#mister love queens choice

[lia-jones]

Resistance - Evol: Chapter 23 - Owen

Author's note: To @ashisbored, who gave me the brilliant idea of writing an Owen-focused chapter. I hope I did it justice. Lots of love to you, my dear.

Also, dear readers, if you haven't read chapter 22 yet, scroll down. This is the second chapter of the week.

Of all the days of the week, Saturday was definitely Owen's favorite. There was always something fun to do on Saturday, and Mom and Dad were always at home, their phones and laptops off and put aside.

When he didn’t have soccer matches, which were always exciting because he got to see his friends and Dad would always take him for ice cream after, he and his family would go to the market and find something tasty to cook for lunch. But there was something that he absolutely loved, that didn’t happen on a Saturday. It made him jump with joy as he put all his ‌schoolbooks into his backpack. The weekly chess game.

“I’m coming.” He ran to the living room, finding his father watching an old movie while holding a glass of whiskey. “I’m here.” He panted, smiling.

“Are you done with homework?” His father looked for the remote, turning off the TV.

“Yes.” He nodded enthusiastically. “I only had an assignment from Mrs. Burton. The rest I did at the hotel.”

“Let’s go then.” His father carefully removed the chess game from the cabinet, careful not to drop the pieces. “I believe yours were the whites?”

“Yes, and it was your turn to play.” Owen sat across from his father at the dining table, the chess game between them.

“If I recall correctly, I was about to get your horse.” His father teased, holding a piece in his hand.

“But you can’t, or I’ll get your bishop.”

“Well done.” His dad smiled. “You are becoming a very interesting adversary.”

“Yeah, Mom’s not really good at it.” They both chuckled.

This was what Owen loved about the chess games. He felt like a true gentleman, just like his father, playing a game of intelligence and strategy as they bantered and teased each other. He felt like the man he wanted to become, all that he could see in the adult in front of him: smart, elegant, strong.

His father paused again, lost in thought. But it was probably not about the game, his eyes weren’t fixed on the board as usual. He was sipping his whiskey again.

“By the way, how is she?”

“Mom?”

Dad cleared his throat, moving his piece to defeat his horse. Owen’s eyes focused on the board again, trying to figure out his father’s plan.

“And your bishop is gone.” Owen removed the black piece from the board.

“Is she doing well?”

“You don’t know?” Owen waited impatiently for his father’s next move. 

“She has been busy finishing her thesis. We have little time to talk.” 

“Yeah, she’s been staying up late working all week long.”

“How do you know?” His father frowned. “Aren’t you supposed to be in bed sleeping by that time?”

“I woke up thirsty one night.” He shrugged. “It’s your turn.”

Dad turned to the chessboard again, although he didn’t seem as interested anymore. He moved his tower. Owen smiled.

“I’m going to win.”

“What else?”

“What else? I’m getting your tower and putting your king in jeopardy.” Owen moved his tower. “Check.”

“What else about your mother? Is she just working, or is she doing something else?”

“I think she’s taking Krav Maga lessons again. I heard her talking to Levi on the phone.”

His father looked at his watch, drinking the rest of his whiskey.

“Maybe we should put the chess game aside for now and start dinner.” He took the chess board and returned it to its place in the cabinet.

“But I was winning!”

“Check is not a win. You don’t know what tricks I may have up my sleeve. I may still save my King.”

“You’re right.” Owen pouted. “Can we have pasta for dinner?”

“Macaroni and cheese with broccoli?” His father raised a brow.

“Yes!” He beamed. “Can I help?”

“Can you grate the cheese without hurting yourself?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Fair enough. I’ll have you as my sous-chef and evaluate your performance later.”

Owen loved cooking with his father. He had an apron just for him, and his father would always make an italian accent every time they cooked pizza or pasta. Mom would always joke and say he was a mustache away from being a Super Mario, which always made Owen laugh and his father blush, pinching her arm playfully.

And although it was fun to cook with his dad, his mom wasn’t there, so it wasn’t as fun.

“You sound like Super Mario!” Owen teased on his mother’s behalf.

But his father didn’t blush, and he didn’t tease him back. He pursed his lips, turning them into a sad smile.

“It’s better when Mom is around.” Owen pouted a little.

His father turned to the sink to wash the broccoli.

“You’ll see her again tomorrow.” He spoke after a long time.

Owen remembered the time Mina died, and his mother told him that maybe he should not bring it up for a while, because missing someone can hurt very much. So Owen dropped the subject, grating the cheese instead. It was clear Dad was missing Mom too.

“My name is Owen Lee and I live in Loveland. I have already lived in many houses. The first house I lived in was with my biological mother, who died when I was little. Then I moved to the orphanage with Miss Dillon, and she found another house for me, but the lady didn’t like me very much. So I went back to live with Miss Dillon again and the other kids until I found my forever family. So I moved to my Dad’s house in Loveland, a large apartment in a building that even has a caretaker, Mr. Andrews. He gives me candy sometimes. But now, my Mom has become really busy with work, so she needs another place where she can focus, so I have two places to live now. One is the hotel apartment where I live with my mother, and the second is my father’s apartment, where I used to live forever. The end.”

“Very good, Owen, good job.” Mrs. Burton patted his head. “Anyone have any ‌questions to ask Owen?”

“Are your parents divorced?” Jenny raised her hand.

“No, they’re not.” Owen explained. “It is only an experiment, because Mom has a lot of work to do and she needs to focus. It’s only temporary.”

“Is your father very loud?” Michael chimed in.

“No, I don’t think he is.”

“Then why can’t your mother work in the same house as your Dad?”

“Yeah, don’t your parents work at the same company?”

Owen froze, not knowing what to say. He didn’t fully understand the “experiment” his parents were in, he just knew what they had told him.

“Alright, children, maybe we should leave the questions for later and go to recess.” Mrs. Burton intervened. “Go get your snacks from Mr. Linton at the cafeteria and I’ll see you in 30 minutes.”

Owen sat by the cherry tree, absentmindedly turning his apple in his hands. His friends were waving at him from afar, but he didn’t feel in the mood to play soccer. Jenny sat next to him.

“It’s ok if your parents are having a divorce.” She looked at him. “It’s not as bad as it seems. My parents are divorced. Timothy’s parents are divorced too. And Gary’s mom is already married to another man.”

“My parents are not getting divorced.” Owen shook his head. “My mom wouldn’t lie to me. She would tell me if they were.”

“Ok.” Jenny shrugged.

“How is it like?” Owen eyed the girl sideways. What if she was right?

“Well, my mom explained that sometimes adults stop loving each other and they go live different lives. It’s kinda cool, actually. You get two Christmases, and you get a lot more presents. And they spend more time with you, when it’s just you and them.”

Owen let out a sigh of relief. No way Mom and Dad had stopped loving each other. He could see that they missed each other. If they missed each other, it could only mean that they still cared. And as he came to that conclusion, the subject simply slipped his mind.

Mom was the one picking him up from school that day. He almost missed her among the crowd of parents piling up at the school gate. Her curls were gone, and her hair was a little darker.

“Mom!” He threw himself into her arms.

“My little bug, I missed you so dang much!” She picked him up, throwing him in the air. “How was school? I want to know everything about it!”

“Your hair is straight!” He picked up a strand of her now light brown hair.

“Just trying something new.” She smiled. “How do I look?”

“You look beautiful!” He beamed at her. “Dad won’t recognize you when he sees you, you look so different!”

His mother gave him a soft smile, putting him on the ground.

“I thought we could walk home to the hotel today, maybe pick up some takeout on the way.” She took his hand as they started walking. “What do you feel like eating?”

“I had pasta yesterday with Dad. He made the Italian accent.”

“Nice.” His mother chuckled. “So no Italian food today. What else can we have?”

“Hot dogs?”

“Hot dogs are not very healthy, Owen. Can you think of something else you’d like?” She stopped. “Oh, hi, Levi.”

“Hey gorgeous!” Levi was suddenly standing next to them, pulling his mother for a hug. “And hi, little guy, how are you?”

Owen remembered Jenny’s words, and how she had told him Gary’s mom was married to another man now. And then he remembered how his father got the last time they ran into Levi. He immediately hated him.

“Fine.” He answered grumpily.

“Oh, is someone having a bad day?”

“I’m not sure…” Mom looked at him, frowning.

“Anyway, I hope to see you this week.” Levi shook Mom’s shoulder. “You slacked for a while. Your posture needs working on.”

“I’m not sure I can make it this week.” She tried to keep Owen steady as he pulled her arm.

“Is your husband working you hard? Gotta tell Victor you need some me time too.”

Oh, the audacity. Owen just wanted to kick him in the shin.

“I want to go home, Mom.”

“Just a second, Owen. We are on our way.”

“But I want to go NOW!” He screamed.

“Owen!”

“It’s ok, I should go too.” Levi pulled her for another hug. “I do hope to see you at the gym!”

Owen watched Levi leave with a sense of duty fulfilled. He would make sure that guy wouldn’t get near his Mom again.

“Are you ready to explain what happened just now?” His mother turned to him, looking slightly mad.

“I’m sorry I was rude.”

“You were very rude.” She scolded him. “But I’m more interested in why. That’s not like you at all.”

Owen looked downed, feeling ashamed. Yes, he had done the right thing by scaring the other man away, but still he had been impolite. His father would surely had done it differently, elegantly, without getting a scolding in return. He hadn’t been a gentleman at all. Mom walked with him in silence, crossing the park where Owen usually played soccer with Dad. She took him aside to sit on a park bench.

“Did you have a bad day at school? Did someone pick on you?”

“No.” He shook his head, afraid to ask the question.

“Come on, Bug.” Mom stroked his cheek. “Whatever is bothering you, you can tell me.”

“I don’t like staying at the hotel.” He finally confessed, his eyes glued to the ground.

“You don’t like it there? You’d rather stay somewhere else?”

“Why do we have to do an experiment?”

“I told you, Bug. I need a little while to be alone to think and to focus on my thesis.”

“Why can’t you do it at home? I promise I’ll be very quiet, and Dad will be quiet too. We can make the meals and do all the chores and you can just stay in your study and work.”

“Owen…”

“I just want to go home.”

His mother paused, making him look up. She looked sad.

“You want to stay with Dad?”

“No, I want to stay with you and Dad!” He grew frustrated. Why couldn’t she understand him? “I don’t want you to get a divorce.”

Mom blinked at him. 

“Where did you hear that?”

“Jenny says adults sometimes stop loving each other, and they go live in separate places. It’s called a divorce. And then we get two Christmases, and sometimes the mother marries another man.”

“I see.” She nodded. “So your reaction with Levi…”

“You’re not marrying him, are you?”

Mom laughed. That made Owen’s heart feel a lot lighter.

“Levi? God, no.”

“You’re not divorcing Dad, are you? Or make me have two Christmases.” He looked her in the eyes, trying to understand what she was feeling. “It’s nothing like that, right?”

She paused.

“No, it’s nothing like that.” She got up from the bench. “And you know what? I actually feel like having hotdogs. As long as we have some soup before.”

“Deal!” Owen jumped. “Can it be carrot soup?”

“Sure, we’ll stop by the grocery store…” She turned to her purse. “Wait, I’m getting a call.” She looked at the phone, slightly confused, answering it. “Victor?”

She listened silently while his father spoke on the other end of the line, her expression turning to a worried one as she looked at him.

“I’m sorry, buddy.” She gave him a sad smile. “It looks like we’re not having hot dogs after all.”

“How do you want to do this?” Dad held the cardboard box.

Owen held his mother’s hand.

“We make a hole in the ground and we bury him.” Owen said. “Did you bring some candles?”

“I did!” His mother took some small candles from her purse.

His father took the small gardening tool, digging a shallow hole and inserting the cardboard box in it.

“Do you want to cover it?” He turned to Owen.

“Yes.” Owen kneeled on the ground. “Mom, light the candles, please.”

He covered the box with dirt, and Mom lit two small candles, placing them next to Mr. Lobster's burial place.

“He lived a good life.” She smiled at Owen. “He was a happy lobster.”

“Do you want to say any last words?” Dad spoke as he wiped off the dirt of his hands.

“Yes.” Owen closed his eyes, feeling the solemness of the moment. “Mr. Lobster, when I first came home, you were my very best friend. You couldn’t say anything back, because lobsters can’t talk, but I know you listened. And while I was still getting to know Mom and Dad, you made me feel less alone. I don’t know if God has a heaven just for lobsters, but I hope He does. And if He does, I’m sure you are there. Thank you for being such a good friend, I will miss you.”

Owen heard a sniffle behind him. Mom and Dad were tearing up.

“It’s ok.” He smiled. “I’ll miss him, but he had a good life. And I’m pretty sure lobster heaven exists.”

Owen was sad, but he knew that most of all, it was important for him to be strong. He wanted his parents to be proud of him and not to worry. They looked so sad already, even before Mr. Lobster died. He wanted them to be happy.

“What do you feel like doing now, Bug?” Mom kissed his forehead. “Should we get home?”

“Can we still go for hot dogs?”

“Of course we can.” She smiled, offering her hand for Owen to take. “There’s a place on the way home. Go kiss Dad goodbye.”

“Can he come too?”

Another pause. Mom and Dad glanced at each other, using that silent language only they knew, and Owen couldn’t understand. After a while, Mom spoke.

“Sure he can.” She smiled. “Would you like to go with us for hot dogs?”

“It will be my treat, then.” He motioned them to follow him to his car. “I’ll drive. I know a place that has the best hotdogs in town.”

After a short five-minute drive, they were sitting by the lake, enjoying the hot dogs Dad had promised. And he was absolutely right: they were delicious.

“Now that’s something I never thought I would see.” Mom joked. “Victor Lee shoving down a hot dog.”

“This isn’t just any hot dog. This is the hot dog. Artisanal bread and sausages, exquisite relishing…”

“How come we never came before? They really are delicious.”

Owen observed his parents, the initial tension between them gone. It felt good, just like before.

“We always preferred to cook at home, together.”

“Which is how we got the lobster in the first place.” Mom laughed.

“What does cooking have to do with Mr. Lobster?” Owen asked, intrigued.

Again, Mom and Dad looked at each other, the silent communication between them.

“Well, you know some people eat lobster, right?” His father started. “Like some people keep fish as pets, and still we eat fish sometimes.”

“That’s because they are ignorants.” Owen countered. “They don’t know how cool lobsters can be, and how smart they are. Mr. Lobster always greeted us when we got home.”

“Yes, he did.” His father looked at his hotdog.

“But what does cooking have to do with Mr. Lobster?”

“Well. In all honesty…” His father hesitated.

“Back when we were dating, your father took me to this restaurant.” Mom chimed in. “And Mr. Lobster was inside a tank, waiting to be picked by a customer to be cooked. But I started looking at him, and felt sorry for the poor guy, so Dad bought the lobster, took him home and kept him as a pet, saving him from the pot. And that’s how we got Mr. Lobster.”

Owen’s heart swelled with pride.

“You saved him?!?” He smiled at Dad. Dad looked at Mom, a surprised look on his face.

“He did.” Mom nodded. “He knew I would be sad if Mr. Lobster died, so he saved him for me.”

“Dad’s a hero!”

“He did something pretty special, yeah.” 

“So did you.” His father replied.

Owen had no idea what they were talking about anymore, but it didn’t matter. They were smiling at each other, with that look in their eyes, and that was all that mattered.

Owen felt his eyes getting heavy on the way home, the motion and silent buzz of the car pulling him into relaxation. As his eyes were closing, he heard his mother talk.

“Poor little guy. This was a rough day for him.”

There was a beat of silence, and Owen almost drifted off, until he heard his father speak.

“Did you tell Diane?”

“No. Did you tell Goldman?”

“No, but he asked about you. Which was exactly what led me to think you didn’t tell his wife.”

“I thought maybe… At least until we know exactly what we want to do, maybe we shouldn’t tell anyone. You know, to avoid any gossip.”

“Until you know exactly what you want to do. I already know what I want.”

“Victor…”

“You put us in this position. You are the one who needs to figure things out.”

“Fine, sure, let’s disregard all the lying and all the secrets and just blame it all on me. I can take that.”

Another beat of silence.

“That’s not… I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok, I don’t want to fight either. Not today.”

“I agree.”

“Your hair looks different. It looks good on you.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m actually the one who should thank you. For covering up for me.”

“In the end, it was a very nice gesture. It doesn’t matter how it started.”

Silence filled the car again.

“You’re still wearing it-” His father almost whispered.

“So are you.”

“Like I said, I know what I want.”

Even with his eyes closed, Owen couldn’t help but smile. His parents still loved each other. Mom hadn’t lied, it was just an experiment, and it probably wouldn’t last long. They wouldn’t get a divorce.

And that knowledge lifted the heavy weight from his heart. He just wanted to have one Christmas. One with his family together.

#mlqc li zeyan #mlqc victor #victor mldd #love and producer fanfic #victor mlqc #growingtogether #mister love queens choice #victor x oc #love and producer #mlqc fanfic #mldd victor #li zeyan

[ikemen-bully]

The tot date cards hit the way I wish the MLQC cards hit for me

#tears of themis #mlqc #tot #mister love queens choice

[topguncortez]

So first smut prompt goes to Hangman number 14... I picture him with an inexperienced girl and reassuring her he's not always rough and feral.

pairing: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Shy!Wifey ➢warnings: FIRST TIME SMUT, oral ( f receiving ), Jake being a fucking sweet heart, pain with sex, mentions of blood, dirty talk ➢note: this just SCREAMS shy!wifey and Jake so I had to do it to ya ➢Hangman Masterlist | Opposites Attract Masterlist ➢Main Masterlist ➢3 fucking K celebration:)

The wedding had been beyond perfect. It was like Y/N's childhood dreams had come true. She truly felt like she was Princess Kate, and Jake looked at her like she was a queen. She was beyond nervous the whole morning getting ready, but when those church doors opened and she saw him in his blues, and the tears forming in his eyes, she knew she had made the right choice.

The reception had been a blast. She knew that aviators knew how to party, but she had never seen them let loose like that. Rooster had some how lost his shirt and ended up with just his tie and cap on his head. Bob was chatting it up with one of Y/N's cousins, his cheeks pink from the shots of vodka Fanboy made him do. Javy was trying to hit on one of Jake's sisters and even bragged about catching the garter.

At the end of the night, Jake and Y/N did a final dance just the two of them. The music played softly in the background as Y/N laid her head on Jake's chest feeling his heartbeat.

"I love you," He spoke and she lifted her head, looking up at him.

"I love you, Mister Seresin," She smiled and kissed her husband.

"Mhm, Mrs Seresin," Jake shook his head, "God, I'll never get tired of how that sounds."

Y/N's heart was pounding as she grabbed Jake's face in her hands and brought him down for a passionate kiss. The other part of this day she had been dreaming of, was giving herself over to Jake for the first time.

Jake had been amazing at understanding and respecting of her wishes. He never pushed her, never tried to coerce her or make her feel uncomfortable about wanting to wait for marriage. Even the times that she had tried to insinuate it, feeling like she had to do something for him after hearing some of the other aviators girlfriends speak, Jake stopped her knowing that it wasn't what she wanted.

They both knew that this kiss was different, as Jake's hands wrapped around her waist and pulled her in close to him. Before things could escalate, Y/N pulled back and bit her lip.

"Oh don't do that," Jake teased, and with his thumb pulled her bottom lip away from her teeth, "Drives me too fucking insane, I'd take you right here on the floor."

Y/N whimpered at his words and rested her hands on his chest, "Take me to bed, Jake."

Jake pulled her quickly out of the ballroom and ran for the elevator. Y/N's giggles filled the hallway, and Jake had a smile on his face. He was thankful that their venue and hotel were in the same place. There was a certain excitement as Jake put his arm around Y/N's waist, as they watched the floor numbers take them up to their suite. The second the elevator doors were opened and they stepped out, Jake grabbed her body and put her over his shoulder.

"Jake!" She squealed, and Jake playfully smacked her bum.

Jake opened the hotel room door, and walked over to the bed, laying her down gently. He quickly kissed her, climbing on the bed, and putting his knee between her thighs. Her hands tangled in his blonde hair, pulling on the locks a bit. They had done this before, making out like some teenagers. She felt comfortable doing this, but when she felt Jake's hand start to skim up her body, she froze a bit.

"Wait," Y/N sucked in a breath and Jake pushed off of her.

"We don't have to do this if you don't-"

"I want to," Y/N assured him, "You're going to wrinkle my dress."

Jake chuckled and got off her. He held his hand out for her, and pulled her to her feet. Y/N turned around and Jake's hands went to the buttons at the back of her dress. Her dress was beautiful, and Jake had never seen anything like it. It was as if it was made specifically for her. He gently pulled the dress down her body, and she braced her hands on the bed, stepping out of it. Jake then went and hung it up on the back of the door so it was off the ground.

When he turned around, he thought he was going to cream his pants. The white lace bra and underwear she wore made her look angelic. She had another garter wrapped around her thigh, and Jake could see the blue stitching that said "Mr and Mrs Jake Seresin". Her eyes were big as she looked at him like he was the only thing that mattered.

It took one stride for him to cross the room and get to her. One hand wrapped around her waist and the other on her cheek, kissing her. He walked her backwards to the bed, and eased her down on it. She pushed herself up a bit, so she was laying in the center of the bed. His kisses her soft and delicate as they moved down her jaw, to her neck, and to her breasts.

"Jake," Y/N whined, "It feels good."

"Does it?" She could feel his cocky smirk against her skin, "If you feel this good from me kissing you, you just wait."

Jake's hips grinded into Y/N's getting a moan to leave her lips as one of his hands came up to grope her breast. She had never been touched like this and it made Jake stiffen up even more that he was the first one. That she trusted him that much with her virginity. His free hand went around her back, and unclasped her bra. He leaned back on his heels as he gently pulled the bra off her body. Her hands went right away to cover herself and Jake shook his head.

"Don't hide from me, sweetheart, don't ever hide from me," Jake said, "You are perfect. So fucking perfect." Jake leaned down, his tongue swirling around her nipple before sucking it into his mouth. She gasped at the feeling, her hands going to the back of his head to hold him there. He looked up at her, seeing the blissed out look on her face. His other hand went and tweaked at her other breast, rolling the nipple in her hand. He then switched, showing love to her other breast.

"Jake, please," Y/N moaned, thrusting her hips up. She had felt this feeling before when they'd make out. The feeling of wetness and a gentle ache between her thighs. She clenched her thighs together to try and relieve some of it, but it wasn't helping. She needed more. She needed Jake.

"I got you, okay," Jake assured her, "I'll give it to you, but I gotta make sure you're ready first." Y/N nodded and Jake kissed down her body. The lower he got the more she ached for him. His fingers tapped at the top of her white panties, and looked up at her.

"Can I?"

"Yes, yes please."

Jake pulled the garment down her legs, and stuffed them into her dress pants pocket. Her core was glistening and Jake let out a groan. It was hard for Y/N to not try and cover herself, especially with how Jake was looking at her. He ran a singular finger through her soaked folds and she let out a pornographic moan, throwing her head back and arching her back. He circled her clit a couple times in lazy circles, watching as her body withered from the pleasure.

"Can I touch you here?" He tapped his finger at her opening and she nodded. Slowly, Jake pushed his finger into her cunt, feeling her stretch around the digit. It felt foreign to her, and Jake didn't start moving his finger until he felt her somewhat relax. He moved his finger in and out of her and slowly curled it up.

The pleasure was like nothing Y/N had ever felt before. It was beautiful and she was craving more. It felt like butterflies in her stomach, like when you'd drop from a rollercoaster. Jake watched her body, and leaned in between her legs, licking at her clit.

"Oh!" She exclaimed, her hand going to his blonde locks, "Oh, yes, yes, Jake."

"You taste so good," Jake said in between her thighs. When Jake felt like she was ready, he pulled back from her body. He got up from the bed, and took off his dress pants and button up. He reached into his suitcase and got out a condom and some lube.

"What is that?" Y/N asked, as she pulled back the covers and got under them, her bare body cold without Jake's body on hers.

