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wolven91 · 1 year

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The Predator Café - Chapter 6

Pip couldn't help but doze.

Oh sure, he'd panicked something terrible at first, Natasha had grasped him in a vice-like grip and pulled at Pip until he was pressed against the outside of her t-shirt. But after a moment of taking a breath and note of what actions he could take to free himself; her grip had lessened some, only to tighten again when he took any movement to try and extract himself.

Eventually he simply accepted his 'fate' and, once he'd calmed down, she was surprisingly gentle in her unconscious state. One hand was wrapped around his body while the other roamed periodically; either covering her hand, resting atop of his head or idly scratching at his neck. It didn't take long for Pip to completely drop his notion that she may hurt him whilst lying like this, even unintentionally. She had repositioned several times, each time supporting his body first and foremost, before flopping back down. It jarred him when she fell back down, but otherwise he'd never felt so safe.

He realised that his worries of her Predator status had made its way far lower down on his mental anxiety list at some point. When did that happen?

He had to admit that in the last few hours he had started to trust her completely.

Not just the blind desire or even awe that ran through him, but actual trust and faith that this Human was safe. She was a Predator that broke all conventions which were established as the four cornerstones of his society. She was a signal that the way things were, weren't destined to 'always be'.

The social dividing line he had thought of; was no longer defined and certain. These 'titan apes', they could change the world for the chintians. They could change The Spiral in its entirety. They already had in some ways.

Pip couldn't put his finger on why he had felt so drawn to her, even objectively as a Prey. Sure, she was intimidating in the first instance, their outward characteristics screamed 'dangerous', but when they spoke? When they showed their inner thoughts? It almost made perfect sense that they were both herbivore and carnivore before she had ever told him. They had that 'other side' to their aura, not just religiously sectioned into one group or the other.

The cintian was currently laying atop her, his hands over hers, laying directly on top of her solar plexus, his feet resting against her pelvis while his head rested between... His ears warmed rapidly. The air was humid and mildly stale from being under the covers, but the heat was lovely. He was used to the warmer weather of his home planet but had previously come to the conclusion that he'd have to live in the colder, wetter climate to attend a good college. Now he was laying on a living hot stone that was soft and warm and beautiful in every way he could think of. He couldn't help but smile unashamedly to himself, a goofy grin that pulled at his cheeks in a way that hadn't happened for weeks on end.

The great bellows of her lungs were behind his head, they were impressive in of themselves; but it was her heart that dominated his thoughts.

Pip had seen forces of nature before; from the little things like hurricanes and earthquakes to the supermassive like black holes; consuming systems larger than he could comprehend.

Her heartbeat drew the same emotions from him as these incredible forces did. It was so strong, so powerful; Pip put his fingertips to his throat to feel his own pattering beat, it was humbling to feel hers shake his whole body when he held still enough to notice. It was so slow, so steady it calmed him like no breathing technique ever could.

He sighed as he closed his eyes and returned his hands to hers. The world outside just simply didn't matter while he was here with her.

===

Natasha slept deeply and soundly, unworried by the world.

She had suffered from insomnia back on the station, a mixture of anxiety and poor mental health brought on by the events of Earth’s disastrous evacuation. While the distance from what she had ended up associating with the horrid memories helped, her nightmares still stalked her across the vastness of space to wheedle their way back into her dreams shortly after she began to settle into her new life.

Initially she had left her stuffed rabbit, 'Lucky' on a shelf when she unpacked as a token of her childhood she could put away, but halfway through a sleepless first night, he had miraculously ended up in her arms by the morning. A present from her father due to her unachieved desire for a pet, Lucky had defended her valiantly from the worst of her dreams, but she had still not quite had that kind of sleep that leaves you without need for more the following morning.

She lovingly pressed ‘Lucky’ into her again as reassurance to herself he was still there.

Natasha was unaware that Lucky had long since fallen to the floor beside the bed and happily kept watch for any monsters that could lurk beneath the bed.

===

Several hours passed as they slept with one another. Neither thinking of anything other than restful sleep and gentle dreams.

Natasha usually worked the late shift at the Café on Fridays, it wasn't unusual for her to sleep long into the Saturday without issue. Pip on the other hand had no excuse of working late for his many previous Saturdays that he’d slept away. He often found that if he had no particular reason to leave his bed, he wouldn't do so. Even to the detriment of his hunger or social life, of what social life he had available to him anyway.

The shadows drifted across the room as the two found something unidentifiable within each other, and while neither would be able to articulate what these were when they woke; they both needed what the other offered freely.

The sun was beginning to dip low by the time both were awake again. They handled the various needs that had arisen in their long rest which had accumulated in Pip currently being sat on the kitchen counter using the various pots and pan drawers to climb up, while Natasha leant against the wall waiting for the pasta and home-made sauce to cook properly.

===

“But you can't just put the whole bag of cheese on top, it would drown the flavour?” Pip tried to express to the belligerent human.

“Pip, ya' a lovely guy, but ya' dead wrong. There isn't such a thing as 'too much cheese', ya' either don't have enough or ya' ran out!” She just couldn't understand how he was so perfect in every way, but this was a deal breaker if he didn't enjoy cheese properly. And the proper amount of cheese one was to have on their food was always ‘excessive’.

“You're going to get gout if you carry on... Wait. Do human's get gout?”

“It's not common, but yeah, this is why I try to home cook. I'll be healthy, but in return I get to feed my habit.”

“But that's not health-” Pip's response was prevented by a series of rapid heavy bangs against Natasha's front door. They conveyed a serious need for an immediate response.

Pausing to turn off the hob, Natasha left the kitchen to go and answer the door. It wasn't hard for Pip to listen to what was happening, but the moment that she opened the door a cacophony of voices started shouting various questions and demands of Natasha. A firm and cold voice that was much clearer than the rest, made itself known.

“Miss Natasha Ward?”

“Yes?”

“You are under arrest under the suspicion of abduction.”

“What?!”

Pip could hear the shock in her voice, but he had already launched himself off the countertop. A scuffle out in the hall came next as he rounded the corner and saw that two law enforcement officers, both draconians with bright orange scales and spines cresting their heads, were currently pressing Natasha against the wall of her hall and preparing to apply handcuffs to her.

Natasha, the two officers and a crowd that had formed outside the building on the street, went silent for a moment at the sight of Pip, before a wall of noise erupted as everyone reacted to him.

“It's true!”

“Pippin!”

“Natasha, over here!”

“What were your plans?!”

A cascade of questions from the crowd alongside an explosion of bright flashes blinded pip and rendered him stunned with his arm up to shield his eyes. He never heard the officers directing staff from outside to come in and remove the 'victim' from the home. As he squinted the world was blocked as a woollen blanket was thrown over him before he was bodily lifted from the ground.

“Make a hole! Out of the way!” He heard from outside, Pip started to shout and thrash in an attempt to free himself. The larger predator was obviously used to handling those of a larger stature so had no issue in manhandling Pip into the back of their waiting squad car as if he were no more than a temperamental toddler.

The door slammed shut.

“Get him out of here!” the same voice shouted before the car lurched forwards as Pip extracted himself.

“Nat!!” He shouted into the back window as the crowd of reporters continued to take pictures of both his retreating face and the towel covered head of Natasha as she was escorted into a second squad car.

The two new officers sat in the front were Canids, the one not driving turning back with a 'reassuring' expression.

“It's alright Pippin, you're safe now, you're out of danger.”

“What are you on about!? Natasha is a friend, what is happening?” Pip argued back, he was upset confused and frustrated

The two Canids shared a look before facing front and settling into silence. Pip spluttered to try and find another thread to attack from, but his mind was paralysed with confusion. He settled into a moody silence, readying himself to give the person in charge both barrels of his opinion once he arrived at their destination.

Within 20 or so minutes they arrived at the station, an imposing building that had a flow of a multitude of people coming and going. He was marched inside still with the blanket over his shoulders like he was a traumatised survivor of something. He was finally deposited in an interview room with a promise that they would bring a drink for 'Pippin'.

Pip seethed. He hated that name, only his grandparents still used it and that was only because they found his frustration amusing. No one using 'Pippin' would get their way past his defences.

Before long a taurian made their way inside the room, they were as tall as an average Predator but often seen as ‘motherly’ by certain Prey. He wasn't dressed the same as the the officers, he gave off more of a contractor or medical professional 'vibe' to Pip.

“Well, I'm sure this has been all very scary and worrying, hasn't it dearie?” His tone and voice grated at Pip immediately, he spoke to him as if he were a child or not in full control of his mind.

“Honestly, I was fine until the police kicked down the front door; where's Natasha? What's going on?” He demanded, he was oddly confident in his words, he felt he had the right to be angry and make these kinds of demands in contrast to his usually meek self.

“It's okay dearie, it's okay. Lets breath together, okay dearie? In... and out... Woo Saaa.”

Pip stared a hole into his forehead.

The taurian mistook his stillness for compliance.

“Very good. Now, what's happening is that we've rescued you from that mean old Predator that kidnapped you. We now just need a statement from you and you can get home dearie.”

Pip calmed himself, he had to be careful or Natasha would suffer for his mistakes.

“Natasha and I walked back to her home because it wasn't feasible to use the walkways as the entrance had been damaged.” He paused to take a breath.

“We then fell asleep at her apartment, woke up and she was in the middle of cooking us 'breakfast', as we had risen late. Then you kicked in the door and there was a circus outside the building!”

The taurian hmm'd' and haaw'd' as he spoke whilst nodding in a deranged manner as if hishead was loose on a hinge.

“So, I'm afraid dearie-”

“Stop calling me 'dearie'.”

“So, I'm afraid Pippin...”

Touché.

“I'm afraid you're confused as to what has happened to you recently and that's okay, no one is blaming you. But if I explain what we know is the truth, then that might jog your memory?”

Pip frowned, he knew exactly what had happened over the past day, he suspected he'd never forget these memories for the rest of his days. They were too special to forget or adjust them.

“You were seen leaving an establishment and attempted to make your way home. However, the walkways were sabotaged to prevent your 'escape'. Then the human captured you and took you away against your will. after which we won't speculate what happened next after you arrived at the human's home.”

He removed her glasses and placed them on the table between the two creatures.

“You don't need to be afraid Pippin. The human may not know about how things work out here, but that does not give them free licence to hunt a living, thinking Prey. Thankfully we received an alert that a Predator had snatched a Prey and taken them away. You must be so grateful that the citizen followed her all the way back to her 'lair'.”

“That's not the way of it at all! She grabbed me because it was too far for me to run and not get washed away!”

“I thought you said you walked home with her? Why the change in story Pippin?”

“I-I misspoke, that doesn't mean she's some feral, slobbering Predator, she wouldn't harm a single hair on anyone's head!”

“Its normal to protect your captors after spending time with them Pippin. You get to the point of seeing their struggles from their point of view and as a smart young man who is good and empathetic, it's completely normal to feel the need to cover for her Pippin, but you don't have to. “

His jaw ached from gritting his teeth as he repeated his name over and over.

A pause.

“What you have to do is confirm that she took you against your will.”

“Then we're going to be here for a very long time sir. Everything that happened from leaving the Café until I was snatched by the officers; was consensual.”

“That's not what she's saying Pippin.”

===

“Creatures like you disgust me, you know that right?”

The officer remained in the shadows of the cold interrogation room. Only one of his eyes were visible, reflecting light; it seemed like a glowing marble suspended in the darkness. From what Natasha could tell he was a draconian, his snout was long and thin but the teeth that encircled his jaw left no doubt he was a Predator.

Natasha remained silent. She had made several demands for a lawyer and knew better than to say anything that could be deliberately taken the wrong way until they arrived.

“You think that you can just get away with it because they're small and pathetic? They can't fight back so why not, right?”

The Human rolled her wrists to get blood back into her hands, but otherwise remained silent and still.

“He's already said that you grabbed him without his agreement. We're just waiting on formalities at this point. We're going to throw the whole book at you to make an example of you.”

“Ya’ got nothin’ then.” She couldn't help herself. The moment he started spouting lies about Pip she had to defend him. She could handle whatever they had to say about her, she'd grown up on earth, this wasn't her first interaction with moronic cops, but Pip? She doubted whether he'd ever even spoken to a cop before today.

“It's not going to get easier for you just because you remain silent. It just means you won’t be able to defend yourself lat-” he was cut off as another Predator appeared through the door. A felinoid, if Natasha's memory served her. With spots that covered a short pelt of sandy colours, she looked like a cheetah in a high-powered business suit.

“Out. Now.” There was no mistaking that this was a command, not a request. The officer grumbled but left without delay.

“Ms Ward, I am your lawyer and I need to ask if you've made any statements in my absence?“

Natasha explained in full detail as to her interactions with the officers so far and at prompting; as to how she had met Pip, how he'd returned and they'd hit it off over the course of the evening.

She'd wanted to see him off, until they found the walkway entrance destroyed.

“Mm, there was a discrepancy in the time the cameras of the walkway go offline and when it was possible for you to have left. Your boss was certain you had worked your full shift, no leaving early. Continue.”

She went on to explain the weather was concerning her with regards to Pip, she had specifically asked him if he was okay with being carried home to ensure he was out of the storm in good time. Natasha had no knowledge of how much of a social taboo carrying one another held in this society.

Her lawyer nodded with understanding before motioning her to go on.

Natasha left no detail out. Their close moments, their questions, how she had touched him with his consent. How she woke up while curled around him in a protective 'big spoon'. All of it.

She had to trust that he would be honest as well; the officers last words repeated themselves around her mind and part of her wanted to believe he had betrayed her. Natasha was used to betrayal, she could handle it, but there was a fragile part of her that had only begun to bloom less than twelve hours ago and now risked being stomped brutally. It was easier to be betrayed than it was to let someone past her walls.

“It seems to me a case a mistaken identity Ms Ward.” The cheetah who's name she just couldn't recall despite being given it only a hour or so ago.

“Throughout the city, there has been a spate of vandalism against little folk's walkways, access points and panic tunnels. Normally petty vandalism doesn't ping on the radar so to speak, however this is following the exact same pattern as last time something like this happened...”

“Somethin’ like this?” Natasha asked.

A sigh and a scratch at her jaw, the lawyer continued.

“Roughly two years ago a series of vandalisms led to the disappearance of multiple Prey. Turns out some Predators decided to make Prey escape paths unavailable, allowing them to set traps and abduct the unfortunate Prey right off the streets.” She waited a moment before deliberately catching Natasha's gaze.

“They ate them, Ms Ward. They sold their meat on the black market and consumed the flesh of their fellow sentients. So perhaps you can understand the panic your actions, however unintentionally, has caused.” She stood up with this revelation.

“You'll be glad to know that I don't think they have a case against you. Unless the Prey you were with has said something to the contrary of your statements, your timeline is just a little too off to match you against the usual MO of this group and since to my knowledge, the Prey you were with is unharmed, there isn’t actually anything they can hold against you. Just a bunch of suspicious events with nothing to charge you with.”

With a farewell and assurances that she will work quickly the lawyer left and Natasha was escorted to an enclosed room with a bed and a hole for a toilet. ‘No sci-fi forcefields here, just metal and walls’ she thought glumly. Laying back on the bed she let her thoughts drift to Pip and wondered if he was in a cell nearby.

She hoped he was okay.

===

Pip was exhausted as he again refused to admit that Natasha had done anything even remotely cruel, evil or untoward.

He'd torn up written statements they'd asked him to sign, he'd shouted down the councillors and now was trembling as he kept his tail straight and ears up at the officer who had just finished his tirade at Pip.

“She's got you eating out of her hand while she gets ready to eat you boy! How does a Prey like you not have that survival instinct?! Where's that healthy sense of what's dangerous and what's not?! How did you even get into the same crowd as her?!”

“Is it illegal to fraternise with someone not of my ‘kind’ officer? Should I be fearful of you? Intimidated, sir?” He countered.

“To the void with it! You want to get eaten? Fine!” the officer shouted at Pip as he left the room slamming the door behind him. Pip slumped into the chair once again.

The chair was an uncomfortable thing, maybe by design or by necessity of cost saving, but with his hands were shaking and feeling light-headed, he needed to rest, which wasn’t going to happen while being forced to sit in this oversized monstrosity.

When the door unlocked, he was keyed up to fight again. He'd kept Natasha in his mind's eye to motivate him. It didn't matter what they said or did, he'd protect her as best he could. But instead of another combatant, an administrator walked in holding his belongings and advised that he was free to go and that was that.

He walked through the building in a daze before being shown the door. It was dark, whether late or early he had no idea. Nor did he have any clue how he was going to get home from here, he wasn't particularly aware of where the nearest public transport hub was until he saw a familiar grey scaled face waving to him from the other side of the street.

As he descended the steps, a crowd of reporters swamped him asking any number of questions that Pip just couldn't be bothered to reply to. When he got to Geegee, the reptile ducked into the waiting taxi and Pip ran to the other side. Climbing in and cutting off the reporters who continued to hound him asking whether he feared retaliation? How did he feel about the threats to his life? Would he trust Predators again?

As the taxi zoomed away from the crowd, he put his head in his hands and tried to uncoil the stress that permeated every inch of his body.

“You’re an idiot.” Geegee stated as a matter of fact.

“I’m not in the mood, Gee.”

“Well tough, I don’t know how you’ve got yourself in this mess, but you need to get yourself out. People are talking now, and you’ve dragged me into it all as well!” Geegee near-shouted with anger bleeding into his tone.

“…thank you for coming to get me.”

“I didn’t want to come here, the Dean himself practically told me to do it so that it was seen that you were a normal Prey, and it was the human that was the weirdo. When they found out I was your ‘closest’ and I use the term loosely, ‘friend’ they wanted me to retrieve you so you wouldn’t say anything that could upset the college!”

Pip looked at the Geckin; Geegee was furious, his entire body language shouted of someone who didn’t want to know Pip. As if being in the same car would ‘taint’ the lizard.

“She didn’t do anything wrong.” Pip said in a small, defeated voice.

“That’s..!” The Geckin started to shout before sighing and beginning again in a calmer voice. “… That’s not the point. You should know better than to go off with Predators on your own. You put yourself in danger like that. They should know better and in an ideal world we could skip off into the sunset; hand in hand, but it’s not like that and it’s still your responsibility to stack the deck in your favour so you’re as safe as possible. Don’t tempt them, it’s rule 1!”

Pip hated this.

The whole world spoke of how Prey and Predators were equal, that there was nothing to fear, and we were all safe, barring exceptional circumstances. But this was a lie. The moment he tested those beliefs, it was taken that he was in immediate danger. Natasha was branded a threat and he was thought of as a fool.

It was a world of hypocrisy.

“So, you’re done then? You’re going to be safe and never see that human again?” Geegee asked in what was supposed to be a caring tone but had overtures of condescension.

“I need to say goodbye and apologise, but yes, I’ll… I’ll stay away. She won’t want to see me again after this anyway, I’ve ruined her reputation.”

“No you-.. Pip! Just drop her! You owe her nothing, you barely know her!”

“I barely know you! Or anyone for that matter! The most you said to me was after the moment you found out she existed. Then you shit yourself and all of a sudden, she’s not of interest anymore? She and I are… we were friends. I owe it to her at the very least to apologise and I will do so to her face. I refuse to be a coward.” Pip snapped back, frustrated that Geegee seemed to hold the delusion that they were perfect friends, and his opinion was so valued that it could sway Pip easily.

Pip and Natasha’s whirlwind of a friendship wasn’t for nothing. He’d clear his conscience and make sure she knew he never meant for any of this to happen.

The taxi pulled up to the collage as Geegee stated in a cold tone; “Fine. Do the stupid thing, I hope she kicks you across the street because then you might get a clue.” He opened the door and without glancing back, slammed it hard enough for the vehicle to rock back and forth.

