#ugh physically recoiled after using that tag

[badmemoryneko]

Random HCs of Dolores and Camilo?

you didnt expecified if you wanted hcs of their dynamic,or separated,so i did both.

RANDOM CAMILLO AND DOLORES HEADCANONS

Camillo and Dolores’ dynamic:

When it was time for Dolores to get her gift, she got too nervous and tried switching places with Camillo.

This maybe would had worked... if camillo wasnt a 1yo at the time.

She did changed camillo into her clothes and tried to get on his. Didnt fit but did hide under the bed and expected it to work.

“ What?! It was a fool’s proof plan! ”

Once Mirabel and Camillo heard this story later on, they exchange places all the time and do favors for each other. At least til Camillo gets his gift,then only Mirabel changes clothes.

Dolores knows and has to hide it.

She did tells when they were about 9 and abuela asked ‘Camillo’ to help by shapeshifting for an adult so he could help with like... i dunno maybe putting something up or something like that.

She inmediadly tells on them. How the aftermath went ill leave it to your imagination.

Camillo stole Dolores’ shampoo for a while. She was wondering how could she spend so much til Felix notices and asks Camillo to stop. Went to tell her, but she already had heard it.

Not really the best combo usually, even if Camillo bothers Isabella more. But when they gotta work together they’re a chaos duo, very well coordinated.

Dolores headcanons:

Lil crackhead when younger.

She probably used to believe on love happening like on a 2000s high school movie when she was younger.

Yknow, walking on the higway with heavy books on your arms for no reason, crash onto each other, ”sorry,my bad” said on unison, they help you pick everything up, you loook at their eyes like youre dissociating a little, and then get stuck on that person and everyone knows the movie its about those two, and its gonna be cheesy.

She meet Mariano this way...except more realistic. She was carrying a basket with idk fruit to home, wasnt looking were she was walking cause she was concentrating on hearing something, hit mariano, tripped on her own feet, fell on the floor and all the fruit went rolling. She was annoyed and then Mariano helped her because, thats normal to do, and i like to think hes a nice person and just doesnt know to space his pace on relationships a little because of examples he has seen. So yeah, that happens and she goes walking home thinking “wow, i cant believe that happen... i think im in love. We must be destined together ”

Her view in love has changed with the years, but still has the crush on Mariano and has some of hopeless romantic still on her.

Loves her hair but hates how much hair keeping she has to do sometimes.

Would dance non stop at parties if she didnt got nervous at the thought of so much people watching her do it.

Camillo headcanons:

Tried to teach the rats for that one “ 7 ft frame, rats along his back, when he tells your name it all fades to black ” dance.

Thinks he suceeded when the rats follow the coreography, in reality Bruno teached them while he was sleeping.

Very proud of himself til Bruno tells him, then asks Bruno how to train rats.

Chaos of rats shenanigans for a week.

Mom’s boy. Just not very noticeable at first cause yknow teenager.

Will shapeshift into people, but having slightly bigger hair or gigant hands or something he finds funny about them, kinda like double trouble making adora’s hair as high as possible. (i actually think i saw this when he turned onto felix by being smaller, but im not sure)

Just likes to exgerate things a ton on general. Theather kid stuff.

Almost teared up a little when first ate a chocolate filled arepa (pancakes basically).

Would teach kids swear words if he knew any.

[rainbowserenity]

1. “Do you want me to leave?” - Hopurai

royal!AU tag

my intention with this AU was for it to be a bunch of oneshots that could be read separately….but this is the installment that makes me wish I’d had the foresight to just make it into a multichapter fic 8D;if you don’t want to go in blindly, I would HIGHLY recommend (re?)reading at least the previous installment before the this one. all the fics are in the above linked tag, or they’re in a collection on AO3 here

sorry for being so ridiculous lmao

*****

Therewas such a strange disconnect from staring outside the windows of thepalace as opposed to when she’d had to stare out of a hole in theceiling back when she’d been living in the slums. Back then, she’d belooking up into the smog-covered sky, trying against all odds to seethe stars that the fal'cie would bring at night.

Now,sitting in her office, she could literally look down on so much ofEden since the palace towered over pretty much everything except thefal'cie Phoenix itself. It was weird, to say the least.

Well,she supposed it was no stranger than Lightning Farron, former soldierand resident of the slums, being discovered as Eden’s long-lostprincess.

Lightningfrowned slightly as she watched people go about their daily business.From up here, they looked like ants. It was hard to believe that somecould be struggling or confused or going through heartbreak…

Notthat she’d know anything about heartbreak. At all. Nope.

“Hey,you finished yet?”

Witha sigh, Lightning pulled her gaze away from the window and stared atSazh, who was officially her adviser, but really played the role of ababysitter. It was insulting if she thought about it too much. “Doesit look like I’ve finished?”

“True.”Sazh waltzed up to her desk and pointedly stared at the pile ofpapers. “'Cause if you had finishedthis incredibly easy task, I bet you would’ve found me already andclaimed that poor ol’ Sazh was overworked and needed a vacation - ”

“Itried to give you a vacation after the ball,” Lightning pointedout, raising an eyebrow. “You told me I’d probably set the palaceon fire if you left for a day.”

“AndI’m probably right!”

“Doubtful.”Lightning rolled her eyes and tapped her pen against the papers infront of her a few times. “I’m fairly sure that I, a grown adultwho’s been taking care of herself since she was a teenager, couldeasily manage without you for a few days.”

“Keeptellin’ yourself that.” Sazh picked up one of the papers. “Whichone are you working on?”

“Theletter to Vanille.” DiaVanille had been an important guest at Lightning’s introduction balla few days ago. It was a gathering that had officially presented heras Eden’s princess, which, in turn, would hopefully open up newrelations. Now she was supposed to be writing letters of intent toget people on her side with whatever she planned to do as regent.

Despitefinding the whole practice completely ridiculous, Lightning actuallyhad gotten along fairly well with the Duchess of Luxerion, Vanille.She had to wonder if this was partially because her bodyguard wasfriends with the Duchess and that made it easier to like her.

Or…formerbodyguard, she supposed.

“Keepit short and sweet,” Sazh advised. “Vanille’s not much for longletters.”

“Andyou think I am?”

“Justlet me dream a little, geez. Kids these days.”

Lightningrolled her eyes again, her mind wandering to the ball. Chatting withVanille and her girlfriend Fang, the Princess of Oerba…dancing in adress that glittered with an obnoxious amount of diamonds…steppingonto the balcony with -

Ugh,okay, definitely not goingthere.

Aftera pause where she wrote a few words, Lightning glanced up. Sazh wasscribbling something in a book – probably grading her on heretiquette, hmph. “Was there something else you needed?”

“Yes,as a matter of fact.” Sazh stopped writing and plopped into a chairwithout any grace. If she’d done the same, he would’ve recoiled inhorror. “We didn’t really get a chance to talk after the ball.Gotta say, I’m impressed with how you handled things.”

“Itwas a glorified dance. Not too difficult.”

Thatwas a lie and they both knew it. Lightning had grown up in a suburbof Eden and then spent her teenage years in the slums – she’d neverbeen to any sort of dance, never mind a ball of the caliber that’dbeen held in her honor. Beingparaded around like a doll had been one of the most difficult thingsshe’d ever done. Luckily, she’d met Vanille and Fang very early onduring the night and their new-foundfriendship had made goingthrough the motions much easier.

Therewas someone else who’d helped out, but she preferred not to think toohard about that.

“Yeah,yeah.” Sazh waved a hand. “Keep tellin’ yourself that. And tellme your thoughts –anybody there you think we could strengthen an alliance with? Or formone? Technically, Eden’s always been on good terms with the otherkingdoms since Phoenix is the most important fal'cie, but there’salways room for improvement. See any of that? Or…” He raised aneyebrow. “Any potential suitors?”

Lightningducked her head, hoping against everything that the heat she feltsimmering under her skin was from a…hot flash or something. Yeah,that totally made sense. She wasn’t about to blush atthe thought of a certain personal bodyguard taking her to see astar-filled sky and light-studded city. There was definitely nothought of his hands on her, his lips caressing hers…

“Nosuitors,” she finally said, clearing her throat and daring to lookup. At least her face felt normal. “Serah seemed to like the Patronof Yusnaan, though.” She frowned.

“What,you got a problem with him?” Sazh looked faintly amused. “I knowhe’s just a kid, but then again, so are you.”

“Hejust seemed…” Lightning shook her head. There were only a fewwords she could think of to describe Snow Villiers, and none of themwere all that flattering. “But we’ve been on particularly goodterms with Yusnaan, so it doesn’t really matter. Fang seemed to likeme, so maybe we can strengthen ties with Oerba.”

“Thatgirl’s an odd one.” Sazh leaned back in his chair, looking lost inthought. “I’m pretty sure all she really gives a damn about isVanille. For awhile, it was lookin’ like Oerba and Luxerion wouldofficially join forces, possibly to try and topple Eden and take overPhoenix.”

Lightningraised her eyebrows. “Could they do that?”

“Probably.Ain’t like the fal'cie care that much.”

Shehad no idea if that was true. Lightning had yet to see Phoenix inperson since being found as the princess of Eden. “Do you thinkFang was trying to get on my good side, then? And then betray me whenleast expected?”

