#also plan on me making more! I already have the Nutcracker in the works and I also plan on doing the Bracken and hoarding bugs

[everybodyshusband]

kinktober ; day five, lingerie ❤︎ dew/aurora

contains: t4t, ballet/human au, there's a character called dewdrop in the nutcracker and i couldn't not take the opportunity, ballet costumes count as lingerie if you're horny enough

approx. 1.4k words. ghostober prompt list compiled by @kroas-adtam and a BIG thank you to @wrathofrats for helping me figure out how to start this nuisance of a fic <3 she also made the pretty dividers i'm using !!

Sweat pours off of Dew’s forehead as he finally runs offstage to retreat behind the curtain. His legs ache, skin too hot beneath his tights and feet well on their way to cramping in his pointe shoes. He grabs for the water he keeps sidestage and gulps down as much of it as he can in the few seconds he has before the director inevitably accuses him of blocking the wings. He always feels like this after these intense performances, his costume all of the sudden becoming a little too restricting, a film of his sweat film clinging to his skin which he’s sure will make him cringe once he’s rested enough to be able to breathe evenly again.

Most nights Dew finds his grin falling off of his face the moment he steps offstage, but tonight, he finds as he runs through the wings, is an exception. Tonight, he and Aurora have been assigned the same dressing room and have already made their plans for how to fill in their time before bows.

He smiles as he passes row upon row of costumes all set out for backstage quick changes as he makes his way down the wide corridor, his gait clunky and duck-footed as he attempts to walk comfortably in his point shoes. The Nutcracker costumes have always been some of his favourites and the Dewdrop one he’s wearing is no exception—and yes, he’s well aware of the irony of his character’s name. The bodice is a pale peach with pink boning running down the length of it, and Dew can feel the boning contract and expand as he continues to breathe heavily. Small beads that look like droplets of water are littered all over the top  of the bodice in two delicate rows. The least annoying part of the thing, his favourite, is the flowing tulle skirt. It’s the same peachy pink as the top with ruffles coming to form a V at his pelvis. It accentuates his waist perfectly, fanning out as he dances across the stage to make sure he looks graceful in his leaps and twirls. It floats as he turns, layers of fabric breathing an air of weightlessness into him. The whole thing is tied off with a bundle of small flowers sitting on the right side of his hip and framed by even more ruffles. He looks pretty, as delicate as the flower his role commands him to be.

Pushing open the door to his and Aurora’s dressing room reveals that he’s the first one of the pair to arrive. It makes sense, she’s one of the flowers that dances with him during his big scene, but she’s still got one more dance to be a part of before she’s free for the night. Luckily for the sake of Dew’s boredom, she should be done and on her way to their dressing room soon.

With a wheezed out sigh, he waddles over to his vanity and immediately collapses onto his chair. He pats his hand across the bench with one hand to blindly feel for his inhaler while he hastily undoes the laces of his pointe shoes. He finds it and is able to take an awkward one handed puff from it, but not before he feels a slip of paper on the bench that he hadn’t spotted upon walking in. Dew knows that he definitely didn’t put it there, so the only other culprit is Aurora and that hypothesis is proven true as soon as Dew has pulled his shoes off and is able to have a read.

dewy, it reads, barely legible in pink, sparkly ink and what Dew hopes for Aurora’s sake is her messiest handwriting.

you’ve been working so hard all week to rehearse offstage, even though you know you get enough practice of your variation every night onstage. i just know you’re gonna kill it tonight. don’t you dare take your costume off before i get there, i’m gonna help you relax.

love, rora xx

Dew raises an eyebrow at the note. While most of what Aurora says in her note is true—he definitely has been dutifully practising his Dewdrop variation at every chance he can since they opened The Nutcracker at the beginning of the week—but other parts… Well, he has his doubts. Primarily, he’s not entirely sure that whatever Aurora plans to do to derail their card game plans for the rest of the evening will consist of getting him to relax, at least not in the traditional sense.

His suspicions are almost immediately confirmed the moment Aurora steps into the dressing room, flicking the lock on the door with a mischievous grin on her face. “Hiya, Dewy,” she smiles, sounding infuriatingly put-together despite having just come off the stage. Her pointe shoes are already off of her feet, tied loosely at the laces and hanging from her hand, bumping against the tiered pink tulle of her skirt.

Dew only gets as far as opening his mouth to reply before Aurora has crossed the room and pressed him up against his vanity, her lips on his, moaning softly. Her chest heaves as she kisses him, one hand on his waist, the other supporting herself against the counter. “Did so well out there tonight, Dewy,” she mumbles against his lips. “Looked so pretty flitting about out there. Could barely focus on my own steps, was too busy watching yours.”

Dew feels his cheeks heat up with a fierce blush and elects to shut Aurora up by surging forward and recapturing their lips together with enough force that they both let out a noise somewhere in between a protest and a moan. They stay like that for a while, until Aurora eventually loses patience and spins Dew around, forcing him to brace himself against the vanity.

He meets her eye in the mirror, chest heaving and cunt clenching around nothing as she grins at him, something almost predatorial in her reflection. There’s a short pause before Aurora speaks again.

“...You’ve got spare tights for the other performances, right?”

“Uh, yeah, duh,” Dew replies, wholly confused. “Why–? Fuck!” He interrupts himself as Aurora drops to her knees and pulls the crotch of his leotard to the side, using her nails to tear into his tights, ripping a hole that exposes him entirely. “Rory!”

“What? I checked you had spares…” Dew can hear the smile in her voice and catches a glimpse of his own expression of endearment in the mirror. That expression quickly morphs into something else as Aurora digs her hands into ass to hold him in place as she licks a stripe over his cunt, humming happily as she tastes how wet he is under her tongue.

His eyes squeeze shut as his mouth drops open, gasping out a quiet moan as one of Aurora’s hands sneaks around his front to flick at his clit. “Shit, Rory,” he sighs.

She giggles against his cunt, the vibrations from her laugh pulling yet another moan out of Dew as she continues to lap at him eagerly. He whines as she pulls off to speak. “Oh, by the way,” she starts. “I invited Rain and Cirrus over once they’re done with the Pas de Deux, which should be in…” He sees her head tilt to the side in the mirror as she glances at the clock and stage screen on the wall of their dressing room. “In maybe less than five minutes. You can cum that fast, right?”

A minute ago, Dewdrop’s answer would have been a steadfast and resounding no, but now that Aurora’s diving back in—seemingly determined to eat him out with as much vigour as she usually devours her after-show hamburger and chips—he thinks his answer might have changed. Although as he thinks about it, even if he can’t manage to reach orgasm before Rain and Cirrus arrive, it’s nothing they haven’t seen before, and he knows they’ll certainly be willing to lend a helping hand. But whatever happens in a few minutes is still up to chance. For now, all Dew has to do is close his eyes and enjoy that thing Aurora does with her tongue that she’s so good at. He lets his head tip forward as he moans once again, more than content to let Aurora have her way with him until the final bows.

this is the version of the dewdrop costume i've been envisioning for this by the way !! it's the NYCB costume :)

also because i'm a little insane about ballet, this is the link to the performance i watched over and over again while writing this lmao

[gacmediadaily]

Great American Media announced today that three additional films have been added to their already impressive Great American Christmas lineup, which includes new talent such as Mario Lopez, Courtney Lopez, Alexa PenaVega, Carlos PenaVega, Julia Reilly, and more.

In their press release, they invite viewers to "Cherish the holidays. Joy is coming. Great American Christmas 2024 will soon be revealed."

Here's a closer look at three more movies coming to Great American Family this Christmas...

Jonathan Stoddard and Brittany Underwood on the set of  A Royal Christmas Ballet - source

A Royal Christmas Ballet

Starring: Brittany Underwood (“One Life to Live,” A Royal Christmas Holiday) and Jonathan Stoddard (A Royal Christmas Holiday, Sweet Maple Romance).

Storyline: In A Royal Christmas Ballet, a retired ballerina is pressed into service working with a visiting team of royal ambassadors to put on the season’s performance of “The Nutcracker” and finds herself center stage in an unexpected Christmas romance. Produced by Hybrid Entertainment. Fred Olen Ray directs from his own Original screenplay.

Eric Guilmette and Ash Tsai in A Shelter and Season’s Greetings - source

A Shelter and Season’s Greetings (wt)

Starring: Eric Guilmette (The Black Box) and Ash Tsai (Journey to Christmas)

Storyline: Eric Guilmette (The Black Box) plays Caleb, an Army vet wounded in service who recovers with the help of therapy dogs from a local shelter run by Amber (Ash Tsai, Journey to Christmas). As a sign of gratitude, Caleb volunteers at the shelter, though he notices one wealthy donor has his eye on Amber. Despite the patron’s help, the shelter needs additional funds to stay afloat, so Caleb produces a holiday pet fair to bring community together. As the pair become closer, Caleb confides a desire to repair the relationship with his parents that became strained after his injury. Amber has the perfect plan! Produced by Candlelight Media. Brian Bough directs from an Original screenplay by Brittany Wiscombe.

The Fabric of Christmas - image via Reel One

The Fabric of Christmas (wt)

Starring: Harmon Walsh (Christmas By Candlelight) and Ferelith Young (A Match for the Prince)

Storyline: Harmon Walsh (Liam Sullivan, Christmas By Candlelight), a firefighter, and Ferelith Young (Amy Walker, A Match for the Prince), a quilting teacher, are drawn together to make the perfect quilt for Liam’s sister Lauren’s (Alia Desantis, Saying Yes to Christmas) Christmas wedding. After a rocky start, the pair is forced to put differences aside and decide what is most important this Christmas. Produced by Reel One. Don McBrearty directs from an Original screenplay by Sarah Mayberry.

*********************

I also wanted to note that "The Fabric of Christmas" is one of those movies that can also be seen via streaming sources.��Maria, Florence, Jane, and I have written movie reviews, which you can read below. If you'd like to contribute a review, please do so in the comments beneath this post.

Movie Reviews - The Fabric of Christmas:

🎄 Reel One's The Fabric of Christmas is clean and very sweet. (streaming on Xumo). -Maria

🎄 The Fabric of Christmas - This was a surprise - a low budget movie about a fireman and a quilting teacher joining up to make a Christmas quilt for the fireman's sister's wedding. Sounded like a sure-fire recipe for 90 minutes of boredom! But hey, the two leads Kyana Teresa (Amy) and Harmon Walsh (Liam) both previously unknown to me were perfect together with great chemistry.

It was engaging to se Liam try to keep on top of his burgeoning feelings. It started off nicely with friction between Amy and Liam as he had to fail Amy's premises in a fire inspection and there was a side plot of the business threatened with going under.

The movie was full of warmth and humour and the mechanics surrounding the production of the quilt turned out to be fascinating. A little bit different and an unexpected delight - Florence Rating 8.5

🎄 The Fabric of Christmas. Completely agree with Florence - this was a thoroughly enjoyable movie! I was expecting a low-budget movie with typical audio issues and subpar acting, but this turned out to be a pleasant surprise. The acting, writing and directing were well done. (I looked up the director and it turns out he’s been the director on a lot of the bigger-name Hallmark/GAF movies.)

The actors were new to me but I thought they were all good, including side characters. The lead actress, Ferelith Young, was excellent; she was so natural and believable and sincere and warm - I never felt like I was watching someone act. And the lead actor, Harmon Walsh, is a cutie patootie, reminiscent of Kevin McGarry; the chemistry between the two leads felt realistic.

This whole production felt a bit more polished and mature than a lot of the “first-string” movies out there this year (and I appreciated that there was no ridiculous and overblown conflict or big misunderstanding between the couple). The sweet relationship between the brother and sister was a nice bonus.

This one would be a keeper if I had it on my dvr but right now it’s only available via streaming (previously it had been showing on XumoPlay but they took it off and as of January 2nd it’s now playing on the Roku channel – catch this cute movie while you can! Maybe also available on Amazon streaming?). Family friendly. ~~Jane

🎄 The Fabric of Christmas – This movie is like a warm, cuddly blanket… it’s cozy, comfortable, and sweet! And it’s family-friendly, too!

Sparks fly the instant when Liam, a firefighter, and Amy, a quilting teacher, meet. Liam’s sister is getting married and he asks Amy to help him with the task of making a quilt for her wedding present. It’s a traditional wedding gift in their family, and Liam wants to ensure his sister has one on behalf of their deceased mother.

As Liam and Amy work together, it’s plain to see a romance is gently flaring up – as the two are obviously attracted to each other.

Amy is known for working with candles lit around her, which is a terrible fire hazard especially around fabric. I found it to be adorably cute and responsible how Liam would constantly go around blowing them out.

Both characters felt like such real, authentic people. Liam’s the kind of guy who would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it, and as far as being kind and giving is concerned, Amy seems to be cut from the same cloth.

This movie is one of those lighthearted, feel-good movies that leaves you feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. ~Net

*********************

I hope you enjoyed our reviews. If you like, you can read even more reviews for "The Fabric of Christmas" at Amazon - *click here*! 88% of reviewers there gave it 5 stars, and 12% gave it 4.

Please share your thoughts on these movies in comments below.

Have a Merry Day!

Net

[brooklynislandgirl]

Advent Day IX ~ Peace on Earth and a Little Stolichnaya @survivorofhellskitchen

She can see this ending either incredibly well…or so badly she will have lost three friends by morning; two for being furious with her, and the third because he knows exactly what side his bread is buttered. Though honestly, Beth has no idea where that phrase comes from and why people insist on using something so inane as an indication of wisdom, but that's neither here nor there. She'd promised Karen a night to remember and Beth never breaks her promises. Beth had sent Karen the dress and shoes she'd had her eye on and reminded her that there was a date in their future. She also sent all the right accessories, from jewellery to hand bag. Told Karen to be ready by no later than seven on the dot, mostly because her driver gets cranky when he has to wait, and yes, she insists on the car picking Karen up. Meanwhile, Foggy's one job is to get Matt ready by the same time, and that they'll both get to where they are going by precisely eight-fifteen. Just over ten minutes from Curtain Call. After all, what's more romantic than a Christmas Eve performance of the New York Ballet Company's Nutcracker, and then dinner afterwards at a reserved table at the famed One if By Land, Two if by Sea. Okay, okay, so maybe Beth did laugh a little about that, because Matt and Karen are two and Beth is definitely a child of Sea. Then there's the carriage ride through the park, set with blankets, roses despite how Beth feels about them, and of course, champagne from her very own cellars. It's all meant with a good heart because, for once, she wants to see some of her friends happy. She has enlisted a lot of people she knows to help. Some to patrol his beat so that he won't suddenly have to duck out on her. Some to ensure Karen doesn't get pulled away because of a juicy assignment or spoiled because Matt pulled double duty….just there's a lot of things that can go wrong when one is dating a vigilante who works nights. She doesn't know first hand, but then again, Matt is also not the first guy to show up bloody on her doorstep at all hours with more bruises, broken bones and internal organ damage than any five Marine platoons. Mostly though she knows what it's like to have plans ruined, how quickly one can end so far on the back burner that you don't remember what the kitchen even looked like. And the idea of Karen having to shoulder that kind of thing is not something she wishes for the other woman. Once she's absolutely certain the car has arrived to pick her up, Beth texts Karen.

{Text: KP} Hi! I am so so sorry I can't make it tonight but I'm not leaving you completely stranded. {Text: KP} Foggy's got Matt ready and waiting for you. The tickets are in your name at the call box. Dinner is already reserved and paid for. There's a little surprise at the end. {Text: KP} I hope you have the best night of your life and that you call me sometime over the weekend and tell me all the juicy details. {Text: KP} Merry Christmas, Karen! 🎄🎄🎄

[aroseisblooming]

October is almost over and while I didn't reach all the goals I wanted, this month has been filled with so many blessings so far.

I'm most likely getting a huge promotion at work. I say most likely because even though I met with everyone and my transition has already been approved and we have a date of my transition set, I won't believe it til we have got the salary and benefits official, and I sign the contract. That way if last minute it falls apart I won't be disappointed.

My health issues are slowly getting all figured out, I still have more doctors appointments but with each diagnosis and non diagnosis I feel like I can get control of things .which is going to help me as I'm starting to change my diet up more. I want to lose weight but realistically that can't be my focus right now. Right now I need to focus on how I should be eating for the health issues I do have (thankfully none of them are diabetes or pre diabetes). Then once I get used to that I'll meet up with a nutritionist to come up with a plan.

School is going great. 99% sure I'll have 4.0gpa at end of the semester. I've also registered for next semester classes and looking into professional orgs I can join in the new year.

I'm still doing ballet 3x a week,nutcracker season is going well. I want to get back on point end of year but realistically I won't be surprised if I don't. I can see some areas I can approve on that would make pointe alot easier for me but we will see what our ballet school director thinks when evaluation time comes. Going back to gym this coming week finally. I haven't been in month

Other than that I've been just living life. Found a new church that I absolutely love and hope to make my home church. Ballet season has started and we saw our first of the season over the weekend, had family game night (me and my roommates are found family), went to the movies , got dressed up and had a nice dinner and drinks with friend downtown at this very gorgeous restaurant. Next weekend we are going to the symphony to see a special Halloween themed concert, and then Halloween and that's basically all I have planned for the rest of my month

I'm looking forward to what the rest of this year will bring for me though and already thinking about what things I want to accomplish in 2024 ( one of them being finally getting my license and a car of my own)

[prttylittlediary]

𝑂𝑛𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝐷𝑖𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑦 𝑡𝑤𝑜:

10/20/2021

Today I started class after fall break and I’ve had the groundbreaking realization that I am absolutely miserable here. I’m going to transfer as quickly as possible because being here is not beneficial to me in any way, so I want to start deciding what life I really want and major decisions like this are the first steps. I don’t want to get too deep into why I’m miserable but this is the kind of that sinks deep in your skin and makes your heart clutch and suffocates you. I’m tired of hating where I am cause it’s a waste of time and money. On a brighter note going home was a nice change of pace and I bought new skin care to maintain my skin and so far it’s working. My goal is to make my skin smoother and the products from The Ordinary that I bought seem to be helping a great deal.

In terms of wellness I started reading more books and reading genuinely makes me happy. My favorite genres are Gothic, Classic, and Horror literature so they present a nice distraction from reality. I’ve also started sleeping earlier to help my body function better because my dance teacher even noted that I looked very tired these past classes and I need to start getting ready for an upcoming production the first week of November and with Nutcracker auditions tomorrow. Dance has truly changed mr for the better and I can’t wait to start dancing more professionally at my next Univeristy.

In terms of aesthetics I’ve actually been expanding my closet finally. I bought a new pair of boots, shorts, earrings, and crop top to start off my coquette/dollette fashion wardrobe and I’m so excited. I firmly believe to start a wardrobe a good base is needed, not just mindless outfits. So far I think I want to focus more on pinks, grays, blues, and reds but I definitely won’t limit my closet. I also started buying more preppy clothes as well cause my current closet doesn’t have any rhyme or rhythm to it so I plan on donating clothes I don’t want and passing down some clothes to my family as well.