Pip typed in the Café’s address for the unmanned vehicle to set off again. He had no idea where she lived, only that it was close to the Café and push come shove, he’d leave a message with the owner. He was bemused that for all the time they spent with each other, they’d never thought to exchange contact details.

His depression coiled around his guts again. He wasn’t alone again yet, but it felt like with his plan to apologise and leave her alone would render him more isolated than before. If he wasn’t an outcast before, he was now.

It was pitch black by the time the taxi settled to the entrance of the Café. Paying the fare, he got out and tried to take a breath, to see if he could get his thoughts in order and figure out what he would say or put in his message.

The street was dark, some of the lights had failed to come on. Out of curiosity he walked over to the walkway entrance and found it repaired, they’d obviously rushed the job with all the press getting involved. Pip dreaded to catch up on how the news had interpreted the whole debacle.

A quiet splash behind him caused an ear to twitch, he idly looked over his shoulder to see, far too late, a heavy boot launching into him. It took him in the side, sending the small mammal cartwheeling into the air before hitting a wall with full force and crumpling to the floor. His back legs kicked automatically to propel him forwards instinctively, he had to get to the walkway, whatever it was attacking, wouldn't be able to get him once he was safely within.

His arms attempted to keep up with his legs as he lurched forwards almost horizontally, none too quickly either as a clawed hand grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled violently. The stitching tore and ripped at the seams, deep gouges appeared in the flesh of his back as the claws missed skewering him by a fraction. He cried out in pain as he tumbled to the floor before kicking again.

He didn’t get far as the boot slammed down on his back, pressing him forcefully down into the wet concrete. His head bounced off the floor and his lights went out.

===

Natasha was released into a storm of questions, flashes of cameras and shouts of a mixture of anger, disgust and weirdly, support.

Most of the crowd outside were journalists as she could tell. They all demanded of her questions that misconstrued her actions with Pip or outright put a deliberately bad spin on the whole event. Pushing through the first ‘wave’ she was then spat at by the other bystanders who accused her of being feral, of being ‘unfit’ to live in modern society.

The final layer of the crowd came as she stomped away and past a group that had separated themselves from the rest. She had assumed they were going to cause issue for her in some way, but thanks to their shorter stature, she felt that even if they did cause trouble; she could fight back. She’d grown up in the slums, she could handle herself and she fought dirty.

When she passed them however, they whispered rather than shouted.

“..We see you sister.”

She paused a step or two past them but didn’t turn to face them. Her silence was answered with another whisper.

“We’re glad you’re with us sister, worry not, your ‘Prey’ won't escape. When you’re ready, go to the sub-station near the park. Knock once.”

When she turned her head, the group had fled down the alleyway that they had loitered in the mouth of.

A cold chill ran itself down her spine and a horrific feeling of dread washed over her. She had to see Pip now; he’d be at the dorms.

The run there didn’t bother her, she had never been a slouch with keeping fit and with such an urgent need to see Pip she raced as fast as she could. She didn’t feel the burning in her legs until she rounded the final corner to see the multi-species dorms. Pip had discussed where he’d lived with her whilst he ate at the Café, he’d even oh-so-subtly told her how to count the windows to which one was his. At the time she thought it cute that he’d give her a way to find him if she fancied coming to see him, but now she thanked his awkwardness and blatant hope.

She counted the windows as he said and looked through to find a dark room. Using her hands to block all the outside light she could see this room was indeed used and what looked like some of his clothes, but no sign of Pip himself. She checked the next window on, it had a light on and maybe it was a different room of his dorm?

The small Geckin lizard inside very nearly hit the roof in an impressive leap of fear when Natasha’s features appeared in his window.

“I’m sorry, I’m tryin’ to find Pip, I need to apologise to ‘im, I know he’ll probably not want to see me right now and I-I-I know, that’s fine, but I just needed to say sorry and I’ll leave ‘im alone, I promise.”

The Geckin was clutching his chest and breathing heavily before looking disdainfully at the human. He walked over to the window, leaving it closed to shout;

”He already left to go and see you. He doesn’t want to see you, but he’s too kind for his own good and wants to tell you face to face. I’ll tell him you feel the same way. Now; go!”

He wasn’t here? He’d gone to find her.

Dirt sprayed up the side of the wall splashing the Geckin’s window as Natasha pushed herself into a full sprint. Her boots gouged large divots into the grass of the dorms before she was on tarmac again and sprinting home.

She had lost precious time, the strange whispering Predators wouldn’t leave her thoughts as she forced herself to run, faster and faster. She could almost feel that she was running out of time.

He’d be okay. He’d gone to say goodbye and then he’d be back to his world, a world being safe. She could live with that.

Reaching her home there was no sign he’d been here. No one had rung her doorbell since she had been taken away earlier that day and there were no notes or messages waiting for her. She ran towards the Café. He’d be there, he’d be waiting for her or talking with her boss maybe?

Getting on to the Café’s street, it was darker than normal. This alone was enough to ring alarm bells in Natasha’s head. She slowed her pace as she approached, just before she reached the walkway entrance Pip would have used, her boots crunched under her weight. Stopping and looking down, she saw a puddle of broken glass.

Looking up; the streetlight was smashed.

This was a tactic she herself had used as a youth. Natasha crept forwards in full alert, eventually she saw the walkway was fully repaired. She frowned though, despite everything looking new, there was already loose material gathering outside it like rubbish. With mounting suspicion and worry she picked up a familiar looking scrap of cloth and brought it into the light of the Café.

Stood outside her place of work and the location of her first meeting of her first alien friend; Pip, she had in her hands the bloody and torn remains of his favourite shirt.

#conservationverse #cuddleverse #human #haso #hfy #humans are space orcs #chintian #chipmunk #size difference #sizeplay #sizetumblr

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sstargoldens · 1 month

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Chapter 2 - Before Fairy Tail, Lucy Heartfilia

Summary: One-shots focused on Lucy Heartfilia and with nuances of NALU Since joining Fairy Tail, Lucy never spoke much about her past as inheriting Heartfilia, details of her upbringing and how she managed to escape from her mansion were never told. Sometimes Lucy remembers them with pain and nostalgia, other times the guild has the opportunity to learn things they did not know about the celestial mage.

Chapter 2: Dress

Lucy Heartfilia always wore tight or revealing clothes, each outfit she had was chosen carefully and paid attention to the details. No matter what they told her, she felt comfortable wearing her short skirts and heels, she knew that she was beautiful and felt attractive in her clothes. It didn't matter the criticism they gave her behind her back or all the times that the lack of her fabric caused inconveniences such as the cold, she Lucy continued to wear the type of clothes she liked because she was free. And she, in her freedom, chose to feel empowered and sexy, but like all women, the blonde had clothes that made her feel insecure. And those were the formal ballroom dresses, not those that are tight and with daring necklines, but those with a princess cut and sultry corsets.

The spirit mage felt trapped when she had to wear that garment, no matter how many times they told her that she looked beautiful, Lucy didn't feel like herself. Above all, it brought her all those anxieties that she believed she had left behind, for some a simple dress, for her it symbolized the repression that she lived through for years. When she still lived in the Heartfilia mansion, she didn't choose her clothes, every dress, every shoe and every accessory was dictated by a teacher of etiquette that her father had hired. Before running away from home Lucy never wore an outfit like the one she wore daily now, in fact her teacher would have a heart attack to see her today.

Every day she used to wear those kinds of dresses, looking like a doll, living a fake life, a life full of loneliness and coldness. The corsets hurt her skin but she was forced to wear it for hours at social gatherings where she only knew fake smiles, eager glances and convenient approaches. She felt like a living object, a perfect trophy, a bait for men looking for an obedient lady and hunting their fortune. Her current clothes never made her feel an object, on the contrary she felt free and strong, it was her way of expressing and feeling like herself. She could choose what to wear or not to wear, something that she was never given in that millionaire life, Lucy gave herself the freedom by escaping from that life.

In Fairy Tail everything was different from her past, she felt accepted and loved for who she was, she wasn't a pretty face with money but a strong and proud magician. She was Lucy Heartfilia from Fairy Tail, a celestial mage who considered her spirits her friends and protected her companions with claws and teeth. Her clothes, only hers, was another part of her, something almost irrelevant, no one said anything about the way she dressed except for one or other comments about her physique but no one seriously judged her or looked down for her outfit.

She was a magician and as part of her guild, she would never give up to complete a mission even if it meant wearing a suffocating huge ball gown. Because yes, her team was summoned to a mission where it was necessary to infiltrate a society meeting, where several noble families of Fiore met to prevent the theft of a valuable jewel. The party was held in honor of one of the daughters of a duke of the country, rumors said that the young woman was a friend of the princess and it was true, seeing the lady in need of protection, the princess herself contacted Fairy, the duke's daughter was recently engaged and her engagement ring was a heirloom of the ducal family, so it was in threat of being stolen.

Being a mission requested by someone from royalty, the option to reject it was non-existent. No matter how much Lucy hated the idea of attending this type of meeting again or the fear of meeting an old acquaintance, as a member of Fairy Tail she had to face and comply. Together with Erza they analyzed who would be the most suitable person to infiltrate as a member of a noble family, Natsu with his destructive tendency and lack of manners wasn't an option, Gray was eliminated due to his habit of nudity, Erza was prone to lose control of her anger and Wendy was still considered like a child. Titania herself indicated that the best option was Lucy because of her control and manners, which no one contradicted so as not to arouse her anger and take a beating from the S-class mage.

Lucy would have wanted to say something but she knew that her friend was right, she was the best suited for the job and she didn't want to fail her team. But this didn't stop that while getting ready and heading to the event, anxiety affected her, feeling her chest heavy and hating the dress she was forced to wear. It wasn't a horrible dress. On the contrary, it was cute and one of her favorite colors: pink but it had a corset and that was a counter that surpassed the color pros.

The blonde was ready waiting in a room next to where the event would take place, she was with her team going over the plan for the last time.

-Then let's review again, the idea is for Lucy to stay close to the future bride all the time, watch her closely but not be very noticeable. While Natsu and Gray will be dressed as waiters watching from afar for anything that happened, Wendy will be watching from the 2nd floor balcony pretending to be a maid with Charle and Happy, and I will be pretending to be one of the musicians. I want you to be careful, we must not act suspicious. -Dict Erza staring at the entire team.

-We'll burn their butts. - Natsu said excitedly.

-Shut up, walking flame, better worry about trying to look like a waiter. - said Gray

-It's true, Natsu will surely eat everything before serving. - Happy said

-Who are you saying that to, ice chest with legs? - Natsu lunged at Gray to hit him.

-Enough you two! - Erza gave them an angry look.

Lucy felt a drop, her team was as carefree as ever, she wanted to be just like them and not anxious about a stupid dress.

-Does Lucy-san have anything? - Wendy asked. The gaze of the entire team went to the blonde.

Natsu looked at her very intensely and immediately approached her, Lucy could only feel nervous under everyone's gaze, she didn't want to reveal a concern that she considered so stupid.

-I'm fine, just a little distracted. It's a familiar atmosphere, I guess. - The celestial mage said, admitting half the truth.

-It's true but don't worry, I don't think you've forgotten how to behave if that's what worries you. You are the one with the best manners here. - Gray said trying to help.

-Yeah, you're right. - Lucy said a little uncomfortable.

-Well guys, it's time. Go to your positions, Lucy we trust you. I know you will do a great job. - Erza said.

Lucy nodded to Erza, her words of confidence made her feel a little better, it was essential to remind herself that she was there to fulfill a mission not to socialize. So she should stop her irrational but it was difficult for the blonde, she approached the door of the living room but before she could leave, a warm and large hand stroked her head with care to not ruin her hairstyle. Natsu was smiling at her with a big smile and her big white teeth.

-Everything will be fine, Luce. -he said and left with Gray.

Lucy couldn't help but blush, she appreciated his gesture, a big smile appeared between her lips, Natsu had given her the last push she needed.

With a happy look and her forehead held high, the celestial mage entered a large room full of people, the noise of chatter and background music hitting her. The crowd didn't bother her but the high society atmosphere did, with a quick glance Lucy analyzed the guests. Most of them were of nobility but there were a considerable amount of wealthy merchants, all the women were dressed in luxurious dresses and tight corsets, the men wore tailored suits, the atmosphere was so patterned that Lucy immediately missed the atmosphere of the guild.

The celestial mage located the celebrated bride, she was in the middle of the room surrounded by several guests, mostly high ranks and her fiancé was with her. The duke was a few steps away with a group of men, Lucy believed that they were surely talking about business. She take the time of locating her team while accepting a glass of champagne and mingled with people, small conversations there and there, the blonde try to get along with the lower level people, that's how manners were. In this social hierarchy, if you were a nobody and you spoke to a high rank, you wouldn't only be disrespecting that person but also it would automatically exile you completely socially. There were silly rules like not being able to talk to someone if they hadn't been introduced to you first, the most absurd thing is that it was mainly subject to women.

Near the bride especifically on the north side Lucy found Erza, she was sitting in the small orchestra in a musician costume, cleaning a series of instruments. On the other side of the room, in the south Gray was serving glasses of champagne near the entrance, Natsu was near Lucy seemed to be in charge of a type of buffet, the blonde admired that the dragon slayer hadn't yet succumbed to temptation. Wendy and the exceed seemed fine on the balcony with the exceeds.

While the time she was at the party, half an hour to be exact, several young men approached to speak to Lucy, knowing that they approached her only because of physical appearance, she took advantage of the moment so that she was progressively introduced to others in order to reach the mission protection objective. The blonde was surprised by how well she moved in the party's social circle. At the party, it seemed like her ability to fake of her old self hadn't completely atrophied yet.

-You know Lucy, I want to introduce you to someone. She is the future bride celebrated. Would you like to meet her? - Asked George, a "poor victim" of the blonde.

-Really? That would be fantastic, she is a fashion icon of society. You really are a distinguished man George aren't you? -Lucy acted hollow, her bait caught and directed.

The man's ego was inflated and thought that he would have opportunities with Lucy. The truth is that he wasn't a bad boy, just a cocky and rich young man trying to be a playboy to look cool. He had no bad intentions towards the blonde but his attitude was so smug that he chased away all the girls, which gave the spirit mage a chance.

-Let's go. - George said making his way to the Duke's daughter but before dragging Lucy, a man intercepted him. - Wait for me a little precious, I have things to discuss with this man.

-Don't worry, I'll go get something to drink while. - Lucy said with a tic in her eye at the word beautiful, the young man was too much, the blonde felt like sending him to hell.

She walked to the buffet where Natsu was, who gave her an intense and questioning look along with a frown, the blonde came up to her partner and took a glass of juice.

-Are you OK? That guy hasn't come off you in a while. Is he bothering you? - Natsu asked discreetly , well as Natsu could be.

-No, he is conceited but he will introduce me to the Duke's daughter. - The blonde answered giving him a comforting smile.

-Can't you just walk up to her on your own? - Lucy laughed a little at the question.

-If I do that, it would attract attention and I would be thrown out of the party. - Lucy answered calmly.

-Why? -Natsu asked very confused.

-Because that's the way these people are, you can't talk to someone of higher rank if they don't introduce you to them, you can't make friends just by talking to them.

- That's kinda dumb. -said Natsu still confused.

-It is, so in a while they will introduce me to the bride and from there I will stay talking to her to watch closely. - Said the blonde.

Before Natsu could answer, the young man who was with Lucy earlier made a sign to the blonde for her to approach him.

-Wish me luck. -Lucy sighed and she left.

Although Natsu didn't like the way the man called Lucy like he was the owner of her or something, he didn't do anything. He just scowled at them until they were out of sight. Natsu didn't understand that meeting and all those silly rules that Lucy had tried to explain before but he didn't listen.

The pink haired man thought it would have been disastrous to have been born in that environment and to have to regularly attend these kinds of meetings.What was the point of having a party if you couldn't make friends easily? Then it hit him. Lucy had been born in that environment, surely she had had to suffer a great number of events like that in all her life. Natsu wished that his partner had joined Fairy Tail earlier, he didn't like to imagine a Luce in this environment. In fact he hadn't even recognized her teammate as he watched her talking to the people at the party, she felt so not Lucy.

The celestial magician came to young George but found him talking to another gentleman, knowing that she had to wait, Lucy began to look around and saw a honey-colored hair held by a half ponytail and curls falling behind that was wearing a luxurious dress of Mint color. Lucy jumped out of shock when she recognized her, her worst fear of her night had come true, there was someone she knew. The blonde, aware of the existence of the lady in front of her, tried to sneak away but just when she was going to flee from that place the brown-haired girl saw her directly and recognized her instantly.

Lucy stayed in her place, although it was true that it wouldn't be a pleasant experience to rediscover a part of her past, the girl in front of her turned out to be one of the few good people she met before arriving at Fairy Tail. She was Mhyst, daughter of an earl who used to have occasional business with her father, a few times she met with the girl, they didn't have time together to say they were friends but they got along well. Mhyst was a very shy, insecure and obedient girl, the truth is that the blonde used to had a feeling of wanting to protect her, despite being high class, she wasn't a bad person but she was someone who highly respected the rules of the society. Lucy on the other hand was a young dreamer (she still is) who despite what she portrayed she hated her lifestyle and had to admit that Mhyst's conformity bothered her. That is why they could never be friends, just simple acquaintances.

The one with brown hair approached the blonde with a smile, she was surprised to find her on that stage because the girl knew well what happened to the Heartfilia empire.

-Hi Lucy. - greet a happy Mhyst.

-Hi Mhyst. -Lucy returned with a true smile, something she hadn't shown too much on the night.

- The truth is I am surprised to see you here, I knew you were a Fairy Tail magician, still I am happy to meet old acquaintances. - The mint dressed one spoke.

-Yes, now I'm a Fairy Tail mage. But I ask you not to mention it, I am on a mission. - Lucy spoke truthfully, the girl was to be trusted for her.

-I'll be careful, I hope everything is fine. Tell me how you have been, it happens that lately you haunted my memory. - Mhyst confessed sadly.

- I am happy, my guild is like my new family, it was always my dream and I am literally living it right now. -Lucy spoke excitedly of her family.

- What envy, I'm glad that now you have the freedom you always longed for. - answered Mhyst.

- I wasn't aware that you knew my dislike for my old life, I never mentioned it to you. - Lucy said surprised.

-That's true, but I got to notice it eventually. I know we were just just acquaintances, but you were always a role model for me. I am extremely weak, you were strong and even though you hid your true intentions, I suspected that your character would make you reject the life we lived. - The brunette confessed.

- Thank you, I wish we had been more friends, I always had a similar esteem for you. But what happens? You sound like you dislike your life, I always thought you had no problem with our environment. - Asked the spirit mage, she looked sadly at Lucy, the blonde had hit a spot.

-I had never had a problem with my way of living, until a few weeks ago. My father has told me that I have to marry a nobleman who lives on the other side of Fiore, I don't know him and the truth is I am afraid. Maybe my past self would have just accepted this news but now there is an obstacle that makes it impossible for me to accept this ...

-You have someone you love. - finished Lucy.

-Yes. - Mhyst looked sadly at the ground. -But he is a man who has nothing that my father can accept, he is a simple teacher.

- But you love him. - Lucy affirmed again.

-Yes. -She said with small tears in her eyes, the brown haired girl, she seemed about to break.

-Mhyst, look, I don't know who he is but if that person treats you well and loves you back, there is nothing wrong with that. Your heart loves and love is one of the most beautiful feelings that can exist, it is a force that manages to do things that may seem impossible. You are a woman, you have the right to choose, no one would have to force you to marry overall if there is someone who already occupies your heart. - The blonde tried to convince her.

- But there's nothing I can do. - Mhyst said exhausted.

-No, there is something you can do. You can confront your family and tell them what you want, they might accept your loved one. You can also always go with him, you will have to be brave but you can be with the love of your life.

