#It's still weird seeing Anne wear shoes

[mandareeboo]

Okay I gotta admit whatever costumer designer they schlorped into this giant ball they got a GOOD ONE

[sheriffofwestwood]

Habsburgs Coupled Daughters (2020) Part 1

Guess who's back? *uncovers some old dust*

Get in fashion lovers, a documentary with dropped on Netflix about the daughters of the House of Habsburg. And they have played out scenes.

Keep in mind that documentaries have small budget. On the other hand, documentaries try to teach us history, shouldn't they be held to a higher standard than entertainment?

Anyway, buckle up your shoes and tighten your corsets as we take a look at this piece of work.

Part 1: setting the mood

While setting the mood of the documentary we are presented with this scene of young girls having fun. From the set, the hair and the vibe I would say somewhere in the 18th century. While the girls on the left looks a bit too much of middle class for a court setting the right one looks good. Bonus points for hiding behind the champagne.

But in the loving fuck is Little Miss Habsburg wearing? (by my best guess it's Marie Antoinette?)

Like these sleeves? What are they? There were sleeves like this but not certainly not with those straps. With the bodice it gives me 19th century fancy dress vibes. The bodice is completely unadorned. Why.

Bonus points for back-lacing though. I'll refer to it as Blue Fancy Dress.

And then we also get the Sad Brown Sack dress.

It's just an ill-fitting Regency dress? Something its off. The waist line? The neck line? The weird necklace under the dress?

Switching to two woman standing close together in 19th century clothing. Not sure who they are and what they are hiding.

And then we get a close up top this dress:

I'll call it the Fancy Golden Carpet Dress. Not sure which century if any at all.

Part 2: Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria

Ohh we do love a dressing scene? Where do we start? The ill-fitting and wrongly shaped maid on the left? Carolina's missing chemise under her corset? That the wedding dress is white?

What are they doing?

WHAT IS GOING ON WITH HER HAIR?? A GIANT ASS HAIR CLIP?

The final dress looks atrocious. Ugly. White all white wedding dresses weren't even a thing yet. Where's the gold? The silver? The pearls? The Shiny Rich People stuff? Not even the back-lacing can save us.

What what year have we? 1768 you said? You mean a dress like this?

(Actual Maria Carolina from 1768)

But we have a pink dress at home:

THE HAIR CLIP AGAIN. AHHHHHH. THAT NECKLACE.

Modern wedding hairdo spotted. Who needs powdered hair?

A decent Robe á la Francaise spotted underneath the cloak. Why are you hiding the sleeves? What am I not suppose to see?

Too bad she's not her sister Marie Antoinette and it's not a little bit later.

Ahhhh, these sleeves. Ugly! No! Suddenly we are a century behind with the off-the-shoulder-look. Why. Why is the bodice in such a weird shape?

Part 3: Archduchess Marie Antoinette of Austria

Blue Dress girl confirmed to be Marie Antoinette.

What are they hiding under the cloak? Why is this dress oddly shaped? Do I want to know?

Buckle up. It's 1770!

(That's Marie Antoinette in 1769)

Marie Antoinette is famous that she had to change her complete dress at the French border. You know what that means?

Dress changing scene! Into the Blue Fancy Dress!

WHAT IS THIS?

IT WAS A JOKE WHEN I SAID 19TH CENTURY FANCY DRESS.

MARIE ANTOINETTE WAS A FASHION ICON.

BUT THIS IS A FULL BLOWN LATE 19TH CENTURY BUSTLE GOWN.

AHHHHHHH.

(Still like the hair. Better than her sister's modern wedding hair.)

Nevermind, she gets her wedding hair as well.

Part 3: Anne of Austria (1601 - 1666)

What we expect:

What we get:

You didn't even try at all. That looks maybe mid-19th century. If I'm really generous.

We jump to the Golden Carpet Dress.

What is this bodice shape????

The front looks kinds okay. We just ignore the sad droopy Stuart Collar and the sleeves. All hopes lost for the hair.

Ouch. :(

Part 4: Margaret of Austria

I can't. Just can't.

This is Margarete at the age of 10 in 1490.

We are talking early Tudor fashion.

What we get:

Assignment? Failed.

Undone uncovered hair. French Hood hair band. Female Da Vinci cosplay.

Continues in Part 2 because I reached an image limit.

[starlitangels]

Masquerade - Pups Edition

Pups AU! A new masquerade story, this time with everyone’s favorite shifter kiddos! (Yes, still feeling inspired by @blutomindpretzel and @happywhisperspoetry) 2.6k words

—

“Oh... wow,” Danny whispered as Natalie descended the stairs of the Shaw house. He’d only seen her in heels once before—at their first Solstice Ball in high school. Every other dance he’d taken her to since then she’d worn flats or her ballroom dance shoes (a mere one-inch heel). But she was in heels again. Three-inch, silver ones with straps winding up her legs to nearly her knees.

Which Danny could only see because she’d hitched the hem of her gown up to said knees in order to come down the stairs.

Danny could not stop his mouth from dropping open.

Her gown was rich violet and grand. A large, full skirt with several petticoats was gathered in her arms, which were covered by black satin gloves that went above her elbows. A Queen Anne neckline left her chest fairly exposed for a bejeweled necklace to take up the space. A pair of earrings like chandeliers hung from her ears. She barely wore earrings more than she wore heels. She’d wear them to the pack solstice and any major event for pack members, and that was it. Even then, she often forgot to put any in.

She took another step down the stairs, revealing the black-and-violet mask already tied to her face. Her eyes shining bright behind it and her smile wide beneath it. “Hey Danny,” she greeted. “You look dashing.”

Danny wrung his hands and looked down. His dad’s old tux with his bowtie that he’d picked out to match Natalie’s dress. He’d managed to get his loose curls gelled away from his face so he could tie his own mask—green and silver— to his face. Though at the moment it had fallen from his hand and hit the floor the second he saw Natalie descending the stairs with those strappy heels woven up her legs. “I, uh... thanks, Natty,” he muttered.

“Daniel Greer,” she chided gently as she reached the bottom of the stairs. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. You always look nice, even when I can’t see you.” She smirked and pinched his nose between her fingers. He swatted at her hand. “You just happen to be especially showing it off tonight.”

“Yeah...” Danny trailed off.

Natalie stepped off the last stair and dropped her skirt so it fell to the floor like a gush of water. She sighed. “Much as I appreciate William letting me borrow the dress for the night, this is the last time I let Micah convince us to go to her dad’s side of the family’s parties with her.”

“Well, your brother’s coming too, isn’t he?”

“Duh. He’s her boyfriend. Weird as that is to wrap my mind around still.” She threw her head back over her shoulder. “Gabriel! Danny’s here! Let’s bounce!” Danny flinched at how loud her shout was, but those lungs of hers certainly made her heard at pack meetings when the rest of the wolves were being noisy.

“I’m coming! Hold your damn horses!” Gabriel shouted back from upstairs.

Natalie chuckled and leaned closer to Danny, dropping her voice. “Five bucks says Gabriel faints the second Micah opens the door,” she whispered.

“I’m not losing money on something that’s definitely gonna happen, sweetheart,” Danny said, kissing the side of Natalie’s head behind where her mask rested. She laughed as he took her hand and led her away from the base of the stairs as the door to Gabriel’s bedroom banged open against the opposite wall. He’d seen Gabriel try to jump down the entire staircase before and didn’t want any of the three of them to break any bones.

Gabriel didn’t jump down the stairs, but he did run down them. He was in a black suit and a black bowtie that he didn’t seem to be able to take his hands off with how constantly he was adjusting it.

“Let’s go guys. Don’t want to be late picking up Micah and then we miss her because her parents or her older siblings drove her instead,” Gabriel said.

“Oh, I’m sure she’d wait for you,” Natalie retorted with a roll of her eyes.

“Here’s hoping.”

“She waited four years for you to admit you had a crush on her. I’m pretty sure she’s patient enough to wait for us to drive to the woods.” Natalie stuck her head down the hallway. “Dad! We’re heading out!”

“Have fun!” David called from his office. His mate shouted the same from the basement.

“Bye! Love you!” Natalie and Gabriel chorused.

“Wait! Pictures!” David’s mate called as footsteps thundered up the stairs.

“But we don’t have Micah!” Gabriel protested.

“Not of you and her. Of Natty and Danny. Sam and Tanker will take pictures of you and Micah and send them to me.” David’s mate appeared, phone in hand, shooing Gabriel away from Danny and Natalie while Gabriel grumbled and rolled his eyes. “There’s my cute babies! Put your arms around each other and say cheese!”

Natalie rolled her eyes again, but she was smiling as she put one arm around Danny’s shoulders while his circled her waist. Her gown was silk beneath his hand and his whole body was alive at the barest touch of her against him.

The two of them let her parent take pictures of them before they grabbed at Gabriel’s suit and practically dragged him out the front door. “Love you—we’ll be back by eleven—bye!” Natalie called as she shut the front door firmly behind them. They piled into Gabriel’s car and went to go get Micah.

By the time they were pulling up to the Collins’ house, Natalie was fidgeting with the gown, her gloves, the mask—anything she could touch. Danny reached out and took her hand, drawing it to him and pressing his lips to the back of her knuckles. “It’s okay, Natty.”

“I know—but I’m literally wearing a corset and have never been more uncomfortable in my life.”

Gabriel snorted.

Natalie shot him a glare. “Make fun of me one more time and I’ll shred you,” she snarled.

“He wasn’t makin’ fun, sweetheart.”

Natalie rolled her eyes at both of them. “Let’s just get tonight over with so I can get home and take this makeup off.”

“You look beautiful,” Danny offered.

“Thank you.”

The rest of the drive was quiet, with Danny holding Natalie’s hand tight in his, occasionally raising it to his lips to kiss. He did that a lot. Part of him spent the last six months barely believing that Natalie Shaw had feelings for him. That she’d asked to kiss him first after he’d been crushing on her for four years. He’d spent the last six months astounded that could—just—kiss her, now. Whenever he wanted to. Just because he could and he wanted to.

When they finally got to Micah’s house—Sam and Tanker’s house—Gabriel jerked the car into Park and then hopped out, rushing up to the door. In the back seat, Danny and Natalie leaned together to peer between the front seats through the windshield to watch, tightening their grip on each other’s hands.

Natalie was smirking.

Gabriel straightened his suit coat and knocked on the door.

There was a few moments of waiting before it opened.

Natalie snickered as Gabriel’s knees visibly wobbled when Micah stepped outside. Her gown was similar to Natalie’s, but deep, royal blue, rather than violet. It had a V-neck instead of a Queen Anne, and longer sleeves. But a similar full skirt. Micah’s mask was gold, studded with dark blue sapphires, tied with a deep blue satin ribbon.

Natalie and Danny couldn’t hear what was being said, but after a minute Gabriel was waving for them to get out of the car. They both slid out. “We’re getting pictures of all four of us,” Gabriel announced as Sam stepped out onto the wraparound porch with his phone in hand. Sam was halfway in the middle of getting ready for the party, apparently. He had on suit slacks and a white T-shirt, no socks.

Danny and Natalie made sure Gabriel and Micah got some pictures just the two of them before joining like an awkward group Prom photo.

Up close, Micah’s dark, intense eye makeup was visible, making the amber of her eyes deeper. 

“Lookin’ good, Micah,” Natalie said as she threw her arm over Micah’s shoulder and smiled toward Sam for some pictures.

“Thanks. You’re looking as fabulous as usual.”

Natalie snorted. “That bad, huh?”

“No!” Danny protested. “You both look very nice.”

“We know, babe,” Natalie said. “We’re just giving each other a hard time. What else is new?”

“Alright, you four. Smile,” Sam put in.

—

“Okay. We’re here. We saw the vampire ball. Can we go now?” Natalie asked as they stepped into the ballroom.

“No. If I have to put up with several vampire clans tonight, you do too. That’s why William let me insist on you three coming with me. I’ve gone to one of these just me and my parents and siblings before and it was torture. I needed you guys,” Micah retorted.

“What, couldn’t you handle yourself?” Danny teased.

Micah glared daggers at him. “I could, but you try being one of two shifters in a room full of vampires.”

Danny raised and eyebrow. Natalie felt his magic burn a little warmer. “I am the only Stealth here,” he observed.

“Shut up, you get my point.”

“Of course I do. Just giving you a hard time,” Danny said.

“You three really are nightmares when you’re together, did you know that?” Gabriel asked.

Danny, Natalie, and Micah started laughing. “We know,” they all said together.

“That was weirdly in sync and making me uncomfortable,” Gabriel said. “Micah, wanna go say hi to your siblings? They’re around here somewhere, aren’t they?”

“Sure.”

The two swept off. Danny held a hand out for Natalie. “Care to dance, sweetheart?”

Natalie set her hand on top of his and let him lead her to the dance floor that took up nearly half of the space. He put one hand around her shoulder blade and raised their already joined hands to Natalie’s eye level. With gentle pressure, he began to lead her through the waltz going on. She smiled at him. He had his dad’s grey eyes and they were silvery—not quite vampiric, but close—in the lower light of the ballroom.

He spun her under his arm. She felt her skirt brush his legs.

“Well, well. I didn’t know humans still learned to dance like this,” a voice said. Natalie chuckled and turned to see William and a vampiress from his clan—going by the Solaire crest pinned to her gown—waltzing beside them.

“We’ve been taking classes together for years,” she replied. “It’s nice to see you again, Mr. Solaire. It’s been a bit.”

“Not quite so long for one with as much time behind me,” William remarked. “But it’s always a pleasure to see you, Miss Shaw. I assume this is the bright Mr. Greer?”

“That’s me,” Danny said.

“A pleasure, Daniel. Micah speaks fondly of both of you.”

“Danny, please,” Danny insisted. “No one calls me Daniel.”

“Alright. Danny, it is,” William said. “May I introduce you both to Astoria?” He gestured to the vampiress he was dancing with.