Now for goals so far my skincare seems to be going alright and it’s actually improving so this goal is heading in an amazing direction. Another goal I wanted to add was to improve my hair care because the water at my college is very hard (it contains minerals which damage hair and skin) so I want to keep it moisturizer. The issue is I I’ve 3b-3c hair which is quick to get dry and tangled, so the upkeep can be a lot especially when I’m exhausted the majority of the time. I already have a hair care routine I just need to find styles to make it easier, which is why I’m genuinely considering keratin because it’ll make it easier, but it will ruin my curls so I’d any has an recommendations on how to manage styles and maybe keep it straight without damaging my curls it would be very helpful.

Previous goal: create a balanced skincare routine (in progress)

Added goal: find out a hair care regimen that will keep my hair healthy as well as manageable (in progress)

That’s all for today! I hope you all have a lovely rest of your week xoxo 💋

[coffeeandcalligraphy]

Please tell us more about Seventh Virtue–we need more? Also what was your general thought process for writing this right now?

Hello!! Seventh Virtue is the fantastical version of the Fostered series (which I’ve been writing for many years as you probably already know)! I came up with the initial idea for this project back in the summer of 2019, but knew I’d probably never write it because at the time, I couldn’t see myself writing beyond literary fiction (and also: I know nothing about fantasy :)) in fact I think I’ve only ever read 3 fantasy books from the same series and that was years ago)!

This led to why I’m writing it right now, actually! Earlier this week, my sister and I binge watched Shadow and Bone and it reminded me of this project (which I’d called Fostered But It’s Magic haha). I couldn’t help but delve more and more into the project as the days progressed, and so I decided I’d try to draft it. I actually tried to draft this project once before as a screenplay because I thought it’d translate better to screen, but gave up FAST when I realized I am terrible at screenwriting! With this in mind, I knew I wanted to write this project, but I’m also impatient, and know I want to write more things this summer. TBH, I didn’t want to spend the rest of my vacation writing another Fostered book (I planned to write something outside of this universe but apparently it doesn’t want me to??) so yesterday at 1AM, I came up with a very... stupid idea to write 10k words in one day.

I made this decision strictly for anxiety exposure. I’m exporting the vlog where I chat about this experience so I won’t delve too much into it. TL;DR: I wrote 11k words yesterday, and finished the first chapter (almost done the second).

So what’s the book about?? Honestly, it’s pretty loose right now. This is the pitch I wrote way back in 2019, which is more or less accurate:

After being tormented by nightmares of his ex lover, which result in violent hot flashes and an inability to keep up a job, Harrison seeks a magical intervention. When the clairvoyant he hopes will cure his strange ailment turns out to be a con woman—and his old friend, Reeve—he is thrown back into the past and forced to rekindle relationships he thought he’d left behind.

The main thing that’s surprised me since drafting is how contemporary this world is?? Despite being literally fantasy, this setting is the most contemporary-aligned compared to the rest of the series. Fostered book 1-6 take place in a sort of dystopia (which gets softer and softer as the books continue), whereas Moth Work and Feeding Habits take place in older-contemporary times (2006)! This book on the other hand I could certainly see taking place in some sort of alternate 2019 (because we :) cannot include the pandemic years :)). It’s also magnificently funny?? I feel really blessed to have just decided to write this book. I know about 10% of what is going on at all times, but it’s so fun to draft!

Something I didn’t expect initially was how big a presence Foster would have in this book! I kind of :) forgot about Foster in Moth Work/Feeding Habits (so sorry he is still an icon), and while I knew he’d be Harrison’s roommate, I kind of assumed he’d be a side character?? But no, he said, I am reclaiming my “Main Cast” title and you can do nothing to stop me. For the majority of what I’ve written, Harrison and Foster are living in the past. This is because Foster can ~time travel, but is incredibly ethical and sustainable, so he refuses to actually change the past/do anything that would affect the present/future. After a hex goes wrong and results in Harrison’s mother getting into an accident and eventually disappearing, Harrison’s life is in literal shambles. Tormented by nightmares and hot flashes, he is NOT living his best life. To cope, Foster agrees to take them back to the past where he can relive the last 5 days before his mother’s accident, thinking they will only stay there for that one week. But when they’ve repeated the same week dozens of time, Foster ups the pressure on Harrison to give him the okay to head back to the present. And when these “hot flashes”/nightmares get even worse, Foster tells Harrison about a “healer” who cured his broken wrist (so he could plant his tomatoes lol), Harrison concedes and they finally head back to present day so he too can visit this woman, who is actually their old friend, Reeve.

This book is SO angsty and hilarious! I think my favourite thing about it is that I get to write Lonan and Harrison falling in love again lol, which I didn’t exactly get to experience in the conventional way (the first time around). By the time we meet Lonan (who is introduced in book 2), he and Harrison already have a pretty complex relationship. This relationship gets even more tangled in book 3, and book 5 is where we get to see the first glimpses of a romance. Somewhere in this timeline, between books 3-5, they ~fell in love, but I don’t know when! I think most of that occurred off the page, so even I don’t know. What’s so fun is now I get to glimpse into that a little bit more. Their relationship is my favourite thing and always has been, about this entire series, so I’m so stoked to finally get to dabble with it from the beginning. All I really know at the moment is that they meet because Lonan catches Harrison being a thief lol so, so much fun tension already to work with!

I’m not sure if I’ll finish this, mostly because the prospect of writing an 80k novel sort of terrifies me?? The project is almost 12k at the moment, and we really have only scratched the very surface, so we’ll see! I haven’t written genre fiction in so long and I’m adoring this! It’s also so much less strenuous than writing literary lols so perfect because I’m still a little wiped out after my semester ended!

Here’s an excerpt when Harrison meets up with Reeve for the first time:

The shop’s name is The Lark’s Lagoon. When he enters, a string of freshwater shells clatter, like bells would. She is not at the table like she was in the past, so he putters around the shop. Some of the things she sells are silly. Plastic mood rings that are clearly heat activated and more suited for a child but marketed to women in their thirties. Ping pong balls with the inscription enchanted aims. Snowglobes with a miniature witch figurine who says I’ll tell your fortune when you shake it.

“That’s a bestseller.” Her voice comes so suddenly that Harrison drops the globe. It shatters across the floor in a glittery bundle. “So you’re going to need to pay for that.”

Harrison describing Lonan lol:

Harrison hated him. He was cute, but Harrison hated him.

Harrison chilling in his timeloop where he can’t be seen:

It’s harder avoiding birds than he thinks. Every time one spots him, his body lurches, magnetized in the direction of the apartment. If it weren’t for the trees he latches onto along the way, he’d already be back at the brownstone listening to Foster lecture him on not being seen and not exploiting his magic. So he becomes more careful. Checks every direction—up down, left, right, diagonally, whatever—until he is certain no one can see him.

Some Stressed Foster dialogue lol I love him protect him at all costs:

“How many times have I told you that you cannot be seen in the timeloop? I woke up with a migraine five minutes ago and when I went to find you, realized you’d slipped out. Do you know how my brain feels when you stretch the timeloop like that? It feels like someone’s cracking it. My brain, a walnut. You, a nutcracker. Not to mention, you didn’t even leave a note. What if you were robbed? Or murdered? What if they dismembered you and I had no idea?

so that’s this project! don’t see any reason to stop writing it, so I’ll make an update on it soon! :) let me know if you have any more q’s!

[myarmsaretoolong]

December 2020 Fic Recs!

first off i hope you’ll join me in wishing a not so fond farewell to 2020 and a cautious howdy to 2021. and now for the recs! (all links go to ao3 :D)

right now i’m still reading If They Knew All About You by @mshermia​ and it’s still awesome! i’m just an embarrassingly slow reader

The Night Before Christmas by @sdottkrames​

Summary

Tony had not signed up for this.

He hadn’t meant to kill the guy in the Santa suit. He’d gotten startled, he’d yelled, then the other guy got startled and slipped and then just disappeared.

Now he was wearing the guy’s suit, driving the guy’s sleigh (driven by actual freaking reindeer), with his 8-year-old son in the passenger seat, delivering Christmas presents like he really was Santa.

He really needed to to learn how to say no to Peter’s puppy dog eyes.

(Or the Irondad Santa Claus AU nobody asked for that I’m giving anyway)

Review

yall this is awesome! it’s so fluffy and cute and has some amazing irondad bonding going on. believe me when i say i laughed when i read the part about gerald, it’s gold XD

Secret Sugarplum Spiderling by @yes-i-am-happyaspie​

Summary

Peter has been taking ballet for nearly as long as he can remember and all of his hard work has finally paid off. He's been cast as the Cavelier to the Sugarplum Fairy in his Performing Arts School's production of The Nutcracker. It's a big deal and it's going to take up a good bit of time but... he's just not sure he's ready for his mentor to know about that particular hobby just yet.

🎄🩰❄️He's sure it'll be fine ... ❄️🩰🎄

All he has to do is show up at the studio on time, keep his grades up, make sure to see Tony on a regular enough basis that he doesn't worry and try to squeeze in some patrolling in between. It's that simple. Right?

Review

pete’s a ballet dancer and if you’re not already sold than i don’t know what will. again, the fluff and irondad bonding is so cute plus may there too which is always a huge bonus! the last chapter especially is pure fluff and i love it so so much!

The Subjectiveness of Protectiveness also by @yes-i-am-happyaspie​

Summary

When Peter is injured outside of his suit by a woman who has a grudge against Iron Man and has come to the conclusion that he's Tony Stark's son, he decides that his best course of action is to not tell anyone. He doesn't want May to worry but more than anything he doesn't want his mentor to feel guilty about it. Especially when the threat has already been taken care of and he has a healing factor. However, when things don't go as planned he ends up finding himself in a situation that leaves him with no choice but to reveal what he's been hiding. Tony is not impressed.

Review

while their other fic brings the fluff, this one brings the ANGST. it’s basically what is says on the tin, pete gets badly hurt and doesn’t want to bother anyone with it... until things go downhill. it’s a great read, super angsty, super fun, i highly reccommend!

A Christmas Carol by @i-am-irondad​

Summary

On Christmas Eve night, Tony is lost in his own head, still struggling to deal with Peter’s death.

A message is sent to him through his father, Howard Stark, and their ex-business partner, Obadiah Stane - they warn him that three spirits will visit him before sunrise.

The ghosts take Tony on a journey through the past, present, and future.

Review

yall it’s so gooood! i’m sure you’re all familiar with a christmas carol, and if not this is a great way to get to know it! it was so exciting to see who the ghosts turned out to be, and also to see what they showed tony. there were plenty of tears reading this, and just as many smiles! the ending is just awesome!

so that rounds out this month, if you check out any of these fics please be sure to leave a comment or kudos to let the authors know you’re enjoying their work! also spread this around to show the love! have a great new year yall!

[cosmiclatte28]

#4 Hello, Rival (Mark Lee x you)

Fourth day of Christmas

Hello, Rival (Mark Lee x you)

I do not own the pictures, but I own the stories :) enjoy! 

Moving on to a new country has never been easy, even for you who was only eight when you leave New York to Toronto. You certainly miss the Christmas lights New York always have each year, but turns out Toronto is not that boring, or at least your neighbor is not boring.

You grew up with the family tradition of decorating your house with Christmas lights. Your father likes to step up your house’s Christmas lights to another level. He once designed the theme to be Avengers, once he made it Winter wonderland, another one of your favorite is the time he made a Frozen castle in front of your house. Those were back in New York where people always take a picture in front of our house.

It is now your third Christmas in Toronto and your father hasn’t come up with any idea.

“Dad, are we going to put on the lights soon? Our neighbour has started cleaning their lawn.” You peek over the blinded window to the house next to yours. They look like they’re a big family, judging by the number of people sweeping the leaves right now.

Your brother joins you on spying your neighbour, “I wonder what they are making this year. Dad are we going to decorate the lawn this year?”

Your father throws a shocked look to you and your brother “My dear (y/n) and Jaehyun, there is no way I am not putting lights this year! Just wait I’ve drawn them nicely here.” He opens his laptop and the two of you scurry to his side.

He opens his blueprint and Jaehyun claps his hands, you marvel at his work.

“Nutcracker?” your mother suddenly joins the three of you.

He nods his head proudly, “Tomorrow my nutcracker air mascot should come in the mail and we can take the lights out! We can do this, we’ll make our house looks nicer.” He places his hand and we all put ours on top of his.

“Okay now, ginger cookies are here! Let’s decorate!!!” your mother places a hot tray of fresh baked cookies on the dining table and you’re more than delighted to decorate the house.

Your family always make them and distribute some of the batches to neighbours. You spend the entire afternoon jamming to Christmas carols and finish writing small quotes on every cookies. You hand them to your mother so she can pack them nicely and you flop on the big couch in the living room.

Your brother, Jaehyun is playing the piano while listening to you commenting on your neighbour who has started putting on lights.

“I think theirs will be the usual theme, just snow man and some santas.” You spy on your neighbour as if this is a secret mission.

Jaehyun just chuckles and lets you spy more, he even adds fire like asking you how many people are there and who seems to be the laziest one.

“Are you going to school tomorrow?” your mother asks after dinner is over and you and Jaehyun are lounging over the TV playing on some video games.

You nod your head, “Tomorrow is the Christmas celebration in school and we have holidays!”

“Then you better sleep or you will be cranky. Jae you’ll help us with the lights right?” your mother asks your brother. He nods his head, “I’m free tomorrow.”

You pout, “I want to be a part of the team too!!”

Your brother teases, “You’re in school. Sorry but you won’t have credits when people come to gaze at our house.”

If your mother did not stop the two of you there, you’re sure you will be on the floor trying  to tackle your tall brother.

“We will wait for you. Jae will pick you up on twelve and we can eat lunch and start preparing the lights. Now bed time!” she points to your room and after you get up to brush your teeth your mom send you to dreamland.

The next day, you cannot hold back your excitement. You’re super happy to attend the school’s Christmas party and the last day of school, but you cannot wait for the bell to ring.

“Jumpy today, unusual…” your friend Jisung asks you.

“Oh Jisung I’ll put on the Christmas lights today!! Can’t wait.” You pick up your bag and almost run away if not for his little scream of “wait”

You turn your body and he hands you a nicely wrapped box, “I made them, some chocolates. Merry Christmas!” he waves his hand to you and you hug him tight, “Thank you!”

He is your best friend in school, you’ll miss him! Your sadness disappeared as soon as you step out of your school and see your brother with his annoying smirk.

He just waits until you’re by his side and the two of you start walking back home.

“I got a chocolate from Jisung.” You boast the small present to your brother.

Jaehyun looks at it without much interest, but his hand is fast and before you can see a piece of chocolate gone, Jae has already munch on the sweet food.

“Yak!!”

He smacks his lips, trying to savour the taste, “Hmm I guess it’s good, might need a second test.” He reaches out again but you quickly close the box and glare at him.

Jaehyun laughs at your angry face and just pokes your cheek, “Sorry, come on don’t put a sour face! It’s Christmas soon!”

When your eyes catch the pretty decorations, your neighbours had made on their garden, you forgot your sour face and run to your house.

Jaehyun has to run after you and there in your lawn you can see your father already planning out the things we have to put up today.

“Okay put your stuff inside and come out quick.” Your mother says as your father is already busy putting on the lights on the higher parts of the house.

Jaehyun helps father with the roofs and electrics, while you help mom with the tinsels and just the balloons.

It took all four of you the whole time from One to Five to finally plug in the cable to the socket and cheer when the lights perfectly work according to plan.

It really looks magical! With the white snows and the lights, you can feel like you’re in a new world, the nutcracker realm.

After cleaning up and dinner, all four of you spend your night taking pictures in front of the house. Documenting the project for this year and basically updating it to your social media.

Your eyes see the flashing lights your neighbours also have on their houses. Everyone has their own concepts, and it is all pretty.

The next day you wake up with a happy feeling. You enjoy your breakfast and see a freshly baked pie with sweet inviting smell on the kitchen.

“Mom, are you making pies?” you yell and she replies from the laundry room, “Oh that was from our neighbour. Mark’s mother baked them, cut it up if you want.”

You eye the freshly baked pie but suddenly stop when your mother appears in the kitchen with a jar of cookies.

“If you have nothing to do, please help me deliver this to their house.” Your mother hands you the jar of cookies you decorated last night.

You knit your eyebrow, “Which house is Mark’s?”

Your mother rolls her eyes, right you never meet him. “The one on the left.”

Your mouth pops an “Oh” and you grab your coat quickly. After putting on socks and boots, you take the cookies to the house next to yours. The same house that you spied on yesterday. Their decoration did not look bad, though you like yours more.

After knocking three times on their door, the door opens and a young man similar to your age greets you. His face looks surprised.

“Yes?” he said.

You clear your throat, “Oh Mark right? I’m (y/n) your neighbour. Ever since we move here, we kind of have an unspoken Christmas lights competition,” you look around and he also peeks to see your house. You continue, “And I finally meet my rival!” you grin. He laughs and you hand him the cookie jar.

“For you and your family. Thank you for the pies!” You shyly brush your hair away and feel your cheeks burn when he examines the cookies.

“Looks nice and yummy. Did you make this?” he brings out one and tastes it on the spot.

Your eyes dilate as you hope he says something good “My mom bakes it, I decorate it.”

He chews and swallows, his eyes lit up, “Hm interesting! I love this. Thank you (y/n)!”

You reach out your hand, “Nice to meet you, rival” you wink

He laughs and smirks, “Nice theme over there too, rival.”

The two of you laugh.

“Come here next time and play with me.” He politely invites you over, since both of you had never hold a conversation before.

You nod your head, “Feel free to visit me too!”

He winks, “No worries, I’ll visit you whenever I am free. Okay then, see you! I have to help mom send some more pies.”

You turn your heels away after sending the last good bye and with light foot steps you reach your home.

“Christmas never disappoints! Look, I finally know my rival and we’re going to be good friends.” You tell Jaehyun your story as soon as you see him.

“Oh yeah? How are you so sure?” he yawns bored about the lame childish story he always hear from you.

You smack your lips, “Because my heart says so, and I am not like you.”

See you!! Christmas masterlist

[alreadyblondenow]

King Taeyong | 4

Taeyong x ballerina!reader //  FLUFF, ANGST, fantasy!au Summary: Deciding for the both of you and to save your life, Taeyong is forced to delete all your memories with him. He gave you a happy life, a life without him. Word Count: 3k Warnings: Mentions of death but no one died hehe Note: This is the last chapter for this baby of mine hihi -The fantasy part is already here. I tried to keep it short and simple, didn’t want to overdo it.  Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

After that visit with Ruby, you felt something off with your husband lately. Sometimes you have to call his name several times before he acknowledge what you were saying. It bothers you. “Did something happened, babe? You seem off lately, whats wrong?” eyes full of concern, you came closer to him while watching the sun rise from his room. This is the day you go back to the human world together. Or so you thought.

You cover your naked body while you cling to him, making him tell you what’s bothering him. He forced a laugh telling you, “really its nothing. I’m just spacing out lately because...” he let out a heavy sigh. “Of work. CEO duties you know. Work started to pile up the day I left.”

