#ALEX LOOKED AT HENRY 1ST

[daikunart]

[mcnuggetclub]

Henry's grin takes over his entire face, not his photograph grin, but one that is crinkly and unguarded and infectious.

[thebrownstone]

Introduction | FAQ | Discord | Twitter | Collection

Now ushering in the second year of the annual fandom-wide event dedicated to the beloved ship of Alex Claremont-Diaz and Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor! This event takes place every day from September 27th through October 3rd. Each day has two different prompts which participants are asked to draw inspiration from. Participants may choose one of the two daily prompts, or do both.

Every prompt is designed to be vague so that each person can interpret it differently! There is no right or wrong way to participate. Whether you are an artist, a writer, a video editor, etc, you can join!

This event is not exclusive to members of our discord. Prompts below.

Day One - Friday, September 27th

“did you get my note?” and secrets

Day Two - Saturday, September 28th

silver or gold and hurt/comfort

Day Three - Sunday, September 29th

in a different universe and blood, sweat, and tears

Day Four - Monday, September 30th

“i can’t do this again.” and hot or cold

Day Five - Tuesday, October 1st

fairytale and little white lies

Day Six - Wednesday, October 2nd

heaven or hell and soulmates au

Day Seven - Thursday, October 3rd

“hey, look at me.” and gravestones

[sugarycloud1]

2024 Fic Writing Roundup

Seen this floating around and it seemed fun, also I've never done a fic masterpost so two birds, one stone etc.

Previous to this year I hadn't written since 2019, and I hadn't properly written it since about 2016. I didn't expect to start writing again at all, both my physical and mental health have been an absolute shitshow, and although I've struggled with pinning my self worth onto responses sometimes, it has been so lovely to write again. I feel more me when I write.

All my fics are canon, although most are post-canon.

January

Just the one, that started me off, and I thought that would be that

Walk Walk Fashion Baby (T, 3295 words)

Henry struggles with what to wear in his new life.

February

Love is: a list (E, 4261 words)

In the midplace between sleep and reality, Alex ruminates on what love is

The Room Where It Happens (E, 7309 words)

A trio of firsts: Henry's first time, Alex and Henry's first time, and Alex's first time bottoming. (this was the 1st fic I'd written for the fandom that I felt was truly good, it also got quite a boost after it got recced on Twitter which was lovely)

March

Look At Us Now (E, 7337 words)

Henry's on his damage control tour after the leak, and he's truly had enough.

Brand New Sun (E, 6313 words)

Alex and Henry return to the lakehouse for the first time since, Henry left it. Henry has plans to compenstate for the last time they were there, but Alex has something up his sleeve to.

April

I Knew I Loved You (T, 6778 words) (part 1 of little loves)

Alex and Henry's journey to fatherhood (I genuinely thought this kid fic would be a once off, it's currently a series with 22 parts-and definitely lots more to come)

It's Oh So Quiet (T, 2341 words) (part 2 of little loves)

Alex and Henry get interrupted during 'special times', and chats and feelings ensue.

Say My Name (G, 2142 words) (part 3 of little loves)

Alex and Henry's daughters start babbling, and they wait and see whether they'll say Dada or Papa first.

Everything Changes But You (T, 3404 words) (part 4 of little loves)

Alex's on a work call when he has to leave it due to his baby crying, it gets him thinking on how he has changed.

All My Life (E, 6721 words) (part 5 of little loves)

Moments in Henry's life where he's feels his dad's absence, both in awful, and bittersweet ways.

May

Night Changes (T, 2793 words) (part 6 of little loves)

Alex and Henry spend their first night away from their babies.

Alex Claremont-Diaz-Fox, Henry Fox, and their daughters: The Puppy Interview (G, 3788 words) (part 7 of little loves)

I mean this one does what it says on the tin. It was the first time I wrote the girls not as babies, and also wrote in a different format.

June

Help Me Lose My Mind (E, 519 words)

PWP, Alex is away and calls Henry for a helping hand.

in another life (T, 767 words)

Written after I read Song of Achilles, and based off the head canon I've seen floating around that Alex and Henry were Achilles and Patroclus in another life.

the disconnect (E, 18471 words, 5 chapters)

Henry doesn't truly believe he is loved, Alex helps him through it, and Henry helps Alex through his issues too(I only meant this to be one chapter and parts 2-4 just came out of me, I actually just uploaded part 5 a few days ago, cos it felt incomplete. I felt so so vulnerable posting this fic as it flies very close to home, but it seemed to hit home for a lot of other people too, and made me want to give everyone a hug)

July

When I think of home (M, 1138 words)

Henry reflects on what home was, and is.

