#I'm glad she has such a friend on her path in this AU thanks to you Val u.u

[caer-oswin]

a witch and a dark priest walk the path of opportunities @kdval 🌙

[seungkw1]

better late than never — kmg

♡ pairing: kim mingyu x afab!reader ♡ theme: smut [18+ mdni], best friends to lovers, non-idol au ♡ wc: 2.7k ♡ warnings: size kink, oral (f. receiving), fingering (f. receiving), riding, unprotected piv sex (stay safe y’all), creampie, mingyu is a boob guy, praise kink if u squint ♡ a/n: written for my bestie <3 and posting just in time for his birthday - happy mingyu day!!

knock-knock-knock-knock

“come on! let me in!!” 

you approach your front door, but you don’t unlock it yet. 

“what happened to the copy of my key i gave you?” you inquire to the voice on the other side. 

“i forgot it!” 

you turn the deadbolt, opening the door to reveal the man standing outside - the look on his face is sheepish as he stands there, arms full of grocery bags. 

“kim mingyu i asked you to get me three things, not the entire store,” you say incredulously. 

“i saw your fridge the other day. you literally only had cheese, beer, and a jar of pickles in there,” he retorts, shooting you a judgemental look. 

“the three main food groups.”

mingyu rolls his eyes as he enters your apartment. “whatever, i'm cooking you dinner. a real dinner.”

“aye aye captain,” you say as you jokingly salute him. 

you met mingyu freshman year of college, when he burst through the door of your dorm room - thinking it was his own (he was on the wrong floor). his eyes turned wide as saucers as he realized his mistake. 

“SORRY,” he blurted out before fleeing out of the room. he was gone before you had even processed what happened. 

the next day he returned - this time knocking first. you opened the door to see the tall man, holding two packs of ramen. 

“sorry about yesterday,” he apologized, still a bit embarrassed. “i'm an idiot and thought i was on the sixth floor.”

“you're not an idiot, mistakes happen. it's okay,” you assured him amiably. 

“thanks, i’m glad you’re not mad at me or anything,” he replied with a smile. he extended the ramen to you. “it’s not much but i just… felt like i should bring a gift for some reason?” he told you, looking like he was second guessing himself as the words came out of his mouth. 

“ooo it’s the good kind too,” you replied eagerly as you took the ramen from him. “you wanna have one right now?”

he looked surprised, but delighted at your suggestion. 

“actually that would be awesome, those were my last two,” he admits with a laugh. you grin back at him. 

“well, come on in. again.”

–

and so mingyu inadvertently became your best friend. if not for the dorm incident, you probably never would have even crossed paths with him - he was your typical business bro, while you were majoring in psychology and literature. but, something just clicked between you two. 

a handful of years later now, he’s still your closest friend. and here he is, in your kitchen, grabbing the appropriate pots, pans, and utensils to get started on his spaghetti carbonara. as independent of a person as you are, you're not particularly the best chef - so you're grateful for his culinary expertise and willingness to make food for you. 

over dinner, mingyu is his usual chatty self. he tells you about his day, about how his neighbor has picked up the irritating hobby of learning to play the trumpet, about the dog he met yesterday while at the park, about his new coworker who seems to like him a little too much. 

“well, is she cute?” you ask nonchalantly, swirling the wine in your glass.  

“huh?” your question seems to catch him off guard. “i don't know. i mean, i've never thought about it.”

“bullshit,” you tell him, taking a big sip. 

“it's true!”

“right. well think about it, is she?”

“she's conventionally attractive i guess. i don't know why it matters though,” he says sincerely. 

“well if she likes you and she’s cute, you should ask her out.”

“that would be extremely unprofessional,” he scoffs, appalled at your suggestion. “besides, she's not my type.”

“what, is she weird or something?”

“no. and besides, i like weird. but i definitely don't see her like that.”

“what do you mean, you like weird?” you ask, raising your eyebrow. 

“i mean, you’re weird. and i like you.” he says it matter-of-factly, as if he was telling you the grass is green. 

“okay well obviously you don't want to date me,” you reply, rolling your eyes. “but come on, you haven't dated anyone in years. i'm trying to help to you here.”

the expression on his face changes, but you can't quite decipher what he’s thinking. 

“i don't need help.”

you give him a weird look. 

“not like that!” he quickly insists. “i just mean, don't worry about me, i’m fine.”

“ooookay, whatever you say gyu.”

his face remains calm, but you notice the corners of his mouth twitch upward slightly. normally, he’s not a fan of the nickname, but you know you're the only one who's allowed to call him that. he’s told you before. 

“well, what about you?” he asks suddenly. 

you look at him while chewing a big bite of pasta, confused. “what about me what?”

“are you, like… seeing anybody these days?” 

he speaks timidly, as if treading on eggshells. 

“why? are you asking me out?”

“ha ha, very funny,” he says sarcastically. he then shrugs. “i was just curious.”

“i actually did go on a date last week,” you admit. he looks up, surprised. 

“really? how'd it go?”

“surprisingly, really good,” you tell him.

“that's good. you have a long history of terrible first dates.”

“it was a second date, actually.”

mingyu pauses. “and you didn't tell me about the first one? fake as hell.”

“oh shut the fuck up,” you tease back, grinning at him. 

he picks up the bottle of wine sitting on the table. “should we finish this?” he asks. 

“duh.”

he removes the cork, pouring you another glass before refilling his own. 

after the delicious meal, you begin to clean up the kitchen, but mingyu quickly gets up and takes the dishes from your hands. 

“i got it.”

“you did all the cooking, let me do it,” you tell him. 

“nope,” he insists, already scrubbing plates. 

you help anyway, but mingyu is fast. the kitchen is sparkling within ten minutes. 

“damn, this looks better that it did before you got here,” you remark as you start the dishwasher. 

“don't go on a third date.”

you freeze. you look back at mingyu - he's reclining against the kitchen counter. his face, sincere. 

“what?” you ask hesitantly. 

“i said, don't go on a third date.”

he rises, walking toward you. he stops inches away from you, extending his arms, leaning his palms on the counter on either side of you. his face hovers above yours, his warm eyes locked onto yours. 

“gyu, are you drunk?” you ask, knowing full well he's not. your heart is suddenly pounding. 

“i'm not.” he brings his hand up to your chin, tilting your face upwards. “can i kiss you?”

you’re stunned, standing motionless, breathing deeply as he strokes your jawline softly with his thumb. sure, you’d thought about the possibility of dating mingyu before. more than once, even. and you figured he’d probably thought about dating you before. but truly, you never thought he had serious feelings for you. 

but here you are, pinned against your kitchen counter by your best friend. your best friend, who happens to be incredibly attractive. and the way your heart is racing - you really do want to kiss him right now. 

you try to think logically, rationalizing whether this is a good decision, but the emotional part of your brain takes control. you kiss him. you kiss him - and he kisses you, and you stand there, in your best friend’s arms, kissing each other, as if you'd both been waiting for this moment for years. and deep down, you know you have been. 

mingyu grabs hold of you, pulling you up onto the counter. you wrap your arms around his waist, running your hands slowly up and down his torso, feeling his toned body through his soft shirt. he caresses you gently, kissing you still - you're suspended in time, just the two of you, bodies connected like never before. you suddenly cannot believe you've spent years with this man and never once made out with him - but better late than never. 

he softly brings his hands to your sides. your lips finally part - you instantly miss the sensation. he slides his hands under your shirt, pausing right before he reaches your breasts.  

“can i touch them?” he asks, his voice breathy. you nod fervously. he caresses your over your bra, kissing you again as he squeezes your tits in his large hands. you inadvertently let out a soft moan. mingyu grabs the hem of your shirt and pulls it off of you. he looks at you in awe. 

“you're so perfect.” 

he is utterly gushing and swooning over you right now. you feel your heart skip a beat. 

you slip your hands under his shirt, running your hands over his abs and chest. he pulls his shirt off too, standing there before you. you've seen mingyu shirtless before, but not like this. his muscles are striking, perfectly sculpted - his golden, sunkissed skin glows beautifully. you feel a sudden, strong carnal urge to lick him, kiss him, bite him all over. 

you look up at him - the look in his eyes reciprocating your desire. you hop off the counter, taking his hands in yours. you pull his arms, tugging him in the direction of your room. his cheeks turns flush as he realizes your intent - a roguish grin spreads across his face, revealing his pointy canines you’ve always loved.

mingyu wastes no time taking your pants off as you throw yourself onto the bed, reclining against the soft pillows. he gazes at you lustfully as you lay there in your lingerie, unzipping his pants and pulling them off as fast as humanly possible. you feel throbbing in your core at the sight of him standing there - his light gray underwear doing absolutely nothing to disguise the prominent erection underneath. 

he crawls into bed, his body hovering above yours. you wrap your arms around his broad torso, pulling his large frame into yours as you begin to move your hips, grinding against his cock - the wet spot on your panties grows as you rub your cunt against him. it was clear from the moment he took his pants off that he is big, but feeling its length, its thickness, against your clothed pussy is making you clench around nothing - making you wish you were clenching around him instead. 

mingyu gently grabs your arms, pinning them next to your head as he interlocks his fingers with yours. his lips lightly graze against yours. 

“are you sure you want to do this?” he asks softly. you nod immediately. 

“yeah.”

he buries his head into the crook of your neck, kissing you repeatedly. he gradually makes his way down your body, his hands moving to take your bra off, but he pauses.

“can i-”

“you can do whatever you want to me,” you interject.

you feel his cock twitch. “oh god, don't tell me that.”

he unclasps the hook, letting out a moan at the sight of your bare tits. immediately he takes your nipple in his mouth, swirling his tongue around the hardened bud before taking it between his lips. he sucks on your tit like his life depends on it - his hand squeezing and pinching the other as his cock grinds against your core. you're gone already - a moaning mess, putty in his hands. he eventually switches sides, cool air hitting the wetness remaining on your nipple. you get the feeling mingyu could suck your tits forever. 

he eventually moves on, planting kisses down your stomach as he situates himself between your legs. he kisses your inner thighs - slowly approaching your core, but not touching you just yet. you whimper as he finally touches his lips to your clit over your thoroughly wet underwear. he licks you slowly, his tongue running over the thin fabric several times before he slips his finger underneath, pulling your underwear aside, exposing your soaked core. he groans at the sight of it. 

“fuck, just as pretty as i imagined.”

you part your lips to say something, but your words become lost - instantly replaced with cries of pleasure as he begins eating you out. you run your fingers through his hair, grasping onto it as he sucks repeatedly on your clit. he places a large hand on your belly, applying pressure, as he takes two fingers to your pussy, slipping them in with ease. you moan as he begins to fuck you, your hips beginning to buck. 

“more,” you beg. 

you cry out as he adds a third finger - your cunt has never felt so full, but you know this is nothing compared to how his cock would feel in you. he continues sucking your clit, heat rising in your lower stomach as you feel yourself nearing orgasm. you writhe in pleasure, screaming mingyu’s name as he makes you cum - and he makes you cum hard. 

your head spins as you come down from your powerful high. as you catch your breath mingyu crawls back up, laying against you, his radiant body heat making your skin turn hot. he strokes your cheek, pressing his lips hungrily against yours once more. 

“can you… will you ride me?”

your pussy throbs at the mere thought. wordlessly you nod. mingyu reaches down, sliding your panties off before discarding his own underwear. you gasp softly as his cock springs free. you reach down, taking hold of it - its size making your hand appear tiny in comparison. he leans his head back, sighing as you stroke his length, your palm becoming wet with his precum.

you give him a push, rolling over on top of him. his tip grazes your wet cunt as you straddle him, his eyes locked onto yours intensely. you sit up, taking his cock in your hand, rubbing it against your folds a few times, before finally slipping it inside. you slowly lower yourself onto it, whining softly as its thickness stretches you. mingyu groans as you bottom out, sitting entirely on his cock. you haven’t even moved yet, but his breathing is heavy, inhaling deeply as he reaches up to grab onto your breasts. you begin to ride him, slowly moving your hips up and down, his cock filling you up beyond anything you could’ve imagined. you gradually increase your pace, both of you moaning at the overwhelming sensation, until you are fully bouncing on his cock, your palms resting against his muscular chest to steady yourself as you unravel over him. 

mingyu begins to whimper. “you’re so fucking hot,” he utters between heavy breaths. “you’re gonna make me cum.” 

you ride him relentlessly, crying out at how good he feels inside you. his eyes close as he releases, thrusting his hips powerfully as he cums in your pussy - the warmth of his cum filling you up. your pace slows, riding him gently as he finishes, his moans tapering off as he begins to come down. you settle onto his cock, laying on him as you kiss him. he kisses you back lovingly, one hand running through your hair, the other caressing the small of your back. you lay there for a while, his chest rising up and down as he breathes deeply. your heartbeat slows, pounding heavily in your chest as you recover.

slowly, he finally pulls out. you roll to his side, wrapping your arms around him in a warm embrace, squeezing him with all your might. he giggles. 

“mingyu?” you ask softly after several moments of silence.

“hm?”

“you should’ve told me sooner.”

he sighs. “i wanted to - many times. but i didn’t want to risk our friendship. i didn’t think you felt the same way.”

“i think… i think i’ve always loved you. i just never realized it.”

mingyu smiles. he gives you a kiss on the forehead.

“so… what does this mean? for us,” he asks you.

you look up - his warm eyes are fixated on you, optimistic, awaiting your answer.

“well, i really don’t think anything is going to change.” a nervous look washes over his face - you quickly add, “except that we fuck now and also i want you to be my boyfriend.”

he closes his eyes, letting out a laugh. he pulls you closer into his embrace.

“i like the sound of that.”

–

[ofstarsandvibranium]

Unexpectedly Yours: Part 5

Fandom: Ted Lasso (Regency AU)

Pairing: Roy Kent x F!Reader

Summary: Lord Roy Kent still has yet to marry. He hates the notion that marriage is a way to ensure your status in society. You have delayed your debut to society for years because of the same idea. So what happens when two people who hate the idea of marriage are constantly drawn to each other?

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

You didn't want to speak to anyone the next morning after the dinner. You didn't want to see anyone. You were annoyed and slightly embarrassed with how you behaved last night.

You decided you'd stay in your room for the entire day. Cece had tried to get you to come out and play with her but you expressed that you weren't feeling well. Did you feel bad for lying to your cousin? Yes, but you really just needed to wallow in your room by yourself.

________________

"Lady Clara is here to see you, Miss." Jane announces as she peeks her head into your room.

You sigh, "Did you tell her that I'm feeling unwell?"

"Yes and she's very insistent that she sees you."

You groan as you sit up in your bed, "You may send her up, I guess."

Minutes go by and the door opens. Clara walks in, "Good day, Y/N."

You give a stiff nod, "Clara."

She clears her throat, "I came by to apologize. I never meant to make you feel uncomfortable last night. It was never my intention. My brother has always told me how stubborn I can be. I just-I love him so much. He deserves to be happy. However, I understand that while you and my brother are amicable that doesn't mean you are to be with each other. I apologize greatly for practically forcing you to be together. I am ashamed to say that I'm no better than the rest of society," her head hands low in shame.

"I accept your apology, Clara. Thank you. I admire your love and concern for your brother. He's...a good man. He does deserve love in his life. I'm-I'm just not sure that's me."

Clara nods in understanding, "Yes, well, I'll leave you to rest. I hope you feel better soon," she gives a bow and sees herself out.

As soon as the door closes, you groan and fall back against your pillows.

______________

Roy watches as Cece and Phoebe run around the garden. He's glad that his niece found a friend after moving here. Things haven't been easy for the young girl, and Roy's always done his best to make sure she lives a loving and happy life.

He hears his sister before he sees her. She's walking down the path that leads to where he's sitting, a bench underneath a tree on the property.

"Where did you go off to?" he asks, eyes still on the young girls playing.

"I went to apologize to Y/N," Roy grunts and Clara continues, "I won't meddle anymore. I'm sorry that I've made things uncomfortable for you both."

He nods to his sister, "Thank you. She-She already feels so much pressure on her from her mother, society, she doesn't need more."

"I know, but, Roy...please be honest with me, do you care for her?"

Roy's jaw clenches and he looks away from Clara. He sighs, "I do, but, again, it's complicated. She's so...aggravating, smart mouthed, opinionated. But she's also sweet, she cares deeply for her friends and family. I can't help but be drawn to her."

Clara softly smiles at her brother, she places a hand on his shoulder, "I know I said I won't meddle, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try to win her affections. I do think there may be something promising between you two and I don't mean in a business transaction way."

"Clara?"

"Hm?"

"Did you love Andrew?" Clara sits and thinks about her husband, who's passed, "I wouldn't say love, but I cared for him as a friend. He was definitely the best out of the other men that have asked to court me. He was kind, understanding. He's also the reason I have Phoebe. I may not have loved him in a romantic way, but I do hold him dear."

"Do you think you could've fallen in love with him over time?"

She shrugs, "Maybe."

Clara and Roy both look on to Cece and Phoebe who are rolling in the grass. Their laughter echoing throughout the property.

_____________________________

In the late afternoon, you eventually grew tired of your self-isolation. So you called upon Keeley and Jamie to join you for tea.

In the sitting room, the three of you are lounging, sipping from your cups.

"I feel like I haven't seen you in forever," Keeley states as she takes a bite from a biscuit.

"It's been a few days, Keels," Jamie says with a snort.

She waves him off, "Too long. Tell me, what have you been up to?"

You sigh, setting your cup down, "My family and I had dinner with the Kents last night."

"Oh! I heard about that!" you look at her with a cocked brow, "Your mother told mine. Honestly, I'm a little upset you didn't tell me!"

"How was it? Was Lord Grumps his usual grumpy self?" Jamie asks with a smirk.

"We hardly interacted. He seemed quite miserable actually. Then his niece asked when Roy and I would get married." Keeley and Jamie give you a questioning look and you respond, "Because we played princess and dragons with them. They were the dragons, I was the princess, and Roy was the knight who saved me. The princess and the knight always get married in the stories they've read. Anyway, I told her that what we did was make believe and she got upset. She ran upstairs. Roy followed. Clara and my father made a comment that Roy and I should be together and I-I just got so annoyed and upset. I left the dinner."

"Y/N, why are you so against you and Lord Kent being together?" Jamie asks, genuinely.

"I-He-We're just so different. He's so uptight and grumpy all the time! He's probably only smiled five times in his life! Besides, Jamie, isn't he always rude to you?"

"He's rude to everyone, ain't he?" Jamie responds with a shrug.

You point to him, "That's another thing. He's rude!"