“Nahhh.If Vanille liked you, then Fang’s sure as hell not gonna mess withyou or anybody in Eden. And trust me, Vanille is as genuine as theycome. Kinda hard to believe she’s royalty sometimes.” Sazh sighedin exasperation. “I’ve worked with so many of you kids over theyears that I wonder if you all share the same stick up your ass.”

Insteadof biting back with a retort, Sazh’s comment made Lightning asksomething she’d been wondering for awhile. “That’s right – bothFang and Vanille said that they knew you. You were an adviser forsome members of the old family, too.”

“Gladto see you pay attention when I talk.”

“Thatdoesn’t make much sense, though,” Lightning continued, ignoringSazh’s comment. “You’re not even twice my age. You said you’ve beenserving the old family for years, but if you served Fang and Vanilletoo…”

“Inever told you?” Now Sazh looked confused, but also a littleconcerned. It was very strange to see him with an expression towardsher that wasn’t exasperation. “Huh, guess I wouldn’t have at thebeginning. And things have been so crazy with the ball andeverything…”

“Toldme what?”

Sazhundid the top two buttons of his shirt and tugged it down a bit. Itwas still hidden under some fabric, but there were a bunch oftelltale lines and intersecting arrows that made Lightning sit ramrodstraight in her chair, eyes widening a bit. She knew what it meantbefore Sazh even said the words.

“I’ma l'cie.”

Thestories had spread among the slums – scary children’s tales thatwould send Serah crying into her arms in fear. L'cie were warriorschosen by fal'cie and sent to fight their battles, using magic farmore powerful and horrifying than the average person was capable of.They would live forever until the fal'cie grew tired of them andended their misery with agony, only to gather new warriors and repeatthe cycle anew.

Sincethere hadn’t been a real war in centuries, l'cie were just terriblestories. Even though Lightning knew they were likely just that –stories – nobody she knew had ever met or been one, so itwas hard to say what was the truth or not.

Itwas true, however – recorded in history books and all –that l'cie were branded when they were made. The lines intersectingon Sazh’s skin perfectly matched what Lightning knew.

“You’re– how - ”

“Ohc'mon, you know damn well I’m not some war machine. I hear thosestories. Most of ‘em are totally untrue. Probably made up by somefanatic or anti-war group back in the day.” Sazh shrugged andbuttoned his shirt, hiding the brand from sight.

“Thenwhat is true?”

“One,we don’t live forever. But it does stretch things out a bit.” Hechuckled. “You pretty much stop physically aging once you’rebranded. Good thing, or I’d have half a century’s worth of gray hairfrom all you kids stressin’ me out.”

Lightningdid not laugh. She still felt something akin to horror, though Sazh’snonchalant attitude and her own logic were calming her down a bit.“But why were you branded? I’ve always heard that l'cie werejust tools for war.”

“LikeI said, stories.” Sazh waved a hand. “Yeah, sure, some were madefor war, but most l'cie are branded to carry out a certain purpose,whether for war or whatever else.”

“Andlet me guess,” Lightning said, her head starting to clear, “yourpurpose is to annoy me?”

“Close.”He chuckled again. “Nah, the old queen’s mother put in a good wordfor me with Phoenix. I kinda fell into the adviser role and the royalfamily was damn impressed. They asked if I wanted to do it forlonger, and well…” He shrugged. “Here I am. ‘Course, I’d go outto ally kingdoms or whatnot. In Duchess Vanille’s case, her parentsdied when she was barely a kid, so I kept an eye on her. I only knowPrincess Fang through her, though.”

“Isee.” And she did, actually. The initial shock had finally wornoff. Honestly, she couldn’t see why someone would want to live foryears and years doing the sort of thing Sazh did, but now she knewhow he was so good at his job…literal years of practice. “And I’mguessing this is common knowledge among the other royals?”

“Well,yeah. I’m everywhere, you know.” He tapped the side of his head.“Can’t do much to hide that.”

“Isuppose not.” Of course she was the last to know…but then again,she always seemed to be the last to know things lately, sowhat did one more thing matter?

“Onthat note, I’ve got some other things I need to do.” The tone inSazh’s voice had gone so serious that it made Lightning glance upfrom her letter and frown in confusion.

“Whatthings?”

“Geez,so nosy.” He shook his head. “Don’t you worry about it. Finishyour letters and I’ll have one of the assistants come in andproofread them.”

Sherolled her eyes. “Sure.”

Hewas already halfway out the door, but still called out as thought heactually had eyes in the back of his head. “I saw that!”

Lightningshook her head and stared back down at her letter to Vanille, tappingher pen against the paper a few times. Even though it’d been quitesome time since she’d been found as Eden’s princess, the formalityand unspoken rules still baffled her. Ever since meeting a bunch ofthem at her introduction ball, however, she’d seen that many of themfound some of the rules and etiquette archaic as well.

Sowhy did they have to do it?

Shesighed heavily and slumped in her chair – a posture that Sazh wouldfrown upon, but for once, she was blessedly alone. Not even a maidwas to be seen, although she could hear people puttering in thehallways outside her office. It was so rare these days she couldactually be by herself. Usually she at least had her personalbodyguard with her…

“No,”she muttered, chiding herself. She would not think about him.She would not wonder where he’d gone after running from her atthe ball, and she would certainly not replay the images oftheir kiss in her mind.

Nope.Not her.

Lightningheaved another sigh and shoved the papers aside, going back tostaring out the window. Concentration was clearly useless, at leastfor now. She may as well take advantage of Sazh not being around todemand her to do stuff.

–

Itwas only a few days later when she got the news.

Shewas in the sitting area of her suite, talking to Serah on the phone –an encrypted, ridiculously secure line, of course. Actually beingable to see her sister would’ve been better, but Serah wascompletely swamped with work at the university and couldn’t get away.

Therewas always, however, time for a phone call.

“Ijust don’t get what you see in him,” Lightning muttered, scribblingin the margins of her scrap paper. She was still working on thoseletters and had been trying to think of good things to say SnowVilliers, Patron of Yusnaan. It was exceedingly difficult.

Forher, anyway.

“He’sso sweet!” Serah basically swooned over the phone. “And don’t youthink he’s handsome? I wonder if he’ll wear the same outfit at myintroduction ball.”

Lightningfrowned. “He’s a big lug that kept stepping on my feet.”

“Notto mention that you can tell he really cares about his people.”Serah kept going on like her sister had said nothing. “Maybe it’sbecause he was elected? I mean, I know you care about everyone in thekingdom, but some of the other royals who have lived it since theywere born….it’s different for them. Don’t you think so?”

Unconsciously,Lightning’s grip on her phone tightened. He’d said that to her morethan once.

Youknow what it’s like on the other side. You’ll be able to bring realchange.

Herstomach fluttered and she willed the door to knock – something,anything to let her know that her personal bodyguard wascoming back.

Knock-knock.

Shestared at the door. Could it be…?

“YourHighness?”

Hershoulders drooped so quickly that she nearly dropped the phone. Sherecognized the quiet voice of Yeul, one of her maids. With a heavysigh, she called out, “Just a moment!”

“Sis?Do you want me to leave?”

“Sorry,Serah.” Lightning heaved another sigh. “I have to go. I’ll callyou back tonight, okay?”

“Okay!I should probably get back to all this homework.” Her tone grewteasing. “You think they’d let a princess catch a break.”

“Ifyou’d wanted to catch any breaks, you wouldn’t have applied to themost prestigious university in the world,” Lightning teased back.“I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay.Love you!”

“Youtoo.”

Anotherquiet knock sounded at the door. This time, Lightning stood, herposture automatically straight as she smoothed down her clothes. Asthere hadn’t been anything urgent on her schedule for the day, she’dopted for comfortable slacks and a thin cashmere sweater – clothingshe’d take over diamond-studded ball gowns any day.

“Comein.”

Yeulentered the room, dropping into a curtsy. All of the servantscontinued to be ridiculously formal around her, despite herinsistence otherwise. It was sort of why she appreciated Sazh naggingher all the time, though hell would freeze over before she’d admitit.

Andspeak of the devil…

“Mr.Katzroy requests that you join him in the conference room, YourHighness.”

Lightningfrowned, the request immediately striking her as odd. Usually Sazhsought her out himself when he needed something, or at least wouldbring her to whatever room he needed. Especially since this palacewas ridiculously huge and she still didn’t always know her wayaround.

“Conferenceroom?”

“Yes.”Yeul bowed her head. “Allow me to escort you.”

“Sure.”Lightning was all too happy to leave her papers and thoughts ofwriting to Snow behind…although surely whatever Sazh had plannedfor her would be just as annoying.

Itturned out she wasn’t too far off.

Yeulmurmured something into a speaker that was attached to the earpieceshe was wearing, presumably telling her coworkers where she was. Therest of the walk was fairly quiet, which was fine with her. Lightningwas more than okay with staring at the paintings and pricelessartifacts that adorned the walls. A lot of them were portraits of herextremely distant ancestors. Apparently she and Serah would have tosit for portraits at some point and then they’d be on the wallsforever. It was a very weird thought.

Whenthe finally reached the conference room, Yeul curtsied again beforeopening one of the wide doors. “Her Highness, Princess Lightning,has arrived,” she called, her soft voice echoing into the emptyroom.

