#/nico used to be afraid of not being good enough to be able to work at honervas side and learn everything he could. but he changed his mind

[moonclade]

Hey! Doing good I hope?

I’ll make this request quick, I was thinking of a Percy x Melinoe!reader? Since her mother is known as a minor goddess of nightmares and ghosts, people are either afraid of her or doesn’t care about her that much. She even hangs out with ghosts more than people, but of course, dear ol’ Percy is curious of her and tries to befriend her? You know, a good strangers to lovers. Is this good? If not, just tell me so I can fix it!

note ― i'm so rusty when it comes to writing about pjo but i really hope i did well with this! (also sorry it took so long, i wasn't able to work on it for a week). i didn't want to make this like 20k words long, so i didn't really include the bridge from acquaintances to lovers

not proofread || lowercase intended & lots of use of the word "you"

1.5k words

the sun smiles as it burns your skin, and you scowl as the blinding rays make it unbearable for you to even stare ahead. as usual, you were wandering around camp, attempting to find something to do.

you really didn't know why you bothered. considering the fact that you always reverted to your normal routine of finding a bench and reading. and if you were lucky enough to find a shaded and secluded spot, you might even have someone to talk to.

that someone being whatever spirit would bother entertaining you. obviously not any of the other demigods, as majority of them never tried befriending you or were simply scared of the fact you were the daughter of such a "dark" goddess. of course, a few of the other campers didn't mind your family and your abilities, such as nico di angelo. the two of you weren't close, but he always acknowledged you whenever you would lock eyes. he was definitely your favorite at camp.

you never understood why people were scarfed of you just because of your mom. it was laughable honestly, and it led you to have a slight resentment for everyone who actively avoided you. daughter of a goddess of nightmares and ghosts, being invisible and feared by everyone. very ironic.

being alone took a while to get used to, but you eventually made it work out, opting for the quiet whispers of the long-passed spirits. they never judged you, although a few definitely make fun of your isolation.

not finding any activity to do, you decided to read a book you were itching to finish instead of conversing with your little clique of ghosts. your eyes lit up as you found the perfect spot to sit, away from prying eyes and the harsh beams of sunlight.

making yourself comfortable, you found your marked page and started where you left off, ready to finally get this book out the way and start a new one.

suddenly, a blocky figure blocks the sparse amount of light you were using to read. you look up to see, surprisingly, percy jackson.

you were confused and a bit intrigued. you've never interacted with him, but you always admired him from afar. he was a role model to you, both socially and when it comes to slaying monsters.

you would never admit you studied him thoroughly, usually in the light of the campfire, watching as he would crack a joke and then burst into a grin and let out a hearty laugh.

you were definitely jealous of him. that's all.

"i've seen you around camp. (name), right?" he questioned.

a nod was all he received. you looked around for the inevitable group of campers laughing at this interaction, but you saw none. relaxing a little, you lock eyes with his striking sea-colored ones.

"i'm bad with words." you respond, shaking your head. you avert your gaze back to the book you were reading. a romance, and an undeniably cliche one at that.

you loved reading about things that weren't commonplace in your life, like fantasy, but especially romance. everyone was too scared of you for you to even imagine about having a relationship or a love life in general. every crush that developed in your heart was quickly stowed away until it eventually died off.

"it's alright. i never see you talking to anyone around camp." he takes a seat on the bench, a reasonable distance away from you that it wouldn't seem he was uncomfortable with you, like most campers, but not close enough to make it awkward for you.

"never have to, everyone too terrified of my "sinister aura" and prowess in war. and also, my mom." you slightly joke, not wanting him to pity you or something along those lines. he tilted his head like he was going to say something in response to your slightly self-deprecating statement.

"you talk like a book." he blurted. you didn't know if you should take that as a compliment, but even with the short time you've talked with percy, you knew he wouldn't mean it as an insult. just a weirdly phrased statement.

"y'know, in a poetic way." he sheepishly rubbed his neck as you stared at him. the corners of your lips upturned, and he calmed down a little knowing that you didn't take offense.

"you talk a lot," you counter. "but in a good way."

he returns a smile and notices the book you had been slowly inching away from his view.

"what's that about?"

oh my gods. you weren't getting out this one.

"it's just a little romance," you rub your wrists awkwardly, hoping he wouldn't ask for a more in-depth answer.

but the gods were not in your favor today.

"but what is it about?" he quirked an eyebrow at your unwillingness to elaborate on the plot.

"it's just about a boy and a girl meeting randomly and they slowly fall in love at a summer camp. really cliche and probably boring to you." the book made it into his hands as he scanned the front cover art, not bothering to open the book and attempt to read it, thankfully. you could guess why though.

"at a summer camp?"

"i like reading about stuff that could be relatable to me," you shrugged.

"well is it relatable?" he seemed interested.

"do you always ask so many questions?" you grumble. "and no, not really. do you think i have a love life here?"

every answer was turning into a question, followed by another question.

he looked you up and down and smirked. "you don't?"

you swipe your book back and roll your eyes. "yes, jackson. you do realize i have more ghost friends than living ones, right?"

"adds on to the charm. now, tell me more about what happens in the book."

you groan outwardly, but on the inside, you were giddy at finally being able to talk to someone, especially percy.

giving in, you begin to go off on the plot and major events in the story, and your opinions on characters.

before the two of you knew it, the sun was already cut in half by the horizon and the sky was a flurry of colors slowly being overtaken by the dark blues and blacks of the evening.

"how about we meet here again tomorrow?" percy asks.

you were already warming up to the son of poseidon. it could be because you haven't talked to another human in a long time, or he had that vibe to him that let you feel safe.

sometimes you would go and hang out with him and his group, but you didn't know for sure if they liked you that much. it took you months to even decide if percy himself considered you a friend or not.

majority of time you'd go back to that same bench you met him at, and if he was free, he'd meet you there and the two of you would talk about how the book you were reading was going or just how life was going.

but the bench wasn't the only place you hung out. percy would invite you to spar with him or walk around camp, or take part in events going around camp. slowly but surely, more people warmed up to you as they noticed the bond you and percy had. you were still wary and apprehensive of those people though, knowing they judged you even though they didn't know you. but it was a welcome change.

it was half past noon, and you make your way over to your and percy's rendezvous point to hang out for the day. the battered wooden bench that was now carved with quotes and drawings that spanned the seat.

you didn't have to even wait a minute, percy jogging up to you with a hand behind his back.

"what're you hiding?" you try and peer over his shoulder but he moves the object out of your sight.

"well," he looks around everywhere but you, before taking in a big breath and finally meeting your gaze. "i really like you!" he shows you the assortment of flowers most likely picked from the forest nearby.

you process his statement. the percy jackson likes you? never in a thousand years would you have thought that someone could have a crush on you, but never ever would you have dreamed of percy liking you.

it was like your life was turned upside down ever since you met him. you managed to finally have someone to talk to, and also get people to stop fearing you. and it was all because of him. he was the saint in your life.

"hey, it's alright if you don't like me bac-" you cut him off quickly by pressing your lips on his. sure you weren't an experienced kisser, but you've read enough to know how to shut him up.

he went from stiff in surprise to leaning into the kiss, the bouquet long forgotten on the ground. you couldn't get enough of him, throwing your arms around his shoulders and bringing him closer. he slipped his hands around your waist, a shiver running down your back at the touch.

he pulled away, and you clung onto him, not wanting his warmth to leave you.

after a moment of bated breath, you piped up.

"i love you too, percy."

#[🌙clade] #i LOWKEY hate this #percy jackson #x reader #percy jackson x reader #demigods #pjo #hoo #pjo x reader #riordanverse #percy jackson and the olympians #heroes of olympus #hoo x reader

[chaifootsteps]

It’s honestly so sad to see how little solidarity here is in the indie animation community. If this stuff with Viv has taught us anything, it’s that indie makes it for too easy for people like Viv to get away with being awful to their artists because they’re able to easily target younger, less experienced, and less financially advantaged people who just want to do what they love.

I’ll just go ahead and say it. Indie is where most artists get their careers started these days because mainstream animation is so insular and the bar to entry is higher than ever. Plenty of amazingly talented artists will get turned away over and over because their resume doesn’t use the right words, or their portfolio is good but it’s not the exact thing the producers are looking for at that particular second.

And even when they have the right stuff, entry level positions have pretty much vanished. They pretty much don’t want you unless you’ve worked on like x amount of award winning big budget blockbusters so if you weren’t lucky enough to have graduated from school 20 years ago when the job market was less hostile, you’re fucked.

That means indie is CRUCIAL to the success of younger artists. And look at the state it’s in. By now it’s obvious that people in the community have known about Viv and her horrible behavior for a while, but no one wants to say or do anything. They don’t want to start ‘drama’ which is just…when did standing up for the right thing become synonymous with ‘starting drama’????

I understand being afraid if push back, but at some point you have to ask yourself wether or not it’s worth it to keep being part of the problem. Even if you aren’t doing what Nico did snd outright refusing to hire her artists, you are still doing her work for her by saying nothing. I’m sorry, I know it’s harsh, but if you stay silent when you see abuse then you are knowingly allowing it to continue and therefore a part of the problem. I’m not trying to shift the blame onto other people in indie Viv has burned, but that’s the sad reality of stuff like this. Keeping silent about injustice isn’t the same as doing it yourself, but your silence empowers the abusers to keep going.

I remember when Erin first came out there was a lot of talk about Dave and Ashley. People wanted to know their opinions on the situation, and as far as I’m aware neither of them spoke up. Again, I understand the fear of backlash, but Ashley is a pretty big name in indie now. She has influence in the community, and that means she has a responsibility to speak out. Same with Goose, who I’m pretty sure has worked with Viv extensively in the past.

If relative no names with no social parachute like Ken and Erin can have the guts to speak out, then what’s stopping those with bigger reputations from doing so? Why let vulnerable people keep getting eaten alive like this? Where is the solidarity?

I think I remember Erin saying they went to TAG about Viv but TAG was powerless, because Viv, her studio, and her artists aren’t part of the guild. Do you know what that means? It means that indie workers, especially the younger ones, have no one to protect them. They’re more vulnerable to abuse because there’s no structure in place to protect them. The only thing that comes close is the indie community itself, and idk if you’ve noticed but indie is kind of cannibalizing itself right now.

It’s just so sad. Indie was supposed to be better than mainstream, but right now it’s honestly kind of worse. At least people in mainstream are entitled to benefits, get paid a living wage, and have some form of push back when treated badly because of the union.

It’s just….sad. This whole thing makes me so sad.

Anon, know that I really did sit here for a good while trying to think of something heartening to say, something hopeful. And I've got nothing.

Well, not nothing. I get the rhyme and reason to why certain people are keeping quiet and I do think things will be okay eventually, but I don't know. This whole thing has revealed a side of indie to me, a side of people, that I don't like.

#Anonymous #viv stuff #actual blog post

[caelmagus]

fears !

Bold any fears which apply to your muse. 

Italicize what makes them uncomfortable.

Strike old fears

🌌

the dark ⋆ fire ⋆ open water ⋆ deep water ⋆ being alone ⋆ crowded spaces ⋆ confined spaces ⋆ change ⋆ failure ⋆ war ⋆ loss of control ⋆ powerlessness ⋆ prison ⋆ blood ⋆ drowning ⋆ suffocation ⋆ public speaking ⋆ natural animals ⋆ the supernatural ⋆ heights ⋆ death ⋆ dying ⋆ intimacy ⋆ rejection ⋆ abandonment ⋆ loss ⋆ the unknown ⋆ the future ⋆ not being good enough ⋆ scary stories ⋆ speaking to new people ⋆ poverty ⋆ loud noises ⋆ being touched ⋆ forgetting  ⋆ being forgotten

tagged by: @allurastarlight /thanks babs

tagging: Nico doesn't have many followers so I'm tagging those I follow on my main: @apuncturedlung .

@white-lioness @vomelle @rebel-holt @palanoire @pinkpalcdin @piloteblanc @officialemperorlotor @ofgalran @ostrinusastorum @oftrvst @nurseandtherebel @matthcwholt @mimos-psychi @maudlxne @myexistenceisscience @lnstinctalone @inspireloyalty @goofbcll @galradxctor @galteani @gunofgamara @flewlast @fcrged @fllightrisk @everanalytical @enviouscore @commander-holt @cloakedvalor @blazerought @awolxsiblings @atlas-psychi @atlasguided @astrohunkk @aquaeques @oceanbluepaladin @thecrimsonpaladin @healiingall @pyreflown @infernoforged (I know I've tagged three of yours babe but what the hell. All the muses!!!)

#musing ;; trust me you don't want to know #ooc ;; out of cael #/nico used to be afraid of not being good enough to be able to work at honervas side and learn everything he could. but he changed his mind #/when he realized what quintessence was capable of or rather that no single person should be allowed to wield its power

[storytellerofuntoldlegends]

somebody loves you for yourself

A/N: I have had this nicomas fic in my head and have been working on it basically since fwsa came out, and it’s finally done!! it’s like 7k of pure fluff and nico meeting the sides, enjoy! (title is from Wake Up, Sunshine by All Time Low)

Summary: On a relaxing date night with Thomas, Nico stumbles upon someone on the kitchen- someone who looked eerily like his boyfriend. Then he ends up meeting five more "Thomases," as well as finding out that there is so much of his boyfriend to love.

Warnings: flirting, kissing, hugging, cuddling, remus being remus, janus being all “we live in a society,” mentions of amazon being a not great company (lmk if anything should be added, otherwise this is pure fluff!)

-

Things had been going spectacularly well with the cute disaster gay Nico had met at the mall. Since that fateful meeting, the two had exchanged numbers, gone on more dates… and well, it had been a few months now and Nico was pretty sure that Thomas was it for him. He really couldn’t picture his future without Thomas somewhere in it. Nico wasn’t really sure what he’d do without Thomas’s infectious enthusiasm, how he could go a day without seeing the way his eyes lit up when he talked about his passions or the way pink would dust his cheeks when Nico used any term of endearment towards him… well now Nico was just waxing poetic now, wasn’t he? Sue him, he was a poet! And Thomas had irrevocably become his muse.

“I was rambling again, wasn’t I?” Thomas asked, startling Nico from his thoughts. The two of them were in Thomas’s apartment, Nico watching Thomas playing Kingdom Hearts. Well… it was more Thomas playing for a bit, then pausing the game to ramble about the lore and storyline of Kingdom Hearts. But Nico was more than content to listen and watch as Thomas gestured emphatically as he spoke. Although Nico admittedly got caught up in how Thomas’s voice was like audible sunshine, how Thomas could start literally glowing from excitement and Nico wouldn’t bat an eye… Thomas once confessed to him that he had thought Nico was radiant the first time he saw him, but Nico was pretty sure it was the other way around. Thomas was the radiant one, like a beam of sunlight that had gotten confused and taken human form.

“No, it’s okay! I like hearing you ramble, it’s cute! Although… I will admit that I might have gotten a little distracted by said cuteness and zoned out,” Nico replied with a sheepish laugh. Thomas flushed and let out a squeak, hands flapping excitedly for a moment before he covered his mouth, as if he were trying to hold back the squeak that he had already let out.

“You know I don’t know how to respond to compliments!” Thomas protested when he dropped his hands down from his mouth.

“Think of it this way, babe- if I keep giving you compliments, you’ll have more practice at responding to them! Besides, you’re unreasonably cute when you get all blushy and stimmy like this,” Nico said with a grin. Thomas squeaked again, this time opting to bury his whole face in his hands.

“This is RUDE I’m being ATTACKED!” Thomas exclaimed, voice muffled behind his hands. Nico chuckled, shaking his head at his boyfriend’s dramatics.

“Okay, okay, I’ll show mercy. I was gonna get some water soon anyway. Need anything while I’m up?” he asked. Thomas looked up from his hands then, face still flushed but looking less like he was going to melt.

“Nah, I’m fine, thanks though,” Thomas replied.

“Be right back,” Nico said, and with a kiss to Thomas’s cheek to fix the not-melting problem, Nico stood up and walked over to the kitchen. He flicked on the light, and he was still rather lost in his thoughts about Thomas that he didn’t notice the man sitting on the counter until he looked up and locked eyes with him. He was… Thomas?! Or at least, someone who looked eerily similar to Thomas. He wore a black hoodie with plaid purple patches and for a moment, Nico thought he had sparkly purple eyeshadow underneath his eyes. But then the man locked eyes with Nico and the eyeshadow was black. Nico let out a surprised yelp, the man sitting on the counter yelped back, and soon enough both of them were screaming.

“Uh… everything okay in here?” Thomas asked, frowning with concern as he walked into the kitchen. He didn’t seem perturbed by the man on the counter, and Nico looked between them incredulously.

“So… were you going to tell me you had a twin, or was I just supposed to get scared half to death by finding him sitting on the counter?!” Nico demanded, unable to keep his voice from rising with mild panic. Thomas’s mouth dropped open, and he looked at the man, then back to Nico.

“You can see him?!” Thomas gasped. Nico’s expression twisted with confusion.

“Uh… kinda hard to miss an emo version of you sitting on the counter. Thomas, who is this and why are you so shocked that I can see him?” Nico asked, glancing to the man again, who looked like he wanted nothing more than to cease to exist at that present moment. But surprisingly, the man spoke up.

“He’s surprised because I’m part of him,” he said, and he even sounded like Thomas, but his voice was rougher and deeper.

“What do you mean, ‘part of him?’” Nico asked slowly.

“This is Virgil, he’s my anxiety. And up until now… I thought I was the only one who could see him,” Thomas explained. And frankly, this clarification just left Nico even more confused.

“So… your anxiety is somehow… personified? And is a real, actual person?” Nico asked.

“He’s not… ‘real,’ in that sort of sense, I thought he was more like… a figment of my imagination, or a projection of how I was feeling, anxiety-wise? Although he and the others are able to interact with the real world sometimes…” Thomas trailed off thoughtfully.

“Wait wait wait. Back up. Others?!” Nico exclaimed. Thomas instantly looked a little sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I- um, well…”

“We’re his ‘sides.’ Parts of his personality, basically. There’s Logan, Patton, Roman… and a few more,” Virgil explained, fidgeting with his hoodie sleeves and eyes glued to the floor.

“Oh. Okay then… so are all of you just in his head the rest of the time? How come I haven’t seen any of you before?” Nico asked.

“We usually are in his head, yeah. But I don’t know why you haven’t seen any of us until now. Heck, me and Roman were with Thomas when he met you!” Virgil exclaimed, biting his thumb nervously after his rather panicked outburst.

“Wait, you were?” Nico asked, looking to Thomas for confirmation. Thomas smiled sheepishly, dropping his hand from the back of his neck.

“Yeah. In fact, Virgil was the one who pushed me to talk to you. And uh- I mean the ‘pushed’ part literally,” Thomas explained.

“Wait really? I just thought you were clumsy- not that being clumsy is a bad thing! Kinda endearing, actually,” Nico said, expecting the inevitable blush to travel over Thomas’s face- but what he wasn’t expecting was a squeak from Virgil and his eyeshadow turning sparkly and purple.

“I mean, to be fair I am a little clumsy sometimes,” Thomas said with a nervous laugh. Nico glanced between Virgil and Thomas, a bit of a playful smirk quirking on his lips.

“Well, whether your clumsiness is just you or your sides- I think you’re all around endearing,” Nico said, voice nearly a purr. Thomas let out a delighted little sound and flapped his hands with excitement, and Virgil outright giggled. If Nico hadn’t thought Thomas was everything to him before, he definitely thought so now with meeting one of his sides.

“Your eyeshadow turns purple and sparkly when Thomas is excited, that is adorable,” Nico cooed. Virgil let out a sound that was half giggle and half yelp, hiding his flushed face in his hands. After a few deep breaths to calm himself down, he peeked up at Nico, looking timid and insecure.

“You really think so?” Virgil asked quietly, tensing up as if he were afraid of the answer.

“I do think so. It makes sense after all… Thomas is adorable, therefore his sides are adorable too,” Nico replied with a shrug. Virgil let out an elated giggle, hands flapping excitedly- and in that moment, Nico knew that he was more than okay with Thomas having sides. It just meant there was more of him to love and appreciate.

-

Since meeting Virgil, Nico was determined to meet the rest of the sides. Thomas had explained that he could summon them whenever he wanted, but Nico insisted that they could just come to him on their own. He had felt a little bad about his first meeting with Virgil being so panic-inducing for all of them, and didn’t really want a repeat of that situation. But luckily, Nico didn’t have to wait that long to meet another one of Thomas’s sides.

Nico had been sitting at the table, idly chatting with Thomas while he was in the kitchen making dinner for the two of them. Nico had offered to help, but being the sweetheart he was, Thomas insisted that he was more than happy to handle dinner. As they were talking, one of Thomas’s sides rose up into existence. This side wore glasses, a black polo, and a tie… Nico made a mental note to tell Thomas that he looked very good dressed a bit more formally.

“Thomas, please be sure to preheat the oven for the garlic bread this time,” the formally dressed side said. Then he looked over and seemed to notice Nico, and though his expression seemed carefully maintained and neutral, Nico could see his eyes lighting up with excitement.

“Hi there!” Nico said, giving a small wave. A smile crept over the side’s face for half a second, but his expression quickly turned neutral again, and he adjusted his tie nervously.

“Hello. I am Logan, Thomas’s-”

“Wait! Don’t tell me which side you are, I wanna guess! It’s kind of like a puzzle… although I guess that’s kind of weird to say about part of your boyfriend’s personality…” Nico trailed off sheepishly. Logan’s face lit up, and this time it was purely unrestrained. If Nico could get heart eyes like a cartoon character, he certainly would have in this situation. Something about seeing this serious side of Thomas so excited… it made Nico’s heart flutter.

“Do you like puzzles?” Logan asked, sounding like he was trying not to seem too hopeful.

“I love puzzles!” Nico exclaimed. A grin took over Logan’s face, and with a wave of his hand, a puzzle appeared on the kitchen table. It was a Nightmare Before Christmas one of Jack Skellington’s face being made up of various scenes and characters from the movie.

“Oh- wait, I’m not sure if you’re going to be able to-” Logan’s sentence cut off abruptly when Nico reached out and took the lid off the top of the box.

“What were you saying?” Nico asked, setting the lid down and looking up to Logan. Nico could only describe his expression as calculating, but in a warm and endearing way.

“Fascinating,” Logan murmured, gazing at Nico. He felt his face heat up slightly at the attention, but was mostly feeling a little lost.

“Logan? What’s going on, buddy?” Thomas asked, observing the two of them from the other side of the kitchen counter. Logan blinked, shaking his head and looking a little sheepish.

“Apologies. I was rather fascinated that Nico was able to touch the puzzle box. I had momentarily forgotten that I am technically imaginary, and therefore anything I would summon would be imaginary as well. However, Nico seems to be able to interact with the puzzle,” Logan explained, and frankly Nico felt like he could listen to Logan talk for ages. He was so precise and professional with the way he spoke, but there was still an undercurrent of excitement and fascination.

“Maybe you guys are becoming more real, somehow?” Nico suggested.

“Perhaps, but you seem to be the only one who can see us. There have been some close calls with Joan and some of Thomas’s other close friends, but you have been the only one who has outright interacted with us,” Logan explained. Nico hummed thoughtfully as he began sorting out the puzzle pieces. Logan sat down with him and helped sort the pieces as well, flushing slightly as their hands brushed whenever they reached for the same pieces.

“Maybe it has to do with how close to Thomas someone is?” Nico asked. A contemplative expression came over Logan’s face.

“I am not responsible for Thomas’s emotions, so I would have no way of knowing. But that is a plausible theory,” Logan replied. Nico nodded, and went back to the puzzle for a few moments, sneaking a few glances at Logan every now and then.

