#probably some of my favorite pieces i've made as of now

[smashingwindshields]

eternal winter/eternal summer

[manjibunny]

FORBIDDEN FRUIT

SYNOPSIS: You swear you hate your soon-to-be stepmom, Shoko, but why do you want to fuck her so badly? C/W: stepcest, cheating (Shoko cheating on your dad), fem! reader, reader is being a brat (at first), brat taming, fingering, cunnilingus,face riding, mommy kink, public sex,spanking, alcohol, dacryphilia, sixty nine ZAYA SENT YOU A NEW MESSAGE: Guess who wrote some smutty headcanons to celebrate 69 followers? That's right, yours truly! I've had this idea marinating in my head for a while now, and finally I have a good reason to write my thoughts out! I wanna thank all of my beautiful followers for making this milestone possible, and my hot sexc moots for listening to my thirsts at three am when I can't fall asleep <333 You guys made it possible that I can finally post my unhinged thoughts on Tumblr hehe <3 special shoutout to @redskyvenus @avatarofstars and @gennysuga for being cuties <333

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who’s only ten years older than you, making her way too young for your old dad

♡ Stepmom! Shoko  who’s gotten together with your dad right after you’ve moved out for university

♡ Stepmom! Shoko  who got engaged to your dad about two years after she and your dad got together

♡ Stepmom! Shoko  who was baffled that you didn’t even know about her existence before your dad called you and told you about the engagement

“Hi dad”, you picked up the phone. You and your dad weren’t talking for the last few months as often as you were before. You chalked it up to him just being busy with his new position at the hospital he was working, and you being the studious girl that you were, you rarely had time to call him. You didn’t take it to heart.  “Hello princess, I gotta tell you something…” your dad said in a quiet voice. Immediately, you knew something was off. Hearing the nervousness in his voice, you told him to continue.  "Yeah? Of course, tell me” “Princess, I’m getting married” Now, THAT you took to heart. Nothing he said made it through to you. You knew he was talking to you, he was probably explaining, or begging for forgiveness. Heck, he might be talking about his soon-to-be wife, but nothing he said registered to you. The only thoughts  you had was about the costs of traveling back home and weighing the consequences of you missing a few days of university. At the end, you made up your mind: You will go home and you will give him a piece of your mind.  You didn’t tell your dad about your plans on paying him a visit. And why should you? He didn’t tell you about his engagement after all, so coming home unannounced felt a little bit like giving him a taste of his own medicine. Angrily, you pulled out the keys to your dad’s house, unlocking the door and entering the house. All hell broke loose when you walked in on your father and a young, brown-haired woman sitting a bit too closely to each other. Your poor father had to calm you down and explain the situation to the woman, Shoko Ierie, your future stepmom.  “Why didn’t you tell her about us?” She’d ask your dad, getting annoyed when she didn’t receive a good answer from him.

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who despite knowing she hasn't made the best impression on you, decided to at least try and be a good stepmom

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who tried really hard to make you like her

Shoko was at the end of her wits. She tried everything to make you like her. She tried making you your favorite food after asking your dad for the recipes the night of your little meltdown. The next day, when she was finally finished with the preparations and put your favorite dish in front of you on the table, you seemed to be less than impressed. You didn’t even touch the food, stating you’d rather get takeout than eat anything that was touched by her. Shoko would find out that you like manga and get you the titles that were recommended to her at the bookstore, only for you to reveal that you’ve already read these manga series years ago. Shoko overhears you talking to´your friend on the phone. With a soft voice that Shoko hadn’t heard from you yet, you reassured your friend that her mother wouldn’t hate her just because she got together with someone she didn’t approve of.  Shoko felt as if her moment to shine finally arrived. Determined to prove her worth as a good stepmom, the anxiety left her body. A newfound confidence spread across her body as she sat down next to you on the couch.  “Hey, I overheard that you were talking to your friend, I just wanted to-” offer some advice, is what Shoko wanted to say, but she never got there.  With an annoyed face, you stared her down.  “What the hell made you think that listening to a private conversation is ok?” you cut her off.  “Shouldn’t you be busy with my dad or something? Like, suck his dick or something?”Stunted, Shoko stood up and silently left the living room. She was aware that you didn’t like her, but did you have to be such a brat?

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who the more she pays attention to you, becomes more and more attracted to her soon-to-be stepdaughter and feels ashamed for that

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who decided that perhaps the best way to bond with you was to take you wedding dress shopping with her

“What?” “ To bond. I know you don’t like me a lot-” “And you’d be right” you snarkingly cut off Shoko.  “I know” Shoko remained calm “But you have to accept that me and your dad are getting married. Do you care so little about your dads happiness?” She tried to reason with you. Shoko already saw the conflicted look on your face coming. You stayed silent, thoughts crusading in your mind. She was right, you were acting selfish. You did want your father to stay away from Shoko as much as possible, especially since Shoko was way too young to even be dating your father. But maybe she makes him happy? You hated to admit it, but your father was happier than ever before. Seeing your knitted eyebrows and absent gaze, Shoko watched as your inner conflict unraveled inside your mind. She knew what she was doing, in fact, she planned for it. Trying to get you to like her made her observe you, trying to understand why you didn’t like her. While she guessed it must have been the age gap between her and your father, she noticed one thing: You were a daddy’s girl through and through. If you wouldn’t like her on your own accord, Shoko was ready to tug on your heartstrings. And unsurprisingly, it worked.  With a defeated sigh you gave in. “Fine, I’ll go to that bridal shop with you if that means to make dad happy”

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who looks absolutely gorgeous in every dress she tries on and tries to get your opinion on the dresses

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who noticed the way your eyes lingered a bit too long on her body but decided to stay quiet about it

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who took you back home after picking put the perfect dress and suggests you two have a glas of wine alone while your father was out

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who had a good time getting drunk with you,

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who knew that you had the hots for her and took the initiative and kissed you

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who quickly grew addictive to your lips and couldn't stop herself anymore

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who got you naked faster than the speed of light and spread your legs apart, eager to have a taste of your pussy

It happened so fast. One moment you were drinking wine with Shoko, the next you were laying naked underneath her. Drowning your growing need for your soon to be stepmom in the sweet alcohol was all you could do. You chugged the beverage like it was water, and with each drop that touched your tongue, the restraints you had seemed to grow weaker and weaker.  Instead of silencing your lust towards the woman you thought you hated, the alcohol in your system seemed to do the contrary.  Lust and alcohol are two dangerous things to mix, but drunk of the wine and drunk of Shoko’s lips, you were willing to deal with the consequences when you sobered up.  Intoxicated by the taste of your juices, Shoko couldn’t help but bury her face between your legs, lapping every drop of your essence as if she was tasting a rare wine. Her tongue grazed against your throbbing clit while she took in your flustered face. Mouth wide agape and teary eyed, you truly were a beautiful sight. Much better than her usual bratty behavior, Shoko thought happily as her tongue teased your sensitive bundle of nerves.  “Please” You moaned out desperately “I want more. Let me cum”“And you’ll get more if you’ll be good to me” Shoko replied. You’d get much more, more than anyone but Shoko could offer.

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who makes you cum more than anyone before her in one single night

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who became wet just by eating you out and hearing your sweet moans

Shoko knows how to eat pussy, you drunkenly thought as you laid on the couch, feeling limp and overstimulated from all the orgasms Shoko gave you. You swore you could fall asleep right there, but the sight of Shoko taking her clothes off seemed to wake you up. You had already guessed that she had a nice body after not so discreetly checking her out at the bridal shop, but seeing her in all of her glory topped any of your expectations. Her plump boobs and thick thighs had you craving to touch her. As if reading your mind, Shoko got on top of you and kissed you slowly and sensually. Her tongue trusted inside your mouth, giving you a taste of yourself. As she pulled away from your glossy lips, Shoko couldn’t deny herself from easing the almost painful throb between her legs.  “Will you be good for me?” She asked breathlessly. You nodded, unable to speak.  Shoko was satisfied with your answer, she had a feeling you would be obedient to her request. Without waiting too long, she repositioned herself. Shoko gently gripped your hair as she sat on your face, making sure to not put her whole weight on you.  “Stick out your tongue, pretty girl” Shoko mused.  You got a perfect glance at her sobbing cunt, her pretty pink clit throbbing in anticipation as you looked at her pussy absolutely mesmerized.  Shoko didn’t have to tell you twice. Greedily, you began licking her pussy, moaning as the taste of her juices hit your tongue.  Moaning, Shoko began slowly grinding against your face.  “You’re doing such a good job” she whimpered as she felt your tongue teasing her leaking hole. You groaned into her pussy as her clit pressed against your nose, still trying to tongue fuck your soon to be stepmom.  The coil in her stomach snapped, Shoko moaned out loudly as she came all over your face while you eagerly licked her clean, clearly enjoying the taste of her cum.

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who sobered up after cumming on your face and realized what you two have done, feeling a mixture of shame and satisfaction as she saw your fucked out face and her juices coating your pretty lips

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who apologizes to you the next morning and begs you not to tell your father

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who got frustrated with you when you told her she should leave your father if she's such a cheater

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who grew angrier and angrier as you continued to call her names and accused her of being a gold digger

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who in a fit of rage decides to put you back in your place, all sense of shame left her as soon as she reached her tipping point

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who makes you call her mommy as she spanks you to remind you of your place

It was almost comical how fast you complied to take off your clothes once Shoko used her authoritarian voice.  “Take off your clothes, right now” You knew you messed up big time when you saw Shokos glare, her eyes holding a dark glint that made you feel fearful of the consequences of not obeying her. Eyes landing on the floor, refusing to meet Shokos cold glare, you took off your clothes. You peeled your clothes off your body piece by piece, until you stood in front of Shoko with only your lacy underwear. Despite feeling fearful of what Shoko might do to you, a wave of excitement washed over your body as Shoko got closer to you. She forcefully grabbed your chin, making you look up from the ground into her icy gaze.  “Planning on going out?” Shoko mocked, hooking her index finger under the strap of your bra, before it snapped back against your skin. Being sensitive to pain, you lightly whimpered as you felt the stinging sensation on your shoulder, but you still tried to appear unbothered. Bad idea.  “Come on princess, you were so much more obedient last night. Do you really need my tongue shoved inside your pussy to stop acting like such a goddamn brat?”  You swallowed hard. This wasn’t the kind woman you met just a few days ago. The woman you saw in front didn’t resemble the sweet doctor you hated. This woman made you hot and bothered.   “Here’s what’s going to happen” Shoko leaned in, face dangerously close to yours. “I will sit down on that couch over there, and you will lay on my lap. Got that?” “W-why?” you stuttered out. Heart thumping against your ribcage, you both dreaded and anticipated the answer at the same time.  “So I can put you back in your place” You watched as Shoko made her way towards the couch, sitting on the soft cushion.  “What are you waiting for?” Shoko inquired “Don’t make me come and get you, brat” Brat. That word sent chills down your spine and pussy.  You laid on her lap, your ass propped up as you already knew what was coming your way. With a loud clap, her hand made impact with your buttcheek. Your eyes shot wide and a loud whine escaped your lips.  “Is this how I have to deal with you?” Shoko mocked condescendingly as her hand collided with your sensitive skin in a hard slap.  Teary eyed, you remained silent. You were far too ashamed to be in this position to talk with her. Another harsh slap followed.  “I spoke to you, brat. Mommy wants to hear an answer”  “No, mommy. I’ll be good from now on” You pleaded with her, tears rolling down your cheeks as Shokos spankings made you soaked wet.  “I don’t believe you. I gotta discipline you real good” She followed up with another slap. You knew for sure this wouldn’t be the last slap you’d feel, but you couldn’t complain as with every slap, your panties grew wetter and wetter.

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who gets off of your teary eyed apologies to never behave like a bad girl ever again, your cries of pleasure and pain seemingly appeasing her

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who doesn't need to do much after disciplining you you for you to not tell your dad

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who purrs into your ear "This is a secret between mommy and her pretty princess" the first few times she fingered you inside your bedroom

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who starts a secret relationship with you right after you stopped acting bratty towards her

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who asks your father to stop calling you his "princess" - for you are her little princess now

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who assures your dad that she and you get along just fine while

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who is such a good mommy to you, always sending you gifts when you've returned back to your uni town

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who has a secret folder inside her phone full of you wearing the cute lingerie sets she sent you

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who makes sure you visit her frquently, after all she's be damned if she can't taste your sweet pussy for an extended amount of time

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who keeps physical touch with your dad to a minimum, much rather fucking his cute daughter

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who proves to your dad that you and her are getting along by making you her maid of honor

♡ Stepmom! Shoko whose fingers are knuckle deep inside your pussy right before the wedding ceremony, not being able to resist after seeing you in the cute dress she picked out for you to wear to her wedding

“Keep your voice down, princess” Shoko cooed into your ear, lips lightly pressed to your ear as she fucked her fingers into you. It wasn’t the first time Shoko fingered you like this, body pressed against yours at a semi public place. But this was different.  “Mommy, please. He could walk on us any minute” you whimpered out. He being no other than your dearly beloved dad. You knew that what you were doing is bad and perhaps immoral. Who on their right mind is getting fingered by their soon to be stepmom inside of the bathroom right before said stepmom's wedding? You were, but you were far from being in your right mind. And how could you resist Shoko when her fingers stuffed your pussy so perfectly full? How could you resist when her soft lips against your neck made you weak to your knees? How could you resist when she’s the only one that can put you in your place, when she is the only one that knows how to tame a brat like you? Shoko’s fingers moved in and out deliciously, grazing every spot that had your toes curling and breath shorten. While she fucked her index and middle finger in and out of you, her thumb began grazing against your touch starved clit.  “Fuck!” You moaned out loudly, feeling the knot inside your stomach growing tighter and tighter.  “Mommy, please. Let me cum” You mewled as you felt her fingers thrusting slowly inside your cunt, edging you.  “This is what happens when you don’t obey, princess” Shoko lightly bit your earlobe. “Mommy will reward you if you stop being so fucking loud, ok baby?” She pulled her fingers out, lightly pinching your throbbing clit.  You clasped your mouth shut with your hand, barely being able to drown out a sinful moan. You bit your lower lip and nodded, signaling to Shoko that you were willing to comply.  “Good girl” With that, she plunged her fingers back inside your cunt, thrusting in and out with newfound fervor.  “You may cum” Shoko ordered you, and being her good little princess, the knot inside your stomach bursted, leaving you to see stars as tears from the overstimulation escaped your eyes.  Shoko chuckled as she saw your fucked out expression.  “Now come on, let me help you get ready for my wedding”

♡ Stepmom! Shoko who's so glad your father is knocked out drunk after the wedding, leaving her to properly fuck you

The wedding has officially ended with Shoko marrying your dad, making her your stepmom. Your dad, being way too drunk to consummate the wedding, not that Shoko would want him if she has her pretty stepdaughter do that for him. Your clothes dropped to the floor as soon as you and Shoko were alone inside your hotel room. She has been eying curing the wedding ceremony, admiring how the dress she picked up for you perfectly hugs your frame. Oh, how glad she was that she finally had access to your sweet, sweet pussy.  Shoko instructed you to lay down on your bed, legs spread apart as she laid herself on top of you. Instead of looking into your beautiful eyes, Shoko was facing your dripping cunt. Shoko let out an amused chuckle when she dipped a finger inside your pussy.  “So wet already?”  Shoko lighty pumped her finger in and out of your gushing pussy. While Shoko was amused by how wet you were, she knew that she was just as wet and ready to grind her aching clit all over your face. More importantly, she couldn’t restrain herself anymore, she had to have a taste of your cunt. Slowly, Shoko removed her finger and licked it clean, enjoying the flavor of your arousal.  Being mommy’s good girl, you patiently waited for Shoko’s command to eat her out. However, this seemed too hard of a task for you, especially since you were feeling needy yourself. Gripping into Shoko’s thighs, you felt like you were going crazy with Shoko just teasing your pussy and not shoving her tongue inside you.  “Mommy, I need you. Please, need you to make me cum. Wanna taste you too” You whined out.  “I’m feeling gracious today” Shoko stated before letting her tongue drag across your pussy, letting your juices fully coat her wet muscle. “You taste so much better than my wedding cake” Shoko groaned into your pussy, already feeling drunk off you. “You may have a taste of me as well”  That was all you needed to hear. Burying your face between her legs, you circled your tongue around Shokos clit, feeling it twitch and throb at your touch. You sucked on her clit while Shoko was lightly humping your face, needing more friction. You gasped as Shoko  thrusted her tongue inside your hole.  You already felt so close, and you could tell that Shoko was as well when she humped your face harder.  And when you two came, you wouldn’t stop. Bodies glued to one another, neither of you dared to stop pleasuring the other, wanting the euphoria to never end. But sooner or later, Shoko had to go back to her hotel room with your dad. As she kissed you one last time before leaving, you knew that despite everything, you wouldn’t feel sad. For Shoko might be legally married to your father, her heart, soul and body belonged to you, and only you.

[wlntrsldler]

how to disappear | luke castellan

warnings: betrayal, fluff, mean!luke for like five lines, extremely long, not canon, drug use and language, probably got some things wrong but it's for the plot; i sobbed writing this. (this might be my favorite piece i've ever written)

part 2: shades of cool

pairing: aphrodite!reader x luke

description: based on how to disappear by lana del rey

i. all of the guys tell me lies, but you don't. just crack another beer and pretend that you're still here.

