#I’m having a fun day at the seaside :)

[goddamnshinyrock]

gulls are proof that a) there is a god and b) that god enjoys the pain and suffering of birders

[sanarsi]

Birthday present

Javier Peña x f!Reader

Summary: You're the daughter of one of Columbia's godfathers. Agent Peña decides to surprise you on your twenty-fifth birthday. Warnings: +18, MDNI, protected PIV, car sex, age gap (10y), reader has tattoo, pet names (baby, cariño, princesa), dirty talk, mention of corrupt family, violence Wordcount: 5,3k An: English isn’t my first language so I’m sorry for possibly misunderstanding. Hope you’ll enjoy xx Music I worked with: MAMACITA - Black Eyed Peas, Ozuna, J. Rey Soul / Alibi - Sevdaliza, Pabllo Vittar, Yseult / LA FAMA - ROSALÍA, The Weeknd

Masterlist

Javier's informants usually did not disappoint.

And he was one of those who often put everything on one card. Either he will succeed or will have to try hard to succeed.

That's what led him to this moment. An opportunity to get closer to you than ever before. To get you to cooperate.

Latin music played softly on the radio as Javier calmly drove away from the city center. From time to time he glanced in the mirror to fix his mustache and hair. He had to look good enough to catch your attention. He had to try harder for a while even though he wasn't being paid for it. But Javier was as dedicated to his work as anyone else. Sometimes it could be called his flaw but he didn’t cared about what others thought.

The car stopped in one of the side streets leading to a seaside bar. The bar where you celebrated your birthday.

Javier looked at his reflection one last time and dabbed his skin with aftershave. A strong masculine scent wafted through the car. The perfect weapon for his hunt for an evening companion. He didn't doubt his abilities and that he would be able to woo you too.

Relaxed, he moved towards the muffled music. He was passed by several people who clearly wanted to continue having fun in a more private place. Javier smiled to himself, feeling that he would be lucky today and his intuition never failed him.

From a distance he could already see the outline of people dancing on the dance floor. The music was getting louder and people's conversations began to drown out his own thoughts. Even though he was tired, this was what brought him relief. Finally, his attention was focused on something other than work. Even if that's exactly what he came here for. Work.

Javier walked up to the bar and nodded to the bartender. “Whiskey,” he said, and wasting no time, he started slowly looking around at the people standing closest to him. You weren't here.

His eyes immediately fell on the dance floor. A lot of people. Definitely too much for a small bar by the water.

Javier might have been fooling himself a lot, but he couldn't deny that he loved the energy here. Or at least the energy from the people who simply live here. Having fun and living life to the fullest. If it weren't for all the crap he dealt with, Columbia would be heaven.

Barman placed a glass of whiskey next to him, so he handed him a few bills and took his first sip of alcohol. This was what he needed after a long day at the office.

He slowly savored his drink when his eyes fell on the girl in the middle of the dance floor. He tilted his head to get a better view between dancing couples and slowly ran his gaze down her entire body. The blood red dress hugged her body tightly and several ruffles fluttered with every movement of her hips. His gaze stopped for a moment on her lush hips, which had a lot of life in them.

Javier gulped as he watched how the dress barely covered her ass. Still, she didn't seem to care and was definitely testing the durability of the piece of fabric that gave a lot to the imagination.

His eyes moved lower to her legs and black high heels. A small tattoo on her ankle caught his attention. A light immediately went on in his head. His instincts never failed him, and this time was no exception. It was you. He spotted you like a predator and wasn't going to waste any time from attacking you.

He drank the entire contents of the glass at once and took a deep breath before moving towards you. Someone bumped into him several times, but no one even bothered to notice. Not that Javier cared. His attention was only on you.

The way your fingers disappeared into your hair.

The way your hands slid down your body.

The way your lips moved with every word of the song.

Oh he could get high from this view…

The song changed and this gave him the perfect opportunity to attack. His hand placed itself on your hip, which caught your attention. You opened your eyes, pulled out of your dancing trance, and looked over your shoulder at your attacker.

With a smirk, Javier slowly walked around you to face you. Your eyes immediately began to carefully scan his face to assess whether he was worth your time.

"Such a beautiful woman shouldn’t dance alone," he spoke first. A smile appeared on your lips as this text quickly convinced you to him. You glanced to the side so Javier did the same.

Away from the crowd stood a man watching you carefully. All you had to do was gently nod your head towards him and he immediately relaxed and sat down at the table and started talking to another guy. Javier immediately calculated in his head that there were two bodyguards with you.

Nothing he couldn't handle.

“So let's hope you can dance,” your voice caught his attention. His smirk widened as he tightened his grip around your waist, bringing your frames together. You placed your hand in his and wrapped your other arm around his shoulder. You lifted your chin to keep eye contact with him as he slowly started leading, making your hips move.

You danced the first song in silence. Javier knew you were judging his skills as you stared into each other's eyes with every move. Your noses were brushing against each other and there was almost no space between you.

You felt his thigh between yours as he guided the movements of your hips and you liked the fact that he can lead in dancing. You could finally have fun with someone who lived up to your expectations. And that's what convinced you to continue having fun with him.

“I'm surprised men can still dance,” you said with a laugh as he turned you around once again and pulled you closer to him. Javier was smiling widely as he looked at you, and he'd be lying if he said he was having a bad time.

"Real men can do this and more," he replied with his professional pick-up tone.

You raised your eyebrows with a wide smile, amused by his words. You knew this tone in men very well.

Javier spun you around a few times and pulled you closer to him again. He had to admit that he loved the closeness of Latin dancing. He could shamelessly hold your hips tightly against his and grind you against his thigh.

“Care to tell me what you mean?” you asked innocently, observing his eyes closely.

Javier spun you around and pulled your back against him. You felt his hard chest on your back and after a moment his arms wrapped around you tightly again, making your hips move. You smiled to yourself as you felt his hot breath on your neck.

“A real man will take care of a woman not only in dancing,” he whispered in your ear and his hands slid to your hips, digging his fingers into your skin. You smiled wider as he turned you around to face him again in one move. You wrapped your arms around his neck and Javier leaned closer, nuzzling your nose. You rocked your hips in silence for a moment, watching each other.

“Oh, I see,” you nodded with a soft laugh and let him turn you around. He embraced you and grabbed your hand, slowly taking steps to the beat. "You mean yourself or..."

“Myself,” he cut you off halfway through. You smiled and nodded, hitting your heels and the dance floor with every step.

“You have a high opinion of yourself…” you started to say and stopped at the end, raising an eyebrow.

“Javier,” he finished for you.

“You have a high opinion of yourself, Javier,” you repeated so as not to forget his name in a moment.

"It's just the facts, baby," he said, wanting to sound indifferent.

And he sounded... like an overconfident pick-up artist.

You raised your eyebrows with a smile and nodded. Javier sensed that you were allergic to idiots who wanted to get you into bed. He had to do something more.

“Why have I never seen you here before?”

“I rarely come here,” you replied with a shrug and a soft smile.

“So today is a special occasion I assume,” he noted, slowly leading you across the dance floor. You laughed sweetly at his words, making him smile too.

“Yeah, actually,” you nodded, “it's my birthday today,” you explained. Javier was a born actor, so he had no problem feigning surprise. Of course, you believed it.

“Well well,” he smacked his lips in the air and ran his eyes down your entire body, “But I'm not surprised at all. You don't come across women like you every day," he added with a smirk and pulled you closer again. “Let me buy you a drink.”

"I don't know if—"

“As a birthday present,” he interrupted you, raising his eyebrows encouragingly. He looked at you like a dog, waiting for you to submit to him. And you gave in. You laughed sweetly, shaking your head.

"Let it be."

Javier smiled broadly and grabbed your hand before heading towards the bar. You sat down at the bar with a wide smile and Javier was not shy about being close to you. He immediately wrapped his arms around your waist, gluing himself to your side. He waved towards barman and you watched his every move carefully.

The way his face became serious when he ordered you drinks.

The way his gaze immediately stuck to your eyes right after.

The way his thumb gently traced your hip.

It was all intended to distract you.

“So what birthday is it? Eighteenth?” he asked, looking down at you. You rolled your eyes at his words but snorted under your breath anyway.

“Twenty-fifth,” you replied, wrinkling your nose with a smile. Barman placed the drinks next to you, so Javier immediately downed one for you.

“Then let's drink to your eighth-eighteenth birthday,” he toasted with a smile. You laughed at his words and clinked glasses with him. You both tensed without breaking eye contact. You grimaced at the taste of strong alcohol and he chuckled.

“It was supposed to be a drink, not straight vodka,” you noticed with laugh and took another sip. Javier watched you carefully, hoping you were weak in the head because, unfortunately for him, you didn't seem stupid.

"It's not appropriate to refuse a gift," he noted with a smirk, slowly sipping his drink. You rolled your eyes and took another sip of your damn strong drink with feigned pleasure.

“Thank you for the present, Javier,” you said with forced politeness. He chuckled at your reaction.

"De nada querida."

Thanks to his gift, you were tongue-tied pretty quickly and you spent half an hour talking nonsense at the bar. Javier listened with interest to everything you said and responded to make you say even more and it wasn't until you finished your second drink that he took you dancing again.

And if Javier thought you didn't limit yourself before, you were a beast now. Latin dance has only now gained everything it was about. And it was no longer an ordinary dance. It was literally just sex.

Your noses touched, breathing heavily against each other's lips as Javier guided your hips. Another bead of sweat was already dripping from his forehead after dancing a few songs intensely. And he'd be lying if he said he wasn’t enjoying himself because he hadn't spent such an intense evening, out of bed, with such a beautiful woman for a long time. And he would be lying if he said that your proximity and the alcohol didn't affect him.

He turned you around, and only when you clung tightly to him again, you feel that he was half-hard. And it certainly didn't stop you from rolling your hips right next to his. Javier couldn't help but let out a soft moan that disappeared into your hair. You smiled blissfully, knowing the effect you had on him and you couldn't have expected how much it stroked your ego.

His hand covered your lower abdomen and the other covered your chest. You felt trapped and didn't complain at all. You deliberately moved under his touch and movements, even when you felt his lips near your ear.

"You're playing dirty," he whispered in a hoarse voice and then placed a gentle kiss just below the ear.

A wave of shivers ran through your body at this act of closeness, and you were unable to resist as your head fell on his shoulder on its own. Javier immediately took advantage of the situation and ran his hand from your chest to your neck. His lips slowly began to place wet kisses on your neck and you smiled widely as his closeness bounced between your thighs.

“I got it from my dad,” you replied in a whisper, not really thinking about what you were saying.

“Is he naughty too?” he asked next to your ear and gently bit the lobe. You sighed louder and murmured a quiet affirmation. Now you didn't trust your words anymore. “He should teach you how to behave,” he continued and pressed his hand harder against your stomach. Your hips pressed further into his, allowing you to feel him more clearly. You parted your lips so as not to moan and swallowed saliva, which he immediately felt under his hand.

He had you in his grasp.

“If your dad didn't teach you this, I'll be happy to do it for him,” he whispered and gently bit into your neck.

You smiled broadly and blissfully at the feeling, but it quickly disappeared when Javier spun you around again and this time you fell into his arms, not expecting such a sudden move. You giggled to yourself, hugging his neck again as his hands moved to your hips. You looked up at him, immediately noticing that he was no longer smiling. He looked at you… thirsty. And you couldn't help but have fun.

You ran your fingers along his neck, following your every move with your eyes. You touched his jaw until your thumb was able to graze his lower lip. You smiled when, without any resistance, he opened his mouth and placed a gentle kiss on your fingertip.

Javier might have complained, but he could honestly admit that he was enjoying the game of cat and mouse. It was a nice change from the prostitutes who did whatever he wanted. It was nice to have a taste of winning someone's heart from time to time.

“Ven conmigo,” he whispered without thinking. He liked the tension between the two of you, but he honestly couldn't and didn't want to resist the urge to claim you in his bed or anywhere you let him.

“If only it were that simple…” you sighed with an innocent smile. Javier moved closer to you and ran his nose over yours. He kept his eyes glued to your mouth as his mustache brushed against your lips. His hot breath bounced off your skin as you watched him closely.

You didn't even notice that you had been just standing in the middle of the dance floor for some time. Everyone around was dancing exuberantly and you were absorbed in each other as if there was no one around.

“It wasn't a question,” he whispered against your lips and you both locked eyes at the same moment. Your pulse quickened as you realized you might have gone too far. You've never allowed yourself so much but apparently you forgot yourself a bit this time.

“Trust me, you don't want this,” you tried to discourage him but still you couldn't pull away or even push him away.

“Why wouldn't I?” he asked, completely unconcerned by your words. “If you had a boyfriend he would be here with you so it's definitely not that. I don't see any other reason why I would give up the opportunity to turn those sweet eyes inside out," he purred, nuzzling your nose.

You smiled and looked away for a moment. You had to admit to yourself that you wanted him. He was charming and you were too susceptible to that. You looked back at him, feeling reluctant that you had to reject him.

For his own good.

“My father doesn't like it when men want to claim me,” you started, hoping it would discourage him, but he didn't seem bothered by your words. “I want to spare you a bullet in your head,” you added, raising an eyebrow with more certainty.

“I'll take a chance,” he replied with a smug grimace, and without waiting for your response, he pressed his lips to yours. You were in shock for a moment, but it quickly passed, replaced by desire.

Javier sighed contently as you kissed him back. His hand quickly found itself in your hair, pulling you even closer. You didn't resist when he slipped into your mouth like it belonged to him. He tasted like cigarettes and mint unlike your sweet lips. He kissed you lazily and deeply. He took his time tasting you and took advantage of every second you submitted to his movements.

He finally pulled away from you, but only for a moment. He glanced to the side to see where your bodyguards were, so you did the same. They were busy talking to each other instead of keeping an eye on you.

This was his chance.

He grabbed your hand and leaned close to your ear.

“Give me fifteen minutes,” he whispered and pulled away to look at you. You glanced at the security guards again and back at Javier. It took you less than a second to make your decision. You nodded gently, which was immediately met with his reaction. In a few seconds, you were out of reach of the dancing people and out of the sight of men who were supposed to protect you from such situations. Luck was in the agent's favor.

You tried to keep up with him, but your shoes were of no help. Javier glanced at you over his shoulder and with a smirk on his lips, he wrapped his arms around your waist tightly to help you a little.

You glanced over your shoulder towards the bar but didn't see anything that might catch your attention. They haven't noticed you've disappeared yet. You smiled to yourself because it meant you actually had a chance to have some fun.

Before you knew it, you stopped at one of the cars. Javier unlocked the door and opened it for you. With an encouraging smile, he offered his hand to help you inside. You accepted his help like a proper lady. Your pulse quickened as the door slammed shut and Javier appeared in the driver's seat. You swallowed, watching as he closed the door and pushed his seat back. He straightened up with a sigh and looked at you with a smirk.

“Fifteen minutes, start,” he said and leaned towards you, connecting your lips.

This time he started more aggressively. He tangled his fingers in your hair, deepening the kiss, which gained momentum with every second. You moaned into his mouth, feeling the lack of air begin to cripple your lungs. And that's when Javier pulled away, only to grab your thigh and pull you on top of him. He did it so naturally that you didn't even have to make an effort when you sat on his thighs. His hands were immediately on your hips, pulling you even closer. You spread your legs further as he pressed you against him and connected your lips again.

You tangled your fingers in his hair, pulling it, making him growl against your lips. The sound echoed between your thighs in a wave of tension.

His hands immediately went to work, pushing your dress up to your waist. You moaned into his mouth as he squeezed your cheeks.

“So soft,” he murmured against your lips and moved his hands down to your thighs. His fingers squeezed every inch of your body that happened to be within his reach.