“Well, you confirmed that you aren’t Thomas’s emotional side, and I know you aren’t his anxiety because I already met Virgil. And you seem to like Nightmare Before Christmas, but I’m not sure if that really contributes to which side you are,” Nico said, and was surprised to see Logan flush with mild embarrassment.

“I- while your skills of deduction are admirable, my reasonings for summoning a Nightmare Before Christmas puzzle was not because I enjoy the movie, but because you seem to. If the sticker on your laptop is any evidence to go by,” Logan admitted a tad sheepishly. This time it was Nico’s turn to blush, and he placed his hand over Logan’s with a grin.

“Logan, that’s so sweet! So tell me, what do you like?” Nico asked, squeezing Logan’s hand before removing it to continue the puzzle. Logan stared at his hand for a moment or two, then blinked and shook his head.

“I- erm, I do have an- an appreciation for mysteries and detective stories,” Logan replied, stumbling over his words slightly. Nico glanced up from the puzzle to see that Logan looked a little flustered, and a small smile came to his face at the sight.

“So let’s see… not emotional, seems very factual and is on the more serious side, likes puzzles, mysteries, and detectives… my guess is that you’re Thomas’s intellectual side,” Nico said. Logan’s face broke out into a grin and his expression lit up with pride, sending butterflies fluttering through Nico’s stomach.

“Correct! Although technically speaking, my official ‘title’ of sorts is that I am Thomas’s Logic,” Logan said, voice surprisingly warm and fond.

“Well then, Mr. Logic, shall we finish this puzzle?” Nico asked with a grin. A small smile slipped onto Logan’s face.

“I think we shall, Mr. Flores.”

-

Nico and Thomas had been having what they liked to call “joint creativity days.” The two of them would hang out in Thomas’s apartment while Thomas would work on a script for a video, while Nico would work on his songs or poetry. And it was on one of these joint creativity days that Nico met another one of Thomas’s sides.

“By the prophecies of Apollo, are you writing a sonnet?!” a hushed, yet excited voice piped up beside Nico. He looked over to see one of Thomas’s sides nestled rather close to him on the couch, eyes lit up with awe as he looked at Nico’s screen. The side in question was dressed like a stereotypical prince: white tunic with gold detailing, a bright red sash- but oddly enough, no crown.

“Well… I’m trying to. My songs aren’t really going anywhere, so I decided I’d try to do some poetry. But I’m getting tripped up on the syllables,” Nico said with a sigh.

“Why restrict your wondrous writing to the syllables of a sonnet? Although I do appreciate the Bard’s work,” the princely side asked.

“I thought giving myself some guidelines would help, otherwise I’ll feel like I have too many options and I don’t end up writing anything at all,” Nico said with a sigh.

“It doesn’t seem like you’re writing much with those guidelines- but this certainly is a good start!” the side said, eyes scanning over the words again. A thoughtful expression came over the side’s face, and Nico could practically see the creative gears turning in his mind. Wait… creative? Could he be- well, Nico should probably ask the side’s name before making any guesses.

“Oh gosh, what am I doing? I didn’t even ask for your name or anything!” Nico said with a sheepish laugh. The side blinked, startling slightly as he was torn from the partially written sonnet. His face broke out into a charming grin as he sprung to his feet, got down on one knee in front of the couch and took Nico’s hand in his. Nico thought he was flustered at the side’s actions- but then he spoke and Nico was fairly sure his face was burning.

“Prince Roman at your service, my fair poet,” he murmured with a kiss to the back of Nico’s hand. Nico let out a sound he absolutely refused to call a squeak.

“Where is this suave-ness when I’m trying to flirt with Nico?!” Thomas demanded indignantly. Roman stood up with a huff.

“Virgil can be very convincing when it comes to not flirting versus flirting!” Roman squawked indignantly.

“Good point,” Thomas replied with a sigh.

“Well, whenever you are comfortable enough to do it, the suave-ness is much appreciated by me,” Nico said, only sounding slightly strangled. Roman’s face lit up, and he clapped his hands together excitedly as he bounced on the balls of his feet (the lack of crown now made sense to Nico, with how much the prince seemed to move).

“Really?!” Roman squealed.

“Of course, Prince Roman- or should I say, Thomas’s creativity and passion?” Nico guessed with a grin. Nico thought Roman looked rather joyous before, but Roman’s expression turned positively ecstatic. Nico half-expected Roman to start glowing with how enthused he looked. He all but bounded forward to sit next to Nico again and hug him tightly- and then he pressed a kiss to Nico’s cheek. Nico’s face heated up once more… and okay, fine, he squeaked. Roman drew back from him quickly, looking completely mortified.

“I have never thought about a single decision I have ever made,” Roman said, voice coming out quiet and mildly strained. Nico gave Roman a comforting smile, and took the prince’s hand and squeezed it gently. Roman’s tensed form instantly relaxed, but he still looked a little distraught.

“I don’t mind a little spontaneity, your highness,” Nico murmured, thumb rubbing soothing circles over the back of Roman’s hand. A sound between a gasp and an exclamation left Roman’s lips and a delightful pink flush grew over his cheeks.

“I- Nico, you- I…” Roman rambled, seeming at a loss for words. Nico smiled warmly and leaned over to kiss Roman’s temple… and well, it looked like Roman wasn’t going to be formulating words any time soon.

“Nico! Now I’m really not going to get any work on this script done!” Thomas said with a laugh, setting his laptop aside.

“I can’t help that my boyfriend and his sides are so handsome and lovely! It makes complimenting you so easy,” Nico said, flashing Thomas a grin. Thomas squeaked, blushing just as brightly as Roman.

“This is DISTINCTLY not fair!” Roman pouted, which was frankly adorable in Nico’s humble opinion.

“You started it, dear Prince,” Nico hummed with a shrug, turning back to his sonnet. Nothing like a little mutual flirting and flustering to get the writing motivation flowing.

-

Halloween was approaching, which meant that pumpkin patches started opening up. So Nico came up with the date idea of going to a pumpkin patch and carving pumpkins afterwards. And was the main purpose of this date to wear cute fall clothes and take pictures with Thomas? Maybe. But Nico also really loved Halloween and carving pumpkins, so really it was a win-win.

Nico took pumpkin carving very seriously, so he was meticulous when it came to choosing a pumpkin. Thomas had already chosen his, and was watching on fondly while Nico pondered over the pumpkins. Nico had narrowed down his choices to two pumpkins when a voice piped up beside him.

“Having trouble picking there, pumpkin?” the voice asked, and Nico glanced over to see one of Thomas’s sides crouched beside him. Nico couldn’t think of any other way to describe this side other than a dad with an affinity for cats. He wore glasses, a blue polo, khakis, and a cat hoodie tied around his shoulders. Nico blinked at the side with mild confusion.

“Was that… a pun?” Nico asked. The side let out a sheepish laugh, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Yeahhh… not my best one. Oh hey! Can I just say that you look gord-eous today?” he said with a grin. Against his will, Nico’s face flushed and a giggle escaped his lips.

“You have a dad side?” Nico said, standing and turning towards Thomas with a laugh of disbelief. Thomas let out a sheepish laugh.

“Well, he’s technically more than that… but pretty much yeah,” Thomas replied.

“I didn’t think you or your sides could get any more adorable,” Nico said with a grin. Thomas flushed slightly, and a squeal came from the side beside Nico.

“Oh kiddo! You’re so sweet!” he cooed. Nico turned to the dad side with a slightly mischievous grin.

“Am I sweet as… pumpkin pie?” he asked. Thomas’s side giggled, while Thomas groaned at the pun.

“I’d say you’re even sweeter! My name’s Patton, by the way,” he said, holding out a hand to Nico. He looked at the offered hand, then to Patton’s face.

“Sorry Patton, but I don’t think a handshake is gonna do. Could I have a hug instead?” Nico asked. Patton’s face lit up like a child’s did on Christmas, and he pulled Nico into his arms with an elated sound. Thomas was a good hugger, Nico always felt safe and loved in his arms- but hugging Patton was that feeling times a thousand. Patton just radiated care and comfort, and Nico hadn’t really thought he needed a hug earlier, but part of him felt absolutely relieved to be hugged. One of Patton’s hands came up to gently card through Nico’s hair, and he all but purred at the touch.

“I’m not getting Patton back anytime soon, am I?” Thomas joked.

“No,” Nico replied with a slight pout, hugging Patton tighter.

“No complaints here!” Patton said, and Nico could hear his smile in his voice.

“I mean, to everyone else it probably looks like you’re hugging the air,” Thomas pointed out with a chuckle. Nico sighed, and regretfully drew away from Patton.

“That’s okay, I can always hug you later when there aren’t people around!” Patton chirped with a sunny grin. Okay, so Patton was definitely the side responsible for Thomas being like a ray of sunshine that came to life. But Nico had no clue as to what part of Thomas that made Patton. His kindness, maybe? But Nico had a feeling that Patton was more than that, that there was something more than the puns and cheerful attitude.

“I’ve gotta say Patton, you’ve got me a little stumped. Puns, sunny disposition, kindness… but I feel like there’s something more to you than that, something more specific that I can’t quite put my finger on,” Nico hummed thoughtfully.

“Do you want a hint?” Patton offered. Nico pondered this for a moment or two, then nodded.

“Sure, just don’t give it to me too easily,” he replied. Patton grinned, clapping his hands together excitedly.

“Yay! Well Nico, I just wanted to say that I am morally obligated to tell you that I heartily look forward to our next hug!” Patton exclaimed. Nico blinked in mild confusion, getting the feeling that Patton had used two puns in his hint. He pondered Patton’s sentence for a moment or two, regarding the side with a contemplative look.

“Are you… his morals? Or his heart?” Nico asked, more thinking out loud rather than settling on an answer.

“Both! Well, ‘officially’ I’m Thomas’s morality, his sense of right and wrong- but I’m his heart too!” Patton chirped.

“I knew there was something more to you than really good hugs and dad jokes,” Nico replied with a grin. Patton giggled, face flushing ever so slightly as he fiddled with the sleeves of his cat hoodie.

“Well, to be fair… I am mostly that sort of stuff,” he said, sounding a little sheepish. Nico regarded Patton with a concerned expression. Something about Patton’s demeanor… it struck Nico that perhaps the side didn’t think of himself all that highly. Maybe it was a bit of a stretch to assume, considering he had just met him, but there was insecurity in every fiber of his stance.

“Maybe, but it takes a lot of wisdom to deal with moral issues. You can be smart and silly, it’s not a dichotomy,” Nico said with a soft smile. Patton’s eyes grew wide behind his glasses, and Nico was vaguely startled to see that it looked like he was going to cry.

“Oh- I- well… well Logan’s the smart one, not me,” Patton protested, though his voice was soft and hopeful.

“Sure, Logan is logic and facts, and ‘traditional’ intelligence… but there’s a lot of different types of intelligence. You seem to lean towards emotional intelligence, which does make you smart and caring- plus you must be pretty witty to come up with puns,” Nico said, still smiling softly.

“Oh,” Patton said softly, eyes still wide and the beginnings of a smile on his face. Patton stood still for half a moment, then rushed forward to hug Nico. This hug felt completely different than the one Nico had received earlier. This time, Patton felt so small in his arms, instead of being all-encompassing comfort. Patton was the one who needed the comfort here, to know that just because he was sweet and silly, it didn’t mean he wasn’t important. Nico hugged him back tightly, reaching a hand up to run through his hair, mirroring what Patton had done with him earlier. Nico looked to Thomas over Patton’s shoulder- and was shocked to see an expression that had been eerily similar to Patton’s- disbelieving yet hopeful. Then it hit Nico- the sides’ insecurities were Thomas’s too, at least on some level. He squeezed Patton tighter and smiled at Thomas comfortingly. There was so much of Thomas to love- and Nico was determined to show Thomas that he loved every part of him.

-

Thomas and Nico were curled up on the couch, Thomas’s arm around him with his head resting on top of Nico’s. They were having a rather relaxed evening by watching The Lion King, arguably one of Nico’s favorite Disney movies (other than Nightmare Before Christmas, of course). What made this particular viewing of The Lion King so enjoyable was Thomas softly singing along to the songs and his laughter at various parts of the movie. They had gotten to “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” in the movie when Nico heard some snickering from off to the side. Nico looked over to see a mustached side with a white streak through his hair hiding behind the couch. Out of all the sides Nico had met so far, he looked the most different from Thomas. Yet something about him reminded Nico of Roman- they definitely seemed to have a similar style, as something about the side seemed regal with the elaborate black tunic and electric green sash.

“What are you giggling about?” Nico asked. The side merely cackled, wiggling excitedly behind the couch.

“You’ll seeeeeee,” he crooned. Thomas looked over to the side with an apprehensive look and sighed.

“Remus-” Thomas started, but the side (Remus?) quickly shushed him. Thomas huffed out a sigh and rolled his eyes, snuggling back into Nico. They continued watching the scene for a little while longer until Remus broke down into giggles, causing Thomas to sigh again.

“What’s so funny?” Nico asked, glancing between the television and Remus. They had gotten to the part of the song where Simba and Nala had rolled down the hill together, and Nico couldn’t quite figure out what was so amusing about that.

“Oh come on, Nala was totally asking Simba to hakuna her tatas with those bedroom eyes she was giving him,” Remus cackled. Thomas’s expression was twisted with a mixture of disgust and disappointment, while Nico couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Both Thomas and Remus looked surprised at his reaction, but Nico was too busy laughing to really wonder why.

“Hakuna her- oh my goodness how did I never think of that-” Nico said between laughs.

“And you said it would be a bad idea if I talked to Nico!” Remus scoffed with a grin.

“Cause I thought you would traumatize him, not- not whatever is happening here!” Thomas protested.

“What is happening here is that I am hilarious,” Remus shot back, his grin turning more smug than chaotic. Nico finally managed to stop laughing and catch his breath, looking to Remus with an inquisitive look.

“So you’re- what, pure chaos and humor? You also remind me of Roman in a weird way… I can’t quite puzzle you out,” Nico pondered. Remus opened his mouth to say something else, but was cut off by an indignant voice from the end of the couch.

“I resent that, I am NOTHING like him!” Roman exclaimed, crossing his arms and pouting slightly.

“Hey! I’m talking to Nico now, you got to meet him a few days ago!” Remus shouted back. Roman and Remus quickly devolved into childish bickering, sounding more like a pair of kids than two sides of a grown man.

“This is the first time I’ve seen your sides interact with each other, do they always bicker like this?” Nico whispered to Thomas, gaze darting between Roman and Remus as they continued to argue.

“More or less, but these two are a… special case,” Thomas muttered.

“I am quite special and spectacular, thank you,” Roman said, abandoning his argument with Remus to turn to Thomas and Nico.

“Pretty sure ‘special’ was not a compliment there, Ro-Bro,” Remus huffed. Roman let out a dramatic groan, looking to Remus his nose wrinkled in distaste.

“Why did you call me ‘Ro-Bro’, I know you have the capability to be cleverer than that,” Roman huffed.

“Well it’s true! Your name is Ro, and you’re my bro! And Thomas told me I couldn’t traumatize Nico,” Remus pouted.

“Wait, ‘bro?’ Like you guys are actually brothers?” Nico blurted, interrupting the argument before it could really begin.

“Unfortunately,” Roman huffed.

“Well I think I am an absolute delight to have as a brother,” Remus shot back, sticking out his tongue.

“More like an absolute fright!” Roman fired back.

“Awww, you called me a fright! That’s gotta be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me!” Remus chirped, seeming genuinely pleased. Roman let out a long sigh.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Please don’t scare off Thomas’s boyfriend?” Roman huffed. To Nico’s surprise, Remus flushed slightly.

“I won’t,” he muttered. Seeming satisfied, Roman sunk out, leaving Thomas and Nico with Remus. Nico turned to look at Remus who seemed… uncharacteristically sheepish. Nico hadn’t really known Remus for all that long, but something told him that he wasn’t the type of side to be particularly bashful.

“So… Remus. Roman’s your brother? Does that mean you guys have similar functions?” Nico asked with a contemplative expression. Remus squirmed semi-uncomfortably for a moment or two before huffing out a sigh.

“I guess so. Technically,” he said with a slight pout. Nico regarded him with a concerned eye. Remus seemed just as unwilling to admit that he had any similarities to Roman as Roman was unwilling to admit that he had any similarities to Remus.

“So you’re creativity too? But Thomas and Roman both said something about scaring or traumatizing me… so you’re Thomas’s darker creative thoughts?” Nico asked.

“Yup. But I’m his intrusive thoughts too. Y’know, those random little thoughts you get about how easy it would be to stab somebody while they’re helping you do the dishes and you happen to be drying a knife,” Remus replied, his strange melancholy demeanor shifting to something more malicious and chaotic as he spoke. Nico was suddenly reminded of the other day when he was helping Thomas do the dishes after dinner, and how Thomas had dropped a knife like it had burned him while he was drying it. Nico had fussed over him and asked if he was okay, and Thomas just blamed it on clumsiness. But now Nico could see that there was a bit more to Thomas lurking beneath the surface. Nico knew that Thomas would never hurt him- if the immense guilt and shame currently written over his face was anything to go by- but it did hurt Nico’s heart a bit to know that Thomas struggled with such thoughts and felt ashamed to talk about it.

“Well… just because you think such things doesn’t mean you’d ever do them, and thinking those sorts of things doesn’t make you an irredeemably bad person either. Plus it’s not a bad thing to have a darker imagination! Stories can’t be all sunshine and rainbows, sometimes you’ve gotta have a little darkness to even things out,” Nico explained in a soothing tone, relieved when both Thomas and Remus perked up.

“Really?” Remus asked in a disbelieving tone.

“Really! Trust me, I’m a poet. And poets love writing about dark stuff, just look at Edgar Allan Poe! He’s one of my inspirations, did you know that?” Nico asked, grinning when Remus’s face lit up.

“Me too! The Tell-Tale Heart is one of my favorites of his!” Remus exclaimed, beginning to chatter away about hearts beneath floorboards and birds that foretold death. Thomas muttered something about Nico providing Remus more nightmare fuel to torment him with, to which Nico happily placated him with a peck on the cheek and the promise to defend him from any nightmares.

-

On more than one occasion, some of Nico’s friends had enthusiastically recommended the show Good Omens to him. As it turned out, Thomas’s friends were also recommending the show to him. So they both figured it could be something they could experience together. Watching Good Omens had become a bit of a weekend tradition, and they were now halfway through the show. Nico was getting popcorn ready in the kitchen, while Thomas fussed over the television setup. For whatever reason, Thomas seemed to be struggling with pulling it up… no, that wasn’t quite it. Thomas seemed strangely hesitant about pulling up Amazon Prime onto his television.

“Something up, babe?” Nico asked as he carried the popcorn into the living room.

“No! No, I’m fine,” Thomas replied, a little too quickly as he queued up the show and sat down on the couch. For a brief moment, Nico could have sworn he heard a chilling laugh and a flash of yellow out of the corner of his eye, but when he turned to follow it, there was nothing there. Shaking his head, Nico sat down beside Thomas and instantly cuddled into his side, popcorn still in hand.

“Sure doesn’t sound like you’re fine,” Nico said, raising an eyebrow and tilting his head up to meet Thomas’s eyes. He fidgeted for a moment or two before replying.

“Just saw an article the other day about Amazon, that’s all,” Thomas said with a sigh.

“Yeah, Jeff Bezos is a crummy guy, and unfortunately we live in a capitalist world where there is no such thing as ethical consumption,” Nico said, tone grim and melancholy.

“He’s right, Thomas. After all- what’s the phrase? Ah yes… ‘we live in a society,’” a voice crooned. Nico jumped, nearly spilling the popcorn in the process, and looked over to see one of Thomas’s sides seated on the far end of the couch. The side’s appearance absolutely radiated “stereotypical villain” with the bowler hat, capelet, and yellow gloves- but Nico couldn’t help but be reminded of Crowley due to the scales on half his face and the piercing yellow snake eye. And he wasn’t sure why, but something in the way the side regarded Nico made him flush ever so slightly.

“Janus…” Thomas trailed off, pinching the bridge of his nose as if he felt a headache coming on.

“Now Thomas, we could be avoiding this guilt if we had just pirated the show like I insisted. But instead, we’re kissing up to-” the side- Janus- started, but was cut off by Thomas.

“There are… good points to what each of you are saying. But like I said before, there is no ethical consumption under capitalism. If we spent our time trying to debate the moral standards of each and every piece of media we consume- well, we wouldn’t really have anything to consume. And that doesn’t mean we should outright ignore things like a company treating their workers terribly, but we shouldn’t beat ourselves up over something that isn’t in the realm of our immediate control either. Instead, what we can do is sign petitions and look into how else we can support underpaid and overworked workers. Besides, Good Omens is arguably queer, Neil Gaiman himself has made that pretty clear. We don’t get much of that,” Nico pointed out. Thomas and Janus seemed to ponder this for a moment or two, until Janus’s face broke into a sly grin that definitely had Nico blushing.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. But pirating makes Virgil freak out cause what if I end up getting a virus when I download the show from a sketchy website and then all my data gets stolen, and then-” Thomas rambled, before Janus butted in.

“And Patton prattles on about how pirating is stealing, and stealing is wrong- but tell me, stealing from a corrupt company makes a right, don’t you think?” Janus said, gaze flicking to Nico for confirmation.

“I think I underestimated you, Mr. Flores,” Janus purred, and Nico’s face was absolutely burning at this point.

“And I thought Roman was handsome and charming,” Nico said in a strangled whisper, not really meaning to say what he was thinking out loud, but was glad he did when the human side of Janus’s face turned a bright red.

“I- erm. That’s- whatever,” Janus scoffed, examining his gloves in an excuse to not meet Nico’s gaze.

“Y’know, that’s impressive. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him speechless,” Thomas commented dryly. Janus merely hissed at Thomas in reply, and Nico couldn’t help but giggle.

“Well what I think is impressive is that you have a snakey crime side,” Nico said between laughs.

“Flatterer,” Janus accused, although he was absolutely preening at Nico’s comment.

“Maybe I just think my boyfriend and his sides deserve to be flattered,” Nico replied with a shrug. Thomas let out a flustered giggle, and Janus’s human side of his face was quickly turning red again.

“Well, obviously he does. I knew that,” Janus said, trying (and failing) to seem aloof.

“The flattering also includes you here, Janus,” Nico said with a chuckle.

“Really? Oh, I’m not sure about that,” he replied, smiling coyly. Nico grinned wickedly, and Thomas glanced between Nico and Janus in a mix of mild confusion and intrigue.

“Then I’m sure you’d absolutely hate to hear that I find you incredibly stunning,” Nico purred.

“Careful there, angel- lest you fall prey to the snake in the garden,” Janus replied with a grin, flashing fangs that Nico was pretty sure weren’t there before. His brain was a little too busy re-playing the way Janus had purred “angel” on loop to actually remember.

“Speaking of snakes in gardens and angels- are we ever going to get around to watching Good Omens today or not?” Thomas asked with a chuckle.

“In a minute! I haven’t figured out which one of your sides Janus is yet,” Nico protested, shaking off his flusteredness to regard Janus with a curious eye.

“Oh please, as if you could ever unravel the marvelous mystery that is-”

“Let’s see, sneaky, snarky, dramatic, cunning, wants to encourage Thomas to commit minor crimes… anything else I’m missing?” Nico asked, cutting Janus off.

“... you forgot s-s-snakey,” Janus pouted. Nico broke into giggles at the sudden shift in Janus’s demeanor.

“Right, you’re right, sorry. So… you’re his… trickery and cunning side?” Nico tried. Janus pondered his answer for a moment or two, before he broke into a pleased grin.