“Hello,” Natalie said with a smile. “Micah has spoken quite highly of you. Nice to finally put a face to the name. Well—most of a face, anyway.”

Astoria laughed, throwing her head back. “Oh, I see why Micah loves you so much.”

Natalie chuckled. “We grew up together—at this point I’m not sure who stole what parts of our sense of humor from the other.”

“As it should be, Miss Shaw, as it should be.”

“Please—you can call me Natalie. Miss Shaw always feels like it’s reserved for formal pack business. I’m a shifter—we’re more casual folks.”

“Natalie, then.”

—

“How is your sister such a social butterfly?” Micah muttered to Gabriel, nodding across the ballroom to where Natalie and Danny were waltzing beside William and Astoria, laughing and chatting together.

“Search me,” Gabriel replied. “She’s the one who inherited our dad’s attitude. She just also got our other parent’s exuberant personality that she hides it behind, so she seems a lot more outgoing. I think being the beta now makes her a little more ready to engage in conversation. I don’t know.”

Micah shrugged. “Probably. But she’s always been good at connecting with people.”

“She certainly doesn’t get that from our dad,” Gabriel muttered.

Micah laughed. “C’mon. Let’s get one dance in at the beginning of the night so no one remembers it tomorrow.”

“Why—because they’ll all be too drunk?”

“No, you goof—they’re vampires. They can’t get drunk. I want to have a dance early in the night because then there will be a lot of night left to fill with memories and people will forget we ever danced.”

“Your siblings and parents won’t. Neither will your uncle and his partner—and their little Rose, if she’s here.”

Micah shrugged again. “One: Rose is too young to come to a ball. She’s thirteen. Uncle Vincent won’t let her come to a ball until she’s eighteen. Like my dad did for me. Though... I did come to one last year when I was seventeen. I think my siblings wore him out because they didn’t want to be alone here with just my parents.” She laughed. A bright, sometimes rare sound from her. “Now come ooooon! Dance with me. Please, darlin’?”

Gabriel didn’t like admitting the fact that he felt his knees get physically weaker and wobble at hearing the term of endearment coming from Micah’s mouth. She’d never been the... most affectionate person in the world. With Danny and Natalie, sure, she’d hug and tease and be playful, but she and Gabriel hadn’t been dating long—and she was still warming up to being affectionate with him. The endearment caught him off guard.

“Fine. One dance. But you remember the solstice ball your first year of high school. I can’t dance. Not like my sister, anyway.”

“Well, Natalie and Danny are the exception, not the rule, Gabe.”

Gabriel glanced around the dance floor at the elegantly-dancing vampires. “Sure about that, angel?” he asked quietly.

Micah’s ears reddened behind her mask. She wasn’t used to the endearments either. “Well, surrounded by vampires, not being able to dance is certainly the exception rather than the rule. But in normal everyday life, we’re the rule. I want to dance once so that we can say we did it and my siblings won’t tease me about it, and then we can avoid the dance floor like the plague for the rest of the night.”

“Deal,” Gabriel said.

Micah took his hand and dragged him to the dance floor, right next to where Danny and Natalie were waltzing by, having ceased their conversation with William and Aunt Astoria.

“Well well,” Natalie teased, “Mr. and Mrs. Two Left Feet have arrived, Danny.”

“You shut your mouth,” Gabriel snapped—but he was smiling. “We can’t all be multi-talented people like you and your boyfriend.”

Natalie scoffed. “I’m not multi-talented at all. I can dance and I’m a pretty damn good wolf. Danny is the one with all the talent.” She nodded to him, Gabriel rolled his eyes.

“Sure. Whatever.”

“Oh, get dancing, you uncoordinated jerk,” she said with a laugh as Danny gave her a gentle tug. She spun under his arm and they danced right through a gap between two other dancing couples, disappearing into the crowd.

Micah held out her hand again as Gabriel rolled his eyes. “Shall we make complete fools of ourselves as shifters among every vampire clan in the region?”

“Sure, Mikey. Why not?”

“That’s the spirit, Gabe.” She grinned and laughed as Gabriel took her hand and they started to dance.

[for-the-sake-of-color]

Crisis Company goes to a Formal! [+Kix]

Mary Ann took them all 'Individually' (looking at you, Lake and Torch) clothes shopping and gets them tailored. Imagine the purple is generally velvet, excluding the armor, and Kix's sash is satin. I cannot be bothered to render fabric at the moment.

If Cynic looks a bit like a whore (affectionate) to be going to a formal, it's because Margo was nervous about how much skin her dress showed and so he said 'bet.' What a good brother.

If Nihlus' outfit looks a bit weird and lumpy, well, he really wasn't supposed to wear the hauberk under it. But he's paranoid.

The thing on Sprigs chest is supposed to be conceptually reminiscent of a bull skull, with the horns being made of a stiff fabric. I like how it turned out.

Heron could not be bothered to find a pair of shoes that would both fit over both his legs, and be the right height to keep his hips even. (someone introduce this man to canes) so he just wore his plate.

Lake and Torch are wearing their chest pieces, and gauntlets, because Torch is also paranoid. But they actually told the tailor and it was designed into the outfit. Their hoods are meant to be slightly different, the twins thrive on being just almost completely identical. It's just a cherry on top that makes it all the more sweeter when someone fucks up and mixes them.

The entire company are (lovingly) corralling Nihlus and Kix apart for the whole night. Kix is annoyed that he cant dissapear with the sith and make good on his "Id rather see that sash on my floor" When Kix asked how he looked. It's just too bad he said it in front of the whole company, who let them nowhere near a closet. If they all had to stay here, so did the couple.

Anyways heres the only Exerpt I have that even minimally relates to the party cause I haven't even planned it out yet.

He jumped as the door slid open behind him, interrupting his brooding spiral. Kix walked in behind him, obviously not really awake, and leaned over and kissed the top of Nihlus head as he stumbled past to the toilet, mumbling something completely unintelligible. The sentiment translated easy enough for Nihlus though, touch telepath. 

Hello, beloved  

Kix stumbled past again as he finished his business, not even bothering to make a full kiss this time, just bumping their heads together, before he headed back to bed.

Love you

Maybe, Nihlus thought as he watched Kix curl back up, He should just let himself enjoy something for once.

Later, though.

He didn’t think he’d be able to fall asleep again at the moment, too wired from the weeks of constant running and fighting. So, he quietly replaced his armor, and went looking for something to eat. If he remembered correctly from before he had been sucked into spacetime, the caf should have just gotten a shipment of HGR-1210 non-enriched vegetarian mre rations. There may have been a slight hop to his step as he made his way down. 1210 was tomato soup. It may not have been his most absolute favorite meal ever, but the humble tomato was the only vegetable he had ever encountered that both resembled and tasted like any of the fruit cultivars found on his home planet. 

He had to scoff to himself at the irony of it, the presence of a food so close to that of his past, of his homeworld, after Kix had literally just been there. But he wasn’t going to complain too much. Something other than crackers was always pleasant. Maybe after the war he’d take Kix back to the homeworld for some decent food. At least, he hoped the homeworld would still have fruit like he had known. If pears still existed and tasted mostly the same as he remembered, surely the others would too? It wouldn’t be terribly much of a chore if the cultivars had changed much since he had been gone, even if five thousand years was a long time, especially for crops. Thats what the hidden section of the seed vault portion of his archive was for. The most annoying thing would be the fruit trees, some taking decades before first bloom, but it wouldn't be difficult. Actually, those were probably the least likely to have changed, anyways.

The first thing he noticed upon entering the caf was that it was emptier than usual, and the second thing was the line of plastic folding tables lined up against the back wall. A couple of troopers stopped and grabbed something or another from them before moving on. It smelled… sweet from a distance, like sweet bread. With a gulp at the sudden watering in his mouth, he strolled up to the tables. There were so many platters of pastries scattered across the tables, although he would guess the lunch rush had come and gone, as many of them were mostly empty. Probably should grab a couple before he goes, everything else would probably be gone by the time Kix woke up. He bet he’d want some.

After getting his cup of soup, Nihlus snagged one of the little paper plates and began contemplating what the medic would want. He knew for a fact Kix liked sticky buns so he’d probably grab one of those. One of those mini cakes too, maybe? And one of those scones, for when he woke up. So at least he could make the excuse that it was for breakfast. As Nihlus reached for a bun a womans voice behind him said

“You can’t have those”

Okay, well, that wasn’t going to stop him from taking them but, 

“Why? Are they… for a party or something?” he asked as he turned around to face whoever had talked to him. He had to crane his neck up to make eye contact with her, damn she was tall. She wasn’t wearing armor though, just a purple apron, dark hair tied up in two poofs. 

“What?” She gave him a confused expression for a second before a look of realization dawned on her face, “oh, no, I mean you can’t have those. Nihlus, right? Mandalorian in red, glowing eyes, short. I was told to look out for you. Pretty much everything here has some combination of eggs and butter and milk in it. Actually I brought in something for you, specifically. Seemed like it would be rude to do all this for the crew and leave out the resident healer” She said with a chuckle as she turned to go get… whatever it was

Right, of course. Specifically for him. Pastries… on the Resolute. Someone catering pastries on the Resolute. The military cruiser. Who knew him. Who he couldn't really get a read on in the force. Why couldn’t he get any read on her?

Hello??? Who the hell was this woman?

He jogged to catch up to her. “Uh, who are you?” 

She stopped and turned to him with a curious expression, “You don’t know? Can’t just... Tell?” Her orange eyes narrowed at him playfully, “And Jet said you were a good mind reader”

And, well. He did try to press, and still found… nothing. Not just a shielded mind but… nothing. No force presence whatsoever. She just stood there, grinning down at him, sharp canine teeth on full display. 

Oh. OH. Nihlus started laughing, he couldn’t believe it took him so long to figure it out. Gurlanin

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Mary Ann” he said with a grin, “Sorry I was just expecting someone more…  wolf like? Which is stupid, I know” he said, pausing to raise his hands in defense, “Shapeshifters, I know. Didn’t know we were near Coruscant, though” 

“It’s great to meet you too,” She replied, before she raised a brow at him, face a little concerned, “You don’t know where you are? You alright?” 

He rubbed at his eyes with a sigh, “Who knows. It’s been a little crazy for me lately. So, you’re catering for the republic?”

She gestured for him to walk with her as she talked, “No, actually, I’m catering for the Resolute specifically. You all pulled in to port a day or so ago, figured I’d do something nice for the people keeping my mates alive.”

“Plural? Margo finally admitted to it huh?”

She grinned at him as she kneeled down and pulled out an entire bag of cookies from her cart, handing it to him. An entire bag of cookies. For him? 

“Yea, Jet managed to work it out of her, after you tattled” she replied as she continued to rummage around in her cart for… something. It was strange to not just know what she was thinking. Not unheard of, just… strange. 

Nihlus scoffed, folding his arms as he leaned back. He was afraid of the freak that the cookies would bring out in him if he started to eat them in public, so he figured he’d wait, at least for a little while. No one needed to see him stuff a full bag of cookies the size of his face into his face.

“It’s not tattling, it’s meddling. Tattling implies I didn’t have a specific goal in mind when I told him” 

She laughed at that, throwing her head back, “Well thanks for the meddling. They both make me very happy. Here, I saved these for your beau, Jet said you said he liked them” and she handed him a full plate of sticky buns. 

He looked down at them before meeting her gaze again with a skeptical expression, “Trying to make it a trio? He might try to marry you for this. Which is a shame cause I like, really like this guy” 

“Ha, no. Not Kix” She replied with a snort as she stood up, “I think I’ll have my hands full with my pair and dealing with the chaos company, anyways”

“Crisis company”

“Yea they do cause their fair share of those” 

He narrowed his eyes at her, “Theres a story there”

She smirked back at him, “Maybe I’ll tell you over dinner? Jet said you’re all on shore leave for two weeks? I bet we could all find time for a double date.”

That explained the weirdly empty caf, “At like… a fancy restaurant though? I don’t think any of us have anything to wear besides armor. Or money, either.” 

At least he didn’t really have much at the moment, he thought as he rubbed the back of his neck. 

“Yea, it’s fancy” She said flippantly before smiling with that barred tooth grin, “But I own it, and I would love to see some of those stuffy ass politicians squirm when they realize they're eating next to a real mandalorian. And we have many wines, some are even of a decent vintage” she finished loftily, studying her nails with feigned aloofness before she grinned at him once more

“Well in that case, we would love to join you” 

“Awesome! Also, I’m taking the entire squad out clothes shopping because I actually have a formal event I want you all to come to later this week. You can even bring your boy-toy to both. Don’t worry,” She started before he could say anything, “I know a guy who does armored casual, He could probably even find you something to fit over the chainmail”

“Hauberk,” he corrected absentmindedly as he tilted his head, hand on his chin, “Jet has it in the schedule?”

“Of course,” She replied, “I’m sure he probably wanted to tell you himself, but he should have been faster than that”

[coconurt]

Marcanne Week Day 1: Childhood/ First Meetings

YAY IT'S FINALLY MARCANNE WEEK!!

Big thanks to @a-wild-potato for hosting!