"Lube," Jake said, shaking the bottle, "It'll help both of us. I don't want this to hurt. I got you ready, but it still might hurt just a bit."

Y/N nodded and watched as Jake stripped his black Armani boxers off his perfect thighs. She couldn't help but look away as his cock sprang free. She had never seen him this bare before, and a blush rose on her cheek. Jake opened the condom and slid it on, before coming to join her in bed. He crawled himself on top of her, placing his hands on either side of her head. Grabbing the bottle of lube, he put some on his fingers before spreading it over her cunt. Y/N let out small gasp at the feeling. When he felt like she was ready, he looked down at her.

"Hi," He smiled.

"Hi, yourself," Y/N said and kissed the corner of his mouth.

Jake grabbed his cock in his hand, "Listen, if at any time this hurts or become too much, you tell me and I'll stop. If you don't want to do it anymore, you tell me to stop."

"You're too good for me," Y/N hands, skimmed up his muscular back.

"Says the one who agreed to marry me," Jake kissed his wife. He drug his cock through her folds, before lining up with her entrance. He sucked in a breath as he pushed his tip in. Y/N tensed up, her nails digging into his back. Jake thrusted slowly, letting himself slip in little by little, and then pulling back out.

"Don't pull back," Y/N said, and Jake nodded. He pushed himself about halfway in, and Y/N squeezed his bicep.

He looked down at her in a panic, and could see the tears pricking in her eyes, "Baby, tell me how it feels. It hurts, doesn't it? I can stop."

"No," Y/N whimpered, "It just feels weird. Keep going please, and just. . . wait for a moment."

Jake nodded and continued to push into her body, then becoming flush with her hips. They both let out gasps, and Jake caressed her cheek. He didn't even care about sex at this point, he was content with staying right here inside of her the whole night. She was keeping him warm and squeezing him just right. But then he felt her start to wiggle underneath him, moving her hips to try and get some friction.

"Move," She said softly, "Please."

"I'm going slow," Jake said, "I'll fuck you hard and fast another day. But I want to take my time."

Y/N nodded and pressed her lips to his collarbone as he slowly drug his hips back, thrusting in and out of her. Her hands moved up his back and tangled in his hair. Grunts and moans left their mouthes and mixed together in the air. Jake grabbed her thigh and hooked it over his hip, to reach a new angle. She closed her eyes as she felt the intense feeling in her lower body.

Everything felt so good from the way her body felt below his, to the way he seemed to hit all the right spots. The impending orgasms rose in their bodies and Jake smashed his lips to hers, swallowing her moans. Jake felt his the rubber band in his stomach snap, and himself spilling into the condom. Y/N could feel the warmth fill her body and Jake tried hard to not let his body collapse on top of her.

"Fuck," Jake moaned out, "I'm so sorry. I usually don't-" Y/N cut him off with a kiss, and held his face in her hands.

"It was perfect," She said and Jake leaned his forehead against hers.

"Want to take a bath? Phoenix and Penny got us a bottle of champagne and some bubble soap," Jake proposed and Y/N nodded, "I'm going to pull out now, okay." Jake easily moved his hips back and Y/N whined at the feeling, "Does it hurt?"

"Yeah," Y/N answered, "It's okay."

Jake nodded and pulled back the blankets enough for him to slip out of bed. He could see the tiniest bit of blood on her thighs.

"Lay right there, I'll be back," Jake said, and went to the bathroom. He threw away the condom, and cleaned himself up. He slipped his boxers back on and grabbed a wash cloth to clean his wife up. Y/N was tapping her fingers on her tummy when Jake came back. She smiled up at him, as he kneeled between her thighs and cleaned her up. Y/N jumped a bit.

"Sensitive?" Jake asked.

"Yes," Y/N said, "D-Did I bleed?"

"A bit," Jake answered and kissed her cheek, "It's normal. Nothing to worry about, sweets. What do you want to wear?"

"Uh my robe is on the back of the bathroom door." Jake went and grabbed her robe, and slipped it over her body. He pulled her up from the bed and kissed her.

"Get a snack and some water. I'll start the bath and then pop those bottle open," Jake said.

"Yes. . . Mister Seresin."

Jake smirked, "You're going to be the death of me. . .Mrs Seresin."

"What a glorious way to die, if you ask me."

"Can't think of any way better."

#top gun #top gun fan fic #top gun fan fiction #top gun imagine #top gun maverick #top gun maverick fan fiction #top gun maverick imagine #top gun maverick fan fic #Jake seresin #Jake seresin fan fic #Jake seresin fan fiction #Jake seresin imagine #Jake seresin x reader #Jake seresin x y/n #Jake seresin x you #Jake hangman seresin #hangman seresin #hangman fan fic #hangman fan fiction #hangman imagine #hangman x reader #hangman x you #hangman x y/n

[thecapricunt1616]

The Bear & His Honey - Chapter 9

♡ Chapter Inspo: Lyrics; Awkward (SZA) “You look at me different, so I let you see my body - now we don't seem to get along, now I regret it all.” ♡♡》》𝟙𝟠+ 𝕆ℕ𝕃𝕐 𝔽𝕀ℂ! ℕ𝕆 𝕄𝕀ℕ𝕆ℝ𝕊 𝔸𝕃𝕃𝕆𝕎𝔼𝔻《《♡♡ ♡ Summary: Carm closes his day off w/ Winnie. Winnie, Syd, & Sadie shoot the shit, and disconnect Winnies mushy heart from her hook-up antics. Carm feels rejected by Winnie not knowing the whole story, and lands himself back in a support group (by choice). Sugar wins Big Sissy of the year award. ♡ W/C: 9,444 (angel #’s purr!) ♡ Posted Date: 02/23/24 ♡ A/N: Hayoooo! I hope y’all love this chap. - Next one will be long and juicy since its the 10th… hm.. Not feelin’ very wordy for some reason. Oh!! I saw the new ep. Of The Good Doctor- I MISSED MY SHAUN MURPHY!!!! I <3 MY GOOD DOCTOR!!! Anyhoot- ennjoooy this chap frayndss :D ♡ Warnings for BTC: MAJOR talks of Suicide, grief talk, sad / insecure Carm, swearing, smoking, drinking(cant remember so just in case?), mentions of chronic pain, think that’s all.

➵ 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 ♡

➵ 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐮𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 ♡

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·..·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·..·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·..·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈

Winnie’s P.O.V. -

I came back to the bedroom, teeth freshly brushed and glasses on. “Ready for some Drag education?” I joke, getting our fluffy blankets from the foot of the bed and draping them over us. “Mm drag education. Sounds fun” he opened his arm so I could lay on his chest. I laid down comfortably and he chuckled a bit. 

“What?” I asked and he curled his arm around me, gently rubbing my side. “Nothin’ just didn’t realize you wear glasses” he said and I look up at him with a small smile on my lips “mmhmm just another one of my faults, eyes that don’t work” I joke and he snorts, “you have no faults” he said brushing my bangs out of my eyes gently. 

“Okay enough flirting, mister” I poked his nose and leaned over him, grabbing the remote from my nightstand and turning on the tv. I went to Paramount and typed in the title, scrolling to drag race season 15 “okay…so this is last season, a lot of the queens are from Connecticut, but you’ll get the gist of it- and learn all the phrases that Sadie and I use” I said and hit play on the first episode. 

“Oh! Yeah that’s why my stomach hurts” I sit up and he scrunches his eyebrows “What?” He asks “forgot I was hungry. Watch! I’ll go make the rest of the pizza” I went out to the kitchen before he could reply, and preheat the oven putting the rest of our pizza from last night on a tray and popping it in, not bothering to wait for it to beep before coming back. “Okay so, I like the cute one, the little one” he points and I giggle, “Marcia Marcia Marcia?” I ask and he scrunches his eyebrows. 

“See they have weird names” he said his eyes flicking back to the tv as Rupaul came out and he raised his eyebrows ``wow” he muttered “thought he was a drag queen?” He questioned. “Not in the workroom babe, just watch” I settled back into his chest and played with his fingers, finding it adorable how he was so engrossed in it. I watched along with him for the mini photoshoot challenge and he scoffs softly “see…I hate her makeup it looks- it looks weird.” He muttered and I giggled. 

“See! I told you you’d love this show” I look up at him and he rolls his eyes “you tell no one at work we watched this, I’ll never hear the end” he said and I laugh, looking back at the screen “mm well…I guess another reason to behave yourself” I said smugly and he pinches my bum playfully. After a while I started to smell the pizza and sat up “be back, lovey” I said softly, shuffling off to the kitchen. I divided up the remaining 4 slices on my plastic strawberry shortcake plates and opened my fridge. 

“Carm, do you want cherry coke?” I called “Sure” he replied. I grabbed 2 cans, a few pieces of paper towel, and our plates, before heading back to the bedroom. “Irene somethin’ won the challenge-thing” he sits up, leaning against the headboard. “Got 2,500 bucks just for that. Good money” he took the plate and I handed him the can of soda and I smiled a bit. 

“Mmhmm, they win like 200,000 at the end” I said and his eyebrows raised “wow, hmm. High stakes then” he continues watching along with me as we eat our pizza. We were snuggled up, at the end of the third episode and he sighs softly, rubbing my side to get my attention. “Honey” he mumbled gently and I looked up at him. 

“I gotta…Y'know '' he said with a slight frown and lifted his hand to motion to the door. “Got work in the mornin’..” he said and I pout a bit, “I know…I know” I sighed and sat up, “it was nice, y’know- spending time with you..” I said and pulled on my bear paw slippers as he slipped his hoodie over his head. 

“It was really nice, Win, I’ll call you, yeah?” He comes over opens his arms for a hug. I nuzzle into his chest, closing my eyes. “Mmhmm, I’ll leave my ringer on for you” I said softly, breathing in the scent of his cologne, subconsciously trying to memorize it. “Y’gonna try and come down for lunch sometime this week? Mm? I can make y’somethin’” he said and kissed the top of my head sweetly. I smiled a bit, resting my chin on his chest as I looked up at him. 

“Now that I have two friends there, I’ll be sure to stop by more often” I said softly, and puckered my lips for a kiss. He leans down, kissing my lips tenderly, lingering for a moment before pulling away. “I look forward to seein’ you more, then.” He said and rubbed my back gently before pulling away. I walked him to the door, handing him his backpack after he slipped on his sneakers and once he put it on I pulled him by the straps, kissing him passionately, running my fingers through his curls, and gently tugging. 

He hummed into my mouth, his hands trailing beneath my shirt and squeezing my bum in his palms before stroking my thighs with the tips of his fingers gently as he leans against the wall in our heated make out. After a minute or two he pulls away, our lips only mere inches apart. “Baby, I gotta go, yeah?” He said softly and kissed my nose. I jetted out a pout with my bottom lip and looked at him up through my lashes. “Yeah” I mumbled, and pulled him into one last hug before opening the door. 

“Be free” I shooed with my hand playfully and he chuckled. “Until next Saturday yeah? I’ll be waiting to see what happens to our bunny friend” he pecks my lips on the way out the door and I smiled. “Mmhmm, don’t work too hard this week” I said and he rolled his eyes jokingly. “Mm- ye’ I’ll try” he said and I shook my head with a grin, shutting the door. I leaned against it with my full weight, and sighed deeply when I knew he was well out of earshot, sliding to the floor pathetically in a heap, covering my face in my hands. 

I need to process this. 

I hastily got up off of the floor, padding heavily into my bedroom, and picking up my phone off the charger. It smells like him in here - and I’m unsure how I felt about it. I grabbed my bong and a lighter, as well as my little lavender tin of pre-ground flower, and went to sit out on the balcony outside my bedroom, FaceTiming Sadie. She answers by the end of the second ring.

“Biiiitch - ok wait, you didn’t call last night so before you start- Say hey Syddd! We’re wine drunkkk” She giggled, already gone- and turned her phone on it’s side, leaning it up against god only knows what so I could see them both together and I bit my lip, trying to appear happy. Shit. 

I just wanted to air out everything to Sadie but of course she and Syd are hanging out- when she isn’t with me she was with her. This was going to be harder to navigate then I thought. 

I stuffed my bowl full of flower with my fingers, “hey!” I said trying to sound enthusiastic and I lit it, taking a deep inhale. 

“Dude did you fuck him I need all the details like - S-O-U Winnie!!!” Sydney said and I nearly choked out a lung laughing, completely not expecting her to be so open about me being with him knowing how she’d ranted about her frustrations about him before. Sadie busts out laughing and I try to catch my breath, drool pooling in my mouth. I dashed inside, grabbing my water bottle and taking a few big chugs before returning. 

“Sydney” I said once I caught my breath and looked at her, we all went silent for a few short moments, and before I knew it we were all giggling together again over nothing. “Stop! Stop stoppp we need details Winnie!” Sadie said when she caught her breath and I shook my head, unsure where to even start. “Well…Syd do you still want to fuck him?” I ask and she snorts loudly. “No absolutely not. Not anymore. I just stand that asshole at this point.” She rolled her eyes, taking another sip of her wine. 

“How do you mean?” I asked, lighting my bowl again to take a proper hit. She shakes her head, playing with the end of one of her braids. “Dude,  Where do I even start?” she sighed deeply, thinking for a moment. “Okay, well let’s start with the fact that he’s so fucking selfish. Winnie- the only thing, and you’ll learn this sooo fast- the only thing he cares about, is easing his own fucking- his inadequacy!!” She said, talking with her hands as she usually did when she got passionate, just like Sadie and I. 

“Expand” I said after I exhaled, crossing my legs and Sadie took a big gulp of her wine, knowing she was about to listen to the following complaints for the third or fourth time over now. “Well, firstly, for starters- I’ll tell you the real reason he fucked around with that girl Claire. Because it’s what Mikey would’ve wanted him to do. Same reason he opened the new restaurant. Because he only cares about proving to himself that his brother would be proud of him. But- but he doesn’t even want to be happy! When that is really what Mikey would have wanted, I mean- right?” She asked and I swallowed thickly, nodding a bit. 

“N-no. No you’re right and - yeah that’s his biggest issue so far” I said and she laughed, covering her mouth. “Sorry sorry it’s not funny it’s just…wow he hasn’t even behaved himself? Hid it? Like…” she took a deep breath to steady herself. “Winnie-  I love you. You know tha, right, really. ” she said, I nodded quickly, my chest tightening. “He’s not a person to get involved with. Even for the dick. Even if it’s good which- I can’t say I haven’t thought about it - but you’re a sweet person Winnie. And as much as you want to think he deserves you - despite him being a little bitch. he does not deserve someone like you - period. Because he will forever push you away. We know how you are, and we know better than you know how he is. So, this will be my one and only warning about him - do not get involved.” She said and I bit my lip, nodding quickly. 

Don’t get involved further, Syd wouldn’t lie just because she wanted him for herself. She really, truly loves me, she’s one of my best friends.

I stare off into the distance, that thought bouncing around in my thoughts and the entirety of the day suddenly feeling…wrong. “Ok so now that we got that out of the way- how was it. Like is it big? Also how…like good is he?” she asked and I sat back, sighing softly. “That was another…downfall…even though it’s not even really a downfall!” I shake my hands for emphasis. “It’s literally- he’s so good like…well- he’s not pussy eating champion 2024 but” I said, earning a giggle out of them. 

“I was riding his face while we were 69 so it wasn’t like bound to be the best for me - but anyway he is huge! Like not long, but thick” I said, lighting my bowl and taking another hit. “Cut or uncut?” Sadie asked, causing me to snort, smoke coming out of my nose and I coughed a bit. “Guys - Italian Catholic? Cut” I said matter-of-factly and Syd laughed. “Okay but - please don’t tell me he has all that rage and doesn’t take it out in the bed?” She questioned and I shook my head. 

“He's actually like…shy? Even in bed! But he’s so hot you’ve seen him shirtless, right Syd?” I asked and she nods “oh- yeah. Of course. So…what like virgin shy?” She asked and I bit my lip slightly as I thought. “Kinda but like- he’s done it - but it’s been once or twice and that’s it like he got all his bases covered, practiced everything a few times - and that’s it, but when he commits he commits and he listens oh my goddd!” I close my eyes thinking about it and Sadie laughed. 

“At least he knows how to follow directions in bed if anywhere good” Sydney said while taking a sip of wine and I laughed. “Ohhh my god! Oh my god. He’s like- low key a sub but I’d neverrr tell him because he’d never let me touch him again, I know it.” I went inside, closing the balcony door and setting my bong on my dresser before sitting on my bed. “Well yeah but I mean- wow” Syd blinks in surprise, taking in what I’d said. “Wow.” She hummed in thought and I laughed. 

“What?” I asked “well- I mean like I said multiple times he’s an asshole at work, so with how brute and bossy he is, I like assumed he’d be like ‘get on your knees slut’ kinda guy? That was my fantasy anyways“ she mocked Carmen and I burst out laughing, “oh my god I wish” I said gasping in laughter. This is exactly what I needed. I needed to rip the bandaid off, because I knew Carmen wasn’t going to keep his promise, how he acted before we took a nap solidified it. He hates being with someone more than once.

“I wish. I had to beg him practically to tell me that he liked what I was doing. Like, isn't praise the first thing in porn?” I roll my eyes, petting Persephone as she jumps up. “Wait- wait- you had to tell Carmen Berzatto how to do something” she laughed, her head falling back. “Dude- oh my god! You are my saving grace. I am so glad I never slept with him. I'd have been so disappointed!” she said and I snorted. “That’s what I was gonna tell Sadie when I called actually… I mean- like I said he follows directions sooo well, but I wanted him to throw me around a little and he didn’t” I shrugged, picking at my nails. 

“So if he asks, will you see him again?” She asked and I nibbled the inside of my lip nervously. “We had like…. We cuddled and stuff I’m never-“ swallowed thickly, my heart beginning to ache- remembering how attached I’d really felt to the day we’d had together, underneath all the anger I was feeling that he was so emotionally guarded. “I’m not doing that again- ever with him. But he has a really nice dick- we fucked in the shower?” I laughed and Sadie and Syd burst out laughing again. 

“And ohh my god. The most dominant thing he did was like spank me- I don’t know what came over him! I was like oop!” I giggled and Sadie snorted, Syd leaning over the table in laughter. “Sooo he made you finish?!” Sadie asks and I nod “oh yeah- I mean. Like I said. He listens really well he just needs to be told what to do.” I said. “So he fucks like a puppy?” Syd teased and I rolled my eyes, laughing a bit. “In a way. But it’s like- he can learn. That’s why I’m kinda like…” I sighed softly, looking away. 

“I dunno..I dunno” I shook my head and sighed a bit. “The Carmen Berzatto effect, welcome.” Syd said sarcastically and I rolled my eyes. “But he- he’s…so sweet” I sighed, playing with the ends of my hair. “And…like- I dunno. I’m slipping back into my old ways. I want to fix him” I rolled my eyes at the realization and rubbed my face. 

“Wooooow!” Sadie drawls “holy shit! Well maybe you aren’t slipping because I’ve never heard you come to that realization before you run yourself to the bone for someone who can’t be fixed.” Sadie said and I sighed deeply, knowing deep down she was right. “What if he does the work?” I asked hopefully, “he won’t. He like- I dunno I don’t wanna say he hates himself, but he hates himself. Like any sense of good in life he crushes it for himself because he thinks he works better if he has nothing and he’s always chasing something.” Syd said and shrugged, her voice even and calm. 

It was about an hour and a half of me divulging nearly every detail of the night to them other than the intimate details of Carmen telling me how many people he’d had sex with before we were all talked out. 

 I swallow thickly. “I’m just- I’m gonna shower guys. I love you Syd, thanks for not being mad at me. And…I’m- I’m sorry. I’m sorry for doing that.” I said honestly and she shakes her head. 

“Honestly, he may be happy this week cause he got his dick wet for once- so he might not be such a terror at work. Just…sleep it off. It was once, Winnie, but I promise- If you let yourself get involved further, he is going to hurt you. We didn’t even get anywhere and when he cut me off cold emotionally after Claire? I felt like a fucking nutcase. It’s for your own good, just - forget him, okay?” She said and I nodded softly. 

“Love you” I replied before hanging up 

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·..·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.

Carmy’s P.O.V. -

After my night with Winnie, I slept peacefully- the first night. I had a nightmare, and I only threw up once opposed to the 2 or 3 times a night it usually occurred. But by around 8 am when everyone started showing up, all of the questions were making me anxious, and it was generally pissing me off that Richie, Tina, Fak, Sugar, it felt like everyone except for Syd was up my ass. 

I stood at one of the stations, chopping up onions and garlic for a stew that Tina was working on, doing absolutely everything in my power to not think of her. This was why. This. The fact that her face was the first thing I thought of when I got up. The fact that every fleeting thought is somehow weaving back to her. I could not do that again. Just the simple fact that I was sleeping better after seeing her once gave me unending anxiety. 

If I keep fuckin’ around with her, Shes gonna leave. Or she’s gonna be taken. Or she's gonna realize I'm not good enough. Or she’s gonna find someone better. 

I dropped the knife on the cutting board with a slam. “Goin to smoke.” I mutter to Syd as I pass by and shut the back door a little harder than I meant to. I leaned against the cool brick, trying to catch my breath. I felt over my pockets, finding my cigarettes, but - my fucking light. “Fuck!” I mutter to myself, rubbing over my face roughly. 

This is exactly how it fucking started with her. Me losing my damn lighter. 

I shook my head, squeezing my eyes shut and shaking my hand, trying to ground myself. 

You fucking pussy. Get it together. You hooked up once you are not attached. You aren’t fucking attached. 

I tug at my hair, remembering the feeling of her beneath me, the softness of her sheets, that fucking mug. I leaned against the brick wall, taking a deep breath. I took out my phone, cursing myself for a small part of me hoping she’d texted me, since I was too pussy to say anything to her last night or this morning. I stared at my text messages, my eyes falling on my conversation with sugar. 

She’d sent me some “anonymous group therapy” shit about anxiety and she told me she thought it could help me. I'd brushed it off until now, but talking this shit out like I did with Mikey to people who weren’t allowed to repeat it- it sounded like it would feel good. I clicked on the lick, licking my lips nervously as it opened and took me to the page. 

Anxiety/PTSD ANON: Monday evenings at 6:00PM-9:00PM at St. Anthony’s Presbyterian Church. 

I furrowed my eyebrows a bit, PTSD. I hated when people would tell me I have PTSD. It’s so stupid- I’d never been to fuckin’ war. Or been raped or whatever. Being yelled at for being an idiot doesn’t constitute PTSD. But, considering people with PTSD are probably going through real shit, I’m sure it would feel easier to spill my guts to them then someone perfect like Winnie. 

I sit up off the wall, heading back inside and I look at Syd “yo- c’mere” I nod to the office and she follows, I shut the door. “Goin, on with you?” I asked, putting my hands on my hips. She raises her eyebrows, “nothing? Why…” she questions and I narrowed my eyes slightly. “You’ve avoided me today. So again what’s up.” I asked and she shook her head, rolling her eyes slightly. 

“I don’t have time for this, Chef,” she said and sighed a bit. “You know what I’m talking about. You were on my ass Friday about me wanting to get out early and you were dying to know why- and you come in on Monday it just skips your mind?” I shrug, crossing my arms. 

“Look” she snips, taking her hand off the doorknob. “I don’t know what you think is going on, Chef. But I’ll have you know- I’ve had zero interest in your personal life again, until you started sneaking around here with one of my closest friends- and my cousins, who’s more like my sister- her best friend. So let’s just say, after the conversation she and I had-“ she looks at me pointedly. 

“An honest, open, friend to friend, girl to girl conversation, Carmen- you will have nothing to worry about me, and my interest in your “personal” life - anymore.” She said and left the office with a slam. I felt my heart sink to my stomach, fuck. 

Fuck. Fuck. Fuuuuck. Fuck. 

I could hear a ringing in my ears and my vision blurred slightly. I get the familiar feeling in my chest and sit down, clutching my head in my hands and spiraling into one of my episodes. 

My “personal” life. Ouch. I knew after what happened with Claire things had been…different between us- but I didn’t think she cared. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. 

