, so that counts as romance-favourable probably, but honestly? He’s mostly neutral to the concept of romance because he doesn’t understand why it exists. It’s pretty much impossible for him to separate neurotypical expectations of romance and love from the concept of romantic relationships/romantic attraction in general, and this was one of the main reasons he and Winry decided to change their relationship from ‘romantic’ to ‘idk what but we’re definitely important to another/queerplatonic-ish’; he constantly felt like he was failing in romance, and Winry had a bit of trouble adjusting her expectations from a generic romantic relationship to one with Ed once they moved from a long distance relationship to a short distance one, so they felt like it was best to change the label. But that said, he’s not repulsed, and he’s not necessarily opposed to the concept of a romantic relationship, he just doesn’t really understand why that exists and has trouble living up to the neurotypical standards it generally entails.

Have they ever experienced arophobia? If so, how?

Some mild stuff, but nothing extreme. He married Winry fairly young, so that warred off all the ‘I can fix you/you need to be fixed’ and ‘you’re horrible and are going to die alone!’ flavours of arophobia, but at the same time, the fact that he married her means that a lot of people deny, ignore, and/or erase his arospec identity. Even showing up in public with an aro/nebularomantic pride flag doesn’t stop people from ignoring it. Since he’s a pretty high-profile figure, this means that it’s especially noticeable.

In addition, he’s also faced some ableist-specific arophobia in people saying that he just doesn’t understand romantic attraction because he’s autistic/ADHD, which, yeah, duh, that’s why he identifies as nebula? But people use that to deny his identity, saying that his aro identity isn’t real because it’s caused/affected by his neurodivergency, or that it must be fixed with therapy. He generally punches those people in the face and they shut up really quickly.

How do they show their arospec pride?

Like I said, he goes to pride and paints his cheeks in the nebularomantic/aromantic pride colours (one on each cheek), and he doesn’t shy away from talking about it in day-to-day life. On the rare occasion that he makes a public appearance such as an interview or as a gala attendee (mostly when he’s lost a bet to Mustang or Ling), he usually takes either a small or big flag with him (depending on the mood he’s in), just to smirk when people get awkward or try to ignore it.

Do they actively try to combat amatonormativity in their daily lives or elsewhere? If so, how?

He constantly corrects people if they call Winry his wife (yes, they’re partners, and yes, they’re married, but ‘wife’ specifically has connotations to him that he doesn’t like), constantly corrects them if they assume he’s alloro, and just generally is an obnoxious arospec fuck who’s not going to let any part of his arospec identity get erased.

Was it easy for them to label themselves arospec, or was there a long period of questioning? How many labels did they have to try before landing on the one they use now?

The questioning process took pretty long, both due to the complicated nature of his identity and alexithymia hindering the process. As I already said, it’s pretty much impossible for him to distinguish neurotypical expectations of romance from romantic attraction/relationships, but he was also aware that societal expectations =/= romantic attraction at its core, so he didn’t know if his confusion surrounding the matter was enough to make him anything but allo. Furthermore, there was the fact that alexithymia made trying to figure out whether what he was feeling was platonic or romantic pretty much impossible: he could barely figure out if he was feeling hungry, fuck if he knew he was having a squish or a crush. There was also the obvious fact that yup, he sure married Winry, and he didn’t want to divorce her because he did want to be in some kind of relationship, but he didn’t know if that was because he was feeling any kind of romantic (or platonic, for that matter) attraction, or because he simply felt at home with her, and yes he did consider that the ‘at home’ feeling might’ve been romantic, but probably not, since he also feels it with Al, but then again it was still very much different with Al, so maybe…?

Anyway, you get the point. Questioning was long and messy, and eventually came to a head when Winry basically said ‘look listen I don’t know what’s going on with you, but you promised not to keep me in the dark anymore, so spit it out’ so he did and she basically said ‘well in my expert alloromantic opinion that’s not very allo’ and he went ‘oh. shit. why didn’t I ask you earlier’ (it was because he’s the world’s smartest idiot). So they sat down and figured things out, and eventually agreed that it would be best if they ‘cancelled’ the romance aspect of their relationship for now, just to figure out what would work for them.

Also Mei was actually the one who found the term ‘nebularomantic’ way later, when she was researching arospec identities after her and Al’s relationship crashed and burned horribly (she definitely has access to a huge library of queer identities in Ling’s palace shut up), and Al heard her say the definition and he went ‘oh shit that’s my brother’, so then he called Ed and that’s how Ed came to identify as nebularomantic.

