#Girl I Have A Headache Girl But I Still Want You Girl (reprise)

[aceofspades-sml]

My favorite things from last night show

Disclaimer : I was sitting in the fourth row of Manhattan, meaning I had an amazing overview of what was going on everywhere, however that also means I missed many, if not all, small interactions and background lines

+ I think i'll make a specific post about the characters and actors later on because I have way too much to say, this is only about the show in general and last night show's specifically

The way they use the stage is so clever ?? I heard about it but seeing it up close was actually very impressive + incredibly immersive. The newsies are everywhere, they interact with the audience, they are next to you, behind you, in the aisles... I legit got distracted from what was going on on stage so many times because I was watching them walk around the aisles

Also there are so many little off-stage interactions between the "background" newsies I really liked it not only is it even more immersive but it also shows how much work every single actor is putting into their character

The reaction to "who wants Brooklyn" is honestly a jumpscare. They all let out a loud "no" and hide their faces. My two favorites were Crutchie putting his bag on his head and Tommy boy lying face down on the floor

Jordan and Zack joined in during Seize the day !!!! Also the boys on stage cried during this number, and I'm pretty sure most of the audience did too. The overall performance was so emotional you could really see how much this show means to all of them

There was so much going on between them during Seize the day actually, I don't know if it's an everytime thing but either way last night it felt really sad, at the end of the number they all start to hug and comfort each other it was both really sweet and incredibly sad

Maybe it's because I only saw it once, but I liked the first part a lot better than the second part ? Like the watch what happen reprise, brooklyn's here and once and for all are still my fav numbers, but overall the first part felt a lot more flowing and dynamic than the second one ? (Maybe take into consideration here that I had a growing headache due to a very long day, so maybe that was why I couldn't enjoy this part to the fullest. Will come back to this if when I see it again in July)

Coming back to the use of the space here, but in King of New york I loved how they were just. Swinging on the lamps. Like I knew about it but I was still pretty impressed.

Watch what happens reprise was soooo good pls. I will come back to this when I post about the characters, but between davey's excitement and Jack's hopelessness it might very well be my favorite interpretation of this scene

The ??? Brooklyn newsies ??? The girls own my heart I swear. Also I didn't know they came into a circle and all said their name, until the climax of "SPOT !" ??? In a way it echoes the moment in seize the day when all the boys get into a triangle and say their names but it also establish them as characters, even tho most of them have no other lines

Once and for all was amazing what else do you want. Also I missed the whole number on stage bc Immie and Damon were dancing right in front of me so there's that

I will talk about the ending later, but I'm just jumping to the bows bc it was ??? So emotional omg ??

When they all line up at the end Alex Hatton started shaking everyone's hand and at first I didn't know if he was still in character or not but anyway it was so sad pls

Also when Alex and George bowed they hugged afterwards and they both looked both so sad I was crying

At the very end they had extra bows for all the leaving cast members and they were all hugging each other and comforting each other

(side note but idk what they did with the lights, bc apparently all the boroughs still had a pretty nice view of them but from Manhattan I legit didn't see anything from the extra bows ?)

Anyway at the end kamilla came out and put Lary on the stage and then basically everyone went crazy

I have sooo much more to say about this show but I need to organize my notes with the characters and stuff so i'll leave that here for now. Also yeah I'm still emotional about the cast leaving so I needed to rant about it so badly

[tatooedlaura-blog]

Five Words

I’m back again ... this time with a requested ‘Leonard Betts’ follow-up ...

this tried to kill me a little bit ... not lying ...

@laurenclare88 @today-in-fic

&&&&&&&&&&

No surprise to either Mulder or Scully, he was awake when she called, “hey, it’s me.”

“Hey, me, you okay?” Twisting his head back to see the clock behind him, “it’s almost midnight.”

“Feel like getting some hot chocolate? Coffee? Platter of waffles the size of your head?”

He heard something in her voice, and not sure if she’d been crying or sound asleep until five seconds before she called, he sat up, “well, Waffles and Stuff is open and in the middle so we can meet there, if you’d like, or if we hit Rolls and Holes, I’ll come pick you up.”

It was actually called Benny’s Café but they specialized in homemade cinnamon rolls and peanut butter donut holes, hence Mulder’s highly inappropriate, yet completely fitting, nickname.

She didn’t laugh like she normally did, juvenile as the nickname was, and he headed towards his shoes, wondering what could have happened since he left her yawning, at her front door, two hours ago, “Waffles and Stuff is fine. See you in ten.”

She must already be in the car because it took ten minutes to get there. Hurrying now, he tossed on a sweatshirt, then his jacket, heading out the door a minute later, turning left for the stairs instead of right to the elevator because hoofing it would be faster. The car ride there was quiet, traffic light, pavement dry.

Waffles and Stuff was empty this time of night, and as he parked, he spotted her already in their booth in the corner, having graduated from the counter a year or so back. Waving to both the cook and lone waitress, Max and Catherine as they had learned some time ago, he slid into the bench across from his partner, “fancy meeting you here.”

She didn’t feel like banter tonight, heavy burden weighing but not forming concrete thoughts able to be spoken out loud just yet. Instead, “you want to split the waffles or fly solo?”

“Scully.”

Hands on the table, she raised one in his direction, fingers waving absently, wrist bobbing in a ‘give me some time’ gesture, “I think I’d like to split a set of Belgian with extra butter and get bacon and sausage on the side. How’s that sound?”

Now she was just freaking him out. Stopping her flopping hand, “Scully? What happened? Is it your mom? Bill? Talk to me, please?”

She jerked her hand away from him, nearly taking out her water glass in the process, “just … they’re fine … I just …” frustration made her words stutter, nostrils flare, jaw tighten for a moment, “I haven’t …”

Not pushing in the moment, he leaned forward, holding his pointer finger up to stop Catherine’s approach, “do you want to eat here or get it to go? We can share in the car if you want.”

Eyes shutting, she took a deep breath, palms flat on Formica. Exhaling slowly, she found her center for a brief second, “just some hot chocolate for now.”

Mulder called the order to Catherine, adding a ‘thanks’ before returning to Scully, speaking slowly again, “are you okay?”

Her head shook a ‘no’, eyes glued to the table, fingers white. Mulder’s stomach tightened but venturing a guess that she’d had a nightmare about Betts and couldn’t form the words yet, he nodded, trying again to touch her, tracing his fingers over the cold knuckles on the back of her hand, “you’re fine here, okay? We can stay as long as you like.”

Caught between crying and screaming, she let him run his fingers over her for another moment before sliding back, hands dropping to lap as eyes bounced from his chin, then to his chest before landing on his still extended hand, “I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

She knew damn well she didn’t wake him up, but both realized she needed to steer them back to middle ground, neutral conversation, “you didn’t. I was watching ‘Golden Girls’.”

Not knowing this particular vice, she met his green eyes, almost smiling, “who’s your favorite?”

“Um, Sophia. What kind of asinine question is that?”

Hot chocolate arrived amidst the debate of Sophia vs. Rose and ordering their smorgasbord, things stayed light through another side of bacon and a second helping of hot chocolate. Stuffed by 1:15am, Mulder saw her drifting away again, heaviness settling where frivolity had been moments earlier. Tapping her ankle with his shoe lightly, she didn’t startle but refocused on him, “that better be you.”

Continuing, “it is.”

“Good. Otherwise, we’ll never be able to come here again.”

Catherine somehow managed to clean their table without disturbance, in, out, feeling the odd pall over them. Neither so much as glanced her way.

Subtly lifting his leg, he set his foot on the booth beside her, preventing any escape from his next questions, “what happened? Did you have a nightmare about Betts? Did you see something? Hear something?” He felt microscopic pressure against his ankle as her thigh muscles tensed to move but he held steady, not letting her leave. Voice dropping to a whisper, he leaned forward, “you’re starting to freak me out.”

Her face crumbled for a moment, then snapped back to normal 1 am, shifting gears a third time when her eyebrows crashed together, lip curling, chin wobbling in an instant, then back to normal. The gambit of emotions that crossed her face in under four seconds was heart-wrenching and Mulder followed along, panic about to overrun control.

Moving his foot, he shifted in beside her, arm around her shoulder, fear growing exponentially, his voice wobbling quietly in her ear, “what happened?”

“Betts told me I had something he needed.”

With the speed of a fucking bullet, realization froze his heart, and his other arm completed the circle around her, pulling her into his shoulder, burying his face in her hair, “Betts in a psychopathic fucker.” She couldn’t quite find words to tell him about the bloody nose that had sent her spiraling so she tried to move closer instead, wishing for a way to crawl into his lap without rebuke or reprisal. Ice still coursing through his veins, he choose denial mode as opposed to depths of despair, comfort instead of chaos, “he’s certifiable, Scully, why would you give him a second thought? A first thought, even?”

When she didn’t respond, he let go of her, standing, tossing money on the table and taking her hand, “come on.”

When he pulled away from her, she nearly sobbed, missing him in that second more than she’d missed him in … well … possibly ever. Seeing his extended hand started the roller coaster all over again and shifting, she followed in silence, little hand wrapped in big, not waving goodnight to their hosts, not seeing anything but his jacket inches from her nose.

Her nose.

And the slightest headache thrumming behind it.

She stumbled over the curb, running into his back, catching herself before hitting the ground. Her control was gone, her walls blown to hell, her mind focused on five words, four years, three drops of blood, two people, one soul and the suddenly ticking timebomb of a six-letter word.

She couldn’t say it.

Mulder had her face in his hands, trying to comprehend the unimaginable, eyes darting between hers, betraying any kind of cool exterior both knew he didn’t have, “you’re fine, Scully. You are going to be fine. Betts is … was … and ever shall be … nothing to us. He wanted to get under your skin and he knew how and he did it and he’s burning in hell right now and you can’t listen to anything he said. Do you hear me?”

Held still by large palms and calloused fingers, she let the tears escape, her voice reaching his ears in a wet, spitty, stilted stutter, “you … you didn’t hear … how he said it … Mulder. He … he had sympathy in his words, the look …” eyes closed for a moment, swallowing hard, “he looked genuinely sorry.” Choking inhale in, one sob shook both to their core, “he wasn’t saying it to be cruel. He was saying it … to be kind … and he’s dead and he can’t … he could have …”

Shaking his head, he finally pulled her into a hug, most of her upper body disappearing into his embrace, “he couldn’t have done anything, Scully. He removed tumors because he needed them. Doctors do the same thing. He didn’t cure, Scully,” he kept saying her name, needing to hear it out loud, prove she was still standing in front of him, his denial in place but his fear still winning, “he removed. Doctors cure, he mangled, he cut, he … he couldn’t have helped you but Leonard Betts doesn’t matter anymore because your fine and he’s gone and he was just fucking with your head because he could. He would have said the same thing to me had I been in the ambulance with you. I know enough about these people to know it would have ended with that phrase regardless of who was in the truck.”

Neither was sure who he was trying harder to convince and neither dwelled on it.

Instead, she stayed up on the curb while Mulder was one notch below in the gutter, hug evened out, height difference conquered with concrete and asphalt. A cone of silence enveloped them, traffic noise, barking dogs, airplanes overhead, all fading away, until, Scully, mess of emotions somewhat in check, spoke quietly into his chest, “will you take me home?”

“Of course.”

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Leaving his car behind, he drove hers to her apartment, both climbing stairs and locking doors behind. Her microwave clock now read 2:09am as she held out her hand to take his coat, walls still down, mind and heart exhausted, “would you mind sleeping in with me tonight? I wouldn’t normally ask but …” sentence running off to nowhere, she waited, eyes pleading in that Scully way.

“You got any sweats for me?”

Once in bed, not as awkwardly as either expected, they remained a civil distance apart but facing each other, eyes tired, eyes burning, eyes not breaking contact for fear the other would disappear in the time of a blink. Mulder, desperate to reach out to her, kept his hands to himself, “you’re fine. You will always be fine. You’ll go to the doctor if you need to tomorrow and he’ll tell you there’s nothing to worry about and then we’ll go ride roller coaster somewhere or run through the fountains of DC naked in celebration that I was right and you were wrong.”

She had already planned the following morning in her head but staying silent about that, she instead flashed him a small smile, trying her best to make it look genuine, to force her eyes to sparkle in amusement just enough to allow him to fall asleep in peace, “naked, huh?”

He saw through her bullshit like she was a plate glass window, “not on the roller coasters.”

“Oh, no. Definitely not on the roller coasters.”

Trying to keep his voice steady, “you’re going to be fine.”

Finally reaching towards him, his hand met hers halfway, “I know.”

&&&&&&&&&&

Sleep eluded him, preferring to listen to her stuffy inhale than to drift into slumber but even the great Fox Mulder eventually had to give in to sleep, drifting off around 4:15. Scully, faking until 3:30, woke at 5:45, slipping out of bed, five-minute shower, out the door by 6:30, leaving her partner behind.

Three favors later, she was trying to hold herself together in the MRI tube, magnets banging, head aching, muscles tensing with each new sound. How could that machine capture anything when her mind was racing so fast the images should just be a blur of thoughts, smudged terror captured in black and white, brought to you by the marvels of science?

She wished he was there so she could hold his hand.

&&&&&&&&&&&

Mulder could fake a few things as well. He woke when she left the bed, stayed still, eyes shut, while he listened to her shower. He heard her come back in, sort through her closet, open dresser drawers, felt the air in the room change as she did, donning armor for her day ahead. She was at the foot of the bed so not in his possible waking view but to know she was comfortable enough to do her routine with him asleep five feet away made him quake inside. He held it together, even as she returned to the room, keys lightly clinking in hand, to give him a lingering kiss on the cheek, to brush his hair back as her thumb ran over his forehead.

He waited five minutes after he heard the front door lock before rolling over, stretching, missing her beating heart and radiating heat. Staring at the ceiling when done, he refused to ponder, instead, two grunts and a back crack later, he was up, standing, heading to the shower.

Problem was, the warm water, the smell of her soap, the view of damp towel on rack and dry one beside, just for him, caught him off-guard. Halfway through soaping up, he broke down, standing under the water, sobbing tears covered by loud water pinging off the walls. He gave himself what felt like five minutes before straightening back up, finishing his shampoo and wash, ending with a steamy-mirrored pep talk during which he convinced himself Scully would be just fine.

