#also gorgeous gold eyes turn to staring into your soul it’s so funny

[thehappiestgolucky]

thinking about dragonsplague

[artinvain]

vampire!sevika x witch!reader who runs into you at the library when she’s returning books. (no smut … yet!??!) men and minors dni

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ:

Vampire!sevika who smells you, sickly sweet smell of a bakery, cigarettes and coffee. whose mouth starts to taste metallic. standing there and scenting the air, her eyes scrunched shut so no one sees the whites have turned crimson and her pupils are blown and black.

who tries to smile at you but feels her fangs extending a pain of hunger growing in her so she has to feed before she even comes near you.

vampire!Sevika who ignores all your advances with a smile and flippancy because she’s afraid she’ll hurt you if she gets too close.

vampire!Sevika whose hunting and spots you on a picnic, and has to claim she was hiking because she was caught staring.

vampire!Sevika who has to join you — seeing you alone in the woods too worrisome for her to leave you.

vampire!Sevika who then warms up to the idea of being around tou, not because she was dangerous but because she could protect you from things much worse than her

vampire!Sevika who starts leaving flowers at your work.

vampire!Sevika who is so used to providing she nearly cries when you send her your favourite book you “think you’ll really enjoy. It seems to match your old soul” with a plate of baked cookies on top.

vampire!Sevika who has her team watch out for you (as in stalk you 24 hours and report your movements back to her)

she thinks it’s the way you get to know someone — watch you , learn what you like so that she can anticipate your needs and be a good partner.

vampire!Sevika who thinks she’s ready to have dinner at your place when you offer.

and is stunned to see the sigils and candles, books and herbs inside, crystals lining the walls and refracting light into your living room.

When you stand silently at the door until she asks to be invited in, she’s immediately suspicious.

vampire!Sevika who’s been around long enough to realise you have a cloaking spell rune above your fireplace and knows she fucked.

because she doesn’t know anything about you — all her intel was messed with by your spell.

vampire!sevika who is now an entirely new level of nervous because not only are you intelligent and interesting and funny — you’re also more gorgeous than any face she’s seen in decades. eyes so unwarded and honest, skin soft and dewy. and your hands on hers — god it’s so soft—

and then she realises you’re asking about her daylight ring, you’re very fascinated you know about the type of rock that was used, it’s more popular century, the tiny runes inscribed de dismissed as aging.

vampire!Sevika who doesn’t stay for dinner when she smells your tea, the scent like burning razors in her nostrils. Vervain. A plant near deadly to vampires.

vampire!Sevika who excuses herself saying she has a cold and then receives a care package for her, which makes her realise the cookies you baked didn’t have any vervain in them. So she tries the food and it’s fine. more than fine it’s incredible. It makes her so hungry she has to feed.

vampire!sevika who only feeds on what she declared “scum of the earth,” she didn’t do it often at the risk of being caught but some nights, (like where she sees two men pulling a knife on a woman walking home from work — well with a knife it’s easy to make the deaths look … natural) she’s lucky.

vampire!Sevika who invites you over to her loft, it’s actually more dated than you’d expect. gold-yellow and red lilac and columbine flower wallpaper in the living room’s feature wall. With more modern pops in the furniture and essentials.

“A lot of your stuff is… antique,” you say smiling politely, a furrow in your brow. and Sevika laughs at the way you sit very very carefully on an old chesterfield sofa.

“I’ve reinforced them,” Sevika explains “they are old but, I can’t seem to let them go,”

“Family heirloom?” You guess, a lot of the stuff in here was too fancy to be sold at regular antiques in your area, which meant Sevika was rich, according to her furniture you guessed old money rich.

“that’s insane to have a family tree you can trace so far back you could have your own heirloom”

it was her brothers. they sat on it every night together in his first and only home, and talked in depth about nothing at all.

“My family is close, I am grateful,” Sevika says

the look in your eye. a twinkle of playful curiosity,

“and the ring is an heirloom also?” You ask, standing up to take another look around.

“this stuff if very english — your accent —“

”we moved when I was very little,” she interrupted quickly, that wasn’t entirely false. “I’ve lived here all my life,” that was lie.

you smile at her and quirk your head. she was so… guarded.

“what about your family?” Sevika asks, stepping toward you and guiding you with her hand on your lower back to the sofa. she opens a bottle of wine and pours it for you when she hears you say “salem” and nearly spills. you pretend not to notice and take the glass, thanking her.

“yeah, we fled during the salem trials, there was a much bigger pool of people then, than what’s documented,” you say and Sevika turns to you

”witches then,” Sevika says and lets a giggle slip when you say “of course, have you seen the way I dress?” so wooed by your boldness because yes, she has noticed the way you dress and she thinks you’re some kind of deity, the way your dresses and skirts fall over your thighs, and the way your jean overalls highlights your arms. she’s always mesmerised.

“you are a little whimsical, you sent me the metamorphosis by Franz kafka!” She rolls are eyes at the memory, she was kind of offended when she got it because really? but then when she read it with your note at the end she knew you were referencing yourself, explaining the way your mind works without really having to tell her. So Sevika is gentle with her words around you, makes sure your needs get catered to and makes sure that you always feel secure and loved. 🏷️ @archangeldyke-all @sexysapphicshopowner @iamaboringrattat @sapphicsgirl @sevsbaby @bimboprincezz @opropheticsoul

[batfamilysays]

can you do a jealous/protective older!damian drabble💗💗💗

i hope you like it! to me a drabble is anything less than a thousand words

LIPSTICK SMEARED COLLARS!!

older!damian wayne x gn!reader

word count: 893

warnings: mentions of dicks (insults) and insecurities surrounding body image. not proofread, i'm tired

Regret is a prominent emotion, though not all reliable.

It comes fast at times, gliding through your bones and souring your mood like a tart citron, and burning your insides with heat and anger. Other times it swells up throughout time, slowly augmenting in pressure until it threatens to devour you whole.

For Damian Wayne is comes fast - the moment he sees you enter the grand wooden doors of the manor he regrets inviting you. The gala was a charity event for his father, with ornate gold dishware and fountains of cheese and honey, and oh was the decor a sight to be seen.

Asking you to come with him had been a good idea at the time - a hopeful ploy to not be painfully bored and instead enjoy a date night with his significant other.

It’s not the embarrassment of you that clouds his head when you come - no not at all. It’s quite the opposite, to be honest - he’s fully embarrassed by the others at the party. Old men with hungry eyes that eat up your body and tongues that flick out to wet their chapped lips. It disgusts him because yed you’re the most gorgeous person to ever live but that’s not all you are. You’re kind and sweet and way too obsessed with conspiracy theories.

So yes, the regret comes quickly, as do his hands around your waist, lips pressing onto the crown of your head, whispering a quiet, “Hello hubibi, you look absolutely stunning.”

With a giggle you turn to look up at him, “Seems you're not the only one who thinks so - who knows maybe i could get myself a sugar daddy here?”

It’s a joke - and he would have found it funny had the possibility not be so obviously there, “We can leave if you’re uncomfortable.”

You shake your head and move his hand from your waist to your hand, “No, this is your dad’s event and it’s important to be here. Let’s just have a good time and try to get drunk on the cheese fountain.”

“That’s germ city.”

“I work at a library - I’m also germ city.”

“Touche.” Damian feels a bit lighter, a bit less anxious with every squeeze of your hand and stolen stare as you walk down the steps to the main event, “Tell me if anyone bothers you ok? I’ll make them wish they hadn’t come.”

It’s sweet and makes your heart pulse in your chest - beating so rapidly blood flows to your cheeks and nose, dotting along the constellation freckles and moles.

You pull him to the center and wrap an arm around his chest, moving his hands to your waist, “Are you going to dance with me, Mr. Wayne.”

“Depends on if you can keep up.” He moves his hands a little lower and you roll your eyes with a bit back smile.

You have always been a bit insecure about your body, you rarely let people touch you. But with Damian Al’Ghul Wayne it was different. You trusted him - simple as that you trusted and loved him with all you were and all you ever would be. You trusted his wandering hands were for teasing and his lips on yours were more than just a hungry desire. You knew this from the way he caressed your cheek and asked for permission every time (even if you insisted he didn’t need to), You knew this from the way you felt the kiss in your toes and wrap around your soul. You knew this from the sweet nothings he whispers in your ear when he thinks you're asleep. You know this because your heart hurts so much to be away from him you feel as though you might combust.

A tap on your shoulder jolts you from the sweet melody of his rhythmic breathing, you turn to look up from where your head is resting on his shoulder to see a man a bit older than Bruce staring at Damian’s hands on her ass. In turns Damian tugs you closer, shifting so your back is against his chest.

“Mr. Wayne, it’s so nice to see you’ve brought a … friend.”

He nods curtly, hand collapsing yours so tightly it almost hurts, “Yes, perhaps you should bring one of your mistresses next time?”

“I hardly see how that has to do with what I said -”

Damian, still fiddling with your rings, tilts his head, “It doesn’t, just thought I’d let you know not every person wants to get in your wrinkled trousers.”

By now the man is fuming, ears red from embarrassment as people watch the scene unfold, “Look here kid ,”

“It’s Damian, Damian Wayne. This is my house and I suggest you leave.” He closes his eyes, trying desperately to calm himself down and not batarang him into the 1800s (which was probably when he was born considering how dated he was. )

“O-Oh, um, Look Mr. Wayne why don’t we let the lovely person speak for themselves.”

“Why don’t you shove it in your dust bunny dick.” Snapping you step forward, “And next time you want to harass someone maybe don’t do it with booze breath and lipstick smeared across your collar. Maybe explain that to your wife before trying to explain your interest in me.”

Never has Damian Wayne seen someone walk away so ashamed - metaphorical tail between his legs.

TAGLIST !!!

@pretendthisusernameisgoodd @dickgraysonhasanicebutt @multiverseofwonders @emmaleilani96 @mcgonagalls-witches @pleasestophoney @kurosstuff @liltleaderofthelameones @water248 @blackrippedskinnybeans @evalynanne

[pedropascalssimp]

The beauty in everything.

Boba fett x reader

Request: A thought about a one shot where Boba would show his face for the first time to his mate. Like, he has been with her for a long while but he was terrified to loose her because of his appearance (because he's older than her and because of what the Saarlac did to him) (We're post-Mandalorian)

Warnings: mild language. Slight angst. Fluff.

Tags: @anilynworlds

The sun's setting was always something you admired about tatooine, the way the blue sky would turn orange and pink, the beautiful twin sun's touching the horizon while coloring the sky in beautiful hues. It was calming to watch, something most people overlooked about the horrid planet was its beauty. They saw tatooine as a place full of sand and thugs and creatures who either scurried away or tried to kill you. People saw tatooine for its rough exterior, how it could sometimes be unfair or cruel. But You saw tatooine for what it really was, another planet with a beautiful nature. Sure it was hot and did attract horrid people, but it's sunsets was always the most beautiful of any other planet, the night sky as well.

It was always so clear, showing off the stars and planet's above more vibrantly and more brighter then most systems. But like said before, most people over looked this about the planet making them think it was horrid and just another unbearable planet. But you liked it, so much that you even found a home here with the love of your life, boba fett.

Perhaps your love for watching the sun's set is how boba knew how to find you, that and he's known for being the best bounty hunter. You've known boba for years, he drifted into your town on your home planet one afternoon looking for a bounty, his beskar turning heads and keeping people at bay. No doubt out of fear, for the green beskar harbored many weapons and the man wearing it was more then skilled when it came to fighting. But as everyone saw a dangerous mandalorian who could kill a man with a glare, you saw beauty in the way he held himself with grace. And whenever you heard him speak? You was drawn to the modulated accent. It was deep and addictive, once you heard it you never wanted words to stop rolling off his tongue, whether it be threats to someone who got on his nerves or simple small talk. Anyway you was happy to hear him speak. And luckily for you he found you to be the most gorgeous woman in the galaxy.

Needless to say after attending the once stranger's injury during a brawl and late night talks in your former home, you and the mandalorian in green armor formed a bond, one that brought you two closer, love blooming between you two.

"of course I find you out here admiring this place" a slight teasing tone was heard to the voice you've grown to never get enough of. Turning your gaze from the setting twin sun's you look over your shoulder from where you stood on the stone balcony to look at boba. His armor on.

"I didn't expect you to be back this early? I thought you and Fennec wouldn't be back until midnight?" you say as he walks over to lean on the railing as you do, his warm gloved hand resting on the small of your back. His touch sending a warmth through your body making you feel content.

Smiling up at him, looking into the t-shaped visor always void. "we managed to make business short, I wanted to spend more time with you I suppose" boba watches with a fond grin as a smile blooms on your face at his words. Although the man wasn't good with showing much affection, he always tried for you. Because you deserved the galaxy, your heart made of gold making even the bounty hunter feel soft around you. You was such a loving creature and it was only right you got love back.

"you suppose? We both know you've missed me" you poke at his tummy, not surprised when he doesn't even move a muscle. "I missed you" you add softly and decided to watch the last of the sun's set. The dark blue mixing in with the remaining orange, you smile softly at the sight.

Boba admires you, heart feeling funny in a unfamiliar way. Boba knew it was something to do with the way you made him feel, loved. But it became a unfamiliar feeling after the only person he loved was killed. But you managed to make this dark hole in boba fett brighter each day with your smiles, giggles and jokes he never really found amusing but still laughed.

"I missed you too princess" he said, his face falling a bit behind the helmet.

You was so beautiful, the way your y/c/e's sparkle when admiring something - even him. Yet... You was also so... Young. Boba was a hardened man who killed more people then he could count. Some for credits others in cold blood, he has definitely seen some things in his days, yet... Here you was. A beautiful sight for sore eye's, an angel among the sands of tatooine standing by his said and sleeping in his arms at night. Boba didn't deserve you, someone so beautiful and still so young. Boba was known for being many things, but insecure wasn't one of them. Not until he met you. Boba thought that he wasn't good enough, his scarred face enough to scare a grown man, which is why boba never let you see his face. And he was older, something he lacked to tell you. He always thought that a young beautiful soul like yourself didn't deserve to be with a old rugged man like himself.

But he didn't know that you knew that he was older, you could tell. The man told so many stories about his past that you could easily pick up he was older, his beskar scarred yet freshly painted and you knew it must have seen long years among its journey. But you didn't care about his age, you loved him for who he was, a tough grumpy affectionate man. A tender lover with a gentle touch. Boba was everything you could ever want, he was the only soul in the galaxy that could ever own your heart.

"are you okay?" you ask, his silence and stiff muscles enough to make you concerned. Your eyes landing on him, his visor already trained on you. "boba?..." you softly say and press a palm against his helmet, where you'd think his cheek would be.

"how come you've never asked to see my face?" he asks abruptly, almost sounding angry. You stare at him with wide eye's at his sudden question. A little furrow in your brows as you give him a little smile.

"because I see how hesitant you are about letting me see you... I don't want to pressure you into something you don't want to do" you say and watch how he leans into your touch. "besides, I don't have to see you're face boba to love you... I already know that under all this beskar is a beautiful man" you muttered with a calm expression, voice truthful.

And with how you looked at him with those eyes, boba knew that your words was nothing but true. You gazed at him as if he was something as beautiful as the stars above, it sent his heart into a content flutter of love. Something he'd never admit to anyone but you.

"I'm afraid that if you see what hides under it you'd think otherwise..." he spoke with emotion, fear, vulnerability. Something you've never heard laced in his voice, and you then grab his helmet in both hands and give him the most loving look you could muster.

"boba my love... I could never think otherwise, you're so beautiful to me. Everything about you has me drawn to you... You're voice, you're rare humor and snarky comments" you laugh a little and it tugs at the man's heart, "I love how even though you're known for being the galaxies most feared bounty hunter you're such a tender lover, how deeply you care about those you love....You're beautiful to me no matter what" you felt tears fill your eyes at the realization that boba hid himself from you because he feared you'd leave him if you didn't like his physical appearance.

"even if I'm scarred?" his voice came out quiet and barely audible, but you heard and offer him a genuine smile. Nodding at him while his hands grasp your wrists resting on his helmet.

"I'll love you no matter what" you tell him.

"even if I'm older -

"even if you was 90 years old and looked like a fury bantha!" you laugh at the thought and his chuckle makes you feel triumphant.

"you can take it off... But I'm not beautiful" he whispers, letting go of your hands that rest against his helmet. Heart skipping a beat at his offer you only gape at him, this makes him sigh, "please princess... I want you to see The man you love... The one you claim to be beautiful" he nearly spat the last part out.

Smile gone at how he degrades himself you gently lift the helmet, moon out as the sun's descended the sky. You slowly lift the beskar, heart beating in anticipation. once it's lifted you feel your heart flutter, eye's adoringly admiring his face. Landing on his dark brown eyes before roaming his scar's, his adorable nose and slightly chapped yet gorgeous lips. You dropped the helmet and let it hit the stone floor of the balcony as you rest both palms on his soft cheeks. His eye's locked on yours with slight shock.

Boba saw that sparkle, the sparkle you get in your eyes when you admire the twin sunset. The sun's beauty always captivating you, and that look was in your eyes as you looked at him.

"boba...You're eye's are so pretty. You're beautiful, more then I could ever imagine - you're so handsome" you gush over the man before you, his dark brown eye's locked on yours.

"you're eye's most not be working properly girl, you find beauty in everything you look at" boba tried brushing your compliments off, stubborn as always and not wanting to except your truthful words.

"they work just fine all have you know -

His lips on yours cut your words short, your lips moving together in a slow languid dance. Unhurried and peaceful, as if time stood still. You wrap one arm around his neck as your other still cups his cheek, his arms wrapped around your waist. Minutes felt like hours as he pulled away, a small smile on his lips. Yours wide.

"I love you y/n..." he muttered with his accent coming out unhidden. It sends your heart into a fluttering mess, not only because his natural voice, but because that was the first time he uttered those words.

You felt tears of joy sting your eyes. "I love you too boba... My beautiful bounty hunter" you say with a fond smile. He chuckles and placed his forehead against yours, swaying you both in the moons light.

As you and boba stood in each other's arms, staring at one another with pure love. It was then boba realized that he truly did love you...

___________________________________________

[perseusjackson-jasongrace]

Empires on the Horizon VIII

Jason is a CEO: Part VIII

Push (should defs listen with earphones at an insane volume at 1am- i’m not talking from experience)

Here’s my masterlist for the next part and my other stuff

This is a helllllaaaaa long chapter y’all. I just couldn’t bear to cut it. Please enjoy.

push it

push it

back up on me

make me believe you want me

-Enrique Iglesias and Lil Wayne

Friday arrived with bright blue skies and an icy winter wind. Jason breathed in the crisp air, letting it flow through his lungs as he slowed to a walk. He hadn’t gone on many morning runs since, well since Luke, and he missed the quiet of the streets and the fresh smells of Bakery Avenue. His anticipation for the night was lightning crackling under his skin. They had signed the contract with Harley Davids yesterday, but today he would have to call Octavian and break the news. He didn’t want to have that conversation but being the CEO of the company meant dealing with the highs and the lows. He was buttoning his shirt when his phone dinged on the side table, so he abandoned the task, letting it fall open, and opened his messages.

Zoe: open up ;)

Jason: Like emotionally?

A knocking echoed through the apartment and he raced to open the door. Zoe stood on the other side laughing so hard there were tears in her eyes. She looked ethereal. A white dress hugged her figure and the gold jewellery hanging from her neck rivalled her glow. He just stood there watching her, enraptured in everything that she was. Finally she stopped giggling, taking deep breaths to calm herself, and looked up to see him staring.

“What?”

“You’re gorgeous.”

She smiled at that, “And you’re hilarious.”

“What are you doing here?” He grabbed her hand and pulled them together.

“I came to visit before you rushed into work. I’m off today because your lovely assistant is taking me out before tonight. I don’t have party clothes,” She scrunched her nose.

“Oh Haze didn’t tell me she was taking today off?” He frowned.

“I think she’s playing hookie.” Amusement danced on her lips.

He laughed at that, “I don’t think you’re supposed to be tell her boss­–”  He gasped, “Your hands…”

Zoe looked up at him innocently, fingers roaming distractedly on his bare torso, “My hands are what?”

“Cold,” He breathed, “Your hands are cold.”

“You don’t seem to be that upset,” She said cheekily, looking down at his rising evidence.

“Little minx!” He wrapped his arms around her waist and hauled her into the house.

Her laugh was music in his ears, a song he wanted to hear on repeat. She threaded her fingers in his hair and tugged gently so he was looking up at her.

“You’re cute.”

He buried his nose into her neck as she slowly slid down his body and onto the fleece rug of his bedroom, “You’re cuter.”

“Wanna play a game?”

He raised an eyebrow, suspicious of the gleam in her eye, “What game?”

“How late can we make you for work?”

His eyes blazed, blue becoming impossibly bright, “Let’s find out.”

And then his lips were on hers, like the beginning, middle and end. She was soft and supple and melted against him in a way he had never known. A low moan dragged from his throat as she sunk her teeth into his bottom lip, and then eased the sting with a swipe of her tongue. They explored each other languidly, relishing in the feel of whatever bloomed between them. Without breaking contact they moved towards the bed and fell onto those white sheets, smiling into each other.

Jason walked into his office building with a Cheshire grin on his face and the halo of someone who had been properly–

“Mr Grace!”

He turned around to see a girl coming towards him, sneakers squeaking incessantly against the marble.

“Yes, can I help you?”

“I’m just passing on a message from Aphrodite’s Armour. Drew and Silena would like to take you up on your offer to find them a replacement for the time they’re gone.”

“Oh of course! I’ll call them immediately. And your name Miss?”

“Lacy,” She beamed, “Nice to meet you Mr Grace. I’ve heard so much about you.”

He smiled, studying the girl, who was starting to look younger and younger with every passing second. “All good things I hope?”

“Absolutely. Drew and ‘Lena talk about you all the time. They say you’re the nicest man they’ve ever met.”

“Well thank you kindly. How do you know the ladies?”

“Oh I’m Drew’s little sister. Well half-sister on my mom’s side but you know what they say, ‘the blood of the convent is thicker than the water of the womb.’ She honestly means more to me than just a sister anyway.  I’m visiting them before school goes back next week. They’re a little busy today. Two ladies, oh they were gorgeous you know,” She nodded her head vigorously, “Anyway they came into the shop about a half hour ago and they’ve been there ever since.”

Jason had a feeling he knew who it was, and a lopsided smile crept onto his face. “Thank you very much Miss Lacy. Please tell your sister and her fiancé I will get on finding them a temp as soon as possible. Do you need a ride back to the shop?”

“Oh no thank you sir, Drew’s allowed me to explore the city for a little, while they’re busy.”

“Oh,” He looked at her thoughtfully, “Well do you need a guide?”

Her eyes lit up, “Mr Grace but aren’t you so busy?”

“I am busy I’m afraid, but I was thinking of someone more your age who can show you all the cool spots.”

“Oh,” She hummed, head tilted in consideration, “Okay Mr Grace. Who is it?”

“Why don’t you come up to my office and I’ll give them a call. You can also call your sister and tell her the plan?”

“Sounds good! Do you really have candy in every office? And do you always celebrate valentine’s day by giving all your employees roses? Isn’t valentine’s day just the loveliest concept Mr Grace? A whole day dedicated to anything and everything you love. There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved. George Sand. Delightful isn’t it? And did someone really bring a pinata to work to hit whenever they were stressed? And do you always wear fancy clothes? Do you like jeans Mr Grace? Oh I have so many questions.”