So! I'm gonna try to have my submissions up on time each day, but they're not all completed yet, so we'll see

Tagging my bestie @gay-rocks-from-space <3

Anyway. Little Anne and Marcy

~~~

Six legs, typical for insects. Large in size. Glossy red shell. Three black spots per wing, perfectly symmetrical. An excellent specimen!

“-Whatcha looking at?”

Marcy jumps and looks up. A girl about her age was standing over her with a curious expression and a friendly smile.

“Ladybug,” Marcy states matter-of-factly, and returns her attention to the insect in front of her.

“Cool,” the other girl returns. She sticks her hands in her pockets. “I like ladybugs, too.”

That gets Marcy’s attention. She looks up for a second time. The girl was wearing a pink shirt with cats on it, and the mess of brown curls on top of her head was wrangled into two pigtails.

“You do?” Marcy stands up.

The girl brightens, apparently happy to have gotten her attention. “Yeah! Ladybugs are pretty! Can I see it?”

Marcy moves to the side and points. The girl squats down, utters a hushed “ooohh”, then bounces right back up again.

“Bugs are cool! I’m Anne by the way. What’s your name?”

Marcy fiddles with the hem of her shirt. Staring at her crocs, she mumbles, “Marcy.”

“Hiya Marcy! I like your name,” Anne says, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. “Do you think maybe we could be friends?”

Marcy hummed, unsure. She considered for a moment, gaze still never leaving her shoes. She peeked upwards, just for a moment. Anne beamed at her, patiently awaiting an answer.

No one had ever really… asked Marcy if they could be her friend. All the other kids in kindergarten thought she was too weird. She was pretty sure they whispered about her when they thought she couldn’t hear.

But this girl seemed to actually like her. And she liked bugs, just like Marcy. Anne could help her hunt for ladybugs, and look under rocks for worms, and catalog the species they found. Plus...

Having a real friend might be nice, she thought.

“Y-yeah. I think I’d like that.”

If it was physically possible, Anne’s smile only got bigger. She squealed happily.

“Yay! I just know we’re gonna be best friends! We can swing on the swings together, and we can find more cool bugs- oh! You wanna go show our moms the ladybug you found?”

She points behind Marcy, to two chatting women sitting on a park bench.

“Um, yeah. That sounds good,” Marcy mumbles shyly.

She coaxes the insect onto her finger and they set off across the grass. Anne doesn’t stop talking the whole way.

“...and I live around the corner. Where do you live? Do you like video games? My dad just got this new game in the mail called Vagabondia Chronicles! I haven’t played it yet. He says I’m ‘too little’, whatever that means. Ugh. Hey, do you have a cat? You should meet my cat, I just got her! Her name’s Domino ‘cause she looks like a domino, and- whoa!”

Anne suddenly flings her arm out, stopping Marcy in her tracks.

“Wha…?” Marcy begins, then looks down and sees the soccer ball she almost tripped over. “Whoa. Thanks.”

“No problem!” Apparently not a fan of staying still, Anne grabs Marcy’s hand and begins to pull her along. “Come on, Mar-mar! I’ll make sure you don’t trip again!”

Marcy laughed, and the two girls took off together, hand in hand, across the playground.

[freddyjumpi2nd]

A/N: I just wanna say that this Fic is heavily inspired by a other Fanfic called"Grime and day" on Fanfiction.net

Do go read it pleases

You could say that this is somewhat of a Fan continuation, since the Og has been discontinued, but this probably won't be nearly as good as the OG.

(ALSO, I decided to age up Sasha, Anne And Marcy to the age of 15 for when the show starts, for no reason except for the fact that they seem way more like 15 year olds to me)

Reader Keys

(Y/N)=Your Name

(L/N)=Last Name.

(First few Chapters will Take place 2 years before the show)

„WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU ALL OF A SUDDEN HAVE TO CANCEL GOING TO THE MOVIES WITH ME?"

Yelled a currently angry teenager, this angy teenager was you talking to what was their currently only friend.

„(Y/N)! you gotta understand, Rachel just asked me if I wanted to hang out with her, and I couldn't just say no to her"

Said your friend, hoping this excuse would calm you down, it didn't tough.

„DIMITRI! I ALREADY BOUGHT THE TICKETS FOR HOMECOMING! YOU COULD HAVE JUST TOLD HER THAT YOU ALREADY HAD PLANS!"

„Bu-„

He was about to say, but immediately got cut off!

„YOU KNOW WHAT? GO AHEAD AND KEEP CONTINUING LIKE THAT! THIS IS THE FIFTH TIME THIS HAPPENED!

GO AHEAD AND FUCK WITH RACHEL! GET HER PREGNANT AND RAISE A CHILD WITH HER, SO YOU HAVE A GOOD EXCUSE TO STOP TALKING TO ME!"

After shouting out these words, you ended the call.

Your throat started to hurt, from all this shouting.

You starred at my phone with tears your eyes, as you saw his contact, you started thinking  about Blocking him.

If he keeps canceling the plans we have, why should you still be friends?

You went ahead and did it.

Just Great, your formerly only „Friend" is now not your friend anymore. All because he wants to spend time with that Bitch and not you.

Now what? The day is still young. Going to the Movie Theaters now alone would suck ass.

Eh, why not go for a walk? The weather is pretty nice, maybe it could lift your mood a bit.

You sat up from your bed, left your room and went to the door that would lead you out of this place.

You quickly put on your shoes and then went outside.

As soon as you were outside walking, I felt the wind touch my skin. And the Sun Blinding my eyes.

Which made you let out a little sneeze

The walk mostly was quiet, there was the occasional car driving, but nothing special.

Your mood also did get somewhat better, even if not by a lot.

You Still Bitter about that, those tickets were expensive after all.

Just As you were thinking about this, you accidentally bumped into someone. Which led to l you closing your eyes in reflex.

„Watch where you're going!"

Shouted the person you bumped into.

When you opened your eyes, you got to see what the person in front of you looked like.

It was a Girl , she had  blonde hair, white skin and a Birthmark under her left eye.

As for clothes, she was wearing a Blueish Jacket with a Saint James Middle School Shirt under it.

She also wore a pink skirt, long grey socks and high heels.

„S-Sorry"

You said, stuttering.

"I didn't mean to."

You quickly added, hoping this would not escalate into a conflict.

"It's not the end of the world dude, but keep your your eyes where they should be"

Answered the Girl, in a suprsingly calm manner.

And due to the power of plot, you felt that it was necessary to get to know this girl closer.

Maybe she was actually better than Dimitri.

You decided to risk it and offered your Hand to her to introduce yourself.

"Uh.. Hi! I'm (Y/N). (Y/N) (L/N)!"

I said with as much energy  as possible.

Surprisingly, she took it and introduced herself to you too.

"Well, (Y/N)  my name is Sasha, Sasha waybright! It's nice to meet you, despite these weird circumstances."

She said, now with a small smile.

Before you could talk again, Sasha decided to do the work for you.

"So (Y/N) what exactly is a lonely looking boy like you doing here?"

Of course she thinks that you’re an boy...

but you can't blame her, you do look like a boy and you both don't know each other.

But, It is a surprise though that a stranger would take interest in what I would be doing.

"Well, nothing really. I originally had different plans but those got cancelled sadly."

Sasha now looked at you with even more curiosity. Which is why she decided to further press on, on what those original plans were.

"So, dear old (Y/N), what were those original plans that you had?"

She said these words in a way, where I you just couldn't refuse to answer her.

"Well, I planned to got to the cinema with my former friend Dimitri to go watch Arachno-Man Homecoming, but for the Fifth time, he canceled our meeting to hang out with someone else, I even bought  tickets for us beforehand."

The last few words were spoken in a sadder Tone.

Sasha then looked at you in sympathy, then spoke again.

"Dang, your friend really is an Asshole...

But why not go by yourself?"

She asked a bit confused.

You then began to blush a bit in embarrassment and rubbed your left arm.

„Well, this might seem a dumb reason to not do it, but It would feel weird to go alone, when I originally planned to go there with someone else."

You said quieter now.

Sasha at first looked at looked at you with Sympathy, but then looked at you with a smile.

A smug smile to be exact.

„Well, (Y/N)  you are then very Lucky, because iam very much Willing to go to the cinema with you Instead."

Well, that came out of nowhere.

„I don't know Sasha, we just met each other. And barley know each other."

Sasha then looked at you with a bit of anger in her eyes.

And spoke in a more annoyed tone now.

„Well, you were the one to bump into me, this is the least you could do"

She spoke now,  with quite an amount of anger.

Which actually was intimidating.

This intimidation caused you to comply to her.

„I guess you're, right.."

You said quieter now.

Sasha then began to smile again and put her hand on your Shoulder"

„now that's better"

She said now in a lighter tone.

„Come on now let's go to the cinema!

She said excitedly while grabbing my arm and running in direction of the Cinema. Forcing your body to run as well.

„Anne and Marcy probably won't mind that I'll spend time with him"

She whispered to herself.

[bangtaninborderland]

Risk It All (3) - The Game Test.

Genre: Chishiya X reader, Angst, Fluff.

Warning: Death, Violence, Guns.

A/N: this was so LONG!!!. It took me so many hours to write this and edit it. Please continue to interact. Share, etc. i forgot how much I missed writing and writing about Chishiya has really helped me find my creativity again. There will be a part 2 to this and things are about to get slightly intense with Chishiya. Thankyou so much for reading, there will be 2 parts released tomorrow maybe 3 depending on how quickly I can plan and come up with games.

Ch.02 | Masterlist | Ch.04

You finally exit the conference room and take a breath, walking away as quickly as possible to find the door that matches the number on your wristband.

Number 27.

You knew chishiyas was number 11 from the walk to the beach, you never imagined that having a number meant you was part of a weird cult but you knew if you wanted to survive you couldn’t cheat the beach. Your thinking comes to a pause when you reach the door with your number, just like Hatter said there was no locks.

You turn the door handle and peek your head into your room. To your surprise your belongings are already there, the necklace was hanging from the bed. Strange. Why wouldn’t they just take it? You talk a short walk to the window and realise there’s a pool, at least you’ll have another reason to wear a swimsuit.

You change into the one piece the woman Ann gave to you, you had never been insecure, you never needed to be. You knew your body was amazing no matter what it looked like, you slipped on your black zip up jacket and brushed your teeth. The only thing you could taste was the blood Niragi had forced out of you.

Just as you felt fresh enough to relax there was a faint knock at your door, you was surprised to see Chishiya standing there. His hands were in his pockets as usual but now his hood was down it give you a clearer view of his face, you analysed him for a moment before breaking the silence between you.

“What are you doing here?”

He looked at you before responding “You have a game to go to.”

Panic began rising inside of you, you still had 4 days left on your visa, why now?

“Why? I don’t need it.” You composed yourself and relaxed your face.

He took a step away from the door before muttering “Beach rules. Your a liability, I brought you here. I have to take you to a game, find out what your really worth”.

His words although not unkind seemed to hurt a little, he had nearly left you alone to die in the room with the tagger in the first game yet you still hadn’t proved yourself? Maybe he’s the pathetic one.

He pulled you out of your thoughts “Hurry up, I don’t want to waste my time.”

You turned around and threw on a pair of sweatpants and your trusty running shoes. You wouldn’t need a T-shirt since you had your jacket and your bikini hadn’t been the most revealing. Chishiya paid no attention, instead he was once again fumbling around with his makeshift taser. You watched his fingers, he knew what he was doing, his hands moved so fast yet so calmly.

“I guess I’m ready” you whisper as you close the door.

You never thought you’d like the beach and even though you hadn’t been here more than an hour you wanted to come back because if you did that meant that you lived. You had to live.

When you reached the lobby you heard cars outside and followed Chishiya to the one your group of players would use. He opened the door and waited for you to get in.

Just as you went to thank him he smirked.

“Don’t thank me, I didn’t hold it open for you it’s just simply stupid to let you be the first one out of the car. Who knows you may run away”.

You rolled your eyes and looked though the window that was visible to you, the car had you, Chishiya, a girl with locks, Ann and a man with a lot of tattoos. You watched Chishiya look at the girl with locks and she looked back at him, they noises their head in agreement. You didn’t know about what but you intended to find out.

After 10 minuets the car came to a stop, the eerie feeling of death surrounded you. However, you didn’t let yourself focus on these thoughts too much. You knew that you had to focus on the game. Whatever it was. You followed everyone else inside. You found it strange how the man with the Tattoos didn’t get out but you continued walking. When you got inside you picked up a phone waiting for the registration to complete. Finally the annoying all to cheery voice alerted you to the game information.

Registration closes in 4 minuets

A group of three players stumbled in the door laughing, Chishiya looked annoyed walking to the corner putting his earphones in.

You looked around the room, they all seemed to know what this meant. You once again had to rely on someone else’s help, something you hated.

“What does this mean?” you asked blankly.

The girl with locks walked towards you. “The number on the card is difficulty, number 10 is the highest, the cards have different meaning Spade is a physical game. Strength is everything here. Clubs refers to a team battle and Diamond refers to a battle of wits. As for Heart... It's the most troublesome one. It's a game of betrayal where you play with people's hearts. It’s a Diamond game so there’s a good chance we could all make it out of here. Depending on you that is.”

You smile at her “Thank you, no one else bothered to help me”

She smiles back “Now don’t kill us”.

You wanted to ask her why I would be the one to kill them but before you could the voice announced our fate once again.

Registration closed.

This game has 7 participants.

Chishiya pulled out his earphones in time to hear the game rules.

Game: finders keepers

Difficulty: 7 of diamonds

Time limit :45 minuets

Rule: find the keys

Condition: each player must find the right key to the lock, the keys are hidden in the room. The game is cleared when all keys are in the correct locks. After 45 minuets the building will collapse.

You look around at each player and everyone but Chishiya has a nervous expression, his was more excited and once again you began to wonder why he wasn’t scared.

“Well then let’s go” Ann opens the door and walks inside the room, you follow behind her and Chishiya follows behind you.

The room is dimly lit, the light is more yellow than white. It’s a small room filled with bookshelves, boxes and in the middle of the room there was a globe. You took a minuet to assess the room, the key box had 7 different holes so there was 7 different keys. You only had 45 minuets and it would take hours to find the right box or shelf. You knew you had to rush.