Making the bed, he headed out, calling a cab to get him to the diner, then driving himself home, waiting impatiently for a phone call he knew was inevitable. He could have heading to the basement, he could have taken a nap, he could have stared at the wall and had a panic attack the size of Montana but instead, he read his email, his phone never far from his hand.

&&&&&&&&&&

Scully saw the mass, a bright white spot of dread in her sinus cavity, doctor explaining, in the background, diagnosis and treatment options, but most of her attention was filled with it.

It.

IT.

That thing settled comfortably next to her brain.

IT.

Mesmerized, she nodded when they asked if she’d like to be alone for a minute; if she would like to call someone.

And then it was quiet, the snick of the shutting door the only noise in the room.

Leaving just her and the bright white mass on the light board.

“Mulder. Could you come down to the hospital, please?”

She could hear it in his voice as he said, “which area?”

“Oncology.”

The sound of a fight building. The sound of defiance taking root.

Or denial.

“I’m on my way.”

[beebleboosuwu]

OKAY I JUST FOUND THIS OUT AND IM KIND OF ON THE FLOOR BOWING DOWN TO EVERY ONE OF THEM, INCLUDING THE CREW.

Alright so, WHY THE CHAIRS?

During Six The Musical’s tour in Edmonton, Alberta (Canada), Samantha Pauly (K Howard) discovered she had dislocated ribs. DISLOCATED RIBS. She couldn’t dance and it caused major discomfort for her, and that corset already restricted movement so imagine the PAIN SHE WAS IN. SHE LITERALLY IN SOME CLIPS WAS HOLDING HER RIBS. She was fine in the beginning but DAMN WTF?!

Why couldn’t a Swing or an Alternate take her place for some performances?

There already is a swing for her but she was unavailable during the run. A swing was backstage but i think she did not know Howard’s part and choreography. I’m not sure.

How did she not know that she was in pain?

Oh sis she definitely knew, Adrianna Hicks (Broadway Aragon) asked if Samantha was okay and she responded she was fine, but Adrianna said “Nope, you aren’t even looking at me.” The cast and crew kept checking on Samantha if she was alright and at one point she asked Brittney Mack (Broadway Cleves) to check her back cause of the small bump she had earlier. Brittney responded “GIRL YOU GOT A HUMP LIKE THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME”, the discomfort from her back went up to her neck and gave Samantha a headache. They were thinking of cancelling the show for the night but....

Here’s a fun fact about Six:

THE STAGE MANAGERS HAVE A LIST OF DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THE SHOW.

Everyone remembers the cast wide illness from the London Cast? Where Genesis Lynea (OG Cleves) reprised her role and Toby Marlow (co-creator of Six) played the role of Catherine Parr for two nights and every other swing was sick? Yeah. Legendary performance btw, the audio is on YouTube and the Megasix is somewhere there too.

With that incident, different versions of the show were made so they could still put on the show without cancelling a night.

In this instance they did a concert version of the show, they were still in character but everyone had a stool to sit and water bottles nearby. It was intimate and honestly, pretty fucking sick. LIKE DAMN, SAM STILL WENT ON STAGE AND KILLED HER PERFORMANCE WITH HER COSTUME ON (with the corset tied loosely of course)

The other members of the cast could do whatever they want but Sam could sit on the stool and sing her parts normally.

THE DEDICATION TO THEATRE IS AMAZING.

It is hard to imagine that Sam wanted to take a break from theatre (yeah she wanted to) BUT HERE SHE IS. LIVING HER LIFE.

She still goes to the chiropractor to check on her ribs and goes to the doctor regularly. She’s fine but folks come on. She’s amazing.

Samantha Pauly, cast and crew of Six The Musical:

The Queendom loves and supports you.

*THIS INFO WAS FOUND ON THE QUEENDOM PODCAST AND BROADWAY BROADS ON YOUTUBE*

If you want to see a clip of Samantha singing but still on stage HOLDING IT TOGETHER,

https://youtu.be/e7QYGqlcvZU click here (where this screenshot was taken)

[plutotown]

Better Off — Ricky Bowen (Part 1)

Part 2: here

Part 3: here

Summary: You’re best friends with Ricky (who you have a crush on) and he leaves abruptly after you two share a moment together.

Ship: Ricky Bowen x Reader (can apply to female or male)

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1.01k

Tags (aka people who I think would like it): @ppkrtingle @bocauhl @hunnybears @marsvesl @chaoticgoodisa @iridescentkippen

Author’s Note: I don’t usually do imagines and all that jazz so this might suck ass 🤡

(I do not own any gifs used)

Ever since Ricky joined the musical, he had been desperate for your help. You had been participating in musicals at East ever since you were a little girl, and as one of his best friends, you were obligated to help, even if you didn’t want to.

“Come on, Ricky! You gotta get this right. Don’t you want to prove to Nini that you care?” You groaned as you cut off the sounds of your keyboard. Even though you had been cast as Kelsi, you still knew all the Gabriella parts from watching the entire trilogy dozens of times.

“I do.” Ricky sighed, looking down at the ground. “It’s just... I don’t feel cut out for this.”

You placed a hand on Ricky’s shoulder, trying your best to comfort him. You knew how much effort he was putting, but there was something stopping him, something you had yet to discover.

“Look, you’re one of the greatest guys I know, besides Big Red of course, but I have faith in you.” You say, a warm smile plastered on your face. Ricky looks up from the ground and goes straight to your eyes, and returns the grin.

“Thanks.” He said quietly.

You then place your hands back on your keyboard, playing the first chord to the reprise of What I’ve Been Looking for. “Back to the top?”

“Mhm.” Ricky replied. “Let’s do this.”

You play the first notes, then nod at Ricky for him to start singing. This time he didn’t miss his queue, and you gave him a smile, assuring him that he got it right.

“It’s hard to believe that I couldn’t see you were always there beside me...” He sang, looking at you as you focused on the piano.

Even though you could feel him eyeing you, you ignored it and continued the song as if it wasn’t making your cheeks burn. “Thought I was alone with no one to hold...”

“But you were always right beside me.” You two sang at the same time, smiling as you both harmonized. “And this feelings like no other, I want you to know...”

Now at the climax of the reprise, your eyes met, feeling every lyric of the song as you both sang. Even as best friends, there was something there that both of you always chose to put aside, but now there was no pushing away. “I've never had someone that knows me like you do, the way you do. I've never had someone as good for me as you, no one like you.”

“So lonely before I finally found what I've been looking for...” You two sang the last line, then you slowly moved your hands away from the piano, not sure what was next.

“So...” You spoke, looking away from Ricky for a second then immediately looking back at him again.

At this moment you weren’t sure whether to go and kiss him, even if it felt right. You could see him looking down at your lips, and also hesitating to inch towards you.

You made the first move by slightly inching towards him, and he did the same. Before it could go further, Ricky immediately turned his head away, covering his face with his hands. You immediately look down in disappointment, but you also weren’t surprised that you were being turned down. Nini would always have a place in Ricky’s heart, even if it hurt you more than anything.

“I’m sorry.” Ricky said in a muffled sound, slowly uncovering his face. “I should, um-”

“Go?” You interrupted him, knowing that was what he was going to say. You were right though, as he nodded and responded quietly. “Yeah.”

Ricky then quickly stood up grabbed his shoes, but before he left he gave you one last look, contemplating whether he should actually leave. He was already going through so much, and he needed an escape, so he left without saying another word, leaving you heartbroken.

“Ugh.” You sighed, and laid your head against the keys on your piano, which made tons of unpleasant noises as you did.

What else was there to do? It was late, later then you usually stayed up, and there was no way you would be sleeping tonight, so you decided to put your feelings into song, even if you cried your eyes out in the process.

“You keep me in your orbit, well, I know I’m a hard one to please.” You began, slowly playing the notes, winging your own version of a song that spoke to you the most. “Give it too much or importance, my love will have you fall to your knees.”

“I tell them this too often. Know better than to bark up my tree just for me to fall and leave. Nah, I’d rather just watch you smoke and drink, yeah.” It hurt, it really did. The feeling of knowing someone you care for the most will never reciprocate the same feelings as you only because you were a little too late. Nobody could compare to Ricky, and you always knew that. “Steering clear of any headaches to start. And if we're being honest, I'd rather your body than half of your heart or jealous-ridden comments that come when you let in them feelings that I don't want.”

“I never let 'em know too much. Hate getting too emotional, oh, yeah.” You sang, then paused, reflecting on everything.

After a moment of looking back, you continued singing, this time singing louder than before, not caring if your parents woke up hearing you. Feelings like this couldn’t stay quiet. “I'm better off without him. I'm better off being a wild one. On the road a lot, had to keep it a thousand.”

“So that I'm better off not being around ya...” After singing the last words, you let all your tears out. While you were singing, you were trying so hard to keep it all in, but now you couldn’t anymore, and you weren’t sure if you were going to stop.

You may have loved Ricky Bowen, but right now you were better off without him.

[puckrph]

THE AMAZING DEVIL’S ‘LOVE RUN’ SENTENCE STARTERS

starters from the debut album of joey batey & madeleine hyland’s band the amazing devil. feel free to change pronouns, etc!

LOVE RUN (INTRO)

‘ let the world come at you, love. ’ ‘ keep running. ’ ‘ it’s up to you now. ’ ‘ run for all the things you’ve done. ’ ‘ love’s worth running to. ’

KING

‘ i’ll keep you safe from the dark things that wait. ’ ‘ the waves of our bodies and the smell of our follies rips into the bark of my bones. ’ ‘ i’ll smile as i climb the stairs to the light that you keep burning there. ’ ‘ come rip up the flesh of my fears. ’ ‘ all hell and its fire waits for us. ’ ‘ all that matters is that you’re here. ’

PRUNING SHEARS

‘ they’re so filthy rich. ’ ‘ it’s a game. ’ ‘ my fall makes no sound. ’ ‘ come back. ’ ‘ we don’t have time to fuck around. ’ ‘ only one not wearing cufflinks, only one not begging to buy you drinks. ’ ‘ do you like my accent? ’ ‘ i’ll watch you ruin your life and dye your hair bright colors, become someone’s wife, forget the girl that you once were. ’ ‘ we had this planned. ’ ‘ there’s no fucking way you’re from _____ ’ ‘ it’s getting late. ’ ‘ whatever you do, don’t turn around. ’ ‘ my entire life is running away too fast. ’ ‘ i’m watching everyone i’ve ever loved walk past. ’ ‘ never really quite got the knack of knowing no one will not ever come back for me. ’

SHOWER DAY

‘ i’ve got a headache that just won’t shift. ’ ‘ i would have stayed if you had asked. ’ ‘ i can’t dance. ’ ‘ you’re the one who told me my hair looked better black. ’ ‘ you’re the one who told me to never look back. ’ ‘ i’m fine, it’s just a sitting down in the shower day. ’ ‘ for christ’s sake, just say something! ’

ELSA’S SONG

‘ i can hear the cannons calling as though across a dream. ’ ‘ your voice carries over the hubbub and the hum, and it paints the sky and circles high like the beating of a drum. ’ ‘ i won’t forget you. ’ ‘ it cannot be a lie if no one hears. ’ ‘ i know i don’t belong. ’ ‘ although you hold my hand and say “i love you,” you are wrong. ’ ‘ love does not exist here. ’ ‘ i loved you then, i love you still. ’

PRAY

‘ my eyes are made of winter. ’ ‘ i know you. ’ ‘ pray for me. ’ ‘ i’ll run until i begin to understand what holy men really mean when they speak of sin. ’ ‘ pray for me, cause i won’t pray for you. ’ ‘ sweet nothings are screamed, not spoken. ’ ‘ i’m what’s left when children go to war. ’ ‘ i cannot sleep when all you do is cry. ’ ‘ womanhood is more than crying. ’ ‘ i’m stronger now than you have ever known. ’ ‘ the cracks you made, i fill with mortar. ’ ‘ a broken pot can still hold water. ’

LITTLE MISS WHY SO

‘ why so sad? ’ ‘ don’t you know that it’s not all about you anyway? ’ ‘ come and play. ’ ‘ i’ll yell it from the rooftops for you. ’ ‘ every time we watch netflix, we spend two hours deciding what to watch on netflix. ’ ‘ i love you, don’t say anything, just... thank you for being in my life. ’ ‘ let’s rty and fit into the same pair of stretchy old track pants, and just roll around inside each other for three whole days. ’ ‘ you’re going too fast. ’ ‘ you’re going too fast. you’ll burn up soon. ’ ‘ i don’t know how to reach you when you get like this. ’ ‘ i’ve been waiting for you to come home. ’ ‘ why won’t you let me follow in your footsteps as you trek into that underground world? what’s that hold that the big dark king of nothing has got on you? ’ ‘ you’re so beautiful to me. ’ ‘ it’s so boring to see you tired all the time. ’ ‘ why won’t you just tell them all to fuck off? ’ ‘ why won’t you just tell them all to fuck off, love, and be mine? ” ‘ stop making up death wishes, just take my life line. ’ ‘ why won’t you believe i love you if i’m not hurting you? ’ ‘ can’t you see that i’m enough for you, but you don’t want me to be, cause that means you’ll actually have to be content? ’

NEW YORK TORCH SONG

‘ fuck you. ’ ‘ we’ll talk about this tomorrow. ’ ‘ we’ll make our mark. ’ ‘ a new us has begun. ’ ‘ can’t we just talk about this? ’ ‘ tear me up, and burn me up, and rip me up. ’ ‘ is that what you think of me now? ’ ‘ are you god, or devil? ’ ‘ i cannot stop. i’m bleeding out for you. ’ ‘ you angel heart, you monster, some godforsaken prospero. ’ ‘ i cannot find the words to keep you. ’

TWO MINUTES

‘ it’s like all the wallpaper inside my heart is slowly peeling off, and i’m showing all the stains and things they wrote on the wall before. ’ ‘ give me two damn minutes, and i’ll be fine. ’ ‘ we showed the world that we exist. ’ ‘ if i’m good, will you come back? ’

NOT YET / LOVE RUN (REPRISE)

‘ it seems to me that you can’t sleep. ’ ‘ i’ll point, you steer, and we’ll rip up the map by the seams. ’ ‘ it’s time to fight. ’ ‘ give ‘em hell. ’ ‘ i held your hand as you shook in the middle of the night. ’ ‘ without waking, you said “not yet.” ‘ ‘ i will try to harmonize, and sip the sunlight from your eyes. ’ ‘ we’ll build a den out of pillows, and get drunk again. ’ ‘ everyone knows sex is better when you’re unemployed. ’ ‘ you can’t dance for shit. ’ ‘ where is god? ’ ‘ where’s the vodka? ’ ‘ if my old mum could see me now, oh how she’d howl. ’ ‘ not yet. ’ ‘ that ancient hymn you heard me strumming is nought but fumble-falls and guns and tumbleweeds. ’ ‘ it’s nothing that rum won’t solve. ’ ‘ though some would harm you, none, not one, would raise to you a hand or thumb. not while i stand by you. ’ ‘ all that matters is that you’re here. ’ ‘ run until your lungs are numb. ’

[86-was-his-year]

Ink and Rose Petals  | Lee Jeno | Smut

Summary: The classical good girl falls for the bad boy but the bad boy is smart and she needs help with studying. He offers help and rewards you for every question you get right.

