#and also probably start yelling and demanding brain bleach for it

[martlet-my-beloved]

Chara be like: maim murder kill kill @ martlet the whole time their in the ruins.

Takes notes from mad dummy later and starts looking for a vessel to facilitate their bird murder. /j

they calm down eventually after the "i-may-or-may-not-have-a-maybe-stepmom-now" revelation but yeah for a day or two the atmosphere in the house really was just this:

and a bonus:

First - Previous - Next - Masterpost

[marybeatriceofmodena]

You know, I’ve been thinking today about how Alina doesn’t even really work as a Reluctant Hero, compared her to Frodo to see the key differences (since Frodo is pretty much the Poster Child for the Reluctant Hero), and then I realized... 

You know, I think L/eigh B/ardugo wrote TGT as a very black-and-white fairytale, where Alina is the princess, Mal’s the knight in the shining armor, and the Darkling is basically the dragon, except it doesn’t really work because the worldbuilding requires an approach that’s... a lot more grey? 

The thing is, though, I realized... Alina and Mal are basically meant to be Frodo and Sam. Except that, again... it doesn’t really work. 

Frodo works as a Reluctant Hero, because he makes it clear multiple times that he doesn’t want to carry the Ring. He asks Gandalf to do it for him, he asks Galadriel, he asks Aragorn, and they all refuse, because they are (or are called to be) in a position of power, and while them being in a position of power is presented as good, the One Ring essentially represents the fast, easy way to get to it, which will ultimately corrupt them rather than have them fight their way towards their goal. 

Frodo, meanwhile, is the right person to carry the Ring, because he comes from a humble place and he doesn’t really have any aspirations to become powerful. And while he’s clearly burdened by having to carry the One Ring, and that he makes it clear that he wishes the Ring had never come to him, he still goes on anyway, despite all the hardships he faces, because his ultimate goal is to save the Shire and his friends, and that desire is stronger than any fear or greed he may have. 

Now, J.R.R. Tolkien himself said that he didn’t really see Frodo as THE Hero, and that Sam is the real Hero of the story to him. Which makes sense, given how Sam was based off young men from rural England he met while fighting in World War I. But also, the story makes it very clear that without Sam, who’s arguably the most pure-hearted person in all of Middle-Earth, Frodo would have definitely failed in his task. The reason why he resists the temptation to carry the One Ring is LITERALLY because him protecting and helping Frodo is more important to him. Sam doesn’t give two shits about power. Helping Frodo save the Shire and coming back to everything he’s ever loved is more important to him. 

Both Alina and Frodo are pure-hearted orphans who are given tremendous power: Alina is the Sun Summoner, and Frodo carries the One Ring. In both cases, power is represented as a corruptive force, that makes people go mad with greed. It works in the context of The Lord of the Rings, given how the rings were given to leaders of Elves, Dwarves and Men, and that Sauron created the One Ring to rule over and control all of them. The Grisha, on the other hand, unlike the Ring-bearers, are not in a position of power, given they are essentially victims of Fantastic Racism in pretty much every country. While Ravka treats them slightly better than in Fjerda or Shu Han, it’s still not ideal and it’s something that could be taken away from them at any moment. It would be an entirely different matter if the Grisha were the ones rulling over Ravka and viewing otkazat’sya as lesser, and in that context, Alina being the Sun Summoner would be a very obvious road to her becoming corrupted. 

Frodo refusing to carry the One Ring and asking other people to take that burden from him comes from a place of genuine fear of what the Ring might do to him. In his place, we’d probably all do the same thing. That’s what makes his acceptance of his task all the more admirable. Alina, on the other hand, refuses to be the Sun Summoner and to help her fellow Grisha because that stands in the way of her ending up with Mal. She never gives any sign that she’s truly empathizing with the Grisha’s plight, she tries to run away not once, but twice, and most importantly, she never sees herself as one of them. They are othered, but it matters little to her, because she doesn’t want to be othered herself, because that stands in the way of her running off with a boy. It’s basically the equivalent of Frodo being overcome by fear after seeing the fate of the Shire in Galadriel’s mirror, and just demanding to be sent to the Grey Havens straight away to save his own ass from it all and just leaving the One Ring to whoever wants to deal with it. At that point, it’s not being a Reluctant Hero: it’s being a coward at best, a selfish bastard at worst. 

(And that’s why I don’t really buy her when she tells Aleksander that they could have had it all if he had told her all the truth from the start, because... again, she didn’t seem to care about the Grisha that much and Aleks telling her everything would have actually been a sure way of having her run as fast as possible the other way. I know the story is trying to tell me otherwise and that the plot point I’m supposed to see here is that Alina was willing to do something until she felt betrayed by Aleks, which is... not what was shown here, and it’s especially annoying considering how Alina is a deserter in every sense of the word, and that any army would have court-martialed her for running away.) 

So if Alina is meant to be a pure, selfless heroine, who loses her powers because she also refuses to be greedy... that just falls completely flat, because if anything, she’s as selfish as Frodo is selfless, because all of this really just boils down to her wanting to run off with Mal. 

Now, onto Sam and Mal. Both of them are basically Everymen who are there to help the Hero and keep their feet on the ground. As mentioned earlier, Sam is the one who helps Frodo finish his mission to Mordor, and the story makes it clear Frodo would have failed without him. TGT meanwhile presents Mal as Alina’s “True North”... which could work on paper as Alina’s reminder to temper Aleksander’s efforts and to remind him that in order for Grisha to be viewed as people, it is important for them to also remember that balance and peace between Grisha and otkazat’sya will be essential, so resentment and hatred can be healed between both groups. 

The key difference here is that Sam is completely supportive of Frodo at all times. Even when Frodo sends him away in the film, Sam goes back after him the minute he realizes he’s been tricked by Gollum. He never shames Frodo whenever he falls prey to temptation, he simply reminds him of who he is and what he must fight for, and even when he’s climbing Mount Doom, he still carries Frodo on his back despite being probably completely exhausted, because Frodo’s more exhausted than he is. He completely accepts Frodo as both his friend, the Hobbit from the Shire, and the Ring-bearer he needs to help, even if he might die in the process. 

Mal (in the books, that is) makes it very clear that he does not accept Alina as both the girl he knew and the Sun Summoner. He only wants the girl, and whenever Alina makes steps towards being the Sun Summoner, he basically sulks and yells at her for not paying attention to him. Despite Alina becoming othered in the eyes of the world, he refuses to see her as othered, mostly because it is inconvenient to him rather than because he loves her for who she is. That’s why in the end, people feel like Alina lost her powers in order to be with Mal, because Mal would never accept her in her entirety. Sam, on the other hand, accepts Frodo as both Ring-bearer and Hobbit, because if he didn’t, Frodo would have failed. 

And while they made Mal in the show a lot nicer than his book counterpart, he still doesn’t work as Alina’s “True North”, because he cossets her in her selfishness. He may say he doesn’t care about how Alina is a Grisha in this one, but he also doesn’t consider the implications of it all - which is especially glaring given he’s a soldier himself. Like, look, if you’re going to slap in a racism plotline to make Mal/ina work, you’d think that being half-Shu would give Mal a little awareness that people are going to treat Alina badly for being half-Shu AND a Grisha, and given Alina is the MOTHERFUCKING SUN SUMMONER AND A SAINT, maybe, just maybe he’d tell her: “Heh, it’s kinda lame we’ll just run off and let everyone else in the dust, you know, especially since we could make our lives as well as everyone else’s better?” Seriously, if you’re going to make Mal Alina’s “True North”, have him face her duties and her calling whether she likes it or not, don’t coddle her when she wants to run the other way because she wants to hide under a rock for the rest of her life. 

With all that being said, that leaves us with the Darkling, who... I mean, given his whole schtick is that power corrupts and makes you evil and crazy, I guess that makes him Gollum, but sexy. 

Gollum, but sexy. 

That single expression has been haunting me ever since I started writing the above novel and I fucking hate it. You’re welcome. No one wanted Sexy Gollum. Absolutely no one. Fuck this shyte. See, this is why I want Darkling Redemption. I do not want to live in a world where Gollum is sexy. I need brain bleach. 

Even here it doesn’t even fucking work because Gollum hid in a cave with the Ring with a strategically placed cloth because no one wants to see his crusty ass family jewels anyway, while Aleks worked his ass off to give the Grisha a safe place to live and to at the very least ensure they’re useful enough to not be killed like animals. Like, if you’re going to give the world something that’s gonna definitely not make me sleep tonight like Sexy Gollum, at least do it right. 

[senorarelojes]

Ficlet: Surprise Party

Just some crack I wrote for @pinksyndication. A very silly Pizzaverse oneshot.

.

Most of the time, Fletch was the only one out of his friends to remember someone’s birthday. He didn’t know why he had the uncanny ability to recall the birthdates of even casual acquaintances, or mates whom he hadn’t seen in years since they left uni. Martin often made fun of him about it, which was ironic because he wholly depended on Fletch to remind him when people’s birthdays were coming up. Of course Fletch teased him about it - but not that much since Martin was very thoughtful when it came to celebrations for their close friends, especially Dave and Alan.

Back in Bas, they’d always celebrated Dave’s birthday in a big group, usually hitting the pubs and clubs and getting pissed until morning. However, now that he was with Alan, the pub crawls had given way to more adult group dinners and the occasional karaoke tournament, where either Dave or Martin would emerge the winner (despite one memorable year where a drunk Alan belted out Total Eclipse of the Heart to a red-faced Dave while everyone else cried with laughter). 

Fletch supposed it was normal for birthdays to get more boring as they approached their mid twenties, although he was a little sad that their clubbing days were rapidly dying out. He decided he could try to do something different and plan a big surprise party for someone at one point.

The opportunity presented itself not long after. Dave’s 25th birthday was coming up, and while it had become tradition for him and Alan to go off and do their own thing, this year was different because Alan was stuck in Manchester for a recording project with an urgent deadline. Fletch had heard from Martin that Dave had considered taking the train up to Manchester so he could spend at least part of the day with Alan, but Dave himself was stuck at work for a merchandising event. 

“Don’t tell him I told you,” Martin informed Fletch over dinner, “but he’s utterly depressed about spending his birthday alone. I thought we could do something for him, y’know?”

Fletch perked up, his fork clattering on the plate in excitement and startling Miffles at his feet. “We could throw him a party?”

Martin looked doubtful. “Dunno, he didn’t seem to want to leave the house.”

“So we’ll have it at his place,” Fletch said, gesturing impatiently across the hall. “He won’t even have to leave the sofa.”

Lifting his shoulder in a shrug, Martin picked up his phone. “I’ll ask him.” He’d barely put his phone down when it buzzed with a reply from Dave: dont wanna celebrate w/out charlie 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 

“Jesus, this is textbook co-dependence,” Fletch said in mock disgust while Martin laughed. “So sod him then, we’ll just throw him a surprise party.”

Martin wrinkled his nose. “Sure that’s a good idea?”

“Yeah, we’ve got their spare keys, don’t we?” Fletch waggled his eyebrows at Martin. “We’ll call everyone, let ourselves into their flat with a cake and surprise the hell out of Dave, yeah? Then we’ll bring food and alcohol over from our place.”

