#also she took off the veil and necklace

[ladymarlin]

More wedding photos I didn't feel like coloring hehe

Also shoutout to whoever gave me the idea of them dancing/tango

[whiteskullofroses]

Hi! Can I pls request headcanons about being King Baldwin IV's wife? Thank you ❤️❤️

Heyyy thank you for the request ❤️ sorry this took long, enjoy!

❗THIS IS ABOUT BALDWIN IV FROM KOH, NOT THE ACTUAL HISTORICAL FIGURE❗

Baldwin IV's wife

(headcanons)

- Dear Y/N, from the day that the ring would be put on your finger and the vows spoken, you would be SPOILED. Gifts, flowers and rare bottled aromas from various civilizations all over the world would be given to you from your husband every day.

- This was because he wanted to show you how much he appreciated you and the love you have for him, but also because one of his love languages is gift giving. For example, if one day he wore a new necklace or perhaps a new pair of gloves and you complimented them, they would be yours the second after.

- He felt the love in your relationship and was aware that you'd never leave him however he was still terrified of you running away with another "better-looking" and richer man. You would oftentimes wake up in the middle of the night to find him breathing heavily and sweating because of a nightmare he had in regards to that.

- That's why reassuring him about such things plays a big role in the marriage. He is a strong and intelligent man, but sometimes his insecurities get the best of him.

- One of his love languages is also physical touch. When sitting at meetings with people of power and discussing problems, he would hold your hand under the table or put his hand on your thigh.

- He also relaxed around you even more than before, walking around without his mask, only in a veil.

- It is also important to mention that the people love you! Women look up to you and your loveliness, and men look up to your intelligence. You often receive compliments about being an amazing Queen to the people of Jerusalem, from nobles and so-called peasants.

- Your sister-in-law Sibylla ADORES you!

- Before she met you, she was filled with worry about the woman he was going to marry. She loved her brother and wanted the best for him, she wanted him to marry a woman with grace and dignity. So once you two got to know each other better, a huge weight was lifted off her chest.

- You and Baldwin would spend a lot of time together, whether that be him and you just laying in bed and talking for hours on end, or you watching him write letters for different kings and draw new ideas, admiring him silently.

- When you learned that he was French, but had never visited France you made sure that he would get to see it. You planned a trip for his birthday, which wasn't easy due to his condition however you made it work in the end.

- You made sure the best physicians in the country would accompany you throughout the journey to and through France, and once Baldwin learned of this surprise you had for him, he was over the moon.

- It was on this trip that he realized he didn't fall in love and marry just any woman, but a lifelong partner whom he could be proud of.

THE END.

[gemsofgreece]

hi! I’m creating a character design and I have some questions about Ancient Greek attire (preferably around 650-550 B.C.E and with pictures)

what differences are there between the clothing and hair of unmarried and married women? I’ve heard that married women had their hair in nets while unmarried women had it loose, but also the opposite.

Were there any hair styles that were more commonly worn by unmarried women?

And what type of clothing did unmarried women wear in comparison to married women? Is there any difference?

And vice-versa, what styles of hair or dress did married women typically wear? Was there anything that changed to symbolise a woman’s marriage status?

Was there anything in mythology that was used to symbolise a deity’s or character’s marriage status?

I’ve looked at a ton of websites and have struggled a lot, I’m not too afraid of making my design slightly inaccurate but I’d like to stay as close to reality as possible. Any help would be really helpful and appreciated <3

Hello! Women in the archaic period wore their hair long and loose or in multiple braids. Towards late Archaic period, closer to classical times, updos like buns and cignons (with nets or not) became more popular, particularly for married women. The married women were the ones who usually had their hair up, not the young girls. Some exquisite hairstyles you see sometimes on the internet... it's not that they are wrong but they were prominent in the hellenistic and the roman period and would be encountered in rich women usually. Archaic and Classical fashions were more minimal. If you want to fancy up your archaic character's hairdo and face give her something like a beautiful coronet or something like a headband and large intricate earrings and necklaces (from all metals, beads and most semi-precious stones).

Greeks of the Archaic period took pride in their long, healthy flowing hair, to which they gave a glow by applying oils, so it would be nice to play with that in your art.

Clothing did not differ all that much between married and unmarried women, except a married woman would dress a little more modest, she was more likely to have an epiblema (shawl) above the peplos (apart from the himation) and she was more likely to cover herself with a kalyptra (veil) in the presence of men outside the family. After all, unmarried women had to show off a little more skin in order to... get married.

Helen of Sparta covering her head in the presence of men.

That's not to say an unmarried girl would not ever wear shawls and veils or that the world would turn upside down if a married woman was seen without those but their rules of propriety were definitely stricter for married women.

The richer your character is, the more liberal you can get with the jewellery, the embroidery on the clothes, the colourfulness and the finery of the linen used (as opposed to the cheap plain wool).

Wedding procession, 550 BC. Notice how all women have long hair and headbands.

I don't know much about marriage symbols, in mythology or not. I know apples were symbols of romantic interest and a marriage proposal. Pomegranates were given to newly married women as symbols of good luck and fertility.

Bonus art from Classical period but it was so cute:

[preciadosbass]

23/8/24 [draft from friday — key + significant photos at end]

yay i can finally post this!! woke up at 6:30 and said goodmorning to boris. he was inside again, i think because of how cold it is out. i then got dressed as soon as i could so i was completely ready before the time we had to leave to go away. i put on a light gray low cut shirt, but then started freezing alive so i changed into my sleeping with sirens shirt as it was the only shirt out that i hadn’t already packed. i paired it with black ripped skinny jeans, gray + black striped arm warmers, knee high converse, danger days my chemical romance zip up, my kellin quinn necklace, a surfboard shaped wood carved necklace — and no cuffs/bracelets as this outfit is just to be worn for the car ride to the campus and then ill get changed for swimming.

after getting ready, i had a snack and painted my left hand’s nails with black nail polish. i surprisingly did them pretty neatly to how i usually do it and considering how small my nails are. within a few minutes of them being dried, half of my second smallest nail’s polish came off halfway lmao - i was going to put some more on to cover it up, but i was in a rush and i needed to do my teeth, i finished at 7. i then checked on boris again and replaced the pins on my bag. ive needed to ever since i took a ton off to put onto my jacket. all that’s left now is: incubus pin, spider-man pin, the last of us pin, t-rex pin, saliva pin, kittie pin, shark pin, beetle pin, brendon urie pin, chi cheng pin, soulfly pin, collide with the sky [pierce the veil] pin, and a silent hill pin. which sounds like a lot, but because of the way they’re set out, it dosent look like many. at least not compared to what i’m used to.

once i was done [7:18], i packed my bag. i packed: my camera, skeleton gloves, collage scraps, my collage journal, camera charger, headphone charger, extra bracelets, my spiral earrings, battery packs, my hairbrush, my wallet, hand sanitizer, meds, and my phone charger. after doing that and a few other odd bits around the house [turning off switches, making sure i’ve packed everything, etc] i went to see boris properly at 7:40. i told him about everything that’s going to be going on [who’s taking care of him, that she’s not comfortable letting him out, when we’re getting back, things like that] and said goodbye to him. i finished officially at 8:20. i’m gunna miss him so much while we’re away, but i’m excited to see him again afterwards and tell him everything.

everyone [me, my sister, my parents] got in the car at around the same. unrelated, but i also forgot to mention in yesterdays journal, archie was taken over to my sister’s friends house to be looked after. we set off at 2:30 and i looked through soul punk patrick stump videos along with a few pretty odd era panic! tiktoks. also watched my chemical romance’s song 2 [blur] cover, i don’t know why i haven’t seen this before i’m obsessed. i started journaling at 9:16 and wrote all of the paragraphs above. than at 9:30 i took a break and started listening to some music. [just surrender, fall out boy, gerard way + ray toro, frank iero, falling in reverse, blur, my chemical romance, death of a bachelor panic! at the disco, a static lullaby.]

i had a nap somewhere near 11:30 [on my seal plush] and woke up at around 12:40. i continued listening to music [CKY, HIM, frank iero, darling you should be ashamed, linkin park, lovehatehero, before today, a bullet for a pretty boy [[so underrated]], and sleeping with sirens.] i did so until 1:44 when we arrived at the resort. my dad pulled the car into the drive through place where you get your keycard/folder of leaflets and after driving round to our car park, we started unpacking into the room. on our holiday guide, it said that we could only get in our room at 3, so we were lucky to get in early. as soon as i found me & my sisters room and claimed my bed, and hung up my necklaces on the windows’ handle. along with taking a few things out of my bag + putting cuffs/band bracelets on. we did plan on going to swimming as soon as my extended family arrived, but that ended up not working out as they had to leave late.

i then took out my collage journal and started cutting up the leaflets from the folder into separate letters [etc] to make a collage tomorrow. well i say tomorrow, when i started cutting everything up, i intended for me to put everything together today. [photo at end] but i only got round to collecting the bits of paper i need. i used my stamps to print stars onto a yellow sticky note and took a couple pictures of the leaflets incase we needed anything off them after id cut them up [e.g wifi support]. me, my parents and my sister left for a show and arrived at the venue at 3:12. on the way to the venue, we met up with D [one of my cousins, his girlfriend — L, and her son, W.] we got the time wrong so we thought were really short on time, but it started 20 minutes after we found a table.

first up was a beatboxer, except he made more sound affects than sounds to make into some kind of song. he was also really funny with the way he made and timed the sound affects. it’s impossible for me to explain with unless you were there and saw him, but he was really good. next was four breakdancers, ive never really had much interest in breakdancing, but it was quite cool to watch them. one had come all the way down from japan or something.

after was one of those big hoop acts. there’s not much to say as there’s not much to explain — following on from that, a bmX rider came out and started doing all kinds of crazy tricks. i somewhat remember seeing the show itself around a year ago, but this bmX guy was different than last year. its tricky to explain a bmX show generally, but its even trickier for people to read id they don’t know what it is. so i recommend looking up bmX tricks. once he’d done his thing, a basketballer came onto stage. he was manipulating the ball and circling it around him shoulders etc. behind him was a fake button with “do not push” plastered above it. obviously, it’s a show, he ‘pressed’ the button and everytime another ball would roll out from backstage.

in the end, he was working with 5 different basketballs. it was super impressive. before the show finished, everyone came out and did all their tricks side by side. during the entire show, the beatboxer was singing and making even more sound affects. he actually had a pretty decent voice. at 4:30, after we’d all packed up our stuff and gotten ready to leave and do something else, me, my parents and my sister headed back to our room. D, L and W went off to their rooms aswell. upon getting into our chalet, i went to have a nap but ended up putting on my skates. my sister stuck on hers and we circuited a section of the resort, looking for D’s room. it didn’t take us long before we found it. but during skating around and checking door numbers, i stupidly sped round a corner on the second level of chalets and nearly fell headfirst down a huge staircase.

i assumed that it’d turn and go round the other side, so i could look at the numbers on the other rooms, as a few other of the second story ‘balconys’ or whatever you wanna call them - don’t have stairs and just follow on around the other side. but i was wrong. i slightly toppled down the first two stairs and then grabbed onto my sister’s back. luckily i didn’t make her fall over lmao // at 5:30, all of us [all of my family] went round to our restaurant for dinner. it was a little cheeky of us to even eat together as everyone in the family apart from my parents & sister have reservations for another restaurant.

after dinner, i went back to the room and stayed there for 30 minutes alone before me, my sister and my parents made our way to yet another show. we arrived at the venue and i sat near the front on the floor with my sister. my mum sat on some stairs and my dad stayed standing. it was a magic show, which is quite a complicated thing to explain, especially because i actually didn’t understand how any of the tricks were done, but i enjoyed it. also while the backstage staff were sorting out some more props the start of my generation by limp bizkit played!!

the show finished at 8, and me and my immediate family went round to the rest of the family’s chalets to check them out. i went into the more cousin based one first, the people staying in it were: RY and H, and R and E. i sat on R’s bed and just people watched [mostly] until H offered to paint my right hand’s nails dark purple as id forgotten to paint that hand in black when i was at home. then i went to see the rest of my family’s room. the family members in this chalet are my aunt and uncle, and L/W. when i came in my uncle had a jumper over the radiator and it smelt so bad and was clearly just about to light on fire. i went back into the cousin’s room/s and went to see E and see what she was doing.

she was applying gems to her eyelids with some kind of makeup glue. she asked if i wanted some and i agreed so she sat me down and gently glued the gems onto my face. [photo at end] when she was done and if verified i was happy with it, i went back to my room to quickly get something — i’m not sure what it was as im writing this on the 27th. when i got back at 9:10, we had to leave for another show. we walked across the resort and arrived at the venue to get ourselves some seats. me and E tried taking pictures of our gemmed-up eyelids together but wasn’t able to because of bad lighting. the show was advertised as a ‘rock’ festival, however the music that played was things like lizzo and ed sheeran.

i was kind of disappointed because i thought it’d be punk rock or something else i would be able to sing along to, but it was funny that we were catfished so bad. me and R just sat there making faces for eachother, indicating that ‘this isn’t rock, wtf is this’ - the performance ended at 10:20 and we went straight to another venue to join in with a ‘music dance party.’ as you can imagine, the music was dance music, but i like dance music. i somewhat danced with my grandad, E and R. R spun me around and my sister stayed swaying across the dance floor with my dad. [photo at end]

i haven’t really ever seen my dad dance before, but his favourite ‘party’ track came on and he went mad. he was doing all sorts of weird dance moves but it was cracking me up. if only whoever is reading this saw it in the moment. we parted with the rest of the family and went back to the chalet at approximately 11:30. i started to do a bit of my journal, made a picture collage of the day, and had a little nap. after my nap, i asked my parents questions about boris, said goodnight to boris via a picture of him [the picture in question is at the end] and went to sleep at 1:45.

🗝️ — boris/my cat, archie/my immediate family’s dog, questions about boris/i ask my parents questions about my cat to verify he's okay + will be okay in the morning. its a compulsive thing and i'm hopefully going to be tested for OCD in the future.

have a good day/night O_o

[dragon-fics]

Sunlight (Sunny x Rain-Sea OC - Dewdrop)

Chapter summary: Dewdrop has always been a mysterious dragon, and since meeting, Sunny has found herself drawn to her

Warnings: don't think anything apply

Fandom: Wings of Fire

Relationships: Sunny/Dewdrop (OC)

Characters: Sunny, Dewdrop Mentions of: Thorn and Stonemover, new ocs to be written soon

Tags: wlw, f/f romance, soft, fluff, sfw, spy x princess, sunshine x sunshine-lover, titled after a song

word count: 2700

Song: Sunlight - Hozier

Note: Takes place after book 5. So far, Dewdrop met the DoD when she was a spy in the Sky Kingdom. She didn’t really interfere with the DoD, just followed and helped where she could. Her main contribution was following Sunny after she’d been kidnapped and chose to fly to the Scorpion Den/followed her through the events of book 5. when they met Stonemover, Dewdrop said a few words to help convince to get off his depressed ass. while he and Thorn don’t get back together, they have an okay relationship and Stonie teaches/helps out at JMA. I headcanon Sunny as an ace lesbian that goes by she/they pronouns, so I’m experimenting here with it. I do apologise for how broken and janky these two pieces are, but these are more for myself. (also hozier is a mud-sky hybrid in this someone may hate me for that)

Sunny had never been to such a celebration.

The castle was alive with dragons and chatter and dozens, if not hundreds, of carved pumpkins. She looked around at all the faces. Compared to the battle of the Eye of Onyx, this was a relatively small meet up. But it was hardly small for what Sunny knew.

This was so incredibly different to how they’d spent most of their life; dreary grey walls, damp stone… Kestrel. It was the complete opposite. It was so warm and cheery, and her mother was right at the heart of it.

Sunny could see her in the centre of the foyer, chatting with a group of councillors, leaders of SandWing towns all throughout the desert. Each one was adorned with various trinkets and faces shaded with coloured veils. It looked so wonderful! It made her wings flutter with excitement.

In the air hung the warm and stinging scents of spices mixed with the fruitiness of the drinks and candles in the pumpkins. Sunny had never smelled so much, and it was wonderful.

It was all so overwhelming. The sights and smells took over the entire castle, even up on the balcony overlooking the full foyer. There was more breathing room up there, with some chatting dragons sipping dragonfruit punch. Unlike the ones below, they were scarred and sharp-eyed, watching the queen and her more mannered guests. Six-Claws had said they were Outclaws, welcomed with open wings to the castle and, of course, the party.

Sunny’s gaze was locked on the open dining room though, the most focused it had been all night. She was starving, and a few dragons seemed to be lingering in there now. She fiddled with the emerald dangling from her gold necklace. This might be their only chance to eat before the next phase of the party. Her mother had invited performers, a travelling circus that was known for recruiting in the Scorpion Den and moving from the most northern corner of the Sky Kingdom to the Kingdom of the Sea’s islands. Thorn was so excited about their visit, recalling so many memories from the tricks and flips the RainWings performed, the fire-play of the Firescales, and the swift ice-sculpting of the IceWings. And now they had a recruit, a singer gaining quite a bit of popularity.