“Thanks,”Lightning said, nodding at Yeul before she stepped inside. There wasa weird flash of gold that struck Yeul’s eyes, but it was probablyjust glare from all the artifacts around them. Weird.

Theconference room was huge, with tons of folded seats and what lookedlike a stage and podium. It reminded her a bit of a theater withoutthe screen. “Sazh?”

“Overhere.” He was off to the side, where there was a table and somechairs covered with papers. She hurried over to him. “Always makin’an old man wait, huh?”

“Yeah,yeah.” It felt weird to comment on that since now she had a roughidea of just how old Sazh really was. “How come you calledme here?”

“Nobodyever uses this room and I wanted to inform you of something inprivate.”

Instantly,Lightning’s heart began to pound. For whatever reason, her firstthought was of the night of the ball. Had someone seen them out onthe balcony? Was there some protocol about a princess and herbodyguard sharing a kiss?

“It’sabout your coronation.”

Shelet out a huge breath she hadn’t even known she’d been holding,slumping in her seat a bit. She ignored the evil eye Sazh gave her.“What about it?”

“Asyou know, the old family kept their power tightly reigned.” Themore he spoke, the more serious Sazh became. It was weirdlyoff-putting. “All of the descendants have been, more or less,direct from the first king. Kinda a cut and dry family tree, evenwith all the marriages and what have you.”

“Right.”Lightning vaguely recalled this when she’d been forced to study theold family. The crown almost always went to the firstborn son ordaughter, which wasn’t so unusual for royalty, she supposed, but thefamily tree was streamlined to the point where many of thefirstborn’s siblings rarely got married or had children of their own.It was why she and Serah being a part of all of this was basicallyunprecedented.

Veryweird.

“LikeI told you, I’ve had some dealings with the old family. And I’m notthat old to remember the first king, but there’s a reason theykept the family as it was.”

“Sazh,please.” Lightning was rapidly running out of patience. She wasn’treally sure why, but something in her just wanted to hear thenews already. “Get to the point.”

“Soimpatient,” he muttered. “Okay, fine – long story short – thecoronation and ruling status are only valid with approval fromPhoenix.”

Itfelt like a block of ice had suddenly dropped in her stomach,although it took her a moment to rationalize why. “Approval?”“Yes.”The serious tone in Sazh’s voice grew. “You meet with the fal'ciein a special one-on-one ceremony. Phoenix will brand you as the nextruler of Eden. Not like a l'cie,” he added hastily, whenLightning’s gaze focused on the spot where his brand was hidden.“There’s no permanent mark, although it lasts 'til you’reofficially crowned. Then you’re free to rule as you please.”

Theice turned to lead in her gut. “Okay, so I meet with Phoenix andit…approves of me.” She frowned. “Why tell me this in secrecy?This is probably common knowledge among the royals, right?”

“Yeah.Some of the others brand their rulers like this too, but Phoenix isthe most important because, well…obvious reasons and all.”

“Isee.” The perfect placeholder reply, because this whole thing madeher feel…uneasy. Phoenix was arguably the most importantfal'cie in the world. Without the sun and life it provided, therewould be no world. The fal'cie from other kingdoms couldeasily be replaced with hard work and effort from humanity.

Butthe sun? There was no replacement for that.

Theenormity of her role in the world suddenly hit her like a train. Itdidn’t matter if her sister or the other royals or certain personalbodyguards believed in her. She’d never been very good at followingrules and had always thought of herself as very independent. The factthat she was to be in charge of everything under somethingelse’s power made her want to take a sword to Phoenix just to rid theworld of it, so humanity could try to thrive on its own.

Notthat she would – or could – ever admit this out loud.

“There’sone other thing,” Sazh added when she said nothing more.

Lightningrolled her eyes a little, mostly out of habit. “What?”

Hedidn’t comment on her rudeness. “I know for a fact thatyou’re part of the royal bloodline. Ol’ Sazh did his research. Youdon’t even want to know what dusty old books and old familyrecords I had to look up to find you and your sister.”

“You’vementioned this.” She raised an eyebrow. “Many times, in fact.”

“'Causeit’s true.” There was a pause before his voice went grave.“However, if Phoenix doesn’t approve of you for whatever reason ordecides you’re not worthy of the power to rule…”

Lightningwaited a moment for him to finish, but she knew what he meant when hetrailed off. This, maybe, was the source of her instant uneasinesswhen he’d started talking. It was everything she hadn’t known she wasdreading since coming into the conference room.

“…Phoenixwill kill me.” She met his eyes. “Won’t it?”

“There’snot much of a chance it’ll disapprove of you,” Sazh repliedquickly. She wondered who he was trying to convince. “Like I said,I did my research and you’re a part of the bloodline. I’ve heardthat’s all it really cares about. It’s not like the fal'cie reallygive a damn about human affairs, y'know?”

“Right.”She ignored the unsaid words – there was still that chance Phoenixwould cast her aside and everything would be for nothing.

Betterme than Serah.

Thatwas what it always came down to, the first thought her instinct wentto. Serah was the one who deserved a comfortable life withresponsibilities chosen by her and not some rule or bloodline. It wasbecause of her sister that Lightning had worked her ass off when theywere still in the slums, doing everything she could to give Serahever opportunity possible.

Shenever thought there was the possibility it could lead to her death.

Butwhat about her role now? Though she hadn’t asked for any of this, shewas slowly finding herself eager to make changes around the kingdomof Eden and make things better for people who weren’t long-lostmembers of the royal family.

“You’veseen both sides. I think that’ll eventually come to be your biggeststrength.”

Eventhough she kept trying not to think about a certain personalbodyguard, his words from the ball popped into her head. She’d alwaystaken his reassurance to heart, but now it had a thousand times moremeaning.

Thoughshe would never deny that Serah had also suffered in the past,Lightning had always watched out for her and sacrificed somuch to ensure that her needs were met. Their experiences weredifferent because of that.

Nobodyhad ever looked out for Lightning until now.

Andbecause of that, she was the only one who could truly changethings.

Shewas quiet for another moment as though contemplating, but short ofrunning away, there was really only one answer. There had only everbeen one answer.

Lightningsucked in a breath and met Sazh’s eyes, trying to steel herself withdetermination.

“Whatdo I need to do before meeting with Phoenix?”

–

Aswith practically everything related to this princess business, thepre-ceremony rituals were completely over the top and ridiculous.Someday she’d realize that nobody around here ever did things simply.

Overthe next couple of days, she rehearsed the ancient words that wouldsummon Phoenix to an audience with her. A handful of older maids –ones that had been tasked with all of the ritual business with theold family – helped her with cleansing baths and created theceremonial outfit. They were all sworn to secrecy.

Shefigured that made sense. If she was killed by Phoenix, it’d beeasier in the long run to play it off as some kind of accident ratherthan the most important fal'cie in the world rejecting her.

Butshe tried not to think about that. Besides the maids – and Sazh, ofcourse – the only other person who knew about the upcoming ceremonywas Serah, and that was simply because there was no way shewas keeping this a secret from her sister.

Lightningdidn’t mention the risks, though. Some things were better kept quiet.

“Snowtalks to Pandaemonium sometimes,” Serah mused over the phone. Itwas the night before Lightning’s meeting with Phoenix and she decidedshe’d needed the distraction. “Maybe he could give you advice!”

“Idon’t want any advice from that big lug.” She rolled her eyes, notwanting to admit she was curious, but… “…Talks to it how?”

Serah’svoice was a little knowing, but she didn’t tease. “He told me it’snot so much words. It’s not like conversing with a person – thefal'cie send images and they get clearer the more you have a mutualunderstanding.” She hummed a little. “Maybe it’s easy for himbecause he was elected the Patron.”

“Ormaybe his head’s so empty that the images come easier because there’snothing in the way.”

“Sis.”Serah huffed in exasperation. “Be nice.”

“I’dbe nicer if you were less interested in him.”

“Buthe’s so sweet!”

“Hmph.”This was what she wanted to worry about – who was goodenough for her sister and ridiculous things like that…not if thefal'cie who basically sustained the world was going to kill her.

Shecouldn’t let herself think about it.

Luckily,Serah was eager to keep chatting – mostly about Snow, toLightning’s disgust – and her nerves settled somewhat. Her sisterwas the one person who could distract her from this whole princessthing.

Well,her and another person, but she didn’t want to think about him,either.

Thenight passed quickly and soon Lightning was too tired to even hold upthe phone. She fell asleep quickly without having time to dwell onthe ceremony the next day. Just as planned.

Ironically,the sun woke her gently the following morning, which was a nicechange from her alarm going off or someone knocking on her door. Infact, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d woken up so calmly.

Ifonly it was enough to make up for what was about to happen.

Thecalm was unfortunately short-lived, because about thirty secondsafter she’d stood up and stretched, someone knocked at her door.

“YourHighness?”

Lightningsighed heavily, immediately recognizing the voice of the oldest ofthese in-the-know maids. “Come in.”

Therewere three of them and they filed in slowly, their hands clasped infront as they walked. She realized this was an incredibly serious andformal situation, but the realness of it smacked her in the face atthe sight of the maids looking so grave. That lead block that’dformed in her gut when Sazh initially told her about all of hisreturned in full force.