You didn't have to wait long before you felt his fingers trailing down the inside of your thighs. You didn't even hold back your panting into his mouth due to the sweet anticipation that was pulsing throughout your body. You inhaled louder as his two fingers ran from the very bottom up your pussy, collecting all the wetness that had managed to escape from you. Javier growled, gripping your hip tightly.

“You haven't worn damn panties all evening,” he announced, running over your wet hole once more. His cock twitched in his pants at the thought of having you at his fingertips all evening, and you who knew it very well. “Shameless girl,” he growled, sliding two fingers into you.

You moaned, throwing your head back and he immediately attacked your neck. He placed wet kisses and nibbled at your skin as his hand worked wonders between your legs. His fingers slowly moved in and out of your pussy. Wet sounds and your moans filled the car, instantly raising the temperature.

Javier didn't waste time because he didn't have enough of it.

Enough to satisfy you but not enough to enjoy you.

He reached with his free hand towards the glove compartment and took out a pack of condoms. You were too busy to even notice that his mouth disappeared from your neck for a moment so that he could open the package with his teeth. His fingers worked wonders inside you, slowly flexing at the point that made his palm wet.

You opened your eyes as you began to miss the feeling of his lips on your skin. You looked down just as he finished putting on the condom. Your pulse quickened even more when he looked up at you.

“Come on, baby,” he encouraged, pulling his fingers out of you. “Lift your hips for me,” he ordered, running them over your clit.

You moaned softly and immediately obeyed his command. You felt him shift restlessly beneath you, positioning himself perfectly at your entrance.

You didn't need his command to slowly lower yourself onto his cock. For a moment, you lacked the strength to make any sound. Only when you sat on him with your full weight, you moan loudly. Javier watched with parted lips and heavy breathing as his cock disappeared inside you.

“You're so fuckin’ tight, baby,” he moaned and pulled you closer to him, connecting your lips in an intense kiss. You tightened your fingers in his hair and he gripped your hips. “Dance for me,” he whispered against your lips and dug his fingers into your flesh, forcing you to move.

You slowly began to ride him as his lips stayed on yours and his arms held you tightly against him. You moaned softly into his mouth as you set the perfect pace, rolling your hips on his cock.

But it wasn't enough for him. That's why he started pushing his hips towards you. You both began to pant heavily into each other's mouths as Javier entered you with strong thrusts.

“Oh… fuck yes, baby,” he growled, feeling you tighten around his cock with every movement of his hips.

You leaned back against the steering wheel, trying to follow his movements. His gaze fell between your bodies and he watched contentedly as his cock disappeared into your pussy again and again. The wet sound that accompanied it was like something from pure porn.

“She's so pretty with my cock inside her,” he said, his voice laced with sex and you could only moan louder. Your hands grabbed onto anything they could to give you a sense of stability. Javier began to moan softly as he entered you faster and faster.

Your eyes fell on the inside of the car for a moment. You panted heavily, looking around until your eyes landed on something shiny. Despite the darkness, you were able to easily make out the shape of the badge. Your hip movements began to slow down as you looked back at the man who was currently inside you. You breathed heavily, looking at him carefully.

“No, no, baby. Don’t slow down,” he groaned in disappointment and looked at you. Only after a while he notice that you were looking at him as if you were seeing him for the first time and, what's worse, you froze in silence. Javier frowned, breathing heavily. "What’s wrong, cariño?" he asked confused.

"What do you do for living?" you asked simply.

Javier was silent for a moment, then he understood. He turned and looked at the badge lying on the backseat. Fuckin’ hell. He sighed heavily and looked at you again. There was no point in lying.

“I'm a DEA agent,” he told you, his cock twitching inside you in anticipation. You slowly calmed your breathing as everything that was happening started to sink in.

You were fucking an agent who probably wanted to get information from you.

You felt a wave of cold wash over you, making you involuntarily tighten around his cock and he groaned at the feeling.

You straightened up slowly, keeping your cold gaze on him and with one movement you swung your hand, hitting him on the cheek. His cock twitched inside you again at the sudden blow, but he didn't speak. For a moment, he didn't even dare to look your way.

But when he did and opened his mouth to speak, he was hit a second time. This time he had to move his jaw to relax, and only then did he look at how calm and angry you were at the same time.

“Maldito hijo de puta…” you started, wanting to call him the worst names, but he quickly cut you off. His hands tightened on your thighs, which caught your attention.

“I just want to help you,” he started gently and you frowned. You didn't know whether to laugh or punch him in the face again.

“I don't want your help,” you growled.

You felt his arm wrap tightly around your waist, holding you in place. Not that you were struggling, but he wanted to make sure you wouldn't pull away when his other hand pressed between your bodies.

“It wasn't a business proposition, princesa,” he said confidently. You opened your mouth to argue with him but you felt his fingers on your clit; instead of words and curses, a surprised moan came out.

Javier watched your reaction carefully, slowly massaging the small spot that could render you speechless.

“I can get you a new life,” he continued, completely indifferent to the fact that you were trying to catch your breath. "Away from the crap your father deals with."

“Vete a la mierda,” you choked out and he pressed his fingers harder. You moaned louder as you felt his movements begin to have the desired effect.

“That's what I'm doin’,” he replied confidently. He watched carefully as your eyes closed and your lips parted in pleasure. He felt everything he was doing to you, every squeeze of your pussy made him shiver. “Think about it, cariño, new identity, no killing and no drugs. Normal life." He sped up his finger movements, feeling your hips thrust towards him. Your body sold without much problem, but at least you could think straight.

“You want me to sell myself like a puta,” you pointed out. Javier growled under his breath, but not because of your words.

“I want you to buy a better life for yourself with a few pieces of information.”

“Nicely said,” you snorted under your breath in disdain at his words.

“You're a smart girl, I believe you know deep down that my proposal is mutually beneficial,” he continued, but your attention was focused on your building orgasm. You started breathing faster, focusing on him, afraid that one wrong move and you would lose the long-awaited fulfillment. "You have to promise me that you will think about my proposal."

"Or what?" You raised an eyebrow, waiting for his response, but he just stopped moving his fingers. You felt your orgasm slowly fade into oblivion. “Mierda… okay, okay, I will think about it,” you growled, furious. Javier smiled with satisfaction because it was enough for him for now.

He moved his lips closer to you and touched your clit again, the feeling of your orgasm building again. You didn't need much this time. You started rocking your hips gently for additional stimulus that was still deep inside you. Your slow movements of your hips and his fingers combined in a pleasurable race for fulfillment. You mentally cursed how much you hated yourself and the agent under you. You felt like a traitor, but luckily his touch drowned out your remorse.

You moaned softly into his mouth and he drank it like the most expensive whiskey. Your hips sped up a bit, chasing the pleasure that was about to reach its peak at any moment.

“Oh yes, baby, I can feel she wants to cum,” he moaned into your mouth. These words sent chills throughout your body, straight to your crotch. "And I will only let her because I am close too."

You moaned louder and your hands quickly found their way to his hair. You clenched your fingers tightly, moving your hips faster. Chasing your orgasm, you even ignored the way Javier gently stroked your back in anticipation of your fulfillment.

“Come on, baby,” he moaned and began to move his fingers more intensely on your throbbing clit.

A few moves and it was all over.

A few movements of your hips and you froze motionless.

A few movements of your hips and your body shook with shivers of fulfillment.

You squealed into his mouth, feeling your hips shake from your intensely sweet orgasm. You tightened around his cock again and again, making him groan throatily.

“Fuck— good girl,” he choked out, wrapping his arms around your waist tightly. You moved your hips once more to get comfortable on him. This, combined with the passing orgasm, finished him off as well.

You felt his cock inside you start to throb again and again and his kiss became harder, almost crushing your lips. You squealed softly, but he drowned you out when he finally growled throatily in satisfaction.

You stayed in silence for a few minutes, calming your breathing and collecting your thoughts. Javier was furious at his mistake because he hoped that your conversation would turn out differently. But there was nothing he could do now to change the past.

But all you cared about was that you fucked a fuckin’ DEA agent.

“Will you consider my proposal?” he finally asked and pulled away to look at you. In silence, you glanced at his eyes and face and nodded gently.

"Yes."

But you weren't really going to spend even a second on it.

[dfortrafalgar]

Chilly

Convincing Law to take a break for one day is like talking to a concrete wall. Good thing you have the personality of a jackhammer.

Law x Fem Reader

Warnings: fluff fluff and more fluff, snow day, domestic bliss, just fun and fluffy all around, snowball fights with the heart pirates, soft law <3

Also posted on AO3

No one even bothered to ask Law if he wanted to join the crew on land and partake in some relaxing winter activities.  Everyone knew what the answer would be: a stern, pensive stare and a quick, firm, “Absolutely not.”  Especially not when the aforementioned winter weather sprung up completely out of nowhere, while the Polar Tang was moored at an unassuming island tucked away behind a seaside cliff.  It was warm and pleasant the day before, so waking up to a deep blanket of snow on land completely ruined Law’s plans.  Heart Pirate Rule #283 (estimates vary), no one could try to change Law’s mind about an activity when his prior commitments were already ruined.

When Law opened the heavy door to his office and stepped into the hallway, he was met with an unsurprising, deathly silence.  Through one of the small portholes in the hull of the submarine, he could spot a few of his crew engaged in a very intense snowball fight.  The captain’s piercing gold eyes locked onto Uni the second he took a rock-filled snowball directly to the face.  With a ‘tsk’ through his teeth, he made his way to the galley for another cup of coffee.  He assumed the entire ship was empty, and was caught by surprise at the sight of you standing at the wash basin in the kitchen with your hands under a steady stream of warm water from the tap.  You glanced over your shoulder at the sound of Law’s footsteps entering the room.

“Hi, baby!” you called.  Law could barely see your face from the angle you were standing at, but he could hear the bright smile that accompanied your words.  “Enjoying the snow day?”

Law learned early in your relationship that it was futile to fight the content grin that crawled over his lips whenever he heard the sound of your voice.  He meandered over to you, planting a chaste kiss into your hair.  “I think you already know the answer to that.”

It was easy to pick up on the gruff tone of his tired voice.  “I’m sorry, Law.  I know it’s annoying for you when things happen so suddenly.”

Your sympathetic words brought mild relief to the stress filling Law’s aching head.  As he started the electric coffee pot on the nearby countertop, he finally glanced over to see your hands under the sink faucet.  A deep gash in the palm of your left hand was slowly leaking blood as you washed it.  The tips of your fingers looked dry.

“What happened?” he immediately questioned, abandoning his coffee and stepping back toward you.  He grabbed a few paper towels from a drawer, reaching over you to turn off the tap and grabbed your hands in his, gently applying pressure to your wound.

You grinned at his actions, but your eyebrows were knit together apologetically.  “It’s nothing major, I was stupid and went outside without gloves on.  I cut my hand on a rock trying to catch a snowball.”

Law’s medical instincts had completely taken over as he sat you down at the galley dining table, locating one of the many first aid boxes that were located around the submarine before returning to your side, kneeling at your feet and beginning to patch up your wound with antiseptic and a gauze wrap.  “Leave it to those idiots to stuff rocks into snowballs.  That’s how people lose their eyes.”  He blew out an annoyed huff through his nostrils.

Your unoccupied hand reached forward to card your fingers through his tangled black locks of hair.  “It’s stupid, but we’re pirates.  Pirates do stupid things sometimes, don’t you think?”

Your boyfriend’s fingers lingered over your bandaged hand, ghosting across your palm before falling to his sides to pack up the first aid bin and return it to its original location.  “I suppose you have a point.”

Silence fell over the two of you as you watched Law move around the galley, ditching the first aid box and returning to the faucet, peering into the sink to make sure there was no residual blood that might have splashed into the basin.  He gave it a quick wipe-down out of precaution, before finally walking back to the electric coffee pot to load the reservoir with ground beans from a large plastic container.  A smile danced over your lips watching his movements, reveling in the domestic bliss that rare moments like this provided.

“I know it’s a lot to ask,” you began.

“You probably know what I’m going to say,” he responded, picking up on your thoughts before they even left your mouth.

You sighed.  “I know.”

Law turned his back to the coffee pot as he waited for the water to boil, leaning back against the counter to face you.  His steely eyes softened at your saddened expression.

“I just think it would be fun to have you join us.  How often do we get days to… I don’t know… have fun?  To relax?”  You knew your words would have little power against the man before you, given how routine-oriented and strict he kept his daily life.  Even in a comfortable, romantic relationship with you, he still kept to his regular way of living, and very little could change that.

“Days like this set back projects by a mile,” Law muttered under his breath.  “It would be a waste of time for me to go outside in the cold and watch my crew lob rocks at each other.”

You bit your lip slightly as your mind raced for any way to convince your beloved to drop his duties for one single day and instead try to enjoy himself in the company of his crew, his friends and family.  “What if I help you later?  What if you delegate tasks later this evening to everyone to lighten your load?  What if–”

“Darling…”

“Law, I’m being serious!  Everyone hates it when you keep yourself cramped in your room hunched over paperwork all day… I hate it!  I don’t like seeing you stressed, and I know delays are frustrating but we’re pirates for crying out loud!  You have the freedom to drop your responsibilities for even a few minutes and relax.”  Your own voice raised ever so slightly in volume.

That word, the ‘F’ word, clearly had an effect on Law, given the way his shoulders stiffened.  The only sound that followed your pleas was the gurgling of the coffee machine on the counter.  His arms were crossed, eyebrows furrowed in thought as he stared back at you.  You held eye contact with his intense glare, not backing down from your request.  The two demons that sat on Law’s shoulder were having an all-out war with each other; one desperately begged for the cold captain to loosen up and enjoy himself, spend time with you and his crew, while the other told him he would be better off in his office, solitary, sipping on bitter coffee and scrawling chicken scratch into his log book.

Your eyes widened by a mere millimeter when you saw Law’s golden irises dart towards the porthole in the galley before instantly going back to you.

“I promise I’ll wear gloves,” you offered, your last remaining ammunition in this fleeting war of the mind.

A smirk cracked onto Law’s lips.  “You win.”

“What?”

“You win.  I’ll come outside with you.”

You launched to your feet, eyes wide with excitement.  “You will?!”

“Yeah.”

Law’s arms were ready to embrace you as you skipped toward him, boots leaving wet puddles across the metal floor in your wake as you threw your arms around his neck, angelic laughter leaving your throat as you thanked him for nothing in particular.  He squeezed your waist and gazed at you as you pulled away, eyes full of nothing but adoration for your happiness at such a miniscule agreement.

“Coffee can wait,” you demanded, linking your unbandaged hand with his and dragging him toward the ladder well to the top deck.  “Let’s go.”

“Wait, wait,” Law tugged on your arm.  “Gloves.”

You grumbled as you dug through a storage container filled with the crew’s seasonal accessories, pushing aside tacky hats and a few pairs of swimming goggles before producing a pair of insulated brown gloves.  They were smudged with dry oil and smelled akin to death, but you pulled them into your hands anyway, taking care to avoid pulling on your bandages.  Law pulled on his own jacket and gloves, changing out his shoes for a pair of heavier boots before following you up the ladder, onto the top deck, and out the main door into the cold, gray afternoon.  He obediently followed your heels as you bounded down the gangway, heavy steps alerting your crewmates to your return.

“Captain!  You’re alive!” Shachi called out, waving his hands in the air.

“How the hell did you manage to convince him to come outside?” Hakugan leaned over to you, exasperated judging by the sound of his voice.

Law had barely stepped foot into the layer of deep snow before he was tackled by a warm stone wall of white fur and an orange boiler suit.  His hands reflexively landed on Bepo’s shoulders, trying to steady the two of them before the human man would topple to the ground.