And before Jason could answer any of them, she was already onto the next.

“Oh wow is that a whole room just for board games? And how come this room is green and this room is red? Why do you have a wall of hand-prints? Do you celebrate Easter by hiding eggs? You know, Mr Grace, I’ve always admired you. When Drew told me you were starting a business to help communities, I immediately wanted to use you for my project at school. I’m taking economics you know?” Her brown eyes looked up at him then, and he opened his mouth to answer her, only to be led astray.

“I want to start a dance school when I’m older. I believe dance is the movement of the soul. Isn’t that the most lovey thing you’ve ever heard? When you dance your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor. It is to enjoy each step along the way. Wayne Dyer said that. Dancing is a bit like life isn’t it? In that funny way that it’s not about the end it’s about the moments, the journey.”

“Indeed Miss Lacy.” He nodded at her, thinking about the words.

“Wow Mr Grace,” Her eyes were wide as she took in his office, “This is beautiful. I don’t know how anyone can be unhappy when you have a view like this.”

“It’s certainly difficult,” His lips twitched as she walked around the room; dragging her fingers across the white couch and studying the bookshelf opposite with trinkets from his travels and various books, both fiction and non.

He sat down at his desk and quickly called who he needed to before handing the phone to Lacy to call Drew. When that was done, she went back to looking at his things.

“Books are mirrors; you only see in them what you already have inside you. That’s from The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruis Zafon. Do you like to read Mr Grace?”

“Yes, do you?”

She nodded, then shook her head, then scrunched her nose and flopped down on the couch. “I love the idea of reading, you know the cup of tea, and the rain, and getting lost in a completely different world, but whenever I sit down to actually do it– I just can’t seem to get past a couple sentences before my brain is thinking about something else. Silena, oh I adore her Mr Grace. She’s just the nicest lady and she’s so patient with me even when I ask her a million questions, I’m so glad I get to call her my sister-in-law. Anyway she tried to sit down with me and read but I just couldn’t do it. Even Uncle Charles has tried, and you know he has all the patience in the world, but I think after twenty minutes even he was starting to lose it. So you see I think there may be something wrong in my brain.”

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you.” He gave her a small smile.

She sat up suddenly and looked directly at him, “You don’t?”

“Not at all. Some people can sit down and read for hours and some people can’t, that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with them.”

“Even if they’re like me and they want to read?”

“Even then,” His smile was wider now, “Have you tried audiobooks?”

“No?” Her cheeks were flushed with excitement as she hung off the edge of the couch in anticipation.

“A narrator reads the books and you just have to listen to them. Like how people told you stories when you were younger.”

“So you mean I can listen to them and do other things at the same time? Like dance? Or draw? Or schoolwork?”

“That’s exactly it. People listen to audiobooks on the train, in the car, when they’re exercising.”

“Mr Grace!” She jumped up and slammed into him, “Oh you truly are the most wonderful man! I am so glad I met you. To think if I hadn’t, I’d be suffering forevermore.”

“I’m glad I could help,” He laughed, returning her hug. “And look here are your personal tour guides now.”

In walked Jake Mason and Kayla Knowles, two of the students in a school he funded and some of the brightest kids he’d ever met.

“Oh wow, I love your hair!” Lacy exclaimed, pointing at the green streaks in Kayla’s bright red locks.

“And your shoes are to die for!” Kayla squealed, pointing at Lacy’s sneakers, decked in paint splatters and writing over every inch of the canvas.

Jake Mason, a usually shy person immediately gravitated towards Lacy’s bubbly aura and in a matter of moments the three were chattering away.

“Alright little ones, I’ve got work to do. Don’t get into too much trouble and if you need anything you call me okay.”

“Sure Mr Grace.” Came the chorus of replies and then the young teens were bounding out of his office and into their adventure.

Jason on the other hand had a less than ideal quest to complete, and traitorous Hazel had ditched him for a shopping spree. He had a good mind to hide her stash of chocolate as payback.

He took a deep breath and dialled the number to Titan Industries.

“Titan Industries, Mr O’s assistant, how can I help you?”

“Hello sir, it’s Jason Grace from Anemoi Empire. Could you put me through to him please?”

“Just a moment.”

And then he heard a click and the oily voice of Octavian crackled through the phone.

“Ah Mr Grace, I was expecting a call.”

“Octavian, I hope you are well. I’m just calling to say we won’t be contracting with you. It has been a,” He swallowed, forcing the next words out, “A pleasure, but we have found someone who better suits our interests.”

“Well,” the sharpness is a knife Jason can feel resting on his cheek, “I certainly didn’t expect this. I hope you know what you’re doing Grace.”

“Yes Octavian. Again thank you for your patience and I wish you all the best for the future.”

“Goodbye Grace.” Was the icy reply and then his phone beeped with the end dial-tone.

He rubbed a finger across his brow and took a deep, steadying breath. At least that’s over. Now to finish up some admin and get out of here. He had friends waiting for him.

***

“Jason!” Zoe squealed, crashing into him.

“Hello my stella,” He hugged her and then pulled her back to stare, devour.

A soft-cream satin dress draped over her, like it felt privileged to be there. It cut off at mid-thigh and left you no choice but to drag your eyes down till you were met with the ribbon straps of her matching shoes. She had taken out her braids, and her hair, tightly coiled, was now cropped closely to her head. She looked unbelievable and he told her as much.

“You ready to go?”

“Hell yes! I want to meet your friends.”

“I’m glad you’re excited. I’m sure you’re going to hear embarrassing stories about me all night.”

She grinned at him, “All the better.”

They arrived at Trepsichore, or Treps to the locals, where the lively sound of chatter and music were already weaving through the atmosphere. The gang had started coming to this place the day it opened, and they still haven’t found a better club; although they could be biased since it was owned by Connor Stoll, a good friend of theirs.

“Oh Leo, I am leaving you for Jason’s lady.” Annabeth Chase stood up from her stool and walked around to greet them.

Zoe laughed, and embraced the blonde, “Jason would it be rude if I agreed. You won’t take offence, will you?”

He feigned hurt, pouting at them and pulling Leo towards him, “I think they’re dumping us Firefly. Wanna get married? At least we won’t break each other’s hearts.”

“I’m down buddy, anything for you.” Leo cupped his cheek and brought their faces together.

“Didn’t we promise we’d never do this again?”

“Yes but that was before our girlfriends decided to leave us for each other.”

“Are we interrupting something?” Hazel Levesque giggled, as she and Frank saddled up to their table.

“Annabeth and Zoe are leaving us for each other,” Leo sighed.

“Oh yes I do agree. Frank darling you wouldn’t mind, would you?”

Frank gave her a sordid smile, “Please leave me, wouldn’t mind a bit.”

“Oh gods we’re going to be all alone because our girlfriends love each other more than us.” Jason groaned, looking between his friends.

Annabeth swung her arm over Zoe’s shoulder and grabbed Hazel’s hand, “It was inevitable; you can’t expect me to give up my chance with someone who looks like they could murder me and kiss me with the same degree of passion.”

“Hello, hello everyone!” Reyna waved, tugging Percy behind her.

“Hello babe,” Hazel kissed her cheek, and hugged her counterpart.

Everyone took their turns saying hello and just as they were settling in the last of the group made their way to the table.

“Di Angelo,” Leo spotted them first.

“Sorry we’re late everyone. School meetings ran a bit overtime.”

“Is that code for you two were fooling around in the supply closet again?” Jason teased.

Nico blushed a bright red and Will laughed.

“We aren’t teenagers anymore Grace.” Black eyes narrowed at him.

“Oh to be that young and free again,” Leo sighed, flinging a hand over his forehead.

“What on earth was going on before we got here?” Percy asked, motioning between them.

“Annabeth and Hazel are leaving us for Zoe,” Frank said, rolling his eyes teasingly.

Reyna pouted. “You guys started a girl gang without me?”

“It’s more like a cult if you ask me,” Leo mumbled.

“A sapphic group is the preferred term,” Zoe interjected.

“GAY!” Nico grinned at them.

“Well that’s not a surprise to anyone.” Annabeth laughed, “And of course you’re part of it Reyna. These boys can form their own group if they want.”

“How is it six against four and we’re still losing?” Percy mused.

“It always happens like this.” Leo flashed him a look, “Their badassery outweighs us ten to one every time.”

“And don’t you forget it Valdez.” They all chorused.

The night went much the same way, ribbing at each other, reminiscing, telling embarrassing stories. Jason couldn’t help but stare at his friends, at these people who he loved with every part of him. They all burst into laughter at something Nico said, and he felt his soul bloom, felt his lungs expand, and his heart grow to the point of pain. Besides his sister he did not have any family so to have found one, chosen one, was a feeling he wanted to immortalize in his bloodstream, let it be the magic that sparks the stardust in his veins.

“You ready to dance pretty boys?” Reyna smirked, grabbing Zoe’s hand and sashaying to the floor.

Leo’s excitement was infectious, “Coming? My Latino ass needs to move.”

Frank started saying no almost immediately and Nico firmly agreed but Will insisted they at least hang around on the side of the bar closest to the floor. Jason followed the rest of them to where the life of the club was thrumming between writhing bodies. A bass boosted version of Push by Enrique Iglesias started playing and the roar that went up was deafening. Annabeth grabbed Hazel, Zoe and Reyna and started dancing– grinding on each other and body rolling. Their hair was wild, their cheeks flushed, and their bodies moving to every beat. Jason stared at Zoe, her head thrown back as she grabbed Reyna’s ass and pulled it flush against her. He realised with jarring clarity that he was starting to fall for her, fall deeply, exhilaratingly.

Before he could think on it, Percy grabbed his hand and pulled them together. Those green eyes, bright with laughter and alcohol, looked into his as they matched each other hip for hip, step for step. That swimmer’s body rolled into him and he laughed, gripping the man’s hips and swaying them.

Percy grabbed his neck, half whispering half shouting into his skin, “You got moves, white boy.”

“Years of spending time with Leo.” His lips brushed against his dance partner’s ear.

Percy’s smile was wicked as he turned around and pressed his ass up against Jason’s front. Their friends hollered, pretending to throw money and wolf whistling as they writhed against each other. Gods Jason loved to dance. The strobe lights flashed across his vision as his eyes fluttered. The music raced through his blood, setting everything on fire. He could live in this feeling. Liminal space.

When the song transitioned to the next Zoe pulled him away and they had their own session. Mostly it involved being pushed up against the wall and devouring each other. He really shouldn’t have had this much tequila, but Hazel’s puppy-dog eyes were impossible to say no to.

“Seeing you and Percy was hot as fuck.” Zoe breathed, chest heaving.

“You enjoyed it?” He smirked, grabbing her hips and flipping their positions so she was against the rough brick. He marvelled at the difference between her and Luke. Luke who would have been angry, jealous, hateful; who would have dragged them home and lectured him about it. He banishes those thoughts. Tonight was about having fun, about celebration, about the goddess in front of him.

“Hell yes! And your friends are pretty cool.”

“I think they like you better than me.”

“Well I like you better than them,” She winked.

“Good to know,” His smirk was delicious, “Now, where were we?”

“As lovely as this is, I really need to go to the bathroom before I burst.”

He laughed into her, and let her go, watching as she murmured something to the girls before they all traipsed off.

“They seem to get on,” Nico observed, nodding as they disappeared behind the doors.

“I’m glad. I knew they would, but there’s always that little seed of doubt, you know?”

“Yea,” His friend nodded, floppy black hair falling into his eyes, “She’s great. We all love her.”

“I think me too.” He confessed.

“Really?” Nico peered at him then, trying to gage something under the streaking lights, “Since when?”

“Since a couple hours ago maybe,” He laughed, “I don’t know. It may just be the tequila talking.”

“Alcohol doesn’t create feelings, just amplifies what’s already there.”

Before he could reply a heart-stopping scream sounded from the far side of the club, near the bathrooms. He flashed a look at his friend and then they were both sprinting towards the source where a crowd was forming. He pushed his way to the front and nearly hurled as he took in the scene.

There lying on the floor in a growing pool of blood was Zoe Nightshade.

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

I’M SORRY PLEASE FORGIVE ME?!?!??!?!

Tags (if you want to be added to/ taken off the tag list just let me know, all my channels of communication are open):

@lesbian-peanuts​

@leydiangelo​​

@queen-of-demons-and-hell​

@msdrpreist​

@sparkythunderstorm​

@nishlicious-01​

@lucyisblue​

[golddustjedi]

What if we kissed... in the Millennium Falcon? 👉🏼👈🏼🥺

Poe x solo!reader

requested by @espacioytiempo : Hiii, can i request #22 with Poe x solo!reader?????

prompt: 22. “We need to talk about last night.”

word count: 1379

Per request of your mother, you were reluctantly on your way to deliver a part for one of the X-Wings whose engine had blown out. You had begged her to send someone else, but she didn't have time to argue, as usual. So you told yourself you'd just go really fast, give it to the first pilot you saw and then leave. You'd been doing good so far at avoiding Poe all day and you really didn't want to mess it up now.

The reason you were avoiding him is because of what happened last night. The two of you had been flirting nonstop for the past few months and pretty much everyone had noticed, but it was just flirting after all... until last night at least. Last night you were sitting alone in the Millennium Falcon as you did many nights when you couldn't sleep. You had basically grown up on that ship, going on smuggling runs with your dad and Chewie every chance you got. Sitting in the cockpit always gave you comfort for some reason, you guessed it reminded you of a better time, a time before your brother had been seduced by the dark side, tearing your family apart. So this is where you came when you couldn't sleep, and last night was no different, but unbeknownst to you, you had been followed. As you were sitting in the pilot's seat, you nearly fell to the floor when Poe walked up behind you, scaring you half to death. You had never had a visitor there before, everyone knew not to trespass onto Han Solo's ship, everyone except Poe.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he had said. "You just look like you could use some company. Could I join you?"

You nodded, not quite knowing what else to do. Besides, you did want his company, and how could you say no to those caramel colored eyes?

He sat down beside you and the two of you talked for hours, about everything. Though, yes, you had been flirting before, it was never like that. Last night the two of you connected on a much deeper level than just playful flirting back and forth, and you realized you might actually have feelings for him. Just as you came to that realization, Poe leaned in and kissed you. To your own surprise, you kissed him back. It wasn't that much of a surprise, you had been crushing on him for a while but you had also decided not to fall in love. It would only complicate things, you being the general's daughter and him being commander. Plus, before your Uncle Luke vanished he had been training you in the ways of the Jedi, and that meant that whatever was going on between you and Poe was not allowed. Even if it was, your dad would say otherwise. So you pulled away and asked him to leave. You gave no further explanation, knowing that he would just bat his eyes and smoothly talk you into changing your mind.

After that you decided that you couldn't afford to develop feelings for Poe, or even be around him for that matter. So you told yourself you'd avoid him, easier said than done.

You made it to the X-Wings, scoping the place out for him, when you didn't see him you relaxed a little. You spotted a female pilot standing under her X-Wing. She looked friendly so made your way over to her as quickly as possibly.

"Hi, excuse me." You waved to get her attention. "The general asked me to deliver this part, something about a blown engine."

She turned her attention from the X-Wing she'd been working on and eyed the box in your hands, studying the words printed on the label. "That part is for Black One, it's over there." She pointed.

You smiled politely. "Yes but, can't you just deliver it? I'm in a hurry."

"Sorry, I'm in the middle of my inspection right now." She shrugged, returning to her work under the X-Wing.

"Thanks anyway." You huffed, stepping away from her. You made your way down the row of X-Wings until you found Black One. As you approached you didn't see anyone around, so you simply placed the box beside it and started to walk away.

"Hey wait!" A familiar voice called.

You turned on your heels but didn't see anyone. Then Poe jumped down from the X-Wing and landed right in front of you. He had been sitting up in the cockpit, that was why you didn't see him.

"Commander." You nodded.

"Commander?" He made a face, you had never been so formal with him, especially not last night.

"I have to go, Commander Dameron. I have business to tend to." You lied, turning away from him.

"Wait." He caught your wrist, turning you back. "We need to talk about last night."

Your eyes widened, mortified that he would bring it up at all, let alone here out in the open.

"Would you keep your voice down?" You hushed him. "I am not discussing this here."

"Where then?"

You sighed, giving in to him like you knew you would. "The Falcon?"

He nodded. "After you, Princess."

"I'm not a- ugh never mind." You stomped away and he trailed behind you.

You chose the Falcon because you knew you wouldn't let yourself give in to him there in the middle of the day when your dad or Chewie could walk in at any moment. It seemed logical at the time.

As you reached the Falcon and went inside, Poe followed you to the cockpit where you were last night.

"So..." You plopped down into the pilot seat, gesturing for him to speak.

"So... we kissed..." He began, still standing at the doorway.

"Yeah and it can't happen again."

"What? Why not?"

"Because you're a commander and I'm the general's daughter, that's why not."

"Well I don't see how that's- wait, you don't think I'm using you do you?" He stepped closer.

"No-"

"Cause I'm not. I like you, y/n. I like you a lot actually." He leaned over you, placing his hands on the sides of the pilot seat, trapping you there. The gold chain around his neck dangled in front of your face, causing your breath to hitch.

Your eyes trailed all the way from his curly locks, over his caramel colored eyes which were staring into your soul, over his perfect face, plump lips, and down to where his partially unbuttoned shirt revealed his chest, glistening with sweat. Resisting him was a lot harder than you thought it would be. You were attracted to him in every aspect, he was an accomplished pilot, a determined commander, and an overall charismatic, funny, and sweet person. Not only was he all those things, he was gorgeous too. You liked him a lot, but you couldn't. You also couldn't form words right now, so you just sat there staring at him.

"You like me, right? I mean you did last night." He spoke lowly.

"That's- that's irrelevant."

"What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid-" Your eyes darted from his gaze back down to the gold chain, you couldn't look him in the eyes while you said this. "- of falling in love with you."

"That doesn't sound so scary to me." He leaned in, pressing his lips to yours.

You kissed him back, bringing your hand up to his curly hair and running your fingers through it. So much for resisting. Poe deepened the kiss, leaning into you further and you let your head rest on the seat behind you. Suddenly you remembered where you were.

"Wait." You pulled away. "We can't kiss here."

"Why not?" He pouted.

"Do you have any idea what my dad will do to you if he finds you kissing his daughter on his ship?" You giggled.

"Right." He stood up straight, putting his hands on his hips. "I am a little scared of your dad."

"Isn't everyone?" You chuckled. "If you want to do this we're gonna have to do it the right way."

"A date?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Mhm." You smiled.

"Am I allowed to kiss you after?"

"We'll see." You winked.

[liberty-barnes]

Switching Things Up

Louis Tomlinson x Female!Reader 

University AU / Non-Famous AU

Summary: Five times Louis almost asked you out and the one time you asked him.

Warnings: cursing, fluffffff, bit of angst, misunderstandings, and Louis pining.

Word Count: 5k words

ERT: 20 minutes

A/N: i'm so in love with Louis it's not even funny anymore. also, it's finally out!!!!!!!

Inspired by: "Kiss You" "18" "Infinity" by One Direction, that one scene in the This Is Us movie. 

Masterlist | Taglist

Louis's First

It was just another usual day for Louis. Wake up at six o'clock, drink his tea, go to class, pick up the girls from school, have lunch all together, and start his shift at Toys 'R' Us.

He genuinely liked working there. He loved kids, it was fun to be surrounded by toys, and they were quite respectful of his uni hours, so overall, it was quite a nice gig.

He was working on the floor today, greeting costumers, seeing if they need help with anything, trying to keep the shelves tidy. It was quite a slow day so since he was done with all his homework he took some time to play with the toys a bit. 

"Okay, they've got to be here somewhere. Don't worry, we'll find you one just like it."

He lifted his head from where it was bowed over one of the pianos in the lower shelves, giving up on trying to get it to be straight and cracking his knuckles a bit.

The woman sounded pretty young and her voice was very nice so he started playing a random tune on the piano that was a bit more level with him (and sounded better too), just waiting for her to round the corner and spot him.

"Auntie, look, it's right there!"

The girl that passed right by him was absolutely divine. He'd never seen anyone as gorgeous as her and if the way his heart stuttered in his chest was any indication, his body seemed to agree. He straightened his shirt and ran his hands through his hair before turning around, ready to offer his help and maybe get her number after.

And if he pouted when she walked right past him with not the smallest reaction, nobody will ever know.

Louis's Second

He sat on a wooden bench as he waited in front of his youngest sisters' primary school. He was among parents and nannies, waiting for the bell to go off and the children to leave. His fingers tapped a random beat on his thigh while he hummed a melody that's been floating in his brain for a few minutes, trying to match some words to it.

So tell me, girl, if every time we touch

You get this kind of rush

He was about to take out his phone to write it down when a girl sat on the other side of the bench, taking out her headphones and putting them neatly into her bag.

But it wasn't just any girl.

It was the one he'd dubbed 'Future Mrs. Tommo', the girl from Toys 'R' Us. He refused to let her go this time, but he had no idea how to start the conversation.

That is, until she took out a familiar-looking binder, flipping it until she reached her desired page and started filling it out. It had been a mere thirty seconds before she started frowning.

He's never been so grateful to have chosen music as his minor.

"Are you in Charlton's class?"

The girl looked at him and he momentarily froze in place as his blue eyes met her (y/e/c) ones.

"Yeah, are you in his class?"

"Not anymore, I had him last year, though, he's a prick."

She huffed out a laugh and leaned back on the bench.

"Tell me about it, we've been talking about the Renaissance Era for two months and he still hasn't gotten to the interesting part."

"I thanked every deity imaginable that I got Natalie this year, I don't think I could do another year of that old man."

She turned to him and cocked her head.

"I've never heard of a 'Natalie' before."

"Natalie Dubois, she's a new teacher from France. Got a bit of a weird accent but she's a hell of a good teacher, and fun too, she gives us a bit more freedom, nothing like Charlton."

"What year are you?"

"Third, you?"

"Second."

He nodded and she tapped her pen against her binder.

"What're you studying?"

He was quite happy that she kept the conversation going.

"Drama major, music minor."

"Very artistic."

"I live to entertain. What about you?"

"Psychology major, music minor."

"Ooh, a brain doctor, I've always wondered if Psych majors could identify psychopaths from a single conversation."

She laughed at that and he felt his heart wanting to beat out of his chest. He wanted to record that sound so he could listen to it all the time. Use it as a ringtone, a melody for his next song, his alarm in the morning. He was positive he'd wake up in a much better mood if that's what brought him out of his slumber.

Unfortunately, he was interrupted before he could even ask for her number, or name, mind you, by the children's excited cheers.

Sooner than he would have liked, a little black-haired boy came running out and into her arms, Phoebe and Daisy only a couple steps behind.

"It was nice talking to you, I'll see you around!"

He could only wish her luck with that idiot teacher before she was gone and he had to care for his two little girls.

Louis's Third

The music room was quiet as he sat in front of the piano. He took out his notebook and started to play, following the notes messily scribbled on it.

I got a heart, and I got a soul, believe me, I will use them both

We made a start, be it a false one, I know

Baby I don't want to feel alone

He tried out, but something felt off. He tried a different note for the end, content with the way it sounded and scribbling it onto the notebook right after.

So kiss me where I lay down, my hands pressed to your cheeks

A long way from the playground

He frowned, changing a few notes here and there.