Keeley's interjects, "I think that's just him trying to protect himself from anyone getting too close and potentially hurting him." You and Jamie look at her confused, "What? It makes sense! I heard he was previously engaged to this woman name Georgina Afton. They were super in love, at least it seemed that way. Then Georgina caught the eye of a duke and she broke off the engagement. People say Roy was completely heartbroken."

"So...he's just scared of getting hurt?" you ask in clarification.

"Probably."

"Yeah, I suppose that makes sense," Jamie says, "Wow, love. You never seize to amaze me," he says looking at Keeley like she hung up all the stars in the sky.

"Aw, thanks, love!" she leans in and pecks his lips.

The sight makes you smile. You always hoped to find a love like theirs. It was rocky at first, but Keeley and Jamie...they just make sense to you. They fit each other well and you dream of finding someone who fits you.

Is that someone Roy Kent? You're still not sure.

He frustrates you and makes you doubt yourself sometimes, but he also challenges you. He's caring and adores his family. He's quick witted and snarky, but also funny.

Hmmm...you really had to think about this.

Besides, there were other men that could potentially catch your eye. Maybe...maybe you should start taking finding a suitor more seriously...

[runningfrom2am]

achilles heel - IV: maybe it's the lighting

summary:

Grace is the very opposite of her brother in every way. when she finally moves onto campus at UNC Chapel Hill, she feels like she gets to be her own person, make her own friends, and hopefully start a promising career in the museum industry, and maybe, one day, get married to her high school sweetheart and live the American dream for herself. Rafe Cameron however, upon their very first meeting, throws a wrench in her very perfect plan.

tags/warnings:

rafe cameron x fem!oc, rafe is giving very much homewrecker, fanon!rafe (kinda), college!au, friends to lovers, slow-burn (maybe?), minimal oc description, drug and alcohol use, mostly unedited, (these tags are not exhaustive, lmk if i should add anything!)

wc: 3k

my master list

series masterlist

requests

January 8th, 2019

Grace sat alone in her dorm, staring down the laptop and open textbook on her desk, seemingly taunting her. She's already well ahead, but so far her college experience has proven to her that it will never be enough.

Her phone vibrates on the desk next to her and she quickly picks it up, thankful for the excuse to take a break.

unknown number: 'coming tn?'

It must be Rafe.

g: still undecided

She quickly replies, then changes his contact name.

r: well if it influences your decision, i've got a bottle of malibu with your name on it

g: ooh that actually might change my mind

r: you know where to find it !

Grace puts her phone down on her desk instead of replying, looking at the time and turning in her chair to look at her closet, trying to figure out what she was going to wear.

When Grace gets there, after riding her bike down side streets and back paths to hide from any car that may contain Nate, she hides her bike by their back fence and walks up to the front door. Does she knock? The music is already loud and there's loads of people around so she doubts it, settling for opening it and walking in.

There's already people everywhere, and the lights are off with colourful flashing LED strip lights lining every edge of the ceiling. Somehow, Grace finds herself breathing a sigh of relief when she realizes it would be difficult for Nate to pick her out in this.

"Hey! Grace!" She hears her name, and quickly Rafe is at her side. "I'm glad you made it!"

"Hey! Uh- is Nate here yet?" Grace replies, looking up at the boy standing next to her.

"I don't think so, no." Rafe assures her, a smirk pulling on his lips as he brings his cup up to his lips. "Why? You didn't ask?"

"No- I figured what he doesn't know can't worry him." Grace shrugs.

"Ah, gotcha. Come on. I've got your drinks upstairs." He puts his arm behind her back, ushering her upstairs without touching her. Although, it would be so easy to just let his hand brush across the unintentionally exposed skin of her back between her crop top and her skirt.

Rafe fumbled with the buttons on his door, eventually getting it open and gesturing for her to follow him in before shutting it. "Uh, one sec-" He says, digging through a few paper bags from the liquor store before pulling out a bottle of Malibu and a six-pack of mountain dew.

"My favourite!" Grace claps excitedly, holding out her hands to take them from him. "Did Ben send you out for these? I'll pay you back."

"Nah, don't worry about it." Rafe waves her off as he passes them over. "Looks disgusting- by the way. You need a cup?"

Grace puts her bag and drinks down on his bed, digging through her tote bag for her empty cup. "I brought one, I'm good." She replies, holding it up to show him before screwing off the lid. "And don't knock it 'til you try it. Seriously- I was skeptical too."

"If you say so." Rafe chuckles, shaking his head at her as she opens a can and pours it into her cup, then adding what was probably more than a couple shots of Malibu to top it off. She screws the lid back on and mixes it with the straw, holding the cup out to him.

Rafe reaches out and takes it, side-eying her as he does, hesitantly taking a sip. His eyes widen and he nods, handing it back. "Okay- I'll eat my words. That's pretty good."

"I know, right?" Grace grins, taking the first sip herself. "It's a dangerous drink, though." She muses, looking around the room they find themselves in, the lighting a stark difference from the rest of the house. It's well-lit, and more clean than she expected from any room in a frat house. Definitely cleaner than her brothers, if she's making assumptions based on his room back at home. "I like your room." She thinks out loud.

"Oh, thanks," Rafe replies, looking around as well. "You came on a good day. I cleaned earlier this week."

"Hey, would you mind if I left my stuff in here? I don't really want to carry my bag around." Grace asks, moving her bag from the bed to the floor, along with her drinks.

Rafe nods. "Yeah! Totally. The door code is 2-0-0-7 if you need to come in without me for anything." He explains, opening the door for them to head back out.

"Who was born that year?" Grace asks, tilting her head as she looks up at him, making her way into the hallway.

"Uh, my sister, Wheezie."

"You have a sister? That's sweet!" Grace smiles, scanning the hall and downstairs for the familiar face of her boyfriend.

"I've got two, actually. Sarah is only a couple of years younger than me." Rafe explains, laughing a little as he can tell she's not paying much attention, too focused on looking over every face she can find. "Want to play pong? We've got a table out back, he's likely to come in the front." He suggests.

"Oh! Yeah, that sounds good." Grace nods, following him down the stairs and to the back door, dodging drunk people the whole way.

"Grace you made it! Are you gonna play?" She's greeted by her brother, standing at the end of the table just setting up some cups, clearly already at least tipsy.

Grace takes a sip out of her cup and nods. "Sweet! Dream team back at it again." He grins, coming over and being careful not to kick anyone's drinks on the ground.

"Hey, no way- home team advantage. I want Grace." Rafe protests, laughing and giving Ben a gentle shove back.

"I don't care, we'll play a few anyways I think, yeah?" Grace giggles and her brother relents, sighing dramatically.

"Fine, just say you hate me next time, Gigi." He jokes, making her roll her eyes.

"Woah, Gigi?" Rafe asks, raising an eyebrow at the nickname.

"Don't get any ideas- he only calls me that because I hate it." Grace insists. "Let's just shoot for first turn, yeah?" She changes the subject, stepping to the opposite end of the table from her brother.

They didn't end up changing teams, after Rafe and Grace beat Ben and Kelce on the first go, then the second, and then the third. "New and improved dream team! Let's go!" Rafe smiles, holding both his hands up for the girl to high-five him after Kelce misses their redemption shot for the fourth time. Grace laughs as she smacks her hands against his, and she doesn't even notice as he folds their fingers together, holding onto her hands for probably longer than he should have.

"Ben! Buddy!" Grace freezes when she hears a familiar voice coming from inside. Luckily they were on the side of the table that wasn't visible from the glass patio door or windows, and she looks between Rafe and her brother in a panic.

"Shit- that him?" Rafe asks in a loud whisper, and doesn't give her time to answer before he's hauling her off the porch with their entangled hands, ducking down behind a bush as she quickly follows.

"Hey, man, what's up?" Ben says, trying to be polite. Just like he promised his sister.

"Not much." Nate shrugs, Grace and Rafe watching from behind the large plant and trying to stay out of sight. "You, uh, playing by yourselves out here?" He chuckles, gesturing to the empty side of the table.

"No, dude, Rafe was just-" Kelce says, looking around to try and spot the two of them as they quickly duck down farther.

"He went to grab another drink, don't know where Alex went, though." Ben cuts him off, dropping a random name of another guy on their team.

"Right, yeah. They should be back in a minute." Kelce agrees hesitantly, catching on now.

"Sorry, man, Kelce, this is my sister's boyfriend. Nate." Ben introduces him, giving him a look of 'don't snitch on her, she's not supposed to be here'.

Kelce nods. "Gotcha, nice to meet you, man. I'm Kelce." He glances briefly down at the bush their friends were hiding behind.

"C'mon, let's go around..." Rafe whispers, letting go of her hand and gesturing for her to follow as they crawl around the siding, just out of sight from the porch light.

Grace giggles, stumbling as they can fully stand up beside the wall. "Why did you hide? This isn't your problem."

"For fun." Rafe shrugs, smiling down at her. He can't help but admire how the streetlights reflect of her eyes and land on her face in all the right places. "We're the dream team, your chances are better if we stick together."

"You're probably right, I don't know shit about this house." Grace laughs, shaking her head and glancing back around the corner.

"Bet you wish you visited Ben once or twice now, huh?" Rafe smirks, leaning against the wall.

"Maybe a little," Grace admits, looking up at him again. God, how is she just noticing now how handsome this guy is? Maybe it's the lighting. No, it’s definitely the drinks.

"C'mon, let's go around the front and we'll get you a refill, yeah?" Rafe suggests and Grace nods, simultaneously shaking herself out of her thoughts. He grabs her hand and pulls her around to the front, both of them crouching and peaking in the windows before entering through the front door. Now the house is much more crowded, and Grace is sure if she let go of Rafe she would lose him in a minute, so she holds tighter onto his hand as he leads her towards the stairs.

Grace looks towards the back door, seeing Nate come back in and he's instantly heading in their direction, looking around for one or more of his friends from class. "Rafe- Rafe!" She shouts over the music, tapping his arm with her free hand, and pointing to Nate who's getting much closer when he turns to look at her.

Rafe's quick to open a closet door next to them, shoving her in and following suit, quickly closing the door. It's tight in there, and their pressed chest to chest, and Grace is surprised she can hear both of them breathing over the loud music just outside the door.

"How long do we wait?" Grace whispers as she crouches down as best she can to put her cup down, despite the impossibility that anyone could hear them anyways.

"I don't know, should be good in a minute or two," Rafe whispers back, focussing on trying to make out the shape of her face and features in the dark once she stands back up. He can faintly make out her cheekbones, her long eyelashes, he can kind of see her nose too, based on that. Then her lips. Not so much that he can see them, more that he can feel her breath on his neck; thanks to their height difference.

"Okay, yeah." Grace whispers back, nodding and accidentally hitting Rafe's chin with her forehead. "Ow! Oops- oh my god! I'm so sorry!" She laughs quietly, instantly covering her mouth with her hands.

"It's fine, its fine." Rafe laughs back, reaching up and rubbing his chin. "Are you okay? I feel like that hurt you more than me."

"Oh my god, Rafe, I'm the one who just domed you with my big ass forehead." Grace giggles, shaking her head- more mindfully this time as she covers her face with her hands.

"No, no you're good. It's fine." He insists. "Also, your forehead is not that big." He teases her, laughing quietly.

"Oh, gee, thanks, Rafe."

"Yeah, you're welcome." Rafe smirks, looking down at her.

"I think we're probably good." Grace says, leaning down to pick up her cup again, losing her balance and falling against the wall in the small space. "Jesus christ, how did Harry Potter live like this..." She mutters, trying to brush off her clothes, worried that this closet in a frat house hasn't been properly cleaned in decades.

"I have no idea..." Rafe chuckles, cracking the door open and stepping out as Grace stands up, practically falling out after him. She stabilizes herself, looking down at her shirt to make sure its not as dirty as she thought, brushing off some stray dust from the wall as she takes a long sip out of her straw. "Grace?" Her head snaps up as she hears her name, the straw quickly dropping out of her mouth as she sees her boyfriend standing in front of her. Of course he would be right outside the door. "Uh, what are you doing here?"

Rafe makes a nervous face as he looks between the two of them, cringing at the state of her, her dirty clothes and messy hair from crawling through the bushes. He knows what this looks like. "Hey, Nate, right? Nice to meet you, man." He decides to intervene, holding a hand out to him to shake.

Nate ignores him, only briefly sparing him a glare before returning his eyes to Grace. "What were you doing... in the closet?" He asks, looking over her and into the open closet door.

"Oh! Uh, I just, well-" One thing about Grace is that she's a bad liar, but even telling the truth wouldn't do her any favours this time.

"You know what? I don't want to know. You guys have fun." Nate scoffs, shoving past Rafe and walking towards the door.

"Wait! Nathan, wait! I can explain! I swear it's not what you think-" Grace calls after him, quickly following behind him out the door.

"Okay, fine. Fine, Grace. Tell me your excuse." Nathan sighs as they get outside, turning to face her.

"I-" Grace sighs, looking down. "I was hiding from you. I just didn't want you to be worried about me, I wanted to have fun and I didn't want to rain on your parade, or whatever, so I just thought it would be better if you didn't know I was here."

"Right." Nate nods, clearly not believing her. "So you were hiding in a ten square foot closet, with your brothers frat buddy, so I wouldn't worry about you? Am I understanding that correctly?"

"Yes, yes. Exactly. Babe, I swear that's the truth." Grace pleads, hoping he'll believe her. "I wouldn't ever cheat on you, you know that."

"Oh, fuck off, Grace." Nate says angrily, balling up his fists. "Do you think I'm stupid? Seriously? God you are so anserine sometimes! I can't take it anymore! I'm honestly relieved that you're cheating on me- I can hardly function when you talk about stupid, absolutely daft garbage all the time! You act like you're smarter than me- which is honestly laughable!" He snaps, and Grace's hope fades as he speaks. She doesn't know what to say, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Nate, I- I didn't know you felt that way..." She says, voice shaking. "Why didn't you say something?"

"No- you don't get to talk to her like that. Get out of here, man. You and your stupid, entitled engineering buddies are banned." Rafe steps in suddenly, standing at Grace's side as he glares at her boyfriend.

Nate rolls his eyes, laughing sarcastically and shaking his head. "Yeah, whatever. You can have her." He waves them off dismissively, stepping down the porch stairs and walking off into the street.

Rafe looks over at Grace, who is just staring at him as he walks away, chin wobbling while she resists bursting into tears. "Hey, hey its okay. Come here..." He says, pulling her into a hug and holding her head against his chest. This is when she breaks. She sobs into his chest, holding tightly onto the front of his shirt.

"We'll get you up to my room, then I'll go get Ben. Okay?" He suggests, rubbing her back and pulling away, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"You- you don't understand." Grace sniffles, trying to take deep breaths. "He's my person. We're meant to be together, we're meant to get married and have a life together, and, and-" She chokes out, starting to shake again as she sobs. "Oh god, I just don't know what I did to fuck it up so badly." She tries to explain, leaning into him again and squeezing her eyes shut.

"You didn't do anything, Grace. It wasn't you. He shouldn’t talk about you like that, he’s just a dick." Rafe mumbles, wrapping his arms around her again. "I think I should get Ben- just come back inside with me, okay?"

Grace is quick to shut that idea down. "No, Ben is just.. Ben is just going to say 'thank god' and make fun of it, I can't tell him. He won't get it."

"Okay, okay. I won't tell him." Rafe assures her quickly, looking around now at the luckily empty front lawn. He doesn't know what to do, but he's thankful that at least there's no one around to witness this.

He's never comforted anyone before, not really, especially not a drunk girl at a party. Typically he'd turn up his nose and look the other way, but this time feels so different. He'd do anything he could to help- especially if that included chasing Nate down and beating him to a pulp and leaving him on the sidewalk to die. Something tells him Grace doesn’t want that, though.

“Would you like another drink? Will that help?” Rafe chuckles, pulling away slightly to look down at her as she nods. It’s the best he could offer her, knowing he doesn’t know how to help. Usually his best method is a new drink.

“My cup is almost empty..” She sniffles, trying to laugh despite her feeling true heartbreak, for the first time ever.

“Okay, come on. We’ll get you another.” Rafe chuckles, guiding her back inside with his hand placed gently on her lower back.

taglist: @newbooksmell777, @tahliac11, @slut4drudy, @madelynie, @angelw33dz, @mutual-mendes, @winterrrnight, @sadfury, @totalswag, @peachprairie (as always reply or message me to be added or removed!)

[tarrenterror25]

Ah, Tarren - congrats!! So excited for you, absolutely so well-deserved. Reading your fics and thots and posts has been such a pleasure! And this is such a fun celebration - I can’t wait to see what you share with us 💖

Could I please request: Alfred Pennyworth + Regency + “I feel things for you that I shouldn’t.”?

Congrats again, my friend!!! 💖✨

OKAY so you and @communism-bitches requested the same thing! So this one is for the both of you! For that, this is longer than 500 words 💕

Thank you so much, J! 💕 I'm so glad you've enjoyed reading my fics and thots! I get all warm and fuzzy reading all of your feedback! Thank you so much for supporting my writing 💕

Thank you so much, H! 💕 Thank you for being who you are and for supporting my writing! I'm so happy you enjoy reading my fics and thots!

This one was the biggest challenge for me! Whew! I've never written regency AU before so thank you to the both of you for being my first! I hope you guys like it!

100 follower celebration

Alfred Pennyworth x F!Reader

Alfred Pennyworth + Regency + "I feel things for you that I shouldn't."

Tags: Age-gap, boxing Word Count: 1.2K

It's that time of the year when Oswald Cobblepot is hosting his annual soiree at his home or his "winter palace" as he calls it. You hate going, but for you to refuse the invitation would cause a stir. It's not that the party is boring or dull, quite the opposite actually.

It's a madhouse.

The gentleman and ladies present never seem to get along, but somehow they all attend anyways. Cobblepot manor is always packed with guests and lively with all kinds of festivities. Usually during a card game, Mr. Dent would seemingly become a different person should he lose and you could always expect the most scandalous of gossip to come from Ms. Vale who just seemed to know everything about everyone. Often you would spend time with Pamela who spent her time in the gardens, preferring the quiet of the flowers versus the crowds. Sometimes you would chat with Harleen, she was great fun to be around though a bit raucous for a lady.

But there was one person who, for the past few years, made it all worthwhile. Since the two of you crossed paths, you looked forward to seeing him here.

You and Alfred Pennyworth, the mysterious guardian of Bruce Wayne, first met in the parlor of Cobblepot Manor where a game of charades was taking place. The two of you hung back in the wings of the room and, dare you say, mildly flirted with each other. Both of you talked all night and you quickly forgot the bickering taking place in the parlor happening over the game. Every year after that, you two sought each other and would spend the entire evening talking about nothing and everything all at once. You even dared to exchange letters with him this last year.