Lee Taeyong knew all too well that this very moment right now, is gonna be his last memory of you being a married couple. “It’s been only days since we got married, and ever day is still as beautiful as the day I met you” Taeyong started to be nostalgic out of nowhere, your heart sinks and it made you blush.

“You know y/n, my love for you means, watching you perform and support you from your achievements” You remember the night he bravely asked you to have dinner with you and simply turning that shitty day around into something you will never forget the rest if your life.

“My love for you means, spending beautiful mornings with you, a night with just you and me, making love until the morning” he winks and grabs your hand. “You will never be sad, alone or hurt y/n. Thats how much I love you. I will literally die, if I hurt you again.” Hearing Taeyong’s words makes you worry he’s never been like this, “Baby what are you saying? You’ll never hurt me.” He kissed your hands, your wedding ring. “I’ll make you coffee, stay here okay.” He said letting go of your hands, trying to cover your exposed legs and left you in the middle of his huge bed.

Hesitating to pour the potion on your coffee, Taeyong cries as he remembers what Ruby showed him, how you killed yourself. That made him convinced himself to finally pour the potion. He did it with a heavy heart knowing he will never be with you ever again. Im sorry.

You feel the bed dipped beside you, your husband holding a tray with coffees on it. He gave you your coffee and you told him he always makes the best coffees. A he hands you your coffee, Taeyong kissed your lips softly. What was that for?

You smile at him before you took a sip. “Oh that tastes really good” you told him excitedly.

“I love you.” You heard Taeyong whisper beside you. Your head suddenly felt heavy so you decided to close your eyes, smiling at Taeyong before you drift away. You’re sure that you saw tears in his eyes.

Taeyong cries and cries from sun up until he takes you back to your apartment, holding your hand and not letting it go for the last time. Doyoung, Yuta and Johnny was with him, they can only hurt for their friend too. They all saw how the magic works its way to you.  Just like, what happened to Taeyeon your life took a few years back to make way for the life Taeyong has made for you. He saw every memory of him got erased from the moment you first laid eyes on him at the opera lobby to your last memory of him before you close your eyes this morning, watching every moment while crying his heart out.

Taeyong’s heart is broken.

When you wake up, you felt as if like you’re missing something big in your life but you cant point a finger to it. Without knowing whats going on, you’re now living the life Taeyong made for you to save you from taking your own life. A beautiful life without him.

You see Jaehyun sleeping beside you sweetly and peacefully. What a night you thought. Jaehyun indeed worn you out, fucking you until the sun goes up. Little did you know that was Taeyong.

In this life, you happily live with Jaehyun in your apartment ever since you two were dating in college. You’ve been together for 5 years already and you are perfectly happy with him. After graduation, Jaehyun moved in with you and you made beautiful memories in every corner of your apartment. You spend Christmas and New years together just like when you were little kids, the only difference now is that he finally proposed to you and asked you to marry him.

Before getting married, you finished your last season at the company by doing the lead of The Nutcracker. Jaehyun watched every ballet performance you had since college days until your last. After that, you promised yourself that you will try something new that involves making more time with your fiancé. He takes the baking classes with you so he can be a great assistant in the future, and that made your heart bursts into happiness. He bakes cupcakes with you every weekends as part of your quality time at home. He supported and helped you with the success of your bakery.

After getting married for a year, you and Jaehyun had a baby. You told Jaehyun the big news that you’re pregnant and he is really happy about it. But neither any of you two, knew that the father of the baby that you’re carrying is Taeyong’s. Just like what Ruby showed to Taeyong, he will have a child but the child will never knew him as her father.

It hurts Taeyong the most knowing he will never get the chance to take care of his baby. He will never get the chance to tie her hair like how he does for you. Now, you’ve got Jaehyun to do those for you and his baby girl.

Trust the pain and endure it everyday is all he can do now. Taeyong continues being a responsible king to his kingdom, exhausting himself everyday hoping his tired mind can make him sleep well, but it never did. He can clearly remember the last good sleep he had, and that was the night he got married.

Taeyong broke off his engagement to Sorn for Yuta’s sake and for the happiness of them both. The couple are now happily married with joined kingdoms all thanks to Taeyong’s support and help.

The famine did happened, but it didn’t take a while. The 21 kingdoms joined forces to prevented the famine from getting longer and because of Taeyong’s constant presence in his kingdom. He focused all his energy and time on doing king duties. Something he cant do if he continued being with you in your world. And because of that, he is sorry. He blames himself everyday for making decisions that caused his misery now. The once happy and joyful king, is now a gloomy and lonely King Taeyong.

Doyoung told Taeyong the news that you’re pregnant and that Jaehyun is doing a good job taking over his role in your life. Hearing it made him smile. Taeyong visited Ruby to tell her the great news and that the potion that she made did a great job.

“The kingdom is now safe your highness. You can go visit her if you want.” Ruby suggests, as a way to comfort him. “You can shadow her, be with her throughout her pregnancy.” Taeyong followed Ruby’s risky idea. He then visited the human world again with Johnny, Yuta and Doyoung.

“Its funny how in the human world its only been days but in our world… months have passed already” Doyoung says as he walks with Taeyong.

“What if she remembers us?” Johnny asked full of hope. Taeyong thought about it but it’s impossible, he saw the magic work through Taeyeon and she cant remember anything.

“Look! Thats her shop...” Yuta points at a small bakery painted in purple and the smell of freshly baked cupcakes lingers on the street. Taeyong walks slowly as if he’s scared to face and finally see you again. But he has to be strong. You heard the door open and welcomed the customers, “Hello! What can I get you guys? May I suggest our freshly baked red velvet cupcakes?” They all looked like first time customers, they also looked handsome and fine, almost looked like royalty.

You didn’t noticed but Doyoung stopped time, for Taeyong to look at you a little bit longer. Its the only thing he can do for Taeyong. He take a good look at you, happy that Jaehyun is doing a great job filling up for his part. Taeyong wanted to cry, he wanted to hug and kiss you but instead, he just whispered all his apologies to you and that he loves you.

“Doyoung, you can bring back time now” and he did. They were all shocked when they finally see you again, what Doyoung did actually helped them calm themselves and not freak out when they finally talk to you. Johnny quickly asked for a box of red velvet cupcakes to lessen the awkwardness. Doyoung is scanning and choosing his cakes. Yuta is planning to buy cupcakes for Sorn, and Taeyong... Taeyong is watching your every move around your bakery. His heart is happy seeing you do what you want and most importantly, you’re alive.

Johnny snaps his fingers to bring back Taeyong to the current situation. He gave Taeyong an iced americano so he wont look like he’s being awkward. The three princes sigh and gave Taeyong a “tsk” because he’s being weird in front of you.

“Dude order something. Try to make a conversation” Johnny suggests. Taeyong was looking at the freshly baked cupcakes and cakes while you were wrapping Yuta’s order ready to take Taeyong’s order.

“See something you like?” You asked him with a smile.

You. Taeyong thought. “...can I have, all of these?” Taeyong was pointing at the cupcakes fresh from the oven and even the ones on the shelf. “And these...” now he’s pointing at all 10 cakes at the refrigerator. You almost asked him if he’s joking. “Its a lot, but it’s for the kids in this school we are visiting” Doyoung explains. Huh figures.

When Taeyong and the three princes left your bakery, you were happy because of the good sales and hope they would love everything they bought. Jaehyun came in when they left minutes ago and he was happy you sold a lot more than usual today.

“So what are we going to do with all these sweets?” Johnny asked then let out a big sigh “if only the love of my life is still alive -”

“Hey! Dont be sad, give them to me I’ll eat all of them” Taeyong comforts Johnny.

Doyoung was silently enjoying the cupcakes that he ordered and told everyone it was so good, they should eat one now. And they all did. Taeyong fell in love with you more after tasting one cupcake. Yuta on the other hand was happy, “Sorn will like these. She’s been having a sweet tooth lately. I think she’s pregnant” And they were all happy for Yuta for there will be another baby on the way.

7 months pregnant

Being pregnant is hard you thought. You cant bake properly, you cant stay at the bakery and bake nonstop like you used to, you feel fat... but oh the amount of attention you get from Jaehyun is unbelievable. You love how he tries to bake and help at the bakery whenever he can, you love seeing him put cupcakes and cakes on the shelf, he looks calm.

You took a week off from the bakery and Jaehyun got you covered. It was bad timing and Taeyong didn’t know you’re not going to be at the bakery today. He saw Jaehyun serving the customers so he figured you’re not present today “Are you new here?” Taeyong pretends he doesn’t know. “The owner of the bakery is my wife sir” Jaehyun answers politely.

It hurts Taeyong to hear such words, knowing all too well that this is his doing. As usual, he buys everything he sees and reasons out that he is visiting a school nearby. Taeyong got home disappointed because he didn’t get to see you, thinking maybe you’re at home resting and reading like you always do on your free time.

It has been peaceful in Taeyong’s world, the big news now is Sorn is indeed pregnant and Yuta invited him to celebrate in his kingdom. Everyone was happy for Sorn and Yuta’s blossoming married life, and Taeyong cant help but think that if it wasn’t for that stupid famine, he could’ve had spend a beautiful married life with you too and he could’ve made you happy. But now, he’s just miserable.

When the most awaited day has come, Doyoung ran into Taeyong’s office while he was having a meeting with Johnny, Yuta and the other members of the royal court. Doyoung was shouting, screaming at Taeyong that you’re about to deliver the baby today. His world stopped again upon hearing the big news, hands shaking, heavy breathing. The constant want of Taeyong to be with you and your daughter grew stronger.

Calming himself in front of everyone right now, the three princes noticed Taeyong isn’t going to be alright anytime soon. They dismissed themselves and left Taeyong alone. The next day, Doyoung delivered the news to Taeyong that the baby is healthy and its a girl.

“Oh my go-“ Johnny exclaims, “dude! Get your shit together, congratulations!” The three of them seemed happy but Taeyong was still sad about everything. Knowing about Taeyong’s struggle, the three princes made their own way to help Taeyong out. Because Taeyong is still not yet ready to see his daughter, the three of them made sure to guide you and your daughter for all these years.

Yuta visits your daughter’s dreams making sure she has beautiful dreams of the kingdom. For Yuta, it is your daughter’s birth right to know that the kingdom his father rules exist, even if its from a dream.

Doyoung is in charge of helping your daughter grown smart like his uncle. Being one of her teachers all through out of her studying until she graduates.

Johnny became the protector of your family, making sure there will be no danger that will cross your path.

They did this for years and years for Taeyong. For them, they owe Taeyong so much that what they’re actually doing right now is still not enough for all Taeyong has done for their kingdoms. Being good uncles is the least they can do to Taeyong’s daughter.

When time healed Taeyong’s heart completely, he remained in your shadows, secretly sending people to buy in your bakery and bring it to his world so more people can experience your delicious cakes and cupcakes. He is the one protecting your daughter now and not Johnny, thanking Johnny for everything he has done for the past few years.

He even sent birthdays and Christmas gifts to you and your daughter, occasionally visiting your world and just following you around with Doyoung, Yuta and Johnny.

“Your daughter grew up nicely” Doyoung said while watching your daughter read at the children’s bookstore. “She sure is” Taeyong sighs in relief.

When they got back to the kingdom, Taeyong noticed that the gate is slowly having cracks as if its about to self destruct any day. He showed the cracks to Ruby and to the other princes. Ruby discovered that the passage to the other world will close in three days time, destructing itself to maintain the natural order of worlds.

So its time. Taeyong thought.

Given the circumstances that the gate will self destruct, Taeyong gathered his strength to face his daughter for the first time when he visits the human world, for the last time. Letting go of you was hard enough he thought, but letting go of his daughter was harder.

One fine day, you were needed at the bakery and Jaehyun should be the one sending your daughter off to ballet class, but he forgot to tie her daughter’s hair.

This is it Taeyong. He approached her daughter and introduced himself trying not to scare her way. Thanks to Yuta’s help, Taeyong didn’t seem to be a stranger to his daughter. He seemed familiar in her daughter’s eyes.

“I can see that your hair is not yet tied, do you need some help?” Taeyong kneeled meeting his daughter’s level and asked her if he could tie her hair. She nods.

Taeyong was trying to be gentle as possible. The whole time he was brushing her daughter’s hair, he was remembering and savouring the feeling of combing her soft black hair for the first and last time. “There you go” Taeyong said with a smile.

“You did well Mr! Thank you. It’s like how my mom would do it.” She said enthusiastically.

“Is that so?” Taeyong looked into her daughter’s eyes, she has my eyes. Trying not to cry in front of the young girl, Taeyong walked her in front of the ballet studio and talking about random things with he that she gladly answers. “This is as far as I can go.” He pats her head and asked for a hug, the little girl gave him what he asked for.  

“Take care of your mom okay? Tell her she’s doing a great job taking care of a princess.” I love you so much baby. You will grow well. He pushed away slowly from her daughter’s sweet hug and left with a smile not wanting her daughter to remember him frowning.

While watching his daughter during her first day in ballet class, he sees her daughter in you. That she’s so much like you and he wonders what she got from him besides his eyes. After the class, Taeyong cannot believe what he’s seeing with his own eyes. Its you. Wearing a white coat with gold buttons, waiting for your daughter to come out of the ballet studio with that beautiful smile he fell for.

“Mom!” Your daughter shouts in excitement for seeing you.

“Hey baby! How was your class? Did daddy tied your hair?”

Taeyong chuckled hearing your words. Yeah I did.

“Im sorry, I was busy this morning” you apologised to your daughter and showered her with kisses on her cheeks. Taeyong watching you from a far, he will forever remember this until the day he dies.

“Daddy forgot to tie my hair, but there’s this handsome mister who helped me. He tied my hair instead.” You think of punishing Jaehyun later when you get home for forgetting to tie his daughter’s hair. “Oh what a nice mister” you said.

“He called me princess and he told me to tell you that you’re doing good” she explains. You and Taeyong let out a small laugh hearing her explain like that.

You don’t know why hearing what your daughter just said made your heart ache but you didn’t show her. For some reason you felt sad and all of a sudden you feel like crying.

Taeyong finally left and crossed the passage for the last time, the gate is about to self destruct. He was happy and contented for having such good memories with you and his daughter.

11 years later

Your daughter is 18 years old and she’s having her first lead performance tonight at the opera where you used to dance ballet. She was so amazing you and Jaehyun teared up after the curtains fall. Standing ovations, never ending “bravo!” from the audience. You were so proud of her.

“Congratulations baby!” You hugged your daughter and showered her with kisses just like when she was starting to learn ballet. Jaehyun on the other hand is a proud father too, showered her daughter with kisses and hands her the flowers that he got for her.

“Thanks dad! But I thought these are from you...” she showed Jaehyun the beautiful flowers that she’s carrying. “Baby you’re the lead performer, its okay to have lots of flowers!” He said excitedly. “Lets have dinner come on!”

Days after the performance, your daughter decided to go to the flower shop where the flowers has been purchased. She got curious because she never knew who gave it to her, all she wanted to do is to thank that person. “Oh! The buyer was named Lee Taeyong and he instructed to send flowers for every performance you’ll have.” The florist explains.

When she got home, she asked you if you’re familiar with a guy named Lee Taeyong.

Lee Taeyong.

It does sound familiar you said to your daughter however, you just can’t seem to be sure with your thoughts. You think long and hard but decided to just shrug it off. “I’m sorry baby but I dont know any Lee Taeyong” you felt a direct pang of pain in your heart. Your heart knew who Lee Taeyong is. He is the only man you ever loved, showed you how beautiful the world with him in it, and the man who changed your life.

Fin.

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

If you finished this baby of mine, I know its a handful and its not that good but I’ve been wanting to write about so I did. hehe. I hope some enjoyed this, and if you did I’d like to hear from you! Anyways, thank you for reading it. <3

[snkpolls]

SnK Episode 66 Poll Results (for Manga Readers)

The poll closed with 244 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Please note that these are the results for the Manga Readers’ poll. If you wish to see the results for the Anime Only Watchers’ poll, click here.

--

RATE THE EPISODE 238 Responses

“Assault” was a total hit with the fans, with 93.7% of respondents rating it a 4 or 5. Nobody gave the lowest rating this week, and only a couple of people weren’t as impressed with the episode. 

I wasn’t a fan of previous episode but GOD I’M BACK TO HYPE! This episode was so full of awesome scenes that picking just one favourite and one that made me most emotiona seems unfair

Incredible improvement. Almost reminded me of Season 1 with all the impact/shockwave flair at times

Was amazing

THIS IS THE BEST BY FAR AND EVERY CHAPTER IS FREAKING GOOD

It was a banger 

One of the best episodes in the ENTIRE SERIES. At first i was skeptical because the cgi often kept throwing me off but i was PLEASENTLY surprised how fantastic the last episode was

it was awesome

So proud of MAPPA with what they've done so far! Appreciate them! 💕

It was breathtaking and MAPPA did tje manga justice!

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING ACTION MOMENTS WAS YOUR FAVORITE? 237 Responses

Armin making his entrance by blowing up the harbor took the edge this week, with 28.7% most hyped up about the scene. Following closely behind with 26.2% of the vote is Eren using Porco as a nutcracker to eat the War Hammer Titan. 19.8% most enjoyed watching Mikasa fillet Porco’s legs, and 17.3% liked the scene where Sasha and Jean help take down Pieck and the Panzer Unit. 

Jean vs. Pieck was epic!

Levi was so awesome!  It was great hearing his voice again, just everything about him made my day.  this episode was perfect <3

NUTCRACKEREN

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING MOMENTS MADE YOU FEEL THE MOST EMOTIONAL? 237 Responses

To counter the breathtaking action this week, some scenes also brought out our emotions. 25.7% were most affected by Gabi and Falco desperately calling out for Reiner to save Porco and help them. 20.7% felt the same pain as Mikasa as she watched Eren brutally kill another person. 15.6% were pained to see Armin’s reaction to his horrific action of destroying the harbor. At some smaller percentages, people were also emotionally touched by these scenes, in order: Seeing the Panzer unit’s pictures in their cabins, Porco’s desperate pleas for Eren to stop using him to kill Lara Tybur, and Reiner’s continued desire to end his own life. 

Seeing hange onscreen again has added 100 years to my lifespan.

ON A SCALE OF 1-5, HOW EERIE DID YOU FIND THIS IMAGE OF THE WAR HAMMER TITAN? 232 Responses

Overall people weren’t too spectacularly creeped out by the haunting image of the War Hammer Titan at the beginning of the episode. About 45.7% of respondents feel they’ve seen things much creepier, while about 33.7% felt it was more close to the thing of nightmares. 20.7% were simply somewhere in the middle.

REGARDLESS OF HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT GABI’S CHARACTER, HER SEIYUU TRULY WENT ALL IN ON HER SCREAMS FOR REINER. ON A SCALE OF 1-5, HOW BONE CHILLING WAS HER PERFORMANCE? 228 Responses

Gabi’s seiyuu truly sold this scene and the fandom seems to overwhelmingly agree that she did a fantastic job, with nearly 93% of respondents ranking her performance a 4 or 5. Only a small handful were less enthused, finding the screams more annoying than impressive. 

