#so i can't get away and have to lie there impaled on them all night | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

trinity-mia · 2 months

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a story as endless as the ocean

the titan's curse

1.2 the land without rain

warnings : lots of blood and gore, monster fight, graphic descriptions of impalement, cursing, minor character death

word count : 6.0k

1.2 One is Lost in the Land Without Rain

We rode the boar until sunset, which was about as much as I could take. Imagine riding a giant steel brush over a bed of gravel all day. That's about how comfortable boar-riding was. And I had never been a champion rider.

I have no idea how many miles we covered, but eventually the mountains faded into the distance and were replaced by miles of flat, dry land. The grass and scrub brush got sparser until we were galloping across the desert.

As night fell, the boar came to a stop at a creek bed and snorted. He started drinking the muddy water, then ripped a saguaro cactus out of the ground and chewed it, needles and all.

"This is as far as he'll go," Grover informed us as he clambered off awkwardly. "We need to get away while he's eating."

Nobody needed convincing. We slipped off the boar's back while he was busy munching on the cacti. Then we waddled away as fast as we could with our saddle sores.

After its third saguaro and another drink of muddy water, the boar squealed and belched, then whirled around and galloped back toward the east.

"It likes the mountains better," I guessed.

"I can't blame it," Thalia replied. "Look."

Ahead of us was a two-lane road half covered with sand. On the other side of the road was a cluster of buildings too small to be a town: a boarded-up house, a taco shop that looked like it hadn't been open since before Zoe was born, and a white stucco post office with a sign that said GILA CLAW, ARIZONA hanging crookedly above the door. Beyond that was a range of hills... but then I noticed they weren't regular hills. The countryside was way too flat for that. The hills were enormous mounds of old cars, appliances, and other scrap metal. It was a junkyard that seemed to go on forever.

"Does anybody else have a bad feeling about this?" I muttered warily, eyeing the place suspiciously. I didn't know why, but something about it put me on edge.

To my surprise, Zoe gave a nod of agreement.

"I believe that you are correct," she answered, teasing her bow, which had randomly appeared from nowhere again. "There is something in the air that makes me feel wary. We must take care."

"Well, either way, something tells me that we're not going to find a car rental here," Thalia sighed. She looked at Grover. "I don't suppose you got another wild boar up your sleeve?"

Grover was sniffing the wind, looking nervous. He fished out his acorns and threw them into the sand, then played his pipes. They rearranged themselves in a pattern that made no sense to me, but Grover looked concerned.

"That's us," he said, jabbing a finger at said nuts. "Those five nuts right there."

"And?" I pressed him. "What else?"

"That cluster right there," Grover said, pointing to the left, "that's trouble."

"A monster?" Thalia asked.

Grover looked uneasy. "I don't smell anything, which doesn't make sense. But the acorns don't lie. Our next challenge..."

"Let me guess," I huffed. "Over there." I jerked a thumb toward the junkyard. With the sunlight almost gone now, the hills of metal looked like something on an alien planet. To my utter lack of surprise, Grover nodded, an anxious expression on his face as he confirmed my suspicions.

"Great," Thalia mumbled.

After some debate, we decided to camp for the night and try the junkyard in the morning. It was only logical. After all, monsters are always stronger in the dark, and we were weakened by the lack of proper vision. Going at daylight might delay us, but we'd be better off being slow than being dead. Besides, we had to sleep at some point. Being human was so inconvenient, damn.

Zoe and Bianca produced five sleeping bags and foam mattresses out of their backpacks and passed them out. The atmosphere was almost amicable, and I felt like Zoe and I could tolerate each other. She really wasn't that bad, now that we had come to a truce of some sort.

The night got chilly fast, so Grover and I collected old boards from the ruined house, and Thalia zapped them with an electric shock to start a campfire. Pretty soon we were about as comfy as you can get in a rundown ghost town in the middle of nowhere.

"The stars are out," Zoe murmured. She was right. There were millions of them, with no city lights to turn the sky orange.

"It's so amazing," Bianca replied, her voice awed. "I've never actually seen the Milky Way."

"This is nothing," Zoe declared. "In the old days, there were thousands more. Whole constellations have disappeared because of human light pollution."

The way she talked, it was clear that she was not one of said humans. I was curious about what she might really be, but bit back my questions. We were getting along, and with Luke, Brylie, and Artemis on the line, I didn't want to risk jeopardizing that.

Grover sighed. He was still looking up at the stars like he was thinking about the light pollution problem. "If only Pan were here, he would set things right."

Zoe nodded sadly.

"Maybe it was the coffee," Grover considered. "I was drinking coffee, and the wind came. Maybe if I drank more coffee..."

I was pretty sure that coffee had nothing to do with what had happened in Cloudcroft, but I didn't have the heart to tell Grover.

"Grover, do you really think that was Pan?" I asked gently. "I mean, I know that you want it to be him, but it's been thousands of years since he was last heard from. Why would he interfere now?"

"He sent us help," Grover insisted, conviction filling his voice. "I don't know how or why. But it was his presence. After this quest is done, I'm going back to New Mexico and drinking a lot of coffee. It's the best lead we've gotten in two thousand years. I was so close."

I didn't answer. I didn't want to squash Grover's hopes. But my question remained. Why now, and not before? Was it the Great Stirring?

"What I want to know," Thalia said, looking at Bianca, "is how you destroyed one of the zombies. There are a lot more out there somewhere. We need to figure out how to fight them."

Bianca shook her head. "I don't know. I just stabbed it and it went up in flames."

"And Allie—"

"I don't wanna talk about it. Maybe there's something special about your knife?"

"It is the same as mine," Zoe dismissed my theory. "Celestial bronze, yes. But mine did not affect the warriors that way."

"Maybe you have to hit the skeleton in a certain spot," I offered another guess.

I felt a jab of pity as I noticed how uncomfortable Bianca looked with everybody paying attention to her. The others noticed it too.

"Never mind," Zoe told her. "We will find the answer eventually. In the meantime, we should plan our next move. When we get through this junkyard, we must continue west. If we can find a road, we can hitchhike to the nearest city. I think that would be Las Vegas."

I was about to protest, saying Grover and I didn't have the best experience in Vegas. Not to mention it'd probably be the most likely place for me to get recognized, but Bianca beat me to it.

"No!" she exclaimed desperately. "Not there!"

Zoe frowned. "Why?"