-I don't know if i'm capable. - Mhyst said.

-You are but you don't know. Leaving your home and starting from scratch isn't easy, you have to mature and you will fall on the road but at least you will be free. You will be able to choose who to love and where to be, in my experience I tell you that I never thought that I could escape from the golden cage I was in but here I am, and I don't regret anything. I hope you can think my words, now I have to go. I wish you the best- Lucy spoke sincerely and she politely withdrew.

She didn't seem like it but this conversation had opened up feelings of the past for the blonde, she wished that Mhyst was free like her but she had to focus on her mission for her mental sake and for her team.

George introduced Lucy to soon bride to be, she was the Duke's daughter but very elegant and kind. In a few minutes of conversation she had hit it off with the blonde, introducing her to everyone. This embarrassed the celestial spirit mage but gave her the opportunity to stay with her longer to protect her, there were still no signs of thieves but she never had to lower her guard. Among the turmoil of the interactions with the duke's daughter, George disappeared hooking up with a girl, this relieved the blonde, now she had the coast free.

While Lucy socialized with the closest of the ducal family, there was a moment where she was alone, as she was heading to the toiley. She didn't worry about her mission, since before excusing herself she communicated with Erza through Geminis telling her where she was going from her and to watch her future girlfriend more.

When the magician was heading back to the room, a pairs of hands turned her around, facing a green-haired woman with blue eyes, with a look of disgust and amusement. Lucy recognized her immediately, she was a frequent lady who used to be in the blonde's age group when she was heir to Heartfilia State.

-So it was you. -the green haired one spoke arrogantly.

-Hera. - Lucy spoke with distaste.

-That's how you address someone of my status? I remind you Heartfilia that you are no longer one of us, you and your family went bankrupt. Wait but before that, you had already escaped, just like a hussy.

-What does that have to do with you? - replied indifferently the blonde, she didn't want problems.

-See if you even dare to look like a lady. -he said, looking at her from head to toe.

Lucy looked at her confused. Hera just smiled arrogantly

-I've seen your appearances in magazines, I can't believe how you can dress so vulgar. I would be ashamed to be you in those short skirts, you look like a prostitute.

Lucy was speechless. How could another woman denigrate another for her outfit? But that was the society from which she escaped. Before she could answer, Hera spoke.

-I don't know what you are doing here, now you belong with those poor wizards that you joined. Why don't you go back to the retards of your class? Fairy Nail, was that the name?

-It's Fairy Tail and they are much better than you could ever be, you don't even reach the tips of their shoes. You can say what you want about me but you don't mess with my family. -Lucy said with great anger, her keys reacted to her anger, she had them hidden in her leg under her dress. - Now I'm retiring, your face makes me want to vomit.

-How dare you? -Hera held Lucy by her arm.

-Let go. - The blonde magician demanded with a threatening look.

-And if I don't want? - Fire surrounded the scene in the hallway, separating the girls. Hera thinking it was Lucy's magic fled scared.

Lucy sighing turned around.

-Natsu, it wasn't necessary. I could handle it on my own. - Lucy reproached the air.

-I know, but she insulted the guild and dared to lay a hand on you. Old friend? - Natsu appeared from a corner.

-It wasn't my friend. - Lucy answered sharply. - Anyway, how much did you hear? -Lucy gave him a death look.

-Ehh, I have to go. See you Luce. - Natsu fled from the blonde's anger.

-Thanks. - Lucy whispered watching as Natsu left.

The blonde went back to the living room as if nothing had happened, Natsu was already in his corresponding position and she returned to the side of the celebrated one, so she returned to put on her mask and socialize.

It had been two and a half hours since the beginning of the party, Lucy could no longer with her dress, her corset was tightening and she could feel blisters already formed in the place where she adjusted. She was tired of acting with so many people, she didn't know how she could do it for years if she was psychologically too strenuous. She couldn't wait to take off that oppressive dress and get away from that society that oppressed her for years. If Lucy had started the evening with a confidence of 10, now she was going for 5, her dress made her feel like a little girl again, the memories were vivid in her mind and she couldn't bear the interested people who approached every 10 minutes, people who were hungry of power and after of finding out that she was only a simple commoner, they left without even saying goodbye.

The Duke's daughter was by her side when smoke bombs began to fall from the sky, Lucy quickly pounced on the future bride. People were running everywhere, bandits had arrived and were trying to cause chaos. When the smoke cleared a bit, Lucy grabbed the relic bearer trying to get her to safety but the path was blocked by a man dressed in black.

-Give me that ring and no one will get hurt, if not, face the consequences. Either way it will be mine. -said the bandit.

-We won't give it to you. -Lucy said with a determined look in her eyes.

With a quick glance she spotted her comrades, Natsu and Gray were busy with two twin bandits, Erza was protecting the duke from three other bandits and Wendy was busy getting rid of several bandits who had no magic.

The enemy threw a kind of spherical bullets towards Lucy and the Duke's daughter, Lucy barely managed to get the young woman out of the way, her dress hindered her movement. In a moment of freedom and out of necessity, the celestial magician ripped her dress from her, shortening it and loosening the corset. As they continued to dodge attacks, Lucy summoned Gemini who became her and stayed with her future girlfriend to protect her.

The bandit's magic seemed to be controlling spheres at will of an unknown material. Lucy transformed into her Cancer star dress and summoned Loke to her side, while Leo fought with the man Lucy was dedicated to cutting all those spheres that were directed towards her spirits and the woman she was protecting. The bandit who seemed to be having a hard time fighting the lion spirit suddenly smiled.

At the moment Lucy was cutting a sphere, it exploded in a bright light that reached directly into the blonde's eyes, painfully blinding her eyes and falling to the ground.

- Lucy! -Geminis and Leo yelled. This distracted them and Loke was sent back to the celestial world by the bandit and Geminis as well but by a sphere that was addressed to the Duke's daughter.

Lucy who for a moment fell to the ground, she couldn't see. The light had been too direct in her eyes, she heard the screams and felt his spirits being sent back. Quickly still without vision but with somewhat distinguishable shadows he invoked Virgo and re-equipped with the maiden's star dress.

-Protect the Duke's daughter. -Lucy indicated to Virgo as she stood up.

-What do you think you can do against me without sight? Better give up. - Said the enemy with a smile.

-Never. -Lucy said toward the sound of his voice.

-Well, we'll see.

Lucy summoned Sagittarius while she was digging to get to the man, she couldn't see where the aerial spheres came from because she could only see shadows, her sight was slowly recovering. With her Virgo power she could feel the vibrations of the earth generated by the bandit making Lucy able to reward the sight of her while she had a hand-to-hand combat with the man.

Wanting to finish quickly because she had already used a lot of magic, Lucy invoked Capricorn while she sent Virgo to the celestial realm. The future bride was left unprotected but Sagittarius was in charge of getting rid of all the spheres that went against the duke's daughter. The blonde's sight was already restored.

Lucy put on the Capricorn star dress, with her glasses the bandit could no longer use the same trick. She together with Capricorn fighted the bandit in hand-to-hand combat while Sagittarius took care of their backs from the flying spheres.

A blow to the neck by Lucy sent the unconscious villain to the ground, the celestial magician thanked her spirits and sent them back to the spiritual world, while she tied the bandit's arms and legs, she watched around her, the party room was destroyed (courtesy of Natsu, Gray and Erza), her team had already finished with the other members and they were evacuating the few guests who were still near the place of combat.

The Duke's daughter was still in the place where Virgo had escorted her and seemed fine with the jewel still dazzling in her hand. The magician approached the young woman with the intention of taking her back to her family.

-Are you okay? - Lucy helped her up.

-Yes, thank you very much for protecting me. - The future bride thanked with a sincere smile.

-It's nothing, it's our duty. - Lucy answered.

-Actually, I didn't think you were one of the magicians Hisui hired, you looked like a young noble like me.

-Well, maybe it must be because I'm not as disastrous as my guild. - laughed the young blonde, trying to avoid the subject. She wasn't going to go around the world telling her past.

Lucy met up with her team while the bride-to-be reunited with her family and future husband. The celestial mage hoped it was the fruit of love and not a commitment out of family pride, but it was not her theme anyway.

-Good fight Lucy. -Commented Gray as he approached her, he was half dressed as her.

-Thank you, the same. Whic kind magic did you deal this time? - Asked the blonde to everyone.

-I don't know, some chains. - Natsu said indifferently, he didn't remember to be sincere.

-Flamitas are you stupid or what, you faced a magic of plants. - said Gray

"Did you call me an idiot, ice cube?" - Gray and Natsu began to fight.

-I don't have time for them, I'll go get strawberry shortcake, I'll leave you in charge Lucy. - Erza left.

Natsu and Gray seemed full of energy as they fought, Wendy was helping to heal some guests with minor injuries, the Exceeds were with her and Erza was eating a strawberry cake.

Lucy was going to ask someone from the organization if she could help on some way, she felt guilty for partially destroying the room. But before she spoke to the organizer she crossed paths with Hera.

-It seems that i was right, you are just a vulgar magician with those horrible clothes that you have. -Commented the green haired one as Lucy marched in front of her nose, looking at her from head to toe.

Lucy was still wearing the Capricorn star dress, she didn't want to go back to her old clothes. And about the comment of her old acquaintance, she didn't care, her current clothes were much better than wearing a dress like the one the girl was wearing in front of her. Lucy examined the face of the green haired, envy was written all over her face, the celestial magician felt sorry for this. Hera was just another victim of being raised in a noble and cruel place, perhaps making others feel worse was her way of escaping from her, of feeling better than she really is.

-I hope you have a good life, Hera. -Lucy smiled at the girl as she returned to her team, she wanted to get home soon.

As they returned to Magnolia, Erza stared at her blonde friend, now she was back in her usual outfit with her short skirt and blue shirt. Erza wouldn't comment on it out loud but she was proud of her partner, she had fought well and she was a mature young woman. Erza smiled more as she remembered the lesson she gave to the green-haired woman who had tried to intimidate the celestial mage, even if Lucy was unaware of the fact that her friends always protected her in one way or another.

#nalu #fairy tail #sstargoldens #lucy heartfilia #nalu fairytail #nalu fanfic #fanfiction #nalu fandom #fairy tail fanfiction

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spaceorphan18 · 10 months

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Your segment of the podcast was wonderful! Honestly I got emotional. I’m so glad they talked to you.

SNARKY!!?! I'm so glad you listened and got emotional. Did you catch my shout out to you? ;)

If you don't mind, I'm going to just give some little tidbits about doing the zoom call with Kevin and Jenna

There was no intro with me. The only person I talked to before the call was the producer and that was through email. I had no idea what to expect, and I was really nervous going in. I made a few small notes of things I'd like have said, and I think most everything got covered.

I didn't think it was real until Kevin and Jenna popped on screen.

I was a little shocked when Kevin was so enthusiastic about me A) being an OG glee fan and B) about my real job.

I was taken aback, a little, by how very good looking Kevin was.

(I tried to look nice - but I looked ultimately like me and not like someone who has a lot of money, lol)

The conversation felt mostly like it was me and Kevin, who seemed to be driving it. I had to remind myself to look at Jenna as I talked, too.

(I'll talk more about Jenna later in another post)

I tried to be polite and professional. As the convo went on, it felt really easy to do the conversation. It felt both longer and shorter than I expected.

Funny thing about when I started writing fanfic -- I lied a little, but I didn't want to go into the biggest reason that I was held back so long from writing fanfic is due to my severe social anxiety and the scariness of the glee fandom. But I felt like that was too complex to get into.

Also did you notice Kevin's insulation that I started writing after the show started getting bad after season 3? After the convo was over -- I was really bummed I didn't defend the later seasons in that moment.

I felt really bad when I said fanfic isn't for you, and I hope my reasoning was clear. They seemed to be understanding, though?

Kevin just beamed when I brought up that I wrote Office fanfic. Btw, I COMPLETELY forgot that he was on an episode of Office while doing the interview.

There was one point that I thought, maybe, Jenna had snapped with me -- and it was when she mentioned that they were fans of things, too. Mom (who told me she noticed Jenna's oddness and apathy) said she didn't notice that moment, so it may have been just me.

(Mom did say that I should not have said Kurt was my favorite character - but I reminded her that she already knew since the producer had already asked me that as a vetting question)

I was a little surprised when they didn't ask me about my favorites like they did with a lot of the other fan guests they have. I did mention Kurt in the episode. But I was a little bummed I didn't get to do the usual. (Apparently, they didn't with the first woman either?)

The ending was super, super awkward, and I believe, the only point that was edited. At the very end - Kevin asked for my goodreads account. I was so stunned that all I could say was that it was my full name. I kind of wonder (now) if he was trying to get me to plug some kind of social media? Anyway, the producer jumped in and said she'd get him the info.

It kind of then ended abruptly, as they were saying goodbye. They shut down and the Kevin popped on again to say goodbye again. I could also hear Jenna going straight into asking about what they were doing next.

Fwiw - Kevin never did slide into my Goodreads DMs, which is fine. I didn't really expect him too.

The producer then sent me a message a half hour later saying that Kevin and Jenna 'genuinely' liked talking to me and that I was an awesome guest. (and that she'd be in touch).

I really liked how the conversation went (mostly) but afterwards, I was kind of bummed that that was it. I have so much more I wanted to say --- and there was a part of me that kind of wanted to speak up about a lot of things that we always talk about here. But I'm glad I didn't get off topic, and that I did have a professional, honest, and hopefully education conversation about fanfic.

Fwiw - the producer sent me one last message letting me know that the podcast had aired. I did send a thank you email back, but have not yet heard a response -- so I'm guessing that is that.

I am grateful for the experience. Everyone has been so lovely about it, and people even in my real life have had a lot of good things to say. I suppose it's my little fifteen minutes of fame.

I hope people listening got something out of it, too. I haven't listened to it myself - but I just feel awkward about it, and don't really want to.

It does make me want to podcast again, though, and really dig into all the things that Kevin and Jenna don't get into. Maybe someday I can talk Snarky into another podcast when we both have time.

Thanks dear for supporting me and helping me. <3

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gardensgatekeeper · 10 months

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'Tis the Damn Season - Part 2

Pairing: Danny Wagner x Reader

Word Count: 2,078

Warnings: Fluff, angst, sadness, more fluff. As always, let me know if I missed any!

Broke my own heart writing this one :')

If you haven’t already, read part one

Bored was an understatement as you found yourself picking at your sweater while half listening to your family drag on about all the latest small-town gossip, the sole reason you left in the first place. You eventually wandered into the kitchen to get a refill of whatever would shut your brain off for at least five minutes. The holidays seemed to linger like bad perfume, and truthfully you wanted nothing more than to just pack up and drive back to the city but you know you’d never hear the end of it from your mom. And as much as you were highly considering bailing on Danny, something in your brain was screaming at you to hear him out.

You practically gulped down a glass of wine before beginning to refill the glass as your mom walked in. She sat her glass down beside yours, “Pour me one while you’re at it.” The two of you stood in silence as you sipped your drinks until you spoke up. “I saw Danny while I was out today.” You quietly said, as if trying not to let anyone else hear. Her eyes perked up as she turned towards you, waiting to hear the details of your encounter. “Oh?”

Though your mom could be a little perfunctory at times, she really was there for you when things were tough, especially the day Danny called things off. You recall the memory of you coming home with tears streaming down your face. She held you on the couch all night long, gently rocking you in her arms while whispering words of comfort until you eventually fell asleep.

“He wants to talk.” You muttered out, your voice full of dread and anxiety. “Well, honey. I know you two didn’t end things on good terms but maybe it’ll be good for you. For both of you. You’re both adults now, you shouldn't keep holding onto the past.

You hated how much she was right but simply nodded in agreement. “Just don’t go in with any expectations. Be open minded and mind your tongue before you start jumping in with blame.”

You took a long sip of your wine before replying. “I know. But you know how hard I worked to put all this behind me, I’m worried about messing all that up.” She placed her hand over yours, gently rubbing it and offering a warm smile. “I know Y/N. But I also know that you’ve got a brain up there that will tell you exactly what to do. You’ve got this.”

Well shit, didn’t expect to start crying just yet.

“Thanks mom. I think I’m gonna go lay down for a bit. If I have to hear Grandma Jean talk about ‘this damn inflation’ one more time, I might actually go crazy.” She chuckled in response as you both exited the kitchen and parted ways. Crawling into your bed, you continued sipping your wine as you aimlessly scrolled social media. Your heart panged a bit as you saw your friends had taken a weekend trip to the mountains. Something you had been suggesting to them for weeks. So much for that.

Setting your phone on the nightstand, you chugged the rest of the liquid in your glass before grabbing a blanket and closing your eyes, letting sleep consume you, even if for just a few minutes.

---

Clink!

The sound woke you from your slumber. Confused, you rubbed the sleep from your eyes as you took in the now dark room. How long did you sleep for? You grabbed your phone and was slightly blinded by the brightness but managed to distinguish the time, 11:13pm.

Clink!

The same sound snapped you out of your thoughts as you turned to look for the source of the noise. It wasn’t until the third time that you realized it was coming from your window. Cautiously, you walked over and gasped at the sight.

There, Danny stood with several small rocks in his hands. You quickly opened the window and stuck your head out, the brisk air fully waking you up.

“Danny, what the hell are you doing?” You quietly yelled out. “Sorry, I figured you’d probably changed your number when you moved. Wasn’t sure how else to contact you.” He replied honestly, wiping his hands on his jeans after dropping the rest of the rocks back to the ground. You shook your head at his stubborn determination, something that used to drive you crazy. “Plus, if I remember correctly, you agreed.”

You were then met with his outstretched arm as both of you knew you’d need his help to climb out of the window that was just a touch too high off the ground. “C’mon, just like old times.” His smirk held the memories of the countless times he’d helped you sneak out of the house to go on these late night drives, something the both of you quickly made a habit of.

It had been years since you’d crawled through this window, yet you still found yourself doing the same maneuvers to twist your body through the opening. His hands quickly found their way to your hips, gently squeezing as he helped you down. When your feet finally touched the ground below, his hands didn’t leave your hips. You two locked eyes for a moment until he realized what he was doing, clearing his throat. “Sorry. Uh, shall we go?” You nodded as he led the way to his truck parked on the street in front of your house.

“Still driving that old thing?” You fake insulted, though mostly surprised that it was still running. “Gets me where I need to go. No need to get a new one when there’s nothing wrong with this one.” He grinned, giving an encouraging pat to the hood of the truck.

Like old times, he opened the passenger door for you and you muttered out a quiet thank you. You felt like you were transported back in time. Apart from the more worn leather seats, the interior of his truck looked virtually unchanged; the same beaded necklace still hung from his rear view mirror, but what surprised you the most was the little drummer rubber duck still perched up on the driver’s side dashboard. One of your nephews had given you the small toy years ago at their birthday party and naturally you gave it to Danny. You couldn’t believe he had kept it there after all these years.

Danny slid in the driver’s seat and cranked the truck to life before slowly pulling out of your neighborhood. For a while, the only sound was that from the radio, a familiar tune filling the slightly awkward silence. That was, until Danny spoke up again.

“So, how have things been? Big city girl now, huh?” He suddenly broke the silence. “Yeah uh, kind of a haste decision but I love it.” You replied. He took a deep breath before speaking again. “Was it because of me?”

“Danny, are we really gonna do this?” You sighed out, already starting to feel the rush of emotions come flooding back.

“Yes, Y/N. We are gonna do this. Because I fucked up, okay? I’m sor-.” Despite your mom’s words from earlier playing in your ear, you couldn't help the word vomit coming up.

“Are you though? Are you really Danny? Or are you just saying that? Because you weren’t there. You went away to college while I was left to pick up all the pieces. You have no idea the shit I went through because you decided to just give up on us.” The tears had long started falling down your face as you barely choked out the last few words.

