#I hadn’t drawn Piper so long

[tanlotts]

Piper for my Fallout modern AU art collection ❤️

In this AU Piper Wright is a very successful journalist in Boston, she’s worked for many important newspapers and magazines. But after quite a while of having worked for those big names she finally decided on starting her own little digital blog and to take on a more freelance way of working, which worked out really well for her since she adopted her sister Nat. This city girl loves spending time with her best friend Nick Valentine, thrifting clothes, photography and traveling.

[rosyredlipstick]

hii i hope you’re doing alright !! Just wanted to know if you have any idea of when you’re going to publish the last far galaxies chapter !!! i love the fic and i can’t wait to read chapter 11 !! have a good day/night :)

thank you for reading!!!!! the answer is soon but not soon soon unfortunately this chapter is a BEAST like a BEAST of a BEAST and no matter how many words i write THERES STILL MORE A;SLJLSDHGLSHGQV

have a good day/night :) here are the first few hundred words <3

Hours later, after piling themselves back on the ship and cutting through space to the rendezvous point, they were back on the star base.

It felt like a true whirlwind, a few hours of action so packed he could hardly think and now somehow Nico found himself walking the same gray halls, up the same ramp, into the ship, into his empty room. The privacy panels were drawn, the room in near darkness. It was late in the night, not even Command at the ready. They’d meet first thing in the morning, a disgustingly early call time already on his schedule, something he’d have to be dragged out of bed to make.

For the time being, he was alone. Will had marched Thalia straight off to the medbay, hearing no arguments but enough complaints that Nico pitied him greatly. Jason and Piper went off to meet Annabeth wherever she was, and Leo was already setting himself on ship repairs, more than enough crafts lined up for him to choose from. Nico hadn’t felt the slightest bit of temptation to follow any of them.

Nico sat on the edge of the bed, his legs coming out from under him. Quite suddenly, he felt exhausted down to the bone. He felt like he could sleep for a month and still want a nap. 

He dropped his head into his hands. He thought of the look in Thalia’s eyes, the anguish. 

Nico had taken his eye off the ball. It was a fact. If he’d faced one delay in the trees, an extra few minutes spent somewhere else, Thalia would be dead. And it’d be what she wanted. The thought was enough to tighten his throat, painful. 

Things could have gone so differently. He could be standing somewhere completely different, a completely different person. 

Nico didn’t let himself think on it very long. He grabbed for his comm. It only took a few rings until there was a mechanical click, the line connecting.

“I messed up,” Nico muttered into the dark. “I don’t know what to do.” 

There was a pause. “Do you want me to come?” 

Nico swallowed, wholly unsure. He was just figuring out what to say, how to even respond to that, when -

“Send your coordinates,” Bianca decided in a second, crisp in his ear. “Let your leadership know, I’m bringing the Huntresses.” 

[fbfh]

I mean, you did ask - leo x reader

all  characters are aged up to 18+ for smexy subtext

word count: 2k

pairing: leo x gn child of calliope reader

genre: adventure, romance, hints at a lowkey soulmate au

summary: after a bumpy reunion turned interrogation with your friends, you finally prove to Leo that you’re someone worth catching up with

warnings: swearing, friends hold you at knife point (for good reason) memory loss, dimesion/reality travel, the phrase “horrible sexy little goose” not about an actual animal, moderate time difference between worlds, reader is acting like a cocky piece of shit half the time, you call yourself sexy a lot, annabeth slaps reader and reader is unbothered, reader and leo hae very visceral reactions upon seeing each other, piper picks up on this, moderately aggressive face grabbing, discussing personal info with someone somewhat privately, brief mentions of hand holding and hair pulling during sex, you spill tea about the rest of the demisquad, I think that’s it pls tell me if I missed any

song rec: choke - i don’t know how but they found me

a/n: this is from a very vivid daydream I had so er ah if reader seems op coded that’s cause she is uwu

You were excited to reunite with your friends after so long, but being tied up and held hostage at knifepoint by the people you love who don’t even remember you wasn’t the welcome wagon you were hoping for. Then again, as a child of Calliope, you can’t say you’re surprised. 

Apollo has a lot of kids, but demigod children of the muses are exceptionally less common. They’re volatile, really powerful, extremely engrossed in their art, and usually care more about their latest thesis paper or painting or manuscript than going on quests, and more often than not have very specific powers. You, for example, love quests but feel like you never get to go on any, usually because you’re fighting monsters somewhere else. One fun little power you inherited from your mom is - somewhat involuntary - dimension shifting. 

A lot of times you just get summoned somewhere else, with a little inherent background knowledge and your weapon, set free into the new world like a horrible sexy little goose. There’s usually some kind of objective you need to meet; find this person, set something in motion, give someone support in a time of need, deliver a package. After that, you get sent back to your family at camp half blood. The catch, one of them at least, is that a few days Somewhere Else could be no more than a few minutes in your homeverse. 

Another catch is that because of all that, and the fact that you wouldn’t know how to begin explaining, let alone if anyone would believe you, no one knows you can do this yet. Chiron has an idea, but you’ve never told anyone outright. 

You guess now is as good of a time as any to come clean, as Percy holds his sword threateningly close to your neck. You let out a disbelieving laugh, and bite the inside of your cheek.

“Okay, okay… you want the truth?” he starts to back off, and you continue, leaning forward, “I’m not surprised you’d want to know where someone this sexy-” your words cut off as Annabeth’s hand slaps you across the face. You let out a laugh of disbelief, cheek stinging.

“A cheap shot, Annabeth? Wow, I really didn’t take you for the type,” she grabs your face, leaning in close, knife once again against your throat. 

"How do you know my name." She hisses, and behind her, the door opens. Messy dark curls peek over her head in your vision and you know instantly who it is. Your heart starts pounding, loud and hard, and something heavy starts swirling deep in your gut. Your eyes lock as soon as he enters the room and an instinctive smile blooms on your face, knowing what's inevitably on its way. 

"Hey Sparky…" 

Your voice, slow and drawling (and, he'd be lying if he didn't say kind of very sexy) impales him as soon as he enters the room. He watches your pupils expand, eyes locked, immediately swept away by your magnetic aura. A fox like grin decorates your pretty face, and he gets the feeling you know more than you let on. Way more. He's so drawn to you on a guttural level, way more than he's ever been to someone before. His face is hot, and when you slowly wink at him, he feels flames erupt on his cheeks. It takes him a second to put it out, feeling your white hot gaze on him the entire time. 

Piper, who's been helping with your interrogation, looks back and forth between you two as this progresses, taking in a breath and mumbling a shocked, "Oh," as she begins to understand. 

"How are those repairs coming?" Jason asks, oblivious to everything that's happening between you two. 

"Uh… nearly done…" Leo mutters, watching as you hold back an elated giggle at the sound of his voice. You never forget how good it feels to see him again, but the fresh feeling is always better than you can imagine. Jason glances between you two, and walks over to Leo, suspicious of your interest in him. 

"I'll walk you back," Jason says, glaring at you. Your eyes stay locked with Leo's until the door finally closes again. Piper stares at you, bewildered by the tension turned to frantic energy crackling around both you and Leo. She can sense it on him even after he's out of the room. 

Annabeth finally drops your face, pacing and pinching the bridge of her nose. Percy slams him hands down on the table and levels his face with yours. 

"I'm gonna ask you one last time. How do you know us?" 

You stare at the table for a second, still thinking about him. You have to see him again. You’ve waited for too long, you just can’t do it anymore. 

“H- okay. Um,” You blink a few times, facade falling away almost instantly as you look up in a silent prayer that this doesn’t go as badly as you feel like it will. You sigh, looking back up at the other people in the room, a new, deliberate intention in your eyes that they hadn’t seen before. 

“You want to know why I’m here?” 

Their answer is the silence that follows.

“You’re not gonna believe me.” They look around at each other, collectively thinking about everything they’ve been through in the last year alone.

“Try us.” Annabeth replies. You sigh again, and introduce yourself. “...I’m a child of Calliope, muse of epic poetry, and I know you all because we grew up together. One of the fun - quirks, I inherited from my mom is traveling into different stories, or realities, I guess. It’s hard to control, and sometimes happens involuntarily. I adapt to wherever I am, and the universe sort of auto adjusts to follow the rules that stories have to follow. 

The reason you don’t remember me is because I was gone for a really long time, and your story had to keep going. Trying to find me wouldn’t have moved the plot forward, questioning where I went would have been confusing, so it did the simplest thing and edited me out so you could get closer to meeting your objectives.”

Once again, their silence is your answer. 

“Guys, sidebar.” Annabeth says, pulling Percy, Jason, and Piper out of the room for a moment. The come back in a little while later, and she looks you dead in the eye.

“If you really know us as well as you say you do, prove it. Tell us you’d only know if we were as close as you say we were.” 

You sigh yet again, having lost count at how many times that’s happened today alone. You roll your shoulders and bob your head, irritable that you’re still restrained and itching to move. 

“Is there anything we can do before the whole tell me something really personal thing?” 

Percy looks at you, challenging.

“Can you do it or not?”

Another noise of exasperation leaves you, and you agree, resignation all over your face.

“You know what, yeah. Okay, we’re doing this. Someone go get Leo.” An involuntary smile once again launches onto your face at the mention of his name. Jason starts to object. 

“Hey, I’m not going to spill something personal about someone when they’re not in the room.” They agree reluctantly, and Jason leaves, returning again with Leo. You look at him again, enraptured by his presence. He can’t say he doesn’t like the attention - a hottie like you looking at him like that? Yes, please - but something about it feels different, and he gets the feeling there’s a lot more going on than they’re aware of. 

You nod your head once, indicating for him to come closer. He gets a little closer. You widen your eyes, nodding two more times, and he hesitantly gets within whispering distance. 

You turn your head to your left, dangerously close to his face. He can feel his pulse already speeding up. Heat radiates between your faces, your breath fanning over his neck as you whisper slowly,

“You really… really like holding hands, and when I pull your hair during sex.” 

He pulls away from you quickly, beet red, bewildered expression obvious to everyone in the room. “H-how-”

“How do you think?” You reply calmly, loving everything about him, “Okay, to be fair…” you nod once more, eyes flaring, and he leans in once again, equally hesitant and curious. Your words tickle his ear, seeming to light up his entire nervous system like a firecracker.

“I really really like when you bite that spot on my neck, just below my ear.” 

He pulls away again, trying not to literally and figuratively combust. He stares in your eyes intensely, searching for anything besides the truth. He finds absolutely nothing. He turns around, unable to look his friends in the eye. 

“They’re legit, guys.” 

“Wait, what did you say to him?” Piper asks, unsure if she wants to know the answer. 

“Yeah,” Annabeth agrees, “what if it’s some kind of mind control-” Your deep, burning desire to finally hold Leo after god knows how long is starting to beat your better judgement, and you really, really want to be untied from this stupid chair. “Annabeth! Your favorite show was Cyber Chase growing up, you used to come up with plans on how to defeat Hacker, your best was cutting off his food supply - good strategy, I’ve used it before, myself. 

Percy, you feel like you can’t sing because you were forced to participate in an elementary school recital and some kid called you tonedeaf behind your back, it kicked you right in the RSD balls. 

Piper, you’re a closet weeb, you watched Ouran High School Host club obsessively and still do sometimes, you fell for Jason because he had, quote, 'Tamaki's looks and Kyoya's brains, the ideal man'. 

Jason, that scar on your lip is from biting a stapler as a child-"

"Okay, everyone knows that-"

"-and," you continue, showing no signs of stopping, "the reason you ate the stapler is because you were pretending to be a trash compactor because you saw one on TV. 

Nico is totally not right outside the door keeping guard right now, but if he were and you asked him if he likes the diary of a wimpy kid movies he'll ask how the hell you know that - should I continue."

Again, the answers are in the silence hovering in the room. 

“I think it’s about time to catch me up on what I missed.” 

A beat passes.

“Right,” Annabeth says, blinking and readjusting her ponytail as she sits down across from you, Percy already taking the bindings off of your wrists, “so, about the quest…”

She starts to fill you in on the details you missed, bringing you up to speed. After a little while you all decide to call it a night. Piper senses your energy ramping up in spite of the exhaustion settling in. You finally bid them all good night, but Piper’s not sold by your forced yawns. After what feels like another lifetime, you finally leave the room you’ve been in for hours with one objective. 

You can’t stay away from him anymore, you have to find Leo. 

After navigating a maze of hallways and doors, you finally push open the right one to see him looking up at you, and find yourself saying for the second time tonight,

“Hey, Sparky…” 

His heart is racing, and he gets that heavy, full feeling in his chest again, not having fully shaken it from the last time you saw each other. Looking into your eyes makes him nostalgic for something he can’t quite remember, and he knows with full certainty that you have more history than he’s aware of. He wants more than anything in this moment to remember. He sets down the wrench in his hand, taking a step toward you.

“Hey…”

[stanning-reyna]

A Leo and Piper pre-tlh One-shot

It was finally winter break, and Piper was ecstatic that her dad had wanted her to come home for the holiday. She was less thrilled that they would be going up to some fancy ski resort- skiing had never been a favorite of hers- but who was she to argue. 

Her dad had even said she could invite a few friends from school to join her. It was funny that he thought she would have multiple friends, but Piper didn’t say that to Tristan’s face. She asked her only friend Leo if he was busy over break.

He was free, as she figured. Most kids at the Wilderness School were. As much as Piper felt like a polar opposite of some of her classmates, everyone on the campus had one thing in common- none of their families wanted them around.

Which was why she was so thankful that her dad wanted to spend winter break with her. They hadn’t had a Christmas together in 3 years now because he was always busy with this movie or that award event. This year was going to be special.

Plus Leo would be there. Piper had only known the boy for 4 months, but he was the best friend she had ever had. She couldn’t wait to get to hang out and actually go places, which was forbidden at the Wilderness School.

“Ms. Mclean?” 

Piper was drawn out of her thoughts by the man holding open the car door for her. Her and Leo had just arrived at the ski lodge where her father had promised to meet them. His assistant, Jane, was waiting with them.

Piper climbed out of the car and started walking towards the resort lobby. Massive, sparkling windows covered the entire front wall and displayed the cozy lounge and fireplaces inside. 

“I knew your family was wealthy, but damn y’all are rich,” Leo commented, staring up at the towering pine poles outside the building. 

Piper felt her cheeks start to burn. She hated talking about her dad’s money. 

“Does this place have a pool?” he asked.

Jane cut off their path as they walked. “Not one that you would be allowed to use. Now go sit down over there.” She pointed to a set of chairs on the fair side of the lobby, her long fingers motioning harshly. The two teens rolled their eyes as they walked to the seats.

“We’re totally getting into that pool,” Piper whispered.

Leo nodded and was about to add something when Piper spotted her dad walking through the lodge doors. She jogged towards him, barely able to contain the smile spreading across her face.

Tristan didn’t notice her at first as he was busy discussing something with Jane. After a moment he turned around and his eyes landed on Piper. A smile spread across his face too. 

Tristan dropped his over-the-shoulder bag to the floor and embraced her in a hug. Piper wrapped her arms arounds him tightly, cherishing the moment. Hugs like this didn’t happen between them often. 

. . . 

Piper and her dad spent all evening catching up over dinner, while Leo sat to the side of the table silently. She felt bad for putting her friend in such an awkward situation, but when she brought it up later he said he was fine with it. He’d seen worse at the Wilderness School.

After that everyone resigned to their rooms for the night, but not before the two teens made a plan to meet up at midnight for some swimming adventures in the forbidden pool.

“You sure all these stuck-up rich people aren’t going to have our heads if they catch us?” Leo whispered in the silent stairway later that night.

Piper scoffed. “Please. They’re all in bed in their silk pajama sets by now. And the employees will be easy enough to bribe.”

“Coolio, but I’m still up for disabling security cameras. Just tell me when,”  Leo offered.

By now they had reached the iron rod gate that surrounded the pool deck. The fragrant smell of chlorine filled Piper’s nostrils as she scanned her room card on the keypad. 

As expected, it flashed red. The pool was off-limits to them, as Jane had said it would be.

“Plan B,” Piper whispered.

She spotted a big bush that run up against the fence to their left. It would provide enough support for them to get themselves over.

Leo must have read her mind. He scurried over to the bush and began to climb.

“Can I get a lift?” he asked. Piper laced her fingers together and bent down to give Leo a step up. He missed her hands completely and his sneaker dug into her shoulder. 

“Watch it!”

“Stop moving!”

A loud crash rang out- Piper hoped no one had heard it- as Leo landed on the pool deck.

“We’re good,” he whispered hoarsely from the ground.

Piper did her best to hold back a laugh as she took her turn climbing the bush. Her efforts proved futile when Leo began rolling towards the pool on the ground and her body contracted from laughter, causing her to fall over the fence too.

The two of them laid on the ground, giggling like maniacs. 

“Ok,” Piper said, gasping for air, “we made it- let’s get in the pool.”

As the two of them finally made it to their feet, a light flicked on right above them. A stern voice called out from the left. They both froze.

“Time to bribe the employees, right?” Leo murmured.

“Yep.”

[dont-cry2020]

“Too Early for Another One?”