Bianca took a shaky breath. "I... I think we stayed there for a while," she stammered. "Nico and I. When we were traveling. And then, I can't remember..."

I was suddenly hit by a dark suspicion. I remembered what Bianca had told me about Nico and her staying in a hotel for a while. Then I thought about the last time I had been in Las Vegas.

"Bianca," I said seriously. "That hotel you stayed at. Was it possibly called the Lotus Hotel and Casino?"

Her eyes widened in surprise. "How could you know that?"

I swore. "Gods, Bianca," I groaned. The strange things around the two siblings suddenly made so much more sense, but bits of the puzzle were still missing. How long had they been there for? Why were they there, and who had sent them there in the first place? Why didn't they have any memory?

"Wait," Thalia ordered, holding up her hands and looking confused. "What's the Lotus Hotel and Casino?"

"About a year and a half ago," I began to explain, "Luke, Grover, and I got trapped there. It's designed so you never want to leave. We stayed for about an hour. When we came out, five days had passed. It alters your perception of time. There were people there for decades, and they thought it was only a week or so."

"No," Bianca denied, shaking her head desperately. "No, that's not possible."

"You said that somebody came and got you out," I remembered.

"Yes."

"What did he look like? What did he say?"

"I... I don't remember. Please, I really don't want to talk about this."

Zoe sat forward, her eyebrows knit with concern. "You said that Washington, D.C., had changed when you went back last summer. You didn't remember the subway being there."

"Yes, but—"

"Bianca," Zoe interrupted her again, "can you tell me the name of the president of the United States right now?"

"Don't be silly," Bianca scoffed, an edge of hysteria to her tone. She told us the correct name of the president.

"And who was the president before that?" Zoe asked.

Bianca thought for a while. "Roosevelt."

Zoe swallowed. Thalia covered her mouth with her hand to hide her gasp, and I continued to think of more and more questions, trying to understand how the two had ended up in the Casino. And why they had come out now, of all times. With the Titans rising, the timing was suspect, at best.

"Theodore or Franklin?" Zoe's voice had a hint of a shake in it, and her dark eyes were wide. Her jaw was tight and her hands were curled into fists. I didn't blame her for it. She was acting better than I would in that situation, that was for sure.

"Franklin," Bianca replied confidently. "F.D.R."

"Bianca," Zoe said slowly, carefully. "F.D.R. was not the last president. That was about seventy years ago."

"That's impossible," Bianca gasped. "I... I'm not that old." She stared at her hands as if to make sure they weren't wrinkled.

Thalia's eyes turned sad. I guess she knew what it was like to get pulled out of time for a while. "It's okay, Bianca. The important thing is that you and Nico are safe. You made it out."

"But how?" I pressed. "We were only in there for an hour to us and we barely escaped. We wouldn't have managed at all, if I wasn't so resistant to mind control. I practically had to drag Grover and Luke away from the place. How could you have escaped after being there for so long? You didn't even know your heritage back then. You couldn't have broken out of the spell alone."

"I told you." Bianca looked about ready to cry. "A man came and said that it was time to leave. And—"

"But who? Why did he do it? Why then, and not seventy years ago?"

Before she could answer, we were hit with a blazing light from down the road. The headlights of a car appeared out of nowhere. We grabbed our sleeping bags and got out of the way as a deathly white limousine slid to a stop in front of us.

The back door of the limo opened right next to me. Before I could step away, the point of a sword touched my throat.

I heard the sound of Zoe and Bianca drawing their bows, and Thalia summoning her spear. As the owner of the sword got out of the car, I moved back very slowly. I had to, because he was pushing the point under my chin.

He smiled cruelly. "Hello again, sweetheart."

"Lord Ares," I spat the name bitterly, old feelings of resentment welling up within me again. "How're your heels?"

His smug expression darkened at the reminder that a sixteen-year-old half-blood girl had managed to wound him in battle before, and he growled slightly in warning.

"Watch your tone, girly," he warned. "I might not be able to kill you yet because of Uncle P, but you get me angry enough and I might be able to pass it off as an accident."

I smirked, knowing the threat didn't have anything behind it.

The war god glanced at my friends.

"At ease, people."

He snapped his fingers, and their weapons fell to the ground. Bianca gasped in shock, casting a worried look at Zoe, looking for instructions. The elder Huntress glowered at him bitterly.

"This is a friendly meeting." He dug the point of his blade a little farther under my chin. "Of course, I'd like to take your head for a trophy, but someone wants to see you. And I never behead my enemies in front of a lady."

"What lady?" Thalia asked.

Ares looked over at her. "Well, well. I heard you were back."

He lowered his sword and pushed me away.

"Thalia, daughter of Zeus," Ares mused, blatantly looking her up and down like he had done to me when we first met him, making her shiver and glare at him. "You're not hanging out with very good company."

"What's your business, Ares?" she demanded. "Who's in the car?"

Ares smiled, enjoying the attention. "Oh, I doubt she wants to meet the rest of you. Particularly not them." He jutted his chin toward Zoe and Bianca. "Why don't you all go get some tacos while you wait? Only take Allie a few minutes."

"We will not leave her alone with thee, Lord Ares," Zoe said.

I shot her a look that I hoped communicated my appreciation for her support.

"Besides," Grover managed, "the taco place is closed."

Ares snapped his fingers again. The lights inside the taqueria suddenly blazed to life. The boards flew off the door and the CLOSED sign flipped to OPEN. "You were saying, goat boy?"

"Go on," I told my friends. "I'll handle this."

I tried to sound more confident than I felt, but I don't think Ares was fooled.

"You heard the girl," Ares said. His voice was mocking, and it took all of my self-control not to punch him. "She's big and strong. She's got things under control."

"Big and strong enough to defeat you. Shut your mouth."

Bad thing to say, but I was also very confident he wouldn't kill me. Like 76% sure. At least I was right, and all he did was glare at me.

My friends reluctantly headed over to the taco restaurant. Ares regarded me with loathing, then opened the limousine door like a chauffeur.

"Get inside, sugar," he said. "And mind your manners. She's not as forgiving of rudeness as I am."

He practically pushed me into the limo and as soon as I was in, I became instantly confused. I was looking at myself, just... better. Like before I went on deadly quests and would walk red carpets, but better. For the first time in a long while, envy filled me.