“Well, I do encompass those things as well, I suppose. So I’ll give it to you- but formally, I am Thomas’s Deceit,” he said, tipping his hat to Nico.

“Pleasure to meet you, Deceit. Well, with that settled, we can watch Good Omens now!” Nico said, patting the spot on the couch next to him. Janus looked surprised for a moment or two before he shook it off and his expression was back to smug indifference.

“Well, I suppose I can be tempted to stay,” Janus said, sinking out for a moment before reappearing next to Nico. After setting the popcorn on the coffee table first, Nico grabbed one of Janus’s hands to pull him into the cuddling he and Thomas were currently engaged in.

“Hey, you’re just letting him stay cause you want double the cuddles!” Thomas teased.

“What makes you say that?” Nico asked as he wrapped an arm around Janus- while more arms than were normal for a human being wrapped themselves around Nico.

“Don’t lie to a liar, darling,” Janus crooned as he snuggled himself into Nico’s chest. Thomas rolled his eyes fondly, and with his lingering guilt about Amazon aside, the three of them settled in to watch Good Omens.

-

Thomas and Nico were on a walk in a park nearby Thomas’s place, holding hands and swinging them idly between them every once and a while. Every now and then Nico would catch Thomas giving him an incredibly sappy look- but really, Nico couldn’t blame him. After all, he was sure his own expression was as equally lovestruck.

“So, have I met all of your sides yet?” Nico asked, the question meant to be casual, but he was surprised when Thomas’s face twisted with concern and mild guilt.

“Well… you’ve met all the ones I’ve met. There’s still other parts of me that I have yet to confront,” Thomas said with a sigh.

“That’s okay! Learning about yourself is an ongoing process! And to put you at ease, there isn’t a part of you that I’ve met that I don’t love,” Nico said with an unabashedly adoring smile. This admission halted Thomas in his tracks, and he looked to Nico with wide eyes.

“Really?” he asked softly.

“Really,” Nico murmured, pulling Thomas into a kiss. Thomas made an elated sound against his mouth, holding Nico close as they kissed. When the kiss broke, he didn’t go very far, leaning his forehead against Nico’s.

“I love you too, you know,” Thomas said sheepishly.

“I know,” Nico replied with a grin, then gave Thomas another quick kiss before pulling away. He grabbed Thomas’s hand again, and the two of them continued their walk, hopelessly in love with every single part of the other.

-

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#sanders sides #nicomas #sanflores #karrot kings #thomas sanders #nico flores #virgil sanders #logan sanders #roman sanders #patton sanders #remus sanders #janus sanders #fluff #sage writes

[honeydew-mel0n]

Plz oh great author. I would just like... some dadV content. Just like. V and a child reader. Plz.

This probably isnt what you expected but, here's V being an adopted dad for a 5 year old reader in the ruins of Redgrave. It's not good, but its work. Ig

V x Child! Reader

Dad!V in the rubble of Redgrave.

You hide under the remnants of your bed. The ripped mattress and splintered frame providing little shelter from the horrors that lie beyond your eyelids. You weren't asleep, but still subscribed to the belief that the monsters couldn't get you if they thought you were asleep.

The sound of footsteps approaching lit a flame of hope in your heart, only for it to crash down the moment you heard the monsters come again.

It was so loud, crashing, screaming... were they fighting? If it was battle it ended quickly. And whatever entered your room won. You let out a soft whimper, curling into yourself. The foot steps approach the mess you called a bed. The sound of the mattress being pulled slightly made you burst into tears.

"Well, what do we have here?"

You open your tear filled eyes to see an adult, his black hair and dark clothes. "Mommy left me again- Are the monsters gone!?" His face was almost devoid of emotion. "Yes." "Are you sure?" At first. A smile smile splits his face as he offers you a tattoted hand. "Positive, little one."

_

We've seen before that he could care less about children at first glance, but the mentioning your mother leaving you caused him to instantly attach to you.

Alone, afraid, but this time, no way to protect yourself.

Deep down something inside of him told him that he needs to protect you. To take the job that your obviously useless mother could not handle.

You latch onto him quickly as well, your new protector. You think he's so cool, with his weird clothes, tattoos, and the funny things he says.

The second night he had you, you fell asleep pressed up against him as read a loud.

_

"When we see not thro the eye. Which was born in a night to perish in a night. When the soul slept in beams of light..."

He stops, green eyes boring down at your sleeping form. Your little hand wrapped over the edge of the corset under his coat. A small smile splits his face. Dispite all you had gone through, you still held peace. You would smile up at him after minutes of tucking your head into his side to hide your eyes from the gore that went on in front of you.

Your resilience is unyielding, and he cant help but admire that. It can make him forget that you are just a child. But now, layed out against his heart, he can see your vulnerability more then ever. You were so talkative, so kind, so soft, so... so... human. So very human. Just as he is now.

_

After some time with him, you'll be able to recite whole poems. And god he's never been more proud.

Technically, he's homeless, so finding somewhere safe for you to sleep is his first priority.

You never sleep alone. Never. Either he or one of his familiars is with you.

Scratch that, you are never alone.

He wasnt surprised by Shadow's fondness of you, but was by Griffon's.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah pip squeak, just don't pull on my feathers anymore."

V is easily annoyed, especially by people who talk too much. Unless it's you.

He can sit and listen to you chatter on in excessive detail about the random things you know.

Maybe that's why you and Griffon can get along. It's a constant back and forth of random facts and jokes that go right over your head.

You just like that he talks to you, he likes that he can make any joke and you won't get upset or offended.

V however, hates that he does this.

Seeing as how V tries his best to shield you from the world. You've already suffered so much.

He takes on the task of "dad" rather quickly.

_

You close your eyes tight as he pours the water from his cupped hands over your hair. V hums softly as he scrubs the filth from your skin. It was rather uncomfortable, taking a bath in a fountain, but it wasn't as uncomfortable as caked on dirt and splatters of demon blood. "We're almost done, I promise."

As soon as he found you to be clean enough he takes off his long leather jacket, dispite it just getting dry, he pulls you out and wraps it around you. He lays out your now dry and somewhat clean clothes and let's you try to dress yourself. Shadow letting you lean on her as you tug your clothes back on.

The warmth from fire used to cook the demon meat is enough to make you feel sleepy, if the exhausting day wasnt enough. You leaned against V's side, curling into him. His arm coming around you, assuring you that you're safe.

_

He accepts that he's pretty much your father very quickly.

But it hurts him. He knows what he has to do, and when that happens, what will happen to you? Who could he possibly trust to care for you?

He takes you everywhere, and doesn't let anything touch you.

It's truly Infuriating to him that he doesn't have the strength to carry you. Of course you ride on shadow, but when they handle demons you are left to mercy of the world.

The two of you being attached at the hip leads to a lot of confusion.

Mostly from Nero

"Why the hell do you have a kid???"

When he finally gets to settle down in Nico's van, you get to lay down for a nap.

And he leaves again, he leaves you to sleep. It was safe and he knew you would be fine there, and you definitely needed to sleep.

Nico, surprisingly, didnt mind you.

The entire time he was so nervous. It's been weeks, and this is the first time you haven't been with him.

When V eventually returns, he finds you chatting Nero's ear off. He didn't seem to mind though, he sat quietly with a smile as you talked.

It hit him then.

You could be safe without him.

_

He watched you fiddle with the metal fingers on Nero's devil breaker as you spoke. The young man making the fingers move, to your delight. Your eyes glowed and you looked up at Nero, he nods to what you're saying with a wide smile.

All of the worries in V's head melt away, but are soon replaced with a feeling of melancholy. You would be fine, you would be safe. Without him. He steps in, your head snaps to him, joy spreading on your features as soon at you realize. You run up to him, hugging his leg tightly.

It wasnt long until he has to leave again, and he knew it was the last time he would see you. And somehow, you knew something was wrong. Your small hands rest on his cheeks, sadness written on your entire being. He pulls you close, whispering to you softly. "I will see you again my little one. I will see you again."

Tiny arms hold tight around his neck, warm, wet tears slip down and fall onto his skin. "Are you sure?" "Positive, little one." You hold on tight to him, even after he lets go. Theres a soft whisper, bairly audible. "I love you, daddy." Then, you let go.

Getting to wave him off while holding onto Nico's leg.

_

He knew he wouldnt see you again, either he dies, or becomes one again. The likelihood of seeing you again with both of those options is little to none.

But he feels peace, you'd be safe. You are safe.

He gets weaker and weaker.

He's been close to it before, but this must be what dieing feels like.

Before reuniting with his other half, he still tries to make sure that you will be okay.

His crumbling body is leaning on Nero, hobbling to the end of his life.

"The child... If you survive, take care of them."

#dmc v x reader #v x reader #v x child reader #dad v #child reader #devil may cry x reader #dad!v #ughhhhh #painnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn #requests

[solangelover]

Nyctophobia

A/N: Haven’t written in FOREVER but this was done a while back for the @after-everything-pjo-zine ! It’s out now, free download! Please check it out and support the other content creators who put a lot of effort into the zine. I had art done for my fic by @kalytera and it is EXCELLENT please check it out!

Read on AO3 or FF.net

Nico sprinted after the monster, directly into the forest.

He had been on border patrol and let the son of Hermes working with him leave early. They hadn’t had any monster activity in months and the kid looked like a zombie. Nico didn’t have too much sympathy for him, though, as he knew Cecil and his siblings were gearing up for some big prank. But still, Nico was more than powerful enough to take on a monster or two on his own. Not that he expected any action.

Of course, he was wrong.

In the darkness of the night, Nico saw something moving in the woods just beyond the border. He knew whatever it was couldn’t actually get in, but it was so close that Nico decided to go ahead and get rid of it. He had been itching for action anyway. The moment he stepped outside the border, the monster shot out of the trees. Luckily, Nico had his guard up and quickly rolled out of the way. The monster slammed into the camp border and whipped back around to Nico.

It was hard to make out what monster Nico was facing, but he didn’t care too much. It just looked like a giant badger of some kind. Not giant as in a Giant giant, but very abnormally large for a badger. Nothing major, Nico had faced down the worst of the worst in his life. This was a plaything in comparison.

“Let’s go, big guy.” Nico readied his sword. The monster lunged again, and this time Nico hoisted his shield to block the teeth, standing his ground. He swung out with his sword and grazed the badger’s cheek, causing it to flinch to the right and back off. Nico used the shadows to hide himself as he circled around the monster’s left side. It swiveled around looking for him, taking a second too long as Nico darted forward and stabbed it in the side. The creature screeched, flailing around and knocking him over with its tail. With a grunt, he fell to the ground, his sword skittering away from him. The monster, however, did not turn back to attack like he expected. It must not have been as invested in the fight as Nico was, because it began running back into the forest where it came from.

“Wha—hey!” Nico was affronted. He wanted that fight, and he was winning.

So here he was, chasing a giant badger in the dark woods. After running for 5 minutes, Nico realized that he had lost the beast. How, honestly, he didn’t know. He must’ve been out of practice. Or maybe the badger burrowed underground. He didn’t know how he’d missed a giant hole in the ground, but either way, he was annoyed.

The next thing he realized was that he was lost. Again, how he could get lost so quickly literally right past the camp border, Nico was at a loss. He was really out of practice.

Nico spun around, trying to see if anything looked familiar. Just trees and darkness. He tried to figure out which way he came from, but he got turned around. The adrenaline from before began to leak out of his body as his situation set in.

Nico was lost. Out in the woods. Outside of camp. In the darkness of night.

Well, okay, Nico tried to reason with himself. No problem, just shadow travel.

Except he hadn’t gotten the clearance from one Doctor Solace yet. But this was a bit of an emergency situation, so it was probably fine.

I mean, this isn’t actually that urgent, a voice in Nico’s head said. Just walk in one direction and you’ll probably hit camp.

Nico nodded to himself. He could try that. Why was he even worried anyway? He was looking for action—being stuck in the woods was the best way to find it. Maybe if he was lucky, he’d run into the badger beast and get to finish the job. So, he started walking.

And kept walking.

And walking.

Nico lost track of time and his steps, but it felt like an eternity. His breathing was coming out in short puffs, the cool air revealing each breath. His heart was beginning to race, though he wasn’t sure why. He was only walking. His eyes darted around, at first out of caution, but it slowly felt more and more like paranoia.

It felt like the darkness was pressing in on him from all sides.

His body started to tremble as he walked faster, but Nico knew this feeling.

He was scared.

A son of Hades, afraid of the dark. Ridiculous.

But he couldn’t help it. He felt its cold tendrils snaking up his back, making his hair stand on end. Dark fingers were curling around his throat. His breathing was shallow, and too fast, but he couldn’t seem to draw a full breath. His hands flew to his hair, tugging at it as he tried to ground himself. He realized he had stopped walking, just standing in a small clearing of trees, head spinning.

He was fine. He was in the forest, he’d been there a million times, it’s no different than in the daytime. It was fine. He was fine.

But he knew he wasn’t. He could almost hear the whispering voices, feel the tug where the shadows fell upon him. They wanted to take him from this world into the world of darkness. Maybe that was his world, not this one filled with light. Maybe they were right.

No, he thought. He couldn’t give in—he’d been through too much to give in. But isn’t that the reason he belonged in the shadows? Darkness and death followed him everywhere—maybe he wasn’t supposed to run from it.

Nico’s heart was pounding, his blood rushing in his ears. He belatedly realized that he had collapsed to the ground. The world swayed before his eyes. He was barely drawing in breath, his chest felt locked tight like something was constricting his lungs. Nico squeezed his eyes shut, feeling tears track down his cheeks.

Seriously? Here? Now?

Somehow, Nico’s thoughts were racing and yet, his mind was blank. The whispers were growing louder, buzzing through his head in an unintelligent stream of sounds. He could feel the darkness closing in on him, feel his consciousness slipping away.

He couldn’t breathe.

He couldn’t move.

He couldn’t do anything.

Suddenly, a sharp pain cut through Nico’s haze and made him cry out.

His body moved on instinct. Nico’s eyes flew open and he rolled into a crouched position. With a groan, he fell back down to his knees, gasping for air that his lungs so desperately needed. As his vision cleared of black spots, he finally looked down and noticed the fresh blood gushing from his thigh. His head whipped up just in time for him to dodge a swipe from the same badger monster from before.

Nico had never been so relieved to see a monster.

With the pain in his leg sharpening his focus, Nico gathered his energy and pushed up, suppressing a scream as his leg protested the movement. He drew his sword once more, still drawing in large gulps of air. The badger snarled and lunged once more. Nico quickly sidestepped and swung down with his sword, slicing the outstretched leg of the monster. It howled in pain, tumbling to the ground before staggering to its feet and retreating back into the woods.

Nico wasn’t planning to give chase, until he heard a large thump and another screech from the monster. He limped in the direction it ran to see that the badger had slammed into an invisible barrier. The camp border! Nico nearly cried with relief, completely ignoring the monster as it scurried away from him. Once he stumbled past the border, Nico fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face. He could see the lights of camp. They stood out against the darkness of the night, reminding Nico that he was still shrouded in shadows with his back barely within the camp border.

He scrambled to his feet, feeling blood trickle down his leg and soak his sock. He used his sword to prop himself up as he limped forward, refusing to look down at his wound, which was probably bleeding more than he’d like. While he knew logically that his injury made his progress slow, Nico couldn’t help but feel like the shadows were pulling him back. It was like before, when he would shadow travel and almost get stuck in-between destinations. The voices were whispering again, trying to lure him into the darkness where he belonged. His vision was beginning to fade, black spots dancing before his eyes. He knew it was the pain and blood loss, he knew that. But it scared him because what if it was him? What if he was fading again? What if he disappeared in the night and no one knew?

Nico’s heart was pounding, which was not good for all the blood still gushing from his wound. His foot hit something, and he pitched forward, falling hard on the wooden steps of the Big House. He moaned loudly, unable to contain his pain and fear.

He distantly heard the door creak open and felt someone kneel beside his head. Nico was sure he was nearly hyperventilating, both from physical exertion and panic. He couldn’t hear anything being said. Then, there were hands on him, and he desperately shook them off, afraid of being pulled into shadows.

Then, a sudden warmth washed through his body.

The air rushed out of Nico as his entire body relaxed, his head falling back not onto the hard wood like he expected, but into gentle hands that cradled him carefully. As his breathing steadied, he peeked up to see blue eyes gazing down at him with concern, blonde hair falling down and framing a freckled face.

Nico saw Will’s lips move, but no sound reached his ears before his eyes slipped shut.

---

Nico woke the next morning to the familiar sight of white walls and sunlight streaming in through the window. He sighed, disappointed he landed himself in the infirmary for the millionth time, before he remembered the events of the previous night.

Nico was suddenly very alert, his heart rate jumping immediately as he sat upright in bed. He shoved the sheets back to inspect the wound on his thigh. It was wrapped up in white bandages, but no blood was showing through. Will must’ve been able to heal it closed, or at least stitch it up well. Nico tested moving his leg around a bit, surprised that it really didn’t hurt at all. He took a deep breath, then let it out slowly, willing his heart to slow down.

“Glad to see you’re awake.” Nico’s head jerked up at the sound of the son of Apollo’s voice. Will strolled in front of Nico’s bed, looking down at his clipboard as he scribbled something down. Then he looked up and locked eyes with his patient.

Nico gulped. Will didn’t seem too happy to see him.

Before Nico could say anything, Will glanced down at his injury and said, “I fixed it up as much as I could. The wound wasn’t too deep. The blood loss was the worst of it, which is why you’re hooked up to an IV.” He gestured at the item, which Nico hadn’t even noticed in the few minutes he’d been up.

Nico nodded, leaning back against his pillow for a moment. He subtly tensed his muscles, assessing his physical condition for himself. Overall, he felt alright, just tired. It was probably the blood loss and… the other things that happened last night. He didn’t want to think about it, but it was like he could still feel the cold darkness lingering under his skin. His sense of panic out in the forest sat in the back of his head, keeping him from fully relaxing.

Will walked around the side of Nico’s bed, sitting in the chair and putting his clipboard to the side. “Nico…”

Nico knew that tone. The tone of a concerned friend, the tone of someone who wants to talk about things Nico really did not want to talk about. It always turned out to be a good thing when he talked with Will, but he couldn’t ignore his initial reaction of get away, especially not after last night. “Thanks for healing me, Solace.”

Will just looked at him, concern and worry evident in his eyes alone. Nico looked away quickly, unable to take that look without spilling his guts, which he most definitely did not want to do in this moment.

The medic nodded, not that Nico saw, and said, “Of course. You know I’m always here for you, Nico.” The son of Hades knew Will was trying to get more out of him, but he just couldn’t—wouldn’t—talk. Not right now.

Will seemed to get the hint. “You’re probably tired. The few hours of sleep you got isn’t enough to recover from your blood loss. You should get some rest,” he said reluctantly.

Nico glanced up as Will stood to leave, relieved when Will smiled down at him. At least he wasn’t mad that Nico wasn’t talking. He probably knew, to some degree, that there was more going on here than a monster attack.

Nico nodded back in silent gratitude for Will’s understanding.

“I’ll be back to check on you later.”

Will pulled the curtains closed around Nico’s bed, and Nico was alone. He could feel his mind beginning to buzz with thoughts and anxieties, so he quickly shook his head. The dark-haired boy shuffled further down into the infirmary bed, shutting his mind up and giving into the exhaustion he felt. If anything, he’d at least get a good rest out of this whole situation.

---

Nico woke up sometime in the afternoon, the sun shining in the sky. He sat up slowly, feeling out his body. His muscles ached a bit, probably from pushing himself while injured last night, but otherwise, he felt alright. The wound on his thigh throbbed dully. Pushing his sheets back, he saw that his bandages were still white, meaning it was mostly healed, thanks to Will’s magic.

The son of Hades glanced around. His curtains were still closed, and the infirmary sounded pretty quiet around him.

Nico paused for a few seconds.

Then promptly swung his legs off his bed and planted his feet on the floor.

He knew he shouldn’t leave, not without Will clearing him first. Will would not be happy with him (he knew from experience). But he could feel his nerves sparking under his skin, anxiety and fear sticking with him even through his nap. He didn’t want to be trapped in the white walls of the infirmary when Will eventually found him.

So, he stood up, shook himself out, and tried to look casual as he strolled toward the doors of the infirmary.

“Hey—wait!”

Nico glanced back, seeing a young child of Apollo nervously approach. “You—I mean, you can’t—can’t leave…?” She sounded so uncertain, Nico almost felt bad. Almost.

“Oh, it’s fine. I was just resting until I felt ready to leave.” He decided to leave Will out of this because lying to his sister felt a bit too much like betrayal.

Before the girl could reply, he opened the door and left.

Nico headed straight for the arena, intending to work out some of his excess energy so that he could go back to his cabin and fall right back asleep. He wasn’t even limping on his previously wounded leg, which he took as a good sign. He also reasoned that, considering a monster got the best of him, he should get to training as soon as possible.

He chose to ignore all the other thoughts pulsing in the back of his mind.

(Darkness, fear, shadows, don’t belong don’t belong don’t belong—)

Only ten minutes of swinging around a sword passed before, “Nico di Angelo.”

Nico winced at the tone. He lowered his sword and looked over at the entrance to the practice area, only to lock eyes with a stern (and frankly, intimidating) son of Apollo.

He knew better than to ignore the healer, so he waited as Will stalked over. The other boy crossed his arms tightly, coming to a stop in front of Nico. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Nico cast about for some kind of response, but he knew there was nothing he could say in this moment to justify his actions. Not without diving into the details of his monster encounter, which he didn’t exactly feel up to doing.

After opening and closing his mouth a few times, Nico simply shrugged, eyes darting off to the side. He heard Will blow out a frustrated breath. Meanwhile, the son of Hades distracted himself with the rocks at his feet.

“Nico,” Will said, in that same knowing tone as before. Nico nervously adjusted his grip on the hilt of his sword before sheathing it, if only to give his mind something else to focus on for a few seconds. There was silence for a moment before Will continued. “I’m not mad at you.”

At that, Nico glanced up at the healer. He could see it, in the soft blue of Will’s eyes, that he was being honest. Nico had seen Will angry—usually not at him, but Nico had pulled stupid stunts in the past—and this wasn’t it. This was concern and genuine care. Nico was always waiting for Will to stop caring, to stop reaching out to him, but he never had, and he was beginning to think he never would.

The dark-haired boy nodded, unsure of what he should say. When it was clear Nico was not going to respond verbally, Will spoke again. “Something happened out there.” His eyebrows creased in concern when Nico stiffened. “You don’t have to tell me if you really don’t want to. But I want to help you, Nico. I saw you last night. You were… scared. Terrified. And I know it wasn’t from whatever monster attacked you. That’s not you.”

Nico gave himself a second to think about it, before blurting out, “I’m afraid of the dark.”

Both boys looked surprised, a moment of silence passing between them.

Nico expected to be judged, to be mocked. He knew it was Will, and Will wouldn’t do that. But hearing it out loud, it was laughable, at least to Nico. He could see the irony. He was Prince of the Underworld, the Ghost King. But he couldn’t help it.

“That’s—” Will started, then shook his head, starting over. “I didn’t know. I’m sorry, Nico.”

The son of Hades scoffed. “Sorry for what? That I’m a coward? It’s not your problem, Solace.” He looked away, shaking his hair so it covered his eyes.

“Nico…”

“It’s fine.”

“It’s not,” Will said firmly. “I mean, it is. Ugh, I mean, it’s okay to be afraid of things. Everyone has their fears.”

“I’m the son of Hades. I exist in the darkness. I literally use the shadows to move around!”

Nico waited for Will to say more, unsure of what he wanted the other boy to say.