I’m usually a defender of Gabi, but Falco and Gabi’s screaming annoyed the f out of me

SOME FANDOM SPACES SEEM TO BE MORE POSITIVELY RECEPTIVE ABOUT THE CGI IN THIS EPISODE. WHERE DO YOU FALL ON THE SPECTRUM? 225 Responses

After much disappointment in the previous episode’s usage of CGI, people in the fandom are feeling a lot more pleased with it this week, with no one even ranking its usage as a 1. The majority felt that MAPPA did a good job, likely hoping that the trend continues.

I Thought the CGI Section in the opening bits looked incredibly wonky, But after that it was used well.

I've been fairly tepid on the CGI while acknowledging its necessity. However, this episode used in amazingly after I was a bit dissapointed with its use last week. Very satisfied with pretty much everything this episode.

DID MAPPA DO ONYANKOPON JUSTICE? 228 Responses

Onyankopon finally makes his appearance and the fandom is overwhelmingly positive about MAPPA’s character design for him, with just over 87% of respondents either stating they are super happy with the design or that they’re straight up starstruck and in love. Only a small handful felt he could have been done a little better. 

Nailed it! Though I had to come back and see him in the rewatch. Was too focused on Hange and Armin. 

I honestly don’t care as he’s a relatively minor character in the manga

They did onion coupon really damn well

ONION COUPON!!!

He is significantly more bad ass looking than I assumed he would be 

He looks super cool but his voice is too soft. 

He looks even more like Finn than in the manga, and as a John Boyega fan I think that's a good thing!

Onion

Idc about his appearance, hope his character will just be portrayed correctly.

MAPPA HAS AVOIDED KEEPING IN SOME OF THE IMPLICATIONS THAT ZEKE COULD BE WORKING WITH ANYONE BUT MARLEY UP UNTIL THIS POINT. WHAT DO YOU THINK - WILL ANIME ONLY VIEWERS BE THROWN TOTALLY OFF GUARD NEXT WEEK? 223 Responses

One of the joys for some manga readers when the anime seasons are running is seeing the way that our anime-only counterparts react to the story developments. One of the big plot twists next week will be that Zeke was working with Eren/The Survey Corps and people are eagerly anticipating the fan reaction to the revelation. 44.4% feel that anime only watchers will be totally thrown off guard and that MAPPA has done an excellent job of concealing this plot twist. 27.4% feel similarly positive about the fan reactions for this reveal, though a little disappointed there was a bit less room to theorize. 14.8% aren’t sure as they don’t really keep up with anime-only fan reactions, and a few either feel they’ve probably already pieced it together, or just don’t care. 

The Jaw might be down for the count, but jaws will still drop next ep.

I've been watching reactions from anime only people for this season and some are definitely putting together correctly that Zeke is in on the plan.

I listen to an “Anime only” podcast Where are you they literally called Zeke working with Paradis, but I’m not sure about others. 

I've already seen several theorize that Zeke is working with Paradis. The suspicious nature of his death in this episode clinched it for some of them.

Some of them will be surprised, but the ones who watch the anime more carefully and like to think about things most likely know that Zeke might work with Paradis.

MAPPA ADDED PICTURES OF THE PANZER UNIT TO THE INSIDE OF THEIR CABINS. DO YOU THINK THIS MADE THEIR DEATHS MORE EMOTIONAL? 227 Responses

A small addition, but impactful nonetheless. 53.7% felt more saddened about the Panzer Unit’s deaths after seeing how strong their bond with each other was (or, alternatively, how hard all of the boys simped after Pieck). 37.4% agree that it added just a little more depth to the characters, though it ultimately didn’t do anything to move them too much emotionally. A handful don’t care or were just salty about the addition in general. 

Their screen time was short in general. It was a nice touch, definitely made me pause to get a better look and feel a bit bad for them.

That, and them screaming for Pieck as they get blown up :( amazing additions. 

I gotta be honest, I didn't even notice until I saw this question. I was too busy screaming over Sasha being amazing. It's a nice addition though.

Yes. It shows that the marleyan warriors were not emotionless monsters, but they had their lives, families, friends and were normal people overall. I felt really sorry for them. 

I didn't notice until I saw this question, but I do think it adds to the sadness. 

I was upset by their deaths because they and Pieck were a team and looked out for each other

I loved to see it! It really added more to their characters. The entire Panzer unit being Pieck simps, that is. 

They cut out the scene where the bullet actually HIT Carlo.

it just shows once again how complicated attack on titan is and how much their actions have consequences. no side is innocent

ON A SCALE OF 1-5, HOW DISAPPOINTED ARE YOU THAT MAPPA CUT THE PANEL OF PORCO SANDWICHED BETWEEN BURGER-CONSUMING PIECK AND COFFEE-DRINKING ZEKE? 225 Responses

In the manga, we see a shot of Porco having a meal with Pieck and Zeke while he becomes distraught over the assault on his comrades. MAPPA omitted it, though for the most part fans didn’t really seem to care. Only about 21% of respondents felt something was missing without the small flashback, while the rest were indifferent or felt it never really fit in anyway.

ON A SCALE OF 1-5, HOW HAPPY ARE YOU ABOUT THE INCLUSION OF AN EXTRA LINE FROM PIECK TELLING FALCO TO RUN AWAY? 228 Responses

As expected of the fandom, they agree that any new Pieck content is good content. Even though it was a small one-liner addition, the vast majority were very pleased with MAPPA’s scripting of this moment. Only a small handful felt it was unnecessary.

EREN USING PORCO AS A NUTCRACKER WAS SOMETHING THAT SURPRISED A LOT OF US WHEN THE CORRESPONDING CHAPTER WAS PUBLISHED. WHICH MEDIU, DO YOU THINK THE SCENE HAD A BIGGER IMPACT IN? 227 Responses

A rare occurrence, but the fandom seems to agree that MAPPA excelled at adapting this scene and made it even more impactful than it was in the manga, with nearly 50% stating that they preferred the anime’s take on this moment. 35.7% feel that the impact was of equal strength in both mediums, and only 10.1% still prefer the original manga portrayal. 

I feel like the anime dragged it out a little bit and some angles were meh bc the cgi was more noticeable. I'll have to go back to the chapter to see how many panels were dedicated to the scene

Porco's seiyuu SOLD it. 

I think both are pretty equal but hearing Porco scream and beg for Eren to stop made it a bit more nerve racking.

titan eren’s face during the nutcracker bit was legit terrifying in a way I can’t quite explain 

The music, the voice acting, the scary CGI attack Titan. This scene was impeccably strong! I give it 100%

I felt more surprised in the manga because i didnt expect it, but in the anime porcos reaction made it more horrifying 

Hearing Porco made it even more impactful

Ngl, I was much more grossed out watching it animated than in manga form. Just all that blood and the swallowing...*shudders*

Eren was absolutely in the right here

The swallowing noises and the weird thick blood was absolutely disgusting 10/10

PIECK AND JEAN ARE CURRENTLY WORKING TOWARD THE SAME GOAL OF KILLING EREN IN CURRENT MANGA EVENTS. DO YOU THINK SHE’S FORGIVEN HIM FOR HIS CONTRIBUTION TO THE ATTACK ON HER AND THE PANZER UNIT DURING THE EVENTS OF THE LIBERIO ATTACK? 225 Responses

Unrelated to the episode itself, but remembering that Jean was partially responsible for the deaths of people Pieck loved was something that had us thinking, and we were curious what others thought as well. 39.1% feel that Pieck would never be able to forgive Jean for his part in the assault, but is big enough to move on and leave it in the past. 25.3% don’t want to make a call either way, as Isayama hasn’t done much to explore this facet of her character. 14.2% feel she’s moved past it completely and has forgiven Jean for his role. Smaller percentages either felt she doesn’t hold him responsible at all, or that she will always resent him and is only working with him insofar as to reach her own goals. 

It's war.

dont care fuck pieck

I mean there's no indication that Isayama has even considered this in my opinion so the answer is completely speculative. So like my answer is "She forgot and moved on" :D

She still has a pain in her heart after losing the Panzer Unit, they were her friends after all. But Pieck is smart and she understand why Jean did that. Also, the world is in fire so she doesn't have a time to think about it now.  

The Alliance characters are not allowed to keep grudges (thought at least it fits for Pieck)

The scene with Panzer Unit was so powerful in anime that it detroyed all my Jeanpiku hopes I had after the last chapter :’) I think Pieck could come to an understanding and blame others more than Jean but I’m not sure if she’s ready to fully forgive

I think that Pieck doesn't hold Jean responsible, understanding that it wasn't personal and just counts it as a tragedy from the war.

Pieck seems to be really understanding character and full of empathy. She’ll forgive Jean as soon as he shows he’s sorry for what happened (and he probably really is as long as he hates the idea of killing people)

WHICH SCENE FROM THE PREVIEW ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? 233 Responses

We’ve got a heavy episode coming, and a number of things to look forward to. As expected, 40.8% are most anticipating the scene where Sasha dies by Gabi’s gunshot. 31.3% are looking forward to seeing Levi confront and arrest Eren. 23.6% are most looking forward to the big reveal that Zeke was working with Eren all along. Only a small handful are looking forward to the Gabi and Falco content before they board the blimp. 

I'm NOT ready for the next ep...

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS ON THE EPISODE?

This is where the fun begins both in anime only reactions and in seeing fantastic scenes brought to life.  

So good. Chills everywhere. Watched it so many times and still getting chills. The 3 minute sequence starting from Armin blowing up the port up to Pieck falling from the rooftop is mindblowingly good. Perfection. 

I remember being really sad when the WHT left the plot so quickly in the manga because it had the best titan design imo. I know we've seen her again in the recent chapters, but the WHT was even better with Lara seen controlling it. She looked so cool, calm and collected in that crystal the whole time. RIP Lara Tybur :( 

Ost are awesome !

Thought it was the best episode of season 4 so far. They kinda gave Hange the mappa egg head syndrome in their first full face shot though. 

It was phenomenal!! And really, if people still don't understand why Gabi goes off, they have their head in the clouds. Everything was so visceral and I genuinely felt fear for the warriors. It moved so quickly just back to back; I could taste the kids desperation. 

I think ending the episode with Reiner transformed is misleading yet strategic since it will tear apart the audience in the next episode.

This was the best episode by far! For a long time I couldn't get over how awesome the attack on Fort Slava in the first episode was and it remained my favorite, but this episode potrayed the war so well and you could totally feel the terror of the war with them!

So, so, so, so good. I was surprised by how emotional I got over it. Mappa is really making everything hit so hard!

Loved the episode! I believe this adaptation has even improved on some scenes (like Armin's tranformation and Gabi's screams), the ost and voice acting give it so much more power and the CGI looks better than in previous episodes. Really looking forward to ep 8 and the little surprises Mappa will give us with it 

This episode was really great, the 1st to get me truly hyped. I was very disappointed last episode because it felt very underwhelming was I watched it, so much so I didn't even want to participate in the poll last week because there was enough negativity about it out there and I didn't want to add to it. After staying away from others opinions and having watched this week's episode i gave 65 a rewatch and I honestly think it's a good episode, with small flaws here and there. I guess all the negativity can really affect how we perceive this adaptation. I realized I watched that whole episode looking for any moment mappa had messed up, moments that I knew people would complain about. This week I didn't and I enjoyed it a lot more. So even though it may not be like this for everyone, distancing yourself from all of the exaggerated "criticism" might just make you enjoy and appreciate it a lot more. 

I still strongly dislike how the CG Attack Titan looks but this episode looked MUCH better than the previous one and was even better lit, IMO. Armin looked beautiful, the colossal titan looked amazing and Levi looked the best he's ever looked to me. JEAN! He looked so good and so did Sasha! I absolutely love the character design this season and everyone looked fantastic. Loved it!

makes me wish porco hadnt died 

I think that I was so disappointed with the previous episode that I just lowered the bar. Either way I enjoyed this episode. I'm still very disappointed with the music choices and much they faded in the background even during climate scenes. But I did feel a lot better about the CGI specially since the barely used it in this episode aside from the titans. Oh man I cant wait the anime fandom reaction to Sasha getting shot. 

The episode was much better than the previous one. I loved it. I loved the moment of horrifying silence after WHT was eaten. The lack of music made the scene more serious and dreadful. Gabi's seiyuu made an excellent work as well. I didn't know I was going to say that but I think that Armin is pretty hot. In the manga he still has his cute baby looks, but MAPPA made his appearance more mature. Now I feel jealous of Annie ;P

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 215 Responses

Thank you again to everyone who participated!

[currywaifu]

𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: barbie movies as troupe plays part 1 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: sfw

𝐚𝐧: if you think i won’t do all 36 barbie movies, you’re wrong. regardless of whether people want this or not. i have barbie brainrot 24/7. i’m just separating it into parts so it’s not too long *this isn’t meant to be that serious y’all my reasons vary from legit to just jokes

𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥: i won’t go in-depth with any plot differences from movie to play, or how the characters would work out... for now *chuckles in future ppt*

𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟏: nutcracker, rapunzel, swan lake, princess and the pauper, fairytopia series, magic of pegasus, barbie diaries, island princess, three musketeers 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟐: coming soon 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟑: coming soon

𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐞: mixed troupe! spring x autumn. one of the seasonal events/scouts for A3! has a nutcracker theme, and to avoid spoilers that’s all i will say :3

𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭: since this is based on barbie’s take on the nutcracker, changing up the cast from what tsuzuru had in plan:

clara/sugarplum fairy: sakuya. i want to see him go through a costume & hair transformation sequence, not gonna lie. 

nutcracker/prince eric: juza. obviously he has to be the ruler of the land of sweets.

mouse king: sakyo or chikage. i want one of them to wave around a sceptre and say quotes like “i’ll reduce the Nutcracker to a pile of splinters"

pimm: taichi... pimm is a spy :O who has to do dirty work :O but the real reason is i just want taichi to follow around sakyo again or maybe even chikage this time lol

major mint & captain candy: tsuzuru and citron respectively. mint is pretty serious and awkward, candy is a lot friendlier- i just think it’ll be a good way to insert some humor in the play

𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐞: mixed troupe! summer x autumn.

𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭: rapunzel in this one actually is the “servant” of gothel. also, rapunzel has a magical paint brush and also there’s dragons. who are purple. 

rapunzel: kazunari. obviously. actually, kazu has a lot of similarities with her: a good artist, patient, adventurous, quick thinking, hardly ever complains- also he’d look good with long hair i think ><

gothel: omi. there is an action fighto scene + also just the theme of omi playing villains lol... also THERE’S A SCENE WHERE GOTHEL PRETENDS TO BE RAPUNZEL BY WEARING A LONG WIG AND BOI- KAZU AND OMI’S BODY BUILDS ARE SO DIFFERENT BUT IT’D BE FUNNY IF THE PRINCE FALLS FOR THE TRAP ANYWAY

penelope: kumon. a PURPLE funny and clumsy dragon- fight me, the only answer is kumon especially once you see who’s next.

hugo: juza. a PURPLE dragon who’s penelope’s dad but he’s gonna be the older bro in this one (i wonder why...) 

hobie: a passive and worrisome rabbit... Tenma.

prince stefan: he also has a couple fight scenes... ngl bc stefan has blue eyes, light brown hair + described by the wiki as “fierce”, he’s banri. 

𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐞: winter troupe. i will stand by this forever. 

𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭: this is like one of the ones i’ve had figured out for a while already...

odette & odile: tsumugi. i’m just saying, tsumugi’s duality- he can do both the white and black swan because he has power. impact.

prince daniel: not tasuku bc spare him the prince roles he’s sick of it. guy. why guy? because he obviously has a good idea of how to act like a prince :3 

rothbart: HOMARE! I WANT! THIS MAN! TO PLAY THE ANTOGONIST! GO OFF ABOUT DARK ARTS! TRANSFORM EVERYONE TO ANIMALS LIKE THE EXTRA BEING YOU ARE.

fairy queen: azuma. ugh just- imagining how ethereal he’d look.

erasmus: tasuku. he’s a troll that can act mean, but is genuinely kind and helpful... also, the VA of erasumus is also the VA for “unnamed burly villager” and i’m just saying-

kelly the cygnet: hisoka. there’s too many animal children, so hisoka is gonna be the baby swan. uwu. also, kelly has a quote, “I can't sleep.” and wOW THE IRONY

𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐞: WE’RE GOING FOR THE COMEDIC ROUTE WHAT’S UP SUMMER. reason: i went “wait... no actor really looks super alike though.”

𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭: tafahfuoahoaf it’s my favourite barbie movie... OKAY SO THE RUNNING GAG OF THIS IS THAT THE PRINCESS & PAUPER DON’T LOOK ALIKE, BUT EVERYONE KEEPS GOING “Wow! you two look so identical!” no they don’t

anneliese: muku. first of all please look at the sprite i used in the header. anneliese = pink = muku. she’s the sweet princess archetype... but in this version she also goes on tangents about rocks and mineraLS AND HOW THE MINING INDUSTRY SUX AND THE ABSOLUTE AUDACITY OF-

erika: kumon. first of all, the sprite in the header again. erika = blue like ugh this is perfect. ALSO erika has a cat who BARKS and i just imagine kumon talking to her cat like: WOOF WOOF WOOF GRRR GRRR and the dog responding and everyone in the palace going wtf

king dominick: i had such a crush on him anyway he’s tenma. rich, young, talented king who disguises himself as a page so he can find love for realsies. im just saying. he won’t be tenma’s only role tho ><

julian: kazunari. the wiki went “he’s the only bestfriend a barbie MC ever married” really shook me like ugh friendship dynamic between muku and kazu roles??? also kazu’s genuinely smart so him as the tutor was just gucci in my eyes

preminger: misumi. FIRST OF ALL PREMINGER IS ICONIC? WHEN HE SANG HOW CAN I REFUSE I WAS LIKE UGH KING. i just wanna hear misumi play an antagonist that’s also funny and do things with his voice.

madame carp: yuki. a bossy and rich woman who owns a dress emporium. pretty much it.

nick & nack: YUKI AND TENMA. THEY WILL DOUBLE ROLE FOR THE SAKE OF BEING MISUMI’S DUMB UNDERLING DUO

𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐞: spring troupe. i wanna see them have wings uwu.

𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭: just gonna combine the whole fairytopia series into one 

elina: itaru. first of all, pink motif. also i just like the idea of itaru being this recurring protagonist.

bibble the puffball played by kamekichi

laverna: recurring villain citron. for no reason other than i think it’s cool when he plays power hungry villains

enchantress: i just want sakuya to play a role that’s more of a “powerful character” but still really kind uwu. another recurring good guy.

azura & glee: tsuzuru. elina is azura’s apprentice, and glee is a friend who’s generally really happy... ngl, i wanna see tsuzuru play someone more energetic for funsies

nori: masumi. nori is kind of a stubborn and jealous person at first, him and elina won’t get along right away BUT DAMMIT THE ENEMIES? TO FRIENDS IS GUCCI!!! 

merman prince nalu & linden: chikage... yeah i just gave chikage the guy roles ngl... but i wanna see chikage as a handsome merman AND handsome fairy so *shrugs*

𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐞: cross troupe. spring x winter.

𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭: partially based on the ice-skating cards (i have yet to read the event story, unfortunately).

annika: tsuzuru. i thought it’d be fun to cast tsuzuru as a more sheltered character due to annika’s parents’ protectiveness. the contrast y’all.

shiver: sakuya. shiver is a polar bear cub sidekick who’s friendly and likes shiny things and that’s just... really cute... put bear ears on sakuya...

brietta: guy. brietta is annika’s older sister... who got transformed into a pegasus by the villain... i wonder how they’d change the pegasus thing lol

wenlock: tasuku. NOT GONNA LIE- i want tasuku to play the villain for all these wonderful one-liners: "Oh, smile! You didn't lose a daughter; you've gained a pet!", and "I thank my lucky stars I didn't marry you!"

prince aidan: masumi bc i want more roomie interaction on stage i mean their friendship keeps getting cuter and cuter.

cloud queen: azuma... that’s all. i just remembered her bc her hair has a braided crown, and i went “azuma braided hair brainrot”

𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐞: mixed troupe! summer x autumn.

𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭: i was gonna make it full autumn, but then the age casting felt awkward since they’re in high school...

barbie: taichi. barbie here is shy but wants to stop blending in the background! i just went “damn that do be resonating”. also i wanna hear taichi sing more y’all and barbie is a singer/guitarist here

courtney: azami. i like the idea of azami playing a spunky character who’s more of a tomboy, but still does like fashion and accessorising and... lip gloss?

tia: misumi? tenma? idk the intelligent and passionate archetype is very broad... especially in a high school setting

kevin: kazunari. just the whole best friend thing + kevin being a goofy person who loves to make ppl laugh ugh

racquelle: yuki. i know racquelle’s a bully here and say not to bullying... but sharp tongue.

todd: honestly? todd was so boring in the moving. we need someone like banri to give him CHARACTER!... yes that’s my reasoning ugh

𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐞: sUMMER SUMMER SUMMER-

𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭: AHAHAHA WHAT IS THIS CASTING? MY REASONINGS FOR THIS ONE IN PARTICULAR ARE SO SHALLOW LMAO

ro/rosella: “a 16 year old girl who can talk to animals! adventurous and brave” me: *gasps* mISUMI-

prince antonio: “prince antonio loves travelling and exploring-” okay yeah it’s kazu...

queen ariana: i just want yuki to sing to me��“love is for peasants which we’re obviously not” and i’d go :O also ngl... i wanna see yuki in like darker palettes and plotting to poison all the royals

princess luciana: queen ariana’s daughter... played by muku. because i wanna hear muku counter yuki with “all the shoujo mangas books i’ve read, all the poems always said, that the heart is made to share...”

sagi the red panda & azul the peacock: honestly, just basing it off of colour matching but tenma is sagi and kumon is azul lol

𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐞: AUTUMN x SPRING

𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭: AHAHAHA WHAT IS THIS CASTING? pt 2 

corrine: i keep wanting to put sakuya in these roles oops. i just... let him sword fight on stage again :>

viveca: purple musketeer, artistic, designs clothes... fights with ribbons... you know, for the sake of banri being a fAshIoNisTa... it has to be banri y’all "Don't mess with the animal print dress!"

aramina: green musketeer, fights with fans, romantic and loves ballet... pfft, for the sake of “wouldn’t it be funny-” it has to be azami. poor bby, having to swoon over romance on stage- he can’t relate

renee: chikage. purely because of that scene where she threw a feather duster (?) at a flying shard of glass and perfectly hit it. yeah.

helene: the old and strict instructor that teaches them how to be musketeers... sakyo.. duh.

philippe: the main antagonist... it has to be omi again. and since philippe has a goatee, we’re bringing back facial hair omi~

prince louis: itaru, lol. he’s like the one significant non-action oriented character in the film. he has just enough moments where itaru still looks princely, but mostly? he just wants humans to fly y’all.

want to order again?

[olliepig]

Centre Stage - chapter 9

As ever, massive thanks to beta extraordinaire @willow-salix for all her help on this. 

The whole fic can also be found on AO3 here. 

************************

“Not wanting to be rude, but can I just ask why there’s so much glitter everywhere?” Selene enquired, ignoring Scott’s snort of laughter as she took in the dressing room surfaces that were all caked in a fine sheen, carefully selecting a seat that seemed relatively free from the worst of it.

“Ugh, it's from The Nutcracker. Sorry, it gets everywhere,” Cat apologised, undoing the ribbons of her shoes and starting to pull bits of tape off her toes. “We'll finally get rid of it all in about October and have a few weeks of respite before we start all over again. I was vaguely sparkly til about February this year which was a new record. Some of it comes home with me every day so just be careful where you lean or sit.”

“Thanks for the warning, I’m not sure glitter is the best look for me,” Selene laughed.

“Yeah, it doesn’t exactly go with the all black, scary witch look does it?” Scott jested, dodging the pointe shoe that Cat had just handed to Selene for the express purpose of lobbing at him.

Virgil and Cat exchanged smiles and rolled eyes as their companions bickered good naturedly, knowing that their earlier peace had been well and truly shattered.

“So, how was it this afternoon then?” Scott asked, effectively changing the subject as he casually flung himself into a chair and made himself at home.

“It was great, wasn’t it?” Cat replied, turning to smile warmly at Virgil as she wondered fondly how Scott somehow always managed to look like he owned the place no matter where he went or what he was doing

“Yeah, Lily had a great time and she’s really excited about seeing the show tonight so I think we made a little girl very happy,” Virgil elaborated.

“I think so,” Cat agreed. “She’s a good little dancer too. She did really well so it’ll be interesting to see how she gets on as she gets older.”

“Do you think you’ll keep in touch with her?” Selene asked, spotting some costumes on a rail in the corner and heading over to investigate, quickly followed by Scott.

“I don’t know,” Cat admitted, looking up as she massaged her foot absentmindedly, trying to release some of the knots in the muscles now that her long day of rehearsals was finally over. “I’d like to but it might depend on circumstances a little. I’m not sure how much I could actually do to help her at this stage aside from some private coaching, but it’s not something I’ve ever done before so I wouldn't know where to start.”

“I’m sure she’d love whatever help you could give,” Scott encouraged, pulling a tutu out from the costume rail and holding it up against himself. “How do I look?”

“Like an idiot,” Virgil declared, turning back to Cat before anyone else could speak. “Based on today, I’d say you’d be a great coach. You did so well with Lily and her mom told me that you were the best teacher she’d had so it’s not just me saying that either.”

“You’re too kind,” Cat blushed, busying herself in her task to avoid having to make eye contact with anyone, uncomfortable with the praise.

“Not at all,” Virgil pressed. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a more patient teacher myself either, so it’s not all one sided.”

“Wait, what?” Scott spluttered incredulously before Cat had a chance to answer, his brain catching up with the implication of what Virgil had just said. “Cat was teaching you, too? I thought this was about Lily getting to be a fairy for the day, not you getting ballet lessons?”

“It was,” Virgil explained equably, rather enjoying his brother's response. “But she was worried that Cat would feel left out if she was dancing with Mark so I agreed to be Cat’s prince for a while.”

“He was very good at it too,” Cat continued, throwing a big smile at Virgil. “Next time I need a partner, I definitely know who I’m gonna call.”

Despite initially feeling that dancing so closely with his brother's girlfriend was perhaps crossing a line that he wasn’t very comfortable with, in the end Virgil had thoroughly enjoyed his time in the studio. It had come as no surprise to him that ballet was nowhere near as easy as Cat made it look; during the afternoon, he had discovered muscles that he didn't even know existed and a nagging suspicion was growing that they would all be aching in the morning.

“I did nearly knock you over a couple of times though,” he grimaced, remembering the shriek Cat had let out as she’d overbalanced and nearly fallen.

“You’ve still got a better record than Mark some days,” Cat laughed as her foot let out a loud crack. “He’s dropped me so many times that I’ve given up even counting any more.”

“OK then big guy,” Selene piped up, jumping up and holding out her hand “Show me some of your moves.”

A knock on the door interrupted any answer, quickly swinging open to reveal one of the ballet masters from the company, on the hunt for Cat.

“Sorry to bother you when you’ve got guests,” Gary started apologetically, nodding a greeting to the other occupants of the room, his eyes widening slightly as he realised who they were. “Irina’s back has just spasmed and she’s out for tonight. Steven was wondering if there’s any chance you could step in for her?”

“Of course,” Cat answered without hesitation, her eyes meeting Scott’s in a brief apology before turning back to her colleague. “Is she OK?”

Having three guests who had travelled a long way to go out for dinner and drinks that night complicated things slightly, but there had been no question in her mind as to whether she would do it. Injuries that meant a missed performance weren’t that common but they were a hazard of the job and it was up to the rest of the company to pull together when they occurred.

“She’ll be fine in a few days. It seems to be nothing that some rest and heat won’t solve,” Gary informed her, watching her shrewdly, knowing what was likely going through her mind.

“Well that’s something at least,” she agreed as she began to wind her hair back into a bun, relieved that nothing more serious had happened.

“Do you think we’d be able to get tickets for tonight?” Virgil asked, glancing over to Scott and Selene and receiving matching nods of agreement.

“I’m not sure,” Gary replied. “I think it’s a full house but I can check it with the box office and if there’s no availability, we can arrange for you to watch from the wings, seeing as it’s exceptional circumstances.”

“That would be great, thanks,” Selene smiled, sitting herself back down and wondering what happened next.

“Right, is there a studio available?” Cat asked, taking charge of the conversation, her mind already running through what she would need to do in order to be ready to perform in a few hours’ time. “I’ve not danced it with Ivan before so we’ll need to run a few things before the show.”

“The Ashton is free for you,” Gary advised, his hand already on the door handle. “He should be on his way up there by now so just pop up as soon as you’re ready.”

“Perfect,” Cat acknowledged, giving Gary a nod as he took his leave before turning to her companions. “Sorry about this. It’s not exactly how I thought we’d be spending the evening. You guys are more than welcome to still go for dinner if you want and I can catch you up later?”

“Don’t be silly, of course we’ll stay and support you,” Scott told her, placing a quick kiss on her cheek, keen not to disturb her too much as she grabbed her phone and started typing out a quick message. “If there’s anyone in the world that knows a thing or two about plans being derailed by work, it’s us, so you really don’t need to worry.”

“Agreed,” Selene added. “Anyway, I’ve always fancied a night at the ballet so it’s worked out pretty well if you ask me.”

“Definitely,” Virgil nodded his agreement. “I wouldn't miss it for the world.”

“What’re we actually going to be watching tonight?” Selene asked, watching Scott carefully as he hovered around, clearly with something to say.

“Coppelia,” Cat replied absently, finishing the text she was sending and grabbing a nearby bag, tipping several pairs of pointe shoes onto the floor before joining them herself, her mind working overtime trying to decide which ones she should wear that night.

“But that’s three acts,” Scott cried, his horrified tone making her look up in surprise as he crouched down beside her. “Are you sure you’re going to be OK doing that?”

“I’ll be fine,” Cat reassured, slipping a hand around the back of his neck and pulling him toward her, their foreheads resting together in a pose that had always brought them comfort. “I’ve just messaged Mark asking him if he’ll grab me some dinner from the canteen and there’s only a couple of pas de deux that I need to go through with Ivan so it shouldn’t take long. Then I can have a bit of a rest before I need to start getting ready.”

“OK, well, so long as you’re sure,” Scott conceded, pulling back to allow her continue what she had been doing.

“It’s not the first time I’ve stepped in at the last minute, nor will it be the last,” Cat smiled, seeing the tension leaving Scott’s shoulders as he continued to sit beside her, now idly playing with the ribbons from a pair of discarded shoes.

Selene and Virgil exchanged looks, impressed at how Cat had seamlessly handled Scott’s overprotective nature.

“Is this something that you have to do quite a lot?” Virgil queried, interested to find out more of the workings of the company now that the tension had died down a little.

“Every so often,” Cat shrugged, finally finding a pair of shoes that she thought would do her for the evening, quickly slipping them on and tying the ribbons as she spoke. “We have multiple casts for every ballet as well as understudies so there’s always going to be someone around to take over if an injury happens. My main concern just now is that I’ve not danced the bloody thing for about six weeks so I might be a bit rusty in places.”

“How do you remember all the steps?” Selene asked as Cat shouldered her bag and hustled them out of the room, handing Scott a rehearsal tutu to carry as she did so.

“Muscle memory,” Cat shrugged, as they made their way down the corridor towards the studios. “We do so much practice that when the music starts you don’t even need to really think about it. In an ideal world, we’d have a chance to run the whole thing before going on tonight but that’s not going to happen.”

She paused as the lift doors slid open, waiting for everyone to get in before continuing, shooting a quick smile of reassurance at Scott as she spoke.

“I do need to have a break at some point so I’ll just need to think my way through it. In the past, I’ve just listened to the music and it’s all come back so I’ll probably do that tonight. It’s like rehearsing but without the sore feet,” she laughed, pleased to see that at least Virgil and Selene were nodding along as if they understood her, even if Scott looked slightly lost.

“Visualisation is such a powerful thing,” Selene agreed as the lift let out a loud ding, signalling their arrival.

“Yeah, it’s great,” Cat smiled, leading them through more corridors and past an impressive looking fitness suite that had Scott and Virgil wishing they could stay and investigate it further. “It was something we were taught at school and I remember thinking it was complete rubbish at the time but the older I’ve got, the more invaluable it’s become.”

“Is that cos you’re getting a bit creaky now?” Scott teased, dodging a well-aimed elbow from Cat.

“You tell me, old man,” she shot back to sniggers from Virgil and Selene. “If I’m creaky, that must make you practically geriatric.”

“Shocking,” Scott countered, clutching his hand to his heart. “That’s no way to talk to your elders.”

“Oh, shut it, you,” Cat grinned, pushing open a heavy door and ushering them into a large, airy studio, nodding a greeting to the young Russian dancer already present who was to be her partner for the night.  

Wondering what she had done to deserve such a supportive boyfriend and surrogate family, Cat could only smile as she watched them taking their seats at the front of the studio before turning back to her task, pushing all other thoughts out of her mind.

-x-

“Do you think they’ll get the flowers delivered in time?” Selene asked quietly as they waited outside the dressing room for Cat to emerge, all three of them having been kicked out while she got into her first costume for the night.

“I hope so,” Scott replied, checking his watch as a nearby speaker announced that it was fifteen minutes until curtain up. “They’ve never let me down before but I’ve never had to order them on the day of the show either so I don’t know.”

“Is it just me or are they five minutes early?” Virgil asked, his own watch showing twenty minutes until the show was due to start.

“Maybe they’ve met you at some point?” quipped Selene with a wink.  

“It’s a theatre thing,” Scott replied knowingly, cutting his brother off before he could defend himself against the accusation levelled at him. “I don’t really know why but apparently it’s just how it’s done.” “Theatre folk are weird,” Selene agreed with a shrug just as the door behind her opened, revealing Cat looking every inch the ballerina that she was. “No offence,” she added, turning to the dancer.

“None taken,” Cat accepted smoothly. “Shall we get going then?”

Scott smiled, her hand warm as she slipped it into his on their way down to the stage. He could hear his brother's voice from somewhere behind him as they crossed the giant scenery dock, telling Selene about some of the scenery that he had no doubt been looking at earlier in the day. It almost seemed funny to him that these surroundings no longer seemed strange to him when he had only been a part of this world through his association with Cat for a few months less than a year.

“How’re you feeling?” he murmured as they made their way ever closer to the double doors that would lead directly to the stage.

“Bit nervous,” Cat admitted, grateful for the immediate squeeze of support that he gave her. “There’s a lot of people out there tonight and I don’t want to let them down.”

“You’ll be brilliant,” Scott reassured her. “I don’t just think, I KNOW you’ve got this nailed down in your head so just go out there, enjoy yourself and the story will shine through.”

“Thanks,” Cat smiled. “What would I do without you to support me?”

“Exactly what you did before you met me,” Scott grinned. “You’d go out and absolutely smash it because that’s what you do best.”

Unable to argue, Cat just smiled as they reached the heavy doors, letting Scott hold them open as they waited for Virgil and Selene to catch up. Entering the darkness of backstage, it took a moment for their eyes to fully adjust as Cat led the way behind the stage, greeting other dancers as she went.

Virgil found himself completely transfixed by the cathedral like space before him. Everywhere he looked, there was something else demanding his attention. A beautifully detailed town square stood on the stage, illuminated by row upon row of lights hanging on battens high above as dancers clustered in groups performed stretches that made him hurt just to look at, while others warmed up turns and lifts on the stage, hidden from view of the audience by a pair of enormous red curtains.

“This place is amazing,” he whispered to Scott as they walked, letting the girls go on ahead. “I can’t believe you never told me how huge it was.”

“I never really thought about it,” admitted Scott. “The first time I was here I was a bit distracted by a certain someone, and then it just became normal I guess and I stopped really noticing it.”

“Trust you,” Selene called over her shoulder while Cat did her best to stifle a laugh.

Unrepentant, Scott just grinned back, standing by his statement as Virgil shook his head helplessly, knowing that his brother was unlikely to ever change.

“I’m going to have to leave you guys here I’m afraid,” Cat informed them, a member of stage management appearing to usher her guests to their seats in the wings.

“Good luck,” Selene told her, giving her a quick hug, the nervous energy of her friend crackling around her.

“Break a leg,” Virgil added, giving her a hug that she was almost certain could crush the air out of her entirely if he wanted.

Watching as Scott wordlessly took her in his arms, their foreheads pressed together once more, Selene squinted slightly, revealing the black aura surrounding the dancer slowly becoming blue and then red as his presence calmed and grounded her, releasing the nerves and replacing them with focus for the job ahead.

All too soon, Scott had to let go, a final few whispered words of encouragement finding their way to her before she was gone, moving into her world on the stage. His eyes tracked her every move as he was ushered away, feeling strangely like she was going somewhere he could never follow.

“She’ll be fine,” Selene reassured him as they took their seats, seeing the way that his brow was knitted together in worry. “I think you’re more worried than she is.”

“I know,” Scott sighed. “It’s just hard knowing that there’s nothing I can do to help.”

“You’ve already done more for her than you know,” she smiled, giving him a reassuring pat on the leg. The atmosphere continued to crackle around her, reaching a crescendo as the stage was cleared, the unmistakable sound of the orchestra beginning to filter through the giant curtains that separated them from the public spaces of the theatre.

A hush fell on the wings as the overture played, the chatting and joking between colleagues that had been going on around them now replaced by focus as everyone concentrated on their particular roles to ensure the performance went off without a hitch. Sitting quietly, Scott couldn’t take his eyes off Cat as she stood talking quietly with Ivan, hands flying animatedly as they illustrated their discussion, clearly still working out some of the finer details for their performance. When the conversation was over, a quick hug and high five preceded his departure, heading purposefully around the back of the stage and leaving her alone, looking somehow smaller and more fragile than he thought she ever had.