Warnings: Oral (Female and Male receiving), Orgasm denial, edging, dirty talk, hair pulling (female and male receiving), Swearing, Bisexuality? (Really isn’t a warning) all these peeps are 18 so yeah. (Such vulgar language fam), and a dash of Dacryphilia 

A/N: This boi is legal so don’t come after me or I’ll be sad. If you don’t like it just keep scrolling. Thanks, bros. <3 But like I listened to Stay Alive (Reprise) and It’s Quiet Uptown from Hamilton cause like I just found this amazing show and like it doesn’t fit the mood at all but I love these songs.

The beige halls were noisy and filled with the squeaking of shoes and conversations of other students. My friends conversed behind me and I couldn’t begin to care. After looking at my new schedule for the new term I knew I was screwed. All of my hardest classes were in this one term and I knew that I won’t get through this without help from someone. 

“Y/N are you okay?” Irene grabbed onto my shoulder and stopped me from walking straight into someone in front of me. 

“Yeah, it’s just,” I took a breath and ran my hand through my hair, “I can’t do any of these classes. I’m not smart enough.” I put the schedule back into my pocket and looked around the halls. 

“You can always go to the counselors and switch your classes.” Irene stopped talking and waved to her friends walking down the hall. 

“Then I’ll have to make that up next year and then I can’t graduate early.” I ran my hand through my hair once again and smiled at Irene before going to my first class. The classes were hard but went by quick and before I knew it I was at the last class of the day. Algebra 2 the one school subject that I sucked at. Math was the worst of my knowledge meaning I didn’t know anything at all. The teacher Mr. Kristy was nice enough but he always assumed that the children immediately knew what he was talking about 

“Good afternoon students. Good afternoon.” He smiled and we took random seats, mine being a row before the goons in the back. 

Na Jaemin, handsome and incredibly smart when it comes to academics. While on the other hand, his choice in friends is less than smart. They haven’t pulled down his grades or forced him to drugs as far as I know. They aren’t necessarily hurting him but I fear for his safety sometimes. 

Huang Renjun, Nothing particularly wrong with him he just eggs bullies on and keeps his mouth shut after. I have heard a few rumors about him beating people up and even a drug trade but those were just rumors, nothing has been proven yet. 

Lee Donghyuk, now this man is dangerous. He’s been with almost everyone in this school, boys included. Although he was open-minded and people liked that he broke the hearts of everyone he slept with, telling them that he would call them back or keep in touch yet, surprise surprise, he never did. 

And last but never least Lee Jeno, the baddest bad boy in this school according to legend. He’s notorious for kicking ass and taking names. His jet black hair looks like it was gelled with a concrete mix but most girls rumor that it is softer than a cloud. Many rumors go around about how he is a king in bed or how he truly was the best lay but then again, as I have said before. Those are just rumors. 

Their voices were loud and unable to be ignored as I got all the materials needed for the class. I looked around the room and watched as more and more obnoxious kids filed in to get a good seat. Thankfully no one was brave enough to sit next to me or the gang of Bimbos that sat behind me. Guess it’s my resting bitch face for the win again. 

“Okay then kids, You’ll find a syllabus on your desk, make sure you get it signed and return it by the end of the week. Failure to do so will be an F for that assignment.” I zoned out and watched him write different instructions on the board. Something about a review packet due at the end of the week and we have to have partners? 

“Which one of you lovely ladies or men would like to pair up with me?” Donghyuk leaned back on his chair and put his hands behind his head as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

“Thank you for the charity case Donghyuk but I believe your partners will be random. I want you fellas to meet new people. You guys never reach out and mingle with each other. I’ll have the ladies come to the front and pick one of the men’s names out of the cup!” Mr. Kristy shuffled the cup around and waved us forward. 

I rolled my eyes and stood up. I was going to get one of these hormonal, drooling, stupid boys as my partner and that would be no help to me. The only boy that would help me with the review is Jaemin. He was possibly the smartest boy in our class. He would most definitely help me understand the stupid concept that is math. 

“Donghyuk you’re my partner!” Some girl shouted from the front of the class and groans from the rest of the girls followed.

“Alright, sweetheart. Get up here.” Donghyuk grabbed his stuff and moved a couple seats down. I released a breath of reassurance as the girl grabbed her stuff and bounded up the stairs to his table. One less goon to possibly have as my partner. I stopped counted how many people were left and who they were after I heard Jaemin’s name being called. The hope for my math grade was dwindling by the second until I was the last person and there was only one more piece of paper in the cup. At this moment I wish I had kept track of who was left and I swallowed hard before putting my hand in the cup and opening the paper.

Lee Jeno

“Alright fantastic. I’ll hand out the packets and you and your partner can get started. The packet will be due on Wednesday. We’ll go through it in class then. The rest of the time is yours.” I threw the paper away walked back to my table to find Jeno already there with a pencil and paper in front of him. 

“Hi.” He said and his eyes smiled at me. His teeth were white and his skin was tan providing a look that was most pleasing to the eye. I shook my head and smiled back to him. 

“I’m Y/N.” I got out my pencil and grabbed two packets from Mr. Kristy and handed one to Jeno, flipping through the packet only to find that I knew none of these concepts. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose out of stress. 

“Are you okay?” Jeno’s voice is soft and quiet, not wanting to alert anyone of my issues. 

“Yeah, it’s just I honestly don’t remember anything from Algebra and I passed that class with a low D.” I ran my hand through my hair and took a deep shuddering breath. 

“Hey, don’t stress about it. I can help you if you want.” Jeno scooted closer and opened my packet. 

“I’m sorry but aren’t you like terrible at academics. You’re supposed to be like a ‘bad boy’ and can’t like do school?” I asked and looked at him with worried eyes. 

“Ha very funny. I’m actually amazing at school and passed Algebra with a high A. I can actually help you pass this class.” He smiled and his eyes turned into crescents again. He turned his own packet and looked through some of the problems, nodding to himself before beginning to explain it to me.

“Okay,” The hour of class went by and I still couldn’t understand much.”This comes from this number?” I pointed at the lone three in my paper in confusion.

“Yes. That’s right.” Jeno had taken off his leather jacket now and was in a plain white shirt, the least bit distraction while I was trying to concentrate on the equation at hand. 

“But where the fuck does it come from?” I closed my eyes and put my pencil down, cracking my stiff knuckles. “I’m sorry but this is hopeless.” I closed the packet and stuffed it in my folder, looking at the clock to find that there is only five minutes left. 

“It’s not hopeless. Here,” He tore a piece of paper from his packet and scribbled something on it. “Go home, try to relax and when you’re ready text me and I’ll come pick you up.” He packed up his stuff and smiled before going back to his original table to reconvene with his friends.  I sighed for the millionth time and grabbed my bag before walking out of class when the dismissal bell rung.

The halls were noisy once again, proving distasteful for my growing headache. I smiled at Irene and the rest of my friends as I passed them but didn't walk over, in fear that they would try to strike a conversation and my brain didn't feel like trying to converse with them so, I waved and kept walking.

I got in my car, taking off without a care in the world. I didn't want to wait for anyone, I didn't want to wait for my friends, and I certainly didn't want to wait for Jeno. I'm glad he didn't suggest going after class because I couldn't handle all that in a row. My headache would get worse and even thinking about it know caused a growing pain in the frontal lobes of my brain.

The clouds had covered the sun and I silently thanked the people above for this action. I flipped the radio on and turned it to CD mode, letting the sweet notes of 'It's Quiet Uptown' fill the once silent vehicle. I opened the windows and let the cool air cool me down. The song was more relaxing than I could have hoped and it seemed to ease my stress. I quietly began to sing along to the song, expressing my stressed feeling with the song.

Little did I know that Jeno was next to me in his shiny black car with his windows down, smiling ad he listened to me sing.

"You're pretty good." I jumped at the sound of his voice and turned to the side. He looked at the red light before looking back at me. "Where's that from?" He leaned closer to his right a little more, moving to hear my response.

"H-Hamilton. It's a musical." I nodded and watched as the light turned green, taking my foot off the brake, ready to get out of there as soon as possible. He disappeared in my rear view mirror as he turned the opposite direction, thankful for my escape I turned the radio up and listened to the song quietly.

The house was quiet after I let myself in, assuming my sister was out and my mom was busting herself at work. Sometimes she did a little too much despite herself. After setting all my things in my room I gathered everything for a shower and started the water. Before going to Jenos I wanted to really relax a bit so turning the water to a warm setting I stepped in and sighed as the water hit my aching muscles.

After washing with lavender body wash and rubbing my head lightly I got out of the shower, already feeling refreshed and ready for the ready of the day. The only thing left to do was text Jeno that I was ready to be picked up. I dug his wrinkled note out of my previous pair of jeans and entered it into my phone changing his name to 'Evil Jalapeno'.

'I'm ready to be picked up. My address is xxxxxxxxxxx."

I sent the message and continued to get dressed. Jeno wasn't anything special so I threw on a pair of black sweatpants and a black t-shirt. I packed everything in my bag and was scrolling through my phone when my phone beeped.

"I'm here."

His text was simple yet it was exciting. Never have I been picked up by a boy. Even if it was for school purposes it was nerve-racking. I walked out onto the porch while thinking all these thoughts and I locked up before turning to my driveway, finding Jeno in his sleek black car. His leather jacket covered arm was hanging out of the window with a cigarette hanging from his long fingers.

"Please don't dump that on my driveway. My mom will be pissed." At the notice of your arrival he opened his door and walked around the the other side of the car, sticking his cigarette in his mouth before opening the door, motioning you to get into the car.

You got into the car and he took his cigarette out of his mouth. Taking a puff before blowing it out into the air. The look of death never seemed more enticing. I knew it was killing his lungs and turning them to nasty black things filled with tar but I couldn't seem to care. He looked so amazing as he lifted the cigarette to his lips and I found myself begging him to take another puff of the cancer.

"Don't worry. I'll throw it out once we’re in the road. Your house actually isn't that far from my own." He stuck the cigarette in his mouth again and put his car into reverse, pulling it out of my driveway in one swift movement. I watched as he expertly put the car into drive and pulled away from my house.

The smell in his car was something else. Usually when I walk by someone smoking I cover my nose discreetly or I try to hold my breath, in fear of getting that nasty into my lungs but now in Jenos car I couldn't get enough of it. With his cigarette almost done he flicked it out if the car and I found disappointment in the action. The way it smelled along with his earthy, minty scent drove me mad. I wanted him to light another cigarette. I watched him for a while before turning to the road, afraid of getting caught checking him out.

"So, I took the liberty of listening to this 'Hamilton' soundtrack and I'm pleased to say that it was very good." He turned to me to gauge my reaction and I found myself smiling. "So good that I bought the whole soundtrack. You can pop it in if you want.” He handed me the yellow case and I opened it, finding the CD still in it’s case. I put it in the player and turned it up immediately going to my favorite songs, singing at a low volume.

I could feel his gaze on mine but I couldn’t get the strength to care. I looked out the window at all the different houses and kept singing. Lin’s voice flooded my ears and soon enough so did another. Jeno’s voice was almost as hesitant as mine and as he got louder I got louder causing us to be locked in a full on duet. Him playing Alexander and me Eliza, it almost seemed right for us. 

“I didn’t know you were into Broadway.” I smiled and turned to look at him. The World Was Wide Enough was playing in the background and we had both stopped singing, choosing to talk to each other instead. 

“I used to be into them a lot and I still am but I haven’t been to a musical in a long time.” He chuckled as if he was recalling a fond memory of his childhood. 

“Wow that a fact?” My utter disbelief was evident in my voice, he laughed and turned into his driveway turning off the radio and turning to me.

“You ready to get this over with?” He asked turning to me with a large smile on his face.

“As ready as I’ll ever be I guess.” I answered and he opened his door, jogging over to mine before doing the same for me. He grabbed my bag and slung it over his shoulder like it was nothing. Usually it takes good effort for me to even pick it up, he did it like it was the easiest thing in the world and for some reason that made my thighs heat up. 

“My room is the first door up the stairs and to the right. I’ll meet you there in a second.” He opened his door and his house wasn’t what I had expected. To be truly honest I expected a crack house. With the way he behaves and his over all look I’d say that his mother was a dead beat and his dad was out of the picture. This was obviously not the case.

His living room was right out in the open with a decent sized flat screen TV along with white fluffy rugs, and expensive looking coffee tables. The portion of the house that I could see had been all dark hardwood floors and the winding stairs had the fluffy white carpet that adorned the living room floor. I took my shoes off at the mat and followed his instructions up to the top floor, turning to the right and into his bedroom. 

His door was a nice thick oak wood and the fluffy carpet followed all the way to the room. His bedroom was also not what I was expecting. A couple of posters littered the walls but that was about the only abnormal thing in his room. His bedspread was white and had a hint of baby blue stripes at the end, his pillows matching the baby blue color, making it pop out. His desk was right next to his bed and it was filled with pictures and papers. 

“Planning an escape route?” Jeno asked from the doorway and I found myself jumping at his presence. I put my hand over my heart and turned to him. He had two sodas in one hand and two apples on a plate in the other. 

