#// when will the redecorating of this blog ever end

[starwonderz]

meechi. girl help recreating yet another carrd for me guy

[jubileeena]

BEHOLD: MALWARE AU

So. We all know Turbo. He's kind of the flavour of the month right now. He's a horrible little piece of shit and we love him for that!

As a result of a couple posts that I'll link when I'm on desktop (or you can look through my blog its some of my most recent reblogs) and That One Video Essay I got to thinking about how much of Turbo's actions came from his nature, what cropped up out of desperation and jealousy, and what came from the nightmare virus that ate him. Then I got to writing. A lot. And now I have a monster fanfic that might or might not ever get written but I might actually explode if I don't share some of it.

This snippet revolves around Vanellope, mostly, and my continuous ongoing realization that modding/slightly retexturing video games is actually a lot easier than I thought it was. Enjoy!

Prologue

Vanellope hasn't been a part of her own game for 15 years. It's long since figured out how to function around her, but now King Candy's been dealt with via hot cola insecticide and she adamantly refuses to ride in his little vanilla-white kart. Not with her own baby waiting right there for her.

Except the game really really wants her to.

The kart bakery is supposed to be a fun side minigame. The kart lasts until the player stops feeding the game quarters, then it will restore itself to the default kart for the racer.

She's been carefully ignoring the crackling parts of code that bubble up around her when she revvs the engine too hard for days now, telling herself it was just remnants of her own glitch messing with her driving. But right after she crossed the finish line at the end of the final race of that day, it glitched so badly she was left lying on the track as it rammed itself into the boundary.

She'd spent most of that evening moping around and complaining under her breath about the mess her predecessor had left her - - until she thought huh. If Turbo could program his whole throne-stealing butt into the game, why couldn't she just... Slip in and fix her kart?

Sour Bill didn't seem happy at all when she slipped behind the curtain of her throne room (bleh. Needed to redecorate that soon. Way too princess-y for her taste), but he dutifully agreed to stand guard as she followed the instructions on the handy little piece of paper that lay discarded on the floor.

Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, START

Yes! She jumped into the darkness without thinking, entranced by the nebula of nodes and string of information that made the glitch constantly buzzing under her skin sing.

This is what she was meant for. This was why the game kept her around. It loved her.

Her node was easy to find, set in the center as it was with streams of code coming from it. She blipped up to it, and kicked her feet excitedly as she floated in place, and tapped it to enlarge it.

Wow, it really was easy. All she had to do was find her primary kart file, and swap it with the one in the Bakery's subfolder that held the information for her baby, and that was that. No wonder King Boogerface managed to mess things around so much, if what was all it took.

Task complete, she turned around to try and reorient herself to find the exit again, but a flickering node caught her eye.

It was strobing worse than any of the others, and there was no visible text on it to give any clue as to what it could be. She blipped over to it and tapped on it-

Only to be thrown backwards as it quadrupled in size, mangled streams of code now visible through it's translucent surface.

She glitched again to lose her momentum and stop somersaulting through the void, then back towards the code box. She reached a hand inside and flicked her wrist in a movement she instinctively remembered, and pressed confirm when the prompt came up to clear the cache memory.

It spluttered for a moment, then as if expelling a sickness the darkness bled from the body of the node and dissolved into the void, leaving behind a little red code box, smaller and less defined than the rest, connected to everything with only a thin strand but with it's pixelated text quite clear for her to read, and her breath hitched.

Turbo

[schismusic]

WOLVES IN THE BALLROOM — Yellow Eyes, the LGBTQIA+ community, and the eldritch horrors of isolation

After biding my time for a really long time, these last few days I've been giving Immersion Trench Reverie a go. Yellow Eyes have, in a small capacity, appeared on this blog — possibly on the Redecorating post? — with their latest record, Master's Murmur, which is slightly different from the rest of their output. Basically imagine drawing out one of those intros/endings from their usual stuff, add the usual screaming vocals from Will Skarstad and twelve-string guitar and you're golden, except it works surprisingly well. Like most of you know, my relationship with metal is usually fairly rocky (haha), or at least it usually is, minus a couple of exceptions. Today we take a look at one of the exceptions.

A while back I attended my first kiki. For the uninitiated, a kiki is a ballroom event (in the LGBTQIA+ way, not in the eighteenth-century way) where people new to the discipline can begin showing — and potentially honing — their skills in a completely free manner. This last part, specifically, I did not know, and admittedly I didn't even know the kiki was supposed to be just a rehearsal space of sorts, and like most scenarios like that it brought back old memories of breakdancing and having a remotely positive body image, which made me (gasp!) want to dance. And so I did! I mean, it's not as simple as that, I just did some runway and even a couple seconds of sex siren because I am a showoff — and thank God there is no video evidence of that, I am really bad at being sexy — but still, I put myself in front of what might have been some two hundred people and did my thing, potentially getting some people hyped in the process. Crazy shit, right?

I realize there is some inherent irony in mentioning gay people in a post about black metal*. But it's also the most recent situation that allows me to discuss a certain element of discomfort, and the ability to overcome it. The reason why the kids over at KikiBolo were able to make me dance has to do with generating a good, safe, welcoming environment that still has the elements of performance and an edge to it. Their own rights are a political playground (to call it a "battleground" would imply that politics and politicians, at large, care about people instead of simply using issues as propaganda bullet points and electioneering buzzwords, but this simply isn't the case in Italy anymore — assuming it ever was anywhere, which is debatable), their own existence is more or less directly endangered every step of the way, and yet they dance and fight and live alongside one another to see another day, every day. This shiny surface — the dancefloor, the realness, the being extra and the celebratory openness and transparence of presentation displayed by all of these performers and attendants — has profound roots in incomprehensible discomfort, alterity, danger, inhospitality: eldritch beasts looming behind every corner that simply have to be taken into account when discussing all forms of resistance, whether strictly artistic or not, in situations like these.

Yellow Eyes' main songwriting duo is brothers Will and Sam Skarstad, with contributions from bassist Alex DeMaria. Drummer Mike Rekevics completes the lineup. As it turns out the Skarstad brothers were the children of violinmaker Brian, from whom Will took up the mantle running Skarstad Violins to this very day, and a composer who was routinely exposing her children to all varieties of musical traditions. Incidentally, Will's girlfriend (as of this 2016 Vice interview; in another piece, from 2017 and once again on Vice, she's referred to as "[his] wife Natasha") is from Siberia, and Immersion Trench Reverie admittedly takes a lot of inspiration from the Siberian landscape. The formative metal experience of the duo was with bands like Opeth, which led to this signature style that not many in black metal seem to adhere to: the two guitars interlock and weave into and out of each other repeatedly, forming a violent assault that still somehow manages to retain a very twisted, wistful melodicism. The harmonic richness of the matter never seems to go into auditory overload, incredibly, which might be one of the most surprising aspects of the whole ordeal, and the band display a keen sense of atmosphere throughout. To be fair, this is not uncommon to black metal bands in general; it's just that Yellow Eyes seem very conscious in some application of that idea, not just in their famed intro and outro sequences often sampling field recordings the band made themselves or even non-Western forms of music of all sorts (most notably Russian Orthodox chants and bells of all sorts) but in the songs' structural cores and tout-court arrangements as well.

In reading a Metal Injection interview done around the release of Rare Field Ceiling, the Skarstad brothers mention Arvo Pärt as a point of reference for their arrangements, and in a very ass-backwards way, it actually makes a lot of sense. We've already mentioned bells (aka tintinnabula, just to be clear for everyone), but pastoral aesthetics sometimes pop out in the mix as well: acoustic guitars and organ drones, sure, like in the very ending to Ice in the Spring, but also tremolo-picked guitar parts rigged to ring out into each other and provoke interesting acoustic phenomena that give the impression of bagpipes, launeddas even. The thrashing impact of the drums, more often than not simpler than you would expect in a black metal band, and spectacularly intelligible yet unintrusive bass guitar round the compositions off. The effect is actually much closer to a deviant, dark, perhaps inverted Pärt-like tintinnabula arrangement than you would expect given a general description of the band's sound. But, realistically, no one really gives a shit about harmonic analysis of a black metal band. What got me hooked on the band was precisely the cold and loneliness radiating from even their busiest moments.

A while back, must have been last October going off the top of my head, Yellow Eyes announced they would release a new record in this current year; as an appetizer, they released an EP titled Master's Murmur. A full-band electric version of the title track has been played by the band live in their latest live appearances. But that's not even the point, really. Master's Murmur plays like a placidly twisted amalgam of all the sensitivities the band have displayed over their last three records, but takes an approach that would leave most somewhat surprised: the aggressive vocals are essentially left unaltered, and so is the odd black metal all-out assault (as testified by the electric version of the title track the band have been playing lately), but at the same time the record is on average much more oriented to acoustic guitars, especially twelve-stringed, and the signature guitar interplay slows down, becomes more granular and understandable. This leads to absolutely stunning results like the intro to Tremble Blue Morning, where the extended instrumentation gives out a sense of sun rays breaking through thick layers of grey clouds. Or even the stunning sense of wonder radiating from that sudden guitar harmony in Garden Trick, closing off the record with an unexpected pang.

This is it, I think. This has got to be it. For the longest time I thought of my body as an obstacle to some sort of "purer" form of existence. Something out of a Star Trek episode, almost, one of the more psychedelic ones so to speak. It's a weird feeling, I wouldn't necessarily call it body dysmorphia, it's more the idea that existing on the physical plane is an immense shame to me and everyone else involved. I don't usually delve too much into lyrics for some reason — I guess I was always attracted, first and foremost, to music that makes the most of its timbral properties, the way sounds trickle and flow or hammer and stab or compel to physical movement… — and yet at the same time I can still feel that sense of reality bending, individual perception failing, deep longing if not mourning that the songs seem to recount. Forms of asceticism find their way into these Brooklynites' sound. They find a way to speak to the most isolated.

Back to the kiki metaphor: in preparation for this article I've been doing some research concerning ballroom culture, which of course led me to the Pose series. Major props to the actors for that and set designers for this, but it's hard to look at some of these characters' faces and not be immediately overwrought with despair for the frankly horrifying state their world — and the world at large, if we have to consider records like Deceit, Holy Money or even Prince's 1999's outlook — is in. The AIDS epidemic, a matter so big it has profound yet painfully tangible repercussions on the LGBTQIA+ community to this day, was only a drop in an ocean of day-to-day uncertainty that ranged from, potentially, simply having enough money to put some dinner on the table to international superpowers playing a DEFCON game of chicken with one another. Unsurprisingly, forty years later, we are not that far off from that point: apartheid states receive almost-worldwide support by virtue of monetary interests; racism and homophobia roam the streets of mass information just as much as outright war propaganda trying, more or less openly, to tell us about how "inevitable" a conflict is (not so surprising, ultimately, to realize how no one in the news broadcasting business has ever read Asimov); the climate of the planet still suffers from what inconsiderate consumption of resources happened between the 1970s and the 1990s — and as most of you might have gathered by now, Exxon knew all along: so fuck right off with your individual carbon footprint bullshit. And yet these people dance and fight and live alongside one another to see another day, every day.

Looking back at the earliest black metal bands we see a lot of punk inspiration (Tom G. Warrior of Celtic Frost even going as far as to mention Discharge as a main source of inspiration), or how some of the most renowned names in the genre hail from notoriously problematic geopolitical areas (consider for instance Sarcófago, from Brazil, or Rotting Christ, from Greece — a country which, might I remind you, was less than fifteen years out of a military dictatorship at the time of the band's inception). Black metal is, at heart, a music of discontent, fast and loud, played on instruments being taken to (and beyond) all reasonable limits by people who are often by their own admission not professional musicians, nor do they ever plan to be. A friend of mine liked to joke that "blackened" punk simply didn't work because black metal already is a subgenre of punk, and upsetting the delicate balance simply fucks everything up. Very clearly, Yellow Eyes are able to, if not feel, at least conjure that element of despair and inadequacy in a bold, stark, powerful manner. Theirs is a flirtation with the borders of mania, a dance on a frozen quagmire of madness that lets so much method, and care, and beauty shine through for those willing to spend the time getting acquainted with it, combing every hair of it to find the live flesh under it.

*It should be brought to the reader's attention that the LGBTQIA+ community still holds the very concept of metal quite dear to its heart — regardless of the unfortunate situations that take place in some of the worst circles in the genre. This, necessarily, brought its own wave of metal artists tied more or less directly to the community, and I would love to delve deeper into the topic, but I've been going on for god knows how many characters at this point. That's gonna have to be a different post, I think.

[notesbyash]

hello, long time no see. how are you? i hope you’re well.

a bit of news to share, some thoughts that I’ve been turning around. I’ve decided that this blog needs a bit of a tonal shift and have made an alteration to my username. as you may have guessed by now quinn isn’t/wasn’t my legal name but rather a pen name used to keep my identity a bit more under wraps. understandable, i think many of us who have been on the internet for a while (or grown up with it as is my case) have picked up the habit. or maybe not; i’ve always been rather guarded about myself online.

it’s official: i’ll be starting a PhD soon. this fall actually. i’d like to keep posting here but PhD work naturally becomes more specified and thus easier to backtrack to find the person behind the screen. i’ve considered just closing this account but i’d like to help other students and young academics as much as i can through sharing my struggles and experiences in an attempt to at least let someone somewhere know that they aren’t alone. that it will always be better in the end.

i’ve done a lot of healing in the time that i’ve been here, and in the time i’ve been away. there’s been far fewer posts of aesthetically handwritten notes and fancy coffees and old books, a shift away from the dark academic and rather dramatic persona i took on at first. i’ve grown to accept parts of myself i’ve spent so long trying to reject, but in doing so realized i made that rejection a cornerstone of the persona epitomized by my previous moniker.

when i started this blog i wanted to push parts of myself away, to adopt a facade of someone cool, calm, and collected. someone unaffected, elegantly detached, twirling away in the world of theory and grand ideas. but i’m not like that. no matter how much i try, i’ve come to understand that that can never truly be me. i get far too wrapped up in the work that i do, far too personally and emotionally invested to be able to skate above it all or maintain the air of aloofness i once so desperately wished to have. i am messy and chaotic and anxious and shy. i write more smoothly than i’ll ever speak; talk too quickly in overlapping thoughts that come out in fragments that end to abruptly or not at all. there’s an softness to me i cannot shake away, an uncertainty i cannot cut out. a tendency to monologue and write for far too long (thank you for bearing with me even this long). an instability of energy, a desperation to know more, always more. an over-attachment to the things i study and the things i love.

to continue under the name quinn now feels disingenuous, and i don’t tend to enjoy that. there are boundaries to what i have shared and will continue to of course, but i’d rather do so under pen name that better reflects who i am, even the unpolished parts, rather than who i’m trying to perform as. i feel i owe myself that much. can’t heal from wearing one mask by putting on another one.

there may be some cosmetic changes to my layout in the near future, some casual redecorating. i’ll be updating my pinned post over time, editing my tagging system to reflect the change. but for now i just wanted to say…

hello. how are you? i hope you are well. you can call me ash.

[watchingspnagain]

Rewatching Are You There, God? It’s Me, Dean Winchester

Welcome to “I Think That Means Sam Is Grover: A Supernatural Rewatch Blog” with Lor and Mace!

  Up today, s4e2: Are You There God? It’s Me, Dean Winchester.

 Dean’s not convinced Cas is who he says he is—not just because he’s having a hard time wrapping his head around angels, but also because he thinks it’s unfathomable that God would choose to save *him* or recruit him for anything. Meanwhile, hunters are dying off weird and bloody. Sam, Dean, and Bobby look into it and discover that spirits of the dead are being risen and bound to someone to do as they are bidden. The spirits of Meg, Victor, Ronald, and two little girls that Bobby couldn’t save come for the boys and Bobby, and Dean, in particular, is eaten up with guilt over his inability to save everyone. The episode ends with a late-night visit from Cas where he reveals to Dean that Lilith is trying to break the 66 seals that will allow Lucifer to rise. You could cut the sexual tension between them with a floppy feather.

 Below is a log of our real-time reactions as we watched. Remember that there may be spoilers for any part of SPN’s 15-season run here. Note also that the nature of our conversation is adult and thus it may contain adult language and themes.

