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araviera · 3 years

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Mermaid AU

"My parents are coming tomorrow and how am I going to explain to my mom that there's a merman in my bathroom?"

"You can hadle it. I know this, Wisegirl."

Annabeth helped Percy get to the bottom of the beach to free him. After he managed to fend for himself, the merman looked at her and said something that Annabeth could not hear thanks to the earplugs she wore. Considering the time they spent together in the bathroom and the endless conversations, she took off the earplugs, trusting him, and smiled.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty," she joked.

Percy smiled back, and Annabeth soon regretted taking off the protector. She saw, through his eyes, lines of evil that told mermaids stories. He started to sing.

Annabeth struggled, fought, but failed to overcome the spell. Percy sang and called her deeper, further out to sea. He said that everything would be fine, that it wouldn't hurt, and she knew it was a lie. Annabeth's body obeyed without reluctance. Her mind watched everything without doing anything. Annabeth, the real one, panicked. It was sinking deeper and deeper. She felt algae and corals at her feet. The rising tide was pulling it harder and harder. She was no longer able to touch the floor when she took Percy's hand.

Annabeth cursed him with every possible name in her mind. She had been careful at all times, she hadn't trusted him right away, and yet she had failed. She had been foolish to think that even though she knew a little about him, he would not betray her.

Soon, the ground disappeared. Her body was no longer able to stay above water. Percy pulled her down from time to time.

Annabeth submerged.

The pressure and suffocation of the water brought her down. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to avoid the salt water. Automatically, she held her breath, before the merman speak with her.

"Open your eyes, Chase. Look at me."

His melodious, sweet voice made her obey him. Annabeth exhaled and looked at him. Percy was beautiful, there was no way to disagree. His skin shone under the moonlight under the water. Her hair floated like black algae. The blue interior of his eyes, which in humans are red, shone brightly.

Annabeth was beginning to despair. "He's going to kill me. I'm going to die. I'm sorry, mom. I'm sorry, dad. Forgive me. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

Percy came over, ready to bite her, but she saw him hesitate. He looked at her, and before she lost consciousness, he looked away.

He would never be able to say what exactly went through his head to give up the idea of killing her. Of course, in addition to liking her, since they had spent a few days together and she had been a true friend (something he never had), Percy had the impression that there was something wrong.

But it was already too late.

Annabeth was dying, he knew. He had done this many times before. Her face was losing color, water was entering her lungs freely. There was not much to do for her. For a human.

Percy couldn't kill her, couldn't let her die after the last few days - he decided. He leaned over and pulled the blonde's head hard towards him and kissed her.

He had never done that before, but his studies at the Palace provided knowledge like that - which, honestly, Percy thought that all hybrids should know.

The girl's limp body shone brightly and stretched. Percy felt her skin turn into scales, sprout fins and thin her waist. He felt the girl's clothes disappear in his embrace, with nothing he could do.

When the metamorphosis passed, Annabeth was breathing weakly.

Percy lost his breath when he saw her.

"Gray?" He thought aloud.

Lines of magic, created by the brightness of the moon, descend from the eyes to the body. Her tail was encrusted with shiny stones.

Percy hoped she would turn into a random mermaid, but gray... Gray was an extremely rare color, and that was worrisome.

Annabeth could sum up that week as a nightmare. The last thing she remembered was being under the spell of Percy's Singing. She was drowning and, then, darkness. Only darkness. Annabeth woke up with a tingle throughout her body. She looked everywhere, but didn't recognize where she was.

Then, she saw Percy.

Percy was standing on the end of the bed, watching her. He wore a robe that covered part of his body, as well as an alternative crown on his head.

At first she thought she was dreaming. Then, started to scream.

"Annabeth! Annabeth! Calm down!" he tried.

"Calm me down?! Get away from me! Monster! Treacherous! Traitor! I trusted you!" she screamed, but her voice was affected, and only then she realized that she was under water, that she was breathing, and that she was undressed.

She screamed even more.

"What did you do ?! Percy! What did you do?" Annabeth felt her throat tighten when she looked down.

Her legs weren't there. A tail stirred back and forth unconsciously.

"Annabeth, listen" he tried again. "I'm sorry-"

"NO, DON'T FEEL" she fumbled for the nightstand looking for something she could use for defense.

"-but I needed to do this. You were going to die" Percy approached.

"No!" she hid her fork behind her and asked for distance between them. "Don't talk to me! If you hadn't betrayed me, I wouldn't nearly have died!"

His shoulders withered.

"Wisegirl, I ..."

Then Annabeth decided that hitting the prince of the kingdom would be a good deal.

After that - Percy almost dying with a hit in his heart, the royal family locking her in her room, discovering she would never see her family again, crying, breaking furniture and other tantrums - Annabeth felt more alone than before. Percy, whenever he could, went to visit her, but she never let him in or talked about it. She was devastated.

Her mother must have been in tears thinking that her daughter had died.

She would never be able to see her family again...

Later, Percy appeared at her door and threatened her.

"Annabeth, I don't want to have to do this, but today there is dinner at the Herbal Garden and you will be my mate," he said. "A maid will leave your clothes here, and I will come and get you. If you aren't, you will be thrown to the sharks."

And left her alone, terrified at the thought of being killed.

Annabeth didn't trust him or his family, but she had to trust her enough not to fall.

And that was what she was doing at that party.

"You see? I can swim on my back"

"Pff, look behind you, Percy"

And, thats it. Mermay finally ends :"(. It was so cool do a Percabeth au underwater. But maybe i should explain some points:

1- Percy is immortal bc he is Poseidon' son (duh) and he is the prince and heir of Throne (Sally is a mermaid too).

2- Percy has few friends, and, usually, Poseidon doesnt give him permission to hang out with them. There is all the pression at him, so Percy never can be himself.

3- Zeus was a merman from an important royal family, and Athena too (cause she is his daughter, duh/2), but they decided living on mortal realm and left all behind. Athena never told this to Annabeth, but she alwals said to her to stay away from sea.

4- Poseidon, Sally and Percy, first, didnt know who was she, but they "addopted" her because she was from an important family.

5- Annabeth finally talked with her mother. Athena said how worried she was, how happy she was to Ann was alive and how sad she was about Annabeth transfomation.

6- After this, Annabeth and Percy became friends. They hang out together and Poseidon let them hang out with Percy's friends.

7- Annabeth met Rachel and Grover, and she loved them.

8- Annabeth became known as Prince's Wife and as Princess before they know they like each other. The gray tail became famous in the "City that never sleeps"

#percabeth #annabeth fanart #annabeth chase #percy fanart #percy jackson #percy and annabeth #mermay 2021 #mermay #mermaid #pjo headcanon

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axwalker · 3 years

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Happy Birthday, Maskaneko! A Tears in Heaven one-shot.

The beautiful edit in the moodboard was made by the talented, creative birthday girl @mskaneko 💕💕💕

Happy birthday again!!! As I said earlier, I’m so grateful to have you in my life. I hope you’ll spend an amazing day.

I love youuu ❤️❤️❤️ @mskaneko

You said you’d be happy with a peek into Drake and Lexie’s life in Tears in Heaven. So here it is. I hope you’ll enjoy it. 🎉🎉🎉

Warnings: Mention of the death of a child, grief. Language and smut.

It’s been a tough year. Lexie and I have been working hard, and between our demanding jobs and Lennie, we’re exhausted. It’s a miracle we were both able to clear our schedules for a few days to come to Corsica to Max’s and Rashad’s house for a short vacation. We need this much more than we’re able to admit. I miss my time with Lexie. I need more of her. If there is one thing I can admit to myself, it’s that. That there is nothing more fundamental, more important to my happiness, than my wife and my little girl.

A roar of laughter interrupts my thoughts. I look through the window, and I can’t help but smile at the sight down by the shore. Jaiden is chasing Lena to the edge of the ocean, and every time the water splashes up on her little legs, she squeals and runs back, her face animated with some mix of terror and delight.

A throaty laugh harmonizes with my squirt’s high-pitched giggles, and Lexie walks into view. Her dark hair is scooped up into a messy bun, and she’s all long, sun-kissed legs and rounded baby-belly in her orange bikini. It will never get old, how my heart thumps a little harder when I see her. Desperate to get to her. I leave the home office and walk barefoot and bare-chested over to the windows and sliding door. Lexie and I wasted too many years and made too many mistakes before we came together again. We both had a lot of growing up to do, a lot of pain to overcome but seeing her with our little girl and Maxwell’s boy chasing the waves, seeing her pregnant again, this good life was worth all the patience in the world. She is worth the wait. I press my palm to the cool glass and let years of memories wash over me, all the painful years spent apart. Being with my family always provides perspective. I might feel exhausted sometimes, but my heart, my life is whole. The axis of my existence it’s those two people down there playing in the ocean like they don’t have a care in the world. Seeing that lifts my burdens, too. And it reminds me that we can’t let life interfere with our lives as a family. Work can’t take so much room in our lives, is not who we are.

After turning my laptop off, I cross over to the sliding door, slipping out and not bothering with anything other than the blue shorts I’m already wearing. Lexie is laughing as Lena tries to lift Jaiden and they both collapse into the water. I walk toward them, silent until I’m close, and then run past Lexie, playfully slapping her ass. She squeaks, jumping a little, her face lighting up when she sees me.

“Where’d you come from?” She laughs. I back my way into the cool waves and wink at her as an answer before turning to scoop up both Lena and Jai, one under each arm. “Daddy!” my girl screams in her sweet voice. I keep running until the ocean stirs around my waist and dunk them both to the neck, making sure to keep their heads out of the water. Their giggles and squeaks occupy the next five minutes of what suddenly feels like a perfect day.

“Uncle Dake,” Jai says. “Put me up on your shoulders.” Lexie takes Helena so I can lift Jaiden. The heels of his little feet kick against my chest, and he squeezes my neck as we go deeper into the water.

“I can swim, Mom,” Lena says from behind us. “Put me down.”

Lena’s five, and while she still likes me to toss her around, she doesn’t tolerate it from her smaller mother all that much. I’m not crazy about it either, considering Lexie’s six months pregnant.

“It’s deeper than you think, Lennie,” Lexie says. “I don’t think it is a good idea.”

Alexis and I went back to therapy when Helena turned three. Slowly, almost without noticing it, we were turning into overprotective, smothering parents. Lexie refused to go anywhere without her, and she’d have horrible panic attacks when her work forced her to travel. Therapy certainly helped a lot, but as much as I would love to say that it was like turning on a switch, that we don’t suffocate Lena anymore, it would be a lie. We would never be those two carefree parents we were ten years ago. But we’re trying; we both want our kids to have the best possible life.

After begging a little more, Lexie gives in, and sure enough, in seconds, Lennie is swimming past me, her skinny arms and legs slicing through the waves, her hair in two small braids.

“Baby, that’s fair enough,” I call out. The ocean isn’t turbulent today, but I don’t want to take any chances. It can change fast. Calm one second and treacherous the next. Lena turns, doggy paddling to stay afloat, her cute face wet and frowning.

“But, Daddy—”

“Do I repeat myself, Lena?” She frowns the brown eyes so like Lexie’s widening. She shakes her head.

“No, sir.”

“Then that’s far enough.” I gentle my words with a smile, take the few steps separating us and tap her head with Jaiden’s foot. She giggles and swims a circle around me, disappearing for a second underwater and then popping back up, laughing again.

“I need to learn that trick,” Lexie says wryly. “I tried last week, asked her if I repeat myself, and she just stared at me and said, ‘What’d you say, Mommy?’”

I can’t help it, I laugh, and Lexie glares at me.

“You know she loves pressing your buttons. Every time she finds a new one, she just has to push.”

“Looking forward to her teenage years.” I pull her close, anchoring Jaiden by one leg and looping an arm around her, cupping her stomach.

“If she’s as sassy as you, baby. I’m not looking forward to them either.” Lexie leans her head on my shoulder, covering my hand with hers on her stomach. There’s a subtle movement beneath my fingers.

“Lexie,” I breathe. “Did you feel that? They’re moving.” Of course, she felt it. It’s her body, but she just laughs. It’s not the first time the twins have moved, but I always seem to miss it, so it’s the first time I’ve felt the life growing inside Lexie for myself.

“One of them is moving.” She guides my hand to the other side of her stomach. “This guy has been quiet all day.”

“Guy?” I raise one questioning brow. “I thought we agreed we wouldn’t find out. You got some divination powers I know nothing about?”

She shrugs. “I just have a feeling they’re both guys. God save me. Lennie and I will be outnumbered.”

I chuckle “You hear that, Lennie? Your mom says we’re getting two boys. What do you think?”

“I want sisters! Boys are yucky.” Jaiden jumps to the water, and they start a water war.

“You heard the girl,” I tell Lexie. “Boys are yucky. I sure hope she’ll think like that for a long time.”

Lexie laughs. “I honestly don’t care.” She grimaces and rubs the small of her back. “I’m so big this time, I just want them out . I’ve already gained as much weight as I had by the end with Lena. I’m huge.”

I lean over to whisper in her ear. “You’re sexy as hell, Lexie. Always.”

She turns her head so our mouths are mere inches apart, our lips separated by a single breath. “You think so, huh?”

“I’ll show you tonight,” I whisper over her mouth.

“Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” Jaiden chants. We glance down at our godson, and both laugh.

“You kiss all the time,” Lena mutters from a few feet away. She’s not wrong, but in my defense, her mother is irresistible.

“Lena, we need to get back inside,” Lexie says. “We’ve been in the water all day, and you need your lunch. I bet Max made the grill sandwiches you love so much. After lunch, we can get ice cream from Amorino.”

“A few more minutes, Mommy, please? So, Daddy can swim with me?” Lena asks, lips pouty and huge eyes pleading. If she figures out, she has me wrapped around her little finger, we’re doomed. Who am I kidding? The girl was born knowing. “You think you can keep up with me? Okay squirt. Let’s go.”

After a while, we get out of the water and join the others for lunch in the terrace. Lena claps and rocks her shoulders, some little move she and Jaiden made up. The two are thick as thieves. Jaiden’s at our house as much as Lena is at Rash and Maxwell’s.

“What’s that you’re drawing, Lennie?” Liv asks. She might not like kids, but she sure is crazy about her goddaughter.

“It’s us!” Lena grins.

“Let me see.” I reach for the paper. Lexie walks up beside me and looks down at the drawing in my hand. It’s a man-stick figure with which I assume is a stethoscope around his neck, obviously me. A shorter woman-stick she’s colored caramel and who has brown lines drawn around her shoulders for hair. Jaiden made Lexie’s stomach a circle and there’s two orange round things inside.

“Grapefruit,” Lennie says. “Mommy said the babies are like grapefruits now.”

“Ahhhh.” Lexie purses her lips against a smile. “You got them perfectly, baby.”

In her drawing, she is standing between Lexie and me, holding our hands. I tilt my head, staring at what Lena’s holding in the drawing. A white bird?

“What’s that white thing your holding, squirt?”

“It’s Tom!” She says, her smile wide and proud. “He’s an angel, like mommy said.” Tom’s name, said so unexpectedly, causes the adults on the terrace to hold their breaths collectively. Lexie goes perfectly still beside me, and her hand goes instinctively to her stomach. That old fear lives in the back of both our minds. As much as losing Tom still hurts, we talk openly about him to our daughter, making sure she knows she has a big brother looking out for her all the time, even though she never met him.

“You can have it, Mommy,” Lena offers, her beautiful smile slipping, his childish intuition sharp enough to pick up on the shift of mood in the terrace. “I-I drew it for you, so we can put it in the twins’ nursery.”

“It’s so good, Lennie. That’s a great idea,” I say, glancing at Lexie, who stares down at the paper. Even though she isn’t crying, her eyes have that look of shattered glass she sometimes gets when she thinks of Tom. Unfortunately, therapy doesn’t eradicate pain. Not for the first time, I wish I could carry it for her, but I can’t.

“This is your most beautiful drawing yet, Lennie,” Lexie says after clearing her voice, reaching down to caress the angel on it. “I love it very, very much. It will look perfect in their room.” She bends to kiss her hair, closes her eyes tightly and then cups Helena’s little head and kisses her forehead, too. She clears her throat and pulls back to spread an overbright smile and says, “Who’s ready for ice cream?”

ALEXIS

Accident. That’s how everybody described what happened to my baby boy. An accident. It does hurt less than it used to. At first, I couldn’t think about Tom without aching and falling into a black hole. Five horrible years, where I needed to numb myself or ignore my pain to keep breathing. An empty shell that had trouble breathing. I would cringe at the sound of Tom’s name, incapable of pronouncing it myself. Not because I didn’t want to hear it, but because I wanted to hold him so badly. It’s been years, but my body perfectly recalls the sweet little weight of him in my arms. His scent still fills my nostrils if I draw a deep enough breath. I remember the dark tangle of curls brushing against my cheek. His little voice calling me mommy. Some days my head and thoughts are locked in a room with those last memories, and I don’t want to leave because he’s still there. As difficult as that day was, in that memory, he’s still there. But life goes on. It has moved on, and I’m a baby two and three. I’m years into a marriage full of love I spent five years thinking wasn’t even possible.

“You okay?” I glance up from the table, from Lenna’s drawing, which I’ve found myself thinking about all day, to see Liv, wearing concern on her intense green eyes. The terrace is clear of dishes from tonight’s meal, and everyone’s gone to their respective corners. It’s just Livvie and me.

“I’m fine.” The concern on her face stays. “I swear; I’m fine,” I say. “Just thinking. Remembering.”

“Anything you want to talk about?” Her voice is unusually soft. Her gaze, as usual, is knowing.

“I’m all talked out. A lifetime of expensive therapy will do that to a girl. I guess I’m feeling more than thinking, but I’m good.”

“Okay. I’m here if you need me.”

“I know Liv. I don’t know how I would have done otherwise.”

“I think I will go join Maxwell for a nightcap”

“Now you’re talking.” I sigh and stand from the table, squeeze her hand. “I’m going to turn in. Take a quick bath since Drake is putting Lena to bed.”

“Alright. I’ll see you in the morning.” She gives me a wry grin. “I may even cook breakfast.”

I deadpan, and Liv chuckles. “Did I say cook? I meant order.”

I laugh. “That’s more like it. Good night, Liv,” I say, grabbing Lena’s drawing.

After just a few minutes in the bathtub, I dry off and belt a terry cloth robe over my nakedness, smiling when both babies move. “Hello, boys.” I don’t care what Drake says, I know what I feel. “I’d love for Daddy to feel both of you move. Can we make a deal that you’ll let him feel you both at some point?”

“Daddy would love that, too,” Drake says from the doorway. Leaning one shoulder into the door and wearing a white shirt, sleeves-rolled-up, he looks so attractive, my husband. His face grows more handsome the older he gets. He has that strong virility that somehow converts years into sexual magnetism. I walk over and reach up to caress his jaw, shadowed with stubble.

“You have a little gray in your beard, Mr. Walker.” I close the space between us and tip my toes to kiss him.

He grunts, closing his eyes and leaning into me, his hardness pressing into my belly. I want him so badly. The restlessness I’ve felt most of the day needs an outlet, and I know the best, most pleasurable way to get it.

“Lie down,” he says, leading me to the bed. My hand goes to the belt of my robe, but he stops me. “I want to unwrap you myself,” he says.

I lie on my back, and he hovers over me, connecting our eyes. I see desire there, yes, but concern, too.

“Drake, I’m okay,” I tell him, grabbing his hand and kissing it.

“You sure?” His dark brows form a frown. “The drawing—”

“It took me off guard.” I pull his hand into the neck of my robe, passing his palm over my nipple until it buds beneath his fingers. “But now I want you.”

He hesitates, searching my face and eyes before nodding. Our eyes meet, and beneath the desire filling his stare, a question lingers.

“Drake.” I place his hand on my stomach. “I’m fine.”

He bends to kiss my stomach, the underside of my breast. That restlessness needs attention, try to disturb my desire, but before I can allow myself to be distracted, the lights in the bedroom dim and my husband’s hands are on me. Drake opens the robe as if it’s a gift.

“Fuck baby, you’re so gorgeous.”

He lies down to spoon me, brushes my hair aside, and kisses my nape.

“You okay?” he asks. I know Drake well enough to hear the restraint he’s exercising. The restlessness caught him too, and in days like this, he needs wild, unbridled fucking, but he doesn’t want to hurt the twins or me. As many times as I reassure him, it’s hard for him to believe it’s okay to be as rough with me as we love sometimes.

“Drake, please, fuck me hard. I need it as much as you do.”

“Lexie,” he rasps, dropping his forehead against my hair. “Don’t ask. . .I can’t. . .the way I feel right now . . . I wish you knew what you do to me.”

“Show me.”

And he does; he takes me hard and rough. He fucks me into oblivion, until there’s nothing else but him and me. I’ve needed this desperately, craved the feeling that comes when we make love, when we’re like this, when we have this together, when he’s inside me.

“Fuck, Lex,” he growls. “I love you.”

Tears fill my eyes. The tears I wouldn’t allow myself earlier because Tom was years ago and I should be over it. I could hide that from myself, but I can’t hide anything from him. The tears run down my face, and they aren’t all grief or sorrow. They’re tears of gratitude for my little squirt sleeping down the hall. Tears of hope for the twins growing inside of me. Tears of happiness for the love of a man like Drake.

“God, Drake,” I sob. “I love you, I love you.”

Hours later, we lay together side to side, exhausted. All my restlessness gone, forgotten.

“Wow,” he says.

“Wow, I repeat. You have a magical dick.”

We both laugh at that, and he tickles me, making me wriggle in his arms. Suddenly, we both go still, feeling the movement in my belly at the same time. Like tiny synchronized swimmers, one of my boys moves on my left and the other on the right.

“Shit.” Drake’s gaze meets mine. “Both of them are moving. That’s. . .that’s amazing, Lex.”

“It is. I wanted you to feel that so badly. I feel them do that all the time, but I wanted . . . I’m so happy . . .” I stop, emotionally exhausted.

“Our life,” I say suddenly, toying with the hair on his chest.

“What about it?” he asks, kissing the top of my head.

I reach up to touch the flecks of gray in his stubble. “I’m so glad we met when we were young. That we will grow old together. That I’ll have a life with you. Despite all the years we spent apart. We lost so much, but now we have this life, our marriage, our kids.”

He tenderly rubs my belly. “These kids, all worth the wait. And no matter what comes, we’ll face it together.” I turn around, he pulls me tightly against his chest, and we fall asleep together.

#axwalker writes #tw mention of grief #tw mention death child #n*sfw

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5lazarus · 4 years

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There Is No Ithaca, Ch. 2

from the wonderful promptlist @brightoncemore created, answering a prompt @because-im-hap-hap sent me. There Is No Ithaca: Solas wrecks his revolution on the altar of Mythal. Ch. 2: there is a traitor within you whose time for punishment will come Summary: Solas returns from war to find Ghilan’nain incubating the Blight within their own home. Content Warnings: Psychological Horror, Body Horror, Abusive Relationships. Remember the codex of Ghilan’nain’s ascension? The hunter blinds her, and Andruil revives her and makes her a god. This is the story behind the myth, or at least one version of it. Read on AO3 here. Find Ch. 1: if one of us has sinned it must be God here.

The shiver of her flesh as he steps into her arms and she pulls him down intoxicates him. They enjoy working together, and they enjoy lounging in her rooms afterward. Ghilan’nain is the First amongst the People, occupying a similar place of honor he had left, and she has enough political support from the Evanuris to step forward and become one of them. He likes the sharpness of her mind and the purity of her aesthete. Their partnership is useful to both of them, and he enjoys the side-benefits.