“Captain!  I’m so happy you’re joining us!  I’m building a snowbear, you need to help me!”  Bepo was rubbing his face into the side of Law’s head, leaving tufts of white fur behind that clung to the man’s black hair and feather-lined coat.

Their tender embrace was interrupted by a thud as a snowball planted itself behind Bepo’s head.  The bear released Law from his vice-like grip and whirled around, not hesitating when he dipped down, scooped a generous mound of snow from the ground, molded it into a ball with his large paws, and reeled his arm back to return fire to the first person he laid eyes on.

Clione was the victim, taking the huge snowball to the groin as it arched through the thin air and landed with precision and a comedic, dense smack.  The blonde doubled over with a pained grunt.

It didn’t take long for the fight to resume in full force, bald spots of snow being left in the ground as greedy hands scooped up larger and larger mounds of the frozen water to chuck at each other.  Law’s eyes gazed between each member of his crew, before landing on Penguin who secretly pulled a rock out from his pocket, shoving it into the snowball he held in his gloved hand.

With a split second flash of blue light and a barely audible whisper from the captain, the snowball previously held by Penguin was now clutched in Law’s hand.  The black-haired man reeled his arm back, throwing all of his energy into launching the snowball across the field toward Penguin, who took the blow to the chest.  The surprise caused him to stumble backwards, falling onto his ass and leaving a plume of snow to puff around him with the impact.  The Heart Pirates watched in awe as a mischievous smirk slowly appeared on Law’s mouth.

“No fair!  You have a devil fruit advantage!” someone’s voice shouted from across the snow-covered field.

“And?  You’ve sailed with me for long enough, use your head.”  

Law leaned down to gather another mound of snow in his hands, eyes landing on you.  As he motioned to lob the object in your direction, another snowball planted against his bicep, halting his movements.  Ikkaku stood opposite him, an equally bright smile on her face as she shouted at you to return fire.  He barely had time to look back at you when he was met with white powder directly to the face.  He blindly threw his own snowball towards where you stood, grinning when he was met with the sound of your surprised yelp.  He wiped the freeze from his face just in time for Ikkaku to awkwardly sprint through the deep snow toward where you lay on the ground, hollering that you were hit.  You tossed a thumbs up into the air before letting your arm fall back down, laughing with Ikkaku over your sorry state.

More snowballs, some containing rocks and some without, continued to pelt against Law, who returned them with enthusiastic movement and a devilish grin.  He tossed a glance over toward you, face flushing when he found his stare returned, a beautiful, relaxed smile dancing over your face.

—

Law yanked a damp towel off of his head, freeing his wet hair to the air of his room.  A shiver went up his spine at the sensation of cold hair against the back of his neck.  The sight made you laugh from where you sat on his bed, bundled in one of his sweatshirts that you had pulled over your knees, leaving only your sock feet visible.

He pulled a pair of ratty sweatpants over his legs before crawling on top of the bed with you, pulling you down by your shoulder into his chest.  “I’m cold because of you,” he complained.

“And now you can be warm because of me!” you replied, voice light and airy as you snaked your arms around his waist and forced one of your legs in between his.  A tangle of limbs lay on his mattress.

Law’s fingers played with the tips of your hair as he stared across his room at nothing.

“Thank you.”  Your voice shook the man from his thoughts.

“Why are you thanking me?”

“Because you came outside with me today.  Everyone had so much fun… it was nice.”

The tenderness of your tone pulled at Law’s heartstrings.  It had never occurred to him until then how much his absence might have affected his crew, affected you, and so negatively at that.  He had never seen his crew laugh as a collective until then, throwing snow before getting tired and resorting to building snow creatures or leaving imprints of their bodies in the plush, white freeze.  Law even left one of his own, directly next to yours.  The two images were connected where your hands would be, to remain there until the snow inevitably melted.

“I should be the one thanking you,” he mumbled into the crown of your head.

You giggled into his neck.  “I love you.”

Law inhaled deeply through his nose, closing his eyes at the sound of your words.  He wrapped his arms tighter around you, thoughts running rampant through his head.  You weren’t expecting a response, he very rarely said those three words back to you, choosing instead to spoil you with his physical affection instead.

“I love you, too.”

[ataliagold]

Or Maybe We Don't

For @astrangersummer week 7 prompt 'or maybe we don't'.

Pairing: Eddie Munson/Steve Harrington

Rating: G

W/C: 1280

Tags: Steddie, first kiss, getting together, beach holiday, sunset, fluff, Steve Harrington has a crush on Eddie Munson, Eddie Munson has a crush on Steve Harrington, love confessions

Summary: It's the final day of Steve and Eddie's summer trip, and Steve has something he needs to tell Eddie.

___

Sunset was approaching, the sky a brilliant array of orange and pink, light sparkling off the water flowing forward then receding away again in gentle waves.

Steve was sitting with Eddie in the sand, looking out across the empty beach. It had been busy earlier – families set up for a day in the sun, kids building sandcastles, people playing in the surf. Most had been day-trippers, now packed up and departed, leaving just Steve and Eddie to take in the slowly sinking sun.

It was their last night at the little seaside house that Robin’s aunty had let them use for a few days for a brief summer getaway.

Robin and Nancy were supposed to have come on this trip with them, but Nancy had come down with some flu she’d caught from Mike and Robin had stayed behind to take care of her.

That left only Eddie and Steve, and this unspoken thing building between them that neither had managed to mention yet.

It was stolen glances, hands brushing not-so-accidentally, Steve quietly giving Eddie the pickles from his burger at the diner, nights spent in front of the TV where neither of them really focused on the movie – they were too busy looking at each other.

“I don’t really want to go home,” Eddie commented, breaking the pleasant silence that had fallen over them, “not yet. S’nice here.”

“I’m sure we can come back,” Steve told him, letting a handful of sand run through his fingers. “With Robin and Nancy.”

Something flashed across Eddie’s face, the slightest wince, and he turned away a little. “Yeah. With them.”

Steve paused. Reached his hand slightly towards Eddie’s, then stopped himself, let his hand fall again.

“Eddie?”

“Yeah?” His voice was tight.

Steve frowned. “Is something wrong?”

“No.”

“Ok. Just…you seem kinda…”

“What?”

“I dunno.”

“Good one, Harrington.”

There was no malice in Eddie’s tone, but Steve flinched a little at the old nickname anyway because he and Eddie were so far past that now – or at least, he thought they were.

Steve sighed. “I don’t really wanna go home either. I do miss Robin though.”

Eddie smiled then. “You missed her on our first night here.”

“Yeah,” Steve said sheepishly.

“It’s been good though, right? The last couple of days?”

“Yeah.”

“I know it’s not…well, it’s not really what we’d planned, without the girls, but…”

“I’ve had fun.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

Steve’s tongue darted out over his lips, and he looked back out to the water. He knew why their conversation had become so stilted, why things suddenly felt so awkward, but he hadn’t been able to get the courage up to voice it.

To tell Eddie how he felt.

But when was he going to get another chance like this? They were alone, away from prying eyes, from the demands of the kids – out here they could be anyone they wanted to be.

Steve wanted to be Eddie’s.

He snuck a glance at the other boy. Took in the way the light fell across his delicate features, shining off dark brown eyes, his face so pretty despite being slightly clouded by indecision, perhaps the same indecision Steve was feeling right now.

“Eddie –”

“Steve – ”

They spoke at the same time, snapped their mouths shut in sync.

Eddie laughed briefly. Rubbed the back of his neck, tugged a section of hair across his mouth, smiled playfully at Steve.

“You first, big boy.”

“What were you going to say?” Steve asked quietly, because what if he’d been reading this all wrong, what if Eddie was going to say something completely mundane, suggest they eat at the diner tonight instead of Steve cooking, which Steve really hoped he wouldn’t because he was planning on making Eddie’s favourite lasagna as a surprise…

Eddie’s lips twitched. “Probably the same as you,” he said earnestly.

Steve sucked in a breath, let it out a little shakily. Inched his hand towards Eddie’s again.

“I really enjoyed these last few days,” Steve said after a moment. “With you, I mean.”

Eddie nodded, pinky brushing against Steve’s.

“And I think…well, I know how I…feel about you. And it kinda…” Steve trailed off, looked down at his lap, anywhere but Eddie because he could feel his cheeks colouring now, and what if he was about to fuck everything up? He took a deep breath, tried again. “Well, it kinda scares me. Because I’ve never felt this way about anyone else except Nancy, a long time ago. And you know how that ended, and I don’t want that to happen again, not with you. God, not with you.”

Finally, he forced himself to look up, Eddie’s silence too much to bear.

He was looking at Steve softly, openly, his pinky looped over Steve’s now, breeze gently ruffling his hair.

Steve wanted to kiss him.

But he waited, needed to be sure, needed to know he hadn’t imagined everything between them.

“You know I’ve been in love with you since you carried my half-dead ass out of the Upside Down, right?”

Steve blinked several times in response to Eddie’s confession. “Seriously?”

Eddie chuckled. “Yeah. What, like that’s an unreasonable response to Steve Harrington saving your life?”

“I just…I mean, you never…you didn’t say anything.”

“I thought you were straight.”

Steve tipped his head to the side, raised his eyebrows briefly. “To be fair, so did I.”

“So you’re telling me…you’re not?” Eddie continued, his expression hopeful, his pinky curling around Steve’s.

“No,” Steve said, meeting his eyes. “No, because I really want to kiss you right now.”

Eddie swallowed visibly. Leaned in closer, until Steve could feel his warm breath dance across his lips.

“Go on then, Stevie.”

Steve closed the little distance left between them. Kissed him there as the sun farewelled the sky, slow and gentle and a little unsure of himself because he’d never kissed another man before. But instead of his heart rate spiking like he’d expected it to, it slowed under Eddie’s touch, and Steve felt calm and soft and safe because this was Eddie and he’d never felt something so right in this life.

The following day, after spending the night in Eddie’s arms, Steve was driving them back to Hawkins. Back to their jobs, back to their separate homes, back to reality.

Hand in hand across the gearbox, the two spent most of the drive looking at each other, Steve having to force his attention back to the road every now and then.

An hour out of Hawkins, Eddie spoke.

“What do we do, when we get home?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, do we…tell people? Our friends? Wayne? The kids?”

“Do you want to?”

“Well…I want to be able to be with you,” Eddie said, squeezing his hand. “But are you ready for that? Steve Harrington, former Hawkins golden boy, in a relationship with Eddie the freak?”

Steve made a soft noise of protest at that, brought Eddie’s hand up to his mouth and kissed it.

“I want to be with you,” Steve said firmly. “I’m not sure when we tell people, let’s maybe give it a few days to think about it, but…yeah, Eddie. I want you.”

“Because we could…well, I mean, if you wanted to we could…” Eddie’s eyes darted away, looked out the window, back again. “I’d understand if you wanted to pretend this never happened. If you wanted to just go back to normal. We could, if you want.”

I can’t, Steve knew. And looking at Eddie, at his face that was imploring Steve otherwise, he knew Eddie couldn’t either.

Steve smiled at him. Brought Eddie’s hand to his lap and held it securely there.

“Or maybe we don’t.”

[hamlets-ak]

seaside sanctuary ༊*·˚

synopsis: during your vocation on a greek island, you and timothée spend some time on a secluded beach

The magic of Milos had settled over you gently and clingingly with its volcanic rock formations and golden shores. Not even two weeks had passed since the day you and Timothée arrived on the island, and you had already become one with the locals; traveling in all its cryptic passages and discovering the heart of the town.

You had found happiness in simple and frugal things like walking along pebbled pathways and marble streets with your boyfriend’s palm inside yours, fingers conjoined and tangled, quick pecks on the cheek and forehead, small glances and furtive smiles, soft laughs, warm or cold hugs, his head balancing tiredly on your shoulder and yours burying on his chest listening to his steady heartbeat.

It was Timothée’s idea to invite your families since you had only a month at your disposal before returning back to work and it was an opportunity to spend some time with them. Besides, it was such a beautiful trip, you had to share this unrepeatable experience. 

Altogether you traveled with your sailboat around the island and stayed on secluded beaches, accessible only by the sea. Hours and hours had been spent under the sun; swimming, snorkeling, laying on the deck, enjoying the sunset at anchor. 

Blazing afternoon sunrays penetrated your skin and blinded your vision, as the briny breeze fanned your face, pulling back strands of salty hair, tangling them with the blowing fair wind. 

The Aegen was opening around you; a sapphire-colored sea that touched the line of the sky, extending to a wild yet quiet horizon. It was summer and the world was in a splendor. 

Your arms were leaning on the silver railings of the boat and your gaze was up in the bright blue veil, watching the seagulls fly high and dive at the water, then rising up again, squawking loudly to each other. 

A burst of familiar boisterous laughter led your eyes to the back at the cockpit. You couldn’t help but smile before even allowing your stare to pierce that dirty glass, only at the sound of his voice. Your head slowly fell to the side and stayed balanced on top of your shoulder. 

Timothée’s radiant smile made you unconsciously laugh a little. And he must've noticed because even through the thick glass and the heavy blanket of water and salt covering it, he stared back at you with an electrifying glint and grinned widely as he bent down to knock at the glass a few times and then waved at you. 

« Let’s go! », he told you. 

You pushed yourself off the railings. Hushed murmurs accompanied by melodious giggles forced you to change your gaze from scenic islets and coves to a small group of people. Barefoot and sun-dazed, their hearts still left in the old pirates’ hideout, Kleftiko, your parents and Pauline, were laying relaxed on the boat. Their swimsuits were on, bodies still wet from their previous dive, drying under shining sunrays. Green beer bottles with the word ‘Mythos’ written on their lebels were reflecting golden beams of light, as cigarettes burnt in the air alongside sprinkles of brine and rust.

« Pauline? », you called her name. She sat better at her elbows and raised her eyes that were covered with black shades. « You’re coming? »

« Nah, » she replied throwing her head back. « I’m tired. I’ll just stay here and take a nap. Have fun though. » You nodded at her words and moved slowly and steadily to the back, hands holding tightly the ropes of the boat.

« Hey, » Timothée grinned at you. 

« Hi, » you greeted him and the Captain. « Where are we right now? »

« We are at Sykia, » Timothée replied. He wrapped his arm around you, letting it fall loose on your shoulder as he held you.

« Yeah that’s right, » the Captain spoke with his heavy Greek voice that held a melodious tone only people from Cyclades had. « Once you pass that tunnel, you’ll end up in the cave, » he pointed in the direction you were already looking at. Timothée nodded in understandment, arms snaking in your lower spine, bringing you closer to his body. « And when you get inside, you'll notice that a part of the roof of the cave is missing. It was submerged years ago and now there is a kind of natural skylight. »

« Oh that’s cool, » you said turning to the scenery while Timothée’s nose was mindlessly circling your cheek and temple, tracing soft lines over your brow. Sun kissed your faces and drifted at the space between, giving away a sheen. 

« It is cool, » the Captain continued. « I mean, what are you even doing in Milos if you haven’t visited Sykia? » You both lightly laughed at his words as you took Timothée’s hand in yours and pressed a pair of soft lips on top of it before he lightly patted your cheek with his hand making you grin, melting at his warm touch, and hug him tight. 

You had anchored close to the cave, less than half of a nautical mile. Waves were luring the boat along with them giving it a soft waft. 

Timothée waited for you to approach the edge of the boat before jumping off the stern into a calm steady sea with a thunderous splash that sprinkled you from head to toe, and then paddled the water. Quickly he emerged, throwing his head back and pulling pieces of hair that were stuck on his forehead, out of his face. With cold water stinging your skin, you lightly stepped back gasping.

