#But at least do it against an actual thing Lina did!

[jhessail]

"I'm going to get revenge on Lina Inverse for killing Gaav!"

But...bro...she didn't kill him. She got her ass handed to her and then we got the plot twist of a boss she literally needed to make herself into an avatar of a universal being to beat him.

Bro...

[nicos-archive]

more au shenanigans 2/2

Turns out it would be around a year or so, later. In a completely different setting, outfit and a different style of music. Before, the music had been rather fast and upbeat, if his memory of having watching a bead of sweat trail down into her cleavage had any merit. This time the music was much slower and smoother. Her moves a lot more conservative. Then again, she was wearing a dress (at least he thinks it’s a dress. Her outfits could be strangely complex at times.) with a longer skirt. Her bare legs almost never seen.

Though, he was unsure if he should claim this change in atmosphere, her brother currently being present, or the change in setting. She wasn’t dancing to entertain those at a party in an excuse to let loose herself. She was dancing to entertain a busy inn full of travelers. Either way, he found it much easier to ignore her and actually eat and converse with the others at his table.

Most of them like himself had taken naps when they first got here. Meanwhile, Lina and Andrew had checked out the town a bit. Stocking up on curatives and checking the job board in town in hopes of maybe doing a simple job or two in enhances for some money, accessories, and the like. Which wasn’t a bad idea if he had to admit. They were stretching themselves a bit thin as it was currently. 

So caught up in conversation, he jumped when he felt a breath against his ear. He quickly turned around, embarrassed, ready to take action against his assaulter, only to find Darla smiling at him. His nerves were now askew for a completely different reason. 

“Hehehe. Sorry, I couldn’t help it! You’re just so fun to tease!” Darla apologized. Her grin still fixed to her face. 

“Are you sure it isn’t because Kat punched you last time you did that?” Lina chimed in from the other side of the table. 

Darla just frowned and crossed her arms. He quickly had to look away, least he was caught starting. Before she could say a word, Kat chimed in.

“Sorry again about that.”

“It’s fine.” She excused, before sitting down next to him.

It wasn’t unusual for the two to sit next to each other. He was friends with her brother and her best friend as well. The two people she was undeniable closest too. Then again, she confided in him once that sometimes she felt like they were closer than she was to anyone else. He still cherishes that moment, and he supposes when she had to choose between talking to him or anyone else, she often chose him. So, much so, that sometimes Lina would change their battle formations and place the two together. 

Which only made sense as he’d often walk behind everyone else, claiming as protection in case of ambush. When really he’d wanted to hang back and talk to Darla as they traveled. He was pretty sure Lina had only allowed it because she caught on to his crush on Darla. Part of him wanted to be embarrassed but, he was more grateful than anything. 

He gave her a smile, one that she could actually see for once, and she smiled back. 

“So, are you two done for the night?” Andrew asked from across the table.

Darla quickly shook her head no. “Just taking a small break! It’s really tiring to dance, you know? Especially all by myself?” She then pouted.

He had to look away from her yet, again, least he fantasied about her lips again. 

After that, she joined the group in light conversation for a bit. It didn’t last too long however before the rest of the group decided to call it a night and head to bed. Andrew had originally planned to stay up and wait for his twin to be done officially but, he assured him that he would take up the task instead.

Despite the fact that his best friend had caught on to his crush on his sister, he had yet to do so. Which was very useful at times like this, when it would give him a chance to be mostly alone with her.

After her brother left, her danced seemed to be a bit more sensual. Or was he just imagining things now that he was alone at a table with nothing more than his thoughts and his crush across the room to entertain him? 

He tried not to dwell on it much. She had only danced to 3 or so more songs before calling it quits. After which a male patroon had come up to her. Maybe her dancing really was sensual, or maybe he had fallen for her too in only a short amount of time. Whatever the answer maybe, he quickly got up and pulled Darla close to his chest.

“Sorry, but she’s taken.” He glared. 

Well, at least her brother would be proud of him. Never mind the fact he was doing this in his interest. 

The stranger just took a step back as he put up his arms. “My bad.” Was all they said before they turned tail and ran.

He stared at them for a while, not realizing he was still holding Darla till her soft voice reached his ears.

“Mattie?” She looked up at him with a soft blush.

“Oh, um, sorry!” He quickly let go and took a step back from her. Before anything more could be said, someone cleared their throat behind them.

“Wellllllllll, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going to bed.” Janne spoke up. He then walked past the two. 

He had missed the wink he had given to Darla but, he had heard his words clear enough.

“You lovebirds don’t stay up too late!” 

So focused on hiding his blush, he had almost missed the way Darla seemed to react the same. He had never braved the thought of pursuing her. She seemed to have many admirers after all there was no way he could stand out from them. But maybe he was wrong all of this time?

“Um, Mattie? Why did you do that?” It’s now that she finally looks at him. Her gaze holding an emotion he’s too doubtful to name.

“What do you mean?” He hopes his act of playing dumb actually works.

She just sighs and looks away. “Never mind…”

Shit, he played too dumb!

Without thinking, he grabbed her hand. “I just wanted to… protect you.” He said, honestly.

“Because my brother told you too?” She questions, still not looking at him.

He shook his head. “No. Because I care about you.” 

“Well, I can take care of myself. You know that.” She finally looks back. Her tone had been along the lines of annoyance rather than anger. Still, she looked a bit sad to him.

“I know that. It’s just that… I care about you.” He said, a bit quieter. Now looking away.

“How much?” 

“What?” He sputtered. Not expecting that response.

“How much?” She asked again.

“Um…” He trailed off as he looked back at her. This time into her eyes and she seemed to be searching for something.

“Do you care about me more than anyone else?” She asked, her tone so pleading.

He couldn’t lie to himself anymore. He took a step closer and cupped her cheek. “I love you.”

As soon as he got the words out, they both leaned into a kiss. They kept it short and chaste. Mainly because of the wolf whistle someone let out. They had completely forgotten they weren’t alone in the room.

“Um…” Darla spoke up nervously but, seemingly, quickly lost courage.

He gently rubbed her cheek again with his thumb. “What is it?”

“Well, we are both in separate rooms and sharing it with others tonight. I kinda wanted… to be alone with you for a bit. Talk this out.”

He had to admit he wanted to do the same. Even if they both loved each other, there was a lot to discuss. Like, what were the boundaries and the like. “That’s a good idea.” He quickly agreed. “Maybe the innkeepers could spare us a room, maybe?” He suggested.

“Well, I don’t think that’s possible. The rooms are all filled now and… I was thinking that I’m a bit sweaty right now. I could really use a bath so…” She trailed off for a bit, and he wasn’t really sure where she was going with this.

“Maybe we could take a bath together? The bathhouse should still be open.”

Oh…

Oh

Looks like she had completely different reasons for wanting a bit of privacy. 

“Let’s go.” He said, quickly, as he grabbed her hand and walked out. 

The two were eager to further the relationship. Finally, after years of pinning after one another.

[l-e-e-woso]

70 with chloe kelly

May I? - Chloe Kelly

Prompt 70 - “Can I kiss you?”

Italics = German

Reader is playing for Germany in the Euros final playing against Chloe, her girlfriend. Chloe has had enough of hiding your relationship and asks to kiss you. 

_________________________

This was a match that you were dreading. You had to play against your girlfriend, Chloe and try to beat her. The worst part was that you didn’t know how each other would react when the other lost.

Neither team had managed to score within the first half of the match which soon changed in the 62nd minute when Ella Toone scored a goal assisted by Keira Walsh.

After that goal you got subbed on in place of Lea Shuller, with hopes that you would equalise and maybe even win Germany the match. 

Fortunately for Germany, Lina Magull scored an amazing goal assisted by none other than yourself. It was now 1 - 1. You just had to get at least another goal to get above England. 

_________________________

The game went into an extra 5 added minutes. 

As you ran through some of the England players, you got just outside of the penalty box when you got brought down by Lucy Bronze which awarded Germany with a free kick in a rather dangerous area.

You got told to take the free kick and suddenly all the pressure was on you. You took two steps backwards and one to the left as you took a deep breath you ran up to the ball, kicking it hoping it would go into the goal…it didn’t.

“Fuck! Stupid! Fucking idiot!” You muttered to yourself angrily as it got announced that the game would go into extra time.

_________________________

It was now the 110th minute of the match, everyone was starting to get really tired and it showed because none other than your girlfriend, Chloe Kelly scored a banger of a goal.

Once Chloe had scored, she whipped off her shirt and ran around waving it in celebration which is when you struggled to hold back a smile because of how happy she looked but thankfully you did.

The match went on for another 13 minutes but you could feel that your team had given up hope, Germany had lost to England. 

_________________________

When that final whistle blew signalling the end of the game you collapsed sobbing into the pitch floor. You knew that this was a possibility but it actually happening was horrible, I mean 2nd place was alright but being the Champions of Europe would have been a hell of a lot better. 

You sat up and wiped your tears with the edge of your shirt, looking around the stadium, most of the fans were there supporting England, they were singing Sweet Caroline at the top of their lungs. You did love how passionate fans were when their team wins a major tournament.

Out of the corner of your eye you could see a little girl holding a sign asking for your jersey, even though you were an absolute mess you would do anything for your fans especially for the younger ones. One of the things you were well known for was how much you would do for the fans, depending on how much time there was you would try to get to almost everyone that you could because you knew that without them playing football professionally wasn’t possible.

You stood up quickly taking off your jersey as you walked over to the little girl who was buzzing with excitement because you were walking towards her which made you smile. You saw that the sign was written in German, so you started to speak to the little girl in German. 

“Hello! Did you enjoy the game?” You bent down to the little girl’s level so she could hear you speaking. “YES! You were amazing! You're my favourite player ever!” The little girl shouted with pure excitement, to her she was in shock that she was actually speaking to you. “I guess because you're my number one fan you deserve a little present. Also, what’s your name, little one?” You say with a huge smile as you place your jersey on the small barrier so you could write a little message to the little girl. 

“REALLY?! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! My name is Elke!” She shouted so loudly as you wrote a small message on the jersey saying that you would never forget your number one fan. “Of course! Thank you for coming to the game, I hope to see you again!” Your grin got wider as Elke talked to you as you handed her your game-worn jersey and lent over the barrier to give the little girl a hug.

_________________________

After walking away from Elke, the little girl who was such an avid fan at such a young age, you found yourself surrounded with a few of your Man City teammates who gave you sad smiles and quick hugs before you saw Chloe in all her glory. 

Even though you had just lost the game you were incredibly proud of Chloe, I mean how could you not be? She was amazing and was finally getting the recognition that she deserved. 

Chloe walked over to you wrapping you up in a hug and rubbed you back in comfort as you started crying into her shoulder. “I’m sorry for crying. I’m not even that sad that we lost, I'm just so proud of you.” You whisper into her ear making sure to cover your mouth so none of the cameras picked up what you were saying. “Thank you, baby could I-….can…Can I kiss you?” Chloe asks you emotionally as she squeezes you in the hug and you nod yes.

The both of you pulled back slightly from the hug so you could look at each other which you did lovingly. Chloe places her hand on your right cheek rubbing your cheekbone with her finger before leaning in and kissing you like it was your wedding night.

_________________________

Hope you liked this fic! Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!

Taglist:   @sofakingwoso @dutch-gay86 @gt713 @mmmmokdok @xxforeverinadayxx  

[omegasmileyface]

Of All the People - Ch. 9

journal time! written by @attackradish and me and @ectolemonades. art in chapter 1 by @/toasty-ghosti

whole fic summary: After a stupid dare puts Dash Baxter in the lab at Fentonworks during the middle of a ghost fight, he finds himself a little more spectral than usual. Apparently Danny Fenton’s gone through the same thing (someone has got to call OSHA on these guys eventually), and who could better help Dash than his hero? His lame, stubborn hero?

warnings: Nothing for this chapter! In others, existential crises, and Spectra.

words: 1645

AO3 link

first chapter

previous chapter

next chapter

===

Star stabbed at her chow mein from her place on Paulina's couch. Her mind was racing trying to sort everything in her life. Between Dash's ghost situation, the hectic state of student council (you can't find funding for two new school dances in one year. You just can't do it!), and a tricky new Government paper, she felt like she couldn't afford to give all her attention to her friends.

"Oh my God."

Well, alright, she could always spare some attention for Paulina.

"What is it, Lina?"

"Dash has been spending an awful lot of time with Fenton recently."

"Huh." Kwan set down his broccoli beef and slowly leaned into the couch. "I guess it's probably a ghost thing. Like, Fenton's got access to a bunch of portals and weapons and stuff. Or at least he did when we went up against those pirate ghosts. How do you think Dash is keeping his secret from the guy?"

"It's more than that. Dash is fully putting up with Fenton. Even though it looks to me like Fenton isn't enjoying it much. If he needed equipment, wouldn't he just go to the guy's sister? She's actually tolerable."

Huh. She had a point. 

Kwan shrugged. "Well, she is really smart. I bet he's worried she'd figure out that he's a ghost."

"Hold on. That might be it, but I think Lina's on to something." She was clearly going somewhere with this, and Star wanted to know where. "I feel like Dash has been following him around like a puppy. Almost like… he's started, like, admiring him, or something."

Kwan's eyes brightened in understanding. "Hey, if Dash has been getting help from Phantom sometimes, do you think maybe they're sharing resources? Say, if Phantom had any help getting into tough places and getting his hands on equipment, I bet Dash knows about it too."

Star liked how this was coming together. "Gosh, guys, have you ever noticed how Fenton seems to leave and take that thermos with him whenever there's a ghost? And that time that we were all over at his house, he certainly knew how to hand out weapons and get us using them."

Kwan smiled back at her, just as satisfied with a mystery solved.

"Wasn't it weird," added Paulina, "when Dash said Phantom had experience with half-ghosts?"

Oh.

Oh.

'Oh my God' indeed.

Well… Star could work with this.

===

Kwan 7:38 PM hey man sorry u missed hanging tonight

Kwan 7:38 PM: dont really want to have this conversation over text but i get why u missed

Kwan 7:39 PM: paulina has this theory that the nerd ure hanging out with is Celebrity Ghost Watch

You 7:39 PM: what hes not

Kwan 7:39 PM: whatever man

You 7:39 PM: shut up

You 7:40 PM: you cant tell ANYBODY!!! u guys super were not suposed 2 find out

Kwan 7:40 PM: yeah i get it i read spider man

Kwan 7:40 PM: we would never do that to him or u

Kwan 7:40 PM: dont worry

You 7:40 PM: thanks.

===

"Hey, Fenton."

"Star. What's up?"

"I know you're Phantom."

"What?"

===

"And it's just them?"

"Looks like it. Paulina and Star swore themselves to secrecy.  Kwan did some kind of intricate bro handshake with me that ended in a pinky promise. Dash wasn't even there."

"I wouldn't trust a word out of their mouths."

"I don't know, Sam. I, for one, think we could use this to our advantage."

"Of course you would, geek."

===

"I'm so fucking sorry my friends found out about your thing!"

"Don't call it that."

"I swear I didn't tell them."

"I know. They already told me. I'm still trusting you to keep them in line, though, alright?"

"Of course! I'll try not to let them bug you too much either."

"Good luck."

===

"What's up with the sudden interest in ghost culture?"

"Well, really, Danny, it's such a fascinating topic. But there wasn't really anyone we could ask about it before we knew you were, you know, not a massive loser!"

"Thanks. My reputation is saved. Hallelujah."

"So? You've got to have something you can give us a lesson on."

"Fine. Get prepared to dive right in, though."

===

"Specter Speeder is ready. Everybody got your bags secured?"

"This is going to be a fun new form of Hell."

"Don't I know it, chica."

===

November 19

I didnt realize how long its been since I journaled. Shit's just been so hectic lately I kinda forgot to be honest haha. Well for one thing my friends know about Dannys secret now. Paulina just sorta put it together. Shes always been good at problem solving and that kind of stuff, apparently I've been hanging out with him way more now and that was enough to make a conection? When Danny found out he insisted his friends and him get to talk to them to make sure they don't rat him out to the G I W or whatever but honestly it looks like their getting along pretty good after that. My friends wanted to see more stuff about how ghosts live(?) so we got to go on a trip Danny and his friends wanted to take me on some time anyway. It was Ok so apparently when Danny got ice powers he had to figure out how to use them and also not freeze to death (am I gonna get ice powers?? is he gonna have to teach me? or would I learn straight from these guys) and when he did that, it was these like sasquach guys who had to train him for a bit. So now their like buddies. They live in an ice tribe called the Far frozen and that's where we went today. That's in the ghost zone!!

It was really scary worrying tbh. The ghost zone is super not designed for humans to be in it so it was kinda like we where going to space or something. Aparently people can breathe and stuff but their organs will get all fucked up from the weird gravity and radiation if theyre out there for too long. Danny said I'd be fine though. So anyway we had to wait untill the fentons weren't home, and Dannys' friends got this spaceship car thing out and told us a bunch of safety prep like we were going on a roller coaster. Do they really think we were just gonna fuck around and put ourselves in danger in a new dimension? It was like listening through the instructions before the C A T. ugh. But it was cool becuz after that we got to go into the ghost zone! The portal kinda sucked to go through, it reminded me of when I the bazooka. But when we got in it was super cool, it was like you could taste the air without opening your mouth… it was like when you drink an energy drink to stay awake and it actually works and doesn't feel like shit.

When we were driving there was all these doors and islands and stuff just floating everywhere. Danny started talking about it, and there was so much cool stuff I didn't know about ghosts!! The doors usually go to ghost's lairs which are like there personal homes (do I have a lair or is it just my house? I should ask Danny what his lair is) but sometimes they just go to diffrent time periods and places in the normal world?? There was this sick ass island that had a giant skull on it. Some Junglanji shit. But Danny said we couldn't get close cuz the island belonged to that Skulker guy. I don't see what the issue is when I've seen Phantom take him down so much before but there was too much other cool stuff to put up a fight. One time it looked like we were gonna run into a school of fish, but they were little green blob ghosts. I've seen those in town a couple times but theyre never in swarms like that back home! Blob ghosts are SO CUTE. Maybe I can have one as a pet some day.

So when we got to the Far frozen it was cold as hell. What a surprise huh? The whole place was just this massive plain of snow. It was like those pictures of Canada. But as soon as we got off the ship, the main chief guy Frost bite greeted us. He was this yeti sasquatch polar bear thing and he was HUGE but once my friends were done being scared he shook our hands and offered to carry us and oh my god he was so soft. Also his arm was like made of ice and it had bones showing thru it, which is just wicked. He took us into the town, and they had igloos and furs and stuff like those Alaskan tribes but there was also electronics and stuff? I didn't even think ghosts had towns let alone made tech. Everybody was super nice and they had all this great art made out of ice. I get that they have ice powers but oh my god?? Oh yeah and everybody kept calling Danny great one like he was the guy in one of those midevil romance flicks. I don't think he wanted them too but when we asked why, Frost bite told us he saved everybody from that viking dude who put the town in the ghost zone freshman year. God I didn't even think about how it was Danny who did that.