Mythal has them marry, as a precursor to declaring her new title. Neither of them have any reason to object, and Fen’Harel loves her. He craves her on the field, returning to the barracks to mop the gore up. He can imagine her cool smile regarding him. She does like the smell of blood. Whose? His, perhaps: and the danger quickens his pulse. Solas well knows there are others. He has never claimed anyone’s full loyalty, and would not ask that of her. He does not want it. Ghilan’nain’s devotion is terrible, and he is glad to weaken her hold. He loves her, so he is happy to let her go. “So you tell yourself,” Felassan says. “Yet you haven’t been home twice since you’ve married. While Andruil has stayed there for the entirety of our last campaign.” Solas makes a face. “She leaves when I return, and that is all I ask. That we dispel the rumors that we are in any entwined. Ghilan’nain may do what she likes, as I may do what I like--as long as Andruil does not make my home hers.” “And people find it titillating,” Felassan says. “The idea your wife is fucking your half-sister.” “Now, that’s unconfirmed,” Solas says, amused. “That she is my half-sister. I know they are engaged in a passionate affair, reaching heights equalling my own. The household attendants say they are not particularly discrete. But you know I have never confirmed who my mother may be.” “Because the uncertainty works better,” Felassan says. “Sure. So you say. But what will you do when you have to commit?” “No comment,” Solas says, and Felassan throws back his head and laughs. They have married and perhaps they have grown bored but they have used the marriage-gifts from Mythal to build a laboratory to study the vallaslin and undo its binding. Ghilan’nain is an expert at blood magic, he walks the Fade like none but Wisdom have, and with the two together they can feel the lease lessening. With him at war, she has the freedom to call for volunteers amongst her own people, and it keeps them both safer. They can pretend it is the other’s fault, they can pretend they never knew, if one is caught--and the work will continue, because the work must be done. The Pillars of the Earth have slowed their shaking since he closed the corrupted mine. The corruption seems to have stagnated within the Stone’s own children, and a dwarven general with whom he has occasion to parley tells him that for now, the poison seems to be isolated in that one lyrium vein Mythal had seized. Solas looks hopefully to the near future: peace is almost upon them. Quietly his aides have drawn up terms. Once they break the vallaslin, they will have enough popular support to force the Evanuris to convene, and he is determined they will have a treaty for the dwarves’ grandchildren, at the very least. He returns from war with a swagger in his step, and Felassan leaves him at the gate. “I find her eyes unsettling,” Felassan says, waving off the invitation to stay. “She’s constantly taking my measure and seeing where I’ll fit.” Solas laughs. “I quite like it.” He clasps him on his back. “She makes me--useful. But take care, my friend. If you shall not visit me, I shall visit you.” He turns and walks the monumental marble entrance, smiling at the magnificent halla he had carved to mark this as their place. He can feel Felassan watching his back as he goes, and appreciates his concern, though he himself does not deem it necessary. Nothing would dare strike the Dread Wolf within his own home. The household ranges in front of him--the staff that followed him from Arlathan, Ghilan’nain’s own aides, all paid. His wife stands at the center. She radiates an almost underwater heat, reminding him of the laboratory she created in the caldera of the Sundered Mountain, to the North. There is a tension in the air; he schools his posture to look unaffected. His lead attendant, Marella, looks at him pleadingly. Ghilan’nain steps forward. She wears a new diadem, inlaid with red stones that whisper like the Fade. He can almost hear it, the song sounds familiar, but he tears his eyes from her jewelry and meets her gaze steadily. “Yet another triumphant return,” she says. “The avenging hero comes home.” He takes her hand and kisses it. Her skin is cold. Arm-in-arm, they enter the hall, and their attendants fall in silently behind him. The whispers nudge at his mind. The stones must be Fade-touched, and she cannot hear it because of her blood magic. They do not bother him, but it is almost comprehensible, they want his attention, and it is hard to focus and see if she has made any changes in his absence because they hiss like shaken-up snakes. He can’t help but wonder how they were so stirred. She leads him to their baths, shedding attendants on their way. He had chosen this plot of land from Mythal’s munificence precisely for the natural sulphuric springs and proximity to the sea, and Ghilan’nain’s engineers have made good use of the hydrothermal energy. Finally, they are alone, and she turns to him and regards him coolly, those seaglass eyes measuring him, checking for any flick of the eye or uncertainty. Solas stares steadily back. She is smug about something, she cannot hide the slight smirk to her lips. He caresses her face and she smiles back up at him. Mythal’s vallaslin is as terrible on them as ever, but underneath the mark of their own fate is seething. She has done something, Solas realizes. She wants to celebrate it. He carefully lifts the diadem from her brow, careful to make sure the arms do not snag in her hair, and places it on the marble bench already waiting for them. The pool is before them, steaming gently. “You’ve done it,” he says, “haven’t you?” “In part,” she says. “Why don’t I show you?” She traces a hand up his chest and begins unstrapping him from his armor. When she has his breastplate off, leaving him in a relatively unremarkable silk shirt, he grabs her hands and kisses her. She tastes like smoke and lyrium, right into his veins, and he gasps as she strips him bare and takes him into the water. He has been a long time from the comforts of home. She pins him to the side of the pool, marble cool against his skin, and fucks him. In a less desperate mood, he would call it making love, but with Ghilan’nain it seems too quaint. And when she is satisfied with him, he sinks deeper in the water, tired but glowing, and closes his eyes as she traces the lines of his vallaslin. Her hand at the lines drawn onto his neck, Ghilan’nain speaks. “My exhausted soldier,” she says, amused, “always eager to perform in the line of duty, no matter how exhausted, how recent the battlefield, how tired from the road.” He wraps his arms around her and pulls her in tighter. Truthfully he wishes to rest, even fall asleep in the bath, and then retire to his offices and find out what has his staff so anxious. “I wouldn’t call it a duty,” he says. “Not nearly so rote as that.” Ghilan’nain tosses her hair back. “I should hope not.” She pushes herself up slightly in his lap, hands on his shoulders, and Solas rocks back. Her eyes glitter. “Now, my heart, where no one can see us, where all assume we are celebrating your return home.” “Yes, we do have a reputation to keep,” Solas says. He places his hands on her hips to keep her steady. Ghilan’nain arches her back, and he notices a slight bruise right at the edge of her right breast, and wonders if he left it. He resolves to leave a match on the left one: it is not jealousy, but he has always been competitive. He traces the edge of her breast like she likes, and she shivers. She genuinely shares this passion with him, he knows it. The alternative is too humiliating to bear. “The vallaslin,” she says. “Though it cost me thirty percent of my sample size, I’ve reverse-engineered the geass Mythal laid upon us. It’s not blood magic, not like we thought it was. She’s been using lyrium, my love. Lyrium and Fade-touched stormheart in the ink.” Solas leans back into the wall, and Ghilan’nain slips slightly in the water and wraps her legs around his waist. She searches his face. “How large was the sample?” Solas says repressively. She pulls back. “Large enough to get the results,” she says sharply. “You may read my report yourself.” “My heart,” he says, by way of an apology. Their limbs are entangled now, and Solas worries she will trip. Carefully he extricates himself and rises, dripping, from the pool. He towels himself off and turns back to Ghilan’nain, who watches him. Her face is unreadable. It mirrors his. Solas reaches for the clothes an embarrassed servant must have placed, while they were otherwise occupied, on the bench where Ghilan’nain had left her robes. A red tunic with gold embroidery about the collar, soft doeskin trousers, and a new wolfskin: Solas turns back to her, smiling. “These are lovely,” he says, fingering the embroidery. He can taste the sigils sewn into the shirt: to keep it from tearing, to wick away sweat, to keep it clean. He catches a particularly strong shielding spell, powerful enough to glance away a blade going for the neck. Ghilan’nain rises from the pool. “You never buy new clothes,” she says. “And what we are about to do will not make us popular at court. Try them. They’ll adjust to fit. I’ve been working the weave to adjust to your body heat.” She takes up the diadem and hands it to him expectantly. It sears his hands, and Solas drops it in surprise. It clatters to the floor. Ghilan’nain bends to pick it up, his eyes travel the length of her back, and she straightens, placing it back into her hand. He takes her hands. They are untouched. “Too sensitive,” she says, “Fadewalker.” She takes his face and kisses him. Her tongue is cold, her skin is cool, and he cannot summon back the fire he found in the pool. She has not answered how large the sample size was. She knows he disapproves. He breaks the kiss and picks up her robe. Disappointed, she steps forward, but he drapes it around her. “Perhaps later,” he says, trying to smile. “The dispatches…” “Of course,” she says. “And do read my report.”

They do not sleep apart, though each has their own rooms where they entertain other guests. Solas hurries to his private quarters, uneasy in his marble halls. The house is too quiet. Where are his young scholars, his petitioners, his angry priests? He was expecting, at the very least, a dinner party, perhaps with Imshael and Geldauron in attendance. In his office his in-tray is already filled. He groans. Mythal’s business never ends. He slides into his chair and begins sorting his mail. His staff would have already prioritized what must be answered today, but he prefers to pick the order in which he writes. He sets aside a letter from Falon’Din, complaining about a group of partying swineherds, to be answered last. His swineherds may party on, and encroach on whomever’s borders as they like, as long as they keep their brawling to a minimum. He makes a mental note to send Felassan that way, to make sure this does not escalate. At the very bottom of the pile is a curious little letter, written on fishskin. Solas wrinkles his nose at the smell. Carefully he tugs the almost translucent paper from its scaled envelope. The words are inscribed with Veilfire. The message is short, written in bold block letters: HAIL THE EXALTED ONE THE WILL THEY CALL PRIDE MYTHAL’S OWN, THE DREAD WOLF WE CRY YOU MERCY MERCY MERCY MERCY WE REPENT MERCY Solas places the letter on his desk and sighs. He closes his eyes, palm flat over the words, and enters the Fade. The room melts into the Waking World, Veilfire bringing him into the message, and in the Dreaming he floats in an underwater chamber, gorgeously ornamented in gold and green glass. They show Ghilan’nain taking tribute, which is her right. Solas glances around him and sees that he is flanked suddenly by whispers, elves with their faces splitting raw with scales, throats bleeding as gills emerge, and their vallaslin ripping suddenly from their bodies in as they erupt, screaming muted in the underwater temple, and horrified Solas opens his eyes to his simple office with the words in his ears: “Mercy. Mercy. Mercy.” “Those were her people,” Solas says aloud. “I knew she was taking volunteers, but I didn’t know--the vallaslin was ripped from the body in their transformation, how can anyone survive that without aid? How many died? How many died after the experiment was deemed a success?” He waits until she is sleeping to investigate. The report lies heavily on his mind. One thousand elves, given willing sacrifice: only seven hundred have survived, and they have changed. They are creatures of mottled flesh and ripping pain, minds shattered by blood-bond Ghilan’nain pulled apart. She treats skeins of flesh like yarn that she can knit--but her subjects feel. His staff has kept track of how many have survived since the vallaslin was removed: only fifty-five percent. Of one thousand loyal attendants, seeking their freedom, only three hundred and eighty-five have survived. The kill rate is equal to Falon’Din in one of his worshipful moods. Solas is seething. She promised him they would do better. He would not have bound his heart to hers, if he knew she would end like this. He changes his clothes to a more simple homespun, and leaves off the wolfskin. He has been a servant and is still a slave to Mythal, whatever his manumission papers say. He can still pass as one today. He walks through his staffers’ paths through the wing he calls his own towards Ghilan’nain’s private laboratory. He is realizing why Mythal encouraged the match, and how both he and Andruil can find something compelling. Ghilan’nain has always been chilling. He mistook the shivering for passion, not frozen sadism. They both would do anything for their freedom, he has always known that--but this beggars belief, this crosses beyond what he thought possible. He presses a hand to her office door, and it swings open. She trusts him, and has left it unlocked. He has never done that for his wing of the house. Slightly ashamed, he wonders how she could have so misunderstood him. Then he remembers: six hundred and fifteen dead. Solas groans aloud, then slaps a hand over his own mouth. Mercy, mercy, he thinks: I repent. Her space is as clean and shining as possible. She has a sketch of her first halla that he made her framed on her desk. Solas resists the urge to take it. Above her desk, she has a set of antlers mounted on the wall. Andruil must have hunted it for her. It must be her fault, she was so reckless, Andruil must have egged her on: no. Solas waves the thought away. Whatever Ghilan’nain has does, it is her choice and hers alone. Andruil has never been capable of this calculating cruelty. Ghilan’nain chose to press ahead with the trials, even as her people began to mutate. Solas thinks again: thirty-eight point five percent. He says it aloud, to make it real. The glowstones activate at the sound of his voice. Lyrium is so responsive, especially to those who walk the Fade like he does. He walks away from her desk and begins examining the tanks that line the walls. Most of the creatures are asleep. Some of their faces are burnt blank. Solas’ heart sinks. These were people, once. These were Ghilan’nain’s people, so his people too. The vallaslin must be removed, but not at a cost such as this. He investigates, growing more and more disgusted. One creature is still recognizably elvhen, but bowed by massive horns erupting at odd angles from its face. Another has half its body melting into a dragon’s tail, but speckled with sores angry with inflammation. Solas stares at it, removed from itself. He wonders how it removes waste. He notices its hands are bound. Scales litter the bottom of the tank. He moves on. Hidden in a recess at the back of the room, furthest from the door, is a small pool, stinking of brine. The room grows hotter as he approaches it, and he hears strange whispers, the same from that odd diadem Ghilan’nain wears. Again, they feel familiar, but even if they are imbued with Veilfire, it is not the same kind that the petitioners wrote into the letter that brought him here. He casts his mind back, trying to place the odd sense of familiarity. The whispers have a sense of sluggish rhythm, and he finds himself moving in time towards the pool. It glows red rather than green, so it cannot be Fade magic, though he knows color signifiers are arbitrary, and Ghilan’nain’s senses are different from hers, ground by her blood magic. She would not be able to hear the whispers. They come at him through the Fade. Solas crouches by the pool. His hand reaches out to touch the water and he stops himself. Shaken slightly, he takes a step back. Grounding himself firmly, he closes his eyes and listens. “We are here, we have waited,” the red waters whisper. “We have slept, we are sundered. We are crippled, we are polluted. We endure. We wait. We have found the dreams again. We will awaken--” Solas rips himself away, foot hovering above the pool. He scrambles, stumbling over himself, clattering to the ground, but mercifully on dry ground. He knows those evil whispers, he knows that red glow. It is the corruption in the Titan’s blood that festered when he and Mythal dealt it a mortal wound. It is a pollution he thought he had culled. It is a poison he broke from Mythal to cure. The Children of the Stone with whom he has drawn peace terms call it a blight. Ghilan’nain has cultivated it in their own home. Rage grips him and he surrenders to it. Dead whispers poison the air he breathes, the pollution is in his lungs now, synthesizing in his bloodstream, and red he storms calling fury electric down the halls of his silent home. The door to their bedroom swings open before he even shapes the ask in the Fade. Ghilan’nain is sitting before a mirror, combing her long hair. She turns, and for a moment they simply stare at each other. Finally, Ghilan’nain breaks the silence. “I take it you read the report,” she says. Solas throws the papers at her feet. “Ah,” she says. “I should have anticipated you would react that way. Did you make it to the conclusion, at least?” “The lyrium,” he says. “The pollution I found in the Deep Roads. That was not used. It was supposed to remain forgotten!” Ghilan’nain twists her mouth. “Is this what this is about? Really? You are angry because I explored and expanded our options--the corrupted lyrium broke the geass of the vallaslin, Solas.” “And how many died for you to find that?” Solas snarls. “I saw the corpses, Ghilan’nain. They were our people! They came to us for aid! They volunteered only because they trusted that we would make it worth it, and now--” His voice breaks. “We are no better than Sylaise in her vanity. Or Falon’Din.” “Perish the thought,” she says mildly. “Surely I’m no worse than Mythal--she has asked the same of her people, and more.” He is disgusted, and he is disgusted with himself, because he has thrown his lot with her. He was to petition Mythal formally to raise Ghilan’nain to Evanuris--and she deserves it. She is just like the lot of them, happy to drown in blood. “No,” he says. “No. No. You are worse. Mythal has asked too much of me, that is true. But she has never let her people die in vain. She has spared us what agony she could. And even when she has been cruel, she--” He stops. “This is no justice, Ghilan’nain. You are nothing like Mythal.” “Oh, for fuck’s sake, Solas,” she says exasperated. “You want your freedom--I found it. And I did not even use up the whole stock. I was merciful. And for the dead?” She shrugs. “Well, they died for a good cause--your cause. Their sacrifice must be nobly borne. No more of these histrionics, my love. You have been too long away in war. You are home now, and we are so close to unravelling the bindings. I can break the geass, but you can hear what the lyrium says. Together we can--” “Shut up,” Solas growls. “Shut up.” Ghilan’nain’s face sharpens, and he sees her reaching for her staff. He throws his arm out, reaching into the Fade to shove her away. The force of the blast shatters the mirror of her vanity, and quickly he throws up a barrier. Ghilan’nain screams, her face dripping with blood. The glass has cut into her eyes. “I can’t see,” she sobs. “Mythal’enaste, I can’t see. You bastard, you fucking son-of-a-wolf, I can’t see!” Her voice rises to a wail. “Solas! Help me! My love, help me!” Solas hurriedly picks up the papers he had scattered so carelessly on the ground. Stepping around the shattered mirror, Solas leaves. Ghilan’nain weeps blood and mucus behind him. He hears her calling behind him: “Andruil, avenge me.”

#solas/ghilan'nain #solas #ghilan'nain #arlathan #body horror #psychological horror #cw: blinding #fanfic #dragon age fanfic #dai #solas pov

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geekgemsspooksandtoons · 4 years

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The GeekGem Verse?

I’m giving this a title so it gets attention.

But I’ve thought about making this for a while or so. I need to reveal this in case anyone hasn’t noticed yet. Because I also have thought about this weird idea.

In nearly all of my big AU’s. Whether they never got fully started(FNAF & Bendy), or they are their own thing and going well(Bioshock Rebirth)...there is a trend you will see in all three.

There is a character named Derek. All three of these...have a character named Derek.

Which leads into this. I have wondered about because of small details like this. Yet it’s mostly like an easter egg. Kind of like a movie directors work, you’ll notice something in there that is familiar. Or even a character has a similar name or so. Kind of like Quentin Tarantino’s work which is weird to say.

But the idea is about, should I have these three(My AU’s. Including Stories From Fazbear’s and whatever Bendy thing I’ll do next) exist in the same universe?

In all honesty, it sounds like fun right? Because it is...but I feel like is there really a need for it? Besides, Bioshock Rebirth was caused by Burial At Sea breaking the multiverse. But it was mainly the Bioshock multiverse. So a FNAF timeline and a Bendy timeline appearing in it would seem weird.

It’s kind of like the theories of, “Alien, Predator, and Terminator exist in the same universe” kind of thing. Basically this video, I just watched it. I’m wondering if I’ve watched it before. It feels familiar having watched it.

I just really dig that thumbnail. But the idea is just strangely funny yet amusing to me. I would be a hypocrite if I was against it? But let me word this correctly...

A universe where legitimate diving suited monsters with drills that protect little girls, a demonic cartoon character brought to life by a ink machine, and possessed animatronics(One of them being possessed by a serial killer)...all existing in the same world...

I shouldn’t forget the underwater city...

It’s something I wouldn’t mind...it depends...but I wanna talk about the Derek’s and the Grady’s.

Here the Derek’s of these three worlds.

Derek Anderson. The young CEO of the new Fazbear Entertainment of the modern day. Who can be a gentleman. But in all seriousness, he’s an asshole who cares about money and is trying not to go bankrupt like the original CEO’s.

Derek Brooker. A bodyguard of Joey Drew. But also the original Alice Angel stan before me and my bro @kaijuguy19 were even born yet.

*Was gonna edit a piece of Jared Padalecki’s face on there. Because Derek is reincarnated as a cartoon bear called Twisted Barry. But I felt like it would be mean. But also a simple bear is better. :)*

Now the Grady’s. Ian Grady, Katherine Grady, and Derek Grady.

I’m trying to be funny. But in my FNAF stuff. Ian was the first guard who experienced the first hauntings of the animatronics. When moving on from his job at Freddy’s. Years later in the 90′s. His wife would give birth to a daughter named Katherine.

Derek Grady is a new character in an upcoming Bioshock Rebirth story I have made. But it hasn’t been beta tested yet. I think I have thought about just posting it. But I’ll wait till my friend Pikablob is less busy or so.

I have wondered...should I make Derek a younger brother of Ian, or whoever else. Definitely not a son though. Considering I have Ian being born in the 1960′s.

Now I’m just rambling on. I am not gonna put a keep reading option here. Because I want folks to see this. XD I wanted to make this and I did...so it’s possible and oh head...I could possibly do it...but it’s still weird. Yet when writing this, I did wonder wait, what about the old timelines?...fuck, Burial At Sea broke more than just the Bioshock multiverse...maybe. XD

Did wonder what image I wanted to use of Markiplier. I did think of using one of him with his long hair...but meh...just that picture of him make that edit I made seem funnier. XD

To be honest...I wanna make a cool thumbnail like that. :) I did think of it recently.

#GeekGem Rambles #GeekGem's memes #Geekgem's Bendy memes #derek brooker #derek anderson #derek grady #katherine grady #ian grady #bioshock rebirth #Stories From Fazbear's #twisted barry

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couldnt-think-of-a-funny-name · 5 years

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Any thoughts on Annabeth and Percy as parents? Poseidon just changing his cap from Neptune's lucky cap to world's saltiest grandpa sjsjsns

World’s Saltiest Grandpa is the FUNNIEST fucking thing I’ve ever heard in my life and it’s definitely happening jskddlsjfdkls

anyway I feel like the first one would definitely be a. uh. happy surprise™

like, they haven’t been married for a full year and are still settling into their new lives and one day Grover comes over to hang with Annabeth and he senses™ something and is like ‘hey….sweetie….why don’t we go to the drugstore’ and she starts flipping out lmao

anyway once she gets 3 positive tests she starts going into Planning mode, she’s got Grover there and she’s acting all rational and she’s talking about it to Piper and Hazel in their gc and she seems very calm and happy, and they’re coming up with cute ways to tell Percy right

like they started planning out a whole sweet little reveal thing

but then Percy gets home from work and this poor fucker isn’t even all the way in the door when she just screeches from across the room “I’M PREGNANT” and he’s like “W H A T”

so they’re screaming in excitement for most of the night after that lmao

if you think this isn’ t the biggest fucking gossip on Olympus then you’ve got another thing coming

Aphrodite has swooned 12 different times since the news drooped. Hera is screaming. Hestia is about to fucking set up camp in the Jackson’s backyard. Poseidon won’t shut the fuck up about how excited he is. Zeus is quaking. Apollo is weeping and has written multiple dramatic poems about this event. Athena is torn between fuming and excitement. Artemis has shown up to every single fucking doctor’s appointment disguised as a nurse. We’re talking 24/7 coverage on Hephaestus TV, baby

Annabeth is one of those bitches that lowkey thrives being pregnant. constantly glowing. everyone in her birthing classes hates her lmao

Percy 100% gets sympathy cravings and you KNOW it

Sally broke the world record for ‘worlds longest scream’ when she found out she’s SO excited

Piper literally will not stop buying baby stuff like every single week they get more packages of toys and clothes from her

Meanwhile Hazel and Frank won’t stop knitting baby blankets and hats and Leo built a fucking magical crib that would turn into a fucking indestructible barrier if a monster ever attacked AND includes a built in holographic light that will make the room look like it’s underwater

Percy and Annabeth are constantly just talking to the bump and not even in the cutesy way like she’ll fucking be at work and be giving out instructions and then go ‘that sounds good, doesn’t it _(baby name)_?’ or ‘Linda, ____ thinks that’s a terrible idea’ while looking down at her stomach and her coworkers think it’s hilarious

or they’ll be arguing about something and Percy’ll be like ‘Yeah, well, at least ____ agrees with me!’ lmao

She wakes up one day to find Percy put headphones on her stomach and is blasting Adele on them and she’s like ‘it’s classical music to make them smarter, Percy’ and he’s like ‘yeah but SOMEONE in this house needs to not be emotionally stunted so I’m giving them a chance’ jfsksdf

100% Nico has received a desperate phone call in the middle of the night because Annabeth’s craving shit that they can’t get anywhere near them at 3 am so he had to go on a shadow travel run to get it for her lmao

Her mood swings get so insane but like remember on Parks and Rec when Ann was pissed at Chris for just being. TOO supportive? 100% percabeth antics

Annabeth is So Determined to work through her pregnancy and not go on leave and it’s driving Percy absolutely insane

Every single morning he’s just like babe please….be a sane human… lmao

when she went into labor it was. hectic

they had been trying to plan a trip to either CHB or CJ so she could deliver with like Actual Healers who won’t get freaked out if people zapped into the room and also they’d be near family right

and then the kid was like what if,,,,,,,,I came more than a month early. wouldn’t that be fun

lmao so cut to a scene of Percy speeding down the streets of their little town, both of them screaming their heads of, a fucking flock of owls tailing after their car,

there’s a heavy thunderstorm happening and Percy’s screaming ‘hey ZEUS! NOT THE FUCKING TIME ASSHOLE!!!!’ lmao

so they get to the hospital right. Poseidon and Athena beat them there and brought their mortal families with them lmao

Everyone’s a mess. Fredrick is about to faint and Helen and Paul are trying to get him to pull it together. Estelle is terrorizing Bobby and Matthew so those three are barely paying attention to the baby situation. Sally and Athena have already threatened five different medical professionals to get Annabeth some drugs. Poseidon is practically fucking vibrating

While Annabeth is getting all settled in Percy starts calling all their friends to tell them and they are SO OFFENDED that they DARE to be in another state whilst Annabeth is delivering so everyone starts fucking scrambling to get there

Nico and Hazel shadow travel themselves, Frank, Reyna and Piper over. Leo, Calypso, Grover, Chiron, Rachel and Thalia physically wrangle Apollo into driving them there in his chariot. Magnus and Alex had to blackmail Sam to fucking fly them there. everyone else had to fend for themselves. everyone is screaming

just….imagine that fucking waiting room

Artemis did in fact disguise her way onto the delivery team and Percy’s just like….please don’t shoot my wife with an arrow. it’d be awesome if you refrained from doing that,

a nurse tried to tell Thalia that the delivery room was family only and she screamed and knocked her out before running into the room lmao

Grover’s hyperventilating practically the entire time and because of the empathy link Percy’s like dude YOU are freaking ME out so that’s a whole situation

between all the chaos in the waiting room and all the yelling in the delivery room this maternity wing has literally never been so stressed out before lmao

Annabeth looses all concept of cool and is yelling at the doctor even as she’s pushing

Percy’s hand ends up fractured

Fredrick is streaming all this on his facebook live and Annabeth is cursing him out whenever the contractions pass

but overall it was a good, safe delivery! no arrows through the chest!

