#and they do that but after awhile their mother realizes she’s gone and basically drags her up to heaven and grounds her

[18-2024]

Sam & Cate

Sam and Cate had really gone nuts in last couple episodes. People know believe they're gonna be new members of seven or Homelander's pseudo children, but really they are probably not be anything the long term.

Sam's mind, is the youngest of the bunch and he doesn't the best of sense (kinda because of what he has). He was conflicted, he was just offed to not feel hurt and guilt he knows he's gonna feel.

Cate had found out her mother figure was planning on killing her, her friends, and everyone else like her, she's just came over this news, based on the emotions she been feeling, it's believable she's why she does. She was already kinda twisted, it's disturbing, but not anything really worth being villain. The Shetty news and her emotion snap.

They both aren't the best mental space at the moment, but eventually made realize made, I feel like this way, but after awhile they probably realize their action didn't do anything but caused more harm than good. Here's what thing they would be they truly want to redeem themselves.

Here's what would they have to process:

Sam:

The emotions he gonna feel once that feel nothing push ran it's course.

Letting Cate push him.

Hurting an Betraying Emma.

Betraying the other too.

Murders he did at Godolkin (minus Bob)

Whatever else he did under the push.

Potentially seeing himself as what Shetty saw him as

Having to prove himself as trust worthy to the group.

Allowing Emma's image to get skewed

Making it up to Emma.

I know he was going through alot when he allowed Cate to "help" him, but that help was bad decision, and then his mind practically hit by a train.

Cate:

The fact, she basically alone without her friends.

She basically made worse than better.

She wasted her second chance with friends.

She caused mass destruction.

She nearly got Andre get harmed.

She nearly got Jordan harmed.

She got Marie harmed.

She nearly fucked with Jordan, knowing they hated her for it.

She nearly hurt Marie by trying to control Jordan.

She got the woods supes killed.

She nearly Marie killed.

She's basically hate she called her.

She's basically became Shetty.

She got Sam in more trouble.

Whatever Homelander made her do.

I know her heart was so broken with Shetty, but she dragged this shit out to the everybody in her way. Hopefully she realizes before she loses any chance of being loved truly.

I know it seems like Sam and Cate would be good villains, but really they're hurt and reacting the pain and trauma they've dealing with for year. But in time, they might realize whatever they're doing isn't helping. Cate will never be truly love and Sam wouldn't really have anyone who would truly look out for him and he doesn't have is sense of self either. Marie, Jordan, Andre, and Emma are all they truly have.

[a-plethora-of-midnight-roses]

Me: *reading a poem for class*

Poem: *References The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl*

Me: *ready to go apeshit because HOLY FUCK THERES MYTHOLOGY HERE I KNOW THIS*

Poem: haha lol ur not gonna say shit about those last three lines

Me: D:

[parkers-gal]

omg i love your styles!reader fics (and your writing in general, you’re so talented) !! can you do blurb where tom and styles!reader have been married for like a year or two and they tell their families that they’re expecting and then maybe flash forward to when the baby is born and harry cries meeting them?

combined requests: hi can u do a dad tom and reader. and they have a baby shower for the reader. I love all your story’s btw:)

wc: 2k

requests are open (love you // hope u like this)

—

“Are you excited?”

“I’m nervous.” You let out a measly laugh while Tom’s left hand moved from gripping your thigh to hovering above your lower abdomen.

You weren’t showing yet, of course. It had only been a few weeks since the two of you had found out. Two years into your marriage and the two of you had discussed to start trying for a family. You’d never told anyone that, so you expected the announcement to be quite a surprise for everyone.

Tom was a very private guy, especially growing up in the public eye. His family was off limits, and the minute you came into the picture, that trait only amplified. Now that you were married, he’d been a bit more private about his marriage life, especially around his family. It was a weird dynamic at first, because Tom is a very open man who loves his family very much.

But he also knows his family isn’t a private one when it comes to the media, and involving you would mean every aspect of your life would be outed. And he didn’t want that, so the two of you weren’t ridiculously close with either of your families.

It was a weird detail, really. One you didn’t really notice until a year after your marriage.

It was even weirder, however, that there happened to be an entire week where both your family and Tom’s family were available for a lunch date. Harry was usually writing an album or prepping for a tour, and you were glad he kept himself busy. Tom and his younger brother would usually be working on a project together, so having everyone home was exciting and nerve wracking.

“They’re all gonna know we’ve had sex.”

“I think they knew before,” He chuckled at your reaction, mouth ajar while you slapped his upper arm playfully.

“Who’s fault is that?”

“Sure, blame the guy who knocks you up.”

“Okay, mister.” You shuffle his curls, which are arranged messily for a Saturday.

Fifteen minutes later and the two of you are walking into the Holland household. You can already hear your brother’s minged shouts and hollers about whatever conversation he must be having with Harry, Tom’s brother. You’re quite certain you’ve never seen such a British interaction.

“The all-star couple is finally here!”

“Hey!” Harry drags out the end syllables while he brings you into a sloppy hug. “Baby sis.”

“Don’t ever call me that again,” You laugh at his tone, the words foriegn for him.

“Yeah, that was weird as fuck the minute I said it.”

You glanced over to Tom, who was hugging his brothers and his mother. You grinned as you made your way over to them, embracing them just as he had before linking your hand with Tom’s and sitting in a patio chair beside his.

“How is everything in your married-life?”

“Low-key, really.” You admitted, it was true. The first few months had been exhausting yet fulfilling, but now you felt yourself settling down for the long run. Tom could feel it too, especially with the unannounced baby Holland on the way.

“Yeah, mum,” He bit into a snickerdoodle. “Not much going on for us.”

“Didn’t you just wrap that upcoming film?”

“The London one, yeah.” He nods along and you get lost in conversation with Sam and Elysia. They’ve been together for quite awhile, and you suspect their own wedding might be within the near future.

You’re about an hour into the lunch when you make eye contact with Tom, communicating without words. He stands up, wiping his hands off on a napkin before pulling you up.

“We have… some new to share.”

Eyes glance up to the only two people standing at the table, and Harry (your brother) swallows a bite of bread before encouraging you. “Well, get on with it then.”

Your mom whips the back of his head, and you laugh. Gemma chuckles at them before glancing at you inquisitively. You’re very open with her, but from the look on your face, she knows this is something nobody else knows of.

“We are very happy to announce….” You start it, but urge Tom to finish what you cannot.

“That the newest member of the Holland-Styles clan will be coming by the end of this year.”

You watch as mouth’s drop open in the final realization at what this means. Gemma sits back in her chair, left hand above her chest, against her shirt with wide eyes and mouth ready to catch flies. You smile in excitement, and Nikki and your mom stand quickly for hugs, pushing their chairs back as they scrape against the concrete of the backyard patio.

Tom’s hand is linked to yours still, and when you momentarily let go, you feel almost abandoned and lost without him.

After a few rounds of accepting ‘congratulations!’you realize your brother has yet to move from his seat. When you glance at him after everyone’s settled back down, he’s looking in his lap. Gemma catches on, and so does Sam. Eventually, all eyes are on the Styles boy.

“Har?” You speak hesitantly in the tense situation. “You okay?”

When he picks his head up, he sniffles and you notice his red eyes. You jutt a lip out as you hear a few of the girls vocally “aw” at his state. He stands quickly, chair scraping just as everyone else’s had, and he makes his way over you.

You get lost in his embrace, hugging him tightly. He’s still crying slightly as he whispers a few words into your ears. He’s emotional upon realizing he’ll be an uncle in just a few months, emotional upon realizing you’ve grown up so much from the little girl that used to rub frosting on his nose and dimples.

You rub his back soothingly, and when you separate he gives you a weak smile. He maneuvers around you to hug your husband, who chuckles when he’s embraced roughly, tightly. Their hands are each on each other’s back, and a memory flashes in your mind, one of your wedding, when Harry cried so much you had to ask someone to buy more tissues.

You’re nostalgic about today’s encounter, and you don’t know what to expect when the baby really does come.

**

You’re seven months along, baby bump big as ever. Tom’s almost as protective as Tessa now that you’re so far along. As far as cliches go, you’ve just arrived to a basically surprise baby shower. You know it must’ve taken Tom weeks to plan something like this, and it must’ve been even harder to keep it a secret from you.

You kiss his forehead when you finally see why you’re at his mom’s house. Both yours and his moms are conversing in the corner after greeting the two of you. There’s a table of presents beside a snack area. You can see a few of your craving-snacks, and you hug Tom as best you can. He kisses your temple.

There’s not many people here, only your closest friend circle and your family members. You see Harry and Gemma in the corner, and make your way over to your siblings with a smile. You're swollen with the baby bump, so you’re not moving as fast, but you’re just as excited.

“Baby on the way,” You announce as you hug them. “Thanks for doing this, guys.” You blush as you gesture to everything around you. Harry shrugs with a cocky smile, and Gemma smiles lovingly. You see Sam and Elysia heading towards you, and Gemma makes her way to the snack table for some lemonade.

“Y/N!” Elysia drags out your name in excitement, hugging you carefully. “How is everything?”

“Ugh,” You groan jokingly, a hand rubbing up and down your bump. “Exhausting, really. She’s a handful.”

She smiles, and Sam’s hand stays on the small of her back as she leans into him. He excuses himself momentarily, and you lean in close to Elysia when he’s gone.

“Are you two engaged?”

She looks at you with a blush before shaking her head. “No… but I feel like he’s going to propose soon.”

You squeal and try your hardest not to cry. “Man, these hormones are crazy.” She laughs, nodding along. Unbeknownst to you, Sam had made his way over to the two older brothers of the Holland family. They’re sipping beer by the patio sliding door.

“Hey, guys.” The boys look up at the sound of Sam’s soft voice. He’s almost hushed, and they use context to realize he looks a bit serious.

“What’s up?” Harry’s hand pats his shoulder as if to comfort his anxious state.

Same turns his head to look at Elysia, who’s across the yard talking to you. “I think I’m going to propose soon.” Tom nearly chokes on his drink. “What? Man, that’s amazing!” He’s whispering out, breathing erratically from excitement.

Harry stares out, blinking in surprise. He’d seen in coming, but that would never amount to the realization that the Holland boys are growing up. “Do you have a ring or something?” They huddle close as Sam brings them closer in response to Harry’s question.

He pulls out a velvet box from an inner-jacket pocket. When he opens the case, they gasp in awe.

“Man,” Tom pats his back again, lovingly. “I’m happy for you.”

“Thank you, man. I’m nervous.” He wipes his hands on his thighs as he hides the ring in his clothes again.

“Don’t worry.” Harry glances over at the two of you. “She loves you so much. You’re gonna get the happy ending.”

They continue talking until your mum, Anne, announces it’s time to open a few presents. You reunite with Tom for the first time since arriving, trying not to come off as too flustered, but you know you are. You know you’ll cry — and dramatically too, because your hormones are off the radar — if anyone gives you a really meaningful present.

You open a few, some just basic cleaning supplies for diaper-care, others range from cute clothes to bedding sheets. When you open Harry’s gift, it’s a CD case with a picture of the Styles family on the cover.

When you open the case, you see a message in print. He’d written you a few songs, for Tom and the baby too. You nearly burst into tears as you stand up as quickly as possible. Tom helps you stand while you make your way over to your older brother, hugging him as if your life depends on it.

“You’re gonna be a great uncle, Harry.”

***

When they said the birth process was painful, they didn’t mention how much. Tom fainted about an hour and a half into it, after glancing where he shouldn’t have. You laughed while the doctors got him standing again. He was by your side for the entire time, and when you finally gave your last push, the two of you heard the wales of your sweet baby girl.

“Did so well, love.” You’d heard him whisper while he kissed your sweaty forehead.

Seven hours later, you were sitting up after having just slept for a good amount of time. Scarlet was sleeping calmly in your arms. Tom was squeezed onto the bed next to you, arms carefully wrapped around your exhausted body. He’d cried four times already.

“Ma’am, your families are here.” A nurse had come into the room with a small smile before opening the door wider to allow visitors in.

Harry and Gemma were first up. They’d been here the longest, having received a call when they were closer to the hospital than everyone else.

You glanced up when you heard Harry gasp. “She’s beautiful.” He whispered, tip toeing over to the bed, seating himself in one of the chairs.

“C- can I hold her?” You nod, handing him the small child. He graciously takes her in his tattoo covered arms, holding her head cautiously while he coos at her. She wakes momentarily to giggle at the new arms. He visibly pouts, and when you notice water on Scarlet, you grow worried.

But all of that is washed down the drain when you see Harry’s red, teary eyes. He smiles happily, even through the tears, and you breathe out a laugh through your own cries.

“She looks just like you.”

You wipe a tear away, reaching out to hold one of his hands.

“Just like you.”

[kazbrekkerscrutches]

Tate Langdon - Nice to Meet You

Warnings: Very short imagine/one shot, language, mention of depression, cheating, miscarriage, basically the Harmon family storyline.

Words: 1.0 k

[Y/N’S POV]

I moved in my new home, got dragged across the country. My father had an affair and my mom caught him and her student doing the deed. My sister, Violet, and I didn’t exactly have the same point of view towards my mother.

I knew my mom had suffered hell and back; she miscarried, got cheated on, lied many times. I admired her for that; staying strong every godamn day. Violet didn’t really care about anything. We both stayed at the same house, but when my mom found out that my father was unfaithful once again, he got kicked out and my sister followed.

I knew that he still had to come home to work, but seeing him made me want to punch him.

I had missed school for a couple of days; I got really depressed since I came here. I don’t know, I just couldn’t seem to find the old me. The old Y/N that I knew was gone, forever. My mom was too busy with her own imagination to care and my father was more worried about his patients than he ever did with me.

I got up, couldn’t keep my legs straight to look at myself in the mirror and went into the bathroom. I opened the faucet of the shower and undressed.

I never liked showers but it was the only thing that made me feel something. I kept staring at the wall for a few minutes and tears fell down my face. To be honest, crying didn’t relieve me any pressure.

I felt numb every single fucking day. The same cycle reproduced itself day by day, week by week, month by month.

After what felt for days, I stepped out of the shower, got dressed with the same looking clothes. I dried my hair with a towel, stepping out of the bathroom only to find a stranger walking in my room.

“Hum, who are you? And, what are you doing in my room?” I spoke to the blond man. He turned around, facing me and my heart stopped. That was the first time that I’ve ever felt something.

“Sorry, I’m Tate. I’m one of your father’s patient.” He handed out his hand for me to shake it. I walked closer to him, seeing his beautiful complexion. I shook his hand back.

"I’m Y/N.”

“Your mother told me I could hang out with you; she said you kind of closed off from her. She’s worried about you, you know.” He sat on my chair, by my desk.

“Yeah, well I’ve never been a problem to her, so that shouldn’t start now.” I dropped the towel for my hair on a hook and closed the bathroom door.

“Do you want to talk about it? I know we just met but I won’t tell anything.” He turned the chair to face me, gave me an apologizing smile.

I sat on my bed, giving him a sign to come closer. He did, sitting by the end of the bed.

“Have you ever felt like your life couldn’t get any worse than it already is?” I asked him gently, playing with my thumbs.

“Yeah, I mean I never had the best life, my mom is always drunk, my dad ran away and my sister kind of forgot about me. But, yeah. I get this feeling a lot.” I looked up to him, looking at his deep brown eyes. They reflected the light so beautifully. I could get lost in them.

“Sorry if I reminded you of bad memories.” I shrugged my shoulders looking down shyly.

“No problem, Y/N.” He placed his hand on mine and smiled at me sweetly.

A smile grew on my face, for the first time in months. I never had a boyfriend before, even a best friend but I had a feeling he would be the one.

“It’s good to have a friend around, if you want me to.” I nodded, holding his hand tighter in mine.

We talked for a bit, getting to know each other better. Time passed by so fast I didn’t even realize it was already 2 am. We were still talking, we laid by each other on the bed, facing one another and opening our hearts. We both starting talking more softly as the time went by and we stopped for awhile.

We looked at each other, exploring every aspect of one another. His hair was softly curled, he had fair complexion and grunge clothes. I really liked the way he talked and the way he thought. It’s rare to find someone similar as yourself. Earlier in the evening, we played some Nirvana in the background and when we stopped talking, my eyes started to drift off to sleep.

[TATE’S POV]

God, how can she be so beautiful. She had a beautiful complexion, amazing Y/E/C eyes and Y/H/C hair. She was sweet, but I knew she was broken. I could see it in her eyes; she may act tough around everyone but I know how she felt.

Feeling like every day is repeating itself all over again, the lack of energy kicks in. I went through all of that, so many times. I just hope she won't leave me.

Not like every person I've ever met.

The soft Nirvana songs were playing in the background, but I noticed her eyes had drifted off to sleep. Though, she didn’t know that I couldn’t leave the house.

I am a ghost and I am totally in love with her.

Well, my after life isn’t so boring after all.

[ladyseaheart1668]

Endless Summer Book 4: Daughter of Vaanu (Chapter 56)

Description: The Catalysts attempt to return to their lives as River Skye finally comes home.  tagging: @endlesshero1122 @mysteli @feartheendlesssummer @whatmcsaid @tigerbryn11

Chapter 56: Not Over

Alodia

I almost can’t believe how quickly I start to feel better once the fever breaks. The pain, which had felt like some hellish demon with teeth made of red-hot iron gnawing at my lower back, begins to recede within hours. 

“That’s how it tends to go with an infection like this once we find the right antibiotic,” the doctor tells me. “You are fortunate, though. These days, a lot of bacteria have developed resistance to antibiotics. But the infection is responding well to treatment, and all your vitals and your blood work look good. And your daughter appears as healthy as a baby horse. ...I would just like to take a quick look at how you’re healing from the birth if that’s okay.” 

I nod, turning onto my back with Jake’s help as the doctor draws the curtain around the bed. Improved as I am, I know I’m not at full strength yet, because moving still hurts. I guess I must have winced, because the doctor raises an eyebrow in concern as she pulls on a pair of gloves.

“You okay there?” 

“I think so. Guess I’m still pretty sore.” 

“That’s to be expected. You probably won’t feel one-hundred percent for another week or two at least.” 

I draw my knees up and part my thighs while the doctor pulls up a stool at the foot of the bed and lifts the blanket. I keep my attention focused on Jake’s face above me and the pressure of his hand on mine as the doctor carries out her checks. Occasionally, I let my eyes wander around to the multiple bouquets and mylar balloons that have built up over the past couple days, gifts from the Catalysts, Tahira’s team, my aunt and uncle, and Jake and Diego’s parents. 

“Everything is healing beautifully. Stitches should be dissolved by next week. You’re probably going to be feeling pretty tender for a while though.” 

“Yeah, we had the whole tearing conversation with my OB in California some time ago.” 

“Good. If you have any pressing questions regarding the birth and recovery, you can of course ask me, or one of the maternity staff. We can also forward your hospital records to your regular OBGYN.” 

“How long do you think it will be before we can go home?” Jake asks. 

She pulls the blanket back down and stands, peeling off her gloves. “Well, the fact is, we want to get her and your baby out of here ASAP to lower the chances of either of them picking up a secondary infection.” She smiles at me. “Now that the fever’s gone, we’re gonna get you off the drip and onto some oral antibiotics, and we can pretty much start the discharge process immediately.” 

“So soon?” My own question surprises me, but it’s out of my mouth before I realize it’s on the end of my tongue. 

“Believe me, it’s better we get you both out of here.” 

“I know. It’s not that I want to stay here. It’s just...thinking about how we’re going to get home...how soon we can get home…” 

“That’s all taken care of, Princess. Aleister is having Castor and Pollux deep cleaned, and he and Grace are gonna put us up for a few days until Mike gets up here from Santo Domingo. Diego and Varyyn are with Estela and Quinn, and your aunt and uncle basically paid for hotel rooms for everyone else.” 

His infodump has my head reeling a little, but there was one particular tidbit I find myself fixing on. 

“Why is Mike…?” I trail off as realization crashes down on me in an icy wave. A bit of information I had nearly forgotten in my struggle to bring my baby safely into the world while fighting a fever. Jake wasn’t worrying about me for all that time from the safety of our home in California. I don’t know the details, but I have a sinking feeling that has something to do with the reason that Mike isn’t here with us now. 

Jake folds my hand between his palms, glancing at the doctor. “Hey...do you have everything you need? I’d like a few minutes alone with my wife, if that’s okay.” 

“Of course. I’ll get the ball rolling on your discharge.” 

I wait until I’m sure she’s well clear of the room before I reach to stroke Jake’s cheek. “...I know Lundgren got his filthy hands on you. ...Fiddler told me. ...I’m guessing he got a hold of Mike, too.” 

He leans into my touch. “...And Sean and Michelle. Nabbed us all as I was bringing ‘em back from the island.” 

“I don’t know if she told me that. That conversation got swallowed up in worrying about you, and then I got sick and River started coming, and…” I swallow, running my thumb along the fuzzy ridge of his cheekbone. “...Did they hurt you? Any of you?” 

He shrugs, not meeting my eyes. “Knocked us all around a little. Michelle’s the smart one, of course, so she escaped the worst. ...Mike’s in Santo Domingo having his prosthetics repaired. Lundgren ripped them out ot torture him.” 

I shudder. “Oh, god...Oh, Jake, I’m sorry...I’m so sorry…” 

I’m crying before I realize it. And as soon as I do realize, it turns into sobbing. Jake reaches down to gather me in his arms and cradle my head against his shoulder, rocking me tenderly. 

“It’s okay,” he murmurs into my hair. “It’s okay. He’s gonna be fine. You’re gonna be fine. In a few days, we’ll be home with our baby.” 

“I w-wanna be home,” I hiccup. “I wanna be home with River, but I’m scared of leaving everyone again. I just wanna bring them all home with us…” 

“Well, it’s a very big house. ...On the other hand, you cram us all into the same house long term, it might start to feel less big. Plus, it would mean a brutal cross-country commute for some of them.” 

I can’t help chuckling a little bit, which makes the sobs start to die down. Jake gives me a moment to get myself under control before he speaks again. 

“...How are you feeling, Princess? Really?” 

“Physically?” I pull back gently to lie down on the pillow again. “Definitely better. My head is clearer, and I don’t hurt as much. But I’m still worn out. And by the way, you’re gonna have to make due with blow jobs for awhile, because it’s gonna be a long time before you stick that thing in me again, if ever.” 

It’s his turn to laugh, and he bends to kiss me. “Princess, I will tug it for the rest of my life as long as you’re still a part of that life.” 

“I will be a part of your life as long as the universe allows,” I promise. “...But Jake, we both know this isn’t over.” 

He sighs, and I see his forehead crease before he presses it to mine. “I know. I know you’re right. But for River’s sake--and mine--will you let the others take care of that for now? I ain’t saying don’t worry, because I know that’s impossible. But River and I need you healthy. Can you stand to let yourself be looked after for a while?” 

I feel a rueful smile tug at one corner of my mouth. “Am I to assume that arguing is pointless?” 

A tapping at the open door to the birthing suite distracts Jake from answering. We both look up to find Raj and Diego hovering in the doorway, Raj with a paper bag in his hand, and Diego with his right arm in a soft blue sling. It’s the first time I’ve seen him since River was born, and I sit up a little straighter as he hesitantly steps over the threshold. 

“...Are we interrupting?” 

The baby has started fussing, and Jake eases off the edge of the bed to go pick her up. I open my arms to Diego. Just before he rushes into them, I see his face twist with anguish. And as he falls against me, his one-armed grip is surprisingly strong. 

“Goddammit, Allie,” he whispers quiveringly. “Goddammit…” 

“...Did I scare you?” 

He pulls back sharply, enough so he can look me in the face, but he keeps a grip on my shoulder. “Did you scare me?! You had me on my knees saying the Ave Maria! Do you know how long it’s been since I said the Ave Maria?!” 

There isn’t really a lot I can say to that, but I smile ruefully. “...Thanks for staying with me.” 

“What, you thought I’d bail?” 

I snort. “God, no. But I can still be grateful.” 

“...You’re really okay?” 

I nod. “I’m fine. The fever is gone, and the wound doesn’t really hurt anymore. I’m still pretty sore down there, though.” 

A smile finally starts to play cautiously around his mouth. “...Well, that part’s Jake’s problem.” 

“How about you?” I ask, gingerly touching the strap of his navy blue sling. 

“That’s nothing serious. It was dislocated, but they popped it back in. Just got to wear this for a few more days, and take it easy once we get back home. ...Raj brought food, by the way.” 