Yeah. We got to eat some of their food when we knew it was human safe and then we went home. I could sleep for a day but it was sooo cool. (Heh that was kind of a pun)

[curiousconch]

Chase You/Chase Me (Pt. 4)

Part 4: The truth will never lie to me

Catch up here: Series Masterlist

Chapter Summary: Trapped in a conference, Gabe and Alex bask in the afterglow of their interrupted moment by the lake. But before Alex can fully comprehend how she felt, she unravels a truth that may cease the chase altogether.

Book/Pairing: Choices - Laws of Attraction / Gabe Ricci x MC (Alex Keating)

Words: 1.8k+

Rating/Warnings: Mature (16+) / alcohol consumption, language, implied sexual content. Reader discretion advised.

Author's Notes: Surprise! Yep, it's an early release! I made revisions to fit the ongoing narrative and ended up breaking it down into two parts. Also, this series may span longer than I originally intended it to be, not wanting to rush things. It will probably extend until Part 7, depending on what happens at the finale. I do hope you'll still stick around. If not, I'll totally understand. 😉

Disclaimer: Most of the characters as well as some dialogue belong to Pixelberry. I am merely borrowing them.

Late night, Boston

Shoe laces, cool wind and the darkness of the forest enveloping them. His breath shuddering with how close her lips was. His throat running dry.

Wanting, longing.

Just a little taste to find out how intoxicatingly delicious those cherry lips would be in his mouth and to feel the heat of her body against his.

And then a splash.

Gabe blinked as he felt ice cold liquid pouring over his crisp white shirt. He wasn't sure if he was having déjà vu.

"Oh, sorry mate," a man standing nearby had bumped into him, making the glass of scotch he was drinking shake and spill into his impeccable suit. He forced down the tasteless curse words forming in his mouth, groaning in frustration at the dissipating sensations from what he had been imagining.

His mind was stuck in an endless loop, replaying the romantic encounter with Alex just the night before. But very much like after Beau's dive into the lake, his consciousness whipped achingly back to reality.

Gabe was leaning on the mobile bar, set in the middle of the conference reception. Did he just lose himself in a daydream like a fool? He wondered, murmuring through his madness.

The time alone with her provided him a glimpse of what could be between them. And oh how euphoric it had been to have her so near, to watch his body respond to her like no other.

It left him just craving for more.

He was lying to himself if he continued to deny that he has feelings for Alex, and how deep he was already in for her. But he knew it wasn't meant to be, at least until after he admits the truth. Until then, he had to pull away.

Easier said than done.

For now, he settled for a view of her, his eyes scoured the room for the subject of his fancy. When he found her, Gabe couldn't stop his smile and the fluttering of his heart, or the warmth growing between his legs.

There she was, in the far side of the room, shining brighter than any star that they had seen in the night sky. Her audience completely captivated as he was with her.

The sight of her in that blue dress swept Gabe back into his fantasies, and how infuriatingly near he was to giving into them. He had to clench his fist around his tumbler, suppressing any trace of his earlier wild thoughts.

Apparently sensing the weight of his gaze, Alex turned to him, their eyes meeting in silent conversation. He watched as she excused herself before making her way towards where he sat.

Half-smiling, Alex's confident expression as she approached him made him swallow hard.

Gabe summoned all his willpower to rein himself in as she got closer. He plastered his usual cocky smile, once again putting up a wall of professionalism. They were in a conference, he reasoned.

"Still watching your wards, old man?" Alex chuckled as she reached a seat beside him.

"Working the room like a pro like that? Very hard to ignore," Gabe interjected, shaking his head. "Had to say Alex, I'm impressed."

"Glad you noticed," she smiled, clearly enjoying the compliment.

"Frankly, you charming the top tier lawyers were hard to miss," he said, with lips quirking into a grin.

"Were you watching the whole time?" she asked.

"Difficult not to, seeing how you're the best-dressed lawyer in the room," he continued, savoring the easy conversation.

She scoffed before turning around, grabbing a napkin from a bartender. Alex offered it to him, pointing at the light stain on his clothes.

He finally muttered a curse, realizing he had been too distracted not to notice the result of the spillage from his own drink. This was one of my best suits.

Gabe almost jumped when Alex started to wipe the front of his suit.

His eyes narrowed, unable to process what was happening. On impulse, he reached out to her, encircling his palms around her wrist. Alex snapped her head up at the touch, the intensity of her gaze enchanting him.

It took all of his strength to break free from it. He cleared his throat and looked away, before grabbing the napkin from her grasp without warning.

It had always been like this. At first, there was this fluidity, a natural attraction between them while they interacted. Then another goddamn minute passes and it all becomes downright complicated.

Gabe wasn't having it.

He briefly shut his eyes closed and released the breath he was holding. When he opened them, he focused his attention on wiping the stain from his jacket, avoiding Alex's questioning gaze. He decided to divert the conversation, robbing her of any opportunity to re-capture him in a trance.

"Don't worry, I don't judge potential partners solely on congeniality. Though I can't speak for Sadie." He then turned and discarded the cloth on the bar. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll have to speak to a friend who I'm sure will be thrilled to know I'm now a partner."

He finally dared to look at Alex with almost apologetic eyes, before swiftly walking away towards a sea of unfamiliar faces.

Alex was left gaping at his hasty departure, uncertain how it all went south so quickly. She wanted to grab his arm and pull him to her so badly, to pick things up from where they left off last night. From that moment when his lips was inches away from taking hers, before they were interrupted.

Her body ached to be near him. Then again, that's not how she usually operates, so she let him be.

She had never thought her idol was such a tease. Or perhaps, traditional? Alex snickered. Oh how I'll make you beg, Gabriel Ricci. She exhaled, the sultry thought of the man on his knees in front of her suddenly hiking up the temperature in the room. Alex had to fan herself to cool down.

Along with the idea of finally spending some alone time together, conjuring the image of waking up beside Gabe excited her. Well, if ever this chase between them actually culminates to something.

But why was she following this trail of thought? In all her conquests, she had never stayed for what came after. She had that with Julian, and look how that ended. For her, it was always just for the fun. So why does she suddenly liked the notion with Gabe? She shuddered. Ugh, weird.

Maybe it's because it's taking the long game with him? Alex didn't want to know.

Leaving that for now, she resorted to ordering another shot of patron to drown the remnants of her heated thoughts. On her third glass, Alex heard a familiar voice ordering a shot of bourbon. She swiveled towards it and caught sight of Lina Reyes, the opposing lawyer from the Willow case.

"Fancy meeting you here," Alex smiled lazily, remembering how temptingly attractive she was. She also recalled the offer of a hook-up, which she politely declined out of courtesy.

But now, seems like she's getting another chance. And with Gabe being annoyingly hard to get, Alex had to have fun somewhere else. It's not like she and Gabe was committed, right?

Lina scooted closer to her, smelling of a heady mix of alcohol. "Speaking of fancy, damn. You look more incredible than I can remember, Alex," she teased, provocatively arching her brows at her.

Alex quickly picked up Lina's attempt to flirt, stoking her bruised ego. "Gotta be dressed to impress, right?" she waved her fingers as if in curtsy. "Enjoying the conference?"

"At this point, things tend to devolve quickly. But I do plan to have a nightcap back in my room," Lina smirked, Alex feeling the heel of velvet pumps brushing along her bare leg. "Maybe you could join me?"

The woman wasn't exactly subtle, though Alex had to give props to her for her confidence. She liked that in anyone. So Alex returned the gesture, letting her fingers hover an inch over her arm while batting her eyelashes. Two can play that game.

"I think we should stay here."

Wait, what? Did she just say no? Subconsciously? Did hell just freeze over? Or did her brain left her head?

Both women blinked, unable to determine who's more mortified between them. They were both quiet, until Lina broke the awkwardness by a chuckle.

"Had to try, didn't expect I'd be turned down twice," she said consuming the rest of her drink in one gulp. "Worth it though." she shrugged, ordering another round for herself.

Alex struggled to compose herself, brows furrowed in confusion by how that went down.

"Oh don't be so bothered, you're not my first rodeo." Lina poked at her jokingly, clearing up the air. Alex thanked her, and the conversation went smoothly from there.

Several more drinks in, the two women chatted on, venturing into a variety of topics in law and in love. It didn't take long before Lina started to slur in her words, to which Alex found amusing.

"Looks like someone didn't pace herself," she observed as she sipped her cocktail.

"Ah don't mind me, had to cleanse my palate after all the boring sessions earlier," Lina toasted her glass on hers, wobbling as she shifted to face her. "We are a rare breed, us fighters," she leaned towards Alex, lowering her voice to a whisper. "We like-minded women should just stick together, you know?"

Alex was relieved she turned her down the second time. Barely listening to her, she started to drift off as Lina continued rambling on, turning around to face the crowds as her eyes tried to locate that handsome man. Alex smirked when she found Gabe's sexy outline.

"Lot of ungrateful dipshits being freed from prison, even after we work our asses off proving they deserved an earlier release. Khan, Kozlowski, those celebrities involved with the Ivy League admission scandal? Hell, even small town criminal Cornell was released in the last five years alone!"

And with that last statement, Alex froze. "Say that again?"

Confused, Lina stuttered as if she can't remember what she was saying. To Alex's annoyance, she went silent, apparent that more humiliation was on the way. Lina abruptly stood, covering her mouth with her hand as she sprinted to the bathroom. Alex let her pass.

Assured that she'll be fine with her colleagues flanking her, Alex started to obsess over Lina's last sentence.

Was that just the patron? Or am I getting too drunk and starting to hear things? She asked herself, bewildered at how randomly Lina mentioned a Cornell.

With an exasperated sigh, she decided it wouldn't hurt to check. She pulled out her phone from her purse and fired up a search engine, where she typed in the godforsaken name. Alex tapped enter.

As soon as the results loaded, she felt the world crumble beneath her.

No, no, no, no, no. This fucking didn't happen.

She clicked on one of the articles from a local news outlet. The picture beneath the headline shoving her nightmares front and center. There it was, the title written in bold stated loud and clear: Cornell Son Gets Early Release.

Alex bit her lip as she fought to gather herself together, speed reading through the article. This was definitely a surprise, but what really got her reeling was the figure of a man walking behind Maximilian. She'd pick up who that was from anywhere within a mile radius.

Alex tried to keep herself rational, but the shock rippled through her, enough to shake off the alcohol in her system. And why did her stomach churned like she was punched in the gut a hundred times over? Why did she felt fucking betrayed?

Unexpectedly, she knew it wasn't discovering Cornell was now walking freely in the streets.

Deep down, Alex was aware it was because Gabe Ricci was involved. Either way, it looks like her high and mighty boss has some explaining to do.

Her blood boiled, a myriad of questions went through her mind. Resolute, she wanted those damn questions answered. Tonight.

She downed her drink and slammed the empty glass on the bar, sending a text to draw Gabe's attention.

She looked over where he stood, watching the frown in his face as he read her message. She clicked her head, beckoning him outside.

Even he can't fathom the fire storm that was about to come his way.

Author's Notes 2: Thank you for your continued reading! 💖 How do you think things will go down next? Let me see your reactions on your comments and reblogs!

Tag list: @adiehardfan @pixelnutrookie @starryjieun @latinagiraffe @sarcastic01lily @spookycolorpeanut @ophrookie @suitfer @thegreentwin @mkatschoicesblog @made-of-roses @lillijill

@choicesficwriterscreations

[floralseokjin]

The green eyed monster 

⇢ memoirs of a mistake timeline

[saga index] [drabble index]

kim seokjin x reader // smut //  2,232 words  

warnings; party/bathroom sex, protected sex, some type of mirror sex, fingering

You pushed the bathroom door open a few inches, impatiently searching for Seokjin in the crowd of bodies that littered the hallway while simultaneously trying to keep undetected. What the fuck were you doing right now? You’d told Seokjin there was no way you’d fuck at a filthy college party ever again, and yet, you were the one initiating it tonight... It was absolutely mortifying, but you just couldn’t think about it. Especially when you saw him emerging through a small group congregated by the stairs, all massive shoulders and handsome face. Damn him. Damn him straight to hell. 

He smirked as he saw your head peeking out the door, steps quickening and you jumped back inside. No one could see this. You didn’t want anyone to know you were having sex with Kim Seokjin. Not even Lina. (Although thankfully she hadn’t joined you tonight.) 

He pushed the door open, casually strolling inside. “Can’t resist me, I see.” He couldn’t help himself, smug look all over his face. 

You scowled. “Lock the door. Now.” Without any objections he listened, turning his back to bolt it closed. “Do you want someone to see us?” You were very aware of your tone, you just couldn’t help it. You were annoyed. At yourself. At this party. At Seokjin... 

“You’re the one demanding me to meet you in a bathroom.” He pointed out, immediately homing in on you. Hands at your hips he backed you up against the sink. He was either really dense or didn’t mind your attitude. You didn’t know which one was worse. 

Ignoring the obvious eyes he was throwing your way, you folded your arms across your chest, nose in the air, refusing to meet his gaze. (If you did, he’d have you bent over in no time, and the thought pissed you off.) “You didn’t tell me you were going to be here tonight.” 

Yumi had dragged you out, like she usually did these days, desperate to see more of the guy she’d recently started dating. It was cute really, but you were getting sick of the lack of sleep. You’d spotted Seokjin almost instantly, laughing and joking around with a bunch of his friends. He’s looked in your direction, given you a tiny smile and that was it. Not that he could do much else. He knew this was a secret between you two. But still... 

“You didn’t tell me,” he countered, finally sensing something was wrong. Maybe– “Are we doing this thing or not? Because I was having fun down there...” 

“Oh, I know you were,” you shot, eyes wide. 

Ding ding! He caught the implication laced in your tone immediately. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I saw you dancing.” 

There was a brief pause and then he burst out into laughter. “I see. You’re jealous.” He gleed, leaning in, his face millimetres from yours. His breath reeked of beer, but somehow that didn’t bother you. “Green eyed monster.” 

You pushed his chest. “I’m not jealous.” 

“Are too.” 

“Am not.” 

So what if you’d seen him dancing with a bunch of different girls throughout the night? You weren’t annoyed because you were jealous, you were annoyed because you and he had a deal. No sleeping with anyone else. You’d been sticking to it. Was he? 

Seokjin smiled, now lacing his arms around your waist as he tilted his head. “I gotta say, I’m touched. Didn’t think you cared about me that much.” 

“I don’t...” You said slowly, unamused. “We have a deal, remember?” 

He rolled his eyes. “I was dancing with a few girls not fucking them.” 

“They want you to fuck them though.” The thought made you a little angry. It wasn’t jealousy though. 

“But I don’t want to fuck them.” He replied, his eyes running down your chest, stopping at the cleavage of your dress. “I want to fuck you... All day, every day.” Giving you a squeeze, he pressed his crotch to yours. “Feel that.” You most definitely could feel it. The bump of his erection. “That’s what you do to me... Got me all hard from just a text. Even with all your griping.” 

You ignored that last bit, too busy softening at his words. The fact he’d gotten hard from the sheer prospect of having sex with you did wonders for your ego. Seokjin ran a hand down your ass, giving one cheek a squeeze, voice soft. He was trying to coax you. You weren’t dumb, but you let him think you were. “You know if I was allowed I’d be dancing with you, right? I really want to dance with you.” He pressed into you, circling his hips, erection growing stiffer. “Grind all over you...” 

You looked up at him, trying your best to keep your expression neutral. “Just fuck me.” 

He had the skirt of your dress up above your hips in no time, his thumb pressed against your clothed clit. “No.” You shook him off. “Just fuck me.” 

He raised an eyebrow. “No prep?” 

You shook your head, letting him pull your underwear down around your knees. He brought two of his fingers towards your entrance, checking if you were wet. “Are you sure? You’re not even wet. I don’t want to hurt you.” 

“You won’t,” you told him. “I’m getting wet. Just get a condom. You have one, right?” 

He was too busy unzipping his jeans, pulling his dick out of his boxers. This is why you didn’t like having sex at parties. It always felt so... cold. Maybe you’d grown too comfortable having sex at his place. You liked him better naked. 

“Jin. Condom?” You were getting impatient. 

“Alright, alright, I’m getting it,” he complained, reaching for his wallet in his back pocket. “And before you ask, this is my emergency one. Just in case you jump me around campus or something.” 

You pulled a face. There was way more chance of him jumping you. He initiated sex 90% of the time. Tonight? It was one off. He went to rip the packet open but glanced at you. Outstretching his hand, he grinned. “Put it on for me?” 

“Fine.” You snatched it. He was wasting time. You’d already been in here for ten minutes. The door was bound to get bashed in at some point. 

Ripping it open with your teeth (a dumb thing to do, by the way), you pulled the condom out, pinching the tip to slip it over Seokjin’s cock. He pulsed beneath your hand as you made sure it was secure, looking up to find him staring straight at you, eyes dark and filled with want. 

“Turn around.” 

You listened, letting him spin you around by the hips, underwear falling to the floor as you spread your legs a little, letting him have access. He rubbed the head of his cock against your entrance, finding you were now wet. It was embarrassing, but he didn’t point it out surprisingly. 

He pushed in slowly, letting you take him inch by inch. It wasn’t painful, but it was a squeeze. When he started fucking you, he wasn’t fully in but he didn’t seem to mind, bunching your dress up further so he could watch your ass better as it bounced with each thrust. He sucked in some air. “God, you really have the most amazing ass.” 

Looking up, he met your eyes in the sink mirror. Uh oh. Busted. He was instantly grinning. “Enjoying the view?” You’d been watching him the entire time, he just hadn’t noticed up until now, too distracted by your ass. You couldn’t help but moan, trying to keep as quiet as possible. You’d never had sex in a bathroom before. This was new territory but actually, it was pretty exciting. 

“There we go,” Seokjin encouraged, sliding in deeper, all the way, as you got more comfortable. “Start soaking my cock.” 

“Ngh. Jin!” His words got to you, walls squeezing around him. 

He carried on, hands pawing at your ass. “I thought fucking at parties was beneath you?” His tone was goading, as if he was trying to get a bite. “I get it. You want to prove a point.” His thrusts got harder, you held onto the edge of the sink tightly, staring at your own reflection. This was fast becoming one of the hottest thing you’d ever experienced. 

“Shame those girls don’t know about you. Seems like you’d love to rub it in their faces.” 

“That’s... Th-that’s not it at all,” you insisted, voice weak. Fucking Seokjin wasn’t something to be proud of. 

“You want them to know I’m off limits,” he carried on between grunts. He was making you feel so good right now you couldn’t even think to tell him how wrong he was. Not with all these distractions. “You know I only want to fuck you.” 

You melted. Pushing back into him like something desperate. He cupped your ass with one hand, the other holding you tight by the hip. “Fuck. You make me feel so good. Your pussy is so fucking warm and soft. So fucking wet now. I make you wet, don’t I, babe?” 

You both moaned then, making eye contact in the mirror. Seokjin’s cheeks were flushed red, something you’d gotten very used to these past few weeks. You found it oddly endearing.

“You’re getting off on this.” He noted. “Watching me fuck you.” 

“O-of course,” you choked out, biting down on your bottom lip when he started fucking you harder. “Seokjinn–!” 

His hips stuttered, watching you go crazy for him. “Shit. We need to be quick, right?” He got no reply. “I’m gonna cum.” 