It didn’t take much more to convince Martin, and soon after Fletch managed to get Grainne, Daryl, Paul and Nicole on board as well. Even Vince agreed to travel up from Bas for the night. Privately, Fletch was a little glad Christina wouldn’t be attending, as she’d returned to Germany after she and Martin had split up a few months ago. Fletch also hoped this party would lift Martin’s spirits as well.

As planned, on Dave’s birthday, everyone pretended to forget about it. Fletch almost felt guilty when Dave came over to have breakfast with them, shooting him and Mart hopeful glances before he left for work. Then it was up to Fletch and Martin to make sure things were ready for tonight. Martin would be leaving the bank early to take care of decorations and food, while Fletch would be fetching Vince from the station after work before they’d go to pick up Dave’s cake.

In the evening, everyone had arrived by seven and was hiding in Fletch’s and Martin’s flat, waiting for Dave to come home as they blew balloons and helped with the food. A little after eight, Daryl - who’d been stationed to keep watch at the window - suddenly shushed them, signaling for everyone to keep quiet. It seemed Dave had finally reached home.

Fletch tip-toed over to Daryl’s side, peeking out from behind the curtains. He could see Dave unlocking the door to his and Alan’s flat, his cheeks a little red and his walk unsteady - Fletch guessed that his mates from work must have taken him out for a few birthday pints. After the door slammed shut, Fletch set the timer for fifteen minutes, which he figured was enough time for Dave to settle in and sober up a bit before they went in to surprise him.

Once Fletch’s timer went off, everyone played their parts like a well-oiled machine. Vince brought the cake out from the fridge, Paul stuck on the candles and lit them, Grainne grabbed her phone to take pictures, Martin took out the spare keys that Dave and Alan had entrusted them with. All of them nodded quietly at each other before Fletch opened the door and led everyone out.

Martin slid the key in as quietly as possible, unlocking it with graceful stealth. Fletch very slowly nudged the door open; the living room was dark, which meant Dave wasn’t there. Once he was sure, he swung the door open wider so that everyone could fit in: Fletch led the way, Vince behind him with the cake. The candles were the only light in the flat.

Dave and Alan’s bedroom door was closed. Fletch ignored another pang of guilt that Dave was quite probably moping in bed now, distressed that his friends had forgotten him and Alan had forsaken him for work. Gesturing for everyone to follow, Fletch placed his hand on the doorknob, silently counting down to three on his fingers before he suddenly twisted the knob and yanked the door open, barging into the room. “Surprise! Happy birthday D--”

It was a toss-up as to who was more stunned: Fletch (and Vince right behind him with the cake) or a naked Dave in bed with his laptop on his thighs, scrambling to cover his crotch with a blanket as he shouted, “What the fuck!”

“Sorry! Christ I’m sorry!” Fletch slammed his hands over his eyes so he could get the image of Dave’s pale arse out of his goddamn brain. Behind him, he could hear Daryl laughing in disbelief and Alan’s voice from the laptop speakers, demanding to know what the fuck was going on.

“Oh my God, Dave,” Fletch could hear Grainne blabbering, “We’re so, so sorry--”

“Everyone out!” Dave yelled, and that was when someone - probably Martin -  came to their senses and started shoving at all of them to leave the room. Once the door was closed, Fletch let his hands drop, still stunned in disbelief. Fucking Daryl was still laughing as though they hadn’t just walked in on their good friend completely starkers and having Skype sex with their other friend. Paul and Nicole, who had been stuck in the back, were still completely confused, while Vince looked rather traumatised, ignoring the candles as they melted onto the cake.

“Fucking hell.” Fletch just rubbed at his temples as Grainne rubbed his back soothingly. “I’m going to need so much therapy.”

The door swung open again, an angry and tomato-faced Dave reappearing in shorts and a tank-top. “What the hell?”

“Er, happy birthday?” Martin grinned sheepishly, subtly hiding behind Fletch when Dave glared at him. However, his scowl melted away once he spotted the still-dazed Vince holding the cake.

“Oh man, you guys.” Dave rubbed at his face, probably torn between embarrassment and gratitude. 

“Quick, blow them out,” Paul said with a grin. “Then you can go blow something else.”

Daryl laughed even harder while Fletch wanted to pour bleach into his ears. “Sorry, we didn’t know you and Alan, uh--”

“Shit!” Dave’s eyes widened in realisation before he dashed back into the room, re-emerging with his laptop. On the screen was a topless but confused Alan in a Skype window, asking what was going on. “Sorry Al, someone decided to throw me a surprise party,” Dave explained to him.

“Oh.” At least Alan must have thought it was pretty funny, judging from how he seemed to be fighting back a laugh as he waved at everyone. “Hi from Manchester, you lot.”

“Sorry for interrupting you and Dave,” Martin said. “It was meant to be a birthday surprise thing.” 

“So was mine.” Alan was the absolute picture of innocence.

“I’m not talking to you while you’re shirtless,” Fletch said, shielding his eyes.

“Maybe we should leave them alone,” Grainne suggested. Fletch appreciated that she was at least keeping her gaze at eye-level and nowhere near Dave’s bunchy-looking underwear. “We’ll wait for you next door, Dave.”

“Yeah, I’ll be right over.” Dave gave all of them an apologetic grimace. “Let me wrap things up with Al first, yeah?”

“So we’ll see you in a minute? A minute and a half?” Paul smirked, not at all caring that Dave looked ready to throw the laptop at him.

They eventually filed out of Dave’s and Alan’s flat, heading back into Fletch’s and Martin’s. By now, the candles had completely melted onto the cake, and Vince was blinking down at the waxy mess, eyes still round with surprise.

“You all right, mate?” Martin asked in concern, taking the cake off the poor bloke.

“I need a drink,” Vince said solemnly. “A very stiff one.”

“Dave’s probably having a stiff one right now,” Daryl said with a straight face, before everyone burst out laughing, even Vince.

[darkness-444]

Description; you were driving home from your job when you get lost. In the middle of the road you spot what appears to be a large dark figure. As you approach it you realize it appears to be a wolf that’s wounded.

{Warnings; this fic is nsfw, extreme sexual explicit language & scenes. however this part 1 does not contain nsfw }

╔ —————————╗  

      PART ONE

╚ ————————— ╝ 

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••                  

“Good job, [Y/N]! You can go home now.”

“Thanks, Joe...” You tiredly answered.

Throwing on your blue, white and grey over-sized plaid button up, you begrudgingly grabbed your keys and handbag, slowly exiting the restaurant. You were extremely tired, made almost no tips despite working a 9 hour shift with little to know break. You opened up your car and threw yourself into the drivers seat, slamming the door shut.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” You yelled while slapping the steering wheel.

Rent was due in less than three days, and you had about $300 to your name. It wasn’t like you were irresponsible with your money, but your shitty roommate and her inability to pay rent was making it harder and harder for you to save so you could move out of the shithole you called your hometown. You started your car and drove off, deciding to take the back roads instead of the main, considering you needed to let out some steam before you got home. It was dark, a little rainy and it was hard to see. Flipping on your high beams, you could now see the road much more clearly. As you were going to make a turn you suddenly see a dark grainy figure laying on the ground. Slamming on the brakes, you came to a close stop in front of it.

You jumped from out of your car, which normally you would never do because that’s how people are murdered or kidnapped, but from what you were scared it might have been someone dead. Approaching the figure slowly, you first yelled out to see if they would start moving. 

“Hey! Are you alright?” You yelled. 

You waited a few moments for a response. It was dead silent. All you could hear were the sounds of the night; crickets, drops of water, and your car engine. 

You took a few more steps, your heart ready to give out at any moment. Patting down your pockets you looked for your phone. When you found it you pulled it out from your back pocket and put on the flashlight. The light showed the shape of a large black wolf, panting, with a large wound on the back. You ran towards the wolf and placed your hand near their snout. 

“Oh my God... holy shit..” You whispered.

You took your plaid shirt off and wrapped it around the wound. The wolf was bigger than you had ever seen. It was probably about 2 feet taller than an average dog. Nonetheless, you were more worried about their well being. You placed one of it’s paws around your neck and proceeded to life the wolf, struggling to carry them to your car. Unfortunately, you weren’t the strongest, but you did your best and managed to get the wolf to your back seat, which they barely fit into. 

Once settled you jumped back into the drivers seat, your crop-top sweater now bloody, you tried wiping some of the blood on your hands to your shirt and jeans. Taking out your phone you quickly googled animal hospitals near you, hoping that there was one that open 24 hours, considering it was nearly midnight. You cursed under your breath, ‘the nearest one is fucking twenty miles away’, you thought. 

Starting your car you drove off trying to figure out what you could do. You couldn’t send them to the hospital, most doctors don’t know how to operate on animals, and also they are a lot bigger than most wolves, so you thought it would not be safe to drop them off there. You bit your thumb nail, trying to stay calm and figure what to do. You did know where the town’s veterinary clinic was, so you tried calling anyways. As it rang, you prayed the doctor would answer, hoping they might have still been inside.

“H-hello?” You heard a groggy voice answer.

“Hello! Hi, Dr. Vandyke! It’s [Y/N]! I am so sorry to call you this late and I’m sure the clinic is closed but it’s an emergency!” 

“Okay, okay, calm down... I understand.. What’s going on?” Dr. Vandyke’s voice still groggy, she sounded as if she was getting out of bed. 

“Uhh, well I was on my way home and I found this dog- well wolf,” You laughed nervously, “...and yeah it’s wounded really badly and I nee-”

“Got it. How far are you?” She answered sternly. Her voice sounded more professional now. 

“Uh... probably like five minutes?” 

“Great. See you in a bit.” She hung up.

Confused, yet grateful, you hit the gas and drove as fast as you could to the clinic. A few minutes later you pulled into the clinic. Outside stood Dr. Vandyke, and from what you could remember she had always been a very tall and stoic woman. She had bleach blonde hair, olive skin and sharp hazel eyes. She was wearing her doctors coat, some gloves and holding onto what looked to be a stretcher. There was another person next to her who you never seen before but you didn’t have time to question it. 

Hoping out of the car you quickly opened the back seat, seeing the blood now all over the seat. The wound bled through your shirt that you wrapped, and you were feeling sick, thinking of the worst. Dr. Vandyke and the other man pushed past you and placed the wolf on the stretcher. The wolf could barely fit, their legs hanging over almost touching the ground. You closed the door behind them and followed them into the clinic. As they entered they headed straight for the back and before you could follow them in the man stopped you. 

“Wait here.” He demanded. 

“O-Okay..” 

They went in and you could hear all sorts of sounds. You sat in the waiting room bench soaking wet, tired and bloody. You tried to figure out what compelled you to do all of this, and although you loved animals, you never thought you could ever go this far for one. Suddenly, the cost of this visit and the bills to come started daunting over you, even though you felt guilty for thinking it, it was going to be another bill you could not possibly pay. As you sat and waited, minutes turned into hours and you dozed off. 

“...I can’t believe him.. I told him to stay indoors especially tonight...” 