"hey, angel," a voice startled you out of your thoughts. your feet were dangling over the pier as you stared out into the lake. you twisted your head to see luke approaching. a soft smile was on his face. "been looking for you everywhere."

"needed a breather," you said, scooting over so he could join you. "sometimes i forget how overwhelming being back here is."

he rolled his cargo pants up to his knees, letting the cool water touch his bare skin. "i get it. sometimes i wish i could take a break."

"you can, you know," you nudged his shoulder, "you're old enough to leave camp during the year. nobody would fault you for wanting to go away for a while."

he dug into his front pocket, pulling out a messily rolled joint and the pink lighter you gave him last summer. the heart you drew on the plastic with sharpie was starting to fade. he placed the joint between your eager lips and lit the end. he tried to ignore the sparks that shot up his arm when your fingertips brushed against his.

luke shrugged, "i know, but then who would take care of the kids? mr. d isn't really the model citizen."

you quirked an eyebrow, passing him the joint, "and you are?"

"better than mr. d," he let out a chuckle before taking a drag. luke closed his eyes as the smoke escaped his lips. he could taste your lipgloss. "maybe when you get your own place, i'll take some time off and visit you."

"i'm off to college soon," you said. "going to california. i got a scholarship."

"of course you did," he grinned. the weed didn't take effect yet. usually, when you smoked with luke, his brown eyes are hazed over by the effects, but while he was speaking, his eyes twinkled in pride. "didn't doubt it for a second."

"you'd leave camp and visit california for me?"

luke had a knowing smile on his face now, as if you were ridiculous for even asking that question. "'course. only problem would be that i'm broke as shit right now. being camp counselor doesn't really pay the big bucks, y'know."

you hummed. it was weird really, how camp was just a fraction of your life. your dad made sure that you could have a semi-normal life, or at least as normal as a half-blood's life could be, but not all demi-gods had the luxury, luke included. his dad made sure of it.

at first, luke despised you for it. why was it fair that you were your mom's favorite child while his dad barely cared enough to make sure he survived his failed quest? if aphrodite was his godly parent, he was sure that he wouldn't have this ugly scar on his face to remind him that he was nothing but a failure. she would stitch him up and make sure that he was okay.

this is not to say that luke liked any of the gods; he just preferred aphrodite above all of them. she gave you to the world, after all.

"what else is new?" he prodded, passing you the joint again after his third drag. "anything else exciting happen in your life since last summer?"

"nothing much," you coughed slightly. you didn't smoke unless you were at camp with luke. "just the usual senior year things, i guess. graduation, prom, you know."

"no, i don't know, actually," he laughed, "well, i know the idea of it. did you decorate your graduation cap? did your senior year live up to your expectations? did you have a date to prom?"

"yes, yes, and no." you pretended not to notice how luke's shoulders relaxed at your answer. "i did decorate my grad cap. my dad has it framed with my diploma. the design was my college's logo. i didn't have a date to prom because i didn't really like anyone at school. i would rather take a date i actually enjoyed the company of."

"that's fair," luke said. he took another hit from the joint. you watched the smoke evaporate into the air, the smell of weed surely sticking to your clothes. "tell me about your senior year."

"it was fun," you said, longing on your face. "it's weird to think that i'm kind of on my own now. after camp, i'll be shipped off across the country to take classes for some bullshit degree that i probably won't need because i won't make it long enough to see the workforce."

luke chuckled at that. it was morbid, sure, but he would be lying if he said that that reality wouldn't be a possibility. he didn't like to think about it much, the idea of you dying, but the life of a demi-god was unpredictable. he's surprised he even made it to eighteen.

you continued, "but i got to be a kid and i'm thankful for that. i just can't stop thinking about how this is my last summer here. i'm eighteen now. i've aged out."

"you can come back, you know," luke said. these summers with you were the only thing he looked forward to each year ever since you first arrived. "i'm still here."

"that's because if you step a toe out of this camp, they'll find you," you said, although you knew luke knew this already. he was powerful. he would attract monsters left and right and he'd be putting himself in jeopardy if he left. your suggestions for him to visit you were more wishful thinking than anything. in those moments, you let yourself pretend that you and luke were normal, that nobody would be trying to kill you if you tried to watch a movie at a theater or something.

"fair," he offered you the last hit, but you shook your head. you already felt your head spinning. "beth wants to go to college, too."

"does she?"

"yeah," he put out the joint on the wooden pier. neither of you spoke as the flame was extinguished with a sizzling sound. "told her to talk to you. you know more about it than i do."

"i'd love to talk to her. i think she'd do great in college."

"she would," he smiled, sadly. his eyebrows furrowed in thought. his mouth opened and closed a few times, like he was trying to find the right way to frame his words. you sat in silence patiently. he gulped, "i feel like everyone is moving on without me."

luke propped his elbows on his knees. he looked across the lake, watching the sunset turn into a pink horizon. he couldn't look at you while he spoke. "don't get me wrong, i'm so proud of you for leaving this place. and i'll be proud of annabeth when her time comes, but i think i just hate the fact that at the end of it all, i'll be alone. everyone in my life has a life outside of this, but i don't. this is it for me. i don't know what it is about this place, about this life, that keeps me stuck here, but i am."

you weren't stupid enough to correct him. you both knew the gods had a plan for luke. it was something bigger than the both of you, though neither of you truly knew what it was; but it was always this looming dark cloud above him, a second shoe waiting to drop. luke tried to ignore the feeling most days, but sometimes, he couldn't help but feel himself get pulled into the darkness; like in these moments, when reality hits him a little harder. you probably won't be back after this summer.

"well," you placed a hand over his own. he flipped his hand over to hold yours properly. he still wasn't looking at you. "let's just make the most out of this summer, yeah? think about everything else when we get there."

he squeezed your hand, "yeah."

ii. met me down at the training yard, cuts on his face cause he fought too hard.

"castellan."

luke winced, not because of the pain of the open cuts on his face, but because of the tone of your voice. that voice meant that he was in trouble.

he mustered up the courage to smile weakly at you, trying to ignore the droplets of blood that spilled from his open wound. "hey, angel."

"don't angel me," you hissed, marching to him. you grabbed his face gently, inspecting the damage. "what were you thinking?"

"i was thinking the kid was a bitch."

"castellan."

he cringed, "sorry."

"what happened?"

"i haven't been getting much sleep," luke whispered, "nightmares are back."

you sighed, picking up a cotton ball soaked in alcohol. the apollo kid who was tending to luke earlier was smart enough to leave the room when you walked in. you muttered half-hearted apologies as he hissed in pain. "i'm sorry to hear that, but that's not the answer i was looking for."

"he was just talking shit," luke said through gritted teeth. whatever the ares kid was saying must've been really bad because you could feel luke's anger rising again. you rubbed his back slowly until he calmed down. "don't wanna talk about it."

"okay," you resigned, finally wiping away the final remnants of blood off his face. you stared at him; even with an open lip, red bruises, and flecks of blood on his face, luke was still beautiful. he plopped his forehead against your stomach, wrapping his arms around you to pull you closer.

this was common with luke. he acted all big and bad around all the other campers, but in your presence, he turned into this; always looking for comfort, always touching you somehow, like he was finally allowed to breathe. you cradled the back of his neck as he let out shallow breaths, leaving feather-light kisses on his crown when you thought he wouldn't notice them. he always felt them, but he never let you know that he did. he was afraid you'd stop doing it if you found out.

"how bad are they?"

"bad," he sighed, eyes closing. he tugged on you to bring you even closer, though you didn't know how that was possible at this point. "haven't slept in days."

"why didn't you come find me?"

"your sisters don't like it when i interrupt their beauty sleep."

"why didn't you tell me sooner? i could've stayed in the hermes cabin."

"it's gross in there," he laughed. "you deserve to sleep on your soft bed in a cabin that smells like fucking roses, not on my cardboard thin cot in a room that smells like sweaty socks."

you lifted his head up to look at you, "yeah, it's pretty bad in there."

luke snorted, finally letting you go, but a hand stayed connected to your hip. he played with the loose thread on the hem of your shirt. "i still won, by the way."

you cocked your head, "huh?"

"the fight," luke's cocky smirk was back on his face. "you should see the other kid. if i'd been well-rested, he wouldn't have been able to land a blow."

you smacked his shoulder, laughing as you fell onto the bed beside him, "shut up, castellan."

"there it is," he mumbled, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear. he was so close to you.

"what?"

"castellan," he mimicked your voice, but there was no mockery there. he said it like he treasured it, like he was trying to memorize the way you spoke. "you're not mad at me anymore."

it was hard to stay mad at luke. the longest you'd gotten mad at him was when he didn't choose you for his quest. he stood outside the aphrodite cabin the entire day before he was set to leave, begging for you to let him explain. you were too stubborn, too hard-headed, to listen to him. when you were sure that he was gone, you finally left the aphrodite cabin to find a letter from him tucked away under the welcome mat.

you kept the letter, but you never opened it. it wasn't until he returned from his quest, on the brink of death, that you opened it. you were sitting beside his bed, eyebags darker than ever that even your mother couldn't salvage you. your eyes were stained red from crying so much.

in his letter, he explained how he didn't want to put you in danger, how he would never forgive himself if something bad happened to you because of him. your insecurities just got the better of you. you always feared that people saw you as shallow, like you didn't actually have the skills to fend for yourself. many people had misconceptions about the aphrodite kids, but not luke. luke knew that you were incredible. you just didn't resort to violence as quickly as he did.

you felt stupid then, even now, you regret how you treated him before his quest. you hated yourself for how you acted. he never gave you a reason to doubt him, to not trust him; you should've known that he had his reasons. you hated yourself for even questioning him for a second.

luke pulled you into his chest, allowing you to cuddle into his neck. the beads of his camp necklace rested beside your temple. you reached over to play with them, letting the beads thump against his collarbone when you let go. you felt luke twirling strands of your hair around his finger, gently undoing the knots that formed at the ends of your hair because of his antics. you lay there in silence, just enjoying the presence of one another. you felt luke's breathing even out, a sign that he was drifting off.

luke's words from the pier bounced in your head then. did he think that you'd forget about him after you left camp? as if you'd forget about this, about him. a life without luke castellan became unimaginable when you met him when you were fifteen. there was no version of your life that didn't have luke in it.

it was foolish to think that way, you knew that. it was stupid to let someone have a hold on you like this, demi-god or not. even your friends from home warned you about being so attached to luke, though in the version of events you told them, the stakes were much lower. to them, he was just a boy you see at summer camp a few months out of the year; he was just another hometown boy that they urged you to forget when you moved away to college so you could live your life unrestricted.

but luke wasn't just that to you and you knew you weren't just that to him either. there was something between the two of you that was hard to explain, but didn't need an explanation at the same time. even your mom noticed it. she let you know once to tell luke to stop praying to her to give you a sign whenever he missed you.

"i can't keep making flowers bloom whenever he misses you," she wrote, "it wouldn't make much sense for flowers to bloom in the winter, my child, or for flowers to bloom every second of the day."

sometimes, though, on particularly hard days when you'd miss luke, your mom made exceptions. you'd find bunches of hibiscus growing within the cracks of the sidewalk of new york city on your way home from school.

you knew luke was thinking about you then. just the thought of it made your day better.

iii. i know he's in over his head, but i love that man, like nobody can. he moves mountains and pounds them to ground again.

luke didn't know what you'd say if you found out. well, he did know, but he deluded himself into thinking that you'd listen to his reasons, that you'd actually understand why he did what he had to do. maybe you'd even join him.

percy had left camp with annabeth and grover for his quest yesterday. the air at camp felt different since percy was revealed to be a forbidden child. luke, as much as he tried to keep his resentment for the gods at bay because percy was hard to dislike, the poor kid just wanted to save his mom, felt his blood boil when poseidon claimed percy.

he hated the gods, this wasn't new, but luke struggled to understand how he was supposed to feel. he saw so much of himself in percy. he thought of his mother; her hugs that he hadn't felt since he was nine, the taste of her burnt cookies that he hated at the time, but now he just wished he could taste the burnt crisps on his tongue one last time. he even missed her frantic mumbling in the middle of the night.

luke saw a version of himself in percy, the version that had a chance at happiness. luke hated it.

it was too late, anyway. the plan was already in motion. his allegiance to kronos was set. kronos visited him in his dreams often. luke stopped calling them nightmares because nightmares are only nightmares if they happen once in a while. what made them bad dreams was when they were compared to good ones. he didn't have those anymore.

luke hadn't slept much since he stole the bolt. it was easier to think about you, about the happy times, when he was awake. he smoked more now. it helped sometimes. he would pretend your lipgloss was still on the tip of the joint and that you were beside him on the pier, trying to get away from all the noise of camp.

as he walked toward the hermes cabin, smiling cordially at the younger campers who beamed at him, he saw the corner of a pink bag against his bed. his face dropped. luke stopped in his tracks, clutching the beads of his necklace.

you weren't facing the door. your back was turned while you folded the sheets on his bed. he saw you spray perfume on his blankets. he could almost smell the sweet fragrance from where he stood. it took all his might not to run to you and hold you in his arms. it's been months since he last saw you, since last summer. luke's hands fell to his sides before he twisted his body to turn the other way.

he went to the one place that gave him comfort. with his cargo pants rolled up to his knees, he watched the sun fade into the dark sky. there was no pretty sunset tonight. luke didn't think too much of omens, but he figured that was a bad sign. and when your soft footsteps thumped against the boards of the pier, he was certain that it was.

"you damn near running away from me when you saw me was not the reaction i was hoping for."

luke closed his eyes and took a deep breath. out of habit, he moved a bit to let you take your usual spot beside him. when he opened his eyes, he was met with the face he'd thought about for months. a kind smile adorned your lips. you looked different. your skin was a deeper shade, no doubt due to the california sun; your lips were pink and torn apart, like you'd been chewing on them; but your smile was the same.

"what are you doing here?"

"sorry i was late," you said, sheepishly. you played with the small braid in your hair, "i had to move out of my dorm so i had to take a later flight."

"i thought you weren't coming back," luke replied.

"heard there's a war coming," your voice sounded small. luke knew why. he'd listened to you talk about the dreams you had for yourself for hours over the past summers. the idea of an impending war meant that those dreams would take the backseat and you'd have to fight before any of them could come true. "is it true?"

"percy, a forbidden kid, poseidon's, is trying to make sure it doesn't happen."

"do you trust him?"

luke felt his heart crumble in his chest. how cruel is he to keep you in the dark like this? when the only thing you needed to feel okay was to hear that he trusted the kid meant to stop the war?

luke's voice was hoarse, "yeah, i do. beth does too."

"okay," you placed a hand on his thigh. luke stiffened at your touch. you pulled away, embarrassed. "sorry."

"don't apologize," he placed his hand next to yours. he could feel the warmth of your skin. "i've just been on edge."

"it's just me, luke."

he didn't know how to tell you that that's exactly why he was on edge. it was you. the girl he'd been in love with since he was fifteen. the girl he told everything to. the girl who knew him so well that if you were to touch him for longer than a second, you'd know everything.

this summer, for the first time since he met you, he was glad you didn't show up to camp. he knew that the minute you were in front of him, he'd tell you everything and there was a chance you'd want nothing to do with him after it. that was something luke couldn't handle. but now you're here, looking at him like this like his actions just hurt you.

"'m sorry, angel."

"you're acting different, luke."

"'m sorry."

"i don't need an apology," you said. "i want to know why."

luke rubbed his face with his hands, "i don't know, okay?"

"you're lying to me," you were frowning now. luke was angry. he wasn't angry at you, he was angry at the whole situation, but it didn't matter. he was taking it out on you.

"gods, angel, can you just-- not right now," he groaned. you got a good look at him. his eyes were tired, shoulders slumped like he'd been carrying a weight on his shoulders with no reprieve. "i don't really feel like talking."

"you don't have to be mean about it."

he didn't feel like himself anymore. he would never talk to you like this, but there was something in him that made him snap. luke scoffed, "i'm not being mean, you're just being so pushy right now."

you blinked, pulling your hand away from his. shivers ran down your spine, "luke, what the fuck?"

"what?" he stood up. you followed suit. under the moonlight, you saw how dull his brown eyes were. they no longer carried the same glow when he looked at you. luke's eyebrows were furrowed, eyes narrowed, "i just can't handle this right now, okay? can you just drop it?"

"i'm just trying to talk to you!" you raised your voice, disbelief on your features. you walked towards him. holding his face in your hands. he was crying. you wiped away his tears. "i just missed you, okay? i just wanna talk to you because i haven't gotten to in months and i'm miserable."

he let out a shaky breath, your touch grounding him. he felt himself coming back to him. he nuzzled his cheek in your palm, kissing the flesh there as he mumbled apologies into the night.

"i missed you so much," a sob escaped your lips. luke didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around you, continuing his train of apologies into your ear. you continued, "i-i thought that you'd be happy to see me because i've been counting down the days until i saw you again and i just thought that even though the world was falling apart, we'd be the same. it's always been us, you know?"

"i know."

"and then you avoid me and run away from me and i just needed to see you, luke. i needed to talk to you."

"i missed you, too," he confessed. "so much, you have no idea."