Would they be interested in a QPR? Why or why not?

He’s in a queerplatonic triad with Winry and Paninya! The relationship is actually kind of complicated, with Winry and Paninya being in a romantic relationship, Ed and Winry being in a committed relationship they’re chosing not to label at the moment, and Paninya and Ed being in the world’s most casual qpr, but the three of them call their triad ‘queerplatonic’ to simplify stuff. He probably wouldn’t necessarily search out a qpr, I think, but he very much loves people (regardless of whether or not it’s platonic or romantic or something else entirely), and he does like living with other people, so he’d probably have fallen into one naturally anyway, even if canon hadn’t played out the way it did.

Final thoughts?

If you think that I won’t headcanon someone as arospec just because they married and had kids at the end of the series then you’re so fucking mistaken.

What arospec identities do they have? (Can be as specific or vague as desired)

Percy’s demiromantic!

How proud of being arospec are they?

Very proud! If you think he ever stops making demi jokes, you are very very wrong. He goes to pride, has pins, has a flag up in his room, and generally won’t shut up about it.

Do they prioritize their arospec identity over any others?

Somewhat! He’s both demisexual and demiromantic, and he doesn’t necessarily separate those two out, but he does prioritize both of those over his demiboy identity, though that’s definitely important to him too and he’s proud of that as well (plus, he appreciates the pun material).

Are they out? If so, how did they come out, and to whom?

He’s out! After he figured it out the first thing he did was kick Annabeth’s door open and go ‘Annabeth Holy Fuck!’, so she knows. His mom and Paul know, because he actually had a Serious Coming Out conversation with them (he knew they’d take it well, but still). Everyone else at camp also knows, because he won’t shut up about it, and also like everyone at Camp Halfblood is queer as fuck, so they just kind of expected something like this sooner or later. The puns are an unwelcome surprise, though.

How do they feel about romance? Romance-favorable? Romance-neutral? Romance-repulsed? Or does it fluctuate?

None of the above, he’s very firmly romance oblivious. He’s not going to catch you flirting with him, he WILL read over romance subplots without picking up on them, he is always the last to catch on to relationships his friends have started, etc. etc. He’s romance-favourable in the sense that he’s currently in a romantic relationship with Annabeth, but honestly, I don’t think he cares enough about romance to use any of the above labels.

Have they ever experienced arophobia? If so, how?

Yeah, he’s had a bunch of assholes tell him that he’s just straight, or that he needs to use demi as a modifier, or that demiromanticism doesn’t exist, etc. etc. However, he’s been lucky enough to have a supportive family and a queer as fuck friendgroup, so it hasn’t been as bad as it could’ve been and he’s had a lot of support.

How do they show their arospec pride?

PUNS (IN THE FORM OF DEMI- JOKES). SO MANY FUCKING PUNS. NEITHER HE NOR I WILL SHUT UP ABOUT THE PUNS.

Do they actively try to combat amatonormativity in their daily lives or elsewhere? If so, how?

Sort of? He’s loudly demi, which combats amatonormativity pretty much automatically, but he’s not exactly the type to go around educating everyone about the concept of amatonormativity or anything. That’s what Annabeth is for.

Was it easy for them to label themselves arospec, or was there a long period of questioning? How many labels did they have to try before landing on the one they use now?

Honestly, he just sort of assumed that the world was playing a prank on him regarding this ‘falling in love at first sight’ thing, or in general, this ‘falling in love’ thing. He’s never had a crush on anyone before Annabeth, and was honestly halfway convinced that the concept was fake until her, but he also never really analyzed that? He just kind of… assumed that was normal. Calypso was the first real wrench in that theory, but he chalked it up to her being not human and went about his life.

Aaand then he overheard someone talking about being demi, got massively confused for a second, asked for clarification before, you know, calling a satyr, and realized ‘oh hey that’s me!’.

So all in all, the questioning process was pretty straight forward, just hampered by him being very oblivious.

Would they be interested in a QPR? Why or why not?

Hmmm, maybe? I think he’s satisfied with his romantic relationship with Annabeth, but I also don’t necessarily think he’d be opposed to one. I don’t think he’d search one out, but if someone asked, he’d probably be willing to give it a go.

Final thoughts?

This was my first ever aro headcanon and I can and WILL die on this hill.