“Oh!” I pull back a little to smile at Raj. “Sorry, big guy. I didn’t mean to ignore you.” 

Raj chuckles. “We’ll blame it on the new mommy brain and leave it at that. Speaking of which…” He shoos Diego back enough that he can drag my bed table over across my lap, and sets an insulated lunch box on top. “I figured you could do with something better than hospital fruit cups and oatmeal, so I brought you a special Raj lunch. Michelle supervised its creation, and it’s full of stuff that’s supposed to be good for new moms.” 

“What is it?” 

“So glad you asked!” With a flourish, he opens the bag, and pulls out each item in turn, presenting them like a game show prize lady. “A sandwich of salmon, spinach, and poached egg on whole wheat bread with a garlic white bean spread; in case you are extra hungry, a side of gourmet trail mix made from an assortment of nuts and dried fruit; and to drink, a pineapple-orange-banana smoothie with extra protein powder, and just a few extra leaves of spinach!” 

I can’t help but be uplifted by his enthusiasm, and hold out my arms for a hug. “I must be the most spoiled new mother in the world.” 

Raj embraces me lightly over the table. “As you should be. You know in some Asian cultures, a new mother spends a whole month resting while her mother-in-law takes care of her and the baby.” 

“Oh yeah?” I look at Jake. “Think your mother would spend a month taking care of me?” 

“Honestly, I bet she would. The problem would be getting her to ease up and let you start taking care of things after the month was up.” 

“Hmm...probably best not to give her ideas then.” 

“Probably. We’ll have my folks over in few more months, when we’ve had a chance to get settled.” 

“...But…” Raj says, “in the meantime, do you think you guys will be needing any extra help? I know it’s going to be a pretty full house as it is, but Diego’s going to want to take it easy with lifting and stuff for a while, and Michelle says Mike will probably need time to recover, too. If you need a couple extra pairs of hands and someone to do the cooking, I have some downtime, and I know Lila would be happy to come along.” 

I look questioningly at Jake, who shrugs. “I don’t have anything against that. It’s a big enough house. And if Varyyn and I are gonna be the only ones at full strength for the time being, I wouldn’t say no to a couple extra pairs of hands.”

“And probably better those hands be Raj and Lila than anyone’s parents,” Diego adds. “I bet Varyyn would prefer not having to wear his disguise twenty-four-seven.” 

“Yeah. And,” Jake adds with a sigh, shifting River to rest against his shoulder, “it’s probably preferable not to involve anyone who ain’t already involved in the bigger picture. ...Like you said before, Princess, this ain’t over.” 

“But for now, we’re all safe and sound, and Allie has a lunch to eat.” Diego smiles encouragingly as he pushes the tinfoil-wrapped sandwich toward me. “Go on. Dig in.” 

Jake

I gotta admit, it does my heart good to see my wife savoring the meal Raj brought her and enjoying our friends’ company. She seems almost back to her old self as she talks and tells jokes and teases with them. Although, as I put River in her arms, I can’t help but be reminded that she’ll never be exactly like her old self again. Not now that she’s a mama. Not like I’m ever gonna be exactly like my old self again either. I’m a daddy now. That’s gonna change me forever. The thought scares me, like it has a lot over the past nine months. But just a look at that precious little face is enough to reassure me that I am never gonna regret it. 

Diego and Raj eventually leave us on our own again. After nursing and burping, River sleeps just long enough that we can fill out her birth certificate, nestled side-by-side on the bed. From there, it’s not more than an hour or two before they’re wheeling Alodia toward the hospital exit with River in her arms again while I walk at her shoulder, a baby carrier in the crook of my elbow and my arms laden with flowers and mini mylar balloons. Any staff we happen to pass on the way out smile and wave or give us their congratulations. I have a feeling that in a hospital, any chance to see a patient off happy and healthy is a cause for celebration, and that probably goes double for a new mama leaving with a baby. 

Grace is waiting in a car for us at the curb outside the hospital. One of Reggie’s old carseats is in the backseat. Grace settles the baby in the carseat while I help Alodia into the seat beside her. 

“There’s a surprise for you guys when we get to our place,” Grace informs us as I circle around the car to get in on the other side of River. 

“Nothing too strenuous, I hope,” Alodia quips. “I am not up for a party yet.” 

Grace chuckles as she starts up the car. “Oh, believe me, I realize that. No, everyone is pretty sure parties are off the table for you for the time being. ...But you do know that everyone is going to want to see you before you leave, right? You gave us a scare, and no one wants you to go before we all know you’re okay. ...Plus, everyone wants to see River.” 

“I am not opposed to visitors,” Alodia assures her. “Just...only a few at a time.” 

“Absolutely. We won’t let you get overwhelmed.” 

“River, either,” Alodia adds, stroking our sleeping daughter’s downy hair. “Poor thing is probably overwhelmed as it is, suddenly coming into all this noise and color and light.” 

“Birth is the craziest thing that ever happens to us, and none of us remember it,” I remark, letting the blade of my forefinger run gently back and forth across the soft back of River’s tiny hand. Her little fingers twitch just slightly, and the base of her pacifier rocks back and forth across her lips, but she doesn’t wake up. I don’t expect the quiet will last. 

River does sleep throughout the half hour or so it takes to drive to Aleister and Grace’s luxury Northbridge apartment. As we pull up to the curb, I realize what our surprise is. 

“Mike!” 

I must have been a little louder than I thought, because River wakes up with a cry that can only be described as irritated, but it doesn’t fully register until I have already launched myself out of the car towards Mike. He’s balancing on a walker, so I at least have the good sense not to jostle him, but I can’t hold myself back from grasping him firmly by the shoulders. He grins, carefully removing his hands from the walker one at a time to grasp me back. 

“Good to see ya, Grandpa.” 

“Shit, you too! We weren’t expecting you for another couple days! How are you feeling?” 

“Well, as you can tell,” he says, nodding at the walker, “I’m not quite ready to run a marathon yet. But my new legs are healing up nice. ...Good to see you, Goldilocks.” 

His gaze shifts over my shoulder, and I turn to look back at my wife supporting herself on Aleister’s arm while Grace bounces River in her arms. Alodia smirks at me, her eyes twinkling mischievously. 

“I feel like I should make a joke about you abandoning your wife and child in the car to go hang out with your buddy,” she drawls. 

I grin sheepishly as Mike carefully returns his grip to the walker. “Sorry about that. Let me make it up to you.” 

I lunge and sweep her up bridal style, and I have the pleasure of feeling her arms twine around my neck. 

“Mmm, much better. However, unlike your daughter, I am actually capable of walking.” 

“But you don’t have to. Not right now, anyway.” But I do return her to her feet after capturing her mouth in a kiss. I don’t entirely take my hands off her yet, though. After her ordeal, I don’t think she’s really that much steadier than Mike right now. Her grip as she slips her arm through mine confirms my concerns. 

I’m standing between my wife and my best friend, and neither of them are fully able to stand under their own power. I’m starting to feel that much more grateful to Raj for volunteering to help us out for a while. 

I think Mike notices Alodia’s weakness, too, because his forehead creases just a little. “You all right, Goldilocks? From what I hear, you gave everyone a real scare.” 

“It was pretty scary on my end, too. But I’m fine now. How about you?” 

Mike shrugs. “Ahh, you know. A few weeks of rehab, I’ll be a six-million dollar man again. In the meantime,” he adds wryly, stroking the frame of his walker, “it’ll be hard to call Jake ‘Grandpa’ when I’m dottering around on this thing.” 

“You just called me ‘Grandpa’ two minutes ago.” 

“And I cannot tell you how hard I internally cringed. Seriously, if you could have seen my internal expression, you’d have thought I was sucking lemons.” 

I am morally obligated to reach out and swat him for that, but before I can, Alodia abruptly steps forward to wrap her arms around his shoulders. It’s an awkward embrace, encumbered by the walker and both of them still being weak, but it’s a sincere one, and Mike leans into it gratefully. 

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Alodia murmurs. 

“You too,” Mike says softly, reaching up to pat her shoulder with one hand. “But can we go inside? I wanna properly meet that baby you’ve been carrying around for the past nine months!” 

***

The Catalysts come by in shifts throughout the afternoon and evening, apparently having planned it all out beforehand. No one stays more than an hour at a time, which proves to be a good thing, since Alodia is clearly worn out by about eight in the evening. We’re set up in the guest room of the Rourke apartment, with River in a bassinet beside us, and Mike on the foldaway bed in the living room. 

Alodia nurses River and rocks her to sleep before lying down herself. At first, I curl up beside Alodia in bed. She’s asleep within minutes, but I’m not as quick. And after an hour, it’s pretty clear that I’m not on my way to dreamland any time soon. I don’t want to leave Alodia or River. I never want to leave Alodia’s side again. But I’m restless. Anxious. And eventually, the desire not to disturb what precious little sleep my wife might have before our daughter wakes her up again wins out over my irrational need to pace back and forth between them. I check the windows, making sure they’re locked, then I slip out of the room as quietly as I can, heading back out into the living room. 

I find Mike, Aleister, and Grace all seated in the living room. On the coffee table are four short, round glasses and a bottle of golden red liquid that I’m guessing is some kind of whiskey. 

“We were starting to wonder if you had also fallen asleep,” Aleister says. He gestures to the glasses. “We thought you might like to wet your baby’s head.” 

“Kind of a weird expression,” I remark. Nonetheless, I pick up the bottle and take a seat in an armchair to read the label. “Ooh, Irish Mist. Fancy.” 

“It is not every day that one becomes a father. The night Reginald was born, Diego, Varyyn, and I toasted his birth with Irish Mist.” 

I crack open the bottle, and lean forward to fill each of the four glasses about halfway. I set down the bottle and raise my glass, the others following suit. 

“To River Skye McKenzie, my beautiful angel. And to her mother, my better half, who is truly the best and bravest of us.” 

“Here, here!” Grace says. We clink glasses, and I take a long, deep drink, savoring the sweet notes of honey and spices riding atop the alcoholic burn of whiskey. I return my glass to the table empty and lean back in my chair. 

“When my sister and I both were born, my grandpa had my dad and the men of the neighborhood over to smoke cigars on the porch.” I chuckle a little. “Rebecca remembers helping our grandma in the kitchen, and seeing all the men outside smoking. She says what she remembers most about the day I was born was our dad coming in from outside to give her a hug, but she pushed him away and said, ‘No, Daddy! You stink!’” 

My story prompts the expected laughter. 

“I am afraid Irish Mist will have to do tonight,” Aleister says. “I did not think to buy cigars. Nor would I know enough to ensure I was purchasing a quality product. As I understand it, Cuban cigars are the best, but those are illegal.” 

Mike shudders. “Honestly, I think the smell of a Cuban would be enough to give me flashbacks. Lundgren used to smoke contraband Cubans.” 

“Same here,” I agree. “I mean...there was that one time…” 

“...That one time what?” 

I chuckle a little, rubbing the back of my head. “Okay, no one currently in this room was there when Zahra blew up MASADA…” 

“What’s that got to do with Cuban cigars?” 

I sigh, but in spite of myself, in spite of how literally everyone else in the room with me was in some kind of bad situation at the time, I feel a smile playing around my mouth at the memory. 

“Okay, so it’s me, Alodia, Sean, Quinn, Estela, Craig, and Zahra trying to find another way out of the complex after the gondola gets severed, and when we go through a control room, Zahra gets the idea to blow the whole thing up. We figure it’s worth the couple extra minutes, so we let her do it. And while she’s rigging the system, I find one of Lundgren’s Cubans somewhere on the floor. ...And I light it up. But only to spite the bastard.” 

“But did you enjoy it?” Mike asks. 

“Hell, yeah! The hype ain’t a lie, buddy. Not saying I’d do it again unless it were one of his personal stash, but that was a real good smoke. ...Still...it wouldn’t be right to celebrate River with Cuban cigars. Lundgren and Rourke did enough to taint her birth.” 

“Nothing has been tainted,” Grace says firmly. “She and Alodia both came through it well and healthy.”

“I ain’t losing sight of what’s important,” I assure her. “But I can’t let my guard down, either.  ...We all know this ain’t over.” 

Grace sighs. “...No, you’re right. It isn’t over. ...Which means...I should probably tell you what I learned in Ireland.”

Diego

I knew that the Catalysts wouldn’t have sat on their hands while any of their own were in danger, but I am surprised to learn just how busy they were during the time that Allie and I were in Arachnid’s claws. I’m even more surprised--and frankly unsettled--by some of the things they learned. Yvonne might be alive. Lundgren flew the same plane that killed Allie’s parents, even though the twisted wreckage of that plane is the property of the NTSB. The whole mess with Allie’s mom, that weird AI message from a program made by Allie’s mom. It all leaves us with a lot more questions than answers. 

I told the police everything I felt like I could safely tell them. I went so far as to tell them that I think Everett Rourke might be alive because that’s who our kidnappers claimed they were taking us to. I don’t know if they believed me. I don’t know if the future of the Vaanti is safe. A part of me hopes that they lose interest in the case since everyone who was abducted has been recovered safely. But I also know that none of us are really safe until Rourke is either back behind bars or dead. 

Aleister and Estela make all the travel arrangements for those of us going back to California, including my folks and Allie’s. Castor carries me, Allie, Jake, Varyyn, Mike, Raj, Lila, Rebecca, and River. For once, Jake and Mike aren’t going to be flying. Pollux is taking our families. A third plane, smaller but no less luxurious, takes Jake’s parents back to Louisiana. They’re reluctant to leave him. They don’t want to be apart from their son, or their daughter, or their granddaughter. He assures them they can come visit soon, but that their daughter-in-law needs some time to recover first. 

At the airport, Allie’s aunt and uncle hesitate to part from her on the tarmac. Allie stands with River in her arms, patiently enduring as Molly smoothes her hair and kisses her forehead, asking if she’s sure Allie doesn’t want her and Rob to wait at the airport in California to drive her home. When Allie insists she’s sure; that Molly and Rob should go ahead and get home so they can rest. Rob says they’ll make sure there are cars waiting for us to take us all back to the house in Laguna. 

My parents board the plane before I arrive at the airport. On board the plane, I nestle up with Varyyn on one of the double-width leather seats. I wind my arms around him and bury my face in his shoulder, inhaling his scent. He kisses the top of my head. 

“Are you alright, my love?” he murmurs. 

“...I’ll be fine,” I assure him. “I’m just...disappointed. I knew my parents weren’t ready to meet you. But I had hoped...I don’t know. I had hoped it wouldn’t be like this. Even if I knew it probably would be.” 

Varyyn sighs, bringing a hand up to stroke my cheek. “They may yet come around. Or they may not. In the end, it is up to them. All I can promise is that I will love you regardless of their decision.” 

“...I love you, too.” 

“You guys all set?” Raj’s voice makes me look up. The others are boarding behind us and finding their seats. Jake helps Allie settle in and get her seatbelt on, River still cradled in her arms. 

“Are you sure a plane is really the best way to travel with a newborn?” Lila asks. 

“When the choices are between a rental car, a train, or a private plane for a cross-country trip, a private plane is hands down the best option,” Rebecca declares. “I mean, if we were on a commercial plane, I’d think twice, since those things are basically flying petri dishes. But this plane has been deep-cleaned, unlike the train. It’s more comfortable than a car, and faster than both the car or the train.” 

“Yeah, but what about her little ears? All the pressure?” 

“The doctor says that if I nurse her during take-off and landing, that should keep her comfortable. Besides...I just want to be home.” 

Home. The word washes through me in a way that comforts me even as it makes me want to cry. Images flash through my mind of the house I share with my husband, my best friend, her husband, and his best friend--and now, my little niece and goddaughter. Watching movies in the living room with Allie. Sharing dinner around the table or out on the balcony. Cuddling with Varyyn in the hot tub in the evening, letting the warm, swirling water sap the energy from my body, and then sliding into bed beside him and drifting off to sleep in his arms. At home, I don’t have to hide. I don’t have to walk on eggshells or worry about losing anyone’s love. At home, I’m safe and free. I meet my best friend’s eyes, offering her a tired smile. 

“I’m with you, Allie. Let’s get home.” 

Raj

Nothing but the best for my friends, that’s my motto. I came to the house in Laguna Beach to make sure that my friends would have the best care while they needed it, and I waste no time in getting down to business. Alodia, Diego, and Mike need space to convalesce. But with a new baby in a huge house like this, there is a lot to be done. Jake and Varyyn can’t be expected to do everything, and that’s where I and Lila come in. 

River is constantly monitored. Whenever she cries, someone is ready to come running to change her diaper, or to bring her to Alodia for feeding. I prepare meals ahead of time that can be easily heated and served, so no one goes hungry. Lila helps me cook and keep the house clean. Alodia’s aunt and uncle attempt to send cleaning and catering services to her at one point, but they end up being politely refused. Lila and I have everything under control, and none of us want strangers poking around here. 

Alodia is occasionally moody, snapping at everyone to stop fussing over her, and she can’t wait to be free of this gilded cage and go back out into the world. This is usually followed by tearful apologies, with all of us assuring her that we don’t take it personally. She just had a baby, she’s allowed to be moody. Besides, the moment someone places River in her arms, it seems like everything is right in her world, and everything is right in our world, too. 

...Except it’s not. Not entirely. 

River is happy and healthy. Alodia is getting her strength back. Diego gets rid of the sling, and Mike starts to get around without the walker again. But underneath the surface, there is still trauma. There’s still fear. 

“They’re having nightmares,” I tell Lila one morning as we’re preparing breakfast. She pauses for a moment with a knife poised above an orange before swiftly slicing it in half. 

“Is that so surprising?” she asks. She doesn’t look at me as she speaks, but concentrates on making sure the thick, white heart of the orange half in her hand is positioned properly on the cone of the juicer before she presses down and begins to twist. Bright yellow juice splashes down into the container below. 

“Well, no. But it is sad. Jake and Alodia especially should be concentrating on enjoying their new baby, not having nightmares and worrying about whether Rourke’s coming back for them.” 

Lila pulls the now-deflated orange rind off the cone of the juicer and tosses it on the countertop. Ribbons of tattered orange flesh cling to the inside of the rind. She picks up the other half. 

“...Do you ever have nightmares from Mr. Rourke?” she asks softly. 

“Of course,” I reply. “Not as much as before, but I think we all have them sometimes. After what we all went through, I think I’d be more surprised if any of us didn’t.” 

The twisting of the orange on the juicer slows just slightly. The toaster pops behind me, and I pluck four pieces of perfectly browned bread from the slots to toss onto a plate. 

“...I have nightmares, too.” 

The butter has been softening on the counter, and my knife slides easily through it. The heat from the toast softens it further, and it spreads cleanly. 

“...You want to talk about it?” 

Lila shakes her head, picking up her knife and another orange. “No. Not now. They don’t really matter anyway. They’re about things that happened in the past. I’m less scared of them than I am of what happens in the future.” 

“Do you mean Rourke’s next move?” 

“Of course that scares me. ...But more than that, I’m scared of him trying to use me against all of you again.” 

“We won’t let that happen, Lila. You’re safe with us.” 

“...But are you safe with me?” 

I pause a moment before putting down my knife. I turn to Lila, put one hand on each of her shoulders, and turn her toward me. 

“Lila...look at me. ...Has Rourke approached you at all since you’ve been with us again?” 

Her eyes widen in what looks like genuine surprise. “What? No, I...that isn’t what I meant!” 

I relax just a little. “...Okay.” I slowly take my hands away from her shoulders. “...You’d tell me if he had, wouldn’t you?” 

She nods. “Of course.” 

“Good. ...Because if he approaches you again, we can help you. We can help keep you out from under his thumb. ...We’re not gonna let him just have you back.” 

A weak smile lifts the corners of her mouth. “I believe you.” She hastily turns back to the oranges in front of her. “You should...um...finish buttering before the toast gets cold.” 

Overhead, the sharp, piercing cry of an infant rings through the air. I smile. Another morning blending into another day. It’s not perfect. We’ve got reason to worry. But for now, all is well. 

Diego

I keep my head down as I move through the halls of my high school, clutching the straps of my worn-out backpack. It’s the same shabby gray one I’ve been carrying since freshman year. I’m a junior now, and the corners near the bottom are starting to fray where the sharp corners of paper-bag covered textbooks have dug into them. 

My stomach growls. I skipped lunch again today. My parents were gone to work early again, and I didn’t leave myself enough time to make myself anything this morning. I barely had time to scarf down a banana for breakfast. I didn’t have enough cash for a cafeteria lunch, either, and besides, I preferred spending my lunch period playing on the computer in the library to sitting by myself at the end of a table filled with noisy strangers anyway. 

If I can scrape together enough change from the bottom of my pencil case, I might have enough to get a bag of chips from the vending machine before I have to go to my after school job. But for now, my hunger isn’t all that sharp, and I am heading towards English Lit, the only class I currently look forward to. 

The class is taught by Mr. Hunter. He also teaches the film-making class I want to sign up for next semester. He’s in his early fifties, and not handsome. He is tall and lanky, with gray-green eyes and a dark helmet of slicked back hair that sits atop a rectangular face. He has one of those mustaches that seemed to be popular in the 1970’s that always make a man look a little sketchy. He wears paisley shirts and slacks, and his voice reminds me of Bert from Sesame Street.

Mr. Hunter is the best teacher I’ve ever had at this school. When we studied Romeo and Juliet, he started off by giving us all a printed-off list of Shakespearean insults. When one girl tried to mumble her way through a line-reading, he shouted, “Put some feeling into it, you saucy wench!” 

Mr. Hunter is also gay, and he does not attempt to hide this. When my parents ask about my teachers and which ones I like best, I leave this fact out. If they knew, they would make me switch to another class. Mr. Hunter has a picture of himself with his boyfriend on his desk. I’ve seen it when I’ve gone up to hand in assignments. His partner is bald and ruddy-skinned. He’s not handsome, either, but he has an open, friendly smile. Sometimes, I imagine them kissing. I worry that I have a crush on Mr. Hunter. 

On the post of every classroom door is a laminated pink triangle, with a message proclaiming that this is a safe space for LGBTQ students. These triangles are mandated by the school district. Not every teacher honors them. One teacher actually tore hers down and refused to put it back up. She was fired. Last year, two girls were voted “Cutest Couple” in their senior class. I look at the triangles, prominently displayed as I walk into each classroom, and I don’t feel particularly safe. I feel safe in Mr. Hunter’s classroom. 

Inside Mr. Hunter’s classroom, two boys from the football team act out a love poem with one of them in a curly blond wig and the bottom of his shirt tucked into his collar to create a crop top. They end with a flourish, with the boy in the wig jumping into the other boy’s arms and goosing him. Everyone applauds their performance, including Mr. Hunter. 

Outside Mr. Hunter’s classroom, guys of all stripes growl “faggot” in my direction, and even the girls who are nice to me seem pitying more than anything. There’s a Pride club that meets after school two days a week, but I don’t dare join. I’m slowly realizing I can’t deny the truth anymore, but that doesn’t mean I can just announce it to the world. 

I have just enough change to buy a bag of chips after school. I put it in my backpack as I make my way toward the library where I work for a few hours each day. I see Sam Dzugan eyeing me as I pass through the main doors to the school, and feel dread so familiar that it’s almost dull. Of all the bullies at this school, Sam is the worst. He also knows where I work. If he’s bored and hungry for a power fix tonight, I’m in for a rough walk home. 

But he doesn’t follow me to work. At the library, I set to work filing back the books from the return cart. As I do, my mind wanders to the same place it always does: Alodia. 

Alodia. My ideal friend. I conjure up an image of her beside me. She would be pretty, like all the most popular girls at school. I summon a small, pale figure with blonde hair, big blue eyes, and rosy cheeks. I talk with her in my head as I wander the aisles of the library with the return cart. I can picture her cheeky smile as clearly as if she were really beside me. I have spent many years getting the details of her perfect. Early incarnations of her were dark-haired. Green-eyed. Taller. I drew pictures of her. I wrote down her description in a private notebook that I kept under my mattress. But she never felt as real as when I wrote her with golden blonde hair and sapphire eyes. 

She laughs at all my jokes as I work the rest of my shift. I forgot to eat the chips I bought, and I’m hungry enough now to start feeling dizzy. ...Alodia would invite me to dinner at her house. A huge, fancy house with a pool, where a chef would have prepared a gourmet meal. 