“Thisway.” One of the maids gestured to her ensuite bathroom, whereanother maid was already running the water. Lightning could see heradding special oils and herbs to the tub, apparently part of thewhole cleansing ritual.

Shewas already long used to shedding her modesty in front of otherpeople since this whole princess thing had become a part of her life,but she’d never hated it more than she had at this second. Undressingand slipping into the tub in front of the others just made this wholething feel weird and awkward and way more serious than she wanted itto be. It didn’t help that she knew arguing was useless; the oldestmaid had a glare that could probably take down Sazh – a trait she’dlove to learn, to be honest. Maybe she’d ask for lessons later.

Providedshe survived Phoenix’s judgment, of course.

Withthat thrilling thought in mind, Lightning allowed herself to be driedafter the bath and wrapped in a robe. She had to admit that whateverhad been added to the bath made her skin feel like new. There’d neverbeen any time or money to bother with girly lotions and potionsbefore Sazh had found them, but maybe there was some merit in it.

Onceshe was sufficiently dry, she was led into her enormous walk-inwardrobe, where the ceremonial gown was waiting for her. It wasactually quite a beautiful dress – a flowing garment in shades ofgold, white, and blue. There was a cape with a long train attached tothe back, maybe just to add to the ridiculousness. Phoenix’s brandwas embroidered along the edges in gold.

Themaids helped her into the gown and simple gold shoes. One of themclasped a gold bracelet with multicolored stones around her wrist.

“What’sthis?” Lightning asked, lifting her arm to inspect the bracelet. Anumber of jewels were kept in her wardrobe and a lot were in storage,but she was fairly sure she’d never seen this one before. It wasweirdly flashy and simple at once.

“Agift from Phoenix, Your Highness,” the youngest of the maidsanswered (although 'young’ in this case was about eighty years old).“It’s said that that fal'cie itself put it on the wrist of thefirst king. Ever since then, it’s been a tradition to wear it to theMeeting.”

Lightningsuddenly lost all interest in the bracelet and dropped her arm. “Oh.”

Thefinal part of her outfit was a headpiece that fit snugly in her hair.Long lines of gold extended from the band in varying lengths, thelongest about a foot. It formed a semicircle around her head – madeto resemble rays of the sun, she realized as she looked in a mirror.

“Whenyou’re ready, we’ll escort you,” the oldest maid said after apause.

“…Right.”Lightning let out a breath. “Let’s get this over with.”

Ifany of them found her comment weird, they made no mention. Instead,they simply ushered her out of her suite. The hallway – whichusually had people milling about cleaning and whatnot – was emptyexcept for them. Two of the maids stood on either side and one was infront to lead the way.

Theywalked like that the whole time in silence, the only sound being thewhoosh of her cape flowing over the floor. Usually Lightning reveledin quiet, but this silence felt way too heavy. It carried foreboding.

Doom.

Still,all she did was recite her summoning words in her mind, hoping shewouldn’t forget them. She’d never been one to crack under pressure,but this was a whole different level.

Itseemed like they’d walked for miles before they finally stopped infront of an enormous door. Lightning realized she’d actually passedthis area a handful of times, but the door was nondescript and tuckedaway, so she’d never given thought to what could be behind it.

Themaid in front slowly pulled the door open. Sunlight poured in and shetried not to squint at the glare.

“Wecan go no further,” the maid said. “Please head forward for yourceremony.”

“Thanks.”

Theyall curtsied in unison as she stepped into the light, not risinguntil the door slowly creaked shut behind her. Forget the lead in hergut; her stomach was doing cartwheels by now.

“Thatyou?”

Lightningnever thought she’d be so damn grateful to hear Sazh’s voice. She letout a breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding and hurried over –as much as she could in this outfit, anyway – and even though hestill looked grave and serious, it was still a relief to be aroundsomeone normal.

Well,normal to her, anyway.

“Ididn’t think you’d be here,” she said, trying to sound composed. “Ithought it might be against the rules or whatever.”

Despitethe serious expression on his face, Sazh smirked a little. “Whathave I been tellin’ you? There’s no getting rid of me. Besides, youhave any idea what you’re doing right now?”

Lightninglooked around the room for the first time. It was weirdly bright andwhite, though she could vaguely make out ornate designs on the wallsin gold. Ahead of her was more brightness and – was that fog?

Yeah,she was totally lost.

“Thoughtso,” was all Sazh replied at the look on her face. “All right,lemme lead you through it. Ask your questions or forever hold yourpeace.”

“Justtell me how to get to Phoenix,” she replied. “I want to get thisover with.”

“Fairenough.” He shook his head in exasperation and then gestured to theweirdly bright, foggy area in front of them. “Head forward untilyou see a crystal. It’ll be floating in midair, so try not to freak.”

“I’veseen freakier things.”

“Yeah,yeah.” He rolled his eyes, which was oddly comforting. “Once youget to the crystal, hold cup your hands around it.” Sazh held uphis own hands to demonstrate. “Then recite the summons you’veundoubtedly memorized. That should take you right to Phoenix.”

Lightningheld up her hands in the same way Sazh had. “Crystal, hands,recite. I think I’ve got it.”

“Youdo.” He stared at her a moment and then sighed, bowing his head abit before nodding. “You really do. You’ve got this.”

Ifthat was his way of saying he was sure she’d survive…the confidenceactually worked somewhat. Much to her annoyance, Sazh really did knowa lot and she trusted him. It was not guarantee, but at leastit was something.

“Right,”she murmured, squaring her shoulders. “I’ll be back.”

“We’llbe waiting.”

Asshe headed into the fog, Lightning could’ve sworn she heard somefootsteps echoing behind her, but she did not dare to look over hershoulder. Eyes front. If she lost her nerve now, she’d never be ableto do this again.

Timelost all meaning as she walked through the light and fog. There wasno comfort in it, but oddly enough, she had no fear, either. MaybeSazh’s confidence in her had actually worked. Maybe it was becauseshe had to survive for Serah.

Maybeit was because, according to a certain personal bodyguard, she couldbring about real change.

Shehad no idea how long she’d walked before the crystal appeared infront of her. It was shaped a bit like a diamond and reflectedrainbows into the whiteness around her. Just as she was supposed to,she hovered her hands around it and closed her eyes, bowing her headas she spoke.

“OMighty fal'cie Phoenix, I seek you so that I may govern in yourblessed name. Guide me to your knowing light so that I may humblygaze upon you.”

Shefelt stupid chanting the words, especially since she wasn’t quitesure how much she believed in them. Apparently belief didn’t matter,though, because the crystal suddenly blinded her – even though hereyes were still closed – and she had the sensation of movement. Itfelt like falling, but she was still upright. Lightning didn’t dareopen her eyes in case it broke some kind of spell. Sazh hadn’tmentioned any of this! She was definitely going to rant at himwhen she got back.

Ifshe got back.

Whenthings finally stilled, Lightning took a moment to breathe, her eyesstill closed. It was extremely unusual for her to just stand aroundand put herself in any sort of vulnerable position, but what wasn’tunusual about all of this?Surely a breather wasn’t out of line.

Therewas about ten second of silence before an unfamiliar rumbling noiseand a flash of head made her finally open her eyes. She could notcontain the gasp that ripped through her at what was before her.

“Phoenix.”

Thefal'cie was long and skinny on both ends, with smaller pieces of itsbody – was that a body? - extending from it. Whether theseparts were something otherworldly, nature, machine – she had noidea. In the middle it was round, filled with a light so bright thatshe couldn’t stare for long.

Itwas nothing like she had ever seen or imagined.

Ofcourse she had seen fal'cie before. Most everyone had. There weresmaller ones that worked in separate jurisdictions in Eden, doingvarious tasks like providing electricity or things for export. Notall of them in other kingdoms made themselves hidden, either. Theywere just a part of the landscape and a part of life thatnobody really took notice of them.

Nowshe understood why Phoenix was hidden away.

Itwas impossible not to take notice.

Lightningstepped forward unconsciously, not sure if she wanted to run towardsit or away. She felt dazed, which was not a sensation she wasa fan of, but what else could she do?

Therewas noise coming from the fal'cie, but she wasn’t sure if it wastrying to speak or if that was just how it sounded naturally. Surelysomething so massive and powerful couldn’t be completely silent.

Thesounds were like screams and whispers all at once, having thestrength to ruffle her gown and cape, but somehow not loud enough tohear. Something about it made her want to take a sword to the massivebeing in front of her, but who was she to deny the world of this?

Andthen it happened.

Phoenixcried out and a beam of light shot right towards her, too quickly toavoid. It scorched her chest, painful yet not. She could feel theswirls and intricacies of Phoenix’s brand, letting it become a partof her and she now was of it.

Blurry,hurried images flooded into her mind. Lightning vaguely recalledSerah mentioning Snow’s experience with his fal'cie, that the imagesbecame clearer with mutual understanding.

Butshe and Phoenix had no understanding. She still couldn’t tellwhether she hated it or wanted to give thanks. There was anunderlying buzz of Phoenix not knowing what to make of her, either –just that she was of the bloodline and she could ruleunscathed.

