#i may have to put off my snow white au which wouldn’t be ideal but something’s gotta take a backseat to aoinene week and homework

[musicalmoritz]

Chat it’s September and I only have two days of Aoinene week completed, am I cooked?

[courtlyharlequin]

Dreamscape

Summary: [ Modern AU ] Cater, Vil, Epel, and Silver, Sebek take you on a date to Disneyland! It’s the happiest place in the world, right?

A/N: Happy birthday @poisonepel​ !!! Marzi, I love you so much. Thank you for all that you do for me and the twst fandom in general. You’re such a hard worker and I don’t think people say that enough. You’re one of my closest friends. I’m glad I’ve found someone who loves twst as much as I do. I’m so grateful to know you, to be able to rot with you, to be able to over share with you. You’re sweet and very down to earth. You’re so funny too! Your react pics always send me over the moon. I always have a blast when I talk to you and Taku. I hope you have an amazing day— one that’s on par with your own amazingness ehe~ (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o)))♡

Cater Diamond:

He thought it would be a cute and Magicam-able date idea

There wouldn’t be a single moment where he isn’t snapping a picture of you two

Or perhaps he might vlog the entire experience

Cater would wait for a good hour to get a picture with Mickey Mouse

He would also buy those Mickey Mouse shaped ice cream bars, take a bite for the Magicam post and then hand it off to you because, well, it’s a bit too sweet for him

Matching ears and outfits are a must for this date

Cater opts for the classical ears. You know, the black ones that are clean and simple

Once he’s done with the pictures, he’ll let his online persona drop

He’s still peppy and flirty, but he’s not faking a smile

He’s genuinely enjoying himself after all the staging. Quite frankly, the slower rides bore him but they’re much more viable for pictures

He prefers the faster paced rides. He likes the thrill, the rush of adrenaline albeit he can’t always snap a picture because of the fast pace

His favorite rides are the ones with long lines like Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, or Indiana Jones.

Not to worry though, Cater will hold your hand while you wait. He’s surprisingly very good at small talk~

Vil Schoenheit:

He is fond of the idea of going on a date to Disneyland. Read: the idea of

To be honest, amusement parks are not his ideal date. It leaves room for paparazzi and unwanted attention. Moreover, he’s never been to an amusement park before

Constantly being in the sun irks him, but he does eventually loosen up

Complaining all day would ruin the mood and that’s simply uncouth of him so it’s best to make the most out of the situation

Vil’s makeup is light for the day. He’s going for a more natural look today.  He doesn’t want to constantly touch it up every few hours. He sports shoes similar to the ones in his PE card. They’re light, easy for walking yet still stylish

His whole ensemble is a functional yet fashionable piece. He puts his hair up into a ponytail too~

He’ll make sure your ensemble is just as comfortable as his too. He’ll even do your makeup if you wake up early enough

He carries a mini backpack with all of his essentials too. Maybe yours too if you don’t like carrying bags with you. He’s not going to carry everything as he’s not your servant, but an extra makeup pouch wouldn’t hurt

Vil is a total mom at Disneyland. He brings his own food as he won’t tolerate putting junk into his body. He’ll also do hydration checks while you wait in line

He unironically likes Fantasyland. It reminds him of the stories he read as a child. There’s a certain wonder and awe in his eyes when he rides the carousel or the Peter Pan ride. We can’t forget the Snow White ride either. They’re very “chill rides”. They won’t cause neck strain or get anyone wet. He honestly needs them after all the stress from work

You can bet that he finds himself in the gift shop for a good hour, browsing for the perfect ears for you both

Going on a date to Disneyland with Vil, seems like a handful, and it really is, but seeing him loosen up on a day off brings you both much joy. Albeit, his pride is a little wounded because he actually enjoyed himself after telling you he wouldn’t

Epel Felmier:

UWAHHH!!!

He’s also never been to an amusement park before, but not because he didn’t want to. No, the idea just never crossed his mind

His eyes light up. They sparkle. This place is huge and there’s horses too?

He’s honestly underpacked, but that’s fine with him! You don’t need a whole lot to have fun

Epel is a fast walker. If you aren’t then, he’ll make sure to hold your hand so as to not lose you in a crowd

He rushes to the first ride he sees

The attraction that caught his attention the most would be Autopia. Racing? Bring it on!

He also volunteers for the Jedi Training Academy, wielding his lightsaber with such prowess. Sure, he might be the oldest of the bunch, but he didn’t mind– especially with you cheering him on in the crowd

While those two attractions are in Tomorrowland, his favorite place is New Orleans Square and Critter Country

Epel is really fond of Splash Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean. He’s not afraid to get wet. Hell, he wants to

Although, he prefers the attractions where you explore more than sit down for a ride. He climbs up Tarzan’s Treehouse without a sweat and walks across those unstable  wooden bridges like it’s nothing

If you’re scared, he’ll grab your wrist and run straight across ♡

He likes the Winnie the Pooh ride, but don’t mention it to him. Seeing him buy matching Winne the Pooh and Piglet Mickey ears for you in the gift shop next to the ride was enough to know

And yes, he likes Dole Whip

Silver:

This sleeping beauty is a little dazed, having to wake up early and all, but he’ll make do. He gathered all of his things the night before, laying out his clothes the night before on the hotel’s couch and setting his bags by the door

He’s dressed very comfortably. He’s most likely in sweats

He also prefers a cap instead of the standard Mickey Mouse ears. The headband makes the back of his own ears hurt if he wears them for so long so he’d rather not wear them altogether

Silver falls asleep on your shoulder during the bus ride to the park itself. His snores are barely audible. You can’t help but admire his long lashes

He’ll give you this perplexed look as he catches you staring. Your eyes meet his brilliant aurora orbs and he smiles at you

As for the date itself, you two find yourselves wandering around the park. Silver has no preference so he’s willing to go on any rides if it as you wish

But from how he dozes off in Small World’s, you could assume that’s his favorite ride

Honestly, Silver likes to hang around the pond near Sleep Beauty’s castle and feed the ducks. He has an affinity for the park’s animals and they adore him as well

While you two do linger around the castle and Fantasyland for most of your day, one of Silver’s favorite places is Main Street because there’s horse drawn carriages

He likes to nuzzle his head on your shoulder and watch others hustle about. There’s a certain tranquility that comes with watching others enjoy themselves. He may or may not doze off here

The day ends with you two settling down by the lake in New Orleans Square the fireworks from afar. There was already a crowd at the area but Silver made do. If you’re short, might offer to carry you on his back

He blushes when you mentioned that some of the fireworks remind you of his multicolored eyes

Sebek Zigvolt:

He did a lot of research when you suggested that you two should go on a date here. So when you reached the front gate, he rambled on about the history of the park

This continues for almost very ride which leads you to question how much he looked into Disneyland. When you compliment him, he beams with pride. Of course, he knows about the architecture of Sleeping Beauty’s castle!

That being said, Sebek is actually a good partner to take to an amusement park. He’s so prepared. He knows the best routes and got fast passes

He personally has no preferences for rides, but from how his eyes light up when he races you in Autopia and how much he laughs in Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, those are probably his favorites. Sebek likes the rides that are more hands-on and require some skill. Sure, rides where you just sit still and enjoy the scenery is nice, but he’d rather show off his talents to you

He’s a tad ashamed that he asked to go on another round of Autopia since that threw off his schedule, but he couldn’t help it. It’s so fun!

He has a certain plan for the day as he asked you what you liked a few weeks before so he also gets a little annoyed when you take detours to buy churros and ice cream. He didn’t really take snacks into account, just main meals. He sincerely apologizes for being underprepared, but is taken back when you giggle and wave it off as nothing

If he had puppy ears, then you could imagine them perking right up after you affirm that you aren’t disappointed in him, taking his hand and all

It all works out for the better because it turns out that Sebek likes the turkey legs! He would probably get into a fight for the last one. It wasn’t intentional; he just came off as vociferous to the other person which in turn led to some bickering. Needless to say, he got the last turkey leg

[dreamscapestars]

The Ultimate Reylo Fanfic List

* = highly recommend (aka if you’re going to read anything off this list read this)

Canonverse AUs

***All Our Days - E - 221k - "I can listen no longer in silence."The hologram projection of his strangely handsome face is cobalt blue, flickering, and full of static. "I must speak to you, Rey. You… you pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me that I am not too late.” He groans, runs his hands through his dark, silver-streaked hair, then refocuses his gaze on the holorecorder. “I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight and a half years ago. Do not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death."Here the recording of Ben takes a deep breath, and looks down at something outside the holorecorder’s field of view. Perhaps at his hands, Rey manages to think, through the veil of shock and timid, fluttering hope. She wishes she were there with him, so she could take them in her own, and offer him the confidence to carry on.But this is only a hologram, so she must wait. Eventually, when he looks up again, his features have settled. He looks… Fierce. Determined. Self-assured."I have loved none but you," he says. - canonverse jane austen au 

trillions of molecules - T - 11k - Fake papers forged, contract signed and a navy blue jumpsuit with his name printed on the chest supplied to him, the man who called himself Solo was hired by the Felucian Transit Corporation as shuttle operator number B414. - tros fix it au 

There Shall I Be - N/A - 50k -She remembers the first and only time she saw him smile like this before and how it didn’t touch his eyes at the time and how it broke her heart.Now it fills her heart and gives her life.She shoves him back onto their blanket and climbs on top of him. She pulls off her sweater and takes him inside her again and rides him into the night. - canonverse far from the madding crowd au