Those lazy hazy crazy days (T, 8489 words) (part 8 of little loves)

Alex and Henry and the newborn days (my friend had just had a baby when I wrote this, and I projected my own desperate, aching need to have a baby onto this, though lets be honest, my entire kid fic series is me projecting that)

shade never made anybody less gay (T, 5865 words) (part 9 of little loves)

Alex and Henry's daughters come across their first instance of homophobia, and Alex and Henry are ready to throw hands.

August

Space invaders (T, 1072 words) (part 10 of little loves)

Alex and Henry have a very big bed, and they wake to find their daughters have taken advantage of that.

September

gossamer shreds of time (E, 9999 words)

In their first Christmas together, in the days between Christmas and New Year, Henry goes to visit Alex at the White House, much smut and many feelings(this one took me SO LONG, but I'm genuinely proud of it. Also I was going through quite a bad bout of depression from like end of June to end of September and I was thinking: oh it didn't affect my writing that much, oh yes it did, whoops)

Late Night Talking (T, 2304 words) (part 11 of little loves)

Alex and Henry's daughter worries her dads are going to get divorced, she drags her sister to talk to them late at night and regrets it immediately(this fic wrote itself in my head after someone suggested a sequel to the previous part and it felt like I should age the girls up. I'm not sure I ever would have started to write them at teen ages otherwise)

They look like us (T, 1198 words)

Alex and Henry are in LA visiting Alex's dad when a small fire breaks out. Two of the firefighters remind Alex and Henry of themselves(I wrote this for my wonderful friend @oliverljones who also beta reads my fics for me cos she's an angel, and she figured I should put it on A03, spoiler, not spoiler alert: the two firefighters are Buck and Eddie from 911)

Who would you be? (M, 1010 words) (part 12 of little loves)

Henry gets frazzled when he goes to make his donation at the fertility clinic(one of the many fics that rings true, that you can write a fic in one sitting and get more comments and kudos than on a fic that's taken you weeks, though I figure it's mostly cos they're shorter and get a quicker response)

a story of stories (T, 7412 words) (part 13 of little loves)

A look at the books in Alex and Henry's daughters' lives throughout the years.

October

rainbow connection (T, 4278 words) (part 14 of little loves)

Alex and Henry's daughters talk to them about their own sexualities, and Alex and Henry are supportive dads as always.

Wingin' It (T, 6339 words) (part 15 of little loves)

5 times that Alex and Henry think on their feet as parents, and one time their daughters do as their kids.

November

True Love's Kiss (T, 1371 words) (part 16 of little loves)

When Alex and Henry don't have their usual greeting, their daughter is indignant about it(I wrote this as pure fluff after the election when I just wanted to give people some respite, esp the Americans)

Hip, Hip, Hooray (G, 2488 words) (part 17 of little loves)

Alex and Henry celebrate their daughters' first birthday, including a cake smash photoshoot, because of course.

for reasons we don't understand (E, 13725 words)

Alex and Henry realise they're somehow anonymous, and explore London the way Henry never got to. My little love letter to my beloved city, and Alex and Henry too of course.

December

Should I stay or should I go (G, 1921 words) (part 18 of little loves)

Mary dies right when Henry really truly does not want to leave his family(started writing itself in my head when it was suggested that I write Mary dying(amongst other things) I love when people suggest things cos it can take one tiny kernel of an idea and spring forth a whole fic, that I might never have thought of)

we are all in the gutter (T, 1599 words)

Inspired by this tumblr post about Henry not realising his dad was in a queer movie about Oscar Wilde. (this felt very apt cos not only am I Irish, and queer, my RWRB tattoo is also influened by an Oscar Wilde quote, and I've met Jude Law)

there was never an absence (T, 7779 words) (part 19 of little loves)

Times in Alex, Henry, and their daughters' lives, where they know their two dad, two daughter family is perfect just as it is(this part was probably the one writing itself in my head the longest, I think I meant to write this around part 9 and it ends up being part 19)

a blank canvas (G, 1328 words) (part 20 of little loves)

Based entirely on that pic where TZP is covered in stickers: on a very hot day, his daughters do just that.

Thirty, Flirty, and Thriving (T, 3881 words) (part 21 of little loves)

Alex celebrates his 30th birthday, his first as Papa.

do you want to build a snowman? (G, 1854 words) (part 22 of little loves)

Christmas fluff, where Alex and Henry's daughters experience snow for the first time, when they're in London over Christmas.

35 fics, 160k words, not too shabby for 'I'll just write this one fic', they're just so lovely to write. I love writing them in love, and exploring their thoughts and feelings. Writing, and the kudos and comments, have really been a light in what has been a not very easy year. I need to get back to reading more, it's fallen by the wayside lately, but this fandom is full of so many talented and lovely lovely people, and it's a privilege to even be a small part of it.

