#and he liked the Capulets better than the montagues to begin with!!!! | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

bizaar · 2 years ago

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Cruel Summer - Part One

- Next

pairings: Eddie Munson x fem!reader

summary: After breaking up, you and Eddie do your best to soldier on with your lives, but you slowly begin to discover that there is a stronger line of connection keeping you together than just history...

word count: 5k

warnings: ANGST (the most dramatic babies you've ever seen) mentions of death/dying, swearing, breaking up (so sorry if I forgot anything!)

A.N.: First part of the Babysitter!reader series! I just broke up with someone so you're getting angsty sorry not sorry byyyyyyeee

Your breakup with Eddie was bad. As bad as any teenage horror story of doomed summer romances you’d heard talk of over the course of your adolescence. Bad because you’d always laughed at those couples who went from mooning hopelessly over one another, unequivocally mad for the enduring nature of their love, only to stand in fits of wailing despair when it ended as quickly and passionately as it began. Bad because that was never going to be you, and then suddenly it was. It left you standing hideously exposed, the rosy haze of the life you’d lived enveloped in his everything suddenly lifted to leave you blinking stupidly under a spotlight, fumbling to explain yourself to the crowd.

You try to fool yourself into thinking it wasn’t that bad – it’s only the end of your first real relationship, your first real love, you’re first real anything – hoping that somehow saying it will make it true. You rub yourself raw trying to cocoon yourself in the lie.

It was that bad, worse, even, because you didn’t see it coming. Movies had told you that your first love was meant to be an enduring thing, forever if you were careful with it, and that true love was the most powerful force in the universe. You could move mountains and heaven and earth with true love, you could bring back the dead with but a gentle word and a kiss. With true love? You could do anything.

You couldn’t do shit with what was left of Eddie’s love.

A spectacle such as the fallout of a high school relationship is something to behold akin to a volcanic eruption. Toxic to the point of choking anyone within a twelve-foot radius of the poisonous ex-lovers, leaving radioactive trails in their wake. You swore you’d never be foolish enough to lose your mind over someone like that, open yourself up to the kind of hurt that could push you to madness when it was over too soon. Star-crossed lovers turned mortal enemies as the people in their lives take petty sides and do their utmost to tarnish the reputations of the one they once revered.

Real Romeo and Juliet shit, only the really real version, where they don’t get the opportunity to martyr themselves for love, and one day they realize in spite of everything they are still Capulets and Montagues, and the rivalry lives on, made all the more putrid by a love that has overstayed its welcome.

You always told yourself you were too smart for that kind of nonsense, and yet you’d loved Eddie Munson completely, madly and unequivocally, with every inch of every particle in your body, and you’d foolishly thought he felt the same.

You should have seen it coming.

Some tiny, rational part of you had told you not to go see him. You knew you had to babysit tonight, but you’d been too caught up in the fires of your righteous indignation to heed your rational mind.

It’s not every day your boyfriend skips your graduation ceremony and proceeds to avoid you for the better part of the following month. All you’d wanted was a sign of life, an explanation, any kind of answer as to what the hell was going on, and by God had you gotten one.

You do your best not to fall apart as you make your way across town, though if you cared enough to take a look at yourself in any passing reflective surface you would see that you’re doing a piss poor job at that. Your face is pinched tight and streaked with tears, and every odd breath comes in a ragged sob. Your chest aches with a sharp, lancing pain that hurts so terribly you would not be surprised to look down and find that you were bleeding. You imagine the dark, crimson trail you must be leaving, like gorey breadcrumbs one could follow all the way through town back to the Forest Hills trailer park.

You wish you’d thought to drive, then at least you could have broken down in the relative privacy of your car, but you’d wanted the walk to gather your thoughts, to prepare yourself for whatever it was that had kept Eddie so distant from you. Now, subjected to a different kind of walk of shame, your mind is buzzing with the concept of insult to injury.

You imagine you must be quite the sight to behold.

It’s dark by the time you reach your neighborhood, and well past the agreed-upon time when you knock at the Henderson’s front door.

A cursory glance at your watch sends a violent spasm of alarm lancing through your midsection.

You’re late. You’ve never been late before.

It's just another piece of Eddie you’re going to have a very hard time extracting, like a shard of glass from the bottom of your foot.

You try to make yourself presentable in the brief interval between your knocking and Mrs. Henderson’s answering, scrubbing at your eyes and taking deep breath after deep breath. All it accomplishes is to streak your already running eye makeup and push you towards hyperventilating. You are noticeably out of breath when the door finally swings inward, bathing you in golden light.

You imagine you are not the picture of an angel she'd expected, standing there, white-knuckling the strap of your bag, sweating in the August heat, and doing your utmost to look somewhere halfway to normal.

You try not to notice the way Mrs. Henderson’s round, cherubic face falls a little when she claps eyes on you.

Her voice is laced with saccharine concern as she says your name in a way that has you teetering on the edge of breaking down again.

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” you start, choking on the lump swelling in your throat. “I was— I just—“ In a panic, you bite the excuse off before it can cross the threshold of your lips.

What had you even planned to say? I’m sorry I’m late, Mrs. Henderson, but you see, my stupid boyfriend just got finished curb-stomping my heart into a pulpy mess and I’m just a bit upset?

Ex-boyfriend, you remind yourself with a sobering start. He doesn’t love you anymore.

You feel like you could cry again.

“Time got away from me,” you mumble, tugging sheepishly at the sleeves of your ill-advised cardigan.

In spite of the state of you, Mrs. Henderson brightens and dismisses the notion with a flippant wave.

“Oh, don’t be silly! You’re here now, that’s what matters – come in!”

You follow her over the threshold and into the living room in a haze, depending entirely upon familiarity and muscle memory to get you on track, going through the motions of setting down your bag on the kitchen island as you have hundreds of times before.

Still, you can feel yourself slipping and begin groping for familiarity in the dark, anything to anchor you to this moment: warm wood paneling tinted orange by incandescent light bulbs, dated shag carpet half worn down to threads in the grooves of routine living, frigid air conditioning blasting down on you, flash drying the sweat beading across your neck and shoulders. You blink and watch colors run into each other like crayons in the sun, and breathe deep the strong tang of air freshener covering the faintest hint of a cat somewhere in the house.

You lie to yourself that you're going to be fine as you pluck at a loose string hanging from the fraying hem of your cutoff shorts.

You are vaguely aware of Mrs. Henderson speaking somewhere very far off in the distance.

“Dusty, look who’s here!”

You don’t really hear her, you’re still standing at the bottom of the steps leading up to the Munson trailer, watching the door ease open after you’d pounded on it.

Eddie had blanched and physically recoiled upon seeing you, confirming your suspicions that he was hiding from you.

“What the fuck, dude.” had been the only thing you’d been able to get out, hurt feelings mixing with anger in a potent combination that had you brimming with angry tears.

You’d watched Eddie hesitate at the door, very clearly considering going right back inside and shutting you out again before he heaved a sigh that carried the weight of the world. The anger that welled in you was poisonous.

Two years of your life washed down the drain in less than twenty minutes. Time wasted. It makes you want to scream.

The next four words you’d spoken ring out, though not in your own voice.

“Where have you been?” Dustin asks, bringing you back to where you stand in the Henderson’s living room. “We were worried sick!”

He’s got his hands on his hips as he stares at you, his tie-dye shirt undulating beneath the warm lights and making you feel like you’re swaying.

His mother is quick to scold him for the audacity of his outburst.

“Dusty.” She warns, tut-tutting him with a slow shake of her head.

Mrs. Henderson had never been much of a disciplinarian.

Dustin makes an incredulous sound and throws up his hands in a way that paints the picture of a mother who has been sitting up, waiting for a wayward child out well past curfew. It would be halfway funny if you had the capacity to laugh.

He slumps moodily into the couch cushions as his mother brightens again and turns to regard you as you slip further out of your body.

“We’ve gotta stop kidding ourselves.” Eddie says somewhere very far away, “This thing has pretty much run its course…”

Mrs. Henderson clasps her hands together and breathes out like she’s preparing to dive into an overlong speech.

“Okay, you know all the emergency contacts, the house rules, I should be back by 11:30...” She says, trotting back and forth across the living room to collect her purse and keys, all the while chattering away, giving the same babysitting spiel she went through every time you stopped over to make sure Dustin didn’t burn the house down.

You nod absently and bid her farewell as she slips out the door, and you feel the bite of pins and studs from Eddie’s battle-vest in the palms of your hands as you shove him.

“Why are you doing this?” You cry, your voice is tight and quavers, threatening to fail before you can even put up any kind of a fight. You’re half blind from the tears collecting at your lashes, “You can’t just—” You choke on the sob welling in your throat. “What happened— Eddie—Baby, just talk to me. Please. We can move past it, whatever it is we can fix it if you just let me—”

He rubs at the back of his neck and rocks back on his heels, like he’s desperate to get away from the situation and it’s taking every fiber of his being to make himself stay.

“Please don’t make this harder than it already is.” He huffs, his voice trembling.

The silence in the living room is punctuated by the muffled sound of Mrs. Henderson’s receding footsteps, followed by the clunk of a car door slamming shut and the rumble of the engine starting. Headlights paint the walls through the front window in a burst of white, and just like that she’s gone. You’re stuck staring out across the street at your house, sitting dark and empty. Your parents aren't home... they're never home, that's why Eddie always comes over... Suddenly, you have to fight the urge to run out the door and retreat to the sanctity of your bedroom, like maybe you'll find him there, and you'll discover you imagined the whole thing.

All you want is to crawl under the covers and disappear from the world entirely, but there are too many artifacts of your relationship scattered across the expanse of your bedroom. Polaroids, mix tapes, band-tees, memories. You wonder with stark despair whether you’re ever going to be able to set foot in your bedroom again. It feels perhaps a tad overdramatic, but there’s so much of Eddie in you now, so much of his personality blended with yours, that it feels like an appropriate response. "Drama" may as well have been Eddie's middle name – his middle name is Joseph, you think absently, and suddenly you don’t know what you’re going to do with that kind of intimate information.

You aren’t exactly sure if you’re failing to grasp the situation or just plain rejecting it, but you refuse to accept that Eddie is trying to end your relationship over what essentially equates to nothing, and the fight it has kicked up is arguably the worst thing either of you has ever been through.

Despair turns him mean. He’s pacing and carding his hands through his hair like he can’t stand it, like he’s about to fly apart at the seams, and somehow it’s your fault.

“What do you want me to say?” Eddie snaps, face wet with tears, “What— you want me to tell you I don’t love you anymore? Is that what you want?" When you fail to answer he takes a step toward you and suddenly he's shouting, "Tell me what I can say to make you understand that this is over!”

You shake your head in defiance and openly sob, hands crossed over one another, pressed flat to the left side of your chest where you feel the pain of a phantom wound, gaping, bloody, and raw. Your strident refusal to answer the terrible question speaks for itself, and it wrenches a sob from somewhere deep inside Eddie. For the briefest of moments, he crumples, crushing the heels of his palms into his eyes in a way that is so heartbreakingly boyish you have to stop yourself from trying to hug him.

For a long moment, it’s all either of you can do but stand there, watching the other fall apart and hating each other for it.

Finally, Eddie breathes out hard like he’s trying to calm down. It doesn’t work.

“Okay,” He sniffs, voice trembling as he swipes the back of his hand across his nose, “Fine, I can do that– be the bad guy? If that’s what it takes...”

You shake your head and can’t help but take a tentative step toward him. Then another, and another, until suddenly you’re toe to toe with him.

“Don’t…” you plead, your voice is small and very nearly doesn’t make it through the vice that has your throat. “Please don’t…” His hands are shaking as you reach for them, his brows knit together and the corners of his mouth turn down in a mask of devastation.

“I don’t love you anymore.” He says softly, forcing the words out like it physically hurts to say them.

They embed themselves in you like little shards of glass and suddenly you've taken to bleeding, but you don’t believe him. You think you wouldn't be able to make yourself believe him if your life depended on it, even if it was true, because you loved him so much it hurt. So much you felt like this could very possibly kill you if he didn't stop. How could he not feel the same? How could this not be killing him the way it was killing you?

You knit your fingers desperately in the front of his shirt.

“You don’t mean it — please don’t say that.”

You try to meet his gaze, like maybe if you can make him see you, really see you, it might stop this, but he won’t look at you. You have to bite back the violent urge to damn him for his cowardice.

Eddie shakes his head, dark curls dancing around his face as he gets caught on a sharp intake of breath.

“I don’t fucking love you anymore.” His voice breaks.

“Yes you do!” you shout, shoving him hard enough to send him staggering back a pace. “Why are you doing this, what the fuck is wrong with you—”

Eddie hangs his head as new tears roll down his face to collect at the point of his chin and suddenly you can’t decide if you’re more angry or heartbroken as you reach for him again. You know you're babbling, but you're desperate to say anything that might somehow get through to him to make him abandon this terrible crusade.

Eddie won't hear you. He shrugs out of your touch and shakes his head again, crossing his arms over his chest to hug his biceps like it’s the only sense of security he has. All the fight has gone out of him.

It's over...

“Are you okay?” Dustin asks from where he’s sat on the couch.

You turn slowly and blink at him, feeling suddenly like you’ve been submerged in water, swaying on your feet with the tide. You’d almost completely forgotten he was there.

He’s staring at you with the most intense mask of concern you’ve ever seen on him. It’s a strangely sober look for Dustin, somehow too world-weary for the little boy you’d thought you knew so well.

You realize a bit too late that he’d asked you a question. You know you need to respond if only to keep up appearances, but you feel wrong, like you’ve been pulled out of your body and had something else stuffed back in that is trying very hard – and failing – to emulate a human being. It makes you feel like you’re going to be sick.

“I’m good.” You lie. “I’m really really good. In fact, I’m great.”