"you have a funny way of showing it," you joked through your tears.

luke laughed. it shocked him. it was like he had forgotten how to. he hiccuped, removing one hand from around you to rub the tears away from his eyes, "come on."

selfishly, he ignored the pit in his stomach. he allowed himself just one more day to have you like this. as he lay on his bed, he held you close to him. he was overwhelmed with how much you filled his senses; the smell of your perfume, the feeling of your lips ghosting on his chest as you told him nonsense stories from college, the sound of your quiet giggles when he made some stupid joke, the look on your face in the dark, staring at him.

an unfamiliar feeling took over his body, rest, he realized it was, a while into lying in the darkness with you.

"i love you, you know that, right?"

luke didn't trust his voice anymore. he pulled you closer, hoping that that was enough for now.

iv. think about those years as i whisper in your ear. i'm always going to be right here.

"i love you."

you turned your head at the sound of luke's voice. camp was in disarray. percy was badly hurt and annabeth was frantic, sobbing about how luke was behind it all. you ran away after hearing it.

you didn't want to believe it, but it was annabeth. she wouldn't say that about luke unless it was true. you knew it killed her just the same to accept it.

"what are you doing here, castellan?"

it felt like a dagger was plunged into luke's heart. he'd heard his name leave your lips in different ways over the years; jokingly, angrily, but never like this. disappointment.

"i couldn't leave without telling you," luke licked his lips, keeping his distance. he was pressing his shirt on the spot percy broke skin. he looked down at his feet, "couldn't leave without letting you know that i love you."

"why did you do it?"

"i don't know."

"okay," you walked towards him. "when did you get so comfortable with lying to me?"

"angel," he sounded broken. "please, don't do this."

"you were wrong, by the way," you said. "you're not stuck here anymore, but i don't think the place you'll end up in is any better than this."

luke was silent.

"go, luke," you whispered. "don't make it any worse than it already is."

he nodded. this was it. you watched as he disappeared into the dark.

you were too preoccupied with your thoughts to notice it then; your mind was plagued with worry, but in the gaps of the wooden pier, a single hibiscus flower bloomed under your feet.

[yellowocaballero]

RIP John Romita Sr, THE Spider-Man Artist

Hey, with all of the Spider-Man discussion flying around lately, I absolutely need to stop and call attention to the fact that John Romita Sr just passed. I can't stress enough that this man was a LEGEND. He was THE Spider-Man artist. He was the most prolific Spider-Man artist ever, he drew all of his iconic looks and character designs, and he just made the character. His art is beautiful. I've spent the last few days rereading the 1970s newspaper comics made by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr and talking for ages about how gorgeous the art is, and hearing that he died just now felt incredibly strange.

He did the most iconic Spidey covers and moments:

But also some really gorgeous other art:

If you have some favorite pieces of art by him, go ahead and add it to the post! Man, this guy was my childhood and probably permanently shaped an area of my brain. We're losing a lot of comic artist legends lately. RIP John Romita.

[pinkyqil]

Annoying // salma paralluelo x r

Summary : just salma begin the cutest and most annoying tall shit to her short but not that short gf.

Warning : small cursing

A/n : this is meant to be a fic that I'm was currently working on,also decided to practice writing long fic so enjoy this. taking requests has I've been busy writing other chaps for hidden secrets and my brain and mind need a break so for a while I'll be taking requests and writing, this fic gave me the opportunity to jump on the annoying gf prompt going on with woso writer's and slama just gives that vibe tbh hope you enjoy reading it and feel free to request 🫶🏿

___________________________________________

If you could describe salma with three words it would be, tall kind-hearted sunshine. But sometimes she could be the most aggravating piece of shit you've ever encountered.

You both meet around your vacation too Barcelona mid 2022 where your friends had invited you out for barca meet and greet for their female player's. that when you meet her.

You'd known spainsh people are very affectionate but the moment your eye's meet hers.

It felt like you've been hypnotized or what they called it love at first sight.

It must have been fate caused she also felt the same has her eye fell on you.

You and your friend made your way to salma stand where the fans got to interact with player's.

And let's just say salma was one flirt of a player she had you blushing left and right with her pick up lines at the she had sign your jersey and left her phone number for you on a piece of paper typically rom com shit.

also where your moment had come to an end after that eventful day.

You tossed and turn try to decide if you should actually message her or not until your friend had slap some sense into you.

"You know that is a life time opportunity when have you ever meet a snacklious football player that was attractive giving you their number if I were you I would sprint right now and message her ass plus wouldn't hurt a goat until you try"

"None" you mumbled.

"See so hurry your ass up and message her". She told you with a hug grin on her face before you had smack her with the pillow that was right next to you making you both burst out laughing.

The rest was history after you finally had the courage to message salma.

Now you both have been dating for nine months now. Where she had first made the move by asking you out on a date.

after dedicating one of her goals to you at a barca game and asking you out in the back room's. Where she got teased endless by her teammates for her cheesy way of asking you out with the help of her little sister vicky.

Today you both would be celebrating your 10th anniversary as you both never really re called celebrating your month anniversary together due to busy schedule that always clashed together.

And on this particular day salma decide it would be lovely to annoy you like she never did.

It all started this morning when you woke up to an empty bed. Nothing your tall girlfriend had probably gotten up early for her morning run without waking you up.

meaning she was up to no good if she hadn't woke you up when she did. Not wanting your day to start helplessly you quickly got out of bed and showered and picking out you and salma's beach outfits for the day.

Getting out of bed with short notice meant that you had to make your daily smoothie since you weren't a big coffee fan.

but like some other day salma decided too place your favorite smoothie bottle somewhere far knowing well that you couldn't reach high places without her help.

You tried getting a chair to help you reach your bottle but it felt like you shruk times two your actual height.

and couldn't get it. pissing you off as you like using specific type of mugs depending on what your having.

Finally giving up using a different cup when all of a sudden you felt a cold hand smack your ass. making you yell dropping your smoothie that now found it self on the floor.

"Salma Paralluelo If You Don't Explain Yourself Right This Moment And Clean This Mess Up You Can Definitely Find Yourself Dead To Me".

You said turning to face your your girlfriend Who's face had drop after hearing you yell at her and at the sound of the bottle falling.

"I'm very sorry baby pleasee don't ignore me I just got up early to get you these". You rolled your eye's at her but once you saw the bouquet of flowers she had gotten you couldn't be mad at her any longer especially with the expression she had on.

Forgetting about what happened this morning with salma has you both made your way to the beach. setting up your little picnic activities along with some paint and brushes that salma got you.

You both found yourselves in the moment the spainsh music playing in the background your's and salma hand intertwine has you paint and in general just seeking in the moment right before you both.

Until salma grabbed a bottle of paint squeezing it on her hand before applying it towards your face. You thought that your girlfriend childish act would stop by the end of the day but it was totally giving the opposite.

Instead of yelling at her you decide to chase with paint also on your hands.

While salma could be fast she was also very clumsy making you get to her quicker has she fell on the sand laughing until she could trun red.

Once you caught her off guard and grab her face applying the paint on too it. She instally grabbed your face pulling you into a deep kiss with her hands resting on your face.

After your make out session you'd join salma in the sea,where she would grab you by your waist making you both splash in the water enjoying your day together.

Salma might be annoying but she was the only one for you has you're the only one for her.

Your tall lil shit that was meant for your heart only.

Yn/salmaparalluelo

Anniversary dump love you my tall other half no matter how annoying you're 💕 liked by salmaparalluelo, alexiaputellas, vickylopez, lucybronze,ona batlle and 20,40 other's

View comments

Vickylopez la salma de mi gente favorita es muy molesta muy cierto

《 replied to vickylopez you both are very annoying not just salma

《 replied to vickylopez vicky shut up

Ona batlle thought I was the favorite 😪

《 replied to onabatlle your are oni 😚

《Replied to you Salma paralluelo no she's not 😒

Lucy bronze where's my invite 🤔

《 replied to lucybronze you simply didn't get one.

A/n: hope y'all like this pices feel free to request any player just have enough info about them and a suggestion you want and thank you for reading

[fatuismooches]

Hello

I just saw your post with the fragile SO and honestly I loved it sooo much ❤️

Now I wanted to request kinda of a follow up. Like what if before you died you wrote them a letter, saying how much you love them and how they made your last days on earth so memorable and stuff like that. And they found it, like maybe a month or so after your death. How would they all react? (I'm specially curious of Capitano because you said you thought he would think that he killed you 😭)

I really love your writing and I plan to make more request in the future 👋

-🦎

♡𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐥𝐞/𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐃𝐢𝐞𝐝 ♡

synopsis: The Harbingers are made of steel, unflinching in any possible situation. But it seems that even such strong beings falter in the face of their lover's death, especially after they find a letter you left behind. Can be read as a part 2 to this.

includes: all harbingers (platonic pulcinella) w/ gn! reader

notes: Hop on the angst train, everyone. This is the first completely angsty thing I've written, and probably one of my favorites + longest pieces. I hope you enjoy this sadness, anon...!

Pierro:

Pierro carried on. He went about his day, filing paperwork, assigning duties to new recruits. What could he do? There was no time to mourn. The entire Fatui depended on his guidance and orders. He couldn’t just drop everything to fully devote himself to grieving you. But everyone knew - in any spare moment he had, he was thinking about you. Thinking about how he used to be able to go home to you waiting for him. Thinking about the walks he took with you that were heartwarming despite the body-chilling temperature. Thinking about when you were alive.

It was another day when one of your maids came to him with a piece of paper. Of course, she was terrified at being in the presence of the Harbinger, but she presented a folded piece of paper to him, stating that she had found it while cleaning your room. Pierro hadn’t been in there for a while. He was consciously trying his best to avoid it, choosing to pick up work instead. He nodded and the maid quickly scurried out of the room. It was most likely a final memento from you. He should honor that, he thought as he took off his mask.

Dear Pierro,

Hello there, my love. I hope your day wasn’t too tiring. I know how you’re always swamped with your Fatui business and such. You’re the head Harbinger, you know! You should definitely abuse your power to get some more days off. You didn’t hear that from me though, not like I wanna keep you to myself or anything. Totally not because I’m dying to spend some more time with you before I quite literally die. 

You know, sometimes I wish I was a Fatui soldier just so that I could admire you from afar some more. Those recruits are damn lucky, getting to see you more than I do. I don’t mean to complain though. I’m still tremendously grateful for everything you’ve done for me. I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying the best moments of my life with you. Yeah, even when I made jokes you still had that stoic look on your face but it was still hilarious. I loved when you would wrap me in your coat and tell me stories about Khaenri’ah. Even when you weren’t here, I loved when these random recruits would be scurrying to my room every so often to deliver your handwritten notes. 

Truly, there’s no life I’d rather live than this one… minus the illness part though. I am sorry to make you shoulder another death, my dear, but I love you greatly. I will always be with you.

Quietly, Pierro put the paper down and rubbed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. Ever since the fall of his nation, his heart had long gone numb. He had tried to ignore the prickling of his heart after your death, but your letter was really rubbing it on. When was the last time mere words could stir up such emotion in him? He didn’t know. But he promised you, this would not be your final resting place. Pierro knew, after fulfilling the Tsaritsa’s promise, he would see you again.

Capitano:

Capitano wasn’t very photogenic. After all, all you saw was a helmet shrouding his face in darkness along with his pitch-black armor and clothes. But you had insisted on taking a variety of pictures with him, claiming that it kept you happy. It wasn’t until later on when he stumbled across a scrapbook, with pages covered in photos of the two of you together, that he understood why. Since then, he let you do as you please. The doctors said it was good for you to keep occupied by doing things you liked. And well, it was rather cute, with all the decorations and fancy tape you added. Capitano often found himself looking at it to see what you added when you weren’t around.

But ever since your death, he hadn’t looked at it since. If he did, he didn’t think he’d be able to control the emotions boiling up inside of him. If he looked at your smiling face again, the pain and regret would be too much to bear. But as the days passed by and he continued to think about you, he couldn’t help but flip open the scrapbook, revisiting the memories he made with you so long ago. He flipped until he found a envelope in the middle, causing him to perk up. It had been sealed perfectly, even stamped with one of his seals. Now, Capitano didn’t want to invade your privacy, but what was inside called to him too much, and he very carefully unsealed it with a knife. Inside was a piece of parchment, similar to the ones he used to send you letters.

My knight,

I’m writing this after you just left for an expedition. You’ve just fed me breakfast (a/d fa//ed, but it’s f/ne b/ca/se it w/s c/te.) (The ending part of the sentence has been erased, but it’s still a bit readable.) We took an early bath together, and you helped me choose a nice outfit for today. You dutifully assisted me with my medicine and tucked me back into bed for some rest. Lastly, you’ve just tenderly kissed me with all the love in the world, my favorite part of course.

It’s too bad that I won’t be able to receive any more of your kisses soon. I think the sickness is really catching up to me, haha. (There are some doodles of the two of you randomly drawn in the middle of the paper, with lots of hearts and stars and rainbows. Maybe you stopped because you didn’t know how to continue.) To be honest, I’ve asked the doctors not to tell you, and somehow, they’ve listened to me. I just don’t want you to worry about me. Somehow, for someone as menacingly looking as you, you worry a lot more than I thought (no offense, though.)

I don’t want you to blame yourself for anything, my love. You genuinely made my life so, so much better. Even towards the end, I can only feel happiness that I was able to share some of my life with someone so incredible. You aren’t a monster. You’re the man I love dearly, the one who many people look up to all the time. You did everything and more, which really warms my heart.

I’m saying this because I know how you are and I need to knock some sense into you before you start getting any crazy ideas. Please don’t beat yourself up. If I could choose my destiny, I’d rather choose to be sick and be with you rather than being healthy. I’d choose you again and again, over and over, my dear. I love you, truly.

Carefully folding the letter, he tucked it into the envelope again and resealed it. He snugly placed it back into the scrapbook and closed it, placing it back into the drawer where he usually kept it. Capitano was used to the grief and destruction that war brought. But he wasn’t used to it when love brought these feelings upon him. His heart still hurt - terribly so - but… your letter seems to have brought him some peace. You would forever be in his heart.

Columbina:

It had been a while since your death. By now, everyone had become accustomed to hearing her songs every day. It was a constant reminder of your passing. Oftentimes,  Columbina had begun to stay in your room longer than her own. You were gone, but something about your space soothed her soul a bit from all the grief she was going through. And she also liked to go through your stuff and remember different things about you.

There was a box that contained a compilation of the many songs and poems she gifted you, along with some that you created yourself with her help. Sometimes, she liked to go through the box and think about you, but she never had the time to inspect every piece. Until now, when she noticed that there was an unfamiliar piece of paper that she didn’t recognize. Columbina picked it up and began to read.

My lovely melody,

Lately, I’ve begun to sing more. I think you’ve inspired me. I hope you don’t mind me stealing that one song you like to hum the most. The only problem is that I don’t have enough stamina to sing for that long, and I think my voice is kind of off-key. But I promise I’m working on it! I’m not going to tell you yet because I want to surprise you with something nice, as a thank you for taking care of me for so long.

Actually, there’s another problem, and it’s that… (it seems that you wrote a lot of words here and then scratched them out; perhaps you were unsure how to word it) Well, I guess I don’t really know if I’ll live long enough to perform for you. It’s been kind of tough lately. But I’m going to persevere for you. Your poems have been helping a lot. We should make a book of them one day. And um, in the case that I don’t make it, I would like you to know how happy you made me.

I always got so giddy when I heard you humming down the hallway. Nothing felt better than when you would croon to me and massage my scalp and play with my hair. You are so comforting and sweet, and just - lots of things that would be too much to write. I always feel eternally fortunate that I was able to have a lover as amazing as you. You really did change my life. I love you very much, Columbina. Please don’t forget me.

Columbina’s usual smile had turned into a downward curve. Oh, how she wished she could hear you sing. Your usual voice and laugh had already been angelic to her, she knew your songs would be beautiful too. But you were no longer here. She would have really loved to hear your song. You would have been the best duet partner. But perhaps, you could hear her songs from the other world as she laid on your coffin once again.

Dottore:

Dottore hadn’t entered your room since your death. He was far too busy with his research and experimentation with resurrection. Mourn you? No, no, you weren’t going to be dead for long, after he finds the answer. You would be back in his arms soon enough. Both of you would be fine. That was, until no matter how hard he researched, he always seemed to hit a dead end. It was frustrating. He couldn’t believe it, but he was at the point where he willingly needed a couple of minutes to rest. Dottore headed to his room, but as he placed his hand on the doorknob, something stopped him and he looked over to the room next to his, yours. He silently walked over and opened your room, having not been in it for a while. The only reason you didn’t share a room was that his was very… bland, boring, not very comfortable, and not spacious enough for the medical equipment.

It was the same as he had left it, not bothering to change anything. You liked to decorate it, and he let you. Framed photos of the two of you were on the dresser, lights hung up around the room. It seemed to make you happy. But there was something he had not noticed before - a slip of paper sticking out from under the pillow. Dottore walked over and took off his mask - something he unconsciously tended to do when it was just the two of you - and opened the folded paper.

To Zandik,

I remember when you first took interest in me, looking at me up and down with your mask on, a wide smirk on your face. I knew my parents said they hired someone intelligent to cure me, but I sure didn’t expect it to be the second Harbinger. I think you already know this, but when I saw you, I was kinda scared for my life. And I was for a while, especially when you made me drink the most hellish concoctions and injected strange things into me. But long story short, I still fell in love with you somehow. Even though you were probably trying so hard just because you wanted to solve the mystery of my illness, I couldn’t help but think you were quite handsome when you focused on something so intensely. Your pointy teeth were the cutest. (The previous sentence has been erased but Dottore could still make it out. You were an idiot, he thinks.)