[onpurposeilovehimonpurpose]

An Incomplete List: Things I Love About HRH Prince Henry & FSOTUS Alex Claremont-Diaz

Happy February 1st, ya'll. I've decided to start posting an image that represents (in feeling or with direct imagery) Alex's list about Henry. While I can't do too much with gifs because my computer won't run the programs I need it to and I need to save up for one that does. I'm trying this format because I miss posting about RW&RB each day, and giving my thoughts. I'm going to post one each day in February, (the month of love) and I will use the other nine days to post my version of Henry's incomplete list for Alex.

I encourage everyone who may come across this post to do the same and tag it with (#An Incomplete List) and whatever other tags of course that you think will work, and reblog this too. It'll be fun spreading the love as the days go on and seeing what everyone can come up with for Alex's days too. Pictures, fanart, video clips, even if all you do is talk about the quote, it'll be fun to click the tag on Tumblr and see what others have contributed. Just a reminder of the list:

AN INCOMPLETE LIST: THINGS I LOVE ABOUT HRH PRINCE HENRY 1. The sound of your laugh when I piss you off. 2. The way you smell underneath your fancy cologne, like clean linens but somehow also fresh grass (what kind of magic is this?) 3. That thing you do where you stick out your chin to try to look tough. 4. How your hands look when you play piano. 5. All the things I understand about myself now because of you. 6. How you think Return of the Jedi is the best Star Wars (wrong) because deep down you're a gigantic, sappy, embarrassing romantic who just wants the happily ever after. 7. Your ability to recite Keats. 8. Your ability to recite Bernadette's "Don't let it drag you down" monologue from Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. 9. How hard you try. 10. How hard you've always tried. 11. How determined you are to keep trying. 12. That when your shoulders cover mine, nothing else in the entire stupid world matters. 13. The goddamn issue of Le Monde you brought back to London with you and kept and have on your nightstand (yes, I saw it). 14. The way you look when you first wake up. 15. Your shoulder-to-waist ratio. 16. Your huge, generous, ridiculous, indestructible heart. 17. Your equally huge dick. 18. The face you just made when you read that last one. 19. The way you look when you first wake up (I know I already said this, but I really, really love it). 20. The fact that you loved me all along.”

[taste-thewaste]

It’s Wednesday, friends! 5.1.24

Happy 1st day of May! Hope everyone’s week is going well 🩷 thank you to @tailsbeth-writes @agostobuwan and @blueeyedgrlwrites for the tags!

Fiery banner today because you’re getting some smut from tummy fic 3.0, my gift to you! Truthfully I am nervous about posting this because it’s much…tummy kinkier than before but fuck it, let’s do this.

He’s hard, just from this. He has no idea what’s happening. A tiny whine falls from Henry’s lips, and Alex’s eyes brighten a bit. He gets the devilish look on his face Henry knows so well, the one that means game fucking on.

“I can just see you…my little prince, all buttoned up and polished. You’re so charming, Hen. I can see you charming the pants off of this guy, telling him all the reasons he should put his money into your project…but all the while, you’re trying to keep it cool.”

Henry grinds down against Alex’s thigh, bucking his hips forward slightly. Alex raises his eyebrows a bit in surprise, but he doesn’t say anything about it. He just continues on, because whatever-the-fuck is happening right now is doing it for him, too.

“You’re trying to keep your mind on the task at hand, but you were hungry, weren’t you, baby? We shopped and came home and did other things, but you didn’t have time to grab something earlier in the day. You were hungry, so it was probably hard to pay attention. Wasn’t it?”

Henry nods, grunting just a little as he grinds down even harder against Alex. There’s no thought behind what he’s doing, there’s just action, there’s just what feels good and what sounds good and fuck, Alex reaches down and palms Henry’s cock through his trousers, and he gasps.

Tagging: @england-would-fall @henrysfox @luainthewild @o0anapher0o @bigassbowlingballhead

@eusuntgratie @onthewaytosomewhere @piratefalls @priincebutt @sail-not-drift

@hgejfmw-hgejhsf @bitbybitwrites @duchessdepolignaca03 @sophie1973 @lfg1986-2

(And @cemm1966 I think you’ll like this)

And open tag for anyone who wants to!

[whoevenknows-things]

Seven (lol no, several) sentence Sunday

Thanks for the tags @sophie1973 and @stellarmeadow I’ve just about made it within Sunday here in the UK. Since the tags are from you both here’s a bit of the epilogue for Hot for (student) Teacher. Open tag for anyone who’s still in Sunday!