« Come in! », Timothée laughed and motioned his head to you.

« It’s cold! », you slouched your shoulders, arms wrapped around your stomach. You glanced back regretting your decision of not staying with Pauline to take a nap as well.

« Come in! », he said in a more demanding tone. You bit your lips and shook your head. « I’m going to splash you. »

“No, you wouldn’t.”

« You sure about that? », he asked tossing a small wave of water in your direction. 

« Timothée, it’s cold! »

« I’ll splash you. » You looked at him for a few seconds. « I’ll do it. »

« Fine, » you groaned making him smile, and without much thought jumped into the sea. 

A freezing feeling struck then gradually consumed your body. Nothing but the sea was surrounding you and you kicked your feet through bitter water, gasping for air. You fought for a moment breathlessly to come to the surface and then looked at Timothée who was already a bit ahead of you.

« Wait, wait, wait! », you shouted at him. He stopped and turned around to look at you, as you paddled along the blue to be closer to him. Timothée couldn’t help but laugh, watching you all puffed, your legs weightless kicking an uncharted abyss below. 

Together you glided the blue, reaching the tunnel Captain told you about. Your head moved up too distracted from watching the brown-greenish rocks above your head. Tim pulled your hand and pressed a wet kiss on your cheek.

« Let’s go, » he said, his voice echoing loud all around as if coming from speakers.

The cave had no roof just like the Captain described it. Sun rays were lighting the inside of the cave, creating amazing colorations that enchanted you. It was a unique miracle every visitor should see. 

On the inside was a small pebbled beach, with rocks and crystal clear waters. There was no one there. Just the two of you.

Like true children of the sun, you swam in the idyllic calm and then ran to the pebbled shore, free, repeating the gestures of athletes of Delos.

« Aren’t you afraid it’s going to fall and crush us down? », you told him as your hands cupped in the air the part of the cave that was still up. Your bodies were close to each other, so close you could hear the smile forming on his lips.

« It’s been like that for so many years, why does it have to fall now that we are here? », he asked. You rolled your eyes and chuckled. 

« I’m just saying, » you mumbled. He breathed out heavily which made you turn in question. « What? », you looked at him.

« Oh, nothing, » he laughed a little, pulling back his wet hair. You kept staring at him for a few seconds watching droplets watering the rocks below you. 

« I’ve never been happier. » He wore a dreamful smile. « And I wish every day could be like that. »

« Like what? », his eyebrow slightly raised. Your mouth curled up thinking of your response as your gaze turned back to the crystal pure tapestry of the sky.

« Waking up together… making love… having breakfast… going for a walk… swimming… making love again and then having a bath together. » Your words caused a boyish grin to appear on his face and you imitated his expression. « Eating together, listening to music, watching the sunset… you laughing and me laughing because you are laughing… telling you how much I love you… »

« Sounds good to me, » he said and leaned to kiss your shoulder. You pouted your lips and looked down. Timothée frowned and then turned to the side, balancing on his one elbow, to take a better look at you.

« You won’t tell me how much you love me back? », you bit your lips trying not to smile. His face flushed at your mincing manner and how you pronounced the world ‘love’. He looked away.

« Oh, of course, I’ll tell you, » he bent lower his head and you tented your neck to catch his lips, your hand holding back his hair as he moved on top of you, dripping water running on your body. He breathed out hot air on your face making your head fall back trying to get some oxygen inside before returning to him, your heads touching and lips almost stitched together. 

« Y/N, » he said voice deep echoing inside you. « I really need you to know this. »

« You don’t have to say anything. »

« No, I have to, » Tim gulped. « You walked by chance into my very messy life and from day to day, I started to breathe better. Before you, without you, I loved nothing. With you, I have accepted more things. I have learned to live. That's probably why I’ve always mixed my love for you with so much gratitude. » Your mouth slightly opened and eyes glanced away. « I mean every word. »

Without warning you kissed him on the lips. He let out a muffled sound from the force with which your mouth touched his. 

« I wouldn’t have loved you any less, if you didn’t say anything, » you told him. Your stare was fixed on his plum reddish lips that tasted like salt and apricots and cherries. « But now that you did, all I can do is love you more. »

He smiled. His forehead brushed against yours as he let you lick away his grin and kiss him. First slow, sweet, soft; then harder, fiery, urgent, like a poem of Odysseas Elytis.

It was a true sisyphean work watching the way the lurking glint of your eyes and your wolfish grin dig up his most shameful secrets, without ripping the animal from within and burying himself in your streams of love and delicate words.

The waft’s stroke maneuvered between you, warm like a teenage memory, spreading sprinkles of salt and rust to the air. Bodies entangled in summer thunders, as the gentle splash of water on your toes offered a kind of peace, privacy, and safety that you had both missed. 

You flapped and then stayed there in comfortable silence. But as you watched the horizon slowly bleed from the crevice of the tunnel, Timothée couldn't think of the swollen sun, honeycombs, and wasted old summers.

The only thing he had in mind was how much he loved you, how much you loved him - because he knew that - and how much he couldn't wait any longer for you to live together forever.

You laid together, eyes gazing at the moon and the starlit sky, bodies hugging one another.

[writtenbyjeanofarc]

‎ ‎‎Honor Among Thieves

Captain Hook x Fem! Reader | 2.5k

⎯⎯ summary ‣‣‣ “On an ordinary summer day my friends and I are having fun at the beach when suddenly Captain Hook and his pirates come seemingly out of nowhere and attack, causing chaos. I try to escape, even so much as to reach the car my friends and I used to get there, but I get caught and by one of the pirates and taken.”

⎯⎯ content warnings & tags ‣‣‣ dubcon, penis in vagina sex, creampie, fem! oral receiving, dom! Hook, body worship, fingering, breast kink, praise, dirty talk and pet names.

⎯⎯ requested by ‣‣‣ the wonderful @disney-girl67.

⎯⎯ banner credits ‣‣‣ the lovely @cafekitsune.

The intensifying heat of the sun today was rather unbearable for my liking—I had to make sure the amount of sunscreen I applied was just right for my skin in regards to basking in the summer heat. Thankfully, my best friends had some spare bottles of lotion perfect for our trip to the beach. We’ve packed just the best meals suitable for our picnic date; it’s been a while since we’ve taken a week off of an exhausting day of work, and an opportunity arose when we were given a discount to a beach getaway!

I drew a satisfying breath, taking in the fresh breeze that blew from the east side of the coast. Apart from the overwhelming heat of the sun, it was quite refreshing to take a time off of the monotonous city where industries and businesses collided in chaos. The palm trees danced lively by the breathtaking view, the birds chirping happily as we booked a stay at the chalet nearby.

“So, Ashley, what do you think of this spot so far?” I asked.

“It’s perfect,” my friend smiled. “Summer is a godsend, especially these days. The weather may be humid, but other than that their services are properly managed. I can’t stand always having to work under our boss lately. So I’ve decided to take a leave!”

“May I add that this particular sea stands out because there’s lots of treasure underneath.” my other friend commended. “Rumors say there used to be pirates here, but I believe they’re long dead after getting shipwrecked.”

“Pirates?” I asked, sitting upright, fixing my bikini. “Wait, are you saying, this place isn’t safe for visitors like us?”

“Relax, friend,” my other friend spoke, laughing. “It’s just a scary story spread all across this village. I’m sure that with all the legal authorities becoming more aware of the troubles they cause, they're probably thrown into prison by now.”

“Good, good.” I replied. 

“Anyways, I think now is the right time to go in for a dive! The deeper, the better!” 

“Wait, guys, but-“ 

My friends ignored me this time. They left me without any explanation to stay, leaving me to rot in my own thoughts of whether there were potential thieves roaming around the place. But I’ve decided I won’t back down. I left the patio, without any other reason to make excuses for why I refused to go in for a swim. Out of guilt, I just kept on going, leaving all my worries behind.

My friends and I ran towards the seaside, happy and carefree of the world’s stressors. We even threw some handfuls of sand at each other and splashed some seawater the moment we went for a swim. 

I found it difficult to keep up with my friends this time, the way they swam around the beach and took pictures of the glittering waters. But I dared not to be a killjoy as of this moment, I complied with their requests to have fun regardless.

As we swam recklessly by the sea, I noticed the sight of a large, wooden ship approaching from a distance, seemingly approaching towards us. I felt all along that my gut instinct was right. I tried my best to not falter at first, but knowing they could kill if we didn’t surrender our belongings was something I was truly terrified of. 

“Ashley! Lottie! Mary!” I called out. “There’s a ship approaching! Let’s gather around and leave!”

“[Name], you’re being incredibly ridiculous.” my friend Mary laughed. “Those can’t be pirates! It looks like a normal ship!”

“But-“

My friends ignored my pleas, so I had no other choice but to leave the seaside. I was deathly worried about their wellbeing since pirates aren’t to be trusted regardless, but I started to give less fucks about others and focus on my own needs. This is it. I left my friends and made my way back to the beach house, running half naked and sweaty from the intense blanket of heat that filled the air.

“Take a closer look, Murphy,” scoffed a pirate from the ship as he used his binoculars to zoom into the sight of my friends swimming. “We eating good tonight, aren’t we?”

“Damn right. Nothing more than a bunch of bombshells worth taking in for the night.” Black Murphy laughed loudly. “James will surely be having fun by the end of the day. From what I understand, he’s already by the shore holding some random bitch hostage.”

“Right! Hah. The Captain should consider himself lucky.”

And there I was. I finally arrived at the beach house, surprised to find the door to our room locked. Pleas of someone could be heard from inside, and I didn’t know what to do other than bang the door from outside. The voice was muffled, which made me realize that whoever the captor was turned out to be someone not to be messed with.

My heart raced upon this discovery. Who could have possibly thought there was someone else inside the compound? I tried using all of my strength to open the door. I tried, and tried, and tried…..

And with all my brute force, I managed to successfully pry the door open. I was then met with an unexpected scene.

There in the corner of the room stood a tall, dark figure dressed in red, while his other hand was replaced with some sort of hook. He apparently was holding some sort of knife with his other hand, and it turned out that the identity of who he just killed was the manager of the beach house me and my friends stayed in. The figure took a step forward, revealing himself to be none other than a pirate captain.

I tried to leave, but another one of his pirates grabbed me by the wrists from behind, pushing me to the ground and swiftly locking the door from outside. It was unknown as to how this happened, but I knew from the bottom of my heart that this was coming. 

“Looking as gorgeous as you always were, lovely stranger.” the pirate spoke softly. “Say, are you perhaps here for a trip?”

“Um, yes?” I hesitantly replied. “Who could you be?”

“That doesn’t matter, my dear. In fact, your name doesn’t matter to me either. Say, what are your thoughts about a relationship of give and take? Worry not, for I won’t harm you, as long as you do exactly as I say.”

“Huh????”

“I came here to claim five million bucks from this entire resort. Provided you and your friends do exactly as we please, your lives shall be spared.”

“What???!!!” I protested, attempting to get up and reach for the door behind me. “No, I must have known…!! You-you must be the captain!!! Please, captain, spare our lives!!!”

“Why, if it isn’t the right answer, hm? My name is Captain Hook, I also go by the name James. Though this info won’t matter by the time I’m done with you.”

I froze, unsure of how to react in the face of such a threat. I attempted to stand up, only for the captain to kneel on one knee and unfasten my bikini straps. 

“Please…..” I begged. “Let me go! I’ll do anything!!!”

“Is that so? Why then, don’t resist.” Captain Hook smirked.

I frankly hated how this was turning me on.

He moved his hook down my breasts, groping it with the thin piece of metal while his other hand caressed my cheek. 

“Such a beautiful, sensitive little thing.” he cooed. “Gods must have sent you to serve as my personal pet.”

Tears formed in my eyes as I disobeyed his request and resisted the captain’s touch, only for him to pull me inward. He kneaded on my breasts gently and leaned closer to suckle on my nipples, which was already hard at the sight of his tall stature. He swirled his tongue around it, moaning gently as the sounds of sloppy slurps filled the room.

I hated how good it made me feel. I shivered at the thought of a random stranger’s face up my breasts, but there was no denying that he was extremely good at it. A part of my mind wandered on the scenario where he claimed a number of bodies. From the charm of his facial hair surrounding his features, to his enigmatic smile, it left me with chills—and they weren’t exactly that of the bad type.

He didn’t stop, oh, he didn’t. The more I held back a moan, he just kept sucking in long slurps that left me soaking in my arousal. My breath hitched at the sight of his unshaved face lapping and salivating against my breasts, carefully caressing it as he pulled away.

“Mmmmmhhhh~”, I groaned in frustration.

“What a cute, desperate pet.” Captain Hook whispered. “If all it takes for you to grow wet is to have someone suckle on those stress balls, then you must be a really needy whore after all.”

“Please……I need it….I need it so bad!!!” I protested, desperate for release.

“Eager for my cock?” Captain Hook asked. “Well, you might want to exercise a little patience, my dear. Good things don’t always come in easy packages. Now, let’s take this off from you, shall we?”

With that, he tore my panties off with a clenched fist, leaving my naked form to sulk in hopelessness and frustration. He wasn’t the type to give warnings, for he was quite straight up with what he wanted to do. He was all powerful. That only gave way for me to feel worthless and pathetically needy for his touch.

“Mmmmmm……already this wet? Hah. How pathetic.”

He didn’t give warnings, indeed. I knew he had it in him when he dove into my cunt, kissing the nub gently as he rubbed his finger against it. I felt as if I was about to squirt too early, but I held it in. Then comes the hard part. The fingers. He stuck two fingers in me, forcing his way in without any form of lube or prep. With the burning pain slowly melting away into pleasure, I let him swirl his tongue around my clit without any form of inhibitions after all. The captain yapped and lapped at my vaginal fluids, overflowing to an extent of it streaming down my cunt. It felt warm, pleasurable, and on top of all that, I felt like I was about to catch feelings for the man.

His digits began curling upward, making me wince at the length of his fingers, yet still aroused. The slight curve didn’t bother me in the slightest. It felt so good, and I for once didn’t mind squirting and cumming all over his face for all I cared.

“Ahhhh, I’m close,” I moaned. Captain Hook drove his mouth deeper, giving my clit a rough suck before pulling away. Leaving my entrance gaping with fluid, he chuckled smugly.

“You taste divine, pet. Hmmm….I think you’re ready to take all of me now. Just relax.”

Captain Hook let go of my figure, turning to his pants as he pulled the upper section down. I wasn’t expecting the sight of at least ten inches of trouser action, and I grew hopelessly frustrated by the fact that it still wasn’t shoved deep in me. 

“Now, now, dear.” Captain Hook spoke. “This won’t be lasting quite long. After all, you’re already this close.”

Spreading my legs wider, the captain rubbed my clit with his cock, enabling me to make use of my energy in humping right back. I held the throbbing length, and felt its texture before he slipped it right inside me with force.

”AGH!!” I squealed.

“What, don’t you like it?” Captain Hook asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Keep going….It burns, but, keep….going!”

“I see. Well, then who am I to deny you what you want.” 

With one thrust, he drove his cock inside me and started to slowly rock in and out of my cunt. It felt euphoric, really, the way he handled me roughly and recklessly without any filter. To compensate for his efforts of ramming through my walls, I fucked him back.

My breasts wobbled as my body grew used to the pleasure judging from the growing speed of his thrusts. He was brutal, violent, just like any other pirate would be when faced with an incoming threat. Gripping my cheeks tightly, Captain Hook used his superior strength to lift my limbs upward to gain a better access towards my core. He kept hitting, and hitting the spot, so much that I could feel myself cumming in less than five whole minutes. I arched and mewled against his grasp, the sounds of skin slapping against skin becoming more apparent. I began to develop no care for whoever overheard our little affair going on. All I needed was to reach completion at the hands of this charming stranger.