“Jeez, no. Just looking around, getting a feel for the place.” As I spoke I looked him over. He had changed into grey sweatpants and he kept the white shirt on he had before. Glasses also stationed themselves on the bridge of his nose and I mentally smiled to myself. My black backpack was still slung around his shoulders and I marveled at the way his biceps seemed to flex against it’s weight. Seeing Jeno this way was weird and unfamiliar but at the same time it was a fresh new look and I happened to like it. 

“Alright well have a seat then. I’ll cut these apples up and then we can start working. I already finished my packet so I can just help you with yours today.” He smiled and sat down at his desk. He pulled a knife from the plate and began cutting the apples. “You don’t need to stand the whole time.” He pointed to his bed with the knife and I found myself sitting immediately. I should’ve been afraid or at least the littlest bit anxious at the sight of him with a knife but it didn’t scare me all that much. 

“So, I don’t think I’m going to get any better with Math. In all honesty.” I broke the silence and looked down at my feet as they swung back and forth. His bed was quite tall and I couldn’t help but feel so small while sitting on it. 

“Alright before we start all the negative talk I want you to eat and drink this first. I’ll bet anything that you haven’t eaten today.” He gave you the plate of cut apples and then sat back in his chair. I shrugged and smiled, taking a slice of the fruit and putting it to my mouth. As if on cue my stomach growled like an angry animal and I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment. 

“Sorry.” I continued to snack on the fruit and drink the sugary soda as I watched him work on his other homework for the week. Watching Jeno work was a privilege and shouldn't be taken lightly. His face looked so soft as he looked through his textbooks to find the answer. It was like he was finding the cure for cancer. 

“Aright Y/N are you ready?” Jeno took the plate and empty soda can and set them on his desk. “So, you kept saying that you will never get this math concept down but I think you can.” He folded his arms together and swirled back and forth in his chair, reminding me of an interrogation that the FBI would present. 

“But how? I can’t seem to get them to stick in my brain.” I brought my hands to my mouth and began to chew at the smooth fingernails that grew back. Another nervous habit of mine. 

“I’ve taught you most of what you need to know in class today. Do you remember anything from that time?” I strained hard and nodded. 

“I remember some things clearly but others I can’t remember well.” He nodded and looked at me with a mischievous gleam in his eye.

“So I was looking for things that might recall your memory and help you on a future test.” He smiled and looked up at me. His expression seemed unsure and in turn I found myself feeling unsure of what he was about to propose. “It’s a little wild but I thought you might like it. Now, you’re free to say no and we can just study a regular way but I think this will be exciting to try.”

“Okay, what is it?” I could feel my leg start to shake in nervousness. My mouth turned dry and my eyes looked around the room. 

“Have you ever had your pussy eaten?” He spoke right out and was not ashamed of his foul language. The words shocked me and my cheeks began to heat up heavily. I could feel the heat travel to my neck and ears, making it impossible to hide how I felt about his question. 

“Pardon?” I definitely heard what he said but I wanted to make sure it was real. Not that I’ve had dreams about these moments with him before but it just was a shock to hear a boy talk about me like this. 

“Have you ever had your pussy eaten before, Y/N?” The way he said my name had my stomach flipping with butterflies. I pushed my legs together as the severity of his question took place. 

“N-No. Why?” My arms came to my stomach to calm its unstable state. It was flipping and the pit of my stomach had an aching feeling that I didn’t hate but didn’t enjoy. 

“Well, I read an article and it says that oral helps as a reward system so when you get one wrong and you get nothing it causes you to work harder to get one right.” 

“And if I do get one right?” The question hung in the air like a noose. Daunting, yet inviting to the right person. 

“Well, I give you the reward of course. This is only if you want to though Y/N. You can most definitely say no.” His nature turned concerned and understanding, which I was thankful for. It made me feel like I had a way out if I wanted one. 

“Yes.” My response was quiet but my feeling were loud. I wanted this more than anything at the moment and if it would help me with math at the same time it’s like killing two birds with one stone. 

“What was that?” He put his hand up to my ear and leaned towards me. He was being cheeky and I blushed even more. 

“I would like to try this. Please.” He smiled and took his glasses off, setting them on the desk. He took my packet out of my backpack and set it on the bed along with a pencil and a calculator. 

“Now let’s get you out of those pants.” His words set into my mind and I forgot about having to be naked from the waist down to do this. “I can help you if you’d like.” He picked up his chair and brought it over to the edge of the bed.

“Sure. I can leave the shirt on though, right?” I pinched the fabric between my fingers, wanting it to stay where it was. 

“Yes, whatever you like.” He smiled and trailed his hands up my legs, stopping at my thigh. I could feel that they were lightly shaking and I guess he could too because he chuckled and rubbed them gently. 

His long fingers went under my shirt rubbed calming circles on my skin. His fingers were cold and soft creating a relaxing sensation on my taut skin. He hooked around the edge of my sweatpants giving a good tug, making my lift my hips for him to get them off easier. He pulled them off and let the fall to the ground without caring where they went. My black underwear were nothing special or pretty but he smiled at them and he looked at them like they were.

“Are you sure that you want to do this?” His soft hands were rubbing my thighs lightly and it calmed me down even more. My heart was still racing a little too fast but it was just the nerves taking over my body.

“Yes, please.” After his light touches and rubs I was more than anxious to get started, even though I’ve never done this before. 

“Alright, lift up for me.” His command was sweet and gentle, coaxing me to do as he asked. He pulled down the black underwear and tossed them somewhere else as well. I was on full display for him and he seemed to enjoy that. He grabbed under my knee and put my feet on his bed frame, my legs spreading due to the action. My consciousness told me to shut my legs and not let him see what awaited him but I kept them open, only twitching once or twice. 

He chuckled and held my legs open, “Aren’t you a brave little girl.” His praise had me swallowing thickly. The throbbing below my legs was unbelievable and I couldn’t wait any longer for him to get started. 

“Can you please do something?” I asked politely. My voice sounded desperate and we hadn’t even done anything. I didn’t even know if I would like this yet. 

“It’s all up to you my dear. Pick up the packet and work of the first problem. If you get it right you’ll receive a reward.” His hands took to rubbing my thighs to soothe me. His  veiny arms rested on the side of my legs as his long fingers drew random scribbles over the plane of my unmarked thighs. I huffed a sigh of anxiousness and picked up the packet laying next to me as well as the pencil. 

I cleared my head and looked at the next problem. I had done three already in class with him and I grabbed the calculator plugging in some number before working on the rest of the equation. His words from before seemed to come back to me in bits and pieces but with the promise of reward it had me working harder. I took form the first three problems and used them to help me solve the fourth one. I turned the packet around and showed Jeno my work. He took the packet from my hand and scanned the numbers before nodding. 

“That’s correct. Now,” I let out a sigh of relief and waited for his words. My heart was thumping and I could feel my face on fire. I was more that ready for this to happen. “you can lay back or sit up. It’s up to you but it feels better when you lie back and relax.” He flipped up my shirt a bit and spread my legs a bit wider. I could tell that I was wet and throbbing and by the way he looked at it he could tell too. 

His fingers ran down the length of my stomach and spread my lips to get a better look at what he was dealing with. The simplest of touches from him had me gasping for breath. I took his advice as laid flat on the bed, staring at the ceiling awaiting his next move. His soft lips came into contact with my clit and I gasped for air before holding my breath. He chuckled again before flattening his tongue to lick a broad stripe from my entrance to my clit. He kissed it and ran his tongue along it.

“Fuck, Jeno.” I looked down and found his black hair resting on my pubic bone, moving along with the movement of his face. His tongue was warm, wet, and felt like heaven on earth. My fingers would never compare to this moment right now and as he sucked my clit into his mouth I felt as if I would cum right there. 

“Alright, next problem.” He gave my clit on last kiss before sitting up in his chair. 

“What?” I was breathing fast and my heart was missing and adding beats to it’s new rhythm. “No, why did you stop?” I sat up and looked at him with desperate eyes. 

“It wouldn’t be much of a motivator if I let you cum just on the first problem, now would it?” He smiled and picked up the packet before putting it in my hands. I huffed and nodded before clearing my mind. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down so I could easily get the next problem done to get my sweet reward. Again, I recalled his words form previous hours and looked at the earlier problems to help me. 

I looked at him and he smiled. His lips were lightly drenched with my wetness and I found my thighs wanting to close to alleviate the throbbing pain that he put upon them. He shook his head and pulled them back apart. 

“I’ll give you what you want. Just be a good girl and finish the problem for me.” He rubbed the inside of my thighs and I began to focus again, like he asked me to. I finished the problem and gave him the packet, confident in my skills and ready to get what I wanted. He frowned and shook his head. 

“Why?” My desperation got the best of me and I found myself whining at the unfairness of it.

“Just a minor miscalculating error. Put the last line in and double check your negatives. It should be right then.” I huffed and erased the last line, finding that it was a simple error and I fixed it before turning the paper to him. He nodded and I laid down again. 

His tongue came down on me again and I relished in the pleasure it gave me. He wasn’t being gentle with me and sucked my clit right into his mouth swirling his tongue around me. I cried out and went for something to grab. My fingers tangled in his hair and planted there. I didn't want him to leave and it felt like this was the only way I could get him to stay. I was almost there, the edge ready for me to fall of but he grabbed my wrist and pulled my hand from his hair, taking his mouth off of me. 

We went though this process over and over again until we had the first page finished. I could feel my release right in reach, his tongue bringing me the satisfaction that I needed. He had his tongue on my once again, going a little longer due to the fact that I finished the first page with little to no help.

“Now, Y/n. I have a deal for you.” He sat up in his chair once more and smiled at my fucked out expression. “If you finish this packet in one go I’ll let you cum without stopping. Does that sound okay baby girl?” He was rubbing my thighs once more and I found myself nodding hysterically. I picked up the packet and sat up looking at the questions before picking up the pencil. 

After failing so many times and getting my orgasm denied I had a new-found passion for math. With the rewards I was getting it was making it all worth it and I found that the subject wasn't that hard if you paid attention and made an effort to understand it. Jeno just sat there licking my juices off his lips as if he actually enjoyed it. My thighs twitched and a fire shot through my body that had me shivering. 

“I know baby. Hurts doesn’t it?” He put his hands on my twitching knees and held them open, letting me focus on the problems in front of me rather than having me focus on keeping my legs open for him. 

“Yes, Sir.” As soon as those words came out of my mouth I knew my secret was out of the bag. I stopped scribbling and looked at Jeno with wide eyes. He was just smirking, something at made more heat roll through my core. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for that to come out.”

“It’s okay. Desperation makes us do crazy things you know?” His hands made their way up my thighs and onto my pubic bone, drawing circles and other things occasionally going almost to where I needed him most before bringing his hand right back up. It was his way of giving me more of a motivation. Telling me that I was so close to what I wanted yet, so far if I took too long. 

As I did more and more problems I couldn’t help but breeze through them, quickly figuring out the pattern and knowing where to put what and where things came from which was my biggest issue when we started this. It turned to the third and final page, my clit throbbing even harder as I thought about the end of these four problems. After this he wouldn’t stop anymore and I felt my thighs shake with excitement. 

“Poor little girl, so excited for me to make her cum. But, what if these problems are wrong and you get nothing? Will you cry? Gonna show me those pretty tears?” Jenos words hit a different level and I actually began to think about these problems being wrong. After being so confident in what I’ve done there is a possibility that it could be wrong and then I would get nothing, my crappy hand would have to finish the job. I took a breath and continued working having a small doubt in myself that I didn’t have before.  

“What if they are wrong?” I finished the packet but held it up to my chest.

“Don’t worry princess. I’ll give you something for the ones you got right.Your pussy tastes too good to let it go to waste.” He took the packet with a little bit of resistance from me but he assured me that it was okay if I got some wrong. It was only my first time understanding the concept and he said he would be proud of me anyway.He flipped through the last two pages and shook his head. 

“How did I do?” The anxiety was practically burning a hole through my heart. He set the packet on his desk and smiled. 

“You are such a good girl,” He put his hand on my stomach and laid me flat on the bed. “You only got two wrong and for that I think you deserve to cum.” I felt tears prick my eyes and I exhaled.

“Thank you.” I felt genuine gratitude fill my heart and I spread my legs wider for him. 

“Now, I have one rule. We have this bid house all to ourselves I want to hear you.” Jeno grabbed onto my thighs and pressed light kisses to them as he began to start again. I guess he wanted to tease me a little longer but my impatience was getting to me and I felt my hips raise off the bed, trying to get something from him. 

“Please, Jeno. Please let me cum.” He chuckled and just got straight to work after that. He wasn’t holding back anymore and I grabbed at his hair instantly. He was sucking and licking and kissing as if he hadn’t found anything better in his whole life and it made me whimper and cry out for him. With the promise of being able to cum I felt as if I didn’t have to hold back anymore. I didn’t have to wait for that stupid packet to be done and he wouldn’t be stopping this time so I just let myself go like he asked me to. My moans sounded like cries and I tugged on his hair more and more the closer I got to my orgasm. He moaned into my clit and that was it, the feeling of heat washed over my body and my eyes rolled into the back of my head. 

I could hear my moans and it was unlike anything I had ever heard. They were so raw and natural that I couldn’t think of any other way to describe them than the product of pure pleasure. Jeno seemed to enjoy them too because he helped me ride out my high generously, not stopping until I was twitching and pushing his head away. Even then he was still trying to get every last drop out of my, enjoying the way I tasted. 

“Wow, fuck you’re beautiful.” Jeno looked at me in the bed and I smiled. I was breathless and sweating but the compliment felt genuine. like he really thought I was beautiful and that made me feel even better than I did as I was knee deep in the bliss he supplied me with. I sat up and immediately saw his tent in the sweatpants he was wearing. It was thick and large if I was being completely honest. And I was.

“What about you?” I scrambled on the bed and put my feet on the fluffy floor, my knees not holding me properly. I collapsed to my knees and just laughed. Jeno’s face was concerned but as far as I was concerned I was exactly where I wanted to be. The bulge in his pants looked even better than before when I was up close. My mouth watered at the thought I tasting him as he had tasted me. 

“I’ll probably just take care of it later. You don’t have to.” he shifted in his seat and I could tell that it was going to be a problem for the rest of the ride home so I decided that I would help.

