#so we're left in this middle zone of like.

[neosatsuma]

can someone tell me what I was supposed to like about Baby Driver

[pixelateddragonet]

If I find out that an entire month+ of my migraine meds went bad because I forgot to grab them when packing before leaving my currently-not-climate-controlled house I'm going to cry actually

[whateverloomis]

Hi! Can you write about a reader who is a traditional goth x billy and stu?

Shes the new girl at school and she seems cool so tate invites her over to the group and when they see her they are like: 😲😍

Ugh, I'm so glad you requested this. Billy and Stu would so be into alt. people, I just know it. (Totally not saying that because I'm alt. myself *cough*)

Note: Scroll to the bottom for extra content before reading 🖤

Warnings: SMUT, infidelity, making out, fingering, double penetration, outdoor s3x, smoking (weed,) AFAB reader (she/her,) use of YN, unedited

Word count: 2.5k (Got carried away lmao)

"Dude, what's Tatum doing with the goth chick?" Stu asked Billy, as if he had a clue who Tatum even hung out with anymore. Sidney had always been her best friend and Tatum wouldn't ever replace her, but she was always picking someone new to introduce to the group until some kind of drama happened and she unfriended them.

"Fuck should I know." Billy answered, trying to seem uninterested in the topic, but Stu knew better. He had caught his friend taking a peek or two at the new girl when she had arrived the week prior as a transfer student.

"She's hot as fuck man, I bet we could tag team her-" -- "Keep it down, would you?" Billy whispered, elbowing Stu to avoid Sid and Randy from listening.

The boys had done it a few times before. They picked someone they both liked and had a little fun with them, and this new girl was definitely first in line the moment they saw her.

Tatum approached the group with her new friend and the boys couldn't help but eye her from head to toe. She was wearing a black crop top that sat just below her tits, a leather skirt with detailed lace thigh highs, paired with pointy knee high black boots. Her jet black hair sat just above her shoulders, her baby bangs had a perfect little point in the middle creating a perfect triangle that aligned with her pierced nose and matte black lipstick. What a sight.

"Hi guys! Meet our new friend, YN!" Tatum cheered and YN waved at everyone and smiled, revealing a dimple on her left cheek. Fuck, that drove Billy and Stu crazy. She was so effortlessly cute yet mysterious and intense looking. The perfect combination.

The group welcomed YN and clicked with her right away. Randy didn't hesitate to make flirty comments at the new girl and she was a natural flirt just like him, so it became a casual back and forth game between them. Stu obviously joined in, he's usually a flirt with everyone so it didn't seem out of the ordinary, but oh boy, if they only knew the plans he had with the girl.

Billy however, remained in the small talk zone. He felt safe there, plus he didn't want to reveal his intentions to Sidney who was sitting between his legs at the moment. He did make eye contact with YN from time to time and couldn't help but get tense at her gaze. Her eyes were piercing, like a black cats would be at night and it was driving him mad. He wanted to look into them while being on top of her... or maybe YN on top of him would be much better... Gosh, if he kept his imagination running it was gonna be impossible to stop his half boner from getting rock solid.

"YN should join, we have lot's of fun up there when we escape this hell hole." Stu said, snapping Billy out of his thoughts. "The cabin?" The boy thought out loud and Sidney turned around to face him. "Yeah, Stu is planning to ditch last period on Friday again and going up to his dads cabin. We're inviting YN to come along with us." Sid explained and Billy smirked in response and gave Stu a knowing look. "Yeah... Yeah YN, you should join us. Who wants to attend English class anyways?" He replied and Stu patted his back, "That's what I'm talking about." his best friend said, earning an annoyed look from Billy.

"Bring a swim suit too new girl, there's a kick ass lake up there." Stu said and smirked. "Awesome! I love lakes and it's been a while." YN replied and Randy pitched in; "Or better yet, a bikini." he said and the girl smirked at him; "Yeah, I bet you'd like that." YN said and Randy gasped in fake surprise; "I never said such a thing." The boy replied and YN gave him a flirty laugh.

Stu seemed amused with their exchange, knowing damn well Randy is all talk and no show. Meanwhile Billy was annoyed and poking his left cheek with his tongue in attempt to keep himself from saying anything stupid that could reveal his excitement about the new girl joining.

•

Friday came along quicker that expected and the group was already on their way to their little weekend trip. They were all bunched up in Stu's family van. His parents were conveniently out of town so he "borrowed it" for the weekend.

YN ended up sitting next to Billy after everyone argued about who would sit where and the boy was trying his hardest not to get his hands on her. "You comfortable?" Billy asked loud enough for her to hear as she closed the door. "Never better." She replied while she leaned back on the seat. Her exposed thigh brushed against his and she felt the boy tense up. She bit her lip in amusement and looked at him, smirking before looking out the window. Oh boy... new girl knew exactly what she was doing and it didn't go unnoticed by Billy or Stu who was looking at them through the rear view mirror.

•

"Why does it have to be me again?!" Randy complained. The group wanted him to test the water to see how cold it was but all he did was stand on the edge of the little wooden walkway and whine about how cold it was last time.

"Oh c'mon, it can't be that bad." YN said while taking her short black dress off. She had a bikini on that sat a little bit above her tits, exposing the perfect amount of under boob along with cheeky bottoms that barely covered her ass. The girls started to cheer and whistle at her in encouragement; "Yes girlie! You look hot as fuck!" Tatum said and Sidney agreed with her, taking her own clothes off and revealing a bright red colored bikini. Tatum had a yellow one on that exposed just as much under boob as the new girl's did, maybe a bit more. The boys stood there looking at them like hungry dogs before they cheered them on. Billy however just sported a smirk and followed the girls with his eyes taking an extra peek at YN's tits bouncing while she ran and jumped into the lake.

"It's not that cold guys, c'mon!" Sidney encouraged and Randy jumped in without hesitating.

"You gonna be able to keep it in your pants big boy?" Stu said loud enough for Billy to hear. "Shut up asshole, speak for yourself." He responded and looked at Stu's crotch before jumping in. Stu looked at his trunks and noticed his hard on was visible and jumped in quickly before muttering "Fuck."

•

The day was filled with fun, laughs and picking on Randy. It was unlike any other cabin weekend thanks to the new girl. She was cute, funny, a flirt and totally into Billy and Stu. At least that's what the boys were convincing themselves of with every little word and look she gave them. She was hard to read, Billy found, but that made it all the more fun for him.

The group were now sitting around a fire pit, talking about previous school crushes and other adventures. "So, who was your first kiss?" Tatum asked YN as she took a drag from the blunt they were passing around.

"It wasn't a big deal. We were best friends back in middle school, she was a pretty good kisser though." YN replied, taking a quick drag and passing it to Sidney who politely declined.

"Wait, she?!" Randy questioned in shock, choking on his beer along the way.

YN laughed at his exaggerated reaction and bit her lip; "Yes she, I'm bisexual, idiot." She replied while rolling her eyes playfully.

"Hot! I dare you to kiss Tatum!" Stu said rather loudly, earning a smack on his shoulder from his girlfriend. "Don't be an asshole, Stu!"

"What?! I was joking!" -- "No you weren't. Typical." YN replied and smirked at him knowingly. It's not the first time YN has heard those comments. At this point she calls the person out and brushes it off. That being said, she wouldn't mind kissing Tate at all, she's hot too just like her boyfriend.

Everyone laughed at Stu being called out, then continued talking, smoking weed and drinking alcohol around the fire. YN hadn't had this much fun in a long time and she intended on making the best out of that weekend.

•

After what seemed like hours of conversation, Billy, Stu, Tatum and YN were high as kites, Randy and Sid were drunk, and half of the group was nearly to the point of passing out and falling asleep for at least 12 hours that night. However, YN had other plans.

"I'm gonna go take a walk." She said, and Tatum gasped in surprise; "Alone in the woods, YN? Are you crazy! You can get killed!" the girl practically screamed and the new girl laughed; "It's okay babe, i'll be fine. Maybe I do wanna encounter a slasher, who knows..." She joked and stood up.

"YN, maybe you should take someone with you. It's seriously not safe, especially with the ghost face killings." Sidney said.

Billy and Stu looked at each other knowingly before anyone else spoke.

"I'll go with you. I need a breather myself." Billy said and smirked at Stu subtly before walking away with YN.

•

"So, you're actually not freaked about the possibility of you getting killed by ghost face?" Billy asked YN and she laughed before responding; "Not really, he clearly has targets and I highly doubt I'm one of them. Besides, I'd probably wanna fuck him instead of being scared."

Billy was amused at her response. If only she knew. "Is that so? You have a thing for slashers then?" He asked and she chuckled, a flirty tone to her voice. "Maybe, do you?" She asked him jokingly. "Nah, I'd say I have a thing for victims." At his answer YN slowed down her pace. His answer didn't exactly scare her but it did take her by surprise.

Billy turned around to face her as they both stopped walking. "What?" He asked, a slight seriousness coating his voice. YN looked down and bit her lip before looking him in the eye for God knows the number of times that day.

"Are you hinting at something, Loomis?" She asked him and the boy took a few steps forward leaving a few inches away between them. "Did it sound like I am? Or do you want me to be hinting at something?" He responded. Smooth.

YN looked up at him and chuckled, not knowing what to say at that point. She was too high to think about any coherent answer, especially with a guy that hot in front of her who was clearly looking to get freaky in the middle of the woods.

"Maybe..." Billy started, placing his left hand on YN's hip; "...I'm hinting at something like this." He spoke his final words before kissing YN slowly. They made out at the slowest most intense way you could imagine. Their tongues danced with each other and YN exhaled little whimpers into his mouth. He loved her little noises and couldn't help but grab both her hips and squeeze the flesh. As they continued kissing, Billy moved his hands to her ass and squeezed it before running his hands up her body and squeezing her tits that were threatening to pop out of her bikini top.

Billy took a few steps forward and pushed YN against a tree trunk, pressing himself against her while deepening the kiss. The girl sneaked her hand down his lower body and gave his throbbing dick a firm squeeze, moaning at the feeling.

YN didn't really care that he had a girl, if anything she would've done the same with her if given the chance, plus she was too high to make sense of anything so she just went with it.

YN pulled the string at the front of Billy's black swimsuit and kneeled in front of him but before she could pull his dick out they both heard the crunching of foot steps, and the girl stood up quickly.

"Well fuck, you guys started without me?" Stu said and appeared from behind the large tree she was against. "Thank's for ruining the mood, asshole" Billy said sarcastically, not even bothering to tie his pants back in place.

"Oh c'mon Billy, aren't you gonna share your meal?" -- "I sure wouldn't mind that." YN followed Stu's words and chuckled at herself. She was so high that this whole situation seemed more amusing than it would've been if she had been sober.

Billy looked at her in mild surprise and smirked, raising an eyebrow before kissing her again. Stu walked towards them and moved YN forward, Billy pulling her forward as well to allow Stu to lean against the tree, her ass pressed against his hard cock. They moved swiftly, as if they had done this countless times before... And they have.

Stu wrapped his arms around YN and pulled her bikini top down, exposing her perfect tits to Billy who started to play with her nipples while deepening the kiss. Stu sneaked his hand up her black skirt and untied her bikini bottoms, letting it fall between her legs. The boy didn't waste anymore time and started to rub YN's clit expertly. She let out hushed moans into Billy's mouth while reaching between her legs, moving Stu's fingers towards her entrance and he knew exactly what she wanted. As if on command he finger fucked her all while Billy was pinching her nipples and kissing her neck.

YN was so impossibly aroused, mostly because of the weed, but having these two hot idiots touching her like this made her feel as if she were in heaven.

"Mm, fuck me... Both of you." She said and the boys quickly stopped their movements and pulled their pants down just enough to release their dicks. YN wrapped her legs around Billy and he picked her up pushing her against Stu in order for them to line up their cocks to her cunt. She was so soaking wet they both slipped in easily. The stretch felt so delicious that she couldn't contain her moans.

Billy and Stu pounded into her like wild animals, breathing heavy and grabbing her steady.

"Fuck... You feel so good..." Billy whispered and YN wasn't sure if he meant her or Stu rubbing his cock against his friends. Either way it was hot as fuck and YN was going to cum any second. The boys were close behind, thrusting out of unison, moaning and groaning. It was music to YN's ears.

"I'm close... Fuck, I'm so close..." The girl moaned as she squeezed around both of their dicks. Billy and Stu couldn't say anything at that point up until they all came at the same time.

They filled YN up so much that their combined juices dripped on the ground.

Once they all caught their breath's, Billy placed YN down on her feet and stabled her. The girl nearly fell from how hard the two fucked her.

"Damn, did we really fucked you that good new girl?" Stu said from behind her.

"Oh, shut up." She answered before getting dressed along with the boys and returning to the cabin as if nothing had happened.

-

Extra detail for fun: I found this pic scrolling through Tumblr last night and it's exactly how I imagine readers'hair! 🖤

(Picture not mine. If anyone knows the owner lmk so I can credit. Thank you!)

[thedarlingdearestdead]

Piloting:

Summary: You are an innocent padawan just trying to get some flying experience. Anakin gets quite close and personal... P2 here!

Warnings: None, kissing.

Word count: 1,470

The control room was buzzing with energy, the action hadn’t begun yet, in fact you had barely entered deep space. That didn’t stop the round chamber being filled with voices, nervous and excited all at once. It was a diplomatic mission but with some high profile guests. And one very high profile, up and coming Jedi. Anakin Skywalker was in charge of escorting the ships path to Alderaan. It was a new starship, one of the first of its kind in the entire galaxy. It was kind of a big deal. You supposed that was why it got such an infamous man as its a protector.

Your own master had remained of Courasant, giving you this mission was a part of your pilots training. You were one of many people charged with flying the large ship, all sitting before a large globe-like window at the front of the vessel. It was beautiful. 

Not that you were getting much of a look outside. Indeed, the information which was being processed on your holo in front of you was almost too much for you, flying down the page at a million miles per second, you could barely look up. Trying to type, do calculations and stay updated on the latest feed all at once, you barely recognised the change in atmosphere. 

But then, a sudden silence fell over the room. You finally looked up from your holo to see what had caused it, and that's when you saw him. Just at your flank, an intimidating figure in black, messy curly hair, bright blue eyes. He had an eager grin on his face as he looked around the large cockpit. 

Anakin walked down the stairs in the centre to talk to the captain, his voice was quiet but animated, though his posture was reserved- most likely aware that he was being watched by the rest of the room. 

Your eyes flicker down to your work as he continues his conversation, trying not to get distracted from your task. It was already bad enough being on battlefields with him, surrounded by smoke and chaos. Here in a relatively quiet, well lit, stunning new room in the middle of outer space, you could feel his presence becoming an issue. 

He claps the captain on the back congenially and walks back up the rows of seated crew, surveying various screen and rapturously taking in the information. Anakin loved flying, stories of his landings were popular gossip among the other cadets that you often trained with.

You were sucked back into your work, tapping almost habitually now on your keyboard and zoning out, focused completely on the numbers in front of you. That’s when you feel a shadow on your left. General Skywalker had made his way to your section of the long desk and was scanning your holo even as you worked. He leaned in closer. Then closer still. You jolted as one of his hands went to the back of your chair, the metal one, and the other lay on your desk. He was practically crouching over the surface, overcrowding your space entirely. 

You couldn’t breathe. And you couldn't deny the thrill that ran down your spine at his proximity.

"Is everything running smoothly, L/N“ His voice was low, curious and amused, he could clearly sense the effect he was having on you. 

You swallowed hard, trying desperately to focus on the task at hand. "Yes, sir," you managed to reply, hoping your voice didn't betray the flutter in your stomach.

Anakin chuckled, the sound deep and rich. "Relax, pilot. We're not in the middle of a battle. There's no need to be so tense."

You forced yourself to take a deep breath, trying to calm your racing heart. But it was difficult with Anakin so close, his scent enveloping you - a mixture of metal and leather and something distinctly, dangerously, male.

You tried to ignore the proximity, but the warmth of his body radiating behind you was making it difficult to concentrate. Anakin's breath tickled the shell of your ear as he leaned even closer to look at your screen. His metal hand grazed your shoulder as he pointed at something on the display, sending shivers down your spine.

"Is that the trajectory for the hyperdrive jump?" he asked, his voice confident and clear in the echoing hangar.

You nodded, trying to keep your focus on the screen. It was hard to keep your composure with Anakin so close. You could smell the spicy cologne he wore, and it was intoxicating.

"Good work," Anakin praised, nodding at you and looking you in your stunned eyes.

But it passed so suddenly and he was looking out on the entire crew now, “Good work all of you. Looks like it’ll be smooth sailing from here.”

The tension in your body dissipated as Anakin walked away, but you couldn't shake the feeling of his warm breath on your neck. You tried to push the sensation out of your mind and focus on your work, but it was no use. The rest of the journey felt endless, your mind constantly wandering to the magnetic presence of Anakin Skywalker.

When the ship finally arrived at Alderaan, you couldn't help but feel relieved that the journey was over. You quickly gathered your things and made your way out of the cockpit, eager to finally get some fresh air, recuperate your composure and energy for the flight back in a couple of days. You were staying on planet for the weekend before being due back at the Temple. But as you stepped out of the ship, you were met with a surprising sight.

Anakin was waiting there, leaning against the side of the ship, his arms crossed over his chest. He looked up as you approached, his eyes immediately locking onto yours. You felt your cheeks flush as you tried to keep calm. Your grip tightened on your bag and you nodded at him in greeting, silently praying that he would let you leave. 

But Anakin didn't falter, instead he pushed himself off the ship and walked towards you, his eyes never leaving yours. You couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by him as he approached, his imposing figure towering over you. He stopped just inches away from you, his eyes scanning your face as if searching for something.

"You did well on the flight," he said, his voice low and husky. "I was impressed. Your master speaks very highly of you"

Your heart skipped a beat at his compliment, but you tried to remain passive. "Thank you, sir," you replied, keeping your voice steady. 

“It’s an amazing opportunity working on big ships like this one, and for her maiden voyage…” His voice is fond as he looks back at the ship behind you two. “Though I couldn’t help feel you were slightly distracted at one point.”

“Sir?”

He comes in closer to you, bending down, mouth right next to your ear. ”Did my presence make you nervous?"

You swallowed hard, feeling a blush creeping up your neck. “You have a way of... commanding attention.”

Anakin straightened up slightly, his eyes locking onto yours. "I can't help it," he admitted, a playful glint in his eyes. 

“You didn’t have to get so close.”

“I really was checking the engine stats”

“And after?”

“Well… Then I suppose I was checking on you.”

You swallowed hard, feeling a rush of heat flood through your body.

Anakin's expression grew more serious as he leaned in once again, his warm breath ghosting over your cheek. "I can't deny that I'm drawn to you, L/N. There's something about you that I can't resist," he murmured, his voice low and gravelly.

Your heart was pounding in your chest as a million thoughts raced through your mind. You couldn't believe that the legendary Anakin Skywalker was showing interest in you, a padawan. 

Before you could even process what was happening, Anakin's lips were on yours, kissing you hard and possessively. You moaned into the kiss, your body responding instinctively to his touch. His metal hand slid down your back, pulling you closer to him as he continued to kiss you with a hunger that took your breath away.

For a moment, you forgot where you were, lost in the sensation of his lips on yours. But then you pulled back, gasping for air.

"I couldn't help myself," he whispered, his lips brushing against your earlobe. 

You pulled back further, your hands still clutching your bag. "We can't, not here. Not now," you blurted.

”I know," he replied softly, taking a step back. “We have all weekend though.” He picks up your bag which you had dropped in the moment of passion and carries it towards the doors in an obvious sign for you to follow. Gobsmacked, you do. 

[artemismoorea03]

Ok, but for your amusement, might I suggest:

Tucker decides Danny needs a break and a shot at a love life. Tucker blackmails Danny into ATTENDING (though he makes the mistake of not specifying for how long) and Danny runs into a bored Wayne kid. Neither want to be there. Both were blackmailed with the kindest intentions. Both decide to team up to make their well-meaning but obnoxious meddlers pay.

I MIGHT HAVE GONE A LITTLE CRAZY WITH A REPLY HOLY FUCK, I'M SO SORRY. WARNINGS FOR THE END: MENTIONS OF GUNS, THREATS OF VIOLENCE, VIOLENCE. Happy ending <3

"Danny, you need a break." Tucker said, and Danny sighed.

"This again? Guys, I'm fine."

"You're not fine, Danny." Sam insisted, standing next to Tucker. She had originally struck up this conversation when they were still in Amity Park. "You're going through a lot right now and you need a distraction that isn't work or ghost related. Gardening didn't work-" Because he froze every plant he touched, "Meditation didn't work-" because when he closed his eyes and tried to relax he would have flashbacks about the countless things he'd seen since the accident. "So the next step is dating."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Hard pass."

"Come on dude, Sam is right. If nothing else you can at least do some people watching and get to know the city better!"

Danny simply continued to scroll on Tiktok, wondering how hard it would be to do one of those dancing videos he saw everywhere. Then again he'd actually need to know how to dance for that to work. He was so busy looking at the video he didn't notice the glance his friends passed between each other before they sighed.

"You've given us no choice, Danny." Sam said, "Tucker."

Tucker held a phone out to Danny to make him see the screen as Danny's face burned red at the picture. It was a picture of him in his Phantom form after a fight with Skulker where a good chunk of his suit had been destroyed, showing off more than Danny was comfortable with.

"DUDE! I told you to delete that!" Danny said, jumping off the couch towards Tucker who was pulled out of the way by Sam who then armed herself with a frying pan. "Delete it, guys!"

"No way! And if you don't at least get out of this house and at least make a friend I'm going to make a Phantom Dating Profile using this picture!"

"You wouldn't dare." Danny glared.

"Try us." Sam said, "We'll even send it through the Ghost Zone now that the Phantom Phones are working we're bound to get some replies from interested ladies."

Danny faultered, then groaned. "Fine."

"Hell yeah, we even made it easy for you." Sam said, handing Danny a piece of laminated plastic. "One ticket to the Wayne Gala this weekend. Tucker got permission for two people to go with him. Which means the three of us are going to a party!"

"A party. A Wayne run party? You guys are just begging for trouble." Danny sighed, "Besides, I don't own a tux, remember?"

"Leave that to me."

Two days later the party arrived and the three of them walked up the drive towards the building where the event was being held.

Sam was wearing a beautiful A-Line dress that was jet black in color with a rose shaped black bracelet that was wrapped around her wrist over the back of her hand and connected to her middle finger.

Tucker was wearing a black suit with a white button up shirt with slight rose shaped patterns on it, a black tie and a thin gold chain connected to his left vest pocket. he looked very sofisticated.

Danny felt like a fool though. Silently wishing he had never let Sam pick out his clothes. He was wearing a white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, exposing the black compression sleeve on his left hand, a gray vest, black suit pants, black shoes and a black tie. He was wearing a silver watch on his right hand which served as a ghost portal maker in emergencies.

He also knew that the 'pocket watch' in Tucker's Pocket was the same kind of device, and the rose Sam was wearing would release harmless smoke out of it if they needed a distraction.

Danny still felt like this was a bad idea. No, actually, this was a terrible idea. Not only because he looked out of place compared to his friends but compared to the rest of the party he hardly seemed like he fit in. He was going to draw so much attention to himself.

They walked to the front doors, showing their invitations and id's to the guards before walking inside. It wasn't as loud as some other parties they'd seen since coming to Gotham but it also was more crowded. There were people everywhere in expensive outfits, talking about... something that sounded like rich person gossip, it was boring.

"Have fun you two, don't make fools out of yourselves." Sam said, waving as she walked over to mingle with a young woman with blonde hair and another girl with short black hair, both seemed to recognize her.

"Oh, hey those guys are from my team, I'll catch you later, Danny. I wanna talk shop." Tucker said, rushing off just as quickly as Sam did as Danny sighed.

'I wanna go home.' He thought as he began to wade through the sea of people, trying to find his way to a wall where he could make himself look as small as possible. Not that it would be hard, his body was so busy developing new powers all the time it had decided that he didn't need to grow anymore after he turned 16 and stuck him at a solid 5'6".

He finally found his way to a corner, letting out a sigh as he sat down on a chair and looked out at the party happening all around him. He started to subconsciously count the people in the room, even going so far as to closed his eyes and sensed the very souls in the room. 56 people in his room, 17 in the room Sam was in, 10 upstairs. Danny then opened his eyes and got a sense for the room in another way. 45 windows lined the entire South side of the building if he was going his math right, with two sets of double doors near the front of the building. The building was mostly open floorplan which helped keep an eye on everybody but in an emergency it would be a stampede.