It sounded better, but there was still something missing.

"Try a key higher, it might sound better."

He heard her voice from the doorway, heart almost beating out of his chest for two entirely different reasons, though he chose to focus on the "I was startled" one instead of the "My dream girl is here" one.

He did as she told him though, and it did sound better.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

She looked entirely too pretty when she smiled. He wondered if the sun was really necessary given that she smiled bright enough to light up this galaxy and the next. He busied himself with writing the changes in his notebook while she went from table to table, searching up and down for something he wasn't aware of. He secretly hoped she wouldn't find it, just so he could stare at her for a bit longer.

"How're classes with Charlton going? Still a prick?"

"The day that man stops being a prick, angels will be falling from the sky."

He didn't see her fall, but he was pretty sure she was an angel. 

"A-ha!"

He saw her lift a blue journal, the word 'Songs' beautifully calligraphed on it in gold. She put it back in her bag and approached him so she was standing right behind him, reading the words in his notebook. 

He felt her shoulder grazing his and smelled her perfume. It was fruity and sweet. Peaches, maybe?

"That's a beautiful song, you're very talented."

He felt his cheeks heat up at the praise.

"Thanks."

He took a deep breath. This is it. He's gonna do it. He's gonna ask her out.

"Hey, I was wondering-"

"Shit!"

She got up in a flash and took her backpack from where she had put it down next to the seat.

"I'm gonna be late for my appointment but hold that thought 'til we meet again?"

She looked so sorry that he couldn't bear to tell her no.

Louis's Fourth

"I'm telling you, Niall, she's the most perfect girl to have ever walked this Earth."

He sighed as he faceplanted onto the couch, the blonde still strumming his guitar as if Louis wasn't having an existential crisis a mere six inched away from him.

"You don't even know her name."

"I'll just call her mine."

The punch that landed on his arm was deserved, he'll admit it.

"The way I'm seeing it, you just need to find out who she is and ask her out, it's really not that hard."

"But I don't know where to find her."

"Wrong, you know that she picks up her nephew at midday. A nephew that goes to the same school as your little sisters. Just figure out the kid's name, find the school records, and trace it back to her. Easy."

He lifted his head from the pillow and glared at Niall.

"That's illegal."

He shrugged.

"Most importantly, though, I'm awful with computers so we'd need to find someone to do it for us."

"I know a guy."

He nodded, that would be plan B, assuming they find a plan A first.

The door opened to the sound of Harry's amazing rendition of Juice, and Louis smiled unconsciously.

"Nialler, you home?"

"Living room!"

The brunette walked into the room and fist-bumped them, lifting Louis's legs so he could slide under them and sit.

"Why do you look like a kicked puppy?"

"I met the girl of my dreams but I don't know her name and have no idea how to contact her."

Unlike Niall, Harry was much more the romantic type. He believed in fate, love at first sight, and all that stupid shit in the books he read his sisters every night. It was no surprise when he gave him the most poetic, love-filled piece of advice Louis had ever heard.

"You just need to have faith, Lou. If she's the one for you then the universe will find a way to get your paths to cross again. Before you know it you'll be married with four kids and a cat, living on a little farm with a giant trampoline in your backyard."

"How did I end up with you two as my best friends? I either get a 'break into a primary school' or 'trust the universe', there is no in-between."

Niall laughed loudly and Harry patted his calves reassuringly before they heard the door open and their friends' voices echoing in the small flat.

"Hey, boys?"

"Living room!"

Liam came in with a couple of packs of beer, followed by Zayn and a third person whose footsteps he didn't recognize.

(Because yes, he'd memorized the sound of his friends' footsteps, sue him.)

"Lou, stop sulking, it's time to drink beers and be happy."

"I'm deeply sorry if my existential crisis is bothering you, Zayn, I'll try to suffer silently."

The laugh he heard made his breath hitch and his heart stutter in his chest.

He knew that laugh.

That laugh had been playing on a loop in Louis' brain for two weeks now.

He tried (read: failed miserably) to sit up naturally, though it looked a bit more forced than he wanted it to.

"Mystery Boy!"

She pointed at him with a gleeful expression on his face and if his soul hadn't left his body before, it sure had now.

"Hey."

Really? 'Hey'? That's the best he can do?

"I never caught your name."

She cocked her head to the side adorably, arm stretched over her knee from her place on the floor, leaning against the armchair.

"I never threw it."

It was stronger than him, he didn't even register his comment until she started laughing and he felt his cheeks burn up, the overwhelming sense of having fucked everything up taking over him.

"Drama majors, always clowning around."

He let out a relieved breath and smiled when she didn't seem to take any offense to it.

"You guys know each other?"

Liam, lovely Liam, looking like a confused puppy but bless his soul for asking because it made her speak and Louis loved hearing her voice so much, it sounded better than any music the world could provide.

"We've kind of met. I'm (Y/n), by the way."

(Y/n).

(Y/n), (Y/n), (Y/n).

(Y/n) Tomlinson.

That had a nice ring to it.

A really nice ring to it.

Mrs. (Y/n) Tomlinson.

Perfect.

"Usually, this is the part where you tell me your name. I can't keep referring to you as 'Mystery Boy'."

She giggled and his cheeks heated up again, though he didn't mind embarrassing himself if it earned him a laugh from her every time.

"I'm Louis. Tomlinson. Louis Tomlinson."

"Nice to formally meet you, Louis."

He smiled and thanked the sun, moon, and stars for this opportunity. Because really, there wasn't a better opportunity than this one.

She's here.

With him.

(And his friends, but who cares about them?)

And he finally knew her name.

He could ask her out.

No fear.

No time-clock.

No hesitation.

"Here's your juice, love."

"Thanks, babe."

She threw Zayn a kiss and he felt his heart break.

Oh no.

"Guys, I have to tell you about this girl I met."

Louis sat down properly on the couch so he had a clear view of Zayn's face.

"Ooh, gossip."

The younger boy swatted him before letting out a dreamy sigh.

"She's just- She's so pretty and kind, and her laugh, she has the most beautiful laugh I've ever heard. She's a psych major so she always has something interesting to say and her friends are so cool. She's... She's just perfect."

Louis's Fifth

And perfect she is.

Louis left the flat right after he realized that the girl he'd been pining over was the same girl Zayn had been seeing, muttering about homework and essays and studying or whatever.

Now here he was, working the register at Toys 'R' Us, his usually bright and genuine smile replaced by an incredibly awkward and forced one, trying not to let the heartbreak eat him alive.

"Tommo!"

His coworker came over to him.

"Switch with me, James asked to see you."

Great, and now he was probably gonna get sacked from the only job he ever liked.

He walked with a frown on his face to his manager's office and sat down on the chair, waiting for him to finish what looked like a very intense phone call about... mechanical kittens?

He hung up a couple of minutes later and turned to Louis, resting his elbows on the desk.

"Louis. Louis, Louis, Louis. D'you mind telling me why my best worker's been sulking all day?"

He shrunk down a bit on the chair, suddenly feeling very small. Toys 'R' Us is a magical place, workers are supposed to be happy all the time.

"Just... Stuff."

"It's okay to be sad, but we worry about you. I mean, some of our regular costumers asked if you were alright cause you weren't jumping and joking. Just tell me what's wrong so I can try to help."

He let out a breath and let his head fall onto the desk.

"I met this girl and she's amazing, and kind, and funny, and just overall perfect."

"So you're sulking because you met the love of your life?"

"No! I'm sulking because the love of my life is dating one of my best mates."

He froze for a while, definitely not expecting that.

"What?"

"Zayn's dating her. I found out yesterday."

Jame took a deep breath and got up from his chair so he could get closer to Louis.

"Oh no."

"Oh yes."

"Not a Jimmy Hug."

"Shut up, you deserve one right now, no matter how much you like to pretend you hate them."

When he came out of his boss's office, more relaxed and with a small smile on his face, he immediately spotted you next to the pianos.

He took his break at that moment and only returned when he saw you leave through his place in the alleyway right next to the parking lot.

Your First

You took a deep breath and tightened your grip on your nephew's hand, steeling yourself before entering the store.

"We have to get one with brown fur, just like Summer!"

You promised little Lucas that if he behaved at the doctor's you'd get him get a new plushie, a German Shepherd, just like your parents' dog.

"Okay, they've got to be here somewhere. Don't worry, we'll find you one just like it."

You looked up and down aisles, trying to find the plushies but not knowing where to look. You could hear someone playing the piano a couple of feet away and let yourself be lulled by the sound of the song, you'd always loved Tchaikovsky.

"Auntie, look, it's right there!"

Your nephew pointed at the shelves just on the other side of the piano (and the beautiful pianist standing in front of it). You let Lucas pull you towards the shelves and search carefully for the perfect plushie while you tried to not let the man get to you.

He was gorgeous. Like, model tier, plaster his face on your walls gorgeous.

And you were shy.

So you dragged the time out and mentally asked him to approach you, pouting when you realized he couldn't read your thoughts and your nephew was asking to leave.

Your Second

You speed-walked to the school, still riled up because of your class with bloody Charlton.

You wanted nothing more than to sit down on the bench, listen to your music, and people-watch until your nephew got out.

But you weren't expecting him to be there.

You were still too shy to approach him so you just took out your headphones and sat on the other side of the bench, taking out your binder and filling out a few things before purposely stopping somewhere and tapping your pen on the paper, pouting and wishing that he'd 'save you' from your boredom.

"Are you in Charlton's class?"

Bingpot!

You looked at him and were temporarily taken aback by just how blue his eyes were, but forced yourself to speak. You weren't gonna get anywhere by keeping quiet.

"Yeah, are you in his class?"

"Not anymore, I had him last year, though, he's a prick."

You huffed out a laugh and leaned back on the bench, trying to look nonchalant.

"Tell me about it, we've been talking about the Renaissance Era for two months and he still hasn't gotten to the interesting part."

"I thanked every deity imaginable that I got Natalie this year, I don't think I could do another year of that old man."

You turned to him and cocked your head.

"I've never heard of a 'Natalie' before."

That's a lie, you knew who she was, you'd even interacted with her.

"Natalie Dubois, she's a new teacher from France. Got a bit of a weird accent but she's a hell of a good teacher, and fun too, she gives us a bit more freedom, nothing like Charlton."

"What year are you?"

"Third, you?"

"Second."

He nodded and you tapped your pen against your binder.

"What're you studying?"

"Drama major, music minor."

"Very artistic."

"I live to entertain. What about you?"

"Psychology major, music minor."

"Oh, a brain doctor, I've always wondered if Psych majors could identify psychopaths from a single conversation."

You laughed at that. Usually, you hated when people were that shallow about your job but when he said it, it didn't sound shallow or mock-ish. It sounded like a legitimate concern, like those things you think of at three in the morning when you can't sleep.

You were interrupted by the school bell and cursed mentally to not have gotten here earlier so you could talk to him more. Your nephew came running towards you and two little girls followed, walking towards Louis. He looked so good with children clinging to him that you had to physically extract yourself from that situation before you said or did something embarrassing.

"It was nice talking to you, I'll see you around!"

Your Third

You walked to the music room, praying that your song notebook was left behind there. You don't know what you'd do without it. It has every single one of your creations there.

You heard someone play the piano and groaned. You were way too sleep-deprived to deal with human interaction.

But this wasn't just any human interaction now, was it? Because Mystery Boy was there.

(He's been dubbed Mystery Boy in your head since you have no idea what his actual name is.)

You stood in the doorway for a while, notebook be damned, just watching him play, then frown, then play again, and light up like a happy little puppy once he found the right melody. Until he reached a complicated part and couldn't find the right combination.

"Try a key higher, it might sound better."

He jumped a bit and you felt bad for scaring him, but the way he blushed after was cute. He didn't answer, just did as you advised and smiled once he found that it sounded like he wanted it to.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

You smiled and the blush on his face was entirely too adorable and you went from table to table, pretending you didn't remember exactly where you were sitting that morning just so you could spend a bit longer than necessary in his presence.

"How're classes with Charlton going? Still a prick?"

"The day that man stops being a prick, angels will be falling from the sky."

You couldn't stall anymore, it would just be awkward at this point.

"A-ha!"

You showed off your journal before putting it back in your bag and going down the stairs of the auditorium so you could stand right next to him.

Deciding to be subtle but a little more daring than usual, you stood next to him, shoulders grazing while you read the words on his journal.

He smelled heavenly, like cologne and deodorant, and something that had to be entirely him. You wanted to bury yourself in that scent.

"That's a beautiful song, you're very talented."

You'd never get tired of watching him blush.

"Thanks."

You heard him take a deep breath just as your eyes went to the clock and you remembered your doctor's appointment with Lucas, he had to get the second dose for his shots and you were the only one who could get him to quiet down.

"Hey, I was wondering-"

"Shit!"

You got up in a flash and took the backpack from where you had put it down next to the seat.

"I'm gonna be late for my appointment but hold that thought 'til we meet again?"

He answered a small yes and you dashed out of the room.

Your Fourth

You followed Zayn to his friend's flat off-campus. You had met him a couple of months ago through Gigi, your best friend. Those two had been flirting for ages and it honestly made you sick, but Zayn was an easy-going person and you got along great, so when you mentioned that you had plans of getting drunk alone tonight, he offered to take you to his friend's house so you could get drunk with some company.

You entered the flat with Zayn and who you now knew to be Liam, saying hello to the two men in the room and tilting your head in questioning at the man lying face down on the couch.

"Lou, stop sulking, it's time to drink beers and be happy."

"I'm deeply sorry if my existential crisis is bothering you, Zayn, I'll try to suffer silently."

You couldn't stop the laugh bubbling from your chest as you sat down next to the armrest.

He sat up way too quickly to be safe and you smiled brightly once you realized who it was.

"Mystery Boy!"

It was fate, it had to be. This was the universe's way of telling you that you belonged together.

"Hey."

You giggled at his awkward greeting.

"I never caught your name."

"I never threw it."

You started laughing at his sassiness. If you weren't completely smitten before you sure were now.

"Drama majors, always clowning around."

"You guys know each other?"

Liam asked and you jumped into an explanation.

"We've kind of met. I'm (Y/n), by the way."

He said nothing for a couple of seconds and you worried you were being too forward.

"Usually, this is the part where you tell me your name. I can't keep referring to you as 'Mystery Boy'."

He blushed again, he seemed to be doing that a lot and you wondered if that was as unusual for him as it was for you to be this confident.

"I'm Louis. Tomlinson. Louis Tomlinson."

(Y/n) Tomlinson.

That had a nice ring to it.

A really nice ring to it.

Mrs. (Y/n) Tomlinson.

Perfect.

"Nice to formally meet you, Louis."

He smiled and you wanted to yell at the sun to hide because it was stopping you from seeing the true brightness of Louis's eyes.

"Here's your juice, love."

"Thanks, babe."

You threw Zayn a kiss and he rolled his eyes, already used to the fact that you were kind of nickname-addicted and very endearing.

And also kind of drunk, which is why he brought you the juice.

On second thought, that might be why you were being this confident.

You thought everything was going well, but as suddenly as it started, the object of your affection was out the door, muttering about appointments, or homework, or something you didn't understand, but that sure made you frown for the rest of the evening.

Your Fifth

You walked into Toys 'R' Us for two reasons that day. 

The first is to get your nephew a birthday present.

The second is to (hopefully) see Louis.

You wanted to talk to him, the way he left the flat was strange, so you took advantage of the fact that you needed to get something from the store to try and see him.

You saw him go to the back as soon as you got here and decided to wait a bit for him to come back, looking at everything slower than you needed even though you knew exactly what to get. After fifteen minutes, you were pretty sure he wasn't going to come back. Maybe his shift ended already? 

You took your present and left the store, looking around to see if you found him, to no avail.

The One

You marched to the door with only one goal in mind: ask Louis Tomlinson out on a date. It's been a week of him ignoring you, running away as soon as he saw you, barely answering your greetings and you were more than done. 

If he wanted to turn you down, then it at least he would do it to your face, none of this ghosting nonsense. You don't want to spend the rest of your life thinking what might have been if you'd just reached out.

So, you talked to Niall, who gave you Louis's address and his schedule. You knew he was home and he had no way to escape you. He was babysitting his sisters, after all, so there was no way he could just run away.

You rang the doorbell and nervously wrang your hands in front of you, taking deep breaths and mentally going over what you wanted to say.

"I'll be right there! No, Daisy!"

His voice rang through the door and you smiled fondly at the sound, imagining him taking care of his sisters did something to you for some reason.

"Hi, sorry for the-"

He froze when he saw you, eyes going wide and mouth hanging open.

"Hi."

You said, and that seemed to bring him out of his stupor.

"(Y/n)."

"Yep."

"(Y/n)."

It seemed like he couldn't quite believe you were here.

"That's my name. Don't wear it out, though."

He shook his head and started stuttering his way through a response, trying to ask what you were doing here, at his house.

"Um, Niall told me where you lived. I had something I wanted to ask you."

When he didn't answer, you went for it.

"So, um, you've kind of been avoiding me lately which is quite unfortunate because I happen to like you... a lot... and so I-"

"Does Zayn know that?"

You were cut off in the middle of your rant and tilted your head confusingly at him.

"What?"

"Does Zayn know you 'like me a lot'?"

He looked angry, jaw clenched shut and arms crossed in front of his chest, which was no help to the attraction you felt towards him, that shirt did wonders for his biceps.

"Why should Zayn know about it?"

"Well, he's your boyfriend after all."

Wait, what?

"Well if he's my boyfriend then I should probably let Gigi know he's cheating."

He seemed to blanch at that.

"Gigi."

"Yeah. Gigi. You know, the girl he's been pining over since the beginning of the semester, they got together officially two weeks ago."

Only his sisters' voices could be heard.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"So, um... you and Zayn... you're not..."

"Together? No."

You laughed and tucked a strand of hair behind your ear nervously.

"Would you like to go on a date with me?"

You snapped your head up and grinned devilishly.

"I believe I asked you first."

He laughed and took a step forward.

"Then I will most certainly go out with you, as long as you let me pay. Take it as an apology for how stupid I was."

"I guess that could be arranged."

He was so close you could smell his cologne. Still so, so tasty. Still so, so wonderful.

"Do I have to wait until the end of our first date to kiss you?"

"I think you've done enough waiting already."

"I think so too."

And he kissed you.

And you were happy.

here it is babes! finally out!

i hope you liked it and if you do, don’t forget to comment, reblog, like and stuff

have a nice day/morning/afternoon/night/whatever

-Love, Libby

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

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ONE DIRECTION 

@hhighlydisfunctional1  

[typicalmidnightsoul]

Home video fic

My first prompt fic. This was requsted by  @ Dayanna_Cahill_Fray_Chase and @my-fan-side. Nesta discovers a home video which she watches with her sister basically.

The edits are basically a story board so plz check that out I wasn’t going to post these but my cousin made me <3 Love ya cuz.

If you have anymore prompts feel free to send them to me <3

Cassian woke up trying to reach for Nesta but instead finding a cold side of bed. He had gone to the rooftop pool with Nesta and safe to say they had a…rough night. He pushed himself up and leaned against the headboard, the bathroom door was open giving him a full view of his fiancé’s back in that pretty white bathing suit. She was putting on mascara, her clothes on the heating rack in the bathroom.

“Where are you going?”

“Starbucks then my old house. It’s about time I cleared that place up.”

He grimaced, the old house as in the villa she grew up in that have reminders of her dead parents.

He started getting up only to have Nesta push him down, “You didn’t get much sleep last night,” She started fixing her bandanna in the mirror, “Stay. I’ll see you later.”

He rolled his eyes, “You didn’t get much sleep either.”

“That’s why I’m going to Starbucks,” She winked and trotted down the stairs leaving.

Well then he could also get Starbucks.

------

She was waiting in the line, scrolling through Instagram not bothering to look behind her. As she got to the front she smiled at the barista,

“Hey could I have-” a hand came around her waist.

“Caramel macchiato, Venti with extra whip, please.”

The barista smiled, “And for you sir?”

Cassian smiled, “me? Well-“

“He wants a Venti iced hazelnut macchiato, no whip and light ice.”

“Names?”

Cassian pinched her waist, “Nessie and Cassian.”

Nesta threw him a harsh look.

They moved along to the end.

“What are you doing here?”

“Helping you clear up your parent’s villa.”

She rolled her eyes.

“You know sweetheart you chug down coffee like its water I don’t think it’s healthy.”

“Shut up Cassian.”

The baristo handed their drinks to them giving Nesta a flirtatious smile which Nesta returned only to piss Cassian off.

Cassian growled.

She pulled him out of the coffeehouse before he could make a scene.

“Did you bring your car?” she asked him, because she hadn’t, she was planning on taking an uber.

He grunted a response she assumed was a yes.

As they got to his car, he opened the car door for her but didn’t look at her. She rolled her eyes.

She got in his black Bentley, as he got in next to her she pressed a kiss to his cheek, “Baby.”

No answer, “Baby!”

“Yes?” He turned, his lips so close to hers.

“I love you.” She pressed her lips to his, it always worked.

As she sat back, his hand went on her thigh.

“Are you sure you should be going there wearing that, babe? I mean as gorgeous as you look, will you be able to move around in it?”

She looked down at her baby blue Bardot tie front and high waist shorts.

“You’d be surprised sweetie.”

As they pulled up to the rustic villa Nesta sighed. Home.

She jogged up to the front door and opened it.

After all the Archeron sisters had moved out with their respective boyfriends and their father…passed the house was left the exact same way. She assumed it was an Archeron thing as after her mother died everything was left the same in her chambers as well.

She sipped her coffee.

“I’ll get started on clearing up the cellar babe, you get started upstairs ok?”

She mindlessly nodded heading upstairs; she had somewhere she needed to go. Something that was begging her attention.

She trotted down the marble hallway into her mother’s second room. The room she didn’t share with her father that she slept more and more in after their marriage was breaking. She went in and gasped. If Nesta didn’t know better she’d think her mother had gone to a party, because the room was immaculate, but still somehow like her mother.

Her mother’s perfume slanted on the table as if she’d just used it, her coat slung over her arm chair, a corner of her duvet folded over.

Her eyes got watery at the jewellery box on her mother’s dressing table.

She opened the box and sighed at the tune playing which she always sung along too and did so now.

“…and when you speak angels sing from above and every word seems to turn into love songs. Give your heart and soul to me and life will always be-”

She broke off at the twin bracelets in the box. She had given it her mother, when she was 13, in the morning for safekeeping because school wouldn’t allow it and forgot to get it back.

White gold chain bracelets with white gold hearts on them. She slid the bracelets on and underneath them, now out in the open from their absence were…pen drives. They had a gold geometric stick.

She giggled at how classy her mother is. Was. Her smile faded.

But what would her mother need to hide in a pen drive in her jewellery box of all places. Footsteps coming upstairs, she slipped the pen drives inside her pocket and closed the jewellery box.

Hands on her waist, lips skimming her neck.

“Clearing up, baby?”

She turned, “I was just about to start.”

“Oh really?” he looked around, “Who’s room was this?”

“My mom’s chambers, her second room.”

“Funny how she left everything for you. You must’ve been her favourite.”

“I was.”

They had countless arguments on this. Him defending Feyre and Elain, her standing her own ground. He was under the impression that Feyre was a villain in her story. She was. And Cassian wouldn’t accept that. He tried to justify Feyre’s actions. Nesta ended up not talking to him for 4 days, because on that topic she never argued for too long, just shut down.