“But, what if I want to?” I put my hand on his thighs and tentatively looked up at him It seemed as if I belonged here. On my knees for him as he was for me. Like we were two puzzle pieces waiting in the bottom of the box, just to touch and be right for each other. 

“Well, I’m not going to say no.” He yanked down his sweats and I was met with one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen, minus his face. The head was the same hue as his lips, just a little redder due to the lack of attention it was getting. The vein protruding from it gave it a beautiful natural look that none of the guys had in porn and it made me question if they had it this good. I wrapped my hand around it and found it was quite soft for looking so hard, I have it a light squeeze trying to test the waters when he hissed between his teeth. His head was back and he looked like he was relaxing.

“Did that hurt?” I asked shyly, taking away the pressure that I had just given. 

“No, not at all just be a good girl and suck me off, can you do that for me?” He looked down at me and his eyes were way darker than they had been a few minutes ago. 

“Yes.” I was gong to begin when he lightly grabbed my hair.

“Yes, what?” His words shocked me and I immediately knew what he was asking for. My little slip up earlier had caused him to figure out what i liked and he was using it to his advantage. 

“Yes, Sir.” He smiled and lead my head to his angry cock. I slid my tongue up a vein that ran up the bottom of it and he hissed again pulling my hair slightly, telling me how bad he wanted it. I finally decided that I could do this and put his cock in my mouth hollowing my cheeks before slowly moving up and down, trying to get a feel for what I was doing. The porn made it look so gross but looking up at him now, his head back and his mouth wide open releasing beautiful noises, it didn’t seem as gross as I thought.

I kept my teeth tucked under my lips and my tongue flat against his cock, like I had heard Irene say when she was talking about her recent sexual adventures. She said it drove a guy wild and I guess it did because not before long I felt him thrust up into my mouth making the rhythm I had built up move faster. 

“That’s it. That’s my good girl.” With his words I took him deeper causing him to take a big breath and his stomach started to shake under his shirt. He began to hit the back of my throat and although I gagged many times I couldn’t care. Tears and drool ran down my face and it felt disgusting to be honest but it was who I was with that was making it all worth while. 

“Can you swallow it?” His question was fast and breathy but I could hear was he was saying. I hummed and went a bit fast for him, non-verbally telling him my answer. He also went faster and after about four thrusts he unloaded in my mouth. It fell down my throat and on my tongue and I couldn’t help but taste it. The salty liquid felt creamy in my mouth but it wasn’t that enjoyable. I swallowed for him and whipped my mouth with the back of my hand. 

“Did you like it?” I sat back on my heals and waited for him to catch his breath. 

“Very much. You’re such a good girl for me.” He put his hand on my cheeks and wiped away my tears before tucking himself back into his sweats. He handed me my underwear and sweats before turning on the TV. He laid on the bed and told me to do the same and we stayed there all night just watching TV with each other. 

[tornrose24]

Only a Voice part 9 (A Moana fan fic AU loosely inspired by the Little Mermaid)

In which Moana finally meets Tamatoa. Also I posted ahead of time because it was Tamatoa tuesday.

Note that this can also be found on fan fiction.net under the name HolyMaiden24

There was a dark laugh as a cloaked figure stood behind the writer who was tied into a chair. Strings of pearls and rope were tied around her wrists to the rests and she stared at them in confusion. “See, I can’t take any chances with you like with your precious readers.” The figure reached out and rested his hand’s on the writer’s shoulders. “Consider yourself lucky I didn’t do anything worse.”
“Uh...” The writer frowned at the ‘binds’ “I know this isn’t as bad as decapitation by the moon from Majora’s Mask but this is just awkward.” She cringed “Seriously, string of pearls for rope? Ugh, and then I keep forgetting that you’re a Disney character, which makes this a lot more weird.” The figure laughed. “In a good way sweetheart!”
“What happened?!” The writer demanded. “I thought we had a truce! And I feel betrayed!” She frowned as a genuinely hurt look was on her face. “I mean, I thought we were becoming friends! And why do you call me ‘sweetheart’?” She asked. “In fact, why did I write out that you would call me ‘sweetheart’ that one time?” “Oh you mean the A/N version of me?” The figure laughed and the writer shot him a confused look. When he pointed, she turned around to see another version of Tamatoa in the human form she imagined him and he was also tied up in a similar (but more sparkly) manner. “I took care of him too.” He added. “Explain why there was a version of Maui’s little friend playing video games and also knew who I was.” The A/N Tamatoa asked her in an annoyed tone. “And can you explain WHY I’m a human?” The writer groaned. “Oh this’ll give me and the readers a headache with the reviews.”

“Well, off to pay a visit to the little human.” The cloaked figure laughed at the readers before looking at the writer. “By the way.... I realize you’ve been trying to restrain yourself from me despite allowing my other self to give away love to the readers. I understand why, you don’t want to be THAT kind of fan.” “No, I am not THAT kind of fan and I am aware that you aren’t MY kind of guy, even if I do like characters like you.” The writer snapped before she realized something. “Wait, what did I just say?” The figure laughed as he patted the writer’s head. “Oh you silly little human, I know you can’t resist me.” He then went off. “Have fun with the denial.” The writer just stared in dumbfounded disbelief before staring at the A/N Tamatoa. “He’s... kidding, right?”

My sadistic side really enjoyed this chapter. Now I’m not trying to make enter an angst phase in this story for the heck of it. Imagine being a teenager who is going through a really difficult time, in addition to having to deal with a lot of pressure of the difficulties of adulthood and that is the painful reality that is happening here. It was also interesting for me to do something new and explore the other sides of such issues within the family and how these events are effecting them, but of course this is a story where things are about to get MUCH worse. Speaking of which... As stated before, I wanted to keep the description of Tamatoa’s human form to a minimum, with the exception of a few key details. This is so that you, the reader, can envision your favorite humanized version since there are so many awesome ones out there to use (I know I have mine on tumblr and deviantart (also, its under the name tornrose24 if you need to take a quick look), but I’m curious to know which version you opted for in the reviews). Of course there was one thing I had to include in his description no matter what because I don’t think Motonui would be an easy place to maneuver around without it (especially without a walking stick). Yeah, sorry about that. So I did some alterations to some recognizable songs. The first song might be unfamiliar because I changed most the original lyrics but if you know the song Suppertime or its reprise from Little Shop of Horrors...well, you’ll see. (it’s one of the best broadway songs in my opinion, not to mention downright creepy). And in case a select few of you are wondering, no I didn’t use ‘Goodbye Moonmen’ from Rick and Morty or ‘Mermaid’ from Flight of the Concords as fitting as they would have been. Sorry. :(

Chapter 9: The lure of the Siren When night came there was a strange quietness upon Motonui. Even the sound of the ocean in the distance seemed to have dulled down to the point that its calm nature was missing. It was only if you were more aware of your surroundings that you would notice this, yet most of the villagers were in a hushed excitement for the visitors that would come tomorrow and the fun that the events would bring. Only a select few dreaded the day that was to come, yet one resident held a special kind of fear for her role. Grandma Tala finished her drink in silence before turning to see her granddaughter huddled under the protection of the tapa that depicted Maui in all his fierce glory. She had her head bowed and her arms were drawn into her body as her arms were around them in a tight grip to the point that she looked like an unmoving rock. Her injury was cleaned, treated, and bandaged up, but nothing could be done to fix the pain within the girl. Pua sat by Moana’s side and looked up at his human friend with sorrow and whined as he wished there could be a way to cheer her up but he didn’t know how. Tala sighed as she set the drink down. She would not let her son be anywhere near his daughter for the time being as there was too much anger and heartbreak for them to be in each other’s presence. Normally she would be more than happy for Moana to come spend a night with her, but this was not a happy visit. “I don’t think I can smile when I dance.” Moana finally spoke in a pained voice while she was still curled up. “I can’t think of a reason to. Not after what has happened.”
Tala wished that she could posses all the knowledge of the world, for sometimes there was no true way to comfort someone so that they could be happy before the sun rose up the next morning. She knew that feeling when her husband died and it took awhile for her to smile again, but she knew that what Moana was going through was something entirely different. Her soul had almost been crushed completely when the boats were about to be destroyed by her father’s hand and she was going to lose a friend as a result. Worse yet, she had to experience the pains of not only growing up, but the heavy burdens she knew her future would bring in her role as a leader. “I saw you leave Motonui on that boat, but I did not say a word about it.” Tala finally spoke as she tried to find a way to help the girl. “I could not see you clearly but I could feel your happiness as if you were beside me. I had prayed that the gods would make that dream come true, and they did.” “But now its a tainted dream.” Moana looked up and revealed how utterly miserable she was as well as a slight redness in her eyes from crying. Even now it looked like she was trying to hold herself together. “I thought this would be the best day of my life, but when I remember what happens after I go back to the island, I’ll always remember how badly it ends. Even the best part of today had to be taken away from me by father.” Moana let out a small, bitter sigh. “I don’t think I’m meant to have happiness.” Moana confessed. “I’m always kept from the things I want more than anything and if I get one taste of it then I’m punished for it. If people try to help me, then they get punished. And now I am expected to play a part and smile and dance as if nothing happened.” She closed her eyes. “I feel like I’m suffocating because I want to be a leader for my people, but I don’t think I could be able to live up to their expectations. I don’t know if I’ll ever find a husband that I would like or if I’d even be able to have a child to continue the line when that day comes. I’m drowning and this time there is nothing that can pull me out or save me.” “I’m scared, Grandma.” Moana looked at her grandmother with quiet despair in her brown eyes. “I’m scared because I will always have to make sacrifices whether I want to or not. I can’t make my own choices because its like fate has something in store for me and I don’t know if I want it. I don’t know if I can wear a smile for a mask for the rest of my days.” Tala stared at Moana before she took a breath. “So you think you don’t have a choice in what you say?” When Moana shook her head, she continued. “Sometimes there is no telling what the world wants us to do or what fate has in store.” Tala told Moana. “We can’t change the past and we can’t always correctly predict the future. We can’t decide to be born into the life we find ourselves in, and the given circumstances limits our options, but we do have a choice. We can chose to stick in the same spot forever or we can get up and try to move on. You can make the most of what life offers, you can fight your way out, or you can let someone else decide your path. You can stay on this island or you can leave–” “I can’t!” Moana cried. “I can’t abandon my people and yet I–!” She gave up and sighed. “Not a lot of people in my life have ever considered what I want, especially considering who I’m destined to become. And yet, of all the people who gave me that freedom to have that one day to be out at sea was someone who could have easily taken it away from me. Someone who took a serious risk for my sake.” “Ah yes, the one who cannot speak.” Tala smiled knowingly. “But why would you think that way of the one who you tried to get away from through trickery and who you could not stand? I thought you regarded him as arrogant and–” “He is!” Moana confessed as she threw a hand out. “And he treated me like a bratty child when I acted like one! Yet–” She dropped her hand as she thought about her friend. “The more I spent time with him, the more I could really see him. Arrogant, smug, and a bit of a trickster, but...” She pondered over her words as well as the man on her mind. Had her opinion of him changed that much? “He went against father’s wishes to make my dream come true and I can’t think of too many people who would be willing to do that. It took me awhile to really know him, but I could see someone who could be fun, reliable, incredibly daring, adventurous, and determined. Someone who listened and who didn’t treat me like a Chief’s daughter, but as a regular girl, and was willing and patient enough to teach me all I wanted to know. There is more to him and I want to know more about him, like what he used to do. If I could have another day on the sea with him, I would take it in a heartbeat and not just because it would mean that I would have that day on the sea once more. And if it was in my power, I would do anything to pay him back for all he did. I’d even give him his voice back if I knew how to do it.” And in truth, she almost wished it were possible that he could stay in her life a little longer or at least that he could come back to visit her. If he was to leave her life forever, she doubted that she could ever forget him that easily. “And its all my fault that he’s going to be sent away.” Moana sighed. “For all he did, he gets banishment as repayment and I can’t do anything to stop it or say goodbye. I don’t think I even gave him a thank you hug in all the time I knew him.” Come to think of it, did she ever have a chance to do that? She verbally thanked him, but she never expressed it in the gesture that would have meant so much more and would tell him everything that she would not be able to say. Tala frowned as she thought some things over. “Would he be worth defying your father?” She finally asked. Moana looked up in confusion as Tala added “Some people and causes are worth defying all odds. Some sacrifices are worth making and no matter how large your foe may be, you can overcome them by being your true self as well as being true to yourself. Remember what I said about having a choice?” Moana was about to ask her grandmother what she really meant when they heard footsteps coming towards the fale. Afraid that it was her father, Moana hurried to one corner of the room while Tala got up with her cane and went to move the entrance aside. “May I speak with you alone?” It was her mother and she sounded desperate and lost. “Its about some things that happened today.” “I will in a second.” Tala nodded and walked to Moana where she knelt beside her. “Remember, if you really don’t feel up to dancing tomorrow, you can always claim illness at the last moment.” Tala whispered to Moana. “It works every time.” She then raised her voice as she got back up. “Would you like me to bring anything back? Some fruit perhaps?” Moana shook her head before turning to Pua. “I’d like to be alone for a bit, Pua.” She told him. “Could you go with Grandma?”
Pua was reluctant to do so, partly because he didn’t want Moana to suffer alone, but also because he sensed that there was something wrong in the air. It was as if there was a strong force, like a large amount of mana that was compressed all together and stuffed into a coconut shell that could barely hold it in, but it wasn’t comforting and he had no idea what it was. “Please?” Pua reluctantly left Moana and followed Tala out of the fale as his concern for his friend won over his concern for the strangeness in the air. He hoped that Moana would have some time to clear her thoughts before they got back. Moana watched as Tala and Pua left and she could see a row of torches outside that illuminated the black darkness in their welcoming glow. When the entrance fell, she could see the lights from the torches through the tapas as well as the designs upon them. She turned to the tapa that she was originally under that depicted Maui–that intense gaze and those barred teeth made her think of her friend’s moment of anger from earlier–and she recalled her dream with the mysterious woman. So long as you are by the ocean or within it, it will protect you from a certain danger.” The words rang in her head but they only made her annoyed. “What good was being safe near the water when all it did was cause me trouble?” Moana asked the tapa of Maui before turning around to look at all the tapas. “What could can any of you be to me now?!” She demanded with a scowl as she walked around the room and shot accusing looks at the characters. “I can’t overcome my foe because he wishes to control my future! I can’t just abandon my people, no matter how much I want to leave! I’m not a hero like some of you and I don’t have the power like the rest! I can’t save my friend and I can’t save myself!” She felt like she was suffocating again, like she was choking on something unseen. “I know father will still try to burn down the boats.” She felt herself going into a panic. “I let our heritage be destroyed because of me! I let one person get in trouble because of me! I just can’t get out of the dance because of how much it means to me! I’m expected to do things that I don’t know if I can or not, I’ll always have to mask my real feelings–” She was drowning in her stress and she tried to swim back up in an angry outburst. “No one cares about what I want! Why would any of you start caring?!” She cried out to the characters. “Do any of you understand how I feel?! I can’t be the person–I don’t want to be–I–!”
She didn’t know what she wanted anymore. “I don’t know what my true self is.” She stopped at the tapa of Tamatoa and collapsed under it. “I can’t–” She felt her tears coming. “I can’t–” She curled herself into a ball again and tried to calm herself as her head bowed into her knees. She was terrified and she wanted out. She didn’t want tomorrow to come and she wanted to defy all odds but she had no clue how. She couldn’t be true to herself and she had no idea who she was anymore. All she knew was that she was just a stupid, selfish little brat who couldn’t do anything right. Moana started to sob as her tears came flowing out while the ball of stress was still locked inside her body. The light from the torch outside illuminated the tapa Moana was in front of and it revealed all the sinister details that made up Tamatoa who was right above her. Yet an ominous shadow of a figure from outside walked forth and stopped in front of the tapa and covered up the character on it. The shadow blocked Moana from the light, trapping her in its darkness, and as she continued to sob, the shadow waited for a few seconds. “Hey little princess hello...” A smooth, yet deep sounding voice sang out from behind Moana. Moana ceased her crying as she took in the voice through her stress filled mind. “Wh-whose there?” She sniffed as she slowly raised her head and acknowledged that she was not alone. “You’re looking glum as can be...” She never heard such a voice before; it had a smooth, calming quality and yet there was an odd seductiveness about it that made you want to hear more.
“Hello?” Moana’s voice rose in strength with her demanded as she began to forget her concerns. Who was outside the fale and singing as if it was for her and her alone? “You’re looking mighty sad.” The voice continued to croon and it was at this point that Moana finally got up, but the figure retreated away from the tapa as if he sensed what she was doing. “It’s so plain to me.” Moana wiped her tears off her face as she walked over to the entrance to the fale and opened it to see an almost human like figure in strange cape like garments of dark greens and browns that completely covered him from head to toe and slightly dragged upon the ground. He took one of the torches off the ground and proceeded to walk away from the fale with a strange staggering movement as if his steps varied between normal and uneven. “Well if you need a friend,” He continued singing as he went about his way “I got a hand to lend.” Curious as to who this strange singer was, Moana watched as he got farther away before she went over to also grab one of the torches. She watched as he headed his way on a side trail that lead somewhere near the mountains and forested area of the mountain in that strange walk of his. Could he be her friend? No, she was positive that couldn’t be what his actual voice sounded like (and she wasn’t sure if he did escape) but she felt compelled to follow this man who didn’t sound like any of the men from her village. No man she knew of possessed a voice that seductive or that unique. If truth be told, any distraction was a welcome to the girl and this was a very interesting one. “Come on, come on,” He sang as if he knew she was following him as he got further and further away into the darkness of the night with only a torch to guide him. “Come on, come on,” And follow him she did, away from her grandmother’s fale. “Come on, come on.” His singing continued to make Moana forget her troubles from earlier that day and her sadness turned to a burning curiosity. She wanted to know who this person was while at the same time she was drawn to his voice, which seemed to numb away her inner turmoil. “Poor unfortunate soul,” He sang another song. “In pain, in need. This one longing for their freedom, this one longing to escape, and do I help them? Yes indeed.” Moana was barely paying attention to his words as she continued following this strange figure farther and farther away from the village. It was easy to follow him due to his limping movements and his torch which he held as far away from him as possible, yet she was unaware as to where exactly he was going as they continued. Moana wanted more than anything to see the face of the one who possessed such a voice. She already had to go through many years wondering about the face of the voice she tried her hardest to remember. If her savior’s voice had been like a warm day with the sun at its highest point in the sky and was deep and full of life, then this voice had a strange playfulness about it and a smoldering quality, with a rich depth unlike that of the ocean. Eventually he changed his song again that practically radiated with confidence. “Well Tamatoa hasn’t always been this glam,” He crooned. “He was a drab little crab once. Now he knows he can be happy as a clam, because he’s beautiful, baby.”