Captain Hook was also growing desperate over time. His moans grew more animalistic, muttering a ‘yes’ repeatedly as he was about to lose composure. When I felt a tinge of pleasure spark from within my heated core, that was when he chose to pick up speed. He then leaned closer to feel my neck with his face, leaving hickeys all over as he continued to bite down the layers of thin skin. I yelped in pain for a moment as the sensation slowly turned into pleasure the way he bit on the right spots. 

If only he could see my face right then and there, I would have been humiliated from that point onward. Then he did.

“Ah, ah, ah, no looking elsewhere.” Captain Hook muttered under his breath, panting hard. “Eyes on me. Show me how much you crave this feeling.”

“I—Mmmmmmhhhh….!!! Please, I’m….I’m gonna…..”

“Hold it off, little one. Have your master do all the work.”

With all his strength, Captain Hook grabbed my hips tightly, the hilt of his cock ramming in and out of my heat. The slaps against my ass were wet and loud, our moans matching each other like a symphony. 

“Agh!!!! Captain!!!” I trembled in excitement. “Ahhhhh~”

I wailed his name (James) as Captain Hook thrusted so deep into my core. My walls fluttered and throbbed hard that it was almost a crime for him to pull out of me. I shook against him, crying like a bitch in heat as I felt like the whole world had just shattered before my eyes. Captain Hook spurted his seed balls deep in me, his cum surrounding itself all over my dripping cunt. I let out a deep sigh, realizing the whole mess I’ve been engaging with in the company of a complete stranger.

“Hah……Hahhhhh……..”

Captain Hook didn’t even budge, his cock already retreating from my walls in a slow, yet steady fashion. 

“Such a filthy, disgusting little mutt.” he said, putting his cock back in and leaving me to sulk by the edge of the doorstep. “Get up.”

Captain Hook grabbed my cute, pink bikini, tossing it before my face.

“What is your name?”

“[Name].”

“You did well, [Name],” he said. “Judging by the looks of it, you owe me several nights of complete entertainment. Come outside when you’re ready. I’m more than willing to bring you into my ship.”

[kwisatzworld]

Uccio Salucci: the good life

December 2008 by Mat Oxley

Uccio Salucci’s good life is living life with the world’s greatest motorcycle racer, handing him his helmet and gloves on the grid, topping up his energy drink in the pit, hanging out with him in Ibiza. In fact, everywhere Valentino Rossi goes, Uccio goes with him. It’s a bit like being God’s butler. There’s no doubt that Uccio lives the good life – travelling the world in first-class style with the hugely popular Rossi, who just happens to be his best mate as well as his employer. Uccio has been Rossi’s right-hand man since his earliest days on the GP trail, he’s like an extra pair of hands for the seven-time world champion. The old school friends have known each other most of their lives and are pretty much inseparable whether they’re in the paddock, partying in Ibiza or chilling out back home in Tavullia.

How old are you? I’m 29, same as Valentino.

How did you get here? We have been dear friends since we were four or five years old. We used to go to school together and after school we used to go minimoto racing together. Of course, Valentino was always faster. When he started travelling around and doing well in GPs he needed someone he could really trust to be with him, as all racers do. Valentino asked me to be his ‘main of faith’ and I said yes.

What do you do? My real job is to drive the motorhome to all the European races. I am also Valentino’s assistant, so he calls me bad names when things go badly and when things go well we share the happiness. I look after everything for him, all his kit, his leathers, helmets, gloves and boots, anything he hasn’t got time to do, I do.

What is the highlight of your job? Travelling, seeing new things, learning new cultures and, of course, being with an amazing character like Valentino. He’s a lot of fun to be with, in and out of the paddock. Of course, we do argue, we argue a lot, like women! The best moment of our time together was South Africa 2004, his first win with Yamaha.

What makes you tick? The engine of my job is wanting to win the race on Sunday, this is my main motivation, just like Valentino’s. You cannot do this job if you’re not hungry for victory.

Is it the easy life? It’s easy and it’s difficult. For sure it’s easier than a proper job, I don’t consider this to be a real job. It’s difficult to be with Valentino because he’s very famous, so he gets a lot of criticism, so you always have to stay calm about this kind of thing. But you get used to the lifestyle, it’s not a crazy life but an emotional life.

What’s your best-ever trip? I always enjoy driving the motorhome on long journeys, like to Jerez in southern Spain. The motorhome is always very crowded, there’s always four or five of us from Tavullia, with me doing all the driving.

What’s the best bike you’ve ever ridden? The Yamaha 990cc M1! I rode it twice in 2006, first at Monza, then at Valencia. Valentino let a few of us ride his bike. It was fantastic, the power and the braking were incredible, and the handling was so light and easy, like a bicycle. But I didn’t go very fast. For sure if I crash, I die!

What’s the secret of the good life? The secret of the good life in the paddock is to take everything lightly, not to take it too seriously. There’s a lot of pressures and if you focus too much on the pressures you don’t have a good time.

What would you swap about your good life? I don’t like it when Valentino gets criticised. The paddock is like a barber’s shop, everyone talks a lot, there’s a lot of bullshit, I don’t like that aspect of this world.

How often do you ride? I have an XT660 Supermotard, I go to the seaside from Tavullia. In the summer I never drive a car. Maybe I’m a little crazy on the street, especially on roundabouts: foot down, wheelies. But please don’t write that.

Who else has the good life? Rock stars!

You and Valentino like a party don’t you? Yes, of course, we love parties, but we’re getting older so we don’t party as much as we used to. We like to be with friends, eat a pizza…

So no more DC10? [A legendary Ibiza pill-popping club] We don’t like it anymore, the people are different now, Ibiza has changed.

What’s the best party you’ve been to? DC10 in 2000, before Vale bought a house in Ibiza. That was crazy!

What about girls? Some people think I’m a filter for Valentino’s girls but I’m not, maybe it would be nice. The problem of being with Valentino is that when a nice girl comes to meet us, she soon goes off with Valentino. He’s better looking, thinner, richer… and faster too.

Was the good life better in 1997 or is it better now? Those early days in GPs were unforgettable, the world championship was a dream come true for us but it was kind of like a game back then. We used to play, we were more natural in the way we carried on. Then we got older, racing got more serious and now it’s becoming more like a normal job.

What happens away from races? I’m with Valentino wherever he goes, like two normal friends, well, maybe not normal friends, but we are very good friends who get along well in all kind of circumstances.

And what good life after this good life? Recently I’ve started thinking about this but at the moment I have no idea. I will worry about this problem when I have to worry about it…

[doesntmeanitsmeaningless]

Ailooooooooo!!!! How was your show???? I'm so happy for you. What were your favorite parts? How was the crowd? Tell me whatever you want to share please. Sending you a hug.

CC!! Aaaaaahhhh! It was so good!! I’m still processing!! Louis started off a bit cool and distant and didn’t say much but the energy, enthusiasm and adoration of the entire crowd soon saw him in a hilarious mood. He had so many interactions, and seeing Louis giggle while singing is something I’ll always remember from last night. My mom and I were at the back of pit, right in the middle 3 persons away from that central barricade. The whole crowd was into the music and while it was a festival, I think everyone was there for Louis - so his comment that it’s not his show was an interesting reminder. It felt like a Louis concert, with a festival set list. What a set list. Banger after banger! HOTH as the fourth song was a fun surprise. I looooved the energy of Drag Me Down (the 1D songs were definitely a hit with the crowd but this one in particular), straight into JHO and then High in California. It was such a fun ride! I had a little giggle myself at “this is Face the Music” and thought of you 😇. Copy of a Copy was emotional and the crowd was loooud. The seamless transition to Walls put me through the wringer. And after that it felt like a whirlwind of jumping, singing, not wanting it to end but knowing the end is coming. I will keep this Saturdays in my heart, it was beautiful. And for Silver Tongues it felt like he didn’t want it to end either, he was on stage kicking the beach ball just before he came down to barricade. And eeeeeek, he really did come down the super narrow path in the middle of the crowd, right to the back. It was pure chaos, with red streamers and fireworks happening too… and it wasn’t a barricade he could jump up, so I just saw his head bop by and a flash of an arm. It must’ve felt like a car wash in there with arms from both sides. 😂 My bracelets found happy new owners, making me happy too. VIP Angie @persephoneflouwers and her sister were integral to my experience too, providing updates from a bird eye perspective of the fest throughout the day. 🫶🫶 And our fun times prior to the fest will remain favourite Istanbul memories too! I absolutely loved the visuals on the big main and 2 side screens. I knew some of them from livestreams but some felt new to me or hit differently when the are massive and in front of you. The 1-second lag was unfortunate but ultimately ok. It was warm with a breeze, Steve didn’t have to wear a tshirt, the site was seaside and Louis had a fabulous view of the illuminated Blue Mosque behind us. Crowd size felt smallish, pit (officially called front of stage) had about as many people in it as general admission. I’m glad he said he was pleased with the turnout… I was worried he might not be. Oh and Louis calling some dude giving him the middle finger dickhead and daft wasn’t on my bingo card… he was in full Tommo form, quick and biting. He never did end up doing his vodka shot with the good girl. And the moon, a tiny sliver of it was out, as were a few bright stars. I could go on and on. I DONT FEEL LIKE GOING HOME!!!

[aziraphales-library]

hello! i just recently read the rainbow road series and its absolutely amazing would definitely recommend it to anyone :) it's about crowley (AJ) and aziraphale (ezira) both being f1 drivers and it's been so fun to read so i'm wondering if you know other fics with these two involved in some sports as athletes or something??

thank you!!

Hi. We have a #sports tag. Here are more to add...

Holy Warrior by AlwaysDoe (M)

When a rookie introduces himself with a bang at AJ’s Boxing Gym, owner Crowley is reluctant to invest in him as the potential champion they so badly need. As it turns out, stepping into the ring isn’t nearly as terrifying as trying to fight your own feelings.

Big Wave by snae_b (E)

Aziraphale has been champing at the bit to ride the big waves off the coast of Nazaré. It’s a shame that when the opportunity finally arises, it means teaming up with his nemesis. And that in this tiny seaside town, there are only so many available hotel rooms...

To be Your Prince by Phoenix_Soar (T)

It was their shared dream to stand together on the Olympic podium, as figure skaters, rivals, best friends. But a twist of fate has Aziraphale and Crowley pursuing different paths, the former as a Singles skater and the other an Ice Dancer. It wouldn’t be so terrible, Aziraphale thinks, if he didn’t have to watch Crowley skate with someone else day after day. Someone that isn’t him, and to know he’ll never get to be with Crowley like that, in front of the whole world. (Figure skating AU)

Upon This Rock by Eowyn1846 (M)

Crowley and Aziraphale meet as teenagers participating in a youth curling league. Years after losing touch when Crowley's family moves away, the two former friends are reunited at a major tournament...as competitors on two very cut-throat teams, whose captains seem willing to win at any cost, even to the detriment of the sport.

Angels on High by Santillatron (M)

Aziraphale takes up a new sport. It's all going rather well until he inadvertently takes the top spot on the leader board and ends up accidentally starting a feud with the previous holder of the title. The man is arrogant, rude, and seems to think Aziraphale has somehow targeted him specifically. Not the kind of man Aziraphale wants to get to know at all, really.

Strike Three: You're in Love by AnnaTheHank (E)

The company baseball league was the last place Crowley wanted to be. But after meeting one of the opposing team's catchers, Aziraphale, he's a little more commited to the idea. A happy little low-stakes AU in which Crowley and Aziraphale awkwardly flirt at the plate and have some fun off the field.

And the first fic in the series you mentioned, which we have recommended before...

Sit Tight, Take Hold by nieded (E)

The summer of 2022, Ezira Phale is a rookie Formula 1 driver out to prove he's one of the best racecar drivers in the world, but everything gets turned upside down when he falls in love with his real-life idol, AJ Crowley. Or: The one where Crowley does not go too fast for Aziraphale. _____ This story uses a multi-media format with CSS and HTML. It's best read using the workskin so please make sure that you are enabling user workskins. If you do not want to use the workskin, I will also be posting a .pdf of each chapter and a final .pdf once everything is posted! I’m not so cool as to know how to do podcasts, manips, and videos, but this will feature scripts, news articles, text messages, tumblr, and race programming! So strap in and put your seatbelt on! This is going to be one fast ride of romance, competition, and over-indulgence.

- Mod D

[rebelliousstories]

Seaside Wedding

Relationship: Sean Renard x Reader

Fandom: Grimm

Request: Yes by @dd122004dd

Warnings: Brief Violence, Angst, Fluff, Happy Ending

Word Count: 2,665

Main Masterlist: Here

Grimm Masterlist: Here

Sequel to: Tidal Wave

Summary: A joyous day full of love and celebration. However, not everything can sail smoothly for the group at the wedding of the century. At least for wesen.

Then the wedding was held with great pomp, but as the train came from the church, and passed with the torches before the hall, a very small ray of light fell upon the prince.

There was an air about today. An air of love and happiness that no one could dampen. Her hair had been carefully crafted to sit long on her shoulders, yet it was pulled away to highlight her face and the expertly done makeup. A long flowing gown decorated her body, pure white, and covered in lace. It was the wedding she had dreamed about for so long.

Six Months Ago…

“I’ve spent too long without you to waste anymore time.” Sean whispered as he held his lover’s hand on her hospital bed. She tried to complain and tell him that she did not need to be checked out by a doctor, but he insisted. Procuring a ring from his pants pocket, the only sign of his nerves getting the better of him was the trembling of his fingers as he held the box.

“I kept this, all these years, hoping that you would be able to wear it someday. But I can’t do this anymore. Will you marry me?” He opened the box to reveal a gorgeous ring. A beautiful Alexandrite ring, with swirls and smaller diamonds intertwined was presented to her. Letting out a small gasp, she barely registered Sean calling her name.

“Yes,” came her whisper. “Yes!” She screamed. Tackling her lover, he barely managed to keep them upright as she kept saying ‘yes’ underneath her breath. They stayed locked in that embrace for who knows how long, before finally deciding to separate to finally place the ring where it belonged. A kiss was shared between the couple as they realized what that meant, and where they were going.

Pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of a door opening, the siren turned to face her bridesmaid that had helped so much for everything for the wedding. Rosalee. Dressed in a muted sea blue gown, the Fuchsbau came in with a gentle smile on her face.

“Hey there, Ms. Bride. Are you ready?” She asked,rubbing a calming hand over the woman’s shoulder.

“More than,” she replied, ”I’m so ready to just be married and be done with this. Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that we get to have our fairytale wedding, but it’s so exhausting. I would’ve been just fine with a small backyard wedding. But leave it to Sean to pull out all the stops.” She tried to sound like she was complaining, but the smile on her face was a dead giveaway to her friend.

“Well, if you feel like running away dramatically from the alter, just let me know. I’ll pretend that we’re the ones getting married instead, as I proclaim my undying love for you.” Rosalee teased, earring a much needed laugh from the woman. The air already felt lighter and less nervous. Another knock pulled the woman from their giggle, and the perfectly styled hair of Portland’s Grimm peaked through.

“I thought you guys were having fun without me.” He said, walking into the room fully. Over the past six months, the Grimm and siren had gotten much closer as she became less afraid of the man.

“Oh no, we were just talking trash about you.” Rosalee jested, giving Nick a big hug as she turned to face the bride one last time.

“I’ll see you there.” The Fuchsbau reassured the Tödlicheslied, who was wringing her hands together. With one last smile, she left to join her own partner at the beginning of the aisle.

“You okay? Not having any second thoughts are you?” Nick teased, but lost his smile as the woman was still stuck fixated on something in her head.