 [and we begin:]

  Lor:

 nnnngggg Cas

 Mace:

 CAS

 YAS

  Lor:

 LOL YES

Mace:

 this is a LONG intro

  Lor:

 I was just gonna say!

did they think people FORGOT?

 Mace:

 “because we have work for you” I have some work for you, Cas...

  Lor:

 LOLOLOL

 ooo Hunter living in a space that could just as easily be 25 years ago as it could be when it is set

 Mace:

 YES

 she looks amazing in that shirt

  Lor:

 YES

there is nothing like a woman in a scoop or v-neck t-shirt that fits her perfect

 Mace:

 YESYESYES

  Lor:

 "groped by an angel"

DEEEEEAN

 Mace:

 OMG

 DON'T EAT THAT DEAN

  Lor:

 "yeah, you just did, Dean"

Hahaha Sammy

 Mace:

 Fairy dust, Dean? I don’t think that’s PC

  Lor:

 omg Dean in his Henley over a t-shirt. he's all snuggy

 Mace:

 YAS

  Lor:

 HAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA

 the way he rubs his shoulder

 Mace:

 it’s not “cuniform” Bobby. Christ.

 YAS

  Lor:

 LOLOLOLOLOL

 Vegas money has been on yeah ALL ALONG. your incantations and shit WORK

 Mace:

 “who actually gives a crap about me?” OH DEAN

 oh DEAN HONEY

  Lor:

 RIGHT?

EVERYONE HUG HIM

 "I don't like getting singled out at birthday parties" oh MUFFIN

 Mace:

 aw, he’s an INTROVERT

  Lor:

 he IS

 "you're gonna get me some pie"

 Mace:

 YAS HE NEEDS PIE

  Lor:

 remember later when the bunker is full of strangers and he hides in his room? MY SOULMATE

 Mace:

 ALWAYS YOU ALWAYS FORGET THE PIE SAMMY

  Lor:

 RIGHT?

when has he ever REMEMBERED THE PIE

 Mace:

 HAHAHAH

  Lor:

 (actually my headcanon is that he never forgets the pie. he deliberately doesn't get it because he's a little brother)

 Mace:

 (oh i assumed that that’s actual canon because OF COURSE)

  Lor:

 no, Sam, she's a waitress at a diner who needs to know about angels

 (YES)

 Mace:

 HAHAHAHA

  Lor:

 "something's up, huh?"

pets him

 Mace:

 YES

 ew

  Lor:

 yeah, seriously gross

 Mace:

 “they’ve redecorated. in red”

HAHHA BOBBY

  Lor:

 BOBBYYYY

 OMG Dean asleep and letting Sam drive

 Mace:

 YES

  Lor:

 nope. Victor would 100% appear to Dean first

 Mace:

 HAHAHAHA

agreed

 ooof

  Lor:

 spooky kids. always with the spooky kids

 Mace:

 “don’t think at all” omg Dean

  Lor:

 YES

 Sam gets all in his head and fretful and Dean is all frantic nervous energy

 Mace:

 YES

 i love Bobby’s half creepy half cozy half absolute fucking mess house

  Lor:

 YES

 Mace:

 look, I don’t like demon meg much either, but lady? women can dress the way they want without judgment

  Lor:

 RIGHT?

 And she's not exactly not showing skin herself. like, don't be misogynistic and especially don't be a hypocrite about it

 Mace:

 EXACTLY

  Lor:

 ooooof Dean

hon, it's not your fault

not EVERYTHING is your fault

 Mace:

 he needs all the hugs this ep

  Lor:

 he really does

 he doesn't think he's a hero

 Mace:

 no he doesn't

  Lor:

 oh Dean

 Mace:

 yep

 SAMMY

  Lor:

 oooof

they are getting so beat up

 Mace:

 SMARTY DEAN

  Lor:

 oooo clever Dean

 Mace:

 they really are

  Lor:

 I call shenanigans on Dean being able to stand up straight and walk around (more evidence for our theory about when the injuries last)

 Mace:

 YES

  Lor:

 "I had a weekend off"

 Mace:

 YAS

 “you’re awesome” DED

  Lor:

 I love that Dean tells Bobby he's awesome

 YES

 "if he is out there, what's wrong with him?"

"why doesn't he help?"

I love that Dean has this crisis

AND that they come back to it waaaaay later

 Mace:

 I’m still having that crisis, Dean

  Lor:

 YEP

 "tourists"

 aaaaaah I love it when they say something at the same time

 Mace:

 YES

 They need Buffy to give them a seminar on apocalypses

  Lor:

 he wants to go to the Star Trek Experience. LET’S GO, DEAN. LET'S GET SHIT AT THE GIFTSHOP

 YES

 Mace:

 HAHAHAHA YES

  Lor:

 "aim careful"

I love Bobby

 Mace:

 i love bobby

 HAHAHAHA

  Lor:

 HAAHAAAAHAHA

 awww Ronald

 Mace:

 oh boy

 “don’t talk” HAHAHA

  Lor:

 okay, Ronald, hon, I like you, buddy, and I KNOW Dean feels terrible about your death, but you are dead because of you

 YES

 Mace:

 yep

 “opium?”

  Lor:

 YES

and the little hand gesture he makes when Bobby tells him to go

 Mace:

 YES

  Lor:

 this is SUCH a good way to set up some of the major themes of this season. Sam's a monster, Dean doesn't think he's worthy

 Mace:

 AGREED

 but there isn’t any Cas and that’s a problem for me

  Lor:

 I think he shows up for a minute at the end?

 oh DEAN

his trembly lip I CANNOT

 Mace:

 omg DEAN

  Lor:

 I LOVE when Dean says no when someone asks if he's all right

 Mace:

 “you alright?” “no” the truthiest truth he’s ever spoken

 YES

  Lor:

 YAAAAS

 "I'm not a cheeseburger" SNORK

 Mace:

 HAHAHAHA

  Lor:

 ...dammit. now I want one

 Mace:

 and now I want a cheeseburger

 AHAHAHAHA

  Lor:

 MACE

OMG us today

 Mace:

 YAAASSS

  Lor:

 where do they get these little girls who do the creepy thing SO WELL?

 Mace:

 RIGHT?!?!

  Lor:

 actually, you know what, never mind. I remember being a little girl. we dark as fuck sometimes

 Mace:

 SNORK!!!!

  Lor:

 Dean sleeps on the floor so Sammy can have the couch

(though I do not believe for a second this house doesn't have more than one bedroom)

 GOD Cas just leaning on the sink like that

 Mace:

 right?! what does bobby have in all those upstairs rooms!

 YASYASYAS

 “not dicks” HAHAHA

  Lor:

 "Michael Landon. Not dicks"

 YAAAAS

 LIAR. you are 100% there to perch on his shoulder

 Mace:

 YES

  Lor:

 omg Cas raising his hands and Dean's little "did I just threaten an angel of the lord?" face

 Mace:

 HAHAHAHA YEP

there is SO MUCH TENSION

  Lor:

 RIGHT?

they are standing SO CLOSE TO EACH OTHER

 the LIGHTING

 Mace:

 YES

  Lor:

 the EXTREME closeups where you can't NOT focus on their lips and their eyes

 Mace:

 YEP

 Misha doesn’t blink and I love that

  Lor:

 and the Dom/sub undercurrent. I like this scene a normal amount vibrates at a frequency unknown to science

 YES

 Mace:

 HAHAHAHA AGREED

 the way Dean gets uncomfortable when Cas leans in

  Lor:

 omg that lean in and "you should show me some respect"

 YAAAAAS

 Mace:

 YESYESYES

  Lor:

 and then he's gone and Dean's leaning on the sink

I cannoooooot

and the cut to him waking up on the floor

 Mace:

 sock-footed Sammy OMG

  Lor:

 the first time I watched this ep, I wondered if only Dean could see Cas

 YES

 Mace:

 oh INTERESTING

  Lor:

 which would have been an interesting way to go, at least for a little bit

 Mace:

 Ha! Cas as Snuffleupagus to Dean’s Big Bird I LOVE IT

  Lor:

 OMG YES

I need that fanart

 Mace:

 YAAASSS

[deluweil]

Thank you I love your blog and your answers. I completely agree with you, I think one of the things that made this episode not liked by many is all the time they gave to the Buckleys, ok the dream but in the real world we should have seen the people we care about, the scenes with may/Athena and may/Bobby were great because we care about them, and seeing the lacking of eddie, we should have seen a scene with him and hen talking about how they felt, instead we got the new couch

Thank you, so kind 💜💜

In the dream, it made sense that they'd be there because this was a world of what if Daniel had lived.

But in the real world, they should have shown us the effect it had on the people we see in the firehouse or the regular characters that are normally connected to Buck.

Tbh, I feel like maybe we didn't get the bedside vigil or confession, but I think it just pained Eddie to physically be there, see Buck like that. - I'm going to make a full 6x11 Eddie meta once I land in Madrid. But the little that we did see of Eddie was enough for now.

Would it have been nice to see more, absolutely, but what we did get was so loud that a credit really is owed to Ryan's brilliant acting. And it says a lot about Eddie's bond with Buck.

We're all upset at the unnecessary over-attention to the Buckleys in the real world, but what we did get from the regular cast was just as good.

There's this thing my sister laughs and loves that I do, I watch things deluweil style, meaning once I've seen the episode once, I pretty much fast forward the parts that don't interests me, and helps me focus on what's there.

At this point, my mind is like, and were the Buckleys really ever there? 😂

Obviously, yes, but also no, because according to Oliver, they're gone by the next episode, and whatever aftermath left to deal with will be done by the true ppl who love and understand Buck.

Eddie probably more than anyone.

That stupid couch, the man is out of the hospital, and she's focusing on redecorating the place instead of marching him up to bed.

Kind of reminded me when my mom comes to visit. Nothing is ever at the same place by the time she goes home. And somehow she's always cleaning - and I swear I keep my place clean lmao. Also, one of the reasons I prefer to be alone when I'm sick is that I don't have to pretend I'm fine for anyone's benefit.

But we digress, I would love a firehouse chat between Eddie and Hen, like the one they had after Karen nearly died, and Denny started asking about his dad.

I want them talking about Christopher and how he's dealing with Buck almost dying and how's Eddie holding up.

Because after the bomb and the embolism, a different Eddie told Buck in different words, that Buck nearly died, he's got the rest of his life ahead of him, and that his life didn't end because he can't be a firefighter. - what he meant was we're grateful you're not dead, you are loved whether you're a firefighter or not and preceeded to give him Christopher to watch over. (3x02 if I'm not mistaken)

Therapized Eddie, I'm betting, will be more forthcoming this time around. And I am here waiting for it. 👀🙏✨️💜🤗

[theamericanhomefurniture]

Discover the Top Furniture Brands to Watch in 2024 with Insights from American Home Furniture

As we step into 2024, the world of furniture design and innovation is more exciting than ever. With trends constantly evolving, it’s essential to stay ahead of the curve, especially when it comes to choosing the perfect pieces for your home. Whether you’re in the market for contemporary designs, timeless classics, or cutting-edge innovation, knowing the top furniture brands can make all the difference in your home makeover journey.

Why Knowing the Best Brands Matters

Choosing the right furniture isn’t just about aesthetics — it’s about quality, durability, and aligning with your personal style. The brands featured in American Home Furniture’s latest blog are known for their craftsmanship, innovative designs, and commitment to sustainability, making them standout choices for any homeowner looking to invest in quality furniture.

Highlights from the Top Brands of 2024

American Home Furniture’s blog post offers a comprehensive overview of the top furniture brands that are set to define the trends in 2024. Here’s a sneak peek at what you can expect:

Innovative Design Leaders: Brands that are pushing the boundaries of design, introducing new concepts that blend form and function seamlessly.

Sustainable Choices: With a growing emphasis on eco-friendly practices, some of the top brands are leading the way in using sustainable materials and processes, making it easier for you to furnish your home responsibly.

Timeless Classics: If you’re a fan of traditional styles that never go out of fashion, the blog highlights brands that continue to deliver timeless pieces, ensuring your furniture remains stylish year after year.

Luxury and Comfort: For those who seek the ultimate in luxury and comfort, the featured brands offer high-end options that bring elegance and coziness to your living spaces.

Affordable Quality: Quality doesn’t always have to come with a hefty price tag. Discover brands that offer exceptional value, combining affordability with durability and style.

Get Ahead of the Trends with American Home Furniture

Whether you’re redecorating your entire home or just looking to add a few statement pieces, knowing which brands are leading the charge in 2024 can help you make informed decisions. The blog post, Top 10 Best Furniture Brands to Watch in 2024, is your go-to guide for exploring the brands that are set to influence the furniture industry this year.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to stay ahead of the trends. Visit the full article here to discover the top furniture brands that will help you create a stylish and comfortable home in 2024.

[carlacachu]

Tempted to say “Lord, ibalato/iregalo Mo na po ito please sa akin”. Then I realized how His ways, His plans are better and beyond mine and imagination combined.

So Lord, let Your will be done po.

2 years ago today, I learned I was removed, or should I say “kicked out” of the program I joined and worked so hard for, for almost 3 years because I failed to comply the necessary requirements. It was a PhD program in an equally prestigious university here in the Philippines. I should say, though, that it is the university’s requirement that we do not fail more than 1 subject; otherwise, we’re out. And it all happened in the First Semester of the pandemic.

I originally planned to enroll only 1 subject because work is even more demanding than it usually was. But my professor persuaded me, but really, I felt coerced to take the other subject alongside the only 1 I meant to enroll. Honestly, I found it terribly challenging to focus that time. It was not that I was constantly home that made it hard and prior to that I was often out somewhere studying because it was easier for me to focus then. But the fact that my Lolo (grandfather, my dad’s side) who had a history of sexual assault that really affected me to my core.

I posted my story way, way back about my history on this subject. But as a person who had not really healed from this experience, my grandfather living with us due to his condition placed my mental health in jeopardy. I barely stepped out of the room if not for a quick pee or the need to take a shower. I had a hard time sleeping because I felt the need to stay awake all night so he wouldn’t be able to come in and harass me. It eventually led me to filling up my bedroom with lots of plants, painting it all white from 10:00pm until 5:00am, redecorating and all to make the room my home; the safest place I could ever be. I stopped joining family meals because I can’t bear sitting next to my grandpa. And while my dad wasn’t aware, my mom was. Because she knows what happened to me in relation to my Lolo’s criminal past.

Alas, before the semester ended, I had to take an F from the only subject I originally planned on taking. It was because I was lagging behind on the requirements and my professor, while kind, also had his deadline. The other subject, however, since I was able to submit a few papers before the closing of their system, I was given an INC or incomplete. I could still make it. Or at least I thought I could.

Eventually, I got married. We initially planned to hold the wedding later in 2021 but my then-boyfriend-now-husband decided we’ll pull the dates closer to sort of ease me from my burden. Before we were even wed, my Lolo was sent off to live with one of my aunts. Months after I got married, though, things took a turn for the worst.

No longer detailing what happened, because believe me when I say there’s so much to say about it. So many things happened; more sad days than happy ones, until I received an email from the university registrar saying I am kicked out of the program due to my failure to comply.

I messaged my other professor, the chair of the department, and showed her the message and only responded with, “I’m sorry. Perhaps a different program is more fitting for you.” I sent my professor an email and he expressed his sincere apologies about it. There was nothing they could do, actually. It was all my fault.

Maybe I wasn’t mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and maybe even physically prepared for it. PhD, after all, is a huge leap. And this leap caused me to lose my self-esteem even more because I felt out of place all the time. But that’s for another blog, I guess.

2 years later, here’s me. Trying again, in my early 30s. God has placed the desire in my heart to pursue this and I pray He will bless it too. I pray He will always keep my heart and mind on His hand always that I will remain focused and strong enough to finish this.

This is why I was grateful to have lost the other job.

At my now-only-fulltime job (teaching), I am given the convenience of lessening load although it is still demanding as ever. I feel like this is the Lord removing my ‘negotiables’, the things I can forgo so I am prepared to take this on. I’m praying that this notion is right.

[wardenparker]

Necessary Arrangements: ch 4

Will Miller x female Reader A Princess Diaries inspired Triple Frontier AU Co-written with @steeevienicks​

Upon returning from Colombia with one fewer member of his former special forces team, Will Miller is met with the revelation that his absent father is dying and Will is expected to take over the family business. Which would be fine, if the family business weren’t the running of an entire small nation. This is Will’s chance to start over and do some good in the world - but how will he cope with his new life and the woman he is supposed to spend it with?