He was silent, accepting your words as he knew you were right. ‘Danny you really hurt me. I couldn't escape it. Everything reminded me of you and it fucking hurt. Do you know how hard it was having everyone look at me like I was some pathetic little lost dog. You never even reached out.” You whispered, wiping the tears from your eyes.

He suddenly pulled off the road into a field that lined the backroads the two of you were traveling down. As he put the truck in park, he turned towards you before replying.

“Y/N I know and I swear to god if I could go back in time and change it, I would. I was so fucking stupid for ever letting you go. But by the time I realized it, it was too late and I was scared. Scared that you had moved on and found someone new. Scared that you wouldn’t feel the same way anymore. Scared that I had really lost you forever and that there was nothing I could do to fix it. Please believe me.” He reached his hand over to grab yours that rested in your lap.

“I love you so much Y/N. I never stopped loving you.” He spoke. You couldn't help the tears as they started flowing again, much harder than before. Danny suddenly released your hand, quickly exiting the truck and you watched in confusion as he walked over to your side, throwing the door open. He reached over your lap, unbuckling your seatbelt before gently guiding you out of the vehicle. He simply engulfed you in a hug and just held you as you continued to cry out. “I’m so sorry baby.” you could hear the sniffle in his own voice as the two of you just stood there embracing one another while the stars twinkled above.

A couple minutes later, you spoke up again. “I often wonder what my life would be like if things would have worked out. I wouldn’t be living in a city with my so-called friends. I’m pretty sure they don’t even like me. None of them can tell which smiles I’m faking like you could.” You replied honestly.

“You know. The only reason I ever come back here is because of you. I’m always hoping that one day you’ll be here. Looks like I finally got my wish.” He answered, slightly pulling back to look at you. Slowly at first to make sure it was okay, he began gently kissing away each individual tear that had fallen from your eyes, getting dangerously closer to your lips with every peck.

“Danny-” You whispered out. He pulled back once more, looking between your eyes once more for any sign to stop, but there was none. Leaning back in, he pressed a soft kiss to your lips. Though gentle at first, it quickly evolved into one with so much more passion and hunger, as if trying to make up for lost time. Trying to heal all the damage and hurt that he had caused. Despite not having done this in years, the two of you found your rhythm just like that. Like nothing had changed.

Before things could get too heated, he pulled back again. Confusion shot across your face as you immediately began to feel regret. But just as quickly, he sensed it and reassured you. “I don’t want to push things. I just got you back and I don’t want to lose you again. Not this time Y/N. Let’s just take it slow.” You were a little disappointed because his lips felt so perfect against yours but Danny was right.

He released your hand and grabbed the blanket you briefly remembered seeing folded up in the back before walking around to the back of the truck to open the tailgate. Nodding his head towards the bed of the truck, he held his hand out for yours. “C’mon, let's just watch the stars. I remember you used to love that.” You smiled as his hands found your hips once again to help you up before joining you.

There, the two of you sat together on the blanket, holding each other incredibly close like your lives depended on it. It wasn’t long before your eyes started feeling heavy and a yawn escaped your lips. Danny shifted a bit so you could lay more comfortably against his warm chest as he kept one arm around you while the other drew gentle patterns on your legs. The soft beat of his heart lulled your mind into a deep state of relaxation. Just before sleep consumed you, you felt him kiss the top of your head and could have sworn you heard him speak softly. “Still so perfect.”

✶ ✶ ✶

Taglist:

@jannysarcher @gretnavannfleet @bimbokiszka

#greta #greta van fic #gvf #gvf imagine #gretavanfleet #daniel robert wagner #danny wagner #gvf danny #danny gvf #dannywagner #danny wagner x reader #danny wagner x you #danny wagner x y/n #gardensgatekeeper

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specialinterestshows · 1 year

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Had a lot of fun writing this section of my Rhea Ripley x lady!reader fic!

Warnings for this section: Social anxiety, blood, cannabis (weed)

Absolute Smokeshow (Part 17 of ?): The Rhea Ripley Effect

Voices murmured to each other in the dark. You could hardly see three feet in front of you. Faintly, talk-show music started up, as if far away. As it got louder, the lights above you started to turn on slowly, growing brighter with the crescendo. Soon, a cacophony of music and chatter pelted your ears as the harsh lights flooded your eyes.

“Welcome to… The Grayson Waller Effect!” A voice booms, “With your host… Grayson Waller!” Letting your eyes adjust to the light, you look around to find yourself leaning on the ropes at the edge of a ring, a table and two chairs in the middle and what seemed like an unnecessary number of plants surrounding the furniture. The titular host came down toward the ring from somewhere in the audience, microphone in hand. He ducked and squeezed between the ropes, hitting the mic a few times on the way in. You clapped your hands over your ears, wincing at the sound of the feedback.

Grayson Waller waves you over to the seats, sitting down. A groan escapes you, but you find yourself walking through the small forest of plants to sit at the table.

“Hello, everyone! I know it’s going to be difficult, but I need you to take your attention off me for just a brief moment! Instead, I want you to focus on this voracious woman to my right” - he gestures in your direction - “I’m sure you all remember her?”

The audience booed and your anxiety rose.

“Oh come now, you really are too mean!” Grayson addressed the audience, “We’re here to get the inside scoop on Rhea Ripley‘s brutality in the bedroom from her former- sorry, what’s the proper term? Girlfriend? Lover?”

It was suddenly too warm. You lean forward once you notice a microphone at your seat, “Hold on, I’m not going to kiss and tell-“

“Confirmation: there was kissing!” Grayson announced loudly to the audience, to mixed responses, “Tell me, how far did you go? And, uh” - he leans closer to you - “Are Aussies your type?” - a wink thrown in your direction - “Don’t worry, you can tell me.”

The crowd hooted, hollered, and whistled as your face grew ever warmer. How were you going to get out of this situation? Who booked you for this interview?

“I tried to get the Eradicator herself here for the interview,” he continued, not waiting for a verbal response, “but she said the break-up was - and I quote - “too messy” for her to want to discuss it” - the crowd booed and Grayson held up one hand - “I know, I know” - he turned to you again - “Tell me, did you suspect Rhea was just stringing you along before going back to Dominik Mysterio?”

Did you suspect what?

“I mean she said she isn’t even attracted to women, didn’t she?” he kept going, “Were there signs? Should we be expecting a challenge against Dominik Mysterio? When will-“

Your knuckles hit the wall next to your bed, waking you up as you let out a pained whine. Rhea shifts next to you, mumbling something unintelligible. Seeing her asleep in bed made it easier for you to disconnect yourself from the stress dream and come back into reality. You touch the place where your hand hit the wall and feel a cold sensation, like water, on your knuckles. Doing your best not to wake Rhea, you carefully crawl out of bed and into the bathroom. It’s only after you close the door that you flip the switch, wincing at the light that flooded your eyes.

Upon looking down, you see your knuckles are a bit bloody, but nothing profuse. After gently washing your hands, you rinse and try to remember where you kept the first-aid kit. Drying your uninjured hand completely, you open and close a few drawers and look behind several toiletries before finding the kit. The gauze, wrapping, and antibiotic ointment danced in one hand and onto the other as you contemplate your dream. Your subconscious wasn’t even trying to be subtle, was it?

Wound wrapped, you put away the first-aid kit and turn off the light, waiting for your eyes to readjust to the darkness before opening the door. Your heart was still racing a bit from residual anxiety and the alertness that comes from unexpectedly seeing your own blood. Walking quietly to the couch, you pull out your bong and take a seat. The bowl is still half-packed. You light it, watching the embers burn steadily. Clearing the piece, you set it aside, along with your lighter, holding the hit in as long as you could. Once you exhaled fully, you sat up again, wanting to make sure you were in bed and next to Rhea when you fell back asleep. As you crawl back over the sheets, the powerful yet elegant form next to you startles, letting out a sleepy “hmm? Babe?” and moving to sit up slowly.

“Hey, gorgeous,” you whisper, getting under the covers. You plant a kiss on her shoulder.

“You okay?” she mumbles, gently rubbing your arm with one hand.

“I’m fine,” you assure her, “Just a bad dream. Cuddle me?”

“Yesssss,” Rhea responds, pulling the blanket up a bit further before lying down again, arms snaking around you. She pulled you close and kissed the top of your head, knees curling up to meet the back of your legs. The warm breaths that fell on your neck slowed steadily as Rhea’s muscles relaxed, letting her full weight lean on and against you. The pressure was calming and soon you were also drifting off again. The last thing you remember is hoping that if you dreamed again, you would dream of being in her arms, just like this.

[end part seventeen of ?]

Part 18: https://www.tumblr.com/specialinterestshows/724944642506899456/absolute-smokeshow-part-18-of-smoke-you

Tag List (thank you!)

@cherryberryshine , @littlemiss-fanficlover , @elisewithak

#wwe fanfiction #the judgement day #rhea ripley #rhea ripley x reader #rhea ripley x dominik mysterio #grayson waller #grayson waller x reader (ish)#the grayson waller effect #lady!reader #weed #stoner themes #specialinterestshows presents #absolute smokeshow

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transdimensional-void · 6 months

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So early in the first book Jessica and Leto discuss hanging the painting of Leto’s father in the dining hall and Jessica doesn’t want it there because it’s distasteful for her but Leto gets all “he’s the great late Duke of the grand house atreides” yada yada and says this

Which I felt was a very insensitive thing to say to the woman who was always insecure that he didn’t marry her and second, he loves her. More than that, it distinctly shows the feudalism so entrenched in their society by way of the painting and Leto conveniently never marrying just to keep his “options open” and that is so… and then Herbert being a total misogynist is so on brand.

And then someone said that is an example of Leto being funny and joking with Jessica.

What do you think? because now I feel like I really overthought this lol

i think jessica's reaction makes it clear that, from her perspective at least, that was no joke:

"She held her face immobile, nodded."

throughout the passage, we see jessica suppressing and controlling her emotions several times, so it's obvious here that she's keeping herself from showing how she feels about his "joke."

from leto's perspective, i don't think he was necessarily laughing either. he's certainly being wry. but it's more a case of whistling in the dark, in my opinion, perhaps even lashing out with the intention to hurt. a few paragraphs later, he thinks this:

"Ah-h-h-h, my Jessica, would that we were somewhere else, anywhere away from this terrible place — alone, the two of us, without a care."

this is in response to the realization that she was holding back what she really wanted to ask him when she asked him about his dinner plans. she'd just been thinking about how badly she wanted to influence him to abandon the entire arrakis enterprise but that she refused to use her bene gesserit powers to manipulate him into doing what she felt was best.

there's this ongoing tension between leto and jessica. he holds all of the social, political, and economic power in the relationship, but she has these basically superhuman abilities that could fully take him out any time she wants. but she chooses to submit to him anyway, because she loves him. and the thing is, leto knows that she holds back. she forces herself into the subservient position that is required to uphold his power.

i think leto feels that he is just as trapped by the feudal societal structures they live in as jessica is. as his thoughts later on show, he knows full well that he is wronging her by refusing to marry her. but he also feels he has no other choice, due to the knife's-edge political situation they live in. leto choosing not to marry jessica is not an isolated decision but merely one link in his overall political strategy, a strategy that jessica doesn't fully support but submits to nevertheless.

i think you're right that his words in that moment are insensitive. i think they are born of the anxiety he feels from the unresolved tension in their relationship. from his point of view, he wears this albatross of heritage and duty around his neck (note how they are having this conversation about a portrait of his dead father and the taxidermied head of the bull that killed him, complete with his father's dried blood on its horns), and she won't just accept that that's the way things have to be. jessica first thinks that she could use her abilities to make him budge about moving these disgusting items somewhere other than the dining room. then she thinks that she could use her abilities to make him abandon his plans for arrakis. the two things she wants to change are, in this way, explicitly linked: symbol and reality.

jessica could make everything go the way she believes is best, but instead she does her duty as a duke's concubine and submits to his will. leto's comment hints that if he had married her, she might have to stomach even more unsavory duties. perhaps he truly believes that leaving her as a mere concubine makes her freer in some sense. but i think what his comment reveals most is that he feels hurt by her inability to fully place her faith in his decisions. he's lashing out, prodding at the sore point on purpose.

it's telling that he brings up the word "duty" in that moment. that's really what this conversation boils down to: they're both chained by the sense of duty their society has imposed upon them, and it introduces an unresolvable tension into what otherwise could have been a happy, harmonious relationship.

tl;dr: no, you aren't overthinking it. the person who made that comment is underthinking it.

#dune #oh no look how much i wrote analyzing a scant three sentences #are you truly prepared for more of this XD

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starmieknight · 1 month

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Sing Me A Story (of the bravest of them all)

Chapter Three

Pairing: Buggy x Original Female Character

Summary: Josie Harper doesn’t know what her family's connection to the One Piece world is exactly. That's not going to stop her from trying to figure it out and how to use it to get back home.

She just had to survive what it throws at her first. And keep from falling under the allure of the future Pirate King and his crew.

--------------------------------

“Joooosieeee.” a ghastly voice whispered.

Goosebumps erupted across her arms and she rose to her feet in preparation to run.

There was a thud, the sound of something heavy landing on the carpet, and followed by a wet squelch. Like a soaked towel being dragged over the floor.

What the hell was that?

Contents: Isekai, Freeform Greek Mythology, Reincarnation, Recreational Drug Use, Ghosts, DubCon, Pining, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Smut

Chapters: Prologue, One, Two, Three

Josie stripped and sank into the hot water with a long moan of pleasure. It was amazing the relief a bath could offer, especially after a day or two without access.

The bathroom itself was amazing, a dark tiled room with matte black walls and gold accents. It suited the muted air of the mansion perfectly, offset from being depressing by the greenery dispersed around the room. There were small potted trees flanking the big, arched window and the marble fireplace. There was no fire at the moment, but the room was pleasantly warm and steamy from the heat of the water.

The bathtub itself was the centerpiece of the room, settled in the middle of the tiles with a long bench table pressed against it, a beautiful clawfoot painted black on the outside and a pure, clean white on the inside. The scent of sandalwood was prominent, several candles burning the smell into the air from their place on the table and mantlepiece.

Josie sank deeper into the tub, feeling her stress and anxiety float away along with the grime leftover from Buggy’s circus and her time spent sailing to the Gecko Islands with the Straw Hats. She finally felt like herself again and could almost pretend that she was vacationing in a fancy hotel rather than a stranger’s house in another world.

In the privacy of the bathroom, it was all too tempting to avoid thinking about what she had gone through so far.

Still, this was the first moment alone she’d been given — here, she could take a moment to process her situation without intrusion.

Josie thought back on her last disastrous dinner party, her last meal in her own world, to be precise.

It had felt like an entirely normal evening with her grandmother. There had been the usual small talk made between them in favor of catching up. Josie had little interest in the day-to-day happenings of the local country clubs or the social gossip about her grandmother’s associates. And Grandmother held very poor comprehension of the complexities of Josie’s job in administration and customer service towards the parents that used her center.

The older woman just didn’t understand the concept of working for someone else.

There had been a slight… discrepancy to their usual conversation, though.

Grandmother had asked, rather bluntly, when Josie planned on marrying and settling down.

The question wasn’t an odd one — Josie often heard the same from her mother’s family. But the topic of marriage had often been reserved for cousin Sterling and had been dropped altogether after he married his high school sweetheart.

In all honesty, Josie thought Grandmother just didn’t care if she or any of her half-siblings ever got married, let alone had any children. The matriarch didn’t expect much from her most promiscuous child’s progeny except for proper behavior in her presence.

Maybe it was a good thing their dinner had been interrupted — it had saved Josie the trouble of answering.

She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to marry anyone, even if she did want kids of her own some day.

These days, it wasn’t like you actually needed a partner.

No, Josie was perfectly happy to continue her single-woman lifestyle and enjoy the pleasures that came with casual hookups instead of the drama that always seemed to accompany relationships.

Buggy would have been a pleasure, her brain traitorously supplied.

Josie flushed and ducked her head under the water. Perhaps if she stayed submerged long enough, that part of her brain would drown.

If only she could be so lucky.

She couldn’t help but remember the sensation of the man’s tongue and teeth on her skin, her neck still feeling tender from the excessive attention.

She resurfaced with a gasp and scrambled for the small hand-mirror on the table beside the tub, angling it all the places Buggy had paid special attention to.

Her skin was clear and she sighed in relief.

“Thought he would’ve left a mark, hard as he was going in on me.” she said to herself, then giggled at her unintended innuendo.

Heh, hard.

And he had been — strong hands that gripped her legs and breasts so firmly, thick thighs that had felt so solid beneath her, a muscled chest built on a lifetime of working on ships and battles.

Hard, brutal kisses that had threatened to consume her entirely.

“Fuck,” she moaned, covering her face with her hands. “Why did the clown have to be so hot?!”

She dragged her hands down her face and stared at the ceiling moodily.

Even now, after he’d turned on her, Josie couldn’t deny that the man had played her perfectly. He pushed her buttons and got her more hot and bothered in a matter of minutes that she’d been after an entire night with former partners. As much as she hated to admit it, she and Buggy clicked together like flint creating a spark. It was a sexual tension she’d never experienced before.

“Maybe I should have let him fuck me.” she sighed gloomily. “At least I wouldn’t be wondering about how good it could have been.”

She was certain that sleeping with Buggy would have been one of her Top Ten Sexual Encounters — if not among the Top Five.

Josie had never hated anyone enough to find out if hate sex was truly as good as people claimed, but there had to be something about it to keep people coming together like that. She might have been tempted into it herself, had she not been spooked so badly.

To think, she had missed out on hot, kinky sex with a Devil Fruit user with so much potential in the bedroom.

“Every part is detachable,” she despaired, cheeks flushed and eyes wide. “That’s so weird… but stupidly hot. Flexibility isn’t even an issue with him.”

Josie whined and dropped her head against the side of the tub. Her fingers ran idly over her thighs as she considered the lost opportunities.

How things might have gone if she had decided against fighting back.

Buggy had been well on his way to getting her clothes off, at the very least…

Buggy pulled back with an annoyed huff, bringing both hands up to the buttons on Josie’s blouse and undoing them with a speed even the most skilled masters of Soru would envy.

She flinched when those hands dove beneath her shirt, sliding along her ribs before pressing against her back, urging her closer again. Josie gasped, head falling back as Buggy laved his tongue over the exposed swell of her breast. Her own hands rose to his head, knocking his hat and bandanna out of place so she could bury her fingers in his long locks. They were cool and as blue as the ocean, sliding over her skin like silk.

Buggy groaned, lashes fluttering, when she gave his hair a tentative tug. Whether she was trying to pull him off or pull him closer was anyone’s guess — even she wasn’t sure what she wanted.

But he was less uncertain and the action certainly seemed to get his motor running.

“Off.” he demanded, lifting his head to watch the slide of fabric over her shoulders. Her blouse came off with little struggle, baring her smooth, pale skin to his ocean eyes — falling along with her bralette.

She hadn’t even noticed him unhook it!

Josie yelped, her face red, and lifted her arms to cover herself.

“Don’t—”

Buggy caught her wrists in one hand and pulled them over her head, forcing her to rise and arch her back to avoid straining anything. Forced her to put herself on display for the pirate captain.

His eyes roamed the picture before him with satisfaction, taking in Josie’s heavy, teardrop breasts and pink nipples.

“Now that’s more like it,” he said quietly, lust turning his voice into something dark and silky. “You’re center stage material, doll.”

Josie shuddered beneath the praise, hips rocking down on Buggy helplessly.

“Oooh, she likes that, doesn’t she?” the clown laughed, his free hand drifting back to his newly exposed prize. “Go on and sing for me like a good girl, hmm?”