A man walked over, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall with a growl. He was wearing clothes similar to Danny's but with a red shirt, but what caught Danny's attention was how he felt. He was luminal but not like Sam who felt like a walk through the garden or Tucker who felt like gritty sand, no the feeling that came from this man was like fire. A burning pain that also felt like grease stuck to the back of Danny's throat.

He was luminal but the ectoplasm that made him luminal was so fucking tainted that it made Danny want to gag.

Seeming to notice Danny's glance the man looked back at him.

"What?" He growled.

"Nothing, just thought your hair was cool." Danny said, noting the white streak at the front of his bangs.

The man blinked, touching his hair. He was about Danny's age if he had to guess, maybe a bit older.

"Thanks. It's a birthmark." He grumbled, but Danny could tell that it was probably a sore subject. If death turned his hair white he could only assume it did the same to this guy too. "What's your name kid? Never seen you at one of these boring as parties."

"Danny. Danny Fenton. And I'm not a kid, I'm 19."

"Same age as me, neat. The name's Jason." Jason introduced, himself. "You work at Wayne Enterprises?"

"Kinda, I'm just the janitor, my friend was the one who was invited. I'm just one of his plus ones."

"Yikes, what'd you do to deserve a punishment like that?" Jason asked as Danny laughed.

"My friends decided that going to work then living as some kind of godless cryptid that sleeps the rest of the day 'isn't healthy' so they dragged me out here in hopes that I'll make friends. Though they may have heavily implied that they expected me to either find a date or hook up with somebody while I was here. When I said no, they blackmailed me here. I'm just hoping that if I stay small and don't complain then they'll just let me exist without getting in my face for a while. What about you, what are you in for?"

Jason hummed and nodded, "Similar story. My dad and siblings are all here and said that if I didn't at least make an appearance this time that they would hide some of my books. Among other things. Plus my older brother used the whole 'you never spend time with us' whimper while my two sisters gave me puppy dog eyes."

Danny and Jason sighed before Danny looked at him. "Wanna hang out so they think we're playing nice and leave us alone?"

"Sure." Jason chuckled, "So which ones are your friends?"

"That one there." Danny said pointing to Tucker, "Tucker Foley, he works as a Programmer at WE. Then over there is Sam Mason, she works as a Gardener."

Jason's eyes widened, "Doesn't your friend Sam work at the Wayne Manor?"

"Yeah? How do you know that?"

"My dad is Bruce Wayne." He said, his eyes going to Tucker before they landed back on Danny and he laughed. "Wait. You're that Janitor?"

Danny swallowed a lump in his throat. "I don't understand?"

"My dad came home one day and said that somebody told him that there was information happening at Wayne Enterprises that was above his paygrade an we've been teasing him about it for weeks. Now every time he asks anything we reply with 'that's above your paygrade, Bruce'."

Danny groaned, his cheeks burning red. "Oh my god, I can't believe this. I didn't even mean to say that, I just panicked when he suddenly showed up in storage for no reason and caught me... uh... testing stuff."

"Testing stuff?" Jason asked as Danny nodded.

"Y-yeah. See, I work as a janitor because I didn't graduate high school and unlike Tucker I can't just breeze through school and show off my hacking skills to get a job. So I've been using some of the tech that gets thrown away to make something that would help me temporarily lift some of the fragile heavy objects around the building and place them harmlessly down so I can clean under them. But then Bruce caught me, I panicked and that was my reply." Danny was quick to explain, which wasn't a lie he was working on something like that but it was for the Ghost Zone to help him move some heavy things around his Lair and hold down things that often floated off for no damn reason.

"You know, that does explain a couple of things. I can't imagine your boss seeing you mess with tech would be a fun thing to explain. But... if you're so smart why didn't you graduate?"

Danny shook his head, "I'm not smart, I mean not like Tucker or Sam or my family. My sister is in Metropolis studying Psychology and is already a good way through her degree because she graduated a year early. Tucker and Sam graduated and are both working on getting degrees in something but nah, school just wasn't something I could do. Sitting behind a desk learning from a book isn't my thing. I'm better at using my hands, figuring stuff out on the fly, and trial and error shit."

Jason thought about this for a moment before he smiled. "I don't blame you, school is bullshit. Just like stupid galas."

"Mhm..."

Jason suddenly smiled, "Dude, I have the best idea to get back at all of them."

Danny smiled back, "Oh, you have all of my attention."

That one choice was how Danny ended up leaning against a wall closer to the crowd while Jason loomed with one hand near his head, talking to him about absolutely nothing important just to play the position while Danny occasionally chuckled. To anybody outside of the conversation it was supposed to look like they were flirting, which in a way they were but they also weren't.

"Do you like raisins? How about a date?"

Danny chuckled, at the horrible pickup line. "Excuse me, sir, do you have the time? I would like to know the exact time when I got a crush on you."

Jason snorted, "Are you a magnet? Because you sure are attracting to me."

Noticing Tucker and Sam looking his way Danny reached up and gently touched Jason's black tie to sell it more, but he was careful not to touch Jason otherwise. "Let's flip a coin." He told the taller man, "Heads I'm yours, tails you're mine."

Jason's cheek got ever so slightly red as he cleared his throat. "Are you a parking ticket, because you've got fine written all over you." He said as Danny chuckled again, watching Sam and Tucker quickly walk away to give Danny privacy.

"If you were a vegetable you'd be a cute-cumber."

Jason relaxed again at the cheesy flirt as Danny touched the silk tie in his hands. Not because he was actively trying to flirt with Jason but because it felt really nice and expensive. Jason snapped him out of his thoughts with another flirt. "Do you believe in love at first sight, or shall I walk by again?"

Before Danny could think of another flirt another man walked over, this one about 24 or so in age. He had wavy black hair and blue eyes with tan skin.

"Little Wing! Who's your friend?"

"Ugh." Jason groaned, moving slightly as Danny let go of his tie. "Take a hint, Dickie-Bird." He groaned.

The new person simply ignored Jason though and held out his hand.

"Hi! I'm Dick, Jason's older brother."

Danny shook his hand, "Danny. Danny Fenton, it's nice to meet you."

"You too, Danny! You look a little young to be working at WE, are you here with somebody?"

"A bit of both, I'm a janitor at WE but I'm here with my friend Tucker."

"Really? That's awesome! How old are you, Danny?"

"I'm 19."

This seemed to relieve Dick in a way that confirmed any suspicion that Danny had about him checking to make sure Jason wasn't doing anything illegal though he found himself ever so slightly annoyed. Did he look that young? No, people were just blind.

"Neat! Well, I just wanted to make sure Little Wing here didn't ditch the party, so I'll let you guys go back to what you were doing. Have fun~" He said, then walked away as Danny chuckled and looked at Jason.

"'Little Wing'?"

"Dick gives everybody nicknames, it's stupid. Now, where were we?" He asked, suddenly slamming his hand back by Danny's head as his cheeks grew warm. "Oh, that's right, I was going to out cheese you with these stupid fuckin' flirts."

Danny snorted, "Do you play soccer? Because you look like a keeper."

"I'm studying to be a historian. I'm really interested in finding a date."

This continued for a long time until they ran out of flirts and by that point Bruce Wayne was about to do a speech. At least that was the plan until suddenly the doors slammed open as party was crashed by a large group of people all wearing matching masks. Masks that looked like Ghostface from Scream.

There were at least twenty of them, all heavily armed with guns that they fired into the air. Jason cursed and Danny quickly grabbed him by the arm.

"Don't." He said, looking for Sam and Tucker who were trapped on the other side of the room. They were separated, they were in a large room but with so many people they might have been trapped in a hallway. "Where's your family?"

Jason looked around, "I see my dad and youngest brother. My two sisters are with your friend Sam. I don't see the other three though."

Danny shook off the question of 'just many of you are there' and instead nodded. "Okay, my friends are together too. So we should stick together, everybody else is in groups. Rushing anywhere now might start a stampede."

Jason frowned then glared at the criminals who were pointing their guns at everybody.

"Okay~ I think it's time we get this party started. Now, let's make this easy. If you don't actively work at Wayne Enterprises or aren't related to Wayne Family via blood or adoption get on your stomachs on the ground, the rest of you stay on your feet."

"They're looking for somebody..." Jason mumbled as Danny nodded.

The majority of the crowd laid down while only about a third of the crowd remained standing allowing them to see each individual person.

"Very good!" The criminal in charge praised and looked around. "Now, anybody who makes the wrong move will get one of the people laying on the ground killed. I know a lot of you are stupid enough to try to play heroes so instead of you getting shot we'll shoot whoever is closest to us."

"Shit." Danny and Jason both said together before passing a glance at one another.

The one in charge looked around again until he looked at Danny and pointed at him. "You. Step up."

"No way." Jason said as the man pointed a gun at a young woman who sobbed in fear.

"No no, it's okay. I'm coming." Danny said, patting Jason's arm as he walked carefully through the crowd towards the gunmen.

"Nice to see you again, brat." Hissed the man as Danny raised a brow. Before he could question it though the man pointed to Bruce Wayne. "You. Step up."

"Father." The young kid standing next to Bruce Wayne said going to argue but Bruce just told him to stay put then walked towards them. Bruce kept his hands up, looking at Danny with a clear look of recognition.

"Why don't you let the kids go, there's not a lot of them but those who are here don't need to be involved in whatever demands you have." Bruce said.

"Hah, no way, Bruice-Boy." Hissed the man as two of his men grabbed Bruce by his wrists, yanking his arms behind his back and knocking him back down to his knees. "We came here today for you, but damn we're lucky that this one is here. See, if it weren't for the kid here-" The man grabbed Danny by the front of his suit, shoving the barrel against his chin. "We wouldn't need to do this. This is what happens when you meddle, brat."

Danny's heart sank before he glared. "It's you. You're that bastard who boke in a few weeks ago!"

"Yeah! And if you had just minded your damn business this wouldn't be happening now. If you had just let us do what we were going to do then it wouldn't be a problem."

"You were trying to burn down part of the building with people still inside, I wasn't going to let you."

"And how is that turning out for you now, brat? Hm?" He moved the gun from Danny's chin as shoved Danny back into the arms of two more men who grabbed Danny's arms and shoved them behind his back but let him stay on his feet. "Now, Mr. Wayne, let me explain. See, you and your company were trying to find a cure for something found in the water supply that was making some kids sick, but see were were making a lot of money selling the cure at the highest price. We were going to destroy your progress but unfortunately we were stopped by another kid who thought he was a hero. So, this is what we're going to do. You're good at fundraising so you're going to help us fundraise ransoms for each and every one of these people from their own pockets. The more a person pays the more limbs they get to keep. We'll start at 20,000 per limb." He pointed his gun at Jason. "We'll start with the young man closest to doing something stupid."

Danny growled, glancing at Sam and Tucker. Their eyes met and Danny flashed them green. Sam nodded then with a swift motion told her friends something before smashing her bracelet on the ground.

In an instant their area filled with smoke that rushed out covering the men with smoke and protecting the majority of the crowd laying on the ground in a layer of smoke while only those standing could be seen. Danny reacted as well, knowing that more people would be able to see him . Dropping his full weight down he yanked the two men holding him together as they smashed their heads together and let him go. Danny then elbowed the one to his right in the crotch before standing up, grabbing the barrel of his gun and yanking it upwards, squeezing the metal so the gun would be unusable before he pulled it from the mans hand. Flipping on the safety of the gun he spun it and smacked the man in the temple with the butt.

Danny spun the gun, moving it to his left hand before disarming the man of his gun and kicking it into the smoke in the direction of the stairs in hopes of keeping it away from people. Snapping out of their dazes Bruce and Jason also seemed to react as Bruce slammed his head back, breaking the nose of one of the men before elbowing one in the center of the chest knocking the breath out of him while Jason grabbed the barrel of the gun the main guy was using and shoved it up, causing the gun to go up and break some of the ceiling plaster but preventing people from getting hit. Deciding to leave those men to those two Danny go to work again, but this time in a slightly different way.

He hated fighting humans.

They were too fleshy and not durable like ghosts so he chose not to fight and the smoke provided the perfect cover as he froze the feet of the enemies who were still posing threats while mysterious snake like shapes wriggled under the smoke and yanked the men under to where they would later be found wrapped up in plants or ice. One by one the men were taken down until there was a pained cry that made Danny turn when he heard Bruce shout.

"Jason!"

Danny turned, seeing Jason rubbing at his face. There as a cut above his brows from a knife. He had managed to get the gun from the man but he had pulled out a knife.

Protect.

Danny snarled, taking a step forward as the man went to stab Jason. Danny and Bruce moved at the same time with Bruce covering his son. But Danny made it to them before the man could make contact and he got in the way of the attack. Danny held the wrists of the man as he barred his teeth.

Danny shoved the mans hands upwards, knocking him back slightly before he spun and did a roundhouse kick. An attack that he might have put just a bit too much power into as the man was thrown a good ten feet backwards towards the stairs and the doors that he had broken down. Danny could hear the man wheezing and coughing, seeing him flailing desperately under the smoke but not getting up.

No sooner did Danny relax and turn back to the Bruce and Jason then did Batman (who seemed shorter today for some reason), Red Robin and Signal showed up with the police and a verity of confused looks.

"You sure you're okay?" Danny asked Jason who nodded, his forehead bandaged.

"Just a scratch, headwounds bleed a lot. I'm more confused what the hell just happened. Normally the bats react more quickly than that when they send in a smoke screen."

Danny chuckled, "You have a lot of experiences with the bats?"

"I'm a Wayne, it comes with the territory. Are your friends okay?" He asked as Danny looked towards Sam and Tucker who were mostly just waiting for Danny to finish but Tucker was also hacking on his phone to erase whatever data he could from the security cameras as he possibly could.

"They're fine. I'm going to get an earful for being reckless though."

"I don't think you were reckless. But... how did you learn to fight like that?"

"Uh... long story. Where we come from though the saying 'fight or die' was serious and there were daily reminders of it. But again... long story."

Jason nodded, looking drained. "Well... I know that this whole thing was just a way to get our groups off of our backs but how would you like to get dinner together some day? Just as friends, I mean I'm not against maybe trying some day but right now I kinda wanna get to know you. Besides, I'd like to thank you for protecting me and my dad."

Danny thought for a moment before he smiled. "Sure." He reached into his pocket and handed Jason his phone. Jason typed in his number then handed the phone back. "Get home safe, Jason."

"You too, Danny."

Danny started walking away when Bruce suddenly called out.

"Danny." Danny stopped and turned towards his boss, shrinking down slightly before Bruce smiled and put his hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"All good."

"Are you sure? You did really well out there but if you're hurt you should get looked out."

"I'm not hurt, Mr. Wayne, I promise. Just really tired."

"Alright, if you're sure." Bruce moved his hand and smiled, "Thanks for saving us, Danny."

"Any time, Mr. Wayne, but let's not make a habit out of it, okay? I moved to Gotham to get away from craziness like that." He said, waving his hand as he walked to his friends as he wrapped his arms over both of their shoulders and they made their way home.

"So, you guys have fun?" Sam asked as Danny looked at her.

"You know what... kinda, yeah. At least until the end."

"Did you get his number?" Wondered Tucker.

"Of course I did."

[crangrapel0ver]

Sunburns and Silence

Caring!Katsuki Bakugo x fem reader.

Summary: Katsuki cares for you after you become effected by the drawbacks of your quirk. Once you go back to your normal self, he expresses how much he wants to take care of you; although you guys can't help but be interrupted by your well-intentioned friends.

Word count: 4,076

Tags: Caring!Katsuki Bakugo x fem reader, Bakugou cooking for reader, dealing with sunburns, heavy petting, and making out.

“Get in groups of three! we're doing a quirk exercise. Try to get with someone who's quirk doesn't suit yours. Two of the groups will have four people, not three.” Aizawa ordered while he led us to the middle of the arena. It was a similar arena to the one we were at for the sports festival, but it seemed to be a bit bigger without as many stands above. I look to my classmates to see who would be good for the exercise. Most of the groups had formed while I was taking in the arena, and there were only a few people left. Mina, Kaminari, and Sero had grouped together almost immediately. As did Todoroki, Midoriya, and Uraraka. Iida, Tsuyu, and Momo had paired together near Todoroki's group. The other groups were too far away for me to discern, but as far as I could tell, the only group left missing someone was Bakugou and Kirishima's group.

“Oi! Come on Airhead. You're with us sweetheart.” Bakugou snickered as if he was amused with the group. He waved me over with two fingers and I quickly jogged over to him just like he beckoned. As I approached Kirishima turned from Mina's group and gave me a bright smile.

“You ready to win this (surname)?” Kirishima asked with a pat on my shoulders.

“Oh you know I am Kiri! I wonder what it is we'll actually be doing.” I grinned up at him while I looked over to Professor Aizawa. He was looking around with his hair pulled back in a bun to get the hair off of his neck. I understand why. The April heat makes my skin sticky. My own hair was pulled up out of the way. We were all in the school gym uniforms; although most of the students had rightfully ditched the jackets. Even in a thin white tank top, I could feel the sweat pooling on my forehead. I could tell the heat was getting to the boys as well, them having to wipe the sweat off their face.

We hadn't even started the exercise and the sun was already making us exhausted. I just hoped it would get over soon so we could go inside and get something to drink.

“Now that you all are in groups, go ahead and organize yourself at the edges of the arena. We're doing two groups at a time. you'll fight to try and grab each other's flag while protecting your own. You'll have fifteen minutes to get the opposing flag. The first group up is gonna be…” I zoned out as Aizawa drags on. His voice becomes a murmur as I look to the sky. There wasn't a cloud in sight, and the sun wasn't getting any dimmer.

I flinch as a hand slaps my back. It's Katsuki. From the way Kirishima has already walked off, I assume we're to find a spot at the edge to watch. I wordlessly follow him as he finds Kirishima next to Mina, Kaminari, and Sero's group. The first two groups go to their flags and I take a seat against the arena walls to rest my feet. I can see Katsuki's watchful gaze out of the corner of my eye. I just watch the grass and try to not fall deeper into the murmuring of my friends' conversation. The heat isn't letting up anytime soon, and before I know it the first groups are done. I hear Aizawa call for the next two groups, but his words are lost on me. I haven't even used my quirk and already, I'm experiencing the drawbacks of exhaustion. I see a tall figure in front of me and before I can recognise I've put my hand out, Bakugou is pulling me up and telling me that I'll be staying with the flags. All I have to do is stop anyone who comes too close while he and Kirishima get the opposing team's flag. I have to try not to get lost in his ruby eyes while he tells me about the plan.

“You listening to me, Airhead?” He huffs, stirring me out of my stupor. I can see that Momo, Iida, and Tsuyu have already gotten ready for the match. I nod to him as confirmation while he squints at my silence. He lightly slaps my arm as a sendoff and he's off to get set with Kirishima. I can see them nod at each other while Aizawa counts off the match.

As soon as Aizawa says go, they're off in a flurry. I can barely make out what's happening when I see Iida coming my way. I stop him in his tracks just before he gets too close. I can tell he's fighting to get out of it, but I'm too focused on him for the hold to weaken.

Tsuyu is next passing around Bakugou and Kirishima and I can see her gearing up to snag the flag. I paralyze her where she stands and I can feel my concentration slipping. Iida is able to move slightly and he's about to break out completely when Kirishima makes his rounds back to our side. He manages to get Iida in his rock solid grasp before he can speed towards the flag. I still have Tsuyu stuck where she was before, but then I can almost feel my mind slipping away from me.

I know Bakugou will be aggravated if I don't protect the flag. He gave me the easiest job and I don't wanna let him or Kirishima down. I hear a muffled yell, but before I can look towards the sound Tsuyu is out of my hold and reaching for the flag. I'm able to push her away and temporarily stop her, but my hold is limited. she can't run towards it or reach for it, but she's still able to thrash her body around. I can only afford to focus on her if I want to keep the paralysis. I can see Kirishima and Iida fighting somewhere near our flag. I just keep repeating Pause! Pause! Pause! I could see Tsuyu slowly moving out of my hold and I couldn't stop her.

I couldn't do anything. It was as if I was quirkless. It felt as though my quirk was being used against me. I just looked at Tsuyu's movements to grab the flag, only to be stopped by Kiri.

“Bakugou retrieved Yaomomo's flag. Bakugou's team wins.” I can hear Aizawa's voice somewhere behind me in the arena. I saw Kirishima helping up Tsuyu from the ground. I wanted to move to ask if she was okay, but I couldn't seem to move towards her. I can see Katsuki walking up to me, passing Kirishima, Iida, and Tsuyu. I can only look at him, as he says something. He's probably teasing about not being able to keep my quirk to hold them down. I can see him squinting at me like he always does when he's upset with me.

“Did you hear me?” He asks with something lacing his tone. Is it concern or is he aggravated with me ignoring him? I nod at him slowly, not being able to move more than the subtle nod. He only sighs and grabs my elbow. His grip guiding me to the edge of the arena. Over to where the other groups sat. The sun is still beating down onto us. I can feel his calloused hand rubbing the inside of the forearm. One of his hands  holds mine and he rubs his thumb on the back of my hand. It's more gentle than I expect him to be, and I don't know what it's for. I'm just staring at him trying to find the strength to move my hands to hold his. I move my other hand over to his, but the ability to contract my hand is lost on me. I'm turned to face Katsuki, and I can hear Aizawa saying something about going back to the dorms for the rest of the day. I didn't make an effort to leave until Katsuki moved the hand holding mine to rest on my back. He lightly pushed me forward with his hand not leaving my back.

We're in the common room for class A and I'm sitting on the sofa chair that Katsuki put me in after I got back from my shower. It had taken me longer than most of the other students because I couldn't seem to open the door handles or move the shower nod. I struggled to close my hands around the soap to wash my face. I couldn't take my hair out of the ponytail it was put in this morning. When I arrived back downstairs, Katsuki stood up from the table in the living room. I could see him walk over to me and I didn't realize he was trying to lead me over to one of the chairs.

“What do you want to eat?” His warm hand grabbed my cold one, and I could've stayed in his hold forever. I look up at his ruby eyes and I can’t help but relax at his warm gaze. I frown at the question while just barely shaking my head. I don't know what I should eat right now. I can't imagine cooking in this state. The last time I tried to cook while I was like this I ended up burning my hand. Katsuki was so mad when he found me in the kitchen, clutching my bubbling hand. He simply huffed and pushed my hand under cold water while he took the pot off of the stovetop.

“You're not cooking like this. Not after you burnt yourself last time.” He snarled at the memory of me crying silently while cradling my hand. When it happened, I couldn't even yell or ask someone for help. I just silently looked up at him with my puppy dog eyes. I nod at Katsuki, and he just sighs and pulls away to walk to the kitchen. My eyes follow him and stay with him while he moves around to different shelves and cabinets. I see people shifting out of the corner of my eye, but I don't bother to check the movement. I only look over when Mina waves her hand slightly in front of my face. Mina and Kirishima are sitting on the couch next to my chair while Kaminari is crouching in front of me. He reaches to rub my hands with a gentle smile, but I can only glance at him before looking back over to Katsuki. When I glance over, I meet his eyes and he only nods at me then goes back to cooking. I'm pulled back to Kaminari when he squeezes my hand. He asks me if I'm doing alright and I can only stare while he frowns at the blank expression on my face. He glances over to Mina and Kirishima while making a concerned face, glancing at me with a head tilt. I blink slowly and look over to where Katsuki was, but he's gone. My brows furrow as I slowly look around to find him. 

I'm pulled out of my silent concern when he appears in front of me, ushering Kaminari out of the way. He sits on the coffee table in front of me and he looks between me and what he has in his hands. When he moves his hand to my face, I look at his hand not knowing what he's doing. He's holding a spoon. A spoon full of fried rice with small pieces of egg, peppers, and sausage. It's one of my favorite meals, but I didn't know Katsuki knew that. He ushers the spoon to my face again, and I think I know what he wants now. I open my mouth slightly and he puts the spoon in my mouth. He gives me time to chew it before he picks up a cup for me to drink. I've been parched since we went outside into the sun, but after the exercise I couldn't open the water bottle in my room. I tried at it for a couple minutes silently in my room before giving up and getting in the shower. I’m usually not able to move my hands and use small muscles when I’m exhausted like this. It’s like when you lose blood flow to a certain limb and it does to sleep. I lose it in most places which leaves me feeling hollow. Like my body doesn’t work anymore. 