Harry Styles x Reader

//Dad! Harry realizes that his baby girl isn’t his baby girl anymore, and you reminisce on your past together//

//LOTS of fluff, a tiny bit of angst, and mentions of smut but no actual smut//

//This ones really long oops hehe 2,725 words//

It seems like just yesterday when Harry’s oldest daughter was born. He remembers how brave you were, painfully giving birth to a beautiful baby girl. He remembers how overwhelmed he felt as she let her first tiny cry. He couldn’t help but choke back a sob at the sight of her. She was wholly you and Harry together, and he couldn’t wait to have more kids with you. 

The name Margot was your idea; you had always loved the name, and the French influence reminded you of Harry. Not to mention she had her father’s green eyes and, you would come to learn, his unruly hair. Harry had loved the idea of Margot. He thought it was beautiful, just like you, he told you, his baby girl gripping his finger as his other arm was thrown across your shoulders, holding the most beautiful baby you had ever laid eyes on.

Anne, Margot’s middle name, was Harry’s doing. He liked having his mother present in his daughter’s name, especially seeing as she taught him everything he needed to know about babies when she learned about y/n’s pregnancy. Even the more ~gruesome~ details. Harry was thankful nonetheless; fatherhood terrified him. Although, you never hesitated to tell him how amazing of a father he was to your children.

Especially after you had three more... 

Harry really couldn’t help himself back then. He’d go on tour for two weeks at a time, flying back to spend time with his family. He’d always say, “Too early for another one?” after he put the kids to bed, and you would just slap his arm and roll your eyes. 

It was a Friday night at the Styles’ residence, and you were busy in the kitchen cooking dinner and entertaining your two-year-old, Fletcher, as your ten-year-old, Matt, chased your six-year-old, Piper, around the house.

Harry puts his keys in the front door, ruffling his hair as he walks into the large foyer and kicks his shoes off.

“Matt! Put that down and stop chasing your sister!” Harry chuckles under his breath as he hears your frustration.

“I’m home!” he shouts, just loud enough for the kids in the kitchen to come running towards him. A string of “Daddy!”s are heard as they run into his arms.

“Hey guys,” Harry says enthusiastically, kissing his two kids on the head. “How was school?” 

Harry smiles as Piper babbles on about the art project she did in Kindergarten today and Matt goes on about how his friend drank hot sauce in the school cafeteria. He ruffles his son’s hair, his smirk prominent from his kids’ amusing anecdotes.

You pad out of the kitchen, Fletcher on your hip, and smile at the gorgeous man laughing and talking with your kids. It was these moments that made you fall in love with Harry all over again. He was the best father any kid could ask for, and he always made time for your children, even if it meant gunning it from the airport to make it to dance recitals and plays and award ceremonies. His job didn’t make it easy on him, but he always managed to spend as much time as possible with his family. 

Harry finally looked up from his chattering kids, a tired smile meeting yours. His heart swells as he takes in your messy hair and flustered appearance, no doubt from trying to keep your three youngest from killing each other. 

“Hi, beautiful,” Harry says, sauntering towards you with Piper and Matt at his side. 

“Hi, Harry,” You say softly, pressing your lips to his. 

“Ew!” Matt screams, running upstairs, Piper at his heels. 

“No running in the house!” Harry shouts up the stairs, his lips still twisted in a wide grin, before pressing his lips to your forehead and taking Flecther from you. Harry follows you into the kitchen, sighing at the smell of dinner cooking on the stove.

“It smells delicious in here, y/n,” he says, bouncing your youngest on his hip and making funny faces at him. “Doesn’t it, Fletch?” Harry uses his ‘baby voice’, and it makes you melt.

You lean against the counter, pouring yourself a glass of wine and offering one to Harry, with which he happily obliges.

“Thank you, Har,” you say, pouring him a glass of Rose and kissing him on the cheek. “and thank you, Fletch.” You kiss your baby boy on the cheek too, and he laughs at you, making you and Harry smile. 

“How was your day?” you ask your husband, tending to the food on the stove. Harry thinks for a moment, opening his mouth and closing it, furrowing his brow. 

“Where’s Margot?” He asks, a frown drawn up on his tanned face. You purse your lips at his comment. 

“She’s probably just in her room, face-timing that boy she likes.”

Harry’s eyes widen. He was not aware that his baby girl liked a boy. “She what? She’s 16!”

You roll your eyes, chuckling at his father-like instincts. 

“Harry,” you scold, pulling what smelled so good out of the oven. “We met when I was 16, remember? And you were 17.”

Harry chokes on his wine, having to take a moment to compose himself. Memories of you and him as teenagers flood through his head. “Shit,” he curses under his breath. You give him a scolding look and he mutters a ‘sorry’, after glancing at the toddler still bouncing on his hip.

“Can you go get the kids for dinner, please?” you ask him, taking Fletcher from him.

“ ‘Course, baby,” he says, sauntering out of the kitchen. You hum softly to yourself as you set the table for five people, placing Flecther on his high chair next to you.

Harry goes up the stairs, first stopping in Piper’s room and then going to Matt’s, telling them that it’s time for dinner. He chuckles at how Matt consistently chases Piper everywhere they go. 

Harry stops in front of Margot’s door, going to knock, but stopping his fist from hitting the wood when he hears strange noises coming from inside her room. Harry presses his ear to the door and listens. It wasn’t abnormal to hear talking or loud music coming from his daughter’s room, and she liked to keep her door closed so her younger brother wouldn’t go through her things. These sounds, though, were certainly not talking or music. 

Harry felt his face pale at the moans coming from the other side of the door. Not his daughter. His sweet baby girl. He felt like he was going to be sick.

 And then the rage set in.

 He lets his fist rap against the door, before barging into the room. 

A boy whom Harry had never seen before was on top of his daughter. Margot shrieked, grabbing the sheet and covering herself. The boy’s eyes were wide with horror as he stumbled around the room, looking for his pants.

“Get your clothes on and come downstairs. You have five minutes,” Harry says through gritted teeth, slamming the bedroom door behind him. 

Harry felt like he had failed as a father.

The worst feeling is when you don’t have control over a situation, and Harry knew that feeling all too well. 

 His baby girl, his first child, the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes on (besides you, of course) was losing her virginity at 16. What if that wasn’t her first time? What if? 

Harry slid down the wall, his head buried in his hands. 

“Fuck,” he swore. What if I was too hard on them? Should I have just let them finish? Thoughts run through his head and he tugs at his hair. 

“Harry?” you call from the bottom of the stairs. You amble up the tall staircase when you don’t receive an answer. His large body is propped up against the wall, crumpled in a ball with his hands covering his face. You fall to his side, wrapping your arms around his torso. 

“Baby, what’s wrong?” you comfort your husband, kissing the top of his head and squeezing him lightly. He removed his hands from his face, meeting your y/e/c eyes with his glassy green ones. You cup his jaw in your hands. “Hmm?”

“Do you remember when we first had sex?”

You let out a short laugh, puffing air out of your nose. “Yeah, I do,” you can’t help the smile that takes over your face as you recall the moment.

You were 16 and you had met Harry at a Starbucks in New York, of all places. He had ordered before you, and you couldn’t help but check out his broad back and the disheveled hair that topped his head. You ordered your coffee and stood by the counter next to the boy who ordered before you.

You recall how you would glance at him, and then he would glance at you when you turned away, and then you both did it at the same time, laughing and blushing at your silly antics. 

“I’m Harry,” he had said, his British accent taking you by surprise. 

“y/n,” you said, taking his large hand and shaking it. “What’s a Brit like you doing in New York City?” you ask him, smirking. You remember scanning his face and taking in his green eyes and pink lips. 

You remember how your thoughts were interrupted as your name was called for your coffee. You hadn’t realized that Harry had already received his drink, and he was just waiting for you.

“I’m actually in a band,” he said, scratching the back of his neck and turning a little pink.

 After that, he had asked what you were doing today because he had the day off. You said that you weren’t doing anything, just planning on going back to your apartment. He then asked you to give him a tour of the city, and you happily obliged. 

The two of you exchanged numbers, and he promised to take you out on a proper date the next time he was in the city. 

It was May when he met you, and by July, you were sure he had forgotten about you. But when he called, telling you that he was back and he wanted to see you, you were ecstatic. 

He took you to dinner and then back to his hotel room where you spent the night, losing your virginity to him. He asked you to be his girlfriend and promised to call you every day. 

Your daughter’s bedroom door bursts open, pulling you out of your thoughts. Harry bolts up from the floor and you do the same when you see the boy that follows her. Your eyes widen, finally realizing why Harry was upset.

“What’s going on here?” you say, fully aware of what’s going on from the bruise on Margot’s neck. 

She clears her throat. “Mom, Dad,” she hesitates “this is Chris.” Chris nods, not meeting either of your eyes. 

“Chris,” Harry says, anger flooding back into him. You look up at him, interlocking your fingers as a way to say ‘calm down’. He sighs. 

“I suggest you go home.”

“Margot, why don’t you let Chris out, okay hun?” you say as softly as you can. She nods, silently leading the boy down the stairs. 

Harry collapses in your arms, burying his nose in your neck and inhaling your sent. You laugh softly at him, wrapping your arms around his large body bent over into yours. 

“Okay, ya big baby,” you joke, rubbing your hand up and down his back comfortingly. He mumbles something along the lines of ‘ ‘m not a baby’ into your neck before standing and straightening himself up.

You sigh and rub your hands over his shoulders, smoothing the fabric of the button up he wore to the studio today. 

“How are we going to deal with this?” Harry looks tired. The bags under his eyes are heavy, his pink lips pressed into a pout. 

“I don’t know,” he whispers, running ringed fingers through his hair. “ ‘M not mad about the whole ‘havin’ sex’ thing,” he says “ ‘m jus’... mad tha’ she didn’t talk to us first. ‘M baby girl,” he mumbles. 

“I know,” you say, resting your head on his chest. “Your baby girl is grown up now, though. And, yeah, she should have talked to us first... But- we did stupid things back then too. Remember when I had to call my mom and tell her that I was staying with a friend when you were literally on top of me?” 

Harry smiles at the memory. “Ye-yeah,” he chuckles “i do remember tha’”

Margot saunters up the stairs, looking around nervously. Harry releases you from his arms and looks at his daughter. He wraps his arms around her, taking her by surprise before she melts into her father’s embrace. 

“I love you, Dad,” she says, making your heart melt at your husband and your daughter. 

“I love you, too,” he says, pulling away and resting his hands on her shoulders. 

Harry sighs, turning to look at you for help. 

“Why don’t we go eat dinner and we talk about this later?” you say, grabbing your daughter's hand and giving it a squeeze. They nod and follow you down the stairs in silence. 

Harry laughed as Fletcher babbled with food in his mouth, refusing to eat it. 

“C’mon Fletch,” you say, pushing the spoon to his mouth. “Open up.”

Everyone at the table laughs as Fletcher refuses the spoon, making a mess on the high chair and his face. 

“Guys, please put your plates in the dishwasher,” Harry says after everyone finishes eating. Harry gives you a nervous look and you kiss his cheek softly, muttering an ‘it’s going to be okay’ into his ear. He squeezes your hip lightly in acknowledgment. 

You and Harry walk up the staircase and you peek into Margot’s room, lightly knocking on the wood of the door. She looks up and smiles, letting you come in. 

You sit down on the bed next to her, Harry following suit and sitting next to you, patting your thigh. 

“Margot,” you say, “I-,” you stumble for your word and look at Harry for help.

“I’m sorry,” Margot says, looking like she’s going to cry. 

“No baby,” you say, wrapping her into a hug. 

“Margot,” Harry says, kneeling in front of his daughter. “we’re not mad at you for...that,” he chuckles to himself. “Your mom and I have had our fair share of that.”

“Harry!” you blurt, smacking his arm. Margot groans.

“Dad, please don’t.”

“Sorry, sorry. ‘M jus’ sayin’. It’s natural. We jus’ wish you would’ve talked to us first.” Harry brushes her hair behind her ears. “Jus’ wan’ you to be safe.”

Margot nods, hugging her dad. “I know.”

It was getting late at this point, so you dismissed yourself from the room to put your other kids to bed. 

You poured yourself another glass of wine (it was Friday, why not?) and changed into one of Harry’s shirts, snuggling into your king-sized bed and turning on the tv.

Harry carefully opens the door as to not wake you in case you were sleeping. He’s pleasantly surprised to find you snuggled up in one of his shirts, a glass of wine in your hand and another waiting for him. 

He would never tell you this, but he loved it when you wore his clothes. Especially the silk button-ups that hung off your frame. It drove him crazy.

He unbuttons his shirt and strips down to his boxers, your eyes shamelessly checking him out. He dives into bed, making you shriek as he laughs at you, planting a kiss on your cheek. You hand him his glass and he takes his position next to you, wrapping a muscular tattooed arm around your shoulders. 

“How’d it go?” you whisper, ghosting your fingers over his chest. His hand rests on your bare thigh, his shirt riding up a little bit, exposing the fabric of your panties. 

“Good,” he says quietly. “Really good.”

He turns to face you, a sly grin on his face. You roll your eyes and place your glass of wine on the nightstand next to you. 

“Too early for another one?” 

You punch him on the shoulder as he climbs on top of you, trapping you in a sloppy kiss.

[lovingmyselfcore]

(and it dies) a million little times

Part 1 of 2:

For you I would ruin myself

I have to post something so I still feel like I'm accomplishing things while I write (what was going to just be the other half of this) the second part of this. And also while I wait for inspiration so strike for Protect You or Skate Into My Heart because I promise I haven't given up but I have commITMENT ISSUES LEAVE ME ALONE

ANYWAY this is for@the-love-yourself-journal (or I guess @perseusjackson-jasongrace) who is the literal queen of Jercy idc. She got me to ship them in the first place so thanks babe

Ps Percy isn't white because canon Percy isn't white fight me

It felt wrong, hiding such a secret from her. He and Annabeth had always been honest with each other, it was why they had been drawn together from the moment they met.

She was definitely the best marriage option he had seen. Despite that, despite being able to converse with each other in a way that most married couples they knew could not, there was something missing.

When he’d met the blonde-haired boy, he realized what it was.

Percy had struggled his entire life with this. This sickness. It had always been drilled into his mind that people experiencing what he was experiencing was wrong, sinful, in fact. So he never spoke of it. Never spoke of being attracted more to the boy next door than the girl. Never spoke of the fact that aside from his wedding night, years ago, he’d never had sex. He couldn’t. Not with her. Not with any her.

Laughing blue eyes, annoyingly perfect teeth.

He couldn’t tell her. At best, she’d laugh, then ignore it. At worst, she’d tell everyone, and he couldn’t imagine what would happen to him then.

A horrific death on the street, most likely, followed by a long, agonizing stay in Hell for his sins.

A small, faded scar on his upper lip from his childhood.

Percy was sitting at his desk in his office, pretending to work while actually waiting for him to appear. As always before he actually showed up, Percy’s mind ran rampant. His own brain spat insults at him, his gut twisted at what he was doing. What he was doing to Annabeth. His heart screamed at him for not being able to stop himself, from not fighting harder to go back to being in love with Annabeth, despite knowing he’d never been. His soul longed for its other half.

The way his nose would scrunch when he laughed, the laugh only Percy could draw out of him.

Percy shifted in his chair. His tie was too tight around his neck, he was going to suffocate. Maybe he should. The clock continued ticking, as it always did.

The feel of his hands, on his face, his hips, his back.

“He is here to see you, Mr. Jackson.”

“Send him in.” Voice professional, practiced, despite the lurch in his gut. His brain, his heart, his soul all screamed louder, arguing their own points. Waging their violent war within him.

As always, the sight of him quieted them all.

Percy stood, adjusting his tie, and made his way over to the man leaning against his now closed door. His throat bobbed as Percy approached.

Percy lifted a hand and traced that scar, his voice barely above total silence, “I’ve missed you.”

Jason Grace’s breath was hot on his hand. His voice matched Percy’s, “You will be my ruination.”

“You are already mine.” Then Percy lunged forward, capturing his lips.

Looks like his soul had won this one. Again.

~~~~~

Piper McLean fidgeted uncomfortably with the hem of her skirt. She’d ruined many perfectly good skirts like this. Sitting. Waiting.

“Sooner or later you’re going to completely unravel one of those.” Piper looked up and was met with gray eyes. The same gray eyes that had been staring at her all day. She’d been staring right back.

“The children’s break is short,” Piper murmured back, standing from her stool.

“Indeed,” Annabeth replied, moving forward to take Piper’s hands.

“What are we doing?” Piper’s voice was hoarse, scratchy. “We have husbands.”

“Indeed.” Was all Annabeth said again, her grip on Piper’s hands tightening.

“I love Jason,” Piper said, mostly to herself.

Annabeth’s lips pursed, “I love Percy.” She took another step forward, Piper was almost completely pressed against her teaching desk. She dropped Piper’s hands to cup her face, and Piper’s eyes fluttered closed in response. “But not like I love you.”

Piper opened her eyes, “We are going to destroy each other.”

“I would gladly destroy myself for you, moya solnishka.”

“Don’t you feel bad?” The distress in Piper’s voice forced Annabeth to pull back. Her eyes held a level of concern that made Piper’s breath catch.

“I do,” She conceded after a moment of silence, “For lying to Percy. For lying to everyone in my life. For having to hide you. For having to hide us. But I do not feel bad for loving you.” Her voice held a note of desperation, she was begging Piper to understand. “Do you?”

Piper didn’t respond for a beat too long, Annabeth pulled further away, her face flushed.

Their time was up, the laughter of the children echoed through the schoolhouse as they returned.

“I’m sorry,” Piper said.

Annabeth shook her head, “No, Piper. I’m sorry.” Her eyes were miserable, “Forgive me.”

For what? Piper tried to ask but the lump in her throat stopped her.

“I have ruined you,” Annabeth said simply. “I am forcing you to go along with my sins.” Her back was straight, her face was empty, but Piper could see how hard she was fighting to keep it that way.

Piper shook her head but Annabeth didn’t see it, she was walking out of the door already.

Oh, gods. What had she done?