She was wearing a red satin dress and her hair was curled in a cascade of ringlets. Her face was the most beautiful I'd ever seen: perfect makeup, dazzling eyes, a smile that would've lit up the dark side of the moon.

At first, she looked exactly like me, white hair, sea-green eyes. Then she changed, mostly switching from looking like me, to Selena Gomez, to Marilyn Monroe at some points. Then I was looking at Gigi Hadid and then Beyoncé, it made my head spin.

When she smiled at me, just for a moment she looked a little like Luke. Like, what he would look like if he were a woman.

"Ah, there you are, Allie," the goddess smiled. "I am Aphrodite."

As if I hadn't already managed to put two-and-two together yet. I had enough thinking ability to figure that out.

"Uh... hi?" I was on the verge of straight out asking her what she wanted, but I bit my tongue.

"Oh, you really are gorgeous!" She started looking like me again. "Could you hold this for me?"

She handed me a polished mirror the size of a dinner plate and had me hold it up for her.

"Now... what shade do you wear most often for lipstick?"

I was confused, especially because there was no way this could be what prompted Aphrodite to visit, but I complied.

"Most of the time I do a wine red. Sometimes a nude. If I need to go any darker, I'll use a maroon color. I've been obsessed with tinted glosses as of recent. I just recently signed with Dior Beauty as an ambassador so I use the lip oils a lot."

She nodded, like that was the correct answer, and pulled out a cherry red tinted Dior lip gloss.

"Do you know why you're here?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you on this quest?"

I avoided meeting her gaze as I replied. "I was given the prophecy. Artemis, Brylie, and Luke need to be found."

"Ah yes!" She sounded triumphant, which made me worried. "Luke. Tell me about him, Allie."

Oh, damn.

I went with the safest answer that would probably get me out of here the fastest. "I can't," I answered. "Luke's indescribable."

"Aw, how sweet!" She cooed. "He almost made an oath to protect you two summers ago, didn't he?"

"Uh, yeah? What's that got to do with anything?"

"It was absolutely adorable!" Aphrodite declared. "So noble, knowing that you'll probably die young, yet determined to try and save you anyway. Just like Romeo and Juliet!"

"That's reassuring," I commented, taking as much snark out of the statement as I could. Getting bored of holding it, I put the mirror down.

"Now listen to me, Allie," Aphrodite urged. "The Hunters are your enemies. Forget them and Artemis and the monster. That's not important. You don't need to become one of them. You just concentrate on finding and saving Luke."

"Do you know where he is?"

Aphrodite waved her hand irritably. "No, no. I leave the details to you. But it's been ages since we've had a good tragic love story."

"Whoa, what d'you mean tragic?" I demanded, feeling panicked. "Isn't the whole Great Prophecy thing enough?"

"That's all been done before, darling," Aphrodite replied dismissively. "But it'll be a good part of proving that love really does conquer all. I mean, just look at Helen and Paris. Did they let anything come between them?"

"Uh, they started the Trojan War and got thousands of people killed."

"Pfft. That's not the point. Follow your heart."

"My heart is dead set on not telling me what I want to know."

She smiled sympathetically. She really was beautiful. And not just because she had a pretty face or anything. She believed in love so much, it was impossible not to feel giddy when she talked about it.

"Not knowing is half the fun of being in love," she told me. "Exquisitely painful, isn't it? Not being sure who you love and who loves you? Oh, you kids! It's so cute I'm going to cry."

Now, I've had many a mental breakdown over love and men being shit, but that seemed a little over-the-top.

"And don't worry," she patted my hand. "I'm not going to let this be easy and boring for you. No, I have some wonderful surprises in store. Anguish. Indecision. Oh, you just wait."

"That's really okay," I told her earnestly. "Don't go to any trouble."

Please don't go to any trouble. We got enough of that stuff from the Fates. We didn't need the goddess of love adding to our problems.

"You're so cute. I wish all of my sons could break the heart of a girl like you." Aphrodite's eyes were tearing up. "Now, you'd better go. And do be careful in my husband's territory, Allie. Don't take anything. He is awfully fussy about his trinkets and trash."

"What?" I asked. "You mean Hephaestus?"

But the car door opened and Ares grabbed my shoulder, pulling me out of the car and back into the desert night.

My audience with the goddess of love was over.

"You're lucky, brat." Ares pushed me away from the limo. "Be grateful."

"For what?"

"That we're being so nice. If it was up to me—"

"So why haven't you killed me?" I shot back. It was a stupid thing to say to the god of war, but being around him always made me feel angry and reckless.

"I told you, I don't want to offend Uncle P by killing his 'precious baby girl,'" he said, rolling his eye all the while. "I'd love to kill you, seriously. But there's also the other situation I have. Aphrodite thinks that you're some kinda soap-opera star or something. I kill you, that makes me look bad with her."

He snapped his fingers and the world did a three-sixty, spinning in a cloud of red dust. I fell to the ground.

When I stood up again, the limousine was gone. The road, the taco restaurant, the whole town of Gila Claw was gone. My friends and I were standing in the middle of the junkyard, mountains of scrap metal stretched out in every direction.

"What did she want with you?" Bianca asked, once I'd told them about Aphrodite.

I nearly lied, but decided that a watered down version would be better. "She thinks that Luke and I make a good love story," I confessed. "Says she's going to make it nice and tragic for us. And warned me about her husband's territory."

Zoe narrowed her eyes. "Be careful, Allie," she warned me. "Aphrodite has led many heroes astray."

"For once I agree with Zoe," Thalia said. "You can't trust Aphrodite. It's not a good thing that she's taken an interest in you and Luke."

"I know," I agreed. I dreaded finding out what Aphrodite would consider being 'interesting'. And what was that about a gift?

"So," I said, anxious to change the subject, "how do we get out of here?"

"That way," Zoe answered, pointing. "That is west."

I double-checked her calculations and nodded, hefting my bag into a more comfortable position. "Shall we?"

With an aura of grim determination and resignation hovering around us, we began making our way west again.

"Guys," Grover called after a while, pointing urgently. "Look!"

We'd reached the crest of a junk mountain. Piles of metal objects glinted in the moonlight: broken heads of bronze horses, metal legs from human statues, smashed chariots, tons of shields and swords and other weapons, along with more modern stuff, like cars that gleamed gold and silver, refrigerators, washing machines, and computer monitors.

"Whoa," Bianca breathed. "That stuff... some of it looks like real gold."