If you weren’t so distracted right now you would’ve laughed. He didn’t need to make excuses for himself. Cute. He was close because he was so turned on. Nothing more, nothing less. 

A few moments later his body stiffened, dick rammed inside you as he released into the condom. “Fuck,” he sighed, when it was all said and done, slipping out of you to remove the latex and trash it. (He did have the courtesy to hide it in toilet paper beforehand though.) 

Turning around to face him, he smiled at you, looking a little gooey around the edges. “You look so pretty tonight,” he murmured, your eyes immediately dropping to his mouth. Nope. 

“Wanted to get my hands on you as soon as I saw you.” He leaned in to nuzzle your neck, hands grazing your bare ass. At least this position was safer. 

“You didn’t even say hi.” You almost pouted. It sounded so unlike you. 

He lifted away, looking surprised. At the same time one of his hands travelled forwards, thumb at your clit. “Am I allowed to say hi?” 

“I don’t know,” you whispered, pushing your hips into him. 

“You need to make these rules clearer.” His voice was barely there, distracted as he pushed two fingers inside of you. You moaned, your face falling into his chest. It was safer this way. No temptation. 

He pushed a third finger in gently. “Too much?”

You shook your head. “N-no.” 

Going a little faster, you clutched at his t-shirt, thighs beginning to tremble already. Chasing your desperate release you started circling into his thumb, needing the added stimulus to get you off. 

“God. This pussy really can’t get enough,” he muttered, voice strained as he concentrated, snapping his wrist like no tomorrow. 

“Seokjin, I-I...” You couldn’t get your words out, breathing heavily, pleasure intense. 

“Cum, baby.” He purred, the little hairs on the back of your neck shooting up. “Let go and just cum all over my fingers.” 

And you did. With a muffled cry up against his t-shirt, pulsing uncontrollably down below, your back sweaty. 

“You okay?” He asked once he’d pulled out. 

You nodded, lifting your head away. “Yep.” Your voice was a little shaky, which was normal now.

You both soon busied yourself with looking presentable again, moment over. Checking your reflection in the mirror one last time you, you asked him a question curiously. “Did you really mean what you said?” He looked clueless. “About wanting to dance with me?”

“Of course,” he shrugged. 

“Then do it.” 

“Here?” He seemed confused. 

“Yeah. I guess if you just came up behind me and started going for it, I’d probably find it funny and let you continue.” 

Pulling a face, he stepped closer. “Huh? Like some kind of pervert?” 

“No, idiot,” you scoffed. “Just try it out and see what happens.” 

“Okay.” He looked happy. 

“Okay.” You smiled, feeling happy too. “Now leave,” you prompted with a tap to his shoulder. “I’ll follow you out in five minutes.” 

“See you down there.” He walked past you, hand brushing across your waist affectionately. “By the way.” He stopped, turning back to tell you something. “I caught like three different guys trying to hit on you tonight.” 

“What guys?” You asked all confused. What was he going on about? 

He chuckled. “Cute, you’re so clueless.”

He gave your ass a tap. “At least I don’t have to worry about you getting lured away.” 

You refrained an eye roll. “Go!” Yet you were unable to stop yourself from laughing, shaking him away with your hand. 

“I’m goinggg,” he whined, shooting you a parting wink. The nerve. 

You waited until he was gone to let yourself smile, excited to get downstairs. You wanted to go dance. 

With Seokjin.

[where-theres-smoak-2]

Yeah,exactly. One of the main problems with M*lina is how static their relationship is. We’re told they’re each other’s home and have feelings for each other but we never really see their relationship evolve and once they reunite(which in other better written friends to lovers relationships usually means showing how they’ve changed and wether they’re compatible together)nothing really changes either they solve their misunderstandings in 5 min and that’s it and this is actually a great example of how boring and devoid of any real storytelling Western shows,etc are becoming. The fake/woke puritanical crowd refuse to accept that how a relationship begins isn’t as important as how it ends. Darklina might have toxic elements or whatever but in the hands of a better writer the process of their relationship and how it ends should be much more important than bring so pure and unproblematic.With Aleksander you get to see the progression of him being so stoic and unreadable when he first meets Alina to becoming more vulnerable and even at times unhinged(getting emotional in the war room scene,Alina’s potential kidnapping,threatening his mother,rejecting Zoya,begging Alina to understand him,etc)and we get to see how being with Aleksander affects Alina too and that’s what a well written relationship should strive to do. And let’s be honest I don’t think viewers would care very much about the destruction of the Fold if it wasn’t for Aleksander carrying the plot on his back instead of rooting for the two orphans in o defeat him like LB intended(sorry to break it to you B*rdugo but LOTR did it so much better yet it was supposed to be originally children’s books,imo).

And this is why I find Darklina a much more interesting ship, because you get to witness their relationship grow and change but as you said this isn't the case with M*lina, their relationship is the same throughout. I do agree with what you said about how there seems to be this fixation of characters and relationships being pure and unproblematic. I've been noticing it more and more often lately with various tv shows and books and the fandoms and especially with reviewers and reactors. It's like a character does one thing wrong and the attitude of some fans is 'hang them they are a terrible person and their character has been completely ruined there's no going back now'. Which to me is just nonsensical. The amount of times I've seen a character do something the fandom doesn't like or something that is questionable and they've then been marked as ruined or bad is ridiculous, its the same argument they use that their character development has regressed or been thrown out the window because they've done one morally grey thing. In fact I've said this before but character development does not have to be linear, a character can improve but they can also have set backs, that doesn't make it bad development it just makes it human. One of the most popular phrases I see is 'character 'A' would never do this' but the thing is as circumstances around a character changes so too does the character, so things they might not have done in say season 1 become a plausible character choice in later seasons.

But more and more lately there's been this trend of making sure that your 'good' characters remain pure and don't ever do anything wrong and unfortunately this makes them boring in my opinion. I like to see characters make mistakes and I like to see how this effects them and how it changes them, do they grow from it or does it lead them to making more questionable decisions? A flawed character has more room to grow and is just more interesting to me which is probably why I like the darkling so much. As you pointed out we get to see Aleks grow and change as the season goes on from someone who comes across as very stoic and cold, the perfect general to someone who is vulnerable and flawed. It's the same with Alina as the season goes on we see her shift from someone who is insecure and feels useless, who is overlooked by others around her to someone who is confidant and who in important within her society and who owns her own power.

M*l however is a different story and I think it stems back to this purity complex. I think they were so desperate to make sure the character was liked they tried to paint him as this pure, shining knight who could do no wrong. Unfortunately this really watered down his character to the point that there isn't really any substance to him at all and he is very one dimensional. And he has no development at all, the M*l we meet in the beginning of season 1 is the same M*l as at the end of it. As terrible as I think the character is in the books at least he did have some character development in the first book in that at the beginning he didn't see Alina and he had no feelings for her from what we could tell and he slept around but come the end of the book he does develop feelings and does confess them to her and commits to her. However in the show they wanted to keep this 'can do no wrong' character so they made it clear to the audience that he did have feelings for Alina in the pilot episode and so he has feelings for her in the beginning and he has feelings all through the season and he has feelings at the end and absolutely no character development. The ironic thing is though is whilst they made Aleks so much more human in the show in a way they made M*l less human. The fact that he has no flaws and that he never does anything wrong makes him seem like this pure angel caricature as oppose to an actual person. Even down to deciding that he doesn't sleep with Zoya despite the fact that at the time he was free to do so as he wasn't in a relationship with Alina and it being book canon. That would have made him less pure and the less ideal knight in shining armour. I also feel like they use this later as a way of kind of comparing pure M*l with evil Aleks because Aleks has slept with Zoya look how morally corrupt he is, unlike M*l who held strong against temptation.

I like what you said about how a relationship starts isn't as important as where it ends. I agree with this I think the thing that makes a relationship interesting and well written is seeing that journey and seeing it come to completion to look at where they started and see the growth and change. Which is why when you have a ship like M*lina where they seem very fixated on the past and where the relationship began and where there is very little to no change in their relationship, I find it very boring.

[alinastracker]

hello my dear bonnie, if you're still taking prompts, can i suggest #47 👀 ?

LOVE THIS PROMPT!!! here you go my love<3

prompt: you’re casually seeing my roommate and think they’re in the shower when you strip down to join me and we end up screaming and my roommate thinks it’s the funniest thing and tries to set us up on a date

yikes at this going from a quick lil ficlet to 6.7k oof

would it be okay if i came home to you (explicit) (ao3)

Alina steps into the shower, wondering how the hell she ended up rooming with Zoya to begin with.

Don't get her wrong, she loves Zoya. But her raven-haired friend can be difficult, and she was supposed to have buffer. Originally, it was going to be her, Zoya, and Genya living together, until Genya backed out last minute to move in with her boyfriend David instead.

"I'm so sorry, but it just makes sense," Genya said to them over lunch one afternoon. "Besides, if things go how I think they will, you two will be on the same path that I'm on soon enough."

Zoya scoffed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Alina had the same question, considering both of them were hopelessly single.

Genya just sipped her tea and said in a sing-song voice, "You'll see."

At first, living with Zoya was fine. They agreed easily on most apartment related things; splitting up chores, rules about not touching each other's food, a timely heads up before having friends or potential sexual partners over. Zoya could get nit picky about a few things, like the lecture she'd given her on the proper position of the toilet paper roll. It goes over, Starkov, understand? Under is for heathens and natural selection is coming for them. But otherwise, things had been fine.

Until Mal.

He was a part of the friend circle she had surrounded herself with since freshman year. But there was something about Mal that had drawn her to him in a way that was different from the rest of the group — different from anyone else she had ever met. He was like a drug, a magnet, the missing link that had her saying, where have you been my whole life, when you're meant to be here beside me? So quickly he had become her closet friend, and as much as their group liked to tease them, they both denied feeling anything beyond fierce friendship.

But Alina was such a liar.

Which makes it her own fault, really, for ending up in this situation. Zoya could, quite frankly, be a bitch — but she wouldn't have gone after Mal if Alina had just owned up to her feelings.

Though she really could have told her about it sooner.

Alina had been studying in the living room one night when a knock at the door startled her. Zoya hadn't mentioned having company, and neither of them had ordered food. Hesitantly, she rose and stood on her tiptoes to peek through the peephole. Then her face lit up, and she swung the door open. "Mal!"

Saints, he looked good. He appeared freshly showered, dressed in a silky green shirt and dark jeans. He had actually put effort into his hair for once, and he had a small gold hoop earring in his left ear.

"Hey, Lina," he said, something a little off with the smile he gave her. As he passed by to come inside, she could smell expensive cologne.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, butterflies in her stomach. Her head was already filling with wild fantasies. He wanted to surprise her, so he showed up without notice. He put effort into how he looked, because he wanted to impress her. He was going to reveal his true feelings for her, and she would revel in the fact that he wanted her as much as she wanted him.

Instead, Zoya entered the room and said, "He's here for me."

Mal had the decency to flush and offer a sheepish shrug. "I'm gonna grab some water," he said, and scuttled off to the kitchen. Of course, Mal had been here plenty of times before. He knew where everything was.

Alina had barely heard him though, Zoya's words repeating on a loop in her head. He's here for me. She knew what this meant, even as her mind tried to deny it. The room was spinning and she couldn't quite steady herself, like something had broken inside of her.

She swallowed, and as calmly as possible, said, "What happened to the heads up rule?"

Zoya arched a brow. "I texted you two hours ago."

Alina frowned and pulled out her phone. Sure enough, there was a text from Zoya. Got a guy coming over in a couple hours. She must have missed it, lost in her studies. But still, something in the text ignited anger in her chest.

"You could have said the guy was Mal."

Zoya shrugged, so frustratingly nonchalant. "What does it matter?"

It matters because I am so hopelessly in love with him, and you're supposed to be my friend, and now I have to blast music so I don't hear the sounds of you two fucking, she thought.

"He's my best friend," she said. "It's just a little weird, I guess."

"Don't worry, Starkov," Zoya said, turning toward the kitchen, probably to grab Mal so they could get the night started. "It won't affect anything between you two."

Alina waited until the two of them were tucked away in Zoya's room. Then she pulled on her old running shoes and slipped out — there was just no way she could be here, knowing what was happening in the room across from her own.

She ran with no destination in mind, pumping her little legs as hard as they could go, music pounding from her headphones. When she became too tired to go further, she checked her surroundings and sighed. Of course, her feet took her to one of her favorite places in the city.

It's not anything, really. A quiet street with an old abandoned building at the end of it. But on the building's brick wall is one of her favorite pieces of art. A mural of the sun, complex in its simplicity, using colors she had never seen used to express the sun before, yet perfectly capturing the feeling of a warm sunny day.

Alina leaned against the wall, slid down until she was sitting on the old, cracked sidewalk. Only then did she realize that she was crying. Turning off her music, she called Genya, and told her everything.

"You have to talk to Zoya," Genya said.

"No!" she said quickly. "I don't want her to feel bad. It's not her fault. And if Mal likes her — well, it's not like he's shown any interest in me. I'm not going to get in their way."

"Alina," Genya sighed.

"It's fine," she promised. "I just—" A sob escaped her throat, the pain overshadowing any coherent thought. It was not fine.

"Send me your location," Genya said, and Alina did.

She spent the night at Genya and David's that night, David promising he was more than okay with taking the couch so her and Genya could have the bed. Which was needed, because Alina had a lot more crying to do.

"Just don't tell Zoya," she said.

"Alina, I don't know."

"Promise, Genya. Please."

Finally, Genya sighed. "All right."

That was four months ago. Zoya had told her it wouldn't affect her close bond with Mal, but it had. Alina never invites Mal over anymore, too afraid that he'll come to watch a movie, sit on the couch beside her — much closer than most friends sit. They would point out everything terrible about it, because they loved to watch bad films together as they stuffed their faces with popcorn. Then the movie would end and Mal would say goodnight, but instead of leaving, he'd go to Zoya's room, and the popcorn they ate would sour in her stomach.

There were so many little changes, too. Like when they hung out as a group, and suddenly Alina was questioning every move she made around him. Was it still okay to playfully ruffle his hair, to sit close enough that their shoulders pressed together, to look at him like he personally hung the sun and the moon in the sky, all while Zoya was there to see? Was it wrong to look at his lips and fantasize about how they would feel against her own, pressed to her collarbone, sucking her most sensitive spots? Zoya and Mal were a casual thing, they had both said so. But still, the natural intimacy her friendship with Mal had built for the past two years suddenly felt wrong, and she hated it.

Needless to say, Alina has been looking into new rooming possibilities for next year. She can't do this anymore. Every time Mal comes over, she waits for them to lock themselves away in Zoya's room, and then she leaves. She runs to her sun, sometimes just sitting and letting her sad song playlist make her sadder, sometimes bringing her sketchbook to at least make art out of the pain.

But tonight she has a very rare opportunity — the apartment to herself. Only for a couple hours, but still. She has spent most of the time so far blaring music, and her neighbors probably hate her, but damn it, they can deal with it for a night.

She lets the music play as she takes a much needed shower. Sure, she could have gone the bath route, but she doesn't want to waste all her time getting clean. Alina has decided her hours alone should end with a much needed date with her vibrator and an Owen Gray video that she's going to watch without headphones.

Olivia Rodrigo's Brutal is pounding from her speaker, and though Alina's twenty-one, not seventeen, the lyrics hit all the same. She's so into the music, thinking about her life for the past four months, thinking about moving as soon as she possibly can, thinking yeah, it really is fucking brutal out here, that she does not notice the telltale signs of someone entering her apartment, and even more worrisome, someone entering the bathroom. Not until it's too late.

"Thought you were too cool for Olivia Rodrigo," a very male voice says, and then the shower curtain opens.

Screams fill the air from both of them. Alina's already holding her conditioner bottle, and on instinct, hurls it at the man's chest while her other hand reaches for her razor.

"Oi!"

Only then does her mind register that it's not a strange man come to sexually assault her, it's Mal. Her best friend. Her roommate's casual lover slash fuck buddy slash whatever. It's Mal, completely naked before her. She gets a quick glimpse of his cock, half-hard, before he curses and turns around.

It doesn't help that his backside is just as nice to look at. He's well toned, muscles flexing as he reaches to grab the clothes he must have just discarded. He bends, giving her the most sinful view of his ass, and Saints, her mind goes wild. She pictures him turning back around and pushing her against the wall, slamming inside of her. As he fucks her, she would reach around and grab that delicious ass of his, dig her fingers into the plump skin, and leave little half-moon indents.

Mal is apologizing over and over again — "I thought you were Zoya!" — as he gathers up his clothes and makes a beeline for the door. Alina finally snaps out of her filthy fantasy and slides the shower curtain closed with a shaky hand. She leans back against the tiled wall, breathing hard. Her heart is pounding like never before.

The song is winding down. Olivia is crooning, God I don't even know where to start.

Neither does Alina.

~

By the time she musters the courage to finish her shower and leave the bathroom, her robe clutched tightly around her, there’s no sign of Mal in the apartment. Zoya isn’t back yet, either.

With a sigh of relief, she flops onto her bed. Her previous plans were out the window now. Taking a breath, she goes over the facts in her head. 

One: Mal has now seen her completely naked. 

Two: she has now seen Mal completely naked. 

It was the wrong thing to think about, because now she’s picturing the smooth expanse of his skin, his perfectly tight ass, and the quick glimpse she had gotten of his—

Heat pools between her thighs. She’s positively aching, when she should be feeling horrified. She should absolutely not be reaching for her vibrator as she lets the images of Mal’s naked body settle in her mind. It’s wrong, because Mal is, at least somewhat, Zoya’s, and Zoya is her friend. Besides, it was Zoya that he had come looking for, Zoya that he wanted to fuck against the shower wall. 

But Alina does grab her vibrator, and as it buzzes her to multiple releases, she imagines Mal shoving her against the wall, pressing kisses to her neck, fucking her like it’s his sole reason for existing. Fucking her like she’s his, and he’s hers.

~

She doesn’t see Zoya until the next morning, passing out sometime after orgasm number three. Saints, if the memory of Mal’s bare skin had been enough to keep her going for three rounds, she wasn’t sure she could even handle actually being with him. 

When she walks into the kitchen, Zoya is sitting at their tiny excuse for a table. “Good morning,” Alina says as naturally as possible. 

Zoya only says, “Sit down, Starkov.”

It’s unnerving, how quickly can could take over her entire body. Saying nothing, still going for casual, Alina sits across from her. “What’s up?”

“That’s my question, actually.” Zoya arches a brow. “What happened with you and Mal last night?”

Shit, shit, shit. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, I think you do. I know he stopped by before I got home. When I asked why he left, he got all weird and said something came up with Dubrov. But I know that’s a lie, because Dubrov was happily posting drunken stories last night. So obviously something happened when he was over.” Zoya sits back in her chair and stares her down, making her insides twist. “And since I don’t live with him, the only person I have to grill is you. So get talking.”

Alina sighs, knowing she isn’t strong enough to deny Zoya when she’s like this, and babbles out the story. Really, it wasn’t her fault. Mal was the one that walked in on her. It was just incredibly embarrassing for both of them. 

When she finishes, Zoya lets the information sink in, and then she laughs, harder than Alina has ever seen her laugh.