~~~~~

“How was your day?” Jason asked his tone the same forced lightness it had been for months.

“It was good! Nothing out of the ordinary.” Her tone was the same.

Jason nodded from his seat at the couch, “Good. That’s very good.”

“What about you?” Piper’s hands were shaking as she laid the plates on the table.

“My day was the same,” Jason said as he slid into a chair at the table.

Piper looked at him for a long moment and came to a decision.

“Jason?” She asked, clutching her fork tightly.

“Yes?” He looked up from his plate.

“I would like to visit a friend after dinner.”

Jason nodded, “Of course. I’ll invite over one of my coworkers while you’re gone.”

As they resumed their meal, they seemed lighter than they had all evening.

~~~~~

Piper knew she couldn’t very well just appear on Annabeth’s doorstep, so after she washed the evening dishes she called her.

Her fingers were heavy as she slid the ring to dial the numbers she had long ago memorized.

Piper’s hopes were answered when Annabeth was the one to pick up the phone.

“Annabeth,” She was breathless. “I-” She remembered Jason and her voice dropped low, “I need to see you.”

Annabeth was speechless and Piper wished she could see her face, “May I see you?”

Annabeth’s voice was just as low with an edge Piper couldn’t name, “Yes. Yes. Meet me.”

She didn’t have to say where. Piper knew. The place they’d always meet at. That secret place, filled with their sin. Their secrets. Their agonized love.

Piper hurriedly stuck the phone back in its place and pulled her coat over her shoulders. She kissed Jason on the cheek and was out the front door before he could respond.

~~~~~

Jason sat, bouncing his leg until Piper had been gone for long enough. (It may not have even been long enough, it was just until he could not wait any longer.)

He raced to the phone and dialed the number engraved on his heart.

“Hello?” Percy asked. Thank god. Jason hadn’t thought of a decent excuse to give Annabeth if she’d been the one to answer.

“Can you get away tonight?” Jason asked.

Percy waited for a beat, as if in thought, before responding. “Yes, I can.”

Jason smiled, “Piper is out for the evening. You could come here.”

“I’m on my way.” Jason laughed at how quickly the words fell out of his mouth and the hurried click signifying he hung up.

~~~~~~

Annabeth trailed her lips up the column of Piper’s throat, and breathed deeply through her nose, “Is that a new perfume?” They were in their spot, a dark, shadowy corner in between two factories, hidden away from the rest of the world.

Piper dug her fingers into Annabeth’s shoulders, “Yes,” She knew what Annabeth wanted to ask, but knew she wasn’t going to put Piper in that place. “It’s for you.”

Annabeth froze and pulled an inch away from her spot on Piper’s jaw. “It smells good,” Her voice was hoarse and she resumed her ministrations along Piper’s jawline.

“Annabeth, about this morning-” Annabeth cut her off, shaking her head.

“No. It’s alright, sweetheart. You don’t need to apologize for your feelings, ever.”

“The rest of society would disagree.”

Annabeth understood her meaning and ducked her head to hide her face. “How long can we keep doing this?” Desperation.

“I don’t know,” Piper wrapped her arms around the other girl’s shoulders and pulled her flush against her.

Piper breathed deeply, feeling the warmth of Annabeth’s body, a stark contrast to the metal of the factory wall at her back. “All we can do is live in the moment.” Piper pulled Annabeth’s face away from her neck. “Damn the rest to hell.”

Annabeth nodded, “Damn the rest to hell.” Then they were kissing again.

~~~~~~~

When the doorbell rang Jason raced to answer it, feeling like an excited puppy.

Percy was leaning against one of the pillars on the porch. He was beautiful; Jason had yet to see a time where he wasn’t. Shining green eyes, so painfully alive, that black hair Jason knew he frequently fought with to make it ‘work appropriate’. The lean, toned body that Jason often found himself staring at, or thinking of.

Percy was surveying the neighborhood, the picture of unruffled aside from the tightness in his lips. When he heard Jason open the door, that tightness vanished, replaced instead by the grin that Jason had fallen in love with in the first place.

Whoa. Reel that back in. Calm down, Grace. No love here. Just a drug that always gave him the high he needed. No love. That makes it too serious. This is harmless fun. Well, not harmless.

“Jason?” Percy interrupted his spiral and Jason realized he’d been staring silently, that he hadn’t let Percy inside.

He shook his head, “Sorry.” He stepped back, opening the door wider. Percy walked in and threw himself on the couch, looking perfectly content and at home. As if what they were doing wouldn’t result in pain, physical and emotional.

He could always go back, he reminded himself. There was always an out. He was addicted to the poison that was Percy Jackson, but he could always escape.

The click of the door closing was a death sentence.

He could always get out, right?

~~~~~~~

It had been a few days since Annabeth and Piper had seen each other, the two women were teachers at the same school, yet they always seemed to miss each other. In the hallways, the break room, before and after classes, they could never catch more than fleeting glances and the swish of hair and hips around a corner. Annabeth was determined to change this.

She saw a flash of brown hair that she immediately registered as Piper, glancing at the clock to make sure she had enough time before her students were expecting her, she nearly sprinted after the other girl.

Piper was leaning against the wall when Annabeth found her, grinning. Her eyes, shards of multicolored glass Annabeth always found herself drowning in, were glittering in the harsh light. Annabeth stalked closer and Piper’s grin didn’t fade.

“Oh no,” She drawled, leaning enough to rest a hand in the curve of Annabeth’s waist, attempting to tug her forward. “You caught me.” Annabeth couldn’t resist Piper’s smile and met it with her own, the smile she only gave Piper. “What will I, this poor damsel, do?”

This was risky. This was really fucking risky. They were basically out in the open, where another teacher or staff member or even the students could easily find them.

Piper reached up and drew the pad of her finger against that crease in Annabeth’s brow and Annabeth knew she was done for. Piper smiled, this one soft and adoring, and Annabeth melted through the floor.

Annabeth gave up on trying to stay as unaffected as possible, pressing her lips to Piper’s. Piper pressed herself closer as if she was trying to mold them into one person. The soft, smooth contours of Piper against Annabeth’s sharp, hard edges of Annabeth was like some kind of poetry. It was probably a metaphor about who they were as people, blah blah blah. She didn’t have time to think about damn metaphors. Not while Piper was here, kissing her like she actually wanted this. Like she’d do anything to keep this. Annabeth knew it wasn’t true, knew Piper wouldn’t ruin her life for this. (She didn’t blame her, but it was nice to pretend sometimes)

Piper smiled into the kiss and mumbled, “This is nothing like how the fairytales normally go.” Annabeth let out a surprised laugh.

Piper pulled away, staring unflinchingly into Annabeth’s eyes, the storms she was responsible for keeping at bay. “Gods,” She turned her head and Annabeth had no idea where this was going with this. “This is better than any of those fairy tales.” Then she moved, winding her hands into Annabeth’s hair, and kissed her again.

Gods, she’d fallen for this girl. She had no idea when it had happened. Maybe 30 seconds ago, maybe the first time they’d met, three years ago. Maybe it was when Percy was on business trips, which meant that Annabeth could work without anyone to make her sleep, eat or anything ‘healthy’ and Piper would come over. Make her take breaks from her work. Listen to Annabeth rant about things she knew she didn’t understand. Annabeth had so many plans, to escape this hell town, fight for her rights, build something permanent somewhere she loves with someone she loves and be unafraid to live. She also had even more impossible dreams; to build something. Piper humored her, always listened to her, attention never wavering. It was more than Annabeth could ever ask for.

She was more than Annabeth could ever ask for.

Annabeth pulled away, telling her as much and something flashed in those kaleidoscope eyes but she didn’t respond.

“Piper?” Hazel’s voice echoed into the hallway they were in. Piper leaped off of her, hurrying to straighten herself.

Hazel rounded the corner right as Piper and Annabeth had gotten themselves together.

The woman smiled at them and looked at Piper when she spoke, “Leo needs to see you,” Piper opened her mouth but Hazel cut her off, “I have no idea why.”

"Okay, thanks," Piper said, definitely too out of breath for it to be anything but suspicious. Piper hesitated a second longer, fighting to not look back at Annabeth but finally, she walked off.

Annabeth smiled awkwardly at Hazel and the other girl grinned but it quickly turned somber, "I don't know what you're doing, Annabeth." She shook her head, "I don't want to know. But I want you to know this," She stepped forward and clasped the other girl's hands in hers. "I care about you. I care about Piper. Be careful, please." Her wide gold eyes were begging, "Be careful, Annabeth."

"I'm trying," Annabeth tried to say but it came out a choked whisper. "I'm trying."

Hazel nodded and leaned forward so they were touching foreheads. "I'm scared for you."

Annabeth wanted to reassure her, but the words got caught in her throat. They both knew Annabeth couldn't promise anything.

~~~~~

Percy was staring at Jason.

This wasn't a rare occurrence, the opposite, actually. Percy could often be found staring at Jason.

But there was something about Jason Grace under the moon and her stars that was absolutely breathtaking.

His head was tilted back, eyes closed, breathing deeply, a small smile on his lips. The starlight seemed to wrap around him, shielding him from the world, announcing him as one of them. His blonde hair was damp from their earlier shower and the moonlight danced through the silky strands. Gods, Percy thought, taking him in, he's ethereal.

He was leaning back on his hands, ankles crossed over the edge of his porch.

They were in Jason's backyard, sharing a smoke; Percy took a long drag, trying to ground himself. Piper would surely be back soon, he didn't have much longer. He needed to come back to earth and distance himself from the star that was Jason Grace.

When Jason's eyes fluttered open and he turned those crystal-blue masterpieces on him, his smile growing into something wide and soft and fond, Percy knew he was done for. Fuck coming back to earth.

Jason reached over, and plucked the cigarette from between Percy's lips, and brought it to his own. He leaned back to stare at the sky again and Percy leaned sideways until his head was pillowed in Jason's lap.

Jason kept one hand on the deck to prop himself up and ground the cigarette out, dropping it to comb his free hand through Percy's hair.

"We should leave," Percy said suddenly, breaking the peaceful silence.

Jason's hand stilled briefly. "What?"

"Leave town, together."

"Where would we go?" He didn't sound angry (thank the gods), he kept his voice soft, but Percy could hear that note of disbelief.

"Anywhere," Percy replied and Jason huffed a laugh above him.

"That's not much of a plan. Besides, we have lives here."

"You're all I need," Percy said, way too sincerely, tracing a pattern on Jason's knee with his index finger.

Jason's hand stilled again and Percy cursed himself and everything that existed to make him say that. Now I've scared him away, Percy thought bitterly and got off Jason's lap.

Jason was staring at him with a look Percy couldn't decipher, his lips parted slightly. Percy wanted to kiss him; this wasn't the time to kiss him. Keep it together.

"Perce-"

"Jason!" Piper's voice carried out the back door and wrapped around the two of them like a vice.

Jason went considerably pale and Percy stood up. "I'll see you whenever I see you?" Percy said.

Jason just nodded, still staring at him.

Percy opened the backdoor and stepped inside, saying a brief 'hello' and 'goodbye' to Piper before finally making it back to his car.