“Nico, please look at me,” Will pleaded.

Nico sighed, and peeked up at Will through his hair. He was met with an understanding gaze and a gentle smile.

“You’re not any less of a warrior for your fears, you know.”

And maybe that was truly what Nico needed to hear, whether he knew it or not.

But still, “I think it’s embarrassing.”

“I think it’s human,” Will shot back.

“Well, I’m only half, you know.”

“Shut up,” Will rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

Nico looked away again, feeling a bit better even without having said much about what transpired last night. Maybe he didn’t have to. Maybe Will understood anyway, and really meant it when he said he’d be there for him.

Maybe he did have a place in this world, in the light, where the darkness of his mind and enemies of his past couldn’t get him. Maybe Will would be the one to show him that, once and for all.

#my writing #my post #solangelo #solangelo fanfiction #solangelo fanfic #solangelo fic #fic #the ending is CHEESE I know #but all my endings are cheesy #because I can't think of anything by the end #will solace #nico di angelo #pjo #hoo #toa #please check out the art!! #and the zine!! #we worked really hard on it #I don't even remember how to post anymore lol #after everything pjo zine #pjo zine #zine

[starlightshadowsworld]

Jason was someone who knew the value and the importance of a good night sleep. And life on the Argo ll showed him that the others were lacking in that department.

And without quite fully realising it, he studied them and found solutions that maybe they hadn't even realised.

(Or, Jason is distressed team mum and wants to help everyone get some sleep)

He'd find Percy drifting off while sat on the sofa and would inquire that the other slept. Percy would give him a fond and amused grin "yeah, I will." But Jason can see the bags under his eyes and the way he's slower to react (not by much of course, it was Percy after all impulse was kinda his thing) and resists the urge to shake his head.

Instead Jason goes over to the window, and feels his power fill the air. A cool gust of wind and the trickling of rain start to appear, followed by the cool lapping waves of the sea (because of the wind) and Percy listens to them absentmindedly but only takes a few minutes for him to nod off on the sofa, lulled by the sounds around him. Jason had heard him fondly talk of Montauk, of a rainy cabin by the sea and Jason knew at once what to do.

A light swirl of wind picks up the blankets from his room and tuck him in, a pillow pet wedged in his arms.

Jason finds Leo tinkering in the engine room with Annabeth by his side. They've thrown themselves into another invention and happily explain it to him. And while most of its intricacies go over his head, he praises them regardless (and tries not to frown at how surprised they are, especially Leo to receive genuine praise. That he files away for later.)

His points of going to sleep fall on death ears of course, but he's caught them before they've started to consume any caffiene. Jason takes a deep breathe and mumbles some words in a language he's never truly used before. But Leo does, freezing in place and staring at Jason in open mouth surprise.

It's a song Reyna sings, has sung to Jason more times than he can count. On cloudless night skies full of stars, when all they have is each other to hold on to. Jason doesn't completely known the language but Reyna uses it when there alone, he wants to know because he knows just how important it is to her.

Tears well up in Leo's eyes, his body sags and his eyes flutter sleepily like Jason had hoped. It reminds Leo of his Madre, and warmth wells up in his heart. To seal the deal, Jason hands over a blanket with all the importance of a treaty and mimes for Leo to put it around him.

Leo raises an eyebrow, still reeling from the song and does so. He gasps in surprise, for this is a weighted blanket that seems to by magic dull the anxiety that wells up in his friend. (Jason is certain that weighted blankets are just magic). He gives Jason a grin but for once it reaches his eyes, eyes that shine witb gratitude "okay okay, I'm going to sleep Jase if you're gonna go through all this trouble."

Annabeth looks like she's about to protest for all of 3 seconds before shaking her head and bade Leo goodnight. She gives Jason a calculating look "I'm assuming you're doing this with everyone." Jason nods, open and honest because he has nothing to hide and knows how much that means to her. Annabeth stares at him for a few seconds, before nodding, accepting it.

"We have been... Running ourselves ragged I suppose...." To Jason that's an understatement, she can read them all but he can read her 2. He can see just how much she's struggling to keep herself together. Otherwise she'd probably have put up more of a fight to his plans. "So, care to tell me what you thought of for me?"

Jason smiles, taking out a book and pressing it into he'd hands, she raises an eyebrow and makes what's halfway between a snort and a chuckle. "You want me... To read till I sleep?" She asks, Jason nods absolutely serious. Annabeth isn't sure how to react that but finds no harm in it and does so. She's about 5 pages in when her head falls onto the pillow beneath her and softly snores.

Annabeth had been that exhausted that few things wouldn't have made her fall asleep. That is if she were anyone else, but she was Annabeth. She was someone who's guard was raised at all times, so he made his intentions clear and handed her a book to help her sleep. It wasn't that the book was magic or anything it was even what it contained though that was important.

It was on keystone arch way design, an architectural style that had been pioneered by Romans. This particular book was one of Jason's favourites, and by giving her a book important to him, about something he cared about he was able to gain her trust. Jason had relaxed Annabeth enough that her guard dropped momentarily so that her tired body was able to win out.

Jason had no doubt she would read the book the next day and bookmarked it for her, using the wind to gently send her to her room.

He found Frank polishing his bow and talking to Hazel. Jason strode over to them and told them that it was late and they should rest. That they had a big day ahead of them and he wouldn't want them to get hurt through their exhaustion.

And while the words were casual enough, they bore with them a certain edge. Not harshness or even cruelty but a certain form of confidence that spoke of authority. Now Jason didn't have authority, not here but he used to. Frank and Hazel has known him for a while personally but not as long as he'd been their Praetor and Jason knew instantly that they'd recognise his tone.

But he didn't leave it there, otherwise he'd have felt cruel and cold, and besides it wasn't the whole plan. Jason smiled warmly, and began to tell a story. Like so many he'd shared at a campfire after long days at Camp Jupiter. Hazel curled up beside Frank who stifled a yawn, the almost Prateor voice had got their attention yes.

But the story pulled them in, just like it always had. It was one they'd heard a thousand times of a mission a former Prateor had been on but Jason weaved words like magic and before he was finished they were out like lights.

He smiled fondly, just like than and wrapped a blanket around them and left once they were comfortable.

Piper was sat by one of the windows, staring into her blade in deep thought. Jason clears his throat to make his presence known and she jumps slightly, waving at him once she regains her composure. "Oh, hi Jason. What's up?" She tries and fails to hide her true feelings. Piper's afraid, and Jason knows it. He asks her if she can fall asleep and she shakes her head silently. Jason nods, expecting as much and sits beside her.

Instantly she rests her head on his shoulder, it takes a few seconds but she voices her worries. Her anxiety and fear about their mission, and he holds her close. Jason let's get it all out, even prompting her at times before consoling and comforting her. He addresses every one of her fears with a realistic but kind response, it reminds him of new campers still learning the ropes and asking a billion questions all at once.

He comforted them, answered their questions and made sure they knew he was always their to support them. Jason comforts Piper the same way, bringing up that she has improved, how far they've gotten and holding her close.

And it helps her relax, much like it did to them in the past and once she does she starts to yawn. He gives her a pointed look and she laughs tiredly "fine I'll get some rest, only if you do as well." Jason nods, watching her go back he'd to her room.

Of course he will, he fully intends to keep that promise like all the rest. The rain is more natural now, perhaps he'd initially caused it but oh well. Jason thinks of the seven, or rather the six and how they've worked their way into his heart. He thinks of Reyna and knows she'd have been amused of his efforts as she always is.

And now Jason finds himself able to sleep, now that he knows everyone else is well and truly resting. And that's what he feels as he drifts off to sleep curled up in a nest of blankets like the wolf he is.

When Nico joins them, and everyone notices him having trouble sleeping there is little surprise among the six when Jason quietly approaches him.

It's a lot less surprising when they see Nico drinking hot chocolate at night and discussing Mythomagic strategies with Jason, as his eyes begin to flutter, that remind him of so much of late night conversations with Reyna on days that have been so hard on them both.

Because every now and again Nico will drop in something serious in their friendly banter and Jason will not belittle, nor ignore nor make light of it or coddle him but listen and ensure he feels listened to. Because that he finds is what Nico needs... And if he manages to hug him at some point and get him to sleep that's a definite plus.

(Really wanted to hammer it home that Jason makes others feel comfortable by addressing who they are as people and uses himself to help.

With Percy he uses his powers to remind him of his safe place when he's in distress.

With Annabeth he uses his passion and being a literal open book because he knows she values and needs trust and safety.

With Leo and Nico it was his friendship with Reyna, of how they've both helped each other when there hurting and applied what he's learnt here.

With Frank and Hazel and Piper it was his role as Prateor, the knowledge of how to help tjise who are openly hurting and want that support and telling stories because that's what helped campers like Frank and Hazel are to feel better.

Because helping others is such a core part of who Jason is)

#jason grace #percy jackson #The seven #reyna avila ramirez arellano #nico di angelo #piper mclean #leo valdez #Frank zhang #Hazel levesque #annabeth chase #Mama Jason Grace #jason grace protection squad #jason grace appreciation squad

[thebluesideofmyworld]

Let's Fall In Love for the Night

Summary: Will just broke up with his boyfriend. Nico offered some consolation. It ended up with some sort of a confession.

Word count: 2500 words || Rating: Teenage and Up Audiences || Read on AO3

Notes: Heavily inspired by "Let's Fall in Love for the Night" by FINNEAS. The first time I heard this song I could only think of Nico pining for Will. And somehow, watching the MV made me think of Will Solace.

***

It was past eleven in the evening when Nico’s phone lit up, Will’s name on the screen. Nico picked it up. Despite the small fluttering in his chest, he forcefully told himself not to feel too excited. It's nothing special. Will could call him any time of the day (or night). They're best friends.

(Didn’t mean that the word friend could sometimes feel so bitter for Nico)

“Hey, ‘Sup?”

“Oh, hey. You’re not sleeping yet?”

Nico rolled his eyes. “As if you don’t know about me and my sleeping schedule.”

“Ah, the one that I’ve been trying to fix?”

Nico snorted. This was one of the topics that they have gone through for too many times.

“Hey, Neeks. I know that it’s late…”

“It is.”

Will let out a laugh. The kind of strained, forced laugh. Nico immediately straightened up on the couch.

“Will? Everything’s alright?”

Will didn’t say anything for a while, but Nico could hear his slow, heavy breathing. Nico clutched the phone in his hand.

“Hey, Neeks. Can you come over? I think I need a pick-me-up” Will asked, voice heavy with hesitation and uncertainty. But as Nico stood up, his answer was a firm one.

“I’ll be there in 25.”

***

Nico hated the sight he saw when the door swung open. The tips of Will's lips curled up into a smile when he greeted Nico. But it's the kind of smile that Nico despised. It was a hollow smile, that didn't reach Will's eyes.

“Go get your jacket,” Nico said.

Will raised his eyebrows, still holding the doorknob.

“What?”

“Go get your jacket. We’re going out. Looks like you need some fresh air.”

“At midnight?”

“At midnight.”

Will sighed.

“Okay,” he said. But there was a small smile on his lips.

Nico smiled.

A few minutes later, Will showed up with his blue jacket and blue beanie (it's a nice color on Will. Not that it's important or anything). He had his ukulele in his hand as he walked out of the door.

“Who said you can bring your ukulele?”

Will shrugged as he locked the door. “Well, nobody said that I couldn’t bring it with me.”

Nico rolled his eyes but the small smile on Will’s lips made his heart forgot to beat for a second.

“I’m ready,” Will said, slipping his hands into the pocket of his jacket.

“Come on,” Nico said. “Let’s go and see the stars.”

***

There was just something about the lights of the city that gave Nico a sense of calmness. That’s why Nico brought Will here, to the hill on the outskirts of the city. They’re sitting on the roof of Nico’s car, legs dangling down as they gazed at the velvet night sky. Nico stole a glance at Will, who was sitting a few inches from him.

Will was leaning back on his hands, looking up to the sky. His profile under the silvery moonlight looked almost ethereal.

Will took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. Nico quickly looked away.

“I think you already knew what this would be all about, I guess…” Will said, still looking up at the night sky.

Nico hummed.

He already had a guess. A good guess.

(Didn't mean that he would ever stop listening to whatever it was that Will needed to vent about)

(Didn't mean that he would ever stop telling Will that he should've just walked away and left that piece of shit that for some absurd reasons that Nico could never, ever fathom, had this blessing of being Will's boyfriend)

(Also, didn’t mean that Nico would ever tell Will one of the main reasons why it would be really delightful if Will just leave Octavian)

(Why would he ever tell Will that he loved Will, though? Why would he ever tell Will that he would do everything, anything to call Will as his?)

“But you know you can always talk with me about it, right?” Nico said, stealing another glance at Will before mirroring Will and stared at the night sky.

Will let out a chuckle. He took a deep breath and let it out.

“Well, guess what? I think this would be the last time you hear about it.”

Nico snapped his head to Will, eyebrows slightly furrowed. Will was already staring at him, a bitter smile on his lips.

“It’s over. Or should I say, it’s finally over,” Will said, answering the question that Nico didn’t have a chance to ask.

Nico blinked. His brain frantically trying to process what it meant. Should he feel relieved? Should he feel sorry for Will? Should he-

“Is it the part where I said ‘I’ve told you so?” Nico asked.

Will chuckled but said nothing to that. He looked up to the sky again.

“The stars are beautiful tonight,” he said, this time in a lighter tone. As if he didn’t just tell Nico that he just broke up with his boyfriend for two years.

“Do you know that we’re basically made from stars?” Will turned to look at Nico, sparkles in his eyes.

Nico raised his eyebrows. “Really?”

Will hummed as he nodded. “Yeah. So basically, Carl Sagan, a very cool dude, he said that all organic matters, and that definitely involves us since we’re all made of organic stuff comes from stars.” And Will started to ramble about how materials were formed in the sky and big bang theory and stuff like the nerd he was.

Nico loved it when Will was talking some nerdy shit like that. Or maybe he loved that nerdy shit because it was Will the one talking about it.

After a while, it was another silence. But this time, it was like a comfort blanket, embracing them in this sense of calmness under the stars.

“I can actually stare at the night sky forever,” Will said, and let out a long sigh. He took his ukulele, and started playing some tunes.

Nico raised an eyebrow as he recognized the tune.

“I know that song,” he said turning his head to look at Will. Will looked back at him. Under the moonlight, his smile was soft but his eyes twinkled.

“Sing, then.”

Nico snorted. But Will kept his eyes at his.

“Sing for me, please?”

(Sometimes Nico hated himself for not being able to refuse Will whenever he had that look in his eyes.)

Nico rolled his eyes, but Will’s smile got wider as he knew he got what he wanted without even arguing for it.

“Please?”

Nico huffed. “Oh well, only because you asked nicely,” he said, half-hoping that his fake annoyed tone was good enough.

Will smiled.

(Nico wondered whether Will has ever realized that there were stars trapped in his eyes, in his smile.)

Nico took a deep breath, and slowly let it out.

“I'm blind and afraid, the colors of this sound like a shape,” he started to sing. “The feast of words you never could say, and I'm torn apart.”

Nico kept on singing, next to Will who was playing the ukulele. Nico kept his eyes at the dark night, at the twinkling stars.

(Nico wondered whether Will ever realized that when he smiled, it’s like he had stars twinkling in his eyes)

“You got mirth, I got bravado...” Nico sang the last line of the song softly, almost whispering.

And then silence fell again, blanketed them with peace and quiet.

“It’s late,” Nico finally said after a while. He turned his head a little to glance at Will. The blond guy seemed to be deep in thought, staring at the horizon as he held his ukulele close to his chest.

“Will?”

“How have you been doing, Neeks?” Will asked, turning his head to Nico. But this time, his blue eyes had this intensity that almost made Nico forgot to breathe.

“Huh?”

“Tell me about your life. What have you been up to.”

Nico blinked, and then he shook his head a little, bemused.

Next to him, Will continued talking. “I feel like I’ve been such a bad friend for you. For the last couple of months, it’s always been about me and Octavian and how our relationship sucks. We never talked about you. You never told me anything about yourself.”

“Hey, we talk. About work. TVs. Movies. Leo being stupid. About Jason being madly in love with Piper. We talk, Will.”

Will snorted. “No. We talk about me. About other people. We never talk about you, Neeks.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “What’s there to talk about me?”

(Obviously not about he has been pining for Will for so long. Nope. They would not talk about that)

Will shrugged his shoulders. “Anything. Everything. Just tell me things about you.”

“Like what?”

“Like…are you seeing someone?”

“No.”

Once the word fell out from his lips, was exactly when Nico realized he answered it too quickly to make it sound casual. He cleared his throat.

“I mean, no?” Nico cringed when he realized that this time, he made it sound like a question.

“Why not?” Will asked, turning his head to look at Nico, curiosity in his eyes.

Nico stayed silent. Instead of staring back at Will, he fixed his eyes at his black combat boots.

“Have you ever been in love, though?”

Yes. No. Maybe. Nico didn’t know.

Nico lifted his head up as he inhaled deeply. He let it out in a long exhale.

“I don’t know,” he said. (The only thing that he knew was that every time he heard that stupid word he could only think of Will).

There was another silence for a moment, but somehow, somehow Nico could just feel there is this tension between them. Nico carefully angled his neck, stealing a glance at Will. There was this strange, intense expression on Will's face, like he was thinking so hard about something.

“Will?”

“You’re going to hate me for what I’m about to say,” Will said, suddenly turned his head to Nico. And even in the dark night, Nico could see the fiery intensity in those blue eyes.

It made him shiver.

Nico cleared his throat. He schooled his face into the most nonchalant expression that he could. He’s trained for this. Hiding his feeling was something that Nico did really, really well.

“If you’re setting me up with one of your friends again then yes, I would definitely hate you. I’ve had enough of Jason and Percy shoving some random guys to me.”

“No. That’s not it.”

Okay. This was serious. Will was supposed to laugh at the fact that the way Nico's cousins were way too invested in his love life.

Nico’s brows furrowed. “What is it, then?”

Will’s lips thinned into a thin line as he kept his eyes at Nico. That fire in his eyes burned even brighter.

It made Nico’s heart suddenly race and his brain freeze.

“Nico, let’s fall in love with each other.”

Nico’s heart stopped, and lurched into his stomach.

(It was ironically funny, how he had been dreaming about something like this, yet he could not believe it when it happened)

(Did it really happen?)

Nico blinked. Once. Twice.

He shook his head.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“You’re not serious Will.”

“I am. Serious. Really serious.”

Nico stared at Will. His brain froze.

Will bit his lower lip. He shifted a bit. Just a bit. Carefully, he moved his hand, reached out for Nico’s hand and covered it.

Nico wanted to hold his hand back. God, he really wanted to.

He didn’t hold Will’s hand back. He knew better than that. He knew better than giving in to the illusion of calling Will as his.

“I’m serious Nico. I mean it.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Can’t you fall in love with me?”

Nic wanted to laugh and scream and laugh because of how stupid, how absurd that question was.

Can’t you fall in love with me, Will asked, when Nico would do anything, anything for Will.

“Will… This wasn’t the right time-“

Will tightened his hand on Nico’s. “Why?”

Nico shook his head. "Will, you just broke up with your boyfriend. You're emotionally unstable right now. You probably think that you fall for me but then you'll wake up in the morning and regret everything-“

“The only thing that I regret is just that it took me so long to realize.”

That made Nico falls silent. He stared at Will, his heart went back into a crazy race in his chest.

Will squeezed his hand. “Okay, maybe it’s not the only thing that I regret. I regret that I was too stupid to realize that I should have broken up with Octavian a long time ago. I regret that we didn't meet sooner. I just…," Will paused and shook his head. "Oh God, I wish, how I wish that we had met sooner."

Nico’s brain still failed him. Which was stupid. So many things were running in his mind right now yet he couldn’t think of any words to say.

“Can I make you fall in love with me? Or at least, can you give me a chance to try my best to make you fall in love with me?”

Will shifted even closer to Nico now, their shoulders were brushing. He brought Nico’s hand that he’s been holding to his chest. Nico could feel Will’s heartbeat and it was just so surreal, like a fragile, vulnerable dream.

“Can you give us a chance to try? To see if we can fall in love with each other?”

Nico held his eyes at Will’s. At the blue eyes that he had been dreaming of for so many nights.

For over twenty years of his life, Nico had made so many dumb and foolish decisions. Was this going to be just another one of those?

Nico closed his eyes for a moment as he took a deep breath. He opened his eyes slowly. Will was still staring at him with stars trapped in his hopeful eyes.

“This is not going to be something that you will forget in the morning, right?”

Will’s smile was soft and tender as he shook his head.

“No. Mornings are just going to be a reminder of how I have promised that I will show you what I feel for you.”

Nico wanted to say something beautifully eloquent. Something that could make Will understand how much this meant to him. But he knew that words were beyond this.

“Okay,” Nico said. This time he let himself take a chance and held Will’s hand back. “Okay,” he repeated. “Let’s try it. Let’s try to fall in love with each other, from tonight…”

“And promise that we’ll never forget it in the morning light,” Will whispered. He brought Nico’s hand to his lips, and placed a soft, lingering kiss on his knuckles.

Will cupped Nico’s cheek with his other hand. Nico closed his eyes, and as he felt Will’s warm lips over his, he let himself fall into this thing called love.

***

Additional Notes:

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it :). Reblogs, replies or any other feedbacks are much appreciated ALWAYS made my day :')

The lyric that Nico sang was from "epitaph" by Hippocampus. I swear I would write another fic based on that song. (Also please listen to that song. It's just a great great GREAT song)

I find it easier for me to write a fic based on songs. So if you have a song in mind that reminds you of Nico/Will, mind to share it with me? I'd love to hear your thoughts about songs that have the Solangelo vibes!

#solangelo #solangelo fanfic #nico di angelo #will solace #solangelo oneshot

[thefinalcinderella]

Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru Chapter 6 - The Sound of a Shouting Soul (Part 3)

Wanted to get this out a lot sooner but life got in the way

Full list of translations here

Translation Notes

1. So there’s like rankings for how much someone can hold their drink. Waku (which includes all of Chikusei-sou) are people who don’t get drunk no matter how much they drink. Zaru are people who only get a little bit drunk after drinking. Geko are people who can’t drink at all.

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They had to completely get rid of their summer fatigue and they had to rest their bodies gradually before the meet; they trained a lot during the fall, but they didn’t run as much as they did during the training camp. Even so, as expected, even Kakeru began to feel both physically and mentally tired.

It was from the pressure of thinking “What if we do all this and it doesn’t go well on the day of the meet and it ends up being all for nothing?”

Unlike the previous meets, the qualifiers were a one-round competition with no redos; if you didn’t get the time you wanted, you couldn’t just bet on the next one, and that tension weighed heavily on Kakeru’s mind and body.

The training regimen had become denser. Twenty kilometers was the norm for cross-country, and build-ups were introduced into track practice. For instance, if you ran seven thousand meters, you ran the first thousand meters at a pace of less than three minutes and ten seconds, and then worked your way up to two minutes and fifty seconds at the end.

As they ran long distances faster and faster, the pain was not negligible. The inability to breathe during the endurance runs and the violent palpitations of the heart after running as fast as you can assailed you at the same time. It was like playing water polo while drowning, and Prince and the others threw up many times. However, every time Kiyose would caution, “Endure as much as you can.”

“You’ll get into the habit of throwing up. Hold it in and run.”

“I can’t do it.”

“I’ll choke on my own vomit.”

Prince collapsed onto the grass next to the track, and the twins, who were trying to look after him, also threw up with him. It was a miserable situation.