As the whir of machinery beside them signalled the lifting of the curtains, he watched as she took a deep breath, calming her breathing before reaching down to check her shoes one final time. A few steps back and forward on pointe seemed to relax her as she listened intently to the music, waiting for the exact right moment to open the door of the set in front of her and disappear into her domain, a round of applause from the audience greeting her arrival.

-x-

It was a different Cat that greeted them at the end of the curtain calls, flying into Scott’s open arms for an all too brief embrace before being swept away again, a multitude of friends and colleagues demanding her attention as she rode the adrenaline high of a job well done.

“How is she even still upright after that?” Virgil wondered, thinking back to his own brief experiences in the studio earlier in the day and how exhausting they had been.

“Sheer bloodyminded determination,” Scott replied knowingly, watching her fondly as she talked to the director of the company, experience telling him that it wouldn’t be long after they got back home that she’d crash completely, likely falling asleep curled up next to him, her head balanced on his shoulder. “At least she said that today had been an easy day.”

“I think her exact words were ‘only five hours of rehearsals’,” Selene chipped in. “Remind me to talk to both of you at some point about what the word ‘easy’ actually means, because I’m not sure either of you understand it properly.”

“Well, the rehearsal I saw certainly looked pretty tiring,” Virgil agreed as Scott good naturedly rolled his eyes at her, the memory of the panting heap of dancers that followed their performance of the pas de deux earlier still fresh in his mind.

“Ya know,” Selene added, a glint appearing in her eye. “If she’s able to do that after dancing all day, I think she might actually be fitter than any of you guys.”

“You’re probably right there,” Scott agreed cheerfully as invited guests who had been seated in the auditorium began to filter onto the stage, their eyes wide with wonder at the sheer scale of it, suddenly remembering when that had been him.

Spotting Cat now deep in conversation with a woman and child, Selene nudged Virgil who had become distracted and was closely inspecting one of the lighting booms standing in the wings. “Is that Lily and her mum over there?”

“Sure is,” he smiled, enjoying seeing her excitement as she inspected Cat’s tutu and headdress, delicately reaching out to touch the material as if it might break.

“Should we go and say hello?” Scott asked.

“Give them a few minutes,” Virgil advised. “She’s so excited about meeting the dancers and I don’t want to distract her attention. They’ve earned it.”

“Good call,” Scott agreed, watching his girl with interest as she hurried into the wings, returning a few moments later with a pair of pointe shoes and presenting them to Lily as a souvenir of the night.

“She’s good with her, isn’t she?” Selene mused as the girl’s squeals of delight carried across the stage to them.

“She's been great all day,” Virgil agreed. “She’ll be a brilliant coach one day, I’m sure of it.”

Scott nodded his agreement, wondering why he’d never even considered what Cat might do once her career on the stage was over. He’d always known that dancers careers were short and that Cat would kill him if he even suggested that she might be more than halfway through hers already, but what might happen next was something that they’d never thought to discuss before.  

“There was something I wanted to talk to you about actually,” Virgil said, cutting into a daydream of her no longer being tied to London and moving to the island with him. “It’s not directly related but I think it might be something she might be interested in.”

His interest piqued, Scott’s attention snapped to his brother, wondering what he was about to suggest. “Go on.”

“Well, we had a pretty good chat earlier about funding for the arts and ballet in particular, and she said that there was a real issue with access for kids from deprived backgrounds,” Virgil explained.

“OK...” Scott encouraged, suspecting he knew where this was going.

“She said that there would be lots of kids out there like Lily who are talented but won't ever get the chance to make a career out of it because it’s too expensive,” Virgil elaborated, “so I was wondering what you thought about setting something up that could help with that?”

“Now that’s not something I’ve ever really thought about,” mused Scott, the logistics immediately beginning to run through his head.

There was already a well funded branch of Tracy Industries that was responsible for all manner of humanitarian and conservation projects around the globe, along with providing funding for numerous scholarships and internships to help give talented people from less privileged backgrounds the opportunities that may otherwise be denied them. A fund for the arts wouldn’t be beyond their usual remit, he thought, and it would certainly broaden their horizons somewhat.

“It’s not something we need to make a decision on immediately,” Virgil added, sensing the cogs turning in Scott’s brain. “It’s just something I thought could make a real difference to people.”

“It’s a good idea,” Scott agreed, liking the sound of it more and more as it settled in his mind. “We’ll run some numbers and take a look at what the logistics might be and we can make a decision from there.”

“What’re we making a decision on?” asked Selene, wandering back over from where she’d found herself engaged in conversation with some of the stage management.

“Just an idea for some charity stuff,” Scott answered quickly, keen not to get drawn into a further conversation, especially as he could see Cat beckoning them over.

Looking around the stage as the others made small talk with Lily and her mum, Scott’s mind continued to turn over Virgil’s suggestion, unable to deny that it was a good idea and one that Cat in particular would be excited about. A smile flitted across his face as he thought of how pleased she would be when he told her about it, solidifying his decision to keep it to himself until it became something more tangible.

“I think it’s time to get out of here” Cat declared, gathering up her large bouquet as the group said goodnight and the remaining guests were shepherded off the stage.

Scott nodded in agreement. It had been an amazing night that had given him much to think about but for now, there was a beer with his name on it somewhere out there and he was very keen to get out of the theatre and find it.

[i-am-a-closet-fanfic-fiend]

Sexiled (Part 17/23) ~ Steve Rogers x Reader ~ College!AU

A/N: Tag list for this story is now closed. Check out the masterlist for a schedule of the remaining five parts. Enjoy! 

Summary: Unable to go home for Thanksgiving, Steve invites you home with him. You aren’t about to turn down an opportunity to spend time with Sarah Rogers or the Barnes’ Clan. 

Characters/Pairings: Steve Rogers x Reader, Bucky Barnes, Becca Barnes, Sarah Rogers, George and Winnie Barnes mentioned 

Rating: T

Warnings: Fluff. Really nothing. Maybe language? but I don’t think so 

Series Masterlist | Main Masterlist

“Oh my god, you’re here!” Becca squealed when she opened the door and flung herself at you.

“Yes, I’m here,” you laughed, holding her tightly. “How are you?”

“I’m great. Oh I’m so excited you’re here.”

“Oh how are you, Bucky? I’m good thanks for asking,” Bucky grumbled.

“Oh shush,” Becca admonished as she hugged him and Steve. “I’m getting to you two. I just didn’t know that y/n was coming.”

“Well we weren’t sure until a couple of days ago because we were having trouble getting my train ticket, so we wanted to hold off on saying anything.”

“Well I’m so glad you made it.”

Becca squeezed your hand as she led you into the living room, taking your coat.

“Me too,” you assured her as you followed behind.

“Hey, Becs, where’s Ma and Pop?” Bucky asked as he poked his head into the kitchen.

“They had lunch with the Quill’s. They should be home soon.”

“Alright. Lunch run then?” Bucky suggested.

“Hell yes. I’m starving,” Steve agreed patting his stomach. “Where do you want to go?”

“Why don’t you and Steve go pick something up? And y/n and I will stay here and catch up,” Becca countered, vibrating with excitement.

“Can you wait that long, sweetness?” Steve asked, knowing you get woozy when you’re hungry.

“Yeah. I’m good to wait.”

“Alright. Sandwiches from Glenn’s?” Bucky suggested.

“Ooh good call. Do you want to look at the menu, y/n?”

“I trust you to get me something I like.”

Steve nodded. “Do you want your usual, Becs?”

“Yes please.”

“Alright let’s got then.”

Steve gave you a short but sweet kiss before they headed out and you heard Becca gasp. Bucky cackled at her reaction.

“Have fun with that, doll. Come on, lover boy.”

He yanked Steve out of the house by the collar, leaving you with a very excited Rebecca Barnes.

“YOU AND STEVE ARE TOGETHER NOW?!”

“Ummmm, yes.”

She gaped at you.

“When? How? I need details.”

She dragged you to the couch and then ran to the kitchen for snacks. Once she was settled she stared you down.

“Okay, spill.”

You recounted the night you and Steve finally decided to start officially dating.

“So Bucky is the only one who knows? And he didn’t blab?”  

“Nope. He’s kept our secret. And yes, he’s the only one who knows. Well, him and Skye.”

“Who’s Skye?”

You were about to say “Bucky’s girlfriend,” when you realized he clearly hadn’t said anything yet.

“She and I were best friends in middle school and the beginning of high school until I moved away. We reconnected at a party a few weeks ago.”

Becca didn’t seem to notice your hesitation.

“Oh that’s nice. I can’t believe no one figured it out. Do mom and Sarah know?’

You paused again. Now that you thought about it, you had no idea if Steve had told his mom.

“I don’t know actually. Probably yes. He talks to her about most things. I guess I’ll find out.”

“Well if she doesn’t already. I’m sure she’ll be thrilled. I definitely am. I knew you’d be the best couple ever.”

“Thank you, Becca.”

“I hope I can have that with Peter,” she mumbled unthinkingly.

“Who’s Peter?”  

She tucked her hair behind her ear before scratching nervously at the back of her neck – a nervous tick she shared with Bucky.

“Oh. Umm. Just a friend from Queens.”

“Friend, huh?”

You shot her a disbelieving look, despite her eager nods.

“Nice try. Spill it.”

She hung her head in defeat.

“Okay.”

She launched into her own romantic tale. Explaining how she’d met a boy, Peter Parker at a Science Triathalon and they’d started talking. And she thought he might like her, but she wasn’t sure. You were just ironing out the details of a plan for her to ask him out for coffee by the time Bucky and Steve got back. You quickly stopped talking when they walked in.

“What are you two up to?” Bucky asked suspiciously.

“Nothing!” you both answered quickly.

“Yeah right.”

He glanced at Steve who just shrugged, already munching on fries.

“Whatever,” he chuckled. “Come on. Let’s eat.”

George and Winnie returned while you were finishing up eating and the afternoon was spent happily catching up.  After dinner, you and Steve got ready to head back to his apartment.

“Thank you for dinner, Winnie. It was delicious.”

“Our pleasure. Do you have everything? Where are your bags?” she fussed.  

“We dropped them off at home before we came here. I wanted to see Ma before she went to work.”

“Oh good. Okay. Oh that reminds me. I wrapped up some leftovers for you to take home for her. Just one second.”

She hurried to the kitchen and came back with a Tupperware container which you took from her.  

“Thank you, Winnie.”

“You’re welcome, sweetie. We’ll see you tomorrow at two.”

“We’ll be here with bells on.”

“Good night and get home safe.”

“We will,” Steve promised.

“Good night!” You called with a small wave.

Steve guided you down the steps before taking your hand as you walked the three blocks back to his apartment.  

“Steve. Thank you for this.”  

“For what?”

“Bringing me here.”

“I couldn’t let my best girl spend Thanksgiving alone. Besides an extra five days with you without stressing about classes? I can’t think of anything better.”

You smiled up at him, as he unlocked the door.

“That does sound ideal.”

You and Steve made breakfast before settling on the couch to watch the parade. Sarah woke up shortly after eleven.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning, Ma. Coffee?” Steve asked as he kissed her on the cheek and went into the kitchen.

“Yes, please.” She smiled warmly as she sat next to you. “How did you sleep, dear?”

“Very well.”

Steve strolled in with a mug of coffee and the cinnamon rolls you made.

“Here you go, Ma.”

“Did you two bake this morning? You didn’t have to.”  

“My mom and I always made cinnamon rolls on Thanksgiving morning. I thought you might like it,” you shrugged.

“It’s a wonderful surprise.”

“How was your shift?”

She sighed heavily and took a sip of coffee as Steve sat next to you, arm curling around your waist.

“Let’s just say I’m glad to have the weekend off. It’s always crazy around the holidays.”

“Lots of accidents?”

“Tons. These are delicious. You two are so sweet to make these for me. Thank you.”  

“Wow, you look amazing,” Steve breathed out when you came down to go to lunch at the Barnes a couple hours later.  

“Thanks, but now I think I’m overdressed,” you admitted, eyeing his jeans and polo.

“Well, Thanksgiving’s been pretty casual since the mud pie incident when Becca was four.”

You giggled, “Well, I definitely need to hear that story. But, your mom said to dress up.”

Steve’s brows furrowed.

“Are you kids ready to go?” Sarah asked as she came in from the kitchen, looking through her purse for her keys. “Oh wow, you look lovely, sweetie. So fancy.”

“Thank you,” you mumbled, cheeks flaming in embarrassment.  

“Ma, did you tell Y/n to dress up?”

“No?” She asked tilting her head at you both.

“You texted me and told me to bring a nice dress.”

Sarah’s eyes widened in realization.  

“Oh, honey, I’m sorry. I did, but that was because I have a surprise for you later in the weekend. I should have been clearer. I just assumed Steve would tell you lunch was casual.”

“Surprise?” You and Steve both asked.

“Yes.”

“What is it?” you asked, unable to contain your excitement.

“Why don’t you change into something more comfortable? And then I’ll tell you.”

“Okay, just give me a few minutes.”

“Take your time.”

You hurried back to Steve’s room, grateful you’d also packed your favorite sweater dress.

“Better?” she asked when you hurried down the stairs five minutes later.

“More comfortable for sure. So…”

“So,” she smiled and gestured to the couch. “Come on. Have a seat.”

Steve was now wearing a bright grin, and mischief lightened both of their gazes, and you smiled as you recognized the similarity. Clearly Sarah had told him the surprise. He perched on the arm of the couch next to as you sat right at the edge of your seat.

“Here,” she handed you an envelope with your name in her elegant handwriting.

You carefully undid the flap and dumped the contents into your palm.

“Oh my god!” you gasped when you read the ticket. “Really? The American Ballet Company’s opening night of the Nutcracker?!”

“I knew that I had to take you to some sort of show, and since you love ballet as much as I do. I thought you would enjoy it. We can save Broadway for the next time.”

“This is amazing. Thank you so much, Sarah.”

You hugged her as tightly as you could and she softly stroked your hair.

“You’re so welcome.”