“Hey,” he grasped her shoulders gently, “you’re going to be alright. You and Sean both deserve this.” Nick tried to reassure her, and finally got to see her eyes from where they were downcast.

“What if he doesn’t want to marry me? Or he realizes that he made a mistake down the road? I wouldn’t be able to live through that.” Her words struck Nick’s heart deep.

“Listen to me, that is not going to happen.” Nick started,and forced her to stare at him.

“Sean would move heaven and earth if it meant making you happy. He’d burn the world down so that you would be warm. I know him. He wouldn’t have any second thoughts about doing anything and everything to make sure that you were safe and sound. He’s not going to wake up one day and realize he doesn’t want to be married to you. Now, I just had to calm him down, I’d like to not have to calm both the groom and bride in the same evening.” The last admission caught her attention.

“Sean’s nervous? What does he have to be nervous about? He knows I love him.” It confused her.

“Because, even when you know that you love the other person with all your heart, and want to marry someone, there is always a little nagging voice worried about if they say no.” Nick trailed off his little speech, and looked like he was lost to a memory.

“Speaking from experience?” The Tödlicheslied asked.

“Yeah,” he nodded, “but, we’re not here for me. Now, are you ready? Cause Rosalee might be getting a wife today.” She laughed wholeheartedly, as Nick smiled and chuckled along.

“Oh you heard that, did you?” She asked, coming down off of her giggles.

“Oh yeah. I did. It’s fine. You will make a beautiful couple.” Another fit of giggles, before Nick turned and offered her his arm. They walked out, arm in arm, and saw Monroe right at the entrance to the aisle. He smiled at the wesen and Grimm, and sent a wink their way before he walked to his seat. Rosalee turned right as the music started, and looped her arm into her other one as they walked down the aisle. A memory struck the Tödlicheslied right at that moment, before she could see her fiancé waiting at the end.

Three Months Earlier…

“What kind of cake do you want?” She asked, turning towards her lover who sat at the kitchen counter.

“As long as we have German chocolate cake, I will be alright with anything you choose.” Sean contributed, shaking off her stare.

“You and your fancy cake. Fine. I’ll be good with chocolate. I would like to have some salted caramel cupcakes. Want to do the cake chocolate and cupcakes caramel?” Bringing over the books full of cake flavors, she set it down so that he could participate.

“That’s fine with me, ma sirène.” Sean turned and rested his hands on her waist to draw her in close. He pulled her in for a kiss, and was about to deepen it when she pulled away.

“I’ve still got to get to my dress fitting with the group.” But her fiancé was not hearing it.

“I’m sure you can reschedule.” He tried to convince her.

“Not if I want to get a dress from the designer you sent me to.” She teased, and began to pull away to go get ready for her day with friends.

“Get a mermaid cut.” Sean called, and was rewarded with a slipper being thrown in his direction without malice.

In the end, she did go with a mermaid style dress for her reception. But not for the ceremony. For the ceremony, the floor length lacy gown made her feel like a princess. A tiara secured the veil down the back of her head, as she finally got into view of her lover. He stood with such confidence, and such strength, it almost made her question whether Nick had been telling the truth. But as she got closer, she saw the little tell tale signs. His shifting hands and feet, the faintest hint of sweat at his brow. He was nervous.

It made her feel a little bit better to know that he was just as nervous as her. But as she walked down the aisle with her friends, her nerves slowed down. All she could think about was the fact that she was here, about to marry the love of her life, surrounded by their friends. Each shaking step made her come closer and closer to her fiancé, lit fire underneath her feet. She felt like she was walking on pins and needles just to get closer to him. When their hands finally joined, and Sean led her closer, she felt… weightless. Like nothing could hold her to the earth except her lover.

“You look gorgeous.” He whispered, letting his eyes rake over her figure once more.

“I could say the same. You look very handsome.” She replied, feeling her hands begin to shake in his grasp. The world faded away as she stood up there with her soon to be husband. Finally allowing herself to take him in, she noticed the navy blue suit stretching across his frame, and a sea blue tie pulling her eyes back towards his chest. She could just make out the golden chain and locket that was hidden underneath the white button down, and knew that it matched the silver chain against her chest. Sean squeezed her hands enough to get her attention again, and that is when she noticed that the officiant beside them was speaking.

“If anyone has any reason why these two may not be joined together in holy matrimony, please speak now or forever hold your peace.” A beat of silence. Her breath held itself in her chest. Renard’s eyes scanned the room.

“I object!” Gasps were heard across the room as people tried to locate where it came from. An older man and woman, along with a younger set of boys who were definitely adults. As she saw who it was, her breathing stopped.

“Dad?” She could place that booming voice, even after all these years. No longer the young girl she was twenty odd years ago, her parents were not at young either, nor her brothers. Her grip tightened on her fiancé’s hands with each step her family took closer.

“We thought we lost you.” Her mother breathed, with tears in her eyes and a shaky hand on her heart, and her eyes on her daughter.

“We thought you would have learned your lesson.” Her father leveled a glare at Sean, who had stepped halfway in front of his bride to shield her from the threat.

“What can I say, I’m stubborn.” Renard shot back at the man, who just kept getting closer and closer to her. She had yet to say anything in several minutes, and was trembling like a leaf in the wind.

“Sweetie, it’s time to come home.” He tried, extending a hand out to his daughter. But she remained frozen and silent, stuck at the side of her lover.

“Please, come home sweetheart. We missed you so much. We thought you were dead.” Her mother gave it a shot, but received the same reaction from her daughter. Her brothers were calling her name, but it was too much for her to focus on.

“You’re very good at acting. But I am staying here. I’m not going back.” Gone was the sympathetic, loving, and heartbroken parents and brothers. In their place, there was a chill that ran through the room; as if the whole room had been thrown into the deepest part of the ocean with no life raft.

“You’re coming home. Enough with this charade,” her eldest brother began, “you don’t belong here and you never will. Now let’s go.” He surged forward and nearly made it to the couple to grab her, had it not been for Sean stepping in and preventing him from touching his bride.

“You’re going to leave. Now.” Renard growled dangerously at the Tödlicheslied. He backed away with a smirk and his hands raised. Making his way back to his parents, there was another beat of silence, just before all hell broke loose.

“Gun!” Someone screamed. In an instant, her brother had pulled out a gun and aimed at the couple. However, every member of law enforcement had drawn their own weapons and now had them trained on the young man. He was sent flying to the ground while his gun was checked by a man on his back.

“You picked the wrong wedding to pull this at.” Hank handcuffed the man while Wu made sure the gun was cleared and safe. Together, the detective and sergeant escorted the family out of the ceremony, as they raised a fuss over their son being handcuffed. While Griffin and Wu waited for the car to roll up to take the man to the precinct, everyone holstered their weapons inside the building. Sean felt a little out of place as he elected to not have his weapon on him for his wedding, but was eternally grateful that Nick had his as he stood at his captain’s back.

“Well, that went well.” Burkhardt commented, as he turned back to the couple. The bride was still frozen in place, trying hard to process what had happened in such a short amount of time.

“Darling, are you alright? You’re not hurt, right?” Sean inquired as he scanned over his fiancé. Her eyes were still trained on the spot where her family was just at, but pulled them away when she felt her lover’s hand cup her cheek.

“You’re still here.” She said it with such an air of disbelief. It was then that Sean realized, she was living through the last time that this had happened. Where Sean was beaten to a bloody pulp, and she was taken away.

“I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.” He reassured her, and brought her in for a tight hug. They both breathed a sigh of relief as they found themselves tangled with the other. A cleared throat brought them back to their wedding; the officiant standing and waiting patiently.

“Let’s get married.” She breathed finally. Feeling her lungs begin to work, they went through the rest of the ceremony without a hitch. The scare was over, and nothing was going to keep them from being married anymore.

Sean’s hands were slightly shaking when he slid the ring onto her finger, which made her feel better as her were as well. Words seemed to blur together as they said their vows, but two words stuck out.

“I do.” Sean said.

“I do.” She repeated.

“By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.” Renard did not need another moment to think, before he grabbed his wife and brought her in for a loving kiss. Cheers and clapping became background noise as the couple shared their first married kiss. An hour later it felt like, they finally came back up for air. Sean leaned them both back up from their dipped position and walked down the aisle with his bride, hand in hand.

A little while later, the reception was in full swing. Music was raving, drinks were flowing, and everyone was in a blissful state of mind. Sitting at a table alone, the couple were enjoying watching their friends dance and make a fool of themselves together. Sean wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in closer than she already was.

“I love you, Mrs. Renard.” He spoke with such adoration in his gaze and tone.

“I love you as well, Mr. Renard.” She replied, and pulled her husband in for a kiss.

After all this time, being able to call the man ‘husband’, and the woman ‘wife’, was all they cared about. Her family being there may have thrown off the day a little bit, but nothing was going to get in the way of her being with her captain any longer.

[pixiemage]

FULL SONG - VIDEO IN PROGRESS \o/

I'm having SO much fun with this song, I swear :3 It'll be a bit before I have a video ready to share to YouTube, but for now, enjoy what I believe is the final version of this song! I may shift audio levels before posting, but at the moment I'm LOVING where it's at!

[Lyrics Below]

GRIAN: I'm sitting down at the docks I say I’m doing just fine Gotta gotta keep going If I want it all I told ‘em all I could fish That I’d get Mending like this I just wanted to fish I just wanted to fish

They say I’m in too deep I should come up for air Am I proving a point Or too stubborn to care? I’ve been sat here for days But got nothing to show ‘Cause no matter the bait

All I’m catching is cod now Leather, string, and rods now One more try I need that book, it’s killing me I’m losing my mind

Stuck by the sea Lost in sunk cost fallacy Casting out another line Hoping I can turn the tides Guess that’s not my destiny Slowly losing sanity Reeling in another try While I’m still stuck seaside

I'm sitting down at the dock I swear I’m doing just fine Gotta gotta pretend That I’m okay at all I’m overflowing with fish How did I end up like this

GEM: He just wanted to fish ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

GRIAN: God, I’m SO sick of fish! I’ve been stuck here for days And I’m skipping on sleep While I fill up the chests With the items I keep And while Hermits like Doc Use their villager trades I'm still stuck on the docks

And I’m reeling in cod now Salmon, bowls, and rods now One more try I need that book, it's killing me! I'm losing my mind

Stuck by the sea Lost in sunk cost fallacy Casting out another line Hoping I can turn the tides But that’s not my destiny Slowly losing sanity Reeling in just one more time But I'm still stuck seaside

No mending No mending No mending! No mending!

[tortoisebore]

Fic recs?? It’s so hard to find good stuff😩

i’ll list a few of my recent favs, but first i’ll give u some tips & secrets ab how i find new fics 🥰

my first & biggest source—i snoop on everyone’s bookmarks. like everyone. if i read a fic i liked, i check that author’s bookmarks. if someone comments on my fic, i check their bookmarks. if i come across someone talking ab fic on the tl, i go to their ao3 and check their bookmarks. i’ve found so many great fics just by snooping on what other ppl are reading 🫶

my second most-used tactic: searching for tags & using filters. if i’m looking for something specific, i search the tags/pairings i want and make sure to exclude things i don’t want (i.e. i don’t usually want to read jegulus, so i make sure to exclude that pairing in my results. same goes w tags/ratings/warnings u don’t want). i’ll sort by date, kudos, and hits separately, and add anything that sounds interesting to my bookmarks to sort through later. ao3 really has the best filtering and tagging system out there, but a lot of times we don’t use it to its full capacity! if you want to read something specific there’s a very good chance someone has written it, you just need to search and filter your results so that you’re not just seeing the most recent stuff! (i also filter by word count a lot too bc i’m not always in the mood for something multi-chaptered or something that will take me multiple days to finish reading)

last, sometimes i’ll go into the main pairing tag i’m looking for and sort by kudos/hits/date/whatever and jump to like….the 30th page of results. there’s sooooo much stuff i miss just bc it gets lost in the flow of new/popular fics, so jumping to random deep-dive search results will help you find new stuff & come across fics & authors you haven’t seen before 💞💖💘

now here’s some of the stuff i’ve been enjoying lately!! 💞💖💘💕

love by the seaside by viwrites

this was very cute and a great quick read! remus is a disgruntled painter/barista recovering from a toxic relationship & sirius is the sweet, dashing stranger that he meets by accident on the beach one day. lots of early-morning coffee runs and nervous flirting with some christmas fluff as a treat

hurling crowbirds at mockingbars by wrappedup

y’all know i am typically NOT an exes to lovers kind of girlie. i find this trope very hard to read most of the time bc i am a huge baby, but this one was a quick read and the plot was overall very sweet! remus broke up with sirius & left the country out of the blue almost 10 years ago, and then comes back to town with a fiancé. sirius learns very quickly that he’s still hurt, and remus learns very quickly that he might have jumped the gun all those years ago.

in the dark there is discovery by lynxindisguise

wolfstar pirate au!! need i say more!!

disarm you with a smile by five_ht

listen to me. look me in my eyes. this is explicit as fuck and i encourage you to read every single one of the tags carefully. seriously read all of them. it will not be for everyone but like….,oh my fuxking god. sirius steals remus’ phone number while hanging out with his friend (remus’ niece) one day and starts sending him increasingly suggestive texts anonymously. it’s all fun and games until sirius starts to catch feelings & remus starts to get curious ab who he’s been talking to.

in the centre of a circle by moonheavens

reccing this again bc I HAVEN’T CAUGHT UP YET BUT IT’S SO SO GOOD i’m going after the latest chapter as SOOOOOON as i have the time this week 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩 sirius lives with the lupins and is very much in love with remus. he consults various people for advice.

[autisticempathydaemon]

hi, i was hoping to do one of the redacted matchup thingies, they’re so fun :) I’M SO SORRY THIS IS A PAGE LONG AAAAGH

i’m just gonna lead with the miscellaneous stuff (WOW i spelled that without spell check. didn’t know i could do that.) i’m a young adult bi dude. apparently i’m quiet but snarky and people say my humor is very dry (i have a monotone voice and am Very Committed To The Bit.). i used to have really bad anger issues to the point that davey pre-character arc is more relatable than he should be (even though my parents are alive. they’re just shit). i try to dress kinda grungy? but also whatever’s cozy/comfortable and in neutral/dark colors (except red! i like red, my hair is dyed neon red) i used to have cptsd so bad i basically didn’t leave the house for two years. i think it was like agoraphobia or something? there were delusions in there too. i’m much better now though.

usually the kind of stuff i listen to is loud angry rock music (fave song is hysteria by muse) or slightly older pop music (florence and the machine, MARINA) but the last few days i’ve been on a newer pop kick and i’ve been playing “Good Luck, Babe!” by chappell roan on repeat and it makes me want to scream on a windswept seaside cliff during a storm. specifically the bit from 2:15 to ~3:10 in the song. i know it’s a banger when it makes me want to scream on a cliff or punch something.