He furrows his brows and you know immediately you’d pushed it too much.

You’re bad, you’re so so bad. In fact, you’re terrible.

“O-kay…” He clearly doesn’t believe you, but he seems too preoccupied with something else to care much about it.

Dustin fidgets with his fingers, twisting the digits and picking at the skin of his nail beds like he’s become suddenly nervous in your presence.

“So… listen,” He starts, “There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

You hear the words, but not in Dustin’s voice.

Eddie has walked you out to the empty jungle gym standing in the middle of the trailer park. Before the fight, before the violent implosion of your relationship, before he says the words he can never take back, he slumps against the rusted metal structure and stuffs his hands in his pockets, casting his gaze down to the divet in the earth he makes with the toe of his dingy sneaker.

“We need to talk…” He says, and you feel yourself getting pulled swiftly down into the dark... deeper under the water.

The pressure makes your head swell.

From the beginning, everyone had warned you Eddie was going to break your heart. Friends, family, even teachers, as inappropriate as that advice had been. It always made you angry, determined to prove them wrong. Maybe it had started as an act of rebellion, leaning hard into a relationship that was evidently no good for you, but none of them knew how Eddie was sweet, and kind, and fun and funny and everything but what everyone warned you he would be.

You hate that in the end, he was the one who had made them right. Self-fulfilling prophecies and all that bullshit.

The end…

Just the notion of it is enough to send you teetering over the edge of hysteria. Something wells up from the aching spot behind your lungs, like a balloon filling with water, blocking your windpipe and threatening to suffocate you. Your ribs crack and you feel yourself begin to bleed again as it swells to the point of pain. You feel like you’re about to burst.

The words are spilling out over your lips before you have the good sense to realize you should excuse yourself before you have a breakdown in the middle of the Henderson’s living room.

“Hold that thought, Dusty, just for one second,” You gasp, turning and practically sprinting for the bathroom down the hall.

You shut the door behind you and rip one of the fluffy white towels Mrs. Henderson keeps down from the rack and cram your face into the thick terry cloth. For a moment there is nothing, then a sharp intake of breath before you’re screaming, as loud and as long as you can before your head starts to swim. The sound is mercifully muffled by the fibers. It catapults you into a memory from last spring.

You’re sitting on your bed, knees pulled up to your chest, absolutely fuming over the injustice of something completely trivial – a poor grade on a test, an undeserved reprimand, the specificities of it don’t matter, because Eddie is there, and he still loves you, sitting cross-legged on the bed, doing his best to lift your spirits.

Your toes are tucked neatly beneath his thighs and he’s got his hands around your calf, tapping out a guitar riff there. As casual a gesture as it may have seemed, it’s suddenly so intimate and you’re struck with a pang of grief as you realize you’re never going to be that close to him again.

“Jesus, I’m so mad I could scream.” You huff, the angry lump in your throat makes you feel like you’d tried to swallow a softball.

Eddie tilts forward and crosses his arms over your knees, hugging you there.

“Do it.” He says, ghosting his lips over the exposed skin poking through a tear in your jeans, “Let’s see what those pipes can do.”

You cast a dour look his way and wire your jaw shut, beginning a mental count of all the reasons you can’t just start screaming in the middle of a suburban neighborhood. You’re not supposed to have boys over and if you scream your mom will come running and flip her lid, someone might call the cops … it’s going to be too loud?

As if he’d anticipated your excuses, Eddie pushes up and snatches one of the pillows you sit nestled among at the head of your bed, tucking it into the space between your knees and your chest.

“Scream into the pillow.” He instructs, patting the creases flat in a way that feels gentlemanly.

When you level him with an unimpressed look he rolls his big dark eyes and takes the pillow back.

“Like this,” Deep breath, and the muffled smack of his face hitting the pillow before there is the faintest sound of Eddie screaming theatrically into the fabric and goose down. You bite your lip to keep from giggling and remind yourself that you’re supposed to be furious, indignant, incensed even. Hard to keep up that facade when you’re dating someone like Eddie, who would more than likely combust into flames if he tried to go a full day without doing something entirely absurd and unhinged just to make you laugh.

When he’s done screaming, Eddie is red-faced, hair wild and brows furrowed beneath the curly fringe that falls across his forehead. There is a thin line of spit, grossly drawn out from the semi-damp pillowcase to where it is attached to the plump flesh of his bottom lip. He severs the connection with a swipe of his tongue and makes a show of coughing and spluttering, fishing a stay feather from his mouth. You snort with laughter.

He grins that Cheshire Cat smile of his, cheeks indenting with dimples, and shoves the pillow back towards you.

“You’re up, Babycakes.” He says.

You recoil with playful disgust, “Gross, no way!”

“Why not?” He asks, furrowing his brows in a way that conflicts with the wide stretch of his mouth.

“You just slobbered all over it!”

Eddie narrows his eyes at you, and suddenly there is the faintest hint of mischief glinting there. You meet his gaze, tentatively waiting for whatever appalling thing he is about to say.

“Like that’s ever bothered you before.” He says.

It’s relatively tame in the grand scheme of things, but the way his eyebrows jump with innuendo has you blushing.

“Eddie!”

“Ed-die!”

Your mouth falls open in a gasp as he mimics you, pitching his voice up to mock you, absolutely scandalized.

His pretty doe eyes sparkle with delight and you take the opportunity to snatch the pillow from him, only to whip it around and whack him upside the head. The pillow explodes in a snowy cloud of feathers, and the next thing you know he’s surged forward, and you’re screaming with laughter, bracing your hands against his chest and shoulders to try and hold him at bay as he licks a fat wet stripe up the side of your face.

The towel in the Henderson’s bathroom is perhaps as effective a buffer as a pillow, it certainly does a better job at mopping up your tears as you release yourself from the cotton prison, red-faced and breathless. You’ve left dark smudges on the white fabric where your tears have made your eyeliner run, more than it already has. You only manage to feel slightly bad about that, suppressing a pitiful whimper as you turn on the faucet and splash your face with cold water. You’re hoping the shift in temperature might force you into some kind of hard reset, bring you back to your senses, but you’re not so certain it’s going to work this time.

Eddie taught you to do that.

“Helps with panic attacks,” he’d said at the time, rubbing your back and speaking soft, gentle words to you as you stood with your head in the bathroom sink.

The foolish tragedy of breaking up is that everything reminds you of Eddie. Every inch of this town, your house, your bedroom, your own goddamn body is laced with him. You feel raw, and despite this being your first real heartbreak, somehow you know even after you get over him, if you ever get over him, you’re never gonna be the same again.

You hate how you suddenly understand all those sappy love songs, all those foolish people standing in not so private corners of very public spaces, wailing about how they thought someone had loved them while everyone looks on in varying degrees of concern. Therein lies the problem of giving yourself over to someone so completely, loving them entirely.

I thought he loved me.

You slump to the cold tile floor and hug your knees to your chest.

You tell yourself you could leave, should leave, pick up and start over somewhere new, somewhere quiet and untainted by the echoes of him. Your memories are loud and pervasive and every one of them revolves around him, foolishly, as if he is all you’ve ever known.

You could just leave… It’s sorely tempting, you’ve graduated, no immediate plans on the horizon… newly single? There’s nothing holding you here –you quietly wonder if that was Eddie’s aim, but you’re still too upset to give him that much credit– you even allow yourself to begin a flight of fancy, entertaining an escape from Hawkins, from Indiana entirely. Then you remember the way he had cradled your face in his hands as he extracted himself from your life.

“There’s nothing for you here. This goddamn town is gonna suck the life out of you if you don’t get out.”

If you leave Hawkins now, that means Eddie wins, despite the fact that you’d been so painfully unaware it was even a competition. You suppose that this is how it starts, the taking sides, the tearing down one’s reputation. You can just imagine yourself, maybe a year from now, in a new town with new friends, going on and telling stories about how your ex was such a fuck up, a total man-child, couldn’t even graduate high school… He was a guitarist in this really shitty metal band and played this stupid fantasy game every weekend with a bunch of kids, that’s weird right? What a freak. You could knock the teeth out of that version of you for being so cruel.

He’s not a freak, you insist to no one in particular, He’s wonderful and generous and … and and and? …And he doesn’t love you anymore.

You thump your head against the bathroom cabinet and heave a sigh as you remember that you’re here in the house for a reason.

Dustin is waiting on you.

With a heavy sigh, you push up from the floor on shaky legs and turn back to regard yourself in the mirror.

It’s fine, I’m fine, we’re fine…

And you are. There’s no gaping wound in your chest, no bloodstains streaking down your front. You breathe deep and tell yourself that you really are fine, a little red and puffy in the face, and feeling very much like you’ve been hollowed out, like carving a pumpkin, but fine enough to sit and watch movies with Dustin for a few hours at least. It’s just a breakup. People break up every day. All you have to do is hold your shit together until midnight – you glance at your watch – just four hours and then you can fall apart, rant and rail, and rave and tear down the walls if that’s what it takes.

You take a deep, steadying breath, count backward from three, and whip the door open, doing your best to plaster what you hope is a genuine smile across your face.

"Okay kiddo, you wanna watch a movie or something?" You call as you head down the wall.

You’re fine. You’re going to be fine.

#eddie munson x you #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson #reader insert #eddie munson fic #stranger things fic #eddie munson imagine #cruel summer #cruel summer fic

391 notes · View notes

lcdrarry · 3 years ago

Photo

LCDrarry 2021 Master List

Dear lovely Participants, Creators, Alpha and Beta Readers, Commentors, Cheerleaders, Readers and Fans of our fest,

Our 3rd installment of LCDrarry is coming to an end, and we'd like to thank you all for taking part in our little fest, for creating so many amazing new Drarry works for us all to enjoy, for commenting on your favourite creations, for sharing and recommending the LCDrarry gems with your friends and blog followers, and for making this fest another amazing experience for everybody!

You can find out under the cut who created what ;D

~Your LCDrarry Mods Tami ( @celilasart ) and Suzi ( @erin-riwen )

PS: Please have a look at the author notes and tags on AO3 for additional information and more detailed warnings.

PPS: As always, reblogs are very much appreciated to promote all the wonderful works of LCDrarry.

Thank you! :)

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Podfic

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[Podfic] Harry Potter And The Disorder Of The Phoenix

Title: "Harry Potter And The Disorder Of The Phoenix" Written by: postjentacular Read by: @porcelainsalt | bluedreaming (AO3) Word Count: 1,304 words / 8 minutes Rating: General Warnings: none

Summary: An exasperated werewolf-slash-professor, a decidedly not-dead drama queen, a brat, and a straight white man settle down to watch a movie. It goes as well as you’d expect.

Listen to "Harry Potter And The Disorder Of The Phoenix" on AO3.

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Art

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[Art] At the Beginning (With You)

Prompt: "Anastasia", 1997, Don Bluth and Gary Goldman Artist: @zandragorin Art Medium: Digital Art Rating: Teen Warnings: none

Summary: It's one, two, three, and suddenly he sees it a glance.

View "At the Beginning (With You)" on AO3.

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[Art] Between Your Heart and Mine

Prompt: "Crimson Peak", 2015, Guillermo del Toro Artist: @kryptidfox Art Medium: Digital Art Rating: General Warnings: none

Summary: Auror Harry Potter is called to investigate barren and isolated Malfoy Manor, home to Sir Draco Malfoy. There, he finds forgotten secrets, lingering ghosts and perhaps even love.

View "Between Your Heart and Mine" on AO3.

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[Art] Fallen

Prompt: "Chocolat", 2000, Lasse Hallström Artists: @julcheninred & m4gOrtz Art Medium: paper, thread, chalk, ink Rating: General Warnings: Food, Depression, Clergy

Summary: As Père Harry passed the window of the chocolate shop early on Easter morning, he was shocked to discover the Comte de Malfoy, who had destroyed the shop's window display and fallen asleep in his grief and exhaustion.

View "Fallen" on AO3.

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[Art] I am only one side of a coin.

Prompt: "Merlin", 2008-2012 Artist: @digthewriter Art Medium: Digital Art in Photoshop Rating: General Warnings: none

Summary: The better side, obviously. Merlin/Harry Potter fusion. Harry as Merlin & Draco as Arthur.

View "I am only one side of a coin." on AO3.

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[Art] No Sweeter Innocence Than Our Gentle Sin

Prompt: "Romeo and Juliet", Shakespeare Artist: writingsbydestiny Art Medium: Digital Art Rating: General Warnings: none

Summary: Inspired by Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare starring Draco Malfoy as Juliet Capulet and Harry Potter as Romeo Montague.

View "No Sweeter Innocence Than Our Gentle Sin" on AO3.

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[Art] The Malfoy Family

Prompt: "The Addams Family", 1991, David Levy Author: @moondraconis Art Medium: Digital Art Rating: General Warnings: None

Summary: Harry and Draco have just got engaged. Now Harry has to sit for a family portrait with his weird new in-laws.

View "[Art] The Malfoy Family" on AO3.

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[Art] The Poet's Choice

Prompt: "Portrait of a Lady on Fire", 2019, Céline Sciamma Artist: @kairennart | Personaje (AO3) Art Medium: Digital Art Rating: General Warnings: none

Summary: On an isolated island in Brittany at the end of the eighteen century, Harry is commissioned to paint a wedding portrait of Draco without him knowing, since he refuses to pose. That means a lot of staring, and a lot of time together. Time goes by, and, inevitably, like everything in life, they fall in love. But Harry has to finish his painting, and Draco has to get married.

View "The Poet's Choice" on AO3.

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[Art] there are dangerous men about

Prompt: "The Legend of Zorro”, 2005, Martin Campbell Artist: @dragontamerdame | dragontamerdrarry (AO3) Art Medium: Digital Art Rating: Teen Warnings: None

Summary: Two wizards engaging in a vicious duel, but make it gay and sexy.