Now you're here, dressed in your finest gown and you're looking around, trying to spot Alfred, but there's no sign of him. Usually you find each other rather quickly. You adjust your gloves and wander the halls of the manor, fighting through the crowds of people looking for him, but he's nowhere to be seen.

Did he not come this year?

Oh, how your heart starts to ache.

You've grown so fond of him; your last letter might have been a tad playful in its tone and you recall how when you wrote that you realized your fondness was indeed an attraction to the older gentleman. Like a butterfly to flowers in spring, you found yourself always gravitating to him and quickly found it wasn't just his personality you liked. You never forget the year you saw him remove his coat and roll up his sleeves as some of the gentleman went out to the yard for a bit of rough housing. You could not deny the awakening in you as you watched the older man hold his own against the younger men. One young lad who was talking a big game came to regret the challenge when Alfred dodged his right hook and delivered a quick solid jab to the man's stomach making the younger man double over in pain before falling to the ground. Alfred, ever the gentleman chuckled and kindly helped him up.

You head outside where more people are gathered. There's a table with some morsels placed enticingly on some serving dishes and as you reach for one of them, your hand brushes another that simultaneously has also reached for the same. Your eyes flick over to the hand, it's broad and looks strong, a gold ring with a "W" on its face. Your gaze travels up the arm and to the person next to you and you smile as your heart flutters.

It's Alfred.

He smiles, too, but it looks...melancholic.

"Pleasure to see you as always, miss," he says placing his hands behind his back.

"You're here!" you say excitedly, but then chance a playful quirk of your brow as you ask, "Have you been avoiding me?"

His smile grows a little wider and he holds up his left hand, his right coming to rest on his chest. "You've caught me," he says.

Sensing a somberness in his tone, you ask, "...Truly?"

Wordlessly, he glances around to be sure no one is paying attention to the two of you. He gently grasps your hand. The gesture makes your breath hitch as he leads you away from the crowd, quite stealthily you might add. No one seems to have noticed that the two of you have disappeared.

He stops when the two of you turn a corner and reach a small set of steps leading up to a balcony overlooking the section of yard not occupied by guests. No one seems to have been bothering to venture in this area.

The pair of you sit on a stone bench on the balcony, his hand still holding yours for a brief moment more before letting go. The older man finally lets out a sigh. "I was hoping we wouldn't run into each other this year," he says.

"Why?" you ask. "Have I done something?"

"No, no, miss," he assures you. "I suppose...it is I who has done something."

"I don't understand," you say shifting a bit closer to him.

His gaze flicks down to where your knee brushes his and then back up to your face. If you had blinked you would have missed his tongue darting out ever so slightly to lick his lips.

"I feel things for you that I shouldn't," Alfred says. "A man my age...it is probably inappropriate."

You smile and let out a small chuckle, relief washing over you. "Alfred," you say turning your body to face his even more, your gloved hand coming to rest on his. "I feel things, too."

He looks surprised. "You do?"

"I do," you reply.

A content silence hangs between the two of you as you gaze into each other's eyes.

"I'd like to ask before it's too late," Alfred says. "I'd like to request that next year I do not see you like this." His hand comes up to cup your face. "I do not wish to rendezvous with you in empty hallways or secluded balconies. I should like to see you accompanying me to this event instead."

"Yes! Of course!" You smile bashfully and repeat yourself, trying to contain your enthusiasm.

There's a silence again.

"Alfred?"

"Yes?"

The two of your scoot closer to each other, thighs pressing against each other, his hand still on your cheek, brushing his thumb across your skin, and his other hand coming to rest on your waist.

"Can...Can I kiss you?" you ask softly.

Your bold nature has the corners of his mouth turn up as he smiles at you, his blue eyes beaming with adoration. He slowly leans in towards you and kisses you. It's a soft and chaste kiss, but slow and romantic. His lips linger on yours long enough that you can taste the fruit and tea he's had from the party. When he pulls away, there's a growing desire in the pit of your stomach for more. He seems to sense it as he speaks and says with a chuckle, "We should be getting back now."

[0perfectimperfections0]

I think it would be interesting if you'd made an au where the dolls see that they have also wronged Lou and should of given him a 2nd chance. So they now try to earn his trust. From styling his hair to how it originally was and giving him more comfortable clothing to trying to talk to him more. But it's very hard to do so because the former leader is now depressed, anxious, and jumpy. He closes himself off and vows to never trust any doll ever again.

And maybe another au where Lou is very smart and manipulative and everything goes his way.

Btw I love your fics, I've searched everywhere to find good Lou angst and you make my day. Thank you for keeping the fandom alive.

Awww, you're so sweet! I'm glad you enjoy the stories! I've also heard you've found my friend @natalie-the-writer 's account. Her stories are absolutely AMAZING! She has such amazing attention to detail and can make any scene feel so real in your imagination. If you haven't already, I HIGHLY recommend reading through all of her stories on her profile. They're awesome!

And since I've gotten an ask similar to the latter portion of your ask, this one will revolve around the former prompt. Brace yourself, this will be longer (for the first time in forever XD).

<><><><><><>

The dolls prided themselves in how fluidly everything seemed to be running at the Institute. It was like Ox had said: they didn't need Lou. From an outside perspective, everything seemed to be going about splendidly. More importantly, everyone was happy.

Moxy hummed a made-up tune to herself as she walked down the winding sidewalks of the villa. Dolls -- with happy smiles, she was pleased to note -- waved and offered their own greetings as they swept by each other. She found her best friend, Mandy, and hopped in front of the doll's path with an enlightened expression. "Hey, Mandy!"

"Hi," the female offered a small smile of her own. "Have you seen Nolan anywhere? I haven't been able to find him."

Nolan. Did she know a Nolan? There were so many dolls that it was difficult to remember all of their names. Mandy must have caught on to her perplexed face because she soon elaborated. "Has the sign around his neck? Brown hair? Green and purple eyes? Kinda tall?"

For such a specific description, Moxy would've thought herself to be quick with a revelation. Unfortunately, that description didn't fit any of the dolls she had grown to be close friends with in the past few months. "Mmm, sorry. I don't think I know a Nolan." She admitted guiltily. "But!" She swung a short leg out to proceed in the direction Mandy had been going in, "I can help you find him!" Then she would know who Nolan was and all would be splendid again.

Mandy accepted the offer silently and walked in what seemed to be an aimless direction. However, she had a specific destination in mind. Nolan had mentioned a few times in conversation about a certain doll that she'd rather not bring up in front of...well, anyone else. So, unbeknownst to Moxy, Mandy had them set toward the old wooden shed near the back of the Institute. Now that she dwelled on it, they hadn't seen Lou in quite some time.

Her theory proved fruitful when she recognized the brunette outside of the abandoned shed. Abandoned to others, not to Lou. Moxy's pace slowed down to a stop even as Mandy proceeded on. "The shed? Why would Nolan be here?" Her question wasn't answered. Mandy didn't really have a sound answer to it either.

Nolan had made his vigil just outside the closed door. He sat on the ground, knees drawn to his chest to rest his head on, and back pressed against the door. There was a plate of food set beside him. Mandy's footsteps caught his attention before he could say anything. Quickly, he put a finger to his mouth to warn her to be quiet. His eyes went to Moxy as she finally walked closer. "What are you guys doing here?" He asked, keeping his voice just above a whisper.

"Looking for you," Mandy answered. "What are you doing here?"

Nolan cast a short glance at the plate of food beside him. It had grown cold, now. "No reason. Maybe I like the peace and quiet." Mandy shook her head and sat down on the other side of the plate. She tapped a piece of bacon experimentally.

"I'm guessing this wasn't for you." Nolan didn't respond. "How many days has it been?"

"Five. Six, if you count today." Nolan sighed.

"What are we counting?" Moxy tilted her head at them.

The Pretty Dolls exchanged glances. Mandy spoke. "How many days it's been since Lou came out of the shed."

"He hasn't been cleaning?" Moxy looked taken aback.

"You haven't noticed he hasn't been around?" Nolan's eyes went a little hard at that. It was the closest to a glare Mandy had seen him pull off. Moxy stuttered out an excuse of some sort, but he brushed it off. "You two can go. He doesn't like having so many people around. It's just been me for the past week."

"How did you know he was locked up in the shed?" Moxy asked. Had she missed a sign or something? Were the other dolls talking about him? She hadn't heard a single mention of the blond since his downfall.

Nolan visibly refrained from rolling his eyes. Instead, he flicked at an imaginary piece of lint on his knee. "Well, he doesn't exactly have the looks to blend into the background. He stands out pretty well on his own." There was an audible bite to his tone that Mandy silently acknowledged and Moxy took no note of. "I came here the first day I noticed he was missing. The door's been locked and he put a tarp over the window to keep from anyone looking inside."

"Maybe he's plotting something," Moxy brought a hand to her chin in thought.

The brunette tried not to bristle at that comment. He closed his eyes, eyebrow raised indignantly. "Like I said, you two can leave. I've managed to get him to unlock the door and I don't need anyone undoing all that progress."

"If the door is unlocked, why don't you just go in?" Mandy blinked up at the potential entryway.

"Because I want him to be the one to open the door. This is the only place he can go without being pushed around by the other dolls -- in case you haven't noticed that either." Nolan sent a look over to Moxy. She shrunk a bit under the tone. "This is his safe place now, and I don't want to intrude on it. If I'm going to make any progress, I need him to be the one to let me in."

Moxy drummed her fingers against her side, eyeing the door that could easily be walked through. "You make it sound like he's scared or something. I'm sure he's just sitting in there pouting and refusing to carry out his punishment." Nolan's jaw clenched, but he kept his mouth shut lest any harsh words are said by him. "Let's just go in there and tell him to get back to work." She stepped up and turned the knob before Nolan or Mandy could stop her.

A concentrated form of light entered the dark room. It revealed the particles of dust floating aimlessly in the air. She waved off a few visible ones and noticed the small figure hunched in the corner of the room near the door. She had been about to say something but stopped short when she realized something was off.

Lou didn't move at all from his position despite her bombarding him. He had been seated similarly to Nolan: legs were drawn up to his chest tightly, feet angled inward, arms wrapped around them, and head resting on his knees. She couldn't see his face with the mess of tangled, blond hair draping over his arm. He seemed to have his head laying to the side, facing away from her.

Before Moxy could take a step toward him, Nolan startled her by appearing in front of her path. "You need to get out. He doesn't want to be around anyone. Especially you."

Moxy was taken aback. "Wh--What did I do?"

"Is that a serious question?" Nolan finally let himself bristle as he glared down at her.

Mandy pulled on the pink doll's arm. "Moxy, let's leave. Nolan can handle it from here."

"Handle what?" A new voice sounded behind them. Ox tilted his head at the group from outside the shed. "What are ya'll doin' here? And where's Lou been? I ain't seen 'im in almost a week."

"Huh," Nolan couldn't help but comment wryly as he looked down at Moxy again, "even Ox noticed." Moxy merely shrunk in more guilt. Perhaps she had been a little too blinded by all the smiles and positivity of the other dolls that she neglected to check in on Lou.

Ox ignored the two and stepped inside, seeing the ex-leader curled up in the corner. "Lou? What's wrong?" Nolan couldn't get a word out to tell him to step back before the bunny was in front of the doll. Ox put a paw on Lou's head to try and brush away the hair, but Lou flinched away. "Lou, talk to me."

"He doesn't want to talk," Nolan clarified sharply. "And you guys are making it worse by invading his space."

"I agree," Mandy tugged harder on Moxy's arm. "So, let's give Lou some space, Moxy." The pink doll finally relented and walked out with the Pretty Doll.

Ox didn't move from his spot. He watched Lou's hands clutch at his pants tighter. Was...he really upsetting Lou just by being here? The thought sent a sharp pain through his chest. Nolan's gaze prompted him to finally stand and part ways. He sent one last look to the doll in the corner before walking out of the shed. Nolan made a step toward the doorway until he heard rhythmic tapping from where Lou was. He paused and listened.

Tap-Tap-Tap...Tap...Tap-Tap...Tap-Tap-Tap-Tap

Nolan abandoned the doorway and kneeled in front of Lou. His hand was leaning against the side of the building, tapping. Lou still didn't look up. Nolan pulled out his phone and hit the record. "One more time, Lou, please?"

Tap-Tap-Tap...Tap...Tap-Tap...Tap-Tap-Tap-Tap

The message was translated on the phone. Nolan had first heard the organized tapping a few days ago when Lou was aware of his vigil. It initially sounded like a song that Lou was tapping to the beat of, but the repetition of the taps didn't follow along to a song. It was morse code. Nolan didn't know how or when Lou had learned the cryptic language, but the translator on his phone helped them communicate. Nolan read the result:

Stay.

Just to be sure. "You want me to stay?"

A second of silence.

Tap-Tap-Tap-Tap...Tap...Tap-Tap-Tap

Nolan knew that one due to their limited "conversations" between the door. It was 'yes'.

"Okay," Nolan kept his voice soft. "Give me a minute to get them to leave." He stood and leaned out of the doorway. The others were waiting for him. "You guys go on. He wants me to stay."

"He talked to you?" Ox's ears perked up in hope.

"Sorta kinda," Nolan teetered his head with a short glance to Lou in the corner. "I'll text when I'm headed back into town. It might be a while, though, so don't wait up on me."

They hesitated to move, especially Ox. It took some coaxing from Mandy to get him to relent and walk away. Nolan didn't move from the doorway until they had walked far enough from the shed. Satisfied, he closed the door and immersed the shed back into an opaque darkness. He silently sat next to Lou in the same position he'd been in outside. No words were spoken.

[starlightwayfinder]

AU anon, you're most welcome! As for Xehanort I'm gonna say no from what we know of Dark Road he only knows about the Union leaders and Elrena but I wouldn't put it past the old geezer to do his own research and find out years after the fact to use against Lauriam and mess with his head. Having Ven and using him is honestly enough for now.

As for the second keyblade war Ven wouldn't remember Lauriam, his dreams are hazy from his decade of sleep but he sustained so much trauma to his heart that he just couldn't handle the truth right now maybe chirithy was always closer than we thought whose to say.

Aqua however would recognize Lauriam and their fight would just mess her up on a whole nother level. She always wondered what happened to her fellow keyblade master when she got lost so to see him also fall to darkness when the Lauriam she knew was so virtuous, calm, patient, and above all level headed as the twisted cruel and calculating Marluxia is like a dagger to her own heart.

Ven winds up in the fight too and some familiarity stirs but if he tries to remember it hurts too much and the middle of a battle isn't the place. Marluxia for some reason can't bring himself to full on attack Ven and often backs off before landing a clear blow, but when he's defeated and his memories come back he looks at his two long lost friends and sincerely thanks Sora for saving them.

He's so ashamed when he's recompleted he almost doesn't want to face the wayfinder trio, but he's encouraged by Riku to not run away from his mistakes and face his friends. They'll love him enough to get him back on the path of light. Plus he still has to find his sister so he can't stay away for too long also he misses ven and he can't ignore his big brother instinct to scoop him up and never let go for long.

Terra isn't aware of everything that happened but he and Lauriam are strong moral supports for each other on their road to redemption and making things right. Aqua and Ven are just happy to have their guys back.

Aww—I’m glad it works out for them!

[the-obiwan-for-me]

Hey, I’ve been reading your “She Said The Word” AU religiously (I am sorry that I didn’t comment much on More Than Blood and I wish I had, but let me tell you I was eagerly reading all of it and was so incredibly happy when a new chapter came out) and I LOVE EVERY WORD, but I’m not here to write an entire novel. I’m here to say thank you for Lily Bo in particular. Lily resonates with me so, so much in every stage of her life. Her feelings, her triumphs, her struggles, her chaotic energy and how that affects her life, her trauma, her feelings toward her family, all of that is so relatable to me that it feels like I could have written her. What I wanted to thank you for, specifically, is her relationship with Tiana. It’s not a main focus and it didn’t last for very long, and of course her exact sexuality is not stated, but I am l a lesbian and that little bit of representation with a character that had already given me so much means the absolute world to me.

Maybe this doesn’t make a lot of sense and this whole thing about being grateful for a fanfic character’s love interest is weird, but I like to tell people when they’ve made me happy, and you have made me so much more than “happy” can sufficiently describe, that I sent this to you. Vor entye, ner vod.

Thank you so much!!! ❤️❤️❤️

Of all the characters I have added to the canon cast of characters in this AU, Lily seems to be the one that truly touches people the deepest. And I love it, and I get it.

It could be so easy to write a boring one sided family who is always 100% perfect together, but that would be so disingenuous and unrealistic. Lily, particularly, suffered trauma that literally NO ONE should suffer through at 13, and you just don't simply bounce back to normal after that. She should have baggage and issues, even if she has doting, loving supportive parents, siblings who want the best for her, and extended family (including many wonderful friends of the family from Jedi to Wrens) who think the world of her.

And as for Lily and Tiana, I'm glad you loved their bright but short little love affair (and I've also been really relieved no one has been mad that it WAS short! I have a lot of thoughts on why I did that but that's neither here nor there). Beyond my trite "no one is really 100% straight in a GFFA because sexuality and gender identity aren't issues in a world with space wizards," I do think representation MATTERS. And I think making it no big deal within the story is important, too. Lily falls for a girl, Korkie loves a man, Tol'ket talks of his first true love being a Twi'lek boy, and Bo all but admits to having been in love with Ursa. But these things are talked about easily. Without judgement or bigotry. Even though Korkie hides his love, it's only because of poor Aled's anxiety of not being worthy of a Kryze than the fact that they are gay.

Essentially, I might write a lot of angst and trauma, but I also write, in a way, a world I wish WE had.

I don't know what is in store for Lily, love wise. But I am so happy her brief little love affair made you happy. She deserves to be happy, and I think Tiana was a big catalyst in helping her start down a path that would get her there. Which just goes to show that not all meaningful relationships have to be deep and long romances like her parents.

Anyway, thanks for letting me ramble on about my girl and her family and my musings about why I write what I write. I never get tired of talking about them.

[pookha]

Changes on the Wind Chapter 3

After a very long delay, here's the last chapter of Changes on the Wind. I'm sorry this took so very long to finish. It became wildly wildly AU after season 2B and then even more AU after season 3. I'm sticking with Masha being Gigi here and using she/her pronouns because it was started that way before the reveal about them in TtT, but I love ENBY Masha and my series "No Tengo las Llaves" explores that.

Thank you to all of you who stuck with it and finished this.

Vee has to get used to living with hyperesthesia and synesthesia. Gigi goes off to school, then veterinary school. Vee struggles with how to contribute when it's hard to leave her home. She meets Mildred Featherwhyle, who is not what she seems and together they forge a path for Vee.