INTP? is that an enneagram? (“you’re telling me a shrimp fried this rice?”-sounding sentence, sorry)

not really video essays but i love listening to someone summarize books i never plan to read (i like the ones by cari can read or lexi aka newlynova.)

i didn’t have an imaginary friend? i’m incredibly autistic + adhd so i was daydreaming constantly to a near maladaptive extent but i never had One Consistent Thing that i thought was real.

i have to mash my face into the pillow for a bit to decompress and then i can sleep how i normally do, sleeping on my side in a way that’s probably very bad for my shoulders. (i am an adult dude and i hold a stuffed bunny who i haven’t given a name every night to go to sleep. maybe ill name the bunny after whatever character you give me)

my name is stolen from the love interest of a YA steampunk novel (a young victorian gentleman who wears eyeliner), because his character description just fits me so well, as well as the name itself just looking cool written down

my fave audio is probably the smash bros tournament :D. it literally convinced me to buy the game lol

it’s a good thing i’m anonymous cause i just do not get the gavin or caelum hype. i’m too possessive to date an incubus/ someone who will fuck other people. and i hate children so caelum is just past my threshold for kid-esque behavior that i’m willing to deal with. i’m also really not a fan of the yanderes/evil ones. other people can go ahead and like them, they just stress me out more which is the opposite of what i want.

knives out :D. the detective movie

i would friend the HELL out of asher. i just wanna play games with the man that’s all i ask

i don’t really get food at gas stations but whenever i go to a cafe i am probably getting something strawberry related (lemonade, a smoothie, etc) and a breakfast sandwich

the playlist “songs to get obliterated by a black hole to” is my pride and joy. i fucking love space and sci fi (that’s the thing i’d ramble about too)

my guilty pleasure media is the official gender-swapped twilight (puts my head in my hands) I KNOW.

I sent an anon for matchup earlier (I mentioned a stuffed bunny) and said I didn’t know what an enneagram was and I just looked it up and did a quiz and apparently I’m type 6? Idk how accurate that is but there you go (also I’m sorry if I was trauma dumping/oversharing I was restless from being inside all day whoopsie)

I’m a sucker for a good black cat/golden retriever sort of pairing, you know? Tack that onto you being a Type Six, and I’ve just got to pair you with Huxley!

Type Sixes are characterized by a desire for stability and security, for dependability, and who’s more reliable than Huxley? This also works with your self-described possessive nature in that Huxley would be the best partner to never trigger that nature, to never make you doubt or toe your boundaries. I also love him for you because we know Huxley canonically is a calming, relieving presence in the face of anger and conflict, which makes him even more perfect for you! (Also I think your grunge fashion sense would contrast so cutely with his casual, gym-bro style.)

Huxley would be so fun to be with! He’s no Asher, but he’d be a great gaming buddy, happy to show you all the Smash tips and tricks for when he introduces you to his family. Speaking of family, Huxley’s moms would just adore you for making their son happy. I can see him taking you to the east coast to meet them and taking you on the hiking and camping trails of his youth. It’d be a lovely time of you showing him the stars and constellations at night and maybe even him finding a cliff for you to sing Chappell Roan off of.

Song:

And I hold you every night/ And that's a feeling I wanna get used to/ But there's no man as terrified/ As the man who stands to lose you/ Oh, I hope I don't lose you

It was so fun to look for a pop-rock song that would make you want to scream or punch something, and I hope this fits the bill. The first chorus extremely hits on top of being a beautiful love song, and I think it wouldn’t be out of place on a road trip with Huxley in the driver’s seat or by a gorgeous cliffside.

Runner-ups:

Aaron and Sam are your runner-ups for a lot of similar reasons. They both also have drier senses of humor, so I think you could vibe and hold to a bit with either of them. I headcanon both of them wearing red often (Sam, a red-checked flannel and Aaron, a red polo a la his thumbnails), so you could match. I also headcanon both of them actively wanting to be child-free, so you’d be compatible in that aspect. Aaron outranks Sam just slightly because I think he’d offer more stability and security given his occupation and Unempowered status.

Read this post and send me an ask if you’d like a match-up of your own! 💌

[ratsoh-writes]

WELCOME TO THE GOLDEN FLOWER FESTIVAL!

For those of you who don’t know, this is an RP event taking place from today (tuesday) to Saturday evening! I’ll be answering replies whenever I’m online! The setting will be one of ebotts biggest celebrations, the golden flower festival, a spring celebration of the arts and culture of ebott!

This year is extra special! The festival is being held all around Portland, a city next to the ocean full of docks. Normally any sort of trade and skipping ships dock there, but they’re being redirected to all the smaller seaside towns for these few days. And it’s also the first major festival that’s completely hadal accessible! All the shopping and events will take place on the docks and beaches around the ocean. Many ships have also volunteered as spots to host events.

This year’s art theme will be blacksmithing. All the art contests and shows will center around metal works.

Activities to do:

Visit the shops of course! Artists and artisans of all kinds fight for a booth in this fair, so there will be all kinds of goodies!

What’s a fair without fair games? Of course there will be many booths looking to rip you off for the chance to win a cheap stuffed animal! So much fun!

Also this fair is literally on the beach, so find a clearer spot and enjoy the sand and water! Because of how many aquatic monsters will be around, fishing with any sort of hook or nets are strictly prohibited in Portland for the week.

See the art show! There’s four sections being judged: small works, large works, weapons and machines! All got blacksmiths and metalworkers of course!

Visit seaweed mall! While it’s not as big as the metta mall in hotland, it is a nice mall and was the first one built in ebott. Seaweed mall is special for selling brands from outside of ebott. So it’s mostly catered to humans but most brands are slowly making monster geared items too!

There’s gonna be a school play on one of the navy ships docked about the story of ambassador frisk when they first fell underground. It has two showings, a day apart. Ambassador frisk has no comments about the play lol

There’s also gonna be a cosplay contest on the same ship at different times. Ebotts first comic con group paid some serious gold to advertise this and are hoping to draw out more fans for the con coming up in may. No theme, just show up as a character you love.

The royals presiding over this festival will be King, Summer, Olympia, Titanic (and to a lesser extent, toriel miss and asgore) so there’s a small chance to run into them.

The biggest show will be a meet and greet with some of ebotts biggest stars! The big three: mettaton, napstablook and fallentron (or felltron) will be the main guests, but there’s also a chance to run into Goldentron (fellswap gold) and silverblook (swapfell) throughout the festival.

[sitp-recs]

Hi Liv🥰

Do you know of any fics which involve Draco or Harry being involved in esoterics/spiritual stuff? Like crystals, tarot cards, astrology etc🔮🌌

Thank you & i hope you have a lovely day dear!!💞

Hi anon! Ohh I love this idea, would love to see it more often in fics 👀 I can’t start this post without the brilliant and intriguing fortune teller!Harry AU art by @dragontamerdame, which inspired the gorgeous micro Decked by @tackytigerfic. These might also interest you:

Orb Power by Discessio and maraudersaffair (E, 7.5k)

Harry is a divorced father of three with a love for crystals. Draco owns a trinkets shop called Cricklewood’s Trifles. It's been years since Harry laid eyes on Draco, but he knows he wants him the moment he spots him at a flea market. Draco is not so sure.

Designate / your love as fate by @elskanellis (E, 16.6k)

Malfoy literally snaps his fingers toward Harry’s face. “Potter. Pay attention. Gay marriage is now legal in England and Wales, as of last night, first ceremonies to take place in the New Year. I’m gay, you’re gay—”

“—Bi, actually, thanks,” Harry puts in.

“Well, I mean, so am I, technically, but—” (Harry can’t lie, it’s rather fun to watch Malfoy lose his cool, put his cool back on, lose it again) “—Funny enough, bisexual marriage is also now legal in England and Wales. Let’s get bisexual married, hm?”

Celestial Bodies by @shiftylinguini (E, 20k)

“An astrological anomaly induced bond,” Harry repeats, deadpan, as the Head Healer of the Magical Malfunctions ward finishes announcing his prognosis

“Space magic,” says Draco, tapping long fingers irritably against the arm of his chair. “You’re saying we’ve been zapped by space magic.”

The Healer huffs. “That’s rather simplifying things, gentlemen.”

Phoenix in the Fire by @lqtraintracks (E, 28k)

Harry never expected to have a hot summer fling with Draco Malfoy when he agreed to mind the castle with him. He also never expected that it would all have to end on August thirty-first. What happens when casual sex with Harry’s ex-enemy turns not casual after all? And how the hell is he going to stop Draco from making one of the biggest mistakes of his life?

Everybody Hates a Tourist by @wolfpants (E, 51k)

On a stag do in sunny Brighton with the Gryffindor lads, the last person Harry expects to run into is Draco Malfoy. After a glimpse of Malfoy’s Muggle life in Britain’s gay capital, Harry’s curiosity gets the better of him and he finds himself returning to the seaside again and again, drawn to the city, drawn to this new version of Malfoy that Harry barely recognises from school.

Special Gifts by oldenuf2nb (E, 129k)

Ten years after a devastating accident costs Harry Potter the love of his life and leaves him with life altering injuries, he is asked to return to Hogwarts to help the child of an old friend, with the help of an old adversary.

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

Well, I’m back at home. Got home last night, slept. Go back to work tomorrow. Have today to unpack. Haven’t yet. Things are all over the place. Here are some things I'm writing down instead of sorting that out.

I’m not quite as sad as I’d expected to be today, though I’d expected to be very sad. I realize there were unhealthy sides to basing such a large percentage of my emotional energy for the past year around planning/anticipating/preparing for one two-week trip. It occurred to me in about April just how sad I was going to be once it was over, and then I started feeling anxious about how difficult the end of it would be, which is a particularly impressive feat of anxiety.

Makes me think of one of the more relatable bits from an old Nish Kumar show, I think Ruminations on the Nature of Subjectivity from 2014, when he described a vacation he took with his girlfriend where, while experiencing a particularly special and happy moment, he interrupted it with the thought, “This will be the memory I look back on sadly after we break up.” This is obviously not the same situation, but I always think of that Nish Kumar bit when I manage to find some wildly ridiculous way for my anxiety to get in the way of good things, like sitting around in April, feeling anxious about how sad I’ll be on August 11th when my trip that won’t happen for months is over (obviously, my brain’s feats of impressive anxiety do include having spent lots of nice moments with my now-ex-girlfriend thinking “this will be what I’m sad about when we break up”, which is why I initially connected with that routine, but I’ve since expanded to thinking of that routine during any convoluted mental gymnastics that snatch anxiety from the jaws of happiness).

Possibly because I have been prepared for this for months, it’s not as bad as it could be. It was worse a couple of days ago. On Thursday, my last day in Edinburgh, I got very sad about all of this being over. I only had four shows booked and I’d been planning to fill in the gaps with at least one more, maybe two more, as during the rest of the week I was doing 6 or 7 events per day. I was deciding between adding Ray O’Leary or Melanie Bracewell (given that I ended up seeing zero Kiwis all week), looking at a few of the free ones to slot in earlier as well. And I didn’t end up doing that, because I didn’t really feel up to it. Instead, during the three-hour break between Mark Watson and David O’Doherty, I just walked down to the seaside and stared at the ocean for a while. Which was actually a pretty good use of my time and I got briefly overwhelmed by the idea that I’ve spent so many of the best hours of my life staring at the Atlantic Ocean from Nova Scotia on Canada’s East Coast and now I’m seeing the same ocean from the other side (I mean, not really because this was the East of Scotland so it doesn’t face the same way, the only time I could really accurately say that was when I took the trains to Mallaig the week before and saw the ocean from there, but it’s the same general idea), and that was pretty cool. I haven’t seen an ocean in a year, I’m glad I took the opportunity to see an ocean for a bit.

I was sad that day, it’s a good thing I had a couple of the shows I’d been most looking forward to – Mark Watson and DO’D – saved for last, as that picked my mood up. I probably wasn’t in the right mindset for Seymour Mace, might have enjoyed him more earlier in the week. And then I ended on Mat Ewins, which was great fun. I said beforehand that I’d probably enjoy it less than otherwise because I’d made it follow an amazing show like David O’Doherty. But actually, it probably worked the other way. After spending an afternoon sadly starting at an ocean, David O’Doherty put on a show so great that it lifted my mood enough for me to be able to enjoy the extremely silly things that Mat Ewins put in front of me.

And then Friday and Saturday I was slightly less sad because I got back to London and enjoyed spending time with the people I knew and liked there, and it’s harder to get locked in objectively ridiculous feats of anxiety when you’re doing that. Again, feel odd writing this as my friend in London reads this, which I rarely actually remember unless 1) I reference him in a post and realize he’ll probably see it, or 2) he messages me after I’ve posted something with a reference to it and I always have a split-second moment of thinking “How do you know about that?” before I remember. I’m usually surprised by how fast he can do this after a post goes up; I learned yesterday that this is because he has an alert on his phone that gives him a notification when I post, which makes me cringe as I think of all the incoherent posts I’ve made when overly emotional in the middle of the night, and then deleted them in the morning thinking “It’s fine, it wasn’t up for long, no one saw that.” I am, at this point in this specific post, not writing for any purpose besides saying… I guess it’s cool if you saw all that shit and still wanted to hang out with me, but sorry for all the overly personal stuff I post in the middle of night and thought I was getting away with deleting within a few hours.

All that to say, I’m not feeling as bad today as I’d expected. For the last year, thinking about preparing for my trip has been pretty much the only thing motivating me to get out of bed in the morning, and I was worried about losing that motivation for obvious reasons. But I also feel like I got a look at how life can actually be a good thing, and I still feel motivated to try to make my life better. Preferably with a view to go back to the UK next year, but I’m hoping to make some changes before starting on specific plans for that, because I do think it may have held me back this year that I was wrapping everything around that one trip. Namely that once I got the time off work granted from my current job, I couldn’t apply to anything else (besides school jobs that have summers off) in case they wouldn’t give me the same time off. Now that I don’t have anything like that in the way, I want to start seriously trying to look for better stuff.

But God, do I ever want to go back to the Edinburgh Festival next year. And trying the coaching thing to see if it goes any better now that my life is slightly more stable, and my mental health is… incredibly, I think it right now it might be the best it’s been in a very long time. Which seems odd because it’s definitely not good, but I’ve been working a fulltime job for a year that requires being around people all day, and while I’ve found it anxiety-inducing and exhausting, I haven’t actually collapsed at work and lost my job. And then I did a two-week trip with lots going on every day, and there were a couple of days where I got very overwhelmed by all the people in the small spaces and the heat in London tourist areas and did nearly have a panic attack on the sidewalk until I was able to go hide in a pub. But the point is that I only nearly did that. For me, I take it as a win if I’m able to get through something while seeing like a person who gets very anxious but is basically functional in society, as opposed to my brain just shutting down and I’m unable to do it at all. I think the fact that I’ve been able to do a year of fulltime work where I constantly interact with people, and the vacation I just did with so much going on, and be mostly the former and not the latter, means I am probably the most mentally healthy I’ve ever been. Possibly in a position to further get my life together.

I mean, my brain did shut down a couple of times during that trip. Before I left, I posted that video from ACMS in Edinburgh 2019, where Alice Fraser is compering and says, “If Daniel Kitson were here, I’d be trying a lot harder.” I joked that that line is always true, I should get it tattooed on my forearm. I’m afraid I have to take that back now. Having actually been in Daniel Kitson’s presence, on two separate nights, I can confirm that it turns out if Daniel Kitson were here, I’d be having a panic attack. So it’s probably good that he’s usually not.

But basically, I’d worried that the day I get home I’d feel like I’d lost the only thing I had to look forward to, and I don’t really feel like that. I feel like I got a look at how it feels to be happy, and I’m sort of functional enough to try to create a situation where I can have more things like that. Also, I have a lot of comedy admin to do now that I’m home. Which sounds like a joke but I quite enjoy that, so you know, there’s that to look forward to. Andy Zaltzman’s on Taskmaster soon. That’ll be good.

I’m pretty sure I did 35 live events in the two week trip, most concentrated in the five days I spent in Edinburgh. It wasn’t quite as many as I’d planned – I skipped the two podcast recordings I’d booked, because I found myself panicking that I’d seen Nish Kumar too much and I think when I saw him in Edinburgh he may have recognized me from his preview in London and I decided it wasn’t worth the anxiety of worrying whether I’m doing something wrong to see him two more times (I said I’m more mentally healthy right now than I’ve been in a very long time – but I cannot stress enough how low that bar is). And I didn’t end up filling in the gaps in my schedule on Thursday, even though I’d under-booked that day for the express purpose of having room to add stuff. But besides that, I got to pretty much everything I’d planned.