"It is," Thalia confirmed grimly. "This is the junkyard of the gods."

"Don't touch anything," I added. "If it's here, it's cursed or something. There'll be consequences for touching it, even if it is junk."

"Junk?" Grover picked up a beautiful crown made of gold, silver, and jewels. It was broken on one side, as if it had been split by an ax. "You call this junk?"

He bit off a point and began to chew. "It's delicious!"

Thalia swatted the crown out of his hands. "We're serious!"

"Look!" Bianca called, pointing towards something. She raced down the hill, tripping over bronze coils and golden plates. She picked up a bow that glowed silver in the moonlight. "A Hunter's bow!"

She yelped in surprise as the bow began to shrink, and became a hair clip shaped like a crescent moon. "That's so cool!" she squealed.

"It's like your swords, Allie," Thalia commented when we got to her side.

"You have to put it back, Bianca," I added.

"Allie is correct," Zoe agreed. "If it is here, there is something wrong with it."

Bianca gained a mutinous look, clenching her fist around the bow. "I don't—"

"Leave it, Bianca!" Zoe snapped, eyes flashing.

"But—"

"It is here for a reason. Anything thrown away in this junkyard must stay in this yard. As Allie said, if it is here, it is defective. Or cursed."

Bianca reluctantly set the hair clip down.

No one protested, and we started picking our way through the hills and valleys of junk. The stuff seemed to go on forever, and if it hadn't been for Ursa Major, we would've gotten lost. All the hills pretty much looked the same.

I kept my hands clenched around my necklace, trying to calm myself. Grover found a broken tree made out of metal. It had been chopped to pieces, but some of the branches still had golden birds in them, and they whirred around when Grover picked them up, trying to flap their wings. Bianca, too, kept stopping to examine things, and Zoe continually had to force her to leave them behind.

Finally, we saw the edge of the junkyard about half a mile ahead of us, the lights of a highway stretching through the desert. But between us and the road...

"What is that?" Bianca gasped.

"Nothing good," I drawled, eyeing the thing tensely.

Ahead of us was a hill much bigger and longer than the others. It was like a metal mesa, the length of a football field and as tall as goalposts. At one end of the mesa was a row of ten thick metal columns, wedged tightly together.

Bianca frowned. "They look like—"

"Toes," Grover stated.

Bianca nodded. "Really, really large toes."

Zoe, Thalia and I all exchanged nervous looks. If this was what I thought it was, we could be in a lot of trouble.

"Let's go around," Thalia decided. "Far around."

"But the road is right over there," Bianca protested. "It'd be quicker to just climb over it instead."

Ping.

I raised my sword while Thalia hefted her spear and Zoe drew her bow, but then I realized it was only Grover. He had thrown a piece of scrap metal at the toes and hit one, making a deep echo, as if the column were hollow.

"Why did you do that?" Zoe demanded.

Grover cringed. "I don't know. I, uh, don't like fake feet?"

My temper flared, and I glared at him. "What the Hades, Grover?" I snapped. "Are you trying to get us killed? This is the gods' junkyard! That's probably an automaton! A dangerous robot!"

He paled and swallowed, looking at the ground.

"Come on." Thalia looked at Bianca and Grover sternly.

"Around," I emphasized, still eyeing the giant toes.

After several minutes of walking, we finally stepped onto the highway, an abandoned but well-lit stretch of black asphalt.

"We made it out," Zoe sighed. "Thank the gods."

But she spoke too soon. At that very moment, I heard a sound like a thousand trash compactors crushing metal.

I whirled around. Behind us, the scrap mountain was boiling, rising up. The ten toes tilted over, and we found ourselves under the shadow of the largest automaton I'd ever seen. It was a bronze giant in full Greek battle armor. He was impossibly tall— like a skyscraper with legs and arms. He gleamed wickedly in the moonlight. He looked down at us, and his face was deformed. The left side was partially melted off. His joints creaked with rust, and across his armored chest, written in thick dust by some giant finger, were the words WASH ME.

"Talos!" Zoe gasped.

I let out a long string of swears (I mean, really, what else is new?).

"Who— who's Talos?" Bianca stuttered, looking terrified.

"One of Hephaestus's creations," Thalia explained. "But that can't be the original. It's too small. A prototype, maybe. A defective model."

Talos didn't like being called 'defective' apparently.

He moved one hand to his sword belt and drew his weapon. The sound of it coming out of its sheath was horrible, metal screeching against metal. The blade was a hundred feet long, easy. It looked rusty and dull, but I didn't figure that mattered. Getting hit with that thing would be like getting hit with a battleship.

"Someone took something," Zoe declared. "Who took something?"

She stared accusingly at me.

I shook my head. "I admit I was tempted by a few things, but I'm not an idiot. I don't steal from the gods. Ever."

Bianca didn't say anything, but I could see guilt flashing over her expression and I knew what she had done. But I had no time to do anything about it, because the giant defective Talos took one step toward us, closing half the distance and making the ground shake.

"Run!" Grover yelped.

Great advice, except that it was hopeless. At a leisurely stroll, this thing could outdistance us easily.

We split up, the way we'd done with the Nemean Lion. Thalia drew her shield and held it up as she ran down the highway. The giant swung his sword and took out a row of power lines, which exploded in sparks and scattered across Thalia's path. Thankfully, she was resistant to electricity, and simply ignored the sparks.

Zoe's arrows whistled toward the creature's face but they just shattered harmlessly against the metal. Grover brayed like a baby goat and went climbing up a mountain of metal.

Bianca and I ended up next to each other, hiding behind a broken chariot.

"You took something," I accused, in what was probably a harsher tone than was truly necessary. "That bow."

"No!" she denied, but her voice was quivering. Oh yeah, she had stolen something. Despite the warnings Thalia, Zoe and I had all given of the dangers of the junkyard, she had arrogantly ignored us and taken something she wanted. And endangered all of our lives in the process.

I glared furiously at her, making her flinch and let out a sob. I had no sympathy.

"Give it back!" I snapped. "Throw it down!"

"I... I didn't take the bow! Besides, it's too late."

"What did you take?"

Before she could answer, I heard a massive creaking noise, and a shadow blotted out the sky.

"Move!" I tore down the hill, Bianca right behind me, as the giant's foot smashed a crater in the ground where we'd been hiding.

"Hey, Talos!" Grover yelled, but the automaton just ignored him and raised his sword, looking down at Bianca and me.