View "there are dangerous men about" on AO3.

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Fic & Art

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[Fic & Art] One More Lantern

Prompt: “xxxHoLiC”, 2006-2010 (anime)/2013 (live action) Author/Artist: vivi1138 Word Count/Art Medium: 8,373 words & Digital Art Rating: Teen Warnings: Smoking

Summary: Harry is plagued by spirits who seem intent on devouring him, and there’s only one place they can’t follow: a house hidden in wizarding London, belonging to Draco Malfoy. Harry didn’t intend to stay. He certainly didn’t foresee falling in love. Yet here they are. A slice of life where Draco is a sap, Harry buys ice cream, and spirits keep throwing their peaceful life into chaos.

Read and view "One More Lantern" on AO3.

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[Fic & Art] In the Shadow of Your Heart

Prompt: Howl's Moving Castle, 2004, Hayao Miyazaki Author: @fantalf Word Count/Art Medium: 854 words & Digital Art Rating: General Warnings: sectumsempra scars, memory loss

Summary: When the recluded ex-Death Eater Draco Malfoy finds Harry Potter wandering around the hills, with no memory whatsoever of who he once was, he and Teddy decide to welcome him into their little family.

Read and view "In the Shadow of Your Heart" on AO3.

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Fic

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[Fic] Paging Healer Twatwaffle

Prompt: "House M.D.", 2004-2012, TV-Series Author: @veelawings Word Count: 1,550 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: Mild dub-con and manipulation, but they’re already friends with benefits.

Summary: Healer Malfoy is an absolute wanker.

Read "Paging Healer Twatwaffle" on AO3.

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[Fic] (Let's Take Our Time) Just Moving Slow

Prompt: "Holidate", 2020, John Whitesell Author: Melacka Word Count: 1,886 words Rating: Teen Warnings: none

Summary: Harry and Draco have a mutually beneficial arrangement: automatic dates for all holidays and public events, no questions asked, no obligation, no strings. It all seemed like such a good idea when they started. Harry certainly never expected to develop feelings for Draco.

Read "(Let's Take Our Time) Just Moving Slow" on AO3.

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[Fic] Jurassic Drarry

Prompt: "Jurassic Park", 1993, Steven Spielberg Author: PhenomenalAsterisk Word Count: 1,941 words & Digital Art Rating: General Warnings: Unconventional disposal of dinosaurs; fanart includes graphic image of meat

Summary: An unflappable palaeontologist, a sexy chaos theorist, and a distracted palaeobotanist are called in to tour an eccentric billionaire's pet project.

Read "Jurassic Drarry" on AO3.

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[Fic] My Saviour Won't Stop Texting Me

Prompt: "Hercules", 1997, Ron Clements, John Musker Author: fwooshy Word Count: 5,012 words Rating: Teen Warnings: Texting fic

Summary: Long ago, in Ancient Greece, there was a man named Draco Malfoy who sold his soul to Voldemort. Tortured by his sins, he... oh, who am I kidding? This is a Hercules AU texting fic, not some Greek tragedy! Harry and Draco get together and everyone has phones in Ancient Greece. Please enjoy.

Read "My Saviour Won't Stop Texting Me" on AO3.

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[Fic] The Malfoy Family

Prompt: "The Addams Family", 1991, David Levy Author: floydig Word Count: 7,088 words Rating: Mature Warnings: All Addams Family Warnings Apply, Morbid and Dark Humor, Loving Horror, Mild Body Horror (fun), Carnivorous Plants, Blasphemy, Necromancy, Implied Sexual Content

Summary: The Malfoy Family is the Addams Family, and things are about to get interesting. Draco and Harry Malfoy are odd, intriguing, endearingly creepy, and completely and utterly infatuated with one another. This is going to be a fun one. Featuring deadly magical creatures as house pets, recreational use of Unforgivable Curses, hungry carnivorous plants, and plenty of mayhem in between. Also, the whole thing takes place at a Magical Multi-Purpose Store. The Malfoy Family goes shopping!

Read "The Malfoy Family" on AO3.

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[Fic] Love that Blinds

Prompt: "The Batman", 2004-2008, TV-Series Author: aminathescorpio Word Count: 7,245 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: Brief graphic descriptions of violence, dubious consent, gaslighting

Summary: When Draco Malfoy gets accepted to work as a psychiatrist in Azkaban Asylum, he finds himself caught in a complicated relationship with none other than Azkaban's most infamous resident: Harry Potter.

Read "Love that Blinds" on AO3.

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[Fic] Sesame Seeds and the Entire Spectrum of Human Emotion

Prompt: "The Proposal", 2009, Anne Fletcher Author: @bisexualronaldweasley Word Count: 9,530 words Rating: Mature Warnings: Nudity, Boat Incident, references to past abuse/neglect

Summary: Faced with exile, Draco pretends to be engaged to Harry Potter, who agrees to play along for Narcissa's sake. When they're forced to spend a weekend together celebrating the engagement with the Weasleys, they might try to kill each other, or... they might just fall in love. . Based on the movie The Proposal (2009), though you don't have to have seen the movie to understand the fic!

Read "Sesame Seeds and the Entire Spectrum of Human Emotion" on AO3.

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[Fic] Ghost

Prompt: "Ghost", 1990, Jerry Zucker Author: @maraudersaffair Word Count: 10,761 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: major character death (MCD), canon-typical violence, grief and mourning

Summary: When Harry is killed tragically during an Auror raid gone wrong, Draco does his best to move on. He's even a little cheered when Theo Nott starts pursuing him. Then Sybil Trelawney visits Draco.

Read "Ghost" on AO3.

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[Fic] all in good time

Prompt: "Groundhog Day", 1993, Harold Ramis Author: saltwatergarden Word Count: 13,054 words Rating: Mature Warnings: mentions alcohol

Summary: Draco Malfoy's life is boring and repetitive. He supposes he shouldn't complain, since that's better than sharing a house with Voldemort, or doing time in Azkaban. When he gets trapped in a time loop, however, he is forced to confront the routine he has fixed for himself, and try to break out of it. It isn't all bad, facing no consequences for his actions can be fun for a bit. But after he starts visiting the Auror Headquarters and having brief but remarkably pleasant conversations with one Auror Potter, he finally has the real motivation to break out of the time loop - something worth sticking around for.

Read "all in good time" on AO3.

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[Fic] Star Crossed

Prompt: "Romeo and Juliet", Shakespeare Author: GallifreyisBurning Word Count: 13,615 words Rating: Teen Warnings: none

Summary: Two Quidditch teams, alike in dignity, In fair Great Britain, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. The Wimbourne Wasps and the Appleby Arrows have been bitter rivals for centuries. When a nasty brawl ends one of their Seekers’ careers, the teams need new blood to take up the slack and divert attention from the bad publicity. And who better to distract the press than the infamous Draco Malfoy and golden boy Harry Potter? Called back from successful careers abroad, the pair are once again to be pitted against one another in an epic feud. Too bad no one told them that before they started flirting…

Read "Star Crossed" on AO3.

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[Fic] The Slytherin Host Club

Prompt: "Ouran high school host club", 2006, Bisco Hatori and Takuya Igarashi Author: shushu_yaoi_lj Word Count: 14,377 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: explicit sexual content, scars, non-graphic mention of past abuse

Summary: Harry is simply looking for a quiet place to finish his Potions essay.It's a pity he ends up at the Slytherin Host Club instead. Or maybe it's a blessing in disguise, since he's had a crush on Malfoy since the beginning of his eighth year...

Read "The Slytherin Host Club" on AO3.

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[Fic] It is on the other side of my soul (where your name is written)

Prompt: "Call Me By Your Name", 2017, Luca Guadagnino Author: opaleopioid Word Count: 16,372 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: implied switching, rimming, anal sex, no age difference (HP canon-compliant age difference)

Summary: Harry’s having it all, now that the unpleasantries of being treated like a loose cannon is gone: the war is well over, and Voldemort is long dead. He’s made the choice to stay in B, an unplottable magical town in Northern Italy, whose protection wards had kept him in one piece at the height of the second wizarding war, and whose seclusion provides him with the quiet, normal life that he now lives. Harry adores the grassy hills that enclose B like the warm arm of a mother; Likes playing the grand piano from dawn to dusk; Cherishes his current life, on the whole. He gets himself Mocaccino every morning and sometimes has dinner with the Weasleys at their cottage nearby. With the majority of his friends and family falling in love with B and gradually settling down as well, Harry feels like this is the last place he would ever want to leave. To say that the arrival of a certain wizard—a razor-sharp, infuriating blond—makes anything remotely different for Harry would be absurd, of course.

Read "It is on the other side of my soul (where your name is written)" on AO3.

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[Fic] In Search of Our Better Selves

Prompt: "Mad Max: Fury Road", 2015, George Miller Author: alrespirar Word Count: 17,519 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: Mentions of past torture, mentions of past rape, brief mention of miscarriage, descriptions of gun violence and injury. Sexual content.

Summary: Five times Imperator Draco saved Potter’s life and the one time Potter saved his.

Read "In Search of Our Better Selves" on AO3.

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[Fic] Where in the World is Draco Malfoy?

Prompt: "Carmen Sandiego", 2019, Series Author: Anaxandria Word Count: 18,029 words Rating: Mature Warnings: Minor mentions of homophobia, violence, and blood

Summary: After the war, Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter took parallel paths of fighting crime. Draco discovered the existence of VILE, an international organisation dedicated to the eradication of Muggle-borns. With the help of his best friend, Blaise, he commits international capers to steal artifacts before VILE can get their hands on them. Harry is the auror investigating the heists, but his instincts tell him there’s more than meets the eye.

Read "Where in the World is Draco Malfoy?" on AO3.

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[Fic] My Fair Gentleman

Prompt: "My Fair Lady", 1964, George Cukor Author: emilattes Word Count: 20,766 words Rating: Teen and up Warnings: light alcohol use and mentions of child neglect by Dursleys

Summary: After an extended stay at Charlie's Dragon Reserve in Romania, Harry returns to London and makes a fool of himself at his first Ministry Gala. Minister Shacklebolt orders Harry to seven months of etiquette lessons with Draco Malfoy. Will Harry pull through and become an expert in PR? Will Draco manage to make over the biggest PR disaster the wizarding world has seen in years? Wouldn't it be loverly?

Read "My Fair Gentleman" on AO3.

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[Fic] saying yes (instead of no)

Prompt: "Schitt's Creek", 2015, Series Author: Pineau_noir Word Count: 21,022 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: canon typical alcohol and drug use, marijuana use, explicit smut

Summary: “It’s a general store that’s also a very specific store,” Draco grumbled. “Most people won’t realise this, but I want to market Muggle goods to the Wizarding world as well. I want something that will help boost the economy of the Hamlet and Muggles have so many amazing things we don’t have.” . Draco sighed again. “I think it would benefit everyone.” He glared at Emily. “But there’s not a single witch, wizard, or wix who will shop at a place owned by Draco Malfoy.” . “What if it’s owned by Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy?” Potter asked. . “That would be preposterous,” Draco mumbled. “Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy would kill each other before the store opened.” . “What if you didn’t?” Emily asked. Draco opened his mouth to let her know, they would indeed kill each other, but before he could say anything, she continued, “What if it turned into a lovely business?” . “There’s only one way to know,” Potter said. “I really think this is a good idea, Draco."

Read "saying yes (instead of no)" on AO3.

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[Fic] A First Look Into Resurrecting Mummies With the Aid Of the Chosen One, and Why It Should Be Advised Against (an Essay by Draco Malfoy, Assistant Archaeologist)

Prompt: "The Mummy", 1999, Stephen Sommers Author: @cibeewastaken | Cibee (AO3) Word Count: 21,948 words Rating: Mature Warnings: minor violence elements

Summary: Draco hopes to find an ancient spell book rumoured to be in Hamunaptra after Astoria found a map to the lost city. If he makes this discovery, maybe the Magical British Museum will finally look at his application, and his annoying colleague will finally leave him alone. It’s a good plan, until Draco is reunited with Harry Potter for the first time in ten years, as the man is about to be hanged.

Read "A First Look Into Resurrecting Mummies With the Aid Of the Chosen One, and Why It Should Be Advised Against (an Essay by Draco Malfoy, Assistant Archaeologist)" on AO3.

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[Fic] Wicked Game

Prompt: "Jumanji", 1995 or 2017 Author: DearJames Word Count: 22,044 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: Sexual Content, Implied PTSD

Summary: Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy crossed a line during one of their late-night Astronomy Tower Bonding Sessions and neither are sure what that means. Not that they got particularly far, considering they were caught and assigned detention for their antics. And, now, they've been sucked into a boardgame. That's just fantastic...

Read "Wicked Game" on AO3.

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[Fic] Love in Three Parts

Prompt: "Bridgerton", 2020, Series Author: static_abyss Word Count: 24,172 words Rating: Mature Warnings: Canon-typical content

Notes: Thanks so much to my beta, L, for all her help and her encouragement as I wrote this fic. Thanks to the mods for hosting this fest and to the Anonymous prompter who inspired this fic.

Summary: Draco has everything needed to be the diamond of the season. He has the looks, the pedigree, and if he should be short on the money end, well, it isn't up to him to convince anyone they want to marry him. And yet, he finds himself with no prospects and no suitable matches until Harry James Potter, Wizarding Britain's Most Eligible Bachelor, makes his first appearance in proper Wizarding society for the first time in five years. Together, they hatch a plan to secure Draco a husband and keep the debutantes' mothers away from Harry. And if someone should develop feelings along the way, well, the course of true love never did run smooth.

Read "Love in Three Parts" on AO3.