Sunny has seen many things while flying over Pyrrhia, and this circus seemed to be highly anticipated by even the most senior of Outclaws. Whatever it was about these performers, they were beloved.

And the crowd would be big. The stage would be in the foyer, the centre of the party. Everyone would be watching, from the balcony and staircase to the windows overlooking from the library.

And of course, the dining room would be full to the brim, the nearest room to the performance.

“It’s quite the party, isn’t it?” It was a sweet voice, but careful with her wording. How long had it been since Sunny had heard it?

A smile possessed her before she could even think. “Dewdrop! What brings you here?” She found herself hugging her, and Dewdrop’s webbed talons gently patted her back.

“Oh, I’m here on business. Did Th—Queen Thorn not tell you?”

It was a quick hug, and Sunny took the opportunity to look her over. Dewdrop had dressed herself in deep purple scales with marigold SeaWing markings and wings, so different to what Sunny had seen her in before. Usually, she matched the dragons and environment around her. This was bold, like her quick comments and confidence.

Sunny took a moment to hear what she said. “No?” but they panicked. Had Mother mentioned anything about outside help?

Dewdrop gave her a reassuring look. “You’ve been busy with Jade Mountain, of course. Thorn asked me to come and help sort out any of Oasis’s messages and plots that were left around, and with the letter-room. trying to sort those letters out has been a pain!” she sighed but smiled. “It’s paying well, so I can pay my own help well.”

“Help?” Sunny questioned.

Dewdrop nodded and started to walk down the stairs. Sunny couldn’t leave the conversation now. “Some former Talons of Peace. Nautilus left them high and dry.” She slipped in between a group of chatting dragons, leading Sunny into the bustling foyer. “Most split and went home, either apologised to their queens, snuck back into society or just settled in places like Possibility. A few are so used to the spying and keeping tabs on the world that they want to keep it up.” They walked toward the dining hall, Sunny walking beside Dewdrop as she spread her wings to nudge dragons aside and guide a clear path through. Even when not knowing or seeing her, they obeyed. “And I know no different, so I figured we’d stick together. Got some MudWings, a SandWing, SeaWing, IceWing, oh, and one of those NightWing brothers we met.” As she talked, she gestured a wing to each: a gathering of MudWings by the entrance; a beige SandWing with a black zig-zag pattern, sail and neckerchief in the corner, shuffling a deck of cards; a near-white SeaWing lingered by the punchbowl, an octopus on her shoulder, and a lilac IceWing stood beside her. The NightWing Sunny couldn’t see, but Dewdrop gestured to the balcony.

“Some are part of the show tonight, and we might be gaining a couple of recruits in a few days. They’re on the branch about things.” She extended a talon to grab a fruit kabab and bit off the strawberry at the top. “You should try one.”

Sunny looked at the bowl. It was the most colourful spread she’d ever seen. Strawberry, three types of melon, kiwi and dragonfruit were held together on a skewer. It looked so fresh. They smiled and grabbed on.

Dewdrop offered them a plate, which Sunny gratefully took. “You sound like you’re doing well.”

Dewdrop swayed her head either side in a not really way. “There have been better operations. We’re happy, I suppose. The NightWing gets things done fast. Fennec has always been reliable.” She bit off some cantaloupe. “How’s Jade Mountain Academy coming along?”

Sunny hummed. “Steady. Father is helping with the caves and making the tunnels more homely. I think he’s enjoying it.”

Dewdrop led them over to a couple of spare seats in the corner. The burgundy velvet went well with the themes of orange and black throughout. “That’s good. I’m glad we got Stonie out of that cave. Make himself useful for a cause he believes in.” She wrapped her long, thin tail around herself. Finally getting a good looked at it, Sunny noticed it was shorter than the average RainWing, and thicker too. But she’d seen Dewdrop swing and glide between trees in the rainforest. The length clearly didn’t limit her.

“What about the students? Have the queens accepted the idea?” Dewdrop’s gaze scanned the room, cold blue eyes watching every dragon, every entrance, and every shadow. She’d done that since they’d met in Scarlet’s Palace and, Sunny presumed, since she had hatched.

Sunny nodded, turning the skewer in their talon. “So far, Mother, Queen Ruby, Queen Moorhen and Glory—of course—have accepted. Queen Coral is very on the dunes about it—” she really liked that phrase, “—and Queen Glacier hasn’t come back yet. I think there’s some hunting season right now.”

Dewdrop’s gaze was anchored on her again. Not in an uncomfortable way, just a listening way. “I take it Anemone wishes to go?”

Sunny nodded again. “Of course. The Princess is eager to get a look on the world now that the war is over, and she has Tsunami of course. And Princess Auklet is okay, and the statue taken care of.”

She had a cube of watermelon this time. “A hard choice to make for her, then. Her daughters are just safe. Is she willing to trust one in someone else’s care? Tsunami will have to put everything into convincing her.”

Sunny absentmindedly mimicked her. “You talk like you’ve heard all our meetings and read all the messages.”

A smirk rose to Dewdrops face. “Maybe I have.” She raised a wing in a shrug.

“You wouldn’t spy on a queen!” Sunny hushed her voice, but Dewdrop’s grin reminded her of who she was talking to.

“I always have. I gave Scarlet anxiety, I’m pretty sure. Even popped in to see Ruby last week. She’s doing very well for herself, despite not fixing the broken sky-door.”

Sunny tried not to pull a face. “You really do know everything.”

Dewdrop hummed. “Not really. Just about every dragon worth knowing. Can’t say I know everything, though. So many mysteries fill Pyrrhia.”

“Such as?”

Dewdrop swayed her head again. “Like if you’ll join me for a dance, Princess Sunny?” she offered a slim webbed talon to Sunny.

Sunny found themself frozen, face heating up. She knew if she was a RainWing she’d be completely pink, like Jambu. They looked away, flustered, heart picking up a pace. She put down the plate, talons feeling ready to fail. Did she just ask that? This cool, elite, expert spy just ask her for a dance?

Dewdrop slowly lowered her talon, but Sunny placed hers in Dewdrop’s before it got too far. “I’d love to.” They smiled, cheeks burning and scales tingling in excitement.

Yellow splashes rose to Dewdrop’s cheek, forehead and jaw. “Great.” As her talon wrapped around Sunny’s, the highly anticipated singer appeared on stage. A MudWing-SkyWing hybrid rose to the stage, brown scales shining in the warm light as the band behind him started a thumping, steady rhythm.

Dewdrop brought Sunny to an open spot by the stage as the crowd stilled and watched the stage come to life.

“I would shun the light…”

Sunny, despite their notability among the dragons of Pyrrhia, had never actually had such eyes on them before, even having held the Eye of Onyx and given it to their mother. She had never been in such an enclosed space, watched by so many.

She looked at Dewdrop, whose gaze was set on her with softness as she moved around the dance floor with her, the singer accompanying them as the performers danced beside them. It was all so mesmerizing. The lights, Dewdrop’s gaze and dance, the music, the faces watching them, the dancers on stage… Dewdrop.

Sunny’s heart thumped faster. They hadn’t even noticed that they were dancing with Dewdrop, faces close, talons dodging each other.

Dewdrop’s scales changed in waves of pink and yellow with the music. “You’re quite the dancer, Princess Sunny.” She smiled, blue eyes catching the pink light.

Sunny copied Dewdrop as she curved her body in a loose spiral, faces at the centre and bodies curved out. “Oh, stop with that!” they giggled softly in embarrassment. “You’ve known me since before I was a princess! Sunny is fine. Perfect actually.”

A smirk formed on Dewdrop’s face. “What about Sunlight?”

The word echoed behind her, the singer repeating it twice in a sweet harmony.

Sunny nodded after a moment. “Sure.”

“And Sunflower?”

“It’s pretty.”

“Sunshine?”

That one took Sunny by surprise. That clearly held more value than the song name and sunflower. Sunshine was vital to a RainWing’s life. “I-If you like?” they stammered.

Dewdrop's face was unreadable as a light came from behind her, hiding her expression. “I think it suits you,” she said after a moment.

*~*~*~*

The weather at Jade Mountain was always breezy. Rain, hail or shine, there was a wind to accompany it.

Sunny liked it, especially because of the bamboo wind chimes. Dewdrop had brought them as an “office-warming” gift a few weeks prior. The hollow thudding was comforting throughout the day, as she worked and planned and ate. Even Clay and Stonemover had complimented them when they came to talk to her.

She hoped Dewdrop knew how much they liked them.

Sunny would often spend her evening watching them, listing to their song as she put seeds out for the birds—another thing Dewdrop had given her. They weren’t a sloth or Scavenger, but they were nice. Maybe one day they’d be comfortable in her presence.

“Is the view nice, Sunshine?”

Sunny lifted their head, seeing Dewdrop by the entrance of her office, holding a steaming terracotta cup. She couldn’t help but smile. “Dewie!”

She had taken on a more permanent colour since they’d started talking at the party. Dewdrop had adopted a pink body and orange back and shoulder scales. The belly was a pale pink and her ruff and fins a pastel orange. Her SeaWing markings were never the same. Some days they were blue like her father’s, other days were white. This time, she was trying an orange to match her scales. When they’d first met, Dewdrop seemed to be a SkyWing, her frill and fins carefully hidden and pinned down, or she blended in with the forest, looking like a gathering of leaves.

Sunny liked it.

Dewdrop stepped closer using her wings as front talons, moving her gaze to the window. “You have some friends. The SkyWings will be jealous, you’re outdoing their bird care.”

Sunny laughed; eyes fixed on Dewdrop. “Oh hardly. I’m just an amateur.”

Dewdrop settled beside her and offered Sunny the warm terracotta cup. As soon as it was cradled in her talons, Sunny was wrapped in the scent of cinnamon. It reminded them of their mother. “How’d I do?”

Sunny smiled. “Excellent. You’ve perfected the recipe.” She took a first sip, the milk warming her soul and scales, the spice easing her thoughts. Her wings drooped and her neck eased.

She thought she saw yellow blotch on Dewdrop’s muzzle, but when she turned to face her, there was nothing. “How’s the academy coming along?”

Sunny sighed; their head leaned on Dewdrop’s neck. It was shorter than a typical RainWing’s but so strong. “Stressful. I’m worried about who we are inviting to the school. A last-minute request came in from a SandWing. No one knows anything about her, though.” She sipped her milk. “Tsunami is uninterested. She’s just delighted Anemone is coming. And Clay is fixed on everyone being comfortable.”

Dewdrop let them talk, and after a moment, she hummed. “Maybe I can find out about her. What has you so concerned?”

“She’s so…” Sunny tried to find the best—nicest word to explain, “old. She’s over twice my age. Close to Mother’s, actually. She’s really pushing too. I don’t want to refuse just because of age. Anemone is only two after all.” She lifted her head to look at Dewdrop, only now realising what she’d done. Heat rushed to her face. Where her head had rested was a yellow patch of scale that was now fading.

Dewdrop wavered her head. “I’ll look into it for you. Most of your students are younger than you. Why would she want to be here? I’ll find her. Tell me her name and anything you have on her.”

Sunny reached for their desk, giving their cup to Dewdrop and grabbing the list of names and a form from the drawer. “This is her. Her form even… lacks enthusiasm. Especially when compared to the others.” She gave the paper to Dewdrop, and she exchanged them for the cup.

Dewdrop read through everything. “Not a good actress,” she said after a few moments.

Sunny tilted their head, stepping closer. “You think she’s acting?”

She nodded, looking at Sunny. “Oh absolutely. She wants something. I’ll look in to her. No charge.”

Sunny sipped her milk, Dewdrop’s tail touching hers. “That’s good. I have nothing to offer.”

Dewdrop tilted her head. “Not even a date, Sunshine?”

Sunny faltered. “What kind?” Did she even have time for that? The school was nowhere near ready, and she was in charge of the papers!

She shrugged. “Picnic at the Winding Tail River? I’ll provide the food. Tomorrow at noon?”

Sunny barely considered it before nodding. “Only if you stay birdwatching with me.”

“We have a deal, Sunshine.” She wrapped a wing under Sunny’s to pull her close. Sunny leaned on her again, her own wing wrapping around Dewdrop, yellow spreading over her body with pink lingering on her chest.

[autumntouched]

Day 25 of Ode to Phoenix

Summary: Part of the Hannix Football Rivalry AU Series in which Jake is a Cowboys fan (lol like Glen) and Natasha is a 49ers fan (like Monica and me)

Jake and Natasha's Wedding, Pt. I - The Ceremony

Pairings: Natasha "Phoenix" Trace x Jake "Hangman" Seresin

Warnings: None for this part, just fluff

A/N: This fic got really long so I'm posting it in three parts. I'm sorry this took awhile, and I'm a little nervous about it but needed to stop rewriting and get on to your ACTUAL requests. Thank you so much to everyone who submitted song suggestions! As you'll see, I may have gotten a little carried away. Please don't judge my song picks too harshly. Okay, hope you enjoy!

I'm sharing the full Hannix Wedding Playlist here, but the key songs are also included when they appear in the fic.

The Wedding | Pt. I - The Ceremony

Natasha wasn’t exactly sure how she was going to feel on her wedding day but the eye of a hurricane hadn’t been on her list. 

She sits quietly in a corner of the room off the beautifully decorated outdoor terrace that overlooks the mountains. As soon as Jake shyly told her that he wants to see her face from the moment he lays eyes on her as his bride, she chose a light veil that cascades down her back. Her dark hair is swept into a low side chignon with a few pieces left out to frame her face. For the ceremony, she wears Jake’s great-grandmother’s pearl comb in her hair, pearl drop earrings and their matching necklace.

Although it took some searching, Gabby helped her find the perfect wedding dress. The elegant, yet simple, sleeveless fitted bodice has a low square neck and open back that flows into a slightly flared skirt and train of floating layers of lace. A sash defines her waist. Her dahlia, peony, astilbe, and eucalyptus bouquet rests on a table beside her. Folded and tucked into the ribbon wound around the stems are her handwritten vows, although she’d memorized them weeks ago. Lightly, she drums her soft pink nails on her knees.

While the photographer flits around, the wedding planner and her mother try to herd the bridal and grooms parties together. Payback is doing his frantic best, with Amelia’s help, to keep the flower girls and ring bearer from wrinkling or tearing their clothes while protecting his dress whites from a game of tag.

Everyone else is so worried about today going perfectly but as long as Jake is standing there when she walks outside, Natasha couldn’t care less about the rest. 

“You ready, Captain?” her dad asks, voice brittle with emotion. Gabby was always “Princess” and from the day she told him she wanted to be a pilot, Natasha became “Captain.” He’s wearing a tailored black suit that flatters his stocky yet athletic figure and swarthy complexion. His hair and trimmed beard are more gray and white than they are black now, and his rugged face a little weathered from too much sun. But he still has the youthful energy of her childhood. 

She reaches for his hand. Even now, his grip suffuses her with a sense of safety and steadiness. “I’ve never been more sure of anything I’ve done,” she promises.

He kisses the top of her head. “You’ve always been sure of yourself.”

Natasha smooths her thumb over her engagement ring, now on her right hand. “This feels different though,” she admits hesitantly. “It’s the one thing I’ve ever been scared of doing.” 

That’s not entirely true. There are plenty of things she’s been scared of in her life. She’s a military aviator. But flying, her career–all the other things–they always feel like they are largely within her control, even when things don’t turn out as expected. If she works hard, prepares well, and plans accordingly, the rest falls into place. 

Loving Jake doesn’t come with control. Left up to her, a cocky, smart ass, antagonistic fellow aviator is not who she would have picked to fall for. Even falling in love had been a question mark on her life road map. But they were in too deep before they even realized they’d left the shore a long way back, everyone else well aware of the only three words left to say between them. Those three words, though they’ve been said many times since, still terrify her because they mean there’s another person at the controls of her heart. 

Her father tilts her chin up so she looks him in the eye. His gray eyes are soft yet pained. “Nasha, I promise that you aren’t your mother and me. We didn’t know each other or ourselves half so well as you and Jake do. And I’m proud of you for that.” 

She squeezes his hand as he clears his throat and swipes a tear from his cheek. “Thank you, Dad.” 

Mama comes over to them, practically floating in a midnight blue dress with lace sleeves. “Your gown’s going to get wrinkled sitting down, bumblebee,” she worries. Natasha gets to her feet to keep Mama calm and lets her fuss over the back of the gown. She meets her dad’s gaze and they suppress their smiles. This is how her mother deals with her nerves.  

“I’ve got it, Mama,” Gabby sighs. She’s stunning in her dark green bridesmaid gown with her hair flowing down her back in luscious brown waves, one side swept up with a gold, floral hairpiece. “Luca’s waiting for you.”

Natasha gives Mama a final hug and reluctantly watches her leave. Lise, the wedding planner, motions for the groom and bride’s parties to follow her out too. The room falls still and oddly hushed with only her sister and father left at her sides. 