I sometimes feel bad for people who are under my quirk if this is what they feel like. Your mind is slower and fuzzy. Your limbs might as well be absent because you can’t use them. You're helpless in your own body and you can do nothing but wait it out. Usually when I get like this, someone will drop me off at my room and I’ll sleep until I can feel again. On days like these, people don’t seem to notice my inability. They think I’m just tired, not that I’m being paralyzed by my own quirk. Unable to control my body or mind fully. Some people notice, but they don’t know how to help. Not that I could tell them what I need, I barely know what I need myself, but Katsuki never has to be told what I need. He always seems to know what to do without us needing to communicate my needs. 

Katsuki continues to spoon feed me the food he made for me, always so patient with me. The warmth of the food spreads through my cold body. I can hear Mina, Kirishima, and Kaminari gushing over the sweet action, but I can't seem to care. Their conversation continues on, but Katsuki doesn't add to it. He only focuses on me. One of the students on the other side of the room must’ve dropped something because a shattering sound startles me out of the solace Katsuki is giving me. A burst of voices and laughter flows throughout the room, killing the comfortable quiet that I was basking in. My facial expression only barely changes from the blank exhausted one to a slight curiosity. Katsuki doesn't follow my gaze over to the source of noise, he just stays looking at me with that expression I can never place. He taps my knee after a second of me observing their conversation, but when I don’t look back at him, he softly says my name. I look back over to him with a slow blink and soft sigh. 

“Are you feeling any better?” He asks with a hand rubbing my knee and lower thigh. The action is chaste, but It still warms my heart. I tilt my head and lightly lift my shoulders into a shrug. He continues to rub my leg as he looks over to the rest of the class which isn’t going to settle down any time soon. He picks up the bowl slightly to ask if I still want any and I just look away to the empty kitchen, still not being able to find my words. He understands my intention without it needing to be explained. He moves his hand from my thigh to grab my hand gently. He pulls me up slowly with him and takes me to the kitchen where he washes the dish, and I just stand where he left me.

Why is he so kind? For anyone else he would have just left them to deal with themselves. He would’ve scoffed if someone else had asked him to feed them. He’s always been a little gentler with me, but I assumed it was because he thought my blank state wouldn’t be able to handle his brash nature. 

I don’t notice when he stops doing the dishes until he's in front of me and putting his hand on my lower back. He ushers me to the elevator, and I spare him a glance when I notice he presses his floor number not mine. He rubs my back with his thumb, the warmth from his hand bleeding through my shirt. 

When the slow elevator pings and the doors open, I silently walk wherever Katsuki leads me. When I’m with him it’s easy to allow myself to shut off, knowing he will take care of me. He puts in the code to his door and when we get into his room he just points towards the bed. I sink down into the well made bed as he walks to get something. I grab one of his throw blankets and pull it around my shoulders. He’s gone for a couple minutes, and there's some shuffling in the bathroom where he went. When he leaves the bathroom he turns on his small heater and walks over to me. He has a container of clear gel in his hands. He sits the container next to me on the bed and reaches to pinch the material of the blanket between his fingers. 

“You gonna let me put this aloe vera on?��� I nod up at him, my tired gaze not leaving his ruby eyes. I pull the blanket off and the material rubs on my sunburnt shoulders that I hadn’t felt until now. The skin hadn’t been aggravated by my tank top, but the blanket seemed to set it off. Usually when I went to relax with Katsuki in his room, this was my favorite blanket. Claiming the soft blanket as my own whenever I was here, but now I wanted nothing to do with the itchy material. His lips tightened into a line when I winced, but it's relaxed whenever he let out a deep breath through his nose. He gently pulled my hair into a bun to keep it off my back.

He easily opened the container and began rubbing the gel into my red shoulders. My eyes close with a sigh as the cool gel eases the hot skin, and I can't help but smile softly. He puts a little bit of aloe on my forehead and cheeks. He spreads a thin layer of gel across the bridge of my nose. He wipes the last bit on the lid of the container, and when there's nothing left on his hands he moves to cup my jaw. His thumb rubbing the edge of my jawline that doesn’t have gel on it. I lean into the touch and he smiles at the small action. 

“That feel good? I thought you were gonna melt outside today.” He chuckled softly, but I only looked up at him. He planted his knees on the bed and bent down to be face to face with me. He glanced down at my lips and I leaned forward looking at his ruby eyes that were always softer when they looked at me. I licked my lips and his grip tightened on my jaw. He closed the gap and placed a gentle kiss on my lips. I kissed back as best as I could before he pulled away again. 

He had a fond look in his eyes when he looked at me, only inches away. I leaned closer to him again with my eyes closed, silently begging for another one. He granted my wish, this time with a deeper kiss. He moved to cup the back on my neck where there wasn’t any sunburn. His hands lacing through my hair while the other one wrapped around my waist. My hands rested on his muscular arms. He kissed me like I was air and he was drowning. He held me like I was never going to be in his arms again. He devoured me like he was starving. When he pulled away I looked into his rose colored eyes and he must've seen my dazed look. 

“Are you better now?” he asked, not letting me out of his hold just yet. I nodded at him and he gave me a skeptical look. 

“Thank you Katsuki. For everything.” I whispered with a quick kiss on his lips. I wasn’t completely back, but the numbness has subsided to a fuzzy feeling. Even though I’m still exhausted, it’s something I can manage now. 

“You don’t have to thank me for this. Someone has to take care of your ass.” He mumbled into my lips as he closed his eyes again and kissed me once more. His hands pulled me tighter to him before releasing and guiding me to lay against the bed. I moved to lace my hands through his hair as he explored underneath my tank top. He just barely grazed the underside of my boobs, and he kissed me a little harder realizing I don't have a bra on. He continued to kiss me with a warm passion until a knock startled us out of the makeout session. 

“Bakubro! Is (surname) in here? Mina went to check on her and she wasn’t in her room.” Kirishima asked from outside the door. Hopefully he hadn’t heard anything. If he saw us now, with puffy red lips and the aloe vera smeared on Katsuki’s face, he’d definitely know something was going on. Katsuki finally pulled his warm hands out of my shirt and walked over to the door. He opened it just enough for me to be blocked from Kirishima’s view. 

“Yeah, she’s in here. I just got her some aloe vera and she’s resting a bit before she goes to her room for the night.” Katsuki says with ease. It’s technically true, but Kirishima doesn’t need to know that our version of ‘resting’ was with Katsuki’s hands up my shirt and his tongue in my mouth. Kirishima seemed to hum in understanding and I see Katsuki freeze when Kirishima asks about why he has aloe vera on him as well. 

“Tch, I was a little sunburned also. Why are you being so nosey, Shitty hair?” He tried to defend, but Kirishima just chuckled as he patted Katsuki’s shoulder. He wasn’t believing a word that came out of Katsuki’s mouth and we all knew it. 

“Whatever you say, just remember we’re going out into town tomorrow morning. Try to make sure she actually gets some rest.” He grins and I’m sure he can see me from just behind the door. 

“I will, Shitty hair.” Katsuki mumbles as he looks back towards me. He says goodnight to Kirishima and Kirishima says goodnight to both of us with a boyish laugh. Katsuki shuts the door with a sigh and returns to the bed with a small grin. He gets back on the bed over me and pulls him into a slow kiss. Katsuki puts one of his hands on my exposed thigh and the other in my hair. This time I lace one of my hands through his hair and grip his arm with the other. He smiles into the kiss and I can’t help but smile as well. We break apart and he looks down at my lips before initiating another breathtaking kiss. I almost think I’m going crazy when another knock at the door sounds. Am I having deja vu? No, unfortunately there’s another person at the door. Katsuki groans as he’s forced to break the kiss and take his hands away from my soft skin once more. 

“Come on Bakugou! You can’t hide her away in here.” Mina yells through the door, and I can already imagine her stance. Her hands are probably on her hips, impatiently tapping her foot while waiting for Katsuki to open the door. When he does, Mina can clearly see the aggravation slipping onto his expression. “Don’t be so sour. I just wanted to check that she was feeling okay, but clearly she’s feeling more than okay right now.” she grinned slyly and I could feel the glare from Katsuki. She waved through the door past Katsuki and said goodnight as she walked off in the direction of Kirishima. 

There’s no way we're hearing the end of this tomorrow or anytime soon. I can’t seem to care as Katsuki falls back into the bed and pulls me onto his chest. Eventually the fuzziness of quirk exhaustion fades and Katsuki’s warmth encompasses me as I fall asleep on his chest. His warm hands wrapped around my waist and my thigh pulled up around his waist. My hands resting on his chest as his heart beats lull me into a quiet sleep.

[ninnosaurus]

the new professor

i just- i saw @khayalli well dressed donnie drawing and i just wanted to word vomit something that came to mind. I also wanted to practice writing short drabbles.

no beta, no editing, we die like men in here. look out for uh- spelling?

A murmur was buzzing in the lecture hall as you entered. Eyes scanning the room for a free seat that wasn't smack dab in the middle, you were not in the mood for "excuse me"s and "sorry"s and "just coming through"s. Finally, you settled on a seat on the far end of the hall.

Everyone seemed to be vibrating for some... reason you weren't sure about. You'd seen these people before, you've taken the class lots of times. You looked around before resorting to lean over to your right.

"Hey, why... is everyone so worked up? Do we have a test?"

"Hm? Oh, no. You haven't heard?"

You looked at your classmate, head most likely transforming into a question mark right then and there. You shook your head. "No... Heard what?"

"We're getting a new professor, today. Mrs. Larsson passed away in a car accident over the break."

Your entire being deflated like a tire. You liked Mrs. Larsson, you guys always exchanging both recipes and gossip. You made a mental note of sending a card to her family later this week.

Minutes passed. You leaned your cheek on one hand as the other was busy doodling. What broke you out of your zone was how the hall had suddenly gotten quiet. You looked up and saw the door was starting to open. Voices talking in a hushed tone. A chuckle. "Mhm"s. "Yeah"s.

Then he walked in. The door closing with a sssh and hiss at the end. You'd heard about the mutants. Four of them, apparently. Brothers. This must be one of them. He was... Tall. Broad shoulders covered in a knitted, royal purple sweater. Sleeves rolled, ending around the middle of his arms. Arms covered in scars, pinkbrown scars a stark contrast to the green hue that covered him. You tilted your head as you observed him move. Fluent, like water he moved. Long legs carrying him with style and grace. Like he was a human, and not at all bothered by the way people were whispering about him. He stopped by the desk in the front of you all. Leaning against it. Left hand supporting his weight as he sipped out of his mug. A golden watch sliding slightly down his arm. Coffee, probably. He looks like a coffee drinker. You thought to yourself.

Putting the mug down on the desk, he cleared his throat.

He smiled, like he'd been here for years and already knew all of you. "Good morning, class."

His voice, not too dark. If red wine could talk, it would have his voice. You couldn't explain it even if you tried. It just- made sense for you.

"I'm sorry you all have to meet me due to such unfortunate circumstances. I've been called in to... I don't like to use the word "replace", because I'm sure no one can replace Mrs. Larsson. I'm simply here to take over what would have been lost."

He walked to the whiteboard and picked up a marker, that too purple in color. It squeaked in the silence as he wrote. Perfect letters, in a perfect line.

"My name is Donatello Hamato. I'm not personally... big on being called Mr. Hamato, Donatello works just fine."

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

book 7 part 4 thoughts!!

***THIS POST CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR BOOK 7, PART 4 OF THE MAIN STORY!!***

Usually I would put this in bullet points, but I have so many thoughts that I have to format it as paragraphs. (If you’d like to watch a rough part-by-part summarized translation, please check out this archived stream!)

Please note: this is NOT meant to be a summary or a translation; these are only my initial thoughts on the events that unfold. There may be details overlooked or misunderstood in this post, so PLEASE do not use this as a translation.

LILIA'S SO DIFFERENT 🤡 His voice is deeper, and he speaks more gruffly. He definitely comes off as more combative and having disdain for humans. HE'S POPPING OFF ABOUT HOW BAD SILVER/SEBEK/GRIM ARE AT MAGIC??? Damn, what happened in the following years to make him change????

The contrast between current Lilia telling Silver "there's nothing left for me to teach you" and past Lilia being like, "there's nothing for me to teach you, are you trying to make fun of me?"

The human faction they're fighting at the moment are the Silver Owls!! There are also people who dress in iron (a metal which harms fae in irl mythology), I'm not sure if they are synonymous with the Silver Owls or not.

IHBFIOASBFIAADSI LORD, THE FAE SOLDIERS ARE ALL MIDDLE SCHOOL NEKO GIRLS HISSING AT US

AYO, SEBEK GRANDPA REVEAL????? ??? ? ? ????? BAL/BAAL/BAUL REAL, I CAN SEE WHERE SEBEK GETS HIS LOOKS AND HIS PERSONALITY FROM

Silver's asking to team up with Lilia and his group (Lilia was about to just leave them there because he's concerned with the Silver Owls setting up camp at the base of the mountain)? Bruh, book 1 we're calming down an angry classmate and book 7 is like, HEY KIDS LET'S TAKE A FIELD TRIP INTO AN ACTIVE WAR ZONE.

Silver's hoping to shock him awake via a fight, here comes a Sebek and Silver tag team battle!! RIP Lilia beats them up a little :v (Sebek. Don't fanboy over his strength, WE ARE FIGHTING FOR OUR LIVES HERE)

Oop, they disorient him with light and Lilia's mask off!! It's treated like a big reveal????? Sorry, but how does Yuu not notice this is Lilia automatically 😅

Lilia voice) you are not my son (and here you can hear Silver's heart breaking/j)

Oh boy, we get to be prisoners of war/j

NOT LILIA ASKING SILVER AND SEBEK HOW THEY KNOW HOW TO FIGHT SO WELL WHEN IT WAS LILIA WHO TRAINED THEM TO BEGIN WITH

"Fae don't go back on their word" AH SO THEY LIKE TO KEEP PROMISES EH

"May the night bless you" seems to be some kind of salute for nocturnal fae?

LOL Lilia's against being called a father OTL THE IRONY HERE IS SO STRONG

Not Sebek's grandpa telling them off for not showing Lilia respect and saying how great he is... Fanboy genes run in the family/j

DOES YUU STILL THINK THIS IS A PERIOD DRAMA OR SOMETHING

BAAL IS CALLING SEBEK A HUMAN KEK

BAL/BAAL/BAUL REAL DROPS THE CROC MASK???? ?? ?? ?? ? He's got SCALES instead of facial hair???? ???? ? ? Oh man, he reminds me so much of Seteth FE3H OTL The scales are a signature trait of the Zigvolt line! Sebek says his mom has the same scales.

NO NOT SEBEK HAVING TO CONFESS THAT HIS DAD BEING HUMAN, IS THIS THE START OF HIS CHARACTER ARC

LILIA TOLD BAAL TO BABYSIT US...

AW Sebek's so excited about seeing his grandpa in his prime... I'm happy seeing Sebek happy OTL

Lilia's dreaming about the past... I wonder if it's because he was thinking about his life and what he has achieved before leaving his loved ones with his legacy...

Lilia first got the invite to NRC 500 years ago??? So NRC has been around much longer than we expected.

Ahhhh, crap 🤡 The return of book 6 limited battles but now with a battle map. There is a new mechanic where HP carries over from each battle; if a card's HP gets knocked to 0, you cannot use them. (5 cards be restored at random if you get to a heart space on the battle map.)

SEBEK'S ACTING AS OUR OLD FAE SPEECH TRANSLATOR (He's throwing his own angry commentary in, which is hilarious)

The humans arrived on a boat ~100 years ago. Now they have a settlement in the east and are mining around Briar Valley + taking the fae's natural resources. (I think this is why Mystium, that shape-shifting magic green ore that Lilia's weapon is made of, is no longer as plentiful; it was likely mined into obscurity.)

Magical creatures are now coming down from the mountain and causing trouble in Briar villages; the fairies cannot handle all of this. Damn, this is just the plot to the first Shrek movie 😂 They're invading Shrek's swamp--

Oh, interesting! So there are different kinds of fae language (depending on the type of fae they are; think of the diurnal fae from Fairy Gala speaking in bell tinkles), but they infuse their voices with magic so they can understand one another. In modern Briar Valley, there is a common tongue. Omg, Sebek speaks it with his mom and grandma! BILINGUAL KING, HE'S SO PROUD OF HIMSELF... Silver tried to learn from Lilia, but he struggled with it; Sebek's dad had the same issue so the problem must be that human ears cannot pick up on the same range of sounds as fae ears can. This is true of real life as well; different creatures have different auditory thresholds and auditory detection ranges.

Bruh, not Lilia sending out literal children to fight for him on the battlefield...

Eh, new character named??? Some human soldiers are talking about Henrich?? Henrik??? Henric??? He's a commander of the Silver Owls who is conceited and dumps his work onto his subordinates. Errrr he apparently also has a little sister named Leia? Lea??? Leah???? Who is rumored to be in a relationship with someone called the Dawn Knight.

More interesting lore????? Kind of???? Some pixies (small fae) come and warn Lilia about something up ahead, then heal them too. This is notable since in Fairy Gala: What If, we learn that diurnal fae (which I believe pixies are) and nocturnal fae (which Lilia and Sebek appear to be) do not like each other. It seems they got along well enough in the past to confront a common enemy?

They reach a Silver Owl camp!! ... Aaand Lilia tells his soldiers to boot them out so they can take over the camp. I mean, it IS technically the fae's land to begin with, so. Uhhhh, yeah I think I'm with Lilia on this one 💦

I don't think iron affects fae negatively in Twisted Wonderland?? Lilia and co. are having no trouble fighting them even when the humans are clad in iron armor.

HMMMM they've named dropped a formidable person on the human side called the Dawn Knight (Lilia mentions them once, then the human soldiers do). The Dawn Knight is the captain of the Silver Owls and even Lilia considers them a strong opponent. Methinks they'll become a key player later...

OH NOOOO 😭 Sebek’s like, “let’s change this fate!!” but since it’s just a dream, reality won’t be altered at all… Then Sebek suggests just. Staying in the dream???? Which makes darkness spawn… The light from Silver’s ring thing (the trinket he got from Lilia as a sign that he is now a full fledged adult) protects them???

Silver fears the dream will tempt him to stay too 😭 He asks Yuu to snap him “awake” if it ever comes to that… Silver, sweet boy… OTL

NOT SILVER AND SEBEK JUMPING IN TO STOP LILIA FROM COOKING FOR THEM (Come to think of it, how have Lilia's soldiers survive this far with him cooking for them???? ?? ??? ?? ?? )

LILIA THINKING THEY'RE GOING TO POISON THEM, THAT'S SO JAMIL ENERGY

Omg... They're acknowledging their Master Chef training (this is the only time they've referenced events in the main story, if I recall correctly)... Silver even prepares a risotto for them all~ (His own favorite food is mushroom risotto, so I like to think of it as he's sharing a piece of himself with the fae.)

asldiuhaodasidba Lilia complaining about the tiny portions in fine dining...

SEBEK PREPARING A ROAST CHICKEN FOR THEM, they're going all out for this one meal??? ? ? ??? ? ?? Poor Sebek though 😭Baal refuses to eat anything Sebek made, he'd rather starve or eat rations than a human's cooking...

AW BAAL BOUGHT SEBEK BOOKS????? And encouraged his love for reading... 😭

Grim taking Baal's portion of food... (Of course... Did we really have any doubts about that?) Sebek really did get his attitude from Baal... Now Baal's going, "Gimme my food back!" after Grim started digging into it... And then Baal has three entire helpings of risotto... THEY HAVE THE SAME INTIMIDATING-YET-ALSO-PATHETIC VIBES

AYO SILHOUETTE FOR MALLEUS'S MOM????? Her name is (Princess) Mallenoa, the only daughter of Maleficia (Malleus's grandma). She lives at a separate palace and commands the military. Lilia also describes her as being extremely powerful, fickle, stubborn, selfish, and easy to anger. He's just tossing out allllllll the adjectives ahdbayodqdq

Ah, so it sounds like humans greatly outnumber the fae??? So they're at a disadvantage. Normally a royal would handle diplomatic stuff like this but for some reason Lilia is being sent? They're traveling on foot to deliver a message to the human encampment to the east; the last messenger (that travelled there via magic?) did not return. Ominous...

Fae nobility are repulsed by the smell of iron? I'm confused, are fae in TWST impacted by iron or not????

Aww, Silver... He's asking his dad to come to school not to learn, but to make special memories there 🥺 Back to "our Night Raven College"...

NOOO NOW THEY'RE FLASHING THROUGH ALL THE DORMS... while Silver and Sebek monologue about how everyone at NRC is very different, but despite how weird they all are, there is a lot that can be learned from their differences. Silver's spreading what he learned from his dad... and the fact that even Sebek pitched in... 😭

Lilia voice) let's make these high school students our pack mules and unpaid chefs and if they fuck up we leave them for dead in these woods where there are monsters lurking about

Man, he's so ruthless????? Lilia will use anyone he can to succeed in his mission... But then the next second he lays into his princess with a smile www

Lilia knew the princess since they were kids ~300 years ago, which puts the current conflict at ~400 years ago from modern day (since present Lilia is ~700 years old).

asdjbasbldbasdi Gotta love the lowkey jabs at classic fairy tales... Lilia says that human princesses may need protecting but not theirs???? (Yet Mallenoa still stays in her castle all day like she's waiting for a prince.)

THE PRINCESS HAS AN EGG... MALLEUS????? IS THAT YOU???? ???? ????? ? ?? ? ? (LOL at Sebek calling it Tamago-sama asghdyqovywqdwp9qbpacpasb) JAHAJAAH BAAL SUS OF THEM BEING INTERESTED IN THE EGG????

Oooh, so dragon eggs only hatch after receiving enough love and magic from the parents??? (Otherwise the egg will not mature and hatch.) The "power of love" is real, you guys 🥺

ANOTHER new character name drop?????? Levan/Revan??? It's a fae that went missing (probably the messenger from earlier??) I-Is that. Is that Malleus's dad???????? (Lilia says that both the princess and Levan/Revan have been pushing their tasks onto him; he has known them both for a long ass time.)

Baal voice) I still don't trust you

Fandom, back at Baal: Sorry (grand)daddy. Sorry. (Grand)daddy? Sorry. (Grand)daddy? Sorry.

Malleus is 178 years old in current day even though his egg existed 400 years ago, so it seems there was a few hundred years of delay before he actually hatched (normally the egg would hatch in 2-3 years). That means Lilia was ~522 when Malleus hatched and ~683 when he found Silver as a newborn (Malleus was ~161). Silver and Sebek think it’s weird that the timeline does not add up; it means Malleus was dormant for quite a while?? Or is the dream world wonky to accommodate for a “happy ending”? Or maybe the history they know is not correct (since earlier in book 7 Lilia mentions how true history can be distorted over time.)

Very sus, apparently there is not a lot known about Briar Valley's history??? Lilia never talked about the past around Silver, and Baal did the same with Sebek. None of the books Sebek read really goes into that history either. In current day, the palace where Malleus's mom resided isn't even there anymore, it's just land. It suddenly became a mystery...

MAN, I've been wondering this whole time why Lilia's happy ending is wartime but maybe. This is the period where Malleus's parents both died???? Maybe his happy ending is saving them??? Instead of them dying and him having to live with the guilt of not being there to protect his friends and his future prince's parents???? (I previously thought it was during war that Malleus hatched and/or Lilia found Silver, but I guess the timeline doesn't make sense there.)

According to Silver, they cannot stray too far from dreamers or else the darkness will return and try to drag them into a deeper sleep.

asdhbasdobasdbas Sebek is SUPER hype to see baby Tamago-sama Malleus...

Sebek points out that Silver is not nodding off (good catch, I actually did not notice this because I was too busy screaming about the lore); sooo when Silver is dream walking, he's consistently alert. It looks like Silver's narcolepsy is an important detail??? (Lilia took him to lots of doctors that didn't know how to help him, Silver does whatever he can to sleep well and to have a sleep schedule.)

OH MY GOD, I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT YUU AND GRIM STILL DIDN'T KNOW LILIA IS SILVER'S DAD. They thought it was a friendly nickname this entire time??? Kind of late to get to that, but alright 😅 We have acquired the Forbidden Knowledge... (SEBEK'S MOM IS WAY OLDER THAN HIS DAD BUT LOOKS WAY YOUNGER?? I mean, I kind of expected that but to have it confirmed just hits different.)

One of the soldiers tells the kids to stfu so they can sleep and so Sebek yells at everyone to stop disturbing them (you know, in his LOUD AS HECK voice).

Water in the Briar Country is cold because it is located up north (it snows a lot!). The lake water usually comes from melted snow. Checks out, I guess?

They're packing up to leave the camp... Reminds me of Mulan!