Rating: Teen, but as always this blog is 18+! Word Count: 9.9k Warnings: *Blanket warnings for this series include family death, cursing, and food descriptions.*  The usual cursing, food, and fluff here. Mention of break ups and of Frankie’s addiction issue, but nothing too heavy. Summary: The Delta boys descend on the royal palace, and some of them might start to get comfortable in Freidlyn a lot faster than they ever thought.  Notes: Love is in the air and we are making absolutely no apologies for it 💖

Ch 1 ~ Ch 2 ~ Ch 3

The next day feels like an unruly marathon despite how orderly it is. The morning church service ended up being a free-for-all of paparazzi trying to get photographs of the new king, and when Will had instinctively reached for your hand to bring you inside the building away from the flashing bulbs, chaos had ensued.

At least his friends’ travel plans had all gone steadily. The private jet normally reserved for diplomats or special visitors had been dispatched last night so it could land in North Carolina and refuel before the morning. All three men and little baby Xiomara Morales were safely on board and on schedule. Almost all of Will’s day after arriving back at the palace has been spent with the royal tailor being precisely measured and fitted, or with the palace interior designer, saying yes or no to the hundreds of tiny decisions about what the redecoration of his suite will look like. It is immense, and by the time you appear in his sitting room at half past five, he looks like his eyes are about to cross from being overwhelmed. “I’m very sorry to interrupt, Madame Tetroux, but his Majesty needs to change for dinner. His guests will be arriving soon.”

Will perks up at that. This day had been a lot for sure, and while he was prepared for paparazzi that morning, he was not prepared for that many. Will gets up and goes over to the closet, his suit hung up and ready to be worn to dinner. It fits like a glove, and he can’t help but admire how it looks in the full-length mirror. The pants and jacket are black and the white button up and green tie complete the look. This is definitely the most expensive thing he has ever put on his body. He grabs the emerald cufflinks from a little wooden box and walks out of his closet to where you’re sitting. “Could you help me with these?” He asks timidly.

“Of course.” Cuff links are easy enough for a second person, and you settle them in place quickly. “You know, it might make your life easier if you took on a valet sooner rather than later,” you hum, straightening his tie just a smidge. “Let someone else pick out your clothes and make sure you don’t have a tag sticking out by accident? It’s one less thing to worry about.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” He chuckles. “Do I look okay? I like the suit, but I’ve never worn anything so…perfect before. So I feel a little…I don’t know. Uncomfortable? No, that’s not it. Out of place, maybe? Which, ha, I shouldn’t be considering all of this.” He thinks once he sees his friends, he won’t feel so strange, like having familiar faces will put him at ease. “You look beautiful, by the way.” He glances up and down noticing the dress you have on for the evening. Fitting perfectly and the shimmer of your jewelry suiting your skin tone and eyes beautifully.

"You look very handsome." And that is the absolute honest truth without a hint of embellishment. "If it helps, try to think of these clothes as your uniform, for now. I'm sure you were uncomfortable in your uniform when you first joined the military, but you grew used to it. This is no different." With a small smirk, you lift up your ankle a little to show him your high heeled shoe. "These have been a part of my uniform for so long that I barely ever feel pain from them anymore."

“I don’t know how you ladies ever get used to those death traps, but I have to say they look very good.” He’s always admired a woman in heels, no matter how much it hurt his ankles just looking at them. “That’s a good point though. I was uncomfortable in those scratchy uniforms at first but after a while you just kind of forget about it. See, this is one of the many reasons I need you around – you just make things make sense to me.”

"Probably the most uncomfortable you'll be in your own clothes from now on is when you have to wear a dress uniform." There is a small piece of lint on the lapel of his suit that you pick away easily, offering him an encouraging smile. "Although that will be at both our wedding and coronation, so I promise in advance to make sure you have your favourite things to sleep in when you finally get to sleep those nights." You have no intention of breaching the topic of sharing a bed, but you can at least make sure he is taken care of. Consummation will happen whenever it happens. You've only known each other for two days.

“What would I do without you, Plum?” He asks. He has also thought about sleeping arrangements, but isn’t sure how or when to bring that up to you. Ultimately deciding that it would be your choice whether or not the two of you would share a bed. “Seriously, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to thank you enough for how kind and gracious you’ve been these last few days. I probably seem like a fuckin’ idiot, but I’m trying, and I’ve actually been learning a lot.” He grabs your hand from where you’ve been picking the small pieces of lint off his label and brings your hand to his lips, leaving a lingering kiss there. There’s a moment where the two of you are quiet, just looking into each other’s eyes; a peaceful moment in the chaos of the last two days…which is interrupted by a brisk knock on his door.

“Sire? Your guests have arrived.” It’s Minna.

“Thank you, Mlle. Thorn.” The spell of the moment is broken just like that, and you offer the other woman a grateful smile. She has been working herself ragged since the car accident and you are more appreciative of her help than you can say. “We’ll be down directly.” If you can have just one more stolen moment of his sweetness, you will certainly take it.

“Are you ready to meet my brother and friends?” Will asks, squeezing your hand one last time before letting go. Out of habit now he offers his arm for you to take, smiling when your arm loops through his perfectly. “If they ask something you don’t feel comfortable answering, please just tell them to fuck off. They’ll be fine.”

“I’ll be slightly more articulate than that, but I don’t have any trouble expressing myself.” You tease, offering him an encouraging grin. The walk from the residential wing of the palace to the formal dining room takes a few minutes but you and Will are both brisk walkers when you have reason to be. He’s excited to see them, that’s obvious, and to be honest you find it very sweet. Now all you can do is pray they like you.

Benny, Frankie, Xi, and Santi have been escorted to the dining hall – all of them, except Xi, who is passed out on her father’s shoulder – are looking around with wide eyes. None of them have ever seen anything like this in real life before, and never imagined a place like this actually existed.

“I told you I wasn’t bullshitting.” Will laughs as he walks up and hugs each of his friends and brother. “Thank you for coming. It’s good to see you all.”

“This is—” Benny would normally whistle but he doesn’t want to wake Xi, so he just blows out a long breath. “This is un-fucking-believable. No wonder Mom was always so cagey about your dad when we used to ask. Jesus…”

“Yeah, can’t say that I blame her.” Will laughs, patting his brother on the back. “I don’t think either of us would have kept quiet about this place had we known when we were kids. How was the flight?”

“Beat the hell out of every bare bones transport we ever took,” Frankie laughs. “Xi didn’t like take off, but we took turns reading and playing with her and she knocked out somewhere over the Atlantic. Woke up again over England and we started the whole thing again. Now she’s…” He shrugs a little bit but is careful not to disturb his sleeping angel. “She always falls asleep on a car ride. It works like a charm.”

“I’m glad little miss got some sleep. Hope you did too.” Will smiles as he holds his arms out for the small baby. A gesture that makes your heart flutter. He takes Xi in his arms and cuddles her against his broad chest – he looks like a natural with her, and she settles into him quickly. “Someone missed their Uncle Will.”

The quiet moment is the right one, you decide, and extend your hand to Will’s younger half-brother, introducing yourself informally and knowing that formalities will come later. “I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about you,” you tell him honestly.

“It’s so nice to meet you,” Benny says as he steps forward to hug you. He wraps his arms around you like he’s afraid that if he squeezes too tight, you’ll break and says your name. “You’re stunning. My brother is a lucky guy.”

“That’s very sweet of you.” The fact that he ignored your hand and hugged you instead speaks volumes to you about his willingness to embrace his brother’s new roll and you give his shoulders a slight squeeze in return. “I’m afraid you’ll be seeing rather a lot of me in the weeks to come. Your brother and I have quite a lot to discuss with you.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Benny chuckles. “I’m looking forward to getting to know all about you and,” he gestures around him, “all of this. This is so cool.” He turns to Frankie and Pope. “These are our friends – Frankie Morales and Santiago Garcia.”

Both men offer their hands to shake. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, su Majestad.” Santi winks. “You’re beautiful.”

“It’s still your Ladyship until next month.” You tell him with a grin, so very thankful that they seem to be excepting and embracing everything with ease now threat they know it isn’t a prank. “I’m afraid there is rather a lot to talk about, but I’m so glad you could all come.”

“I’ll be honest, Will and Benny had me for a while.” Santi admits. “But after being picked up in that plane? Wow. Sorry for doubting you, hermano but to be fair they’ve pulled fake wife pranks before when we were in basic together, so…” He laughs.

“I’m afraid there’s nothing fake about me.” The friendship they all have is something that will be to Will’s great advantage in the coming weeks, you’re sure of that. He will need their support.

“Excellent. Frank, you gonna say hi or are you going to keep looking around like a lost puppy?” He teases. “Frank’s the quiet one of the groups so he shouldn’t give you much trouble.” Santi squeezes your shoulder before stepping back and nudging Frankie forward.

“Hi, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Frankie says quietly. He’s overwhelmed, it’s easy to see, but he’s trying his best to make a good impression.

“Thank you for making the trip.” You shake his hand firmly, something he seems surprised by, but you find out a moment later that it’s only a surprise because he, too, is a hugger. “I know travel with a child isn’t easy, but please if there is anything you or she needs, do not hesitate to ask. I’ve arranged for her to have a place in the palace daycare whenever it is needed for as long as you are here.” When the door to the sitting room opens once more, Will’s mother and Elsie are announced, and you practically grin at your friend. She loves the rare occasion of a formal dinner because the kitchens are amazing, and also because she gets to pull out her best dresses. Even with the palace in mourning, a simple gown is always beautiful. “You’ll all know Sandy Miller,” you guess, watching Benny light up and give his mother a hug. “Elsie is the palace’s head librarian. And my best friend, so if you want the truly silly stories of my youth, she is where you get them.”

The boys all flock to Sandy, wrapping her in their arms and offering condolences and forehead kisses. As far as she’s concerned, these are all her sons and she’s so happy to see them. “Thank you for coming, boys. It means a lot to us that you were able to drop everything and make it all the way out here, now give me that baby.” She makes a silly grabbing motion at Frankie holding his daughter.

Frankie looks away from Sandy and Xi and notices Elsie standing in the background near you. Even in heels, she’s short and her soft black dress fits her wonderfully. She has dark hair, big green eyes and the prettiest smile he had ever seen. She looked as nervous as he felt. “Hello, everyone.” She raises her hand in a small wave. “Welcome to Freidlyn.”

“Put your tongue back in your mouth, Fish.” Pope chuckles under his breath as you lead his friends further into the room, exchanging words with a man in a uniform as you go.

“Let’s all go through to dinner,” you suggest, knowing that talking over food is always infinitely less awkward. “I’m sure our travelers will be happier once they have a glass of wine and a solid meal in their bellies.”

They all agree – they had been offered food on the plane, but that had been hours ago and they were starving. They follow you to the main dining room, eyeing the ornate carvings and decorations along the walls.

“So how are you feeling?” Benny asks as he walks a few steps behind his brother.

“Surprisingly okay,” Will says. “There’s still a lot that needs to be done and I still feel like I’m in over my head, but Plum here has been such a big help.” He smiles at you.

“Plum, huh?” Benny chuckles.

“When he was four, Klaus and I took him to see the royal ballet perform The Nutcracker.” Sandy explains, a melancholy smile softening her features. “He told me he wanted to marry a fairy one day.” The kindness in her eyes turns to you and her smile deepens just a little. “So I think Sugarplum is a very fitting nickname.”

“That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.” Elsie giggles, imagining this giant, broad man as a small boy, eyes alight with wonder and the magic of the Nutcracker. “I’ve always thought you were a fairy princess.” She says to you, nudging you with her shoulder gently. “We all think it’s a good nickname.”

“Who’s ‘we all’?” You ask Elsie, raising an eyebrow when you look down the table at her where she is sitting in the other side of Will’s brother.

“Oh, me, Minna, Lisette, Sandy.” Elsie lists off. She gives you a smirk, “And apparently everyone else at this table.” She says as she lifts her wine glass to her lips.

“I knew you would get Lisette in on this.” You groan softly, offering Will an apologetic expression. “Our other close school friend is one of the palace pastry chefs. Those amaretti cookies you loved last night? They are one of her specialties.”

“My compliments to her.” He says. “So if at any point I wanted more…all I’d have to do is ask her? And she’d just make them?” He laughs, taking a bite of the first course.

“Yes,” Elsie says as she spreads the cloth napkin over her lap. “She’s always willing to bake treats for anyone at the palace. I think she’s more passionate about baking than I am about books, and I love books. Clearly.”

“Good, I think I’ll want another batch soon.” Will smirks.

“She made the petit fours for tonight’s dessert course,” you tell him, grinning when Will lights up with excitement. “And truly, you know all you have to do is ask for anything and it will be provided. I know you’re still getting used to that, but it’s true.”

******

Dinner continues to go well, everyone laughing and exchanging stories. Will had learned that you had quite a wild streak in your early teens and had snuck out multiple times with Lisette and Elsie and another friend when you should have been studying for exams. You had flushed wildly when Elsie told the story, reliving the memories with your friends. Minna had joined later in the evening after the final course to remind everyone of where their rooms would be located and offered to take them herself if need be.

“I will take you up on that.” Santi smiles at her. You noticed the look on her face when she saw Santi and smiled, raising your eyebrows and nodding at Elsie to see how he had seemingly affected her.

“Great, I will be right outside when you’re ready.” Minna offers Santiago Garcia a smile perceptibly warmer than her usual.

“Bro…she’s cute.” Benny jabbed his side. “Don’t be a dickhead.”

“Me? I would never.” Santi huffed.

“She is also his Majesty’s personal assistant, so please be on your best behavior.” The last thing Will needed was to lose a remarkable assistant like Minna because of a temporary affair, but you’re also not their – or her – mother. “That being said? Her favorite flower is tulips and sending an occasional snack to her office with a note would do wonders for someone interested in her.”

“She has never said no to chocolate.” Elsie pipes up. “I have a stash of cute little greeting cards in my desk if you’d like one.”

“Chocolate, snacks, tulips. Got it.” Santi says as he snaps his fingers and looks to where Minna had walked away. “Anything else?”

“Just be kind. She works very hard and deserves nothing but the best.” Elsie responds. “She also appreciates people being direct – she doesn’t care for…what’s that phrase? Oh! ‘Beating around the bush’.”

“Behave yourself, Santiago.” Sandy pats his arm in her most maternal fashion. “Will needs that girl. She’s been invaluable.”

“I really, really do.” Will says. “So please, for the love of this kingdom and my sanity, do not fuck this up.”

Santi rolls his eyes and crosses his heart. “You guys really need to have more faith in me.” He laughs.

“Well, we would, but…” Frankie chimes in, leaving the sentence hanging in the air. “We like giving you shit too much.” He decides to leave Colombia out of this. This is a time of celebration and starting a new chapter. For more than one of them, potentially.

“If only all of us could hang out together, outside of this.” Benny said absentmindedly, bringing his fork to his mouth. “Could be fun to let loose with you all.”

“We have a hard week ahead of us.” You tell him honestly, sipping the glass of port that was served with your dessert. “Once we’ve passed the funeral and Parliament’s formal announcements, then I’m sure we can arrange something.”

“Sounds good.” Benny says. “Can’t wait to do some exploring. This place is incredible.”

“I can arrange for someone from the palace staff to give you all a tour tomorrow morning, if you would like? After breakfast?” If you knew more about the history of this particular palace you would do it yourself, but there are literal professionals who have dedicated themselves to the study, so you won’t insult them by trying. “The king will be occupied for about an hour with the royal portraitist, but at least it’s just photographs for now. Sitting for a painting is excruciatingly boring.”

“I can do it!” Elsie volunteers. “I have two hundred years’ worth of knowledge tucked away and I have time tomorrow morning. A lot of the staff will want to be present for the portraits so they can get a glance at the new king, and I already know what he looks like so…” She offers, hopeful for this opportunity to get to know Will’s friends better, especially Frankie.

“King.” Benny shakes his head at his brother. “I still can’t believe that.”

“Thank you, Els.” If she weren’t so far away, you would reach to squeeze her hand, but you still offer her an appreciative smile. “I have a round of interviews tomorrow that I already wish was over with, so unfortunately I won’t be able to join you.”

