#i usually write from henry's pov because I get him more

[meraki-yao]

RWRB Movie Analysis: The Placement of Alex's Speech

Alright I’m really fucking sick of people complaining about the placement of the speech. (I swear, I write half of these essays out of irritation. But I’m happy while doing it so it all checks out)

Two things.

Regarding Henry’s consent

Use context clues people. Henry says, “Your speech was beautiful. Made me very proud to be your boyfriend.” It’s clear that Henry approves of the speech.

Again, what can be shown explicitly is restricted by the format. The point of Henry’s montages during the speech is to show how trapped and helpless he is in the situation. (for more, I wrote about it here.) The scenes need to keep that atmosphere/feeling of isolation and pain. If let’s say, we have a scene where the prime minister asks Henry about admitting and coming out, it would take away the consistent feeling of Henry’s pain. Cinematically, it won’t work. But that doesn’t mean in universe, it didn’t happen.

Also, Alex fucking loves Henry with every inch of his soul. He’s willing to fight for them, but he’s also willing to be patient for him. After getting his feelings sorted out and knowing with 100% clarity that he’s in love with Henry, he is never, ever going to do something that so obviously would hurt Henry. He would rather get hurt himself than hurt Henry. (Corresponding Book Quote: “Alex wants to go to war for this man, wants to get his hands on everything and everyone that ever hurt him.”) He wouldn’t make the speech without knowing Henry is okay with it. He just wouldn’t, that would straight up be out of character. So the fact that he did, means one way or another, he has Henry’s consent. And Henry later approving the speech in the piano scene, proves that. (It’s completely possible that the script itself meant to explain it this way, but if at any point they might have explicitly discussed coming out, my guess would be the Kensington breakfast scene, Prime, I’m coming for your hard drives—)

Regarding the placement of speech

There are two reasons for this.

One irl reason, is again, the format of the medium, and movie story telling. You want the tension to continuously build, increase and move upwards, then get a big but concrete resolution, and then this part is over. Having the speech as a conclusion after the balcony wave will not feel as well resolved as directly having the speech, then ending this part of the story with the big, big protest and balcony wave.  

But there’s a diegetic/ in universe reason as well.  

A lot of people, especially those who complain that Movie Alex is a himbo (also spite writing an essay on that, WIP, stay tuned), forget that Alex is a budding politician, and in fact, is a damn good one.

He, despite being kind of confused about his sexuality (read this essay for more), figures out Miguel’s flirting is mostly trying to get his statements for his articles, and in a fairly polite and classy way, Alex declines. (The state dinner slip was because he was way too entranced by Henry) He was a speaker at the DNC. His Texas campaign ultimately won Ellen the election.

When is comes to these things, he knows what he’s doing, and he’s good at what he does.

Making the speech before the crown can make a statement, was a strategic move.

Henry told Alex about his grandfather’s stance on this during the Paris date. He also told, well, yelled at Alex about the pressures he has from the crown during the Kensington confrontation. Alex knows the King will disapprove of their relationship and attempt to shove Henry into the closet.

So he has to be the one to control the narrative. He needs people to listen to, and believe in his, or rather, their side of the story.

And here’s a bit about human psychology. When receiving a new piece of information, our first impression and subsequent judgement of said information tends to be persistent. If we are provided with a second piece of contradicting information, we will tend to treat the second piece with much more criticism and suspicion. The mindset would be “prove to me the first one is wrong” instead of “Which one of these is right”.

Therefore, for Alex to get more people on his side, he must speak first.

(I almost imagine this is the reason the White House blocked communication with the palace. That bugged me for a while, until I thought, if the White House doesn’t block communication and receive a demand from the palace, they aren’t really on grounds to refuse it without a diplomatic mess. It’s the equivalent of avoiding talking to someone you don’t want to approach with the excuse “Oh my phone was off sorry”)

Imagine it. If the crown does what the King originally proposed and claims all the emails are fabrications and denies that Henry is gay and in a relationship with Alex, then Alex’s speech will be viewed through tinted glasses of “this is a fabrication, this is a lie” and it will take much more persuading for people to believe in Alex, because their first judgement of the issue, would be the crown’s lie of a narrative.

But by making the speech first, people’s first judgement of the issue, would be Alex’s explanation, of it being an invasion of privacy, and of it being true. Even if the crown denies it, with the first judgement being Alex’s narrative, it would make it much easier to see through the lie, because in people’s head, they already assumed that Alex is telling the truth.

By making the speech first, Alex has won both himself and Henry, the pen to write history.

Making the speech first is in no way Alex disrespecting Henry.

By playing politics and strategy, Alex is protecting Henry in the most familiar way he knows.

[dean-winchester-is-a-warrior]

The Cracking of a Cold Heart

Summary: "Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and oftentimes we call a man cold when he is only sad." – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Pairings: Dean x Reader (Reader's 1st person POV)

Warnings: None. Angst. Fluff.

Word Count: 2,804

A/N: So, while watching an episode of Criminal Minds the other day, the above quote by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was at the opening of the episode and it just struck me as very Dean. 😢 So, I had to write him something. Hope you enjoy! ❤️

“You're still awake?”

I asked the obvious question as I walked into the kitchen to see Dean sitting at the table, slowly swirling amber liquid inside a crystal glass.

He nodded. “Yep. You too.” 

“Yeah, I just came to get some water; it's so dry in this bunker, don't you think?”

Dean just grunted. 

“Maybe we could add some humidifiers, or something.” I said awkwardly.

A shrug was my only answer.

Dean's rough, coldness still made me nervous around him sometimes, especially when he was in an overly grumpy or frosty mood like this. Even though we'd been working together for a year and roommates for at least half that time, I always felt like I just annoyed the hell out of him.

I decided I should just go and leave him alone with his whiskey. I poured my glass of water quickly and nodded towards him as I left.

“K, goodnight.”

“Yeah, night.”

I went back to my bedroom, just down the hall from Dean's, and sighed as I walked through the door. I really wanted things to be different. I wanted to make him like me.

Actually, what I really wanted was to make him love me.

But I'd settle for getting more than grunts and one word answers from him most of the time. 

He’d always been gruff with me, never seemed to want me around. It was always Sam that let me know about hunts and invited me along. And every time I joined them, Sam had to fight his brother to let me leave the car when they got out to fight the bad guys.

He clearly thought I was a shitty hunter too. 

So, he'd surprised me with how quickly he'd agreed to let me stay at the bunker when I told the boys about a demon I was dealing with that seemed particularly fixated on me. Sam convinced me it was safest there and Dean had agreed, though he was scowling the whole time. I couldn't help but think he only let me stay cause he didn't want me to die.

Not wanting me to die wasn't exactly friendship, but I supposed it was better than not caring one way or the other. So, I'd agreed to move in. The demon had been taken care of quickly with the boys help, but I stayed on.

I liked it there, and despite Dean's usual attitude towards me, I was happy in the bunker. Sam and Dean were funny and their dark, sarcastic humor, especially Dean's, often made me laugh in situations that would otherwise demand only horror.

It was also the safest I'd ever felt. 

Because no matter how he felt about me, I knew beyond a doubt that Dean would always have my back and look out for me. That was just the kinda guy he was.

If only I could actually make him want me around.

An idea dawned on me as I climbed back into bed. Maybe that was why Dean wasn't warming up to me. Maybe he felt like I was overstaying my welcome there. It made sense; they'd invited me to stay while I was in danger, and then I just never left.

I was embarrassed that I hadn’t thought of it earlier. I would talk to the boys in the morning, I decided, and then fell into a restless sleep, thinking about where I'd end up when I left.

The next morning I walked into the kitchen to see Dean sitting at the table in the exact same spot as the night before, his whiskey replaced with a cup of coffee. 

“Morning.” I said shyly.

“Mmm.” Dean said around his cup as he took a sip. 

I started to get things together to make my breakfast, looking over my shoulder. “I'm making oatmeal, did you want some?”

Dean shook his head. “N’ah. M’good.” He mumbled in his deep, craggy voice, staring at the table. 

“Okay.” I said, sighing at his usual taciturn answer.

I put the water on to boil, salting it slightly, and then turned back to him just as he stood up and walked towards me. He drained his cup along the way and then reached past me to put it in the sink.

I made the mistake of taking a deep breath as he leaned close and I had to bite my lip to keep from moaning. God, why did he always have to smell so good? Why did he have to radiate warmth from his big, broad, flannel-covered chest, so that I desperately wanted to cuddle into him. 

Completely unaffected, Dean turned to leave, but I put my hand out, touching his arm to stop him from going. I could feel an almost imperceptible flinch from him and I pulled my hand back, embarrassed that he was literally recoiling from my touch.

“Sorry.” I said as my cheeks got pink. “I was wanting to talk to you and Sam. Do you know when-” 

Just then we could hear the screech of the bunker door as Sam returned from his morning run.

“Perfect timing.” I said with an awkward chuckle.

I left the kitchen, glad that Dean followed so I could talk to them both at once. We met Sam at the bottom of the stairs. He pulled out his ear bud, still breathing deeply. 

“Hey.” He said with a small smile. He looked back and forth between me and Dean. “What's up?”

“Oh nothing, really.” I said, waving away the conversation's importance. “I just wanted to talk to you guys. I've…well, I was thinking about it and I realized, I mean now that there's no demon tracking me, no one threatening me, I should probably move out. You know?”

Sam scowled and shook his head. “We're hunters, we're always under threat. This is still the safest place for you. Why would you leave?”

