#i love one (1) bisexual chaos prince

[hussyknee]

Opened Tumblr and Red White And Royal Blue is number 1 trending. I remember reading through some of your posts on the book, and i think you mentioned there was going to be an adaptation?? And that you were dissapointed with the casting and scared the adaptation will fall short of the substance of the book–or something like that.

I assume the reason it's trending might be because of some recent update about the series or movies production. So what are your thoughts on it?

Aha. Ahahaha. Hahahahahahaha.

Yeah there's a movie that came out last week. It was not just a royal disappointment, but so racist it was like spending two hours being repeatedly slapped in the face.

*rolls up sleeves* This is going to be a long, spoilery Rant. If you liked the movie, don't look under the cut.

The positives: Nicholas Galitzine was perfectly cast as Prince Henry and did his best with what he was given. He and Taylor Zarkar Perez as Alex had great chemistry and were quite unself-conscious in the love scenes. Some of the scenes in the first half (any time Zahra was on screen, the TV interview, the hot and hilarious Red Room scene) were worth the price of admission. Henry explaining the way he negotiated his role as a prince with his sexuality was unexpectedly moving. Amalgamating Secret Service Agents Cash and Amy into a trans woman of colour was a great choice that moved what would have been a side character into the main cast, and Aneesh Seth ate the scenes with Taylor. Rachel Hilson infused her role as Alex's best friend Nora with naturalistic warmth. Major props also to the intimacy co-ordinator. The whole thing with the hands during the sex scene was intimate and erotic.

That said.

I could have made peace with the fact that the characters were obviously much older than the just-out-of-university kids they were in the book. But I wasn't prepared for the character I know and love as Alex to not even be in the movie.

Things that defines my son and personal avatar Alex Claremont-Diaz:

short king rights

ADHD perfectionism

abandonment issues because of parents' divorce

has so much trouble letting people get close to him that his lifelong best friend is his protective, parentified older sister

chaos gremlin

repressed bisexuality

angry intensity and ambition of a burning star

cannot shut up or modulate himself to save his life, puts the offensive in charm offensive

very defensive of his worth as a person of colour in politics and an overachiever because of it

full of swagger and obsessive drive while being five inches away from crashing and burning at all times

Who Alex was in the movie: a laid-back fratty only child with nothing wrong with his life and this one uncharacteristic, inexplicable grudge against this poor white dude.

Said grudge against Henry was made out to be a non-issue that Alex only made into a big deal because he was an immature, petty asshole. Being dismissed by a privileged white person that was handed everything you have to fight for and then being compared to him for years no matter what you did is such a resonant experience for PoC and they just...shat all over it so Henry could make fun of Alex. They even changed what Henry said at their first meeting in the book so that they could make it sound even more ridiculous.

Henry himself was mangled less obviously, mostly because of his actor. But he was made this uwu soft boi out of a Victorian novel who had done nothing wrong in his life ever, instead of an inherently high-strung but hedonistic and fun-loving young guy struggling against institutionalized homophobia and lack of mental health support.

Which, you know, fine. I didn't expect this movie to capture any of the nuances in the book or even accurately portray the characters. I wanted to see two hot guys romance the fuck out of each other and have sexy times.

But producer Greg Berlanti's brand isn't just failing to meet expectations, it's creating new and exciting ways to fuck over women and minorities from wholecloth. Unlike the book, the villain of the movie is not the homophobic, abusive head of the British Royal Family. Nor is it the GOP Presidential candidate who in the book has the boys outed to sabotage Alex's mother's Presidential campaign. Instead, the villain is a queer Latino political journalist motivated by sexual jealousy. This character was created expressly for the movie to replace both Alex's gay best friend from high school as his first same sex encounter and the heroic gay Latino senator who was the key to unravelling the GOP plot in the book.

How do you amalgamate two characters of marginalized identities, one of whom is a heroic figure, and make them the villain instead of the characters that represent cis heteropatriachal white supremacy?? Because as I predicted, the King isnt even a bad guy. He's more a befuddled blustering old dude who even validates the boys' relationship although he's too concerned with appearances to consent to it.

What the fuck. What kind of racist, homophobic, white apologist, spineless CW bullshit is this????

(Also what is with Alex going on about being working class?? Latinos aren't working class by default?? The boy grew up the son of two senators and was captain of the fuckin lacrosse team??? He hasn't been working class a day in his life?? Henry even ribs him about it when he sees Alex's childhood home?? Are they going out of their way to make Alex look stupid??)

Given all of that, plus cutting out the book's principal Latina character (Alex's sister), and refusing to make Alex's mother President Claremont a divorcee with a blended family, an ugly pattern emerges in the treatment of this movie's women and minorities. In the book, Henry's mother is emotionally absent because the death of her husband precipitated a mental health spiral that she finally pulls out of when her son is outed. In the movie, she had left her kids behind after Arthur died and fucked off to Botswana for environmentalism (interesting choice) and never comes back. In the book, Henry's older sister Bea is a leather jacketed rocker rebel child as protective over her brother as a lioness over her cub– a sibling dynamic mirrored in Alex and June's relationship (this book is about parentified older sisters actually). In the movie she was made into his younger sister who had no personality other than flowery dresses and being his girlish confidante. Henry's Nigerian best friend Pez who is canonically a flamboyant, larger-than-life, billionaire genius had like three lines in the movie and might as well have been a cardboard cutout. Alex's best friend and US Second Granddaughter Nora's Jewish identity was completely erased (as was her whole personality). Worse, they cast a non-Jewish Black woman in the role and left her to handle the blowback for it, which is Berlanti's typical M.O. Oh, but the UK prime minister who was in the movie for five seconds was a Black woman! Totally not a token to shield against any accusation of racism and white liberal douchebaggery!

How the fuck do they expect props for "representation" when they erase, minimize and tokenize literally everyone who isn't a cis white guy?? Not even heterosexual rom coms with all-white casts are this hostile to women and non-white people.

On a purely technical level the movie was terrible too. The sets looked cheap and artificial, there was no crowded, high-energy feeling in any of the election scenes. One of the book's pivotal scenes sees Alex literally storming the castle by standing outside Kensington Palace getting drenched in the rain and shouting for Henry to get his ass down there until he's nearly removed by security. In the movie Alex is quietly let in by the staff and wanders into Henry's room inexplicably wet, like he'd been standing under a showerhead, and begins monologuing at Henry. The late night V&A excursion and slow dance in the book, that was a reflection of Henry's wistful, joyful inner world, is vacant, still and aimless in the movie. Alex made his historic public address to the country about their relationship without Henry, before he could even get to him (and the King wants to claim the emails are fake afterwards??). The fucking emails! Were! Missing! Except for like, one. Waterloo vase where?? Why would we even care about the emails being leaked if we never even got to see the intimacy and aching tenderness and open love in them??

They also kept shoehorning in lines from the book into the dialogue so that key lines like "History, huh?" sounded painfully clunky and awkward. Between Taylor's wooden acting, atrocious pacing and the self-conscious script, all the story's most romantic moments landed with a splat. You couldn't feel the emotional stakes in any of it. I deadass stopped watching twice because I was so bored and had to make myself sit through the last part.

(Maybe it's because I'm asexual and my love of smut, great as it, depends heavily on context, but– what was the point of Taylor's gratuitous bare-ass shot? Was that compensation for having kept the guys' crotches five feet apart at all times? What?)

Look, I was ready and willing to give director Matthew Lopez his flowers but he gave us a box of calcified shite. This is why I keep calling representation politics a white supremacist grift. It's a way of making cosmetic, token changes in exchange for retaining the core status quo with all its bigotry and bias while using our own artists and characters as a shield. It makes our talent both vulnerable to and complicit in the narratives spun by white institutions. No amount of female and queer Black and brown people at the helm will serve us justice if the ship belongs to white colonizers.

The best that can be said about the movie is that it makes the book look brilliant by comparison. And the book itself is a half-assed attempt at QPoC representation and generally middling, but draws in pathological fangirls like myself by having a compelling main couple and main cast, beautifully tender love letters, being peak white USAmerican Brand Hopium, and hitting every fanfic trope with a mallet. Being a mediocre white mess that gets a little worse when you look too closely at it is a prerequisite for me to obsess over something.

But if you want to an actual good book with the same appeal, read Alexis Hall's Boyfriend Material and Husband Material. Those are iconic. Hall's books are less "diverse" (how I hate that word) but a lot more honest and queer. (Queerness is fundamentally leftist* motherfuckers. Neoliberal queerness is just white bourgeois resentment at being marginalized).

*Well, Arden St. Ives trilogy isn't, but sometimes you just wanna get fucked by a billionaire in the fun way.

[welcometololaland]

Your turn, babygirl 💖

The scenario: A 24-hr Amazing Race-style challenge which includes booking travel and actually travelling from Tokyo to Kuala Lunpur which is approx 7.5 hours (why those cities? idk, they just popped into my head), with tasks to complete in each city

The prize: Something fabulous.

The players:

1. Nancy Gillian & Hunter Huntington III

2. Alex CD & Nora Holleran

3. TK Strand & Pez Okonojo

4. Zahra Bankston & Owen Strand

5. Henry FCMW & Marjan Marwani

6. Pearce Risher & Grace Ryder

7. Carlos Reyes & Andrea Reyes

8. June Claremont-Diaz & Tommy Vega

Notes: players cannot utilise their personal wealth to assist them, game provided budgets only. Assume there are several flights per day between Tokyo and Kuala Lumpur

Who wins? Who loses? What are their final rankings?

Oh fuck. I got hit with one of my own insane questions!!! Uno reverse has got me!!! Thanks to my beloved Rae and thank you to everyone who has amused me with answers to these I fucking love sending them 💕

The rankings: Tommy and June, Henry and Marjan, Owen and Zahra, Pearce and Grace, AGCD and Nora, Andrea and Carlos, TK and Pez, Nancy and Hunter.

The rationale:

1. Nancy and Hunter

A complete disaster. Nancy is fucking hilarious and very smart, but her sarcasm would go completely over Hunter's head. He would annoy the absolute shit out of her by talking about his personal wealth (which is absolutely worthless in this situation) and bring no practical skills to the table. Nancy would do her best, but she'd quickly find out that the only way she can help this idiot is by stitching him up when he pisses a fellow passenger / member of the airline staff off so significantly that they fight him.

2. AGCD and Nora

2 x very competitive, chaos bisexuals fighting it out. They are a naturally a formidable duo. Alex is very smart, but by his own admission, Nora is even smarter. They definitely have the brains and the physical prowess to take out the top spot but they're both prone to a hyperfixation and my suspicion is they would misread clues and go down a fucking rabbit hole OR forget to eat for days on end and pass out from lack of sustenance (I suspect the latter).

3. TK and Pez

How much fucking fun would these two have? Seriously, I would voluntarily elect to follow them around! Their great strength is that Pez is very well travelled and also super chill, and TK obviously has some pretty handy paramedic skills. I think their downfall is twofold: TK will (without a doubt) get into some kind of accident, and Pez will have no fucking clue how to deal with that except to maybe stick some glitter to him. Secondly, they would both get easily distracted (TK by any and all animals, Pez by anything eclectic or vaguely amusing - which may or may not be TK himself).

4. Z and Owen

If Zahra manages to avoid having an aneurysm from having to deal with Owen's fondness for a date and / or a meaningless side quest, I think they're on the money. Let's be real, Z is fucking scary. There would be an initial power struggle and there's a 87% chance Owen would try to hook up with her (which would be very quickly and viciously shut down), but once Owen accepts defeat, they are a good showing. Zahra is very organised, takes no shit and is very smart. Owen is very competitive and great in any and all stressful situations. Wouldn't count them out.

5. Henry and Marjan

Platonic power couple. Henry would almost immediately relinquish all power and control to Marjan, who would absolutely slay this challenge. She's smart, resourceful and physically capable. Henry is cluey, painfully polite, a fucking prince and...let's be honest he's just very hot. I feel like he could easily schmooze their way into the last two seats on the first flight out of Tokyo, even when the booking clerk initially said the flight was full. Plus, Henry is always seen as the more docile one, but I reckon he'd get a huge kick out of seeing Alex's pouty little face when he beats him. Their only hold back would be Henry getting recognised and being asked for an autograph.

6. Pearce and Grace

God, they're both very smart and capable people, but I just think the initial power struggle would complicate things. Pearce would be too much about reading (and then reciting) the rule book, and Grace would get very frustrated with him when he (initially) refuses to listen to her. They'd definitely work their way around it, but the initial speed bump would cost them.

7. Carlos and Andrea

Look, they'd work perfectly together. We know Andrea can be savage when she needs to be, and Carlos is very intelligent and resourceful. The problem is, he's only left Texas twice, so he's hamstrung by that. Andrea would be a little caught up making sure he eats properly, and when you eat 6 meals a day that's gonna cost you. Plus, Carlos would be acutely aware that TK is likely getting himself into some kind of NDE at any given moment, so that would be weighing heavily on his mind.

8. June and Tommy

The dark horses. They might not have some of the credentials of other players, but that's their strength. Tommy is fantastic at giving directions, June is a superb listener. They (like Andrea and Carlos) have the capabilities of communicating in two languages. Tommy is hyper competitive, June has incredible intuition. To me, they're the ones to watch. Girl power 🙌

[wardenparker]

From Dorne, with Love - part 1

Oberyn Martell x female reader Co-written with @absurdthirst​

Your little sister is marrying her fairy tale princess on the exotic desert island nation of Dorne. Your soon-to-be sister-in-law’s playboy uncle is the other member of the wedding party along with you, but will your opposite approaches to life drive you apart before the ceremony even begins? Or is it possibly the beginning of a future you never thought possible?

Rating: Mature, but please remember by whole blog is 18+ Word Count: 14k Warnings:  Some instances of reader being pig-headedly stubborn and some ‘ugly American’ moments, but we learn and grow in this house. Another one of our patented shitty families. Male nudity, just a sprinkling of MM shenanigans, mentions of bad break ups, mentions of infertility, some naughty teasing, cat lady jokes, food/alcohol consumption Summary: The day before your little sister’s wedding, you arrive at her fiancée’s family home - a palace in the exotic island nation of Dorne. An unconventional first meeting with her uncle, Prince Oberyn, has the potential to completely upend the way you’ve been living your life for years. Notes: I had a little daydream, and an Oberyn craving, and Keri is a beautiful soul who encourages my filthy thots. Although to be fair, this is pretty clean for an Oberyn fic. A big, bright and beautiful ✨Happy Birthday✨ to our man Pedro and the positivity he puts out into the world. Let’s all take that example to heart a little more and make 2022 brighter. 💖

Part 1 ~ Part 2 ~ Part 3 ~ Part 4 ~ Part 5 ~ Part 6 ~ Epilogue

The car that picked you up from the airport - god what a glorious flight that had been, six hours of first-rate pampering thanks to Air Dorne's attentive staff - has been driving for an hour now when you finally get a glance of your destination outside the tinted windows. The Dornish coast is gorgeous, but you've been anxious to get a glimpse of the place you'll be staying this week for your little sister's wedding. 

The fact that Lily is getting married in the first place is a lot to absorb, even though the whole family loves her college girlfriend-now-fiancée. But this wasn't just any college girlfriend that your baby sister brought home for her first American Thanksgiving during their freshman year at Columbia. No, sweet and funny and crazy about your sister Aja Targaryen, is second in line to the throne of Dorne as a niece of the current king. Her uncles has insisted on throwing the wedding and hosting you and your parents at the castle known forbiddingly as the Old Palace just outside the capital of Sunspear for an entire week. The whole thing is a little surreal to you, but Lily is happy and ultimately that's really all you care about. 

A vacation isn't something you allow yourself anyway, as you have a business to help run in the middle of New York City. It's fast paced and demanding and you absolutely love it, but it doesn't give you a lot of time for a social life or relaxing. That is what this week is for - to relax. To relax and celebrate with your little sister as she marries the love of her life. 

At a palace.

Alright, maybe you're not totally relaxed about this.

******

The door to the palace opens before the crunch of the oyster shell gravel even comes to a stop as the tires of the car halt in front of the large circular driveway. While Doran had wanted to pave the drive, Oberyn had insisted that the traditional drive was both nostalgic and charming. The butler, decked out in the royal colors of yellow, orange and burnt red, opens the door. "Welcome to Sunspear, seat of House Martell." He bows respectfully as you emerge from the car.

“Um…thank you.” It’s all so intensely grand. Like a fantasy show and a Hallmark movie got smashed together and this is what erupted. You take the official invitation for the wedding out of your pocket and show it to the man in uniform. “I’m here for Princess Aja’s wedding. I—I’m the other bride’s sister.”

"Of course." Hobard has been well informed of family to arrive. "Princess Aja has arranged for you to stay in the East Wing, adjoining the family's private living quarters. I am instructed to inform you that her Highness and your sister had a last-minute detail to oversee and will greet you at the cocktail party this evening." He notes that your eyes widen slightly in panic at being alone in a strange place. "Prince Oberyn has graciously offered to keep you company if you wish. He is in the garden by the pool."

“Thank you.” The words stick a little but you are actually grateful - this man, whatever his job title actually is - isn’t condescending or snobby like you would expect from someone who is the first person to greet new arrivals at a literal palace. A younger man in a similar uniform emerges from the building and whisks away your suitcase, leaving you with no pretense to retreat to your room and you offer the man who greeted you a smile. “Would you point the way to the garden?” 

It won’t be so bad to meet Aja’s uncle. You had Googled him and found out about his military service and reputation as Dorne’s most legendary playboy along with finding plenty of paparazzi photos of him, but no personal details. The only personal details you know about him come from Aja when she tells stories about her family on the rare occasion you get to have down time with her and your sister.

"This way." He gives you a small nod and leads you into the house. The cool marble tiles on the floor echo as the two of you make your way through the large entry hall. The large, curved staircases to the left and right lead to the private wings. "Shall I offer you a refreshment?" He asks kindly, knowing that while you might have had a drink or two on the plane, the heat and arid climate of Dorne often works up a thirst in a lot of visitors.

“Thank you.” Accepting the offer gratefully since you haven't really processed the fact that you’re basically on a desert island before getting out of the car. You huff at yourself slightly and offer the man another smile as you walk alongside him. “I do know other words, I promise.”

"The Prince and his guest have been drinking Dirty Bananas." He smirks slightly, although you cannot see that. "Shall I make another pitcher, or would you prefer something lighter? Perhaps a frozen peach Bellini?"

“I don’t think I know what is in a Dirty Banana,” you admit, stifling a laugh at the ludicrous name. Mixology had never been your strong point even when you were building your skill set. “But Bellinis are my favorite. That’s very kind of you.”

After another few minutes, he comes to the large glass doors that lead to the famous Dornish Water Gardens. An oasis in the desert that is fed from a deep spring of fresh water and are absolutely breathtaking. "If you follow the path, miss, I will get started on your drink. Go past the privacy hedges that separate the gardens from the pool. You will find the prince there." He tells you as he opens the door for you.

“Thank you.” At least this time when you say it, he smiles too, and nods before he walks away to leave you alone in your way to the garden. Just this one scene in front of you is easily the most beautiful, most exotic sight you’ve beheld with your own eyes, and you always know you’ll be filling up your phone with photos this week even if you never leave the palace. 

Palace.

Of all the ludicrous things in the world, Lily went and fell in love with a princess whose family lives in a palace. You shake your head at that, crossing past the hedges into the legendary Dornish Water Gardens only to stop short the moment you focus on the people lounging by the pool: two completely nude men sipping cocktails and making out under the hot sun.

******

Oberyn cups the back of Selvin's head, tilting it exactly how he wants as his tongue slides into his mouth for another kiss. Groaning slightly at the enthusiasm of the man's eager response. He hums, exploring for a few more seconds before he pulls away, dark eyes watching as the other man's flutter open slowly with a small smirk on his face. "Relaxed, no?" He purrs before he lays back on his own lounger and picks up the half melted frozen cocktail that had a double entendre for the day. "I told you that you would forget your worries today."

As if this moment couldn't get any more awkward for you, the lithe blonde man who apparently was forgetting all his worries today hums out a very amused sound and nudges the figure of the man you recognize from photographs as Prince Oberyn Martell. "My prince," he nearly giggles. "We have an audience."

Oberyn turns his head towards you, lowering his dark aviator sunglasses and peers over them at you. “Ahhhhh, the illusive sister.” He sets his drink down and rises from his seat. “You have arrived.”

"I–" Yeah...yeah...you have arrived. But you aren't nearly as arrived as he is, with his perfectly darkened skin devoid of tan lines and his - yep, that is his penis - swinging free in the breeze as he sways toward you. Your throat runs dry immediately, all of that moisture shooting directly south to pool at the apex of your thighs because holy shit, no photograph in the world has ever done this man justice, but you have to shake that off just as quickly to have any hope of getting your composure back. "I was told to–" Come on, get your shit together. "Prince Oberyn, I presume?"

"Lover." Selvin chides Oberyn, making him pause and turn back towards the other man. "She's American." He huffs, glancing down pointedly at his nude body and then back at you. "I fear she is about to melt under the Dornish sun from embarrassment."

"It's fine." You insist, studiously forcing yourself to only look each man in the face, but you can hear exactly how unconvincing you sound.

"See, it is fine." Oberyn hums, even as he turns around to give you a view of his ass as he walks over to a table and picks up a buttery yellow sarong to tie around his lean hips. "She is the maid of honor, where I am the man of honor of Aja. It is tradition we sleep together, no? She is just getting a preview of what to expect." He smirks in amusement as he ties off the wrap and starts walking back over you in order to greet you properly.

Every trendy idiot walking around Williamsburg in what they called genderfluid clothing to be hip would be put to shame by the utter beauty of the man in front of you - silky fabric hugging his hips better than the most expensive designer skirt ever seen on a runway model. You're so distracted by the beauty in front of you that you barely even heard him make the comment about sleeping together and it registers a second too late, as he is reaching for you with both hands. "I'm sorry, we what?"

"I know I am not mistaken." Oberyn tells you with a smirk as he leans down to press his lips against your cheek, one then the other. "I have attended many weddings and there is always a hurried fuck in the coat closet between the best man and maid of honor." After he kisses your cheeks, he takes your hand and brings it up to his lips to kiss the back of it. "Unless you don't wish to fuck a prince?" He asks, arching an eyebrow as he looks up at you.

"I hadn't ever considered it a possibility." You admit, so bewildered by the seeming offer that you're probably not even processing it properly. His reputation as an indiscriminate lover was apparently true, but in such a dramatic way that it feels a little like being thrown into a farce. "I'm just here for my sister. Anything else is...well, I don't have any expectations, I guess."

Oberyn smirks, glancing at your outfit and tutting slightly. "Your outfit will make you roast out in this sun." He keeps your hand in his and he turns to guide you towards the shaded area. "Has Hobard offered you a drink? We are having Dirty Bananas." He chuckles, "Chocolate mudslides with bananas, if you would like to sample mine."

"Everything is taken care of, sire." Hobard appears from nowhere, rescuing you from having to reply, and bearing a tray with a frosted pitcher of frozen Bellinis and icy cold glass. "The lady's things have been set out in the Iris Room when she is ready to go inside."

"Perfect!" Oberyn gives a pleased grin and winks at you. "You are across the hall from me. If you get scared, just crawl into my bed, Iris." 

Selvin laughs behind him, getting up from his own chair and wrapping a towel around his waist. "I must go, I have to actually do some work." He pouts, wishing he could say and see how many mortified faces you will make under Oberyn's blatant flirting. Not many people can withstand him for long and it's always interesting to see how quickly they give in.

The men bid each other an affectionate goodbye and Hobard disappears back into the palace as quickly as he had appeared, leaving you alone with the relentless Prince Oberyn and a fresh pitcher of frozen alcohol. "Your friend seems very nice," you offer, reaching for the glass on the tray that Hobard left behind for you. Something tells you that being stone cold sober around the prince - a fucking real life prince - is only going to leave you confused and flustered.

"He does, doesn't he?" He observes, wondering if you are timid or just unsure of yourself as he strides over to the pitcher that Hobard had left and picks it up to pour you drink. He fills the glass to the very top carefully. "But I'm more interested in how nice you are." He says with a smirk.

"Do you always choose your next conquest before discarding the previous?" It isn't meant to sound harsh, but the comeback whips out of your mouth at full speed like you're warding off coeds in a Manhattan dive bar.

Oberyn cocks his head at you in surprise. Obviously not the shy wallflower he was starting to suspect you of being, which will make things infinitely more interesting this week. "Selvin is...friendly, yet casual." He tells you. "The lure of having a prince as a lover is what he wished for, and he gets, when the urge strikes."

“I didn’t—” The instinctive desire to evaporate is definitely there, but he doesn’t seem upset about being sassed at all. “I didn’t mean to be rude. It’s just…not something I’m used to. Maybe that’s just very American of me, I don’t know.”

"Men fucking each other?" Oberyn asks, amused at the way that your eyes show your complete mortification and wish to have the earth open up and swallow you. "Or being casual about pleasure?" His eyes flicker down to your lips as he reaches over and plucks a berry from a bowl on the table, lifting it up to his own lips to slip it inside his mouth.

“My sister is a lesbian,” you remind him with one nearly raised eyebrow. “I don’t care about anybody’s sexual orientation.” Swallowing an exasperated sigh, you take a long sip from your drink and shake your head a little to let the cobwebs lose. Getting combative because you were taken off guard is not the first impression on your sister’s future in-laws you want to make, and you have no business walking into someone else’s home and judging them for how they behave in it. “I apologize,” you tell him, rolling your shoulders back gently. “Starting a bickering match is not the first impression I wanted to make, and you haven’t done anything besides be welcoming. Can we start over?”

Pouting, Oberyn swallows the berry and hums, stepping around you and lowering his mouth to your ear. "My dear Iris, perhaps bickering is foreplay?" He murmurs. "Stirs the blood. Are you sure you wish to start over?"

The reality of the situation, you realize when you shiver a little at his breath on your neck, is not a terrible one. A prince - widely regarded as one of the sexiest men in the world - is flirting with you. You. Just some nobody that people pay to cook for them. By his standards you probably qualify as a servant, but somehow you don’t think he would care even if he knew that. Isn’t this most people’s dream? If you kicked back in your own mind, didn’t it used to be your fantasy? “Maybe not.” When you finally get the words out, they sound much more confident than you feel. Good. “Just know that I wasn’t judging anything. Just taken off guard.”

"Good. You should never limit pleasure." Oberyn coos, not missing the shiver that had raced across your skin even with the warm temperatures. "And seek it wherever you can." He wraps his hand around yours holding the glass and pulls the sweating drink towards your mouth. "Drink up little Iris. You seem hot."