3 Months Later

Vee looked up from her tablet as an orange light blinked on the wall. She pulled her phone out of a drawer and flicked the screen open. The blue and gold painted nail on her index finger made a ‘whee’ sound in her head when she did this and it always made her smile. She saw it was Gigi and answered.

“Hey,” she said and put the phone on speaker while she turned back to her tablet. On it a cartoon knight struggled to pull his sword out of a gelatinous-looking wall while a zombie deer snuck up on him from behind.

“Hey,” Gigi’s voice came out tinnily. It had taken Vee a bit to find the right way to manipulate her phone to make people’s voices bearable, but Gigi’s was the best of the batch, followed by Camila’s. Gigi’s modulated voice made Vee tingle and Camila’s felt like a warm towel fresh out of the dryer.

“Want some company later after school? It’s only a half-day today, so I can come over before work.”

“Ooo, that would be great,” Vee said, adding a bright splotch of gore onto the zombie deer’s antlers then erasing it.

“I’ll take the bus and be there around 1ish.”

“Mom’s coming home for lunch today; I’ll ask her if she can pick you up at school at noon instead.” Vee texted Camila who responded with a thumbs-up emoji.

“She says yes.” Vee added a drape of intestines to the deer antler and erased it also.

“What are you doing?” Gigi asked

“I’m drawing a knight fighting a gelatinous cube, but he doesn’t know a zombie deer is sneaking up on him, but I’m having trouble with making the deer creepy in the right way. I tried to put some gore on it and some intestines on its horns, but it’s just not right.”

“Make the deer look more rotted, maybe have the intestine hang from its belly instead like it’s been rotting and is dehiscing,” Gigi suggested.

Vee undid the intestines over the antlers, then moved them to the deer’s belly and squinted. It was almost right, but would need refining and different colors. Right now it was shouting and it needed to grumble menacingly instead.

“Thanks, I think I can make that work.”

“Cool. Glad I could help. I gotta go back to class.” Gigi paused.

“Love you,” she said quietly. This was fairly new to both of them and it still made Vee’s blood fizz like she was taking magic from Gigi still.

“Love you, too. See you later.” Gigi hung up. Vee put her phone back in the drawer and looked up at the wall over her bed. The bright yellow of the walls tinkled lightly and the black trim mumbled gently. It was restful and peaceful. Gus had done a good job helping them choose colors with his illusions and he had held them on the wall until they could match it with paint. Of all of Luz’s friends from the Demon Realm, he was the one that Vee understood best. It was a shame that Luz had gone back and closed the portal. They still got occasional texts from her as they came near a weak spot and closed it, but they were already getting further apart.

Vee stroked the tablet and enjoyed the cool smoothness of it. She looked critically at the drawing and thought it was fine , just fine so far. She’d started drawing immediately after she woke up from her coma. She’d been out for two full days and then had to put up with all the visits to the doctors. If one of the doctors at the University hadn’t wanted to do research on her (it had taken a lot to explain that he didn’t want to experiment on her like Belos had wanted to) then Camila would have had a hard time paying for it all. She’d been diagnosed with hyperesthesia and synesthesia. The hyperesthesia was hard, but at least it was controlled with medication. The synesthesia, though, had awakened an urge to draw in her. She picked it up fast and Camila had let her enroll in online art courses as long as she kept up her remote homeschooling. She sighed and opened her math homework and slogged away at it. She was saving the Spanish homework for last as a reward to herself.

She’d just started on her American Government classwork when she saw the light on the wall flash again. She pulled her phone back out of the drawer and saw a text from Gigi.

Yr mom wants to know if White Castle is okay.

Vee texted back.

Yum sliders…no cheese on mine of course, big enough fries to share with all of us. Half-orange soda, half-sprite, pls

Ugh, how can you drink that. Kidding. Will get for you. See you in about 15 mins. Mwah.

Mwah

Vee set a timer on her phone and did a little bit more classwork, then when the timer went off, she went down and put plates on the table. Camila came in a few minutes later with bags of food and Gigi was right behind her with a drink tray.

Vee gave Gigi a big hug before she could sit down and she almost dropped the drink tray. They all ate while talking about their day. Vee wished she could be at school with Gigi, but the noise from the beige walls and the olive-drab lockers was just too much: the constant mumbling of the beige was awful. She also was so far behind after having been left back a grade and then missing summer school.

“What?” she asked, obviously having missed something that Camila said.

“I said that I could get used to having lunch at home with your girlfriend. Although, I don’t think we could have hamburgers every day.” She pointed at her stomach.

“Yeah, I miss you when you’re at work and Gigi’s at school. It’s hard to be on my own so much. The online classes help, but it’s not the same as being there.” Vee sighed.

“It won’t be like this forever; you’ll be able to reintegrate soon.” Camila put her burger and onion-smelling hand on Vee’s head and rubbed her hair. Vee followed her eyes and knew that she was thinking that Vee looked like Luz and that she missed Luz.

“Yeah, high school will be over before you know it,” Gigi said, squeezing Vee’s hand.

Two Years After

High school was over for Gigi. Vee couldn’t believe it; she still had one more year. She’d made up her lost year, but Luz had been one year behind Gigi and when Vee had taken over her life she was also a year back.

“When do you leave for U of C?” Vee asked, lounging on the microsuede beanbag in the corner of Gigi’s room. Vee loved the black paint on Gigi’s walls and the bright RGB lights of her gaming desktop.

“Last week of August. I’ve got one week of freshman orientation and then classes start after that. She flopped down onto the beanbag next to Vee and kissed her. The kiss went on for a long time until Gigi fell off the beanbag and they both laughed. Vee helped Gigi back up and pulled her more onto her lap. This time the kissing got heated before Gigi pulled back.

“Mom’ll be home soon, sorry.”

Vee mock pouted and laughed.

“I gotcha.” She pushed Gigi off the beanbag and she laughed as Gigi picked herself up.

“Seriously, though, do you wanna before I go away or…?” Gigi left it hanging.

Vee stood up, pulled Gigi close and whispered in her ear.

“I’d like to try, but I don’t know if I can go through with it. If I have to stop, you won’t be upset?”

Gigi shook her head.

“Mom’s at a conference next week and you can stay over. We’ll try then.” Vee kissed Gigi soundly and reveled again in the tingle of Gigi’s lips on hers.

A week later, Gigi slept in Vee’s bed, a large sleep shirt covering all but her legs. Vee watched her sleep, enjoying the soft susurrus of her steady breathing. It had been more than she was expecting and less. Mostly it hadn’t been different than making out and the feelings had been just as exciting, but also some of the burning touches did just that… burned. She knew that she’d want to do it again, but worried about when Gigi went to school. She put her hand on Gigi’s thigh and Gigi sighed in her sleep.

Three Years After

When Camila came home Vee was sitting on the couch watching television. Vee let the bright images dance around in her eyes, but wasn’t really paying attention to what was showing. She turned her head as Camila came in and gave her a kiss on top of her head.

“Good day, Vee?” Camila asked and Vee shook her head. Camila put her purse and jacket in the closet and came back to sit by Vee on the couch.

“What’s wrong?” she asked as Vee leaned on her shoulder and tears started to leak from her eyes.

“I want to pull my weight, but what I’m making from my commissions barely pays for my food. I’m sorry to be a burden.” She lifted her head and met Camila’s eyes. Camila wiped a tear from Vee’s cheek with the back of her hand.

“You pull your weight; you contribute.”

“I don’t, though. I eat, sleep, barely go out and my medications have to put a hole in your pocket, even with insurance. I don’t know what to do,” she wailed.

“Just keep doing what you’re doing. I’ll take care of you for as long as you need. I love you, Vee.”

“I know you do and I know it’s not just because I look like Luz.” Luz’s texts from the Demon Realm had gotten even more rare as they closed more holes between the realms. The last one had included a photo of matching engagement rings and Amity looked especially happy.

“No, I love you for you. I wish the ritual had gone better, but what happened made you you. You see colors and shapes differently than anyone else and I know that one day your art will be sold at auction for a lot of money.”

“C’mon, I don’t make that kind of art.” Her original pieces were body horror mostly, and her commissions were mostly portraits of role playing characters.

“That’s what they said about what’s his name that did the Alien stuff.” Camila patted Vee again.

“Giger?” Vee half-asked.

“Yeah, that was his name.”

Camila stood.

“Wanna help with dinner?”

Vee nodded, wiped her face with her sleeve, stood and hugged Camila and they both went to make dinner.

Three Years Later

I was accepted

Vee read the text again and again. She’d known this was coming, but it meant she’d be away from Gigi even longer while Gigi went to veterinary school and then a one year internship with a clinic. She closed her eyes in thought, rested like that for a few minutes then opened them. She turned on her full-spectrum lights and looked down at the illustration on her tablet: the Cthulhoid horror on it had a princess in its tentacles, but it didn’t see the dagger she held behind her back. The princesses grim smile said she knew that she’d had to get into the horror’s grasp to kill it and she’d do what was necessary.

Vee’s phone buzzed and she jumped. She’d forgotten to put it in its drawer and the sound of it made her skin crawl. She sighed and looked at it, expecting another text from Gigi, but this was an email notification. She sighed again, and dithered with her finger over her phone before finally opening it and then opening her email. She didn’t recognize the email address, so she opened it in protected mode. She read it, then she read it again and again, trying to decide if it was legitimate. She looked up the company it came from, then the person it came from, then reviews from artists who’d worked with them. Finally, she closed her email, turned off her tablet, turned off her full-spectrum lights and sat in the dark in her room. She stayed that way for almost an hour before she texted Gigi.

I’m happy for you, but also sad that you’ll be gone longer. I got an offer to illustrate Wizard Warrior cards for Wizards of Seattle! I looked it up and it looks legit. They say they saw some of my work when one of their programmers for their digital cards saw a commission of mine and then they looked me up.

Gigi texted back right away.

That’s great! I’m sorry I’ll be away longer, but I will have 3 weeks after I graduate and before I go to vet school and I look forward to spending them with you.

I love you, Vee and I want to spend my life with you.

Vee smiled. They’d been basically engaged for a year, but Gigi wanted to finish school. She was driven and Mom had been there and been encouraging about Gigi going to vet school. She had told Gigi she’d always have a summer job and a place in her clinic when she was graduated.

Thinking of Mom made Vee text her about her offer. Camila texted back that she’d have her lawyer look over the Wizards of Seattle contract that was attached to the email.

Five Years Later

Vee opened the video call. Her agent was dimly backlit; he knew about Vee’s sensory issues.

“Hey! Good news, bad news!” he said exuberantly like always.

“Bad first,” Vee said.

“Wizards of Seattle didn’t offer you any contracts for the upcoming set.”

Vee grimaced. She’d been expecting it since they switched art directors there, but it still stung. The pay was a big part of why Camila had been able to take less hours at the clinic and be more of a supervisory vet.

“Okay, not unexpected. How about the good news.”

“Tripleday Publishing wants you to meet with one of their authors to discuss illustrating graphic novels based on their work and if they like it to make a new animated series on it.”

Vee raised an eyebrow. The graphic novel probably wouldn’t make up for the loss of the Wizards of Seattle income, but an animated series probably would.

“What’s the series?” Vee asked.

“They actually won’t say. I think they’re afraid of leaks, but I’ve been asking around and I think it’s a reboot of the Good Witch Azura by Mildred Featherwhyle.”

Vee sat back heavily and almost fell off her chair.

“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” she whispered.

“I think it’s going to be the Good Witch Azura series. Rumor has it that Mildred Featherwhyle has finished a darker, updated reboot and that she’s signed a movie or television deal.”

“How would she have heard about me?” Vee asked.

“I’m guessing from the illustrations for the body horror anthology that Tripleday published last year.”

“Wow.” Vee thought about how Luz would react to find out that Vee might work on the Good Witch Azura.

“If it is the Good Witch Azura, I want it. I want it badly. I’ll fly to a meeting if I have to.”

Her agent blinked. She’d never offered to leave Connecticut before.

“I’ll get back to you by the end of work tomorrow.”

Vee nodded. The rest of the call was about residuals, which were smaller than Vee had hoped.

It was only an hour later when her agent texted her a meeting link for 10 a.m. the next day. Vee didn’t tell Camila about it so she wouldn’t be disappointed if it fell through. She slept poorly that night and woke up with her head pounding. She turned on her full spectrum lights and changed the curtains covering her walls to bright primaries. After showering, she dressed in one of her best dresses and put on the string of pearls that Mom had given her for luck.

Right at ten she opened the meeting link and was unsurprised to see MIldred Featherwhyle. She didn’t look any older than she had on her book covers.

“Vee Noceda?” she asked.

“Yes. You’re Mildred Featherwhyle. My sister was a huge fan of yours.”

“Was?”

“She’s gone to live somewhere else,” Vee said.

Mildred smiled.

“Yes, I know. She went to the Demon Realm, right?”

“I—Uh…umm…what?” Vee stammered. The red curtain chimed at her in warning.

“I saw your art in the anthology. You’ve either been to the Demon Realm or you’re from the Demon Realm. That was unmistakably a basilisk in the background with a flesh-eating fairy on its shoulder.”

“I—I—I,” Vee kept stammering.

“Breathe child; I’m not here to expose you or capture you. I want to work with you because you’ve seen what I’m writing about and I like the honesty of your artwork. You know what it’s like to be trapped in your body.”

She paused.

“Most people seem to think its a reference to your illness, but I think it’s because you have to pretend to be something you’re not…like me.”

“Is it safe to talk over this link?” Vee asked.

“It’s the best technology. The NSA would have to work for years to break the encryption. I paid for it myself.” Mildred smiled, showing more teeth than Vee thought was normal.

“What are you?” Vee asked.

“Oh, neither witch nor demon, nor human. I’ve lived in this dimension long enough to see the rise of man…and maybe I’ll see its fall if you don’t change your ways. Now what are you?”

Mldred’s eyes glowed and Vee couldn’t look away. She could; however, close her eyes and she did.

She heard MIldred laugh.

“I won’t hurt you; I promise.” Mildred’s voice was soft and grandmotherly.

Vee opened her eyes.

“I’m a basilisk, but I’ve been forced into a human shape permanently so I could stay here without needing magic.”

“Ah, that explains something. Your sister that went to the Demon Realm is the one who’s closing the holes between the realms? Did you take her spot in this world?”

Vee nodded yes to both questions then asked, “Wait how do you know about closing the thin spots?”

Mildred laughed and suddenly her seat was full of flames. The flames spoke in her voice.

“I’m what you’d probably call an ifrit, though I’ve had many names over the centuries. I come from another realm entirely, having travelled through the In Between. I’ve been to the Demon Realm, I’ve been to the stars with the Archivists, I’ve lived in the city of Fire and Brass.”

Suddenly she was Mildred again.

“But I like it here. I like writing for children and showing them that there’s hope and light, but also darkness and death. I want them to learn that they make their own destiny as long as they choose themselves.”

She looked at Vee again.

“You can help with that. Your art has truth in it that goes beyond its form. Your colors and subjects give life to themes that sometimes are lifeless in most human artists. Only rarely do humans achieve that level of consciousness combined with talent that sublimates to the divine.”

“I have that?” Vee squeaked.

“Yes, and now that I know what you are, I understand why.”

“What’s the project?” Vee asked, changing the subject.

“You’d be Art Director for the graphic novel based on my new novel and if it goes well, which it will, then you’ll be Art Director for the animated film for it. It’s a lot darker and about Azura and Hecate’s children discovering the truth of what happened with Villainous Lucy and their culpability in her death.”

“It pays quite well, and in addition, I can grant a boon.”

“A wish?” Vee whispered.

“No, not a wish, but a boon. I’m not omnipotent. I can offer money, power, travel between worlds if your sister should wish to return.”

“But the soft spots they’re closing?” Vee asked.

“I can travel without ripping them open. I understand what they’re doing and why. The Demon Realm had become too much in conjunction with this world; I could feel it. But my ways are not their ways and I can do it.”

“I—can you make it so text messages pass more easily and not just when the realms are in conjunction?” Vee asked. She got up and switched her curtain to a tangerine orange.

“I could make communication better, yes, but it would be different than you think. You’d write in a book like a diary and it would appear in an identical diary there. It would be writing only; voice would take too much magic power to cross the In Between.”

“If you can do that for my Mom and my sister, I’ll join you. I’ll even take less for it.”

“No you won’t. You’ll earn your money; the job will be hard. I’ll make the books and deliver them to the Demon Realm and your mother, Camila. Then I’ll send you the contract. Sign or not, the books are yours to keep.”

“Thank you,” Vee whispered.

“Don’t thank me yet,” Mildred said and hung up.

Vee sat there for a long time before getting up and calling Camila.

The book appeared on their table two days later with a note from Luz. It talked about Manny and it was clear that it couldn’t have come from anyone else. Camila cried while writing in it about everything that had happened. They discovered that photos wouldn’t travel, but Luz drew pictures of her wedding with Amity and their child, Azura. Vee drew back what Mom looked like now and the promise ring she had given to Gigi. No matter how many pages they filled, there were always more.

Vee signed the contract and drew the graphic novel. It sold amazingly well. Interviewers were always surprised by her reclusiveness and her disabilities, but she told them they weren’t disabilities, but rather just who she was. She finished the novel and then started working on the film. She’d just started putting the finishing touches on it when Gigi came back to Gravesfield as a newly minted veterinarian. She was going to do an internship with another clinic in Gravesfield then Camila would hire her for the clinic.

The book’s advance paid for the abandoned house next door and the first residual for it paid for the renovations. The movie advance paid for her wedding to Gigi and their move next door. Camila loved having them close, but also loved having the house to herself.

The movie was a smash and Vee’s star rose, but she stayed in Gravesfield with her wife. The world was too big, and this small part of it she had made was her part, her family.

Her family. She knew what she wanted and called Mildred with Gigi.

“Mildred, I know I don’t have the right to ask for another boon, but there’s something I would like if you could do it.”

“You wish a child?” Mildred guessed.

Gigi smiled and Vee blushed.

“I can do it, but children born like this are often different in unexpected ways. Will you love them no matter what?”

“I will,” Gigi answered in unison with Vee. Mildred looked sharply at Gigi.

“Ah, case in point. You didn’t tell me your wife was a witch.”

“It’s not been important since Vee became human. I can’t do anything magical.” Gigi sighed.

“Oh my dear, yes you can, you just haven’t discovered it yet.”

Mildred laughed her creepy otherworldly laugh.

“I’ll send instructions on how to conceive, but Vee, you’ll have to carry the baby. It’ll be very difficult with your hyperesthesia. Are you willing to sacrifice?”

Vee met Gigi’s eyes.