“Let’s look, everyone take a bookshelf.” You instructed everyone and began walking towards the boxes surrounding the globe. You heard Chishiya scoff and instead he walked to the globe.

One of the other players who joined makes a disgruntled sound walking towards the boxes. “Who put you in charge?”

You shake your head as you continue to investigate the globe, Chishiya watched you but you didn’t let him distract you. There was a difference in the texture of it. You took note of it in case it was important as you started to look through boxes.

After 20 minuets no one had found a key. The girl with locks throws a book before huffing “This isn’t working I don’t want to die on her trial game”

Ann approached her touching her arm “Kuina she has to do this.”

Kuina sighed and continued looking, Chishiya sat in the corner, his face was blank but his eyes were wandering.

“Kuina is right this isn’t helping.” You continue rummaging through boxes before the phone chimed again.

15 minuets remaining.

The tension in the room grew massively, suddenly one of the other players shout “I HAVE ONE”.

You watched as he ran to the box and put the key in but nothing could prepare you for what would happen. The second the key was put in a beam came down and shot him, he fell to the floor lifeless. The key was the only sound as it hit the floor.

Chishiya muttered as he stood up approaching the bookshelf. “At least we know what happens when the locks are wrong.”

One of the men the player came in with shouts and runs towards his body, he pulls him into an embraced as You stood in shock for a moment before remembering something your sister had taught you. Everyone watched as you ran towards the globe, you closed your eyes and felt the globe.

“Where did he find the key?” You shout as everyone turns to you.

Ann runs to the book that had fallen on the floor and yells back “The history of Asia”. You feel around the globe more.

“It’s the continents, there will be 6 more keys in a book about the continents” you shout to inform everyone, they all head to the books about countries and for the first time every you begin Praying you’re right.

After 4 minuets 3 keys have been found, Europe, Africa and South America.

5 minuets remaining

Chishiya walks over to you with the next key. “Antarctica” he whispers.

Your finger lingers too long on his as you take the key from him. He pulls away slowly and continues to look.

You panic as everyone throws books around, you begin to work on the sequence to put the keys in.

“The only logical way would be to put them in the alphabetical order” you shout.

Chishiya joins your side with another key “Australia”.

He turns to walk away but before he does He mutters “Alphabetical would be too easy”.

You know he’s right. You don’t have any time as Ann shouts she has the last key.

50 seconds remaining

Everyone waits around you to figure it out.

“I can’t do it” you mutter looking at the locks,

The girl you now know as Kuina turns to Ann “Tell her what to do I’m not dying here”

“I can’t!” Ann remains calm but you can hear the fear in her voice. It was clear no one would help until the last moment.

30 seconds remaining

You begin to think, the keys were located in continents. You feel the locks and recognise something familiar. You close your eyes as you feel the same position on the other locks.

“I got it” you shout.

You grab the keys and put them in, each key had a number over the top but it’s so faint you wouldn’t have been able to feel it unless you had practised, it’s the same feeling with the globe. You first put Asia, then Africa, Europe, Australia, Antarctica, North America and finally South America.

The door opens and everyone pushes inside just in time as the floor within the last room had fallen through. The door slams and you hear the rest of the previous room fall into pieces.

The phone chimes and you look down to see the screen bright once again.

Game cleared, congratulations.

You look around at everyone, Chishiya is standing there resume to his normal position of hands in his pockets with a unemotional face. Kuina has her head against the wall Ann is sitting on the floor and the other players who’s names you haven’t learnt were sitting by each other, you could see the sadness in their faces but decided it was best to leave some words unsaid.

Chishiya sighs and opens the door leading to the outside. You slowly follow behind him as does Ann and Kuina. You take one last glance at the players still slouched in the room before heading towards to car. Ann and Kuina get in the car behind Ann sat next to the man with tattoos and Kuina In the back.

You looked over at Chishiya and see he had started to walk in another direction. You looked to Ann and she seemed to understand you wasn’t going to get into the car instead you decided you’d follow Chishiya.

You heard the car drive off as you chased after him.

“Wait” you shouted. He paused for a moment before continuing to walk however I seemed his pace had slowed. You caught up to him after a minuet and tried to catch your breath.

“What do you want” he mumbled pulling his earphone out.

“I have questions, you brought me to the beach you should answer them” you explain.

He stops walking, turns and looks at you. You wait patiently for him to say something.

“Fine. You can walk with me and I’ll answer the questions of yours I find worthy of receiving an answer but I want something from you” he raises his eyebrows slightly.

“What do you want” you said, imitating the way he sounded just a few moments earlier.

He continued walking before answering. “Tell me how you figured out the game”.

“Fine.” You mutter.

You knew explaining to him how you knew about the game would cause you to have to let a few personal things slip but you need answers and you can’t wait. You’ll make a deal with the devil himself if it gets You out of here.

[qqueenofhades]

Fluffy/fun fanfic prompts: accidentally drunk (think Anne of Green Gables, Diana guzzling raspberry cordial), any pairing in Shadow and Bone; someone wears shoes that are too small to a party (channeling Meg March in Little Women); meet-cute at a vet's office where one character has a chinchilla and the other has an angora rabbit; an impromptu proposal while taking shelter from a sudden heavy rain

Alina has been on her feet for almost twelve hours straight, the Great State Crown has made her neck ache like the devil, and she's been whirled around  the ballroom by a constant succession of dignitaries and diplomats, but the reason her head is still spinning is not entirely due to that. She has drunk about a hundred celebratory toasts of kvas, brandy, wine, and cordial, and the world is a merry, bright-colored muddle. At least she has finally removed the dress, heavy ivory silk weighed down with gilt and gems, and is wearing only her nightgown, sitting on the tall curtained bed and waiting for him to join her. Only, well. It appears that even the Black General can get drunk.

"You know," she says, a little pointedly. "The wardrobe's over there."

"I see that." He is clearly put out that she would attempt to direct him, especially when she's none too sober herself. "I'm going."

Alina giggles, wriggling her toes beneath the counterpane, fighting off the shiver of the late-winter night that lurks just beyond the tall curtained windows. The sounds of revelry float up distantly from the rest of the Grand Palace, and the celebrations will be continuing across Os Alta and all of Ravka. As to whether she's fit to be their queen -- Alina doesn't know that, any more than she thought she was ever qualified to be their saint. But if this ends the war, if it makes things right again, if they can be the summoners of Sun and Shadow, keeping each other in balance... maybe. Maybe. It all seems so much to hope for sometimes, but if nothing else, she will try.

At that moment, Aleksander reaches the wardrobe and, unable to slow his forward progress in time, bumps into it, causing Alina to snort. Sensing that he might need assistance, she gets out of bed, pauses while the room does a somersault, and steadies herself on the wall. "Here," she says, making her way over carefully. "Aleks - Aleksh -- Ale-ks-ander." She has to stumble her way through the suddenly excessive amount of syllables in his name. "Let me help."

He looks insulted that she thinks he can't manage to disrobe by himself, though when both of them struggle for several minutes to undo the tiny jet buttons of his formal kefta and get absolutely nowhere, he gives up and laughs out loud. "Look at us," he says, his voice slurred and loose, but almost, finally, truly happy. "The new rulers of Ravka. This country is fucked, I'd say."

"We will have practice." Alina's hands cover his briefly, on his chest, and he holds on without answering. "And Nikolai will help."

Aleksander snorts, as if to say he still doesn't think much of the Lantsov prince, but they're stuck with him in whatever weird triumvirate of power this is, and the learning curve for everyone will be steep. He teeters sideways and sits down on the floor rather abruptly, pulling Alina down with him, and rests his chin on her hair. "Please do not hold this absolute disaster of a wedding night against me," he says at last. "I do intend to try. Moya tsaritsa."

A shiver runs down Alina's back. For a long moment, and not just because of her alcohol-fuddled senses, she doesn't know how to answer. Then she tilts her head up, and their mouths meet in the dimness, a heady sweet-strong buzz, their hands clutching. "I know," she whispers back, a pledge, a promise. "Moy tsar."

[moonlit-raven-haven]

The Past III

Where the reader and Harry no longer speak.

This is unedited!

Word Count: 3.6k

Warning: angst, drinking, some language, mentions of blood

A/N: Here’s part three! Sorry it took so long to update! My personal life has been quite hectic and draining and I couldn’t find the energy to write again up until a few days ago. I hope you guys enjoy it! Information regarding tag lists at the end.

Y/N is discharged in the morning just like she had told Harry the previous day. Not having a ride home, she decides to dial Gemma who picks up after only a few rings. 

“Hey Gem, think you could pick me up and bring me some clothes please? Mark is at work right now.” Y/N asks and explains as she flips through the random TV channels on the small flat-screen television in her hospital room. 

“Hey Y/N, I actually can’t right now…” She trails off, almost as if trying to come up with an excuse not to pick her up, but she doesn’t. “I’m sure Harry can pick you up.” She adds in to her trailing sentence. Y/N stays quiet on the other end of the line. She’s going to see Harry tonight anyways, but would she be able to spend a whole day with him without it being painfully awkward?

“It’s okay...I’ll ask Anne.” Y/N replies as she huffs slightly, going through all of the television channels for the second time, but nonetheless she starts the process all over again. 

“Mum is busy with grocery shopping and whatnot.” Gemma says with an urgency to her voice, and Y/N finally concludes that Gemma, or Anne and Gemma want her to spend more time with Harry. Y/N pinches the bridge of her nose slightly before sighing. 

“I’ll ring Harry.” She finally gives up, knowing it was no use trying to tell Gemma that she could see past her lies. Y/N ponders on taking the bus, but she knows she’ll get weird and concerned  looks, having only the clothes from the previous night and dried blood on her hair. 

“Alright, I’ll see you soon!” Gemma exclaims into the phone, the smile evident in her voice as she hangs up, leaving Y/N to hear the ringing of the dead line. She pulls her phone away from her ear and takes a deep breath as she scrolls through her contacts, finally stumbling upon Harry’s name. She hadn’t deleted the number, and she knew it was the same, receiving a text from Gemma with his number attached. Y/N clicks on his contact, an old picture of the two showing up in a small circle next to the call button. The picture is one that Anne had taken at Christmas before they stopped speaking. Y/N was curled up into Harry’s side, the Santa hat she had been wearing slowly beginning to fall off her head as Harry had an arm wrapped around her sleeping form. He was looking down at her, a soft smile on his face as his own Santa hat lit up with small Christmas lights. Y/N smiles at the picture, reminiscing back at how simple things once were.

After a few minutes of hearing the television but listening to her own thoughts, she decides to tap the green button on her screen that has been taunting her for several minutes. Y/N hears the line ring, her heart beating faster with each lengthy tone, and after only the third ring she hears a click on the other end of the phone.

“Hey Y/N.” Harry greets through the phone, his comforting voice making Y/N’s once fast beating heart slow down enough for her to feel calm once again. He knew it was her, he must have saved her number after all these years, but the thought makes her heart sting; why hadn’t he tried to reach her? 

“I...Um...I was wondering if you could pick me up from the hospital?” Y/N questions through the small device in her hand as she fiddles with the rough material of the thin blanket that the hospital provided her with. 

“Yeah sure...I’ll be there in 30.” Harry says, and Y/N can hear the jingling of his keys and the opening and closing of the door. 

“Thank you...and be careful please...the roads are still pretty dangerous to drive on.” She mumbles, shivering slightly at the memory from the previous day.

“O’course...I’m always careful. See you soon.” Y/N hears the muffled sound of the car engine over the phone before hearing a soft click, only hearing the television quietly playing in the background. Over the next 20 minutes Y/N is discharged by the doctor and disconnected from the various monitors. She gathers her belongings, grimacing as she puts on her clothes from the previous day, some of it covered in dry blood still. She grabs her phone off the small hospital table and exits the fluorescent room, thanking the staff on her way out before waiting for Harry in front of the hospital. The floor is wet from the storm the previous day and the current light drizzle of water. She wraps her coat around her tightly, shivering slightly as a gust of wind passes by her.

“I should’ve waited inside.” Y/N thinks to herself as the cold wind bites at her skin, but she’s being courteous for Harry’s sake, or maybe she’s doing it for herself. What she knows is that a mob of fans wouldn’t be pleasant for either of them. So she waits for him outside, hoping that they could drive off as soon as he arrives at the hospital so they could leave.

Y/N is staring up at the gray clouds before she hears a soft calling of her name. She looks up, noticing the window of Harry’s black Range Rover is rolled down. He’s wearing a black hoodie with colorful letters that she can’t make out due to his distance, and some big sunglasses that make her let out a little laugh at their size. She gives him an awkward smile before walking towards the big car and getting in the passenger's seat, immediately engulfed by the warmth of the car and Harry’s scent. Y/N settles into the leather seat as she closes the door and secures the seat belt around her body as Harry begins to drive away from the hospital parking lot. 

“Would you like me to drive you home?” Harry questions, his eyes focused on the slick road in front of him. 

“No no…” Y/N quickly starts off. “We could go back to your place...we were meeting for dinner anyways.” She finishes her statement as Harry just hums in response. It’s silent between the two despite the words that need to be said; the words that would probably fix everything between them. The rain gently hits the windows as the heater hums in sync with the sound of the engine. The road is smooth beneath the tires as Harry drives through a series of small winding streets.