If you were this affected by some random guy in a bar being this forward with you, you would be embarrassed for yourself, but there is something about it that completely flips when it’s out in the burning sunshine of a palace garden in exotic Sunspear. “So you’re Aja’s man of honor?” You ask, gratefully following his direction to take a sip of your drink.

"I am." He lets go of your hand and ambles around you to pluck another berry out of the bowl by the pool. "My little niece is my favorite. I have loved her since chasing after her in nappies through these halls when she was a baby."

“She’s very sweet.” Not having him next to you makes it a little easier to breathe, almost like if he gets too close you might get pulled irrevocably into his orbit the way the blonde man from earlier has. “Since the first time Lily brought her home to meet our parents, we’ve all completely adored her. They’re great together.”

"Aja can charm anyone." Oberyn boasts proudly, as if he were her father instead of her uncle. Perhaps it is because his oldest daughter is just a little behind her. He had started procreating young, much to his mother's disapproval. "And your sister is her perfect match."

“Aja is charm and Lily is enthusiasm.” Your little sister’s unabashed love of life and positivity is the root of her bubbly personality and it’s also part of what her friends love about her. “But she didn’t give us too many pieces of insight into Dornish weddings. She just said they wanted to surprise us.” Which Oberyn had certainly done all on his own.

"Well, I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise, now would I?" Oberyn shoots you a grin and picks up his own frozen drink. "Although tonight will be the cocktail party. The first of many events for the week."

You should have known he would be one for teasing and clever reveals, and it makes you smile despite yourself. “I just want everything to be perfect for them,” you clarify. “I know about the cocktail party, and that the wedding is supposed to go from sundown tomorrow to sunup the next morning. And Lily said something about fireworks. But that’s all.”

"Everything will be perfect." Oberyn assures you. "Your presence is all that is needed for that." He winks and takes a sip of his drink. "Just make sure that you have properly stretched."

“That sounds…intriguing.” And slightly forbidding, if you’re honest with yourself. But you simply sip your drink and file Oberyn’s wink away as something you’ll be describing to your friends back home in great detail when the week is over.

“We will have to make sure that you experience everything Dorne has to offer.” Oberyn decides with an easy smile. “I would hate for you to think us poor hosts.”

“I don’t think there’s any chance of that.” Walk in the door and have your own pitcher of your favourite cocktail on hand and then get an eyeful of the single most beautiful man you’ve ever seen in your life? Yeah…Dorne definitely made a better first impression on you than you did on it. “What would you recommend I see before the week is over?” Surely he - a man who has lived here presumably most if not all of his life - has a better handle on what must be seen that tourism websites.

“The ceiling in my suite is stunning.” Oberyn jokes, enjoying the way that your eyes cut away bashfully. “A tour of the Water Gardens is of course a must, with a lover of course.” 

“Your Highness,” it feels so odd to call someone that in real life, but - well - that is who he is. “I don’t want to disappoint you, but I’m not in the market for a lover.” After years of people getting fed up that your work was your priority, men who hated that you had a mind of your own and women who packed their things up and left when you went out of the apartment every morning to work two jobs instead of playing hooky, you had decided to just throw up your hands. It wasn’t worth the heartache anymore.

That makes Oberyn frown, looking you up and down with disappointment written all over his face. “How do you relax if not allowing a lover to suck on your clit until you are shaking with pleasure? Or fucking you until your body is limp from cumming so much?” He cannot even fathom such a life, there being too many forms of pleasure in the world. “Not yearning for a lover to caress your skin and hold you close with their lips pressed to yours.” He tuts again.

You nearly snort, banishing the very visceral way your body reacts to the images he paints by having another sip of your drink. “According to my last girlfriend, I don’t relax.”

“Then you are not being fucked properly.” Oberyn huffs, shaking his head. The mention of a girlfriend makes him think that you are not attracted to men. He tilts his head. “I know a gorgeous creature that would make you forget all your worries if pussy is what you prefer.”

“It’s not that. And it’s not that I don’t appreciate the offer.” Even if it is a little strange to you, for a virtual stranger to be so preoccupied with your sex life, you can see how it is actually a thoughtful offer if pleasure is what you’re life is focused around. Which his seems to be. “It just…never works out.”

Oberyn shrugs, unwilling to push further. You seem firm in your refusal of his advances and despite his amorous reputation, he does not persist when the answer is no. “Then it’s because they didn’t want it to work, or you didn’t.” He quips before he motions over to the chairs in the shade. “Sit so you do not get overheated. It is change from your climate.”

“When I left New York there was still snow in the ground.” You snort a little, settling yourself in one of the shaded chairs with your glass and choosing to ignore his observation about your lack of a love life. “Has Dorne ever seen snow? Even a freak dusting?”

Oberyn laughs, shaking his head. “Not that I’ve ever read in our history books.” He admits. “Unless you count the snow we truck in for the kids to have snowball fights with in winter. Indoors of course.”

“You’re not missing anything.” His laugh is rich and throaty and addictive, and you find yourself smiling unconsciously. “Icy sidewalks and mud mixing with snow to make slush, and the accidents when the storms are bad.” You take another sip of your drink and shake your head. “Snow is the best when you can watch it falling outside the window. If I could find a busy city like New York in a climate like this? I don’t think I’d ever leave.”

“Is the energy you seek?” He asks curiously. “Or the employment? You are a chef, yes?”

“Both, I think.” You can’t remember if you said something or he heard something from Aja, but either way, he’s correct. “I like to be busy, and New York definitely gives me that. But it isn’t the only place in the world for a chef, or even to open a restaurant one day.” But restaurants take money - far more money than you have managed to save working your way up in the kitchen at the little Italian place you’ve worked for years upon years now while living in one of the most expensive cities in the world.

“Are you good?” Oberyn asks, curious to see how you would describe yourself.

That makes you grin, your lips curling up at the edges. You may not have confidence in every part of your life, but you definitely do about your food. “I could always cook for you, and you can decide yourself,” you offer, knowing you have plenty of tricks up your sleeves.

Oberyn smirks, wanting you to offer. It had been his goal when he asked you the question. “I will show you the kitchens.”

“Now?” There’s supposed to be a party in just a few hours and a damn wedding tomorrow and you know they’ll be busy - it would be professional ass hole behavior to barge in on them now of all times. But for all you know, this palace has six different kitchens depending on what meal it is and who is at home.

“We only have right now. The family suite has a kitchen.” Oberyn clarifies. “Unless you wish to relax?”

“Cooking is relaxing.” It’s something that is completely true for you, and most people really can’t wrap their heads around. Twelve hour shifts at the restaurant at nonstop speeds are exhausting, sure. But you still go home and lovingly cook yourself small meals using all the same methods to center yourself again.

“Excellent.” Oberyn purrs. “I can show you where you will be sleeping, and you can relax.”

“Sounds perfect.” The itch in your fingers from not having cooked yet today will be banished and you couldn’t be happier. Most people like to be waited on, but you can’t stand the feeling of idleness. “Lead the way, your Highness.”

Oberyn picks up the pitcher of Bellinis and carries it with him, turning and holding out his arm. “My lady.” It's a test, to see how rigid you actually are. Lily complains that you don't experience life enough, not living in the moment. He can already see that, but he wants to see if perhaps you just have to know how to entice you.

There is a moment of hesitation on your part, a moment where you look at the statuesque man barely covered by a single length of billowing fabric with a sultry smile on his lips, and you shrug internally. Putting your hand on his arm is not the same as agreeing to sleep with him, although the softness of him and heat radiating from his skin could give anyone other ideas fairly easily. 

As you stroll along the paths back to the palace, Oberyn starts giving you a knowledgeable lecture on the history of the Water Gardens. Telling you how they were constructed by his ancestors hundreds of years before, an oasis in the desert island's landscape that acted as a respite for the inhabitants of Dorne, providing water and fruits and how the city of Sunspear was built up around it. 

“I think the most important thing my ancestors ever did was move from New Jersey,” you joke, giving one more look to the gardens before letting the prince draw you inside the cool walls of the palace. “Except Lily, of course. Her research is extraordinary.”

"And you?" Oberyn asks, turning. his head to the side to glance at your profile. "What mark do you wish to leave on the world?"

“You mean do I want to be a celebrity chef with a tv show, four cookbooks, and a reservation book packed full for a year in an advance?” The idea makes you laugh a little, but mostly out of self-consciousness in the moment. You would love those things, but if they never happened it wouldn’t be the end of your world. They’re difficult goals to achieve and require connections - connections you just don’t have. “I want people to have good memories. An important conversation had over a meal they’ll never forget. Wedding guests who still talk about the hors d’oeuvres for years afterward. A dish of pasta that transports you to Sicily from your seat.” You offer him a smile that is completely unguarded. “If somebody wanted to make me famous because they loved my food so much? That would be a very good memory.”

Oberyn hums, absorbing your desires and analyzing them. "You like to please people." He observes. "You are a nurturer even though you don't think yourself one. Give them what they need even if they don't realize it."

“Everyone needs to eat.” You raise an eyebrow at him as he steers you toward an elaborate grand staircase. “Food should sustain and inspire. Like you say: you should never limit pleasure. I just apply that philosophy to my food.”

"Too bad you do not apply that to everything in your life." Oberyn muses, as he starts up the stairs with you. "Food and fucking go hand in hand, can be very pleasurable together."

“You sound like my sister.” And it makes you laugh despite yourself. “Lily is my biggest cheerleader, but she’s also the biggest nudge in my life.” Well, maybe that title is actually your mother’s, but isn’t that every mother’s right?

"I am a father to eight daughters." Oberyn chuckles. "I am sure some of their impetuousness has rubbed off on me."

“Eight?” Stopping dead in your tracks at the high number, you manage to recover just a second later and pick your jaw up off the marble floor, but it’s too late to hide that reaction. “Sorry, I just…um, that’s a lot. And you definitely don’t look old enough to have that many kids.”

Oberyn agrees with you, at least on eight children being a lot. "I fathered the first when I was 14." He explains. "Indiscretions of youth. Though I counsel my girls to use caution. Eight children, four mothers." A flash of melancholy races across his face. "The youngest girls’ mother and I parted ways two years ago. Amicably, of course, however I miss the sounds of them racing through the halls year-round. The older girls are at school." 

“I hadn’t even had my first kiss at fourteen.” You try not to stare but that is an incredibly young age to become a parent for the first time - and yet also somehow the fact that he clearly cares for all of them and their mothers is making him that much more attractive to you? That has to be the ticking biological clock… “I’m…I’m sorry you split up, though. Break ups are hard. Even harder when kids are involved.” 

Oberyn looks over at you with a small nod. "Ellaria and I were good together, but better as friends." He tells you. "We love one another, that will never change, but our paths are different, and we must follow them. Our children will never suffer because we no longer share a bedroom." 

“Do you get to see them?” You ask quietly, not really paying attention to the halls or rooms you pass by as he leads you deeper into the palace.

"As often as I wish." Oberyn smiles. "Aja and Lily wished for a child-free wedding and so they are with their mother, they will be back at the palace in three days’ time. You will be able to meet them then if you wish." He chuckles. "It's just that a father wishes to never have his children sleep under another roof, even boarding schools.”

“Is that where the older ones are? Boarding school?” Lily and Aja choosing to have an adults-only event is something you know Lily has struggled with so you don’t pursue that part of the conversation. Your sister’s inability to conceive children and the way she struggled with it until Aja came along and reminded her that motherhood is not equal to womanhood (despite what your parents say), is a journey all her own.

"Obara, the oldest, is in college." He boasts proudly, puffing his chest out slightly. "Final year, she's graduating a year earlier than her classmates. The other three are in a preparatory school in Switzerland and the youngest three are living with their mother in a house three kilometers from here.” 

Four children with one woman and they only just split up? Yeah…you would be naked by the pool with a fuck buddy too, if you were him. “You’re very proud of them.” Is the observation you make out loud, not wanting to insert your foot into your mouth at all. “That’s wonderful.”

"They are my children." Oberyn tells you simply, guiding you down the hall towards the large suite that has been his since he was a young man. Set up as a family apartment, it is a complete house with a kitchen and family area designed in the middle of the bedrooms to house his large brood when they are at the palace. "I am proud of them no matter what they choose in life."

“Then you’re not just proud, but also a good father.” And you don’t know why exactly you hadn’t been sure of that before now, but here it is in front of you. 

Physically in front of you is an enormous apartment that seems to go on forever, and though everything is opulent it seems also to be built for comfort. Even though it’s clean there is evidence of his kids everywhere - from toys to cabinets full of movies and games to the photos hanging on his walls. One in particular is set at center stage, and the reason why is immediately obvious. It is a party, with balloons in various colors bearing what you suppose was his age at the time, 35, and presents and a cake in the background even though you can tell this photograph was taken in the Water Gardens as you wander closer to it. Oberyn stands in the middle of a veritable army of girls who are all decked out with flowers in their hair and beaming smiles. The youngest - still a baby here, is asleep in his arms. “They’re beautiful.” You hum, feeling drawn in by the photo instead of like an observer. The young woman to Oberyn’s left is mid-laugh and clinging to his other arm. “Is that Obara? She looks exactly like you.”

Oberyn gazes at the photo with a soft smile on his face. "That is Obara." He chuckles and gestures towards the photo. "My little sand snakes. Nicknamed so because they are always slithering about and getting into mischief as children should." He points out each individual girl. "Nymeria, Tyene, Sarella, Elia, Obella, Dorea, and the baby is Loreza."

That internal tug somewhere deep behind your heart pulls at you and makes you look away, forcing down the way so many beautiful smiling faces make you melancholy for being without a family of your own. You had made the choice that your career came first and now you were living with that - no use getting upset about it now. “So,” you drain the last sip of your drink from the glass in your hand and make yourself smile. “I think you were going to let me cook for you?”

"Yes." Oberyn's eyes light up with giddy anticipation and he steers you towards his personal kitchen. "Your sister has raved over your skills in the kitchen." He keeps the fridge stocked and wonders what you will chose to make for him with what is on hand. "Make yourself comfortable and use whatever you wish."

“I started cooking to take care of me and Lils after school because our parents always worked long hours. So the first things I learned were her favourite foods.” The watch on your wrist reads just after one in the afternoon and the cocktail party isn’t for hours, so you’re racking your brain for lunch ideas when you walk into the large kitchen just a step behind him. There’s a small gasp on your lips - you were expecting it to be nice but not for him to have a Viking stove and marble counter tops with sleek, shiny stainless-steel appliances tucked into every corner like an Easter egg hunt. This is the sexiest private kitchen you’ve ever seen and you get to cook in it. “Okay.” You’re like a kid in a candy store as you start to poke through his cupboards, looking to see what sort of things he usually eats to figure out what classics of your repertoire he might like.

He doesn't leave you to get acquainted with his kitchen, instead he opens the fridge to grab a bowl of grapes, grinning like a schoolboy as he hops up on the counter and watches you with unabashed curiosity.

The idea forms when you notice a jar of estratto di pomodoro and another of pine nuts in his cupboard. Gathering those two things along with a container of golden raisins, you poke around for a box of dry pasta but see a large container of semolina flour instead. Fresh pasta it is, you think with a smirk as you gather that and the pasta roller sitting next to it, as well. He’s going to get one of your favourite meals of all time, and he doesn’t even know it yet. “Do you have a special place to keep bread in?” You ask him, already making your way to the refrigerator to see if you really can fill this meal out the way you always make it for yourself. Pasta c'anciuova e muddica atturrata is always best, in your opinion, with some kind of fish.

"There is a bread box in the pantry." Oberyn tells you before he pops a few grapes in his mouth, looking at the ingredients that you are piling onto the island counter. "The cabinet next to the fridge is actually a pantry."

“This?” The door handle you have your hand on gives easily when he nods, and you set your armload from the cupboards down on the counter beside him to peak in - expecting a small, well-concealed pantry of basics. What you’re faced with, though, is a walk-in closet for gourmet foods, opposite a wall of neatly stacked and organized wine bottles. On the shelf by your head is a tool you drool over in the restaurant - a bit of genius in the form of a product that allows for a glass of wine to be poured from a bottle without removing or compromising the cork. The bottle is effectively unopened and lasts considerably longer even though it has been poured from. It’s like paradise in a kitchen pantry, and you snag the Coravin tool and a bottle of Tuscan wine you recognize along with a full container marked Fresh Breadcrumbs. Bellinis are delicious, but the wine will go much better with this small meal you’re now even more excited to cook. “Your chef must love this set up,” you remark in wonder when you emerge.

"Chef?" Oberyn narrows his eyes slightly in confusions as he cocks his head. "The palace chef, you mean?" He gives a small shrug. "He has never been in my kitchen. This is my private space for cooking meals for family and lovers." 

“This is all for you? Seems like being royalty has benefits after all.” You shake your head at the thought and put the other pantry supplies down on his counter venue moving to the refrigerator. After a quick survey you nearly cheer in victory, coming out with a few large sardines, half a lemon, and a bundle of fresh Italian parsley. Combining all of this with the olive oil, onions, and garlic you saw on the counter will make a masterpiece. “Are you sure it’s okay to use all this?”

Oberyn waves his hand dismissively, "use whatever you wish." He tells you, hopping down off the counter and walking around you. The comment about royalty irked him and he would rather not get into a spat with the maid of honor before the wedding. Choosing to give you the space for a moment before he lets his famously short temper get the best of him. "Excuse me, I have a small matter than I need to address.

“Sure.” His tone changed, and you’re not sure you like it - wondering for a moment if you really were going too far out this was all to placate you. No. Stop overthinking. Just do your thing. You tell yourself, setting to work on your aromatics.

Striding into his bedroom, he unties the sarong and flings it into the laundry before he walks into the en-suite to shower off the pool water and remaining traces of his lover. He tries to remind himself as he showers, that most Americans were judgmental and set in their viewpoints. Not all were as free spirited as your sister and it seems that you might just be one of those people, although for some reason, it was disappointing. Lily had talked about you so much that Oberyn had looked forward to meeting the older sister and now he wasn't quite sure what to do with you. Dressing in stylish, yet comfortable clothes - white linen pants and a shirt that is burnt orange with the suns of Dorne designed on it, he makes his way back to the kitchen.

******

Somewhere around the time your pasta dough started to come together, your thoughts did too, and you had audibly groaned at yourself. Open mouth, insert foot. Another reason you couldn’t keep a man, according to your mother. “I’m sorry.” Your head pops up from wrapping the dough to set aside when he walks back in, and you nearly blurt it out at him. “I didn’t mean to be rude. What I was trying to say is that if this was an alternate universe and I was royalty, this would be my favorite part about living in a palace. But only because I would be garbage at running a country.” You huff at yourself slightly. “Clearly. I can’t go ten minutes without accidentally insulting my host.”

His eyebrow wings up at your apology and he studies you for a moment. "It is okay, Iris." He reassures you. "I did not wish to treat you to the barbed edge of my tongue, so I decided that I would shower and put on clothes so you would not take us all for hedonistic barbarians."

“You’re not. A barbaric person is someone who is uncivilized. Right now that’s definitely me, not you, so I apologize.” He can think whatever he wants of you - correct or incorrect - and it won’t matter past this week. But Lily and Aja are moving back to Dorne soon and you would hate for a bad opinion of you to reflect on your angel of a little sister. 

It takes an adult to apologize for the missteps that have occurred, but he admires you for it. "I apologize for making you uncomfortable." Oberyn tells you. "I fear that when I see a gorgeous woman, or man, especially one that I have heard so many wonderful things about, I tend to be too forward." He gives a small smile. "However, your disinterest is noted so do not fear that you will be accosted all week."

Did he just — gorgeous? Seriously? It takes everything in you to not spontaneously combust at that, but only a second later you register a flash of disappointment that you hadn’t anticipated. It’s not that you wouldn’t be interested, but it’s not worth it. It would be like the time a one-night stand you picked up at the bar had turned out to be the new dishwasher at the restaurant: intensely awkward and not worth the memories. That was seven years ago, and you hadn’t had a one-nighter since. “I just…” Your hands work automatically, cleaning up after the pasta making and finding a knife and board to fillet the fish. You don’t even know why you’re telling him all this, except maybe that now you’re oversharing so he won’t think you’re being judgmental again. “I’m not great at communicating, as you have probably noticed. And a little vacation fling is…they’re great for some people. But that’s a whole lot of opening up to someone very quickly and I’m not any good at that. It has nothing to do with you.”

"That's the beauty of it, no?" He asks, picking up the glass that had been left out from his drink and taking it over to the sink. "You get to be whoever you want the other person to see. "Bold, adventurous, fearless." He hums as he starts washing it for the staff to take back to the main kitchens and reaches for your glass as well. "Everything you want but are unable to maintain in your day to day."

Fearless. The notion seems insane to you, mostly because you’re a fairly cautious person. The only time you have any sort of adventure is with your food. “That’s who I am when I cook.” You tell him, deciding to be honest. “Lovers have expectations. Ingredients don’t.”

"Yes, they do." Oberyn argues with you, holding up the bulb of garlic that you haven't used. "This garlic expects you to use it properly. Aromatics expect to be used to enhance a dish and not burn them to make them acrid." He puts it down. "If your lovers are expecting things beyond what they can give you, then you have been choosing bad lovers. The point of being a lover is accepting what they give you and what you want to give to them." He has already accepted that you are not going to sleep with him, but if he can make you look at love differently, perhaps your next lover would benefit.

“If that’s true, then I’ve just never picked the right person.” There’s a melancholy in your voice that you can’t banish fast enough, and you glance at the contemplative expression on Oberyn’s face briefly before setting aside the two perfectly fileted sardines to wash your hands again. “Maybe I’ll just be a spinster. That would thrill my parents.”

"Fuck your parents." Oberyn huffs, shrugging his shoulders. He had not been impressed with the notion that Lily was supposed to give them a grandchild and the bitterness when they learned that she couldn't. "Live your life how you see fit and make no apologies." He lifts a finger. "However, live a life that on your deathbed, you have few regrets." 

A life of regrets is something you were trying to avoid when you left four-year college for culinary school and spent years learning your craft, but you had ended up with others along the way. That was inevitable in life, you supposed, but it still stung. “I can see why raja thinks the world of you,” you tell him, picking up the garlic he had been brandishing at you earlier. “Not everyone is lucky enough to have such a supportive family.”

"No, I guess not." Oberyn understands that he is very lucky to live in a place where he is afforded to live how he wishes. "However, your sister is becoming family, so in a distant - we can still sleep together kind of way - you are family." He can't help but tease you just a bit more, especially since he knows you are aware he will not push you. Giving you a playful wink and smirk when you look at him.

“My sister-in-law’s uncle?” You have to laugh at that, shaking your head as you carefully dice the garlic. “No, I guess that’s not anything official, is it?”

"No, it's not." Oberyn moves over to the fridge and starts to pull out ingredients to whip up one of his favorite simple desserts. He wants you to try something of his.

“Have a sudden inspiration?” It happens to you all the time - you start out cooking one thing and end up with ideas for a week. Even fully clothed he moves like a dance, and you have to wonder briefly if turning him down will turn out to be one of those deathbed regrets you’re sure to have. 

"Making a dessert that will pair nicely with the ingredients you are using." Oberyn tells you with a smirk as he walks into the pantry and comes out with a bottle of Limoncello.

“It’s a good thing we’re hours away from eating again, because this is turning into a whole meal.” This is the only area - besides being your sister’s number one fan - where your enthusiasm tends to run amok. You really are making him an entire lunch, even if it’s delicious peasant food.

"You will be asking me for this recipe." Oberyn tells you smugly, knowing that it will whet your palate and make you moan at the silky smoothness of it.

“Oh, will I?” You narrow your eyes at him, pride and playfulness in your own abilities blooming to the surface. “Are you willing to bet on that?” It’s something you do with the other line cooks at the restaurant all the time and you don’t even think about it before the words are out of your mouth.

A sly grin crosses his face, sensing your competitiveness coming to the surface. "Absolutely." He hums, setting the bottle down and leaning against the counter. "What are your terms if you don't?" He asks, wanting to know your prize if you are not impressed with his dessert.

You bite the inside of your lip, considering several possibilities with amusement while you clean and slice an onion. “You have to spend a day showing me around Sunspear wearing the absolute worst outfit I can possibly pick out for you.” It’s nothing humiliating or humbling, just silly and an offering of friendship. A story to tell. A memory to hold. But you will definitely take a picture of this stylish man in a terrible outfit.

"Agreed." There are worse wagers for a bet, and he smirks. "If you want the recipe...I get to kiss you." He challenges, lifting a brow at you to see if you will refuse.

You all but roll your eyes at him, seeing the good-natured angle in it but knowing that all you have to do is not ask for his recipe and it will float away again. “Deal.” With your hands outstretched to him, you are more than prepared to let a friendship blossom. For Lily’s sake, of course. And not at all because you just snuck a peak at his soft, seemingly perfect lips through his smirk. Nope. Not at all.

“Fantastic.” Oberyn takes your hand and shakes it firmly before he brings it up to kiss the back of it again. “Prepare to be amazed.” He warns you playfully. He lets go of your hand and starts pulling out mixing bowls and the tools he needs, completely familiar with his kitchen and where everything is. Showing you that he does in fact cook.

There’s a sense of calm as you work side by side, absorbed in what you are doing but not ever ignoring each other. Oberyn tells you stories about Aja as a girl - she is good friends with some of his daughters, apparently - and you trade him for stories of Lily from growing up. Sometimes he’ll ask about an ingredient you have out on the counter, but mostly he just watches curiously and you sneak peaks his way when you think he’s not looking.

Limoncello mousse is a simple, yet incredible dessert. Needing only a few ingredients to be delicious and tart. The perfect ending to a savory meal. He whips the egg whites until they are frothy and foamy before he mixes it into the mascarpone and limoncello mixture. Dividing it into four ramakins to set inside his blast chiller to set in time to eat.

The time flies - it always does when you’re enjoying yourself like this - and before long you’re scooping curly busiate noodles out of their water and into the gorgeous red sauce composed of anchovies, estratto, onions, garlic, and breadcrumbs and adding more breadcrumbs long with toasted pine nuts and golden raisins. The sardine fillets have been sautéed in olive oil and lemon juice and dressed with parsley, and lunch is about to be served. “Would you pour the wine?” You ask him, fully absorbed in bringing the pasta dish together. Its salty, sweet, savory, unctuous goodness is your favorite meal in the world Aster the first time you had it in Sicily and you can’t wait for him to try it.

“Already done, Iris.” Oberyn motions over to the table he had set while you had been absorbed in the finishing the exquisite smelling dish you were serving him. He had quietly placed two setting and poured glasses of wine for the two of you. The mousse was still setting up and would stay in the chiller until it was time to eat them. He had even come along and taken the discarded tools and washed them, leaving just the final pans to be cleaned.