Poseidon, storming into the waiting room, screaming at the top of his godly lungs: IT’S A BOY

everyone in the waiting room:

I don’t feel like coming up with names right now but the middle name IS Charles and NO I am not accepting any dissenting opinions on that

everyone’s crying while they rotate in and out to see them lol

Apollo’s trying to prophecy about how Amazing the kid will be and Percy’s got riptide out and is like ‘he is LITERALLY 3 hours old’

Pry This Baby Out Of Sally Jackson’s Arms, I Dare You

after a while the people that had to get there themselves start appearing and making even more of a scene. Like Clarrise just bursts through the doors holding the biggest teddy bear she could find and says absolutely nothing but scowls at everyone who looks at her while she’s holding the baby. the Stolls are fucking climbing in through the window holding a bunch of a balloons. Hedge is making mildly obnoxious jokes. all that

but anyway once they get settled back home and everything. they are the MOST paranoid first time parents lmao

every single little noise this child makes has them on edge. they tiptoe constantly. whom needs sleep

baby doctor on speed dial. “why’d he stop eating???!!?” “…maybe he’s…full?” “…oh.”

but when they’re not busying worrying they have the Cutest Fucking Baby In The World, good for them

Annabeth suddenly realizes taking leave makes sense. her and Percy are like glued to this kid. so many pictures. so many videos.

once he gets a little older and they have to, like, have Lives again, Percy constantly brings him to the aquarium with him and it’s. CUTE.

the baby LOVES looking at all the fish and petting dolphins omg

okay I’m tired so this is getting away from me but overall I’d see them having like maybe 3 or 4 kids.

all super cute. all smart. all get up to whacky antics.

add onto this if anyone wants to lol but….iconicly cute parents percy and annabeth thank you goodnight

#percabeth #percy jackson #Annabeth chase #pjo #hoo #asks #molly mumbles

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gingrrfrog · 4 years

Text

be my baby

nanny!jeno

warnings: recreational drug use (weed)

a/n: I wrote this a long time ago and it never came to fruition all the way! maybe I’ll play around with the idea, but I either need to come up with a new oc or practice writing in second person more lol

Lee Jeno stared at the floor in front of him, laying on his stomach as he desperately tried to find a way to cool down. In less words, Jeno was broke, barely 30,000 won to his name that he would have to pay his credit card bill tomorrow. He wanted to cry in all honesty, and he didn’t think that his major would be taken this much money out of his bank account.

Being a college senior should be full of lasting memories with your friends, kissing the last bit of independent freedom you had left goodbye before you clock in to your 9-5 job for the rest of your days. But, for Jeno, an early education major, he found that he couldn’t delve in that privilege. He was busy driving around to get the last of his volunteering hours and the same with his student teaching hours, writing down mock lesson plans until he memorized nearly every single cartoon character in the world to make him relevant. He lived a stark different life from that of his roommate, Jaemin and Renjun, both majoring in some form of business.

Lucky bastards. All either of them needed for a job after this was a quick call from Jaemin’s dad and they would be interns with job security in no time.

But for Jeno, it would come more difficultly, straining his eyes every morning at 6 am to greet his students at 7 am with a grin and hugs for each. It’s not that Jeno didn’t love his job, it’s just that he wished he had more time for himself.

Jeno heard feet padding around the apartment, looking up at Jaemin as the latter raise an eyebrow popsicle in his mouth as he threw the rest of the popsicles on Jeno’s bareback. Jeno hissed at the sudden temperature change, but stood up and took one for himself, relieved at the cool melon taste.

“What’s with you?” Jaemin asked, looking in the fridge. “You never lay naked on the floor with a stupid look on your face unless something is wrong.”

“I would enjoy some sympathy.” Jeno grumbled, chewing down on the popsicle and watching Jaemin smirk.

“I am giving you sympathy. If you want me to feel bad with you, you should have said empathy. I thought that’s what all you education majors practice.”

“It is something we practice. The only thing business majors practice is their cocaine snorting.”

“I’ve never been a man for fine powder,” Jaemin hummed to himself. The same man walked over to the couch, sitting on the sticky leather and watching his best friend grumble, “what’s with you? Seriously?”

“I have 30,000 won in my bank account.”

“Alright! That’s 20,000 more than I thought you had!”

“And my credit card bill is due tomorrow.”

“Oh,” Jaemin pressed his lips together, “never mind.”

“I’m...”Jeno took a deep breath. “Can I vent?”

Jaemin nodded, “let it out.”

“I’m fucking exhausted, I don’t get paid enough or I don’t get paid at all. I love my kids. I love my students more than I can understand but holy shit, it is driving me up a goddamn wall that I have to spend most of my money on my maxed out credit card.”

“Get a job.”

Jeno shook his head, “I don’t have time for another part time job.”

“Then quit and get a full time.”

Jeno sat up, glaring at his friend, “where am I supposed to find the time for a full time job, Jaemin?”

“I’m only offering you options, Jeno. I get it, you’re stressed out. Just get rid of your one part time job and work on your days off for the full time.”

Jeno grimaced, he knew that it was an option but he wasn’t ready to give up his days off though. But, his only pair of teacher slacks had a hole in them, and he needed new ones. “What if I drop out?”

Jaemin shook his head, “you’re almost done, Jen. You only have this semester.”

Jeno took a deep breath, looking at his hands and hating himself for what he was about to ask next, “do...you want to smoke?”

Jaemin pursed his lips, “I always want to smoke. What about you? Don’t you get drug tested every week?”

Jeno shook his head, “six months. I just took mine yesterday.”

Jeno watched as Jaemin grounded up green herbs with their grinder, feeling particularly downer than usual as he watched Jaemin roll. This was his last bit of weed and Renjun stopped selling a month ago, losing his friend discount. Jaemin lit up the dark roll in his hands and took a deep breath, sighing out sour smoke before handing it to his friend. Jeno took the blunt in his hands and inhaled next, breathing out to breathe in again, scratching at his head as he rested his head on the balcony. Jaemin offered him a pat on the shoulder, mainly to ask for the blunt back but to also offer some comfort to his friend.

“Hey, Jeno,” Jaemin bit his lip. “My dad was talking about one of his bosses needing a babysitter. Do you want me to ask him about it?”

“Which one of his bosses?”

Jaemin shrugged, “probably the department chief. I think he mentioned he needed a babysitter because his wife left, or something.”

“Is he paying well?”

“I would hope so. You would think department chief would pay well.”

Jeno sighed, “ask your dad for his number. I’m not really in the position to deny anything.”

“This’ll all be over, Jeno, just watch.” Jaemin reassured, grabbing Jeno’s still bare shoulders and shaking his body, “you’ve got this! You’re Lee Jeno! You’re going to make more money than us one day?”

“As a kindergarten teacher?” Jeno snorted, slapping his hand away, “I know you’re just trying to make me feel better but now you’re just being a dick.”

“Is that Underwater Rose I smell?” A voice came from inside the apartment, Renjun appearing with a grin and taking the blunt in his hands. Jeno shoved the smaller man and narrowed his eyes.

“Fuck off. You hog it.”

“I do not. I didn’t even know you still had this,” Renjun said, taking a hit after Jeno allowed him too. “Oh man, I miss this one.”

“Well don’t, because it’s all I have left.”

“You know I still have the employee discount, I can get this for dirt cheap.”

“I don’t want anything that you get for dirt cheap,” Jaemin made a face of disgust, “your version of dirt cheap is just the seeds and branches, you dick.”

“That’s the best part!”

“You’re insane!” Jaemin yelled, snatching it out of Renjun’s hands, “go smoke your seed, make sure Xuxi didn’t mix his own in it, you whore.”

“Who told you about that?!”

“You’ve limped for the past two days after you came home from his house, it doesn’t take a detective, Whore-lock.”

“Stop calling me that!”

Jaemin snickered as he held the blunt above Renjun’s head, grinning down at the shorter man as Jeno excused himself. He sighed and walked over to his room, feeling his legs swaying back and forth as he fell in bed, his eyes closing and falling asleep.

When he woke up again, Jeno felt a bit bitter that he wasted most, if not all, his high on his nap, still feeling the weightlessness in his fingertips, he walked over to the kitchen to snack on some food, Renjun and Jaemin sat on the couch. It seemed that they smoked more while he was gone, Jaemin completely fried while Renjun sleeping next to him. Jaemin tilted his head to the side, looking at Jeno with a smile.

“Can you pass me another popsicle?”

Jeno snorted, “no. Did you finish my blunt.”

“I saved you some. I didn’t want to smoke it all,” Jaemin whined, “pass me one, Jen. Don’t be a dick.”

Jeno tossed the last popsicle on Jaemin’s lap, the latter cheering as he slowly unwrapped the package.

“I called my dad,” Jaemin mumbled, chomping a piece of the ice bar. “He gave me the lady’s information.”

“You said it was a guy.”

“Nah, it’s a chick. Maybe I heard wrong,” Jaemin shrugged. “My dad said he would call you, he tried to give me the number but...y’know.”

Jeno snorted, “yeah, I know, don’t worry. Do you want dinner?”

“Oh, fuck yeah, I want dinner.”

“You’re paying.”

Jaemin reached in his pocket and threw his wallet in the direction of his friend, Jeno hastily catching it and picking one of his cards from his vast collection. Jeno sighed in jealousy.

“You can take money if you want Jen,” Jaemin said. “My dad is always giving me guilt money for being an absent father. Take whatever you want.”

Jeno shook his head, “I’m not doing that to you, Jaem. You’re fried-- it’s not consensual.”

Jaemin rolled his eyes, “you’re taking money from my wallet. you’re not going to fuck me.”

Jaemin’s eyes brightened, “unless-?”

“I’m taking fifty.”

“That’s my boy.”

Jeno woke up at 4:45am the next morning, his head spinning as he yawned, turning off his alarm before moving to the bathroom to get ready for the day. After his shower and brushing his teeth, he practiced smiling in the mirror, enough to make sure his students didn’t know he was sad or tired. Finally happy, he smeared on whatever skincare he had left before throwing on a dress shirt and his black pants, coloring with black sharpie the tiny hole before slipping on his dress shoes next.

It’s a wonder how Jeno afforded a car, the same way it’s a wonder how he forgot his tank was empty. He groaned and hit his head over the top of the steering wheel, getting out and opting for public transportation once again. The bus stopped at least a block away from the elementary school, walking at a comfortable pace as it wasn’t as warm in the morning as it was in the afternoon. He greeted the secretary upon entering, smiling before taking off his shoes and putting on his other school shoes, walking up to the classroom to see a few students inside already.

“Mr. Lee!” Jisung cheered, running over to his favorite teacher and giving him a hug, “Good morning!”

“Good morning, Jisung!” He smiled, ruffling his hair, “you’re here early.”

“Mommy had a doctor’s appointment. Mr. Lee did you know I’m going to be a big brother?”

“I didn’t know that! That’s exciting!”

“Jisung, you still haven’t finished practicing your name!” Yeeun called from the back, ushering him back to his seat as she gave Jeno a smile. “Hey, good morning.”

“Good morning, I’m not late, am I?” Yeeun smiled and shook her head, “you’re fine. You don’t have to come in this early, Jeno.” “I like to come in early. It’s a bad habit, really.”

Yeeun laughed, but before she could reply, another student made her entrance, greeting her as she helped her switch into her shoes. Jeno took a seat next to Jisung, watching him trace his name a few more times as students made their entrance. Soon, after about thirty

minutes, the class of seventeen was completed as Jeno sat in the back with his tiny friends as Yeeun continued with morning announcements.

Jeno helped with math class as well as science, but during lunch, he couldn’t find himself to be hungry, instead opting for a small snack as he watched his students chew and ask him questions about his day.

“Mr. Lee, what did you do yesterday?”

“I had popsicles with my friends,” Jeno smiled, “what about you? What did you do?”

“Jisung came over to my house yesterday! We looked for beetles!”

“Beetles?! Did you find any?”

“We found two! Mr. Lee, do you like beetles?”

Jeno scrunched his nose up and shook his head, “nope. I think they’re scary.”

After lunch came a nap, setting up different blankets as all seventeen students took their time sleeping. Jeno had to lay next to a few students to help him sleep, but once they did, he stood up carefully, letting out a tired breath before looking up at Yeeun with a smile.

“Aren’t you going to have lunch?” She asked, watching as Jeno shook his head.

“I wasn’t too hungry for what they were serving today. Maybe that’s me being picky, so I had some peanuts.”

“I don’t think I’m going to finish my sandwich, do you want the other half?”

Jeno quickly shook his hands, “I couldn’t take your lunch! I’ll get something after this, I promise!”

“It’s not a big deal, Jeno. Take it.” Yeeun handed him the plastic case of the untouched sandwich. Jeno bit his lip, his stomach opting to betray him right at that moment. He frowned when it growled, looking up at Yeeun who laughed.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

Jeno gave a shy smile, “Thanks.” “How is your senior year going?”

Jeno shrugged, “it’s going okay. It’s kind of a headache, if you ask me, with assignments and stuff. But I like coming here, it reminds me what the assignments are for.”

“Senior year was rough for me too,” Yeeun sighed, “I think I almost dropped out my senior year.”

Jeno laughed, covering his mouth so that breadcrumbs didn’t fall out, “I said that yesterday.”

The two shared a laugh as they Jeno continued to chew quietly. He wanted to kick himself for being so awkward—he couldn’t remember the last time he talked to a girl, much less one like Yeeun. Maybe, if there was a chance and Jeno had more money, he would take her out for dinner.

“Do you have any plans for this weekend?” She asked him, sending Jeno’s heart into overdrive. She couldn’t ask him out now, he was still broke.

“Probably...catch up on some assignments.” Jeno swallowed, “what about you?”

“Grading, probably,” she snorted, “my boyfriend is a teacher at the high school down the road, so I help him sometimes.”

Jeno’s heart fell. Of course. He would be better off trying to find a girlfriend at a club at this rate, “oh. I mean, it’s a good to have someone who knows what you’re going through.”

“It helps a lot,” she smiled. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

Jeno let out a sad laugh, “I don’t really have the time for one.”

That and Jeno was awful with talking to women. Bumbling, tongue twisting, hand sweating awful. It’s a wonder how he managed to talked to Yeeun so successfully, even though success is subjective and any one else would have thought Jeno was an idiot by the way he spoke.

“I think you’re a really nice guy, it can’t be that hard to find someone who would like you.” Yeeun reassured.

“You would be surprised,” he mumbled, picking at the sandwich crust.

“Huh?”

“What?” Jeno cleared his throat, breathing a sigh of relief when his phone vibrated in his pants. He looked at the unfamiliar number and looked up at Yeeun quickly, “sorry, do you mind if I take this real quick?”

“No, go ahead! The kids still have fifteen minutes left on their nap.”

Jeno thanked her quietly before he stepped outside, answering the unknown caller, “hello?”

“Jeno? It’s me, Jaemin’s dad.”

“Oh. Hello, sir. Do you need me to tell Jaemin to call you again?”

“Ah—not this time. I wanted to talk to you about my boss who needed a babysitter.”

“Oh! I forgot about that, sorry.” Jeno scratched the back of his neck, “sure.”

“She said she would like to see you on Monday. I really tried to sell you to her, I told her you had a lot of experience in child-rearing.”

Jeno appreciated the sentiment, but he would’ve preferred to talk about his own strengths instead of trying to go with the lies Jaemin’s father mentioned, “that’s...thank you. So much.”

“Be at the building at 4:30, if you can make it. She’s kind of strict, my boss, but she’s a real nice girl, I assure you.”

“Of course. It means everything to me that you went that far.”

“Anything for the boy who takes care of Jaeminie!” Jaemin’s father paused, “speaking of which...is he doing alright? He’s not going hungry is he? Is he eating? Is he going to church?”

“Um...” Jeno looked around, “...yeah...He goes every Sunday.”

“Has he met any of the girls in the congregation yet? I’ve tried to introduce some to him but he’s just so stubborn and I—“

“Mr. Na, I really, really, really appreciate you getting me that job interview. But, I’m actually in class right now and I can’t really talk as freely.”

“Silly me, I’m so sorry. Don’t be a stranger, Jeno! You know my number.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll let Jaemin know to call you.”

“Thank you, Jeno. I hope to see you around.”

Jeno hung up with a deep breath, shaking embarrassment off his bones before reentering the classroom, Yeeun holding one of the students in her arms to help him go back to sleep.

“Everything okay?”

“Oh, yeah. Everything is fine, it was just about a job interview.”

“Where are you headed?”

“My friend’s dad’s boss needs a sitter, so I agreed to help.”

“Desperate, huh?”

Jeno smiled, shaking his head, “you have no idea.”

#tw drug use #tw recreational drug use #jeno #lee jeno #jeno scenario #jeno fic #Lee Jeno fluff #im not dead hehe

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estamos-destinadas · 4 years

Text

So, I recently--and by that I mean this past week--started working on a new story idea for Juliantina.

I’ve had a bad case of writer’s block these past couple of months--the ideas are there, I just couldn’t seem to put them into words. It was such a relief to me when, after I thought of this idea, the words just started flowing.

Since this story has me really excited, I thought I’d share the first half of the first chapter of the story. As always, I won’t post it on Ao3 until it’s done. And please, if you can, refrain from reblogging 😅-- I kinda feel guilty when I see my story ideas going around and they’re unfinished.

Anyway, story under the cut (please work because this is long.)

On Earth Year 3010, the year Juliana turned ten, she and her mother, Lupé, left the slums of Santonio for the Palacio del Progreso.

The Progreso was in fact a sprawling estate, the “Palacio” in its name taken from the grand mansion at the heart of it. It was the residence of the Carvajals, whose patriarch, León Carvajal, was one of the Administrators of the Nor-Am Oligarchy. The thirteen Administrator families were descended from the billionaires of hundreds of years ago, their riches accumulating with each new generation, wealth unchecked becoming power unopposed until North America stopped pretending to be a democracy and became a nation ruled by its thirteen richest families.

Juliana did not know that particular history. In the slums, education was a fever dream, and there was no time to dream. She did know—she could observe—that the Progreso was as different from Santonio as it was possible to be.

Where Santonio had murky canals, the Progreso had crystal clear pools; where Santonio was blanketed with smog, the air within the Progreso’s perimeter was cleaned by powerful purifiers; where Santonio was all filthy and derelict buildings, the Progreso was true to its palatial name; where the ground of Santonio could barely grow weeds, the Progreso’s greenhouses and gardens boasted plants and flowers and trees that no longer occurred naturally in Earth’s poisoned soil.

Lupé had taken a job as one of the caretakers of the Progreso’s gardens. Lucía, an old friend, and now León Carvajal’s new wife, had gotten it for her. She and Lucía had used to work at one of the factories owned by the Carvajals, where they’d worked 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, all through the year for little pay. But then León had seen Lucía and had fallen in love, taking her to the Progreso. Lucía, who would not forget the life she’d led until then, had found jobs for her old friends within the estate’s walls.

In the Nor-Am Oligarchy, connection mattered.

That connection gave Lupé a job with gentler hours and better pay. The connection meant that she and her daughter could live in the staff’s compound within the Progreso, in an apartment that was much bigger than their old matchbox of a room in Santonio. It meant that Juliana could stop taking odd jobs to supplement their income, could stop worrying about her next meal. It meant that, finally, she could start getting her education.

⁂

Education was a completely new experience for Juliana and, at first, it felt like butting her head against a wall, or maybe trying to breathe underwater in one of Santonio’s canals.

It did help, however, that León Carvajal provided air-conditioned vehicles for his residential staff’s children, which daily took them outside of the Progreso, through affluent but smog-filled streets, and to a nearby school with air-conditioned buildings. It also helped that the Progreso’s main library was open to its residents, from the Carvajal family, to their guests, and even to the estate’s numerous staff and servants.

Every day, after school, when the other kids went to play in the rec area of the staff’s compound, Juliana went to the library, trying to catch up to classmates who had been going to school their whole lives.

That was where she met Valentina, almost a month after she and her mother arrived at the Palacio del Progreso.

Juliana, having taken a break from reviewing her lessons, was flipping through a book about 21st-century art—an actual paper book, that was how rich the Carvajals were—when she heard the sound of poorly-suppressed sobs. It was coming from a nearby row of kiosks, where one could download books and magazines and all sorts of digital media to their own personal devices.

Juliana decided to investigate. She passed by the kiosks, looking through the gaps between them, until she saw a girl sitting at a table near the windows. The girl, who was gazing downwards with her shoulders hunched, seemed to be her age. Juliana hesitated for a moment before approaching the girl.

“Estás bien?” Juliana asked.

The girl’s shoulders stiffened, her soft sobs cutting off, but she made no reply.

“Necesitas algo?”

“Estar sola, necesito… estar sola.”

“I’m sorry, it’s just that I heard you crying and I thought—” Juliana cut herself off. What was she thinking, bothering someone who clearly wanted to be alone. “You’re right,” she awkwardly scuffed the sole of her shoe against the marble floor. “I’ll let you be.”

With that, Juliana turned on her heel, but she had only taken one step away before the girl called out to her with a, “Hey, sorry, wait.” When Juliana turned back to her, the girl added, “I think—I think I’m fine, thank you.”

If the tears in her eyes did not tell Juliana that the girl was lying, the way her voice shook did. Her heart went out to the sad girl, who had the prettiest face Juliana had ever seen, though her brain filed that information away for later.

Juliana sat on the chair across from the girl. “So, what is it?” she asked, frank as any ten-year old. She didn’t know why, but she wanted to help solve the girl’s problem, even though she’d just met her, even if she didn’t know who she was.

The girl wiped her tears before launching into it. “My dad wants me to go to school! I don’t want to go to school. I want to stay here and read what I want to read, not what schools think I should read. And I want to go with him or my sister when they take trips to other nations, or to the moon, or to the other planets. If I go to school, I can only go with them during the holidays.”

Juliana had never met another kid who talked about travelling to other nations or other planets so casually, but she focused on what they did have in common. It seemed that the girl had also never been to school before.

“Oh, well, school’s not so bad, you know,” Juliana told the girl. “I started it for the first time last month too. Reading’s really hard—” Lupé had taught Juliana how to read when she was younger, but the slums of Santonio was not conducive to such an activity, “—but I’m learning a lot of really cool things. Like, did you know that North and South America used to be connected by land? I didn’t even know there was a South America!”

The girl gaped wordlessly at Juliana, her blue eyes wide and curious. When she found her voice, she began delicately, “I… I know. I’m learning with my tutors, but I don’t want to go to school. I want to do things at my own pace.”

“You can do that? Learn with tutors, I mean?” Juliana asked, borrowing the girl’s phrasing. It would be nice to learn at her own pace. It just seemed to Juliana that all her classmates were far ahead of her.

“Yes?” The girl cleared her throat. “I mean, yes.”

“Oh,” Juliana said, feeling like she was missing something. It began to dawn on her that the clothes the girl was wearing looked very expensive. On a hunch, she asked, “Do you live at the compound?”

“Huh?” the girl started, though she quickly added, “Oh, the staff’s compound! Uhm, no. I live here.”

“Like the guest houses?” Juliana almost begged. The guest houses were near the library after all.