This is why he didn’t push an argument today. She was trying to fix the bond between her sisters. But when the wound is fresh it doesn’t heal as quickly.

She was meeting them tomorrow. Ugh.

At least Cress would be there.

“My heads hurting I wanna go home.” He nodded and led her downstairs. As they got in the car Nesta felt like a hole was burning her pocket.

“Babe you ok?” He asked.

She nodded. Looking back onto the clear expanse of her childhood estate.

“You weren’t wearing those bracelets when we went in. In fact I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear those.”

She smiled, “I was getting in the car for high school and mum came out to give me my watch and she said, ‘Nesta jewellery isn’t allowed at school’ so I gave these for here to keep safe and forgot to take it back, she’s kept it safe for 11 years.”

He reached over and kissed her cheek. “They look amazing on you.”

-----

She clicked off her phone and tried to pull her brown mini skirt lower.

“Cresseida says she’s still on her flight from Manhattan. She should be here in a couple of hours.” Feyre and Elain both nodded, Elain stood.

“Want coffee?” Feyre nodded.

“Wait, Elain it’s my house I’ll-” Elain waved her off getting out three mugs. Nesta went and sat opposite Feyre.

“No need to make anything I have a stash of frappe’s in the fridge.”

Elain put the cups away and started picking out flavours.

Nesta took a deep breath.

“So I went to our old villa with Cassian yesterday…” Elain stopped her rattling of the bottles, Feyre sat up, “And I found these from mom’s old jewellery box.” She took out the pen drives.

“Cute. Have you seen what’s in them?” Feyre asked.

“No I thought I’d show you guys as well, just in case it’s a list of bad people.”

Feyre chuckled, “You watch Blacklist too much.”

Nesta rolled her eyes and got her projector out.

Elain came passing around the glass bottles she had topped with whipped cream and red straws.

Feyre gave Nesta a look.

“What? I brought this projector and literally haven’t used it since.”

She plugged it in.

A video started playing.

“Momma I can’t reach!”

A woman came into the shot, picking up the little girl in the middle of the orchid.  

“It’s ok sweetie! Mama’s here.” She picked out the lemons and handed one.

A male voice from behind the camera said, “Nesta look at the camera darling!”

The woman turned showing her pregnant tummy and pointing the camera out to Nesta.

“Daddy I want to pick a lemon.”

The camera was passed onto to someone else and Randolph Archeron ran to Nesta taking her from his wife and placing her behind his head. Nesta picked a lemon and giggled showing it to her mother who was behind her. Adelaide took the lemon from her and went on her tip toes. Nesta leaning back to kiss her mother on the lips.

The video froze for a few seconds.

“Nesta what is-” Elain asked.

“It’s a home video, from when we were younger.”

Feyre glued her eyes back to the wall.

The video changed.

Nesta, Adelaide and Feyre were picking and posing with oranges. Elain holding the camera.

“Smile!!!!” her voice said.

Nesta dropped an orange.

“OMG Nesta!” Elain shrieked, “You’re ruing my shot!”

Nesta picked up the orange, “Ok geez.”

Feyre had started peeling the orange in her hand causing their mother to burst into laughter at Elain’s shriek.

Again another video slid in, a longer one this time.

“Come on Feyre!” Nesta shouted.

“Cominggg.” The camera started running towards Nesta and Elain.

“We were really cute,” Elain said.

Feyre nodded, “I can’t believe she kept these. Where even are we?”

“In Verona I think.” Nesta said.

They were wearing hats too big for their heads.

Elain stopped.

“Dad can I go with you I’m tired.”

Randolph chuckled from behind the camera and held out his hand.

“You were such a daddy’s girl,” Nesta said to Elain.

Elain swiped cream on Nesta’s cheek.

“Get Cassian to lick that off later.”

“Idiot.”

“Come on Fey,” Adelaide picked up Feyre and took Nesta’s hand.

She took their hats off, and held them.

They made their way through the tomato fields into the house. Nesta took the camera from Feyre and ran into the hall. She set the camera down on a counter and started dancing on her own.

“What are you doing Nes?” Adelaide came and picked Nesta up giving her a piggyback; Nesta giggled and clutched her tight.

“She loved you a lot,” Elain looked at Nesta, who was staring at the screen. She didn’t answer, unable to at the longing in Elain’s voice and in Feyre’s eyes. They had always been their father’s child; Nesta had always belonged to her mother. She had stayed with her mother till the end.

Little Nesta in the video said to her mother, “Where’s Feyre?!”

Her mother chuckled, “I don’t know sweetie.”

“Let’s find out, we shall go on a secret mission,” She took the camera off the counter and shoved in her mother’s hands,

“You hold the camera.”

“Oop, ok wait for me,” They ran through the house hiding next to the door look into the kitchen. Feyre had taken out an easel and had started painting.

“Honestly, she’s already started painting, Help me God,” Adelaide laughed at mini Nesta’s sass.

Nesta burst through the door, “Oh Feyre, whatcha doing?”

Feyre looked up and grabbed Nesta, “Good thing you’re here Nes, I needed someone to paint.”

Nesta flicked a lock of hair over her shoulder, “Of course.”

After a few minutes of Nesta fidgeting, Feyre screamed at her to "Sit still Nesta!!" But Nesta kept on looking over at what Elain was doing in the garden.

Adelaide sat down on the kitchen table, the camera jolting.

The video flicked to the next one.

Adelaide was walking up the stairs.

“We seem to have a messy situation downstairs. Proceeding with caution.” She flipped the camera hiding on the landing to show Randolph and his 3 daughters making cookies, Nesta as the first person to notice squealing,

“Momma!!” She ran into her arms smearing her with flour and icing.

“You smell like cookie dough!!!”

Their cookie making continued, throwing flour at each other.

The clip ended. Another one rolled.

“Welcome to our house tour at night.” Adelaide started.

Adelaide started walking through explaining the pictures on the wall.

“There’s me and the girls. Me and Nesta. Randolph with a very tired Nesta. Aw, look at my baby. Nesta with Oliver. Good god if he wasn’t like a brother to her then I would’ve predicted these two would’ve got married.” She laughed, “Well the guy who does get married to Nesta must be a really lucky man. There’s Feyre with her canvas look at her artist in the making. Elain with her flowers that she grew herself, my little gardener!” She moved along to some other picture her voice growing less fond, “Mine and Randolph’s wedding pictures, our anniversary. Lord knows where he is nowadays.” She went quiet, “Anyway let’s check on the little ones the nanny must have put them to sleep.”

She went into a big room, where Nesta was sleeping. The room was light and airy with fairy lights on the wall and Polaroid pictures.

“There’s my baby,” she caressed a hand down Nesta’s face pressing a kiss to her face. Nesta wriggled.

“Goodnight baby.”

She moved into another room, a pink one this time, “There’s baby Elain with her little elf doll.” Elain lay in a plush pink bed in the middle clutching onto a knitted elf doll. Her mother fixed her covers and pressed a kiss to her head.

The next room was covered in with plush toys, the walls covered with stuck on paintings she did at school and at home.

Feyre was still wearing her apron. Adelaide tutted, placing the camera on the desk and holding up a sleeping mini Feyre getting her out of the apron. She put her back to sleep and pulled the covers over her. Pressing a kiss to her forehead as well.

She looked at the camera.

“Can’t wait till they grow up. Hopefully they won’t turn out like me or Randolph. Oh Lord just let them be happy. Especially Nesta. I overheard her telling her teddy that “Daddy doesn’t love her,” I hope she finds someone who does. Who chooses her and keeps on choosing her every day. And this one-” she stroked Feyre, “she should get out from behind that easel every once in a while, just like how Elain needs someone who will be gentle with her as she is gentle with her flowers. I’ll probably show this video to my grandkids, embarrass their mums.” She laughed at the thought.

A door opened and shut.

“Randolph’s here. Let’s find out where he’s been. So bye future and old me and Nesta, Elain and Feyre. I love all of you.”

The video clicked off.

Nesta was toying with her ring. Tears slipping down her face as she knew it was slipping down Elain and Feyre’s. Her mum would have loved Cassian. Well, maybe not at first but…yes she really would have. She smiled at her sisters. Not being able to say anything.  

-------

She had showed Cassian, obviously.

And he’d…well.

He was a fan of their mother.

And then she’d started crying,

“Baby, are you ok?”

“I miss her.”

“well couldn’t we get all those pictures she was talking about in the video and bring it here.”

She hadn’t thought of that, “But the house is in Verona.”

“Book tickets for us tomorrow so we can go the day after.”

She paused for a minute then squealed,

“Baby, baby!! You are the best.” She kissed him deeply.

She broke away smiling mischievously down at him.

“Can we take the yacht?”

She squealed again kissing him even deeper.

Tags: @skychild29​ @my-fan-side​

[queenofanime]

The Girl in White

(Haikyuu x reader)

Part 1

It is only at that moment, Kenma realizes he is holding a gold watch in his hand. At the back of the watch was a small phrase engraved:

To the angel with no wings

My love, my life,

Martha

It was clear that the watch was expensive but most of all it seemed like a valuable treasure. A treasure that wasn't his. He didn't take it on purpose, it just happened, probably when he bumped into the table out of panic. But Kenma had to admit it was a beautiful object. The watch must have had a great number of straps over the years, yet the machine itself was perfection in cogs, gold, and glass. Part of him wanted to return it, but the idea of going back to that hunted place and face whoever had that scary husky voice was a no-no. Without showing it to any of the other players, Kenma slid the watch into his pocket.

                                                          ****

Morning came and it was time for both teams to start packing. Unfortunately for Kenma, his conscience didn't seem to want him to rest. The watch was beginning to grow heavier with every passing minute and the guilt was beginning to take over the poor boy.    

"Oi Kenma! What's this?"

Kenma's yellow eyes widen in fear when he saw non-other than Kuroo holding the said treasure.

"Oh, that looks expensive!" Taketora yelled across the room causing more unwanted attention to the duo.

"It's nothing. Give it back!" spat Kenma. Annoyance lingering in his voice. However, Kuroo wasn't satisfied with the answer, and he knew exactly how to push his friend's buttons.

"Oh? Then please share with everyone who is Martha? 'Cause I'm daying to know... Is it a beautiful girl at school? A crush?"

As soon as those words left Kuroo's lips, Kenma went from annoyed to embarrassed. Not only because his so-called friend was hinting at the idea of romance, but because he didn't know how to get out of this mess. By now everyone was looking at him; 'what was he suppose to say?' On top of that, how was he going to explain the fact he didn't even know who Martha was, let alone know if she was an angel with no wings or not.

"Uhm... uh" No constructed words could form. Kenma's cat-like orbs roamed the room trying to find an exit. With no way out of the awkward situation, he finally gave up. Ashamed of what he was going to say next, he let his vision fall to the floor. "I-I kinda... s-tole it." Kuroo's eyes narrowed at the confession, but before he could say how extremely disappointed he was, Hinata intervened. "Does it belong to the owner of the house?"

Now that comment perked the interest of everyone, including the less interested.

"House? What house?" asked Kageyama, trying to hide his curiosity poorly.

At that moment, Hinata realized the horrible mistake he had committed. Nervously laughing, he tried to brush off the question of "The King". But Kageyama's blue eyes were piercing the poor ginger boy's soul. And it didn't help to have Daichi on father-mode either.

"Well... uh funny thing" studdered Hinata while fidgeting with his hands. "Yesterday we kind of took a shortcut and um got kind of lost and..." His brown eyes traced Kenma's figure, "and it was late and we just happen to find a-a house, so we k-kind of ent-entered it."

"You morons trespassed?" ask nonother than Tsukishima, who by now was quite attentive to the conversation.

With that, Kenma lost all hope that he could get away from the awkward situation and accepted his fate.

As expected, both boys got a punishment and were chastised by their respective captains. And of course, the only reasonable conclusion ended up being returning the stolen treasure.

                                                  ****

To say, both teams were spooked out by the setting, was an understatement. Everyone was freaking out. Hinata and Kenma pleaded to not go back there alone, and with good reason. Yet no one listened because, no one was buying that the place was creepy, in fact, some even told them they were being scary-cats, but now...

Now all the boys were staring at the abandoned playground, at the rusty swings that moved with the wind, creating an infernal screech. And there it was again, that feeling of being watched, observed every action, every move. For some reason, whenever Hinata watched the abandoned structure, he remembered the feeling of childhood. The laughter of children. But that was here nor there.

"H-how about w-we turn b-back" suggested Asahi. Although his physical features made him look like a grown-ass delinquent, Asahi Azumane was a baby at heart. And probably, the most scared. "I-I mean, Kenma c-could keep the w-watch, r-right?"

A strict stare from Daichi made him shut up, though. Yet, Karasuno's ace wasn't wrong, the place was unsettling and everyone seemed to be tense, hell, even Kuroo and himself looked doubtful, but as a captain, he had to move forward. If Hinata made it out in one piece, so could he.

After some encouraging words from Nishinoya, the boys decided to walk through the forest. The setting was quite different than the other night. The sun was up and one could see the peaceful clearings. The smell of wildlife was quite pungent, and the big, tall trees might as well be magical creatures like Titans and Giant Trolls. A small stream could be seen in the distance. Kenma wonder why he didn't hear the water before, maybe he was too tired and concentrated on the cat.

Finally, after one and a half-hour later, all males made it to another small gate. There were dirt roads leading to it as well, which indicated that there were other routes one could take. The gate had the same architectural structure as the first one and lead to a well-maintained garden. Hinata and Kenma recognized it immediately. At the back, the white antique house stood proudly. House was a little underrated since it was rather a massive white mansion, that had colossal glass windows, and no Japanese influence at all.  At the center of the garden, a fountain made of stone and moss stood. A mighty oak was near too, making the place look astonishing. However, all magical trance disappeared when they heard someone approaching.

A girl.

Dressed in a white silky summer dress. It had a touch of vintage, however, it was quite transparent, highlighting all of her curves. She couldn't have been older than 17, maybe younger. Her skin was smooth and shiny, the rays of sunshine reflected in her hair, while the soft spring breeze created movement all around her. Her eyes sparkled. She was barefoot as well. Now that, was an angel with no wings.

"Who are you?" Her voice didn't match at all with her sweet looks. It was a stern commandant voice, full of confidence. At this, all the boys flinched.

Moving slowly through the group, Kenma cowardly stood in front of her.

"I um I'm wan-wanted to um..." What was he supposed to say? 'I'm the one who stole your watch' Of course not. Kenma wasn't used to talking with girls, let alone one that was stunningly gorgeous.

"I'm, I'm Kenma K-Kozume and I uh-Yes the watch thief." The girl bluntly interrupted, which caused some snorts from Tsukishima and Tanaka.

Kenma could feel the heat spreading through his face out of embarrassment. This was clearly an unwanted situation.

"You know, watch-thief Kenma, your manners aren't great either. You should see the other person's eyes when talking to them." She continued. Although her words were harsh, she wasn't using a mockery-childish tone, no, she was just pointing out the truth without sugarcoating it. For some reason, Kenma always seems to have difficulty seeing other people's eyes and faces. He didn't really know how to interact with others, however, before he could react, a soft hand spread to his chin and lifted his gaze. The girl wasn't laughing or being mean, she was serious, observing, taking in every feature.

"Well?" She repeated. She acted very maturely for her age, something that didn't go unnoticed by the others, especially the third-year students.

He didn't know why, but instead of feeling petrified, Kenma felt a wave of confidence forming.

"I'm Kenma Kozume and I wanted to return the gold watch." His hand stretched towards the girl and handed her the object. "I'm sorry for taking it, it was an accident."

The girl observed the watch for a long time, examining it, she then, lifted her gaze towards the boy, giving it back.

"The watch belongs to Germán. You took it from him, you give it back to him."

"Germán?" The obviously wasn't a Japanese name, no it was Spanish and quite difficult to pronounce.

"My father." She answered.

"And who are you?" Asked a voice from behind. It was Kuroo, who until now, was just observing the situation unfold.

"His daughter." She responded. Unfazed by the harshness in his tone

"That's not what I meant."

"I'm well aware of what you meant." The same monotone voice responded.

Ignoring Kuroo's irk forehead mark, her gaze fell on Kenma once again. "My father is inside. You will personally return the watch to him."

Not waiting for anyone to speak, she headed inside the garden and made her way to the old mansion. Everyone else just kind of followed.

                                                    ****

The inside of the house was just as cozy as Hinata remembered it. The Siamese cat sat on a sofa, looking at the new strangers coming in with lazy eyes.

"Um, may I ask what's the name of the cat?" The girl turned around to spot the boy who had asked the question. He was of average height, green-ish hair color, and his skin was full of freckles.

Not paying too much attention, she replied. "That's Violet. There's also a brown one named Kafka, and we have a Great Dane named Sargent."  At her comment, Hinata got extremely excited. "Whoa! You have so many pets! Can I see the dog!?" The girl was taken aback by the boy's energy but quickly composed herself. "If he passes through here you can. I'm going to get my father, so don't touch anything." Giving one last look to all the males, she headed to a carved wooden door, "Oh, and don't steal anything."

Her comment left a bittersweet taste in Kenma's mouth.

"Well, this place is something." Admitted Kageyama, who was observing a carved decorated music box with a porcelain ballerina on top. No one disagreed. The place seemed to be taken out of a fairy tale. Every ornament seemed to tell a story. The decoration of the living room defied all time and space as if it had frozen in the Victorian European movement. For a second, every player forgot they were still in Japan.

Soon, the door opened, revealing the mysterious girl and her father, Germán.  

He was a tall, thin man. His hair was brown but also grey, showing age. Even though he had wrinkles in his forehead and eyes, he clearly was a handsome man in his time. His eyes were icy-blue but there was a warmth to it. On top of that, he was well dressed.

Both teams bowed, showing respect. However, he waved his hand, "That's not necessary, young ones." His voice was sweeter than the other night. It wasn't as rough, rather calm and soft, almost a whisper.

Kenma approached and told him the situation. Asking forgiveness, for the watch. Hinata too apologized for trespassing.

"Well, I'm glad you returned it. By the way, all of you seem tired, would you like a late breakfast?"

The unexpected question from the man causes a lot of eyes to widen. Even her daughter seemed surprised.

"Oh, we couldn't accept your kindness after everything that has happened" Explained Daichi, which everyone nodded in agreement, yet, as soon as those words left his mouth, a couple of stomachs growled in hunger, including his. This caused the young girl to laugh. It was the first time they heard her laugh, and it was music to the ears. Although, everyone got flustered by the bad timing.

The man just smiled kindly.

"Cricket, would you be so kind to put out plates and heat water for our guests?" She only nodded and headed to the kitchen while he made all the boys pass to the dining room.

                                                      ****

The table was long enough for everyone, which was kind of impressive. At the end of the room, hanging from the wall was a beautiful vivid painting of a woman. She resembled the girl but in adult form.

The table was full of fruit, and bread, and eggs, and coffee, and chocolate milk. The volleyball players ate like there was no tomorrow.

At first, no one dared to say a word, but with time, Hinata and Nishinoya lighten the mood. And soon, Germán was talking to all the boys like they were his own sons. Kenma noticed a pair of orbs looking directly at him. The girl was clearly deep in thought, journeying through some creative stream only she could sense. He also took in her features. She was very well built and good-looking yet, there was something captivating about her. A special quality that could put anyone in a trance.

Unfortunately, breakfast was cut short when the older man started coughing. Immediately the girl stood up and helped her father head to his room. It was clear he was sick, however, no one mentioned it. Sugawara and Morisuke offered to help but were shut down by the death glare of the young girl. Helping her father she left the room. When she returned, the dishes were picked up. Apologizing in a neutral tone, the girl offered everyone to head to the door.

The awkward silence returned once more, yet she paid no mind to it. By now, everyone was at the iron gate, ready to part.

"Why did you entered our house yesterday?" She finally spoke. Everyone turned their heads to Kenma, then to Hinata, then to the girl, then back to Kenma.

"I don't know," responded Nekoma's setter. "Maybe because of the mystery."

The girl smiled energetically for the first time.

"So, you like mysteries?"  

Kenma only nodded.

"You have something to do tomorrow?" her question was out of the blue, unpredictable. Before Kenma could respond, she continued. "Tomorrow, here, at 9;00 am."

And with that, she turned around and left running.

"Wait!" cried Hinata who wasn't even part of the conversation.

The girl stopped in her tracks and turned around.

"You haven't told us your name!"

"Y/n!"

[perfeggso]

Noir (yutae)

Week II pt. 1

Tokyo – fall of 1983: Nakamoto Yuta is quickly rising in the ranks of one of Japan’s most notorious yakuza families, and he’s poised to climb even further if he can stop himself from being ruined by the pretty Korean boy who’s shown up out of nowhere.

Chapter 1  |  Chapter 2  |  Chapter 3  |  Chapter 4  |  Chapter 5  |  Chapter 6  |  Chapter 7  |  Chapter 8  | Masterlist 

Glossary of Japanese words

Characters: Yuta x Taeyong + NCT ensemble, Twice J-line (for funsies) 

Genres: Gang!AU, angst, smut, fluff, 1980s!AU

Warnings: graphic violence, swearing, minor character death, alcohol use, mentions of drugs, period-typical homophobia, xenophobia, BDSM

Rating: 18+

Length: 4.5k (will progressively get way longer)

A “foot soldier,” as it turned out, was the smallest of small fry in the syndicate.  They were mostly responsible for manning the many front businesses that Inagawa used for small change, low-level intimidation, and charity work.  Taeyong found that he did get to carry a revolver around with him but was forbidden from using it in non-life-threatening situations because he had only been a yakuza for about a week and had only gotten the opportunity to practice firing the thing twice.  This was both for his own protection and for the protection of the gang; almost nothing could have been more damaging than the misfiring of an illegal gun by a rookie.

All Taeyong had needed to do to leave his mechanic job was to submit a letter of resignation, which in honesty was the most obvious solution.  People were allowed to resign without a specific reason – his boss didn’t own his soul.  And Taeyong wasn’t too sad to leave since he hadn’t been close to anyone working there.

After a week, Taeyong found himself leaning over a yellow plastic desk at the entrance to a miscellaneous electronics shop in Akihabara, bored to death and resigned to people-watching.  Taeyong usually avoided Akihabara because he wasn’t particularly interested in electronics nor in otaku culture.  More than that, he hated how the few times he had come to the neighborhood in the evening he’d been approached by creepy middle-ages men trying to entice him to go “chat” with some “lovely young ladies.”

But now he was here among the neon lights with nothing more to do with himself but try to look inviting to customers.  If he was being honest, part of him wanted to sabotage the whole racket by looking purposefully glum and driving people away.  Despite his sweet face, Taeyong did have an aggressive streak in him but he always considered himself principled about those who got hit by it.  For instance, swindling major corporations out of millions of yen, as he was vaguely aware that Inagawa did, seemed perfectly ethical to him.  Selling faulty electronics to innocent working-class people on the other hand…

“Taeyong!” Mark yelled from behind him, forcing him out of his contemplative rabbit hole of Robin Hood ethics.

Taeyong turned around to see Mark walking up to him, a stack of colorful business cards in one hand and a badminton racket and shuttlecock in the other.  What a fuckin’ weirdo , thought Taeyong, although he couldn’t help but like the guy.