Josie moaned as Buggy cupped her breast, running a gloved thumb over her nipple. The bud perked and tightened almost painfully beneath the gentle touch. That had always been a sensitive zone for her, fire burning a path from her breasts to settle warmly in her weeping core.

He grinned in triumph, blue eyes hooded and dilated near black, before putting his mouth back to use on her unattended breast. He laved his tongue over the bud before sucking it inside his mouth, catching it with his teeth.

The sound that escaped her was nothing short of a wail of pleasure as Buggy plucked at her sensitive peaks, switching lazily from one side to the other to get a strong reaction. He punctuated his control of her body by resuming the steady rhythm of his hips, grinding freely against her core as he swirled his tongue around her nipple.

“More…” she finally whimpered, face a furious crimson as she caved to the desires of her body. She felt so weak, giving into the pirate with just a little foreplay, but she had never liked denying herself simple pleasures. She refused to join up with him, but she could at least enjoy the experience while it lasted.

Buggy’s eyes lit up with delight and he pulled away from her breast with a quiet ‘pop’, enjoying the way she shuddered.

“Well, it’s about time.” he huffed, releasing her hands in favor of holding her hips again. The rough texture of his gloves drew goosebumps across her hips, his thumbs dipping beneath the waistband of her jeans to draw circles on the smooth skin there.

Josie responded by sliding her fingers back into his hair and drawing the pirate in for another kiss.

This time she gave as good as she got, tugging on Buggy’s long locks to angle him where she wanted, and took control of the kiss until he moaned beneath her. She nipped at his lip, the grease paint heavy on her taste buds, and slipped her tongue into his mouth. He gasped when she ran the appendage over the back of his teeth, his hips stuttering beneath her. Josie pulled back to admire her handiwork.

The man looked rather dazed, his hands drifting mindlessly over her ass and thighs, petting her absentmindedly. Lips swollen, eyes glassy and face flushed beneath his stage makeup — Buggy painted a prettier picture than Josie ever thought he would.

“Buggy,” she murmured, drawing him from his trance with a more gentle kiss.

He hummed in response, meeting her eagerly with a lick against the roof of her mouth, and urged her closer until she was flush against his chest again. His fingers ran across the inseam of her jeans with intent, finding her clit through the thick fabric.

Josie’s breath caught on a gasp and she broke the kiss to hide her face in his neck, mouthing desperately at his skin.

“Please.” she whined.

“There’s the good girl I’ve been waiting for.” he sighed, voice hoarse. “Just you wait, doll — I never leave my audience unsatisfied.”

Josie bit her lip, eyes wide with anticipation, and pulled back to watch as Buggy unbuttoned her jeans. He barely waited for the material to part before sliding his hand inside, detaching the appendage at the wrist for better maneuverability. Nimble fingers slid right where she wanted, pulling the gusset of her panties to the side and swiping across her sodden core.

“Fuuuuck!” she moaned blissfully, hips thrusting into the firm touch.

Buggy’s gaze snapped over her shoulder, eyes narrowed and a snarl curling his lip.

Josie’s brow furrowed in bewilderment and she looked over her shoulder at the door as a knock sounded.

“Josie, you all good in there?”

The boatswain sat up in alarm and groaned as her head spun. She leaned against the side of the tub, feeling dizzy and more than a little woozy.

A side-effect of sitting up too quickly, she reasoned and blinked the spots from her eyes.

She had been deeper in her head than she'd thought.

The water had gone tepid and flat, the bubbles that once surrounded her now gone.

Josie shivered and jumped as another knock came against the door.

"Did you fall asleep?" Nami asked, a slight touch of concern in her voice.

"Ah, just a bit." Josie admitted, dragging a hand over her face. She frowned at her puckered fingers and stood. "I'm coming out now."

She stepped out onto the bathmat with only a slight wobble, already starting to return to her senses.

Having a bath really did make a difference.

She lost some of the tension that had been plaguing her and was surprised to find herself looking forward to dinner.

It was rare that she attended any sort of formal function outside of family dinner nights at her grandmother's house. Not having the woman's judgment hanging over her head all night would be refreshing.

Even the looming presence of Kuro couldn't dampen her enthusiasm.

Josie had full faith in Luffy's ability to defeat the man — he would have her back and if Kuro did try anything with her, the rubber captain would return it tenfold in favor of his friends.

If she didn't know Luffy's character as well as she did, Josie would find her confidence comparable to the low level pirates who thought their power hungry captains would defend them and avenge their defeats.

She was no blindsided Bellamy — Josie knew Luffy would expect her to do all that she could to succeed while on their journey, to fill in the spaces where others couldn't for all their benefit.

She just knew she could expect the same from her captain.

Josie slipped on her robe after drying off and wrapped her hair with a fresh towel. It would take longer for the thick mass to dry and she needed to get started on styling it right away.

Nami's eyes narrowed at the side of the boatswain and the tired look on the older woman's face.

"Are you sure you're alright?" The redhead asked brusquely, crossing her arms. "You look exhausted. I don't think anyone would have a fit if you just skipped dinner and went to bed."

Josie smiled reassuringly and gently pulled Nami back towards the wardrobe room.

"It's fine. I want to go."

"If you're sure." Nami pursed her lips. A mischievous glint entered her blue eyes. "Just can't wait to see your butler boyfriend again, can you? He's a bit prickly, but I guess anyone's better than the clown."

Josie flushed at the tease and gave the redhead a gentle shove.

"Quiet you. The butler's not my type — I just think something's off about this place. Opening an avenue to investigate won't hurt anything."

"Only if he doesn't fall in love with you and get his heart broken." Nami mocked and exaggeratedly batted her eyelashes.

"We won't be here long enough for anyone to fall in love." Josie scoffed, making air quotes with her fingers. She smirked. "Unless it's Usopp and Kaya, but I think they may be already at that point."

"You really think anything could come from it? She's a rich girl and he's just the guy working for her. I can't see it working out."

Josie hummed thoughtfully. "They may struggle at first. I admit, they do come from different worlds, but the odds aren't impassable. Their story reminds me of Aladdin and Jasmine's."

"Who?" Nami looked at her blankly, causing the older woman to stop short.

"Aladdin. And Princess Jasmine." Josie repeated, dumbfounded by the lack of recognition. "The genie and the lamp? The Book of One-Thousand and One nights?"

"Is that some kind of fairy tale?"

"I am in physical pain right now. You have no idea." The brunette clutched her chest dramatically. "You don't know Aladdin?! What about Cinderella? Snow White? Sleeping beauty?!"

Nami's shoulders relaxed and she rolled her eyes. "Never heard of them. I wasn't one for things like that. As a kid, adventure stories were always better."

"You'd love Mulan, then. Oh, no — Moana would be better. It's the story of a girl from a small island who sets sail in search of a demigod to save her island."

The resemblance to the tale was rather ironic — even shape shifted like Maui.

Despite the satisfaction Josie got from the comparison, Nami looked unimpressed. The girl's expression closed off as they reached the wardrobe room.

"You'll have to tell the story when we're not so pressed for time. Any idea about what you want to wear?"

Josie allowed the subject change without further comment.

The girls fell into silence as they stepped inside the room, stunned by the sheer amount of clothes on offer.

She had been in malls with less options.

It was like a lifetime of outfits had been crammed into the space, what little light there was muted by the layers of fabrics along the walls. It might have been a bedroom at one time, but had been repurposed with long poles running at different level overhead. Fabrics of every kind, from lace to leather and silk to corduroy, hung above the occupants. Nami had disappeared into the lower racks, only the subtle rustle of fabric signaling that she was still in the room.

In the center of the room, sprawled out over a long padded settee, was Luffy. The boy was laid out on his back, staring into the depths of the room with a frown.

“Why would anyone even need this many clothes?” he wondered in genuine confusion.

“Different occasions call for different styles.” Josie muttered absentmindedly, running her fingers over a collection of ballgowns that hung from an upper rack. She disregarded them with a shake of her head, moving on to what looked like an entire row of cocktail dresses.

The more childish part of her heart begged her to go back and at least try a few on, but the more rational side of her mind reminded her that dinner was quickly drawing near. She needed to find something suitable for a stranger’s birthday dinner instead of satisfying her inner Disney Princess.

But, boy was it hard.

“It’s not about need with these people.” Nami called from somewhere in the back of the room. “It’s about want.”

“What are we even supposed to wear?” Luffy sat up and looked at Josie for help, obviously out of his element.

The woman paused her browsing to consider the boy, thinking through the few times she’d seen him formally dressed in the animations.

His sharp suit from Strong World came to mind, but she had little hope that she could convince him into something like that so early in the game. No, it was easier to give him something he was comfortable with for now.

Josie looked back at the clothing racks, fingers combing through the clothes before they landed on a black, three piece suit. She pulled the outfit down, setting the jacket aside before presenting the remains to Luffy.

“Wear this.” she said simply, relishing the way he lit up at the suggestion. It was just his style. “Give me a second and I’ll find some shoes to go with it. Should I even worry about socks?”

“Nah, I never wear them!” the boy denied cheerfully, already shucking off the button-up shirt he’d worn all morning. It looked like something Garp would wear on vacation. Actually… it might be a hand me down from the man.

Josie averted her eyes at his shamelessness and looked at Nami instead when the girl finally emerged.

“Well?” she asked, twisting to show off her black dress. “What do you think?”

“You look like Nami.” Luffy cocked his head obliviously, eyes wide as he searched for the difference.

“It’s a no for me.” Josie shook her head. “That skirt doesn’t suit your frame. Go for something more streamlined.”

Nami’s face smoothed from the irritation that came with Luffy’s naivety, the navigator looking thoughtful as she dove back into her search.

The light from the hallway dimmed briefly, catching Josie and Luffy’s attention.

They watched Zoro pass the room, only to reappear a moment later. He looked rather lost.

“Hey, Zoro!” Luffy called cheerfully. “Whatchu gonna wear?”

The swordsman looked around the room with consideration.

“Something black.”

“How edgy.” Nami snorted.

“Hey.” Zoro looked at Josie suddenly, eyes intent. “Does that butler seem familiar to you?”

“Yeah, I think he was at the last dinner party I attended.” Nami said sarcastically, sticking her head around the corner so he could see her eye roll.

“No, he’s right.” Josie said quietly. She looked nervously at the open door before hurrying to close it. She didn’t want to chance anyone overhearing their conversation. “Which is bad, considering I’m not from around here and the only way I would recognize someone from around here is…”

“Is if they were a pirate.” Zoro concluded grimly. He sat down in the corner and looked unimpressed when Nami came to show off another outfit.

“You’re just paranoid. No way a pirate would be someone’s butler.” She dismissed before twirling. “How’s this?”

“Still Nami.” Luffy grinned.

Zoro looked mildly offended. “I said I’m wearing black. And I’m not paranoid — Harper agrees with me.”

“Why are you calling me by my family name?” Josie asked incredulously. “You don’t call Luffy, Monkey.”

“Your name is childish.”

“And Luffy isn’t?!”

“I hate you guys.” Nami declared flatly before stomping away.

Josie threw a pitying look in her direction.

“That dress was better, but the jacket was a bit much.”

“I feel kinda bad for Kaya.” Luffy stated as he zipped up his slacks. He glanced up at all the clothes around them. “All this stuff, all this space. It’s gotta make a person feel… lonely.”

Josie regarded him somberly. She remembered his words to Ace and Sabo about having no one. It made sense that he would identify with Kaya; with Usopp.

(With all of them, really.)

Nami was less sympathetic.

“Rich people don’t have the same emotions we do.” she said coldly. “This stuff doesn’t make her feel lonely — it makes her feel important.”

“It’s really sad that you think like that.” Josie scoffed. Her cousin Sterling was relatively wealthy and he was one of the most empathetic people she’d ever known.

“This coming from the woman with a steady job in administration.” Nami said, quirking a brow at her. “You wanna tell us how much you make in a month?”

“Not nearly enough.” Josie said bluntly, staring the girl in the eye.

The redhead snorted, some of her good humor returning. “I bet.”

“Well, Usopp likes her and she invited us to dinner.” Luffy continued with his train of thought. He smiled to himself. “I’m sure we can work out a way to get that ship.”

“No way.” Nami denied firmly. “Rich people don’t stay rich by giving things away.”

Luffy smirked at her, the light of challenge shining in his eye.

“You wanna bet?”

Nami paused, turning slowly to look at him with interest. He didn’t seem the type, but if he was willing to play then so was she.

“What are the terms?”

“I bet I can convince Kaya to give us that ship.” he said cockily, moving closer to the navigator until he was practically in her face.

“And when you can’t?” she tilted her head, unmoved by the close proximity.

“We go with your plan — steal one and move on.”

Nami smirked. “You’re on.”

They shook on it, confidence radiating off the teens.

Luffy was convinced that there was more to Kaya than just her money and was willing to stake his dream ship on it.

Nami firmly believed that Kaya only cared for herself and wouldn’t be willing to help them at all.

“My money’s on Luffy.” Josie whispered conspiratorially to Zoro.

He cocked his head at her. “You don’t have any money. Besides, the witch won’t be able to resist stealing something. It may as well be something we can use.”

“Well, if I had any money, I would still put it on Luffy. He’s got too much charm for your heart to handle. If Kaya’s not at least a little in love with him by the end of the night…”

Zoro shook his head, but his smirk said it all. Even he couldn’t deny the effect Luffy had on people — after all, he was a victim of the boy himself.

“What are you wearing?” he asked instead, eyes roving over Josie’s still damp bathrobe.

“I wanted to find a nice cocktail dress, but none of these look like my size.” she admitted, worrying her lip between her teeth. “I may have to improvise.”

“Well, when you have an ass that big…”

Josie looked down at Zoro in amusement.

“You’ve been looking? Damn, it must be nice if it caught your attention, considering all you ever seem to do is sleep and drink.”

The swordsman flushed, glaring up at her.

“It’s not like I looked on purpose.” he snapped. “You’re just always in front of me when we walk.”

“And a good thing, too.” Josie leaned down to pat his cheek patronizingly. “You’re not the best with directions, honey.”

Zoro sat up straight, eyes flashing with fury, but was knocked back by a flying shirt.

Nami grinned at them, a knowing look in her eyes as she watched the first mate deal with the boatswain’s teasing.

He shook the shirt out, raising an appreciative eyebrow.

“Nice.” he hummed before standing and nearly running Josie over.

“Men.” she scoffed, rolling her eyes. An idea crossed her mind. She called sweetly to the navigator. “Nami! Could you come help me? I think I know what I’m looking for now.”

The redhead took one look at the older woman’s mischievous expression before tossing her head back and laughing until she was red in the face.

Sailing with this bunch… was actually kind of nice.

Josie followed Nami down the stairs. She stepped carefully, the train of her dress securely in hand and her focus on keeping her pace slow and steady.

It was, in part, a way to announce her presence with a graceful descent down the stairs. Mostly, however, it was simply an effort to keep her heeled feet from slipping on the rug.

“Oh, wow.” a familiar voice whispered from the foyer below. Josie risked looking away from her feet to find Usopp staring at her and Nami with wide eyes. “You, uh, look great. Both of you.”

Nami looked exceptionally pleased.

“That’s what you say when a girl asks how she looks.” the redhead told Luffy pointedly as she stepped down beside him.

He just blinked in confusion.

“I don’t get it?”

“And something tells me you never will.” Josie teased gently before blinking in surprise when a hand was offered to her. The man at the foot of the stairs was familiar, though they had never met. “Oh, thank you. I don’t believe I saw you earlier.”

“You’re quite welcome, madam. My name is Merry. I am Miss Kaya’s accountant and family lawyer — I just arrived for her birthday dinner. And I was ever so pleased to find her friends attending as well!”

Josie smiled sweetly at the man, charmed at once by his kind and gentlemanly demeanor. This man, at least, was genuine in his love for the birthday girl.

“I’m pleased to meet you. My name is Harper Josie and this is Nami. I think you already met the boys.”

Merry chuckled. “Oh, yes. They’re quite energetic. I’ve known Usopp since he was a child.”

She grinned. The boys had left the girls quickly after donning their suits. They had no interest in waiting around for her and Nami to do their hair and makeup.

“Well, I’m glad they haven’t broken anything, at least.” she teased with a gentle touch to Luffy’s shoulder, earning a grin in return.

“What’s up with your dress?” Zoro huffed, eyeing her gown.

“Like it? It reminds me of someone, but I can’t place the name.” She grinned and twirled to give him a better look. “Did I do good? It’s not black.”

“It looks like Josie.” Luffy grinned obliviously, not really seeming to register the difference. “Your hair is so shiny!”

She touched a hand to her curls, feeling the added weight of the diamond pins holding it away from her face. They matched the simple necklace she’d found.

Josie had chosen a long evening gown with very little embellishment, the smooth fabric a muted phthalo green that hugged her body in a mermaid style before falling to just barely pool on the floor around her feet. The bodice was a simple sweetheart neckline with thick, off-the-shoulder straps and barely noticeable panels that criss crossed over her breasts.

It was a basic choice that showcased her cleavage and her figure without revealing too much.

Unlike her last encounter with a pirate where Josie felt uncomfortably on display, this time she did so with a purpose. The dress was her battle armor for dinner with the enemy.

“It’s green. That’s my color.” Zoro grumbled, crossing his arms and averting his eyes from the way the fabric hugged her backside.

Josie looked over her shoulder at him, mischief in her eyes.

“And black is mine. Are you embarrassed to match? What a shame — I was hoping you would escort me to dinner…”

“In your dreams!” the swordsman barked, ears red.

“Of course.” Josie nodded sagely. “The only way you’d find the way would be if it were a fantasy. But don’t worry — this is reality and I’ll be the one who makes sure you make it to the dining room. Would you like me to hold your hand?”

Zoro made an unintelligible noise of rage before stalking over to a side table full of cocktails. He downed one immediately before going for another.

The boatswain lifted a hand to her mouth to stifle her giggle.

“Oh, dear.” Merry said with amusement. “He’s quite sensitive, isn’t he?”

“Much too easy to tease.” she agreed. “It’s quite hard to resist. I must admit, sometimes I feel like Beatrice facing down Benedick — I hate to let him have the last word.”

“Is your friend in danger of a predestinate, scratched face?” Merry chuckled, catching her literary reference. It gave her pause, surprised that Shakespeare was well-known in this world as well as her own.

She laughed.

“Scratching could not make it worse, were it such a face as his.”

Nami snorted at the jibe, though the boys looked lost behind her.

Their attention was quickly taken by Sham, who had arrived with a tray of horderves, and they hurried to stuff themselves with pre-dinner treats.

“If you will excuse me,” Josie demurred, looking around the foyer with barely disguised interest. The penguin sculptures were adorable, if a bit out of place among the gilded tables and walls painted with detailed scenery. “I’d like to explore a bit before dinner.”

“By all means.” Merry released her hand and pointed to an open door to the side of the stairs. “There is a lovely music room through there, if that sort of thing interests you. As well as a collection of books and pottery. Having such a refined taste as your own, I think you will enjoy it.”

She beamed at him, squeezing his arm in thanks. “I’m sure I will.”

“You go have fun with your books.” Nami smirked sultrily, sidling up to Merry. “I think I’ll stay and enjoy the company. So, you manage all of Kaya’s finances?”

Josie laughed quietly to herself as she left the man to the navigator’s tender mercy.

He was more kind and charming than she expected and she was quite glad to see him there.

It was better for Kaya.

Josie stepped into the music room with a gasp of awe.

One of the things she had loved most about her grandmother’s home was the old world style of it. It was like stepping into a scene from a Jane Austen novel. Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy could step out and nobody would blink an eye there.

Kaya’s mansion was no different.