I tug on my hair, my eyes screwed shut and breathing labored as my thoughts continue racing. 

Fuck. What did - did she tell her? Did she tell them about- oh my god I’m such a fucking moron. Of course she did. Of course. That’s- Winnie’s best friend- oh my god why did I trust her. Fuck. And - and she thinks I’m gonna fucking hurt her. She knows I would hurt her. 

“Sour things give you something to focus on” 

Her voice rings throughout my mind. I took a shaking breath, opening my office drawer and grabbed one of the sour warhead things I’d gotten on the walk home after that night with Winnie, and popped it in my mouth. I cringe at the sensation, but immediately am pulled back, for now. 

I spit the candy in the garbage can after a few grueling moments to be sure I got the full effect, before pulling my phone out of my pocket. Before I knew it with shaking hands, I was calling Winnie. After just 3 short rings the phone clicks and I sit up a bit 

Please leave a message after the tone for - Heyy it’s Winnie, I can’t talk right now, if you wanna leave me a message cool- but I’m better at texts. Ciao! *beep*

I took the phone away from my ear, quickly hanging up. At the sound of her voice I felt like I could breathe again. I bit my lip gently, considering texting her and telling her to call me back- but she would if she wanted. I shook my head, setting an alarm for 5 to remind myself to leave for that group thing, before locking my phone and heading back into the kitchen. 

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·..·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.

Winnie’s P.O.V . -

I went to the back around 5, finally finished cleaning up after a story hour today. It was Sadie’s day off and Mel was out sick so I was running the store alone, I barely got a break to take a piss let alone have a quiet thought to myself from the moment I got here. 

I sighed deeply, rubbing my bad hip that was driving me nuts today. The only thought that had been running through my head was how much I wanted to see Carmen. I was kind of grateful that the store had been so busy today because if it had been dead slow I’d probably have just locked up and gone to find if he was out for a smoke every few hours hoping I’d get lucky. 

It took me a while to finish cleaning up after the littles, and vacuum the whole floor considering the aching pain in my hip that was reverberating through my thigh and knee all the way up to my ribs. By the time I was squatted by the vacuum, in the back of the store, rolling up the cord it finally gave out on me and I collapsed to the floor in a heap, my head landing in my purse under the desk. How convenient. 

“Fuckin shit” I muttered to myself, knowing it would be at least 20 minutes before I would be able to use it again. I huffed, sitting up and banging my head under the desk in the process and groaning “ow” I whined, rubbing my head and leaning on my hip that wasn’t throbbing intensely. After a minute or so I dug through my purse, pulling my phone out. I scroll through the notifications from the day, Tik Toks from Sadie, news reports, a few texting ads when I see it towards the middle of the stack. 

Carm🧸 1 missed call 

I swallowed thickly - why was he calling me in the middle of the day? I checked our conversation to see the last text that was sent was still from when I’d told him my apartment number. I bit my lip gently, going over to Twitter to try and forget about him. I scroll through different posts, liking some of them, until my hip finally feels well enough again to try and stand. 

I slowly shifted my weight on to my good side, gently lifting my hip and letting out a small cry at the shooting pain as I pulled my knee up to get my foot in a standing position. “God fucking damn it” I cried out in pain as I haul myself standing, my arms shaking in pain as I lower myself as gently as I could in to the desk chair. I took a heaving breath, wiping away the tears from the corners of my eyes and swallowing thickly. I was absolutely not going to make it 2 blocks on this hip tonight. 

It had to have been all the exertion of the shower with Carmen, mixed with not sitting down only for 30 minutes today while I read to the kids. I rubbed my forehead in frustration, opening up the Uber app and seeing since it was ‘peak pricing’ it was gonna cost me $40 to get from the store home, and I do not have that kind of money. 

I groaned, sitting back and thinking to myself if trying to wait it out would just get me in a worse position of being stuck here all night because Sadie has no car or not eating dinner for the rest of the week, since my groceries were dwindling and I didn’t get paid until Friday. I huffed, “no, I can fucking make it” I muttered, I pull myself up, nearly screaming at the pain screaming at me to stop, and yank my jacket over my arms. 

With shaking hands, I got my keys out of my purse, flicking lights off as I limped, every step feeling like my leg was about to fall out like a Barbie that had never been properly popped into place. I groan quietly in pain every few steps, barely being able to lock the door from how violently my hands were moving. I looked both ways across the street, knowing it wasn’t long before a car came along. I try to take as big of strides I could into the alley. 

I honestly didn’t give a fuck if I ran in to Carmen right now, I was not walking an extra three blocks in my condition just to avoid him. I lean against the wall, feeling that familiar shaking in my bad hip like it was telling me it was counting down before it gave way and barely got to the steps outside of the bear's kitchen door before collapsing with a grunt, the pain vibrating through my spine at the fall. 

“Fuck” I whine, stretching my leg out in front of me. The faucet behind my eyes gives and my eyes are suddenly blurring with tears and I’m muffling sobs into my hand. The pain, the day I’ve had, and the worst of it- I’m stuck in the one place I don’t want to be. What kind of stupid desperate bitch will I look like if Carmen comes out to see me crying on the fucking steps of his restaurant. 

I swallowed hard, doing my best to pull myself to my feet but my hip had locked and it was no use. With shaking hands I take out my phone, and the door creaks open behind me. I quickly dry my tears as best I can “uh- I'm not here to see you I- I’m going home I’m sorry” I mutter. 

“Winnie the Pooh?” A slightly familiar voice said and I looked up to see Sugar standing there, a confused look on her face and I started to laugh to which she started looking concerned. “Oh!” I sniffle. “It’s you. Don’t tell Carmen I’m h-here” I hiccuped a sob and she furrowed her eyebrows, “no he's- wait” he shuts the door and sits next to me. 

“Why you cryin’?” She asked gently and I shook my head “oh my god it’s- I-“ I wiped my tears again. “My hip…I got in an accident when I was 19 and had to get my hip fused, and they did it wrong so it’s all fucked and it just..hurts” I said and sniffled. “Okay why- why don’t you want Carm to know that?” She asked “did he already fuck up?” She said with a teasing smile and nudged me playfully. 

“No- no he. Carm is…” I look at my feet. “Carm is wonderful. But he- he doesn’t want…what I would want, you know?” I look at her, still a bit teary eyed. She nods a bit “Y’know…Carm…somethin’ ‘bout that kid, he doesn’t allow a lot a’ good things…and” she rubs her hands together in thought, looking down for a moment. 

“I think you’re right, but it’s what he needs.” She said and looked back at me finally. “I won’t…get in the middle of this. But- just know, Carm could really use a girl like you around. He left early today…he told me he was feeling like it was too much and he needed to go think about shit. He’s never done that. That tells me you are getting to him to take care of himself. So if it’s a Carmen thing, pushing you away? Sometimes with that kid you have to force him to see what he’s missin” she got up and extended a hand to me. 

“What’re you doing?” I asked “cmon. Takin you home. Can’t live too far if you’re walkin’, right?” She asked and I smiled a bit. “You seem like a really good sister” I said softly and she smiled big. “Y’know. I always wished I had a sister, I don’t think either of my brothers have ever told me that'' she said, tucking her large purse into the crook of her arm. I crinkle my brows ``ok..well Carm and I will be talking about appreciating you because you give great advice” I grab on to her hand. 

She giggled a bit as she hoisted me up and I quickly balanced myself on the railing, my hip still barely functional. “Woah!” She said, wrapping her arms around my waist tightly. “The car is right there parked in front- think you can walk?” She asked, concerned. I nodded quickly “yeah- yeah. I might need to like…lean on you” I said, my cheeks going pink with embarrassment. 

“Course! C’mere chicky” she wraps her arm around my waist and I smiled a bit to myself as she helped me limp to her car. “You hug like Carmen” I said softly as we approached the passenger side and she laughed, “don’t tell him that. He’s always said I’m too ‘touchy’ since we were kids” she pulled open the door and I slowly got in, the pain in my hip dulling significantly when I sat on the plush seats of her SUV. 

She gently pushed the door closed, coming to the drivers side and hoisting herself into the large vehicle. “Trust me- I totally get it. I have 2 kids, my hips or my bladder haven’t been the same since” she said jokingly as she started the car. 

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·..·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.

Carmy’s P.O.V -

I tried to take a deep breath, staring pointedly at the church in front of me. My dark gray knit sweater was suddenly feeling itchy all over my exposed skin, even though my usual white work shirt was still layered underneath. I pulled at the collar of the offending garment, roughly itching my collarbone at the sensation of a tickle just under my chain. Taking a final drag of my third cigarette just standing there, I throw it to the ground, crushing it with my sneaker. 

You can turn around- you can just get back in your car, and go home. You don’t have to do this. 

The devilish voice bounces around in my head. I’m unsure what got me to drive here, what got me out of my car after sitting there for 15 fuckin’ minutes, but suddenly I was planting my feet up each step into the grand wooden entrance of the church. 

Turn around. Turn around. Turn. around. 

My entire body screams for me to run as I step into the welcome hall. This confidence to change so suddenly has to be the effect of a mostly-full nights sleep- thanks to Winnie of course.

Stop fucking thinking about her. 

I’m met with a folding easel, a plain piece of white printer paper with an arrow that points to the left, reading ‘PTSD/ANXIETY ANON’ in large bold letters. I swallowed hard, staring at it intently. 

Leave. Leave. Leave!!!! 

The voice in my head was so loud that in my rested state, it drove me to push against it. To deprive it.  I headed down the hall, the only sound being my sneakers tapping the tile floor and the loud fluorescent lights buzzing above me. My eyes fixed on a bolded sign at the large honey-stained wooden door just at the end of the hall, taped to the wooden frame. “ANXIETY ANONYMOUS” typed in bold letters on the same 8x11 printer paper and taped to the easel out front. 

I took a deep breath, blinking my eyes shut hard out of habit, thinking about what I was about to do- before swallowing back the anxiety and my hand felt the icy touch of the handle, pulling down and pushing it open. I met the faces of about 4 other tortured souls, staring blankly back at me. “Uh” I mutter, standing in the doorway feeling like a total idiot. 

“I-is this th-the.” I bit my cheek fucking word stumbling moron. “The fuckin’ anxiety anon meeting?” I spit out, trying my best to swallow the nausea rising in my throat from the crippling fear of meeting new people. A woman with a short bleach blonde bob, sitting in the corner at a large desk looks up. 

“Oh!! Joy. A newbie!” She chirps, standing up and walking over, standing a few feet away. “I’m Claire” she said happily, and the protein bar I scarfed down my throat earlier begged to make a grand 

reappearance.

“C-cl-?” I tried to grate out, swallowing thickly and my cheeks feeling so hot I was sure I could light one of my cigarettes on them. 

Run. Run, RUN - Carmen!!! Find the fuckin’ bathroom, slink out like it never happened. Bad idea. Bad idea. Horrible idea.. Moron. Idiot. Stupid. Useless. 

“Claire!” She repeats happily. “Are you alright with handshakes, dear? What's your name honey?” She sticks her right hand out to me confidently. My gaze meets her hand, and I swear my vision went blurry. I stumble back a bit. “Ba- bathroom” I muttered quickly, the feeling of vomit creeping up in my throat.

She gently pushes me into the hallway, grabbing the small trash can with her right hand and shutting the door behind her tightly. I ripped the trash pale out of her hands quickly, hurling my protein bar and whatever bile and water my stomach held for the last 6 hours In to it, squatting pathetically in the hallway against the wall and she stepped a bit closer, charm bracelets jingling as she rubbed my back while I wretch so hard I swore for a second my organs would fly out of my mouth. 

“Christ kid” she muttered, her nails gently grazing the small of my back as she rubbed soothing, small circles. “Know a Claire, mm?” She asked matter-of-factly when I finally stopped heaving, my brain fully empty other then fuckin Winnie reading to me last night. And the story of the stupid fucking bunny.

“Yes- b-b-sh-she“ I tried to get air into my lungs, but instead my chest forced me into a painful gasp. “N-no- used to…” I dry heaved over the garbage can so hard I dropped to my knees on the cold tile, and was sure I'd either pass out, or die of embarrassment at the pathetic sound and sight, feeling fully like a sniveling child. Unfortunately to no avail.. I gasped in a breath so violently, the sudden pressure in my lungs made me feel as if I was really about to pass out. 

I leaned against the cold wall, catching my breath before continuing. “I- I- fuckin” I winced at the pain in my stomach, my face clenching up slightly at the pang reverberating through every muscle in my body due to the intensity of all the emotions I was feeling at once. 

“Fuckin... I crushed on ‘er as a stupid, idiot kid..but fuckin hate ‘er now..“ I sniffle, mucus getting caught in my throat, causing me to choke and cough so hard over the trash can that my lungs burned. 

“Breathe, kid” she said, patting my back. “In through your nose and out through your mouth” she said and demonstrated a calm even breath. I rested my face on my arm, doing as she said, and finally catching my breath. “S-sorry I haven’t eaten much t’day and smoked like half a pack” I said and she nudged me gently. I look over and she’s holding a tissue, “thanks” I said wiping my mouth and nose tossing it in the garbage and leaning against the wall again, sighing deeply. 

“C'mon, you can just listen today if you don’t feel like talking. We have water bottles in there for ya’ “ she said, standing up fully and extending a hand to me. I nodded a bit, taking her hand to steady myself as I got up. She took the trashcan and tied the bag, leaving it in the hall before opening the door. “I’m..sorry” I mutter, shaking my head. 

“No! No happens all the time. Don’t worry” she said and opened the door. “Well gang, it’s us plus one newbie!” She said and handed me water from the counter at the side of the room before going to her seat and I swallowed thickly, sitting down on the furthest chair from everyone else, setting the water bottle on the chair before wiping my clammy hands over my jeans and swallowing thickly. “Alright” she said, sitting down with a clipboard. “Are there any big things this week that we need to start with?” She asked, I kept my gaze fixed on my lap.

“Yes- uh…my nightmares came back..” a small voice said and I looked up to see a girl with mousy brown hair and a deep scar on her right cheek. Claire nodded “did you want to share about them?” She asked her and the girl swallowed thickly. “No- no. I just… it’s about dating again after what happened. I can’t- I can’t. I’m always looking over my shoulder, I feel like a freak. It’s hard enough dating girls- and I- I have a hard time texting. And so when I meet them in person, I always catch them staring at me. And… and like I can hear their thoughts. Like ‘who is she hiding from’ or ‘I bet she has a secret girlfriend.’ And I - I’m so paranoid.” she huffed. 

“I’m sure all of us here have felt paranoid after a trauma, and especially, when experiencing something new, the feeling of…waiting for the other shoe to drop. Is very common. Especially if it relates back to childhood, those wounds linger for a long time. Has anyone else been feeling paranoid?” She asked the group. There was a silence for a moment, I took a deep breath, finding my tongue. 

“Me” I said, rubbing my thighs to soothe my anxiety. There was that familiar tightness in my stomach and my heart was thrumming in my throat. “Oh! Did you want to share more about that…sorry, how should we address you?” She asked and I kept my eyes locked on her, trying to forget there were other people there but still not wanting to sit alone with a shrink in an office. 

“Carmen'' I said and she nodded, “okay, Carmen- did you want to share what you’re feeling paranoid about?” She asked and I sniffled, rubbing my lips together nervously. “Ye’ uh, I met a-a girl. Last week. And I haven’t stopped…thinkin’ about her? Like. I dunno. I have sworn off women quite a while ago.” I rub my chin, eyes gazing to the floor nervously. 

“Okay, so what are you paranoid about?” She asked and my eyes flicker back to her. “So uh- yeah. S-sorry. Sorry. So uh- I work in a-a restaurant. And I run it, with my cousin and my sister. My second in command though, she- she knows this girl. And uh…I don’t know what’s been goin on? With me? And I…I like her. That’s-that’s why I’m paranoid. Cause I don’t…I can’t do girls and she-“ I sigh deeply, clearing my throat. 

“She told me that she wouldn’t pressure me?” My eyes met hers again and she nodded. “Okay, so you’ve felt pressured in relationships in your past, and are worried it will happen again?” She asked and I thought for a moment, rubbing the back of my neck. 

“Yes? Well…no..no not from her. I-I’ve been very pressured to like someone before and it was hell for me. B-but…that’s the thing is I trust she won’t pressure me. And I- when I’m around her, I’m not fuckin- im not fuckin like this? Like I- I can think, and I can breathe and…so-so-so if it’s not” I shake my head. “I feel so different around her? That’s why I’m paranoid.” I said finally. Claire sits back in her chair a bit. 

“Okay, so you’re paranoid she’s going to leave?” She questioned. I shook my head a bit, “no- no that’s the thing is that the shoe always drops for me, I already fucked this up by just being me. My- one of my chefs, Syd. She- she’s friends with this girl and…and I think she told her about all my…fucked upness. She-she warned her that im a fuckin’- a fuckin loser. I just- and I didn’t even want to allow myself to feel this way which is why I’m so scared cause I- I feel like- like.” I shake my head. 

“I feel like she’s good for me though. I-i just know I’m bad. I’m- I’m fuckin selfish. I would be a horrible boyfriend. I’m fucking insane I- I think. I wake up every night fucking throwing up. I- I obsess over things, and I just keep pushing and pushing until I get it how- how I see it in my head. B-but with her it’s like…I want to see? Where things go? Y’know? L-like I. I want her to show me…it’s- it’s stupid never mind” I shook my head looking back at my lap, pushing my bangs off my forehead nervously. 

“Well in here, no one is crazy. I think you’re paranoid of having no control over your emotions, Carmen. Which is perfectly normal. We can’t control anything in this world, other than how we react to our feelings about things. So, let’s delve deeper into your current self image- what comes to mind first when I ask why you’re selfish?” She asked and I shrugged a bit. 

“I fuckin’ shut the beef down, knowing it’s not what Syd wanted, knowing it’s not really what anyone wanted except for me. Because…cause Mikey left it to me. And- and I was like…I am fuckin’ angry at Mikey. And it was like- like a fuck you. Watch me do it better then you ever fuckin could” I said and run another hand through my hair at the realization. “Cause I fuckin’ - I only care about provin’ to myself that - that maybe I’m not a fuckin idiot. That I’m not useless.” 

“You aren’t an idiot, and you are not useless, and it sounds like you feel selfish- because you’ve found yourself in a pattern of catering to others desires. How do you feel about your own desires, Carmen?” She asked and I shook my head a bit. 

“No- no that’s..that’s what I’m saying I’m selfish. I - I’m a fuckin control freak at work everything is done my way, everything is tweaked to my standards, I don’t care what other people have to say about the re-“

She cuts me off “no- not your desires at work, in your life. Outside of work. In your relationships, friendships, personal goals? What do you desire your life to look like when you retire?” She asked and I swallowed thickly, my mind going blank. 

“That is a great topic for today, desires. It is extremely hard, especially after a traumatic event or even years of incurring trauma, and then allowing yourself to desire. We may feel selfish as Carmen does, after we incur tragedy in our lives- to feel joy again, or allow new people in our lives because we are afraid that if we desire while we are unhealed, then we were never really damaged to begin with.” She said and a guy sitting a few chairs away from her clears his throat. 

“I uh- yeah I relate a lot to what Carmen said about feeling selfish..after my brother died I stopped doing…everything I loved.” I look over at him, sitting up in my chair slightly. Cause I felt like if…if I’m happy then I don’t miss him? Or..or like. Like if I think about our good times together and loose the anger I feel about him killing himself for a few seconds- I feel like…like I’ll never stop thinking about what the fuck our lives would have been like if he just talked to me.” He said and crossed his arms. I sit up a little further in my seat. 

“Mikey - he was m-my brother. He killed himself too” I said and he looked over at me, “I’m sorry…older or younger?” He asked “shit- yeah sorry I should have led with that I’m sorry too. He was- he was older…” I replied and he nodded, swallowing thickly and looking away. 

“You couldn’tve done anything. I fuckin failed him though. He was younger” he muttered and I furrowed my brow shaking my head. “Nah. Nah don’t fuckin’ say that shit about yourself dude. Both of our brothers did it to themselves. That's one thing that we’re not responsible for. I’m- I’m angry that he- I needed him. Just like you needed your brother” I said and he nodded a bit. 

Claire cuts in “it is normal to feel angry at a loved one for committing suicide. It’s also completely normal to feel guilt for that anger. Jack, it sounds like the anger you’re harboring for yourself, for not ‘protecting’ your brother from himself- is covering up a guilt you feel for a perceived responsibility to the reasoning behind your brother's passing.” 

“I’m fuckin angry.” I shrug. “I’m fuckin- pissed at Mikey.” I said and she looked at me. “A question for you to ask yourself, Carmen, are you angry at Mikey or are you angry about the choice he made, to end his life, and leave you behind to forever miss him. Because they are 2 separate things. One is your brother, and the other- is a stupid choice he made. A choice that altered the lives of the people closest to him forever. He made the choice to have his legacy be one that ended in pain, and suffering for those who love him most. That choice, or Mikey - your brother that you clearly love very, very dearly.” She asked. 

I felt a lump forming in my throat, blinking back tears and I looked over to the clock. 

“Let’s circle back, yeah we have about 5 minutes left. This week's homework for you all, I want you to do one thing, or speak to one person” she looks to me for a moment “that you desire, and it’s guilt free, because you aren’t giving yourself the permission, I’m giving you the permission, and next week- we’re gonna talk about how it made us feel alright?” She said, 

“Alright. Hopefully I’ll see you all again next week. Same time and place per usual” she got up and went over to the desk grabbing her bag. I got up, grabbing the water bottle and quickly darting out of the room and back down the hall to the front door. I shoved it open taking a deep breath as I went down the steps 2 at a time back to the parking lot. 

I am not fucking going back there ever again. 

I shook my head to myself, but realized that I didn’t feel…like I was gonna have an episode. Er- panic attack like Winnie called it. But rather than everything I’d buried about Mikey felt like a hardened scab to a barely healed wound had been picked at and messed with for a while. It was an extremely uncomfortable feeling. This is why I stopped going to AI-anon. Talking about it hurts more than just focusing on other shit and forgetting about it when I can. 

I dug my cigarettes out of my pocket, taking one out and lighting it, leaning against the car as I smoked. I don’t know why Sugar keeps telling me that it’ll get better if I just talk about it, every time I talk about it I’m fuckin realizing shit. And I don’t like realizing shit. About myself. About Mikey. I’d rather just…fucking work. Just work. But I also hate work. 

I’m brought out of my thoughts to the same blonde that irritated the scab which felt permanently fused to my soul. “Spirits huh?” She said and I looked over at her. “Yup” I mutter, taking another drag. 

“I get it. I get it… if you don’t want to talk to me outside there it’s fine. I just wanted to say, I’m proud of you for opening up, good job. You should be proud of yourself.” She took a pack of Marlboro reds out of her purse and a blue lighter. 

“Thanks…” I said, watching as she took a drag. “No offense… but I kinda feel worse?” I said and she laughed, smoke spilling from her mouth in a cloud. “None taken my friend, none taken.” She said, waving her hand in front of her to clear the thick puff of smoke. “That’s good actually, really good. It hurts before it helps” she shrugged, taking another drag. 

“So- wait the fuck did I do t’you?! You wanna hurt me before you help me?” I questioned, pulling on my own cigarette. “Nothing oh my god!” She laughs. “Nothing Carmen! Oh jeez” she giggled slightly. “You need to come back, shut out the voice shooing you away” she said with a teasing smile and I rolled my eyes. “Sorry, not interested in ripping open old wounds when I’m already not able to process the bullshit I’m facing now.” I look at the ground, taking a long drag. 

“Mmm. Alright.” She shrugged casually, dragging her own and exhaling without a beat. “ what?” I asked her, dropping my cig and crushing it with my sneaker. “I…don’t care?” She laughs a bit. “If you want to stay in the mental prison you’ve created, so be it, Carmen. But- I’m here! Every week for the past 11 years” she retorts, tossing her cigarette into a puddle over the parking lot barrier. 