“Well I’m so glad this is funny to you,” she huffs, arms crossed over her chest.

“It is! I can only imagine your faces, shit.” Zoya wipes at her eyes. “Too bad you already know each other, that would make for one hell of a meet cute.” She pauses and says, “Well, it still could be your origin.”

Alina frowns. “Our origin?”

“You know, if you guys dated.”

She momentarily loses her breath. “What? No, you guys are a thing.”

Zoya rolls her eyes. “We’re fucking, Alina, that’s it. And actually, I was planning on cutting it off after last night.” She stands and pours herself what is at least her second up of coffee. “There’s someone else I’m interested in.”

“Someone else? Who?” Zoya says nothing. Alina pops up as it comes to her. “Oh! It’s that rich blond guy from the bar, isn’t it? The one that transferred here this semester. Nikolai or something, right?”

The tiniest blush spreads on Zoya’s face, and Alina squeals. “It is him! Saints, he’s attractive.”

“Yes, he is,” Zoya snaps. “And not bad for conversation, either.”

“Conversation?” She grins. “Why, Miss Nazyalensky, do you actually have feelings for this guy?”

Zoya scowls. “Shut it, Starkov.”

“Oh, you totally have feelings for him!”

“Keep it up and you will pay for this. I’m devising a plan as we speak.”

Alina just laughs. “Okay, Mrs. Whatever Nikolai’s Last Name Is.”

Under her breath, Zoya mutters, “Lantsov,” and stalks off with her coffee as Alina laughs harder. 

~

Zoya, apparently, hadn’t been kidding when she said she was devising a plan. 

When the weekend rolls around once again and Zoya texts the group chat they have with Genya about getting lunch, Alina jumps at the idea. She missed Genya, and it had been a hell of a week between juggling exams and thinking about her encounter with Mal. They haven’t spoken at all, and she had used her classes as an excuse to get out of any hang outs where he might show up. 

Zoya’s words from the morning after had been on her mind a lot, too. It still could be your origin. Could it? Was Mal even interested in her — and would he even want to try, after he’d had something with Zoya, or would it just be inevitably awkward?

Alina approaches the restaurant and sucks in a breath. She’s decided to finally tell Zoya about how she’s had feelings for Mal all this time, and maybe with her and Genya, the three of them can come up with what the hell Alina should do next. 

Zoya had texted five minutes ago saying she grabbed them a table in the restaurant’s outdoor patio, so she makes her way there. Only it’s not Zoya or even Genya waiting for her.

It’s Mal. 

He looks just as surprised to see her as she is to see him, and for a moment, she believes it really is some crazy coincidence. 

“Alina,” he says, standing. Neither of them can quite meet the other’s eye. “What are you doing here?”

Her hand is doing some nervous twitchy thing at her side, so she shoves it into the pocket of her dress. “I’m supposed to be meeting Zoya and Genya.”

Mal curses under his breath. “I’m supposed to be meeting Zoya, too.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

Shaking her head and feeling incredibly stupid, Alina takes out her phone and fires off a text to Zoya, WHAT THE HELL????

The next message she receives comes from Zoya — only not in the text chat between the two of them, but rather a newly created group chat with the two of them and Mal. 

consider this the official end to our fuck-mance, oretsev. yalls little bathroom flash show was the perfect opportunity for a new beginning, because yes, i see the doe eyes you give alina when she’s not looking. you too, starkov. i’m sorry for getting in the way for so long. have a good date, no throwing bottles at each other xoxo

They finish reading at the same time, looking up from their phones, eyes meeting before flickering away again. 

Mal sighs. “I think I hate her.”

“I think I hate her, too.”

He scratches the back of his neck. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

Alina bites her lip. Because he doesn’t want to do this, she thinks. “Oh, well, I guess—”

Mal cuts her off. “But it might be a nice chance for us to talk.” Her head snaps up, and this time when their eyes meet, neither of them look away. He smiles shyly. “I missed you this week, Lina.”

Her smile matches his. “I missed you, too.” 

They sit, and after the waiter takes their order for drinks and an appetizer for them to share — a sample platter, both of them too indecisive for any singular thing — Mal starts to stutter out an apology. Alina stops him with a hand on his arm. He looks down at where her fingers brush against bare skin, and she wonders if he’s thinking about all the skin they’ve bared to each other now. She certainly is.

“You don’t need to apologize, Mal,” she promises. “It was an accident.”

He shakes his head. “Still, I can’t imagine how terrifying that was for you.”

“Well, it was,” she admits, then adds, “at first.”

“At first?”

She shrugs, but says nothing, thankful for their drinks arriving to save her from answering. Because the truth was she had been scared for maybe three seconds. Once she had realized it was Mal, she’d only felt desire.

With their awkward shower encounter out of the way, they fall into fairly easy conversation, complaining about exams and projects, annoying classmates and neighbors. Soon enough, they’re back to being themselves. Alina pulls out her phone to show Mal all the memes and TikToks she had wanted to send him this week, and he does the same. Hours fly by without their notice, and now the dinner crowd is filing in. 

“Oi, I think our waiter is silently praying for us to leave.”

She laughs, pulling out her wallet. “Definitely.”

Mal waves her off. “Let me get it,” he says, taking his own wallet out. “I mean, since this is apparently a date and all.”

Alina hesitates, a little flutter in her chest even though he’d said it teasingly. “Okay, fine. But I’ll get the tip.”

“Deal.”

When everything is paid for, they stand. Going home is the last thing she wants right now, and not just because Zoya will be there. 

Mal looks ready to pull her into one of their standard hugs, but pauses. “Do you want to come over? We can find something shitty to watch. Mikhael and Dubrov will be around, but I just really don’t want to see Zoya right now.”

Alina smiles, the flutter in her chest returning with vigor. “Yeah, okay.”

~

At Mal’s flat, they settle onto the sofa together, close enough that their shoulders brush. Mikhael and Dubrov tease them about looking like lovebirds, but otherwise surprisingly leave them be. She doesn’t mind their company — but admittedly, she was glad they stayed to their respective rooms tonight. Mal puts on an indie horror flick that’s so bad it’s good, and they laugh and joke with each other throughout, per usual. 

About halfway through the film, they share a knowingly look — their that foreshadowing is so obvious, RIP to that character in twenty minutes look — and sport matching grins. But when the moment passes, neither of them looks away. 

“Alina,” Mal says softly, and her breath hitches. Has he ever said her name with such longing before?

His eyes flicker down — to her lips. She thinks of Zoya’s text then, basically calling both of them out for having feelings for each other. And while neither of them had confirmed it, they hadn’t denied it either.

Her heart is beating so fast. She gives him the tiniest nod.

Mal understands, he always does, and then he’s leaning in. Their noses brush before their lips do, and it could be silly or awkward, but instead it’s a different kind of intimacy she hadn’t known she wanted.

“Alina,” he breathes once more, and then he kisses her, so softly at first, it’s barely anything. Her stomach is doing cartwheels regardless. She takes initiative, kissing him back. Still soft, still careful, afraid that whatever this is between them is something fragile, something that needs delicacy. In some ways, it is. Her closest friendship, blossoming into something more. 

Mal lets out the softest moan, and it snaps something between them. 

He pulls her closer, his hand on the back of her neck, and now Alina is the one moaning, fervor replacing the softness, the delicacy. It’s the kind of kiss she’s been fantasizing about, made even better from how obvious it is that they’ve both wanted this for a long time. A desperate kiss bursting with desire. 

Alina shifts closer until she’s practically straddling his lap. Mal brings one hand to rest on her lower back, the other curling into her hair. His lips move to her neck, trailing down until he reaches her collarbone, where he nips and sucks, undoubtedly leaving a mark. 

“Mal,” she sighs, her head tipped back from the feeling as her hips roll against his. He curses against her skin. Her hands move to the hem of his shirt, ready to pull it off. 

All of a sudden, Mal pulls away, stopping her hands with his own. “Alina, don’t.”

She blinks her eyes open. “Do you want to move to your room?”

Mal bites his lip and shakes his head.

Alina frowns, any warmth in her chest turning cold. She quickly returns to her own side of the couch. “I don’t understand. I thought you wanted this.” Wanted me, she thinks but doesn’t say. Because he certainly had no issues with Zoya.

“I do!” he says quickly, taking her hand again and trying to pull her back. She holds her ground, pulls her hand out of his. “I do want this, Alina. Saints, I do. But this is technically our first date, right? I don’t want to do first date sex, not with you.”

Alina rolls her eyes, looking down and tugging at a loose thread on her dress. “Is this where you say something you think sounds respectful but really just puts down all the girls you have had first date sex with?”

“Alina, please look at me.”

Grudgingly, she does. 

“You’re different because you’re my best friend, and because I’ve been hooking up with our mutual friend.” She flinches, but Mal continues. “I don’t want you to think we have to have sex because of that. What I had with Zoya — it was good, and I care about Zoya, but it didn’t go beyond the physical. That’s all we wanted from each other. But that’s not all I want with you.”

Mal closes his eyes. Alina’s unconsciously holding her breath. He exhales and opens his eyes again, holding her gaze. “I want everything with you, Alina. I want your highs and your lows. I want to take you against the wall as much as I want to hold your hand.” He does so now, both of his hands around one of hers, and this time she doesn’t pull away. “And if you didn’t want to be physical? I’d still want you. I don’t want you to think there’s anything we have to do. That’s why I want to wait — even if I also want to take you to my room and pin you against my bed, too.”

“Oh,” she says, barely audible. Alina shakes her head, a little speechless. “I don’t know what to say.”

The corner of his mouth tugs up. “Was that too rom-com confessional?”

The tension breaks. She laughs and climbs onto his lap again, wrapping her arms around his neck. “You’re such a dork, but you’re the perfect dork. So we’ll wait.” She pauses and looks up at him with innocent eyes. “But will you kiss me again?”

Mal grins, pushes her down against the couch, and does just that. 

~

When she gets home, Zoya is waiting in the living room, reading a smutty romance book Genya had recommended. “Hey, how’d it go?” she asks, too casually to actually be casual. 

Alina ignores her and walks straight to her room. She’s decided to let Zoya sweat it out a bit for the weekend after her little stunt, even if it was successful. 

Though really, she didn’t think it would bother Zoya that much. Hard as steel Zoya, who never let anything get to her. But on Sunday, she bursts into Alina’s room, interrupting her studying. 

“Okay, I know you hate me now or whatever, but at least let me tell you that I’m sorry. I didn’t know how much you liked him, Alina. Not until Genya told me.”

Alina closes her book, frowning. “Genya told you?”

Zoya nods and sits at the end of her bed. “Recently, when I told her about Nikolai and that I was thinking about cutting things off with Mal. Don’t be mad at her, just be mad at me.” 

“Well—” she starts, but Zoya cuts her off. 

“And honestly? The worst part is, part of me did know. I saw the looks you gave each other, but I brushed them off because I was selfish and enjoying myself. I was a really, really shit friend to you, and I’m so sorry, Alina. You don’t have to forgive me, but I just—

Zoya stops mid-sentence, cut off by the laughter bubbling out of Alina. 

“Saints, I never thought I’d see the day that Zoya Nazyalensky grovels.” She shoots her a grin. “I accept your apology. And as much as I want to hate you for your meddling stunt, it worked, because we definitely spent the night making out. I just did the whole silent treatment to make you suffer a little.”

A moment passes — Zoya is completely still, too still — and then she grabs one of Alina’s pillows and smacks her with it. “You little rat!”

Alina only laughs harder, fighting off Zoya’s pillow attack with her hands. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say sorry non-sarcastically! You did so well, Nazyalensky!”

“And you’ll never hear it again! You’ve lost apology privileges! 

Eventually, Alina moves into the living room to study, and Zoya joins her. When their brains need a break, Alina tells her about her date with Mal, and Zoya tells her about her own with Nikolai. If this is their new normal, Alina finds that she really likes it. 

~

The next week is outstandingly better than the previous. She’s back to talking to Mal each day, even more than before. Halfway through the week, he sends her a song with the message, This song made me think of you the first time I heard it, still does every time. It has her heart beating extra fast as she listens on her walk to class, not only because it’s incredibly sweet, but because Mal has played this song for her before, months and months ago, which means he’s felt this way the whole time. 

Early Saturday evening, Zoya announces that she’s spending the night at Nikolai’s. “He has his own apartment, so it just makes sense. I’ll be home in the morning, probably.”

Thank the Saints for rich boys. 

She texts Mal, and Zoya’s barely gone for ten minutes before he’s there. They make dinner together — well, Alina sits on the counter while Mal does the actual cooking, but he spends any down time kissing her, so she likes to think she was the moral support. They eat on the couch, watching their favorite trashy reality television, and play a few rounds of Mario Kart afterwards. Really, it’s just like how things were when they were simply best friends, except now Alina drapes her body over his as they watch their show, Mal’s thumb moving in slow circles on her ankle, and instead of talking or playing on their phones during ad breaks, they pick up where they left off in the kitchen, their lips pressed together in a blissful ease. 

They’re on their fifth game of Mario Kart, Alina in the lead, as she has been every round. She’s bragging about how she’s going to beat him again when suddenly her vision is blocked as Mal presses his lips to hers. 

Her surprise doesn’t stop her from dropping her controller and kissing back. She’s just getting into the kiss when Mal pulls away as quickly as he had started the kiss. He stands, and only then does she see he never dropped his controller. Picking up right where he left off, he steers Luigi towards the finish line. (“Who the hell picks Luigi?” Alina had asked him once. To which Mal responded, “It’s not fair people only care about his brother when he probably works just as hard at their plumbing business. It’s just like people only knowing Adam Levine and ignoring the rest of Maroon 5—” which led to a very cute rant that Alina spent less time listening to and more time staring at his lips while he was distracted.)

Alina fumbles for her controller, but it’s too late. Mal hasn’t come in first — some of the computers still beat him. But he’s beat her, which by the smirk on his face, was his only goal.

“You’re such a cheater!”

“It’s not cheating, it’s strategy.”

“I suppose you need your strategy, since you don’t have any skills.”

Mal raises a brow, a devious look in his eyes. “Is that so? Perhaps I should show you my skills, then.” He moves in front of her and kneels on the couch, a leg on either side of her body, essentially pinning her there, and kisses her again. 

Immediately, she can feel the difference from the strategy kiss and even the ones from earlier that night. He’s kissing with purpose, cradling her face with one hand, the other on her waist, and Alina is melting against him. She is putty in Mal’s hands, his to mold how he pleases. 

He’s holding himself so that his weight isn’t pressing down on her, but that’s exactly what she wants. Her hips buck up against his, and Mal pulls back to moan, “Fuck, Alina,” so she does it again.

“Please tell me we can have second date sex.”

Mal chuckles. “Are we even going to bother with the dating process?”

“I don’t know, are we?”

“I don’t know. Do I need to ask you to be my girlfriend?”

Alina grins. “I wouldn’t mind hearing it.

“All right. Alina, my beauty, my beloved, will you bless me with the honor of calling you my girlfriend?”

Her grin widens, and giddy butterflies dance inside her chest. No, not butterflies — fireflies. She can feel their warmth and wouldn’t be surprised if she was glowing from their light. “Oh, I suppose.”

Mal laughs. “I can’t stand you,” he says, and kisses her again.

Alina returns the kiss for a moment before murmuring against his lips, “You don’t have to stand me, but now that you’re my boyfriend, can you fuck me?”

He practically growls as he says, “Saints, yes,” standing and lifting her with him. Mal brings them to her room, kissing her the whole way. He unceremoniously shoves her school books off of her bed, laying her down and crawling over her. “You don’t know how often I’ve imagined this,” he murmurs, lips on her throat. 

“Tell me,” she gasps.

“Every time I came over, Alina. Every time.”

A shiver runs down her spine. “Even when you were here to—”

“Especially then.”

She has no idea what to do with this information. Her head is empty of thought save for the screaming need for more of him, so she pulls his shirt over his head. This time, Mal doesn’t stop her. Her hands roam over all the places she’s been dying to touch; down his back, tracing along his spine, up over his stomach, fingers running along the muscles of his chest, brushing over a few scars he’s accumulated through the years.

“You’re so perfect,” she whispers. Smooth in some places, rougher in others, but so incredibly warm everywhere.

Mal tips her chin up, kisses her lips once, hard, and then another to her jaw, down her neck, her collarbone. Then he’s the one tossing her shirt aside, his lips continuing their decent. He’s pressing soft words into her skin as he kisses her — beauty, beloved, cherished, my heart —murmuring his love for her even as he brings her nipple between his teeth.

“Shit, Mal,” Alina breathes. Her hips keep bucking, far beyond her control. He chuckles, murmurs something along the lines of no patience, and quickens his pace. Soon enough, he’s got her undressed completely — which isn’t too unnerving after the shower incident. Any lingering nerves flee once his head is between her thighs. She’s suddenly very thankful Zoya isn’t home, because even though it’s never been a problem during sex before, she absolutely cannot control the noises she’s making — and she’s loud.

Mal returns to her with glistening lips. She kisses him and tastes herself, a thrill better than any rollercoaster. Her hands move to the waistband of his pants, giving a half-hearted tug. “Off.”

“So lazy,” he teases, unclasping the button on his jeans, tugging down the zipper. “I could always make you work for it.”

“Have mercy on me, Oretsev. I’m still recovering from the pleasures of your cocky mouth.”

He looks so proud of himself, she wants to kiss him just to wipe the smirk off of his face. “If you enjoyed my cocky mouth, just wait until you feel my—

“Do not finish that sentence.”

But then he’s pushing down his boxers, and all Alina can do is stare as the cock in question springs free. He’s fully hard this time around, and her thighs squeeze together at the sight. He watches her as she practically drools over his dick, his smirk becoming even, well, smirkier. She reaches out and curls her fingers around his length, giving him two quick strokes — both to clear the smirk from his face and because she so very much wants to touch him. 

“Fuck, Alina,” he hisses. He’s reaching for his jeans, probably to grab a condom from his pocket, but she grabs his hand.

“I’m on the pill, and I’ve been tested recently.” Of course, there’s still a slight risk. But it’s Mal — finally Mal — and she wants to feel every inch of him.

He pauses, then nods. “Okay.” Crawling over her, he takes one of her hands and intertwines their fingers. With his other hand, he grips his cock and drags the tip through her folds like the damn tease he is, eliciting needy mewling from her that he seems to enjoy. In her ear, he murmurs, “How do you want this, Alina?”

“I don’t want to be able to walk tomorrow.”

Mal chuckles softly, but the sound so close to her ear sends more shivers down her spine. “As you wish, moya solnishka.” My little sun.

She has only a brief moment to bask in the sweetness of his words before he’s slamming into her all in one go, anything sweet flying out the window. Mal keeps a steady rhythm while sucking on her neck, which is good, because all Alina can do is moan incoherently as her nails leave scratches down his back.

When he senses her getting close, Mal brings his finger to her clit, circling just right. “Saints!” she cries, and comes undone beneath him once again. But this time, she gets to watch him fall over the edge with her, his eyes so incredibly dark as he moans his release. He’s the only man she’s ever let come inside of her, and it feels very right that it’s Mal — she doesn’t want anyone else filling her like this, marking her in a sense as his spend drips down her thighs.