However, sandwiching the proper amount of rest needed between training sessions, the residents of Chikusei-sou gradually became able to keep up with the build-ups and the twenty kilometer cross-country runs. They went to the Showa Memorial Park in Tachikawa, where the qualifiers would take place, and everyone did a trial run of the course.

One day, less than half a month before the qualifiers, Kiyose gathered everyone after they had finished a cross-country run. A chilly wind blew through the open field in the approaching sunset. The tips of the grass had lost their vigor, and there was no trace of summer left. The fruit on the swaying persimmon trees, which no one was picking, were the same color as the setting sun.

“It’s a battle of concentration from now until the qualifiers,” Kiyose said. “Focus and control yourselves so that you’ll be at your peak both physically and mentally on the day.”

“Well that’s easy to say.” Nico-chan sighed. The stress from the tension was giving him an unusually large appetite these days and he was having a hard time regulating himself.

“I feel like my delicate heart has already reached its peak.” King couldn’t help but get stomach cramps during training. “I wonder if I can last until the qualifiers.”

“Don’t be afraid.” Kiyose’s tone was calm, reassuring everyone. “You’ve all done more than enough training; all that’s left to do is use that pressure to hone yourselves. Envision yourself as a beautiful blade running in the qualifiers, and sharpen and polish it well.”

“What a poetic expression,” Yuki said.

“But I get it,” Prince said. “You don’t want to sharpen it too much or you’ll snap before the qualifiers, but if you keep it too dull, it will be useless if the blade still seems cloudy on the day of the competition. It’s something like that, right?”

“Exactly,” Kiyose nodded. “You can’t get there just by recklessly practicing; it’s a battle within yourself. I want you to listen closely to your mind and body, and sharpen yourselves carefully.”

I see, Kakeru thought. This might be one of the strengths that’s required for long-distance.

Long-distance didn’t require explosive power nor was it something that required extreme concentration during a competition to perform a technique—all you did was send forth your legs alternately and plainly moved forward. All you had to do was sustain the simple act of “running”, which most people had experienced, for a set distance. The stamina needed to sustain that was cultivated during daily training.

In spite of that, Kakeru had seen runners whose health broke down during or right before a competition many times: they ran well at first, but suddenly their pace was thrown into disorder; their bodies were in good shape, but three days before the race, their times during practice suddenly stalled; there were those that caught colds even though they were very careful, and ended up getting taken off the lineup on the day of the competition.

Kakeru couldn’t help but feel confused. Practice makes perfect. Why did people ruin themselves when all they had to do was run? Kakeru himself had gotten diarrhea at the last Inter-High he participated in. He hadn’t eaten anything cold or rotten, but his stomach suddenly took a bad turn. He was still able to run, so there were no problems, but he kept wondering, “Of all days, why did I get a stomach ache right before the race?”

He understood now. It was described as a “failure to adjust”. The reason for almost all of them was pressure; the anxiety of suddenly wondering “Is this enough?” no matter how much you trained; the fearful thought of “What if I still lose?” arising as soon as you were confident that it was enough. The more you sharpened your body and mind, the more fragile you became; you got colds and stomach pains more easily, like a precision instrument that breaks down abruptly from just a little bit of dust.

Honing yourself until you were sharp and smooth enough to overcome fear and anxiety and withstand any dust—that power was probably one aspect of the “strength” Kiyose talked about.

Kakeru understood all that, but there was still the question of whether or not he could put it into practice. The more serious you were about running, the less easily you were able to free yourself from pre-competition nerves, and confronting your own body and mind was a very lonely process. You always had to fight alone in the space between compromise and excess.

Kakeru eventually stopped thinking about everything. The more he thought about it, the more fear would arise, because he could only imagine bad things.

People were afraid of ghosts because they thought about and imagined them. Kakeru hated those sorts of ambiguous, vague things; he didn’t want to be bothered by the irritating dullness of “If I think it exists, it exists”, he wanted clarification on whether it was “there” or “not”. Just like being able to move forward if you simply moved your legs, one foot in front of the other.

Kakeru ran without thinking anything. He threw himself into training and repeated the act of “running” as he remembered it with his body. He didn’t know any other way to overcome pressure.

The other members of Chikusei-sou, unlike Kakeru, were inexperienced, so they hadn’t yet established a way to relieve tension. Some, like Kakeru, practiced harder and harder, some burned incense and slept, and some reread sports manga from beginning to end. Everyone was working hard to make their final adjustments for the qualifiers.

With two days to go before the qualifiers, Kakeru felt that his concentration was improving at a good pace.

Practice that day was light, as they shouldn’t be tired on the day of the competition. Of course, each person did their morning and evening jogs, but there was no real practice scheduled on the day before the qualifiers either. They had done everything they had to do, all that was left was relaxing their bodies while keeping an eye on their health while raising their fighting spirits and concentration.

“Let’s do one last finishing touch.”

At Jouji’s suggestion, everyone at Chikusei-sou decided to have a small drinking party two days before the qualifiers. For this group, drinking was the easiest way to relieve tension and solidify their bonds.

The landlord was invited as well, because he was more or less their coach, but there was a problem: the landlord had entrusted Kiyose with the money to fix the hole, but Kiyose had given that money to Shindou to put aside for the Hakone Ekiden; with the transportation and lodging costs, they never had enough money.

As the landlord stepped over the threshold of the front door, Jouta crossed in front of him while looking at the gravure page of a magazine. Distracted by the photo of a woman in a bathing suit, he took off his shoes without looking up at the ceiling and kept close to Jouta as they went upstairs. The tactic was a success. Kakeru and Jouji, watching the situation from the kitchen, gave each other a small high-five.

It was arranged for Prince to sit on top of the hole. You must not stand up as long as the landlord is here, not even if there’s an earthquake or you have to go to the bathroom. Given that strict order by Kiyose and Shindou, Prince obediently hid the hole while reading manga.

“Now, we would like a few words from our coach,” Kiyose said when the liquor was flowing well. The landlord, hugging a large bottle, got up unsteadily. Wondering if he might see him act like a coach for the first time, Kakeru looked forward to what he was going to say.

“It’s finally time for the qualifiers…let me tell you the secret to winning,” the landlord solemnly stated in his hoarse voice. “Move your left and right legs one after the other and go forward!”

The room fell completely silent. The landlord seemed to have sensed the overflowing disappointment and despair.

“…You do that, and you’ll reach your goal one day. That’s all!”

“’That’s all’?!” King roughly put down his cup.

“Is this person okay?” Yuki said.

“Can’t we get a coach who’s a little bit better?” Nico-chan said.

“Ah, my motivation has completely gone down now,” Jouta said.

Quiet unsatisfied voices filled the room. Kakeru hurriedly turned to Kiyose.

“Haiji-san, from the beginning, you believed that this team could definitely make it to Hakone. I thought it was more than impossible, but…why were you so confident?’

“Mm?” Kiyose looked up from his cup and smiled. “Because everyone can handle their liquor.”

“What?”

Everyone immediately stopped complaining about the landlord and now turned to look at Kiyose.

“There are many long-distance runners who can drink a lot. I guess it’s thanks to their internal metabolism. You guys have surpassed being heavy drinkers, you’re bottomless pits, aren’t you? (1) I’ve been observing your drinking habits for a long time and I thought, ‘This could work.’”

“There are plenty of heavy drinkers in the world.”

Shindou looked up at the sky as though to say “I can’t believe this.”

“You dragged people into this thing for that reason!?” Yuki’s voice cracked with anger. Kakeru groaned. He had wanted Kiyose to get everyone motivated again, but it had had the opposite effect.

“Did we really come all this way based only on how much we drink?” Prince, shocked, was about to get up, but Shindou restrained him with his eyes and he hurriedly sat back down. “That’s like building a skyscraper on top of mud with just willpower.”

“Of course that’s not the only reason,” Kiyose said, but his articulation was a bit odd. “I noticed the spark of talent that had been sleeping in all of you.”

“Haiji-san’s drunk,” Kakeru sighed.

“Aaah, isn’t there anything livelier to talk about?” King fell onto the tatami, looking up.

“By the way, how are things with Hanako-san?” Musa asked the twins.

“Hana-chan?”

“What do you mean by things? We get along well?”

The twins both answered innocently.

They don’t know. These guys really don’t know at all. Everyone else muttered to each other.

“By the way, you guys don’t have girlfriends, right?” Nico-chan, who had been nibbling on a piece of dried squid since earlier, said as though it had just occurred to him. “If you do, you’ll have to get them to cheer for us the day after tomorrow.”

It was rare to hear such a topic discussed at Chikusei-sou. Part of it was because their living spaces were so close, they were careful not to deliberately step into each other’s private lives, but it was also because they would all somehow know even without being told expressly.

However, for almost half a year, all of them had been busy training and weren’t able to keep track of each other’s love lives at all. Of course, no one had ever brought their girlfriend to their room before—their conversations and anything else could be overheard, after all.

The twins said, “We’re recruiting one!” in unison. If you’re recruiting, then you should be aware of the existence of applicants, Kakeru thought. King silently curled his back.

“What about you?” Yuki asked Nico-chan.

“I don’t have that kind of energy left right now,” Nico-chan scratched his stubbled chin.

“Same here,” Shindou hung his head. “I’ve been going all around negotiating with the supporters’ association and the school, so I’m afraid that she’ll run out of patience with me soon.”

“You’re dating someone?” Kakeru was surprised. He couldn’t quite connect the reserved and honest Shindou with the brilliance of love.

“Shindou-san has been in a relationship with a woman since he started school,” Musa explained. “It is hopeless for me. I cannot find anyone who will come to my hometown.”

You don’t have to suddenly go all the way there… Kakeru thought.

“Don’t you have a girlfriend, Kakeru?” Musa asked. Kakeru shook his head.

“I’m not popular, after all.”

“It does not seem that way, though.”

“Um, what about you, Prince-san?” He hurriedly shifted targets, but Prince’s eyes were still on his manga.

“I’m only interested in 2-D girls.”

Even though he was born with an idol-like face, it was like pearls before swine. Prince glanced at Kiyose.

“Leaving that aside, I sometimes hear rumors about Haiji-san in the literature department, you know? He looks like that, but there’s all kinds of…Ow!”

Crying out in pain slightly, Prince shut his mouth. A peanut flicked by Kiyose had hit him right between the eyebrows. There was no one brave enough to press Kiyose more than that.

Kiyose laughed slightly and asked, “What about Yuki?”

“I’ve got prospects, a good personality and my looks aren’t bad? Of course I have one,” Yuki answered calmly. King curled himself up more and more.

“Aren’t you going to ask me?” As the landlord was pouring shochu into his teacup right to the brim, a phone rang. It was Yuki’s. Excuse me, Yuki said and left the room.

“What, was that his girlfriend again?” Nico-chan said. Kakeru also noticed that Yuki’s phone had been ringing a lot these days.

“But Yuki has been looking somewhat somber recently, has he not?” Musa tilted his head in worry.

King seemed to have decided to drown his sorrows in alcohol. “There’s no ice,” he said, shaking the empty bowl. Kakeru, who was near the door, stood up and said, “I’ll go get some.”

He went downstairs and saw that the entrance’s sliding door was open, and that Yuki was outside on the phone. He could hear his voice slightly. It seemed like he was arguing about something, and although Kakeru was curious, he crept into the kitchen, concealing his footsteps so that he wouldn’t disturb him.

He transferred the ice into the bowl and refilled the fridge’s ice maker with water. Judging by the way everyone was drinking, it might not be ready in time. Kakeru turned the fridge’s temperature knob to “strong” and left the kitchen with the bowl. 

The front door was still open. But there was no sound of talking. After some hesitation, Kakeru put on his sandals and peeked outside.

Yuki was squatting next to the door, looking up at the night sky.

“I made ice,” Kakeru called out to him softly. “Let’s go back and keep drinking with everyone.”

“‘Kay,” Yuki answered, but he made no attempt to stand up. He looked absentminded, his left hand gripping his phone.

“Did you get some kind of bad news?” Kakeru stepped over the threshold and squatted down next to Yuki while holding the bowl.

“No,” Yuki said. “My parents saw the news story and nagged me about showing up back home once in a while.”

“Where do you live?”

“Tokyo.”

If that’s the case, then it wouldn’t take much time to go back home, and there’s no need for him to lodge in a rundown apartment like Chikusei-sou in the first place. That reminds me, Yuki-senpai said he didn’t go back home for New Year’s, Kakeru recalled, and sensed that there were some circumstances behind it.

Insects were buzzing loudly in the grass of the yard.

“Kakeru, why aren’t you excited about getting interviewed?” Yuki asked.

“Umm,” Kakeru said. “I’m resented a lot. I think my parents and the guys from my high school team probably don’t want to see my face, so that’s why: I want to be as inconspicuous as possible.”

“You’ve been through a lot, I see. I thought you were just a track maniac,” Yuki’s words were biting, but he didn’t pry any deeper.

“Thanks to being a track maniac, I ended up having to keep secretly running away from interviews,” Kakeru laughed.

Noise suddenly erupted from the twins’ room. There were sounds of people running around and shouting something.

“What’s going on?” Kakeru and Yuki looked overhead and stood up.

The window facing the yard opened. “Yuki! Are you there!” Kiyose shouted.

“Yeah, what’s wrong?”

“Call an ambulance!” Kiyose recognized Kakeru and Yuki and waved his arms to hurry them. “The landlord’s throwing up blood!”

Kiyose got on the ambulance and accompanied the landlord to the hospital, and then finally returned to Chikusei-sou some time after the next day had already started.

The early to bed and early to rise routine was so ingrained in everyone that they couldn’t keep their eyes open, but they were all worried about the landlord’s condition, so they had stayed up and waited. Kiyose, surrounded by the residents at the entrance, gloomily told them the news with a tired expression.

“He’s got a stomach ulcer, so he’ll stay in hospital for a week. Apparently the reason is stress from extreme nervousness.”

“Stress!?” Jouji shouted hysterically. “Why was he stressed?”

“He was a carefree coach with no sense of responsibility though?” Jouta tilted his head. He definitely just drank too much, Kakeru thought.

“I also have a lot of questions about the reason, but…the landlord was probably worrying about us in his own way,” Kiyose rubbed his temple. “For that reason, the day after tomorrow—or rather, tomorrow—we will do the qualifiers without the coach there.”

“I don’t really mind, though.”

“It’s not like he’s ever there.”

The twins stated their candid thoughts, and Kakeru nodded.

“Didn’t you say we can count on him when we need it?” Kakeru muttered.

“I said ‘probably,’” Kiyose responded, and as though to say “good grief,” took off the hoodie he had on.

Previous | Next

#Kaze ga tsuyoku fuiteiru #kazetsuyo #kazetsuyo translations #run with the wind

[percyinpanties]

whee happy valentines fellas ♥

my health has been all over the place, so my secret plan of writing a few tiny valentines fics sadly wasn’t doable, but i finished this one at least. i didn’t edit, so there’s most likely typos. it’s... not the best thing i’ve ever written but it’s soft and fluffy and I hope you enjoy ♥

ship: percy/ nico

rating: teen +   words: 2.6k

____________

Nico still isn't sure how he feels about going for a first day on Valentine's Day of all things, but when Percy had asked him, he hadn't found it in himself to turn Percy down. If it meant getting a shot with the one guy Nico has been pining after for an embarrassingly long time, Nico was perfectly happy enduring the kitsch and romantic expectations that came with a holiday as silly as this. If he is perfectly honest, Nico isn't entirely sure what his own expectations are going into this - or what Percy’s might be - maybe because Nico still struggles actually believing that Percy sees him as more than a friend, or at least wants to get to that point. The point stands though that Percy asked Nico for a date on Valentine’s Day, and even Nico doesn't manage to convince himself that Percy didn’t mean it that way given the romantic nature of going out tonight of all nights.

Percy hadn't actually said all that much about what he planned to do, beyond promising Nico he wouldn't take him to a stuffy, fancy restaurant for boring small talk and overpriced food neither of them cared to eat. It's a small mercy and while Nico is glad they won't be stuck awkwardly sitting across from each other with very little to distract from the uncharted territory between them, only knowing what they won't be doing gives him very little to work with. Of course, Nico could just ask, but he's almost afraid Percy might change his mind about the whole thing after all if Nico pushes it too much. It doesn’t make sense, and Nico is very aware of that, but it doesn’t stop him from staying quiet just in case.

In a stroke of luck, Nico has to work the day of the date - which doesn't only guarantee his evening will actually be free, but also distracts him enough to stop from agonizing over every little detail. He just knows he'd have spent most of the day pacing his room if he'd stayed in his dorm, and even busy at work he still finds enough time to do just that until his shift is done. There's a hundred worries buzzing around his head, most of them entirely nonsensical - from silly questions like whether to put his hair up or down later to the truly worrying implications this date going badly could have for Percy's and his friendship - and thinking it all over for the hundredth time doesn’t serve to calm Nico down at all. If anything, it only increases his anxieties. Nico tries to convince himself that it's just Percy and they'll be fine either way, but given that Percy has never been just Percy for Nico, that line of thinking doesn't get him particularly far either. 

In the end, all Nico can do is fully throw himself into work in an effort to distract himself enough before he does something stupid like cancel their date last minute because his anxiety got the upper hand. It’s a mediocre solution, but it gets the job done more or less and by the time Nico leaves work, he’s more stressed about making it on time than he is about all the ways the date could go wrong.

Nico has just enough time to change out of his work clothes and freshen up before Percy texts him, already waiting downstairs and ready to go. Despite the nervousness now permanently settled in the pit of his stomach, Nico finds himself smiling. He is looking forward to this, has been for days, even if right now it feels like there is a tangible chance that he’ll either spontaneously combust or go into cardiac arrest before the night is done. Nico only allows himself to stall for a moment longer, check his pockets, take a deep breath and tell himself it’s going to be fine before he is out the door and down the stairs. 

When Nico steps out of his dorm building, Percy is leaning against a streetlight right across from the entrance. It's already getting fairly dark outside and Percy, only sparsely illuminated by the cheap yellow bulb above, looks absolutely stunning in the low light. Granted, Nico would think Percy looked good in a ragged trashbag and crocs with tennis socks, but this is different: It’s clear Percy made an effort tonight, all dressed up and put together in a way Nico isn’t at all used to seeing Percy. 

Percy looks up when the door opens, a smile, soft and shy, settling on his face. Nico's heart gives a painful squeeze and if he hadn’t been completely whipped already, this might be the last straw. 

"I would've brought flowers, but..." Percy says in lieu of a greeting and pushes himself away from the streetlight as he trails off, shrugging. 

"Good call." Nico says and steps up to Percy, indulging in the briefest of hugs before he can chicken out. His heart is already beating hard enough that he can feel every thud against his ribcage and as much as Nico tries to get a handle on it, he doubts he stands a chance. "Wouldn't have wanted to carry them around all night. Where are we going, anyway?" 

"It's a surprise." Percy says and the wink that follows turns Nico's cheeks a bright red. As grateful as Nico is for it not being awkward, he also wouldn’t mind Percy being a little less smooth because at this rate, Nico might not make it through the night.

"My car’s parked just down the street, it's not a long drive." Percy adds after a moment and tips his head to the side to indicate where he’s talking about. 

They drive for maybe twenty minutes, talking quietly over the radio, Percy watching the street while Nico mostly watches Percy. There is certainly something in the air, but even so, it’s not nearly as awkward as Nico had feared it might be. Percy makes him feel just as at ease as he always has, and there being more on the horizon that just friends hanging out doesn’t change that. 

The surprise turns out to be an honest to god drive through cinema just on the outside of town. Nico didn't even know those were still a thing, but evidently he was wrong. It's nothing he ever would've come up with, and much better than any of the places he'd thought Percy might take them too. It's cheesy, sure, but not really in a bad way. Unlike going to the movies, they’ll still be in their own little bubble here, just the two of them in Percy's car. It’s more intimate, even though that thought alone is enough to make Nico blush while Percy shows the tickets to the guy at the entrance before they’re allowed to pick a spot. They're lucky to be there early, parking in one of the front rows without any big cars ahead obstructing their view. It’s dark all around them and Nico can barely see into the cars next to them - which means they won’t be able to see much of them either. Somehow that’s a comfort too. Nico doesn’t necessarily want to have strangers bear witness to their date, even if nothing happens at all. 

"So…" Percy starts as he turns off the ignition and shifts in his seat. "I hope this is a good surprise?" 

Nico grins - he's already feeling much more at ease than before Percy picked him up. 

"Depends entirely on the movie you picked." He says jokingly and pulls his legs up to the seat, shifting until he manages to get them crossed under himself. He’s leaning more against the door than he’s leaning against the seat, mostly so he can look at Percy as much as he can look at the (so far unlit) screen up front. 

 Percy is quiet for a moment, his lips pursed, and Nico can’t tell if Percy’s actually worried about his movie choice or only trying to hold back a grin. "My bloody Valentine?" 

Nico laughs. For Percy he’d have suffered through one of the mediocre “romantic classics” theatres screen on Valentine’s Day but this - this is so much better than that. 

 "I love horror movies." Nico says, not even trying to hide his grin. It’s maybe not the obvious choice for a first date, but it certainly feels like the obvious choice for Percy and him.

Percy smiles softly. The expression does something to Nico’s insides, especially when the same fondness shows in Percy’s voice when he replies:  "I know."

Nico has to avert his eyes, because if Percy keeps looking at him like this, Nico might just do something stupid like lean over the console and plant a kiss on Percy’s lips. It’s not the first time tonight that he realises how much thought Percy actually put into this and while it shouldn’t be a surprise that Percy wants this to go well, too, it still catches Nico off guard to be reminded. 

Before Nico can say anything else, the screen up front comes to life and breaks the spell. The pre-movie ads start rolling, audio coming directly from Percy’s car radio. Nico settles more comfortably into his seat  and Percy grabs them some snacks and sodas from the backseat, and whatever line they were toeing a moment ago is forgotten again.

Nico has seen the movie before, and he’s fairly sure that Percy has too, not that he’s going to mention it. Given that the car affords them some measure of privacy, too, there’s nothing stopping them from quietly talking - and honestly, mostly poking fun at whatever happens on screen. Nico wears an almost constant smile on his face, and Percy seems to be enjoying this just as much, eyes moving between Nico and the screen up front every now and again.

Horror movies don’t scare Nico much, especially the 80s Slasher flicks like the one on screen now - but even he isn’t immune to jumpscares and well, if he grabs at Percy because of a particularly surprising spook and Percy takes that as an invitation to hold Nico’s hand, Nico certainly won’t be the one to take his hand away again even if it makes his heart rate double for a few beats. 

By the time the credits roll, Nico feels a little less like a silly highschooler getting nervous over his first crush and more like a completely smitten idiot hovering a foot above ground and he’s not sure if it’s really an improvement. Nico only reluctantly lets go of Percy’s hand when they have to pull out of the parking spot, taking their place in queue of cars getting out of the cinema.

“This was really nice.” Nico says quietly as silence starts to stretch between them. It’s not an uncomfortable quiet, but it’s late and Nico isn’t sure how much more time Percy’s planned to spend together tonight and he wants to say this before he loses his chance.

“You really put a lot of thought into it, didn’t you?” Nico adds and he’s careful to keep his tone curious rather than disbelieving. 

Percy hums, eyes darting from the rearview mirror to Nico and back again. He’s smiling and for the first time tonight, Nico catches sight of a blush spreading on Percy’s face, too.

“Well, yeah.” Percy admits and this time, he’s not looking at Nico but rather keeping his eyes on the traffic slowly weaving together. “I… wanted it to go well, because I… I mean…” Percy huffs, then takes a shaky breath. Maybe he was more nervous than Nico realised until now. “I really like you, Nico.” Percy finally says, and now is face is flaming red. “I didn’t wanna screw up my chance.”