Theimages she saw were most of people she only vaguely recognized fromthe portraits in the palace – memories of her extremely distantancestors. Some were of the stars and moon, extensions of the fal'ciefrom even farther away than this. One image would come, only to beimmediately replaced by another, and she could make no real sense ofthem.

Untilthat moment.

“Hope?!”

Everythingwas still so fast, but now Lightning willed her mind to slow,anything so that she could sort out why Phoenix was showingher images of her personal bodyguard.

Shesaw Hope, handsome as ever, talking to a group of people in a glassbuilding that gleamed with perfection.

Anotherof him in a white and yellow outfit that seemed strangely familiar –but it wasn’t the garb he wore as her bodyguard.

Himtalking to a shorter woman who, again, seemed oddly familiar.

Hiseyes sliding to look at Phoenix.

Hishands working on something that could have been otherworldly, nature,or machine.

Hisgaze on her for a thousand different reasons, most worthy of asecret.

Hisshame as he ran off from her at ball.

Inthat instant, something clicked in Lightning’s mind, though her heartwas pounding and her breath was coming too fast to really sort itout. The images abruptly stopped and the brand on her chest cooled.

“Howdo you expect me to - ”

Shedidn’t get to finish her sentence before there was that sensation offalling again. Phoenix had dismissed her?! She’d survived itsjudgment, but for what?

Therewas no making sense of it. Time had no meaning.

Whenshe stopped falling, Lightning opened her eyes in a daze and emergedfrom the light, a bit surprised to see Sazh, but also -

“Hope,”she whispered, her heart pounding again. It was too much for her bodyand mind. Her knees shook and she pitched forward.

Butlike any good personal bodyguard, Hope raced to her, his eyes widewith panic as he caught her. She settled into his arms so easily –too easily.

“Light,”he said, her name hardly a gasp. His eyes darted to Phoenix’s brand,which was on the left side of her chest, impossible to miss againsther pale skin. “Light, why? Whydid you do it?”

She stared up at him, a thousandimages replaying in her mind in an instant. How could she possiblyput them together in a way that made sense?

But maybe shealready had.

Her hand reached up to shakily brushsome of his bangs from his worried face. Worried for who, shewondered?

“You’re not a bodyguard,” shemurmured.

Theneverything went black.

[ilovemygaydad]

Dance, Dance

Part One: Introductions

Based off this post that you really need to read for context!

Pairings: Analogical and Royality (past sleeplogical)

Characters: Virgil, Patton, Logan, Roman, Sleep/Remy, Deceit/Dominic, October/Toby, September/Ember

Warnings: domestic abuse, swearing, sexual humor, crude comments, bullying, making out, abusive deceit, i can’t think of anything else but tell me if you want me to tag something

A/N: Thank you to @wisepuma23 for being excited about this for me! Also, if the scenes seem weird, it’s because I’m trying to incorporate a bunch of povs because the movie is like that and it’s!!! important!!! oh and uhhhhh sorry for not writing since literally before the new blog but i’m dumb so yeah

Masterlist | Ask Blog | READ ON AO3

The shrill call of the intercom startled Virgil awake. It beeped, but no voice came out. Frustrated, Virgil slammed the talk button and spoke through gritted teeth. “What?”

“Virgil, do not get sassy with me. Your phone privileges are still on thin ice,” Dominic drawled.

“Of course. Sorry.” Virgil wanted so, so bad to bludgeon the damned intercom.

“Get me breakfast. I want eggs benedict and a grande in a venti cup of nonfat vanilla chai tea filled to the top with cream and three Stevias. THREE! Oh, and bring it here in five minutes. And get the twins their breakfasts.” The intercom clicked off.

Great! Virgil thought. What a totally realistic goal for me to accomplish. Fucking kill me.

And, needless to say, Virgil didn’t have the stupid eggs and the even more stupid drink in five minutes, so Dominic made Virgil cough up his phone for the next two months. And then the twins dumped their smoothies onto him because they weren’t right. Virgil had to change his clothes and then make new smoothies.

Virgil barely made it out the door in time due to his chores, and then he almost forgot his skateboard, so by the time that he had rolled up to Patton’s beat-up van, he was late. Patton gave him a quizzical look, but he just shook his head and climbed into shotgun.

Once they started their journey to school, Virgil actually took in what Patton was wearing. The top half was pretty normal looking; Pat’s purple-streaked curls were neatly swooped back, and he had on one of Virgil’s old flannel shirts. On his bottom half, he had—

“Patton, are you wearing a blue tutu?”

The friend in question grinned. “Yeah! I think that it perfectly fits my playful personality!”

Virgil suppressed a smile. “It sure does, Pat.”

“I think I’m going to add tutus to my future fashion line. It’s a winner for sure. And then I’ll get famous, and you’re going to become an all-star dancer, so I can pick you up in my private jet for lunch in Paris!” Patton spoke animatedly, flinging his hands around and ignoring the road. Virgil, practically used to it already, took the wheel in his own hands to make sure they wouldn’t go off road.

“Dude, I have to get into dance school before I can become famous.”

“Yeah, but you’re gonna!” Patton waved dismissively at Virgil’s worries. “Oh, anyway, did you hear that Logan Parker is coming back today?”

“Obviously. I live—turn right—with Toby, Ember, and Dominic. I never hear the end of that shiiii… stuff. Never hear the end of that stuff.”

Patton shrugged. “Fair.”

Virgil rolled his eyes and began to rummage around his pocket for a second, pulling out a pan of black eyeshadow. He flipped down the visor to use the mirror, but as he let go, the whole visor clattered to the floor, completely unhinged. “Fuck, Patton. Would it kill you to fix this thing?”

“Don’t upset her! She’s sensitive, and I don’t want her breaking down on me!” He paused for a second before smirking at his best friend. “Plus, it’s not like you really need the mirror to apply your eyeshadow, anyway.”

“Fuck off.”

“Oh, you love me.”

“I wish you were dead.”

Patton just smiled pleasantly, pulling into the parking lot. “Okay, dear.”

It took a whole ten seconds to swipe on the eyeshadow under Virgil’s eyes. As soon as he was done, he stepped out of Patton’s awful van and took a step onto the sidewalk.

“Honestly, Ember. I can’t believe you still drink those awful frappuccinos! They’re so full of sugar,” Remy Sinclair drawled, driving his silver convertible with his two cronies. “Black coffee is obviously superi—oh.” Remy had spotted Virgil.

Shit!

The black coffee in Remy’s hand flew right onto the front of Virgil’s shirt. The boys in the car all laughed; though, it sounded more like a cackle. “Oh, Virgil. I’m so sorry!”

From the van, Patton started to yell, “You’ll be sorry when I shove my fist up your—”

Virgil rushed to put his hand over Patton’s mouth, and Remy just drove away.

“Loganloganloganloganloganlo—”

“Roman, I swear to god. If you don’t stop that insufferable babbling, I will throw you out the window of this limousine on the 405.”

Roman pouted. “You won’t pay attention to me.”

“Yeah, well,” Logan muttered as he flipped over his schedule again. “I would like to know where my classes are so I don’t look like an idiot on my first day back.”

“You’ve read that thing a billion times! Can’t we get hyped for all of your fans—”

“Roman. For the last time, I am here to learn. You are free to spend your time frivolously flirting with every guy with a pulse; however, I am dedicating this year to my education.”

“Ugh, fine. You’re no fun!” Roman huffed, crossing his arms. “Are you at least excited for school?”

Logan smiled at Roman for the first time during their ride. “Yes, actually, I am. Thank you for asking. Are you?”

“I’m excited if you’re excited. You know how much I love to see you smile, man.”

“It almost sounds like you’re into me, Ro,” teased Logan. Roman’s eyes widened for a second, but when he saw Logan’s tiny smirk, he calmed down.

“Mr. Parker?” The driver was looking at the duo in the rearview mirror. “We have arrived at the school.”

“OH MY GOD, IT’S LOGAN PARKER!”

“Oh my god, Pat, Logan Parker is here. What a surprise! It’s almost like he goes here again,” Virgil mocked, turning as a swarm of people ran to the entrance. When he wasn’t being shoved around, he was able to see Logan Parker’s tall, lean figure looming above most of the students fawning over him. Someone else—a slightly shorter and far more muscular boy in clothes more fancy than should ever be on a teenager—stood at his side, a charming grin on his face. But seriously, who wore black dress pants, a white button up, and a red vest to school? This kid, apparently.

Patton both physically and mentally tore Virgil from the scene. “C’mon, let’s get to class before we’re literally run over.”

Logan shot a panicked glance at Roman as the hoard of kids surrounded them. He was used to crowds, sure, but not at his freaking school! He was trying desperately to be a normal teenager for once, damn it! He couldn’t even arrive at school without making a scene.

“Hey, hey, hey, friends and fans!” Roman shouted. Logan recoiled away from the noise, physically feeling all of the love that he felt for Roman drain out of his body in one fell swoop.

The crowd screamed in response:

”I love you, Logan!”

“I’m your biggest fan!”

“Logan, I wanna fuck you!”

Gross. Why couldn’t people understand that he was ace?

“Right, well, I know that you’re all super excited to see Logan, but we’re here to learn! Well, he’s here to learn.” Roman made eye contact with a handsome boy and winked. “We’ll be doing a meet and greet after school—” Oh, and there was more of that screaming— “For now, though, we’re going to get to class! Part ways, everyone! Roman Ellington and Logan Parker coming through!”