I don’t mean to insult your intelligence or skill… but I don’t think I’m going to make it, Dottore. I know you’ve been trying really, really hard (I was there the whole time, after all) to help cure me, but I think you know better than me about my condition. So yeah. I guess this is my goodbye… my parting letter.

I know you don’t care about anyone or anything really, but I hope you accept it when I say I genuinely enjoyed our time together. Yea, you were hella terrifying and a lot of scary stories drifted about you, but there was a lot of maniacal laughter and you rambling on about things I had no clue about, but I would always happily listen to you, Zandik. I would write more, but I don’t think you’re one for sappy words and stuff like that. So I’ll leave end it here. I love you very much.

His mouth was a straight thin line at the end of your letter. Dottore put his mask back on and tucked your letter into his coat. For once, he couldn’t blame someone for insulting his intelligence. He did fail, after all. But Dottore was no stranger to failure. Experimentation was a series of trials and errors, failures and successes. He swore to himself that you would not be a failure. Perhaps his journey to Sumeru, the land of wisdom, would grant him some more insight for your resurrection.

Pulcinella:

It was just after your funeral. Surprisingly, all the Harbingers had gathered too. It seemed like they had grown somewhat fond of you after Pulcinella introduced you to them, at least enough to attend your funeral. Pulcinella was grateful. He had spoken a few words in memory of you. He couldn’t keep everyone for long. They had other matters to attend to. But in his heart, he had a lot of dear words for you. 

Pulcinella sat down at his desk, deciding to do some paperwork to distract his mind. He pulled out the drawer to retrieve some items but he noticed a piece of paper stuffed to the back of it. He certainly had not put that there. He reached for it and opened it to read the contents.

Hey Papanella,

Do you like that nickname I came up with? I haven’t said it to you yet because I’m not sure how you’ll react. But I think it’s pretty cute. I haven’t said this out loud yet either but… um, I guess you’re like my dad to me. My own parents never cared much for me after my illness proved to be too much work, but you always treated me so kindly. So yeah. Thanks for being a father figure to me. Archons, this is kind of embarrassing.

I’m admitting this because I don’t know how much longer I have. I know you’re always encouraging me to keep living on, and I really do appreciate it. I’m sincerely trying my best, but I think my sickness has been getting worse. Ah, and thanks for introducing me to the Harbingers. They’re pretty scary but they’re kind of cool when you get to know them. Some of them are cute too. Please don’t tell them I said that. But really, for the longest time, I thought my life would amount to nothing, and that no one would remember me. But you proved me wrong. I truly enjoyed spending the last of my days doing old people stuff with you (just kidding of course!)

I’m going to ask you to tell me lots of more stories when I see you again. They really make my day. I like the ones about you in your youth the best. They’re the funniest. Anyway, I love you, gramps. Don’t miss me too much.

Pulcinella was old. He had seen things be built and broken down, people come and go. But he always hated it the most when he had to see youngsters go before he did. Especially innocent ones who had done nothing wrong. He just prayed, that whichever world you were in now, treated you better than this one did.

Scaramouche:

Ever since your death, the soldiers had been on the receiving end of Scaramouche’s insults even more. No longer were you here to hastily save them from his berating, much to their dismay.  They actually appreciated you for stopping Scaramouche from giving them another verbal (and sometimes even physical) beating. But now if he wasn’t yelling at someone, he was deathly silent, which was why even scarier than his words. Everyone knew they were forbidden from speaking about you in his presence.

When Scaramouche had to visit Inazuma for whatever reason, he always found himself walking towards your house. Once he had came across the Tenryou Commission moving your items out of your house, due to no one living there anymore and the want for someone else to buy it. Needless to say, he swiftly dealt with them and sent them on their way with rage. They had tried a few more times and he did not hold back, until later they stopped coming, apparently after the head shrine maiden gave an order on the behalf of the Shogun to leave the residence alone. Hmph.

He doesn’t know why he keeps coming here, the only thing that’s different is the new collection of dust on the dresser. But the want to see you again keeps calling him, only to leave Scaramouche sorely disappointed. He thinks he knows every nook and cranny of your house, that is until he walks on a floorboard that caves in and nearly makes him fall. He’s about to lose his temper until he sees a piece of paper hidden under the floor. The words die in his throat as he picks it up to inspect.

To my beloved Kunikuzushi,

As I write this, you’re probably yelling at some unfortunate Fatui soul and they’re all trembling in their boots. Haha, I wish I was there to see that. You should be nicer, you know. But it is kinda funny to see you mad. I hope you come back soon… it’s getting too quiet around here without your quips and remarks.

But I know as you read this, I’m no longer alive. Kuni, I… (There are wrinkled spots around this area, presumably from your tears.)

I love you, and I don’t want rage and hatred to consume you again. I’m sorry to make your heart bear such pain again. It may be fruitless to say this, but please don’t blame yourself… it was out of our control. Please know I enjoyed every moment with you, whether you were cursing at some guy who bumped into me, even when you teased me relentlessly, or silently crying in my arms about your fate. But my favorite part was your soft smiles which grew more frequent. You are loved very much by me too. I want to see you smile more, many more times before I- (The rest of the sentence was scribbled over with a pen, making it unreadable.)

I wish I didn’t have to depart so soon… I wish I was born someone else, someone more strong and healthier… if I was, would our story be different, Kuni? Perhaps we’ll meet again one day… hopefully, sooner rather than later, and maybe I won’t be the same as I am now, but…

Will you wait for me, Kunikuzushi?

Scaramouche hated when he cried. He felt weak, stupid, and disgusting, especially when you were there. And somehow, he couldn’t help but feel worse than that when he finished reading your letter. He was never favored by the Gods, having been betrayed by one already. It seemed as though he was always fated to be betrayed by people he cared about. But he knew deep down that you didn’t betray him, he did instead by not being able to protect and save you. In an effort to bury his despair, anger, and grief, he would wipe himself clean of foolish human emotions, ready to ascend to godhood with his creator’s Gnosis…

Arlecchino:

Arlecchino’s days had been exactly the same ever since your death. They were the same as before she had met you too. Bland. Boring. Dull. It was after your passing that she truly realized how much your presence had added some thrill and color into her life. Now they were empty. But she was used to that. She had felt that way for a long time.

Arlecchino didn’t do much in her room besides sleep. Her room wasn’t anything special, just the standard and rich master bedroom. That was, until you took it upon yourself to decorate it. She hadn’t bothered to change it despite the style being very much different from hers. Today she had come in briefly to retrieve some documents under her bed. But, there was a random piece of paper there, collected dust on top of it, most likely from being placed there a long time ago. Arlecchino opened the folded paper and was greeted with your handwriting.

To my sunshine,

I bet you’re wondering why the hell I chose “sunshine” of all names. Even I can admit that you are nothing like sunshine. But I wanted to spice things up a bit, and to be honest, you bring a lot of sunshine into my heart and dreary little life, despite your stone-cold face. So yeah! I don’t think I can call you that to your face though. It’d be too scary.

I didn’t tell you, but I’ve had some people ask me why I chose to stay with you despite my health being what it is. My answer is always very easy - I love you, Arlecchino. Plain and simple. They don’t know how you are with me (which I’m kinda glad for… I want to keep this side of you to myself; yes, I know I’m greedy.) The way your lips quirk up for a split second then always turn downwards because you don’t want anyone to see. The way your eyes soften for a bit when I tell a corny joke. Or when I do anything actually. Your facial expressions are pretty cute.

Ahem, moving on from that, I guess you can say that I’m not too scared to say these things because I might be leaving you soon. Not of my free will, of course. Rather, it seems like the time my illness is allowing me to live is limited. Hopefully, you don’t notice anything off about me. I don’t think I could explain all of this in person… 

But I am really thankful to you for sticking by my side for so long. Even though you don’t tell me, I know sometimes you lament about your lack of ability to be verbally and affectionately comforting. But I hope you know that I don’t really care about that. You are more than enough for me. You’ve done a lot more than you think. I’m forever appreciative, my dear.

Arlecchino was left speechless, the usual bite in her throat died down. As someone who had few kind words to say to others, having such sweetness directed at her was not something she was used to. But of course, a part of her wasn’t surprised, because the only person who’d utter such things was you. It pained her, and even the children who cried after your death, greatly. But whenever she needed a reminder of you, she would uncharacteristically gently trace her fingertips over the words of your letter.

La Signora:

Everyone knew to stay out of La Signora’s way after your death. She was cruel before, but your passing seemed to reignite all the flames of anguish and hatred she harbored deep inside her broken heart. Once again, her walls had been put up to be unbreakable.

Rosalyne had gifted you a lot of makeup and accessories. She liked to experiment on you and liked it when you tried it yourself too. You had kept everything in a nice big box so nothing would get lost. One day she felt drawn to it again. She knew she was missing you dearly again, and although opening it would just cause her heartache, she couldn’t help but pry it open to see how you kept it. But on top was a hastily folded letter, stained a bit by the surrounding makeup, tucked into a small compartment. She flipped it open and began to scan the contents.

My dearest Rosalyne,

Hello there, pretty lady. You know, that’s the first thing I thought when I saw you. Tall pretty lady. Did you know that? Now you do. Anyway, I was wondering - how many of your flame moths can you create at a time?? Can you make them form a heart or something? 

Haha, I’m sorry for beating around the bush. The truth is I don’t know how much longer I have left. No matter how much warmth your moths provide me, for some reason, I always feel the chill of death creeping up my spine…

I don’t mean to be your second heartbreak. I’m really sorry… you deserve so much better than that. But for what it’s worth, you made my life a lot better than it was before. I hadn’t had much confidence in myself because of my illness for a long time. But you, Rosalyne… you made me feel like an actual person, as strange as that sounds. I feel like, when I’m with you, you make me feel so loved and special. I’m far from it but I actually feel like royalty. And royalty is really a life worth living. I don’t even know how you did it, but thank you. My life is so, so much happier thanks to you.

Hopefully, I make it a lot longer after I’m writing this letter. Maybe the Gods could finally take pity on me and give me some kind of blessing so I can stay with you longer. But if anything happens, I really, truly love you, Rosalyne. (The end of the letter has an origami moth colored in and taped to it.)

Signora’s hand trembled as she finished your letter. Her heart had returned to being ice, but it felt like her whole body was being swallowed up in red-hot grief and anger. Signora would dedicate herself solely to the Tsaritsa’s noble dream. It was the only thing she could do now, with nothing else to do and no one left for her freezing heart to love. No one could ever hope to understand the grief and pain she’s been through. Perhaps, that was why when she stood in front of the Raiden Shogun’s sword, she did not feel much regret.

Pantalone:

Whenever Pantalone went out, he often found himself looking through the windows of many stores to view their products. It was almost an instinct to pull out a large sum of Mora to buy anything he thought you’d like. And he still did this, only that he stopped halfway every time when he remembered that you were no longer with him. And his heart felt painfully heavy once again, like how heavy his smile felt with the pressure to keep it up.

The silence of his office had become a norm once again, your joyful presence no longer around to brighten it up. Pantalone opted to drown himself in paperwork to ignore it. Actually, he never realized how much the tick of the grandfather clock bothered him until now. Usually, your voice was loud enough to hide it. He sighed and reached for the bottom drawer to get some new pens to sign the documents. But his eyes widened as he saw a paper clearly laid out there, addressed to him at the top. His heart beat quickened as he carefully picked it up and realized it was from you. It seemed like you had experimented with some fancy calligraphy pens he had gotten you a while ago. And you had also stolen every stamp you had from him and stamped all over the paper.

Darling,

Hello, my love. Sorry for all the random stamps. I wanted to see what they looked like. Why does the Fatui need so many different-shaped stamps? You should make one of us, actually. And do you see I’ve been practicing my cursive script? (Indeed, on the back on the paper, your name has been signed in different styles.) I’ve been trying to do my signature all fancy like you. Hopefully, I’m improving.

I am thinking to make you read me a bedtime story tonight. I found a new one that seemed pretty cute. It’s a commoner falling in love with a nobleman… a tale of forbidden romance. It seems to go fine, until the commoner s/cc/mbs to (It seems that you scratched off the rest of the sentence.) Actually, I won’t spoil the ending for you. But by the time you read this letter, we may have finished it already. I’m just going to abuse that pretty voice of yours as much as I can (kidding of course… but no joke. Have you tried some kind of service where you just read things to people? I think you’d make a lot of money from that. I sure would give all my life savings to you.)

I guess since I’m writing this, I should say another thing I’m thinking about. I’m not sure how much longer I can hang on. I’m trying my best because I don’t want to let you down. I know you’ve been trying your best, with all these fancy doctors and equipment, but um… yeah. But I should also say that I’m not regretful having spent my time with you. You made the last days of my life so relaxing, so stress-free, so… nice. I’m glad I don’t need to worry about anything with you. Let’s move on from this, actually.

I’m thinking of a lot of things, actually. I wonder what you made the chef prepare for us tonight. Mhm… I’m getting hungry. Will you feed me dessert again too? Hah, I’m going to miss thinking about such mundane things. Hmm, I think I can hear your voice down the hall, so I’ll wrap this up. I love you.

Pantalone gazed at your words forlornly, his mouth formed into a downwards line. He had never thought the loss of something besides Mora could squeeze his heart so painfully, but here you were, making his eyes sting once again. Blinking back any tears, he made sure to store your letter in a safe place. He made a note to visit your grave today. He’d bring your favorite snack too, and read you a story perhaps.

Sandrone:

It was almost ironic - the puppet master had become a puppet herself. She didn’t speak much to others anymore, choosing to lock herself up in her lab. A part of her debated making some kind of robot or doll replica of you. But it would never be the same. She wouldn’t feel your warmth, or your natural, free laugh. Nothing would be similar.

Sandrone had begun inspections on all of her created robots. It was a grueling process she had gotten used to, but she missed the chirping of your voice as she did so. She worked in silence, opening the compartment of one of them when she was caught off guard by a formerly white paper, caked in dust, inside. The only person who had access to her Automatons was you. So could it possibly be…?

My forever,

I’m actually writing this in the same room as you. You're too preoccupied with your robot building and engineering and all that stuff, so you don’t notice me rushing to write all of this. I’ll make this quick. Actually, it’s hard to concentrate when you look so pretty and intelligent. Ahh, I’m so lucky to have you with me.

I think you’re repairing one of your robots so it can lift us up and take us on a walk. I’m excited. Those are always so much fun. I know you aren’t a sappy person. But I want to make my feelings clear, since I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to watch you unscrew some bolts and hammer down the nails. I don’t need to say it outright, do I? We both know I’ve been getting worse. Neither of us wants to say it out loud, but it’s reality.

Before I go, let me make it clear, since I know you like being blunt. You are my everything. Seeing your cute little robots send me these cute little messages really made my day. I think you told me a long time ago that you didn’t care much about human emotions. I think that’s changed now. I love waking up to see that calm and content expression on your face and watching it become a bit more softer when you see me. You’re more human than you think, you know. Some people think that being cooped up in a lab with a Harbinger is not an ideal way to live. But I beg to differ. I would choose no other way to live as long as I’m with you, Sandrone.

I think you’re finished with your tinkering. I’m going to have one of the robots hide this paper in them. I think some of them like me better than you >:) I wonder how long it’ll be until you find it. Hopefully, you don’t find it too quickly because it’ll be awkward to explain this to you. Either way… I love you dearly, Sandrone.

Sandrone gently brushed off the dust on your letter. She wished she found it sooner. She didn’t know whether it was good or bad her heart was finally feeling some emotion again, but she was grateful to have some final parting words from you. Sandrone had a bubble of inspiration float up in her. She had a good idea of what she was going to build next.

Childe:

Childe had found it after he was cleaning out your apartment in Liyue. He wanted to bring all of your stuff to his home in Snezhnaya. No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t throw any of your items away, even the random useless trinkets. Childe’s chest felt hollow as he opened the door to your residence. He expected to see your face brighten and eagerly pull yourself out of bed to hug him. He’d easily lift you off the floor and spin you around, drinking in your gleeful giggles as he pressed his lips to yours. But now it was just the creak of the floorboards as he walked in.

Childe had a memory connected to every piece of clothing that you had. That one he gifted to you for your birthday. Another he remembered twirling you around in on a picnic. One of his sweaters that he doesn't remember you stealing from him, mingled with your scent and his. Archons, his chest hurt so badly, but there was nothing he could do as he neatly placed your items in boxes, emptiness consuming him. He was finishing up the packing when a piece of paper folded in half fell out of one of your pants’ pockets. Childe picked it up and his eyes widened when he recognized your handwriting and his real name. Sitting down on your bed, he began to read.

To my one and only Ajax,

My greatest wish is that you’ll never find and read this letter because it means that we’re living our best lives. We’re happy, content, still deeply in love with each other… living in bliss. 

But if you’re reading this, then we probably didn’t go and do all of the cool and exciting things you wanted us to. I didn’t move to Sneznhnaya and I didn’t meet the rest of your family. We didn’t go travel to all the nations like you wanted to…

Heh, that’s too bad. I was really looking forward to seeing the same sights you saw on your travels. The pretty bloom of Inazuma’s sakura trees, the beautiful snow-covered streets of Snezhnaya. Remember that time you asked me if I wanted to conquer the world with you? Of course, since I can’t ever say no to you, I accepted your proposition. But in my head, I couldn’t help but think that you should probably choose someone who can match your ability and someone who is act/a/ly g/i/g to b/ ali/e. (The previous words have been haphazardly erased, making it hard to make out.)