“Madam, I’m so sorry, next time I’ll be more careful in watching him...” 

You slowly opened your eyes after hearing the whispers, and when you finally regained consciousness you sprouted up from the bench. 

“Is the wolf okay? Are they okay?” You panicked. 

Dr. Vandyke shifted her glasses and placed a hand on your shoulder. 

“Yes, he’s alright.” She reassured. 

You let out a sigh of relief. 

“It was a good thing you brought him here... any longer and he’d have died,” 

You took a deep breath and sat back down. Looking at your jeans and shirt you rolled your eyes. 

“You can take a shower upstairs if you’d like,” She went on, “I don’t think you’d want to go to work like that.” 

You checked the time on your phone, and gasped. It was already 7 in the morning, and you had work at 10. You thanked her and followed the man upstairs. He gave you a towel and washcloth, you thanked him and got inside. It seemed that Dr. Vandyke lived upstairs, and was nice enough to let you use her shower. You stripped, looking in the mirror in disbelief how disheveled you were. Turning the hot water on in the shower, you recalled the earlier conversation that woke you up in the first place.

Why were they talking as if they had already known the wolf? You thought. You jumped into the shower and the warmth of the water hitting your body felt right. You were finally able to relax. When you were done you wrapped the towel around your body and opened the door. There stood before you what looked to be a beast, standing on two legs while eating an apple. You shrieked, slamming the door and slipping on the wet floor. 

“What the fuck was that!?” You screeched. 

Panting, you gripped onto your towel brighter. You heard a knock on the door. 

“I won’t hurt you...” you heard as the deep solemn voice heard behind the door. 

“Thank you for saving me last night,” You heard again, “I promise I won’t hurt you, I’ll leave...” 

You slowly got up, took a deep breath and opened the door to take a peak. The beast was gone, and you almost dashed out of the bathroom. Finding yourself in what looked to be the living you saw the beast again, this time sitting down- like a human on a white couch. You stood still. Your eyes kept trying to process what you were seeing. 

“Wha-what is going on...” You whispered, your eyes welling up. 

The more you looked at him, the more you noticed things you had not seen before. He had on your plaid shirt wrapped around his waist, a bandage around the same area of the wound of the wolf you found, and your brain putting two and two together figured it out. 

“You’re the... wolf...” 

The beast jumped up, wagging his tail and pointing his claws toward you.

“Yeah! Yeah! You saved me!” 

You flinched, trying not to get too close. 

“Why are you talking? And standing on two legs?” 

The beast stopped. He got on all fours like a wolf and sat up like a dog. You almost wanted to laugh but you were too confused to even process what you were seeing. 

“He’s a werewolf,” You heard from behind.

You spun around and it was Dr. Vandyke. 

“A what?” You asked in disbelief. “No... no way... isn’t that just an urban legend..” 

“No, he’s a werewolf and I’m his mother. I’m human by the way so don’t worry, I won’t eat you.” She joked. 

You smiled half-heartily at her dark joke, but you were naked and defenseless. This is obviously the part where they kill you for knowing a crazy secret like this. Backing away, you tried to find the nearest exit to escape. 

“He’s harmless- you don’t need to feel so restless. I have some clothes waiting for you,” She continued, “Ronan! Go get the young lady the clothes I laid out!” 

After hearing the command he perked up and ran towards the back and the whole apartment shook. A few moments later he came back with clothes in his mouth. Uneasy, you took a couple steps back and he placed them on floor, running back to the spot he was before. Picking them up while maintaining eye contact, you quickly dashed back to the bathroom and locked the door. 

Your heart beating quickly, you threw on the clothes and exited the bathroom what felt like seconds later. Dr. Vandyke now sitting on the couch and petting the werewolf, you asked if you could leave. 

“Why are you asking? It’s not like we’ll hold you hostage... just make sure you don’t tell anyone about this and we’re all good!” She smiled. 

You nodded furiously in agreement and ran out of the apartment, back downstairs to the clinic. You saw your keys and purse near the bench, quickly snatching them and headed towards the door. Diving into your car you started it and drove away. Your anxiety and blood pressure rising, you could no longer contain your emotions and started yelling as you drove away. 

•• ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ••                 •• ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ••

A couple of days passed, and you were in your apartment still in your bed, trying not to think about what conspired a few days ago. You took the day off, which you never do, but it was clear you were having trouble concentrating at work. While playing on your phone you got a call from one of your friends.

“Hey, [Y/N] what’s going on with you?” 

“Nothing... I’m good...” 

“Uh.. yeah right. That’s why you haven’t texted any of us in almost a week.” They snapped. 

You sighed and rolled your eyes. You got off the bed and headed towards the kitchen.

“I’m sorry for not calling you guys but I’ve been going through some things...” 

Just as you were going to turn into the kitchen you see a tall dark figure rummaging through your fridge. Shocked, you drop your phone from you hands and clasped your hands on your mouth. 

The figure reared it’s head and turned to you, let out a yelp and fell to the ground. Upon closer inspection it was the wolf from before, in your apartment, with a piece of old Chinese noodles hanging from his mouth. 

“Sorry, sorry...” The wolf spoke. 

“What the hell are you doing here?” You hissed. 

The wolf stood up, almost hitting his head on your ceiling. You flinched, and he went back to being on all fours like a regular wolf. 

“I came to apologize, and thank you for the other day...” 

You nodded.

“Okay, well you have to leave. I have a roommate and if they see you they’ll freak.” 

The wolf began to whimper, pointing his snout down to you and looking up at you with his puppy-dog eyes. You groaned, slamming the fridge door and motioning for him to follow you. You were still uneasy with his presence but it was clear he was not really a threat to you. Entering your room, the werewolf immediately pounced on top of your bed, only for you to instinctively yell ‘down boy!’. 

He listened and hopped off the bed and on the floor. You dusted off your bed and sat down as far apart from him as you could. 

“Okay, what do you need to say to me?” 

Positioning himself, he sat on his butt, his tail wagging and crossed his legs exactly like a human. He fiddled with his paws, which her as long as fingers with long sharp nails. The more you stared at him the more you saw more human like features. You wondered if he even had a human form. 

“Well... you saved my life... and I wanted to say thank you... although I did not expect to scare you...” 

“I-It’s okay... I’m glad you’re okay,” You answered reluctantly. 

Still fiddling with his claws, his tail stopped wagging he looked up at you directly in the eye. Your body stiffened, and you felt your heart beat faster. 

“I apologize, for damaging your car and shirt too...” 

You shook your head.

“It’s okay... Is that all?” 

He looked sad, and you felt bad. Everything in you was to be as scared as possible, but another part of you wanted to pet him as if he was like a real dog. 

“I’m sorry... actually do you want something to eat?” You asked hesitatingly. 

His face brightened up and he shot up, hitting his head on the ceiling. You let out a light chuckle and got up, telling him to stay put while you go cook.

“Ah, wait- before I go... can you eat human food?” 

He looked to be frowning and responded offended. 

“Of course I can eat human food! I’m half human, though I can’t eat chocolate but other than that-” 

This time you laughed harder, with your head all the way back. He looked at you perplexed but seemed amused by your amusement. You closed the door and started to cook. This seemed like the beginning of a weird friendship. 

[emsartwork]

ask dump! Separated loosely by topic 

Questions and Comments

1. is this a homestuck thing. this is a homestuck thing isnt it  2. lol i love doing both!!! i love world building but i also like trying my hand at redesigning the mess that is canon fashion. @theoretical-artist​ 3. thank you!!! oritel and marion are in this post! 4. ayyyyy inginio hit me up (thank you lol) 5. Thank you! 6. maybe? i’ll see if i get around to it, i still have a few characters to get to so the school fairies and the last two selkies might show up with them 7. probably not.... it would be super fun but unless it was a commission i don’t feel like i have time haha 8. I’ve seen their blog around!! i can’t remember if i follow or not but i know who ur talking about and they cool @winxy-writing @winxys-written-world