*landscape with a blur of conquerors - E - 362k - "While I share your contempt for this situation in which we find ourselves, do not mistake it as apathy," he hissed through gritted teeth, dark eyes burning. "I hardly expect your disposition to sweeten, but I will be damned if I allow my future Empress to behave in a manner that reflects poorly on me and on the First Order!""If you allow?" She wrenched her arm out of his viselike grasp, batting his hand away for good measure. "I don't belong to you. I don't belong to anyone.""That might have been the case back when you were a scavenger on that pitiful scrap heap of a planet, but now?" His sardonic gaze flickered over her silk robes and the jewels woven through her elaborate braids. "Now you are the Chume'da, and the Chume'da belongs to her people. Their fate is entirely in your hands. Should you cross the line, it is they who will suffer for it. Am I making myself clear?""I hate you," she said bitterly. He sneered at her. "See? Already you are acclimatizing so well to married life." - arranged marriage au

Modern AUs

*the man, the stallion, and the wind - E - 17k - Weary and alone, Rey barrels west on the Trans-Canada Hwy in her old pickup truck. Weary and in need of a lift, Ben Solo stands by the side of the road with his thumb out, in the hopes of hitching a ride.One hell of a winter storm’s about to roll in, leaving them stranded. What ever shall they do? - hitchhiker au 

The Mechanic - E - 122k - It's a magical midsummer night, just made for following a persuasive, dangerous-looking lawyer to a hotel across the road from the party. But then reality catches up to Rey. - mafia baby au

*Soul Searching - E - 205k - Sixteen-year-old Rey finds out she’s soulmates with her English teacher -- in front of her entire class. Now the school gossips won’t leave her alone, prying for tidbits that Rey wouldn’t give them even if she had any. And she doesn’t. Because Mr. Solo is too horrified at being soulmates with an underage girl to even talk to her. - soulmate au

Mitan, Midi - E - 83k - After a French notary contacts Rey to inform her she's inherited a house in the Drôme (France), she decides from one day to the next to quit her job and move there. The house is pretty secluded, there's no service, no internet, no way to reach other people aside from the landline in the living-room.Ideal conditions, by her standards, as those theoretically should allow her to be perfectly alone. Theoretically. - french country side au

*A Treehouse Covered in Salt - E - 34k -High school senior Rey Johnson has lived next door to Ben Solo her whole life. The two could not be more different and at school, Rey wouldn't be caught dead in his presence. That doesn't stop her from sneaking out to their treehouse every night. Despite her unwillingness to be friends with Ben in the light of day, he has always been there with her in the darkness. - high school au

Initial - M - 45k - A Soulmate AU in which you are born with the initials of your soulmate marked on the nape of your neck. Easy enough, right? Except for two people who don't use their real names. - soulmate au 

Killing Me Softly - M - 32k - Rey clings to the hope that her husband will regain his memories after he survived a car crash that left him with amnesia. During her monthly visits at a medical facility with Ben, who now calls himself Kylo, she struggles to cope as he tries to make her let go of the past, and in turn, him with it. - amnesia au 

only child of the universe - E - 98k - The first time Rey meets Ben, they're carefree strangers getting high at the fair, alight and in love for a night. The second time is different. The second time is in therapy— where the asshole won't even acknowledge her. - high school au 

a place to go - E - 52k - All Rey Johnson wanted was solitude. A place to go where she could escape from the daily stressors and mayhem of her job. A place where she could enjoy some peace and some quiet. Her mentor Luke Skywalker's small cabin up north seemed like the ideal place to do just that. A week of seclusion was just what she needed.And then Ben Solo arrived. - snowed in au 

into the great laughter of mankind - E - 30k - There is something about watching Rey put her mind to task. Ben can't put a name to this something, exactly— all he knows is that it fascinates him like nothing else has in a long, long time."Dr. Solo?" She glances over at him. "What do you think?"I think I'm doomed, he wants to say but doesn't. I think the curse of the pharaohs has nothing on you. I think you are my Egypt. - archaeologist au

(now it’s) Time to Learn - M - 86k - “You’re a teacher?” Ben doesn’t look like a teacher. At least not like any teacher Rey has ever had. - teacher au

For Now - E - 8k - There are plenty of things he could say, but he doesn’t. Buying you muffins makes me excited to get out of bed in the morning. I wish I could go back in time and be the kind of person you could like. I don’t remember my life before you. ---------- When Kylo finds his soulmate, she doesn’t know, and he doesn’t tell her. - soulmate au 

Cupcake Wars - E - 36k - Entirely by accident, Rey ends up fucking someone who works for Snoke's Cupcakery. She's just blowing off steam. It doesn't mean anything at all. It certainly won't come back to bite her in the ass. - bakery au

The Food of Love - E - 60k - Rey picked up her first violin at eleven, finding a mentor in conductor and former-violinist Luke Skywalker. With the First Chair up for grabs, Rey is thrust into the spotlight as the youngest violinist to take First Chair in the NY Pops. But Kylo Ren - former violinist, former NY Pops cellist, formerly Ben Solo child prodigy - may take issue with Rey Nobody sitting in his grandfather's chair. - orchestra au 

Orion - E - 14k - Rey Niima finds herself in the Saharan desert trying to heal wounds from her life, and Ben Solo is there too, fixing himself along the way. - roadtrip au

Embers - E - 34k - All the myriad things he’d been—someone who made her laugh; the warmth on the other side of the bed; her best friend—those things, Rey had buried. Rey left Ben two years, three months, and sixteen days ago. But who's counting? - getting back together au 

Gilded - M - 11k - Everyone had two marks, one for class and another to identify a soulmate. She only had one: green rings on her finger, proof she was part of the laboring class. It made matters lonely, but never unbearable.Until she met him. He had two sets of marks—had a soulmate—and she did not. - soulmate au

flutz - E - 27k - Rey was determined to have no distractions during her first season in Senior Ladies figure skating.She swore that Olympic medalist and figure skating legend Ben Solo was not going to change that, no matter how intent he seemed on proving her wrong. - ice skater au 

oh autumn, oh teakettle, oh grace - E - 30k - "So let me get this straight," he says. "You're a dryad.""Quite so," she cheerfully replies."Like an actual—" His hand rises to make a feeble gesture at the towering elms that surround them— "tree-dwelling, speaks-with-animals, has-magical-powers, frolics-through-the-woods-in-orgiastic-pagan-frenzy dryad?"She wrinkles her delicately freckled nose. "Well, I don't know about orgiastic frenzy, that's really more of a maenad type of deal."He looks her up and down, taking in her pretty face and her slender figure in the skimpy white dress."Too bad," he mumbles. - dryad roadtrip au

A Proposal by Any Other Name - E - 188k - Rey and Finn have been A Thing for a long time now. Since she was eighteen, to be exact. When Finn leaves on a trip to Europe for six months for work, Rey finally chases after him to Dublin to do what he seems to be putting off: propose.She wants a family, after all.The universe has different ideas. Her flights are delayed, storms hit, she loses her tickets and everything seems to be going horribly. To top it off, she ends up stranded around a rather irritating man by the name of Kylo Ren. It goes about as well as you'd expect. - leap year au

endless summer afternoon - E - 63k - “My son's room is always made up,” Han had said, hitting a light switch as Rey clung to a dirty backpack in the dark hallway, “he never comes home. Warm bed might as well get some use.”Rey spared Han some of the dignity of his own longing assessment of the space that clearly hadn’t been looked at in a long time. An empty room in a quiet house. As gruff as he was, handing it off to some runaway nobody just because she was helping him rebuild a car was one of the kindest gestures she’d ever experienced, and had a hidden weight that she knew needed a respectful amount of privacy. Mysteries were often about unresolved sadness, and were usually only solved by the people who didn’t feel it.Rey is offered a place to stay: a spare bedroom once belonging to the mysterious Ben Solo. What does she do when she wakes up with him wanting his bed back? - roommates au 

Dandelion - E - 45k - Rey's an ex con and orphan, just released from jail after killing Plutt. She follows advice from her former guardian, Maz, and finds a job at Luke's coffee shop. Ben's a lawyer who lost his job and moved back to his hometown. He falls for Rey, unaware of her dark past. - coffee shop au

A Few Small Repairs - E - 69k - Ben Solo is a ruthless property developer, and Rey Johnson is the lone holdout on the block. She does not intend to give up what's hers, not for anything. (Not even for a pair of pretty eyes.) - property developer au

Unbroken - E - 7k - He found her sleeping in the stables, curled up in the stall of his newest, unbroken colt...