“Sorry — I mean…thanks.” Shrugging at him slightly, you bring the big pan over to the two plates you’ve been fixing and dole out the pasta. “You’re three steps ahead of me while I was in my own little world.”

“It was interesting to watch you work.” Oberyn tells you. “You have a habit of sticking your tongue out while you work. I wonder how many times a colleague has put a lemon on it.”

“Not very often.” You set the plates down in the two places he set at the long table under the windows on the far side of the kitchen. It must be big enough for all his girls and their mothers to sit down together, because it is huge - making your two little settings at the end look slightly comical. “Chef still does it from time to time. Which is better than when he first hired me, and it was whatever random ingredient was nearby that he ended up accosting me with.”

Snorting in amusement, he pulls out your chair for you sit down, motioning to it when you just stare at him for a second.

Right. Just because no one’s ever done this for you before doesn’t mean no one ever does it anywhere. You thank him quietly and sit, happy to see that he doesn’t stand in ceremony and takes a sip from his wine as soon as he sits beside you. The smooth, warm red is familiar and comforting on your palette, relaxing you another step down the ladder of what anxieties you had feared from this day.

"Salute." He murmurs before looking down at the plate of delicious looking pasta in front of him. "So what are we having this afternoon, chef?" He asks, looking back up at you with a pleased expression.

“Pasta c'anciuova e muddica atturrata, and the sardines are sautéed with olive oil then dressed with lemon juice and parsley.” Even saying it out loud makes you sigh a little with wistful happiness. “Normally I’ll do whatever fish is on sale at the market, but you had fresh sardines. And that’s…pretty perfect.”

"It smells delicious." Oberyn compliments you honestly and picks up his fork to twirl up a bite of the pasta, making sure to get some of the sardine in the bite. You are watching as he puts the fork in his mouth, eyes fluttering closed in pleasure as he practically moans when the flavors hit his tastebuds.

“Definitely a better memory than the first boy I ever loved.” Snorting slightly, you shake your head and dig into your own lunch with a nostalgic smile. Food evokes those good memories for you where most people don’t, but you figure the prince is more people-oriented in his own life.

"I am sorry." Oberyn reaches out and touches your arm gently. "A first love is supposed to be a sweet memory. A last love is supposed to be all consuming." He murmurs softly.

“I hope that’s true for most people.” It’s not biting, or sarcastic, or even melancholy - just honest - as you gently touch his hand with yours to acknowledge the softness of the gesture. “I’ll say the love of my life is my food, and merrily leave true love to Lily and Aja.”

"Never count yourself short." Oberyn advises you with a wink as he pulls his hand away and pick up his fork. "You deserve someone to lavish praise on your cooking daily."

“You like it?” The relief you feel is a bit of a surprise, but then again, any time you put your food in front of someone you’re bearing your soul to them for as long as that meal lasts. It’s not so odd to want someone to like your favorite thing. Right?

"It's possibly the best Pasta c'anciuova e muddica atturrata I've ever had." He praises as he forks up another bite of the pasta and sighs happily. "You are extremely talented, and I see why your sister thinks you should open your own restaurant."

“Thank you.” The heat just under your skin is definitely from the compliment rather than the wine, but you still shrug your shoulders a little. “Restaurants are expensive. It’s definitely the dream, but I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to manage it.”

Oberyn snorts, shaking his head at your lack of business prowess. “My dear Iris, you are becoming family to royalty by way of marriage.” He reminds you. “Use it.” He urges you. “No one gets ahead in this world without contacts, and you have miraculously developed very useful ones.”

You shake your head at him, nearly laughing at how outlandish his suggestion is. You would never be so presumptuous as to ask Aja’s family for money, but an old tease of your sister’s does cross your mind. “Lily used to say that anybody who was ever serious about wanting to marry me should buy me a restaurant instead of a ring.”

Oberyn chuckles and nods down to his plate. “If this is how you cook everything, I believe it.” He takes another sip of his wine and attacks the rest of the pasta with a gusto that wound have you believing he was starved.

By the time both of your plates are clean you’ve been sitting in companionable silence for quite a while, and it says quite a lot for you that it hasn’t felt awkward. Normally silence is something that irks you with another person, but the prince’s presence has yet to hit that nerve with you. A very good thing, considering you’ll be with him at the party tonight and wedding tomorrow, at the bare minimum.

“Now.” Oberyn stands and walks over to collect your plate. “On to our bet.” He teases with a wink, whisking away the dirty dishes to pile next to the sink so he can remove the delicate mousse desserts from the chiller. He fills sniffers with a shot of cool limoncello to accompany it and brings everything over to serve you first and then himself.

“The moment of truth.” You joke, picking up your spoon and cutting through the creamy mousse like butter. With ripe berries and fluffy, fresh whipped cream (that you absolutely did not watch him make, nope, not even a single glance at those biceps at work) it looks as pretty as any picture. “Salut.” Your first taste is…well, it’s nearly impossible to react, and you barely catch your eyes as they start to flutter closed at the burst of bright lemon and gentle, bubbly texture of the mousse. The prince’s dessert is exquisite and after the second spoonful you’re borderline annoyed with yourself for making this bet. This is without a doubt the best mousse you’ve ever had in your life - but hell if you’re going to say as much. “It’s good,” you manage to nod casually while you’re practically weeping happy tears on the inside.

“Mhm.” Oberyn looks at you doubtfully, not impressed with your reaction and for a moment doubts himself. He spoons up some of the mousse to make sure it set properly and gives a groan of satisfaction.

Two bites later, with a little bit of the whipped cream and a slice of strawberry in your mouth, you break down and just sit with your eyes closed for a long moment. He could probably make a career as a pastry chef based on this one little ramekin alone, and when you open your eyes, you exhale a little and take another bite. It’s good. If good suddenly means genius.

He has to give it to you; you are fighting the temptation with everything you have. But he hasn’t missed the little sighs, or the moment where you look like you are in blissful contemplation of life. He smirks to himself, spooning up another bite and is pleased with your enjoyment of his dessert. Even if you don’t ask him for the recipe, he will count it as a success.

Your little dish is clean so quickly that you have to stop yourself from literally licking the ramekin, and the sheepish look on your face is as much defeat as anything else. “I—” You bury half of your face in one hand and huff. “I have to have that recipe. That’s the most amazing mousse I’ve ever had…”

Oberyn grins, knowing how much the admission cost you. “Of course, you can have the recipe.” He assures you with a wink. “There is another ramekin in the chiller if you want more. Or we can save it for another time.”

That drawn expression of embarrassment on your face turns to eagerness, and you choose to be amused by his laughter behind you as you get up to cross the kitchen to get the other ramekin out of the blast chiller. “Do you want the last one?” You ask, seeing that he made four in total.

“I am a greedy man, Iris. Of course, I want the last one.” He muses. “Will make more for you to have before you leave Dorne.” He promises.

“And your prize?” A warmth floods through you as you set the second set of ramekins down at your places and sit down again. A bet is a bet, and he won fair and square. It doesn’t matter that you feel like a fumbling teenager at the prospect of actually having him kiss you.

Oberyn stares at you for a moment, watching you squirm slightly, and he almost lets you off the hook. There’s a hesitancy to the way you fumble with your spoon that makes him think you aren’t quite opposed to kissing him. “My prize will be secured…when you least suspect it.” He teases lightly.

“Of course it will.” You roll your eyes at his dramatics but have to admit to yourself that the anticipation coils in your chest more readily than you anticipated. “Well, that’s fair. You earned the win.” Which is made abundantly obvious when you dig your spoon into your second ramekin.

“As long as you enjoy it, my victory is sweet.” Oberyn scoops up the last bite of his first dessert. “I can assure you that this is also delightful being licked off a lover’s skin.”

That announcement nearly makes you choke, but you manage to keep it together long enough to simply tilt your head at him and smirk. “I’ll bear that in mind,” you tell him, knowing it will never make a damn bit of difference to your dry spell.

He grins at you and nods, admiring the smirk on your face and the way that you are slowly becoming used to his sense of humor. “Do.” He hums as he scoops up some of the new mousse. “Food play is highly underrated.”

“Is Selvin a fan?” It’s a little bit of a smart-ass question, but after attacking your second serving of mousse you’re feeling positively indulgent.

“You could always join us and discover that for yourself.” Oberyn offers. “Selvin is…very amenable.”

“I think that goes a little beyond a kiss.” You raise an eyebrow at him.

“We never specifically said where I would kiss you.” He teases. “They say that cunnilingus is French kissing a pussy.”

“I thought it was an Australian kiss.” The eyebrow that was raised at him now waggles in amusement. “Because it’s a kiss down under.”

His laugh is loud, full bellied and completely spontaneous. You caught him off guard with that comeback and he points his spoon at you. “I’ll have to use that next time.” He warns.

“Heard that from an Australian girl backpacking through Italy while I was living in Bologna.” His laugh is absolutely gorgeously and for a moment you wish you could just bottle it up and listen to it on your bad days. “She would probably love to know that her pick up line has survived.”

“You should look her up and thank her.” Oberyn tells you. “After this, we can get you settled in your rooms to get ready for the party. And I will create an itinerary for your personalized tour through Dorne.”

“But you won the bet?” You look at him curiously, second ramekin of mousse already almost destroyed. “You don’t have to take me around. It’s okay.”

“But I do.” Oberyn insists. “Because I am going to be begging for your recipe as well.”

“You don’t have to beg for that.” Nope. Don’t think about what he would sound like if he did beg. Real people don’t do that. That’s just in porn. DON’T think about him doing porn! You practically exhaust yourself on that particular inner monologue but manage to stay smiling. “It’s very nice of you to be so willing. Thank you.”

“Maybe I like to beg.” He hums, knowing full well he doesn’t but he caught the flash of heat in your eyes. There is something that he is enjoying immensely in your banter and he wants it to continue.

“I doubt that.” You doubt it very intensely, but that might be projection since you’ve never met a man who did. “But I also get the impression that you’ll try anything once.”

“Almost anything and everything.” He lifts a finger. “Except sounding.” He says seriously. “Fuck that.”

“Sounding?” That’s a term you’re not familiar with, and the second the question is out of your mouth you realize that you’re showing your inexperience again. At least, inexperience compared to him.

Oberyn gives slight look of discomfort. “Also called cock-stuffing. Where a metal rod is inserted into the urethra. I’d rather have my balls kicked repeatedly.”

“Jesus.” You cringe and recoil, almost feeling a phantom pain in his behalf. “That sounds terrible!”

“Pain is pleasure is taken a bit too far with that in my opinion. Spanking, sure. Orgasm denial, okay. But there are some things that should never be in the bedroom.” Oberyn huffs. “All my lovers must enjoy themselves.”

You’re about to open your mouth to agree that enjoyment is a must, when you hear a happy shriek from across the room that you would recognize even in your sleep. “You’re here!” Lily practically pounces in you, hugging you tightly and squeezing even tighter. Aja was behind her in the doorway and is slower to approach, but no less joyful. “She’s here, and my dear uncle is talking about orgasm denial.” Aja laughs, her sultry, husky voice ringing through the room. “Oberyn, you promised you would go easy on her.”

Turning, he gives his favorite (it doesn’t matter that she is his only) niece a grin as he stands to sweep her into a hug. “I am going easy on her. She’s already seen me naked and yet I haven’t taken her to bed.”

“But you let her cook for you?” Lily eyes the table suspiciously. Even though the kitchen is mostly clean, there is evidence of the meal that you and Oberyn shared. “That’s pretty much her version of foreplay.”

“I crafted dessert, so it was a joint effort.” He jokes, kissing Aja’s head before he moves over to Lily. “How are my favorite brides?” He hums as he wraps his arms around your sister.

“The singer of the band we hired is ill.” Aja reports with a frown. “He sang our song perfectly and now it will be passed off to someone else without that same talent.”

“What can I do to fix it?” Oberyn straightens, immediately dropping the easy-going air and adopting one of authority. “Do you have a backup ideal singer?”

It’s subtle, but Lily’s eyes float very slowly from Aja over to you, and the well-abused expression of a small puppy begging for love comes over her face. “I only know one other person who sings Someone to Watch Over Me as perfectly…”

The urge to fix the issue shifts slightly into curiosity, watching Lily turn on the doe eyes and beg you silently. Apparently, you were the best fit for the job and he was interested in seeing if you would do it.

“Lils, I haven’t—” You start to protest that you haven’t sung in public in years. That you’re not a professional. That there had to be somebody in Dorne who is a better singer than you. But this is your sister, and it’s her wedding, and you’ve never really been one to deny Lily anything in the first place. “Okay.” With a nod of your head, the second unusual bargain you’ve struck today is solidified. And this one is much more nerve wracking than the other. “But just the one song, okay? Otherwise I’m gonna get stage fright and I don’t want to ruin your reception.”

Oberyn hums in approval that you would be willing to do this for your sister. “Do we need to secure another band for other songs?” He asks the couple.

Lily has launched herself at you, hugging you and squealing with gleeful gratitude, and Aja breathes a sigh of relief. “No, uncle,” she knows that Oberyn would walk straight into a club in Sunspear and walk out with an entire new band for them, but that isn’t necessary. “The rest of it will be fine with the band’s other singer. We just wanted our first dance to be something special.” Aja reaches and clasps her hand over Oberyn’s shoulder. “Have you two been getting along?”

“She has not run away screaming or slapped me on the face.” Oberyn jokes, winking at you. “So I believe we are good.”

“Not yet.” You snort, shaking your head at him even while you hug Lily fiercely, asking her quietly. “When are mom and dad getting in?”

“Right before the cocktail hour.” Lily rolls her eyes slightly. “I love them, but I don’t want to hear too much.”

“It’s your wedding. They can behave themselves.” Mostly they’ll probably behave because they’ll intimidated onto it by being surrounded by royalty - but if that’s what it takes, that’s fine. “You just have to survive a few days and then you’re off on your fabulous globe-trotting honeymoon. Everything is going to be great.”

“Are you sure you want to stay after we are gone?” Lily asks, searching your face for any hesitation. “You have been invited to stay for the entire week, but I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

“Hey, stop worrying about me.” Both of your hands soothe over her back and you nod your head at the prince. “Aja’s uncle very graciously offered to show me around Dorne this week, and I’m definitely not giving up my private tour guide on what is possibly the only trip out here I’ll ever get.”

Oberyn smirks and wraps his hands around your shoulders and leans against your back to look at Lily. “Your sister is in my very capable hands. I will make sure she is well cared for.”

“Suddenly I am less worried about your parents’ behaviors than my family.” Aja jokes, looking at Oberyn with nothing but amusement.

Oberyn rolls his eyes and huffs. “When have I ever misbehaved when it’s important?” He asks petulantly.

“Thank you, uncle.” Aja knows she can trust him when it matters most, but she also knows that there is a good chance he will see your combined stubbornness and beauty as a challenge. And Oberyn never backs down from a challenge. “My love, we should check on the Gardens and get changed for the party.”

“Go with your sister.” Oberyn encourages you. “I will clean up here and see the three of you gorgeous ladies at the party.”

“Thank you for a very interesting lunch.” You offer him a wry smile before stepping out of his grip and following Lily and Aja out of the room.

Lily and Aja smirk at you as they walk towards the stairs. “Soooooo.” Aja coos. “What happened? I know something must have happened.”

“You could have warned me,” you grumble at both of them as they guide you down the winding hallways. “When I got here he was out by the pool.” Pause for dramatic effect. “With his lover.” Pause again. “And they were both completely naked.”

“Ohhhh, so you met Selvin.” Aja giggles. “His kids are not here.” She shoots you an apologetic look. “Sorry. Selvin showed up last night and wanted to stay.”

“We had a nice chat.” Only after you had been fairly rude, but that was water under the bridge now. “And then we made lunch together. It was all a very nice time.” Nice. Yes. You’ll stick with that, and not elaborate on the way he makes you feel tingling when he gets too close, or on the bet that you made.

“He’s nice but he’s just a passing fling.” Aja hums. “Oberyn is still insisting he’s not ready for more, but I know he is.”

“I’m sure he’ll find it soon enough.” You don’t doubt that for a second, not with plenty of looks and charm and the good amount of kindness you saw in him. The money and title probably didn’t hurt either.

“Hmmm.” Aja hums but doesn’t comment as the three of you descend down the stairs. “And you were not impressed when you saw him naked? I’m his niece - and a lesbian - but even I have to say that he is gorgeously built.”

“Here we go.” Rounding on them slightly at the end of the hall, you have to look up to see into Aja’s face but it doesn’t make your gaze any less suspicious. “Was it you two who put this vacation fling idea into his head?”

Lily doesn’t even look ashamed. “You need to get laid.” She huffs. “Oberyn is a good man, generous to his lovers and not bad on the eyes. If I didn’t only like pussy….” She grins and her fiancée huffs, shoving her arm slightly but grinning. “We didn’t put the idea in his head, but we did talk about you a lot.” Aja explains. “So he would feel like he knew you.”

“Lils, you know I don’t do flings anymore.” The impulse to drag your well-meaning sister into your arms and dig your fist into her scalp in an old fashioned noogie is very strong, but you just huff affectionately. “He’s a very nice man and if I leave here having made a new friend, I’ll be glad about it. Okay?” They should be focusing on each other - on their wedding day - not on your lack of a sex life. You’ll be dry for years to come - but they’ll only get married once.

Lily rolls her eyes. “Jesus, sis, live a little.” She groans. “You have one life and don’t you want to be able to say you banged a hot prince? The royal creampie? Anointed baby juice graced your womb? Even if it’s not going to take?”

“God, Lily!” You can feel all the blood drain from your face as you bury it in both of your hands - mortified and glad that no one is around to hear her say that out loud. It’s not like you’re immune to the idea obviously, but you put rules in place for yourself for a reason. The wall you built around your heart is there for a reason. “Please never say the words ‘anointed baby juice’ again.” Focusing on a joke is the best thing you can do right now to try to banish the creampie visual from your mind.

She snickers and Aja hides her own grin behind her hand. Your sister’s fiancée cannot resist teasing you a bit more. “How about a royal pearl necklace?” She cackles.

“You two can find another wedding singer if you keep it up.” The threat is completely empty, but you still waggle a finger at them in your best imitation of your mother.

“You wouldn’t do that.” Lily tells you with confidence.

“No. I love you too much.” Of course you wouldn’t. That isn’t the point. The point is that they meddled and now you feel like an idiot for momentarily thinking that the prince might have actually flirted or complimented you of his own accord. “Come on, you two. Aja said you needed to check the Gardens.”

“Oberyn never does what anyone says.” Aja observes, as she wraps her arm around Lily’s waist. “So for him to plan your trip with a tour is very surprising. He must really like you.”

“We had time to talk.” The three of you move slowly in the direction of the Gardens once more. “You keep saying that.” Lily looks over at you from Aja’s arms. “And that Oberyn is nice. It’s like you want me to obnoxiously prod at you for information.” She giggles evilly. “What, did you already fuck or something, and all this avoidance is a show?” The glare you shoot her says absolutely not and she giggles again. “I had to ask. It’s not like you didn’t have plenty of time.”

Lily shakes her head. “If she fucked Oberyn, the stick would have been pulled out of her ass.” She tells the woman who will be her wife in a day. “My sister hasn’t gotten laid since we’ve been together.”

“Say it a little louder, Lils, I don’t think the entire palace heard you.” You grumble, shoving your hands into your pockets like a wounded child. The teasing has reached an edge that you don’t like, and it’s making you anxious to the point of actually becoming upset. “I don’t need to get laid and I don’t need a relationship. I’m married to my food. End of story.” It doesn’t matter how much you want those things - you’re unlovable. At least, that’s what everyone you’ve ever tried to give yourself to has told you when they handed your heart back without a second thought.

“Okayyyyyyy.” Lily reaches over and gives you a quick hug, seeing how upset you are getting. “I’m sorry. We won’t tease you anymore.” She promises. “I just worry about you, big sis.”

“Just promise me you’ll find a nice nursing home to dump me in when I’m old and senile and can’t take care of my thirty cats anymore.” Hugging her back is easy, and you’re sorry you snapped, but things will only get worse if she’s still teasing you when your parents arrive. “I’ll be okay, kid. I promise.”

"Cat friendly nursing home." Lily giggles. "Got it." The three of you step into the inner portion of the Water Gardens and Lily sighs happily at the transformation.

“It’s gorgeous,” you breathe, glad to see the transformation as dusk approaches and also surprised that the entire change happened so quickly. You had been out here with Oberyn just a few hours ago and now it’s like a fairy garden. “It’s like every storybook you ever wished you could live inside,” you grin back at Lily happily.

"They are working hard to make sure everything is perfect." Lily tells you. "We even have a small memorial planned for loved ones that have passed." It was important for Aja, since her mother was no longer with them. Elia Martell Targaryen had passed away when Aja was young, but she had never stopped missing her mother.

“Your mom would be so happy for you, honey.” The stories you have heard about Aja’s mother are agree that she was a kind, sweet, and loving young woman taken from this life far too soon, and you just know in your heart that a woman like that would have been so glad to see her only child happy.

“She would be.” Aja’s eyes are bright with unshed tears, and she reaches for Lily’s hand. “I wish the two of you could have met her. I think you would have loved her as much as she would have loved you.”

“She’s here, baby.” Lily moved to Aja, wrapping her arms around her fiancée’s waist, and holding her tight. “She’s watching and making sure you’re okay and she knows you’re happy.” Though Aja’s father will be here tonight, and tomorrow for the wedding, he hasn’t been fully present in his daughter’s life since she left for university in the States six years ago. If anything, her uncle Oberyn is more of a father than Rhaegar Targaryen since Aja became an adult.

“I know.” Aja turns and presses a featherlight kiss on Lily’s lips. “Thank you, love.” She murmurs softly:

“I should let you guys take care of things.” You feel wildly out of place, including not wanting to intrude on their moment just now, and you should be thinking about a shower before the party. “I’ve got to shower the flight off of me and get ready for your party.”

“You don’t have to go.” Aja protests, pulling away from Lily and looking at you. “We are just lovey-dovey this week.”

“And you deserve to be.” Giving them both a quick hug, you step back again toward the palace. “I remember the way. See you in about an hour.”

Lily frowns as she watches you walk away. “I wish I knew what happened.” She murmurs to Aja. “She used to want a connection with someone.”

“What happened with her last relationship?” It had ended Right before Lily and Aja met, so her knowledge of her son-to-be sister-in-law in love was next to nonexistent.

“I don’t know.” Lily confesses. “She just said she didn’t want to talk about it and that she was going to focus on her skills as a chef.”

“Has it really been six years?” With her arm wrapped around Lily, Aja wanders toward the small tables set out along the patio to check what is being used for centerpieces. “I can’t imagine going that long without loving someone.”

“I guess. She hasn’t mentioned anyone.” Lily feels guilty, being so happy and in love when she knows you would thrive under that feeling. She hears you complain when the two of you chat about the long hours and knows that someone to share your burdens with, or even laugh and fuck away the stress would do you wonders.

“Don’t spiral, love.” Aja can feel Lily tense up against her and she presses a kiss to her fiancée’s temple. “She’d hate it, and we must conserve our energy to deal with our parents tonight. When we get back from the honeymoon, we’ll see if we can’t set her up on a few dates. How does that sound?”

“I would say yes,” Lily shakes her head. “But I’m afraid her last name should be Martell. She’s as stubborn as everyone in your family.” She tells her fiancée with a grin. “Even though technically your last name is Targaryen.”

“I am so much a Martell that I avoided my father’s blonde hair.” Aja jokes, laughing deeply. “Although my stubbornness is in wanting my loved ones to be happy…which I suppose is something else I inherited from my mother.”

“I hope she doesn’t stay mad at me.” Lily takes Aja’s hand. “Come on, we need to look amazing, after all, this party is for us.”

______

Master Tags: @pixiedurango @chattychell @winter-fox-queen @lady-himbo @artsymaddie @princess76179 @paintballkid711 @missminkylove @pedrosbrat @ew-erin @sarahjkl82-blog @sharkbait77 @justanotherblonde23 @lv7867 @recklesswit @mylittlesenaar @f0rever15elf @gallowsjoker @steeevienicks @athalien @sherala007 @skvatnavle @thatpinkshirt @jaime1110 @girlimjusttryingtoreadfanfics @goodgriefitsawildworld @greeneyedblondie44

FDwL: @emofairyprincessofarkansas @littlemisspascal @doommommy @lepard60 @writeforfandoms @sweet-heartbadmouth @scorpio-marionette @storiesofthefandomlovers @fan-of-encouragement @sainteredhood @ahopelessromanticwritersworld @shadowolf993 @apocalypticwafflekitten @coldlonelydays @166869 @genevievedarcygranger @missredherring  @ellenmunn @teenagezombiekryptonite @star017

My Masterlist!

[wardenparker]

Reblogging with a GIANT thank you for including From Dorne, With Love - but also because Hotel Dorne and The Spaniard OWN me in ways I cannot articulate. Definitely must reads imo!

Oberyn Martell Recs

Basically a collection of Oberyn Martell Smut listed under slightly specific categories that I’ve probably read more than twice.

SO MINORS BE GONE

Keep reading

[yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere]

Representation matters!-in TV/MOVIES.

i am, obviously, not able to type ALL here, but the ones i know and love dearly+the ones I think are most important for the viewers♥- I WILL KEEP UPDATING THIS WHEN NEEDED♥) +obvi not in any important-order!!

1. BISEXUAL-BI-REPRESENTATION (as a bi person myself I still think this should be represented more in media everywhere(when it’s done right!))