“Nice meeting you, kid. Word of advice-“ she turns to me as she pulls her driver's side door open. “Do the fuckin’ homework, mm?” She sits in her seat, starting the car. “That girl you mentioned, whatever her name is- I may be a shrink - but I’m also a spouse - the way your eyes sparkle when you talk about her? That's your wife, if I never see you again? I hope you’ve gone and got her.” She pulled her door closed without another word, backed out of her parking spot. 

I felt a vibration against my hip, pulling my phone out of my pocket  in case it was one of the employees and checking who it was. My throat dries out as I listen to the marimba ringtone, staring at my screen, my mind going blank. 

Winnie 🍯 Mobile 

The slide to answer button practically laughed at me. 

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·..·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·..·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈

➵ 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫

#the bear fic #carmen berzatto #carmen berzatto fanfiction #the bear fx #the bear hulu #carmen berzatto fluff #carmy berzatto #carmy berzatto fanfiction #the bear fanfiction #carmen berzatto x you #carmen berzatto smut #carmen berzatto x reader #carmen berzatto x oc #carmy berzatto x oc #carmy the bear #carmy berzatto x reader #carmy x reader

[decent0distraction]

Oof, ok

I just did a deep dive analysis regarding the What If of Marinette had the Cat Miraculous and Adrien had the Ladybug Miraculous

And oh my god is it tragic

But first, a breakdown:

Marinette fits best with the Ladybug Miraculous because being Ladybug made her confident of her choices; her leadership; her own desires and dreams

Ladybug opened the door but Marinette walked through it. The girl at the beginning (Origins) versus the girl we see now (most recent episodes) are two very different people.

I’m not trying to say that Marinette isn’t an anxious, insecure person anymore; it doesn’t work that way. But I think being Ladybug has proven to her that she’s stronger than she thinks.

As for Adrien, who has had no freedom or basic autonomy, suddenly has a way to be what he could never be as himself. I truly believe that becoming Chat Noir saved his life.

He was already pretty brave and outspoken beforehand (going to school without permission; standing up for what he believes in) but the common denominator in crushing that spirit was his father and his desire to be what his parents wanted him to be.

But I think Chat Noir showed him that he could be so much more; he could be his own person.

Adrien needed Chat Noir - more than Marinette needed Ladybug.

So when they’re switched from the beginning (as if they were given the other Miraculous instead of accidentally switching them in Reflekdoll), the results are less than ideal.

But let’s slow it down.

First up, Marinette as Lady Noire.

Origins!Marinette in this universe would be, as I imagine, prone to bad luck but somehow always manages her way out of it. “The luckiest unlucky girl in town” kind of thing. She’s clumsy but lands on her feet (quite literally) and catches what she knocks over. She’s agile and quick but she’s very nervous and jumpy.

She still saves Fu from the oncoming traffic, but while rushing to school to avoid being late, never once letting up on her speed and dexterity, impressing Fu with her skill but also her attention to detail, checking to be sure the old man was alright before leaving him.

In this universe, her clumsy luck provides a humble, hesitant confidence; the type of confidence that keeps you quiet until you have a reason to speak up.

So when she’s bullied or intimidated, she doesn’t accept it. Instead, she ignores it, enraging Lila

(Lila in this universe being the bully will make sense when I talk about how Chloe and Hawkmoth are different in this universe)

Anyway, Lady Noire is everything Marinette is but amplified. Plagg sees both her confidence and her intelligence and finds it incredibly impressive. So the gift he gives her (instead of gifting Adrien the freedom to be something he isn’t) is the freedom to be something she’s always been but couldn’t see

She’s funny and cunning; witty and quick. She can also be aloof and deceitful; cautious and manipulative.

Next; Adrien as Mister Bug

The holder of the Ladybug Miraculous is creative, caring, and careful.

This version of Adrien is more than his parents could have ever hoped for and this concerns Gabriel very much.

He sees his son make his schedule; handle meetings and difficult clients; all so Gabriel has less on his already too full plate.

They have many arguments about this; how the father should be the father and the child should be-

-But the father works too hard and makes himself sick-

-So that warrants the son making himself sick too?

No, but what good is a father if he dies just like Maman-!

…

You get the idea.

Adrien in this universe wears each responsibility and burden wonderfully well.

He wants to go to school - of course he would love it, but he’s needed at home.

But when his father insists, to try to give him an inch of normal, he goes anyway.

He meets his childhood friend Chloe again for the first time in years; since before his mom got sick.

She looks different now; older. She looks more a lonesome queen rather than a student.

They share tired smiles, vaguely aware of what the other one is going through, but aware enough.

He meets Nino and a girl named Marinette and her friend Alya.

And it isn’t until he has to leave early due to his schedule that he sees Fu fall outside the school.

He rushes to his aid, ignoring his busy life to help someone else’s.

Fu sees the leadership and thoughtfulness this boy has and knows what to do with this observation.

Like Marinette in canon, he isn’t nearly as eager to accept being a superhero as his counterpart.

But Tikki offers him an outlet; a calling.

And Adrien, ever helpful and kind, accepts.

Mister Bug is calculated and thinks before acting; a trait that Lady Noire finds incredibly boring.

But no one has ever made him laugh as much as she does.

Now onto Chloe.

Since Adrien was never the sheltered, overprotected model like he is in canon, Chloe didn’t have the access to such a carefree life as she did in canon.

Instead, her mother uses her to show off her designs; demanding what outfits she wears and what events and dinners she presents herself to. All the while, Chloe cares for her ailing father, who is making all the wrong decisions as mayor.

Her parents’ actions alone create enough turmoil and chaos for Hawkmoth to akumatize people.

Fu, knowing a hero needs to be found and that the Cat and Ladybug Miraculous are not ready to have holders again, he searches for a holder for the Bee Miraculous.

Spotting Chloe outside a local bakery, he watches her give her fresh purchase to a homeless man.

He doesn’t test her right away, as he has to be sure.

But on his way to leave without her noticing, he trips and falls, injuring his knee.

Chloe notices and insists on calling for help, respectfully shooting down his claims that he was fine enough to walk. (He wasn’t.)

And as he’s taken to the hospital, Pollen sneaks into Chloe’s bag.

Almost a year later, a full year after Emilie’s passing, Chloe is secretly Queen Bee.

She knows Fu is choosing two new holders, but she can’t know who.

She doesn’t say anything, but she secretly hopes it isn’t Adrien. He doesn’t deserve anything more to worry about; certainly not the safety of an entire city.

In this universe, Chloe is kind but isn’t afraid to sting. When Adrien arrives to class, the other students swarm him, overwhelming him with their shouting and excitement.

She sees her friend drowning and commands that everyone return to their seats and wait for class to begin.

Everyone obeys her, her regality hard to ignore.

And… Lila.

Ugh. Ok.

So this one goes hand in hand with Hawkmoth. Er, Gabriel. Both.

Anyway, Gabriel loses his wife. His son becomes a depressed and anxious mess desperately to keep his father alive so he picks up half the work load. Gabriel becomes desperate too; desperate for things to be as they were before.

But he needs turmoil and hatred for his butterflies to stir up chaos. So he hires Lila, a young, ambitious aspiring actress.

The twist? She blames Queen Bee and all and any other superheroes for everything and anything. Why? Who knows? Maybe she doesn’t even know. Like when you press on a bruise knowing it’ll hurt, only to do it again.

She bullies just to hurt; she loves just to hurt; she does her job and she does it well.

And that’s all I have for right now.

But here’s a snippet of this AU that I wrote:

Adrien woke up to his alarm blaring, one hand emerging out from under the covers to turn it off.

He sighed into his pillow, wanting desperately to sleep in. However, he knew that it was better to get up, as it was the closest he’d probably either get to the same routine as anyone else his age, all of them getting up to prepare for their school day.

But for Adrien, he was homeschooled by his father’s personal assistant Nathalie, kept on a tight schedule to ensure his safety.

His father refused to tell him why he was so protective, insisting that as his father, he knew what was best.

The only time he did leave their mansion was when his bodyguard and driver took him to photo shoots as a model for his father’s fashion company.

Despite his father’s insistence on the security and overprotection that’s turned Adrien’s house into his tomb, he refused to lose hope.

“Today will be the day,” he told his reflection.

Clean and dressed, he went downstairs for breakfast. He had hoped his father would be there, but he wasn’t surprised to see the only other chair in the dining room empty.

“Is my father still working,” he asked Nathalie.

“No, Adrien. I’m afraid most of your father’s time was kept by meetings about his upcoming collection. And by the time he returned home, he still needed to piece together his plans for the finishing touches on this weekend’s photoshoot. He didn’t get to retire for the night until after midnight, so he’s still asleep.”

“I understand. Will you make sure he doesn’t overwork himself today for me, please, Nathalie?”

“Yes, Adrien. I’ll do everything I can.”

He smiled at her. “Thank you. Is there anything I need to know about the photoshoot now or do we have some time before the weekend?”

She checked her calendar. “Hmm, well, it’s only Wednesday, so I see no reason as to why we can’t hold off until Friday. The magazine editor is superstitious. He’s requested that none of the models involved wear blue the day before or of the shoot.”

“Then I’ll have to be sure he’s comfortable enough to allow the shoot to proceed as planned. My father doesn’t need to worry about a reschedule or any other upsets. I’ll be taking advantage of social media to provide proof that the shoot’s main model is respectful of the editor’s concerns.”

She made a note on her tablet. “Very well. Would you like me to inform your father?”

“Only when he isn’t distracted, Nathalie. And it can definitely wait until after he’s eaten.”

Adrien finished his own breakfast before standing. “I’ll be preparing the music room for my piano lesson myself today. After that, I’ll arrange the sitting room for my Mandarin lessons. This is very important, Nathalie. Unless my father tells you otherwise or it’s entirely necessary, I need you to stay with him. I know he’s capable of taking care of himself, but we both know he neglects a lot of it when he gets as busy as he’s been.”

“Of course. I’ll tend to him however I can.”

“Have you mentioned to him what we discussed?”

“I have. And he isn’t entirely pleased with the idea of you having to worry about his responsibilities for him.”

He sighed. “I’m going to worry either way. At least with a little less off of his shoulders, we can all sleep easier.”

“I understand, Adrien. I really do. But you’re only 14. You should be attending school; spending time with other children-“

He hugged her, catching her off guard. “I appreciate your concern, Nathalie. But if this is how I’ll be spending my time, I’ll be spending it helping my father. I can’t lose him too.”

She hugged him back. “I know.”

“I miss her.”

She smiled at me. “She’s with you. She’s all around you, even though you can’t see her. She’s this very house. That’s why your father cherishes it, and why you must too.”

He took terrible comfort in that. “Thank you.”

-

About an hour after his Mandarin teacher left, his father called him into his study.

“Is everything okay, Father,” he asked calmly, despite his concern.

“Yes, of course, Adrien. Why would anything be the matter?”

He got closer to his father, who sat at his desk. “I know about last night. Are you trying to get sick?”

“Adrien-“

“-You’re always so concerned about me, but you never stop to think about yourself. Do you have any idea what that does to me? To always be worried about you? My father; my parent?”

“I know. And I’m truly sorry for concerning you.”

Adrien calmed himself down almost immediately. “No, I’m sorry for getting upset. I know you’re doing your best. Did Nathalie inform you that I’ve already worked out how to handle the editor?”

“Yes. And I’m proud of you; you show so much initiative. However, you’ve seem to forgotten your youth. I’ve been thinking that given your old friend Chloe will be attending the local high school, that you might attend as well.”

Adrien felt sick; he wanted this for so long but it couldn’t have come at a worse time.

“I’m needed here,” he said firmly.

“No, Adrien. You need to think of yourself. It will only be for 6 hours 3 days a week, as you won’t be attending a Physical Education class nor a study program during school hours. And given your current schedule that only be slightly adjusted despite Nathalie’s best efforts, the 3 days you’ll be attending will be in the middle of the week. Doesn’t that sound acceptable?”

He looked his father in the eyes. “And you’re sure you’ll be alright without here to take on the press or your portfolios? I’ll still be having my piano and Mandarin lessons so even on those two days that I’ll be here, I won’t have much time. Hmm, and we’ll have to reserve the weekends for photoshoots. Maybe Chloe’s mom can pull a few strings to let us stack shoots.”

“Adrien!” His father held his shoulders. “Do you hear yourself? You don’t have to worry about any of that. Nathalie has already rearranged your schedules. If you truly don’t want to attend school, you don’t have to. But you’ll have to attend some sort of consistent event with your peers.”

He made his father sit back down. “Of course I want to attend school. But not if it means neglecting my responsibilities.” He turned to Nathalie. “Show me the update agenda for the next three weeks.”

She didn’t exactly that.

“Very well,” he decided. “I’ll do it.”

-

Marinette woke up to her alarm having reset itself, her mother calling for her to wake up or she’ll be late.

Rushing down the stairs, she began to prepare her breakfast, distracted by her nerves.

In the process, she started a chain reaction in which everything started to knock over, catching things and setting them upright before anything could break or end up on the floor.

On her way out, her father showed her the box of macarons she intended to bring to her class, adorned with the design she drew as her parents’ bakery’s logo. She tripped over her own feet and knocked into him, the macarons having gone flying if she hadn’t caught them.

As she caught them, she spun around, walking backwards as she waved goodbye and out the door.

She knew herself as the most self sustaining klutz in the world, always tripping or falling but always catching herself or landing on her feet, like an unlucky cat.

While waiting to cross the street, she saw an old man walking into oncoming traffic. Whilst still holding the box of macarons, she darted across the street and dodged the moving cars, getting the man safely across.

“Thank you very much, young lady,” he said.

She smiled at him. “You’re welcome, sir. Are you alright?”

“Yes, thank you.”

She offered him a macaron, which he complimented.

She startled when she realized the time. “Oh! I have to go or I’ll be late! Excuse me, sir!” She bowed to him before running away, dodging another set of cars and jumping stairs and railings until she just barely made it to her seat on time.

She didn’t much time to catch her breath however before Chloe Bougeious approached her.

“I’m very sorry, Marinette, but I’m afraid you’ll have to sit somewhere else,” she said firmly.

Marinette sat up. “Really? Why?”

Chloe glanced at the door, unsure of herself for a second and a second only before that monarch like confidence came back. “A new student, a friend of mine, is starting today and while it’s not entirely my information to share, I will tell you that he’s my responsibility.”

She stood up. “Oh, I understand. But um, where am I supposed to…?”

Chloe hummed in thought, looking around for a fair and decent spot. Her friend Sabrina tapped her shoulder and pointed at the seat next to a girl none of them recognized. Chloe smiled. “How about her? She’s new too. And it’s right up front, even better than this one.”

Marinette thanked her and sat down next to the girl, who introduced herself as Alya.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Marinette.”

“Hello, Marinette. I am sorry if I sound strange. I am still learning French.”

Marinette understood. “American?”

Alya nodded.

“I can help you, if you want.”

She agreed and they worked on it together until the bell.

Watching them, Chloe smiled knowingly. She was distracted when the teacher told Nino, always wearing headphones, to sit up front instead this year.

Chloe watched him, wondering something while she listened to Sabrina talk about her new favorite book.

-

I had a panic attack this morning. I haven’t had a panic attack since I was little.

Why am I acting like this? I’ve wanted this for so long.

“Adrien?” Nathalie has been trying to get my attention.

“Yes, sorry, Nathalie. What is it?”

“We’re here.”

I stared out the window at the school.

“Thank you,” I said to my driver, who looked as worried as Nathalie.

She got out with me. “Adrien, are you sure you want to do this?”

I faced her. “I am. Why? Do you think I shouldn’t?”

“It’s not that.” She cleared her throat, looking uncomfortable.

I heard something behind me and turned to see an old man had fallen down.

“Are you alright,” I asked as I ran to help him up.

“Oh, yes. Just an old man uneasy on his feet.”

I glanced back at the car. “Would you like my driver to take you somewhere? We could call someone for you.”

He patted my hand. “Oh, no, that’s quite alright. I’ve just seemed to have lost my cane.”

I looked around for him and found it had slide a few feet away from him. I retrieved it. “Is this it, sir?”

“Yes! Thank you, young man.”

I watched him leave, still concerned for him.

I returned to Nathalie. “I’m sorry, Nathalie. You were saying?”

She smiled. “Just to wish you a good day at school.”

I smiled back, not fully convinced but not about to pressure her. “Thank you. I’ll see you later.”

Once they were gone, I took a few deep breaths before finally entering the school.

-

I had been up since about 4 when my alarm went off. I turned it off quickly, but Pollen was already stirred awake by the sound.

“Sorry, Pollen,” I said. She yawned.

“Good morning, my queen.”

“Are you ready for today? We have to meet Master Wu before school.”

“Why do you even have to go to school,” she complained.

I rolled my eyes but smiled at her. “Because it’s just what’s done. And besides, my childhood friend Adrien is attending school for the first time and his father is worried for his safety. So I’ve been asked to look after him.”

I placed Wu’s letter in my bag. “And in case you’ve forgotten, Pollen, the chosen ones for Plagg and Tikki attend the same school as me and Adrien. Wu will be giving you their names today so I can help you give them their Miraculous.”

She flew around me nervously. “What about Hawk Moth?”

I sat down to address her fears. “If he tries anything, I’ll use the situation to excuse myself to safety and we can transform. But only if the Ladybug and Cat holders need the help.” I picked up her gently but addressed her firmly. “Now, Pollen, it’s very important that you do not tell me the identities of the holders. It’s what’s best for everyone’s safety.”

“Yes, my queen,” she said, bowing.

I tickled her, causing her to let out of the respectful but stiff position.

Pollen had to hide behind me when my mother let herself in.

“I brought you today’s selections. It is vital that you wear the entire piece or it’ll be for nothing,” she fussed.

“Okay, Mom,” I said, examining to the two sets of outfits and accessories that would later be on sale for the rest of the world. In the meantime, I would be her walking mannequin.

I chose the jacket and pants option over the skirt and sweater, both in a mix of yellow, gold, white, and black, my mother’s signature color scheme.

Despite her coldness towards me, I still had a much better situation than Adrien. If I could, I had him live with me. At least he wouldn’t have to model and spend all of his time worrying about his father and the family name.

But he would never leave that house or his father; it’s all he has left of his late mother.

“Your father has a state dinner tonight so either be here on time properly dressed in my latest design or don’t return until after 9.”

“I’ll make sure to call if I’ll be home late,” I promised, pretending she was concerned about my curfew like a normal parent.

She smiled and gave me a chased kiss on the forehead before leaving.

Once she was gone, Pollen checked on me. “Are you okay, my queen?”

I smiled at her, even though I was exhausted by my mother’s antics. “Of course, Pollen. Let’s get going.”

-

When I opened the classroom door, for two seconds, I was normal. But then everyone turned and stared, recognizing me almost immediately.

Almost all of them swarmed me, talking over each other.

I tried to be polite but I couldn’t make out what any of them were saying. The panic started swirling in my throat again.

“That is enough. Everyone, back off immediately.” I watched Chloe, my oldest and only friend, order everyone back to their seats.

She approached me. “Are you okay, Adrien? Take a deep breath,” she whispered.

I did as she said and it helped me calm down.

“You were almost late,” she said causally. “The teacher is still on her morning break so we have a little time. But she’ll be back shortly. You should sit down.”

“Where should I go?”

She gestured to the empty seat next to a boy with headphones on. “I’ll be in the seat directly behind you. If you need any help and you don’t feel comfortable asking Nino there, you can always come to me.”

All of our lives. “Thank you, Chloe. I really appreciate everything you’re doing for me.”

She nodded. “Anytime.”

As soon as I was sitting, Nino introduced himself.

“Hi,” I said back, still a little nervous. “I’m Adrien.”

I expected him to tell me that he already knew who I was. “Nice to meet you, Adrien.”

#miraculous ladybug #alternate universe #adrien agreste #kawmi swap #lady noire #mister bug #queen bee #marinette dupain cheng #chloe bourgeois

[thisisnotthenerd]

got a little too bored today and started tallying up d20 cast appearances for the intrepid heroes (and brennan). this is only off of the top of my head so if i forget something don't get on me about it.

Intrepid Heroes D20 Cast Appearances, including sidequests (and BLeeM), ranked from highest to lowest:

Brennan Lee Mulligan with a total of 17/19 seasons that he has appeared in; dm/gming for 14 of those seasons. 7 of those are main cast/intrepid heroes, so assume they each have a baseline of seven.

next up is mister Lou Wilson, with a total of 10 seasons; 3 sidequests, all with guest gms. the man is a combination of dnd knowledge and commit to the bit. great with any season, but has always sidequested with brennan.

tied at nine, we have zac oyama and ally beardsley; ally featured heavily in 2021 sidequests while zac has been more recent in '22 and '23.

tied at eight we have the lovely ladies emily axford and siobhan thompson! i'm so glad siobhan has joined the ranks of intrepid heroes in sidequests, it feels like they just have a lot of fun on the shorter runs.

and in last place, mr brian 'murph' murphy. i know he's busy with naddpod but only intrepid heroes seasons? 7/19? please come on a sidequest my guy. i promise it's fun.

halfway through this process i've decided that guests are also being included now.

Guest Cast D20 Appearances, ranked from highest to lowest:

at the top of the guest list, the effervescent aabria iyengar, with 5/12 sidequest seasons! 2 seasons of gming, 3 seasons as a player, all 3 of which are in established d20 worlds e.g. spyre and calorum. assuming we have an intrepid heroes season coming up at some point in the future, murph can get a bit of a lead, but if aabria's coming on to guest more there's a very real potential that she will outcompete him. i look forward to the day.

next up: erika ishii with 4 seasons. they came on in the first sidequest and have had a steady stream of appearances since. always some kind of mage--tends towards druids/nature magic. 2/3 of her dnd appearances have been druids with an eye for creepy crawlies and the darker side of nature. he's got an aesthetic that he sticks to, and i admire that. real commitment, and not just to the bit.

tied with three we have rekha shankar and matthew mercer. ooh four-syllable names. sorry i got distracted. anyway. very excited to see rekha in desiquest, though she's a fantastic player on d20. big swings, fun character choices, a good balance of support for narrative and spotlight. and then we have matt--one season gming, but for the seasons he's played? some truly cringefail guys who learn to believe in themselves and break out of their personal depression to deliver an asskicking in their finale episode. man likes his themes.

now for the team of two (not the 2 crew) in chronological order of first appearance: mike trapp, ify nwadiwe, lily du, carlos luna, danielle radford, and izzy roland. just enough to make an average d20 table! i'm getting my fill of trapp and danielle in the current season, but seeing a table of these players together? it has potential.

and for the full list of one time appearances on d20 in chronological order of first appearance (only full seasons, not including oneshots atm):

amy vorpahl

justin mcelroy

clint mcelroy

jessica ross

griffin mcelroy

travis mcelroy

marisha ray

krystina arielle

b. dave walters

katie marovitch

sam reich

raphael chestang

grant o'brien

becca scott

persephone valentine

gabe hicks (gm!)

dani fernandez

jasmine bhullar (gm!)

omar najam

oscar montoya

surena marie

anjali bhimani

monét x change

alaska thunderfuck

bob the drag queen

jujubee

alex song-xia

freddie wong

hank green

i've devoted entirely too much thought to this. and i still have more thoughts. too many thoughts and not enough time. can't wait to see who comes on in the future! don't know if i'll edit this or make a new one. probably just edit this.

#dimension 20 #dimension 20 meta #this is mostly for personal record #and is based on my memorization of the seasons #having now seen all of them #(mentopolis ongoing of course) #no referencing the wiki or dropout at any point #thisisnotthenerd's d20 stats #long post #dimension 20 statistics

[accio-victuuri]

CPN : XZS chapter 5 vlog sugar 🍭

the magic number 5 and the long awaited euro trip vlog uploaded on a thursday, because thursday is a good day to meet you. 💕

here are some sweet treats for you. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇　 ⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

* The upbeat song that was being played during the photoshoot montage is called you so done by noga erez. turtles are all over this track because of a certain line : What's a queen to a joker? Tell me.