You looked up in time to see Steve was watching you both with a soft expression.

~~~~~~~~ 

A/N: Thanks so much for reading! We’ll see more of Sarah in the next part on Monday! 

Happy weekend! 

Sexiled tag list is closed but all other Tag Lists are Open please send an ask. Strike throughs didn’t work

Sexiled Tag List

@yourspecialcrush @part-time-patronus​​ @impala-with-wings​​ @the-stories-in-my-head-95​​ @zlixlle @peter-parker-steve-bucky​​ @encounterthepast​​

@holygaygal​​ @hista-girl​​ @steves-on-a-plane​​ @juliagolia87​​ @pastelsweaters-and-bubble-t​​ @musicfreak180 @captainscanadian​​​ @viarogers​

Steve/Chris Tag List

@isaxhorror​​ @peachykeen3502​​ @patzammit​​ @wordlesscaptain​​ @coffeebooksandfandom​​​ @hereisanapplepie​​ @mywinterwolf​​ @straightforwardly​​

Marvel Tag List

@hdthdthdt​​​  @sophiatomlinson23​​ @misty-panther @supermusicallee​​ @scarlettsoldier​​ @acupofhotlatte​​ @slender–spirit​ @petitesmate​​ @libbymouse​​

Permanent Tag List

@iamwarrenspeace​​ @jayzayy​​ @bexboo616​​ @neoqueen306​​ @santheweird​​ @rowenaravencalw​​ @buckitybarnes​​ @prxttybirdz​​ @sergeantjbuckybarnes​​ @captainsamwlsn​​ @broitsmydick @ailynalonso15​​ @nyxveracity​​ @queenoftrash97​​ @walkingtravesty97​​ @lamia-maizat @memyselfandmaddox​​ @lowkeybuckyb​​ @whiskey2011​​ @averyrogers83​​ @lovingpeterparker @buckybarneshairpullingkink​​ @beansparker​​ @coralphantomninja​​ @xxashy999xx​​ @thisismysecrethappyplace​​ @ravennightingaleandavatempus​​ @paintballkid711​​ @whosmarisaaarw​​ @silverkitten547​​ @yknott81​​ @mmmmmmmmmchicken​​ @thefridgeismybestie​​ @crispy-kitten​​ @isabelcrichards​​ @greyeyedsmile14​​ @loving-life-my-way​​ @geeksareunique​​ @rachelsficcollections​

[tomeandflickcorner]

Episode Review- The Real Ghostbusters: The Thing in Mrs. Faversham’s Attic

I wonder if this counts as a Peter centric episode.   Sure, he doesn’t do much, but we still get a small idea of what his relationship with his mother was like.

It begins with the titular Mrs. Agatha Faversham, asleep in her bed.  She’s woken up by noises coming from her attic.  While this doesn’t seem like that big of a deal at first, the sounds suddenly escalate to the point where the house itself seems to be shaking.   It’s very clear she’s not hearing a raccoon or other fuzzy critter running around up there, so simply calling animal control is not an option.  When Agatha cries out to be left alone, she’s answered with a sinister sounding cackle. So the next morning, Agatha heads down to the Firehouse, seeking the Ghostbuster’s assistance.  During the initial interview, Agatha tells them a bit of her life history.  It seems that she’s lived in that house since she was a little girl.  While she did apparently move out for a time, she moved back after her husband passed away.  However, she has never set foot inside the attic once in the past 70 years. Agatha explains that her father, Charles Faversham, had forbidden her from doing so when she was a little girl, and had repeated that restriction when she moved back in after becoming a widow. Then, when Charles also passed away as well, his dying wish was that she never sell the house, and once again reminded her that she must never go up into the attic.  Clearly, this is quite suspicious.  Was Agatha’s father hiding something up in that attic that he didn’t want her seeing?

Agatha finishes things off by apologetically stating she doesn’t know how much the Ghostbusters charge for their services, and stating that she doesn’t have a lot of money.  Which is something I personally found surprising, since Agatha’s attire and overall character design seemed almost reminiscent to Madame Bonfamille from The Aristocats, which suggested she was wealthy.  However, what’s even more surprising is that Peter actually assures Agatha that the only payment she’d be required to give is a smile.   Which is a highly unusual stance for Peter to make, given his history of being reluctant to work pro bono.  Even Egon, Ray, Winston and Janine seem shocked by Peter’s sudden generosity. When Ray questions him on it, Peter reveals that something about Agatha reminds him of his mother, who I suppose we’re meant to surmise passed away some time ago.

So the Ghostbusters venture to Agatha’s house, while Agatha apparently stays behind with Janine.  When they arrive, Egon takes note of how he doesn’t seem to be getting any reading on the PKE Meter.  Despite this, they do hear the loud banging and rumbling coming from the attic. They head upstairs to investigate, and to their surprise, the attic is unnaturally large, even by attic standards.  When they set foot inside the attic, the PKE Meter finally starts going off, with the readings going so far off the scale, the device short circuits.  Still, none of them seem to notice the fact that a pair of yellow eyes appear on the wall, despite the fact that they walk right past them. They do, however, notice when some toy soldiers come to life and begin shooting at them.  (Not sure if I should be humming ‘March of the Toy Soldiers’  from the Nutcracker Suite or ‘March of the Toys’ from Babes in Toyland here.) The Ghostbusters, after taking cover from the toy soldiers’ attack, soon decide to return fire and aim their Proton Packs at the toy soldiers, which results in them returning to ordinary toys. Moments later, Peter, I guess, loses his balance and ends up sliding down the side of a small pile of attic junk. He lands at the base of a coat rack, which also comes alive.  The coat rack demands to know why the Ghostbusters entered the attic, and Peter explains that Agatha had asked them to do so. Upon hearing the name Faversham, the coat rack grew belligerent.  It demanded that the Ghostbusters hand over Faversham, expressing a desire to destroy him for what he did to him.  Otherwise, it would kill the Ghostbusters.  Peter tries his best to talk his way out of it, asking why exactly the ghost wanted Faversham in the first place, but the ghost was not very forthcoming.  In the end, the Ghostbusters shoot the coat rack with their Proton Packs. Like with the toy soldiers, the coat rack is rendered lifeless, and the Ghostbusters try to take their chance to escape.  However, they quickly find that the trapdoor leading out of the attic has vanished.   Egon concludes that the ghost that’s loose inside the attic is in full control of everything.  Of course, it is pretty silly of this ghost to remove the trapdoor then.  If the ghost wants them to fetch Faversham, how are they supposed to do that if they can’t get out of the attic?

Anyway, in order to get away, Egon comes up with the idea of having them all shoot off their Proton Packs in different directions.  This would hopefully break the entity’s concentration, allowing the trapdoor to become visible again.  The plan ultimately works, and the Ghostbusters are soon able to escape the attic alive.  Once they’ve escaped, Winston asks the obvious question.  If the entity in the attic is that powerful and nasty, why didn’t it follow them?  Why did its pursuit of them end once they made it outside the attic?  Egon responds that he thinks he might know, but he’ll need to ask Agatha a few more questions before he can make a full assessment.  So they return to the Firehouse to speak with her.   Agatha complies by explaining how, when she was a little girl, her father, Charles, had done everything he could to make sure she’d want for nothing, even though their family was never that well off.  Of course, Agatha remembered she was very satisfied with her life back then, as she had her loving father and her beloved teddy bear.  Therefore, she had everything a little girl could need. (I’m guessing the mother had come down with a case of dead mom-itus when Young Agatha was too little to remember her, as there’s no mention of her at all.)  One night, Charles went up into the attic, during a terrible storm. While he was up there, Young Agatha heard her father shouting, and she came to investigate, just in time to see her father coming down from the attic, white as a sheet.  Charles had proceeded to tell her that he’d made a terrible mistake, but it was all fixed now.  Still, she had to promise that she’d never set foot into the attic. Once Agatha finishes her story, Egon thanks her and asks Janine to show her the Containment Unit. Doesn’t really strike me as a good idea to let anyone not on the payroll near the Containment Unit, but what do I know? Maybe Egon was just trying to make sure she was out of earshot so she wouldn’t hear what he had to say to the other Ghostbusters.   Because once Agatha is out of the room, he tells Peter, Ray and Winston he’s concluded that Charles Faversham must have turned to the occult in an effort to make sure his daughter could have even more than she’d already had.  In the process, he’d bitten off more than he could chew and conjured up an entity he couldn’t control.  He’d tried to send it back but failed, and only managed to seal the entity away inside the attic.  The entity, which is called Belleranthon according to the Ghostbusters Wiki, had been trapped there ever since, expanding its domain and growing angrier and angrier as each year passed.  Winston surmises Belleranthon must be super mad by now, considering it’s been 70 years since that night.  That gives Ray an idea, with him guessing it’s possible that Belleranthon might not even realize how much time has passed.  He believes it might be possible to bait Belleranthon and lure it into a trap. Peter, not willing to be picked as the bait, quickly nominates Slimer, who had chosen that moment to pop up. Slimer is clearly not happy about this, but Peter doesn’t give him a choice.  

Upon returning to Agatha’s house, the Ghostbusters get to work at setting things up.  They disguise Slimer to look like Charles Favershim by having him put on a trench coat and fedora.  Because as everyone knows, if it works for anthropomorphic turtles, it must be a good disguise. Slimer is instructed to get Belleranthon to reveal its true form and get it into position by luring it to the entrance to the attic.  Once Belleranthon is in position, the Ghostbusters can trap it in a Ghost Trap positioned at the base of the attic’s ladder.  At first, the plan seems to be working, with Belleranthon believing Slimer is actually Charles.  But before Slimer can lure Belleranthon into the designated position, it suddenly is able to see through the disguise.  Belleranthon instantly grows angry, summoning up a large cyclone that managed to snag Slimer, Peter, Ray and Winston.  Fortunately, Egon was able to grab hold of the top of the attic ladder in time.   He taunts the entity, causing it come after him. Belleranthon takes the bait and approaches Egon.  The moment Belleranthon was looming over him, Egon manages to trigger the Ghost Trap, and Belleranthon is successfully captured.

A short time later, the Ghostbusters return Agatha to her house. Peter even reveals he’d found her old teddy bear in the attic.  (Not sure how the teddy bear got up there, as I distinctly remember it being shown that Young Agatha had the teddy bear with her when Charles first forbid her to venture up into the attic, and nobody ever went up there since then.)  Agatha thanks the Ghostbusters for what they’ve done and asks if they’d like to stay for some tea.  Ray informs her that they can’t as they have to head out on another call.  Agatha states that she understands and suggests they could stop by another time. However, as the Ghostbusters start to get back into the Ecto-1, they notice Peter is hanging back.  Peter proceeds to explain that he���s realized Agatha is all alone in that house, and it’s made him remember how his own mother had spent a lot of time alone as well.  Which makes sense since it’s already been established in previous episodes that Peter’s father, Jim, was rarely home, as he was constantly away chasing some get rich quick scheme.  And Peter now regrets that he never took the chance to be with his mother, either.  I’m guessing he didn’t visit that often while he was away at college.  The other Ghostbusters seem to catch on to what Peter is thinking right now, so they allow him to sit this one out, with Egon saying they’ll catch up with him back at the Firehouse.  And so they drive off, with Peter going back to the house in order to take Agatha up on her offer for a cup of tea.

I wonder. Am I the only one who actually feels a bit sorry for the entity Belleranthon?  I mean, think about it.  Charles Faversham just summons him up from whatever netherworld it came from and then proceeded to trap it within the attic.  Bellerathon is then imprisoned up there for 70 years.  And the Ghostbusters resolve the issue by trapping Bellerathon in a Ghost Trap. Granted they’ll probably transfer Bellerathon in the Containment Unit, so it will have plenty of company now. But while this was clearly the easiest way to resolve things, was it the best way?  Couldn’t the Ghostbusters have at least tried to explain to Bellerathon that Charles Faversham was long dead?  And then promised to try and figure out how to help him return to its dimension of origin?  Sure, Charles couldn’t manage it.  But the Ghostbusters are equipped with more sophisticated technology and academic knowledge of ghosts and the occult.  I’m sure they could have figured out something if they’d tried to.  But maybe I’m the only one who sees things this way.

Of course, I suppose we’re really supposed to be focusing on the character development Peter underwent.  He clearly cared deeply for his mother and has a soft spot in regards to his memories of her.  Although, it’s implied that he possibly took her presence for granted and didn’t spend enough time with her when he had the chance before she passed away, which is something he regrets now.  And by the episode’s end, it looks like he’ll try to make up for that by spending time with Mrs. Faversham.  Overall, I’d agree this seems like a sweet gesture from Peter that could be therapeutic for him as well.     (Huh, there were a lot of allusions to dead relatives in this episode, wasn’t there? Agatha’s mother apparently died when she was a baby, then she lost her husband and father sometime later.  And Peter’s mom is implied to be dead, too.)

Finally, there is a small issue that occurred to me.  It was clearly stated in the episode that the father’s name was Charles Faversham. But Agatha Faversham was clearly stated to have been married in the past, which is emphasized by the fact that the title refers to her as Mrs. Faversham.  So….wouldn’t Agatha’s last name be different from her father’s?  I suppose it’s possible that she married someone with the same last name as her, but that’s highly unlikely.  Did Agatha and her late husband do the opposite of the norm and have the husband take the wife’s last name, or did Agatha go back to her maiden name after being widowed?  (Although, wouldn’t she have called herself Miss Faversham then?)  Then again, I suppose it’s possible the writers called both father and widowed daughter Faversham for the sake of simplicity.  

(Click here for more Ghostbusters reviews)

[sgam76]

A Little Sherlock Christmas Gift

This wee fic is set in my Felicitous Natal Celebration ‘verse, and will also be posted tomorrow on AO3. In this little epic, Sherlock is not quite 7, and Mycroft is 14.

Observant readers will recognize a little nod to a scene in Redemption, one of my book-length epics.

Joyeux Noël

“You have to say it,” Mycroft said, for the fourth—no, fifth—time.

The bundle of blankets in front of him, tucked into the only vacant stall in the small, battered barn, ignored him, as per the previous attempts. The blankets radiated an air of fury and despair.

In the next stall Daisy, his brother’s chubby, elderly pony, moved restively, hopeful that someone, anyone, would offer her a treat. She could be forgiven for being a little cross--that was the usual result of an evening visit to the barn, after all. Madagascar, Mycroft’s tall, bony gelding, rustled in the stall beyond her, dozing but hopeful.

“You broke Mummy’s cup,” Mycroft offered. “I know you were upset. Tante Giselle didn’t realize, and she’s sorry for that. But you must apologize for throwing it.”

A small, bony hand snaked out from under the blankets. No, it signed. If hands could be rude, this one managed it.

Mycroft sighed. “Lockie, it’s been 7 hours. It’s cold, even with the heater. You’ll make yourself ill again, and then you won’t be able to go to the Nutcracker on Monday.” He paused for effect. “You’ll hate that. And Daddy will be so disappointed—you know how hard it was to get tickets.”

The barn was still as the blankets considered. A second skinny little hand poked out. You tell her, they signed.

Mycroft sighed again. Daisy, giving up on treats, joined him. “I tried,” he said. “She says she won’t try to give you new foods again; she understands now, and she’s sorry for trying to trick you. But you still have to apologize.”

It was horrible/nasty, the hands said, using one of their own personal signs for “things Lockie can’t bear”. I almost sicked up.

“I know,” Mycroft said patiently. “I told her.” Daisy leaned over the fence to tug impatiently at the blankets with long yellow teeth. One little hand shoved her gently away.

  The “horrible/nasty” thing in question was freshly made eggnog. Tante Giselle had come to stay, and was childminding the Holmes boys until Christmas Eve, when their parents would return from France. They had originally planned to all spend the season at Grandmere’s flat in Paris, until Lockie had come down with a heavy cold that prevented travel. Tante Giselle had volunteered to come from her place at Oxford and stay the week, since she had already planned to wait to head to France until New Year’s Eve. As Mycroft had volunteered to stay with his brother, he would travel to his grandmother’s with his aunt once his parents returned. He was rather looking forward to it.

Tante Giselle was a good sort, for the most part; understood Lockie’s quirks, didn’t try to force him into doing things that made him uncomfortable. But she had decided it was time he expanded his repertoire of acceptable food and drinks (which even Mycroft had to admit was a very short list at present). When coaxing proved futile, she had decided to use a gentle subterfuge, filling Lockie’s cup with eggnog instead of milk and not telling him. She genuinely thought he’d like it—it was quite sweet, and very mildly spiced. But she hadn’t reckoned with his exquisite sensitivity to texture. The thick, almost syrup-like liquid sat momentarily in Lockie’s mouth before his face worked, he spat it across the table, and launched the cup violently away with a look of betrayal and a gag. Tante Giselle, flinching as the cup flew by and broke, spun on her little nephew, grabbed his shoulder and shook him roundly, ordering him firmly in French to apologize at once and clean up the mess.

Lockie, his face screwing into a dark scowl, lurched away and sped out the kitchen door into the garden. Mycroft started to follow, but his aunt stopped him. “Let him go,” she said. “He will get hungry, by and by.” Then she moved to mop up the mess in the floor.

Mycroft waited several hours; he had his doubts that hunger would drive his brother back inside, but he thought cold might do the trick. When Tante Giselle started working on supper, though, he decided the time for action had come. He checked Daddy’s workshop, then the garage, and finally the barn. He’d been there now for almost an hour, with very little progress to show for it.

He thought now of that supper, though—whether Lockie was hungry or not, Mycroft certainly was, and Tante wouldn’t hold the meal forever. “Tante’s making coq a vin,” he crooned. “With the little potatoes you like.” That dish (well, mostly the potatoes), oddly enough, was on his brother’s “acceptable” list, though they didn’t get it very often since Mummy rarely had the patience to cook. Mycroft suspected it was a peace offering of sorts, though his aunt would never actually say so.

There was a cough, followed by a little wordless sound from the blankets; encouraging, but not quite enough. “I don’t think she’ll let you eat until you apologize,” he offered, which was both true and false. Would she let Lockie have the coq au vin? Probably not. But would she send him to bed hungry? Never. A bowl of homemade cream of chicken soup would almost certainly be found lurking in the warming drawer, just in case.

The hands withdrew into the blankets. Daisy reached over for another experimental tug; this time the hands just held on from the inside.

Mycroft thought a vulgar word Mummy would be horrified to know he knew.

“Can you at least come out and sit with me?” he asked. “So I can tell you’re all right?” He did want that, but he also had an ulterior motive. It was easier to gauge his brother’s reactions if he could see his face and body language.

There was a long, charged silence. Then the blankets rustled and a dirty, exhausted little boy emerged, eyes red. He crawled over to nestle at Mycroft’s side silently, shivering as the cold air hit him. He shot one darting glance at Mycroft’s face before dropping his eyes firmly to his hands.

Mycroft reached over to fish the blankets from under Daisy’s indignant nose, wrapping them tightly around narrow little shoulders in the way Lockie preferred. “There, isn’t that better?” he asked, and got a tiny nod in response.

“Now,” he said, as Lockie leaned a little more heavily against him, “I think we must come up with a compromise. Do you know how Mark Twain described that?” he asked. Lockie liked Mark Twain, especially A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, which Daddy had been reading to him at bedtime the past few weeks.

The dark, messy curls shook in negation.

“He said that a ‘successful compromise is one in which both sides walk away equally unhappy’, or words to that effect,” Mycroft said. He quite liked that definition himself.

How? Lockie signed, without looking up.

Reading between the lines, Mycroft presumed his little brother was asking about the applicability of the concept to their current situation. “You must apologize,” he said, and ignored the rigorously shaking head below him. “No, that must happen. Tante insists. But she hasn’t dictated what you must say, or how you must say it, now has she?” he continued, thinking it through as he spoke.

Lockie made an inquisitive little sound, and glanced up at his brother’s face again. Definite progress.

  Ten minutes later, the brothers stood in the kitchen in front of their aunt, who was at the stove, spoon in hand. “Lockie is ready to say sorry,” Mycroft announced (choosing his words quite carefully), and pulled his reluctant brother out from behind him. “But, as you can see, he is still rather upset. It would be easier for him to sign, if you will permit?”

Tante Giselle’s face softened. She put the spoon down and knelt in front of Lockie, who refused to raise his head. “Of course, bebé,” she said, laying her hand briefly on one grimy cheek. Then she leaned back on her heels expectantly.

They had worked this out very carefully. Tante knew both French and English very well. But what she did not know was Sign, in either language. And therein lay their loophole.

Mycroft was just a tiny bit smug about the whole thing. But he could enjoy that later.

Lockie put his hands up and signed, slowly and clear. I am sorry you did a silly/stupid thing. I wish I had not broken the cup. It was an accident and not my fault. But I will try to forgive you. Then he darted back behind Mycroft, only to peer shyly back around towards his aunt, who looked on expectantly for a translation.

“He is sorry,” Mycroft intoned, as Lockie nodded solemnly. “He did not mean to break the cup. It was accidental. He hopes for forgiveness.”

Tante Giselle melted. She leaned forward and gave both her nephews a brisk, firm embrace, knowing Lockie’s aversion to soft or extended touches. “Of course, my dear,” she said fondly, then rose and lifted her spoon in triumph. “And now, let us eat and be merry, for all is well. Joyeux Noel!”

Mycroft, from behind her shoulder (and carefully out of her view) managed to catch his brother’s eye and winked. “Joyeux Noel!” he replied, and meant it.

[mischiefapprentice]

My Neighbor is a Ballerina (Daniel Henney x OC)

It was already the start of lock-downs in USA, and Daniel Henney cannot help but be bored as the eighth day of quarantine passed. Surely, he is enjoying the company of his fluffy golden retriever Roscoe, but still, he missed going out for shooting different commercials and series he signed in for. There was no one to talk to inside his small home, either. He can only talk to his parents and friends through video calls, and no one is allowed to step out of their homes unless needed.

What to do now? He asks himself as he looked outside. He already have gone for a swim with his dog, he finished his exercise routine, and it strains his eyes to look on the screen for too long. He sighs as he got out, looking for something to tinker on for the rest of the day. His well carved face frown as he sat nearby his own pool, waiting for the brightest idea to pop in his mind. He weakly smiles as he sees Roscoe waddle his way to him, begging to be carried.