“Don’t worry about Sam,” she would say. “If he gives you any trouble, I’ll fight him off.” ...Because Alodia would be fierce. A fighter. Alodia was a hero. A hero who loved me unconditionally. 

Alodia was never meant to be my lover. I wasn’t looking for a lover when I first dreamed Alodia into existence, which is probably why I always imagined her as a girl. I could scarcely imagine having a lover before I had a friend. That was what Alodia was to me. A friend. A friend who would always love me. A friend who I could tell my secrets to without judgment. A friend to fight for me and protect me, who saw value in me, and needed me back. 

But my friend is a fantasy. And when I leave work and Sam corners me in the encroaching darkness, Alodia vanishes…

...I wake up with a gasp, bolting upright in the darkness of my room. Beside me, Varyyn grunts in his sleep and rolls over, the moonlight reflecting off his blue skin. I stare at his sleeping form for a moment, trying to take stock of myself. I’m shaking. My pajamas are damp with sweat. I feel cold. I feel sick and empty with fear. I don’t exactly remember what I was dreaming about, but one thought keeps echoing in my mind: Allie. I have to find Allie. 

I slip out of bed as gently as I can while I’m still trembling. I don’t want to wake Varyyn. As I slip into the hall, motion-sensitive lights plugged into the sockets near the floor illuminate my path. My dream is still hazy, but bits and pieces trickle back as I shuffle down the hall with my hand on the wall. I was alone. Allie didn’t exist. It was a timeline that I have all but forgotten, and it felt entirely too real. 

I need to find her. Or at least evidence that she still exists. The door to the nursery is slightly ajar, enough that I can see the soft glow from the lamp on the bedside table. I peek through the crack in the door and relief floods through me. Allie, bundled up in her robe and slippers, sits in the rocking chair with River in her arms, gently rocking back and forth. I exhale slowly. I should go back to bed, but I am not ready to let her out of my sight yet. I start to push open the door. She gasps a little, looking up sharply. 

“Oh, Diego!” She smiles at me, settling back into her chair. “You startled me.” 

“Sorry,” I whisper back. “...Did I wake up River?” 

“No. I just fed her, so she’ll probably be out for an hour or two.” She looks up at me as I come to settle into the armchair across from her. “...What are you doing up?” 

“...Bad dream,” I admit. “...About...about you. I had to come check on you or I was never going to get back to sleep.” 

I half-expect her to joke about me being a creeper watching her while she sleeps, but instead she sighs. “...I kinda know the feeling.” 

“Yeah. I bet you do.” 

“You wanna stay up with me for awhile?” 

“Yeah. But I feel like I should be telling you to get some sleep while you can.” 

“I probably should be sleeping,” she admits. “...But I don’t really want to let her go.” 

There’s not really much I feel like I need to say to that. I understand. I don’t think there’s anyone in this house who doesn’t empathize with that feeling in one way or another. Especially now. 

“...Diego…?” 

“Yeah, Allie?” 

For a long moment, she doesn’t say anything, though her mouth opens and closes a couple times. Then, she swallows and takes a deep breath. 

“...I love you. I love you, and I love Jake, and Raj, and all the Catalysts…” 

“We love you, too, Allie.” 

“...When you imagined me. In that other timeline. When I didn’t come to be until the Island...did you ever imagine my future?” 

I can’t help flinching. Her words feel like a cold pinprick at the top of my spine. “...Allie...I...I don’t really remember that timeline…” 

“I know. I know. But...it happened. It existed. I was once born to be what you needed. What all the Catalysts needed. ...But now...now I have River. Someone new who needs me. She needs me more than any of my Catalysts.” 

“I...I think that’s true,” I say slowly. “...We all love you, and we want you with us. But River is your child. She’s helpless and new. She needs your love and your care and your guidance to survive.” 

“...I’m scared, Diego. I’m scared by how much I love her. I’m scared by how much she needs me.” 

My earlier fear is being replaced with concern that is entirely for my friend.  “...Allie...are you okay? Is this some kind of postpartum depression?” 

“I don’t know what this is, Diego. I know that I love River more than I ever thought I could love anyone alive. I would have torn myself apart for my Catalysts without hesitation. I gave up my existence to give my Catalysts the world. ...But I can’t consider that anymore. Because River needs her mother.” 

“Oh, Allie. That’s not a bad thing. None of us want you to tear yourself apart.” 

“I know. ...But I am afraid of what happens if the world asks for it. ...If I end up at the Threshold again, or a new Raan’losti…” She looks up at me. “...Diego...I think I have to face what’s in the pool shed.” 

I feel my blood run cold. I know what’s in the pool shed. The collection of objects that were left for us in the Crystal dimension when we went to rescue Tahira. Including…

“...Are you sure?” 

She nods. “...It was left for me to find for a reason. I have to touch the Andromeda idol again.” 

[madzfm]

˛ ⠀ * ⠀ ★ ⠀  JESSICA ALEXANDER  .   CIS FEMALE  .  SHE / HER      ⧽ ⠀ have  you  seen  the  786  latest  post  ?  sources  say  they  have  some  serious  dirt  on  the  child  of  a  big  time   COUNTRY MUSIC STARS  .   they  haven’t  revealed  who  it was  yet  but  my  best  is  on  MADISON  DARLING  !  ever  since  that  last  update  about  how  she  ALLEGEDLY GOT CAUGHT SPORTING A BABY BUMP LAST YEAR BEFORE GHOSTING EVERYONE  i  don’t  put  anything  pass  them  .  i  mean  ,  these  celebrity  kids  are  just  out  of  control  .   they  do  whatever  they  want  ,  whenever  they  want  and  are  ungrateful  in  the  process  !!  i  mean  take  MADDIE  for  example  ,  they’re  a  TWENTY THREE  year  old  DANCER  ,  and  what  did  they  do  to  get  there  ?  have  famous  parents  !  like  hello  ,  just  because  you HAVE BEEN IN MUSIC VIDEOS WITH A-LIST MUSICIANS doesn’t  mean  you  actually  deserved  it  .   i’m   glad   the   786   is   taking   them   down   a   notch   .   it’s   about   time   someone   does   .

             𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐆𝐋𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐂  /  𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓  / 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒

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hey ... hey ... how y’all doin’ ?  i’m sooo excited to be here , besties ! sorry i’m late with the intro , it’s been a looooong weekend for me but i’m eager to get the ball rolling . so here’s the rundown , the google doc has a full bio + more stats + headcanons but i don’t expect anyone to actually read all that nonsense so i’ve tried my best to sum it up below ( it’s still kinda long tho i’m sorry y’all i ramble too much ). i’m always down to talk plots & threw a few wanted connection ideas at the bottom , so feel free to hmu on discord any time <3 but yes okay let’s get into it

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━━     ˊ     *     𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬  . .

𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞. madison dallas darling .   𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞(𝐬). maddie , mads .   𝐝𝐨𝐛. april 14 , 1998 .   𝐚𝐠𝐞. twenty - three .   𝐳𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐜. aries sun , libra moon , leo asc .   𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫. cis female .   𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐬. she / her .   𝐬𝐞𝐱𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. bisexual .  𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞. nashville , tn .   𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 5ft 5in .  𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. high school diploma .   𝐨𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. dancer / realty tv personality .   𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬. robert “robbie” darling - father . dixie darling - mother . delaney darling - sister .   𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐬. compassionate , imaginative , family-oriented  , devoted , generous , sympathetic , idealistic , self critical , naive , competitive , indecisive , impressionable , elusive , sensitive .

━━     ˊ     *     𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐲 . .

tw : things like shitty controlling parents , injury , & pregnancy are mentioned

   born & raised in nashville , tennessee , madison is the daughter of two country music icons ( basically blake shelton & miranda lambert ) & has only ever known a life in the spotlight . her parents were a widely adored it couple who shared their lives with millions of viewers across the world with their reality tv show . at 7pm cst you could tune in to watch robbie & dixie raise their two daughters - having some good ol’ wholesome family fun while juggling responsibilities that come with being famous artists . to any outsider looking in , they seemed like the perfect family . a loving father , a supportive mother , two prim & proper daughters that collected accolade after accolade in every pageant & talent competition they ever entered . but you shouldn’t believe everything you see on tv , even if it’s deceptively labeled as “reality” .

   when the cameras weren’t rolling , the darling sisters were left under their mother’s restrictive control . dixie darling treated her daughters more like dolls than living beings , madison & delaney were basically pretty little accessories . while robbie never dared to mistreat his daughters , he was around a lot less than the show made it seem - often touring the world rather than spending quality time with his girls . plus , dixie & robbie seemed to endlessly fight with one another - nearly every childhood memory madison has of her parents involves them yelling . if she wanted to see them looking happy & in love , she’d have to tune in to the fabricated reality on their own show to get a taste of what a happy , loving family looks like . 

   you can’t be a child of dixie darling without being exploited in some way . while delaney was pushed into the music scene , madison was shoved into the world of dance . she took every class that was offered & practiced for hours upon hours to perfect her craft . her sister had taken after their folks with the singing voice of an angel & the looks to rival that of miss universe , meanwhile maddie was good for two things : dance & doing whatever her mother said . so when dixie said to twirl , she twirled , when she said do a grand jeté, maddie asked how high & then over performed like the good little girl she was trained to be .

   it wasn’t until her parents got divorced & maddie moved to miami to be with her sister , her father , & her father’s new girlfriend that she sort of came out ( or more accruately described as dragged out ) of her timid , non - confrontational , subservient shell . with a longer leash , she had more freedom to roam far & wide . no one tried to tell her what to do or who to talk to & considering she was just a privileged teenager with endless funds & the status to get away with just about anything , you can imagine how badly that went . every mistake she made was broadcasted onto people’s televisions or headlined in tabloids . it was stressful , growing up & messing up all under the watchful gaze of millions of people who felt entitled to berate her for her poor life decisions . just because they watched her grow up on tv didn’t mean they actually knew anything about her . & yet so many people shared their unsolicited opinions on her & her life . it drove her insame .

   maddie wasn’t handling the stress of being well known very well . she wanted a break from it all , to just go somewhere far away where no one knew her name & just live by herself . it was a silly dream . nothing she’d ever actively pursue . but the universe has a funny way of giving us a taste of what we think we want just to teach us a lesson . 

   so over a year ago , maddie found out that she was pregnant . it was a shock to say the least . she kept it a close guarded secret from everyone but her sister for awhile . not only was it a life changing development , but it was one thing that she was determined not to share with the rest of the world . with the idea of running away in continuous loop in the back of her mind , she came up with a plan to buy herself some time . she faked a really bad injury during a performance & let the media run with saying she might not be able to walk , let alone dance ever again . pushing the cover story even further , she claimed to be in need of intense physical therapy & sought after it in a luxurious private lodge in new zealand . that’s where she stayed during her year away , letting no outsiders come visit while she figured out how she was going to move forward with this baby growing inside of her .

   so maddie finally got the break she was looking for even if it wasn’t under the circumstances that she would’ve liked . but she adapted to the situation . in her time away , she went through the entire pregnancy but it was basically decided for her by her parents that it was best to give the baby up for adoption . the little girl would be in good care by a couple that was a family friend of the darlings . better to bless someone who wanted a baby but couldn’t have one than for maddie to keep her daughter when she wasn’t in a place to take care of her . it broke her heart , honestly . she had grown quite attached to the baby & even entertained the idea of being a single mom even though she knew her own mom would never let that happen - it would go against the strict narrative that they try to put out there about the darling family .

   after a year away , maddie is back in miami without anyone knowing what really happened . she keeps using the “injury” as the excuse for her absence from the spotlight . anyone really close to her might be able to tell that something’s off , but she’s trying so hard to act like everything is fine & nothing has changed at all . she might even be able to get away with her lies - if it wasn’t for that damn 786 website threatening to spill the tea & make her life hell .

━━     ˊ     *     𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 & 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 . .

   a wannabe good girl gone bad but harbors a deep rooted fear of being a disappointment & a failure due to her mom’s strict parenting style . so like she wants to be rebellious & come across as carefree but internally she’s panic screaming always ( honestly relatable like same , girl )

   well - mannered in a sweet southern belle kind of way with her please’s & thank you’s & calling everyone ma’am & sir out of respect & what not

   biiiig mom friend energy . she just wants to make sure that everyone is taken care of . she can get very protective & a little helicopter parent-y with her friends . it probably has something to do with control issues that she doesn’t realize she has but we don’t have time to unpack that rn akjsdbk

   before her year away i want to say that she was a lot more people please-y / overly eager to please ?? like rarely said no to people that asked for favors , always agreed to any plans people invited her to out of courtesy , & what have you . but now i see her as being a little less patient than before & a little bit more unhinged & quick to shut down or snap

   guillable ! naive ! dumb as hell ! believes that everyone was raised with the same values as her & has a big of a heart like she does so she’s easily subjectable to getting her feelings hurt & i say let it happen !!

   wants to be mysterious so bad but there is very little known about her & her life that isn’t public knowledge . she could get shit on by a bird & it’ll probably become a twitter highlight idk she just wants to believe she’s imperceptible & acts all evasive in order to keep her private life private but that rarely ever has the desired effect

    one of those annoying rich & famous people that’s like “i wasn’t meant to be famous . i was meant to have a normal life & be a normal person” but like !! she is actually so out of touch with reality & probably couldn’t tell you how much milk is at the grocery store because she has people to do mundane day to day things for her . spoiled little privileged rich girl , let’s be real . her dad tried to keep her humble , idk what happened

   dance style / career is pretty much inspired by maddie ziegler but also not really bc i am very picky & choosey about which aspects of her career i’m pulling from

   boring on social media because she hardly ever posts & is very short with her captions & tweets when she does make an appearance online every blue moon 

   dodges questions about what she’s been up to while she was gone like she’s in the matrix or something . all that pr training her mom put her through when she was younger is coming in handy because she has not given a single honest , straight answer in the months she’s been back . would rather talk about anything else than herself right now so don’t be surprised if she pulls some random subject changes out of her ass if people get nosy . i’m sure the common conspiracy is that maddie was so embarrassed by the fall on stage that she went into hiding 

   delaney is the kim kardashian & britney spears of the family while madison is the kourtney & the jamie lynn xoxo

━━     ˊ     *     𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 . .

ride or die , bad influence , frenemies , family friends , good influence , confidant , rival , girl squad , non judging breakfast club , childhood friend , unlikely friend , exes on good terms , exes on bad terms , neighbors , pr friendship , pr enemy , social media mutuals , party buddies , secret friend , secret hook - up , crush , friends with benefits , adventure buddy , enemy with benefits , dance partners , mentors , mentees , sibling like relationship , will they won’t they , people suspicious of her & her supposed “injury” , father of her baby 👀 jk ..... unless

[bookworm555]

“What do you want from me, Felicjan?” Niele was tired. Tired of the Competition and its intricacies, tired of the underhanded tricks some contestants used to get ahead--at her expense, of course, always at her expense--tired of the strain on her mind. She was at her limit. And the terrifying thing was she knew Felicjan knew it, too.

For a moment, shame flashed across Felicjan’s sharp face, though it was replaced with his usual smirk so quickly that Niele assumed she imagined it.

“Nothing,” he finally said, tilting his head. “Though you are good for a laugh.”

Niele’s heart sunk, and the tears she tried so hard to suppress finally fell from her eyes.

“I mean, look at you!” the blond continued, gesturing towards her. “You consistently rank low in the contests and in the popularity polls, though your stupid little friendship with Timothy does boost you up higher than you deserve. Leech.” He curled his lip. “You drag your teammates down; Triinu is always coming to your rescue, and though Mihails is weak as well, at least he isn’t a shivering mess like you! They’d be better off without you.”

“Stop it!” Niele hated how her voice cracked, but she couldn’t let herself be insulted anymore.

“Finally growing a backbone? Took you long enough! But it’s not good enough.” Felicjan stepped closer, and Niele instinctively took a step back. “You still look like the poster-girl of a domestic violence ad, with that pathetic face and quivering lip. All you’re missing is the black eye.”

He raised his hand, and Niele flinched, squeezing her eyes shut. Felicjan never struck her before, but she figured her luck finally ran out. She opened her eyes when she felt nothing.

“Oh man! You thought I was going to hit you? Seriously?” Niele realized her tormentor only lifted his hand to tuck some hair behind his ear.

Felicjan’s harsh laughter made her face burn in embarrassment.

“Oh please, if I hit you, and that spread around, it wouldn’t make me look good in the rankings at all! So as much as I want to, I won’t. At least not until the Arena matches, that is. Consider yourself lucky.”

With another curl of his lip, Felicjan spun around, leaving Niele alone. She didn’t realize her shaking legs gave out until she felt her knees painfully hit the floor. But this time, she didn’t bother getting up. She curled her arms around her stomach and sobbed, wishing that things were different, that she was never chosen for this accursed game. But most of all, she cried because Felicjan was right. She was holding her team back, no matter how hard she tried.

-From ‘2072′

Poor Niele D: (I feel bad for her kjahdfjkasd)

This honestly makes Felicjan look like a massive jerk. And he definitely is, holy crap. Yeah, he’s being blackmailed into bullying Niele, but at the same time, there was no need for him to make his insults so personal. At this point in the story, the power he has over Niele has gone to his head, so while he was hesitant to play this role in the beginning, he’s now not even pretending. 

He eventually redeems himself, but the damage is done, and Niele is always wary around him, even after he apologizes.

Also...Felicjan in no way represents the attitude of his country in general, in terms of how they see him. Despite having high rankings due to the audience liking the drama he causes, after awhile, they catch on to Niele’s genuine emotional distress and letters/online comments from his country start coming in that express their disappointment in him. (He even receives a letter from his parents and twin older brothers basically lecturing him and telling him they raised him better XD). This is what really gets him off his high horse. (And luckily, the organizers of the competition see that their little blackmail scheme is no longer working, so they let Felicjan drop the jerk act without harming him or his family.)

(Fun fact, here are the names of Feli’s family, for future reference: Mother: Fryderyka Father: Mikołaj The twins (20 yrs old): Jurek and Mirosław) 

(Okay, drawing angsty/emotional stuff is so hard X’D. I feel like I definitely expressed Niele’s emotional/psychological pain through writing better than the mini-comic.)

Also...Niele gets a nice, soft moment in the next part of the scene (because I felt bad cutting it off at a sad moment X’D), which I’ll add here under a read more:

Mihails walked into the common room, hoping to snag some sweets before training. But all thoughts of sugary snacks disappeared when he saw Niele slumped over on the floor, clearly crying.

He rushed over to his friend instantly, sitting on the floor beside her. Reminded of all the times she comforted him, he gently pulled her into a hug, wrapping his thin arms around her.

Immediately, Niele wrapped her own arms around him, crying into the front of his sweater. Mihails gently smoothed the back of her hair down, and made sure her low ponytail wasn’t tangled. 

After awhile, the crying ceased, though Niele still rested her head on Mihails’ chest. When she was ready, she pulled away from the embrace, though Mihails still kept one arm wrapped around her shoulders.

“What happened?” he finally asked.

“Nothing.” Niele furiously wiped her eyes with her sleeve, blushing. “It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing!” Mihails knew her tone well, as well as the defeated look in her eyes. It was the same look he himself had after his father was done taking all his frustrations out on him. Mihails hated that look on himself. He hated it on Niele even more. “It was Felicjan again, wasn’t it?”

Niele said nothing, though it was confrmed by her eyes narrowing, and her body stiffening.

“It’s not right, how he treats you. Not right at all.” 

The brunette continued to stay silent, though she lunged forward and fiercely hugged Mihails again.

Neither said anything until Triinu walked in, looking for Mihails. She knelt down next to her two friends, sending a silent, but questioning, glance Mihails’ way.

“Felicjan,” he mouthed.

Triinu’s eyes narrowed, a steely glare replacing the previous confusion. “I’ll handle this.”

-

Aaand here’s another section from the next chapter. Just because I like it XD

Risto, like the others, gathered around Felicjan’s destroyed spot in the boys’ lounge. While Lorand winced at the torn-up chair and papers strewn about, Risto couldn’t bring himself to feel sympathetic. Not after he witnessed time and time again how Felicjan treated Niele. He thought the burnt feather with the note ‘You won’t rise again; watch your back’ scrawled in black ink left on the boy’s desk was actually quite clever, though admittedly meanspirited.

But, due to Felicjan’s jerkish nature, Risto inwardly shrugged and moved on with his day. Especially since he had a clue about who was the culprit, though he would never voice it aloud. He would never betray her, not over Felicjan Koslowski.

As the day went on, Risto found himself bumping into Triinu in the dining hall, who handed him a plate of nisu, smiling. 

“I saw they had nisu today; I figured I’d get you a plate before Vivica ate it all.”

“Thanks!” Risto took the plate; she knew him so well. “Did you hear about what happened to Felcjan’s lounge space?”

“Oh yeah! I heard all about it!” 

Risto grabbed a piece of the bread, popping it into his mouth. “Whoever did it had to be really bold. And good with computers, in order to bypass the security system on the door. Maybe it was someone on staff, since they’d only need a keycard to shut off the cameras; they wouldn’t have to hack into the system.”

“Yeah, probably.” Triinu smiled again, grabbing a hunk of bread off Risto’s plate, though this time, there was a glint in her eyes. “Imagine that, someone hacking into the Competition’s security system.”

The two shared a knowing glance before splitting the rest of the bread.

-

Basically:

Risto: Someone hacked the system! Wow!

Triinu:

(Also omg, she looks like Triinu in that image, too XDD. That makes it even better kajsfkjdf)

Also, nisu is a Finnish sweet cardamom bread that is served with coffee or tea.

[sunnomnoms]

Hiiii I Found Your Blog In The Tags And I Never Thought I Would Enjoy Ace Attorney Imagines Before. I've Been Into It For Years And I Think This Idea Is So Adorable. I Hope Requests Are Open, And If I Can Ask For Relationship Headcanons For Hobo Phoenix Where There Is An Established Relationship Between You Two, And How It Continues Once He Gets Disbarred? I Always Wonder How Those Eight Years Would Have Been When He Had Some Light In His Life Besides Trucy. Btw I Love Your Aizawa Writing!

Aaaa ! A new anon that actually likes my AA stuff ! I’m so blessed :,) I’m truly flattered my writing is what got you interested aha, you’re too sweet ! Also, thank you!

I got SUPER CARRIED AWAY WITH THIS I AM SO SORRY

Fun fact: I actually cried while writing it 🥺🥺

Some warnings: this is female coded! Some angst, some fluff, family cuteness, family struggles, agh-! It has a happy ending though!!!!! 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

You had known Phoenix for at least a year or so before you started dating. You were a witness to a crime he took, which is what brought you two together in the first place. If it’s important, yes, your testimony did help a good bit for solving the case!

While working on it, Phoenix found himself feeling a bit... fuzzy, around you. It wasn’t ever something he intended to happen, he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to be in a relationship. But he couldn’t just deny the immense amount of chemistry going on between the both of you.

Oddly enough, the two of you didn’t lose contact after the case was over. Phoenix took it upon himself to go and see you sometimes when he wasn’t working on anything. This fuzzy feeling was starting to get worse, and the chemistry was slowly turning into tension...

... and within a year or so of knowing you, he took it upon himself to ask if you would be interested in something more. You happily accepted.

With you now at his side, Phoenix felt a bit more confident. You meant a lot to him, and he made sure to express it as much as he could to you. He really was a sweetheart, he made it his goal to let you know how much he loved and appreciate all you did for him. Whether it be helping him figure out a case or just making him dinner after a long day in the office, he never took any of it for granted.

The incident happened a few years later, and it wasn’t something you could have seen coming from a million miles away.

Your boyfriend, an attorney, came home without his beloved badge... and a few days later, was asked to care for a child.

Phoenix was reasonably shaken about losing his badge due to his fatal mistake, but he was more worried about someone else.

“[Y/N], she’s got no where to go...” He said as he held your hands, tears brimming his eyes. The little girl I’m question, Trucy, sat in your living room as the two of you spoke quietly in your bedroom. You felt Phoenix give your hands a gentle squeeze. “Why don’t we give it a try...?”

Truth be told, you and Phoenix had been trying for a baby for a good while now, but nothing seemed to be working. It had started to take a toll on you mentally, making you fear you would never have children at all. Trucy had appeared at a time when you were sure you were going to give up entirely. Perhaps... this could be what you needed all along...?

With tears in your eyes, you agreed happily to raising Trucy with Phoenix. He brought you into a tight embrace as you began to feel yourself cry. He quietly whispered about how good of a mother you were going to be to her, and how he’s going to do everything he could with you to give her a normal life.