Mark had been the first person Taeyong had spoken to as an unofficial member, he supposed, of the Inagawa-kai, as he was the one responsible for escorting Taeyong back to his apartment and spending the night there to ensure that he did not try to run away or go to the authorities.  Taeyong didn’t sleep that night because his head was full of too many questions, and Mark wasn’t allowed to, so the two instead got to talking – as much as they could given the supreme awkwardness of the situation, anyway.        

“What do you need?” Taeyong asked and in response, Mark passed him the stack of cards as if that were an explanation.  Before he got around to illustrating his intentions with words, he began bouncing the shuttlecock against his racket, twisting the string bed 180 degrees between each contact.

“I need you to stand on the sidewalk and hand these out to people,” he finally said, still focused on his game. “They say we’re having a promotional sale.  It’s supposed to drum up more business which we can handle with the three of us here instead of two.  But for this to work, you need to stop scowling.  Show off that charming smile of yours.”

Mark was sure a cheeky bugger.  If Taeyong did stick around in this gang, he’d eventually use his age advantage to mess with the kid once their gap in experience wasn’t so large.

“Was this your idea?” Taeyong asked.

Mark shook his head no, pausing his game of hand-eye coordination.  “It was our Shategashira ’s.”  

“Nakamoto?”

“Hasn’t he told you to use his title?  Or just Yuta if you want to use his name.”

Taeyong huffed a sigh.  This ‘ Shategashira ’ of his had really become an exasperating figure in his life over the past week.  They’d barely interacted, but the coolness and ease with which Yuta always addressed him made him feel funny; as if he truly had no control over the trajectory of his life anymore simply because he was dumb enough to follow some sounds in an alley.  But who was he kidding?  His life might as well lead him to being in a gang.  Wasn’t that what he’d always wanted?  And anyway, there was a reason the Inagawa-kai had an entire Korean division and some Korean leadership.  Taeyong had just imagined more bombastic motorcycle rides and fewer junk computers.

“Yeah I remember now,” Taeyong said, shuffling the business cards in his hands and making his way out from behind his desk.  “So how do I get people to take these?”

Mark walked with him to the front of the shop, his hand on the older man’s shoulder.  “Just smile and say ‘promotional sale: premium consumer electronics.  This week only,' or some shit and try to get these into the hands of everyone who walks near you.  I think you can handle it.”

“I will try,” said Taeyong.

He found it was easier to get people to take the cards than he had expected, although his success didn’t seem to go further than that, as most people who took a card only regarded Taeyong with a confused scowl once they had it in their hands.  After about an hour, a woman came walking towards Taeyong on his side of the street, and she was truly the first person Taeyong fully noticed his whole shift.  He noticed her because no one could have not: she was slightly taller than average, especially in heels, with long black hair blown out, a green bodycon dress, black heels, and a gold chain necklace.  Taeyong thought she might have the prettiest face he’d ever seen on a woman.  He also noticed her because she was staring right at him as she approached.  Taeyong wasn’t fazed because he was used to nice looking girls coming onto him.  They would inevitably be put off either by his ethnicity or by his lack of interest in them – whichever they perceived first – and then bad things would happen.  However, the intensity in this woman’s gaze felt different as she came to stand just a few feet away.

“Momo-hime??” Taeyong heard Mark yell from somewhere within the store.  Huh?   Soon enough both he and Jungwoo had emerged and were greeting the gorgeous young woman.  Taeyong stayed frozen to his post because he didn’t know what to make of the situation nor of his role in it.  She was a ‘princess’ anyway.  What business did a street rat have introducing himself to her?

Soon, though, Taeyong found he didn’t have to.  She exchanged a few words with his coworkers, and they nodded, pointing her his way.

“Lee Taeyong,” said the woman, bowing once she had finally gotten close enough to greet him.  “I’m Hirai Momo.  It’s good to meet you.  Yuta told me you had been brought on.”

Taeyong was so confused he felt like he was floating, but he bowed back despite himself.  “Nice to meet you too.”  The name Hirai sounded familiar but Taeyong took a moment to place it.  Then, like being slapped in the face, his brain found the missing puzzle piece that allowed him to make an association.  The Hirai family ran the entire operation, didn’t they?  Shit .            

“Why are you here, Neechan ?” asked Jungwoo.

Momo smiled.  “Yuta sent me to retrieve you, Taeyong,” she answered, causing Mark and Jungwoo to raise their eyebrows in unison.

Taeyong could feel the blood rush through his veins, and it felt cold.  “I – did I do something?”

“Don’t worry,” Momo assured.  “Everything’s alright.  Yuta-san just wants to make sure you’re adjusting alright and to have you get some more target practice in with your new piece.  How does that sound?”

Yuta was turning out to be the most involved boss Taeyong had ever had.  He still had no idea what was going on, but at least he wasn’t in trouble and if he was being honest, he liked firing the gun and looked forward to another sanctioned opportunity.  Taeyong chided himself as he noticed a piece of his mind wondering churlishly what this girl was to Yuta.  That doesn’t pertain to you , he told himself.  

“That’s fine,” he said.

“Great,” said Momo, winking like a girl from an animated television show or something.  “So, you’ll go to headquarters and meet him right after your shift, got it?”

Got it.

***

The Inagawa-kai Tokyo headquarters was located in a simple, box-shaped black building on the edge of Aoyama.  It wasn’t a short structure – it had about seven stories – but compared to much of Tokyo’s architecture it remained strategically unassuming.  Once inside the building, a tall man with dark hair and a patchwork of tattoos and scars across his exposed skin approached Taeyong and told him he would escort him to the meeting.  At first Taeyong didn’t recognize him because he hadn’t gotten a good look the first time, but he soon realized that his companion was one of the men who had essentially arrested him a week ago, a fact which made his throat tighten.  Taeyong also cautiously noted that the man had a fresh stump of a pinky finger on his right hand covered in bandages.  Must have gotten in a bad fight.

The man led Taeyong down a series of identical concrete hallways until they reached a sliding door made of oak, at which point he left Taeyong to enter the room by himself.  Taeyong hesitated for a moment but was stunned into action when he heard Yuta’s expressive voice anticipate his presence from inside with the simple utterance of two syllables.

“ Douzo .”

Within, Yuta sat at the same desk where Taeyong had first met him, surrounded by expensive Scandinavian furnishings, walls of glass and concrete, and a pristine bonsai tree on a ledge behind him.  Yuta himself wore black pants, a silk shirt, and a yellow velvet smoking jacket of all things.  Taeyong felt something twist in his gut at the sight of him and his intent gaze but decided to file the feeling away somewhere very deep for the purposes of later contemplation.

“ Shategashira !” Taeyong greeted with a salute, as he was now pretty sure he was expected to.  “Would you like me to sit, sir?”

“At ease,” said Yuta, waving him off and letting Taeyong relax a bit.  “No need.  I’ll accompany you to the range right now, if that’s alright.”

“Of course, Shategashira .”

And with that, Taeyong let himself be led back under the florescent lights of the complex’s maze-like hallways.

“How are you adjusting, Taeyong?” asked Yuta.

Taeyong was constantly surprised that the couple times he had seen Yuta since their initial meeting, he always made sure to check up on him.  He didn’t know what to make of this.  He guessed it was just standard practice – a measure to make him feel protected and ensure his devotion, or something of the sort.

“It’s alright, I guess,” Taeyong responded.  “I like Mark and Jungwoo.  Johnny seems like a good guy too.  In all honesty, I don’t have a lot to do right now.  But I do appreciate having the position at all!”  Taeyong’s tone was absolutely all over the place, not knowing where to stand between familiar and deferent.  Taeyong thought he saw his little speech provoke a smile in Yuta, and suddenly that knot in his stomach was back.  Well, fuck.

Yuta spoke.  “I acknowledge that you don’t have the most exciting posting.  But that’s partially why I wished to speak with you today.  After you.”

Yuta left that tease there.  They had come to the end of a hallway to an orange door with chipping paint and a black symbol indicating that protective equipment for eyes and ears was recommended inside.  Yuta held it open and Taeyong passed through.

Once in the vestibule of the shooting range, Taeyong set himself up where he was supposed to stand and aimed his revolver at the target on the other end of the room as Yuta leaned against an acid-white wall with his arms crossed and his chin raised slightly.

“Relax your shoulders,” Yuta said, and Taeyong cleared his throat, shimmying his shoulders lower on his back in response.  He took a deep breath and focused on the red bull’s eye placed on the heart of a human-shaped target, both hands on the gun.  He had to refrain from grinding his teeth.

“Wait until you’re ready,” Yuta coached, voice low and commanding, “then focus your energy and count down from three before you pull the trigger.  Simple as that.”

“Yes, Shategashira .” Taeyong did as he was told, steadying himself, focusing his eyes on his target, and counting 3…2…1… BANG!

Taeyong felt himself sway backwards for a moment after firing but regained his balance quickly – something he had not done the first time he had shot the thing.  That time, he ended up on his butt, confused and embarrassed as Mark thrashed around on the wall in a fit of performative laughter.  The practice he’d had since then had helped, but so did the pressure of Yuta’s gaze.

After a moment, Taeyong heard clapping coming from next to him and he realized he had been closing his eyes.  When he opened them, he saw that a chunk of the wooden target was missing on its inner thigh.

“We can work with that,” Yuta remarked, finishing his short round of applause.  “Certainly enough to cripple, and that’s important.  However, I get the sense you weren’t aiming there, hm?”

Taeyong’s breathing fumbled when Yuta began to stalk towards him.  “What we need is to teach you some precision and confidence,” he explained. “We’ve got to work on your kill shot.  Do you mind?”

Yuta was asking for the gun, so Taeyong handed it over with an “of course, Shategashira .”        

Yuta took a sideways stance, holding the revolver out with one arm, and proceeded to shoot five times in fast succession, obliterating the plywood head of the target cutout until it was nothing more than splinters.  Taeyong did not care to imagine it as belonging to a real human.  When he had finished, Yuta turned to regard Taeyong, and to Taeyong’s surprise and horror, he broke out into a wide grin.  God , thought Taeyong, I’m alone with a psychopath and a gun .  Although, once that thought had passed, Taeyong couldn’t help admiring the princely charm of the way the smile had spread like a sunrise over Yuta’s face.  What the fuck was going on?  

“You see?” said Yuta, ebullient, “you’ll be doing that soon enough.”

Soon enough .  Right, Taeyong would need to sort out his future, and soon.

“Let’s try again.  Go back to your stance.  We’re going to stay with two hands for now.”

Taeyong took the gun back and repositioned himself in his starting position, holding the weapon with his outstretched arms and lining it up with his sternum.  Yuta came up beside him and held his hands over Taeyong’s shoulders.

“May I?” he asked, and Taeyong nodded, allowing Yuta to press down onto his shoulders and straighten his spine.  Taeyong could feel the other man’s breath and it was sending his nerves into a state he did not need them to be in, heat crawling up his neck.      

“Do the countdown again,” Yuta instructed, “deep breath, and then fire.  Don’t let your eyes close, alright?  And try to stay still as much as possible.  You can if you really engage your core.”

Taeyong nodded at all the advice and tried to follow it – attempting also to avoid noticing the watchful smile blooming on Yuta’s face in his peripheral vision.  He took in a deep breath of the room’s stale air and counted down again, eyes trained on the cutout’s heart and intent not to shut.

A BANG rang out once more throughout the vestibule.            

Taeyong did narrowly refrain from closing his eyes, but they seemed to have gone out of focus.  Once he blinked the fuzziness from them, as if erasing an etch-a-sketch, he could see that he’d succeeded in blowing a hole through his target’s crotch.

Yuta giggled and slapped Taeyong over his right shoulder.  Taeyong’s head spun.  Was he supposed to be scared of this literal mob boss or not?

“I have a hunch you weren’t aiming there either, huh?” Yuta asked, and Taeyong shook his head no.  “That’d definitely be an effective shot though, wouldn’t it?  Might actually be better than aiming for the heart in some situations because you can make them talk while they bleed out.”

Holy shit.   In an instant, Taeyong became painfully aware of his reality.  He was practicing shooting because he might be in a situation where he’d need to – where others would be aiming at him the same way he was aiming at this outline of a man.  What if it was him who got shot in the heart, or worse, shot in the dick and forced to bleed out horrifically?  Taeyong felt lightheaded but managed to squeeze enough air from his lungs to speak.

“Do you mind me asking you a question, if it’s not too forward?”

Yuta raised an eyebrow.  “Shoot,” he said, obviously amused by his own word play.

“Why am I here?” asked Taeyong.  “What am I doing here now?  What am I training for?”  That was three questions, but oh well.  Taeyong didn’t feel like being measured.

Yuta sighed and cocked his head, eyes fluttering to regard the floor.

“I had a feeling this would come up,” he said, smiling wryly this time.  “Keep practicing and I’ll fill you in.”

Taeyong nodded and prepared to shoot again, hitting the target’s left shoulder this time when he pulled the trigger.

“Getting closer to the heart,” Yuta observed, appreciative.  “You see, Taeyong, there are only two favorable outcomes for you now that this ball has gotten rolling.”  Taeyong relaxed his arms and watched Yuta begin to pace, his face steeled by caution.

“The first, which would be preferable to the family, is that you stay on with the Inagawa-kai and devote yourself to our line of work.  However, I understand that what has happened was not your choosing, and you may want to return to your normal life as soon as possible.  Whichever path you choose eventually matters little to what I need you to do for now, so don’t worry about it yet.” Yuta paused, giving Taeyong a moment to recover from the way his emotions had just gone topsy-turvy like his image in a funhouse mirror.  Then Yuta gestured towards the gun Taeyong was now pointing at the rubber floor.  “Please continue,” he said.  Taeyong hit the target in its stomach and caught a hum of approval from Yuta.    

“Either way,” Yuta went on, “you will need to establish trust here.  Even if you want to leave, you will have to stay on long enough and perform well enough to prove that we can trust you to be an ally even in the civilian world.  Does that make sense, Taeyong?”

Bang! Left hip.

“It does,” Taeyong replied, resigned.  This was all his own fault anyway.  He couldn’t help his curiosity though.  “Is this something that happens often?”

Yuta chuckled slightly.  Bang! Sternum.  Taeyong was quickly gaining enough balance and confidence to keep himself still while firing.

“Similar situations have occurred although we obviously try to avoid them.  For instance, the two men who brought you in to me have been duly reprimanded for their carelessness.”  

Taeyong was preparing to fire as Yuta said this and was immediately thrown off when his mind returned to the image of his abductor’s freshly severed finger, putting two and two together.  Is that what a mistake gets you here? Worse, did Yuta purposefully assign that guy to escort Taeyong as some kind of warning? Taeyong was already pressing down on the trigger when this thought came to him and it caused him to misfire wildly, hitting the wall on the other end of the range a few feet from the target.

“Fuck!”

“Do you need me to stop talking?” Yuta asked.

Taeyong held the gun in his left hand while shaking out the wrist of his right, as if the problem had been purely physiological.  “No!  Er – sorry, just give me a moment please, Shategashira .”

“That’s alright,” said Yuta.  “You’re doing pretty well for a beginner.  Take a break for a bit.”

Taeyong nodded, feeling defeated but somewhat relieved.    

“Similar situations,” he mused “Like what?  If you don’t mind telling me.”

“Take Jungwoo, for example.  He worked for a circuitry and computing firm that was under our thumb.  He knew nothing about it – he was simply a technician and didn’t have access to the books – but when the small company had defied our understanding with them one too many times, Jungwoo happened to be unlucky enough to witness the consequences.  We gave him the option to make it up to us by working for us.  It was difficult for him at first, but now his closest friends are in our ranks and he gets to do what he loves while never needing to worry about money.  So, it worked out in the end.”

Jungwoo, huh?   Taeyong had thought the guy seemed a bit too cheery to be a natural gangster.

“I see.  I don’t really have a thing though, that I love doing, you know?”

Yuta shrugged, then smiled in a way that was meant to be reassuring.

“Well, you may not love it, but you know about vehicle mechanics, right?  That will be useful to us.  However, to be honest I do feel for you, Taeyong, I really do.  You caught my attention immediately and have weighed on my conscience.  I want to help you make the best of this, and the best thing you can do now is quickly prove your loyalty both to me and to the people I work for.  That way, you will get the most flexibility in the least time.  That’s why I’m scheming to fast-track you to that point.”

Taeyong was mystified as to why his superior, who had implicitly threatened him into becoming a yakuza in the first place, was being so nice to him; so reasonable.

“What does that mean?” Taeyong asked, eyes going wide in anticipation.

Yuta leaned back against the wall and watched Taeyong from under his bangs.  “I’m in the middle of a project that it would be nice if someone helped me with.  It’s not inherently dangerous and it’ll give you a good idea of how we operate.  If you do a good job you will both understand the world you’re now living in and if you want to stay in it, and hopefully, gain enough trust to be allowed to make that decision when the time comes.”

Taeyong’s thumb skimmed nervously over the textured handle of his revolver, eyes searching the vestibule for some sense of reality.  He felt almost dizzy with exhilaration at the idea of helping Yuta out and spending more time with him - studying him.  “What’s the project?” he asked.

“An investigation.”

“An investigation…” Taeyong repeated.  What did he know about investigations?

“Yes,” said Yuta, “I’m gathering information on a certain executive at one of the nation’s largest companies.  For blackmailing purposes.”

Taeyong almost laughed at how upfront Yuta was about this.

“Okay…”

“Is that a yes?”

“Do I have a choice?” Asked Taeyong.  Yuta smiled, something almost predatory in his expression.  “What would I have to do?”

“Accompany me when I go out following leads, be my lookout and my sounding board for ideas when no one else is free to help.  You can be more involved depending on how well you do with that.  Think you can handle it?”

That didn’t sound too out of the box for things Taeyong could do.  Besides, Yuta had said “lookout” not “bodyguard” or something.  Taeyong was used to fighting, but his dustups were usually with hoodlums from Shin-Ōkubo, not with armed career criminals.

Taeyong nodded.  “Yeah,” he said.  “Yeah I can.”

Yuta pushed himself off the wall.  “Perfect.  Before we finish here though, I’d like to get you to hit your target.”

The way Yuta said it so flatly made it clear to Taeyong that this was a command, not a suggestion.

“Yes, Shategashira .”      

“I think I know how to help,” said Yuta, “it’s something I used to do when practicing.  Do you have someone you want that to be?  Someone you hate so much it makes your toes curl?  Makes you want to smell their blood?”

Taeyong pictured the leader of the Specters – the boy who’d beaten him black and blue until he couldn’t hear or think; the boy who had only refrained from dragging Taeyong from a chain on the back of a car when he heard sirens coming for him, and all because Taeyong had dared to be zainichi .  Sure, Taeyong wouldn’t mind a little payback.  He nodded at Yuta, both men’s eyes going dark and focusing on the target.

“Good,” said Yuta, placing his hands on Taeyong’s shoulders and squeezing.  This time, Taeyong’s mind had gone too cold to let the contact affect him.  “Now, don’t let them get away with anything less than a bullet to the heart.”

With that, Yuta pushed away and Taeyong imagined his victim, ugly smug face and rising sun headband appearing in his mind’s eye with chilling detail.  Relax, breathe out, 3, 2, 1, BANG!

Taeyong was steady as the bullet passed an inch or so from the bullseye and the sight caused a great sense of relief to wash over him, like stepping into a hot tub on a snowy day.

When he turned around, Yuta was watching him with a smirk, arms crossed over his chest.

“When do I start, Shategashira ?” asked Taeyong.

Yuta’s smirk morphed into what Taeyong could only describe as a proud grin.  “You start now.”    

[detectivejigsawpines]

North by Northwest Conspiracy-Finale (Alea iacta est)

Seeing the look on Old Man Northwest’s face after stuffing the piece of paper into his mouth made the experience of sacrificing the money it would have given him totally worth it.  Stan gave it another vindictive chew, wondering if he could make it into a good spitball like in high school.

Funny how he doesn’t even seem surprised at the possibility of his family legacy bein’ a fraud as much as he is interested in tryna cover it up.

...Unless he knew that was the truth all along.

Well, he did say that stuff about the town needing someone ta look up to...

Geez, what a jerk .  He’s worse than the kid.

As he pushed the wad of paper into his cheek with his tongue, his eyes landed on Preston, still standing meekly behind his father.  The boy was staring at them in bug-eyed disbelief, probably not used to people defying his Old Man this blatantly, if at all. Stan waggled his eyebrows at him; to his surprise, for a half second the kid looked like he was trying to smother a giggle, as if there was a real human soul in that suit.

Finally Old Man spoke, in tones of sharp, clipped rage.

“If you bring this story to the press, you will regret it.”

“Oh yeah?  Why?” Ford challenged.

Old Man’s eyebrows did a little dance up and down his forehead.  “I wonder if you’re aware, Stanford, of the amount of trouble your brother has gotten himself in with the law during the years before he came here.”

Ford rolled his eyes.  “Yes, I already know about that, we’ve been through this already-”

“But do the people around here know?”

Old Man Northwest’s air of superiority returned.  “How safe do you think they would feel, knowing that that cabin in the woods not only harbors an eccentric mad scientist, but his hardened criminal of a brother?  Someone who’s spent time in prison, and has several false identities on his record?”

Stan felt his gut clench and burn with anger-but also with a touch of fear.

Old Man went on, “Of course, it wasn’t for anything serious, like murder, but who knows what crimes he committed that he wasn’t convicted of?  Or what he might be up to right now?”  He stepped closer, staring down his nose at them despite being barely an inch taller than the Pineses.  “Like those large amounts of gold that you’ve been taking to the city and selling in different pawn shops every few weeks-where do those come from, I wonder?”

“It’s nothing illegal!” Ford interrupted.

Probably, anyway, Stan hoped.  He wasn’t exactly up to date on whatever statutes there might be regarding sales rights with supernatural creatures.

“That’s what you say, of course.  But I wonder; I really do.  And of course, in a small town like this, if they’ve been stirred up against one small person, or group of people-” he clicked his tongue.  “It doesn’t bear thinking about.”

Stan stepped up to his brother’s side, readjusting his grip on the handle of the sword.  Old Man’s eyes flicked towards him, looking for a moment like he feared he might actually use it.  Stan just asked in a flat tone, “You really think people’d get as worked up about my petty crimes as they would about all the crap your family’s pulled?”

Old Man shrugged.  “Perhaps not...but the fact remains that if you attempt to bring destruction on my family, rest assured that I will do as much to you.”

Ford looked positively incensed that he would dare to misquote Sir Arthur Conan Doyle at them.  He was opening his mouth, probably to correct him on the parts he didn’t get right, when Old Man turned away and stalked towards his car.

“Come, Preston-we’re going home.”

The boy slinked after his father.  As he got to the door, he hesitated for a moment, looking like he wanted to say something to them-but then he just climbed in.

****

For a minute, the little group silently watched the fancy car drive away.

At last Stan spat out the spitball and said, “Well, we uncovered the truth about a major conspiracy in Gravity Falls, but it’s gonna be difficult for us ta do anything with what we know.  On the other hand, it means that if they try ta dig up the dirt on us we can expose them too. I think that’s what they call mutually assured destruction, right?”

“At least you didn’t take his Judas money,” Dan growled, as he resumed dragging Ghost Eyes and his buddy to the car.  Trembley, finally paying attention to what was going on, sprang down from his perch on top of the tombstone and wandered over with interest to see what this strange “horseless carriage” was.