Modeled in the French Renaissance style, the music room was paneled in red oak, the ceiling above possessing the same wood in a darker stain. Large beams of shining wood crisscrossed the ceiling in a square pattern. On the far wall, there was a beautiful marble fireplace, unlit for the moment, and tiled with blush pink tiles. Above the mantel was a faded print of a towering city shaped like a fountain.

A homage to the grandest city of shipbuilders — Water Seven.

On either side of the fireplace were the books Merry spoke of, an elegant collection of dark covers and gold embossing. The smell of them filled the air, giving Josie the much loved feeling of stepping into a library.

Despite the title of the room, it was quiet. The sounds of conversation from the foyer were distant and muted, despite the close proximity.

A small table, painted with a pastoral scene of a fox hunt, sat before the fireplace. A pair of embroidered chairs with similar scenery bracketed the table. To the side of them was another chair, padded and comfortable with a music stand in front. A well-loved violin rested on the seat, gleaming in the muted light from the walls.

Scattered around the room was a collection of complimenting memorabilia, hand painted vases and beautifully cut sculptures. There was even a harp placed to the side, taller than Josie and the strings shining.

The true centerpiece of the room, however, was the gleaming black Steinway piano in the center of the floor.

Josie’s eyes glimmered as she approached the instrument and sat on the bench.

Her fingers danced a light melody over the ivory keys, an upbeat tune that filled the air. It was a reflection of the joy she’d felt upon entering the music room.

Josie loved music, loved the way it affected emotions and clung to memories. She particularly loved the way it worked in the brains of children — the way rhythm and melody helped teach them.

She couldn't wait to meet Brook.

The thought of the silly skeleton with the outrageous afro brought a smile to her lips.

It would be quite some time before they met, but she had a feeling that the time would fly by and she'd be able to look back on their early adventures fondly.

They just had to get through them first.

The changes in the world were... somewhat alarming. So far, things had been parallel to the events Josie was familiar with, but being invited to dinner with Kaya was a surprise.

It was like navigating the dark with a candle.

She could make her way around the things she remembered but couldn't account for those unknown in the shadows.

Thump.

Josie froze, her fingers suddenly cold against the piano keys. Her quiet melody came to an abrupt halt.

There was something moving in the corner.

Splitting off from the rest of the crew was totally a horrible idea.

She thought back to the crowbar in her rucksack and mourned leaving it behind in the wardrobe room.

In any way, she was screwed.

Buchi and Sham had played Zoro for a fool in the animation — she was just a preschool administrator. Not a fighter.

“Joooosieeee.” a ghastly voice whispered.

Goosebumps erupted across her arms and she rose to her feet in preparation to run.

There was a thud, the sound of something heavy landing on the carpet, and followed by a wet squelch. Like a soaked towel being dragged over the floor.

What the hell was that?

Now uncertain if there really was an enemy pirate in the shadows, Josie peered closer at the speaker.

“... who are you?” she asked quietly, not daring to move closer.

“Joooosieeee.” the voice rattled.

It sounded almost… drowned. Like someone trying to speak through a mouthful of water.

“How do you know my name?!” she demanded, a sense of panic and dread settling in her stomach. Her heart rate kicked up and her voice rose in volume.

“Help ussss…”

"Help you how?" she asked, glancing nervously at the empty doorway to the room.

None of the crew or servants had come looking for her yet — she was alone with whatever was hiding. Even if she screamed and caused them to come running, she'd have to deal with the presence first.

"Open the doorsss..." The voice whispered, drawing her attention back into the room.

A strangled shriek escaped her when Josie suddenly found herself face-to-face with the specter.

The woman was dead — it was perfectly plain to see.

She wore a long gown that may have once been considered elegant and beautiful. Now it weighed her down, torn and soaked with seawater. Seaweed clung to the sleeves and barnacles laced the hem, creating a discord of sound when they dragged over the carpet.

The woman's face was blue and bloated, swollen with salt water and the natural gases that accompanied death. Eyes, lidless and shining like white marbles, stared blankly back at Josie.

The boatswain gagged at the smell of the specter, rotting death and dark water seeping into the carpet beneath them, and fell back. The carpet felt damp beneath her fingers, the water flowing from the specter quickly rising around them.

The dead woman paid her distress no mind, leaning forward to speak again.

"Open the doorssss... and run."

Josie screamed, scrambling to her feet, and bolted from the music room like the very devil himself was on her heels.

She hit a wall and wailed again, fingers clawing at the barrier with wild hysteria.

The wall reached out and grabbed her wrists, forcing a stop to her struggles. It shook her once, her head snapping back and shocking her into silence.

"Josie!" the wall barked sharply.

She panted, feeling half-blind as she focused on the man before her and realized he was no wall at all — it was Zoro, his face pinched with concern and eyes hard.

He had her pinned against the wall with his back to the music room. A solid defense against whatever had been pursuing her. Once again, he offered her protection from the unknown, not even hesitating against a potential threat.

A whimper left her involuntarily as Josie realized they were alone. Her legs gave out beneath her, suddenly jelly-like in their substance, and she felt herself beginning to slide down the wall. Her face felt hot and waxy, like the skin had been pulled tight and solidified in place.

Zoro caught her quickly, pulling her to his chest and holding her upright. He smelled like steel and some sort of cologne that balanced on the edges of musky and sweet. An odd choice for someone like him, but Josie found it soothing all the same.

“There’s something wrong with this place,” she gasped after finding her voice. “I don’t want to stay the night here.”

The swordsman’s eyes narrowed, looking over his shoulder at the empty room before turning back to his crew mate.

Her previously well-kept appearance was flagging, her hair ruffled and her dress bunched up. Her skin, a normally sun-kissed tan, had gone pale and sallow. The most obvious sign of distress were her eyes. They were wide and wild, the chocolate color nearly blown black, and were starting to brim with tears.

The man felt a surge of his own panic at the sight of them and he patted her awkwardly on the back.

Please, don’t let her start crying.

“What happened?” he demanded brusquely, fighting the urge to pull away from their embrace. There was no telling what would set her off into tears and he didn’t want to risk it. No matter how uncomfortable he was.

Still, he needed to know what they were up against. As far as he could tell, she had been alone in the room. Luffy and Nami had remained in the foyer with their new companions, along with all the staff for the house. Which meant that there was another face unaccounted for — someone capable of frightening Josie into hysterics.

Their boatswain, soft as she seemed, had a hidden spine of steel.

This was the woman who faced down an insane clown and came away still swinging.

“I don’t know.” Josie finally mumbled, staring at the empty room. “I saw… something. Something impossible. I know it sounds crazy, but I can tell there’s something more going on here than we can see.”

“Think the butler’s behind it?”

Josie’s eyes hardened, the threat of tears dissipating, and Zoro felt the stirrings of relief flow through him. He loosened his hold on her and was pleased that the woman stayed on her feet.

There was that steel.

“I’m sure of it. Don’t you think it’s odd?” she asked, her eyes imploring him to understand her reasoning. “That some rich girl gets so sick that she doesn’t have the energy to leave the mansion and has to stay in, isolated from the rest of the town? That they won’t let the person she calls a friend into see her — actively keeping him away from her. The only person outside the walls that would miss her.”

“You think they’re after her money?” Zoro surmised, brow furrowing. The fact that they were on the same line of thought seemed to please her, an encouraging smile curling her lips and causing him to avert his eyes. “Making her sick so they can control her.”

“Exactly.” Josie murmured, looking down the hall furtively. Being overheard now would be a mistake. She didn’t notice Zoro’s sudden awkwardness. “Keep your eyes peeled during dinner — we may get some answers.”

“Considering there’s no way we’re getting out of here until Luffy gets something to eat,” the man snorted, turning to continue down the hall. “Not to mention his bet with Nami about the ship.”

Josie caught him by the hand, a touch of color returning to her face as she grinned.

“Not so fast, detective. The foyer’s the other way.”

Zoro froze before doing an about-face and hurrying off in the correct direction in silence, using their linked hands to drag Josie along with him. She stifled a giggle and hurried to keep up.

Dinner, of course, was a disaster.

They made it through the early courses easily enough, enjoying crisp salads and a light broth soup before the main course of a delicately baked fish was placed before them.

Josie, sat between Zoro and Merry at the end of the table, tried not to let her displeasure show.

She’d never been fond of fish, not for the taste nor the texture, and it quite made her stomach sour to have one on her plate — eyeballs still intact.

It smelled wonderful and looked pretty enough on the plate — but she still didn’t want to eat it.

It was staring at her!

What had happened to the hog Buchi had been preparing, anyway?

She was silently contemplating how difficult it would be to slip the fish across the table onto her captain’s plate without anyone noticing when Sham returned to the dining room.

The maid carried a silver tray with a solitary bowl, some strange earthy scent wafting off its contents.

She made to pass the table, but was forced to pause when Zoro stuck an empty wine bottle out in her path.

“Keep this coming.” he commanded, ignoring the maid’s disdainful expression.

“Are you planning on getting any protein in tonight, or are you going for an antioxidant diet?” Josie teased, lifting a bottle to look at the label. “Is this a grape wine? How health conscious of you!”

“Anti-what?” Zoro frowned, causing Josie to giggle.

“Antioxidants.” she enunciated. “They help your body prevent damage from things like diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Though, I’m joking about using wine to do it — alcohol actually has the opposite effect.”

“Are you a doctor, Miss Harper?” Kaya asked, rather interested in the subject.

Josie smiled, remembering how the girl had chosen to become a doctor in the animations.

“No, but being health conscious doesn’t hurt as long as you don’t overdo it. I’m actually an administrator at a preschool, but before that I was a teacher. Making sure the children in my care had a healthy diet was a given.”

“And yet she smokes reef in her free time,” Zoro snorted, returning to his wine.

“And yet,” Josie rolled her eyes at the jab. “There are multiple health benefits to smoking, especially for those with chronic illness or pain. Trust me — if I didn’t smoke, you’d be dealing with a much more unpleasant side of me.”

Kaya ducked her head to hide a smile, ignoring the disapproving look Kuro gave Josie for the admittance of illegal drug use. Her smile faded as Sham reached her, the girl staring at the bowl of soup with dismay.

“I’d love to try the fish tonight.” she hedged hopefully, so earnest that even the maid looked guilty for bringing her something else.

Kuro, however, was unabashedly stubborn and didn’t seem to falter in the face of those big, brown eyes.

“I’m sorry, Miss Kaya.” he said before Sham could reply, killing the younger woman’s hope. “But that is not possible.”

“Maybe just a small piece?” Kaya pleaded quietly, seeming a bit embarrassed by the denial in front of their company but still unwilling to back down just yet.

“It does seem a shame to ignore the birthday girl’s wishes.” Josie frowned, turning from Zoro to back their host up. The blonde shot her a grateful look.

Kuro looked between both of them with careful disapproval.

“Now, Miss Kaya knows that certain foods can affect her constitution.” he gestured for Sham to serve Kaya her entree. “Here — Buchi has prepared your special soup.”

“Kaya, it’s your birthday.” Nami joined Josie in speaking up, the girls sharing an exasperated glance. “You should be able to eat what you want.”

“Surely the fish can be prepared in a way that won’t upset Kaya’s stomach.” the boatswain agreed, arching a brow at Buchi in challenge. If he wouldn’t get back in that kitchen and make Kaya something she wanted on her birthday, then Josie wouldn’t have any qualms about marching back there and taking care of things herself. She was no stranger in the kitchen — Southern women were raised there from the time they could hold a spoon and shell peas.

The apparent chef looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

Josie had always been plagued with intrusive thoughts about hitting them when she drove at night. Just once — for the experience of it.

“Miss Kaya’s medical condition necessitates that I closely monitor her dietary needs.” Kuro stated obstinately, a scowl now curling his lips.

“Does that mean you also speak for her?” Nami asked coldly, looking just as displeased with the argument.

At the head of the table, Kaya looked miserable.

Kuro tilted his head, the dining room lights creating a glare on his glasses. Josie couldn’t get a read on him, but she already knew his character well.

Which is where the dinner began rolling downhill in earnest.

Luffy, the sweet idiot, raised his hand with oblivious innocence. “I’ll take her fish.”

Josie dropped her face into her hand with a silent sigh. Of course, thinking with his stomach would be his first instinct.

At the other end of the table, Usopp looked similarly discomforted. His eyes darted between Kuro and the confrontational women with poorly disguised anxiety. He gulped and plastered on a crooked grin.

“Luffy, isn’t there something that you wanted to talk to Kaya about?” he asked hopefully.’

The rubber man perked up.

“Oh, yes! Usopp told me that you own the whole shipyard.”

Kaya smiled a bit awkwardly. “Um, actually my parents founded the shipyard and Merry’s been running the business since… well, since they passed.” Merry lifted his glass in gentle acknowledgement of the situation. Kaya’s smile strengthened and she brightened slightly. “But, all of that’s about to change. Tonight, at midnight, I will become the sole owner.”

She turned to share a look with Usopp, whose anxiety faded in favor of a fierce pride for his best friend.

Josie nudged Zoro’s foot with her own and subtly inclined her head towards Kuro. There was a greedy gleam in the butler’s eyes that was hard to miss.

Zoro seemed to catch her meaning, nudging her back as he continued guzzling down his wine. His eyes remained sharp and alert, despite the copious amounts of alcohol he had been consuming over the course of the night.

Luffy looked pleased and took a sip of his grape juice before speaking.

“Ah, well that’s great — because we want to buy a ship from you.”

Josie raised her eyebrows, wondering just how he expected to pay. It wasn’t like he had his Pirate Fund (or whatever it was the ASL brothers had called it) stashed in the lining of his hat.

Whatever he proposed was sure to be entertaining.

“I see.” Kaya said pleasantly. “Usopp mentioned that you’re sailors.”

“Nope, not sailors.” Luffy grinned. “We’re pirates.”

Across the table, Usopp promptly choked on his wine and did a spectacular spit-take back into his glass.

Josie was mildly impressed at his lack of spillage.

Then again — world’s best sniper.

At the end of the table, Merry sat down his fork and knife. He looked mortified by the turn of events and gave Josie a betrayed look.

She shrugged impishly as Nami shared a horrified look with Zoro.

It was what it was, now.

Whether they got thrown out or not at the end of the night, it was clear to her that Luffy was only beginning his spiel and they were his captive audience until he was through.

Because, really — did anyone actually have a chance at stopping the boy once he got going?

Josie had yet to see the rubber man fail to bounce back and come out on top.

Even Kaido couldn’t keep him down for long.

Zoro looked to be joining her train of thought, a smirk curling the corner of his lips.

“This ought to be good.”

Kaya was visibly struggling to maintain her composure. “Pirates?”

“Yep.” Luffy nodded enthusiastically. “We haven’t sailed together for very long, but we have already defeated an evil clown, raided a Marine base, and taken down a captain with an axe for a hand.”

Josie nudged Zoro again, the pair watching as a flash of emotion crossed Kuro's face. It was a brief expression of fear and derision before he composed himself again.

“These sound a lot like your adventures, Usopp.” Kaya tried to laugh the boy off.

The sniper chuckled awkwardly, his silver tongue seeming to fail him. “Yeah, that’s… That’s crazy.”

He wiped the remnants of his drink from his chin.

“Oh, yeah. And we’re just getting started.” Luffy seemed to grow on the attention, quickly climbing onto the table with drink in hand.

Josie screamed out a laugh, hurrying to save her wine from the boy's path. She giggled at the staff's appalled expressions and sat back to watch the show with open amusement.

“What are you doing? Get down from there at once!” Kuro was less amused and scolded the teenager. He rushed to Kaya's side, apparently ready to pull her from the line of fire.

The blonde, however, was caught under Luffy's spell, an amazed smile curling her lips as she watched him draw near.

“Being a pirate has been my dream for as long as I can remember. And I’m finally making it a reality.”

Zoro looked similarly taken by the young captain's speech, his wine forgotten in favor of dreams.

“We’re heading out to the Grand Line, where even more adventures await us. And at the end of the journey, I’m gonna find the ultimate treasure — the One Piece. And become King of the Pirates.”

Despite jumping at every clatter of the silverware, Kaya was unable to look away.

Josie noted with amusement that Buchi was also jumping with anxiety as Luffy crossed the table, the man's eyes fixed on the food like a mother with a newborn.

It was an unexpected quirk that made the man more sympathetic.

Though, Josie had no such sympathy for an assassin like him.

“You’re… serious?”

Reality seemed to be dawning on Kaya as Luffy handed Kuro his glass. The butler took it reluctantly, a heavy sigh of annoyance escaping him, but didn't stop Luffy from crouching down and taking Kaya by the shoulders.

“Kaya, you have a beautiful ship out there. A caravel with a sheep figurehead. It spoke to me.” Nami looked annoyed by the speech, no doubt thinking of their bet and her own seemingly lost dreams. “That’s the ship we need to follow our dreams. I promise you, we’ll take care of it. Maintain it, treat it like any other member of our crew — because a ship is also a home.”

Finally, Kuro seemed to reach his boiling point and snapped.

“That will be quite enough! I should have known Usopp would bring riffraff to our doorstep.”

Josie scowled, feeling affronted about being called riffraff, and felt her dislike of the man grow. She didn’t think it was possible to hate the man any more than she already did, but stranger things had happened.

“Klahadore, it’s okay. I—” Kaya tried to reassure him, only to fall victim to a coughing fit.

“Now look what you’ve done! You’ve upset Miss Kaya. All of you — out of this house at once!”

“No.” Kaya shook her head firmly as Kuro gestured for Buchi and Sham to come help her. She met the butler’s eyes defiantly, putting her foot down as the mistress of the house. “It’s late. Let them stay the night.”

“As you wish, Miss Kaya, but they are out first thing in the morning.”

Josie's expression pinched as she tried to keep her smile, but Zoro saw through her.

His hand dropped heavily onto her leg, giving her thigh a quick squeeze. She looked at him questioningly.

"It'll be fine." He murmured only for her ears to catch. "You're not alone."

Her smile regained its strength and she covered his hand with her own.

Merry caught the exchange. His expression fell briefly before he shook himself into a better mood.

"Well, this has certainly been a birthday to remember." He cleared his throat as he stood. "Since the others are busy seeing to Miss Kaya, I believe it's up to me to get you settled for the night. Come — I believe I'm familiar enough with the house to find you appropriate quarters."

"That would be lovely," Josie sighed in relief, thinking about a comfortable T-shirt and some pajama shorts. She looked to her captain first. "Luffy — any objections to turning in for the night?"

"Nope," the boy grinned, gesturing Merry forward. "Lead on."

The rest of the crew released a collective breath, hoping to get a respite from the excitement of the day.

Josie glanced out the window as they filed out of the dining room.

The full moon watched her from the sky, a beacon that called out all sorts of strange behavior in people.

Josie had seen it often enough while working with children — she doubted the effect would be any different on pirates.

#one piece #luffy #nami #sanji #usopp #zoro #original character #my writing #buggy the clown #op fanfic #buggy x oc

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somuchyoudontknow · 1 year

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Okay, here is my final part!

PART 4

Claim #7: They are in contact with sources close to Chris. That one particular blog has always claimed that they have sources in Massachusetts or Boston that are close to Chris and his circle. Now, that may be accurate, because anyone can know anyone. But they have never been clear about how these sources have been communicating with them.

First, they said it was via text (based on posts from months ago) – and when an anon asked yesterday why they couldn’t publish all the receipts since they’ve been communicating with sources for months, they say that they don’t have a paper trail, and it has been mostly phone calls.

Convenient much? Not once have they ever been able to prove anything with solid receipts, and when questioned, anons are often name-called, verbally abused and called crazy. Also, they’ve never said that they have sources inside Chris’s team, only sources close to the team. Now, you may say that this can be used to back up the fact that sometimes when things come to light, they seem to have known beforehand.

But let me also shed a little perspective here: Often, when they say something is coming, or something is about to happen, they never provide you with any context. Then, when something does happen, they say they knew all along. Again, convenient much?