I shrugged. “Well, I mean, I've been here a long time.” Sam scoffed at that, but I continued. “And I don't wanna…you know. I just think I should get out of your hair.”

“Don't be stupid. You're not in our hair. You should stay. Right, Dean?” He asked his older brother.

I looked back at Dean and he didn't say anything for a moment, just stared at the ground. Then he shrugged and looked up. His face was the same cold, indifferent mask I'd seen him wear so many times before. 

“If she wants to go, can't stop her.”

I smiled thinly, a small pinch of hurt starting in my chest. 

“Yep,” I said in a cheerful tone. “Can't stop me.”

Sam started to speak, but I waved him away. “No. Seriously, I should get my own place. But I really appreciate you guys letting me crash here for so long.”

I stood on tiptoe to give Sam a kiss on the cheek and then tossed Dean a smile which was all I could manage before taking off, heading back to my bedroom so I could start looking for a new place to live.

About an hour later, as I was on my computer looking at apartments, there was a light knock on my door.

“Come in!” I called, expecting Sam's tall frame to walk through. Instead the door swung open and Dean was there. 

I was shocked and I set my laptop down beside me on the bed, sitting up straight. Not once in the six months I'd lived there, had Dean knocked on my door; nor had he ever sought me out for anything.

“Hi.” I said lamely.

He nodded at me as he walked slowly into the room. 

We were quiet for a moment before I cleared my throat. “Do you need something?”

Dean pushed out his lips and shoved his hands in his pockets, shrugging his broad shoulders.

“I, uh…I wanted to…Sam said that he thought you were…” He rolled up onto the balls of his feet a couple of times as he paused.

I raised a quizzical eyebrow and Dean scowled, pulling his hands out of his pockets so he could cross his arms over his chest. The flannel pulled tight across his shoulders and biceps, thoroughly distracting me. 

But then he spoke roughly and brought my attention back to him.

“Sammy thinks you're just leaving cause of me, so I need you to tell him it's not true.”

I wasn't surprised that Sam had read me so well, he wasn't easily fooled and I often thought he might know about my unrequited feelings for Dean. 

But I shook my head. “No, of course not. It's not you. It's just time.”

Dean nodded and looked away. “K well, tell my dipshit little brother that will you, so he gets off my back?”

He sounded angry and for some reason his anger annoyed me. I was moving out, leaving, just so that he’d be happy, and he still wasn’t. 

“Sure.” I attempted a teasing tone, but it didn’t really work. “I'll get right on it. Right after I find a new place to live.”

Dean scowled at me again, but this time I scowled back. 

Something seemed to occur to Dean and though his voice was rough, he sounded slightly shocked when he spoke. “You are leaving because of me. Why?”

I rolled my eyes so hard I thought they might get stuck like that. “Oh, I don't know Dean. I can't imagine why I'd think you don't want me around when you're always so warm and welcoming. Always so eager to chat and hangout. I must just be crazy!”

Dean's frown etched deeper on his brow. “So you're leaving cause I'm not acting like your bestie? I'm not friendly enough for you?”

“I’m leaving because you hate me and obviously don’t want me around!” I shouted.

Silence rang out and my embarrassment filled it. I stood up from my bed and brushed past him, calling back to him as I left.

“Look, don't worry about it. I'll tell Sam it's not your fault so he leaves you alone.”

I left quickly, but I wasn't sure where to go. I couldn't stay in my bedroom with Dean there, but I didn't want to run into Sam either. So I ended up hiding in the gym, hoping neither of them would find me there.

But that plan didn't work very well, since minutes later Dean strode through the door. I growled slightly in frustration. All I wanted was to avoid further confrontation about this.

My voice was quiet, trying to discourage any more conversation. “Look, let's just leave it alone, okay? It's fine.”

“No it's not.” Dean responded.

I let out a little huff. “I’ll be gone in a few days, and everything can just go back to normal for you guys.”

Dean stared at me. “No it won’t. I don't want you to go.”

I scoffed and stood up from the bench. “Dean, enough. I told you it's fine. I'll make sure Sam doesn't blame you.”

I walked towards the door, aware I was going to have to get past him to leave. I gave him a wide berth but he sidestepped to intercept me. 

“I don't want you to go.” He repeated quietly.

“Yeah, okay.” I said sarcastically. “If you say-” 

In a blink Dean grabbed hold of my upper arms and yanked me forward so that I stumbled into him, gasping. His mouth crashed down on mine and I squealed in surprise.

He kissed me hard and quick, stroking up into the roof of my mouth with his wide tongue and then ripping himself away from me.

He was breathing hard as he stared down at me and spoke in a rough whisper. 

“I don't want you to go.”

I just blinked at him, confusion overwhelming me. “What…what are you…what?”

“I don't want you to go.” He repeated for the fourth time. “But you should go. You should run long and far and never look back.” His voice sounded desperate.

I was so confused. “What are you talking about?”

He cupped my cheeks and kissed me again slowly, sweetly. I started to comprehend what was actually going on and I felt like my mind was going to explode. He left me reeling, my whole world turning upside down in disbelief as he pulled away from my lips to bury his face in my neck and kiss his words into my skin. 

“God, Sweetheart, all I dream about is you; you're all I see when I close my eyes. But you can't stay; you can't love me back.”

I listened to his words as I dropped my head back so he had better access to all the sensitive spots on my neck.

“…you can't love me back…”

My voice was breathless and bemused as I spoke. “But you don’t love me…you can't love me…you don't even like me.”

Dean pulled back to look me in the eye and I was shocked to see that his eyes were slightly glassy. I shook my head again, though I didn't know why I was trying so hard to deny his words when they were what I'd wanted to hear for so long. 

But I continued. “No, it’s not possible.” I said. “You don't like me. You're always angry at me, cold and distant. You think I'm a shitty hunter; I'm a burden and liability to have with you on cases.” 

I was shaking my head. “You leave me in the car!”

Dean closed his eyes and spoke quietly. “I leave you in the car because when you're with us I'm completely distracted trying to make sure nothing happens to you; I can't  do my job properly. And I'm cold and distant with you because…”

He opened his eyes slowly. “Because I know I can't have you.”

For the first time since I'd known him, I could easily read the emotion swirling in his deep, forest green eyes. And what I saw was just immense sadness.

He shook his head. “I can't have you.”

“What do you mean, you ‘can’t have me’? Says who?” I asked croakily, my throat constricted.

His jaw clenched and he looked away from me, over my shoulder. “Every single person that's been ripped out of my life since I was four years old. And the list is long, so very long. They're all telling me over and over that loving you is a selfish, impossible daydream. They're screaming at me from the grave, reminding me that trying to hold on to you is going to get you killed.” 

He was staring past me as though he could actually see the ghosts that haunted him, could hear their words of warning.

“You know,” I said with a sniffle as my eyes and nose started watering, “I think that might be the most you've ever said to me at one time.”

Dean let out a puff of air that wasn't quite a laugh, and he shook his head again. “I don't want you to go, but you should go.”

I swallowed several times, the tears still flowing as I realized that all of this was really happening. 

He loved me. Truly. 

Finally I dashed away my tears and sniffled again. “Not a chance, Dean Winchester. You say you love me? Well, great, cause I love you too.” 

He pulled in a stuttered breath and I could see the fear in his eyes. He opened his mouth to speak again and I took the chance to steal a kiss, pressing close to him and winding my arms around his neck. 

He let out what I hoped was a groan of capitulation and wrapped his arms around my ribs, squeezing me to him tightly and deepening the kiss. His tongue swept through my mouth, exploring every inch, pulling soft moans from the back of my throat as I raked my nails through his hair and he shuddered against me.

After kissing me senseless for several minutes, he broke it off so we could both suck air into our starving lungs. He rested his forehead against mine and I could still hear the sadness in his voice and it made my heart ache. 

“If you stay here with me, you can’t ever leave. Okay? Promise me if you stay, if we love each other out loud, promise me it'll be okay. That I won’t have to live without you, that you’ll always be safe.”

He touched my lips briefly with his, and then spoke against them, whispering. “I couldn’t take it. So promise. Even if it's a lie. Promise me anyway.”

“I promise.” I told him with my whole heart, and sealed it with a kiss.

Jensen RPF and Any/All Characters: @lyarr24 @lacilou @deans-spinster-witch @globetrotter28 @suckitands33 * @alwaystiredandconfused @jzackles @jackles010378 @impala67rollingthroughtown @krazykelly * @candy-coated-misery0731 @envyaurora95 @spnwoman @deans-baby-momma @luvr4miya * @arcannaa @viviwatchestv @winharry @ladysparkles78 @kr804573

* @whimsyfinny * Dean Fics Only: @roonthelittlespoon920 @slamminmine @zepskies @safiyas-world @aylacavebear * Any/All Fics Regardless of Character or Fandom: @kazsrm67 @slut-for-evans-stan @sexyvixen7 @nancymcl @hobby27 * @waywardcheshire @libby99hb * Everything Incl. Fan Edits: @k-slla @leigh70 @eevvvaa @kickingitwithkirk @foxyjwls007 * @notinthislife50 @roseblue373 @mishkatelwarriorgoddess @avanatural @mrsjenniferwinchester * @all-alone-he-turns-to-stone @deangirl96 @stoneyggirl2 @fanfic-n-tabulous

[acacia-may]

Acacia, I shall be hitting you with a whole fruit salad.

I’m sorry but I do want to ask all of these. So please, take your time answering. 😅

🍒, 🍊, 🍑, 🍐, and 🍈?