Lockjaw - M - 106k - Kylo finds Rey unconscious and near death on the side of a road, surrounded by twitching, wretched things looking to her for their next meal. Ever the altruist, he picks them off and takes her with him, saving her life in the process. It's no wonder that when she wakes she feels she owes him, and agrees to become his travel companion as he crosses the United States in search of safety and a new home. - zombie apoclypse au 

Everything to Prove - M - 13k - “The show,” he says. “It’s probably best if they don’t—if we don’t—”And Rey follows his line of thought at once. For all the program is one that doesn’t seem melodramatic—the height of drama in previous seasons came from someone’s cake falling over and that was about it—she does not doubt that the producers and cameramen would leap at the opportunity to make there be something out of nothing in their relationship—especially if there was something out of something.“Yeah,” she agrees. “Yeah, probably. We can pick baking stations that are…” but she doesn’t want to complete the thought. She likes baking next to Ben.“Or we can just be careful?” he suggests, sounding quite as pained by the prospect as Rey feels.“Yeah, careful. I can do careful,” Rey says at once and her lips are on his again and he’s laughing now, and she’s laughing, and she didn’t think laughter would be part of all this. She didn’t think it could be. But here she is, laughing and kissing and holding a man who, at some point, she’s going to want to beat.She does her best not to think of that now.It’s a friendly competition, after all. It’s not life and death. It’s baking. - great british bake off au 

*In Bloom - E - 13k - The flowers that bedeck her skin don’t lie—ballet dancer Rey is in love with her partner, Ben. But the years go by and his skin stays resolutely, devastatingly blank.He doesn’t love her. But when his hands are on her body, she can pretend. - ballet soulmates au

By Blood and Flame - E - 10k - Rey can’t go to her professors with this spell. She needs help, though, needs someone to do the spell with her, and she needs the best because it’s tricky. Dangerous.There’s a boy on campus. Powerful. Mysterious. He’s admired and envied, feared and loathed, depending on who’s talking, but for all everyone knows his story, no one seems to really know him. And Rey… Rey has been curious about him for… well, for longer than she wants to admit.She’s not sure if it’s good or bad luck that he’s the perfect person to help cast her spell. - magic college au

count the rings - E - 63k - “Because you’re sitting there all comfy, not looking at all bridal-” “I’ll just fetch the veil out of my backpack, shall I?” “-when you could be, you know, making a move on that fine-ass tree.” In which camping comes with unexpected consequences. - accidental marriage au

(won’t you let me) walk you home from school - E - 129k - Ben, a counselor in the upper school at the legendary Alliance Academy, keeps finding himself interacting with the lower school art teacher, Rey. He definitely doesn’t like it. - teacher au

follow in your form - E - 23k - Ben Solo wakes up paralyzed and angry about it.A story about dealing with change, holding onto hope, and finding love. - quadriplegic ben au 

*screwdriver - M -101k - Rey is a bright-eyed intern on her first campaign trail, Ben is an irritated data analyst, and how difficult can it be to get a legacy senator elected president? Apparently fucking impossible. - political au

9 pints - E - 83k - She knew next to nothing, and Google was largely unhelpful. All of her searches (“vampire sex rules” and “vampire dos and don’ts” and one very self-indulgent “average vampire cock size big?”) linked her to dated top ten lists written by anyone other than an actual vampire.Twenty minutes of frustrated scrolling eventually led her to a supernatural dating forum. The website was horribly aged, but still active. Questions were tagged, which meant that it was easy to narrow down her search. Vampire, she clicked, and Sex.--In which Rey gets suckered into shooting porn with one of Poe's pickiest vampire actors. - magical porn stars au

fine young cannibals - E - 27k - Kylo raised his head to the sky as he inhaled, his broad chest expanding even wider. His eyes fluttered shut, savoring the scent like a sumptuous meal. He grinned.“Oh,” he murmured, so softly Rey wasn’t even sure it was meant for her ears. His eyes slid to meet hers, scarlet and violent and hungry. “You brought a snack.”And then all hell broke loose.About three things, Rey is absolutely positive:First, she is totally, completely, and madly in love with her vampire boyfriend, Poe.Second, there is another vampire—an older, evil, definitely-not-hot vampire—that thirsts for her blood and wants nothing more than to kill her.And third, she is maybe not absolutely positive about either of these things. - twilight au

Epithumia - E - 46k- ἐπιθυμία, ας, ἡ: epithumia : desire, passionate longing, lust *** “No extra credit.” He made a noise that might have been a laugh. “You ask that every time.” “Well, I have to try.” Rey said, weakly. “Can you make an exception?” A lone eyebrow ascended his lofty forehead into his hairline. “Try harder, Miss Kenobi.” - college teacher/student au

Historical AUs (ranging from medieval to the early 2000s)

light carries on endlessly - M - 6k - “Traitor,” he told Cerberus gruffly not too much later, using both hands to scratch behind the hound’s many ears. What appeared to be a rat tail lay nearby on a blood-stained bit of stone. “What did I tell you about women with pretty eyes?”One wet tongue lapped at his wrist, and he sighed. “Right. Nothing.” - Hades and Persephone au 

The Witch in the Wood - E - 138k - As a knight errant of the kingdom of Alderaan, Kylo Ren has traveled the country, completing quest after perilous quest in search of redemption for the dark deeds of his past. When an evil witch captures the princess of a neighboring kingdom, Kylo reluctantly accepts the burden of rescue with the assumption that it will be a simple task.It is not. For the creature that lives in the woods is not a monster at all.Since her mentor died, Rey has lived in the witch’s tree and uses magic to maintain the balance of the forest. Her life is practical, repetitive, and simple—at least, until a wrathful knight thunders through her door and levels a sword at her throat. Yet something within the knight calls to her, a buzz beneath his skin that she recognizes.Without a doubt, he is not who he appears to be. - medieval witch au

Black Knight, White Queen - E - 53k - Luke Skywalker wrote his sister a letter on his deathbed, revealing that his ward is the orphaned heir of a family long thought extinct - and politically powerful. That letter fell into the wrong hands, and the secret of Rey's heritage is secret no more. The Emperor has managed to unite the Kingdoms, but he is old, and his son is weak. Seeking to ensure his son's claim to his throne, he sends his most trusted captain to bring the girl - willing or not - to be his son's bride. Rey is taken from her far-flung home, and plunged into a world of court intrigue, arranged marriage, political rivals, and would-be assassins - the black knight her constant companion and bodyguard. But even he, her dark shadow and protector, she cannot know whether to trust... - medieval bodyguard au 

Days to Remember - E - 42k - A man heads home after years of estrangement. What do you need from me? A woman leaves her world behind, a bird in a gilded cage. When we get to New York, I need help running away. -- I'll bring you to Boston with me. - titanic au 

*what if the storm ends - E - 61k - As a child, Rey is evacuated from London to the Yorkshire Dales during the Blitz. She spends the war in the care of the Solos on their farm, wandering the moors with their son looking for a legendary family artifact long lost. When the war is over, she returns to a city she no longer recognizes, and she writes a popular series of children's fantasy books based on her childhood in the Dales. After amassing fame and fortune with her stories, tragedy brings her back to the farm to see Ben Solo, once her greatest inspiration and now a widower. - post WWII au 

Take Me - E - 39k - Every night, at 8:30 pm, Rey and Ben get on stage and pretend to be in love with each other. At 9:15, they walk off stage and the actual fireworks begin. - 60s country singers au

I could have been wild, I could have been free (but nature played a trick on me) - M - 61k - “Did you know that I did not even learn your name until yesterday, when I married you?”His face flushed a darker red than it had at breakfast, and he attempted to defend himself with incompetent stammering, “I—I regret that. The situation, of course, would have been,” he wrung his hands together and stared at her feet, “It would have been preferable if we had known one another more. On several occasions, I did attempt to make myself known to you, but you seemed to have other preoccupations.”Rey could feel her face contorting into a sneer to spit out her barbed words, “Perhaps that was your cue not to marry me!” - regency arranged marriage au 

Patch - M - 20k - He is nineteen when he first sees her.She comes to the rink alone, laces her skates alone, strokes warm-up circles alone...He looks at her, really looks her in the eye, and he decides he likes what he sees.She may be young, but she is hungry and angry, and for now? That’s enough for him.It’s not like he has a lot of options. - 80 russian ice skaters au 

*The Great Big No - E - 165k - Kylo Ren is third generation rock royalty, a reigning brat prince starting to feel the burn of the fame he reached for with both hands. Rey is an aspiring singer on the verge of a big break, provided her A&R guy still has a job by the time she reaches LA. Their paths have crossed briefly, disappointingly, before. What happens when they collide? - 90s rock au

***go I know not whither and fetch I know not what - E - 119k - The year is 1994. The Iron Curtain has come down, the oligarchs have begun their rise to power, and Kyril Ren, a powerful member of the infamous crime syndicate Solntsevskaya Bratva, has been given a job: hunt down an estranged uncle who has been snitching to the FBI.Irena, nicknamed Rey by her adoptive father Luke, is a Krav Maga instructor in New York who has finally been able to obtain her original birth certificate from Russia. Turns out she was born in a little village named Vershinino, but if she wants to know more than that… she’s going to have to go there herself. - 90s russian mafia au 

we could plant a house, we could build a tree - E -124k - Ben takes a deep breath. “It’s—it’s a project. Conceptual art. You wouldn’t get it.”Rey presses her lips together to keep from laughing. She plans her next words quickly and carefully, determining what will get her the best reaction. “Really? Looks like you ruined a bedsheet to me.”His reaction does not disappoint. “Get out.” ** Seven-year-old Rey decides it's her duty to annoy the crap out of Ben Solo every single day she's alive. - 90s growing up together artist au

[jaeminlore]

Christmas in New York | Jisung

summary: is there anything more wonderful?

words: 2.9k+

category: not really a full story just a blurb, eloise at christmastime au, jisung as bill, eloise as eloise, nanny as nanny, lots of references to eloise at christmastime, looked at prizes of plaza rooms for this and geez, the reader is a female model from england, joanna fleming is one of my favorite designers, here’s the dress mentioned in the story

The Plaza. Ideally situated on Fifth Avenue. Elegance Unmatched. 