You know I… (The ink here has bled through the paper, most likely due to you stopping there for a good while.) I don’t even know what to say, I’m just sorry. I don’t wanna leave you, I wanna be by your side forever, wanna be attacked by your cuddles every day. But the only thing I can do now is to make sure you understand that I’m truly grateful for you. No one else has ever cared about me as much as you did. You never stopped believing in me and always smiled when I needed you. You made my feeble life worth living.

Please don’t be sad. Teucer and the rest of your siblings need you. I love you so very much…

He didn’t realize how hard he was digging his fingernails into his skin until he started bleeding through the paper. Childe had been through endless battles, and fought countless enemies, but no wound had ever burned as badly as his heart did right now. Even in the Abyss, he did not feel as bottomless of despair as he felt right now. He wanted to hold you again too, Childe thought. He wanted to kiss you all over and show you how much he loved you. But you were gone, and the letter just solidified it more. He laid down on your bed, hand covering his forehead as he stared blankly at your ceiling. Biting down on his lip hard, he tried to prevent tears from flowing again. He would just go back to being the Tsarista’s weapon again, drowning himself in battle and blood just to feel something after your death.

[tiaramania]

Tiaras of the future Queen Mary

I love a good list and @duchessofostergotlands requested one of the tiaras that Mary will wear as queen. As usual I had a lot to say.

Crown Jewels

Queen Caroline Amelie's Emerald Tiara

Denmark is unusual among modern monarchies in that they still have wearable jewelry in their crown jewels. There is a diamond set, a pearl and ruby set, and of course the beautiful emerald parure. This tiara cannot be taken outside of Denmark and is only worn by the queen. I really hope Mary wears it for her first official portrait as queen.

Major Tiaras: Non-Restricted

Princess Louise's Pearl Poiré Tiara

This tiara has only been worn by Queen Margrethe during her reign but previously was worn by crown princesses and princesses. It is a very important tiara but I wouldn't mind Queen Mary loaning this one occasionally to other people like Christian's future wife.

Queen Désirée's Ruby Parure Tiara

Queen Ingrid kept this tiara even after her husband passed and then left it to Crown Prince Frederik for his future wife so it was never worn by Queen Margrethe. I expect Crown Princes Mary will continue wearing this tiara for now as the parure was extensively remodeled to suit her. When Christian marries, she may decide to pass it on to his wife establishing it as the de facto crown princess tiara, keep wearing it herself, or ideally keep wearing it while also loaning it the future crown princess.

Minor Tiaras

We don't yet know how Queen Margrethe will handle passing on her jewelry. In other countries with recent abdications, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands still attends tiara events but Queen Paola of Belgium and Queen Sofia of Spain do not. If Margrethe decides to keep attending them she may hold on to some of these for a while.

Grand Duchess Louise of Baden's Palmette Tiara

This isn't my favorite tiara in the Danish vault because of the way it ends so abruptly instead of tapering off. Queen Mary's going to have to pull off some great tiara hair to cover that up.

Crown Princess Margaret's Turquoise Daisy Tiara

Queen Mary looks good in turquoise but I'm really looking forward to seeing this tiara on Princess Isabella and Princess Josephine.

Queen Ingrid's Floral Aigrette Tiara

I've loved the way Queen Margrethe played around with this tiara but I am looking forward to Queen Mary putting it back on a tiara frame like Queen Ingrid wore it.

Queen Margrethe's Naasut Tiara

Queen Margrethe was given this tiara by Greenland in 2012 and I have been waiting for day it is worn by Queen Mary. I think the delicate gold flowers are really going to look great against her dark hair.

Personal Tiaras

Wedding Tiara

Queen Margrethe gave this tiara to Crown Princess Mary as a wedding gift and Mary later had optional pearls added.

Ruby & Spinel Necklace Tiara

Mary bought herself this tiara at an auction and debuted it 2015. I think it was a very smart move because it was only 8050 EUR (probably less than some of her gowns) and it will be a great piece for her children to wear in the future.

Every country and monarch handles jewelry a little differently. Queen Margrethe gave each of her daughters-in-law a tiara but did not share any of her tiaras with them. She did share with her nieces (the daughters of her two sisters) when her sisters didn't have enough tiaras to loan them for events. I would like to see the future King Frederik X and Queen Mary change how the jewelry is dispersed.

First of all they need to stop giving away jewelry. The mainline has already lost the Queen Alexandrine's Diamond Drop Tiara to the Countess of Frederiksborg and Princess Dagmar's Diamond Floral Tiara to Princess Marie. Those are both beautiful, versatile tiaras that would have served the family well in the future. In the previous generation, Princess Benedikte was given Queen Sofia's Star & Pearl Tiara and her Floral Birthday Tiara made from other jewelry and Queen Anne Marie was given Crown Princess Margaret's Khedive Tiara and her Antique Corsage Tiara made from other jewelry. There's no reason to give away tiaras anymore to people whose descendants will have little reason to wear them.

Then to make up for not giving away any jewelry there needs to be more sharing! I don't want to see the same person wear the same tiara to every event. Queen Mary will have the Emerald Tiara exclusively and then may choose to keep the Pearl Poiré Tiara and Ruby Parure Tiara to herself but everything else should be shared among her daughters, daughters-in-law, and other members of the extended Danish Royal Family. It would make things so much more interesting.

[piscesmoonpress]

Choices by MesserMoon (@sophsicle)

People make mistakes, but they also make choices. It’s important to James, that difference. He does his best not to confuse the two.

Fandom: Harry Potter Pairing (s): Regulus Black/James Potter, James Potter/Lily Evans, Remus Lupin/Sirius Black

AHHHH I am SO excited to share this bind—but first, I want to say thank you to Soph for letting me make (my first ever) author copies for this story. I'm definitely a beginner bookbinder but I truly hope I've done this fic justice <3

The design process for this bind was probably one of my favorite parts. I decided to go with some really simple design elements in comparison to my other binds, primarily because I felt it was more fitting for the story, and I was inspired by some of the design choices made in my personal copy of Song of Achilles.

Photographed here are the author's copies, so I've held off on posting about them until now:

(The dedications are all pulled from Soph's playlist for the fic, and each quote reminds me of that particular volume, given that there are three. Pictured above is the dedication for the first volume.)

624,188 words | 1,945 pages

Title Font: Cinzel Decorative Body: Crimson Text Headers/Capitalization/Dedication: Palatino Nova

Some elements of this bind were entirely new to me, such as the fact that it was an in-boards three piece bradel binding. It was also my first time painting edges, as well as rounding spines. Neither of these things turned out perfect, even after completing personal copies, but i did learn a lot of don't's.

One of the things that I did in the process of this bind that I LOVED was combining two different decoration styles. I've done covers that are either completely foiled, or completely HTV—but not both. For this cover design, I was struggling to figure out the best way to make the upside-down antlers on the cover pop. Adding HTV over a full foil cover was the perfect way to get the look I wanted:

(The contrast/shininess is best pictured in the process photo on the left.)

Special thanks to both @maybebabyplease for listening to my rants about this bind since July, as well as the @renegadepublishing discord server.

As large a bind as this was, it was so so much fun to bring to life this incredible story that holds such a special place in my heart as well as the fandom's.

[babyyoda234]

Three Times the Batfamily has been disgusted by your love life...

Dating is hard... but dating in Gotham... Oh Brother... Here are all the times the Batfamily has been involved in your love life.

1st time: Valentines Day

I've really gotta stop going for nerdy guys. This never ends the way I want it to.

"You know Eddie. You could have bought me dinner..." I call out to the rambling rogue behind me, "Scratch that... I can list off a hundred different date ideas.... That DO NOT INVOLVE THE BATMAN."

I can hear a swift crack followed by a muffled cry.

"I like flowers... I'm sure there was a way you could incorporate a riddle with those."

Footsteps draw nearer.

"I honestly don't even think you are trying. What does a child make, but never see? Come on dude... Work on on yourself. Restraints are fun, but this is ridiculous."

Suddenly, my restraints loosen. Stumbling to my feet, I swiftly turn around to see Batman's foreboding gaze. Eddie lies face down passed out 3 feet away.

"Are you alright?" Batman questions carefully noting my lacy heart pj's on top my push up bra. My diamond question mark necklace glitters in the darkness.

"Uh... yeah... Guess I should probably find an apartment where the Riddler doesn't live next door."

Batman sighs before patting me on the back. I am weirdly comforted by the paternal look in his eyes.

"That would be for the best."

2nd time:

Nightwing raises a pointed eyebrow before covering Robin’s eyes. Robin smacks his gloved hand away.

“Come on…. Y/N…” Nightwing trails off.

I interrupt him before this can get anymore humiliating. Being left to be eaten by a man sized Venus Flytrap after a date is not how I imagined my night to go.

“I do not need a life lesson; I have work tomorrow.”

Robin dutifully unties my restraints. He carefully looks anywhere else except my green lingerie.

Nightwing clears his throat. Rummaging through fallen leaves, he asks

“Do you know where she might have left your clothes?”

I shake my head before I start searching the drawers to the nightstand. My sweaty palms create some difficulty turning the knobs.

“You know…” Nightwing continues leaning against the wall, “If you ever wanted to go on a date with someone who wasn’t going to be sent to Arkham… I’ve got this brother.”

My heart starts pounding. This is not happening. Robin’s jaw drops in disbelief.

“Are you seriously trying to set up Red Hood right now?” He gasps incredulously.

Both vigilantes listen to something being said into their ear pieces.

“Well, Jaybird. She’s prettier than anyone you’ve been talking to lately.”

My mouth gasps silently like a fish. Robin finally looks me up and down. He nods before agreeing. This child did not just....

Trying to ignore the hot waves of embarrassment, I finally force words to come out.

“GET OUT! I’ll find them myself!”

3rd time:

“Okay… but this time was not my fault.” I explain raising my hands in surrender. “How was I supposed to know that Two Faces favorite song would be ‘22’? I have to make a living somehow!”

Batgirl tries to keep a straight face, but when she glances back at Red Robin… they both burst out laughing.

“I’m sorry….” She says trying to be professional, “This isn’t funny.”

“Uh huh…” I respond narrowing my eyes at them.

Realizing my mortification, their laughter slowly dies down. The teenage vigilantes grow as serious as possible.

“So, Two Face took you captive after you dedicated 22 by Taylor Swift to him?” Robin questions analyzing the crime boss’s de office.

“Yes, I work at the iceberg lounge as a singer.”

“Where you ever an associate of Harvey Dent before his accident?”

My face goes red. This is not how I wanted today to go. I hate adding fuel to their fire.

“Something like that. I made some mistakes early in college.”

Batgirl bites her quivering lip to avoid laughing again. She checks her clip board left by Gordon.

“We’ll make sure GCPD gets back your… 2 themed underwear that went missing?”

I fantasize about those birds that slam their head underground to avoid conflict.

“I just want my computer. He can… keep the rest. I’m sure he’d like wearing it more than me.” I awkwardly trail off wrapping the robe tighter around my body.

Red Robin nods before muttering something into his ear piece.

“Okay, we’ll be on the search for that. I’m sure Red Hood can drop it off when he raids the lair tonight."

I start laughing before taking a step back. Putting my hands up, I interrupt.

“I can pick it up at Gordon’s office tomorrow. There’s… no need for… any of that.”

The two teens share a glance.

“Are you sure?” Batgirl inquires with a knowing smile in my direction.

I raise an eyebrow.

“Leave me out of this. I do not need to end up dead in crime alley because you guys thought it would be a good idea to set me up with your brother.”

Laughter can be heard in their comms. I vaguely make out “She’s got a point” in Nightwing’s voice.

With a reluctant grin, Batgirl shrugs. Before the vigilante duo leave, Red Robin flashes me an ornery grin.

“See you later.”

I respectfully flip them both off. Laughter echoes down the hallway as they leave.

[shapelytimber]

A Taste of Faith

[PRINT] - [COMMISSIONS]

Ok so the concept for this piece was : historical gay nuns, and 70s lesbian vampire movies meets tes (don't ask me why- I just had a vision at 3 am)

Because I think Serana should have been meaner<3 I love women's wrongs and when vampires do the suck <3

Btw of you want to see more gay Serana art, go check out @gay-of-waterdeep, their art is wonderful, and I can't say this was not a bit inspired by what they do :))

Process (and me rambling about some of my favorite 70s lesbian vampire movies (because I have a problem)) below vvv

Additional details about this drawing ! 1) I used the same Mara design than the one from my tarot deck :)) and 2) the other woman is one of the priestess in the temple in Riften lglggigkglgl her name is *check wiki* Dinya Balu

And now......... Some movies I enjoy because my house my rules, you came this far so why not hear about niche european movies :))))))

Disclaimer for a majority of the films in this genre : the male gaze is very fucking obvious in these movies... they were made by men for men, and the message is often "lesbianism is a dangerous temptation for women". It's a glairing flaw nearly all of them share and that sucks (and frankly it's a flaw Serana's writting kinda has in my opinion, minus the lesbianism part, but let's not dwell on that)- so if you can't get past it, it's completly understandable, be on your way and have a nice day <3

- Daughters of Darkness ! A toxic man is returning to london with his newly wed wife, but they get stuck in Belgium and are forced to stay in a luxurious hotel. Don't worry about the 10/10 smokeshow countess seducing his wife :). Completely unrelated, this movie has, in my opinion, the most beautiful lesbian kiss I've ever seen- but I might not be very objective because Delphine Seyrig is there lglglflflllglm The best one in the list ! So if you want to whatch one, whatch this one <3

- The blood spattered bride ! This is more of... an aquired taste let's say- but I really like it ! A quite effective horror movie, with goofy ass scenes (shoutout to the vampire lady buried in the sand naked with only a diving mask that is not the screenshot because tits), and emasculation being a recuring theme <3 (but if you want to watch it, please check the content warnings beforehand, it has a lot of very shocking and frontal scenes, and it's the 70s so it's not done very tactfully. Also pretty intense flashing lights)

- The vampire lovers ! Ok so this one is a lot less fun compared to the other two because it's made by the Hammer BUT... 1) Ingrid Pitt hello and 2) it's such a intriging thing to see a very christian/conservative studio make a film like that. I know a lot of people don't like the Hammer movies from the 70s, because the studio had a lot less money, and were making wild decisions. But I love them, because they tend to be much more fun bloody and sexy ! I'm a simple woman mjllkklhkhlhlho case in point with the vampire lovers (although if you want a fun vampire hammer movie from the 70s, Dracula ad 1972 is way better). And Peter Cushing is there (i love this man so much-) !

And now I shall resume my quest to find Vampire Lesbos by Jésus Franco and have a probably mid experience watching it xoxo

[apomaro-mellow]

King&Prince 10

After his foot was deemed fine, Dustin dragged Steve to a sitting room and pushed him onto a couch.

"Wait here. I need to get everyone", he beamed before running off.

Steve really didn't understand what had gotten into him, but figured that he might finally meet this enigmatic Eddie. It was odd that he hadn't made himself known. From how the kids talked, he seemed like a larger than life personality. Dustin must have sent his friends ahead first, because Max, El, and Lucas arrived, and then Will and Mike.

"Where were you this morning?", Max asked, arms crossed.

"I...went on an outing with the king", Steve answered. He didn't think it wise to admit that while on the outing, he had smacked him and ran off up into a tree. Now that he thought about it, the whole thing was embarrassing. Steve rubbed his eyes and groaned.

"What's wrong?", El asked.

"I think my father was right. I'm an absolute idiot."

"Yeah, but a useful one", Robin said, coming in, following behind Dustin. "If our liege is going to be taking you out like that, I suggest we draft up some kind of sign out sheet."

Steve brought his hands down from his face. "What? For me? Like a piece of equipment."

"The music room looks great now, thanks to you", Will pointed out.

"Dustin. Why are we all here?", Lucas asked.

Dustin really looked like his face would break from how hard he was smiling. "You guys aren't gonna believe this. Steve says he's never met Eddie. Ever."

Steve wondered when he got comfortable not hearing the title 'prince' before his name. Probably when people spat it out to him like a curse word. While he was meditating on this, the rest of the group shared confused looks.

Mike spoke up first. "But he-"

"I know!", Dustin giggled.

"Does he-", Lucas stammered, pointing to Steve. "Does he not know-"

"How is that even possible? Is he brain-dead?", Max asked.

"Starting to seem like a real possibility", Robin said.

"If you all came just to insult me, I'll be heading back to my room now", Steve said, standing when El grabbed his arm.

"Wait. Sit", she ordered softly, so he did. Then she looked to the others. "Don't be mean. It's not his fault he doesn't know."

"Know what?", Steve asked.

"Certainly the things a Harrington doesn't know could fill a book", the king announced his presence with that quip. "Perhaps several books."

"Perfect. We're all here", Dustin grinned.

Steve didn't get what he meant by 'all'. "You all were talking him up so much, I thought I was finally going to meet this Eddie." He didn't miss the way the king's eyes got wide.

"This is probably the funniest thing I've ever seen", Will grinned.

Dustin cleared his throat. "Steve, why don't you tell us about Eddie?"