“Can I turn the radio on?” Harry is the first to speak, and now it’s Y/N’s turn to hum in response. His hand travels over to the radio, turning it on before browsing through different radio stations, but he can’t settle on anything and shuts the radio off once again, his hand settling back on the steering wheel. The car ride is filled with an almost unbearable silence, each raindrop sounding heavier than the last against the car, but finally, just as Y/N is thinking that jumping out of the car isn’t a horrible idea, they reach a small and gated house. Harry pulls up next to a small metal box, rolling down his window and quickly punching in a few numbers before rolling it up once again. The raindrops rolling off the leather interior, the sleeve of his hoodie now a darker shade of black.

The metal gates open up and Harry applies light pressure on the gas pedal of his car, causing it to move forward onto the long cement driveway, all the way to the end which connects to a house, his house. Harry presses a small clicker on the roof of his car, opening up the large garage connected to the house as he pulls into it and closes the garage door once again before turning the car off. 

“Let’s get you inside so you could get showered and changed before dinner.” Harry says softly as he gets out of the car, not looking at Y/N once. He knows that it’s still early, early enough to barely eat lunch, but he figures he could try to avoid the dreaded, but much needed conversation for a few more hours. Plus, he doubts that she wants to be in the same clothes from the day of the accident, much less have her hair matted and tangled with dried blood. 

“Oh yeah...thanks Harry.” Y/N says as she climbs out of the car, and takes a look at the garage. It’s like any other person’s garage, but emptier due to his constant moving around and barely being home. She gently closes the black car door and walks around to where Harry is standing, inserting a key to a door in the garage. He twists the key and handle, opening the door before pulling the key out. He walks in, holding the door open for Y/N as he motions for her to walk in. She complies and enters the house that’s lit up by the outdoor light. The place is a lot simpler than she had expected, since his career took off she expected him to change just like every other superstar, being taken by the fame and money, but he was not. He remained Harry Edward Styles, her friend of many years and who she always thought would be her first love. 

His house is decorated in modern and minimalist furniture, but somehow still feels like a home. Y/N can’t tell if it’s Harry’s scent or small random things laying around that make it feel like home. Picture frames of his family and friends, a random jacket here, some shoes over there, and a few random cups scattered throughout the living room and kitchen. While she looks around, she believes that Harry has moved on from their friendship, and maybe even whatever nonexistent relationship there was between them. There wasn’t a picture of her in sight, or any clue of her ever being part of his life, but what was she hoping for? For him to dwell on her for five years? That would be selfish of her, but maybe for now she wanted to be selfish. 

Harry watches Y/N intently as she looks around, noticing slight changes in her expressions, from a half smile to a small frown. Was she regretting her choice of coming with him? Would she turn around right now and ask for him to drive her home? He suddenly thinks that this is a horrible idea, and that maybe things should’ve just been left as is, but he still tries and hopes that she doesn’t want to run away like he has been wanting to do.

“Bathroom is over here.” His voice sounds a bit shaky, almost as if he is nervous. He begins walking through the house, reaching a short hallway with only two doors and some cabinets at the end. He opens the door to their left, revealing a bathroom, and then continues to take a few steps forward, opening the door to their right, revealing his room.

“There’s a bathroom in m’ room if you would like to use that one. You could change in my bedroom afterward if you would like, I’ll be in the kitchen making dinner so you don’t have to worry about me barging in...I mean not that I would barge in...just in case you were worried ‘bout that...not that you sh-” But before Harry can ramble on any further, Y/N cuts him off, a small laugh escaping her lips at his nervous behavior.

“I’ll use your bathroom, you go ahead and make dinner.” She says with a smile adorning her face, oh how much Harry missed that smile. He simply nods and exits the room, opening and closing the cabinets in the hallway before returning with a towel and handing it to Y/N.

“Thanks Harry.” She says softly as she begins walking to the bathroom door in the corner of his room. 

“O’course. I’ll leave some clothes on my bed and then I’ll leave and close the door.” Harry explains to her as he walks over to his dresser and begins to open drawers. Y/N hums in appreciation as she walks through the bathroom door and shuts it behind her. She opens the sliding glass door, letting out a small sigh of relief when she sees the water knobs are the same as the ones in her own flat, thankful she wouldn’t have to ask Harry for help. Y/N turns the water on to her desired temperature and begins to strip off her clothing before getting into the shower, sliding the glass doors shut. As she showers, she can hear the muffled opening and closing of drawers outside in the room before she hears the shutting of what she assumes is the bedroom door. 

Harry exits his bedroom, closing the door behind him as he makes his way to the kitchen. As he pulls out the necessary ingredients for spaghetti and garlic bread, his mind (once again), begins to occupy itself with unnecessary thoughts, because never in a million years did he think they would be having dinner together after five years of silence. Harry was aware of how she tried to contact him, and he saw all the missed calls and texts from her, but he was too hurt to ever pick up the phone or to even see her. Now he feels guilty, realizing that he probably caused her pain that she still hasn’t healed from. Had she moved on quickly? Did she see other people before meeting Mark? Or was Mark the person that finally allowed her to begin to move on? Harry shakes his head slightly, now beginning to serve the plates of food and pulling out a bottle of wine. Those thoughts shouldn’t make him feel jealousy, after all, he had tried to move on fast, sleeping and dating people over the past five years, and he was almost one-hundred percent sure that she saw every headline regarding his relationships, whether they were rumors or whether they were confirmed. And while Harry can’t be sure, he can only assume that it hurt to see the headlines, because when he heard of Mark’s existence in Y/N’s life, the pain he felt in his chest was too much to ignore. 

Harry is closing the bottle of wine and sitting down when he hears light footsteps in front of him, and as he looks up he sees Y/N, her cheeks are slightly flushed and there is a sheepish smile on her face as she sits down across from him.

“It smells good…” She says softly as she pics up her fork and begins to eat. She’s wearing his hoodie, boxers, sweats, and even his socks, which makes her feel quite flustered, it feels too domestic, like if they are dating, and the thought makes her heart pick up slightly in speed. 

What they both thought would be an awkward dinner was actually pleasant, their conversation flowed naturally, almost as if nothing between them had occurred, and as if they haven't spoken in five years. Once their plates are clean of food and their glasses are empty of wine, they clean up the kitchen and head to the living room, sitting down on opposite ends of Harry’s couch, their glasses of wine full again. Their conversation flows smoothly once again, eventually falling into a silence that was almost unbearable.

“Have you listened to any of my music?” Harry questions, as he sets down his wine glass on the coffee table. The question probably sounds narcissistic, but he needs to know, because there are songs that were written for her, messages that he hopes she received. Y/N sets down her glass of wine and tilts her head back before looking over at Harry.

“I only listened to your first album...I couldn’t really bring myself to listen to your second album.” She explains rather timidly, afraid that he would take offense to the statement, but he nods his head in understanding and gets up from the couch.

“We’ll start from the beginning then, so you could get the full experience.” He says jokingly as he walks over to his vinyls and record player. Harry pulls out his first album and sets it up before sitting back on the couch, this time a little closer to her. They fall into casual conversation again, but Y/N doesn’t really listen to the music, too invested in listening to Harry, that is until he puts a finger to his lips, his infamous rose ring glinting in the sunlight.

“One of my favorite songs that I’ve ever written.” Harry says softly as he looks at Y/N. She chuckles softly as “Woman” begins to play in the background. Y/N smiles at the opening line, Harry has always been one for romance, and she couldn’t help but wonder who he had asked to watch romantic comedies with on Netflix, and then the song begins.

I’m selfish, I know

But I don’t ever want to see you with him

Y/N then wonders who this man was, this man that made him selfish and want to keep someone to himself, and who is the person that he loves so much that he wrote a song about not wanting to see them with anyone else? But then these questions are answered when Harry begins to speak. 

“Y’know...when mum told me ‘bout you and Mark, I wished desperately that it was me you were with instead of him. And I wanted to go find you, and say that I fucked up, that I’m an arrogant son of a bitch who can’t admit when he’s sorry, but I didn’t. I couldn’t bear the thought of him opening the door, and while I’m selfish for wishing that I was in his place, I also can’t ruin your happiness again…” Harry trails off and sighs, he turns away from Y/N and tilts his head back until it’s resting on the couch and he’s staring up at the ceiling. 

Y/N looks at him blankly as he stares up at the ceiling. She had expected a conversation of apologies, then maybe a few words of “glad we’ve moved on,” and then things to be how they once were, but she wasn’t expecting a love confession. And as much as she wants to say that she understands, and that she forgives him, she can’t do that.

“Harry...you can’t do this to me. You can’t waltz back into my life and expect me to drop everything for you. You’re the one that left, I tried to make things right between us. I have a life of my own now, I’ve moved on from our past…” Y/N’s voice is assertive, refusing to let Harry come back into her life unannounced after everything that had occurred between them. But as assertive as she sounds, and as serious as she is about her words, she knows that her last statement isn’t true, and he knows that it isn’t true as well.

“You’re right, I left, and I know that you called...that you tried to reach me, and I blocked you out...I shouldn’t have. But I was afraid that I had ruined our friendship that night I tried to kiss you...now I reckon that I did more damage when I left unannounced.” Harry finally faces her, and while his words are directed at the girl in front of him, he knows these words are also his thoughts. When she doesn’t respond, he is fearful once again, maybe he should have left things alone. Y/N lets out a shaky breath and closes her eyes, not wanting to look at him in fear of breaking down. 

“Look Harry, it’s in the past, and I want to forgive you, but I can’t...at least not right now. I spent so long getting over you, trying to forget our friendship and that spark that we once had…” She trails off and opens her eyes once again, staring directly at Harry. “But I need time, and I need space…” Her last words are quiet as she gets up from her spot on Harry’s couch and grabs her few belongings. “I would like to go home please.” Is all Y/N can muster past her lips as she walks over to the door, the very little energy she once had now leaves her body. Harry doesn’t protest, knowing that he has caused damage to the woman he loved, once again. 

The drive back to her flat is silent, the hum of his car and the cars around him driving through the rain being the only sounds they can hear. And while the drive to her flat is short, it feels long and tense, making Y/N eager to get to the comfort of her own home and away from the current situation. Finally, the car is parked in front of her flat, and Y/N gives Harry a weak smile once she is out of his car.

“See ya around, thanks for lunch...maybe we can catch dinner another time.” She says as she closes his car door, and Harry’s heart flutters; he hadn’t fucked things up even more than before.

“I would like that.” Harry is quick with his response as he gives her a toothy grin before giving her a slight wave and driving off. Maybe things will be okay in time.

_._._._

A/N: There are two tag lists for Harry content! One for ALL future Harry Styles fics, and one for JUST this fic. Comment “All Harry fics” or “Just this Harry fic” if you would like to be added.

_._._._

All HS fanfic

@rachkon @tpwkhoney @girlboss99 @hilarydenise813 @eternalharry @tpwkxkiwis @wholesomestyles @indieslytherin @harryspirate @harrehiluvyeh

Just this fanfic

@darcysbxtch @makncheese1928 @urdadbtch

Usernames I can’t tag

@mybm1998 @marvelstudies2020 @90smessy @only1doodle

[kiarcheo]

Meowsunderstandings 2/2

‘We should do this again.’

‘Sleep together?’

Part 1

Can read it all here on Ao3

                              ——————————————–

‘Kitty.’ A groan.

‘Kat.’ Another one.

Two pairs of eyes slam open. ‘You’re not her!’ Twin exclamations immediately follow.

Cathy quickly checks herself. She can’t think of anything worse than sleeping with Anne. Still dressed except for her shoes, thank God. She lets out a sigh of relief. Still not sure what happened though. How did she even end up in bed with Anne? Where is Kat? Actually…Where is she?

‘Good morning.’ Catalina greets them as they drag themselves to the kitchen. One question answered, at least. ‘Care to tell me what happened last night?’

‘We got drunk?’

‘No shit.’ Catalina snorts.

‘Kitty came to pick me up…and I don’t really remember anything else?’

Catalina now turns to Cathy, eyebrow raised. She has not known her for as long as she has known Anne, but she would have not take her for the type to get blackout drunk.

‘Yeah, I just remember Kat showing up and…possibly getting into a car?’

‘Well, both of you fell asleep in the car, so Kat carried you home.’

Cathy doesn’t know if she is more embarrassed or upset that she doesn’t remember it.

‘Where is she?’ Cathy asks. The least she can do is thank the girl.

‘Out for a run.’

‘Ugh.’ Anne groans, from her slumped position on the table.

‘Hey girls!’ Speak of the devil...

‘Ugh.’ This time is more a pained sound than a disgusted one. ‘Loud.’

Kat just lays a kiss on Anne’s head.

‘Where did you sleep? Wasn’t expecting to wake up with her up in my face.’ Anne grumbles.

'Not a pleasant experience for me either.’ Cathy mutters.

‘I get it, Anne’s morning breath is terrible.’

‘Hey!’ Anne protests, pouting even if Kat can’t see her, her back turned as she is pouring herself a glass of juice.

‘She slept with me.’ Catalina explains. ‘You might all be tiny, but three in a bed never end up well.’

‘If you can wait for me to have a shower, I’ll take you home.’ Kat addresses Cathy.

‘I don’t want to be a bother.'

‘Don’t worry, it’s no trouble at all.’

Cathy wishes she wasn’t so hangover so she could enjoy it. Or perhaps that’s better...she is sure that sober!her would freak out at the idea of sharing a ride with Kat, spending time alone with her, in close proximity...too much of an effort for hangover!her, who can just muster gratefulness for not having to brave public transportation to get back home.

---

‘I know you don’t like going out for drinks but-’

‘It’s more than we don’t like what happens when we do.’ Catalina interrupts Jane. ‘What did you have in mind?’

'Ocean?’ Jane proposes.

‘We’re banned.’

‘Anne is banned.’ Catalina precises.

‘As if you weren’t seconds away from smashing a glass on his head too.’