[Insert boring trek to the Silver Owls' base. Interesting tidbit: some soldiers we run into comment that Silver resembles the Dawn Knight/they didn't know the Dawn Knight had a lover?????? So... that's obviously gotta be an ancestor of Silver's, right??? Also??? The Dawn Knight apparently never removes their helmet, even around subordinates... VERY SUS, SIR

NAYUUURx NOT SeBEK CAViNG TO THE DATKNESS 😭 I feel like??? This is a really big character development moment for him?? He’s always been pretty blindly loyal to Malleus and hateful of humans, but this marks the first time he willingly does something against Malleus’s will and he calls Yuu and Grim by name… Sebek, sweetie… 😭 (Side note: Silver’s been so strong-willed through all of this, but I’m glad that TWST showed he isn’t perfect and infallible; he, too, was tempted to stay in the dream when Sebek started to consider it too.)

bchsheoxndle Something else I enjoy is Baul being so… tsun?? He complains about the kids but keeps an eye out for them anyway (and Sebek in particular)… The paternal vibes are too immaculate to completely squash 😎]

They made it!! Finally!!

UHHHHH THEY'RE FIGHTING A BIG MACHINE AND. LILIA INSTINCTIVELY BLOCKS SILVER?? (He’ll be fine, he’s in his prime 😌)

Oop, Heinrich and the Dawn Knight were supposed to be in the eastern base but they aren't??? Oh no, it looks like. It was a diversion?????? While Lilia and co. are busy at the base, Heinrich launched an attack on the palace where Malleus's mom is???????

AND OF CORUSE THAT'S WHERE WE CUT OFF?????????? BRUH.

OKAY, so this entire update was focused just on Lilia's dream. We have no clue what's happening in Idia's dream or the real world with Ortho??? Which I'm totally fine with; I feel like we learned SO much about Briar Valley's history and important figures in it. That's a very fair trade-off. I loved getting to learn about the conflict between humans and fae, fae culture, and about how Briar Valley (or Country) works. I'm surprised that the characters themselves know so little about the history, but that just makes me worried that that's because it's a dark part of history that was purposefully censored from the textbooks...

There were a lot of new characters introduced in this part, most of them just mentioned by name or silhouette. It really feels like we walked right into the most dire part of a history textbook... So much tragedy has been set up, so many key players put into place... But being that this is Lilia's promised happy ending, surely he must reverse fate and save the day in the end????? Right? Right??? ?????? ?? ??? ? ? ? ? ? ?????? I have my eyes glued to the Draconia family lore and history, I'm READY to absorb it!

Something else I found really fascinating was learning more about Sebek this update! He still has a very arrogant attitude about him (that much hasn't changed), but I loved seeing how he acts different around his grandfather and how excited he gets over little things like seeing Malleus's egg. I think this part also marks the start to his character arc; he is constantly put down time and time again by his grandpa, someone whom he really loves. Sebek is used to his grandpa accepting him for who he is, but now his grandpa is shouting hateful rhetoric and discriminating against him for being half human. It's the same ugly behavior that Sebek slings to other people, but now the shoe's on the other foot and HE'S the victim in these situations. It must no doubt be extremely uncomfortable for Sebek, but it's also forcing him into a situation where he has to look at his own bigotry head-on, and it gives him a chance to reevaluate himself. It's similar to how Vil had to challenge Epel's outdated gender views even when Epel kicked up a fuss every time Vil did. asdhbsaisdbabdil I'm just really invested in Sebek's character arc!!

I think there's a high probability we'll see all of the silhouetted figures in full in a future update, it's clear that we'll eventually be rushing back to check on Malleus's mom at some point. I'm super interested in seeing how Malleus's parents, the Dawn Knight, Lilia, Baal, and Henrik tie together. (And, of course, we NEED to check in with the Shrouds as well.)

I have heard people say that Henrik may be a reference to King Henry from the live action Maleficent? Then that means that the Dawn Knight may be TWST's equivalent to Stefan/Stephan (Aurora's dad) and Henrik/Henric's little sister is Leah/Leia (Aurora's mom)??? Then I've heard other theories that since Malleus's dad vanished, we have no corpse to confirm he is for real dead and maybe he's actually Crowley who went off to buy some milk and never came back???? (Because “Levan” sounds like “raven” and you know who else is a black bird? CROWLEY. Is he. Is he really going to be the Ultimate Absentee Dad by pulling off his mask in front of Malleus and go, “Luke, I am your father” at him????) And then there's those of us who are drooling over new character designs and screaming about how hot Sebek's grandpappy is. Point is, there are so many wild parallels, theories, ideas, and thirst posts flying around right now. I love how this wild update reinvigorated the whole fandom into a new period of theory crafting and other creative works. asdhabsdasdbasdi Every new book 7 update gets more and more hype... I just hope we get part 5 in July!!! Super intrigued by the history of the Briar Valley~

[missmonsters2]

—LIBEROSIS | SIX

Pairing: Wednesday Addams x OFC/Fem!Reader

Summary: Right. Now things are going well and Wednesday should be basking in the vindication of it all. But now there's other things that keep her up at night and it's maddening. Wednesday used to never care and now she wished she cared a little less.

Warnings: Pining & Angst. Dramatic!Wednesday. Enid, is focused on her boat. Thing, is the GOAT. Xavier, just expects no peace.

Series Masterlist | Library Blog | AO3

Reminder there’s no taglist but you can follow my library blog for notifications 💘

Note: Wednesday: things are nice right now. I should create more problems :|

Part Five

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷†⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

Liberosis: Noun. The desire to care less about things—to loosen your grip on your life, to stop glancing behind you every few steps, afraid that someone will snatch it from you before you reach the end zone—rather to hold your life loosely and playfully, like a volleyball, keeping it in the air, with only quick fleeting interventions, bouncing freely in the hands of trusted friends, always in play.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

There's a certain bliss when things go well. It's like a well-thought-out plan that came to fruition, bearing the fruits of desired results. 

It always brings Wednesday acute satisfaction. 

She should be basking in all the glory and victory that her actions have brought her—to know that her suffering wasn't for nothing.

Yet, as Wednesday sits out near the lake under the shade of a willow tree while reading a book, she feels—discontentment. 

Winter has long passed, and Wednesday misses the weather.

The day was warm and sunny, with a slight soothing breeze—terrible. On top of that, everyone seemed to have gathered around the willow tree, trying to relax under the shade. She had Enid and Yoko on her left, yapping like chihuahuas. Xavier, Ajax, and Eugene sat a few feet in front of her, playing some kind of game. 

On her right, you sat a foot away, chatting with Bianca and her fellow sirens next to you. The conversation she'd be listening to hadn't been anything of interest, but Wednesday supposes that Bianca wouldn't spill her plans for the Poe Cup race with everyone else around. 

Every so often, Enid would lean over her, trying to say something to you, and it would make Wednesday stiffen uncomfortably. 

"Wednesday," Enid frustratedly sighs as she tries to lean over Wednesday to say something to you. "It'd be so much easier if you switched seats with me. You're just reading anyway! You can do that at the edge."

Enid starts to move to get up, but Wednesday turns her head and glares at her roommate. "If you so much as try to force me out of my optimal seating, I will dump all your nail polish over the balcony."

Enid gasped, hand to her heart dramatically as if it was the worst thing she could ever hear. 

"Really, Addams?" Bianca asked with a sardonic expression. "You've lost your touch on the threats."

Wednesday raises her brow at her rival. "Enid is unique and stupidly no longer fears my homicidal threats. I have to get creative with her to instill fear."

"What's so optimal about that seating anyway?" Enid grumbles, but Wednesday see's the blonde looking at you with a smirk.

"The shade," Wednesday answers briskly. "This is the only spot without a speck of sunlight getting through."

You suddenly laugh, grabbing everyone's attention. You look over to Enid and smile. "Why don't you and Yoko come and sit in front of me?"

"But I want to lean my back against something," Enid whines with a frown.

"If the boys move in front of you to play their game, I'm sure Ajax would be happy to let you lean against his back," you smirk while Ajax looks at his girlfriend happily and nods.

"But we're going to be in the sun," Xavier complains.

"Count yourself lucky," Wednesday looks at the artist, her face deadpan. "As much as I adore the aesthetic of ghosts, the complexion doesn't suit you."

"Fuck you," Xavier gives her the middle finger. "I don't want to hear this from someone who looks half-dead all the time."

"I've spent my free time in cold lockers," Wednesday looks back at her book. "What's your excuse?"

Xavier grumbles in reply, but the three boys get up to readjust so Enid can sit peacefully in front of you and resume her conversation. 

Wednesday relaxes more comfortably now that her left side is free. Wednesday was side-sitting, her knees both on one side, facing away from you as she held open her book in front of her face with one hand. Her other hand rests against the grass between the two of you.

Soon enough, the chatter resumes and becomes static noise to Wednesday, and when it does, she stiffens. You've placed your left hand down against the grass, and the very tip of your middle finger brushed against Wednesday's. 

You're talking animatedly with Bianca and Enid, and no one else seems to notice Wednesday's inelegance. It seems no one is paying attention to her at all anymore. 

After a few moments, Wednesday swallows. She looks carefully at those around her, ensuring they're all lost in their own conversations. There's something that she particularly wants, and she should simply do it. 

After all, she's gone through enough emotional suffering because of you, and the last few months have shown her that she's evolved enough to hunt down the desires she didn't think she'd ever have. 

Yet, fully moving her hand to grasp yours seemed more difficult than solving murder mysteries. 

Wednesday shifts, hinting at you what she wants. 

Nothing changes as you're too lost in your conversation with Enid. 

Wednesday purses her lip in annoyance. Perhaps it was a mistake to have Enid move in front of you.

Wednesday shifts again, the tip of her middle finger brushing against yours more intentionally. The hint was very obstinately clear now. Or, it should've been.

You don't budge.

A thought drifts through Wednesday's mind. She has lamented over you, suffered because of you, chased after you. The least you could do is take her fucking hint. 

Just grab it, Wednesday tells herself. Grab it and crush it—

You shift, sitting straighter, and move your hand to fan yourself from the warm weather.

Wednesday doesn't know why you'd ever think she's enticed by the sun.

She detests the sun and its warmth.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷†⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

Wednesday sits at the pond's edge, staring out into its vast, clear reflection. Little fireflies hover near the surface, dancing their way back and forth. Her face is strained, her eyebrows furrowed in their natural way, and her lips pressed in a line. 

"Oh, you're here."

Wednesday turns around and sees you entering from behind a tree. She nods in acknowledgment. "Of course," she plainly replies and then demands, "why are you late?" 

You smile at her, and it both irritates Wednesday and delights her. 

"Henry wanted to show me his mindscape," you reveal. "He's been excited about it all week, so I thought I'd go see it now rather than during my free period. The verdict is that he might need some work because precisely nothing changed or happened."

You sit next to her, grinning at her blank face before you fall onto your back, staring at the moon. 

"Why not during your free period?" Wednesday asks as she kicks the side of your shoe, signaling to turn onto your back. You turn over with a puff of breath, focusing on your wings to come out and unfurl. 

Wednesday watches in interest as she always does. She anticipates when they'll fully heal, and she'll get them to see them fully stretch. She feels titillation at the thought of them spanning wide enough to block out the sun. 

It occurred to Wednesday then that one; she was looking forward to something that seemed so…frivolous and, frankly, embarrassing. Second, Wednesday believed that your presence in her life would be a more permanent fixture. 

The image of her mother pops up in her head, and she feels unwell. 

"Well," you drag her out of her thoughts. "You have fencing at that time, right? I thought I'd come watch your match against Xavier."

Wednesday is initially silent, feeling something stir in her stomach at your words. She applies the salve leisurely and thinks about how it doesn't matter how fast or slow she administers it because you won't be running off anywhere after. 

"It won't be anything special," Wednesday monotones. "Xavier will pathetically lose after seven and a half minutes."

You laugh. "Well, I'll enjoy the seven and half minutes of it then." You hum, your wings trill as Wednesday ruffles some of them to apply the salve. "Tickles," you mumble, and Wednesday feels the comfort of it. 

Soon enough, Wednesday finishes, and you turn around and sit back up.

"Anyway," you interject and smirk. "Since you'll only be fencing for about seven and a half minutes, why don't you play hooky with me?"

"And do what exactly?" Wednesday asks flatly with her brow raised.

"Hm," you hum, tilting your head. "I wanted to see the Jericho town but Larissa won't let me leave the school grounds for the next couple of weeks."

"Oh?" Wednesday raises her brow in intrigue but then follows up with, "You call Principal Weems by her first name?"

You nod. "I mean, yeah, in private only since she said it was okay. I guess it's weird to call your guardian Principal Weems after hours."

"On the contrary," Wednesday tilts her chin to the side. "I believe we should refer to our birthmakers by their name to establish distance."

You roll your eyes at Wednesday, trying to hide your smile. 

"Why is she trying to keep you locked in this penitentiary?" Wednesday asks.

"Jericho grows these flowers—draeconiums. They're usually harmless and have a short bloom lifecycle," you tell her. "But I believe this year they bloomed under an eclipse."

Wednesday recalled the eclipse last week. Enid had been so excited about it and made plans with everyone to watch it. 

It was boring.

"Anyway," you continue on. "If that happens, draeconiums produce a certain sap in its stem that's very, very poisonous to faeries. It's the only thing that can cut a faerie's wings off."

"Poisonous sap?" Wednesday's brows furrow.

You nod with a hum. "The sap hardens and it's harder than any metal to exist."

Wednesday processes the words. "Interesting."

You laugh. "Don't tell me you thought just anything could cut off my wings."

Wednesday's silent. 

"If wings that could grant wishes could be cut off that easily, I think my kind would've gone extinct long ago," you chuckle. 

Wednesday's not really thinking about that (although she was under that impression). She's thinking about how hard this sap would be to come by and probably how faeries would make it their business to find any draeconium saps to keep the outside world from having it. 

And she thinks of your mother and burns. 

"So, I don't think I'll be stepping out of the academy anytime soon until the draeconiums wilt and the sap isn't potent anymore."

Wednesday looks at you and nods. It would be prudent to keep you away from things that could end your existence. 

"I wonder what we could do," you muse and then shrug. "I guess we can just hang out."

It was something in the way you say it that formed a knot in Wednesday's stomach. "You sound bored," she keeps her tone flat. "Do you grow tired of my presence already?"

"If I was then I suppose I'm a masochist for inviting you to play hooky with me," you look amused. "We don't have to do anything special to enjoy our time. Why would you think that?"

"I told you I wasn't dating material."

You raise your brow at her. "We're not dating."

You continue speaking about different things, and Wednesday just sits there silently, letting you ramble on.

But later that night, she lies awake in her bed, staring at the ceiling with her arms folded over her chest, restless. 

Of course, there was no basking in the glory and her victory of chasing you. She had caught you, and now she didn't know what to do with you. 

Grow closer and become more like her mother, or distance herself and—

Wednesday couldn't even finish that thought.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷†⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

Your eyes narrowed on Wednesday's form. 

You should be angry, considering how Wednesday seemed to be distant lately. She still spent all her time with you, but it was like her mind was someplace else.

Even now, Wednesday was staring out the balcony with a larger frown than usual. 

But you're not angry, especially since you've had your fair share of avoidance with her. You suppose you're lucky Wednesday still lingered around even if her mind was elsewhere.

"Wednesday," you call softly. She looked at you, her face blank and unrevealing. 

"What's wrong?"

"There's nothing wrong," Wednesday answers, and it's terse, and it's biting you to warn you to stop asking questions.

You shuffle closer and watch as Wednesday tenses, leaning away from you. You'd thought it would hurt your feelings, but you see something past the discomfort in her eyes, and it makes you push forward.

"Wednesday," you repeat. "You can tell me what's wrong." The way you say it is soft and unassuming, and it offers security instead of pressure.

Wednesday reluctantly shares what's on her mind at your probing. It takes her a few minutes, but eventually, she opens her mouth.

"Despite achieving the results I wanted when it came to you, I worry about the fact that I become more and more like my mother every day. It's disgusting."

It was so unexpected that you bit your tongue to refrain from laughing. You're pretty sure that though Wednesday more than tolerates you, she would still kill you.

You try to come up with something to say, but you can't help but tease her.

"You worry a lot for someone who has yet to go on a date with me."

Wednesday glares, and you chuckle. You feel relaxed knowing what the issue is.

"What exactly do you worry about when it comes to being like your mother?"

"That I'll fall in love, be a housewife, or have a family."

"Well," you smile dryly. "I think we're okay on the biological family front unless some kind of a miracle happens with the reproductive system. Otherwise, I think you quite enjoy having a little bandwagon of misfits to call your chosen family."

Wednesday's jaw only locks tighter, but you continue on.

"Regarding being a housewife, do you really think the person you'll be with—me, in this hypothetical scenario—would expect you to be a housewife?" You raised your brow. "While I personally think there's nothing wrong with being one, I know that isn't you, and nor would I want you to be one if that's not what you want." 

You slowly reach out to grab her hand, smiling when Wednesday allows it. "I hope the person you choose to be with will work with you in building a home that you both take care of together. Although—once again—I, in this hypothetical scenario, can't cook and may burn everything to the ground, which I know you find arson thrilling, but I promise you it's not romantic in that situation."

Wednesday's lip twitches, and you smile wider knowingly. 

"As for falling in love," you sigh. "I'm not really sure what you want me to say, Wednesday."

The raven girl tenses up at your words, immediately frowning. You stroke her palm with your thumb, attempting to soothe her. 

"I struggle with it sometimes too," you admit. "I believe most psychologists would say every problem we have in our life can be led back to our childhood or our parents."

"But I think, at the bare minimum, we should get to choose how we love and what relationships we develop," you look into Wednesday's dark eyes. "Your parents seem like lovely people—" Wednesday scoffs—"but I don't quite think we'll ever behave like them."

You pull Wednesday to sit next to you on the ground, slumping and leaning your head against her shoulder. You link your arm through hers, and Wednesday finds it easy behind closed doors.

"You think too much, Wednesday. There's no rush, and we've made it this far, so we should take our time. I'm not going anywhere."

Wednesday relaxes, and you can feel it against your body. She feels a lull of peace settle over her as her mind settles. 

Still—

"And if after time passes, what shall you do if I decide to leave?"

You look at her seriously. "I will have no choice but to accept it, but not before pushing you down a flight of stairs of at least 20 steps and framing it on Bianca."

"Bianca?" Wednesday raises her brow at you.

"She'd be the most believable suspect," you tell her, smiling as you joke.

But it's probably the most romantic thing Wednesday has ever heard, and she looks at you with a soft gaze you've never witnessed before.

"Promise?"

PART 7

[bouncybongfairy]

Shits and Giggles

Rue Bennett x Fem Reader

Summary: You become Rue's rebound from Jules; you are aware from the beginning that this wasn't a serious relationship. However, what happened in your bed with her seemed pretty momentous.

Word Count: 2k+

Trigger Warning: Smut and Drugs

<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3

Ever since you first saw Rue, you knew you were going to get close with her. She was a beautiful mentally ill druggie and what could you say, that was your type. You guys really gravitated to each other because of your issues. It's easy to be with someone who is struggling the same as you because you don't have to explain things that are unhealthy yet normal. It was nice not having someone judge you for your depression room or wanting to rot in bed. Not to mention drinking or getting high with someone who wasn't doing it to post online. It's not like you didn't know that this was toxic, you just didn't care. Both of you had people in your life that lectured you daily. People who were always gazing at you with disappointed eyes. You were each other's escape from that, and that meant a lot to the both of you. 

You met her when you were skipping class in the bathroom smoking. She asked you for a couple of puffs off the blunt, which you gave her. You complained about how teachers would seem to pick on the kids whom they knew didn't pay attention. You asked if she wanted to ditch with you and she was more than happy to do so. You walked the 30 minutes to your house, Rue asked you if your parents would be home and this is when you told her your mom had died. She didn't say much about her dad dying but she did let you know. There was no need to explain because you both knew what it was like. Like a mutual agreement not to acknowledge each other's suffering. It was the first time you'd ever snorted a pill. You were nervous, like super scared but she talked you through everything which made you feel comforted. You turned on Jersey Shore and laid in bed together, just zoning out. You had a swamp cooler that directly faced your bed, which made the room ice cold. This brought you two closer underneath the blankets. 

After taking a nap, Rue FaceTimed her mom to show she was at a friend's house. You sat at your desk with your laptop and pretended to be working on homework. This made you both burst into laughter once she hung up. Your dad came home from his 16 hour shift and greeted you before going to bed. You shared the burger king that he brought home for dinner. When Rue lit the blunt in the middle of eating, you knew she was going to be a bad habit. The one time you did that in front of someone they called you disgusting for doing so. When she did this so nonchalantly, it really left an impression on you. 

"I think we're going to be great together," you said, stuffing your face with the golden fries.

"Are you sure about that?" she asked to take a drag before taking a bite of her burger. 

"If you let us be then yeah," you said, taking the blunt from her. 

Ever since then, you two were pretty much inseparable. It was definitely weird at times; once, you were walking down the hall hand in hand with Rue and passed Jules. It made you feel bad, especially because you knew that they were together when she was sober. It made you feel inferrer a bit, like Jules got the real Rue. You never brought this up to her, because you didn't want to scare her off. You also were doing drugs with her so it felt a bit hypocritical to say anything about that. 

You were sitting in the cafeteria with Rue, picking at your lunches. You were trying to finish a math assignment that was due next period. Rue was drawing things like bongs and weed flowers, knowing it would distract you because it had to be raised. She kept laughing when you would playfully scold her for doing so. 

"It's just a piece of paper," she would taunt you.

"iT's jUsT a PiEcE oF PaPer," you would mimic. 

She laughed and continued until you finished the last equation and raised the last doodle. You kissed her on the cheek and she hung her head down giggling to herself. You practically huffed half a cart down in the bathroom before entering the cafeteria. She pulled your chair closer and nudged you with her shoulder. The bell rang shortly after, you got up and threw both of your trays away and started walking towards your class. Rue pulled you by the arm into the bathroom, the one with the scratched mirror behind the E-building. None of the girls used it to actually go to the restroom because they couldn't examine themselves obsessively in the mirror. She helped you sit on the edge of the sink, resting each hand on either side of you. 

"And where did you think you were going?" she asked.

"5th period," you responded rhetorically. 

"Why don't we go to your place and uh, have some fun? she stated more than asked. 

"You won't get in trouble?" you asked.

"I'll think of an excuse letter," she said, giving you a kiss before helping you down. 

You guys took the bus back to your place, neither of you wanted to walk the distance. Once you were home you went back to your bedroom and cranked the AC on. Rue complained about the icebox of a room you have which made you laugh; there was no way you were turning it off. You went to your closet and pulled out your half drank bottle of Kirkland vodka. You went into the kitchen and grabbed a tall glass and filled it with ice before heading back into the room. You pour a good amount of alcohol into it, letting it chill for a minute. 

"You're so high maintenance, why don't you drink it out of the bottle?" she asked. 

"Well sorry if I don't want my entire chest and throat burning after the first shot," you said, walking over to her and kissing her forehead. When you walked back to strain the liquor into the shot glasses, she followed. 

"Seriously this seems excessive," she said, wrapping her arms around your waist from behind. 

"Quit your bitchin' and take this with me," you said, turning around and handing her the tiny glass. You quickly cheer and both tip your head back. 

You pull away from her and go digging in your backpack, grinning from ear to ear once you feel the plastic baggie. When you pull it out, you show Rue she matches your grin. It was two tabs of acid that had a faint picture of the Rick and Morty logo, barely visible due to the discolorations. It didn't take long to kick in, well it did but due to the second and third shot it didn't feel that long. You were both giggling and dancing with each other around your room. Knocking each other over every once in a while, landing on the bed. You would quickly recover once a song motivated you both enough to start dancing again. You were feeling light, like your head could lift you off the ground. Rue kept running her hands through your hair which would make you shiver. Rue kept wanting to do a line but you eventually found another way to distract her. 

The last time you fell on the bed you ended up face to face, rubbing each other's foreheads together. She kept running her hands down your arm and the exposed skin on your side. She kept mumbling about how soft you were. Hearing this come for her was making your stomach flip. Somewhere between cuddling and rubbing against one another you start to make out. She was laying on her back and you were straddling her. You were holding her head in your hands as you kissed. She quickly sits up which catches you off guard. You pull your tee-shirt off and get slightly embarrassed when you are reminded of the fact that you didn't have a bra on. She stared at your chest for a while before taking your nipple into her mouth. You let out a moan and let her pull you as she let her back fall against your mattress. You pull away and tug at her sweat pants, she takes the hint and helps you take them off. You smirk and take your shorts off, you start grinding against her. You hover back over her and start to give her a hickey on her neck. She starts playing with your chest as you do this. This made it harder to kiss her neck because you were moaning so much. 