He slammed his hands on the hood and cursed, "Stupid, Jackson. That was stupid." he opened the car door with considerably more force than necessary and sat down heavily. "Fucking idiot." And now he had to go home to Annabeth and pretend nothing was wrong. Great.

~~~~~

It started with the notes. Sticky notes with slurs scrawled on them (against his race, his orientation, anything they could get a hand on), in horrible handwriting, stuck to his desk at work. Jason didn't mention any, but when he took his coat off and draped it on Percy's couch, one fell out, crumpled as if Jason had furiously shoved it in his pocket.

Percy had picked it up, saw what was written there, and knew that this wasn't a coincidence. Someone knew. Someone knew about them and wasn't very happy about it.

He'd briefly wondered if it was Annabeth, but no, she didn't seem to be angry at him or disgusted, but she had been colder lately. When the notes started appearing in places that weren't as public as his desk, Percy got more concerned.

He still hadn't talked to Jason about it; the notes and what had transpired on Jason's porch either.

They'd elevated too. Notes in his car, calling him a disgrace to his family and god. But Percy wasn't as worried as he probably should've been. After all, this person was hiding behind ink and paper, if they had something to say, they could do it to his face.

But when they started threatening him, Percy finally spoke to Jason about it.

"Have you been getting notes?" He asked.

Jason was sprawled on Percy's bed, sans shirt, arm thrown over his eyes as if shielding him from the light.

Percy himself was sprawled next to Jason, head on his chest, legs twined together.

Jason peered down at him, blinking wearily. His glasses were sitting on the side table. "What?"

"Notes," Percy said as if this explained everything. "That are calling you-" He swallowed and Jason's eyes tracked the movement.

"Yeah," Jason said finally. "I haven't been too concerned." A lie. If Percy knew Jason at all (and he did) the other boy had been worrying himself to death over this, afraid to tell anybody, panicking and overthinking alone. The thought made Percy's chest ache.

"I wasn't going to mention it," Jason said.

"Me either, but this recent one," He trailed off, already doubting if he should be worrying Jason over this. But it did technically involve him.

Percy pushed off of Jason and the other boy made a whining noise in the back of his throat. Percy grinned as Jason flushed in embarrassment.

Percy pulled the crumpled note out of his discarded jacket and read aloud to Jason, who was still on the bed, "I know all about your illicit affairs-"

"Oh, how proper."

Percy snorted, "Tell me about it." He cleared his throat, "Anyway. -with Jason Grace." Jason stiffened. They knew his name. "If you don't do what I want I will tell Annabeth and Piper all about it. And maybe more than just the two of them, too.”

“Mhmm. And we believe them?”

“I’m not sure,” Percy said tossing the note onto the nightstand and belly-flopping onto the bed next to Jason.

“If you did, you wouldn’t be here,” Jason said, practically.

“And how do you know that?”

“Because I know you.”

Percy smiled, "Yeah, I guess you do."

Jason smiled back, only for a few seconds before his face fell; Percy felt his heart jump to his throat. "What are we going to do?"

"You already have an idea," Percy said, staring at him.

"You're not going to like it."

Percy sighed, "Let's hear it."

"We can't see each other."

Percy shot to his feet. "No! I'm not letting some heathen," He pointed angrily at the note. "Bully me into staying away from the man I love."

Jason went deathly still and Percy's brain finally caught up to what just happened.

"'Man you love'?" His voice was quiet and Percy didn't know how to read that.

"Yeah," Percy whispered. "Yes."

Jason wasn't looking at him and every second that passed, Percy felt his heart chipping away.

"I-" Jason swallowed and wet his lips. "I love you." His voice was hushed as if he was scared to be heard.

Percy stared at him for a beat of bated breath before lunging at him. Jason laughed as his back collided with the mattress.

Jason held Percy's face in his hands and looked him over, drinking everything in before kissing him.

The notes could wait.

[ibijau]

xisang 13, bc i need to see it happen sjhdjshdhhdb

warning for drug use. And for probably somewhat inacurate depictions of getting high? I try to research a bit but welp

The dried leaves had a rather unusual shape, and a distinctive smell that made Nie Huaisang wrinkle his nose when he took a sniff.

“They’re medicinal,” Lan Xichen explained as he prepared a pipe. “Wei Wuxian found them on a trip and thought they might be helpful. Do you want to try?”

“What is it supposed to cure?” Nie Huaisang asked, trying to keep his voice neutral.

It wasn’t that he suspected Lan Xichen of keeping poison around the Hanshi in case some unwanted visitor came to trouble his seclusion, giving him a chance to settle scores, but… Nie Huaisang hadn’t survived this long by being overly trusting.

“It helps you relax,” Lan Xichen said with affected nonchalance. “You look like you could use it.”

Nie Huaisang hesitated and watched as Lan Xichen calmly lit his pipe and sat with it on his sofa. The smell was stronger now that the leaves were burning, heady and nearly unpleasant. Nie Huaisang knew he ought to have gone away and returned at a later time, when Lan Xichen was in a more cooperative mood. Who knew when he’d have such a chance again though, with how protective Lan Qiren and Lan Wangji had become.

“I suppose I’ve had a little more stress to deal with than usual,” Nie Huaisang conceded, still eyeing the pipe suspiciously. “You’ve heard the news, perhaps?”

Lan Xichen pulled on the pipe, then nodded slowly, exhaling smoke.

“Chief Cultivator Nie Huaisang. What a fate for the boy who used to pretend he’d gone blind whenever he had to study politics.” Lan Xichen chuckled. “What a punishment you’ve created for yourself, Huaisang.”

It felt odd to hear Lan Xichen’s laugh again, especially on such a subject. Nie Huaisang had to fight an impulse to grab some of those leaves and take them to a healer from his own sect to see what they really were. It was unlikely that Wei Wuxian would have willingly given Lan Xichen anything that might harm him, but to see him so relaxed felt wrong.

Even as a youth, Lan Xichen would never have leaned so casually against the armrest of a sofa, nor allowed himself to look at others with such open judgement, no matter their fault against him. It made Nie Huaisang uncomfortable to see him like that.

“Er-ge, I assure you…”

“Don’t call me that,” Lan Xichen lightly scolded, inhaling more smoke. “I have killed both of my sworn brothers now, I’m no one’s brother but Wangji’s… and only as long as I tolerate Wei Wuxian, I suspect.”

“Now you’re being unfair,” Nie Huaisang protested. “Your brother cares for you, regardless of how you feel about his husband. Anyone who knows Wangji knows how much he loves you, and…”

“Would he kill for me, I wonder?” Lan Xichen said, laughing again. “Ah, Huaisang, you’ve really raised the bar of expectations toward younger brothers. Now I’ll be cross if I get murdered and the killer isn’t brought down in a dramatic reveal that cost him his life. Or her life? I could get murdered by a woman. They’re capable of it too, after all. I think I’d prefer to be killed by a woman. Usually, they have good reasons for it. What would you prefer, Huaisang?”

“I’d prefer if you stopped smoking this,” Nie Huaisang hissed, annoyed and worried at once. “I don’t think it’s good for you.”

Lan Xichen laughed once more, lounging on his sofa and looking at Nie Huaisang from under heavy lids. He looked miles away from the warm but severely restrained man Nie Huaisang was used to. It wasn’t a bad look, though it definitely was a worrying one.

“It just relaxes me,” Lan Xichen insisted. “You should try it. When is the last time you’ve relaxed, Huaisang?”

“A while,” Nie Huaisang admitted, pinching the bridge of his nose. It was starting to feel a little difficult to think clearly. He wondered, too late, if the leaves’ effect could be felt through their smoke alone. If so, he was in trouble already and needed to leave. The matter he had come to discuss wasn’t so urgent that he should have risked his health, perhaps even his life, over it.

If he had been wise, Nie Huaisang would have left.

He couldn’t quite bring himself to it though, his eyes drawn again and again to Lan Xichen, relaxed and seemingly content.

“Smoke with me,” Lan Xichen lazily insisted. “It’ll be fun, you’ll like it. You need to have fun sometimes, Huaisang.”

It would be unwise to agree. Dangerous even.

But it had been over two years since the death of Jin Guangyao, and in that span of time, Lan Xichen had never once expressed any interest in seeing Nie Huaisang, nor answered his letters. A better man than Nie Huaisang would have known that it was only the burning leaves making Lan Xichen say this, and would have left quickly.

Nie Huaisang had no interest in being a good man though, and he wasn’t above taking advantage of a moment of weakness to spend time again with one of the few people he’d ever counted as a friend.

Nie Huaisang went to sit on the sofa, next to Lan Xichen’s feet, and opened his hand to ask for the pipe. Lan Xichen smiled as he gave it to him.

The first pull on the pipe was a little too strong and made him cough, which in turn made Lan Xichen laugh, as if he’d never beheld anything funnier. Combined with the somewhat unpleasant earthy aftertaste it left on his tongue, Nie Huaisang thought of giving up.

“Give it a little time,” Lan Xichen advised, casually dropping his feet on Nie Huaisang’s lap. “It can take a moment to feel the effect, and then you’ll relax.”

Nie Huaisang stared down at the feet resting on his thighs. It suddenly felt a little harder to breathe, and he wasn’t sure he could blame it only on the pipe.

“Does your uncle know about this… medicine?” Nie Huaisang asked.

“I’m a grown man, I don’t need my uncle’s approval,” Lan Xichen retorted, melting a little more against the sofa, looking rather like a capricious child. “Try again, and then pass it back to me.”

Nie Huaisang obeyed.

It would have been hard to say whether he was relaxing or not, but after a few moments had passed, Nie Huaisang found it a little harder to think clearly. The only thing he could focus on was Lan Xichen, the way his slender fingers held that piper, how his lips parted to blow away smoke, his eyes slightly red but sparkling with life in a way they hadn’t in so long.

Nie Huaisang had missed him, he realised.

He hadn’t necessarily missed the man Lan Xichen had tried to become, impartial to a fault, distant like the moon, a perfect little Lan. But he had missed who Lan Xichen used to be, before everything went wrong. The teenager who was the only other person to make Nie Mingjue smile, who teased with such subtlety that most people missed it, who poked fun at Nie Huaisang’s laziness but never tried to make him be more than he was. The war had ruined that by forcing him to rise to power too soon, and then Jin Guangyao and Nie Huaisang had trampled what little had remained of that lively young man until only the shell of him remained.

There wasn’t much that Nie Huaisang bothered to regret, but allowing his brother to die, allowing his friends to lose themselves…

If he had tried harder, if he had tried at all…

If he had done this, if he hadn’t done that, if…

A thousand ‘if’ taunted him that he usually tried to ignore, but he couldn’t draw his mind away from them, not when every thought felt heavy and complicated.

Trapped among the memories of failures, Nie Huaisang barely registered movement on the sofa until he felt himself pulled down, his head resting on Lan Xichen’s chest.

The distant notion that this was a scandalous position, that Lan Xichen would hate him for this when he returned to his senses, only worsened Nie Huaisang’s growing anxiety. His heart was beating too fast, too hard, enough almost to make him dizzy. It was nothing at all like the relaxation Lan Xichen had promised, and Nie Huaisang’s panic increased as he wondered if he was being poisoned. If Lan Xichen had taken the antidote beforehand, if he had made himself immune to the toxin, if…

“Am I going to die?” Nie Huaisang asked in a trembling voice that hardly sounded like his own.

Lan Xichen hummed. With the hand that wasn’t holding his pipe, he started running his fingers through Nie Huaisang’s hair.

It felt nice, and more intimate than anything had a right to be.

It wouldn’t be so bad to die like this, held close and touched almost tenderly.

“You’ll never die,” Lan Xichen replied with an aborted yawn. “I won’t allow it.”

“Then what, immortality?” Nie Huaisang scoffed.

“Hm. Yes, doesn’t that sound nice?” Lan Xichen chuckled, sounding absolutely delighted by the idea. “You, me, and all the time in the world to do as we please.”

It did seem like a wonderful plan. Nie Huaisang felt his earlier panic recede somewhat. It was so comfortable to be like this, warm and cozy and close. He remembered being like this sometimes with his brother when he was little, after a nightmare or just when the mood struck him. It had been so long since he’d allowed himself to be this close to anyone, and right then it seemed like such a silly decision. People were nice to be close to. Lan Xichen in particular was very nice to be close to. It was only a shame that…

“We can’t be immortals together,” Nie Huaisang sighed, forlorn and whiny.

“Why not?” Lan Xichen asked, offering the pipe to him, holding it for him as he took in some more of the smoke.

“You hate me now,” Nie Huaisang reminded him, exhaling the smoke and watching the patterns it formed in the air. “I think you’re trying to kill me with those leaves.”

Under him, he felt Lan Xichen’s laughter, almost powerful enough to dislodge him.

“I haven’t killed you that time you made me redo your accounting five times in as many weeks,” Lan Xichen pointed out. “And that was so annoying I really considered it. So don’t worry, if I didn’t do anything then, I’ll never hurt you.”

“Hm. I remember that,” Nie Huaisang mumbled. “You did look like you wanted to kill me. I almost felt sorry.”

“Only almost?”

“Hm. You’re very handsome when you’re angry. I was too busy trying to not get horny to really be sorry.”

The hand in Nie Huaisang’s hair stilled for an instant, before resuming its repetitive movement. Nie Huaisang briefly wondered if that had been a wise thing to say, but since Lan Xichen didn’t explode with anger or disgust, it couldn’t have been so bad.

“Think I’m sleepy,” Nie Huaisang muttered, nuzzling against Lan Xichen, chasing the warmth of his body through the layers he wore.

“Then sleep, A-Sang. You do look so tired.”

“I am. Will you sleep too?”

“Hm. I might,” Lan Xichen yawned, stretching to put his pipe down on a nearby low table. “If I sleep, will you still be there when I wake up this time? Or is this just another dream?”

“Too good to be a dream,” Nie Huaisang mumbled, closing his eyes. “In my dreams, you never want me to stay.”

“And in mine, you always leave,” Lan Xichen retorted with another yawn, before dropping a kiss on Nie Huaisang’s hair. “So try to be there when I wake up this time.”

[cozy-the-overlord]

Christmas Across the Stars

Summary: A backlogged mission on Jotunheim means Piper's going to miss Christmas with her family this year. At least she's not completely alone.

Written for @the-emo-asgardian's 'Tis The Season Writing Challenge on the prompt "snowed in and unable to get to family"

Word Count: 2,938

Pairing: Loki x OFC

A/N:  *wipes sweat off brow* whew! For a while I wasn't sure if I was going to get this done in time for Christmas. But here it is! I've been writing a lot of angst lately, so it was really nice to write something sweet and fluffy for a change. I did try to keep Piper somewhat vague as a character, but there's a lot of me/my family traditions in this story, so for that reason I decided to make it an OFC rather than a reader-insert. Hope you don't mind.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and your families, and I hope you all have a healthy and fulfilling New Year! Thanks for reading! :)

Tags: @lucywrites02 @gaitwae

Read it on Ao3!

She had been staring at the stone ceiling for nearly three hours when Piper decided enough was enough. Abandoning the thick, itchy blankets and the naïve dream of getting some sleep tonight, she reached for her boots.

One of the annoying things about life on Jotunheim (and there were many) was the inability to do a damn thing without first putting on fifty layers. Her nylon jacket rustled as she pulled it over her arms, zipping up with an obnoxious squeak. Across the room, Olsen popped up in her bunk.

“Wuzgoinon?” she muttered, opening a bleary eye.

“Nothing,” Piper said quickly. “I’m just going for a walk. Go back to sleep.”

Olsen hummed, head dropping back to the pillow. Her other two companions didn’t stir. Piper sighed and grabbed her scarf and hat.

Her footsteps echoed against the rocky walls as she made her way to the bunker entrance. They weren’t supposed to go outside alone, what with being stationed on an unpredictable alien planet and all, but the blizzard that had been raging on for the past two weeks had finally seemed to pass and Piper could use a breath of fresh air.

The frozen hellscape greeted her with it’s usual chilly slap to the face. She coughed, bringing her scarf above her nose. When they had first arrived, the cragged mountain cliffs had hypnotized Piper. They stretched far above the horizon, their jagged silhouettes cutting through the paint-splattered sky like a crooked dagger. It was a severe kind of beauty, unlike anything Piper had ever seen before.

Now, it felt like the serrated ridges were laughing at her.

Piper sat down against the bunker door with a grunt, rubbing her hands through her mittens. What was she even doing out here? What had she expected to find? Despite her day-long daydreams, the bitter wishes she stored deep in her heart, her reality had not changed: she was a tiny ant of a person, trapped on this icy rock of a planet, sleepwalking her way through this drawn-out farce of a mission.

What a way to spend Christmas Eve.

When she had signed up for this job, it had been an adventure. Traveling across the stars to a world that until recently had only existed in myth, to test out technology that would allow for interplanetary travel? Move over, Captain Kirk. Piper Bassow was boldly going where no (human) man had gone before.

The mission had supposed to last for six months. They left at the beginning of February, wide-eyed and excited for the enterprise. They had planned to be home in August. Then something came up, some snag with the tech back on Earth, easily fixed but it disrupted the schedule. Their return date was moved to October. No problem, Piper thought. We’ll still be back for the holidays.

Then, a blizzard knocked out their antenna. Again, easily fixed, but they had to wait for the wind to die down before they could risk going out to fix it. Disrupted the schedule. Now their return date was end of November.

We’re still fine, she told herself. Thanksgiving is a shit holiday anyways. Who cares if you miss it?

The final communication from SHIELD was what did her in. The last three months of data had gotten corrupted. They needed to stay until February. Piper had been on radio duty when she got the message. Instead of replying, she dashed the receiver against the wall.

It was immature. She had signed up for this mission knowing full well that there was a high chance that things wouldn’t go as planned. In fact, she should’ve been thankful—out of all the things that could have gone wrong, this was pretty innocuous. Everyone was safe, everyone was healthy, they had enough rations to last over a year. There was no reason to be this upset.

But … the reality that she was going to miss Christmas with her family this year was tough to grapple with. Christmas was a big deal. Her siblings and her had all long since moved out, but they still all flocked back by December the 24th, where they’d stay up all night stuffing their faces with their mother’s butter cookies and arguing over which movie to watch as the piney scent of the Christmas tree wafted through the room. No matter where they were in the world, they found a way home.

But Piper supposed she wasn’t anywhere in that world anymore.

She huffed, pulling her hands closer against her chest as the wind whistled on. Christmas had been the one thing she had been working towards all year. Feeling homesick? You’ll be home with everybody for Christmas. Getting frustrated with one of her teammates? By Christmas you’ll have forgotten they exist. Blizzard outside wrecking her day? Just think of all the stories you’ll have to tell everyone over Christmas dinner.

And yet, here she was, Christmas Eve, freezing her ass outside on this godforsaken ice cube.

“What are you doing out here?”