‘What about this one?’ Anna turns her phone around to show them another possible location for their evening.

‘Nope.’

Anna brings up another page.

‘Eeh.’ Anne grimaces.

‘This too?’  Anna is baffled but she shakes it off, persevering in her search. She shows them another one.

‘Yep.’

And another one.

‘Not technically banned but I don’t think we’d be welcome.’

They finally manage to find a place.

‘I’m surprised this one allowed you in.’ Anna remarks as they are sitting down, half-joking and half-serious.

‘It’s new, they just opened.’ Jane comments, having been the one who found it.

‘This explains it.’

‘Don’t look at me like that!’ Anne protests.  ‘Not my fault guys can’t understand the word no or how to keep their hands to themselves…and off Kitty.’

Understanding dawns on the others.

‘We’ll make sure not to leave her alone.’ Anna promises.

‘Not going to help. Last time I left her with Lina, and I came back to this guy asking them to prove Kitty is a lesbian by kissing. I decked him. I mean, imagine if my cousin had managed to kiss Lina first, before I ever did.’

‘Because that was the problem?’ Catalina looks unimpressed.

‘And that he was an objectifying, sexist, misogynistic asshole.’ Anne adds.

‘Wait…you’re together?’

‘You’re cousins??’

‘Yes.’

‘No.’

‘Maybe.’

‘Yes, we’re cousin. Yes, they are seeing each other. Yes, they are exclusive. No, they haven’t had the talk yet.’ Kat sums it up, trying to clear the confusion evident on their friends’ faces.

‘If you plan to have that talk tonight, please tell me so I’ll make sure to vacate the house.’ she adds, seeing how they are looking at each other. ‘I have no intention to listen to my cousin and my sister slash mom friend getting it on.’

‘You can stay with me.’ Cathy blurts out. ‘I mean, it’s just a room, but-’

‘Trust me anything would be better than…’ she trails off with a grimace. ‘If you don’t mind...’

‘I really don’t.’

‘I bet you don’t.’ Anna mutters, while Jane shushes her.

‘Do you need clothes? Or, you know, to pass by the house to get anything?’ Catalina asks, feeling slightly guilty about effectively kicking her out of her own place for the night.

‘I’m sure she can borrow Cathy’s with no problems.’

‘Are you really talking about height?’ Kat stares at her cousin. ‘Really?’ Anne is even shorter.

‘If the shorts fit…’ Anne shrugs with a shit-eating grin.

If Cathy’s brain short-circuited at the suggestion of Kat wearing her clothes, the actual vision almost kills her, especially as she stretches her arms up, yawning, and a sliver of abs is revealed (Anne was mostly right...they are both pretty short, but Cathy more than Kat).

‘This is really soft and comfy.’

Cathy smiles at her. She sort of chose them on purpose for that exact reason.

‘I can sleep on the floor.’

‘Absolutely not! You’re a guest! I will.’

‘I’m not going to kick you out of your own bed.’ Kat counteracts.

They stare at each other, unwilling to relent.

‘We could...share?’ Cathy proposes. ‘If you don’t mind?’

‘You didn’t seem happy to wake up with Anne.’ Kat points out.

‘It was more about the person than the sleeping arrangement.’ Cathy admits, while scooting towards the wall. She pats the empty space on the bed she just freed. ‘Hop in.’

‘Okay.’ Kat sits down. ‘I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.’ Kat apologises once she gets under the duvet and lays down. ‘I’m just so used to sleep with her. Or Cata. That I didn’t really think twice about it. Like the fact that you don’t actually know Anne that well.’

‘Honestly I could have slept with the queen and not realise it...or remember it.’ Cathy reassures her. It was not that big of a problem. ‘Just wasn't expecting to wake up to that. Her.’

‘But if at any time you feel uncomfortable, you need to tell me.’ Kat’s sleepy voice breaks the silence. ‘It’s been a while, but I used to sleep on the floor a lot, I’m sure I won't have any problems doing it again for one night.’

Cathy has questions, but when she finally musters up the courage and turns to face Kat, the girl has her eyes closed, breath deepened already.

She thought she would have troubles falling asleep, not used to share her bed, and even less with someone she is crushing on, but before she knows it, Cathy is waking up half lying on Kat, the light filtering through the thick curtains announcing it’s morning already.

‘Sorry!’ She immediately rolls off.

‘Don’t worry.’ Kat chuckles. ‘Anne says that I’m a furnace.’ Not that her cousin needs to justify why she loves to cuddle with her. But the older girl tends to run cold, and when she is asleep, she is like a heat-seeking missile. Even when falling asleep on opposite ends of the couch, Kat will wake up with Anne wrapped around her.

Cathy turns on her side, head lying on her arm. ‘You know, I thought that Anne was-’

‘My sister?’ Kat interrupts her. ‘She is more a sister than a cousin. Although...does it make it weird if I also consider Cata like a big sister? Ugh.’ She shakes her head as to physically dispel the gross thought.

---

‘You okay?’ Kat asks emerging from the ensuite bathroom Cathy had chivalrously let her use first.

Cathy is laying on her bed, face down. ‘Uhuh.’ It’s the reply, muffled by the pillow.

‘Really? I don’t think okay people usually try to suffocate themselves with a pillow.’

Cathy flops on her back not so gracefully. I mean, it can’t go any worse, can it?

‘Ever think about embarrassing stuff and just want to scream into your pillow?’

‘All the time.’

‘You? Please!’ Cathy snorts. ‘I can’t imagine you ever doing something embarrassing!’

For once Cathy blesses the lack of filter she seems to have around Kat because the other girl is flushing, a bashful smile on her lips.

‘You can ask Cata or Anne-’ Kat abruptly stops. ‘Wait. On a second thoughts...please don’t!’ No doubts they would be thrilled to share every single awkward moment they had ever witnessed or heard about.

‘Well, I better be going.’ Kat announces once Cathy had her turn in the bathroom.

‘You can stay.’ She blurts out. Nice going, Cathy! Way to sound desperate.

‘Don’t you have to finish that essay?’

‘Right!’ Cathy’s face falls. She does.

‘We should do this again.’

‘Sleep together?’ Back to cursing her lack of filter.

Both are blushing wildly, but Kat recovers first. ‘I meant hanging out just the two of us, but the sleepover was nice too. Give me your phone.’

Cathy hands it to her before turning and looking around the room to make sure Kat isn’t forgetting anything. ‘Call yourself so you have my number too. And call me when you get home.’

‘Yes ma’am.’ Kat teases.

Cathy is munching on a cereal bar while working on her essay when the call arrives…and she promptly chokes because Kat is smiling at her from the screen. Eyes crinkling, bare faced with no make-up, hair up in a messy bun…she is the most gorgeous girl she has ever seen. She has no idea how Kat managed to sneakily take a selfie and set it as contact photo, but she is grateful. And embarrassed when she has to call her back because she was so lost in contemplation of the picture that she didn’t pick up in time.

----

‘Can we talk?’

Cathy looks up at Catalina.  Her friend has a serious expression on, but she doesn’t seem angry or sad or upset. Just serious. Cathy can’t think of anything she’d want to speak to her about. ‘Sure?’

Catalina sits down. ‘You don’t like Anne?’

‘What?’ That was not what Cathy expected.

‘I get that she is an acquired taste,’ she is a lot...and usually it takes some time to fully appreciate it. ‘but you’re my friend and I’m dating her, and you like Kat-’

‘What?!’

‘And she absolutely adores her cousin,’ Catalina continues, ‘so if you don’t like her, it might make things a bit complicated.’

‘It’s not that I don’t like– how long have you known I like Kat?’

‘Pretty much since you kept asking “you’re Lina’s Kat??” when you first met her…and almost spilled your tea all over yourself because you were too busy ogling her.’ Catalina grins as Cathy shrinks down in her seat, as if trying to disappear, red faced. ‘But don’t think you’ll get away with avoiding the Anne question.’

Cathy has to decide. What is less embarrassing? Telling her friend that she thought her housemate was an actual cat? Or that she was jealous of her girlfriend because she thought she was dating her crush when instead she was her cousin?

[extremelyblackandwhite]

the unseen one - 14

Pairing: Hades!Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warnings: none

A/N: are we finally moving the plot? yes we are. get ready for the emotional rollercoaster the next chapters.

Next Chapter >>

James was used to feeling dirty, to feeling guilty. As years went by, he expected that somehow and somewhere he’d learn not to feel guilty anymore, to grow numb to eventually hurting people but the feeling was still very much alive within him. However, nothing hurt more than leaving her while she was sleeping to return to the place he had sadly learned to call his home. He stared at her for a long while, recalling how she had barely made it awake once they got home and had fallen asleep the minute her skin touched the freshly washed cotton white sheets, hair sprawled around her head almost like an halo and hands meeting each other as she sleep on her side. He could see life in her, he could hear it and he could sense it, from the constant rosey blush that seemed to live on her cheeks whenever someone praised her to the sound of air exiting her lungs through her parted plump lips. She was alive, very much alive. He, on the other hand, didn’t exactly know if he was alive or not. 

He didn’t want to leave her, specially after sleeping with her. He knew what she was gonna think, he knew that no matter how sorry he was, how much he tried to explain, he knew what she was gonna think when she woke up and he wasn’t laying next to her. He pursed his lips, hand holding the handle applying all his pressure on the small piece of worn out golden metal. 

He looked down, turning the knob, exiting the room and closing the door behind him, slowly as not to wake her. The Underworld was waiting and he had to return before Apollo’s pussy chase ended. James left her flat, going down the stairs and onto the hallway. As he was about to return he felt an unnerving presence surround him, almost like a mist of evil had surrounded him. Slowly, James looked over his shoulder, seeing a known figure standing at the beginning of the staircase.

     - James, isn’t it? - she climbed down the stairs, a suspecting look on her features. He had forgotten her name but he knew her from the block party, Y/N’s filterless friend. - You remember me, right? Y/N’s friend?

     - I’m afraid I’ve forgotten your name. - he gave her a sympathetic smile, hands entering his own pockets, eyes lowering to the floor to stare at his shoes. She sighed, a smile on her lips.

     - It’s Anne, make sure you don’t forget it again. 

     - Well, Anne, I really should get going. 

     - It’s okay, you’ll be back soon. - he stopped on his tracks, giving up on trying to escape her as her words brought some sort of worry into him. - For Y/N, I mean. 

He tried to forget about what she had just said, walking away from Y/N’s building and into a quiet area so he could return to the Underworld. Maybe he shouldn’t be worrying so much, after all Y/N was always saying how her friend would constantly say weird things to freak people out, maybe she was just being overprotective over Y/N, who knew. 

Morning rose quickly for both of them however it brought different feelings. Y/N woke up in a cold bed, not knowing why she was expecting him to have stood with her until sunrise. He was a busy man, she knew he was busy and busy people do not have the time to simply stay and sleep with ... well, with whatever she was to him. 

Y/N thought about returning to sleep but her plans were interrupted by Anne rushing into her bedroom, taking a seat on the end of her bed, an “I know what you did last night” look plastered all over her face. She hesitates to ask her to leave, maybe she needed someone to pour her insecurities on after being left alone.

    - I see you wore your sexy dress. - she noticed the dress Y/N was wearing, lips twinging into an all knowing smirk. Y/N was a predictable person and you’d normally figure out if she was expecting something out of the date based on the way she dressed and the pretty white satin dress was surely a date sex expectation dress. - C’mon, I got us some fruit for breakfast.    

    - I’m not sure I’m that hungry. - she rested her hands against the duvet, looking at her fingers still somewhat burned from scrapping them against the concrete, memories of his skin against hers invading her memory. 

    - It’s a really nice fruit platter, sweetie. - Anne put her hands on top of her duvet, staring at her friend with a look Y/N couldn’t read. However, in all honesty, Anne seemed to change in between moods so often that Y/N could no longer identify them. She sighed, nodding her head yes, forcing a smile to linger on her lips. 

She got dressed in her sleeping robe, deciding it would be best not to parade around in her dress that still had a lingering scent of James’ sandalwood cologne. The blooming of light coming from her living room made her even more upset than she already was. Normally, she loved leaving her bedroom barefoot and feel the cold of the wooden floors against her feet and the warmth of the sun rays hitting her arms, but today she couldn’t care less about it. Maybe it was because she wanted to share it with James after last night but she knew he had to work. 

Anne sat by her kitchen’s island, a cardboard platter of various types of beautifully shiny and delicious looking fruit standing on top of the marbled stone. 

   - So ... - Anne moved her head to the side, her hair swinging to the side. - How is James? I saw him leave yesterday, am I wrong to assume you’ve spent the night with him?

   - It was Valentine’s Day, take of that what you will. 

   - Why is he not here then? - she took one of the red grapes from the stem and throwing it into the air and into her mouth. - Sounds like a hit and run to me. 

   - He’s busy. - Y/N let an exasperated breathe, her eyes settling on a piece of red fruit. A pomegranate. - Hey, you got a pomegranate, I love pomegranates. 

Y/N grabbed a knife from her knife stand, making a cut along the middle of the fruit before her hands went to grab the cut, opening it. Her fingers went to grab the little red seeds, popping one on her mouth. It always tasted like spring picnics and good memories with her parents. 

    - How did you get pomegranates? It’s not pomegranates season.

    - I’m so sorry, Y/N. I hope you can forgive me. 

    - What do you mean? - her eyes were stuck with hers before they lowered to her own hands. The redness of the pomegranate juice had started to stain her hands and what once looked like a ripe piece of fruit looked dirty and were suddenly filled with ants. She felt her head lolling to the side before she slid from her high chair, head hitting the ground with a small thud. As her head hit the ground she couldn’t hear anything anymore, everything sounded like a murmur but she was sure her door opened and closed. Her head was laying on its side, eyes staring at the chairs of the leg which turned blurrier and blurrier until the colour black enveloped her senses. 

tag list: @philogrobizedvee​​  @keithseabrook27​ @inlovewith3​19

[bluejaywriter]

Anyway, here’s my How To Fix WW84 in 42 scenes (or less) list:

BTW, this is a very long post. It is a whole movie :P

1. Delete the first scene with the Amazons and have the opening credits be over the 80s montage. I KNOW, but trust me.

2. Mall robbery scene goes normally, but like... less clunky. And there’s a bop playing in the background because it’s the 80s.

3. When Diana comes back, she’s wearing her armor underneath her jacket; have a shot of her hanging it up in her closet, and pieces of the Golden Armor are displayed nearby. She has dinner by herself, and looks lonely. 

4. Diana meets Barbara, and it’s the same, but if she needs something “human”, how about she walks with a cane instead of being clumsy in heels because it may be 1984, but it’s also 2020 :P (also Rucka’s Rebirth run literally has her walking with a cane??) And a girlfriend