Somehow—and Logan had no idea what kind of witchcraft that Roman pulled—the crowd made way for them to pass. As the pair walked into the school, Logan pulled Roman close.

“What the fuck do you mean ‘we’re having a meet and greet after school,’ Roman?” he snarled. His bright smile never faltered.

“I had to placate them somehow! And it worked, didn’t it? It’ll only be an hour, and then you can go home and do whatever it is that you asexuals like to do.”

“God, don’t phrase it like that—and you owe me big time, Roman. Like, Crofters for a month big.”

Roman muttered something about how expensive that would be, but he cut himself off. “Shit! Logan, watch out—”

SMACK!

All of the books and papers that Virgil was carrying flew out of his hands, fluttering to the ground like snow as he was bumped to the floor. He had stopped paying attention for, what, two whole seconds, and someone just happened to slam into him. Not to mention that he probably had a concussion with how aggressively he was flung to the ground.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” The voice paused for a second, and another one yelped. “Roman, what the hell did you push me for?” Virgil groaned and looked up.

Oh. It was Logan Parker. Great.

“It’s fine. Uh, don’t—fuck, ow—don’t worry about it.” Virgil vaguely waved his hand and shoved himself up into a sitting position.

“Here, wait. Let me help you up.” Logan held out his hand for a moment, but it was pulled away to spin him towards—what a fucking surprise—Remy. Who then pulled him into a deep kiss. Right in the hallway.

“Logan! I’ve missed you so much!” Remy squealed, ignoring the way that Logan winced and tried to protest. “Oh my god, I’ve got to show you the dance studio. You’re going to love it.”

And they were gone in a flash.

The weird dressed guy who was always with Logan stepped into Virgil’s line of view with an apologetic smile. “Uh, sorry about Logan, kind sirs. Things are still very wild after the move, though I’m sure you can tell.”

“Yeah…” Virgil said, rubbing his head.

The boy’s eyes flicked to Patton, and he smiled more genuinely. “Nice tutu.”

“Thank you! Uh, I think…” A light dusting of pink spread across Patton’s cheeks, and Virgil was already loathing having to deal with a crushing Patton.

“Of course! Oh, where are my manners? I’m Roman Ellington, Logan Parker’s best friend and manager. You guys can call me The Prince.” He winked at Patton.

Virgil decided that enough was enough. “Yeah, sure thing, Princey. Oh, and you might want to go after Logan. It looked like Remy was planning to drag him to the studio for some, uh, ‘dancing.’”

“Yeah…” Roman winced. “I’ll see you two later, um…?”

“Patton! And this is Virgil.”

Roman took Patton’s hand gently. “Until next time, dear Patton.” Roman kissed the hand as punctuation and walked away.

“Oh my god… Virge, I think I’m in love.”

“Jesus. Come on, Patton. I need to get you to a cold shower before homeroom.”

Part Two

[mechaspirit]

Medicine

Author’s note: This take place in an alternate timeline of Endless Summer. Just an idea I got from a Yaoi fanfic. Don’t ask. Hope you guys enjoy! 😉

Tagging: @scgdoeswhat , @princesstopgun , @queenaryn , @itsagoodluckkiss,@sophie-summer , @xo-endlessmayhem-xo , @endlessly-searching-for-you , @sceptilemasterr , @blightarts and@daniela2510 and@mysteli !

Pairings: JakexMC

Summary: In the village of Elyystel, Jake got sick and refuse to take his medicine prepared by the Vaanti.

“Ugh, finally we found them all. This better be worth a search, Uqzhaal! We literally have Estela killed a baby turtle for that!”

“Poor Squirt.”

The old Vaanti shaman examined the ingredients and nodded approvingly.

“This is enough to help out Lupus, Ursa, and Serpens. You all have done well, Catalysts! I will prepare the cure right away!”

Long story short, the gang encountered a strange plant near the Vaanti Village that they have never seen before. And thanks to Craig for messing with it, the plant spread out strange pollens that infected him, Jake, and Aleister. Now that they have to find the ingredients to make the medicine otherwise the flu will get worse.

Everything has gone well by the time Uqzhaal is finished with the medicine, which much to everyone’s horror, smells and looks pretty bad. Craig managed to take his without any problem, since he has a cast-iron stomach and all. Aleister also managed to take his, but then quickly passed out in Grace’s arms once he found that there’s turtle blood in there.

And now there’s Jake, who’s practically the only one who didn’t take the medicine, yet. This frustrates Michelle, who had already been inside the hut the pilot is in to check on him, and she immediately starts cursing in Vietnamese after explaining to everyone else about the situation. While Quinn tries to calm the pre-med down, Yurika volunteers herself to give Jake a second batch of medicine and went into his hut. Turns out that Michelle wasn’t exaggerating when she had a hard time giving the medicine to him.

“Jake, stop acting like a baby. Your fever’s getting worse. Michelle is already threatening you with her scalpels after her attempts at making you take this medicine-” “Like you would call that liquid shit a medicine, Princess.” Jake scoffed, pointing at the greenish-brownish concoction in the glass that rested on the stand. He then was thrown into a coughing fit which made Yurika rolled her eyes at him. “…Made by the Vaanti,” she pointed out, “My point is that you need to take this because this is the only way that can make you feel better.” “The answer is still a ‘no’.” Yurika sighed and glared at the pilot regarding a look ‘is that your final answer’, only to be met with Jake glaring right back. Time for a drastic measure. “Alright, Top Gun. You have two choices. You can either take this medicine willingly or I can force it down your throat.”

Jake stared at the younger woman skeptically before letting out a laugh. “You, Princess, are going to force that shit in my throat? Ha, I would like to see you try.”

Ticked off by his stubbornness, Yurika sauntered over to the pilot’s bed. And much to his surprise, she quickly climbed over and straddled onto Jake’s lap. The latter tried to retaliate by knocking off Rika and they both ended up struggling against each other until the young woman gained the upper hand by pinning Jake’s hand above him. The pilot glanced up in the position they are in and could’ve sworn that Rika managed to get better in her self-defense training.

Damn you, Katniss, he thought.

Yurika gave out a triumphant smirk right down at the ex-military pilot. She knew that if this were a regular sparring match between the two of them, Jake may have won since he’s physically stronger than Yurika. Unfortunately for him, the poor guy’s been sick for two day straight, thanks to that strange plant, and is too weak to fight back. So he lost his chance.

The young woman reached out to the night stand and grabbed the containing the medicine and mockingly swirled the cup around.

“Last chance, Jake. Do you take this medicine willingly?” Jake glared at her, which Yurika took it as a ‘no”. She rolled her eyes at him and took that disgusting drink in her mouth. (Though, not without recoiling from a bad taste).

Before Jake could even register what just happened, Yurika placed the cup down and leaned close to his face, pressing her lips against the pilot’s. The college woman could tell he was shocked by the way his body froze, so she took advantage of that and use a hand that wasn’t on Jake’s wrists to gently force his mouth opened. And for extra measure, she even slipped her tongue inside to make sure that every last drop of medicine was in, making the pilot swallowed it.

Yurika drew back and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand while the pilot stared back at her in absolute shock.

“T-The hell, Princess?!”

“Told you I was going to force the medicine down your throat,” Yurika declared in a sing-song voice.

“That was a cheap move and you know that!” Jake retorted.

“Please, that’s hardly a worse thing that could ever happened. Besides, it’s not like you didn’t enjoy that, did you?” Jake didn’t answered and Rika saw his cheeks turned red. “I thought so. Now that you have taken it, the fever should go away. At least that’s what Uqzhaal said.

Then Yurika leaned down again, clearly enjoying the reaction that she’s getting from the pilot, “But just in case it doesn’t, if you keep refusing the medicine again, then I’m going to have to keep doing that until you get better,” she closed in and gently whispered in his ears, “And who knows? I may have to do more than just kissing you, Top Gun.”

“...Evil woman,” Jake snarled as the woman cackled at his reaction. But to be really honest, a very small of Jake would reconsider continuing to refuse his medicine. And a small part of Yurika would hope that Jake would keep refusing his medicine.

Just then, a curtain flew opened towards the entrance of the hut, startling the two.

“Hey, Rika! Is everything okay here?” Diego called out, “You’ve been in here for a while and we’re just wondering if you’re-”

Diego froze at the sight in front of him, in which he saw Yurika still on top of Jake, straddling onto his waist, to the point which anyone could have thought that they were making out (which is hardly far from the truth). The Latino guy sweating nervously as the two people stared back at him, giving him bewildered looks.

“...You know what? You two seemed to be fine so...I’m just gonna go. See ya?”

Diego darted out of the hut without waiting for their answers. Jake and Yurika stared at each other before bursting into laughter.

The next few days gone by very easily at the Elyystel and the disastrous event with the plant disease subsided once the people who got infected by it managed to get better. While everyone else went off to do their duties or simply relaxing and hanging out with the Vaanti, Yurika sat on the sandy beachside of the shore, watching the Hadean Constellations in the sky with Furball laying down comfortably on her lap. It was only until she heard familiar footsteps behind her that made her smiled.