-bi boys: Jesper Fahey (Shadow And Bone), Nick Nelson (Heartstopper),  Alex Claremont-Diaz (RWRB-Red White & Royal Blue), Timmy Andrews (The Craft: Legacy), Malakai Mitchell (Heartbreak High), Magnus Bane (Shadowhunters), Gar Logan-BeastBoy(DCTitans), Aki Menzies (GossipGirlHBOMax),, Salem Saberhagen (SabrinaTheTeenageWitch-90s), Li Shang (Mulan1998), Lucifer (Lucifer), Jeremiah Fisher (The Summer I Turned Pretty),  Gael Martinez (Good Trouble), Michael Guerin (Roswell, New Mexico), Evan "Buck" Buckley (9-1-1), Dustin ‘Dusty’ Reid (Heartbreak High), Patrick Zweig (Challengers 2024), Cyrus Henstridge (The Royals),

  - bi girls: Anna Taggaro (OTH-One Tree Hill), (and to me Peyton Sawyer, Brooke Davis(the actress said it so it’s canon!), Rachel Gatina (OTH-One Tree Hill), Nina Zenik (Shadow And Bone),  AJ Campos (Crush2022), Hope Mikaelson (TO-Legacies), Ava Silva (Warrior Nun), Katherine "Kitty" Song-Covey (XO Kitty), Missy Beckett (Heartbreak High), Yasmina-Yaz Fadoula (JWCC- Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous & JWCT-Jurassic World: Chaos Theory), Casey Gardner (Atypical), Noa Olivar (Pretty Little Liars:Original Sin), Abby(Atypical), Beatrix "Bird" Castro (Finding Carter), Marissa Cooper (The O.C), Alex Kelly (The O.C),  Aneesa Qureshi (Never Have I Ever),  Lake Meriwether (Love, Victor),  Vada Cavell (TheFallout-2021), Eve (Lucifer), Stella Yamada (Lemonade Mouth 2011), Sahar Zahid (Heartstopper (sinceS2) ), Nora Holleran (RWRB-Red White & Royal Blue), Haley Dunphy (Modern Family), Eleanor Henstridge (The Royals), Maureen Johnson (Rent the musical), Anthea (Shazam! Fury of the Gods), Daphne Blake (Scooby Doo), Sue Gilbert (Dickinson), Toni Topaz (Riverdale), Marie Moreau (Gen V), Jackie (Love Lies Bleeding), Isobel Evans-Bracken (Roswell, New Mexico), Francesca Bridgerton (Bridgerton), Helga Sinclair (Atlantis: The Lost Empire), Jules Millin & Mika Yasuda (Grey’s Anatomy Since Season 19)

(for an epic and very queer historical-fiction tv show watch MARY & GEORGE !!)

1b. PANSEXUAL-PAN-REPRESENTATION

Max Wolfe (GossipGirlHBOMax), Mazikeen (Lucifer), Mal (Descendants Movies), Josie Saltzman (Legacies,TO,TVD), Penelope Park (Legacies), Klaus Hargreeves (The Umbrella Academy), Isabel (Bottoms 2023), Karen Shetty (Mean Girls 2024), Benedict Bridgerton (Bridgerton),

(for an epic and very queer historical-fiction tv show watch MARY & GEORGE !!)

1c. ASEXUAL/ ACE REPRESENTATION

Raphael Santiago (Shadowhunters), Isaac Henderson (Heartstopper), Tolya Yul-Bataar (ShadowAndBone-Grishaverse), Tori Spring (Heartstopper), Douglas ‘Cash’ Piggott (Heartbreak High),

2. GAY/ LESBIAN REPRESENTATION

-gay:  Wylan Hendriks/Wylan Van Eck (Shadow And Bone), Prince Henry Fox (RWRB-Red White & Royal Blue), Jack McPhee (Dawson’s Creek),  Alec Lightwood (Shadowhunters), Simon Spier (Love,Simon2018),  Victor Salazar (Love,Victor),  Benji Campbell (Love,Victor), Rahim (Love,Victor), Charlie Spring (Heartstopper), Brimsley and Reynolds (OueenCharlotte-BridgertonSpinoff), Eric Van Der Woodsen (Gossip Girl), Quincy “Q” Shabazian (XOKitty), Damian Hubbard (Mean Girls 2024), Nick Feinstein  (The Fallout 2021), Alistair Ellington (Maxton Hall : The World Between Us (2024)), Wilbur Evans (Geek Girl),

-lesbian: Beatrice (Warrior Nun), Shotgun Mary (Warrior Nun), Diana Berrigan(White Collar), Fabiola Torres (Never Have I Ever), Ellie Chu (The Half Of It), Sammy Gutierrez (JWCC- Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous & JWCT-Jurassic World: Chaos Theory), Emily Fields (Pretty Little Liars),  Maxine Baker (Ginny & Georgia),  Izzie Taylor (Atypical), Calliope "Cal" Burns (First Kill),  Juliette Fairmont (First Kill), Tara Jones (Heartstopper),  Darcy Olsson (Heartstopper), Mia Karp (Vampire Academy), Meredith Beckham (Vampire Academy), Tamar Kir-Bataar (Shadow And Bone), Nadia Zhabin (Shadow And Bone),  Simone Jackson (DaisyJonesAndTheSix), Yuri Han (XO Kitty), PJ and Josie (Bottoms 2023), Hazel Callahan (Bottoms 2023), Madison (Finding Carter),  Kit Tanthalos (Willow), Jade (Willow), Sabina Wilson (Charlie’s Angels 2019), Velma Dinkley (Scooby Doo), Winnie Black (Miller’s Girl), Janis ‘Imi’ike (Mean Girls 2024), Emily Dickinson (Dickinson), Sasha So (Heartbreak High), Monet de Haan (GossipGirlHBOMax), Shirley Honrada & Elodie Honrada(played by THE Lea Salonga!!) (Pretty Little Liars:Original Sin), Summer Field (Time Cut 2024),

(for an epic and very queer historical-fiction tv show watch MARY & GEORGE !!)

3. TRANSGENDER PEOPLE REPRESENTATION

-Elle Argent (Heartstopper),  Anybodys (West Side Story 2021),  Luna La (GossipGirlHBOMax), Chanel (Warrior Nun), Naomi Russell (Heartstopper), Amy (RWRB-Red, White & Royal Blue), Ash Romero (Pretty Little Liars:Original Sin),

4. Non-Binary/Genderqueer/ (they/them) Representation

-Darren Rivers (Heartbreak High), Addison (Never Have I Ever), Klaus Hargreeves (The Umbrella Academy), Jordan Li (Gen V), Darcy Olsson (Heartstopper), Felix Britten (Heartstopper),

(we seriously lack the representation in popular and mostly-watched shows and movies for teenagers and young adults here tho),

5. ASTHMA REPRESENTATION

-I don’t see this represented enough in TV or Movies for Young Adults, nor Kids.

5b. DISABLED CHARACTERS REPRESENTATION:

Kaz Brekker & Jesper Fahey & Wylan Van Eck, Genya Safin(Shadow And Bone) , Rebecca Hall-Yoshida (Never Have I Ever), Maxton Hall : The World Between Us (2024),  +  JWCC-Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous & JWCT-Jurassic World: Chaos Theory

+ MORE BELOW(and above in this entire post♥):

6. EPILEPSY REPRESENTATION

Nathan Walter (My Life with The Walter Boys),

6b. DIABETES REPRESENTATION

Cassie Salazar (Purple Hearts), Abby Brown (OTH-One Tree Hill), (still not enough tho, if it’s done, it is so often shown WRONG..)

7. ADHD REPRESENTATION

Jesper Fahey (Shadow And Bone),  Percy Jackson + other Demigods (Percy Jackson and the Olympians), Alex Claremont Diaz (RWRB-Red, White & Royal Blue),  Anne Shirley (Anne Of Green Gables 80s movies), Neal Caffrey(White Collar), Stiles (Teen Wolf),  Jesus (The Fosters),  Sara Eriksson (Young Royals),

7b. AUTISM REPRESENTATION

Sam Gardner (Atypical), James McEwan (Heartstopper), Wylan Hendriks/Van Eck (Shadow And Bone), David Kostyk (Shadow And Bone), Amanda (Change Of Habit 1969), Oskar Schell (Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close), Sara Eriksson (Young Royals), Quinni Gallagher-Jones (Heartbreak High), Francesca Bridgerton (Bridgerton), Harriet Manners (Geek Girl), Toby Pilgrim (Geek Girl),

8. DYSLEXIA/ DYSGRAPHIA REPRESENTATION

Wylan Hendriks/ Wylan Van Eck (Shadow and Bone), Percy Jackson (movies + tv show as well), Donna Martin (Beverly Hills 90210), CeCe Jones (Shake It Up),  Evan Chapin (Atypical),

8b. DEAF/Hard of hearing(whichever u urself use!)COMMUNITY REPRESENTATION+ the use of Sign Language

Feel The Beat 2020, Ginny and Georgia, CODA 2021, Switched at Birth (2011–2017), Echo(Marvel), Eternals,

9. LATINX LEAD REPRESENTATION

Ava Silva (Warrior Nun) , Lissa Dragomir (Vampire Academy), Wednesday Addams (WednesdayNetflix), Anna Taggaro (One Tree Hill), Maria DeLuca (Roswell 90s), Santana Lopez (Glee),  Ella Lopez (Lucifer), Pilar Salazar (Love, Victor), Victor Salazar (Love, Victor), Maria (West Side Story2021), Cassie Salazar (Purple Hearts 2022), Alex Claremont-Diaz (RWRB-Red, White & Royal Blue), Jackie Howard (My Life with The Walter Boys), Noa Olivar (Pretty Little Liars:Original Sin), Descendants (2015) & Descendants 2 (2017) & Descendants 3 (2019),

10. BLACK PEOPLE AS THE LEAD REPRESENTATION

Ariel (TheLittleMermaid2023), Raven Baxter (That's So Raven), Cyborg (Teen Titans), Antwon Skills Taylor (OTH-One Tree Hill),  Darius Bowman (JWCC- Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous & JWCT-Jurassic World: Chaos Theory), Calliope Burns (First Kill), Rose Hathaway (Vampire Academy), Starr Carter (The Hate U Give 2018), Mary (Warrior Nun), Mia Brooks (Love, Victor), Simone Jackson (DaisyJonesAndTheSix), Annabeth Chase (Percy Jackson and the Olympians), Faran Bryant (Pretty Little Liars:Original Sin), Tabitha 'Tabby' Haworthe (Pretty Little Liars:Original Sin), Darren Rivers /they/them/ (Heartbreak High), Toni Topaz (Riverdale), Sarah Fox (My Babysitter’s a Vampire), Wilbur Evans (Geek Girl), Tara Jones (Heartstopper), Lucy Field & Summer Field (Time Cut 2024), Ginny (Ginny & Georgia),

+ Queen Charlotte & Bridgerton

10b. INDIGENOUS PEOPLE REPRESENTATION

Malakai Mitchell (Heartbreak High), Missy Beckett (Heartbreak High), Reservation Dogs, Rez Ball (Netflix, out soon), Mohawk Girls,

11. ASIAN LEAD REPRESENTATION

Alina Starkov (Shadow And Bone), Mal Oretsev (Shadow and Bone), Tamar Kir-Bataar (Shadow And Bone), Tolya Yul-Bataar (Shadow And Bone), Lara Jean (To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before), Ellie Chu (The Half Of It 2020), Tao Xu (Heartstopper), Kitty Song-Covey (XO Kitty), Isabel (Bottoms 2023), Minnie 'Mouse' Honrada (Pretty Little Liars:Original Sin), Ash Romero (Pretty Little Liars:Original Sin), Sasha So (Heartbreak High), Jordan Li (Gen V), 

(+desi women) Edwina Sharma & Kate Sharma Bridgerton (Bridgerton), Devi Vishwakumar (Never Have I Ever), Inej Ghafa (Shadow And Bone), Zoya Nazyalensky (Shadow And Bone),  Mohini "Mo" Banjaree (Lemonade Mouth 2011), Princess Jasmine (Aladdin 2019), Emma Morley (OneDayNetflix), Amerie Wadia (Heartbreak High),

12. THE MAIN CHARACTER WEARING GLASSES REPRESENTATION

Elle Argent (Heartstopper),  Ellie Chu (The Half Of It), Emma Morley (OneDayNetflix), Velma Dinkley (Scooby Doo), Margot Rivers(Get Even(2020) ), Harry Potter

13. MUSLIM REPRESENTATION

Rahim (Love, Victor), Aneesa Qureshi (Never Have I Ever),

14. NARCISSISTIC/ABUSIVE PARENT REPRESENTATION

Nathan Scott + Lucas Scott & Brooke Davis(OTH-One Tree Hill),  Wylan Hendriks/ Wylan Van Eck (Shadow And Bone),  Pacey Witter (Dawson’s Creek), Chuck Bass (Gossip Girl), Kenji Kon (JWCC- Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous & JWCT-Jurassic World: Chaos Theory), Michael Guerin (Roswell90s/RoswellOG), Blair Waldorf (GossipGirl), Daisy Jones (DaisyJonesAndTheSix), Rose Hathaway (Vampire Academy)  + Disney’s Tangled +  James & Lydia Beaufort (Maxton Hall : The World Between Us (2024))+ Descendants (2015) & Descendants 2 (2017) & Descendants 3 (2019), The Royals,

15. VEGAN REPRESENTATION

Gar Logan/Beast Boy (DCTitans), (..like seriously we NEED more representation here..)

16. JEWISH PEOPLE REPRESENTATION

Seth Cohen (The O.C), David Gordon (Gordo) (Lizzie McGuire),  Ben Gross (Never Have I Ever),  Cyrus Rose (Gossip Girl), Max Wolfe (GossipGirlHBOMax), Danielle (Shiva Baby)

17. LOSS/ GRIEF REPRESENTATION

OTH-One Tree Hill, Roswell90s/RoswellOG, Shadow And Bone, White Collar, JWCC-Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous & JWCT-Jurassic World: Chaos Theory, Never Have I Ever,  OneDay(Movie+TV show),  Red, White & Royal Blue(2023),   Heartstopper, Vampire Academy(2022), Fallen (2024), Fallen (2016), The Vampire Diaries + Legacies, My Life with The Walter Boys, Wild Cards, Young Royals, Dickinson, Pretty Little Liars:Original Sin/Summer School, Heartbreak High, The Fallout(2021), Maxton Hall : The World Between Us, The Last Tycoon, Dawson’sCreek, All Of Us Strangers 2023, Get Even(2020), Chambers 2019, Feel The Beat 2020, My Old Ass 2024, Anne Of Green Gables 80s movies, The Royals, Agatha All Along, Time Cut 2024, Bridgerton (S2),

17b. BAD MENTAL HEALTH/ DEPRESSION/ SUICIDAL THOUGHTS/SELF-HARM

OTH-One Tree Hill, Roswell90s/RoswellOG , Shadow And Bone, White Collar, JWCC-Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous & JWCT-Jurassic World: Chaos Theory, Legacies, Red, White & Royal Blue(2023), One Day (Movie + TV Show),  According to Greta(2009), Better Off Dead (1985), The Beat Beneath My Feet(2014),  Rocketman(2019), Mary & George, Heartstopper,  Maxton Hall : The World Between Us,  Dawson’sCreek, Fallen (2024), Fallen (2016), Vampire Academy (2022), Get Even(2020), The Royals, Ginny and Georgia,

  18. WRITERS/AUTHORS REPRESENTATION

Anne Shirley (Anne Of Green Gables 80s movies), Lucas Scott (OTH-One Tree Hill), Wednesday Addams (WednesdayNetflix), Emma Morley (OneDayNetflix+Movie), Prince Henry Fox (RWRB-Red White & Royal Blue),  Dan Humphrey (Gossip Girl), Joey Potter (Dawson’s Creek), Ezra Fitz (Pretty Little Liars),  Cairo Sweet (Miller’s Girl), Emily Dickinson (Dickinson), Penelope Featherington Bridgerton (Bridgerton),

19. FRIENDSHIP/ FOUND-FAMILY REPRESENTATION

OTH-One Tree Hill, Roswell90s/RoswellOG, Shadow And Bone, RWRB-Red White & Royal Blue, JWCC-Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous &  JWCT-Jurassic World: Chaos Theory, White Collar, XO,Kitty, Heartstopper, Love,Victor  ,Teen Titans(OG), Scooby Doo(Everything), Daisy Jones And The Six, Lemonade Mouth 2011, Bottoms 2023, Willow(2022-2023), My Life with The Walter Boys, Charlie’s Angels 2019, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Pretty Little Liars:Original Sin/Summer School, Heartbreak High, Dawson’s Creek, The Thief Lord(2006), Warrior Nun, Living for the Dead, Maxton Hall:The World Between Us, Legacies, Lockwood&Co, Finding Carter, Fallen(2024), Fallen (2016), Vampire Academy(2022), The Fosters, Lab Rats, My Babysitter’s A Vampire, Descendants (2015) & Descendants 2 (2017) & Descendants 3 (2019), Get Even(2020), Feel The Beat 2020, Anne Of Green Gables 80s +00s movies,

20. FOSTER KIDS/ KIDS WITHOUT A PARENT FIGURE/OR STRUGGLING TO FIND ONE/ ORPHANS/ ADOPTED/

Landon Kirby (TO-Legacies), Anya/Anastasia(1997), Michael Guerin(RoswellOG/Roswell90s), Carter Stevens/Carter Wilson (Finding Carter), Anne Shirley(AnneOfGreenGables 80s movies), Callie Jacob(The Fosters), Sam Walker (OTH-One Tree Hill), Peyton Sawyer(OTH-One Tree Hill), Christian Ozera(Vampire Academy),Lissa Dragomir(Vampire Academy),  Hope Mikaelson(TO-Legacies),Gar Logan(DCTitans),Nick(No Good Nick), SHADOW AND BONE, Heartbreak High, Fallen (2024), Fallen (2016),

21. JAPANESE REPRESENTATION

Kenji Kon (JWCC-Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous +JWCT-Jurassic World: Chaos Theory), Gar Logan (DCTitans), Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Never Have I Ever), Jo (Running for Grace2018), Hiro + Tadashi Hamada (Bix Hero6),  Stella Yamada (Lemonade Mouth 2011),

[fandomfiish]

𝓯𝓪𝓷𝓭𝓸𝓶𝓯𝓲𝓲𝓼𝓱 ＭＡＳＴＥＲＬＩＳＴ

───── ❝ 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐞 ❞ ─────

★ Hi I'm Von (he/him) || 20 years old || ENFJ || Gryffindor || Chaotic Good || Chaos incarnate || Apparently a amalgamation of a Charlie, Neil and Todd kin

★ I am a bisexual taken by a prince.

★ Also am taken by Ethan Hawke and RSL

....

and Gale Hansen and Josh Charles

★ I will probably write some NSFW stuff in the future but no worries you'll know when it is since there will be a warning.

DEAD POETS SOCIETY

My very first gif set creation in dps - my very first gifset for these boys ... and probably more to come.

Dead Poets Society characters edit :) set - requested by Ame (actually she just wanted Charlie throwing up the paper but I went and got crazy)

Dead Poets Society characters edit - an edit of the characters (Main 8) and made an edit about it!

Dead Poets Society Ship edit - an edit of the Ships of this fandom, that I myself do find myself to enjoy reading or even writing about them, there will be a part 2 of this I'm sure since there's still more I missed.

A conversation between the heartbroken and the traitor - A quick conversation between Cameron and Todd, post-Neil and Charlie.

»»————-　★　————-««

HEADCANONS

Dead Poets Society Election AU - ft @aedan-mills

- A very spontaneous Au where we thought of how the poets would be in both a presidential election and also an added school officers election.

Dead Poets Society OPM AU - ft @aedan-mills , @poetofthedyingstars and fellow filo dps

- Where we decided that Chameron is just perfect for a lot of OPM (Original Pinoy Music) songs and went along and thought of some for other ships.

Dead Poets Society Pokemon Trainers AU

- I will certainly go back on this and give a much more in detail analysis (especially Todd) but this is a Pokemon Trainers Au, where I give their pokemon partner, type speciality and probable job in the pokemon world.

»»————-　★　————-««

ɴᴇɪʟ ᴘᴇʀʀʏ ── ⊰

Welton's Golden Boy isn't who he seems to be - people think they knew everything about Neil Perry, Welton's Golden Boy, but they're wrong, only the poets knew who the real Neil was... and probably will only will be.

ᴛᴏᴅᴅ ᴀɴᴅᴇʀꜱᴏɴ ── ⊰

- none yet

ᴄʜᴀʀʟɪᴇ ᴅᴀʟᴛᴏɴ ── ⊰

When he learned to care - Charlie Dalton was thought to not care about relationships as a child, that's until he met the poets one by one.

ᴋɴᴏx ᴏᴠᴇʀꜱᴛʀᴇᴇᴛ ── ⊰

A help in poetry - Though of apologizing to Chris after that mistake he did at the party, he decided to ask for Todd's help in making a poetry, to which a lot ensues.

Making Knox unproblematic - Analysis - An analysis in which I think of ways to make Knox unproblematic (@aedan-mills helped here too but like I think I tagged Ame so much here already HASJDHJASD)

ꜱᴛᴇᴠᴇɴ ᴍᴇᴇᴋꜱ ── ⊰

- none yet

ɢᴇʀᴀʀᴅ ᴘɪᴛᴛꜱ ── ⊰

- none yet

ʀɪᴄʜᴀʀᴅ ᴄᴀᴍᴇʀᴏɴ ── ⊰

Operation Make it that Todd and Charlie don't kill Cameron on sight ft @aedan-mills - This started with an Encanto AU... HASDJHAJS This is where we try to give redemption to Cameron after what happened, and mostly focuses on him trying to make it up to Todd and Charlie who were definitely the ones who truly got hit from his betrayal.

ᴍʀ. ᴋᴇᴀᴛɪɴɢ ── ⊰

Mr. Keating's P.O.V - Dead Poets Society in the eyes of Mr. Keating.

Keatatoes - Crack ship between Mr. Keating and mashed potatoes, in which Charlie Dalton finds his love for mashed potatoes peculiar yet the other poets didn't believe him, so with the help of Todd Anderson they investigate.

»»————-　★　————-««

ᴀɴᴅᴇʀᴘᴇʀʀʏ ── ⊰

A Puck's Journey - An AU in which Neil is dead yet somehow he finds his spirit stuck in earth, seeing the effects of his actions and maybe have a second chance back ... and there's also a spirit dressed like Puck, who looks and talks like Puck, and says he's his messenger from death.

Anderperry Reversal AU - An Au in which Neil and Todd switched roles, where Todd is an aspiring poet who his parents would never approve of, and Neil wasn't even talked about by his own parents, forever unnoticed.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

ᴄʜᴀᴅᴅ ── ⊰

Mellifluous - Charlie loved to hear Todd laugh, and he wishes he could hear that forever.

Midnight Reprieve - A night on the rooftop, cuddling, kissing and confessions might occur.

Reprise in Tragedy - Charlie and Todd are finally together, they all have moved on from Neil, but he's back.

Alive.

And all of them (Neil Included) would find out that everything was a lie. How can they move from this?

ᴄʜᴀᴍᴇʀᴏɴ ── ⊰

Operation Cameron Redemption that turned into Chameron - ft @aedan-mills - A part 2 of the Cameron redemption but now Chameron is in the mix.

(will add more in the Future)

[baoshan-sanren]

Best dramas I’ve watched in 2020 so far (and some not so good ones) Part II

part 1 here

Once Upon a Time in Lingjian Mountain - based on Once Upon A Time, There Was A Spirit Sword Mountain by 国王陛下 (translation dropped at chapter 50 out of 884 back in 2017). A combination of satire/comedy with complex themes. The emotional investment sneaks up on you out of nowhere and hits you like a sack of bricks. An interesting twist on the master/disciple relationship. Meh on the special effects. Excellent female characters. Solid plot, endless fanfic potential, all the found family your heart desires. Much more gay than you’d think. Needs Season 2, but Season 1 can be watched over and over again. 9/10

Handsome Siblings - based on Twin Heroes by Gu Long. Feel good ending. A decent amount of angst. The most heartwarming drama I’ve watched all year. Funny and insightful and a joy to experience. Meh on the special effects. They don’t know they’re brothers. Plot drags only in a few places, and not for very long. A variety of female characters, but mediocre on their portrayals. A sect comprised of only female disciples - I would like to see it. Contains one of the three het couples whose happiness mattered to me in the entirety of 2020. An endless well of hilarity and angst. Can be watched over and over again. 8/10

Love and Redemption - based on The Glass Maiden by Shi Si Lang (translation ongoing). A wild ride from beginning to end. Intentionally and unintentionally funny. Gay subtext. Contains one of the three het couples whose happiness mattered to me in the entirety of 2020. A plethora of excellent and complex side characters. A feral bottom snake god. A merman who gets kidnapped once a week. Buckets of angst and frustration and misunderstandings. Gorgeous aesthetics. The male lead is tortured more often than all the other characters combined, but he looks hot while going through it. A+ for the sheer wildness of the plot, C- for all the misunderstandings; there has to be a limit somewhere. 7.5/10

The Rise of Phoenixes - based on The Rise of Phoenixes by 天下归元 (translation ongoing). Contains one of the three het couples whose happiness mattered to me in the entirety of 2020. If you judge the seriousness of the drama by the relative hotness of the Emperor, casting Ni DaHong should tell you everything you need to know. An abundance of court intrigue, suspense, and humor. Complex themes, steady plot progression, no scene time wasted. Costumes and set design out of this world. Smart and witty. The most thought provoking drama I’ve watched all year. Ni Ni is a goddamn goddess and should be worshipped daily. 10/10

Legend of Two Sisters In the Chaos - based on a novel I can’t seem to track down anywhere. Meng ZiYi must have some serious back pain from carrying all forty episodes on her shoulders. Interesting premise, shaky execution at best. Main het relationship did not excite, nor were the acting skills comparable; Meng ZiYi deserved better. Wang ZhuoCheng gives a decent performance. The drama does pack an emotional punch if you stick around long enough to get invested. Forty episodes long, but sometimes seemed twice that. Definitely entertaining, but not engaging. 6/10

The Wolf - also based on a novel I can’t track down. Too much romance, then angst, then romance. The dreaded love triangle. Dropped the drama three times, then went back because Xiao Zhan. Darren Wang gives decent performance, but does not have much to work with. Li Qin’s skills utterly wasted on this role. If you’re not invested in the love story, you’ll get bored. If you’re invested, you’ll be emotionally numb half-way through. Good fight scenes. Not so good special effects. 5/10 for the actors doing their best with what they had.

Dance of the Phoenix - based on Dragons Flies Phoenix Dances by 明月听风 (translation dropped at chapter 27 out fo 85 in May of 2020). Yu Mingye deserved better. Female main character + mostly female side characters. Excellent + complex villains, also female. Judging by the costumes + special effects, not much of a budget to work with. Cop-out in the last few episodes to neatly tie up the plot that was... not very intricate to begin with. Vastly entertaining but not that deep. Buckets of angst, but plenty of humor to ease the pain. Lan JingYi fights with a fan. Good fanfic potential. Godawful ending. 7/10 for the best villain I’ve encountered all year.