Funny story. I actually had this epilogue written and ready to go. But then I decided I wanted to add some extra seasonal scenes. And then I got totally side tracked by a completely different fic. So this should be posted on the 1st Jan. But for now here’s a bit from the near end of the original epilogue scenes

Alex had been trying to look for a new flat without Henry knowing. When he had first rented in London he hadn’t know what his long term plans would be so he’d only taken out a 12 month lease. Now that he had a job lined up for September he had started to look. But he had completely underestimated how quickly the rental market moved in London. And how expensive places were. By the time he found a place in his budget and that he could commute for, it had already been taken before he even got around to viewing it. He hadn’t wanted to worry Henry. Alex knew Henry still had lingering doubts about introducing a boyfriend into Lottie’s life and he wasn’t sure housing instability was going to do anything for Henry’s peace of mind. But Henry knew all of this. Alex hadn’t been as sneaky as he’d though, leaving his browser tabs open with tens of flat listings. Nora had even called Henry to ask if he could offer any advice on renting in London as Alex has called her and June in a freak out. Henry had simple told them he’d sort it. Henry could see the stress was starting to take its toll by the time there was only a week left of the summer holidays and of Alex’s lease.

“You know,” he said over breakfast, aiming for nonchalance, “you could just stay here. If you can’t find a place of your own. I can hardly see you homeless and I have three guest bedrooms that are empty most of the year anyway.”

Alex put down his coffee cup and looked at Henry.

“Baby. That’s sweet but I couldn’t.”

“You absolutely could. I’ve thought about it, I promise, and you should too. At the very least it will give you more time to look for a place of your own.”

Although Henry wasn’t sure anymore if he wanted Alex to find a place of his own.

[ouatnextgen]

Halloween Costumes!

One Halloween, the Storybrooke gang decide to dress as the Disney versions of their parents.

This is the abomination culmination

Roland: Because this happens after Robyn learns the truth about what went down with Zelena and Robin, she's....not happy with her mom rn. So, Roland graciously decided to let Robyn be Robin Hood.

He decided to be his step/adoptive mom instead of his birth mom for a few reasons: 1) because it was less emotional for him, 2) so Regina wouldn't feel left out (Henry and Jacinda were doing a couples costume), and 3)...because the Evil Queen costume was way easier to find online.

He ends up slaying in it, obviously.

Alex: She knew she wanted to be Prince Charming right away, even though her mother protested.

They put their hair up using a million bobby pins and about two cans of hairspray, and adjusted the outfit to fit their boobs. They were also the one who made adjustments to everyone else's costumes to make sure they fit.

Leo: He was uncomfortable wearing and dress, so he went with Prince Florian. David offered him one of his old Enchanted Forest outfits, to which Leo had to explain that the cheap costumes were what made it fun.

The costume had the downside of coming with a pair of very cheap and tight tights. PJ seemed to like them, though

PJ: Picked out his dress on September 1st. He rocks both it, and the shitty felt crown headband it came with.

Robyn: Could not find a single commercially available fox Robin Hood costume. So, she bought a Peter Pan one, and had Alex make some adjustments.

She slapped on a fox tail and a different Robin Hood hat, and called it. (On the bright side, she and Alice have matching hat feathers)

Gideon: Really didn't want to be his dad (even the Disney Beauty and the Beast version) so he went with his mom's Disney version.

He doesn't rock it as well as PJ, but he makes it work. And on the bright side, now he and Hope match. (On the downside, his shoulders are freezing)

Alice: Alice really wanted to be Captain Hook. So, if she rigged the coin toss that she and Hope did for who got to be him, sue her.

Luckily, there were a lot of official woman's Hook costumes for her to pick from, including some fancy wigs....which she ditched after the pictures were taken (those things are itchy), but she kept the hat, so she and Robyn could match.

Hope: After losing the coin toss, Hope suddenly realized that Emma didn't really have a fairytale counterpart. The closest things were the Ugly Duckling or the Swan Princess. All of the Ugly Duckling costumes were made for kids, so Swan Princess it was.

The two animated versions of the Swan Princess (Barbie and the other one) didn't have commercial dresses, so Hope got a chunky plastic tiara and a cheap ballet dress (she used her own ballet shoes)

Hey, at least she matched with Gideon.

Individual Edits Under the Cut: (They look bad up close, but you can't see Robyn's tail in the group shot lol)

[tamtuliko]

Thoughts collected

4 minutes addition

So... tomorrow's is Friday. Finally, the end of the week. Unfortunately, I'm unable to watch the ep. 6 till Saturday morning, as I live in Japan and we are a few hrs forward, to put it simply while ep. 6 will be premiered. I'll be dreaming about this:

Seriously, does anyone move from this scene?? Cause my dumbest didn't, and I'm not sure I'll ever be. Look, I'm still thinking about Alex and Henry's scene on deck. These two were so cutesy and shit.

Sorry, I suddenly lost myself.

What I was saying is that it's really hard to move from the scene when the shit is happening in the series.

So I need to word vomit here.