“It’s no problem, really.” Elsie puckers her lips and blows you a kiss. “I figure we’d do the rose gardens, orchards, and the main throne room as well as my library. That should take up a good amount of time during the portraits and interviews.” She glances at her phone. “If you’ll excuse me though, I have some reports to prepare for this historic event. Goodnight, everyone.” She gives a smile before turning and leaving the dining room. Elsie always was a busy body, ever since you could remember.

“She is adorable,” Santi comments. “Bet she has a lot of great stories about this place. So," he hums your name. "What do you think of our boy so far?"

“I’m assuming you mean as a man and not as a king?” You raise an eyebrow in Santi’s direction. He’s a straight shooter – as the phrase goes – and you appreciate that about him. It would be easy to just suck up incessantly and heap overt praise on his friend, but his compliments are never empty and his praise always accompanied by anecdotal evidence. “I know the concept of an arranged marriage isn’t easy to wrap your head around in the twenty-first century.” You tell the group of Americans. “But please understand that Will has my absolute loyalty and support. They say that a successful marriage of any kind is built on trust, and a successful arranged marriage is one where you become close friends, with a bond greater than any temporary passion.” The man in question sits to your left at the head of the table, and when you look back over at him you can see the smile on his face. “I don’t think it is a stretch to say that we are friends already. And that bond can only get stronger with time.”

“I have full confidence that this girl right here is going to be the greatest friend I’ll ever have in my entire life,” he reaches for your hand. “Sorry guys.” He hopes it will be more one day, he really does, but he won’t push it – Will would never dream of making you uncomfortable.

“You’re saying all the right things, sweetheart.” Santi smiles at you and raises his glass. “While I can’t say I understand it, I do support this. Will, you know I love giving you shit but I can honestly say I know you’re a great leader and that you’ll do great things. To you.” He toasts. Everyone else raises their glass as well. Even Xi sees her father raise his and follows suit by slightly raising her little fist in the air, making everyone laugh.

“Long live King William.” Is your reply, with your glass raised in the air. It is a toast you will be making for many decades to come – hopefully – and you will never miss the opportunity for it.

“Long live King William!” Everyone toasts. Will smiles, feeling the love flow through the room. With you and the people he cherishes the most in the room, he’s confident he can do this.

******

Breakfast the next morning is an event, the informal serving in the small dining room apparently a much more comfortable time for the king’s friends. The late king’s valet had agreed to return to his position under King Klaus’s son, so wardrobe was no longer an issue to be dealt with, and the housekeeper had menus for the rest of the week laid at your place at the breakfast table to be approved. “I’ll be approving the menu for the state dinner after the funeral tonight.” You tell Will as his friends begin to chat amongst themselves and coo over baby Xi. “Unless you have any objection, I’d like to make it a menu of your father’s favourite things.”

“I think a menu of all his favorite things is a good choice. A small way to honor him.” Will smiles before yawning. He had stayed up late with his friends last night, catching up and playing cards. You, of course, were the hot topic over the many games of poker. Everyone had been thoroughly impressed with you and were excited that you would be at Will’s side.

“Stayed up late with your friends?” You glance around at the trio but don’t make it obvious that you’re talking about them.

“Oh yeah. I won so many pretzel sticks though.” He chuckles. “I’ll be sure to share the wealth with you if you ever find yourself needing airplane baggies for a snack. How was your night?”

“I went through Elsie’s coronation research, reviewed applications for a lady’s maid and an assistant, and signed off on having the things from my apartment moved into my suite. I’m leaving all my furniture with Elsie in the apartment, so it won’t be as much of an ordeal.” You had been exhausted by the time you got into bed, but getting the work done was essential. Your own assistant starts today and you’ll need them just as much as Will needs Minna.

“Wow. That’s…way more than we did. If you need stuff moved over me and the guys can help.” He offers, knowing they would not say no to helping you out. “Santi had a lot of questions about Miss Thorn and Frankie blushed like crazy when their tour with Elsie was brought up, so, that should be interesting to see if anything happens there. That’s allowed, right? Or are there rules for staff and…regular people?”

“There are rules of conduct for staff and royalty, but nothing otherwise. Your father lifted most of the remaining rules when his valet – your valet – fell in love with the prince’s governess. It would have been a scandal if the king hadn’t blessed the marriage.” And even that was fifteen years ago. Attitudes have greatly relaxed since then, thankfully. “It all has to do with the ability to balance life and work. It just so happens that Minna and Elsie have more demanding jobs than most.”

“I can’t imagine what that’s like to have those roles, but I can tell they love their jobs. I’m glad they’re on our team.” He pauses, “Pope will definitely shoot his shot with Minna but Frankie? I’m not sure. He’s shy and embarrassed about what’s going on with him, so I’m sure he’ll just pine from afar.” He shrugs sadly. Frankie didn’t deserve what he had gone through after Colombia. “If it works out though, I’ll be happy for them. If not, I’ll make sure it doesn’t affect anything going on here.”

“I admire and fear Minna in ways I cannot quite say.” You laugh softly, shaking your head. “But Elsie is my best friend in the world. Frankie seems like a nice man, and whatever they choose to start is up to them, but I will protect her to the ends of the earth.” The way you tilt your head at him is an honest question and nothing more. “Is there anything she should be aware of? A divorce is nothing to be embarrassed by.”

“You’re a good friend, Plum.” He takes your hand. “Frankie’s situation is…tough. We kind of think he only married Jess because he felt like he had to. She gave him an ultimatum and then she got pregnant, so he felt like he was doing the right thing for the baby. I think what bothers him the most is that she up and left while he was gone, and he came back to a completely empty house. Jess just…packed her shit and dropped the baby with Frankie’s mom.” He sighs. “He’s had some addiction stuff too and lost his pilot’s license because of it so he’s not working right now, but he’s trying. That little girl is his entire world and…I don’t know, I think he’s embarrassed because he’s 42 and just lost everything. He’s a good man, he just feels lost right now. I don’t know Elsie’s situation, but I’ve never seen him look at anyone the way he’s looking at her.” Will smiles sadly. “That was a lot, I’m sorry. Short answer – yes, but he’s working on it.”

“Els hasn’t had it easy, romance wise.” Holding your coffee cup delicately in front of your mouth to keep the conversation discreet, you turn to give Will your full attention. “She was engaged after college. The wedding was half planned, dress bought, invitations sent, everything. And then she caught him cheating. It pretty much destroyed her confidence for romance for a long time. She’s only just starting again.”

“Poor girl,” Will hums, adding some sugar into his coffee. “All Fish wants is a happily ever after. I know he can seem tough and grizzly looking on the outside, but that man just wants someone to come home to every night. He’s always said that caring for him is a chore, and he needs someone that won’t make him feel that way and now with the baby…it might be harder for him, especially because she’s so young.”

“She’s young, but doesn’t lack maturity.” Twenty-eight must seem forever ago to Frankie – possibly even to Will – but you don’t let that stop you from running your thumb reassuringly over the back of his hand. “And Xiomara is a delight, not a chore. Anyone who would leave that little girl behind doesn’t deserve her, or her father.”

“She’s precious and deserves absolutely everything in the world. Really the only good thing to come out of that relationship. Jess was just…cruel to him; used to hold Xiomara over his head constantly. I can see him and Elsie together, but they need to figure that out for themselves.” He smiles again. “When the time for children comes for us, I will love them unconditionally. They’ll never go a day doubting they have their daddy’s whole heart.”

“How odd do they think it is?” You ask him honestly, glancing at his friends again. They must have talked about you last night – if you had sat up with Elsie and Lisette, he certainly would have been the main topic of conversation the whole time, too. “For your sake I would truly prefer that they not dislike me…I’m just not quite sure what to do besides show them you have my loyalty.” If one day he was also to carry your heart, it would be a miracle worth celebrating in marriages like yours. That he already has your affection is more than you could have asked for.

“They do think the situation is strange, but they have nothing but good things to say about you. They think you’re wonderful and so do I.” A lightbulb goes off in Will’s head. “…Would there be any way for all of us to spend some time together off the property after the funeral? Like go to a pub or something? I think they’d really enjoy that.”

“If Minna finds out I helped you sneak out of the palace, I am toast.” Frowning at the idea of disappointing him has far more to do with the fact that you’ve finally admitted to yourself that you’re smitten with the man than saying ‘no’ to a king. “Give me a little time to work on her…pitch the idea as letting you get to know your people informally. I don’t think I can manage to have us free of guards, but I think I can talk her down to a couple of guards in plain clothes. Would that…be something you might enjoy?”

“Well, I don’t want to risk you getting in trouble, so whatever you think is best for us.” He agrees. “Just let me know where to be and when and I’m your guy. Got something in mind?”

“What are you two whispering about?” Frankie asks, as he sways Xi in his arms. She sometimes hated sitting in one place for too long so he often times had to walk in circles to get her to keep calm. This morning was a bit of a struggle though with her sleep schedule being disrupted. “Shh, mija it’s okay. Do you want Uncle Will?” Xi looked at him with her big brown eyes. “Guess that’s a yes,” He chuckles, handing the baby over. “He’s a natural.” Frankie winks at you.

“We were debating the merits of a little social outing for all of us.” You tell the older man, choosing to ignore the way your stomach flip-flops at the image of Will with a baby in his arms. “After this week is over he’ll have more free time at night, and he thought you might all enjoy something less formal.”

“Yeah. Yeah, that would be great. As long as someone can watch Xi? I guess I could ask Sandy. Would um, would Elsie be going too?” He asks shyly, reaching out and adjusting the lopsided bow on his daughter’s head. “Not that that’s a deal breaker or anything…”

Will laughs at his friend. Frankie was a lot of things, but subtle was never one of them. “Fish…calm down. We’ll hash out plans later.” Will says as he adjusts the baby in his arms.

“The daycare is attended twenty-four hours a day, but I’m sure if you asked Sandy to look after Xi, she would not mind.” Will’s mother had elected to have her breakfast on a tray in her suite this morning, and you would have to remember to check in on her later and make sure she’s not feeling ill. More than likely it’s just a bit of melancholy or a headache, neither of which would surprise you. Losing her ex-husband cannot be easy on her by any means. “And I’m sure Elsie would be glad to be invited.” You’ll also be checking in on her, of course, to see what sort of interest she has in Frankie. A lot has happened in a very short space of time. “But gentlemen…” Turning slightly lets you address the whole group. “I do have a bit of a favor to ask of all of you, if you don’t mind.”

“Anything, Plum.” Will says quickly – chubby little hands suddenly on his face. It melts your heart to see him with Xi, and how easy it seems to come for him. How despite there being no relation, the two of them had a close bond already.

“Yeah, whatever you need.” Santiago sits up a little straighter in his seat and Benny nods in agreement.

“I’m sorry to have to insist.” And you really do have to insist, if you want things to go perfectly this weekend. “But the royal funeral, state dinner, and the parade are all official functions of the crown. It is a nuisance, but my assistant is having some suits brought in and a tailor, to make sure each one of you has appropriate clothing for official events. As I said to the king last night, think of them as a type of uniform. Formal attire like you once wore in the military.” Many eyes will be focused on the new king’s closest friends, and you trust them to understand the importance of propriety. If Will is seen as wanting in any way, it will severely hinder the peoples’ embracing him and that would make his first year on the throne unnecessarily difficult. “I’ve even asked for a few things for Xi, in case she was feeling fussy and needed to be near her Papa.”

“You’re having suits made for us?” Benny asks. “Like real, fancy suits? Hell yeah. I promise not to spill anything on it.” He salutes you. The other boys agree – most of them had never worn anything fancier than their dress blues, and aside from that really only considered khakis and a button up to be their best clothing.

“Not precisely,” you admit, a little sheepishly after their enthusiasm. “I’ve reached out to a Freidlych designer with a studio here in the city and asked him to bring a few ready-made suits and tuxedos that he will then tailor to fit each of you. It’s normally something we would ask the royal tailor to undertake, but his Majesty is having an entire new wardrobe made, so he is understandably busy.”

“Still,” Benny replies. “That’s pretty fucking cool. Can we keep them?”

“Benjamin, please.” Santi laughs, placing a hand on Benny’s shoulder. “Try to stay calm.”

“I’m sorry, I’m just really excited. Not for the funeral, but if anyone deserves this kind of life, it’s my brother, you know? I’m really excited for him to have this life.” Benny had always looked up to Will since he was small.

Will quickly hands Xi back to Frankie and wraps his little brother in a tight hug. “Thanks bud, I love you too.”

“Forgive me for interrupting, your Majesty.” Minna’s appearance in the doorway is quiet as a cat and just as quick. “The photographer will be arriving any minute and I’m afraid Lady Rochegnac is wanted in the Morning Room.”

“No interruption at all, honey.” Santi smiles. Minna tries to keep a neutral expression on her face, but you can see the tint to her cheeks, know Santi has her attention.

“Right. We should go.” Will says, offering his arm.

“Have fun you two.” Santi smiles before waving at Minna. He watches the three of you make your way to where the photographer will be set up shortly. He bites his lip and turns to his friends. “God she’s incredible.”

“Leave it to Pope to be sexually attracted to organization.” Benny laughs, nudging Santi the way only a little brother really can.

“Can you blame me?” He deadpans. “She looks like she’d steal my soul in all the right ways and then organize my entire life. Who wouldn’t want that?”

“She could step on you in those high heels of hers and you would thank her for it.” Frankie laughs, gently bouncing Xi in his arms. “I’d rather be snuggled than stepped on.”

“She does and I would.” Santi agrees. “Elsie and those sweaters? Girl looks like she’s begging to be snuggled. Go for it, Frank. Bet she’d let you lay your head on her lap and she’d read to you.” He waggles his eyebrows.

“Will’s fiancée’s best friend?” The way Frankie winces is fully dramatic but not insincere. “I don’t have a death wish, man. I mean she’s completely my type but that is a whole messy situation that—” He shakes his head, refocusing on his little girl. “She’s outta my league, hermano.”

“Oh come on, I saw her looking at you during dinner last night.” Benny says. “Frankie, I know you’re dealing with a lot right now with Jess being a massive cunt, but you can’t let her continue to dictate your life. What if this girl is the perfect match for you and you just let it slip by because you’re afraid? That’s not fair to either one of you.”

“He’s right,” Santi chimes in. “What if…what if all of this happened because all of us were supposed to be here? Will is obviously where he’s supposed to be and with who he’s supposed to be with. I’m convinced those two were made for each other with how they act. If I didn’t know the situation, I wouldn’t believe that they’ve only known each other for three fucking days. It’s insane.” He says as he sits on a loveseat.

“You would just pack up your whole lives for this place in a day?” It’s not that Frankie doesn’t see how good this place is. Or how well matched you and Will are. He gets that. But it feels a hell of a lot like rebounding with the cutest girl at the bar after getting dumped. “Look, I’m not saying the Palace and new clothes and gorgeous women aren’t nice. I’m just…just not counting any chickens before they hatch, that’s all.”

“Just be open to it, that’s all.” Santi insists. “And who knows, if I had a reason to stay, I’d sure as hell take it.” He shrugs. They all sit in silence for a few minutes before Elsie comes in. “Good morning,” She smiles warmly. “Minna is busy with the photographer currently, so she asked me to let you all know the tailor is here. We’ll have to reschedule my tour, unfortunately, but that’s alright because evening is the best for a tour of the rose garden anyway.”

“Do we stay in here for do we need to go somewhere else?” Benny asks.

“The tailor is setting up in an empty suite that is big enough to accommodate everyone.” She says. “Oh, and I have a few dress options for the little one.” She said as she lifts up the tiny garment bags in her hand. “If you’ll follow me, please.”

“Where are the portraits being taken?” Santi walks alongside Elsie easily, wanting to keep her chatting and let Frankie relax a little.

“The throne room. Every king and queen have been immortalized in that room for the past two centuries. If you get a chance to look at the portraits you’ll notice the similar art styles up until 100 years ago. They stopped the oil portraits with King Edwin in 1920 and moved to photography since it was easier and the royals didn’t have to sit for so long, but the frames are all custom made by the family that made the originals! They’ve been making ornate frames for the palace for so long, it would feel criminal to go with anyone else.” She smiles. “The garments chosen are all created by a long family line too. Freidlyn is filled with creatures of habit, I suppose.”