Raising Trucy wasn’t a struggle at all. Though mischievous at times, she was a delight to deal with. Your stresses of how you were raising her was fading, because despite everything... she held on tight and was strong. She seemed just as determined to live a normal life as you were to give her one. That is, as normal as raising a little magician can be!

Phoenix, in the beginning, was also great with her. You had never felt so close to him until now. You felt like you had that family you always dreamed of. Granted, it wasn’t perfect, Phoenix was still struggling with coping over his lost badge. You did what you could to assure him that life would untangle itself with time, and that no matter what, you were sure things were going to end up okay. You were there on the countless nights he felt himself fall to apart, you always helped him put back the pieces.

For awhile, you were sure things were getting better. Trucy was doing great, and it seemed like Phoenix was...

Unfortunately, your beloved wasn’t always honest with his feelings. He had suppressed so much... and before you could help him, it’s as if he fell into disrepair.

The struggles came with Phoenix’s sudden and rapidly declining mental health. He had gained a habit to isolate, and you began to go days without seeing him. When he’d show up again, he was vague as to where he was, if he told you at all. It began to take a toll on you, you were beginning to practically raise Trucy alone at this point. Sometimes he’d disappear with Trucy, and that tortured your poor heart more than anything. You could only handle so much paranoia about where they were.

It got to a point in which you basically begged for Phoenix to get professional help. He seemed stubborn when it came to the topic, as if he didn’t want to better himself. You couldn’t even be mad at him, you were too busy sorting out your feelings of dispair and hopelessness. You just wanted a normal life, you wanted a lover, a child, a stable family... you were so close, why did everyone have to fall apart...?

You had ended up taking yourself to therapy to sort out your feelings. Your family and friends gave you conflicting answers as to what to do. Some said to leave him and take Trucy, some said to stay and try and talk to him more, some said to take legal action...

You couldn’t tell what was right at this point. With so many people saying so many things, you weren’t sure what you were supposed to believe. Part of you downplayed the situation, this was how all dads were supposed to be, right? Part of you felt hypersensitive to everything, part of your conscious screaming that you should have ran away the second the red flags began to appear. You didn’t know what to do... so you chose to endure. For Trucy.

It didn’t help that Phoenix picked up a habit for drinking.

The only thing you could ever thank him for was that he stayed away from Trucy when intoxicated. She didn’t need to see him like that. Besides that, he was insufferable to deal with when intoxicated. He was the “I’m not that drunk!!” type, even if he couldn’t stand up. If you had a dime for all the times you had to drag him to bed, you’d never have to worry about the bills ever again. When drunk, he wasn’t physically violent or anything, but he had a habit of saying things that really hurt. It was common for you to put him to bed and spend the rest of the night crying and wonder what went wrong between you two. It was awful that occasionally, Trucy had to come and console you. You felt safer with your daughter than you did you own boyfriend... was it truly supposed to be this way...?

When Apollo came into the picture, you were delighted to meet him. He reminded you of how Phoenix once was when he was a lawyer. Apollo often questioned the family life of the three of you, but you always responded with vague answers. Things like “it’s certainly not perfect, but when is life ever supposed to be perfect?” We’re common time hear from you. It satisfied him for awhile. You’d always hear a ton about Apollo through Trucy, and it was for the most part positive things. Whenever he and Trucy visited the house, you’d quietly thank him for looking over Trucy when Phoenix wasn’t around. He always said it was no issue or whatnot, but you knew deep down he wasn’t expecting to be lowkey babysitting as a lawyer.

As far as you were concerned, Apollo was an addition to the family. Trucy always spoke of him as if he was a big brother, and it warmed your heart to know Trucy had a positive male figure in her life now.

When Phoenix had gone away for longer than usual for his “secret mission”, you had only expected for him to be away to go get messed up in a town over or something. But when he came back, he... brang news.

It was so much to take in at once. Trucy participated in her fathers “disappearance”, her mother was still alive, and Apollo was her half sibling.... what were you to do with yourself? What was it all supposed to mean? Was Trucy going to stay with you? And Apollo, was he now... your son?

You saw Apollo a bit less for the next week or so, you knew that case took a toll on him mentally and you were sure he was up to his eyes in paperwork. You made sure to call him at least once a day to make sure he wasn’t overworking himself.

Trucy was home a bit more now. You were happy to see here in the midst of the storm passing over the whole lot of you. You could tell she was torn up inside, but she still beamed at you with that beautiful smile you adored the second she came into your life. She was so strong, you couldn’t help but tear up a little when you saw her smile in the face of it all.

And Phoenix...

He was still gone for a bit after the fact, but one night he had come home late without you realizing. You were about to go to bed when you heard him call your name from the porch.

You felt your heart drop hearing him, worrying he might be drunk again. You padded your way to the back door, opening it and walking out onto the porch. Phoenix stood from his previous position of leaning on the railing, gesturing to some of the chairs on the deck. “Come sit. I... I wanna talk.”

You sat in one of the chairs, Phoenix pulling up one right in front of you. He inhaled deeply, then letting out a sigh. You were about to ask what this was all about when he gently took both of your hands.

“I... I’m sorry I dumped a bunch of information and left for a few days.” He apologized softly. “... I’ve been getting help.”

You let out a soft gasp. Phoenix looked up at you, and you felt yourself get lost in those beautiful steal blue eyes the same way you did all those years ago. You knew he was being sincere when he said it, but part of you didn’t believe it, what was this supposed to mean...?

“N-Nick, what is this about...?” You said, your voice barely above a whisper as you felt yourself getting choked up.

“[Y/N], this is about us. I lost sight of everything all those years ago- this isn’t what I wanted. This isn’t what I want and I know it’s not what you want.” Phoenix said, his gentle gaze never leaving you. You searched his face for any sign of insincerity but it just wasn’t there.

“Nick...” you croaked, tears beginning to roll down your face. You watched the tears begin to well up in his own eyes, but he quickly blinked them away.

“[Y/N]... I want to be a family again. A real family, [Y/N], I don’t want to be a stranger in this house anymore. I don’t want you to be afraid of where I am anymore, or be afraid of how Trucy is gonna grow up. I want a real family. I want you, me, Trucy and even Apollo to function like a real family...” He said, bringing your hands to his lips, placing a gentle kiss to them.

“... I’m so sorry [Y/N].” He spoke against your fingers. “I understand if you don’t forgive me, but I regret these past years so much... I need you to know that I’m sorry [Y/N]....”

You tried to hold back so you could speak, but your frantic sniffling caught Phoenix’s attention immediately.

“Nick, I-I-!”

He wrapped his arms tightly around you as you fell to pieces in his arms. You sobbed harder than you probably ever had for those past seven years or so. You clutched onto him for dear life, terrified he might disappear again if you let go.

“N-Nick- I-Ive waited s-seven years to hear you say you’ll come back!!! I-I-I’ve waited so long for you to c-come back home again, I-I-!” You wailed, your sobs getting the better of you as you gasped for air between your tears. He whispered gentle apologies to you as he ran his fingers through your hair.

The two of you stayed like that for a good bit. You sooner or later leveled out, your sobs dying down to gentle sniffles. Phoenix gently released you from his embrace, taking your hands in his again.

“[Y/N]?”

“Y-Yeah?” You responded shakily. He looked you in the eyes again, a gentle smile on his face.

“I... I want you to be my wife.” He said gently, earning another gasp from you. “Y-You don’t have to say yes now, I understand, b-but I don’t want to just be a lover to you anymore, I-I want to be your husband, [Y/N].” He spoke gently. You felt the tears sting your eyes again. He watched your face for a second, waiting for any sign of an answer to his proposal. You brought a hand to your face as you wiped the fresh tears rolling down your face.

“Oh Nick, I... I’d love to be your wife, Nick. I-I truly thought you would never ask...” You said, smiling as you watched his eyes light up. He let out a laugh of disbelief.

“Y-You mean it? After everything I’ve done you... you still love me..?” He asked. You nodded. “Of course I do.” Letting out another laugh in disbelief, he cupped your face and brought you into a deep kiss.

You were basically smothered with kisses, the two of you giggling like idiots, as giddy as teenagers getting their first tastes of love.

“I’m gonna get better just for you, and I’m gonna go retake the bar exam and I’m gonna fix all of this [Y/N]. I’m gonna give you the life you want and the life you deserve. I’m never going to lose sight of you again. Not you, not Trucy, not even Apollo, we’re gonna be a family and I’m not gonna let anything ever destroy that again. Maybe we can try again for another kid, maybe we can adopt another, I’ll give you anything to make our life perfect again...”

“I love you so much [Y/N].”

[seduceme-lovestruck-thearcana]

The Girl in The Blue Dress

Chapter 1: Hope and Music

@megatraven hehe here’s chapter one >:)

This is based on Greek mythology kinda and I looked up stuff. If I have stuff wrong please don’t kill me guys djwndb

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When the world was first created, Chaos ruled the world.

It was full of nothing, until one day the goddess of Earth, Gaia, was suddenly created.

After years and events happened, the Human was created. Prometheus made them firstly out of mud and did many things for them.

However, when Prometheus stole fire for the humans, he took vengeance by presenting Pandora to Prometheus’s brother, Epimethus.

One day, she opened a box that was in her care and caused sickness, death, and other evils to release into the world. However, she shut the box before Hope could escape, so there was still Hope for humanity.

As all of the misery took over the world, life changed and events happened, but there was hope that life would get better as it got harder.

And it all lead up to one little girl being born that seemed full of hope and love.

.

.

.

.

“Wait up, Rose!”

Rose was running towards the beautiful ocean, the sunlight making it seem even more beautiful. Her little sister, Vanessa, was following her as well.

“You hurry up, slow-poke!”

Rose got to the water first and instantly jumped into the water, Vanessa following after.

“Isn’t this so fun?!” Rose asked Vanessa as she ran her fingers through her hair, messing up her hair even more.

“It really is! It’s been very hot recently,” Vanessa said as she jumped up a bit, her short legs barely touching the ocean floor.

They continued to swim for awhile, both splashing the other, going under water and holding their breaths, and doing some swimming races (Rose almost always wins). However, Rose noticed a big wave coming towards them.

“Hey, Vanessa, come over here,” Rose said as she gestured to herself, opening her arms up as if she was gonna give Vanessa a hug. Once Vanessa did come to her, Rose wrapped her arms tight around Vanessa, waiting for the wave to hit them, so she could keep his sister afloat. Once it was gone, Vanessa wiggled our of her older sisters arms.

“Rose, I can swim! I’m not a little baby,” Vanessa whined to her sister. She hated being treated like she couldn’t do anything on her own. She always wanted to impress her sister or her mother.

“You’re still 5 and can barely touch the ocean floor at 3 feet, and let me remind you the ocean current is very strong.”

“Alright, if you say so,” Vanessa said to her sister as she rolled her eyes, but she continued to swim with her sister and they had a lot of fun together. However, Rose noticed it was getting even later than it was and got herself and Vanessa out of the water. They shook themselves a bit, so the water could get off of them before they went home.

As Rose was waiting for Vanessa to finish, she began to hear a noise. It sounded like music to her, but she didn’t know what kind of instrument. She felt the want to follow it, but knew she probably shouldn’t.

As she was spacing out, listening to the beautiful tune, her sister pulled on Roses blue dress and snapped her out of it.

“I wanna go home,” Vanessa whines to Rose.

Rose smiles and ruffles Vanessas hair. However, she listens to her younger sister and grabs her hand and leads her back to their home.

.

.

As Rose and Vanessa get back into their town area, Rose decides to stop by and see one of her friends, and it was to Mr. Sanchez’s shop.

Mr. Sanchez sold a lot of different things. It was antiques, hunting supplies, and some clothes people didn’t want anymore. It was a nice, cozy store, and Rose really liked it. And she liked Mr. Sanchez, too. As Rose walked into the store, Mr. Sanchez was by the counter counting money.

“Good evening, Mr. Sanchez,” Rose said to him with a smile. She really loved seeing all of her friends she had and everyone when she could. Especially when she could help out. Rose calling out caused Mr. Sanchez to let out a laugh.

“Hey, hey! If aint little Miss Rose!” Mr. Sanchez loved seeing Rose too. She always tried to help with anything she could, and he loved talking to her. She was a very talkative kid.

“Yep, it’s me! I was wondering if you needed help with anything,” Rose told him, basically bouncing on her feet.

Mr. Sanchez looked around the store and looked down at the coins he was counting. “Why don’t you two help me count these coins?”

Rose let out a hum and lead Vanessa and herself to behind the counter and waited for Mr. Sanchez to give her things she needed to do. He handed Rose some coins and Vanessa some coins. He knew Vanessa was learning to count and read, so he loved giving her a little challenge, but he knew Rose could count very well since she was 10. Rose and Vanessa started counting the coins and would help each other sometimes (Rose helping Vanessa more than the other way around). Once they were done, Mr. Sanchez ruffled both of their heads and they both giggled.

“Hey, why don’t you take some of these coins home with you? You basically help me everyday.”

Rose looked a little conflicted. She knows her family needs a little more money, but so did Mr. Sanchez. It was his money after all. “Are you sure, Mr. Sanchez, it is your money after all, I don’t wanna steal from you.”

Mr. Sanchez let out a chuckle but shook his head. “Don’t worry about it at all! You two help me out a lot, so you deserve a little bit of payment. Besides, it’s not too much to basically rob me.”

Rose nodded and took the coins he was offering her. Then, she and Vanessa bid Mr. Sanchez goodnight and left to go back to their home. Once they got there, they realized it was pretty late. The moon was shining bright in the sky. Once they knocked on their homes door, they were preparing for a lecture from their mother. Once it opened, they were faced with their mom looking very angry.

“What were you two doing?! Why were you out so late?! I only said you could go to the beach and back!”

Rose and Vanessa were at the dinner table and were listening to their mother give them a lecture she always gave if they came back late.

“We’re sorry, Momma. It was my fault, I dragged Vanessa with me to visit Mr. Sanchez and see if he needed help, and he did, so we helped him. Sorry it took so long,” Rose said as she looked down at the ground, a little scared to look her mom in the eye. This caused their mom to sigh and ruffle their hair.

“It’s okay. I just worry about you both, alright? You have to be safe for your sake and mine. Alright?”

Both of the kids nodded and gave their mom a hug and got ready for bed. However, Rose did give her mother the coins Mr. Sanchez offered and her mom smiled and kissed Roses forehead. “Thanks, sweetie. See, always being kind gives your rewards.”

.

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.

One day, Rose was picking flowers in a field. She was wearing her blue dress that fell to her knees, and wearing some sandals. She had her hair in a braid to keep it out of her face and a basket in her hand for the flowers. She was looking for roses because they were her favorite, but she did find other flowers to pick and take care of.

As she was doing that, she began to hear the same music she heard the other day. It sounded closer and even more beautiful to her. She stood there and listened for awhile, until her curiosity got the best of her.

She knew she wasn’t allowed to follow random things, but she needed to know where the music was coming from. She walked through the field and came upon some trees that were leaning against one another and had a little tunnel like opening to another side. She slid through the area and came to a river. She looked around and saw the source of the music.

There was a man that had a gold, toga on, his hair was bright blonde (it looked gold to Rose), and he was holding a gold, string instrument in his hand, and was playing it with his eyes closed. Rose was excited to hear the music and wanted to know what kind of music it was. He was sitting on the edge of the grass so his feet were in the water. She walked over to him and sat around 1 foot in front of him. She didn’t want to scare him, so she didn’t speak until he was done playing.

Once he finished, she began to speak. “That’s really pretty, mister,” Rose said with a smile. Her voice caused the man to jump out of surprise and open his eyes. She saw that they were a nice shade of grey. He looked at her and let out a breath of relief.

“You scared me, kid.” His voice sounded a little deep but not too deep to be scary.

“Well, sorry. It’s just that I really like your instrument. What’s it called?”

The man looked down at the instrument in his hand and smiled at Rose. “It’s called a Harp, and it is very pretty.” The man smiled at Rose but eventually looked away.

“Can I try to play it?” Rose held out her hands as if he was going to say yes, but she really wanted to see it. However, the man looked at her a little angry.

“No. I don’t really share my instruments,” he said with an angry tone. This caused Rose to feel a little guilty.

“Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to make you angry, I just wanted to learn,” Rose said as she looked down at her lap.

The man let out a little sigh but assured her it was fine.

“Well, can I listen to you play while I mess with my flowers?”

The man looked a little confused but eventually nodded, he just wanted her a little quiet.

The man began to play a quiet and soothing tune, fingers playing across skillfully and he seemed really calm. Once he began, Rose began to take her flowers out of her basket and began weaving them together. The only sounds to be heard were the beautiful harp and the sound of flowers being folded over and over again.

.

.

.

“Do you want me to make you one?”

The man opened his eyes to see Rose have a rose flower crown on her head. He looked a little confused. “Do I want what?”

“A flower crown, duh!” Rose let out a laugh and looked up at him excitedly. She loved making flower crowns, so she would take any excuse to make one. The man eventually let out a sigh and nodded.

Rose began to make the flower crown and he continued playing. Once she was done, she tapped him on the shoulder and he looked at her to see her holding out a flower crown to him. He took it and placed it on his head, which caused her to smile very hard.

“There ya go! One for my new friend,” she said with a bright smile on her face.

The man let out a soft huff and looked away. “Really? Who said we were friends?”

“Well, I did!” Rose put on a face that screamed “are you dumb?” The man laughed at her but eventually nodded.

“Alright. I guess we’re friends,” he said as ruffled her hair. He then began to stand up and brush off some dirt he had on him. “Well, sorry but I got to get going, Miss.”

“Rose. The names Rose,” she interrupted him. He smiled at her and nodded.

“Well, sorry Rose but I gotta go. I hope you have a nice day.”

The man helped her up and turned her around and gently gave her a little push, basically telling her to leave him. She grabbed her basket and left like he basically told her.

However, once she got to the tunnel ready to leave, she turned around and the man was gone. She brushed it off and headed back home, ready to show her mom the flowers she got.

[softeddiek]

so @aryaofoldstones answered this ask awhile ago about gendrya’s favorite fast food place and, as a Sonic fan, i loved their answer (tags included) and ended up writing about some of it??

so modern gendrya first date au 

read on ao3 

i’ve got a hunger, twisting my stomach into knots 

Arya is standing in front of her full-length mirror tugging at the bottom of her shirt when, out of the corner of her eye, she sees Bran wheeling himself into her doorway.

“Sansa’s going to call and order us some pizza. Want your usual?” he grins, thinking she’ll request her own box of sausage and mushroom that nobody else will eat. But not tonight.

“No, I’m going out for dinner actually, but thanks,” she answers, turning her head back toward her reflection.

She can still feel his eyes on her and hears the confusion in his voice when he asks, “Out? Like, with someone else?”

“Just with Gendry.”

She’s turning toward her bedside table, reaching for her phone to see if he’s texted her to let her know he’s here, when she realizes she hasn’t heard the telltale sound of Bran’s wheelchair rolling away on the hardwood floors of the hallway.

“So, like on a date?”  

She whips her head around to see a shit-eating grin on Bran’s face. “You and Gendry are going on a date,” he states this time, pleased to have figured it out. Or to think he’s figured it out, because even if Bran would likely be cool about this sort of thing, no way in hell is she going to let him blabber on about her and Gendry and dates to their siblings.

And yeah so, maybe the past few weeks all she’s really had to go off of was the way things between her and Gendry had started to feel…different, but when she’d agreed to grab dinner with him tonight—something they did frequently—he had actually looked her in the eyes and said “Great, it’s a date then.” So really, it was a date. But again, Bran couldn’t know that.

“A date?” she scoffs, “Very funny Bran, I don’t know how you came up with that. Gendry and I go out for food all of the time.”

“Yeah but this is different. I can just tell.”

“Oh please,” she says, rolling her eyes, “don’t even start with that intuition shit again. We’re just going out for food. Like we always do.” If the raised eyebrow he gives her says anything, it’s that he sees right through her. “Sonic,” she blurts out. “We’re going to get Sonic. Now tell me that’s somewhere you go on a date.” That should do it.

“Arya,” he starts, a quizzical look forming on his face, “you guys love Sonic.”

She can feel the heat creeping up her cheeks and is preparing to defend herself by trashing her favorite drive-in when she hears the front door opening, accompanied by voices carrying up to her bedroom.

Deciding to use this as her out, she turns back around quickly to pocket her phone and slips into a pair of shoes lying at the foot of her bed.

“Bye Bran enjoy the pizza,” she says, edging around where he still sits in her doorway. She takes the stairs down two at a time, coming to an abrupt stop at the foot of them when she sees Gendry in her living room. Gendry in her living room having a conversation with Rickon.

Despite having been friends with Gendry for years, she can count the number of times he’d been inside of her house on one hand. At first, there hadn’t been a reason for them to hang out at her house. She’d met him and their other friends, Lommy and Hot Pie, in the park downtown a few blocks from her school. She’d asked to join them on the basketball court where they were messing around with a ball. Lommy and Hot Pie hadn’t been too thrilled to let a girl join them, but after some terse words from both herself and Gendry, they relented. After that, it had just become sort of a routine to meet up with them at the park after school each day.

Eventually though, Lommy moved away and Hot Pie had had to start helping out in his parents’ bakery after school, so it was usually just Gendry she’d meet up with when he wasn’t trying to pick up shifts at his new job. When she finally started attending the high school he went to along with Sansa and Jon, he’d been surprised to find out she was a Stark. (How it took that long to find out her last name, she didn’t know.)

He continued acting strange around her for a few weeks until one day when Jon was away visiting his sick uncle Aemon and Arya had no way of getting home after school. Sansa usually got a ride from her friend Margaery, but she wasn’t in the mood to ride with them, so she went to Gendry. He’d reluctantly agreed to drive her home in his beat-up old pickup. With plenty to tell him about her first few weeks of high school, things between them seemed to have gone back to normal as they talked on the ride there. Until they reached her house.

She’d invited him inside to play some video games, not picking up on the wary looks he was shooting her as she all but dragged him through the door. As he stood in their front living room, taking in the ostentatious furniture her mother had it decorated with at the time, his brow had begun to furrow, and a frown formed on his face.

“I gotta get going, actually. My mom’s expecting me home.” He turned quickly to rush out the door, ignoring Arya’s shouts behind him until she’d caught up just as he was reaching for the driver’s side door, grabbing onto his arm to turn him around.

“What’s going on, why are you leaving?” she’d asked.

“I already told you,” he’d said, eyes looking at everything but her, “I’m expected home soon.”

“No, you aren’t,” she chanced. “So why are you being a dick Gendry?”

He looked up at her with a scowl. “I’m not—”

“Yeah, you are, so just tell me why so we can move past it because you’ve been weird for weeks now.”

He looked at her for a minute, face betraying nothing, until finally, seeing she wouldn’t leave it alone, his resolve broke. Sighing, he’d said, “You’re rich, Arya. Like, really rich.”

“Technically, my parents are rich--.” She stopped at the look on Gendry’s face that seemed to say, ‘Are you serious?’ “Okay, my family is rich. So what?”

“So, you’re rich and practically live in a mansion. My mom and I live in a run-down, one-bedroom apartment. I just don’t get why we’d be friends is all.”

She’d tried not to let the hurt show on her face, but at his guilty look she’d known she hadn’t succeeded. “We’re friends because we like hanging out together,” she’d supplied. “I don’t care about that kind of thing; I never have, and you should know that seeing as we’ve been best friends for years.”

After a bit more cajoling on Arya’s part, he’d relented and gone back inside with her, but she noticed his discomfort the rest of the afternoon. She had thrown out the occasional casual invitation to come over the last few years, but she could only be shrugged off so many times before she stopped asking.

And it’s not like he has a phobia of her house or anything. Once Jon had graduated with his AA and transferred down to King’s Landing to finish his Bachelors, Gendry had taken to picking her up after school. They’d usually grab some food to take back to the shop while he worked the last couple hours of his shift, and then he’d drive her home. He rarely ever came inside though.

But now, here he was, perched on the edge of the couch having a conversation with Rickon. Or, listening to Rickon.

“And the Direwolves drafted Margaery’s brother, Loras, from Storm’s End two years ago because he led them to the Final Four, but he tore his ACL in his second game with us and sat out basically his whole rookie season and just hasn’t been the same since he came back. Arya thinks we should put him in some kind of trade package and send him to the Riverlands, but I think that’s just because she didn’t like him when Margaery introduced them.”