Legend of Fei - based on Bandits by Priest (translation ongoing). Zhao Liying slays. A variety of compelling female characters. Excellent fight choreography. Interesting premise, steadily progressing plot. Potential for many disaster bisexuals. May contain the fourth het romance I’m invested in this year, but it's still too early to tell. Wang Yibo in his element as Xie Yun, may even produce a better performance than his role in The Untamed. The drama is still only 7 episodes in, will give ranking when finished. ?/10

Looking forward to:

Immortality - based on danmei novel The Husky and His White Cat Shizun by 肉包不吃肉 starring Chen Feiyu and Luo Yunxi

Winner Is King - based on the danmei novel Sha Po Lang by Priest starring Tan Jianci and Chen Zheyuan

A Tale of The Wanderers - based on danmei novel Faraway Wanderers by Priest starring Zhang Zhehan and Gong Jun

Douluo Continent - based on xuanhuan novel Soul Land by 唐家三少 starring Xiao Zhan and Wu Xuanyi 

Step By Step Lotus - based on historical novel Return to Ming Dynasty as Prince by 月关 starring Zhang Binbin and Luo Yunxi

Feng Qi Long Xi - based on historical novel of the same name by Ma Bo Yong starring Zhu Yilong and Deng Lun

Sword Snow Stride - based on the xuanhuan novel The Snowy Path of the Heroic Blade by 烽火戏诸侯 starring Zhang Ruoyun and Hu Jun

Heaven Official's Blessing - based on danmei novel of the same name by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu - cast unknown

Thousand Autumns - based on danmei novel of the same name by Meng Xi Shi - cast unknown 

Joy Of Life Season 2 - based on wuxia novel of the same name by 猫腻 starring Zhang Ruoyun and Li Qin

A League of Nobleman - based on danmei novel The Society of Four Leaves by Da Feng Gua Guo starring Song Weilong and Jing Boran

Flying Phoenix - based on danmei novel of the same name by 風弄 starring Dai Jingyao and Shu Yaxin

[your-absent-father]

~The Unknowns~

Character introduction

Okay, I haven't written anything about my band in a week because I'm at my parents at the moment. So, I want to introduce them to you. (Also I have finally learned how to do the show more thing lol)

Read the the story synopsis and introduction here

Tw: mention of drug use, mention of child abuse

Unknowns name came from a idea from Baz that it would become ironic after they would become famous. That saying itself would become ironic after the band quit because if covid.

The first picture is how the oerson looked line durong the band time, second after. Baz has one because they haven't changed at all. Elena has one because... well she wasn't in the band.

Baz Jones

Age: 22

Pronouns: they/them

Sexuality: lesbian

Relationship status: in a relationship with Caro for 7 years

Role in the band: singer

MBTI: ENFP

Sign: Leo

Spotify top 5

1. David Bowie

2. Prince

3. Fleetwood mac

4. Abba

5. Queen

Baz comes from a rich family bot doesn't want to admit it. Their parents are succeful lawyers and their grandfather was a bassist for a locally famous rockstar. Baz has idolized his grandfather ever since they were little. After his passing, Baz wanted to make their grandfather proud.

Unknowns was their child, a band they could make them famous. After covid forced Unknowns to break up, they didn't know what tp do. Only thing they wanted to do ia to be a rockstar. So, they were locked inside their home for two years, living off their parents money, hoping some form of miracle would happen to get the band back together. Instead they got a wedding invitation to their best friends wedding.

Fun facts

-they have a guitarr that they nicknamed Bowie

-Their biggest idol is David Bowie and their Grandpa

-they won a song writing competition when they were 12

Caroline "Caro" Edwards

Age: 23

Pronouns: she/her

Sexuality: Bisexual

Relationship status: in relationship with Baz (7 years)

Role in the band: bassist

MBTI: ESFP

Astrological sign: Scorpio

Spotify top 5

1. Palaye Royale

2. The Runaways

3. Bikini kill

4. Stevie Nicks

5. Rolling Quartz

Caro's life has been rough to say the least. Most of her family are in jail or selling drugs at this moment. Caro was forced on that crowd too, until one night, after her biological left her in a freezing cold after getting too high, Aiden Edwards, upper classmate from her school, found her almost passed out. Caro became Edwards that day after Aiden's family adopted her.

After Covid hit, Caro didn't want to look from the side when everything was going to shit. So, while her partner was depressed, Caro organized protests, charity galas, or anything that could help people, leaving behind her dream of becoming a musician with her partner.

Fun facts

-she has a purple bass nicknamed Prince

-Her birth family's last name was Engelmann

-she has four biological brothers and two biological sisters but she doesn't concider them family.

-she is a secret kpop fan (I will tell her biases if anyone asks)

Noelle "Noel" Adams

Age: 23

Pronouns: she/her

Sexuality: pansexual

Relationship status: engaged

Role in the band: Guitarist

MBTI: doesn't beliave in that shit (but ENFJ)

Astrological sign: Aquarius

Spotify top 5

1. Arctic Monkeys

2. Måneskin

3. Paramore

4. My chemical Romance

5. Killers

When Noel was in high school, she was the coolest person at least Baz had ever met. Noel smoked, got detension and cpuld play the most sickest guitarr riff they had ever heard. Noel and Baz were the chaos duo who wanted to become the next Paul Mccartney and John Lennon. It never became true.

After Noel got into a university and the Unknowns broke up, Noel didn't know what to do. Thankfully, she met Lee Chan, a palentheology student living in her campus. Soon enough, Noel was in love. Without a second thought, she got engaged even tough she wowed to never get married when she was in high school. Love can make you do weird things.

Fun facts:

-if you get the joke about her future husband, ily

-She is also a painter

-she is majoring in music production, minoring in computer science

Ivy Vance

Age: 21

Pronouns: she/her

Sexuality: omnisexual

Relationship status: single

Role in the band: drummer

MBTI: ISTP

Astrological sign: Libra

Spotify top 5

1. Neighbourhood

2. Mother mother

3. Lana Del Rey

4. Lorde

5. Mitski

Ivy had a very sheltered home life. Her parents were extreamly religious and taught Ivy to do the same. After leaving home, Ivy had a hard time getting to know people. Thankfully, she found friends in upper classmated from her highschool who made her join their band.

After band broke up and she had to go to a lockdown, Ivy didn't know what to do. She speant most of her day online in different forums. Soon enough she was wrapped up in conspirasy theories and couldn't leave home.

Fun facts:

-not really anything for her yet

-she loves podcasts

-she is a film nerd

Aiden Edwards

Age: 25

Pronouns: he/him

Sexuality: asexual

Relationship status: dating Elena (for 1 year)

Role in the band: Manager, heneral helping hand

MBTI: ISFJ

Astrological sign: Libra

Spotify top 5

1. Florenca and the machine

2. Charli XCX

3. Shawn Mendes

4. Taylor Swift

5. Celine Dion

If Aiden's honest, he has never been into music. He just got roped into her sister's dream, which is how he mostly does things. They do everything together, which sometimes gets difficult, espcially when Aiden meets a girl he really likes.

Every since Aiden started talking about Elena, Caro has been on edge. Aiden knows it's because of Caro's past, but it doesn't make Aiden's feelings less valid.

Fun facts:

-Caro roasts his music taste so much

-all of his siblings are adopted

-is in school to become a teacher

Elena Thompson

Age: 24

Pronouns: she/her

Sexuality: asexual

Relationship status: dating Aiden (for 1 year)

MBTI: INFP

Astrological sign: Pisces

Spotify top 5

1. Taylor Swift

2. BTS

3. Doja Cat

4. Ive

5. Ariana Grande

Elena is an absolute sunshine. She loves to wear colorful dresses, flowers and everything nice. She tries to be positive, even tough it's hard sometimes. She feels pain every time someone hates her.

Elena met Aiden on Tinder. He tolder her first thing about Caro and her situation. She tries her best to get Caro to like her but it feels impossible when Caro is the most stubborn person you ever meet. Elena still tries, how long as it takes.

Fun facts:

-she is a trans woman

-She is a huge kpop fan (i have biases to her. I'll tell them if someone asks)

-she is a good dancer

[anony-mouse-writer]

well if netflix is allowed to give us a crappy washed out edgelord version of winx, then im allowed to post my weird worldbuilding takes on winx club that ive been making for the last year and a half since i rewatched the show. (also i watched the 4kids version so apologies about the names)

general worldbuilding: the three schools of magix are there to train the defenders of the realms.

red fountain trains paladins and knights to protect the kingdoms and their people.

alfea trains magic users to protect the magic of the realms with a concentration on personal transformation and growth.

cloud tower trains magic users to protect the realms themsleves with a concentration on study and magical artificery. because of the rogue witches who tried to steal the dragonfire, there has been a certain amount of tension between the witches and everyone else for a few decades.

bloom: is slightly... odd growing up. sometimes her eyes glow and her base temp is a few degrees higher than is strictly healthy and she is drawn to warm spaces like lizards or cats. her mom invests in a greenhouse extension for her flowershop and no one comments on the hammock bloom strings up to sleep in. she says she’s never picked any major or job in the future because she’s okay where she is at the flower shop, but really its because she feels like shes missing something important and can’t figure it out. it doesn’t go away completely when she gets alfea either, but when she finally gets to sparks/domino, she realizes its because she is carrying the embodiment of an entire realm’s magic in her and that kinda messes up your magic a bit.

stella: solaria has several branches of royalty, but they are mainly split into the three solar courts and the lunar and stellar courts. her father is the king of the first solar courts and her mother is the queen of the lunar court. after their divorce, stella spent far more time dealing with courtly intrigue than she did practicing magic and she ends up getting held back a year at alfea due to missing several fundamental lessons. she tends to be more concerned with official standing and presentation than power or magics, but her alfea/red fountain friends are helping to teach her how normal non-manipulative friendships work.

shes sort of friends with prince skye and squire brandon and when they were kids they came up with a half-cocked plan where she married skye and dated brandon in secret and skye could fall in love with whoever he wanted and then they would be stella’s attendent so it was all covert. it was not a great plan, but it did involve several awkward third-wheeling dates on skye’s behalf and he has so much friendly blackmail in the two of them.

tecna: tecna comes from a planet where instinctual magic is a dying art. if anything, most magic users end up at cloud tower to study artificery, but tecna is determined to learn about raw magic and its applications in magi-tech. magi-tech is different from artificery because artifacts are meant to be used by magic users usually for magical or combative purposes whereas magi-tech is mean to be used by anyone for everyday applications (ie scanners, holograms, etc)

tecna’s species dosn’t have innate genders, but instead pick their gender presentations as they grow older (if at all). tecna picks female so she can attend alfea, but eventually realizes that female feels right and starts to wear less androgynous outfits on ocassion.

musa: musa’s mom used classical instruments (chinese classical, not western) and her dad used a lot more contemporary styles and tools, but together, they produced beautiful music. when her mom died, her dad grew to resent the classical instruments that reminded him of her and musa grew up with only contemporary influences. musa meets galitea (the other fairy from harmonix) in her second year of school and they have long discussions (and eventually jam sessions about musa’s inexperience with any classical or traditional instruments. musa starts to learn the flute and a few of the instruments her mom left her in secret and only tells her dad about it during the concert where she performs with them for the first time. she goes on to make fusion classical/contemporary music.

musa still has an arc with riven, but after season 1 when they break up, she spends season 2 out of any romantic relationships and season 3 realizes she has feelings for galitea. im still not sure if i want her coming to terms with her bisexuality to be tied to her coming to terms with classical music or not.

flora: floras people can talk to plants. this makes eating plants awkward. ergo, floras people are obligate carnivores who also gain energy via photosynthesis. flora is a scientist first and foremost. she studies and wants to develop new ways for plants to thrive in foreign environments without becoming invasive species and is working with both magi-tech and pure magic to find ways for people to get the most out of plants for various medicinal and magical purposes without causing any harm to the plants.

she also works on humanoid-floral communications and spends a lot of time with pumpkin-mytra and later human-myrta learning to break curses which was not her original plan but it was Very Important and so she learned it and ten it was kinda fun so she stuck with it.

layla/aisha: her parents traditional views and ideas are important to them and to ruling tides. aisha has little choice but to accept them and has no outlet for her true self for a long time, leading to some heavy suppression and anxiety. when she gets to meet the pixies, she makes friends for the first time and they teach her a bit about being herself. she still has struggles with expressing her true feelings and swings between respecting her kingdom’s traditions and resenting them for making her be someone she’s not for so long. as she develops as a person and a fairy, she learns eventually to reconcile the two in a way that might not please her parents entirely, but allows for growth and tradition both. she gets along weirdly well with stella who helps her on this journey a lot.

aisha also spends time with fairies and red fountainers (and later possibly even some witches) coming up with better communication lines and various protections for magical creatures who don’t necessarily have specific realms (ie the pixies) since they lack any kind of protection from larger threats besides their own.

other characters:

daphne is a from the fairy school of magic so her job was to protect the magic of sparks/domino when the rogue witches attacked, so she stuffed it (aka the dragonfire) into the crown princess and hid her on a null planet so the coven couldnt find it.

myrta not only moves from the witches school of magics to the fairy school of magics, but she is trans. she gets an arc where flora and later helia help her to figure out her powers and also how to be comfortable as her own person outside of her friendships with lucy or even flora.

riven is a good fighter but a better mage. he wants to best his peers in fighting, and hates that he feels he call of magic pretty strongly. darcy takes advantage of this and encourages him to abandon his magic while draining him of his power. when he is chased from cloud tower and falls, he uses his skills in tandem with a bit of magic to survive. he remains wary of his powers, but eventually learns to accept them and learns to be a mage and a fighter which is Simply Not Done, but honestly at this point riven is done listening to everyone else so he does what he wants and becomes great at both.

the trix spend season one pretending to be regular witches. they play up the ‘mean girls’ routine and spend a lot of time stirring chaos and malcontent at cloud tower. when they finally give up the pretense and try to take the dragon fire for real, they lose a bit of the mean girls vibe and work towards the rogue witch coven’s goal of stealing the magic of various realms. their work in cloud tower does not dissapear and there is a time where a lot of witches have to unlearn a lot of toxic behavior and it sucks a lot.

[el-oh-her]

Barbie Movies That Are More Relevant Than You Think

1. Barbie’s Princess and the Pauper 

> The Big Thing: Shows a realistic representation of 1st world problems and 3rd world Problems coexisting. Annalise is a princess in an arranged marraige and Erika is an indentured servent, both looking to esacpe, but are determined to overcome these issues. They acknowledge that they have differerent problems but are both struggling in their own right. It’s important to know that they don’t wish they were someone else, they just wish they could escape their personal struggles. 

> Women supporting women! 

> Female Leads that are friends and aren’t catty towards each other 

> Annalise and Erika talk about things other than boys, althrough an arranged marraige is a plot point and all boy talk is really about that particular plot point. 

> “Duty is doing the things your heart may well regret” is the most badass line in exsitance, okay? 

> The Princess loved science. 

2. Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princessess 

> The Big Thing: This story is about extremism and the dangers of a binary system. In this case, it’s Law vs Chaos, and unregulated freedom of expression vs overregulated conformity. The 12 are unruly and chaotic and uncaring about their royal status which causes strain on the kingdom and they are super unprepared for royal life. The antagonist comes in, strips the color and the fun and is all rules and control and is trying to teach them how to be “proper ladies” which is also done in an extreme. Neither of these are right, and in the end the girls use their unique interests to save their father, and they acknowledge they should behave better and be prepared for royal life. They essentially find their middle way. 

> Realistic siblings. No one calls the other “sister” 

> Lacy, the frail sister, is never treated poorly by her sisters despite the fact she causes a few issues in the plot. Super supportive sisters. 

> LI isn’t a prince. He’s a shoemaker. 

> There’s an assassination attempt in this one! It technically succeeds. Really good show on adult topics in a children’s movie. 

> Power and Corruption are thematic here with the villain. 

3. Barbie’s Mariposa

> The Big Thing: This one is about destorying an entire society for personal gain and power. If you’re American, you’d understand why THIS is super relevant. The queen is bring poisoned and is the life source for all the lights, and those lights are what protect faeries from the monsters in the dark. The Big Bad Guy plans to take the throne with these monsters as her minions, promising them they can eat faeries. She will destory this land to gain the throne, and she doesn’t care who dies along the way. 

> Has a Cinderella vibe to it. Good rendition 

> Two First World Entittled rich faries are humbled through the journey, and learn to be king and selfless despite starting with selfish intentions. GROWTH. 

> Skeezite is a funny word. 

> ACCENTS. I think they’re all Spanish, but can’t confirm. The only Barbie movie that didn’t do British Accents, I’m pretty sure. Vocal Diversity is 10/10 

4. Barbie Fairytopia Series 

> The Big Thing: DISABILITY IN A FANTASY WORLD DONE WELL. Like holy shit the plot is the Big Bad is commiting bio-terrorism by poisoning the air that affects all faeries except for Elina because she was born without wings. DISABILITY BECOMING THE ONLY THING THAT CAN SAVE YOU. YES. She does  get wings at the end, but I always saw it as a prostetic because if she lost her necklace she lost her wings. And in a later movie she has to trade them away to save someone. 

> Bibble is valid 

> This series does the “girl who doesn’t fit in” trope well because Elina is constantly seen as the girl who doesn’t fit in. In the first movie she’s the girl without wings, in the second she’s the faerie, not a mermaid (Nori gets mean towards her because the mermaid prince wanted a fairy to save him or someting like that), and in the last one, I’m pretty sure she’s sort of regarded as the charity case. I can’t remember exactly, so don’t quote me. Either way, Elina is the most relateable Barbie character for people who struggle fitting in wherever they go because Elina never fits in at first (but it’s a barbie movie, so you know, acceptance and stuff) 

> This marks the third movie on this list with an assassination attempt for power. Power #Corrupts 

> Good overcoming narrative. Elina survives all her trials towards being accepted in society. 

5. Barbie as the Island Princess

> The Big Thing: This one is tricky because Barbie is a white character, and that is a valid critique for this one. However, the topic is handled well despite this fault due to the movie’s context. This one is about a status quo society and their treatment towards a different “Cultural” upbringing. Ro grew up on an island alone outside of society and talks to animals. She has an entire different set of values and beliefs. Her curiosity sets her off into a populated civilzation and a big part of the movie is the Prince Character making genuine efforts to help her adapt and make her comfortable for what she is used to, and the rest of the society relegating her to a barbarian. She struggles trying to fit in to a society that wants her to adapt to their society, but refuses to make any adaptions to hers. Her not being from there is eventually what saves the day, which is a healthy message that differnet people learn the world differnetly, and these cultures can meet and interact and help each other without forcing one to obliterate itself. Ro doesn’t stay in that society. She goes off sailing with the prince character, a happy medium from her island roots and desire to be around other people. 

> ANOTHER assassination attempt. 

> Big Bad has a daughter she’s trying to marry to the Prince, but the daughter doesn’t love him and is happy that he finds love. she and Ro are friends. 10/10 Women supporting women. 

> Ro’s cultural roots are celebrated a lot. It’s nice! 

> Prince never puts Ro in a corner to change, from what I remember. He guides her through what she’s willing to do, and helps accomidate her with that makes her uncomfortable (sleeps in the greenhouse,for example). 10/10 m8

6. Barbie and the Diamond Castle

> The Big Thing: The catalyst of this movie is Liana and Alexa’s lively hood being destoryed by a storm, and now homeless and jobless, they end up questing with a magic mirror to save Melody and the other trapped Muses. Alexa is hesitant and even gives up to stay in a Lotus Casino type place because there’s food and shelter there. There’s a heavy value on having enough to eat, and having a place to live. Displacement and poverty, I guess is the right word for this. 

> Okay so I heard around that Alexa and Liana are queer coded based on their dress colors in the final scene matching the Lesbian and Bisexual Flag and I stan that because honestly, Barbie need some gay. 

> The Will Sing For Food scene hits differently than any other scene in Barbie Movies. It’s just such a real thing. 

7. Barbie and the Three Musketeers 

> The Big Thing: Sexsim. This one is very on the nose of “women can’t do this.” and then Barbie adn Co proves them wrong!! 

> I am pretty sure there are SEVERAL assasination attempts in this one. 

> “Release the Fireworks!!” is carved into my mind. 

> The Master Trainer is an old lady maid. Cool trope subversion. 

Honestly, people who cry about adult themes in their kids movies need to watch these movies. Did you notice how many ASSASSINATIONS happen in these movies? SO MUCH ASSASSINATION. 

These movies are deeper and more complex than given credit for. I can admit that Barbie’s early movies didn’t do great with racial representation, but we can also praise them for accomplishing their aim of empowering young girls as much as they did. 

I can’t say much for mordern Barbie since that’s not my era. Perhaps someone else can comment about that better than I can. 

TL;DR: Barbie movies deal with adult themes in a child friendly setting and they are well done and you should go watch them and see how much deeper and complex these movies can be. 

A Barbie Movie I DO NOT STAN: Princess and the Pop Star. That movie is “Two whiny girls hate their privlaged life and wish they were someone else’s privlaged life and I guess help the poor” It’s not good. You can enjoy the bops it produced, but that movie is INSANELY Problomatic. 

[starlit-pathways]

rules: tag people you would like to know/catch up with❤️

thank you so much @faeinthefog for tagging me, you have such incredible taste???? (as always) also, brb adding piranesi to my already-too-long tbr list

...speaking of lists that are far too long!! *cracks knuckles* let's get down to business!!!!

last song: excluding my many varied writing playlists, then probably eclipse by moonbyul or love poem by iu, including my writing playlists then this was my last listen

last movie: the prom. didn't personally vibe with it but i know it meant a lot to some (personally, i feel like a lot of what it was trying to do has already been done better by other films—like ek ladki ko dekha toh aisa laga). it had very pretty colours in it?? and i definitely wouldn't pass up the chance to play emma in an actual musical, but i feel like the story itself is too much of "aaaaand THIS is how the Gay Struggle™‬ applies to the average straight person!!!" which I don't even mind in a story that's done WELL (again, see ek ladki ko dekha toh aisa laga, or even one of my favourite books; the seven husbands of evelyn hugo) but i don't personally feel like it was done well enough here to pass it off

currently watching: oh no. a LOT. uhhhh okay let's try counting

1) godless—a miniseries on netflix which is v. good and very beautiful; essentially a story about fatherhood, masculinity and the loss/lack of it in a historical "wild west" type setting (it's a lot more diverse than it sounds. i promise.)

2) the fresh prince of bel-air—i shouldn't have to describe this one to many people lol, but it's basically a comedy about a quick-witted, very street-smart boy who goes to live with his very wealthy and privileged family in bel-air. it's very funny, and very heartwarming but i'm only a couple episodes in so far.

3) my mister—i'm only a few episodes into this drama myself but. damn. it's a show about two very broken, wearied people whose lives are falling apart in different ways (a very principled slightly older man, and a very... alternatively principled younger woman), who find each other and help each other heal. i've seen their relationship described as "everything but romantic", though the subject of romance and the nature of their relationship is questioned in the show and sometimes by the two characters

4) taskmaster—this one's just FUN, and also quite honestly pure chaos. i'm trading favourite shows with a friend, and damn if i'm not having a blast with this one. it's basically about a group of comedians who get given a set of tasks/challenges to do, to see who does them best—it has the exact same vibe of the joke "how many comedians does it take to change a lightbulb?". if nobody watches anything else of the show, i implore them to at LEAST watch this tree wizard clip. it's a masterpiece.

5) rick and morty—probably not my favourite type of show (monster of the week's not my usual style), but still good if you're it's intended audience. trading this with another friend, and i'm very much enjoying the experience of trash-talking all of the adult characters every episode with them.

6) mr. iglesias—this one's a very new addition. am also watching it with a friend. comedy about found family in a classroom full of underprivileged kids and the one teacher who really cares about them. i like it! i love marisol a lot as a character and mr. iglesias is very wholesome

re-watching:

7) the untamed—i'm going to be watching this show in some capacity for the rest of my life. i'm on my seventh watch by now and it never diminishes in quality. it's a truly epic introspective character exploration, about a quick-minded, entirely chaotic and very free-spirited man who dies and comes back in quite literally the opening moments of the show. you get to see his descent from being the world's envy to being the world's villain. it's a wonderful fantasy series about perception, the nature of morality, of family (born, raised and chosen) and about building a better world. did i mention that the main character is—as far as chinese censorship laws would allow—very bisexual and the story very heavily features a love story between him and another man? this was the edit that got me into it (it has spoilers but without context it won't make any sense anyway)

8) healer—what a drama. this is all about the power of information—how being informed and making information available can heal a nation that was built to be corrupt. starring a character who is basically a man who is a much poorer batman (kind of like a batman for hire?) with superman's love life (the show's got one of the best and most valid love triangles i've ever seen—and that's coming from somebody who typically HATES love triangles with a burning passion) and a woman who is feisty and strong-willed but not in an overbearing way? as well as amazing action, from somebody who normally can't stand action. i love the chemistry between the two romantic leads and just. i love the three leading characters, and a great deal of the periphery ones a lot. this show is absolutely incredible, would highly recommend

9) it's okay to not be okay/psycho but it's okay—a show that says neurodivergency and found family rights!!!! it's a very healing and introspective drama, but equally very intense/gripping/interesting? the chemistry between the two leads is astounding, and i just really love the amount of empathy this show has? it's truly stunning to watch and experience. starring an absolute badass of a woman, who acts almost entirely on impulse and communicates with the world through storytelling and fairytales, alongside a very kind and nurturing man who doesn't know how to communicate when he's miserable and an autistic man, who struggles deeply with his own fight for independence (i wasn't too sure on him at first, but he grows into just as much of an equally important character as the other two and i loved his arc).

currently reading: the earthsea quartet, by ursula le guin—i'm really loving it! it's probably not one of my favourites (yet), but she has such an interesting way of building up her world, and there's such a strong sense of compassion in every word she writes.

also i've recently found and fallen in love with this fic series. it's very nsfw and modern au's aren't usually my thing for historical (or even semi-historical) fiction/fantasy, but there's just something about sex worker!wei wuxian and translator!(and also secret fashion nerd!)lan wangji both being absolute disasters and also really cute and really repressed but also being neurodivergent and disabled characters (i'm SO here for autistic!lan wangji, traumatised!wei wuxian and chronically ill!yanli all being happy) and getting therapy that really appeals to me.

currently craving: crisps. always. of the salt and vinegar variety (this specific variety especially), of course, but there's never a day that passes when i'm not craving crisps

this was really fun!!! now for the worst part of this............ tagging. OKAY. so... please know that nobody is under any obligation to do, or even acknowledge, this—and also, if i missed you, you see this and you WANT to, then consider the act of seeing/hearing this a formal invitation

@ethereal-sserendipity @lillb5678 @genericfandomusername456 @mars-aria @ikatella @juliedohbigny @multiplequestionmarks @itiredwriter @myrim-anna-rose @gaysofmyheart

[wardenparker]

From Dorne, with Love - Epilogue

Oberyn Martell x female reader Co-written with @absurdthirst

Your little sister is marrying her fairy tale princess on the exotic desert island nation of Dorne. Your soon-to-be sister-in-law’s playboy uncle is the other member of the wedding party along with you, but will your opposite approaches to life drive you apart before the ceremony even begins? Or is it possibly the beginning of a future you never thought possible?