They stay like that for a while, foreheads pressed together, sweaty and sticky, but blissfully so. 

“So, is the sex still good on this side of the apartment?”

In answer, he dips his head and bites down on one of her tits.

“Shit, Malyen!”

“Ridiculous questions get ridiculous responses,” he teases, then wraps his arms around her, tucking his face into the crook of her shoulder. “You’re all I’ve wanted for two years, Alina, and this still beat my expectations.”

Smiling, she rests her chin against the top of his head. “Good. I would hate to have to start fucking in Zoya’s bed just because you like the airflow better there.”

“Smart ass,” Mal mutters, but he’s smiling. Then he says, "You know, this may not be my first time fucking in this apartment, but I’m still checking off a first tonight — of many, I hope.”

Alina rolls her eyes. “Yes, I’m aware this is your first time fucking me in this apartment, dumb ass.”

"That’s not what I meant, rude ass.”

She frowns. “Then what did you mean?”

He squeezes her hip. “It’s my first time spending the night.”

Her heart does a little jump in her chest, and she doesn’t even have it in her to tease that she hasn’t actually asked him to stay yet. But stay he does, though he gets her off a few more times before they pass out for the night — definitely beating her vibrator. One time it’s with his fingers, so incredibly long that she knows all her fantasies will involve the slender digits now. Another is after Alina murmurs about how filthy she is and that she really ought to take a shower. 

Mal waits long enough to join her that she starts to worry he hadn’t understood her intent. But then she hears his footsteps, and the shower curtain opens. There’s no bottle throwing this time, though she can’t say the same for the screaming. He steps into the shower, kisses her slowly, sensually, then pushes her back until she shivers from the feeling of cold tile against her bare skin.

“I meant to ask, you do know you have mirrors in here, right?” Mal murmurs huskily into her ear. She’s too disoriented with want to understand until he says, “I saw you staring at my ass last time.”

Then he slams into her, and Alina no longer has to imagine how it feels to be fucked against the shower wall.

[clean-bands-dirty-stories]

Ablaze ~ S.R.

A/n: Haaaaaaaaaa so y'all liked that Spencer Reid fic I did huh? lol I'm glad

Request: "Could you do a Reid x male reader where the team is in Cali following an arsonist and the readers a firefighter (and Reids bf but the team doesn’t know that) and somehow the reader gets into a confrontation with the arsonist and has to use what Reid has “taught him”/talked about to try and deescalate the situation" by @sheepfather

Word Count: 2400+

Masterlist

They met when Y/n's team was putting out the fire and Reid's team was rushing to the scene to see if their arsonists was still around. The BAU had been dragged to California because it seemed that a killer was on the lose. They couldn't figure out the connections of the victims, but they were all dying in horrible fires. It turned out that someone wasn't setting fires to kill people, just that they were setting fires that happened to kill people. There wasn't a killer on the loose. There was an arsonist.

When I say "they" I don't mean Y/n and Reid by the way. The two boys actually went way back. They'd met in Vegas at a party neither of them wanted to be at. Y/n had been going through a rough time and Reid wasn't good in social situations and they'd ended up in the same corner and just enjoyed the mutual silence. After they'd found peace in each other Y/n had rested his head on Reid's shoulder and Reid was surprised to see that it didn't bother him. They'd run into each other again at the local library of all places. There they'd exchanged names first and then numbers soon after. After that, they'd spent more and more time together. They had to work around work and school schedules (only Y/n went to school anymore, but it was still an issue) but eventually it went from hang outs to date and then suddenly they were boyfriends instead of best friends.

The "they" I meant was actually Y/n and the rest of the BAU. None of Spencer's friends knew about Y/n. It wasn't like he was ashamed or hiding anything, it was just that it never came up. Everyone assumed Spencer was single and would always be, and Spencer didn't care enough to correct them. He wasn't into PDA either so the team didn't figure it out themselves. What they could tell was that they knew each other. It was nice to see Spencer be comfortable around someone outside of work, but Spencer hated talking about his personal life so people tried to ask as little as possible.

Working together was fun though. Y/n knew him very well, down to every micro sign of each emotion. Whenever Spencer got anxious or confused or was really focused and needed to be alone, Y/n always reacted appropriately. It came with knowing him for many years. It was also very helpful when Spencer was profiling and giving information to the other firefighters to keep a look out in case they arrived when the arsonist did. The firefighters, of course, were who made up Y/n's team, as Y/n was a firefighter as well. They had lots of questions though, and even more doubt. Y/n showed very early on that he knew Spencer's capabilities, so when they got too dubious or went to interrupt him, Y/n was quick to cut them off. It made JJ, Emily, and Morgan smile.

One day Morgan prodded. He walked up to Y/n, leaning against the wall next to the boy. "How far back do you and Reid go?"

Y/n was drinking water so he finished his gulp before answering. "Further back then Reid being in the BAU," Y/n responded. "I was still in high school He wasn't, of course, but-" He shrugged, chuckling. "We both lived in Vegas for a while. The relationship carried even when we moved away."

Morgan nodded. "You like him?"

"I'd like to think so." Y/n tried to hide a smile. He could tell them that he was Spencer's boyfriend, but what was the fun in that? "I'd even say I was in love with him."

That seemed to surprise Morgan. "Oh." He looked at Reid and then Y/n, obviously confused. If Y/n was so sure of his feelings, why did it seem like they were just friends? "Does Reid feel the same?"

Y/n considered that. "I don't know. I don't think Spencer and I have ever been on the same emotional playing field. Usually when I feel one thing he's feeling something else... But even then, no one ever seems to feel the same way about each other." Y/n shook his head. "I'm a psychology major, ignore me. What you want to know is if Spencer loves or likes me or whatever. But I can't speak for him." With that, Y/n left and Morgan only had more questions. Were they together or not?

His question was answered on one very bad night that almost cost Reid everything.

Lina Mare was a local sweetheart. She was kind of quiet and shy, but she liked Y/n. They were friends at least - Lina was in college. Y/n seemed to have a knack of befriending awkward, shy, or quiet people. People that couldn't quite get along with anyone else. So when she came into the fire station that day, it wasn't totally weird. She'd never visited Y/n at work before, but that didn't stop Y/n from greeting her when she came in. Nothing else was going on- why not?

She looked upset though. "Hey, you okay Lee?" He asked, touching her shoulder.

The girl leaned into his touch and his eyebrows came together, wondering if maybe she felt dizzy. Her eyes were clear though and her expression was set and clear. Her features were sharp and her gaze was like someone running a knife along his skin. Dangerous and seconds from doing damage. "I'm not," she told him. "I need you to stop, Y/n."

Y/n looked at one of his teammates behind her head. They made eye contact and the other man stood at the ready in case he needed to act. Y/n had a very bad feeling about what was happening. He didn't know why, he just felt like something bad was about to happen. "Stop what?" He asked her softly.

Lina looked right into his eyes, seeming to see something amazing. Her gaze softened, but didn't become any less dangerous. Just a little more uncontrolled. "The fires. You can't stop them. You have to stop putting them out."

It clicked immediately in Y/n's head. He looked at Lina's hands, still in her pockets. "Why don't we go outside and-?"

"No," Lina snapped, tugging out of his reach. "You have to stop putting them out!"

"Okay," Y/n cooed, putting both of his hands up so she could see that he was unarmed. He recalled everything Spencer had ever taught him. Anything he'd been told about in stories, or things Spencer had complained people often did wrong. "Can I at least let my friends go outside?"

She considered that a second before nodding. "But we stay."

"Okay," Y/n assured. He looked at the other fireman he'd warned before. Daniel. "Take everyone outside, will you please? Make sure everyone is there that needs to be." Daniel nodded before running off. Thankfully people trusted Y/n's judgment. Soon the building was empty. "Why don't you take your hands out of your pockets, Lina?" He knew they'd call the police. If he stalled long enough no one would get hurt. He'd gotten as many people safe as he could. Now he had to keep Lina calm until they could solve this.

A sigh came from the younger girl but she agreed. In one hand she had a lighter. Now that it was free of her pocket, she flicked it on and off every few seconds. "You're so oblivious, you know that?" She moved further into the fire station, toward the back of the truck.  Y/n followed, wanting to keep her in sight so she couldn't do anything too stupid. "You don't get anything."

"What did I miss Lina?" Y/n asked, trying to stay casual.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm in love with you." Y/n froze, both because of her word and also because she'd stopped down and hooked her fingers around a canister of gasoline. She vegan to move back into the building and when he didn't follow, she snapped, "Come on." He swallowed before obeying. She was getting agitated and he didn't want to set her off. She began to pour out the can all over the floor.

"Wait Lina-" She turned on her lighter and let it hover over the pouring gas. Y/n stopped dead in his tracks.

"You know Y/n I've tried for months." She let her lighter out, but kept it at the ready. "I tried everything to get you to realize how I felt about you. But you just kept laughing and it was so frustrating. I thought, it wouldn't help to be mad at you all the time. I'd have no time that way. So I did something I haven't done in a long time. I managed to keep myself under control for years. But you made me so angry, I had to let it out some way. So I burned. Little things."

Y/n's jaw hardened. "You killed people."

"I KNOW!" Lina sneered. "It wasn't on purpose! But fire is alive, Y/n. And it has wants and needs. And it grows. Who am I to stop it?" Y/n felt his stomach turn. "Then you made it even worse. You came rushing in every time and put them out. And suddenly I had a new reason to be angry. I'd almost forgotten about you. Until I saw your stupid, pretty face through the window and realized you were one of these stupid people putting my fires out. Of all people, OF COURSE it had to be you, huh?" She scoffed and Y/n's mind raced as he tried to figure out how to stop this. Lina went back and got three more cans, pouring those out too. Y/n could do nothing, as she kept her lighter at the ready. The whole floor was covered in oil now and her lighter was alight. "So I figured, get rid of the problem you know? No more fire fighters. No more you. No more me."

Fuck.

Y/n began moving to her. She tried to move away, but he forced a smile. "What, you're scared of me now? What am I going to do? I'd never hurt you Lina, you know that." She relaxed again. "I was just thinking, you know, I feel the same way." He tried not to cringe at the words. He was like seven years older than her and had a boyfriend but SURE, he liked her too. He knew that he had to get her to calm down. Trust him. He'd heard it a million times from Spencer. You give them what they want until you find your opening.

Her eyes widened in surprise. "You do?"

Nodding, Y/n chuckled softly. "Of course I do. I just thought, I'm too old for you. Of course you'd never like me back. If I had known... Well, like you said, I'm completely oblivious."

She giggled, her eyes watering. "I knew it. Everyone said that you were into that- that- that weird guy from the FBI. But I KNEW we were made for each other." They were close now. The lighter was out and Y/n was inches from getting it out of her hand. Then she did something that totally knocked him off of his feet. They heard sirens and she ignored them, because of course why would the police be after her? She ignored them and she kissed Y/n and he was so stunned that he almost forgot about the lighter.

Finally Y/n's fingers closed around the lighter and he yanked it from her grip. She pushed him away and they parted. She shoved the lighter in his back pocket, moving to her quickly and wrapping her arms around her to force her to be still. She thrashed and kicked until they ended up with Y/n on his back, arms and legs all wrapped around her to keep her firmly in place even as she screamed and moved her head. It meant, unfortunately, that Y/n's face was nearly completely in the oil.

When the door finally opened and police came in, Y/n was relieved to let her go. His head was spinning and his vision was blurring as his eyes burned. She was handcuffed and taken away and he ignored what she was saying as she screamed at him.

It was Morgan who pulled Y/n to his feet and out of the oil. Who questioned him and got him a towel to wipe off as much oil as he could. Who got him outside and to clean air and who kept everyone back as Y/n processed what just happened and got real air into his lungs.Morgan finally got the story piece by piece and then took it to the others. That was when Reid finally got to his boyfriend.

Y/n leaned away from his touch. Then he started crying, his head full of images of him burning to death. Or Lina burning to death, screaming for him as she did so. Or, even worse, both of them burning to death together. Holy shit...

"She kissed me," Y/n choked out, covering his mouth.

"What can I do to help you?" Spencer asked softly, his eyes wide with worry.

Y/n shook his head before looking at him. "How can you forgive me?"

That seemed to confuse Spencer. "Forgive you for what?"

"She kissed me," he reiterated. "I let her."

Spencer tried not to laugh. "Y/n you were in a stressful situation and because of that, you got the lighter away from her. Because of it, you're safe..." He shook his head, moving closer to take Y/n's face in his hands. "Listen to me. I know I don't say it enough, but I love you, Y/n. Kissing her didn't mean anything other than you being safe today and that is all I care about. I don't even know who would ever consider that cheating. Don't be an idiot." He smiled and Y/n did as well. Spencer wiped the tears off his face. "Now can I take my turn and kiss you or do you need more space?"

Y/n laughed before pulling his boyfriend close by the belt loops. Their noses brushed a second before they finally kissed. It lifted the weird imaged out of his head and the weight off his chest. He was okay. Everyone was okay. That's all that mattered.

"So you guys ARE dating then?" The men looked over to see Emily there, JJ next to her.

"Yes," Spencer answered as if it was the most obvious thing ever. Emily looked at Y/n and then at JJ and then JJ and Y/n looked at each other and suddenly they were all laughing. After the stressful showdown from before, it was nice to laugh. It made Y/n feel better, and everyone seemed to sense that. Unfortunately, just because Spencer understood the laughing helped, he couldn't get why they were laughing at all. "I don't get it. What's so funny?"

They just kept laughing.

[postmodernmulticoloredcloak]

Marghe. MARGHE. I can’t link you like this, but I need you to google “babygaga 20 Italian words baby names” and then fucken liveblog your reaction to the whole article, including (this is v. important) the editorial note at the end. Please I need to witness another soul leaving their earthly body like mine did

I’m scared. Alright.

I suppose you’re talking about an article titled “19 Italian Words That Make Perfect First Names For Babies” (wait, weren’t they supposed to be 20? Did they edit one out?) written by a person called Miriam.

“There’s no better place to find inspiration than in the land of romance and pasta.” Please don’t tell me you want to name babies after pasta. Hello this is my son, Strozzaprete. Wait, no, that’s cool af.

The first sentence is “The Italian language is one of the Romance languages. The others are French, Spanish, Catalan and Romanian” n-ngh-that’s-nevermind.

“They were the languages that originated from the Romans, hence the reason that they are referred to as the Romance languages. And they certainly are romantic. In fact, they are so lovely that many words in any of the Romance languages would sound amazing as baby names.” No, they aren’t. Miriam what are you doing.

Miriam apparently visited a few Italian towns, “and by the end of the trip, I was already speaking basic fluent Italian, which was quickly forgotten after leaving”. Miriam I speak in Italian with American students professionally, you were not speaking fluent Italian.

Miriam. Miriam

“I thought it would be fun to find 20 beautiful Italian words and to talk about how they would make the perfect first names for babies. While some of these words can be found in baby name databases, others can't yet.” MAYBE THERE IS A REASON THEY AREN’T THERE MIRIAM

“Since there are plenty of Italian words that sound beautiful but don't have the best meanings behind them, they may never be considered to be used as a name.” BUT DON’T HAVE THE BEST MEANING?? MIRIAM WHAT ARE Y

19 Peri (Apericena)

That’s. That’s the single ugliest and most hated word in the Italian language and you. You are. Oh God. Oh Jesus. Oh all the saints in Paradise.

Listen there are still 18 to go and the first killed me. I am dead. I am no longer in this plane of reality.

“When you hear the Italian word Apericena, you can't help but appreciate how pretty it sounds.” YOU DON’T!! WE HATE IT WITH A PASSION!!

“After learning that this word is associated with adult beverages, then that would be a reason that some parents would even hesitate to use this for a baby's name. And the question is why? Names like Vin which is French for wine, Bellini which is a cocktail, Cassis, Brandy, Chianti, and Merlot have been used as baby names many times.” WELL THESE NAMES WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE USED AS NAMES EVER THIS IS AGAINST GOD’S PLAN FOR HUMANITY. Why is the Church obsessed with gay people when clearly the thing that most offends God’s love for humanity is thijkjklklklklj

18 Roca (Rocambolesco)

Whatever, call your son Rocambolesco, what’s stopping you, society is in shambles, the devil has taken hold of hearts, angels cry.

17 Gia (Passeggiata)

Miriam

16 Abbi (Abbiocco)

ABBIOCCO

ABBIOCCO

She fucking wants you to call your baby after when you get sleepy when you’re not supposed to

15 Magari

Like, why

14 Lina (Sorellina)

Just give your daughter a fucking complex, why won’t you. Supernatural but the characters are called Older Brother and Younger Brother

“I did a search to see if this word is in baby name databases and I have not seen Sorellina in any of them. That means it either has never been used for a name or if it has, it has been rarely used to the point that it has never been recorded” ASK YOURSELF WHY, MIRIAM

13 Daje

NOOOOO MUOIO STO MORENDO DIO SANTO

12 Meri (Meriggiare)

Literally no Italian can think about this word without thinking of the poem so why won’t you call your daughter Cigola la carrucola del pozzo. Or Ho sceso dandoti il braccio. This is my eldest, Spesso il male di vivere ho incontrato. Wait, this is Supernatural again

“There are many baby names out there that have meanings that are worse than that.” Miriam please think about what you just said

11 Lino

A name? An actual name people have other people call them? Did I get a stroke?

No, of course she’s not referring to the name Lino, but the fabric linen. Of fucking course. Have you met my twins, Cotton and Wool. Fuck, there’s probably people called Cotton and Wool in the United States

10 Gracie (Grazie)

Wait if it’s Gracie then it’s not Grazie, what the hell

9 Gattara

PFFFFT just call your daughter crazy cat lady and she will grow up a normal person I promise

8 Perla 

Actually, that’s a name already. Fun fact, my own name comes from ancient Greek margarita which means pearl, so, can’t judge this one.

7 Allora

a

l

l

o

r

a

6 Lacrima

Listen. Listen. This not only means ‘tear’ as in what your eyes produce when you cry, but it’s also impossible for a native anglophone to pronounce anyway, is it worth it? is it worth it Miriam? is it?

5 Tesoro

No, okay, this is weird as an actual name, but it’s a common way of calling your partner or child, also I watched Lilli e il Vagabondo, it says Tesoro and Giannicaro are legit human names, so.

But it’s also how Gollum calls the ring in Italian, so maybe don’t.

4 Auguri

Fghjklklkjhklkjkl

3 Salve

Dio Santissimo. This is my child, Hello

2 Cucciolo

That’s-that’s- that’s this guy’s name

1 Gio (Giorno)

Oh God, at this point this is fucking normal, just call your child Day, whatever, it’s the least weird option on here

No. No no I don’t wanto to believe t-

Editorial Note: This article has been updated on March 18, 2021 to replace the baby name "Cazzi (Sticazzi), Tura (Sprezzatura), Culaccino, and Lino (Topolino)" for a more suitable recommendation. (March 19, 2021) this article has also been updated to remove an entry

W-what was the entry that can’t even be named. WHAT WAS WORSE THAN STICAZZI

WHAT WAS WORSE THAN STICAZZI, ANON

[janeyseymour]

"the wrath of mama seymour- or whatever the hell I’ve been labelled as" -Jane

Jane takes it upon herself to handle some nasty comments one particular account has been leaving the queens.