Gendry’s head is nodding as Rickon speaks, but she knows he has no clue what Rickon’s talking about. They may have met on a basketball court, but Gendry was too big and clumsy to seriously play, and he never had the time to watch professional games with her.

“I don’t like Loras because he thinks he’s the next Arthur Dayne,” she pipes up, moving from her spot at the bottom of the stairs to stand behind the couch they’re sitting on, “but he has none of the defensive skill and his handles are trash.” Gendry is grinning up at her now. “You’re right though, he did piss me off the first time we met,” she adds.

“Hey Arya. You ready to go?” Gendry asks, still smiling.

“Go? Where are you guys going, Sansa’s ordering pizza and Bran and I were going to play Smash,” Rickon interjects, a small frown on his lips.  

“They’re going to get Sonic instead,” Bran’s voice calls out across the room from the bottom of his wheelchair ramp.

Gendry glances over at Arya confused, while she and Bran hold each other’s stares.

“Oh, can you guys pick me up that new Red Bull slushie they have? I’ve been wanting to try it, but Mom won’t let me,” Rickon pleads.

Arya glances at Gendry out of the corner of her eye before fumbling for a response. “Umm, actually Rickon, I don’t think—”

“Hey Rick, I forgot to tell Sansa you want cheese bread, and she’s placing the order right now,” Bran interrupts, saving her from the mess he made.

“Oh shit,” her brother exclaims, jumping up off the couch and darting into the kitchen.

Bran starts following him, only looking back at Arya’s icy glare once to call out, “Have fun guys!”

Gendry, now off the couch and standing at her side, is rubbing the back of his neck with one hand, keys in the other. “I’m guessing Bran knows about our…us?”

He hadn’t used the word date and not quite wanting to ask for clarification—especially when her siblings are still in the other room and she knows, just knows, that if Sansa were to come and see them, she’d know exactly what was going on—she just nods her affirmation.

“Let’s get going,” she says, heading for the door.

His truck is sitting in their circular driveway, parked in the spot it usually is when he drops her off. She’s reaching for the door handle, but he beats her to it, his arm reaching out in front of her, chest lightly brushing her back. She lets him open it for her and slides into the cab of the truck. When she looks over as he’s shutting the door, she sees a blush spreading across his cheeks.

Okay, this is definitely a date. One hundred percent a date. As much as she had made fun of Sansa for combing over magazines for relationship advice over the years, she’d still listened to some of the things she went on about. And in this moment, she can hear her sister’s voice saying, “A gentlemen always opens doors for a lady, Arya. It’s just proper date etiquette.” She always thought that was dumb—because yeah, it’s nice and polite, but she doesn’t want anyone to open a door for her just because she’s a girl—and Gendry doesn’t just regularly open doors for her.

“Thanks,” she mumbles out.

He’s slid into his side of the cab and taken a deep breath when he looks over at her and says, “So. Sonic?” She can hear the confusion in his voice. They hadn’t really discussed it before, only agreed to get dinner, but if that’s how Bran’s going to spin it to her family, they might as well. And besides, Bran was right, they do frequently pick it up to take it back to the shop with them, they’ve just never actually pulled in to eat because that would be so, well, date-like.

“Yeah, I mean. That works. I could really go for a slushie right now.”

He cracks a smile at that. “Can’t you always?” She grins back at him as he starts his truck, slowly pulling out of the driveway.

Sonic is only about a fifteen-minute ride from her house, closer to Gendry’s side of town, but now, only a few minutes in, the silence is beginning to become oppressive. His fingers are tapping on the steering wheel, whether to an imaginary beat or out of nerves, she isn’t sure. She reaches forward to turn on the radio, messing with the dial until it lands on a station she enjoys, and he tolerates. She hums along to the radio under her breath for a little while and, from the corner of her eye, can see the tension slowly start to seep out of his shoulders.

Gendry’s never been much of a talker. His surly looks and generally shy personality tend to put people off, and that’s just how he likes it. Arya on the other hand loves talking to people, always has. Her parents’ friends had taken to calling her Arya Underfoot as a child because at their big fancy holiday parties she could always be found darting around the room, catching snippets of conversations, before taking off to see whatever else caught her fancy.

But just because Gendry didn’t love holding long, drawn-out conversations, that didn’t mean he’d been exempt from holding them with Arya. And, seemingly quickly, he became comfortable with that. So, this was just weird. Just because this could now be classified as a date and not just the two of them hanging out, didn’t mean there was a reason for either one of them to be this nervous, right? One of them needed to speak.

“How was Tobho’s today?” Good, that’s a safe question. Gendry loves talking about the auto shop he works at and she knows he had a heavy workload today, even going so far as to seeing if she could get Sansa, who was home from school for the weekend, to pick her up after classes.

He looks over at her then—for the first time since they pulled away from her house—and the relief she sees on his face is practically palpable.

“Great actually. You know how I said that old rich guy, Lannister, was being an ass about me working on his car, had all these stupid ‘rules’ and stuff?” She nods her head with a scowl, thinking about the family her Uncle Robert had married into. “Well apparently he actually thought I did a good job on his car and gave me a decent tip. I mean,” he scoffs, “not like it’s much to him. With a car like that, the man probably shits gold.”

He continues talking about his day and all of the technical aspects of what he worked on, with Arya only slightly struggling to keep up—she has spent most afternoons after school at the shop for a few years now, after all—and the rest of the ride flies by.

As they pull into Sonic, they’re busy laughing about that time Arya was sitting inside a car at the shop and accidentally blew on the horn, not knowing that his coworker, Lem, was working on it. She surprised him so badly that he jumped up and nearly broke his nose on the hood.

When her laughter dies down, she notices only a handful of the drive-in spots are taken and a few people are sitting at the tables outside. He pulls into an open space near the middle.

“Do you know what you want,” he asks, looking over at her.

“Umm…a large watermelon slushie with Nerds and some fries.”

Face scrunched up and laughing, Gendry says, “A slushie with Nerds? That’s so gross Arry.” She sticks her tongue out as him as he leans forward out of his window to press the button to order.

A vaguely familiar voice crackles out of the speaker, asking to take their order. “Yeah, can I get a large watermelon slushie, with Nerds,” he pauses, looking over at her for dramatic effect, “a large order of fries, a bacon double cheeseburger, a corndog, a large Coke, and umm, some onion rings, and an order of chili cheese tots?”

He’s fumbling for his wallet in the back pocket of his jeans and listening to the voice rattle the order off back to him, not noticing the incredulous look she’s shooting him.

“What?” he questions, when he finally looks over.

“I’m sorry, is Hot Pie in the bed of the tuck and you just forgot to tell me?”

“I missed lunch,” he grumbles out. “And besides, I told you I got a big tip today. Might as well spend it on something, right?”

“Gendry, I can pay for my half, you don’t have to—”

“Arya,” he cuts her off, giving her a familiar look, one that says, ‘Don’t argue’. They usually alternate paying for food that they pick up and she knows for a fact that he paid for their McDonald’s the other day. But she knows how self-conscious he gets about money. As much as she doesn’t want him to have to spend his hard-earned tip on their food, she knows that talking about it anymore will only make him crabby. Besides, this is a date, right? Dates are allowed to want to pay for each other’s food.

“Fine, but I’ll get it next time.”

“Sure,” he says around a smile, knowing she doesn’t just mean the next time they hang out at the shop. “Next time.”

They grin at each other for a minute, the air around them silent but for the sound of the radio outside playing some song that she can vaguely identify as being sung by Bruce Springsteen and the occasional sound of roller skates on the asphalt. As goofy as she knows her smile is and as much as she would normally call this moment a cliché, she can’t find it in herself to care, what with the feeling of Gendry’s blue eyes on her and knowing that she’s the reason for his wide grin.

“So,” he begins, “how was school today?”

“Pretty good actually,” she starts, thinking on it. “I found out I got an A on my Braavosi test. Mr. Terys said that when I go to college, I should take a Pentoshi class for my foreign language credit since they’re pretty similar. And then, in drama, Ms. Sand announced that we’re going to be doing Antigone for our spring show, which I personally think is way too much for us to handle but she loves her tragedies.”

“Is she the one that was dating the chemistry teacher a few years back?”

“Mr. Martell, yeah. I think they’re off-again right now,” she muses, “she’s been having us perform lots of sad monologues in class.”

“So, are you going to audition?”

“Oh yeah. There aren’t a lot of speaking roles or female roles, but Ms. Sand always gives preference to seniors for leads, so I think I have a pretty good shot.”

He’s opening his mouth to say something when they both spot someone on a pair of roller skates in the rearview mirror headed their way. When they pull to a stop by Gendry’s rolled down window, greeting them with their order and the total, Arya realizes why she recognized the voice on the speaker.

“…and one large Coke,” she finishes off, taking payment from Gendry. It’s when she looks up to begin handing them their order that she notices Arya in the passenger seat. “Arya, hi!” she says, complete with a friendly smile.

“Hey Brea. I didn’t know you worked here.”

“Yeah, the waters are too cold right now for me to stay busy working with Dad, so I applied here for some extra cash.” Arya nods at this, vaguely remembering Brea’s dad being involved in deep sea fishing or something like that. “Who’s this?” she asks, giving Gendry an appreciative look.

“Gendry,” he grunts out, more focused on the food they have yet to be given than the sly glance she’s sending Arya.

“Oh, so you’re Gendry?” She lets out a giggle that gets his attention. Arya narrows her eyes at Brea, confused. She’s mentioned Gendry to Brea in passing, he’s her best friend, how could she not? But she hadn’t said anything that would warrant the giggle and the knowing look Brea now wears.

“Yeah,” he draws out suspiciously, looking between the two girls. “Think we can get our food now?”

“Of course!” She begins handing Gendry the outrageous amount of food—a bemused expression forming as she realizes that all of this seems to be for them—while he sets it down in some pseudo-picnic style on the stretch of seat in between them.

“See you around Arya,” she says after collecting the money, skating away with ease.

Gendry thrusts her slushie into her outstretched hand. Arya expects him to ask about Brea, but when she’s done poking her straw into her drink and looks at him, he’s already shoveling onion rings and a few of her fries into his mouth while one-handedly trying to pull his burger out of the slip of foil.

“You know,” she starts, “the meat’s already dead Gendry. I don’t think your burger is going to be running away anytime soon.”

He gives a dry laugh and sends a deadpan look her way, where she’s smirking around her straw. “Don’t know how you drink those things.” He nods toward her. “They sound toxic, pure sugar,” he says loftily, nose pointing in the air.

“Oh please, don’t act like you didn’t only stop ordering them because you always get a major brain freeze.”

He pouts at that for a minute before biting enthusiastically into his burger. After swallowing his bite and taking a large gulp of his Coke he says, “Do you know what night your play will open? I wanna make sure I let Tobho know in advance I’ll be needing to leave work early that day.” Gendry’s boss often has him stay later in the spring, when daylight is easier to come by. Opening night is bound to be on a Friday, and while Gendry always come to see her performances at some point during their run, she doesn’t want him missing out on work opportunities because of it.

“Oh no,” she says quickly, “you can just go on the weekend or something, I don’t want you missing work because of me. Besides, I might not even get a part.”

He chews thoughtfully on his corndog for a moment. “But if you don’t, you’ll still be doing tech, right?”

“Yeah, probably.”

“Then I’ll be there opening night. Wouldn’t miss it.”

“Okay,” she says, ducking her head to hide her small smile, under the pretense of trying to drink her slushie.

Their conversation moves onto other topics—Gendry’s coworker, Harmon, who’d just been fired; a new scone recipe that Hot Pie had been using them as taste-testing guinea pigs for; the new single from that terrible alt-rock band, The Brotherhood, that Gendry likes. Before she knows it, Arya’s reaching for her slushie again, only to be met with the sound of her straw sucking up air. Eyebrows furrowing, she looks at the stretch of seat between them only to see that Gendry’s managed to finish all of his food.

He has a hand rubbing the back of his neck and is looking at the clock on the dash that says they’ve been parked for at least an hour and a half. “Guess we’ve been here a little while, huh?” It’s really not all that late for a Friday night, but she knows her parents will be getting home from their night out soon and she’s not ready to have a conversation about her and Gendry with her mother just yet. Or her father.

“Yeah, I probably need to get back soon,” she reluctantly replies.

“Yeah of course.” He gathers up the wrappers and trash littering the seat (and really, it’s an awful lot) along with Arya’s empty slushie cup and hops out to toss it all in the trash can.

Buckling up, she starts thinking about how the night had gone. Things had definitely been flirty, but that had been happening more and more lately. Really it hadn’t been any different than any other time they’d hung out. But did that just mean that they were comfortable around each other or had this not actually ended up being a date? Going to Sonic wasn’t exactly out of the ordinary for them, so what if, by suggesting they go there, he thought that she didn’t think this was a date? By the time he’s made the short walk back to the truck, Arya’s head is swimming.

“Ready to go?”

“Yeah,” she chokes out, a strained smile on her face. He gives her a quizzical look and, sensing his confusion, she attempts to make it more genuine. It seems to work because his eyes only linger on her for a second longer before he starts to back out.

Luckily for her, Gendry’s chosen the drive home to vent about his mom’s newest boyfriend, which requires little response on her part.

“And he’s just so boring, you know? He’s always trying to talk to me about golf, as if I’ve ever golfed in my life. Oh, and don’t even getting me started on how often I’ve caught them making out on the couch—my couch! The one I slept on the whole time I lived there—”

Oh shit. All of a sudden it’s no longer Gendry’s diatribe she’s hearing, but her sister’s high pitched, fourteen year old voice as she reads, “And at the end of the date, a gentleman will walk a lady to her door and, should the date have gone well and she seem receptive, give her a chaste kiss on the lips.” While Arya is sure she said something snarky at the time about the magazine being shit, even she knows that people usually kiss at the end of dates. And while she’s certainly been thinking about kissing Gendry (a lot), thinking about it and actually being in a situation where she can, are two totally different things.

Wanting to steer clear of this train of thought, she decides to jump into Gendry’s rant before he gives himself an ulcer. “But she really likes him, right?”

He stops his sentence short. “Well, yeah, but she’s liked all of the other guys too, and you know how those all turned out.” While Arya wouldn’t categorize Ms. Waters as a serial dater, Gendry is right in saying that the past few men she’s dated haven’t had the winningest personalities.  

“Didn’t you say he had a steady job though? Something in an office with a salary?”

He hesitates. “Yeah. But he just seems…like he’s trying too hard.”

“Better to try too hard than to not try at all, right? Maybe you should give this one a chance. I’m not saying don’t be cautious, especially with how a lot of the last guys turned out. But she’s an adult and she’ll want you to trust her judgement. And it won’t do her any good if she thinks you already don’t like this guy right away.”

He lets out a heavy sigh. “I guess you’re right, I should at least try.” There’s a brief silence before he starts again. “And maybe,” he pauses, sending her a sly, sideways glance “you could teach me a little about golf?”

“Wait, what? I don’t know anything about golf.”

“Then Bran was lying when he said your mother sent you and him to some fancy golf summer camp when you were kids?” he asks.

Her face is heating up furiously. “How long have you known about that?”

He shrugs. “Awhile now. I’ve been waiting for the opportune time to bring it up.”

He’s laughing at the scowl on her face, managing to get her to crack a smile, when they pull into her driveway. When the truck is in park, they both sit in their seats, hesitating. She’s scrambling for something to say, but he saves her when he quickly jumps out and jogs around to her side of the truck, opening up the door.

Suddenly nervous again, all she can manage is a mumbled thanks as she trails alongside him to her front door. They stop on her stoop.

This is it. The moment of truth. Only he’s just standing there, staring at her, his face looking a bit washed out under the harsh porch light.

“Are you alright Gendry? You’re looking a bit queasy. Few too many onion rings?” She jokes. He lets out a small chuckle with her, tentative smile on his face.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just wanted to say umm,” he clears his throat, “I had a good time tonight. With you. I mean, I always have a good time with you. Hanging out. But a date is a bit more than hanging out, isn’t it? I mean, it felt like hanging out though. Which is good. That is good, isn’t it? God, I’m shit at this.” He rushes this all out, shaking his head when he’s finished, and Arya honestly doesn’t think she’s ever heard him this tongue-tied and nervous before. She’s trying not to let a laugh slip out, what with how distressed he looks, when it hits her that he finally called this a date again. And that’s all she needed.

If anyone were to ask her later, she would definitely deny that she ever had any doubts that this was a date. And how could she have? She and Gendry just worked, of course they would end up dating. She would, however, agree that she had broken the cardinal rule in Sansa’s teen magazines and initiated their first kiss. And it was anything but chaste.

Gendry’s hands have managed to wander to her hips, holding her flush against him, her left hand has found itself tangled in his hair while her right is pressed against his chest. As he slips his tongue in between her lips, brushing it against hers, all she can think of is how she was completely right that kissing Gendry and thinking about kissing Gendry are two totally different things—actually doing it is way better.

They break apart for air, both smiling breathlessly at each other, when they hear footsteps approaching the other side of the door. She takes a step back from Gendry while his hands drop from her waist immediately.

When the door opens, Rickon is standing in front of them, eyes narrowed in suspicion. After staring at them for a moment, “Did you guys get my slushie?”

“They were all out of uh, Red Bull,” Gendry lies.

He stares at them a moment longer, eyes shifting between them both as if ready to call them out on the lie, before his face relaxes.

“Alright. Well we ordered a lot of extra pizza incase you guys were both still hungry.” The idea of Gendry still being hungry almost makes her laugh. “You coming in Gendry?”

He glances over at Arya, as if silently communicating with her that he agrees that they’d be grilled by Sansa and have to deal with Bran sneaking little jokes about them into conversation, and says, “Thanks Rickon, but I ate a lot actually.” Then, turning towards Arya, looking significantly less apprehensive than before they kissed, “I’ll see you Monday?”

“Of course. I’ll text you.” She’ll have to remember to bring up the door opening thing.

He moves forward, as if to give her one last kiss goodbye, before realizing their audience. Playing it off with a quick squeeze to her arm, he gives her and Rickon a nod and a goodnight before walking back to his truck.

She watches him start his truck and pull out, feeling Rickon’s gaze on her neck. She sighs heavily, already knowing he’s figured it out, and turns around.

“So, you and Gendry huh?” He looks curious, less smug than she’d expected.  

“Yes,” she answers, no hesitation.

He nods thoughtfully for a second. “Tell you what. You get me my slushie next time you’re out, and I’ll tell Sansa and Mom that Gendry just dropped you off like usual if they ask. Deal?”

She cracks a smile. “Deal.”

[cocopineo]

Seraphina

Seraphina is the creative and sharp-witted daughter of Jinx and Casper Jerome Lee but is the adoptive daughter of Starfire and Nightwing. She used to be a resident of Jump City but moved to Townsville due to her parents wanting a change of pace with her haywire powers and other questionable matters. She is recruited in the Vanguard League Supernatural Department as the teams strategist planing their missions and and how to succeed.

Basic Info

Name: Seraphina Grayson

Age: 16 or 17

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Straight

Birthday: August 12 (Leo)

Race/Nationality: African American/Indian

Height: 5’8 (With Boots) 5’6 (Without)

Alignment: Vanguard League

Rank: Supernatural Department and Strategist

Background

*Trigger Warning: Abandonment*

Seraphina was born just for the purposes of being a killing machine and to help her father rise in power. After Casper had become corrupt with his science and being kicked out of the Hero Corporation he needed a way to get back and destroy hero’s. That’s where he thought of having a child but with someone with powers of course he was only human after all and lucky for him a woman had just came his way. Jinx had just had a major fallout with Flash and was in dire need of comfort. After he had kicked her out of his apartment and Casper had happened to find her sulking with all her stuff sitting on the curb. To his excitement he knew exactly who she was he was a hero fanboy after all and knew every detail there was to know. So after a couple of dates and drinks the two had hit it off well and were now expecting a little bundle of joy. Little did Jinx know that all the pampering that Casper constantly did was all experiments and that their child was not so safe. Once Seraphina was born Casper demanded that Jinx leave and he admitted to her his whole plan to create a new generation of hero’s far more superior to the one’s now. Jinx was enraged and tried to fight but her powers had been drained and she was taken out of their home but she was determined to get her daughter back. Four months had passed and Seraphina’s powers were already developing with every wire and needle attached and poked at her. Casper’s work was succeeding until he had a break in and found his child gone, Jinx had taken her and ran straight to Townsville. Still with the baby in her arms Jinx took one good look at her only seeing every mistake written she didn’t have the guts to care for her or end her life. Jinx walked around Townsville looking for a place or someone to take the child but she gave up a place Seraphina near an old dumpster in an alley. While on night patrol Nightwing had heard the wails of a baby and he searched for the source until he found the baby crying a storm until a fire hydrant exploded due to her. Taken back by the little one he scooped her up and took her to his home, there he showed his lovely wife Starfire the little girl and she quickly fell in love. However, Nightwing wanted to find her mother first, in a couple of weeks he was able to track down Jinx in Townsville they had a small conversation and Jinx pleaded to Nightwing to take care of her child if she were with her nothing would be safe. So Nightwing obliged and adopted Seraphina.

A couple of years had past and Seraphina was now a child but a child with haywire powers. These powers would just happen at random and sometimes they would even end school early (Cayenne didn’t mind) or authorities would have to close certain places due to her. To make matters worse she didn’t want exactly look normal from the gray patches of skin and pink eyes she was seen as a abomination to some kids she even earned the nickname “Cowphina” from her unattractive appearance. Yet Seraphina made up for that by being one of the smartest kids always acing each pop quiz or exam to getting A++ on her papers. As time went on she was trained by Starfire to contain her powers, it only helped a little but she also trains with Nightwing in combat. Outside of training she spent most of her time with Danielle working on different tech or solving a scientific theory and the occasional sleepovers. She is very talented in Scientific Technology for instance she has created power booster or stabilizers and she is skilled with Alchemy. She’ll use

Now a teen she was asked to be recruited for the Vanguard League by Kingsley to help improve her powers not to mention they could use another big brain. She was skeptical at first and wasn’t that confident in her untamed powers but took the offer as a way to show that she’s a lot more than an “unhinged” witch or something like that.

Personality

Seraphina has a hardworking and sharp-witted personality. She’s caring and will be willing to help anyone in need and go out of her way to help. Aside from being an ol teddy bear Seraphina is smart and is at the top of her class she gets the job done wether it be due in 3 months she’ll do it in a week. However she works herself to the bone which can drain her badly especially when she’s with the League she is too stubborn to let her team down and not to mention she is a perfectionist and can sometimes really damage herself. On top of that Seraphina is majorly insecure from her mother abandoning her to being called an abomination from old bullies. When in battle she’s alert and tactical calling out a position or warning for her teammate and elaborates on her opponents, surroundings and more. Also Seraphina has two left feet she could easily trip on thin air or cause something to explode by accidentally knocking down one of substances into a potion she was making. To top it all off the girl can be naive at times not really comprehending a dirty joke or pick up line until it’s 3 hours later she smart but too innocent.

Relationships

Family

Seraphina has a healthy relationship with her family (adoptive) they really do care for her and they’re open. They did tell her about her biological family which she is still bothered by but she’s thankful for them. She has more a stronger bond with her mother because she has dealt with some things Seraphina has went through, her father and her have a strong bond as well but slightly less since he does sometimes stress Seraphina just stay inside rather than go out and cause an accident with her powers. That’s a huge thing that bothers her she wants him to see her powers as normal not chaotic and of course she adores her little sister Mar’i aside from her sometimes zooming around the house leaving it in chaos and Seraphina having to speed threw the halls to catch her chaotic sister.

Danielle

Danielle is like a sister to Seraphina they knew each other since childhood since there parents still hung out. They solved and schemed together until they got in trouble of course that was the best part. Danielle did mention to Seraphina to join the league and put in a recommendation for her not to mention she really wanted her to meet Kaydence. If anything were to happen to either of them the other would b in great sorrow they just are grateful to have each other.

Vivian

You’d be surprised that these two are actually friends with their blatantly different personalities but they actually work well together. Vivian considers Seraphina one of her closests friends also Seraphina is the one to drag her out of a fight she knows she’ll get her butt kicked. Vivian really does care for Seraphina and wishes she was more confident in herself.