"Fuck you look like a pornstar," Rue said flipping you over and shoving her hand into your panties. 

She started playing with your clit, using her middle finger. You bury your face into her neck and let out a couple moans. If she already thought you looked like a pornstar so you might as well sound the part. You were completely soaked, this was the first time you'd ever done anything like this with rue. The sexual tension between you had been building for so long, that even hearing her voice sometimes made you melt. It was nice to have a sexual experience with someone and not worry about how you looked or came across as. She continued to stroke you, arched you back and buckled your hip up every once in a while. You tried kissing her but you were in such a state of pleasure that your lips were just pressed together slightly. It was like she was trying to eat your moans. You pull away from her right before your climax. 

 "Do.. you wanna, uh.. 69?" you asked, trying to catch your breath.

"Yeah but only if you're on top of me," she said. 

"You're sinister for that," you said, getting on top. 

"And much more," she said, smacking you with what felt like all the strength she had. 

When you started eating her out, you were pleased to feel that she was just as wet as you. You were kind of worried that she might not be as into you as you are her but that thought quickly left. You start flicking your tongue slowly, slowly increasing your pace as she did the same. She penetrated you with her fingers which made you gasp and press yourself onto her face. When you did this, she smacked your ass with both hands causing you to squeal. You tried to keep your rhythm but you were finding this hard because of how close you were getting. You were full on riding her face and fingers at this point. You could tell that Rue was getting close because he rhythm was becoming spotty. As you started to cum, you could feel her clit harden slightly. This was just enough encouragement to keep going instead of sitting up and going full cowgirl on her face. You both rode out your orgasm before you fell back next to her on the bed. 

You grabbed your tee-shirt and wiped her face off before doing the same to yourself. You both looked over at each other and couldn't help but burst out laughing. Not because it was awkward, more likely from the drugs that were still in your system. You both change into different clothes before cuddling back in bed. Rue had fallen asleep for a while while you played with her hair. You noticed some of her curls sticking to her neck because she was so sweaty. You grabbed a hair tie and pulled all her hair into a bun. Every once in a while you would plant a kiss on her forehead or nose. She was holding onto by the waist, you woke her up to ask if her arm was losing circulation from being underneath you. 

"Don't wake me up to ask stupid shit like that again," she grumbled. Right as she finished the sentence, there was a hard knock at the door which made both of you jump. 

"Dinner's on the counter!" your dad shouted through the door, when you both looked over and saw the panicked expression on each other's faces you both started laughing.

[little-annie]

WIP WEDNESDAY | The Honeymooner's | Steddie | Eddie's chaotic unreliable POV

It's just supposed to be a fun week away for the two friends, but when Eddie's guilt gets a hold of him and he learns if he and Steve were on their honeymoon Steve would save 30% on the room, well things get a little carried away.

---

Okay, so yes, Eddie is very excited and very appreciative of this little boy's week-long getaway that he and Steve planned and yes he can't wait to finally spend a few days without the gremlins gnawing on his ankles or demanding for a ride to the arcade. But… but he feels guilty, very very guilty. And why, you may ask. Well, Steve's paying for the whole thing, that's why. The guy insisted upon it, saying something about how Eddie's been working so hard on getting his GED and working at Thatcher Tire and helping Steve take care of their somehow combined 7 children. That he deserved it. That, "Don't worry man, you can get me back sometime if you're so worried about it."

Steve's a good friend like that. Always has been.

Eddie's not really sure how they happened, really it seems like some weird anomaly that they can even coexist in the same space let alone willingly spend the majority of their free time together, but they do. He supposes though, one particular gremlin is to blame for the colliding of their souls. Dustin Henderson specifically. At first Eddie was jealous then when he met Steve, well, then he was kinda infatuated and it's all been downhill from there. Eddie's in love now. Hopelessly, irrevocably in love. With his straight best friend. How cliche.

How fucking cliche.

Eddie huffs to himself and tries to avoid checking out Steve's ass in his way too tight Levi's as they enter the lobby of some too nice hotel in the middle of what he thinks to be some Indiana State Park. Truthfully, he doesn't remember where they are, slept the majority of the way here since they left after work and he's exhausted, but the place is nice. Cosy almost if it weren't for its vastness. Really it resembles what he'd imagine to be a lodge. A giant log cabin if you will. Somewhere he supposes Harrington Sr. probably stays for some fancy men's hunting trip or something. Looks like the type of place that'd be a resort in the winter. Large fireplaces, overstuffed leather furniture, mounts from what he assumes to be the owners hunting trips.

In all honesty it isn't what he expected, but it's still nice and well, he's not paying for it so he's not complaining.

God he doesn't even want to think about what the room cost Steve for the week.

"Checking in under Harrington," Steve's voice pulls Eddie from the fog of his thoughts as he checks in, a young giggling couple to their left doing the same.

Trying to not grimace at the sight of the love birds, Eddie too approaches the front desk, leans against its edge and watches Steve as he signs a piece of paper and hands over his ID and credit card to the receptionist or whatever the front desk lady is called, Chrissy, he assumes if the strawberry blondes name tag is anything to go by.

Idle and waiting to get to their room and sleep in until noon tomorrow, Eddie zones out, all too focused on Steve's profile as he talks. The only thing filtering through his brain is the crushing guilt of this weekend, Steve's sharp jaw and the couple next to him talking a little too loudly to ignore as they boast about their recent wedding to their receptionist, the poor young man looking far too exhausted to give a shit. But it's then that Eddie hears that same receptionist say to the couple, "With your honeymoon package, you'll be saving 30% on your stay with us. Here are your keys … -"

It's then too, that something occurs to Eddie and his mouth runs away from him as he more or less blurts out, "Oh congratulations, we're honeymooning too."

The couple squeals and congratulates them as they scurry off to their room and Eddie has all but two seconds to process what he's just done (tried to save Steve money in the dumbest way possible) before Chrissy is doing the same, saying to he and Steve, "Congratulations! Oh my goodness that's so exciting! Well, let me do something special for your little week away then. I'll upgrade you two to the Honeymooner's Package and Mr. and Mr. Harrington," the gal winks, "you'll receive a room upgrade, 30% off of your stay and free access to so many of our great amenities."

Red in the cheeks at the idea of being married to Steve Harrington, Eddie, for the first time in a long time is speechless. What has he done? They're going to have to act like a couple now or they'll get found out and kicked out. Fuck. What the fuc-

An arm slips around Eddie's waist and squeezes, his whole body going up in flames as he goes rigid.

"Thank you," Steve says, Eddie assumes to Chrissy as he momentarily blacks out and is solely held up by the muscular arm that wraps tighter around him, fingers on his waist that have never been there before.

What the fuck?

Then there's a kiss on his cheek and Eddie has never snapped so suddenly back to reality.

Steve's eyes find Eddie's almost immediately, somehow communicating at the same time, 'Are you okay?' and 'Man, you got us into this mess, act the part.'

He really did, didn't he?

Well…

Eddie leans into Steve more intentionally, trying to ignore the desperate flutter in his chest when Steve smiles and pulls him closer, his thumb gently caressing the thin fabric at Eddie's side while they wait for Chrissy to make the changes in the system and hand them their keys.

It's all so foreign, but really it's not. They're touchy, maybe in each other's space a bit too much, sometimes to the point that one of the kids or Robin feels the need to shout at them to get a room. But it's never this. It's never long lasting lingering touches that kinda make Eddie want to cry. It's never this intimate. It's normally teasing or comforting. Sitting in each other's lap just to be a pain in the ass or squeezes to the arm when they can tell the other is stressed out. Things like that. Never coupley shit. Never this.

"Honey?" Steve's voice comes as a whisper close to Eddie's ear, sweet like honey and teasing, there's a smirk on his lips, "Wanna go check out the room?"

Chrissy giggles after handing Steve the keys and disappears behind a door leaving just the two twenty-somethings alone in the lobby. Steve's arm is still around Eddie's waist.

Eddie blinks, nods like a fucking idiot and lets out a horrible, barely there gasp when Steve's hand leaves his body only to ghost down his arm and intertwine their fingers together, pulling him along.

It's not until they're in the closed elevator that their hands separate and Eddie's able to manage words again. "What the fuck did I just do?"

Steve snorts a laugh before he shrugs, leans against the wall next to Eddie and says simply, "Made our week away a lot more interesting, that's for sure."

All Eddie can manage is a groan, knocking his head against the wall to which Steve responds, "Well that and saved me a couple hundred bucks."

—------

Things only get worse once they get to their room. Not only did they get upgraded to the Honeymooner's Package, it appears they too got upgraded to a honeymoon suite.

Jesus H Christ

Steve's cackling at the door of the room, gaudy red carpet beneath his feet as Eddie shoulders past him to get a better look. And Christ alive, it's awful. So, so awful.

For starters there's only one bed. Heart shaped in all its glory beneath a mirrored ceiling with a basket of what looks to be condoms, lube and lotions stationed artfully in its centre.

Awful.

Than, there's the bathroom that's more or less a fucking fish bowl. From where he's standing, only a few feet further into the room than Steve, Eddie can see that those glass walls provide no privacy. NONE. What the ever loving fuck!? There's a huge tub and shower and nothing more than a thick pane of glass separating them from the rest of the room.

Aw-ful.

What has he gotten himself into?

[bleach-your-panties]

Stuck thinking abt teasing Izuru the whole day until he just blows up and gets his revenge at home 😔😔😔😔

"Kira's Revenge"

a/n: *cackles maniacally* some of this deleted in the writing process (fuck you tumblr drafts) and i had to rewrite it.

🤍can be read in conjuction with this.

🩶cw: fem reader, exhibitionism, handjob, fingering, dirty talk, shibari - Izuru manhandles reader, but no physical harm is done. aftercare.

🤍dividers by @/hitobaby.

🩶wc: 1.9k

One would think that you'd have learned your lesson about teasing your husband in public, especially at a meeting as important as this one.

Today was the day that Izuru would officially, on paper, be instated as the new Captain of the Third Division. With you being his wife and his new Lieutenant, you both had to meet with Kyouraku before the ceremony so that the First Division Captain could answer any questions that the two of you might have.

As Shunsui talked, you sat with your hand resting comfortably on Izuru's thigh. The blonde male sent a warm smile your way before focusing his attention to the Head Captain.

"So, Lieutenant Kira and Third Seat Kira," Shunsui paused to let out a hearty chuckle, "saying that will never get old to me..."

You immediately began to zone out after the first few sentences left his mouth; right now, your husband's strong, muscled thigh was a much more interesting focal point.

Izuru jolted in his chair when you began to run your hand up his inner thigh and toward his crotch. His dick immediately twitched in response to the proximity of your warm fingers.

Doing his best to remain calm, he gently nudged your hand away before grabbing it up with his own and rubbing his thumb over your knuckles. You complied for a few moments and stopped your ministrations.

He shot you a warning look when Kyouraku looked down to thumb through his stack of paperwork to grab a document that he needed to read off of.

You just smiled innocently and gave a small nod of affirmation.

“So, what I want to go over first is…”

Again, you tuned the brunette captain out and let your little hand wander back into Izuru’s lap.

A gremlin-esque smirk would be across your lips right now if you weren’t in the middle of this meeting. Instead, you let your mischievous fingers fiddle with your husband’s obi until it was untied.

Izuru clenched his jaw to stifle a moan when your hand slid into his pants and cupped his balls. 

Feeling a bit bolder, you circled your index finger and thumb around his base and slowly moved them up and down, making the blonde hiss through his teeth.

“Is everything alright, Lieutenant Kira?” Shunsui drawled lazily, his brown eyes drifting up from the papers to meet Izuru’s.

Either Shunsui was completely dense or he just didn’t give a damn about you two’s antics.

Hell, he'd likely done much worse with his own wife.

‘Kids these days,’ he was probably thinking.

“I’m fine, Captain…I just stubbed my toe on the table.” Izuru lied.

Shunsui didn’t seem too perturbed and thus continued with his spiel until he had to excuse himself to go use the restroom.

Izuru’s head was on a swivel as soon as the door clicked shut.

"How impatient you are? Can't even wait until we're home to get fucked."

All you could do was give him another sheepish little smile as he yanked your hand out of his pants.

In the blink of an eye, his left hand was wrapped around your throat - usual bright blue eyes darkened to a cold sapphire. 

He used the index and middle to pry your lips open before shoving them both in your mouth along with the ring finger. The cold platinum band rubbed along your tongue as Izuru tilted your head back.

"Listen up and listen well. This is how this is going to go. I'm going to fingerfuck you while he talks and you'd better not say a fucking word or make a sound. Understand that?"

Slowly, you nodded as your saliva dribbled down your chin.

He shook your head from side to side.

“Say. Words.” 

“Yes, Izuru…I understand…” you dumbly responded, mumbling over his long fingers. Satisfied, he pulled them out and patted your cheek roughly.

"And you'd better keep that same stupid smile on your face later, too; when I'm fucking you with your legs and arms hogtied over your damn head."

—-

Moments later, Shunsui returned to the room to both of you sitting there looking as normal as ever; though something highly inappropriate was going on beneath that table.

Since you wanted to be hardheaded and play around, Izuru would indulge you and play along; though you might not like his rules.

His entire left hand was inside your pants now. He waited until Shunsui sat down again before he began to trace his fingertips over your pubic mound through your panties.

A hot shiver ran down your legs and Izuru smirked to himself. What a devious little bastard, but hey, you started the shit, and he’s much better at getting revenge than you are.

The meeting suddenly began to drone on as Izuru and Shunsui conversed merrily; meanwhile, your blonde husband had a death grip on your inner thigh, his middle and ring fingers shoved deep inside your cunt, wedding band sliding against your outer labia while his thumb drew quick circles over your clit.

You gripped the edge of the table with force, knee bumping against the leg of it as yours shook violently.

“You’re not looking too well, Third Seat Kira. Do you need to be excused? We can always pick up tomorrow and finish.”

Shunsui began to gather his paperwork before pushing his chair out and standing. 

Izuru glanced at your face. His cold expression didn’t match his warm, jovial tone when he spoke.

“I think my darling wife might be feeling a little ill, Captain. If you don't mind, may we please pick back up first thing tomorrow morning? I know how important this entire ordeal is as it pertains to the future of the Third Division.”

Shunsui wasn't bothered and quickly agreed, 

“Sure! I just need you both to sign this document stating that you understand the terms that were laid out for you today.”

He slid the paper and two pens across the table and Izuru picked his pen up to sign, all the while still rubbing your clit and even adding a third finger to dig deeper inside your hole.

Your knuckles were white as they gripped the wooden table; you might even leave with a couple splinters.

“He's waiting for your signature, Bluebell.” 

Izuru gave you a little “nudge” below that sent you forward. 

You squeezed your thighs together to hopefully still his hand, but that somehow only pushed his fingers even deeper and made your hand shake as you signed your name on the line. 

—-

You and Izuru both gave a respectful bow to the Head Captain before Izuru wrapped an arm around your lower back to guide you in the direction of your home.

Once you had turned down the pathway leading to your house, he gripped you up again and Flash-Stepped you both to the doorstep.

—--

You knew that your husband was pissed the hell off when he bypassed the futon in the living room (one of his favorite places to have sex) and dragged you straight toward the bedroom. 

He held a firm grip on your head as he guided you; the stones in his wedding band could be felt pressing into your jaw.

“You proud of yourself for that little display?” 

He asked after kicking open the bedroom door and hurrying you inside. It slammed behind him with a loud ‘thud.’

When you didn't respond, Izuru continued, 

“Already drunk on the anticipation of me fucking you? Slutty little angel.” 

----

"You know your word, so if you need to, use it. I'm not answering to 'stop.' "

Nodding obediently, you laid your body out on the bed so Izuru could begin tying you up.

He kept good on his word by putting you up with your ankles and wrists tied together like a roasting pig. Once he was finished, he leaned back on his knees to admire his handiwork and cup your chin.

"Perfect face, perfect cunt. Tell me, are you ready to get ruined by your new Captain, darling?"

You decided to remain quiet so as not to further exacerbate your punishment, but Izuru's calculating blue eyes didn't miss how your pussy glistened from his words.

"You're fucking dripping. That's all the answer I need."

----

"Please, Izu! I'm s-sorry!" You hiccuped, hot tears rolling down your cheeks as Izuru continued to roll his hips and fuck you against the headboard.

He effortlessly held you up by your ropes as his fat cock bullied its way in and out of your overstimulated pussy.

"Is please your safe word, Bluebell?"

"N-no."

Izuru pressed his left palm into the small of your back to deepen your arch for him. The new angle allowed him to get much deeper as he rested his upper body against your back.

"Well, then that means, 'keep going, Izuru.' "

You gasped when he rubbed up against that spot, but no, he wasn't going to give you that satisfaction just yet. 

He chuckled as his warm breath ghosted over the shell of your ear and the tip of his bang tickled the back of your neck.

A soft kiss was pressed to it before you were yanked up, back flush against his chest as he began pounding you hard and fast.

His fingers curled into a fist in the ropes tied across your breasts for leverage - the sounds of his hips smacking into your ass echoed all across the bedroom.

"I-I-ZURU!" You choked out a moan/cry of his name, your body seizing up quickly with your impending orgasm. 

He was close too, but the devil inside of him told him not to give you the satisfaction of cumming inside of you.

Quickly, he pulled out and released his grip on you, making your body fall to the mattress below.

"Turn your ass around."

Izuru commanded while gripping his dick and rapidly jacking himself off. You scrambled up onto your knees as fast as you could while being bound.

You eagerly let your tongue loll out in anticipation of his release.

"Close your mouth."

In disbelief, your face fell, but you couldn’t be too surprised, especially when he was like this (because of you). You did as told and quickly shut your lips. 

Izuru let out a couple of loud gasps and squeezed his eyes shut as his nut spurted from his dickhead and over your face, landing on your forehead, nose, and lips.

Once he’d finished pumping himself dry, he opened his beautiful blue eyes to inspect you.

"That was for making me lose my cool." 

He cupped your chin again and leaned down to press a heated kiss to your lips, prying them open in the process to slip his tongue in.

“That,” he breathed against your lips once he broke the kiss, “was for being such a good girl for me.” 

—-

Izuru pressed soft kisses into your shoulders and rubbed them after he untied you.

“Are you okay, Bluebell?” 

You cuddled up to him, wrapped in a soft throw blanket with a steaming mug of tea in your hands.

“Mhm, I'm fine, Izu…”

He smiled gently, cheeks warming as you pressed a kiss underneath his chin. 

“You know what I just thought about?” 

Eyebrows crinkled and head tilted, you asked, “What's that?”

Turning those blue eyes down to look at you, he uttered lowly,

“I think that I might enjoy teaching you how to follow orders, Lieutenant.” 

💗💗🍡°taglist: @enchantedforest-network @blkkizzat @the-witch-of-one-piece @kenpachisbrat @honeybleed @darkstarlight82 @bakugosbratx @chifuyuskoneko @prettybraat

[darnell-la]

Hey! So I got a sad one. So basically you went to the beach with Jj and you were on the sand and these group of girls came up to you saying stuff abt you body and calling you fat. So y/n went home. With out telling jj. When she got home she started crying a lot but Jj went to check on her. And comfort her.

Hey!! We're sorry if this story wasn't exactly what you were looking for. If you're disappointed, please send another request and explain in detail? Other than that, thank you for your request, Luv <3

word count: 2.2k

paring: JJ Maybank x Chubby!Reader

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

Y/n's pov

"You'll be fine, y/n, okay? It's just a party with a bunch of drunk teenagers. Nothings gonna happen. Besides, Topper and Rafe aren't here," JJ said as he and I walked on the property of this girl who invited him.

"I know, it's just, they didn't invite me and I know how these people get. Especially the Kook girls to Pogue girls," I said as he stopped in front of me.

"As long as I'm around you, I won't let them say shit to you, okay? We're best friends. I wouldn't let that slide," he said, placing a smile on my face.

"Okay, fine. But only for a couple of hours," I said as he rolled his eyes with a sigh. "No, no, we have to stay longer," he said. "Please," he kept repeating until I finally gave in. "Fine! Fine! Goddamnit," I said making him jump.

"Let's go!" He celebrated as he pulled me towards the front of the house. This place is packed and we're only outside. I can already see a few people eying us because we're probably the only Pogues here. JJ's use to ignoring people but I'm still not.

As I and JJ walked through the crowded house, I could hear people talking about us. They probably wouldn't have noticed me if I came alone but because JJ's so known, making us easy to spot.

"Hey! JJ, right?" A girl asked as she made her way towards us. "Yeah! Hey, Claire," JJ said, trying to put on his flirting voice. I came here to back him up, just in case he feels some way if she drops him last second. And he also wanted me to come and get out of my house for once.

"And you are?" The girl asked me. I could tell she wasn't happy with me being here, by the slight change in her tone and facial expression.

"Scotlyn," I said. "My best friend," JJ added as he pulled me into his side by my waist. I wish he would feel a spark when he touches me like this.

"Mhm, well, is it fine if I steal him from you real quick?" Claire asked as she pulled JJ away from me and wrapped her arm around his. Now they're locked and he has a smile on his face. At least he can be happy.

“No, no, it’s fine,” and quickly after, Claire pulled JJ away from me before he could say something. Tonight’s gonna be a long night. I should at least make it fun.

After being at this party for about an hour, playing drinking games, and watching sports on the TV with some random dudes in the middle of the living room, I decided to take a walk on the beach which isn’t far from the house. It’s basically their backyard. 

I stopped at a beach chair and placed my bag that I always carry with me, before looking around to make sure I’m the only one out here. 

I sighed and began to take off my clothes. I put my bikini on before I left, hoping JJ would want to show me some tricks in the waves like usual but he was occupied. 

After getting my last piece of clothing off, I began to touch my body. This is my first time in a bikini in public. It feels different. 

“We’ll look at Scotlyn. Coming out of her comfort zone I see. What made you buy that Bikini? Cause I know it’s not for my best friend’s man. Or is it?” A girl I do not know asked. 

“Who’s man? Who even are you?” I asked her. “We’re Claire’s friend and she sent us here to make sure you weren’t setting up some picnic after she got into JJ’s pants,” she said, making my eyes widen. 

JJ Maybank is no stranger to the sex life but he also doesn’t like being used and by the way that sentence sounds, getting in his pants is a term he wouldn’t like. 

“Where is he?” I asked as I went to pass them but one of the girls pushed me back. “Probably doing what Claire wants. Why does it matter? You like him or something?” The first girl asked as she laughed and pushed me to the sandy ground. 

“No! He’s- He’s just my best friend and your tramp bestie isn’t going to ruin him!” I yelled as I got up. I went to run past them but another one grabbed my hair and pushed me to the sandy ground again. 

“Oh, save that shit. He’d rather be broken than see that walk in on him,” one of them said, reminding me that I was in my bikini. I know I’m a bit thick but I have a good shape. Well, that’s what JJ says. 

“By the time you get up, you wouldn’t have the energy to run to him, yet walk,” another one said, causing my eyes to tear up. “Don’t cry, we’re just telling you the truth. Not being mean or anything,” the first one laughed. 

I quickly got up and took off, leaving everything behind. Even JJ. He’ll be fine. He’s probably having more fun than he’s ever had with me and I don’t want to ruin it for him. I need to move on…

JJ Maybank’s pov

“Claire, I’m not really in the mood tonight,” I lied as she tried rubbing all over my body. She’s been giving me the ick ever since she came up to me and y/n earlier. 

I thought that maybe if I hung out with her for a little bit, she’d be different or I’d understand her more but it actually has gotten worse and all I want to be around is y/n. 

Maybe I should just ask her out since she’s the only girl I ever feel comfortable and happy around. Everyone else is off. Way off and I never feel that feeling when I’m with y/n. Ever. 

“What are you talking about,” Claire asked in a tone I haven’t heard tonight. “I just really need to get back to y/n and-“ I tried apologizing but she cut me off. 

“Are you serious!? With that fat bitch!?” She angrily said, causing me to push her off of me and stand up from her bed. “Woah, don’t say that shit about her,” I got defensive. 

“Why? It’s true! Why would you choose her over me? That makes no sense at all,” she said, making me shake my head with a disgusting look on my face. These’s Kooks are all the same. 

“Delete my number,” I said then walked out of her room. She yelled a last “Already done!” before I slammed her room door, hoping her handle or anything would break. 

I searched the whole party to find y/n but she’s not here. I quickly ran out to the backyard and down the beach, but she was not there either. 