I need to ask first:

Okay... let's see what we've got so far:

Great's timeline

Probably Tyme's timline

Tonklas timeline

In Greats timeline, he goes cardiac arrest at 11 o'clock. How he got at hospital we don't know. Yes, we saw him getting shot and bla bla bla, but don't forget this is after he re-do shit. Saved woman and this woman became his end. And dot forget, she is also his begging. She is the first re-do Great did. In his timeline we don't know what happened to Tyme. Is he alive running to Great? Or is he dying somewhere.

Tymes' timeline is more complicated cause we've seen Greats POV so far. I guess we will see Tymes from the next episode, and then we will have culmination. But just guess: Tymes plan was to get Great, I don't know fall in love or just befriend him and use him against his family or just use him for information, but he fall in love and that's where all shit goes down. In the end, we see Tyme run and his bloody nose appear and dissappear, I think we are shown 2 timelines, one is Greats, and another one is Tymes. Which is which hell knows. With Greats re-do, Tyme saved Nan and all good, but in Tymes timeline, nothing has changed, I think. The bloody nose in ep. 5 and Tyme being shot in ep. 1 can be seen as evidence. The place where he is shot looks like where illegal casino or Greats Fathers whearhouse is.

Tonklas timeline, the easy one, this kid got some serious problems. He went for revenge, his little brother never was saved, he was neglected by Korn, got new man, and became a murderer. I think his and Tymes' timeline can be seen as the same. Without Greats re-do. Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty interested in how his character gonna help and how his choices gonna help the timelines and the world's, but his story is really boring for me. I am stunned by Fuaiz (Tonkla), he is a great actor, he does everything really well, but Tonkla as a character for me af this moment is very boring and just I don't know... I can't see him fitting.

So

Great goes cardiac arrest, Tyme runs to him

Tonkla killes Title, who killed his little brother

Tyme is shot while somewhere, maybe trying to save Nan.

2 and 3 can be same timelines. Great is still going to cardiac arrest.

And here is the main thing, if this is some suspense/ supernatural series, the worlds will collide, and we will have one timeline, everybody surviving or dying.

Like in 1 Tyme will experience the other Tymes' feelings and maybe even see all the shit. Again, I don't know about Tonkla. How is he fitting in this story? I can't wait to see it, really. Great is already experiencing different timelines, so we will se if he survives.

Wild guess, after watching Bible and Jes rehearsal for 1st meeting. It was like they were in the same place, but they couldn't reach each other, typical parallel worlds and different timelines. It was the same act in teaser as well. They met, fought, fell in love, separated, and in the end, they died.

One of them for sure will die. Or both of them. Bible in his interview said that a happy ending depends on person, how we see it. For someone, it can be these two surviving and continuing loving and living. For some, it can be them meeting again afterlife. Let's not forget that death is not the end, Albus Dumbledore said: "After all, to the well-organised mind, death is but the next great adventure".

I hope for a better end, but... they are going to be together in everytimelime, parallel , and the afterlife.

I don't know a shit.

I'm sleep deprived, and I need to see Jes being bullied by Bible.

Sorry if I didn't make a sense.

The whole series doesn't make sense anymore. Yet I'm still here, in my 10000 rewatch.

Also:

Is that dimples I see there??

Soft, soft, soft

These two kisses were everything. Tyme is scared, nervous, and unsure. You can see it in his eyes, Jes, the actor you are 😍

Sorry, I just love this baby girl.

See you on Saturday. I am fucking working on that day, I'm gonna get myself ship home if continue being distracted 😆btw...

[iboatedhere]

WIP Wednesday

Thank you for the tag @anincompletelist @lightningboltreader @liminalmemories21 @lemonlyman-dotcom

Everything I’ve written lately is…..NOT GREAT…….it feels bad, it looks bad, it is bad, and the first chapter of The Roman Holiday AU will be up January 1st regardless ✌️

—

The first surprise greets them on the street just outside Alex’s door.

A red Vespa is tucked against the curb, a helmet hanging off each of the handles.

“Safety first,” Alex says as he tosses one of the helmets at Henry. “You might need to take the hat off.”

“I’m sorry,” Henry says, looking down the empty street as Alex fastens his own helmet. “Is there meant to be a second scooter around here somewhere?”

“Nope.”

“So you expect us to share?”

Alex nods. “That’s right.”

Henry hums. “Why aren’t we taking a taxi or an Uber, or walking?”

“Taxis and Ubers mean waiting around for them to show up and I don’t care how long your legs are, we cannot walk the entirety of Rome in a day. This is the fastest and easiest way to get around.”

“And you’ve driven one of these before?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes.”

“What manner?”

“I’m familiar with scooters.”

Henry narrows his eyes.

“I had a Razor Scooter when I was nine.”

“Oh my god.”

“Vespa’s are so much safer,” Alex cries.

“How is that possible? This has a motor!”