“Did your granny say, listen to your heart?” He continued as his voice picked up in volume. “Be who you are on the inside?” I need three words to tear her argument apart: your granny lied.” Moana became aware that they were now somewhere between the forests and the mountains as he continued in a more upbeat, show-offish manner. “I’d rather be shiny! Like a treasure from a sunken pirate wreck! Scrub the deck and make it look shiny! I will sparkle like a wealthy woman’s neck!” For a brief moment Moana was reminded of her friend’s earlier smug behavior and felt convinced that if this man wasn’t him then these two would probably get along. In that moment she felt a twinge of regret and she completely missed part of the man’s song. When she came back to reality, she only heard “-they chase anything that glitters! Beginners! Oh, and here they come, come, come, to the brightest thing that glitters!” At this point the man stopped at a small dead end of an area where the earth rose up to serve as walls, though one wall was low enough that you could see the tops of the nearby trees. There were some plants and a few boulders and rocks, yet there were a few torches already placed here and there to give the area equal illumination. It was here that the man hummed the rest of the song and he thrusted the torch in between a few boulders and Moana stopped a few feet away to see what he would do. He cracked his head to one side and took the odd garment off before quickly throwing it away as far as he could as if he hated it and he let out a deep sigh of relief. He made to roll his head for a moment but then he paused for a second when he seemed to be aware that someone had followed him. “Well, well, well,” He sang with a low, amused tone as he turned around to face Moana, who almost flinched in surprise and even backed away a few steps when she realized that he was now fully aware of the fact that she followed him. This man was not ordinary in appearance. His clothing was unusual in that the vibrant colors were impossible to create with any ordinary dyes, nor did they look natural. His adornments included strange looking objects and materials that flashed and shone in the light of the fire and he even wore them as accessories. His appearance was so peculiar and flashy, yet so other worldly, that Moana had no idea if she was standing before a warrior, a lord, or even one of the gods. When she looked down, she realized why the man walked so oddly–he was missing part of a leg on one side and he was wearing some sort of prosthetic unlike any she had ever seen as a replacement so that he could be able to walk like a normal two legged person. “What have we here?” Moana looked up when the stranger asked in an amused and eager tone of voice. His talking voice was slightly different than his singing voice as he had specific accent that was more prominent and made the emphasis on some of the words come out differently than what Moana was used to. “I thought I heard someone following me.” He flashed the girl a strange grin that revealed a set of crooked teeth as he walked over to her. “I didn’t expect that it would be the young princess of this island herself!” He then bowed before her in a dramatic flourish, his upper body bending low as far as he could and his free arm extending completely out to the side. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness!” “I–uh–” Moana felt a little unsure as to what was going on. “I’m not a princess.” She told him with a slight awkwardness. “I’m the Chief’s daughter–I’m afraid isn’t the same thing.”
The stranger let out a strange scoffing sound. “Aw, it doesn’t matter.” He got up and rolled his eyes before walking towards her. “From what I know, the titles are all the same.” He then did something Moana didn’t expect when he got close enough– he reached out and took her free hand with an almost light as an air hold and extreme carefulness. It was as if he was barely touching her and was trying to avoid completely grabbing her hand as if doing so would break it and he lowered himself slightly to her level as his other arm went behind his back. “Enchante, mon princesse.” The stranger gave Moana a wide, yet oddly charming smile before he raised her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it. It was such a sudden gesture that Moana had no idea how to react, yet she felt herself blushing at the contact of his lips against her hand. She couldn’t deny that there was a strangely charismatic nature about this man, despite his other oddities. “Was that too forward?” The stranger flatly asked with a frown after kissing her hand when he saw the blush, yet his eyes hinted at a pleasure towards her reaction. “You’ll have to forgive me.” The stranger continued as he lowered her hand from his face and he looked into her eyes. “I know that’s not the traditional greeting around these parts, but I’m a collector and I tend to pick up more than just treasures when I go out and about in the world. Its quite educational and some of the things I find are beyond your wildest imagination.” Moana heard his words but she was looking at his eyes–they were a beautiful shade of deep blue, like certain parts of the waters around Motonui, yet his left pupil was slightly larger than the right one. She wondered how that was possible (an injury or something he had since birth?) and she missed hearing the stranger brag about his career as a collector until he finally said: “Hey, babe?” The stranger’s unique eyes narrowed in annoyance. “Just pick one to look at.” “Sorry!” Moana shook her head with a cringe of embarrassment and focused on his face altogether. “You must get easily distracted a lot, don’t you?” He asked as he finally let go of her hand and he stood back up. “Granted I can’t blame you since I’m impressive looking to begin with and I know I got a nice set of eyes.” He let out a smug smile at this as he gestured to himself with a dramatic flourish. “I actually quite enjoy the staring, so I forgive you for stalking me.” “Wha–?! No, I–!” Moana didn’t know whether to be offended or not by his earlier words but she didn’t want to embarrass herself either, nor did she want to seem offensive (she did notice that he was missing a leg after all, in addition to the differences in his pupils). “I mean I did follow you,” She stammered “But that was only when I heard you singing and you were covered up and–and you are a great singer!” She quickly added before she could offend him. The man’s face dropped in confusion for a second. “Wait... you actually liked the singing.” “Yes.” Moana smiled a little after making that recovery as she moved her torch in her other hand. “I’ve never heard a voice like yours. I was feeling depressed about some things that happened but I forgotten all about them now, so thank you.” It was true, she did forget her troubles. The stranger stared at her in disbelief before he let out a smile that felt a lot more genuine then the others. “You mean it?” He laughed in delight. “Thanks, mon princesse! The last time I sang, I was told to shut up!” “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” Moana frowned as she wondered how that happened. He was a great singer, so it couldn’t have been because he was terrible. “Yeah, well he got what he had coming to him!” The stranger’s following laugh was now more out of amusement but there was an odd thing about it that felt wrong and almost mean spirited. “Actually it was kind of ironic, now that I think about it!” His laughter died down for a moment and the humor in his eyes vanished. “You know its almost funny.” He mused as he suddenly became lost in thought. “There was a time when I thought my voice alone could make others see some sort of value in me. In fact it used to be my only favorite thing since it could make others happy.” His eyes became melancholic and he paused for a few moments to turn his head around to try to look at his back for some odd reason. “And then you find out that no matter what you do, all people care about is what’s outside and whether or not you’re–” He quickly shook his head and that smugness returned when he moved his head back to the confused girl. “But hey, why should others care about how you feel, right?” He closed his eyes as he cupped his chin with one hand. “Its not like it’s more important than politics, preparations, appearances, or why the sky is missing some stars at night.” The stranger opened his eyes and let go of his chin to wave his hand out. “Though I can see quite a lot above our heads right now.” He looked up for a second. “I wonder how they shine like that.” One part of what he said was oddly specific and yet it caught Moana’s attention all the same. “You know that Maui’s constellation is missing too?!” She asked. “Tell me,” She stepped forward. “What do you know about it? Why has it vanished?”
“Oh?” The stranger seemed rather interested in her reaction. “So you hum–” He was about to say something but then hummed it instead before changing his words ”–you noticed that, didn’t you?!” His eyes then narrowed at Moana as his mouth turned into a smirk. “Question, O daughter of a Chief–well, its more like a personality question. Not one of the annoying kinds, like what your favorite color is!” He waved his hand but then he paused again. “Jewel tones.” He quickly threw it in as if he considered the answer but then he waved his hand again. “Anyway, its something more meaningful like...” His smirk deepened as his voice lowered to a strange, ominous tone as he leaned in towards Moana “What would you say if Maui turned his back on the human race and left them because they all took him for granted?” Moana stared in disbelief. What kind of question was that? “No,” She shook her head. “No he wouldn’t do that!” She denied this. “We appreciate all that he has done for us! We tell his stories and they inspire us even today! He wouldn’t just leave us like that!” That couldn’t be why the constellation vanished because Maui was said to genuinely care about the well being of humans. It just wasn’t a good enough of a reason. The stranger was taken aback by this but then he let out an odd snorting sound mixed with a laugh. He tried to hold it in yet he covered his hand as he snickered at Moana’s reaction and she thought she heard him mutter something behind it. “Oh sorry forgive me, something about that reminded me of something amusing that has to do with an old friend.” He shrugged and waved his hand again. “So despite all the less savory tales about him, you honestly believe that Maui is still a hero to you all? That he won’t get upset because one or two humans took advantage of his generosity over the years? You really think he is selfless enough to care about the feelings of at least one human if he goes missing, let alone if he actually does exist?” His words struck a small blow into Moana’s heart but the anger she held came back. “You probably know as much about him as you know about me!” The man stared at her and was taken aback by her outburst but then he shook his head as he threw his hands out when he shrugged. “Like I said, mon princesse–it was just a personality question.” “Of course I know enough to know that you were hiding a few secrets of your own and that you got in a lot of hot water with your daddy earlier today.” The stranger added as he walked around Moana, who was forced to turn around to follow him. “You are a little like me in a way–you can’t stand being like the others and being trapped and unable to do your own thing is suffocating you. You know that you were meant to shine and someone is trying to keep you in the dark. I know you have dreams and goals, mon princesse, but you can’t for reasons either beyond your control or because someone tells you not to do the things you want. And I’ve experienced enough to know that being selfless isn’t going to help you in the long run.” He gave her a sideways glance. “Trust me, I’ve been there and done that. I’ve been lied to before by someone close to me about how inner beauty can get you by in life. Unlike all your subjects and your family, I can give you a way to get off this island as far as you’d like to go.”
“What do you mean?” Moana asked as something in her head was screaming that something wasn’t right. “Well, if you do everything exactly as I say, you can get off this island before tomorrow night.” The man shot her an incredibly wide eyed look and a mischievous grin–the effect didn’t make him look human and it started Moana for a moment. “You see, I can guarantee that the way things are going, you are going to be stuck here miserable and forever doing what everyone wants you to do instead of the other way around. Now if you are willing to ignore the ‘voice’–” His features relaxed back to normal when he used his fingers with one hand to make air quotations on that word “–in your heart and give in to being a little selfish, you can free yourself and get what you desire the most. And all my ideas and back up plans, mon princesse? Every one of them gets you right off the island.”
“So what do you say?” He stopped and held a hand out to her. “Want to free yourself from all these people and get off for good?”
Moana stared at the stranger before staring at the hand. She wanted so badly to get off the island after all that happened, yet this was all too good to be true. “Why exactly do you care about what I want?” She asked. “Why me, of all people? I don’t see how this benefits you.” “Hey, I recognize a real diamond in the rough when I see one.” The man told her. “You got out on a boat one time, but it wasn’t enough, was it? Don’t you want more of that? To be part of that world?” He gestured out to where the sea was. “Even if one can almost drown in it or if there are a bunch of storms and monsters down below, I can’t blame you. The ocean gave me a heck of a time when I tried to get here but its better out there, take it from me.” Moana hesitated and she was about to ask what the man wanted from her when she realized something. How exactly did he know about the boat and her dad being angry at her in the first place? How did this man get on the island without anyone being aware of him? Wouldn’t someone have told her and her grandmother? And how did he– He mentioned drowning. Moana paused and looked at his garments and at the strange objects he had that seemed to shine in the firelight. There were not many objects she knew of that could do that and fact some of these strange objects shone so well that the shine was almost a brilliant white. Something shiny hit her in the eye earlier today and it wasn’t the sun. The angle wasn’t correct and she wasn’t looking at it, so you would have needed something reflective to have the light bounce off. Then it hit her like a rock to the head. “You,” Moana gasped as she held a hand to her mouth in shock. The man raised an eyebrow at her and, despite her warning scream in her head, she let it out “You were the reason I–!” Then Moana realized that the man had deliberately lured her away from the village. He knew where to find her and he had something in mind when he got her away when she was all alone. In fact this area had been set up as if he was expecting her to come to him. She was beginning to be afraid. “I...I just remembered that my grandma will be looking for me.” Moana avoided the stranger’s gaze as she tried to walk backwards away from him. “In fact I think there might be some people out around this area tonight.” She lied with a straight face. “Maybe I could come by tomorrow instead.” She turned around and was about to walk away when she heard the man approach her and grab her free arm in a painful squeeze. “You know its very rude to walk out of a conversation that hasn’t ended yet, babe.” The man’s voice came out in a warning hiss before Moana turned around to face him. “Weren’t you taught better than that?” The stranger’s pleasantries faded and his eyes narrowed at Moana, who now realized that despite his impressive appearance there was something about this man that was wrong. She was just too distracted by her issues and his showiness to see it. She couldn’t put her finger on what was wrong with this man, but there was something hiding behind the grandiose surface and within his eyes. Her grandmother’s warning on how appearances could be deceiving could not have been more effective in any other situation. “You were the reason I was blinded on the boat today!” She trembled as she yelled out her accusation. “You caused that to happen and I almost died!” She narrowed her eyes at the man before her. “Did you tell my father about me being out on the sea too?!” She demanded. “Who are you and what do you really want with me?!” The look of embarrassed surprise in the man’s eyes was all Moana needed to know the answer. “Oh ho, aren’t you a clever one.” The stranger scowled as annoyance flashed in his eyes. Moana slowly stepped back as the man got closer to her as he kept his hold on her. “I’ve yet to meet your daddy, so no I wasn’t the reason why he found out, but he’s getting too curious for his own good at the moment. The thing is, you have no idea what you got yourself caught up in and I’m afraid I’m going to have to resort to a drastic measure.” He made as if to take something out of his clothes. Moana took no chances–she waved the torch between her and the man as hard as she could. The man recoiled in terror from the torch as fast as he could and almost stumbled backwards but by then she made a run for it. The man groaned in annoyance as he regained his balance before running after the teenager. “Why did I forget the bloody fire in her hands?!” It was almost as if the person who brought fire to the humans was still around her! Moana ran as fast as she could as she tried to figure out where she was and how close the village was with her fire in her hand. She might have a chance to outrun the stranger since he had a handicap (it was not the first time she took advantage of something like that), but she had no idea what it was that he really wanted with her and she didn’t want to take any chances. “GET BACK HERE!” The stranger yelled as she heard him coming. “I SWEAR IF YOU DON’T, I’LL MAKE THIS MUCH MORE DIFFICULT FOR YOU!” Moana chose not to respond back as she ran as fast as she could. Her injured leg was still recovering and was protesting against her actions, but she ignored the pain. A part of her wished there was someone by her side to help her, but she also felt confident that she could find the village. If she was close enough or else she could see it, then she would yell for help. At the same time, if she yelled for help, he would find her based off the sound of her voice. She once swore to never let herself be kidnapped again and to be ready if something happened, and now that was going to be put to the test. “I MEAN IT, YOU GET ONE CHANCE TO COME BACK!” He yelled again. The voice that was once so pleasant was now a cause of alarm and fear. “DON’T BLOW IT, BABE!” Where was she?! She thought she knew this island by heart and yet the darkness made it unfamiliar to her. Any moment the stranger could find her and already it seemed that her insides were starting to hurt from all the running! She knew that there was a freshwater pond and a waterfall close by if this pathway was familiar in the light of the torch. There was also a set of rocks she could hide behind over there if she was careful, but that meant that she would have to sacrifice her light. It was the only give away to her location and although she was afraid of doing it, she had no choice. The stranger sounded as if he were getting closer to her. She wished deep down that there was someone by her side and she wanted to scream but she couldn’t. Her heart was pounding and adrenaline was kicking in. She could barely even feel whatever she was stepping on underneath her as she ran for her life. Finally she found the small, narrow pathway that lead to the waterfall and she ran into it. When she finally saw the waterfall and the pond that turned into a stream that headed to her village, she glanced at the rocks, before hurling the torch into the waterfall. She quickly darted right to the rocks and crouched behind them where she was forced to wait. The darkness that she once feared could now become her greatest ally in this time of distress. “BABE!” The man sang. “WHERE ARE YOU BABE?!” Moana closed her eyes and covered her mouth as her body shook out of fear. Her breathing was already heavy from the hard work and it would be a give away to her hiding spot. Don’t find me, don’t find me, don’t find me. She pleaded. The footsteps slowed down and they got closer and closer to the waterfall. Moana held her breath. Her family and her friends raced though her mind as she feared what would happen if she was caught. The footsteps stopped. Moana pleaded to the gods to divert his attention away from this area. The steps then sounded as if they were retreating until there was a silence. Moana looked up to see that there was nothing out there; the sound of the waterfall cascading down into the pound was the only thing to break the silence. It seemed that the darkness was truly her ally for once in her life. With a huge sigh of relief, Moana got up from her hiding spot and held her face in her hands as she walked around the rocks. She would need to be extra careful getting out of here and she would have to alert the village about the stranger. She needed to get help and she needed to hide in a place where there was a lot of people. Moana took a few moments to calm herself down and she took a few deep breaths before she lowered her hands and opened her eyes to face the waterfall... and let out a strangled gasp of horror as her heart stopped. Staring right back at her was a large and incredibly monstrous face. She couldn’t make out what it was supposed to be, but it had intense colored markings of garish pink and dark blue on its face and somewhere illuminating the silhouette of its mountain of a head was a bright light blue glow. There was also pink and black colored antennas above its eyes–white eyes that were huge with a small dot of purple in each one and they were staring right at her. The water of the waterfall made the face ripple and distort a little, which only made the overall effect even more sinister. Moana took a few steps back before turning around as quickly as she could, only to come face to face with the stranger she had been trying to escape from. But now there was a big change in his appearance–the stranger also glowed in the darkness like the monster in the waterfall. All the peculiar adornments and accessories that he wore now glowed with that same light blue and he too also bore the blue and pink markings on his face. Even the whites of his eyes glowed as their blue color turned into the bright purple that belonged to the monster. Moana gasped in terror as she turned to try to get away before she found herself facing the monster in the waterfall again. She then hesitated as she stared up at the monstrous face and then realized that there was supposed to be a wall of earth and rocks behind the waterfall and there was nothing behind the stranger to cause that reflection. “What... what the...?” Moana gasped as her eyes widened while she tried to make sense of what was going on in her state of panic. The monster’s eyes narrowed at Moana and the purple of his eyes changed colors–one became light blue and the other became a garish pink. At the same time, his mouth grew into a big grin to reveal his white teeth which were as crooked as those of the one behind her. “Oh, babe, babe, babe.” The monster’s mouth moved, but the voice that spoke out belonged to that of the stranger. Moana turned around–her eyes wide with fear–as the man grinned and his eyes also changed like those of the monster’s. He took out a strange necklace with a purple shell with golden flecks that gave off a faint glow and he held a hand out to her. “You really shouldn’t have seen that.” In her panic, Moana made to run as fast as she could around the man, but he grabbed her when she was close enough and slammed her into one of the walls of earth that trapped her in this area with him. The strength behind the move was far more powerful than that of a normal human being and the force against the wall was enough to almost knock the air out of the young girl. While she was stunned, she fell to the ground and struggled to catch her breath as the man came and bent down to her level. Moana cried out as the stranger grabbed her neck with one hand, and forced her back up to her feet against the wall. Moana tried to scream but his hold was too tight to the point that he was almost chocking her; she tried to kick at him, but he kept his distance as if he expected it to happen. Instead she was forced to try to pull his arm away from her with her hands and she tugged as hard as she could, but it was futile. “I can’t believe you are the only thing in my way, but I can still use this to my advantage.” The stranger growled as he glared at Moana, who now tried to scratch at his hands while kicking at him. He then smirked as the hand that held onto the necklace flipped it in the air within the safety of his grasp before it was dangling down low between his fingers and thumb. “You humans with your embellishments to stories.” The stranger continued with a chuckle as he raised the necklace in front of Moana’s face. “Of course there are ways to make them real if you have the right possessions on hand.” “Wh–” Moana struggled to snarl at the man. “What are you doing?!” “Ever seen one so shiny?” The man sang as he waved his free hand and the shell of the necklace waved back and forth in front of Moana’s eyes. “Soak it in because it’s the last you’ll ever see.” Moana made to pull to the side, yet the man kept his hold and forced her off the wall and into a position that forced her to bend her knees as she furiously tried to pull his hand away as hard as she could. “Ces’t la vie, mon ami, I’m so shiny!” He sang in a dark cheerfulness as the glow of the shell grew and Moana tried her hardest to break free. “Now I’ll claim you so prepare your final plea, just for me.” He almost begged it as if it gave him pleasure. Against her will, Moana’s eyes were being drawn to the shell of the necklace that seemed to wave in time to the beat of the tempo of the stranger’s song. The more it glowed, the more she was drawn to it and her struggles were slowing down as the whites of the man’s eyes and the eyes themselves shifted from blue to pink and back again in a crazed manner and his grin widened. “You’ll never be quite as shiny,” He taunted Moana as her head began to throb and the browns of her eyes were slowly being taken over by a milky purple color. “You’ll wish you were nice and shiny!”