Rating: Teen for the chapter, but this is an 18+ blog! Word Count: 3.9k Warnings:  Honestly, none. This is just pure fluff. Summary: A little slice of life from the future of the Prince and Princess of Dorne. Notes: I cannot begin to say a big enough thank you to everyone who came along for this journey with us! It is such a joy to love and be loved by Oberyn 💖 And to have that beautiful happy ending that is so worthwhile in a fic. Thank you all for reading!

Part 1 ~ Part 2 ~ Part 3 ~ Part 4 ~ Part 5 ~ Part 6 ~ Epilogue

“Braciole for table twelve is up! Branzino for table nine is up! Let’s keep moving guys!” The lunch rush on weekends is always busy. It’s usually busy right through every single weekday, too, but weekends are booked solid for the next seven months at Paradiso and watching your staff hustle to make that demand worth your customers’ while is a thing of absolute beauty. 

“Yes chef!” Is a phrase heard hundreds of times a day as they push through every demand with spectacular efficiency and grace, and there is almost nowhere in the world you would rather be than in this kitchen, unless the alternative being offered is anywhere at your husband’s side. He’s the reason you named your restaurant paradise and the first reason you smile every morning. He’s been the most wonderful support in your lives together and you honestly don’t know where you would be without him.

“Maron!” Oberyn calls out to the boy who starts sprinting to the back to his Momma the second he hits the building’s back door. “Don’t knock anyone over!” He grins as Joss curls against his neck sleepily where she has just been woken up from her nap and is not quite ready to greet anyone.

The loud banging of the kitchen’s swinging door and stampeding of small feet on the busy floor is something you’d been anticipating for hours, knowing that your nine-year-old son has more energy than most whole armies. “Momma!” His voice is louder than the din around you, and he is attached to your side before you can blink. 

“Hello, my little love,” you have one arm around him instantly - the young prince has been the spitting image of his father since the day he was born and it makes you smile to ruffle his hair and be answered by the same disgruntled look as your husband would give. “Did you leave your Papa and little sister behind somewhere?”

“They’re too slow!” He pouts and gives you another hug. The kitchens have been where he could always find you here since he was a toddler. “Do you have cookies?” He asks, turning his big brown eyes up at you pleadingly. “I’m hungry.”

“I don’t know, my love. Running in the kitchen is naughty, and naughty boys don’t get cookies.” The way you raise your eyebrow at him makes him pout even more heavily. “But I guess we can make an exception if you promise not to run the rest of the day.”

“Fiiiiiiiine.” Maron has perfected eye rolling at his tender age and uses it expertly. Knowing full well he will get away with it because you find him completely adorable.

“You are too much like your father.” You can’t help but laugh, ruffling his hair again and leading him by the shoulder to the other side of the kitchen where the airtight container of biscotti and amaretti cookies are kept well out of reach of princely fingers.

“Dashing? Handsome? Or charming?” Oberyn asks with a delightfully smug grin on his face as he opens the door to the kitchen. Joss perks up in his arms when she sees her second favorite human. “Momma!”

“Good at getting his way.” You tell your husband, with an expression that says you know exactly what your son was doing, you just don’t care too much. In one swift motion you lift your little girl out of his arms and place a soft kiss on Oberyn’s lips then one on your daughter’s forehead. “Did you have a good nap, sweet girl?”

“Nuh uh.” Her fierce little shake of her head is obstinate, even if she’s starting to become more alert. “Papa made me get out of the pool for nap time.” She tattles, glowering over at her father.

“Uh oh.” Her ferocity makes you grin, like always, and you press kisses to both of her cheeks as you bounce softly with her in your arms. “Sounds like Papa’s in trouble with his baby.”

“I am.” Oberyn confirms with a grin at his youngest daughter. She was a complete Papa’s girl until he made her mad. Which was at least once a day, but he always redeemed himself by bedtime. “How is your day?” He asks you, picking up a berry from a station and popping it into his mouth. “The restaurant looks full.”

“People like to be able to say they’ve had a princess cook for them.” It’s always been your favourite joke about Paradiso’s popularity, even though there are plenty of people who walk in and out of your doors every day who have no idea who the chef making their meals actually is. “How were your meetings this morning?”

He bobbles his head slightly. “About as well as expected.” He grins when Maron passes Joss a cookie, the boys is always looking out for his little sister. “At least they are done though and all we have to do is relax and enjoy the weekend.”

“My parents are coming into town and you think we get to relax?” One suspicious eyebrow raises itself at him. “Do you know something I don’t?”

Chuckling he leans over and kisses you again. “They are here for your birthday and to see their grandbabies.” He reminds you. “They have mellowed with age. Or I have just gotten used to them.”

“They have mellowed because of the grandbabies.” In the years since Maron and Joss were born your parents have made it a point to visit Dorne a few times a year, and have started talking about retiring to the island where their children and grandchildren all live. “But you’ve probably gotten used to them, too.”

“Although I don’t mind when you get exasperated and come find me for some angry…comfort.” He smirks at you, little ears making him less vulgar that he would normally be.

Letting Joss down when she wriggles insistently in your arms, you slip into Oberyn’s waiting embrace with a mischievous grin. “I’m sure there will be plenty of that. Birthday comfort, too.”

“There’s also weekend comfort too.” Oberyn reminds you, the spark not fading between you despite ten years and two children.

“How about some bath comfort after we put the kids to bed tonight?” You keep your voice low and waggle your eyebrows at him salaciously since you know both your kids are too busy with the sights and sounds and smells of the busy kitchen to pay attention to their boring parents right now.

“I think that can definitely be arranged.” The prince smirks and steals another kiss. “Plus I have to wake you up right on your birthday.”

“You have a plan, I assume?” Every year you and Oberyn have always made a great show of walking each other up with intimacy on your birthdays. You always try to do something a little creative, though in your opinion it would take a miracle to outshine any of Oberyn’s performances.

“I do.” He murmurs, glancing over at the kids as they try to scarf down as many biscuits as they can before you take away the tin. “I want to see if I can put you to sleep with my tongue and wake you up with it.”

“I have the best husband in the world.” An indulgent hum passes your lips as you hug him close, only raising your voice to add: “And two little loves who are going to spoil their very special dinner with Grammy and Gramps if they keep eating the cookies for Momma’s customers.”

Both Martell children groan but know that their mother is serious and don’t reach for another cookie. “Fiiiiine” Maron huffs. “I was full anyway and Joss’s tummy is smaller than mine.”

“It’s uncanny.” You point a finger at Oberyn, always playful when pointing out how like him his only son is. “Let me take off my jacket and grab my purse and we can go.” By this hour your parents’ flight should have landed and your driver should be bringing them to the palace directly, giving you just enough time to get home and wash up so you don’t smell of kitchen before dinner is served.

Oberyn takes the tin away from the kids and winks at them while looking around the restaurant. You had grown it into a success that had nothing to do with the Martell name and everything to do with your talent. He is beyond proud of you, having watched you take on motherhood, a role in the royal family, and the running of your very own restaurant with remarkable flair.

One quick check in with your senior sous chef and you’re dropping your chef’s jacket on the back of the chair in your office and grabbing your purse to meet Oberyn and the kids at the back door where you know his driver is waiting with the car. “They’re going to be packed all weekend, but Allendry promises not to call unless the sky is falling.” You tell Oberyn when you climb in beside him.

“You should really consider hiring another chef.” Oberyn tells you for probably the twentieth time. “The restaurant can handle the overhead considering you don’t even take a salary. And it would free up more time with the monkeys.”

“Actually.” Nuzzling into his side as the car takes off, it seems like this might be the perfect time to let him know what you’ve been contemplating for a few weeks now. “I’ve been thinking about doing a few promotions in the kitchen. Moving up Allendry, making my saucier a sous chef, and taking on a new prep cook.” You doubt it will come as a surprise to him, but the request had made you nearly burst with pride when Oberyn and Ellaria’s oldest daughter had come to you with her plans for culinary school a month ago. “Elia has decided she wants to be a chef.”

There is a pleased hum and a smile on Oberyn’s face as he hears about one of his Sand Snakes plans. “I don’t doubt it, she is always hounding you in the kitchen. I swear I find all of them, Ellaria too, at my table more since I married you.”

Some might have considered the tight friendship you forged with your husband’s former lover to be unorthodox, but the fact is that you and Ellaria get along very well. You value her ferocity and she counts on your steadfastness, and the two of you growing close so quickly had bonded your young children together as well. “I’m honestly glad she came to me. Even if she didn’t want to work in my kitchen, I could have at least helped from a distance. But I love that El wants to learn what she can from me. I just hope she didn’t pick up all my tricks already through osmosis.”

“You will do wonderfully. And she will be a sponge.” He predicts, looking over at where the kids are sitting. Maron is reading his younger sister a book on the drive home. “I haven’t thanked you for them lately.” He realizes, grinning at you.

“Are you thinking about thanking me the way you thanked me for Maron and suddenly we were expecting Joss?” Slipping your fingers through his, you bring the back of his hand to your lips to kiss.

"Don't I always?" He asks with a smirk, although both of you had decided that two children were enough, since he begrudgingly admitted he was getting older. The salt and pepper look has gradually crept into his hair and the thin line of a beard he sports. After Joss was born, he had gone to get a vasectomy, refusing the doctor's suggestion that he let you get your tubes tied during birth.

“Always.” You nuzzle into his side as much as your seatbelt will allow and keep your voice low so that the kids won’t hear you and immediately prove you wrong. “They are fairly wonderful, aren’t they?”

"Of course they are." He chuckles. "You're their mother, they couldn't be anything but wonderfully stubborn and passionate. Creative and kind." He winks at you. "They get their looks and smarts from me." He teases playfully. He loves them just as much as his other children, and as the babies, they were spoiled by all their older half siblings, but were remarkably well grounded. 

“Their humility comes from you, too.” The way you roll your eyes at him is fond, though. Pure love inside the teasing. Oberyn has given you everything you ever dreamt without ever batting an eye - never making you doubt your worthiness or that his love might have a cost. Ten years of his unconditional and unwavering love have been fully committed to you - nine for Maron and five for Joss. How could they ever doubt their worthiness when their parents tell them every day how truly loved they are?

"I'm a prince." He elegantly shrugs a shoulder in unabashed disconcern. "I have no need for humility. As much as I exasperate my brother, he puts up with me." He reaches out to grasp your chin, tilting it slightly. "And my princess seems to like me, so I am favored by the Gods."

“Your princess loves you desperately.” This declaration, quiet as it is, still elicits a small groan of embarrassment from both of your kids and you grin. “And your youngest children seem to tolerate you the way your brother does, so everything seems just as it should be.”

"They will understand when they get older and fall in love." He grins back at you, feeling the car slow down as the driver comes to the gates at the palace. "Although I hope not too soon, right Joss?"

“Nuh uh.” His youngest child gives her usual, obstinate answer for anything she dislikes and makes a face. “Nymmy said it feels like butterflies in your tummy but I don’t want butterflies in my tummy!” She looks horrified at the prospect, actually, and lowers her voice conspiratorially. “Do people eat the butterflies?”

Oberyn can't help but laugh at the very literal way that his daughter took Nymira's explanation for how it feels to be in love. "No, my littlest sand snake." He shakes his head, mirth making his eyes dance even though she's scowling, thinking that she is being laughed at. "No one eats beautiful butterflies. Nymmy just meant that it makes your tummy feel happy. Like when I throw you up in the air and you giggle and demand that I do it again?"

“Oh.” That seems to mollify her a little, and her small mind reviews the facts with thoughtful precision. “In that case?” She looks up at both of you with an expression of determination in her little eyes. “I would like to be in love soon, please.”

"Shit." Oberyn is very liberal and relaxed with his children, letting them find themselves however they wish to. But the idea of his youngest being determined to find love at the tender age of five was going to wreak havoc on the palace for months to come. She will dog the footsteps of every man or woman she sees as a potential for that love until she grows bored of the idea. "So soon, little one? Just remember, we cannot be in love with family. We are not Lannisters."

You barely manage to stifle a laugh at his dig at his family rivals, but Joss seems to just take it as sound advice and nods accordingly. “May I be in love with Hobard?” She asks permission very carefully, as though it were something she could just decide on and not something that would happen to her naturally in time without her ever having a say in it.

"I see no problem with that." Oberyn smiles at her fondness of the older man who has seen and experienced so much in the palace. "Remember, though, his love for you might be different. It might be like the love your Momma and I have for you. And it's perfectly acceptable to love like that too."

“Okay.” And just like that, Joss shrugs her little shoulders and looks over at her brother. “Will you read more?”

Oberyn blinks and looks over at you with a slightly exasperated expression. Maron starts reading to his sister again and Oberyn leans over and nuzzles your jaw before he speaks. Murmuring in your ear, he chuckles. "We are going to be run ragged when she gets older."

“Just as long as she doesn’t make us grandparents at fourteen.” You whisper back pointedly, but turn to plant a soft kiss in his lips as the driver turns off the main road to the long drive of the Old Palace.

"Birth control is a modern miracle." He hums in agreement, looking over at the kids. It was a miracle none of his children had made him a grandfather by mistake, but they had all been careful so far.

“I think Obara might be close.” Tucking your head against his shoulder as the car glides down the long drive is a comfortable feeling, one that is embedded in your muscle memory from countless outings together. “She was very unsubtle about asking some questions about family heirlooms when we talked a few days ago. Either she’s planning ahead, or she’ll have news for us soon.” Oberyn’s oldest daughter had married a few years ago, but there had never been any talk of children until her most recent phone call. Under the flimsy excuse of asking about your birthday plans, she had managed to slip in a few inquiries about Martell family heirloom baby blankets and the rocking chair that still stands in the nursery.

“Hmmmm.” Oberyn smiles at the idea and completely approves. “We will have to throw a party for her when she does announce it.” He doesn’t mind the idea of grandchildren at all, there is nothing he loves more than the sounds of children running through the palace. It’s happy and exuberant, the sounds of life and love.

“Catering baby showers might become a new specialty for Paradiso.” Your staff had gone all-out for you when you and Oberyn were expecting Joss, as if to somehow make up for the fact that it had not yet opened when Maron came into the world. It had been a beautiful party, and much more relaxed than the official celebration that Mellario had thrown for the public eye. That was an elegant soirée. But Lily, Aja, and Ellaria had worked with your restaurant staff to throw something much more playful in private.

“I can see that doing really well.” Oberyn smirks. “A lot of babies are born in Dorne.” He reminds you. The small country did have a proclivity for multiple children in most households.

“I could recreate the menu they made for me for Joss’s shower.” The idea burrows inside you easily, nestling in the part of your heart reserved for nostalgia attached to pregnancy instead of the reality of morning sickness, swollen ankles, and bed rest. “Call it a party fit for a princess.”

“Obara would love that.” Oberyn can’t help but turn and place his hand on your stomach even though he knows there isn’t a baby in there. He had constantly had his hand on his child through both of your pregnancies. “First we have to let her announce.”

“I’ll try not to get ahead of myself.” You can’t promise not to get excited, of course. You would never lie to him like that. For all your early worries, being a stepmother to his older daughters had come naturally, as has your friendships with his former lovers. It was like there was a space in his life, sized exactly right for you to step into - and you had never looked back.

"You will be a very happy grandmother." He teases, winking at you. "Not even forty years old yet." The way you already dreamed of a bigger family makes his heart swell. 

“I’ll have many years with all of my husband’s grandbabies sleeping in my arms.” It draws nothing less than a wistful sigh out of you and you grin guiltily. “I was just about to leave a newspaper article about reversing vasectomies lying very subtly on the kitchen counter, too. She has excellent timing.”

His brow shoots up in surprise, not expecting that to come out of your mouth. It wasn't like the two of you hadn't talked about his vasectomy before he went and got it done. The car pulls to a stop in front of the house. "Baby fever?" He asks as he opens the door to get out and help you out.

“Maybe a little.” Stepping out of the car and into his arms, it’s as easy as breathing to lean in and kiss him. “At our age, though, it’s probably better for me to get grandbaby fever.” As young and spry as you feel on your best days, you are still nearer to 40 than not.

He snorts and turns back to help Maron and Joss out. Maron also wanted to help Joss in and out of her booster seat, playing his role of big brother to perfection. "It seems like the appropriate time to get that fever." He chuckles. "We have both of them out of diapers and dressing themselves."

“You haven’t been without a small child around you in your whole life.” Joss reaches for you despite having both her father and her brother at her beck and call, and you gladly lift her into your arms to carry her inside. “I would hate to start now.”

Maron runs ahead, yelling his thanks when Hobard opens the door and disappears into the house, feet slapping on the marble floors. "You would hate it, huh?" He jokes, hand on your back as you walk inside the large palace that was simply home to your and his family.

His teasing just garners a small smile from you, and you thank Hobard as you pass him into the palace, having promised yourself years ago that you would never take this life and its advantages for granted. “You would be sad if there wasn’t at least one little one running around. Admit it.”

"I love all my children." He admits. "I have loved seeing their innocent joy, carefree laughs." He nods towards the stairs as the two of you walk towards them. "I doubt with as many children as I have sired, there will ever be silence in these halls."

“So much the better.” You promise him. 

And as if to prove it, Joss chooses this moment to nearly blow your eardrum out, screaming “Grammy!” when she spots your mother at the top of the stairwell. You set her down on two determined feet before she can flail her way out of your arms or kick you, and she is off like a shot to get her special Grammy hugs that only your mother can provide.

He chuckles when you press your hand to your ear. "The joyous sounds of children." He reminds you with a grin. "Do you want me to entertain while you clean up?"

“I won’t be long.” The two of you hustle upstairs but are no match for your little Olympians, who are already hugging their grandparents fiercely. 

This is the life you dreamt of - your beautiful home, your standout restaurant, your happy and healthy children that you love with every fiber of your being. And all of it because ten years ago, the man you now call your husband wouldn’t let you give up on reaching for the future.

______

Master Tags: @pixiedurango @chattychell @winter-fox-queen @lady-himbo @artsymaddie @princess76179 @paintballkid711 @missminkylove @pedrosbrat @ew-erin @sarahjkl82-blog @sharkbait77 @justanotherblonde23 @lv7867 @recklesswit @mylittlesenaar @f0rever15elf @gallowsjoker @steeevienicks @athalien @sherala007 @skvatnavle @thatpinkshirt @jaime1110 @girlimjusttryingtoreadfanfics @goodgriefitsawildworld @greeneyedblondie44 @katheriner1999 @littlemousedroid @harriedandharassed @churchill356​ @ajathegreats-blog​ @hardc0rehaylz​ @beardsanddetectives​ ​

FDwL: @emofairyprincessofarkansas @littlemisspascal @doommommy @lepard60 @writeforfandoms @sweet-heartbadmouth @scorpio-marionette @storiesofthefandomlovers @fan-of-encouragement @sainteredhood @ahopelessromanticwritersworld @shadowolf993 @apocalypticwafflekitten @coldlonelydays @166869 @genevievedarcygranger @missredherring  @ellenmunn @teenagezombiekryptonite @star017 @ncsls0515

My Masterlist!

[hiirolangley]

Okay, we’re discussing Maruma ships now so here are some not on the main list yet! + my rambling and disjointed thoughts as they occurred to me. 

So there was the brief Flynn x Yuuri mutual crush thing that happened in Shimaron.  The almost-touch in Big Shimaron when Flynn reaches out to him springs to mind as well as the 'kiss' to knock Yuuri out and their dance at the ball where they just end up holding each other.  Although Yuuri very clearly decides in his brain not to like her in the end and Flynn is like, I'm married to Caloria, there was still a little something there (and it probably partially contributed to how much Wolf hates her XD).  Throwing in my thoughts about this one here... it's kinda ehhhhhhhhhhhhh.....  I mean, Wolfram is one thing because the whole mazoku aging thing, but Flynn is a human in her twenties and Yuuri is sixteen.  It's definitely ehhhhhh..........  I’m not calling the police or anything especially since nothing happened, just giving it a major side-eye.  In any case, this crush is significant because once Yuuri decides in words in his head not to fall in love with her, he stops looking at women altogether.  Name another woman from that point on that he fanboys over like he did all the time prior to meeting Flynn.

Sticking to Flynn, Flynn x Norman were a married couple and they did truly seem to be in love.  Just by how much she fights for her late husband's land and people and talks about how she regrets never having the chance to have his children and how she completely betrayed her family's expectations to infiltrate Norman's family for political fuckery, I think it's pretty obvious.

Also Conrad x Maidmer Princess!!!  How could you forget the most iconic pairing of the entire series!!  XDDD She's the one and only woman Conrad out loud admits to being in love with (although honestly not sure how that worked because they couldn't even have a conversation, but oh well).  The story this came from also gave us many fun moments ranging from Josak trying to set extremely obviously straight Conrad up with a group of crossdressers, Gwendal's mind getting blown like 10x in a row thinking that extremely obviously straight Conrad was sleeping with men (including Josak) but then trying to assure Conrad through his shock that he’ll be okay with it while Conrad freaks out, Gwendal wholeheartedly ready to accept a fish lady as his sister in law, Yuuri accidentally insulting the fuck out of Conrad's room, Conrad being worried that Yuuri was calling him boring for a minute before getting mentally smacked in the face by Yuuri complaining about being rated 88% unfuckable (and Conrad thinking to himself, well yeah of course), and just Conrad's POV in general which is always fun because he is a little shit XDDD  Also I love when he was thinking to himself, I spent the war sleeping with all sorts of women, some of whom were married, and when the war was over people called me a Whore Prince... and then the first complaint he makes about that is along the lines of I’m not a prince, dumbasses.  What a fucking gift to humanity that story was.

Getting off my Crack!otp, there’s Cherie's 3 husbands!  I think volume 5's prologue sums that up best so I’ll just direct people there.

And then, Yuuri’s parents!  Shouma x Miko.  The couple that should not have lasted because they literally went on like 5 dates before Shouma confessed to being a mazoku and Miko was like OMG MARRY ME NOW SO I CAN HAVE MAZOKU BABIES despite thinking he was lame af beforehand... and then they got married XDD  I feel like every time they appear on page together they get into an argument or misunderstanding, but they’re still together so /shrug

That’s all I can think of right now~  

Moving on...

My otp for this series is the royal couple.  How often is my otp the official endgame couple!?  NEVER!  Lord knows I get Second Lead Syndrome on every damn story I read/watch, but for this series I’m not rooting for Conrad.  Way back in my early maruma fangirling days, I liked Yuuram and Conyuu equally because who doesn’t love anyone Morikawa Toshiyuki voices?  I know that could be hard to believe I liked opposing ships the same amount, but that’s an actual thing that happened.  Once I grew up, the Conyuu went away.  That kinda sounds insulting to Conyuu shippers, but it’s not.  Let me explain~  Psychoanalyzing myself, me liking Conyuu was more me being like, Conrad would be the perfect boyfriend! instead of Conrad and Yuuri are great together!, but when I got older I was like, holy hell he would actually be the worst boyfriend after a while no thanks??? XDDDDD  That’s a whoooole other post I probably won’t make~  Anyway, we all have embarrassing college-aged memories whether you attended or not so let’s move on.

Anyway, I know Conyuu is baited all the time and rereading the Maidmer Princess story reminded me that Conrad says looking at Yuuri’s sleeping face gave him the same feeling as looking at the maidmer he fell in love with, but there’s no way that relationship’s gonna pan out canonically.  I feel like I’m playing with fire saying that though o.o

Moving on again, ships I fully support would be:

Yuuri x Wolf

Gwendal x Anissina

Adalbert x Julia (you know, in a posthumous way)

And you know what???  Josak x Murata.  The chaos.  The pure Bisexual Chaos™.  I’m here for that.

Also on the topic of couples!  Let’s talk about Nicola and Hube.  I have feelings here.  Say what you want about Wolfram, at least he’s mentally on the same page as Yuuri.  Gegenhuber is a whole ass man who knocked up a 15/16 year old.  I know they made her older in the anime, but don’t believe those lies!  Do I need to elaborate how he’s gross?  I don’t think so.  BUT, I do like how sensei filtered it through Yuuri’s POV.  (Fyi, I realize the following is partially headcanon) As an also 16yo, this grossness does not cross Yuuri’s mind at all.  In fact, the only thing he remarks on is that he can’t believe she was pregnant and getting married to another man ... but it crosses Gwendal’s.  Adult Gwendal is FURIOUS when he finds out Nicola is pregnant.  He was already mad because he hates Gegenhuber and was getting irritated that he and Nicola were in love/told her he’d use the mateki to help humans, but when he finds out she’s preggers and they totally had sex he loses his shit.  I dunno, it’s like sensei properly communicated that a teenager wouldn’t necessarily recognize the fucked-up nature of a man in his twenties (or the mazoku version of that) starting a relationship with a 15yo and that they also might misinterpret the anger of the older people who do know better.  

And like a cherry on top, Gwen’s anger is solely directed at Gegenhuber, not Nicola.  After this adventure, Gwendal personally takes super good care of Nicola and makes sure she’s set up nicely with the Grisela family and even visits her regularly... and then when Gegenhuber wakes up, Gwendal almost kicks him to death.  Seriously, he literally kicked him so much Anissina had to heal him so he wouldn’t die (and while she was healing him she was like, you’re fucking gross and I wouldn’t care if you dropped dead here, but I kinda have to do this.)  I dunno, I feel like there are so many reasons for people to hate Gegenhuber, I can’t make the claim that this is 100% significantly adding to the hatred.  Would you notice another drop in a bucket?  But this is my opinion on the matter~  Anyway, it’s 1:30am and I need to stop typing!

[disasterbialert]

Hello! I’m still mostly in the void but I’m briefly popping to talk (gush, I’m totally gonna gush) about my fave shows I discovered/brought me joy in 2020! Lots of folks are doing this and I thought it was a really sweet trend so I thought I’d jump on too!

2020 was a lot (obviously) but it was particularly huge for me for a few reasons. I’m not gonna talk too much bc y’all are here for soft queers not Trauma™️, but basically several things happened at once that led to me being pretty devastated and very lost. Hurt, raw, and frightened, I didn’t think I had anywhere to go or anyone to talk to. And then, boom! Fandom and tumblr and twitter and ao3. And suddenly I found tenderness, learned I was allowed that tenderness and affection, that it was ok to seek it, to want it. It was ok to be gentle, to be soft, to be vulnerable. That others felt this way too. That I was safe. So, thank you, beautiful friends and strangers in this nebulous space. My gratitude is boundless and heartfelt.

Ok hah emotions what? ANYWAY. Without further ado and in no particular order, fave shows Let’s go!