Dai Tai

Now Dai Tai is her ride or Dai (sorry had to) Dai Tai really brings out more confidence in Seraphina she pushes her to do more than just wallow. Also Dai Tai just loves Seraphina’s pureness and will body slam you if you hurt her and both are really open with each other. You can find them hanging out almost 24/7 outside of the League Dai Tai is basically the peanut butter to her jelly and work well together friend and League wise.

Xiang

Now this story runs deep on how these two actually became friends. Now Casper works with Pandabubba and Xiang has known of Seraphina for awhile but has never met her. Until he takes on a task from his father to track down hi friends kid, there he tracks Seraphina down and plans on simply getting to know her tell Casper of her whereabouts, but he starts to know her better and realizes her father is a legit threat to her. Even though Xiang works for the enemy he still has humility and does not expose Seraphina he honestly feels sorry for her and the bs she’s went through. Now when Xiang does come back to town with his father and works with the YBA, Seraphina is shocked to her core but she doesn’t really hold a grudge against him she likes to see the good in everyone. Not to mention she has a big fat crush on him he makes her easily flustered one tiny wink could send her causing cars to crash.

Xiang, Danielle and Kaydence belongs to @princesscallyie

Dai Tai belongs to @laylaylamode

Vivian belongs to ppgzmlpfimllover

Casper Jerome Lee belongs to me

Nightwing,Starfire and Mar’i Grayson belong to DC Comics

[foxesandfriendship]

This is Pichu-Growlithe Zuko. He’s from a A:TLA Pokémon au idea of mine. Basically it’s just the avatar with Pokémon. Same story just with Pokémon instead of animals. In this au Zuko either dies in the North Pole and the spirits or legendaries or both maybe turn him into a Pokémon because he’s still needed/it’s not his time. And he ends up with the gaang somehow. Which would be really funny because then you have this foot- foot and a half tall mouse-puppy tugging on Aang’s boots trying to drag him somewhere. Or Zuko just like sitting on Aang because “ahah, I’ve caught you now, Avatar”. The Gaang are just really confused and kind of endeared by this little Pokémon who does a really good impression of the fire nation’s pain of a prince. Speaking of, it’s been awhile since they’ve seen him. Maybe he finally gave up. Zuko doesn’t understand why the Avatar doesn’t seem to understand he’s been caught. Well, he’ll just have to hang out on the avatar’s shoulder to show him. Eventually the kid will figure it out and he can figure out how to take him home. He’s already been at it for three years what’s a little more time. Anyways so Zuko ends up starting to realize that everything he thought he knew might be wrong. While the waterbender could be an annoying mother hen, she was a hardworking bender. Her brother, while far more annoying was a decent strategist and he could sympathize with him having a far more talented younger sister. Course he could never understand the peasant’s death wish he had, provoking his sister the way he did. And then they meet Toph and she knows that there is definitely something weird going on with that Pokémon. And that is about all I have on that front.

Or, after he frees Appa (which in this au might be an arcanine altaria because of how big and fluffy arcanines are and altaria is a cloud bird so*shrug*) when he’s having his ‘everything I ever knew may be wrong’ fever the spirits/legendaries turn him into a Pokémon to help him with his sudden morality crisis/life crisis. In this au everything still happens just without Zuko,(mind you it’s been quite awhile since I’ve watched the show, so bear with me plz) well Zuko was there with iroh, but no one besides iroh know it’s him. So instead of Azula playing to Zuko’s desires/weaknesses she talks crap about him and iroh and talks about how her father will be pleased to hear that he’s finally gone. Zuko realizes that no matter what he does he’ll never be what they want, so when Azula shoots lightning at Aang, Zuko doesn’t even hesitate and leaps in front. While pichu-growlithes can take lightning they can’t store it well, so he ends up discharging the lightning and ends up shocking himself and passing out. He wakes up a little later on the fire nation ship. And then everyone kind of learns who he is and it goes from there. That’s as far as I really have with that one, sorry.

Honestly, I think, now that I’ve got this all written out, I like the first one better.

Now onto what a Pichu-Growlithe is: So, as I said earlier, like pichu’s they suck at storing electricity. So when surprised or amused or subjected to shock, they might discharge, but they can’t do that without hurting themselves. They are dual fire electric types. They are loyal and friendly as long as they are treated right, like anyone really. They are quadruped, but are able to scurry up/climb like pichu. They evolve into Pikachu-growlithe with high-friendship. And from there into Raichu-Arcanine with a Firethunder stone.

If I were to go with the North Pole Au, Zuko would evolve into a Pikachu-Growlithe after they face Azula.

So, this was very long and maybe I’ll add onto it later, but now I’m done. 😸

[jess-the-vampire]

Sky And The Forces Of The Multiverse, Chapter 24

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He was still, practically holding his breath. The real question was, were they here because of him, or did they have no idea he was here at all? He wanted to go out and tackle them, figure out who they are, but one wrong mood and no doubt they would have the upper hand, he barely even knew what he was up against after all and he prayed his arm did nothing during this whole ordeal. "Her" must've come through a portal or something, they definitely didn't fly in and walking in never would've worked. Though what mattered was why they were in Nora's room of all places, if they were after more artifacts, nora's room was sure not the place to look. And yet, they were here. If they were in the wrong room they could easily leave but it was clear this had been the place they were always intending to to break inside. He stared intently at them, his nose twitching under the dusty bed as he forced himself not to make a sound or even move at all.