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[Fic] He would always win the fight

Prompt: "Killing Eve", 2018 - ongoing, TV Series Author: Akira-kun Word Count: 26,578 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: Serial Killer, Off Screen Murders, Corpses, Political Polarity, Corruption in Government, Corruption in Justice System, Off Screen Violence, Post War Instability, Ambiguity, Dark!character, Vengeance, In a Twisted Way, Obsessive Behaviour, Crime Mystery, Open Ending

Summary: “But you were always just a puppet, weren’t you, Potter?” That voice kept haunting him, in his dreams and during his days, as if hovering over his shoulder, cold as a ghost, lost and lifeless. He wasn’t sure why it hurt like that. Maybe because it was an ugly truth that Harry hoped no one would ever throw back in his face. Or maybe because it was Malfoy. . Killing Eve inspired Drarry where people are getting killed, Harry is getting desperate, Draco is too sexy for his own good, and all hell will break loose.

Read "He would always win the fight" on AO3.

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[Fic] Peaches & Cream And A Little Bit Of Acid

Prompt: "Modern Love", 2019, Series Author: shortie990 Word Count: 27,755 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: suicidal thoughts, mental health issues

Summary: In love there is no real hiding. You have to be pretty up front on who you are. The problem was though, Harry didn’t have a clue who he was one moment from the next.

Read "Peaches & Cream And A Little Bit Of Acid" on AO3.

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[Fic] Outwit, Outlast, Outplay

Prompt: "Survivor", 2000-ongoing, Series Author: Albuss Word Count: 30,976 words Rating: Mature Warnings: Brief homophobia, mentions of past health issues

Summary: Draco loves Survivor. Loves it. So when his job at the Dept. of Mysteries offers him the opportunity to go on as a contestant, he can't think of anything that could go wrong. He is sorely mistaken, but a little chaos turns out to not be such a bad thing. Featuring gratuitous descriptions of Survivor game-play, really jargon-y magical theory I got way too excited about, and Draco's best friend Isabelle being an absolute QUEEN.

Read "Outwit, Outlast, Outplay" on AO3.

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[Fic] Advantage Rule

Prompt: "The Queen's Gambit", 2020, Series Author: @ziezie13 Word Count: 42,738 words Rating: Mature Warnings: Character death, Parental neglect, Brief references to eugenics, Sexual content, Mild homophobia, Alcoholism, Drug abuse

Summary: Draco's life has been struggle after struggle. He was exiled as a baby, his mother died, he was forced to live with muggles... Need I go on? Quidditch was supposed to be his escape, but how is he supposed to beat Victor Krum and take the world title if he can't even beat Harry Potter? ~No knowledge of The Queen's Gambit required~

Read "Advantage Rule" on AO3.

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[Fic] (This Will Be) An Everlasting Love

Prompt: #12 (also fulfils #6) | "While You Were Sleeping," 1995, Jon Turteltaub Author: @drarrelie & @janieohio Word Count: 45,139 words Rating: Teen Warnings: None

Summary: Life doesn’t always turn out the way we plan. That’s what Draco’s mother always used to tell him, but Merlin, who could have predicted how right she would be? A story about feisty dragons, loneliness, family, and friends — and finding love in places you least expect.

Read "(This Will Be) An Everlasting Love" on AO3.

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[Fic] In a Field of Chrysanthemums and the Woods

Prompt: "The Untamed", 2019, TV-Series Author: @outstandingmoralfiber Word Count: 83,399 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: None

Summary: Three notes, and yet they made all the difference. Draco could feel it, the slight magic and wavering notes, washing over him in a brief but calming wave that lit his soul and it was then that he knew that he was going to learn how to play this guqin no matter what. Little did he know that, like dominos, this one simple decision would diverge him onto a path he would've never imagined. - Wizarding world in the Untamed setting, (but you don't need to know anything about the Untamed). Drarry AU starting from Goblet of Fire. Rated E for the smut scene in Chapters 13 & 14, but is otherwise rated T.

Read "In a Field of Chrysanthemums and the Woods" on AO3.

***

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isnt-it-loverly · 4 years ago

Text

little birdie (4)// five hargreeves

Warnings: blood

Summary: When Five lands in the Sparrow Academy, he must convince one of them to help him reset the timeline.

Word count: 1800

Author note: sorry if this is bad, ive been in a rut as of late. Once again thank you so much for all the love and support. I hope you enjoy :)

part one, part two, part three part five

You knocked softly on the door of apartment 217. An elderly lady opened the door with a bright smile on her face.

“Hello, my little birdie! It's been so long!” She said while pulling you into a bone-crushing hug. The wool of her sweater scratched against your skin, and the smell of freshly baked cookies and wild flowers filled your nose. She pulled away and placed her gaze on Five.

“Oh, you’ve brought a friend!” She added gleefully.

“Yes, Granny, this is um… Aidan! We met at the karate class my father has me in,” You explained. You hated lying to such a sweet old lady, but you knew the truth would be too much for her to understand. Plus you really didn’t have the time to explain everything.

You turned back to Five and have a shrug of your shoulders. He was right, he didn’t need a normal name. Five was just too fitting. She moved closer to him and grabbed his cheek, making him very uncomfortable.

“You’re father is just terrible for making you kids do that! Look how roughed up the pair of you are, come inside and we’ll get you cleaned up” She said solemnly.

Five walked beside you and grabbed your arm firmly. Pulling you to the side he whispered a quick “what the hell” in your ear.

“She thinks she’s my grandma,” you replied bluntly, “just go along with it.”

Five sighed in exasperation, this was not helping him find his siblings. He followed you into the apartment begrudgingly, trusting that you were not just yanking his chain. The old woman excused herself and said she would bake a fresh batch of cookies. After she left you grabbed his sleeve and whispered, “follow me.”

You lead him into a side bedroom. It was small and quaint, very homey compared to the academy.

“Remember when I said that I’ve lived a million lives? Gertrude was one of my first, I got stuck in her mind for weeks, and I learned a lot about her. Her husband died right before I got trapped in her noggin, so I switched some memories then added some new ones. I’ve been visiting ever since,” You explained.

“Do your siblings know?” He asked, worry dripping in his tone.

“Not to my knowledge, I don’t think they’d appreciate me having a life outside the academy,” you answered with a shrug.

Five was utterly perplexed by you. You were an enigma, so eager to trust others, so kind, and selfless. How did you end up so different from the others? He watched as you opened a drawer of the cedar chest that was in front of the bed.

“Sometimes, I like to take things from the people I’ve been. Just as little reminders. I think I have some clothes in here that might fit you,” you said with extreme focus. You pulled out a tee-shirt and jeans, something Five was not accustomed to. He turned his nose slightly.

“I’d rather choke on my own tongue than wear that,” He groaned.

You shook your head in annoyance, pulling out a set of clean clothes for yourself as well. You enjoyed civilian wear, it made you feel normal and secure- something your academy uniform could never.

“Just put on the damn clothes before I make you short stack,” you snapped back. Your eyes glowed s brighter blue for a moment and Five now knew he didn’t have a choice in the matter.

“At least turn your back,” he grumbled in response.

You gave him a small laugh and did as you were told. You crawled to the other side of the bed and slipped on your new clothes as well. After a few minutes, Five gave you the clear.

“Wow, unknit that eyebrow and wipe that frown off your face, and you look almost normal,” You said with a smile.

It was true, he looked like a regular ole teenager. Something you know that he has never been. You give him a look over before your eyes stop at his forearm. An umbrella tattoo, of course, he would have one.

Five noticed you staring, he followed your gaze to his arm. He lifted it so you could see it better, and an ever-present scowl on his face.

“Do you have one?” He asked.

You nodded solemnly and pushed up your sleeve. You placed your arm against his, the bird and the umbrella practically touching. You wondered why your Father loathed them so much and then it was quiet for a moment.

“The houses of Capulet and Montague,” you spoke up in a mocking tone.

“I didn’t ask you to betray your entire family,” He said. His voice was deep and rough, a sense of anger could be detected.

“No, but you really twisted my arm showing me the whole apocalypse thing. I’m an empath idiot, your feelings became mine,” You were quick to snap back.

Five liked that about you. You were nice and helpful, but you also knew when to stand your ground. He could compare you to a coin, two different sides yet well balanced. A perfect equilibrium.

“I’ve helped you,” you murmured, “now I think you owe me.”

He raised an eyebrow at you, curious and intrigued at what you were going to say.

“I’ve only done this once and it didn’t end well. I need you to keep me grounded, do whatever it takes to get me back. My father believes that I can project my consciousness onto someone without looking into their eyes, so I’m going to try to do that to your sister, Allison,” you explained.

“You said it didn’t end well? What happened?” Five asked, very concerned.

“It takes a lot out of me, I couldn’t get into anyone’s mind and it almost killed me,” You confessed.

“I’m sorry, did you say killed?” He responded wide-eyed. It warmed your heart that he was at least concerned about you.

“Look, do you wanna find your family or not? Unless you have a better plan?” You asked with a slight raise of your voice.

Five shook his head, knowing that this was the best plan You sat on the plush bed, curling your fingers around the soft comforter. You took a shaky breath and closed your eyes tightly. Running the fabric between your fingers you counted every stitch. You pictured his sister’s face in your mind, paying extra intention to her eyes. Five watched intently as you did, he was worried about you- you were an important asset and a powerful ally. It would be a shame if you died. Your eyes opened abruptly and to Five’s amazement and horror there was just white and a soft blue emanating from them.

When you opened your eyes again to find yourself sitting at a kitchen table. Looking up you see Allison sitting across from you, intently reading the newspaper. If she was there, then who were you? Looking down and the palms of your hands the words ‘hello’ and ‘good-bye’ were splayed across them.

“Well shit, I’m the pretty one,” You mumbled to yourself. Although you were very glad and very surprised that you had managed to pull this off, you would have to thank your father for the extra training the past few months.

“What are you on about now, Klaus?” Allison said utterly unamused.

“Actually it’s number five. Not your Five, the other five. Sparrow Five. Ya know what I’m rambling, I’m (Y/n),” You spit out quickly. Holy shit this man’s brain was fried. Everything was happening at a million miles an hour, you couldn’t keep up.

You watched as her expression changed, she stood up abruptly in the same fighting stance Five had used earlier. Her eyes watched you like a hawk and if looks could kill you’d be dead.

“Your family killed my brother, now I swear if you harm one hair on Klaus’ stupid head. I’ll end you,” She spat venom dripping in her words.

“He’s not dead! Five is very much alive, and we’re looking for you guys. So all we need is an address and we will be on our way,” You replied with a smile.

“Yeah right, why would I trust you?” She questioned.

“Look, Five is hurt really badly. This astral possession thing is gonna knock me on my ass, I won’t be able to protect him from my siblings. If you don’t help us, well, we’re both already dead,” You said in a somber tone.

You could tell that the gears we’re winding in her head. You felt a pain in your head that radiates in your chest, you coughed slightly and blood appeared on your hands. Shit its starting, you couldn’t stay much longer. You felt blood begin to slowly drip from your nose. Double shit with a cherry on top.

“What are you doing to him?” She yelled.

“Allison,” you choked, “he needs you.”

“Fine, just stop whatever you are doing to him!” She yelled in fear of her brother, Moments later she revealed the address, perfect that’s all you needed. Now you could get back and share your triumph.

You closed your eyes tightly and the world began to spin. Round and round, faster and faster. Until finally, you felt your legs give out but you didn’t hit the floor. You opened your eyes slowly to find yourself in Five’s arms. He was looking down at you, fear present in those emerald eyes. He let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank God, you started pouring out blood like a fountain. I thought you were dead,” He scolded. He sounded like an old man when he spoke, it was almost endearing.

You touched your nose and wiped away some of the fresh blood, staring at it intently. You felt so weak, that was too much and you vowed never to do that again. The cost was far too high. You sat up and you felt Five’s hand on your back- ready to steady you if you need it. You had really scared him, he didn’t know why. He had just met you, so why did the thought of losing you hurt so badly.

“I did it,” You mumbled hoarsely.

“Did what?” Five whispered in a soft voice. The tone was foreign even to him, but right now he felt like you needed a friend and not a sarcastic asshole.

“I found them, I found your family. They aren’t far from here,” You breathed out.

Five hugged you tightly and gave you a sincere thank you. You hugged back gently, you couldn’t remember the last time someone hugged you. It was a feeling you could get used to, warm, secure, and safe. You also couldn’t remember the last time you felt any of those things. Perhaps these umbrellas weren’t so bad after all.

“Come on,” You said breaking away, “let’s get some of those cookies, hit the road, and get you back to the right timeline.”

Taglist: alexander-hamilhoe

#number five #five x reader #five hargreeves #number five x reader #five hargreeves x reader #number five x you #five x y/n #five #Umbrella Academy #The Umbrella Academy #tua #aidan gallagher

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atruththatyoudeny · 4 years ago

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Monthly Reads | September 2020

Happy 28th! All the love for all the authors in this fandom. Thank you for making my days better with your work! ♥ Here are all the fics I read and loved this month: 🍂 Remember Me Fondly | kiddle | enemies to friends to lovers - 1990s - historical - angst - humor - closets - 74k “You’ve told the beginning of the story so many times. I want to hear the end.” Louis laughed, scratching at his chin. “I can’t say I really know when the end happened.” “How about the tour of ninety-five?” “Alright.” Louis took a deep breath. “But it took a few steps to get there. What would you like to know?” Penny cleared her throat. “How did you first meet Harry Styles?” Grunge legends Fearless Doe topped the rock charts in the ‘90s, but they spent the decade kicking Smudge off their heels. From lawsuits to jaw-dropping scandals and a surprising joint world tour, the two bands share a complicated history. Twenty-five years later, frontmen Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles are finally ready to sit down and tell the world their two sides of the same story. Truth may vary.