Gabby picks up the bouquet and smiles at her almost shyly. Natasha’s heard horror stories of family members falling out while planning a wedding, but she’s never felt closer to her sister and isn’t sure she would be here without her. Had it been up to her with all of the planning and decisions that had gone into this day, she’d be marrying Jake in a courthouse with no one but them and a witness. “Jake’s going to lose it when he sees you,” Gabby says reassuringly. 

Natasha’s heart flutters with nerves for the first time. She hasn’t seen Jake since he kissed her goodbye early this morning when she left to get ready. It’s a little unfair. He opted for dress whites for the ceremony so she’s seen him in his wedding attire. But he’s never seen her like this. Silly as it is, because Jake wouldn’t care if he married her wearing jeans and a t-shirt, she hopes he likes the dress she picked. “He’ll kill me if he cries,” she laughs. Only because he’ll owe her money for betting she’ll cry more. He never learns, but she loves him for that too.

“He’s not going to be able to help it, Captain,” her dad warns while her sister looks her over with a wry twist to her mouth. 

“Yeah, he’s going to be a fast widower then because you’re stunning, Nasha,” Gabby adds, her face brightening with anticipation. “C’mon, let’s see if we can hear what’s happening.” She pulls Natasha to the door, and they’re like little kids again with their ears pressed to the wood trying to listen in while their parents talk. 

When the guitar instrumental of “Your Song” starts, Natasha grabs Gabby’s hand knowing that Jake’s entering the ceremony now. She imagines him walking down the aisle, tall and handsome while he struggles to look appropriately solemn instead of grinning from ear to ear. They’d agreed to let the other pick the song that they would walk down the aisle to, and she chose this one for him. Its sentiment is deceptively straightforward but there are profound depths within it, as there are in him and their life together. She also wants Jake to know how proud she is for everyone to know that he is the most important part of her life.  

Her stomach suddenly turns to a mess of butterflies. There’s a knock on the door, and Lise pops her head in. “We’re ready for you, Natasha.” Early on in their planning, Lise kept calling her “the bride,” but for some reason constantly being referred to by her marriage title annoyed Natasha and she’d insisted on her name. But she can no longer escape that today, that is what she is. 

Before panic can seize her, Gabby places the bouquet in her hands and kisses her cheek. “Just keep looking at Jake,” she whispers. Dad offers her his arm while Gabby moves behind her to adjust Natasha’s train and veil.

“Remember,” he tells her with a reassuring smile, placing his hand over the one she rests on his forearm, “today is about your life with Jake. The rest is all ceremony.”

That helps settle her nerves, and she’s further bolstered by the excitement of their friends and family as she walks past them to the end of the procession. Bob beams and waves at her and Rooster leans down to kiss her cheek. Nora pumps up her hands. 

Lise directs her to stand behind Alexis, her nieces Cora and Olivia, and cousin’s son, Charlie, who clutches the petal covered tray with the rings like his little life depends on it. The girls all wear dresses with floating white skirts and an oversized bow at their back. Alexis’s hair is braided in a thick, ribbon threaded crown around her head while Olivia and Cora have half their dark curls pulled back in bows. Charlie wears an adorable black three piece suit with a dark green tie that matches those of the civilian groomsmen. 

“So pretty,” Alexis sighs in awe, looking up at her through wide, round eyes. Today, with her hair up, she favors Nora more than Payback with her high cheekbones and square jaw. 

“You look like a princess,” Olivia agrees, brushing the front of Natasha’s dress with her fingers. Cora nods from where she hides in her older cousin’s side. 

“You all look like princesses too,” Natasha whispers back, making the girls smile. 

Gabby takes her place as Maid of Honor beside Jake’s Best Man, his cousin, Zach. Several years younger than Jake, he’d been the talk of the rehearsal dinner with his height, thick waves of dark hair that swoop to his shoulders, and full lips. He hands Gabby her bouquet and murmurs something that makes her lean into him with a giggle. Ahead in the line, Rooster looks over his shoulder at them.

One by one the pairs disappear through the gauzy curtains that sway with the late afternoon breeze. Then the children with their tray of rings and baskets. Cora insists on holding onto Olivia, so the two older girls help spread her petals. Natasha waits until she hears the first strums of “Every Breath You Take” and takes a deep breath. This is it. 

“The stalker song?” she’d asked when Jake suggested it, barely containing her laughter because she didn’t want to hurt his feelings. 

He’d looked slightly sheepish and a little upset because he heard her judgment anyway. “We have only so many times to tell someone we love them, Nat. I just want you to know that no matter what happens to me, and even if you can’t see me, I’ll always be with you.” She’d had nothing to say to that, especially once she heard the instrumental version. 

The curtains part and the guests are asked to stand for the bride. All eyes turn toward her as she walks down the petal scattered aisle on her father’s arm. A breeze lifts and flutters her veil, skirt, and loose tendrils of hair and carries the guests’ gasps and murmurs past her ears. When she shivers, Natasha isn’t sure whether it’s because of the change in temperature or the change to her life waiting only feet ahead of her.

Taking Gabby’s suggestion, Natasha looks for Jake and finds him on the dais at the front. Their gazes lock, and his jaw goes momentarily slack at the sight of her. He clenches his teeth just in time to keep his mouth closed and his face relatively solemn. Although his lips are taut with the emotion that he’s trying to blink out of his eyes, he’s beaming hard enough to wash the whole terrace in his pride. 

She doesn’t bother to try to contain her smile as her heart soars beyond the height of the mountains behind him. Her father is right. Today is about the rest of her life with the man standing before her, looking at her like the universe moves at her command. Although she’s seen him in his uniform plenty of times, Jake’s never looked so dazzling and yet so vulnerable. It requires a significant amount of her restraint to proceed to the tempo of the music rather than run into his arms, so she takes the time to memorize every detail of the way he looks in this moment for forever. 

Her father pauses so Mama, who’s already clutching a wad of soaked tissues, can hold Natasha’s face and kiss each of her cheeks. “I’m so happy for you, sweetheart,” she tells her. 

“I love you, Mama.” Natasha is startled by the tears that rise to hers. Her sister-in-laws blow her kisses and wave her attention toward the front. 

When Natasha turns from her family, Jake has stepped down to meet her. He waits, hands folded in front of him. Up close, she can see that he’s somehow even more handsome than she imagined. Especially with his blond hair a little longer at the top so that it folds into a neat wave, the closest he’s ever worn it to regulation, and his uniform slightly strained across his chest and upper arms.

Dad escorts her the last few steps, and they stop before Jake. “I’m trusting you to take care of her,” her father says with a fervor that surprises her.

Jake nods solemnly through the glistening tracks of tears on his face. “I promise, sir. Every day, every hour, every minute, every second she will be the most important part of my life.” 

Natasha almost starts crying right then and there.

Her father looks down at her. “Are you ready?” She nods, not trusting herself to speak, and he takes the hand on his forearm and places it in Jake’s large, warm, sure one. Kissing her cheek one last time, he leaves them to go forward together.

Suddenly, it’s like the entire world shifts without anyone but them noticing. Her heart races as she stands on the verge of tying her life, her heart, her future to his. As if sensing her trepidation, Jake draws her to him. “Last chance to eject,” he whispers so that only she can hear. The smile around his eyes steadies her.

“Too late,” she promises, although her pulse threatens to drown out the words. “I’m not leaving without you.” He sways forward, gaze dropping to her lips. 

“After, dude,” interrupts Coyote from his spot in the line of groomsmen to their guests’ loud amusement. “You kiss her after you’re married now.” 

They chuckle, the last of her hesitation melting away, and Jake helps her onto the dais. 

—

It’s not until their vows that her nerves return. She’s not sure whether she’s glad Jake is going first to warm up the crowd or worried she’ll have to follow him. 

“Natasha.” He says her name with his usual mix of playfulness, adoration, and hint of cheek. His dimples are on full display, and she braces herself for the ride this could be. “You know it’s never enough that I think you’re the greatest, sweetheart. I expect everyone else to know it too. So it may not come as a surprise that I tried to crowdsource my vows in exchange for guaranteeing everyone a meal at the reception.

Several bursts of knowing laughter and groans among their parties and the guests tell her that isn’t a joke. She shakes her head at him in disbelief as he goes on. “I can’t tell if this hurt or helped our rsvps because I also told them they could only eat if I liked what they said. People took the assignment with varying degrees of seriousness. Some, like your wizzo, were clearly okay with starving for the night.

Natasha glances over at Bob who looks at her like you knew what you were getting into with this one. “There are children present so I can’t repeat exactly what he said in his response, but it was to the effect that he has more respect for you than he does for me. Which, if I’m honest, most of our guests, including too many members of my own family, seem to agree with. But if this were about me, we could have saved a lot of money not feeding everyone and had a much longer honeymoon. If the Navy could spare us for that long.

His eyes softening while everyone laughs at his compulsion to brag about them even in his vows is her only warning that he might have an emotional juggernaut up his uniform sleeve. “But today, and every day from here forward, is officially about you, Nat. And I say ‘officially’ because it’s actually been that way for a long time. From the day our paths first crossed in training, even before I took my head out of my as–behind, excuse me–to hopefully be the man you deserve, I’ve looked up to you for being the incredibly brilliant, competitive, and kind person that you are. I know you don’t put much stock in how beautiful you are on the outside, but what I see most is a reflection of how absolutely stunningly beautiful you are on the inside. Everything you touch, everything you join, everyone you know is better for having you as part of them. If you only knew the stories the people here shared about what you mean to their lives and what you have done for them, you wouldn’t be standing here about to put a ring on my finger. 

She looks to the sky to fight every urge to cry until she realizes that means missing all of the effort Jake has gone through to put his love into words. Natasha surrenders and lets her eyes fall back to his face, willing only that her own doesn’t crumple into a bawling disaster. Tenderly and careful of her makeup, he dabs a handkerchief to the tears along her already soaked cheeks and chin before he continues. “The only reason I am standing here, willing to let you do that, is because I can swear that I will live by the example you set to wake up every single day and learn from my mistakes to do better. I will cheer you on to be the best at anything you do but always be there to make sure you know you are everything and enough as you are. And I promise to remember that as hard as it can be to say “sorry,” it is harder to know you’re hurting because of me. I will do my best to make you smile when you’re too hard on yourself. I will believe in you on those rare occasions you doubt yourself. I will hold you when you’re afraid to cry or be scared. I swear to always be there to take care of you, in sickness and in health, so I don’t waste a moment of this life with you. Natasha, I trust, that like everything else with you in it, our marriage will be better because of you. But I promise, too, to make sure that even on the hardest days, it is always the best part of both our lives.”       

From the sound of sniffles and nose blowing, she’s not the only one who couldn’t keep her eyes dry during his vows. And crap. She has to follow that. Gabby offers her the folded square from her bouquet, but she motions for her to keep it. Natasha flexes each of her fingers then summons every bit of her composure to make her own promises to him. 

“Jake,” she starts with a smirk, imitating the veneer of humility he can slather ironically across any word. A smile of recognition tucks into the corner of his mouth. “I’d saved time on my calendar to write my vows but then one day you made me so angry that I figured it was as good a time as any to start them so I could remind myself why I agreed to go through with this before the next time you decided not to listen to me.” Their guests laugh nervously on his behalf. She flashes him a reassuring grin to let him know that’s as hard of a time as she’s going to give him for allowing a lactose intolerant Alexis to have a milkshake while he was on babysitting duty. “What I found is that on the other side of whatever it is that you did to make me mad is something that I love most about you.

Her insides melt at the quiet surprise that loosens the lines around his eyes and mouth. “Sometimes you’re so confident in your own ability to solve a problem that you don’t listen when someone tells you how. But from that also comes your open sense of adventure and fun, your willingness to try a different way of doing things, and your unwavering belief that there is no problem too big for us if we work through it together. Sometimes you jump into things before you’ve thought them through. But that’s because you know that life can be too short to have all the answers and all the plans figured out. And you are always there to catch me as fast as you are to jump. You may be able to push someone’s buttons, but you know the right buttons to push because you are, contrary to what you might want people to believe, one of the most sensitive, protective, and caring people I’ve ever met. You are my fiercest protector but also the first to let me soar. You never second guess yourself or hesitate when someone needs your protection, and although that has gotten you in trouble from time to time, it’s what allows me to live as fearlessly as you. Because you are also one of the most fearless people I’ve ever known, one of the most brave, and one of the most honorable. And only you would think you have to make any promises or be anything more than you are for me to want today and every day to be your wife, to have the privilege of loving you, caring for you, and building a life with you.

At this point, she knows Jake will win their bet because only a single tear arcs out the corner of his eye. But Natasha couldn’t care less because she can tell from the intensity with which he’s watching her that he’s engraving every phrase into his memory. And if someone were to ask him a year from now, without hesitation or review, he’ll remember what she said today word for word. “You are my d-head because I love you as much for the things about you that make me angry as I do for the things about you that make you the man of my dreams. Because all of it makes you the man of my dreams, even if I didn’t know what I was dreaming of until you were right in front of me. You are never hard to love, Jake, only impossible to resist loving. And I know our dreams for ourselves are big, our goals incredibly lofty, but I promise in this life and any other, if all I get to do is laundry and taxes with you, I will be happy.”  

—

Jake reaches for her hands to watch their ring warming ceremony while “Accidentally in Love” fills the late afternoon air. The tiny pouch of their wedding bands passes from guest to guest, each taking a moment to bless them, give them their well wishes, kiss them, cheer them. Everyone’s love poured into their own for today and the rest of their lives to come. 

The lively tune, an anthem to them finding themselves in love before they even knew they were falling for one another, keeps the rings moving quickly. Jake’s parents clasp the pouch together then lift their hands to their lips to kiss it. When the bands reach Maverick and Penny, he salutes them and she presses them to her heart. Amelia cups them and blows into her palms. Natasha’s aunt makes the sign of the cross with the pouch and presses it to her lips. At last the rings come to her mother, who holds them while the rest of her family stacks their hands over hers then raises them in a loud cheer. Unprompted, all of their guests stand and applaud as the warmed rings are returned to Zach. 

Carefully, he removes the band meant for Natasha and gives it to Jake. Everything goes quiet, still. So still that Natasha realizes she’s stopped breathing. She watches Jake’s face waver in its composure while he slides the delicate, twisted vine, diamond ring onto her finger. “Natasha, I give you this ring as a gift that lasts forever. Know that I am always with you, behind you, by your side, and I’ll ride in this life with you to the end.”

He wets his lips, cheeks and eyes pinched to hold back his tears. With her wedding band in place forever, he moves her engagement ring back to her left hand then caresses her knuckles with his thumb. “I love you, Nat,” he whispers, touching his forehead and nose to hers. In this moment, it’s only them bound in the love neither of them expected to find but won’t let go now they’ve found it. Finally, she exhales. 

It takes all of Natasha’s training to keep her hands steady when Gabby passes her the gold wedding band meant for Jake. Guiding it onto his finger, she promises, “Jake, I give you this ring as a gift that lasts forever. Know that I’m always with you, behind you, by your side, and I’ll ride in this life with you to the end.” 

A swell of elation sends the words deep into her soul, permanently shifting the axis of her heart to align with his. She loves the way his hand looks with the band on his finger, and she’s not sure she’ll ever get tired of looking at it there. Jake touches her cheek, stroking away a tear she doesn’t realize she sheds. 

“By the authority vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

The pronouncement is barely finished before he leans in to kiss her. The touch of his lips is light and tender at first, one arm wrapping firmly around her shoulders and the other her waist to hold her close. But as their groom and bride’s parties stamp their feet and whistle them on, he sweeps her lips apart with his tongue and kisses her knees out from under her. Natasha folds into him, grabbing onto his shoulders to keep herself afloat in the overwhelming rush of love he couldn’t put into words. 

—

When the civilian members of their parties and their guests have filed out to await them at the terrace entrance, Maverick, Bob, Rooster, Coyote, Payback, Fanboy, and Jake’s groomsmen from the Naval Academy, John and Derek, line up before them. At Maverick’s command they march down the aisle in two rows.

Natasha laces her fingers through Jake’s. “Pull me close, wrap me in your aching arms.” He raises their joined hands to his lips and kisses the newly added symbols of their marriage, then the knuckles on either side. “Ready?” she asks. 

“As long as you don’t let go,” he promises. When he helps her down from the dais, she wonders how it took them so long to realize that they could have all this together. She never wants to let him go.

The white uniformed lines of their friends stop and turn to face one another. They each march two steps back until there’s a passage between them for Jake and Natasha. Maverick calls the command to draw swords. As one, their friends pull their swords from their sheaths and cross them in the air, forming the Arch of Swords. Everyone applauds the fairytale-like salute, and Jake squeezes her hand as they begin their first walk as husband and wife.

When they reach Maverick and Fanboy, they lower their crossed swords, neither of them trying to conceal their grins. “The price of passage is a kiss!” Fanboy chants gleefully. 