Character and Worlbuilding

1. My brilliant nerd daughter!!! She sometimes gets so into coding or a video game she forgets to eat or drink so the girls watch out for her. She’s prone to dissociating, especially if the situation is emotional. Her hair is really soft. she actually loves sappy romantic things but has trouble accepting them or vocalizing that she wants them because they’re impractical/illogical. she discovered romcoms when she got to alfea and they are her ultimate guilty pleasure(only flora knows abt this and is always slipping recs to her) 2. They’re weirdly one of my fav couples??? like maybe its because i relate to and have projected onto both of them lmao. but any ways. Daphne and Thoren actually met when they were kids, but didn’t spend much time together because it was at a formal event. Daphne is technically 20 years older than Thoren(only a few years older than Sky), but they’re the same physical age because Daphne spent so long as a spirit. They probably wouldn’t get married as quickly in my version, especially with Daphne’s trauma. Daphne will have nightmares sometimes and Thoren has a whole routine for comforting her and helping her feel safe and grounded. Thoren gets anxious easily, and Daphne will use her magic to subtly change the environment so he feels more comfortable. they like to watch reality tv together and yell at dramatic people. 3. omg yes. this was the most frustrating thing i was watching through winx with my dad like a month ago and every time bloom called her adoptive parents by their first names i yelled at her lol. she would call Vanessa mama and Mike daddy(if you make a kink joke i will eat your liver). She would call Marion and Oritel mom and dad.  4. Yeah kind of! part of her exhaustion in Dowlland was the fact that she had been in fairy mode for so long, hiking underground, and tossed around in a river like??? anybody would need a pick me up after that. She (and all solarians) do have to live where there’s a lot of natural light as they require a high amount of vitamin d(or the equivalent of it for solarians). short trips usually aren’t a problem, Stella is just hella unlucky in the second season lmao. @moonpeachblossom 5. the short answer as to why she’s a blond (scottish??? in one of the dubs???) in an asian inspired culture/planet is because racism (or not so short bcus its a lot to unpack honestly). the answer in my version however is a pretty simple fix. She bleaches her hair. she’s paler than musa but she aint white.  6. I haven’t really yet!! Helia is struggling with his two fairly opposed cultural influences, trying to figure what he wants and whats right for him. He was raised on Lynphea but had frequent trips to Vaonaa. Lynphea is very grounded, they’re slow and steady and stubborn. Vaonaa is much more flexible, they’re flighty and spontaneous and easily adaptable. Helia’s dads love eachother and helia very much but they are VERY different people and both want different things from Helia(they try not to pressure too much but the expectations are still there). Helia’s Vaonaaj dad wants him to pursue magic, specifically wind or air magic. Helia’s Lynphean dad wants him to become a warrior. Helia feels like he’s kind of a misfit in both Vaonaaj and Lynphean culture. It took a while, but he did finally confide his feelings in Flora and she encouraged him to talk with his dads about finding his niche.  7. oooooooh fun fun relationshipsssss Bloom and Sky: so bloom and sky aren’t the most stable couple, and in my version it would take bloom a little longer to be ok with dating a prince. Bloom is fairly insecure in her relationships because of self worth issues, and tend to run away from problems instead of dealing with them. Sky on the other hand is confident but doesn’t really know how to handle people’s feelings and tends to push confrontation. I do believe that with better writing Sky and bloom could be a dope couple but as is in canon they’re VERY problematic.  Stella and Brandon: babies. they love each other so much its the best omg. Stella finds her worth in her appearance but she always seems to take brandon’s complements in a less.... arrogant way? if that makes sense? like she truly appreciates them and wants his support. i wish we knew more about Brandon but he’s legit such a good boyfriend. I think they fight mostly when Stella is being a little selfish, or when Brandon is too busy to meet her emotional needs. Flora and Helia: MORE BABIES. so Helia is more of a drama queen in the comics but we’ll ignore that for right now lol. Flora and Helia are probably the least problematic couple in the entire show. They met. Flirted a little. Confessed. and started dating with out any major problems. if i can remember correctly they don’t even really fight??? unless icy has frozen helia’s heart or something lol. I think both Helia and Flora’s love language is quality time so they’re fairly low key and just like to be in the same space and each other.   Musa and Riven: boy oh boy. Ok so, ignoring the several times Riven was LITERALLY MIND CONTROLLED his character is still difficult to deal with. I think Musa and Riven are both very intense people, and while that can be super fun and develop into a good relationship, it can also lead to LOTS of problems. I think my major problem with how they broke up was that Musa didn’t support Riven’s training? like i understand being upset you can’t see ur person often, or if they’re really busy, but Riven supported Musa’s music several times in the previous seasons it just seemed weird Musa was so unfairly demanding of him? Tecna and Timmy: nerd babies. They’re super cute honestly. I think Timmy was probably the one to instigate the relationship and bonded with Tecna over technology since she wasn’t super emotionally available at first. They have issues when Tecna is unable to voice her emotions and timmy needs to know what she’s feeling mostly, but after the first few times they’ve both learned to give the other space to figure their stuff out. Aisha and Nabu: ugh perfect couple. minus the kind of sketchy beginning lol. Aisha and Nabu generally don’t fight once they get used to each other. Nabu is a focal point that aisha is kind of bungee corded to if that makes sense? like obvi not in a restricting way. its just Aisha is hella active and needs her own space to explore and grow, but Nabu is her solid ground that she relies on.  Aisha and Nex: i actually don’t hate nex as much as the rest of the fandom lol. so like i said Aisha is an active, independent woman, and if Nabu was a separate, stationary, focal point for her, I think Nex is related, moving, counter point. So like Nex can actually keep up with Aisha, and push her and challenge her. Which isn’t a bad thing in relationships so long as a mutual respect is there.   8. well. canon is a little..... messy. My version of the girls definitely retain their individualism. for other differences... they’re just a little more fleshed out? i guess? like Bloom’s moody behavior in the show i think is because of her insecurity issues, so that plays a part in how i draw her and think of her.  9. ok wow this is gonna be tough well here we go Sky: I think sky is an ESTJ he’s not super emotional(inf Fe) but can lean toward controlling(dom Te). he seems to like tradition and think social promises are important(Si). Brandon: ESFJ. Brandon is the mom friend of the boys ok. He goes along with sky’s crazy plans, tries to subtly set Riven up with musa(season 1 i think?), some how managed to land a social butterfly like Stella and seems to just navigate social situations REALLY easily(dom Fe). he also seems to hate being disrespected or taken for granted(Si) stella does this occasionally.  Timmy: ISFJ???? thats the vibe i get hear me out ok so in season 2 Timmy gets tecna the exact computer part she needs because 1. He knows they both like things to be practical(Si) 2. He knows and remembered the part she was talking about and filed it away in his brain(Ti) and 3. He and Tecna bonded over tech (Fe) Riven: honestly he’s a tough one.... Maybe a really stunted and angry ISFJ? (speaking from personal experience i am an ISFJ) i don’t have a real reason why but riven’s behavior is really confusing in the show so it makes typing tough..... possibly INTJ as well....... Helia: ISFP. Lmao I might be basing this entirely off of stereotypes but helia has a strong pacifist belief and can be moody(Fi, and more in the comics lol) is attuned to his surroundings(Se) seems pretty focused??(Ni) and i can’t think of his Te showing up be it is an inferior  Nabu: ISTJ weirdly a good fit with Aisha(ESTP) tho?? even though he’s an Si dom, he doesn’t go along with the arranged marriage because its not what he believes(Fi) and he’s stubborn about it(Te). Roy: ENFJ honestly just a cutie. He’s personable(Fe), focused for the most part(Ni), and is comfortable in his environment(Se).  Nex: ENTP? maybe?? He’s pretty impulsive and has that “work around” mentality I associate with ENTPs.... idk this one doesn’t seem to fit super well...  Thoren: Maybe INFJ?? i mean thoren honestly doesn’t have a lot of screen time but he’s attentive(Ni), and tries to take care of people(Fe). most of the infj’s i know are fun but weird lol, but i think thoren has anxiety so that could play into him being less “out there” in his behavior.  if any of yall have input on this feel free to let me know. 10. ooooooh good question. So I’m basing these on their parent’s name and the names of people from their planet. Bloom: Hestia or Enya, i also think she got sent to earth with an article of clothing or a blanket that had her name on it, which is why her name is the same lmao Stella: Stella is actually named pretty appropriately considering the other names we have are Luna, Radius, Nova, Chimera, and Casandra, all of those are fairly latin/roman based names.  but she could also be called Clara, Aura, Venus etc. Musa: Her mom and dad have very asian sounding names but the princess of melody is named Galatea, so honestly anything is on the table. Aulos, Hee-Young, Jia Li, Kaida, etc. Tecna: lol everybody on Zenith has ridiculous names so im just loosely basing them off of sciencey stuff. Nobelia, Xenon, Titania. Aisha: I actually really like Aisha’s name! Ayize, Sizani, Mehrbano would work tho. Flora: what even is the naming system of Lynphea i don’t understand it. Im gonna make them vaguely naturey and European-ish?? Calla, Terra, Rowan, Willow, I could go on and on there are so many plant names. 11. Hmmm yeah, so basically in my world a person with TOO MUCH magic gets overwhelmed and kinda goes a little crazy(the ancestral witches) the same thing happens with tritannus when he gets the emperor's throne power. He’s loyal to icy and she to him until he looses his ability to think clearly and turns on icy, icy gets freaked out and leaves with her sisters when they swoop in to rescue her. they don’t so much “break up” as they are “broken up” by the circumstances. In general Tritannus does really like Icy, hes attracted to her ambition and powerful personality. Icy started out just manipulating Tritannus but caught feelings oops 12. Yeah so, humans in general can withstand a lot of wild magic as their body “metabolizes” it quickly. Kalshara(the cat lady you don’t know the name of) used extremely concentrated samples, combined with other spells to keep the wild magic in her body permanently. If a human with out a properly developed magic biome (a lot of earthians only have a low functioning one) get exposed to a wild magic source they would probably gain some aspects of fairy animals, probably not like, fur, or anything but eye and hair color changes, maybe some patterns on the skin. but there’s also the chance that they would just.... die..... cus that happens with animals too lmao sry. @weirdghostly

[looselucy]

Losing Focus

October 24th Niall was rubbing his hands together when Paula came and placed the Full English Breakfast in front of him, about to consume an amount of food no person should be physically capable of. “You can’t possibly eat all of that.” I sniggered. “Watch me.” He said excitedly, picking up his knife and fork.

We’d decided to kick off the day by getting breakfast at our favourite café, PJ���s, before it was time to open up shop and take on another Wednesday. It was a little grotty in there, but that was what gave it it’s charm. It hadn’t been done up in years, the tables and chairs all one huge contraption which had then been nailed to the floor, which always made me question if they’d been designed to avoid fights or theft, but it didn’t matter. It was a firm favourite with the older generation of Rosebury, which luckily for Paula was the majority of Rosebury, so that kept business booming. As booming as it could be. I was preparing myself for another busy day, and beginning it with a proper meal felt like a good start. I was due to have my third one on one session with Harry, and I knew just how exhausted I’d be by the end of the day. I needed to prepare myself for that in any way I could. “You had any more dates recently?” I asked, taking the first bite of my bacon butty. “I wish. No such luck.” He huffed. “There aren’t enough options available to me.” “I suppose nothing is better than Neil.” “Do not talk to me about Neil.” Niall was one of the few members of our group who was good for early morning plans. With our village being so small, the businesses there could open and close whenever they chose, meaning that most mornings could be spent rather lazily. I liked to have Niall around so that I had a way to fill quiet mornings when the rest of our friends were still in bed. “You heard from Sam?” He enquired. “Nope. Nothing.” “Weird, right? For him to just up and leave like that.” “Very.” As ever, it hadn’t taken long for gossip to travel around Rosebury, meaning it had only been a few days after I’d spoken with Tom before everyone was made aware that Sam had quit his job and skipped town. Everyone had predicted I’d know something about it, meaning I’d been asked by what felt like everyone, even little old ladies popping into the shop just to see if I had any information as to his whereabouts, but I’d had to let everyone down. “Do you think he’ll come back?” He asked between mouthfuls. “I’m not sure. But I’m definitely not missing him.” Sam not being around had taken such a weight off me, which in addition with Harry’s lessons had left me feeling much calmer than I’d been expecting. The last few weeks had been good to me, life seeming to return to normal, things seeming to fall into place. “No, I can’t say I am either.” Niall admitted. “Do you think it’s because you broke up? Why he left?” “Um… I think it plays its part, yeah. But whatever, let’s not talk about Sam. Let’s talk about someone else.” “Let’s talk about Harry!” He proposed. “Ooh, okay! What about Harry?” “He’s fit, isn’t he?” “He is.” I chuckled. “I really like him.” “Me too. I think he’s blended in really nicely.” “Right? I mean… I thought we’d be harder to infiltrate, to be honest. I thought he’d have a harder time worming his way in.” “I think it proves just how well he fits in.” Niall shrugged. “It’s like he’s been here forever.” “I guess so.” “Hey, how come Chloe didn’t come to the match on Monday?” He puzzled. Chloe had been struggling with Harry’s company for the past few weeks and I couldn’t necessarily blame her. Ever since her proposal to Harry about staying at hers for the night, and his very polite refusal, she had been excessively awkward. It would pass, in time, that much I knew, but she was going through a difficult stage with him. She’d avoided going to watch the match on Monday, leaving me sat on my own in the freezing cold with no hot chocolate to keep my fingers warm. I’d missed her. “She’s too embarrassed about the whole… Harry situation. She’ll get over it.” I dismissed. “Course she will. After she’d tried it on with me, it took her a good couple of weeks to chill out again.” “Was she as forward with you?” “Oh yeah, it’s intimidating!” His eyes went wide. “She’s very forward.” As much as Chloe could definitely take things too far, I really wished I had a bit of her confidence, a bit of her forthrightness. The truth was, it worked most of the time; whenever we’d been on nights out somewhere other than Rosebury, where she wasn’t trying her moves on friends, she had always been successful. She was gorgeous and funny and forward and I would have loved just a tiny slither of that self-confidence. “I hope she gets over it soon.” I sulked after swallowing another mouthful. “I need her to cuddle up with on the matches. It’s cold.” “It’s freezing. I’m ready for summer. I wanna go swimming in the river again. I wanna go out to the lake again! We need warmth. My dick would freeze off if I went swimming in there at this time of year.” I almost choked on my sandwich, not expecting penis talk at such an early hour, but it was hard to be too surprised when it was Niall Horan I was sat across from. Shaking my head, I tried to digest my food appropriately, rolling my eyes at the smug little look on his face.