I ran across a beach chair with a bag on it and clothes. They belong to y/n. Shit. I yelled as I made my way into the water with all my clothes and shoes on. 

What if she went for a swim and drowned or got taken out by the waves. I know for a fact that she can’t swim in waves. She’s not experienced enough. Fuck!!

I swam around for a while until I got tired and cried my way out of the beach. My tears began streaming down my face as I yelled her name. Why did I leave her? 

“Chill out. She ran home,” some girl said. I looked up to see a girl and a few of her friends behind her. They look familiar. “How was the time with Claire?” One asked. They’re her friends. 

“Where did she run?” I asked, ignoring her question. “I don’t know. Home,” one laughed. “Why would she run home?” I asked, confused as they laughed. 

“We explained and told her the truth about you now wanting her. Maybe if she lost a bit of, you know, fat, she’d maybe have a chance,” a girl said. 

That’s when my eyes widen, knowing they bullied her into running away. They used my name, to make it seem like she’s not my best friend and that I care about that shit. I don’t. I’m in love with her and the way she looks. 

I quickly ran to y/n’s bag and threw her close into her bag before talking off towards my car so I can run to her house and tell her that all of this was a big miss understanding and that I don’t care about how she looked. She looks beautiful to me. 

“Y/n!” I yelled through y/n’s small house, hoping she’d be here. I can’t leave her alone in times like this. I’ve never seen her emotional but if she ran all the way home, she’s definitely feeling some type of way about those girls comments. 

“Y/n, where are you? Just talk to me,” I said and finally opened her guest room to find her curled up on the bed. “Y/n…” I said as I walked through the door frame slowly. 

That’s when she shot her head up quickly, allowing me to see her red and glossy eyes. She tried covering herself up as she asked what I was doing here at her house. 

“Your bag,” I said as I placed her bag on the floor and made my way over to the side of the bed. “Oh, okay. Well, uh, thank you. See you tomorrow,” she tried covering her face by turning to the side but I softly grabbed her wrist and turned her back towards me. 

“What did they say to you, y/n?” I asked. “Who?” She asked, knowing exactly who. “You know who, y/n. Tell me everything they said and I’ll handle it. You know I will,” I said, making her shake her head. 

“Oh, the girls? Oh, yeah, they didn’t say anything. Yeah, they just- I just forgot my bag, that’s all,” she lied to me as she sniffed and wiped some tears but they keep coming back. 

“Y/n, don’t lie to me! I’m not fucking around. What did they say!?” I asked with a louder tone, getting angry at anything they could have said to her. I know how people treat her and it’s not nice at all. She doesn’t deserve that. 

Y/n looked me in my eyes then turned back around and began to cry after curling up. Fuck, I didn’t mean to make her cry. 

“No, no, no, y/n, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound so rude, I just- Baby, I just wanted to know,” I said but she kept crying. I ran my hands through my hair, stressed. 

“Shit,” I said as quickly took my clothes off, as well as my boots, and ran to her drawer. I keep spare clothes heard since I’m always over. Day and night. 

I change into the clothes then crawled onto her bed and pulled her into my chest. She let me in by pulling me into her and crying into my chest as I rest my head on her forehead and whispered to her. 

“It’s okay, baby. I’m here. Don’t let whatever they said, get to you. It’s not true. No matter what they said, it’s not true,” I tried talking her down. 

“A-Am I’m pretty to you?” She stuttered as she tried to control her crying. “What? Yes! Yes, of course, you are. I swear I’m not saying that because you’re my best friend,” I said hoping she’s believing. 

“But I’m your friend, so, of course, I’m pretty to you,” she cried again. “Y/n, even passed friendship, you’re beyond pretty to me. You’re beautiful. Gorgeous. You’re just so much,” I said. 

“I’ve had the biggest crush on you. Shit, I still do, it’s just, we’re best friends and I can’t ruin that, you know?” I said, nothing about what I just confessed to. Shit. 

“Y-You have a crush on me?” She asked. “No, nah! Well- Fuck, yes, I do. I really do,” I said, not able to control myself. I had to get it out. I can’t keep things like this in anymore. I can’t hide it. It’s so hard. 

“Oh, I didn’t know that,” she said as she looked up at me. “Yeah, I tried keeping it a secret but- Y/n, you’re so fucking perfect. I can’t keep shit like that from you. You need to know this stuff. You need to know how beautiful you are,” I said, making her eyes brighten up. I can see her blushing. 

“Okay,” she giggled low as she buried her face into my chest again but this time, she’s not crying. “Yeah, I love you,” I awkwardly said with a slight laugh. 

“I love you too,” she said back, making me smile hard. It’s not hard to see that she does. I should have said this earlier in life, but at least she knows now. 

At least she’ll know how much I adore her when I talk to her about us tomorrow because there’s no way I’m leaving this house without me being able to call her mine. 

[cherrythepuppet]

The Harvest

Mob au @//Clownsuu

Grover @trashcanplant

Vince @cloudy-dreams

TW: dead deer

CLOUDY YOUR BOY IS TERRIFYING

Penny sat on the ground outside playing in the leaves with Poppy's supervision "Be careful!" Poppy exclaimed while Penny stopped herself form eating a leaf

She could hear some crunching from other footsteps then she heard Poppy talking with someone but Penny didn't care enough to listen

"Penny?" Someone behind her asked, She turned around and blinked looking up to see Wally "Hi" Penny said "Hello to you to Penny" Wally replied

"Care to go for a little walk? I'm afraid I have something to ask of you" He added to which Penny stood up and brushed any leaves or dirt off the bottom of her dress

"You have no proof of me hitting Antoni with the frying pan" Penny told him causing Wally to go 'Ha Ha Ha'

"Oh Penny, I watched you hit him" He mumbled "But that isn't why we're talking. I need you to go tell Grover something" He explained

"Oh, Yeah sure! I like talking to Grover even if he-" Penny paused "Where are we again?" She asked "Oh dear, Your memory must be acting up" Wally sighed

"Come along then. We should get you inside" Wally muttered before he began to walk back inside with Penny following

When the two went back inside Wally went to office to wait for Penny who was in her room looking for a coat

yet all she found was a Boa She put it on her shoulders figuring it would work as a coat so after that she went to Wally's office where she sorta zoned out until he told her to tell Grover to "Feed him"

"Oki Doki" Penny replied then she left looking around for Grover until she found him at the bar, Penny looked over to Howdy

Howdy sighed then walked over to Penny and helped her on the barstool before He walks back behind the bar Penny was kicking her legs slightly until Grover looked over to her Ugh… what do you want.” He grumbled while putting back another cup

Grover let Howdy finish pouring him a anothee one then he turned back to Penny "Hi" Penny grinned spinning around in the barstool

She looked over to Howdy who nodded and began preparing a Shirley Temple "Doesn't answear my question" Grover sighed

"Well scareycrow-" "Not my name"

Penny glared at him "Well anyway, Boss wanted me to tell you to 'Feed Him' whatever that means. Sounded like third person too? Is he gonna start talking like that now?" Penny trailed off

She was fidgeting with her gloves to even notice that Grover had stood up "Where are you going?" She asked grabbing her drink Howdy finished making

"Out" Grover replied "Out? But Antoni..." Penny muttered to herself trying to remember "Your not allowed out thought, Boss said-" She was cut off

"Boss told me that I need to go when he gives the word" Grover told her before turning to look at the sky listening for something "Where the fuck are those birds..” He frowned

Penny hopped off the barstool after finishing her drink and walked over to Him then saw two birds outside "Oooh! I've seen those birds before!" She exclaimed

Grover ignored her before he turned to her "Yer' helping me make a delivery" He said then he grabbed her arm and dragged her to one of the cars

However Penny didn't like this and tried biting him "Hey! Let go of me you overgrown weed!" Penny shouted struggling to free herself

"You help me with this delivery and I'll get ya whatever yer' werid ass wants" Grover replied as he opened the car door and tossed her into the passenger seat

"Fine... Your taking me to the candy shop in the middle of town" She mumbled fidgeting with her pearl bracelets Grover gets into the driver's seat and starts up the car then He began driving to God knows where

Penny stared out the window Watching the lights from the city slowly disappear almost falling asleep with how peaceful everything was away from the city too

But then the car stopped and Penny hit her head "Ow..." She frowned while she saw Griver get out and go to the bed of the truck

Penny unbuckled her seatbelt and got out walking over to him, Something smelled disgusting and she heard a squelch sound

When she saw what the disgusting thing was she saw a ripped in half deer causing her to scream which alerted a few birds

Grover put his glove over her mouth "Shut the fuck up. Vince doesn't like noise" He warned, Penny nodded shivering slightly

Griver removed his glove "Grab the back" He demanded but Penny didn't do anything for a moment, Sure she liked gore but with people! Not animals

"Penny" Grover snapped his fingers snapping her out of her trance "Wha- sorry..." She whispered before reaching down to carry her weight

Grover leaned all the way down and walkes backwards into the trees while Penny was trying to direct him in the dim light

But He was pricked by several brambles and stabbed with sticks Making her giggle slightly

The pair passed the tree line and entered the clearing, Penny looked around and to her she felt like she was walking into the world’s most terrifying sculpture park as the figures were all in the midst of fleeing

To the untrained eye it would look like wood carvings which Penny thought at first but the way that the flies landed on them

How branches grew from the eye sockets and mouths of these people made it obvious that they weren't just sculptures

Grover and Penny continued to carry the deer with the sound of sticks crunching under their shoes until the two approached the center of the field and Grover dropped the deer

He looked around at the stillness, searching for something in the trees as Penny backed away from the deer feeling uncomfortable

She looked around while holding her arms close to her chest as a form of warmth, She thought she saw one of the bodies still breathing"Griver-" Penny paused as Grover whistled then took a step away from the deer

"Watch 'em feast" Grover chuckled Several birds came down and flocked onto the deer carcass, Grover laughed while Penny looked away in disgust

But when she turned over to her shoulder she saw a large hunched back figure with dark eyes and long mouth

Penny screamed and grabbed onto to Grover making him look down at her, Grover looked up and saw Vince in the darkness reaching a hand out for Penny

Grover swatted his hand away “No, Vince" He told him "I getcha real hungry to have someone new join but not her. She’s family.” He added

Grover stared at Vince before Vince opened his mouth muttered something in a tone that terrified Penny more then the deer carcass

“Look, how about next time I bring one here fer ya I’ll letcha do yer tree thing and all that" Grover said "I like them screams too, gotta admit..” Grover chuckled

Vince laughed a raspy laugh, not saying a word while staring at Penny who was doing anything but looking at Vince

Grover looked down at her again. “Her names Penny. I needed an extra set a hands pullin’ the deer" Grover added

Penny looked at Vince for just a breif moment and made a small wave to be polite "I know ya like a bit of a scaredy cat, but I got in trouble when I brought Poppy out here" Grover was the only really speaking

But then Penny spoke up "Poppy was out here?" She asked to which Grover nodded "You remember her, Vince? Real tall bird broad?” Grover asked

Penny seemed to relax just a tiny bit at the mention of Poppy yet she kept a grip on Grover’s pants hoping He would take her home soon

Vince didn't respond instead he reached out a finger to graze against Penny’s skin but then Grover grabbed Vince's hand, holding his gloved hand tightly

“I’ll see what I can fix up fer ya, But not her. Not her.” Grover told him as the crows behind him cawed after they finished their feast and flew back into the trees

Everything was silent again, only thing to be heard was Vince’s ragged breathing. Penny looked up at Grover, then at Vince

“Do ya need help spreading the bones across the field?” Grover asked before be gave Penny a little pat in the head as a way of telling her to head back to the truck

Penny instnatly began to walk away, She got into the truck and took in a deep breath "I don't wanna ever come here again..." She mumbled to herself

As the time passed Penny fell asleep with her head resting against the Window unaware of a small leaf sprouting from under her Opera Gloves...

[writerofadream]

Fortune favors the Bold ⛓

TDI!Duncan x Juvie Bestfriend! Reader ⛓

Chapter Five: Hug me (Or kiss me)

You and Duncan stared as most of the 'Screaming Gopher's' team jumped down. Then it got to Owen. Geoff, Gwen, and You go to the outhouses all stationed around various areas on the island. When it's your turn to go in, you start to laugh. "He's going to drown us all if he jumps. I for one, am to young to die."

Then you go back to the moutain and see he still hasn't jumped.

"We're all doomed aren't we?" Duncan whispered in your ear. "Oh most certainly." You laugh under your breath.

Then you watch as your end falls from the sky, and hits the water like a bomb making water splash all around you dispersing the campers in every which way. Duncan and you landed right by each other, his legs tangled with yours.

"Have I ever told you how much I hate water?" Duncan groaned his body shivering from excess fear he was shoving down. "Actually yes, countless of times." You laughed ruffling his hair as he pinned you to the grown smiling. "Don't touch the hair, princess."

"Yes, yeah! Who's the man?" Owen yelled from the safe zone in the water. The Screaming Gophers had won, the team cheered and you groaned. "Coward fucking Courtney." Duncan hit his head against the sand in contempt. "Be nice." You lightly punched his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" You heard Trent ask. "I think I lost my bathing suit." Owen muttered. "Ew." All the campers voiced their varying opinions of grossness.

As their prize the Screaming Gophers got wagons to wheel their boxes, but that didn't really bother you. The rest of your team? Yeah, it bothered them. Duncan kicked his, you just carried yours on your shoulders. "Lift with your back wasn't meant to be taking literally." Duncan teased you smiling as Eva and Courtney argued.

Tyler finally voiced his need to take a piss (for some reason) and suddenly Sadie and Katie had to go as well much to Eva's dismay. Luckily, it didn't take them very long but you noticed when Satie and Katie returned their thighs were a redish tint, but you stayed silent.

"Poison Ivy?" Duncan asked from next to you. "Oh for sure." You smiled as Chris asked you guys what was taking so long, lightly screaming when he saw Courtney's eye which was now pulsating.

Duncan rememebered when you both were around nine and were sent to 'Wilderness Survival School for troubled kids' and one of your teachers left you all in the middle of nowhere in a forest for three weeks without any supplies.

Bridgette began asking them what kinda plants had been around them when they had left, and she very quickly realized their mistake. "You guys squatted on poison ivy." She laughed behind her palm. "Oh no way, that's awesome." Chris laughed at the now freaking out girls.

Finally they ran into the water and you guys left them behind.

Geoff tried to give you all a 'inspiring speech' but in reality it made you realize how close you were to tackling someone. Courtney decided she was going to be the 'project' manager and yelled at Duncan almost immediately.

She put you in charge of building the motor which you did with ease. They had you build small engines at juvie a LOT and she had Duncan use his switchblade to cut the boxes open. But everyone else failed their jobs... spectactuarly.

The other team's hottub looked terrific.

Yours look like it did drugs.

So obviously, they won.

Yours had exploded the second Chris had touched it. "Well, I think we have a winner here." the host yelled. "The Screaming Gophers!" He announced their prize. "I'll see your sorry butts at the campfire tonight." He yelled at you guys.

Once it was time for dinner, Katie (or was it Sadie?) finally asked the question everyone was dying to know. "So- uh- what do we do now?" she muttered. "We have to figure out who we're going to vote off." Courtney explained her eye still swelling. "Well, I think it should be you sweetheart." You smiled pointing at her. "Or maybe the brick house here." Duncan pointed at DJ. "What! Why?" Courtney whined.

"Because, unless I'm mistaken, you two are the only ones here with the chicken hats, and if we ever have to lift a truck I like our chances better with the big guy." Duncan bumped shoulders with DJ causing the man to smile.

"You guys need me. I'm the only one-" Courtney began to whine. "We know, who used to be a real C.I.T." Bridgette groaned rolling her eyes. "I hate to break it to you hun, no one gives a shit." You laughed at Courtney's expression. "So who would you pick?" Bridgette asked finally letting the girl speak.

"What about him?" Courtney pointed at Tyler causing Lindsay to scream at the other table. "At least he jumped off the cliff." Duncan pointed out. "Chicken wing." You chimed in causing Courtney to yell "Shut it!" At you. "Okay, let's just chill out, this is getting way too heavy." Geoff got between you both causing you to growl.

"I've had enough prison food for one day. I'm gonna take a nap, you coming Y/N?" You both stood up to go walk off but Courtney stopped you. "You can't do that, we haven't decided who's going yet." She complained causing you to groan. "I just told get why we lost, eh. They're the ones that have six girls." That made you stop dead in your tracks because there ain't no way Ezekiel just said that.

Before Duncan could stop you, you had shoved Ezekiel's face against the table slamming it hard. "What's that supposed to mean?" Bridgette growled. "Yeah home school, enlighten us." Eva hissed. "Well guys are much stronger and better at sports then girls are." Ezekiel said his voice muffled against the table. "Dumbass." Duncan groaned from behind you.

Geoff saw this look in your eyes and took a step back. "Oh snap, he did not just say that." Geoff laughed putting a hand to his face. "My dad told me to look out for the girls here, eh, and to help them in case they can't keep up." Eva grabbed Ezekiel by the throat pulling him up. "Still think we need your help keeping up?" She growled. "Not really." Ezekiel shrugged. "Okay guys let's give him a break." Geoff had Eva drop him. "At least he doesn't think guys are smarter then girls." Geoff explained and suddenly Ezekiel decided to say..

"Well they are!"

Duncan had to pull you off of him.

That night at the campfire Duncan sat on the bench and you sat at his feet . "Dude, you've got a lot to learn about the real world." He advised the homeschooled boy. "Killer bass, at camp marshmallows represent a tasty treat that you enjoy roasting by the fire. At this camp marshmallows represent life. You've all cast your votes and made your decision. Thee are only eleven marshmallows on this plate. When I call your name, come up and claim your marshmallow. The camper that does not recieve a marshmallow tonight must immediately return to the dock of shame to catch the boat of losers. That means you're out of the contest and you can't come back... ever. The first marshmallow goes to... Geoff." Chris explained the 'game.'

You weren't worried.

He went down the list of names rather quickly.

"Duncan. Y/N." Chris called out and Duncan threw a marshmallow into your mouth. You hated toasted marshmallows. Finally Chris made his last annoucement. "Campers, this is the final marshmallow of the evening." It was between Courtney and Ezekiel. You stared at your bloodied knuckles.

.....

......

.....

.....

"Courtney. Can't say I'm surprised, I saw you picking your nose, not cool bro. Dock of shame is that way." Chris pointed and for some damn reason Ezekiel looked surprised.

After the rest of them ate their marshmallows you walked back to the cabins going past the dancing gophers. You stepped up onto your cabin's steps and everyone quickly went inside leaving Duncan and you alone. He kissed your knuckles. "Your anger is a beaut everytime." He quietly teased grabbing your waist to bring you closer.

"Mhm." You laughed.

"Well, goodnight scorpion." He kissed your cheek and you fucking blushed to your dismay. "Screw you, tiger." You kissed his cheek right back and dissapeared before he could say anything. You left the 'green-haired dickhead' standing there holding his cheek in surprise.

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#Yourangerisabeaut

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[halothenthehorns]

Chapter 18: CHIRON THROWS A PARTY

Alex started shouting reading in delight, and only continued in that way, "and we all know Chiron's family throws the best parties!"

Annabeth was a third worried about Oceanus, a third worried about Percy, and a third worried about her eardrums as she gently tapered, "but Chiron's throwing the party. Perhaps he has something planned more mellow, with hot chocolate and Dean Martin."

"Odd time for a party if so," Magnus offered in peace.

Thalia was mildly impressed Alex couldn't get a hint off Annabeth about even rainbow afros in the near future. She really had her shit together.

Alex frowned at Annabeth killing her vibe but nodded and continued reading a touch more in the normal hearing range.

Midtown was a war zone. We flew over little skirmishes everywhere. A giant was ripping up trees in Bryant Park while dryads pelted him with nuts. Outside the Waldorf Astoria, a bronze statue of Benjamin Franklin was whacking a hellhound with a rolled-up newspaper. A trio of Hephaestus campers fought a squad of dracaenae in the middle of Rockefeller Center.

Those who had never been to New York just heard landmarks and monsters being smashed together like wrong puzzle pieces. They understood the gravity of what they were hearing, simply because of the look on Percy's face. As if every new crack he'd traveled over was a new vindication he sought.

I was tempted to stop and help, but I could tell from the smoke and noise that the real action had moved farther south. Our defenses were collapsing. The enemy was closing in on the Empire State Building.

The sense of gravitas in Alex's voice always did sound like she should have all attention around the campfire. Even those who were in the know had a way of listening in and left breathless at what was going to happen.

We did a quick sweep of the surrounding area. The Hunters had set up a defensive line on 37th, just three blocks north of Olympus. To the east on Park Avenue, Jake Mason and some other Hephaestus campers were leading an army of statues against the enemy. To the west, the Demeter cabin and Grover's nature spirits had turned Sixth Avenue into a jungle that was hampering a squadron of Kronos's demigods. The south was clear for now, but the flanks of the enemy army were swinging around. A few more minutes and we'd be totally surrounded.

"We have to land where they need us most," I muttered.

That's everywhere, boss.

"We've only just started this one and the horse already gets the gold star," Jason looked pretty proud of Blackjack earning that.

Percy nodded seriously. "Right, so, our options include splitting the island in half and hoping Kronos takes the part that doesn't have the Empire State Building-"

"Pass," Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Or shutting the hell up, Jason, to see what we do about it," Percy concluded.

"I'm sort of leaning towards the first option though," Thalia said honestly, "like honestly, I'd just kind of like to see you try."

"You're all hopeless," Nico said in true bafflement how they'd survived this night.

"We're all heroes," Percy reminded with pride, "hopeful, hero, hhhh-" he stammered on another H word.

"Hobgoblins," Alex offered.

"Humanitarians," Magnus grinned.

"Honorable, hopeful, heroes," Jason offered, immediately getting back on Percy's good side as he gestured to him with a nod of thanks.

Alex huffed and called them all a bunch of hobgoblins before she continued.

I spotted a familiar silver owl banner in the southeast corner of the fight, 33rd at the Park Avenue tunnel. Annabeth and two of her siblings were holding back a Hyperborean giant.

"There!" I told Blackjack. He plunged toward the battle.

"No offense to Annabeth in the slightest," Will couldn't help but say through only slightly gritted teeth, "but that's really who you thought needed the most help?"

"No," Percy dismissed at once her injured shoulder had any play in this thought...even if he wouldn't deny it either. "I came to ask her like I would Chiron on top of that hill where forces needed me most."

I leaped off his back and landed on the giant's head. When the giant looked up, I slid off his face, shield-bashing his nose on the way down.

"RAWWWR!' The giant staggered backward, blue blood trickling from his nostrils.

"Does it taste like an Icee?" Alex grinned.

"I didn't lick it!" Percy yelped in disgust.

"Your loss," she shrugged.

I hit the pavement running. The Hyperborean breathed a cloud of white mist, and the temperature dropped. The spot where I'd landed was now coated with ice, and I was covered in frost like a sugar donut.

Alex laughed in delight that further sweets just reinforced her idea of these guys showing up in the next imagining she had of visiting Canada in a complete Willy Wonka mayhem.

"Hey, ugly!" Annabeth yelled. I hoped she was talking to the giant, not me.

"Both?" Magnus smirked.

"No Magnus," Annabeth chuckled, "I meant the giant."

"I don't know, the two looked pretty similar right then, that's not a great defense," Thalia smirked.

"You weren't there, shut it zappy," Percy huffed.

"I don't need to be there to know how you look covered in donut powder, I've witnessed that mess," she chuckled.

Blue Boy bellowed and turned toward her, exposing the unprotected back of his legs. I charged and stabbed him behind the knee.

"Just as planned," Annabeth told Will.

"You planned on Percy descending from above to stab that thing while you distracted him?" He asked in disbelief.

"He's very handy that way," Annabeth shrugged. "I wouldn't have even been surprised to see him tame that pig."

Will couldn't even be mad if they were joking. The two did work best together.

"WAAAAH!" The Hyperborean buckled. I waited for him to turn, but he froze. I mean he literally turned to solid ice. From the point where I'd stabbed him, cracks appeared in his body. They got larger and wider until the giant crumbled in a mountain of blue shards.*

"Why was that somehow more disturbing than turning to dust?" Magnus asked.

"More visually destructive," Alex said with relish.

"They won't turn to dust and vanish as fast," Nico agreed.

Magnus's frown grew as he realized they were right and decided to set aside for now why that did deeply bother him about all these monsters.

"Thanks." Annabeth winced, trying to catch her breath. "The pig?"

"Pork chops," I said.