Piper nearly jumped out of her skin. She whipped around to find their Jotun guide looming over her with a frown. Nearly a year of companionship with him had proved that Loki Laufeyson was hardly the malevolent villain the rest of her world believed him to be (SHIELD wouldn’t have put this mission in his hands if he was), but something about his presence still unsettled her. He said very little, choosing to skulk in the shadows and reappearing only when he deemed it absolutely necessary. It never failed to amaze her that a living creature could move so quietly—you never realized he was besides you until you turned around and he was there.

Piper tried to pull herself to her feet, but with all her extra padding she just rocked around on the ground. Her face burned.

Loki raised an eyebrow. “Do you need help?”

“I’m fine,” she huffed, crossing her arms and scowling up at him. I guess I’m staying here for a bit. Where had he even come from? She was leaning against the bunker door—it hadn’t opened since she’d been here. “What are you doing out here?” she asked accusingly.

Loki motioned his head towards the boulder pile behind the bunker. “We were getting some odd readings from the east. I thought I should check up on it.”

“Oh.” Piper peered through the ice, but she couldn’t make out the sensor that was supposed to track the movements of Jotunheim’s celestial satellites. “Is everything okay?”

He nodded, gaze unflinching. “I believe an animal disrupted the apparatus. I righted it.” Cocking his head, he frowned. “So is there a reason you’re sitting outside in the middle of the night in the dead of Jotun winter, or have you just finally gone mad?”

Piper let out a breathy laugh despite herself. She leaned her head against the stone door. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“Ah.” He sounded neutral enough, but Piper was fairly certain he was judging her.

“It’s Christmas Eve,” she added quickly. Glancing at her watch, she added, “Or Christmas Day. I’m not sure.” There was another annoyance about Jotunheim—the time difference was catastrophic.

“Oh,” Loki nodded again. He didn’t move. She frowned. What was he waiting for? Perhaps he didn’t know what she was talking about.

“It’s a holiday,” she explained. “On Earth. It’s kind of a big deal.”

“Yes, I’m aware.” For a moment, the two of them were silent, Piper staring out into the snow, Loki staring down at Piper. She waited for him to walk away, but he didn’t budge.

She sighed. “Do you need something?”

“You are upset.” He said it so matter-of-factly, as if it were plain as day. Piper’s embarrassment came flooding back.

“No. It’s not—” she inhaled. He was right. She was far too upset. “I just—I thought I’d be home for it.” Her eyes were burning. Piper leaned her head back against the door in frustration. Was she seriously crying over this?

“Oh.” Surely he’d leave now, now that he knew that nothing was actually wrong. She shifted to move her weight from against the door so he would be able to return inside. But to Piper’s surprise, he didn’t leave. After a moment’s hesitation, Loki sat down next to her with a grunt.

“I’m afraid my knowledge of Midgardian tradition is rather lacking,” he said as he made himself comfortable against the door. “Christmas is a religious holiday, yes?”

Piper stared. It took her a moment for her to find her voice. “Oh, um, yeah—” she stuttered. “Technically. But not everyone who celebrates it is super religious. Like, I don’t think anyone in my family has gone to church in their life.”

“What is it you celebrate then?” He leaned forward, seeming genuinely interested

“I don’t know. Family. Giving. That’s what they call it, the season of giving.” Geez, she sounded like the star in a Hallmark movie. “My family always had a big get-together every year. Or, has—I guess they still are this year, I’m just… not there.” Her voice trailed off pitifully. Piper forced a smile, desperate to show him that she wasn’t completely pathetic. “But it’s fun. We have cookies and chocolates and everything and we decorate the tree and give each other presents—”

“Pardon me,” Loki interrupted, perking up. “What do you mean ‘decorate the tree’?”

“Oh, yeah.” Of course he wouldn’t know what she was talking about. “It’s a Christmas thing. You get a pine tree—some people have fake ones, my family always goes to a farm to get one—and you put it in your house, and you decorate it with lights and ornaments and stuff, and then you put the presents for everyone under the tree.”

That was another thing she missed this year. Usually, whoever was in town with her parents for Thanksgiving would drive out with them to the Christmas tree farm the next day to help pick out a tree. That was always an adventure—her mom would be scurrying between the lines of trees as the rest of them rushed to follow her, pine needles attacking them mercilessly from both sides. Piper’s mother was a perfectionist in every aspect of life and picking out a tree was no different. They’d spend hours circling the farm, listening to her as she found a flaw in each one they came across.

“The shape of this one is just too wide. Far too dry. Oh look, there’s a hole right in the middle! That one’s beautiful, but it’s so tall, I don’t think it would fit in our house—”

Eventually, she would find a tree that came close enough to her standards (“well, this one has a bare side, but we’ll put it up against the wall so no one will see it”) and Piper would crawl under the thing with the shitty saw they got at the front and go to work, her two sisters bouncing around like cheerleaders at a football game when the tree finally came crashing down.

Piper suddenly realized that she wasn’t going to get to see this year’s tree.

Besides her, Loki sounded lost in thought. “That sounds like Yule.”

She turned, frowning. “Yule?”

“An Asgardian holiday. We decorate pine trees as well.” He sighed, almost wistfully. Piper had never seen him this relaxed before. “It’s probably where the Midgardian custom comes from.”

“Oh, yeah.” She thought she had heard that once, that a lot of Christmas traditions had come from the Vikings, although she had never made the connection between that and Asgard. It made sense—wasn’t Loki straight out of Viking myth? “What do your tree decorations look like?”

Loki hummed. “We had special enchantments on the trees to create the illusion of glowing orbs of light within the branches. You couldn’t touch them—your hand would go right through.” He laughed. “It drove my brother mad when we were little. On more than one occasion he knocked down the whole damn tree trying to grab the light.”

Piper grinned. “That sounds like our cat! We have these little glass balls that are like, multicolored, and he’s always trying to bat them down. My mom wakes up to find ornaments all over the floor. One time he even managed to get the star” That cat’s a little shit and he knows it, she’d tell Piper on the phone. I can’t wait til you guys get home. He’s always on his best behavior for you.

Loki was staring at her quizzically. “The star?”

“Yeah. You put the star at the top of the tree, and it lights up. It’s like a topper ornament. I’m not sure where that comes from.” Piper sighed. “I hope they’re able to get it all set up this year. I’m usually the one who does the lights and the star and everything.”

“I’m sure they’ll manage.”

“Yeah.” Of course they would. The idea that they couldn’t manage without her was nothing but wishful thinking on Piper’s part, a tiny, selfish little part of her that wished they were as lonely and miserable as she was. “It’s just—” she inhaled. “I’ve never missed Christmas before.” Her fingers were going numb under her mittens. She rubbed them against each other.

She could feel Loki’s eyes on her, studying her as she blew into her hands. He didn’t say anything for the longest time, but the silence felt more analytical than judgmental.

“You should go inspide,” he finally said. “It’s far too cold out here for you to just be sitting still.”

He was right, but still Piper bristled. “I’m fine.”

“Please.” He stood in one fluid motion, holding his palm out to her. “If you freeze to death out here, SHIELD will find a way to blame me for it.”

“I—” Her pride screamed at her to keep protesting, but the biting wind was picking up, cutting under her coat and piercing her bones. She couldn’t help the shivers, even as Loki shot her a pointed look.

Piper sighed. “Alright.” She took his hand (how was he so warm?!) and allowed him to pull her to her feet and lead her inside.

…

“Bassow! Bassow, wake up!”

The shouts rattled her skull as she pulled herself from deep within the recesses of sleep. “Hng?”

She was face down in her bunk. When had she even gone back to bed last night? She had been talking to Loki …

It was Medoff who was yelling her name.

“Come on, you’ve got to see this!” her teammate shouted in her ear as she shook her arm.

Piper groaned, pulling herself from the warm cocoon of blankets she had wrapped around herself at some point in the night. Her head was pounding. What time is it?

“See what?” she muttered.

Medoff yanked her out of bed, seemingly trying to jerk her up. “You’ve just got to see it. You won’t believe it otherwise.”

It was too cold. Piper ripped her blanket from her mattress and followed Medoff through the bunker hallways with it wrapped around her shoulders like a cloak, head lost in a sleepy fog.

“Is this really that import—” she trailed off when they reached the common area. The table where they took their meals had been pushed into the corner, but that was hardly what rendered her speechless.

There was a tree. A great, big, beautiful evergreen tree, with needles of emerald green, more vibrant than any Piper had ever seen on Earth. Kaleidoscopic orbs floated amongst the branches, slowly shifting through the colors of the rainbow before her eyes, held to the tree by chains of silver light. And on the top … it was a star, but comparing it to the plastic things Piper would haphazardly wrestle to the top of her Midgardian Christmas trees felt like a crime. It was as if someone had plucked one of the celestial bodies from the night sky and just fixed it at the peak, sparkling so bright it was almost blinding.

For a moment, Piper just blinked. “What—how—”

“We don’t know!” Olsen laughed from the table, where she was sitting with Wynn, the final member of their team. “We just woke up a few minutes ago, and it was like this! Isn’t it insane?”

“I mean, it is Christmas Day,” Wynn said. “Back at home, I mean. I guess Santa made it to Jotunheim after all.”

“Yeah. Santa.” Coming to her senses, Piper glanced about the room. It couldn’t be a coincidence that the most enchanting Christmas tree in existence magically appeared in their bunker mere hours after that conversation. She found him lurking in the hallway, watching them all from afar. Loki met her gaze, and Piper suddenly realized his eyes were the same brilliant green as the tree.

The biting homesickness that had been festering in her heart was still there, but it was beginning to fade, as if someone had wrapped it in a warm blanket.  She smiled. As her colleagues continued to chatter over the tree, Piper made her way over to the Jotun prince.

“Thank you.”

He shrugged. “It was hardly an unpleasant task. I thought I might enjoy indulging nostalgia for a day as well.”

The changing lights from the tree cast a mystical glow to the desolate bunker, sparkling across the stone walls. It was like living within the Northern Lights. Hesitantly, Piper reached to put her hand on his forearm. “Merry Christmas, Loki.”

At first, he stiffened, but after a moment, he returned her warm smile. “Merry Christmas.”

[agent-cupcake]

Cupcake!! Do you listen to music while writing? If yes what kind?

Yes! I absolutely do! I really love music, I’d say it’s secondary to literature as far as my choice of creative input so this is also just my personal recommendations regarding music as a whole with explanations and unwanted commentary because I’m dumb and this is one of my favorite things to talk about.

Firstly, my ongoing(ish) story Beastie and the Bard is musically driven so here are some songs I have on my playlist for that. I tend towards pieces that are melancholy but melodic. Entrancing, perhaps.

Lolita by Ennio Morricone - Contextually, I realize this is a bizarre (even tone deaf) pick given the source material, but... Whatever. This song, in general, just reminds me of Dimitri. Although a heavy, militaristic march might suit him better, the heart rending sound of this song just works for me when I think of him. The piano sets the tone immediately, lingering on some notes in a wistful, sad way. And it is sad, the cello and flute join in to make that clear. But, at a certain point, the instruments begin to dance around together, opening up and almost seeming like they want to resolve the song and create something happier, or at least something bittersweet, only to be drawn back into the uneasy tragedy of the main motif. I dunno, for me, it just absolutely aches like betrayal. 

Shallan’s Lullaby by treefin / Black Piper - This music box rendition of Shallan’s Lullaby from Stormlight was the melodic inspiration for my bootleg lullaby that reader writes for Dimitri (perhaps not the first part as much as the way it shifts around 1:07). It’s haunting.

Isabella’s Lullaby from The Promised Neverland - Pretty self explanatory, I think. This one hits the sweet spot of beautiful and sad, from the harp to the vocals it just fits. 

Howl’s Moving Castle Merry Go Round of Life original and the cover by the Grissini Project - Both versions are incredibly special pieces of music and I’d be surprised if you hadn’t heard this theme before, very good for the more whimsical parts of the story (not that there’s gonna be any more of that).

Shadows of the Lowlands from Xenoblade 2 - While I’m about to recommend this entire soundtrack, this vocal piece is stunning. This guy’s vocals, no joke, sound like a Tolkien Elf. We Are the Chosen Ones is done by the same vocal group and soloist so it’s also making this list although the tone is def a bit different. 

Okay now I’m just gonna point out my favorite soundtracks. For all of these, I have COMPLETELY LEGALLY downloaded most of these from other sites, I’m linking youtube just based on superficial searches to hopefully give you a taste and maybe encourage you to NOT BREAK THE LAW and acquire these soundtracks on your own

Fire Emblem Three Houses - This is obvious and I’m sure you’ve all heard it, but go have a listen if you haven’t. but first, is anyone else disappointed about the Three Houses official release soundtrack? Considering the delay I guess I kinda expected more. Granted, the soundtrack IS phenomenal. Not so much in its entirety, which is emblematic of the game as a whole in some ways, but the set pieces? Unforgettable. This soundtrack is a case study in how powerful a small pool of musical motifs and set-up/pay-offs can be. The little promise of God Shattering Star at the very beginning of the game, Those Who Sow Darkness giving a taste of Shambhala, and then the use of the main melodies of Season of Warfare (Main Theme) and Song of the Nabateans. For the most part, both melodies are used in dramatic songs, creating this unbreakable musical connection between Edelgard and Byleth. Or, if you think about it, Edelgard and the Rhea. For example: the thunder version of Funeral of Flowers doesn’t have the game’s theme, but the rain version does (those two songs were WRITTEN to be layered I stg). And then there’s that somewhat bastardized version of the main theme in At What Cost, highlighting the intended twisting of the usual heroic take on that melody. I do have a potentially unpopular opinion, however. The Apex of the World is boring and tonally dissonant with the final battle in Azure Moon. A lot of people really like Edelgard-Dimitri likes Edelgard! There’s very little heroism in that mission, at least to me, and a song like At What Cost would have fit SO MUCH BETTER. I mean, that is also Edelgard’s theme so hearing that being twisted up into this decidedly more dark song would be thematically appropriate to her ultimate choice. The title also just seems like it suits her and Dimitri. Edelgard claims that she has weighed the cost of war, she believes she is capable of taking on the cost of victory without really knowing what it would be. Dimitri's whole story was him trying to find revenge no mater what the cost and now that he has it, he’s fully understanding what it will cost him. I understand why they would use the traditional hero song to cap the route, but it seems weird that they’d be willing to subvert so many other aspects of tradition while holding to that for a song that, in my opinion, is the least interesting of all the final battle songs. As you can probably tell, At What Cost is a song that is very tonally inspiring to me. I also love Funeral of Flowers (Thunder and Rain separately and layered together), The Long Road, and Roar of Dominion for getting hyped to write.

Final Fantasy VII Remake - Ever since I got this soundtrack, I’ve been addicted. I really don’t have much to say on this one other than just to recommend you give it a listen if you’re even passingly interested in orchestral video game music. There’s some misses for me (specifically the Wall Market stuff and anything that gets into the weird electric guitar/techno stuff) but it’s overwhelmingly fantastic and can work for active listening music and for background music while you write. I’d follow up recommend you get ahold of the Acoustic Arrangements soundtrack. I can’t link you on this one but it’s worth the extra legwork to procure it COMPLETELY LEGALLY. 

Final Fantasy Distant Worlds - I was actually able to see the Distant World’s tour when it swept through Houston and at that point I had no idea what the fuck a Final Fantasy was. At all. However, seeing One Winged Angel live is not something I will ever forget. Ever. This soundtrack is great for some background listening and although it is often too upbeat for my usual tastes, it’s good when I need something easier. Okay. Real talk. I was about to recommend to you a bunch of FFXIV music (the MMO), choice selections from FFXV, and try and dig up some songs that are only available in live recordings. If you like Final Fantasy music, I recommend all of these things. The games are a clusterfuck but the music is even moreso and it’s worth your time if you like this kind of thing.

Xenoblade 2 - See? Told you I was gonna recommend this. Actually, ranking wise, I would say that I like it more than Final Fantasy. This soundtrack is magical. I cannot stress that enough, there is a level of whimsy and beauty that went into this soundtrack that all at once draws upon the genre and being it’s own thing. Like, I get it, there’s a lot of misses. The electric guitar is jarring and annoying. Listen to Sea of Clouds, like, actually listen to it. Listen to Desolation. Pay attention to the motif used in connection with Elysium and then the other songs that its used in. The Power of Jin. This is a sometimes sad but mostly beautiful and whimsical soundtrack that is good for listening and for using as background music. 

Xenoblade 1 - I don’t have as much to say about this one, I don’t feel as if it’s as emotionally resonant as my other recommendations. BUT it is gorgeous. The area themes are wonderful and perfect for setting tone. 

Hollow Knight - Hollow Knight’s soundtrack takes one step back from the drama of the others and revels in its depressive simplicity. There are songs with a more cheerful tone, and the magical whimsy of Xenoblade 2 is very much brought to life in many of the pieces, but for the most part the soundtrack is as gorgeously melancholy as the game itself. One of my favorite things in music is when songs are given new life through new context and the White Palace --> Pale Court transition is haunting. 

Diabolik Lovers - OKAY I KNOW I KNOW hear me out. This soundtrack has no right to be as gorgeous, emotional, or quality as it is. This song, Lovers, is the younger sibling of Lolita’s theme, okay? Thematically, that’s kinda hilarious, but I mean it. If you like that song, give a few of the songs from this OST a chance.

BioShock, BioShock 2, and BioShock Infinite - BioShock 1&2 are different from Infinite. A lot more grungy, a lot more angry and discordant, the strings buzz and there’s a lot more horror to it all. Infinite, on the other hand, is very pretty. Infinite’s soundtrack is about the characters and their journey and feelings. The first two game’s soundtracks are about the ruined city of Rapture. It depends on what you’re in the mood for. I write using Infinite’s music more often, but there’s pieces in the first two that capture this empty, yearning feeling that is good for setting mood.

Pathologic - “Half Life’s soundtrack directed by Genghis Khan.” It’s bizarre. It’s grungy. 

Void (Typrop) - Basically the same deal. I dunno man, I like being inspired by horror.

Outlast - It’s an orchestral horror game soundtrack. Like the game itself, there’s a lot of horror movie inspiration. 