“So they’ll have to take more once the coronation happens?” Benny already feels like this royalty stuff is going to make his head spin in circles, but he wants to get it right for his brother. “Once she’s queen, I mean? Like a portrait of both of them?”

“They will! After these initial portraits as well as the wedding portraits, they’ll need one more set, until they have children. The post-coronation portraits will have them with the royal jewels and crowns of Freidlyn. Those portraits will be used on our postage and displayed in government and official buildings here as well as souvenirs, kind of like how England has the royals on those decorative plates and teacups. It’s silly, but the tourism board thinks it’s good for us.” She shrugs as she continues to lead the men to the designated suite. “Oh, I took the liberty of getting a playpen and some toys from the daycare center for the baby so you can have a break.” Elsie tells Frankie.

“Thank you.” Frankie still isn’t totally okay with leaving Xi with strangers yet, no matter how well trained they are, and he’s grateful that Elsie spared the extra thought for him and his daughter. It’s more than her own mother would have done.

“Mademoiselle Poincaré, thank you for delivering these gentlemen safely.” An elegant-looking person in an expertly tailored black suit with a black silk shirt underneath and spiked-heel black leather boots bares the same authority holding a clipboard than Minna Thorn does, but with several extra inches of height. “My name is Jules Sorten, I am Lady Rochegnac’s assistant, and there is lots to do, so I thank you for arriving quickly. Monsieur Miller first, s’il vous plait?” He gestures to a slightly older man picking his way through a variety of suits. “This is Monsieur Ronan. He will be fitting all of you today.”

“My pleasure, Jules. I’ll be over here if you need anything.” Elsie says.

“I am ready. Measure me.” Benny walks up to Monsieur Ronan with his arms open. “Make me fancy.” It’s almost adorable how excited Benny is for his new suit, and he’s determined to take good care of it.

Frankie places Xi in the playpen and she’s instantly enthralled with a canvas doll dressed as a princess. Elsie sits near the playpen, but far enough away to not interfere with Jules’ work. She thinks of what could have been had her fiancé stayed faithful to her – maybe she’d have a little girl of her own to dote on. She smiles at the small baby patting the doll to her chest and Santi notices with a smirk on his face.

“Looks like your alterations will be minimal.” Ronan says with a pin between his lips once Benny is in the suit picked for him. “This is good.” A few pins in place and Benny’s suit is nearly perfect – the alterations would be done quickly and easily.

“Hear that guys? Minimal and good.” Benny laughs, standing as still as he possibly can.

“I could make a joke…” Santi says, “but there is a lady present, so I’ll hold off.”

“Monsieur Morales?” Ronan beckons the next man forward while helping the king’s younger brother out of his carefully pinned jacket.

“That’s me.” Frankie says, stepping around Santi and onto the little platform that sat in front of the three large mirrors in the suite. He slips on the black jacket easily, standing still while Ronan puts the pins in place.

“So,” Santi sprawls out in a chair beside Elsie while he waits his turn. “What exactly does a state dinner entail? Am I going to have to keep these monkeys in line by force?”

“Well, the king and the future queen will be at the head of the table and parliament will take this time to introduce the future king to everyone as well as go over what his duties will be, and which of King Klaus’ business he will have to continue. It’s fascinating, really, and there will be so much food you won’t know what to do with yourselves.” Elsie pauses. “…do you think you’ll need to keep them in line?” Will’s friends had seemed well-mannered and nice so far, but would there be an issue?

“A gentle reminder that whooping and pounding the table probably isn’t appropriate in a palace,” Santi smiles reassuringly. “We’re fairly informal guys, and we want to make sure everything is perfect for Will, that’s all.”

“Oh, yeah I don’t think Parliament would particularly care for anything other than polite applause or an ‘allez’ during a toast.” Elsie stands quick to check on Xi, who was still enthralled by the little doll. “So maybe letting them know that would be a good idea.” She says, reaching down to brush back some of Xi’s wild curls - definitely inherited from her father.

“Frankie’s a pretty good dancer.” Santi throws it out there hopefully, watching Elsie dote on his goddaughter with a smile. “His sisters made sure of that. I don’t know if there’s dancing at these things, but he can hold his own.”

Elsie blushes, “Oh, I mean there will be some musical accompaniment but it’s not often that people will get up and dance, but maybe?” She giggles. “Why? Did he say something about wanting to go dancing? I can recommend some places nearby.”

“Not exactly.” He admits, clearing his throat a little. “But I know that if you wanted to show him some places, he’d love to go.” There’s just no way Frankie will get his ass in gear and actually ask Elsie out unless they’re here for like six months, and Santiago Garcia considers himself an excellent fucking wingman when his buddies need him.

“I could definitely think of some places to show him.” She smiles shyly. Frankie was handsome and she wanted to get to know him better. “You know, if he wanted to find a job out here it would be so easy for him…” Elsie glances over at him. “All of you, actually.” She adds quickly before getting flustered. “Just, you know, if you found it difficult to leave after being in such a beautiful place for a while.” She chuckles.

“Honestly?” Santi shrugs and places a kiss in his goddaughter’s hair. “Most of us don’t have a lot to go back to when we leave here. Benny’s lifeline is his brother, and Frankie’s whole life is this little bebita. My family is all over the world and I’m already at my fuc—sorry,” he grimaces. “At my wit’s end with this new job. We could stand a little bit of all this Freidlych goodness.”

“Well, should you all decide that Freidlyn is where you belong, I can help with housing. The palace owns some cottages on the outskirts of town that are meant for noble and royal family members, but I think Minna and myself can talk parliament into letting you move into them, if you’d like. They’re all fully furnished and have solar panels. Actually, here.” She pulls out her phone and opens up an album. “I have photos on my phone if you’d like to take a look.” She hands the device over to him. “They’ve all been maintained really well since they were built in the early 1800s.”

“Jesus…Is this where you live?” Santi whistles low, scrolling through the pictures of the gorgeous estate houses. “Ya know…my great-great-great-abuelo a few hundred years back was Spanish nobility. Think that gets me an in?” He jokes, unable to take his eyes off the photos. “I mean, I’m descended from his mistress, but it’s gotta count for something right?”

“Oh, no I have a flat in town.” Elsie says. “I don’t think it would count for you, unfortunately, but maybe Minna can work her magic. That woman can make anyone say yes to her. It’s amazing.” Santi hands the phone back to Elsie and she checks her messages – there’s one from you asking how it was going. She types a quick reply that it’s going well, and the suits are fitting perfectly as far as she could tell.

“Wouldn’t take me much to agree to whatever she wanted.” The line is out of Santi’s mouth with a wink, and he saunters off when the tailor calls his name.

Elsie laughs and shakes her head. Men are impossible, she thinks as Frankie walks over to her. “The suit looked great on you.” She smiles. “I laid out the options for the baby if you’d like to take a look at them.”

“Thanks.” Frankie blushes, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously before looking over at the nicest baby clothes he’s ever seen in his life. Are there designer baby clothes? Because that’s what all of this looks like. “You’re really an angel for helping with all of this.”

“It’s no trouble, really. I enjoy it.” She tells him honestly. “I was just telling Santiago about housing options here should any of you fall in love with Freidlyn enough to stay. “I think I can convince Minna to be on board if you, Santiago or Benny decided to live here…Freidlyn is a wonderful place to raise a child.”

“I’m sure it is.” He’s only seen the airport and palace so far, but if his baby girl’s life included a palace then things would be pretty fucking good. “Santi’s all ready to just pack it in and move. I think the second he laid eyes on Minna, that was the clincher.”

“Oh, I suspect it’s mutual admiration. Santiago is exactly the type of man Minna Thorn goes for.”

“He’s a good guy.” Frankie nods his head, playing with the hem of a black linen baby skirt that had a matching onesie with a cute little collar on it. “They all are. We give each other crap but that’s only out of love.”

“You are too.” Elsie places her hand over his. “I can tell you all love each other like brothers, and it’s really nice to see. Everyone has noticed how much the king appreciates you being here for him. He lit up as soon as he knew you all had arrived.”

“Will’s been there for all of us through everything.” Frankie explains, trying not to stare at the place where she’s touching him but somehow also not able to look away. “Didn’t even tell us when his fiancée broke up with him a couple of years ago because Benny had lost a fight pretty bad and was taking it really hard. He put everything into training with his brother and ended up telling us two weeks after it happened when Pope opened his big mouth to ask if Stacy was coming to the next fight.”

“His selflessness is what will make him a great leader and greater partner. He's so much like his father in that way.” Elsie squeezes his hand. “I have to ask though…he’s fond of her right? I’m not imagining things? The way they look at each other is just…” She looks away with a dreamy look in her eye. “Romantic. I don’t think anyone has ever looked at me the way William looks at her.”

“He was practically moping last night when Benny told him he thought it was too soon to make a move.” Frankie confides. Though Ben Miller wasn’t typically known for his restraint, he had reminded Will that this woman was the rest of his life and he needed to think about the long-term. “He had us brainstorming proposal methods during our poker game.” Frankie sighs, trying not to look at Elsie too directly when he does so and give himself away. “You’re young, Elsie. You’ll find someone worthy of you. And if you don’t, I’m sure there are plenty of unworthy guys who will still line up around the block for a chance.”

“Thanks, Frankie.” She smiles at him. “I’m glad William is taking this seriously. She’s very smitten with him and he’s really good with her, and for her, if I’m being honest…so what were the proposal methods?” She gets up quickly and walks over to a small cart near the door, pouring herself and Frankie fresh cups of coffee.

“Santi said he should do it in bed.” Frankie rolls his eyes after thanking her for the coffee – whatever it is they brew here is seriously amazing. “Which completely goes against the slow-and-respectful theory. Benny said an after dinner walk in the garden, which is sweet, but Will thought he could come up with something more creative.”

Elsie laughs at the look on Frankie’s face. “Hm, well, while the bed idea is interesting, I don’t think it’s probable for this situation. If it were me, I think I’d opt for the rose garden, or up on the lookout point up in the mountains. You can see the entire palace grounds and the city from there. There’s also the option of a carriage ride around the lake, or a nice boat ride…” She pauses. “Sorry, I’m a bit of a romantic and I’ve thought of scenarios like this a lot. She’ll happy with anything though, as long as he asks with his heart. That’s all that really matters anyway, right?” She takes a sip of her coffee.

“Sure it is.” Frankie eyes her with soft amusement over the confession to being a romantic. They could all tell that right away – just from the way she talked at dinner last night – and it cracked his poor, deadened heart in ways he hated to admit. “But you’re her best friend. You’ve got to know her fantasy proposal, right?”

“Yeah, but don’t laugh, okay?” She gives him her best puppy eyes. “There’s a butterfly conservatory not far from here that we’ve been going to since we were little and it has really nice walking paths throughout, and at the very end there’s a big fountain with a waterfall and she always comments about how perfect this spot is. Every time we’ve gone a butterfly has always landed on her shoulder. She thinks this spot is where she’s ‘supposed to see her fate’ so…maybe that’s it. Maybe a proposal in front of that waterfall with all the butterflies and fairy lights is the fate she’s been destined for.” Elsie tells him confidently. “Or Disney World, but there’s no time for that, unfortunately.”

“Elsie, you’re a genius.” Frankie beams at her, striking out on instinct to give the small woman a tight hug. “He wants it to be so right for her. To show how much he appreciates that she’s sticking with him.” He doesn’t let go quickly, the hug lingering for just a moment. “He thinks it should be her on the throne, and he’s determined to make sure she gets it.”

She’s surprised by Frankie’s hug, but grasps onto him tight, not wanting it to end too soon. He’s warm and smells of laundry detergent, cologne, and something just Frankie. “I can make some calls and have it reserved when he’s ready to ask. It’s beautiful at night with all the lights on.” She pulls away but doesn’t break eye contact. “They both deserve to be on that throne.”

“He doesn’t know his own worth sometimes.” Frankie swallows, forgetting for a split second if he’s talking about himself or his friend. “I think the right person will help him remember. Hopefully it’s her.”

“I have a good feeling about it.” Elsie says, and maybe she means about her and Frankie as well. “I think it’s a good match; written in the stars and all that poetic imagery.” She smiles.

“I hope so.” He smiles just a little bit more softly, pulled away by the babbling insistence of his baby girl.

“She’s absolutely beautiful, by the way.” Elsie gets off the couch and kneels down in front of the playpen where Xi is babbling. “Aren’t you?” The baby girl reaches her arms out like she wants to be picked up and Elsie pauses for a second before picking her up and settling her on her hip. “What dress do you think, little princess?” Elsie points to the dresses laid out near her father.

“She’s just lucky she didn’t get my nose.” He huffs, watching as Xi continues to babble and grab at a black romper onesie with lots of ruffles and frills.

“But your nose is wonderful.” Elsie tells him as she grabs the frilly romper for Xi. “This one? Yeah, this is a good one.” She coos at her.

“Are you seeing this?” Benny whispers to Santi, the two of them on the other side of the room sipping their coffee after being done with their fittings.

“I don’t think they have any idea that anyone else is still here.” Santi shakes his head, knowing his friend was just as gone for Elsie as he was for Minna.

“You guys are all gonna get married and ditch me.” Benny pouts, refilling his coffee cup again.

“Never, little man. Never gonna happen.” Santi ruffles Benny’s hair. “I’m sure there’s a stunning girl out here for you too. That can be one of our final missions, yeah?” He chuckles.

“You and your damn missions, Pope.” Benny shakes his head.

“Hey,” Pope smirks. “This will be a damn good one, okay? Benny’s true love is out there somewhere and it’s our job to make sure she doesn’t get scared off too fast.”

______

Master Tags: @pixiedurango​ @chattychell @winter-fox-queen @lady-himbo @artsymaddie @princess76179 @paintballkid711 @missminkylove @pedrosbrat @ew-erin @sarahjkl82-blog @sharkbait77 @justanotherblonde23 @lv7867 @recklesswit @mylittlesenaar @f0rever15elf @gallowsjoker @steeevienicks @athalien @sherala007 @skvatnavle @thatpinkshirt @jaime1110 @girlimjusttryingtoreadfanfics @goodgriefitsawildworld @greeneyedblondie44 @katheriner1999 @littlemousedroid @harriedandharassed @churchill356 @ajathegreats-blog​ @hardc0rehaylz @beardsanddetectives @kirsteng42 @ladykatakuri

NA: @absurdthirst @peachtreemoonshine​ @xoxabs88xox @luminescentlily @babypink224221​

My Masterlist!

[koishua]

[ SKZ' 00 LINE AND HOME ACTIVITIES ! ]

prompt: fun and nice things you do around the house :(

notes from vie: this is the eleventh thing i am clearing out of my absurd amount of drafts. hope you enjoy and do let me know how you feel about it through your reblogs or comments <3

warnings: mentions of food.

taglist: @junityy @igyus @intokook @leavethemonsteralive @thegracerammy @cafe-jeno @beyondthesheets @eternallyhyucks @yyxy27 @iminchaosnow @sungsunnie @sooblvr @yutaalove @jiminisyourangel @thekinkpopstandsforkrackheads @beomgyuv @chileangring4 @99swinwin @jakeycore @99outros @yunntext @ikigyus @luvholicz @rutosruru @daystiny @imdamconfused @renjunvrse @fairyjunn @rae-blogging @iuwon (click here to be added)

JISUNG

#reading to eachother! : you'd be laying in bed, covers pulled up till your chests and you'd lay in his arms, one of his hand hands holding up a small booklet filled with different short stories about long-ago happenings. you'd find peace in his relaxed voice, lulling you to gently go to sleep to the thump of his heart while listening to the fairy tale. he'd press a wordless kiss on the crown of your head right before you doze off, then he'd flick the night light off to pat your back in a slow rhythm.

#redecorating! : jisung would propose the idea of moving your couch to another spot just for a little change and you'd agree. what starts off as something small turns into an entire new adventure where you'd be painting different patterns on the surface of your cabinets, hanging little led lights behind the tv and exchange the dim lights with brighter ones, bringing a lot more life to the space together in the span of just a few fun hours.

rest of the members are under the cut!

HYUNJIN

#play with kkami! : stuck inside because of a raging blizzard, you'd play small games with his tiny dog, your son as hyunjin likes to call kkami as every so often. you'd sit on each ends of the living room facing each other with legs stretched open in front of you to act as goals while you roll a ball on the floor for kkami to fetch. you'd bring him little snacks to train him to do new tricks with and you'd forget about the freezing weather outside your own quaint door.