Stan’s shoulders sagged.  “Sorry, Sixer. Looks like I messed things up again.”

Ford’s head whipped around towards him.  “What-? No-this isn’t your fault, Stanley.  You shouldn’t blame yourself. And even if we didn’t get the end results we expected, we still found some fascinating-artifacts!”  His eyebrows raised in sudden realization. “We need to close up that entrance so they will be safe until we can bring them home! So go do that.”

Stan managed a smile, and a mock salute.  “Aye aye, Captain.”

“We’re not at sea, Stanley-you don’t say ‘aye aye’ when you’re on land.”

“Whatever.”  And he headed back to that part of the cemetery.

Just in case, Stan went down and checked inside-thankfully the rooms still had all the stuff as far as he could tell, and there was no one else down here, so once he got outside he returned to the angel statue and pressed her finger down into place.  The stone slab slid seamlessly (try saying that three times fast) back over the stairs.

“See ya later, gorgeous,” he told the statue, and then returned to the car.

********

Trembley spent the drive to the hospital marveling at their speed, and that their lungs weren’t collapsing from “going over thirty-five furlongs per jiffy.”  Stan had long since given up trying to figure out what he was talking about.

At the hospital, Dan dumped out the hench-teenagers in front of the door, with a note attached to Ghost Eyes’s shirt reading, “Please make sure we don’t have concussions or anything like that.  Thank you.” Despite his and Stan’s objections, Ford tucked a wad of cash to pay for the hospital bill into his pocket. Then they quickly drove away before anyone could see them.

When they arrived back at their home, Trembley hopped out.  “Gentlemen, I am needed elsewhere-”

“...Where?” Stan asked, confused.

“-but I will return when America needs me most!  Until then, remember that I am right here-” he put a hand to his heart...that turned out to actually be reaching into his coat pocket.  “On the negative twelve dollar bill!” He handed it to Ford.

“Um...thank you.  I suppose.” Ford looked at both sides with a critical eye.

“And for you, other Stan, I have this!”  He handed Stan his President’s Key. Stan suddenly felt a little better about how this day had gone.

“What am I, chopped liver?” Dan grumbled.

“Oh, of course!  You are now an official congressman, brave giant!”  Trembley produced a folded top hat, which he popped open and placed on top of the lumberjack’s head (he had to stand on tiptoe, but he managed it).  Then he raised his arms, and yelled, “Trembley away!”

Before they could blink, the former president leaped backwards, landing on a horse that they suddenly noticed standing by the side of the house.  It reared briefly, and then galloped off into the forest (with Trembley still sitting backwards on it).

“Remarkable!” Ford said, staring after the retreating figures.  “I think that was a genuine Coinci-Horse!” He pulled out his journal and flipped through it.  “I know I wrote about them somewhere…”

Stan gave Dan a look.  “How much do ya give his chances for survivin’ the twentieth century?”

“He seems pretty adaptable,” Dan mused.  “On the other hand, I think he’s ridin’ right into Kill-Billy territory.  So the odds’re maybe about fifty-fifty right now.”

“We’re going to have to make a closer examination of that peanut brittle!” Ford announced.  “I need to find out where it came from-if it was created here in Gravity Falls, and perhaps that gave it its life-sustaining properties, or if he put something in it, or-”

Dan gave a resigned sigh.  “I’ll get my truck-it’s got more room in the back.”  He set off for his cabin.

********

Unfortunately, Auldman is pretty good at playing dirty. So now the Pineses have made a mortal enemy out of the most powerful family in Gravity Falls; and the Corduroys were already their mortal enemies, so Dan doesn't feel very affected, but things could always get worse for him somehow. What a lovely way to end the day.

Of course, once they get all the stuff back to the house and stored safely in the basement, Ford starts considering possible actions they could take should the Northwests really try to use Stan's criminal history against them or find out where they're getting their gold from. He definitely doesn't want Auldman to find out about the creatures living in the forest-he can just imagine him trying to capture, exploit and/or destroy them to satisfy his own greed. During his classes about humanity he warns his students of the possible danger, and devises a plan for everyone to go into hiding should the worst occur. Dan, whose family does apocalypse training every year instead of Christmas, is all too happy to help with this. On his tours, Stan takes the assortments of cryptids by the Northwest mansion so they can thumb their noses at it, and forces himself to resist the temptation to use his key so they could sneak in and loot the place. Even when he learns from Dan about how his ancestor was killed building it, after being banned from the celebratory party. Instead, he looks into possible curses that they could place on the Northwest family. So far he hasn't found one that seems like fitting enough punishment.

[annes-andromeda]

GOT Virtues AU: My Wolf, My Moon

N/: Another chapter! More Jon x Ygritte! Jon comes back from the dead and makes up with Ygritte. While also finding out something unbelievable... Also sorry if it’s so long, but these two make me feel things.

Edit 11/14/19: Jons real name has been changed from Aegon to Aemon as it’s getting irritating to tell him apart from Elias son, also Aegon.

Nothing. That was all that Jon felt. His eyes were screwed shut, his heart had stopped, but his mind was in a different place. A different world, it seemed. The blades went so deep into his chest, they left gashes that looked as if someone tried to scoop him out.

He couldn’t hear anyone speaking; nor Davos, Tormund or Edd. But he could feel. Jon could feel Ghost’s snout brush against his hand. How much he longed to touch his soul, to tell him that he was alive. But he couldn’t, for his body was still and his mind was lost.

Jon thought how he’d never see the Starks again. He’d never see feisty Arya, or sweet Sansa, or little Rickon. He didn’t know whether Robb was alive or not, and last he heard, Bran had woken from his fall. But now, he’d never see them. He had died in the hands of his brothers, men he thought he could trust.

And then, he felt a hand on his shoulder. A warm hand, with slender fingers and the gentlest of touches. It felt like the hand of a woman.

Ygritte, he thought

The wildling had asked to be alone with Jon, and she sat just above his head so that she was staring him down.

Jon could feel her wet tears fall on his cheek, and her forehead against his own. How he wished he could open his eyes to see her beautiful, red hair and her soft, pink lips. He wanted to kiss her, to feel her warmth... and to say he was sorry.

Sorry for leaving her, sorry for just ignoring her instead of just talking to her. Gods, why did he ignore her?

This was his punishment. A fate the gods had planned for him. To be betrayed by his brothers, and left for dead while his beloved suffers. Perhaps he was never meant to help the people. They’d never know his name, his deeds, nor his sacrifices. And they wouldn’t care either. He was a bastard in their eyes, someone never destined for greatness or glory.

To think, he once was to rule over these people. But it was just how Lord Arryn said: make one mistake, and they won’t be as kind. He could imagine their faces when they’d find out about the Wildlings choosing to follow him.

Perhaps the boy in him was still present. Perhaps Jon Snow was never meant to become a man, and instead always be that naive, ignorant boy hidden away in the Red Keep. Yes. Maybe it was best the Seven Kingdoms didn’t have another dragon ruling their land. A mere babe dragon, at that. He was no dragon. Dragons who breathed fire of cold were not real dragons. His wings had been cut off, and scales were instead born fur. What were meant to be eyes of molten gold, were but pools of blood that stirred in the winter snow.

More over, dragons wouldn’t fall for a mere fox. Was that what his beloved was? A fox? Perhaps so. She was swift and cunning like one, and her gorgeous mane could charm any of them. After all, she had succeeded in charming a wolf. Or is he a dragon? Either way, her methods were victorious. The red fox was truly beautiful, as breathtaking as the clear waters in Tarth. The way her hair rippled like embers, and the simplest touches could almost burn the tips of your fingers.

Jon could see her. In all the dark clouding his mind, he could see Ygritte’s hair shine as brightly as the morning sun. It’s as if his mind was being pulled from, wherever he was, and back into the miserable, wondrous state of reality. He wanted to pull back, to tell these invisible forces to stop their pursuit and leave him for dead. But then again, he’d return to his beloved. The red fox who had wooed the Targaryen Wolf and the White Dragon. This beautiful vixen who had captured his heart, and whose radiance had made her nearly untouchable to any other suitor who wished to steal her. For the wolf would guard her, and mark her as his. She was his woman; the moon he would howl to every night and the fox who would hunt those who would dare harm him.

He would see her again. But if only that were the first thing he’d see. Never did he expect to return to the Onionman and the Red Woman.

——————————————————————————————————————————

Jon almost jolted off the table, his breath coming in short and his head practically spinning. His chest was heavy, and he was trying to remember how to breath again. He looked around the room and towards Davos, his face depicting shock and disbelief. Jon breathed heavily, his chest heaving and the air coming out of his mouth instead of his nose.

He heard Ghost whine, his red eyes glowing in the dim room. The direwolf’s fur almost looked like it was shining a bright essence. Ghost nearly covered the whole room, and Jon wondered how he go into the room in the first place.

Jon looked down, and he nearly fainted right there and then. His chest was covered in deep scars, all still red but not gashing. Jon couldn’t even touch them. His heart thumped, and he breathed harder. He scattered off the table, and stumbled on his own feet. Davos grabbed him before he could fall, and wrapped his cloak around Jon’s figure. Jon sat down on a chair Davos pulled for him, trying to catch his breath. Melisandre had entered the room, her eyes widening in the presence of Jon alive.

“What do you remember?” Davos asked

Jon responded in faint breaths “They stabbed me” The memories hit him like a club “Olly...he put a knife in my heart...” He remembered the pains in his chest when his brothers stabbed him, and how it all stopped when Olly came forward

“I shouldn’t be here” Jon looked up to Davos, his silver eyes glistening with the need to know. To know why he had returned from the grave.

“The lady brought you back” Davos said

Melisandre kneeled before him “Afterwards, after they stabbed you, after you died, where did you go? What did you see?”

Jon hesitated, his voice trembling “Nothing. There was nothing at all” It was the truth. Despite his thoughts, Jon’s mind was clouded with darkness, with only the iridescent glow of his woman’s hair to guide him.

“The Lord let you come back for a reason. Stannis was not the Prince Who Was Promised, but someone has to be” Melisandre mused “You’re not going to die now, Aemon Targaryen. The Gods are not done with you yet”

Jon thought for a moment. Was that why he had returned? The Gods had more plans for him? What more could they possibly want?

“Could you give us a moment?” Davos said to Melisandre. She got up and left the room, with Davos closing the door behind her.

Davos picked up a stool and sat in front of Jon “You were dead. And now you’re not. That’s completely fucking mad, seems to me. I can only imagine how it seems to you”

Jon looked up to Davos “Ygritte...” he said faintly “I felt her before. Where is she, Davos? I need to see her. Is she alright? Is she hurt? Has someone harmed her?”

Davos put his hand up to silence Jon “The lass is alright. However, something has happened. And I don’t believe you’d be too pleased to hear so”

“What is it?” Jon asked. Whatever has happened, he wished to know terribly.

Davos took a second to remember everything with Melisandre and Ygritte, and the visions in the fire “The wildling girl, it seems, has gotten with child. Your child, that is”

Jon’s breath hitched in his throat. Pregnant? Oh Gods, no, no....

“She seems to be in good health” Davos continued “But the Red Woman says that they will be dragons in a sea of wolves. Whatever that means, one thing is for certain. She has more than one babe in her”

More than one?!, Jon thought, That day, in the cave... Is that where it happened? Is has to be, I haven’t bed her since...

“But she’s alright?” Jon asked. He never wanted a bastard, but that didn’t mean he never thought of having children of his own. He didn’t want the child to go through what he had to for half of his life. But this was the worst time for this to happen.

“Yes, she’s alright” Davos said “However, this seems like a conversation reserved for the two of you. It’s not my right to meddle in things that are of no business of mine”

Jon nodded in agreement. He was definitely speaking to Ygritte after this. But for now, at this very moment, he had to let everything sink “I did what I thought was right. And I got murdered for it. And now I’m back. Why?”

“I don’t know” Davos mused “Maybe we’ll never know. What does it matter? You go on. You fight for as long as you can. You clean up as much of the shit as you can”

Jon furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head slightly “I don’t know how to do that. I thought I did, but...I failed”

Davos raised an eyebrow, and looked at Jon sincerely “Good. Now go fail again”

——————————————————————————————————————————

Jon had walked out into the courtyard, his brothers and the Wildlings staring at him in awe. To them, he was a walking corpse; the man who returned from the dead. A God, as Tormund said. Jon reassured him that he was far from a God.

“I know that” Tormund had whispered, “I saw your pecker. What kind of god would have a pecker that small?”

Jon chuckled at that. He then went on to embrace Edd, his fellow brother. Even he seemed to stare at Jon as if he were a fallen angel of some sorts.

“Your eyes are still brown. Is that still you in there?” Edd asked

“Silver” Jon said, “They’re still and always will be silver. Hold off on burning my body for now”

Edd chuckled. “That’s funny. You sure that’s still you in there?”

As much as Jon had wanted to be with his brothers, and to make sure the Wildlings were safe, he needed to sort things with Ygritte. To hear of such news, and from Davos at that. She should have told him herself.

He knocked on the door to her quarters, and heard a faint ‘come in’. Jon opened the door to see Ygritte sitting on the edge of her bed. In her hands she held Longclaw, and her fingers fidgeted with the pummel. She turned to see Jon still standing at the door, and her breath hitched. Jon walked towards her, and she got up slowly from the bed. He embraced her fiercely, and she could only wrap her arms around his waist as Jon cradled her head. Jon kissed her cheek lightly, and released from the embrace to look at his love. He caressed her face with his thumb, and sighed deeply.

“Is this real?” Ygritte said, her voice trembling with uncertainty “A-Are you real?”

“Aye” Jon responded in a slight whisper “I’m here, love” He moved his hands from her waist to her belly, caressing it lightly. The bump was beginning to form, and even though he couldn’t hear it, Jon could feel the life growing inside of her.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He asked softly

Ygritte stared at him, her eyes filled with an emotion Jon couldn’t quite place. Was it regret? Uncertainty? Sorrow?

“I didn’t think you be too pleased” Ygritte sighed, as she sat on the bed once more “You spoke ‘bout how you didn’t want a bastard. I figured you’d probably throw a fit or stay silent”

Jon sat beside her, and reached out to hold her hand “If you’re still upset with me for leaving you, I understand. You have every right to be. I shouldn’t have ignored you and make you feel worse than you already did” He kissed her hand, like the lords would do to their ladies “I thought of you” he said after, and Ygritte’s eyes glimmered “Even in death, you were still in my thoughts”

Ygritte pulled away “You were wrong to leave me” she said sternly “And you were wrong to love me”. Jon hung his head, but was then brought up by Ygritte’s hands. The same soft hands he had felt beyond the grave.

“But you loved me anyways”

Jon leaned into her, and he pressed his lips against hers. They were as soft as he remembered, and she deepened the kiss. They parted, and pressed their foreheads together, breathing in each other’s scents. It had far too long since either of them had been in each other’s presence.

“You’re mine” Jon whispered “As I as yours. You are my woman, and I swear to all the Gods, I will never abandon nor betray you again. You have my word” He caressed her midsection once more. He smiled faintly. He wasn’t going to loose this. One of his greatest fears had come to light, but yet, he felt content. Like any lord would feel in finding they would soon be a father.

“The Red Woman,” Ygritte said “She spoke about a battle to come, and that I must take no part in it. That’s the only way they’d survive” She motioned to her belly, and she held worry in her voice. Pregnancies were already difficult with one child, but with more would be far more disastrous.

“We’ll figure it out” Jon reassured her, as he placed a kiss on her forehead “Together”

She nodded “Together” And they kissed once more. Let the Gods play their games, Jon thought. Let them use me as their pawn, but I’ll not loose this. I will not loose my love.

And I will not loose my children.

[anais-mitchell]

Hamilton Angelica Tour in Atlanta, 6/2/18 Evening

So, this was my first time EVER seeing Hamilton and being the extra person I am I had to document all my thoughts so I could remember everything I loved and share it with others! The cast was the full Angelica cast with Edred Utomi as Hamilton and Karli Dinardo as Peggy/Maria. Putting this review under a read more because it is LONG. If anyone has any specific questions about cast members or songs feel free to ask!

We were seated in left orchestra, and while there was no obstructed view there were moments where characters (often Eliza for some reason) were either blocked by someone else or had their back to us.

(I also credit the structure of these rambles to @fourteenacross whose Hamilton reviews are always so well thought out and insightful 💙)

Alexander Hamilton: I nearly passed out when I heard that first note. But this is just such a good introductory number, everyone played their parts very well. The staging is unique and beautiful and when the ensemble all sang together towards the end I felt it in my soul. The “me? I....” part was as striking as expected.

Aaron Burr, Sir: I could tell from the get-go Edred and Nicholas had awesome chemistry as Hamilton and Burr. The bursar lines were really funny. Edred seemed very deflated in his little “ha” after Burr’s advice. The squad introductions were predictably fun and Chris Lee’s dancing is a godsend.

My Shot: I lovedddd Edred in this song. He had so much energy with the squad and was very determined as Hamiton should be!!! Chris’s delivery of “anarchy” will never fail to crack me up, and Chaundre’s coat flip was awesome. Ruben got the crowd so pumped on the “rise up” bit which is one of my FAVORITE parts of the show. But my favorite part of this song was definitely Edred. He had a great little nervous “oh am I talking too loud?” and his “I imagine death” was so vulnerable and convincing. I loved seeing the sisters in the wings, I’m not sure if this was intentional but I almost saw Julia kinda staring longingly at Ham? Foreshadowing? Or me looking too much into things? Who knows?

The Story of Tonight: Edred and Ruben both have lovely singing voices which made this a 10/10 number. The camaraderie felt so real and it’s just such a sweet little number that I adore.

The Schuyler Sisters: All around so much fun. Karli’s Peggy wasn’t as pouty as some of my favorites but she was still very cute and got some laughs. Nicholas had a very funny delivery of “your daddy’s got money.” They all sounded amazing and had awesome energy!! But one of my favorite dumb details in this show is Eliza’s facial expressions during Angelica’s roast and downsides of being pretty far left, Burr was completely blocking Eliza from my frame of vision :(( still, overall great number and Sabrina especially slayed!

Farmer Refuted: Really funny. Edred’s Ham was so frustrated with this tiny guy because “he’s WRONG and I’m RIGHT and I need to SHOW HIM.” Lafayette distracting Burr in the back was a great detail as well.

You’ll Be Back: I thought this was done well, but honestly it might have been my least favorite king song of the show because he didn’t have many funny moments until the back half of the song. He did this growl on “and ever” that was hilarious, but to me the funniest part was the ensemble scurrying out SO QUICKLY when he called them and following his dance moves. 

Redcoat transition got some audible gasps.

Right Hand Man: The beginning of this song where the Schuyler sisters and ensemble sing at the front of the stage then quickly run away is just one of my favorite little details of the show. Such captivating and almost haunting choreography. Carvens has AMAZING stage presence and such a powerful voice!! His Washington was so frustrated with everything and very authoritative. The cannon “BOOM”s were so loud in the theater and really brought you into the scene. Nicholas had a very funny delivery of “from a distance.” I loved loved loved the Schuyler sisters harmonizing in the wings as well.

A Winter’s Ball: This was the first of many moments where Nicholas used obviously fake cheeriness to cover up how annoyed Burr was with Hamilton to AMAZING effect. Chris looked so put out when Hamilton pushed him aside lmao. And I totally missed the faces of the guys towards the end bc I was watching Angelica and Eliza like YES THOSE ARE MY GIRLS. Whoops.

Helpless: Ahhh this was just so CUTE. You could actually hear Julia smiling through some lines, her Eliza was so smitten and pleading w Angelica. Edred and Julia had fantastic chemistry and you could so feel the love between them. Julia had a wonderfully “wtf” reaction to “Angelica tried to take a bite of me.” Also, I owe my life to all her riffs. She has such a lovely vibrant voice that reverberated through the theater so well.

Satisfied: This is my favorite song in the whole show and Sabrina did not disappoint. First of all, seeing the “rewind” bit live is SO COOL. I loved that Sabrina genuinely played it as feeling a real emotional and romantic connection to Hamilton but also was so protective of Eliza and knew she couldn’t have him. She was the perfect blend of Angelica’s stoicism and emotion. And oh god THE BRIDGE. That scene where it’s just Angelica, Eliza, and Hamilton on stage and Angelica looks absolutely gutted as she delivers the “at least...” part and Eliza has this huge smile.... ugh just rip my heart out. No fancy riffs in the end but she did it well. Sabrina’s ending was heartbreaking and the staging w Angelica totally alone on stage was :((( I want to hug her. Fun tidbit: when Eliza and Burr are dancing, Burr was doing this SUPER dorky dance I can’t even explain and Eliza had the funniest look on her face.

The Story of Tonight (Reprise): They were all v drunk and silly and I loved it. Literally any scene Lafayette was in, Chris Lee was doing all kinds of weird dance moves that cracked me up. When Laurens was teasing Burr about Theodosia, Mulligan came up behind Burr and did this huge exaggerated thrusting motion that had me DYING. Edred’s “oh shit” was everything. In the final few lines after Hamilton said “what are you waiting for?”, Nicholas did this little almost resentful laugh that was like, “you could never understand.” Such a great dichotomy between these two characters and the actors did it so well.

Wait For It: First of all, Nicholas has an incredible voice and great stage presence and he rocked this number. I was fully captivated. Also, he got some laughs on “I’m keeping the bed warm while her husband is away” and “Theodosia she’s mine” which I’ve never heard laughs on? However, he had a REALLY BAD line flub that made me cringe but he recovered well. In the bridge part, he lowkey started singing the lyrics to The Word Was Wide Enough and then had like 5 seconds of silence before catching it again YIKES. But he made up for it doubly by going SO HARD on the final chorus w amazing emotion and intensity. You so felt Burr’s philosophy and wanted to root for him so badly. Loved it.

Stay Alive: I absolutely loved the little bit with the Bullet just skirting over Hamilton at the beginning. Robbie Nicholson’s Charles Lee was SO ANNOYING. It was perfect. The instrumentals of this number are superb as well. I really enjoyed Eliza and Angelica's presence in the balcony as well, Julia riffed a little bit on the “stay alive”s and it sounded very good. The Lams moment at the end was subtle but definitely there.

Ten Duel Commandments: I just really enjoy the staging of this song and the use of the turntable. I know I keep talking about the minute deliveries of Nicholas’s Burr, but THEY WERE SO GOOD. His “can we agree that duels are dumb and immature?” and “okay so we’re doing this” were just comic gold.

Meet Me Inside: INTENSE. Carvens basically bellowed his first “meet me inside.” Edred was super argumentative and pissed up until “call me son one more time” where he realized he messed up. Carvens “go home” was very firm but not yelled or whispered.

That Would Be Enough: Julia is a star. This number was just all kinds of cute, she was super touchy and physically affectionate with him and they really tugged on my heartstrings. Also she had one of my favorite touches that Solea did where she holds her belly on “and we could be enough” and her final “enoughhhh” had such a nice vibrato. The ending pose warmed my heart. Such a touching little song.

Guns and Ships: I LOVE CHRIS LEE!!!! His rapping was very crisp even with the accent and he had hella energy. His Lafayette was so eager and energetic. Something you don’t see in bootlegs is how COOL the choreography of passing Washington’s letter to Hamilton is. The Hamliza goodbye was very sweet, Edred touched her belly and she looked very sad.

History Has Its Eyes On You: Carvens has such a captivating and strong singing voice. All the harmonies of the ensemble and the ensemble singing together were transcendent.