Grover played a quick melody on his pipes. Over at the highway, the downed power lines began to dance. I understood what Grover was going to do a split second before it happened. One of the poles with power lines still attached flew toward Talos' back leg and wrapped around his calf. The lines sparked and sent a jolt of electricity up the giant's backside.

Talos whirled around, creaking and sparking. Grover had managed to buy us a few seconds to escape, thank the gods.

"Come on!" I told Bianca, tugging her arm. But she stayed frozen. From her pocket, she brought out a small metal figurine, a statue of a god.

"It... it was for Nico," she stammered. "It was the only statue he didn't have."

"How can you think of Mythomagic at a time like this?" I demanded.

There were tears in her eyes.

"Throw it down," I ordered. "Maybe the giant will leave us alone." Small chance, but a chance all the same.

She dropped it reluctantly, but nothing happened.

The giant kept coming after Grover. It stabbed its sword into a junk hill, missing Grover by a few feet, but scrap metal made an avalanche over him, and then I couldn't see him anymore.

"No!" Thalia yelled. She pointed her spear, and a blue arc of lightning shot out, hitting the monster in his rusty knee, which buckled. The giant collapsed, but immediately started to rise again. It was hard to tell if it could feel anything. There weren't any emotions in its half-melted face, but I got the sense that it was about as pissed off as a twenty-story-tall metal warrior could be.

I ran up to help her, but the giant immediately turned on me and kicked me back over to Bianca.

She screamed and I 100% thought it was just out of shock and because I was barely inches away from crashing right into her, but then I realized why.

I'd gotten stabbed by a huge rod of metal sticking out of a pile of garbage I landed on. It went straight through my side, only just missing my vital organs. My eyes widened and, just by moving slightly, my side flared in a fiery rage of pain.

I cried out and Bianca stumbled towards me.

"I need you to listen very carefully to me, Bianca."

She nodded.

"Grab my hands."

She did so.

"Okay, now pull me towards you."

"You want me to pull you off of this thing?!"

"Uh, yeah, I kinda need you to, otherwise, I'll die. On my count of three. 1, 2, 3."

Thankfully, she made the split-second decision to listen to me and with a painful scream coming from me, I was pulled off of the spike. I fell to my knees and Bianca landed beside me.

I finally got the chance to look up at the automaton. Right in the back of its calf, there was an indent that could turn it off. Potentially. I nodded towards it.

"I need to get there. Get me some of the way and I'll do the rest."

She nodded and didn't really seem to see what I was saying, but at about a third of the way there, she stopped in her tracks.

"What are you do—"

"I'm sorry about this, Allie. Make sure my brother knows I'm sorry, too." She shoved the Mythomagic figure in my hand, which she had to have picked back up, pushed me to my knees, and ran the rest of the way. With all of the blood and energy I'd lost, the only thing I could do was holler out in opposition. She didn't listen and she disappeared into the automaton.

Grover had somehow managed to dig himself out of the junk pile. He played his pipes frantically, and his music sent another power line pole whacking against Talos' thigh. The monster turned. Grover should've ran, but he must've been too exhausted from the effort of so much magic. He took two steps, fell, and didn't get back up.

"Grover!" Thalia ran towards him, but I knew we'd be too late.

The monster raised his sword to smash Grover. Then he froze.

Talos cocked his head to one side, like he was hearing strange new music. He started moving his arms and legs in weird ways, doing a very jerky dance routine that would have made me laugh in any other circumstances. Then he made a fist and punched himself in the face.

Thalia picked Grover up and dragged him over to me, then started fixing my side, though there wasn't much she could do. If I died now, did that mean Bianca would live?

One shall be lost in the land without rain.

The giant hit itself in the head again and dropped his sword. A shudder ran through his whole body and he staggered toward the power lines.

"Look out!" I yelled, but it was too late.

The giant's ankle snared the lines, and blue flickers of electricity shot up his body. I hoped the inside was insulated. I had no idea what was going on in there. I could only hope for a miracle, and that Bianca was safe, though I knew it was too much to ask. The giant careened back into the junkyard, and his right hand fell off, landing in the scrap metal with a horrible CLANG!

His left arm came loose, too. He was falling apart at the joints.

Talos began to run.

"Wait!" Zoe shouted. We ran after her, but there was no way we could keep up, especially with Thalia having to carry me and Grover. Pieces of the robot kept falling off, getting in our way.

The giant crumbled from the top down: his head, his chest, and finally, his legs collapsed. When we reached the wreckage we searched frantically, yelling Bianca's name. We crawled around in the vast hollow pieces and the legs and the head. We searched until the sun started to rise about half an hour later, but no luck.

Zoe sat down and wept. I was stunned to see her cry.

Thalia screamed in rage and impaled her sword in the giant's smashed face.

I fell to my knees, half out of exhaustion and half out of grief, and buried my head in my hands.

"It should've been me," I muttered, guilt-ridden. "It was my plan. It should've been me." My shoulders and side flared in pain, but I didn't care. I deserved it.

Grover recited the line from the prophecy. "She's- she's... gone."

"I was gonna do it. She... gods."

Thalia ended up shoving a square of ambrosia in my mouth and I took off my shirt to act as a bandage. I pulled on the extra tank top I'd packed, enforcing the pain in my shoulders and side, but it didn't compare to the pain in my heart.

For the first time in a while, everything came crashing down on me and I allowed myself to cry.

* * *

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SERIES M.LIST | MAIN M.LIST | TIPS

#alliejackson #a story as endless as the ocean #asaeato #female percy jackson #lukecastellan #lullie #trinitymia

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madmilkboi · 4 years

Text

ᨳ running in circles

➜ 𝘀𝐮𝗺𝗺𝐚𝗿𝘆: you and suna would never let each other go even if it was suffocating and toxic.

➜ 𝗴𝐞𝗻𝗿𝐞: angst

➜ 𝘄𝐚𝗿𝗻𝐢𝗻𝗴/𝘀: toxic relationship, cheating, mentions of alcohol, cursing i think that's all lmao

➜ 𝗽𝐚𝐢𝗿𝐢𝗻𝗴: suna rintaro x gn!reader

a/n: here's an angsty suna fic that i wrote at 2 am also pls listen to circles by post malone while reading this to feel smth lmao n e ways i don't condone this type of behavior if ever ur s/o is acting like sht leave em babes u deserver better mwa xoxo

You woke up to the sound of the car being parked in the garage, you looked at the clock and saw that it was 3 am, a dreadful hour really. You stood up from the bed and walked downstairs carrying your phone.