#dance workouts! : when all else fails, you know you can rely on your spotify playlist to energise you for the day. playing miroh on the speakers, the beat would be blasting inside the walls of your house and you'd be jumping up and down, doing the choreography in the most extra manner possible. you'd exaggerate the moves and he'd laugh his heart out at your silly expressions, tears gathering in his eyes while he wheezes on the floor.

FELIX

#puzzle time! : a thousand pieces of cardboard strewn all over the hard floor, you'd both lay stomach down, a hand pushing up your cheeks while the other searches for the missing pieces. your hands would brush against each others' by accident and he'd smile giddily to himself, heart all but bursting with warmth towards you and the peaceful moment he lives in right then.

#cook offs! : with a chef's hat worthy of his "cooking like a chef, im a five star michelin" line, you would prepare two separate small stations to start whipping up the menus you had agreed testing each other on. you would be fully concentrated on your dish, weaving in and out of each others' way to get the right tools for yourselves. by the end, no one would ever really be the loser, both of you just enjoying your homemade meals for the night.

SEUNGMIN

#cloud watching! : the not-too-warm day would bring oddly shaped clouds with it on the sky, so you'd take the opportunity to make an adventurous trek to your rooftop to carefully find a safe spot to watch the fluffy things pass by, laying side by side, hand in hand. when you make out a random shape on the clouds, you'd squeeze his hands to get his attention and point at the sky.

#in-house picnics! : not having a backyard means that you'd have to improvise on days where you don't feel like wandering too far out of the comfort of your home. so you would open up all of the windows when there were only just a few cars passing by and let as much light in as possible. preparing sandwiches and drinks, you'd set up a cloth on the empty living room floor and enjoy your lazy day (bonus points if you take a nap right there)

[bex-la-get]

Hello, hello! This week, we are going on a little:

Home Tour!

Notes: Answer the following with pictures (dialogue from your characters is optional!). Collages are highly encouraged if you want to answer a question with multiple pictures because tumblr mobile only allows 10 total pics. Otherwise, tumblr on a desktop lets you add multiple pictures (non-beta)!

For both:

What does the outside of the home look like? (Front/back yard, garden, pool, etc)

Living room and home office (if any)?

Kitchen and dining room?

Bedrooms? (Master, guest, others)

Other rooms?

Do you own your dream home? If not, what does that dream home look like?

What is your favorite room to spend time in with each other?

Hi babe! Thanks for the fun questions! Hope you like them!

So, little bit of context: Nat and Ethan recently bought this house after finding out that Nat was pregnant with their third child [Lydia]. So, I imagine them doing this tour shortly after Lydia’s born and they’ve settled into the house. Enjoy!

(Also, please imagine Nat doing with this with a baby strapped to her in one of those wrap things ‘cause that is the cutest damn visual and I need it to be seen).

Previous Questions

For both: What does the outside of the home look like? (Front/back yard, garden, pool, etc).

Nat: Ethan likes a much more modern look when it comes to houses while I prefer more traditional so we tried to find something that matched both. Instead, we ended up finding this beautiful Victorian and we both fell madly in love with the place!

Ethan: I have to admit, it surprised me how much I love this place. But I can’t imagine us living anywhere else now.

Nat: You can’t see it in the picture but the front yard is completely gated which is a huge weight off my mind. With two kids under the age of six and a newborn, the last thing I want to worry about is my kids getting out of the front yard. The gate has a special lock on it too so only people with the code can get in or out. It gives us so much peace of mind.

Nat: We really wanted the backyard to feel like an extension of the house so we decorated it as such. It’s great in the summer time when we can have friends over and have a big cookout. 

Nat: Ethan installed the hammock for me shortly after we moved in. I had always wanted one as a kid and now we get to curl up there in the evenings whenever we want. Plus, the kids love it. 

Ethan: *smiles* Next on the list is to set up a vegetable garden. I would have done it sooner but with Nat so close to giving birth when we moved in, I decided it was worth the wait. But by next spring, I’m hoping to have it set up and ready to go.

Living room and home office (if any)?

Ethan: Technically, we have two living rooms. The first one is more of a formal living room where you can sit and talk with guests, if you want. It’s not pictured but there’s a large fireplace with some bookshelves around the room. We treat it kind of like a study. It’s also where we plan on putting the Christmas tree come the holidays.

Ethan: The second is our “informal” living room-- or “den” as Nat calls it. This is where the television and game consoles are. This room probably gets the most use out of the house since this is where we have movie nights and just spend most of our time when we’re home.

Nat: Don’t forget the office, babe.

Ethan: Oh, right! We try not to bring our work home with us but with both of us working on books right now, we figured it was important to have a good work space away from the rest of the house.

Nat: I admit, I was worried about the black interior when we first saw it, but I’m kind of in love with it now.

Ethan: *smirks* I knew you would.

Nat: *rolls her eyes* Hush, you.

Kitchen and dining room?

Nat: Ah, Ethan’s favorite place in the house!

Ethan: One of my favorites, at least.

Nat: You know, before moving I never understood the hype for all-white kitchens. But I get it now! Look at this place, it’s so bright and open! And remarkably easy to clean.

Ethan: I could’ve told you that a long time ago, my love.

Nat: Yes, but I probably wouldn’t have believed you. *Ethan laughs*

Nat: You know that chandelier is original to the house? This whole room is, actually. It was basically untouched during the renovations. They just upgraded the windows and re-stained the flooring. The rest of the room is virtually untouched, which I absolutely love.

Bedrooms? (Master, guest, others)

Nat: Our room isn’t too fancy. Ethan likes it clean and simple and I like a lot of pillows. I think we managed that alright.

Ethan: We’re trying to keep the kids rooms as neutral as possible right now. Their interests are changing so fast that we don’t want to have to keep redecorating every time they change their mind. We’ll probably do more detailed decorating as they get older.

Other rooms?

Nat: We do technically have a guest room but it’s not considered a “bedroom” since it doesn’t have a closet.

Ethan: It’s a room in our basement that acts as a guest room. The rest of the basement we’re treating like a kids playroom and home gym.

Nat: It’s also where my mom has been staying for the last few weeks. She came up to help us settle in with baby Lydia. She’s been a godsend. *Ethan nods in agreement*

Do you own your dream home? If not, what does that dream home look like?

Nat: Absolutely we own our dream home. This place is amazing and everything I ever wanted in a family home.

Ethan: I never pictured myself with a big house or living in the suburbs, but here, surrounded by my family... it’s beyond my wildest dreams. This is better than a dream home; this is heaven. *Nat smiles and kisses his cheek softly.*

What is your favorite room to spend time in with each other?

Nat: Oooh, that’s a tough one. I love all of the rooms. But I think I’m gonna have to say the den and the backyard.

Ethan: Agreed. Any space where I can spend time with family is my favorite place to be.

Tag list below the cut:

Tag List (let me know if you want to be added/removed):  @genevievemd @jamespotterthefirst @paulfwesley @ethansdique @openheartfanfics @perriewinklenerdie @little-flowers-on-heaven @stateofgracious @coffeeheartaddict @liaromancewriter @potionsprefect @mm2305 @gryffindordaughterofathena @actuallybored @writer-ish @queencarb @takeharryandgo @lsvdw-blog @itsjustwinter​ @imaneditorthankyouverymuch-deac @chaoticchopshopheart​ @ohchoices​ @maurine07​ @oldminniemcg​ @parisa-kh​ @shanzay44​ @uberamsey @izzyourresidentlawyer​ @adiehardfan​ @custaroonie​ @mia143​ @a-crepusculo​ @takemyopenheart​ @toadfrog26​ @quixoticdreamer16​ @barbean​ @headoverheelsforramsey​ @natureblooms24 @jerzwriter

[casuallyimagining]

Just Us

Percy Jackson x Reader Percy Jackson & the Olympians

Anonymous asked: I love your blog! If you are doing requests right now, are you able to do something with Percy and his S/O arguing and making up. Or some angst with a happy ending?

This got a little long. Hope y’all don’t mind :) Enjoy!

Requests are open for headcanons and fics!

The lonely apartment felt weird. It was happening more and more frequently as of late, but that didn’t mean it was any less wrong.

When you and Percy had first moved in together, the apartment on 76th Street had felt so alive. It was perfect, and he was perfect, and nothing could possibly have taken that feeling away. And it had lasted, not forever, of course, but long enough that you were confident that letting yourself fall so hard for the scruffy-haired skater boy from the Upper East Side was the right choice.

Sure, living with the son of Poseidon had its interesting moments, like the pegasi that tended to show up on your fire escape every so often, or the monsters that would sometimes follow you home after date nights. But overall, it was good and it felt right.

Until recently, that is. When the apartment started getting lonelier and lonelier, and you couldn’t shake the feeling that your world was somehow irreparably different. Like how your mouth feels after you get a tooth pulled. Something was missing, even when the apartment wasn’t empty.

Sometimes, it was his mom needing someone to watch Estelle. She was always so happy that Percy wanted to be a part of his little sister’s life. And who were you to deny him that? So off he would dutifully go, often not getting back until after you were asleep, sometimes just staying the night and not getting back until after you had gone to work the next morning.

Other times, it was Jason requesting help making sure both demigod camps had appropriate tributes to every minor god or goddess. You knew the work was tedious, and you knew how much Percy valued his friendship with Jason. So when the son of Jupiter called, you waved dutifully as Percy climbed on Blackjack’s back, not coming back for days, or sometimes even a week or more.

Most times, though, it was Annabeth or Grover just wanting to hang out. And you understood, really, you did. His two best and longest friends didn’t really have time to consistently spend with him anymore. Annabeth had gotten into Harvard’s graduate architecture program, so she only had precious little time to spend with Percy, and she could never leave Cambridge. Grover, of course, was still off spreading Pan’s message, and rarely did he have time to spare for his best friend. So, of course, you dutifully watched him race to gather his things, often enough forgetting to even say goodbye, before he was out the door for who knows how long.

Sadly, you sank into the couch—a plush leather hand-me-down from Sally and Paul when they redecorated their own apartment a couple years back—and turned on the TV. When he was gone for long periods of time, the news was often the only way to see what he was up to, even though he had a cellphone and a way to Iris message you on his literal wrist.

It was almost time for the 11 o’clock news, and, in theory, Percy should be home soon. You hadn’t heard anything from him all day, which wasn’t surprising, despite the fact that he was literally just on the other side of Manhattan babysitting.

But you weren’t so sure that he’d be home that night. Not only because Sally didn’t like when Percy walked home late at night. Of course she didn’t, and you didn’t either. The walk was quick during the day because he could just cut through Central Park, but late at night, the park was closed to pedestrian traffic. That, plus the fact that you and Percy had gotten into a bit of an argument before he went left you uncertain that he would return that night.

Or ever, for that matter, although your brain told you that was ridiculous.

All you had done was ask him to spend a little more time with you. You didn’t want to take him away from his friends and family, but you rarely got to spend time with your boyfriend anymore. Between work, helping out at camp, and him spending what seemed like every spare moment with his friends and family, you missed him. And you told him that.

Maybe you communicated it wrong, or maybe he misheard you, but whatever the reason, he left the apartment in a huff at noon.

Shortly before the news ended, you heard a roll of thunder and rain pattering gently on the window. There was no way Sally would let him leave in a storm. You stood and stretched, feeling your back pop, and made your way into your bedroom.

You had only been in bed for what felt like a few minutes when you heard the clattering on the fire escape. Annoyed, you got up and went to the window. You were getting ready to yell at Blackjack for making so much noise when you saw Percy half-slumped over on his back, clutching at his side. His shirt was torn and ruddy, and he was soaked from the rain that had progressively gotten worse.

Silently, you scrambled out the window, patting the pegasus’ nose as he shuffled to give you better access to his injured rider. You helped Percy dismount, pressing your hand to his wound so that he could use both of his arms. He mumbled a quiet ‘thanks, buddy’ and leaned his head against Blackjack’s snout for a brief moment before pushing away and letting you help him gingerly climb through the window. Your brain barely registered the flap of wings outside as you led Percy to sitting on the bed.

“What happened?” you asked softly, replacing your hand with his own before going to the bedside table to grab the container of ambrosia you had stashed in every room of the apartment.

“Empousai in the park.” His voice was hoarse, and he sounded tired. You doubted his six-year-old sister had tuckered him out that much. “Didn’t see them until it was too late. They chased me halfway through the Ramble before I was able to get some ground on them.”

You frowned, cupping a hand to his cheek briefly. “You’re home now,” you whispered. “That’s what matters.”

He paused for a moment, and you could see an emotion flash across his face too quickly to identify. Then, he nodded.

Silently, you went to the wardrobe and pulled out dry clothes for him to change into. Percy took the pajamas gratefully, and for a moment, his sea green eyes met yours. You were glad in that moment that he wasn’t the son of Zeus—the electricity in the air was palpable.

“How was Estelle?” you asked quietly, breaking his gaze. You sat on the edge of the bed while he changed.

He chuckled, wincing slightly. The ambrosia must not have fully finished healing him yet. “Good. She’s good. She asked about you.” You raised your eyebrows in shock and he continued. “She wants you to come over to play school sometime.”

You laughed. The last time you had played school with the five-year-old, she had been the teacher and you and Percy had pretended to be her bad students. She loved it. “Well, I suppose we’ll have to make that happen, then.”

He nodded and went silent as he pulled the ratty Red Hot Chili Peppers shirt over his head. It used to be a hoodie—you had gotten it for him shortly after you met him—and he wore it so much it was practically threadbare. He had cut the hood off at some point, and the front pocket had ripped off in a monster fight two years ago, so now it was just a thin sweatshirt that had been mended and sewn back together so many times, most of the stitching wasn’t original. But still he refused to throw it out.

After a moment, he sat down beside you, and for a second, you thought he wasn’t going to say anything. Then, he grabbed your hand. “Mom asked about you, too.”

“Oh?”

Percy sighed. His hair was soaked, and it stuck to his face at odd angles. He looked a mess, although if you were honest with yourself, he had certainly looked much worse. “I’m sorry I’m a shit boyfriend,” he mumbled. His grasp on your hand loosened. “I didn’t realize…”

You squeezed his hand.

“Everyone always told me that my fatal flaw was being too loyal to my friends. I never knew what that meant. ‘Til now.” His sea green eyes were sad when he finally let himself meet your eyes. “Turns out you can be too loyal.”

“I love how much you love your friends,” you reassured him. “I just want a bit more balance. I was starting to get the impression you didn’t want to spend time with me anymore.”

His brows knit together in frustration. “Of course I want to spend time with you. I love you.” The way Percy said it, so finitely and sure of himself, caused your heart to do backflips in your chest.

You leaned over and kissed him chastely, your lips barely brushing his. Before you had a chance to pull away, he was pulling you closer and kissing you again, one arm around your waist, the other cupping your cheek tenderly. It was brief, but kissing Percy always tied your stomach into knots like it was the first time.

He leaned his forehead against yours, and in the close proximity, you could feel him smile without even looking at him. “Mom invited us both for dinner tomorrow,” he mumbled, his sea green eyes meeting yours once again. “Maybe after, we can start that thing on HBO. The one with the monsters. Just us.”

You smiled. “Just us.”

[thewnchstrs]

(There’s No Place Like) Home for the Holidays

Pairing: Daughter!Reader

Disclaimers: FLUFF, happy tears

Word Count: 1.3K

A/N: I’m so sorry about your dad. I hope you had a great Christmas!!

M A S T E R L I S T

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

The sound of tiny feet padding against the hard floors made me peek an eye from behind the covers that were pulled up over my nose. My eyes focused in and out on the snow that tapped lightly against the windowpane. 

I smiled despite myself as my bedroom door creaked open. I feigned sleep as two small bodies jumped onto the bed and a third pulled the sheets from my face. JJ’s toothless smile looked down at me in excitement, “Santa came!”

“He did?” I whispered, rolling halfway over to where Arrow and Zeppelin were bouncing excitedly at my legs nearly buzzing with energy. 

“Santa!” Arrow giggled, pulling on my sleeve. 

I sat up, crossing my legs, moving Zeppelin’s unruly hair out of his eyes, “Did you hear him come in, Zep?”