Aww thank you so much, Erika! I really appreciate it. There's no need to apologize. I'd love to answer these for you. Thank you so much for sending them in. 🥰

🍒 What’s your favorite character dynamic to write? (Can be romantic or platonic, specific or general!)

I'm sure this will come as no surprise to you but I love to write brother relationships, especially in that sweet spot of they love each other deeply but the relationship between them is strained usually by external and/or internal forces and/or breakdowns in communication driving a wedge between them that makes it difficult to express how much they really care about each other. It's such a fascinating dynamic to me (I honestly don't know why, but I'm always so compelled by these kind of deeply loving but deeply broken relationships where you're looking at these fictional siblings and you just know how much they truly love each other but they just can't communicate that and can't overcome whatever it is that's tearing them apart.

(I'm going to ramble just a little bit here so please excuse me) For instance, you've got Finral and Langris who are driven apart by their own wounds & insecurities but also because they were pitted against each other by their parents and kind of had to see each other as adversaries in order to survive in their abusive home. Whereas Sanemi pushed his brother away to try to protect him and lashed out when Genya misunderstood and tried to prove himself by doing the exact thing his brother was trying to protect him from. Hero and Kel both pushed each other away because they were afraid of hurting each other. And don't even get me started about Kai and Sei because that is just... (I'm cutting myself off)

Anyway, the one underpinning thread here is that there is obviously real love between these siblings underneath all of that pain, strain, and brokeness in the relationship and therefore is a hope that they can overcome these obstacles and build a healthy bond with each other (whether that's again or, in some cases, for the first time). Even I have my limits though and there are some relationships that are clearly unhealthy and unsalvageable. When it's clear that their really is no mutual respect here and/or no potential for change or real love then I'm out. But those ones that are more nuanced where the relationship is just strained rather than permanently broken, I personally am very compelled by those and have a lot of hope of them being repaired. That's probably my favorite kind of relationship to write about.

I also love writing about platonic Male-Female friendships because I feel like those are criminally underrated.

🍊 Who’s a character you don’t write for that often, but keep meaning to write for more? (They’re so interesting! But maybe you have trouble pinning them down, or keep getting distracted by another blorbo…)

Gordon. I'm so sorry Gordon! He was honestly one of my favorite characters when I was watching and reading Black Clover, but he's just so hard for me to write that I've never really been able to do as much with him as I would've liked. I have half a story written from his POV for the Early Black Bulls Series but it was such a struggle that I just never finished it. I also considered making up an OC for him to marry in the future around the same time I was creating Lorelei for Henry (because he just seems like such a domestic type who'd be happy to settle down & have a family one day. Just such a loving Papa). But not a lot came of that. I name dropped his daughter (who is adopted) in one of my fics, but yeah...I really dropped the ball on poor Gordon. He deserves more love.

🍑 If you could make a connection between your favorite character and another work you care about (whether a crossover/fusion or a wonderfully “pretentious” literary reference) what would it be? How would it work?

My sister and I make jokes all the time about (a well-adjusted) Langris sort of "adopting" all the high-stress, overachieving perfectionist kiddos we tend to adopt ourselves from other media and becoming kind of father figure to them and trying to help them --convince them it's okay to have fun and that they don't have to be perfect all the time and try to "earn" love (usually with Finesse's help and/or by begging Vanessa to intervene because he has no idea what he's doing). And the kids really look up to him and think he's super cool. We call them the "Langris Squad." It's a little hard to explain but kind of wholesome in my mind.

🍐 Is there anything in canon that you absolutely hate and love to fix in fics? A wrong choice made, a fuck-up in characterization, a misunderstanding never cleared up, a conversation never shown onscreen, etc…

...that House Vaude Drama needs a resolution. I think especially for me (because I'm a biased Langris-sympathizer) something I always try to include in fics is just trying to kind of explain why in the world he is acting the way he is and is (weirdly enough) sort of helping Finral best him. It's strange from the outside (I have a lot of headcanons about it), so I really like to dive into Langris' emotions, thoughts, and motivations about what's going on there since it was really abrupt and glossed over in the actual canon. Also, again, I like to resolve this mess when I can. (Not always in the same way because there are multiple resolutions which would be fine, but I don't really care for the way it has been handled in the canon).

Another one that comes to mind is the aftermath of the Golden Dawn losing so much of their squad in the fight against Zenon. I know that was a while ago, but it still irks me that we didn't get to see a whole of them grieving and trying to rebuild. Yuno had a really great and heart-wrenching moment about it in the Spade Arc when he tapped into his grief to motivate him during his rematch against Zenon, but I feel like there's a lot of untapped potential there, especially for Mimosa who unlocks such a powerful healing ability that she could use to save other people during the Spade Arc but couldn't use to save her own squad mates. I can't imagine how hard that is for her, and I was actually so frustrated this got glossed over that I wrote a story about it called "For What It's Worth" which unfortunately I think was written in the time before Tumblr and never made it over here. Maybe I'll cross post it, if you (or anyone else is interested)?

🍈 Who’s your blorbo and what are some of your favorite headcanons/ideas about them that repeatedly show up in your fics? Free pass to rant about blorbo opinions.

From Black Clover, Langris. Hands down. He was not always (and I detested him at first), but he's definitely the character I find most interesting now. I just want him and Finral to repair their brotherly relationship so much! It's what I have wanted most out of Black Clover for a very long time. I also really enjoy his friendship with Yuno and especially with Lady Finesse.

I have way too many headcanons about him, but I think the biggest one that comes up the most and has the most bearing over how I write his character is that Langris loves so much more intensely and deeply than he is given credit for. He struggles to be vulnerable and doesn't open his heart to too many people, but when he does, he will love forever and will be willing to make great sacrifices for what is best for that person and what will make them happy.

My most strongly held Langris headcanon is that it is the love that he has for Finesse that has led him to try to help Finral take over House Vaude. I flip-flop a lot over whether it is a romantic or platonic love, but regardless, I am convinced that however you want to qualify that, Langris loves her and is so concerned with her happiness that he would willingly give up what's he has worked for his entire life, his sense of purpose, and, really, his own sense of identity (in a way) just in the off chance that Finesse would be happy. And even more than that...would be happy without him. This is not a sacrifice to get the girl. This is a purely selfless action. He knows if he does this, he will lose everything and they will never be together, but he doesn't care because what he wants more than all of that is for Finesse to be happy and he doesn't think he can be the one to make her happy, so that's why he counts himself out.

[ambrossart]

omg!!! so many thoughts on the last chapter, I personally thought it was brilliant. I’m curious which chapters are your favorite? anyways I also I have some more questions after ch 30….

first, I know you gave us your thoughts on what Richie would think of Evelyn x Patrick…. what about Maggie’s? I mean we see how she feels about Henry (as she should) so I’m curious…

second, since you’ve split the chapters differently, will part one end somewhere else? and are each parts of the story going to have a break between them? I know you’re taking a break now (and I’m so so so excited for the return of DWM) but I’m just curious

third, I’m in love with the way you’ve created Evelyn’s character. so, out of curiosity, what inspired you to write her? I noticed both Evelyn and your reader in your DWM series are written in a very different way than most people write love interests for Eddie and the Bowers Gang, and it’s very refreshing. you’re extremely talented and make some of the best OCs I’ve ever read, I can really sympathize and relate to them

that’s all, lol. thank you!!!!

Oh, I have a lot of favorite chapters. I love the one with the two parties, I love the one where Evelyn goes to Patrick’s house for the first time, when she goes to Vic’s house, when she goes to the school to see Henry after his expulsion hearing, when she’s babysitting for the Denbroughs, the one where Patrick sneaks into her room while she’s decorating her T-shirt sign. I have a ton of favorites. Probably way too many.

And regarding Maggie, I think we got a little glimpse of her reaction in Ch. 20 when she finds out Patrick was the one who gave Evelyn a hickey. Her initial reaction was: “Wow, you certainly have a type, don’t you?” Once again, her daughter is getting involved with someone who’s very problematic. She uses humor to cover up a lot of her feelings, but she would definitely be concerned—not so much for her daughter’s physical safety (I don’t think anybody in Derry realizes how dangerous Patrick really is), but I do think she would be concerned about Patrick’s reputation and how that might negatively impact her daughter. However, like I’ve said before, these feelings pale in comparison to the fear she has about Henry. She’ll write Patrick off as her daughter’s weird rebound and pray that it ends quickly.

Secondly, Part 1 will end at the same place in the narrative, but it’ll end on a different chapter (probably on 32). To be clear, there won’t be any official parts to this story; the chapters will just keep going as they always have, but you’ll feel all the different parts because they each have their own conflict. When Part 1 ends, you’ll know it because… well, you’ll just know it. It’ll feel very much like we’re heading into brand new territory (and that territory is Patrick 😏). The next chapter is going to focus on Henry, and it’ll pick up right after he walked away from Evelyn. It’ll be a big moment of reflection for him and he’ll try his best to make amends with her. We’ll also find out what Patrick has planned for Martin, so it’ll definitely be a more eventful chapter… if I can get it right.

I don’t plan on taking breaks between every part. I usually take breaks when I get burned out. Some chapters are really, really exhausting to write or they’re just really difficult. I’m taking a very short break now just to recharge my batteries and reset my brain because Henry’s POV scenes aren’t coming together like I want them to. So I’m very glad to go back to DWM for a bit. It’s light, it’s fun, and Eddie always puts me in a good mood.