5. They bond over the FBI artifacts from the mall robbery, Barbara’s studying something that will be important on an expedition later (a map?), but it’s not like. Placement. It’s just buried in the list of things they’re looking at. Also Barbara is smart and also knows Latin and Diana is impressed.

6. They go to dinner (and there’s a bop playing in the background) and Barbara asks what made her get into archeology, and Diana is vague, and Diana asks what made her get into archeology, and Barbara is also vague, but says she’s always loved ancient civilizations and things. No one asks about anyone’s love life. :P

7. Diana walks Barbara home. Diana asks if she’s in pain (the cane), and she says no, and then it’s never mentioned again because it’s 2020. Also there are no drunk creeps, and no amiable homeless black guys, because… euuuurgh.

8. There’s a scene with another version of the map (or not a map), and a faceless somebody having a vague, Villainy conversation about it (and not Dr. Poison faceless, just... we don’t see their face, lol).

9. Barbara gets to work early and finds out she has to give a tour to Maxwell “The Oil Guy” Lord. This scene goes as normal, and he insists they both come tonight to the gala he’s hosting for the museum at his house. Diana thinks galas are stupid, but she plays along because she wants to keep Barbara away from Max she can tell Barbara wants to go she wants to protect Barbara.

10. Insert artistic shots of Diana’s office here. Basically ancient artifact porn. Show us the cool stuff, God.

11. Diana looks irritated/confused about something and is flipping through books (although computers did exist in 1984, right? Right?). Barbara comes in asking if Diana wants to go shopping for the gala, and Diana asks if she still has the FBI artifacts, and Barbara says yeah, why. Diana says she just wants to check something later, then they go shoe shoppingggggg

12. Diana does all the things the store attendant does. Dialogue, facial expressions, everything. Harold they’re lesbi—

13. Barbara asks if she wants to share a cab to the party, but Diana has to put out a wildfire or something, and says she’ll meet her there.

14. Action scene fire-putting out that somehow relates to a moment later in the movie. Diana can’t save a cat stuck in a tree

15. There’s a shot of Diana stepping out of the burning forest and looking out over the sea, and there are burning embers falling around her, and the sun is setting, and it’s beautiful dammit. And then she remembers she has a date, and she smells like a wildfire, and the music comes in because this was the best scene in the real movie.

15. Gala scene. Entrances and music are perfect, change nothing except man creeps are like… more subtle? And more insidious/Mr. Nice Guy, sure. Diana finds Barbara Ann, and she mentions that she hasn’t drunk/partied like this since college, because she’s a confident woman who can drink, dammit.

16. Pedro Pascal invites Barbara up for a drink, and Diana is prepared to come along uninvited, but there’s an invite for her, too.

17. The three main actors from this movie actually get to hang out together and bond like atoms because they have serious chemistry. Max is a bit of a douche at first, but he relaxes after a bit of goofing off. Diana asks him about the pictures on the wall of his son, and he says he’s the smartest boy in his school, and his goal every day is to make his son proud of him. Barbara Ann (who is slightly drunk) mentions that her father didn’t want her to become a scientist, and they swap horrible Dad stories for 45 seconds. 

18. Diana’s Horrible Dad Story: “My mother never told me his name.”

19. Pedro Pascal mentions that he’s putting together a team for a dig (Apparently they dug up some stuff while he was looking for oil) and he wants Barbara Ann to lead the expedition. 

20. Barbara Ann wants Diana in her team don’t we all. Pedro Pascal pretends to be surprised and delighted by this idea. There’s a shot of his happy face disappearing once the girls leave.

21. Diana goes to find the FBI artifact she’d been wondering about (it’s after the gala, so it’s dark in the museum), and it’s gone.

22. They fly to the dig, and everyone has their passports, and Kristen Wiig does not reprise her Bridesmaids airplane scene, but she can mention that it was nice of Max Lord to put them in first class. It’s also the 80s, so flying looks like whatever flying looked like in the 80s (more leg room? :P) Also, there’s a bop playing in the flying montage. 

23. They get to the dig (in a helicopter), and a bunch of diverse people introduce themselves, because we have to have diversity somewhere in here, it’s 2020.

24. Barbara Ann gets to work, and Diana goes exploring because she’s the main character and doesn’t need to work. She sees a temple/palace further up the island, and it looks like there’s smoke coming out of the courtyard, but she’s called back for dinner before she can go see. The other people tell her the building is abandoned.

25. Diana goes later that night to see, and it is abandoned and there’s lots of animal bones lying around and weird symbols on the walls and it’s creepy AF. But there are other things (pottery?) that remind her of Themyscira, and there’s a flash of a memory from an Amazon feast, and she sees Antiope laughing with a group of Amazons because we need a Robin Wright cameo, and then a hard cut to—

26. Barbara Ann comes to find Diana sitting on the edge of the cliff looking over the ocean, and she asks if she’s jetlagged too, and she says no, just homesick. She tells Barbara Ann that she grew up on an island, and after she left, she spent years trying to move on and assimilate into the new world, but she kept finding things that reminded her of her homeland, and she finally accepted that she should be proud of who she is and where she’s from. Barbara Ann says she should never be ashamed of her true self and then they kiss

27. In the morning, there’s a dig montage, and a bop playing in the background. Diana pretends that heavy things are heavy. They find Diana’s golden helmet and other scraps of the golden armor and a bunch of other stuff so then it’s not conspicuous, and then there’s a tsunami/hurricane, and the rest of the crew dies or evacuates or something. It’s dramatic, and Diana and Barbara almost drown, except Diana is Wonder Woman. 

28. The two of them end up heading up to the abandoned building for shelter, and it looks sturdy, and the animal bones are gone, which is weird, but it’s dry, so Diana tells Barbara Ann to sleep while she takes the first watch. Barbara Ann says this isn’t the worst night she’s spent on the job.

29. Diana falls asleep and has a dream of this building in its heyday, and there’s an Amazon feast, and Diana wanders through the dream looking sad, and Hippolyta stands up to give a toast and is shouting about their guest of honor, the Princess from—

30. And then Diana wakes up, Barbara Ann is gone, and it’s full daylight, and there’s no sign of the storm or their camp. Diana hears a sound and goes to investigate likes she’s in a horror movie or something, and it takes her to stairs that lead underground, and she realizes that the tunnels match the map from the FBI (this is too convenient, but whatever, this is the first draft okay :P).

31. Maxwell Lord is sitting on a folding chair (or a couch!) in the cave at the end of the tunnel, and he’s surrounded by animals in cages. Diana recognizes some of the animals from the bones she saw earlier, because why not. He says that he brought Diana and Barbara Ann here to settle some old scores. Diana thinks for a minute that he’s Ares or something, and he says not MY old scores. 

32. And then Diana is attacked by a Cheetah (why not), and she’s not wearing her armor, but she can fight in her indiana jones outfit, and it’s kind of a lame fight (dark, realistic, no slow-mo), and she re-cages the animal pretty easily, and THEN she’s surrounded by the blurriness like she’s dreaming (bad, but it’s the first draft, okay), and Eva Green’s voice says some villainy things about is this how she treats her friends and she’s just like her mother—

33. And then Diana realizes that Barbara Ann is the Cheetah, and there’s a montage of her falling into Circe’s trap and being turned into a Cheetah, and then a scene of Pedro Pascal’s son being kidnapped while they’re on rich people vacation and being turned into a gerbil, and transformations of a bunch of explorers and warriors from over the years getting turned into animals (including Asteria), and then a scene of Circe being banished from the Amazons and not being allowed to return to (old) Themyscira.

34. Circe isn’t actually in the tunnel, but in the fog sequence, she talks to Diana through a mirror and occasionally morphs into Diana’s reflection, because she’s magic, and that’s creepy.

35. After the fog is over, and Diana’s wearing the Golden Armor because we need to sell toys, and then there’s ACTUAL fight with Cheetah, and a bop (Sebastian Böhm’s “Sweet Dreams are Made of This”) is playing in the background, and this time there are actual stakes because Diana doesn’t want to hurt her. And it’s like, the Cheetah and Wonder Woman fight from Rucka’s run, okay. Cheetah says this is her true self and to leave her alone, and Diana says no, this isn’t you.

36. Diana breaks Circe’s curse with true love’s kiss. Diana breaks Circe’s the curse with the lasso and a speech about love, and it turns out the Cheetah form is held back by the lasso, so Diana lets her keep it. 

37. Pedro Pascal gets his son back and it actually makes sense for him to run out from the bushes. He apparently doesn’t remember anything about Circe.

38. A helicopter comes to get them, and Diana is uneasy, because there’s a third movie, but she leaves and there’s a bop playing, because this is the end of the second movie.

39. Diana adds the helmet and the rest of the armor to her collection in her closet. 

40. Barbara Ann now has to tell the truth all the time because she’s wearing the lasso all the time. This is terrible, but the movie plays it off as amusing. 

41. Diana promises to find help for Barbara Ann, and they kiss

42. I guess the mid credits scene with Asteria can still happen. She could clean up after herself though, lol. A possible end credits scene is Diana finding the lasso on her work desk and Barbara Ann’s desk cleared out, but that’s kind of a bitter ending, and the lesbian ending is nicer.

In the third movie, Diana tries to find Themyscira and Circe is the main villain and maybe Cheetah comes back. Boom.

[hobisexually]

I 100% agree with your post about lm, especially now that leigh-anne is pregnant. Do you have any ideas/thoughts about what might happen down the future? Not like a reunion (was the demons taught us better lol) but of a solo career? I know jesys currently recording but do you think the other girls might do something?

Heads up, I have a lot of opinions that are coming out now. Disclaimer that I love them, naturally, and have been following them for the past eight years with a lot of joy, I just... have thoughts.

As for solo careers, I know Jade’s been trying to find television gigs (this probably stemmed from that whole SERVED show she had during quarantine, as well as LM The Search). Perrie is setting up a business but I’m not sure what it is yet, no one does, there’s just a link in her insta bio. I’m assuming it’ll be a clothing line or shoe line or something of the sorts, based on that collab she had with that shoe brand she had a while ago. Leigh Anne has the baby soon and the documentary about racism in the industry that’s coming up, and I also heard that both she and Perrie have been doing solo songs on the low.

Even if you take the dynamic lately, Jesy leaving and the weirdness about tour out of the equation (like, why the fuck did they announce a tour in the middle of covid while everyone was cancelling shit left and right? Why couldn’t that wait? Why did they continue with The Search and didn’t acknowledge once that Since September definitely wasn’t gonna be their support act in April 2021 because there was no way tour was gonna be happening then?) I think LM has kind of run its course. They already said the new Confetti version was the real closure of that era, and that they had some new music planned and big things coming to celebrate. It’s the ten year anniversary this year so they have some big plans for this year apparently, there’s some OT3 songs coming and I think that’ll be the intro to the end, with tour (if it’s possible within that time frame pandemic wise) being the finale.

Because when they started, they were fresh. Had great songs. DNA was a good start with Wings and How You Doin’, Salute was an amazing album and fit entirely with the early 2010 vibes and was everything fandom wanted, Get Weird was... something, but it worked at the time, and then Glory Days really became their breakout moment with Shoutout To My Ex that became massive, and Touch was everywhere.

But they’ve had so many weird mishaps in their career and to be honest, they marketed LM5 as a feminist statement and it just... wasn’t. That’s partly credited to their label and Simon at the time because they weren’t even behind Woman Like Me, it wasn’t what they wanted (and you could tell), but then... Joan of Arc? Jade introduced it at the Apple event as the feminist anthem they’ve always wanted to write, but it just wasn’t the big feminist song they made it out to be, in fact I found the entire thing very cringeworthy. Actual Joan of Arc was an inspiration, and that song was just about being hot and independent? It was very tone deaf to me, Woman’s World would have been much better suited for that purpose. Although I’m still mad we didn’t see Malfoy!Perrie on film, but that’s my gay lizard brain taking over. Then Strip wasn’t the big body image statement they had in mind, it didn’t land well (and also, if you’re gonna yell about how you’re beautiful with no makeup, wearing a very obvious “no makeup” makeup look with falsies — Jesy even had a smokey eye in the video — kind of kills your message lmao). They mean well but it’s never quite it, they always JUST miss the mark? Same with the Confetti video now, it’s supposed to be a very queer friendly video with the Ru Paul drag queens and the girls crossdressing, but it was still mostly done from a straight lens, with the girls commenting how they’d do the boys and vice versa. They TRY, and they’re allies, and I know they mean well, but just running around yelling about how hot you are and you’re a queen, look I will stomp on your heart, isn’t feminism. And I don’t look to LM for my feminism, LM just makes me happy (and gay) and makes me feel sexy. And that’s FINE. It’s when they try to make it more than it is that it comes across a little... off, and it’s a shame, because their voices are INCREDIBLE. That performance of Secret Love Song pt II on The Search makes me cry every time I watch it, I think it’s their best moment, and that performance of Shout-out on TXF was iconic.

LM works best when they’re honest and fun and let the emotion out, I feel like. Shout-out and Touch were FUN. Little Me was a very honest song and it worked. When Leigh Anne earnestly talks about racism, that was amazing. Same when Perrie opened up about her anxiety, or when Jesy was finally able to make her documentary about her struggle, or when Jade talks about her ethnicity and past eating disorder. But it’s when they forcibly try to make it into something it doesn’t work, and that just kept happening. Confetti the album was just more of the same, nothing about it was new or fresh, even though they seemed to think it was. Their fandom is excited about everything they do, but outside of that... it’s been kind of simmering out, you know? All signs point to it coming to an end.

I’m curious to see what the three of them will come up with music wise before it all finishes. I’m hoping for something fresh, something new, now that they have a new dynamic to work with. It can bring a new perspective: MITAM was one of 1D’s best albums imo, and I’m very curious to see what the girls will make of this.