Nico gapes at Percy for a moment, then drops his gaze to his lap, feeling his own cheeks burn, too. Technically, Nico knows that Percy likes him, given that it was heavily implied by Percy asking him on a date on Valentine’s. Hearing it is something entirely different, though.

“You didn’t. Screw it up, I mean.” Nico says before making himself look up again. Percy’s eyes are still on the road, as they should be - and it’s probably for the better too, because Nico isn’t sure he’d be able to hold back from crossing the distance if Percy looked at him with that soft gaze again now. “I had a really good time - I mean, I still do, I guess.”

They’re finally at the exit, and Percy pulls out onto the main street, glancing over for a moment once they’re going straight on the road. 

“Good.” Percy says quietly, softly, and takes his hand off the gear shift to offer it to Nico again. Nico’s heart skips like it’s preparing to leap out of Nico’s chest, but that doesn’t stop Nico from reaching out and lacing their fingers together.

They drive in silence for a few minutes, only interrupted by Nico’s yawns becoming increasingly frequent. Percy smiles at him, looking over every other moment before his eyes are back on the road, and Nico in return doesn’t bother pretending that he isn’t watching Percy just as much.

“I was going to suggest getting a milkshake from the drive through before I drop you off.” Percy says and, almost absentmindedly, strokes his thumb along the length of Nico’s hand. “But it looks like you’re gonna fall asleep before we get there.”

Nico groans before he can stop himself, the thought of ice cream sounds almost entirely too good right now.

“I’d kill for a McFlurry.” He admits, making Percy laugh. Nico squeezes his hand, mostly because he can. 

“McFlurry it is then.” Percy says and there is that fond tone again that Nico doubts he’ll ever get over.

It’s well after midnight by the time Percy parks the car outside of Nico’s dorm building. They walk with fingers laced between them and Nico can’t deny being tempted to invite Percy up with him. There’s no need to rush though, Nico knows that, and he’s dead tired too, so chances are nothing much would be happening tonight either way.

Even so, Nico stalls at the door, not quite ready to let go of Percy just yet.

“Thank you.” Nico mumbles, feeling himself blush again as he looks up at Percy. They’re standing close together, and after a second of hesitation, Nico grabs Percy’s second hand in his free one too, both hands held between them now. “I… I’d really like to do this again. Soon.”

Percy is looking down at their joined hands, stroking a thumb across Nico’s knuckles again before he raises his eyes to meet Nico’s gaze. “Yes, please.”

Nico feels like his insides are putty, like he could just melt and disappear through the cracks in the pavement. Percy is looking at him, fond and smiling and warm, and Nico can’t take it. This time, there is nothing holding him back, and no reason to try either.

He doesn’t let go of Percy’s hands as he steps closer, bringing them practically chest to chest. Percy’s face is turning pink, like he knows what might be coming but still wants to leave the choice to Nico.

Nico doesn’t quite have to rise up to his tiptoes, but it’s a close thing. At first, it’s only a chaste peck pressed to Percy’s cheek, but even that is enough to send a jolt of electricity through him. Nico’s eyes are lidded, they are so close, and when Percy turns his head, Nico doesn’t make himself stay away any longer. He lets his eyes fall shut and presses their lips together. 

Nico has kissed people before, but this feels like the first time all over again. He thinks his heart stops entirely for a moment, before resuming it’s beating with vigor. A shiver runs through him, skin tingling and hair standing up. Nico doesn’t back away when they part, and it’s hardly a second before Percy is kissing him again.

#percico #fluff #teen+ #percy jackson #nico di angelo #my fic #pernico

[geekkatsblog]

Grey's Anatomy season 17 episode 4

(Get these characters some Ragu sauce because they've been through enough.)

This episode has been the best for the season so far, I loved it.

_________________________________________

Jackson and Jo

(Never thought I'd have to put them in a title together.)

Jackson and Jo I was intrigued at first when they were being just friends but then they swapped it and slept together. At this point I'm not sure if I like the pairing it's kinda odd borderline cringe, but maybe it'll change. It might be because it came on so suddenly and different. They've pledged to be a friends with benefits thing which is for the best, because Jackson really does go through clothes like he does clothes, but we all know how that is going to end up, someone is going to catch feelings and I don't think it's going to be Jo.

Honestly I'm not sure what they're doing with Jackson. He hasn't had a plot in a really long time it seems like they're just using him as a general filler to put the ladies in relationships, and where did my baby Harriet go she carried the show for the few seconds she was in it last time.

Other than their new arrangement neither Jackson nor Jo have any pressing plots at the moment.

___________________________________________

Link and Amelia

(Currently carrying the Grey's relationship game.)

Before we get into it can I just express how adorable it was seeing Amelia gardening and mothering. She's really doing a great job.

And Link and his one man band serenading his son is adorable as well. He's an awesome father as everyone knew he would have been.

The pandemic and the possibility of Meredith dying is getting to them, as it would for anyone in their positions. I loved that he sat with Amelia and allowed her to feel all her feelings. Link has been the only partner Amelia has had who actually listened to her instead of talking over her concerns and dismissing them and in return she sat with him and allowed him to process his grief in the way he preferred to. Their levels of communication is on point right now and I am excited to see where it goes. Then there's also the scene where she's afraid for Meredith, her and Meredith had a rocky start and even now they don't have the best relationship but still it's great to see the moments where they let us know that they do care about each other.

___________________________________________

Nico and Levi

(At this point I'm sad to put these two names together up here.)

I shipped those two so strong at the beginning but now I just want Levi to stand up for himself and leave Nico hanging, give him some time to let him realise what a good thing he is messing up. I'm still seething at his hypocrisy calling Levi a baby gay and lowkey pressuring Levi to come out to and move out of his mother's basement only for him to find out that Nico hasn't come out to his parents either and worst of all basically left him homeless by putting him out.

I was sad to see that Levi was falling down the same rabbit hole again. Levi hunny you deserve better. At the beginning of the episode when they had that awkward hi moment I was like oh no here we go again. Jo's reaction to finding out about them was perfect their friendship really has grown on me. It was a little odd at first but I approve of them as each other's persons, and for Jo to let him know he's worth more until Nico gets his crap together.

___________________________________________

Owen

Oh Owen, no just no, he miss diagnosed a patient because he didn't look at the whole picture and just saw a piece, however he took the time to educate himself so I'm feeling a little better, I was expecting him to get mad or offended but he wasn't he took it in stride usually some of the doctors would tend to get snippy at the resident's when they pointed out that they made a mistake but he didn't. This is a common mistake made where doctors don't take into concept ethnicity when they're diagnosing patients and I'm glad they touched on this topic.

Owen has no other current plots at this point to touch on, at least until him and Teddy talk again.

___________________________________________

Richard Webber

Meredith better be alright and come out unscathed, because if she does that will destroy Webber. He was so stressed all episode trying to make the decision of whether to put Meredith in the trial or not and I could only imagine the panic that went through him when he heard her mention George. Finally he made the decision to put her in the trial. Her reason for putting her as her POA was because Richard tends to be calm in most situations but she underestimated how important she is to everyone in the hospital they were all literally only interested in her during the briefing, and seeing him in her room all the time was adorable she was alone yet not alone at the same time because he was always in the room watching over her. He is the father that Meredith never had.

__________________________________________Bailey

(Her plot is apparently coming next week)

She really didn't do much other than educate Owen, worry over Meredith and express her concern about her parent's recent move to an assisted living facility.

Seeing her and George together again warmed my heart and seeing her on the beach with Meredith was a surprise as well especially because the few conversations they had in season 16 were the most I'd seen them talk about things that didn't involve work, but they've been together from the beginning along with Richard and been with her through it all, they're all a family and even though her and Meredith have their ups and down they have a similar relationship to Amelia and Meredith they fight sometimes but when push comes to shove they are there for each other.

___________________________________________

Teddy

(A moment of silence for season 5 through 7 Teddy. May she rest in peace.)

Her plot wasn't so much as about her as it was about Meredith but I understand her concern about Meredith dying under her watch. The whole hospital was basically looking over her shoulder with pitchforks for incase she screwed up. It's a lot of pressure when Meredith Grey is your patient, and after the whole her being heard cheating on Owen with Tom by the whole OR the eyes were probably sharper than ever.

But then onto the worst part, her going to visit Tom. Now I know he said he was going to move on for his own sake, but out of all the times they broke up or separated he has never actually ignored her he would have answered even if it was to say go away and even so he has Covid and wasn't answering the door, why didn't she try to open the door or call 911 that's concerning. She could have even threatened to call the ambulance first just to make sure he wasn't really ignoring her. That would have gotten a response from him for sure. But I just can't fathom how she just left after getting no answer from him.

___________________________________________

Maggie

(Get it hun.)

Her and Winston are so cute and they haven't even met in person yet. Seeing the way how they handled the whole dinner with his father was a nice moment. The dinner was super awkward and he managed to make me hate his dad in one scene. This one seems to be the real deal for Maggie she isn't freaking out at the pace like she usually does and took the invitation to family dinner quite well. I'm glad to see she's no longer a cheerleader but now has a life of her own and probably soon maybe even a plot.

___________________________________________

Tom Koracick

(Take Owen instead.)

NOOOOOO not Tom, we haven't gotten to see his character development yet. And why has he been through as much as someone who has been on the show since season 6 give the dude a break man. The whole time I knew he was going to get worst being asymptomatic doesn't necessarily mean that you won't get them later plus the fact that they sent him home alone was enough to know that something was going to go bad.

First thing first the rest of the doctors are sickening the way they treat him, can he come on strong and be a douche yes but I remember Bailey telling George at one point when he was making fun of Karev that they still had to be on his side even if they didn't like him. They are not on Koracick's side they just sent him home to rot and now it may very well cost him his life. I know Meredith is the sun but they could have at least kept Tom in the hospital to just to monitor him or if that wasn't able to happen they could have kept better tabs on him to make sure he was ok.

Am I the only one who's seeing Helm as his intern later in the future? They clearly have the same taste in video games and they would get along better when he becomes more open to people. Plus idk Helm just reminds me of someone in Nuero or even cardio, she has that tough attitude and strong drive like Cristina and Stephanie etc.

I don't think he's going to die though or at least I hope he's not going to die. Bailey's mother is there for a reason I more see her as the one to die.

___________________________________________

Meredith

Last but certainly not least is Meredith am I the only one who suspected that George was next Ellen Pompeo and T.R Knight have a good relationship off set. If anyone was coming back it was going to be George. I can't see Eric Dane coming back. Chyler is filming Supergirl in Vancouver I think and the others are still alive which makes it more unlikely for them to show up on the beach unless if they heard about Meredith being sick and came back to help or something.

Either way I was ecstatic when I saw George, as I said at some point before he was one of those characters that I didn't like before but the more I watched the show the more I appreciated him until he became one of my favorite characters on the show. He's every bit as 'Georgelike' as I remember him. The only thing was I was a little peeved at the fact that she got to be close to George and talk about her kids with him and not Derek but as I realised later apparently Derek is death and when she reaches him it means she choose to live. Which I'm ok with I guess it was good just seeing them again, and it was even better when we got to see the 4 OG's sitting together again even if it was just in a dream.

She has to pick her kids, they need her and so does GreySloan, she needs to live.

I'm hoping she recovers soon, as much as I would like to see even more visitors at the beach. Has Meredith not been through enough? Although this is as peaceful as I've seen her to be completely honest.

___________________________________________

Next week is looking extremely dramatic already.

Meredith seems to be getting better although who knows how long that will last.

Koracick is worst like I said before I don't think he will actually die but something extremely dramatic is going to happen besides him being near death it might be another peice to the Teddy, Owen and Tom love triangle seeing that they're both working on him.

And the last part I saw was Bailey's mom I knew her talking about her parents all of the sudden meant that something was going to happen to one or both of them. Unfortunately I think she might be the one to die Grey's has a habit of bringing in secondary characters when too many primary characters are at risk. Plus it'll give Bailey her plot which I'm lowkey ok with because Chandra Wilson's Emotional scenes are always on point.

#grey s anatomy #greys anatomy #grey's anatomy #greys abc #grey's spoilers #greys spoilers #greys season 17 #meredith grey #miranda bailey #richard webber #levi schmitt #atticus link #amelia shepherd #maggie pierce #george omalley #owen hunt #teddy altman #tom koracick #jo wilson #jackson avery #grey's abc #grey's season 17 #grey's episodes #episode review #favorite tv shows #tv shows

[daisugababy]

unedited sneak peek for the upcoming chapter of seattle: become human bc it’s valentine’s day so why not?? :)

February 14th 2039, 8:36 pm

When Levi opened the door to their house, all he wanted to do was to take a shower and then sleep. Did going to sleep at 9 pm on Valentine’s day make him sound boring? Maybe. Maybe a little bit. But he just got off a 24-hour shift, including a 16-hour surgery with Dr. Kepner and at this point he didn't care what the universe or his housemates would think of him. He was just exhausted and wanted to get some rest.  

Already imagining himself naked in the shower, closed eyes and hot water burning his skin, he kicked off his shoes and hung up his coat. Oh yes, with each step he took towards the bathroom, he could already smell that expensive sandalwood shower gel that Casey had gotten him as his Secret Santa last year.

He stopped, however, when he passed the kitchen, an unfamiliar, but definitely pleasantly smell catching his attention. He took a little detour and found Nico behind the kitchen counter, tossing the contents in a wok that Levi had never seen before, looking like a real professional. Nico always looked like he knew how to do things, even when he never tried them before.

With anyone else, it would have annoyed Levi, but with Nico... With Nico it was different.

Perfection was in his programming. He was manufactured to be a perfect surgeon. And he was able to learn almost anything within a few tries.  

Maybe that’s why he liked watercolors so much. He didn’t immediately conjure up a perfect painting. In fact, it took him weeks to produce something that he was somewhat satisfied with. Levi thought everything he did was perfect in a way. Even his first tries. They made him more...

Less like a machine. An actual...being. A being with flaws and imperfections.  

Levi had learned that Nico liked having a challenge. He liked having to really try to do something and to improve himself. Maybe not being perfect was his way of separating himself from his programming. To prove that he was someone who still had to learn. Who still could learn.

Upon closing in on his housemate, Levi began to recognize the wok. Casey’s mom had given it to him ages ago when he moved out first while being in pre-med. He had used it maybe once or twice before. It eventually landed in the furthest corner of the cabinets of the kitchen island. It originally wasn’t really a kitchen island. They had this one cabinet that Dahlia brought in and then decided to place a countertop onto it. A few bar stools later, they had a place to eat at or to just stare at the designated cook of the night. That was, if they didn’t just prepare something together.

Cooking together was a whole other story though. A story that wasn’t told often in this house due to recurring arguments.

Sitting down on one of the bar stools, Levi watched Nico move around, stirring the wok and checking the pot that Levi previously missed to notice.

“Do I have enough time to take a shower, or are you almost done?” Levi didn’t want to have him wait for too long, but he was definitely feeling very grimy from work today. And while Nico probably wouldn’t be bothered by it, Levi didn’t want Nico to associate him with the scent of sweat.

“Go ahead, it’ll take at least 15 minutes. So don’t rush,” Nico said, his hand sending him off before he turned around again to stir the wok.

When the smell of sandalwood surrounded him, Levi leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. He welcomed the hot water hitting his skin, washing away the sweat and stress of the day. He loved being a surgeon, saving people’s lives and all that. But it sure as hell was exhausting and had him longing for his bed 90 percent of his existence outside the hospital. That longing got more bearable though as soon as he was surrounded by his friends and furry children.

Levi smiled softly at the thought. He was really lucky to have found them. And he wouldn’t change a thing even if it could cancel out his tiredness.

He turned off the water, immediately missing its heat on his body. He reminded himself that better things were waiting for him downstairs as he stepped out of the shower onto the bath mat. He wiped the steam from the mirror above the sink to look at his reflection.

He knew he didn’t have enough time to make himself look truly dashing, but Nico was cooking for him and he didn’t just want to show up in his pajamas. So he dried his hair as best as possible with a towel and put on a nice shirt and jeans. He tried to do something with his hair, but it just ended up being his usual curly mess. Maybe he could play it off as part of his charm.

Maybe.

It’s not like he was going on a date or anything. It was just dinner. That Nico cooked. Nothing new or special. Absolutely not. It might be the day of commercial love, but that didn’t have to make it a date. Just because it was only them and Nico cooked something that smelled delicious while looking good, just like he always did.

When Levi entered the kitchen, it was dark inside. He looked around and found the food as well as Nico missing. Normally if Nico cooked, they’d sit at the kitchen island with Levi chomping down the dish and Nico drinking a cup of thirium. They’d talk about their day, plans for the weekend or just enjoyed the silent company of the other. Silence between them was never awkward.

Levi’s next stop was the living room. And sure enough, the smell of food got stronger with every step he took. Just on cue his stomach was growling loudly, reminding him that the last time he ate anything was right before the surgery had started.

All of that rumble was forgotten about though as soon as he stepped into the living room. Nico was sitting on the couch, Kali crawling onto his lap, Sprinkles next to them, licking his fur as if Nico had told him to spruce up. The only light in the room came from the fireplace and the fairy lights that Dahlia had installed throughout the room pre-Christmas.  

Slowly, Levi approached the couch, marveling at how cozy it all looked and how Nico looked like he just belonged here. Here and nowhere else. And Levi belonged here too. They both were absolutely and one hundred percent meant to be here. Together. Levi could feel it with every fiber of his being. And it was in that moment that he knew that whatever the future might hold for them, he would do absolutely anything to make sure that the man in front of him was safe. That he could be and do anything he wanted without ever having to be afraid.

“Oh.” Nico turned his head to look at Levi when he touched his right shoulder, hand gliding over to his left as he sat down next to him.

“It looks wonderful,” Levi whispered, feeling Nico wrap his arm around him.

“You do too.” Levi closed his eyes and tried to hide the grin that accompanied the heat that rose to his cheeks. Sometimes he forgot how smooth Nico could be if he wanted.

He opened his eyes again to say something, but all that came out of his mouth was a helpless “I –”

“Dinner is getting cold,” Nico noted with a smile, fingers tapping Levi’s upper arm, sending shivers down his spine. If it wasn’t for the food in front of him that Nico had spent his time on, Levi could’ve just stayed like this for the rest of the night, begging stomach completely ignored.

#schmico #schmico fic #nico kim #levi schmitt #valentine's day #hello this is a lil update to proof i am still working on it!! #it's not all of the scene but i haven't written it all yet and i thought this was a nice cute for now :)

[carnivorousmossbeast]

Have a smol flavorshot. Couldn’t sleep last night so I did the mech suit/dystopia/sci-fi thing. Enjoy!!

2000 tons of carbon fiber enforced steel and titanium plates stand before him, staring down at him. Somewhere in there, he knows, is a beating heart keeping the eyes so alert and posture straight. There is a conscience in there. An awareness. Intelligent life. 80 meters tall, five meters wide encased in enough protective material to build four underground shelters. And even then, sometimes the pilots die. Normally he’d have some qualms about enslaving living beings but since no one really knows what the Weidmanns are, only that after they arrived everything started going to shit, he’s hard pressed to find anything more serious and founded to say against it.

Zoro pilots one of the older ones, one that came with a name and wasn’t grown in a lab. The swirly heart on the chest plate and weird face-thingy on the back shield and DEATH spelled across its heavily armored knuckles apparently came with the Weidmann and it didn’t work until someone thought to transfer the weird designs onto the armor. Sometimes it’s a bit touchy, Trafalgar D. Water Law, but it’s yet to fail Zoro. Or earth and humanity, for that matter. And Torao, how Zoro’s predecessor Luffy liked to call the Weidmann, seems to be oddly fixated on the green-haired pilot.

For example it won’t shut down if Zoro is close by.

The World Defense Council would rather play it as though the Weidmanns are machines, not creatures forced into submission by running so much electricity through their brains that they became effectively zombies, because obviously that is seven kinds of wrong, but Torao ruined that notion when Zoro entered the picture.

The first time Zoro’s in the command panel there’s abnormally high latent brain activity. Back then the technicians called it a power surge but to Zoro it had felt different from the power surges during sims. Because the pilots are put through what essentially is torture to be sure that they have it in them to steer a Weidmann. Some bullshit about neurological overstimulation. Now he knows that sometimes, the Weidmanns wake up and devour the humans that enter their spinal canal. And fighting Kaiju while keeping, essentially other Kaiju, under control, is a task in and of itself. That explains why the command panel is designed the same way landing modules are. They’re nigh impossible to break. As though the massive armoring wasn’t protection enough. Zoro soon learns the hard way that, only because the Weidmanns help, they are not allies. Not even close. He watches a pilot lose control over the neural bridge, watches the Weidmann gain its consciousness through the eyes of Torao. It’s quick, but ugly. Sometimes he still hears the screams of his comrade turning into static as he watches helplessly how Mihawk tears the control panel out of his spinal canal and crushes it in his massive fist before dropping it into the ocean carelessly. He remembers a rumbling purr of satisfaction coming from Torao’s conscience. The next two Kaiju attacks he doesn’t let himself sink as deep into the neural bridge as he normally does, even if the soft, warm whisper of Torao is oddly comforting normally. Not then.

Primal fear dictates he remain at the surface, barely submerged enough to feel the long, insanely strong limbs. These Kaiju he doesn't slice apart with the ridiculously long sword Torao's been outfitted with. He brawls, because so close to the surface, so barely there, he lacks the fine motor control to properly wield a 70-meter longs word with electrical currents running down the blade that has teeth running up and down like a chainsaw.

Kikoku is a masterpiece of engineering. Someone really did their research for effective weaponry - and ended up choosing Texas Chainsaw Massacre as reference. Sharknado as well. Perhaps Sharknado is more fitting, since the Kaiju appear from somewhere deep within the Pacific Ocean. They're not sharks, nowhere close, with their huge legs and claws and less than aerodynamic bodies, but a terror from the ocean none the less.

The next Kaiju is one of the strongest yet.

Zoro knows without Kikoku he hasn't the slightest chance to get past its long, leathery winged arms that sport massive claws, or the insanely long tail that has a bone structure at the end of it that Zoro takes one short look at and knows, painfully aware of the implications for his neural bridge - he'll have to go in deep this time - that one hit will smash through Torao's armor like a wrecking ball through a massive wall of reinforced concrete. It will take the entire Weidmann down and damage it beyond repair.

There are two other Weidmanns running point, "got your six, Zoro" crackles Ace's voice through the comms. Boa Hancock is arguably the prettiest out of all the Weidmann, and Ace is definitely the prettiest pilot. And the fucker knows it. But Ace also knows his stuff and is one of most well known pilots. Most drops, but not the most kills. Ace is happy to run point and let others take the kill. Boa Hancock isn't strong, it heavily relies on others and teamwork isn't quite Zoro's strength. Especially not in the Weidmann. But then again, few people are good at teamwork when their attack and defense is directly tied to a 70-meter monstrosity of titanium with a serrated running blade and coated in 4000 Volts of electricity. The other Weidmann is Sir Crocodile, among the heaviest defense humanity has, and the pilot is the most cryptic bitch ever.

In her presence Zoro always gets a distinct feeling like he's the butt of a joke that only she understands. Nico Robin the strangest out of the bunch. Except she really isn't. They're all weird in the Tokyo Shatterdome.

But then again you have to be somewhat messed up in the head to even be considered for pilot training.

He takes a deep breath before sinking into the neural bridge. Torao's consciousness envelopes him like warm, summer air, smelling softly like heat and sweat and sleepiness in the shade of a tree. He's in deeper than he was with the last two Kaiju, deeper than the WDC says is green, but not where he used to go. Torao and him, they used to synch. Zoro would leave the dock being submerged at the green levels and slowly slip in deeper once the control and directing electrodes were off.