The girl’s lips turned at the corners. “No, at the mansion.”

Which meant, Juliana realised, that the girl was a member of the Carvajal family, and that the dad she’d been talking about was León Carvajal himself. Juliana blushed, but before she could really process how embarrassing it was to tell the daughter of an Administrator of the North American Oligarchy that she had not known there was a South America, the girl’s smile broke out.

It was a kind smile. The girl’s gentle gaze told Juliana that she wasn’t being judged for her ignorance.

“You know,” the girl began, “I’m a really good reader. I got almost a hundred percent in my speed reading and reading comprehension tests.”

It was Juliana’s turn to gape at the girl. “Okay?”

“I could teach you!” the girl said excitedly, her previous complaints about school seemingly forgotten. “You said you found reading hard, I could help you get better at it. Only if you want to, of course,” she added quickly.

“I—really?” Juliana asked, not quite believing that the daughter of León Carvajal would want to help her get better at reading.

“Yes, really,” the girl said fervently. “Oh, but I don’t even know your name.” Before Juliana could reply, the girl extended her hand across the table. “I’m Valentina.”

As Juliana took the offered hand, she began to mirror the girl’s wide grin. “Juliana.”

⁂

A friendship was quickly formed.

True to her word, Valentina helped Juliana get better at reading, and even helped her with her lessons. School became easier for Juliana, and Valentina became more amenable to school, as long as she went to the same one as Juliana. Valentina was a year older than Juliana so they would not be in the same class, but at least they would be in the same place.

It spun another argument between Valentina and her father; the school Juliana and the other children of the residential staff went to did not have the prestige befitting a daughter of the Administrator. But Valentina was stubborn and used to getting her way, so Administrator León Carvajal had to compromise. Valentina was allowed to go to the same school as Juliana, as long as she continued to study with her tutors. Valentina was perfectly content with the arrangement.

Outside of school, where Valentina wanted to go, Juliana happily followed. Not that Valentina went where Juliana did not want to go, or could not follow. They spent all their time together, whether it was at the library, the gardens to visit Juliana’s mom, the sports and rec areas around the Progreso, particularly the poolhouse to go swimming, even the mansion itself. The last one took some getting used to for Juliana, but she eventually became comfortable enough to not feel like an intruder in the Carvajal family mansion.

They were inseparable.

One could say that Juliana and Valentina took to each other as a fish takes to the sea, or as a bird takes to the sky, but most birds had gone extinct, and what fish there was left lived in the depths of the ocean, or were cultivated in tanks or artificial bodies of water.

The older people had a different metaphor for it: linked by the guts.

One time, Lupé burst out in fond exasperation, “Why do you always have to go with the Administrator’s daughter everywhere? Are your guts linked together?”

Another time, León asked, “Are you really not going with me and Lucía to Venus because Juliana can’t come?” When Valentina answered in the affirmative, he observed in amusement, “You two are linked by the guts.” A few days after that, Juliana was preparing for her first interplanetary trip.

Guille, Valentina’s older brother, remarked that they were like the entangled particles of paired Qubes.

Qubes—or Quantumly-Entangled Communication Boxes—always came in pairs. The subatomic particles inside one Qube were quantumly-entangled with the particles of one other Qube. Whatever configuration the particles of one Qube were in, that was always reflected in its paired Qube.

Nothing can travel faster than light. The speed of light itself was a constant, limited, and as a communication medium light was prone to interference.

It meant that, in the past, off-world communication was slow and unreliable. When physicists and engineers unlocked the secrets of quantum entanglement almost a millennium ago, the exchange of messages became instantaneous with paired Qubes.

Nothing can travel faster than light, but there was a way to work around it.

Of course, Qubes were of the most use in interplanetary or interstellar communications. Within a planet’s atmosphere, radio waves and cables were still the more efficient form of communication, if only because they were much cheaper and faster to make.

So Valentina balked at her brother’s analogy. “That makes no sense, Guille,” she told him in no uncertain terms. “Entangled particles—paired Qubes—are useful when they are very far apart from each other, like light years apart. I don’t want to be light years apart from Juliana.”

They were at the mansion’s kitchen, watching Chivis, one the family’s personal servants, prepare an afternoon snack for Valentina and Juliana when Guille joined them and made his observation.

Glancing at her best friend, Valentina caught Juliana’s shy smile at her declaration. Valentina couldn’t help but mirror her smile. They’d known each other for a little over a year by then; Valentina understood the irrefutable truth of her statement. She did not want to be apart from Juliana. In fact, she wanted to be as close to her as possible, often longing to brush Juliana’s hair, to rub her cheeks against Juliana’s cheeks. With the kitchen counter between them, Valentina settled for grabbing Juliana’s hand. Juliana met her gaze; Valentina’s smile widened.

Guille waved a hand at the two of them, as if to demonstrate his point, but Valentina and Juliana were still gazing at each other and Chivis ignored him. “Well,” he said, clearing his throat to get their attention, “if you two lived light years apart, you two would still be—” he linked his hands through interlaced fingers, “—entangled.”

Juliana felt her face heat up, pleased and flattered. She thought it was nice, to hear Valentina’s brother make such remarks about their closeness.

Valentina thought differently. “Don’t even joke about that,” she said, slapping her brother’s arm, not appreciating the idea of living far away from Juliana.

Guille laughed as he moved away from Valentina, pretending to be hurt. Valentina laughed at his reaction. Juliana laughed at Valentina’s laughter, the way her eyes crinkled and her cheeks dimpled.

Chivis, much older and with much more experience of life, did not laugh at their banter.

⁂

Nothing can travel faster than light. The speed of light itself was a constant, a hard physical limit of the universe: 299,792.5 kilometres per second. In one Earth Year, light traveled a distance of 9.46 trillion kilometres: 1 light year.

The fastest interstellar ships were powered by warp drives, first built by physicists and engineers from over half a millennium ago. The warp ships were named after a fictional technology from millennia-old stories, but whereas the warp ships from the stories could overtake the speed of light by ever-increasing magnitudes, the real warp ships could not. Warp ships could travel nearly as fast as light, but not as fast as, and never faster.

Apart from an obscure reference to old fictional stories, warp ships were so called because of how it warped time for the ship’s passengers. At or near the speed of light, time dilated. To anyone and anything within a warp ship, trips take only a few hours, even a few minutes. To everyone and everything outside it, a ship that traveled a distance of a hundred light years would have taken a hundred Earth Years to get from its origin to its destination.

At the advent of warp ships, a group of astronauts travelled to Proxima Centauri—4 light years from Earth—then after a week at the system returned to Earth for a total distance travelled of 8 light years. To the astronauts, the round trip had taken a few minutes each way; to everyone outside the ship, the trip had taken over 8 years. One of the astronauts had been a mother. When she’d come back, her daughter—left on Earth—had aged 8 years in the absence that to the mother felt much less than that.

Because of the time dilation—the warp—it was impossible to interact with anyone and anything within a ship while it was traveling nearly as fast as light. Not even through Qubes, which were invented a couple of centuries before the warp ships. Even entangled particles could not sync when a second for one meant a lifetime for the other.

To travel in a warp ship at a distance of light years—5, 10, 100—meant to jump in time 5, 10, or 100 years to the future, putting not just space but also time between yourself and your loved ones.

Chivis, older and wiser, knew this. Interstellar travel was a special kind of heartbreak, it was no laughing matter.

Almost a year after that joking banter between the siblings, Valentina and Guille began to understand that heartbreak.

After warp ships were perfected, humanity began the Hundred Year Exodus. For a hundred years—and more—warp ships carrying thousands of people set off for far flung planets, hoping for a cleaner world, for better societies. Now, centuries later, the human diaspora was spread out over 500 light years from Earth in different directions, linked only by the paired Qubes the emigrants brought with them. But to travel to those colonies, hundreds of light years away, meant leaving the Earth as one knew it for good.

Chivis, who was retiring, had announced just that: she was going away to a colonised planet more than 200 light years’ distance from Earth.

“By the time she gets there, I’d be dead,” Valentina said lowly to Juliana.

They were lying side by side on Valentina’s bed, on the evening after Chivis’ departure. Valentina and Juliana often had sleepovers at the Carvajal family mansion. Usually they would be giggling over some vid or book or something that happened during the day, but when Juliana joined Valentina that evening, the latter had been crying into her pillows for most of the afternoon.

Valentina continued talking. “I know that she chose that planet because her children decided to move there, but she is—was—is,” Valentina huffed, even the tenses got confusing, “she’s like family to me too.” Valentina knew that she could not have hoped to compare against Chivis’ children and grandchildren when the woman had still been weighing her decision, but it had still hurt when Chivis had told her that she was leaving. “I’m going to miss her. I already miss her.”

“Val,” Juliana said gently, taking her best friend’s hand in hers and interlocking their fingers, “she’s going to miss you too. And it wasn’t an easy decision for her to make. She said so, right?”

“Yeah,” Valentina agreed in a whisper.

“She loved—she loves you Val, that doesn’t change.”

“It still sucks.”

“I know,” Juliana said gently, squeezing Valentina’s hand.

Valentina squeezed back before moving sideways and closing the distance between them so that her head was against Juliana’s shoulder, her hand wrapped around Juliana’s arms, her leg draped over Juliana’s legs.

“It helps that you’re here,” Valentina said. Suddenly overtaken with a certain fear, she gripped Juliana’s arm tightly, but it went away just as quickly and she loosened her hold. “I’m glad you’re here.”

⁂

That was not Valentina’s first experience with loss.

She had only been eight years old when her mother had passed away, and Valentina’s longing for her never quite went out.

“I still look around for her sometimes,” she’d once confessed to Juliana in a whisper, a few months after they’d met.

Even then, Valentina had found it easy to talk to Juliana about anything. She’d been the only person Valentina could really talk to about how it had felt to lose her mother at such a young age. It was the way Juliana had listened to her every word, and had seemed to understand exactly what Valentina had meant.

Valentina had tried to return the favour, tried to ask Juliana about her father, but Juliana had always clammed up when the subject was brought up.

It wasn’t until the day Juliana turned thirteen that she opened up about her father. He had not come to celebrate with her and Lupé, but he’d sent her some presents.

“I’m not really cut up that he didn’t come,” Juliana told Valentina matter-of-factly after her party, where she’d invited a few of her classmates. “I’m used to it,” she added with a shrug.

Macario Valdés had rarely ever been around back in Santonio; he had never come to visit once Lupé and Juliana moved to the Progreso.

“It was probably for the best anyway. He would have scared everyone off.”

He was a harsh man, not given to gentleness or affection.

“I’m surprised he even gave me anything.”

He was cold and distant.

“But maybe these actually came from Lupé, and she only pretended that it was from him.”

There was no doubt in Juliana’s mind that Lupé loved him dearly, that Lupé thought he was the most amazing man in the entire world. She could see it from the way Lupé talked about him, from the way Lupé preened on the rare occasion that he called.

To Juliana, he was just her mother’s absent husband. At least that was what she told herself.

Valentina did not understand how anyone could ever choose to be absent from Juliana’s life, but she did not say that out loud. Instead, she asked, “What did he get you?”

“Some books?” Juliana said doubtfully. Lupé had said that she’d downloaded them onto Juliana’s personal tablet, but Juliana hadn’t looked at it yet. “Which, I don’t know why, because there’s a library here.” She did not know what her father could have sent her that was not available in the Progreso’s huge library. “But I guess that means they really were from him.” Lupé would not have gotten her books.

Juliana huffed, waving away thoughts of absent fathers and thoughtless gifts. She looked at Valentina. “Thank you for your presents, by the way. Me encantan mucho.”

She’d already thanked her, but she felt like she could not express her gratitude enough. Valentina had gotten her a painting set, an actual physical painting set, with paper sketchbooks, a few canvases, and pencils and brushes and water colours. Juliana had done normal art—digital art—from the time she’d gotten her first tablet, but she’d always wanted to do art on paper and canvases.

“Of course,” Valentina said, “anything for you, Juls.”

Juliana smiled shyly, meeting Valentina’s eyes until, feeling overwhelmed by the depths of emotion in them, she gazed down at their joined hands and burrowed closer to Valentina, who tightened her hold around Juliana.

They were in Juliana’s bed, about to turn in for the night. Juliana’s other guests had left after the birthday party but Valentina had stayed for the rare sleepover at the Valdéses’ apartment. Juliana’s single bed was much smaller than Valentina’s so it was a tight squeeze, but Juliana didn’t mind. In fact, she liked it a lot.

Juliana liked being pressed close to Valentina. She liked holding Valentina’s hand. She liked it when Valentina hugged her tightly; she would always hug back and never want to let go. She liked it when Valentina kissed her cheeks; that was a new thing that Valentina did, and Juliana could not get enough of it. She liked it when Valentina would watch her for long moments, those pretty blue eyes seemingly glued on Juliana, even though it made her a little shy. And she liked gazing at Valentina in turn, never wanting to take her eyes off of her, because Valentina was the most beautiful person Juliana had ever seen, and she had the prettiest smile that made Juliana’s insides seem to fly.

This premise/idea is actually not a new one. I’ve been mulling it over in my head for years, but I’ve never been interested in putting one of my ships in this setting until Juliantina--not in writing or even in stories that are just in my head.

I’ve also wanted to write a certain kind of fic, a certain mood of fic, for Juliantina, but nothing seemed to fit their personalities--well, Val’s personality. I think this premise would achieve that mood without making them OOC. (I don’t know if I’m making any sense lol.)

Oh, and if you’ve reached this far, I wonder if you could guess where this story would be headed? 😊

#fic #au #mine #teaser #stories #if you are wondering about the harry potter au #like I said above #I've had a bad case of writer's block #I have the next installment outlined #but the words are stubbornly refusing to be formed #I had to take a step back #and increase my reading (not fics but published works) to sort of get those words #but somehow this was what came of that #oh well #I will still continue with the hp au though #the next installment just won't come soon

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jjba-hell · 4 years

Text

Fate and Fortune

Part 15!

Here’s part 14- but you can catch the rest of the story in the fate and fortune tag!

Moots: welcome to the weekend @fyre23 and @risottoneroo

“It’s quite a sight, isn’t it?” She mused at Jotaro as they gazed out at the underwater scene passing them by.

Those aquamarine eyes stared with a hidden fascination that she had to admire herself- the harsh outer corners of his eyes softening just enough to not look angry for once.

“What were your study plans post- graduation?”

She couldn’t help but scoff- she jumped through hoops for her benefactor currently on the phone with his wife who turned out to be somewhat of a crouching moron, hidden badass. Her grades allowed her to probably do what she wanted but she was honestly clueless- perhaps she’d join the science scene JUST to piss off the men that told her she couldn’t. And maybe devise more of a theory on stand fever but she’d never dare bring that last one up in conversation. “If I’m being spiteful- science. If I walk out of this-“

“When.”

Her gaze moved up to meet his gaze- his eyes very sternly looking down at her. “WHEN we walk out of this and I’ve had my revenge and I mellow out I’ll probably go do something like physical therapy or something.”

The corners Jotaro’s mouth twitched up slightly. “Why?”

“Because I want to be able to stretch out my previously torn Achilles’ tendons on my own- what can I say?” She laughed at her own answer but was quickly shushed by Avdol holding a finger to his lips behind them.

Vera nodded in acknowledgement and moved over to pester Kakyoin by leaning over his shoulder as he knelt down at the fridge. “Hello Vera.” She handed her a Cola which was enough incentive for her to move along to sit beside Polnareff.

She listened intently to the conversation- trying to scrap together how Holly was doing in Japan. Turning to Avdol she whispered the question- “Was I also sick for 50 days?”

He only shook his head as Mr Joestar hung up the phone and sat down at the table. “Don’t you think it would have been better for Holy to have had someone who survived the fever at her side?”

Polnareff posed the question but she had to turn up the sarcasm. “Geez Polnareff, if you didn’t want me on the journey with you guys you could have just said so- learn to PROPERLY use a medical kit and all.”

He turned blood red to his collarbones in embarrassment- “I didn’t mean it like that at all- I just-“

“She’s pulling your leg, Polnareff.” Avdol interjected as he folded his arms in front of him. “Besides- stand fevers can vary but Vera’s was probably the shortest but most intense I had seen in many years.”

“Oh? Care to share?” She propped her head on her folded hands and her elbows on the table. “I have very little memory of the whole ordeal.”

He raised an eyebrow at her. “None?”

“I mean I recall feeling I was burning alive but that’s old news.”

Avdol’s eyes often turned very dark when he was reminiscing in dark memories- she speculated he was not thinking of the emotions tied to the memories. A PTSD trick perhaps?

“Vera, you were in and out of consciousness for 3 weeks without reprieve. When your heartbeat and breathing became week I caved and dipped you ice baths in an attempt to cool down the fever long enough for your body to heal- head and all. I would however sometimes find you out of bed gasping for- well usually- water, other times you made it just to the bathroom to stick your head under the water. You remember none of it?”

“Avdol, I recall you explaining what was going on with me once and then when I got out of the fever.”

“So you don’t recall sitting up and drinking the juiced food only for you to vomit it up an hour later?”

Her jaw dropped in shock. “I most certainly don’t.”

He shook his head and that dark look in his eyes eased off. “It wasn’t pretty.”

She sat back and crossed her legs- sighing to herself. “No fever for you Jotaro? I know the rest of you were born stand users.”

He only shrugged. “How about you, Mr Joestar? Or was the... Hamon... did I say that right? Enough to keep the symptoms mild?”

“I’m afraid not.” He chuckled- still seeming to be worrying about his daughter.

“I do think your case was strange in the sense that you were hit at a time I suppose that made your resolve weak- the trauma of what Dio had done... I suppose you were convinced that your life was essentially over.”

“Well I pulled through, didn’t I? Or is this just an illusion while I’m still in the stand fever?”

It had at least gotten a laugh from the others before, of course, that jinx on the beach had caught up to her and Mr Joestar’s coffee cup erupted into a stand.

Fortune jumped out to grab the dismantled prosthetic fingers from digging into Mr Joestar’s neck. Sadly, she was too slow to catch the stand itself, though.

“Man, one trip- we couldn’t bring one trip to completion?”

“It’s Midler- the High Priestess.”

She looked back at Avdol as the all backed away from the dials. “Figured out by elimination? Or because you’ve heard of her?”

“Both?” He shrugged. But she didn’t have time to banter now. “Polnareff, may I use you for a bet?”

“Uhhh right now?”

“Yeah- I bet you can guess which dial the stand is. First guess will be the right guess.”

He seemed to click as Fortune’s dials turned and immediately brought Chariot out to let his guess do the work.

They had only gotten one hit in- which was what caused the fucking flooding to start. Their next attempt proved that Midler had learned her lesson- using that speed to steel her stand for impact. “Shit. Anyone else wanna take a swing at it?”

In the confusion they hadn’t noticed the busted surfacing machinery and with an abrupt crash the submarine had met the reef.

“Well- now’s good a time as ever to jump ship, yeah?” Vera had phased into the next room- almost on what felt like instinct which was strange, she only noted as she could hear the others having problems with the door. Did Fortune...? Was that...?

She shook her head and went ahead- to separate the gear Mr Joestar was thankfully insistent on.

They had eventually reached the room she was waiting in but when she saw Jotaro’s hands smearing blood she had to stop herself from panicking- simply sending Fortune to heal him without another word.

Vera got into the equipment- letting Mr Joestar start explaining to the others how they’ll be surfacing while she clicked in and adjusted the straps he couldn’t with one hand.

“I had the perfect hand signal.” Polnareff complained just as she moved back to Avdol- trying to make out if the High Priestess was still advancing on them but the handshake Polnareff and Kakyoin did at one another in unison had Vera question if it really was the redhead she’d been with the whole trip that was budding forearms with Polnareff as they waited for the water to fill the chamber.

“Where did you learn to scuba dive anyway?” Mr Joestar was the one to ask this time. “Oh, an expedition to Greece I had as a field trip about a year ago? You don’t recall paying? I mean I practiced at a facility in Brittain but it was an archeological dive they let me accompany.”

“You can dive at that age?” Kakyoin was the one asking this time. The water had reached just below her chest by now.

“Of course not unsupervised but enough.”

They dipped their heads under the water and as soon as Mr Joestar opened the door out, Polnareff’s regulator proved a problem. It was hard to do but for just a moment Fortune made him cough- the force being just enough to keep the stupid little stand out of his throat so Hierophant and Hermit purple could catch her and yank him out of his mouth.

Vera let Polnareff handle the battle against the harpoon before shutting the door behind him and offering him a breath from her regulator. They gave the okay sign once more before swimming ahead.

30 meters felt like nothing but of course just a measly seven meters the seabed opened its mouth and swallowed them completely. As the usual villains do, she went on a spiel about her greatness and then turned her attention to Jotaro. While she did and while Polnareff was helping him entertain the idea- she simply phased herself out to beside the face where she’d hopefully not be spotted. The face flowed red and seemingly... giggled as she got closer to the surface- the giddiness of being home being a thought that fueled her higher to the surface until the water was illuminated by the sun.

She let go of her tank, goggles and regulator- clipping it off and letting it sink so she was in her own sopping wet clothes. She dipped her head up out of the water- feeling the fresh air hit her face as she watched Midler pace around on the beach. Freaking out about their false flattery like an angry woman on the phone.

“Wait a minute... where’s the girl?”

She was about to call for all her attention with a bold entrance but she soon started to see Midler’s own teeth shatter in her mouth. Vera tiredly lugged herself closer to watch the carnage- sitting down on the rock nearby, only making eye contact with the frantic Midler once before she got knocked down and out.

“What was all that strength you were talking about again?”

Midler narrowed her eyes at her before covering her mouth in pain. The others soon showed up and with a relived sigh Vera took a good look at what she could only describe as a feeling of home. The sun had just started to rise in the east and the sight was one she’d hope to remember until her dying days.

“Welcome home, Vera.”

“Home indeed. Now- we can finally put the fucking sea behind us!”

#jojo's bizarre adventure #jojo no kimyou na bouken #jojo part 3 #jotaro kujo #joseph joestar #noriaki kakyoin #jean pierre polnareff #muhammed avdol #fate and fortune #OC content #OC Vera

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what-big-teeth · 4 years

Text

Imprint (Asrai Girlfriend, pt. 2)

Female Reader (POV) x Female Monster [Part 1]

Lime ; NSFW-ish

The next day is awkward in noticeable ways.

Your idea to prepare homemade, fruit-filled pancakes is halted when you spot Silas slumped over at the dining room table. The empty whiskey glass near his head tells you plenty, as much as you’d rather not know. As a courtesy, you place the tumbler in the sink and decide to munch on a large apple in your room instead.

Come midday, as you sit on the porch swing enjoying the fresh air and texting your parents, something shatters. Your hurry back inside, finding Silas staring down at a pile of ceramic shards and a ruined breakfast sandwich. Like the plate, he looks utterly broken.

“Sorry.” His tight voice trembles. “I’ll get a broom and dustpan.”

You try to offer your assistance, but he turns his back to you and trudges towards the washroom. Watching him clean up his accident will hurt more than help, so you return to the front porch.

After a simple late lunch, one which you offered and Silas accepted, you hold a video call with Dr. Harn about your exposure therapy in the living room.

“I managed to stay at the pier’s end for a few minutes,” you say.

With Maris serving as an incentive, how could you not? You don’t mention her to Dr. Harn though, knowing her existence is something straight from a fairy tale.

“That’s a rather happy expression,” Dr. Harn says. “Did something good happen?”

You start to think of a more, mundane white lie. A deafening “no” from upstairs interrupts you.

Dr. Harn calls your name, concerned. You quickly assure her of your safety and promise to call her back. Laptop secured on the couch, you climb the stairs two at a time and swiftly reach the smaller guestroom. You see Silas through a gap in the opened door, his cheeks flushed an angry red.

“Sara, if you would just—”

You hear a sharp click and a monotonous dial tone. She’s hung up. Silas stares down at his smartphone with red-rimmed eyes, mouth opened.

“Damnit!”

He throws his phone, drops onto the bed and presses his face into his open hands.

The phone skitters to a stop against the door. Using that as a cue, you slowly step inside. You squat down and pick up his phone, sad to see a noticeable crack stretching across the touch screen.

“Silas?”

“Don’t.”

His fingers dig into the bare flesh of his upper arms.

“I bet you’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

You’re too stunned to answer. Silas barks out a sharp laugh.

“I treated you like shit when we were kids,” he says. “Seeing me like this must be great. The childhood bully getting his comeuppance later in life. Sweet karmic vengeance, right?”