Lastly (I’m so sorry, I wrote a novel here), I was inspired to write Evelyn because… she’s kind of canon. In the movie, Eddie makes a comment about Richie having a sister, so naturally, I started thinking about what his sister might be like. I didn’t want her to be another trashmouth or Richie 2.0, but I wanted her to have a very similar energy that’s just channeled differently. I also wanted to create a character that would complement Patrick and Henry, and I think Evelyn does very well. I adore Evelyn. I may not treat her very nicely sometimes, but I love her to pieces and I could talk about her and relationships with these characters all day long.

I won’t, though.

Anyway, thank you for taking the time to ask all these questions! It truly made my day 😊

[evelynndecipio-blog]

Decipio,

Apologies for the delay with the reply. I wanted to get some more information from my Ravenclaw contacts before writing so I actually had some decent stuff to talk about. Sorry about that.

Personally, I do not have anything against the Liberation Club. We probably should've done more research but to be fair, it was just gossip. No one actually knows anything that's going on as far as I can tell which is why it's just rumors or gossip. This is why we need people like you, Decipio. And speaking of me and Riddle's conversation, I've got to admit, I don't remember much of it. It was so long ago and honestly not that important to me. But I guess I could ask her if you want me to double check. I don't know if she remembers much either, though.

I have my POV of the common room incident and I took some notes down but I think I'll need to talk to more people. But so far Henry and Oliveire seem to have their facts down solid. There seemed to be something that attacked all the kids who fell through to the basement and someone definitely saw someone lurking outside the common room. I talked to one of the kids who saw it, Maria Dee, and she seems sane enough to know what she's talking about. I wonder who that could be? Could it be one of those hags the professors were talking about that night? I've never seen a hag, except for this one really mean 5th year.... but that's not the point is it? I trust my own eyes and my housemates'es stories, but if you want me to ask around some more I can definitely do that.

The fact that Lear's been missing scares me slightly but he is a smart man. Heel be fine. Its' very suspishos that he has been gone for so long but I can only assume that he is alright. He must have a very good reason for leaving us so suddenly but that reason is definitely not the same reason that the professors said was his reason. When he comes back? I am MARCHING ON OVER TO HIM after he gets comfortably settled in and says hi to all his friends again to get some answers. The students deserve to know! Maybe he was gone to get rid of all the hags for us. I bet Lear would do that for us.

Man if you don't know what something means there's probably no way that I'll know what it means (unless it's a No-Maj term). I kind of feel bad for all the dhampirs if I'm honest. I bet that a lot of people treat them unfairly but I think that dhampirs are pretty okay for the most part. And I definitely feel like people would hang around to see them unless there's a secret passage from Equinox's office that we don't know about. I didn't go to the Masquerade Ball but I think there is been a lot of weird stuff happening with Ilvermorny students and their teachers? But I could be wrong.

I don't think that any of the professors would ever betray us to the hags though. I think that they think that if they panic then wheel panic and I think that what they're thinking is right. But I trust the professors to take care of us so I don't think there's anything wrong with what they're saying. Besides I think that most of the school hates rules in general so with more rules piled on the ones already in place their bound to get antsy and try to rebel. A small and shelfish part of me hopes they do just because there will be lots of fun articles to write about it but then again that's very shelfish. And secretly I would be really sad if we got sent home! I like Hogwarts. I really do.

The marks are crazy, aren't they? Maybe I can interview one of them who has a mark... but I hope they don't start questioning why I'm asking about they're tattoo. It would make a great article though won't you agree?

I am afraid that I have to disagree with you about breeds. One of my dearest friends is part giant and he wouldn't even hurt a fly! Unless the fly took his food or hurt one of his friends but then the fly would definitely deserve it. But most students who may be a part breed are usually harmless I swear!

Alright then. On to the main course. I talked to some of my contacts in Ravenclaw and I heard stories about some weird shit man. She claims that she didn't see much but she did mention dolls that looked like that students. Like voodoo dolls from New Orleans! She said that there were a whole bunch of them in the Forbidden Forest, all of them looking like one of the Ravenclaws in the group. She said it was real creepy. What the hell could those be? I mean a doll of me would be super hot and super cute but still kind of creepy. Espeshully the way she described it. I don't think I would want one of those dolls.

But yeah that's what I've learned so far. I don't know where to turn to next. There's just too much to try and piece together; it's like a gajillion-piece puzzle, and we don't have the picture! Let me know what you think we should do next.

XO's Ami

(( In a different hand: ))

June 26, 2020

[gonefishingrabbit]

Yuletide 2023 Letter

Happy Holidays, Yuletide writer! If you are here, you are presumably interested in the same small fandom, so that’s exciting. 

AO3 account: pinnacles

General likes:

Canon pastiche - I enjoy the style/general vibe of everything I’ve requested

Dialogue! I like the characters to do plenty of talking to each other

Humour of all varieties, from obscure puns to slapstick sequences

Minor canon divergence with major consequences

Being surprised, as a reader, by something unexpectedly weird

Outsider POVs (I’m fine with non-requested-character POVs of requested characters, if anything along those lines appeals to you)

Winter and/or Christmas vibes (big fan of both)

Mysteries, puzzles, and anything else that makes me curious about what’s really going on

Stories that start out very mundane (suspiciously mundane, even) and then escalate steadily

3rd or 1st person, past tense - I like 1st person takes on 3rd person canons, just not a big fan of present tense

Epistolary fic and other things that play around with format

Stories that take place entirely on one day

Stories with a specific structure that's laid out at the start - e.g. 5+1, but also anything else that explains its structure in the summary, headings or opening sequence.

General dislikes: (not hard DNWs, I've indicated those by fandom)

Grief/loss as a major theme

AUs that completely change the setting/overall vibe (but I leave this up to your judgment - if you take this as a challenge to write, for example, Boxcar Children in ancient Greece in the most Boxcar Children way possible, you should absolutely go for it)

Big timeskips/covering a long period of time very fast (e.g. 5 years in 1k - I'd rather it was 5 days or 5 hours in 1k)

Unrequested non-canon pairings

Stories with minimal dialogue

REQUESTS

Stop Press Hugo Toplady, Timmy Eliot

This is one of my favourite books of all time. It’s so ridiculous and self-indulgent. I’ve requested Timmy Eliot and Hugo Toplady because my main complaint with this book is that their interactions aren’t shown in greater detail. I do like the idea of it as a romantic pairing where Toplady figures it out before Timmy moves on to Patricia, but I like it more because I think it’s funny than because I think it’s romantic, so do whatever you like there.

Some prompts: Toplady thinks better of having given the sonnets to his grandmother and tries to get them back. Your version of Timmy asking for the sonnets back in the cupboard (or cupboard canon divergence, cupboard anything). Toplady POV of literally any canon event. Toplady, post-canon, explaining his version of what happened. 5+1 Timmy/Toplady.

Inspirational book quote: Toplady, with the air of one who makes an important decision with practised rapidity, said, "How do you do."

DNW: -grief/loss as a major theme

Melendy Quartet Martin Melendy, Randy Melendy, Rush Melendy, Mark Herron

I like how the kids are weird in the ways kids are, and how they all have their different personal philosophies, and how the result is usually funny. The outdoor adventures are nice and atmospheric. I’d generally prefer stuff set around the timeframe of The Four-Story Mistake/Then There Were Five.

Some prompts: Father POV of something from the books that would probably be pretty WTF for him (lots of options there). The kids solving some sort of minor mystery (or convincing themselves a mystery exists where there is none). Randy and Rush somehow make friends with Mark earlier and a Melendys vs Oren Meeker showdown happens.

DNW: -grief/loss as a major theme -romantic pairings

Boxcar Children Henry Alden, Jessie Alden, Violet Alden, Benny Alden

I find these books so relaxing. I like the vacation vibes and the food descriptions and the mysteries that tend to stay pretty chill. I like how sometimes mysteries get solved by people just doing the sort of dumb thing that people do sometimes (e.g. Henry hurling the key into the water in Houseboat Mystery). Nowadays I’m more familiar with the original series but I read about 100 of the new ones as a kid so feel free to play around with either.

Some prompts: One kid goes alone on a trip and needs the others’ help investigating a mystery over long-distance. Any sort of snowbound whodunit (something like theft, not murder). One kid is the major suspect and the others have to clear them.

DNW: -grief/loss as a major theme -romantic pairings

Jane of Lantern Hill Jane Stuart, Irene Fraser

I love this book because it is funny and satisfying and has nice descriptions of delicious food and beautiful landscapes. I like the weird situations Jane gets herself into and very much enjoy when she shows up her detractors. I would really like to see some more Jane - Aunt Irene interaction because I don’t feel like Aunt Irene has been satisfactorily dealt with yet. Equally happy with canon divergence and post-canon.

Some prompts: Jane, through convoluted methods, tries to separate dad and Aunt Irene for good. Jane tries to pit Aunt Irene and grandmother against each other. Aunt Irene unexpectedly makes friends with mother and Jane doesn’t know how to deal with this.

DNW: -grief/loss as a major theme -modern AUs

Trixie Belden Trixie Belden, Honey Wheeler

One of my favourite things about these books is that sometimes the characters are just really bad at solving mysteries and it’s hilarious. (The Mystery Off Glen Road is one of my favourites.) I love every wild conclusion they jump to. They just generally seem to fail harder than most kid detectives and that makes it way more fun to root for them. I would love any sort of mysterious nonsense involving them. I’m neutral on pairings - I wouldn’t mind Trixie/Honey if you want to go that route.

Some prompts: the Bobwhites, for mystery-related reasons, invent a new neighbor and get stuck constantly pretending that this nonexistent person exists. Trixie and Honey stage an extremely over-complicated treasure hunt and the prize gets stolen. Trixie and Honey are convinced that [insert Bobwhite of your choice here] has been kidnapped for ransom, but no one else believes them.