“And Razors would fuck up your ankles. You should’ve seen my shins that whole year. The bruises never healed.”

“I would rather have a bruised ankle than a concussed head.”

“That’s what the helmet is for,” Alex says. “Now c’mon.” He swings one leg over the scooter and sits down. “We’re wasting time.”

“It’s six thirty in the morning.”

“Which means we’re already behind schedule.” Alex starts the scooter. “Get on or I’ll leave you.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

The scooter jolts away from the curb and Henry grabs Alex’s shoulder and climbs on behind him, tightening the straps of the helmet as he goes.

He’s unsure what to do with his hands—if he should put them on Alex’s hips, waist, or shoulders, and after fumbling awkwardly, Alex heaves a sigh and reaches back, wrapping Henry’s arms around his waist.

“You have to hold on like you mean it,” Alex tells him. “Tight.”

Henry shifts forward so his chest is flush to Alex’s back and he holds his hands together over Alex’s stomach, beneath the light fabric of his open button down but over the soft cotton undershirt.

Alex is solid and warm and smells like cedar smoke and spice and Henry feels him take a sharp breath as he moves even closer.

“Is this okay?” Henry asks, his lips dangerously close to the shell of Alex’s ear.

Alex swallows and nods. “Do you feel safe?”

Henry does.

“Good,” Alex says. He stops and blows out a breath. “That’s good. We should…” He trails off and lifts his foot off the pavement and the Vespa jolts forward again, this time by accident. “I got it,” he says when Henry flinches. “I got it, I got it, I was just fucking with you.”

“I’d prefer it if you didn’t.”

“Yeah, well,” Alex says as he gives it another go. “We’ll see.”

[firstsprinces]

Happy Sunday and December 1st!! Thank you @onthewaytosomewhere for the tag and for sharing your holiday wip! I love a Hallmark movie-esque feel this time of year!

And it’s finally time to bust out the winter banner!

A while back I teased the idea that I’d like to give Junora a try, and as my idea is most likely unoriginal, here I am! This was also supposed to be posted before Thanksgiving, but my holiday work schedule started a week earlier than I was told.

This is far longer than seven sentences, but you deserve to have it all.

So, let’s get into June and all of her pining feelings for Nora!

Now that she lost her best friend after kissing her in a wine drunk haze, she wished she could go back in time and never poured that fourth glass. She wished she never heard Nora laugh because seeing the way her face lit up the room had been the catalyst for June ruining everything.

Alex leaned over and bumped shoulders with her, his hands still applauding whatever’s been done at the table. She clearly wasn’t paying attention to the present because everything around her brought up the past.

“You doing okay? You haven’t tried your wine and you missed Henry trying the cranberry sauce. He makes the most adorable faces when he’s disgusted.”

The blurry wine glass came back into focus and she let out a sigh. If she were alone the glass of wine would be tipped over, leaving a dark red stain in its wake.

Alex’s brow raised in alarm. “Something really must be off with you. No comeback either? Not even a ‘he’s been disgusted with you since the day you met’”?

He brought his hand to her forehead, obviously checking for a fever that wasn’t to be found.

June pushed his hand off of her face.

“We’re talking about this later. I’m putting down the ‘Serious Sibling Time’ card,” he said.

She groaned as her head hung. The ‘Serious Sibling Time’ card was supposed to be for emergencies only. It was something they came up with during their mother’s first presidential term. Whenever things felt too heavy, either sibling has the opportunity to call the imaginary card, and then they hid in one of the many rooms of the White House and talk about the serious thing that was on their mind.

June didn’t want to talk about this because she still didn’t really know what this was and what it all meant.

She picked her head up to look across the table at Nora and Pez again. The pit in her stomach was still there as Nora placed her hand onto Pez’s arm and continued to laugh at whatever funny thing he said.

[elipheleh]

James I (and VI) & George Villiers

Continuing my series of learning about things referenced in the book, I'm looking at things referenced in Alex & Henry's visit to the V&A Museum. These are all tagged #a series of learning about things that are referenced in the book, if you want to block the tag.

"Actually . . . you remember how I told you about the gay king, James I?” “The one with the dumb jock boyfriend?” “Yes, that one. Well, his most beloved favorite was a man named George Villiers. [...] He stood in front of the Privy Council and said, ‘Christ had John, and I have George.’" -Chapter 10, Red White & Royal Blue

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King James­­ I (in England, in Scotland he was James VI) ruled from 1567 (Scotland) and 1603 (England & Ireland) until his death in 1625. He was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, and was crowned King of Scotland aged 13 months - after her forced abdication. He gained full control of government in 1583, and 6 years later married Anne of Denmark - they had seven children, but only three survived to adulthood, with one dying aged 18. Then-Queen of England, Elizabeth I, died childless in 1603 and James VI of Scotland was passed the crown of England without protest.