At least, that’s how the website describes it. To Jisung, it’s just home, and work, and everything his life has been centered around since he was a child. Growing up in the service industry with parents who worked long nights as room service attendants, Jisung has always known hotel etiquette. He’s known hotel living, as he’s spent upwards of eight hours a day in rooms alone. 

He knows all about guests and their preferred champagnes. He knows which rooms like heated towels and which ones ask for extra toilet paper. He knows how to keep oatmeal from becoming dry before he can get it to its appropriate room. He knows about the stock market and horse races and a bunch of other nonsensical things rich people seem to prattle on about for hours without a break.

He knows the names of bag designers and which ones to be especially careful with. He knows how to respond when he receives a tip. He knows how to hold his tongue when some rich old man tells him he doesn’t know “real work”. He knows when the ballroom isn’t in use; he knows how to sneak in and play the piano before the security guard catches wind.

During Christmastime, the Plaza is especially busy. Balls and galas and dinner parties and lodgings are booked every hour of every day. Employees work double shifts and sometimes triple, if there are enough demanding patrons. There a poinsettias everywhere (real, because the Plaza doesn’t do fake flowers) and red tablecloths the color of cranberries. 

There’s some melody of Christmas songs being played in one of the many parlors, and the sound drifts through just enough vents to be caught by Jisung’s ear, as he makes his way to one of the many ballrooms — this one waiting to be decorated for Hanukkah. Jisung has silverware cleaned and ready to be set out, but other than that,  the majority of the decisions are left to the hostess (a rich woman from Manhattan) and the official event planner, Prunella (who always seems to be in a sour mood, no matter what.)

After he lays the silverware down and asks a few questions about appropriate manners when refilling drinks, he leaves, desperate for a bit of respite before the Winter Gala being held in just a few hours.

His respite comes in the form of Eloise, a six-year-old child who lives in one of the apartments with her nanny. She lives on the sixteenth floor, though she prefers to refer to it as the tippy-top floor. Jisung prefers to refer to it as the only joyful room in the hotel; the only place where he is free to release his inhibitions. 

Nanny (as she is so lovingly referred to) is a british woman, who is, apparently, the world’s best caretaker. At least, that’s what Jisung assumes. He knows how much Eloise’s mother pays for their apartment, and a wealthy home like this wouldn’t be left in the care of just anyone. 

Eloise is another story entirely. Jisung has no idea if anyone can tame her (not that she needs any taming.) Of course, most put up with her shenanigans, but uptight guests find her erratic and intrusive behavior rather alarming.  

Jisung finds her to be one of the most fun people he has ever meant. Of course, this could be said about most six year olds, but Jisung doesn’t know any other six year olds as well as he knows Eloise. 

Eloise has a habit of getting into everyone’s heart, whether they want her to or not.

He knocks on the door, ready to serve Nanny’s evening tea, when the door is jerked open. Eloise appears, blonde hair covered in so much red tinsel that it looks like a wig. “Jisung, Jisung, Jisung, you are oh so late for Nanny’s evening tea. I have been waiting around for ages for you to help me plan my spectacular entrance tonight!”

“Tonight?” Jisung pretends to be surprised as he pours Nanny’s tea. “Are you attending the Winter Gala, Eloise?”

Eloise grabs a tea biscuit from off of Nanny’s saucer and stuffs the entire thing in her mouth. She answers his question, mouth still full. “Of course! Mother went to the gala every year when she was younger. I must, must, must carry on her legacy!”

Bits of biscuit crumbs spray onto Jisung’s lapels. He brushes them off as discreetly as he can. Catching Nanny’s apologetic glance, he winks. Then, with a swift bow, he puts on his “princely” accent — a little bit French and a little bit English. “Well, Miss Eloise, would you care to accompany me to the kitchens? I’m sure we can find some napkins to fold for the Winter Gala.”

Is Jisung trying to get out of his room service duties by working the gala? Yes.

Is Jisung trying to distract Eloise from the fact that she hasn’t been invited to the gala? Also yes. 

Eloise’s eyes grow wide with excitement. Then, as if remembering she’s still pretending with him, she does a small curtsy. “Why, Mr. Park, I would absolutely adore coming to help with you.”

Jisung slips a few raisins onto the coffee table, where Skipperdee , Eloise’s pet turtle, resides. Weenie, the pug dog so beloved by Eloise and her nanny, bugs Jisung for his own treat, so Jisung digs a Pupperoni out of his pocket. “Then if you would so kindly take a seat astride my royal carriage, we shall make our way to the Terrance Room.”

-

The Terrance room is just as beautiful as it was described. The tables are lavishly decorated in burgundy velvet tablecloths. Wreaths of ivy and winter berries remind you of a winter forest. Lights fall from the ceiling, mimicking snow flakes mid-fall. 

“It’s beautiful, Prunella,” One of the models in the tour group comments to the event planner.

You break away from the group and twirl around, imagining what it will be like to dance in the ballroom tonight, when the Winter Gala begins in full spring. You’ve been chosen to wear a gown by Joanne Fleming. It’ll be her designing debut at the Gala, as well as your modeling debut in America. The ballgown you’re wearing is an embroidered flower blouse tucked into a tulle and silk shirt. Perhaps your favorite part of the outfit is the red silk shirt underneath that features poet sleeves and an oversized bow neckline. Paired with hair and makeup, you’re bound to be just as good as the big names here.

You head down the steps away from everyone else, where a large tree stands tall, decorated with tinsel and red candles. Not lit, of course, as that would be a fire hazard.  Your strain to see the topper atop the large, nearly ten foot tree. You back up, and with it nearly in your sight... you fall back into someone.

“Oh my gosh,” you squeal, as two hands grab you waist. As soon as they push you up, you whip around to apologize. “I am so sorry, I was trying to see what the tree topper, uh, was.”

You smile sheepishly at the boy. He’s clearly a waiter, based on his white tuxedo jacket paired with a gold-plated name tag. “Jisung,” you read. “That’s a lovely name.”

“It’s Korean,” the boy says, risking a smile at you. His eyes are wide, whether naturally or just at the fact that you fell on top of him, you don’t know. “I mean, because I’m Korean. I mean, not that you asked, it’s just... you said my name was lovely, so I thought you might like to know where it’s from.” He closes his mouth tightly after that and scratches the back of his neck. “Sorry.”

“No worries,” you hold your hand. “I’m Y/n.”

Before he can shake your hand, Jisung is pushed away by a very small girl.

“Hello!” She grabs your hand and shakes it as vigorously as she can. “I’m Jisung’s best friend, Eloise. I am six.”

You giggle. “Hello, Eloise. What are you doing in a boring room in the middle of the day?”

“Jisung and I are folding napkins,” Eloise says, gesturing to the one (and only one, that you can see) napkin folded into a swan. “They’re for the Winter Gala tonight!”

“The Winter Gala?” You clap your hands together. “How wonderful! Will you be attending?”

“Unfortunately, Jisung and I have far too many duties here in the Plaza.” Eloise falls back against Jisung’s leg and drapes a hand dramatically over her forehead. “Why, if the two of us leave for just ten minutes, the entire hotel may fall apart!”

You look at Jisung for confirmation. The tall boy shrugs, his bow-shaped lips curled into a smirk. “She’s right. We’re kind of the glue of this entire place.”

“Ah,” you say as seriously as you can muster when Jisung has such a distinct twinkle in his eye.

He’s cute, you have to note, in the hustle of listening to one erratic six year old. He’s much taller than you, but it isn’t as intimidating as one might think. Perhaps it’s the way his shoulders slouch forward just a bit, or the obvious youth in his face. 

“Well, if either of you would like to attend, I do have a few companion tickets,” you say, pretending not to care as you fiddle with your scarf. “Of course, I understand if you’re too busy holding this place together. It’s an important job, after all—“

“Are you kidding?” Eloise jumps up and yanks the scarf out of your hands. “You must, must, must allow us to go as your dates. Jisung and I will be on our best behaviors. I shall wear the gown my mother brought back from Milan last month. We went to a fashion show, and I threw up on Coco Chanel!”

You burst into laughter, despite the seriousness on Eloise’s face. “I’m sure that was quite an unforgettable show.”

“Indeed.” Eloise grimaces, ribbing her stomach. 

“I have the night shift,” Jisung says, his deep voice so obvious when spoken right after Eloise’s pitchy one. “But they might place me here,  so I can watch you. I mean, not watch as in leer, or anything. Just a drop by to say hello–“

“I would love it if you would, Jisung.” You clasp your hands in front of you. “Speaking of, I’m sure my stylists are having a fit. I’m about an hour late for all of my appointments, though it was worth it to meet the two of you.” You bend down to Eloise’s height. “I shall see you tonight?”

“Yes!” 

“I’ll save you a dance,” you assure her. Then, straightening up, you glance at Jisung. “Shall I save you one as well?”

Jisung blinks. Perhaps the invitation goes directly over his head, but he averts his eyes and answers you, cheeks red with nerves. “That’s not necessary.”

“Oh.” His rejection seems a bit blunt, though you understand. You’ve just met, after all, and it isn’t like strangers to dance with each other upon first (second?) meeting. “Well, I’ll be seeing the two of you.”

-

Jisung hides in the kitchen, helping out when needed and playing mobile Fortnite on his phone when he’s asked to stay out of the way. He’s sure they might need extra waiters at the Gala, with all the hungry models and their plus ones. Plus, the drinks will be offered up soon, and Jisung wonders just when the Gala will turn into an all-out party. It’s possible that these things stay graceful until the end, but Jisung know how rich people can be around a good bottle of wine. And The Plaza has the best bottles around. 