DNW: -grief/loss as a major theme

Thomas and the Magic Railroad Mr. Conductor

Alec Baldwin eating vegetables and excitedly saying random words is one of my favourite scenes in cinema. And of course every scene of him being menaced by an evil talking train is perfection (somehow I forgot to nominate Diesel 10, by all means include him if you want).

Some prompts: The sinister influence of the windmill is made clearer. Mr Conductor is menaced by more trains. Mr Conductor sleeps sadly beside a hedge and is mocked by passing trains. Pick a scene to be interrupted by a call from Sir Topham Hatt.

Inspirational clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5nuckKBO_8

DNW: N/A. Just bear in mind that I’m going to find it funny no matter what it is.

[philtstone]

wait actually i have more to say about this. most (obligatory disclaimer, see above, etc) of the inconsistencies in shawns character/talents can be explained through 1) commitment to the bit 2) hes a lying liar who lies 3) he has adhd and 4) he never went to college AND his mom left when he was halfway through high school

shawn knows spanish when it is relevant to the bit. shawn doesnt know spanish when it is relevant to the bit. shawn lived in argentina (fact; henry confirms it) but we have no idea for how long (shawn could have lied about that) and have no reason to believe that shawn not knowing colloquial spanish while in mexico or while playing chad isnt him Just Pretending. remember that this is a man who once looked someone dead in the eye and said "im not really a necklace guy" while wearing a clearly visible necklace

shawn having a box of math trophies from elementary school & being able to do rapid backwards math in the pilot/for his stupid psychic demonstrations but not knowing how to do basic calculus in a different episode makes perfect sense. mental math is a totally separate skill from calculus and if you've been trained in in/deductive reasoning since age 5 and are inherently good at rote memorization it is effortless. you dont learn calculus until at least sophomore year of high school. for a lot of gifted kids, high school is usually when school gets hard and they are at highest risk of checking tf out mentally or giving up. you actually have to study now! and while some kids get over that hump and figure it out by grade 11 or 12, shawns mom had already left at that point, cueing all the deliberate acting out to get back at his dad. and he never went to college! there are a lot of other skills we take for granted that dont really come up/you arent exposed to until you start college! idk i just think this is a fun character point about shawn everyone often forgets

shawn being excellent at high level pattern recognition and narrative-weaving but being terrible at puzzles? adhd. shawn having a perfect memory but forgetting to do the dishes when jules asks? adhd. shawn having a bizarrely sophisticated vocabulary but misremembering the actual meanings of lots of basic words? not strictly adhd, but "ive decided i need to read this random hard-level book Right Now, and now i know all of these big new words in context but never had the patience or commitment to look up the meanings" is just .... such a classic move lol

this may just be because ive always been the kind of writer/audience who values narrative closure and sticking the overall landing more than i do keeping all the little details straight, but i just feel like from a writing perspective its actually kind of clever to commit to a character like this, bc you sort of cover your own ass really well as a result. your pov character is inherently an oxymoronic contradiction in most of the things he does -- and he earns it -- and so when you actually do sincerely mess up continuity ... you kind of have enough of an alibi that it doesnt matter, lol

not to say that psych doesnt have continuity errors bc it absolutely does (as is the natural case with any weekly cable show that ran for eight years) but id argue that it gets away with a lot more than its peers bc of the fact that its main character is a professional liar. 70% of the stuff that comes out of shawns mouth is either an objective falsehood or total nonsense made up for the bit. when he wants you to think hes smart hes smart and when he wants you to think hes stupid hes stupid and when it is even slightly funnier to lie than to tell the truth, he will absolutely pick door number one, every time

[buckysgoldenheart]

The Ways We Meet

Henry Cavill x Reader

Summary: While trying to avoid another man at an A-list event, you accidentally bump into Henry who has no interest in letting you go despite not even knowing your name.

Notes: idk, I thought it was kinda cute. Pov changes back and forth between Y/N and Henry A LOT. Implied smut (because I’m so damn bad at writing full smut).

Words: 2211

Y/N:

These events pissed you off, they really did. Despite being only a director’s assistant, you were forced to attend. And it wasn’t the tight, sparkly dresses you had to wear that made you miserable, nor the heavy makeup or the overcrowding in rooms that far surpassed fire department code. It was more that you felt out of place and always managed to have one creepy man sense that from a mile away with the intent to pray on what looked like your innocence. You weren’t innocent, by far, but you supposed the impression you gave off by the way you stood away from others, sipping the same drink for a half hour, made sense.

Usually, drinking in a dark corner at an A-list event by the time midnight came around kept you safe. Those creepy men surrendered to your disinterest in them, and ventured to find an easier, more desperate woman. But not tonight. Tonight, this one was persistent.

You didn’t know his name; never let him get close enough to tell you, but he followed you around, not so subtly watching you with a look in his eyes that had you nauseous. Every step he neared you was a step you took in the opposite direction hoping to evade his creepiness.

Henry:

It had been a long night, too long, and Henry wished he could just go back to the hotel and watch a stupid movie until the early hours of the Sunday morning, since there was no way he would get a good nights sleep with the jetlag still wracking his body from the morning before.

He was saying goodbye to a couple coworkers, patting them on their backs in a friendly gesture when his shoulder roughly shoved forward. He stumbled a step, and before he could turn to see why, a woman passed him.

Her body was wrapped a snug, shiny red gown, and she had curls pinned back into an elegant bun, and when she turned to apologize, she lightly touched his bicep, smiling politely before continuing on her path. His breath hitched but she didn’t notice as she was gone a half-second later, buried somewhere in the mass of bodies.

His lips were still parted, stunned, until a friend tapped his shoulder.

“Hey, are you ok?” The friend asked, to which Henry only nodded, then walked away in the direction the woman went.

It took time to find her, but when he did, something in his chest seemed to both tighten and lighten in sync. He watched her from a distance as she took a gulp of the drink in her hand then placed it back on the counter and ducked. Henry chuckled, but then spotted him: A smallish man slowly making his way toward where she was unsuccessfully hiding.

Henry quickly shuffled his way through the crowd, and just moments before the other man could’ve spotted her, Henry snatched her by the arm and pulled her into a corner. With his back to the wall, he faced the crowd, his arms holding her snuggly, chest to chest, until the man passed them by.

Y/N:

“You’re safe now,” A man said, drawing your attention upward, and your eyes couldn’t help but widen. Henry Cavill was looking at you with a playful smirk on his handsome face that you never in a million years would have imagined be directed toward you. “Remember me?”

“Shit,” You cursed yourself. “It was you I bumped into earlier.” What a way to make a first impression. How was it that you always managed to look like an idiot in front of the hottest actors at these parties? This certainly wasn’t the first time. Chris Evans could confirm that, and probably wouldn’t hesitate to.

“It was.”

“Oh God, I’m so sorry. I’m not normally so rude. I can explain.”

Henry’s shoulders shook as he laughed, and it reminded you that he still held you tight, with an odd protectiveness. “I think I’ve caught on to the situation,” He said. “Do you know that guy?”

You shook your head.

Henry casually nodded at your confirmation, that smile still on his face, but it slipped a moment later and you didn’t have to guess why. He looked back at you. “Do you think you could trust a stranger for a brief minute?”

“W-What?”

“Yes or no?” He quickly asked.

You blinked. “Yea, I guess.”

“Good,” He said, then slammed his lips to yours.

It shocked you but the feeling of having every part of your body pressed against his made you dizzy, and what was meant to force the creeper away, lasted much longer than the minute Henry promised. Many minutes longer. Enough minutes to give you the time to slide your hands up his chest until they settled on the back of his neck. Enough minutes to have him groaning when you softly nibbled on his bottom lip. Enough minutes to have your heart pounding.

You pulled back first when the embarrassment began to flood your body. Chuckling awkwardly, you stepped out of his arms, and said, “Um, thanks for the help…stranger,” then tried to disappear as fast as you could, for the first time thankful of the enormous crowd.

Henry:

She stiffened as his hand clasped around her wrist before she could get away, and when she turned to look at his face, she became no less tense. It made Henry feel uneasy. He liked her a little too much for how long he’d known her—which was nearly no time at all--and when he kissed her with everything he had, he thought it might’ve been enough to get her to stick around, at least for an extra minute or two.

He wasn’t arrogant. Yes, he’d had women tell him he was a good kisser, but he didn’t assume one kiss from him would have her falling on her knees, begging him to take her home. Henry just thought she felt something too. Perhaps more than one should from a stranger’s kiss, but enough of something to make her pause and question why it felt so damn good, just as he had for the millisecond before she bolted. It had him unwilling to give up so soon.

“Now where are you going?” Henry said, trying to hide the twinge of desperation in his voice.

“Sorry, I—”

“What’s your name?” He asked.

She blinked with her big, butterfly-wing-like lashes as if she hadn’t expected him to care. “…Y/N.”

“Ok, well, Y/N, I think that guy got the hint. You don’t have to keep running.”

“You never know.” She shrugged and anxiously bit the inside of her cheek.

“Right then, how about we leave?”

“What?”

“Do you like coffee?”

“…Sometimes,” One corner of her lips hesitantly turned upward. “Not usually at twelve thirty in the morning.”

Henry grinned as his thumb ran back and forth along the inside of her wrist. “Well, decaf is a thing, and I happen to know a place not far from here that’s open for another hour.”