Dishonored 1 and Dishonored 2 - This is mostly background music. It’s a stealth game so it’s kinda uneasy, but I think there’s something really unique. Maybe the instruments? There’s a lot of weird sounds used. 

Higurashi - This is a compilation of horror themed songs from the anime soundtrack, but the VN soundtrack and the non-horror stuff is pretty good, too. Michishirube is my favorite.

Madoka Magica Rebellion - The main anime soundtrack is gorgeous. The bells, the strings, the drama... I’m recommending Rebellion specifically because it’s the more cohesive and story-driven soundtrack. This one is not as horror-ish and weird than the others, it is very beautiful and nice to listen to. Sad, in some parts, too. 

Code Geass and Resurrection - Brass? Got it. Dramatic strings? Got it. Bombastic set piece songs? Triple got it. This soundtrack oozes style. In some ways, that makes it not good for writing, but in others it can. Depends on what you’re writing. I think the melodrama can be incredibly useful for getting my mind in that frenzy state. 

Okay I’m done. Thank you for bearing with me. 

If we’re talking what songs inspire specific things, the Ferdinand piece was accompanied by a lot of the Diabolik Lovers soundtrack and Final Fantasy. When I wrote my sad Felix piece, it was all about Hollow Knight with a spot of Bloodborne and Dark Souls.  

[eijiroukiriot]

bnha is a mainstream, relatively kid-friendly anime with a huge american fanbase so it’s not like i HADN’T seen percy jackson au stuff before now but as someone who had a long, intense, and embarrassing pjo phase in elementary and middle school i always sort of shrugged it off thinking “surely i don’t need to revisit this part of my life” BUT recently on twitter there has been a flood of people talking about son-of-aphrodite bkg and because 1) i’ve read the lost hero at least 6 times (which doesn’t sound like a ton but it is 500 pages long) and considered it my favorite book for Years and 2) i was in love with piper and my favorite scenes were piper getting claimed, piper meeting her mom in her dreams, piper reclaiming her cabin through charmspeak and confidence alone, the natural flow of events was that connecting that character with one of my other favorite characters of all time would be enough to do me in. so basically i’ve been thinking about a bnha pjo au for the past 24 hours and i did all these lazy sketches and it’s cringey in theory but i’m having fun with it! 

[aknosde]

Headcannon that the tartarus gang have trouble eating “normally” after the pit

For the best outcome they all have to be happy/distracted, how hungry they are is directly impacted by how happy/sad they are, and how much thought they are putting into the task

Nico can only eat well when he’s happy or distracted, hence he eats at the Apollo table

Annabeth sits with her siblings so she can typically eat well as long as she isn’t having a bad day

This means Percy has a lot of trouble cus he sits alone most of the time. 

Most people know Percy as being a big eater, but instead of this making it obvious how little he’s eating, they usually just assume that he’s on seconds or thirds

Because of this it takes a lot longer for Will and even Annabeth to notice he's not putting weight back on

Will obviously knows about Nicos issues, but he eventually realizes that Annabeth and Percy have the same problems 

Will gets the Stolls to smuggle Percy, Annabeth, and Nicos favorite foods/snacks

He carries around snacks at all times, and whenever he catches one of them distracted he’ll pass them a bag and talk with them while they eat subconsciously 

He ropes in Jason, Piper and Leo. (As well as Frank, Hazel, Reyna, and Grover when they’re there)

I can’t remember if this is cannon or not, but the Poseidon table becomes the big three table (Nico still sits with the Apollo cabin unless Hazel is visiting, or Percy is obviously having a very bad day) 

when Jason is at CHB he matches his eating pace to Percys so Percy never has to eat alone

Percy can typically eat all right when Jason/Thalia/Hazel are visiting. Them visiting makes him happy and conversation keeps him distracted during meal times

when Grover is at camp he convinces Chiron to let him and  maybe Juniper to eat with Percy

when they eat together Grover always gives Percy one of his enchiladas 

Even if Percy is really Not Hungry that day he’ll eat it because he knows how much they mean to Grover. 

The Stolls, and really the entire Hermes cabin, give food to Nico, Percy, and Annabeth free of charge

Nico and Annabeth actively know that they and Percy struggle with eating a lot of the time, Percy is oblivious until he and Annabeth have an argument over dinner at the Jacksons one time

The bad feelings from the fight are drawn out, because Percy feels bad and it keeps him from eating

Annabeth feels guilty about this but forces herself to eat something

The fight gets picked up again when later that night she tries to get him to eat something

They end up eating ice cream on Percy’s bathroom floor at 3 in the morning

After that Annabeth and Percy often wake up in the middle of the night realizing the other hasn’t eaten much that day

If they’re together they’ll wake the other up and eat ice cream

If they aren’t they’ll Iris Message each other 

even after their fight he forgets about eating a lot

Sally is constantly trying to get Percy to eat more, but often it backfires and he ends up feeling worse

Even if she isn’t pressuring him into eating more, he often gets in a vicious cycle in his head where he feels bad about not being hungry and it makes everything worse

Clarisse is surprisingly sympathetic about their situation and she’ll bully them into eating but in a way that doesn’t make them feel bad

The most successful method of getting Percy to eat, is when he’s in the water and someone yeets blue cookies at him

If Percy is having a really hard time one day and Nico isn’t, Nico will drag Percy down to the beach and they eat there together. 

When Percy’s stomach is empty but he isn’t actively hungry, he starts chewing on things (the collar of his shirt, his camp necklace, hoodie strings, etc. ) 

Will realizes this first so whenever Percy does this Will will pass him food, usually something chewy but easy to eat, that way he ends up eating more. 

Annabeth gets back to her previous weight first, but by no means are her eating habits what they were 

She uses timers to remind her to eat

Malcom also carries snacks for her, and keeps some for her in the cabin

He’ll sit up with her and snack on chips at midnight 

Nico gets back to his previous weight next, his eating habits are the most normal, mostly thanks to the Apollo cabin (eating with others, and Will :))

When Percy is trying to put back on weight he ends up putting a lot back on in muscle, not fat (he tries to cope with ptsd etc. by training)

Percy once passed out in the arena while training because he hadn’t eaten, Clarisse was really nice about it though

they went to the infirmary together and ate

After he had eaten a little and been hooked up to fluids Clarisse got Annabeth

Annabeth sleeps in the infirmary with him that night 

Annabeth has thought about getting a pass from Chiron to sit at the Poseidon table

she knows that this would help Percy but that it would make eating harder for her

Will gets Percy a pass to sit at the Athena and Apollo tables occasionally but Percy doesn’t do it often

He doesn’t want to be a burden, so when he’s having a harder time and needs others the most he keeps himself from sitting with them

Sometimes Will notices and orders him to choose another table to sit at for the night

It takes Percy about a year to get back to his previous weight

He has an especially difficult time during the school year, his mortal friends aren’t aware of his issues and they often finish eating before him which means he usually doesn’t finish his lunch

[demigodsanswer]

valgrace fic request for something with a confession?

((Set in a canon-divergent timeline where Jason doesn’t die, but still gets stabbed. Also Jason and Piper, in this, know that Leo is alive. There isn’t actually a confession in here, really, because the story got away from me, so, sorry about that. 

TW/CW for mentions of blood, injury, and vomiting)) 

~*~*~*~

When Jason woke up, all he felt was the overwhelming pain and pressure emanating from his chest. He tried to open his eyes, but the lights in his room nearly blinded him, sending sharp shooting pains back into his head. All he could do was groan and close his eyes again. The top half of his body felt like it was on fire. He couldn’t feel the lower half. 

He felt someone squeeze his hand. It took most of his strength, but he managed to squeeze back. Jason tried to open his mouth to ask who was there, but his throat swallowed the sound. All he could do was lay there, and hope whoever was holding his hand recognized how thirsty he was. 

“You alive, Sparky?” 

Leo. Jason would have smiled if he had the energy. He would have jumped on his best friend if he could. He and Piper had gotten word of Leo’s survival a few weeks ago, but they hadn’t seen him yet. Now, he was in Jason’s hospital room, holding his hand. Jason wanted to smile and hug his friend, but his body wouldn’t let him. Instead, he settled for squeezing Leo’s hand again. 

Leo made a noise that sounded like a laugh mixed with a yelp, before he dropped Jason’s hand. Jason heard his footsteps moving around the room, before returning to his bedside. Jason felt one of Leo’s hands, unnaturally but not uncomfortably warm and calloused slip behind his neck to prop him up just a bit. 

“Here,” Leo offered him a spoon. The warm nectar tasted like vegan tacos. While it gave him enough energy to move his head a bit more, it didn’t do much to quench his thirst. 

“Water?” Jason managed to choke out. 

“I’m on it,” Leo promised. He returned a minute later with a toddler cup with handles and a plastic straw. After Jason had swallowed down as much as his stomach could handle, he finally managed to ask Leo to dim the lights. 

Once Leo assured him that the lights were basically off, Jason managed to slowly open his eyes, taking a look at his best friend since his near-death experience. 

“It’s good to see you,” Jason said. “I can’t believe you’re alive.” 

“I could say the same thing about you,” Leo said. 

“What -?” 

Leo held up a hand to cut Jason off, before explaining the story. Jason remembered being stabbed (even if he didn’t, he was well aware of it now), but he didn’t remember much else. Piper had used charmspeak to get his blood flow to slow way, way down. Apollo called on Zeus to help, but they still can’t tell if Zeus did anything. Probably not, Jason thought, or I’d be a tree right now. 

“Calypso and I came as soon as we heard,” Leo said, “you’ve been out for days.” 

“Piper?” Jason asked. 

“She had to go to Oklahoma, but she was here, dude, everyday with me. She left you a card to read when you have the strength.” Leo paused. “She wants you to know that she’s sorry, and that she did everything she could to try and save you.” 

Jason nodded. “When do they think I’ll be able to get out of this bed?”

Leo looked at Jason confused, his eyes scanning Jason’s busted body. “Dude, you can barely open your eyes. You still have a lot of healing to do.” 

Jason leaned back and closed his eyes again, but not because he felt like he had to. “I figured. Everything hurts.” 

“A spear went right through your chest. You’re lucky it didn’t hit your lungs or your heart. You’re lucky Piper -” 

“Yeah, she’s the best.” He tried to keep his voice happy, but he could tell he didn’t succeed. 

“She told me what happened between you two. Sorry.” Leo said. He picked up the sippy cup and headed to the sink to refill it. Jason noticed it was shaped like Mikey Mouse, big round black ears decorated the top where the straw poked out, the body was dressed like Mickey’s shorts. Jason briefly laughed at the idea that he was drinking Mickey’s insides, but the macabre image reminded him of his own injury. He suddenly remembered what it looked like to see a spear poking out of his own body, what it felt like. He was suddenly too aware of the pain in his chest and the blood on it. He felt overwhelmingly nauseated. He tried to lean over the bed, hoping to find a trashcan, but there was nothing. The twisting only worsened his pain, and his eyes flashed with white light, before he gagged on himself. There wasn’t enough food in his stomach to produce anything other than water and bile, though. 

When the pain subsided, he realized that Leo was gently rubbing his head, his body close to Jason’s. He had quickly held up a clean bedpan to Jason’s chin, keeping him clean. 

Jason’s throat burned, but he felt okay enough to lay back down. Leo offered him some sips of water and nectar, which Jason accepted, hoping he’d keep them down.  

“You’re bleeding,” Leo said, “let me go get the medic.” Before Jason could say anything, Leo was out the door, and Jason was asleep again. 

When he woke up hours later, Leo was still there, asleep in the chair next to the bed. Jason sat up slightly, careful not to distress the wound dressings, the IV, or any of the other vital tubes keeping him alive. 

He still couldn’t feel much of his lower body when he shifted. He tried moving his legs, but they felt somehow too heavy and too light, like they were asleep from being still for too long. 

“Leo?” Jason said, his voice barely a whisper. “Leo?” He managed a little louder. 

Leo stirred, waking up slowly at first, and then all at once when he saw Jason moving. 

“Do you need anything?” Leo asked, quick to help him. 

“No, I’m okay. You don’t need to stay here all night, though.” 

Leo smiled sadly, “’Course I do. I don’t want you to be alone here.” 

Jason nearly blushed. “Come on, I’m sure Calypso misses you.” 

“Might want to hedge your bets on that one. That little love story didn’t exist so well outside the magic love island.” 

Jason furrowed his brow. “You guys broke up?” 

Leo nodded. “It’s uh .... well ... she wasn’t right for me.” Leo’s ears were pink, so Jason decided not to push the question too much. “Anyway,” Leo said, perking up again, “I want to show you something.” 

Leo pulled out a clipboard with some sketches on it. Jason wasn’t quite sure what he was looking at; Leo had drawn out a few different models of legs, some realistically human, some bionic. “They’re just some ideas. I’ll improve them once I can get to some real blueprints.” 

“What are they for?” Jason asked. Leo’s ears went red again. 

“What?” 

“Are you writing a comic or something?” 

Leo looked at Jason, confused and concerned. He looked around the room, like he was hoping to find someone else who knew what was going on. 

After a moment he took a deep breath and rubbed the back of his neck before saying, “I guess you didn’t know yet? Sorry, I shouldn’t have ... I mean ... not like ...”

“Leo?” 

He took a deep breath. “It’s like I told you. Piper had to slow your blood flow way, way down, and keep most of it going to your vital parts until they could get you help. That meant taking the blood from somewhere else and, well, they figured you needed your hands more, so ...” He trailed off, but Jason understood. 

He tried to sit up and pull the blankets down off his lap, but he couldn’t move that far. 

“Here, I’ve got it,” Leo said, pulling them down for him. Jason rested back, finally understanding why he couldn’t feel his legs. They were both gone. The left one was off at the hip, the right one was off at the knee. Jason ran his fingers over the bandages, trying to understand it. When he pressed down on what was left, he could swear he felt it in a foot that wasn’t there. 

“But don’t worry, I’m gonna fix you up. You’re gonna be like Robo Cop or some shit,” Leo said, forcing a laugh to try and break the tension. Then. his voice got soft again. “You’re going to be okay. We’re all here to help you. We’re just so happy you’re alive.” He wrapped his arms around Jason’s shoulders, and pulled him in close, trying to be as gentle as he could be. Jason grabbed onto Leo’s arm, and pulled him in closer. Jason buried his face in his friend’s arm, and started to cry, which only made the pain in his chest worse, which only made him want to cry harder. 

Leo didn’t say anything, he just held him for a while. 

Finally, Jason felt himself starting to calm down. He pulled away from Leo, who pulled the blanket back up over Jason’s lap. 

“I wish Piper was here,” Leo said, sitting down in the chair, “she’s always been better at this kind of stuff.” 

Jason reached his hand out to Leo, who took it, scooting his seat closer. “I’m so happy you’re here.” Leo blushed again, and Jason felt himself blush too, but he didn’t know why. “You are enough. Thanks for being here for me.” Leo smiled. “Plus, I’m super lucky. Who else has a friend who can make them Robo Cop?” 

Leo’s smile widened. “You know, I was wondering: do you want to be taller? Because I can make you taller.” 

“Taller than Frank or Percy?” 

“I can do that,” Leo promised. 

Jason squeezed his hand. “Maybe. I’ll think about it.” 

“Well you let me know. I can do anything.” 

“I know you can.” 

Jason’s head started to feel heavy again, and he could feel himself starting to drift. Leo offered him another spoon-full of nectar to help him sleep and heal, which he took gratefully. 

“You need to get some rest too,” Jason said. 

“I will,” Leo promised, settling into his chair, “I’ll just also be here when you wake up again.” 

Jason smiled, closed his eyes, a drifted back to sleep. 

[winryofresembool]

Things We Lost in the Fire, ch 33

aka Caleo uni au

Fic summary: Calypso starts studying at a new university, but to her annoyance her new flatmate is a loud mouthed mechanic who also likes to sneak his dog in whenever. But as she learns to know him better, she realizes they might have more in common than what she first thought. Eventually, even the darkest secrets come out…

Chapter summary: What happens after Leo returns? (At Waystation, pt 1234)

A/N:  What is this? A new chapter? I know I probably apologize too much but still, sorry for the long wait! Writer's block is not fun, you guys. It seems that I'm getting more and more insecure about where I should take this story by each chapter, but I did get a couple of encouraging comments while I was writing it and they motivated me to keep going! Extra special shoutout to my bff Cris(sy) for both recommending me the song that eventually helped this chapter to be born, and also helping me edit yesterday because I certainly wouldn't be posting this right now without you. (((((((((huug))))))))))

Disclaimer: The song New Year's Day obviously belongs to Taylor Swift and I definitely recommend listening to it while reading this chapter (specifically the scene where it's mentioned).

Words: 3300+

Genre: romance & hurt/comfort

Warnings: none

previous chapter / AO3

…

Leo stayed at the park for a while longer, but eventually he knew he had to return to Waystation. The talk with Piper had made him feel a bit better, but he was still worried about how Calypso would react to his meltdown. In his opinion, she had every right to be mad. He would have to explain his behavior, but how? That was the big question.

It was already well past noon when Leo showed up at Waystation again. The building was surprisingly quiet when he entered, hoping the others were looking for him. Usually Georgina was all over the place around this time, sugar high from the chocolate she had eaten and making a mess with her new presents. Luckily, once he had removed his coat and his hat, he started hearing some clunking from the kitchen, indicating someone was there.

Instead of just bursting into the kitchen and announcing that he had returned, he stopped to watch by the doorway. Only Calypso and Georgina were in there, the younger girl chatting enthusiastically while the older one was instructing her with baking. They were standing with their backs towards the door so they couldn’t see Leo. The smell that was coming from the oven somehow felt very familiar… something he associated with Calypso. It wasn’t until she bowed down to take something out of the oven that he realized what it was. The cookies smelled the same as the cake Calypso had baked a few times at their flat, and the shampoo she used: cinnamon-y.

“Look, Georgina!” Calypso showed her the cookies. “These ended up pretty good.” It sounded like she was hesitating a bit before she continued: “Hopefully your brother will like them as well.”

“Oh, he will, Calie! He’d probably like anything you do!” Georgina noted in the straightforward style she was used to.

“But I didn’t make these alone,” Calypso reminded her. “I had a good helper.” She put the oven pan on the table and reached to ruffle the top of Georgina’s hair a bit.

“Where do you think he went, anyway?” Georgina asked. Leo wasn’t sure if he just imagined it but to him she sounded pretty worried. “I’ve not seen him that way often…”