"Why would I tell you about your friend?", Steve crossed his arms.

"Just, tell us how you'd describe him", Lucas urged.

Steve glanced at King Edward, always wary of him, even though there was a small table between them. "He's always hanging around you guys. Telling you stories that you like, playing with you."

"Which was your favorite story?", Dustin asked.

"Depends", Steve shrugged. "If it's the one he does with you guys, I sort of liked that one about the missing friend. I don't believe in leaving anyone behind and I can't believe you argumentative shits actually worked together long enough to find them."

"You gonna let your prisoner call your wards 'shits'?", Robin smirked at the king.

"If the boot fits", he replied, face unreadable.

Steve didn't actually know how the king felt about this band of children. They seemed to enjoy the benefits of having the king's favor, despite at least one of them being a servant's child. Not for the first time, he wondered what they were all doing here.

"Anyway", he continued. "If it's my favorite story about Eddie, probably the one you called the uh, what was it? The ribbon incident?"

The king shot up to his feet and pointed an accusatory finger to Dustin. "You told him about that!?", he squawked in a very un-kingly manner.

"I didn't, Max did", Dustin ratted right away.

"I did. It was funny", Max said.

"What about the nice things about Eddie?", El asked.

"Who's saying nice things about Eddie?", Robin asked, brow raised. "Like, out loud?"

"Great gusts, you'd think they worship him", Steve groaned. "Half the things they told me about were how amazing Eddie was."

"Okay, Steve you can shut up now", Mike warned.

"'Eddie did this and it was great', 'Eddie did that and we fucking loved it'. 'Eddie's the best', Eddie is-", Steve paused when he saw the king smiling. Not just smiling but looking...well and odd combination of smug and bashful. Why would he...wait...

"I'm going to ask a stupid question", he started.

"My word, I think he's got it", Robin said.

"Shh, birdie. There's no such thing as a stupid, little prince", the king looked to him.

There was something different about the way he said 'little prince' this time, but Steve forged ahead. "King Edward...are you Eddie?"

"That I am", he answered.

"You just-you just let these random children call you that?"

King Edward-no Eddie-no, he was still King Edward, looked around the room at the gaggle present. "I wouldn't call them 'random'."

Steve couldn't take it. He was looking at them with...well it could only be described as fondness, as adoration, something like love. He shot up from his seat and marched towards the door, needing to get away. This time, El didn't hold him back. But he did hear Dustin running after him and calling for him. Steve didn't stop until he was back in his room. Not his room, a cell. He might have a better bed and a window now, but this was still very much a prison.

"Hey, what the shit?", Dustin demanded, coming in without so much as a knock.

"You all just expect me to believe all of that? That King Edward is Eddie?"

"Yeah", Dustin jutted his chin out. "Why's that so hard to believe?"

"That man is the same one who cried when his favorite lute broke? The same one who used to sing El to sleep? The same one who ate so many strawberries that he passed out?"

"To be fair, he was shifted into a bat at the time, so it only took like ten strawberries", Dustin clarified.

"You're asking me to look at red and see blue."

"Huh?"

"King Edward is not the same as Eddie. Those are two different people and I won't believe that they're the same." Steve turned to look out the window. He was wasting his time here. He had to think of an escape. It was far up but with enough sheets, this might be a viable option.

"Maybe I don't want you to see blue. Maybe I want you to see purple."

Steve's brow furrowed. "What?"

"You knew about one side of Eddie. Let's call that red. Now you know the other side, his blue side. Now you just need to put them together to make purple", Dustin explained.

"You're asking the impossible." Steve sat down on his bed but kept his eyes trained on the window.

Dustin came over and sat next to him. "Have you ever had someone look at you and only see one thing?"

"It's different with him. He's a tyrant."

“Did you ever think it might be time for you to get rid of that narrow worldview of yours and broaden your horizons?”, Dustin tilted his head like he was talking to a child.

Steve, ever stubborn, didn’t respond and kept looking out the window. He couldn’t see his kingdom from here, and at this point he was wondering if he’d ever lay eyes on it again. He didn’t know whether that would be a bad thing or a blessing. He didn't want to admit it, but Dustin had hit the nail on the head. Back home, he'd only been one thing or the other. People rarely got close enough to see the whole picture of what he was.

“Seriously, what’s the worst thing that can happen?”, Dustin urged, frustrated.

“I’m not going to be toyed with by your king.” At the end of the day, they were mortal enemies. There was no common ground wide enough to change that. A few stories of him not being a menace meant nothing. At least that's what he was telling himself.

"Henderson, leave us alone", the king said, also coming in without knocking.

Steve expected to hear protests, but Dustin got up and left without a word. Apparently he did actually respect the king's authority sometimes. Steve turned, knowing it wasn't wise to have your back towards the enemy.

"Suppose you're here to tell me how nice you actually are."

The king closed the door but didn't step away from it, keeping the distance between them. He looked uncertain and that enough threw Steve off. What did he have to be unsure about?

"There's something I need to tell you. Something I should have said days ago."

"What? Your nickname? I would have figured it out if those brats had any sense of awareness."

"They talk about you the same way."

Steve stood slowly, feeling somehow vulnerable even though neither of them were positioned to fight. "What?"

"Ever since they started talking to you, it was always 'Steve this, Steve that'", the king smiled in much the same way he had before. "'Steve knows so much, I learned a lot from him today'. It was kind of annoying to be honest."

Steve crossed his arms. He could relate, but he wouldn't let that show.

"I didn't want to believe that the son of my enemy could be good with kids. That he could be kind and gentle."

"Why are you telling me this?", Steve asked.

"Because I know you're not like your father. Or your grandfather. As much as you pretend to be."

"You don't know anything. And if you think being nice to me is going to get me to defect, you've got another thing coming."

"You're that loyal to your father?", he felt the words rising up out of his mouth like venom but couldn't decide if he wanted to poison the prince or protect him.

"I'm loyal to my kingdom", Steve said, voice full of sincerity. He knew he wasn't the perfect prince, but his father wasn't infallible either. But Steve's allegiance had been to his people for a long time. He felt as though he'd said too much though, when he saw the king's expression slip.

“Your king…Your father…”, Eddie looked away, unable to meet his eyes. Why was this so hard? Why couldn’t he say it? “When I sent the ransom letter, all I asked was to negotiate. Only then could I guarantee your safe return.”

Steve’s face showed no change. No realization. If anything, he looked resigned.

“King Alric has refused to sit with me.”

“So you can no longer guarantee my safety”, Steve surmised.

There was an even deeper resignation as his shoulders sagged and Eddie knew that Steve believed he was here to execute him. He shook his head frantically, making a decision right then and there.

“Your safety is between you and I now. It has nothing to do with that man.”

Steve frowned. "But you just said-"

"I said you're not your father."

"...So you'll let me go?"

Eddie could hear Nancy berating him and even Jeff giving him some choice words for releasing what should be a very valuable hostage without consulting them first. He pushed their voices away.

"If that is what you wish."

Steve didn't know if he felt a weight lift off his shoulders or a heavier one bear down on him. Before, his father had decided where Steve would go and he obeyed. Then he had been shackled by King Edward, only allowed where he let him. But now he was being giving a choice. To return home or to...to what? Stay here? Was it even a choice?

He felt completely unmoored and didn't know what was right.

"If you stay...", Eddie started, looking unsure himself. "If you stay, you won't be a prisoner anymore."

Steve let out a breath. "Then what will I be?"

Eddie grinned cheekily and Steve thought of the color purple. Dammit, Dustin.

"You'll be one of my little shits."

Steve laughed so sudden and loud that Eddie startled. Everything he'd been feeling had bubbled up and overflowed and finally found its way out. When he finished, he wiped a stray tear and caught his breath.

"Can we think of a better title while I think about it?"

"At your leisure, little prince."

Holy cow can you believe we're nearly done with the first arc?

Part 12

Tag Team

@thesuninyaface @only-evanescent @snakeorsquid @ignoremyworld @theclichefortunecookie @goodolefashionedloverboi @just-a-tiny-void @0body0disphoria0 @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @samsoble @jamieweasley13 @y4r3luv @xtkxkrzrizir @un-knownperson @greekgeek24 @justdrugsformethanks @potato-of-the-lord @notaqueenakhaleesi @swimmingbirdrunningrock @queenie-ofthe-void @nebulainajar @lil-gremlin-things @nicememerino @robininblue @hornedqueenofhell @anne-bennett-cosplayer @moomkin77 @here4thetrama @bookworm0690

[xreaderbooks]

Reward | Leo Valdez

Summary: Reader has had enough to worry about without her boyfriend coming to ask her for help with a homework assignment.

based on this request

Warnings: Language, Aged-up, fluff, making out like constantly, very slight angst, readers bad at math (cuz i'm bad at math and i cant fake it for the fic)

Word Count: 1.8k

PJO/HOO Masterlist | Navi | Masterlist of Masterlists

"You want me to help you?" A quizzical look befell your face as you look up from your spot under the shaded tree. You sat by the edge of the lake, you were taking a quick break hiding from the younger campers who wanted to train with you as you were a crowd favorite with the new arrivals. You just needed a recharge, a moment away from the energy that overexerted you. "Of all people?"

Leo rolled his eyes, "Who else?"

You snorted, "Cabin 6 is that way." You pointed and nodded your head in the direction of the Goddess of Wisdom's cabin, filled with the brightest minds and much better options to help Leo with his current request.

"C'mon baby, please?" Your boyfriend pouted and lowered his chin to gain your favor with his golden brown eyes that, you were afraid to admit, made you weak. 

"But I'm tired and I want to take a nap, using my brain will probably kill me at this point." 

He knelt with outreached hands, you allowed him to hold both of your palms in his own, you should have known better. He used his strength to pull you up from the ground and brought you to his chest, his hands settled on your hips. 

Instinctively you looped your arms around his neck and rolled your head to the right, tilted perfectly for him to mold his lips to yours. And he did, pecking chaste kisses onto your lips, pleading with you to join him in Bunker 9.

"I suppose I could be persuaded," You nudged your nose against his. 

~~~

The moment you arrived inside the bunker and saw his work table, normally filled with scattered tools and mechanical pieces that were in the process of being fixed or tweaked, was now littered with papers. 

Leo's homework was divided into five different sections that had their respective piles. "By some miracle, I finished everything else, now all I'm missing is this." He reveals papers that were held behind his back.

"Math." You skim the equations on the document in your hands, nothing on this page was anything you would be able to help him with. 

The smirk on his face made you glare at him and fold your arms stubbornly, "Yup," Leo rolled two chairs over to the desk that felt like your new timeout spot. 

"Honestly, I feel like I shouldn't be subjected to torture because you decided to take courses over the summer." 

"What happened to 'you die, I die'?" He reiterated the phrase you had spoken to him as a sort of mantra during the war. Your jaw dropped at the use of them being thrown back in your face and quickly shut it close. 

"In the face of war!" You exclaimed and shrugged it off, "Just for that, you can die alone."

"I did, it wasn't my vibe," He twirled a strand of your hair, and let it fall back into place, stepping back with a hand on his hip leaning the other on the table. "Aren't you testy today?"

"It's been a day, the kids were hard to gather and once I had them riled up they wanted to learn this specific trick they've seen me do but how many times can I let them down gently and tell them they need to learn the basics- drills that they've repeated hundreds of times, that some still aren't getting and will possibly die if they get caught by a monster if they don't get-" You inhale deeply, "So what do I do? I let them learn the hard way to get it through their heads that it's not as simple as it looks and I've only managed after years of fucking practice. And you know what?"

"What?" You wanted to smack the amused smirk off of Leo's pretty face. 

"They didn't pick it up like I knew they wouldn't, now they hate me but still wanna train with me because they still want me to teach them. My body is sore, I'm tired and I hate you for making me do homework," You pout. 

He approaches you with caution, slowly caressing your cheeks in his hands, he presses his lips against yours that were currently being smushed together by his hands. It was a quick but meaningful kiss, only for him to say "I'm going to fail if I don't get this done."

"Leo!" You push him away from you. "What the hell do you mean, you're going to fail, you've been cooped up in here all summer!"

A sheepish smile and pink-dusted cheeks appear at your sudden outburst, he chuckles nervously knowing he just put the cherry on top of your already bad day. "I've been behind on a couple of assignments and I've finished most of them already, I'm mostly caught up"

"Mostly?" You were going to strangle him. You haven't spent much time together lately because of his homework. He decided to take summer classes to get ahead, and he's been busy ever since. You were constantly teaching the younger campers, and helping out around camp, whether in the infirmary or setting up activities to keep busy and you loved it but you missed your boyfriend. 

"But Nyssa had this project she'd been working on and I couldn't help it."

You rolled your eyes and sighed, you couldn't be upset with him- not completely, you understood how hard it was for Leo to stay focused on a task that wasn't something he could physically tinker with, but there had been moments where you wanted to just be with him in his presence and you stopped yourself from going to him knowing that you'd only be a distraction. 

"I promise this is the only one left," He takes your hand and leads you to sit on a chair then sits in another one next to you. 

"I'm so annoyed with you right now," You snatch the paper and look over the equations. 

An hour and a half into the 50-question work packet, you and Leo moved to the mattress lifted by wooden pallets used for shipping crates. 36 out of 50 equations were done, with work shown, Leo had barely any trouble working on it as he was naturally good with numbers you weren't sure you were needed at all. 

You solved a couple for him when he got bored and started leaving trails of kisses from your cheek to your neck and shoulder, you were sure the answer was right and took a break, though when he pulled out of his dazed and loving state he looked over it and kissed you deeply.

"What was that for?" You asked in a whisper. 

"A reward," He held your chin with his forefinger and thumb, pecking your cheek. "For helping me with my homework."

"Well, if I don't help you get this done, who will?" 

"Malcolm and I are pretty tight," Leo has a deep stare on your lips, his thumb swipes your swollen bottom lip. "You've also got eight of them wrong, Mi Amor." 

"I did nine of them," You did the math- that you weren't good at in your head, piecing together that you indeed sucked. "Why'd you ask me to help you, if you knew that I couldn't do math."

"I wanted to be around you, it's been a while since we've been alone." He toys with the bracelet he gifted you on your first anniversary, five charms for the five years you've been together since you confessed your feelings at age 17 after the war ended. You met at age 15 when Annabeth brought him to camp, and the rest is history. 

"I'm still annoyed at you, you know, just because I've let you kiss me a couple of times doesn't mean-" He cuts you off with another kiss like earlier, catching you off-guard, intense and full of feeling. You immediately kiss back, not having the willpower to not, succumb to the charms he begrudgingly has on you. 

You deepen the kiss by entangling your hands in his hair pulling his impossibly closer, it was a synchronized dance at first, the years of being used to the pattern of each other's kiss being shown in the heavy minutes of your mouths moving together in passion. It soon became heated, teeth clashing, tongues moving sloppily, mouths chasing each other after breaking apart two seconds at a time for breath. 

Leo gently laid you on your back, breaking apart to take off his shirt, the moment it slipped off you brought him down to you, he fit perfectly between your legs. You gasp at the sensation of him grinding against you. He parts his lips from yours, to which you whine softly. He licks a stripe from your neck to your jaw and sucks until he's satisfied with the way you sigh and rock your body up and clutching onto the blades on his shoulders on his back. 

He repeats licking, sucking, and kissing soft kisses as an apology for the spots he bit until you were sore.

You pull away from him and flip your bodies so that you are on top, you grab his wrists and pin them to the top of the pillows to see his reaction and wanting to be in control for a while. You gave him the same treatment and brought your body lower so that you could kiss all over his chest and back up. 

You sat up to breathe fresh air, straddling him and releasing his hands only for him to intertwine his hands with yours and play with your fingers. He bucks his hips up playfully, and you jump slightly, your eyes widen for a second, and your lips turn up in a grin. 

"You've gotten better at not... you know," You hint at the control Leo's gained with his fire powers. Heated makeouts like this were often interrupted by the smell of smoke or his skin feeling feverish. 

He lets go of your hands and places his larger hands on your hips, you ignore the butterflies that flutter in your heart and stomach at the way he rubs up your waist and hips. "My hair was steaming earlier, I was hoping you didn't notice, thankfully you didn't or this would've been awkward."

"It's not awkward when that happens Leo, it's a little funny, to be honest, part of the reason why I love you." You tell him earnestly, "Nothing's awkward with you, you're my best friend." 

"I love you," Leo responds with unwavering eyes on yours. "I'm sorry for the time we lost."

"It's okay, we were just making up for it." 

~~~

holy gods, I haven't read this series in forever 

I feel like it's a crime to admit I haven't read the new book yet, i'm rereading the series and waiting for the episodes to come out before i watch the show so im going in timeline order... just wanted to let y'all know. oh, and also i haven't fully read the trials of apollo which i know has info on where the HoO people are at in their lives that i'm not aware of...

[bumblebeesfromvenus]

The Hercules to my Meg ♤

Jason Todd x reader

A/N: How's it going? This is my first piece for Jason! I hope I did him justice lmao I love Jason and the Hercules movie, so I had to write something about this!

Enjoy!

~Fi 🪻

Warnings: mentions of murder, spoilers for Hercules I guess???, disgustingly sweet

Word count: 1k

Please don't copy my work! I put a lot of effort and heart into the things I write.