Y/N:

You didn’t know how you managed to be pinned against one of his hotel room walls, but you were. You weren’t drunk from the little alcohol you’d had at the party, and the coffee certainly wasn’t spiked, but you still couldn’t explain how you were now moaning from the feel of Henry’s lips attached to your neck. Not that you were complaining.

“Goddamn,” He groaned against the skin of your collarbone as his fingers bunched the glittery fabric of your gown up until his hand could slip underneath. As it glided up your thigh, his palm left burns from its trail, and your skin grew hotter with each inch he made closer to your core. “You’re like an angel.”

You let out a throaty chuckle. “Hardly.”

Henry lifted his head and his hazy blue eyes met yours. “Hardly, huh?” He said as his index finger ran along the edge of your panties. He could’ve easily tucked a finger under that useless barrier and felt how wet you were.

“Yes,” You smirked, reaching your hand forward and undoing the buckle of his belt. “Hardly.”

Then you lowered to your knees.

Henry:

Henry didn’t even have to open his eyes to know that she was gone. He’d woken up a few times throughout the night, only to fall right back into peaceful sleep when he felt her warm body tucked into him. Each time, he tightened his arm firmly around her waist as she emitted little soft snores. But now, without the weight of her body next to his, Henry felt cold. Only the empty dip in the mattress where she’d laid for hours remained.

Her warmth was gone. She was gone.

And it stung a lot more than it should. He didn’t even know her last name or her age or, hell, anything about her. He knew he shouldn’t be as upset as he was, but he wanted to learn those things. To get to know her. Coffee the night before gave little insight to who she really was. That time was spent throwing flirtatious jokes back and forth, and if he’d have known she wouldn’t have given him the next morning to ask the important things, he’d have slowed himself down.

Fisting his fingers into his hair, Henry groaned at more than just the glaring sunlight streaming through the windows giving him a ripe headache. He shouldn’t be hung up on someone he barely knew. It wasn’t healthy.

Y/N:

God, you hoped you weren’t overstepping your bounds, or worse, being that girl who hangs around after a one-night stand long after the guy wants you to. You just…didn’t want to leave. He surprised you with his sincerity. He seemed to like you, though you didn’t know why, but you liked him, and, for once, you were willing to take the risk of sticking around for the morning after. It could be awkward. It could crash and burn. But if you weren’t going to be brave enough to see how the rest of the day could unfold, you knew you would regret it.

But, staying or not, it didn’t mean you weren’t going to hop down to the hotel lobby as soon as you woke to get your coffee fill. And based on what you saw last night, Henry liked his coffee rich and black.

Henry:

Who was he trying to fool? This was absolutely going to ruin his day. They’d had a rare chemistry that made him feel like he’d known her forever, and the sex certainly didn’t suck. Not even close.

Throwing his legs over the side of the bed, Henry sat up and rubbed his face with both hands. If she wasn’t going to be there, he might as well get dressed and go about his day. At least, that’s what he thought, until he heard the door lock click and the handle turn.

His head shot to the sound, and he was almost stunned when he saw her walk in, shakily balancing two cups of coffee, a danish, and a muffin in her arms. She jumped when she saw him looking at her, still impressively holding on to the breakfast.

“H-Hi,” She said. And, damn, Henry liked that voice.

“Hi,” He smiled back, and at the gesture he could see her shoulders relax.

He stood and walked towards her, neglecting his boxers entirely, just thrilled she hadn’t disappeared forever. She looked down and blushed, then averted her eyes as he began to unload the food from her arms, and one-by-one placed the items on the table. When she still hadn’t looked back at him, he chuckled and tucked a finger under her chin, tilting it up until she was forced to meet his eyes.

“Don’t be shy on me now.”

He ran his hands down her arms and grabbed both of her hands in his when she sighed and said “Sorry, I’m not…” She took a breath,” I don’t usually do this.”

“Hook up with strangers?”

“No, stick around the morning after. I kind of assume I’m not wanted, so—”

“You’re wanted here. Believe me,” Henry said fast, because those thoughts were the last he wanted on her mind.

She gaped, but then grinned wide and bright. “Really?”

“Definitely,” He said. “I want to know you.”

Y/N:

He wants to know you. Those words made your stomach flip. Though you took the risk to not sneak out at the break of dawn, you figured the odds of him not shuffling you out the door were unlikely to be in your favor. But you weren’t complaining about being wrong.

You grew embarrassed when you realized that dopey smile was still on your face, so you quickly wiped it off then grabbed the muffin and offered it to him. One corner of his lips quirked in unison with an eyebrow, and he gently took the offering from your hand.

“Thank you,” he said, pulling the paper down to take a bite.

“So, um…if we want to get to know one another, what do you want to do?”

Henry only smirked and said “Well…I’ve got some ideas.” He took another bite then licked the remaining crumbs off his lips, which was somehow more distracting than the fact that he was completely naked. “Half of them don’t involve clothes, though.”

[bitches-who-write]

Can you, if you're confortable with this, just write a bullying scene, please ?

Like the character is bullied by the gang

(If it's not a bother... it's not like what you usually write so if you don't like that kind of work, it's good, i mean, i understand)

Your wish is our command! We had way too much fun writing this lol. It was supposed to be headcanons but we got carried away and turned it into an imagine! The guys are very twisted in this.. You’ve been wanted.

Word count: 1,375

Warnings: Foul Language, Bullying, Violence,

Little Game

POV: It’s summer vacation yet I’m sitting in the library. Why you ask? It’s because I’m not very popular. I don’t have a lot of friends so I tend to spend most of my time alone. I like to keep to myself and be under the radar. I try my best to avoid confrontation as much as possible. Overall I try to just avoid people in general. That could be largely in part of my insecurity though. I’m kind of small for my age...like really fucking small. Although I’m in highschool I get mistaken for an elementary school student a lot. It’s definitely an insecurity of mine but on the plus side, I was going unnoticed for the majority of the school year. That was until the Bower’s gang took interest in me...that one fatal day.

I was walking out of the library getting ready to walk home at my usual time. I was looking down at my phone not really paying attention. That’s when I heard a whistle from behind sending a shiver down my spine. I turned around quickly but I saw no one there. Not a person in sight. At first I thought it was just my imagination but then I heard it again, along with the sound of rustling leaves as if someone was running. I began to pick up my pace, not looking behind me. I heard a low chuckle and quickly turned around again. I finally worked up the nerve to ask ‘who’s there?’ In my head the words sounded stern but when the words left my mouth It came out like a whisper. I began walking again and that's when I heard another noise; but this time coming from the opposite direction. I stopped walking and began looking around nervously. I slowly walk backwards, my breathing shallow. I was so distracted looking ahead of me that I didn’t notice a person standing right behind me! ..Not until my back was pressed right up against this person’s chest.

My arms were harshly pinned behind my back as this person gripped onto my forearms tightly. I tried to turn around to get a glimpse of the person holding me captive, but I couldn’t because of his grip on my arms, forcing me to keep straight. I struggled to get free but that only made him more forceful. Tears started to well up in my eyes however, even through my blurry vision there was no mistaking Patrick’s cocky smile as he approached me and Henry’s arrogant, sly walk...I swear he was strutting. The slam of a heavy car door turned my attention away from Henry and Patrick to see Belch heading towards us now. That’s when I realized it was Victor holding me. I began to panic and struggle even more against Vic. He laughs at me mockingly knowing it’s useless considering how small I am. I hear Belch laugh too, adding, “so pathetic.” Patrick walks over with a potato sack and shoves it over my head… I was immersed in total darkness, making me panic even more. I whimper out a sob. The sack smells like dead animals, making me dry heave. Next thing I know the smelly sack was pulled off my head. I frantically began to look around, my eyes having to adjust to the natural light again. After feeling a bit disoriented, I realized we were in the woods.

I glance over at Henry who has a smirk on his face. He’s looking at me like a pervert, his eyes scanning me up and down. . Henry pushes off his heel from leaning against the tree and walks over towards me. “We’re gonna play a little game with ya.” He says with a teasing tone. His eyes have a glint of mischief in them. I work up the courage to make eye contact with him and ask with a shakey voice, “W-What kind of game?” That’s when I suddenly felt Patrick whisper in my ear, “We’re gonna hunt you, princess.” He says those words so excitedly, it sends chills down my spine. I raise my shoulder, cringing from feeling his hot breath on my ear. He laughs and only gets closer u til I’m practically leaning towards one side, ducking. My eyes widen in terror as they all laugh. Henry grabs my face to draw my attention back to him. “Don’t worry, we’re gonna give you a 5 minute head start considering you’re the size of a fucking child.” I try to process what I’ve just been told. The words barely came out of my mouth as I ask, “What happens If I get caught..?” Vic finally lets go of my wrists and abruptly turns me to face him, now holding me by my upper arms. He leans in uncomfortably close, “Oh you really don’t want to get caught.” Vic finally lets go and backs up ever so slightly as I’m left frozen in fear. Patrick shoves me from behind, making me stumble forward, practically falling down. “Your time starts now, better start running, sweetheart.”