Reunion wise (and I think this will happen with 1D too, for the record, I never believed it’d be “soon”, not when they ended the way they did with History and that performance of Torn) I think it’ll be a Spice Girls kind of thing. Where once they’ve done everything they wanted in their individual lives, they’ll do a reunion tour in like, ten years. With Jesy, if she’s comfortable (and her contractual exit terms allow it), or without her if she’s not. In the mean time I’m assuming Perrie will make some hippie vibed album while building her business, maybe a musical here or there, Jade will become more of a media personality (with Served and the Bake-Off, it seems like she’s comfortable that way) while still making music, I see her do a Jessie Ware type of podcast, maybe? and I can’t really get a grip on Leigh Anne, maybe she’ll build upon the documentary, her own music (not a clue what that would be, could go either way), and then maybe her own clothing line? The woman looks iconic in everything she wears and she knows it. Either way they’ll want to do things more sustainable than just being a girlband? Things that make money in the long run and aren’t as fickle.

Of course I’m entirely willing to be proven wrong though, if they’re gonna keep doing this for decades because they can’t get enough of it, whomst knows. I don’t personally know them or their team. But that’s my view on it for the time being.

[her-story6]

Recently, I've been having a really bad case of writer's block, but @asocial-nebula 's Demons & Angels AU gave me sufficient motivation, so I wrote a little drabble based on it.

The italicized part is from one of their headcanon things. Most of the ideas are theirs too.

This is purely unedited, written in one sitting, and just for fun- please give me some slack

“Cathy, we talked about this.”

The demon looked up from the floor to see Kitty standing over her, arms crossed and expression stern. A pang of guilt registered in the pit of her stomach before she could stop it.

“About what?”

“Don’t play games with me. You know the rules. Burning Aragon’s books? Really? I thought you were done with that silly feud” Kitty gestured aimlessly at the piles of ashes strewn around the demon. Cathy had to admit, the evidence did seem very damning. Still, it wasn’t her fault.

“No, you don’t understand. Just let me expla-”

“No, Catherine.” The witch shook her head sadly. “You know the rules. I really don’t want to hear your excuses.”

Cathy’s breath hitched at her words. A distant memory, tucked away after thousands of years, began to resurface, bits at a time, and suddenly she was no longer in the living room-

“I’m not going to tolerate your excuses”

That was the last thing she heard before the world exploded into golden, burning light. She can’t see, can’t hear, can’t feel. All she knows in the moment is pain, and the horrible sensation that she’s falling… falling… falling…

And then, all of the sudden, she was back.

Except, she wasn't in the living room. Some cold, hard surface pressed up against her back, but she couldn't quite tell where she was. Her vision was cloudy, black dots standing out against the ruthlessly blinding light. She tried to cover her eyes, but it made her head spin, so instead she turned her attention to the pain in her chest.

Her heart felt tight, as if the pressure had built up and it was full, like a water balloon, and someone was squeezing at it, squeezing so hard that an explosion was inevitable. This thought caused her to panic even more.

Desperately, Cathy clawed at her chest, trying with all her might to force her lungs to inhale once more. She needed to breathe, this much was obvious, but she couldn’t figure out how.

One thought stood out against her panicky state. There was only one explanation for this feeling, only one thing that had ever felt like this before-

She was going back to Hell.

The humans must have gotten tired of her. Perhaps the books were the last straw, perhaps Anna reached the end of her patience. Maybe Aragon had convinced Kitty that she was a danger to them all. Not that she knew exactly how this could have happened, because wouldn’t they have sent her back earlier if they could have?

Still, that must have been it.

She thought they had cared about her. She thought that she had finally found people who would stand by her through thick and thin.

She had been wrong.

---

Meanwhile...

“Kitty, where’s Cath?”

Jane poked her head out of the kitchen, looking toward the witch in the living room.

“I just put her in the jar for a while. She set a bunch of Catalina’s books on fire again.”

Kitty looked up from where she was still scraping ashes from the floor, shaking her head in exasperation.

“Ah. I thought they had finally stopped doing that.” The demon opened the door the rest of the way, leaning against the frame and chuckling softly.

“Yeah, me too.”

The two fell into a comfortable silence for a while, Jane eventually fetching a dustpan to put the burnt remains into. The living room was almost clean when the tell-tale signs of the front door opening could be heard from the foyer.

“That must be Aragon and Anne.”

“Ooh.” Jane inhaled sharply through her teeth. “Who’s going to tell her about her books?”

“Not it!” Kitty touched a finger to her nose playfully, rushing off with the dustpan towards the trash can. The demon watched her go, smiling a little at her antics, before turning to see the two angels enter the room, laughing at something unknown.

“Hey Jane!”

“Hello, how was your walk?” Jane smiled, a little too politely.

“Alright. What’s going on around here?” Aragon eyed the demon suspiciously, looking around the room, as if to spot some hidden trap.

“Cathy got in trouble again.” Jane felt it was best to get right to the point. “She may or may not have set some of your books on fire”

“Oh”

“Oh?!” Jane raised her eyebrows in shock. “Just ‘oh’? You’re not, like, mad?”

“Nope.”

And with that, Catalina was gone, disappearing up the stairs, presumably to her room. Jane looked at Anne questioningly, but the angel seemed just as confused as she was.

“That was weird.”

“Yeah...” Anne continued to stare at where the older woman had just been, eyebrows creasing in worry. “That was really weird.”

---

Sometime, amidst her panic, though she wasn’t sure when, her glamour must have faded, and she could feel her wings pressed against her back. The pressure made her itch, but nothing she did made it stop. In fact, it made it worse. Cathy still hadn’t worked up the courage to open her eyes, but she had tried to extend her legs fully, only to find she was confined to a small space, something she was none too pleased about.

Over all, it was torture. The light, the texture, the pounding in her head. All of it.

Plus, somewhere off in the distance, an irregular tapping had begun a few minutes ago, and it felt like nails jabbing into her skull. Or maybe that was her horns. Either way, it was terrible.

It went on forever. Eventually, the demon realized that if she pulled her knees up as close to her as possible, stuck her head between her legs, and rocked lightly on her heels, it ALMOST made the pain dissipate. Almost.

She stayed that way for what felt like an hour, but for all she knew, it could have been just a few minutes. The only rational thought that broke through the pain was how badly she must have failed, how disgraceful it was to be sent back to Hell again.

And, the most agonizing thought:

How much Kitty, how much all of them, must hate her now.

---

Anna slipped through the side door, peeling off her tennis shoes, soaked with rain water after being caught off guard on her run, over a mile from the house. After changing out of her workout wear, she made her way downstairs, peeking into each room as she searched for the other occupants of the house.

The sight that greeted her in the dining room, though, was not what she was looking for.

In one of the many, usual empty, jars on the fireplace mantle, was Cathy- scratching violently at her chest and rocking desperately back and forth.

In a moment of panic, Anna rushed across the room and made to grab the jar, but soon realized that she had no way to get the demon out, let alone to her normal size. Plus, the sudden movement might startle her.

After a few seconds of staring at the girl helplessly, watching as her breathing became more and more shallow, she turned on her heels and rushed from the room, resuming her search for Kitty, but now for different reasons.

---

“Cathy, are you alright?”

Kitty had immediately released the girl from her makeshift prison the moment she entered the room, but instead of calming down, the demon just sat in the corner, continuing her previous movements, except this time, her wings could open completely, and were blocking their path to her.

“Catherine, love, you need to breathe.” Anna tried to reason, moving so she was in the girl’s eyeline. Unfortunately, Cathy had yet to move her palms from over her eyes.

“What the hell happened?” Kitty questioned, turning to her friend.

“I don't know, I just walked in here and she was like this.” Anna shrugged, still watching Cathy, relieved to see that her rocking was slowing steadily.

“Well, what are we supposed to do?”

“Just wait, I suppose.”

And wait they did, for several minutes as Cathy’s breathing evened out, and her movements calmed. The two humans watched carefully, trying their best not to startle or scare the panicking demon.

Slowly, slowly, Cathy retracted her wings, pulling them in closer to herself, obviously relieved to find that nothing was restricting her actions. And even slower, she began to pull her hands away from her eyes, squinting at the harsh light.

She blinked rapidly for a moment, taking in her new surroundings, before her vision landed on Anna and Kitty, who were both still staring at her in concern.

“Hey, Cath. You alright?” Kitty cooed, taking a small step towards the girl, who was still curled up against the wall.

“You really had us worried there, kid.”

Cathy blinked up at them slowly, looking from one to the other, before promptly bursting into tears.

“O-kay. You're okay, Cath.” Kitty muttered, crouching down and shuffling closer to the girl.

“It hurts,” the demon whimpered, curling back in on herself and scooting back farther so she was all the way into the corner.

“Catherine, what’s wrong, hon? What hurts?” Anna reached to strike the girl’s hair, but she flinched back violently, hitting her head on the wall.

“What on earth is going on?” Anne burst into the room, looking at Cathy on the floor as she cowered away from the two humans. Jane followed close behind, peeking over her shoulder warily.

Behind them, barely visible in the doorway, stood Catalina, anxiety lining her features.

“We’re not sure.”

“Make it stop, it hurts, please!” Cathy mumbled through her sobs, fists clenching at her sides.

“What is she talking about?” Anne walked up to the witch, bending down so she was level with them.

“I have no idea. And she won't let us touch her.”

“Here, let me try.”

Jane crossed the room in a few short strides, kneeling down next to her fellow demon. She reached a gentle hand out, setting it carefully on the girl's shoulder, feeling quite relieved when she didn't jerk away.

“Hey, Cath, come here love.” Jane brought the smaller woman into her arms, slowly, slowly, as to not startle her further.

The demon tensed at first at the contact, but leaned into it once she realized who was holding her.

“Please don't make me go back”

“Go back where, Cath?” Jane asked, running her hands through the girl’s tight curls. Cathy only mumbled in reply.

“What was that, love?”

“Hell,” she whispered “It hurts.”

“Of course not, Cathy,” Jane murmured, but she glanced back at the rest of the group in concern, only to see them mirroring her expression.

“Does it hurt to go to Hell?” Kitty questioned, furrowing her eyebrows. Jane shook her head in confusion.

“No, not at all.” A pause. “Unless, of course...” she trailed off, looking back at the demon in her arms as she came to a sudden realization.

“ ‘Unless, of course-’ what?” Anne all but snapped, looking from Jane to Cathy frantically.

“Unless you fall from Heaven,” Anna said knowingly. “Right, Jane?”

“Yeah” The demon sighed. “Unless that.”

“How did you know?” Kitty glances at Anna in bewilderment.

“I assumed. She's covered in scars, and she mentioned once that some of them were from her fall.”

“She told you all that? She never tells me anything?” Jane raised her eyebrows in surprise, but before Anna could reply, her attention was brought back to Cathy as she whimpered, trying to lean away from the harsh tone.

“Sorry, Cath. You're alright, love. We’re not sending you anywhere.”

The group stayed like that for a while as Cathy’s cries calmed. After a few minutes of silence, she uncurled slightly, taking a chance to glance around the room once more.

First, up at Jane, who was smiling comfortingly down at her. Then at Anne and Kitty, who were sitting across from them, leaning against the table. Up at Anna, standing over them protectively.

The demon released a breath she has been holding, relieved to find that she was still at home, still with people who cared.

But then she looked past Anna, towards the door, and saw the last person she wanted to see right now standing there, watching the scene carefully: Catalina.

In a flash, Cathy was out of Jane’s arms and across the room, having pushed passed the two humans and the angel who had just happened to be in her way. She hesitated for a moment in the doorway, tears once again streaming silently down her face. After a tense few seconds, though, Aragon stepped aside in shock, and the demon rushed past her and up the stairs, disappearing from sight.

---

“Did you try to get in?”

“Yeah, she must have locked the door magically again. And I really don't want to startle her any more than she already is.” Kitty ran a hand through her hair as she sighed.

“And Aragon?” Anna questioned from the armchair.

“She told me she was fine, but she won't come out of her room either.”

“Is Cathy going to be alright? We really shouldn't leave her alone too long, right?” Anne looked from Jane to Anna, but they both simply shrugged.

“I'm not even sure what we would say. We don't know why she was upset in the first place.” Jane pointed out.

“I have my suspicions” Anna sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Really?”

“Yeah, but first I have to talk to Aragon.”

---

“Catalina? Can I come in?”

A moment of silence, just long enough that Anna considered giving up, before the door swung open, revealing the angel.

“I'm sorry, Anna” Aragon’s gaze was trained on the floor, foot scuffing back and forth. Anna watched her curiously.

“What for?”

“I wasn't very helpful back there, with Cathy.”

“Ah.” A pause. “Well, can I come in?”

Aragon simply nodded, stepping aside and shutting the door quickly behind her.

“So, what's going on with you?

“I don't know what you mean.” Aragon sat down on the edge of her bed, still avoiding Anna’s gaze.

“When you left earlier after you found out about your books. When you hid after the Cathy thing. Do I need to clarify more?” Anna rolled her eyes goodnaturedly.

“No,” the angel admitted reluctantly. “I don't know, Anna, I just...” she trailed off, and Anna waited patiently.

“I was the one who set the books on fire.”

“Ah” Anna raised her eyebrows in shock.

“Yeah. So it was my fault Catherine got in trouble. And if she was upset about her fall from Heaven, well...”

“I see.”

“She was my friend, Anna.” Aragon’s voice suddenly broke as she looked at the human desperately. “She was my friend and I hurt her so much. For what? Nothing. That's what.”

“So... you're guilty.”

“Well, duh.” Catalina’s tone grew cold.

“Then it's simple.” Anna shrugged.

“What?”

“It's simple.”

“Anna,” Catalina warned.

“Just talk to her. Easiest cure for guilt. Ask for forgiveness.”

Aragon scoffed.

“Yeah, like she’d listen to me right now.”

“It can't hurt to try.”

---

A few minutes later, Anna and Catalina stood outside the youngest demon’s door.

“You ready?” Anna questioned, turning to her friend. Catalina sighed, but nodded, if not a bit reluctantly.

“As I'll ever be.”