WC: 3072

For the most part, the queens got rave reviews, and their queendom was full of love and support. Every once in a while though, the queens got some hate, specifically Anna of Cleves and Jane Seymour- the two queens who arguably had it the least bad. While the others got hate sometimes, it was never anything that the queens would deem as true. Some might tell Katherine or Anne that they were “whores”, but the two knew this was not true. History might have depicted them as this, but they lived their lives. They knew they weren’t. Anne had actively tried to reject the king, and Katherine was forced into her situations. What these people had said about Jane and Anna was true- or at least those two thought so.

The fourth queen wasn’t one to put up with the comments. She would openly complain about them to the other queens, and she had even made it a point to call out the hateful comments that she got. Jane Seymour wasn’t like this.

The silver queen, hot-tempered and not so kind in her first life, knew that if she had said anything, it would only fuel the hate comments. So, she stayed quiet about it, letting these comments eat at her slowly.

“You’re responsible for Anne’s death. Don’t you feel even the slightest bit guilty about that? Bitch.”

“We all know the “i’m a kind sweet mum” act is fake. If you’re a bitch, just show it and let us hate you.”

“You don’t even deserve to be in the show. You had it the easiest.”

“The only one he truly loved? He only loved you because you had a son. But that son died before he could even do anything. After you died, you still failed. You don’t deserve to be remembered as queen, and you definitely don’t deserve to be in the likes of the other queens.”

That one hurt. That one comment hurt. The third queen did what she could to let it roll off her shoulders, but to no avail. That comment made her stomach flip.

Still, she did her best to stay kind, finally deciding to put out a video on her Instagram in attempts to stop the hate coming her way.

“Hi queendom. It’s Jane,” she said as sweetly as she could. “I’m here to address something with all of you. As we know, the idea of the queendom is to build others up, not tear them down. Now, I know we all know I say in my song that I’m unbreakable.” She paused, mulling over how she was going to word this. Her tone lowered a bit as she spoke quietly, “But the truth is, I’m not.” Her voice broke a bit as she said this. “I see every comment you all leave. I see every direct message, every private message, all of it. The kind comments are so lovely, and I appreciate them all so much. The not-so-kind comments are few and far between, and for that I’m thankful, but the ones that I do see hurt. I think we all just need a reminder to be kind to one another. Please remember the golden rules we were all taught: treat people the way that you want to be treated. If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all. That’s all I have to say for today, but I’ll leave you with this- you are enough. I’m sending you all so much love! Thank you.” She blew a kiss to the phone and waved before turning the camera off. 

Almost immediately, fans started outpouring love to the third queen.

Roseamongstthethorns: i just wanna know who said something mean to jane because we are going to have some words

Sixqueenswalkintoabar: @janeyseymour we love u pls know that

AnnieBoleyn: whos talkin shit on my janey. I’ll fight em for u

Jane rolled her eyes at the green queen’s comment before replying.

JaneySeymour: @annieboleyn, i’m just speaking in general terms. Also, language dear.

AnnieBoleyn: @janeyseymour i say what i want #sorrynotsorry

Catherine_Aragon: you chaotic gremlin @annieboleyn

Jane laughed a bit at what Catherine had commented when she saw a notification pop up. A direct message from the account that had left that one particularly nasty comment.

Stop acting like you don’t talk shit on people. All you did was talk shit on Anne in your last life. That’s what got you the “queenly position” that you clearly didn’t deserve in the first place. Right? Just shut up bitch.

And so, Jane shut up. She ended up deleting her last post where all she did was try to address the issue, something that the other queens did quite often. She almost deleted her entire page accidentally (or not-so-accidentally if you asked the third queen).

“Janey! What are you trying to do: delete your whole account?” Anne teased. 

“N-No,” the silver queen stammered out. “I-I uh, was just trying to delete a post. I guess I just hit the wrong button. Could you show me how?” She feigned confusion. It worked- the blonde was always asking for social media guidance anyway. 

Everyday, this hateful account would send her messages. And every single day, against her better judgement, she opened the messages. The silver queen would roll her eyes and try to go on with her day, but it was affecting her, and the other queens were starting to take notice. 

“Mum?” Katherine tried to get her adoptive mother’s attention. “Are you okay?” She had glanced at Jane, who was staring at her phone with tears in her eyes. 

“Hmm?” The blonde lifted her gaze to the pink haired queen. “Oh.” She blinked away the tears. “I’m just fine dear. Just-”

“Are you having some trouble reading what’s on your screen?” The fifth queen was trying to be helpful. It was known in the house that the blonde wasn’t the most educated when it came to reading and writing. It was also known that Jane sometimes had a hard time reading what was on her screen if she didn’t have her glasses. “Here. I can help you.”

“Oh no, it’s nothing. I just-” The blonde was interrupted when the youngest queen took the phone out of her hand and read over the message on the screen, a horrified look appearing on her face. 

“This fucking account,” Katherine huffed. 

“Kit,” Jane sighed, never one for cursing unless necessary.

“Mum, this is necessary. This account has been harassing all of us.”

“Have they really been?” Jane’s interest piqued. Kat nodded her head. “Interesting.”

Over the next few days, Jane stayed quiet on social media. She saw the tweets and the comments on her “most recent post” asking why she deleted the video of her talking about being kind. Before she made her next move, she had to speak to the other queens. 

“Hey Lina?” Jane asked one night as she was making dinner, the first queen accompanying her. 

“What’s up Jane?”

“Kat told me about this horrid account and how they’ve been sending all of us hate messages. Do you mind if I take a look at what they’ve been sending you?”

“If you want, but you have to promise you won’t go all Mum.”

“I- I can’t promise that, but I’ll do my best.” The Hispanic handed over her phone, the messages already on screen. The first queen knew the exact account she was alluding to.

Queenly my ass. If you were so queenly, Henry wouldn’t have gone through all of the trouble he went through to divorce your sorry ass.

“What the-” 

“It’s really not a big deal mija. Whoever this is, they don’t matter. Just leave it be.”

“Annie?” Jane wandered into the second queen’s room as they were all winding down for bed that night.

“What’s up Janey? Need some makeup remover again?” the green queen laughed as she scrounged her room for the wipes that the third queen asked for every once in a while.

“Actually, no. I bought a big thing of them the other day. I came to ask about something else.”

“Oh. What’s up?” Anne unceremoniously threw herself down on her bed. 

“Kit and Lina were telling me about this awful account that has been-”

“Do you want to see the messages?” The blonde nodded, and the green queen threw her phone at the blonde. 

You deserved to be beheaded, you whore. You should’ve never been queen in the first place, chasing after the king and getting him to divorce Catherine. How does it feel to be so wanted for such a short amount of time before all you were was another body?

“Annie, know that is not true.”

“I know Janey. Why do you think I’ve just ignored it? He’s not worth any of our time anyway.”

“I mean, he’s going right against the entire reason for our show.”

“Yeah, but he’s just not worth it. Don’t go all Mama Bear on him, okay?” Jane shrugged.

“Cleves?” Jane made her way into the kitchen first thing in the morning. “Are you back from your run yet?” She pulled her robe close to her body, muffling a yawn as she reached for the coffee pot.

“Seymour, you’re up early,” the fourth queen noted as she walked in through the back door.

“Well you know we’re both the earliest risers. Anyway, I have a question for you.”

“You wanna see my phone to check for any messages from that one shit account on Instagram?”

“How- how did you know?” Jane sputtered, flabbergasted.

“I heard you talking to Aragon and Boleyn. Here.” Anna tossed the blonde her phone.

“I don’t have my glasses with me. Oh boy.” Jane squinted her eyes to see the text on the phone.

Ugly bitch. How’s it feel following the only queen he truly loved, only to be rejected 6 months later? Shouldn’t even be compared to the other five. No idea how you managed to get yourself into the group, you irrelevant bitch.

“What he said isn’t true Cleves. You earned your place here.”

“What he said isn’t far from the truth Seymour. I know I didn’t have it the worst. I arguably had it the best if we’re being honest.”

“Please don’t let what he said get to you.”

“Hey Cath?” Jane wandered into the writer’s room late at night, two mugs of tea in hand.

“What’s up Jane? Can't sleep?”

“Not really. I’ve had a few things on my mind lately.”

“That account that’s just been shitting on all of us lately?” The sixth queen looked at the blonde knowingly. Jane just nodded.

“Here.” Cathy handed over.

What other stories do you have to claim? How about the one where you allowed your husband to groom Elizabeth, Anne’s precious daughter, and you joined in? Why don’t you reclaim that one, you sick twisted bastard?

“He’s-” Jane started.

“He’s not wrong.”

“Anne’s forgiven you for that.”

“She has, but I’ll never forgive myself. Is there a reason you’re so invested in this one account?”

“They’ve sent some not so kind things to me in the past few days.”

“Hey Kat?” Jane nudged the girl sitting next to her. When she heard a hum, she continued, “Can you tell me what that one account was saying to you?”

“Oh, it’s really nothing far from what other hate messages I’ve gotten.”

“Can I see? Only if you want to show me. You don’t have to of course.” The pink haired queen silently passed her phone over. The blonde adjusted the glasses on her face before she began to read. 

You whore. You deserved to die. And I hope you felt that axe come down on your neck.

“Oh my god.” Jane was disgusted. 

Did you really think you posting a stupid video of yourself speaking about being kind would stop me? It won’t. You six are all terrible women and it’s honestly deplorable that you would paint yourselves to be angels and use your stories to embrace the power of women when you know you have no power. You never did. You were all terrible people in your past lives. There is no way you changed that much in your present life. Worthless bitches. 

To say the blonde was fuming was an understatement.

The next day, Jane went live- something she had never done before. It took her a few tries, but she was able to figure it out without any help from her fellow queens.

“Hello sweet queendom,” Jane said sweetly as she still tried to adjust her camera. “The other queens are out for the day, so I figured I would go live. We’re just going to wait a bit until a few more people get here, but then I have something that I’d like to say.”

The third queen greeted as many fans as she could as they made her way into the live, but she kept her eyes peeled for the one account that was sending them all hatred. As soon as she saw them enter, the warmth and love that had been in her eyes vanished.

“Ah, okay. I think we can get this started.”

Roseamongstthethorns: Why did you delete the video of you telling people to spread kindness?

“Well Rose, that’s actually why you’re all here right now. I have something to say about the hate that the fellow queens and I have been getting. So listen up, because I’m only going to say this once. Do you hear that, instagrammer1549?” She knew she was being ballsy calling out this one particular account, but there were no names attached to the account. She wasn’t doing anything to put this person full of hatred in danger. 

“We can all deal with some of the not so kind comments that are thrown our way. We as queens choose to ignore them and carry on with what we do because we love what we do. We support each other, and we hope that using our voices and sharing a part of our story will help empower other women to share their stories too. We’re all in this together. However, when you start coming at us for things that we couldn’t prevent, like... dying... let’s say, it is absolutely disgusting. Catherine couldn’t prevent being divorced. She handled that situation like a queen, even going as far to get down on her hands and knees and beg Henry to let her know what she did wrong. Anne refused the king for years. I couldn’t help that I died, and I certainly couldn’t help that my son, who you have no right to talk about, was plagued with a sickness that took him much too soon from this earth. You have no right to talk to Anna like that. She was beautiful then, and she is beautiful now. And even if she wasn’t so beautiful on the outside, she is so much more beautiful on the inside than you could ever be. You sending those comments does not help your case much. Katherine was forced into those relationships. She was a mere child, and we all know that children can not consent. How very dare you go and tell a young woman that you hope she felt it as the axe came down on her neck. What kind of, as you called Cathy, “sick, twisted bastard” says something like that to a nineteen year old? And finally, how dare you bring up horrid stories from our past and plague Cathy with the guilt of something that happened almost 500 years ago.”

Sixtudorqueens: okay Jane, go off. We support.

“None of us are perfect. We all know our imperfections, and we’ve all made peace with it. Yes, we all did some very questionable things in our past. What happened then, while we all are horrified at our past behaviors, we have forgiven each other because we know the truth of our story. We did what we had to do to survive. But, the six of us as a group have made such wonderful process in this life, and we are truly coming out of it better than we ever could have by ourselves. Those girls are my family. Say what you want about me. I don’t care. I have a family to help me build myself back up when haters tear me down and my heart is broken. But, so help me god, if I hear of one more person coming after any of our children or my sisters again for something so personal- well,” Jane laughed bitterly. “-quite frankly, you don't want to know what will happen. Keep your disgusting comments to yourself.”

The comment section blew up, and the amount of likes her live was getting was astronomical. 

Sixqueenswalkintoabar: okay mama seymour, GO OFF!

Roseamongsttthethorns: YES JANE. @instagrammer1549, there is a special place in hell for you.

Catherine_Aragon: Jane I thought we talked about not going Mum.

“Lina, I bit my tongue for long enough. It had to be said. On that note,” Jane paused to take a deep breath, the warmth that usually radiated off of her returning. “For the rest of the queendom who has shown us nothing but love and kindness, thank you. We really do see every message, comment and twitt-”

Sixtudorqueens: tweets*

“Tweet,” Jane corrected herself. “So thank you for that kindness. For now, I’m ending this live, but I do hope that you will all remember what I’ve said. Please, only spread kindness. That’s the, as Anne and Kat say, “vibe” that we’ve created for the queendom. If you don’t have anything nice to say, perhaps just don’t say anything at all. Please remember that you have a voice. Please remember to use that voice to spread kindness and love, not hatred. The world already has enough of that in the world. No need to create more.” With that, Jane ended the live.

“So,” Anne bit back a smirk at the dinner table that night.

“We all saw your live Seymour,” Anna bit the bullet and spoke about what they were all thinking.

“Kind of impressed you could figure that out without one of us Mum,” Katherine smiled slightly. “I'm proud of you.”

“What I said had to be said,” Jane affirmed as she took a bite of her dinner. “You don’t come after my family and not feel the wrath of “Mama Seymour” or whatever the hell I’ve been labelled as.”

[kiarcheo]

Pirate AU

Almost 3000 words of a half-developed AU idea vaguely inspired by Pirates of Caribbean.

You know when you have some scenes clear in your mind and then the inspiration/motivation to write the overall connecting story fizzles out? Yeah. That is what happened with this one. But I didn't want to leave it languishing forever in my drafts folder so you can also read it in the miscellaneous collection of random stuff that I have on Ao3  (if lately you had the same problem with links on Tumblr as me, try removing the https://href.li/? part from the URL)

                                              _______________

Catalina is the de facto governor of a small island. In theory her husband, Henry, is the governor, but he’s never there, preferring the mainland and doing his own things. Leaving Catalina in charge gets her out of his way while keeping up the façade of him being a respectable married man (if you ignore all the mistresses he has, but that’s another matter).

Catalina doesn’t particularly mind. She has no lost feelings for him and plenty of stuff to keep her busy. Governor’s businesses. Raising her goddaughter. Pirates infesting the surrounding waters.

Catherine ‘Cathy’ Parr is Catalina’s goddaughter. After her mother died, Catalina took her in and she has been with her since she was a child. When Catalina is sent to her ‘glorified’ exile on the island, she goes with her.

During the trip, Cathy sees something, or better someone, in the sea and convinces the crew to rescue them. It’s a young girl, some years younger than Cathy, Catalina reckons. She is a weak, thin, frail slip of a girl. Whether from the physical trauma (she has a deep gash on her head, blood caking her hairline) or from the psychological one of barely surviving a shipwreck, the girl can’t remember how long she has been lost at sea or pretty much anything else, except that her name is Katherine.

Catalina takes her under her wing too, albeit not officially. Not like she can adopt her without her husband’s agreement. And he was already not happy about her taking in Cathy. But what she can do is keep an eye on her and make sure she does not lack for anything.

Whether because of the long trip to their new home, being the only children on board, or just them clicking with each other, Cathy and Katherine, who most call Kat, quickly become inseparable. And as they grow up, things don’t change, making Catalina’s promise to herself to keep an eye on Kat quite easy.

Kat apprentices as a carpenter. Any problem at the residence, Kat is called, and she always brings with her small trinkets she made herself to gift them to Cathy. Kat’s services are not necessarily cost-time effective. Mostly not time-effective, since she always ends up spending way more time than needed there. And Catalina insists on paying for the time rather than for the work, another manner of taking care of Kat in her own way. Also, along with books, Kat’s presence seems to be the only thing that makes Cathy happy and Catalina won’t deny her that. Life on the island is not exactly the pinnacle of excitement or social engagement or entertainment. Not that Cathy complains. If asked, she would say that she has all she needs.

Of course, Henry has to ruin everything. A letter arrives announcing that he has arranged Cathy’s marriage with one Thomas Seymour. The captain bringing the letter is in charge of taking Cathy back to the mainland.

There is nothing anyone can do. Not Catalina – if she wants to avoid diplomatic incident...and raising her husband’s ire – not Cathy, and certainly not Kat. They have to say their goodbyes. Cathy makes Catalina and Katherine promise that they will take care of each other. Then Catalina leaves them so they can have some few last precious moments alone.

Fast forwards to days later, the ship that is taking Cathy to her doom, I mean, wedding, is attacked by pirates. Everyone is killed except Cathy, who is taken hostage.

Realising the ship that attacked them is the Greensleeves, Cathy thinks it’s on purpose. The captain has a beef with her godmother. But then she realises it’s just that a young woman, the only woman on board of a government’s ship, would make a good hostage regardless because it’s clearly someone important and probably worth quite a bit if a ransom is demanded.

‘And who do we have here?’ A woman circles around her.

‘You might want to read this, captain.’ Another, taller, woman hands her a letter.

While she reads it, Cathy has time to look at her. Had to admit, not how she imagined the famed pirate Anne Boleyn, scourge of the seven seas, and pain in Catalina’s backside as well as pretty much any navy.

‘Catherine Parr, uh?’ The pirate looks her up and down. ‘Let’s see how much old Lina is willing to pay for you.’

Cathy scowls at her.

‘Or would you prefer your future husband?’

‘No!’ She can’t stop herself.

‘Thought so.’ Anne nods to herself. ‘Not that I blame you. Seymour is a scumbag.’

‘Ehi!’

‘Not you, Jane. Not most of the time, at least.’ She sends a grin towards a woman standing one step behind her.

When everything is said and done, Cathy considers herself lucky. She might go back home. Delaying her marriage, at least. See Kat and Catalina again. Despite them being pirates, she feels more comfortable on their ship than the one sent by Henry, surrounded by guards.

All is nice and well, until a wave has the ship rolling quite violently. Cathy loses her balance and stumbles forward, a golden A on a necklace slipping out from under her dress and now dangling. Before she knows it, Boleyn has the pendant tight in her grip, pulling Cathy along towards her, almost choking her.

‘Where did you get this?’ she demands with a growl.

Cathy stands corrected. She can now see why Anne inspires such a terror.

‘Take it off.’

‘No!’ Not the smartest thing, but Cathy is not going to give it up without a fight.

‘You either take it off yourself or I do it for you, and I’ll take your head off with it too.’

‘Anne.’ The woman who had been called Jane tries to put a hand on her shoulder, but it’s shrugged off.