I took off running through the woods, trying my best not to trip over any tree roots. The last thing I need to do is fall and hurt my ankle. My heart is beating out of my chest. I could feel my pulse on the side of my throat just below my jaw. A painful sharp sensation every time I struggled to take a deep breath in. All I’m thinking is ‘they’re not going to actually hunt me...are they?’ Unfortunately for me, my adrenaline rush is wearing off and I’m beginning to feel winded. I just had to sit down on the nearby log, to catch my breath. Maybe I got a good enough head start...maybe they don’t know what direction I went in.. these woods are huge so maybe..just maybe I have a fighting chance. I was so focused on my breathing that it took me a second to register the nearby footsteps approaching. I got up quickly and started to run again, but that didn’t last as I was aggressively tackled blindly from my left side. Patrick looks down at me with his really creepy ass smirk and pins my arms above my head while he straddles me. “Oh wow, you didn’t last long at all princess, that's a real shame~ I was hoping for more of a challenge. So disappointing.” he let out a ridiculing chuckle. “Hey guys, I got her pinned over here!!” I began to struggle trying to get free before the guys came but It was no use. Patrick found my struggling to be entertaining and funny. “You know I usually only like my women to struggle in the bedroom, but this works too.” I began screaming,the sheer panic so clear in my voice. I am just hoping someone would hear my cries for help sooner than later. My crying and fear just made them laugh even more. Patrick lifts off of me and pulls me up forcefully by the collar of my shirt so hard, that I could hear the seams ripping. Only cry harder and begin to plead when Henry walks over and back hands me across my face. If it wasn’t for Patrick holding onto me, I would have fallen to the ground from the force of Henry's slap. My cheek stings and I taste blood in my mouth. I try to hold back my tears but they continue to flow. I spit out the blood, still not making any eye contact with any of them. Belch speaks up from the side making a perverted comment. “So you spit instead of swallow?” Vic chimes in with, “That's gonna change when you’re with us.” They all laugh tauntingly. Henry approaches me once more, this time pulling out his knife. My eyes widened and I begin to struggle once again, attempting to thrash but Patrick is way too strong for me.. “You’re gonna do exactly what we say or else you’re gonna get worse than this.” Henry says as he grabs one of the arms Patrick was holding and begins carving the letter H on my arm..

I shiver recalling that traumatic experience as I trace the scar with my finger. Even though it’s been a few weeks, Patrick, Vic, and Belch were determined to carve their initials in my arm, as well. As I leave the library today I have to make sure to have my guard up at all times, or else....

[imaginesupply]

Homecoming - Chapter One

Chapter Two can be found here

(Gif’s not my own.)

Summary: The day has arrived, Captain Syverson is going home. For good, this time. He is going home to a civilian life he can hardly remember and a wife he barely knows, with memories of the war still fresh on his mind. Love might not be able to heal everything on its own, but it’s a good start.

Genres: Romance, drama.

Story warnings: Smut (always fully consensual), mentions of PTSD and nightmares and mental health, angst, hurt and comfort, fluff, mentions of war (minor), mentions of cheating (minor), mentions of pregnancy (very minor), police appearance (very minor), violence (very minor).

Notes:

It’s my first time writing for one of Henry’s characters and I’m unsure I did Sy’s character any justice.

This is a Capt. Syverson x OFC (Ada) story, written in 3rd person POV but OFC’s physical description is very limited so it could also be read as Capt. Syverson x Reader, I think.

English is not my first language, so there might be some mistakes. Proofread, but not beta’ed. We die like men and all that.

Timeline is a little wacky: The movie takes place in 2003 and the U.S. forces were withdrawn from Iraq in 2011, but I never set a precise date because I don’t think it’s essential for this story. However, some elements might not be realistic because if we set this story in 2003: Phone cameras  quality was not as good as it’s now, but for the purpose of the chapters, I will need you to imagine you could film great videos with your flip phone haha. Plus, it says Sy is coming back after being deployed for more than three years which makes no sense unless we set this in 2006 or later. I am asking you disregard any time inconsistencies 

Also: I am not American. I only lived in the US for six months and it was in the Midwest, not Texas so please bear with me if I write something stupid.

Finally: This is pretty much a Christmas fic and I intend to post the last chapter (there will be seven in total) on or before Christmas. However, religion is never mentioned in this story and the Christmas-sy elements of this story are limited to family gathering, gift giving and tree decorating.

Chapter One starts after the cut. Let me know if you wish to be tagged in the new chapters.

Chapter One

Chapter warnings: Badly written smut (consensual), marriage awkwardness, alcohol consumption. Maybe OOC Sy, I don’t know. We never saw him being casual.

Sy checked his phone again as he waited for his bag by the baggage carousel. The airport was even busier than usual, it was taking ages and he was impatient to get out of there... and maybe even never set foot in an airport again for the rest of his life.

He read her text again, short and sweet. He sometimes called her that, short and sweet, just to tease her. Ada was considerably shorter than him and full of sugar, when she wanted to be, that was.

'I'm waiting by the gate for you, with a warm cinnabon :) So excited to see you again <3.'

Just then a notification popped up from Harper. It was a photo of the soldier at the airport, finally reunited with his wife and his two rugrats. It made Sy all the more excited to see Ada again, and then as if on cue, his camo bag appeared in the carousel and he groaned with relief.

He stood restless amidst the line, it seemed people in front of him were dragging their feet, but when they noticed his green beret uniform, most parted and let him through. Sy tipped his head gratefully.  

His wife was there, just outside the gate. Sy spotted her instantly in the crowd of people. She was wearing a red dress under her open coat and her hair looked fresh out of the hairdresser. He caught himself grinning at the sight of her. Then, once she spotted him making his way over to her, she started waving her hand excitedly as if there was any way his eyes hadn't already landed on her. He wished he still had his phone in hand to capture this moment for all of eternity, but his memory would have to do, he decided before casting his arms open for his wife. Fuck, did he love her!

°°°

Ada had been biting her nails nervously for the past two hours. She had arrived at the airport way too early. The parking fee would hurt but she couldn't find it in herself to care at this point.

Three weeks ago, she had received a call informing her that her husband and part of his unit had been ambushed. There had been an explosion in some building they were scouting only God knows where.

Only a full week after that did she receive a call from Sy himself. He was coming home. For good, this time. They were sending him home early, a full eight months earlier than what he had originally negotiated with his superiors. She hadn't been prepared for the news. She had spent the days following the call asking herself whether she had heard him right, making sure her mind wasn't playing tricks on her.

Now he was here, stopping right in front of her, his thick arms inviting her right in for a hug. Ada wouldn't have been able to resist the invitation even if she had wanted to. Within a second, she was enveloped in his embrace, her cheek pressed against his chest. She was overjoyed to feel his heartbeat again. Sy kisses the crown of her head before putting her down, his hands never leaving her lower back, his fingers big enough to reach the swell of her bum from there.

They pulled away a few inches to take each other in. His beard has grown a little long, but it was not enough to hide his apparent dimples as he smiled. He looked a little older too, she hadn't seen in seven months, except through a shitty quality facetime call once or twice. Her careful gaze spotted the new scar by his temple, it was the only visible physical evidence of the explosion he had been caught in. She dreaded what she might under his uniform.

Sy caught her eyes and she found herself blushing under his stare. It was always like that the first few hours when he was back, until she got used to his overwhelming presence again and to the fact that this handsome bear of a man was indeed her husband.

"You're looking good, darlin'," Sy grinned, making her spin for him. "I missed you."

Ada couldn’t resist his smile. "I missed you too, Sy." She confessed, handing him the still warm cinnamon roll in its paper bag.

He accepted the pastry with a smile and started eating it immediately but not before throwing his arm around her shoulders as they began making their way to the parking lot. Sy was eager to get her out of the crowd and have her just to him himself.

"So, what's the plan, darlin'?" Sy inquired with mischief to his voice, balling up the paper bag with his free hand and throwing it inside the trash can. "Did you book that hotel with the jacuzzi in the bedroom again?"

It had become a tradition of some sort between them. They would always spend his first night back at that hotel: they'd order some room service and eat in the jacuzzi. Though, usually, they would first end up on together on the bed.

Ada stopped suddenly in her tracks, making him still behind her. She smiled sheepishly. "Don't be mad," she started, his smile falling at once, "but your family is waiting for us in the parking lot. Your mom insisted that we celebrate your homecoming at the restaurant. Something about you missing Thanksgiving just by a couple days."

Sy groaned, thinking about the evening that now expected him. He'd been flying for God knows how many hours, all he wanted was a warm bath and Ada whichever way she'd let him have her, not a damn dinner party.

"I'm sorry, Sy."

He shook his head and leaned down to kiss her forehead again. "Don't worry, darlin'. I know it ain’t your fault."

As soon as they reached the open-air parking lot, Sy's nephew and niece start running up to him, having escaped their parents' grasp. His family was waiting for him with cheers and a 'welcome home, soldier' banner. Sy hated that kind of attention and she found it cringy as well, but she had been unable to stop his mother. Ada watched him hug the kids and lift them up into the air, making them laugh as she walked up to the machine to pay the fee.

Her hand trembled as she inserted the ticket into the slot, missing the opening a few times. She was happy - no, scratch that - she was ecstatic to have her husband back. It's just that, could you really say 'back' when there was never truly a 'before', a 'there'?

They had met when he was already deployed, but on a short leave back in Austin. They spent three weeks together, got married and he returned to Iraq. Since then, the longest stretch of time they had been together had been twenty days. Neither of them had ever gotten settled into married life and now he was 'back'. For good. Which was wonderful and foreign and overwhelming all at once.

Ada paid the fee and returned to join them, finding Sy hugging his mother. She smiled at the sight. She walked over to greet her sister-in-law and her husband, confirming that they'd meet up at the restaurant. With that, she went to the car, deciding to give Sy some more time with his family, and herself an occasion to take a few breaths and calm her buzzing heart.

"You didn't tell me my mom had gotten herself a boyfriend." Sy grumbled immediately as he sat down next to her in the car, putting on his seatbelt.