🍂 you came into my life | disgruntledkittenface | Queer Eye AU - american AU - closeted character - Coming Out - pining - fluff - angst - implied/referenced homophobia - 57k They stand around talking for a minute and then Jonathan starts to ramble, “Has there ever been, like, an unrequited gay love story in here? Like a Brokeback Mountain moment where, like, someone just fell in love and they didn’t mean to?” Louis feels bile rise in his throat as Jonathan’s eyes sparkle, pleading for a yes. He manages to look around and see thoughtful looks on his coworkers’ faces before their heads shake no. “Not here,” Liam says finally. When the Queer Eye cast and crew sweep into Louis’ small town and fire station to make over his best friend and coworker Liam, Louis’ carefully constructed walls start to fall down and he has to face his fears – and the only guy he’s ever been able to see a future with.

🍂 Everything I need I get from you | jaerie | a/b/o - mpreg - strangers to lovers - emotional/ psychological abuse - sexism - unplanned pregnancy - 10k In a world where music and sound are just as vital to health as food, Harry is stuck in a town that thinks professional music is a scam and a relationship he never wanted. One chance event changes his life.

🍂 at last, at last | suspendrs | post-apocalypse - dystopia - cult - mentions of violence - mentions of death - homophobia - internalized homophobia - 41k “Come with us,” Tommo says, stopping at the other end of the gymnasium, near the doors. “Don’t let them make you suffer any longer. Come with us, and be human.” Before Harry has even finished thinking it through, he’s on his feet, gaining the attention of every single person in the gymnasium. What has he got to lose, anyway? Or, Harry is born into a cult in a post-apocalyptic world, and Louis is the leader of the rebel group tasked with the mission of shutting them down. Together, they make a rather effective team.

🍂 give me love | falsegoodnight and soldouthaz | a/b/o - past relationship trauma - past abusive relationship - slow burn - touch deprivation - touch starvation - nesting - angst - fluff - 41k Despite being an omega, Louis’ always had a blatant dislike of alphas. - Or, Louis doesn't feel like a good omega, Harry doesn't remember how to be an alpha, and they figure it out together.

🍂 You, Who Never Arrived | abrighteryellow | Only You AU - strangers to lovers - 90s AU - world travel - soulmates - fluff - angst - Fate & Destiny - 42k “That was him, Niall.” He claps a hand over a disbelieving laugh. “My soulmate – the person I’ve been waiting for since I was nine years old. That was him on the other end of the phone.” “But it can’t–” Niall stutters, unsure of what to do, how to put a stop to this. “That wasn’t real.” “Wasn’t it?” Louis rushes past him, zipping up his fly. He grabs a black denim jacket from a hook near the door. “Then who did I just talk to?” “Where are you going?” Niall demands as Louis pockets his keys and swings his front door open. “I just have to get a look at him. I just have to see, that’s all!” “You’re not serious. Louis, it’s already late.” “He’s at the airport. Fifteen years I’ve been expecting him around every corner, and now he’s half an hour away. I can’t just sit here.” “Bu–” “I’m not going to do anything crazy, I promise. I just–I have to see him. This is my chance. Maybe my only chance.” Louis Tomlinson is days away from marrying a perfectly nice podiatrist when he gets a phone call that changes everything. Or, the Only You AU in which Louis has a soulmate and it's definitely not Harry Styles.

🍂 Shall we sleep, my love? | givelourrylove | angst - emotional hurt/comfort - kid fic - 15k There is so much sincerity in Harry’s voice. So much that says you, Louis, I look forward to seeing you, you and your soft eyes and your petite body, just you, you, you, but Louis forces himself to ignore that. To gulp it down again, sizing up the lump that had formed beneath his lungs, possibly reappearing any time and choking him with everything he decided not to think about for the past year. or Louis loses his job as a teacher, has to move out and find somewhere to live. A certain someone named Harry offers his home to Louis and his son. Pining, crying and reading bedtime stories involved.

🍂 so much I could live for I could die | louisnights | dystopia - trans character - sexual harrassment - friends to lovers - strangers to friends to lovers - no smut - 15k “Sometimes I wonder what’s out there,” Louis confesses, tucking into his second biscuit. “I wonder if what they’re saying is true, about the Thieves, about the other compounds. Why are we not allowed to leave? Go to other compounds?” Lottie gets up, letting out a sigh as she squeezes his shoulder. “You shouldn’t think like that, Lou, it will get you killed.” “They can’t take away my thoughts,” Louis answers defiantly. Lottie pats his shoulder before she disappears to her room, closing the door behind her with a quiet click. or: Louis is a transgender man who escapes his compound after extenuating circumstances, and meets the Thieves, who show him what freedom really is.

🍂 A Road To Hope | he_wants_to_write | historical - World War II - 1940s - farm/ranch - PTSD - emotional hurt - hurt/comfort - angst - mental instability - internalized homophobia - 18k “We’re far from the people and their issues, don’t hold back. Please.” It’s true. They are far away from anything that could stop them, the middle of nowhere being the safest place on Earth for them to fall in love. The sacred land where sacred love is created. However, Louis is certain that even if they weren’t safe, he wouldn’t resist the sight of Harry, his pleading eyes, his warm skin beneath his touch. or In the heat of April, 1944, an escapee soldier lost in a dirt-road stumbles upon a small farm and finds himself recovering from the traumas of World War II in the simplicity of a frugal life, with the help of a little boy's innocent soul, and a farmer's hopeful green eyes.

🍂 With Love's Light Wings | 4ureyesonly28 and reminiscingintherain | Rome and Juliet AU - a/b/o - 1920s - marriage proposals - 12k Two households, both alike in dignity, / In fair London town, where we lay our scene... — Or something like that, anyway. On either side of the River Thames live Louis Montague and Harry Capulet, their noble packs entangled in a feud so old, nobody even remembers what caused it. As fate will have it, against all odds, they fall in love. Harder than the bricks that make up their families’ estates and faster than a Duesenberg car. AKA The 1920s ABO Romeo & Juliet AU that we desperately wanted to write.

🍂 The Very First Words of a Lifelong Love Letter | LiveLaughLoveLarry | first meetings - friends to lovers - weddings - no smut - 9.5k The prompt I picked was (lightly edited): "Harry and Louis have been best friends ever since they met through fandom (I picked Critical Role) twitter. Person A (I picked Louis) lives in New York City and Person B (Harry) lives in the UK. They’ve never met in person but they FaceTime and text daily. Person B’s cousin is getting married to a rich American who’s paying for the entire family to travel to The Hamptons for a summer wedding. Are Harry and Louis ready to meet?" ~*~ Harry thought he was just imagining things when the flower girl looked like one of the twins, but -- he’s almost certain that groomsman is Louis. The pictures he's seen haven't been the best quality, granted, but he knows Louis. He does. Harry stares wide-eyed as he walks down the aisle in step with the bridesmaid, taking their places on either side of the stage. As they turn to look out into the audience, Harry’s strong suspicion solidifies into certainty. That’s Louis. He’d bet his life on it. But Louis doesn’t look at him, and it’s not like Harry can wave. He can only stare, mouth still hanging half-open. Suddenly, as much as he loves weddings, he can’t wait for this one to be over.

🍂 promise you'll remember (when the sky is grey) | Anonymous | american AU - summer - 33k "Once you come to this town, you find that it's not so easy to leave," Niall spoke with a fond tone in his voice. "Canyon isn't a place that one leaves behind easily." "I guess we'll be able to test your theory come August," Harry spoke with a small grin, "because I'm set to leave on the twenty-ninth to get back to work in LA." Niall smirked back in reply, "I guess we will, but mark my words, you'll end up finding something to make you stay. We all did." Harry laughed, surprised at the man’s unwavering confidence in his statement. "We'll see." - a summer spent in small town Maine, filled with trips to the farmer’s market, lemonade tailgating, taylor swift, and falling in love at quite possibly the most inconvenient time ever (not necessarily in that order).

#28th appreciation #fic rec #monthly reads #monthly fic rec #my reads #my fic rec #completed fics #larry fics

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arisefairsun · 4 years ago

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What do you think would've happened if Juliet never met Romeo and got married to Paris instead?

I think it’s hard to say, because Juliet repulses Paris, but I’m not certain how much that disregard derives from her love for Romeo. ‘Proud can I never be of what I hate,’ she says about her marriage to Paris. But would she be so opposed to it if she wasn’t in love with (and married to) Romeo? The Nurse says that Juliet ‘had as lief see a toad, a ver toad, / As see [Paris]. I anger her sometimes, / And tell her that Paris is the properer man; / But I’ll warrant you, when I say so she looks / As pale as any clout in the versal world.’ I think these lines can be read in different ways—did she say those things to Juliet before meeting Romeo? Afterwards?

But whether Juliet’s aversion to Paris is influenced by her feelings for Romeo or not, I think Paris’ personality could hardly satisfy Juliet. Their conversation in act IV, scene I seems full of tension to me. Juliet is quick-witted, intelligent, her use of language wonderfully nuanced. But Paris can’t decipher the true meaning behind her words—he doesn’t really try very hard. This is a man who is about to marry a woman he’s never talked to. ‘You say you do not know the lady’s mind. / Uneven is the course, I like it not,’ says Friar Lawrence. Paris answers that Tybalt’s death has saddened her so much, surely marrying a man she doesn’t know will make her feel better. But he does not imediately ask about her well-being when he interacts with her; on the contrary, he talks to her as if she were his wife already: ‘Happily met, my lady and my wife.’ Juliet answers evasively: ‘That may be, sir, when I may be a wife’. ‘That “may be” must be,’ he assures rather bossily.

That contrasts greatly with Juliet and Romeo’s first exchange, in which they build a sonnet together, the poetry blooming willingly. They often share lines (verses that would remain incomplete without each other’s input), mirroring each other through internal rhymes. But Juliet and Paris use single lines only, their dialogue plain and strict, forced.

Given that Juliet is utterly meek and obedient at the beginning of the play, I think she might have agreed to marry Paris had she never met Romeo, just to please her parents. She thinks of her own heart like a dart which her parents are to throw to their liking, her agency non-existent (’no more deep will I endart mine eye / Than your consent gives strength to make it fly’). But would she have been happy? Would she have become the fiery sun she is in the play? She is silent and submissive in the first act. But then? Boundless seas roaring within her, galloping through her dreams like fiery-footed steeds, breaking caves with her screams of love. Her poetry is raw, her thoughts radical. She feels greater than Verona itself, defying customs and prioritizing her own will.

What makes it so enchanting to me, so charmingly radical for a 400-year-old play, is that Juliet loves to contradict Romeo. Hell, to cut him off mid-sentence and teach him to express himself earnestly. O, swear not by the moon. Shut up, Romeo. Not like this. She asks him to marry her (and I’ve noticed this is something that authors and filmmakers tend to change whenever they make an adaptation of the play loosely inspired by the original dialogue). Then in the wedding scene, he asks her to describe the happiness they both feel, but she turns down his offer: ‘Conceit, more rich in matter than in words, / Brags of his substance, not of ornament.’ She says whatever she wants, however she wants, whenever she wants. She takes control of herself. Just look at these lines. The yearning. The zeal.

And Romeo? Romeo is delighted. This foolish boy, the heir of the Montagues, expected by everyone to be bold and aggressive like the other men of his household—he gladly accepts Juliet’s assertiveness. ‘I would I were thy bird,’ he tells her when she says she wishes he were a little bird she could pet (she feels so intensely, she fears she might kill him with ‘much cherishing’ if he were her bird). Later on, he is ecstatic when he wakes up from a dream: he dreamed Juliet found his lifeless body ‘And breathed such life with kisses in my lips / That I revived and was an emperor.’ Such life. Juliet is his prince in a shiny armor. The title of the play might be Romeo and Juliet, but the very last words are ‘Juliet and her Romeo.’

Would she have displayed such ardor, such fierceness if she had never fallen in love freely? To me, Paris seems far too cold, too conventional, too sober to further Juliet’s yearning for liberty. Would they have become ‘Juliet and her Paris’? The way I see it, Paris represents everything Juliet ought to be (Capulet’s obedient, shy daughter, who gets married to a count to benefit her family) and everything she is not (this exuberant, outspoken girl who secretly marries the heir of her family’s worst enemy and dreams of turning him into a constellation that will make the world fall in love with the dark).

#Romeo and Juliet #Juliet #Romeo #Paris #thoughts #answered #I'm not Paris' biggest fan

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a-skirmish-of-wit-and-lit · 3 years ago

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Book Review: The Bastard's Betrayal (Scandalous Scions #1) by Katee Robert

Well, this was fun! I love a darker romance every now and again, and with fake identities, bullets fired, a kidnapping plot, and feuding mafia families who could rival the Montagues and Capulets with the decades of blood they have stained on their hands, The Bastard's Betrayal delivers on steam as well as back-stabbing. It's a lovers-to-enemies then enemies-back-to-lovers good time! The book begins when Rose Romanov, mafia princess and future heiress, learns that her vanilla civilian boyfriend isn't as vanilla as she thought he was. He's Dante Verducci. A notorious family rival. And he's been working undercover to probe her for secrets, for weaknesses, the whole time! Rightfully pissed, and still reeling from the betrayal, she ends the relationship--with pistol in hand. Then she consents to an arranged marriage with the heir of the Capparelli clan, Romeo. An act which will aid in solidifying a new family alliance. Dante isn't happy when he catches wind of this plan. In fact, he is downright incensed. Inflamed. Determined. He refuses to let Rose go through with it, to wed any man who isn't him because they have something, because she is his, he knows it in his bones. So what does he do? Absconds her from her own wedding. Yep, he kidnaps her right under her family's nose! After all, what is a man in love if not a fool who throws every bit of sense (and in this case, life expectancy) out the window to stake claim to his woman? I haven't read the O'Malley series this branches off from, but I landed in this book just fine. Murder attempts, light kidnapping, hate sex, etc. are all on the menu so if that isn't your thing then you might as well cover your eyes and scurry away now. If it is something you like from time to time, however, sit back, let your wrists be bound, and enjoy the ride! Overall, I liked the power struggle that existed between the Romanov, Verducci, and Capparelli families. I do think we could've gotten a better glimpse into the mafia world itself, though. That was hinted at, glazed over, rather than flushed out. I think Dante and Rose have enough spice that enemies-to-lovers fans will be happy, however. Rose is not afraid to pull punches (or triggers) and is feisty to the core, though she can be surprisingly vulnerable when she wants to be. Dante, on the other hand, is devoted, dangerous, seductive, and possessive in a way that's only hot in fiction. Possessive men in real life, I give a hard pass then shove them out the door. Possessive men in fiction, I flutter them my "come hither" eyelashes and prepare to swoon. Makes no sense, I know, but, hey, I don't make the rules! Dante's softer traits outweigh the possessive part of him, anyway, so it all balances out. Robert also sets the stage for future books to come. Rose's sisters are all fierce in their own way, none of them afraid to dive into the life, taking names, threatening to bust up a few faces, so I'll be interested to see what dangerous liaisons they get caught up in themselves. 😏 Many thanks to the author for providing me with an ARC!