Eloise has already been taken home by Nanny, as her eight o’clock curfew doesn’t quite match up with the Gala’s full schedule. Jisung only knows that she left because she snuck into the kitchen, and just before Nanny found her, she had climbed atop the counter and licked a spoon full of meringue. “Y/n looks so beautiful, Jisung. You really must go dance with her.”

“I really must finish working,” Jisung had said, grabbing the spoon out of Eloise’s hand. Truthfully, he doesn’t want to see you after making a complete fool of himself earlier today.

It’s not like it matters, anyway. He’s a waiter; you’re a model. There are far more important men in your radar, he assumes. You won’t even notice if he doesn’t go.

So he doesn’t. He finishes his shift and takes his leave out the front door, where the snowfall greets him. 

He has his own apartment; a little studio flat across town. It’s a subway ride away, and Jisung has come to find that one of his favorite parts of the day is his commute home.

But he stays outside a bit longer, watching as the carriage drivers begin to undo their horses’ harnesses. He watches the fake Santa Claus down the street ring a bell for the nearby children’s hospital. He listens to the taxicabs honk their horns as they disobey basic traffic laws. 

“Thought you had to work.” It’s you again, your voice just as bright as it was this morning. 

Jisung feels his heart drop into his chest when he spots you at the top of the stairs, dressed in a gown that makes you look like some sort of winter fairy. The ruby-colored fabric matches the makeup behind your eyes, and Jisung has to stop and stare at the way your eyebrows seem naturally dark and unkept. It fits your face, and he draws his eyes down to your lips, where a dark tint resides. “H-Hi. I just got off. Work, I mean.”

You giggle. It’s not a mean laugh, so Jisung tries to file that into the “not embarrassing” category. Then he remembers the words that pour out of his mouth daily, and he thinks he needs to reorganize his mental filing cabinet. “Well, I saved you a dance. Can’t imagine you’d want to go back into the ballroom though.”

“Drunk socialites?” Jisung guesses.

“How did you know?” You wink at him before descending down the steps. The hem of your dress gets wet from the snow, but you don’t seem to mind. Jisung has a feeling your designer will, but maybe that’s not his business.

“Lucky guess,” he drawls, shuffling his feet. “Sorry about the dance. I thought you were just saying that because Eloise was there.”

“I wasn’t,” you say. “I wanted to dance with you.”

“Wanted?”

“Still want to,” you correct yourself. “Do you think I would be out in the snow in a sheer blouse if I didn’t want to dance with you?”

Jisung feels his cheeks flush. The blood rushes to his cheeks, and then to his hands when you reach for them, tucking your fingers in the spaces between his and pulling him close to you. “You lead,” he rushes out. “I’m not very good at dancing.”

You hum. As the wind briefly subsides, he makes out the tune to “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” You place one of his hands on top of your shoulder, and keep the other one in your grasp. “Tell me, Jisung, do you celebrate Christmas?”

“Yeah,” he says. “You?”

“Yeah.” You’re rubbing your thumb back and forth against his waist, urging him to move, but Jisung feels himself freeze up with the wind. Then you’re leaning forward, lips close to his ear and warm breath sending a sharp chill down his neck. “Relax.”

Jisung breathes in. Out. In again. He squeezes your hand and squeezes his eyes shut. “Okay,” and he follows your lead.

It’s a simple dance. A bit of a one-two thing going on. Jisung has never danced before in his life – never needed to, but he has natural rhythm, so he follows along without much complaint from you. “Do you dance with every waiter you meet?” He manages to joke.

You lift your joined hands and gesture for him to twirl beneath them. “Just the cute ones,” you say.

“And how many is that?” Jisung hates the waver in his voice. Hates that he manages to gain feelings so quickly. Hates that one (count it: one) nice person dances with him and suddenly he wants to be the only one they ever dance with.

“Just one,” you say, casually. Casually, but you avoid his eyes, and your grip slips just enough for Jisung to catch it. “Tell me, Jisung. Do you work tomorrow?”

“I’m off tomorrow,” Jisung says. “Christmas Eve, and whatever. Family things, you know.”

“Oh,” you say. “I leave tomorrow morning.”

“Family things don’t start until noon,” Jisung rushes. Heat returns to his chest as soon as you smile up at him. “We could have breakfast together. I know a nice place down the road. It’s not fancy by any means, but it’s really good. You’ll have to say goodbye to Eloise, too, of course. Maybe send her some letters when you return home. She loves getting mail–“

“Jisung, can I kiss you?”

Jisung feels himself nod before he can really register your words. By the time his mind finally catches up with his body, your lips are on his, smooth and chilled like a marble surface, and Jisung is shivering into your touch.

Your soft hands cup his face. You pull him down to your height, smiling at the way Jisung’s shaky hands clasp your waist. 

When you pull away, you’re still smiling, so Jisung smiles with you. “I would like to send you letters, too. If that’s alright, I mean.”

Jisung sputters and shakes his head. He feels his heart pound as the wind picks up around him. “That’s more than alright.”

[benisasoftboi]

Unorganised thoughts on Silver Snow:

When I finished Golden Deer, I said that it had felt like a more traditional Fire Emblem story than Blue Lions. Silver Snow is that but even more so (though GD is still the most trad-FE cast, IMO)

Having already played those two routes, it felt very much like a whirlwind tour of them both, plus another battle thrown in at the end - a battle that probably should have been harder, but I (completely accidentally) built the bulkiest Byleth imaginable, especially resistance wise, plus high magic - and so, by pairing high defensive stats with Nosferatu, I tanked every attack that came my way 

Gaming, for me, is just doing whatever the hell I feel like, stumbling into good results, and then pretending that I did it on purpose

I spent the whole battle with the Dragon Tales theme song stuck in my head. Kind of killed the mood

I really enjoyed that after wrapping up both the Edelgard and TWSITD plots, they basically Persona 4 you by trying to convince you that the whole game’s done now and all that’s left is to chat with everyone - though unlike in P4, there’s very obviously something left to do because they give you a whole month of prep time, rather than just one day

I felt the same way about this on Golden Deer - none of the characters are appropriately shocked by Rhea’s highly questionable actions 

Also - she says she’s going to explain the whole truth! And she doesn’t! Only the Byleth creation stuff! The other revelations from Golden Deer are missing! Rhea! Why! Are! You! Like! This!

This is actually a problem I have with this game as a whole - they want to keep certain lore and secrets exclusive to certain routes, but it results in every story feeling in some way incomplete. Like, Fates gets a lot of crap, but at least you did get a full story from your half (third? never played Revelation) a game for the price of a whole one. Blue Lions gets the worst of it, I think 

Plus, when you know some of said secrets, it makes characters who refuse to share them in other routes seem weirdly (and sometimes, contrivedly) cagey about things they really do not need to be cagey about. See: Claude refusing to tell Dimitri and Byleth in Azure Moon that he wants to End Racism, and instead vagueing about ‘achieving his dream’. This is not Edelgard wanting to conquer Fodlan and dismantle the entire social structure, Claude, your ideals really are not so controversial that you need to be this coy. Dimitri and I are cool, we getcha 

My one sentence review of the whole game is basically: Great characters, great world building, great gameplay - but really, really frustrating plot structure

I’m also really upset that Seteth does not have a dragon form

Speaking of Seteth, I married him this time around. I mostly decided to do it for laughs, but while Byleth/Dedue is still my number one Byleth pairing, I came to really, genuinely like them together. Seteth is one of my favs, now more than ever

It helps that romancing Seteth feels a lot less... creepy than romancing most of the students. I like Linhardt, but romancing him felt very weird to me because I couldn’t get over Byleth having first known him as a 16 year old under their care. Dedue, for the record, doesn’t elicit this response  because he doesn’t really feel as much like a student to me? Role-wise he feels a lot closer to the knights, and it’s just that he's been enrolled as a student for convenience’s sake, which makes him and Byleth feel more equal than they do with most of the other kids. Helps that he’s also on the older end

Anyway, Seteth and Byleth would be the nerdiest couple ever, is the impression I got from their ending. The confession scene made me laugh in how ‘oh we’ve got a lot of work to do - btw wanna get married? - sweet, now let’s get back to work’ it was. Mark Whitten is a gem

It’s also the the first time I felt like the game was actually shipping me with a main lord (Seteth taking that role in the absence of the box lords on this route). Haven’t done Crimson Flower yet, so no opinion on the Edelgard/Byleth relationship yet, but regarding Claude and Dimitri my (pretty damn controversial, possibly a bad idea to put out there) opinions on them with Byleth are that

Claude and Byleth are platonic bros, regardless of Byleth’s gender. I just don’t get any feeling of romance from their relationship at all, and so pairing them off feels weird (to me, personally - I don’t hate the ship or anything, though)

Meanwhile Dimitri 100% had a crush on his teacher at school, but after more than five years of enduring trauma after trauma, and then half a year of beginning to heal (whilst fighting a war culminating in the execution of his step-sister), Dimitri is nowhere near ready for a romantic relationship. And when he is, I wouldn’t want him with any of the main cast, Dimitri x Village Girl OTP. I guess if it has to be anyone, I’d be okay with Mercedes, maybe Marianne - hell, maybe even Claude - but really, I just want him to get a fresh start. I think that’s the healthiest option for him, in the end