At the end of the day, I think we have seen enough to safely say that Chris and Alba are in a PR arrangement. Therefore, photo dumps, fake articles and social media posts are to be expected. It's easy to post cryptic nonsense – you can always say later that your post was not connected to the PR drama, or it was because you knew all along what was coming out. Not to mention that so many in the fandom put crazy theories into their ask boxes anonymously. All these blogs have to do is fan the flames, and when something happens – as it logically would in a PR arrangement – they now can say they knew it all. See how easy it is?

Claim #8: Chris’s money and funds are all frozen by CAA I am open to being corrected by anyone with real-life legal expertise here. However, from my own knowledge and experience, putting your money and properties in a trust – where a third party is a caretaker and executor – is typically something you do when those things are going out as an inheritance for someone else. It isn’t something you do when you are still alive, unless there are dire circumstances that require it and a third party provides evidence to get the courts involved to do it. You can use Britney’s conservatorship here as an example. The reason a third party (her father) was entrusted with her funds and her assets was that she was declared mentally unable to care for herself and her money. When she proved her money was being withheld and she was being held against her will, the courts released her from it.

And if they want to claim Chris was losing his mind (like they said about Britney), they would need to submit plenty of evidence to gain control of his money – none of these has ever been brought to light, mind you. There aren’t no media articles or whispers anywhere that Chris's mental health issues are severe enough to warrant his money and property needing to be placed under third-party monitoring. What is public is only his own struggle with anxiety, which he has spoken about openly in the past. Now, let's assume Chris put his current house, and all his money now into CAA’s control through his own free will. CAA refusing to release these funds would be, in fact, illegal, and he would have legal recourse to get it back. Any lawyer worth their salt will be able to handle this. And if CAA is legally withholding his money, what legal precedent is being used to cite this case against him? The fact that they are saying Chris can’t do that smells fishy. Why can’t he do that? What evidence is there that CAA is holding his money and all his assets hostage?

Oh yes, their answer is that CAA is blackmailing him and that someone is out to ruin him at all costs. Again, what they are blackmailing him about remains unclear, but these blogs often say that “it won’t be a big deal to the general public if it’s released.” In fact, we might even applaud him for it if he came clean, but he is scared. These blog mods said their sources were close to Chris’s circle. And now they say they’ve asked Chris to ask his HW friends for forgiveness. But what is he asking for forgiveness about? And you’d think Hollywood friends would know the kind of shady business that goes on in their own industry, so again, my question is, why has everyone deserted him? Of course, these blog mods "cannot tell you." Now they are also asking you for $23,000 to pay his legal fees. And still, they cannot provide any evidence Chris is bankrupt or broke or has zero money. He has no money to spend on his own legal fees, but somehow has money to spend on renovating a random house for years, has money for private jets, and enough money to not work on so many projects in a year – he has said himself in recent interviews, cons and podcasts that he doesn't want to work on so many projects in a year. Do you guys see where I'm going with this? I liken all this nonsense to the time someone collected money from fans to put up a billboard to support Warrior Nun (remember those happy days?). It is a waste of time and money, and you should not believe it or give any money to these mods. Also, who is Chris paying with this $23,000? His lawyers? If it's going to be a messy and protracted legal affair, then $23,000 is just the start. It certainly won't cover the rest of the money needed, which will depend on how long the legal battle drags out, who wins the court case, who has to pay the other party's legal fees or whatever restitution is due to the winning party in order to get his funds.

Claim #9: Chris lied to immigration about the PR contract For this, I can only ask you to please take a breather. First of all, have you ever seen the spousal immigration interview requirements for America or any other country in the world? Have you seen how brutal American immigration is in real life? Have you seen any of the questions on those documents – or the sheer amount of paperwork – that spouses must answer and provide before even being considered for legal documents? They are highly invasive, and Alba has to do more than just answer a few questions to get legal long-term entry. Also, if he is supposedly marrying her to get her into America to do porn, then this is a fallacy as well. Porn industries don’t just thrive here in America. Europe has plenty. And if this was the case, then I’m sure there is a work visa for that. The porn industry in America is legit, and she doesn’t need a sham PR marriage to get her into the country to get any kind of work.

Now, if we say the claim above is false, then why would there be any need to force Chris to have a fake marriage?

If they wanted to put out rumours that Chris is married to Alba, all they have to do is release more news articles through reputable sources, stage a few wedding photos, pap walks and more socials, before releasing an article or announcement a year later that Chris and Alba have separated. Megan can certainly release a media plan that's good enough for this. After all, she owns Narrative PR, and her clientele consists of so many of Hollywood's best, many of whom are not CAA clients.

Why in the name of all the gods would CAA go through so much legal trouble to fake a marriage when that can be easily done with a few lies, fake social posts and media articles?

People who are doing shady things do not willingly engage with the authorities to get things done for mid-level artists. Do you all really think they will spend money on all this just to ruin Chris Evans? What secret could Chris possibly have about CAA that would’ve put him in their crosshairs? If these blogs' own words are to be believed, they’ve said that Chris doesn’t have as much clout as we think, and he doesn’t have as much pull as other Hollywood A-listers. So what is CAA’s motivation here that they want to destroy someone who only loves dogs and only has a big Marvel project on his resume?

Please, learn to question things being discussed on Tumblr. These claims float around without any question, and when confronted, these blogs cannot give you any specific answer because “it is confidential” and they cannot share.

And yet, they seem to have no issue dropping cryptic posts, hints and answers to anons when it is convenient for them. Sure. Let's go with that. Also, let’s face it. Since CAA is trying to force their way and make people believe it’s real, and if Chris and his team are allowing these kinds of information to be leaked, don’t you think CAA would’ve found the leak and plugged it by now? CAA is super shady, but in this instance, they are choosing to close an eye to one party's team to leak info to external sources, and these sources freely leak that info to other Tumblr blogs that are not linked to the situation? Come now, my lovelies! I urge you all to always question what is being put out here on Tumblr. Use logic, use your own intuition and always use Google for your research. It’s a free tool. Use it wisely.

If everything I’ve written does not give you a clue into what kind of people these blog mods are, then you must ask yourself what is blinding you from seeing their true colours. ♥️StarStruck💫

I guess part 4 is a typo :) Thanks again! Great to have you here!

#chris evans pr #chris-evans #alba-baptista #♥️StarStruck💫#part 3

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bansheelunaris · 1 year

Text

little fic i thought of featuring @kwillow's Ambroys and my own Banshee! was originally just gonna be an ask or something but it quickly spiraled out of control lmao. had a lot of fun writing this, so i may not be finished with the silly unicorn

Ambroys paced back and forth in his study, wringing his hands behind his back. He would not describe himself as nervous, but there was an anxiety in his stomach; he had invited a..."specialist" to visit with him, but this "specialist" was being delayed due to their job on the docks. Their job! People of Ambroys's social class didn't have jobs. Jobs were for the, well, the working class, and Ambroys would not have called on this "specialist" if he had known this. But the acquaintance that had referred them to Ambroys had neglected to mention this until the two were well into their morning tea. Ambroys had nearly lost his temper, but the acquaintance had assured him that they did splendid work. Begrudgingly, the celestial had accepted this, but after she had left, Ambroys edited his own records, reducing her from "confidant" to "acquaintance".

Ambroys pulled his watch out of a pocket for perhaps the tenth time, and read the ornate letters to see it was now ten minutes past ten in the morning. This specialist was now ten minutes late! With a snort, Ambroys replaced the watch and went to stand at the narrow window that overlooked his estate, trying to calm his nerves in the face of this, this injustice! Ambroys was an important man, and to be kept waiting was an insult.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he almost didn't hear a knock at the study's door. "My lord," the voice of one of his maids called. "You have a visitor, he says you were expecting him. May I let him in?"

Ambroys quickly made sure that his outfit was in proper order, then slowly, deliberately stalked over to his ornate mahogany desk, and stood behind it so that he was in profile. He waited at least two more minutes before he said, "You may."

He heard the door open, a masculine voice mumble something, and then the maid asked, "Will there be anything else, my lord?"

"No, thank you," he replied, not yet looking at his guest. "If I need anything I'll call for you." He didn't see but he was sure the maid bowed before stepping out and quietly closing the door behind her.

Ambroys counted to ten before finally turning and offering his guest a small smile. "Welcome. You are Master Lunaris, yes?"

His guest was a wolf with bright blue fur, perhaps standing six feet tall, with broad shoulders that filled a white cotton shirt. His simple brown pants were held up by leather suspenders, and a baker boy hat rest between his ears. He stood loosely, his thumbs tucked into his waistband, but he stood up straighter when Ambroys spoke to him. He smiled broadly and said, "I wouldn't say I'm anyone's 'master'. You can just call me Banshee."

Ambroys managed to keep the smile on his face but his eye twitched. This just further demonstrated the class differences between the two of them. The Celestial turned to the window again and took a deep breath. If he were not in such a difficult situation, he would remove this man from his home in no time at all, but alas, he was very nearly out of options.

Another deep breath, and Ambroys asked, "Would you care for a drink?" He walked over to a counter top that held a few bottles of wine and certain liquors, along with all the appropriate glasses. He traced a finger across the labels, offering, "I have several excellent vintages from the north. I also have some wonderful Scotch from across the Western Seas, I might also have..."

"Oh, some Scotch would be wonderful, thank you," the wolf replied. As Ambroys set the glasses on the counter and went to pour them each a drink, he saw the wolf move to take a look at the study. Banshee stared up at one of the bookshelf that stretched to the ceiling, taking in the countless, priceless volumes, when he gasped softly. "Is that what I think it is?" Out of the corner of his eye, the Celestial saw the wolf reach out, and just before Ambroys snapped at him, the wolf's hand jerked back.

"Oh, I'm sorry, may I?" Banshee asked, turning towards Ambroys.

Content that he would not have to unleash some sort of horrors on his guest, Ambroys nodded. "Yes, but please be gentle, many of these books are no longer available."

"That's what caught my eye," Banshee said, tenderly pulling a book from its place. Gingerly flipping through a few pages, he added, "I'm no expert, but this looks a lot like a second, or even first, edition of A Night of Decadence! And it's remarkably well preserved, this novel was written, what, a hundred fifty years ago?" A blush blossomed on his cheeks. He gently replaced the book and added, "Sorry, I rather enjoyed that book when I was younger and a little more..." He trailed off but a coy smile touched his lips.

As Ambroys carried the drinks over, he was impressed with Banshee's knowledge of the book. Or at least, as close to impressed as Ambroys would admit. "Think nothing of it," Ambroys said, handing one of the glasses to the wolf. He gestured to a low table with two seats facing each other, welcoming him to sit. As Ambroys walked towards his seat, the one facing the door, he went on, "I prefer von Kornaghen's earlier works, after Wonders of the Flesh I felt he had gotten..." Ambroys trailed off, staring at the wolf in shock. "Gotten...too...."

Banshee had taken his seat, his legs spread wide, and as he had nodded along to what Ambroys was saying, the wolf had thrown the Scotch back and swallowed it all at once, not taking any time to savor it.

As Banshee gasped dramatically and smiled, he noticed that the Celestial sat silently, staring at the glass. He also looked down at the glass, and realized what had happened. His blush returning, Banshee said, "Oh, I'm terribly sorry, I forgot my manners. I suppose I am...still in work mode, I guess." He smiled sheepishly and tried to laugh it off. "My men and I, we usually go for quantity over quality and I...." He covered a cough with his hand, and held out the glass. "Could I trouble you for another?"

A thousand thoughts went through Ambroys's mind at this moment - later he would be shocked that rage hadn't pushed its way to the front - but first and foremost he had to be a good host. He set his own drink down, and rose to pour another glass for the wolf. Of course, this glass had a little less in it than the previous one, as he was not about to waste this expensive Scotch on someone who wouldn't appreciate it. Scotch! This was not cheap bourbon, brewed by simpletons in the mountains! This bottle alone had cost him nearly 300 gold!

Taking a deep breath, as he could feel his temper rising, Ambroys joined Banshee back at their seats, and handed over the glass. He did not sit down until he saw the wolf properly swirl the glass and take a tentative sip. Satisfied, Ambroys took his seat, and enjoyed his own sip.

"It is delicious, thank you very much," Banshee said after a second sip. "I do apologize for my behavior earlier."

Amborys graciously nodded. He had to admit, this wolf did behave with more decorum than many of Ambroys's associates; at least he apologized after committing a faux pas. "You are forgiven."

The two sat in silence for a time, until Banshee asked, "Sir, if you don't mind my asking, you needed to talk to me about some kind of business?"

Ambroys looked out the window and thoughtfully swirled the liquid in his glass. He had been trying to think of a way to broach the subject himself, but couldn't think of a tactful way to ask. In a way, he did appreciate the wolf getting straight to the point. At length, he ventured, "It is...difficult for me to admit, but...I need help with a...I suppose 'delicate' is not the correct word, but a matter that requires additional help." He turned back to look the wolf in the eye, crossing his legs in front of him as he did so. "In my youth, I would have preferred to handle these sort of things myself, but these days I have found it is much nicer to find someone more...suited to the task at hand." He paused again to smirk and take a sip of his drink. "I believe it is beneath someone as handsome as I to have to resort to violence, but I have heard that is something you excel at."

Banshee did not respond immediately, but instead looked out the window himself, clearly thinking of what to say. He asked, "What do you mean by that, exactly?"

Ambrosy frowned. He thought he had been making headway, but now Banshee had become defensive. Quickly sorting through his options, Ambroys chose a subtle approach. "I have heard from some acquaintances and...business associates, let's say, who have recommended you, and say you do exemplary work."

Banshee took another sip before asking, "And what work is that? I should tell you I'm no brute from the docks who'll go and rough someone up just because some rich dandy doesn't want to get their hands dirty." He waved a hand in the general direction of the docks. "I do know quite a few of those guys, though, and I'd be happy to get you in touch with them, if you like."

Ambroys bristled, and he could feel his facade start to slip, his teeth growing sharper in his mouth and his magic filling his body, rising like vapor from his horn and fingertips. He only just managed to keep himself in check, though he would remember how this wolf had spoken to him as some low-class, pedestrian, stupid, uncouth--

Ambroys closed his eyes and cleared his throat. When he opened them again, he looked to see if Banshee had noticed him slip, but if he did, the wolf didn't show it. Again, he reminded himself that if things were not so dire, he wouldn't even be speaking to someone like this.

A few more moments of silence, and Ambroys went on. He said, "No, that is not why I have called for you. I am having a very unique problem that I believe only someone with your specific skills can solve." He set his glass down and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and folding his hands in front of him. "As someone who frequents the docks, I'm sure you have seen many parcels with my family crest upon them. And I'm sure you also know that families such as mine trade in goods that do not pass through such respectable places. Many things I trade in can only move in the safety of night." He waited until the wolf met his eyes, and continued, "For just over a month now, my caravans have been attacked by a beast. I have lost a number of goods, though very little gold, and because this beast typically kills at least half of the men working the caravan, it has gotten very difficult to find people willing to move these goods."

He picked up his glass again, studying the liquid inside. "It has not only inconvenienced my business partners, but now I am beginning to feel the effects, and I don't like it." He looked towards Banshee, a haughty tone filling his voice. "I am a man who gets what he wants, Banshee, and when I don't get what I want...." Using just a small fraction of his magic, he lit the Scotch in his glass on fire, producing a beautiful flame. With a smirk that seemed just a little wrong, he concluded, "I get rather angry."

As the wolf took all of this in, Ambroys blew the fire and out and took another sip, but since he had burned all of the alcohol off, it tasted horrific, so he did his best to mask his disgust. As he set the glass down, Banshee leaned back in his seat and tapped his chin with a finger. Ambroys let him take his time to think, looking at the wolf's chest and traveling up towards his thick neck and his large, strong arms and--

Ambroys had no idea where these thoughts had come from, and turned away to quickly cover a blush that eased onto his face. He had never looked at another man this way before, at least not that he could remember, but there was something about the wolf that caught the Celestial's eye. Perhaps it was his muscular body that filled his shirt so well, perhaps it was the way he spoke to Ambroys as an equal, unafraid of the noble's rank and power, both metaphorical and metaphysical. Then, perhaps, it was just the Scotch that was putting these thoughts in his head.

Ambroys was so lost in these thoughts, and deciphering these thoughts, he almost didn't hear Banshee speak. The wolf had leaned forward as well, and asked in a low voice, "I suppose I should ask what 'skills' you are referring to." He sat back and gestured at himself. "I am little more than a simple dock worker, as you can see."

Ambroys knew this game well - he played it every day. He smiled and said, "Would a 'simple dock worker' recognize a first-edition von Kornaghen? I think not." The Celestial sat back, cocking one leg over the other and giving the wolf a conspiratorial wink. "I believe there is more to each of us than meets the eye."

Banshee smiled warmly and replied, "My lord, if you're going to talk to me like that, you should at least take me to dinner first."

Ambroys's breath caught in his throat, and the blush returned to his face. He had been prepared for a number of responses, but this hasn't been one of them. Again, he quickly covered his surprise with a cough, but out of the corner of his eye he saw the wolf's smile steadily turn into a smirk. Ambroys turned his nose up, and adjusted his waistcoat before saying, "Hmph. I'll have you know, sir, I do not consort with other men in such a way."

Banshee nodded in a conciliatory way. "My apologies, my lord." He finished his drink, set the empty glass on the table, and met the Celestial's eyes. "I must ask, though: what exactly are you asking me to do?"

Back in control of the conversation, Ambroys smiled to himself, and stated simply, "The beast is a werewolf, and I have heard that you are the most talented werewolf hunter in the land. Take care of this beast for me, and you will be handsomely rewarded." Another smile that was not quite right. "Bring me the pelt for a rug, and I'll pay you double."

Ambroys waited for the wolf's response, and saw him look away and fiddle with the brim of his hat, clearly nervous, but it didn't seem to be because of Ambroys. As Ambroys's smile faded, Banshee grimaced and said, "Well, the thing about that is...how do I put this...." He looked out the window and took a deep breath. "My lord, I'm afraid you have it backwards, as it were. You see, I'm not a werewolf hunter, I'm a werewolf hunter."

Ambroys scowled. He disliked it when people, other than his lawyers, argued semantics in this way. "What ever do you mean?" he asked, trying to hide his annoyance.

Banshee held out a hand. "Probably best to show you." After a moment, the wolf's forearm increased dramatically in size, the fur bristling out and massive claws easing out of his fingertips. "I don't hunt werewolves, people hire me to hunt things as a werewolf." He clenched his fist, and the arm eased back into its normal state.

Ambroys swallowed air, and stood up to face the window. This damnable liquor was affecting his mind and be did not enjoy it. Quickly regaining his composure, Ambroys asked, "And? If you hunt things as a werewolf, why not hunt another werewolf?"

"Well, put simply, werewolves are very difficult to kill." The wolf's eyes wandered around the study as he added, "Though not impossible, as many of my kind have found out. And to be frank, my lord, I cannot say I'm interested in ending the life of one of my fellowship, even if i have no idea who they are."

Ambroys continued to stare out the window, taking many deep breaths, doing his best to keep his temper. Needing even a minimal distraction, he stalked over to the liquor cabinet and poured himself a second drink. A shaky sip, to steady his nerves, and Ambroys spat, "I'm offering you thousands of gold to kill one little beast, and you can't stomach it?"

Banshee rose from his seat and squarely faced the Celestial. There was an edge to his voice as he said, "I hardly recall saying I couldn't stomach it, my lord. But risking my life because of someone else's temper tantrum? For gold? I hardly think so."

Ambroys muttered under his breath, and took a second, longer swig. Backed into a corner now, Ambroys conceded, "Very well. If you do not want gold, what do you want? My blood? My hair, or teeth? Not many people these days now how valuable these things are, but if it will convince you to help me, then so be it." He leaned against the counter, sighing. "Send for the maid, I still have bloodletting equipment somewhere."