“Glad to see that you’re feeling better, Top Gun.” She called to the pilot.

“I guess I have to thank ya for that, Princess,” Jake replied as he sat next to her, “Can’t remember the last time someone have done that for me?”

“What? Forcing you to take the medicine?” Yurika joked, but immediately regret it once she saw a somber, lonely look on his face.

“No. For taking care of me for the past few days,” he told her.

Silence washed over them until the young woman decides to break it.

“Hey. You’re already part of our gang. Our family. So you’re worth it. Don’t you ever forget that.”

Yurika leaned against his shoulder in an affectionate way, much to Jake’s surprised at her words and action. But eventually, he smiled and gently pull Yurika towards him just so that she can get closer and spend the rest the night here at the shore in comfortable silence.

[glitchinthesystemspiderbyte]

[34] Glitch in the System - Self Control (Venganza pt. 5)

The final(?) chapter to Venganza, although realistically there will probably be a fair amount of followup. For those who missed it, here is Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and Part Four!

Gross old wine happens. _

“Sombra?”

Widow’s voice woke the hacker from her half-slumber, pulling her consciousness to the forefront of her mind.

“Yeah?”

“Why are you laying on the floor?”

Sombra frowned, palms feeling the cold wooden paneling, fingers stretching like spiders along the ground. Some part of her wasn’t surprised, but that wasn’t the part that was capable of speaking right then.

“The floor?” she asked, confused as she stared up at the ceiling. Somehow, she noticed every single cobweb draped against the shadows, and it bothered her more knowing that they must have been there for a long time to attain such an impressive shape. Does anyone even clean this place?

“Yes,” came the spider’s voice, more patient than the cogent part of her brain felt she probably deserved. “The floor. You are on it.”

“Oh.”

Groaning, she pushed herself up, sitting awkwardly on what she now agreed was the hard wood floor of the mansion livingroom. She wasn’t sure at what point she decided it was a good idea, but that was neither here nor there.

Widowmaker, looking much better after some time in recovery but still showing the wear and tear of her fall, reached down. “Come on,” she said, holding out her hand.

“Come on where?” Sombra asked, head spinning like a carousel, minus the horses. Mostly what she saw were vague shapes, many of which looked like her making the same mistake over and over again.

Ugh.

She took Widow’s hand, trying to ignore the comforting coolness it imparted in favor of just standing up, but in the end, she couldn’t make herself let go.

“Are you drunk?” Widow asked, her tone curious, not critical. She allowed Sombra to maintain her grip, fingers curled against her palm. It was a blessing on many fronts, as she was uncertain how adept she would have been at standing on her own right then.

“Probably,” Sombra replied miserably.

“Did you drink the whole thing?” Widow asked, looking at the empty wine bottle on the floor by the hacker’s feet. It was laying on its side, dry as a bone.

“No,” she replied, shaking her head.

Widowmaker raised an eyebrow.

“Honest. It was half empty already.”

“Come on,” Widow said, a reluctant sort of smile pulling at her lips as she slipped her arm under Sombra’s shoulders. “Let’s get you to bed.”

They stumbled up the stairs, mostly as a result of Sombra’s limited ability to find a straight line, but the spider - still strong even in her recovery - led her without incident to her bedroom. She helped the hacker into her pyjamas, despite her pitiful complaints, and tucked her into bed.

“Hey,” Sombra said, fighting as sleep gained a hold of her. She knew she’d regret drinking that wine, but she’d figured she’d at least have until the morning to deal with it. Now, with Widow watching over her when it should have been the other way around, she felt a blanket of guilt wash over her along with the down spread tucked under her chin, and wondered what had possessed her in the first place.

“Yes?” she spider asked, slipping Oso under the blankets alongside the hacker.

“I’m sorry.”

“I know,” Widow replied. Leaning over, she placed the lightest of kisses on the shaved side of Sombra’s head. “Now sleep.”

For once in her life, Sombra did as she was told.

When she woke up, she woke up confused and very dehydrated. The bed felt smaller; depressed somehow, and yet familiar at the same time. Groaning as she dragged herself to consciousness, she rolled over to find Widowmaker asleep beside her. It looked as though she’d passed out on top of the covers, fully dressed, hair pulled back into her usual tight ponytail. A part of her faintly remembered the spider stroking her hair and quietly singing her to sleep with some French lullabye, but it could just as easily have been a dream. In either case, she awoke with Alouette stuck in her head and thinking it only appropriate that Widowmaker would sing her a cute song about slowly dismembering a lark.

Sombra lay there, head pounding, watching her sleep for a long time. It had been two weeks since their incident in the warehouse, and as selfish as it sounded, sometimes she thought that Widowmaker was healing faster than she was. They hadn’t seen each other much, primarily because Widow was on bedrest up until very recently, but in part because Sombra wasn’t entirely sure how to express how desperately sorry she was. Nothing seemed adequate enough to make up for her actions, and every apology felt weaker than the one that came before. She was unpracticed in the art of atoning for her sins, mostly because she’d never been in a position to have to. Her slights were intentional; the victims never demanded an apology because they rarely knew who she even was.

As a result, she’d taken mostly to hiding in her room, diving into the endless trivial tasks foisted upon her as a thinly-veiled punishment for her actions by Akande, wondering how a person so savvy at communication could simultaneously be such a total idiot.

Sighing, she flopped on her back and stared at the ceiling.

“Good morning,” she spider said, waking up without fanfare. “How do you feel?”

“Like garbage.”

She didn’t look at Widowmaker as the sniper stood up from the bed, walking into the bathroom, figuring she’d grown tired of her already. A moment later, though, she returned, kneeling on the bed to offer Sombra a glass of water.

“You are dehydrated,” she said, holding it out. Sombra pushed herself to a seated position and took the glass of cool water, downing it in one go.

“Yeah, probably,” she said, almost instantly feeling the effects of the water on her system. Her head still ached, but the tightness in her jaw was starting to lighten up. Widowmaker held out her hand and Sombra returned the glass to her. “Thanks.”

The spider watched her out of those piercing golden eyes, holding a silence that was too long for comfort but one that Sombra was just too tired to break. Eventually Widow did it for her.

“Alcohol does not make things better,” she said, leaning against the pillow.

“No, but it makes you unconscious.” Widowmaker raised an eyebrow, and Sombra sighed. “I know. I just needed to get out of my head for a minute.”

“With a half a bottle of wine?”

“Don’t worry, it wasn’t your good wine,” she said, halfheartedly attempting a joke. She was starting to feel like she might need more than just water to stave off this hangover. “It was leftover from like a month ago.”

Widowmaker recoiled, wrinkling her nose. “You drank that?”

Sombra shrugged, offering her the barest smile. “I figured I was doing us a service by removing it from the shelf.”

“Do you want to talk?” Widowmaker asked. The change in topic was so abrupt that Sombra almost missed it and offered a joke instead of a serious response. The adrenaline from the conversational shift did help momentarily dull the pain of her headache, though.

“I’m sorry.”

“You’ve mentioned.”

Sombra winced, Widowmaker’s words feeling like a chastisement even though she didn’t think they were meant to be. She was turning this into a conversation about her, and despite her deep regret at what happened, she hadn’t been the one betrayed.

“How are you doing?” she asked, finally, eying the lingering bruises along the spider’s body, knowing that more lay just underneath the folds of her clothing. She had so few scars from her scrapes with disaster, and it cut to Sombra’s core that she was the reason for one of them.

“Physically healing. Otherwise, I am sad, I think,” Widowmaker replied thoughtfully after some hesitation, hand curled under her head as she rested on her elbow. “That is the word I have settled on: I am sad.”

Sombra swallowed another ‘I’m sorry’ and searched for something more constructive to reply with. “That’s fair,” she settled on. “I would feel the same.”

“I am sad but I would like not to be.” Widow said, fingers brushing lightly against Sombra’s across the bed. Sombra turned her hand palm up and the spider took it, her cold skin a balm against the scathing heat of her failure. “It is unpleasant. You are...not supposed to make me sad, mon coeur.”

Widow’s words cut into her the way only the truth can. “I just don’t know how to make it up to you,” Sombra said simply. It was the crux of the issue, really.

“You don’t. You cannot right what you did,” she said, eyes locked on Sombra’s. “You can only do better.”

Sombra considered this, willing herself to start letting go of the guilt she held inside that was preventing her from actually mending the bridge she had nearly burned. Maybe Widow was right - perhaps she was too focused on fixing her mistakes. Maybe she just had to stop making them.

“Okay,” she said, exhaling out her frustration and guilt. “I said I would do my best, and I will. I’m going to do better.” She looked over at her. “So where do we go from here?”

Widowmaker raised a thin eyebrow and leaned forward, one arm draped over Sombra’s body as she brought herself closer to the hacker. Sombra could feel her thigh pressing against her, and a familiar heat rose to her cheeks.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Sombra said, holding back from her touch, the feeling of trepidation unfamiliar to her.

Widowmaker’s smile turned into a smirk. “It’s a kiss, cherie, not a boxing match.”

Sombra laughed, more easily than she had in weeks, and willed herself to let go of her fear as she took the sniper’s cool face in her hands. As she pressed her lips against Widow’s, she felt her world begin, slowly, to right itself.

Things were not ok - but they would be in time.