I do think it’s a pairing that could work in an AU where Dimitri doesn’t have any of the experiences he has in canon, though 

And again, this is just my personal reading

I’ll also admit that I may be influenced by the fact that his two most popular pairings are with Byleth and Dedue, who I greatly prefer with each other. Mostly because I love Dedue with all my soul and his ending with Byleth is by far his happiest, in my eyes at least. It’s the only one where he puts some distance between himself and Dimitri and evens out the power balance in their relationship, which makes me happy because oh boy, the Dimitri/Dedue relationship is super interesting and compelling, but also (again, by my reading) all kinds of unhealthy as it’s presented for most of the game - power balance issues like I say, the fact that they tend to indulge, even encourage, each other’s worst instincts and behaviours, mutual guilt complexes - like I say, it’s fascinating, but damn screwed up. IMO, they’re one of the best examples I’ve seen of how unhealthy relationships aren’t always the result of one bad person, and how two good people can end up being very bad for each other

Though it is, again, a pairing I can see working (and actually being incredibly cute) in an AU where they’ve lived less horrible lives

And it’s not like I don’t want them to be friends, I just want them to also develop healthier boundaries and equal levels of respect

oh my god none of this has anything to do with silver snow what am I doing

But hey, speaking of Dimitri - I flip flopped on whether I thought his death was handled better or worse here than Golden Deer. It was given, I felt, more appropriate gravitas, but again suffered from ‘Dimitri’s dead! No, Dimitri’s alive! Oh wait, now he’s dead again’ in like, three successive scenes. And then you see his... ghost? I guess?

Dimitri really seems to get the short end of the stick on routes outside his own. Claude’s non-Deer roles were, in both cases I’ve played, much stronger and more fitting, and Edelgard is Edelgard

Maybe he’ll be good in Crimson Flower. Please. I miss Dimitri mattering. He’s probably my favourite of the three

There’s a point - obviously I don’t fully know Edelgard yet, but from what I got from the White Clouds section, above anything else she strikes me as an incredibly realistic depiction of a slightly edgy, extremely idealistic, but also highly naive and short-sighted teenager

Her whole goal, it seems, is meritocracy. She hates the crest system and the nobility, and she wants to create a system of equal opportunity. I can get behind that, but I really hope she’s prepared to accept the fact that true equal opportunity is basically impossible without recreating The Giver, as inequality is always more complex than one single factor being to blame for everything. Has Edelgard considered other limitations that make true meritocracy difficult to achieve? Has she been working on, say, a comprehensive benefits system? Or is she more of a libertarian type, and so primarily all about negative freedom and removing direct oppression? I hope Crimson Flower goes into detail on this, I’d be genuinely interested to know

I also find it interesting that she gets very angry about the fact that people hurt her and her family as a means to their own ends, so she decides that her own ends are to eliminate the system that lead to that happening - and she doesn’t care who she has to hurt in the process

This isn’t a CinemaSins *ding* plot hole observation, I genuinely think it’s interesting, and not actually that unrealistic

I also suppose her goal is no less naive than End All Racism By Being Nice To People, but Claude isn’t killing and persecuting people in attempt to achieve that, so it invites less scrutiny

I do wonder if I would have felt more strongly positively about her if she’d been my first playthrough. I do believe she’s a person that sincerely means well, and she’s certainly sympathetic, but - hmm. I’ll make my mind up when I finish CF

Anyway, paired endings. A few that I got include Raphael and Bernadetta (by far my favourite Bernie ending so far, seriously, what is that Caspar ending), Shamir and Leonie, which was cute and goofy (as Leonie’s endings tend to be, I notice, I do like that girl), Felix and Dorothea (not my favourite for either, but cute), Sylvain and Mercedes (the same but even cuter), Cyril and Petra (which felt wrong, partly because I love Cysithea a hell of a lot, and also because despite knowing there’s only about a year between them, Petra looks so much older pre-time skip), Ferdie and Marianne (super wholesome and sweet), and Linhardt and Caspar (my boyyyyssss that I refuse to ever separate again)

Not sure what I’m going to aim for on CF aside from keeping those boys together and also Ferdie/Hubert, as I’ve Heard Things

Flayn and Manuela have an A support so I figured they had a paired ending and it turns out they do not, which means Manuela was alone forever and Flayn ran away because apparently she hated having Byleth for a step mother I guess, rude

My Byleth (Myleth?) was prepared to be the best step mother in the history of the world, so offended

I realised ‘Javelins of Light’ is one of my absolute favourite tracks in the whole game. Mostly because it sounds like something out of Danganronpa, which made me nostalgic

I also like ‘Guardian of Starlight’ for somehow managing to sound like a Danganronpa/PMD: Explorers crossover track

I love how out of nowhere the Immaculate One fight is. It really does just feel like they needed something to distinguish the route from Verdant Wind outside of Claude not being around, so they just had a map that was less cool in every way except for the dragon

Is there an explanation for why Nemesis doesn’t show up on this route?

Also - I didn’t mention this in Golden Deer thoughts but I also found that final battle way, way easier than it was probably meant to be because I’d made everyone into a flier and so the floor damage hazard was meaningless

Which I totally did on purpose and not so I could make a stupid joke post about my all-wyvern team 

Anyway, in conclusion, Silver Snow was a good route, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would (I’d kind of thought it was just going to be GD without Claude, which isn’t... totally wrong, but it’s got some other stuff going on too), I liked Seteth getting to have a bigger role, I thought it had the best final boss (if not the best final boss map), and I liked that I got some more Dragon Lore (never a bad thing)

please don’t yell at me for my controversial shipping opinions 

[writeradamanteve]

You are doing prompts for the first time? That's so exciting! We are including the wintery prompts as mini reindeer games over on @riverdale-events if you want to include them! I can't help but send one in. You are so good with AUs of all kinds. How about: 59. this year my family has decided we’re celebrating the holidays on a cruise and you’re the cute bartender who teases me for mourning the lack of snow

Remember this? Well, just to prove that I haven’t given up on them...

Here’s Part 1 of  Mi Irie

The Jamaican saying "irie" is often used to mean "everything is alright and fine." Note that Jamaica has numerous variations when it comes to greeting someone. When someone asks “How are you feeling?” or “How yuh stay?” an appropriate response would be, “Mi irie.” ~ Sandals.com

I.

She looked pretty miserable.

Which wasn’t the most surprising thing on a tropical cruise, if Jughead were to be honest.

Working as a bartender on the Ringmaster Caribbean Cruise ship for the last couple of years, his station was perhaps the only place on the ship where the miserable can turn to for comfort. The bar attracted both party goers and debbie downers alike.

Not that he was there to judge. He, of all people, understood feeling miserable in a room full of happily drunk people, both as a bartender and a person who, as a kid, grew up surrounded by drunk adults in his father’s bar. It was the funhouse image of an Eloisian upbringing--Jughead at the Whyte Wyrm.

That he ended up getting a bartending job was arguably a predictable outcome, or the opposite of--depending on how one looked at it. Sure, it was fucked up that he was a ten year old doing his homework in a bar, but ultimately, bartending became the one thing he knew how to do by heart, and if he was going to get anything out of his trashy childhood, it may as well be money he would be getting on bar tips.

But because he spent a lot of time around inebriated people, he did get the impression that everyone could be an asshole if they were drunk enough. It wasn’t an ideal working environment, but he needed a job that paid well while he wrote his book and went to school, and in some sad way, it was all worth the validation he got out of finding those who understood misery like he did.

So seeing this sad face at his bar wasn’t particularly extraordinary. He’d seen all types. And misery aside, she looked great. The golden cascades of her hair fell in waves over the skin of her sun-kissed shoulders. Her bikini, a nice dusty blue with a knitted pattern design, flattered her figure. Paired with a wrap around her hips and showing off her nice curves, he couldn’t help but think that the only thing weird about her was that she was alone.  

Then again, it was early morning and quiet.  

A soft breeze blew in over the turquoise waters of the ocean, wafting comfortably into the shaded bar area on the deck. The sunshine bounced brightly over the chlorine blue pool.

The bar was mostly empty. Out in the pool area, just outside the bar’s perimeter, guest were at a minimum. Most families with children were sleeping in or still having breakfast at the mess hall.

The people enjoying the pool at this time were adults, and a concentration of them were at the far end, riveted by the aquatic aerobics instructor and his goofy routines.

Miss Misery was, in fact, watching these antics from where she sat, passive and unsmiling.

“Nobody really goes to that class to exercise,” Jughead said to her as she watched them. “They like to watch Archie doing his thing. I’m surprised they don’t have dollar bills to put in his swim trunks, honestly.”

Archie, the instructor, as if on cue, tore off his Ringmaster Caribbean Cruise t-shirt and turned on the poolside shower to bathe under the stream, all while his “students” hooted and hollered.

Miss Misery’s lips tightened to a line, but she seemed amused instead of inscenced. “Well, he’s increasing their pulse rate, for sure.”

“He loves the attention.”

She nodded and turned her barstool to finally face the bar. “He must.”

When she said nothing else and her gaze began to wander to the TV hanging over the bar, he figured she wouldn’t mind the conversation. This quiet in the morning, he liked to engage guests one on one. “So, what can I get you, miss?”

Surprise piqued in her sea-green eyes. “You serve alcohol this early?”

He laughed and put his hands out in an open gesture. “All inclusive means it’s always five in the afternoon.”