You were welcomed with a sober Suna, red and purple hickes trailed all over his neck and collarbone while the corners of his lips were stained with a faint red lipstick. He looked at you, his sharp gaze acted like a dagger, impaling your already battered heart.

His once loving eyes were cold, empty—a void even. Suna's love for you was long gone, not even a bit was left but he can't seem to let go of you. He doesn't want to be alone so he kept you and so did you. You both know that the love is getting hostile but stayed for the sake of company.

"Have you ate dinner yet?" You asked, worried if he even had a nice meal, well he sure did in an intimate way. "Not hungry" he answered, he took off his shoes and walked upstairs not even sparing you a single glance. A lump formed on your throat hearing his heavy steps.

You let out a heavy breath and silently followed him, he sat on the bed looking at the dreadful grey walls. You walked to the other side of the bed and layed down, facing the opposite side.

As he felt the weight of the mattress shift. He can't help but look at you, his eyes lingering at your back. He was reminiscing the times when both you and him would fall asleep hugging each other. He missed the warmth, the pointless yet fun conversations and the intimacy you both shared but now even if you and him were in the same room, it felt like you were so far away from him. So distant and out of reach.

As he was looking at you, he felt a tear leave his eye. Though he thinks that there was no more love left for you, there still was and it hurted him so much, the fact that everytime he shows you genuine affection you doubt and think that it was to cover up something that he did.

But it was his fault after all, he was the reason why you developed trust issues and he hated himself because of that. He would always regret the morning after he's slept with another person while you waited for him the whole night.

He sighed, and took off his shirt feeling the coldness of the room. As he was about to close his eyes, he heard a sniffle from your direction.

—

You cursed at yourself for letting out a loud sound. You were currently sobbing, well what's new? You do that every night to relieve yourself from the growing pain your heart was feeling.

You covered your mouth while your tears dripped from your face. You couldn't take it, every night he sleeps with another person and sometimes would even bring them home and that hurted so much. And the fact that he was in the same room broke you even more.

You couldn't take it anymore, You stood up and grabbed your phone and wallet, texting a friend at the process. Suna only looked at you for a few minutes until he realized what you were about to do.

You walked down the stairs taking each step carefully since you can't see well because of your blurry vision. He hurriedly stood up and chased after you downstairs. He grabbed your arm and looked at you with soft glistening eyes.

"Please don't leave" he pleaded, he doesn't want to be alone.

"Rin, let's end this..." you muttered through sobs. "Please?" You looked at him with puffy eyes.

He shooked his head, his lips forming a thin line. "We can fix this" he says as he rubs your cheeks with his thumbs.

Stop lying, please.

"We can't" you mumbled, eyes downcast. "It's hopeless. We're hopeless" you let out a sad chuckle. He shooked his head once again and pointed at himself.

"I'll change my ways" he told you.

Lies. He thought to himself, no matter how much he has said that to you he never really changed and he was fully aware of that. His lifestyle was goodly intoxicating—like a drug he'd say.

You looked at him, you really wanted to let go of him, of this toxic relationship but something was stopping you and it was the fact that you'd have no more Rin to wake up to, take care of and of course to love.

"I love you" the three words that were music to your ears. The only lie that you love hearing.

He wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you close to him. "I love you so fucking much" you gave up, surrendering on his arms, melting by the warmth of his skin. "So please, don't leave" you nodded your head and rubbed his back. "I won't" you whispered placing a kiss on his forehead.

"Let's go back to bed" he held your hand and lead you upstairs to your shared bedroom. The both of you layed down and embraced each other.

Like the seasons here on Earth everything changes just like your love shifting from hot to cold, it was like a merry go round going in circles, a constant loop of breaking up and getting back together. No matter how you and him run away from each other you still both end up cradled in each others arm, longing for the spark that once fueled your love.

🏷: @crescenttooru @leronddesorciere @fleurdedyo @owlnymph @kawaiiisis (shoot an ask or dm if u wanna be added on my taglist! ^v^)

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spicymayo1983 · 3 years

Text

Hiya. More Poe Dameron smut and fluff for everyone to enjoy. You and Poe both live on the rebellion base on D'qar.

I've always imagined that Poe would be excited about becoming a father, regardless of the circumstances, and be a loving and supportive partner.

For some reason the idea of fertile Poe is sexy to me. Lol. Having a bunch of cute, curly haired space babies.

You are a member of the black squadron and a respected X wing pilot in your own right. You've made some stupid decisions in your lifetime but never any like this one.

After a few too many drinks you ended up enjoying a steamy, completely unprotected one night stand with Poe Dameron.

And now you're pregnant with his child. How will you cope raising a baby with a man you barely know?

Warnings, unprotected sex, some angst, breeding kink, not for anyone under 18.

You're not afraid to admit it. You are a different woman altogether when you've been drinking.

But even for you, the mess you're in is something even you couldn't have predicted.

Now all you have are memories, regret, and a positive pregnancy test. You stare at that little stick with the two lines on it and the memories flood back, you can't help but smile a little.

Six weeks earlier.....

It's your best friend Yasmela's birthday. You and the rest of the black squadron are celebrating with adult beverages abound in a cantina located on the rebellion base D'qar.

The leader of the black squadron, Poe Dameron, who's also a bit tipsy, has been eyeing you all night.

Okay, the two of you have been exchanging mutual flirty glances. You haven't been entirely innocent, it's hard to ignore anyone, but especially someone as gorgeous as him, when it's obvious that he's checking you out.

"Well do you like what you see?" Poe asks, laughing a little, attempting to break the ice.

"What would make you think that?" You reply, giggling a little.

Poe notices the flushing of your cheeks, brought on by a combination of drinking too much and the situation currently at hand.

"Ohhhhh I'm making you nervous". Poe continues, slurring his words a little. "You're normally such a quiet girl, y/n, I barely know you because you won't talk to hardly anyone".

"I'm a simple woman devoted to defeating the first order". You reply, smiling a little.

"So am I, but I believe in letting loose every once in awhile". Poe teases as he brushes back his dark, curly hair from his face.

"So you're also a simple woman?" You reply, bursting into laughter.