"Good." She flexed her shoulder. Obviously, the wound was still bothering her, but she saw my expression and rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, Percy. Come on! We've got plenty of enemies left."

She was right.

"Mmmmm," Annabeth closed her eyes and savored that.

"About the enemies, you only get to enjoy that half as much for not being fine in the shoulder," Percy huffed.

"Mm," Annabeth mocked, trying to sound just as savoring with a serious face.

The result caused them all to snicker like idiots.

The next hour was a blur. I fought like I'd never fought before—wading into legions of dracaenae, taking out dozens of telkhines with every strike, destroying empousai and knocking out enemy demigods. No matter how many I defeated, more took their place.

Percy had been fighting for his life since page one of this mess.

This felt like more. Heavier. Nine times out of ten Percy was outside of Camp facing down these threats, but this time Camp had come to defend his home, and it didn't feel like there was an end goal in sight this time of running them all out. Even if they won this day. More would always take their place.

Annabeth and I raced from block to block, trying to shore up our defenses. Too many of our friends lay wounded in the streets. Too many were missing.

Will fidgeted with the beads of his camp necklace. He officially had more than Micheal at the end of last summer. The assortment of colors always stood out on his neck when he looked in the mirror, like flashes of eyes he'd never see again.

As the night wore on and the moon got higher, we were backed up foot by foot until we were only a block from the Empire State Building in any direction. At one point Grover was next to me, bonking snake women over the head with his cudgel. Then he disappeared in the crowd, and it was Thalia at my side, driving the monsters back with the power of her magic shield. Mrs. O'Leary bounded out of nowhere, picked up a Laistrygonian giant in her mouth, and flung him into the air like a Frisbee.

Annabeth used her invisibility cap to sneak behind the enemy lines. Whenever a monster disintegrated for no apparent reason with a surprised look on his face, I knew Annabeth had been there.

But it still wasn't enough.

Jason felt as if he were being held captive by his own mind. The sounds and smells flashing by to fast to get a real grasp on, the emotions that kept peaking and rolling back out of him while he sat in a green bean bag at the bottom of the ocean. He knew every flick of the wrist Percy had made, but everything felt a step off from truly connecting he felt a little madness creeping in what the heck his old life really was until he forced himself to focus on Alex reading with her whole self, Percy's manic grin, Thalia lounged out in her seat still fiddling with her bracelet. This was real, at least. These weren't moments a god could take away from him again. He wouldn't let it happen.

"Hold your lines!" Katie Gardner shouted, somewhere off to my left.

The problem was there were too few of us to hold anything. The entrance to Olympus was twenty feet behind me. A ring of brave demigods, Hunters, and nature spirits guarded the doors.

Alex's voice shook rarely, but it did now as she realized this was Rachel's drawing, again. Just popping up in Percy's near future. And she was on her way there...somehow. She kept it together well and barreled through the moment, still reading with a thrill in her voice for the idea of being in that action, but Magnus saw it.

I slashed and hacked, destroying everything m my path, but even I was getting tired, and I couldn't be everywhere at once.

Behind the enemy troops, a few blocks to the east, a bright light began to shine. I thought it was the sunrise. Then I realized Kronos was riding toward us on a golden chariot. A dozen Laistrygonian giants bore torches before him. Two Hyperboreans carried his black-and-purple banners. The Titan lord looked fresh and rested, his powers at full strength. He was taking his time advancing, letting me wear myself down.

Alex felt the internal urge to puff up and hiss. To transform into a chimera and use all three heads to deal with this. To throw a slushie with some human teeth in all their faces. This entrapment down here really was starting to affect even her creativity when that's all that came to mind before she just audibly grumbled for a moment before moving on.

Annabeth appeared next to me. "We have to fall back to the doorway. Hold it at all costs!"

She was right. I was about to order a retreat when I heard the hunting horn.

It cut through the noise of the battle like a fire alarm. A chorus of horns answered from all around us, echoing off the buildings of Manhattan.

I glanced at Thalia, but she just frowned.

"Not the Hunters," she assured me. "We're all here."

Alex threw Annabeth a look of fond excitement. She'd known all along the party ponies were coming but had tried to tamper her expectations they weren't going to until the end of the chapter and perhaps only a handful of them would be there with more paintballs.

This, sounded like fun.

"No international league heading in?" Jason asked her, knowing the real answer, still imagining girls in kilts and bows showing up for his own amusement.

"Not unless I was finally unbanned from Saskatchewan," Thalia shrugged. "Long story," she promised at the many confused faces.

"Then who?"

The horns got louder. I couldn't tell where they were coming from because of the echo, but it sounded like an entire army was approaching.

Alex grinned. She read giddy, with such mayhem and delight it would have been infectious to Ethan or possibly even Kronos himself to get hyped about his own demise coming. Annabeth, at least, got a moment to smile and imagine Luke with that old challenging smile on his face to hear of an enemy being thwarted.

I was afraid it might be more enemies, but Kronos's forces looked as confused as we were. Giants lowered their clubs. Dracaenae hissed. Even Kronos's honor guard looked uneasy.

Then, to our left, a hundred monsters cried out at once. Kronos's entire northern flank surged forward.

I thought we were doomed, but they didn't attack. They ran straight past us and crashed into their southern allies.

Percy was already blinking like he was trying to get the dust out of his eyes. The monsters had already started to blur together by that time. The slightly different shades of their skin and the little details they each had in their armor had faded to nothing in his mind but where next to swing his sword. Seeing them run right past him, flee and then explode on their allies' own weapons, coating the streets in glittering sand that was dispersed moments later as more took their place amid those horns really messed with him and put in perspective while an entire army just watched in terror really had made him feel small for just that moment.

A new blast of horns shattered the night. The air shimmered. In a blur of movement, an entire cavalry appeared as if dropping out of light speed.

"Yeah, baby!" a voice wailed. "PARTY!"

A shower of arrows arced over our heads and slammed into the enemy, vaporizing hundreds of demons. But these weren't regular arrows. They made whizzy sounds as they flew, like WHEEEEEE! Some had pinwheels attached to them. Others had boxing gloves rather than points.

"Centaurs!" Annabeth yelled.

"So, I think the Party Ponies have arrived," Will said conversationally.

"And they're going to smash everything in their sight charged on the power of awesome!" Alex yelled like a child high on soda and cursed knowledge. They were already resigned to pissing off the ocean titan and letting her have her fun.

The Party Pony army exploded into our midst in a riot of colors: tie-dyed shirts, rainbow Afro wigs, oversize sunglasses, and war-painted faces. Some had slogans scrawled across their flanks like HORSEZ PWN or KRONOS SUX.

"That's going to be my license plate one day," Alex declared, reading each new thing as if a treasure trove of a lifetime. Maybe Loki Sux instead.

Hundreds of them filled the entire block. My brain couldn't process everything I saw, but I knew if I were the enemy, I'd be running.

"I'm so disappointed in your brain," Jason groaned. He wanted every messy detail of this just as bad.

"I am too," Percy nodded. He knew his friends loved this kind of stuff and really was sorry he couldn't give them better visuals. Stupid brain.

"Percy!" Chiron shouted across the sea of wild centaurs.

"Chiron and Percy, parting the sea of wild centaurs and creatures to get to each other," Thalia gave a mock sniff. "It's such an amazing story of mentor and mentee-"

"I'm going to turn you into a manatee," Percy scowled.

He was dressed in armor from the waist up, his bow in his hand, and he was grinning in satisfaction.

"I half imagined him showing up to this in his tweed jacket," Nico admitted.

"He's worn that once guys, while pretending to be a real teacher at my school," Percy chuckled.

"What do you mean a real teacher?" Annabeth looked at him in disappointment. "He's literally the trainer of all hero's seaweed brain."

"Like, grading papers, and Paul- no, but- boring, no," Percy groaned that wasn't right either and waved at Alex to just get back to the fun stuff.

"Sorry we're late!"

"DUDE!" Another centaur yelled. "Talk later. WASTE MONSTERS NOW!"

"That centaur knows how to live," Alex nodded in agreement.

"We haven't slayed one monster in here," Percy agreed in mild disappointment. "Guys, do we talk to much?!"

"Yes," they all agreed, not that it was going to stop a single one of them.

He locked and loaded a double-barrel paint gun and blasted an enemy hellhound bright pink. The paint must've been mixed with Celestial bronze dust or something, because as soon as it splattered the hellhound, the monster yelped and dissolved into a pink-and-black puddle.

Alex's laugh was subdued at best, even for that badass moment though. She couldn't recklessly laugh at that harm done anymore without picturing Mrs. O'Leary crossing her paws over her nose in Percy's apartment. Even Magnus couldn't have a vindictive laugh over this happening to a monster dog with that look on her face.

"PARTY PONIES.'" a centaur yelled. "SOUTH FLORIDA!"

"As opposed to North Florida?" Jason asked blankly.

"Bet the Flordia Georgia line is an epic meet-up spot?" Percy shrugged.

Somewhere across the battlefield, a twangy voice yelled back, "HEART OF TEXAS CHAPTER!"

Will pressed his hand to his heart and started humming something. Nico just thought what a lovable dork he was no matter the song.

"HAWAII OWNS YOUR FACES!" a third one shouted.

It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

Annabeth tried hard to hitch up a mock sob, but it came out to much as a laugh to be anything more than adorable to Percy.

The entire Titan army turned and fled, pushed back by a flood of paintballs, arrows, swords, and NERF baseball bats. The centaurs trampled everything in their path.

"Run, wild horses, run!" Will said with a static kind of energy that got the others just as hyped as Alex could. He'd been running around trying to ensure the sick and injured had gotten inside first, he'd been snatching up supplies so fast the Stolls would have been proud, he'd been having to deal with his own chaos and really hadn't even been aware these guys showed up until one tapped him on the shoulder and offered help. He was pretty sure it was one from Colorado and had still instantly said yes without question.

"Stop running, you fools!" Kronos yelled. "Stand and ACKK!"

Alex really drew that noise out too, making it sound wet and painful, leaving no one in doubt Kronos had not managed to finish saying the word attack.

That last part was because a panicked Hyperborean giant stumbled backward and sat on top of him.

The lord of time disappeared under a giant blue butt.

Through an effort Hercules would never bother with, Percy refused to let himself laugh at that like most everyone else did as Annabeth bit her lip. He was pretty sure that should earn him a free pass for laughing at something inappropriate in the future. Jason might even laminate it for him.

We pushed them for several blocks until Chiron yelled, "HOLD! On your promise, HOLD!"

It wasn't easy, but eventually the order got relayed up and down the ranks of centaurs, and they started to pull back, letting the enemy flee.

Thalia's face was flushed with joy, still panting just a bit from her laughter at Luke's stupid face vanishing under an icy ass like he wholly deserved, the ghost of adrenaline she hadn't properly felt in days still pumping through her. Once this high had worn off she'd been so exhausted she'd nearly fallen asleep climbing some stairs!

"Chiron's smart," Annabeth said, wiping the sweat off her face. "If we pursue, we'll get too spread out. We need to regroup."

"I mean, yeah, but," Alex gestured to the book and the chaos being taken away.

"I'll personally sign you up for the next scavenger hunt at Camp, nothing gets more chaotic than that," Annabeth promised.

"Deal," Alex shrugged without further ado.

"But the enemy—"

"They're not defeated," she agreed. "But the dawn is coming. At least we've bought some time."

I didn't like pulling back, but I knew she was right.

"How to sum up them dating," Will and Nico said at once before they both busted out laughing. Annabeth and Percy exchanged unamused looks at this somehow continuing long past the point it was funny, but as constantly proven, they knew when to pick their battles.

I watched as the last of the telkhines scuttled toward the East River. Then reluctantly I turned and headed back toward the Empire State Building.

We set up a two-block perimeter, with a command tent at the Empire State Building. Chiron informed us that the Party Ponies had sent chapters from almost every state in the Union: forty from California, two from Rhode Island,

"Rhode Island slacking," Alex sniffed. "It's right next door!"

"They're, congressional appointments, of centaurs," Magnus said in fascination. "Like, they sent some by population? Is there a centaur president?"

"Ah, no," Annabeth shook her head with a smile. "Don't overthink it cuz."

"Right," he chuckled, imagining that would be Chiron anyways and he already knew what a hectic leader that guy was.

thirty from Illinois . . . Roughly five hundred total had answered his call, but even with that many, we couldn't defend more than a few blocks.

"Just topple over one unoccupied building, that's all I'm asking for," Alex crossed her fingers hopefully. "Brick launcher grenade gun!"

"They could too," Jason said with mingled dread and delight for that idea.

"Dude," said a centaur named Larry. His T-shirt identified him as BIG CHIEF UBER GUY, NEW MEXICO CHAPTER.

"Are all the Hells Angels just secretly centaurs? Is there a centaur gang?" Percy asked.

"The only turf war they'd have is best licorice supply runs, I think we're safe from that," Annabeth shrugged.

"That was more fun than our last convention in Vegas!"

"Yeah," said Owen from South Dakota. He wore a black leather jacket and an old WWII army helmet. "We totally wasted them!"

Chiron patted Owen on the back. "You did well, my friends, but don't get careless. Kronos should never be underestimated. Now why don't you visit the diner on West 33rd and get some breakfast? I hear the Delaware chapter found a stash of root beer."

"Root beer!" They almost trampled each other as they galloped off.

"I got it," Thalia snapped her fingers, "they argue over which brand is better and that's why they all have to live separately!"

"How many brands of root beer are there?" Percy asked blankly.

"3,192," Alex said without hesitation.

There was a long pause before nobody decided to ask how serious that answer was.

Chiron smiled. Annabeth gave him a big hug, and Mrs. O'Leary licked his face.

"Ack," he grumbled. "Enough of that, dog. Yes, I'm glad to see you too."

"Chiron, thanks," I said. "Talk about saving the day."

He shrugged.

Nico smacked the side of his head. "I finally figured out where you got it from!"

"Yeah Nico, after the second time you've saved the world, it is kind of not a big deal," Percy shrugged.

Nico wouldn't know. He'd only kind of helped once.

"I'm sorry it took so long. Centaurs travel fast, as you know. We can bend distance as we ride. Even so, getting all the centaurs together was no easy task. The Party Ponies are not exactly organized."

"Noooo, say it ain't so!" Magnus chuckled.

"I mean, they're about as organized as Percy's camp, aka being held together by an awesome speech and the thrill of surprise attacks," Alex nodded. "I think it works."

Percy kind of wanted to be offended, but like, she wasn't wrong.

Percy kind of wanted to be offended, but like, she wasn't wrong.

"And a sense of family, loyalty, duty?" Annabeth prompted with a frown.

"Don't forget the duct tape," Thalia chuckled as Will hid his wince. Maybe Annabeth wouldn't admit they'd been fighting family amidst those monsters, but he didn't forget.

"How'd you get through the magic defenses around the city?" Annabeth asked.

"They slowed us down a bit," Chiron admitted, "but I think they're intended mostly to keep mortals out. Kronos doesn't want puny humans getting in the way of his great victory."

"So maybe other reinforcements can get through," I said hopefully.

"What other reinforcements are there?" Jason asked critically. He didn't mean to sound so sharp, but he did all the same. There was an electric storm still simmering in his brain that felt like it was zapping every part of him from the inside if he tried to concentrate on any blurry idea to long and it was giving him a serious headache.

Chiron stroked his beard. "Perhaps, though time is short. As soon as Kronos regroups, he will attack again. Without the element of surprise on our side . . ."

I understood what he meant. Kronos wasn't beaten. Not by a long shot. I half hoped Kronos had been squashed under that Hyperborean giant's butt, but I knew better. He'd be back, tonight at the latest.

"Well there goes my master plan," Alex sighed. "All those years of practice training that guy to squash things with his ass, wasted."

"Have no fears Alex, you'll move onto your next passion project soon," Magnus said with complete confidence.

"Yeah," she agreed with a longing sigh all the same.

"And Typhon?" I asked.

Chiron's face darkened. "The gods are tiring. Dionysus was incapacitated yesterday. Typhon smashed his chariot, and the wine god went down somewhere in the Appalachians.

Nico spluttered on a painful sounding laugh. "Even Chiron calls him the wine dude?"

"The wine god," Will corrected in a posh voice. "And I'm sure Mr. D's threatened to turn him into a table a few times for it."

No one has seen him since. Hephaestus is out of action as well. He was thrown from the battle so hard he created a new lake in West Virginia.

"I really hope some mortal thinks that's an asteroid bringing the dinosaurs back," Percy laughed.

"Percy, no," but Annabeth stopped with a sigh and let him have his fun.

He will heal, but not soon enough to help. The others still fight. They've managed to slow Typhon's approach. But the monster can not be stopped. He will arrive in New York by this time tomorrow. Once he and Kronos combine forces—"

That's all they'd been hearing of this problem from the start, and it somehow just got worse every time they heard it. Even if, beyond all hope, Percy had somehow stopped Kronos with one stupid decision, how the heck had that been stopped?!

"Then what chance do we have?" I said. "We can't hold out another day."

"We'll have to," Thalia said. "I'll see about setting some new traps around the perimeter."

She looked exhausted. Her jacket was smeared in grime and monster dust, but she managed to get to her feet and stagger off.

Annabeth had watched her go with such a tight pain in her throat she wondered if she'd accidentally swallowed some monster dust. Thalia hadn't even glanced back at her. She'd gone off to do her next task with the stoic, stiff shoulders of Luke watching them fall asleep and promising to get more firewood.

"I will help her," Chiron decided. "I should make sure my brethren don't go too overboard with the root beer."

"No such thing as too much fun," Alex huffed.

"I'd believe you'd find it even before the Party Ponies," Annabeth agreed.

I thought "too overboard" pretty much summed up the Party Ponies, but Chiron cantered off, leaving Annabeth and me alone.

"That was strategic," Annabeth huffed how unsubtle he was. She owed him a good nerf arrow.

"I know right, he just got there and he's already running off again," Percy huffed with a frown what on earth he meant by it. He would have thought Chiron would want to stay and chat for more of an update.

She cleaned the monster slime off her knife. I'd seen her do that hundreds of times, but I'd never thought about why she cared so much about the blade.

"Not really something I ever would have questioned," Alex shrugged. "I notice you never clean your blade Percy. Just because it's magic doesn't mean it might not like a good polish every once in a while."

Percy rubbed awkwardly at his nose and had nothing to say to that.

Jason suddenly felt the strong smell of polish in his nose and had an odd deja vu moment of being in an armory doing just this and smiled. He turned eagerly to Nico and asked, "how do you polish your sword?"

Nico grinned and started talking about more deadly rivers that could probably do worse to you than wipe your memory or kill you, like put gravel in your shoes or something worse, but Percy was distracted from listening by still watching Annabeth until someone shut the pair up.

She'd spent the entire time fiddling nervously with her hair, a long lost look in her eyes. He finally let the impulse win and traced the side of her neck with a question in his eyes. What the hell had she been through while he'd been away?

Annabeth caught his fingers and smiled but shook her head. Not now. That was okay. He'd wait as long as she needed.

"At least your mom is okay," I offered.

"If you call fighting Typhon okay." She locked eyes with me. "Percy, even with the centaurs' help, I'm starting to think—"

"I know." I had a bad feeling this might be our last chance to talk, and I felt like there were a million things I hadn't told her.

Athena, her stoic, absent mother, was far from her highest concern, Annabeth shook her head. Though of course her brain had been able to process plenty of concern all around. Chiron darting in and out and around everyone while sparing her a smile first had been that way since she'd arrived. Her dad was on the other side of the country, safe away from the monsters, from her.

It had been Percy she'd wanted, and him who had stayed right there.

"Listen, there were some . . . some visions Hestia showed me."

"You mean about Luke?"

Maybe it was just a safe guess, but I got the feeling Annabeth knew what I'd been holding back.

"I always just assume Annabeth can read your mind and has just been politely not informing you," Magnus nodded.

"That's not polite," Percy frowned.

"Um, or possible," Annabeth gave them a strange look.

"Right, that too," Percy waved off.

Maybe she'd been having dreams of her own.

"She's been having dreams about your dreams?" Will asked excitedly. "Dreamception?"

"This is somebody's nightmare around here," Nico rolled his eyes.

"Yeah," I said. "You and Thalia and Luke. The first time you met. And the time you met Hermes."

Annabeth slipped her knife back into its sheath. "Luke promised he'd never let me get hurt. He said ... he said we'd be a new family, and it would turn out better than his."

"Which, isn't going well," Magnus said in the kindest, most respectful voice anyone could make that sound.

"Right on the money," Annabeth nodded slowly as she leaned back into Percy's side, fingers still linked together. She really didn't know what she'd do without him in all this.

Her eyes reminded me of that seven-year-old girl's in the alley—angry, scared, desperate for a friend.

Thalia bit back a miserable sigh at how much she'd failed her too. Never on purpose, but enough that she wasn't in this moment and felt every hammer swing she deserved for it in the heart.

Annabeth sighed and gave her a good hard nudge with her foot. She wasn't going to let Thalia keep blaming herself for all that happened since then. There was enough to go around.

"That I can't face Luke," she said miserably.

"Hey, look how well you know me though," Thalia said with a genuine smile.

"Yes, your faith in me is everything," Annabeth said with a sad, sarcastic smile.

Thalia tipped her head and looked back at the book with the unsettling feeling this was about to get worse.

I nodded. "But there's something else you should know. Ethan Nakamura seemed to think Luke was still alive inside his body, maybe even fighting Kronos for control."

Annabeth tried to hide it, but I could almost see her mind working on the possibilities, maybe starting to hope.

Thalia let out a puff of breath and looked into her miserable eyes. "I'm not happy to be right you know."

"Well that's always good to know," Annabeth nodded as the two watched each other for a few moments before looking away.

"I didn't want to tell you," I admitted.

"But you did," Annabeth said in relief, just for him. He kissed her temple and couldn't think of anything else to say, but it was more than enough for her.

She looked up at the Empire State Building. "Percy, for so much of my life, I felt like everything was changing, all the time. I didn't have anyone I could rely on."

I nodded. That was something most demigods could understand.

'Most, but not him,' Will shook his head. He'd wondered a lot during this if Percy really knew how good he had it, the best of both worlds in his parents, all three of them.

"I ran away when I was seven," she said. "Then with Luke and Thalia, I thought I'd found a family, but it fell apart almost immediately. What I'm saying . . . I hate it when people let me down, when things are temporary. I think that's why I want to be an architect."

"To build something permanent," I said. "A monument to last a thousand years."

She held my eyes. "I guess that sounds like my fatal flaw again."

Most everyone around Camp knew that that was 'her thing.' Her go to if someone had a project, her specialty. Someone who was even paying attention could probably even piece together that was her fatal flaw.

Percy was still the only one she ever talked about this with. The one who made her feel like she could tell him anything and he'd never judge her for it. He'd shared his mortal spot with her. How could she ever be afraid to share anything with him?

Years ago in the Sea of Monsters, Annabeth had told me her biggest flaw was pride—thinking she could fix anything. I'd even seen a glimpse of her deepest desire, shown to her by the Sirens' magic.

Annabeth had imagined her mother and father together, standing in front of a newly rebuilt Manhattan, designed by Annabeth. And Luke had been there too—good again, welcoming her home.

"I guess I understand how you feel," I said.

"Liar," Annabeth chuckled.

"Yeah," Percy agreed. He knew he'd never understand every part of her, but he did try.

"But Thalia's right. Luke has already betrayed you so many times. He was evil even before Kronos. I don't want him to hurt you anymore."

Annabeth pursed her lips. I could tell she was trying not to get mad.

"And that was going so well," Jason said in surprise. She hadn't even pulled her knife back out.

"Yeah, first time for everything," Percy agreed in surprise.

"And you'll understand if I keep hoping there's a chance you're wrong."

I looked away. I felt like I'd done my best, but that didn't make me feel any better.

Annabeth struggled to swallow as his hand held hers tight enough to never let go. Gods this somehow kept feeling worse the longer they were dragged over each letter.

Across the street, the Apollo campers had set up a field hospital to tend the wounded—dozens of campers and almost as many Hunters. I was watching the medics work, and thinking about our slim chances for holding Mount Olympus. . . .

And suddenly: I wasn't there anymore.

I was standing in a long dingy bar with black walls, neon signs, and a bunch of partying adults. A banner across the bar read HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BOBBY EARL. Country music played on the speakers.

"Friends in Low Places?" Magnus nodded without surprise. It was barely even a shock to his system Percy had just been yanked out of his own head to deal with another gods mess.

"Does any other country song exist?" Percy chuckled.

Will opened his mouth with a pained look at the pair before closing it slowly, knowing that rant would fall on deaf ears.