Although he did not see it, Banshee's face softened, and he looked away before turning his attention back to Ambroys. The wolf studied the Celestial from foot to head, taking in his slender form and long, luscious hair.

"There's no need for that," Banshee told him. He tentatively took a step closer. "Although..." Banshee's gaze lingered on Ambroys's slim waist, and took another step. "I suppose I could be convinced through...a different type of physical payment."

Though his eyes were still on the counter before him, Ambroys could tell how the wolf was moving, and could sense his lascivious gaze. A strange mixture of emotion welled up inside him, haughty pride that Banshee was admiring him so, along with satisfaction that negotiations were turning back in his favor, but all with the nervous edge he'd been experiencing for some time now. With Banshee standing right behind him now, Ambroys chose the most exciting option, to give in to his hedonism. He smirked and asked, "Oh? And what exactly were you thinking?"

The wolf's hands slid from Ambroys's ribs down his waist until he grasped the Celestial's hips. Banshee leaned forward, and Ambroys could feel the wolf breathing on the back of his neck, the sensation causing a shiver to ripple through him. A subtle growl colored Banshee's voice as he said, "I think you know what I'm thinking." He waited a moment, then dug his face into the spot where Ambroys's neck met his shoulder, and took a heady breath. Ambroys gasped and leaned into the wolf, feeling the pleasure wash over him.

The Celestial smiled, and coyly said, "I'm sure I don't know what you mean, Banshee."

The wolf growled into his shoulder, sending another thrill through his body. Banshee's hands moved forward, wrapping around Ambroys's waist and pulling him back against the wolf. "You're trying to get me to beg, aren't you?" Banshee asked. Another growl rumbled through his chest, shaking Ambroys's entire body. The wolf added, "I suppose I don't have a choice then."

~~~

As the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, Banshee set his hat back on his head, having just finished getting dressed. He looked over at Ambroys, reclined in one of the chairs, bathed in the orange light, his shirt tastefully covering his waist as he watched the wolf.

The two shared a warm smile, and Ambroys asked, "So, have I been able to convince you?"

Banshee chuckled. "And then some, my lord. I'm curious how you're going to offer me 'double', as you had said, but I'm excited to find out."

Ambroys couldn't help but laugh, surprising even himself. As Banshee moved towards the door, Ambroys called, "Oh, I'll find a way, I'm sure."

Banshee smiled and tipped his hat to the Celestial, and let himself out. As the door shut, Ambroys lay down on the chair, stretching out, and staring out the window again, glad that things were finally going his way once more.

#fanfic #kwillow #kwillow art #amaranthine #ambroys #other people's ocs #my oc #banshee lunaris #celestial #fiction #oc fanfic #furry fanfic #fan fiction #fanfiction #creative writing #short story #werewolf #unicorn

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jeongyunhoed · 2 months

Text

As seen on my FF.net Also seen on my Ao3

Following the events of fifth year, a new adventure awaits for Norah Lee. Boys, exams, school events, common room parties, and old foes outside of Hogwarts. Even battling pensieve guardians was easier than this.

Main Pair: OC / Ominis Gaunt Genre: Adventure/Angst/Fluff (it's a little of everything, tbh)

KEEP IN MIND: Characters are aged up (even if the story's got them in sixth year) to make it more appropriate. Time period is leaning towards the modern day so in case you might find anachronisms in the dialogue or references, this is why. This may also be quite a lengthy fic too.

BE WARNED: Social anxiety, mentions of blood and injury, grief, drinking, kissing but nothing more than that, death (this is Hogwarts Legacy, after all)

P.P.S: Mutual pining ahead! Also Amit revealing his thoughts about his romantic situation, Ominis and Norah being idiots. Oh yeah, Norah's dress is inspired by the raven queen gown by Linda Friesen.

Masterlist

Chapter 19

It was the day of the Hufflepuff common room party, and the students were undoubtedly livelier. Including the sixth-years, who once again had the opportunity to really let loose and have fun. But as the Yule Ball drew near, many of the students left to go shopping for dresses and dress robes. The lines outside of Gladrags were long that it filled up the space of Dervish and Banges and outside.

As for Norah, she was in Diagon Alley, having stepped out of Gringotts to withdraw the money her father gave her. Compared to Hogsmeade, the waiting in Madam Malkin's wasn't as long, perhaps as it was all the way in London. This time around, her visit to Diagon Alley was different, and it was definitely due to her recent award. Norah had shaken hands with several shopkeepers and customers at the Apothecary and the Owl Emporium while she bought some more owl treats for Starlight along with other potion ingredients.

Seeing as Madam Malkin's was full and that it would take her the whole day to wait, she saw the quiet Second-Hand Robes wasn't as crowded. Norah entered the shop, seeing a few other students with their parents picking out some dress robes for the ball. Her presence seemed to make the students among them whisper and glance as she approached the nearest rack of robes to see if anything caught her fancy.

She could always wear Herodiana's ensemble, she thought as she skimmed through the rack, nothing catching her attention. If not, she could always use something from here to pair with whatever attire she found, which was stocked away in the Room of Requirement. She found a midnight blue cloak, the fabric felt soft to the touch, and it gave her an idea. After paying for it, she hurried to the nearest floo flame going back to Hogwarts.

As she reappeared at the North gate, she saw Henry on his next round of non-verbal Summoner's Court, this time with Samantha. Natty was also watching nearby, talking animatedly to Poppy and Andrew.

"How's the game going so far?" Norah approached them just as Henry was about to make his turn for his third and final ball.

Samantha grinned. "He's doing quite well," She glanced at the blonde, looking impressed. "But don't count me out yet!"

"Non-verbal's hard!" Henry pointed out, seeing four balls already on the ground. "Where have you been anyway?" He turned back to his ball, trying to concentrate.

Norah waited until he cast his non-verbal summoning, seeing the ball move a little too fast but stopping just at the edge of the 50-point mark. Henry breathed a sigh of relief, while Samantha suddenly looked determined.

"Diagon Alley, just picked up something for my Yule Ball outfit," Norah held up the bag that had the cloak.

"Outfit? Grace said a package arrived for you in the Astronomy tower. Amit was kind enough to drop it off when your owl dropped it in the Owlery, at least that's what he told her," Henry looked over at her, lowering his voice at the mention of Amit which Norah felt was because Samantha was near.

Norah raised a brow, realizing that her parents had likely received her letter. She almost forgot about meeting with Amit to talk about what had been happening with him, Nellie, and Samantha. Hurriedly waving to Natty and the rest, she took the floo flame to the Astronomy tower, where she saw Amit huddled over the telescope.

"Amit? I'm sorry I know we were supposed to talk in the room," She said, making him flinch in surprise. "Sorry..."

Amit shook his head profusely. "Nothing to apologize for, I kind of forgot about it too until I passed by the room," He said. "Where did you go?"

"Diagon Alley, I picked up a nice cloak for my Yule Ball dress, or at least I hope it goes with it," Norah said. "You want to talk about it now? at least before the party later?"

The Ravenclaw boy nodded, and followed her down the stairs into the room. Leading Amit into the separate room while leaving Deek to tidy up in the vivariums, Norah pulled the curtains that served to cover the room from the stairs that connected them to where her potions and plants were.

In time for the party, the vanity drawers were already set up along with multiple changing partitions. On the small desk was a package that Norah remembered was for her. Deek must have taken it upon himself to bring it inside. Amit sighed as he sat on the nearby chair, while Norah observed him, crossing her arms. "Alright, Amit, we're in a private space. What's going on?"

Amit buried his face in his hands. "Where do I even start?" He mumbled, ruffling his own hair out of frustration. "So, I guess you must have heard from Garreth that Nellie told me of her-"

"Feelings for you? Yeah, he did," Norah recalled with a nod, leaning against the table with the package. "Samantha likes you too. But what's not known is how you feel about it? Two girls like you."

"I know," He groaned. "It's just-I don't know. I mean Samantha's really great to be with, but Nellie's just different. They're both different."

"Amit Thakkar, are you thinking of dating both of them at the same time?!" Norah gaped, partly trying to tease him to lighten the mood.

"Of course not! That wouldn't be right!" Amit shook his head, his cheeks turning pink. "It wasn't just a confession that I got from Nellie at the Gryffindor party..."

"She kissed you?" Norah asked, and he slowly nodded. "And... Samantha caught you?" Amit nodded again. "So...that means you like Samantha more than Nellie?"

"I-I don't know," Amit looked down. "She is pretty, yes, but I don't know. I've never been this overwhelmed before, well, aside from our mine trip."

Norah tried to wrap her head around his explanation. "You like Samantha but not enough to say that you like her? Yet you feel guilty because Nellie kissed you?...Did you kiss her back?"

The question seemed to make Amit stare at his friend. "Kiss her back?"

"Yeah? I mean, if Nellie kissed you, did you... you know?" She shrugged. "...Or do I ask Samantha about this?"

As Norah was about to turn around, Amit grabbed her wrist and shook his head. "No, please don't, I don't think I'll hear the end of it," He said, letting her wrist go. "Samantha's going to know I talked to you about this."

Norah was still confused. "But if Nellie kissed you but Samantha caught you, did you try and explain to Samantha what happened?" She asked, brows furrowed.

"I did, the morning after, during breakfast, but she didn't want to hear the explanation," He reasoned.

"Merlin," Norah was in disbelief. "This is a lot more complicated than I thought. But if you don't make up your mind soon, you'll lose both of them. Then again, your reluctance to even choose may already be a sign that you're not ready for a relationship and you're afraid of saying it."

"That might be it," Amit stared at her. "I guess-I guess I need more time. We've got NEWT exams, and I really like hanging out with all of you, a relationship is something I don't find important at the moment. I'm not like Henry, who can juggle a relationship, being a prefect, and schoolwork, and before you and I met, I was used to being at the back, and I was perfectly fine with it. And then you and I became friends and it hasn't been the same since."

"Sorry," She looked apologetic.

"Nothing to be sorry about. You've changed my life when we went into the mine. All of a sudden I'm popular, people know me and think I'm cool, it's been a bit too much to take in," Amit shook his head. "And before you ask, I don't mean this all in a bad way."

Norah sat down on the chair across from him, hands fumbling with the string that tied up the entire package in front of them. "If it helps, I never asked for all of this to happen," She said quietly. "I never asked to be a hero."

"I know," He agreed. "It's been overwhelming, that's all."

"Then," Norah sat back. "What are you going to do? You have to tell them."

"That, I know too. Perhaps I'm a lot more scared than I thought."

"Might want to consider telling them later at the party. I just saw Samantha, she was playing the next round of Summoner's Court with Henry when they told me about this," Norah tapped the box.

Amit nodded. "Thanks. I just have to muster up the courage of a Gryffindor and do it."

"You're a lot braver than you think," Norah pointed out with a soft smile. "I should know," She stood back up and untied the string, carefully removing the wrapping paper that covered an elaborate box. Conjuring a mannequin, Norah opened the box to find a long powder blue tulle ball gown with silvery-gray flowery lace appliques on the shoulders. It looked regal, even more so when Norah fitted the gown over on the mannequin. "Wow..."

Amit also looked in awe. "That's what you'll be wearing to the ball?"

"Mhmm," Norah felt the sleeves. "I even got a really nice cloak to go with it," She picked up the card at the bottom. It was from her parents, having bought it at a boutique. With her gown on display along with her cloak, she turned to her friend. "So, I guess this means you plan on attending the Yule Ball by yourself?"

"Perhaps. I don't want to assume that, though. Maybe by then I'll figure out what to do," Amit shrugged. "Thank you for talking about this with me."

Norah shrugged. "It's just me being a friend."

"Right," Amit felt assured. "I have a friend," He looked out the window, seeing how the sun was going to set. "What do you think's going to happen later?"

"A party's what's going to happen. If you don't feel like going, you're perfectly welcome to stay here," Norah suggested. "Actually, I'm having second thoughts now on whether I'm going later."

It was making her think about Ominis. If he showed up at the Hufflepuff party, she wasn't sure if she could stand seeing him maybe approach whoever it was that he had his eye on in case it wasn't Anne that he had feelings for.

Later, Norah and Natty, along with the boys, were getting ready for the party that night. As Norah changed into something a little similar to what she wore in the previous party, she kept thinking about what Amit said to her. She made sure to keep her Yule Ball dress a secret for now, keeping it in one of the cupboards of the extended room in the Room of Requirement.

She changed his life in a way he didn't expect. As she remembered him saying while they were in the mine, this was more than what he bargained for. Even though Amit made clear that it wasn't bad, Norah couldn't help but feel guilty. She wondered if Natty actually felt that way since they met, or if Sebastian or even Ominis thought about it.

"I heard you already got your dress for the Yule Ball," Natty suddenly said as she did her makeup.

The comment made Norah snap out of her thoughts as she slipped on her jacket and parted her hair differently. "I did. My parents sent me a gown, and the rest of you will have to see it at the ball itself," She grinned.

"Alright, I'm sure people will be blown away at the sight of you by then," Natty teased as she got up from the chair. "I already got mine last week, you really have to see it soon! I can't wait to see the look on Henry's face."

The mention of the Ravenclaw boy made Norah smile. "So, things are going well with the two of you? Does Professor Onai know?"

"Yes," Natty's smile went from ear to ear. "I really like him. But my mother... I'm not sure, but it's not like Henry's a bad student. He's doing very well, and he's a prefect too."

Norah sighed. "Both of you just naturally gravitated towards each other, didn't you? It's really nice to see that."

"Thank you," Natty said. Her expression fell slightly. "Henry... mentioned something as well. He thinks you've been having a hard time lately, and I'm sorry if I wasn't there for you a lot."

She shook her head. "Nothing to be sorry about. I mean, Poppy's basically gone off with Andrew and his friends now. They're inseparable, and I have a feeling you and Henry will be too. Besides, we've all got lives to live."

Natty frowned. "You keep saying it's alright when it's clearly not. Garreth has also told me you've been having a hard time."

"I didn't want to ruin your happy mood, all of you. The last thing I want is to sour the good mood we've been having whenever we're all together," Norah explained. "I didn't want to make this a problem for all of you."

"You're making it a problem by not telling us, and I've had to hear about you from two other people," Natty pointed out. "...Are we not your friends?"

"Of course you are, of course all of you are my friends," Norah said. "I just needed some time to think about it. Really Natty, I just needed to think about how it can go away or what I could do to stop having a hard time..."

The Gryffindor girl crossed her arms and raised a brow at her. "Norah, I know you are still shaken by what happened in fifth year. To be honest, I am too, now I know what being cursed feels like. But I could not have gotten past those things had it not been for my friends, including you. I could only imagine what you went through with Professor Fig, Lodgok, Rookwood, and with Ranrok. But rain does not fall on one roof alone."

Norah tilted her head at the familiar saying. "You were just as much tormented by Harlow, Rookwood, and Ranrok last year. It's okay," Natty continued to assure her. "You have done so much for so many. You have heard it from the teachers, right? The school is indebted to you for what you have done. Anyone in your position would feel what you are feeling now, it is only natural."

She nodded. "That is only part of it. There's something else."

"Garreth told me that too," Natty finished, her voice lowered this time. "I had a feeling you liked Ominis. He was what you smelled in the amortentia the other day, wasn't he?"

"I hate it when you're right," Norah frowned, making the Gryffindor girl grin. "But yes."

"And he summoned your name in Ronen's assignment too. Yes?"

"Yes. But," Norah looked down. "He said he likes someone else, and I have a feeling I know who it is."

"You do? Who do you think it would be?" Natty asked curiously.

"Who else? Anne. I can't compete with her. She's known them longer, she's known you longer, she's known everyone longer. Anne's also incredibly nice, and she's a really talented witch," Norah frowned. "She's been nothing but kind to me. Ominis said he plans to ask her to the Yule Ball."

Natty's expression fell. "Ominis said he plans to ask Anne to the Yule Ball? As in he said her name?" She asked.

"No, but that seemed like a given, right?" Norah shrugged. "Well, if I can't get a date, then I'm really going to the ball alone. And no, I will not have Henry ask me out of pity," She added before her friend could interject.

Natty raised a brow. "If you're sure. There's nothing wrong with going to the ball alone. Don't let it get to you," She advised. "You'll only be proving that Carrow boy right. Besides. I'm sure you'll be the center of attention when you make your grand entrance."

She laughed. "I'm not counting on it. I'm sure you and Henry will definitely make an entrance."

"Come on, enough of this, we're going to have fun tonight, and that includes you," Natty pointed out, pulling Norah by the arm to go up to the main room. Sebastian, Ominis, Amit, and Henry were playing a game of wizard's chess near the phoenix vivarium. Deek, who was tidying nearby, also observed them make their moves.

"Tower to a-3," Henry said coolly, watching his chess piece move forward a few paces. When Sebastian made his move, Henry's tower whacked Sebastian's off.

"How on earth are you also good at wizard's chess?" Sebastian narrowed his eyes at the Ravenclaw boy.

"My parents played a game or two when I was a child, it's one of their favorites," Henry replied, standing up when he saw Natty and Norah come in. He climbed down the steps to take Natty's hand, lacing their fingers together.

"What can't you do exactly? Other than see without your glasses?" Sebastian followed them, evidently annoyed at the blonde's response while Ominis grinned, amused at his friend's frustration.

Henry and Natty exchanged looks. "Looks like Norah and Ominis are matching again tonight," The Ravenclaw mentioned, gesturing to their clothes.

"Yes, what a coincidence," Natty added. "Sebastian and Amit look great as usual."

"Thanks," Amit nodded. "We all look great, don't we?"

Sebastian shrugged. "I try."

"You don't have to try, you know you're good-looking," Norah teased, glancing at Ominis. It's annoying how good he looks and he doesn't even know it, she thought. If she stood close enough, she could get a whiff of that familiar perfume he always seemed to wear. The scent was very him, something she didn't mind if it got on her clothes after the party. The thought alone made her cheeks heat up and she fidgeted a little in her place. Idiot, he likes Anne, she reminded herself.

Ominis, on the other hand, fought the urge to tilt his wand in Norah's direction. He too, could get a whiff of her perfume and sensed how good she looked. He kept thinking about what Henry told him in the library the other day. He hadn't mapped her face all this time.

"So, let's get on then," Sebastian nodded, gesturing everyone to leave the room. "I hope everyone hasn't eaten yet, there's going to be a lot of food later."

Much like what happened in the Gryffindor party, everyone started lining up to enter the Hufflepuff common rooms. Some students were seen leaving the kitchens with tureens and platters of food, possibly to replenish the stocks that were likely depleting in the room. They passed by Garreth, who had his keg of fizz-beer levitating in front of him as he entered the room, waving at them while he did.

"That's strong stuff, I heard," Amit said as they saw Arthur Plummly stand by, quickly tapping the barrels to open up and let them inside.

"Have fun!" He called out to them with a pleased grin.

"Yeah, strong stuff. It got me tipsy," Norah said, all of them stopping when they saw the giant tables that were conjured and filled with platters of food. There was a chocolate fountain nearby, along with stacks of glasses next to kegs of butterbeer and Garreth's brew.

Sebastian and Ominis exchanged knowing looks, with the latter recalling the conversation they had. Unsurprisingly, Poppy was surrounded by Andrew and his friends, the pair themselves sitting closely together.

"Spin the Bottle!" They heard Charlotte announce, with many gathering in a circle.

"Oh...I guess we're already playing," Sebastian muttered.

#hogwarts legacy #hogwarts legacy angst #hogwarts legacy fluff #hogwarts legacy mc #sebastian sallow #ominis gaunt #leander prewett #garreth weasley #amit thakkar #poppy sweeting #natsai onai #norah henry adele caleb

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