He'd be pulled from Torao the instant he crossed over the yellow into the orange line, and where he goes is deep, dark red.

Rumor has it that once you're past yellow, you start becoming part of the Weidmann. The general public is fed a pretty tale of too much neurological input and synaptic overload but the ugly truth is - you're waking the beast. You're lending your tiny, insignificant brain for them to regain their consciousness and that fries you. Only Torao has never truly been gone. It's the one Weidmann they couldn't really tame and eventually it burned through all its pilots.

Zoro sees the charts stabilizing, the brainwaves lining up sort of on top of each other, enough that he'll be able to move Torao without getting consumed. Or overpowered, torn out and crushed. He relays his data to command and gets the go. Transfer out to the ocean is oddly silent. Torao is unusually still and Zoro doesn't like it. Something is off.

They land, knees slightly bent and hands at the hilt of Kikoku, and then they wait. The Kaiju is moving towards Tokyo, but it's taking its time. While its predecessors have always taken the most direct approach, this one circles around, tests their patience. Tense silence rules between the three monsters humanity tamed to defeat their unknown enemy, with only crackling updates on how far away the monster lurks. Little crackles of static in the silence. Zoro could probably hear a pin drop if he were to unlock his helmet. Even the ocean is deceptively calm.

Zoro thinks he can see movement at the horizon, thinks he can feel a tingle of excitement, adrenaline, rushing through his veins, but he's too deep in the Weidmann to still feel his body like that. Zoro frowns. Now is not the time.

The Kaiju rears out of the water like a monster straight out of old Japanese Kaiju-movies. It's ugly, with thick leathery skin and glowing green eyes, a maw full of crooked teeth, and the leathery skin flaps attached to its arms make a good imitation of wings. He draws Kikoku and readies himself, only to be hopelessly overpowered by the monstrous creature. He forgets about the tail, sees it a moment too late and can only narrowly avoid being hit by the bone club at the end of it. The long appendage hits the Weidmann around the middle and topples him over into the ocean. Alarmed red lights blink in his peripheral vision, damage assessment is still running when the Kaiju descends on the downed Weidmann again. Zoro can hear himself growl - something isn't right he shouldn't be able to hear himself - and yanks up his arm to protect the face.

A new alarm starts blaring when the neural bridge starts to disconnect. Zoro curses up a storm and tries to disengage the neural input dampening systems that are supposed to keep the pilot from experiencing the damage. The pain of being torn apart. The Kaiju shrieks over the still body, the sound shattering through the Weidmann's massive body armor and the command pod and Zoro hears a massive growl in return. And then Torao moves. Zoro isn't in deep enough to be initiating the movement, so this is all the consciousness he's been hijacking for the last two years. Zoro slams his hands against the emergency eject panel, the weapons panels, anything really, that he can reach without disengaging the pilot safety straps. A whole lot of nothing.

He growls. It's not that he's afraid to die, because he dropped that particular piece of humanity the first time he stepped foot in a drop sim, and thoroughly erased the idea of fear when he made his first kill as the backup pilot for Mihawk, it's just that Zoro really hates the idea of not being able to put up a fight.

There's a click and a whirring noise and Zoro finally feels himself sinking deeper into the neural bridge. He stops where he is comfortable, where he went before he witnessed Mihawk tearing the command pod out of his spinal canal. There's a growl rumbling in his - no, in Torao's chest - and a very sudden yank on his mind. Zoro feels like he stumbles and for a second everything is numb and dead, and then it feels like he slips into his body, only that his body is suddenly unfathomably huge and strong. He can feel the bruised organs and muscles of his - Torao's - abdomen, the tingling in the fingertips where the insulating coat doesn't quite manage to keep 4000 Volts on their side of Kikoku's blade.

Zoro hesitates for a moment and suddenly there's a voice echoing through his mind: "Zoro-ya... Didn't take you for a coward."

#ZoLaw #AU #dystopian AU #sort of pacific rim and NGE #there’s Kaiju #because I’m too tired to make up any other names #also Kaiju literally means big unknown monster or something so sue me #I could have named them Godzilla just be happy I didn't do that #fanfiction #will update as i go #can’t promise this’ll ever be anything close to an actual story #I just had some pretty ideas and couldn’t sleep so here we are #YOU GUYS PLEEEEAAAASE ADD ANY EDITS OK?! #I’m hyperfocusing on this rn so really #you’d be doing yourselves (and me let’s not kid anyone) a huuuge favor

[writingpaperghost]

There is a Me Who Can Become Strong (Chapter 14)

Chapter 14: A Knockout Puzzle!

How do you cure someone who doesn't want to be cured? Nico, Taiga, and Yuko find something out, though it seemed Nico already knew.

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32857183/chapters/83384770

Pacing about the room, Kuroto was grumbling something about how Para-DX’s new Gashat was a “bootleg game” and needed to be “erased”. Mu had to agree that Para-DX gaining a new and strong power up was definitely inconvenient, but maybe not quite so big of a deal.

For obvious reasons, Mu wasn’t paying Kuroto too much mind, instead turning his attention to his game of DoReMiFa Beat. At least, until he hears Kuroto say something along the lines of, “How did he even get that Gashat in the first place? It’s certainly the one I was working on…” Kuroto shoots Mu a look.

Jumping slightly – and missing several notes – Mu pauses and looks up at Kuroto, “I don’t know,” He lied, hoping that his terrible lying skills wouldn’t betray the fact he had an idea. To be fair, he didn’t know for certain how, just had a very good idea. “I mean, Para-DX obviously didn’t come and get it himself, that’s for sure.”

“No, no…” Kuroto grumbled, “You’re right. You would have said something if you had any idea.” Mu was just grateful that Kuroto believed him.

Kuroto paces over to his desk and picks up the last blank Gashat, once that looked a bit like two Gashats fused together. Unlike the one that Para-DX had acquired, it had no knob. “This Gashat will be for you, when it’s done.”

Mu blinked, “Really?”

“Yes, you can’t keep using the Prototype Gashat forever. Besides, with how easily Para-DX was able to defeat you, Level 3 clearly isn’t enough.” Finally, Kuroto sits down at his desk and begins clicking away at the keyboard. “I don’t want you getting hurt because you’re Gashats aren’t strong enough.”

---

It wasn’t exactly like Emu was being the bearer of bad news, this time. If only because their patient didn’t really want to be treated anyway. At least with the Bugster, they could say it was just so no one else got infected. Still, Emu didn’t exactly like having to tell a patient that the Bugster infecting them got away. Not once, but twice.

Not that Mr. Shirakawa seemed to upset, “I’ve already accepted it,” He said. To some extent, Emu understood, that as far as Mr. Shirakawa was concerned, he’d die whether he was cured or not. Emu just couldn’t understand why he’d give up so easily.

Poppy and Saki watch him through the window. It’s clear that something is bothering Saki, who had a frown on her face. She briefly touches the locket that lays beneath her blouse, before sighing and shaking her head.

Peering over at her, Poppy asks, “Is something wrong, Saki?”

“Emu… I wonder just what happened with that Gashat earlier?” Saki spared Poppy a glance, bringing her finger up to tap at her chin. She returns to staring at Emu through the window, “It was blank. Yet when he tried to use it… It suddenly wasn’t anymore.”

“What?” Poppy gasped, “You mean he gave a Gashat data?”

“So it seems,”

Emu leaves the patient room and they can soon here him walking up the stairs. There’s a frown on his face, but it almost looks like he’s in thought, rather than upset. Saki can’t help but wonder…

Just what was going on with him? It wasn’t just the Gashat, either. He didn’t use a Gamer Driver – according to Poppy he couldn’t – and both her and Poppy are worried because they’ve only seen him eat once, and that was the cake at Christmas. Certainly, it could be nothing, but between everything, she was worried. Was Emu okay, or was there something else going on that he hasn’t told them?

Looking at her, Emu asks, “Saki, do you think you could operate on his cancer?”

At the out of the blue question, Saki could only blink, for a moment. “What-?” She shakes her head, “It doesn’t matter, Mr. Shirakawa doesn’t want it operated on. It’s his choice and we can’t do otherwise.”

“Alhambra attacked you, didn’t he? Specifically, you.” At Emu’s question, Saki slowly nods, unsure at what point he was getting at. “So obviously it’s what would cause Mr. Shirakawa the most stress. Saki, you’re a genius surgeon, if anyone could operate on his cancer, it would be you. But if something happened to you, then the chances that the surgery could be successfully performed greatly decrease.”

Saki crosses her arms, “Don’t call me a genius surgeon… though you’re right that I may be able to successfully operate on him.” She shakes her head, “As much as I’d love to, he doesn’t want it and it isn’t my choice.”

“Is that it?” Emu wonders, looking down to meet Saki’s eyes, “Or is it you’re afraid. Worried that you might fail to save him too?”

At his words, Saki recoiled, “That’s not it at all!”

Poppy jumps between the two, waving her hands frantically, “Come on! Let’s not argue like this!”

Taking a step towards them, Emu continued, holding his hand out towards Saki, “Give me my Gashats back, then, I can do my job,” There’s something off about the look in his eyes, something almost… inhuman. “Regardless of if you do yours.”

They stare at each other, for a moment, before finally, Saki sighs, pulling out his Gashats, “Fine.” She hands them to him, “Don’t mess this up, intern.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” He grinned.

---

“Mr. Shirakawa,” Saki begins, “I would like to remind you that I could operate on your cancer.”

Mr. Shirakawa scoffs, “There’s no reason to risk a failure on me,”

At that, she stiffens, before responding, “It’s not a risk of failure,” She says, “It’s performing an operation on someone who could benefit from it. If it doesn’t work, then you won’t be in any worse of a position. If it succeeds, then you’re better off.”

He doesn’t respond, so Saki continues, “Don’t think of it as a possible failure. Choose based on whether you would like to take the chance to live.”

---

Alhambra attacks Seito this time, though Emu’s more than prepared to deal with him. Now that he has his Gashats back, he actually has option, instead of having to rely on a Gashat he only just got earlier today.

Emu intercepts Alhambra outside the hospital, to the annoyance of the Bugster, “Where’s Brave?”

“She’s in an operation, right now,” Emu answers, pulling out Mighty Action X, “That’s alright, though. You have me.”

Mighty Action X!

Level up! Mighty jump! Mighty kick! Mighty-Mighty Action X!

Weapon in hand, Emu knows what to expect this time and there’s no Gemn or Ex-Aid to distract him. He dodges out of the way of Alhambra’s fire, countering with a few shots from his gun. Switching to axe mode, he runs towards Alhambra and slashes.

Jumping back, he pulls out the Bakusou Bike Gashat.

Bakusou Bike!

“Please help me, Kiriya,” He can’t help but think.

His use of the Gashat summons Bike Gamer, who looks uncomfortably like Kiriya’s Level 2. Still, getting on, he shoves the Gashat into his axe and drives at Alhambra.

Bakusou Critical Strike!

They soon arrive at a shipyard, Emu getting off of Bike Gamer when he sees Kuroto and Ex-Aid. Alhambra was still standing, even after the critical strike, but Emu hadn’t expected it to defeat him anyway.

“Well, well…” Kuroto stalks forward, the Buggle Driver on his waist and Dangerous Zombie in hand. Ex-Aid stays still, watching. “Time to destroy the bootleg games.” Emu can only assume he’s talking about his newest Gashat.

Dangerous Zombie!

Buggle Up! Danger! Danger! (Genocide!) Death the crisis! Dangerous Zombie!

Despite Kuroto transforming, Ex-Aid doesn’t, instead choosing to move out of the way and off to the side, next to Alhambra. Gemn holds the Gashacon Sparrow, separating it into two. Emu attempts to block the slashes, but his axe can only block one at a time. Soon Emu was knocked back, his transformation disappearing.

Combining the Gashacon Sparrow once more, Gemn aims it at him and says, “Now just hand over the Gashat so I can delete the games,” When Emu doesn’t do anything, he growls, “Don’t disobey the game master!”

“There’s an operation going on, Gemn,” Emu finally says, producing the Perfect Puzzle/Knockout Fighter Gashat. “Don’t interrupt.” He twists the knob to the side.

Knockout Fighter!

Dual Up! Explosion hit! Knockout Fighter!

Emu punches the Gashacon Sparrow, making Gemn stumble back. He separates the weapon once more and slashes, attempting to hit him. Emu raises his fists and blocks the attacks, before responding with a kick. The two trade blows, though it’s clear that Emu has the upper hand.

He knocks Gemn down, though his transformation wasn’t canceled. Emu doesn’t want to risk Gemn getting back up and interfering with him defeating Alhambra more, so he begins to walk forward, about to attack again. At least, until Ex-Aid slides in, already placing the Gamer Driver on his waist.

“Ex-Aid!” Gemn calls from behind him, but Ex-Aid doesn’t respond. Instead, he pulls out two Gashats. Emu’s started to realize that instead of one black and greyscale Gashat and one regular black Gashat, there were two black and greyscale Gashats in Ex-Aid’s hands. He wasn’t using Giri Giri Chambara?

Mighty Action X!

Drago Knight Hunter Z!

Do-Do-Drago Kni-Kni-Kni-Knight! Dra! Dra! Drago Knight Hunter! Z!

A grey version of Hunter Gamer appears, landing on Ex-Aid’s shoulders and becoming armor, just like with the complete Drago Knight Hunter Z Gashat. Except, that was clearly the Prototype Gashat. And Masamune had said that using it the same way as the completed Gashat should have been impossible. So how had Ex-Aid…?

Emu’s knocked off his feet by Alhambra’s fire spell. Of course, he’d forgotten about the Bugster. Ex-Aid must have planned for Alhambra to attack while Emu was distracted. Rushing towards Emu, Ex-Aid swipes with the bladed arm of Hunter Gamer’s armor, slashing him in the chest.

It didn’t hurt much, but it was definitely going to be a problem trying to deal with all three of them. Emu dodges tail of Ex-Aid and sees that Gemn’s getting up. Grabbing his Gashat, he twists the knob to the other side.

Perfect Puzzle!

Ex-Aid jumps back.

Dual Up! Get the glory in the chain, Perfect Puzzle!

It seemed Emu was going to need to get more creative. Thankfully, while Knockout Fighter seemed to be good for brute force, Perfect Puzzle gave him a bit more freedom and more options.

Gemn steps in front of Ex-Aid, “Let’s let Alhambra deal with this,”

Seemingly startled, Ex-Aid said, “Uh, why?”

There wasn’t really time for Emu to listen to the answer, instead, he focused on Alhambra. If neither Gemn nor Ex-Aid were going to interfere, he shouldn’t waste any more time. Saki was operating of Mr. Shirakawa and so was he.

He dodges out of the way of Alhambra’s attacks, he rearranges the power up items around them and…

Perfect Critical Combo!

Utilizing the power ups, Emu’s attack destroys Alhambra. He notices the data is sucked up, following the path to see it entering the Bugvisor. Gemn, holds it up, like he was showing it off, then, dropping his transformation turns to leave.

“Come on,” He calls to Ex-Aid, “We got what we came here for. Besides, the Riders can’t control fate.”

Ex-Aid seems equally as startled and confused as Emu. After a moment, he too cancels his transformation, hurrying after Kuroto. Emu wonders if he should chase after them, but chooses not to. He wants to see if the surgery went well…

When he drops his transformation, he gasps, feeling an unexpected pain. He wasn’t sure why but… He could see small amounts of glitching across his arms and chest. He couldn’t go back to the hospital, he needed to get home and rest. He’d just call Saki later or something. He begins to stagger home.

---

“Okay, so he has a weird new Gashat,” Taiga notes, having just finished watching Emu fight Alhambra. Nico had dragged him out to see it, because she needed him to understand how odd Emu’s new Gashat was.

“That’s what I told you! He said that Graphite gave it to him. I don’t know about that…” Nico shakes her head, “But I do know it was blank when he first tried to use it.”

“Well it’s not blank now-” Taiga’s cut off by a sudden gasp coming from Emu’s direction. The two look back and just barely catching the end of Emu’s coat as he rushed off. “We have to check up on him,” Taiga hissed.

Nico’s head snapped to his direction, “What? Why?”

Taiga rolled his eyes, “That was a gasp of pain, Nico,” He told her, “Emu could be hurt.”

She… didn’t doubt that was a possibility but… But there was another option, at least partially. Not that Nico was going to tell Taiga that one. “Okay, fine, then let’s get going.”

She was honestly hoping that they weren’t able to find him.

While Taiga went one way, Nico went another, since neither of them knew which way Emu had gone for sure. Taiga thought he might be heading back to the hospital, so he went in that direction. Nico didn’t think so, though. So she went another way.

It wasn’t long before she found Emu, though, leaning against the wall, almost in a daze. “Taiga!” She calls, hoping Taiga isn’t so far away he can’t hear her, “I found him!” She runs up to Emu and tries to help him stand, though before she even makes it he passes out. She winces, but goes to his side regardless.

Then she sees the glitching, like when he’d defeated the Dragon Bugster. Or like what Kiriya had told her about. She hoped that Taiga hadn’t heard her. Though the oncoming sound of thumping boots told her otherwise. Well, she’d just have to hope that he didn’t notice the glitching.

“Why didn’t he head back to the hospital?” Taiga wondered, crouching beside her.

“I don’t know,” Nico shrugged, though she had some ideas, “But he’s unconscious now… We should take him back to the clinic. It’s closer.” Truthfully, she just didn’t want to risk Saki seeing the glitching. Nico could deal with Taiga finding out, but she wasn’t so sure she or Emu could deal with Saki.

Taiga picks Emu up and throws him over his shoulder, carrying him back to the clinic. Once they’ve returned to the clinic, Taiga puts Emu on one of the patient beds, about to start his examination.

At least, until he’s interrupted by Yuko barging into the room, “There you two are-” She stops herself when she sees Emu, “Oh, did I time this badly?”

“A bit,” Taiga grunts.

Yuko took a moment to examine Emu, “Oh, that’s the guy taking up most of your stalker board,” She notes, “Or like, all of your stalker board.”

“It’s a theory board, and that’s M,” Nico tells her, “And he’s not the only one on there. There’s a bit of a terrible photo that’s of someone else.”

Shoving her hands in her jacket’s pockets, Yuko shook her head, “No way, that’s clearly just him with a different haircut and clothing,” She doesn’t give Nico much time to think about what Yuko’s just said, though, as Yuko just continued on, “And hey, I’m no expert, but generally, people aren’t supposed to glitch, right?”

With a roll of his eyes, Taiga responds, “Yeah,”

“So then it’s probably bad that M there is glitching, huh?”

Taiga spins in his chair, turning towards Emu. The glitching has grown more prominent now, revealing pink, black, and blue clothing beneath. There’s some glitching in his hair that turns it darker and more curly. For a moment, Taiga just stares, before grabbing Nico’s Gamescope off of the desk.

Nico can’t stop him from pointing it at Emu and scanning. Two strains pop up, Perfect Puzzle and Knockout Fighter. Taiga groans, “That new Gashat must have somehow infected him, and with two new strains too.”

With a sigh, Nico figures she should explain, “It’s not that the Gashat’s affected him, Taiga. Really, it’s more the other way around.”

He narrows his eyes at her, “What do you mean?”

“M’s not infected with Game Disease,” Nico says, “The reason he can’t use a Gamer Driver, the reason that he was able to change a blank Gashat to a completed one is… He’s a Bugster.” As if on cue, the glitching dissipates, mostly, leaving behind what can only be Emu’s true appearance. Dark curly hair, shorter than before, a black coat with pink sleeves. Blue and grey shirt beneath his coat, and purple-pink pants with a block pattern down the legs, almost like Tetris.

Both Yuko and Taiga stare in shock, before Taiga turned to looks at Nico, “How did you know that?”

“Kiriya told me, on Christmas.” Nico explained, “He found out after we defeated Graphite. I’d had my suspicions but…”

She doesn’t say much else, instead, Emu begins to stir, before sitting up and rubbing his head. He pauses for a moment, stares at his hand and arm, then realizes his appearance. “Oh,” He said quietly.

Nico grinned, “Have a good sleep, M?”

Emu suddenly twists positions so he could see her. Then he takes in the rest of the room. “Fuck,” He says, “Just… fuck.”

“Oh,” Nico blinked, “M can really swear, huh?”

“Shut up, Nico.”

Taiga examined Emu for a moment, “Well at least you don’t seem to be hurt…”

Ignoring him, Emu just hesitantly looks between Taiga and Nico. Finally he sighed and asked, “So you know I’m…?”

“A Bugster?” Taiga finished, “Yes.”

“Please don’t tell Saki.”

“She deserves to know,” Taiga countered. Nico wasn’t going to say much on the matter. She thought that Emu should tell Saki too, or at least that someone should. She wasn’t entirely sure why Emu didn’t want to tell people, though she figured it had something to do with being used to keeping it a secret and probably even a bit of fear. After all, they did fight Bugsters. Though he did also work with one in Poppy.

“I know,” Emu agrees, “But… Well shouldn’t she learn from me?”

Yuko squints at him, “You would probably chicken out and not tell her,”

Giving Yuko a baffled look, Emu asks, “Who is she?”

“Yuko’s a friend of mine,” Nico explained, “Feel free to ignore her if you want.”

“Hey!” Yuko protested, “I bet I’m not even wrong!”

“That’s not the point!”

Emu blinked, then turned his attention back to Taiga as Nico and Yuko began to bicker a bit, “Please don’t tell Saki, not yet. Let me do it.”

Taiga just groaned, “I’m giving you until the end of tomorrow. If I find out you haven’t told her, major disasters notwithstanding, either me or Nico will tell her.”

After considering for a moment, Emu nods, “Okay,” He says, “I’ll… I’ll tell Saki tomorrow.”

#kamen rider ex aid #kamen rider exaid #kamen rider #my writing #there is a me who can become strong

[skvaderarts]

Hiraeth Chapter 43: Grimoire

Masterlist can be found Here!

Chapter Forty-Three: Grimoire

Note: And here’s me, genuinely unable to remember if Vergil gave V his book back and what chapter that could have happened in. I’m certain he has, but fuck, really that bothers me. Not even joking. It was so many chapters ago. So many months… 

(-~-)

 One day later…

Thick sheets of ice shattered underfoot like faulty glass, sending a slurry comprised of semi-melted ice and slushy snow jetting out in all directions. The temporary surface slid slightly, but due to the height of the surrounding snow, didn’t migrate very far and was still able to be walked upon if done so carefully.

It had stormed in the short time that they had spent away, leaving the entirety of Redgrave and its surrounding municipalities covered under a moderately thick blanket of powdery-white snow. But today was different. The snow had gone from heavy clumps stuck together by the moisture in the air to soft flurry barely noticeable to casual passers-by, and the sky had gone from an overcast gray to something substantially darker, the foreboding clouds admittedly daunting to take in.

More than one storm was brewing just over the horizon, and no one present was sure what to make of it. They knew that they were not ready for what was to come, but now was the time to prepare for it, nonetheless. Underestimating their opponent would gain them no favors, and as a result, they could only do their best to over-prepare for the unexpected. Simply waiting and hoping for the best was out of the cards, at least in most respects.

Having left just after Aluta’s unfortunate diagnosis of V’s newly contracted ailment, Vergil had yet to return. Not a soul knew of his whereabouts, and several possibilities were tossed about amongst everyone aware of his sudden departure, but in regards to concrete proof? Well, everything was still up in the air. It had only been a day so far, but it had still been somewhat jarring when everyone had prepared to leave and they were one descendant of Sparda short of a complete set. Where had he gone at a time like this, and what was keeping him.