“Come on, Alfie. Just a few more hits!” Harry yelled upliftingly. “I can’t.” I was woozy, the bag ahead of me swinging softly from side to side. “I can’t, Harry, I’m tired.” “Two more minutes of blitzing it, then we’ll stop.” “I can’t. I’m so tired.” I began cuddling the bag, convinced it was the only thing keeping me on my feet. “I think I need a nap. I think I should nap. Shall we take a nap?” “You’re so fucking close, Alf, c’mon!” I felt like I’d already been in that gym for hours. My head was spinning and my limbs were failing me and I really wanted to lay down on the floor and sleep. He’d worked me to the bone, stood beside simply egging me on, shouting encouraging words and clapping and pushing me to my absolute limit, which at that point, I was pretty sure I’d reached. “I need to nap. Everything hurts. I think if I nap it would be really good for me.” I closed my eyes. “I’ll carry on when I wake up.” “You’re not napping.” “We could get the yoga-mats out and just… sleep. Remember sleep? It’s so good.” “You’ll get plenty of it tonight. But right now, you’ve got a job to do.” “Please?” I opened one eye, poking out my bottom lip. “Punch the bag.” He demanded one last time, and I didn’t need to be told again. I steadied myself, blinking my brain back to life before getting back into the desired position, ready to give it my all for just a few more minutes before I completely caved. He remained at my side, encouraging me throughout, driving pure determination into my bones. Things had been similar the week before; it was clear that Harry enjoyed pushing me way past what I believed to be my limit, pushing me to peaks I’d thought were too high. He never paid attention to my whining, or my requests for naps, he’d just force me further and get the most out of me that he could. As difficult as it could be, I’d left that room for the past few weeks feeling satisfied and driven. “That’s it, Alf! You’re killing it! Keep it up!” I wasn’t sure how I was going to manage the group training after such a vigorous workout, and I wasn’t sure how I’d ever be able to get away with lying to the girls this week by saying we’d worked out just a little bit before they all arrived, but I had to try. I could feel and see that all my skin was bright red, my body becoming so flimsy I questioned how much longer my feet could take my weight. I hit at the bag a few more times, involuntarily grunting as I did, when he finally saved me. “Okay, okay! That’s it. Well done, Alf! Have some rest.” I stopped, spinning dizzily round on my heel and staggering towards the centre of the room, whining pathetically until I’d found what I believed to be the perfect spot, where I collapsed backwards, sprawling out across the floor like a starfish, eyes closed, heart beating wildly. It was hard to keep track of the time, but I knew it wouldn’t be much longer until everyone started turning up for the group lesson, but I hoped the remainder of our time just the two of us would be spent resting. I placed my hand on my chest, slowly calming down, opening one eye for a moment to watch Harry. “You smashed it!” He yelled cheerfully, moving to stand at my feet. “This is it.” I spoke up to the ceiling, closing my eye again. “This is how I die.” I heard him sniggering and the sound of his footsteps before the music came to a stop, and before I’d had the chance to open my eyes, I felt a towel land directly on my face with quite some force. “Sorry.” He snickered. I managed to sit up, rubbing the towel over my face and around my neck, catching my breath, already dreading how much my body would ache the following morning. I took the bobble out of my hair, letting my bleach blonde locks fall dramatically over my shoulders, cracking my neck. “Thank you.” I sighed eventually. “How do you feel?” He sat himself down ahead of me, crossing his legs and pushing a bottle of water towards me. “Exhausted, but good. I feel really good. But also, I feel terrible.” I took a quick sip. “I really dunno how I’m gunna do this class.” “Y’know, it’s probably best not to just stop completely now-” “Don’t make do anything else yet, dear god please.” I blubbered. “Just stretches.” He grinned. “You can stay sat down and everything, but just stretching a bit now will really help.” I knew he was probably right, that stretching until the rest of the women arrived would likely be much more beneficial that just stopping completely then trying to pick up again, but even the thought of such minor movement was making me want to sob again. “Okay. Alright, gimme a minute.” Harry began to position himself, removing his trainers before stretching his legs out, ready to carry on teaching and clearly not too keen on giving me the minute I’d requested. “You ready?” He asked, chirpy as all hell. “Fine.” I huffed, mirroring his frame, first taking off my shoes before placing my legs outwards so they were shut together directly in front of me, the bottom of our feet almost touching. “Okay, so all I want you to do, is lean forward and touch your toes. Then you can grab your feet, and try to make your body as flat as you can so your face is almost resting on your legs. That’s it!” He’d said that’s it as though this was going to be the easiest thing imaginable, but he was clearly failing to take into consideration just how much I was aching and just how inflexible I was. I followed his lead, touching my toes but already feeling like that was my limit. I think he could tell from the rather alarmed look on my face. “What?” He questioned through a smile. “I… I can’t.” “You can.” “No, I really don’t think I can.” I chortled. “This is me at my absolute limit.” “Really?” “I’m being totally serious. I’m hurting.” “Fine.” He laughed lightly. “We’ll start a little easier. Maybe… Okay, put your legs apart instead.” I did as I was told, stretching my legs relatively wide, immediately trying to reach down and touch my toes without his instruction, only able to grasp for a few seconds before it was like my body snapped back into place, groaning dramatically. I flopped backwards again, going back to laying on the floor and sobbing. “I can’t, I’m weak! What’ve you done to me?” “Okay, c’mere. Let me help.” He got to his feet. “Sit up!” I flopped back forwards, still vocally complaining via disgruntled noises as he walked so he was behind me, and then before I could even fathom what was happening, he was back on the floor just behind me, slotting himself perfectly around me, widening his legs so they could be placed on the outside of my own, the front of his body pushed up against my back, causing me to tense rather substantially, quit my bleating. Initially, he seemed unfazed by the position, talking casually. “I’m gunna lean into it with you, okay. Kinda… hold you in place.” He was so close, his voice lingering around my right ear, sending more shockwaves through my body. I wanted to remain casual, in the zone, but all I could focus on fully was his voice, the way it felt having him almost wrapped around me that way, his body pushed against mine. Trying to think of anything other than the feel of his toned stomach,  I began to reach down towards my right foot, slowly trailing downwards, feeling Harry push with me, his body cushioning and caving over mine, placing his hand on top of my own to keep me in place once I’d reached down to my foot. There were so many muscles in my body that were aching, begging me to go back to laying on the floor, but Harry literally had me cornered between his own build, his breath burning the side of my neck. “Hold it, and then we’ll move back up, and do exactly the same on the other side. Yeah?” “Mm.” His voice was wickedly low, charming, hypnotic. I couldn’t concentrate, my head was swimming, to the point where I couldn’t even think about my aches, it was just him. He moved from me just slightly, but only so he could gently place his hands on my waist and guide me back upwards to him, his fingertips tender against my bare skin. I moved gradually, closing my eyes and miming curse words to myself, hoping the experience would end soon because I felt like I was enjoying it for reasons I wasn’t meant to be. I moved down to my left leg, feeling him follow once again, repeating our actions, just as heated and slow as before, one of his hands on mine and one still on my waist. “Now I want you to… spread your legs a little more,” I literally heard him swallow. “Then after we’ve moved back, I want you to lean forward, right between your legs, and reach out as far as you can. Okay?” “Yeah. O-okay.” I widened my legs a bit more, amazed that Harry could match the width with his own. Before I could move back upright, his hand moved from my waist, reaching for my unruly hair and gently gathering it all in his hand, organising it for me so it fell down my back rather than hung in front of my face. I was biting my lip by the time I was moving back up to him. Before I’d even noted the change in my own breathing, I noted the change in his, once again able to feel his breath on my neck as soon as I was back against him, so intense I wanted the distance as quickly as I could, propelling myself forward with speed, my whole body shuddering. I was so distracted by the way he was making me feel that I was ignoring the pains that had been holding me back before, bending my body forward so much that my chest and forehead just about met the floor, feeling like a relief in some way, like it was hiding how flustered I’d become. “Fuck.” I heard Harry groan behind me, my eyes bolting open at the word that had poured piercingly from his lips. All I’d thought about was the distance between our bodies, not the new position I was in, the angle from which he was now viewing my body. His hands tightened on my waist somewhat, seething in a sting of breath, the noise penetrating my ears so much I bolted back upright, needing to change the mood of the room before I lost my fucking mind. My back crashed back against his body, the room silent other than our harsh breathing. I looked down to the ground, attempting to control myself, to not make myself so obvious but we were beyond that. He cursed again, suddenly resting his forehead on my shoulder which sent another shock through my body, quite blatantly attempting to cool down. It was all too much. Without warning, my desire formed a life of its own, not thinking as I slightly shuffled my backside further towards his groin, feeling the faint imprint of his erection against me, on the curve of my rear and leading up to the bottom of my back. Harry seethed again, harsher this time. There was a frantic apology on the tip of my tongue, just about to drag my body away from his before he lifted his head from where he’d rested it, turning to trace the very tip of his nose soothingly over my neck, his breath glazing over the area, my skin prickling, lolling my head back to give him more access, landing firm on his shoulder. I felt his hand move, his left locking tight to my waist as his right snaked around to the centre of my stomach, brushing the tips of his fingers over my skin before they began playing with the hem of my leggings, cautious at first, as though waiting for me to stop him, ask what he was doing. I had nothing to say. He took that as his sign, lowering his hand so it became hidden in the material, sliding his fingers into my knickers and finding my clit as soon as he could. “Holy fuck.” I gasped, biting my lip and easing into it. It was hard to think about how suddenly it was all happening, how strange the scenario was, the fact that Harry was touching me that way. All I could concentrate on was how good I felt, how he was making me feel in that very moment, his fingers jolting silkily over my sensitive nub. He was unhurried at first, watching down over my shoulder to see the shocks of his hands through my pants, focusing all his attention on my pleasure, finding out what was working and feeling good for me by tracking my moans, working with my body to gain the most out of what he was doing. I felt amazing, so satisfied but calm, just oozing into the whole feeling, possibly with a smile on my face but I was too lost in my state to know for sure. He dipped his hand lower, easing two fingers into me, lifting his lips up to my ear. “I wanna feel you cum in the palm of my hand.” He groaned. Then he started kissing at my neck, grinding his hips to some extent so I could feel him against my back, curving his fingers and placing his thumb against my clit. My moans and whimpers became more consistent, louder, bending my knees up and pushing further back into him, his tongue stroking over my skin sweetly. It was like he’d taken complete control of my body, like every function it was currently undergoing was entirely down to him; the beat of my heart, my hairs standing on end, my disordered breathing, my trembles and quakes and my pleasured cries. Everything was under his control and it made me feel so fucking alive. He lifted his teeth to my ears, biting pleasantly at my lobe, his free arm snaking to grasp around my stomach, yanking my just that bit closer to him, a gritted grunt forming in his throat. I could feel myself getting closer and closer, welcoming back a sensation I hadn’t felt for a long time. Even with Sam, it had been so long since he’d cared about my pleasure, about me getting the most out of sexual experiences. I couldn’t even recall the last time I’d been made to feel that way, where the only focus was me and my body, my satisfaction. He went back to kissing my neck, the way he grunted only making my own moans increase, my hand reaching to clasp at his leg when we heard noises, shuffling and scuttling and showing there were women on the other side of the door, waiting for the group session. “For fuck sake.” Harry grumbled, stopping for a second or so before his instinct insisted that he continued, rubbing again. “I wanna finish you off, but you’re too loud.” “Just do it, I’ll be quiet.” I gasped. I tried to hold it in. I tried so hard to dull my tones so he could finish his wonderous work, but I couldn’t! No matter how hard I fought it, my throat continued to produce noises that I couldn’t stun, achingly aware of the gathering of women outside his door but more aware of how good I felt. It wasn’t something that could be silenced. “Alfie-” He growled, taking his arm off my stomach so he could bring his hand up to clasp over my mouth, covering my lips to keep me quiet but if anything, it just made my moans increase, being the exact thing that could lead me to my orgasm. I cried out into the palm of his hand, every single inch of my body quaking, Harry shh-ing me and slowly steadying the work of his hand, checking over his shoulder to watch the door, make sure no one had allowed themselves into the room too early and seen what we were up to. When he knew we were safe, he came back to me, grinning against my neck as he tried to kiss over the area. I didn’t even need to see his face to gather how smug he felt. My body went from rigid to sluggish rather quickly, collapsing back against him, trying to catch my breath, my body literally sliding downwards as he freed both his hands, my head landing against his chest. I was totally limp. “I…” He was still breathless. “I think we lost track of time.” “Mm.” Was all I could reply, completely beat. “Shit. Are you alright?” “I think I’m dying.” “I need to let everyone in.” “No! No, no. Nope. No. Just… Gimme a minute. Let me gather myself.” He sniggered before planting a firm kiss against my temple. “Okay.” He whispered. “Take your time.” So I did. I didn’t rush myself or try to get back to normal just for the sake of those outside, I let it all play out naturally, soothing at my own speed, Harry not moving, stroking the backs of his fingers up and down my arm to aid my mending procedure. “What the hell just happened?” I panted, producing a large smile. “I have no idea.” He laughed a little, gazing down to me. I giggled to myself for a while, closing my eyes, relaxing, beginning to feel normal again. Well, as normal as I possibly could, given the scenario. He gave me my time, clearly unfazed by the now very loud noises coming from outside proving it was likely every woman who took his class was waiting to get in. He didn’t care, he simply granted me every second I needed to regain my senses and stature. “How’re you feeling?” He asked eventually. “Okay.” I opened my eyes. “I’m good. I think I’m ready.” “Yeah?” “Yeah. Let them in.” I sat forward, rolling my shoulders and inhaling deeply, Harry standing himself up and walking to my front so he could offer me a hand and lift me triumphantly back to my feet. Once I was upright, we stopped again for a moment, our bodies close, Harry looking down to me like he had something to say, maybe trying to find the right words, though of course neither of us knew what those words could possibly be. With a sigh, he gave up searching for them, simply leaning in very briefly to plant a tender kiss just beside my lips, at the very corner, before he wandered over to the door, opening wide with a cheery smile, allowing the eager ladies to leak into the room. I was stood still staring off into nothing when Libby and Chloe marched over to me, pulling me from my trance. “What was that about?” Libby questioned. “We’ve been waiting ages!” “Um…” I spun so I was facing the front of the room, trying to create yet another lie to accompany the many others I’d been crafting of recent. “Hi!” It seemed I was still a little more dazed than I’d bargained for, not having heard her question properly. She lowered her brows, and asked again. “What took so long?” “We were just talking about… what happened that night. Y’know, on my birthday. It got a little intense.” “Are you okay?” Chloe asked, clearly concerned. “Yeah, m’fine.” I nodded. “He… He helps me feel loads better. I’m good.” “Good, I’m glad.” She smiled back to me. I knew if I told either of them, especially Chloe, what had actually just happened in that room, they’d have absolute meltdowns. Fuck, I wasn’t even sure they’d believe it, because I could barely believe it. I looked up to Harry, and to be honest he seemed just as perplexed, trying to figure himself out, calculate his next move. “Um… m’gunna quickly nip to the toilet before we start.” I mumbled to the girls, darting towards the door, getting Harry’s attention instantly. “Hey, you alright? Are you leaving?” He leapt to me, panicking, speaking quietly. “No. I just need to… sort myself out.” I tried not to cringe. “Right. Yeah… Right, of course, yeah.” He distanced again. I left the room, uncomfortably making my way a little further down the corridor to the toilets, wondering if Harry was considering a similar trip, to both physically and mentally wash his hands of the experience before the class got underway. Concentrating solely on his class had never been as difficult as it was that day.