You don’t reply. Instead, you close the distance between you and him then offer his phone. Silas stares at the device in a quiet stupor.

“Why?” he croaks out.

“Because there’s nothing to enjoy.”

It isn’t hard to overpower his pitiful, weakening stare. His gaze drops and he reclaims his damaged phone. You feel your anger building deep from within, thick and heavy. Jagged remnants from your childhood attempt to seize hold, but you hold them at bay.

“If I was still a kid, I probably would enjoy this. God only knows how much I hated you guys for bullying me so much. But I’m not. I don’t enjoy seeing you like this, Silas. If anything, I feel sorry for you.”

You take a deep, shuddering breath.

“That’s why I want to know if there’s anything I can do to help.”

The lake house falls silent. Not even the usual creaks and groans make themselves known. Silas’ shoulders tremble and he buries his face in his hands.

He tells you of the disagreements between him and his wife that have led to full-blown arguments. How he involved their daughter one too many times; how his wife kicked him out of the house without a shred of regret.

“I keep trying to tell her my side of things,” he says. “But she never listens.”

It’s sad. The answer is so simple that you wonder how Silas never saw it. But then, you remember how Simon would pose as the leader when it came to his brother, including how they bullied you. You wonder if things could have been different if Silas stood up to his older twin brother.

“Have you tried listening to her before telling her your side of things?”

Silas stills. He peers up at you, looking confused and lost. It confirms your suspicions.

“Relationships are a two-way street,” you say. You think back to the incident on the tire swing. “When you don’t listen to someone, you make them feel less than. Like they don’t matter. So when they need you the most, they feel like they can’t depend on you.”

You hold his gaze, your lips thinning into a line.

“And when you confirm that belief, they’re left feeling betrayed.”

Silas’ eyes begin to fill with tears and you know you’ve said enough. You’re inches from the guest room door when Silas laughs once more. Strangely, it’s tinged with awe.

“God, you’ve really changed, haven’t you?”

You look over your shoulder and manage to give him a small smile.

“That’s usually what happens when someone grows up.”

Later that night, you prepare a comforting dinner and call to Silas from the dining room. He approaches the table in an odd timid manner, quietly asking to take his food upstairs. You let him and he thanks you sincerely, promising to handle his own dishes.

After cleaning up and tucking yourself into bed, you allow the muted sounds of the lake lull you. Before sleep takes you under, you think you hear Silas murmuring from across the hallway. But as your eyes close, you aren’t certain.

The next morning brings an odd surprise. Silas, looking much more composed than before, stands in the kitchen doorway with his luggage in hand. You wipe your washed hands with a dishtowel by the sink.

“You’re leaving?”

He nods. “Sara and I made headway last night. And it’s all thank to you.”

The sincerity in his voice catches you off guard. It’s an anomaly, one you never expected to ever hear. You honestly aren’t sure how to feel.

“Uh, sure thing. No problem.”

“There’s also something else.”

Silas steps into the room and stands arms’ length away from you. You bite at the inside of your cheek, unsure of what he’ll do.

“I’m sorry for bullying you when we were kids,” he says. “And I’m sorry for not speaking up or stopping Simon when I had the chance. I knew what we did was wrong; I just never thought about how it would affect you.”

He rubs at the back of his neck, his Adam’s apple bobbing.

“If you decide to forgive me, that’s fine. And even if you don’t, that’s fine as well. I’ll leave that up to you.”

For the second time, Silas leaves you standing before him, utterly stunned. Silas nods at you and walks past, pulling his luggage behind him. Your throat finally opens as your mouth closes with a soft click.

“W-wait.”

Silas pauses with his hand on the door knob. He doesn’t look back at you and you find yourself feeling grateful for his consideration.

“Is…How is Simon doing?”

Silas’ head bows a few inches.

“He’s still facing his own demons from that day,” he says.

You inhale a deep, silent breath and smile.

“Then I hope he conquers them.”

Moments later, Silas leaves, all traces of his visit gone with him. It’s only when the sound of his truck’s departure fades completely that your wrist cools and tingles.

The sensation guides you to the pier’s edge where Maris is waiting for you. It’s then you realize the sky is overcast like before, overflowing with darkening clouds. She floats in the water, her body utterly still and tilts her head.

“Is everything well?” she asks.

Warmth blossoms in your chest. Your smile is small, but genuine.

“Not everything,” you say, “but it’s a promising start.”

Maris grins.

You sit down and soon learn more about her. Her kind has existed since the creation of nature, before humanity. Born of dew and moonlight, they wandered the earth, finding homes in lakes and sea. But because of their nature, they sleep underwater in the shadows during the day and only emerge when the sun is tucked away or nighttime reigns.

As for Maris herself, she has known about your family since she was just a child, when her older sister was still living with her in the lake. She never took much interest, more so as her sister was highly protective. But that all changed when she first saw you.

To say her words flatter you is an understatement. A cool touch caresses your heated cheek. Maris sits before you, face to face, using the lake water as a seat once more.

“Can I ask…” You wet your lips. “Is your sister still here?”

Her thumb stops skimming your cheek.

“No,” she says. The light in her eyes dim. “A trespasser captured her on a sunny day. She faded away before they could reach the lakeside.”

Your throat tightens. No matter how much you swallow, the lump refuses to sink. You reach up and hold Maris’ hand in yours.

“You’ve been lonely since then, haven’t you?”

She nods, attempting a smile; it falls short. As her gaze shifts away, you vow to never see that heartrending expression again. Not if you can help it.

“Can I see again tomorrow? And after that?”

Maris’ mouth falls open. She doesn’t move for the longest of moments until she nods.

“Yes. I would like that immensely.”

You squeeze her hand and let it go just as a peel of thunder rips through the air. You bid her farewell and hurry back inside the lake house just before the sky cracks open.

During your week-long stay, in-between checking in with Dr. Harn and your parents, you spend the rest of your time at the lakeside.

On clear days, Maris only appears at night, when the sun has long sunk beneath the horizon. She welcomes you every time, sometimes with a bright smile and other times with a soft yawn. Both are endearing and you find yourself recalling those moments and many more.

Learning more about Maris—how her nose crumples when she laughs, her innate curiosity about people, her deep insights when speaking of nature, her otherworldliness; it all pulls you closer to an edge that your heart has slowly led you to.

You fall completely during your last night at the lake house.

Maris stands on the water’s surface, her face tilted her face tilted up towards the full, bright moon. Strands of moonlight weave together across her form and hair, making them softly glow. Her hands skim across her body, trapping the light underneath her skin.

The entrancing sight draws a faint gasp from you. Maris pauses and she turns towards you. She smiles and slips into the water without causing any ripples. Moments later, she appears next to the lakeside and sits on the water’s surface.

It takes every ounce of your self-control to not run. But your steps are still hurried as her sweet smiles holds an unspoken promise. Perhaps a lingering kiss or a gentle caress. When she calls your name, your heart leaps. As you near closer, she speaks.

“This is your last night here, correct?”

Your thundering pulse calms. You nod, sitting on the lush grass.

“That’s right. I have to head back home. To get ready for graduate school.”

Maris closes the distance between you both by twining her fingers with yours. You shudder pleasantly at her cool touch.

“I am glad to have met your properly. And I am happy I had the opportunity to learn more about you.”

Her gaze boldly meets yours as her grip on your hand tightens ever so slightly.

“I hope you will not forget me.”

You open your mouth to reply. But you’re left speechless. Because in this moment, knowing what your heart wants and hoping she’ll reciprocate, words would fail.

This fact emboldens you to act instead.

You pull away from Maris, unsurprised at how empty your hand feels without hers in it. But you need both hands to shuck off your shoes and remove your socks. Keeping your gaze focused on Maris’ questioning expression, you scoot closer to the lake’s edge. You dip your legs into the water and extend your arms towards her.

Maris is quick to fall into your embrace. And to your immense happiness, she presses a kiss against your lips.

From there, you both soon fall into a tangle of bare limbs, warm and cool, intermixed with large tendrils of water arising from the lake.

Your lips move from her mouth to her neck, down, down, down until you taste her and nearly fall drunk. Her sighs and mewls are lyrical, a song only meant for the two of you. And the more attentive you are, the more beautifully she sings.

With your guidance, she takes you apart with clever fingers and her cool mouth. Then she makes you whole with gentle words, soft kisses, and chilled caresses. You know you’ll not want for anyone else.

So you voice your decision, despite being dazed from her teasing kisses.

“I’ll find a way,” you breathe.

She steals your breath soon after with a light laugh.

“To do what?”

Your gaze meets her without wavering.

“To be with you.”

Maris stills, shifting back so she no longer leans over you. Her vivid sea-green eyes are wide and the light in them is unreadable.

“I’ll find a way,” you say again. “My family owns the land around the lake. I can have another house built in the future. Or move into the nearby town. Get a job and visit—“

Maris wastes no time in interrupting you. First with her lips then with the press of her fingers against your heat. You moan; the chilled contrast of her against you makes you shudder.

“I accept,” she says. “I wish for that, too.”

Backlit by the full moon, its light casting a beautiful glow onto her skin, she smiles. The sight emboldens you in more ways than one. First, you vow to accomplish your goal no matter. The next, Maris is able to guess without you needing to say a word.

She leans down and presses a sweet kiss against your pulse, grazing your skin with her sharp teeth. Her mouth lingers as your heart flutters.

“Come into the water with me,” she says, cupping your cheek. “I’ll keep you safe, beloved.”

Your answer is nearly silenced by her attentive touch.

“I know you will.”

You angle your face towards her, meeting her in a languid kiss as your bodies slip underwater.

And you only know of shared breaths and sweet pleasure.

#asrai girlfriend #monster girlfriend #monster romance #exophilia #terato #fae #fair folk #fairy #lime #thanks for the likes and reblogs!#if you want to read the poem about the Asrai #message me and let me know

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picturetoburnnn · 5 years

Text

From Kisses to Hospital Visits | l.h. x reader

word count - approx. 2k

warning - the f-word is used like twice?? some severe angst here with some fluff interludes

a/n - I wrote this in one sitting because the idea came to me and i have nothing better to do on a wednesday night lol. hope y’all like it! if you ask nice enough there may be a part 2

taglist - @songforhema @asht0ns-world @lukesflaredpants @sunflowerxcal @star-gazing-calum @cxddlyash @emomack @merryblueberry02 @kinglyhood @caswinchester2000 @babe-babylon @irwinkitten @1delicate-fangirl dm me to be added!!!

Y/N wiped her eyes with one hand as the other clutched her lover’s limp fingers.

“You gotta wake up, baby,” she whimpered, covering her mouth to try to muffle her cries. The metal of her engagement ring was bitingly cold against her skin, but she paid no attention. “You have to wake up for me, Luke.”

The beautiful blue eyes remained shut. He looked dead, even though the vital monitors showed his body worked just fine. Every part of him was functioning perfectly, except his conscious mind.

Luke lifted Y/N in the air, hands on her hips as she squealed.

“Luke! Put me down!” She laughed as he spun her in the air.

Luke’s eyes twinkled, his grin brighter than the Christmas lights that hung all over their home.

Softly, he placed her feet back on the ground. His forehead pressed against hers as his grin softened to a sincere smile. Y/N’s arms curved around his neck, fingers tangling in his ever-messy curls.

“I love you,” he whispered. “I say it a lot, but it never feels like enough. I’ll never be able to tell you just how much I love you.”

She gently placed a hand on his cheek. “I know.”

Luke’s eyes met Y/N’s. His hand found her free one, intertwining their fingers between them. They were swaying now, dancing to a song only they could hear - their heartbeats made the bassline, their thoughts the lyrics. “A thousand love songs couldn’t do you justice.”

She felt her eyes water slightly as she told him “I love you more.”

He let out a breath of amusement. He said, as he did every time she said those words, “Impossible.”

“How is he?”

The new voice shook Y/N out of her thoughts, looking up from her place by his hospital bedside to see Luke’s bandmates in the doorway. Ashton’s hands were stuffed in his pockets, despair clear in his face. Calum and Michael didn’t look much better off. But how could they? Their best friend was in a coma, after all.

Y/N quickly wiped her eyes again before sniffling. “No changes. Doctor said all we can do now is wait.” She averted her eyes back to Luke, scared she would miss the moment he opened his eyes.

Ashton nodded, stepping into the room. He crossed the room with one despairing look at the boy that had been his brother for so many years. “And what about you? How are you holding up?”

“I’m okay,” she mumbled, another tear falling. She didn’t bother wiping it away. She just kept staring at the motionless body of the love of her life.

“No you’re not.” He crooked a finger under her chin, forcing her to look at him. In the past four years, Y/N had become like a little sister to Ashton. He wanted her to be safe from pain like this her whole life. He never thought she’d have to experience this.“When did you last eat?”

“I said I’m fine, Ash,” she protested, removing her face from his touch. “I need to be here.” Her gaze fell back to Luke. All the cords and wires on his body broke her heart. How broken inside really was he? When would her Luke come back? With smiles and gentle kisses and everything this Luke was missing.

“Y/N,” Calum said quietly from across the room. He and Michael had taken post standing on the opposite side of the hospital bed, near the blonde’s head. “You need to eat. You need to sleep. He wouldn’t want you to do this.”

“You don’t know what he wants,” she blurted before she could stop herself. “He’s in a fucking coma, he can’t tell any of us what he wants.” Ashton’s hand was suddenly on her shoulder.

“Y/N…”

She exhaled as easily as she could. “I’m sorry. That was rude of me, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, y’know,” Michael spoke for the first time since they’d arrived. All eyes turned to him. “It’s okay to be worried, it’s okay to snap. But you have to take care of yourself. Luke would kick our asses if he woke up to find out you were in a hospital bed too. If you won’t, would you please let us help?”

At first, she said nothing. When all of the boys simultaneously gave her a pleading look, she sighed. Without a word, she nodded.

“C’mere,” Ashton mumbled, gently tugging at her shoulders until she stood from the uncomfortable swivel chair she’d been in for the last twenty-something hours. He led her to the couch, sitting down and tugging her down too. He gently pulled her to lay down, head in his lap. “Get some sleep, angel,” he mumbled. She vaguely heard him ask someone to go get food, attention focused primarily on her fiance’s form.

“It’s so hot,” Y/N whined as they walked down the street.

“Not as hot as me,” Luke sassed teasingly, clearly amused with himself.

“Luke, I love you, but I think this one-hundred degree heat has got you beat.” Y/N fanned herself.

The vacation to Florida had sounded good in theory, but the couple quickly realized it was an awful idea to come in the middle of the summer.

“Oh come on,” Luke half whined, half laughed.

“I tell you what.” Y/N’s eyes shifted up to her then-boyfriend as he spoke. “Once we get back to the hotel, we go hop in the pool to cool off.”

She almost moaned at the idea. “Oh my god please yes.”

When they returned later that evening, true to his word, Luke threw the bikini at Y/N as he changed into his swim trunks. The couple raced like toddlers to the outdoor pool. Haphazardly throwing their stuff onto the nearest chair, both Luke and Y/N cannon balled into the water.

“I won,” Luke boasted smugly once they broke the surface again.

“Nu-uh! I totally beat you in!” Y/N laughed as she splashed the singer.

“No you didn’t,” Luke scoffed.

“Yeah.”

“No.”

“Yeah!”

“You’re a sore loser.”

“Since when did you talk to yourself?”

Luke didn’t have a snappy comeback, so he maturely stuck his tongue out. Y/N rolled her eyes as he waded closer to her.

“Admit defeat.” He pulled her to straddle his thighs as he leaned against the pool wall in the five-and-a-half-foot deep water.

“Never.”

“Then you leave me no choice,” he said dramatically.

Before Y/N could even lift a confused eyebrow, Luke dunked her underwater.

She resurfaced, spluttering. “What was that?!”

Luke had lost himself to laughter, practically clutching his sides as he cackled.

“Meanie!” Y/N splashed water at him, pretending to be mad as she turned her back on him.

“No, baby,” he mumbled, voice still tinged with laughter. “I’m sorry.”

“No you’re not,” she challenged.

“I love you.” His arms wrapped around her middle. She felt his front against her back as he pressed a kiss to her shoulder.

Y/N spun to face him. “Prove it, Mister Meanie Pants.”

His lips met hers immediately, fiercely. It was innocent but seductive all at once, passionate but light.

After what felt like an eternity in the best way, he pulled away. “Did I prove it?”

“I don’t know,” she smirked. “I think I might still need to be convinced.”

Luke rolled his eyes, but leaned back in with a wide smile.

Y/N didn’t remember falling asleep on Ashton’s lap, but when she woke, there was a bag of french fries sitting in front of her, still warm. Ashton’s hand was gently smoothing her hair, his other scrolling through his phone. She shifted in the smallest way, and Ashton immediately knew she was up.

“Hey,” he whispered, careful not to wake the other boys who had fallen asleep almost as soon as they got back. “How’re you feeling?”

“Better,” she mumbled whilst stretching sleepily. “How long did I sleep?”

“Just a couple hours.” At her widening eyes, he added, “There’s no news on Luke.”

Y/N nodded.

Ashton and Y/N spoke softly about small things, about what they would do after Luke woke up.

When there was a flash of movement in her peripheral vision, Y/N stopped talking mid-sentence, head whipping to the side.

“Y/N?” Ash questioned, concerned.

“Shh!” She held up one finger at Ashton, signalling him to be quiet.

Y/N swore her heart stopped the moment he moved again.

Then, like a spell had been lifted, Luke’s eyes fluttered open.

“Y/N, you know I love you.” Luke started one evening as they sat cuddled together on the couch, watching whatever comedy special happened to catch their attention that night.

Y/N looked up at him from where she was resting on his chest, clearly confused. “...Yeah?”

“I love you and only want the best for you--”

“Luke, what’s going on?” He could see the panic starting to build up in her mind and he had half a mind to forget what he was about to say and kiss away the anxiety instead.

“I… I don’t think I can call you my girlfriend anymore.”

Y/N bolted upright, now straddling him. “What?”

“I think that you and I… we aren’t fit to just date anymore. I’m sorry, angel.”

Y/N’s eyes were watering. “But I love you,” she stammered.

“I love you too.”

“But I can’t be your girlfriend anymore? What the fuck Luke?” At this point, she actually was crying, and Luke wanted to forget everything he had planned. He wanted to scoop her up into his arms and kiss her face until the pain disappeared.

“I can’t call you my girlfriend,” he said as he reached into his pocket, “because I really, really want to call you my wife.”

Confusion was written across her face until he brought out a little velvet box.

“I can’t live being your boyfriend. I want to be your husband, your rock through the long and hard times. I want to be your home, like you’re mine. I want to be able to love you every day for the rest of my life. I want to fall asleep next to you and wake up with you in my arms until the day I die. I want to marry you.”

Tears fell from her face, though now for an entirely different reason. Both hands covered her mouth as she looked back and forth from Luke, to the ring, and back again. She nodded slowly at first, until she couldn’t help repeat the motion incredibly fast.

“Is that a yes?” Luke laughed.

“Yes!” She blurt out. “Oh my god, yes. I love you so much, yes yes yes a million yesses.”

The curly blond grinned as he brought his lips back to hers in a sweet kiss.

“You’re an ass,” she mumbled with a smile brighter than the stars, lips against his.

“Why’s that?” He beamed.

“Making me think you’re breaking up with me instead of spending the rest of your life with me.”

He laughed, placing his forehead on her shoulder as he fiddled with getting the ring out of the box.

Luke slid the ring onto her finger, pressing another kiss to her lips. “Gotta keep you on your toes.”

“I love you,” she breathed.

“I love you more.”

“Impossible.”

He grinned.

Y/N nearly ran the whole three steps over to the bedside. “Luke? Oh my god, you’re okay.”

Tears sprang to her eyes as she enveloped him in a hug. Hesitantly, he returned the gesture.

Y/N pulled away, a wide smile on her lips. It faded fast with the blond’s three words.

“Who are you?”

#im mean #hehehe #suffer #you nerds #love yall #calum 5sos #luke 5sos #ashton irwin 5sos #michael 5sos #ashton 5sos #ashton irwin #calum hood #calum 5 seconds of summer #luke hemmings #luke hemmings x reader #michael clifford #michael 5 seconds of summer #My writing

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chickensarentcheap · 4 years

Text

Best Part of Me -Chapter 15

Warnings: none really

Tagging: @c-a-v-a-l-r-y, @alievans007, @thunderintheshadows, @innerpaperexpertcloud

The chime of the doorbell startles him awake; eyes snapping open, brain foggy and disoriented as it tries to figure out just what the noise was. The moment both the baby and Declan had started yawning and fussing, he’d laid down with them in the living room; Addie on his chest, his son tucked securely between him and the back of the couch. He’s certain he’d drifted off before either of them had; a hand placed protectively on Addie’s back; an arm wrapped his son. Lulled to sleep by the warmth of their bodies and the sound of their soft, steady breathing. The house quiet and peaceful. The three oldest at school, Esme out with her brother, and nothing but the sound of the ocean and the cool, steady breeze that filters through the windows.

The noise becomes more insistent, pausing momentarily before into one long, incessant tone. At first he reaches for his cell phone that rests on the coffee table, brain still attempting to straighten itself out and register exactly what the sound is, where it’s coming from, where he is, and even what day it is. He’d gone back on the Valium that morning as soon as the kids got on the bus, and it hit him almost immediately; making him drowsy and lightheaded, causing him to sweat profusely and develop a pounding headache. Now he feels as if his senses are impaired; sounds muffled as if he’s trying to hear underwater, his vision blurry. And in a near euphoric state he thinks about how he never even knew they had a doorbell; or at least he didn’t know what it sounded like. No one’s ever used it in the past six months that they’d been living there; delivery drivers and the postal carrier all resorting to knocking or leaving things on the chair by the front door; spurred on to do so by a handwritten letter Esme had taped to the mailbox that stated if anyone dared waked the baby or bothered her while feeding, there’d be ‘hell to pay’.

It becomes apparent that whoever is at the door isn’t going away, and he attempts to slip off the couch without waking either of the kids. Declan the biggest obstacle with his sweaty body and damp hair pressed tightly against him. And he manages to slide his arm out from underneath the sleeping toddler, who only gives a loud, content sigh and rolls over, pressing his face into the cushions. Then he stands, placing Addie in the portable playpen in the middle of the room and using a foot to push the coffee table out of the way in case Declan rolls over and falls off the couch. The last he needs is having to haul two kids to the hospital for a concussion or stitches. Or both.

As he heads for the door, he briefly considers grabbing some clothes and throwing them on; it would really set off the religious zealots that often travelled door to door if he was to answer in nothing but a pair of low slung boardshorts, body covered in a myriad of tattoos and scars. He’d already gone to the door once in the same fashion: a group startled and slightly scared little old ladies collecting things for a church food drive. But when he hears Addie begin to fuss, he decides against clothes, only caring about wanting to get the goddamn noise to stop.

When he finally answers, the blond on the other side of the door opens her mouth to speak, then abruptly stops; clamping her lips shut as her eyes widen and she slowly looks him up and down. Normally he’d be self-conscious; that the once over is in nothing more than a mixture of shock and concern due to the number of scars that mar his body. He’d never given a shit before; until his brain decided to turn against him and try and make his life a living hell. But there’s no curiosity or concern regarding his battle wounds; this once over was one of admiration. And he can’t stop the smirk that tugs at the corner of his mouth.

“Who are you?” Tyler asks, checking the driveway for any unfamiliar cars, then glancing towards the woods and then down the road, checking to see if she was alone or if there was anyone lying in wait.

It’s a hell of a way to live; thinking everyone is the enemy. But he’s stepped on a lot of toes and made a lot of enemies. And while you may physically leave the job, you’re never fully clear of it. Not until you die. Then and only then is your slate wiped clean.

“Never mind that,” she replies. “Who are YOU? The pool boy?”

He frowns. “What?”

“Well dressed like that. Looking like...that. I just assumed that maybe...”

“I live here,” Tyler informs her.

“With Esme and the husband?”

“I am the husband.”

“You?” she gives a started laugh. “You’re the husband?”

“For the last six and a half years.”

“Okay...hold up,” she chews pensively on her bottom lip, head cocked to the side as she regards him. “You’re Esme’s husband?”

“Am I not speaking English? I just said I was.”

“She told me her husband is retired.”

“Yeah? I am. And?”

“So I’m sure you can understand why this...why you...are a bit of a surprise. I was expecting someone that actually looks retired. Someone a lot older. And someone not as...” she once more looks him over from head to toe. “...well, not so you.”

“Look,” he rakes his fingers through his messy hair and scratches at the back of his head. “Not to sound like a total dick...”