Yorktown: Hi again I still love Chris Lee. It felt really good to clap for “immigrants, we get the job done.” You could really feel Edred’s emotion on the part about Eliza and his energy throughout the number was amazing. Jennifer Geller was mesmerizing as the bullet and I adored her part with Ruben. Mulligan’s rap WENT HARD Chaundre really brought it. Also I would like to reiterate my love for Carvens his “not yet” was so powerful!!! That emphasis!! I have never felt more alive than when the entire ensemble was singing at the end and all the chants. Another hidden gem of this number: on the second “the world turned upside down,” I could CLEARLY hear Raven Thomas doing a lil riff and it was much appreciated I was kinda sad to not see her as a sister.

What Comes Next?: This was funny. 

Dear Theodosia: Nicholas and Edred had gorgeous harmonies together. A lovely and simple number that worked so well with the two of them.

Laurens Interlude: OUCH. Between Hamilton, Laurens, Lafayette, and Mulligan I didn’t even know who to look at. Hamilton looked so gutted, he was gripping the chair and just seemed devastated. Laf and Herc were in the balcony reading the letters and Lafayette gave a little salute and Mulligan just took a drink. Ruben had a very mournful and sad delivery and the stare between him and Edred towards the end was just heart wrenching. They definitely played up Lams in this scene.

Non Stop: I seriously love this number. Edred and Nicholas play so well off of each other. Edred had awesome energy and totally internalized the whole persistence and blind determination of Hamilton in this number. I completely missed his little flourish on “I practically perfected it” tho FOR VALID REASON and that reason was Nicholas delivering the line “he’s just non stop” with the ensemble through gritted teeth and a fake ass smile which was PRICELESS. Nicholas’s “okay” after “you’re a better lawyer than me” was really high pitched and funny. After Hamilton left, Burr like chased him down during “I’ll keep all my plans close to my chest” and it seemed like Burr was just desperately trying to prove to Hamilton that MY WAY OF DOING THINGS IS JUST AS GOOD AS YOURS, one of many excellent little character moments Nicholas threw in bless him. Edred and Sabrina had excellent chemistry in that tiny bit, his long stare at her was painful. “The other 51!!!” was just as emphatic as I could have hoped for. Julia’s “Alexander... AlexANDER” was pissed and I loved it, the final 30 seconds were beautiful. Julia has amazing riffs that sound so clear even when the whole ensemble is singing. Edred’s last “I am not throwing away my shot!!” was so LOUD lmao what an amazing number though it was a perfect Act 1 closer.

What’d I Miss?: After seeing Act 1, I knew Chris’s Jefferson would just be above and beyond, and I was so not disappointed. @ontheupandupagain said something in her tags the other day that he has such a good singing voice in this song AND HE REALLY DOES, his voice is like silk. But the acting was just invariably hilarious. His best scenes as Jefferson were playing off of Chaundre’s Madison though. Chaundre coughed into his hand and then shook Chris’s hand with it and his face was just like, “what the fuck dude?” and I thought it was SO FUNNY. He also did so much crazy stuff with his extra af coat which I loved.

Cabinet Battle #1: This was highkey the funniest number in the show. Chris and Chaundre had so many tiny little flourishes that had me in stitches. Ex. Chris getting ALLL in Edred’s face, Chris dropping the mic and Chaundre trying to pick it up but fanning it like it was too hot, Chaundre being so offended by “getting high with the French” that he literally shoved an ensemble member out of their chair and had to fan himself, them delivering “you don’t have the votes” with dance moves in PERFECT synchronization. Ugh so good. Edred was really good in this too, his mimicking of Jefferson’s dance moves was hilarious and he went v hard in his bit. After Jefferson and Madison left, he was very indignant w Washington like “I’m right!!! Listen to me!!!”

Take a Break: Julia and Ruben were very cute. Philip was tapping his legs like a little kid while playing the piano which was very in character. I thought Ruben’s Philip rap was very good! He was nervous until like the last two lines and then had such a funny victorious run up the stairs. But again, left orchestra probs, Edred was totally blocking my view of Julia beatboxing :( And god bless Edred for having equal amounts of chemistry with both Sabrina and Julia. The “my dearest Angelica” hits you right in the heart and Sabrina was almost fearfully hopeful but then dismissed it right away. Julia and Sabrina had awesome harmonies, and the bit where Angelica tried to go after him and Eliza stops her will never not hurt me.

Say No To This: Edred was very actively narrating to the audience in the beginning so you could definitely tell everything Maria did was through his retelling. His first “show me how to say no to this” got laughs which was kinda weird. One part of his performance that was so unique was that his “fuuuuu-” was very exasperated and funny more than downright shocked and horrified. Karli definitely played Maria as more of a victim too, she looked so panicked during the middle bit. Her “stay” note was AWESOME. One bit that tugged at the heartstrings was after James Reynolds clipped his whip thing, she stared at Hamilton very longingly and it almost seemed like a cry for help. I really liked the way all of them did this number.

The Room Where It Happens: Okay so this was definitely the best performance of the whole show. Hands down. Nicholas ran the gamut of Burr’s emotions from frustration to anger to horror to unbridled ambition. I can’t even really comment on Chris, Chaundre, or Edred because of how captivating Nicholas was. One touch I really liked was when Jefferson and Madison were planning for the meeting, Burr was aggressively pointing at them to the audience like “look at them!!! look how corrupt they are!!!” But yeah he tore that ending up on Leslie and Josh levels. There was huge applause MIDWAY THROUGH THE ENDING. He went so so so hard, literally slamming on the floor in just an unhinged state of finally letting go of his calculated demeanor. Such a huge shift for Burr and a showstopper in every sense of the word. Ugh I have chills just remembering it.

Schuyler Defeated: “They don’t like you” was delivered to great effect. Burr was almost nagging Hamilton towards the end as Hamilton walked away. These two just really had endlessly great chemistry.

Cabinet Battle #2: Very good all around. They were both super frustrated, and all the typical funny lines were very funny. I think Edred could have gone a just a little bit harder on “you must be out of your goDDAMN MIND” but hey that’s a very minute complaint. Chris got all up in his face for “Daddy’s calling.”

Washington On Your Side: Jefferson’s “wtf” face when Burr shows up will never not amuse me. And Chaundre’s “which I wrote!” was so indignant. They were all very calculating through the whole number and the crescendo of the song pumped me up so hard. 11/10 guys.

One Last Time: This was my favorite number Carvens did by far. His Washington was very desperate to have let a good impact on his country but in a very different way than Hamilton is. Edred’s reactions to all the different bits, especially “Jefferson started it,” were great. And I’d be lying if I said the ending didn’t draw some tears to my eyes, Carvens has such a powerful voice and this song is so cathartic.

I Know Him: I enjoyed it. The lines that are usually funny were funny.

The Adams Administration: Nicholas almost broke because of the king bouncing, but he kept it together. The “sit down” bit was predictably very funny. i loved how conniving Jefferson, Burr, and Madison were at the end, especially how Chris said “let’s let him know, what we know.”

We Know: Hamilton was kinda dismissive when he first said “Secretary Jefferson” but slowly realized something was up by “what is this?” He was very frantic to discredit their accusations. Chris’s “my God” was so disgusted and he was on such a high horse it was HILARIOUS. It totally reminded me of Gina Linetti high horsing Amy in the Season 1 B99 Thanksgiving episode, it was that good. Also, Eliza and Philip in the balcony was a subtle but heartbreaking touch.

Hurricane: I would literally die for the staging, lighting, and choreography of this song. Some of the light changes just hit you straight in the heart and all the choreography with the ensemble holding the chairs is so good. As for the actual performance, I think Edred was the perfect balance between Lin’s quieter emotions and Michael’s almost rage like intense emotions. He got kinda choked up at the part about his mother which ouch. Edred just had a lovely voice too which really shone through in this song.

The Reynolds Pamphlet: This song is EXPLOSIVE live. Chris was so thrilled and Edred was so defensive. Philip was so upset seeing the pamphlet. And oh god, when Angelica showed up Hamilton was so relieved but she yanked away so quickly and she genuinely seemed pained to do so. She was so so hurt and angry, she almost looked on the verge of tears because she had sacrificed so much for him and Eliza and he just threw it away. She almost spit out “god I hope you’re satisfied” into his face and raised a finger in his face, it looked like she could hit him. Rather than staying in his face like Renee did, Sabrina was so angry she left right away. And the dancing in the middle of the stage was definitely the funniest thing the king did.

Burn: UGHHHHH MY HEART. First of all, Julia’s voice is just beautiful on its own. But she really brought the emotion in this. She was so devastated and betrayed, and the fact that she played Eliza as so utterly in love with Hamilton before just really fucked me up. She barely choked out the “I’m” after the long pause. Her ending was super angry though but it was all anger coming from real sadness and hurt. After her final line, she did this little choked sob that just put the nail in my coffin of love for Eliza. This whole song I was just fully engrossed and probably had my mouth just hanging wide open.

Blow Us All Away: I whispered “oh no” to my dad at the beginning of this. Ruben’s Philip was so confident and idealistic and the father/son scene just made you want to scream at Hamilton. Little observation, Eacker’s cape is so swooshy and the actor was playing around with it so much. But yeah this Eacker seemed so much older than Ruben’s Philip and there was a definite power imbalance. Ruben seemed really nervous right before :( and oh god, when he shot on seven my heart just dropped to my stomach because WHY IS THIS HAPPENING. The whole theater gasped.

Stay Alive (Reprise): :(((( Edred’s Hamilton was so panicked and desperate. You could tell he really internalized it when Philip said “I did exactly what you said Pop” and was horrified that this was partially his fault. And Julia just ran out with tears already in her eyes and it was just over for me. She was so motherly and you could tell this was just her worst fear of something bad happening to her son. Ruben didn’t expressly play it like he was dying but he definitely seemed terrified and in pain and didn’t have the Musical Theatre Death Smile which thank god. You could hear a pin drop when the heartbeat stopped, and Julia did a version of the scream that was more like a sob but wow I was in pain. And she yanked that hand away from Hamilton so quickly. It was like she felt he didn’t deserve to mourn with her.

It’s Quiet Uptown: My god, what an intimate and beautiful piece of theatre. I cried which was a given. But really, between Hamilton, Angelica, Eliza, and the ensemble, the grief is so raw and powerful. There are some staging bits I never noticed before, like the ensemble kneeling and doing the sign of the cross during the lines about church. Edred was SO CHOKED UP during some lines. You could just feel how much regret he felt and how he realized how much he’s messed up everything. His delivery of “and you would smile, and that would be enough” was particularly gut wrenching. Sabrina’s voice was beautiful and so sympathetic in this song too which just added to all the poignancy. And then UGH. When Julia’s Eliza took his hand she was just so tired and relieved and devastated. Edred was audibly sobbing (so was I.) This scene is just the perfect encapsulation of the unconditional love Hamilton and Eliza had for each other and Edred and Julia’s performance was just so :(((

The Election of 1800: Chris Lee dramatically saying “Can we get back to politics?” and Chaundre Hall-Broomfield saying “Please?” through tears is really just the best way to get an audience full of crying people to laugh. Burr was SO FAKE during this song I loved it. His reactions to the voters was priceless, and when he greeted Hamilton with “Alexander!” he had such a fake ass smile and exclamation with his arms spread out for a hug; it was GOLDEN. Edred was so emphatic when he said “Burr has none” and Nicholas seemed so personally betrayed. And of course, the ending was flawless. Burr was trying so hard to go back into his cheery public persona but Jefferson just wanted nothing to do with him.

Your Obedient Servant: Burr was LIVID at the beginning of this song. Nicholas had such a great buildup to his anger. The back and forth between the two was just so good through the whole song and they hit the comedic bits right on. But the actual challenge part was very “shit’s about to go down.” 

Best of Wives, Best of Women: They were such a good Hamliza pair :( so soft, so in love, so pure. 

The World Was Wide Enough: Both Nicholas and Edred were just on their A-game for this song. It seemed like Nicholas, for the first half, was really trying to justify to the audience that he was doing the right thing and that Hamilton was a bad person who deserved this. His “this man will not make an orphan of my daughter” was heart wrenching. And props to Jennifer Geller for being a fantastic Bullet, especially in this song. Edred’s monologue was so mesmerizing; every word was delivered with purpose and you really got the vibe that he just wanted more time. And I truly think that “rise up, Eliza!” and then “my love, take your time; I’ll see you on the other side” is one of the most emotionally impactful moments in the whole show. My heart just stopped. My heart also stopped on the shot because woww ouch. You could instantly feel Burr’s regret and just overall thought of “what did I just do?” Angelica and Eliza looked so sad when they came out. The final bit, with Burr alone in the middle of the stage and Hamilton looking down on him from the balcony, and then the light going out on Hamilton is just genius direction. Nicholas had a really dramatic pause on “for Hamilton and.... me.”

Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story: The instrumentals of this song alone make me tear up. Sabrina was so fierce coming out for her part and I loved it. And then was Julia came out as Eliza I was just a mess. “I live another 50 years” was delivered particularly well. She was so frantic trying to ensure she had done everything, and then there was that moment of beautiful clarity with the orphanage. God bless Julia K. Harriman and God bless Eliza Hamilton. The ending with Hamilton and Eliza was absolutely breathtaking and the perfect final moment of their love, and Julia’s gasp was everything.

Edred Utomi as Hamilton: I will admit, I was a little bummed to be missing Austin Scott as I’ve heard great things about him. But I was so impressed by Edred! He had killer chemistry with Julia, Sabrina, Nicholas, Ruben, Chris, Carvens, Karli and basically everyone with whom he interacted. His singing and rapping voices were both equally good. I did prefer his Act 2 to his Act 1 though as I think he was more comfortable and really thrived in some of the more emotional numbers i.e. It’s Quiet Uptown in which he absolutely destroyed me. I really have no complaints, he did everything a great Hamilton needs to do and was such a nice guy at stage door. I hope he gets a lot more opportunities to go on in the future and maybe even a principal role in a company.

Julia K. Harriman as Eliza: I was so excited to see Julia as she was amazing in First Burn and the audios I’ve heard of her. Her journey as Eliza was so heartbreaking because she was genuinely so in love with Hamilton and was so betrayed and sad by the events of Act 2 :( she was a very good mix of an angry Eliza and a sad Eliza but she conveyed her  inner strength so well. I can’t even pick a favorite number for her because she wowed me in every song she sang. Plus, her voice is just out of this world and I would love to hear her do some recording in the future.

Nicholas Christopher as Burr: If you couldn’t tell from my review, his Burr was one of the best parts of the show. This role suits him perfectly and he was able really make you sympathize with Burr. It’s such a complex role to play and he did it with aplomb; he had a very distinct difference between Burr’s almost corny fake public persona and his inner ambition and drive. His final verse of Wait for It and his entire Room were religious experiences, plus he was so emotionally impactful in The World Was Wide Enough. I also loved that his Burr was so funny! Burr is usually not a comedic role but he had a much more subtle humor than the characters who are explicitly played for laughs and he had me cracking up. He had so many little moments of characterization that made the payoff in the end that much more worth it. He is now right up there with my all time favorite Burrs and I would kill to see him again.

Sabrina Sloan as Angelica: I knew of Sabrina before she was cast because of her run as Vanessa in ITH, and I was super excited as she was a Vanessa I really enjoyed. She so did not disappoint. I feel like the role of Angelica is being turned into a mostly “sassy” role and sassy can sometimes cross into bitchy or straight up unlikable, but Sabrina really made you feel all of Angelica’s emotions and that is exactly the kind of actress that my favorite character deserves. I obviously loved her in Satisfied because that song is the very thesis of Angelica as a character, but she was also so good in Reynolds Pamphlet and Take a Break. In the gran scheme of the play, Angelica does not get that much to do despite being one of the most well written and complex characters imo, but Sabrina forced you to be so invested in Angelica and feel her every feeling. I adored her.

Carvens Lissaint as Washington: Superb. For those of you who don’t know, Carvens used to tour as a poet before musical theatre and that honestly helped his performance so much. He knew exactly what words to emphasize to punch you right in the gut; his “not yet” was seriously so good how does one make two words so powerful. He has all the gravitas of CJack and has a very gospel-esque voice that he put to WORK in One Last Time. I was so thrilled to see him in this role and I can only wonder what his Burr and Laf/Jeff were like on Broadway.

Chris Lee as Lafayette/Jefferson: THE ACTUAL STAR OF THE SHOW. Listen I am a person who gets very annoyed by the emphasis of Jefferson as a character over the females and Burr in the fandom but god Chris Lee is a revelation I am so sad he is leaving but infinitely glad I was able to see him. Everything he did was so funny. In Act 1, if you looked in the background of any scene he was doing these little body roll dance moves and in Act 2 he just had this super jazzy and unbothered swagger when he walked which were both amazing. His singing is also super underrated as this is not a singing heavy part but he riffed all over the place in What’d I Miss and Story of Tonight. All of his little flourishes in the Cabinet Battles were just golden and he played so well off of Chaundre and Edred. Definitely my favorite Laf/Jeff so far.

Rubén J. Carbajal as Laurens/Philip: He has a man bun now! I enjoyed him more than I thought I would. I wasn’t particularly wowed by him in the bootleg but seeing him live was different. This role is really small but I think it can be one of the best parts of the show when really done well, and while I don’t think Ruben reached that level, he definitely didn’t fall into some of the tropes I really dislike for that character like the smiley death scene or the complete lack of chemistry between Laurens and Hamilton. (Seriously, the boy is 19 and dying I will never understand why some performers insist on making it seem like he’s all mature about it Philip should be TERRIFIED it irks me.)

Chaundre Hall-Broomfield as Mulligan/Madison: I thought he was awesome. His Mulligan was very brash and booming like Oak’s which I liked, and he went really hard during the Yorktown rap. His Madison was FANTASTIC against Chris’s Jefferson. He was such a sweet guy at the stage door too.

Karli Dinardo as Peggy/Maria: She was announced as an understudy right before the show started and she was good! She didn’t really wow me but it’s such a small part I was satisfied with what she did. I preferred her Maria to her Peggy because she was able to add some emotional nuance to the character. She has a really nice voice so that helped. It would have been cool to see Isa but I’m not disappointed, I thought Karli’s performance was super well done.

Peter Matthew Smith as King George III: Good! All King George’s blend together for me honestly but he was funny.

Ensemble: Every moment where the entire company sang together was heavenly and filled the theater so perfectly. The choreography of this whole show is just so great and they were all amazing dancers and added so much to every scene they were in. Appreciate ensemble 2kforever. Jennifer Geller was an excellent bullet and really drew your eye in every scene. Like I said before, Raven’s voice really stood out in some parts which I loved.

Stagedoor: It was kinda awkward because nobody really cheered or anything when the cast came out? But everyone was really nice. Julia, Chaundre, Karli, Edred, and Robbie Nicholson all came out and were super nice and took pictures. I was next to a little girl and they were all so sweet to her. Chaundre passed out flyers for their BCEFA event on Monday too which was cool. When Edred came out someone next to me said they cried and Edred was like “me too!” lol. But there was one girl next to me who was pushing and kept calling the male cast members “dad” and asking when Chris would come out which ugh. We left after Edred bc our ride was there and I think Chris came out after him bc I could hear cheering down the street rip.

If you’ve made it this far thanks for reading my rambles, I enjoyed it so much and couldn’t ask for a better first Hamilton cast! It went above my sky-high expectations and I cannot wait until I get another chance to see it, whenever in the future that may be.

[simpcitybaby]

Spells Galore

Prompt: “I’m going to need you to put pants on before you say anything else.”

A/N: This was a request! If you ever want to request things, go ahead. I wrote this on mobile so it probably sucks and I also didn’t proofread so there’s that.

Carlos x Reader (I tried to make it gender neutral)