“Yes!” He beamed. “I hear the bells from his sleigh!”

“The bells!?” I gawked before looking at the other two. “Do you think you were on the nice list this year?”

“We were! He came, Y/N!” JJ said again. “We’ll show you!”

“Alright, alright,” I laughed, pulling myself up. They ran from the room, leaving the door wide open. 

I wrapped my blanket over my shoulders against the cold that filtered through the room. As I descended the stairs, I could see the three of them assemble around the Christmas tree where gifts wrapped in red and green were piled high under it. I swore I’d never seen so many in my life.

The smell of sizzling bacon, crackling eggs and sweet syrup filled my nose as I rounded the corner into the kitchen. Jensen stood over the stove, flipping pancakes in a pan, his hair standing at odd angles. 

“Morning honey,” Danneel smiled as she came from behind me, setting a stack of plates next to Jensen. 

“There she is!” He beamed over his shoulder. “You want breakfast? We’ve got it all: eggs, bacon, waffles, pancakes...take your pick.”

“You guys eat like this every Christmas?” I laughed, stealing a piece of bacon. 

“Only the special ones,” Danneel smiled, wrapping her arms around my shoulders. “And this is our most special one.”

My eyes bounced between Jensen and Danneel, “I’m confused-”

“It’s our first one with you,” Jensen reminded, my heart melting. “Our first one altogether. As a family.” I held tightly onto Danneel’s arm, squeezing it softly as the kids ran into the kitchen, almost toppling over each other. 

“Can we open presents now, please please please,” they begged. JJ’s hands were held tightly together, Arrow and Zeppelin nodding along with their older sister. 

“You know the drill,” Jensen said. “Breakfast first, you can’t open all that on an empty stomach.”

He was met with a chorus of groans, but Jensen grabbed all three, throwing one over his shoulder and tucking the other two under each arm. Their laughter filled the kitchen as he plopped them at the table. 

I assisted Danneel in carrying the piles of food to the table. I reveled in sitting around together, smiling around bites of food, listening to their voices clashing together. In all the chaos some people might see it as, I knew it was going to quickly become one of my favorite traditions. 

The feeling of finally living in a permanent home after moving from one to the other was something I’d never take for granted. In the ten months I’d been living with them, I’d felt more at home than I ever had before. Had a family like I never experienced in this way. In many ways, my time with them brought so many firsts, my first real Christmas being one of them.

I listened intently to each conversation, each word that poured over the dining table. I wished I could wrap this moment up, keep it with me forever. It’s rare we’re all under the same roof with everyone’s hectic schedules but when we are, it’s my favorite quality time.

Breakfast flew by in a blur and by the time the kids had finished their food, they flew towards the Christmas tree. I sat on the end of the couch, watching as they tore into each one, admired it and then moved onto the next. I watched as Jensen tried to carefully delegate each one but eventually gave up halfway through, trying to keep up with the wrapping paper flying over their little shoulders.

“Slow down!” Jensen begged as he picked up another piece of fallen wrapping paper before shoving it into a large trash bag. Danneel and I laughed behind our mugs of hot chocolate when he finally gave up, plopping down on the couch.

“This one’s for you, Y/N!” JJ smiled, bringing me a box.

I furrowed my eyebrows, glancing to Jensen and Danneel who smiled, nodding me on. I took it from JJ, “You guys didn’t have to get me anything.”

“It’s Christmas, we had to get you a few things,” Danneel said. I opened it, beaming at the sweater that was inside.

“Thank you, I love it,” I said, hugging each of them before throwing it on over my pajama shirt. I ran my hands over the material, loving the warmth it gave me.

“This one’s yours too,” Jensen said, grabbing one of the gifts from under the tree. It was covered in tape, the wrapping paper bulky at the edges. “Wrapped it myself.”

I laughed, “Seriously…you didn’t have to-”

“Just open it!” Danneel laughed, pushing it back into my hands.

I laughed, ripping the paper open. It was a small box with a delicate necklace inside. I smiled, lightly touching it with the pads of my fingers, “It’s beautiful.”

I felt overwhelmed with each present I was handed next, feeling like they’d truly never stop coming. However, once the morning slowly died down and everything under the tree had been unwrapped, I sighed contently against the couch. JJ, Arrow and Zep cuddled close to my sides, their excitement finally lulling them into a mid-afternoon nap.

As my eyes began to slowly drift closed, I felt the end of the couch dip slightly. I peaked an eye open to where Danneel sat, Jensen coming to sit on the other side of Zeppelin.

“We have one more thing for you,” Danneel half-whispered.

I glanced down at where she was holding a large bag in her hands. I laughed lightly, “I really don’t need anything else.”

Jensen nudged me, “This is something we really want you to have.”

I looked from him to Danneel before slowly sitting further up on the couch, Arrow and JJ stirring softly and Jensen taking Zep into his lap. I pulled the tissue paper from the bag before pulling out a book. I looked at it, slightly confused before my eyes misted over, reading the title: My First Year was printed over the top cover of what I could now tell was a scrapbook.

I flipped it open, smiling at each of the pictures that were pasted onto the pages, laughing at the short captions beside each one. Everything, each moment from my first year with them was documented in the book. Everything from birthdays, holidays, and even my first day of school. They had documented the little moments too: redecorating the first bedroom I ever had to myself, going apple picking, the trip to the beach we took over the summer.

By the end of the scrapbook, tears were rolling down my face as I read the short letters Jensen and Danneel had slid behind the clear covers. I wiped away my tears, admiring the pictures that JJ and the twins had drawn for me. It was truly the best present I’d ever gotten.

“Thank you,” I smiled, looking up at them, wiping at my face again. “This is…just…thank you.”

Danneel pulled me in for a hug, rubbing gently over my back before Jensen pulled me in for one, too. He watched me as I pulled away, “I know this year hasn’t been easy. You’ve had to go through so many things at once and your life changed so quick. But, Y/N…this has been the best year of our lives.” Danneel nodded along with his words. “Our family’s finally complete.”

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

FOREVER TAG LIST

@spnbaby-67 | @majicbamana | @luciferslucille | @anti-social-club | @search-bar​ | @mellorine-paprika | @thepocketshoelace | @jaremish | @the-salty-asian​ | @the-hufflepuff-hunter​ | @robynannemackenzie-blog​ | @mersuperwholocked-lowlife​ | @find-sammys-shoe​ |  @caswinchester2000​ | @damnedimpala​ | @lauren-novak​ | @adeanmon​ | @spnficgirl​ | @awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce​ | @defenderrosetyler​ | @resanoona​ | @avngrsinitiative​

[crystalstar8]

Knights of the Night (chapter 2)

Chapter 2

Ch 1, ch 2, ch 3, ch 4, ch 5

https://archiveofourown.org/works/29139240/chapters/71536491

pairing: Jungkook x oc

genre: vampire au, college au, twilight, romance

word count: 1,628

warnings: blood (obviously), kidnapping, child kidnapping, needles, France

notes: vampires, vampire au, college, college au, so many twilight references, blood, needles, kidnapping, children, homelessness, dance, ballet, flashbacks, romance, slow burn, probably no smut, idk yet tho, France, French things, attempted genocide, inaccurate French history, bisexual main character, @strawberriewithchocolate-blog​

summary: Catalina starts college in a small town all the way across the country. She doesn’t know anyone and isn’t exactly looking for friends. She just wants to focus on dance. But when she meets fellow dance major, Jimin, and adventurous, fellow freshman, Jungkook, Catalina ends up discovering a whole new side to the small college town; one that is dangerous but oh so enticing...

              Despite complaining about walking to work, Catalina was sort of looking forward to the hike. She could see the mountains from wherever she was in this town, and they were beautiful. It was seven in the morning and Catalina was half dead. After a cup of coffee and a hearty breakfast though, she was ready to go. Jungkook had texted her the day before giving her a time, eight am, and his home address. No other details, such as what to wear to work, which would have been helpful. She had texted him back but he never answered, so she wore a plain black t-shirt with jeans. She figured that was neutral enough.

               Jungkook’s house turned out to be right around the block, so it was a short walk. The house was old, two stories, grey brick, square and narrow. Catalina knocked on the door and waited. Jungkook opened the door right away.

               “Hey, come on in,” he said, holding the door open. Catalina closed the door behind her and looked around. The inside looked like it hadn’t been redecorated since the 70’s, but it was still cozy and homey. Jungkook led the way up the stairs to a small bedroom at the end of the hall. His hair was still a mess and he wasn’t wearing shoes.

               “Are your parents home?” asked Catalina.

               “No, they’re at work. They’ll come home in a few hours,” he said.

               “The night shift?” asked Catalina.

               “Yeah, they’re nurses. They’ve worked the night shift ever since me and my brother started high school,” said Jungkook. He was sitting on his bed, lacing up a pair of Timberlands.

               The bedroom was a mess, clothes scattered across the floor, piles of tangled wires in the corner. A bookshelf was against the left wall filled with video games and stuffed animals. Beside the bookshelf, a surfboard, a snowboard, and a skateboard all leaned against the wall. A glass of milk sat on the desk by the door and there was a hole in the wall right above that. Catalina could see into the next bedroom through it, which looked similar to this room. The whole bedroom stunk like…

               “Dude, this milk is bad,” said Catalina. She scrunched her nose and shuffled away from it.

               “It is?” asked Jungkook. He picked it up and sniffed it. He reared back and gagged loudly. Catalina threw her head back laughing.

               “Why did you sniff it?” she asked.

               “I don’t know! Shut up!” he said. He took one last tentative sniff of it before setting it down and grabbing a hairbrush.

               “Have you eaten yet?”

               “No I just got up, like a few minutes before you got here,” he said. “I was thinking we could stop somewhere on the way.”

               “Won’t we be late?” asked Catalina.

               “Just McDonalds, nothing fancy!” he said.

               “What time do we have to be there?”

               “Eight.”

               “Dude! We’re gonna be late!”

               “Just quick! We’ll go through the drive through!”

               “We’re walking!”

                 A half an hour later found Catalina and Jungkook starting on the trail up the mountain. Jungkook was wolfing down three McMuffins, tater tots, and a frozen coffee. The walk through the drive through was something Catalina never wanted to do again.

               The hike, though intimidating, was very nice. They talked about their childhoods and other random stories while they walked. The woods were beautiful; enormous, ancient trees towering all around them. Catalina remembered Jungkook telling her about people skiing in these mountains. She didn’t know a whole lot about the sport, but she was pretty sure the trees would get in the way.

               “Now, I don’t know enough about skiing, but I feel like all these trees would get in the way,” said Catalina. Jungkook chuckled.

               “Yeah, there’s slopes at the top that you take lifts to get to. No one skis here,” said Jungkook. “We’ll go this winter.”

               “Yeah, you keep saying that. Anyway, this is a really nice hike, but I bet you we won’t feel like doing this every time,” said Catalina. “We’re gonna get sick of it after the first few times.”

               “No way. R.I.P. to you but I’m different,” said Jungkook.

               Catalina sighed. “That was lame. And you’re the only one here who has a car, so…”

               “I know, I’m just kidding,” he said.

               The trail let them out onto the road, which they followed until they reached the gift shop. It was a small building on the side of the road which advertised trail maps, souvenirs and camping necessities. A little bell rang above the door as they stepped inside. Hoodies, snow globes and tacky, racist Native American merchandise greeted them inside.

               “You’re late,” someone said. A woman in her late 40’s rounded one of the shelves and crossed her arms.

               “What? Not we’re not!” Jungkook checked the time on his phone. They were indeed late. Catalina sighed. Great first impression.

               “We’re really sorry ma’am. Someone had to get McDonalds on the way here,” she said.

               The woman sighed. “Call me Helen. And it’s okay. It’s not like they’re bustin’ the door down.”

               Sure enough, besides them, the store was empty. Helen showed them how to work the register, where the back room was, and how to close at seven.

               “Just be friendly with the customers. I’m not gonna be here on weekends, so keep yourselves occupied,” said Helen. And with that, she left the store. The rest of the day went by slowly. Not many people came in, so Catalina and Jungkook mostly just hung out and goofed around.

               When Catalina got home later that night, she was exhausted. They only had a few customers that day, the rest of the time was spent chatting and making fun of the Indian goods.

               Her bed, which was still just a mattress on the floor, was a welcome sight.

                  The only thing she could feel was a deep-seated fear. It made her palms sweat and the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. The narrow hallways seemed to be never ending. She needed to find a way out. If they caught up to her, she was dead. The faint sound of a floorboard creaking somewhere behind her made her spin around, breath caught in her throat. There was no one there, but the hallway seemed darker than it was before.

               All of a sudden, Catalina found herself in a den. A fire crackled in the fireplace, bookshelves lined the walls and a big desk sat in the corner. It was cozy, and Catalina felt the fear melt away. She felt safe here.

               “Have you read this one?”

               Catalina turned around. A man stood by the hearth. He held up a book, but Catalina couldn’t make out the title since the letters kept shifting.

               “I’m not sure,” she said. This man was dangerous, Catalina could tell by the fear she still felt being around him. But she also knew he wouldn’t hurt her. “I don’t think I’ve read it. What book is it?”

               “I told you about this one yesterday. You would like it,” he said. When he smiled, his dimples caved and his eyes sparked. Catalina no longer felt afraid of him.

                  I Like It, by Cardi B. blasted from the speakers. Sweat dripped from Catalina’s brow.

               “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, one, two, three, STEVE, GODDAMN IT YOU’RE STILL TURNING THE WRONG WAY!” the choreographer shouted. She paused the music and pinched the bridge of her nose. Catalina took the opportunity to breathe and turn to Jimin. He was trying not to laugh.

               “I don’t wanna be here when she kills Steve,” Jimin said under his breath. Catalina giggled.

               “I think it’d be some fun drama,” said Catalina. “Also, he deserves it.”

               Jimin laughed and they got back into position as the music started from the beginning again. Catalina wasn’t really a fan of Cardi B., but the dance was a lot of fun. It was a smooth hip hop, lots of body rolls and sexy partner dancing. Catalina was glad she got Jimin as her partner and not Steve. Steve was pretty bad.

               Once the choreographer called it a day, Catalina and Jimin took their time packing their bags.

               “Do you watch the news at all?” asked Jimin. Catalina shook her head. “Well, it’s the only thing ever on at my house, and I guess there’s like, people going missing in the town next to us.”

               “Whoa, really?” asked Catalina.

               “Yeah, and I was invited to this party, but my mom has been freaking out and she doesn’t want me to go out, so I don’t know if I’m going…”

               “Wow, that’s crazy. Yeah, I mean, it’s not in this town though. So it should be fine to go to a party,” said Catalina. Jimin shrugged.

               “Maybe. Anyway, how was the first day at work?” he asked.

               “Ah, yeah, it was nice. The hike is cool and there’s a bunch of racist Indian goods in the shop. There’s like, barely any customers, so it was pretty chill all day,” she said.

               “That’s cool. I don’t think I’d be able to walk that far to work every day. I’m too lazy,” said Jimin.

               Catalina shrugged. “I mean, a job is a job. But I’ll probably have a ride for a lot of my shifts,” she said. “What about you? Did you get that job in the theater?”

               “Yeah, it’s alright. I guess it’s gonna be mostly just moving chairs around and helping backstage for events,” said Jimin. “But what if I want to audition for a show?”

               “Then they’ll just have to find a replacement for you!” said Catalina. “You deserve to be on stage!”

               Jimin laughed and said, “Thank you. I do deserve to be on stage, don’t I?”

[papermoonloveslucy]

MY FAVORITE HUSBAND ~ Season 1, Part 2 (Cooper)

January 7, 1949 - July 1, 1949

“My Favorite Husband” ~ Season one aired on CBS Radio from July 5, 1948 to July 1, 1949.  There were 51 half hour episodes.  Starting in January 1949, the characters would have their last name changed to Cugat, the character of Cory Cartwright would was phased out, Gale Gordon and Bea Benadaret became regulars as the Atterburys, and the main sponsor became Jell-O.

Regular Cast: Lucille Ball as Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Cooper, Richard Denning as George Cooper, Ruth Perrott as Katie the Maid, Gale Gordon as Rudoph Atterbury, Bea Benadaret as Iris Atterbury, and Bob LeMond, Announcer.  