3/5 stars

**Follow me on Goodreads

#ashlee bree's book reviews #the bastard's betrayal #scandalous scions series #katee robert #arcs #contemporary #romance #new adult #recs: ashlee approved!#read august 2021 #coming september 2021 #bookblr #book reviews #available now

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ofcastora · 4 years ago

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@lavolumnia replied to your post: i wanna read more from this AU

In which I continue the DiVerona Regency AU // Part 1 of me transforming Castora and Vivianne’s baking class into a Regency women’s archery club, inspired by this historical club and these outfits ft. Bridgerton-level historical accuracy

MENTIONED/APPEAR: @lavolumnia, @priam-taravella, Damiano Montague, Cosimo Capulet, Tiberius Capulet, Rafaella Capulet, Juliana Capulet, @ofaguilar, @deadvalentinagallo

Miss Castora Aguilar learned that young ladies should hold their tongue at a young age, but she quickly disregarded the lesson. She was a poorer, scandal-tainted relation; not quite an orphan, but just as good as. If she did not speak for herself, then who would? The world was unkind on a good day, and outright cruel on another, and there is no shame in surviving.

She had been permitted to be sharp-tongued by society because she had titled and/or well-connected friends who would vouch for her, and while she toed the line of what was appropriate or not, the only truly unforgivable thing she had done was be the daughter of a scoundrel. It is, unsurprisingly, difficult to find a match on the marriage mart when your father may or may not have stolen great deals of money from your potential suitor’s fathers, and perhaps something of more value from their mothers.

Alas, the Season practically thrived on such awkward encounters.

It had started out a day like any other – a quiet breakfast with her cousin that became quite rowdy when Miss Valentina Gallo came by to call on Ramona. The two went off on their own “adventure” to “buy some new ribbon,” which meant Castora would discover what they actually did in two weeks time. They used to invite her to their outings, but Castora learned it was better for all them if Castora had other plans during that time.

To achieve that purpose, she had recently taken up with a women’s archery club that practiced every Thursday in Hyde Park: the Hyde Park Amazons, a name that Castora had thought wonderful until she met the club’s captain, Mrs. Silviana, and realized she was more of a meddlesome matron than a ferocious warrior, although were the two not the same?

It took Castora about five minutes about joining Silviana’s group to realize that she was awful at archery. By all accounts, she should have been good by it. She was an active young woman and her temperament was certainly suited to the activity. In fact, she was the worst.

Well, second-to-worst.

Well, she and Lady Vivianne Sloane were about equally matched. It was quite lucky that their practices were in a rather empty area of the park

The two women had started around the same time; since they were both new and awful, they were often paired up during practice. Castora didn’t dislike Lady Vivianne – she just did not like her very much. During their time with the Hyde Park Amazons, the two had barely exchanged two words, and those words have been teetering on the edge of civility.

It made perfect sense to Castora. Lady Vivianne, daughter of an Earl, was engaged to Lord Capulet, a Duke who had never gotten along with Lord Montague, Castora’s benefactor. Lord Capulet was also in the unfortunate possession of a reckless nephew who had started a feud with Castora’s oldest friend and the most wretched woman in the whole of England as his ward. He also had a sweet-tempered daughter, who had nothing wrong in Castora’s eyes except to have the misfortune of being engaged to Priam Taravella, whom Castora had strongly disliked and had “accidentally” hit with a pall-mall ball during a game at a garden party.

She imagined it was the same way for Vivianne. Here she was with a known associate of her husband-to-be’s enemy...and someone who caused bodily harm to her future son-in-law.

It was not personal. It was all personal-adjacent. It was awkward. In fact, if not for her unfortunate connection to Lord Capulet, Castora would have felt rather confident in publicly asserting that she rather liked Lady Vivianne. The older woman was poised, gracious, charming, biting, and powerful. No visible rough edges.

She was everything Castora would like to be.

“I cannot imagine why Silviana thinks it’s wise to pair the two of us together with weapons,” Castora had muttered under her breath. She could have sworn the corners of Lady Vivianne’s lips turned up.

They both drew their arrows and released them. Neither hit their the target. “Oh, I do imagine that’s why,” Castora said dryly, “We probably would never be able to hit each other.” In addition, the more time they spent bickering and failing together, the less they would be rolling their eyes at Silviana’s teaching metaphors.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Miss Aguilar. We are close enough range to one another that anything is possible.”

“Shall we play a game of William Tell to test your theory?”

The two shared a look. Too risky.

Castora took another shot, putting all of her might into her aim. She hit the bottom of the target. “Do you think we will get better one day, Lady Vivianne?” Castora sighed, unable to hide her exasperation.

“We better.”

-- A few more Thursdays came and went. Castora and Vivianne displayed marginal improvement, and she was beginning to appreciate the other woman’s company. The more time she spent with Vivianne, the less she had to look at the other show-off members of the group.

They understood the virtue of leaving one another to the soul-crushing frustration of slow progress with minimal interruptions. Castora thought it would be nice to have such a companion; she loved Ramona and Valentina, but there was only so much she could take of being number three; Pandora was her dearest friend, but she was married. There was power in a bond that existed only in their silence.

Prior to their meeting at the archery club, Castora had little idea of who Lady Vivianne was, outside of her association with the Capulet family. She did not know if the universe threw some crumbs of gossip her way because of this or if she simply paid attention to it now, but over the course of the past month or so, Castora had come to learn that Lady Vivianne herself knew something of scandal; perhaps that was why they shared a quiet understanding.

First of all, she was a spinster who managed to nab a duke. Second, there was something about her coming out postponed for a year in favor of a nine-month stay in seclusion at the Sloane’s country estate, her parents sudden death, and something about them not leaving her as much money as expected. And there had been something about a broken engagement many years ago, but Castora had stopped listening by that point.

Even though there was often some truth to such rumors, Castora would never bring them up to Vivianne’s face, lest she take Castora up on her offer of a game of William Tell.

At the end of practice one day, Silviana gathered all the ladies and passed around a piece of paper, which Castora instantly recognized as an invitation.

The elegant and beauteous assemblace of Ladies Archers established three Summers ago at Hyde Park under the name HYDE PARK AMAZONS courteously invites you to a supper and Ball at the Liston Hall on the 31st of August. To all interested parties, the Amazons will host their annual showcase at a luncheon before the evening’s festivities.

Castora and Vivianne shared a horrified look.

“Is this not exciting, Lady Vivianne?” Silviana crooned. “You and Miss Aguilar’s first showcase.”

Castora cleared her throat. “Excuse me, Mrs. Silviana, but do all Amazons have to perform at this showcase?”

“But of course, my dear.” She brought her voice down to a whisper so that only Castora and Vivianne could hear. “This is quite an opportunity for you, Miss Castora. This sport quite shows off your figure and there will be plenty of eligible young men in attendance. There always are.”

“Nothing really demonstrates how eligible a bride a girl is like demonstrating your expertise with a weapon.”

“Exactly!”

“And how many people received this invitation, Mrs. Silviana?” Vivianne asked cooly. Castora could tell by the arch in her brow that she was not pleased by this situation either.

“Liston Hall is my brother’s estate, so quite a few. Most of the ton is usually in attendance. Usually some family from the neighboring estates come as well. Aubrey Park, Kellnych, Hall, Campden Court, the like. Do not worry Lady Vivianne, I have ensured that Lord Capulet receives an invitation as well.”

“Did you say Campden Court?” Castora asked. Both Silviana and Vivianne’s heads snapped to her.

“Do you know the family?”

“No, not really.”

Silviana soon left Castora and Vivianne to mingle with the other ladies of the club. As soon as the woman’s meddlesome gaze was no longer upon them, Castora turned to Vivianne. “Will you be attending?”

“I quite think Mrs. Silviana will have my head if I do not.”

“I think I might catch a chill that day and be too sick to attend.”

“In August?”

“You are right. Mrs. Silviana may be a fool, but she will never believe that.”

“And mine. I must confess, I do not have any desire to embarrass myself in front of the ton.” Castora had oft said she would never to marry unless it was for love, and she had vowed that she would never love, but she had no desire to publicly humiliate herself.

“Nor I.”

Castora picked up an arrow from a nearby quiver. “That leaves us with one option.”

“It does,” Vivianne nodded in agreement.

“We must ––” Castora started, before Vivianne interrupted, fishing her sentence.

“–– Practice.”

The next day, the pair met in Hyde Park. Vivianne handed Castora a bow and arrow.

“How did you manage to procure these in one day?”

Vivianne smiled, “I have my ways.”

“I do believe I am quite glad to know you, Lady Vivianne Sloane.”

“And I, you, Miss Castora Aguilar.”

#&. asks | answers & memes & drabbles & more oh my #diverona regency au #&. vivianne | a reflection in a fun house mirror #&. vivianne | in another life we would fight side by side #i can't remember which tag i use for them but the second one feels oddly apt for this #lavolumnia

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kayleebreanne09 · 4 years ago

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I’m on a boat

Topper x Reader

Cutesy imagine about you being a pogue, in love with a kook. Scared of making the fued worse, your relationship is a secret. Until topper decides, he wants to go public with the kooks. I LOVED writing about this💜

Pogues vs kooks. Much like the montague’s & the capulets, it’s a battle that never ends. “It’ll be fine baby, they will end up loving you almost as much as I do” topper said, stopping to kiss me on the forehead as we walked hand in hand to ward Cameron’s big ass boat. Topper & I were the Romeo & Juliet of outer banks. We were crazily in love & almost no one knew about us. I was forced to admit the truth to Kie after a very embarrassing incident where she walked in on us trying to find a moment alone inside an unoccupied pantry at the wreck. “Not on the food!” She had cried while rolling her eyes. Aside from her, no one knew. Of course I didn’t enjoy being a secret, I’d love to be able to bring topper to the chateau & cuddle in the hammock with him while listening to John B tell us the newest insane adventure he’d been on. I wanted him there with me at the boneyard parties where JJ & I were constantly battling it out to see who could drink the most. I wanted Topper to pull me close, wrapping his arms around me while we danced at midsummers. But I was more terrified of losing him. I was afraid of my friends reacting badly & making me choose sides. I was afraid of his friends bailing on him, leaving him alone after all their years of friendship. I’d go to hell & back for Topper but could I give up my best friends? They were the closest thing to family that I had. Could I ask him to give up his? Toppers friends were terrifying, sure. My only run ins with Rafe had been when he was beating the hell out of one or more of my friends. Kelce was always on the side lines, encouraging Rafe or whoever else to start a fight with anyone resembling a pogue. But all that aside, they were still his friends. Because of that, they had to have some good inside them. Topper had his flaws too, everyone does. All I know is that Topper would fight to the death for me. He laid in the sand with me looking at the stars & telling me his dreams. When I was mad, he’d stroke my hair & ask me who’s ass he needed to beat. He’d lay in bed with me nose to nose cuddling & list every single thing he loved about me until I blushed tomato red & hid my face in his pillow which just made him burst out laughing. He had my heart. Which is why, against my better judgement, he was leading me right onto Ward Cameron’s boat. My nerves hit an all time high as we neared his group of friends. Everyone was drinking, dancing, smoking joints & some were scattered about partaking in some harder drugs. This was a full out kook party & one of the things was poorer than the other, ya know? Topper felt my hand clinch & slightly leaned down to where I could feel his breath on my ear. “It will be fine sweetheart. Breathe!” My body shivered, reacting to him even in a room full of people. I pushed away the unholy thoughts about what I wanted to do to him right then & took his advice, taking a deep breath. He kept our fingers intertwined as we walked up to his friends. “Whoa Top, I didn’t think you’d be into banging a lowlife pogue.” Before I even had a chance to shoot Rafe a go to hell look, Topper was face to face with the boy, only inches away. Anger was radiating off of him in waves. “Do. Not. Ever. I mean ever, talk about (Y/N) like that. If I see even a dirty look given her way, your ass is grass. Ya hear me? That goes for all of you. You’re supposed to be my friends. I love her! Can’t you be happy for me?” He asked his anger finally giving way to sadness. Kelce just stared. Rafe started to speak but I took a step forward. I stuck my hand out in his direction. “Hi Rafe, I’m (Y/N) it’s nice to meet you.” He looked at me & walked off. I turned to Topper to see him staring off into the water looking upset. “Babe, it’s okay. I’ll get them to warm up to me. I’m never going to let you lose your friends” I said standing on tip toes to kiss his cheek. “I love you so damn much. Drinks?” He questioned. I nodded my head vigorously.