Before i proceed, i just wanna disclaimer that this candy is not for everyone. especially since it assigns ZZ as a “queen” and is connected to the common representation of ZZ as the “feminine” one in their relationship. i mostly see it with c-turtles but also quiet prevalent in international fans— probably cause they were influenced by c-fans. So if you are looking at reactions by c-turtles at the time of MFW, aside from comments that he looks perfect and was given the superstar treatment, you will also see ones that mention ZZ as royalty. kinda like princess/queen, and it doesn’t help that he has all those bodyguards following him around. I’m pretty sure ZZ and his team are so busy enjoying their Milan trip to spend their time scrolling through weibo but who knows. Maybe they saw those.

and we all know who the joker is — Yibo. you don’t even have to be a cpf to be familiar with this love for that character. actually, they both do. so in this case, fans are loving the song choice because it ( sort of ) represents them as the queen & a joker. 🃏

* Looks familiar again! 👀

* The same pose. I know this might just be ZZ feeling himself ( as he should ) and it’s a good angle on him but we can’t help but relate it to Mister Ye’s scene. It’s one scene that has been going around and i have to say, it will really capture your attention. Is this ZZ channeling WYB again?

* 4 years apart, in Rome and caught looking at their phones. WYB’s was much more sus because that photos is from a video and then he smiles sweetly after then goes home to record Wuji with ZZ. I just wish they can have a vacation abroad together and be incognito. I’m pretty sure ZZ is sending him all the photos and videos ( and we will get some leftovers for sure ).

it’s so cute how there is a proper vlogging camera following him around but he is still using his phone non stop. taking personal memories. ☺️

* In line with the thought that there are no random frames in an XZS vlog, I will be adding this to the list. I just think that the background and what they show is really intentional, this is coming from the same production who sometimes censors things. so i think GG captured with this background is there for a reason.

the “have a nice day” is probably a message to people watching his vlog — a sweet message. and then that guy, his hand gesture looks like an 8 and ♾️. seeing this doesn’t help because we’ve been talking about infinity for the past days and this shows up.

#Youtube #yizhan #bjyx #clowning 101 #there is no science here folks im just clowning like i always do

[melodyalanaroster]

Under The Stars With You

The results for the Seniors’ final exams were ready and had been posted. It was finally the day the class found out if whether or not they were graduating. However, the majority of the students had something else on their minds. Most of the girls would not stop talking about what they were going to wear to the Senior Prom. “Come on Nath! Let’s go get our scores!” Alana cheered as she pulled his hand towards their homeroom. “Really? We all know you two passed. You don’t need to see your scores.” Sam laughed as she and Kentin walked up behind them. “We need to make sure.” Nathaniel smiled. When Mr. Faraize entered the room, he looked at the four of them cheerily. “Hello students.” He beamed. “Good morning sir! Where are our scores?” Alana asked, curiously. “Patience, Miss Roster. I will hand everyone’s files out as soon as class starts.” Mr. Faraize chuckled.

When everyone had taken their seats, the class was a buzz with talk about the upcoming events. “I’m gonna be Prom Queen!” Amber loudly proclaimed. “Who would vote for a vain drama queen like you?” Sam asked. “I know you and your idiot sister won’t get it!” Amber shot back. “Remember! My sister is dating your brother!” Sam popped off. “Quiet everyone!” Mister Faraize called as he picked up a stack of folders and stood at the front of the classroom. “Your exam results are in these files and will show you if any of you need to retake them to graduate. To those of you who passed on the first go, congratulations! You may spend the rest of the year focusing on Graduation and, of course, Prom. If you need to retake any of the exams, please come see me and we can schedule your retakes.” He announced. Several students looked around, worried. “I hope I passed!” Violette blurted out. “I’m sure you did fine!” Kim assured her. Mister Faraize began walking around the room and handing out folders. “Are you kidding me?! I have to retake my history exam?!” Amber shouted. “At least it’s only one test.” Lin attempted to comfort her. “I passed all mine!” Alana cheered. “I told you so!” Sam laughed. “I got all A’s!” Nathaniel beamed. Kentin looked through his file. “I barely passed Math, but I made it!” He cheered. “I wonder where mom is gonna take us to get our dresses...” Alana pondered out loud. “Probably the more aristocratic side of town... Achille is gonna be out of town this weekend, so Mom will most likely use it as an excuse to hang out with Aunt V.” Sam shrugged. “Yeah, right! Like you’re gonna get designer dresses! I doubt you’ll even get something out of a BARGAIN bin!” Amber scoffed. Sam and Alana looked at her and rolled their eyes. “You’re right Sam... Not to mention, Verity and Agatha know where to get the dresses that will look the best on us!” Alana chuckled.

“Alana! What are you gonna wear to Prom?” Rosalaya asked as they walked towards the Gym. “I bet you’re gonna wear a lovely ball gown! Just like a princess!” Alexy cheered. “Nope! I’m going for something elegant and formal. I’ve already decided that I want a floor length, blue, dress and silver accessories.” Alana explained. “That sounds lovely!” Alexy beamed. When they got to the Gym, Boris was already at work directing the students in preparation for the weekend’s festivities. “Don’t forget! There is plenty of time to nominate and vote for Prom Royalty! We need a King and Queen and runners up!” He announced. “I know who I’m gonna nominate and vote for!” Rosa cooed. “Who?” Alana asked. “It’s a secret!” Rosa smirked as she walked over to the ballot box, wrote two names on a card and dropped it in. Alana looked at her friends and thought for a couple of minutes. “You could write your own name and run for Prom Queen.” The voice in her head suggested. “No. I want it to be someone who truly deserves the title... Someone who is a great friend. And I want Prom King to be someone sweet too.” She thought back. Suddenly, the choices were obvious. “I know the perfect people to have the title.” She sighed as she walked over to the ballot box, wrote her choices down and dropped the card in. “The theme is “Under The Stars” and we are going to make this place fabulous!” Boris cheerfully called. “Don’t forget to purchase your Prom Tickets so you can get your invitations by the end of the week!” Mr. Faraize instructed as he walked into the room and began putting up decorations.

After everyone had given Mr. Faraize their money for their tickets and the Gym’s transformation had begun taking shape, the bell rang for lunch. “Alana, before we go eat, I wanna talk to you.” Nathaniel cooed. “What’s up?” Alana asked, curiously. He took her hands and looked deep into her eyes. “I know its already been implied... But... Will you g-go to Prom with me?” He asked. “Of course! I’d love to!” Alana blurted out with tears in her eyes. “Great! I’ll meet you at your apartment that night!” He beamed. Filled with joy, Alana threw her arms around him and kissed his cheek. “I can’t wait to dance with you that night!” She cheered. “Come on you two! We saved your seats!” Armin called as he poked his head around a corner. Nathaniel walked a couple of feet forward, turned around and held his hand out to her. “Shall we?”

As the day went on, several students could be heard complaining about their test scores, the loudest of which was Amber. “I still can’t believe I have to focus on my retake! I wanna put more focus on my Prom outfit and becoming queen!” She whined when she entered the classroom. “Amber, calm the frick down! All you have to do is a little bit of studying, and retake the stinking test! Then, once you at least get a somewhat passing grade, you can focus on your little fantasy!” Alana angrily huffed as she and Priya entered the room and grabbed a few items from Mister Faraize’s cupboard. “I don’t wanna hear anything from the little wretch who ruined my family, poisoned my brother against us, and took him from us!” Amber shouted. “I didn’t ruin your family! I did not poison him against you. Your brother is free to be who he wants and associate with you and your mom. He just doesn’t want anything to do with your dad, and you know why! And, I’m his GIRLFRIEND, if he wants to spend time with you, it would be wrong of me to stop that!” Alana shot back.

★

“I am so happy that we get to take you shopping as a family! This will be wonderful!” Verity loudly cheered as Sam and Alana entered their living room. “I wish Rini could be here...” Alana sighed. “I know... But she’s got her studies and Achille won’t let her leave the school until she graduates.” Verity looked down. “I’m sure that, once she graduates, she’ll be able to go shopping for more formal dresses with us another time!” Lynne beamed as she did her best to maintain an upbeat mood. “If Achille ever lets her...” Alana muttered. “Well, let us all pile into the car so we may start this fashion adventure!” Verity cooed as she motioned towards the door. “Yeah, let’s get this party started!” Sam boomed. When the ladies got out of the apartment building, they noticed a limousine parked in front of it. “Come on girls! Let’s go SHOPPING!” Agatha cheered as she stuck the top half of her body out of the sun roof of the vehicle. “Hey girls!” Seraphina smiled as she stepped out and opened one of the doors. “This is definitely going to be an event!” Alana laughed. “Oh god...” Sam chuckled. 

When everyone got settled down in the limousine, Verity looked at Sam and Alana. “So, girls, before we get started... What styles are you aiming for?” She asked. Alana was quick to describe the style that she had mentioned to Rosalaya and Alexy. “Of course you’d go with elegant and classic! I love it!” Verity cooed. “So, Sam? What about you?” Seraphina inquired. “I think I wanna go with something kind of out of my element... Something short and glittery.” Sam smirked. “Oh god, you’re aiming to drive poor Ken insane!” Alana laughed. “And what if I am? I’m not like you. I don’t aim to be a proper lady!” Sam spat. “I’m not a proper lady! I just like classic elegance!” Alana spat. “Just like a proper lady!” Agatha laughed. “Can we just go?!” Alana huffed. “Yes, let’s begin this adventure! I’ve booked the finest shop in town for this day!” Verity cheered.

The Aristocratic district of Amouria was filled to the brim with businesses that catered to the finer side of society. Towering skyscrapers, expensive apartments, high dollar enterprises, designer shops, Michelin Star restaurants, and world renowned patisseries all made the quaint, worldly, non-aristocratic side of the city look like it was an entirely different realm. “We’re going to shop for a couple of hours, then I’ve gotten us a table at Across The Universe for a late lunch or early supper! The top table in the garden of course!” Verity beamed. “This is going to be an absolutely lovely day!” Agatha cooed. “I suppose it will be!” Alana smiled as the limousine pulled up in front of a skyscraper. The group walked into the building and was greeted by a young lady at the front desk. “Mrs. Mekina, Ladies Roster, welcome to Regalia. Mademoiselle Baudelaire is waiting for you upstairs.” She nodded. “Thank you. We’ll take ourselves up there.” Verity smiled as an attendant opened the elevator and they all went upstairs. 

Mademoiselle Giselle Baudelaire had become the youngest, most sought after, fashion designer in Astaria. Having gained a reputation amongst the Astarian Aristocracy for her fine details and her fashion forward designs, it was obvious that she was going to be Verity’s choice to design the looks for her goddaughters. “Lady Verity! Welcome back to my humble studio!” The pink haired, porcelain skinned, woman with a pink eye and a yellow eye beamed as she walked up to them. “Mademoiselle Baudelaire! Its always a pleasure!” Verity cheered as the women shared a quick hug and two air kisses on the sides of each other’s heads. Giselle looked at the young ladies standing before her. “Well, well, well! I have never been able to design looks for the legendary Roster Clan! The family who has been essential in our nation’s creation and maintenance, and yet... Refuses to become part of the aristocracy. To what do I owe the pleasure?” She cheered. “Pleasure to meet you Mademoiselle Baudelaire, we are here to create my daughters’ prom looks.” Lynne announced. “Its a pleasure to meet you Miss Baudelaire. I’m Melody.” Alana politely bowed. “And I’m Sam.” Sam smirked. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too ladies. Now... Who would like to go first?” Giselle asked as she motioned for one of the girls to go stand on the platform in the middle of the room. “I will.” Alana announced. “Look at Mels taking charge!” Agatha mused.

After several minutes of Alana explaining her vision for her look, Giselle smiled as she walked around the room. “Your idea is very simplistic... I won’t be able to design and completely make it within this short time period... However... I do already have something made that wouldn’t take much alterations, if any.” She smiled as she walked into a room, rummaged around a bit and walked out carrying a floor length, deep blue, dress. “Here. Go try this on and let’s see what else we need to do to bring your vision to life.” She mused as she held the dress up for Alana to look at. “It looks great!” Alana smiled as she ran off to the dressing room. While Alana changed, Giselle asked Sam about her vision for her prom look. “I want something short, maybe a little sheer, glittery in the chest area... I’m not looking to be Prom Queen. I just wanna drive my date insane.” Sam smirked. “Samantha... You drive that poor boy mad enough as it is.” Lynne snickered. “Well... I think I have exactly what you’re looking for.... Young Miss Lafferty recently wanted a green dress, but when I made this, she threw a fit... I almost banned her from the shop for her actions...” Giselle explained as she pulled a very short green dress off of one of the racks. Just as the dress had made it’s way into Sam’s arms, Alana walked out of the dressing room wearing the blue dress that had been presented to her. “It’s a bit loose... But I love the style!” Alana observed when she made her way to the platform. “Melody! That dress is so you!” Lynne cheered. “Elegant! Absolutely radiant!” Verity cooed. “Our little Pixie Princess looks just like royalty!” Agatha mused. “Not bad, Mels!” Seraphina grinned. “We can take the dress in.... But it needs something...” Giselle stated as she looked Alana over. “I’m thinking a blue choker, a blue bracelet, blue heels, and maybe a blue clutch purse.” Alana replied. “That’s not what I mean... It needs a little... Sparkle.” Giselle observed. After a couple of minutes of thinking, the designer quickly looked up, ran off to a different part of the salon, quickly came back and draped a silver jeweled belt around Alana’s hips. “There! Just what that needed!” She mused. Alana looked in the mirror and smiled. “I love it!” She cheered. “Fantastic! I’ll get your measurements and we can take it in here within the week! Now, miss Sam, please go put on the dress that I handed you.” Giselle instructed. “Got it.” Sam nodded.

Minutes later, Sam walked out of the dressing room wearing a VERY short, green, dress that showcased an emerald, glittery, corset and a sheer, long sleeved top. “You’re wearing tights!” Lynne blurted out. “But, other than that? I think Ken will go insane!” Sam chuckled as a devilish smirk spread it’s way across her face. “I’m thinking, open toed, pumps and a silver bracelet.” Verity suggested. “Ken’s gonna have to go take a cold shower after prom.” Alana laughed. “Who is to say I’m not gonna indulge him?” Sam mischievously asked. “Really Sam? Sex on prom night is a little... American, is it not?” Alana judged. “At least we’ve been together for most of this year! Watch, I predict that, before long, Nathaniel will be whisking you away to his apartment for a night of dirty bad fun!” Sam spat. “Well, you’re both being given extra protection that night!” Lynne huffed. “Relax Lynne! You remember when you were their age! You took that poet and you both got caught doing it in his parent’s bed at the after party!” Agatha laughed. Lynne instantly looked horrified. “The girls did not know that story. Thanks for that.” She gasped. “Lynne, that is not the craziest thing you’ve done.” Seraphina joked. “Oh, yeah! What about that time she ran off with the Black Knight from that Ren Faire?” Agatha asked. “Aren’t you still wondering if he’s Melody’s father?” Verity asked. “Wait, what? Mom, is my biological father the Black Knight?” Alana asked, confused. “Enough! Melody, what does it matter? You are a Roster. You are my daughter, and if you choose to take on the role, you will be the head of the family when I step down.” Lynne boomed. “Geez mom... I was just asking...” Alana blurted out as she looked at her mother, bewildered. “Well... Ladies, I think we have found the perfect dresses for the girls! They’ll need to be fitted one more time a couple of days before the event, so I’ll need them here on this day at this time.” Giselle announced as she tapped on a tablet and showed it to Lynne. “We can do that. How much is this going to cost?” Lynne nodded. “Don’t worry about the cost, Lynne. I’m paying for it.” Verity beamed.

Later that day, the group of women sat at the top garden table at Across The Universe and ate their food. “Did you hear? The Royal Family has ordered that the new Cultural Center that’s being built in Amouria become the tallest building on this side of Europe. And they want it done in record time.” Verity chattered. “Really? Did they throw out the original builders?” Lynne asked. “Yeah. Apparently, they’ve gotten architects, engineers, and designers from Dubai to take over the project with the orders to get it done in five years.” Verity explained. “That’s gonna suck for this place... Across The Universe is known for having the highest restaurant on this side of Europe. What’s gonna happen if another tower blocks the view from up here?” Alana asked. “The tower is only going to block the view of the mountains. We can still see the sea from up here.” Verity clarified. “Well... We’ll have to visit the top observation deck when its finished.” Sam chuckled. “I think so too! It’ll be fun!” Agatha mused. “Another family outing for the future? I’m okay with that.” Seraphina nodded.

★

“Well! My dress is going to be from the best designer in France!” Amber boasted. “Ah... Yes, what crime did your father have to commit to get Antoine Moulin to sell you one of his pieces?” Sam cackled as she and Alana walked past Amber and her crew in the main hallway. “He didn’t commit any crime! Anyway, it’ll be better than anyone who sold you two dresses!” Amber spat. “As if Giselle Baudelaire is a hack...” Alana smirked. “How did YOU get dresses from Regalia?” Li asked, insulted. “Aunt Verity often gets clothes from her shop. She was quite happy to service the Roster Clan.” Alana chuckled. “You keep forgetting something major, sweetheart... By basic societal standards, compared to us, you are vermin. We choose to not be aristocracy... But that doesn’t stop King Julius from hoping that his little son will pick one of the two of us for his bride. That doesn’t stop the Astier Clan from praying to the gods that, one day, we will finally take the titles that they have been trying to give our family ever since the first true Astarian King ascended the throne.” Sam snickered. “That also doesn’t stop the legends of our family being monster hunters from continuing to stand the test of time. And don’t get me started on how the history of the Roster Clan is also the history of the city of Weathering. Amber, we should not be forced to be somewhat classist towards you... Yet, here we are.” Alana remarked. “Oh, by the way, its not just our dresses that are being done by Regalia...” Sam began. “What do you mean?” Amber angrily inquired. “Nathaniel and Kentin are getting their suits from there as well.” Alana smirked.

★

The closer Prom got, the more excited everyone became. Not long after Prom, Graduation would happen and everyone would be off to college. Although, Alana had started taking longer looks at her mother at times, as Lynne had begun coughing more and more with each passing day. “She’s probably just got something in her throat! I wouldn’t worry too much about it!” Rosalaya cheered. “For several days straight?” Alana asked. “You know your mom. I’m sure she’ll go to the doctor and see that she’s right as rain!” Rosalaya reassured her. “I really hope you’re right... She’s been spending an awful lot of time around Carol too...” Alana sadly sighed. “Alana... Your mom is going to be okay! Its not your job to worry about her health and make sure she’s good. Now, focus on the fact that, in just a couple more days, you’ll be dancing the night away with your prince charming!” Rosalaya mused. “You’re right! I should be more focused on looking amazing for when I’m able to be in Nathaniel’s arms as his princess!” Alana cooed.

★

“I can’t believe the girls are off to their Senior Prom!” Lynne coughed as the girls finished prepping for the event. “Lynne, don’t stress yourself too much! The doctors still don’t know what’s wrong!” Verity soothed. “I’m gonna be fine! I’m just excited to see my daughters all dressed up!” Lynne hissed. Sam stepped out of her room as she straightened out the bottom of her dress. “Watch out! This’ll probably be the last time you see me dressed up like this!” Sam confidently snapped. “This will definitely not be the last time you see me dressed like this! I love it too much!” Alana cheered as she stepped out of her room and joined her sister. The girls wore their clothes with pride. Sam’s hair was pulled over to her right side in a simple hair tie and decorated with a shiny green hair ribbon. Alana’s hair was done in a princess like up-do with flowers along the top like a crown. “Look at my girls!” Lynne had begun to sob as she and Agatha instantly jumped into a frenzy of photo taking. Alana looked at Verity with pleading eyes and mouthed “Help us!”. “Come on now ladies! I’m sure the boys are waiting right outside the door, too nervous to knock! Let’s get our princesses to their princes and the young couples to their carriage!” Verity excitedly urged. “But the boys aren’t even here yet!” Agatha whined. “Actually, they’re both outside. Kentin is freaking out over the fact that you guys have a limo waiting for us!” Sam pointed out as she put her phone back in her bag. “Wait, you guys have a limo for us? I thought you guys didn’t like that level of pageantry!” Alana blurted out. “Its your Senior Prom. You only get one! Let us have our fun and make you two the stars of this show!” Lynne mused. “Now, come on you four! Get in front of the limo so we can take pictures!” Agatha cheered. “First all four of you, then we want pics of the girls, then the boys, then each couple!” Lynne demanded. 

What felt like hours passed before the women would let them into the limo and send them off to the event. “I know that was only a few minutes, but it felt like an eternity!” Sam whined as the car pulled away from the apartment. “I’m not even sure why they got a limo.... The apartment isn’t even that far from the school...” Alana commented. “I think its sweet. Your family adores you two enough to shower you with love and affection, and make a fuss over you when its important.” Nathaniel smiled. “Well... The one thing I’m looking forward to the most is dancing the night away in your arms.” Alana cooed as she looked at him lovingly. “I-I can’t wait to spend the whole evening with you... My princess.” He whispered into her ear. Excitement instantly shot through Alana’s nerves like a bolt of electricity and radiated throughout her body. “Watch it you two... Mom did offer to get us both hotel rooms in case we wanted to have our own little “after parties”...” Sam cackled. “WHAT?!” Nathaniel and Kentin blurted out in unison. “Yeah... Apparently Mom’s Prom was crazy... So she’s got funds set aside for whatever we might need... Including hotel rooms and extra protection...” Sam explained. “Is this true?” Nathaniel asked Alana, bewildered. “Yep.” Alana nodded. “Holy hell...” Kentin gasped. “I d-don’t think w-we’ll need a h-hotel room tonight...” Nathaniel blushed. “I’m not sure if we’re there just yet.” Alana blushed. “The fuck you’re not?! You’ve been wanting to mount him for a while!” The voice in her head boomed. “We haven’t been together long! Its not appropriate!” She thought back. “Suit yourself... We’ll probably have other plans...” Sam smirked. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived.” The driver announced as he pulled the limo to a stop. “You ready for this?” Alana asked Nathaniel. “Of course.” He sweetly smiled.

The driver opened the door and the two couples were hit by a tsunami of clicking cameras, lights, and people rushing to greet them. “GUYS! You look amazing!” Rosalaya cheered. “Thanks you and Leigh look fantastic!” Alana mused as she hugged Rosa. “Thank you!” Rosa beamed. Several members of the Photography Club took their pictures as Rosa walked ahead of the group and lead them into the Gym. “Dance floor?” Sam asked Ken. “Already?” Ken inquired. “Yes.” Sam blushed. “Okay then.” Ken smiled as he began leading her to the center of the dancefloor. The DJ began to play “Clarity” by Zedd featuring Foxes. "Look who it is!” Armin beamed when he saw them. “Hey! You don’t look too shabby!” Alana chuckled. “Hey man!” Nathaniel smiled. “You two look great!” Iris cooed. “Did you not get a date?” Alana asked. “Nah. Decided to come stag with Alexy.” Armin shrugged. “Ah, that’s sweet.” She smiled. “I hope we dance to a really romantic song...” She thought. “Ah... Yes... The DJ will most likely play “A Thousand Years” and Nathaniel will whisk you onto the dancefloor.” The voice in her head snickered. “I actually hope that happens!” She thought back. “A bunch of us girls came as a group! Melody is hanging out with Peggy. Kim is over there dancing with Violette. Priya has already teased Amber for not being asked by anyone. And Lysander and Castiel came stag.” Iris explained as she pointed everyone out. “Kim and Violette look great together! Almost like a couple!” Alana cheered. “I don’t see it.” Nathaniel shrugged. “I do.” Priya chuckled as she walked up to them.