I used the awkwardly broad term “live events” so I can count the night in Edinburgh that I went to Ceilidh dancing, which I almost skipped out of nervousness but I’m really glad I went. I also saw two Scottish trad music shows, which were great. The rest was comedy. One mixed-bill night when I went to ACMS. I saw one thing that qualifies as a play, Natalie Palamides, though it was definitely also comedy. I saw Sheeps do a sketch show, Johnny & the Baptists were a musical comedy duo, other than that it was all solo hours. I meant to get out of my comfort zone, comedy-wise, with this trip, and I definitely did a little bit, but could certainly have done more of that.

I’d like to, next time. I’d like there to be a next time, for a start. But I love the idea of having more time in Edinburgh. Spend maybe six days seeing all the stuff I’d researched beforehand and I know that I like. Then spend a few days going to clown shows that are highly rated and supposed to be very good, but far outside my usual wheelhouse (I did one of those this year, Natalie Palamides, and had a great time). Then spend a few days going to shows that are free, that are debut hours, that have wild premises by unknown performers, that are described as improv, that have a audiences of five people. Just wander into things based on who hands me a flyer. I am about 90% joking, and 10% serious, when I say I keep hearing about how part of the experience with the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is you’ll see some things that are shit, and I feel like I missed out on getting the full experience because I didn’t see anything that was shit. I didn’t have time to see shit things, I had five days and needed to use them all to make sure I took my very rare opportunity to see great comedy live. But if I went back for more time, I’d go see some things that are shit. You know, for balance.

I don’t think I stuck entirely to really famous performers. I only saw two Taskmaster contestants (from any version of the show – I saw a bunch of Aussie comedians, none who’ve done Aussie Taskmaster, though I’d like to see all those people on Aussie Taskmaster), and by coincidence they happened to have been on a team together when they did that show. Team Wumar is truly the greatest in Taskmaster history. I saw a few people in big rooms – Natalie Palamides in the Traverse Theatre with a capacity of 270. David O’Doherty did the Gordon Aikman Theatre, with a capacity of 481, sold out the night I saw it. He’s doing a full run of about 25 shows, I’ve just checked and he’s sold out a few other upcoming nights too. Good for him. I saw Kiri Pritchard-McLean in Pleasance One, with a capacity of 299. And I saw Susie McCabe in Assembly George Square Studio Three, with a capacity of 250. I saw Jordan Brookes in the Queen Dome, with a capacity of 174. Sheeps were at the Pleasance Two with room for 158 people. I might start adding these capacity numbers to my spreadsheet, now that I’m looking them up. That’s fun.

But besides that, I think the rooms where I saw people were relatively small. Or they were in brick-walled basements, so they felt pretty small, whether they really were or not. Including the two Taskmaster contestants – Nish Kumar and Mark Watson were both doing works in progress, so they didn’t go big. Nish was in a Monkey Barrel basement with about 100 people. Mark was in a ludicrously small room – unbelievably small, I though I had the wrong spot at first – with, and I counted because I was able to count them all, 37 people. Every seat filled, there were 37 seats.

I only saw a few shows that went as small as that. Ones in the back rooms of pubs with a few rows of chairs thrown together. Aaron Simmonds, the guy with one show I liked on NextUp but few other credits to his name – he was in a bar with under 50. Caitriona Dowden, with even fewer credits and the closest thing I did to taking a “punt” on the unknown, it paid off great as I found her very enjoyable and hope I get to see more of her stuff – she had a similar setup, but in a gother, gayer bar. Jonny & the Baptists were in what seemed like a circus tent with room for a bunch more people but only about 20 people actually in. I saw Seymour Mace in the same room as Mark Watson, but the room wasn’t full for that one, so there were maybe 25 of us in the audience. Dan Rath played a room with a capacity of 115 but the vast majority of the room was empty the night I went and there couldn’t have been more than 40 people in there, I don’t know if I went on a particularly sparse night or he was overly optimistic in venue booking, I hope it’s the former because he was very good. Ed Night’s room was pretty small, but full the night I went. I hope he filled that room most nights because he’s good enough to deserve success and all, but also his material was perfectly suited to a cramped windowless basement with no more than 45 people in it, so I hope he doesn’t outgrow that too fast.

I now can’t quite remember why I started listing these, as the last couple of paragraphs have taken me a long time to write while I stop and Google venue capacities. I think I was trying to make the point that I didn’t take a lot of chances on unknown stuff, but properly famous people didn’t make up that high a percentage of what I saw either, a lot of it was in the middle. I guess it depends what your standards are. Nish Kumar was the only person I saw who’s name I could say to a non-comedy nerd in Canada and I’d think there was any chance they’d have heard of him. If I’m talking to someone whom I know is into that sort of thing, I’d expand that to Mark Watson, Kiri Pritchard-McLean, and maybe David O’Doherty. But by the standards of the Edinburgh “this is supposed to be about people who’ve not established any career at all playing to tiny audiences to try to break through” Fringe Festival, I went pretty mainstream. Would be fun if I went back with the time to do more.

Given the time constraints I had, though, I wouldn’t change anything. Some show I saw were better than others, but I don’t think a single was one was complete “miss” that I didn’t enjoy. I saw comedy every night I was in London, too. My top 2 favourite comedians in the world are Daniel Kitson and Nish Kumar, and I saw them twice each. Really can’t ask for more than that.

Also, I haven’t had alcohol in three weeks. Mostly. I had one beer the night before I left, so technically it’s only been two weeks. But I haven’t actually drank since the weekend before. Which I think is the longest I’ve gone staying away from alcohol since the first six weeks of this year. When I did dry January, extended into mid-February, and since then, have succeeded in significantly reducing my drinking. I have drank much, much less in 2024 than in any previous year since I was 19. I’ve kept to never more than once a week, sometimes only every two weeks, and had less throughout the night than I would have previously. That was my compromise, in that I wanted to try to stop drinking, but giving it up completely early in the year made me incredibly anxious and miserable (yes I am aware that that is a sign of a problem, that’s why I want to stop), I’ve found a compromise that lets me not have nearly as bad a problem as I used to but also not want to jump off a cliff the way I did when I gave it up altogether for a bit. But I’ve still been drinking, so three weeks without doing so is a long time for me. And there were times when I really, really wanted a beer (one with alcohol in it – I had bunch of alcohol-free Guiness while I was in the UK so I could enjoy pubs), mainly when I was overwhelmed by the stress and crowds and wanted something to take the edge off that. But I didn’t miss drinking in general, if that makes sense. I had specific times when I thought something difficult would be easier with alcohol, but I didn’t wish I had alcohol because it would make me like things more. Because I just liked what I was doing, even sober. I’ve never drank at comedy or music shows and I’ve never understood people who do – I drink to escape reality, while if I’ve chosen to go see something I like live, I’m in a situation where I’m enjoying reality and want to experience it fully. I felt that way for most of my trip. Reality was fun, I didn’t want to escape it (most of the time). That’s pretty good.

Worst things about my trip:

- Covent Garden, never go there, too many people

- St. Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Cathedral – too many people for a tourist attraction where the bit that attracted me to it is I thought it might feel like magic

- The number of people on the streets in London in general

- Working out confusing London transit systems, particularly at busy times when you’re very conscious that people will get angry if you do anything wrong or take even one moment too long to figure it out

- The tube when it’s very crowded

- The heat in London, which is weird because it was still slightly cooler than at home, but I’m not outside in the sun all day at home

- This is not the fault of the UK, but I got blisters all over the bottom of one foot about two days, and walking was painful for the whole first week, by my last day in London I was just about limping, it recovered a bit when I spent two days on the train and was less bad, but still painful, in Edinburgh

- The flyerers that were all over Edinburgh weren’t a big problem most of the time – I basically sympathized with them doing an annoying job, and could just avoid their gaze so they wouldn’t approach me, mumble an awkward “no thank you”, or take a flyer and throw it out when I’d got far enough away – but when I was tired or stressed or in a hurry, even that low level of social navigation because fairly stressful just in the way that it was ever-present, and it added up

- Both nights that I saw Daniel Kitson, I got in my head in ways that I cannot remember without cringing

- That show I saw at the Soho Theatre wasn’t great, though it was still fucking cool just to be at the Soho Theatre

- Buckingham Palace guard changing: just Mounties but with more people surrounding them

- I like trains. I do not like airplanes. Did not enjoy the commute there or back.

- Navigating some of the crowded plazas and stuff in Edinburgh, where all the tables were taken and I didn’t know where to stand when I was on my own and I felt weird that everyone seemed to be there with people they knew and started feeling like being at school

Best things about my trip, not counting individual Edinburgh shows because I’ve already rated those in a different post:

- Seeing Daniel Kitson twice in London, no matter how awkward I was afterward, it’s an amazing show and I so enjoyed seeing it live

- Seeing the venues in person where my favourite comedy has taken place – the Bill Murray, ABC Comedy, and the Soho Theatre

- Also in London, Nish Kumar did a WIP of the best stand-up show I’ve ever seen, Desiree Burch did a WIP that I mostly enjoyed, Romesh Ranganathan did an hour that was too loose to even really call a “WIP” but it was great fun and I got very overexcited about being in the room with him

- Jesus fucking Christ is Edinburgh ever an incredibly beautiful city

- Crystal Palace not a tourist attraction, but very very pretty and I bought a book from a cool store and it was pretty much tied with the Taskmaster house as my highlight of the London tourist stuff

- Taskmaster house, and the surrounding areas, including the bandstands – fucking amazing to see in person

- St. James’ Park was beautiful

- Highgate Cemetery, I went mainly for the Douglas Adams grave but the whole place was lovely

- Cool old buildings in London, which I’ve been asked to stop insulting by comparing them to children’s fantasy novels, but they sure were old and majestic

- Getting to meet my friend in London in person, as well as wife who’s really cool and their lovely cats, that was actually way near the top in terms of the best parts of my trip, again it’s weird to go into when he can read it (even though I have clearly put my entire life on the internet already), but, you know, pretty socially alienated these days, pretty cool to have an in-person social connection that did not feel alienating, also those are the coolest people I could have possibly asked for, when meeting people on the internet

- One time during his show in London, Nish Kumar looked at me because of the way I laughed at one of his jokes and told me “You and me would get along”, and that was fucking excellent

- The trains rides between Glasgow and Mallaig are some of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. The only scenery I’ve ever seen at all compare to that would be the Rocky Mountains in Western Canada, the time I road tripped through the South Island of NZ, and the Cabot Trail in Cape Breton. But the Glasgow-Mallaig trains rank with the very best of those, and are the only thing on this list that I got to experience via a train, which immediately makes it better than those other things. Fucking incredible.

- On that note: I was joking before I left that when I got to the UK, I’ll be like that autism stereotype of an 8-year-old white boy who’s obsessed with trains and gets to go to a train museum, but British comedians are my trains. This was true and I was very much like that with the comedians, but I did forget until got there that trains are also my trains. I loved the trains. The majestic trains through Scottish mountains and the trains the connected bits of London and the trains through the English countryside. I even liked the tube, when it wasn’t busy, it was so cool when it went through the tunnels. The only bit of transit I did not like were the very crowded tube journeys. Otherwise, it was great. I liked the train stations. I liked the platforms. I liked looked at the trains and tracks from the outside. I liked the train interiors and the views from the windows and the way they work. I liked “mind the gap”. It was great.

- I had some good full English breakfasts. Had some other good food. The day I got there we had a Sunday roast that was awesome. Had a few kebab things that I liked. In one pub in Fort William, I had some hake and seafood that was very good.

- Saw several old pubs that I enjoyed a lot, but have to particularly mention the Chesire Cheese in London, which is my favourite pub I’ve ever been to. A perfect place.

- Regent's Park

- Seriously, holy fucking hell, Edinburgh is the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen, and I mean that quite literally. Particularly at night, when it got less crowded and had lights on. It was like running around an… unnamed fantasy novel.

- Similarly fantasy novel experience – Cambridge University, which I found disappointing due to crowds until I paid 15 pounds to get to go into the St. John’s College grounds, where there were fewer people and it was so cool. I’m not even going to avoid saying it this time because that is the most Harry Potter building I have ever seen. Harry Potter lived in there, I’m pretty sure. And I got to walk around it and sit on the grass and feel like I was in a fantasy novel.

- It was cool as fuck just to have this type of stand-up comedy be a thing that people in real life around me are into, rather than it all existing on my phone and my laptop. I quite enjoyed just sitting in the Monkey Barrel bars and listening to the people talk about comedy. It’s a fine line, of course, because I enjoyed that when there was an empty table where I could easily sit. When the areas got so crowded that there were no free spots and I had to figure out where I’m supposed to stand, I immediately felt awkwardly like the kid at school with no friends again. I guess there’s a sweet spot in the middle.

- Actually the Monkey Barrel venues in general were cool, I just enjoyed being in those windowless brick-walled basements dedicated to comedy, the comedy show rooms and the bar areas.

- I hate crowds but the Royal Mile was pretty cool to look at, when I wasn’t trying to navigate it in a hurry. I also enjoyed seeing the comedian posters all over Edinburgh, even though I’m pretty sure those things are a colossal waste of money and I do find myself wondering if I can just ask about the environmental impact of all that printing. But it was funny when they wrote “fuckwit” over Matt Forde’s forehead every time. One time I saw that Matt Forde’s people had covered some “just stop oil” graffiti with a sticker bragging about 5 stars from the Daily Telegraph. That’ll show those people who hate him for being anti-leftist.

- I liked the pilgrimage to the Ruins of Cowgate.

Things that almost made me cry:

- Kiri Pritchard-McLean's show about the social care system, hitting all my soft spots about caring for at-risk youth despite not being their biological parent

- Nish Kumar nearly got me with a fairly emotional bit at the end of his show, though I'd heard that bit before and it doesn't usually make me feel like crying, so that was definitely influenced by me feeling so overwhelmed about being physically in a room with Nish Kumar

- Sarah Keyworth had some very emotional bits about family and acceptance

- Staring at the ocean and realizing this is the same ocean that I look at from Nova Scotia and it's just as beautiful from this side and we're all part of the same world and also I was very tired and sad about it being my last day in Edinburgh

- Very nearly cried from being overwhelmed with anxiety on the hot day in London streets being scared of getting in trouble for not knowing where I'm going on a crowded sidewalk, managed to escape into a pub and it was all right

- Eleanor Morton, in a show that started slowly, had some really powerful stuff near the end about fighting back against predators in a community she loves

Things that actually made me cry during my trip:

- Amazingly, the only thing that got literal tears out of me was the music show I want to, they played the song Caledonia, which used as the background music a few years ago to a video I made for my grandparents with pictures of their house by the ocean in rural Nova Scotia, where they'd lived my whole life and where I'd been visiting regularly my whole life and it's my favourite place to be, but my grandparents had to move to a care home a few years ago and we thought they'd have to sell the house, and before they moved I made this video to the song Caledonia so we could remember that place, but about a month ago my mother told me that they took the house off the market and have worked out how to keep it in the family for a few years at least, I was last there a year ago and made peace with never seeing it again but now I will, and anyway when they started playing Caledonia in that music show I did suddenly realize I was wiping away tears in a lecture theatre

All right, this post has gone for too long. Here are some pictures.

Of all the little Edinburgh post collections in Edinburgh, I think that last picture contained the most people I've heard of, though it's not hard to get a high rate of people I've heard of when three of them were Ivo Graham. I still think it's too bad that my time there didn't overlap with Angela Barnes.