Jake cradles her jaw and softly kisses her lips to their friends and family’s cheers. They’re allowed to proceed to Rooster and Payback’s lowered swords. Payback winks as Rooster announces, “The price of passage is a kiss!” 

This time Jake wraps an arm around her and pulls her into him. Natasha rises onto tiptoe, leaning into his chest, and letting her foot drift into the air. The applause grows louder. Rooster and Payback let them proceed to John and Derek. 

They don’t know her as well so their smiles are less suggestive than the Dagger Squad’s. “The price of passage is a kiss,” calls Derek. 

Jake slides a hand beneath her bun and with his thumb tilts her mouth up to his, sweeping his tongue across hers while several of their guests, her brothers among them she’s pretty sure, whistle loudly through their fingers. 

When they get to the last pair of crossed swords, Bob beams at them while Coyote smirks as if he’s seen this coming from the first moment he saw them together. One final time, Bob and Coyote together tell them, “The price of passage is a kiss.” 

Jake dips her, sending a firestorm through her veins with his last deep kiss. Their guests go wild clapping, cheering, and stamping their feet. He has to do all the work of setting her back on her feet, and she still stumbles to get her footing. They pass through the last set of raised swords, Bob and Coyote swatting each of them on the butt as they stumble forward into their new life.

Jake clutches her hand, not letting go.

Part II | Part III

Ode to Phoenix Masterlist

Hannix Football Rivalry Series AU

Tag List: @melodiousoblivionao3

[darlingdawnauryn]

My Most Memorable Spirit Encounter

I said in my pinned post that I haven't officially started studying death/spirit work, but that's not entirely true. Between watching Poltergeist for the first time, buzzing with anticipation on the way home from school because I knew A Haunting would be there waiting for me, and the general paranormal-leaning landscape of early/mid-aughts subculture (I plan to make a post about the latter), I was pretty obsessed with ghosts and spirits as a preteen and ready to dive in in whatever way I could -- and there weren't a lot of ways, since my mom forbade me from using Ouija boards, conducting seances, etc. But that doesn't mean I wasn't capable of doing something.

To start, I was a pretty emo, anxiety-ridden adolescent who'd already had a few near-death experiences under my belt. Though I'd in no way call myself a medium, I believe this thinned the veil for me, giving me the chance to come across things from the Other Side that my able-bodied peers wouldn't have happened upon so easily. Couple that with the layout of my bedroom, which had a walk-in closet and a glass door leading to a fenced-in sideyard that let in the cold during winter, not to mention the huge mirror connected to my vanity dresser, and it's a wonder my fucking around didn't lead to a finding out period where I accidentally opened a portal to hell.

My room was at the end of a sizeable hallway off the dining room; I don't know if it actually gave me the amount of privacy I remembered, but despite both my parents using the glass door to go out and smoke, I could basically lock myself in and remain undisturbed for hours at a time. This gave me the opportunity to try and contact whatever the fuck was in my room -- because despite being undisturbed, I never felt truly alone. I was always aware of a heavy presence, throughout the whole house but seeming to be concentrated in the place where I slept. Again, I blame the three doorways and giant mirror. At this point I'd tried everything I could, including a homemade pendulum and a lowkey, makeshift seance with my sister (which turned out to be a bust because she didn't take it seriously and turned it into a game). So one evening, when the atmosphere felt particularly weighted, I just decided to start talking.

"I know there's something in here. Can you make yourself known to me, please?"

Nothing. No creaks, groans, taps. It's also worth noting that I didn't know homemade boards were an option; for whatever reason, a pendulum that was just a necklace that belonged to my great-grandmother was common sense. But a homemade, hand-drawn Ouija board slipped my mind. (It also felt a little bogus, honestly. I wanted the real deal.)

"Please make yourself known to me. I just wanna talk."

I also had a tall dresser that wasn't a combination vanity, and since this was around 2007 I had a five-disc CD player with a speaker on either side. Nestled between the player and one of the speakers was my MP3 player, which I always took out of my backpack after school because my dad hooked me up with an aux chord and I thought it was the coolest thing. I always kept it plugged in, and when I wasn't using it, it was pushed into that impromptu cubby. This was at least six inches back from the edge of the dresser, meaning it was in no danger of falling off the thing.

It took a few more minutes of prodding on my part, but all of a sudden the MP3 player flew from the dresser. It didn't just fall -- it was launched from its hiding place with enough force to make the aux chord grow taut, creating some resistance that probably stopped it from crashing into the opposite wall and breaking. But it did end up landing on the floor.

Like I said, I didn't have a Ouija board and at the time I didn't know pendulum boards existed. I had no way of knowing if I'd contacted a ghost, a house spirit, something else, or if my hormone-addled brain concentrated energy in an already off-putting room and made something cool happen. The good news is, that's all it was. It never veered into dangerous territory and we moved out of state shortly after anyway. Still, I would've liked to know what I'd been talking to.

Since getting into witchcraft a little over a year ago, I've felt it almost necessary to find a mentor before actively practicing spirit work; obviously this is serious shit that takes a lot of energy, and I don't wanna irreversibly mess anything up, especially since I still live with people who aren't keen on spirit communication. But reliving this memory by typing it out has made me reconsider, at least a little: if nothing bad happened back then, when I didn't know nearly as much as I do now and had no protections in place, maybe I already have a better grip on this than I thought.

Feel free to share your own experiences/opinions in the replies!

[prometheanglory]

and 👖🌌🌱🔥📎🙈💘☀️🪤👑 for vinh, my angel 🥺😳 I THOUGHT ID SEND THIS IN TWO PARTS BC ITD BE EASIER FOR U KQHSJSJSJSKSK

I LIVE LAUGH LOVE FOR THE BEEFY ASKS FOR ETERNITY AND ALWAYS and ty for ur service of offering a 2 parter grins so evilly (and i apologize for the length bc im wordy and vinh requires words… it makes for an unwise combination for word count) this actually took me months on-and-off to write since…. july 1st oh my god

👖 JEANS - what is their go-to outfit?

IT DEPENDS ON WHERE SHE IS? if she’s back at home: prefers to dress conservatively, tho she does adorn herself with a lot more flashy jewelry. her color palette is more broad, but she sticks to cream-colored dresses if she has to go out in public (her chitons are quite varied. they swing between unremarkable or notably contemporary) (reason being: her mother manages a chunk of her wardrobe). she prefers to wear her himation/veil higher up (or have it cover her completely) namely for modesty’s sake — but she feels obligated to lower it when in the company of her higher-ranking relatives, since they are a prouder crowd who prefer a more prideful look to her. while she may not put heightened emphasis on trends, looking presentable and appropriate is critical to her.

off the mountain, vinh still upholds a lot of her classiness + modesty but now prioritizes looking more put-together and formal… from a modern lens! fond of darker colors, and seldom wears anything that doesnt cover her neck or her arms in public. her go-to outfits tend to avoid pants. pants feel weird to her. they reveal + hug everything way too much. and while she’s coming around to being comfortable with showing some legs, she’s still a far cry from going anywhere without tights or pantyhose. jewelry from vinh here is much more sparse + simple, like a string of pearls or a thin golden necklace. she doesn’t like to look ostentatious without clear reason. a long skirt with a long sleeved shirt will do the job fine.

🌌 MILKY WAY - what was the inspiration behind your oc? what was the first thing you decided about them?

THE PROMETHEAN TORCH. THE FORGE OF HEPHAESTUS. FIRE. HEARTH FIRE. DUTY AND OBLIGATION… originally i was just looking 4 a convenient excuse for why her hair is on fire but then it kinda just spiraled from there. so she went from loose self insert to full-fledged oc.

i think the first thing i decided about vinh was her number-two status? ik i always bring up her weird case of generosity/duty/etc but when i first drafted her up, she was always kinda meant to be tailing idia… or well, just always bringing up the rear for someone else (originally, this aspect of her personality was much pronounced within her dynamic w leona) despite her qualifications(*) to take charge — she has never had any genuine interest in moving beyond her position, and embraces it as a supporting role. promethean fire is a tool to greatness babie!!!

**qualifications can be defined as numerous things. some may look to her status and prestige; others may look to her academic and physical performance. it is also possible to look towards her focused and cool personality.

🌱 SEEDLING - what is their most vivid memory from childhood?

she didn’t rly have much of a childhood :,) such is the fate of being the eldest daughter, but that doesn't mean she didn't have any adolescent experiences! i'd say one of her most vivid memories as a child were around her days as her grandfather's protégé. instead of eating mud and frolicking with her parents, she'd spend her days tailing him and studying to develop her magical skills. her grandpa wanted to understand where exactly her limits were with her magical prowess though, so what started as a simple lesson turned into an impromptu magic brawl.

the intent was to just go until vinh called it off, but vinh's always been a high-achieving people-pleaser. implying that 'she couldn't take it' didn't rly end up happening. the only thing that ended up stopping her grandpa from whacking around a pseudo-preteen with lightning bolts for 30 more minutes, was the fact that vinh's mom showed up and forced them both to stop (via her unique magic) bc that's the only way she could've done it without aggravating the issue further.

this incident was what gave vinh her closest brush to what over-extended use of her unique magic could entail, because of her rapid mana depletion also ended up depleting her temperature immunity. meaning that vinh was actually burning herself pretty severely without the safety barrier of her excess mana.

as all concerned mothers would, mamaphrodite was pretty pissed that her own grandfather would be so inappropriate with a girl who is many centuries his junior and barely has her leg out the door in experience. the only reason why vinh would continue her education under him + the head temple (until her eventual promotion to the head temple's hiereiai) would be due to vinh's own request (read: begging and insistence) to overlook this and let her stay.

📎 PAPERCLIP - a random fact.

she has a very very very poor alcohol tolerance — one shot does more than just get her tipsy. most people wouldn’t be able to tell she’s drunk tho. she’s the type of drunk who doesn’t really get aggressive or excited. she’s just very… compliant. almost-entirely silent. her inhibitions flew out the window and it left nothing behind but low ambitions. its hard to spot because shes not exactly super chatty and rebellious. being stone-faced and doing people weird favors isn’t even out of character for her… but the extent to which she’ll agree is the key to figuring it out.

want her to follow you? sit in this spot and not move a muscle? blow something up? clean your bathroom? get in the kitchen and make you sandwich? brush your teeth (why would you ask her to do that)? she’ll do everything to a T as asked. until she sobers up, at least (which… may take a while. depending on how much she drank.)

anyway, it goes without saying that vinh does not like being drunk. it is a lesson well-learned in her family that neither she nor her dad are meant to drink, but it’s only vinh who listens to that lesson and abstains from drinking.

🙈 SEE-NO-EVIL - whats a side of your oc that they don’t want to show other people?

she doesn’t like to show strong emotions to anothers. it’s not that she goes out of her way to present herself as cold, it’s coincidence that vinh’s idea of being mild-mannered means being very muted and distant.

strong reactions spurred on by anything (negative or positive) is improper and unnecessary, even outright uncomfortable. this notion extends to ‘intimate’ or ‘vulnerable’ feelings as well. it’s not right for her to be seen prone or viewed as ‘in-need’. vinh prefers that her thoughts, feelings, and biases stay strictly with her unless otherwise prompted (or that these feeling somehow act to the benefit or desire of others).

the point she makes pointedly clear is she prefers to be seen as a pillar and a service, rather than a person.

💘 HEART W/ ARROW - what traits do they look for in a relationship? do they believe in love at first sight?

truth comes first — she does not believe in love at first sight applies to her, and this rhetoric can be similarly applied to how she feels about true love. it probably exists. it definitely exists. but it’s not real enough to be a rule, so it’s not really relevant. love = attraction but attraction ≠ love. she doesn’t want to disappoint anybody with a promise of love when it wasnt love they were seeking. the eyes are often hungrier than the stomach, so to speak.

in a relationship, i think she’s always subconsciously looking for maturity and understanding, or at least some semblance of reassurance of her value...? but more accurately, i think she looks more towards the explicit lack of said-criteria. not all at once and definitely not to an extreme ofc, but it's just easier for her to stomach mediocrity. as starved as she may be for connections, she’s kind of backed herself into a corner of being equally repulsed by it. so. this works out decently(*) for her. she doesn’t mind bearing the brunt of the emotional and manual labor you’d expect from a relationship, even if she never is quite there emotionally.

☀️ SUN - are they a morning person? what is the first thing they do in the morning?

absolutely a morning person, but she’s Also simultaneously a night owl. she doesn’t really have much of a choice, seeing as her body doesn’t need sleep very often. aside from the usual morning hygiene routine, vinh's first priority in the morning is definitely just a random assortment of tasks ranging from waking up, freshening up, finishing up last-minute assignments… it’s usually busy, but she sees it as tame.

outside of that, her morning duties also include delivering any documents to whoever requested them, waking up/setting out uniforms for other students (largely contained to ignihyde — and only if they asked her, but there’ve been other instances). she also brings breakfast back from the shops or the cafeteria if people ask for it… it’s mainly idia who’s made a habit of this service, bc nobody else uses it as frequently as he does.

🪤 MOUSE TRAP - what will always lure them into certain danger? a loved one in danger? a promise of something they are always searching for?

i think it’d be best explained as ‘for the betterment of others’ that she’d do something dangerous!

though an endangered loved one could (would) have her up on her feet immediately, to say that the decision to leap into the fray comes ‘easily’ to her is never true. of course, she’ll do it — who else could? to the extent that she can? she extends this service outwards towards the public if she deems the threat large enough to require her attention or has otherwise been brought to her.

you could take this magnetism to danger as a testament to what she’s always seeking (the ability to be of use/be valuable/be capable/etc). the other answer you scrape from this though, is that vinh’s sense for accomplished duty comes from a place of being mutilated in some way.

👑 - what does your oc want to be remembered as? why?

to be entirely honest, she doesn’t want to be remembered. or at least, she doesn’t want her name or face or… really any facet of her to be connected to it? she knows thats a bit impossible, her status and her goals don’t align enough for such a thing. it’s just wishful and moody thinking.

if she has to be remembered, she’d like for it to not gloss over the unsavory aspects of how she ever came to be. people are free to remember her actions or what she did, whether it helped them or harmed them. she doesn’t want to be an untouchable exemplar because she managed to help some people. it is nothing but the right thing to do, the natural thing to do, and it does not need an audience.

👑 CROWN - what does your oc want to be remembered as? why?

to be entirely honest, she doesn’t want to be remembered. or at least, she doesn’t want her name or face or… really any facet of her to be connected to it? she knows thats a bit impossible, her status and her goals don’t align enough for such a thing. it’s just wishful and moody thinking

if she has to be remembered, she’d like for it to not gloss over the unsavory aspects of how she ever came to be. people are free to remember her actions or what she did, whether it helped them or harmed them. she doesn’t want to be an untouchable exemplar because she managed to help some people. it is nothing but the right thing to do, the natural thing to do, and it does not need an audience.

[bonesandthebees]

And I need these fashion notes like, yesterday. I have so many images in my head and now I need to see what you have in mind!! Here is your free invite to dump all of the worldbuilding of Roses here :)

- ❄️

okay yknow what since i got both of these asks I'm gonna make two posts: I'm gonna answer these asks with specific photo references and talk about my inspo for the fashion, and then I'm gonna make another post where I list out the actual in universe fashion trends I have written down for the world of under the hanging rose. how's that sound?

okay so first off, the inspiration for most of the fashion in the rose universe is from a few time periods of royal european history. I'm a big fashion history girlie so this might not make sense to most people who aren't into fashion history, but I kind of imagine the royal court fashion in Arestes (the country under the hanging rose takes place in) for women to be a mix of the tudor era and victorian era

specifically, the bell shaped silhouette and long, tight sleeves of the tudor era, but with the off the shoulder necklines of the victorian era. sometimes the square necklines of the tudor era are also worn, but in Arestes that's considered recently out of style as the off the shoulder neckline styles become the latest fashion. hair-wise I took a lot of inspiration from both renaissance era hair and a bit of the late middle ages, and also just game of thrones/house of the dragon because the costume design in those shows is amazing. intricately braided updos are standard for noble women in the capital city, and there's always some kind of veil/hair covering pinned to the updo even if it's not covering the hair completely.

the mens fashion is a bit less historically-based, but I guess if I had to make comparisons i'd say loosely late 18th century to early 19th century?? but with a few elements thrown in from the renaissance era and the middle ages. for the most part though a lot of my inspo for the mens fashion comes from game of thrones and house of the dragon. button-up coats and tunics with dark pants make up the standard structure of most mens court wear, with tunics going from anywhere to mid thigh all the way down to calf-length. the references I post under the read more will help it make more sense, but I'll also go more into detail in the actual fashion masterpost i'll make

okay photo references for niki, wilbur, and phil's dinner outfits (bc those are the only ones i have good references for) in chapter 1 of under the hanging rose below the cut!

alright so first off since she got asked about directly, niki.