*Read from the beginning or check out our intro post! All stories tagged under #glitchfic. Table of contents located here.

[philcreateddan]

Because you and I shine

title: Because you and I shine

words: 2k

warnings: none

Dan is fond and in love and it’s embarrassing to look at.

They adore Phil. Their audience. Their shared audience. Dan has seen the comments, has read the tags and while a huge part find him attractive, they love Phil as a whole, as a complex entity reaching the point of perfection on their eyes. Dan doesn’t blame them really.

He doesn’t focus on the other spectrum of his audience, the one that won’t follow amazinphil’s channel considering it too immature or cringy or any other adjective and reasons they might have. He doesn’t blame them neither really, but doesn’t focus on them more than to find more objective opinions on his own content that, more than often, leaves him in despair.

He definitely doesn’t focus on the miniscule part, that still exists recoiled there, that actually dislike Phil. That every once in a while will get attention with a “Dan could get someone so much better” because not only they get suffocated under testaments of Phil’s own attractiveness by the rest of the defensive audience like loyal soldiers charging to battle, but also, Dan believes, getting into useless arguments with them would be wasted time.

He has noted them nevertheless and finds it intriguing. Almost amusing as long as it doesn’t get on Phil’s feelings, which never happens, but if ever Dan would go as passive aggressive as he could on his liveshow.

No, Dan finds it intriguing because it evokes an inner reflection on his own feelings.

Dan knows he doesn’t look like a walrus, unless he tries to. He knows his face is attractive enough, that his smile and dimples and even that red spot on his cheek are, as a whole, part of his good looks. He knows it. He used to take advantage of it at his teens, maybe even shelter behind it to conceal darker aspects of his personality. He simply doesn’t care anymore at his twenties.

He knows that if things had gone a different way, his looks more than most would have been enough to spot him on a good, decent life on the media or theater or even youtube as a solo career. He also knows that, with effort, it could gain him anyone his awkwardness wouldn’t scare away.

He knows that just as much as he knows Phil looks ravishingly good right now, stepping out of the shower dripping wet. Behind fog because the man almost cooks himself with hot water and then complains when the bill comes.

He catches Dan staring at him from the doorframe, half closing his eyes with difficult to see.

“Creep.”

Dan keeps on staring and smiles as Phil takes one towel and puts it around his waist. He could just stare, he has before. Instead Dan takes another clean towel and approaches Phil.

“Let me.”  He asks. Phil shrugs and nods but his mouth is suppressing a smile.

Intriguing indeed, because if he were to be asked (and he has been asked in the past) what attracted him first of Phil, he wouldn’t have any idea on what to say. What physical part of Phil he finds irreplaceable or what makes Phil, for him, the best he could get.

Mentally, of course, emotionally, deeply, their souls merged from the very beginning. They share bonds and chemistry hard to replace. Phil Lester’s mind and heart are unique and Dan is certain a lifetime of flirting would never get him someone as compatible for him.

Phil’s mind is a unique universe he has grown used to but never ceases to impress him. Dan loves being impressed.

But physically.

Physically is hard because early memories of finding Phil hot are merged with confusion and novelty and excuses from his youth. Being charmed by personalities was something young Dan was okay with but being charmed by a boy’s anatomy was a whole different thing.

It meant unlocking a door inside of him, created by social standards and talks with his school pals and even his own relationship back then. It meant finding inside of that door the palpitating desire for broad shoulders and stubbles and a palpitating pulsing weight in his mouth. And that, as a teen on a rather small town, was terrifyingly new.

But now Dan believes himself able to write thesis on Phil Lester’s body and how it’s imperfections and perfections are enough to have Dan smitten with adoration.

He dries Phil out as good and fast as he can as cold air enters through the open door. Dan feels Phil shivering a little from it now that the fog dissipates. Looks down to find an elusive drop right next to his nipple and catches it with his tongue. Maybe lingers his mouth there for a moment tasting the clean skin before tugging the towel on his waist till it loses itself and falls on the damp floor. Phil is looking at him with rose cheeks. His hair pushed back dripping on his back.

“Come to bed.” Dan requests. Phil opens his mouth, probably to complain about the coldness and wet bed sheets as expected so before he gets to do that Dan says “I have the heater on.” After a moment of hesitation Phil follows.

Dan remembers how it felt, to let go of those insecurities in private, to explore things online just to prove himself only to find out his attractions were not one way. He remembers how different it felt with Phil and how fearful Phil had been after. How Phil told him sometime after that, when they shared an apartment, that he had feared Dan had only used him to satisfy his curiosity. Dan didn’t laugh back then.

His previous partner and friends from college probably believed the same Phil did. That it was going to be a phase, that Dan wanted to learn because Phil was older and important and therefore he would feel important.

Dan believes people probably still believe that, in a way, he had faked appeal for Phil to climb faster. Easier.

He laughs at that now. With Phil on their bed, naked and beautiful and his.

Dan lies next to him, traces figures on his arm with his fingers. Phil’s skin is soft, the man likes to moisturize and sometimes smells too strongly of a random fruit after a shower. It is not a flawless skin, it has its imperfections and dots and sometimes different shades when Phil forgets to use sunscreen on his arms when he goes outside.

There are freckles and bumps and bruises and Dan has memorized each and every single one of them.

Dan kisses his chest. Open mouthed kisses, slightly sucking on skin. He isn’t going for full arousal (yet) so he lays short kisses on his nipples. Fully erect already from the change in temperature and, Dan delights himself to know, the proximity of his mouth.

There is chest hair, not much, not full on Gaston type, but that still has been enough to fell when pressed against his own chest or back. It had been one of the first things Dan had found terribly arousing and to this day makes him excited to touch and rest his head and even cum on just for the sake of watching his come dirtying and marking Phil.

He presses his fingers lightly on Phil’s adam apple, feels Phil swallowing. Their eyes meet for a moment and he can see Phil is curious but passive. He lets Dan get his way so often it doesn’t surprise him anymore.

Dan understand them really. The fans that adore Phil to the point of absurdity. His own audience usually mocks him and share an affection that involves good hearted bullying because of their sense of humor. Dan is mostly proud of them but never fully takes seriously their commentaries on his good looks.

Phil’s however.

Dan looks at Phil’s face and it is asymmetrical, his nose has a little bump on top of it, the edges are sharp and Dan finds it fascinating how everything together creates, without trying to be too corny, a masterpiece. It is a face he can’t not look at. A face that exerts a pull on him impossible to be bypassed by anyone else’s. Dan understand the fans that have been enticed by that face as well.

He doesn’t feel bad for his privilege of having it for himself to kiss and touch and taste. Which he does, because the aftershave smells good or because the stubble is a novelty or because Phil makes a stupid face that looks way too creepy. Or simply because all this years of solid commitment has settled a certain fondness in his veins for his man.

Phil pucks his lips comically and Dan laughs as he pushes himself up to kiss this dork of a man that’s all his. Takes Phil’s lower lip between his own and pulls until Phil groans. Dan laughs again, kisses him sweetly as an apology. Small pecks and when Phil lifts his head yearning for more, an overwhelming affection that has Dan having urges he usually repeals. Urges like repeating I love you over and over and over again, or order the ring he has already seen millions of times and that would fit Phil’s hand perfectly, or even taking a picture and sharing to the world just how much he adores this man and even more childish urges like rub it in their fan-base that yes, this man is his and no one else’s so suck it, ha!.

He restrains himself. Kisses every inch of Phil’s face instead until he is giggling under him complaining over how his face is going to end up covered in Dan’s saliva. (To which Dan starts licking too until Phil shrieks and pushes him away.)

“Making me sleep naked today?”

“As if you never do that.” Dan says, one hand on the other’s stomach. Tiny hair, soft, not firm. A bit bulged.

“Let me rephrase; making me the only one sleeping naked tonight?”

“Of course. You are the indecent one here.” Dan follows the trail of hair to Phil’s cock. Not entirely soft, barely hardening out of curiosity from his previous touching.

“You like me indecent.” Phil smiles, attempts to wink and fails so miserably Dan pretends it didn’t happen.

Dan shrugs and rests his head on his chest. Leaves his hand stroking Phil’s thigh and pelvis and everything in between. “It’s not a bad look on you.”

“Let’s get under the covers at least. Runny nose is a bad look on me.”

Dan would beg to differ. Red nosed, needy Phil is still one he loves. Won’t say it though. “Ugh. Disgusting.”

They get under the covers, Dan taking off most of his clothes too and when he reaches the bed again Phil already has his glasses on. I-phone on his hand. Doesn’t even look up and Dan knows he won’t because of that new game he is obsessed with recently.

You can have better.

Dan laughs at those kind of commentaries.

Better where? He wants to ask. Better than what he has next to him on bed? Better than peaking on whatever game Phil is playing and touching the screen to make him lose? Better than Phil growling at him and Dan repeating the action just to be needy and a pain in the ass? Better than Phil reaching over, finally tired of losing unfairly so many times, to bite his nose making him shriek and laugh?

Better than Phil Lester? impossible, Dan thinks. Completely, utterly impossible.  Because they shine together and it’s a light that can’t be tamed. A light that undresses them and asks them what they know about love. And the answer, Dan knows they both know, is this, all of this.