❤️••••••••••••••••••⚱️••••••••••••••••••❤️

❤️•••••••••••••••••••⚱️•••••••••••••••••❤️

"Are you ready, babe?" Jason's voice cut through his apartment. It was a Friday night, and you had decided against going out with his siblings. Instead, you wanted to have a cozy movie night! And because it's you and Jason, movie nights always had a theme. Today's theme was greek mythology. Maybe a little complicated for a movie night, but you two made due. The rules were simple: both of you picked a movie according to the theme and decided via rock, paper, scissors.

The winner got their movie played and the softer blanket. The choices today were Hercules and Percy Jackson: the lighting thief. You'd obviously picked out Hercules. As action-filled and enjoyable as Percy Jackson was, there was no beating the colorful and entertainingly inaccurate world that was Hercules.

"I can't believe you've never watched Hercules. It's my favorite Disney movie!" You exclaimed, plopping down next to your lover on the couch. Bowl of snacks in hand, you swung your legs over his lap  and pulled the blanket around you. Jason chuckled. "Well, I'm watching it now, aren't I? I'm fulfilling my 'boyfriend of the year' duties, you know?" He joked, a grin on his face. You playfully rolled your eyes.

"First of all, you're just saying that because you lost rock, paper, scissors, again and second of all, you'll always be boyfriend of the year, no matter what." you grinned, leaning forward and pressing a sweet kiss to his cheek. Jason hummed in satisfaction. "You flatter me, baby." He responded, a teasing tone to his voice. "What can I say, I aim to please." You popped a piece of popcorn into your mouth.

Jason gently caressed your thigh under the blanket. He did that quiet often, absent mindedly tracing patterns on your skin. It grounded him, that he knew that you were right here with him. You pressed play and excitedly watched the TV. Continuing to enjoy your snack, you slightly moved your foot along with the music. It wasn't your fault that the muses belted out incredible bangers.

A smile tugged on Jason's lips. He turned his head and looked at you; eyes wide with joy, your soft lips pulled into a beautiful smile. It tugged at his heart strings, to see you so happy over such a simple thing. He admired that about you. No matter the circumstance, you always found something fun in it. Something you enjoyed. He faced the screen again and watched the movie. He wanted to know if the hype you gave it was worth it.

You laughed, giggled and occasionally ranted about some of the many inaccuracies. At some point, you'd changed your position and were now cuddled up to Jason's side, feeding him popcorn. He seemed to enjoy the movie as well, letting out those absolutely beautiful laughs of his. He was very invested too; he threatened to trash the TV if Meg didn't get her soul back. You had to hold him back with your entire body weight and then trapped him in the blanket. The TV was safe.

The credits rolled, and you set the now empty bowl of popcorn on the coffee table and slightly turned to Jason. "So.. what do you think?" You asked, curious of his answer.

"Probably one of the best movies I've ever watched, to be honest." he laughed. You grew excited. "Yes! I knew you'd like it. Who's your favorite character?" You questioned, beaming with excitment. His heart melted at your passion for this movie. You looked so cute with that sparkle in your eyes. He pondered for a moment.

"I mean, Hades was phenomenal, but... It has to be Pegasus. What about you, sweetheart?" He said with a soft look in his face."Pegasus is great. Mine's Meg, obviously! She's a badass."

Jason hummed at your statement, letting his fingers trail up and down your arm. You two sat in a comfortable silence for a while, letting the names in the credits run over the screen. "You know, you remind me a lot of Hercules." You said. Jason turned towards you. "How so?"

"A. Huge Himbo," Jason gave you an unimpressed look with a smirk tugging at his lips,"B. You're kind and soft with a tough looking exterior, just like he is. You don't just look tough, you are, but you also help people in need and you've got a big heart." You said softly, placing a hand on his chest with a smile. He returned an equally as soft smile and wrapped his large hand around the one you had positioned on his chest.

"If you think so, will you be my Meg?" He smirked. You laughed and threw your head back. You looked so pretty like this, Jason thought. "Sure, as long as it's the movie Meg and not the myth Meg because... yikes." You responded. His brows furrowed and he tilted his head in confusion.

"Why? What's so wrong with myth Meg?" He questioned. You sucked in a breath. "Well... You'd end up murdering me and our children. You pissed off a witch and she put a spell on you which made you go on a homicidal rampage against your will." You mumbled. His eyes widened and he slightly slacked against the couch. "Damn..." he breathed out. You giggled. "Yeah... but that's greek mythology for you, baby." You sighed. He turned to you with still furrowed brows. "And you like this stuff?"

"Not the murder part, obviously!"

He chuckled and pulled you into his lap, hands on your waist. "Can we be a different couple from greek mythology? A happy one, perhaps?" He questioned with a grin. "Sorry to break it to you, Honey, but there is no such thing as happy couples in greek mythology." You laughed. A frown formed on his face.

"We better just stick to Herc and Meg, huh? Movie version, of course." He chuckled. Jason smiled and pulled you closer by your waist. "Yeah... we should." You smiled, lightly brushing your nose against his. "I love you, Wonder boy." You breathed out, a teasing tone to your voice. "I love you too, Megnut." He teased right back and pulled you into a soft and passionate kiss. You pulled him closer by wrapping your arms around his neck. Pulling away, you two broke into one last fit of giggles and laughter. The movie night had concluded, and it had been a wonderful evening once again.

❤️••••••••••••••••••⚱️••••••••••••••••••❤️

[rorywritesjunk]

No longer locked upon the land but free on the rolling waves

You and Buggy come face to face with himself from the past, and while you’re fully accepting that this is your husband as a child, Buggy doesn’t want to accept it.

Rating: PG-13ish, but just due to some swearing.

Warning: Upset kid, upset husband. Reader is way too nice, doesn’t necessarily take husband’s feelings into account as well. This chapter had one of my favorite moments between the Reader and Kid Buggy which was mentioned in the request, and it was a part I wanted to make sure I got just right.

A/N: A combined request. I did a few versions of this story before feeling like it hit the marks I was wanting to hit. Also, I’m just trying to vibe off what I’ve seen of Kid Buggy. I’m no expert. I’d protect that kid with my life. He’s so adorable. I also like the trope of “Meeting your self from another time” and “gets turned back into kid-self”. This is the former, and I know shit about time travel but I just kind of made something up. Also, kelpies. Are they in One Piece? I honestly don’t know but I love kelpies and needed an excuse to mention them. Additional notes: Holy cow, thank you to everyone who's been reading this! I read every comment and tag and it warms my heart so much. I meant for this to be multi-chapter from the start, but I want to give a heads up that this is a short fic, probably no more than 5 chapters but I'm almost thinking of writing more on Buggy and his wife because I've liked what I started with them and have already been thinking of their story. Title comes from "Sailing Song" by S.J. Tucker.

Chapter 1 + Chapter 2 + Chapter 3 + Chapter 4 + Chapter 5 + Chapter 6/Epilogue TAGLIST (just let me know if you want to be added!): @lostfirefly @misadventures0fdes @sylum @valen-yamyam16 @dohkyu @fluffybunnyu @skyofsteel @lavalampskyy

Chapter 3

Everything was going great after breakfast for a little bit. The kid was fine to follow you around to help you with your own chores, which right now was collecting anything that needed mending or washing. You had Buggy carry the basket of mending while you made your way across the deck and to the kitchen. The crew was out on deck, and while word got around of some kind of shape shifter on board (your husband was still not happy about your guest), this was the first time most of them were seeing their captain as a child. The kid ignored the staring as long as he could, but you could see it was getting to him.

The final straw was when you watched a crewman lean over to another, hearing him whisper, “He even has the big nose.”

You both heard it because no sooner did he finish his sentence that Buggy dropped the basket he was carrying and rushed over to the crewman, delivering a kick to his crotch. The crewman fell to the ground in pain and you managed to grab Buggy before he could kick him in the face, though a part of you wanted to allow it to happen.

“Don’t talk about my nose!” He shrieked, fighting against you as you hauled him away to the kitchen. You passed the captain on the way, giving him a look as you pulled the kid along. Your husband stood there, confused for a moment before turning to see the crewman on the ground. What just happened?

You sat Buggy down on a chair and knelt in front of him. It was a little surprising to see him crying. You expected more anger, shouting, maybe some punches being thrown. You shouldn’t have been surprised, though. He was a kid with kid emotions. Big fat tears rolled down his cheeks as he clenched his fists. He rubbed his eyes, sniffling loudly.

“I th-thought I was the captain.” He choked out; you reached for one of the napkins left on the table from breakfast and put your hand on his cheek as you gently wiped the tears away. “Why would th-they talk about my nose?”

Your heart broke from that question. As an adult, your husband was still sensitive about his nose, had been since you first met him, but you couldn’t imagine going through childhood with those insecurities. And the fact you explained earlier that he became the captain of this ship just to have someone on the crew mention it so cruelly? It was horrible. 

“Because some of them are idiots.” You told him as you draped the napkin over your shoulder. “And I’ll throw them overboard once I make sure you’re okay. Now, do you want a hug?”

To your surprise he nodded, so you opened your arms and he fell into them, letting his head rest on your shoulder. You sat back on the floor, stretching your legs out in front of you as you held him on your lap, rubbing his back slowly as he still sniffled. 

“So… did I miss something?”

You looked back toward the door and sighed when you saw your husband standing there. Kid Buggy ignored him, sniffling as fresh tears rolled down his cheeks. You tightened your hold on the kid as you turned your attention back to him.

“One of your crewmen should be thrown overboard, Captain.” You told him, voice calm as you reached up to remove Kid Buggy’s hat so you could stroke his hair. He closed his eyes when you did that, relaxing in your embrace. You knew your husband liked having his hair stroked when he was upset, and you were pleased the kid was no different. “They need to learn when to keep their mouths shut.”

“Huhh…” Adult Buggy scratched the back of his head as he watched the scene in front of him. It was… weird but nice to see you comforting the kid like that. He didn’t remember ever really having that growing up. You were holding the kid so lovingly, not caring that your shirt was getting covered in tears and snot from him being so upset. 

“I’m sorry that idiot talked about your nose, sweetie.” You murmured to the kid in your arms, hugging him tighter. “It wasn’t right of him to do that.” 

Buggy stood there for another few minutes, watching you with him. You even gave the kid a forehead kiss, which the kid seemed fine with. He looked like he felt safe in your arms, and Buggy would know, having been there himself many times when he needed to feel safe and loved. It was just frustrating that he had to wait until meeting you to feel that way, having not ever really had that as a kid on a ship. Yet here you were, by chance now holding his kid self in your arms and comforting him when he was upset. Others would have just laughed about it, telling him to get over it, but you were apologetic to him and it wasn’t your fault it happened.

“Which one?” Adult Buggy asked; you looked up at him. “Which one said it?”

“The one that was on the ground, crying.” You replied as you rubbed Kid Buggy’s back gently. “Throw him overboard.”

Oh, he wouldn’t refuse a request like that from you. He stormed out of the kitchen, and as you tilted the kid’s face up, looking for more tears, you both heard a scream and a splash. You smiled and put your hand on his cheek, thumb stroking gently. You didn’t hear the captain return, but he remained quiet, watching from the doorway.

“No one else is going to say anything like that to you again on this ship, sweetie.” You assured him. “You’re safe with me, okay? I’ll hurt anyone who is mean to you, promise.”

“Okay…” Kid Buggy let his head drop back on your shoulder, sighing as he relaxed. You smiled and hugged him.

“Listen, I think your nose is cute.” You told him; he made a face and glanced up at you. “When I met my husband, it was the first thing I noticed about him and when I told him he was handsome he turned as red as his nose. I thought it was sweet, and to this day I still think it’s endearing.” You giggled at the face the kid was giving you. “What? I swear. I sometimes compliment him just to see how red he’ll get. It’s one of my favorite things to do.”

“You’re so evil.” Your husband grumbled, startling the two of you.  Grinning, you turned to look at him, only to laugh when you saw him glaring at you so you just blew a kiss at him. “Are you saying you only love me for my nose?”

“One of the reasons.” You chuckled. “I also love how passionate you are, and how much you love me. Though your impulsiveness still catches me off guard sometimes, I can appreciate it.”

“I’m not impulsive!”

“You threw Buggy off the ship into the water just yesterday.” You reminded him. To your delight, your husband began to turn red in the face. “But you also stole me flowers a week ago because you saw me wearing a pink dress and you liked how they matched.”

“I’m about to throw you overboard.” He grumbled, crossing his arms as he looked away, his face burning. You knew there was no threat to be had, he just said those things when he was feeling a little too much love from you. Buggy sighed heavily, shoulders dropping. Maybe he would regret offering this, but he was starting to feel a little better about this whole ordeal. “Kid, do you want a proper tour of the ship? I’m pretty sure you’re not a kelpie or anything else, so I think it’s safe for you to see everything.”

Kid Buggy made a face. He had already been around the ship with you, but you nudged him gently. This was at least a start. You wanted the kid to see what he grew up to become. “It’s okay, I think it’ll be fun for the two of you.”

“Can you come with me?” He asked you, clearly not wanting to be too far from you. It was sometimes difficult to think of a child as young as him being on a ship. You just wanted to hold him in your arms forever and protect him from anything that would hurt him, but that wasn’t realistic. Swallowing heavily, you nodded and he stood up from your lap, crossing his arms as he looked at the captain. “Promise you won’t throw me overboard?”

“Don’t give me a reason to.” Adult Buggy shot back, but you gave him that look and he immediately backtracked. “But I’ll fish you out if I accidentally knock you into the water.”

The kid seemed okay with that answer. You got to your feet and smoothed out Kid Buggy’s hair, it was a little smooshed from being against your shoulder. You handed him his hat back next, but when he didn’t take it you put it on his head for him. He made a face when you did that, and all you could do was giggle. You had seen that glare so much recently that you could only find it silly at this point.

The Captain rolled his eyes and started out of the kitchen while Kid Buggy took your hand and followed after him. You let him lead you, and once you caught up to your husband you linked arms with him, leaning up to kiss his cheek. He looked away when you did that, mumbling something about needing to uphold an image around the crew. You weren’t really sure what that image was but you didn’t say anything. Once you got to the helm of the ship, the captain pulled away from you and in a dramatic and flashy fashion, spun around and threw his arms open, gesturing wildly to the kid.

“THIS! Is my ship!” He announced to Kid Buggy. “We are the Buggy Pirates, the fiercest and most dangerous crew on the East Blue! No one survives a meeting with us!”

You watched the entire interaction in amusement. The kid was getting into it, mouth running a million miles a minute as he asked Buggy question after question about everything. How long has he been a captain? What was it like being so feared? Was he going to become the next King of the Pirates, for real? 

It was cute and you trailed after them as Buggy led him down below to where some ammo was stored. The Buggy Balls concerned you a little bit, you didn’t want them to fire one off into the town on purpose or accident, and thankfully your husband did not offer a demonstration (though you thought you heard him say something along the lines of “we’ll fire one after the wife’s asleep”) of their destructive power. 

And your husband was eating up the attention from the kid. Adult Buggy was proud to talk about his accomplishments, flashy battles, everything and Kid Buggy was listening with fascination, occasionally looking at you for confirmation that he was being told the truth, and you’d just nod in agreement with whatever your husband was saying.

Once the three of you returned to the deck, Kid Buggy’s attention went to the Jolly Roger on the ship, looking at it in awe. It had a nose like his and people were scared when they saw that flag. That was so cool. With the brief distraction, you gave your husband a kiss on the cheek. 

“I love you, Buggy.” You said, smiling at him as he put his arm around you and tugged you closer. You were happy that the two seemed to be on even footing now. The kid was sassy, of course, but at least your husband didn’t even attempt to throw him overboard during their entire interaction this time. And it was nice to see your husband excited to show off his legacy to someone, even if it was to his child self. It looked like things were getting a bit easier between the two of them.

Looked like. Because no sooner did you think that, Kid Buggy came back to you two with a frown on his face. You immediately thought something was wrong, wondering if someone insulted him again, but he crossed his arms and looked up at Adult Buggy. 

“Where’s Shanks?” Kid Buggy asked. “As a grownup. Why isn’t he on this ship too?”

Oh shit. You looked at your husband. He stormed away last time he was asked that question, but this time he stood his ground, probably because you were right there beside him. His hand was on your shoulder, you reached up to touch it gently. The look on Adult Buggy’s face was a mix of anger and sadness, and you wondered if you needed to butt in and change the subject, but he finally spoke.

“His life went in another direction.” He spoke through gritted teeth. “He’s not on this ship, he’s on his own.”

“What?” Kid Buggy frowned. “We’re not co-captains or anything?” He paused, looked at you then looked back at his adult self. “Are we still friends?”

The innocent question was a stab to your heart, but you couldn’t even imagine what it was like for Adult Buggy. His expression was unchanged, trying to think of a kid-friendly way to explain what happened, but was it right to tell him everything? Weren't there rules about this kind of thing, you don’t eat a butterfly in the past or something or it would change the future? Telling the kid his future was one thing, but about relationships? If he told Kid Buggy how his friendship fell apart, the betrayal, the hurt, could it end up that he changes this kid’s future, and in turn his own? What if he doesn’t become a captain, get his own ship? What if he didn’t meet you?

Adult Buggy took a deep breath before slowly exhaling. He didn’t know how to answer, but he had to say something. Both you and the kid were looking at him, waiting for him to say something.

“He has his own ship.” Buggy repeated. “That’s all.”