[theherondaels]

Oh No (A Soy Luna Next Gen Fanfic)

This is the long deserved update! And not just any, nope, let's hear Andrés POV.

Also today is Stella's bday (well, in 7 years, imao) so yay!

Have fun reading!!!

10. Bodyguard

Stella hadn’t been the only one who had gotten up earlier. In another part of the city, Andrés slowly opened the door of his room, careful to not make sudden movements. He had already made it halfway down the stairs when he noticed that the light was switched on in the living room, illuminating the lower half of the staircase.

Andrés stopped dead in his tracks. His mother and sister shouldn’t be up for another hour, so it could only be his father that was awake. Andrés’ lips pressed into a hard line. Management, or the devil, as the teenage boy liked to call it, had probably already demanded damage control.

He didn’t bother to be quiet anymore, soon standing in the living room. At first his father said nothing, too preoccupied with drinking his coffee. “Good morning,” Pedro then said with a smile, putting down the blue mug. Andrés’ brow ceased. “Morning,” he replied way less enthusiastically. He just stood there, waiting for his father to address what happened with Stella yesterday, but he didn’t.

Pedro’s eyes wandered from his already school dressed son to the clock. “Why are you up so early?” Trying to avoid WWIII.

Andrés could ask him the same question, but he didn’t, as the reason didn’t really interest him. “I’ll have to meet up with a few classmates for a project. They don’t want to stay after school, so we have to discuss it before classes begin,” he lied swiftly, having constructed his words last night. His father nodded, totally believing the lie, gaze on the clock again.

“But you still have time for breakfast, right?” His look was a tad too concerned.

“Not really,” Andrés was already slinging his black backpack over his left shoulder. “I have to take two buses earlier if I want to be there on time,” he continued.

“But I prepared a little breakfast that’s right in here.” He turned a bit to the left so his father could see the backpack. “So, no need to worry, Mom,” Andrés teased with a small grin.

“Be glad I’m sitting here and not your mother.” His father had a point there. Mom was definitely not as easy to lie to and she would have forced him to have breakfast, no ifs or buts would have been accepted. How reassuring, indeed.

“On another day I would have offered to you to drive you there, but management called. They’ve booked us more hours in the studio, they want the new album to be finished by May,” Pedro explained why he was already sipping his second coffee.

Andrés rolled his eyes at that. Rollerband’s management really had surreal deadlines sometimes. “Splendid,” was his comment.

“So, what’s this project about?” Pedro asked, while pouring more milk into his coffee. “It’s for history,” Andrés answered, as his first two lessons really were history today, but he more tense now. He didn’t like this where this conversation was going. At all.

“History, huh?” his father questioned rather amused. “Is the topic Ancient Rome?”

The tone Pedro had used let the alarm bells in Andrés’ head ring. That had been clearly too amused, too knowing.

“And are you sure the class is not chemistry?” Pedro added mercilessly. It was in this moment that Andrés realized that his father knew exactly what had happened yesterday.

He sighed out of annoyance. This was just unnecessary. “So, you know,” the teenager stated plainly. "Well, yes," Pedro laughed, "it's hard not to. Your behaviour was too strange last night and Gastón bombarded the group chat soon after. Besides, you seemed happier the last few weeks, figured it had to do with your new skating partner. Seems like was right."

The grin Andrés received was unnerving.

He crossed his arms. “And what does the devil want?” That call surely hadn’t been just about more studio hours. “Don’t use that name for them. They’re the reason you’re living in this house,” Pedro chided.

“It’s because you and your bandmates can sing,” Andrés pointed out the obvious. Pedro ignored his son’s sarcastic words.

"And they might thank you, actually," the drummer added. “Why would they do that?" Andrés asked, voice full of suspicion. "Turns out Rollerband is trending everywhere - along with that ship name of yours.”

“Stella and I got chased through half Buenos Aires and all they care about is popularity?” Andrés asked, the anger he felt echoing in his words.

“I’m not saying what the paparazzi did was okay, but publicity like this is still good publicity. And don’t you think good news from you will make them more amicable towards you?” Pedro had chosen his words carefully, but to no avail.

Andrés now wished his mom was already up, while it sometimes could be a little embarrassing how protective she was of him and Marina, he knew she would always be on his side, no matter what. His dad was too much of a people pleaser to truly pick one side, which for Andrés felt like as if he wasn’t on his side at all. And that hurt. A lot.

“Glad I could help," Andrés' tone reeked of sarcasm, disliking that his personal life was benefitting his father’s band in any way. He was sure the devil was ecstatic, finally some good news from him. The teenager sometimes felt as if they disapproved of everything he did just on principle. It was almost like they needed to have a black sheep among the Rollerband kids. Andrés had no problem being the scapegoat, he didn’t care what everyone, and especially them, thought about him.

A bitter taste started to spread in his mouth. He wished it was from his own coffee.

“If they even try to suggest anything regarding seeing Stella I will stand in their office before they can even end the call.” Andrés warned, meaning every word of it.

A knowing grin hushed over Pedro’s features. “You really must like her.”

Like? Andrés almost scoffed. He had always thought Stella was pretty, his confusing feelings towards her only getting stronger over the years, so he had started to skip the birthday celebrations both attended by their families, no excuse too outlandish for him.

Still, he had been absolutely thrilled when Tamara had told him his skating partner was going to be Stella. His best friend Fabián had asked him if he could drop that smiley face the next day during school, saying it was honestly a bit creepy.

Andrés hadn’t been bothered, to engulfed with the idea that the universe was giving him more or less a second chance with Stella. He had to make up for the lost time and talk to her. And talk to her Andrés did. He was like the moth drawn to her fire. He couldn't really explain it - nor did he want to, he hated it when people knew too much about him.

The silence of his son only let the grin on Pedro’s face only grow bigger.

“I really should get going now.”

“One more thing,” added Pedro hastily. Andrés stopped walking and leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms, expecting the worst. If this was his father’s attempt to give him the talk, he was already failing miserably.

"Will you attend Stella’s quinceañera? Because, well, your mother and I expected you to be busy that day," he explained, a shark-like grin making its way to his face, "But in turn of recent events..."