Soon both of you are laughing uncontrollably. So much so that you have tears in your eyes.

"No, I wasn't the last time I checked". Poe continued, his laughter calming a little. "What I meant was that I'm also devoted to bringing down the first order but I like to have fun from time to time".

"Come on, dance with me". Poe asks, a devilish smile appearing on his face. "Let's have some fun".

You soon find yourself stumbling along to a latin cha cha cha dance that he's way better at, even intoxicated, than you.

You fall down laughing at one point and he scoops you up immediately. Even when you are sober you have two left feet and your dance moves are less than elegant.

The room is spinning, you feel like you're going to puke, but you're having a blast with your handsome companion.

"I think I need to sit down". You tell him, struggling to stop yourself from throwing up.

Poe helps you get safely to a nearby chair and table, once you are seated he fetches you a glass of water.

"Thank you". You reply, smiling gratefully and slowly sipping the cool water. "I know it's still a little early but I think I need to get home and sleep this off".

"That's okay, but let me walk you home". Poe tells you, helping you stand up again.

On the way back to your quarters the two of you realize that he lives much closer so it would be in your best interest to crash on his couch for the night.

Once at his place Poe gets you another glass of water, you are sobering up and no longer feel sick.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" You ask, quickly downing the refreshing beverage.

"I might not know you that well, on a personal level".

He explains, removing his boots. "But you're a brave pilot, you were there when the starkiller was destroyed, I take care of people I respect".

His words of praise shock you a little. They mean so much, especially coming from someone like him. Your face immediately turns bright red, Poe leans over, kisses you on the lips and says,

"And one of the most beautiful women I've seen".

Without another word exchanged you continue kissing, you gaze into his beautiful dark eyes and silently beg him to continue, to go beyond those delicious kisses.

Poe picks up on your silent cues and hungrily unbuttons your shirt. He manages to quickly unsnap your bra, revealing your breasts and erect nipples.

You can see an impressive looking bulge forming in his pants as he buries his face between them, you sigh in delight as you lose yourself to pleasure and take in the scent of his soft, curly hair.

Your panties are practically drenched by the time Poe starts to tenderly kiss and nibble on your neck, his hands wander between your legs and you gasp in anticipation.

He unzips your pants and helps you out of them, you are indeed soaking wet, his hand slides between your legs again and teasingly strokes you over your underwear.

You haven't trimmed in quite awhile so you have a decent bush growing. He doesn't seem to mind, though, Poe actually seems to enjoy the look and feel of it.

"Take your clothes off now". You demand, laughing a little. "I feel weird being the only naked one".

Poe obliges and strips down for you. Revealing a tan, trim and athletic body. Strong without being over the top. He's hung, and thick, with a nice patch of dark hair.

The two of you decide to move things into the bedroom. He immediately spreads your legs wide and starts to massage your clit as he inserts two fingers inside of you.

As Poe keeps his fingers inside of you he begins to suck and gently nibble on your throbbing clit, with a low whimper you cum for him, squirting in the process.

With your legs still spread Poe enters you, you easily accommodate him because you are still extremely wet.

"Oh creator you are so wet, and so tight". Poe moans as he penetrates you. "You feel amazing".

Both of you were still tipsy and had neglected to ask about birth control. Even though you weren't on anything you assumed he was.

He's a gentle lover, he teases you by sliding his entire length in, and then all the way out again.

As you are impaled on his body you squirm and cum with Poe deep inside of you. Your own orgasms trigger his own release, but you are gripped onto him too tight and he can't pull out in time.

He cums inside of you, the warm sensation is unfamiliar because you have never let anyone inside of your body unprotected.

"That felt amazing". Poe confesses as he passionately kisses you and pulls his soft cock out of your body. "I'm sorry about the mess, I really tried to pull out".

"Don't worry about it". You tell him with a nervous laugh.

He gets you a towel and helps you clean up, soon after he rolls over and falls asleep.

Well, you thought he was asleep.....

"Can I put my arm around you?" Poe whispers softly.

"Sure, go ahead". You reply, smiling a little.

The two of you fall asleep spooning, he's the little spoon with his arm wrapped around you, with his face resting on your back.

The entire experience feels very warm, intimate and tender. You're a little surprised by how soft and affectionate Poe is.

The next morning both of you wake up with horrible hangovers. Poe gets up and cooks a simple breakfast of waffles and toast, not only is he the best pilot in the resistance but he's also an excellent cook.

You are enjoying your meal despite the awkward silence that has suddenly developed between the two of you.

You've crawled back into that shell that adult beverages had liberated you from temporarily.

Despite the fact that you enjoyed yourself the previous night you still feel ashamed and somewhat dirty from the encounter.

You've never done anything like that before with anyone, let alone the leader of the squadron.

What was everyone else going to say if they found out?

"Your secret is safe with me". Poe assures you, leaning over and kissing you on the forehead. "I won't kiss and tell".

"I've just never done anything like that before". You tell him, smiling weakly. "When I'm drunk I'm a different woman".

"If you feel like I took advantage of you I'm truly sorry". Poe continues, his smile fading. "I just got carried away in the moment".

"Oh no, I wanted it to happen". You reply quickly, your weak smile coming back. "And it was magical, you were very respectful and it felt great".

With those parting words you get dressed and walk home. You bump into your friend, birthday girl Yasmela, in the hangar later that afternoon when you are doing routine maintenance on your X wing.

"Everyone saw you leave the party with Poe". Yasmela teases, a bright smile appearing on her face. "Tell me every raunchy detail".

"Poe walked me home, I passed out on my sofa, the end". You lie, your face getting slightly flushed from anger.

"Salemm saw you doing the walk of shame this morning". Yasmela continues, a mischievous glint appearing in her eyes.

"Just fucking stop it! Okay!" You snap, displaying a rare flash of anger. "Absolutely nothing happened between us! End of story".

Yasmela looks slightly taken aback by your outburst. But she soon smiles and says,

"Okaaaay, y/n, I get it, I'll be leaving now".

Your friend slinks off into the crowded, noisy hangar. You know for a fact that she doesn't believe you, and that she will do her best to find out what truly happened.

Flash forward back to six weeks after your encounter with Poe. After experiencing sore breasts, morning sickness and terrible mood swings you reluctantly take a home pregnancy test and discover that it's indeed positive.

You're terrified, and you have no idea how your secret can be kept now.