I don't have a singular photo reference for her dress because it's kind of a mix of several images I saw.

this was the main inspo for the neckline/shape of the dress, although I'd say the waistline is a bit lower and there's less gathering in the skirt.

the color is definitely closer to this painting of a tudor era woman I saw

while the veil in her hair is pinned up like this

except the veil isn't black, it's a sheer white/gold color

also regarding the earrings wilbur mentions niki wearing, I have a full list of her piercings/the jewelry in them here

NOW

then for wilbur one of my main reference pics is this

now this high-collared coat is kind of his basic/standard look for at least this part of the story, except his coat is dark blue and decorated with lighter blue embroidery as opposed to the dark orange/lighter orange combo you see in the pic. also, wilbur's not royalty, so he's not wearing that huge gold necklace thing at all (and obviously he's not wearing a crown). his everyday tunic is a similar structure to that coat, it's just less fancy.

now wilbur's ferronniere is most similar to this

with the gold chain being pinned into his hair and the pendant resting in the center of his forehead

and also as mentioned in the chapter wilbur isn't as huge on piercings as others are, so he has far fewer piercings than niki does

moving on

like wilbur, phil's dinner outfit is pretty much the same as his everyday wear, just a bit fancier.

phil's tunic is a light blue color, with the cloak over his shoulders being a soft grey color. the metal clasps are made of a pair of wings, and the main difference between his dinner outfit and his every day wear is that his dinner tunic is covered in embroidery whereas his everyday one is more simple. I sadly don't have a reference for phil's Consil pendant necklace, just know it's there.

and the silver headband phil wears is mostly similar to this

although it wraps straight around his forehead instead of sitting on top of his head like this one does in the pic. the gems are ones of darker shades too

and of course phil's piercings bc I decided ear piercings are extremely popular in Arestes mostly for my own enjoyment

I do have more references for people's everyday outfits, but I'll probably make another post with those once we get introduced to the rest of the characters

[fanfics4all]

Drown

Request: Yes / No Day one of Halloween fics! (This is based on a Drawlloween made by RikiSayPOOF I believe)

Requests are closed  <3 Have a nice day/night

Harvey Kinkle x Fem!Reader 

Word count: 5586

Warnings: Death, drowning

Y/N: Your Name 

Y/N/N: Your Nickname

Y/L/N: Your Last Name

Y/M/N: Your Middle Name

Prompt(s): 

PLEASE DO NOT STEAL MY WORK, I WORK HARD ON MY FICS AND IT’S NOT COOL TO STEAL SOMEONE ELSE’S WORK! 

If you want to be on the tag list for anything (My series fics, specific character fics, or just all of them) All you have to do is send me an ask and I will add you! 

Masterlist 

If you enjoy my work, you could also show support by buying me a coffee! 

(Not my photo, credit to whoever made it!)

*Harvey’s POV*

The four of us were sitting at a booth in Cerberus Books. We all had our favorite milkshakes, but I wasn’t totally into it. It was getting closer to Halloween and ever since the accident three of us haven’t really been the same. Since Brina joined us it’s been better, but still not the same. 

“Harvey, you alright?” Sabrina asked. I looked up and saw everyone was staring at me. 

“Yeah, sorry… just zoned out.” I said. Rosalind reached over and grabbed my hand. I looked up at her and she smiled at me sadly. 

“You shouldn’t think about it.” She said and I sighed. 

“Think about what?” Sabrina asked with a furrowed brow. The three of us looked at each other and Theo sighed. 

“We had a friend, her name was Y/N, we went to the lake in the woods for a swim on Halloween.” He said. 

“It was her idea, she always loved to swim and that was kind of our special spot.” Ros smiled. 

“We had a cannonball contest and Y/N went first…” Theo trailed off. 

“She hit her head on a rock and there was blood all around her as she floated up… She was unconscious and drowned as she was floating to the surface…” I said and a tear rolled down my cheek. I felt Ros tighten her grip on my hand and Sabrina gently rubbed my back. 

“She was Harvey’s girlfriend…” Theo said. I wiped my tear away and took a deep breath. 

“Have you guys been back there?” Sabrina asked. We all shook our heads and Sabrina smiled. 

“What if I told you guys that you could see her again?” She said and we all looked at her with wide eyes. 

“You can bring her back?” I asked, hope clear in my voice. 

“I’ll ask Ambrose if he knows any spells that can bring her back for good, but I can bring her spirit back temporarily.” She said and we all smiled. 

“When can we do it?” Ros asked. 

“Halloween night, when she died. That’s when her spirit will be her strongest.” She said and we nodded. 

“I’ll get to see Y/N again?” I asked quietly and Sabrina nodded with a smile. 

*Halloween Night* 

The three of us met Sabrina and Ambrose outside of their house. They came out with candles, herbs, and a large book. Sabrina had a smile on her face as she rushed over to us. 

“Ambrose has a spell, do you have anything of Y/N’s?” She asked and I nodded. I pulled her necklace out of my shirt and she smiled. 

“Great, we’ll need it for the spell.” She said. We followed her and her cousin into the woods. As we got closer to the lake my stomach was twisting and I felt like I was going to throw up. Theo came up next to me and grabbed my hand. 

“It’s gonna be alright.” He whispered and I nodded. We got to the lake, and Sabrina and Ambrose placed candles around the lake. Sabrina took out a bowl with some markings on it and placed it in between a gap in the candles. 

“Okay, everyone sit down around the lake and join hands.” Ambrose said. We did as he asked and Sabrina sat next to me. 

“Cousin I need you to summon her sprit before we get her back into the world of the living.” Ambrose said. Sabrina nodded and we all joined hands. 

“Harvey, can I have the necklace?” She asked. I took it off and gave it to her. She placed it into the bowl and grabbed my hand again. 

“Spirits below and above, spirits in between, caught in the fabric betwixt worlds, we ask that the veil be lifted and that you send forth the spirit of Y/N Y/M/N Y/L/N, you’re welcome to this circle. If you’re here, we ask that you make your presence known.” Sabrina said. The wind blew around us and the flames of the candles flickered. The lake rippled and soon the air was cold. We looked up and there she was, floating above the lake. She looked just as beautiful as I remember… Her Y/H/C flowed against her shoulder, the dress she was buried in was her favorite color, and her eyes still held so much happiness. 

“Y/N?” I whispered and she looked down at me with a smile. 

“Harvey! Ros! Susie! You guys came back!” She said and tired to reach for us. She furrowed her brown when she couldn’t. 

“It’s actually Theo now, Y/N…” Theo said and she smiled. 

“Oh… sorry.” She said and Theo just smiled at her. 

“Where have you guys been? I feel like it’s been forever since we’ve seen each other.” She asked and I couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. 

“Y-You don’t remember?” Ros asked. 

“She’s a lost soul…” Ambrose said. 

“Oh… sorry I didn’t see the two of you there, why didn’t you tell me you guys brought new friends?” Y/N asked with a smile. 

“This is Sabrina and her cousin Ambrose.” Ros said and Y/N smiled. 

“Nice to meet you both.” She said. 

“Y/N, what do you remember?” Sabrina asked. 

“I remember coming here on Halloween, we went swimming and then I…” She trailed off and frowned. 

“I-I saw black, then blood, then… then I was alone…” She whispered. 

“I’m sorry, baby…” I whispered, tears falling harder. She smiled down at me with sadness in her eyes. 

“It wasn’t your fault.” She said. She kneeled down and floated in front of me. 

“I didn’t pay attention to wear I was jumping.” She said with a sad smile. 

“Cousin, it’s time.” Ambrose said. 

“It’s time?” Y/N asked, tilting her head slightly. 

“We’re bringing you home, Y/N/N.” Ros said with a smile. 

“W-What?” She asked with wide eyes. 

“We’ll explain later, we need to do the spell now.” Sabrina said, placing the herbs into the bowl with Y/N’s necklace. 

“This isn’t going to damage her necklace, right?” I asked and Sabrina smiled. 

“No, it’ll be fine.” She answered. 

“Vires superne et inferis invocamus, spiritum invocamus Y/N Y/L/N, ad mortem revocamus et spiritum ad nos revocamus!” (We call upon the powers from above and below, we call upon the spirit of Y/N Y/L/N, we call to reverse death and bring her spirit back to us!) Ambrose said as he lit a fire in the bowl. Y/N grabbed her head and screamed as the wind picked up and the water rippled as the ground shook. 

“What’s happening to her?” I called over the wind, worried that she was in pain. 

“Ambrose?” Sabrina asked. 

“She’s fighting death, her spirit is breaking into our world again.” He answered. Y/N continued to scream and I tightened my girp on Sabrina and Ros’s hands. Y/N’s spirit pulled apart and vanished into nothingness. The ground stopped shaking, the water stopped moving, and the wind died down. Y/N was no longer in front of us and the fire in the bowl was gone. I looked inside and her necklace was gone as well. 

“What the hell just happened? Where’s Y/N and where is her necklace!?” I shouted as I got up. 

“I-I don’t know…” Brina answered, with worry in her eyes. 

“Where the hell is Y/N?” I asked as Theo pushed against my chest. 

“Chill out Harvey, Sabrina didn’t mean for whatever just happened.” He said. 

“She was just trying to help.” Ros said. 

“Ambrose, did it work?” Sabrina asked. 

“I-I don’t know… I told you this spell was risky.” He answered. 

“You knew it was risky and you still did it!?” I shouted. 

“Harvey I-” 

“Um, guys?” Her voice cut Sabrina off. My head shot over and Y/N was standing there just as she was when she was floating above the lake. 

“Y-Y/N?” I whispered. Theo let go of me and Y/N was smiling brightly at all of us. 

“Hey baby, I missed you.” She said quietly. I ran over to her and pulled her into me tightly. I lifted her off the ground and spun her around. She giggled and hug me just as tightly. I placed her back down and desperately pressed my lips to hers. 

“I missed you so much…” I whispered as I rested my forehead against hers. She smiled and pecked my lips again. She pulled away from me and I reluctantly let her go. Theo ran up to her and wrapped his arms around her stomach. Y/N laughed and hugged him back. Ros came up behind Theo and as soon as he let go Roz engulfed her in a hug. 

“Don’t you ever leave us again, Harvey was a mess!” She said and Y/N laughed. 

“I won’t, no more jumping into lakes without looking for me.” She said. 

“I’m not letting you near water anytime soon.” I said as I pulled her into my chest. 

“But I love swimming!” She pouted and we laughed. 

“I’m not losing you again…” I whispered and she sighed, dramatically. 

“Fine… but what are we going to tell my parents?” She asked and we all froze. 

“We’ll get to that when the time comes, you can stay at my place for now.” I said and she nodded. I buried my head in her neck and sighed happily. I had Y/N back and I wasn’t going to let her go anytime soon. I’d protect her this time, from everything.

Tag list: @les-bio-lie @tashy-bear @ashwarren32 @hollie-blogs-blog1 @schisbro87 @lover-of-books-and-teas @nerdygaloresposts @teenwolfbitches28 @genius2050 @drw0301bieber @lady-of-lies @ravenmoore14 @ravenempress101 @cillianchamp @rowanthomasknapp @rachelxwayne @ready-4-fanfiction @lover2448

[copiousloverofcopia]

The next installment of Something Blue is LIVE!

Things are evolving for Copia and Astrid. I hope you all enjoy!

Something Blue

Sister of Sin Astrid is anything but excited for Cardinal Copia to return home from tour. As his assistant, she leads a life of monotony and boredom from which she longs for more. When the Cardinal returns, anointed as Papa Emeritus IV, she is faced with an unwanted and unavoidable situation predicated on her family's position within the church. Will Astrid rise to what has been asked of her or will she destroy everything and leave it all behind?

Chapter 3: Something Borrowed

Also available HERE on AO3. Haven't started yet? Start from the beginning HERE!

SFW below the cut

Astrid had been trying her best to move forward. Going through the motions of daily life while she was far from living it. Thoughts of escaping from the Abbey, the Ministry—continuing to weigh on her mind. There were times when the desire to leave everything behind, so that she might be free of the burdens placed upon her by her lineage and the needs of the church, was so strong she felt overwhelmed.  

Copia did his best to give her space. Though the Abbey had all but forced them to be together every waking second, including moving Astrid into the fiancée suite of the Papal Hall. Meetings, galas, Black Mass—all of them had the two of them constantly within arms length. Her only refuge from the prying eyes was at night when she would return to her room, only a few doors down from him.

She had even been given the horned veil. A special traditional habit veil that mimicked horns, worn exclusively by the heir bearers of Papas. A signal to everyone who saw her that she was, for lack of a better word, owned by Copia—by the Ministry. A Prime Mover-to-be, the woman who would further the Papal line for the church or at least they thought.

All of the high clergy members had secretly hoped that her and Copia were already well on their way to producing an heir. Little did they know that the two of them hadn’t so much as hugged, let alone copulated. Both her and Copia, keeping separate as night fell over the Abbey. Astrid spent those nights lying awake in bed. 

Staring at the ceiling, painted in depictions of the Great War between Heaven and Hell, above her as the night turned to morning. Her mind, refusing to shut off until she felt she’d go mad. Cursing the daylight as he began to appear over the horizon. The lack of sleep, slowly beginning to take its toll on her. 

She stumbled out of the bed—head aching and dizzy. She had maybe gotten 2 hours of sleep the night before. She would have to drag her way through getting ready for the day. Another morning clergy meeting that she was required to attend. 

She put on a basic black habit from the wardrobe and her new veil. Startled as she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. The last few weeks were beginning to show on her face. Dark circles, like pools of despair under her eyes and her skin paler than it had ever been before. 

“Well here goes nothing.” she told herself as she straightened out her Grucifix necklace to center it. Thinking about her late father. Maybe if he was here things would be different she thought. Maybe then someone would listen to her protests—someone other than poor Copia.

She laced up her boots and took in a deep breath. Trying to get herself together enough to put on a brave face. Just as Astrid made her way out into the hall and turned to her left, she caught sight of Copia leaving his own rooms. 

He smiled over to her and she nodded in response. The well put together Papa in his dressed down vestments of black suit and dark blue clerical collar. Even though it wasn’t his Papal regalia, Astrid couldn’t help but still think he looked handsome. Today, much to her surprise, he was also clean shaven. 

It was a bit jarring for her to see Copia without the mustache and sideburns. Trademarks she had grown accustomed to during his time as Cardinal. Now he was even more different than before. Astrid, feeling like she was witnessing a metamorphosis that would turn the shy Cardinal fully into the confident and powerful man, donning his Papal paints, that she met eyes with on the balcony.  

“Sorella?” He smiled walking towards her. Astrid’s eyes fell to the floor. She had a hard time making eye contact with him ever since that night. Staring into them had made her feel things. Things she could hardly bring herself to acknowledge—though they lingered there. 

“Papa. Trying out a new look?” she asked him, unable to control the smile that tugged at her lips.

“Si, do you like it? I am not sure how I feel about it as of yet.” he replied. 

“I think it's just fine.” she told him, Copia wondering if he imagined her beginning to blush.

“Well…ah…would you care to walk together to the meeting? I wouldn’t mind the company and well…honestly it might make for good appearances.” he suggested. He was right, it would make sense for them to be arriving together. Give the Ministry the illusion that things were as they should be. 

“Of course.” 

“Ok.” Copia said, holding out his hand for Astrid to take but she didn’t. Refusing still to truly look at him. Copia got the hint, painful as it was, pressing his lips into a sad smile. He put his hand back down at his side and the two of them continued walking to the main office in silence.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The day went on—and on. Astrid, longing for the setting of the sun. She was grateful that there was a Ghost practice session late in the afternoon. Giving her some time to herself before she headed in for the night. 

When night time finally hit she was exhausted. Her brain mush after spending the day pretending to be excited and happy about her situation. Siblings, bombarding her with questions and confessions of jealousy. If they only knew how conflicted she really was.

She dragged herself up the stairway to the Papal suites. Each step, heavier than the last. When she reached the top of the landing she could hear something in the distance. The sound of singing, emanating from down the hall.

The voice was melodic and soulful. Full of emotion—was it Copia? It seemed to call her towards it. Beckoning her like a sailor to a siren. Her curiosity and wonder spiked as she continued down the hall. 

She gave in to it. Following the sound which was surely coming from behind Copia's suite doors. For a moment Astrid listened, ear pressed against the door. Finding herself enjoying the song so much it brought her to tears.

"We dance once more. I feel your hands are cold. Within your heart, a story to be told—. This is the moment of just letting go. This is the moment of just letting go—." Copia sang. Astrid could feel his words resonating within her. So enchanted by them that she didn't even realize that she had knocked on the door.

The room suddenly grew silent and she realized what she had done. Standing still as the dead just outside the door. Listening to Copia's footfalls approaching her. "Astrid?" he asked as the door opened up to reveal her. 

"Oh Papa…I apologize, I didn't mean to disturb you." she told him. Copia practically lit up at the sight of her. More than happy to be in her company. 

"You could never disturb me cara. What can I do for you?" He asked her, still pondering why she was at his door.