Her eyebrows crinkled with what he could only assume was a sudden onslaught of possibilities. “Alcohol for breakfast?” This was a real marvel of a thing for her.

“It’s been done. For the seasoned drinker, a Bloody Mary is the most cliche of drinks, but it’ll do for a vacationer. The more hardened imbibers ask for a Prairie Oyster--strictly a veteran hangover cure.”

“What’s a Prairie Oyster?”

“Raw egg, Worcestershire sauce, bit of tomato juice, vinegar, hot sauce, black pepper, and a shot of gin. Two if the hangover’s particularly bad.”

Her jaw dropped open briefly before it clamped shut. “Does that actually work?”

Jughead shrugged. “No idea. I don’t go on benders so I’ve never had one.”

She seemed to accept this, her eyes falling on the overhead menu. The drinks written on it in neon colored pens were from last night’s specials, but they were good for any day. He waited for her to say something.

“Um… sangria?”

“Wow. Living it!”

She rolled her eyes, but he did manage to get a chuckle out of her. He began working on her order.  It would take a little longer to put her drink together, because he did need to cut up some fresh fruit, but he didn’t mind. If it meant she would stay a little longer, it was worth the extra effort.

“I’m Betty, by the way,” she said as he worked. “I didn’t see you at the bar last night, um--Jughead?” She was reading off his name tag, but she went on without saying how strange she probably thought his name was. “Last night it was Toni, who routinely got hit on by men of all ages.”

He laughed softly. “Yeah, she’s a crowd favorite. Got that whole Coyote Ugly vibe going. She’s not a fan of men, though. She prefers girls.”

“Oh.” She said it like it explained things.

“So,” he said, chopping up some oranges into thin quarters. “If you’re not here because you’re hungover, and you weren’t here to drink in the first place, did you come to the deck for aerobics then change your mind when you realized it was more of a strip tease? Or maybe you’re smart and figured you can enjoy the show from here, comfortably perched on our soft barstools.”

She cocked a smile, finally. “I just wanted to get away from the chaos of the mess hall and my family. I figured they weren’t going to look for me here. I’m not a big drinker.”

“Well, now look at you. Knocking back booze for breakfast.”

She snorted. “Hardly.”

He finished chopping up the apples and he threw all his chopped fruits in a pitcher, halfway full of ice, and mixed the sangria in it. After he gave the mixture a stir, he poured some of it in a glass, threw in a hefty dose of tequila, and slid the drink in front of her. “You look like you need some tequila. That’s my special mix. And drinks are on me.” He winked.

She arched an eyebrow. “It’s an all inclusive cruise. Of course they’re on you.”

“They don’t mix it the way I do.”

She took a sip and she gasped. “Wow!” she rasped. “Potent.”

“Just for you.”

She began to laugh and threw him a sidelong glance. “I bet you say that to all the girls.”

He tilted his grin but said nothing.  

The truth was, since he started this job, he hadn’t said that to anyone but her.

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

She was back the next morning and this time, she ordered a tequila sunrise. She had on a different suit, starkly white against her tanning skin, and he may have been imagining things, but the top gave her breasts a spectacular cleavage that wasn’t as noticeable the day before. He had to remind himself to keep his eyes up, especially since hers seemed more interested in engaging him.

“Feeling better?” he asked, mixing her drink.

She shrugged, but her smile came easier. “Same shit, different day, but now I know you serve alcohol in the morning and you don’t water drinks down.”

He chuckled but pressed his finger lightly over his lips. “That last part’s a secret between you and me.”

Her tanned cheeks bloomed pink and Jughead eyed her for a moment, delighting on the effect he had on her. He slid the drink towards her and she sipped from its straw. She seemed less surprised by the alcohol content but she did blow a breath through her lips. “You must be breaking some All Inclusive Rule here.”

“You bet I am. Does that impress you?”

She quirked her gaze. “It depends on how drunk this makes me.”

He gave it a moment’s thought. “Kind of a low bar. You were drunk after the one glass I gave you yesterday.”

“Hey, I was drinking on an empty stomach.” Her protest sounded weak.

He laughed and pulled a large plate from beneath the bar.  It had piles of bacon, layers of pancakes slathered in maple syrup and butter, and some scrambled eggs on the side. She stared at it as he offered her a clean fork. She slowly took the fork and shot him a suspicious squint. “Is this your breakfast?”

He nodded, grinning. “It’s my second one. It’s a fresh plate and I hadn’t touched it.  I don’t mind sharing if you don’t.”

Her gaze gave him the once over and a ripple of pleasure coursed through him, especially when her lashes fluttered as their eyes met again. “I can use some bacon and pancakes.”

He leaned over the counter and brought out a fork of his own, cutting into the pile of food on his plate. “So, if you don’t mind me asking… are you not enjoying yourself on this cruise? You come here in the morning and you always sound like you’re trying to forget something.”

“Oh, do I? Maybe you’re right. I’m on this cruise with my parents and my sister--not exactly the kind of getaway I was looking for. It’s bad enough that I have to deal with my mother’s sideways disapproval of how I look in my swimsuit, but I found out yesterday that a snowstorm hit New York City and I missed it. Will miss it. The snow will be nothing but filthy piles of ice on the side of the road by the time I get back to it, if I catch any of it at all.”

He couldn’t help but laugh.  “Wait a minute… are you telling me that you were all gloom and doom yesterday because you missed a snowstorm in New York… while being on a cruise ship on the tropical waters of the Caribbean? Really?”

Her cheeks reddened again, but she seemed poised to defend herself. “You laugh, but New York after a snowstorm, when everyone’s still indoors and the streets are quiet--it’s the most beautiful thing.”

“Oh, is it?”

She nodded eagerly. “It is. That thick layer of undisturbed white powder, lights blinking through the snow--all you can see are the parked cars covered in a shimmering white sheet and the buildings along its side look like pretty gingerbread houses--it’s so picturesque. The first people to emerge are usually kids with their parents, eager to slide down snow hills before the roads are salted and the dream is obliterated by modern machinery. If you close your eyes and listen to their laughter, it feels warm. It feels like waking up to a fresh new life. There’s nothing like it.”

He gets it. He grew up in Ohio and he knew what the aftermath of a snowstorm looked like, but he imagined that New York City was prettier than Toledo, and most people would pick a tropical paradise over a snowy cityscape. Not him, personally. He didn’t care where he was.

“You’re just going to have to comfort yourself with free alcohol, white sand, and blue, warm waters.”

She gave a dramatic sigh. “I suppose so.” She followed it with a laugh. “So, when do you get to enjoy the white sand and blue waters?”

He shrugged. “I mostly don’t. In my free time, I hang around the ship and write.”

“Write?”

He nodded. “I’m on break right now but I’m completing my novel for my creative writing graduate program.”

She seemed only mildly surprised. “Which graduate program?”

“Iowa Writer’s Workshop.”

“Well, now, that’s impressive.”

He shoved a piece of bacon into his mouth. “Had I known, I would’ve started off with that.”

She threw him a mildly chastising look, even as she began to slice a piece off the pancake. “I’d like to think I come off as someone who would be impressed by a guy getting his Masters in creative writing as opposed to breaking the rules of a cruise ship branded Ringmaster.”

“You’ll be surprised at how mentioning the Iowa Writer’s Workshop does absolutely nothing for most people around here.”

“Maybe I’m not most people. So tell me, Jughead,” she paused and took a sip of her tequila sunrise. “If I were to, say, ask you to escort me outside the ship at our next island stop, would you be too busy writing your great American novel?”

This wasn’t exactly the first time he’d gotten asked out by a guest, but this was absolutely the first time he felt a thrill for it in the pit of his stomach.

She sipped her drink again and he watched her pretty pink lips mover over the straw.  

“It’s against the rules for the crew to fraternize with the guests,” he said, softly, so that only the two of them would hear.

“Well, then,” she breathed. “Now’s the perfect time to impress me with your rule breaking, Jughead.”

tbc

(Image credit: Travel + Leisure)

[chezzkaa]

Numb pt 22

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Lumberjack AU Pairing: Ryan Haywood x Reader WC: 2100+

Date posted: 18 Nov 2018

Megan Pottsman Missing 17/12/2015 - Found 22/12/2015 Body, female. 10 yo. Found 500 meters past tree line. Blunt force trauma. Lacerations across torso, shoulders, base of skull. Clear Bear Attack. No labs required.

SCRIPT

Interview with Mathew. D. Pottsman (Father) Interviewer: Officer G. Sorola Supervisor: Det. Insp. M. Hullum 17/12/2015 03:37am

Sorola: Hello, Mr. Pottsman, I’m Officer Sorola. I’m going to ask you some questions relating to your daughter’s disappearance. Please remember that you will need to tell us everything so that we can do our jobs.

Pottsman: Yeah, okay. I can do that.

Sorola: And you’re alright with being recorded?

Pottsman: Yes.

Sorola: Then lets get started. Mr. Pottsman, when was the last time you saw Megan?

Pottsman: Probably at dinner the night she went missin’. I made her favourite, and she wanted to watch TV. I went to do some reading and left her watching some cartoon show.

Sorola: Is that all?

Pottsman: I heard her.

Sorola: Pardon?

Pottsman: I heard her. There was a knock on the door and she answered it. I heard her tell me she was going out, and that’s the last of it. Told her to come back before the snow got too bad. When the street lamps came on. But she… she didn’t.

Sorola: Any ideas as to which of her friends it was?