Cathy feels someone grabbing her from behind. She tries to wriggle away, but she can’t, the hold too strong. Then she feels a hand on the back of her neck, and suddenly the comforting, familiar, weight of the pendant is gone.

Anne lunges to catch the necklace before it hits the deck. Cathy instinctively takes a step back. Well, she tries, only manages to stumble back into the pirate behind her, still holding her.

‘I’m going to ask you again.’ Anne seems to struggle to pull her eyes off the necklace clutched in her hand. ‘Where did you get it?’

‘You better answer her.’ The voice behind her sounds honest, no malice or threat. Almost sound worried about what Anne would do if denied.

‘She gave it to me!’ Cathy blurts out before biting her lip. She might be terrified, but she doesn’t want to say more. Like how Kat had given it to her, asking her to put it on and never take it off to remind her by. How Cathy had argued that she wouldn’t need a physical object, she would be thinking about her every day of her life until she dies regardless. How Cathy had tried to give it back, saying that she didn’t want to take away the most precious thing she had. And how Kat had replied that it was the second most precious…and both of them would leave that day. She would be missing the necklace just like she would miss her heart, that Cathy was taking with her on the ship.

‘Take me to her.’

‘No.’ Cathy doesn’t know where she is getting the courage to stand up to the pirate captain.

‘Take me to her and I promise I’ll let you go. I won’t even ask a ransom. I swear.’

‘As if I’d trust a pirate’s word.’ Cathy spits out.

‘Fine.’ Anne growls with a scowl. ‘Then I will just go back there myself.’

‘But don’t you want to see her again?’ The person behind Cathy speaks up again, acting as the voice of reason of the situation. ‘She’ll find her anyway. She won’t rest until she does. Or she’ll die trying.’

Cathy tenses up. Just the thought of the pirates around Kat makes her terrified and furious at the same time.

‘Anna, get her out of my sight.’

‘She won’t hurt her. If that’s what you’re worried about.’ Said pirate makes one last attempt.

Cathy relents. Not that she has much choice. Or well, she does. But when the options are 1) going back with them 2) she is killed and they go back without her 3) she is delivered to Seymour and they go back without her...is that really a choice?

So they sail back to the island, but then it’s just a small boat rowed to the shore by Jane and Anna, with only Cathy and Anne, as passengers on board.

‘If this is a trap…’ Anne trails off, the threat clear even if not spelled out, as she looks around the workshop.

‘How would she even-’Anna tries to reason with her captain, as usual.

‘Let her go and I’ll consider not blowing your head up.’

Not the first words Cathy expected to hear from Kat if she ever saw her again, to be honest. The pirates seem taken by surprise too. Jane is only loosely holding her arm, and nobody has their weapons out.

‘Do it.’ Anne orders.

As soon as she is released, Cathy hurries to Kat’s side and Kat immediately wraps an arm around her, holding her close. She leans her head against hers, trying to get as much physical contact as possible, but she keeps her eyes and her pistol trained on the pirates.

‘Did they hurt you?’

Cathy shakes her head. She just had some bruises around her neck from Anne’s grabbing the necklace and pulling her along with it, but they faded away and there is no trace of them now. And they actually treated her quite well. She might have even enjoyed the trip if she had not been terrified and worried.

‘What do you want from her?’ Kat speaks again.

‘She had something that didn’t belong to her.’ Anne opens her hand, the necklace falling and dangling down.

‘Give it back!’ Kat growls, lunging.

Anne takes a step back, before calmly wrapping the chain of the necklace around her wrist and tucking the pendant into her sleeve. ‘And why should I?’ She asks, impish smirk making it clear she doesn’t feel threatened.

‘Because it’s mine, and I gave it to her!’

‘Yours?’ Anne’s attitude immediately changes. But before she can say anything- ‘What’s going on?’

This time the pirates aren’t taken by surprise. They all aim their weapons toward the new arrival.

‘Boleyn?’

‘Catalina.’

‘Cathy??’

‘Madrina.’

‘Katherine?’

‘Are you just listing all the presents? Because this is Jane and this is Anna.’ Anne chimes in, drawing back to herself Catalina’s attention…and pistol.

‘Give me one good reason why I should not shoot you on the spot.’

‘Because you’re outnumbered?’

‘She is not.’ Cathy now has a small pistol too, given by Kat, the pirates can only assume, since they are sure she had none before.

‘Parley?’ Anne breaks the silent standoff.

The other two pirates start quickly and softly talking to Anne.

‘What’s that?’ Cathy asks.

‘Pirate code.’

‘Temporary truce.’ Kat answers without hesitation at the same time as Catalina.

Cathy turns to her, surprised. ‘You know pirate code?’

‘I...don’t?’ Kat is clearly second-guessing herself. ‘I don’t think so? I just…knew it? Don't ask me why.’

‘Parley granted?’ Anne’s question reminds them of the situation.

Catalina looks at the pirates. Then at her girls. Then at Anne again. ‘Pull one of your usual dirty tricks and-’

‘Where is the trust?’ Anne brings the hand not holding the weapon to her chest. ‘I’m a pirate of my word.’

‘As if I’d ever trust a pirate’s word.’

The pirate captain looks between Catalina and Cathy. ‘That’s where you learned it?’

‘Guns away at 3?’ Anna tries to get them back on track.

They all nod warily before slowly and reluctantly lowering their weapons.

‘To what we owe the displeasure of your visit?’

‘Hurting my feelings, Lina.’ Anne quips.

‘Don’t call me that.’ Catalina snarls. ‘And answer the question.”

Anne gets serious. ‘This is what brings me here.’ She once again shows the necklace.

‘Why do you have it?’ Catalina looks between it, Anne and Katherine.

‘She took it from me.’ Cathy spits out, still upset about it.

‘You gave it to her?’ Catalina turns surprised towards Katherine. She knows how important it is to her. ‘But that’s the only thing-’ she stops. It suddenly makes sense. Kat giving Cathy the most precious and important thing she owned…the girl would give her goddaughter the world if she could.

‘Where did you get it?’ Anne turns to Kat.

‘I always had it.’ The younger girl answers reluctantly. There is no hurting doing that, right? ‘And I would appreciate having it back.’ She holds her hand out.

‘Spunky.’ Anne nods, appreciative. ‘But not yet.’

Kat huffs. ‘What?’ She grinds out.

‘Do you know what this is?’ Anne fishes out from her shirt another similar necklace, but with a K instead of an A.

The girl shakes her head.

‘I had it made because you loved mine. So I commissioned one for you. But you still insisted on wearing mine so I kept yours.’

‘I don’t understand what you’re saying.’

‘The K is for Kitty.’ Anne carries on.

‘Nobody called me Kitty since-’ Kat stops in her tracks as her brain catches up with what her mouth is saying. She had honestly forgot about anyone ever using that nickname.

‘Since you used to throw tantrums about losing at cards.’

‘Jane always cheats!’ Again, Kat surprises herself as she replies without thinking.

‘I do not!’

Anne, Anna and even Cathy, look at Jane in disbelief. She had seen her playing at the tavern at the only stop they had on shore while on their way back to the island, cleaning out the locals because they needed funds...

‘Okay, maybe I do now, but not at the time!’ Jane amends.

‘I don’t understand.’ Kat repeats, her voice wobbling.

Anne explains how they grew up together, inseparable cousins until the moment their family’s ship they had been on had been attacked. In the chaos they had lost sight of the younger cousin and when they got rescued, all except Kat, they all thought that she had died in the shipwreck.

Anne, consumed by desire of vengeance, had joined a crew hoping to find out which pirate was responsible for the attack. Only to find out that it had not been pirates but government masquerading as pirates, hoping to get their families’ riches in a quicker and easier way. So Anne had decided to harass, rob and destroy government ships as revenge. Jane had joined her soon after, a life on the sea better than the prospect of a lifetime serving men at home. Anne had met Anna in her first crew and when Anne left to form her own, some of them, including Anna, Maggie and Joan, had joined her. They are the only ones, besides Jane, to know why Anne had chosen the pirate life.  

‘And then we met your girl and I saw the necklace and here we are.’ Anne concludes her tale.

‘Met.’ Cathy snorts.

‘Not mine.’ Kat comments dolefully at the same time.

‘Engaged to Seymour, right?’ Anne turns to Catalina. ‘I expected better.’

‘Not my choice. Henry arranged it. Can’t refuse without a diplomatic incident. And enraging him. The Seymour family is a powerful one and I know that he will say he found the best for Cathy, and who knows what he’d do, whom he’d choose, just to spite me, if I were to refuse.’

‘What if you could do better?’

‘What do you mean?’ Catalina looks at the pirate captain, who appears deep in thought.

‘It would be reasonable to break off the engagement if a better opportunity arises, right? Even for… Henry?’ she spats out the name.

‘In theory. But in practice? Hard to find better.’ Catalina sighs. She had thought about it, of course. ‘I mean, better name. I’m sure there are lots of better people than Thomas Seymour.’

‘Definitely.’ Jane confirms.

‘What about marrying into the Howard family?’

‘Howard? Like those Howards?’ Catalina asks in confirmation. They are even more powerful and rich than the Seymour.

‘As a captain I can marry you off tomorrow.’

‘What?’ The girls had been silently resigned. Cathy knew she had no voice or choice in her marriage, and Kat knew she could not stop it. All they could do was enjoying their time together before the inevitable separation.

‘You’re a Howard, Katherine.’ Anne tells her. ‘We,’ she gestures to herself and Jane, ‘might have been disowned by the Boleyn and Seymour families, but not you.’ She adds after a bit. ‘Mostly because we thought you were dead, but you know, not important right now.’

‘Seymour?’

Jane waves at Cathy. ‘Trust me, dodging a bullet with my brother.’

Kat and Cathy get married, and once Catalina’s retire as governor, they take over albeit always unofficially. Central government can’t be bothered with that little island almost lost in the sea as long as it doesn’t cause problems.

Anne and Jane are torn because on one side they want to be with Kat after finding her again, but they also took a liking to life on the sea, so Catalina pardons Anne and her crew in exchange for them working for her, patrolling the waters around the island and keeping the ships carrying and trading goods safe from pirates...and anyone else.

                                                      _____________

Yes, I was going full fantasy with gay marriage being accepted and recognized, pirates getting pardoned, women governing islands and ship captains marrying people (looked it up, they mostly can’t unless already invested/ordained with power to do so).

[modgirlyreposts-revamped]

So most of these are gonna be heavier than usual. I'll put a specific warning again when the dark ones come along but in the meantime just be warned.

- Basically what I'm proposing here is that Dylan is like an early 2000s scene/emo kid but more grounded in personality and more edgy in appearance. He and Brooke make kandi bracelets literally this is one of the headcanons of all time

- His partner system (my oc Lina if u remember?) Is transfem and genderfluid. Her name Carolina/Lina comes from the horror series Petscop, the in universe company Garalina and the character Lina. He and Brooke helped her pick it

- Sarah's mom is overprotective af of her daughter. She loves Millie but one wrong step around Sarah and that girl is dead jtnfhgbfhf (well really she doesnt want Sarah stuck in a loveless relationship in which she'll eventually be abandoned is the real problem lmao)

- Sarah's legal last name is Alton since her parents never formally divorced, but if anyone asks her what it is she'd say Morales, her mom's maiden name

- Millie feels very comforted by Maurice just, in general. They're very similar, and he was just like her at her age, and it's comforting to her to see that he found happiness and has lived the life she never thought was possible for her.

---DARK HEADCANONS. TW for descriptions of ableism, abusive friendships, cheating and child abuse---

- Dylan makes a lot of coping jokes about his family.

- Just before winter break, Dylan's mom finds out about his DID. His mother puts on a whole show, crying and yelling asking how she can trust him now because DID is a horrifying disorder and his alters will do awful things if they're "let out" and asking if he's trying to say she and his dad are abusive, saying how much she loves him and how scared she is, basically suffocating him in a hug. Dylan is freaking out and crying, and this causes one of Dylan's persecutor alters to switch in and retaliate physically asking when she's ever loved any of her children and calling her a sick bitch. They come to Maurice's house later, beaten up with a bloody nose and just ask if they can crash here for a few days.

- This "crashing here for a few days" ends in them staying for Christmas. (This does in fact mean that they get gifts from the Fitzsimmons family. Millie gets small gifts for every alter she knows.) During this time Brooke begins visiting often not only to see Dylan and his system but also to educate Maurice on DID so he doesn't think of Dylan's alters the way their mom did because it's how most people see the disorder, well meaning as they may be.

- Maurice subsequently makes frequent contact with Sarah's mom since she's a social worker to see what he can do to help.

- Dylan actually has a few siblings. He's the youngest of three, the other two are both adults and they turned out just as bad as his parents. Since Dylan has no younger siblings and his situation is vaguely under control Maurice is a little less urgent to take legal and/or violent action against his parents than he would be otherwise.

- Brooke has had a few relationships before Dylan and Lina. Being a popular girl they kind of push getting a boyfriend on her. None of them was she particularly happy with, and the one that she was happy with ended with him cheating on her. Her friends thought that was hilarious. She was devastated. To this day most of her favorite songs are about cheating/breakups/abandonment bc she's still not over it. It's something sort of comforting that both of her current relationships are among systems whose alters all like her.

- Dylan, Lina and Millie are trying to urge her to leave those friends to little avail, but Dylan at least understands the fear of leaving a bad situation so he doesn't push it too hard.

------

- Not hc related but uh fun fact for like half of my AU Millie is just fucking dead and no one knows cuz her ghost ass just keeps going about her daily life and no ones found her body yet

I'll have some more lighthearted ones someday

I'm gonna need some Dylan being "adopted" by the Fitzsimmons headcanons after this-

And I love seeing more of him, Lina, and Brooke's relationship! I feel like they would definitely get along with my Dylan, Brooke, and David

[period-dramallama]

Spanish Princess episode 7: the episode that had no right to be as good as it was

Come with meeeeeeeeee and you’ll beeeeeeeeeee in a wooooooooooooooooooorld of English Reformation~

-OK I had a lot of thoughts on how this ep handled Protestantism but the TLDR is: they misunderstood the theology of it, IMHO, but they actually were much more balanced than I was expecting.

-Maybe it’s my bias, but the printing press scenes were awesome. 

-the word ‘Protestant’ is being used 30 years too soon- but I get why they’re using it.

-”You’re dead Sassenach” some people have pointed out the guy called that is a Scot but I think the boy’s just using it as an insult and they’re play-fighting so I think he’s pretending his opponent is English Scum just as Hal Stewart’s pretending to be killed

-Accuracy! Thomas More did indeed lead a raid on the Steelyard, IIRC, though again it’s prob happening too soon, and he’s not undersheriff any more. They continue to knit sweaters out of the thread of linear time

-”the answer does not lie in here but in there,” I was highkey worried Henry was going to point at his own testicles.

-Please get Henry a barber. He has superglued a party city wig to his own face.

-”we were going after deer!” he sounds so much like a spoiled child i have to laugh

-the way Georgie says NO i love the inflection so much, I should make it my text alert for my least favourite people.

-”She creates bad humour in our land” “You mean she’s rude about your poetry?” “SO RUDE *sobs*”

-Wolsey has a reputation for relative tolerance and inaction on heresy, but historians seem to be finding that he was more invested in punishing heresy than previous histories and depictions (eg Wolf Hall) have shown. (At least so far as it was his job to do). He’s still hella villainized in this show.

-Allying with Angus? Sounds like Bad Decision #785

-CGI London looks way too big for a city of ~70,000 people

-Lina, I love you, but it has never been safe for a woman to walk around London alone at night. Not in 2020, 1820, or 1520. Especially before the invention of street lamps.

You can tell this episode was written by men

-”an army is for valiant purpose” Oviedo I love you but you’re a soldier, you’ve seen wars fought for political gain and not for moral reasons. Why you only shocked now? You should be more concerned that you’re attacking civilians instead of fellow militarymen.

-”what are you doing in the church?” “bitch i live here”

-”where are your ladies?” good question

-”it’s her own soul she risks, not mine” when you’re so selfish you accidentally become the most religiously tolerant person in the room.

-Wolsey’s face was a joy this episode. I want to make a moodboard of his beautiful sassy faces.

-the way Wolsey said “Thomas...” at More and Maggie looked angry... I think she was thinking “Really? You’re going to steal MY man now?!”

-why’s Henry Pole guarding More?? He’s a baron?? He outranks More??

-”maybe even have some lemon cake” it’s official, Margaret Pole is Sansa Stark

-”bathe me better and I will relax” she is literally a toddler omg

-”I have bathed you for years, no lady could do better” you can say that again, any other lady would have dunked katherine’s head under the water by now

-”to love the king why do you have to hate so many others” 

what happened?? the lines?? are so good?? i am SHOOKETH

-shot of the wavering compass...heavy-handed but i loved it

-Ursula geeking out over her garden :’) i get it girl i got into gardening myself this year.

-”my wife is the only sight I care for” *smooch* the second man in England to have rights! Thank god they’re so in love, given the real couple were married for 40 years. (They totally left the room to go make out, didn’t they.)

-Raiders of the Lost Inheritance Deeds

-WHERE ARE THE BOLEYN GIRLS?? THESE ARE STARTING TO BE THE YEARS THEY’RE AT COURT??

-God Stephenie was amazing this episode. I felt her pain, she became such a more well-rounded character, I’m so glad she got to speak her mind to Catherine instead of continuing to simp for her and excuse her behaviour. If she betrays her secret next episode, her character arc will be complete. Also, after whitewashing Isabella’s actions as Gurl Powah, it’s so refreshing to have Lina call out religious persecution of all flavours, not just against Lutherans. 

-”my own husband?” Lina...did you just... tell Catherine your husband isn’t Christian? Run?

-My theory was correct! TSP!KOA is indeed trying to be her mother!

-”ugly altar boys” Aardvark is on FIRE this episode. Everyone is bringing their snark game.

-good use of spooky strings

-mention of humours! Accuracy point! Also I’m glad that Katherine hanging out in her nightdress with men was called out for being hella sus in the Tudor worldview.

-the whole torture dungeon reveal reminded me of a similar scene in the 1999 movie Sleepy Hollow, but apart from that, it was perfect. No dialogue, just the camera, the props and Laura, and you tell the whole story with her face. This is why show don’t tell is so important!

-yes i am biased bc i never liked the ship, but the break up scene was great, for both their characters: More’s allowed to explain his worldview and Maggie is able to call him out. Also it answered the question “why Thomas More and not some tutor OC?” I’m not sure the bombshell justifies writing their romance, but at least it explains its existence. At least it built to some Juicy Drama. 

-poor Maggie though. The man she wants to sleep with won’t sleep with her, the man who wants to sleep with her she doesn’t want. Then she befriends both of them, only to lose their friendship when one dies of the plague and the other she wishes died of the plague because he’s terrible. Also her cousins keep being executed, her daughter’s terrified, and her son is way too fond of violence. Give the girl a hug.

-”watch your step” yeah we wouldn’t want you to get a splinter on your way to get your head lopped off. That would really suck. 

-the way the crowd groaned when henry’s letter was read out... they sounded like football fans when their team misses a goal.