George Villiers, the 1st Duke of Buckingham, was born in 1592, to a minor gentleman, Sir George Villiers. Aged 21, he caught the eye of King James I and gained the King's patronage. He was described as "the handsomest-bodied in England", and also gained the support of the King's wife, Anna. Villiers was made a gentleman of the bedchamber - whose duties involved assisting the King as he dressed and ate, and also to provide companionship - in 1615, and in 1623 he was elevated to a dukedom, the first commoner in more than a century to be granted this.

Their relationship was the subject of rumours at the time, with many assuming they were sharing a bed. As Henry mentions in the same scene as the quote at the top, 17th century poet de Viau wrote "it is well known that the king of England / fucks the Duke of Buckingham." King James' nickname for Villiers was "Steenie", after Saint Stephen - who was described as having "the face of an angel".

The full quote preceding "Christ had John, and I have George" adds to the display of the depth of the king's feelings for Villiers. He said in 1617 before the Privy Council: "You may be sure that I love the Earl of Buckingham more than anyone else, and more than you who are here assembled. I wish to speak in my own behalf and not to have it thought to be a defect, for Jesus Christ did the same, and therefore I cannot be blamed. Christ had John, and I have George."

Sources/Additional Reading: Wikipedia - James I & VI Wikipedia - George Villiers Wikipedia - Succession to Elizabeth I Wikipedia - Union of the Crowns BHO - The bedchamber: Gentlemen of the Bedchamber Wikipedia - Personal Relationships of James I & VI The History Vault - James I & VI and his male ‘favourites’

[rockingtheorange]

Hidden Box (fanfic)

Chapter 1 - Henry's life

(1st chapter out, click on the teddy bear to read 🧸)

Summary:

AU where Henry decides to become a priest under his parents' desire. He has never questioned the Church and wants to make his parents proud, but a guy with an American accent and long eyelashes slams into his life. The most irritating, despicable, baffling guy.

He desperately, awfully, eagerly needs to know more about him.

Alex doesn't get why he keeps bumping into the same church guy. He doesn't pay much attention to it, but why does he look familiar?

Hidden box on Ao3 -> 🧸

[yrsonpurpose]

Can you help? You have 20 thousand more followers than me I’m sure and I could do with some help finding a couple of fics? Would you mind publishing my ask if it isn’t too much trouble? 🙈👉🏻👈🏻 Or maybe you know what they are?

1st one is a fic I read where Alex is fake dating Bea and he and Henry fall for each other

And the 2nd is Alex is a tattooist and Henry goes to him secretly to get tattoos, one of which is a bee for Bea… Alex doesn’t recognise him at first but then realises who he is.

Any help from anyone would be great.. I’ve tried searching for them again but the FirstPrince fandom writes so many fic, I can’t seem to see them. But I also understand if you don’t want to publish this. 🙂

heyy! i thinkkkk these are the ones you're looking for: first one is here. second one is here.

[myheartalivewrites]

Fic Writing Review 2023

thanks for the tags @kiwiana-writes @stereopticons 💚

Rules: Feel free to show whatever stats you have. Only want to show Ao3 stats? Rock on. Want to include some quantitative info instead of stats? Please do this. Want to change how yours is presented? Absolutely do that. Would rather eat glass than do this? Please don’t eat glass but don’t feel like you have to do this either.

Words and Fics

New fics on ao3: 12

Words published on ao3: 220,095

BONUS STAT 120,433 UNPUBLISHED words (holy fuck, I went to add this up because I was curious, but I was not prepared for this... No wonder I hate having all these WIPs hanging over my head right now. They are A LOT)

Fandoms: just RWRB

Most recent fic: "Please, I need you to." (also the shortest fic!)

Longest fic: Deep Blue, 76,031 words

Longest one shot: Love and War, 11,430

Top fics by kudos

(WELL, I wanted to do a mix of stats, but Deep Blue is my top fic in all the metrics--and we don't fuck with ratios in this house--so instead I'm doing by kudos)

Deep Blue (well, well, well. I love this baby so much)

Just Like That. (shocking outlier! It started as smutty crack in my mind!)

In His Wildest Dreams (love this with my whole entire heart)

Oxford Days (look here, kids! the things you can achieve with sleep deprivation and crazy hyperfocus!)

Tumbled Down and Tangled Up (with thanks to whoever it was who shared it on twitter that one time and led to me spending one very confused day--nine months after this fic was first published--watching all the ao3 emails coming in like, WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING)

Every single number on this list blows my mind.

Fandom/Fic events

Doing events is a new thing for me this year! I've just finished my @rwrbnygiftexchange fic and am super excited to put it out there (Jan 1st feels so far away!)