"I—ah honestly was just turning in for the night and well…I heard you singing. You sound absolutely amazing." She confessed. It was then Copia's face contorted. Confused at her explanation. 

"You…you mean you never heard me before? Never listened to Ghost?" He asked her. Suddenly Astrid felt foolish and ashamed. It was as if she had disrespected him in some way. She lowered her eyes and she nodded shamefully.

"I'm sorry. I meant no offense. I don't really listen to much music nowadays anyways, and well…I also couldn't bring myself to listen to the album since…well since you know Cirrus worked on it with you." She explained. Suddenly it made sense to him. The Prequelle album was littered with Cirrus’s contributions and so of course Astrid would have wanted to avoid it at the time. They had only just broken up before the tour. 

"Ah I understand."

"Yeah, I mean I suppose I could listen now. I had no idea you had such a beautiful voice." She told him. Her words, cherrying Copia's freckled cheeks. 

"There is a lot you don't know about me cara." he replied.

"Tell me." Astrid asked him as Copia welcomed her inside his suite. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

They had spent hours talking. Copia telling her about his passion for singing. How much comfort it brought him as a young man in the Ministry. Astrid was surprised to learn that Copia was a huge admirer of Primo, who had often taken him under his wing. Giving him singing and songwriting lessons long before the two of them knew they were brothers.

Astrid found herself smiling at Copia as he spoke. It delighted her to learn there was so much more to him than she had originally thought. He was a man with a past—a past with joy and pain. One that he turned into something beautiful with his talent and voice. 

While he could tell she was genuinely interested, Copia grew tired of talking about himself. Waiting for a good moment before changing the subject to Astrid during their conversation. While he knew her family, everyone in the clergy did, Astrid too was still a bit of a mystery. 

"Well enough about me cara, what is that you like to do? I’ve hardly seen you do anything outside of whiteout my mistakes in the office. I know there’s more to you than that." Copia laughed. 

"Oh…ah…I like to draw." She replied, holding in her own amusement. Was she ready to laugh at his jokes?

"I would love to see your work sometime if you'll allow me?" 

"Of course." She smiled fiddling with the Grucifix that hung from her neck. "My father taught me. He always encouraged me from a very young age. Told me that if I worked hard at it that the sky was the limit for where it could take me. I used to want to draw cartoons." Astrid laughed, the faintest hint of sadness in her voice. 

"He sounds like a good man. I wish I could have gotten to know him. Was he who gave you the a—" Copia began pointing out the necklace.

"Yes, it was a gift for when I took my vows of siblinghood. He was proud that I was taking them, choosing a life within the Ministry. Boy if he could see me now." She began to laugh once more, this time it was clear there were tears hiding just behind it. 

"I wish he could be here too. I can only imagine the love and care the two of you had. I grew up never knowing who my parents were…only to find out I've been saddled with Nihil." Copia said, giving Astrid a bit of a bump to the shoulder. Both of them, laughing at Nihil's expense. 

Copia looked over to the monstrance clock on the mantle. It was long after midnight and he and Astrid had completely lost track of time. The time spent together however, was something he'd cherish long after they parted. He placed his hand on Astrid's shoulder, catching her attention.

"Seems we have outlasted the witching hour cara. I should let you get some sleep." He said pointing up at the clock. He was right and Astrid was shocked at how long they'd been talking. Racking her brain for how hours could have gone by and her not having noticed. 

"Oh sweet Lucifer, you're right and we have a meeting in the morning!"

"Si."

"I'm sorry I will get out of your hair…thank you for the conversation and for allowing me to hear you sing. I will definitely need to borrow someone's Prequelle copy so I can listen more. It's really long overdue." Astrid lamented. Copia popped up off the long black chaise in the parlor and over to the massive bookshelves that lined the walls. Climbing up the small sliding ladder and pulling out a vinyl album from just above his collection of old Edgar Allan Poe works.

"Here cara, you can have mine." Copia smiled, handing her his pressing of Prequelle. 

"Thank you." She said as she grasped it. Their eyes meeting with Copia being oh so close. Astrid could feel the warmth of his breath on her. The sweet scent of his cologne that still clung to his clothes from the day.

He looked for a moment as if he were continuing to lean in. Astrid, finding herself fighting the urge to close her eyes. She gave in, feeling them begin to drift closed when Copia spoke. "You are most welcome." He told her as he pulled away. A small smile still held on his face. 

Astrid left soon after—the album held tight to her chest against a warm feeling that lingered there. She wondered how long it would remain, burning gently inside her. Kindling quietly for now, but would this fire soon roar freely. Had they almost kissed or had she imagined it–too drunk in his kindness and the melodic sound of his voice. Only time would tell.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

This can go on much longer, can it? Astrid asked herself while she and Copia sat beside one another in yet another meeting. The cluster of clergymen and high ranking sisters discussing various aspects of Ministry business for what felt like the 5th time that week. Astrid hadn’t been paying much attention. In fact she could recall a single word that had been said. Too deep in her own recollections of the night before to be bothered with listening to them. 

Thankfully she was mostly present for show, Copia being the person required to respond. Though her attention was whipped back to reality when things got heated between Mr. Saltarian, one of the members that was visiting from the main Ministry office and Deacon Patrick. Their voices raised high in protest of one another's perspective on how they thought Copia should be approaching his next album. 

“You have a lot of nerve speaking to me that way you insolent fool.” Saltarian snapped, the rest of the clergy trying desperately to rein them both in. 

“You know Saltarian, maybe if you had managed your temper better, your hairline would not have receded as much as it has.” Deacon Patrick hissed. Saltarian’s eyes brimming with fire. The room grew tenser by the second. Copia and Astrid, however, both found themself laughing. Unable to control themselves in their amusement. Copia, absent-mindly reaching out to grab Astrid’s hand as they chuckled together at Mr. Saltarian’s expense.

It took a moment before he realized what he had done. Looking over to Astrid as she peered down between them. Their fingers instinctively intertwined and held tightly together. She quickly withdrew her hand from his. Copia’s face trying to recover from his look of discontent before anyone could notice. 

It hurt—it hurt way more than it should. Astrid’s chest aching as she watched the change in Copia’s demeanor. Despite his commitment to continue their ruse, Astrid could see the pain inside him, Copia still very much had feelings for her. And if the night before was any testament things between them had changed. 

Seeing his defeated appearance made her heart sink. Experiencing her own pain at the sight of his rejection. An unspoken thing, slowly occurring between them. A feeling she tried for weeks to bury deep down inside–but after last night it had only gotten worse. Between everything that had happened—the night spent together, the way he held her hand, and that damned moment on the balcony, things had only grown stronger. Astrid, realizing in that moment, as her hand slipped from Copia's, that she had feelings for him too.

Instantly the panic set in. Now more than ever she wanted to run away. This can't be happening, can it? She asked herself, already knowing the answer. As the meeting ended, she and Copia were dismissed to go about their day, Astrid knew she could no longer go on denying it. 

It had to be now or never. She decided once and for all what she needed to do. Her heart was breaking at the thought of leaving, but the power of her fear overtook her. Too scared to have things not work out—for them to fall apart and her be stuck in a place in a position where she would be miserable until her last breath. 

She decided after that Black Mass the next evening she would leave. That would give her time to pack a bag and stash it somewhere in the chapel. Giving her the opportunity to sneak out through the backdoor in the sacristy. She could count on the chaos, the Abbey was always such a bustling place after Mass. By the time anyone would notice her absence that next morning she would be long gone, abandoning her vows and leaving everything behind. 

[blxckdragonfly]

The Glory and The Scum (Darkness Finds You Universe #6)

(Song: "The Glory and The Scum" by Delain.

Pairing: Chris Motionless & Lycia Winters "Pronunciation-- Lai-shuh" (played by Ana De Armas), featuring Lyra Crowe Büdgen (Lilith Czar-- played by Mothica) and Malakai Black.

Warning: Drama, Mild Fight Scene, Hurt/Comfort.

Synopsis: When Motionless In White are headlining Aftershock and are playing alongside with Falling In Reverse, all hell breaks loose when Ronnie Radke tries to apologize to Lycia for his tweets about her.

Word Count: 4,131

A/N: and we're back, and once again: Fuck Ronnie Radke. Enough said. Enjoy. x Tiger. Co-written with @blackrose-92!

Aftershock Festival– October 7th, 2022: Sacramento, California. 

(Lycia’s POV) 

I wake up to very loud noises from inside the bus and I groan as I stirred and I woke up– seeing that I’m alone inside of mine and Chris’s bunk. I sigh as I hear what sounds like Call of Duty. I roll my eyes and I change out of my black tee and black satin pajama shorts, and into a strapless black lace corset bodysuit from Boohoo, a dark gray skirt from Disturbia and my “Assimilator” boots from Killstar. I put in a pair of gold hoop earrings to match my wolf necklace and coffin ring, and put on a light amount of makeup. 

“Lyra!” I hear both Chris and Malakai yell for Lyra, who’s also on the bus this morning. I sigh as I walk out to the front of the bus, where I see Lyra sitting near the driver’s seat in her black mesh bodysuit with a black tank top underneath, a pair of gray skinny jeans from Nasty Gal and her own Killstar boots, while Chris, Malakai, Justin and Ricky are all playing Call of Duty. She rolls her eyes and shakes her head. 

“All right, children,” Lyra mutters. I give her a confused look, raising my eyebrows. 

“Does this happen a lot?” I ask and Lyra begrudgingly shakes her head at me, making me chuckle. 

Lyra and I both hear Malakai curse in Dutch after both he and Chris are shot and killed in the game. Chris glances over at Lyra with a confused look. 

“You don’t wanna know what he just said, alright?” Lyra says as Malakai laughs as Chris sees me and offers me his hand after pausing the game. I smile as I take it and intertwine our fingers together, he pulls me into his lap– making me giggle. 

“Good morning, baby,” Chris murmurs as he gives me a small kiss. 

“Good morning, my love.” I say as I kiss him on the cheek, making Justin and Ricky gag. I flip them off as Malakai chuckles. I pecked his lips as I got off his lap and got my laptop and camera to start editing the photos from the last Trinity of Terror tour show, the photos I took of not just Chris and Motionless but of Lyra, Black Veil Brides and Ice Nine Kills. 

“Your girl edits photos? That seems kind of nerdy, don’t you think?” Malakai replies as Chris glares at him and I grin at my boyfriend defending me. 

“Says the one who has Transformers and Gundams in our house,” Lyra mumbles. I hear Chris start snickering. 

“Thank you, wife.” Malakai grumbles and a Dutch curse leaves his breath. “For bringing that up.” 

“Love you too, husband,” I hear Lyra say in an innocent tone– making me, Chris, Justin and Ricky laugh as I close down my laptop after sending some of my photos to Jeremy. I grab my camera and pull Chris away from the screen, giving him a kiss. 

“I’m going to go take photos of Spiritbox,” I say as I slip my photography pass around my neck. Chris nods and gives me another kiss. 

“You’ll be back for our set, right?” He asks and I nod, kissing him again before taking off. I step out of the bus when I slip on a pair of Chris’s sunglasses and head out to the Jack Daniel’s stage, where Spiritbox would be playing. I headed into the pit as the show was about to begin. 

As I got my camera ready to shoot, I noticed a figure in all black approaching me. He wasn’t just all in black, he was covered completely in black ink. There was something about him that put me on edge. I didn’t know who he was, but he looked very similar to the drug dealer who used me for heroin. I couldn’t hear him fully as the band was playing but I could see that he was mouthing “I’m sorry” to me. 

We all live in unforgiving precarious ways

If it bleeds it leads

Is all we seem to hear today

Thorns remain while flowers fade

I had to get out of there. Now. I take a few more photos and slip out amongst the crowd, back into the VIP area and backstage, I look over my shoulder to see him following me. I started to run, trying to find Motionless’s bus. 

“Lycia, wait! I wanted to apologize to you for what I said on Twitter.” And then it hit me. It’s Ronnie, the same person who tried to ruin my career with his tweets. 

“Stay away from me,” I say as my breath heightens as panic runs through my body. “I don’t want to hear your bullshit apology after you nearly ruined my career. Please leave me alone.” 

The minute I see Malakai, Lyra and my boyfriend, I scream at the top of my lungs for Chris. He hears my scream, causing him to panic too as he quickly runs over to my side, he wraps his arm around me firmly and glares at Ronnie. 

Monster

Such a noble novelty

Monster

Such a proper prodigy

Monster

It is all enrolled in you and me

“You better give me a good explanation of why I shouldn't go get House of Black right now and let them tear you apart," Chris threatens. 

“Oh, look who it is,” Ronnie says. “I was trying to apologize to your girlfriend for what I said on Twitter about her, in exchange for the apology you owe Escape The Fate.” 

I hear a sinister laugh from Chris as he moves in front of me, preventing Ronnie from getting any closer to me. “You’re really expecting an apology from me? After your actions in trying to sabotage my girlfriend’s career? Not a chance, asshole.” 

__________________________________________________

(Lyra’s POV) 

Malakai, Brody, Buddy and I were heading back to Motionless In White’s bus after seeing the end of Spiritbox’s set– when we noticed a small crowd forming near the bus. I raise a brow and I see that it’s Chris, who’s arguing with Ronnie Radke. I let out a deep breath. 

“Motherfucker,” I mutter, getting Malakai’s attention. He walks up to me and takes my hand for a second, looking at me with concern as I point in the direction of Chris and Ronnie– who are now getting into each other’s faces as I look over to see Lycia in tears. I walk over to her direction, quietly ushering her away from the scene until Chris can calm her down. 

I hear Buddy and Brody curse and Malakai does too in Dutch. They race over to Chris as he’s about to raise his fist and punch Ronnie’s lights out, Malakai and Buddy grabbing him and pulling him back. Brody being bigger so he’s able to physically lift Chris off the ground. 

“Don’t think for a second that you’ll get away unscathed, Radke,” Malakai says through his teeth. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re dating Saraya or not. If you approach Lycia, Chris or Lyra again, Brody, Buddy and I will tear you to pieces and leave your remains for Chris to do whatever he wants with. That’s no idle threat: It’s a guarantee. Come for them again and The House will make you pay for it.” 

Buddy nods in agreement as Ronnie takes a few steps back, before trying to punch him. Malakai does a knee strike at him, not to hurt him but to scare him, his eyes widening in fear as he flinches. A malicious smile crossed Malakai’s face. “Go on then, Ronnie. I dare you.” 

We start walking away to Motionless’s bus as the crowd settles and moves on, Malakai turns around with Brody, Buddy, myself and Chris following. I see Lycia crying uncontrollably. 

“Brody, let Chris go. They need to be together,” I hear a warmth in Malakai’s voice as Brody nods, releasing Chris from his grasp, who had been panting with anger toward Ronnie but it subsides after he sees Lycia. 

Either wasteland or wonderland

Look at what we've done

Take a step back

Shake your head at what we have become

We're the glory and the scum

____________________________________________

(Lycia’s POV) 

Tears fell down my face as I buried my face into my hands, my heart racing with anxiousness. I hear someone take a step toward me, I feel what I thought were hands on me and I flinch in fear. 

“Get away from me, Ronnie!” I say and I feel the same touch but it’s gentle, it’s on both of my shoulders and it’s tracing my skin until I hear a familiar but soothing voice. “Lycia. Lycia, it’s me. You’re safe now.”

I opened my eyes and I saw the warm and comforting brown eyes of my boyfriend. Chris. I moved close to him and I clutched him close to me tightly. I nuzzled my head into his chest and he wrapped his arms around me, resting his chin on top of my head as we embraced each other. “Shh. What happened?” 

“R-Ronnie resembles the drug dealer that used me,” My voice is small as I feel Chris getting tense as he holds me. “Please make him leave. I’m scared that he might hurt me.” 

I feel him run a finger along my face with tenderness, wiping away my tears. “Honey. Lyra and House of Black are here for you. They won’t let anyone near you, not even him. Nor will I. That’s my promise to you.” 

I look up to meet his gaze as he leans in; our foreheads touch and I feel the warmth of his hands on my lower back. “I’m supposed to be the one to take care of you. But I’m still scared of Ronnie.” I sniff. 

“Sh. I understand, baby. Those memories must have come back now. But don’t worry when I’m around, whether it’s Ronnie or the dealer himself, they’ll never hurt you again.” He tucks a fallen strand of my caramel brown hair behind my ear. 

I nod and I press my lips to his in a gentle kiss. I wrap my arms around his neck, intertwining my fingers in his black hair as we kiss. When we part, he pulls me closer into an embrace. He gazes into my eyes. 

“No one will take you away from me,” He whispers, reassuringly. “I will always take care of you. Always.” 