“Too late.”

“...but who the hell are you? And why are you on my doorstep?”

“I’m Salena.”

“The new neighbor.”

“The one and only,” she confirms, and holds out a hand. “And you’re Tyler.”

He nods, hesitating at first, then shaking the hand offered to him. “Why are you here?”

“I was hoping to see Esme. I come bearing gifts,” she holds up a reusable shopping bag. “I told her last night when we were texting that I made a killer Dorito taco salad that she needed to try and that I make some up. Enough for all of you. Is she home?”

“She’s out with her brother.”

“The cute firefighter,” she states.

Tyler shrugs. “If you say he’s cute I’ll take your word for it, I guess.”

“I had messaged her saying I was going to pop by, but I never heard back. So, I’d thought I’d just run over and see what’s up.”

“I’m honestly so confused right now. I just woke up and my brain isn’t functioning properly yet. How you even know my wife?”

“We’ve been hanging out. Since we met the other days when I was moving the last of my stuff. She was taking the two littlest ones for a walk and Declan saw my dog and got away from her...”

“Wait. You know Declan too?” It was the one that he absolutely hated; Esme taking it upon herself to allow strangers around his kids. She’s too trusting; too quick to see the good in everyone yet not even stopping to look for the bad. He doesn’t trust anyone. Aside from her. And regardless of what she thinks of how paranoid she thinks he’s is; everyone is a possible threat.

“He’s my absolute favorite. He’s just such a little charmer. That smile and those eyes? I can see where he gets them. The eyes. Not the smile because you haven’t cracked one once since you answered the door. You do smile right?”

“Look, I had a rough night. I barely slept. You woke me up. I don’t even know what day it is right now, to be honest.”

“It’s Friday,” she informs him. “I’m the one that watched Declan yesterday. So Esme could have said time to herself. Well she had the baby. I just thought maybe she needed a break. That’s a lot to handle. Five kids.”

He tries hard to hide the anger that seeps into his voice. “You watched my kid?”

Salena nods.

“Yet I don’t even know who you are. You watched my kid, yet this is the first time we’ve met. And you’ve been hanging out with my wife?”

“Yeah, you know. Lunch. Girl talk. Stuff like that. She didn’t tell you? It must have just slipped her mind. I know she has a lot going on. Do you know when she’ll be back?”

Tyler shakes his head.

“Is it okay if I wait here for her or...”

He arches an eyebrow. “Here?”

“Where else?”

“I don’t usually let women into the house when my wife’s not home. That’s how rumors and shit start and I don’t need any more drama in my life. So I don’t think that’s a good idea. And I’m kinda busy with the little ones so...”

“I could help,” Salena offers

“I don’t need help. I’m not a rookie. And there’s nothing down there for you,” he informs her, when her eyes wander below his waist. “So if you could just...I don’t know...stop.”

A slight blush creeps into her cheeks. “Do you always walk around in no underwear?”

“You always question what people do in their own house?” Tyler counters.

“Touche.”

“If you weren’t looking down there so much and so closely, you wouldn’t even know I wasn’t wearing any.”

“Oh, I’d know,” she boldly responds. “That’s kind of hard not to notice.”

“Is there a reason you’re here or...”

“Like I said, I’m here to see Esme.”

“And like I said, she’s not home. You’ll have to come back. Or call her. Or text. I dunno. But I’ve got little ones in the next room, so...”

“Yes! Sorry! I won’t keep you any longer!” She offers the shopping bag and he reluctantly takes it. “I just...wow...you are definitely NOT what I was expecting. At all. Wow. Okay, I’m gonna go. If I don’t hear from Esme, will you let her know I came by?”

“How am I going to know if you didn’t get in touch with her?” he asks, as he steps out onto the front porch, quickly checking the mail before once against surveying the road and for any sign of remotely suspicious activity along the tree line.

“That!” she points at him, as she walks backwards down the front walk, bumping into one of the recycling bins that sit at the curb, giving it an awkward apology and then giggling in embarrassment. “Is a very good point! I’m going to go now. I just...wow...totally not what I thought you were going to look like. And now I’m rambling and making a total fool out myself.”

“Just a bit,” Tyler agrees.

“Oh! She calls to him before he can step inside. “Weird question, I know. But did someone come to your door last night? Around two am? Because someone showed up at my place and knocked for like ten straight minutes.”

“That would have been my very drunk brother in law. I think he was looking for a hook up.”

“Well if that’s the case, tell him to come to the back door next time. I’ll answer for sure then.”

Tyler just smirks and shakes his head, both amused and annoyed by her honesty, and then closes the door behind him.

***

“Maybe we can try this again,” Kyle says, as they settle into a table on the Sovereign's outdoor patio. “Maybe we can make it through the meal without fighting.”

“Technically we didn’t start fighting until after dinner,” Esme points out.

“And technically you were the only one causing a scene, so...”

“Fair enough,” she surrenders, and places her hobo style purse and her lone shopping back on the ground, cell phone on the tabletop. “This isn’t a set-up is it? I’m not going to get five minutes into lunch and Nik will show up?”

“Nik’s gone.”

Esme arches an eyebrow.

“Not gone, gone. So don’t get your hopes up. She got a call last night. About a job in Venezuela. Needed to be there within a few hours or all hell was going to break loose.”

“Nature of the beast. You get used to those phone calls, unfortunately.”

“I thought maybe she’d slow down a little after we got engaged and started planning a wedding,” Kyle says. “I thought maybe that was enough to keep her busy and occupied, but...” he shrugs, and flips open his menu.

“Nik doesn’t do the job because she needs to keep busy or occupied. She does the job because she IS the job. She’s always been hard core about it. Completely devoted. Not to mention, she’s the boss. It’s her own company. And she has a lot of people relying on her to keep things running smoothly and to keep them safe. It’s a lot of pressure. A lot of stress. I wouldn’t to do it. Run the show.”

Kyle smirks. “Did you actually just pay Nik a compliment in some weird, back hand way?”

“I have nothing against job Nik. I actually admire THAT Nik. It’s the other Nik I can't stand. The one that spent six and a half years trying to destroy my marriage. And...” she holds up her hand in a plea for silence when Kyle opens his mouth to speak. “...I know Tyler and I aren’t perfect. That things have never been conventional or normal between us. But that’s the way we are. And that doesn’t give her a right or a reason to try and bang my husband. So don’t even try to defend that.”

“I agree that that part is a little messed up.”

“You think?” Esme rummages through her purse for the bottle of recently purchased prescription meds. The doctor immediately writing out the order when she couldn’t get through the first thirty seconds of describing how she was feeling without bursting into tears.

“So you get used to it?” Kyle asked.

“What? Some trifling bitch trying to wreck your marriage?” She pops one of the pills into her mouth and swallows it down with ice water. “No. You don’t.”

“Not that. The job. The phone calls. Them leaving at a moment’s notice. Now what you’re doing or talking about at the time. You do get it used to it, right?”

“I don’t know if you get used to it. But you learn to tolerate it. I’ve had phone calls come in at some pretty inopportune times, let me tell you.”

“How inopportune?”

“Let’s just say, Nik and her phone calls are the epitome of cock blocking.”

Kyle nearly spits a mouthful of water across the table.

“Right?” Esme laughs. Talk about bad timing! But in Tyler’s defense, he did always finish the job at hand. So...”

“Okay, that is too much information. I don’t think about you two...you know...finishing.”

“Kyle, despite what you think, I’d have sex more than five times. I just don’t have it to procreate, you know. It happens to be a lot of fun.”

“I do not what to think about those things when it comes to my little sister, okay? I know you’re a wife and a mother and all of that, but you’re still my kid sister. I still want to beat the hell out of any guy that touches you.”

She laughs and sips her water. “I’d love to see you try.”

“And totally get my ass handed to me? No thanks.”

She grins. “That’s the first time I’ve ever heard you admit defeat.”

“I’m not stupid,” he chuckles. “This is Tyler we’re talking about. I’ve heard about the shit he’s done. What he’s capable of. And he’s totally capable of killing me with his bare hands.”

Esme nods in agreement.

“Aren’t you scared? You know what he can do. You know the things he’s done. Aren’t you even a little bit afraid? Of him?”

She shakes her head. “I’ve never been afraid of him. Ever. And I’ve seen his temper at its worst. He’d never hurt me. Or the kids. I have no reason to be scared of him.”

“But what if he snaps on day? What if everything that’s going on his brain just becomes too much and it gives way? What...”

“Tyler would never...ever...do anything to hurt me. I’m not scared of him. I’ve never been scared of him. It’s the opposite, actually. He makes me feel safe. Protected. Because I know if anyone ever tries to get to me or the kids, he’s more than capable of stopping them. He’s not a monster, K.”

“I never said he was. But that kind of job? Being a mercenary? And doing it as long as he did?”

“Tyler was never the job. The job was just part of him. I’ve known a lot of mercenaries. A lot. Guys that allowed the job to totally take them over. To the point you didn’t even recognize them anymore. That’s that all they are. Callous, cold, calculated, violent. Extremely violent. And horrifically abusive. To everyone. Girlfriends, spouses, kids.”

Kyle gives a small, almost sad smile. “Nik’s told me some stories.”

“Tyler would kill himself before he ever hurt me or the kids. He’d put a bullet in his brain if he ever got like that. I’m not scared of him. I never have been. And don’t underestimate me. I could put him on his ass if I ever had to.”

Her brother laughs at that.

“He’d never do anything to us. That’s the last thing you need to worry about. He was never like those other guys. I guess that’s what really set him apart; what I found really intriguing about him. Out of all the mercenaries I’ve worked alongside of and knowing the stories that revolved around him, I expected him to be one of them. And he wasn’t. He was still human. And you may not see it because he’s stubborn and thinks he has to hide certain sides of himself, but he’s a good person, K. A good person who’s had to do some terrible things to stay alive. He’s a big man with an even bigger hurt. You just have to be fortunate enough to get to experience it.”

“I see how he was with you. How he is with the rugrats. He adores those kids. And worships the ground you walk on. I mean, I think you’re an annoying bitch, but...”

She smirks and directs a kick to his shin.

“But I see how he is with you. You guys share a pretty profound bond, you know. You saved his life. Literally.”

“I did what anyone would do,” Esme reasons. “You save people all the time.”

“That’s my job.”

“I wasn’t going to let him die there. And I definitely wasn’t going to let someone hold me back and expect me to just stand there and watch him die.”

“Esme,” Kyle sighs. “Don’t bring Nik into this.”

“She left him there. She didn’t even want anyone to get to him to help. What kind of person does that? He became expendable. The job was done, and she need him anymore. And she was willing to let me die on that bridge too. I know you love her, but least accept the truth on who she is and what she’s capable of.”

A server comes to take their drink and food order, and Esme gives he a smile of appreciation and hands her the menu.

“I saved Tyler because he deserved better than the end he was being given.” she says. “Because no matter how badly he thought he deserved death, he deserved a second chance more. You learn a lot about someone when you’re running for your life and trusting them to get keep you alive, believe me.”

“And when you spend five days in a hotel room pretend to be married to them,” Kyle grins.

“I’m not talking about what their favorite sexual positions are or how kinky they can be. And trust me, he can be extremely dirty.”

Kyle grimaces. “I do not need to hear this.”

“And regardless of what you or Nik think, it wasn’t just sex. Those five says. It’s not like we never spoke to each other. We talked. A lot. We told each other things we’d never told anyone else. So it wasn’t just physical connection, as amazing as that was. It was more than that. Way more. I wouldn’t have stuck around in Australia and spent months sleeping in a chair at the hospital if it wasn’t.”

“And now here you are. Married, five kids.”

She nods.

“Honestly, I never expected this from you. Especially after Mark. After all the shit he put you through…"

“Well sometimes someone comes along and shows you that not all men are the same. That not all love hurts. I was lucky. Not everyone gets that chance.”

“I gotta hand it to you, kid. You’ve come a long way.”

“I didn’t mean to cause issues between you and Nik,” she says. “Just so you know. That wasn’t my intention. But we’d give up that life. That’s why we left Colorado. To start fresh. And suddenly she just shows up? Asking for his help? Again? He’s shed enough blood for her. Tyler owes her nothing.”

“It’s not she’s asking him to go back out there,” Kyle reasons. “She just needs his help. With Ovi.”

“And don’t even get me started about that! Her encouraging this with Ovi. After everything that’s kid been through? For years we’ve struggled to get that kid healthy. Mentally healthy. And he gets some stupid ass idea in his head and instead of telling him how stupid it is, she encourages him! Recruits him. You must be able to see how screwed up that is.”

“He’s not a kid anymore,” Kyle reasons. “He’s a grown man.”

“He’s my kid. No matter how old he is. This is a horrible idea, K. Ovi deserves so much better than this. And something or someone has gotten into his head and poisoned him to the point he thinks this is a smart, viable option. Nothing good will come of this. Nothing. For Ovi. For Tyler.”

“All Tyler has to do is train him. That’s it.”

“And you think that’s enough?” she gives a dry laugh. “I’ll you what. You put in some of the leg work. Spend a couple of days when them ‘training’. It's not as simple and basic as you’re making it out to be. Try it. One day eve. And then see you how you feel about it.”

“Maybe I will.”

“Go ahead. I know you think you’re a total bad ass, bit you now idea what it all entails. No idea. But if you think it’s that easy, then come on over and Tyler will put you through the paces. You’re probably be crying for mom when it’s over. If you even last that long. You’ve been to the gym with him; you know how hard core goes.”

Kyle nods.

“Imagine that times...I don’t know...twenty. And that’s if he’s slacking. Don’t underestimate him. You can the take man out of the job, but you can’t take the job out of the man.”

“You think he’ll go back?” Kyle asks. “That he’ll get the itch? That just training won’t be enough.”

“I’ve told him that if he has to go...if Ovi gets into trouble and needs his help.... that’s fine. I’ll support him one hundred percent. But if he willingly goes for any other reason, we’re done. I’m done. I’m leaving and I’m taking kids with me. No looking back. I cut my loses and that’s that.”

He frowns. “That seems a little harsh.”

“I can’t do that life again. I just can’t. And I love him, but I love my kids more. And they deserve better than that life. They deserve a father that’s devoted to them and only them. And he can’t be if he goes back to the job. He just can’t.”

“So you’d just take off and take his kids?”

“I didn’t say he wouldn’t be able to see them. Because I’d never do that to him. Or them. But they need a stable, calm environment. And when he’s doing the job, our house is anything but stable and calm. It’s not what’s best for the kids. Not Tyler. Not me. Them.”

“Well for his sake, I hope he does the right thing and doesn’t fuck up. That’d probably kill him losing his kids.”

“Don’t put that on me, Kyle. It’s hard enough making that kind of decision, but adding that kind of guilt to it?”

“That wasn’t what I was trying to do, and you know it. But you honestly go to that extreme? Taking his kids away from him?��

“I wouldn’t be taking them away. They’d still see him. It’s about giving them a stable environment. And nothing is stable when it comes to the job. Because first the job comes about, then the drinking, then the fighting. You don’t know what it was really like, K. You only know half of what went on in our house.”

“Couldn’t have been that bad,” he comments. “You guys got back together. After you split for those six months.”

“Because he promised to get his shit together and said he wanted to work on things and make them better. And you know what? That lasted about eight months. And then it all started all over again. All because of the stupid goddamn job and because of Nik’s inability to leave him alone.”

“Esme, we said we weren’t going to fight. And if you bring up Nik, that’s exactly what’s going to happen, and you know it. If you didn’t want me with her, why’d you even set me up with her in the first place?”

“Because she was way too good to be stuck with Mark. No one deserved to be stuck with that asshole.”

“So what? You used me to get her away from Mark? What...?”

“I didn’t think anything would actually happen between you two,” she admits. “At least nothing serious. I thought you’d have your fun for a little bit and then move on. You’d never been interested in settling down before. I never thought you’d start thinking about it when you met her.”

“That’s messed up. Using your own brother like that. Here I thought you did it because you wanted me to happy.”

“Of course I want you to be happy. I just don’t want you to be happy with her.”

Kyle gives a derisive snort and shakes his head.

“You’re too good for you,” Esme informs her.

“First, she’s too good for Mark, now I’m too good for her?”

“You deserve someone...I don’t know...different. Someone who can devote themselves to you. Who isn’t so hung up on their career. Someone who’d be happy being a firefighter’s wife. And believe, there’s tons of girls like that out there.”

“Maybe that’s not the type I want. Maybe I want someone who has more going for her. If you were that against this, why didn’t you say something before? Instead of waiting until four months before the wedding. A wedding which you...my own sister...hasn’t even committed to yet.”

“Have you ever thought maybe I’m not comfortable being there? Kyle’ she’s spent years trying to fuck up my marriage. And now I’m just supposed to be okay with hers?”

“I’m your brother.”

“Exactly. You are. Which means something should have told you marrying the woman spent six and a half years trying to fuck mt husband wasn’t a good idea.”

“Honestly, I didn’t think anything of it. I thought you’d grown up enough to let it go. She tried, he turned her down. End of story.”

“So you’re okay with being married to someone with no morals?”

“You’re okay with it,” he retorts. “You’re married to someone who killed people for a living.”

Esme scowls. “That’s not the same thing and you know it.”

“You’re right. It’s not. It’s even worse. You’re going to preach to me about morals when you’re married to hired killer? Who you were fucking three days after you met him. And you think you’re somehow morally superior?”

“That’s low, Kyle. Nik has enough blood on her hands herself. Including Tyler’s.”

“And you’re still holding onto that. It’s been almost what? Seven years? Since Dhaka? And you’re still holding onto that?”

“Oh I’m sorry,” she scoffs. “You watch someone you love get shot in the throat. You have them bleed out all over you. You stick your fingers in their neck to try and keep them alive. And then you tell me how easy it is to get over.”

The server arrives with their food, breaking the tension that has fallen on the table. And Esme takes a sip of her water in a vain attempt to wash down the lump of emotion that now sits firmly on their throat.

“You have no idea what was like,” she scowls, as she uses her fork to stab at the salad on her plate. “Saying what I saw. Doing what I did. You have no clue, Kyle. And you have no right downplaying it and telling me to just ‘get over it’.”

“It’s been almost seven years,” he gently reminds her.

“And sometimes it feels like it’s only been seven days. So until you’re at in that kind of situation...and I hope you never ate...you need to keep your advice and your opinions to yourself. If you want to marry Nik, go ahead. But I won’t be there. None of us well. I love you. But I don’t agree with what you’re doing. If it were anyone but here, I’d be there. But after what she’s done...after she was going to leave us there...I’m not going to pretend that I’m happy for you. Because I’m not. I know what she’s like and I know what your life is going to be like. You’re going to spend it being second to the job. And you deserve so much better than that.”

“So do you,” Kyle says. “But you stick around.”

“Don’t ever compare Tyler to her. Because you know that’s complete and utter bullshit. He is nothing like her.”

“You keep telling yourself that, Esme. Maybe one day you’ll believe it.”

“Don’t even put the two together in a sentence. If you want to marry her and never have a normal marriage or kids of a stable life, go ahead. But I’m supporting that bullshit.:

Kyle sighs heavily. “You’re even more stubborn than I remember.”

“I’m not stubborn. I’m just sick of peoples’ shit. Hers. Yours. Why couldn’t she just leave us alone? We were happy. Things were great. And now all of the drama is back again. And I’m had it up to my eyeballs in Nik drama.”

She sighs heavily when her phone vibrates against the table, then grins when she checks the text message.

“Apparently you’ve made an impression on my neighbor,” she says.

“Salena?”

Esme nods. “I guess she stopped by the house and Tyler told her you showed up at her place last night looking for a piece of ass. And she actually believed him. Now she wants me to give you her cell and her home number. You know shit is getting real when someone gives up their home number. Do you want them or...?”

“I’m engaged,” he reminds her. “I’m getting married in four months.”

“That means you have four months to change your mind.”

“Esme...”

“Don’t be so difficult,” she snags his cell from where it sits next to his plate and proceeds to add Salena’s name, info, and numbers into his contacts. “Trust me. You’ll thank me for this.”

He somehow doubts that.

#tyler rake #tyler rake fan fiction #tyler rake fan fic #best part of me #chris hemsworth character

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hopeatermeetsgodzilla · 4 years

Text

Chapter 8

“So your brother’s not awake?” Mothra nodded at Anguirus, who sighed in relief. “Well, that’s good to- Goji!” The aquatic reptile was walking out of the water, turning toward his friend and mate as they came to him. “So, what’s the situation on- man?”

Godzilla had a haunted look on his face. Mothra frowned, cradling his face in one of her hands. “Is everything alright, my love?”

“Ghidorah, they’re... I don’t know how it happened, there was just a strange sound, and then they- they-” Godzilla took a deep breath, before steeling himself. “The Golden Demise is free again. And we are in no shape to take him on now.”

Mothra and Anguirus looked at each other with horrified expressions. Ghidorah? Free!? “Do you know where they’re planning on going next?” Anguirus asked, visibly distressed. He clearly still remembered Left’s words from that one time he tried to fight them, accusing him of playing second fiddle to more powerful Titans because he couldn’t handle leading anyone while literally kicking him down.

Godzilla shook his head, and Mothra frowned. These shits had caused her death more than once, either kicking her mate into a depression or sending either of her brothers into a rampage- expected from Battra, but always a surprise from Leo- and she was not anywhere near forgetting those slights toward herself or those she cared about. “Well, let’s think of our options. Who would they go after?”

Anguirus seems deep in thought for a moment. “They’d go either after you or one of your brothers. Battra tends to be more aggressive and actively provoke them, but Leo actually succeeded in beating them once, so honestly? Both options are equally as likely.”

“They’d go after Mothra first either way.” Godzilla then added, starting to slip into his role of King. “She actively helps me- no offense to Leo.” He added, Mothra nodding in understanding. “And Right actively wants to make my blood spill. He’s good at hiding it, but I’m pretty sure he gets off of violence.”

“Oh, that’s gross.” Anguirus commented, wrinkling his nose as Mothra facepalmed.

“Well, it’s true.”

“Dear? Anguirus? Focus.” Mothra told them, both nodding. “Anyway, they can’t find our nests, and they know it. We only show our homes to the ones we trust, and none of us trust Ghidorah. Personally, I was thinking they would end up going to the monkeys’ island, due to it not sleeping.”

“You think they would go to the city where the underwater humans used to live?” Anguirus asked. “I mean, they got sealed before Battra decided to go on that rampage.”

“Unlikely, but possible.” Mothra noted. “Godzilla? Do you have any idea?”

“... They mentioned Rodan, and I think he’s the one they’re gonna go after.”

“Why would they go after Rod- Oh.” Anguirus eyes widened in realization and terror as he too remembered that Rodan was not a confrontational asshole with magma for blood the last time the Golden Demise had seen him. “Oh, Terra.”

“Alright, let’s do like that, then: Anguirus, you go to the ruins of Megalon’s worshippers. Godzilla, you go to Rodan’s nest. I will go the monkey’s island. Any objection?”

“No.”

“‘Course not.”

“Then, let’s go.”

The helicopter landed at Castle Bravo, Emma sighing and wondering ho the hell she was going to explain what had happened to Serizawa. It really didn’t help that the original helicopter pilot had been executed my Alan Jonah’s men, along with the original hostages. At least, Madison was safe...

The two of them were still shaken from seeing the Antartica Titans freeing themselves and just what they could do, especially Madison. Just as they had left, the one who stood in the middle had turned just the slightest bit toward her, a cruel smile on his face as his voice flooded her mind.

She could still hear his voice ringing in her head. Enjoy whatever time you have left with your mother, Madison. There’s not much left, after all.

“Alright Madison, let’s go.” Emma finally said, getting out of the helicopter. Madison nodded, getting out next and following her mother onto what looked like an oil rig.

“... Is this where you work?” Madison asked, confused. “I thought you worked for the government.”

“Oh no, not the government.” Emma answered, shaking her head and swiping a card in front of a camera, the door she was standing in front of sliding open. “Monarch. Come on, let’s go.”

Madison nodded, following her mother into the elevator. It stopped as they were only a few levels down, the doors sliding open to reveal a man with brow skin and dyed purple hair, who looked at Emma for a few seconds, visibly shocked before entering, typing his own stop. “... Dr. Russell.”

“Florès.” She answered back, not looking at him as Madison kept a laser-like focus on him.

“... Is that your daughter?” He asked, sending a quick look at Madison who averted her eyes.

“Yes.”

“I’d expect her to be younger...” He commented under his breath. “If you want, I can keep an eye on her in my office while you go explain... everything, I guess?”