“Yes.”

Mildred hung up.

“Why is she an author when she could be anything?” Gigi asked.

Vee shrugged.

“I think she just likes it.”

A thick packet came in the mail the next day with instructions on how they could conceive. Very blunt instructions. Eleven months later Manuel Caleb Noceda was born.

They lived mostly happily ever after.

[d3sertdream3r]

Loved your Saurondriel love analysis! I was wondering what are your thoughts on if Galadriel had chosen to follow Sauron would he go good again?

Thank you!! I'm glad that it made sense to you, I always worry that I'm not getting across what I'm going for when I type up things like that, lol. This is going to be another analysis, so strap in!

This question is super interesting to think about. What would the world be like if Galadriel had joined Sauron? There are so many possibilities and AU's waiting to be written on AO3 to answer that!

The way I personally see it, we have to be careful not to put the responsibility on Galadriel's shoulders. Sauron went back to evil because of him, NOT because of her. He was definitely hurt and offended when she rejected him and it made him really angry, but I don't like the idea that her rejection caused him to go evil again or that if she chose to go with him he would become a good person again. That absolves him of his own choices. Ultimately his path was up to him alone, as all of ours are. Outside influences have an impact, but we are the ones responsible for who we become.

From my perspective, Sauron was at his lowest point when he met Galadriel, and probably feeling like he could never achieve his goal of creating perfect order. That is what he's always wanted, and he sees the Valar and those that follow them as too self-righteous and hypocritical to do it right.

(Side Note: The Ring bringing out the worst in people has many reasons for doing so; the biggest of course is to get anyone that has it to return it to him should he be separated from it. I like the idea that at least part of it is to show The Good Guys™️ their dark side as a way of saying “This is who you truly are. You’re just as selfish and twisted as those you’re fighting against. You’re no better than me; you crave power, praise, and blood as much as I do. Your righteousness is a mask.” )

We all have our dark parts, but we have true goodness in us as well; Mairon the Admirable was Sauron’s true goodness. When he talks about healing Middle-Earth, he’s talking about what Mairon wanted: peace through perfect order. However, his version of peace could only be achieved by taking away the ability to make choices from those lower than the Valar and Maiar; hence why he wants the “power over flesh”. His original motivations were admirable as his name suggested, but his methods were far from it. He followed Morgoth because he believed that he was the only one willing to do what needed to be done to create a perfect world.

But over time, his quest for peace evolved into a power trip of control. His motivations became as selfish as his methods. After losing everything, he becomes repentant out of fear of what the Valar will do to him, but he still has that dark need for control nagging at his heart. Control over everyone and everything. The sad thing is, I don’t think he even realizes how dark his motivations have become in RoP. I believe he still thinks he’s doing what must be done for his idea of true peace. He thinks Galadriel would be of great help to him in getting there.

I think he WANTS to love her; he certainly wants her by his side. But he wants to control everything even more; including her. As I said before, truly loving her would mean putting her before his dark desires. When he had the opportunity to do that, he didn’t. He resorted to manipulating her friends, exploiting her fears, and leaving her to drown.

There was still a bit of Mairon the Admirable inside of him, a shred of light that surfaced after he lost everything and wasn’t sure what to do with himself. That’s what Galadriel latched onto when they met. Interestingly, I think her dark side was drawn to Sauron as well. They both have immense god complexes, fiercely passionate emotions, wills of steel, uncontrollable anger issues. They both feel broken and lost, and their searching for their own versions of peace. Their goodness and their darkness are communicating with each other as they bond. The writers and actors did an amazing job exploring that.

In Sauron’s mind, he may even think that he IS loving Galadriel by subjecting her to his control and manipulation. He believes he knows what’s best for her and everyone else in Middle-Earth. But true love, selfless love, doesn’t come with the weight of control.

The thing is, we know that Galadriel can be quite power hungry as well, and she says in Fellowship of the Ring “In place of a dark lord, you shall have a queen”. Not beside the dark lord, in place of. That’s an important distinction. She also said that “two rings will divide”. If she got a ring of her own and took her place beside him, I think they would’ve both become too corrupted by their dark sides and ended up battling each other for ultimate control anyway. It would be like a hurricane vs a volcano eruption.

TL;DR I don’t think he would’ve become good again if Galadriel chose to join him. As far as a romantic relationship, I don’t think Saurondriel could’ve made it work in canon even if he chose to become Mairon for any reason. Celeborn is still alive and I think Galadriel would stay loyal to him once she learned that.

I am excited to read all the fanfic about the two of them finding both holy and unholy ways to be together though! 😉😂

[romeoandjulietyouwish]

#98 Childhood friend au for vaxleth?!

Tim Finnegan's Wake by the Tramps

Korrin watches with a soft smile as his daughter skips along the path, hand in hand with Vax'ildan and Vex'ahlia. Beside him, Elania wears the same expression. "I'm very glad she has the two of them," Korrin confides in her. "She was very lonely when she was younger. I've never seen her smile so much since her mother left."

Elania hums, "I'm glad that we can help her, I know my twins adore her very much. All they can talk about is the next time they get to see her."

"Well maybe for Winter's Crest we'll come down for Byroden. It's been a while since Keyleth and I made the journey instead of you."

"I think that they would like that very much," Elania tells him. Keyleth is now dragging the twins by the hands towards the festival, the music now reaching their ears and the sweet smell of flowers and sweets filling the air.

Korrin and Elania trail behind them, giving the kids the illusion of independence. All three of them have flower crowns on their heads, dressed in bright colors like the rest of the Ashari are. And when they reach the festival and the music, Keyleth wastes no time in turning to Vax and declaring, "You have to dance with me."

He frowns, "I don't know how to."

"It's easy!" Before Vax can protest anymore, Keyleth takes his hand and drags him onto the dance floor. It warms Korrin's heart to see so many of the dancing Ashari cheer for the little girl and her partner, all of them excited to see her so happy.

Her mother should be here. It's a thought that plagues Korrin's mind every single day, he feels so lost without his wife. But he's thankful that his daughter has been able to find some of that maternal figure in Elania.

Korrin watches as Keyleth and Vax dance around, more galloping and jumping than actual dancing, but both of them look so happy he knows that not a soul will correct them.

And when the song is over and the crowd breaks into applause, Keyleth hugs Vax quickly, thanking him for dancing with her as she instead rushes forward and takes Vex's hands, declaring it's her turn now.

"She's going to be quite the force when she grows up," Elania tells him.

Korrin sighs, "She'll have to be." Vilya would have smacked him for that, for saying that their daughter should be anything but a child. But Korrin knows better, she'll have to learn to carry the weight of so much well before she's ready.

But for now, he supposes, Keyleth should get to play with her friends and be the happy child he knows she is.

[julyarchives]

Don’t You Hear Me Howling? || (M) || 08

Finding out you are a female Alpha sparkled some rivalry inside your pack, and resulted in you losing your best friend and your life turning upsidedown, so leaving for college was the fresh start you needed. Years later, you are about to finish your degree and suddenly this past comes back to mess with your head.

→ Pairing: Yeo One x Female Reader | Kino x Female Reader

→ Genre: A/B/O AU; Omegaverse; College AU.

→ Words:  3.8K

→ Contains: mentions of alcohol; wolf shifting; some Alpha-Alpha tension; Y/N making out with a special guest 👀; smut; Jealousy

→ A/n: Thus was supposed to be posted yesterday, but we sort of got lost in the calendar, so here it is now (oops?) we hope it isn't too lame and you guys like it! Also, as mentioned in the warning, there is a special appearance heheh.

→ Index: 01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 • 06 • 07 • 08

As much fun and easygoing as things were for you, you felt glad for the holidays break. You got out of the cab and breathed in deeply, inhaling the scent of the reservation forest that boarded the neighborhood.

Every year your pack has their own ritual to celebrate your ancestors during the holiday, and you were actually looking forward to participating this year, after missing it since you started college, for many personal reasons - and one of them included a very difficult talk with your parents. Also, so much has happened this semester that being in the small city allowed you to breathe some fresh air and organize your thoughts.

Your parent’s received you immediately as you went through the front door, with big hugs and wide smiles.

“It’s so good to have you home” your mom patted your head, her small frame making her reach high to do so.

“Let me take your stuff to your room” Your dad grabbed your luggage and turned around to take them upstairs

“Oh, it’s fine, I can take them” You tried to stop him, but he pretended he didn’t listen. But you knew he loved feeling like the man of the house. You redirected yourself to your mom “I think I could use a shower and a nap, the trip was too long.”

“Of course, honey, I’ll call you for lunch.”

You crossed paths with your dad in the doorway, who offered a small smile. He wasn’t very fond of small talk, so that was usual of him. You closed the door behind you and sat on the edge of the twin bed centered on the room. You looked around and took in the scent of your old home, which immediately brought back so many memories.

Before you left for college, you and Changgu were on bad terms, so there weren't pictures of you together anymore, but you could still see the tape marks on where they used to be glued on your old vanity mirror. You also remembered perfectly which drawer you have tucked them away, the one that you were currently staring at, contemplating taking a look at them. In the end, you just shook the idea off of you and followed what you’ve told your mom.

The day was rather quiet and peaceful, the big event being held in the night, and the talk you were dreading could wait after the celebrations. Your parents had visited you in college a couple of times, and you have visited them too, but it was rare, never for the holidays, so they prepared a special family lunch and you couldn’t deny that you had a good time being around them.

All the pack had gathered in a big clearing at night to celebrate, and the bonfire already burned high. You could feel all the attention shifting to you as you arrived, your dominant scent overpowering everyone else's, and you held yourself high.

The day you left the city you promised yourself to never get close to this pack again. They’ve ignored you and diminished you as an Alpha, and you knew this place wasn’t for you. They were all surprised to see you back, they could barely hide it, but every time you made eye contact with someone, they quickly turned away avoiding you.

You didn’t hide, not ashamed of you or your choices, but it was rather uncomfortable, the tension almost palpable in the air. You quickly grabbed your phone and texted Wooseok.

“ Please tell me you headed back town for the holidays”

To which he quickly replied

“I actually came to a friend’s house, I’m not there, sorry :(“

You sighed. The cold weather wasn’t so bad, the cool breeze was blowing softly and the fire kept the place warm if you got close enough. Your parents stopped along the way to say hi to their friends, but you followed closer to the bonfire, where your eyes quickly met the current Alpha.

For a moment you had forgotten he was Changgu’s father, but seeing him immediately brought the information back to you. They looked alike so much, the same eyes full of expression and sharp jawline. He was staring at you, not so happily, and nodded when you looked at him. Your expression could be sour, you weren’t sure how much you were holding back, but you respectfully nodded back.

He sustained the stare a couple more seconds, so did you, but soon he was calling everyone’s attention. Everyone gathered close and his wife stood by his side. That’s when you saw Changgu, getting close to his father with a stoic expression on his face.

You shoved your hands in the pocket of your jacket and offered a half-smile when he noticed you. At first, he seemed confused but returned the gesture

“Brothers and sisters” The senior Alpha called “tonight we celebrate the ones who have left us. Our ancestors passed us their wisdom,” He spoke firmly and slowly, looking around at everyone. “Their strength lives in us, and so we honor them with our nature.”

There was a long speech about union and tradition that to you it sounded too much like hypocrisy since the traditions would include you, supposedly the next Alpha of the pack, to be standing there as a successor. You did not bother, because you expected nothing else.

The leader of the pack was the first to turn. His skin shredded, giving space for the long dark brown and silver fur to grow as a howl echoed loudly, bringing out everyone’s instinct, but especially your Alpha ones, and soon you had shifted.

This was one of the reasons you wanted to come. Being in university has you taking suppressants daily, so letting yourself run free was like getting rid of tight clothes that restricted your movements. You howled loudly to follow the collective chant, an ode to the departed ones, a hymn for the pack, the freedom of instinct.

The pack’s Alpha ran in the front, leading everyone with his big frame. Changgu followed him, and it’s been so many years since you’ve seen his wolf form that you felt surprised. He was bulky and big, his posture very imponent, and you stopped to admire it for a second.

The run was freeing. The wind hiding your wolf nozzle, pushing your fur back, your paws hitting the dirt. You needed that, and just letting yourself act on your instincts was the best thing you could grant yourself at that moment.

Reaching the highest point of the forest, the collective howling restarted. You stopped right next to Changgu, whose wolf eyes watched you intently, and in wordless communication, you howled together, allowing the instinct to speak for yourselves.

…

After the traditional pack run, a feast was hosted by the Alpha, usually in his house, which was big enough to fit everyone comfortably in the large backyard.

Everyone happily celebrated what was the closest to a wolf Christmas, with an abundance of food for everyone. You sat with your parents at the assigned table, attending the event quietly, holding yourself back just enough to not drag any more attention than you were already getting. Mr. Yeo, the Alpha, customarily greeted every individual, and when he approached you and your family, you stood up and bowed respectfully.

"Thank you for having us" your father shook his hands

"It's my pleasure," Mr. Yeo politely answered, "I didn't expect your daughter to come."

He talked about you like you weren't there, and you were pretty sure that was purposefully meant to challenge your position.

"I came to pay respects to the tradition, sir" you opened a forced smile. A damn good one. "Can't let that behind me."

His eyes snapped in your direction with intensity, letting the impassive expression on his face falter for a second.

"Of course" he smoldered, masking it with a smile probably just as fake as yours.

To him, you represented a threat to his family's legacy, so it wasn't a big secret that he isn't very fond of you.

"I hope you enjoy the party," he said to you and your parents altogether, but redirected the last sentence at you "if there's anything you need, just tell me and I can provide."

"Of course, thank you so much" your mom answered gladly. She followed her leader with passion and always tried to be in good graces with him, so she's always been strict in the sense of community tradition and formalities.

"No need to thank me, ma'am" he smirked "that's just an Alpha job"

The provocation was like a punch in the gut. Ever since you were revealed an Alpha, Mr. Yeo tried to do everything in his power to deprive you of your given rights inside the pack. He raised Changgu to take his place and hated your guts for ruining his plans. He was a man of power and didn't appreciate when someone threatened that position.

"Y/N…" your mom called you with a warning tone to her voice.

You didn't notice how you were instinctively growling, low enough for only people close to the table to hear, but your Alpha emotion was strong enough to cause some heads to turn in your direction.

Mr. Yeo, of course, smiled in victory from a distance, happy to make you look bad in front of the community.

"You really don't care that he does everything to undermine me, do you?" You said to both of your parents.

"Honey, he's the Alpha." Your mom said calmly "everything he does is to protect you. Is the best for everyone."

"You do know I'm an Alpha too, right?" You scoffed, rolling your eyes.

They both stayed quiet. You looked at your dad, hoping he would say something in your favor, but he just complies with your mom's orderly silence.

"Yeah, thanks," you said, standing up and leaving.

Growing up you used to love being with your pack these kinds of celebrations were your favorite time of the year.  But now everything changed and suddenly you felt so misplaced that you felt like you didn't know anyone anymore. You knew all your neighbors, and their kids who went to school with you, but now they were almost complete strangers to you.

You grabbed a bottle of beer and looked around for the only familiar face you could find there. Changgu was not running Alpha errands with his dad, so when you found him he was surrounded by a group of girls, apparently younger than you, swooning at every charming smile of his, and you could just see how much he adored all the attention. You chuckled at his fuckboy attitude and the poor deluded girls who had a crush on him, hoping to get the son of the Alpha in love with them.

"Y/n?" You heard your name being called, taking you always from your thoughts.

The boy who called you was tall and slim, a long-ish hair half up in a ponytail and he looked happy to see you.

"Hey…?" You said with uncertainty, trying to figure out why he looked so familiar, but you just couldn't remember his name

"Hyunjin" he chuckled "I don't know if you remember me, but we went to school together."

"Right, Hyunjin, of course, I remember!" It finally clicked to you. Hyunjin was an omega, a few years younger than you but you two used to share some clubs in high school, but he didn't look so… hot. "You look so different, sorry it took me a while to recognize you."

"Yeah," he laughed shyly, scratching the back of his head. "I haven't seen you since you left for college. You look great"

His flirtatious half-smirk was very obvious and you actually thought he looked quite cute.

"You look great yourself" you bit your bottom lip, looking him up and down "But yeah, I kind of focused on graduating rather than coming here."

"I'm glad you're here now." He fully smirked this time "wanna go somewhere quieter? I'd love to catch up with you"

You felt hesitant at first, and you looked back to find Changgu again, and this time one of the girls was grabbing his arm, running his hand all over it. You wanted company for the party, and since Changgu was busy flirting, why shouldn't you do the same?

"Of course, let's do it." You took one last sip of your beer and linked arms with him.

He guided you around the house to the front porch, where you rested your elbows and watched the quiet street. Hyunjin had his back against it, looking at you.

You two actually did some catching up, and even exchanged numbers. You found out Hyunjin also went away for college, but he always came back for the holidays and breaks, and stuff like that, but nothing you were really paying attention to.

"You know, I have to confess something." He said, straightening his posture "I sort of had a crush on you, back in the days"

"Really?" You laughed softly, amused at the sudden confession. "Why didn't you say something, then?"

"Ah," he clicked his tongue. "Everyone knew you only had eyes for Changgu."

You rolled your eyes involuntarily.

"C'mon, everyone knew that, and Changgu didn't let anyone get close to you"

You were actually surprised to hear that since this wasn't something he ever told you but explained why you weren't popular with boys in high school.

"Well," you stood up and stopped directly in front of him "I don't see Changgu anywhere now, do you?"

Hyunjin grabbed your waist, pulling you closer to him, and your hands held the collar of his jacket.

"I guess I should shoot my shot, then" he licked his lips, alternating looks between your eyes and lips.

"What are you waiting for, big boy?" You challenged him.

He reached forward, kissing you rather urgently. His plumpy lips felt soft against yours, and he was a really good kisser. He pulled you against him, and you intertwined your fingers on the loose hair behind his neck. He gasped when you tugged on it, and you grinned into the kiss for getting a good reaction out of him. His hands sneaked down your waist, boldly squeezing your ass as the kiss got more intense, and he earned a shy hum of satisfaction out of you.

The noise of someone clearing their throat interrupted you two, making both of your heads snap in its direction, but neither of you really letting go of each other.

"Y/N" Changgu called you rather sternly, with a matching frown on his face. "I need you to help me deal with some stuff"

You sighed.

"Looks like some things didn't change, did they?" Hyunjin whispered just for you to hear,

"I'm not done with you yet." You whispered back, nibbling his earlobe.

"Now." Changgu interrupted again.

You pecked Hyunjin's lips before detangling from him, only then noticing that his hands were still in your ass.

"Text me, ok?" You said to him loudly as you followed Changgu inside the house.