Calypso sounded pretty cautious when she answered. “I’m sure he will be back soon. He must be tired because he’s been working a lot lately and that’s why he’s a bit on the edge… but he wouldn’t want to miss your gingerbread cookies. Hey, what color should we use to decorate these?” She turned Georgina’s focus back to the cookies again. “Do you think pink would be cute?”

“No, I want all the different colors! Blue, red, purple, green, yellow…” Georgina started listing all the colors that she could remember.

“I don’t think we have that many food color bottles here,” Calypso pointed out with amusement. “But you know, we can try to mix some together!”

“That sounds great! Hey, is pink your favorite color?” The girl asked suddenly.

“Hah, what gives me away?” Calypso chuckled. Even the apron she was currently wearing happened to be pink, although Leo knew that was probably purely coincidental because she was using one of Emmie’s aprons.

“You’re always wearing something pink and you even wanted pink gingerbread cookies,” Georgina noted while she started mixing the sugar frosting very eagerly.

“You’re a smart one, aren’t you?” Calypso teased. “I do really like pink, though. I don’t know. Maybe it reminds me of the sunsets back in my childhood home… But lately I’ve noticed that I have quite a lot of red things in my wardrobe too. But what about you? What’s your favorite color?”

Georgina gave Calypso a long and colorful answer, which Leo only half listened to. He started thinking about Calypso’s statement. He wasn’t completely dense; he had noticed that Calypso had often picked those outfits that he may have complimented at some point. But could it be that she had even started using more red because of him? Nah, he shook his head, that was a selfish way of thinking. Her outfit choices were probably purely coincidental.

Suddenly Leo realized that he had been standing there eavesdropping the girls way too long. When he was about to leave, though, he heard Georgina say: “my moms try to hide it from me, but I know that Leo is not OK. I mean, maybe he is, sometimes… but I remember that last Christmas was a lot like this one.”

“What do you mean?” Calypso asked.

“He didn’t yell at anyone, but… when he is in a bad mood he either shuts down and avoids us or is even louder than usual. But between the jokes, he doesn’t look happy at all. Moms would probably say ‘Georgie, you’re too small to understand that stuff’, but I’m not a baby anymore. This one golden haired dude visits us sometimes and he knows a lot about health things and he’s been teaching me as well. I know sometimes people get depressed, if for example something really bad has happened to them. And I think something very bad happened to big bro before he came here.”

“Yeah… sometimes things like that happen, sadly… But you know what?” Calypso said, probably attempting to sound more cheerful. “I think your brother is really trying. He cares about you so much he puts your happiness before his. He doesn’t want you to worry about him. But he’s strong, just like you, right? He’ll pull through.”

At this point Leo felt he had heard enough. He had been expecting some talk about him; after all he had just caused a scene in the middle of the present opening. But to hear Calypso talk about him that way? So sweetly? That he hadn’t expected. He had imagined she’d be mad at him after the ‘incident’ of that morning. Maybe she was just trying to be nice simply to calm Georgina down, but that he would never know.

He slowly started backing up, so that the girls wouldn’t notice his presence. However, just when he was nearly by the stairway, his foot hit a box that someone had left on the floor, making a loud noise. Cursing himself in his head, he quickly looked up to see that the sound had piqued the girls’ interest and they both tried to see where it had come from. He hid upstairs as quickly as he could, but that didn’t change the fact that Calypso most likely knew he had been listening to them.

Great, he thought, as he closed his bedroom door behind him. As if things hadn’t already been awkward enough even before this…

… (Calypso POV)

Once she was done with baking with Georgina, Calypso withdrew into her guest room for some ‘me’ time. She had a lot to think about. Leo hadn’t been around for the lunch, which meant that the Waystation group had been unusually quiet while finishing their meals. She knew everyone must have been thinking about him, but no one dared to bring him up. After the lunch, Georgina had asked Calypso to bake with her and she had agreed, welcoming the distraction. But Leo still hadn’t returned so she had started playing with the idea that she wouldn’t listen to Jo and Emmie’s advice, instead going to look for him after cleaning the kitchen. Before she had gotten that far, though, she had heard him in the hallway, but he had disappeared from there before she had time to even properly see him. However, she knew it couldn’t have been anyone else.

While she was relieved that he had finally come back, one part of her was also kind of mad that he had been eavesdropping and hadn’t even told them that he had returned. She was pretty close to just marching into his room and letting him hear it, but eventually she decided she wasn’t quite ready for that talk yet. If only there was some machine that would allow them to exchange their thoughts without the actual confrontation… But that was a naive thought, Calypso knew.

Finally, she decided that dwelling on the issues the whole day wouldn’t help anything. Since the Waystation family would get some Christmas guests for the evening, she decided that she should probably change out of her baking attire (a simple t-shirt and sweatpants) that had gotten a bit floury despite the apron that had covered it. Thankful for having taken several outfits from her flat (see, Leo, they were useful for something after all, she thought), she was drawn between blue jeans and a white blouse and a pretty 50ies style red dress she had only recently sewn for herself. It had sleeves that reached her elbows, a ribbon around the waist and a v-shaped neckline. Calypso wondered if the dress was a bit ‘too much’ for a family dinner but she liked how it had ended up looking and felt pretty confident in it. That’s why she ended up picking it instead of the more casual option. Besides, a tiny voice said in Calypso’s head, it didn’t hurt that Leo liked that color...

Tying her hair into a small braid pun and adding a ribbon around it, she was finally happy with her look. Then her gaze fell into the silver bracelet Leo had given to her that was still around her wrist. Briefly, she wondered how he’d feel about seeing it after their earlier incident, but she decided to leave it on. She had kind of expected Leo to give her something silly, like a CD of him singing Never Gonna Give You Up or chili seeds as a joke, but the jewelry box and the bracelet had been very thoughtful. Leo really knew how to surprise her – in a good way – sometimes…

Realizing that she had already been spending over an hour in her guest room, Calypso decided it was time to go back to socialize with her hosts. She heard Georgina’s voice coming from the living room and decided to go check up on her. The young girl was sitting by the piano, singing one of those more modern Christmas songs that she herself wasn’t crazy about, but somehow it sounded a lot more bearable when Georgina performed it. But what really surprised Calypso was Georgina’s pianist. Leo was sitting there next to his adoptive sister and focusing on running his fingers on the instrument. For some reason she hadn’t expected him to be musical and especially not interested in playing Christmas songs (Calypso knew he was more of a rock ‘n roll type of guy). She wasn’t sure what to think of this discovery.

Calypso had always loved music and she had even attempted to learn to play the piano with the help of a nanny for a little while, but when her dad had discovered what they did, he had immediately told them to stop. To this day, Calypso couldn’t understand why; she just assumed that maybe her beloved father hadn’t wanted her to learn something so ‘useless’. Thankfully, her voice wasn’t something her father could take from her so she had kept singing mostly out of spite, and became pretty good. Now she began wondering if Leo would ever mind teaching her to play… that was, if they were able to have a normal conversation again.

Georgina’s song ended and Calypso stepped forward to let the others know she was there, applauding the girl.

“That sounded good!” She encouraged her. “I’m not a fan of Christmas songs but you did well.”

“Thanks, Calie!” Georgina beamed at her. “Leo has told me you can sing too. Can I hear some? Please? Leo can play!”

“I… uh… wasn’t expecting to see you here.” Calypso turned to Leo. “Since when have you been playing the piano?”

Leo ignored Calypso’s first remark and replied: “Since I was a kid. Yeah, I bet you thought I’m more like a drum person or something but it was my mom’s idea I’d try this. Well? Are you gonna sing something?” He asked when Calypso remained quiet.

“I don’t really know that many Christmas songs…” she replied hesitantly. “Georgie, do you have any suggestions?”

“I love Taylor Swift’s songs!” the 9-year-old announced. “Do you know any of them?”

Calypso nearly burst out laughing. “Of course I do! She’s one of my favorite artists. But I thought we were going to sing Christmas songs.”

“Nah, I think I’ve already had enough of them,” Georgina stated. “But TS has made some holiday themed songs as well. Like New Year’s Day. I have the piano sheet for it!” The girl showed her a book she had borrowed from the library.

“You’re a real Swiftie, huh?” Calypso couldn’t help but smile at the girl’s enthusiasm. “But fine, I actually quite like that song so I could sing it.”

Leo had been following the conversation quietly but now he took the book from Georgina and eyed the sheet.

“Let me practice a little; I haven’t even heard this song before so I have no idea how to play it.”

“Sure, take your time,” Calypso said carefully. She was relieved to see that Leo was acting that calmly now despite the morning’s incident but she couldn’t help but wonder if that was just the surface. Surely he couldn’t have just completely forgotten about it? She would have to bring it up at some point, but now was not the time. Even when she attempted to read the lyrics her thoughts kept going back to him.

She was so lost in her thoughts that Leo had to raise his voice before she noticed he had stopped playing. “Hey, did you hear me? I asked if you’re ready.”

“What?” she shook her head. “Sorry. I was just wondering something. But yes, I’m ready now.”

Calypso noticed that Georgina kept looking at them curiously, but for once she didn’t say anything.

“Good. Let’s go,” Leo said in a neutral tone.

As she started singing, the lyrics started sinking into her differently than before. Suddenly she felt like she was the narrator, singing about the aftermath of a party she had attended. Even though Calypso wasn’t big on parties, and the latest one she had been in – the Halloween one – hadn’t gone ideally, when she kept picturing herself among her friends that she had gained during her time in Indianapolis, smiling, carrying their shoes because their feet hurt from the dancing, she felt… happy. Adding to that the image of spending time with Leo cleaning up their home while he made his snarky comments and probably tried to sabotage her cleaning process, she felt warm in a way she hadn’t expected. However, she tried to stop that track of thoughts because she realized what it implied. The narrator of the song was singing about her significant other, and Calypso had decided a long time ago that she shouldn’t get one.

As Leo kept playing, Calypso tried to keep her focus on his fingers running on the keys. For a while it worked; Calypso was amazed by how fast they could move, but then again, she supposed that all those years of building things with his hands really helped him develop that skill. Calypso could spot some stains on his hands from the machines he had handled that would barely leave even with soap, and the under nail area could definitely have used some proper scrubbing, but he wouldn’t have been Leo without those things. She couldn’t imagine him not fiddling with something 24/7. That was one of the reasons she admired him; she valued hard work pretty high and couldn’t imagine being with someone who was just sitting still.

”But I stay when you're lost and I'm scared and you're turning away…”

When Calypso reached that part, she felt chills go down her spine because of how well that line described her and Leo’s current situation. He felt lost because of some past traumas. She was scared of both letting him too close and losing him and everything she had gained since that fall. He had turned away from her and his family already twice that day. But there was hope; maybe, if they managed to finally communicate properly, they’d find a way to even deal with the ‘midnights’.

“Hold on to your memories, they will hold on to you.”

Calypso stopped to think about that line. At first her thoughts went to the badmemories such as the times when she had been living with her father. But when she repeated the line, she understood the song was talking about the good memories that would carry you even in your worst moments. Before she knew it, she was filled with flashbacks. Yelling at Leo after Festus broke her desk. The weird warm feeling after she saw the fixed desk. Casually spending time together; cooking, cleaning, playing, watching shows together… That time when Leo had given her the seeds of her favorite flower… The ‘therapy’ sessions… The Halloween party and the almost kiss after that… the weird tension they’d been having ever since that moment… His smiles and laughs… No matter what would happen, she would always hold those memories close to her heart.

Suddenly, Calypso knew. This wasn’t just some infatuation that would go away with time. She had learned to appreciate Leo’s company more and more, the good and the bad sides, to the point that she was now in love with him. Back in August she had thought that they would probably never get along, but to her surprise they had more in common than she had expected and he had become a big part of her life. Lonely, unsure about their futures, past traumas… that’s what tied them together. And even if she wanted to, she wouldn’t be able to deny that what she had been afraid of had already happened.

“And I will hold onto you.”

Those five simple words made Calypso’s voice crack. With frustration she swept the corner of her eyes quickly and attempted to clear her voice for the last lines of the song.

“Please don’t ever become a stranger whose laugh I could recognize anywhere.”

She looked up from the lyrics with blurry eyes and glanced at the boy with the piano. Some months ago, she had told herself that she wouldn’t let anyone get too close to her. But somehow Leo and all her new friends had just snuck into it, and she couldn’t imagine her life without them. She wanted them to be a permanent part of it, but with so many uncertainties in the future, could she count on it?

“What’s the matter, Cal?” Leo asked when she very clearly had difficulties pronouncing the last few words of the song.

Calypso knew the words she was going to say were probably unfair, but she couldn’t stop herself. The frustrations of that day just demanded to get out. “What’s the matter, Cal?” she mocked him. “I don’t know, Leo. You just… freak out all of a sudden and run away and then you come back and act like nothing happened?! Don’t you understand at all how worried we all are about you?!”

“I…” Leo stammered but didn’t finish his sentence.

“Well? Are you gonna explain yourself?” Calypso asked.

“Listen, you need to understand…”

“Understand what, Leo?”

Calypso waited for a little longer, but when the answer never came, she said: “You know what? Never mind. Clearly I was a fool to think that you care about us… about me the same way I care about you.”

“Calypso…”

Calypso turned her back to him and muttered: “I’m going to see if Jo and Emmie need my help with something. Do not follow me.”

In reality, Calypso withdrew into the closest bathroom and finally let the tears come.

[stanning-reyna]

The Right Path - Chapter 1

AN: This is the first chapter of a miniseries on my oc, Antonia Suárez! The story takes place between BOO and TBM during Jason and Piper’s time in California after they broke up.

TW: alcohol, teen drinking

Jason could feel the base of the music shaking the house as he leaned against the wall. It was a song that he didn’t recognize and could hardly make out the words to, but most people in the room seemed to know it and screamed along with the lyrics. 

Some of Piper’s friends had invited her to this party tonight and she dragged Jason along with her. She seemed to be having a blast, jumping up and down to the music with some people he recognized from their 3rd period. 

Jason, not so much. It was so loud in the house that he couldn’t hear himself think, and tipsy teenagers were bumping into him left and right. The stench of alcohol brought back what little he remembered about his mother, none of which were pleasant memories.

He would’ve left by now, but he didn’t want to ditch Piper. And so here Jason was, standing in the corner of a loud room, all alone. 

He felt himself starting to zone out and his mind wandered to his sister, Thalia. It was all so strange to him. Thalia and him had the same alcoholic mother, the same neglectful father, the same role of leadership placed upon them, yet they had turned out so different. 

Thalia had refused to be a pawn of the gods and joined the Hunters instead, pledging herself to only Artemis. Now she led the group of girls, helping demigods in need as she pleased. Jason hadn’t thought twice about playing the role the gods gave him. He had trained all his life to be the hero, and even after saving the world he continued to be an ambassador between Camp Jupiter and Camp Half Blood as Hera intended for him to do.

“You don’t look happy to be here,” a voice said, drawing Jason out of his thoughts. He abruptly turned his head to see a girl standing next to him. She gave him a friendly smile as she brushed shoulder-length black hair out of her face with one hand. In the other she held a red solo cup filled with dark liquid, likely beer. 

It took Jason a moment to remember that he was expected to talk to people here, and after what was probably an awkwardly long pause he responded. “I just came for a friend.” 

She stared at him for a moment, then her eyes lit up with recognition. “You came with Piper, didn’t you? I saw you guys together earlier. It’s Jason, right?”

“Yeah.” He immediately regretted making his answer so bland. Clearly this girl was trying to start a conversation with him, and he wasn’t making it easy on her right now. But it wasn’t like Jason had any issues with her; she seemed friendly. 

“I’m Antonia. Piper’s mentioned you before. We hang out with the same crowd, I guess you’d say. That’s the group I came with tonight, but I’m wishing I stayed home right about now.” Jason knew what she meant. As it was getting later in the night, more and more of the partiers were going from tipsy to outright drunk. It was not a fun place to be when sober yourself. 

“Yeah, events like this aren’t usually my scene. I’m much more of a silent library kind of person,” Jason said. Antonia let out a laugh that made him smile as she took a sip from her cup. Jason eyed her, wondering why this girl was complaining about the drunkenness when she was drinking herself. 

She seemed to read his mind. “It’s Dr. Pepper, you want some?” she asked. Jason had never been a huge fan of soda. The caffeine always gave him headaches, and he did not need any more of that tonight. The obscenely loud music and yelling was doing the job just fine.

“Any chance you know where there’s water?” he said, ready to finally leave his safe space against the wall in pursuit of hydration.

“Maybe. I’m sure I can find some for you, come on.” Antonia grabbed his arm and lead him into the vast mess of people. Jason obliged, seeing as she appeared to be an expert at weaving through the crowd undetected. 

They wound up in the kitchen, which was thankfully empty aside from a single girl standing at the counter. She looked up at them and spoke with her mouth full of chips. 

“What’s up?” the girl asked. Antonia opened the fridge and began sorting through the shelves till she pulled out two bottles of water, handing one to Jason. 

“The usual. Regretting not staying home and being asleep by now,” she replied after taking a sip of water. 

“You’re like an old person.”

“I think the term is ‘someone with a healthy sleep schedule.’ And I’m not the one dipping out on a party at my own house.”

Jason felt out of place standing between these two girls who were clearly friends. He was about to thank Antonia for the water and return to his place against the wall when he heard his name.

“This is Jason. You know the guy Piper’s friends with that none of us have managed to meet? This is him. Theresa, meet Jason. Jason, meet Theresa.”