Warnings: A bit sexual towards the end

Mal loved using her spell book, it was obvious to everyone who crossed paths with her. Sometimes she used it for good and sometimes she used it for bad but she mostly used it for her amusement. Casting minor spells on her friends was an often occurrence, mostly spells were put on Carlos. He was always the victim because Mal knew that he’d be okay with it, the kid was a total sweetheart or a bit of a pushover either one works. Carlos had a massive crush on you, (Y/F/N). Obviously you were as oblivious as oblivious gets and you thought that Carlos just acted flirty towards everyone. You weren’t one of those people who thought, “He could have anyone in the school so why would it be me?” You prided yourself on the fact that you didn’t let a boy determine your self worth. (A/N: never let a boy determine your self worth cause all of you guys are amazing.) However, you were completely smitten with the white-haired boy and you spent most of your free time with him. Today, you were meeting up at his dorm room and then taking Dude for a walk. On your way to Carlos’s room you ran into Jay, “Hey (Y/N)! You headed to see Carlos?” He wiggled his eyebrows as he smirked, seeming suspicious. “Yes actually. We’re going to hang out for a bit.” He nodded slowly before finishing with a quick, “Enjoy yourself!” You stared at him as he ran down the corridor with a little kick in his step. ‘That was weird’ you thought as you approached the door and knocked. “I’m coming! Hold on a second.” Shuffling and banging could be heard as things were getting put away, the boy never being prepared for company. You took this time for a quick once over of yourself, making sure that everything looked good. You smoothed out your Greek styled dress that resembled your mother’s, Megara. Your dress was the prettiest shade of (F/C) that matched perfectly with your skin tone. You weren’t necessarily a demigod but you did have heightened abilities in the arts. You could sing, dance, act, draw, you name it. In fact, that’s how you met Carlos. It was the VKs first day at Auradon and the two of you kinda ran into each other. Well then again, he ran into your locker door while you were getting your script for the school musical. ~ Flashback ~ Why were there so many books in this locker? Rummaging was what you were currently doing, in search of your script for the school’s musical. You huffed, this action blowing a strand of hair out of your face. Why were they still giving out textbooks when the internet was accessible? You were pulled out of your thoughts when your locker swung back at you and a pair of feet knocked you off of yours. A boy with white hair was lying on the ground and rubbing his forehead. He had a red, white, and black leather outfit on with a freckled face. He was gorgeous to say the least but he obviously wasn’t from Auradon. “Are you okay? You hit the locker pretty hard.” His eyes turned to slits as he glared at you, “I’m fine. I’ve always been fine and I’ll always be fine.” You furrowed your eyebrows as you stood up, lending him a hand. “I see that you can handle yourself. My name is (Y/F/N) and I’d be more than happy to help you around if you need it.” His mouth was agape as you continued, “I’m usually in the auditorium and if I’m not there I’m probably in the library. Maybe I’ll be lucky enough to see you around.” You picked your script up before closing your locker and heading down to rehearsal. Once you were out of sight Carlos half smiled and he went to find you later that day. When he did find you he quickly apologized for his behavior when the two of you first met. He explained how moving from the Isle to Auradon was a big change and he’s never been around good people. He told you how he thought that everyone here was going to be stuck up but that you changed his mind since you were so nice to him. “Oh yeah, also my name is Carlos De Vil and I really hope that we can start over.” You smiled and that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. ~End of flashback ~ The door swung wide open and revealed Dude as well as the ever so charming Carlos. Something was off though and you couldn’t quite put your finger on it. The room was clean and it had nothing to do with the room. “Your outfit looks really nice today, (Y/N).” That’s when you realized that Carlos was wearing a solid (F/C) jacket with gold detailing. He wore solid black jeans and he resembled you as a whole. “Look at you! You look completely different but like good different.” He smiled at your compliment and laughed to himself. He knew that (F/C) was your favorite color and you had gold details on your dress so he incorporated it into his outfit that Evie created. Carlos chose to dress like this because it made the two of you look like a couple and you thought the same, obviously not minding. “I missed you, y'know.” You made your way over to him and wrapped your arms around his neck while his hands found your waist. “Did you now?” You could hear the smirk in his voice as you rested your forehead against his. His lips made their way towards yours at an agonizing pace. Right before his lips touched yours you whispered, “Let’s take Dude for a walk.” You pulled back and lead Dude out of the door leaving Carlos hot and bothered. It’s not that you didn’t want to kiss him, you were nervous. His intentions weren’t clear and you didn’t want to get your feelings hurt if he didn’t like you back. You were sure that he wasn’t the type to lead a person on but you can never be too safe. Your mom taught you a lot about judgement and boys, to which she made sure to notify you of the time that she gave her soul to Hades for her former boyfriend only to have him leave her. Right as you were about to turn the corner you were pulled back by your waist. “You should’ve waited for me.” Carlos growled and made you blush. “I’ll be sure to wait for you tomorrow.” “We’re doing this tomorrow?” He tilted his head “If you want to…” You trailed off before you began walking again with Carlos in tow. His childish demeanor returned as he stuttered out, “Of course I want to!” You grabbed his hand, dragging him with you. “Let’s go before Dude pees on the carpet.” The two of you walked around and talked about school, food, cars, Dude, and relationships. “So what are you looking for in a boyfriend, (Y/N)?” Carlos looked at the ground as a faint blush arose. Unknown to you, Mal and Ben were overhearing your conversation which fueled the gears in Mal’s mind to start turning. “Well… I like boys who are sweet but will stick up for me when I need it, but I’m also independent so I don’t need him to handle things 24/7. I admire someone who likes the simple things in life and doesn’t try too hard. I especially like boys with white hair and big brown eyes. Overall, I’d just be happy with a boy who loved me for me.” Carlos perked up a bit when he heard you talk about the white hair and brown eyes, two things that he had going for him. The kid was hopelessly in love but he was too afraid to ask you out. He thought that you could find someone better than him, a prince that could sweep you off of you feet. He feared that a God or Goddess would come down and strike him for your love. You had a handful of people on different universes pining after you to which you paid no mind because you wanted Carlos. The conversation flowed back and forth the whole way to your dorm. “I like going on walks with you, maybe we should make this a daily thing.” He hummed in agreeance as he rested his head on your shoulder, squeezing you as tight as he could. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” With that, you disappeared into your room. On the walk back to his dorm, Carlos ran into Mal. “Hey Carlos! I just made this smoothie and I was wondering if you could give it a try.” Carlos smiled before graciously taking the smoothie that was laced with veritaserum. Mal conjured it up using her spell book and it would make Carlos uncontrollably spill out the truth about his feelings for (Y/N). “This is really good Mal! I love strawberry banana!” A surge of electricity went through his body before he said, “Y'know Mal, I’ve never really told anyone this before but you’re really pretty. I have my eyes on (Y/N) though.” She smirked before snatching the smoothie back, saying a quick thanks, and retiring to her room. It was the next day and Carlos was acting funny. He was uncontrollably telling everyone the truth and he would forget that he just did it right after. You went to his room around the same time as yesterday and knocked on his door. Carlos opened his door within seconds and said, “(Y/N), I’ve been meaning to tell you this for the longest time.” You grabbed both of his hands, urging him to continue. He pulled his hands out of your hold and announced, “I’m in love with you and I want to fuck you, there” he pointed to his bed, “there” pointing to his desk, “and there” and then he pointed to the bookshelf in the back of the room. “I used to steal things when I was back on the isle but I gave that up when I came here. I’d gladly steal your heart if you’d let me. Before giving you a warning his fingers hooked into the belt loops of his pants and he began sliding them off, leaving him in only his boxer briefs. Let me tell you, boxer briefs outline everything. “Shit!” Your hands immediately covered your eyes as you turned to face the door. “I’m going to need you to put your pants back on before you say anything else!” “What? Why are my pants down?” He immediately pulled them back up and began apologizing. His half naked figure was fresh in your mind and you wouldn’t complain if you saw it more often. “Give me some time to recover because you just said that you’d fuck me in various places of the room, confessed your love for me, and then proceeded to pull your pants down and if I’m honest, I’m kinda shaken up.” You blushed as he took your hands away from your eyes. “I meant what I said y'know.” He stared into your eyes while talking. “About you wanting to fuck me on the bed, desk, and bookshelf?” He blushed and let out a chuckle, “Well yes but I’m a teenage boy, (Y/N). I was also talking about the part where I said that I loved you.” You smiled your award winning smile that Carlos loved before hooking your fingers into his belt loops and pulling him close, no space being left between your bodies. “I love you too. I also wouldn’t mind the sex part but maybe after we date for awhile, yeah?” He nodded his head so fast that it made you kinda nauseous. “So what you’re saying is that you’ll be mine?” You bit your bottom lip and neared his before whispering, “If only you’ll be mine.” Before you could pull away like you did the previous day, he smashed his lips onto yours in a hungry manner. A bit into the kiss he started to kiss you softer and with more passion. You slid your tongue on his bottom lip and deepened the kiss while your tongues battled for dominance. You groped his butt to mess with him and he smirked into the kiss. Both of his hands cupped your butt and pulled you into him which made you let out a soft moan. “How about you take a seat on the bed and we can discuss the handbook. Lon- OH SHIT CARLOS WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Jay’s eyes widened as Lonnie’s hand covered her smile and giggles. “My eyes! My innocent eyes!” Carlos pulled away before teasing, “What do you know about innocence, Jay?” You and Lonnie shared a smirk and then laughed in unison when Jay said, “Oh shit, you right dude. You got me there.” Mal, Ben, Evie, and Doug ran into the room a bit out of breath at that. “We heard screaming!” Ben breathed out before he was met with the sound of snickers. “Well it looks like the spell worked.” Mal whispered under her breath but Carlos caught it. “You spelled me?” A nod was sent his way when she responded with, “Yup. You’re really fun to mess with. At least this spell benefitted you unlike the other ones.” He quickly agreed and pulled you closer, kissing the side of your head. You were on top of the world because you had it all. Your friend group was amazing and reliable, Carlos liked you back and now you’re dating, school is good, and life is just great. Who knew that a boy revealing his undying love and lust for someone would score him a partner. ~ Fin ~

[darlingpetao3]

For Asgard (Chapter 8/?)

The guards' grip on you was far too tight for your liking. You struggled under their vice-like hands hoping they would loosen but if anything that made it worse. At last, you and Loki had been brought forth into the Palace of Asgard, which was magnificently overwhelming. There, in front of you, stands two hefty yet grand doors. Loki, also being forcefully held, manages to give you a small encouraging smile. You're sure he senses your anxiety.

“It will be alright, darling. You have nothing to fear.”

“What about you?” you ask.

“What about me?”

“Do you have something to fear?” Loki frowns slightly.

“No. No, I also have nothing to fear. Worry not.”

Loki's guard roughly shifts him to face the door and not you any longer. In the distance from behind, you hear the clacking of shoes against the floor. They're moving at a hurried pace, coming closer. You can't turn around to see who it is because the guards won't let you move in the slightest.

“Loki!” a voice from behind calls out. Loki manages to see who beckons him and his eyes practically glisten. “Stand down,” the voice orders. The guards let you both go and you finally lay eyes on the mystery voice.

A woman stands before you, dressed in a gorgeous blue dress with sparkling gold embellishments. She looks to be the absolute definition of a powerful woman.

“Leave us,” she commands. The guards do as the woman says, armour clanging as they leave. When they are no longer in sight, the woman says Loki's name again and hugs him.

“Mother,” Loki breathes out.

Frigga.

“I was so worried about you,” she tells him. “If I was there, I could have talked him down, surely.”

“There is no talking that man down when his mind is set. And furiously set, at that.” Loki gestures to you. “Mother, I would like you to meet my-”

A fraction of time may have stood still.

“-my... (Y/N).”

After trying to compose yourself, you address the Queen of Asgard.

“It's a pleasure to meet you,” you say with a small bow of your head.

Frigga grins and gives her son a look. One you can't quite place. “Likewise, my dear.” Her kind voice calms you. Frigga whispers something to Loki when she thinks you weren't watching. You manage to catch Loki's reply. A quiet “I know,” accompanied with a pleased smile.

There's a loud voice rumbling from the other side of the doors. It came so suddenly you're positive you almost had a heart attack. It also doesn't help when the doors finally whoosh open, revealing the insane Great Hall. Frigga leads the way up to the throne while Loki and yourself follow. You try not to let the sheer nervousness you are feeling get to you.

It's a real struggle.

You see an old man with silver hair, a beard to match, and a golden eyepatch sitting upon the throne of Asgard.

Odin.

He truly emits intimidation but you still attempt to hold yourself strong. You are in the world of gods now. Show no weakness.

Frigga steps aside once you have reached the Allfather. You swear you could almost spot steam coming off of the old man the way he looks at Loki. Odin breaks the uncomfortable silence.

“You. You have great nerve to show your traitorous face here.”

“You have yet to hear my account of the story.”

“And that is precisely why I do not want to hear a word from you. It will be a story. Fiction.”

“Glad to know you think so highly of me,” Loki tries for sarcasm.

“It is, after all, in your nature.”

Whoa. That's harsh, man.

“What could you possibly know about my nature?”

“I am your Father!”

“You are not my Father! I have no Fa-”

“You betrayed me, your family, and your kingdom! And now you betray me yet again for returning here today after I banished you!” Odin grows louder each second and his voice rings through the hall. “What's more, you bring a mortal human into Asgard. One you are likely to be toying with, no doubt.”

Something in Loki snaps and his words turn ice cold. “You, old man, know nothing.”

“I know that you will be spending ample time in a cell for your treason and inability to heed my commands.” At these words, more of those damn guards show up and grab you both again. Loki sees you being manhandled and shouts at Odin.

“No! You must let her go. She has done nothing wrong. If you must lock me up, then, by all means, do so. Just let her go free.”

You mentally protest. You can't leave him now after everything you've been through thus far.

“Now why would I let the mortal go free?” asks Odin. “She is clearly an accomplice to your plight to trespass back into my kingdom. I do not take such things lightly...” He stabs his sceptre against the hard floor, a sign of finality.

The prison cell you and Loki have been thrown into is, well, nicer than what you had originally pictured in your mind. You thought the cell would be dingy, dreary, and dark. On the contrary, it was furnished with tables and lounge chairs. Even books! The room was also brightly lit on the inside with two giant windows. It made you think you were in a terrarium.

Of course, a terrarium with other scary-looking criminals able to watch your every move from their own personal terrarium cells. You were at least thankful your confinement was sound proof. You weren't particularly curious to know what exactly the criminal across the way from you was saying along with his obscene gestures.

You sit down on one of the chairs, your back curves as you rest your arms on your thighs. Now what? How are we supposed to get out of this mess?

You look up for a moment to find that Loki is still standing near the cell door, still facing it, still staring at the wall. His hands are balled up in tight fists and his shoulders are hunched.

“Lo-”

Loki lets go a terrifying yell and punches the wall, leaving a deep indent. You are so frightened at this sudden outburst that you shudder, then freeze. He continues to yell, holler, and roar, all the while flipping over the chairs and tables and throwing books across the room. His face is deeply terrifying in his fit of rage, truly it is. Glass shatters all over the floor. Pages fly out of the books, ripping themselves from the spines.

At first, you watch his fury in fear. But that fear then turns to hurt. You're hurting so much for him. You had been wondering when you might actually see his next outburst like the one you had missed in your apartment...

When there's nothing left to break, Loki drops himself to the ground, kneeling, with his face buried in his hands. The poor soul. You wonder about whether going over to him because you're not certain how he'll react. But to hell with it.

Carefully making your way over to Loki, you crouch down to his level in front him. You reach for his shielding hands and take them in your own. They're cold again. You say nothing and nor does he. You place a hand on the back of his now wild hair to bring him closer to yourself, foreheads touching. It may just be that your closeness is helping him to calm down. To heal.

And if that's the case...

You close the gap between the two of you, planting a soft and tender kiss to his lips. Loki hesitates but then kisses you back with the same gentleness. An unspoken promise floats in the air around you. One promising that you will always be by his side to relieve his pain. This further cements the fact that there is no way you can leave each other now. You are bonded, in a sense.

Loki breaks the kiss with a small chuckle. You're confused at why he finds this at all funny.

“What is it?”

“Earlier, Mother told me something.”

“I saw her whisper to you. What did she say?”

“She said, 'I like her. You might not know this yet, but she will be good for you.'”

And he had said, “I know”...

You look downwards in a moment of bashfulness, but then look up and say, “I think you'll be good for me, too.”

“Oh, darling. I do not know if I will be good for you, but you have no idea how good I will be to you.”

Part 9

Tag List: @gerardwayisapotato

[harocat]

Fic Rec Post:

I’ve had several people ask for this, so here’s a post made up of my personal Victuuri fic recs. I’ll keep adding to this btw and reblog it whenever I add more because it is SUPER DUPER incomplete. 

Btw if I recommend one fic by an author, you can generally assume I rec their others. This is not always the case, but that’s what summaries and tags are for. I would definitely recommend checking out their other works though!! 

Non-au:

And the answer is… by nessiesaur (Yuuri Katsuki is adorable, but also one of the most mature people in their class. Yuuri Katsuki is in her study group, which definitely saved her ass on the midterm. Yuuri Katsuki is…wait, who is he!?)

#4ContsFigure by animaginaryquill (An instagram feed of shenanigans at the Four Continents Competition )

like a design by jinlian (At twenty-five years old, Yuuri Katsuki makes his first Olympic team. This comes with its own set of responsibilities and questions, and a three-time Olympian husband only might be prepared to handle them. ) 

An Intangible Force of Motion by doeinstinct (The new season is in full-swing, and Viktor is realizing just how much work it is to coach and compete, but the exhilaration is worth it. The pain in his leg is probably just from overworking. Probably. ) 

begin to be half of what you think of me by kevystel (In which Yuuri's self-image finally starts aligning with reality. ) 

your love is my turning page by cityboys (Victor and the hours he spends waiting, reflecting and figuring things out. ) 

sight of the sun by cityboys (Wherein their honeymoon brings Victor face-to-face with a lot of firsts in his life.) 

Now When Arrows Don't Penetrate, Cupid Grabs the Pistol by ken_ichijouji (dommific) ( Phichit Chulanont doesn't know how he ended up the skating world's wingman, but he ain't mad at it.) 

The Happiest I've Ever Been by rainingover (The press conference is due to start in less than twenty minutes and they’re definitely going to be late if they don’t leave right away, but it’s proving impossible for Victor to leave the hotel. Completely and irrefutably impossible. It’s all Yuuri’s fault, of course)

Water's Edge by Mhalachai (For years, Yuuri had heard people say Viktor’s skating was otherworldly. He never thought they were being literal.)

Undertow by Mhalachai (Viktor Nikiforov has spent his entire life pretending to be normal.It's never enough. This is the sequel to Water’s Edge) 

step into the golden dawn by Mayarene Rose (It’s still dark outside, only the first rays of sunlight beginning to peak out from behind the clouds. It’s a good thing to wake up to; a day just a few moments shy of being born. Or on what happens after.) 

Night is Young and the Music's High by opalish ("Best press conference ever," the Japanese Nationals silver medalist says when asked. “Ten out of ten, would medal again.” "I would die for Katsuki-kun," Minami declares, with terrifying sincerity.) 

Going for Gold by abarero (A series of character piece oneshots focusing on Yuuri Katsuki and his gold winning streak post-GPF.)

Let there be light, let there be light, let me be right by mooridayo (plane rides and train trips, from one country to the next, Yuuri and Victor watch the skies and track the growth of their relationship.) 

an ever-fixed mark by katsukifatale  (Yuuri is absolutely gorgeous. Viktor could write poems about the soft pink that paints his cheeks and nose. He could pen lyrics about the slope of Yuuri’s smile and the way he bites his lip to try to keep the laughter inside. The sparkle in Yuuri’s eyes would be enough to give hope to even the most lovelorn soul. The warmth of Yuuri’s body pressed against his and the bubbling heat of the feelings he induces in Viktor would be more than enough protection from even the harshest of Russian winters.Yuuri laughs again and ducks his head, embarrassed, and Viktor covers his mouth with his hand because he thinks he may have said some of that out loud. Oops.) 

20 Days (of you and me) by totaldislocation ( The start of Yuuri and Victor’s life together in St. Petersburg isn’t what either of them was expecting but, in a way, it’s perfect )

he’s my sun, he makes me shine like diamonds by wingchestr ( Viktor and Yuuri move to St. Petersburg and can’t keep their hands off each other. )

when you can’t lift that weight (I will) by karasunotsubasa ( "Yuuri, I always thought I would end up alone,” he says and Yuuri feels a little bit like crying, too. )

AU or Canon Divergence:

My Hero, Yuuri by Abarero (At the age of 23, Yuuri Katsuki is certain he's just a dime-a-dozen hero that will never make a difference. Little does he know that the moment his path crosses with legendary hero, Victor Nikiforov, both of their lives will begin to change for the better.) [WIP]

Victor Effing Nikiforov by shysweetthing (AU in which Yuuri still doesn’t remember the banquet, somehow doesn’t blow Japanese Nationals, runs into Victor at the World Championships, and has absolutely no idea why his idol is suddenly friendly and incredibly handsy. )

Like a Fairytale by lucycamui (In which Prince Victor gets swept off his feet at a royal banquet and will go to any length to find his 'Cinderella' Yuuri. And Phichit is the fairy godmother who has no idea what he's doing ) 

all the world's a stage by braveten (Everyone has a guilty pleasure.For Yuuri, it just happens to be romance movies starring famous heartthrob Victor Nikiforov.)

how the mighty fall (in love) by braveten (Every Victor Nikiforov fan has three things in common. 1. They have unrealistic expectations for romance. 2. They mark their calendars with the dates of his newest book releases and the premieres of his latest movie adaptations. 3. They either passionately hate or love his greatest rival, a mysterious author whose pseudonym is only two letters: “KY.” )

To Boldly Go by xylophones  (“Yuuri!” Viktor calls. “I’ve come to rescue you!”

Yuuri stares at him blankly. He gestures to the various unconscious space pirates with his recently discharged phaser. “Oh, Captain,” he deadpans. “Save me.” 

Or: A year in the life of badass science officer Yuuri Katsuki, Captain Viktor “Team Mom” Nikiforov, and simultaneously the best crew and worst crew in Starfleet history.)

This is now a series: Zero Gravity 'verse

a great desire to love by lily_winterwood (For some strange, inexplicable, fantastic reason, Yuuri Katsuki and Viktor Nikiforov are trading places. Kimi no Na wa AU.) 

Of Dahlias and Deadlines by ingthing  (All Victor wants is to get dahlias for Khloe and Brad's wedding in under 24 hours. Hope comes in the form of the little family florist in his neighborhood and the quiet smiles of one Katsuki Yuuri.) [WIP]

 Open At The Touch by kiaronna (Maybe Nishigori got ahold of a lock of Viktor's hair, and some Polyjuice potion. Maybe it's all an elaborate prank. With this as his only reasonable explanation, he steps forward, snags Viktor by his robes and tugs him in. "Nishigori," he says in Japanese, "this prank isn't funny. Your English is better than when I left, though.") 

Love in Exile by martymuses (Once a well know ballet dancer in St. Petersburg, Victor Nikiforov finds himself exiled to Sakhalin Island as a political convict in 1881. As a man sentenced to katorga he will never return to European Russia or his life on the stage. Known as the "Edge of the World," his life on Sakhalin could not be further from the life he once knew. Strange circumstances lead his path to cross that of a young Japanese man, one of the very few still living on the island. Katsuki Yuuri leads a life of exile of a different kind, one that is largely self-imposed. Drawn to each other, despite their differences, something slowly begins to grow between them. When a narrowly avoided tragedy leaves them stranded together for a long, cold Sakhalin winter, they are challenged to face what their relationship really means, and what future it could possibly have.) 

azure by ADreamingSongbird (Yuuri visits his boyfriend, admires some breathtaking scenery, and witnesses Durmstrang Institute's world-renowned star Quidditch player fall off his own broom, not necessarily in that order. (That last one may or may not be his fault, depending on who one asks.) 

The Rules For Lovers by ADreamingSongbird (Prince Yuuri Katsuki has a duty to his country, above all else (his desires, his dreams, and his happiness included), and he knows this alliance will help to ensure the safety of his people. That’s the only reason he accepts Prince Nikiforov’s hand in marriage. The pleasant surprise, of course, is the part where they fall in love along the way. The unpleasant one, well…That’s a long story.)

cancel your reservations by renaissance ( Yuuri is a college student conducting private fencing lessons for a handsome, rich, and mysterious student. Viktor is not learning to fence because he does medieval reenactments. )

The League of the Green Carnation by Abarero (There was one golden rule to being a Time Scientist: do not bring home anything that was a fixed point in history. This meant most artifacts, extinct animals and the like were permissible. Historical figures? Not so much.

But what about an author? Namely, Yuuri’s favorite author, who was murdered in 1887. Could he be saved? Well. Yuuri was sure as hell about to find out.)

Drag Your Soul to Shore by Linneakou (Just before Katsuki Yuuri advances to his first-ever Grand Prix Final, the skating world is sent reeling when a stranger destroys resident champion Viktor Nikiforov’s life in more ways than one, resulting in him being banned from competing and gaining the hatred of everyone he knows. After a chance encounter in Sochi in which Yuuri saves his life, Viktor follows Yuuri back home to Hasetsu as the spring snows fall. But when Viktor is plagued by strange happenings and unnaturally bad luck, Yuuri quickly realizes that something supernatural is responsible for everything that has happened. The question is, can Yuuri save Viktor again, and more permanently this time?) 

All Things Beautiful by StammiViktor (The voice is like bells, sharp and clear yet somehow infinitely soft. Warmth caresses Yuuri’s face and a shudder wracks his frozen frame.“You’re okay now. You’re safe.”(In the glacial waters near the North Pole, two worlds collide.)

On Your Every Word by StammiViktor (It starts, as most things do, with an extravagant banquet."Dance with me?"He’s holding out his hand. It’s an offering, an invitation, and a dare all in one.The onlookers part and a blinding smile graces the dancer’s lips.“Of course, Your Highness.”(A Royalty AU, with a twist))

The Elusive Vermilion Rose by Abarero (As the revolution builds in Larussia, a masked vigilante appears to whisk those destined for execution to safety. Not about to have his plans ruined, the king gives his two sons an offer they can’t refuse: discover this masked man’s identity if you wish to be heir to the throne.The youngest prince knows this is his only chance at the throne, while the older prince, Victor, finds himself caught in the middle; as his curiosity about the elusive Eros dances ever closer to affection.Meanwhile Yuuri Katsuki, a tailor from the neighboring country of Yamato, has been traveling back and forth more than usual... clearly because of the nobility clamoring to have the emperor’s own tailor make their clothes. And Yuuri and his three friends definitely don’t have anything to do with the so-called masked vigilantes in the Society of the Vermilion Rose. Nope, not at all.)

You can also check my fic rec tag for short fics I’ve reblogged!