Emma raised an eyebrow. “You’re not scared she’s going to disturb your working space?”

“Meh, she’s twelve and is recovering from a kidnapping. If she wants to know what I’m working on, I’ll just tell her. Or let her use one of my personal computers, I have to work on the ORCA plans anyway.” Florès turned toward the girl, smiling. “You’ll be fine if I just let you do whatever on a computer, right?”

“Y- yeah.” The teenager answered. She needed to distract herself from the three red-eyed Titans, and going on YouTube or watching this guy do whatever his job was seemed like it would work.

The door opened, Florès walking out and Madison following. “Good luck with explaining to Serizawa what the fuck that was about!”

“I appreciate the sentiment.” Emma told him, the doors closing as she leaned against one of the elevator’s walls. What the fuck that was about, indeed...

The elevator finally reached the main lobby, Emma walking out before stopping. There was a man arguing with Colonel Foster and Serizawa, and she knew that voice.

“Both my wife and daughter went missing, you have no idea where they are, you think terrorists might be involved, you knew my family could be a target, and you’re doing nothing to try and find them?” Mark Russell, her husband, snapped at them, panic evident in his tone.

“Mark?” Her husband turned toward her, relief visibly flooding him as Emma came closer. “What are you doing here?”

“The military brought me in when you went missing.” Mark explained, Emma nodding in understanding as she turned toward Serizawa.

“Sir? I need to talk to you about something in private.”

Serizawa shook his head, turning back toward the screen. “I understand, but we’re currently busy trying to determine where the Antartica Titans went-”

“Yes, well...” Emma hissed through her teeth. Here goes nothing. “It’s about the Antartica Titans...”

Ghidorah landed, Ichi floating down to the ground, Ni doing a three-point landing, and San falling unceremoniously on the ground, a small cloud of sand puffing up where he landed, groaning. Ichi looked at his brother critically. “Why did you turn your gravity back on if you were going to land like an idiot?”

“I wanted to do something cool like Ni...” San whimpered, leaning into Ni’s touch as he pat him reassuringly on the head. The younger brother opened his eyes, pouting at Ichi. “Why did you bring us to a desert!?”

“... San.”

“What?”

“This is a beach. The ocean is right there.” Ichi blankly informed his brother, pointing at said sea as he waited for the dots to connect inside of San’s head.

And connect they did. “The beach... !? We’re at the beach!?” He suddenly sat up nearly headbutting Ichi who had bent down to look at him. A big smile appeared on his face. “We’re at the beach!”

“I heard brother Ichi the first time, brother San.” Ni deadpanned, even if he was smiling a bit as he watched San running toward the water, giggling to himself as he reached it.

“San, come back here.” Ichi called his brother, who just groaned and continued forward, water eventually reaching his knees. “San.”

“But we just got out!” He whined, before immediately going back to advancing, Ichi growling when he saw he was now waist deep.

“SAN!” SPLAT! Ichi recoiled in shock, before looking down to see what San had thrown at him. “Did... did you just throw a crab at my face!?”

“And if you yell at me again, I’ll throw another one!” San threatened, a huge smile on his face and a crab in his hand.

“Stars damn it- do you remember that these idiotic Titan’s belief that this planet is alive and gives them life has actual basis to it!? If we don’t resume terraforming this place as soon as we can, we’ll-” Suddenly, a rock was thrown at him from another direction. In fact, in came from where Ni was seated. Ichi turned toward his other brother with a scandalized expression. “Ni!?”

“Yes, brother Ichi.” Ni deadpanned. “Taking the time to relax and enjoy our freedom is going to make us weak and dependent on this planet. I can feel my soul linking itself to it’s core. Terra is speaking to me, do you want to know what She’s saying?”

“Ni-”

“Those weakling’s god is telling me you’re being paranoid and also a killjoy. Let brother San flounder in water if he wants, we just got out of our prison.” Ni finished, San laughing from where he stood in the water.

“Killjoy! Killjoy!” San chanted from where he was.

Ichi groaned. “Whatever. Don’t you have ice to get out of your pants?”

“It’s the next thing I’m throwing at you.”

“Thank you for the heads-up.” Ichi snarked, Ni standing up and undoing his belts to- you guessed it- get whatever ice hadn’t melted already out of his pants. True to his words, Ni threw the piece at his older brother’s head, Ichi not budging as the ice shattered upon impact and San laughed from a distance.

“... why did you refer to them as ‘Titans’?” Ni suddenly asked as he put his pants back on, taking a hold of Ichi’s wrist and starting to bring him closer to the water so they could keep a close eye on San. “I thought humans referred to them- and us- as gods?”

“Well, they changed words. Idiots do that, sometimes.” Ichi noted, Ni nodding in agreement.

(What does it mean?) San asked telepathically, still focused on looking through the water and occasionally getting things out to take a closer look at them.

“Those who came before the gods. Not bad, right?”

(Brother Ichi, that’s terrible.)

“I’m with San on that one.”

“... would either of you bother to explain your reasoning?” Ichi asked, feeling anger well up inside of him.

(The Gods don’t precede anything. Titans do. It implies we’re gonna get defeated.) Ni nodded at that

“How the hell didn’t I realize that sooner.” Ichi asked himself, Ni patting him reassuringly on the back as San came closer. “I’m going to have to personally kill that human now.”

“As always, humans are wrong: there is nothing that will defeat us.” Ni reassured his older brother, who sighed.

“And you shouldn’t bother yourself with personally going after humans.” San added, nearing his brothers and putting a hand on each one’s shoulder, which they quickly reciprocated. “We’re above that. Anyway, what are we gonna do next?”

“How about we go after that little bird you fancy so much?” Ichi proposed, a smile appearing on his face. “It is rather rare for you to personally use lightning on someone. Not even the weak king’s friend got that honor.”

“Really!?” San asked, looking very enthusiastic at the idea of finding the bird- Rodan- again.

“I still don’t understand why you fancy him so much.” Ni commented. “He’s weak.”

“I don’t know either, it’s just- his mind.” San started, looking as if he was about to drool. “It’s brighter than a star and so full of fire, it’s like a beacon- you’d think something so weak would let those flames go out easily, but they don’t- I must have those flames- I need to have that bird-!”

“Alright, alright, I get it.” Ni calmed down San, both with words and through their link. “Do we even know where he is now?”

“Oh...” San smiled. “Somewhere near a volcano in the middle of the ocean~ I’ll lead the way.”

“Well then,” Ichi started, arms sliding down to hold his brother’s hands instead. “Shall we go?”

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we-are-the-rebellion · 4 years

Text

Everything Is Gonna Be Fine - File 001

Date: 14/4/215

Outgoing message: Hello? Hello? Can anyone hear me? Is there anyone in the wasteland listening to me? Fuck, this is hopeless... We don’t even know if people are alive out there, we’ve never left the region because of the horror stories we’ve heard. CeeCee are you sure? ...Yeah, right. Ahem! I’m Nate, I’m from the Eastern OQ region, and for the last ten years I’ve been fighting in, well to put it lightly, a pretty nasty civil war. The group I was with has been mostly killed or captured and our leader is missing, presumed dead. Please, if someone is out there and can hear this, we need supplies. Wait what’s- Shit! CeeCee get down they found-

___________________________

Date: 10/6/215

Location: Prison Complex, Ottowa, Ontario-Quebec Region

Nate sat, unmoving in the uncomfortable wooden chair he was cuffed to, staring at the woman across from him. She was sitting casually, one leg crossed over the other, smoking a cigarette. Everything about her said “status,” her perfectly styled hair, her polished gold jewelry, her immaculately manicured nails, her expensively tailored black dress, even the cigarette. Alcohol and tobacco weren’t rare, but it was exceedingly difficult to find anything of any quality if you weren’t at the absolute top of the food chain. This woman was beautiful, powerful, and everything about her sent a very clear message that she didn’t give a damn about Nate. Of course, he was used to this. From day one, the rich looked down on him. His parents got into the government to spread compassion and acceptance and encourage reform, it was only inevitable that they would be killed off and their name dragged through mud.

The woman flicked her cigarette onto the floor and put it out with her heel.

“So. Not willing to talk yet?” she asked, checking her nails. Nate chuckled.

“I’ve seen more interrogators in the last three weeks than I’ve had birthdays, there’s no way some rich old bag is going to make me talk.” He swallowed. Life, he really sounded like Kenji, didn’t he?

“Rich old bag?” she laughed. “I’d heard you were an idiot, but I never thought you would be blissfully ignorant. Don’t you realize who I am?” Nate gritted his teeth.

“Of course I know who you are.” She smiled in response, the corner of her lip twisting up in a nauseatingly smug smirk.

Genevieve Ashworth. The Empress of the medical sector. A person so genuinely hateful that even the other monsters she rubbed elbows with on a daily basis lived in awe of her cruelty.

“Why you? Why did Pryce send you to make me talk?” She shrugged.

“Because he knew I could. Simple as that.”

“So now what? You going to electrocute me? Hold my head underwater until I can’t breathe? Or maybe you’ll do something more suited to your regular style and inject me with a deadly disease and dangle the fucking cure over my head until I tell you everything?” She stared him down silently. “Or are you going to use me as a lab rat to test your new drugs and vaccines on? And fuck, the real torture would be the knowledge that you wouldn’t even use them for good!” he shouted, leaning forward and wincing as the handcuffs bit into his hand. Huh, he really did sound like Kenji...

“I’m not going to hurt you, Nathaniel.” she replied after a long silence. The lack of any emotion in her voice sent a shiver down Nate’s spine. She lit another cigarette and stood up, circling around the small room to stand behind him. To his surprise, she pulled out a key and uncuffed his hands. He rubbed his sore wrist tenderly with his left hand, the cool metal of his prosthetic hand soothing the stinging skin. “I’ve seen Carson’s interrogations, and frankly I think he’s got the wrong idea. Torture isn’t universal, some people just don’t respond to physical pain in the way he wants. Your friend Hirayama was a perfect example of that. No, your methods have to be tailored for your subject if you want results. After all, we didn’t get the leader of the rebellion to abandon his entire life’s work just because we beat him senseless.”

Nate felt a pit form in his stomach. If Kenji had been captured and tortured, it would explain his disappearance. But what did she mean by abandoning his life’s work?

“What is this?” he muttered, defensively keeping his hands at his sides.

“We have tapes of his interrogations. In fact, I wanted to show them to you, so sit back and get comfortable.”

She pulled a small remote control out of her pocket and pressed a button, turning on a projector on the far wall. Nate turned around to see what it was showing. It was security camera footage of two armed guards standing in front of a man who, despite the blurry footage, was clearly Kenji. One of the guards knelt in front of Kenji, the other pulled out a small voice recorder.

“October 16, 214. Subject; K. A. Hirayama.”

Wait... This was last year?

“Tell us, cunt, where were you on the day your friends blew up a city block?” the first guard growled.

“Your wife’s bedroom.” Kenji snapped, spitting in the guard’s face. The guard hissed and hit his prisoner across the face. Kenji coughed and Nate could see blood.

“Cooperate, else that’s gonna feel like a kiss in comparison to what I’m gonna do to you.” Kenji chuckled.

“My ex accused me of being a masochist. Guess she’s right, since I really, really want you to hit m-” He was cut off by the guard hitting him again, much harder than before. Where there was only a little blood on his bottom lip before, now there was blood everywhere, gushing out of his nose and his split lip. The second guard stepped closer to him.

“Aren’t you tired of this? We’ve been doing this song and dance for nearly a week.”

A week? How the fuck had Kenji been gone for a week and he couldn’t remember it? Did nobody bother to check where he was?

“I am tired. But I’d rather let you shoot my balls off one by one than let you anywhere near my revolution.

“You think quite highly of yourself, don’t you?” Kenji scoffed.

“As if you rich pricks don’t all think of yourselves as fucking royalty.” The first guard hit him again, shutting him up effectively.

“But what have you done, really? You’ve gotten scores of people killed in this war you started, and nothing is better. Your friends aren’t in better positions than they were twenty years ago, in face they’re doing considerably worse now that the threat of being arrested and killed is constantly looming over their heads. Nothing is better for people like you. Twenty years of fighting tooth and nail, and you haven’t accomplished anything.” the guard taunted him, motioning for their counterpart to step back. Kenji spit the blood out of his mouth.

“People have hope. That’s a start. And more importantly they’re seeing through your bullshit propaganda! Even if I’m gone, even if you kill my rebellion, in a month or two people will start a new one, because they realize that things could be better. How’s that for what I’ve fucking accomplished.”

The footage ended.

“So you’ve made your point, pain doesn’t work. Now what?” Nate snapped, folding his arms and scowling. Genevieve blew out smoke into his face.

“I was hoping we could move on from that talking point. There’s still more tapes, and if you’re worried you’ll get bored of interrogations then you should quite like them.” Life, Nate hated this woman so fucking much. She pressed another button and a new video began. It was Kenji again, brutally beaten and stumbling around outside the prison complex. The camera was posted high on the wall, giving Nate a perfect bird’s eye view of Kenji’s awful condition. He was looking over his shoulder, anxious, and he had a phone held up to his ear.

“Pick up, fuck pick up...” he was muttering. He slumped down against the wall and winced, tenderly holding his bleeding side. “Finally, you fucking answered!” he snapped into the phone. “I need you to send someone to come pick me up, I’m at the prison. I don’t have much time, I... What do you mean you don’t fucking believe me?” Nate couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation, but he didn’t need to. He remembered that call. His stomach twisted into knots. Whatever was going to happen next, it was his fault. “Oh so that’s it? You’re pissy that I didn’t show up so you’re gonna let me fucking rot here? Life, you’re such a fucking moron! I’m in danger, Nathaniel, I don’t have time to argu- Don’t hang up on me you fuck- DAMMIT!” He threw his phone on the ground with enough force to break it. He leaned his head against the wall and looked up at the sky, looking angry, hurt and exhausted. “I know you’re watching this, you elite shits. Having fun watching me bleed out?” he shouted sarcastically at the security camera. Nate felt sick. That was why he hadn’t noticed Kenji was gone. He had been avoiding him anyways, they had been fighting. He had let his stupid emotional bias get in the way, and Kenji had gotten hurt because of it. This was Genevieve’s plan, wasn’t it? To make him feel like shit.

The footage cut again, and the next video after it was back in the interrogation room. Kenji was being held up by one of the guards from before while the other shocked him with a taser. He was screaming, but his voice was so hoarse that it was clearly hurting him every time he opened his mouth.

“You know, we were going easy on you before, we only broke a few bones. You still managed to escape, and you even took down a couple guards. Now? Now, we’re going to make sure you wouldn’t be able to walk out of here if the doors were wide open.” the guard with the taser said as they walked around, fiddling with the settings. “Let’s see how you like the highest setting, eh revolutionary?”

Nate had to look away. He didn’t want to see Kenji in that much pain, especially knowing that he could have stopped it from happening. But he heard it... He could hear the man he cared about so damned much, despite everything, screaming. His hoarse voice didn’t impact the volume, it was so loud, so intense. Nate couldn't handle hearing Kenji in that much agony. He snapped.

“What do you want? To just screw with me, make me sit through videos of my partner being tortured? Fine. Fuck with me all you want. I’m not gonna break.”

Genevieve only stared him down. She turned off the video and took another drag on her cigarette.

"You don't think I know that?" she asked coldly, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "You've watched the people you love die your entire life. You live in a world where pain is the expectation. Seeing clips of him being tortured won't do anything but make you want to do anything but help me less. No, this is about making a point. About leading up to one specific moment."

Nate felt completely enraged. This woman, this bitch, really found it so amusing to just toy with him?

"If this is about making a point then make your fucking point." he snarled. She laughed quietly to herself.

"If you insist. Although personally I think it's more fun to experience the whole thing."

She turned the projector back on. The video showing this time wasn't security cam footage, it looked crisp, clean, expensive. There was a small group of producers and technicians scurrying around, adjusting mics, doing sound checks, setting up other cameras then adjusting them so they were never in the shot. Once everything had been set up, they brought in their subject; Kenji, wearing an entirely black suit and red tie. His face was slightly bruised, but it was nowhere near the condition it had been in the other videos. This had been filmed well after his face had had time to heal.

A phone rang in the background.

"That's our cue!" shouted one of the crew members. A small old woman came into frame and quickly adjusted Kenji's tie and hair. She pulled out a small clip on microphone and clipped it onto his collar before scuttling out of frame again. Kenji sat in total silence, not even looking up. He looked empty, as if the elites had cracked him open and carved out everything he had inside him. It made sense. Why else would he be wearing that suit in front of a green screen, three cameras worth more than everything he owned put together focused on him?

A voice in the background called out commands. "Lights! Sound!" Kenji tapped the microphone on his collar. The sound came out strange and distorted. He nodded to someone off camera and then put his hands on the desk in front of him.

“And we’re live in 5, 4, 3, 2...” On one, the overhead lights switched off. Kenji was framed in the shot as a silhouette, and Nate felt himself stop functioning as he realized what this was. When the Leader made broadcasts, it was never just him talking to the camera. They always concealed his face and voice, he was always just a shadow.

“Hello citizens. It’s me, here to tell you that that disgusting rebellion that has plaguing our society for so long is finally over. Just moments ago, the very last of their filth was arrested and killed. No more of their garish, crass music being blared in the streets. No more attacks. No more fighting. Only you, beautiful citizens, and us. Your government. Your protectors.”

Nate couldn’t believe what he was seeing. That broadcast had been the symbolic end of the rebellion, the moment that made everyone who still clung onto hopes for the revolution being a success give up. All the last supporters were turned in, or they turned themselves in, and arrested. It was the final blow, and Kenji had been the one who pulled the trigger. It took the wind out of Nate’s lungs, he had to sit down.

“No... No you... You faked the footage. This is one of those fucking deepfake videos, I researched it. Before the war they had the technology to generate this shit with computers, you just... You uncovered it. Kenji wouldn’t... He didn’t...” he blurted out, trying to rationalize everything to himself. Genevieve smirked.

“I always find these behind the scenes videos to be so fascinating. Really gives you insight into how things were made.” she said coolly, absentmindedly scratching a spot on her arm. “I actually got one better, I was there when this was filmed. He was so willing to cooperate, he didn’t even waste any time rehearsing his lines.”

“Shut up! Shut the fuck up you harpy!” he snapped back, shouting and blinking away the tears stinging his eyes. She shrugged.

“You told me to make my point, and that was it.” She brought her cigarette to her lips. “You rebels lived in a naive little fairy-tale world where you followed your leader as if he had all the answers. You can try and disagree, but be honest. You would have taken a bullet for him. You have taken bullets for him, because you believed he was going to always do what was right for his cause. Here is video proof that he was just as much of a coward, a regular person whose morals can and will be dropped at any time, as anyone else. This is my point, Nathaniel. Nobody is special, not even your precious Kenji Hirayama.”

Once she had finished talking, she called in a guard and had her prisoner cuffed and escorted away. Nate gritted his teeth the whole way back to his cell, his hands as tight fists at his sides. His nails were digging into his palms, but he barely felt the pain. He could only feel hatred and resentment. For Genevieve, obviously, but not just her. He was angry at Kenji for betraying the rebellion that he had risked his life to keep alive, and he was angry at himself for ever believing Kenji was better than that. When he got back to his cell, he slumped onto the floor with a heavy thud. He stretched awkwardly in the cramped space. Life, his shoulder was sore...

“Hey... Nate, you back?” called a voice softly from the air vent next to him. It was CeeCee, she had found a way to talk to him through the vents.

“Yeah, I’m back.” he replied, sighing and slumping further onto the ground.

“How bad was it today?” she queried gently. Nate chuckled weakly.

“Fucking terrible.” he mumbled. She sighed.

“Same here. Like they didn’t even hit me or nothin’, but... Fuck. I just feel like shit.” Nate furrowed his brow.

“What’d they say to you?”

“Just...” She hesitated, and he could hear her breath hitch. “They took me to Zander’s room. He wasn’t awake, and he was hooked up to all these tubes and monitors. He was fucking dying and they... They almost unplugged his life support right there in front of me. And if I didn’t know that Zander would’ve rather unplugged it himself before I said jack shit, I-I almost told ‘em. I almost said everything they wanted to hear.” Nate could hear her sobs, muffled by the vent but still clear enough to break his heart.

“Oh CeeCee... I’m so sorry.”

“It ain’t your fault, Nate.” she mumbled back, sniffling.

The two of them sat in silence for a while, not sure what to say.

“Apparently Carson managed to convince Kenji to read that last public broadcast for him.” he said quietly, just wanting to get it off his chest. CeeCee exhaled, clearly also just as shocked as he had been by the revelation.

“Shit...” she muttered.

“Heh, yeah. It’s fucked.” Nate swallowed as a few tears managing to escape and roll down his face.

“How the world did they manage that?” CeeCee wondered. Nate chuckled.

“I dunno...” He felt a wave of emptiness rock through his core. “But if I ever see him again I’m going to fucking kill him.”

_______________________

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#dystopia #dystopian #dystopian world #dystopian ocs #original content #original story #ben barnes #mike shinoda #canada #rebellion #mike shinoda fine #everything is gonna be fine

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psyga315 · 4 years

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Rewriting a Mykan fanfic: Hate of the Sea

I don’t have a hatred towards Dakari King Mykan and I don’t think he’d want any pity. When he isn’t guided by biases or how he wanted something to end, he can write decent stories. No blockbusters but definitely not bad.

However, that’s the problem with Mykan. He views life in a way that’s so cynical, that even I, a guy who has quite a lot of cynical fanfics up his sleeve (including some rewrites that are darker than the shows they try to fix), reel in disgust. Mykan is a guy who goes out of his way to make a character from My Little Pony have a miscarriage because he didn’t like how she represents love. And that was just the one of two options people got to vote for. The other was killing off her husband for that exact same reason. The lightest story he wrote that I read was about a down-on-his-luck character-of-the-week from Inuyasha ends up getting together with the woman he loved.

So, I decided to use my slightly optimistic approach to stories to write up an alternate take on Mykan’s story: Hate of the Sea, a Little Mermaid fanfic where Mykan’s intent was to give Ariel and Melody a lesson about the real world, that not everything has a happy ever after ending… And I’m not sure if he’s read up on how the original Little Mermaid ended.

First off, let’s change that theme. We’ll still teach Ariel and Melody a lesson about the real world, but a lot less cynical: the cycle of revenge. Yes, yes, roll your eyes, but before Neil Druckmann destroyed that message to hell and back (along with some unpaid employees), the tale of someone wanting revenge and the pain of actually going through with it is an interesting tale that has multiple outcomes depending on your outlook. Do you want to be a cynic and show how revenge can make someone as ugly as the person who wronged them in the first place? An optimist who wants to show a more peace filled solution to the conflict? Someone who just wants someone to say “payback is a bitch” and leave it at that? Or are you a middle-of-the-road guy who observes the theme and stretches it out to its logical conclusion?

And, best part is, the ground work is already laid out for us. If you can, read Hate of the Sea to see what I’m talking about. You’ll get a better idea of where I’m going with this. For now, though, let’s start at the beginning. Things stay relatively the same, with a throwaway line about how Tip and Dash, Melody’s sidekicks in Little Mermaid 2, returned to the arctic because it’s summer time. The immediate change will be Count Aquis’s minions: Electricon and Angelicon.

A slight change though, making them more mystical than the sudden technological shift, to better tie in with the mythos of the Little Mermaid, so no piranha missiles. Also, I’d probably rename them because they’re honestly generic (and would be better for Transformer faction names anyways) but the best I can think of is Eelektross for Electricon and I think that’s already taken. Think I’ll go with Uma for the Angel monster and Leech for the Eel.

The biggest change, though, comes in Count Aquis. I’ll give more details later, but the long story short of it is that he’s looking for Melody. We don’t know this at first, instead having him vaguely saying “where is she” and giving the wrong memo that he meant Ariel. The group is successful in sacking a town and capturing mermaids. They leave the mermen and other sea creatures be. Upon seeing Triton, he has it out for him and tries to kill him, only for Flounder to take the blow.

Flounder retreats to the surface to warn Ariel of her impending danger while Triton faces Aquis off, leaving his fate unknown. Melody’s interactions with Samuel stays the same. Scuttle comes by later that night to deliver an injured Flounder who warns that there’s a terrible threat in the ocean that’s looking for Ariel. The first conclusion they reach is that it’s someone with a connection to Ursula, given the last person who gave them trouble was her sister, but Flounder gives them a description of the man and even says how his hate seems to know no bounds… He then passes away, signifying that this is serious business. Ariel mourns for her closest friend as Eric and Melody comfort her.