Monster

Sewer of uncertainty

Monster

Creator of entropy

Monster

It is all enrolled in you and me

_________________________________________________

(Lyra’s POV)

I’m still fuming with anger because of seeing Ronnie. Malakai, Brody and Buddy are standing outside of Motionless’s bus, we’re keeping an eye on Chris– who has Lycia in his arms and is holding her while also keeping an extra eye out in case Ronnie comes back for us again. Malakai glances over at the both of them because I know how much he cares, so I know that he’s hating what happened with Lycia. I hated the fact that this motherfucker had to show his ugly head around my friends again. 

I feel Malakai take my hand and pull me into a hug, I wrap my arms around him as he pressed his lips to my crimson hair. 

“How did this happen, Lyra?” Malakai’s voice is gentle as he looks at me, green eyes shining. I sigh and nestle closer to him. 

“Well, everything began when Ronnie took to the internet.” I explained. “Criticizing Chris and his band Motionless In White, he believed that Chris should apologize to him for something he had every right to do. Soon after you told me that his relationship with Lycia had been leaked, news spread about her struggle with heroin. Ronnie made her a target because of it. Chris informed me that she was nearly killed from a drug overdose of heroin.” 

I see tears filling up my husband’s eyes. It had been such a long time since he had been around something like heroin but I know he had his past experiences with it. He looks over at Chris, who’s placing a soft kiss on Lycia’s temple as he’s comforting her. I hear him take a deep breath. 

“She’s had it rough, hasn’t she?” His voice is soft and kind as I nod. “It breaks my heart.” I see him pause for a moment. “Chris keeps her close to him because she needs him; not just anyone can do what he does for her and take care of her like he can.” 

I was shocked as I pulled back and looked up at the man I called my husband. Of course he would pick up on their relationship, he was so observant. 

“That hadn’t occurred to me before,” I say. I lean over and place a soft kiss on Malakai’s cheek. “You’re so observant, even though it scares the hell out of me sometimes.” 

I hear him laugh softly. “I apologize for scaring you, love. But you should be aware of this by now.” I nod and snuggle into his shoulder. 

Suddenly we hear a commotion and not only do my head and Malakai’s snap up, but Chris and Lycia do as well. I see security guards kicking out Ronnie and Falling In Reverse. I breathed a sigh of relief. Oh, thank God. I thought. 

“Chris Motionless started this! Not me!” I hear Ronnie yelling at the security guards as he’s being escorted to the gate. 

“Shut up, Ronnie. You started it,” Malakai scoffs. “Get the fuck out of here.” We all burst into laughter as the gates closed behind Ronnie and his bandmates. I feel my phone vibrate in the back pocket of my gray skinny jeans and I pull it out to see that Saraya texted me. 

Raya: Hey Lyra! I’m letting you know that Ronnie’s coming by Motionless’s bus at Aftershock to apologize to Chris’s girl, Lycia. 

Well, fuck. I facepalm and I run my fingers through my crimson hair, Malakai looking at me with concern in his eyes. 

“My timing sucks.” I say. 

“Babe?” Malakai asks and I sigh as I look at him and Chris. 

“Saraya sent Ronnie to come over here to apologize to Lycia for what he said. She just texted me.” 

Chris scowls at me, eyes narrowing at me as he takes a deep breath and caresses Lycia’s arms with his fingers, as she’s leaning against him– trying to stay calm. “I don’t give a single fuck if Saraya sent him or not. Look at what happened. Lycia didn’t know who he was and it frightened her so much she almost had a fucking panic attack.” 

“Whether he came by to apologize or not,” Lycia says as she’s playing with Chris’s fingers. “I don't ever want to see him. He reminds me of someone I’d rather not think about.” 

I get another text message from Saraya and I unlock my phone to respond, telling her that it ended badly, she asked what happened and I told him that Brody had to lift Chris up so he wouldn’t punch Ronnie’s lights out. He got himself and Falling In Reverse kicked off the festival. She responds with a facepalm emoji. I locked my phone and put it back in my pocket. 

I then see Chris talking to his tour manager while staying with Lycia and keeping her company. I see a huge smile on his face as his tour manager walks off. 

“Well, looks like we’re taking Falling In Reverse’s spot and playing a bit later than we thought.” Chris says. I’m overjoyed as is Lycia, who kisses him softly. They start talking about adding a couple songs to their set list for later on tonight. 

When Motionless played later tonight, they played Slaughterhouse with Brody making a guest appearance for the song. Chris and the band played Burned at Both Ends II as well and when he’s singing the song, I feel Malakai tap me on the shoulder and we both look over at Lycia, who’s standing side stage with us, Brody and Buddy and she’s crying. I try to go and check on her but Malakai stops me. 

“She’s alright, Lyra,” Malakai says as he puts his arm around my waist. “She just found out that Chris wrote that song about her.” 

My eyes widened. “He wrote Burned at Both Ends II for her?” I asked as Malakai nodded. “Aw, that’s so sweet of him.”

_________________________________________________________

(Lycia’s POV) 

After Motionless leaves the stage, I see my man walk off too, so I jump into his arms, which catches him off guard. A chuckle accompanies his struggle to regain his balance. I have evident tears in my eyes, which are streaming down my cheeks as he pulls back.

“Whoa, babe. What’s wrong?” He asked. 

“You wrote that song for me,” I sniffled as I looked into his warm and loving brown eyes. “You wrote Burned at Both Ends II for me.” 

“How’d you know?” He stroked my caramel brown hair with his fingers. 

“With a bit of help,” I say as I turn my head toward Malakai and Lyra, who give him a friendly wave. He sighs and shakes his head playfully. He looked at me and he lifted my chin with the palm of his hand. 

“I wrote the original Burned at Both Ends about myself ten years ago,” Chris murmurs. “But when I began working on the sequel to it, I realized that it wasn’t about me. It’s about us now. Even though I know you haven’t fully been through the same struggles as I did, your story still matters as much. You are an incredible inspiration, Lycia and I love you.” 

I can sense Lyra and Malakai’s eyes on the both of us and they had huge grins on both of their faces, Chris could feel it like a burning on the back of his neck. “Alright, you two. You can go now.” 

I realize that he’s talking to both Malakai and Lyra as I look behind him, laughing. 

“Say no more. We’re going,” Lyra takes Malakai’s hand and drags him off with Brody and Buddy following behind her. When they’ve gone, I lean in and embrace Chris around the neck. Not caring in the world if he’s sweaty and has gotten off stage. 

“I love you too,” I whisper. “I’m so grateful that you wrote a song about me.” 

He leans in and places a gentle kiss on my forehead, lips lingering for a moment. “The honor is always mine, honey. You motivate me every day, from when we wake up together to when we go to bed entwined. You're my world, sweetheart. You always will be.” 

My heart melts at his sweet statement. I put my hand against his face, tracing his already smeared and sweat soaked makeup before meeting his lips in a tender kiss. As I rest my hands on his chest, my fingers play with the dog tags around his neck as his lips lock with mine. We broke our kiss and the second dog tag caught my eye. I caught it in my fingers. 

Winters, Lycia Rose. August 5th, 1988. Soulmate. 

“Did you put my name on your dog tag?” I say as my eyes widen in surprise. 

“I was hoping you would spot it,” He teases with a playful grin and I raise an eyebrow. “It’s my reminder of you whenever we’re apart, helps me think of you. Always.” 

My heart melts and I kiss him passionately before pulling away and taking his hand. “You’re the sweetest. Come on, baby. Let’s just relax together for the rest of the night.”

He nods and we walk back to the bus, when we step inside– Justin, Ricky, Vinny and Ryan have already settled down for the night. In my outfit that I wore to Aftershock today, I changed into one of Chris’s soft black tees, my black satin sleep shorts and removed my makeup last. I head out to our bunk, where Chris is waiting for me– shirtless and wearing his black pajamas. 

“Hi, gorgeous,” I heard him as he embraced me in his arms and brought me into the bunk with him. I give a gentle laugh, clutching onto him and he kisses my forehead. 

“Hi,” I kiss him on the cheek before I trail off, quietly playing with the rings on his fingers– mainly his coffin ring. I feel the cool metal of the ring against my skin. “I think I’m going to have another nightmare tonight.” 

His face lights up with concern as he shifts his hands from mine and cups my cheeks, imploring me to look into his eyes. “What makes you think that?” His voice is gentle, almost a whisper.

"Ronnie approaching me today reminded me of the drug dealer who used me for heroin... I'm scared I won't be able to sleep tonight because his face will haunt my dreams.” My fingers lightly drift over his tattoos as I talk. 

Chris pulls me close and wraps his arms around me, offering comfort. “Oh, my love,” He whispers into my hair. “I’ll be here with you all night long to keep your bad dreams at bay. You have nothing to worry about. I won’t leave you.” 

As sweet as that statement is, I’m also mad at myself for letting this person get into my head since I’m dealing with the PTSD of losing Marcus in such a tragic way. 

“This is just another thing that pushes me towards the edge,” I buried my face into his chest as he gazed fondly down at me. 

“Honey, you are not crazy. You aren't.” I released a heavy breath as I moved my face up to look at him. 

“I didn't say I was, love. It's just how I feel.” Fresh tears appear in my eyes and he covers my hands with his own, placing a gentle kiss on my knuckles. 

“You know, Lyra had the same situation.” I look at him, intrigue on my face. “Most nights she'd lay awake in fear because of her ex, Devon. It wasn't until Malakai stepped into her life that she was free from his control. What do you think drew Malakai and Lyra together? He's the only one who managed to keep her here with us.” 

“Wait– So Malakai…?” 

He nods. “Like you, Lyra was familiar with addiction, but from a different source. That's why she wrote VICES and SPIRAL. She was on the brink of suicide until Malakai stepped in. He reminded her that there are still things worth living for; music, wrestling, friends... For you, I want to be that person. The reason why you should keep going is because of me, as your reminder.” 

I realize now that I had a lot more in common with Lyra and Malakai than I thought, which is why I understood how close Malakai was to her. 

“I never knew that about her. She must be loved so much by Malakai…” He leans in and gives me a tender kiss. 

“I want to love you as much as Malakai loves Lyra, if not more. Do you understand why you mean so much to me? Just like Malakai with Lyra, I want to be someone that you can rely on.” He whispers into my lips. “After you told me that I was the reason why you decided to get sober, when things seemed so dark, that's when I realized what I wanted out of our relationship. Not just the person who helped you through it all, but someone who's there for you whenever you need it, loving you unconditionally. All of it….” 

I interrupt him with another tender kiss, our lips meeting in an affectionate manner. I finally pulled away, my forehead lightly touching his. “You are already everything I need and more. Each morning when I wake up, and you're still asleep next to me, it reminds me of how fortunate I am. You love me, support me, and urge me to keep pursuing my dreams every day…” 

I continue to kiss him, our lips connecting in the most wonderful way. “Christopher Cerulli, you are the backbone that holds me upright. You are the reason why I keep pushing forward.” 

“You are as well, Lycia. I can't even tell you how much I love you..." His warm chocolate eyes brimmed with tears as he embraced me. 

I glided my fingers along his tattooed jawline and neck with the softest touch. “I love you too. Show me how much instead.” 

He smiles and leans in to give me a loving kiss as we sink into each other and we hold on to each other before falling asleep. 

Monster

Polluter of dignity

Monster

Glory and the scum are we

Monster

Oh the best and worst is all in me…

[preciadosbass]

9/8/24 [draft from friday — DAY OF THE TRIBUTE CONCERT!! i promise this gets interesting]

woke up at 9 watched the rest of that pierce the veil giant jenga interview while feeding boris. afterwards i got dressed into the same thing as yesterday because it was all set out [silverstein shirt, checkered black + white/black and red studded belts, knee high converse, band bracelets, diy can tab necklace, a big-ish chain, black ripped skinny jeans, danger days mcr zip up, and my pin covered backpack.]

once id done i rushed outside to cuddle with him [boris] and tried to spend as much time with him as possible before leaving. i came back inside at 10:35 and straightened my hair with the new straighteners that my hairdresser dropped off. it didn’t work even though i was doing the exact thing she had done previously when i got my hair dyed for the first time so i tried again. once that didn’t work my mum called my hairdresser and she gave me some tips but i ended up doing my hair AGAIN [11] with the old straighteners and it sort of worked, but my hair obviously looked fried.

once that was over and done with i checked on boris and made an outfit check for the fell out boy + the black charade concert. at 12 my mum handed me one of my depop packages thatd come so i opened it in my room and it was my frank iero + gerard way posters!! on the back of the frank one [showing his tattoos at the time] was a poster of the band in full; the back of the gerard photo had two extra photos of ray + mikey and text that im yet to read; and the back of a mcr poster with a little text about mcr being anti objectifying [etc] had frank explaining the meanings behind his tattoos. [photos at end]

i also took a few photos of this deceased moth my dad found for me a few months ago. i’ve been meaning to for ages because i know it’s too far gone for me to actually preserve it. because i was already ready to leave i kind of just paced around and went over to boris every now and then while watching jackass edits. i said my long goodbyes to boris and we left for the hotel at 1. i once again listened to the [unconfirmed] concert setlist on the way there. the drive was about 3 hours and once we’d eventually got to bedford we put all our stuff in the hotel room and set off to do some charity shopping [thrifting].

just like yesterday, there was only around 2 that were open and none of my family had any luck — but we did see two unopened shops and kept them in mind to possibly check out tomorrow before leaving for home. after that and briefly looking around town we went back to the hotel. my parents stayed there with me and my sister for a while until going out for dinner. while they were away, my sister connected her nintendo switch to the tv and i played a few silly games with her.

this lasted up until 7:10 when my parents got back. i hadn’t been told what time the concert was and my dad just so happened to check the time and we had to leave. thank god he checked because we would’ve missed it otherwise. we left just 5 minutes later and rushed around town. we tried to go through a shopping centre as a shortcut, but we got halfway in before we were told that the door in the direction we were heading had already been locked. so we frantically got out and started asking people where the venue was.

we did ask people earlier but nobody knew. we came across this really friendly couple that asked who were we’re going to see and i honestly thought they were about to come along. they seemed to so into the whole thing. when had thanked them and were walking off i heard the woman say something to her partner and i’m suspecting it was about both me and my dad dressing matching with our clothes. we arrived at the venue at 7:40 with quite a decent amount of time to spare. my dad asked the security woman where the best area for us to stand would be [due to our height] and she showed us to a heightened platform. we went to stand there but saw the barrier was somehow not even full.

i stood right in the centre of the stage at the barrier. i took a few photos of my place in the crowd because i’ll probably never be this close to a live band ever again and took a few selfies with my dad. the concert started at 8:10. fell out boy we’re on first and they were phenomenal. most of the stuff they played were from american beauty/american psycho so there were a few songs i didn’t know off by heart. i took lots of videos and finally had the chance to jump when ‘patrick’ jestured to. with the other two concerts i’ve been to i haven’t been able to because at cavalera conspiracy, i was seated; and at pierce the veil, i was perched on a pillar on the tips of my toes. i really liked the way ‘pete’ played bass. the guy singing as patrick also pointed at me a ton and gave me the mic for the song saturday. it was AWESOME.

here are the songs i know they played: ‘love from the other side’, ‘the phoenix’, ‘uma thurman’, ‘grand theft autumn/where is your boy tonight’, ‘a little less sixteen candles, a little more “touch me”’, ‘this ain’t a scene, it’s an arms race’, ‘saturday’ [‘gerard way’ came out for the screaming part], ‘i don’t care’, ‘centuries’, ‘thnks fr th mmrs’, ‘my songs know what you did in the dark’ [[light em up]], and ‘sugar, we’re goin down’. during the interval the person next to me complimented my dads pierce the veil shirt and we joked about it because it’s mine, he was just dressed up like me. the same person asked if i’d seen pierce the the veil and said they went to a show too. my dad also got me a pint of water and i tucked it behind the amp infront of me.

at 9:30 ‘the foundations of decay’ started playing so me + everyone else knew that the mcr tribute would be on soon. sure enough they did, in the killjoys outfits. [‘gerard’ had even put on a bright red wig] i especially loved the whole atmosphere even more when they came on. everyone got extra pumped as soon as they started playing and admittedly i did too after seeing mikey’s signature bass and the person playing his ‘role’. they played nanana first and i didn’t see in the moment, but my dad was singing along to it. at 10 there was a small interval and the band switched into black parade outfits — and OH MY GOD did ‘frank’ act so much like actual frank. nobody was really recording ‘mikey’ and when he noticed i was, he looked at me directly [a couple times] and purposely went up to front and played his bass on the speaker infront of me. also, when they played ‘i don’t love you’ ‘gerard’ came into the crowd and at one point was right behind me and i didn’t notice for ages XD

it’s magical when there’s nothing like this around your actual area and this is the closest you’ll get. seeing someone act as mikey is enough for me. the songs i know they played were: ‘look alive sunshine’ [i was full on screaming this im so surprised i didn’t mess up like i usually do], ‘nanana’, ‘this is how i disappear’, ‘the sharpest lives’, planetary [[GO!]], ‘thank you for the venom’, ‘helena’, ‘the end.’, ‘dead!’, ‘mama’, ‘teenagers’, ‘famous last words’, ‘im not okay [[i promise]], ‘welcome to the black parade’ [‘frank’ went right infront of me and pointed at my camera during this]

the concert finished at 10:30 [they took a photo of them + the crowd and mikey sat on my water lmaoa] and i had a look at the merch before realising my dad had walked off. when i found him he was asking if they had any setlists and the backing guitarist from fell out boy shook his head but he got me a black charade pick from his amp which is 100x better!!!! [photo at end] on the way out of the venue i got a picture with ‘gerard’ and went on about the pick and the bass the entire walk back to the hotel. [media of concert at end.] once we’d gotten back to our room i told mum about the concert and showed her a few videos. afterwards i noticed jackass was on tv so i watched that for a while up until 1 when i had a tiny nap.

my sister got to sleep quite quickly so after getting into my onesie i asked my parents questions about boris. my mum got mad because of how panicky i was getting but i did eventually finish and then said goodnight to boris via a picture of him while sitting in the bathtub [😭]. im not sure when i went to sleep, but i’m guessing 2:30. photos below ⬇️

have a good day/night O_o

[lostavo]

"I-I..." I could only stare in surprise, shock, confusion, and fear. (And ever so slightly, my heart clenched in adoration and lust)

"What is this!?"