At one point he almost sneezed, lousy cobwebs, but the being didn't seem to be paying attention, focused on whatever task they were trying to accomplish as they moved towards nora's closet, then bookshelf, and wandered around the room. Judas could only see their feet mostly but there was no doubt this person was trying hard to conceal their identity, whoever they were, they didn't even speak, not even one grunt in frustration at their efforts going nowhere. Then Judas slapped his hand over his face just to avoid another possible sneeze. However, a slap was not exactly much quieter. They turned towards the bed and he almost swallowed his tongue being quiet, fearing for his life, what were they even doing up there? God he hoped the high commission would hurry up and catch them right now but who knows how long it might be, sometimes they were right on the mark, other times they were lazy. What if she found him and by the time they got here, it'd be too late? Oh god, his parents would freak, sky would freak, nora would blame herself. However, to his surprise, the person stopped at the foot of the bed, and he heard them do something from above. He didn't have enough time to really think about it though as he heard some noises, people running up the stairs and the masked being left as quickly as they entered so they didn't get discovered. Judas felt a sigh of relief knowing they didn't find him, but now they were gone to who knows where and he still knew very little about them. Judas still didn't move, he refused to as the noises got louder. If he got caught, he would be in SERIOUS trouble. And that didn't even mean just being accused of breaking in or being accused of being the masked thief, it would just not look good in general to either king or queen spiderbite if they found a boy under their daughter's bed in the evening. It was soon confirmed it was the guards who had been running up the stairs in a panic, as they burst through the door, no doubt doing a whole search of the castle, he could hear them talking, something about the royal family being in their safe zone and to alert both the lucitors and butterfly's that there had been another sighting. They were looking around the room, checking the closet and for a moment judas thought they would check under the bed, but lucked out as another guard ran inside to tell the others she had been spotted again. Judas watched the room clear out, the guards running around to another part of the castle and leaving judas alone to catch his breath and think about everything that happened. Judas finally got the chance to crawl out of the bed, brushing off cobwebs and looking around the room, nothing had been touched it seemed so...why was the masked being even here at all? There was no way they didn't come here for a reason right? He turned around and faced towards the bed, and that's when he stepped backwards, just realizing what had happened.He could hear more noises outside of nora's room. He needed to go, now, before he got caught. And with a snap of his fingers, he was gone, right into Sky's messy room. He didn't even consider she might be there, he just needed to get out of there and back to her as soon as possible, and lucky for him, sky was just closing the window behind her as he magicked his way in, jumping and panting as judas gave her a heart attack. But she calmed down quickly, noticing judas looked as freaked out as she did, and if judas looked this freaked out after doing something as normal as seeing nora, that only meant bad things could be happening. "Judas.....are you ok?". "I-I could be WAY better....uh...you?". "Judas...uh.....we found something......katrina and I.". "Well, something found me!". "Wha-". "And they took Nora's BOOK!". Sky froze, lips parted and processing the information judas just gave her, nora needed that book to work on her cures for judas, and now it was gone? She blinked at him and pulled at her hair, "Was it.....is it who we think it probably was?". He nodded, still panicked, "She didn't see me, I promise.....but....I had to get out of there as soon as possible and....any minute now your mom is about to be informed, all nora's hard work sky, all of it, and they just took it!". "Well guess what WE found? Loki.....loki's been controlled, that's why he never confronted angel or kept acting funny, he's being used for some reason!", Now it was judas's turn to look surprised and a little panicked. "Wait, you found loki.....where?", he put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes, "You must've found katrina.....so.....where was loki?". Sky sighed, eyeing towards the door, expecting her mom to burst in any second to alert her. "He was in the woods, wearing dark clothing, his eyes were glowing all freaky like, apparently he's been doing it for awhile now and scaring people out of the woods, I went after him and then.....he stopped, he just looked at me and gave up and I don't know why....and loki has no idea he was even under control....", gears were running in the boy's head, "Mind control.......but......oh geez.....that's......that's concerning....so many...so many people we know....". "Could have been under mind control or could be in the future? Yeah....that kinda freaks me out as well.....you should've seen him judas, his eyes were glowing and he was barely emoting, it was so....unnatural.... and he could've stabbed me with his horn if he hadn't stopped.". Judas pulled his friend into a hug, fast, "Well lucky me you didn't get stabbed with a horn, thank god you're ok.....I was so worried when I saw her enter, I just knew it meant nothing but trouble...". Shy hugged him in return, head pushing into his chest, "You're so freaking tall......". He let out a weak laugh but the scares they both had seemed to ease a little bit, though it didn't last much longer when sky let got from him and pulled at her hair once again in panic, "I can't believe they robbed ANOTHER kingdom? What would they even want with nora's medical book? Actually, nevermind, here's a less stupid question, why did they even know that book was valuable?". "I'm not sure....nora is kinda a private person...". "Maybe they were planning to steal a different book and got this one instead?", they looked between each other when the door slammed open, Queen Janna was at the door. She was unfazed by judas being here and for once she looked anxious, "Sky, jude, you both better come with me.....the spiderbites have been well.....well actually they had a sighting and we better not split up, your parents are gonna FREAK, c'mon.....we're calling a family meeting..". They were dragged out by their arms not even a second later. "What about-". "Star's calling your parents already...they'll be here soon with everyone else...". "Everyone else?" And the door was shut behind them as they were carried off into a heavily guarded room. Judas looked into the faces of luna and galexia, one more happy to see him then the other, no doubt his parents would be on their way as star barged in with some mewni associates and on the phone with.....her mother? She must have already called him parents and seemed Moon got wind of the situation enough to talk about it with Star, even thought she was retired in another dimension. Geez. Though something about being locked in a room with the same people because of an attack was sounding familiar. All that was missing was basically the rest of his family, well, except relicor, relicor would be fine on his own. Deja Vu However, it was changing more as more as guards piled into the small living room, jackie included, making Luna tense and peak Judas's curiosity as finally got to see her for himself after so long. But the woman had no time for formalities, already heavily armed and with scissors at her disposal, forcing star to get off her compact to talk to her briefly, much to the boy's disappointment he couldn't hear what they were talking about under their breath as jackie and a few of her toughest guards went through a portal judas could only assume was to the spiderbite kingdom. Sky poked him, getting his attention as he noticed his parents had just arrived, along with his brothers, celeste and sunny. However, it became clear they were not the only ones Star had called, as much to his surprise other royals came in one by one, King Rich Pidegon, Queen Ponyhead, and so on and so forth, representatives of every kingdom making their way in, and that's when King Arachford made his way in. Considering there was only one from each kingdom it seemed the others were under guard at home, it was quite unnerving, Sky rarely ever saw all the kingdoms represented together in one place outside of parties. This had to be a big deal. Star finished talking to her mother, looking towards all the kids in the room and pulling them aside in the corner, "We need to have a talk and i'm afraid you'll have to sit this one out, the room right through that door over there is also being guarded heavily, I want all of you to stay there while all of us talk....ok? We're waiting to hear word on the safety of the spiderbites and we'll tell you the details after we all speak to each other.". Sky grumbled, "Seriously? What about me and judas? Why aren't we allowed to hear?". "You just aren't sky, c'mon just...join the others....", she was giving her a rather fake looking smile and sky never felt more treated like a child as star seemingly apologized for her daughter's behavior to the other guests with her eyes, judas pulling sky away and into the other room as star happily closed the door behind them to talk with the royals who showed up. Sky looked more then unhappy to have been forced out of what was clearly an important conversation she wanted to hear. "It'd be pointless to protest, you know she'd force us in here anyway...", Judas seemed mad, but, more accepting of this then sky was. "But-". "We'll listen in just fine..", Luna crossed her arms, glancing to Celeste and landon and making them divert their eyes from her rather strangely. However, Mason raised his hand as if in school, he was still so innocent, so unaware. "Wait, but that's rude! You can't spy on them!",  luna glared at mason, and judas intervened, "Mason, we just want to know what they're talking about, I promise, it's for no other reason then that, we're all just scared and we want more information right now.". "Judas..". He tuned to see Landon, who wasn't really looking at him in the face, "Landon?". Landon looked more then embarrassed to be caving in, especially since he was mostly doing this because of his mom but here he was anyway, he could feel celeste glaring at him. He wasn't planning on just talking to judas about his dumb inferiority complex or anything, just to make things up with his brother and get things back to normal between them. At least so he didn't have to spend so much effort trying to ignore him, and his brother didn't have to keep giving him that puppy look he gave when he felt guilty. "You ok?", yeah, that was a dumb way to try and make things up with his older brother but judas only gaped at him for a few seconds before his lips parted in a smile, his brother finally talking to him after what felt like forever. "Yeah, of course, are you ok? Does the bow work well? I had it custom made....", landon grumbled, of course judas had the thing custom made, why wouldn't he? "Yeah, it works fine or whatever....", things still didn't seem entirely alright between them, but most of the tension had dropped and judas held up a second before hugging his brother. "You talked to mom....didn't you?". "What gave it away?" Judas let go of his brother, "If anyone were to convince you of anything, it would be mom.....they did help us through most of our other fights....". It was pretty hard to argue against that, landon sighing, "I'm still mad....ok?". Judas didn't fight him on that, nodding, "Honestly, i'd be more surprised if you weren't the least bit mad with me anymore, but I.....I can't be upset about it....I think...I think i'd be upset too, If i were in your shoes...considering sometimes I feel like...our parents were never perfect...". "Isn't this the part where you give me a speech on how nobody can be perfect?", he was making fun and still sounded grumpy but judas was still smiling, "Yeah, but you've heard that time and time again, I think you know it by heart...". The pink demon mumbled, "Let's just skip to the end, giving mason the seeds was wrong, but you were kinda also at fault, i was kinda stupid to yell at you since not everything is your fault but yada yada...can we have dinner go back to normal?". "If by normal you mean, our parents flirting and our grandparents arguing with them about what is best for me? Sure, normal....", they exchanged small chuckles, this conflict was not over, but....at least they were talking again. Landon mumbled under his breath, eyes unfocused, "Hey....uh....mom was wondering about letting bernard...come over? for dinner? And hanging out? And I uh....well i'd prefer if we didn't fight and he felt welcomed to the family...". "Oh, you want us to work things out so bernard would feel more comfortable huh?", he was giving him a smirk landon didn't like as he coughed into his hand, "Quiet.....look, i don't....normally bring people over so...i don't want my family to freak him out or anything...like i know so far he thinks it's cool but, look you've seen our family. So i just want us to....not embarrass me or make him feel uncomfortable...ok?". The older boy understood, nodding, "Hey it's fine, as long as our grandparents don't go overboard, i think he'll have fun...if he can't respect your culture and your lifestyle, then i'm sure there will be plenty of other guys who will understand how special you are...", he wanted to huff at judas calling him "Special", but he didn't. His brother looked over to Luna, who was already at the door alongside sky and then to sunny, who was actually talking to celeste of all people. Then his eyes wandered to mason as he took landon's arm, "Hey, how about....me and mason help you out? You always carry your violin....you mind if, we see or hear any of your songs? You don't have to but....luna is taking care of things fine and.....I think tonight i don't mind some time with my little brothers....". Landon seemed surprised, but also embarrassed as his family rarely asked about listening to his music and he rarely liked sharing it. He shifted his feet in front of him before making a small nod. "You don't have to though...you kinda make it sound like you're doing it cause you feel bad". "Yeah, maybe a little, but...I think right now with everything happening, I want to see what you've been working on and do something less stressful and fun. C'mon, tonight, let's just talk about you for a bit...I think mason would appreciate having us all talk together again.". His mind was still worried and he was hoping and praying nora was ok, but until further word, he needed to get his head back together and take a break. Though he instinctively could feel him touching his compact, wanting to call nora but knowing full well that wasn't possible. Landon thought for a moment, and actually accepted, bumping judas as his brother followed him from behind, "Just....don't laugh...ok?". Judas nodded and they moved ahead to see mason, who jumped up to hug both of them, judas patting his soft head and sighing, "I'm glad you're both ok....". They took a seat against the wall as time moved on and the three troubled brothers chilled together, something they hadn't felt they'd done in a very long time. Meanwhile Celeste was already at work, at least, in trying to talk to Sunny as best as possible. Sunny telling her anything wasn't the problem, rather, it was Celeste herself asking her.  She wasn't exactly approachable or welcoming back home, she only seemed to have one friend in general overall and even then she was sure she didn't make them with her "Winning personality". Writing down stuff to say as practice was kinda helpful but she always felt her resting face was....particularly threatening and would get her nowhere  in this matter. Sunny herself was watching Lexi draw, because of course she was, it always figured the two brightest people in the room would be the ones who got along more. Galexia was drawing three people this time, not that it was important to Celeste, they didn't look familiar though Sunny seemed to think otherwise. Smiling and whispering to the older girl as Celeste managed an awkward cough, at least it would count as some way of getting sunny to look at her so they could properly converse. Sunny blinked at Celeste and she felt embarrassed all of a sudden, trying to find anything to say in order to keep sunny's attention. "Uh...who are those people galexia's drawing?". Well, that was something. 7 more words then she'd normally get out of her system. Sunny however, smiled at her question, as if more then happy to talk about galexia's weird doodles, "Oh? She's just drawing all her friends back home....see that one with the hair in their face? That's alex, and these are their new siblings, Nichole and Lukas....lexi says their fun!". Celeste glanced over them, taking some notes and snorting, "New siblings? what is going on back home for you?". Galexia ignored her though, doodling more, so Sunny explained, "Alex's dad is marrying their parents, it's cute! Lexi misses them though......you miss your friends and family back home?". "Uh...yeah....sure...", she answered perhaps a little too rudely. Wow she was bad at this. "What are they like? I hope everyone's still nice back home? I don't know how much has changed in your world...", She was being rather sweet and Celeste had the feeling if she chose to say nothing Sunny would respectfully accept that. She shrugged though, despite that not really being a helpful answer, and sunny didn't ask further. "Well, i miss my friends at home too, i bet yours and your parents miss you so much too, maybe they'll throw you a nice party when you get back.". When she got back, Sunny seemed sure they would someday. "No, I really doubt that...", she said in the most dismal and dismissive voice she could, which caught sunny off guard, "Of course they would! You're their daughter, as soon as you get home they're gonna give you the BIGGEST hug in the multiverse and they'll never want to let you go. When I sometimes got lost in the castle when i was little that's what my own parents did, I know I would miss you if you suddenly dissapeared like that for so long...". "You? Miss me?", sunny nodded, "Of course i'd miss you, you're my sister, and luna, and sky, and lexi. You're all not like....my SISTER sister, but you're still like my family, i wouldn't want anything to happen to you like my little brother.". Celeste was about to retort but she had a feeling sunny actually meant what she was saying, "Well, life back in your home, it's not the same in my home....ok? It's not that simple that "Oh our mom ended up with someone else", other things...happen.". "Yeah of course they do....but...i'm sure they miss you Celeste, don't be so hard on yourself....", she was trying to give the older girl the brightest smile she'd seen but Celeste cut her off, she needed to get back on track, "Anyways...what's up with your powers? With the whole....crazy mewberty thing?". It was probably not the best time to bring this up out of the blue, and judging by sunny's look she seemed utterly confused why celeste would even bring it up right now at all. It wasn't relevant and well...a little pushy. And Celeste caught on fast, trying to recover. "Sorry they didn't uh....talk about it with me, judas and sky.....I mean i was sorta in the middle of that mess and I have questions...", that seemed to make Sunny feel more comfortable, shrugging, "I don't know actually....never have, I've always been that way. It used to be bad...y'know, sometimes when you're young you can't help your magic and it was like that for me....but i've gotten better and everyone says i'm just gifted back home...I guess this is one of those moments...". "You really don't know?". Darn "Nope, sometimes we don't know why we're the way we are but....we deal with it..., i'll....figure it out...eventually. ", she sighed to herself and crossed her legs together, huffing. "In the meantime, i'll make sure never to scare you like that again....hopefully, i seem to have kinda attacked a lot of people since i first got here...". She looked over to Celeste's disguised "Wand", her eyes lingering on it before looking up, "Hey, that....healing spell you did, for judas....could you....tell me how you did it?". "You want to know....about my spells?". "Yeah, you seem really good with healing spells and well...storm spells, like when you zapped that guy?! You made those spells yourself right? Is it cool if we exchange spells? I could tell you about some of mine and you could tell me yours?", she was being rather friendly still to someone so bitter and celeste was considering telling her more, but she felt the chains that usually strangled her tighten and she didn't answer, remaining silent to sunny. "it's ok...maybe later?", she was way too nice compared to someone like luna, the heck. "Fine..". They remained quiet as Sunny diverted her attention more to Galexia and her art, Celeste glancing over time and time again, so much for helping luna or gathering info, though then again, maybe she was happy sunny  was most likely no criminal and luna had nothing on her. She sat in silence, lost in her own thoughts, the last place she'd like to be in most cases but with landon talking to his brothers and luna being the last person she wanted to speak to, she found herself in silence. Until she felt a tap on her shoulder, turning around to see sunny offer her a crayon and paper. "Would you like to draw with us?". Her eyes lingered on the crayons, and back to the smiling demon girl who was handing them over, she was being rather stingy but she eventually reluctantly grabbed both items. Sunny laughed and Celeste actually felt her lips form a small smile as the three started drawing together. She doubted her stuff was any good compared to what the others were doing, but it seemed the other didn't really care overall, the three talking among themselves. Meanwhile Luna was listening very...closely, Sky alongside her much to her dislike. It was actually fairly clear Star was smart enough to use magic to soundproof the doors, but if anyone knew how to counter it, it of course had to be luna, who was taking notes on everything she could hear as sky failed to hear anything behind the door. Luna shushing her so she could hear more properly, focused on finding out anything she could about the other kingdoms. With mason distracted, it was easier to sneak magic around him without him noticing. Why Sky was even bothering while luna was doing everything by herself she didn't really know, she was honestly wasting her time. But she also didn't want to feel "Useless" either considering her mom didn't consider her important enough to know what they were planning for mewni. She thought for a moment then remembered bernard, oh yeah, they did something like this before didn't they? If only her compact was as thin as those earth phones he was using. Dammit Still, there had to be something she could do. She pulled out her wand, and on instinct luna glanced up at it, and away from what she was doing, though whatever was on her mind she shook off to remain focused. "If you plan to blast open that door so help me sky butterfly, this is important...". Sky gave her a look , "Not that......I was thinking making something like....the all-seeing eye?". Luna looked at her gravely. "They might notice that one, this is more subtle, you're not screwing up this one sky...". "It would work..". "And it would be stupid...". "I think I could do it....". "Don't bother..." "I should be able to help-". Luna placed her hand forcibly on sky's pushing the wand away, "Don't help, don't get me wrong sky, i don't think you're....useless, but the last thing we need right now is to get caught. Let me do my job, this is the work i was trained to do...this isn't time for your creative thinking, now is time to shut up and focus. Don't forget, if you get caught doing anything suspicious you might lose that wand and be under high suspect, so do me a favor and stay quiet...". "C'mon, i can do it, you heard what she said about me-". "If you want to be useful, be useful in ways that don't risk jeopardizing others, play to your strengths and help that way. This is my turf right now and i'm not having you risk blowing our cover over your mommy issues, if you want to be helpful, i suggest thinking about our next step in tracking this guy down..."., she glared at sky one more time before getting back to work. Geez, she had issues. She marched off, but this wasn't going to stop her. If only she had angel here, he had a pretty good sense of hearing, didn't he? Great, now she was wishing angel was here to help in some fashion, but as she looked around the room, he wasn't the only monster she could ask for help. She signaled to Sunny, who finally got her attention and blinked at her, before apologizing to her sisters and walking over to Sky, she was hiding behind a sofa, trying to stay quiet so luna wasn't listening. "Sky? Is everything ok?". "I can't hear what's happening behind the door, that's what! I need a clever way of doing so and not being caught! Apparently the seeing eye is too much, i need advice and well, i know you're really great with all kinda of spells.". Sunny blinked at her, "Sky, you don't have to....i mean luna's taking care of it...". She was trying to clam sky down and stop her from doing anything irrational but Sky was clearly mad, mad and looking to get involved one way or another. "So? I want to help....i should do something...". "Is this about what mom said to you? Just now? Sky it's ok, you don't have to force yourself to help....", the blunette scoffed and puffed up her cheeks, looking away. "I'm not "Forcing myself", i'm just...I want to hear what's happening....maybe i could freeze time....yeah, like last time, oh but...then i can't really hear them talk can i?". Sunny pouted,"Sky, remember when judas talked to you about.....what galexia can do? You might take things too far and get us all in trouble.....". "But i can do this, i can-". "No one's saying you can't, they're saying it's not a good time...", sky grumbled, "Look, you wouldn't get it, back home your parents love you, you can do all kinda of things and your family doesn't see you as some sort of disappointment, she thinks i'm not important enough to know, or understand, like she's way better then me.....when she isn't..". Sunny reached out to Sky, patting her shoulder, "They didn't let judas in, isn't he next in line?". "Yeah...". "If they won't let him in, then i think it's just an adult matter, not because of you...". There was silence between them and Sky huffed, pulling at her hat, "She's just so......ugh, i just need to know what's happening.....". Sunny was trying to comfort her, even as she tried to think of multiple outcomes in her head, calling melaine? A spell? She could try using her scissors? But her ideas died fast, her huddling up into a ball. "Look i'm just....I know i should be doing more, but i keep pushing myself back and everything feels like it's against me right now." "Sky, it's not like anyone else here is doing better then you, look at everyone here! We're all trying our best to figure out what's happening but...we're all still kids, we're still trying to figure stuff out and we all do stupid things sometimes...w-we can't just go to a place and figure out the solution.  We have magical powers but that doesn't mean we can do everything easily, you're not doing any worse then the rest of us." Sky was about to argue again when sunny shushed her. Since when was a 14 year old girl more mature then she was? "I think it's great you want to feel more involved, and do more, and prove yourself....but you know...you can't do everything on your own, we're here to help for a reason, you don't need to do everything yourself. Some things your good at, some things i'm good at, and some things judas is good at, like that....besides, there's no harm in not being able to do something. Maybe you need some time away from your mom, so you can stop worrying what she thinks of you anyway..". "She's the queen, and i'm the next queen, it's like......if she thinks i'm not good enough, what is mewni gonna think about me? They already compare me to her and every other queen as being incompetent, i only just now started getting better with spellcasting and even then my wand is still wonky......it's like, am i even getting better? Or am i gonna end up like dirhhennia? Should i go do something so i can get better? I just don't want to feel....useless...". "You're not useless, you're just better suited to handled different things then the rest of us, sky was thinking it over and as she did so she could hear luna finish scrawling, looking over to the rest of the group trapped in the room and sighing. "It seems this attack has frightened every kingdom worse then before, Queen Butterfly, she plans to magically enchant every kingdom, security will be even tighter and the hunt for the masked freak is gone up with the price...we might have the assassins league after them at this rate...". "They put a bounty on them?", judas stood up, "How much? How bad is it?". "It's more then enough.....they're desperate...someone like this could kill them in their sleep if they wanted to, they don't know what to do....no one seems to be able to find them....", she flipped through her notes, "No word from the spiderbites but it's presumed their safe still, whatever she was there for....it wasn't for any of them.". Judas felt a lump in his throat, knowing what she came for but not being able to say it without having to explain why he knew in the first place. Why did they want it so badly, nora's specifically? "D-Do they know why they were there?". "Not yet, but considering their track record....they came to steal something...". "But they never stole anything from butterfly castle", Sky chipped in, "There was nothing reported and they left as soon as they were spotted by us, so what about that?". There was silence among the group, all thinking and all keeping a close eye on mason. She had a point, either they were to assume a few things about that, either Her didn't find what she had been looking for and gave up, she did find it and Queen Butterfly and every other royal and superior never mentioned it, or she was here for something else. Then a thought came to Sky in that moment. "Judas.....angel was there, that day, wasn't he?". For a moment judas was wondering why sky was asking about angel, then it clicked and he nodded, "Yeah, yeah he was.....and he said he had no idea why he was there too, and i didn't entirely believe him at the time because it didn't make sense but...". Their eyes met and they knew exactly what the other was thinking of, there had been nothing on angel of course, so he clearly hadn't been used to take anything, but he had to have been there for a reason. As if they didn't need more reason to talk to him. Just then the door opened, Marco stepping out and clapping their hands together at the group of worried and wary teens, "Alright, meeting's finally over, we're sorry but this has become a stressful time for all of us, we're worried we'll have to cancel judas's coronation at this rate. Star's......star's going to take some drastic measures in order to solve this problem....she's even calling her mom for assistance and......god if she has to call her mom that's never good news...". "What's going to happen? To us?", judas's first question of the matter, of course he was worried what would happen to everyone, when the kingdoms were on high alert it had a toll on everyone, including them. At best they were just restricted, at worst they never allowed to do anything or see anyone. He was met with a sigh from his mother, who leaned against the door, "Well, we're not staying in the safe room this time, thankfully, but there's no telling what'll happen....". Before he could ask further Marco persisted, "The last thing we'd ever want to do is prevent you from living the happy and carefree lives we know you deserve, but we also want you safe and if we put you in danger we'd never forgive ourselves...we're at a loss judas....we aren't a fan of going either direction. Everyone on mewni is out looking for this guy and yet they keep slipping under our radar, they're like nothing we've ever seen! And we've caught some crazy characters....". "If they're outsmarting us this easily....they have to know our systems, what we would do......", judas mumbled, "Maybe instead of coming to them, we need to get them to come to us. Set a trap? We're getting nowhere just trying to find them, they know how to keep out of sight, so......maybe we need to force them out of hiding?". Marco blinked at him, with keen interest to his idea, "Judas, we have considered it , but we don't even know what exactly they want, they don't seem to want money and they have yet to attack any of us...". "Then maybe we need to figure out what they want, maybe we've been thinking about this all wrong, instead of trying to figure out who they are, maybe we just need to figure out what they're after...". Judas was treading on thin ice to almost telling his mom that they were after the masked guy, but luckily Marco seemed more focused on his idea then what it meant. "Well, until we actually know what they're after, that plan will have to be set aside.....everyone's going home, we're waiting on updates from the spiderbites, and we'll all be eating dinner in our rooms tonight. If any of you boys wish to sleep with me and your father, feel free to let us know...". Mason raised his hand, "I want to....". Marco smiled. - It was a very sleepless night. No one could rest, no one wanted to leave their rooms in fear of what could happen, sky didn't even mind as she sat in her bed, texting judas. They did this a lot over the years, ever since they got compacts they would text each other at night before going to bed till that habit died out, there was something nice about doing it again and talking so they could vent out their frustrations and worries. Though their paranoia was obvious, even sky had a nightlight on in the corner of her room so she could see better. the thought of the masked creep standing in the corner in the dark gave her chills. something was clear though, they needed to talk to Angel more then ever, there was something off and they needed to question him. Though now things were more complicated and how they would even go about asking the boy was a mystery itself. After how bad things were getting, would his parents even allow angel to take lessons with her anymore? Would Star even allow him to come to the castle anymore? It wasn't entirely like her to deny the wish of a sick spider queen but it was a good excuse to keep the troubled boy off the premises. Judas: You know, when angel first took classes with you, you told me you were worried he was up to something. Having him be under control? That doesn't entirely help. Sky: Look, i told him despite how better he was it didn't mean he was changed, it didn't mean he was forgiven from his mistakes...it didn't mean i believed he wasn't up to anything. But it's weirder if you think of him being mindcontrolled Judas: She could know everything Sky, angel or loki or anyone could tell her anything! Sky: Well, they don't know squat about nora's book! Or heck, your defense system, they don't exactly go inside our castles all that much. Judas: Touche Sky: It feels weird to feel THIS bad for angel y'know? Judas: You know me, i always felt bad for him, even if he goes overboard he makes some good points....and it's hard to fight against how he feels about solaria, and the mistreatment of monsters. He thinks he's doing the right thing and it's hard to argue that....when it's his species who were the victims.. Sky: Yeah i know, i know, it just.....his life kinda sucks tbh, it's like both our parents are embarrassed by us all the time, i mean he's kinda dumb in his methods and everything but it still sucks She could feel Judas smiling on the other side of the screen from that last text. Judas: Sky, you got upset whenever you hurt him too badly during fights, you even sent him home and wanted him to be safe...you care about him more then you like to mention. Sky: Don't mock me, i'm not a jerk, i don't want him to be hurt. Judas: Anyways we'll talk to him, i promise Well that was obvious enough, if they didn't talk to him any investigation they had going on would come to another screeching halt. She had to admire the boy's determination, even when he was frustrated and upset and out of mind he was always still determined to do what he wanted to do. She could tell however, despite his confidence he was still nervous, the encounter he had in nora's room seemed to have spooked him quite a bit. Reminded her of when he was younger and got scared a lot, if things were a little different she'd probably hug him. It was scary enough seeing Her the first time. It would be way scarier alone, in the dark, trying your best not to even so much as breathe in Her's presence. Nora had to be freaking out herself, she was going to be devastated when she found out about her book being stolen like that, especially since it was years of notes and research and was important to helping judas's condition. She spent so long not being able to do much but work on her research and treatments and it was gone with the wind, not to mention there was NO way Judas would be able to meet up with her after this whole incident had gone down. The spiderbites were paranoid about her safety as it, imagine how they'd be after their castle and daughter's room had been broken into. Sky: Hey? Judas: Yes? Sky: Luna, we still haven't talked to her about the Eclipsa stuff...or even the nora stuff, you think we should tell her? It was a few minutes before he answered. Judas: I really don't know what would happen if we did Sky: She's not being entirely honest with us either, is she? Judas: No, I don't think she is either....I mean, i'm sure some things are truthful but....I think she has some stuff she doesn't want to tell us about. I saw how she reacted to her mother, maybe we need to keep a close eye on our allies as much as our enemies Sky: Eclipsa wanted us to "Give her a break", you think that means anything? Judas: Knowing her, yes, but i'm not sure how to go about it Sky: I dunno, invite her out? Do something cool? I mean, i dunno what Eclipsa is trying to get us to do but... Judas: Uh, like a date? Sky: Dude, not like a date....just like....i dunno, maybe eclipsa thinks if we get her to stop thinking like a general, we might get a better understanding of her? No offense dude, but somehow i can't imagine her going on dates with anyone, you'd have to be crazy to even try. Judas: I was joking but... you have a point, about getting a better understanding of her. You know, she never has any....fun, the sleepover? She told me she never did stuff like it, she just studied and focused on being queen. Sky snorted, yeah that sounded like Luna, refusing to do much else besides focus on missions or work or being the best. Though it did sound like a boring childhood, even when sky got hurt or got into stupid or bad situations, there was a level or thrill to it, even if she wasn't looking to get into trouble. Spending time with the Lucitor Princes, dealing with her mom's dumb pranks, and just playing video games and making her hats was just something that felt...nice. Gave her sometime to not think about the pressures of being royalty, of being compared. Apparently Luna didn't have any of that, her mind was on her work, like a robot. She spent so much time focusing on being the best queen and knowing all the ins and outs she became still and dull and mean. Did she even have hobbies? Sky bit at her lips, what was Eclipsa even trying to get them to do? Like why would luna, of anyone, even want to "Take a break", the only breaks she took was lunch breaks and even those she spent trying to do research and checking the paper for any signs of Her. She was not going to just "Hang out", she needed a reason to spend time with the two of them, something that was worth her actual time. Sky sighed and considered it, was it even worth it? Especially since they didn't know why Eclipsa suggested it to them? The gears turned in her head turned and she knew judas was waiting for a response still, she was going to have to respond to him so they could figure things out and head to bed so they could meet up tomorrow. Grumbling, she sent her response. Sky: Tell her to meet in exchange for information we have..... Judas: Which information? Sky: The book or loki, take your pick, if she'll meet with us out for anything, you know it'll be for useful info. Judas: What exactly does Eclipsa think this will even do? Are we even sure we can...trust her on this? Sky: We don't have anything better right now and maybe we can pry something out of her? Judas: Wait, what are you hoping to pry out of her? Sky: She's not being honest with us, so maybe she knows something we don't. - "Sky, this is not a good time....", Star scrambled at her desk, piling paperwork and checking her compact constantly for messages. "Whatever it is you should ask your mother instead, mewni is in panic, jackie is out still, i have several meetings today to get to, and many more...whatever it is i'm sure you can talk to her.". Sky shook her head though, crossing her arms, "I uh...I don't think so look, it's about angel....". Star looked up at her for a moment before continuing. "Angel? Sweetie if he's causing problems again, you know what to do....don't get me involved with that boy, i have enough to deal with.", she opened a book and started scanning through in, in a rush, she was lucky she hadn't torn off a page by accident. "It's not that, it's more like, since everything is...how it is....we were thinking about....inviting him....over? Me and judas?", star broke her moment of concentration again to give star a look. "Wait, you're inviting that boy over? Sky, this isn't the time for slumber parties, if a kid gets in danger under my roof i'm more then toast, unless he's here for lessons i don't want that boy anywhere near this castle. He's a hassle enough as is to deal with..", sky crossed her arms, " are we still having lessons? I wasn't sure if we were....".Star shook her head, "Yes, lessons will continue as normal, though eclipsa will have to do a little magic herself to keep you both better protected.". "Look, it's....important....". "Can't be anymore important then what i'm dealing with right now Skyler, you're allowed to invite judas and his brothers here as you please but right now i'm not inviting any other kids inside besides the ones already taking residence here, not melaine, not loki, not even angel....". She scrambled to check her compact again, "Still no word from the spiderbites and jackie and i'm worried, jackie's our best guard and she took her best team with her...i hope she's ok...". "Mom-". "No butts, this is not the time for pleasantries and you know it! I don't want you getting involved in this skyler....yesterday we had another attack and we can't keep ignoring this, if our allies get hurt and we aren't protecting them then this entire kingdom might as well fall apart! It's not the time to talk about meeting up with boys or fooling around! You need to take this seriously, you're going to be queen someday and you need to be ready for it.". "I am taking this seriously! I mean, that's how i'm getting along with angel so y'know, no more fights?". "Sky, that's not what i mean...". Sky felt herself clutch her wand tighter. "Mom, look, i'm just trying to-". "Sky, this is not the time, you are not getting involved in this mess, you're not ready and i refuse to let you....", she was getting sterner and sky could sense her magic turning green again, she forced herself to calm down so she didn't make another scene, though her anger lingered. "Ugh, fine...I'll go talk to mom....whatever...", Star sighed and went back to work as the grumpy girl left her office, closing the door behind her, her mom was stressed, she got it. But she didn't have to be nasty about it. Then again it was foolish of her to think she'd get this so easily, she knew her mother better then that. Angel was not exactly in her mom's good graces And right now, there was no way she could make him. She wandered down the halls, hands in her pockets and her mind in though when she knocked into one of the last people she was interested in talking to right now. Luna, who had clearly been marching around and not paying much attention to where she'd been going, she brushed herself off after sky bumped into her and gave her a look," Oh, sky.....you're here, have you seen Celeste by any chance? I need to speak with her and i can't find her anywhere...". "Well, she can't exactly go far...unless she's well....", luna huffed, "Sneaking out? Hmm, i wouldn't even know where to look if she was, maybe when jackie returns i can ask to go out on watch, give me a good excuse as any to look around, now is not the time to go running off...everyone's paranoid as is.". She seemed stressed, more then usual, sky biting her lip and tempted to ask, "You...worried about your mother?". Her blonde companions sighed, "Queen Butterfly will be fine.....eventually, once she manages to calm everyone down...". "No, i meant Jackie", this peaked Luna's attention a little, "Well, in this reality she's become my chief, I have faith in her....". She was looking off to the side, "It's a rather surreal experience, Queen Butterfly seems to be similar enough but seeing my other mom like this....well it's different that's for sure. Never really thought i'd become my own mother's teacher's pet someday. Though i will say, it is nice in some ways from stuff i deal with back home...". "Really? Like what?" "You know i'm not going to answer that, we have a target and it's them you need info on, not me. You're a clever girl sky, but you need to pick your fights better when you actually start them.....sometimes, it's best to not get involved at all", did everything luna said have to sound like some kind of threat or was that just how she sounded?. "Besides, you know better, the more you know about all these other worlds, the more you'll compare them, and the more you compare them...well, it won't do you any good.". "I was just asking to know because you seemed upset about it, i don't need to know your life story...". "Then you don't need to know, this is my concern and when i return home, it won't matter anymore..." she crossed her arms, "You need to step back Sky, get back to doing the work you need to do and leave the rest of us to handle what we need to do. You do not need to be so concerned about what me or any of us are doing or are dealing with.". The princess snorted at her though, "Why not? Because you don't have any friends back home to care about?". Now luna seemed personally offended. "You don't seem to-". "No, YOU don't seem to get it, when people ask how you're doing, they're trying to be comforting, not invasive. Are you really that cold? That you think people asking to help are jerks or even being nice to someone is "Too much", people aren't just below you....or statues that obey every command, if you get we all have things going on why can't you be so understanding? You don't know how to have fun and you're not very friendly to anyone! How the heck are you related to someone like my mom!?". Oh, that one definitely hit a cord with Luna, her eye twitching, responding quickly without thinking for once. "Oh enough with your lecturing of me ashton, this is the kinda person i HAVE to be whether you understand that or not!". "Ashton?". Luna froze, "We're done for now sky, no more questions....i have things to take care of......and you should do the same.". She said nothing else as she walked away, slightly embarrassed at her outburst and composing herself as she headed out as fast as she could. Gears were turning in Sky's head and she'd probably chase after her and question her further if she didn't know any better then to mess with Luna too much, though her being mad with Sky was going to make talking to her difficult. Looks like that would be up to judas moreso. She might have gone too hard on her due to how mad she was with her mom and maybe was kinda mean back there, a lump of guilt in her throat as she saw where luna headed to. She made a mental note to maybe apologize to her later on for being a dumb angsty teen but right now they had other things to focus on. She just hoped Eclipsa wasn't leading them on. - Celeste was kinda thankful about Landon showing her his little private booth in his weird "Coffee house" hangout, it was nice and private and was sure better then waiting in her room to get scolded by Luna. Landon himself was on the couch, lying down , pulling off his boot to pull out some of his money. "Maybe while we're here we can eat something, or drink something....y'know...before my parents find me and lock me in my room as some kind of protection...". "They got any smoothies here?", she said grumpily, staring out the window onto the stage, and landon replied. "I think so....maybe i can get some donuts or something as well...", he looked through his money and watched as celeste gloomily continued to look out the window, "You doing ok? Like, you don't gotta beat yourself up over the sunny thing that much, she didn't have anything, you'll find something else probably...besides...i kinda don't want sunny under suspect anyway...". "How come? You've never shown to like her all that much...", celeste wasn't looking at him still but landon shrugged, "She reminds me of mason....a little, me and judas fight and junk sometimes and....mason was sorta the link between us you could say...i mean, jude is a pain sometimes...but...i don't like yelling at him in front of mason...". He closed his eyes, "He's our little brother...he's....happy and free and doing whatever he wants, he's smart for his age...". He went back to counting his money, glancing back to the girl, "He's just a kid and he can be a pain, but he's so...innocent, doesn't have all the baggage we do....and well...he likes sunny, considering the fact he doesn't have a lot of friends i kinda wouldn't like finding out his friend slash sister was evil or something...". Celeste seemed to get it, crossing her arms and leaning against the window more, now finally facing her half brother in a clear mood. "You care more then you let on huh?". "I'm not exactly the best at social skills, if that wasn't obvious already, talking to people can be...uncomfortable. Plus being me.....y'know...the prince everyone forgets? That kinda stuff makes you want to stop talking to people...", honestly his most stable relationship was still with his mother, the only person he felt like he could talk to about most of the things going on with his life, and he couldn't say that meant he was somehow "cured" of any of his problems. Bernard was a friend who made him feel important compared to his brothers, and he didn't seem to mind his awkwardness or any of the problems landon hated about himself. He actually felt like he wanted to speak to someone for once in his life outside of his own mother. Isolating himself from his family for so long to sit in his room and keep to himself made him unsocial and starved for more attention, and he knew it. He could now just...talk to someone, even if he was scared to screw it up somehow. Though just thinking about it made him remember Celeste seemed to lack in many friends as well, even here. "You seem to get along well with your mom.....like..really well....they....got you to calm down..", he almost expected a playful mock for it but it seemed more like an observation. "We're just close....they kinda are used to our fits and well.....I guess it provides me some relief.....". She didn't really say much else, keeping quiet and landon continued, "I hate hurting them and they hate hurting me...it's hard to be.....well...me....when they talk to me...". "I can tell...". "I'm mad, i still am....i guess i've just...calmed down a little more...and feel better...that they know..", even in his voice he sounded sad and not incredibly confident but at the very least he felt relief to a degree to have let it all out. Celeste's silence told him she was lost in thought about something, and despite his urges he kept his mouth shut. Speaking to someone outside of the room to order their food and drinks before returning and plopping himself down in a seat next to celeste. "You know....if you gotta talk....you could tell me, i won't....be a jerk about it....". "It's nothing i feel like talking about.....". He was quiet, looking out to the stage to see an act getting ready to perform, a demon band, who were excitably talking among themselves and laughing. "Judas and mason listened to my music.....they actually kinda liked it...". He went silent, resting his head on his arms and sighing, "Sunny wants to go on stage and perform....I wish i had her confidence....playing in front of crowds is different then playing among your friends and family who you feel is obliged to like it...". "Well, your stuff is good, you're passionate about it.....you have a hobby you love and want to do something with...so...you just kinda need to go forward or something and perform...", he sighed, eyes closing, "I want to but...it's hard to get over how much you think your art sucks...it's a creator thing....you just like....compare your stuff and worry and.....yeah...". He pressed his face into his seat, groaning, "Catching some criminal isn't the same thing as...walking on stage...". "Well no, it really isn't unless you plan on catching the guy at a live performance...". "I wrote a song....for bernard....", he admitted, sounding kinda guilty, like he stole a cookie from a cookie jar. "He doesn't know, i just....wrote a song based on...how he moves, how fun he is, and nice...". He smiled into the fabric a bit before looking up and exposing his red face, "look, i know it's stupid, especially since we finally just became real friends not even that long ago....and i don't wanna screw it up with....feelings or anything, I just...got inspired...". "Oh, we're talking about your crush again?", she snorted, but her face eased, "Look, we're gonna eat and then probably get sent back to the castle and get locked up inside it forever anyway. You might as well talk about it here, the castle might be full of bugs everywhere when we get back, wouldn't want anyone to record it...". She was kidding of course but then again, who really knew at this point, luna would probably bug it if she was tempted enough and had some bugs to use. "I dunno...". "Look, just tell me, why do you like him, like...go deep or something....". "It's hard to explain, i guess he just....makes me feel more confident in myself...cause he seems almost always seems so confident...", he was thinking about it a little longer then when he talked about it before, as if not really fully knowing himself and trying to figure it out. "He likes music too, i mean.....not in general like most people, he actually knows how to construct it...says his dad is a music teacher. He even thinks i'm funny, no one thinks i'm funny...". "Does he do anything weird..?". "What?" "Does he do anything weird ? like, let's be real if they do weird junk and you're still attracted to them that's a good sign if any..". "Well, he's trying to learn how to swallow objects and bring them back up....also he loves piercings, like, a lot, he wants a nose piercing soon.....he already may of gone overboard with the tongue piercing though..." , this seemed to make landon laugh, chuckling to himself. "I just want to be careful....that this all, won't scare him off...and me...going after that criminal...what if i got him hurt? He'd never want to hang out with me again after that....". "You're worrying too much maybe...you keep freaking out he doesn't like you, but you told me he literally saw your carriage pop out of the middle of the street, if he was really scared of your family he would've run at this point.". "Says the girl worrying about luna...", he retorted, "You're not one to talk about any of that Celeste....". But he was met with a punch to the shoulder, "I don't care what luna thinks, i don't really care that badly sunny didn't turn out to be evil or something, maybe bummed i wasted my time trying to get info that didn't exist, but....it's...more...something else....". Landon nodded, "I'm assuming your parents.....", her silence was enough of an answer for him. "Well, if we're breaking that contract already, you can talk about it...I won't tell my brothers or anything...", she turned away and grumbled. "It's not fair...". "What's not fair?". "It's not fair.....that your parents are so happy together, that they love you and talk to you and respect you and want to be better for you....they can't even keep their hands off of each other and you're close with your mom and ugh....", she pulled on her hair, the band finally started to play below them, almost in time with celeste's current burst of anger. "Like, look at them, your family just seems so.....happy and perfect and complete and....ugh it sucks..". "Wow...thanks...". "It only sucks because.....ugh....I just.....i hate talking about it....", she mumbled into her arm and landon heard their order arrive, heading over to pick it up and take it back to celeste, a strawberry smoothie handed over to her as he sipped on his wildberry one, grabbing a chocolate donut from the box. "I guess your relationship with your parents is kinda complicated? Welcome to the club......look, having these lovey parents isn't always great.....even judas agrees....sometimes we worry they focus more on each other then well...us..". "So? They're still together....and happy....". "I think I get what happened....i'm uh....sorry about your parents...". "You wouldn't get it.....", she grabbed a powdered donut, chewing on it rather aggressively, "Your family isn't perfect but it's so.....complete, you all like to do things together and you're loyal to your family and you seem to work things out and talk things out...my family didn't talk things out, one day it was happy and sweet and the next.....they didn't even talk to me about it, before it happened. It was like my opinion in it didn't even matter to them...". "Oh......that.....that sucks...", minutes passed by, the two eating and drinking in silence as the band continued to play. Landon's eyes trying to keep away from celeste to focus on anything else so he didn't make her feel any worse then she already did. Looking below he could spot a lot of familiar demons, some servants from the castle, even the guy celeste zapped last time they arrived here together. No one of note, he knew his parents didn't usually come here and they were much too busy now to go see a performance. He was almost scared to leave, who knew what would happen by the time they got home, would they have trackers now? Would their parents force them to live on earth? God he was already worried about what could happen to his family, would they even let bernard come over at this point? He really wanted to take his mind off this, sit alone and make music but he didn't want to leave celeste's side either considering how upset she still was. His eyes went back to focusing on the boring demon people, back to being his unsocial loser self as he tried to take his mind off his worries and pain. However, someone he did spot that got his attention was a small girl around mason's age sitting alone at a table off in the corner. He swore she seemed familiar but he couldn't pinpoint exactly why, she was reading a book and keeping to herself. Landon normally wouldn't pay someone like her any mind, but he couldn't help it with the scene that followed. First the girl's glass of water broke, glass on the floor and earning the attention of the waiter, who looked rather mad. Then the girl, sitting up, fell out of her chair and into the waiter, knocking him over. Before pulling herself up, and then falling backwards again to knock the entire table she had been sitting at over. As if things couldn't get worse, the band had stopped playing their current song, the entire crowd and them turning around to see the girl pick up her stuff and run out as fast as possible. Celeste had noticed her too, though adding to her bad luck, landon noticed the girl had dropped something on her way out. He really didn't want to leave his private booth. But he'd been there before, embarrassed and humiliated. He got up, celeste watching him leave before she could ask what he was doing, seeing him through the window as he picked up whatever was dropped before heading out of the building. Celeste waited a few minuted, debating whether she should follow him out, but he quickly returned, item still in hand. "She's gone, couldn't find her but.....we should find her....whoever she is..", Celeste raised an eyebrow, as if he was crazy, "Uh? Why? Is what she lost that important?". He held up the object, a piece of paper to be exact. On one side was a drawing of sky's wand, with all kinds of descriptions of it's parts and how it functioned, on the other side were notes written in some ancient language Landon sure couldn't speak or understand. He almost seemed happy she lost it, looking at celeste with more confidence. Celeste took one look at the symbols and understood, "That's.....low mewman....only the butterfly family knows how to write in low mewman....what....that's...". "It's not something an average demon should have....she must've gotten this from someone else, but why? It's clearly from someone in the butterfly family....or at least it belonged to the butterfly kingdom...but also, sky's wand, why....why would she have this?". "Well, unlucky for her....lucky for us....though also convenient....". "Maybe a little but......it should lead us somewhere right? I mean, that demon having her hands on something like this? Something has to be fishy...". Celeste snatched the paper from him, "Well, just keep an eye out,  if we step into any traps because of this i'm gonna be mad.". She scanned over the back, huffing and going over it a few times, "Whoever wrote this stuff on the back kinda seems lame, it's scrawl about dumb secret things....". Landon took it back from her, looking at it again, "Hold on....wait.....you don't think this is from.....wait.....". Celeste raised an eyebrow then looked back over both sides of the paper. "The magic book of spells?". They exchanged looks. "This is from sky's chapter....isn't it? This is her handwriting.....". There was another moment of silent exchange. "Seems like we finally have a possible lead...to helping us out...we need to go find that girl". "But how would you even track her down?". He smiled. "Lucy...".