In back in the safety of the village, Sina slowly approached the fale of the man who could not speak with a basket of food in her hands. Tala followed her close behind with Pua by her feet and she could only let out a sigh and shake her head when she saw that there was already someone guarding the entrance to the fale with a club in their hands. “Maybe its better if I never tell them.” Sina quietly confessed to Tala as she looked down at the basket. “Maybe I’m not pregnant after all and it was a false alarm. Its not going to make things better.” She wanted so badly to tell Tui that she was positive that this was why her body was behaving so strangely lately (there had been so many signs and one of the women who helped deliver newborns that she confided in earlier was also convinced about this), but now it just felt too early to say. In fact, there could not have been a worst time for a feud to strike to prevent her from letting her family know. “It won’t unless you can help mend the bond between father and daughter.” Tala advised Sina. “If Moana chooses to stay with you tonight, please watch over her, will you?” Sina asked. Tala could only walk up to her daughter-in-law and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She carefully patted it before walking away. “Good night, Sina.” “Good night.” Sina responded with a weak smile before heading to the fale and Pua followed after her. When the guard looked up, she held the basket out to show why she was there and he nodded and parted to the side; Sina nervously went inside to see what her husband had done. The man had been tied to one of the central beams that held the fale up. A rope had been wrapped a few times around both his stomach and the beam he was pressed up against and his hands were tied at the wrists to the point that they allowed some comfortable movement, but they still kept them bound together. He had been forced to the ground in a sitting position and he was slumped over in a dejected manner to the point that his head hung low and his hair hid some of his face from view. Sina hated the sight and she wished that her husband hadn’t gone to this extent. She walked over and set the basket down close enough so that he could reach the food. “I’m sorry, I can’t find a good enough reason to excuse why my husband did the things he did.” Sina tried to apologize for something she knew she had no control over. He didn’t look up to indicate that he heard her, which made her lose more of her confidence. Even Pua tried to bump his head into the man’s leg, but he didn’t bother to notice Moana’s little friend. “I’ll see what I can do for you in the meantime.” Sina tried to say. “If it were in my power I–” There was no point in saying anything that could give him hope at the moment. She would give him an empty promise if she did. She sighed again and got up to turn around but stopped. She wanted to say something–anything–to cheer him up or give him closure, but she didn’t know what to say. It was only when she made it to the entrance and Pua followed her that the man finally looked up at Sina. She didn’t see the look of regret in his eyes before the light from outside vanished and he was stuck in the dark once more.