1. The Untamed/陈情令/Chén Qíng Lìng/Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation/魔道祖师/Mó Dào Zǔ Shī

THIS SHOW. WOW. This show, the novel and every adaptation, and this fandom have been life-changing. In every way. I started watching cql end of may/beginning of june I think? I binged it in about two weeks. Then I re-watched it with my mum as she experienced it for the first time. THEN we both re-watched it. Soulmates. They’re married and they have a son. Disaster bisexual representation. Found families again and again and again. The cast, the music, the costumes, the sets—everything about this show is breathtaking. I am in awe of everything the creators managed to do. What an incredible experience this show was. And I am so grateful to the fandom, from deep-dive metas to fascinating cultural explorations to equal-parts soft, fluffy, spicy, horny, tender, hilarious fics and fan art. That this fandom has also become a space for me to explore my own queerness, my own identity and my sense of personhood, is truly an unexpected and wonderful gift. Seriously. This show and this fandom—what an absolute gift.

2. 2Gether/เพราะเราคู่กัน /Still 2Gether/เพราะเรา(ยัง)คู่กัน

My first foray into Asian dramas/queer dramas and WOW was it a really bloody good one. My eternal gratitude to Chai (@/proyearner) on twitter for one off-hand comment about a Thai drama on YouTube. Cue snowball. The softness? The hilarity? The hurt/comfort? The fake-dating? The subtle sweetness of BrightWin’s acting? The utter chaos of Man and Boss? EarnPear definitely being canon (no i don’t care that it’s not actually IT IS OK). This show and its sequel were a gosh-darn bloody Win for they gays. And also my entry into queer fandom—something I’ve never truly felt or even really been a part of, despite being out and involved in literally studying queer literature and media for many years. So, thank you Thai BL fandom, thank you Sarawatine, thank you Chai.

3. Where Your Eyes Linger/너의 시선이 머무는 곳에 (series AND film)

The Tenderness. Good grief. I waited until every episode was out and then watched them all. Then when the film was out, I re-watched both. I could wax poetic about this show, about the actors, about the characters, about the writing, about the music, about the editing, about the fight choreography holy shit, but honestly? The above gif encapsulates it pretty entirely: the power of gaze and where it lingers.

4. Guardian/镇魂/Zhèn Hún

Oh my whole heart went to this show and this gorgeous ensemble and the music fuck. Zhu Yilong is phenomenal holy shit. And his and Bai Yu’s chemistry is insane. I’m of the firm belief they paved the way for cql in terms of handling censorship bc WOW. This show was censored and yet everything—ten thousand years of Yearning and Devotion, Love and Tenderness—was so fucking palpable. I cared about everyone: every side character in every case, every villain. And the fact that every character in SID was given their own arc and the actors portrayed them so fucking incredibly. I barely breathed through the majority of Chu Shuzhi’s arc because holy shit Jiang Mingyang blew me away. And Gao Yuer as Zhu Hong? Fucking WOW. I went into this series thinking it was just gonna be a nice fantasy/sci-fi bromance with a sad ending I was going to have to put up with and came out the other side yelling about WeiLan being married with a cat son and I regret nothing.

5. Until We Meet Again/ด้ายแดงซีรีส์

This series cracked me wide open. I cried just about in every episode (obviously) but I specifically remember watching the episode where Pharm meets In’s sister/Dean’s grandma and the music soaring (THIS SONG FUCK https://open.spotify.com/track/7c7FfcuwwGmriy72YAQrud?si=q6Sk871BQPKJIYc4xCYHlg) and my whole heart just breaking and my then partner asked me what was wrong and I couldn’t even speak. I was so overwhelmed with feeling. This show broke my heart but then carefully, gently held me, and allowed time to sit with my cathartic grief. Beautiful, powerful, humbling. An extremely banal but nonetheless important for me plus was the fact that I adored each of the ships equally. So often I find I myself loving side ships more than main ships but this show was so outstanding and the actors did such an incredible job that I just loved them all. An absolute gift.

Honourable mentions: My Engineer; Gaya Sa Pelikula; Together With Me; Love By Chance; HIStory3: Trapped; HIStory2: Crossing the Line; TharnType; She-Ra and the Princesses of Power; Legend of Korra; The Dragon Prince; The Good Place; One Day At A Time; Russian Doll; and Glow.

Bless queer fandom! And my eternal gratitude to translators everywhere—y’all are phenomenal and such a gift!! This year I’d love for more GL dramas and more queer ladies/enbies as well! Not that I don’t love my soft boys!! But I’d k-word/d-word for a lesbian warrior drama or a queer ladies time travel/loop drama or queer enbies vibing on adventures! So here’s to you, 2021: may you not be nearly as shitty, and may you instead be filled with more queerness, more love, more happy endings, more tenderness ♥️

[recurring-polynya]

Please tell me about Obidala UwU

Ha ha ha, you asked for it.

Okay, for starters, I am bisexual and all my OTPs consist of (1) dude who has basically the same personality as me but I would like to bone and (1) lady who is the sort of person I wish I was, whom I would also like to bone. The dude in a Polynya OTP is generally a member of some sort of strict order (cop, Jedi, shinigami) that he is deeply devoted to. He is super good at his job and works his ass off, but he is always the loyal lieutenant, never the main character and accepts this as his lot in life. He is neurotic. He drinks a lot of coffee, or whatever the appropriate fantasy equivalent is. The lady Goes Hard. She is tough as balls. She usually has a lot of political power and is very smart and will cut a bitch. Her aesthetic is off the chain; enormous, bizarre dresses a plus. I think you can see where I am going with this. Also, Ewan MacGregor and Natalie Portman are two incredibly good-looking people and amazing actors and they absolutely carried the Phantom Menace, which I saw, like, eight times in theaters.

Here is what would have happened if someone had hired me to write Episodes 2 and 3, which no one did, for some reason. So first off, in Episode 1, Amidala is 14, I think, Anakin is 10, and Obi-Wan is.. Jeez, I dunno. 17 maybe? 30? Who knows? Anyway, watch that movie and try to tell me that there is ~ any chance ~ that Amidala would fall for Anakin, especially when there is this hot apprentice Jedi hanging around having this tragic shit go down, and being stoic and oh, no, I’m getting misty. None of this matters. Amidala is the queen, she has shit to do, no time for dumb boys. Anakin is obviously immediately smitten with her, why wouldn’t he be? Okay, now I need, like, an interim episode 1.5, where Obi-Wan is trying to train Anakin, but he’s bad at it because he’s barely graduated himself and he’s really broken up over Qui-Gon’s death and also he’s an order muppet and Anakin is a chaos muppet, but they manage to work shit out and bond and become Force Bros. In fact, they are much more like brothers than having a traditional Master - Padawan relationship, but they are also absolute monsters at fighting together and even though Obi-Wan is still a wet-sock-rules-follower, Anakin is still very “fuck the police”. Cue episode 2, where they meet up with Amidala again. She’s retired from Queening (the rulership system on Naboo is bananas, srsly wtf) and they all go on an adventure. She is beauty, she is grace, she stabs a dude right in the face. The three of them are an absolute wrecking crew. Anakin is smitten all over again, except that Amidala and Obi-Wan have… all this… chemistry. But Obi-Wan is a rules follower, he knows he’s not supposed to fall in love and also, she’s a Galactic Senator, she’s way above his pay grade, and also, his best friend is in love with her, Obi-Wan Would Never. Amidala would definitely like to hit that, but she respects Obi-Wan’s weird morals and also, she cares a lot about both boys and does not want to mess things up between them. Episode ends with my three kids as Nakama with A Lot of Sexual Tension Floating Around. 

Episode 3! Episode 3 is the absolute keystone of the Star Wars nonology (is that a word?) and it has to be stunning and the Episode 3 we got is a pile of cat vomit. Anakin needs to be a character that you love and care for and it absolutely breaks your heart when he goes to the dark side. And Palpatine would achieve this by tapping into Anakin’s tendency to hate the rules which is the one major philosophical difference he has with Obi-Wan, and also planting the seeds of the idea that Obi-Wan and Amidala are in love behind his back. Now, Obi-Wan is getting worried about Anakin, and he turns to Amidala, because he feels like she’s the only one who can get through to him. Sheev (Christ, I cannot get over that his name is Sheev) machinates things so that Anakin catches them “sneaking around behind his back” and the thing is, they haven’t been doing anything aside from trying to help him, except the fact is, they are actually in love and Anakin has basically already known this, and he has also always known that in some ways, he is the one who has stood in the way of his best friends being together and also he has a lot of Trauma and our boy loses his shit and takes a one-way trip to the Dark Side. I honestly never worked out what happened after that, but ngl, I feel like “hey, Luke, Vader wasn’t actually your dad after all” would have been a pretty amazing plot twist for Ep 5.

Is this the fanfiction I wrote? No. It is not. My sis and I had a series of stories where Anakin was having trouble fitting in at the Temple, and Obi-Wan gets special permission to take him off to some backwater planet to train him by themselves. It was basically a bunch of Obi-Wan is A Shitty Single Dad stories, featuring such gems as Anakin Joins a Boy Scout Troop and They Go Camping (Obi-Wan throws one of the other dads’ cell phones in a lake?) and Anakin Tries to Surreptitiously Pod-Race Without Obi-Wan Finding Out and oh God, there was one where they had to go back to the Temple for some sort of Padawan Talent Show featuring all of Obi-Wan’s friends who are now grown up and have their own apprentices? Eventually, we get to my masterpiece, where Amidala sends some letters to Obi-Wan and Anakin, and Anakin misinterprets something she says and thinks she’s gotten roped into an Arranged Marriage and feeling that Obi-Wan would not take this seriously enough, runs away to go save her. Obi-Wan, who is so, so tired, has to chase after him, and shortly after he gets to Naboo, Amidala actually does get roped into a political marriage with this absolute buffoon who was vaguely based on Kuno Tatewaki from Ranma ½. Hilarity, as one might expect, ensues. But, wait! There’s more! Close to the end of the story, Anakin has to run off and get the dude’s parents who have not at all approved this marriage and he tells Obi-Wan he has to stall the wedding. Obi-Wan blows this super hard by declaring, in a long, rambling fashion, that Amidala can’t marry this other guy, because he, Obi-Wan is in love with her. I then wrote a sequel, where this awful prince tries to get married to someone else. All these rich, royal people think that Amidala and Obi-Wan are together (and that they are super cute) so they decide they have to have a loud public break-up, except that someone straight-up gets murdered and then they have to solve the murder mystery and the whole time Anakin is wandering around going “can you guys please break up already?” Anyway, the bride turned out to be involved in the murder, so, once again, this bonehead prince has failed to get married, although somewhere along the line, he fell in love with one of Amidala’s handmaidens (I should note, the handmaidens in these stories are major characters and utter agents of chaos). Anyway, I got halfway through the third story in this series as well, where the prince and Amidala’s handmaiden get married, and Obi-Wan and Amidala try once again to break up and then are like “What if we… didn’t?” and I never finished it. I still have it around her somewhere. I am pretty sure all this nonsense is still floating around the internet… somewhere, but it was 19-friggin-99, so it’s got my real (maiden) name on it ::face palm:: so I’m not posting a link. If you deeply feel the need to read any of this nonsense (and I tell you, you do not), DM me.

The moral of this story is that I am still writing the same gonzo comedy-of-errors stories I wrote when I was eighteen, when I get around to re-writing WDKALY, you jerks are in for it.

[formerprincess]

A tale written with fangs and claws || Chapter 53

Chapters: 53/? Fandom: Teen Wolf (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken, Corey Bryant/Mason Hewitt Characters: Liam Dunbar, Theo Raeken, Mason Hewitt, Corey Bryant, Nolan (Teen Wolf) Additional Tags: Alpha Liam Dunbar, Slow Build, Friends to Lovers, Dunbar Pack, Bisexual Liam Dunbar, Werewolf Theo Raeken, Alpha Theo Raeken, Canon-Typical Violence, Smut, Mates, Liam and Theo are mates, Top Theo Raeken, Bottom Theo Raeken, Top Liam, Bottom Liam Dunbar Series: Part 1 of Morning Dew Pack

Liam feels sad at their current situation and is in desperate need of some good news. And then a mysterious letter arrives...

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Liam was having a headache. He had sat down at the dining table to get some reading done for his classes and he finished a large part but now his eyes were burning, too tired from the small font and the bright color of his highlighter. He groaned and rubbed his eyes. When a can of Coke was placed next to him, he jumped.  “You look like you’re about to pass out. I’ve never seen you so pale,” Brett explained his action. “Drink.” Liam blinked against the dots dancing in front of his eyes from rubbing them too hard and opened the can to take a sip. “Just having a headache,” he murmured once he swallowed.  “You’re all at sea, don’t even try to deny it. Sleeping on that couch is killing you.” Brett pulled a chair towards him and straddled it reversed. He braced his arms on the backrest and watched Liam.  “The couch is not the problem. It’s just a bit much lately.” Liam was trying to take Mason’s words to heart and be more open about how he felt and such.  “Don’t tell me. It fucking sucks. I’d love to be alone with Nolan for a little while so we can sort out if we are together or not but we just don’t have the opportunity when we’re home. We both don’t want to do it somewhere else, it’s a private matter.” "I feel you, Brett, I feel you.” Liam yawned and sipped his Coke.  Brett narrowed his eyes. “You’re still looking pale as fuck. Theo kills me if you faint right now. Go and lay down.” “I am fine,” Liam affirmed. “Just tired. The Coke needs a few moments to work but it will help.” He drank another sip. 

His phone beeped and he grabbed it to check the message he received. Lana had sent him a picture of Landon and Zack smiling brightly in the camera, arms wrapped around each other’s shoulders. Since the two boys met they had become best friends and were inseparable. It was great to see Landon having a great best friend by his side and be the happy child he should be. The young Alpha smiled and turned the phone to show Brett the picture. Brett smiled as well. He was just as glad his cousin and his aunt were happy and didn’t live in an oppressive pack anymore.  "I’m happy I didn’t bring him back to Seattle. To think where a child would sleep currently, what a nightmare,” Liam muttered and placed his phone on the table again. “Everything happens for a reason. At the lake, he is happy at least. Although he keeps asking when we move again and he can come to visit me.” “You miss him, hm?” Brett put his chin on his arms and studied Liam. Liam hummed. “Yeah.”

He leaned his head against his chair and sipped his Coke again. His head still hurt. From the look Brett was giving him, he seemingly still looked as if he was about to pass out. “I’m fine,” he growled. Brett just scoffed.  Theo came home at that moment, alongside Sadie and Maya, and Brett pointed at Liam. “Great timing, now you can make sure your boyfriend is not falling off his chair.” “Why would he fall off his chair?” Theo questioned and put his bag down.  Maya glanced at Liam. “Jeez, you’re white as a wall, what’s up with you?” “I am fine!” Liam hated the scrutinizing looks from his Betas. “It’s just a headache. I already have something to drink.” He raised his can.  Theo came over and gently grabbed Liam’s chin. “She’s right, you are pale. Sure it’s just a headache?” “Yeah. Why do you worry?” “Because you are the love of my life,” Theo replied and kissed Liam softly.  It was a really sweet gesture and it gave Liam a kick to know they could have those little moments despite the chaos their life currently was. “I love you too,” he muttered against Theo’s lips. The older smiled.  “I know,” he answered and nudged Liam’s nose with his. 

****** The referee ended the game and Liam pulled off his helmet, let it dangle from his fingers. A curse fell from his lips and he huffed loudly. They had lost. Despite being positive and having faith in his team, the other team had been better and beat them fair and square. It sucked. “Chin, up, Liam! It was a good game,” Rod called over to his captain.  Liam scoffed. “We were not good enough,” he stated heatedly.  “No, hey, you did very well, the others were simply better today. Doesn’t mean you were not good.” “It’s just...” Liam ran a hand through his sweaty hair and looked at his lacrosse coach. “I really hoped we would have this one in the bag, you know? Something positive as a sign life’s on it’s way up again. But I guess karma just hates my ass or something.” “I can tell you are frustrated but don’t give up hope, okay? Good things happen to good people.” Rod gave him a friendly pat on the back.  “At this point, I’m in the need for a miracle. But miracles only happen in Hollywood movies and internet stories. My life is neither a movie nor a fanfiction, so I can’t really hope on a miracle.” Liam made a face.  “I wouldn’t say that. Good things happen to those who deserve it and I would testify you’re one of those people.” “Hm.” Liam stubbornly shook his head. He really could not believe this anymore. “That’s some Disney crap right there and I’m everything but a Disney Prince.” “I wouldn’t say that. You’re my Disney Prince.” Theo had appeared next to Liam. The young Alpha glared at him. “Stop making fun of me!” “I’m not making fun of you. Just trying to make you feel better.” He pulled Liam in a hug. “Sorry that you lost.” Liam grumbled but briefly hugged Theo back. It wasn’t his boyfriend’s fault that yet another thing failed. “I need to hit the showers. See you in a bit.” 

He stepped back and made his way to the locker room. On his way, he slung his arms around Sadie’s and Caden’s shoulders. Both looked as done as Liam felt.  “Losing sucks!” Sadie complained loudly.  “Tell me about it.” Caden was just as frustrated and disappointed as the other two. “I was so confident we would win this time. I don’t know what happened.” “Fate hates me and I was on the field with you, that’s what happened,” Liam grumbled with a stormy look on his face.  Sadie stopped walking and pushed her palm against his chest. “Okay, first of all, you are a great guy, I can’t see how anyone would hate you. Second of all, if fate hates anybody, it’s all of us because we all played.” Liam just gave her a tired look. “Leave it, Sads, I’m really not in the mood for another pep talk.” And he just dragged Caden in the locker room with him, Sadie’s indignant huff behind him ignored. 

****** “Am I feeling sorry for myself?” Liam asked. He sat on the ground and leaned against the wall of Isaac’s apartment outside on the balcony.  “Yeah,” Isaac agreed and took a sip from his beer. He sat next to Liam and had his legs stretched out in front of him. “But that is allowed. Your currently not the luckiest guy.” “I feel like I should do more, you know?” Liam sipped on his own beer. It was just slightly laced with wolfsbane, nearly not enough to get him drunk but it was more the sentiment. “To help my pack gain money and find a new home.” “What else do you want to do? Liam, you are doing everything you can. It is freaking hard to go on when you hit rock bottom, take it from someone who knows that more than well, and sometimes the only success you have is not giving up. You’re not giving up. That’s what matters.” “I’m still unemployed and my boyfriend works his ass off in a sleazy Diner.” Isaac sighed and pointed his bottle at Liam. “You know when things go south? When one of you starts turning tricks. Theo’s job is not good, we both agree on that one, but he’s also not seeling his ass. Neither are you or any of your Betas. And you’re all alive. As someone from Beacon Hills, that should put you in a positive mood.” “Oh, so the newest standard for how bad things are is prostitution? That’s constructive, Zac.”  He sipped his beer again and ignored the look Isaac gave him.  “Look, Liam, you asked if you feel sorry for yourself. Yes, you all do. It is actually important that you do. Because this is grief and grief has several stages. It’s not always caused by someone dying but by traumatic experiences. Only if you grief properly, you can heal. So, feel sorry for yourself, but then pick yourself up when time’s right and tackle life.” “I am drinking beer in the middle of the day. I’m not sure if this counts as picking myself up.” But it had been one of those days, one of the worst. He had lost an argument in class, had gotten in a discussion with one of his Professors, spilled coffee over himself, and had gotten yet another decline from a job he had applied to. Isaac had taken one look at Liam when the younger dragged himself back to the apartment and fell on the couch before he had offered the beer to Liam.  “Hm, some days this is allowed.” Isaac drank again. He swallowed and was quiet for a while. “When I was in France, I felt lost. Not only because I had never been to France before but because of everything that happened. It was never real grief though, always simmering underneath. I thought that was how it would be. I wasn’t and I’m still not overly good with feelings so it kind of worked for me. And then one day it hit me. I woke up and I couldn’t go on. Getting out of bed was hard. How I managed it in the end, I had no idea. All I could think about was Allison, the remaining pack in Beacon Hills, how it would never be the same, how I would never see her again. It crashed over me like an avalanche and there was nothing I could do about it. I hit rock bottom. That night, I got so fucking drunk, I have no idea what happened. The last thing I know was that I grabbed my bottle of I think it was wolfsbane-vodka and staggered through the streets bawling my eyes out. Next morning I woke up in a park. I was reeking like a tavern, my clothes were dirty, and my head hurt, but despite all this, I felt better. Not because of the alcohol but because for one night, I let go and allowed myself to break down. It took a while longer after that but I continuously got better.”

Liam tilted his face towards the sun and closed his eyes. “Basically, your advice is to get wasted and cry my eyes out before sleeping in a park.” Isaac sighed deeply. “Seriously, comments like that make me see that you’re Theo’s boyfriend. Same cynicism.” “Well, his cynicism as you called it, is one of the things I felt drawn to.” Liam snickered. “That and his abs. And his ass. And his spirit. How great he was in fights. How he managed to get under my skin. Did I already mention his ass?” Liam sighed internally. Speaking of all the qualities his boyfriend possessed reminded him how long it was since Theo and he had been alone for a while. A shame. The twenty-year-old sighed and got to his feet. “I will go for a run now. And then I’ll take a shower, preferably a cold one. Mason and Maya declared themselves in charge for dinner tonight.” “As long as Theo doesn’t bring what he calls food from his workplace again, I’m fine with everything.” “It’s funny how everybody hates their food and they still make money with it.” Liam snickered when he slipped inside the apartment to change into workout clothes. He really hoped his run would help him feel a little bit better about himself.

Turned out, the run didn’t really help to lift Liam’s spirits but when he returned back to the apartment he found Theo sitting in one of the leather seats in the entrance hall. “Hey,” the older greeted when he spotted Liam.  “Hey. What are you doing down here?” Liam asked curiously.  Theo shrugged. “Needed to get out of the apartment for a while. Gotten a little crowded.” Oh, how Liam could understand that. “We really need a new place to stay.” “We do,” Theo agreed and held out a chocolate bar for Liam. “Here, got this for you.” “Why does everybody feel the need to give me food or drinks recently? Do I look like I need feeding?” “It’s with coconut. You like coconut and chocolate makes people happy. Is not much but maybe it helps you a little bit.” “Aw.” Liam doubted it would help but Theo had tried and therefore, Liam leaned down and kissed his mate. “I love you.” “I love you too. Are you going to the apartment?” “Yeah, I need a shower.” Liam avoided sniffing at himself, what he already smelled was enough. Theo got to his feet and slung his arm around Liam’s shoulders. “I’ll accompany you.” “If you’d rather stay down here, it’s fine, you know?” “No, I had a little break, that’s enough. I love the pack, is not like I want to avoid them.”

The couple stepped into an elevator and Theo pressed the button for Isaac's floor. His other arm stayed around Liam’s shoulders and his thumb stroked the naked skin on Liam’s shoulder. Liam dressed in a tank top helped him immensely with that.  “I got another negative answer for a job,” Liam filled his mate in while they rode the elevator up. “They really don’t know what they’re missing. Their loss. You will find a job where people appreciate you and want to work with you. Meanwhile, we all appreciate you, Alpha.” “Thanks, T.” Liam pecked Theo’s cheek and wrapped his arms around the older man’s waist. “You know this means a lot to me, yeah? That you always support me and try to make me feel better.” “Well, doesn’t take a mindreader to see you’re not happy. Can’t blame you and I want to help you. What happened wasn’t your fault, Liam.” “I know that.” Liam squeezed Theo shortly then he let him go and pushed his hands in the pockets of his running shorts. “I’m just so fucking pissed. The hyenas destroyed our home and now they’re gone. If they had come to fight at least, I could have ripped them apart, but I was left with nothing. Fucking cowards.” “I’m pretty sure every single member of this pack, even Tim and Corey, are ready to rip those bastards apart. If they ever step foot in Seattle again, they’re history.” There laid the problem. The cowardy shifters had run away after they caused havoc with no intention to fight the pack. Liam didn’t think they would ever come back to Seattle. 

They arrived at their floor and made their way to the apartment. Once they stepped in, both Alphas were happily greeted by most of their pack. “Hey, guys.” Liam waved at his Betas. “I need a shower. Mase, Maya, after that, I can help you with dinner.” “Na, we’re fine. Take a shower and just relax or do your homework or whatever it is you want to do. We got it covered,” Mason called after him while Liam grabbed his spare clothes and then disappeared in the bathroom.  It was an actual miracle how so many people could live together and yet have such a clean bathroom. Then again, no matter how chaotic some of the pack members were, no one wanted a dirty bathroom so they all had an unspoken agreement to keep it clean. That and the kitchen, also that was more Liam’s rule than anything else. Theo found it highly amusing that Liam always kept the kitchen clean but was hopelessly chaotic when it came to everything else. Liam always defended himself in saying being chaotic wasn’t the same as being dirty. It was one of those talks where they both said the same thing but with different words and Theo got his amusement out of it by pretending he was not understanding what Liam was expressing. He was an asshole and Liam loved every part of him and would never let him go. 

Liam stripped off his clothes and stepped into the shower. He only used a little bit of the warm water and used mostly cold water. Somehow Liam liked cold showers, especially during the summer. Mason once had the misfortune to use the shower after Liam and had shrieked at the temperature of the water when he just turned it on. Corey had doubled over with laughter when his husband literally jumped out of the shower and yelled profanities in Liam’s direction. It had been funny but then again proved how used they all had gotten to the house. The Alpha couple had their own bathroom and Theo was used to Liam’s cold showers. Now that they all had to share one bathroom, problems were bound to arise. Even though Liam was quite proud of how his pack handled them and that there were not many fights involving the bathroom use. 

Liam finished his shower lost in thoughts. He knew Isaac had no problem with them staying here but they could not live like that much longer. And maybe Nolan’s mom was right and they had to accept living together was not an option at the moment. Maybe they got lucky and could get dorm rooms in close vicinity.

He got dressed and then dried his hair with a towel before he exited the bathroom again and made his way into the kitchen. Most of the pack was gathered there and currently wrapped in a discussion.  Isaac was currently speaking. “Of course, there will be insurance but since Mike brought the house with his parent’s money, the insurance money will go to his parents as well. We already covered that. I can’t think of any way you will get access to that money, especially since Mike’s bank account is still frozen by his parents.” “But can’t we like lie or something?” Corey inquired.  Theo snorted. “I’m pretty sure that would be insurance fraud. Technically, Mike’s parents bought the house. It’s only fair in terms of law they get the insurance money.” “You care about law and Mike’s parents getting what’s fair?” Mason could not believe his ears.  Theo shrugged. “I can scam people but insurance fraud is not my strength. Besides, what is this? Ocean’s Eleven? Are you already planning a heist?” Liam cut in before Mason could even start to delve into that fantasy. “We are not getting money by any criminal action. Also, not by prostitution.” His Betas stared at him dumbfounded. “When was prostitution ever on the table?” Maya asked hesitantly.  “I mean,” Sadie played with the tips of her ponytail. “People surely would pay money for you, Liam, but when was this considered?” Theo flashed his eyes. “It wasn’t! That’s not even on the table! Like ever!” “Yeah, that’s what I said.” Liam gently reached out and ran his fingers over Theo’s hand.”Calm down.” “Sorry but my wolf goes crazy just even imagining somebody else touching my mate like that. No! Nope! Not going there!” He vehemently shook his head. 