“Nathaniel and Alana look great together.” Lysander pointed out as he and Castiel stood by a secluded set of chairs. “I suppose they do...” Castiel huffed. “Do you really love her?” Lysander quietly asked. “I think I do.” Castiel nodded. “Then you should be happy that she’s happy.” Lysander sighed. “I should have asked her... I should have taken my shot a while ago.” Castiel muttered. “But, you didn’t. You can’t dwell on what you should have done. Focus on what you’re going to do moving forward. Just be happy that you’re her friend.” Lysander reassured. “You’re not wrong... I just... Wish she wasn’t so out of reach.” Castiel sighed. “So, you’re actually pining over her?” Rosalaya asked as she and Leigh walked up to them. “He is.” Lysander nodded. “I mean... Whose to say that she and Nathaniel will be together forever? They’re not as established as Leigh and me. Maybe sometime down the road, you’ll have your chance.” Rosa shrugged as she put her hand on Castiel’s shoulder. The four of them looked at Nathaniel and Alana, who were laughing and making jokes with Sam, Kentin and Armin. The song “Man On A Wire” by The Script had begun to play. “Rosa, don’t give him false hope. The best thing for him would be to just be happy that she’s happy and they’re friends.” Leigh pointed out. “Literally what Lysander just said.” Castiel rolled his eyes.

“Nathaniel, Alana! You guys look amazing!” Peggy beamed as she, Melody and Sharon walked up to them. “Thank you! You three look sublime!” Alana cheered. “Not gonna lie, I kinda hope you two get Prom King and Queen.” Sharon mused. “It’d be nice if Amber doesn’t get it.” Peggy remarked. “I’m kinda hoping that I get it.” Melody muttered. “I don’t think I’ll get it. But I hope that whoever I voted for does.” Alana smiled. “Who did you vote for?” Sharon asked. “Rosalaya.” Alana replied. “She’d be a great Prom Queen.” Peggy nodded. “Nathaniel, who did you vote for?” Melody asked. “I’m not gonna say. I’d rather just see who won.” Nathaniel stated. “A very diplomatic answer from a very diplomatic person.” Sharon grinned. “A good quote for the next issue of the School Newspaper!” Peggy cooed. “It’ll be the final edition with you two running the club, isn’t it?” Alana asked. “Yeah! But our apprentices are gonna handle it well. I have faith in them.” Sharon assured. “Natasha and Nick are good kids.” Peggy agreed. “I kinda hope that you two get the crowns.” Kim grinned as she and Violette approached them. “I think you two would be great.” Violette chirped. “When will they announce the winners?” Alana asked. “Should be soon. They wanna do it before they begin the slow dances.” Sharon explained.

It wasn’t long before the DJ stopped the music and Mr. Faraize took to the stage. “Good evening everyone! I hope you are all having fun on this lovely night!” He greeted. Several students cheered “YEAH!” in response. “Good! Not too much fun I hope!” He chuckled before his face turned a little serious. “Historically, Sweet Amouris High School has never taken part in the tradition of “Prom Royalty”. Unlike most high schools, we’ve never seen the point in this kind of popularity contest. However, this year, we resolved to change that. Other schools throughout our country have adopted this American tradition as a form of pageantry and we’ve decided to join in on the “fun”. You seniors have worked very hard and earned more celebration than just a dance. So, while only four of you will be receiving tiaras and crowns tonight; Just know, you’re all kings and queens to us.” He began. Mr. Faraize motioned for the DJ to begin playing very low music as Boris brought out a rolling table with two sets of tiaras and crowns on it. Boris then handed a very large pink envelope to Mr. Faraize, who then took out and unfolded a large piece of paper. “Your Sweet Amouris High School Prom King and Queen Runners Up are Alana Roster and Nathaniel Jacott!” He announced. “YAY!”, “GO ALANA AND NATHANIEL!”, “YOU GUYS DESERVE IT!” several students cheered. “What?!” Alana gasped. “Mels! Nath! Go! Get crowned!” Sam huffed as she pushed the pair towards the stage. “Go! Leigh and I made the crowns and tiaras for this!” Rosalaya urged as the students made a path for the pair to get to the stage. Nathaniel took Alana’s arm and proudly escorted her to the stage. “Congratulations you two!” Boris cheered as they bowed their heads before them. He placed the silver crown and tiara on their heads with great care. “The tiaras look like something straight out of Barbie: Princess Charm School.” Alana thought. “The crowns look like they’re right out of Disney movies.” The voice in her head piped up. When Nathaniel and Alana took their places by Boris on the stage, Mr. Faraize looked at the paper in his hand. “Your Sweet Amouris High School Prom King and Queen are Castiel Veilmont and Rosalaya de Meilhan!” He announced. “Castiel is Prom King but I’m not Prom Queen! This was rigged!” Amber shouted. “I’m not gonna get that crown.” Castiel huffed. “Come on! You won, fair and square. Now get over yourself and get crowned!” Rosalaya glared daggers into him as she grabbed his hand and dragged him up to the stage. Once the gold crown and tiara were on Castiel’s and Rosalaya’s heads, Boris instructed the four of them to stand on stage and pose long enough for photos to be taken and the balloons to be dropped from the net. The DJ turned the music up and started playing “It’s Time” by Imagine Dragons. “So? You and Leigh made the headwear? They look like you took them straight out of Disney and Barbie movies!” Alana laughed. “I was told to make them go with the theme of the school and that if this goes well, Leigh would be commissioned to make them every year for each class!” Rosa resounded. “They look fantastic Rosa!” Nathaniel mused. “I was hoping you two would be King and Queen. But, I’m happy that you guys at least got the Runners Up!” Rosa smiled. “I actually voted for you and Castiel to be King and Queen.” Alana happily shrugged. “You voted for me to be Prom King?” Castiel blushed. “Yeah, I thought it would be nice. The bad boy with the heart of gold getting some recognition for once.” Alana grinned.

The second they were allowed off stage, they took the opportunity to rejoin everyone. Student after student began to walk up to them and congratulate them. “I expect a picture perfect slow dance you two!” Sharon ordered Nathaniel and Alana. “I think we can make that happen!” Nathaniel blushed as he looked at Alana lovingly. “Hey, have any of you seen Amber?” Li asked as she walked up to them. “No. I haven’t even heard her since she got pissed about not winning.” Nathaniel shrugged. “She might be in the girls bathroom. I’ll go look.” Alana sighed as she walked towards the locker room. The sight that greeted her was absolutely horrific. “I THINK I’M GONNA VOMIT!” The voice in her head piped up. Amber was in the locker room. However, she was pressed up against the wall, lip locked with Armin. Alana quickly grabbed her phone, held it up high enough to get the pair into frame, quietly took a picture, slipped her phone back into her pocket and silently left the locker room. “Why did you take a picture of that sin?!” The voice in her head asked. “In case either of them piss me off in the future.” She thought back. “Are you gonna tell Nathaniel?” The voice in her head asked. “No. I’m not gonna tell Nathaniel that his best friend was in the locker room making out with his sister.” She thought back. “Why not?” The voice asked. “Because its not appropriate. If they feel like he needs to know, one of them will tell him.” She thought back. “Did you find her?” Nathaniel asked, almost a little frantic the second he saw her come out of the locker room. “Don’t worry. She’s just in there cleaning herself up and putting herself back together after her little tantrum. She’ll be fine.” Alana reassured him.

Shortly after Amber emerged from the locker room, she ran up to Nathaniel and demanded a dance from her brother. “NATHANIEL! Dance with me!” She whined. “Amber! I was gonna dance with Alana.” Nathaniel called back. “Give your sister a dance, we will have our slow dance before the night is done.” Alana smiled. “Does this mean I get a dance with the Runner Up?” Castiel smirked as he sauntered over to them. “No.” Nathaniel shot. “Nathaniel! He and I are JUST FRIENDS! It’d be like if Armin asked me for a dance! Go be a good brother and dance with your sister!” Alana huffed. Nathaniel gave her a look that said “Are you sure?”. “Yes.” Alana reassured him. “Okay. Amber, let’s go.” Nathaniel looked at his sister and sighed. “Shall we?” Castiel asked as he lead Alana to the dance floor. The DJ began to play “Everything You Want” by Vertical Horizon. “Is this really a song to dance to?” Alana pondered. “I would have thought you could dance to anything.” Castiel bantered. He pulled her closer to him and lead her into more of a waltz. “I mean... Its kind of weird for Nathaniel and his sister to dance to this song...” Alana replied. “So, its not weird for us to dance to it?” Castiel inquired. “Its not as if you’re interested in me, right? You’ve made it clear that you and I are just good friends. That the girls you’re actually into have bigger... Assets... And aren’t into pop music at all, like I am. Even if you were into me, you know you wouldn’t be able to be with me. I’m with Nathaniel.” Alana articulated. Castiel did everything in his power to hide the fact that Alana’s words were like a shot to the chest to him. “Yeah... I don’t like girls who sing to Taylor Swift!” He laughed. “Who told you!” Alana blurted out. “You did, just now!” His laughter boomed. “I like her music! Sue me!” Alana huffed. The song turned to “Just The Way You Are” by Bruno Mars. “Anyway... Seriously, why did you nominate me for Prom King?” He asked as he looked deep into her eyes. “I wasn’t lying when I said what I said on stage. Cass, don’t get me wrong, you’re a jackass. But, underneath it all, you’re a really great guy with a very kind heart. Despite everything, even your own pride, you end up doing what’s right... Even if you need to be slapped first. Hell, you even put aside your differences with Nathaniel to help him get away from his father. Its obvious that you put the needs of the people you care about above your own. You made that crystal clear when Lysander got hurt. Everyone talks about how Rosa, Lysander, Alexy, Nathaniel, Sam and I all help people and show kindness... But, they never talk about how sweet and selfless you actually are. I thought you deserved some recognition.” She explained. The shot to Castiel’s chest was then worsened by one of Cupid’s arrows going through the hole. He quickly twirled her around so in an effort to keep her from seeing him blush. He looked up and noticed Nathaniel staring daggers into him. As the song came to a close, he stopped their dance and kissed her hand. “I’m really glad you’re my friend.” He muttered barely loud enough for her to hear. “Watch it Cass! You don’t want everyone finding out your secret!” Alana chuckled. She pulled out her phone, wrote up a text and sent it before rejoining Nathaniel’s side. Castiel felt his phone vibrate, pulled it out, read the message smiled and walked back over to Lysander. “I guess, she really will always be just out of reach for me.” He muttered. “I’m really glad you’re my friend, too.”                                                      - MR

“You and Castiel danced for at least two songs. He must have really wanted to talk! Although, I don’t know WHAT he would have wanted to talk to YOU about!” Amber huffed. “You know what, Amber? Everyone knows that you’ve been wanting to dance with him all night. You threw a fit a few minutes ago over the fact that he got crowned Prom King and you weren’t his Queen! Go and take charge of your life for once and ask him! The worst he can do is say “no”!” Alana blurted out. “YEAH!”, “YOU TELL HER ALANA!” several students cheered. “After he’s danced with you? I could never!” Amber scoffed. “What do you have to lose?! Its the end of the year and after graduation, you don’t know if you’ll ever see him again.” Alana raised an eyebrow. “Fine!” Amber huffed she gathered her confidence and walked over to Castiel. “What did you two talk about?” Nathaniel asked. “He just wanted more of an explanation as to why I nominated him for Prom King.” Alana flatly replied. “Why didn’t you nominate me?” He pushed a little further. “Because it would have been conceited for me to nominate my own boyfriend for it. I nominated Cass and Rosa for King and Queen and then Sam and Ken for the Runners Up.” She clarified. Nathaniel looked down, almost a little embarrassed. “I nominated us for King and Queen and Sam and Ken for the Runners Up.” He muttered. A wave of love crashed into Alana. “Oh my god! Nathaniel! You’re too cute! You know that, right?” She gushed. “Really? You just said that you thought nominating us was conceited.” Nathaniel sputtered. “Yeah, but you still did it! I thought you would have nominated someone else! Its cute!” Alana cooed. The couple looked at the dancefloor and watched Sam melt into Ken’s arms as the DJ played “Never Knew I Needed” by Ne-Yo. “I think they should have gotten some form of recognition.” Nathaniel commented. “Yeah, but at least they’re happy for us getting it.” Alana smiled. “Your sister is such a hard-ass. Even though she’s been with Ken all this time, its still weird to see her vulnerable.” Nathaniel observed. “Sam is only this way because she wants me to be the soft one out of the two of us. But it is good to see her be soft every once in a while.” Alana replied. “Come on Castiel! You danced with Alana!” Amber called as Castiel walked away from her. “Alana’s not a self absorbed, whiny, entitled, brat like you! Find someone else to dance with you!” Castiel shouted back. He continued walking in the direction of the courtyard. “Well... I was wrong. He did say something worse than “No.”... Whoops!” Alana shrugged. “I should go console her.” Nathaniel suggested. “No, Nathaniel. She’s a grown woman, she can handle this rejection. Aside from that, Li is here and can be there for her if need be.” Alana shook her head. “I mean... He’s not wrong.” Armin commented as he joined the pair. “Why don’t you ask her to dance? You’re her brother’s best friend, it might be considered doing him a favor.” Alana suggested. “Me? No.” Armin began. He turned to Nathaniel and put his hand on his shoulder. “No offense, man... But your sister is a beast.” Armin cringed. “That’s not what I saw earlier!” Alana thought. “Send Armin the pic of him kissing Amber!” the voice in her head cheered. “Nope! He hasn’t pissed me off!” Alana thought back. “Yeah... I know.” Nathaniel exhaustedly sighed. Alana rolled her eyes. “I still think it would be nice. Go take one for the team!” She urged. “Nah! But if you wanna dance, let me know! As it is, I think I’m gonna go see if Alexy needs me for anything!” Armin rushed off.

“Alright everyone! I haven’t seen our Runners Up formally take to the dance floor! It’s time to change that!” Boris announced as he took the mic from the DJ. “Mister DJ, we all know that Miss Roster and Mister Jacott are the “Big Couple On Campus”, so play them something extra special!” He requested, his voice sounding more flamboyant than usual. A spotlight was then turned to Nathaniel and Alana and followed them as they made their way to the center of the dancefloor. As the first notes to “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri began to play, Nathaniel stood before her and bowed. “May I have this dance, my queen?” He lovingly asked. Tears instantly came to Alana’s eyes. “You may, my king.” She purred as he took one hand in hers and placed his other hand on the center of the top of her back. She placed her other hand on his right shoulder. “FUCKING FINALLY!” The voice in Alana’s head shouted. “When did you learn how to dance like this?” She asked Nathaniel as he lead her into a very elegant slow dance. “My parents thought it would be proper for Amber and me to learn it.” He did his best to hide the pain of mentioning his parents. “And you?” He asked. “My two best friends are part of the aristocracy. Aunt Verity and Aunt Cosima convinced my mom to put Sam and me in the same classes as Viktor and Rini.” She explained. “I’ll have to thank Verity when I finally get a chance to formally meet her. And, maybe, I can thank your aunt Cosima at her grave one day.” he blushed. “That sounds like a really nice idea.” She admitted. As they continued to dance, the song changed to “A Thousand Years Part Two”, as if the DJ knew their dance needed to be longer. “Alana... I love you.” Nathaniel admitted as they swept across the dancefloor. “What?!” Alana breathed. She looked into his eyes, a combination of love and shock overcoming her facial expression. “Look, I know we’re only seventeen years old. That this is high school romance. That we could grow old and grow apart one day. But, I need to tell you, now. Melody Alana Roster, I love you. I don’t know what the future holds. And I can’t promise that you and I will always be together. But I love you. I’ve loved you almost since the first day you walked through that classroom door. And I love you now.” Nathaniel professed. The song changed to “This I Promise You” by *NSYNC while Alana gathered her thoughts and they prolonged their dance. She wanted to give him this massive speech of how much she’s loved him since her early days at Sweet Amoris. However, the only words that truly fit the moment were short and sweet. “Nathaniel... I love you too. I love you with everything I have.” She almost began weeping as she spoke. Her mind then turned to the idea of walking down the aisle to meet him and become his wife. “Either you become a Jacott, or he becomes a Roster!” The voice in her head piped up. “I have a feeling that, if he and I do get married, he’ll become a Roster.” She quickly thought back. As the songs ended, the two shared a deep, romantic, kiss. “I love you, my sweet Melody.” He purred. “I love you too, my darling Nathaniel.” She cooed.

“Alright, sis! Take your stuff back. Ken and I are getting out of here!” Sam announced as she stormed the dancefloor and handed Alana her purse back to her. “You could have waited for us to get off of the dancefloor?! You didn’t see me ruining YOUR moment!” Alana exasperated. “Yeah, well... I think its high time I go make Ken a man!” Sam announced. “You also didn’t need to announce that to the whole school! You don’t see Rosa and Leigh announcing their “after prom plans” to everyone!” Alana barked. “I know! But I knew it would make you two uncomfortable! Let’s go Ken!” Sam laughed as she started walking out of the gym. “Sorry guys! You two looked amazing and it was a lot of fun!” Ken shrugged before he followed Sam out. Alana looked down for a minute. “What’s wrong?” Nathaniel asked. “You know... We could take the offer to get a hotel room...” Alana suggested as her face became a deep shade of red. “No.” Nathaniel shook his head. “Why not?” Alana nervously inquired. “I don’t want your first time to be in some random hotel room. Alana, I have the chance to make your first time as special as possible... And I’m going to do exactly that. You deserve it.” He sweetly smiled as he caressed the side of her face with his fingertips. “Oh Nathaniel...” Alana breathed. “I love you Alana. When I finally lay you down, I want you to enjoy every second of it. Even if it means I end up doing all the cliché stuff to turn my apartment into the most romantic place in the world.” He purred.

As the night drew to a close, Alana couldn’t keep her mind off of the idea of making love with Nathaniel. She wanted it. She knew she wanted it. And she knew that she wanted her first time to be with him. Out of all of the other boys she’d ever met, and between him and Viktor, she wanted to give herself to Nathaniel completely. “Maybe after graduation?” the voice in her head asked. “I’m not sure. But I hope its soon.” She thought back. Nathaniel took her back to her apartment, only for the two of them to discover a note taped to the front door. “Mom says that she’s sleeping at Agatha’s tonight. She and Seraphina got into a bit of a drinking game and they both basically lost. I’ve got the apartment to myself.” She explained as Nathaniel gave her a questioning look. “Well, that’s almost convenient.” He blushed. “You could stay the night, rather than walk all the way back to your apartment...” She suggested. “I could... But, Blanche is probably missing me... And I would have to sleep in nothing but my underwear...” Nathaniel replied. “You could go home in the morning after I make us breakfast. I’m sure Blanche has enough food and water to get through to tomorrow... And, its not like its the first time we’ve been in bed together with you in nothing but your underwear and me in pajamas... Its just, this time would be under much better circumstances.” Alana urged. “Societal pressure would dictate....” Nathaniel began. “As it is, its also not like we’d be doing anything sexy anyway! I’m too tired to give informed consent! We’d just be sleeping in the same bed and waking up together! At most, we’ll end up spooning or maybe getting in a couple of kisses! And that’s IF Sylvester doesn’t decide to sleep on top of us!” Alana nervously chuckled. Nathaniel thought for a couple of minutes. “Alright. But, next time, you’re sleeping at my place.” He yawned. “Of course!” Alana smiled as she let out a long yawn.

Several memories passed through Alana’s mind as she held her sleeping boyfriend in her arms. The memory of the day they met. The first time he made her heart beat fast. Their argument when she exposed the abuse his father put him through. The day she helped him get Blanche. The hug he gave her when she slipped and fell out of the tree in the park and was caught by Castiel. The party at Iris’ house. The attempt at a double date with Rosa and Leigh. Their first kiss in the Sweet Amoris High School library. The fresh memories of Prom. The memories then shifted into hopeful visions of their future. The first time they make love. Going to college together. Introducing him to all of her family in Scotland and Ireland. Becoming his wife. One vision finally pushed Alana into the realm of dreams and sleep... The vision of herself, one day, holding their newborn.

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This technically covers episode 39. Giselle Baudelaire is a reference to Giselle from Enchanted, and the Baudelaire family from A Series of Unfortunate Events.

I know that Prom King and Queen and the runners up are typically an American thing... But, I wanted to include them in this chapter. I was gonna make Lysander Prom King, but I figured Castiel would be more popular according to High School Hierarchy.

The cultural center tower that’s mentioned in the Dress Shopping section is what ultimately becomes The Black Tower.

Lynne coughing sets up her getting sick and having to leave the country for treatment.

Antoine Moulin is a slight reference to Moulin Rouge and Marie Antoinette.

Natasha and Nick (Peggy’s and Sharon’s apprentices) are also Marvel references. Just as I have Peggy and Sharon referencing Peggy and Sharon Carter, Natasha references Natasha Romanoff and Nick references Nick Fury.

Songs directly mentioned in this chapter: “Clarity” by Zedd ft. Foxes “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri “Man On A Wire” by The Script “It’s Time” by Imagine Dragons “Everything You Want” by Vertical Horizon “Just The Way You Are” by Bruno Mars “Never Knew I Needed” by Ne-Yo “A Thousand Years Part 2″ by Christina Perry Ft Steve Kazee “This I Promise You” by *NSYNC Honorable Mention: “When The Stars Go Blue” by Tim McGraw I wanted to bring this song up, but couldn’t find the right place for it.

I was honestly considering making that final paragraph more nsfw... But I decided against it and wanted to make it more sweet and romantic. With the way the story goes, every last thing that Alana envisions for their future comes to pass.

#my candy love #my candy love prom #my candy love episode 39 #my candy love fanfiction #my candy love fan fiction #my candy love fanfic #my candy love nathaniel #the melancholy of melody alana roster #alana's canon #Alana x Nathaniel #alana roster #my candy love alana #melodyalanaroster #amour sucre #sweet amoris #amor doce #Sweet kiss #sweet love #Sweet flirt #sweet crush #Corazon de Melon #corazon de bombon #cdm #CDM Nathaniel #slodki flirt #dolce flirt #melody roster #amor doce nathaniel #nathaniel roster #nathaniel jacott

[fanfic-corner]

Marvel Humor Fics

As much as I love angst, I also love to laugh at some of the predicaments my poor blorbos get into! So here are some of my favourite humor fics from the Marvel fandom.

He's a Real... Bare... Devil? by 94BottlesOfSnapple (772)

The real problem with no longer wearing body armor, Matt considers, is not actually the higher risk of injury. It’s that sometimes even when you don’t get hurt, you still end up mostly-naked in an alley that smells like day-old Chinese takeout.

Daredevil manages to lose his clothes while on patrol with the Defenders. They only make fun of him a little.

Footie Pajamas by Triscribe (1.1k)

*What?* Tony demanded. *What is it, what’s wr-*

“Ohmygosh, Mister Stark! It’s too cute!” Peter beamed from ear to ear. “There’s a little girl in the car next to me wearing Spider-man footie pajamas!”

Silence reigned for a long moment, before Tony burst out laughing.

How (Not) to Meet New People by aloneintherain (1.4k)

“Why is there a teenager in our office?”

Foggy stood in the threshold of the office, mouth slightly agape, most likely wondering if he’d walked into the wrong building. The kid waved at him, smile huge under a blooming black eye and spilt lip.

“Foggy,” Matt said, far too calm for someone who was in the presence of a beaten, bloodied, teenage stranger. “This is Peter.”

oh, jesus, not the both of you! by FRAMEW0RK (1.6k)

He’s gonna pass out.

Yup, it’s happening. Foggy can only tell because he’s passed out before, when he was twelve, after he got his finger smashed in the large metal door of their cooler. The intense pain first. Then the cold flash, then the sweating, and then the spots surrounding the corners of his vision. All of that was going on. In the middle of a courtroom. Surrounded by tons of watching people.

“Mr. Nelson?” the Judge calls out. He probably looks awful. His mother told him that he went deathly pale before he passed out the first time. Didn’t she take a video? He remembers there being a video. Is the room spinning or is that just him?

“I think ’m passing out,” Foggy mumbles thickly, hand flailing out for purchase but getting nothing on his fingers. The world was starting to go underwater. Someone yelled, and then there’s this gasping sound all around and then there’s darkness and nothing.