But knowing full well that simply sitting idly by and awaiting his return would do them little good when they could be using that time to do something more meaningful, they had opted to return home at the time that they had originally scheduled, unsure as to what else they could do in a situation like that. Vergil knew his way home. They would simply have to wait to see what happened. And while they waited to see what the outcome of his unscheduled trip was, they would prepare themselves in any and any way that they could.

Standing in front of the front steps to his home, V wrapped his arms around himself and took a few deep breaths, exhaling slowly and allowing the chilled air to cool his lungs. He shivered, feeling a chill crawl up his spine as he exhaled again and watched the frost blow from his mouth. Despite everything he had been through in it, there was still something he found relaxing about the sight of snow; something primal within him that awakened at the slightest touch of the frozen water molecules. His muscles didn’t agree with his mind in this regard, but he still enjoyed it in spite of that. But that time had now passed, at least for the foreseeable future. He had been warned to stay within the confines of his home for reasons that he was told would make more sense to him once he returned. And now that he was back, he was willing to believe that Aluta might have been onto something.

Flora nodded in approval as she looked at the snow-draped building, watching as a large ice sickle dropped from one of the overhanging windows above and crashed into the ground, shattering like a thousand broken dreams. She turned as he approached, her long white coat trailing against the ground as she did so. Her long black hair had been placed into two loops, hanging from the lower portion of either side of her head. She popped her gum as she tucked her hands into her pockets, a strange flavor that V was certain he’d never heard of before just by looking at the color of the bubbles it made. After all, how often did someone chew black gum?

“What flavor is that?” He asked

“The gum? Oh, it’s black licorice. A favorite of mine. I’m told that makes me quite the outlier. Can’t say that I mind, though.” She shrugged nebulously, stepping out of the way as he unlocked the door and opened it. He then stepped to the side and allowed her to pass him, sure that she probably wanted to get out of the cold just as much as he did. “Care to try it?”

 V hadn’t exactly brought any luggage with him. It was just an overnight trip, and more pressing obstacles had stood in the way of more trivial things like reading. All he really had with him was a change of clothes, and nothing more. Well, aside from his book, but that didn’t count. It never left his side, even when he didn’t make the fact that he had it known to anyone else.

He shook his head politely, declining her generous offer. “I appreciate the offer, but no thank you. I like the tea quite a bit, but aside from that… Well, I’m afraid not.“

She nodded, shrugging in polite indifference. In truth, that was the answer she was expecting. After all, it was the one she normally received when she offered someone some of her favorite candy. It was genuinely amazing to her that licorice companies stayed in business with the number of people that she’s met who hated it with a passion. Where did the demand come from?

“Fine by me. I get that. Most people besides me don't seem to like it much. Guess it’s a matter of taste” She said, popping the gum again. She unwrapped another stick, pausing for a moment to add it to her mouth. She then continued to chew, stopping only when she was forced to migrate the gum to one of the sides of her mouth in order to speak. “ I’ve never actually had the tea. Didn’t know that it was even a thing.” 

“Yea, you're probably right about that. I don’t think I know anybody that likes that stuff now that you mention it.”

Both V and Flora turned to watch as Nico approached them from around the corner. Having just stashed the van in the garage, she was now ready to join them inside of the house where it was presumably warm and not snowing. In truth, she was willing to take at least one of those things. Anything was better than freezing to death in the snow outside of V’s front door. She liked to look at it, and she didn’t mind going out in it, but in this outfit? No way, she was going to catch her death out there.

Smiling, Flora motioned for Nico to follow them inside and stepped across the threshold, brushing off her coat as she did so. As soon as Nico scampered through the doorway, V closed it and leaned his cane against the entryway wall before heading into the living room and immediately over towards the fireplace. There had to be some way to light it. There was fuel in it, after all.

Noticing her newfound companion’s plight, Flora headed over to watch, noting that he seemed to be looking around for something to light it with. She waited for a short while, not wanting to step on his toes in regards to something so simple, but admittedly growing colder and colder by the minute. It was something that she could remedy easily enough, but not something that she wanted to attempt in someone else’s house. She didn’t sense any notable traces of magic in this house, so that meant that there were no protective wards in place to protect it from fires. Well, at least for the time being.

Realizing that there wasn’t anything he could use to light the fire, he turned towards the young Ludwig girl, catching on to the fact that she was quietly offering her assistance simply by being there. He shrugged slightly, clearly unsure as to what she could do, but willing to take any help that she could offer him at this point. The nearest store had been burned down during his run-in with Belial, and he was admittedly still a little unsure as to whether or not he wanted to go shopping again anytime soon.

“Could you assist me with this, please? I have a hunch that you might be able to.”

A sneaky smile spread across her lips as she nodded and stepped forward, rubbing her hands together. She seemed to concentrate carefully on what she was doing before pointing her left palm towards the wood that had been added to the fireplace. She got in close and placed her hand on the log, whispering something for a moment before a small spark became a vibrant flame and she ignited the wood, allowing the fireplace to finally serve its purpose.

V nodded in approval, admittedly impressed and grateful to finally be able to warm himself by the fire. He would have to ask her how she did that, or at least purchase a fireplace lighter before she left. Something told him that he couldn’t just do what she had done. It didn’t look particularly easy when she had done it.

Upon realizing that she didn’t have to suffer in the cold hallway any longer, Nico came over and flopped down on the floor in front of the fire, clearly grateful for its rejuvenating warmth. She closed her eyes and laid down, forming a sort of snow angel on the wooden floor. Nico then pointed up towards Flora as she sat up again, nodding in dramatic approval. It wasn’t every day that you saw something like that.

“Sirrus did something like that once, but it was with some kinda black fire. It was pretty cool, not gonna lie.” Nico shook her head, seemingly still in disbelief that she was surrounded by so many extraordinary people. Her life had been so normal just a year or so ago. Well, as normal as it could have been considering the fact that she was working as a gunsmith and had recently met Lady. That had probably been the beginning of the end for her. “You think you could teach me some of this cool stuff you guys do in that big, fancy house of yours? Because I want in on that. It would be super cool.”

An almost teasing look crossed her face as she punched Nico playfully in the shoulder, coaxing an entertained but brief laugh from the mechanic as she sat up again and attempted to right herself. “I suppose nothing bad could come from showing you the basics. We're always looking for new disciples. Just don’t say I showed you. I’m certain that madam Willow would have my head for it if she knew.

Nico exclaimed excitedly, jumping up and heading into the kitchen. Flora and V made themselves comfortable in front of the fire in the meantime, seemingly ready to call it a day even though it wasn’t even noon yet. Perhaps that was the problem. It was too early for at least one of them, and almost too early for the other. Nico was too sporadic to say definitively. But as she sat there basking in the glow of the warm fire, something occurred to her that hadn’t the moment before. And thankfully Nico had returned from the kitchen empty-handed in the meantime. She could answer her question.

“Black fire you say? Very interesting… That’s quite the rarity if I’m not mistaken. I can barely make an orange flame.” Flora brushed her hair out of her face, clearly flustered slightly. What a strange thing to hear about from someone outside of the estate. She had never seen anyone wield that kind of power in person. She only knew about it through her studies. That kind of magic was forbidden. Too destructive from what she understood. “In fact, they are not quite flames at all, in that respect. Those flames, they burn cold. I’m curious what he hoped to accomplish using that type of fire.” 

Yawning, Nico sat back down on the floor and stretched out, unsure as to what else she could really add to that discussion until she remembered something. “Oh, believe me, Missy, it was definitely hot. Now that I think about it, the fire was black and white. Might have something to do with it. I don’t know, I’m not the one with the fancy magic.”

Flora blanched. Clearly, she had misheard that, or Nico was simply mistaken. Black and white flames together were simply unheard of. Was that even possible? Everyone she’d ever met put together couldn’t amass the power necessary to pull something like that off. Could Sirrus actually… 

“Now then, do you still have that scroll that you were given before your departure? I was told to assist you with it. Considering the circumstances, it should be invaluable, at least from what I have been led to believe.” Perhaps it was best to simply change the subject. After all, there was nothing she could do to influence things one way or another. The possession of that kind of power didn’t mean anything worrisome in the grand scheme of things. It was more down to the user than anything else when it came to deciding if an ability was hazardous or not. The gifts he might possess were potentially calamitous, but that didn’t mean that Sirrus was planning to wage a war of epic proportions against them simply because he possessed the ability to. Now she better understood what Hydrangea had been talking about all this time… 

V reached into the inside of his coat pocket and produced the scroll, handing it to her. She unfurled the piece of paper, carefully looking it over in the dim light before holding it closer to the fire so that she could see it better. After a moment, she nodded and then returned it to V, turning her attention back towards the fire. “Know what to do with it?”

He considered simply telling her no before deciding to look it over himself one final time, curious to know it was possible for him to glean anything useful from it in spite of his inability to actually perform magic. Well, at least on purpose. V was positive that he had accidentally done so on several occasions without realizing it, the first time he’d ever manifested his spectral canes being a stand-out example of that to him. He wasn’t sure if that was an inborn gift, or simply a case of him accidentally doing something he hadn’t known was possible. All that he knew was that he had wondered what would happen if he had tried to move his hand in a certain position after feeling a strange surge of power, and in that instant, he had figured out how to utilize that specific ability.

After studying the scroll for a moment, V furrowed his brow ever so slightly, sure that he had misunderstood what it was trying to impart upon him. He then turned his attention back to Flora, giving her a questioning look. “Am I to understand that this should be thrown into the fireplace?”

She nodded, seemingly impressed by the fact that he had actually been able to read the scroll. She then gestured towards the fire, moving out of the way so that he would be able to proceed. “Yes, as it turns out, this is a more advanced ward that requires activation instead of just reading it. Tossing it in should do the trick.”

Upon hearing this, Nico stood up, nearly falling over herself in the process. She steadied herself and brushed off her clothes, having accumulated a thin layer of dust from sitting so close to the fireplace. It seemed that V had missed that part of the room when he had attempted to clean. Or perhaps it had simply returned to that state after V and Flora looked at her curiously for a moment before she broke the silence, clearly excited.

“Okay, so…  can I throw that paper or whatever that is into the fireplace? Because I never get to mess around with this kinda stuff and it just seems super cool. I get to make stuff sometimes, but I can’t use it, ya know? I just wanna know what it’s like. That alright with you, V?”

Admittedly, V was shocked by her question. Her point was completely valid, but he hadn’t thought about the fact that Nico might feel that way. Something told him that she would probably be genuinely excited to wake up with demonic powers one day, unlike him who just didn’t know how to take it at first. He had no issue with her request, but was that even possible?

V looked over his shoulder at Flora as if to ask her if it would be possible to honor Nico’s request. She nodded, shrugging slightly but not unpleasantly. It seemed that it didn’t matter how it ended up in the fireplace. All that mattered was that it made it in there one way or another. He then turned to the mechanic and handed her the scroll, nodding in agreement. “Of course you can. Be my guest”

With a barely concealed yelp of excitement, Nico chucked the scroll into the rolling flames, going slightly wide-eyed as they turned bright purple and shot up the chimney and out of sight. A sort of heaviness lingered in the air for a moment and the windows and door rattled as the walls vibrated before settling down and returning to normal. Nico couldn’t have looked more excited if she tried.

Leaning over to teach Flora’s ear, V smirked slightly, more than a little amused. “Are you positive that you should teach her any form of magic? I’ve seen her drive. That is a disaster waiting to happen.”

(-~-)

Oh shit, I forgot to tell you all that Thursday is my Mom’s 50th birthday! We’re going to be celebrating basically all weekend, so I’m going to try my best to get the chapters out on time for Friday (I’m working on them today) but don’t be surprised if they are a little late. If you don’t see them on Friday, check back on Saturday! They should be out by then!

I hope you liked this chapter! See you in the comment section, and have an amazing day!

#Hiraeth #V #Nero #My OC #My Post Devil May Cry 5 AU #My Post Devil May Cry 5 OC #DMC5 #DMCV #My DMC AU #My DMC OCs

[join-the-joywrite]

Hamish & Vera soulmate au headcannons

Part two of the first words au suggested by my girl, Sima, as demanded requested.

I am Not Happy about this

I'm a very big fan of saying "fuck canon" in favour of my otp happening but honestly ,,,,, the pain is too great to pass up so here we go.

It took months for Hamish to properly open up verbally. When he did, Vera asked about the ring. He told her all about Cassie and Nico, save the bit about the Knights.

It was a few more months when Hamish started visiting the old places he used to love to favourite with Cassie, but they still weren't the same. He didn't mind, though. They were just places now. Places that held pleasant memories. Now, important places are where he goes with Vera.

Hamish is on his way to meeting Vera when he runs into Randall Carpio. The man is crazy, Hamish first thinks. Then, he'd make a good knight.

"Who's the lovely lady? Hi, I'm Randall Carpio, and you are?"

"Taken."

"Damnit, Hamish!"

Vera finds him endearing, somewhat, as one would a toddler. Two days later, Hamish decides to invite Randall into the Knights. Greybeard chooses him and they celebrate. It feels good to have someone to talk to about things only a Knight would understand. He thought about Vera, but after Cassie, he didn't think he could handle it. Besides, Randall looks like he'd take on a wolf without being one of them. He's perfect for the job.

Hamish knocks on Vera's door late one night.

"Are you okay?" "Can I stay here tonight? Please."

Vera obviously lets him in.

"You ever meet someone and you know they've done nothing wrong at all, but it feels like they're trying to replace someone you've lost?" Vers tries a joke, "This isn't about me and Cassie, is it?" Thankfully, Hamish finds the joke funny. "You, no. Cassie, yes. Randall's made this friend and honestly there's nothing wrong with her but . . . it's like she's wearing Cassie's favourite jacket and I can't get her to take it off."

Hamish intentionally leaves out the part where he was the one who opened the doors for Lilith. Vera would find the metaphor much more impactful if she knew Hamish meant Timber.

Hamish doesn't talk much about Lilith to Vera, though it's not as if they get a chance to talk at all. Now with Randall and Lilith knighted, Hamish has found purpose outside of Vera -- taking down the Order. They were what got Nico killed and they were what got Cassie killed. Hamish knew the Order was the bad magic he's supposed to fight. In addition, Vera's just been made Temple Magus and it is a lot more more work than she'd anticipated. Not to mention, having the university in her jurisdiction included attaining the seat of Chancellor. Fuck the social life, I guess.

At least they're always able to come home to each other.

Unfortunately, that too starts falling apart.

Hamish gets pulled deeper and deeper into uncovering the Order with Randall and Lilith, slowly figuring out how to find the pledges and get rid of them. Since he'd told Vera about Cassie, talking about the departed Knight becomes easier. He struggles a bit to explain it all to Randall, but he's able to speak properly and tell Lilith all about Cassie. When Hamish reveals that Cassie had been Timber's champion, Lilith understands. She is harsh and brash and often rude, but she also has a heart to love, no matter how guarded and hidden. She makes an effort to distinguish herself from Timber and from Cassie. Hamish makes an effort to see Lilith instead of Cassie's replacement. Once they succeed on that, their relationship improves tenfold. (Randall is relieved. He was worried his days as a Knight were gonna be filled to the brim with tension and loathing)

Vera gets pulled deeper into the Order. She's sucked into the position she's been granted and no matter how much she tries to leave it for a break now and then, something or the other pulls her back. It doesn't help that the pledges decrease in number every year due to at least one of them dying.

By the time Jack Morton makes his way to Belgrave, things have quite nearly fallen apart. Hamish has stopped visiting an empty house. Vera's stopped trying to call when she finally leaves the temple, only to reach the voicemail of a sleeping Hamish, who's stopped trying to send texts every odd hour.

Given that Jack never actually said Vera's name to the Knights (I believe, and if I'm wrong shhh it's an au), it's no surprise that the the earlier parts of Finals Pt.2 is slightly more comedy than pain. (Let's assume Lilith never mentions Vera's name upon regaining her memories either)

Let it also be known that I, for the life of me, cannot recall how the entire scene plays out, so we just gonna make it up as we go along =)

Hamish is down in the basement when Jack brings a new ally to the den. An injured Lilith is there.

"Miss Bathory." "Bitch." "Fair enough."

Randall is in next, excited to see Lilith back in the den. "Hey! I knew you weren't dead!"

"Randall?" "Vera! Heyyyyy, long time no see, huh? Wh -- what . . . what are you doing here?" "You -- you're one of them? The werewolves?" "Shiiiiiiiit, you know?? Wait, you're not like,, in the Order, are you?" "How long have you been a werewolf?" *guilty face* "FROM THE START????"

Lilith & Jack: 🤨 wtf is happening here

Hamish returns. "Guys, who's. . ." Hamish stares at Vera. For a while, he wonders how she found the den. Then he wonders what she's doing at the den. Then he recalls Jack mentioning that he was bringing an unlikely ally. He'd figured unlikely ally meant someone in the Order. ". . . here?"

Vera shoots Jack a glare. "What the fuck is this, Mr Morton?"

"Uhh . . . I didn't-- I wasn't aware you guys were, uh . . . friends?"

Hamish is still staring at Vera. "This what you've been doing for years? Magic? The Order? That promotion . . . it wasn't about the chancellor position, was it?"

(Lil bit of comedy = Randall: WAIT, SHE'S THE TEMPLE MAGUS??????)

"You say magic like it's evil. Have you ever once thought about the fact that you've been murdering my pledges every year since Miss Bathory was expelled from the Order? Which is more evil, Hamish, protecting magic or killing its practitioners?"

"Your people got Cassie and Nico killed," Hamish hisses, "those practitioners you're protecting are the reason Cassie and Nico died. Magic. Is. Evil."

"Magic isn't evil! I was barely a Magistratus when your ex-girlfriend was killed! Do you think I enjoyed all those respondeo incantations? Wh-- why do you think I started spending so much time at the temple? Making sure I stayed Temple Magus? I am trying to make the Order better. But you? All you care about is murdering my Neophytes. Children."

(Randall: intense wincing as his parents fight. Jack & Lilith: perplexed but very invested in the drama. Jack's a lil upset that he's got plans to go and confront Edward. He kinda wanted to see the rest of that argument.)

"Oh, that's rich, V," Hamish snaps. Despite the clear rage radiating off of Hamish, Vera isn't afraid. The nickname is familiar and welcome. It's home. Hamish, no matter how far he is from her, is home. Doesn't mean she's not got her own barrel of problems to spill.

"Rich?? I'm not the one out here killing people before they get the chance to even live. You -- you -- you are -- you're a monster, you know that?" She says it factually, as if it's something common knowledge.

"Really, V? Are we doing this now?" "Might as well! If we're all going to die, I'm not going down without getting everything out. You know, while we're on the topic of being brutally honest before we die, Mr Morton, your sense of style is horrendous, Miss Bathory, your temper is infuriating and Randall . . . you -- you -- your jokes are lame!"

Funny enough, Randall is most offended. And then Lilith has his attention because she's hurt. "Can you help?" "I don't trust her." "I don't recall caring, do you want me to save your life or not?"

Hamish is pissed as Vera turns to help Lilith. Amusingly, he's pissed because Vera isn't paying him any attention. But there are more pressing matters, like the incoming army. "We have company."

"Fucking Kepler," Vera mutters.

Both Hamish and Randall squint at Vera. "Bitsy Kepler?" "Isn't she a bit . . . fickle and stupid to be in the Order?"

"Oh, you know Kepler too?" Lilith asks, more of a rhetorical question.

"No, V just complained about her a lot." "Don't call me that, Randall." "Sorry."

"They are circling the house. What are they up to?" "Knowing Kepler, something unoriginal."

*sounds of the order throwing burning spells.* The look of awe on Hamish's face as he watches Vera cast a protection spell does not escape Randall and Lilith.

"How long is that gonna last?" "Long enough for us to deal with them."

Vera is already following an undressing Hamish to the doors. "No killing." "No promises."

Lilith stares at the empty doorway. "Are we going to talk about th--" "Nope. Not at all. Never. Anything else. Anything but whatever just transpired."

When they get into the temple and set the Vade Maecum alight, Hamish thinks maybe it isn't so bad. Maybe Vera's right, maybe she can turn the Order around. Maybe magic isn't evil. Vera takes his hand. He gives hers a little reassuring squeeze. Come hell or high water, he'll always come back to her.

It's what soulmates do.

"So, Grand Magus, huh?" "Mhm." "I didn't think you remembered this spot exists."

Vera, despite her new persona of professionalism and perfection, gets down on the grass beside Hamish. She looks at him carefully. Is she doing the right thing? Probably not. But will it keep him safe from her and the Order? More likely than not.

"What is it, V?"

"Nothing. Just thinking."

"About?"

"Us. What happened to us?"

"Magic," Hamish jokes, lightly tapping his forehead against hers. I missed you.

Vera squeezes his hand twice. I love you.

Hamish closes his eyes. So much trust he has in Vera that despite knowing she's on the other side of the great divide between the Knights and the Order, he still trusts her enough to be around her blind. Vera's guilt starts eating at her insides already. It makes her sick, but she hasn't got a better choice. The alternative is allowing the order to launch an attack on the Knights -- and if the Order could kill werewolves before, they can kill them again. Vera never wants to feel the pain Hamish felt after losing Cassie.

This is losing him, but at least she knows he's alive and safe. Safe from the Order, from magic, from all of Belgrave's dirty little secrets.

She wants to be the one to monitor him, but Grand Magus duties steal her time and attention worse than Temple Magus did. She hates having to leave him in the hands of one of the Medicums, but she can't exactly do it herself, despite wanting to.

"I thought I was the quiet one," Hamish jokes.

"Shh. Some . . . peace and quiet is welcome."

"V, are you--" Vera quickly claps her hand over his eyes. "Sh. Don't . . . don't say anything. Don't open your eyes. I just . . . I just want to see you for a moment."

Hamish smiles and complies. Vera fights to keep her shaking breath quiet. She lowers her hand slowly. Could she spare time for one last kiss? Just one? No. One would never be enough. And she knows that if Hamish kisses her now, her entire resolve will break.

She squeezes his hand twice. I love you.

Before he can respond, Vera blows the powder in his face. She sits up slowly. Dear God, she was sure she'd done something horrible in a past life to warrant this kind of torture. At least for Hamish, losing Cassie hadn't been the product of his own making.

"Your name is Hamish Duke. You go to Belgrave University. You're a TA and -- and you study psychology. Forget the Hermetic Order of the Blue Rose. Forget the Knights of Saint Christopher. Forget . . . Vera Stone."

Vera pulls him up. "Hey, that looked like a nasty fall. Are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, I'm okay, I think. Thanks."

"Sure." Vera can't help the two subtle squeezes she gives his hand before leaving. I love you. She doesn't want to be there when Selena Durov leaves her class and arrives. She doesn't want to see what Selena says to Hamish, what lies she feeds him and what she does. Vera wants to lock herself in her office and never see another person again.

Hamish frowns as he watches her leave. He wondered what had happened to her that her eyes were so sad. Part of him want to run after her and ask her. Ask her name at the very least. But something keeps him rooted to the spot where he stands.

Who was she and why did he feel like she'd said something very important?

Hamish holds his own wrist for a moment, feeling the ghost of her touch. The slight squeezes he thought he'd imagined.

I love you.

Who the hell was she? And why did he feel like he really ought to know her.

Part 3

Did I win yet, ladies? Or do you want part 3?

@gingersimasnapsandvermishthings @bakulka @everythingabouthatship

See some other soulmate aus I've tried my hand at

#vera x hamish #hamish duke #hamish x vera #vera stone #the order #netflix #the hermetic order of the blue rose #the knights of st christopher #the knights of the blue rose #the knights of saint christopher #soulmate #soulmate aus #please just give me the soulmate au i want