Cut to Aquis, where I don’t change a lot of what happens. I think increase the bickering between Leech and Uma and showcase their characteristics a bit more. I kinda see a Sidorak and Roodaka (from Bionicle) relationship between them where Leech is the brawn who thinks he’s top of the world and Uma is the brains who seeks Aquis’s sole approval, though that’s probably because I recently seen a review of Web of Shadows and thought Roodaka was a cool villain. That or increase the Jindrax/Toxica relation and have them bicker, yes, but still show how much of good friends they are.

Either way, Aquis cares not. He wants Melody no matter what. We also see his sea-mutants, horrific mishmashes of sea creatures (If you played Impossible Creatures, you’ll have some idea of what I mean), and how little he cares of them, as he eats a shrimp-jellyfish hybrid right in front of Leech and Uma to emphasize what kind of punishment they would receive should they fail him. They go on their way as Aquis looks at the amulet he has… and cries.

As before, Melody’s interactions with Samuel are the same, but Samuel’s discussion about his master is changed. Instead, he reveals that he was adopted by a person and is considered to be a father to him. Basically, he doesn’t have the “used to be a street rat until Aquis found me and paid me to do his dirty work”. This adds a little more mystery to who the “Surface Agent” is. Another thing to note is that Samuel was orphaned as a baby in a shipwreck and, eerily enough, he’s about a year or so older than Melody, which causes the people who’ve seen the Little Mermaid to go “ooooooooh nooooo…”

Instead of coming across Leech and Uma, Samuel comes across a new person: Professor Aquarius, his adoptive father. At first, Samuel is excited about the new girl he met and how he’s in love. Aquarius seems to be proud of him until he says that her name is Melody. Aquarius then scowls, but doesn’t say anything. Last thing he wants is to invoke Romeo and Juliet on his son. Instead, he encourages him to keep hanging out with Melody, even giving him a pat on the back, which turns out to be a leech-dolphin hybrid that latches onto the nape of his neck and emits sonar for him to sense.

To confirm who he is, Aquarius feels his skin drying up as he gasps for air. He then runs to an already filled tub and slams his head into it, his face shedding any human features in trade for the more ferocious looking face of Count Aquis. The next chapter opens with Aquis returning to his lair, with Uma asking if he managed to find the girl. He says yes, but they need to wait for the right time. Uma asks if Aquis loves the surface so much that he would abandon his mission. She sings a song to the tune of the Reversed Song of Healing (The notes will be reversed, meaning it’d be preformed without the song actually going backwards, if that makes sense) that reminds him of years gone by.

At this same time, this is where we get the info dump on who Professor Aquarius was from Eric, who learned of him when he was a kid. While Aquarius was denounced as a madman for concluding his research in intelligent life in the sea with “there’s mermaids!”, he managed to hook up with an idealist whose mind was wide open and they went sailing in search for the mermaids, vowing to find a way to live underwater so that drowning wouldn’t be a fate.

However, as Eric says how they disappeared off the face of the earth, the song becomes a harsh, oceanic operetta where we see a flashback to Aquarius and his wife, who is holding a newly born baby, braving through a storm. Flashes of lightning shows a silhouette of a figure emerging from the water with a strong glow. Then, lightning hits the ship, destroying it and separating Aquarius from his wife and daughter. We see the wife land, only to see the mast fall on top of her (with that traditional Disney cut away to show Aquarius’s reaction). The baby ends up being swept in the sea as Aquarius falls ever deeper in the midnight sea…

It then cuts to Aquis’s crying face as he wipes his tears. Uma lets Aquis mourn in peace and solidify his feelings for revenge. She then goes to Leech, who is annoyed and asks “how much longer do we need to put up with that crybaby?” To which she responds: “patience, he’ll get what we need soon enough and then…”, and, as a cruel call back, she too eats a shrimp-jellyfish to show what she means. They then hear metal break and they go to investigate it.

Eric decides to break the tension by asking Melody how the date went, much to her embarrassment. However, before they could discuss any further, they hear a cry for help and immediately go despite the clear warning against going into the sea. There, they see a woman trying to escape the clutches of Leech and Uma. Ariel and Melody manage to get them away, with Sebastian having in on the action.

“Dat one’z for Flounda, ye beeches!” as he snips on Leech’s tail.

They rescue the woman and bring her to safety. They find out her name is Atta and that she was imprisoned with members of a resistance force who had been fighting Aquis for twenty years. She explains more about who Aquis is and why he didn’t intervene during Little Mermaids 1, 2, 3, and the show (long story short, the resistance kept Aquis busy and his goals would conflict with the Octo-sisters and Marina anyways), and also tells Ariel that Triton’s alive and is recovering at her place. Ariel wants to go, but Eric tries to stop her, saying that they barely made it out of fighting Leech and Uma alive and that it would be safer if they remained on dry land.

Melody, however, insists. Samuel gets involved as well, and he joins the party. Instead of a pill that turns Eric and Samuel into the N64 Zora, it’d be a magic amulet that Triton had been crafting ever since Melody destroyed the wall and reunited humanity with mermanity. Atta leads them to the resistance HQ known as Sanctuary and red flags blare up when she insists no one tell anyone where it is.

Triton and Ariel reunite, though not without bringing up how Flounder died. Triton is a bit remorseful, but we don’t know why. Likewise, Samuel looks to be intimidated by Triton’s presence, something that Melody notices. She just assumes it’s because Triton has a six pack or some other silly reason. Triton then explains what he knows of Aquis, or rather, his master, Oceanus.

Oceanus was a Titan who dueled with Triton’s father, Poseidon and the battle rendered the seas blood red (hence the Red Sea) and they had no means to defeat Oceanus. So, they used a planetary alignment of every planet up to Saturn to open up a gate to Tartarus and seal Oceanus up. Keen-eyed viewers will note that the bars have been broken and they had to fix it, reflecting how this took place after Hercules.

As far as Triton’s concerned, Oceanus is still sealed up, but he has an idea on who Aquis is… He says that he might be Oceanus’s prophet. Someone who lives only to serve Oceanus. Later on, Melody and Samuel chat and while Samuel doesn’t say much, what he does say solidifies their love for each other. As Melody goes to talk with her parents, Uma and Leech tell him that he needs to break the barrier. As Samuel refuses, the leech begins to dig deep into his neck and the blood begins to attract sharks. Uma reveals through this that she’s the one who is able to mutate the creatures to be hybrids. Leech wraps himself around Samuel and tells him flat out that if he doesn’t do as they say, he’s dead.

Samuel is forced to go to his chagrin. Meanwhile, Atta talks with Ariel about the struggles of being a mother, to which Atta replies that she has no family, or any memory of one. All she does is serve the resistance. Up to the betrayal, it plays out normally. The only change would be Samuel trying to say why he was afraid of Triton, only for Aquis emerges to capture Melody. She begs Samuel to help her, but Samuel frowns.

“You did well, son.” Aquis pats Samuel on the back and tells Melody that he was the one who rescued him from the storm. When Melody asks if he’s lying, Samuel confirms, then grips his fists.

“This was all… for what your grandfather took from me that night!” Samuel said as Melody is knocked unconscious. She then wakes up in a cell where Samuel sees her as they have a rather sad duet about how Samuel could never be part of any world, not because he backstabs people, but because he does it out of the hatred in his heart. Out of spite. The sad thing is, he’s painfully aware of it and knows that what he has to do next will destroy his bond with Melody: avenge his parents by killing Triton.

Back at the Sanctuary, it gets invaded by Leech and Uma in an attempt to crush them. They succeed and take them prisoner, including Ariel and co. Samuel awaits in a chamber with Aquis and asks why they must harm Melody. Aquis then explains how Melody is a product of true love and that destroying it would cause even the cosmos to despair and lend its energy to Oceanus. Samuel frowns before Aquis reminds him that Triton brought this onto himself.

Because Eric is captured too, we cut a large chunk out that I felt was unneeded. So, Eric wakes up with the rest as Aquis comes in. This is the first time he sees Aquis. He also sees Melody on an altar and puts two and two together, demanding that Aquis lets her go and even offering to take her place. Aquis wants none of this and seaweeds his mouth shut. He then explains that he’ll sacrifice Melody to Oceanus and destroy the entire sea level. Eric bites through the seaweed and demands to know who Aquis is.

Aquis takes off his mask as we see a gillman version of Aquarius with pointed teeth. They all retch at his form, even Samuel, as he explains that he would have died during the storm if it wasn’t for Oceanus offering a helping hand. In trade for servitude, Oceanus would give him the means to conduct revenge. He then forces Triton to confess. Triton frowns and we get another view of that operetta where we see the man with the glowing power was actually Triton.

Ariel wonders why he would do such a thing, to which Triton confessed that he was grieving for Athena, his wife, and wanted revenge and so killed any humans who would dare swim over Alantica. He mellowed out when Ariel met Eric, obviously, but that’s when Samuel calls him out. This is the first time Eric and Ariel see Samuel on the villain’s side, but as soon as he brings up his pain, they understand.

“ADMIT IT! YOU KILLED MY PARENTS TOO! YOUR XENOPHOBIC FERVOR RUINED MY LIFE!” Samuel cries out.

“… Yes… I did it. It’s all my fault. I’m the reason your parents are killed… Please, if it satisfies you… Kill me instead. Oceanus would be pleased to know the blood of Poseidon’s only son will sate his thirst than a granddaughter.” He accepts his fate…

But Aquis wants none of it. He tells Samuel to kill Melody and let her blood attract Oceanus out of prison while the eclipse is about to begin. Samuel looks over Melody, who defiantly stares at him, as though goading him to do it. Samuel cries and says “I’m sorry”…

Before impaling Aquis with his dagger. He says that he’ll take up Triton’s offer and frees Melody. Melody, however, attacks Samuel and the two struggle over the dagger. Ariel is moved to tears at seeing what would have been lovers driven to try and kill each other. We’re not gonna make it too violent, just grabbing each other and tussling around.

Uma and Leech come in to Aquis’s aid, or rather, to kill the mermen (and Eric), but as soon as Uma sees Ariel, she takes the time to gloat about how her happily ever after will be a happily never after. Melody warns Ariel of her mutant controlling powers and Eric manages to deck her in the face. Triton recognizes Uma’s witchery and calls her out for learning under Ursula. Uma laughs… Ursula isn’t her teacher. She’s her mother.

Eric’s like “let me guess, you want revenge too?”, but then she laughs. She never knew her mother personally and in order to have hate, you would need to know what love is. She only wants to bring Oceanus back so that she can do what her family failed to do long ago: rule the ocean. While this is going on, Melody gets the upper hand and holds the dagger over Samuel’s neck… She struggles… then drops the dagger and cries. She doesn’t want to kill her first love. She lets Samuel go after tossing the dagger away and Samuel has no idea what to do…

He then sees Uma approach the trident that had been locked up and takes it for herself, smiling at the fact that she’ll be the third member of her family to wield the power to shape the oceans as she sees fit… As she uses it to cause lightning storms, Samuel has flashbacks to when he was a baby. His family was caught in a rough storm and one thing he remembers was a large silhouette of a creature with many tendrils holding the Trident.

Those same tendrils emerge from Uma as she uses the Trident. He began to draw his conclusion and, in a rage, tackles Uma to the ground, knocking her and causing the Trident to hit Leech. Leech has a dumb muscle moment where he goes “I don’t feel so good…” before fading away. Uma sees Leech disappear and is distraught. She then glares at Samuel and tries to kill him, only for his fist to punch her face.

“YOU DID IT?! DIDN’T YOU!? YOU KILLED MY PARENTS!” Samuel shouted. Melody pulls him away as Uma gets up. Now she’s lusting for revenge. Aquis, however, gets up and is armed with the Trident. Samuel quickly breaks the group out and now we get a free-for-all, but, without the trident, they can’t win. Atta gets close to killing him… But then notices something familiar. She remembers a man over her crib, singing a lullaby version of Under The Sea. The man? Aquarius.

“Dad?” She asks. Aquarius is confused… She then recites the song. Sebastian just gives the dude the stink eye and goes “dood, ya reep aff mah sheet, mon?” Aquarius remembers his own daughter and holds her tightly. Atta then remembers what happened that night. As she sank to the ocean, Triton managed to save her life and, believing her life would be better off as a mermaid, turned her into one.

Aquarius is both mad and glad at Triton for saving his daughter. He had no idea how to react… Nor will he have the chance as Uma claws into Aquarius.

“You took away the one thing I cherished in this cesspool of an ocean… Now… I take away your lives!” She then causes him to bleed profusely, the blood being used to summon Oceanus. Oceanus takes over the body of Aquis and he has a tentaclelike aura kinda like Ashitaka’s arm from Princess Mononoke, just to emphasize the theme of hate. And, like before, Oceanus eats Uma to boost his powers.

The final battle commences like normal, except that Aquarius’s actions are “be a monster”. Samuel and Melody manage to impale the possessed Aquis and, as Oceanus began to retreat, Triton zaps him with the Trident, rendering the weakened Titan into nothing but sea foam. The oceans are returned to normal.

The final chapter is where things are completely different. Aquarius lays dying from his wound. Triton approaches Aquarius and apologizes for his crimes. Aquarius smiles and says how he managed to do good in his xenophobic rage… He then pleads to Triton to take care of Atta for him before he dies. Atta grieves for her father, but doesn’t let it turn into rage. She instead asks Triton to make her a human so that she could live where her father once lived, to be a part of his world.

He complies, makes her human, and then goes to Samuel, who feels conflicted with the whole ordeal, asking Triton what actually happened that night. Triton mentions Uma’s mother, Ursula, and how she terrorized the ocean for a brief while. As far as he was concerned, the ship he was on was completely wrecked and there were no survivors. When he said it was his fault, he refers to how she managed to get the Trident in the first place: through manipulating Ariel who had been criminally neglected. Samuel looks over to Aquarius and mourns him, saying how he was a father when he had none and now that he’s gone, there’s nothing left to look forward to.

Atta offers a home with her, saying they’ll pick up the pieces together. Samuel jumps on the offer, then goes to Melody, apologizing for the betrayal and nearly killing her grandfather. She does the one thing he has no idea how to react to: She forgives him. She forgives Aquis. And like that, the cycle of revenge ends… But… For someone who all their life had knew nothing but hate of the sea… That’s not enough.

He apologizes to Melody, but even though he’s forgiven by her, he still can’t forgive himself, especially with his feelings towards Triton not going away any time soon. So, he departs with Atta, much to Melody’s sadness, but the overall note is that, once he’s gotten over himself, he’ll reunite with her, as we see a year later where he return to Melody, a better man now.

We end with the two sharing a kiss as we zoom out to the ocean, ending the Little Mermaid 4: Hate of the Sea and the overall moral being that revenge is a painful cycle and it only ends with forgiveness.

#Rewrite #the little mermaid #hate of the sea #dakari king mykan

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dianapana · 5 years

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SasuHina Month Day 8- Mermaid

Hey guys, sorry i was inactive for a while, to be honest i struggles with this cuz i had a pretty meh idea in my head and i just didn’t feel like writing it but like 1 hour ago this idea came to me and i wrote it and boom i feel pretty good about this.

Also August has been so full for me, the first 5 days i was at that music festival as i said i spend like 20 hours a day there and 4 sleeping, if that, so after that i slept a full day. i didn’t even come home cuz i went to my friend and Uni colleague’s house for 4 days, i did most of my planning for what and how to write on the train to her house cuz it was a 4h ride. and after those 5 days at her house we came back to my house which was a 9h train ride woho...and she just left today. Before going to the music festival i changed the furniture in my room and now i feel so wierd being here alone. it just feels like she should be here as well and i miss her so much already. Oh yea and in 3 days i’m going to the beach for 2 weeks. Like i said August is hectic, but u still wanna write everything because i have a plan for most days. so i’ll post all 31 of them even if they are a bit late..

ANYWAY, that was a an update on my life i guess xD I hope you enjoy, Love Dia ~

Fantasy - Part 1

Sasuke

Everyone does thing they don’t particularly like, you wake up early and go everyday to school with people that you can’t wait to become part of your past, you sit thought awkward talks and weird situations cuz you can’t see an escape route. This last one is the case I am in, a weird situation, I am with my parents, my brother, his wife and their small daughter at Disney world because it is Kara's 7th birthday and she wished for the past 3 years to come here. Mom and dad got tired after the first 2 hours of wandering around; Itachi started feeling unwell and pucked twice after riding about 12 times the rollercoaster so he and Anko went to the pharmacy to get something to ease his stomach and they’re taking a small break so here I am stuck with my u year old niece who is dressed like a princess walking around the amusement park. Kara qas so excited for the first hour and she kept running around but got tired quite fast but Itachi carried her around in his arms princess style for almost 3 hours so she is once more full pf energy. Who thought that leaving a 22 year old male with a 7 year old girl I don’t know.

I am holding her hand as we walk around and all of a sudden she stops and screams so loud my ears start ringing; I can’t even find my footing and see what is happening because Kara starts pulling me to the far right and I do my best to steer her from hitting and tripping people over.

We walk through a tunnel that painted deep blue and as we get to the end the temperature drops and I haven’t realized how hot it was outside until this moment when it finally feels cool. The song ‘Under the sea' from the Little Mermaid is playing on repeat. I only know the song because Little Mermaid is Kara's favorite Disney movie and whenever I babysit her or just go by Itachi's the movie is permanently on.

“Sasuke look!” she says and pulls on my pants leg; she is behind me now and hides, looking shyly at a group of kids that stare at an aquarium tank. I don’t notice anything unusual until one small girl screams on top of her lungs ‘mermaid’ and a lot of kids move around and looks at her and I see it, or more like, I see her. In the tank is a real life mermaid, with blue hair and beautiful liliac eyes, she swims around and waved to the kids, smiles and them and when a mother holds her daughter a little higher over the aquarium she comes out for air and holds the girl’s hand.

“Can we do that? I want to hold hands with the mermaid…” Kara is bit a shy kid but now she looks overwhelmed, anxious and a bit scared yet very excited. She looks into my eyes waiting for my reply so I only nod. We walk to the tank and as we get closer a large group of kids pair off 2 by 2 and follow a lady who I assume is their teacher and another teacher is behind them so we are pretty much the only ones at the tank. Kara is still behind my leg, the mermaid is under the eater and swims around putting on a really cool show. Just the fact that she can hold her breath for that long is impressive. She looks towards us and smiles and waved at Kara.

I look at my little niece as well and I pick her up like the mother did and the mermaid comes up for air, crosses her arms over the glass wall and puts her head there and smiles big at Kara.

“Are you a real mermaid?” Kara asks and shyly touches her cheek. The mermaids smile boardes and she looks absolutely stunning, I feel lightning bolts shoot up my spine, she is so much more beautiful up close.

Hinata

I enjoy it more when there are smaller groups of people at my tank, I like talking to the kids and playing my character, so being alone with this little girl and her...father, older brother(?) is pretty cool, she’s so cute dressed as a princess and her eyes are big and full of innocence. She's also old enough to have a conversation with. I'd give her 7 or 8 years and I'm quite good at guessing children’s ages. She asked me if I'm a real mermaid, that is one of the most frequent questions. The tail I wear is very well made and it truly looks authentic and I take pride in my swimming skills and in the amount of time I can stay underwater without having to come out and breath, also behind the rock where u can’t see, on the other side of the tank you can go and breath air and the kids can see only tour tail so I tend to do that unless there is someone who wants to talk or hold my hand.

“Yes princess, I am a real mermaid” her smile is shy and so cute. She nods like what I said makes sense. I look from her to the man holding her and I have to stop a sigh, he’s so good-looking and he is staring right at me. I give him the same smile because I can’t break character, but his grin makes my skin tingle and I really want to touch him.

“Is this your home? Are you a prisoner here? Do you want us to save you?” She looks up worried at the man and he chuckles lightly at her questions. I'm a bit startled, I have been asked before if I live here but no one offered to help me escape.

“Can I tell you a secret?” I tell her and pull myself even more out of the water. She looks at me very serious and nods so I lean in and whisper in her ear. “You can’t tell anyone, but this isn’t my house, nor am I prisoner. I work here. When I get out of the water and I'm dry I have legs just like you do but when I'm in the water I am a mermaid, so I am here to help little girls like me and to talk with beautiful and kind princesses like yourself” after I finish my little speech I still don’t back up because I can feel the heat coming from the man and I also can smell him, he smells refreshing, like ice and mint but with something else that I can’t put my finger on but I'm willing to bet it’s just him, he smells delicious and very manly.

“I’ll tell you a secret too” The little girl says “My name is Kara and I'm not a princess” she looks at me carefully, waiting for my reaction. I only nod and smile.

“Well Kara, I am Hinata and I have to disagree, you are a princess. Being a princess has little to do with royal blood or fancy clothing, it is all about how you act, if you are kind and friendly, loyal and loving and good. I can see into your soul and you are a princess deep inside, never doubt that” Her eyes widen, and she smiles at me.

“Sasuke did you hear? I'm a princess” He smiles at her. I take in what she said, his name is Sasuke. She didn’t call him dad and he is too young to have such a big kid so I doubt he is her dad. “Can you see in his soul? Is he a prince too?”

I make a show of looking at him from head to toe like I'm considering her question when in reality I just want to check him out. After I've taken everything in I look back up at his face, narrow my eyes and look at his chest. I pull myself out even more and I lay my hand flat on his chest and close my eyes. I only now realize that I probably wet his shirt, but I can’t stop the show now. After a couple of seconds my hand can’t take it, just from touching him I feel a bit dizzy so I open my eyes and nod very serous to myself before looking back at Kara, I don’t look up at Sasuke because I am scared of what I'll see there.

“Yes he is a good soul, he is also a prince” Kara’s eyes light up and she looks at Sasuke with a lot of love and admiration, I finally look at his face because I expect him to stare and smile at Kara but instead his stare is on me so intensly, a lot of feelings hit me all of a sudden and I feel overwhelmed.

Sasuke

When she put her hand on my chest to “feel if my soul id good” I thought my heart will jump out of my chest. I can’t help but stare at her. I want to ask her when she finished work because something tells me we’ll still be here when she’s done, and I want to meet her. Or I want to ask her for her number, but I can’t do that in front of Kara, it would ruin the image Hinata painted for her character. Hinata...even her name is beautiful. Kara looks at me and asks me to put her down and says that she wants to take a picture in front of the tank as Hinata floats behind her. I take a few pictures of the two of them posing. I look around and see a smaller tank with lots of fish inside that is just a bit to the left, but far enough that Kara won’t hear what I talk about with Hinata. I also take a quick look around and see that it’s not very crowded so I don’t think new kids will come to Hinata.

“Why don’t you go look at the fishes for a moment, I want to talk to the mermaid about how I should act now that I found out I'm a prince” I tell Kara lamely, thankfully she believes me and goes to look at the fishes. I return to the tank and softly knock in the glass to get her attention; she is once again swimming around. When she looks at me and sees now kids around, she rises a brow and I just shrug. She comes out to talk to me anyway.

“You’re not supposed to it the glass. It says that there. She points to a piece of paper that is on the wall next to her. “Not respecting the rules is not very prince-like of you”

“Sorry I just needed your attention.” She smiles, for real this time not the fake-princess one she shows every kid; and for a moment I forget how to breath. “Thank you for talking so much to Kara, she loves mermaids whenever I babysit her for my brother Little Mermaid is all she wants to watch” I intentionally made it very clear that Kara is my niece so she wouldn’t think I was her father or anything.

“It wasn’t big deal. She's very cute” I nod, and silence falls over us.

“When do you get out of work? And can you give me your number?” I cringe internally. I'm better than this, I have mad game with girls but this one makes me feel a bit weird, like I'm off balance in some way.

She chuckles “I get out in an hour and half. And as for my number...how about we meet when I get out and I can give it to you then? Would that work?” she asks and I try really hard not to jump and pump my fist in the air in a “i-did-it" pose.

“Yea that works, cool.” I try to pretend like she doesn’t affect me at all but that’s a failure. “I’ll meet you here in about 2 hours?” I take into consideration that she probably has to shower and change.

“Yes, 2 hours is perfect. Bye bye Prince Sasuke” she says and goes back to swimming. I go back to Kara.

“What did she say about being a prince?’ she asks looking up at me and taking my hand to hold.

“She said I have potential but I need some help, so she offered to give me classes on hoe to be a good prince”

#sasuhina #sasuhina month #sasuhina month 2019 #SHMONTH2019 #Sasuke Uchiha #Hinata Hyuga #me #dia-story #diawrites #hinasasu #fanfic #writing #otp #sasuhina fanfic

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