He walked large steps and didn't bother looking behind to see if you were following.

"You couldn't have picked a worse moment to need me to deal with some bullshit, could you?" You whined, but he still paid no attention to you "all night, I was there doing absolutely nothing, and when I finally started to have some fun you decided I was important enough to attend whatever this is."

You babbled but still, he didn't respond, and you just kept following him around corridors in the big house, finally entering a dark room

"What is so important anyway that you had to call me so urgently-"

Changgu interrupted you when he pushed you against the door, making it slam loudly, his lips crashing against yours with a certain vigor.

At first, your eyes widened in surprise, and you pushed him back to look at him, but his hold on you didn't loosen up.

"What the fuck, Changgu?"

"Just," he stopped to think, breath already heavy in anticipation "shut up"

He resumed kissing you, and this time you rolled with it because, you couldn't deny, kissing him was something you ever saw yourself getting tired of. He pressed his whole body against yours, grinding on you making you gasp every time his thigh in between your legs rubbed against your clothed core.

"Fuck, Changgu" you said when he attacked your neck.

You pull the hair on his nape, making him look at you

"Is that what this is about?" You asked, forcing yourself to think straight "you can't bear the thought of me fucking someone else?"

Rather than answering, Changgu just growled, making you laugh ironically

"So you can flirt with all those pretty girls out there," you raised your eyebrows, "but I can not hook up with people? As if, Changgu"

You weren't as mad as much as you were enjoying taunting him for being so desperate to have you his.

"Just shut up, for fucks sake" he rolled his eyes and picked you, only to throw you on the bed behind him.

You finally recognized Changgu's old bedroom, with the light that came from the window above it. It was different, with no more posters taped to the wall or the action figures he liked to collect. It was a simple room with minimal decoration now.

"Gonna break another bed, wolfie?" You teased "I don't think daddy would be very happy to know you're fooling around with the Alpha"

He growled loudly, hooking his hands around your legs and pulling you closer to him, your bottom hitting his knees, which were pressed against the mattress. He leaned down and viciously kissed you, nibbling and ducking your bottom lip.

"You know, you're way hotter when your mouth is shut" he panted in between kisses.

Having turned into wolves mere hours ago had all your instincts right under the skin. The dominance, the connection between you and your Beta, the lust. Everything was on edge and you guessed that's why Changgu was so desperate.

He unbuttoned your jeans and pulled them down with your underwear in one swift motion while you took off your shirt, revealing your bare breasts underneath it. Changgu licked his lips and chuckled cockly when he ran a finger down your slit, showing you how wet you already were.

He took his shirt off, but didn't bother with his pants, and leaned back down to lick a long stripe of your juices, brushing softly on your clit on the way.

You moaned weakly.

"I'll show you why you're better here than with the what's-his-name out there." He said in a low husky voice.

He kept his hand around your legs and captured your sensitive nub in between his lips, making you buck your hips and grab his hair in response.

His back muscles were on display for you and it was hot to watch it contract and relax as he moved in between your legs.

"You're so eager for me, aren't you?" You teased him again and he hummed, sending vibrations down your core. "Do your worst, let me see if you're worth my time"

He leaned back up and you hated the loss of contact, but he quickly spun you around and pulled your hips up exposing your ass to him, and a harsh slap sting on your skin, accompanied by his deep growling that he didn't seem to have control over, and you yelped at the burning pain.

You heard him fumbling with his belt and soon he was entering you with no warning, making you bury your head in the pillow to muffle a loud moan. He didn't give you any time to adjust as he pounded into you fast, showing his desperation. He angled his hips just right to hit the perfect spot inside you to make you scream.

For a second you were afraid someone would hear you, but the backyard was not that close to the bedroom, and you tried to suppress your noises the best you could. Changgu seemed to be out of control with the way he hissed and moaned, your name falling out of his lips here and there.

A sloppy rushed fuck was not on your plans tonight but, fuck, it felt good. Changgu was getting sloppier by the minute and you just knew he wouldn't last long. You reached in between your legs and circled around your glistening clit, realizing you were in no better state than he was.

The closer you felt to your high, the more you squeezed your walls around Changgu's member, and the louder he moaned.

"Are you trying to get us caught?" You managed to say "such a loud wolf."

He didn't respond, too focused on fucking you, but he didn't get quieter.

You fastened your movements and had again your head buried in the pillow, moaning freely as you reached your orgasm, your whole body vibrating in pleasure. Changgu started thrusting faster, gripping your hips harder and pulling you against him to meet his thrust, and soon enough you felt his seed dripping down your thighs, strangled noises caught in his throat as he rode his high.

You relaxed your body when he pulled out of you, laying down with your stomach against the mattress, crossing your arms under your head for support. Changgu threw himself by your side, facing the ceiling and panting, looking fucked out already.

"Jealous wolf, aren't we?" You tapped his chest, provoking him

"Shut up" he chuckled

"How many girls did you fuck in this bedroom anyway? You were quite popular with the ladies back in high school. I bet they all died to be in Yeo Changgu's bedroom" you mocked a dreamy-girly voice.

"Do you really want to talk about who I fucked in high school?" He chuckled.

"Well, someone had to get laid, right? Since I couldn't because someone told boys to stay away from me." You smirked at his embarrassed expression

"Hyunjin is such a snitch, he was never good enough for you" he rolled his eyes and looked away.

"And who is? You?" You scoffed

"I didn't hear you complaining when you were screaming against the pillow just now"

You slapped his chest and he laughed loudly

"Jerk" you mumbled.

"Guess you can go back to your pretty boy out there", he said in a teasing voice, "if you're still interested, that is".

"So cocky, aren't you?", he laughed at your mocking expression.

"Maybe. But we still have festivities to attend".

"Unfortunately".

You got dressed in comfortable silence and after a few minutes, you were good to go. Changgu stood by the door and smiled at you before opening it and waving for you to walk by him. As you walked out, a satisfied smile took over your face and you only hoped people wouldn't notice the smell of sex on you too much. You and Changgu parted ways and for a second you let the whole tension of your body relax during the holiday. Just for a while.

[astralaffairs]

think of it as like an au or something, but I'm just curious to see how president thom would react to seeing someone forcing themselves on mc at like a state dinner if they're not together, i feel like he'd try to stand up for her but also it'd be kinda sus of the president standing up for some press figure who's been talking shit abt him

i love this concept omg. i got an ask similar to this a while back, so i’ve been sitting on a lot of ideas for it. tbh thomas would hardly be able to restrain himself from fucking throttling whoever’s harassing mc, but he isn’t gonna refrain from stepping in. anyway, his standing up for her then makes the media hail him as a feminist icon for like the next 3 weeks

this broke my heart to write tho lowkey </3

-----

"You're… you're Y/N L/N, aren't you? With the Washington Post?"

Y/N had been sour all night. Her feet were cramping in her heels, the tag on her dress was starting to itch, and worst of all, her editor had forced her to take the invite Alex had extended her to the state dinner. She’d had no plans of interacting with the Jefferson administration — in fact, her plan had been to stay as far from them as possible so that she could focus on work, but she mentioned the state dinner offhandedly to a coworker, another had overheard, and the next thing she knew, her boss had found out.

Moreover, she was fairly certain that Thom– no, President Jefferson had only invited Alex to antagonize him, so it was no wonder he didn’t want to go. However, when he gave her the invite, she protested that, since it wasn’t addressed to her, she couldn’t go, and she certainly couldn’t go without him, but both Alex and her editor had insisted it’d be fine. There would be enough people present that she’d slip under the radar, so what was the harm?

And slip under the radar she did. As Vice President and Second Lady, James and Dolley were unattainable company for the evening; they were busy with the heads of PACs, with senators, with members of the State Department. The latter group included Lafayette — he’d been promoted not long after President Jefferson took office, which ruled him, too, out of her options for who she could hang out with. He was off wooing foreign diplomats.

So, there she was, standing alone at the side of the room with her expensive champagne (there was an open bar, thank god) and the small-but-growing pile of business cards she’d collected throughout the night.

At least, she was alone until the anonymous man in question approached her. She turned to him with her eyebrows raised.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m Y/N,” she said, surprised that she’d been recognized. “I’m not with the Post, anymore, though.”

“Of course. My mistake,” he apologized, and when he extended to her a hand to shake, she stuffed her newly-acquired business cards back into her purse “I’m Richard Lestrade. I work in the Department of Defense.”

“Nice to meet you.” She had little interest in chatting with him, but she politely shook his hand. “What can I do for you?”

He laughed softly, but it made Y/N raise an eyebrow. “I don’t have some kind of agenda. I just recognized you from your time as a news analyst and thought I’d come introduce myself.”

“Of course.”

She only responded so as to placate him, and she thought that how curt her reply was would deter him from trying to strike up a conversation. She met his eyes with an expectant eyebrow raised as she took another sip from her champagne.

“So how’d you get an invite here tonight?” he asked after a moment. “I mean, I was invited because I work for him, working on naval strategy and all, so it’s just a perk of the job, but I’m surprised to see you. With how much you’ve done to keep President Jefferson from being elected, I wouldn’t think you’d end up on the guest list for state dinners.”

She shrugged. “Alexander Hamilton invited me, actually.”

“Secretary Hamilton was invited? Really?” At that, the disbelief in Richard’s expression was almost patronizing. “Wow, I didn’t hear that he and President Jefferson had buried the hatchet. I always thought they were rivals, or even enemies.”

“Oh, make no mistake, they hate each other,” she said coolly.

“So why would Secretary Hamilton be invited?”

“So Jefferson could rub it in his face that he won the election.” She shrugged, turning back to face the room before them, but Richard seemed surprised.

“No, no, he wouldn’t be that petty,” he scoffed, but his tone was condescending, as though her theory had absolutely no foundation. “He’s the president. I think he has higher priorities than antagonizing someone who’s old news.”

Y/N resisted rolling her eyes at his calling Alex ‘old news,’ as though Richard was somehow a higher calibre of invitee to the state dinner. “You underestimate how catty politicians are. Jefferson included.”

“President Jefferson,” he corrected her, and she gave him a sidelong glance, eyeing him warily.

“Sure.”

“But anyway, I suppose I’m glad President Jefferson invited Hamilton, if it means you’re here, too.”  Richard raised his glass to her as though in tribute, and she was sure the smile she offered him came off as more of a grimace. She had little appreciation for his heavy-handed advance.

“That’s nice of you to say,” she replied mildly before draining the remainder of her glass. She turned to him with a nonchalant, nearly-blank expression. “And as great as it’s been to meet you, I think I have to run. I’m heading out soon and need to say a few goodbyes.” Truthfully, she had no intention of leaving. Her editor would have her head if he found out she cut bait so early in the night, and if she fled before Jefferson addressed the entire room, she wouldn’t be able to provide her boss with the synopsis of the presidential address. She only wanted to leave that conversation.

“You’re leaving so early? Why’s that?”

She shrugged. “I suppose the Jefferson Administration isn’t really my scene. I’ll see you around, Mr. Lestrade.”

“Please, it’s Richard,” he corrected her. “But you should stay longer. If you leave now, you’ll miss President Jefferson’s address.”

What was it with this guy and using Jefferson’s full title? “Please, consider for a moment that missing it may be entirely the point,” she said dryly, and Richard gave a light laugh.

“Oh, please. I’m sure that even a democrat like you can appreciate a good speech.” ‘Even a democrat like her’? What was that supposed to mean? “As a journalist, this should be right up your alley.”

“I’m sure I’ll be able to find the transcript online in a few hours. I’ll survive.”

“It’ll have a much greater impact in person,” he countered, and she sighed. “So, please, stay. Can I get you a drink? What are you drinking?”

“Thanks, but I’m okay,” she said. As though she was about to let a man she’d met only minutes before handle her drink. That would be a recipe for disaster. “I really should get going.”

“No, wait,” he protested, and when she began walking away from him anyway, he caught her by the arm, pulled her back. She turned back to him with an expectant expression, trying to quell the anger building in her chest. “You can’t leave yet; dinner hasn’t even been served.”

“I can fend for myself on that front,” she assured him, and although her teeth were clenched, she plastered on a smile. “So if you’d kindly let go of my arm, I’m going to be on my way.”

“I was hoping to get to know you, actually.” He released her, but her immediately marching off toward the center of the room caught him off guard. “No, wait!” She stifled a groan when she heard him hurrying after her, and as he came to a stop in front of her, blocking her path, she narrowed her eyes. “Come on, Y/N. Come sit down with me and some of my friends; it’ll be a nice time, okay? I’m a nice guy.” He wore a hopeful smile, apparently convinced of his words as she folded her arms.

“I’m sure you are, but I need to get back to my table to retrieve my coat,” she said apologetically. Her anger didn’t show on her face, thankfully. “So I’m sorry, but I can’t.”

“Oh, sure you can; you’re just being stubborn,” he insisted. He took a step forward toward Y/N, and she took a step back. “Now, I know we’re from opposite parties, and all, but I’ve been a fan of your reporting for a long time, and I’d really appreciate it if you just came and sat down with us for a few minutes. You and I have a lot in common. I have a feeling we’d hit it off.”

The coy smile he wore made her want to grimace, and when he added a wink, she did grimace, visibly. “This is nice and all, but I’m not really interested.”

“Sure, because you don’t know me yet,” Richard countered, and he took another step toward her, grabbing her by the elbow as he came to stand next to her. Y/N could feel her heart pounding as he forcibly turned her, pointed out his table. “Let’s go. We’re sitting right over there.”

“No, really, I’d rather not,” she repeated, and as she tried to pull her arm away from his grip, he pulled her toward him with an arm around her waist — it was then she realized she couldn’t do nearly anything about it without making a scene. And given her history, a scene was the last thing she wanted. “Please let go of me.”

“You don’t have to stay long; I’m not asking much.” It was then that he began leading her toward the table, and as she stumbled alongside him, panic was rising in her chest. She was looking around for some way out, some familiar face — Dolley, Lafayette, someone — but nobody appeared. “Just have a seat. Let me get you a drink.”

And there he was, repeating his offer. No matter who it was, the insistence on drinking with her would make her wary, but this man already had worry building in her throat, so the feeling only compounded with his words. “I don’t want to come with you. Get your hands off of me.” He didn’t stop, though, and she finally had to dig in her heels, trying to pull back from him. She knew he was stronger than her, but her resistance to him dragging her along certainly grabbed his attention. Richard frowned.

“Oh, come on, don’t be such a–”

“‘M fairly sure I heard her tellin’ you to let go of her.” The voice was stern, and it made both her and Richard freeze, and for entirely different reasons. Y/N would’ve been able to recognize it anywhere, the southern drawl, the lazy enunciation, and her pulse was then spiking for an entirely different reason. Richard turned immediately toward the sound, releasing her, but Y/N stayed put.

“Mr. President,” Richard said breathlessly, his eyes wide. “It’s an honor to meet you; I–”

“What’s your name?”

“Richard Lestrade, sir.” He sounded excited to have courted Jefferson’s attention, apparently oblivious to the undertone of anger in his voice. Y/N recognized it clearly, though, too clearly, and it made her sick to her stomach. She resented the familiarity.

“D’you work here, Mr. Lestrade?”

“I work for the Department of Defense, sir. I’m a naval strategist. Graduated top of my class from the US Naval Academy; I actually helped plan the–”

“I don’t remember askin’ for your resume.” Then, the annoyance Jefferson exuded was clear, unmistakable in his snarky interjection. Y/N had to purse her lips to keep herself from laughing, especially as she glanced over at Richard and found him pale as a ghost.

“Of course not, sir. I’m sorry.”

“I don’t think I’m the one you should be apologizin’ to, now,” Jefferson said frankly, and Y/N didn’t see him watching her until she reluctantly turned, glancing between him and Lestrade. “Ms. Y/N L/N, correct?” he asked, and she nearly winced.

“Yes, that’s me.” Her strained smile was fooling nobody, but when he saw it, Jefferson’s composure didn’t waver.

“Did I hear you tellin’ Mr. Lestrade not to touch you?”

When he addressed her, she forced herself to shake her nerves, he jumbled emotions, off for the time being, and she pushed her shoulders back, presenting a front of confidence.

“You did, as a matter of fact.” She looked up tentatively to meet his eyes — and she immediately wished she hadn’t. While his expression exuded nonchalance, his casual authority over the situation, she knew him well enough to recognize the concern in his eyes: his forehead was creased almost imperceptibly, one eyebrow was quirked up, and one corner of his mouth twitched down. Her jaw tensed as she swallowed her heartache.

She was grateful that he then turned back to Richard. “Care to explain yourself, Mr. Lestrade?”

The interaction had stirred a bit of a crowd around them by then; the others in their immediate vicinity had ended their conversations at once upon hearing the confrontation, but the hush seemed to be spreading further across the room, and Richard was glancing left and right as he gaped at Jefferson. “Oh, no, it was just a misunderstanding. Look–”

“I’m not sure it was,” Jefferson cut him off, and his tone was biting. “Forgive me if this is too presumptuous, but I don’t think there’s anything unclear about a woman tellin’ you to take your hands off of her.”

“We were just chatting.”

“That wasn’t what it looked like,” Jefferson said, folding his arms. “From where I was standin’, it seemed like you grabbed a woman against her will, and you refused to let go. ‘S that accurate, Ms. L/N?”

She wished desperately that he’d stop addressing her. Her throat went dry as he all but admitted he’d been watching her, and she could only nod, unable to find her voice. Thankfully, he took that as enough of an answer.

“I never meant to hurt Y/N, sir. Honestly, I’m so sorry if I did–” Richard turned to Y/N. “I’m so sorry if I hurt you, but my intention wasn’t–”

“You blatantly ignored me telling you to stop,” she said. His speaking to Y/N once again made her blood boil, and she couldn’t help but snap at him, despite how lightly she felt herself to be treading in present company. “Don’t pretend like this was some unfortunate accident.”

Lestrade went from gaping at Jefferson to gaping at her, then. “I… I’m sorry, again, but come on, you know I was just trying to be friendly,” he defended, and she rolled her eyes, getting tired of his excuse. The edge of aggression in his tone made her take a wary step away from him, though. “I invited you to–”

“You said you work for the Department of Defense, correct?” Jefferson cut him off, diverting his attention from Y/N, and she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, silently thanking him for bailing her out.

“Yes, sir.” Lestrade offered a weak smile, but his fear was obvious in how he was holding himself. Jefferson regarded him with an air of disgust, looking him up and down.

“Well, you don’t anymore.” Y/N’s eyes widened at the declaration, but President Jefferson paid her no mind. “ I’ll be in touch with your supervisor to have you dismissed.”