About 4 shots of fireball, things were a lot less tense. I kept Topper laughing as we danced around & I did my best attempt at moonwalking & the sprinkler. I thought he might actually kill over once I started doing the stanky leg. Toppers loud laughter brought Kelce over. He joined us on our make shift dance floor & proceeded to do the YMCA. Topper busted out with the chicken dance. I smiled at him & Kelce, as we all looked like idiots pulling out our best dance moves. “Shots!” I said running & grabbing 3 shot glasses of tequila & bringing them back.

“Guys! I have the perfect song!” I shouted, maybe a little too loudly in my drunken state. I ran to the aux cord connecting to the boats huge sound system. Kelce followed & chuckled while watching me scroll through my music as I cussed my blurry vision. “Yes!” I cried in victory as I ran towards topper. He caught me, spinning us around as he pulled me too his chest. “Oooh very smooth Romeo” I giggled staring up into his beautiful eyes. He silenced me with a passionate kiss. His hand was on my cheek & his other on my lower back, pulling me as close as two people can be. Alcohol just tripled my love & attraction to my sexy ass kook boyfriend. “You keep that up, we are going to have to sneak out of here and-“ I was cut off by the first notes of my song starting so I shot to the front of the boat, spreading my arms out, & letting the wind blow through my hair, chilling my warm skin. “Oh shit, get your towels ready, it’s about to go down!” I yelled along with the song. “I got my swim trunks & my flippy floppy’s, I’m flippin burgers, you at kinko’s straight flippin copies!” I laughed as I sang along dancing wildly. I saw Rafe watching from the side of the boat. His mouth started to slightly turn up in the beginnings of a smile. I took that opening & danced up to him, taking his hands in mine dancing backwards, dragging him to the middle of the boat with me. “Believe me when I say...I fucked a mermai-ai-ai-aid!” My smile took up my whole face as he sang along with me during my favorite part. Topper ran up & put his arms around both of us, singing along. Then came Kelce. We were all in this makeshift circle huddle singing out hearts out. Some of the other random kooks even joined in on our little karaoke party.

Finally, once the sun had sank completely down & everyone had went their separate ways...Topper, Rafe, & I were laying on the highest part of the boat. We were laid on our backs, looking up at the stars. Rafe passed the blunt to me. I inhaled deeply, held it, then gently blew the smoke into the night sky. “Topper, I’m happy for you man” Rafe said resting his hand on toppers shoulder. “(Y/N) I apologize for being so rude earlier. It’s just, my whole life, I’ve been taught that the only way to be respected in life is through money & power. I was told that a mans worth is measured by his millions so I’ve resented the lower class. If the other pogues are anything like you...I mean, maybe I could rethink my stance.” He said quietly. “It’s all forgiven Rafe, I’m really glad we can be friends!” I said grinning over at him. Topper felt for my hand in the dark & gently squeezed it. “Thank you” he whispered in my ear. “Anything for you. Always.” I said bringing my lips to his then quickly laying back down, completely at ease under the light of the bright moon. Topper pulled my body closer to his as I rested my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. Maybe, just maybe, there was a way this pogues vs kooks war could be ended. If anyone could it, Topper & I could. Together, we’d take on the world.

#the outer banks #outer banks #obx netflix #topper obx #topper x reader #topper thornton #topper #topper fanfiction #topper fanfic #topper imagine #rafe cameron #rafe obx #Spotify

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cto10121 · 2 years ago

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R&J Clown Takes Round ♾ Part 12

In which there is a lot of sympathy for the devil parents, more Romeo the Death Eater-ing, and heartbreaking! One of my favorite shorts creators did a Rosaline skit and attracted all the clowns to her yard. I forgive her, but not the clownery. Hie-ho, and away we go

Sympathy For the Parents

‘If they only just talked to their poor parents, there would have been no tragedy!1!!1”

Yes, the Montague parents seem like nice people. They are concerned with Romeo’s odd behavior, Mama Montague dies of heartbreak when her son is banished, etc. Then again, Lord Capulet seemed like a very decent parent as well, refusing Paris’ suit and wanting to let at least two summers go by before Juliet can marry. And we all know how that went.

With regards to Lord Capulet, he is definitely characterized as a fair weather friend—if you are with him, it’s cool, but if you in any way threaten his authority…you’re a saucy boy and his fingers begin to itch. Lord Montague may be of that same ilk for all we know. Why else would Romeo trust Friar Lawrence with his crush over his own parents and even, er, Benvolio?

While it’s totally normal for teens to keep things to themselves, I think we can trust Romeo and Juliet’s assessment of their parents in terms of trust and reliability as an unfortunately correct one, at least when it comes to this. After all, the very first appearance of the lords is when they are threatening to kill each other. So yeah.

At least you know Paris as a paternalistic douche, OP. Small wonders.

Yes, it sucks that Paris died for virtually no reason at all. Guy wasn’t that bad. However, I must question this framing of Paris’ death as him dying to defend Juliet.

He does say that the Capulets believe that Juliet died out of grief of Tybalt’s death, and so blames Romeo for it. He also believes that Romeo is here “to do some villainous shame / To the dead bodies.” Not just Juliet, then, but Tybalt as well. He then tries to do a citizens’ arrest on Romeo.

Romeo does try to correct this misunderstanding, telling him that he is armed against himself. But as Romeo really isn’t well, and oblivious Paris is oblivious…🤷‍♀️

YMMV, but I feel Paris didn’t have to fight Romeo, especially when the latter was refusing to. He could well have called the guards and/or trapped Romeo in there. Romeo would probably had let him, as he was about to die, anyway, so it made no difference.

So no, I feel this doesn’t make Romeo less sympathetic. Romeo at that point is a dead man walking, and he more than makes up for it by honoring Paris’ last wishes and not being jealous that Paris loved her too. I think most productions just cut his death for time and for ‘eh, unnecessary, loose end, breaks Romeo’s reunion with Juliet’ reasons than ‘oh, no, Romeo is unlikable now and we can’t have that’ reasons.

There are just so many better Shakespeare plays!!! Like…like…you know! Hamlet and Macbeth…which are in the curriculum already and taught widely…shit, um…Twelfth Night and Much Ado…shit, they’re taught too…er…You know what I mean, much better Shakespeare plays!!! *foot stomp*

Romeo Hate Dumb Round Infinity and Beyond

Romeo was a discord mod, Juliet was his kitten—

*Planet of the Apes: The Musical voice*

He loved ev’ry girl he met

From Rosaline to Juliet

Yes, he fell in love with ev’ry bland coquette

Oh, no, wait, you are wrong

It was two all along

And the one he truly loved was

Yes, the one he truly loved was

The one he had truly loved was Juliet!

And now these dumbasses are trying to use this play as a teaching tool against suicide, fuck, okay, PSA, this play is not a good tool for teaching teen suicide REPEAT this play is not good for teaching teen suicide!!!

How dare this main character have main character energy!!! 😡😡😡😡😡 The audacity of this motherfucker!!! (Also re: English teachers: Why must they always have to say their headcanons as if they are canon? The Rosaline fan dumb is so big)

Thanks, OP. Now I can be sure never to go near the thing with a ten-foot pole. How the hell can you make the premise to that freakin’ Rosaline movie better by comparison????

Tag yourself, I’m “perving on her underage cousin”

#romeo and juliet #r&j clown takes #rj clown takes #rj clownery #oh heavy burden #now i’m writing song parodies of song parodies #i’m losing it fam #romeo hate dumb

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diveronarpg · 4 years ago

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IN FAIR VERONA, OUR TALE BEGINS WITH JULIANA CAPULET, WHO IS TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OLD. SHE IS OFTEN CALLED JULIET BY THE CAPULETS AND WORKS AS THEIR BOSS. SHE USES SHE/HER PRONOUNS.

Our heroine’s story, at one time, may have been based upon something essential, the question that plagues both the living and the dead: what is worse than living without love? Juliana Capulet, heiress to a throne fit for the gods, had finally found her answer. Worse than living without love — living without strength. Her father had not built their legacies through love, or adoration, accompanied by the stroke of a gentle hand to one’s cheek. The Capulet legacy had been built through sheer power of will, bringing to heel those who had once refused to obey. Once, she had BATHED in the light of Cosimo Capulet’s love, and before her ugly death, her mother’s, her little sister’s. All she had ever known was love, and the war ripping the city entirely in two had taken that from her without remorse. Like daylily flowers, Juliana was determined to bloom into something great, something strong, something that would lead Verona back to a new age of peace, whether love warmed her to her core or not. She would not wither away like her mother or sister, pallid and sickly. She would not fall to dust like her father. She would rise to the call that she had turned her cheek from her entire life, and pray that the GODS themselves would forgive her for answering their question without their aid. No more GHOSTS. No more ONLOOKING NARRATORS. Juliana’s power would be hers.

She would embody her mother’s memory most of all. She would become the woman who could throw Aphrodite into a fury and put Hera in a jealous rage. With the guidance of her Underboss and her newfound Advisor, her two faithful devotees, she would keep vigil over Verona and end this war once and for all. Before, she’d been helpless to stop it. Put up on a pedestal, hair brushed away from her face, bound to a feeling of WEAKNESS. She was determined to never feel it again, even with the memory of it clinging to her like the silken threads of a crafty spiderweb. She knew, now, that this was the work of her father, determined to keep her as close to him and at arm’s length at the same time. He would’ve had her look at their future as something gilded, golden, just out of reach. He would’ve had her see his NARCISSUS-LIKE obsession as a boon instead of a curse. He showered Juliana with gifts, both exotic and quaint, in hopes that she would sit in her ruby-crusted cage and keep her head low, her mouth shut. He had deemed the birdcage necessary, and never noticed when his daughter refused to sing him any more tunes. Others revelled in his success, his savvy, even with RAFAELLA CAPULET whisked away to pick up the pieces all on her own. Even with his flippant disregard for VIVIANNE SLOANE and TIBERIUS CAPULET, both denied their true wishes without so much as a second glance. They shouted his name with joy as he ruined his soldiers, his Captains, and his Emissaries, and all their prospects. They wept for him even as he struck the match that would burn the great House of Capulet down. No more.

With all this sitting atop her shoulders, filling her hands, Juliana made her choice. Rather than stay by his side faithfully, adhering to his rules like a SAINT, she broke away from her father, and with the aid of Vivianne, finally stepped down from the tower of Babylon that he had built for her with his own two hands. They’d brought her into the business in increments, at first, and had not seen how far and how quickly she had progressed since poor Alvise Vernon’s death nigh over a year ago. BLOOD, now bedecking her finery, would be another accessory to be worn, as did other tools of the trade — knives, guns, bullets, blades. She would not allow her father to hide from the consequences of his own sins any longer. She would do as he had once done, and embody the SYMBOL of the violent elite. No longer would she be just a girl. She’d be more than that. How quickly this angel could bring ruination to those who stood in the way of the Capulets — her father being the first among them. How quickly this angel could bring down the spear of the Gods and wipe the blood from her cheek in a smear. Maybe this was the way it was always meant to be. Maybe this is what she’d always been meant to become. Someone had to take the throne, sooner or later. Her father’s actions and quickly dwindling sanity have proven more than ever the time for her ascension had come.

Juliana laid her sacrifices before him, hands shaking and eyes upturned – hoping against hope for a miracle. She had once thought that she could slip into her father’s life and pry him away from the business that had enraptured him for as long as she could remember. Maybe he would step away, admit defeat with his head bowed, and return to her. Return to her and the ghosts of her mother, her sister, gaps in their family that were too big to fill. She had underestimated, at one time, the strength of the thrall that it had him under, even as her own blood succumbed to the call that her ancestors before her had answered to. It had become clear, now, that LOVE would not do Juliana Capulet any good. It hadn’t served her, or Rafaella, or her mother, her cousin, her sister, her father. Love had failed her, ruined her, left scorched earth in its wake. Love had failed her people. Her father had pressed the knife to cut Valentina Gallo’s throat into her hands, and she’d done it without hesitation. Before, love would have made her weep with the pain of it. Now — JULIET would not fail anyone, especially not her legacy.

RAFAELLA CAPULET & TIBERIUS CAPULET: Cousins. The three of them at one time might have been compared to planets, their gravitational pull. Infinitely different but relentlessly routine in the way they were drawn to one another. Now, with Rafaella gone and seemingly doomed to never return, shattered into a thousand little pieces neither Rafaella or Tiberius can help her to pick up, things are… different. Things feel off-kilter, unbalanced. The tension that sat between all three of them has now come to rest entirely on Juliana and Tiberius, a fraying wire that could shoot sparks at any time. Before, she’d never doubted Tiberius, or his loyalty to her, and she can’t say even now that she actually does. But the weight of the Capulet title has become her burden and her burden alone, an unwelcome cross. With the shifting power dynamics and no Rafaella to complete their balancing act, she worries it may be Tiberius that places the crown of thorns atop her brow.

VIVIANNE SLOANE: Pseudo-Mother. “You can never be her,” she had hissed as she slammed the door to her room shut, but Vivianne, ever-patient with Juliana, had taken her time. She’d pried the door open with her own two hands, and it’s a wonder that she’d never quite made the connection before. She’d snapped and seethed and raged in her youth, entrenched in the ocean of her own sorrow, and through sheer will, Vivianne had soothed her. Dulled her pain. Held her head and stroked her hair when all Juliana could do was cry for the sheer loss of love she’d once possessed. Taught her how to rule when her own father -- her own supposed teacher -- fell short. It had been Vivianne to bring her into the way of things. She knows that, and she owes her a great debt for it. But she sees the way Vivianne’s eyes drift, now, settle in the middle distance, after dethroning her father. Unspoken agreement of guidance or comfort aside, mother-figure or not, things have changed. They are not the way they were before. The dynamic of the Capulets has shifted, and so, too, it seems, have they.