“I don’t think her dad would like that,” Andrés dodged the question. Unless he was absolutely sure what he and Stella were exactly he would refrain from making such statements.

"Speaking of Matteo…” His father bursted into laughter, “do you want a bodyguard?"

Instead of an answer Pedro got an annoyed sigh. “Bye, Dad!” Andrés began walking down the stairs. "You can bring her over for dinner anytime," his father yelled after him. And while Andrés had rolled his eyes at the statement, he was secretly glad that he had his father’s approval.

It didn’t take him long to reach the bus station. When the bus arrived, he managed to get a seat in the back. This bus was less full than the one he normally took, still could feel the stares on him.

With his phone already in hand, Andrés went on twitter, trying to distract himself.

At first there only pictures and various “Oh my god, I knew it!” reactions. Andrés couldn’t help but grin at the photos. Though, he was almost a bit disappointed that the hickey was covered by Stella’s hair.

While he told himself that the hickey had been a pure product of heat of the moment, he knew deep down that the unbelievable audacity of Lola bringing up Stella’s childhood crush on Luis had contributed as well.

Andrés scrolled further down, seeing a tweet he wished he could bleach from his brain.  

I bet it’s a stunt. Their fathers are probably working on a song right now.

He exited the app immediately after. The teenager suddenly had the strong urge to text his father, asking if such a project was on the horizon. With Rollerband’s management it even could be planned at this very moment.

"I hate this band," he muttered lowly, no trace of sarcasm in his voice.

Andrés had always despised it that his private life was so out in the open, but now he had to read someone invalidating his feelings, saying it was only for publicity, and that was way worse. Andrés blocked the account, not caring if management would throw a fit later.

He focused on the pictures again, the uneasy feeling soon gone.

The teenager almost missed his stop, too busy writing Stella a text. He walked towards the school and stopped near the entrance, checking for a reply from Stella.

Soon he was joined by other pupils, the stares resurfacing. Thankfully, the bus containing his friends, well, he would only consider Fabián a friend, the rest were better descried as acquaintances, arrived.

The group of 4 people made its way towards him. “So, what happened with Stella?” Alicia was the first to speak. “Not even a hello?” Andrés started, “also, what makes you think I’ll tell you anything?”

“See? I told you!” Fabián grinned. In fact, he hadn’t told them much. Alicia had already questioned him on their ride to school, but Navarro had remained silent.  The blonde waved him off with her hand. “Whatever. Twitter basically exploded. I want details.”

Andrés suppressed a groan. He had escaped his sister for this?

“God, you sound like my mom,” Eloísa complained. “She’s in gossip mode,” Rafael explained his sister’s behaviour. “As much as I hate to disappoint, you won’t get any details.” Andrés ruined Alicia’s hopes of getting insider information.

"I mean, I don't even want to know.” Rafael scrunched his nose up. Eloísa held her hand up. "Same," the redhead agreed. Both were now receiving a glare from Alicia.

"But is it true that the paparazzi chased you two?" Alicia still asked. “They did and let's just say that they didn't catch everything," was all Andrés said, a slight grin appearing on lips.

"No wonder you're so pleased," Fabián realized, knowing how much joy it brought his friend to mess with the paparazzi.

“Wait, what did they-“ Andrés ignored the rest of Alicia’s sentence, his phone vibrating in his left pocket. He fished it out, seeing Stella's reply. "Oh my god, someone take a photo. You can see the dimples," Rafael exclaimed rather loudly, earning a pointed look from the black-haired boy. "I'm sorry, Andrés, but you're so gone," Alicia laughed.

“You'd make a great couple, though," Rafael then chuckled. Andrés sighed annoyed. Álvarez really had no tact whatsoever. Of course, once he had finally truly forgotten about it, Rafael had to bring it up again.

He had lost more sleep over this than he'd like to admit. However, he was relieved that the younger boy thought that. Less competition.

"If I'm still alive after today," Andrés commented, thinking of his father’s words.  "Hey, if I survived Eloísa's dad, you can do this," Fabián tried to encourage his friend, but quickly looked over to his girlfriend, "no offence." Eloísa just shrugged, lips twitching into something that could be considered a smirk, "It's fine. He said he did go easy on you, though." All colour drained from Fabián's face, "Easy? I wanted to die the entire time!" he exclaimed truthfully.

"But unlike me, Andrés can throw some witty comebacks," Fabián then said, trying to encourage Andrés. "Honestly, I think that would only speed up the process," Alicia mused.

"I'm still here, you know," Andrés stated annoyed. “Actually, nevermind, class starts soon. See you all later.” Various goodbyes were said in his direction, Andrés disappearing in in the school building.

[curious-minx]

Heat Lamp vol. 2 - Age Defying Light

(Photo taken from the Tumblr page: CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD GLAM)

Margaret makes a killing at her recent photo shoot. NRA Artistic Director, Derrick Fistual is rubbing his gun powder scented and arsenal oiled palms together, he’s basking in the pleasure of a newfound revelation: Give a woman a gun and they sell themselves. Margaret tries making a joke about penis envy when she first wrapped her manicured and digital gloss-ready porcelain hands around the butt of the rifle. Derrick tries shushing her at the very mention of the phallic, but then she points the rifle directly at Derrick and he falls backward into his holster shaped director’s chair. 

“You really thought you could use a pretty lady to push your craven gun industry onto the rest of this gullible nation of baby faced killers?!” Margaret demands trying to tamper down the height of her question so that no one can accuse of her sounding hysterical. One more mental braid and twist straining against her toll. That and the heat of this “Margaret’s” wig. 

Derrick picks chips and dip out of his finely bleached chompers, he grabs hold of  Margaret’s gun and squeezes Margaret’s trigger finger. The gun clicks and fires a blank. Derrick winces and opens up the sound stage’s blinds and starts yelling,

“She’s trying to kill me! This raving bitch is trying to kill me! Come on pull the trigger! You think you’re so bad! So tough!”

Margaret/Antonia, The Daycrawler lifts up her rifle and begins twirling it around and round until it becomes one continuous, complete blur reflecting back at the NRA artistic director. Antonia, The Daycrawler times her next move to her internal martial rhythm and knocks Derrick onto the fake linoleum tiled stage floor with a flurry of her flat and viciously slippered feet. Antonia is standing above Derrick, pinning him down with her well calculated lower body muscle coordination. A life lived being the heel. Striking back! 

Antonia fires the rifle directly into Derrick, the Artistic NRA Director’s ,  quavering O-Shaped gaping expression. The expression of a Death Peddler. The rifle fires, not a bullet, but a flash of light that fills up Derrick’s skull and bright shining white lights bursts forth out of every opening in his head. The light subsides and other than the faint smell of burning flesh Anton looks more or less unharmed. Smoke is pouring out of his scalp. Antonia drops the gun and saunters back behind the screen of  the NRA film shoot costume cabinet. 

She steps out as a red headed Communist influencer gal with an eye patch. She steps out a collagen infused Valkyrie of Beverly Hills. She steps out as a Pilgrim woman and wraps a lace and frill trimmed bonnet around her red wig. In the pile of  her former night gown she picks up a vial of Monique’s Aura Cleanser Spritz and a Pixie Stick that promised to infuse the air around you with dayglo pink beach sands. 

The NRA President, Carolyn D. Meadows, walks onto the sound stage set. Anton is still lying on the floor and the smoke has drifted up and away into an air vent. Meadows immediately assess the scene and pulls out her favorite pug nosed revolver and fires a ripping bullet straight into Antonia, The Pilgrim piercing her bodice. The bullet ricochets and flies right back into Mrs. Meadows face. Her face should have been torn to smithereens, and in a way it had, but the Monique perfumed air censored out her gore. American bloodlust will not be satiated. 

Antonia takes a brisk step over to the turkey cages of well mannered and quiet turkeys hoping and praying that the pink fleshy monsters would go ahead and kill each other. Revenge is a dish best served without turkey. Antonia releases all of the turkeys being prepped for the annual NRA Blood Feast. The liberated turkeys cluck in approval and hop onto Antonia, The Daycrawling Pilgrim’s extended arms. They all start flapping gusts of wind with their winds, lifting her up into the air. Antonia fires the gun once more, this time with an actual bullet, a bullet made of exploding steel that creates an exit for Antonia and the turkeys. Floating up and away with her turkey brigade, Antonia snaps her rifle in half and throws it back down onto the shrinking remains of the NRA headquarters. 

////

Antonia finishes her recital of Daycralwer fan fiction that she had comprised for herself in lieu of actually taking matters onto her own hands. Antonia and Magda Marlene, the Lady Light Tower herself, are luxuriating on two lumbar supporting poolhouse recliners taking the occasional drag of Pixie Stix and enjoying the vastness of Monique’s desert plateau property. 

Magda places the butt of her burnt out Pixie Stix into the antelope skull ash try and then looks Antonia over and asks,“Do you really think Monique’s manufactured scents are that powerful? Sporting a potency capable of altering r a person’s cognitive perception, changing certain specific aspect of the ways an individual perceived reality? I’d be awfully scared of a woman spritzing such power.” Magda is trying not to be overly critical and call  out Antonia’s adolescent tale for what is is: puerile adolescent fantasy. Reducing Magda and Monique as nothing more than the patron radioactive spiders biting her solid, Nordic Scandinavian Amazon Warrior charms! Magda rolls her eyes and it causes the sky to cycle through night and day. 

“I know you’re going to say that this is superhero sensationalism, but I think I am the perfect canvas for you and Monique to use your powers on. Don’t you think so Monique?” Antonia asks Monique who has now made her eleven presence known the two chatting women enjoying the arid expanse of Monique’s property. Monique is heavily robed, covered head to toe in a sealed and plastic shroud. A Red Milk Snake pattern design running through the rest of her black and secretive ensemble. 

“Antonia, I have no powers. I am a scientist, we’re the most powerless lot you’ve ever met. You really want to make the world a better place? Then may I suggest that you keep on keeping on as my number one test subject. Hun, as long as you keep showing up and crawling through the day or whatever it is you do we’re golden.” Monique then runs a multilayered glove hand down one of her braids, one of her ornamental beads catching a glare in the sunlight. Monique after a moment of quiet sneers, “Seriously, The Daycrawler? Really the best you could call yourself? Note to self: Antonia needs a rebranding. And don’t you think I didn’t hear how much you believe in me, Magda.  I could easily create a scent capable of hijacking the brain into censoring violent imagery and don’t you forget it. Now could both of you be a couple of dears and quietly fuck off my property. If only I had a swamp instead of this arid rollicking plateau of dust and brush robbing me of the occasion to yell, ‘get off my swamp’! I simply can’t concentrate knowing that the two of yous are out here brooding, swapping stories, and murder fantasies about taking down the NRA like a couple of gal pals. As far as I’m concerned you’re trying to alienate my clientele and that’s pretty lousy Antonia. Don’t alienate the clientele.”Monique exhales a long sigh and her cheeks are burning bright red. Monique underneath her scarfs and additional PPE is typically making wild and erratic facial expressions that no one can see, and she then gives he two interlopers one more shooing away gesture, and begins walking back inside. Monique stops, turns around, and walks back up to the still static Magda and Antonia.