"What do we do now, bud? Wow, is this what you feel whenever I am not around?" he jokes. The golden retriever lays its head on Daniel's stomach, relishing in the presence of his good father who he would miss terribly whenever he isn't around. Just then, some sweet classical music filled the area, making his brows raise in curiosity. He walks close to the fence that separated his house to the rest of the neighborhood, finding out who owned the music. He finds on the other side a young woman who is half his age, dancing to the music that played with a gentle grace that can be seen in a pen, a female swan. She had black hair like him, and skin tanned from the rays of the sun. He haven't seen her before. Afraid to interrupt her peace, he became content with watching her by the sidelines, enjoying her small performance by the sun.

It has come to an end when his doorbell rang. Sighing in reluctance to leave, he took a deep breath and headed to the gates of his house, his loyal liege Roscoe trailing from behind. His friend Matthew Gubler greeted him with a smile, even though it was covered with a black N-95 mask. "Got you some groceries!" Matthew smiles as he placed them right on Daniel's feet. "Dude, you didn't have to!" Daniel laughs as he took them in. "But still, thank you for the thought!" "Well, I'd better go now, enjoy your day! And, go get that girl!" Matthew jokes as he hopped on his car and drove away.

Daniel chuckles as he closed the gate with his foot, Roscoe jumping up and down as they went in the house. Matthew is right; he needs to know more about that woman next door.

      "Girl, really. That guy next door is checking you out."

Charleine is busy eating her tossed salad when her friend Carina Chandran gave her a call, and she raised the thing about some guy next door checking her out whilst she danced her way to fantasy world. The young raven haired girl laughs as she hears Carina prattle her worries for her, how she wanted to be there to give the man a piece of her own mind.

"Girl, no need to make a big deal about it." Charleine tells as she swallowed down the water. "But still! You know what, I'm packing up. I am going there." Carina says as Charleine hears her shuffles on her side. "Girl no need, I can handle myself." Charleine insists. "I have a background in Martial Arts, remember?" "Okay, if that's what makes you at ease. Just make sure to be careful, okay?"

Charleine laughs as she put the phone call down. She can imagine how worried her Indian friend was, since there were a lot of men who'd catcall herback before this whole world craze happened. She used to stay in New York City since her job as a dance instructor demanded it. She also joined numerous ballets like Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, and Sleeping Beauty, and she always gets the lead. Carina Chandran is her childhood friend and neighbor here in Los Angeles, so no wonder why she can see him checking on her.

The next day, she went out to her backyard for another dance for nature, a series she makes for her Instagram account. She will try to catch the guy who Carina was talking about during the phone call. Setting her Bluetooth speaker and camera to where she wanted it to be, she started doing her dance routine she learned for The Nutcracker's dance of the sugar plum princess.

       Daniel immediately ran to the fence where he heard the music that captured his whole being. The same girl was there, unaware of his presence as she danced her heart away to the music that played in the background, which he recognized as a part from The Nutcracker. If he only knew how to dance ballet, he could have jumped over the fence and joined her. He was enchanted with her; he cannot help but stare at her beauty that can be compared to Aphrodite, and marvel at her skills that are as graceful as Odette in Swan Lake. It was a magical enchantment that this young lady uses to men who lays their eyes on her. However, his daydreams were cut off when the young raven haired woman called his attention. "Yoohoo! Sir, are you alright there?" she asks, which makes him tumble down. Loud gasps can be heard from her as she placed a ladder on the fence where she saw him. "Are you okay?" He chuckles as he stood up, thanking the heavens above for not staining his sweatpants and hoodie. "Um, yeah. Thanks for checking." God, why is he being a nervous charmer? He asks himself. He cannot be like this, since he has swooned millions of ladies from around the world, yet this girl's got him smitten to the core. "Oh, where are my manners? I'm Charleine Mercado, and you are?" she introduced herself. "I'm Daniel. So, you're new here?" He asks, trying to hide his anxious self as he starts to know more about this girl. "Not exactly. I used to stay here whenever I am on my break in the theater, and this one's a total break." She replies as she shrugged her shoulders. "You work in a theater?" He asks as he grabbed a small chair and stood on it, just to be able to talk to her a little close, observing the one-meter distance. She nods her head yes as she waited for him to settle himself, asking him if he's comfy enough with standing, which he assures her he's fine with it.

They had a long conversation, and it was already noon when they decided to just exchange social media accounts and talk there whenever they are free. Reluctant that he won't see her for the rest of the day, he sighs as he walked back to his house, waiting patiently as he can for her to talk to him soonest. Roscoe senses Daniel's remorse as the golden retriever lays its head on his lean legs.

       It was already evening when she decided to open up her social media and search for the man she once talked to earlier. She was having a gut feeling that she already saw him in some commercial or television series. Shrugging that thought away, she punched in his username, and the revelation made her eyes widen. "OH. MY. GOD." She decides to call her friend away, who quickly picked up the call.

"Girl, you won't believe who I just talked to this morning," Charleine yells on the phone, her adrenaline rush picking up the fast pace. Her friend gawked at her when she mentioned the name. "WHAT? IT WAS DANIEL HENNEY?" "Yes. We exchanged social media accounts, and it really was him." "Send me a picture of him tomorrow morning! I need enough proof that it's really him." "How about a screenshot video of a 60-second conversation via Skype? We planned to talk tonight."

It was on cue when her Skype account rang loudly in the background, showing Daniel's caller id on her laptop screen. She immediately tells Carina she'll talk to her later, and ran to her seat in front of her laptop. Breathing deeply, she clicked the green button, revealing Daniel and his dog on the other side. His bed hair still looked good on him, and she cannot help but swoon at him. "Hey, Charlie." Daniel groggily greets, groaning as Roscoe hopped on his lap, making her giggle as he cheekily grins back. "Dogs really are a handful, aren't day?" Charleine asks as she eagerly looked at the furry friend. "I'll agree with you on that." Daniel laughs as he puts down Roscoe. He shuffles in his bed as he held on the laptop, walking towards his kitchen island. "So, I suppose you already found the accounts?"

She nods as she looked down at her own Golden Retriever puppy Neve, who begs to be carried. "Yes, and no wonder why you look so familiar. Nice work in Criminal Minds and Big Hero 6, by the way."  She replies as she picks Neve and places the dog on her lap. Daniel's eyes widen as he saw Charleine's little puppy, smiling as he asked her where she got Neve, which Charleine eagerly answers. Daniel smiles as he realizes they had share a lot of common interests, the only difference was their occupations.

"Your name also rang bells in my mind, then I remembered a co-star telling me about your works in ballet. I must say, you did a wonderful job in your performances," Daniel tells her as he settled his laptop down as he started preparing his dinner for tonight. "May I know who told you about me long before this call?" Charleine asks as she grabbed a Shawarma from her side. "Do you by chance know Kirsten Vangsness?" Daniel asks as he grabbed some vegetables from his refrigerator and started chopping them down. Charleine's eyes lit up as he mentioned her friend and mother figure. "Yes I do! She became my mother figure whenever I am not with my parents back in Manila," she smiles as thoughts of Kirsten and her spending time together filled her mind.

They spent hours talking about their work and interests, not noticing the time anymore that they were surprised it's already past midnight when they stopped for a while. "Let's stay up together, I really love talking to you." Daniel pleads as Charleine settles in her bed, letting her bed engulf her in its softness and warmth. "I love to, but I need to get up for my routines later," she tells him, letting out a yawn that Daniel finds cute. "You'll get to talk to me after." "I look forward to that, Charlie. Good morning!"

What a dork, she thought as she waves good night and shut down her computer, her mind filled with thoughts about the new celebrity friend she made.

       Daniel finds himself in a place where music and dance are everywhere. Kids wearing flower crowns and tossing flower petals greet him as he entered the gates of the magical kingdom. He finds himself wearing a cream pirate shirt that showed parts of his chest and leather pants that showed his lean legs well. He feels powerful as he took every step while wearing leather boots that reached his knees. Women swoon as he passed by while looking for a certain woman who he wanted to meet. He soon finds himself at the presence of the king, and was surprised that he introduced himself as a prince from some place far from this kingdom. The king led him to the gardens, where he saw the familiar face of Charleine laughing as she danced with her maids. Her face lit up as she saw him, hearing her father tell everyone to leave them for now. As soon as the maids and the ensemble left, he slowly strode towards her, taking in how beautiful she is as a princess.

"M'lady," he greets her, taking her hand and places a kiss on the back of her hand.

"I shall leave you two to yourselves. Please guard her," the king bade as he took his leave, his footsteps resonating on the tiles. They silently enjoyed the company of each other as he told her of his adventures, from defeating rebels to every mishap he got himself into. Her laughter is already music to his ears. He feels himself falling into her trance, his eyes taking in the view of her wondrous beauty.

       His eyes squint at the feel of his dog licking the sleep off his eyes. He immediately looked around, checking if he wore the same clothes as he had in that dream of his with Charleine. It felt so real that he thought he would awake to ivory pillars and servants roaming around him. Did it really happen? He asks to himself as he got off his bed and prepared Roscoe's breakfast, his mind still stuck to that dream he had today.

It was the same dream Charleine had. She saw herself dancing with her maids in the pavilions, laughing as merriment and joy filled their surroundings. Her eyes lit as she saw Daniel in a pirate-like clothing, but can be easily identified as a prince. Charleine filled her friend Carina about this weird dream, but she was told that it is her subconscious thinking about the actor, and people tend to see their thoughts in their dreams when they think deeply about it and fell asleep.  She let's it pass for now, but she knew that there was something behind it.

They both smile at each other as Charleine got out to her backyard, while Daniel stood at the fence that separated them, eager to watch her do her morning routine. "What's with that wide smile, Henney?" Charleine asks as she stood in front of him, hands at her hips in a sassy fashion. He chuckles. "Nothing, I am just happy that I get to see a new friend here. It really gets lonely whenever I am not with other people physically." "Well, I cannot blame you for that." Charleine tells as she started playing the music, this time from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake.

       "Wait, so you had the same dream as mine?"

They both talked over Skype again, making sure to be reminded of the time now. She almost had problems getting up earlier, and good thing she still managed to set her body clock. Daniel told Charleine about this dream he had earlier, and it is coincidental that they both were in there. They had exact details as the other, making them wonder how come they had the same dream. "I don't know, it was just... Coincidental. Maybe my friend Carina is right, it must be a work of our subconscious and the deep thoughts." Charleine shrugs as she took a bite of her homemade shawarma wrap. "I suppose so." Daniel agrees. "How's quarantine so far?" She asks. "Well, still hanging here. Gosh, this drives me crazy as hell." He sighs, making her chuckle. "You're not alone."

That was the last time they talked.

Daniel had to fly to Korea to attend to some important matters his management has raised. He didn't get to talk to her for the last time before he headed to the airport, which made him feel miserable during his stay here. Well, he tried to play his favorite sport and get his mind on the things he have to do here before he gets back to Los Angeles. He still tried to reach out to Charleine, but she never responded. Worrying that something happened to her, he tried to call Kirsten, who fortunately picked up the call. "Daniel! So good to hear from you!" the ever cheery actress beams, making the half Korean laugh. "Yeah, I missed you all! How are you?" he queries as he mentally planned how to get Charleine in the conversation. "Feeling bored, since there was no one to talk to except my cat here," Kirsten sighs. "So, I heard that you met my ballerina friend already?" Daniel smiles when she mentioned the woman who got his whole being. "Yes, and I was about to ask you about her. She wasn't responding to any of my calls and emails." "Oh, she told me she's going to have a week off in using social media. She actually asked me to tell you about it, and she says sorry in advance if ever this happens." Kirsten chuckles, making Daniel smile weakly. He cannot wait to talk to her again.

       It was a week when Charleine took a break off the social media. She wanted to take a break off the world's madness since this year started. Her eyes widen as she opened up her chats, revealing lots of missed calls and 'how are you' texts from her new friend Daniel Henney. He sent a voice mail that says:

Hey Charlie...

I don't know when you'd be back in social media, but if you ever receive this, I am probably in Seoul already, since I had to attend to some matters here, just like what I said during our last talks. Charlie, if I ever get back there in LA, I want to... Ugh. Never mind. I just want to let you know that I already miss you and those small talks we had whenever I watch you dance. If I could rush things over, I would have done it in a heartbeat. I would do everything if it means to see you again. It's already late here, and I should get some sleep. I am in the 14 day quarantine period, and I got a negative result.

"I made him wait, Neve." she tells her golden retriever puppy, who in return looked at her with its doe eyes as it sensed her bereft. She sighs as she looked at other messages he dropped:

Hey Charlie! I am missing you so much already!

How are you?

Did you eat already?

When are you going to post another dance in your Instagram?

Are you alright?

You know you can talk to me whenever you got something bothering your mind, right?

"That's it, I'm waiting for the right time to call him." She says to herself as she typed in her reply to all those messages and voicemails he sent her during the week off the media.

Hi Dan!

Kirsten probably told you already that I took a week off the media, since I got stressed with what is happening with the world right now. My godmother also nearly got my nerves, so I decided to do so. I'm sorry if I got you worried for me 24/7, but now you can talk to me anytime again. Just note the time, one of us might miss the complete sleep we need to be energetic the next day. Hope to talk to you soon!

       His eyes immediately land on the message she just sent him, making him smile in victory as he read it multiple times. He immediately opened his Skype and gave Charleine a call, having high hopes that she'd answer it in a flash. He quickly checked himself on the mirror app on his phone, but stopped when he heard giggles from the other side of the line. "Hey, you don't need to check your self on your mirror, Vanity Boy." she quirks, making him smirk. "Liked that new nickname, Ms. Ballerina." he comments back, making the girl smirk back at him. "So, how's the week off social media?" She weakly smiles as she looked down, taking Neve in her arms. "It's relaxing, since I got to connect with myself once again after all this madness happened. How about you? You said you are in Korea, right?" "Oh yeah. I got a negative test result, and I can go to all the places where my manager told me to go to." Daniel cheekily grins at her, making her shake her head in annoyance, but a smile still plastered on her lips. "I already saw that dance you uploaded, and I must say, it's still different if I saw it live." "You little stalker," she laughs as he chuckles. Daniel finds himself falling for her even more as the days pass.

       After a few weeks of fixing up things in Korea, he immediately took a flight back to Los Angeles, eager to see Charleine again. His mother teases him on his little crush on the well-known ballerina, making him groan in feign dismay. His father, unfortunately, helps his mom with teasing him about it. But deep in his mind, he is glad that his parents are supportive with whoever he wants. He isn't pressured with what kind of girl he should date and marry, as long she is kind and understanding, he's willing to keep up with her.

It was another spring morning, and he is patiently waiting for her music to play. The small ladder he climbs on is already set, and he just needs to hear her music. Just as some random music played, he scrambles to the ladder, just in time for her to start dancing. She laughs as she saw how messed up his hair was, making her stop dancing. "Why did you run all the way?" She chuckles as she stood on her toes, messing his now messy hair as she laughs. "I just didn't want to miss my friend dancing," Daniel chuckles. "I missed you!" "I missed you too, dummy." She says. "Um about that voicemail you sent..." "Oh yes about that, I actually wanted to ask you on a date out, but there's quarantine, so..." "You know we can just hang out in the backyards, right?" "Oh. Yeah. HOW COME I FORGOT ABOUT IT?" "Stop overthinking, Tadashi Hamada." "How can I not, if I am standing in front of Juliet Capulet?"

 After a few days of Daniel planning their first date, now is the day they finally get to be together up close, since they both got their negative swab test results. He made sure that the house is well disinfected, there is no mess around, and lastly, he'd make her smile with his charms and quirks. It is only a few hours before night falls beautifully, just like in La La Land. Clad in just his button up shirt and black fitting slacks, he casually waited by his gate, hoping she'd show up. He immediately opened the gate, revealing Charleine in a simple pink dress and some sandals. She shyly waved as Daniel let her in. 

"Hey... Looking good tonight, I see?" Charleine smiles as Daniel guides her inside his home, her eyes widening at how simple and elegant it is. "You've got a nice house here." "Well, thank you. I'd reckon yours is better than this," Daniel replies as he eyed the package Charleine brought in. "Oh no, no,  no. Did you make food as well?" "I did, it would be rude on my part if I didn't bring something, right?" the girl asks, looking down on the floor. Daniel sighs as he held her hands in his. "You didn't have to, Charlie... But, it's okay, as long it's from the thought. I'd wager this is the best pasta I'll ever taste." Daniel tells her as he leads her to the pool area, the feeling of romance can be felt in the air as the candle-lit table stood nearby the very fence where they both met. She cannot help but smile as he pulled a chair for her, a dinner for two already filling the air as the aromatic scent fills her nostrils. "I'll serve your Bolognese spaghetti later after this," Daniel tell her as they started to eat under the moonlight that coincidentally shone above them along with the stars. They talked about various things, ranging from his stay in Korea to random jokes they saw in the net. It was already late in the night when they finished eating. Her eyes widen as she heard one of her favorite songs from La La Land playing in the background, and Daniel offers his hand as he pulls her into his arms for a dance.

Silence enveloped the two of them as the song ends, the two enjoying the warmth of the other as the time passes. Her eyes widen when her watch shows it's already a quarter to midnight. "Daniel, I need to get back already." she tells as she reluctantly pulls away from their little waltz. "You can sleep here. I'll take the couch, it's actually past curfew." Daniel tells her as he held her hand tightly but gently. "Are you sure? I don't want to be a nuisance to you, Daniel." Charleine asks, worrying that she might be interrupting any important matters. "I am sure, so don't chicken out. I actually can borrow one of my shirts and sweatpants for you to sleep on."

She silently watched him pick one white shirt and gray sweatpants from his closet. She cannot help but swoon at how fit this man is. He already changed into a black sleeveless shirt and a pair of white pajamas, leaving his bathroom for her use. "This one would do," Daniel tells as he placed them beside her. He cannot help but look at her wounded feet that were barely covered by the slippers a hotel gave him before. "Change into those, I'll just find the ointment for those bruises on your feet."

"Is it still aching?"

She winces in pain as he massaged some parts of her foot, rubbing in the ointment his mother once used on him when he suffered the same bruises as hers. She cannot help but yelp in pain, tears starting to spill on her eyes. Daniel immediately sat beside her, pulling her into a hug as she started to cry. "I'm sorry , I'm sorry." He whispers to her as he kissed the top of her head.

"I'm alright, Dan. It's just I cannot fight the pain," She whimpers. "I'll be here always, okay?" Daniel whispers. "I love you."

Her eyes widen as she heard those three words that can alter her life in an instant. A famous celebrity has fallen for her. "Hear me out, Charlie. I started falling for you since the day Kirsten started talking about you during Criminal Minds shooting and script readings. She is right about you being so strong, soft-hearted, smart, wise and beautiful. It's okay if you don't share the same feelings as-"

She gave him a peck on the cheek that made him stop rambling. He grins widely as he pulled her into a heartwarming hug and kissed her head many times. "You also got me from the start, Dan. It was when Kirsten told me about you whenever we meet up in New York City, and she told me that I would be able to meet you soon. So, here we are." She chuckles as he pressed his lips on her forehead, making her giggle. "Let's get you to sleep now. You might call me a knucklehead when you wake up late," he jokes as he pulls her down beside him on the softest bed Charleine has imagined.

       "Well, your boyfriend is here."

It was a year after the pandemic, and everything went back to normal. Carina and Charleine got their new assignments in Los Angeles, making it easy for the new lovers to meet up anytime they want. Daniel would pass by the American Contemporary Ballet, where she worked and performed. Carina would tease her about it, making her chuckle and playfully slap her. Some of their closest friends would drop by to see her, since some of their kids are under her class. It touched her that all of them really look at her like their second mom, and she dreams of having a family soon.

"My Prima Ballerina," Daniel mumbles as he buries his face on her hair, making her chuckle as she pulled away. "Danny, I sweat." Charleine tells as she wiped the sweat off her brow. "So what? You don't complain when I smell like Roscoe!" Daniel laughs. "Um, Charlie? Can I ask you something?"

She nods her head, but her eyes widen when she watched Daniel kneel on one knee, revealing a diamond ring on a red velvet box. Tears prick her eyes as he started rambling the most affectionate speech she has ever heard from him. Kirsten, AJ, Joe and the others are there, smiling at the most awaited moment.

Charleine Mercado. The moment I heard your name from Kirsty, I knew there was something with you that made me fall for you. Even though we haven't met long before that madness happened, I started longing for you. You were everything Kirs told me about you: you are smart, gay, loving, gentle, caring and among other things I wanted in a woman. Last year has been a blessing in disguise for me. If it weren't for it, maybe I wouldn't realize that I am just right beside this woman I have been seeking for god knows how long. That moment you told me your name, I said to myself: you are the one. Charlie, I know it has been a year since we started dating and become something more, and I want to be promoted to another position in your life. Will you do the honor of becoming my wife and marry me?

Charlie started tearing up tears of joy as she nodded her head yes, tackling Daniel in the tightest but gentle hug. He slips the ring on her right ring finger, and kissed it.