And I did a quick thing for Smutsgiving 2023

Just for fun

Most amusing stat: the fact that THIS has more kudos than actual words in it. Love you all 😘

Highest proportion of private bookmarks: just edging this, it's Happy NY! I was sure it would be In His Wildest Dreams lol. It only just lost out by 0.3%

Leader by POV: Alex, with 6 fics to his name. Then it's 3 for Henry and 3 in split POV, though Henry would lead this if I was doing it by word count lol

Things that moved me beyond words: everything Deep Blue related, but especially the comments (and I'd never done this before, but last week I sorted all fics in the RWRB tag by comments and there it was... on the first page 😱 *Of course almost half of those comments are from me, replying to people. Timely reminder of how all these metrics are not necessarily a true reflection of a work or a writer’s value). Anyway, whether it's people relating to Alex's confusion when working out his sexuality (hi 🙋‍♀️), or people who see themselves in Henry and his paralysing fear of being hurt again (hi again 🙋‍♀️), and everyone who dropped into the comments to commiserate about wanting to quit their jobs and fuck off to the coast to write full time (🙋‍♀️🙋‍♀️🙋‍♀️), they all mean so much.

New Year's resolutions:

to finish a bunch of WIPs

to work on fewer things at once and not stress myself out by having a bunch of unfinished things

to crack on with my original writing

This post ran a lot longer than I was expecting! I'm not tagging anyone because I don't want anyone to feel pressured to share numbers and compare themselves to others. The last four months have been CRAZY in the RWRB fandom, and to be honest looking at numbers and stats is a surefire way to feel small or slow or just plain not enough when you start comparing yourself to others.

But if you feel proud of something you've done (the first thing you've ever written! the first fic you've ever shared! some sort of stat breakthrough! your first ao3 subscribers!), whatever it is, please share. And tag me! Doing all of this online stuff can be fun, but it can sometimes feel lonely too. The best thing about it is talking to people, whether it be in discord or ao3 comments or on tumblr posts and messages or getting tagged on WIP posts just because people think I might like to see what they're writing, or because they want to see what I'm working on.

Anyway, my point is: don't be lonely. Bang on that tag. 😉❤️

Now, who's going to teach me how to use code and shit so I can have a nice spreadsheet with all these stats on? I did it all by hand and now I need a nap.

[thtdamfangirl4]

I agree it had it's good moments. I personally loved Henry asking Alex to be patient with him I thought was was really cute. I also loved their first time, it felt like the Alex and Henry I've come to know and love. I SOBBED when they addressed the crowd outside Buckingham. And the texting was done so well i got excited for the emails and then they just did like 2 of them. That made the leak not feel disastrous and ultimately "we won" not feel as powerful of a line. And god Alex’s speech. I like how they used it to send a message but it fell flat for me because we never really got do see Alex understand his bisexuality.

It started to feel like they were doing things for the sake of being able to say that the movie was inspired by the book. The turkeys in the book were important because it lead to A&H's first of many phone calls but it felt so forced in the film. Lake LBJ was meant to be where Alex realizes that he loves Henry but (imo) it just looked like a pretty backdrop for the pier scene. Idk if i missed it but it felt like there was no build up to Alex saying ily to Henry. It just felt like they bonded over surface level things.

Kensington was just a big slap in the face for me. It didn't really feel that heartbreaking and it just felt off and rough. I ADORE that scene. I reread it 3 times the 1st time I read through rw&rb before moving past it. I remember audibly gasping at "then fucking have me". That scene just really showed Alex and Henry at their rawest and most unfiltered form and it was so watered down I had to pause it to calm myself because I almost cried out of frustration. And they watered down so much of it!! Henry fighting back. The broom closet. The aftermath of the leak most especially!! I wanted to rip all my hair out because nothing that happened surrounding the leak justified the magnitude it was dealt with nor Alex and Henry's response to it!! God you won't even understand why it's a big deal that they got leaked if you never read the book

They just mischaracterized these characters I care so much about that they feel like different people. The traits that made them them was either gone or filtered. Alex’s passion for politics and Henry's for literature. Their drive to help people. That's the whole point why they want to make history in the first place!! It's not a throwaway line about them wanting to be the first unconventional pair. They want to make history by changing people's lives for the better (Alex through law and Henry through his shelters) and it makes me so angry that it got dumbed down to that!! [Although I do love that Alex verbally says it and is therefore never leaked so it's just forever theirs]

Anyways tell me to fuck off if I start to become annoying haha thank you for enabling my rants

Full agree with ALL of this!!

The paris first time scene was SO GOOD. Kensington felt so wrong just because it’s done so well in the book idk why they changed it. And the emails are the best part of their developing relationship and it all got lost in the jumble.

You put this into words so well! The good parts just made the parts that fell flat more obvious, which was disappointing.