“Oh, the golden retriever boy!” Theresa exclaimed. He had no clue what that was supposed to mean, but he decided not to waste his energy on trying to figure it out. He could still hear the bass of the music, but it was more bearable in the kitchen than the living room, and Jason took a seat at the counter to enjoy the peace. 

The two girls started talking about their classes and pretty soon he was drawn into the conversation too. He was just starting to enjoy himself when two people came bustling into the kitchen, their voices loud. 

“There you guys are! We’ve been looking everywhere!” one of them yelled, running into the counter mid-sentence. “Claire wanted us to say that she couldn’t find either of you, so she just took everyone else home. She figured you could find another ride.”

“Oh, that’s fine,” Antonia responded, though her facial expression made Jason think it was very much not fine. A forced-smile stretched across her face and her eyes shined with annoyance. The two people left as quickly as they came, laughing to each other about something as they fumbled out the kitchen door.

“Wasn’t Claire using your car tonight?” Theresa asked, still munching on her chips.

“Yep. And I specifically told her not to leave without me,” she responded, irritation seeping through her voice.

“That’s the third time she’s done this! What’s her issue?” Antonia continued. Theresa just shrugged and continued putting Lay’s chips in her mouth. Her response made it seem like this Claire girl caused issues pretty often. 

“Piper and I can give you a ride home. Or take you to pick up your car, or whatever. I was about to ask her if she’s ready to leave,” Jason offered. He hadn’t even thought about the words before they came out of his mouth, but he was sure Piper would be fine with it. 

“I think I’ll accept that offer. Thanks,” she said, the corners of her mouth turning up into a smile. Jason felt a strange sensation in his chest, like his heart fluttering. It was something he hadn’t felt since he’d last seen Leo.

He tried to push the son of Hephaestus out of his mind before the stinging pain that usually accompanied thinking about him could settle in. Looking up, he saw Theresa was leaving the kitchen and Antonia standing up, about to follow her. 

“You ready to leave now?” she asked. He nodded, stuffing the lingering memory of Leo back down. 

AN: I don’t think I’m physically capable of writing a fic without mentioning valgrace in it. I just had to do it. Thanks for reading! All chapters will be posted under the tag ‘Antonia Suárez’ 

[longitudinalwaveme]

Longitudinalwaveme Reviews Old Comics, Part 7

Today, I will be reviewing Flash #307.

The Flash #307 (1982): “Prey for the Piper”, was written by Carey Bates, drawn by the legendary Carmine Infantino, and inked by Bob Smith. 

The story stars the Barry Allen Flash as the protagonist and, as the title suggests, the Pied Piper as the main antagonist. This story is also historically important for the Piper-it’s the first issue to give him an origin story. That’s right. Despite having debuted in Flash #106 in 1959, the Piper wasn’t given a backstory (or a real name!) for 22 years! 

The story opens with two guys in a helicopter flying a giant gong across the city. Evidently, it’s going to be a new display at the Centrex Museum and...why in the world did they decide to transport the thing by helicopter? Couldn’t they have used a truck? That seems safer. 

Regardless, the Pied Piper, who is in a nearby skyscraper, uses his pipe to hypnotize the pilots and get them to fly the gong into a building that’s under construction. Barry Allen, who is nearby buying what I believe is a newspaper but could also be a magazine or, knowing Barry, a comic book, notices the collision that’s about to happen and springs into action as the Flash. 

The pilots release the giant gong and it cashes into the building, making a horrible noise but surprisingly not causing any structural damage. Barry stops the gong’s descent and goes to ask the helicopter pilots what’s happening. We then cut to Piper (who, as usual for this time period, looks like a demented elf), who notes that he only needs one more really loud sound to put “Operation Sound-Off” (I’m sure that sounded awesome in his head) into action and defeat the Flash. 

Meanwhile, Barry is puzzling over why the helicopter pilots suddenly dropped the gong into the building, as when questioned about what happened, they had no idea. He knows that someone must have hypnotized them, but isn’t sure who or why. Meanwhile, in the police department’s record room, a young officer named Morty, who has been giving a reporter information about some as yet unrevealed story, walks the reporter (who works for Picture News just like Iris did) to her car...only for him to be whacked over the head and her to be kidnapped! We also see that the files she was interested in involve the Pied Piper, who is operating under the alleged name of Henry Darrow.

Barry comes outside just as Morty comes to, and the younger man tells him about what happened. Barry thinks that someone kidnapped her because of the story she was working on, and, because it was about the Pied Piper, Barry assumes that it was the Piper who had her kidnapped. In speaking of the demented elf, he’s in a state park fifty miles outside Central City, known as Summit Canyon, creating an avalanche in order to gather the final decibels needed to enact his evil plan. He notes that, once it’s complete, he’ll “finally be able to rid myself of the two curses which have plagued my life with the most pain and misery: my arch-enemy the Flash-and my despicable family!” 

Meanwhile, in his apartment, Barry is trying to work out the details of the kidnapping (which he still thinks the Piper is responsible for), noting that the man’s past has always been a mystery. We then cut to “the posh Ridgeway Hills community easy of the city”, where one of the kidnappers wonder why someone so rich hired them. The other one basically tells him “who cares, we’re getting paid a ton of money and now we can go to Vegas!” 

Inside a mansion, the people who paid the kidnappers note that the reporter is waking up, addressing each other as “Osgood” (snicker) and “Rachel”. The reporter tells them that they won’t get away with this, to which they basically respond that they totally will, because they’ve got tons of money to bribe her with. We then see that she’s tied up at one end of a ridiculously long table. The reporter, whose name is Marcy Dunphy, exclaims that she’s seen the people who had her kidnapped in the society pages. The man then introduces himself and his wife as “Hazel and Osgood Rathaway”, which, as this is only two panels after the use of the “Rachel” name, may hold the record for the least amount of time passing before Cary Bates forgot a character’s name. The reporter identifies them as the heads of the Rathaway Publishing Empire and is completely bewildered as to why such wealthy people would have her kidnapped. Their response? She’s uncovered a very embarrassing family secret, and they want it to stay hidden. Which does raise the question of why they decided to have her kidnap before trying to bribe her. Wouldn’t she be more amenable to the idea if you hadn’t had her kidnapped? 

While the Flash races to stop the Pied Piper from robbing a museum, the Rathaways for some reason decide to tell Macy the whole story. Their son, Hartley Rathaway, was born deaf, so they spent a ton of money to ‘cure’ his deafness, and because this is comic books, they actually found a doctor who could do it. Hartley subsequently became obsessed with music. Mr. and Mrs. Rathaway had big plans for their son, but, as time went by, it became clear that Hartley wasn’t interested in excelling in anything or in “upholding the prestige of the Rathaway name”. Instead of addressing the problem (or, alternatively, not attempting to force their son to become famous), Osgood decided to start bribing the heck out of people. He bought Hartley’s way into the best colleges and then bribed them into giving him good grades he hadn’t earned. After Hartley graduated, Osgood paid his way into an executive position at a major firm and...seriously, just how rich are these people? 

Meanwhile, the Flash manages to get through the sonic barrier that the Piper set up around the museum, only to be attacked by the Piper and his “Sonic  Boomatron” which is in the shape of bagpipes because of reasons. The stupidly-named device hits Flash with the equivalent of 50,000 decibels, before we cut back to the Rathaways’ explanation of how awesome bribery is. They apparently gave Hartley a silver-plated flute for his sixteenth birthday (in case it wasn’t clear that they’re made of money yet, I guess), and they tell Macy that their son had always liked tinkering with musical instruments. Somehow, they completely missed that their son was a super genius who created hypnotic and weaponized music until he actually put on the costume and became the Pied Piper. HOW DID THEY NOT NOTICE THAT? It clearly started when he was still a teenager, as he used it to hypnotize his tutor into getting out of a test. 

Now with the power to hypnotize people, his life was even easier than it had been before, and Hartley was bored out of his mind. So bored, apparently, that he decided that white-collar crime was overrated and decided to go into the “robbing banks in costume” type of crime. I also find it amusing at how shocked the Rathaways were that Hartley became a criminal. What, do nonstop bribery and literal kidnapping not count? Because they were bribing people left, right, and center LONG before he became the Piper. 

Meanwhile, Piper’s weapon somehow turns the Flash into sound, because this is comics and comics don’t have to make sense. He proceeds to walk off with his loot, surrounded by a sonic barrier that protects him from police gunfire. 

So yes, the Pied Piper is Hartley Rathaway, his family is rich, and he became the Piper because, at least according to his parents, he was an “emotionally disturbed” child who got bored. Apparently the elder Rathaways have kept the secret through EVEN MORE BRIBERY, giving money to everyone from the local police chief to the FBI to keep things quiet. The FBI were the ones who created the identity of Henry Darrow. By the way, Mrs. Rathaway is back to being Rachel again. Rachel reiterates the fact that kidnapping and then bribing the reporter to also keep things quiet was the only logical solution to the problem...at which point the Piper himself shows up! 

Meanwhile, Barry uses his mental control over all his molecules to reassemble himself while the Piper tells his parents that he’s paid his debt to them. Apparently, he turns over most of his loot to his parents in order to pay “back every Rathaway dollar my parents spent on trying to mold me into something I could never be.” The elder Rathaways had to keep all of it because doing anything else would reveal the secret. Osgood tells his son that he and his wife only wanted what was best for Hartley, to which Hartley replies “Not quite, Pop. You wanted what was best for the Rathaway name! What I wanted never really matter much to either one of you.” According to Hartley, then, it seems that he became the Piper not so much because he was bored...but rather because he feels that his parents were more concerned with their reputations than with loving him. 

Then the Flash pops up, punches him out, and rescues Macy, who says that they should give the Rathaways a few minutes alone with their son. I guess that we can assume that the Rathaways never got arrested because they’re made of money. Or something. (Could that be why we also rarely saw the Piper in prison during the Silver and Bronze Age?) 

Well, it may have taken Piper 22 years to get an origin (and a name), but in this case, I think it was worth it. With the possible exception of the Golden Glider, the Pied Piper has what is by far the most interesting Silver/Bronze Age origin of any of the Rogues, and I’m glad it’s stuck around. Props to Carey Bates for giving the Piper an incredibly memorable origin story. 

[mrreindeerface]

WTNC Mini-Fics

So @galleywinter threw a challenge flag at my head to start writing again. These are dedicated to her (thank you for listening to me scream on discord for a week)

Under the cut because there’s a few of them and it got kinda long.

Butterflies in your stomach and your heart skipping beats- that can’t be safe

Alkar is pouting again.

Wren still finds it adorable, likes to watch from the warmth of Omen’s embrace (be it tail or arms) as the two of them watch their wolf stalk around their home, muttering under his breath as he rearranges things that don’t need to be moved. Sometimes they wake at night, red eyes glaring in the dark even as he burrows deeper in between the two of them.

It’s just feelings, Alkar, they’d tried to tell him, palms pressed against his cheeks. His ears had gone back and he’d scowled.

Doesn’t feel healthy, his grumble hadn’t done anything to hide the blush skating across his cheeks.

Tonight… tonight is different – tonight there’s only two of them. Laid out under the night sky, grass soft beneath them as they trace meaningless patterns between the stars. The earth is cool against their skin, but held by the living furnace that is Alkar Wren barely even notices.

It would be easier, they muse, with Omen there. But he had gone to see Elaine and Armaros, so Wren was on their own to keep Alkar from sulking into the next century.

“Hey,” they say, turning far enough to slide a hand into his hair.

“Hey yourself,” he mumbles, flicking back the ear they had been reaching for.

“You’re pouting again.”

“Am not.”

“Alkar.” Wren sighs. “You can say you miss him. It won’t kill you.”

“I do not miss people,” his voice is just a hair above a growl. Wren ignores the small thrill it sends through them.

“Oh?” Wren puts on a fake pout (they’ve gotten better since practicing their Alkar imitation.) “Not even me? I guess that means I can go away on longer assignments then?”

There’s a moment where they swear they see fear in Alkar’s eyes, and then he’s on top of them, pinning them to the ground while they try to get enough air to laugh under the weight of a six-something Lycan.

“Mean,” Alkar says, nipping at the shell of their ear. “You are mean.”

Wren buries their hands in his hair, holding him close.

“You love it.”

Praying won’t do you much good around here.

She knows there’s something wrong in Lunaris from the moment they arrive. Call it a feeling, superstition, paranoia from years of Hunter training to see threats around every corner.

Night falls in waves in this town: one calm as the sky after rain and one oppressive enough to be felt. There is a night of starry skies and a night cloaked in shadow so dark her bones ache.

The people are terrified to be outside, running for safety as the sun sinks below the horizon. They watch with shuttered, suspicious eyes as she carries out her investigation, wishing for an end to the madness and not sure if they can believe she’ll be the one to deliver it.

Hell, she isn’t even sure she can save them. Lunaris keeps many secrets, and it keeps them well protected. Even those who offer her their assistance, their friendship, look at her with apologies scrawled on their faces. They know things, they don’t tell her these things, and she runs into every problem blind.

Don’t trust anyone.

The sooner she can get this done, free this town from whatever nightmare that holds it this time, the sooner she can get away.

I'm not playing 20 questions with you

Two cards hit the table – a 3 from Omen and a 10 from Poppy.

“Favorite place to be during the day?”

“Down in the markets,” Omen replied dutifully. Poppy began scrawling his answer in their notes as he continued. “There’s a lot of activity so it’s easier to get a read on people.”

Alkar snorted into his tankard in what might have been contempt. Hard to tell with him.

Their table is surprisingly tame for its current occupants. Alkar, it seems, is contenting himself with watching their game while studiously ignoring the looks he’s getting from the other patrons. Alaric, for once, has his “let’s fuck with Alkar” gauge set to low, because he’s been nothing but well-behaved since they sat down.

They had seen Finn and Ezra only briefly, the two had kept their heads down and come and gone in record time. Ezra had looked like hell: Poppy had heard from passersby earlier that afternoon that someone in town had been badly hurt in the woods. Maybe they hadn’t made it.

They flipped another round of cards.

Omen made a small sound of delight and Poppy looked own. Omen’s King outclassed their 8 by a long shot. They raised their glass and took a drink.

Omen grinned, mindful of his tusks. “What is your favorite color?”

“Green,” Poppy replied immediately. “Emerald green, more specifically.”

“Bullshit,” Alkar smacked a hand on the table. “I’ve never seen you wear anything green!”

“You don’t have to wear something for it to be your favorite color,” Omen replied, though he added that fact to the list on his page as well.

“Not that it’s any concern of yours, but I do wear green. Almost every day, in fact.” Poppy looked up at him without raising their head. “Just because it’s somewhere you can’t see it doesn’t mean it isn’t there.”

Alkar sputters and goes red: Alaric raises his glass in toast. Poppy tries very hard to ignore the grin on Omen’s face that had gone from curious to mischievous faster than expected.

“If you have any further questions you are welcome to join the game,” Poppy offers in lieu of addressing it. Alkar’s nose crinkles.

“I’d pay to see that,” Alaric muses. “Where do you live? Fuck off. Why don’t you wear shoes? Fuck shoes. Do you have any other clothes? Fuck clothes.”

Omen has a hand over his mouth to hide his laughter – the shaking of his shoulders would give him away were it not for the fact that Alkar had his wrath focused on the Hunter across from him.

“I know more words than fuck,” Alkar sneers. “And I do own other clothes thank you very much.” He turns his attention to Poppy and Omen. “Don’t write that down it doesn’t count.

They both write it down anyway. He tells them both to go fuck themselves.

Time you enjoyed wasting was not wasted

“Hunter,” there was a warning in August’s voice. “We’re supposed to be working.”

Alaric hummed, contemplative, even as he crowded August back against their desk. “Work will still be here in the morning, General.” Slowly, giving August the chance to back out if they wanted it, he raised his hands to their shoulders, sliding palms down their arms until he could tangle his fingers with theirs. “I seem to remember someone making me a promise to stop sleeping in their office.” August rolled their eyes, but the defensive set of their jaw had softened as soon as his hands were on them.

“It’s hardly late enough for that to be a concern.” They sighed, leaning their forehead against his and closing their eyes. “I’m not going to overdo it.”

“Uh-huh.” Alaric tugged at their joined hands, pulling August’s body forward against his. “Let me take you home, August. The reports can wait.”

“I have to get these done before the gala on Friday,” they warned, even as they let themselves be drawn across the office. “I can’t keep wasting time.”

“Resting is not wasting time.”

August arches an elegant brow at him. “I very much doubt whatever is on your mind could be considered resting, Hunter Fehler.”

Alaric didn’t bother hiding his smirk. “Come now, give your husband some credit. You know I have your best interests at heart.”

“We’ll see.” August took their hands back, nodding towards the door. “Lead the way home then, husband.”

I think it's safe to say that we have a really big problem on our hands.

Piper is laughing at her.

Correction, Piper is laughing at the ground, if only because she is doubled over and cackling hard enough that she can’t stand up straight.

“You could be helping me, you know.” If her voice is sharp it’s deserved. So much for being partners, eh General?

“Right, right,” Piper makes a half-hearted attempt to get herself under control. “Sorry, Lieutenant General.”

Alkar headbutts her again. Piper starts on another round of laughter.

“I hate you both so much right now,” Greer mutters, feeling the beginnings of a blush creeping up her neck. She places her hand in the middle of Alkar’s furred forehead and braces the next time he tries to push forward. “Personal space much?”

For all her years of service, she could firmly say she’d never seen a Lycan under the full moon pout. She wishes that were still true.

“Oh gods now he’s sulky,” Piper manages between gasping breaths for air. “You hurt his feelings Hunter Taggart.”

Greer cuts a glare in her direction. “You can start being useful at any time, Merriman.”

Her attention divided, Alkar takes the opportunity to press his head against her stomach. Again.

“Fucking- Alkar!”

“All right, all right.” Greer watches as Piper bodily pulls herself together. “Let’s see if we can’t get him to Finn. Hopefully that ancient mosquito will know what to do.”