Pottsman: … no.

Sorola: No?

Pottsman: That’s what I said. I don’t know which friend it was.

Sorola: So, please let me know if I’ve somehow misunderstood you. You let your 10 year old daughter leave the house with someone you assume to have been a friend, of who you don’t know, in the middle of a brewing snow storm? And, more importantly,you made no effort to check on your daughter and her friend for yourself.

Pottsman: No, no now you’re making it sound like I wanted her to leave. Like I don’t love my daughter!

Sorola: I haven’t said anything of the sort.

Pottsman: You don’t have too! You’re sat right in front of me acting all high and mighty. You know what? It’s my fault. There, I said it. It’s all my fault. I was a shitty dad and now my daughter is missing. If Megan doesn’t come back I’m going to be the one that’s killed her. Not whoever took her, not the weather. Not some wild animal. Me, cus I couldn’t bring myself to be a good dad.

Sorola: Mr. Pottsman, please. No one here is accusing you of anything. Right now this is a missing persons case and we’re doing everything we can to locate your daughter. That includes interviewing everyone that came into contact with her before the incident. The person who you claim to have knocked on the door is a prime suspect, and possibly the last person to have seen Megan. Is she likely to have left with an adult?

Pottsman: I don’t think so. She understood stranger danger.

Sorola: What about an adult she recognised?

Pottsman: Listen here, officer. Everyone in this town knows everyone. We’re friends with every family here cus we all go to that damn community garden thing. Megan gets along with all of them, even that new carpenter down the street. She baked him some cookies cus she was worried he wouldn’t have any friends, ha, she told him to go to the garden cus she though he’d get along with the large guy. What’s his name? Jack? He was over the freakin’ moon when he fixed up our neighbours house and she brought them out with a little card she’d made.

Sorola: New carpenter? Are you talking about Haywood?

Pottsman: Hmm? Yeah, him. Stand up bloke. You don’t think it was him, do you? Oh god, Megan told him to hang around with the other kids.

Sorola: No, we don’t believe he is involved. His alibi is airtight. He is accounted for outside his home at the time Megan disappeared. We currently have no suspects, which is why we’re talking to you.

Pottsman: So you do think I did it!

Sorola: Please, we’ve been over this.    

Pottsman: I - I… okay. No, okay. I’m sorry. My nerves are just - it’s been a long few hours. I’ve smoked a pack. A whole pack, can you believe it? I haven’t smoked in years, and now I can’t sit still without something between my damn fingers.  

Sorola: It’s perfectly normal to revert into old habits when you’re nervous.

Pottsman: Nervous? No, no the claw marks on my neighbour’s porch that’ve now turned up on mine make me nervous. The snow and that bleedin’ livestock massacre that’s going on either side of my home makes me nervous. But my daughter being missing? I’m fucking terrified. I’m so scared I can’t see straight. I just - I can’t. Everytime I close my eyes I can hear that damn knocking. I should have gotten the door. Jumped that fucking railing so Meg didn’t have to open it. It should’ve been me. Oh god, it should’ve been me.

“Hey Michael,” you call over your shoulder, fanning out the photos of the tiny body covered in blood and curled in the snow. “I think I’ve found another one.”

His head pops up over the stack of files he’s working through, eyes encased in growing bags. Sat cross legged in the evidence locker, he’d long since abandoned the confines of a desk. “What’s the date?”

“She was found on the 17th of December in 2015.”

He whistles, glancing down to the timeline at his feet and following the numbers with his finger. “Got it! Gimme a name.”

“Megan Pottsman,” you read off, peering at a shot of her on a medical table. Body bloated, skin crossed with blues and bruises.

“She’s an early one.”

“She’s the 3rd we’ve found in 2015,” you murmur, bringing the photo you hold closer. “Happened before Jeremy moved here, too. He arrived in 2016, I think? This victim was put down as a bear attack.”

Michael perks up, shuffling over to you and sifting through the file. He stops on one of the same set of photos you’re trying to make sense of, lost in the line carving across skin. “Doesn’t look like a bear.”

“Bears rarely attack people, too,” you add. “Get this: her dad said in an interview that she went out with someone that knocked on the door. He thought it was a friend, and look at the lacerations. They’re not quite like the ones on the victims we’ve got, by they’re a damn lot closer to the markings on entryways of Pottsman’s home and the neighbours.”

“You’re right!” Michael exclaims, “this is the third body with similar markings. And his testimony puts the knocking and the scratches in the same timeframe as the missing person.”

“Is there a photo of her from behind?” you ask, rifling through the contents, urged on by the burn smouldering at the base of your skull. Irritation thick around your throat. It takes a moment for you to find, but eventually the gloss of the image you’re searching for sticks to your fingers.

“Here,” says Michael, plucking the picture from your hand and lining it up with the other 2 photos of the 2015 victims, all presenting their necks.

Drawing closer it gets harder to breathe. With an uncomfortable constricting sensation that tightens your throat - of which you blatantly try to ignore -  you take in the wounds. It’s not hard to recognise them anymore. The tell tale signs are obvious after having witnessed them so many times. The slightly blacked curl of the incision located at the base of the skull. The raw irritation circling the neck. Sure, their skulls hadn’t been removed like the later victims, but they matched the earliest cases you had, clumsy as the wounds may be.

“This is fantastic. That ties our killer to the body!”

Michael doesn’t even question you with a funny look, equally excited. “Perfect in the worst possible way, but absolutely awesome. We’ve finally got an undeniable link between the Widow ghost story knocking bullshit and the killer. Meaning analysing the scratches on doorways and comparing them to the body lacerations will help with determining the murder weapon!”

You’re nodding, compiling the evidence into a seperate box and pointing to Michael with a determined finger. “You got Jackie’s number?”

He rockets into standing. “You bet your ass I do!”

“Then call her, damn it. With this information she’ll be able to confirm the correlation between the new victims and the scratches, prove that we should be looking into the possibility of a copycat killer for the Widow of the Woods. We’ll finally prove to Jeremy that he’s a fucking idiot for not listening! We can do this.”

“We can fucking do this!”

“I’m absolutely exhausted! I’m going home.”

“Me too!”

“Nope,” you reject, beaming at him and handing over the box, “you’re going to face the beast.”

“How dare you call Jackie a beast?”

“Jackie? Hell no. I’m talking about Jeremy. You can tell him he’s wrong, I value my life.”

-

The walk home is everything you could have asked for. Cold enough for the wind to nip at the skin lining your cheeks, to gnaw on your nose until it’s red raw; but warm enough in the burrow of your clothing. And isolated enough to gather your thoughts into something you can almost excuse for a pile.

Because as the snow starts to dance, the streets clear. Families giggling with eager children into shelter, doors closing with audible snaps and warm orange light flooding from the windows. Even the distant figure of Ryan, of who you raise a hand to wave to as he sits stagnant on his front porch watching the white caught on the wind, stands to head inside. You don’t blame him. Continuing past until the store disappears behind you.

It’s quiet, which is nice. A welcome change to the mayhem that’s been inhabiting your mind so frequently. Chaos causing havoc and a constant stream of uncontrollable chatter. Hands buried deep in your pockets, it’s with every turn of your charmed stones that you realise just why it’s been so loud inside you head. Why you haven’t tried to instate some silence.

Because, if you had, you’d remember her.

Which, honestly, isn’t ideal with an open serial homicide case running rampant through your priorities.

And again, now that you’ve mentioned honesty to yourself, you can’t avoid the reason why you’re so frustrated with Jeremy. Why you want to take him by the shoulders and shake, desperate to hear the rattle of common sense. Of a failure you’ve both shared, and the experience you seem to have taken away while he’s remained as stubborn as ever. If he keeps going the way he is, refusing to explore a potential lead because it seems implausible, or silly, or pointless, someone else is going to die.

The crunching of snow beneath your boots works wonders, sound enough to ease the panic bubbling just below the surface. Every few steps draws in a deep, freezing breathe. Calm with every recount of ‘left foot, right foot, repeat’. Doused in the glow of happy homes and flanked by snow banks, it all starts to make sense. There’s an uncomfortably misplaced relief at the prospect of connecting the things you knew to be related all along, the links between the scratches, knocking, and missing children now so solid that people can’t ignore it.

So solid that you can’t question your sanity anymore, because the evidence is clear as day. Paranormal or otherwise. The Widow of the Woods, or the story at least, had a role to play. Of that you were sure.

The lodge comes into view after a few more minutes of quiet walking, nothing but the wind accompanying its breech above the snow. Through the windows comes the compassionate glow of Lauren’s summertime; of warmth and comfort and family as she spins in Trevor’s arms, the pair laughing and dancing in the firelight. The hum of music trembling into the snow. Wrapped in the intoxication of togetherness, of the overwhelming love they have for one another - that same love that greets you at the door as you ease off your shoes and unravel from your layers.  

But you don’t bother them, not yet, anyway. Instead watching them claim the living room as a dancefloor, Lauren’s sunshine caught in Trevor’s gaze that looks as though he can’t thank the stars enough for the beauty he holds in his hands. Can’t tell the woman with shining cheeks and a smile that brightens the room just how wonderful she is. How she glows whenever he so much as throws her a glance, or fractures into rays of gold when he smiles. Her happiness so warm and inviting that it throbs around her body, casting those she loves in her own light. And as he looks at her now, it’s like words won’t be enough.

That nothing will be, which is why he’ll never stop trying.