There was a knock on the door and Ever waved her hand to telekinetically open it. Caden strolled in, followed by Lori and Brett. All three were happily greeted by everyone else. Even though some of the Betas slept at Caden’s dorm room, it was nice to have everyone gather at Isaac’s apartment and be together for a few hours per day.  Lori carried the mail she had gotten from the house and sorted through it while he stepped into the kitchen. “Most is just flyers and ads but there is one letter for you, Liam. Looks important.” She handed the cream-colored envelope over and Liam frowned. He didn’t expect any letters and he surely did not expect such expensive looking letters. There was a blue logo with silver writing on the left upper corner of the envelope. “Ebstein and McArvey? Sounds like lawyers. No idea who they are.” Mike looked up from his phone. “They are lawyers. High-profile ones. My parents’ company used to work with them.” Liam visibly paled at that and Theo gave him a sharp look. “What did you do that requires a lawyer?” He asked suspiciously.  Liam shook his head. “I didn’t do anything!” He glanced at Mason. “What we did at the junkyard was legal, right?”  “Of course it was,” Mason hurried to confirm. He paused, then he added: “Also, those guys won’t hire a lawyer, they would send somebody.” Corey sighed. “That was the most unsettling sentence you said in a long time.” He shook his head when Mason glared at him. “Way to go, baby, way to go.”

Liam meanwhile opened the letter with shaking hands. He had done nothing wrong, why would a lawyer write a letter to him? He had tried to be good so badly, had done his best to not turn into the Liam he once was, the one destroying things in his rage, and now such a letter. It scared the shit out of him and his heart beat furiously against his ribcage. What if he was getting sued? How was he supposed to handle this financially?  Inside the envelope was a letter written on the same paper as the envelope itself and with the law firm’s logo right on top of the page.  “Do you want one of us to read it?” Ever offered empathetically when she saw how bad Liam was shaking. Brett reached out and put a hand on Liam’s shoulder, gave it a squeeze.  “No, it’s fine. I’ll just read it aloud.” Liam grimaced. He felt like he was going to throw up at any moment. He took a shaky breath and unfolded the letter completely. Then he began to read:

“Dear Mr. Dunbar,

we are contacting you on behalf of one of our clients. Our client tasked us with organizing a meeting between him and you in our office here in Washington D.C. to discuss some business matters. Please understand that for now, we will honor our client’s privacy and you can only contact us but be assured all correspondence will be forwarded to the client. 

Accommodation and travel costs will be taken care of; if you confirm the meeting a train ticket and a booking confirmation for a hotel will be sent to you immediately. 

Since this is a business meeting and you haven’t reached the age of twenty-one yet, we also invited your mother Ilona to the meeting. Her hotel and travel costs will also be taken care of.

To confirm the meeting, please send me an email with your phone number in case of any questions. For further questions, don’t hesitate to contact me. 

Kind regards,

Cordelia Apscort Personal Assistant George Ebstein c.apscort@ebstein-mcarvey-law.com”

Then came the date when the meeting should take place, her phone number, and the address. Liam blinked. What? “That is a trap! I know a trap when I see one!” Sadie pointed at the letter. “Surely, those hyenas are behind that. They want to lure you in and then attack! It has to be a trap!” “Why does it have to?” Maya asked. “The law firm exists, it could also be legit. I don’t think those cowards would go such lengths to lure Liam out of town.” “Liam, do you know anybody who could work with this law firm?” Isaac questioned. Liam shrugged his shoulders.  “I’m drawing a blank here. I also don’t know what business anyone could talk about with me. Theo’s majoring in business, not me. But it also doesn’t feel like a trap to me. I’m confused. That doesn’t make any sense.”

It sparked a vivid argument between the whole pack about the letter and what it could mean, if it was a scheme to hurt Liam, what he should do about it.  “Can I say something?” Mike suddenly questioned. Liam glanced at him and gave a curt nod. “Those lawyers are great at what they do and they are expensive as hell. Their clients are rich, companies making millions per year, CEOS, stockbrokers, you get the idea. I don’t think those hyenas are rich enough to actually get these lawyers to set up a trap. Even if they had the money, I don’t think the law firm would put their reputation on the line like that. It doesn’t make sense to me.” “I hear what you’re saying and I concede it is logical but I also don’t know anybody rich enough to hire them. I just don’t. So either this is a trap or somebody is actually suing me for something.” Liam put his elbows on the counter and buried his face in his hands. “Maybe I’m going to jail.” “If you were going to jail the police would have shown up here. Also, there would have been a trial. You’re not going to jail.” Bless Theo and his logical mind. 

Liam peeked between his fingers. Then he pushed himself up. “Where’s my phone?” “On the table.” Tim hurried over to the dining table and gathered the device before bringing it to Liam. “What are you doing?” “Calling my mom. They invited her too, after all,” Liam explained and dialed Ilona’s number. It took five rings and she picked up. “Liam, sweetie, I was about to call you.” “Is it because of the letter from those lawyers.” Liam was not even asking. He didn’t have to. “Yes. What is going on, baby?” “I have absolutely no idea. I got this letter today and it makes absolutely no sense to me. I hoped you could help me figure it out.” “Sorry, Liam, I’m afraid I can’t help you with this. They mention a business meeting but I have no idea what this could entail.” “Huh.” Liam worried his lower lip. So far, they knew absolutely nothing and it was hard making a decision. Sure, he was curious, but he had also paid for curiosity in the past and it had made him wary. “Only one way to find it out, I guess.” “You’re actually considering this?” Ilona and Theo asked at the same time. Theo was shocked, Ilona merely surprised.  “Yeah, I mean, what else can I do? To find out what this is about, I have to travel to D.C. and attend the meeting.” Theo raised both shoulders. “Okay, I’m coming with you then.” “No, you’re staying here,” Liam stated. Instantly their mating bond tensed and Theo got a stormy look on his face.  “The fuck I’m staying.” Liam ignored his boyfriend for now. “Mom, what do you think?” “I think given what you’re usually against it is risky. But I will also be the first person to support you and accompany you to a real business meeting. It could go both ways, but I will be there, baby.” “Great. I will call you later, okay? For now, I have to settle this because Dore looks seconds away from sending me to Eichen House. Love you.” He hung up and returned Theo’s stormy glare with a raised eyebrow of his own. “What?” “If you believe I’m letting you travel to D.C. alone, then yes, you belong to Eichen House.” Theo snapped. “I’m totally on Theo’s side this time,” Mason declared. 

Liam pushed away from the counter and wandered into the living room area. He turned around again to face his pack. “It could be a trap aimed at making us split up. If one part of the pack comes with me, the hyenas could attack the other part staying here. You’re stronger if you all stay together.” “And if they attack you?” Nolan questioned. “I’m the Alpha, that is a risk I have to take.” He saw how absolutely not okay his friends were with this and hurried to explain his reasons. “Look, you are right, I could walk right into a trap and a potentially deadly fight. But it could also leave my pack in danger if we split. I’m the Alpha and maybe because of the Alpha spark, those thoughts pop into my head. I can’t shake them. Try to see things from my perspective, okay? How am I supposed to decide who comes with me? Do I take the strongest Betas and leave the others behind? This is not me rating you, you all have your strengths and weaknesses, but what am I supposed to do? Do I take Sadie and Mike, the strongest ones? Do I take Ever who can cast spells and make everything go up in flames or do I let her stay in Seattle for protection and defense? Do I take Theo, so if something happens this pack has no Alpha anymore? I’m aware you all are confident and can survive on your own, this is not what this is about. And then, of course, is always the possibility of this being really just a business meeting.I’m sure the lawyers will love me walking in there accompanied by a hunter carrying several weapons with him.” All his reasoning proved popular with his friends and they nodded hesitantly. “But can’t you at least call some from the lake? Not to accompany you but to be around when shit hist the fan? Backup? You and your mom all alone in D.C. make me anxious,” Theo pleaded. It was strange to see and hear him do so but Liam got it. Still, he wasn’t sure if he should. "I don’t want to put them in danger.” “I swear to god, Liam Emerson!” Theo threw his hands up in frustration.  “Maybe you should talk about this later, when your emotions are not running so high and everything has settled a little bit,” Caden suddenly suggested. “And, this could always be something entirely normal. A business opportunity. Maybe a sponsor. Liam, didn’t you say yourself you needed a miracle?” “Miracles don’t happen in real life, Caden.” Liam scrunched his nose. 

****** In the end, Liam had confirmed the meeting and traveled to D.C. on his own. He would meet Ilona at the hotel and they would spend a pleasant evening, grab a bite to eat and then talk some before they would have the meeting the other day. If he was honest, Liam was anxious. He still suspected to get sued but for the life of him could not recall something he did recently that was worthy of suing him for. 

His farewell to his Betas had been kind of hard. It was strange to leave them, even for one night. Theo had hugged Liam especially tight and didn't let go for a while. “Please, come home to me,” he had whispered in his Alpha’s ear and Liam had hugged him tighter. They had kissed after that and then Liam had to go on the train. The whole ride he had spent running his fingers over the bracelet around his wrist or play with his pendant. He would return to Seattle tomorrow, it was plain ridiculous to act like that and yet Liam could not help himself. The last couple of weeks had been an emotional rollercoaster and their situation was still not getting better. And now he was on a way to a mysterious meeting. What happened to his normal werwolf college life from a year ago?

When he arrived at the hotel in D.C. Liam was surprised by how nice yet humble it looked. He had expected a luxurious hotel, given the law firm’s reputation, and he would have felt way out of place. But this one was a nice white building and the hotel colors were white and dark blue. Upon entering a friendly receptionist beamed at Liam and kindly asked for his name. While she searched on her computer, the young Alpha looked around. White marble floors and dark blue walls, a little seating area with grey armchairs and a round table. He liked it.  “There you go, your room is 523 on the fifth floor. Just take the elevator and then to the right.” She handed him his key card and Liam smiled gratefully.  “Thank you. Uhm, did my mother already check-in? Ilona Geyer?” She checked with her computer. “She did indeed. Her room is 516 on the same floor as yours. Enjoy your stay.” With a small nod and a wave, Liam grabbed his bag and then ventured for the elevator. He only wanted to put his bag in his room, shoot the pack a quick text and some pictures of the room, and then go visit his mother. He had missed her and needed to see her. 

The elevator didn’t take long and soon enough Liam found himself in front of his room. It occurred to him how he spent more times in hotels in the last year than in any other year before. Huh, how about that? But there was not much he could do about it and the aspect of sleeping in a real bed again, excited him. Sure, not sleeping next to Theo would be awful but he would manage this for one night if it meant a real mattress and not a couch.  “Oh, this is pretty,” escaped him when he unlocked the door and stepped in. Dark blue carpet and walls, highlighted with some white and stone gray. His way into the room led him past the little bathroom, completely kept in white and just with blue towels, and then right in front of the bed. Two chairs stood in front of the window, a highly polished desk, and the kingsize bed held the same colors as the company logo. Liam pulled out his phone and filmed a 360 of the room before he sent the video to his Betas alongside a small message. Soon enough his phone dinged with messages where his family gushed how pretty this room was. With a smile, Liam pocketed his phone again, grabbed his keycard and then made his way towards his mother’s room. 

Ilona opened after the second knock. It took her one look at her son and her warm smiled turned sad. “Oh my baby, the last weeks have been hard for you, hm?” She could always see right through him and with his mother in front of him, Liam broke down. He stepped closer and hugged her while he burrowed his face against her shoulder and began to cry. He had been shaken so badly by almost getting killed, becoming homeless, and with his mother around he could finally let loose.  Ilona embraced him after she tossed the door shut. Her hands ran over his back. “It’s okay, baby, I know how tiring always being strong can be. Let it all out. I’m here.” She held him and never wavered, gave her son the shoulder to cry on he needed. Yes, his pack had been there, but they all had to work through the trauma of their house exploding, so Liam had kept back. He was the Alpha, even if he promised Mason to be more open. More open and completely open were two different things. 

It took a while until Liam calmed down and pulled away. He wiped his eyes. “I’m sorry. It’s just, I now understand what you’ve been through after the divorce and what you did for me. I can never repay you that” “Liam.” She stroked his hair. “Never say sorry for crying and showing your feelings. It makes part of who you are, you don’t have to hide. And what I did back then was something I should have done years earlier. But I did it and I did what I had to do for my family, just like you did what you had to do for your family. You don’t have to repay me anything, just seeing the man you are today, is reward enough.” They settled in the chairs in front of the window. Liam inhaled and exhaled deeply. “It just feels like nothing is going my way right now. I can’t get a job and I don’t know why. Theo is helping me but he is also driving me crazy. The others have days when they are just hopeless because we have no money. I don’t know what to do.” “Are you and Theo fighting?” “No. We did that too but he is doing his best he can to make me feel better. He just has this job in this dirty Diner and it makes me cringe every time I think about it. We rarely talk about this topic cause when we do, we fight.” “You don’t want him working there?” “It’s in a bad neighborhood. He can heal faster but I don’t want to have him around drug deals and robberies.” “And you have told him that?” Ilona nodded.  “He is stubborn. No matter what I say, he will continue working there.” Ilona smiled softly. “Maybe that is his way of taking care of you. He’s putting himself in danger so you don’t have to. It’s is debatable if this is a good way but maybe you can see it from his perspective?” Liam groaned. “I’d rather have him somewhere safe,” he sulked. Ilona reached over and patted his hand. “I know you two will find a compromise you both can love with and not fight about.” “Hm, maybe this business meeting turns out real and I get a good opportunity. Who knows?” “Still no idea what this could be about?” Ilona frowned. Liam shook his head. “Your father and I racked our brains but we could not come up with anything. “ “Guess we have to wait until tomorrow to know for sure. Hey, mom, if things go south tomorrow, just know I will get you out, okay? Nothing will happen to you.” His mother took Liam’s hand in hers. “I have no doubt in you wanting to protect me. But I need you to know I can take care of myself. It is my job to protect you.” “But I have the claws and the fangs,” Liam argued back.  “And I am a mother protecting her son. You don’t know what we can do in those situations. Don’t test me, sweetie.” Liam chuckled. His mom was as crazy as him because she was absolutely sincere about what she was saying. He got that from her. 

“Now, come on, let’s grab something to eat. I’m paying. You keep your money together so don’t even start arguing with your mother, Liam.”

****** The hotel bed was comfy but Liam could not fall asleep. He missed the warm body of his mate next to him, the way Theo’s arms wrapped around him, he missed Theo’heartbeat lulling him to sleep and he missed running his fingers through Theo’s hair. It simply wasn’t the same when the older was not around and now they were miles apart. 

His phone chimed with an incoming text and Liam reached over to grab it. Theo had messaged him asking if he was still awake and just after Liam replied that yes, he was awake, his phone light up with an upcoming video chat. He accepted and Theo smiled at him.  “Hey, baby.” “Hey.” Liam propped himself up on his pillow and waved softly. “Can’t sleep either?” “No, you’re missing.” Theo sat outside on the balcony, the apartment behind him dark. The other seemed to be already sleeping.  “I miss you too.” Liam didn’t know how he could express how much he did.  “Did you have a nice evening with your mom?” “Yeah, we found a great seafood restaurant, she paid. Would not even let me pay the dessert. Stubborn woman.” “Pot, kettle, you know?” Theo smirked. Then he suddenly turned solemn. “Hey, I know we had our difficulties lately. The situation isn’t easy by any means and I know you don’t like my workplace. I didn’t make things easier for you, even though I certainly tried to. Do you think we could mend that went you get back home? Maybe go on a date or just spend more time together without arguing? I really miss that with you.” Theo had perfectly summarized the feelings Liam had too and he smiled sadly. “I feel the same way. Yes, I’d love to implement date night again. It will be good for both of us. And Theo?” “Hm?” “I know you’re trying. I’m trying too.” His mate smiled lovingly at him. “I know you do. Lee, I cannot tell you enough how much I love you. You are wonderful and I will do everything I can to fight for us and make you smile again.” “I love you so much. Just stay with me and we will find a way to make it all work and be happy again. I just could never be happy without you.” The look Theo gave him was full of love and promise. They would make it work.  “If someone can, then we, Lee.” “Yeah.” They just smiled at each other before Theo yawned. “Sorry.” “Nah, it’s okay. It’s late, you should go to sleep. I know you have an early shift tomorrow morning.” “You know my schedule better than I do.” “Yeah, because I need to know when to send the guardian angel watching over you.” “Aww.” Theo scrunched his nose. “Sap.” “Go to sleep, asshole.” Liam grinned and flipped the camera off. Theo blew him a kiss and Liam rolled his eyes but then blew a kiss on his own. “And now it’s getting corny and I’m saying bye now.” They probably hung up simultaneously and Liam put the phone on the nightstand before he snuggled in bed once more. 

****** Liam was surprised that it was possible but his anxiety over this meeting had doubled in the morning and now increased tenfold. His mom and he had arrived at the office and the receptionist had led them into a conference room before she told them to wait. And now they sat here and waited for the inevitable. He was far too nervous to look around and take everything, too busy to play with his fingers and not vibrate out of his chair because he was shaking so hard. Ilona squeezed his leg in silent support and gave him a soft smile but that didn’t help. 

And then the door opened and two men stepped in. One wore a tailored dark blue suit and held himself incredible straight, the other wore jeans and a sports jacket over a simple shirt. The one in the suit looked in his mid-fifties, the other man was a bit younger than Ilona. Both greeted Liam and his mother with a handshake.  “Thank you so much for coming, Mr. Dunbar. Mrs. Geyer, thank you for also accepting the invite. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Chadwick Aurel, this is my lawyer Mr. Ebstein,” the younger man introduced himself and suit guy who nodded with a smile.  “Nice to meet you. Uhm, could you call me Liam? Mr. Dunbar doesn’t sound like me at all.” Liam didn’t want to feel any more uncomfortable than he already was.  “Sure, no problem. Liam, it is. Please, have a seat and let us talk. I am sure you’re curious about why you were invited here.” “Curious is an understatement,” Liam confessed when he sat down again. Chadwick laughed.  “I guess we better get to the point then.”

He sat next to Liam and turned his chair so they were face to face. Mr. Ebstein had grabbed his briefcase and opened it to pull out a notepad and a pen. He gave Mr. Aurel a nod and then the man continued: “Liam, this is actually about your grandfather but since the man died it now comes to you. Do you know my company Aurel Tech?”  Liam shook his head and Ilona did too. “Aurel Tech is a large company operating internationally, founded by my father decades ago. My father and your grandfather were friends in college, back then when my father just had this idea of his own company. He had the dream and he worked forward to it but he was missing the money to fulfill his dream. It was your grandfather who helped him out and lent him the missing amount. It wasn’t too much around this time but my father was a humble man and he appreciated every penny. He was so overwhelmed by your grandfather’s gesture he promised he would pay your grandfather back after he made his own money with his own company. Your grandfather was a remarkable man himself and he replied that he knew his friend would pay him back but should first and foremost focus on his success.” Chadwick smiled softly. “My father was also stubborn and when he owed someone something, he was serious about it. To make sure the debt was not forgotten, he marked your grandfather down with 3 percent shares of certain parts of this company.”

“This is all nice,” Ilona said softly, “But why is this important for Liam? His grandfather was an amazing man, yes, but why is this so important right now?” “The company grew over the years and gained more and more reputation and clients. We cover several fields in the technology world today which we are very proud of. My father retired and I took over ten years ago. The reason why we invited you here now is that in his will Liam’s grandfather made Liam sole heir to his belongings and his money. Our company recently accepted a merge from one of our branches and another company. The shares your grandfather held were also affected by it. That means the money from the fusion would originally belong to your grandfather but since he is dead and you’re the heir, it’s your money now.” “We talked to your grandfather’s lawyer and he confirmed with his passing, you inherited the hold on that 3 percent,” Mr. Ebstein chimed in. “It’s even written down in the documents that your grandfather and Mr. Aurel Sr. had made. It’s all perfectly legal.” “Hold up. I didn’t do anything and yet I get money because my grandfather was a nice man?” Liam summed it up and he still could not really believe it. The lawyer’s thin lip twitched in a smile.  “That’s how the economy works.” “Okay.” Liam raised both eyebrows. He had never really liked economics in school. “How much are we talking about? Hundred dollars?” Mr. Aurel and Mr. Ebstein laughed wholeheartedly. “The amount we’re talking about is 7.2 million dollars.”  Liam felt his mother grab his arm tightly. “How much??” Mother and son asked at the same time, completely shocked by this total. “No, no, that can’t be right. There has to be a mistake. Are you sure you didn’t forget a decimal place or something?” Liam could not believe it.  “Young man, the company has the best accountants. No way is there a mistake,” Mr. Ebstein chortled.  “Still, this can’t be right.” Liam shook his head. “You can’t give me millions of dollars.” Chadwick braced his arms on his knees and leaned forward. “Liam, I can understand this is a surprise but it’s just the money you deserve. My father had the highest opinion about your grandfather and I met him when I was younger. He talked about you, you know? Said how proud he was of you. What your grandfather did in college helped my father build a life, a fortune. He never got the chance to pay his friend back because your grandfather died years ago and my father last year but this is exactly what both would have wanted.” He smiled warmly. “We’ll give you time to talk about this with your mother. We invited you here, Mrs. Geyer, because Liam is not twenty-one yet. We would need your signature that he is allowed to accept the money.” “Sure, yeah.” Ilona nodded and gently rubbed Liam’s back while the lawyer and CEO left the room.

Liam hung his head and ran both hands down his face. “This is insane!” Ilona still tried to calm her son. “It is but, baby, aren’t you a little bit proud?” “Proud? Proud??” Liam jumped to his feet and stared at his mother like she had grown a second head. “Are you insane? I don’t deserve this money!”  He began pacing back and forth on one side of the table. “I can’t have 7 million dollars in my bank account. I..No, just no! I don’t deserve to have this much money.” “Why not?” Ilona questioned and straightened a wrinkle in her dress.  “I am a boy from a small town in California, I am a college student living in Seattle. How exactly am I fit for such an absurd amount of money?” Ilona stood up and walked over to her son. Liam was busy freaking out and pacing back and forth. He only had to stop when his mother put both hands on his biceps and gave him an open look.  “Liam. You and your pack are homeless. You are homeless because some people decided they didn’t like their stand in the world and had to destroy your home. You had people trying to kill you, simply for who you are and your place in this world. You saw your friends dying and yes, they came back, but you saw what you saw. You had somebody hurt you when you were the most defenseless, a child. You’re saying you don’t deserve this money because you did not do manual labor every single day? It is right, you didn’t do manual labor but, baby, you worked for it. And if this is life’s way of paying you back, I cannot think of anybody more deserving than you.” Ilona’s voice was calm but firm.

Liam could still not be convinced. “Other people have it worse than me and they don’t get this kind of compensation.” “Other people don’t have Theo either.” “What does that have to do with anything?” “It is a perfect example. You cannot always compare what you have and what others don’t have. Other people don’t have Theo but that doesn’t stop you from being happy with him. If you would want everybody to have what you have, you would need to share Theo with everyone and I’m sure you won’t like that.” Liam shook his head. “But Theo is not 7.2 million dollars. What am I supposed to do with this money? How can you trust me to be responsible for it?” Ilona laughed and shook her head. “Another reason you deserve this money is that you’re so adamant you don’t deserve it. Sweetie, I raised you. I raised a humble, responsible young man. You’re not a little kid running loose in the candy store with 20 dollars to spare. I know you can have this money transferred to you and you would buy some things right now but even if I called you in a year, you would still have some of it saved. The same in two years. Three years. For your kids, if you ever want to have any.” “But don’t you think this is unreal? Things like this only happen in Hollywood movies.” Liam was skeptical. “This is probably just a dream and I will wake up and we go here and I will get sued.” “Liam Emerson, stop that! Those things sometimes happen in real life. There is this family that one the lottery thrice. The guy who held shares on Facebook and became rich overnight. The internet loves story like this and while a lot is fake, some people get insanely lucky. You deserve to be one of them and if your grandfather was here right now, he would tell you the same. He always said you’ll get everything he owns. This is his legacy, Liam. You said he was your guardian angel once and maybe your guardian angel saw how much you were struggling and sent you this. I certainly know nobody better for that money than you and I will be gladly put my signature on the line so you can claim it.”

She smiled and reached up to wipe Liam’s tears away. He had not noticed he had been crying and now he let out a watery laugh. “This is insane. I always said miracles don’t happen.” He glanced at the sky. “Grandpa, you really pulled a number here.” His mother had known exactly what to say to make Liam realize what he could do with the money. it was a lot and made his head spin but he was homeless and he and his pack needed money. Maybe this was a miracle. Ilona laughed and hugged her son, kissed his cheek. “He would be so proud of you. I certainly am. But, honey, listen, we don't have to tell anybody about this. I mean, your father will ask what this meeting was about, so will your pack, but it is your decision who knows.” He snickered. “You can tell dad, it’s okay. I will tell the pack, of course. This is huge, I cannot hide it. But nobody else. Certainly not my aunts and uncles.” “God no.” Ilona grimaced and shook her head. “Only the people you trust.”

They hugged again and the door opened. Chadwick peeked inside. “Have you come to a decision?” Liam moved away from his mother and nodded happily. “Yeah. I’ll accept the money.” “Wonderful.” Chadwick clapped his hands once. “We will contact your bank to inform them the transaction is correctly and soon you will find the money in your account. Mr. Ebstein’s assistant already got the papers next door, you just need to sign. Would you like a glass of champagne to celebrate? Just one, I know you’re not twenty-one yet.” “No champagne, thanks,” Liam declined. He was about to follow Chadwick when he suddenly got an idea. “How long will it take for the money to be transferred?” The CEO gave him an amused and somewhat curious look. “Is there already something you’re planning to buy?” “Yes.” Liam nodded. “There is something I need to buy immediately.” “We will try to get the money transferred as fast as possible but that shouldn’t be a problem.” “Okay, good. Thanks.” And for the first time in weeks, Liam could smile without much trouble. 

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Liam's becoming self-aware, how about that? I have to admit, it was interesting to write the usual so optimistic Alpha puppy as hopeless and somber. It was certainly a change. The pack deserved some good news. That certainly was something, huh? I admit I am anxious about what you will say about this chapter. Took my sweet time with that because I had to find another job and all the stress blocked my creativity but today felt like a good day to finish the chapter. But I'm always anxious at uploading a chapter after a break. I hope you guys like it. Let me know what you think. Have a great day! ♥