"What is what?" The demoness asked, her head tilting to the side to show her confusion. Normally, her pure onyx eyes, empty and without light, would have struck more fear and cowardice into me, but with the silky black Veil covering her features, I couldn't be bothered by her gaze.

"All of...this!" I exclaimed, flailing and gesturing to her entire getup; a shoulderless pure black dress, silky smooth texture glimmering in the late afternoon light, straps criss crossing down to her elbow and up behind and around her neck to secure the dress alongside some clean black lace. Her skirt reached down to her ankles, fluffy yet not as show-offy as those massive dresses I often saw on those reality TV wedding shows. Her dress was adorned with stars that seemed to actually sparkle, dotting in the masses from her chest to the helm of her skirt. To cap it all off, her wrists jingled with twin bracelets that - from what I could see - had a soft navy blue glow, easily mistaken for black, and a glowing purple amulet jem the size of a coin hung from a necklace around her neck.

"It is a wedding dress."

"Y-yeah, I can see that, but why are you here with it?"

"Well, as per our agreement, you would give me your firstborn. In demon culture, most firstborn are only made after marriage. So, to expedite the process, as well as ensure that I receive said payment, I am here for the marriage."

The Great Demoness, keeper of the Sword of Askratan, slayer of the Dragon Daramooth, and former leader of the Demon Lords... was here, asking for my hand in marriage.

"I-I..." I sighed softly, before pulling the door open a tad larger. "Come inside, please. We can discuss the specifics without disturbing the neighbors."

The demoness hummed, almost in consideration, before nodding and stepping inside, still holding her bouquet with her veil down.

I sighed. This was going to be a long day.

~+~

Gently setting down the two cups of tea on the table between us, I looked up at the Great Demoness, still a little confused and scared. This was someone who could eviscerate me with a finger, who had faced down literal divine beings and gods and laughed all the while. There was only one Great Demoness, and she was...

Sitting on my couch, fiddling with the cup between her fingers.

"So..." I started, drawing her attention.

"So?"

"Why is there a need for a wedding?"

The Demoness shrugged. "Demon customs. We are unable to own a child unless they are of our own blood."

"But...I'm not making a child, I'm just giving one to you?"

"One I would still need to call mine, which could not happen unless they were of my flesh and blood."

I sighed again.

"Great. How does having a wedding come into play?"

"Demons cannot have a child unless under a vow of some kind. And, as we are already under one binding vow, you cannot open a new one with me. Hence, the wedding and marriage."

"I don't even... what is this logic?"

She shrugged. "Demon logic."

Groaning, I took my tea and gulped it down, soothing my dry throat.

"How does my deal with you count as a binding vow, and marriage is another vow that I can also take? If you just said it's only one vow per demon..."

"There are different kinds of vows. Oaths, promises, deals, binds," the Demoness explained. "Currently, you entered a deal with me. However, as this deal is something I have already paid my part, you have yet to pay yours. Hence, the deal becomes a binding vow. And since this binds you to me, I cannot take another binding vow."

"...and marriage is?"

"It is an oath. A promise, perhaps, depending on words said at the ceremony." The Demoness' head tilted a little at that. "You humans do have ceremonies, correct?"

I nodded, still a little unsure. My head was spinning with how this vows thing worked, along with the realization that this meant the Great Demoness, Slayer of Kings, ruler of the Dark Plane, Mooncracker, Dustbringer, wished to marry...me.

"Why me?"

The Demoness' head tilted in question.

"Why me, of all people? I'm just... me. I'm a regular man, with a regular job, no magical talent, no strength, no power in any sense of the word... and yet... you choose me?"

The Demoness...shrugged. "I just wish to finish our vow."

I paused. Paused for a while, just to digest the information, just to... let it sink in. Just for a while. Finally, I huffed, nodding and looking up at her again. "Alright, how do we do this?"

~+~

"Honey, I'm home!" I exclaimed to the household, and a squeal of excitement sounded from around the corner. Darrel barreled out like an energetic ball of red-and-human skin, slamming into my chest with enough force to knock me over. Chuckling, I gently rubbed between the boy's twin pointy ears, enjoying the rumbling sound of contentment from his chest.

"Hello dear," Toriel greeted me, as majestic and beautiful as the day I truly saw her for the first time. I leaned up into her kiss, gentle and sweet, and broke away to give Angie her own pats of affection, the small girl giggling under the touch.

Getting to my feet, I herded the children along, watching them run back into the house with twin grins and cheers and excitement.

Sighing softly beside me, Toriel leaned against my shoulder, her nose burying into my sleeve in a motion I knew was her " enjoying my scent". "How was work?"

She shrugged. "Some lesser beings from the Qlimeth plane decided to try establishing a foothold on my lands."

I chuckled. "Honey, what did I tell you about calling mortals lesser beings?"

She sighed. "Sorry dear it's just...they get under my nerves so much."

I chuckled, gently pressing a kiss to her forehead. "You'll brave this storm. Just as you braved all the others."

Gently, she melted into my touch, and I smiled, eyes crinkling at her sight.

The silence lingered, broken only by the children's giggles as they laughed themselves sick in the playroom.

"I never admitted to why I married you, did I?"

I looked down at Toriel with a bit of surprise. "I thought it was for the vow?"

She huffed in amusement, a smile curling along her lips. "No, silly. Demons can take as many vows as they wish at a time. That one vow for every demon rule was abolished millenia ago."

My eyes widened a little. She continued. "I... I was lonely. I had everything I wanted, down in the Dark Plane, but I still... wished for more. Call it greed, but I wished to feel something that I could only see others have."

She smiled gently, looking up into my eyes. "I wished to feel what you called love. And when I saw this brave, courageous mor- human, crossing the border between his world and mine, surviving the dangers of my plane, risking his life, just to plead to a god of death for life, and not his own?"

She shrugged. "How could I not fall for that?"

I stared at her, gaping, before surging forth, pressing my lips against hers in a kiss of a lifetime. Of multiple. I tasted stars, dust, a swirling of deep magic that pooled between the both of us, and I felt her pulling me closer, with her, so that our existence could never be apart. Not for the woman, not Demoness, that had claimed me, and not for the human, the man, thar she had fallen for.

"My love." I panted, as our lips broke apart. "You could have just asked."

She giggled. "And I did. It was you the accepted."

I smiled back at her, gently pressing another kiss to her forehead. "That I did, too."

The Great Demoness fulfilled her part of the deal, curing your mother’s illness in exchange for your firstborn. The next day, she showed up at your door wearing a black wedding dress.

[torahtantra]

"The Allotment of Devotion." From the Book of Joshua, Chapter 15, Part 2.

13 In accordance with the Lord’s command to him, Joshua gave to Caleb "loyalty" son of Jephunneh "Deduction" a portion in Judah—Kiriath Arba, "the Four Cities" that is, Hebron: "An Alliance". (Arba "the cube" was the forefather of Anak "the necklace/ornament around the neck".) 

14 From Hebron Caleb drove out the three Anakites "men who talk without thinking"—Sheshai "whitish", Ahiman "my brother is a gift" and Talmai "the plowman", the sons of Anak. 

15 From there he marched against the people living in Debir (formerly called Kiriath Sepher "the scribe town"). 16 And Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Aksah "Beyond the veil" in marriage to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher.” 17 Othniel "lion of El" son of Kenaz "the hunter", Caleb’s brother, took it; so Caleb gave his daughter Aksah to him in marriage.

18 One day when she came to Othniel, she urged him[b] to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What can I do for you?”

19 She replied, “Do me a special favor. Since you have given me land in the Negev "rolling hills", give me also springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.

-> Hills and valleys "beyond the veil, beyond the duel with the lion," are the wellsprings that reflect one's truest inner character. One is in the mind, the other is in the penis. Is truth!

-> The Mother of the Future, the Moshiach wants real men, those who read, write, talk and schcrew like they know what they are doing.

Faith is akin to devotion which is a product of loyalty, all are earned and returned. This is the secret of attaining what is called the Allotment and it is central to the onset and continuation of the Age of Moshiach.

[matan4il]

Buddie 413 meta

Buck talking make-up with the bridezilla is the kind of ‘secure in his masculinity’ content that I fucking love 911 for. And even though Eddie makes a face (he's on teasing boyfriend duty), right after that he basically continues along the same line of helping the bride, by pointing out she’ll have her veil to help disguise what happened. I love the lack of panic over discussing make-up and bridal veils, plus the way Buddie naturally complement each other.

* * *

Also, the mother of the bridezilla talking about being too lenient with her made me grin. A small wink at Buck and Eddie’s exchange over what is “too much discipline” that we saw in 410? ;) Might be a coincidence, but it's still a fun little throwback to Buddie's parental discipline banter.

* * *

David hanging out with Michael and his kids, being a part of their custom to play games together (since we learn this isn’t a new thing) reminded me of how Buck is a part of Eddie and Christopher's game nights, as seen in 309 and 403. This small parallel made me so happy. Buddie are BOYFRIENDS, confirmed (yet again). Oh, but Michael wants both David, his boyfriend, and Bobby, his best friend, to be there in order for this to be complete. Buddie don’t need anyone else there during Buddifer game nights, because they are both. And isn’t that a part of what makes Buddie so special? How many other same-sex canon ships have we gotten to see on screen who are built as both? I think it’s a part of why we want to see them become canon so much...

* * *

Another small touch that I liked was the glimpse of Eddie’s St. Christopher necklace in the dinner scene. Honestly, it’s such a nice touch of continuity and it also reminds us what a great dad he is, which fits how naturally he goes above and beyond the call of duty when helping out Charlie.

* * *

It’s an interesting shot when Carla comes back and they celebrate her birthdays together. When she comes in through the door, Eddie and Chris hug her, but Ana is left to the side. That’s understandable, Carla doesn’t know Ana much at this point. The camera didn’t have to linger on Ana outside of this circle of love and connectedness, however, and yet it did. Then at the dinner table, we see Ana physically connected to Chris, but not to Eddie. This leads to the way Eddie talks about her to Carla. It’s “nice” and “easy”. But that’s not necessarily love. Especially this early on in a relationship, love gives you butterflies in your stomach and makes you nervous. It makes you buzzingly uncomfortable in your own skin in that good way of being hyper-aware of someone else’s presence and of everything between the two of you, because everything matters. It’s challenging and makes you gulp because you want this thing so much. And Carla picks up on the fact that something’s lacking, telling Eddie to make sure he’s following his own heart and not just staying with Ana for Christopher’s sake. The look Eddie gets after that is even more telling than Carla's words that she is, in fact, completely right. It all paints a picture that tells us Eddie’s at the start of realizing he’s with Ana for the wrong reason…

(meta and gifs for THAT SCENE under the cut to save your dashboards)

All that would have been a lot in itself, but then we get all of this leading to Eddie getting shot while paired off with Buck. Consider how the show took pains to make sure it would be Eddie and Buck together out there in the street, even though Chim was shown to be a part of the conversation when Eddie got Charlie’s call. He and Buck are just coming in, so they’re still in civilian clothes, Buck finds it so important to go with Eddie, he doesn’t even change into his uniform before they get to Charlie. But we’re shown Chim did change into his uniform and that he didn’t come along, even though it’s clear they had a medical emergency on their hands and Chim’s a paramedic, unlike Buck and more experienced than Eddie. It would make more sense for Buck to stay at the station and for Chim to go with Eddie, but nope. Buddie are a team. Where one goes, the other one follows, even in civvies and when it doesn’t make sense. “All we ever wanted was to go together,” as Mitchell told Buck in 208.

Then we have the way the shooting is filmed. I already screamed about the ceaseless eye contact, because it is incredible, but let me try to be more coherent about it. When Eddie’s shot, we immediately see Buck, Eddie’s blood splattered on him. Eddie’s looking down, but as the reality of the bullet piercing him starts to set in, he looks up at Buck, seeking his gaze. They hold it for a really long moment. This shot establishes the moment as a shared experience. It’s served by the contrast with the previous shot. Right before the sniper shoots, the camera is restless, circling Eddie, showing us Buck in his perimeter, but not stopping on anything. This enhances the still shot of them just standing there, staring at each other. The sound also plays into this, going from a noisy street to blocking out all human communication. It will only kick back in later. Both the camera and sound choices highlight that Buddie are having one of those moments of wordless communication that they often share, only this time it’s wordless, because there are no words for what they’re trying to process together. They’re within the same bubble of shock and emotional pain that’s only beginning to take shape.

I can’t emphasize enough how much this shot is a romantic trope. I know the most immediate parallel is to Buddie themselves, in ep 306, because we have them similarly standing across from one another, staring at the other guy, and because we have the episode director’s confirmation that this was meant to mimic lovers' cinematography. But I think this shot is even more meaningful, with the whole build up around it and the way this turn of events is the ep’s climax, and it reminds me of other examples from TV and movies when we see would be lovers about to be torn apart, maybe forever, with the threat of death hanging over them. The most famous example that jumps into my head is Han Solo and Princess Leia when he’s about to be lowered into the pit. That’s the moment when she chooses to finally confess she loves him. It’s honestly impossible not to see the romantic trope subtext.

Now I have to add a word about Buddie’s record when it comes to the other guy being in danger. In ep 203, Buck tells Ali he’s glad not to be worried about Abby and Ali replies that it must be nice to have someone to be worried about. During the tsunami eps, we have a scene of Eddie leaving Buck a message, telling him about the tsunami and that Eddie’s glad Buck’s missing it. Buck is the person Eddie worries about in a way that parallels how Abby, Buck’s former romantic partner, was the person Buck used to be worried about. That’s pretty powerful in itself, but consider all the times they now had to stand there and watch, incredibly worried for the other man. We had Buck going crazy when Eddie climbed into a burning house in 214, Eddie watching Buck lying wounded in the street in 218 and rushing to hold his hand as soon as he could, Buck losing his mind over Eddie trapped underground in 315, and then Eddie watching the factory explosion knowing Buck’s inside and reacting by leading the charge to get him out. Now we get Buck having to watch Eddie as he’s shot and about to collapse. This scene is made all the more poignant because of all of these other scenes leading up to it. It infuses this scene with accumulated meaning and adds to the sense that even though it was only Eddie who was hit by the bullet, they’re both irreversibly affected by the bullet.

Then Eddie collapses. The danger is still present, the sniper is still around, but Buck is so paralyzed by shock, he can’t even think of taking cover himself, Captain Mehta has to force him to do this. And then as they’re both laying on the ground, they’re still holding each other’s gaze across the firetruck between them. The whole world is narrowed down to the other man’s eyes. More than that, Buck angles his body towards Eddie, almost like he’s stupidly thinking of getting up and running to him, while Eddie’s hand reaches out for Buck. The shots deliberately captures Buck’s body and Eddie’s hand in the frame so that we see this.

When all this is playing with the lead up of Carla advising Eddie to follow his heart, when shows tend to deliver the emotional impact of a character getting hurt through showing us the person who’s their significant other (romantic partner or the person destined to be that) during this, when Ana is nowhere to be found once the emotional climax of Eddie's story in this ep is reached, despite being in the ep… All of this weaves its own narrative about who Eddie’s heart really belongs to.

When I tell you that this is fanfic material! Not only do I mean it, I mean it so much that I actually wrote once a fic where Buddie do that 'stare at each other before death might tear us apart' thing. And I’m sure I’m not the only one. I can't fucking believe 911 actually delivered the fanfic of our dreams. 

( NGL, I saw someone misspelling Captain Mehta’s name, writing it without the ‘h’, and for a second I thought I found my superhero name… XD )

Thank you so much to the unbelievable @bicepsie​ for the awesome gifs. Even when you have a lot going on, you still make these for the weekly meta posts and you’re truly the real MVP! *hugs* If you like   my takes on Buddie, you can find more of my meta and fics here. Thank you for reading, and for every reblog and like.