Sina later found her husband lost in thought as he looked at the strange golden brown object in his hands in their fale. She already knew the story behind it, but that wasn’t her concern. “You say that earning trust is important, but isn’t Moana’s trust in you as her father just as important?” Sina asked as she was determined to follow Tala’s advice. “You are afraid of losing her because of what happened in the past, but there are other ways to lose her forever. Could you imagine what would of happened if you did burn down those boats?” Tui turned his head to look at his wife, but he did not respond. “If I was in her position, I would have left the island and never came back.” Sina hardened her gaze. “I try to avoid picking sides and to help the two of you see the other’s views, but you went too far this time, Tui. Moana is also my daughter and I care about her happiness and well being. You cannot burn down those boats or else we could lose her for good.” Tui looked as if he wanted to answer but he could only force his eyes away from Sina, who was angry at this. At least her husband could be able to talk, so this was not excusable. “Can’t you at least let her say goodbye to her friend?!” Sina demanded. “I don’t want her to hate you Tui, but you have to at least make an effort to show that you aren’t the heartless father she thinks you are! What do you think will happen to her when he leaves the island?! What will happen if you choose to burn down the boats when the visitors leave?! What will happen to this family?! Do you think she would want to sleep in her own home with us ever again?!” “Eventually she will forget what happened, Sina.” Tui could only say. “Oh and like you didn’t forget your friend or your father?!” Sina yelled. It was at this point that Pua crawled away as far as he could from the argument. “Why would you bring them into this?!” He demanded. “We can’t forget the people who leave strong impressions on us!” Sina threw her hands out. “Especially those we were close to! So unless you try to find a way to fix this situation, you’ll be at risk of making Moana think that you were a horrible father to her when you were alive! She’s not going to have us in our lives forever!” Sina added. She had to stop herself from saying anything that could make the situation worse. She wanted to tell Tui that she wanted to be able to go to the other islands herself, that Moana might view the man who could not speak as a better father figure than Tui was when she looked back on those lost to her, that maybe his friend would not have appreciated how Tui was ‘honoring’ his memory. She needed to get through her husband’s stubbornness and make him see before her family was ruined forever. Sina glanced at the object in Tui’s hands. “You should return that back where it came from.” She advised with a scowl. “They say its bad luck to take something that belongs to the gods and I would not be surprised if that belonged to one of them.” “Its dark out and we won’t have time for that tomorrow.” Tui countered. “The owner lost it and they would have come for it if they knew it was missing.” “Then I guess you better not burn the boats.” Sina countered. “Because if you’re suspicion is correct, then we don’t know what will happen if the owner is not a friendly being.” Meanwhile a certain teenager was stumbling through the village as if lost in a trance. The moment she saw the Chief’s fale, she paused for a moment to take it in before she straightened herself up and headed towards it with more natural steps. Inside the fale, Pua sensed Moana approaching and he hurried out to greet her. The moment he finally located her coming towards the fale, he stopped and all he could do was stare in confusion. Sina sensed why Pua had left the fale and she stepped out to see her daughter looking at one of the many torches. “Moana?” Sina asked as she went to approach her daughter. Strangely enough, her daughter was dressed in an unusual skirt and top that was composed of a strange hue of magenta, with touches of blue and yellow. Even the clothing was somehow adorned with blue–green stones around her neck and what looked like rows of pearls upon the skirts. There was a string of pearls on top of her head like a crown and the only thing about her attire that did not change was the bandages around her injury. “Moana?” Sina asked again. Moana finally looked away from the fire and her eyes seemed to have a strange look in them like she was somewhere else. “Mother.” Moana nodded with a strange stiffness and a small smile. “Are you feeling well?” Sina was concerned and found herself holding her hands together. Was Moana still suffering and was this the result of it? She also wanted to know where Moana got that dress, but she was more concerned about Moana’s well being. Moana broke into a slightly wider smile as she straightened her back. “I’m perfectly fine.” Moana nodded and spoke in a strangely upbeat tone as if everything was perfectly natural, but there was still something about her that seemed restrained. “I just don’t think I can sleep here tonight. I think I’ll sleep at grandma’s instead.” Pua frowned from where he was as he looked over Moana. Something was wrong about her besides her outfit, which wasn’t exactly her style–there was a strange air about her that didn’t feel natural. He trotted over to her to see what it was. “I understand.” Sina nodded with a frown as she tried to hide her worries. “I know a lot has happened and I understand if you need to be away from your father for a bit.”
Moana’s smile twisted for a second and she flinched at the mention of her father. Sina saw the intense flash of anger in her daughter’s eyes, but to her it felt perfectly understandable since she wasn’t happy at Tui herself right now. “I would like that very much.” Moana admitted. At this point, Pua approached his companion and when he tried to push against her leg, she didn’t acknowledge him by looking down or petting him like usual. “Well... I’ll see you in the morning.” Sina turned around and left, feeling horrible that she didn’t have any other way to fix the situation before tomorrow morning. And who knew what would happen tomorrow while each member of her family was supposed to act like everything was ok? Moana turned around and ignored Pua, who tried to paw at her leg with one of his feet. She went on and walked away without even looking down. Pua immediately regretted leaving her alone. He was offended that she didn’t notice him, but he could tell something was wrong because this behavior wasn’t like Moana. He knew something had happened when he left her alone and it had to do with that strange atmosphere from earlier. He had to be extra careful so that he could figure out what was going on and what had happened to her. And that meant that he could not afford to let any of the villagers put him in an enclosure with the other animals. Moana continued walking and when she passed by the fale of the man who could not speak, the person with a club moved in front of the entrance as if she was going to try to enter it. She only stopped to look at it for one second before glancing back at the fale where her father was. The mask broke as her forced smile darkened into an angry glare and her eyes narrowed at it. What he did today was unforgivable. She would not let him get away with what he had done. Did he want her to be the perfect daughter? Oh she would give him the perfect daughter tomorrow. She shot her angry look at the person in front of the fale and they almost stumbled backwards in surprise at how intense her gaze was. Satisfied, Moana continued on her way.

Somewhere not too far from the village, the stranger Moana encountered stood by one of the torches he stole as he examined his arm. It was a very human like appendage made of flesh and bone instead of a hard shell and when he took the princess’ hand to kiss it, it wasn’t a claw that was holding her hand and his sense of touch had been heightened to the point that he could actually feel her skin. He had taken a drastic measure in order to make sure that the human wouldn’t get in the way. Granted the ocean had been dead set on keeping him off this island and it was one heck of a struggle for him as it tried with all its might to drag him back into its hold until he finally managed to get completely on the island and away from it. He knew the ocean was going to give him trouble. It was partly why he couldn’t go after the girl when he had his earliest possible chance, because that entity seemed really invested in the current events and it wasn’t on Tamatoa’s side. Of course, he knew he couldn’t blend in the way he was, which was why he had the foresight to make a back up concoction that didn’t last as long as Maui’s was, nor did it have the ingredients that took the demi-god’s voice or tattoos away. He was not a magical being but he wasn’t kidding about how going out into the world would be educational because he picked up quite a lot in the vast ocean besides treasures. He lucked out in learning how to turn into a human, but he never had a real need for that until now. The moment he had taken the concoction, it was one of the most physically painful experiences of his life next to the loss of his leg. It was like he was being compressed and something was pushing against him, forcing certain body parts to retreat into himself and he had to bite down on one of the many trees to keep himself from screaming before it got too big for him. Even his insides changing was agonizing and especially when his posture was changed so that he would have to stand like a human. He wasn’t claustrophobic but he suddenly had a good idea what it was like when that happened and there had been a lot of cursing in addition to the screaming. He wasn’t sure if Maui got the better end of the same deal or not at this point. It took the once mighty crab a while to get used to the changes, including learning to move like a human, the change in perspective, and a whole lot of other things that were incredibly disorienting to him. Even learning how to readjust holding onto objects took some time and luckily he had enough while he was still observing and forced to hide in an (unflattering) set of rags to cover the splendor and shine of his human form from the unsuspecting mortals. Being in this form was interesting, but it wasn’t enjoyable if he couldn’t show it off, if he couldn’t see his proper reflection as it currently was, or if it had to come with immense pain with the initial change. Also he wasn’t able to get his missing leg back, which was a huge downside. He did grow a little fond of the human princess and he did appreciate her sincere compliment on his singing. It was disorienting in the fact that he didn’t have to do anything to force her to his eye level (and it had been years since he was large enough to be at eye level with a human) but he had been convinced that she seemed to like him and that he had impressed her by being himself. It was a blow to his ego that the only reason why she was comfortable around him at first was because he was a mortal like her at that point and it did prove his point that outer beauty was all that really mattered in this world. However it did make him wonder what the heck she was able to see in Maui if his body had been damaged by the spell, in addition to losing his voice. But somehow she figured out enough to force Tamatoa to take a drastic measure. It wasn’t a big loss because, from what he understood what was going on, he did her a huge favor that was also going to work in his benefit. As long as the princess was away from Maui, Tamatoa’s victory would come to pass and it looked like the stakes were raising much higher for the demi-god than ever before. He was even considering stopping by and gloating his victory over the voiceless man, just to add more salt to the wound. Tamatoa laughed as he took a fish that he stole from the village (it would help with swallowing down some of the concoction that he needed to take to continue hiding from the mortals and to stay away from the ocean) before he bit down on the once living creature and ripped it apart with his teeth to eat it raw. Its insides spilled out and some of it went down his chin before he wiped it away with the back of his hand (even as a human, the taste was still the same to him). It wasn’t fresh or still alive like he would have preferred, but beggars can’t be choosers. Tomorrow would be the final sunset and now it was a matter of waiting. In the meantime, Tamatoa now had a sure way to keep the princess away from the demi-god until it was too late for either of them to come to their aid.

Moana continued walking until she was near a torch that showed her that her grandmother’s fale was close by and it was here that she stopped. “So you want to get off the island, babe? Well the easiest way to do so is with this.” The voice of the stranger echoed in her head from before he left her to go off and vanish. Moana moved her hand so that she could reach for the back of the top that went with her new dress and pulled out a strange object that the stranger had given her. It was beautifully crafted with purple colored tones of some sort of material that felt like hardened tapa cloth and it had pearls spiraling around it, yet the top part was made out of purple coral that had been smoothed down so that it was safe to hold onto. “It doesn’t matter how you use it. There are many ways you can use it, but each one guarantees a one way trip out of here. Do whatever you like, but I do have one recommendation.” Moana grabbed the top end and pulled the object out of the beautiful sheath before she could hold it out to look at it. In her hands was a carefully crafted dagger made from the bone of an undersea animal that had been carefully sharpened to the point that lightly touching it would cut someone and the ends were jagged on one side. A bit of rope tied the topmost and blunt end of the blade onto the coral handle, and the blade itself it was long enough that it could cause serious injury if plunged deep enough into a person’s body. “At the very moment you stop dancing for everyone tomorrow–the moment you stop giving them the person they want to see–go ahead and go after the one person who held you back.” Moana turned away from the torch to face her family’s fale and glared at it. Without any light around, her eyes glowed with a faint purple which was the only clue to the fact that someone had casted a spell upon her. Compassion, love, forgiveness, guilt–they had been suppressed in the spell that was controlling her. Instead there was a numbness that dulled down her sorrow and stress, but there was a certain anger that had been amplified in the spell and was patiently waiting to erupt like a volcano. “Go ahead and kill your daddy, mon princesse.”

Now is the time to start being afraid since the nods to the original Little Mermaid are starting to become more obvious. I didn’t want to do the ‘hypnotized into marriage’ that was in the original Little Mermaid film because it didn’t fit with what I was going for (though I can imagine how Moana would react to both that and who she almost got hitched to if I did) though in some ways I see that this was a lot darker. And kind of ironic considering what’s happened to Moana (I do get some Te Ka vibes from this corrupted version of her). I admit that this... isn’t the first time I’ve had a character endure a similar fate/spell, or a strange character referring to the heroine as ‘princess’ a lot (looks at ‘Hyrule Warriors Warped’ for a second with a nervous laugh). Of course this is getting to the point where I can’t make Moana the damsel in distress forever. It feels wrong to me that I am doing this to her when she was able to save herself and Maui more than a few times in the movie. I wonder how many people thought that I would make Tamatoa be able to actually hypnotize Moana through voice alone. *laughs* Actually I wonder how many fans were won over by the act he was giving Moana (hand kissing and all) before the cracks in the disguise began to develop. I was kind of inspired by ‘Poor Unfortunate Soul’ by Serena Valentino for that one scene near the end where Tamatoa was observing his human form (there is a scene in the book where Ursula observes how Eric is first drawn to her human disguise under her spell). However I’m NOT going to make Tamatoa a sympathetic antagonist or someone who ‘needs to be fixed’ by someone. I don’t know his whole backstory and while I can only make a guess that it wasn’t a pleasant one, this is a guy who almost ate Moana in the original film and tore into Maui over his own insecurities. Plus I enjoy writing out a good antagonist when I get one. And with that, we enter the climax chapters of our story. Its a race against the final sunset at this point and while I need to do a little more research to make sure I get my facts right on a few things, I aim to give you guys something that feels unique as well as familiar.

“Thanks.” The writer rubbed her wrists and thanked A/N Tamatoa for helping her get free. “Your story self is weird as all heck, you know that?” She took out a special device and stared at two special buttons on her laptop that said  ‘outtake’ and ‘fourth wall hammer.’ “Rgh, I want to use these and I had some good ideas, but I should wait a little longer!” The writer frowned in frustration. “Especially considering what might happen next. It won’t be as satisfying if I use them now.” “So,” A voice asked. “ARE you that kind of fan?” The writer turned in confusion to the A/N Tamatoa who grinned at her. “Do you want a little adoration from me? This chapter was updated on Valentine’s Day.” He reminded her. The writer felt herself panicking as a blush went to her face. “Uh... what?” She stammered. “Uh, no I don’t know if–look I admit that I can develop crushes on fictional characters like everyone else but I’m realistic enough to not fall under the delusions of–And I doubt I’d have a crush for you if you existed in real life, but–” “Oh gods, you stupid little idiot.” The A/N Tamatoa huffed as he knelt down beside the reader and grabbed her hand. “Here you go.” He took it and kissed the back of it. “Is that all?” He asked in a low and very suggestive voice. The writer’s blushing intensified before she collapsed back to the ground with a thud. “Wh... what is going on?” The writer continued to stammer in her state of confusion. “That happened. That actually happened. Why did that happen?! I thought I was above this!” She cried out. The A/N Tamatoa laughed as he turned back into his crab self. “Ok, seeing you act like that was worth it.” He turned to the readers with a grin. “Oh, would some of you readers like some appreciation from me too? Your adoration alone is good enough for Tamatoa.” “I’M GOING TO FIND MY REAL LIFE COUNTERPART AND KILL HER!” The writer screamed.