“What?” Lestrade asked, “but, sir, that’s my job. I need to–”

“Not anymore, it isn’t.” President Jefferson’s words were firm. “Now, please, I’d like to ask you to leave now so it isn’t necessary for me to have you shown out with a security detail.”

Lestrade froze, and for a moment, Y/N expected him to protest, but when he saw all the people around them watching him, anticipating his next move, he turned on his heel, flushing bright red, and started toward the exit. Y/N and Jefferson were both scowling as they watched him leave.

However, it wasn’t long before Jefferson turned to Y/N, although she hadn’t turned back to face him.

“Are you alright, Ms. L/N?” he asked mildly, and she was sure her surprise pertaining to the whole situation was written across her face when she met his gaze. She nodded hesitantly. “I’d appreciate hearin’ you say it.”

“I’m just fine,” she assured him, voice shaky, and his tense shoulders relaxed, although he didn’t look fully convinced. “But thanks for your concern, really, Thom– sorry, Secretary– I mean, President Jefferson.”

She saw the corners of his lips twitch up when she almost called him Thomas.

"Of course. Let me know if there's anything I can do." His words were wary, careful not to cross any lines or to impose upon her, but she smiled.

"I think that firing Mr. Lestrade on sight was quite enough," she said, and when a grin split Thomas’s– President Jefferson's worried expression, her stomach turned; her smile was strained. Everything about him felt too familiar, painfully familiar.

"Fair enough,” he acquiesced. At how ill-at-ease she appeared, though, his smile wavered. “Hope I didn't go overboard."

She shrugged. "He deserved it."

Thomas Jefferson laughed, and the sound was as warm as she remembered it being. She hadn’t heard it in person in nearly three years, and for her to have come across him so suddenly, it was jarring. She was quite sure she was going to be sick.

“I s’pose you’re right.” By then, those around them had begun to disperse, so after glancing left and right, he took a step closer to her, furrowed his brow, and every muscle in her body tensed. Yet, she didn’t move away. His voice was soft, gentle when he asked. “You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine,” she insisted, swallowing hard. “Don’t you have some politicians to get back to?”

He pursed his lips, and she was sure the tense grief in her expression wasn’t hidden as well as she’d have liked it to be. “I guess so,” he finally said, but he didn’t move, looking her over, and his voice was quiet when he said, “‘S good to see you, though. You look good.”

“Yeah, you too,” was all she could manage in response. He gave her a sad smile, nodded, and the silence between them stretched on Just as she thought he was about to turn, head back to where he’d been previously, he stopped himself.

“Will I see you around?”

The hope in his voice made her throat tighten, and she took a deep, shaky breath. She shook her head, and her voice nearly broke when she answered, “I don’t think you will.”

[qianoir]

After Midnight 3 - Stars

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: college dropout!Ten (WayV) x fem!reader

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: non-idol au, angst with fluff on top

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 13+

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: cursing (censored), lying, family problems, mentions death of reader's father, romance

♡ 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 1.9K

𝐓𝐚𝐠 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭: @staysstrays

Preview < 1 < 2 < 3

Your head was pounding from your ears drinking in the tantrum of a 3 year old boy, the cries diving straight into your ringing eardrums. A young couple showed up with their child who started offing himself about your café not having some made up hybrid cake he wanted for the last 10 minutes.

The boy started flailing around and knocked his mother's iced Americano out of her hand in the process, landing the freezing and pungent liquid all over you.

The LED clock above you flickered with a new hour, freeing you from the café’s dark roasted chains. You ripped the soaked apron over your head and stuffed it into the back room’s washing machine before taking hold of your belongings and rushing out of the building after saying a quick “good-bye” to your mother- who was not about to deal with the coddled boy and you leaving all at once, so she kicked the spoiled family out, them following your irritated trail on the way through the doors.

You were walking fast to have a little costume change before meeting up with Ten and his friends, 5 o’clock coming within the next 20 minutes.

Y/N

Heyyo I had a little accident at work so I'm going to stop by my place to clean up before heading over to yours.

Once you were in your own space, you peeled the rest of the coffee soaked clothing off of your body, sticking the wet collection into the washer to cold soak after dressing up nicely.

TEN

d.amn it y/n you are too old to be soiling yourself

???

Y/N

That’s not what I meant!

TEN

Whatever ;p

Stepping out into the bright evening air, you realized you don't even know where the hell to go. The napkin with the address was in the pocket of your apron washing back at the café.

You recognized the street that leads to Décalcomanie, the street that leads to Myeongdong, and one leading to a duck shop.

Admitting defeat, you texted Ten.

Y/N

hey so I left the napkin with your address in my apron.. which I don't have would you mind sending it to me?

TEN

such a handful~

You followed the GPS to his address. His apartment building was on the other side of your school you usually metro to, so it was a pretty tiring walk. Arriving fashionably late, you knocked on door number 117.

There was a lot of commotion and screaming, as you were previously informed. Finally, Ten opened the door and waved for you to come in.

Taking your shoes off at the entrance, you saw three guys tackling each other, two others playing video games, and one really fine looking man behind an island in the kitchen.

"Hello!!" One of the guys being tackled shouted and waved at you which got him punched in the back by the guy orchestrating the tackling. You hesitantly waved back "Hi Y/N!!" The boy in the kitchen said with a charming smile.

"Lovely place." You said to Ten with a giggle as he closed the door with an annoyed look on his face. "Y/N, these are my friends,"

He took you over to the couch where the two players were. "This is Sicheng and Xuxi," The two boys playing Mario Kart threw a glance your way and waved with a smile. "these fools are Hendery, Xiaojun, and Yangyang.."

Hendery strained to wave again under the two boys with a big smile on his face, as did the two others. Ten swayed you into the kitchen and introduced you to the last man. This guy was so handsome, like the Asian bachelor. "I'm Kun." The man greeted, kindly.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Y/N. Our Ten always talks about you." Yangyang says walking towards you two. Ten sent him a glare. "Is that so?"

"At least I'm not blind from having my head up my ass all day, Yangyang shut up!" His voice cracked, making you and Yangyang erupt in laughter.

"Anyways, if you'll excuse us- I invited Y/N here for us to be alone." He took your wrist in his grasp and led you to a room.

Ten pet a space on the bed for you to sit down while he leaned over his desk, searching on his laptop. A slow beat filled the room. You recognized this song- the song your dad would play for your mom in the car on long road trips: Something by The Beatles.

Something in the way she moves

attracts me like no other lover

Something in her style that shows me

I don’t want to leave her now

you know I believe and how.

Your parents were so in love. When your father first heard this song, he had made it their special theme to portray their love. They had both become big fans of The Beatles and always had this song pop up at least once in every holiday or event playlist or could be caught quoting it occasionally when the timing was right. Your heart sank in your chest at the memory.

You hadn't realized that the song had ended or that Ten was at your side watching you intently. You looked up at him and he offered a small smile.

"My parents used to listen to this song all the time."

"Really? Are you guys close?"

Your mouth felt sour hearing the inevitable question. “My dad died from pneumonia when I was younger. My mom tries to be present for me, but I know she misses him.” Tears puddled at your waterline as you forced yourself not to cry. “Sometimes I think she only keeps trying because she thinks I’m studying premed when I really hide pointe shoes in my closet. I don’t have the heart to tell her what I’m really majoring in.. because I’m terrified of us losing each other completely and frankly, she would never forgive me of my dishonesty if she would stay.”

"It's not wrong.. following your passion" Ten announced after a whole note of silence, "I'm sorry for making you bring up such a past, but I’m happy I can at least sympathize with you..” He looked away from you to recall his memories clearly.

“My parents didn't agree with me wanting to study dance either. And they certainly did not agree with me leaving my hometown in Thailand and dropping out of college to come here for the best art opportunities. Mine and the rest of the guys outside; all of us are a little more distant from our family than usual just because we are passionate." Ten confessed.

"I'm sorry." You weakly rasped.

"I'm not." Ten smiled at you.

"My friends and I are doing what we love without anyone holding us back and one day it's going to all pay off.. I know it will.. If it wouldn't I would have never dropped out."

You could understand where he was coming from. He is really passionate and faithful to his dreams, it is a little inspiring.

"And you seem to be doing good on your own, too. You're studying dance, which I'm sure you're amazing at, and working at the café to help your mom, letting people make a mess of you that you always undoubtedly pick yourself up from." You laughed, the sad tears rolling down your cheeks and turning to bittersweet tears of joy.

"Thank you, Ten."

"Anytime, Y/N." He handed you a napkin for your eyes.

A cough was heard outside the closed door, along with faint whispers.

"Lucas, shut the HELL up!"

Ten got up and opened the door, making four boys come tumbling inside the room.

All rushing to get up, Lucas stayed laying on the floor, "Uh, hi guys." he offered a charming smile. "We were just coming to tell you that dinner is ready?" Yangyang shrugged obviously.

Ten snickered.

"Nice try, guys-"

"Dinner is ready!" Kun yelled from the kitchen.

"What did I tell you?" Yangyang stuck out his tongue, cockily. Ten rolled his eyes and looked over at you,

"Would you like to stay for dinner?"

"Uhm-"

"She is staying, I already made her a plate!" Kun yelled once again from the kitchen. The other boys ran out of the doorway to the kitchen.

"I guess it's settled then..." Ten sighed and reached his hand out to you, which you took. You were led into the dining room where the other boys sat. Ten placed you in a chair next to his and Kun’s.

Kun had made zhajiangmian, a Chinese traditional celebration/comfort food aka Chinese spaghetti. It tasted so much better than the bread pastries and milk teas you had been living off of in the past year.

Everyone was very talkative during dinner, you even found out that Ten choreographs his own dances for himself and the others to perform and learned that Kun has a degree in music from a prestigious university in Beijing. The boys you had dinner with were really fun to be around and gave you lots of energy after the intricate start to the new semester.

You didn't realize how lonely your little apartment was until now, even when sharing it with your mother most nights. They made you feel so comfortable and content after lacking companionship since your high school days. Also the food was really good, thanks to Kun.

Everybody finished their food but still continued the little chat at the dinner table "And this one time, Ten ate butter thinking it was ice cream! Who does that!?" Yangyang finished off his story punching the table with laughter.

You glanced at the time on your phone. It was almost 10 o'clock and you had to get to sleep early for your new 8 AM class.

Ten turned to you when he felt short tugs at his hoodie. "Cinderella has to get home?"

The room got quiet with Ten’s words, but quickly exploded in a swarm of whines and begs for you to stay. You gave them an apologetic smile.

Ten stood up, pulling me with him, "I'll walk you home." He was already at the door, kicking on his shoes. Everyone bid you good-bye as you waved to all of them before you and Ten were out the door.

"It's this way." You motioned in the direction of your apartments. Ten nodded and followed your path. It was silent the whole way, but it was a nice silence. It was peaceful with just you two. Arriving soon, you  stopped in front of the entrance and turned around to look at Ten.

"Thank you for having me over, I really enjoyed it. Your friends are really nice."

"Of course. I’m really glad you came. I like spending time with you and I think my friends do as well."

Smiles were exchanged and hearts skipped, both of your breathing patterns were evident in each other’s dialogue. "Do you have any last lyrics before we end the night?"

Your building never shines like the others in its distance. The only light around you is the one that blooms in space and allows the stars to twinkle down to where you stand. Ten took your chin is his hand and created perfect eye contact:

"Look at the stars. Look how they shine for you. And all the things that you do.”

He tossed your chin up before walking off into the night.

To Be Continued…

Something by The Beatles

Yellow by Coldplay

𝘲𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘳

[laprincesaelena]

EOA Ship Appreciation Week Day 5: Meeting/Farewell

a/n: hi guys! thank you all so much for the positive feedback on my day 4 poem, i’m so glad everyone liked it!! as i said, i know every ship wasn’t included, i ended up having enough time to only do the ones that were requested! but, i’d definitely consider making a part 2, so if your ship wasn’t included this time, it may be another time..

anyways, on to day 5! you may notice i included both prompts here instead of just one..you’ll find out why ;) this story is inspired by an au @procrastinateland (s/o for the beautiful art once again!!!) i came up with together, based on the sound of music! but, this fic in particular doesn’t have much to do with the musical you probably know. my obsession besides elena this summer was researching the lives of the real von trapps who inspired the movie and musical, and through it, i found the adorable love story of the parents of the seven children (georg and agathe, maria wasn’t in the picture yet!) that i knew would be so sweet for gabelena. so that’s what this fic is inspired by! quick historical note, the events that this fic portrays happened in real life in 1910 and 1922, but the years have been switched to 1912 and 1930 for the au, since we decided to place our au closer to the movie’s timeline than the real story. also hi please talk to me about the von trapps i’ve been driving my gf crazy with my useless knowledge lmaooo

and that’s about it! hope you all enjoy this, and let me know what you think!

fic is below the cut!

February 10th, 1912

Lieutenant Gabriel Núñez was amazed as he entered the venue of tonight's celebratory ball, Villa Castillo. He had never been inside a home so grand before, he almost felt as if he didn't deserve to be there. But, regardless, he was invited to attend, along with all of his friends from the navy. He couldn't wait to get away from the structure and seriousness of the military for a night, and to just have fun.

This was the first ball Gabe had been invited to since he became a lieutenant, or ever for that matter, and he was loving it. It was hosted by the Castillo Flores family, a rich family whose inventions had earned them quite the fortune over the past century. As more guests began to make their arrivals, Gabe and his friends hung around together, mingling with other guests or testing out a drink or two. Then, the ball was to officially begin with a musical performance by the hosts.

Now, Gabe wasn't much of a believer of love at first sight, but with one glance, his mind was instantly changed. Standing beside her mother and grandparents, ready to perform their opening song, stood the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, and Gabe knew he was in love. Sure, he knew he had no chance with her, as he was just a lieutenant from a humble family of bakers. She was the daughter of a rich family, and most likely the heir to their fortunes. But, there was no harm in trying, right? He knew that at some point tonight, he just had to talk to this beautiful girl.

Elena Castillo Flores, however, was different. She wholeheartedly believed in chance of falling in love at first sight, but she never thought it would happen to her. She had grown up around these balls, her family had been hosting them for as long as she could remember. And being 17, she had met plenty of men who hoped to marry into her family's fortune, but none of them seemed quite right. That was, until she was about to perform with her family.

She looked out into the crowd, and caught the eye of a handsome naval officer. She smiled softly in his direction, but didn't have time to do anything else, before she picked up her guitar, and began to perform alongside her mother and grandparents.

Gabe couldn't help but keep his eye on this girl the entire time she performed. She was a beautiful singer and guitarist, and Gabe loved hearing every word she sang, and each note she strummed. Before he could snap out of his romantic trance, the performance had ended. Gabe looked up to the stage to see if he could approach the girl, but she her family had left the stage, and were out of sight. So, it was back to just talking with his friends for now. Maybe a good laugh or two could keep his mind off of this girl. In between their backgrounds and the chances that she would choose him out of many much more qualified suitors, Gabe had a feeling this crush was bound to end in disappointment. 

Eventually, Gabe stepped away to go and get his mind off things, but as he was walking, he accidentally bumped into someone. He was about to apologize, but when the person he had bumped into turned to look at him, he realized who he had bumped into: the host's daughter.

Finding his voice again, he said, "I-I'm so sorry for bumping into you, I should have been watching where I was going."

Every once in a while, as she sang and played her guitar, Elena would look out at the man she had seen earlier. He was quite handsome, and she couldn't help but notice the way he smiled at her. But, once the performance was over, she wasn't going to go looking for him. She knew it'd probably be hard to find him in such a big group. Besides, he was probably going to turn out to be like any other man she'd met, and would only take interest in the prospect of inheriting her family's money. So, she carried on with her night, accepting that she'd probably never see him again. That was, until someone bumped into her. When she looked at the person she bumped into, she couldn't help but freeze, it was the lieutenant she had seen earlier. He was the one to speak first, which snapped her back into reality.

“Oh no, no, it's okay! You're fine!" she assured him.

"Oh, alright" Gabe said. He mentally hit himself for not saying more than he did, but whenever he looked at her, he was at a loss for words. He could at least introduce himself, he thought, but every time he did, the words would be at the edge of his tongue, and he'd end up saying nothing. But, he was determined not to blow the only chance he'd ever have with her, so, he gathered up his courage to speak to her once again.

Elena too, would be so, so close to saying something, even just introducing herself, but before the words could come out, she'd freeze. She so desperately wanted to get to know him better, and she knew the only way to do so was to just say something. But, luckily for her, he said something first.

"This has been a wonderful ball so far." Gabe finally said.

"Oh, well, thank you.." Elena replied with a smile. "I'm glad you're enjoying it so far."

"I am" Gabe said, returning the smile. Finally, he decided, he was actually going to introduce himself. "I'm Lieutenant Gabriel Núñez," he said. "but you can call me Gabe."

Elena quietly sighed with relief, she was glad he introduced himself first, it gave her the confidence to do the same. "I'm Elena Castillo Flores," she introduced. "but you can just call me Elena."

"It's very nice to meet you, miss Elena," Gabe replied, with a bow of his head to her.

"It's very nice to meet you too, lieutenant," Elena responded. "Oh, I mean Gabe, it's nice to meet you too, Gabe." she added, and shook her head at herself. Hopefully she didn't blow her chance with him right then and there.

Gabe smiled and laughed softly, he couldn't help but fall deeper in love with the girl the longer he talked to her. He had managed to find her, talk to her, and introduce himself, but there was one more step with her he wanted to take.

"I hope this isn't too soon, but would you like to dance?" he asked.

Elena's face now lit up with a smile, it most certainly wasn't too soon, she was so excited he asked her to dance with him! She nodded, and held out her hand to him. "I would love to dance," she said.

Gabe took her hand with a smile, and lead her to the center of the ballroom. With one of his hands tightly in the grasp of hers, his other hand wrapped around her waist, the two began their first dance.

As the pair glided effortlessly across the floor, Elena still couldn't believe that this was happening. How did she ever get so lucky? But, she also knew that there was a possibility that he might have happened to only attend this ball, and she may never see him again. She truly hoped this wasn't the case, she wanted to get to know him better and spend more time with him, because she knew for a fact she was falling in love.

Gabe could barely believe this was happening either. This beautiful girl had really said agreed to dance with him, and now they were actually dancing? Gabe truly hoped that he wasn't dreaming, for he never wanted to wake up. He wanted this dance to last forever, so he would never have to say goodbye to Elena, and go back to living his life without her in it. There was hardly a chance he would see her again after the ball ended, but he kept a glimmer of hope that tonight was not their final encounter.

Elena wasn't paying attention to anything else around her, for all that mattered to her now was that she was actually dancing with Gabe! She planned to dance with him for the entire night, if it meant she'd be able to spend as much time as possible with him. She knew that once the ball ended, there was a high possibility of her never seeing him again. So, she was going to make sure to spend as much time with him as she possibly could, while she had the opportunity.