Season 1 (Part Two) Guest Cast: Frank Nelson (11 episodes), Hans Conried (9 episodes), Florence Halop (3 episodes), Jerry Hausner (2 episodes), Gerald Mohr (2 episodes), Alan Reed (2 episodes), Doris Singleton (2 episodes), Joe Kearns, Jack Edwards, Jean Vander Pyl, William Johnston, Verna Felton, GeGe Pearson, Pinto Colvig, Steve Allen, Elvia Allman, Gloria Blondell, John Heistand, John Heistand, Parley Baer, Peter Leeds, Shirley Mitchell, Wally Maher, Shirley Mitchell, Johnny McGovern, Ted DeCorsia, Milton Stark, and Mary Lansing.

To Experience the Full Episode Blogs - for both “My Favorite Husband” and “I Love Lucy” - simply click on the hyperlinked (underlined) text.

* = Episodes not available for preview or considered lost.

“Over Budget - Beans” (aka “Beans for Three Weeks”) ~ January 7, 1949 

Synopsis ~ Liz goes over her budget again by buying six cases of beans that were on special so George cuts off her allowance. Soon they’re eating nothing but beans, and the electricity and telephone have been disconnected!

”Piano & Violin Lessons”  (aka “Professor Krausmeyer’s Talent Scouts”) ~ January 14, 1949

Synopsis ~ Liz takes up the piano to win a radio talent contest. To get even, George starts playing the violin. Who will win?

“The Marriage License Error” (aka “Marriage License”) ~ January 21, 1949

Synopsis ~ Liz and George find their marriage license and discover that instead of “George H. Cooper,” it says “George C. Hooper.” Now Liz is convinced that she and George aren’t legally married!

Portions served as the basis for The “I Love Lucy” episode “The Marriage License” 

“The Absolute Truth” ~ January 28, 1949

Synopsis ~ Liz and George bet each other that they can each go for 24 hours without telling a lie. Even a little white one.

Basis for the “I Love Lucy” episode “Lucy Tells the Truth” 

“Speech for Civic Organization” (aka “Liz Debates Alaska in Town Forum”) ~ February 4, 1949 

Synopsis ~ Liz, anxious to win the approval of an important dinner guest, simply agrees with everything he says. The guest is so impressed with her intelligence that he invites her to be a speaker at his next civic forum.

“Valentine’s Day” (aka “Valentine’s Day Mischief”) ~ February 11, 1949 

Synopsis ~ Katie, the Maid, is sweet on Mr. Dabney, the butcher, and Liz offers to help. But when Liz’s Valentine to George gets switched with her check to pay the butcher’s bill, Mr. Dabney gets the wrong idea.

Basis for the “I Love Lucy” episode “Lucy Plays Cupid” 

“Secretarial School” (aka “Liz Attends Claremont Business School”) ~ February 18, 1949

Synopsis ~ George needs a new secretary, so Liz enrolls in secretarial school so she can fill the position.

“Absentmindedness” (aka “Liz’s Absent-mindedness”) ~ February 25, 1949 

Synopsis ~ Liz goes to see a doctor about her absentmindedness, and then reports her car to be stolen when she forgets that George dropped her off at the doctor! Liz takes a memory course. It works in reverse and she ends up with amnesia and George finds himself in jail.

*“Mother-In-Law” ~ March 5, 1949

Synopsis ~ George's mother comes to visit. Liz hopes to drive her out by spreading ragweed and other allergy-inducing plants around the house, but her plan backfires when George's mother starts dating her allergist.

Gale Gordon and Bea Benaderet, do not play the Atterburys in this program. Bea Benaderet plays George's mother, and Gale Gordon plays George's mother's boyfriend.

“Charity Revue” (aka “Red Cross Benefit Revue”) ~ March 11, 1949

Synopsis ~ Mr. Atterbury asks George to work up a song and dance routine for the local Red Cross Charity Review. At the same time Liz’s women’s club recruits her to perform.

Basis for the “I Love Lucy” episode “The Benefit” 

*”Giveaway Program” (aka “The Johnny Odell Program”) ~ March 18, 1949

Synopsis ~ Liz never misses her favorite giveaway radio program, "Ring the Bell With Johnny O'Dell." She's convinced that she's going to get called on the phone and win the grand prize.

Basis for the “I Love Lucy” episode "Redecorating"

*”Old Jokes and Old Stories” ~ March 25, 1949

Synopsis ~ Liz keeps stepping on George's punch lines during an evening with the Atterburys. George finally puts his foot down, and Liz promises from then on to obey his every command. Things are going fine until George somehow gets the mistaken idea that Liz is so upset with this news that she is planning to run off with the Atterburys' chauffer.

“April Fool’s Day” ~ April 1, 1949 

Synopsis ~ As an April Fool’s joke, Liz plans to plant a lipstick-smeared handkerchief in George’s coat pocket.

“Gum Machine” (aka “The Principal of the Thing” aka “Demand Your Rights”) ~  April 9, 1949 

Synopsis ~ George tells Liz that she needs to stand up for her rights and stop letting people push her around. So when Liz loses a penny in a broken gum machine, she vows to get her penny back no matter what the cost.

“Horseback Riding” (aka “Liz Takes Horseback Riding Lessons”) ~ April 15, 1949

Synopsis ~ George’s female co-chair for his horseback riding club’s upcoming weekend breakfast ride has Liz so jealous that she’s determined to overcome her fear of horses and learn to ride herself.

“Time Budgeting” (aka “George and His Trained Seals”) ~ April 22, 1949 

Synopsis ~ George is so fed up with Liz’s being late for everything that he puts her on a strict schedule.

Basis for the “I Love Lucy” episode “Lucy’s Schedule”

“Vacation Time” (aka “Trailer Vacation to Goosegrease Lake”) ~ April 29, 1949 

Synopsis ~ It’s vacation time, and Liz and George have decidedly different plans. He wants to go camping with a trailer he borrowed from a friend, while she’s set on a glamorous vacation at Moosehead Lodge.

Partly inspired the premise of the “My Favorite Husband” episode “Liz Learns To Swim” 

“Overweight” (aka “The Five-Dollar-A-Pound Diet”) ~ May 6, 1949 

Synopsis ~ After viewing some old home movies, Liz and Iris decide to go on a diet.

Some elements later used to create the “I Love Lucy” episode “The Diet”

“Anniversary Presents” (aka “Tenth Anniversary Presents”) ~ May 13, 1949 

Synopsis ~ George and Mr. Atterbury buy presents for their wives, and Iris’s present, a mink coat, is delivered to Liz’s house by mistake.

Basis for the “I Love Lucy” episode “The Fur Coat”

“Getting Old” (aka “Liz Is Feeling Her Age”) ~ May 20, 1949

Synopsis ~ Scanning her old high school yearbook, Liz decides she’s old, and everything George does to try to snap her out of it just makes things worse. George tries to convince Liz that she’s as glamourous as ever. His tactics misfire so George is forced to hire a psychiatrist.

Partly inspired the “I Love Lucy” episode “The Inferiority Complex”

“Liz in the Hospital” (aka “Liz Goes To The Hospital”) ~ May 27, 1949 

Synopsis ~ The doctor pays a house call to see what’s wrong with George, and discovers that Liz needs to have her tonsils removed!

“Hair Dyed” (aka “Liz Gets Her Hair Dyed”) ~ June 10, 1949 

Synopsis ~  After George warning Liz about the dangers of idle gossip, Liz’s chatty and absent-minded hair stylist forgets what she’s doing and mistakenly dyes Liz’s hair black. Nobody recognizes Liz, so she decides to flirt with George to test his fidelity. Gossip about Liz and George spreads all over town.

The first part was the basis for the “I Love Lucy” episode “The Gossip” and the second half inspired “The Black Wig”

“Television” (aka “George Ruins a Neighbor’s TV” aka “The Television Suit”) ~ June 17, 1949 

Synopsis ~ Liz and George’s visit to their next-door neighbors, the Stones, turns into a disaster when George tries to repair the Stones’ new television set by himself.

Basis for the “I Love Lucy” episode “The Courtroom” 

“Liz Changes Her Mind” ~ June 24, 1949 & September 30, 1950 (rerun)

Synopsis ~ When Liz has trouble making up her mind, George decides she must finish everything she starts.

Basis for “I Love Lucy” "Lucy Changes Her Mind”

“Reminiscing” ~ July 1, 1949

Synopsis ~  Liz is working on her scrapbook, and she and George reminisce about when Liz learned to drive and got her license, when Liz signed an affidavit swearing never to interrupt George’s stories again, and when the butcher thought that Liz had a crush on him.

[crusherthedoctor]

When taking Lutrudis as a concept into account, it could be argued that the decision to have her live in a big, fairytale-like castle would be an unwise idea, maybe even counterintuitive, since a place so extravagant might undermine her intended loneliness and yearning for a more fulfilling life, adventure, and all that jazz before Sonic and company entered the picture. The last thing I’d want with Trudy would be to remind people of Chris “woe is me” Thorndyke and his rich kid mansion lifestyle. Not to mention that since some of the townspeople in Lime Shores can act rather ignorant (and in some cases, antagonistic) towards her, a lavish castle might also undermine the underdog nature of that particular setup.

Despite these concerns however, I felt confident with my plan, and I figured that as long as I knew what I was doing, readers would understand what I had in mind. I’ve explained in the past that a castle would better accommodate someone with her EDS, so right off the bat, you already have a practical justification for it. It also helps that whereas the accursed Thorndyke had his parents, friends, grandad, butler, etc etc etc etc... Trudy genuinely had no one to turn to before the heroes arrived for their intended vacation. So with that said, let’s examine this particular building for a bit, complete with pics for comparison’s sake, as well as a certain cavern full of Ethereal goodness that happens to be nearby...

Creating the Residence: Trudy’s Castle

Let’s get the obvious out of the way: The outside environment is not too subtly inspired by Autumn Plains from Spyro 2, better known to non-Spyro fans as my blog background.

A serene yet lonely autumnal forest backdrop, with a big stone castle smack dab in the center. It’s not one-to-one the same of course - instead of a pool, the front area boasts a lovely garden full of different flowers, and there’s also a lake nearby - but the mood is more or less what you see here.

However, this partly serves to contrast with what’s behind closed doors. As acknowledged in Beyond the Stars proper, the interior of the castle instead goes for a different and grander, yet equally inviting atmosphere when you take that first step inside. Instead of stone, you see marble and wood, and instead of grey and green, you have reds, creams, maroons, and golds (with a few complimentary blues and purples thanks to the flags hovering above).

As the lady herself mentions, Trudy discovered that the interior was in a state of disarray when she obtained it, and she was of the belief that a castle as beautiful and rich in history as this one deserved better than to be forgotten and wither away in the coming generations. The least she felt she could do was give it a modern, yet respectful redecoration, and give the old building a second, loving life in the process.

Yes, that means every spot of detail inside this castle was done single-handedly. Entirely on her lonesome. It took ages to complete, especially when taking her EDS into account, but she was determined to give the place its due, and lo and behold, the effort more than paid off. (You know, such levels of determination bring a blue hedgehog to mind...)

And that’s just the intended vision for the main hallway! We haven’t touched the other rooms yet! (Since a castle would have quite a lot of rooms, it goes without saying that for the sake of keeping this post from going even longer, we won’t be covering literally every single room... just the most important and/or most noteworthy ones. :o)

The bathroom can be described as a mix between the two examples below, combining the semi-medieval build of the former with the sky blue palette and general relaxing style of the latter.

Though that said, while the bath remains there for any guests to use, Trudy personally uses a shower since it’s more convenient for someone with her condition.

The kitchen (or as Sonic likes to call it, “the palace of chili dog magic”) mostly comes in cool browns and blacks, and its intended appearance is probably one of the more obvious combinations of old-timey and modern. It also has a slightly country aesthetic compared to the other rooms, because ha ha, horses, geddit.

The greenhouse at the back brings back the heavy amounts of green (well duh, the clue’s in the name, isn’t it?), while also providing contrast with the whiteness of the structure and architecture. Complete with giant arched windows, because of course.

And the segue point between the greenhouse and the rest of the castle looks something along these lines, at least with the way the building itself connects.

Even the chambers underneath the castle manage to look classy and clean. And just as well, since it’s where Tails parks the Tornado for the remainder of his time in Viridonia, once he FINALLY remembers to get it off the Lime Shore beach...

You know another benefit of such a spacious area? You get to turn it into a makeshift workshop for all your gadget needs, Tornado-related or otherwise. I’m sure that won’t come in handy at some point...

The guest bedroom is one of the most curious rooms of the lot, because even though it’s as nice and tidy as you’d expect, it’s also rather... muted compared to everywhere else. Perhaps Trudy felt no need to modify it further in any specific way, since no one had ever bothered to stop by anyway... until you-know-who and the gang.

And we can’t forget to mention our fair equine’s OWN bedroom now, can we? Her bedroom opts for darker colours, yet no less therapeutic, which includes the canopy bed that she rests in. You can actually see the general idea with the bedroom (and the outside of the castle for that matter) for yourself, in the Dame of the Daisy mini-comic, courtesy of my awesome friend @benignmilitancy​.

Likewise, although this shot is currently incomplete (don’t worry, Benign is fine with me using it :P), meaning some details haven’t been added yet, you can also get a basic idea of how the balcony is supposed to look here, along with the complimentary view of Viridonia’s oceans.

So what kind of music would befit Trudy’s castle, you may ask? Well, taking every detail into account, we would need something that goes for that perfect mix of adventure, wonder, warmth... and a faint hint of sadness lurking beneath. Something that gets all four across, but not in a generic, run-of-the-mill orchestra sort of way. Something a little more ambient and down-to-earth, with a more unique and specific kind of intimacy. Something like...

This would apply for when you’re inside, mind you. Outside the castle, the surrounding forest would have a theme of its own, though it would share that similar combination of melancholic friendliness. So for the outside, we would go with something more like...

Overall, the idea behind Trudy’s castle - aside from being her residence and looking enviously pretty - is to add to Trudy’s own character. It’s said that one’s home can say a lot about a person, and I made sure that every room shared a consistent narrative when reading between the lines. They may differ in shape, and they may even differ in colour, but the story is kept consistent at all times. We know that our girl is elegant, we know that our girl has slightly antiquated tastes... and we know that until the arrival of Sonic and Co, our girl was extremely lonely, and isolated by her peers, to the point of staving off said loneliness and isolation by making the place as lavishly detailed as it is in the first place. And just as the stony exterior hides the more fanciful interior, so too is there more to Trudy herself than at first glance.

Besides, not counting Eggman’s endless list of tributes to himself, we don’t often see the characters’ homes in the games, do we? We’ve seen Angel Island for Knuckles, the Space Colony A.R.K. for Shadow, that shack belonging to the Chaotix in Heroes, a few pads of varying consistency depending on the game (Tails’ workship in SA1 VS his house in Battle)... but not much more than that. And what better contrast to Sonic being something of a nomad, than by Trudy living a place like this?

But we’re not done just yet. Last but not least, we can’t forget that mysterious cave hiding down below, where countless amounts of Ethereal Crystals can be found undisturbed... You can bet that such a place would be suitably attention grabbing.

Since the crystals themselves come in practically every shade of the rainbow and then some, the resulting combination - specifically their reflecting shine - ends up painting the cavern walls with just as much colour.

It may feel a tad surreal and almost alien, to the point of being a little intimidating for some, arguably. But you know in your heart of hearts that as long as Eggman isn’t in the equation, there is no need to be fearful. After all, Trudy knows it better than anyone else, and although the crystals and their properties may hail from unknown, possibly uncomfortable origins, the horse herself continues to use them for wholly benevolent purposes.

Such a cavern would deserve a theme of its own, no? We’ll need something that drives home the point that the power within has no inherent morality, and can only be as good or as evil as the person using them. So although Trudy’s own intentions are firmly on the side of good, we’ll also need an added touch of minor eeriness lingering in the background, to represent the overarching threat and subsequent implications of Eggman dipping his own hands into the metaphorical Ethereal well, on top of its already unexplained otherworldliness...

So yes, it’s quite a pleasant castle that Trudy has, eh?

But this isn’t the only castle that can be found in Viridonia...

Well, it used to be the only one of its kind on the island... until a certain doctor stopped by, decided to beat the horse at her own game, and create his own, darker counterpart in response... But we’ll get to that when we get to that, ho ho ho.