ROMAN MONTAGUE: Enemy. She should hate him. By all means, by every predisposed legacy of their birthright, she should want to rip him limb from limb. But she doesn’t. She doesn’t have the capacity to hate someone without good reason -- it’s not in her nature. Juliana understands, now more than ever, that he wishes the Capulets ill will and nothing more. That should be enough, but she was never equipped with Tiberius’ natural brutality or Rafaella’s fury. Now, with the crown sitting atop her head, sword and scepter in each hand, she wonders further still if he struggles with bearing the title of his father. If he will ever truly rise to the occasion of his bloodline as she had hers and continue this war or crumble to pieces before getting the chance. Maybe she pities him. It would be a better word than hate. Her path was always illuminated -- she’d simply sped the process up, a little bit, with the aid of those she now knows to be hers. Roman, on the other hand, must fend himself among the Montagues, men and women more likely to cannibalize themselves before putting another Montague on the throne. She wishes she could hate him. If only it were that easy.

PRIAM TARAVELLA: Betrothed. She looks at him and can only think of them in the context of Zeus and Hera. Ending up here, with engagement rings and bright futures to look forward to, well. It was only a matter of time, wasn’t it? Cosimo Capulet had chosen Priam for his daughter. They’d grown up together. They’d seen each other shattered, built each other back up again. This is a love that is supposed to make sense, and to Juliana, it does, in many ways. She loves him. Could love him more, if the weight of the Capulet legacy were not so heavy, if she felt she could share the burden with him. What if she can’t? She’d made the difficult choice in dethroning her father. She’s put the Capulets first in every regard, in every way, by ascending and taking the throne. He’s a good man. Certainly not a bad one. Knows just how deeply entrenched he is, now that she moves the pieces on the chess board and has to strategize at every turn. What if there are choices to be... made with Priam, too?

Juliana is portrayed by ASHLEY MOORE and was written by JULIE. She is currently OPEN TO CURRENT MEMBERS.

#lsrpg #lsrp #mob rpg #o #ow #w #juliana capulet #cap

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lcdrarry · 4 years ago

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LCDrarry Round-Up Post | Week 1

On Sundays during our posting period, we won't post a new work, instead you have time to catch up on the works that posted during the week and hopefully leave lovely comments for our creators.

Happy reading, commenting and sharing! All links are under the cut ;)

~Your LCDrarry Mods

PS: Please have a look at the author notes and tags on AO3 for additional information. Thank you!

PPS: Here are all round-up posts of LCDrarry 2021:

Round-up Post Week #1 (you’re here)

Round-up Post Week #2

Round-up Post Week #3

Round-up Post Week #4

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Art

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Art: I am only one side of a coin.

Prompt: "Merlin", 2008-2012 Prompted by: Anonymous Artist: Anonymous Art Medium: Digital Art in Photoshop Rating: General Warnings: none

Summary: The better side, obviously. Merlin/Harry Potter fusion. Harry as Merlin & Draco as Arthur.

View “I am only one side of a coin” on AO3.

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Art: No Sweeter Innocence Than Our Gentle Sin

Prompt: "Romeo and Juliet", Shakespeare Prompted by: @celilasart Artist: Anonymous Art Medium: Digital Art Rating: General Warnings: none

Summary: Inspired by Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare starring Draco Malfoy as Juliet Capulet and Harry Potter as Romeo Montague.

View “No Sweeter Innocence Than Our Gentle Sin” on AO3.

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Art: there are dangerous men about

Prompt: "The Legend of Zorro”, 2005, Martin Campbell Prompted by: the artist Artist: Anonymous Art Medium: Digital Art Rating: Teen Warnings: None

Summary: Two wizards engaging in a vicious duel, but make it gay and sexy.

View "there are dangerous men about" on AO3.

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Fic and Art

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Fic & Art: One More Lantern

Prompt: “xxxHoLiC”, 2006-2010 (anime)/2013 (live action) Prompted by: @porcelainsalt / bluedreaming @ AO3 Author/Artist: Anonymous Word Count/Art Medium: 8,373 words & Digital Art Rating: Teen Warnings: Smoking

Read "One More Lantern” on AO3.

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Fic

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Fic: (Let's Take Our Time) Just Moving Slow

Prompt: "Holidate", 2020, John Whitesell Prompted by: @Curlyy-hair-dont-care Author: Anonymous Word Count: 1,886 words Rating: Teen Warnings: none

Read "(Let's Take Our Time) Just Moving Slow” on AO3.

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Fic: My Saviour Won't Stop Texting Me

Prompt: "Hercules", 1997, Ron Clements, John Musker Prompted by: @onbeinganangel Author: Anonymous Word Count: 5,012 words Rating: Teen Warnings: Texting fic

Read "My Saviour Won't Stop Texting Me” on AO3.

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Fic: Ghost

Prompt: "Ghost", 1990, Jerry Zucker Prompted by: @Ladderofyears Author: Anonymous Word Count: 10,761 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: major character death (MCD), canon-typical violence, grief and mourning

Read "Ghost” on AO3.

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Fic: Star Crossed

Prompt: "Romeo and Juliet", Shakespeare Prompted by: @celilasart Author: Anonymous Word Count: 13,615 words Rating: Teen Warnings: none

Read “Star Crossed” on AO3.

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Fic: The Slytherin Host Club

Prompt: "Ouran high school host club", 2006, Bisco Hatori and Takuya Igarashi Prompted by: @eletriptan Author: Anonymous Word Count: 14,377 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: explicit sexual content, scars, non-graphic mention of past abuse

Read “The Slytherin Host Club” on AO3.

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Fic: (This Will Be) An Everlasting Love

Prompt: #12 (also fulfils #6) | "While You Were Sleeping," 1995, Jon Turteltaub Prompted by: @manixzen & @thesleepiesthufflepuff Author: Anonymous Word Count: 45,139 words Rating: Teen Warnings: None

Read "(This Will Be) An Everlasting Love" on AO3.

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Please help promote the fest by sharing your favourite submissions, so more people can enjoy all the amazing new Drarry works of LCDrarry. Thank you!

Author and artist reveals are on 15 June.

#lcdrarry #lcdrarry2021 #lcdrarry 2021 #lights camera drarry #lights camera drarry 2021 #lcdrarry 2021 roundup post #drarry #drarry fanart #drarry fanfic #drarry fic #drarry fic rec #drarry fic recs #harry potter #draco malfoy #hp fanart #harry x draco #draco x harry

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365days365movies · 4 years ago

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February 28, 2021: West Side Story (1961) (Part 1)

It all began tonight...and with one story.

The fact of the matter is, love stories wouldn’t be anywhere near the same today if it weren’t for one seminal text: Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. It’s one of the most influential of Shakespeare’s plays, and that’s true no matter what you think of the original.

But above them all, this adaptation rises. It’s one of the most publicly acclaimed Shakespeare adaptations and musicals of all time, and I would presume that that’s for a good reason! And I hope so, especially considering...the last musical...

Ugh. OK, let’s finish off Ramance February with a bang, and let’s finally get this shindig underway! Romeo and Juliet, take two! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap (1/2)

Rather than Verona, 1961 New York City is where we set our scene. A title screen with bongos and other instrumentals set the musical tone for the film against a simple artistic background. Aerial shots of the city follow, and then...snap.

Oh, yeah, that’s the stuff. These are the Jets, a gang led by Riff (Russ Tamblyn), and our Montagues for the film. As their rest turns to amble, and their amble turns to dance, they run into Bernardo (George Chakiris), leader of the Puerto Rican gang known as the Sharks, our Capulets. Their amble also turns into a dance, as they cross into Jets territory.

To fully translate this, Riff would appear to be our Mercutio for the film, while Bernardo is almost certainly our Tybalt. And, as always, the two clash with their respective groups, and an initial dance-like fight between a couple of individuals soon escalates into a full-on brawl and dance battle.

Ah, but our Prince has arrived, in the form of Lt. Schrank (Simon Oakland), as well as his subordinate Sergeant Krupke (William Bramley). Schrank is not tolerant of the street fights between the two gangs, but he’s clearly far more reasonable to the white Jets, as opposed to the Puerto Rican Sharks.

See, if you look back this month, I mentioned that a lot of romance studies tend to take from Romeo and Juliet, specifically if there’s a conflict that separates the two leads. However, those films work to give a reason for the “old grudge” that breaks into new mutinies. And this adaptation of the original play decides to give a reason for that divide.

Race: an age-old struggle. And after the Prologue is done and the two gangs are warned, Riff brings his group together, and they pledge to prevent the Puerto Rican Sharks from taking over their territory. Riff brings up the idea to get their old co-founder involved. When the others note that he’s gone good and left the Jets, we get the first major song of the musical (”Jet Song”).

Riff goes to meet his friend, and co-founder of the Jets, Tony (Richard Beymer), to ask him to come to the dance hall tonight, where the Jets will meet the Sharks in a neutral space for both gangs. But Tony works for a living now, after having left the gang. Riff’s confused by this, and asks why exactly Tony refuses to come back. Tony explains that he feels something on the horizon. While he doesn’t know what that is, he knows that he doesn’t want to miss it.

Riff leaves, and Tony sings on the fact that he feels something coming soon (”Something Coming”). In case you weren’t sure, Tony is our Romeo of the film. And as he looks towards the future, we get a glimpse into the life of someone on the other wide of this struggle, Maria (Natalie Wood), our Juliet. Her friend Anita (Rita Moreno), Bernardo’s girlfriend and the Nurse of the film, is making her a dress for the dance tonight.

Maria is potentially engaged to marry Chino (Jose de Vega), our Paris of the film, and someone whom she isn’t a huge fan of. Bernardo tells him to watch her at the dance tonight, and she puts on her new dress in excitement.

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Time for the dance! Both the white kids and the Puerto Rican kids arrive, but tensions begin to rise, until Glad Hand (John Astin) steps in and sets up a sort of dance that’s meant to bring them together. And it’s time...TO MAMBO! And lemme tell you, if you want to good showcase of dance in this film, look no further than the mambo scene.

And as the two cultures clash in dance in their own way...two eyes meet from across the room. And our romance begins.

This romance between Romeo and Juliet is one of the most iconic in all literature and cinema, and one can say that it’s foolish or young or whatever, but it’s an iconic romance. And I’ll be DAMNED if I’ve ever seen a better version of that romance than this scene. Sorry, DiCaprio and Danes, this is much, MUCH better.

The two speak with each other and the world around them drops away. They speak as if they’ve met before, but they know that they haven’t. And as the grow gradually closer, physically and emotionally, they begin to kiss...and then Bernardo steps in. He takes his sister away, and the connection surprises Tony. Chino takes Maria out of the dance hall, and Tony starts to follow. Before Bernardo can stop him (by force), Riff gets in the way.

Riff offers to meet Bernardo that midnight at a local candy shop, Doc’s, for a war council. He agrees, and they all part ways to continue dancing. Except for Tony, of course. Having just learned Maria’s name, he fixates on it as it echoes in his head (”Maria”). And it’s wonderful, and it’s iconic, and it’s...great.

Back at Bernardo’s and Maria’s place, Bernardo chides Maria for her dalliance with Tony. Anita scolds him, however, and the two make their way to find the others on a nearby rooftop. There, they speak on what it truly means to be an immigrant in America, especially in 1961 (”America”). And it’s depressing, truly depressing that this seems all too familiar today for so many. But, I digress, as this is a great song.

But once the boys leave for the war council, Tony finds Maria in the apartments, and they talk about their love for each other. Maria is afraid that their people won’t accept each other, and Tony says he doesn’t care. They pledge their love for each other with a duet, and another iconic song (”Tonight”).

It’s a gorgeous duet...but I need to acknowledge something: these two aren’t singing. Not on screen, anyway. The voices heard are Jimmy Bryant for Tony, and the ever-forgotten, ever-unerappreciated, late, great Marni Nixon for Maria. You have no idea how many times you’ve heard her voice, but you’ve heard it more than you think. The King and I, My Fair Lady, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, An Affair to Remember (YUP), The Sound of Music, oh, and MULAN. Marni Nixon overdubbed the voices for SO MANY people in Hollywood, and she wasn’t credited vary much back in the day. A lovely lady, and one who always deserved more credits than she got!

There’s one more person who overdubbed a voice: Tucker Smith for Riff, but only during the Jets Song. But now...now, it’s all Russ.

The Jets linger about, waiting around for the Sharks. As they do so, Sergeant Krupke pulls up in a cop car and interrogates the group for their doings. Once he leaves...we get my favorite song in the musical. The only one I know by heart, and my absolute favorite. This is “Gee Officer Krupke!”.

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It’s also this musical’s version of Queen Mab’s Song, cementing Riff’s role (and fate) as Mercutio, and I love it in every way. It’s just a fun song that also gives a lot of needed information about the time period’s treatment of teenagers judged to be delinquent. Also...I just fuckin’ love this song, AND how it’s performed in this film. I can never get tired of people bopping Russ Tamblyn on the head. I just love it.

At that point, they get into Doc’s Candy Shop, welcomed by Doc (Ned Glass), the kindly owner of the store and the Friar Laurence of the story. The Sharks also arrive shortly afterwards, and the parley begins. They set up a fight between the two hangs to settle things once and for all. However, as they start to bring weapons in, the newly-arrived Tony intervenes and gets them to use fisticuffs rather than weapons.

However, Schrank soon arrives to check in, and the group pretends to be getting along. However, the racist Schrank kicks out the Sharks, then attempts a peaceful discourse with the Jets. He also offers to help them with the upcoming fight that he suspects, saying that he’s on their side. Fuck Schrank, he’s genuinely a piece of shit.

Once the Jets and Schrank leave, Tony tells Doc about Maria, and he fears for both of their safety. Still, nothing can stop Tony’s exuberance, and he leaves that night with a smile on his face and a song in his heart.

Intermission! Let’s take a break, then start up Part 2! See you there!

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