Team Red by SalazarTipton (1.9k)

“Ned, for the last time, I’m not going as any of the Avengers! Can you imagine what would happen if they found out? They’d think I had a favorite and--” “But you do have a favorite,” Ned interjects. Peter throws one of his fries at him. “That’s not the point! They don’t know that and can I remind you that you’re forbidden to talk about that? Going to the Tower would be hellish. Can you imagine Mr. Barton and Mr. Stark trying to prove they’re the better choice?”.

when the pretty birds have flown (honey, I'm still free) by the_crown_jules (2.1k)

“I can talk to birds,” Sam said, a little more loudly than the situation warranted.

Bucky's lips twitched, a battle playing out between his attempt to take Sam seriously and his clear desire to snicker. Laughter won out, lighting up his face in a way that was becoming more and more familiar.

“You’re such an asshole. Okay, Torres, I assume you’re listening, you can go now, you’ve had your fun.” He looked around as if he’d be able to spot Torres watching them on camera. “What is this, Falcon initiation?”

New Year's Regrets by whumphoarder (2.5k)

In the midst of hosting his annual New Year’s party, Tony is called away to rescue a very impaired Peter from a rooftop in Queens.

Happy Hibernation Day by for_the_night (2.7k)

Tony and Pepper return to the tower on Valentine’s Day to find Peter asleep on the couch. Only he won’t wake up.

Good job neither pseudo-parent panics.

throw all your lucky coins on me by keep_swinging (3.2k)

i. shock (denial) ii. pain (guilt) iii. anger (bargaining) iv. depression v. the upward turn vi. working through vii. acceptance (hope)

Sorta Kinda Kidnapped by happyaspie (3.5k)

Peter gets kidnapped on his way to school. It's fine, though. He's perfectly capable of saving himself. It happens so fast and it's so uneventful that he forgets to tell Tony it even happened. Until the kidnappers call to collect their ransom.

Not Completely the Worst by mainstreamelectricalparade (4k)

Peter's spidey-sense had been going off all day. If he had to stay at school for literally another minute longer, he was probably going to go insane.

And of course, there was one person at school whose single goal in life seemed to be ensuring that that happened.

“Yo, Penis! Where are you off to in such a hurry?” Flash called after Peter as he took the steps three at a time in his attempt to make a quick getaway.

Peter squeezed his eyes shut in exasperation and kept walking. Maybe if he ignored the problem, it would go away.

Because that had always worked so well for him, in the past.

Don’t Judge a Knife by Its Color by blondsak and Grace_d and whumphoarder (4.4k)

“Whoa, hold up, hang on,” he says, taking a step closer to get a better look. The blade is probably four inches long and neon purple, while the handle is white with a friendly-looking colorful silicon grip. “Is that a toy knife? Is this a Fisher Price mugging?”

“Fuck you, Spidey,” the mugger replies, fumbling for the knife before scrambling back to his feet and brandishing the weapon at Peter.

Or, Peter is stabbed by a misleading knife, Tony plays a high stakes game of Operation, and May retains the one brain cell.

Dollicia Elizabeth Cowleen the Third by Spideypool_supremacy (4.6k)

Peter frowned. "Why do you have such an obsession with that cow?"

"Getting jealous, Pumpkin?"

Peter looked at him, unimpressed. "Oh no. A cow is stealing all your affection. Whatever will I do." He said sarcastically.

Wade grinned. "Don't worry, Petey. I love you both the same."

"That's actually insulting."

quaranteens by blueh (6.6k)

“Peter Parker,” Cindy says. Peter’s head snaps up so fast that it almost looks inhuman. “Did Tony Stark just waltz in and pick up his child in the background of your Zoom call?”

Peter freezes. Wide-eyed, with ‘guilty’ written on his forehead in 72, bold, Times New Roman font. It takes a solid thirty seconds before he can put himself together enough to click the unmute button.

“I—no?” Peter says. His voice is startlingly high pitched and his expression is nothing short of horrified.

Damn, if that isn’t anything but a confession.

The Glass of Sand and Fog [Fan Comic] by neonbrutalism (7k)

"To be honest, I think time is scary enough without a giant axe clock." "What, worried about getting old? Daredeviling getting hard on your knees?" "No, no... It's hard to explain."

Another day, another villain, another kidnapping. Foggy gets kidnapped, Matt avoids awkward conversations, they both suffer from an inability to talk about their feelings and Kirsten is no help at all!

Learning To Say Hello by heartsdesire456 (11k)

Clint had woken up one morning about three weeks ago (Well, Clint guessed about three. Definitely more than one. Maybe.) and stumbled down to the living room only to realize there was a guy on his couch. The guy just happened to be the Winter Soldier, who Clint knew was actually Steve’s old best friend, Bucky Barnes.

Barnes had been having a staring contest with Lucky (one eye shut, to make it fair, Clint had noticed) and Clint had decided to just leave him to it and make decisions after he’d had some coffee.

(In which Hawkeye befriends the Winter Soldier and discovers the Epic Love Story of Steve and Bucky nobody knows about)

but what is a hero, really? by mjscorner (17k)

"Flash," Peter pleaded breathlessly, "you don't want to do this, okay? They're armed. Trust me, you don't understand."

"No, I think I do understand," Flash scoffed, unsurprised. "You've been a loser your whole entire life, but everyone here still adores you. Well, I'm done dealing with that, okay? Time for me to be a hero."

Peter's heart sank as Flash bumped into his shoulder and marched forward.

He stopped before rounding the corner when the faint sound of a gun being cocked echoed throughout the hall, freezing Flash right in his place. Peter turned on his heel in an instant, standing beside Flash protectively.

"But-but what is a hero, really?" Flash croaked with a nervous smile, side-eyeing the weapon suspended beside him as it softly nudged the side of his skull. 

Peter slowly raised his hands in surrender, staring at Flash until he did the same, dropping the cans of pepper spray and the walkie talkies.

"We are so, so, so monumentally screwed."

Let Me Know if It Gets Above a Six by Sundial_at_Night (65k)

“Mr. Loki?” asked the Spider cautiously. “Aren’t you—like—a bad guy?” he asked, voice full of only curiosity, as far as Loki could tell.

His first thought was, yes.

His second thought was no.

His third thought was, sometimes?

“It varies from moment to moment,” Loki answered honestly, prying his eyes open after they threatened to fall close.

“But on a scale of one to ten, where are you at right now?”

“Maybe a three?”

The Spider-child nodded. “Cool,” he replied. “Let me know if it gets above a six.

The Devil's Hangin' 'Round My Doorstep by 94BottlesOfSnapple (96k)

There’s a lot of things Matt Murdock doesn’t allow himself. His best friend is one of them. But put on a mask and suddenly everything seems so freely available, Foggy included. On the other side of the coin, Foggy’s still trying to stifle his big bisexual crush on his best friend and has no idea what to think of the vigilante who’s suddenly and inexplicably taken an interest in him.

it's always who is spider-man, never how is spider-man by i_regret_thatpersonalityquiz (176k)

"Stay?"

Peter finally looked down to see Harley Fucking Keener, Iron Lad, the boy who had caused his shoulder to be throbbing all night, looking away with a slight tint to his cheeks. Peter opened and closed his mouth, no sound coming out.

And he sat back down.

OR: Peter had been living on the streets, dealing with your average homeless vigilante stuff. Things got a bit more complicated when the Avengers started to chase him down.

I hope you enjoy these!! I'll have to make a part two at some point because there's so many brilliant fics to share. Thank you to all the fabulous writers who shared these fics with us, and happy reading!

#marvel #mcu #humor #fic recs #ao3 #lina lore #irondad #sambucky #daredevil #mattfoggy

[wcrriorhearts]

Welcome to part two of my positivity shoutouts. I will be doing these in alphabetical order and hope my scattered brain won’t forget anyone. Given I can only put people on here I follow and therefore know, feel free to send in positivity for people in the House of the Dragon fandom who I have missed & not mentioned, so I can include them in a later post! 

@bloodiedrubies - because i am a scatterbrain and shamefully forgot this gem in yesterday’s post under the letter b, i’ll do that now and ask for forgiveness ( i blame my wonky follower list for not showing you xD ). Man, another blog that is so good that it is hard to put into words. Rhaegar is technically not in our hotd timeline, but the mun has verses that make it super easy to interact and the writing is just incredible. so much quality, such an incredible grasp on the character. cannot recommend the blog enough!

@dionai - damn, what can i say? SO much talent! all of the muses are impeccable and the aesthetics are *chef’s kiss*. the writing is extremely good and the mun a sweetheart <3 i can only say wonderful things about them!

@dcrilaros - a wonderful interpretation of daemon that is very true to his character. the mun is also absolutely lovely and i adore them. hope this motivates them to come back to daemon and bless our dashes again

@dracharenae - technically not a hotd strictly speaking, but since i have decided to include everyone who rps into our world, i could never skip this wonderful human being and their amazing muses. even though rhaenys lives a little later than most of our babies, the mun has many verses and is incredibly approachable & always helpful. the writing is so beautiful and i stan everything they touch.

@degriseo - another wonderful multi with beautifully written hotd characters! i’ve had this one on my dash for a long time and love to quietly stalk their wonderful threads. everything they write is just awesome and creative!

@dragcnsdaughter - so much love for this one! dany is an absolutely wonderfully fleshed out character in all of the mun’s verses and the writing is just beautiful. the mun is also a super kind person ooc and i am so happy we get to write together on both of their blogs. lots and lots of talent &lt;3

@fallesto - ah, my sweet, sweet fallesto. i have so much love and adoration for you, i could never put it into words. we have written the most gut wrenching angst together and the sweetest romances & everything is just perfect. all the characters are absolutely on point and the mun is incredibly kind & approachable. i hope you’ll never get tired of me, because i adore you endlessly. 

@fictalmultitude - we are new mutuals, so we have only just begun to interact with each other, but i already adore the writing and the choice of muses is also absolutely perfect. the mun is also kind and friendly, so i wholeheartedly recommend.

@gelarios - another wonderful & talented rhaegar! it is so nice to see characters loved on that have not had the chance to shine in mainstream media ( aka the shows ), because people can truly make them their on and the mun does a great job! love having them on my dash!

@hamcrtia - heheheh now i get to love on my sister from another mister, the most wonderful and special bean rae. you already know that i think you’re pretty okay, but for everyone who doesn’t know yet: this blog is incredible! so much talent, such a wonderful & lovely mun! every character is just utterly perfect and rae is the most approachable, accommodating and kind person ever. 100/10 recommend <3 i love you

@heireign - a very, very talented and wonderful rhaenyra <3 my favorite black queen is in incredibly capable hands here and the mun does such an amazing job writing her. i love every interaction we have and & having them on my dash!

@hearthofvesta - my darling vesta, the person who needs to be told 100x a day how wonderful they are and maybe they’ll believe it at one point :D ! such a wonderful multi with an impeccable selection of muses that are all so well written and fleshed out <3 i adore everything we write and i hope one day you’ll see your own worth, because you’re a perfect little bean!

#positivity shoutout pt 2

[lia-jones]

Resistance - Evol: Chapter 20 - Plato's Cave

Imagine a cave where three men sit from the very moment they were born, hands and feet tied, unable to move their heads. Behind them a crackling fire, their only source of light in the darkness, their only source of knowledge of the world they live in, for the men only know what they can see, the shadows of the people that walk behind them, carrying random objects, living their normal lives.

Until one of them miraculously breaks free. The chains that bind him break, and he is finally able to stand, move his legs, turn around. That’s when he notices the gush of fresh air from outside, coming from the entrance of the cave. And that’s when he sees another source of light, the sun, and another world that awaits him. And now that he knows these things exist, he can no longer look at the shadows on the wall. Curiosity trumps fear as he walks towards the entrance of the cave, holding his breath as he faces the blinding light from outside.

I remember talking about Plato’s Cave in my philosophy classes, and how exciting it seemed to me to suddenly have a brand new world to discover. My teacher did a good job at conveying how fascinating it was to acquire new knowledge, how it opens our eyes to new possibilities and allows us to learn so much more about ourselves. But now I was standing at the very same place that man was, at the entrance of the cave, ready to learn the truth, and I found it terrifying. In the short span of twelve hours, I had learned there was such a thing as superpowers, that my husband had superpowers as well as myself, and that my mother had done some gruesome things to hide it from me and the world. I had learned the people I loved and trusted the most had lied to me, and no matter their reasoning, it was still hurtful. To make matters worse, I knew I hadn’t heard it all. But like that man in the cave, now that I knew there was a brighter light than fire and that there was more than shadows, I simply couldn’t turn back.

“Andrea?”

The low voice had come from a corner in the room, swallowed by the nightly shadows, still reserved from the moonlight. And that’s when I saw him, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees, hands, fingers lacing as in some kind of prayer. And when he leaned forward to look better at me, I looked better at him too, noticing dark pained circles around his eyes, every line on his face deepened by worry and fatigue. I pushed my shoulders upward, trying to find the momentum to lift my torso up and sit down. He immediately came to my assistance, cradling my back.

“Wait, let me help you.” He piled some pillows behind me, laying me down gently on them. “How are you feeling?”

I had no idea how I was feeling. Maybe that was how the man from the cave felt when the sun hit his eyes and blinded him. He had never known a sun, he didn’t know it could blind him, he didn’t even know what blinding was. The truth was supposed to make me stronger, make me wiser, but I had no idea what to make of it. It was blinding me.

“Do you trust me?” He softly took my chin in his hand, searching my gaze, a loving thumb pressing my cheek.

And as I looked him in the eyes, those soft gray pools of light, I knew there was no other answer I could give him.

“With my life.”

He pulled me to himself and held me in his arms, his lips on my hair as a hand rubbed my back. It was like he could understand what I was going through, he was feeling it himself, the pending weight of a truth none of us wanted to face at the moment, knowing it would change everything.

“Whatever happens, you have me. You can always lean on me. You are not alone.”

I grabbed his shirt forcefully and buried my face in his chest, as if I could hide in there forever. I didn’t want to leave the cave. Inside the cave I was just Andrea, and he was just Victor, and there were no superpowers, or lies. Inside the cave I could fully trust my mother, and I was just an ordinary person, unable to throw people across the room or to build sand walls. It was safe inside the cave.

“We will face this together.” He held me tighter. “Whatever comes our way, we will face it together.”

The light was coming closer, I could feel it. I could feel the breeze from the entrance, and the smell of flowers outside, and hear the clearer sound of footsteps. I wouldn’t be able to avoid it. I took a deep breath.

“Just tell me.”

The hardest truths need to be told with the softest voices, as words can be shards buried in one’s heart, makeshift blades that have stayed there for too long, too painful to pull out. This was how he began his story, a story he was probably telling for the very first time. He told me one day he knocked down his mother’s favorite vase, only to find it floating in the air miraculously. I found it quite fitting that his very first show of an Evol was to avoid hurting someone he loved, even in the simplest of ways. And that care never stopped.

He never told any of his parents what had happened, scared that the knowledge could hurt them somehow, too wise even at his age to believe such a gift would come without any consequences. And I couldn’t help but think about how early he was presented with a life of solitude, keeping a secret he couldn’t share with anyone.

But his life changed when he met the girl, one day at the park. He used his Evol to save her from being hit by a car, and she could see what he was doing. He was not alone, she had an Evol too. For the first time in a long time, he had a friend he could be truthful with. No need to hide anything.

“Knowing me at that park was her demise.” He concluded with a pained voice. “They must have been watching me for a while, they must have seen somehow she had an Evol too. That’s how they found her. She was taken to that place shortly after I was.”

“What were they after? Why were they taking so many children?”

“They wanted to find a way to replicate Evols and to make them stronger.” He spoke quietly, his eyes fixed on the ground. “Later I found that they were trying to find the strongest Evol and use the genetic information to strengthen others. They believed human evolution would inevitably lead to Evol domination. They just wanted to ease the process.”

“Victor…”

“I was injected with several drugs, some made me sick, some made me lethargic, some made me delusional. There were days when I didn’t know who I was or where I was. Those were the good days. Most hours were just filled with pain, and the thought that I couldn’t really tell if I would see this or that child the following day.” In the dark, the moonlight showed me the silent tears falling from his eyes. “And I would wonder if that wasn’t actually merciful.”

I hugged myself, trying to imagine what that must have been like. I couldn’t. It was simply horrid.

“What your mother did, she was right to do it. Her actions are somewhat misguided, but she was right to protect you from that hell.”

My heart wavered between anger and forgiveness. I decided to avoid the feeling altogether.

“Mia was a lot younger than you, right? She was Owen’s age.”

“Slightly older.” Victor nodded, his mind returning to the past. “They seemed to take a special interest in her, and while she got special treatment in that regard, better room, better food, she definitely had it worse in other ways.”

“How so?”

“They found something in her. Something in her genetic code. One of the fundamental beliefs in the Black Swan organization for many years was that there was an Evolver much stronger than others, capable of speeding the evolution of an Evol. The whole organization kept following rumors and secrets, investigating nonsensical lore. I think it must have been when their project was shut down that the organization itself seemed to divide into factions, some faithful to the legends, some not.”

He paused, taking a deep breath. It was obvious we were stirring into very painful memories. As the silence filled the room, I let my mind take its own trip to the past, trying to remember anything in my history with Victor that indicated any of this danger near us. A name lit up like a bulb in my mind.

“Is Lucien from that past?” I broke the stillness. “That fallout you two had, was it related to Evols?”

“Lucien is a former member of Black Swan. Artemis was too. Apparently the organization was dismantled when…”

“When what?”

“When I blew up their building.” Victor’s lips pursed. “Killing most of them.”

My heart stopped. My husband, the kind man that makes pancakes shaped like ants for our son… No.

“You killed them?”

“Artemis was certain I did.” Victor looked down again. “I don’t remember anything from that time.”

I was familiar with the next part of the story, from the stinging bits and pieces Victor had shared with me. How he was saved from that hell hole, the first person he saw being Mrs. Dylan. What he went through dealing with his trauma, his mother’s illness and consequential death. And in the middle of the turmoil of his life, the guilt from that little girl’s sacrifice that fed the determination to end that organization and find her, dead or alive. 

She was alive. And his world saw a regained strength and a new determination, to protect her at all costs. As he was a powerful entrepreneur and Evolver, Black Swan invited him to their halls, and that was where he met Lucien. As far as he could tell, the organization kept some secrecy even between their members, the only person knowing them all was the key element of the Council of the Twelve, an unknown identity named the Original. No one knew the true identity of the leader, although Victor knew he worked closely with a few members, including Lucien.

Lucien was one of the few believers of the coming of a Queen, a genetically perfect Evolver that could strengthen or remove someone’s Evol, and could be an essential collaborator in human evolution. Hades, on the other hand, believed that the Evolution would have to be caused by force, using the principle of the survival of the fittest, eliminating the weakest elements and making way for the strongest to thrive. Hence the pandemic, one that could only affect ordinary people and not Evolvers. Hades was doing a genetic cleanse.

“But someone found a cure.” I added. “The pandemic was eradicated.”

“Lucien was the one who found the cure. For reasons of survival. For some mysterious reason, all Evolvers lost their powers.”

“So they would get infected too. The disease wouldn’t be selective anymore.” It was a smart move, and I could only think of a person bold enough to do it. “It was you, wasn’t it? You did this. You smoked them out, so to speak.”

“The only thing I remember was learning about the existence of an old artifact, one that could do exactly what Black Swan intended: to have full control over Evol and how it develops. They called it the Source Stone. There isn’t much information about it, or even confirmation of its existence, and the lore says that even if someone got their hands on it, it would be impossible to control: The Stone doesn’t obey just anyone.”

“But you think that is what you used?”

“I can’t be sure.” He shook his head. “Artemis infected you with an illness that Evolvers could survive, counting on the fact that I could bring the Evols back to heal you. But I could never find the stone, and still the Evols came back. You lived.”

“So you think a third party was involved?”

“My best guess is that somehow I found the stone and figured how to use it, but someone took it from me, as well as my memories.”

I curled in bed, my mind reeling with the new information. Victor had had a life of a spy, dealing with danger at every waking moment, and I was getting caught in it, suffering the real consequences of it. I closed my eyes, trying not to think about the implications of that life in my present and how much danger we could be in. I felt his soft hand on my back.

“We can continue this some other time.”

I was at the cave’s entrance, the sun hurting my eyes, the cool breeze making me cold. I could go back inside and stay with all the ignorant people, to the soothing sound of the crackling fire, to the shadows on the wall. And I wanted to. I wanted to forget what I had learned and go back to old me. But I would wonder if the sun did more than hurt my eyes, or what else was outside. If the truth didn’t kill me, the doubt would. And there was a doubt pounding in my mind since the very first day I heard about her, the very first time I heard her name. I knew Victor and Mia had a history, and no matter how much Victor told me about her or reassured me, I knew the story went a lot deeper. Now was the time to go into that rabbithole and see how deep it would take me.

“No.” I sat back in bed, giving him my best determined look. “Go on.”

“Among the children that had survived the orphanage, Mia was the most promising. Some members of Black Swan believed she was the perfect Evolver that could help evolution, they called her the Black Queen. I always thought that was a figure of speech, or some farfetched lore, until a real Queen arrived.”

“A real Queen?”

“An entity, made of pure Evol. Stronger than any Evolver I have ever seen, stronger than Mia. She wanted Mia to side with her in her dystopia.”

“Because Mia was the genetically superior Evolver?”

“They would be unstoppable together. The Queen needed a body, a perfect vessel to hold all that power. Mia was the perfect candidate.”

“And you were protecting her.”

“Yes, I was.” Victor let out a heavy sigh. “At one point, I couldn’t control my Evol so I was forced into the layers of time. I saw moments of the past and the future. I saw myself holding Mia in my arms as she begged me to kill her. I did. I saw her blood on my hands. And that vision haunted me for a long time. No matter the cost, I had to change the outcome.”

“What did you do?”

“That is where my memory stops. I have no recollection of what I had done for that month, only meaningless bits and pieces, and a few clues I can't put together. The first thing I remember is waking up at the hospital, Mia telling me I didn’t kill her.”

“You never asked her?”

“She stopped coming around, disappeared for months. Then she comes into my office to invite me for her wedding. I never got the nerve.”

There were details, I knew that much. Like the man finally outside the cave, there were colors and scents and textures, and no matter how hard he would try, it would take time to comprehend them all. Everything he was witnessing was overwhelming. I felt overwhelmed too, so I decided to retreat into my mental cave, where at least I felt safe.

“Are we in danger?” I whispered, entering the safety of Victor’s arms. “Is that Artemis coming after us again?”

“Artemis will not hurt anyone else.” His voice rumbled against my ear. “And no matter who comes, I will not let them hurt you.”

I let my eyes close with a sigh, pretending to fall asleep. But the truth was, none of us slept a wink that night.

You must wonder what happened to the man after he discovered that brand new world. Personal opinions aside about how that experience was, the allegory says that he went to his fellow prisoners and set them free, telling them about the world outside. Perhaps the free man was expecting an excited reaction, but he got something else entirely: not only did the men refuse to turn their heads to the entrance, they claimed he was insane and clearly seeing things, that the shadows on the wall was all the world was about. When he tried to physically force them to look at the opening, they beat him into a bloody pulp. What Plato meant to show was that some people wanted to stay ignorant no matter the cost, in order to keep the status quo. And that was supposed to be a bad thing. But… was it?

I looked at my father and brother at the breakfast table, blissfully unaware of what had happened, assuming I just had had an episode related to my illness. And no matter how much I wanted the truth to be out, to be able to openly insult my mother, I couldn’t bring myself to it. I would be putting them in the same situation I was, confused and suspicious of everyone and everything. I would break my father’s heart by letting him know the love of his life was not the woman he thought she was. I simply couldn’t.

And it felt to me that the fact that I couldn’t tell the truth to my father only made my mother’s argument right. That infuriated me.

“I’m so glad to see you’re better, Andy.” My father smiled at me at the breakfast table. “I’m sorry your birthday was so stressful for you. You shouldn’t get nervous, it’s clear it affects your health.”

“I’d be stressed too, if my husband kept me on such a tight leash.” Joshua barked at Victor.

“Enough, Joshua.” My mother intervened. “I believe the goal is to keep Andrea from worrying, so let’s leave a few subjects off the table.”