Big guys in jeans and work shirts crowded the bar. Waitresses carried trays of drinks and shouted at each other. It was pretty much exactly the kind of place my mom would never let me go.

"In public?" Thalia said in understanding.

"Places where alcohol and those outfits are in one room," Percy huffed. "Mostly the alcohol!"

"We need to get him drunk one of these days, just to see if it'll finally be the thing to piss of Sally," Thalia rolled her eyes.

Somebody was clearly in a terrible mood. "Pass," Percy said at once. The stench reminded him of Gabe without even bothering to indulge the other stupid part of that.

I was stuck in the very back of the room, next to the bathrooms (which didn't smell so great) and a couple of antique arcade games.

"Oh good, you're here," said the man at the Pac-Man machine. "I'll have a Diet Coke."

He was a pudgy guy in a leopard-skin Hawaiian shirt, purple shorts, red running shoes, and black socks, which didn't exactly make him blend in with the crowd. His nose was bright red. A bandage was wrapped around his curly black hair like he was recovering from a concussion.

"So he blended right in like a sore thumb," Nico said, blinking spastically at the setting.

"Accurate," Percy nodded.

I blinked. "Mr. D?"

He sighed, not taking his eyes from the game. "Really, Peter Johnson, how long will it take for you to recognize me on sight?"

"About the same time as when he gets his halo," Alex rolled her eyes.

"About as long as it'll take for you to figure out my name," I muttered.

"Oh, so much never!" Magnus laughed, clasping his hands together in mock praise.

"An infinite amount of never, that's the answer to some riddle out there," Percy laughed along.

"Where are we?"

"Why, Bobby Earl's birthday party," Dionysus said. "Somewhere in lovely rural America."

"It's not a very lost Lestragonian is it?" Nico asked, vividly remembering their names had a similar ring.

"Don't stereotype Nico, lots of normal people have names like Earl, and they're just your everyday pieces of crap," Will rolled his eyes hard. If they were going to make jokes about the South he might as well get his digs in with another classic country song coming to mind.

"I thought Typhon swatted you out of the sky. They said you crash-landed."

"Yes, but Chiron never said where," Jason agreed. "Why wouldn't he land in a bar? Makes sense to me. Bars have wine."

"They're not magnetically drawn to their domain when they crash land," Annabeth sighed.

"Yeah, but I bet you anything if Hepahsuts had drawn me in for a one-on-one, I'd find myself in a very tiny tool shed with him throwing saws around and complaining about their dullness matching mine," Percy sighed.

"Your concern is touching. I did crash-land. Very painfully. In fact, part of me is still buried under a hundred feet of rubble in an abandoned coal mine.

"Huh," Percy and Jason said together with interest they'd been wrong.

Annabeth just smiled and rolled her eyes at these idiots.

It will be several more hours before I have enough strength to mend. But in the meantime, part of my consciousness is here."

"At a bar, playing Pac-Man."

"You sound a tad jealous," Alex chuckled.

"Eh, I prefer Street Fighter eating my quarters," Percy shrugged. There was a retro arcade not far from one of his favorite movie places he didn't get to visit enough, but his high score was still in the top ten.

"Party time," Dionysus said. "Surely you've heard of it. Wherever there is a party, my presence is invoked.

Percy yelped and covered his ears at the idea of such a future pain in his ass. "I take it all back! Alex and anyone else is forbidden from ever throwing me a party!"

"Awww, come on Perce, I promise to keep him in the back with an arcade machine," Alex looked like a kicked puppy.

Percy's heart instantly crumbled. "Yeah, well, fine, but nobody had better involve singing."

"Deal," she instantly agreed. She winked at Will though when he looked away, who instantly grinned back.

Because of this, I can exist in many different places at once. The only problem was finding a party. I don't know if you're aware how serious things are outside your safe little bubble of New York—"

"Safe little bubble?"

"Come on Percy, you'd know this was a trap if he wasn't delusional on all that partying," Thalia shook her head at him.

"Yeah, yeah, one thing is normal in this crazy world," Percy huffed.

"—but believe me, the mortals out here in the heartland are panicking. Typhon has terrified them. Very few are throwing parties. Apparently Bobby Earl and his friends, bless them, are a little slow. They haven't yet figured out that the world is ending."

"Don't know what he's on about, sounds like the perfect time to throw a party," Alex chuckled.

"Yeah, that tracks," Jason nodded without surprise.

"So . . . I'm not really here?"

Magnus couldn't even be upset and surprised that Percy had legitimately thought he'd just been yanked off the street like that. Considering where he'd woken up without memories. It really wasn't that far-fetched.

"No. In a moment I'll send you back to your normal insignificant life, and it will be as if nothing had happened."

"Yes please," Percy sighed. He might even be grateful for a memory wipe!

...unless Dionysus had gone to far. That actually seemed likely.

"And why did you bring me here?"

Dionysus snorted. "Oh, I didn't want you particularly. Any of you silly heroes would do. That Annie girl—"

"Annabeth."

"The point is," he said, "I pulled you into party time to deliver a warning. We are in danger."

There was another long, awkward pause where even Alex looked disconcerted because she hadn't caused it this time.

"As opposed to?" Percy finally asked into the silence.

"Um, Norwegia? Do they have anything bad going on right now?" Nico finally answered.

"To hell if I know!" Percy threw his hands up, long overdone with these gods making no sense and expecting him to keep up.

"Gee," I said. "Never would've figured that out. Thanks."

"Can't say he never helped guide you," Will chuckled.

"Yes I can," Percy huffed.

"It would just be a lie?" Will tried in vain.

"No Will, I know full well when I'm lying," Percy smirked.

He glared at me and momentarily forgot his game. Pac-Man got eaten by the red ghost dude.

"Erre es korakas, Blinky!" Dionysus cursed. "I will have your soul!"

"Appropriate reaction to be honest," Jason nodded.

"Competitive streak, locked and loaded," Percy pointed at him accusingly.

"I, well maybe, I don't know," Jason frowned before he shrugged and decided against arguing the point. He had a strange feeling he'd once strangled someone with a controller, but he wasn't sure if it was a monster or not and that was kind of bothersome.

"Was nobody going to translate that awesome Greek cuss so I know what I'm saying when I use it?" Alex pouted.

"He said go to the crows too," Nico offered with the same helpful smile as the first time.

"Oh, I see, now I know where she got it from," Alex grinned at Annabeth, who didn't bother to look embarrassed as she shrugged.

"Um, he's a video game character," I said.

"That's no excuse! And you're ruining my game, Jorgenson!"

"Jackson."

"Whichever!

"No, no, Percy Jorgenson should very much be discussed more. What's his life like?" Magnus chuckled.

"Going to Giants games, living his best life I assume," Percy sighed.

Now listen, the situation is graver than you imagine. If Olympus falls, not only will the gods fade, but everything that is connected to our legacy will also begin to unravel. The very fabric of your puny little civilization—"

The game played a song and Mr. D progressed to level 254.

"Ha!" he shouted. "Take that, you pixelated fiends!"

"Um, fabric of civilization," I prompted.

"And Pac-Man is a part of that, gosh Percy, let the man prioritize his way," Jason grinned.

"I'll set Blinky on you, don't test me," Percy promised.

"Yes, yes. Your entire society will dissolve. Perhaps not right away, but mark my words, the chaos of the Titans will mean the end of Western civilization. Art, law, wine tastings, music, video games, silk shirts, black velvet paintings—all the things that make life worth living will disappear!"

"This is not news," Thalia frowned as she looked from the book to Percy. "He didn't really think you were tempted by Prometheus did he?"

Percy shivered, something tight lodged in his throat. He couldn't breathe for several moments as his head swam, that stupid jar leaping to mind strapped into the backseat of a car-

Annabeth put her arm around his shoulders. She held him close as he leaned into her for the stability he desperately needed right now as his head swam without the rest of him.

She ran her fingers gently through his hair until his breathing labored into something more even and Alex kept going without question.

"So why aren't the gods rushing back to help us?" I said. "We should combine forces at Olympus. Forget Typhon."

He snapped his fingers impatiently. "You forgot my Diet Coke."

"Gods, you're annoying." I got the attention of a waitress and ordered the stupid soda. I put it on Bobby Earl's tab.

"Is that illegal?" Magnus frowned. "It feels like that should be illegal."

"I honestly don't think anyone here knows," Will admitted. None of them were exactly law-abiding citizens on the regular.

"Fair enough," he nodded.

Mr. D took a good long drink. His eyes never left the video game. "The truth is, Pierre—"

"Percy."

"Posey," Thalia offered with a smirk at Percy, who groaned in dismay. He just knew she'd find a way to tell his dad he'd once accidentally called him that.

"Nah, got to give him one thing, he's never called Percy a Polly," Alex said in delight. "I was thinking Peitro though, or Picholo."

"I'm so glad I wasn't named after an instrument," Percy frowned and knew he owed his mother yet another thanks in his life.

"—the other gods would never admit this, but we actually need you mortals to rescue Olympus. You see, we are manifestations of your culture. If you don't care enough to save Olympus yourselves—"

"Like Pan," I said, "depending on the satyrs to save the Wild."

"Yes, quite. I will deny I ever said this, of course, but the gods need heroes. They always have. Otherwise we would not keep you annoying little brats around."

"I feel so wanted. Thanks."

"You really should," Annabeth was blinking at him like a new riddle to solve. "I don't think he's ever said that out loud. You must have done something during the battle to really get his attention Percy." Short of creating an ocean of Diet Coke, she couldn't think what he'd done to earn this audience.

Percy realized he hadn't yet mentioned the bit where Dionysus had pulled him aside and basically told him he'd cured Chirs and he was sad his son was dead. It was one of those things he was used to the others all knowing. He'd kind of become Mr. D's fall guy for the entire camp after that he supposed. The good and the bad.

"Use the training I have given you at camp."

"What training?"

"You know. All those hero techniques and . . . No!" Mr. D slapped the game console. "Na pari i eychi! The last level!"

"And that means?" Alex asked eagerly, this time looking around at Nico expectantly.

Nico grinned in a way that already made Will blush before he said, "that one's something more in line with what Will would call Hera."

"Ah, fantastic update, thank you," she chuckled while Will sighed without much regret that was never going to die.

He looked at me, and purple fire flickered in his eyes. "As I recall, I once predicted you would turn out to be as selfish as all the other human heroes. Well, here is your chance to prove me wrong."

"Yeah, making you proud is real high on my list."

"Like, right up there with getting kissed by an empousa," Thalia said in a really good simpering act.

Percy high fived her in agreement and Annabeth really kept telling herself she should move so they'd stop doing that across her face.

"You must save Olympus, Pedro!

"Remind me to send Pedro a thank you gift," Percy rolled his eyes.

"Sounds like you might have to learn some Spanish, personally I'd just take credit for it," Jason shrugged.

Leave Typhon to the Olympians and save our own seats of power. It must be done!"

"Great. Nice little chat. Now, if you don't mind, my friends will be wondering—"

"There is more," Mr. D warned.

"Oh thank gods," Magnus clutched at his shirt over his heart. "This just wasn't dire enough yet!"

Alex patted his shoulder and knew in that moment he'd love a good theater camp.

"Kronos has not yet attained full power. The body of the mortal was only a temporary measure."

Annabeth licked her suddenly dry lips as her eyes darted around like she expected to find an angry mob with pitchforks appearing out of nowhere. It made no rational explanation, she kept trying to scold herself, but that did no good. She half expected them all to laugh at her, to throw in her face they'd known all along that Luke was just a pawn, a means to an end, and he'd deserved this.

None did, and she started feeling dizzy with her own relief until Percy put his arm around her in turn until she caught her breath and her eyes stopped burning so bad. Gods she missed Luke so much.

"We kind of guessed that."

"And did you also guess that within a day at most, Kronos will burn away that mortal body and take on the true form of a Titan king?"

"And that would mean . . ."

Dionysus inserted another quarter. "You know about the true forms of the gods."

"Yeah. You can't look at them without burning up."

"Kronos would be ten times more powerful. His very presence would incinerate you. And once he achieves this, he will empower the other Titans. They are weak now, compared to what they will soon become, unless you can stop them. The world will fall, the gods will die, and I will never achieve a perfect score on this stupid machine."

Alex read all of that without to much surprise. It really was a constant case of, 'how could this get any worse?' and then she got her answer and just moved on. It had kind of been the track record of her whole life anyways.

Nobody was really up for arguing the point with her. It's not like it was new information anymore than, 'Percy needed to save the world or we'd all be dead.'

Maybe I should've been terrified, but honestly, I was already about as scared as I could get.

Jason mock rummaged around in his pockets. "Hang on, I have a meter I need to check for that."

"Where haven't I threatened to shove that yet?" Percy tapped his chin, before he snapped his fingers. "Ah, into your belly button!"

Jason theatrically covered his stomach with a horrified expression and the two idiots chuckled for a moment while Thalia and Annabeth exchanged bemused looks.

"Can I go now?" I asked.

"One last thing. My son Pollux. Is he alive?"

Alex really hated herself for the emotion that gripped her voice. That her mind flashed to her father for just a second, then Loki, before she slammed her fist into an already destroyed washing machine in her mind that made something fall out with a clunk to scatter those stupid images away. She knew what she was telling herself, it wasn't denial, it was just anger it wouldn't go away.

I blinked. "Yeah, last I saw him."

"I would very much appreciate it if you could keep him that way. I lost his brother Castor last year—"

"I remember." I stared at him, trying to wrap my mind around the idea that Dionysus could be a caring father. I wondered how many other Olympians were thinking about their demigod children right now.

Will caught Percy's eye and held it to let him know he wasn't alone. That he'd really felt that, been thinking it too. He'd wondered how useless his prayers were while sending them to his dad. The fact that Mr. D even bothered to pull one camper aside to check in, in his own way, really made him believe for a moment that even if he hadn't gotten an answer, his prayers had been heard.

Or that Pollux hadn't been making any.

And he wasn't sure which it was.

"I'll do my best."

Magnus heard that as, when he went to visit his cousin there, he should expect to see a pudgy blonde kid chilling at a cabin alone. The one with grapevines all over it probably. Percy's best wasn't always the solution to everyone coming out alive, but it was as close as he'd ever expect.

"Your best," Dionysus muttered. "Well, isn't that reassuring. Go now. You have some nasty surprises to deal with, and I must defeat Blinky!"

"Nasty surprises?"

He waved his hand, and the bar disappeared.

"Would the gods stop doing at least that," Percy heard it in his own voice, tried to reign in the reverberating power that could easily topple the room they were in, but man was it heard. "If they know something helpful, next time start with that!"

It took every bit of his concentration not to form his hands into fists and draw Riptide and figure out how to go back to his subconscious or whatever and at least break that stupid machine!

"I don't think their brains are exactly linear like ours Percy," Annabeth reminded patiently.

"Then I'm going to start the conversation by setting three alarms so they think they're running out of time and actually tell me this stuff while the first two to go off! The third one's because I'm positive I'll actually want them to stop talking by then," Percy sighed.

"Good plan. Hope it works out for you," Annabeth sighed right with him at whatever god he decided to test this theory on.

I was back on Fifth Avenue. Annabeth hadn't moved. She didn't give any sign that I'd been gone or anything.

She caught me staring and frowned. "What?"

"Um . . . nothing, I guess."

"That really was nothing to you too," Magnus sighed. Just another day in the life of Percy Jackson, being dragged across the country only in his head to have a conversation with the wine dude who also wasn't really there!

"I know the important things in my life," Percy grinned.

I gazed down the avenue, wondering what Mr. D had meant by nasty surprises. How much worse could it get?

Magnus felt the urge to cover his eyes and whimper pre-monster arrival. Just to get it out of the way now.

My eyes rested on a beat-up blue car. The hood was badly dented, like somebody had tried to hammer out some huge craters. My skin tingled. Why did that car look so familiar? Then I realized it was a Prius.

Paul's Prius.

With every new descriptor Alex's voice had gotten a little quieter, a little more shaken. This wasn't her spooky, telling ghost stories over a fire voice where she tried to make herself sound scared to up the mood. She was legitimately upset at realizing Percy's parents could be hurt much more than some dents in the hood of a car, and Percy was as touched as he suddenly was panicked. It was a very strange feeling that stole his spurt of action but left him feeling sick with the need to do something.

I bolted down the street.

"Percy!" Annabeth called. "Where are you going?"

Paul was passed out in the driver's seat. My mom was snoring beside him. My mind felt like mush.

The fact that she was asleep was of interest to note to those not in the know, but not enough to do more than exchange surprised looks.

Rachel was on her way there, and she'd be asleep for whatever message she wanted to deliver. That was yet another disaster on the horizon while he was processing this one with his face an entire mask of pain.

How had I not seen them before? They'd been sitting here in traffic for over a day, the battle raging around them, and I hadn't even noticed.

"We don't come with built in radars Percy," Annabeth gently reminded as they held each other's hands so tight. "I've tested."

Percy gave her a shaky smile, his mind a complete mess he expected to collapse any second. They'd possibly have to start this all over again and build himself back from the ground up. But she kept smiling back and didn't let go, so that was okay.

"They . . . they must've seen those blue lights in the sky." I rattled the doors but they were locked. "I need to get them out."

"Percy," Annabeth said gently.

"I can't leave them here!" I sounded a little crazy. I pounded on the windshield. "I have to move them. I have to—"

"Percy, just . . . just hold on." Annabeth waved to Chiron, who was talking to some centaurs down the block. "We can push the car to a side street, all right? They're going to be fine."

My hands trembled. After all I'd been through over the last few days, I felt so stupid and weak, but the sight of my parents made me want to break down.

Percy had been scared plenty of times over the course of this, but it was usually coupled in with adrenaline and determination and anger. The kind of grit that made him defeat the next monster, gave him the strength to know that even if he hadn't saved everyone from his past at least he'd never forget them again and try not to make the same mistakes.

This is how Kronos could have defeated him all along, he could feel it in his bones. Yet mortals were beneath his notice, and so she'd sat by untouched but always there at the heart of all this.

Chiron galloped over. "What's . . . Oh dear. I see."

"They were coming to find me," I said. "My mom must've sensed something was wrong."

"Most likely," Chiron said. "But, Percy, they will be fine. The best thing we can do for them is stay focused on our job."

Then I noticed something in the backseat of the Prius, and my heart skipped a beat. Seat-belted behind my mother was a black-and-white Greek jar about three feet tall. Its lid was wrapped in a leather harness.

Percy glowered at the book in the kind of way that made Alex confident he wanted to throw the book in her hands out of the ocean and possibly her along with it if she held on to tight. She ignored it best she could and relied on Annabeth and Thalia to remind him why that was a bad idea. She'd actually never done something like that before, but hey, first time for everything.

"No way," I muttered.

Annabeth pressed her hand to the window. "That's impossible! I thought you left that at the Plaza."

"Locked in a vault," I agreed.

"How do you put something in a vault wrong Thalia?" Jason decided not to let that moment pass without a tease.

"When Percy's involved," she said with a straight face. "It was his magic item and he set me up to fail."

"I'm sure you deserve it for something," but Percy was so jittery he couldn't think straight, couldn't think up one instance over the past where she'd messed with him. All his mind could latch onto was his mom, dropping him off at another new school with another hopeful smile, the songs she'd hum while she was baking, the dark circles under her eyes and the sense of joy radiating off of her for a good night's work. Gods he'd be lost without her.

Chiron saw the jar and his eyes widened. "That isn't— "

"Pandora's jar." I told him about my meeting with Prometheus.

"I thought it was a pithos?" Jason felt the strain in the room and strived to do what Percy did best, give a little levity to it. "You told him about Prometheus giving you Pandora's Pithos Percy, remember how pithy that sounded?"

Maybe word play wasn't everyone's cup of tea in amusement, but he at least got a few smiles and eye rolls for his attempt, which made all the world to him to feel like he hadn't failed.

"Then the jar is yours," Chiron said grimly. "It will follow you and tempt you to open it, no matter where you leave it. It will appear when you are weakest."

"Forever?" Magnus frowned. "Like you have a new Riptide? Man, talk about something in serious need of a regift."

Percy had the brief thought that he should give it to Rachel. She'd probably paint over it and make it look more fun and tempting to open, but she'd also been dealing with hopeless situations with much more style than he'd ever have so she just seemed the obvious choice.

He got a pained spike to his brain for the thought and his eyes flickered to Annabeth with guilt instantly so he decided not to voice any of that.

Like now, I thought. Looking at my helpless parents.

I imagined Prometheus smiling, so anxious to help out us poor mortals. Give up Hope, and I will know that you are surrendering. I promise Kronos will be lenient.

Anger surged through me. I drew Riptide and cut through the driver's side window like it was made of plastic wrap.

Alex grinned at all the mayhem Percy's sword could cause he didn't indulge in nearly enough. "Did it have that smooth feeling like when scissors glide through wrapping paper?"

"Yeah, actually," Percy's smile was a tad diabolical and Annabeth swallowed in horror how many cars were going to be broken into when those two teamed up.

"We'll put the car in neutral," I said. "Push them out of the way. And take that stupid jar to Olympus."

Chiron nodded. "A good plan. But, Percy . . ."

Whatever he was going to say, he faltered. A mechanical drumbeat grew loud in the distance—the chop-chop-chop of a helicopter.

Rachel's insane deal to go to a finishing school all so she could have a chat with Percy hadn't been mentioned in a few hours, what with the constant battles and deaths and centaurs appearing, but boy did they not get a choice now but to think of all the problems, implications, and disasters that were about to happen!

On a normal Monday morning in New York, this would've been no big deal, but after two days of silence, a mortal helicopter was the oddest thing I'd ever heard.

He'd felt it in his chest, the reverberating machine that disrupted his world overtaking the rest. The ground hadn't actually been shaking, but he'd been so loopy from seeing his parents he wouldn't have been surprised to see drinks shaking and windows rattling like the arrival of that machine had smashed them back together.

A few blocks east, the monster army shouted and jeered as the helicopter came into view. It was a civilian model painted dark red, with a bright green "DE" logo on the side. The words under the logo were too small to read, but I knew what they said: DARE ENTERPRISES.

"Did you, ever get a ride in that Percy?" Will's voice was choppy as he strived for his usual cheerful voice but knew it sounded fake. Gods that helicopter crash had been terrifying. He wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to sit through another action movie with an explosion again without shivering at the heat and noise.

My throat closed up. I looked at Annabeth and could tell she recognized the logo too. Her face was as red as the helicopter.

Trouble and danger afoot, Nico didn't even roll his eyes in surprised annoyance this time because of course Percy looked to her first.

"What is she doing here?" Annabeth demanded. "How did she get through the barrier?"

"You're asking me?" Percy looked so wounded and confused as he sat deep in his seat.

"I'm asking her as soon as I can," her scowl was more light and playful than anything, but Percy felt like he was in trouble for some reason.

"Who?" Chiron looked confused. "What mortal would be insane enough—"

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare," Thalia answered with pride.

"Yeah, not something I'd brag about right now," but Jason couldn't help begrudgingly sounding the same. She really was something, charging into the unknown for her friend. It was as admirable as someone could be.

Suddenly the helicopter pitched forward.

"The Morpheus enchantment!" Chiron said. "The foolish mortal pilot is asleep."

I watched in horror as the helicopter careened sideways, falling toward a row of office buildings.

Even if it didn't crash, the gods of the air would probably swat it out of the sky for coming near the Empire State Building.

I was too paralyzed to move, but Annabeth whistled and Guido the pegasus swooped out of nowhere.

You rang for a handsome horse? he asked.

"Come on, Percy," Annabeth growled. "We have to save your friend."

"Well don't sound so happy about it Annabeth," Alex said with a strained smile she still tried hard to make casual. "You should be used to this by now!"

"It was Rachel's turn for this, wasn't it," Magnus groaned as he watched Percy get up to take the book. "Gods, is there a ticking clock on this? Are you guys going to have to rescue me by association?"

"Possibly," Percy said sheepishly.

Annabeth waited patiently until he got back beside her before swatting him on the back of the head with a very calculated scowl for trying to scare her cousin.

To her surprise though as Percy flipped to the next chapter as if nothing had happened, Magnus just sighed as if he were already resigned to it. He obviously knew Rachel was fine and they had rescued her. He really was taking this much better than she ever would have dreamed.

PJOPJOPJO

*This was legitimately one of the stand-out kills for me from my first reading of the series and I tried to analyze why upon this reread and I think I've narrowed it down to this reason. Instead of dust like every other monster, it's imagining the pain and anger frozen on the monster's face as he collapses to blue shards that stayed there until they melted long after the fight was over. Something about deviating away from the usual formula I guess?