“And I also remember that we have a contract! Magda can’t share her light with anyone except for me!” Monique then pats herself down searching for some kind of paper proof, cannot find any and then shoves her hands back into her pockets. “On second thought maybe that contract doesn’t exist! Anyway I don’t think she will ever share her light with you. Ultimately Antonia I’d leave her alone. She’s more dangerous than you’ve been in your wildest assassinations. Ciao!”

Magda and Antonia are both standing over their shaded lawn chairs and start parting ways. Magda thinking about how she is potentially a dangerous ticking warhead of Energy and Light, and Antonia feeling emotionally bruised and yearning for a more active plot. How could she, a former assassin, be casted into this life as a layabout science experiment? Despite walking off into opposite directions from Monique’s compound property they still manage to meet back up onto the public street obscuring Monique’s private street entrance. 

“I am sorry. I know I should have been more grateful about that other  assassin you had kidnapped for me. Soy Hands, that’s her name right? She’s a real steal and could have used those slippery mits of hers to wrangle up all sorts of missing persons. Probably gotten really super helpful intel. But Antonia this is my personal affair and I would prefer if you would stay out of it , and  in return, I will grace you with your privacy. Fair! Now that I got that shitty business out of the way, why don’t we head off to Marietta, Georgia? Let’s go nab us an NRA President!” Magda squints and feigns a smile towards Antonia casting her in the most flattering light from the sodium streetlamp.

“No, the NRA headquarters is in Fairfax Virginia. That’s more or less where I was imagining we’d infiltrate.” Antonia says with a wistful glint in her eye. 

“Oh wait! I forgot I have to go help out at my siblings Light shop. Do you think this wholesome assassination plot can wait? I’ve been dodging those two for over a year and half now and because of this pandemic I finally broke down and am going to help them today.”

“That’s great. You can go ahead and forget about all of that. I know that killing someone objectively bad won’t make me feel any better. The act of killing is rarely the day at the spa you’d hope it to be. Not that you’d understand.”Antonia lifts her entire and herself against the streetlamp bending it so the light no longer focused on her. 

“No, I really do understand. I may not have killed anyone because I meant to, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t killed someone by accident. Okay I didn’t kill anyone, but I did accidentally blind this guy I dated  and may have ruined his dreams of becoming the next Fellini…” Magda looks away, embarrassed for even trying to open up in front of such a cold and ruthless killer. Antonia reaches out and puts her hand on Magda’s shoulder. 

“That’s okay! I don’t want to hear about it! We’re cool. We’re apparently both enjoying the same Sugar Mother relationship with Monique right now, but we’re also going on pathways to friendship. I’d love to keep busting this friendship business  wide open, but I’ve got to get back to my live parkour stream. Basically I’m the hottest sticky hand gymnast in the nation!” Antonia releases her hand from Magda’s shoulder, leaving behind a faintly thin treacly trail of some mysterious sweat. Antonia, The Daycralwer is already halfway through ascending the thirty story residential apartment complex.  Magda thinks about attaching a bulb of light to the bottom of Antonia’s shoes as a friendly light up gesture, but realizes the opportunity to do so has long since past. Magda finally reaches her space craft almost two miles away from Monique’s laboratory compound. Parking is a space craft in this city is always a bitch, oh well, time for Magda to return home to help her brother and sister.

/////

Gidget and Chester’s Light Factory

Starring right at Magda is a lamp that looks exactly like Hillary. Magda’s Hillary. Bulbs of light for each button on her power suit. Magda had not told anyone about her hidden Lady Crush/Obsession Hillary. Magda grits her teeth and the boxes of unlit bulbs begin glowing and whistling in response to Magda’s anger. The generous skylight is turning a burning shade of chocolate cosmo reflecting back at Magda’s fury. 

“Maga chud!” Gidget and Chester squeal in unison. Gidget, Magda’s taller and much dimmer sister chirps up, “So happy you could finally grace us with your presence. Chester and I were just about to run through the speech explaining why it’s okay that Magda broke her promise as always and didn’t show up.”

“What sort of sick game are you two playing at? Why don’t you get your own lives and stop mucking around in mine! Don’t think I haven’t felt you two messing around my head whenever I’m asleep or getting whatever pale facsimile of sleep this body allows me. Why did you two make a lamp out of my crush? What did you two possibly hope to gain from doing this?” Magda stops herself from shaking with anger because it’s causing the overhead workshop lights to flicker and strobe giving Magda a lurking headache. Magda looks around the crates of light bulbs, freight carts sporting various Lampshades and jungle of wires and snatches up a clean linen sheet and drapes it over the Hillary lamp like the shameful Delorean it is! 

“This was going to be your Xmas present! Sister Magma don’t be ungrateful. Chester and I made sure to study your most erotic dreams! We’re your siblings we would never judge you for your tastes! We think the fact that you’re attracted to all sorts of types pretty fascinating. Especially Chester!”

“Yeah sis! I can’t get it up for anybody. And it’s not for lack of trying!” Chester adjusts his shaved pyramid shaped hairdo back into place and cracks his fingerless gloved knuckles before lifting up the Hillary lamp and placing it on a dolly. Chester removes it from the room while Gidget pulls the brim of her sailor cap covering her eyes. 

“Maybe whenever I open this gift I’ll like it more? I guess Overall, your manner of presentation is too overwhelming for the likes of me. I haven’t actually seen Hillary in person yet…”

“Yeah, we know!” Chester calls out as he deposits the Hillary lamp back into her lamp locker. Chester then crosses to the opposite side of the workshop and starts sauntering the bending lobes of a brain shaped electric chandelier. Chester accidentally singes one his fingers but instead of crying out in pain he spits onto the ground and shakes the sensation away. Gidget scowls at Magda and goes back to testing the conductivity of connector, placing different plug blades onto her blue and barely pink tongue. A spark flies off in her mouth and then Gidget writes down a number or some kind of code into her ledger. 

Magda takes a seat on a stool and waits for any further instruction. A minute goes by and it becomes clear to Magda that Gidget and Chester have already completely forgotten about her. Magda clears her throat and the brain model  lights up and Chester stares into blinding mass of a lit up frontal lobe without any form of eye protection. Chester stares directly into the lights unblinking, only a silver rolling wet tear pooling in the pockets of his cratered cheek. The brainy chandelier goes back out and Magda crosses her legs, causing an entire rack of anglepoise lamps to swerve their joints around and wink lights at her. 

“Can you not with the light show for five fucking minutes?” Gnashes Gidget, who has switched over to the shaping of loose lamp rods. Gidget pulls out a vibrantly pickle green THC enriched lollipop from her apron pocket and begins sucking on the green relief orb with all of her might. Gidget and Chester only increase in concentration in response to Magda’s agitation. 

The double leaden French doors of the Gidget and Chester’s workshop feebly creak open and an infant’s small and chubby hand is struggling with pulling the doors fully back. Another hand reaches joins the other, a varicose and grey hairy knuckled hand. Magda stands up from her raven clawed stool and is immediately joined by Gidget and Chester unabashedly cowering and using Magda as a human light-up shield. Gidget and Chester are both muttering something that sounds like an ancient Latin prayer to themselves and Chester is doing that thing with his lower jaw that Magda finds abhorrent. 

“Oh, hi! Elroy” Magda attempts in her best Tommy Wisseau to break the ice with this fully transmogrified and physically disorienting version of Elroy hobbling towards her. Clanking and clattering behind the Elroy abomination is a seven foot tall torchiere lamp still wrapped in its original bubble wrap. 

“Duh lamp! Ugh dee LAMP!” Slobbers and groans the man with the roof a mouth of someone starting to teeth and the rest of his mouth decaying with age. Gidget and Chester dart out from behind Magda in separate directions and throw another layabout workshop sheet over the haphazard human quilt of ancient and newborn flesh. Elroy continues moaning on about a lamp and thrashes around unable to free himself from the diabolical sheet covering.

“What are you two doing? He needs light! The right kind of light!” Magda lifts Elroy into her arms, he feels as heavy as a cracked egg in Magda’s sinewy arms. She nods over to the garage door leading to the outside loading dock. Magda arranges the cloth covering Elroy so that both sides of his sallow and nubile flesh are exposed directly into sunlight. Magda uses her free hand to start gathering up a particular singled out ray of sunlight and works the light like it is clay on a wheel. Magda stretches her band of sunlight until it is the entire length of Elroy’s compact frame. Magda rolls Elroy up into the sunlight like he is hummus on a collard leaf or a butterfly testing out a new cocoon. Magda looks over her shoulder and sees Gidget and Chester both watching her with crossed arms and snarls, diligently recording her “miracles” like they have always done. 

The cocoon of light pulsates and dims and repeats this cycle for several interminable moments. Elroy unfurls himself from his sleeping bag of daylight and continues free rolling. He rolls himself a distance away from Magda and is quietly laughing face down onto Magda’s family’s patchy lawn. Elroy snaps back up and runs around in circles around Magda clicking his heels and bouncing around her like a too exuberant pogo or haughty kangaroo. 

“Are we finished? We’re good right? You’re not going to sue anyone for this faulty product, right?” Magda asks Elroy but is making eye contact with her siblings who are growing increasingly pale and despondent.

“No, of course not! I should have just starved myself and bathed in stem cells and not have cheated with this..questionable technology. That’s why you have to let me just borrow your light. I bought this pendant with a vial charm on it. It’s only a few drops of your luminosity! Then I will be happy to forget about all of this mishap with your siblings faulty and definitely cursed lamp.” Elroy bites his bottom lip after he finishes talking knowing that he has just taken a huge bite out of risk. 

“Get out! There’s nothing faulty about a Magdalene lamp! I’ll-I’ll…”

“Do what?” Challenges Elroy who is trying to straighten out his spine despite still feeling rubbery all over, he swallows and bobs his knotted Adam’s Apple, “Are you going to kill me? Fry me? Zap me? Because we all know how capable you are miss Magda! Maybe too capable for your own good?” Elroy continues waving around his newfound confidence in Magda’s face. Magda pushes him aside, an action that results in an ornamental lawn light to splash a harsh noxious red light directly into Elroy’s eyes causing him to double over. Magda rushes herself over into her space craft that hovers for a moment emitting a high E sharp synthetic tone before launching itself and Magda as fast and as far away from her home, away from these vain people and their constant demands, away from meddling scientists and the Family Businesses and Energy Baron politics. 

Back down at Chester and Gidget’s workshop Elroy is clutching his Ponce de Leon Torchiere and tearing up a receipt. Gidget and Chester shrug and make no effort to stop him. 

“Should we bother telling him that he’s broken his dimmer switch?” Gidget asks Chester who have both returned back to their work benches. 

“Probably not. Should I tell you that that lamp we made of Hillary has gained sentience and is frantically making its way out into the world?” Chester gestures to the Lamp Hillary that has the empty panicked expression of a runaway android. Chester and Gidget shrug in unison once again and return to making a blacklight lamp that shows you all the sex you could be having.