“For now.” Joshua threw Victor a dirty look.

“You know what? Why don’t you guys go to the beach while I keep an eye on Andrea?” She smiled. “Go have some fun together. I know Owen has been looking forward to going.”

I stiffened in my seat. What was she up to?

“You can go, Mariana.” Victor took my hand reassuringly. “I’d rather spend time with my wife today.”

“Son, since we arrived, you've been doing nothing more than taking care of my daughter.” My father chimed in. “And while I thank you deeply for it, I believe you deserve a break. We can take the kids, have ice cream somewhere, have some fun. Besides, I can feel these two have a lot to talk about. Let them do their thing.”

I grabbed my husband’s hand tighter, letting him know that by all means I would not like to be left with my mother, let alone talk or listen to whatever she had to say. I felt an odd buzz coming from his skin. I looked up, seeing Victor and my mother were having some kind of silent conversation, his brow creased as they looked into each other’s eyes.

“Look, I know you are worried about Andy and you have nothing but her best interest at heart.” She whispered. “She will be fine.”

I felt Victor’s hand squeeze mine in return, and for a moment I was so thankful that he was standing by my side in my moment of need. No matter how much my mother argued, there was no way Victor would leave me alone, I was sure of it. After a heavy sigh, he turned to me, his eyes full of worry.

“Maybe you could use some time with your mother.”

I was shocked.

“But-”

“You’ll be fine.” He came closer, whispering in my ear. “She is your mother. She made many bad decisions, but she loves you. Besides, I don’t want to smother you. You need your space.”

I watched him leave the table with the rest of my family, heading out for the market, perfectly relaxed, like it was just another Sunday. Like I hadn’t been infected with some cruel disease that nearly killed me, like I hadn’t just found out that I was an Evolver, that he was an Evolver, like there wasn’t some shady organization trying to take over the world.

After overcoming my shock, I also got up from the table, full of resolve. Yes, I would stay behind with my mother, but I had no intention of talking. If she didn’t find the moment to tell me the truth in thirty years, I surely wasn’t giving it to her now. I begrudgingly started collecting the dirty dishes from the table, alone. My mother seemed to have lost all interest in household chores, busy with something elsewhere.

“Leave that here, come with me.” She pulled my arm as I was running some hot water into the sink.

Despite some grumpy protesting, I allowed myself to be led by her. I found myself in my room, my suitcase open on the bed, a pile of clothes next to it.

“Make sure you have everything you need.” She spoke as she threw the pile haphazardly into the suitcase. “We need to go soon.”

“Go? Go where?”

“It’s only a matter of time before they find you, we need to get you out of here.” She paused, noticing I haven’t moved an inch. “Andrea, vamos, we need to leave!”

“What the hell is wrong with you? I am not going anywhere.”

“Foda-se!” She cursed, turning to me to look me in the eye. “Andrea, it will be better for everyone if you come with me.” She spoke in a soft voice. “Don’t think too much about it, don’t ask too many questions, just come with me.”

My head suddenly felt funny, like something was vibrating inside my skull. I immediately recognized the sensation: it was the same I got from Victor’s hand.

“Wait, you are trying to do something to me.” I gasped in horror. “You did it to Victor too, I felt it! You have an Evol!”

“Well, how the hell was I supposed to make him leave the house, Andy?” She yelled, eyes filled with tears. “I do have an Evol. It’s mind control. I merely suggested that he would leave, that’s all.”

I felt an indescribable rage fill my veins. When would the lies stop?

“That’s all? That’s all?!? You keep lying to us, hiding things from us! That story about your patient, is it real?”

“It doesn’t matter if it’s real, what matters is you are in grave danger! I have been trying to tell you both, but you are too stubborn and he is too cocky to listen! What do you think they’ll do, schedule tea sometime at your best convenience? They will come after you, and with Victor by your side, you might as well have a big glowing X on your back marking the spot! I know he wants to protect you, but he can’t! Nobody can! You need to run!”

“Who the hell are they?!? That organization? Whatever they wanted from Victor, they already have it!” I argued back. “If anything, Victor is the one with a prize on his head, not me. I’m not leaving him to protect myself!”

“That stopped being true the moment you got your Evol back! The moment they figure it out, they will come for you, and all I have done these years, all those lives that were lost to prevent it from happening, will be for nothing!” She closed my bag and took it. “You may not believe a single word I tell you, but believe this. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of all the children that suffered, in that orphanage or others. Knowing that Victor was there…” She shook her head, tears falling from her eyes. “You need to run.”

“I’m not leaving Victor!” I left the room, walking to the kitchen. “I’m not leaving my family.”

“Don’t turn your back on me, young lady!” My mother screamed. “Come back!”

“Make me!”

As I was reaching for the kitchen, my mother grabbed my arm, taking me to the door. Luckily, Victor was just arriving, probably to check up on me.

“What’s going on?” He shot my mother with an icy glare. “Let go of her.”

“I’m sorry.” My mother returned his icy look. “I can’t let you intervene.”

Victor promptly fell on the ground holding his head, screaming in agony. I ran to him.

“What are you doing to him?”

“I just want him to pass out, don’t worry.” She kept her eyes on him while he thrashed on the floor. “Stop resisting, Victor, it will be over soon.”

“I will not let you take her…” He gritted through his teeth, his eyes rolling to the back of his head.

“Enough!” I screamed. “Let him go.”

“I know you hate me now, but one day you will thank me for it.” She made a pained face, her eyes fixed on Victor.

“I said… ENOUGH!”

Reality seemed to warp, turning into itself, only to be released in a snap. When I was finally able to see clearly, my mom was slumped against the wall, panting hard, looking at me with a terrified look on her face.

“Leave.” I ordered bitterly. “I don’t ever want to see your face again.”

I watched the ocean from the backyard, admiring the soothing motion of the waves, going back and forth. I felt still, numb, my brain refusing to contemplate any of the recent events.

“Owen is sleeping.” My husband spoke behind me.

“Did he ask any questions?”

“I told him they had to return to Portugal because they had other affairs to attend to. He understood it.”

“And now I’m lying to my son.” I threw my hands in the air. “Perfect.”

“He doesn’t need to know. It’s what’s best for him.”

I scoffed. It was the same argument my mother used.

“You should have seen her… When she was looking at you.” I shivered and he sat beside me, holding me close. “Her expression was cold, deadly even. She had zero remorse over what she was doing.”

Victor pulled me closer to him, pecking my forehead.

“We will get through this. Together.” He laced my fingers with his, our bracelets clicking together. “Everything will be alright.”

I looked at the man gazing at me lovingly, wondering if I would see that very same deadly expression on his face. This man had blown up a building, killing several people inside it. And by the way he spoke, I was certain he had killed Artemis too.

My heart knew I loved him, and it knew he loved me. He had been nothing more than a victim, forced to draw blood in order to survive. At least that was what I believed. But I couldn’t tell anymore if, looking at my husband, I wasn’t seeing just another shadow on the wall.

#mlqc li zeyan #mlqc victor #victor mldd #love and producer fanfic #victor mlqc #growingtogether #mister love queens choice #victor x oc #love and producer #mlqc fanfic #mldd victor #li zeyan

[ikemen-bully]

#mlqc #mister love queen choice #tot #tears of themis #Lucien mlqc #vyn richter #tot vyn #xu mo

[romancomicsnews]

What the new "Heroes" of Superman Legacy can tell us about the DCU

To somehow everyone's surprise, it seems DC has jumped the Gunn. (See what I did there?)

While many were convinced the antagonists of the 2025's Superman Legacy would be The Authority, The Elite, or even a mixture of the two, it appears for now it may be a prototype version of the Justice League.

James Gunn has casted three JLA members including Isabela Mercad as Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, and Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern AKA Guy Gardner.

While the Authority, the Elite, or even another major Superman villain can play a part, I believe the spot of heroes who "do what they have to" may have been taken.

While this is a shocking turn of events, and one that may be regretful as over world building was the death of the DCEU, I do think these castings and choice of characters tells a good deal about Gunns priorities.

You see, unlike Black Adam, which brought together a team Justice Society members who it seemed Warner Bros said The Rock could have, this team seems purposeful.

So let's go through the characters and see their potential for the DCU:

Starting with the one I'm most excited for:

Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl

You thought I was gonna say Green Lantern, didn't you?

Isabela Merced is a fairly young actress, known for roles like Juliet in Hulu's Rosalind, The Widow Queen in Maya and the Queen, and most famously....

Dora Dora Dora the Explorer.

Merced is a bright young talent, who has been consistently working since 2014 and landed decent roles in big projects. Whether she continues on to be a great character actress or a leading actor, adding Merced in the DCU early almost guarantees having a star down the line.

But even more importantly than any of that, Hawkgirl is a great choice to begin a DCU.

Like Clark, she is an alien, a young hero, and a brawler. The two can find common footing and begin a very heartfelt friendship that can last throughout the DCU.

Unlike her counterpart Hawkman who isn't really any interesting, Hawkgirl was a founding member of the team for many peoples introduction to DC, The Justice League and Justice League Unlimited cartoons.

More than that, her betrayal for her home race of Thanagarians is one of the most iconic parts of the show.

If that is part of the larger narrative Gunn is trying to tell, that tells me Gunn is honoring what fans actually love.

Plus having a Peruvian woman play Hawkgirl just makes my Latinx/Hispanic heart happy.

Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific

I'm glad Darwin is getting another shot at this superhero thing.

Known for his roles in X-Men First Class, Twilight, The Blacklist, and The Harder They Fall, Edi Gathegi has also had a rather impressive career.

I like this trend Gunn has currently with Gathegi, Merced and Corenswet of actors you may recognize but not know.

What's more interesting than the cast is the character.

Mister Terrific is considered the third smartest person in the DC Universe. While he is known to use T-Spheres as a weapon, he also is an extremely skilled hand to hand combatant, a Renaissance man if you will.

To put him in perspective, he often has a friendly rivalry with Batman.

Terrific is a fan favorite character, and one we haven't seen before in film. He can bring a dynamic fighting style, and a perspective of advanced intellect that can challenge Clark. Gunn clearly wants to bring in the characters people love, in a way they don't expect.

Which leads me to:

Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern

Just not the one you're thinking.

I could go into Fillion's history, but you know him. Castle. Firefly. The Rookie. He's an icon.

While he was famously fan casted and even voiced Green Lantern Hal Jordan in several pieces of animated media, Nathan Fillion is now the DCU's Guy Gardner.

Which is, bizarre.

While Fillion is more than a capable enough actor, and has the comedic timing to play the role, I never would've expected a Green Lantern in the first Superman movie, let alone THIS one.

For those not in the know, Guy Gardner is the asshole Green Lantern. He was a football star who suffered a career ending injury in college, and kind of lives in his glory days. He's a more aggressive, often more obnoxious Lantern. Definitely the least heroic of the bunch.

Introducing Guy as the first Green Lantern, and likely leader of the JL that lost their way, makes a lot of sense. It could tempt Clark to be more like Guy, and even better, remind Guy what it means to be a hero.

In any case, character shows me Gunn is not following a specific playbook. There is no order to which Lantern comes first, nor Flash, nor any character.

Which is kind of exciting.

James Gunn has hit us with a huge curveball, basically telling us to expect the unexpected.

Which to me is a breath of fresh air.

If you'd like to support me you can:

Follow me at www.facebook.com/romancomicsnews

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#james gunn #dc universe #superman legacy #superman #hawkgirl #john stewart #justice league unlimited #justice league #green lantern #green lantern corps #mister terrific #mr terrific #isabela merced #nathan fillion #hal jordan #Edi Gathegi #the elite #the authority #dc #dc comics #dceu #dcu #clark kent #lois lane

[liviavanrouge]

Win

Livia: Huh, who's here?

Sebek: Council Head Nilo is here to see you

Livia: Mister Nilo? I'll go see him, you wait here

Sebek: Understood!

~~~

Nilo: Livia, you've gotten big!

Livia: *Smiles wide* Yeah!

Nilo: Let's sit down, I wanna talk with you...

Livia: *Plops down on the couch causing the man to chuckle* What is it?

Nilo: *Looks down then back up, staring at her* You NEED to become the Crowned Princess of the Valley

Livia: *Flinches back startled* WHAT?!

Nilo: Not like that...I need you to become Malleus's heir...

Livia: But, I'm not of royal blood, I'm not a Draconia and the only reason I have the royal mark is because of the Draconia Barrier Mal Mal put on me...

Nilo: Livia, both the queen and Malleus cherishes your company, your presence lit up the castle and made a few people fall back on things

Livia: Hm? Fall back, what do you mean...

Nilo: I can't explain this to you but 'that person' needs to be completely pushed back and that can only happen if Malleus crowns you as his heir

Nilo: You have a right to the throne through Malleus because he took care of you with permission from your father, you are a candidate for his heir....a candidate that a certain person is trying to overrule...

Livia: *Stares at him blankly, her eyes glowing* That damned rogue senate....

Nilo: Hah, been trying to keep them under control as council head, but soon my position will end up in their hands soon enough due to my half blindness...

Livia: *Places a hand in her lap worriedly* So what am I supposed to do?

Nilo: Prove yourself as the rightful heir of Malleus Draconia, almost everyone agrees that this right should belong to you

Nilo: If Malleus ever has a child, you'd still become queen but afterwards the rights of the throne will become that child's rights

Livia: *Smiles, her eyes glowing sinisterly* And the senate would have no choice but to completely back off

Nilo: *Smiles, a glint in his eyes* Exactly....

Livia: *Giggles, smiling* I wonder what would be a worse punishment...death by wolves or beheading

Nilo: *Grins, a glow in his eyes* Death is too merciful, dont you think?

Livia: You're right...they'll spend the rest of their life in a dungeon, the coldest and darkest one there is, where the sunlight never reaches and maggots appear everyday

Nilo: Who taught you to be so cruel, Lady Livia~?

Livia: *Beams* An amazing Council Head

Nilo: They sound great!

Livia: They are great!

Nilo and Livia: *Smiles sinisterly, looking ready for the torture*

Livia: Let the Senate Games begin...

Nilo: I love this game~

Livia: Let's catch a pretty birdie and stuff it into the cage!

Nilo: *Laughs, grinning* Yes, we shall!

~~~~~

Lilia: *Stands out of view scowling*

Silver: Father?

Lilia: I'm worried about this....Livia can get pretty cruel when she has her mind set on making someone pay...

Silver: *Perks up having thought he was upset about Livia being dragged into the drama* She can....

Lilia: *Smiles, chuckling* This game is gonna be quite fun...

#twst livia #twst oc #disney twst #livia vanrouge #twst lilia #twst silver #disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland #twst disney #twisted wonderland disney #lilia vanrouge #lilia #lilia twst #twst lilia vanrouge #twisted wonderland lilia #lilia twisted wonderland #twst nilo #silver #silver twisted wonderland #silver twst #silver vanrouge #twisted wonderland silver #twisted wonderland sebek #sebek zigvolt #sebek #twst sebek #twst sebek zigvolt #sebek twst #sebek twisted wonderland

[sleepybeanmal]

Okay hear me out tho: TWST Boys as Songs in my YouTube Music Shuffle

Note: This is just what I associate them with, partially based on headcanons, but there’s not much rhyme or reason to it so no need to get upset if you don’t think the choice makes sense

HEARTSLABYUL

- Riddle- GRRRLS, AViVA

- Trey- Dear Hearts and Gentle People, Bob Crosby and the Bobcats

- Cater- Thumbs Up, MOMOLAND

- Ace- God Save the Queen, The Sex Pistols

- Deuce- Love Me As Though There Were No Tomorrow, Nat King Cole

- BONUS: ADeuce- Dancing With Myself, Generation X

SAVANACLAW

- Leona- Tear You Apart, She Wants Revenge

- Ruggie- Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked, Cage the Elephant

- Jack- Mister Sandman, The Chordettes

OCTAVINELLE

- Azul- Beyond the Sea, Bobby Darin

- Jade- Brass Devil, Parov Stelar

- Floyd- Crab Rave, Noisestorm

SCARABIA

- Kalim- Jump in the Line, Harry Belafonte

- Jamil- Snake Charmer, Parov Stelar and Kovacs

POMEFIORE

- Vil- POP/STARS, K/DA

- Rook- Vampire, The Orion Experience

- Epel- Kingslayer(feat. BABYMETAL), Bring Me the Horizon

IGNIHYDE

- Idia- Me!Me!Me!, Teddyloid (feat. Daoko)

- Ortho- Doom Crossing: Eternal Horizons, The Chalkeaters

DIASOMNIA

- Malleus- Carnival of the Animals/ XIII, The Swan, Camille Saint-Saëns OR Clair de Lune, Claude Debussy

- Lilia- Hooked on a Feeling, Björn Skiffs OR Take On Me, A-ha OR Never Gonna Give You Up, Rick Astley(Honestly just pick a song and that’s got some memes attached to it and bingo)

- Sebek- Stand By Your Man, Tammy Wynette(Sidenote:This song gets really funny in the context of Sebek as Malleus’s guard/personal retainer and watching Malleus just behave like an absolute crackhead with MC but is otherwise kind of fucked up in the irl context😅)

- Silver- Home(from UNDERTALE, feat. FamilyJules), Adriana Figueroa OR Mountain Hymn, Rhiannon Giddens

#twisted wonderland #twst wonderland #twst #heartslabyul #savanaclaw #octavinelle #scarabia #ignihyde #diasomnia #riddle rosehearts #leona kingscholar #azul ashengrotto #kalim al asim #jamil viper #vil schoenheit #idia shroud #malleus draconia #songfic #kind of #sleepy bean takes

[legends-mania]

Kitchen Queen

"And why do I have to do it?" Sara asked, offended.

"Because you're the one who screwed up the mission," Rip answered. "And I think it's a fair punishment."

"Oh, come on! It could've happened to everybody," Sara basically whined. During the mission she got distracted and failed to do her part of the job, causing a big mess.

"Maybe, but it happened because of you, so quit whining and just make dinner."

"Why not Ray? He loves to cook."

"That's why he does it every week at least twice. You haven't cooked once since you're here."

"I have done other things. It's not like I've been doing nothing all day."

"Come on, Assassin." Leonard came to the conversation. "Is it really that bad to cook?" He smirked.

"Yes it is. But fine. If I have to take care of the food I'll just let Gideon fabricate something." Sara said, still refusing to actually cook.

"No! You are going to cook a whole meal for the team," Rip demanded.

"Fine!" Sara said a little too hard and walked away like a little kid who was sent to their room. Leaving the rest of the team, who had the luxury of hearing the whole conversation.

"So, how is it going?" Leonard asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"Amazing," Sara said sarcastically, running from side to side of the kitchen counter.

"What are you making?" He asked with a frown. From one of the pan's came smoke and he heard the pot perking.

"Pasta," Sara answered, not in the mood for talking.

Leonard walked to the pot where the pasta should be in. "How did you do this?" He asked and when she just raised an eyebrow at him he clarifide himself. "Half of the pasta is overcooked and the other half looks like it's just in the water."

"That's not my fault! It didn't fit in so I just waited till it was all flubber. Now it fits though," Sara said, getting more and more annoyed. "Why?"

"Just because. And what is that?" He asked, pointing at the pan where the smoke came from.

"That's the sauce," Sara said, like it was obvious.

"That's what I thought. I'm sorry to say this, Sara, but you can't fix this."

"What do you mean? It looks fine to me."

"You can't be serious. It is as good as black. It's supposed to be red. And one half of the pasta is too sticky and the other too hard."

"I know," Sara said. Her face fell and Leonard thought it was adorable. "I can't cook. No one ever taught me and I never cared."

"Why didn't you just tell Rip. It could have kept you out of this mess."

"You know I have too much pride to do that."

"What if I tell you that we can make something easy in thirty minutes? We tell the team that you did it and the next time you have to cook I'll help you."

"Realy?" Sara asked.

"Of course, everything for my assassin." And he would never admit it outloud, but the smile that appeared on Sara's face was worth the extra chores.

"Hey, Len?"

"Yes?"

"What went wrong with the pasta?" Sara wanted to know.

"The pot is too small. Because of that the first half of the pasta was already done before the other half was in the water," Leonard explained as he threw away the pasta. "If the pot is too small, you have to break it so it fits."

"Ow. I'll keep it in mind," Sara promised. "But what about the sauce?"

"I don't know what actually happened, but I think you just let it burn. Meaning, you'll have to pay better attention to it."

"Okay," Sara said as she saw the burned sauce go to the trash containmed. "So, what are we going to make?"

"Cooked potatoes with a schnitzel and a salad," he answered. "Gideon, can you give me the ingredients I need?"

"Of course mister Snart," Gideon answered.

"Schnitzel? Interesting choice," Sara said.

Leonard took one of the potatoes and started cutting them. "One time, after a big job went horribly wrong, my sister and I went to Europe to lay low for a while. Germany to be precise. Tried a few new things and picked up a few simple recipes like this."

"And probably stole a few things."

"Of course. Little souvenirs from Europe. After all, I was a tourist. Have you ever been to Europe?"

"A few times. That's one of the few good things about the League. I got to see the world. Twice in Germany actually. Quite an interesting place."

"Yeah, you could say that. Hey, Sara, can you get a pan and put some butter in it?"

"On it!"

Twenty minutes later there was a fully cooked meal on the table.

"Smells good," Ray said as he walked in the kitchen.

"Yeah, I think you did a good job, Sara," Leonard teased, which earned him an elbow from Sara.

"I just hope it's edible," she replied.

"It can't be that bad," Ray said as he took a bite from a potato. "This is actually really good!"

"You know," Rip said after he had taken his first bite, "I was mildly afraid that you couldn't cook like those two." He pointed at Mick and Leonard.

Sara raised an eyebrow at Leonard, since he was basically the one who had cooked this meal. Leonard just winked at her. She knew it was a promise which said I'll explain later.

And later was sooner than expected. Sara was putting the last plates on the counter when Leonard walked in again. "Need some help?" He asked as he grabbed the dishcloth and stood beside Sara. She started to wash the dishes and when they were clean, she gave them to Leonard. He dried them and put them in the right cabinet. This continued for a few minutes until Sara asked something.

"You can't cook, huh?"

"No, I can't," he answered with a smirk.

"Then what did we just eat?"

"Something you cooked, Assassin."

"I wish. But I can't cook. I've never had someone who taught me," she said, handing Leonard another plate. "If it was really up to me, we would've ordered something at Big Belly Burger."

"Wouldn't surprise me," he teased Sara. "But yeah. I told Rip I can't cook, because I don't wanna cook every week. If he thinks I can't cook he won't ask me."

"So that's why all the credits went to me," Sara stated.

"Exactly." But no, it was not the reason. He would've given Sara credits for the food no matter what. "But to your defence, you did a lot."

"I cut the vegetables for the salad. That's it."

"That's not all you did. You did something else important. You learned."

"It's not like I can do it next time."

"Indeed. You can't. Neither could you use a sword after seeing someone do it."

He had a point and Sara knew it. "Alright. But what do you propose? Cooking more often?" Sara laughed.

"If you want to." Sara looked at him and to her surprise he was serious. "I don't like cooking for the team, but I do like to cook with you." He confessed.

"Alright. Maybe tonight wasn't awful. And maybe I would love to do it again," Sara said, looking away. "But I still wanna know how you know how to cook."

"I had to do it a lot for myself and Lisa. My father usually burned things and then he'd get angry. So eventually I started to cook. It was hard, but I made it work back then. And it's a nice survival skill."

Sara laughed while giving him the last pan. She sat on the kitchen counter waiting for Leonard to finish. "Wanna get a beer?"

"Sure."

~

"Where do I put these?" Sara asked, pointing at the noodles.

"In here," Leonard said while he grabbed a pan from one of the cabinets. "Can you get the…"

"Vegetables, seasoning and oil?" Sara finished.

"Exactly," Leonard said. He looked at her as she found everything they needed. They've been doing this for a few weeks now and she started to get it.

He felt something weird. Something he only ever felt with Lisa. He felt proud of his Canary.