-”Henry” just henry? not henry the king? No “PS: I’m so random lol” “PS: blow a kiss to Wolsey” No “Henry ex-oh-ex-oh-ex-oh”

-the obligatory gross thing obvs is the sideways beheading. His head bounces!

TLDR: By far and away, the best ep in the show so far in my opinion. It almost feels like it’s set in the sixteenth century. The history was still dodgy af, and so was much of the dialogue, but the drama was much more solid and less plot-holey, the pacing was good, and the foolish mistakes of Stafford and Catherine had actual consequences for the plot, the actors knocked it out of the park, some of the lines were accidentally brilliant. 

[lady-plantagenet]

What hasn’t already been said: The Spanish Princess 2

Episode 3: GOOD Grief! (we finally have a good episode on our hands)

To all those of you keen enough to have come back for another segment of ‘what hasn’t already been said: TSP’, as opposed to have just been scrolling when you see this - welcome back! (Scrollers you too <3)

Drawing of Thomas More’s Son AKA who Margaret Pole at this point wants to be the step baby momma of ;).

To anyone who’s seeing this for the first time: what this is a list of observations, jokes, reactions and criticism which occur to me upon a rewatch. I wait every week until Saturday to do this so that I have had my fill of scrolling through the tag and aggregating what has already been said. I tried doing a whole spoof (here where I gave up 10% in) but tbh a) I don’t know the history well enough b) it’s more time consuming than I thought and c) this series is just not as funny or as crazy as TWQ, so it’s untenable. Having said that: This is not a hatepost. I’m not hatewatching this series and nitpicking on purpose but expressing my honest views and trying to find the good in it as well as the bad.

Without further ado...

First Scenes: 

LMAO the way Wolsey suggests they break their alliance with Spain is freaking hilarious because the actor delivers the lines as if he were a high school girl making a personal attack by suggesting the prom change its theme to 70s disco to the chagrin of the peppy up-and-coming rival.

Also @ Henry VIII looking like the peppy up-and-comer’s bff and shy stan with that pencil bite and small smirk when Catherine loses her cool against Wolsey.

I’m sorry... who is Henry married to again?

Also what is Margaret Pole doing at the council meeting?? I’m not saying I don’t like it.

Margaret Pole warning against certain repetitive thinking creating madness :(((

Attempted Naked Twister:

Oh Catherine, what is with you and all the other STARZ protagonists and that weird politcky bedroom talk? Who actually finds this sexy?

‘Catherine you are unnatural’ ooof that line delivery was somehow haunting.

Was the whole ‘I can’t be rushed you are off-putting with your overpowering’ a callback to Arthur and Catherine? Apparently there’s another writer for this episode so I won’t put all subtly past them. 

Scotland:

‘Shitey men’ asdkjashd

Look I’m tired of all this ‘my children won’t be safe’ line getting repeated. Look mate, murder of royal infants and children was not exactly a common occurence, even in cases of deposition. The Princes in the Tower are an exception to this but a very infamous case for that reason. Child murder was extremely taboo. In situations like this with an infant kid, no one is going to bother murdering the babies and taking their thrones, the lords will just vie for power and make themselves de facto rulers and oust the queen. It’s not a question of safety but a question of holding power. Stop giving all women characters perma mummy brains.

Maggie being all caring:

‘Barnaby’ *scoffs* ‘Such an English name’ - OH MAN 0_0 is Catherine mocking them for trying to adapt ? Like I know it’s meant to show her envy for Lina, but it’s coming out all messed up.

Our girl Maggie’s smile screams I’m beating your ass in chess.

Anyhow this is the least histrionic we’ve seen Catherine so far.

Chaplain vs Catherine:

I’m interested how Catherine will feel at Stafford’s execution given that I have noticed this show build up to a friendship between them.

Why is everyone laughing at the whole ‘will you delight us with new schemes’ line was not that funny?

LMAO at Thomas Boleyn’s attempted brown-nosing. 

You know what? Ruairi is a decent actor. When he says ‘so you admit it? you lost the child because you tried to be a man?” the actor conveys Henry’s troubled mind, lowkey scare towards Catherine and bewilderment all in one. The way his eyes do not move but just widen emotionlessly also gives this sense that he is being manipulated (which I guess they are going for with Wolsey). Then the whole choir music in the background.. I don’t know.. I’m liking this, it’s creating a vibe of a king of haunted and increasingly paranoid Henry. I’m sure they are going for that, so good.

Ursula Pole and Mama:

Maggie Pole say ‘riches don’t keep you safe’ with tears in her eyes :’(. Please tell me how this is not her thinking on her parents and granddad Warwick and what befell them ;’(.

I find Ursula refreshing actually, don’t get those types of heroines often. But they are making her similar to a gold-digger, an exhalted marriage was first and foremost considered a thing of honour. Noblepeople wouldn’t speak in such mercenary terms regarding their marriages. 

Post Mary Defiance:

I love the ‘horse’ nickname from Brandon n’awwww

Also just realised what made TWQ so atmospheric - that wierd ‘oooo’ sound effect in the background when a character was being paranoid or worrying. They are using it during Henry’s ‘How is it that I have no sons?’ and it is just... so effective.

Catherine calling them ordinary children... she just keeps striking me as more and more classist. Like ok, I know every royal was... but still, I thought she was meant to see Lina as a friend and equal despite her race and status. To add the race element, this kind of rubs me the wrong way.

Also it is so clear by the end when Catherine states how the king is upset with her, she expects Maggie to ask her about it.. but she doesn’t lmao.

Back to Scotland until Sexy boy fencing:

I love me this soft boi. Angus <3 <3

I like how they address that some men don’t really like killing and that violence isn’t inherent in a man’s nature.

Oh man, are we supposed to look at Lina’s house and deplore the impoverished conditions? It would go for at least 3,000,000 pounds in today’s property market?

Is Catherine being particularly classist again with ‘Why u not becoming a butcher Wolsey, ey?’. 

Though I will admit the ‘but giving meat to the poor is also good’ was one of her only smart comebacks.

Just realised, Catherine’s pink dress pretty as it is, looks straight out of the 1570s... why?

Montage and After:

You guys are right, there is this weird longing between Henry and Wolsey lmao. It is actually insane.

So basically Catherine is officially depressed

OOOFF we have Stafford as regent instead of Catherine. (edit: I suppose it’s cause they go to France which they didn’t historically? Also if Stafford is at home then what is his son later doing in France, why would he be there without his father. This show didn’t think this through)

Meg Singing:

An impassionate speech is not too anachronistic. But despite the title of this post (what hasn’t been said) I will reiterate that 16th century and Medieval people’s problem wasn’t that they were ashamed of their grief and didn’t cry. In fact, crying was somewhat more socially acceptable then than it even is now! Even manly men like Arthur were written as crying in literature such as Malory’s Morte d’Arthur. Obviously you couldn’t go overboard, but in truth crying was indeed often too performative rather than hidden too much behind doors.

Pole and More UWUWU in France and after:

I LIKE THIS INTELLECTUAL FLIRTING

It’s nice to see a depiction of romantic feelings between mature and level-headed subjects.

God Mary Tudor is so beautiful in this scene jesus. and the music when she was being presented was also very beautiful.

Maggie Pole getting given ‘a modest income’ yeah... she was one of the wealthiest peers of her day.

Also Maggie’s lady cousin not lady aunt Frost!

‘shaking of the sheets’ lmaoooo

William Compton cracks the hell out of me. I love this guy. He is just so creepy and twisted yet super keen and friendly. ahaha He looks like a riot, I hope we see him more. lmao tiles.

Also this palace feels very anachronistic almost 18th century-ish.

I like the Louis and Mary sequence, it’s nice seeing him trying to make her feel less scared, but OMFG when he lay on that chair.. for one second I thought they were trying to kill him off already.

Scotland: ‘Love is an open doooooorrrrr’ + Last Scene:

I ship Meg and Douglas ahhhh this soft boi x strong woman match is everything Henry and Catherine could have been.

I wonder... why is Lina speaking in Spanish more than Catherine. hmmm Are they trying to foreshadow Lina’s eventual return home and how Catherine become a true englishwoman?

Conclusion:

7.5/10

I cannot in all fairness believe it. This was actually decent. I’ve given up on historical accuracy long ago so by this point I’m focusing more on how it stands as as drama. I mean, TWQ was also a flop when it came to grasping the complex issues of that era but why do I feel compelled to rewatch it every year? Because it had atmosphere when it came to acting, music, certain aesthetics (though the costumes let me down often). It felt adequately gothic and dark, yet bright and jewel-lish when it had to be, sometimes both at the same time. Some one-liners were also memorable etc...

So far TSP 2 did not have any of this. Everything felt way too off and anachronistic. But not even consistently anachronistic. The music was also often very meh (though I just noted the absence of the spanish stringy theme that kept playing in season 1 - I guess I understand why), the dialogue very clichéd (‘alright lads let’s throw in the words: king, crown, power, fight, battle + other buzzwords and we have ourselves Shakespeare’) and so on... but I saw a change in this episode and I couldn’t initially point out what it was.

Upon rewatch, I identified some of the improvements (noted above) but above all: The producer was different! Boy does it show. Unfortunately, I think she is only for this one episode which really sucks. Come back! There is more chemistry between the couples, less predictable interactions, pervy Compton, cinnamonroll Douglas, better music, more scenic shots (e.g Douglas and Margaret in church) e.t.c. I hope it will match the rest of the STARZ productions in getting better towards the end.

Look it’s no masterpiece. But I’ll give credit where it’s due because at least this time it didn’t leave me feeling wanting and unsatisfied (if that makes sense).

[exauhstedsunflower]

How about a scene of Anne messing with Catalina in front of others but without them realizing? She keeps whispering things to Catalina to scare her (playing with her fear that Anne will literally kill her), and when the queens notice Lina is very pale they ask what's wrong and she can't say it because Anne is giving her The Look.

Oh yes. You’re evil, I like that.

-

Her heart is pounding, surely the others must hear it. Though she’s honestly glad that they can’t, she’s not sure how she’d react if they did.

The restaurant is kind of quiet. There’s some chatter around the room, people speaking to their waiters, people speaking to each other. The queens are among that chatter. Well, at least, the others are. Catalina hasn’t said a word the entire time. Mainly because Anne is sitting next to her in their booth, and the woman is making damn sure Catalina doesn’t.

Every time she opens her mouth, Anne looks at her with a certain look. As if she’s doing something wrong, it’s extremely unnerving. Again, she’s not sure how the others haven’t noticed. But here they are, Catalina in distress again and no one to help.

She feels a foot hit her shin as she reaches for her drink, and she knocks it over instead. Thank god it’s water. Still though, she jumps up to clean it.

“Jeez, Lina. Way to go.”

“Sorry!” She squeaks out, attempting to flag down their waitress.

“Isn’t that your phone?”

Her eyes shoot to the table, where the water has almost reached her phone. She grabs it quickly, then takes some napkins from their arriving waitress. When she finally sits, she puts her phone face up in front of her, determined not to move a muscle.

Her phone lights up a moment later, as all the queens settle back into their usual conversation. She reads the message on her lock screen.

ANNE: you’re an idiot. 😂

Catalina just looks at it, and watches her screen go dark. The waitress comes back and gives her a new drink. She won’t drink it at all.

Her phone lights up again.

ANNE: It’s rude not to answer your texts.

She feels Anne looking at her, so she decides to look up. Bad idea, the glare coming her way is awful. She shrinks into her seat and focuses back on the phone, picking it up.

LINA: Sorry.

Catalina can feel the eye roll, she doesn’t even have to see it happen. Why her? What did she do to deserve this tonight? It’s the only day she’s been able to spend with the others in weeks. Anne has been moving dates around and making it so that every time the queens do something fun, Catalina is busy. And Catalina always tells them to just go without her. Who is she to ruin their fun? The one night she gets to spend with the queens, and Anne ends up next to her.

ANNE: I wish Kit was sitting where you are

ANNE: she’s better than you. Guess this works though, I can keep an eye on you.

The last thing she wants is Anne watching her. But that's what's going to happen because she can’t exactly say otherwise.

ANNE: we can have some fun too.

Catalina’s mind goes into overdrive with that one. Fun? What does she mean, fun?

She needs to get out. She needs to not be next to Anne anymore. Whatever Anne has planned, it won’t be very fun for Catalina. So she stands very abruptly, muttering something about needing to pee, and speeds in the direction of the restroom.

When she gets there she just leans against the counter in an attempt to calm her breathing. Attempt being the key word there, because she is very close to hyperventilating at the notion of Anne doing this to her for the rest of the night. She can hardly handle being near the woman on a good day. She’s been stressed all week, and had been looking forward to tonight, only for the night to be a disaster.

The door opens behind her, and of course it’s Anne. She turns to look her in the eye, and just about brings herself to look at the wall behind Anne.

Anne cuts right to the chase, “I thought I told you to stop leaving whenever I’m around.”

Catalina’s eyes widen. She did say that, but she didn’t leave because Anne was there! Well, she did, but it wasn’t like last time! When she tries to say this the words get caught in her throat. Her chest is starting to hurt with how much speed her heart has picked up.

She presses herself further into the counter behind her. Noticing this, Anne takes three steps forward and stands right in front of her.

“Are you scared?”

Oh lord. Oh no.

She starts mentally praying. Praying for Anne to leave her alone, praying for this fear to leave her.

“N-no.”

Anne hums. Then she replies, slow and quiet, “Maybe you should be.”

Catalina doesn’t respond. Honestly, her mind just goes completely blank. Her first instinct is to run, but she can’t run because Anne just said to stop leaving when she’s there. But staying wasn’t an option her mind was ready for. Wasn’t an option her body was ready for either, judging the amount of tremors running through it.

“What do you have to say for yourself?”

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to! I promise I didn’t mean to I-“ she stumbles over her words, much to the clear amusement of Anne.

“Are you Angry?” Anne laughs at the question.

“Angry?” She questions, like what Catalina is asking makes no sense. Like her concern is completely invalid. “No. You haven’t seen me angry, yet.”

The yet in that sentence is troubling. And she says it as if it’s foreshadowing, like Catalina will see Anne mad very soon. Catalina is torn between asking about it and staying quiet. But then Anne speaks again.

“Listen, I’m going to say this once.” She’s addressing Catalina as if she’s giving a stern lecture to a child, and Catalina finds that she can’t breathe.

“If you ever try that again, you will not like what follows. Do I make myself clear?”

She looks at Catalina for an answer, and all the woman can do is nod minutely. God, why won’t Anne just leave her alone? It’s what everyone else does!

“Good girl.”

Anne brings her hand up to Catalina’s cheek, giving it a little pat. Catalina flinches back a bit but otherwise stays put. Wouldn’t want to upset her anymore. Not when she seems to be placated by the agreement.

Anne pulls away abruptly, “I’m gonna head back to the table. Be careful on your way back.” And with that she leaves Catalina reeling.

Careful? Careful of what? What could possibly happen in the distance from the restroom to the table? Does Anne know something she doesn’t?

She shakes herself, there’s no use spiraling like that. There is no immediate danger here. Making her way through the door, back into the bustling restaurant, she nearly knocks over a waitress carrying three plates. After being sure the woman is steady and apologizing profusely, she walks more carefully toward the queens.

And cant help but look around warily as she does so. Damn, Anne got to her.

Finally she gets to the table, only to see that their food has already been served. Now, Catalina wouldn’t say she is high maintenanced, or picky. But she definitely likes keeping an eye on her food at all times. It’s not that she doesn’t trust the people in the restaurant, no, if she had any trouble with eating out she wouldn’t have come. She is afraid to leave her food unattended in Anne’s presence though.

Catalina knows that she died of cancer. She knows this, truly. But back when she was dying, slow and agonizingly painful, she’d thought it was poison. Not just her, the doctors had confirmed it to be poison. And everyone thought it was the work of Anne Boleyn. She thought it was Anne, proving once and for all that she had won. Anne came out on top. Anne took her crown away, took her family away, and took her life away. So while now with modern medicine she knows she died of cancer, she can’t help but not be over the terror of being killed; even if she wasn’t truly killed. And the person who had ‘done it’ is sitting right next to Catalina’s food.

She sits in silence as the others eat, only barely touching her own plate. What doesn’t help is that Anne is infodumping her latest interest. The latest interest just so happens to be poisons, specifically one’s that go after the heart.

“Arsenic, mercury, thallium poisoning, so many ways to mimic cancer or general sickness. Thallium poisoning kinda looks like a heart attack!”

Picking at her plate and feeling vaguely nauseous, she tries her best to tune out Anne.

“It takes a real psycho to want to kill someone like that though. I can’t imagine how awful that must be, dying slowly and painfully. Not knowing what it was or who did it. I’m just glad my end was quick.”

“Anne!”

“What? I’m serious!”

Meanwhile Catalina is freaking out. This is not her ideal topic of conversation. The thought of her death is enough to send her into a spiral. But this? This is enough to give her an aneurysm.

“-Lina? You okay?”

Her eyes shoot up, seeing everyone’s eyes are now on her. Her heart races even faster, she grips the edge of the table tightly when Anne slightly leans into her. One glance at Anne says she can’t tell the truth. The look on the woman's face is enough to keep her mouth shut.

“M’fine.” She manages. Jane looks a little bit doubtful.

“You sure? You look a little pale.”

Catalina swallows down the knot in her throat. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

The table hesitantly goes back to normal conversation. You’ve managed to kill the mood for everyone. Great job. She should have just stayed home. This isn’t worth the stress. It’s not worth the terror and mental consequence. And all she’s done in her endeavor to keep the queen's company is make them concerned. How are they meant to have fun if they’re keeping an eye on her to make sure she’s okay?

All she wanted to do was have fun with her friends.

“Should I be scared you have this much knowledge of poisons?”

Anna sounds joking, like that's not a legitimate concern right now. For her it’s not. Anne doesn’t have any reason to want to kill Anna. Anne hates Catalina though, so this is horrible. It feels like foreshadowing. It feels like Catalina is losing her mind.

She keeps trying to convince herself that Anne wouldn’t actually kill her, but she has no reason to believe she wouldn’t. What’s stopping her?

“No! Don’t you trust me?”

No.

“Of course I do Bo!”

They’d never believe Catalina, they’d never take her seriously if she brought this up. She must be crazy, of course this isn’t supposed to be as stressful as she finds it. This fear is stupid, and as if to prove that to her, Anne gives her a look after that response. A look that says. ‘See, they trust me. They’d think you’re ridiculous if they knew what you thought.’

And that’s the truth. Catalina knows that’s the truth. It’s exactly why she hasn’t mentioned her feelings towards Anne to the others. It’s nothing, it’s not like Anne would ever really hurt her. Sure, sometimes she pushes her, or sometimes kicks Catalina’s shin under the table. But to kill her? While it’s something Catalina is afraid of, she hates being afraid of it. It makes her feel stupid. Surely the others would also think it’s stupid.

So she’ll keep it to herself. She counts the minutes until they can finally go home, and tries not to break down in the middle of this restaurant. And she keeps her unsafe feelings to herself.

-

I DID IT! That was unexpectedly hard. Credit to that one anon, @cynicalrainbows and @kiarcheo, for being super helpful with their examples on what Anne could do or say to be cruel to Lina. You guys are the best! 

Thanks for the request though!!! It was really fun.