After a couple of hours of guests talking, eating, drinking, and dancing the night away, the ballroom began to empty out a bit. Elena brought Gabe outside to a balcony, so she'd be able to talk with him and get to know him better without any sort of distraction.

"So, being a lieutenant, I'm assuming you're in the military, the... navy, correct?" she asked him, to start some conversation.

"Yes," Gabe answered. "I joined as soon as I was able, I've always wanted to be a part of the navy. My parents, especially my father, aren't too happy I chose this path instead of joining their baking business, but this is what I really wanted to do."

"Oh, your parents have a baking business?" Elena asked him. "Not too much of a baker, are you?" she joked.

"No," Gabe replied. "and I'm not much of an olaball player either, to the dismay of my father."

"It certainly seems as if your father isn't too thrilled with your life choices... but do you love what you do?" Elena asked.

"Yes, I do." Gabe responded with a smile. "Besides, if I hadn't made the decision to go against his wishes and join the navy, I probably wouldn't be talking to you right now."

Elena smiled as she felt her cheeks warm up at his sweet response. She was so, so glad that Gabe decided to follow his own path in life instead of listening to his father, because if he didn't, they may have never met.

"Well, I guess you're right," she said. "and I'm glad that you're doing something that you love, that's what should really matter."

Gabe nodded in agreement. "What's your family like?" he asked.

"Well, there's me, my mother, my younger sister, my grandparents," Elena answered. "we're all pretty close, and we love to make music together."

"I can tell, you and your family sounded amazing tonight," Gabe said. "and not to be biased, but I think I liked your singing the most."

Elena smiled, and put a hand to her cheek, she was definitely blushing now. "Thank you," she said. "but I wouldn't say I'm the best of them, they're all very talented.."

"I would," Gabe responded, and reached down to take her hand in his own.

"Well, thank you.." Elena replied, holding Gabe's hand tightly back. "and I may be biased, but I'd say you're my favorite lieutenant, because I totally know all the others." she said.

Elena laughed nervously for a moment after that attempt at flirting. 'what was that, Elena?' she asked herself.

"Thank you," Gabe said with a smile.

"You're welcome," Elena responded, a similar smile never leaving her face.

"So, what do you like to do other than make music?" Gabe asked her.

"I love just getting out with my family most times, of course. We'll go on hikes, go sailing, go to one of our vacation homes or visit someone else in our family's home, we're always somewhere or doing something." Elena told him. "How about you?" she asked.

"I like fencing," Gabe replied. "We sometimes have competitions between my friends and I, and not to brag, but I usually win."

"I'm sure you do," Elena responded, definitely believing him. "and I'd love to learn to fence sometime, it actually looks pretty fun!"

"Well, I'd be happy to teach you," Gabe offered. "I'm sure it'd be considered "unladylike," but if it was just us, it wouldn't really matter."

"What my mother and grandparents don't know won't kill them," Elena replied with a wink. "I'd love for you to teach me sometime!"

"I'd be more than happy to teach you," Gabe responded.

"And hopefully you can sometime," Elena said, before sighing as she remembered the reason why she was so hesitant to find him in the first place. The chances of the two reuniting were slim to none. "I hope we see each other again..."

"Me too..." Gabe replied, looking down with a sigh as well. "Maybe we could write to each other? To keep in contact?" he suggested.

"I'd love that." Elena said, smiling once again at the thought of it. "We definitely should."

Gabe smiled. "Alright," he said. "I'll give you my address."

"And I'll give you mine as well, which is right here, but I'll still write it down so you'll always have it" Elena said.

"Thank you," Gabe replied. "I look forward to writing to you, and seeing you again, Miss Elena."

"And I look forward to writing and seeing you again as well, Lieutenant Núñez." Elena responded with a smile.

Gabe laughed a bit and rolled his eyes, but still smiled. "Please, you can just call me Gabe," he said.

"And you can just call me Elena," Elena insisted. "No 'miss' necessary"

"Alright then, Elena it is." Gabe said, smiling over at her.

"And Gabe it is." Elena replied, sharing the same, loving smile.

At that moment, the both of them knew that they had met the love of their life. Though they'd have a difficult road ahead, in between having to communicate with letters for a while or with Gabe often traveling with the navy, they were determined to make it work. Gabe was not going to let his beautiful Elena go, and Elena knew that tonight she had met the man she was going to marry. They were going to spend the rest of their lives together, no matter what.

September 3rd, 1930

On Christmas night of 1929, Gabe and Elena's oldest daughter began to feel unwell. It was simply strep throat, they were told, she should recover in a matter of days. But, by the time eleven year old Catalina had recovered, five of her seven siblings had fallen ill as well. The sudden illness turned out not to be a simple case of strep throat, but the highly contagious scarlet fever, which was currently spreading through the city.

Of course, Elena was always there to care for her children, even if she was risking contracting the illness herself. For the next few weeks, she was constantly visiting her children and checking in on them, while still trying to stay healthy herself. But, when her youngest daughter, Martina, who wasn't even a year old yet, came down with a severe case, Elena had no choice but to step in and care for her, twenty four-seven.

By the end of January, Elena's caring and motherly nature had led her to catching scarlet fever herself. In children, the illness tended to be fairly mild, but in adults, it could often leave behind serious side effects. Gabe knew this, and insisted that his wife take the time to rest in order to recover. But, Elena insisted that her children came first, wanting to be there for each and every one of them as they recovered.

But, even when all seven children were happy and healthy once again, Elena's symptoms had not subsided. Now, she could rest and recover with a sound mind, knowing that her children would be alright without her for a couple of days. Those couple of days turned into weeks, those weeks into months, and by the end of August, Elena still had a long road to recovery. She was now bound to a wheelchair, she would have to learn to walk all over again due to the toll the illness had taken on her body. She still tried to spend as much time as possible with her children, and be the happy, loving, and healthy mamí they had always known. But, deep down, she knew if scarlet fever had already taken so much from her, it could continue to do so.

Over the next week, Elena's condition quickly deteriorated, and it seemed as if only a miracle could heal her. Gabe had visited his wife each and every day for the duration of her sickness, but for the past day or two, he hadn't left her side at all. He knew that at any time, her condition could take a turn for the absolute worst, and he didn't want to take the chance of not having a chance to say goodbye. While Gabe tried his best to stay somewhat positive, and hope that his wife would miraculously recover, he knew Elena's time left was short.

Gabe's eyes were heavy as he sat at his wife's bedside, having stayed awake the entire night with her. He held Elena's hand tightly in his, even though Elena barely had the strength left to hold his. It broke his heart to see his wife in this condition, he would do absolutely anything to bring back the bright light of his life that was Elena.

Gabe's heart would sink as he noticed his wife's breathing become labored. He had been mentally preparing himself for the worst, just in case, but he knew that no matter how much he had prepared, he would never be ready if that moment arrived. He felt the slightest bit of relief when he noticed Elena slowly turn her head to look over at him, using all of her strength to do so.

"Elena.." he began to say, even saying her name brought tears to his eyes. But before he could say anything else, his wife managed to speak up.

"Gabe.." she said, her voice in a whisper. "Please..tell our children how much I love them.."

"Elena, no..no, don't talk like that.." Gabe said to her. Though he was trying to preserve his wife's positivity, he was also in denial about all this.

"Tell each and every one of them..each and every day..how much I love them.." Elena said. "And that I'll always be with them.."

Gabe held Elena's hand tight as he fought to hold back his tears, but even then, a tear or two would manage to fall down his cheek. He looked over at his wife, he still thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world, even with a scarlet red rash covering her cheeks, and her hair sticking to her fevered forehead. If it were possible, he would do anything to end all of her pain and suffering, but he knew that at this point, there was only one option for that.

Trying to clear his mind of these thoughts, Gabe nodded. "Of course I will.. I promise.." he said.

Elena smiled as best as she could, but to Gabe, it was the brightest smile he had seen out of her in a while. "Thank you.." she said. "A-and I love you..so, so much.."

"I love you too.." Gabe replied, and leaned down to kiss his wife. Thankfully, Elena was no longer contagious, but even if she was, Gabe would take that chance if it meant kissing his beloved Elena one last time.

Then, it looked as if Elena were about to speak, but she was unable to get any word out. Finally, a moment later, she managed to say, "And.."

Gabe patiently waited as his wife struggled to say a second word. He would wait for as long as it took her, he'd take any opportunity to hear the voice he loved so much.

"I'm..a-always.." Elena said, now needing to take multiple labored breaths between each word. Though it was a struggle, Elena managed to complete her sentence.

"I'm always with you.."

A moment later, after months and months of fighting to recover, Elena's body gave in, and her eyes slowly closed.

Gabe could feel his wife's grip on his hand loosen, and his heart immediately dropped. This couldn't be happening. He couldn't lose her.

"Elena? Elena! Elena, no! Mi amor, please!" Gabe desperately cried, hoping that his wife's beautiful brown eyes would open again. But no matter how many times he called her name, they remained peacefully closed, as her body grew paler.

Now, Gabe's denial began to truly set in. He lightly shook her, he held her hand tight, he kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her lips, all in an effort to wake her, even though deep down, he knew that his efforts were in vain. Finally, it all became too much for him, and Gabe just broke down. he couldn't picture his life without Elena, he never thought everything would end this way.

He thought of his wife, she had so much more to live for. she was a loving wife, a caring mother, his best friend. Then he pictured their seven children, who would now be growing up without their mother. He thought of their identical twins, though they were already quite different, they shared a similarity, devotion to their family. Catalina and Carolina absolutely adored their mother, and looked up to her, along with being her best friends. He thought of Luis, their oldest son, he was a mamí's boy. He loved cuddling up with his mother and listen to her play guitar, he wanted to learn from her one day. He thought of their youngest son, Marcelo, their bundle of energy, who sometimes even Elena couldn't keep up with. He thought of Luciana and Adelina, aged only five and two, who would be too little to understand why their mamí had suddenly disappeared. And finally, he thought of Martina, their baby girl who would grow up without a mother. She would never get know her mamí, or even remember her. In fact, he didn't know if any of their younger children would be able to remember their mother.

Gabe found himself growing a bit dizzy, since this all seemed like he was living a nightmare. His hands shook as he held Elena's tightly in his own, and his vision was blurred from his tears.

As his final moments with Elena played over and over in his head, he was reminded of his wife's dying wish. To remind each and every one of their children each and every day how much their mamí loves them. If Elena could see him now, she'd hate to see him this distraught. She'd encourage him to keep his head up and stay strong, but how could he ever move on in life without his Elena? His children. He knew he needed to stay strong and carry on for them. Though, of course, carrying on could take weeks, months, or even years, Elena would want him to be happy. But most of all, she'd want her children to be happy and loved as well.

So, then and there, Gabe dedicated himself to fulfilling Elena's wish. For the rest of his life, he would make sure his children are happy, healthy, and loved, just as Elena would do. Though it would be difficult to carry on without her, the Núñez Castillos still had each other, and that's what matters most.

[colour-outside-the-liness]

Hi Colour! How are you doing today? I don't know about doing meaningful things with my life, feel like I've just been surviving this entire time lol. However I am trying to figure it out and working on building the life I want to live and hopefully I will be able contribute to this world in some way.

I don't think I've ever played a game of trivial pursuit. Have never been to a pub either, not like the ones you have in the UK anyway. Just been to very dirty bars where me and my friends used to drink as much as we could afford, shared questionable food that could potentially make us sick the next day and there were no quizzes or games really haha. So your exp sounds way more fun! 😂

I'm glad you're giving the song a chance! Only Spotify knows how many times I've listened to it lol. I reckon Hozier's going to be my artist of the year for 2021. I love attributing works of art to Dani x Jamie, have a whole ass Pinterest board full with images of paintings, poetry, music and anything that I think relates to them really (yeah I know, I have a problem).

I love everything you've said about how Dani, Viola and the lady in the lake are alike, I hadn't really thought about their similarities before, but everything you've said makes perfect sense. I always saw Viola as a narcissist, even her drive to protect her child felt selfish in a way, don't know if you know what I mean. And when she fades away and becomes the lady she's just pure (almost animalistic) instinct while on auto pilot, bc she only remembers rage and abandonment, she takes anything on her path aggressively unless they're a child. So what she sees in Dani is not processed logically, right? It's pure instinct and emotions, so what she recognizes in her when Dani invites her in is the desperate need to protect this child, so she sees her as deserving. Perhaps she also saw in Dani and opportunity to escape this nightmare. Despite all her faults she didn't deserve what happened to her either.

And don't get me wrong, Jamie is so, so strong and solid and she is my favorite mostly bc I identify with her personality more than Dani's. But we know Jamie is all that even before we learn her story, and I feel like it is expected that she'll be the strong and brave one bc she's had to be that her entire life albeit unwillingly. But Dani? We expect her to break at any given point, I mean she is reaching her limit after all that's happened, with all the weight she's carrying. I remember thinking "Jesus, this girl needs help" when I first watched the show hahaha. But she fights every damn time, she doesn't run away and that's why I find her so fascinating. That's why I thought this song was so fitting. Even if Dani would never see herself that way. But it's Jamie's perspective (and fire signs tend to exaggerate everything 😂) so it feels fitting that she thinks so highly of her baby haha. Ugh I just wanted them to stay together forever. 🥺

Omg yes! I love how you refined this idea, good thing you're a writer and I'm not hahaha. And yeah I'm absolutely here for sapphics with weapons like holy shit imagine Jamie fighting with a sword? 🤤 I'm weak. Hahaha would be cool to see them in a pirate AU too! Maybe someone's already done it? Idk. But aaaah I want to see them in every possible universe hahaha. Makes me want to get back into drawing too. 😩

Aww you two sound like you have a lovely bond going on. Your niece sounds like the coolest! I started out drawing anime too when I was a kid and ended up doing graphic design for a living! How did learning how to draw anime style go for you today?

Hey I'm doing great thank you I hope you are too? I know that feeling because I feel like that's how I have made it to 27 just surviving (barely) and taking things one day at a time to get me to this point and hopefully I can contribute in some way even it its just a small way... so I totally get that feeling but I am sure you contribute so much without you even realising it!! Oh it's great but depending on how competitive the people you're playing with are it can get pretty heated... I've been in some heated games of it before because people just refuse to believe I know the answers to some of the questions and they think I've been cheating and have all but demanded I have another question asked instead of the one I got right... and pub quizzes can be fun again depending on the team you're in and how seriously you wanna take it I have been in teams where its been a serious thing and we have all desperately wanted to win and then I've been in teams and we've just had fun with it... all the pubs I go in are dirty bars too but sometimes they have pub quizzes... I have had many nights where I have drank what I can afford... one night me on my roommate went over board though and we ended up spending ALL our money even our taxi fair and we had to walk home in the dark along country roads with hardly any lights to guide us... because of how drunk we were it too us around 3-4 hours and I fell over a road sign and ended up in a ditch... I've had a lot of fun experiences but some really stupid ones as well... your experiences sound great though!! I would love that!! I listened to the song and I loved it so much!! I don't even wanna know what my most listened to artist will be this year... my money is on it being the Six musical soundtrack... probably All You Wanna Do from that musical I'll be surprised if it's anything else. I would love for it to be someone like Hozier, but ever since I have done my Spotify wrapped thing it's always been a musical of some kind that's been my number 1 song / artist haha I love doing the same thing. If I can make something fit Dani x Jamie I will like it doesn't even matter what it is haha... I don't think you have a problem I think that sounds so cool!! I have nothing like that. I just have a head full of random ideas screaming to be let out I agree Viola is definitely selfish and narcissistic and everything she did came from a place of anger and rage over the things that happened to her she fell in love and got married and had a child and saw her sister try and take that from her while she was ill and in the end her sister killed her. Like yeah, I do feel sorry for Perdita with the way she was treated but I do think everything Viola did was out of frustration over what was happening to her. Like you said she acts on auto pilot and only knows rage until it comes to children- because all she knows is she is looking for a child so when she saw Dani so selfless sacrifice herself for a child she saw a little bit of herself in Dani she knows Dani is a good person and she can relate to that protective streak and I think she did see Dani as deserving I definitely agree with everything you've said here. Viola might have had faults and flaws and who doesn't? But I definitely think she had it rough and did deserve better than she was given. I agree, you can tell looking at Jamie that she is strong and brave while Dani comes off as the exact opposite. But I think you see fully how brave they both are when Dani sacrifices herself for Flora and when Jamie offers to keep Dani company and loves her despite knowing she won't be able to love her forever. I love Jamie but definitely relate to Dani's personality more, there are a lot of things Dani does that I see myself in her because I have done those types of things myself and the whole beast in the jungle speech resonates with me so much and every time I watch the last episode and hear that speech I am a crying mess from that point on. It's funny that you thought that about Dani when you first watched it, because me and my sisters got my mum to

watch it and she said the same thing about Dani "she needs help" but then once told me she liked Dani because she reminded her of me that was an interesting conversation to be a part of "Dani needs help... but I like her she's like you." I was like "Thanks?" I agree this song is definitely more how Jamie would see Dani, I think Dani just has a very blasé view of herself, like I don't think she's self conscious or self deprecating in anyway but I think she sort of walks around like "this is me and this is just how I am" where as Jamie just sees Dani for how brave and strong and amazing she is- maybe even if as a fire sign she exaggerates a little bit haha Jamie just thinks Dani is the most amazing person in the world and I just know that Dani saw her the same way!! I really wanted them to be together forever... I am never going to emotionally recover from Bly Manor. Your idea was incredible and I think it would be a great story to read honestly that's the type of thing I live for!! OMG Jamie with a sword is just 🤤 🥵 I am all for sapphics and weapons of any kind!! There's this pirate AU which is absolutely amazing!! I don't know if you've read it or not but iamalekza writes some really great fics!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/28631598/chapters/70179306 ^^ Pirate AU I really wish I could draw I would love to be able to draw scenes from fics I have read and even ones I have written but I just don't have the skill set for that!! I would love to see other fan arts though I think drawing is such an incredible talent to have and I am in awe of anyone that can do it!! Me and my niece have a great bond, she's like a little mini me (despite almost being as tall as me). She is honestly such a cool kid I have a hell of a lot of fun with her- I'm looking after her again tomorrow and I have no idea what we're gonna do but we will figure something out... she's such a good drawer she's only just started doing it at the beginning of the year and she's really progressed with it... I however have not so I am definitely gonna need more practice. That's so cool that you started out doing anime drawing and then ended up going into a career in graphic design. Again that's a talent that I am just in awe of because it's just something I have never been able to do!!