[mcuspidey-archive]

Babysitting 101 [H.O.]

Pairing: Harrison Osterfield x Reader

Summary: You agree to babysit your niece for the weekend but she’s a little too much to handle so Harrison, Tom, and Tessa come to the rescue.

Word Count: 1.1k

A/N: I got this as a blurb request like weeks ago and I am SO sorry it took so long! It wasn’t specific to which boy and after reading For The Sake Of the Show by @hazsterfield, I was like yes ok this is happening! - BLUE IT’S FINALLY HERE oMg- It took awhile because I’ve been really doubting myself and my writing lately and I wanted it to be perfect and I went over it like 5 times so I just hope you all like it. PLEASE let me know what you think ! ✨💛

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 

“Haz, I don’t know what to do.” You call your boyfriend, desperate and exhausted. You were sure he could hear the shrill shrieks of your 4-yr old niece, Callie, even though she was now rooms away. “She won’t stop screaming and it’s like she’s tired but she won’t sleep. I don’t know what I was thinking when I agreed to watch her,” you tell him, panic clear as you started to ramble.

“Shh, babe. It’s okay. Just breathe for me for a second.” The soft texture of his voice made it easy to follow his instruction. He even started taking a few breaths himself to help guide you. It was one of the many reasons you loved him. Because he was always so willing to put you first yet still made sure you knew he was along for the ride. Every step of the way. You inhale and then exhale slowly and for the first time all day, you finally feel relaxed.

You walked through the hallway of your tiny apartment, looking for the little girl who decided she was going to play hide-and-seek. With the phone still pressed to your ear and Harrison’s steady and quiet breathing overwhelming you, you find her. She had hidden herself in your closet, a few favorite sweaters thrown on top of her.

“Hmm, Haz, I can’t find her,” you say and make the effort to look around the room. You hear her little giggles before she tosses the sweaters aside, standing and appearing in one of his hoodies. Her small figure was completely covered and the hem dragged across the hardwood as she skipped over to you.

“Haz!” Callie squealed, practically glowing. She adored him and his best friend more than anything and they loved her just as much. It warmed your heart to see her so happy but at times like this, you were jealous. “Please let him come over.” She begged, tugging at the fabric of your leggings. You hear him chuckle and picture the smile that was inevitably plastered on his face. Holding the phone out, you press the speaker button so she could hear him. Her bright hazel eyes light up even more than usual as an idea pops into her head.

“Bring Tommy, too, and Tess! I miss her,” she demanded, waiting patiently for him to say yes.

“Alright, Cal, we’ll be there soon,” Harrison laughed, keeping her hanging off of every word. She clapped excitedly before running out of your bedroom.

You shake your head, smiling despite the situation. “I can’t believe she loves you more than she loves me.”

“Everyone loves me, doll,” he teased and you could practically hear his lips curving into the smirk that you adored so much. “I’ll be home soon.”

Knowing Harrison would be there any minute, you were more than relieved. He had been over at Tom’s all day to help plan out their next trip and even though you saw him earlier that morning, you couldn’t wait. Callie had more than stressed you out between the constant crying and loud, endless screams. Just having him there would not only make her happier but also ease some of your anxiety about the future.

Not even twenty minutes later, you hear the boys’ muffled voices and Tessa’s barking just outside the door. Callie dropped the toys that had kept her attention for the past few minutes and ran to meet them as they walked in. Harrison immediately knelt down, making it easier for her to jump into his already welcoming arms. He carried her over to join you on the couch, Tom and Tessa close behind. Callie wiggled out of his arms and grabbed Tom’s hand, guiding him to sit and play with her like they always did.

Harrison sat back into the cushion, let you melt into his side and planted a soft kiss on your temple. “Thank you,” you say quietly, too busy watching the sight in front of you. Callie was laughing loudly as Tessa licked her face causing the three of you to join in.

“You don’t have to thank me, baby. And besides...” He reached over and placed one hand on your growing stomach.

“This is good practice for us.”

He winked before getting up and joining the others. He was right. Of course he was. But when you agreed to babysit Callie, it was more than just practice to you. Because ever since you found out you were pregnant, the constant fear of every ‘what if’ had been eating away at you. What if you weren’t meant to be a mother? What if you weren’t good at it? The list was basically infinite. Harrison was amazing and always said exactly what you needed to hear. But this weekend was the validation you needed and so far it just wasn’t enough.

You felt Callie’s small hand on your arm, pulling you away from your doubts, at least for the moment. “Auntie Y/N, come play, too.” She said excitedly and was already trying to pull you up off the couch.

“We’re trying to build a house but Tess keeps messing it up.” She was laughing despite having to keep adding the blocks that were getting knocked down. Harrison reached for you, pulling you down to sit between his legs. His arms wrapped around your torso tightly as you made yourself at home against his chest.

It wasn’t long before you realized Callie started to get drowsy and eventually she climbed into your lap, resting her head against your shoulder. You thought for sure she would’ve gone to Harrison or Tom and the fact that she didn’t, made the whole day worth it. You lean back against Harrison’s chest again, feeling warm and content. He kissed your neck and seeing the smile on your face, he whispered, “You’re going to be better at this than you think.”

You listened to his voice, letting every ounce of self-doubt disappear. “Maybe. I just can’t wait to do it with you.” You were quiet, trying not to wake the sleeping figure in your arms because she definitely needed it. But as you looked down at her slightly open mouth and small button nose that matched your brother’s, you could help but think about the life growing inside you. You couldn’t wait to see if it had Harrison’s eyes and blonde, curly hair that was now a mess atop his head. Maybe it would have your nose and vibrant laugh that Harrison loved so much. Just the thought of having this baby with him, always made your heart feel a little arm but now? Now you knew you could do it as long as you had him by your side.

Just gonna tag a few because I don��t have a taglist for Haz yet oof @thelazypangolin @hazandholland @h-osterfield @hollandroos @starksparker @tomnhaz @uglypastels @theprincesofasgard @tomhollandeu @hllands

[thethingsidream]

Awhile ago I had a dream where I somehow was transported to some weird alternate dimension with a bunch of strange creatures and things. I was walking around the shops on the street of the strange world, and eventually found myself in a really wierd building. The best way I could describe it is like a gym but also kind of like Hangar 15 with the foam cubes, but more dangerous? This place also seemed to defy physics. There, I met a woman who was some incredibly powerful, god-like entity. She lived there with several other people who were her followers and trained under her each day. She liked me so she let me stay with them, and showed favoritism to me. She protected me, and even saved me from drifting away at one point when gravity stopped working for some reason. She would even refer to me as her "daughter". Eventually, I was told by her that I was special and was going to be given the highest position under her, one reserved only for those closest to her. This position was called "Chaplain". I was confused, because there was already another girl my age who held this position. The goddess just smiled and calmly explained she'd "disposed" of this girl. She'd locked her up and basically planned to have her killed, all so I could be Chaplain instead. I was horrified, but the goddess seemed to feel nothing. It was like she didn't understand the gravity of what she was doing. That she was killing this girl who had feelings and emotions, who loved and trusted her, viewed her as a mother. I wasn't going to stand for it, so I made a big scene about it, ready to fight her, demanding she not harm the chaplain girl. She just got mad at me for resisting her and had her guards send me to some far away dungeon. I eventually escaped, but my surroundings were a lot different than the place I entered through. The whole region was a complex system of red stoned caves(the skies outside were also bright red), creeping with strange and terrifying lifeforms. Many of these creatures were hostile, but many I was able to befriend, even some of the guards from the prisons that seemed to span across the entire region. I even stayed in a house with a family for awhile, and basically came to think of the whole community as my family. Eventually, after a long time of adventuring the area, I eventually found the chaplain and was able to free her. However, the goddess soon showed up with a couple of her most trusted followers, as she'd heard of our escape. I think she was going to kill us, but then this evil sorcerer guy showed up and revealed how he planned to take over the entire world, and left. It was also revealed I was part of some weird prophecy or something, and that's why the goddess liked me so much in the first place, and the sorcerer probably wanted to kill me because apparently I stood in his way or something. I don't know how, but the goddess somehow like, gained humanity? She realized how corrupt and awful she had been, and really understood the impact of what she'd done. She asked for forgiveness, and me and the chaplain forgave her. We were coming up with a plan to defeat the scorcerer, when suddenly he sent me back to my own reality. My family thought I had run away and the next several months were really hard. No one trusted me anymore. I went to a family gathering but drove back to my dad's empty house that night. I was in the bathroom in front of the mirror when suddenly the lights cut out and multitudes of ants began to pour out from the mirror and the light switch behind me. They were doing the sorcerer's bidding and had been sent to retrieve me. They dragged me through a portal back into the other universe. The whole landscape had been transformed and destroyed in the months since I'd been gone. I was standing on a crumbling stone wall with the sorcerer. I knew I had to get away from him as soon as possible and find my friends. Then I woke up.

[weelittleweasley]

You Don’t Have to Hate Me | Archie x Reader

Prompt: Being a Blossom gave you a lot of perks, but your family had made a name for itself and you had your rivalries. One of them being Archie Andrews. But maybe all of your family’s prejudices didn’t have to be yours.

Request status: Closed :(

Sifting through your closet, you try to find something to wear to school. Yet you seem to find nothing in your designer closet that fits your mood. Nothing seemed to work, so you walked out of your room into Cheryl’s. You trotted into her room, ignoring her questions as she applied her lipstick. Opening up her closet, you snagged her red sweater and over the knee boots. “Where do you think you’re going with my clothes?” Cheryl questioned you.

Sending her a smile, you spoke, “I’m wearing them. What else would I be doing.” After taking her clothes, you quickly got changed and grabbed your purse before heading downstairs. Cheryl was eating breakfast still as you groaned, “Take any longer.” Cheryl rolled her eyes, standing up as you waved goodbye to your mother.

Your relationship with Cheryl was a hard one to describe. As children, you were very close with Cheryl and Jason. They were your best friends. But as you got older, things started to change and Cheryl became closer with Jason, since they were twins and you were a little under a year younger than them. It was hard to try and keep up with them, that being said, you were left out of a lot of things. But after Jason’s death, you and Cheryl reconnected and you had been stronger than ever. Cheryl was very protective over you, making sure she wasn’t losing another one of her siblings that she loved too much. 

As you walked into school, Cheryl linked her arm with your as you smiled at her. “Did you ever complete that project for Mr. Higgin’s class?” you ask her as you arrive at your lockers placed right next to each other. Cheryl had requested to have both of your lockers together to capitalize on space.

She laughs at your question, “Oh please. That man hasn’t realized that I handed it in. He gave me a ninety on it.” You roll your eyes. Cheryl was a smart girl, very clever and witty. But one day, it was going to come back and bite her in the butt with all of the missed work she has had. “Class is starting soon. Come along, sister.”

You close your locker, trotting behind Cheryl as she makes her way down the halls. The way that the Blossom family demanded attention as you walked into a room was astounding. It was like you could hear a pin from. People watched as you and your sister walked down the halls, heels clicking on the tiles of Riverdale High. Whispers were exchanged between girls while guys checked you two out. The attention was pleasurable at first, but after awhile you wished that you could walk into a room without gossip starting. 

Reggie walks next to Cheryl, talking to her about whatever happened the previous day. You wave goodbye to Cheryl as she walks down the science wing, you down the main hallway into the student lounge. There, you walked to the vending machine to get a water. As you came in, you scanned the room, eyes meeting with familiar faces. Betty Cooper, a cousin of yours, who you haven’t yet determined if she bothers you or if she’s in the clear. Next to her was Veronica Lodge, a friend of Cheryl’s. She was nice enough and she helped Cheryl out in a time of need. And not too far away was Archie Andrews. At the sight of him, you rolled your eyes and fake gagged. That boy was the definition of a hyper-masculine jerk. He had hurt your sister when she was the most vulnerable and not to mention, he had dumped Veronica Lodge for reasons that weren’t so clear thanks to school rumors. But all you knew what that Archie Andrews was not a friend of yours.

Inserting a dollar into the vending machine, you receive a water and try to exit the lounge, not wanting to be in the same room as Archie. But when you turn around, the red-head is standing in front of you. “Y/N,” he looks you up and down.

“Archibald,” you greet. “Didn’t think you’d show your face in school after that wresting match against Keller. Low blow. The varsity line backer couldn’t take down Keller. What a shame,” you sneer as Archie crosses his arms.

He then starts, “You should be one to talk after you got caught hooking up with Blake in the back of the library two days ago.”

You rolled your eyes at the lie that was spread through the school by Blake. “I was helping him with his math homework and you know that. You saw me there, Andrews.” He shrugged. “Now if you don’t mind, I don’t want to make myself sick looking at your face for a moment longer. Ta-ta.”

That’s basically how every encounter with Archie was. A battle of comments between the two of you to see who would crack first. But you two never got to the point of cracking because neither one of you wanted the other to see him or her at that point. Until today. Vixen practice was over as you waited for Cheryl to change in the girl’s locker room. You sat on the stairs, scrolling through your phone before you noticed the boy’s wrestling team was being dismissed. As you watched the boys file out one by one, you saw that familiar red-head exit the gym. His eyes made contact with yours as you looked away, but it was too late. “Miss me already, Blossom? Didn’t think it would take that long,” Archie teased.

Tucking your phone away in your duffel bag, you sigh, “Yes, Archie. The sight of an testosterone heavy jock covered in sweat, smelling like a gym mat is truly a sight for sore eyes.” Archie chuckles at your comment. “Shouldn’t you be showering?”

“Shouldn’t you be kissing up to Cheryl?” Archie retorts as you clench your jaw in frustration. Any time someone tried to compare you to Cheryl, it made your blood boil. You knew that you weren’t nearly as popular or as admired as Cheryl and whenever someone made a comment about you being a Cheryl wanna be, it made you so angry. 

You exhale, “Don’t start with me, Andrews.”

He crosses his arms, as you bite your lip hard and try to contain yourself. “I don’t understand why you think you have to be her.”

That comment sends you over the edge as you stand up from the stairs. “Listen, you can bash me all you want, but don’t you dare drag my sister into this. Cheryl is all I have left from my family, so don’t try to start in on me.”

Your words take Archie back. He didn’t realize that his words had such a resounding effect on you. “I didn’t mean it like that,” he tells you innocently. “Y/N, I think you’re a nice girl and I think it sucks that people compare you to your sister all the time. I’m sorry that you took it the wrong way.” You calm down as he explains himself, you sitting back on the stairs, trying to calm yourself down. “I don’t know why you always think I have it out for you. I don’t hate you and I don’t know why you hate me.”

Looking up at him, you are genuinely confused. Thinking about it, you never really understood why you hated Archie. You had always heard Cheryl talking about him and then rumors and gossip around school kind of tainting your vision on him. It wasn’t even your personal encounters that shaped your view on Archie--it was other people’s opinions on him and his family, the biggest opinion being your family’s. “I guess I just thought that...I was supposed to hate you,” you claim, being genuine.

“You don’t have to hate me,” Archie speaks as you look up at him. “We could try to be civil. Maybe even friends?”

“Y/N? Are you ready to go?” Cheryl exits the locker room, looking at you and Archie, then back at you.

Sighing, you look at Archie with a sad smile, then to Cheryl. “Yeah, I’m ready,” you tell her as you rise from the stairs. Looking to Archie, you say, “I’d like to.”

After the unexpected heart to heart with Archie that day after practice, you tried your best to set aside your families prejudices and treat Archie fairly. You smiled and waved at him in the halls as he did the same for you. During class, you talked normally, no fighting. No trying to one up another. And to be honest, it was a breath of fresh air. It was so tiring trying to hate someone for no reason rather than just letting go and acting civil towards one another.

As time progressed, talking to Archie became much more comfortable and you could tell the dynamic between you was shifting. Things were lighthearted and playful; him stopping by your locker to steal a book as you giggled at his antics. You sometimes stopped by the gym to watch him wrestle as he poked his head into a Vixen practice. The two of you became more taken with each other and it was becoming obvious to the public, especially Cheryl.

It was after yet another Vixen’s practice and as you walked outside of the gym, you saw Archie waiting outside. “Hey, what are you doing here?” you asked, walking towards him. “Wasn’t wrestling over at five thirty? It’s six!”

Archie smiled, “Yeah, but I figured I’d wait to see you. You were in a rush this morning and I didn’t get to talk to you.” You blush at his comment as he walks with you down the hall. 

“Sorry about that,” you look at him. “Cheryl was running late and my mom held us up at the house. I was too concerned about being late to class.”

He bumps into your shoulder, “No worries.” You stop at your locker to gather your things before you head outside to get into you and Cheryl’s car. “So,” Archie breathes as you look at him with a small smile. “I, uh, I don’t know how to phrase this without sounding weird.”

You furrow your brows, “I’m going to need you to elaborate, Andrews.”

With a nervous chuckle, Archie scratches the back of his head. “I don’t wanna rush anything, Y/N. I really like where our friendship has gone in the past month, but...I wanna try something,” he states as you are still clueless as to what he’s getting at. “Do you wanna go out this weekend? Just you and me.”

“Like a date?” you ask him as he bites his lip, shaking his head. Your heart flutters and a blush rises to your cheeks. “Archie, that’s all you had to say,” you giggle, touching his bicep in reassurance. “I’d like that. A lot.”

Archie smiles, “Alright, cool.” He walks you outside to the car where Cheryl awaits you. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he winks as you wave goodbye.

When you enter the car, Cheryl looks at you knowingly. “Archie Andrews? Y/N...you can do so much better,” she laughs, switching the car into drive. You sigh, leaning further back into the chair. “I know you don’t wanna hear it, but I’m telling you this because I love you.”

Turning to your sister, you say, “Cheryl, what are my other options? Reggie Mantle?” Cheryl doesn’t say anything because she knows you’re right. “Archie is really sweet and I think that there could be something between us,” you play with the hem of your shirt.

Cheryl notices the blush on your cheeks and sighs, “If he breaks your heart, I’ll kill him. I’ll say I told you so, but I’ll kill him.” You laugh at Cheryl’s comment, leaning into her shoulder. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

As you come into school, you search for Archie in the halls before you spot him talking to Kevin in the hall. A smile appears on your face before you run to him, hugging his larger figure. He laughs at the contact of your body on his, kissing your head. “Hey, cutie,” he hugs you as you giggle.

Kevin smiles at the sight of you, pressing your forehead against each other before sharing a sweet kiss in the middle of the hallway. “I’m sufficiently uncomfortable now and I will take that as my cue to leave,” Kevin speaks as you laugh. “Bye, guys,” he waves before taking off with Betty.

You detach yourself from your boyfriend, still holding his hands still. “Do you know what day it is today?” you bite your lip.

Archie raises a brow, teasing you. “Uhhh, Tuesday?” You punch his shoulder as he laughs. “I’m kidding. Happy two months, baby,” he kisses your lips as you smile into the kiss. “I can’t believe it’s only been two months.”

“I know,” you rest your hands on his chest. “I’m just glad that I spent the past two months with someone as great as you.” He smiles again before dipping his head down to kiss your cheek.