Then he pulled away from you and walked away from the two of you, leaving you worried and Kid Buggy confused by the answer.

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

Why Crosshair Will Live

(aka an essay by a Crosshair girlie who loves her clone husband too much)

So, I've been thinking long and hard about the final season and how it could end. Obviously, it's gonna be an emotional rollercoaster and all that. However, there's always going to be discourse about who's gonna bite it, especially since our main characters don't have plot armor and this show is allowed to go way darker than Rebels. Crosshair is my favorite character and I don't hide that at all. He's all over my page. But looking at his character, there's a part of me that believes he actually might make it out in one piece. Let's get started!

"Redemption Equals Death"- Out of all the tropes, this is the one Crosshair embodies the most. He was the villain for a season, but now he's changing his ways. In past seasons, I would've said this is how his story ends. His brothers find him and Omega on Tantiss and he goes out protecting them, proving he deep down he still loved them. But after season 3, I don't think that's the case anymore. I think he's passed the point. Crosshair in season 3 is actively redeeming himself through his actions and words with his family and the other clones. We don't need to see him go out in some big self-sacrifice because we already see the person he truly is inside. More importantly, his family sees the person he's become. He's already proven it in so many ways. Crosshair openly admitted his mistakes, saved Hunter from the wyrm, is very protective of Omega, and saved his brothers, Omega, and Rex + Howzer from CX-2. At this point, Crosshair has passed the "redemption equals death" marker. His redemption is playing out and the people around him are seeing the changes.

His Character Arc- Crosshair's character arc has always been about loyalty and identity. Go all the way back to season 1 with the infamous "this is who I am" line and his whole spiel about the Batch not being loyal to him. "Aftermath" shows us this poor man already beginning to struggle. In season 2, Crosshair is going through every hurt no comfort fic trope in the book. This man was pushed to the brink, with every sense of his being questioned. And he almost didn't make it. Crosshair in "The Outpost" was so close to dying after trekking through the blizzard and shooting Nolan. He's suffered through so much already from being severely burnt to freezing, and now almost drowning. Pretty much half way through season 3 and Crosshair's trials aren't over. His hand is still bothering him and he's still trying to find himself.

Although Crosshair has made peace with his family, I believe he still needs to make peace with himself. He's been humbled sure, but there's more to go. Who is he if he isn't a soldier or sharpshooter? Crosshair's arc will probably finish with him realizing being a soldier isn't entirely who he is. His hand tremor still could be related to his internal conflict, we don't know. So far, he's doing a great job. We've seen Crosshair begin to find peace on Pabu and comfort with Omega. It would be so satisfying to see him make it out of this mess alive. My best BB ending would be him (and his brothers) alongside Omega retired somewhere. They have each other and that is enough.

His Poster and Theme- Crosshair is the only character as of right now in the Batch who has a separate poster for season 3. Not even Omega has a separate one (although I can see her getting one later). In fact, Omega shares her with Crosshair. Both are wearing their prison outfits, showing their shared situation and stand against a white/grey backdrop. We also see Cross gripping his right hand, referring to the issue he's having with it. However, he also has one of himself in the same golden lighting as his brothers. Crosshair stares at his helmet with a calm look on his face and appears to be contemplating. That has to mean something. From my POV, I get the sense he's wondering about who he is. Wouldn't it be a great ending if Cross finds himself and lives to see that self be happy?

He is also the only member of the Batch (Omega aside) to have his own theme/leitmotif. He has two actually: his Imperial one and his heroic one. His heroic theme aka the "Mayday" theme is stunning and highlights his struggle perfectly. You can actually hear it in season 1 fun fact but it's faint. The fact that he does have a separate poster and theme from the others does give me hope that he will make it. Not to say that the others aren't important, but something about Crosshair and his journey is very meaningful to have warranted this. You can argue that he shares the title of "heart of the show" to some degree because his arc is the most dynamic of all the Batch. His struggles and fight back towards the light truly raise this show to greatness.

Crosshair is also season 3's "Batcher of Year" award and so far, they're doing everything we wanted and more. For two whole seasons, his character has been building and building towards this season. And they better give us a great payoff. Crosshair's character going to continue to soar as the season progresses. I can definitely see him making it through to the end because of the focus on him.

Omega- how can we forget about the kid who never gave up on our grumpy sniper? Omega (and we can argue Cross to a lesser degree) is the heart of the show. She gives the Batch a new outlook on life and it is through her that they grow and change. Omega brings out the paternal and softer side in each of her brothers. Crosshair, however, takes a bit longer to get there. He's the only character whose main development happens away from Omega. When he finally gets home, he becomes Crossdad. But Omega is still a kid, despite her capabilities. If the other Batchers die, who will take care of her? Omega being on her own just doesn't feel right. We also know going off with Rex wouldn't feel satisfying either even though he would take really good care of her.

Now that Crosshair is back, it feels like the show is propping him up to take over Hunter's role. Hunter parented for 2 whole seasons. As the mentor figure, he might bite it. But wait! Crosshair is still here. There is no way the writers would just let Omega finish alone or get killed off. She will have someone with her. Crosshair, having spent the majority of the show away, will probably be the best candidate narratively speaking. As mentioned above, he gets two posters showing just how integral he is this season. He's also been getting a lot of screen time with Omega. So, I can definitely see the show ending with just the two of them left. It would be bittersweet, but still satisfying.

Disney- let's ask the question: would Disney kill off an entire family aside from their child? My best guess is no (this isn't a Disney movie with a prince to save the day). Tying into my last point, I can't see this family-friendly company letting a literal child lose her entire family and end up all alone in the end. We all saw Rogue One and we know that this is a plausible option. However, I'm beginning to think that they aren't gonna do that because again, Omega is a child. She's gonna hopefully have one, if not all, her brothers alongside her. And I swear, if they give her to someone else not named Crosshair, Hunter, Wrecker, or Echo, I will blow a gasket. She needs her family. Disney and Star Wars is all about hope and it's not very hopeful to me if all of the BB but Omega dies.

Rebuttal- let's get this out of the way: if Cross dies, it will be with his brothers, protecting Omega, and defeating Hemlock. There is literally no other way he could go out that would be satisfying. He's redeemed and fought the Ghost of Crosshair's Future (aka CX-2). Backpedaling on his character arc would suck. If he dies, it will be as a Bad Batcher, a loving brother, and the best sniper the galaxy has ever seen.

But I don't think that will happen. I do genuinely think Crosshair has a chance to survive. But what do you guys think? Obviously, I'll still be nervous about the whole thing, but I'm trying here.

[coconutdays]

Cry Baby

Eren Jeager x reader one shot

Synopsis: The hot guy who looks like a picture perfect bad boy keeps popping up at every party you go to and you don't know what to do when he asks for your number like the idiot you are

Warnings: Some suggestive material, mostly fluff

Word count: 2.5k!

Loosely based on this song

There's this guy you keep seeing at every party you go to and that's saying something since you don't go out too often, but then again you guys probably have the same cirlcle of friends.

He's hot though and you can never leave these parties without having made eye contact with him at least once due to his hard stares.

Sometimes he even plays the guitar at these parties and he's caught you staring at him when he gets into a certain chorus more than once.

He has a strong presence, his friends are always yelling his name, more so his last name, and he just seems confident in himself because he dresses like a slut.

Yea, a slut.

The first time you saw him, he was wearing these tight denim jeans, a white wife beater, and a black leather jacket. It wouldn't have been so hot if he didn't a wear a ring on almost every finger of his and have his hair up in a messy bun that let stray pieces of his chocolate colored hair frame his annoyingly hot face.

You couldn't forget about the necklace too.

That stupid key that dangled from his neck never failed to make you stare at his chest, which oh so temptingly rose and fell everytime he let out a laugh with his friends.

Right now though, he was wearing a these loose fitting faded green pants and a regular black tshirt that didn't seem so regular when his arms were begging to break free from the short sleeves.

It gave you a perfect view of all the tattoos littering his arms even if you had always wanted to see what was hiding on his chest considering the small blot of ink that always peeked out whenever he wore wife beaters.

No.

You were here to hang out with your friends and he looks like he breaks hearts for fun. Besides, you should enjoy the music more. Whoever had the aux cord at these parties always played the best music and your favorite song never failed to make an appearance, which just so happened to be now.

"Staring at Eren again?" Your best friend giggled.

"I like eye candy." You responded before shaking your head, "He'd break my heart though so I won't bother to look anymore."

Your friend hummed in response before her eyes widened for a bit the moment she got a glimpse behind you.

"Good luck y/n"

"What." You leaned forward to catch her words again.

Did she just wish me good luck? Why?

A shadow from behind you that made the gold in your bracelet gleam less caught your attention and made you turn around.

"Hey"

Eren stood there before you, his hands in his pockets, his posture as tall as ever as he kept your eyes locked with his.

You did not want to be played with tonight and although you found his heart breaker appearance hot as hell, you wouldn't risk your your own for it.

You looked at him like a mother looks at her child when they've interrupted her conversation and smiled, "Hi."

It had the same tone structure as a 'can I help you?'

He caught on to your slight guard, but chose to still speak to you.

"I'm Eren."

"I've heard."

He held back a small laugh. He didn't want you to think he was being a jerk.

"And I've heard yours is y/n."

"Is that the only thing you've heard?"

"I asked someone a couple parties ago," He admitted, a toothy smile splitting his mouth apart dashingly, especially due to his sharp canines, "but only managed to get your name."

"Glad they gave you the right answer." You politely nodded, not wanting to seem a total bitch.

Eren huffed at your facade a little, shaking his head because of how cute he thought it was when you were literally oogling at him moments ago.

"Listen y/n."

"I'm listening Eren."

There you went with that mother-like tone again. It crossed his mind how much he wanted to fuck that attitude out of you, but he'd save that for another time.

He had to win you over first if he'd ever to get to do that.

He chuckled, "I think you're pretty and I'm trying to get your number so I can take you out on a date."

"If that's fine with you." He added politely, confidence never wavering which was annoying.

His confidence annoyed you because it wasn't cocky. His confidence was simply him being comfortable with himself, and damn him because it made him harder to resist.

You really wanted to give him your number...

At this point it was obvious to the both of you that you were looking for an excuse to say no. You didn't even try to hide it anymore with that childish squint of your eyes at him and it made him laugh.

You let out a sigh of defeat and to Eren that could only mean one thing-

"You hear this song?" You pointed at the ceiling

Eren cocked his head to the side in confusion, "Yes?"

"If you learn this entire song on the guitar I'll give you my number."

Your cheeks were kinda puffed in self assurance, you thought you had given him an almost impossible challenge, which may seem like it to you but he wouldn't let you know that. It was cute.

"You want me to learn Cry Baby by The Neighbourhood, y/n."

You nodded like a smartass at his clarification and his knees almost buckled at how so adorable you were that he could just eat you up.

In approval, Eren raised up his hands as he nodded too.

"Fine. Just be ready to give me your number at the next party."

You gave him that kidish doubtful look of yours again before agreeing, "Okay, Eren."

As he shook his head with a smirk on his face, Eren turned around and went walking back to his friends just as you turned to look back at your best friend.

She was giving you a look of 'really?'

It was a tell tale sign she was about to bully you.

"y/n he's going to do it."

She leaned over to smack your arm, "You should have just given him your number dumbass."

You pouted as you soothed your arm, "Hey! I just wanna see some effort! Besides I think he'll forget and that's gonna say enough."

She rolled her eyes at you, "He literally stares at you every single time we see him. He won't forget."

Like a child, you crossed your arms over each other and let out a huff, "We'll see then."

You didn't see Eren again that night and like a fool you ignored the fact that it bummed you out. It wasn't necessary to stare at his neck whenever he threw his head back to laugh or watch the way his arms strained whenever he tried to put his hair up.

At least that's what you told yourself.

The new week came and passed by until the streets lit up again in the vodka, music, and lust of the weekend and you hadn't really thought about Eren. You remembered his promise to you when you were just about finished with your makeup and smacked your lips together while observing the application of your lipgloss.

He probably forgot about his promise the day after.

Nonetheless, you put your pretty heels on and walked right into that party with your best friend and this time you weren't going to lie to yourself when you looked around the room for that pretty brunette.

You couldn't find him.

Whatever, less heart break for you.

You dragged your best friend to the rest of your friends that would also attend the party. There was some commotion in the groupchat about somebody's girlfriend finding out their ex was talking to their mom's friend and the information was too juicy to let go of.

"And then my mom sent me a screenshot of this guy in her friend's comments talking about some-"

The conversation went in through one ear and out the other when that song started playing a little too finely through the party stereos.

Yeah, that song.

Your ears perked up and the electric guitar sounded too crisp to just be coming from the aux cord of a spotify playlist.

You looked around the room, following a particularly long wire that was connected to the stereo. You looked past plenty of heels, feet, and random shoes until you saw a pretty black guitar at the hands of him.

Eren.

He was completely invested in the guitar on his lap, fingers picking and choosing what strings to play and you were glad because you wouldn't be able to handle eye contact with him right now if he looked up.

"Told you." Your best friend giggled into your ear as she flicked your forehead gently.

Whenever Eren played the guitar, it was normal for a little bit of people to gather to look. It wasn't new for a guy to play the guitar at parties, especially him, but it was still interesting to see.

Your best friend lifted you up by grabbing your hand

"Gotta live up to your promise." She sang to you teasingly as she took you near him.

You whined, "Can we at least sit, I don't wanna stand there like a weirdo."

She shook her head, "Fine, but we'll sit where he can see you."

You nodded in dramatic defeat before she added, "And you better be ready to give him your number."

"Yes ma'am."

In all honesty, you were too shocked that he actually learned the song to let the giddy feelings register in your stomach on time, so you resorted to being whiny about it.

Except,

it registered when you sat down and he was already looking at you.

The rest of the four minutes that passed by were painful, they were comprised of the knowing looks Eren sent your way, you shuffling in your seat, and the actual part of you that was trying to enjoy the way he was playing the guitar for you.

They were painful but they passed by pretty fast, a little too fast in your scared and flustered opinion.

You watched Eren hand his electric guitar over to an eager friend who was probably gonna take a chance to play a song on it and saw this quick opportunity to voice your sheepishness to your friend.

"I think-"

Your best friend was no where in sight. She wasn't even sitting next to you anymore.

When did she leave you here?

You were going to kick her-

"My number?"

A fearful gulp made its way down your throat as you looked up at the handsome figure before you.

Eren cheekily had his phone out in your direction, his screen already lit in the light of his keypad.

You took the phone from him rather roughly in your opinion and bit back your smile as you typed those ten numbers on his phone and added your name to its contact.

Eren did not in fact think you took the phone from him roughly and would have compared the sight to a baby taking back its candy, but he feared telling you would ruffle your feathers. And he says ruffle your feathers cause you remind him of a sparrow, tiny but always mad for no reason.

And he loved it.

He sat down next to you when you finished typing your name and held out his phone for him to take back, which he did.

"Someone's surprised I learned a song for her." He sang, just as teasingly as your best friend did to you just moments ago.

Chills ran up your spine at the blatant mention of him doing something for you.

"So what if I am." You huffed a little, unaware of the way you turned your body to face him.

But Eren was quite aware, so he did it too.

"I'll learn more if you want me to." He offered, his hand painfully close to yours.

You turned your face away from him bashfully to hide the effect he had on you which only made it worse because he took it as an opportunity to close the distance between your faces a little more.

"How does that sound hm pretty girl?"

His breath was hot on your skin, even reaching your neck.

Mustering the courage, you turned back to look at him, even though any movement could cause you to kiss him due to the close to nonexistent distance between the two of you.

"It sounds nice." You peeped quietly

Eren's eyes were glazed as he observed you, he wouldn't even be surprised if somebody said he had stars in his eyes.

"Not so bratty now huh." He laughed warmly in tenderness at your state before him now.

Unable to stand his stare on you again, you looked down at both of your hands, fingertips touching.

You danced your fingers around over his hand, feeling the contrast of his cool rings against the warmth of his fingers before you set your hand on top of his.

"I'm giving you a million more songs to learn by the way." You murmured.

Eren shifted so he could have his face in front of yours again and there again came the intensity of his lips oh so close to yours and the unavoidable glimpses towards each other's mouths the both of you would give.

"I'll learn one for every date you let me take you on." He breathed in assurance

Your brain was foggy at how alluring he was

"I like the way you play the guitar." You admitted

And Eren's pants tightened at the way your eyes fluttered up at him when you said that.

"Yeah?"

"Mhm." You nodded, unaware yet again of the way you were pushing yourself onto him leaving Eren to yet again restrain himself from pouncing on you and scaring you away.

"Stop teasing me." He murmured, eyes on your lips.

"I'm not teasing you." You whined a little, doing that innocent thing with your eyes again and Eren pleaded with himself for more restraint.

"Fuck."He let out

You gave into the tension and started by giving his lips a soft peck to test the waters. That peck let Eren put his other hand on the back of your neck and it let you go back in again for another peck, except he kept you in place to actually kiss you.

His warmth completely melted into you as he needily moved his mouth across yours and left you growing more and more needy for him.

If it wasn't for everyone near the both of you, he would have continued, but your sake and his, he agonizingly let go of you.

"I think your friend is waiting for you." He swallowed on nothing, a bright red painting his cheeks.

And as you let your best friend take you away with a pout on your face, he checked his phone to make sure you left your number in there.

And you did.

y/n