End of part 1

#poe dameron #poe dameron x reader #poe dameron smut #star wars #star wars smut #poe dameron x you #poe dameron imagine

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aetm-malereaderimagines · 5 years

Note

NEW BLOG HOLY SHI- And you write for Mystic Messenger... May I request some fluff filled goodshit™ with Zen, Jaehee and Jumin? Much love and good luck with your blog~❤️

First request I’ve ever gotten incoming! Thank you so much for requesting MM, I’ve been missing my RFA boys and girls a lot actually

Btw, I think I’ll make it a rule that, unless specified, I’ll assume the reader is male, since that’s what it says in my url. That said, this is one is pretty much completely gender neutral so I won’t put it under the male reader tag. Anyways, if you want anything changed in the hcs, message me again and I’ll edit accordingly but for now… enjoy! I hope it’s fluffy enough!

Zen:

Brings you flowers when you least expect it, just because he can, without occasion. You know he’s that type of guy.

He’s an early bird, and if you are, too, you’ll have so much fun making breakfast together. He’ll hum while doing it, sometimes bursting out into full-on singing while making bacon and eggs, and there’s nothing more hilarious than watching him use the spatula as a mic.

If you, on the other hand, like to sleep in, you’ll wake up to a breakfast already made and waiting for you on the table. Don’t sleep for too long, though! This boy loves watching you sleep, but he loves talking to you even more and will not hesitate about waking you up if he gets impatient!

You’re out of luck if you’re the kind of person who likes to have it quiet in the morning. Zen makes sure you know about all of his plans for the day from the moment you wake up. It you both have a day off, you make plans together while having breakfast. Whether you want to go out or stay in, it’s fine with him, but he’ll never give up on his workout routine so it’s up to you whether you want to tag along or wait for him at home.

He loves going on dates with you, though. His fans make it hard for you both sometimes but it won’t stop him from taking you to the movies or a cafe he particularly likes.

One time, you bumped into Yoosung at a theme park and he just wouldn’t leave you alone. It was fun hanging out with him (especially in the haunted house, since Yoosung just can’t stand scary stuff. You couldn’t stop laughing while he was clinging to your arm, about to cry and all pouty about you making fun of him). Zen, however, grew more and more silent over the day. He insisted on holding your hand most of the time and on your way home, he dragged you into a back alley and kissed you on the mouth. “How can you let other guys approach you so easily?” he said, nibbling your ear. “You know I can't— Ouch!” he exclaimed as he felt your elbow impale his stomach. “Keep your libido down until we get home, will you?” you rebuked him with a smile on dancing on your lips. “I don’t get why you’re so insecure about it. It’s not like I would go after other guys when I have my own Mr. Handsome to pester me with kisses every night when I’m trying to sleep.” Zen’s eyes still resembled those of a hurt puppy but you could tell he calmed down a little. You placed a gentle kiss on his lips. “Now let’s go home. I’m so beat all I want to do is lie down and cuddle.” Zen’s eyes lit up, and you could see the slightest smile appear on his lips. “Let’s,” he said, taking your hand. The moon shone bright in the sky as you wandered through the streets of Seoul, finding your way across the sea of people and toward your shared apartment

Jaehee:

She makes the best cake and coffee. That cafe won’t run itself.

She loves trying out new recipes and you’re always the first to savor whatever delicious contraption comes out of her oven.

She especially likes the evenings, when you close the cafe and have the place all to yourselves. It’s quite a scenic place and if it’s warm enough outside, you sit at a table outside, with a piece of cake and a cup of coffee, admiring the view. When it gets colder, and it does get quite cold in Seoul in winter, you spend the time inside, under the warm yellow light of the lamps in the store, or tucked in together under a blanket in the back of the cafe. One time, you fell asleep just like that and woke up the following morning only to find impatient customers waiting for you to open up right at your door!

Sightseeing dates. Jaehee is kind of a history geek and you only found out about it after she stopped working for Jumin since she didn’t have time back then to really pursue any of her hobbies. She always takes you to the most obscure places but it’s never boring with her since she knows so much about all of them. There was even this one time when she took you to a monastery high up in the mountains and you spent a few days meditating with monks and feeding monkeys. You’ll never forget how mystical and intimate it felt.

Theater and concert dates. She’s still a huge fan of Zen’s and she takes you to his plays and concerts from time to time. Your favorite type of date is. however, when you sit together on a couch watching Zen’s DVDs late at night and she eventually falls asleep, leaning even so slightly onto your shoulder.

Jumin:

Showers you with gifts. He finds it hard to express his emotions in a more orthotox way, he’s not much for PDA, he doesn’t really know when it’s “appropriate” to hug you or kiss you so that’s the easiest way for him to show affection, and he hopes you understand it.

That said, there’s nothing better than lying in bed with him when he comes tired from work, Elizabeth 3rd on your chest, the sound of her purring mixing with Jumin’s quiet breath tickling your ear.

The number of pictures of Elizabeth 3rd on his phone is only rivaled by the number of pictures of you.

He gets really lonely really often and his way of dealing with this feeling is spooning. You’re the little spoon, he’s the big spoon. He finds comfort in holding you in his arms.

He travels a lot for work reasons and came to actually like a lot so whenever he has a few days off, he’ll take you traveling all around the world. He feels best when he can use his money for his loved one.

That said, he really does work a lot. You have to organize your time yourself when he’s away but you’ll always find time to make him dinner so you can eat together when he gets back home. He eats out a lot and has probably tasted dishes made by the best chefs in the world, yet he always claims that your food is better than anything he’s ever eaten. He’s getting better and better in this complimenting game.

He grew up in kind of a bubble so he doesn’t know much about pop culture, Internet culture and stuff like that sou you’ll have introduce him to the wonderful world of Memes and References but once he gets into it, a new Meme Master will be born. Seven is kind of happy that he’s not the only one who “gets it” anymore, although some of his jokes only you can understand. Yoosung especially gets annoyed when Jumin says something like “milk” and you’re suddenly on the ground dying of laughter. (Jumin will actually do it a lot because he just loves to watch you smile and laugh. He’s a really good boy deep down in his heart.)

#requests #headcanon #headcanons #mystic messenger #mm #zen #hyun ryu #jumin #jumin han #jaehe #jaehee kang #fluff #x reader #zen x reader #jumin x reader #jaehee x reader #reader instert #mystic messenger x reader #mm x reader

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