Ada turned on the engine and backed out of the spot. "I knew you wouldn't like it," she defended before casting a side glance at him. "Besides, I figured it wasn't my place to tell you."

Sy hummed noncommittally, removing his cap to rake his hand through his cropped hair.

"Though, as much as I don't exactly like your mother," Ada added quietly, "she's been on her own ever since your dad passed a couple years ago. With your father gone and you away, she must have felt lonely.”

°°°

Sy spent the rest of the drive mulling over her words in his head. The fuck was that supposed to mean? As soon as a woman feels lonely, she takes up a boyfriend?! Was Ada lonely too while he was away and… He wanted to ask if she was implying anything but then one look at her and he decided against it. Breathing out deeply, he forces himself to relax. He was just stressed out and on edge.

It was inevitable that things would have changed while he had been away. That was something he thought about frequently late at night when he got to be alone. Still, he hoped things hadn’t changed all too much. Ada still looked just as she had on their road trip to Vegas, focused on the road but leaning back on her seat, just one hand on the wheel with a grin on her lips. His wife loved driving.

"You got your nails done." Sy commented, already hoping the whole dinner thing would be over quickly so that he could go home with her.

Ada turned to him with a chuckle for a second, wriggling her graceful fingers and red painted nails, her wedding band reflecting the light. "I wanted to look pretty for you."

Sy huffed. "You always look pretty to me, Ada," he said and then watched her scoff.

"Or maybe, I just wanted to make sure I'd be able to scratch you up nicely," she wife winked.

Yeah, this dinner thing couldn't be over fast enough.

°°°

Ada saw him eat so much over dinner, she couldn’t help but wonder if he was going to be sick later. And, of course, the double serving of smoked ribs had to be accompanied with generous amounts of beer and whisky. She didn0t blame him, though. Out of curiosity, she once researched what they ate while on deployment and it looked anything but tasty. If she had been in his shoes, she'd have been eating her own weight in pizza and brownies right now.  

It also didn’t help that his brother-in-law and his mom's new boyfriend, Phil from the hardware store, kept asking him about Baqubah and even touching on the subject of the explosion. It was obvious how uncomfortable the subject made him, his grip tightening around his knife and his jaw tensing up so tightly, she could imagine his teeth grinding.

So, Sy kept asking for refills, raising his glass, and giving them vague answers, but it seemed they didn't get the hint. At least, the subject changed when his sister interrupted the conversation to announce she was expecting again. A little girl.

Ada used the moments of cheer that followed to excuse herself from the table and go to the restroom. She was still somewhat nervous and her face was damp. She would have given anything for a glass of scotch at that moment but she was driving tonight.

Helen, Sy's mom appeared right behind her just as she was washing her hands. She hoped the woman would just disappear inside a stall but she wasn’t that lucky.

"Jack is back." Helen stated, arms crossed. A shiver ran through Ada's spine, damn she hated that woman. "For good."

Ada dried her hands with a paper towel, looking back at her mother-in-law through the mirror. "He is."

"Now's the time to prove yourself to this family and show us that Sy was right in marrying you.”

Before Ada could ask what the hell that was supposed to mean, Helen finally disappeared inside a stall. Rolling her eyes, Ada went to leave the restrooms when Helen decides to add some more venom. "Maybe a good start would be calling him by his first name, as a wife would."

°°°

"When do you start at Camp Mabry?" Ada asked, looking away from the steering wheel to glance at him for a second. Sy looked exhausted, not that she could she blame him after three different flights and a seemingly endless dinner. They had finally called it a night once the kids had started getting fussy.

"January 15th." He replied. "But they want me to stop by before then to have a look around the base and sign the contract."

"You're going to boss the hell out of the new recruits," Ada laughed, getting him to lighten up and even chuckle.

"You'd be surprised to know I'm actually a fair and considerate captain," Sy defended himself.

Next to him, Ada huffed as she tried stiffing the bubble of laughter, trying not miss the right exit off the main road.

"I just value discipline and compliance a lot," he added, his tone growing teasing.

This time, she was unable to stop her laugh. "Believe me, I know you do."

The drive was a short one to their house in the suburbs and she was soon parking her in their driveaway.

Ada fumbled with the key as she tried opening the front door, nervousness setting back in as she felt Sy standing behind her, holding his duffel bag. He followed in quickly after her, once she had finally managed to open the door.

"Welcome home, captain!" Ada cheered in her silliest tone as he discarded his bag on the floor.

Then, before she could even react, Sy was on her. His arms lifted her up, his body caging hers against the wall before capturing her lips in the most ferocious kiss she could imagine.

Out of instinct, her legs locked around his waist and her hands dug into his shoulders, unwilling to let go of him now that he was finally there. Sy grinned against her lips, amused by her fervour, not that he felt any different.

He broke off the kiss as he pulled them away from the wall, freeing a hand to shrug her coat off her shoulders. "You ain't gonna need that, darlin'," he promised, throwing the coat in the direction of the kitchen, not caring where it landed.

Then his mouth latched on to her throat, forcing a delicious moan out of his wife as he carefully manoeuvred them upstairs, still steady on his feet despite the alcohol. Sy was almost surprised when he pushed open the door to their bedroom with his foot and it didn't squeak, but that thought was fleeting as Ada started rolling her hips against his. Suddenly, nothing else mattered. Not the war, not the explosion or his guilt, only the woman in his arms.

Unceremoniously, he let her fall on the bed, the urgency now flowing through his blood keeping him from doing things the gentleman way. Ada didn't mind, giggling as she unzipped her dress and slid the red thing over her head, along with her bra. Apparently, she had decided to forego panties. Sy stood there, almost mesmerised as he watched her, suddenly not certain if he dared tainting her with his touch but Ada quickly made that decision for him as she got up on her knees.

"A little less staring and a little more undressing, captain," she purred with a smirk, her fingers determined as they made quick work of the buttons on his shirt.

"That's it, darlin'. You're in for it now," Sy roared, pulling her in for another furious kiss before pushing her back against the mattress, making her land on her back as he got undressed in record time. Fuck, was he hard.

"Open up for your captain." Sy ordered and Ada complied instantly, her legs falling open for him as she peered up at him, holding herself up on her elbows and worrying her lower lip between her teeth. "That's a good girl," he praised.

Without losing another second, Sy settled in between her legs, wrapping his strong arms around her thighs and parting them to their limits. He wanted to worship her body the way she deserved, show her exactly just how appreciative he was of her, how much he craved her, but it had been months and Sy was a starving man who had just been presented with the perfect meal.

"Fuck Sy!" Ada screamed out, her back arching off the bed the instant he licked her just where she craved him most. He chuckled against her, marvelling at how wet she already was for him.

She tried closing her legs around his head, rejoicing at the feeling of his beard rubbing against her sensitive skin and never wanting him to leave again, but his arms were too strong for her clenching thighs. She was left defenceless against his assault, with no choice but to obscenely moan her pleasure and let herself cum against his tongue as his thumb expertly massaged her clit.

The coil inside her snapped and her body tensed up before letting go just as suddenly, her now damp back falling back on the mattress. "Fuck, Sy." Ada breathed out, her chest heaving as she tried to reopen her eyes only to find her husband playfully gazing up at her, smirking with her arousal glistening on his beard. The sight alone almost made her cum again. "I'll never let you leave again!"

He smiled in response, placing a kiss on her lower stomach before crawling up her body. "I've no intention to, baby," he promised.

Ada caught a glimpse of his hard, flushed erection as his body slid over hers, realizing in her post-orgasmic haze that she was in for an even bigger treat now. She could taste herself in his mouth as they kissed, his hand slithering behind her back to seize her shoulder and hold her closer. Teasingly, he started rolling his hips, his hard clock rubbing against her slick cunt, coating himself with arousal before finally, he found his way inside her, burying his head next to hers in the pillow.

Ada whimpered as he did so, her eyes tearing up as his clock slid inside her. She had evidently grown unaccustomed to his girth and length in his absence. Sy paused immediately, his muscles tense as he looked at her with concern. “You okay?” She nodded in silence, wanting him to start moving but Sy looked unconvinced, using all his strength to keep still despite his desire to fuck her right into the mattress. Without a warning, Ada tightly wrapped her legs around his hips, making him go deeper. Sy let out a reverberating groan. “God, darlin’. I missed you.”

He started thrusting into her with such vigour, such determination it felt as if he was trying to bury himself so deep inside her, no one would ever be able to pry him away from her again. It did hurt, her cervix was getting battered with each of his hard movements but she found herself enjoying the pain because it was him; it was Sy and he was right there with her, back in her arms, and she could feel his heart beat beneath her fingertips as her hand gripped at his chest.

"Fuck, I'm... I’m," Ada gasped incoherently, her nails now scratching the skin of his back. Sy was sure there would be marks there in the morning which made him enjoy the sensation even more.

"I got you," he rasped. If possible, he pulled her even tighter to him, his pubic bone now rubbing against hers in that delicious way only he was able to do. Her slick walls were now contracting around him, her second orgasm impending. "Fuck," he groaned, his breath coming out in a stutter. "Are you...Can I...?"

Sy didn't have to word it, she knew what he meant. "Cum in me, Sy. Please," she almost begged.

Her words did it. His hips stuttered as he pushed in deep just when his orgasm washed over him, exploding inside her. His face contorted with pleasure and that sight alone had her fast tracking her fall over the figurative edge. He had his face buried on the crook of her neck, muffling his groans and moans against her skin as the dam gave way within her.

°°°

Sy grunted against his pillow, slowly waking up the following morning. He was convinced he was just rousing after a very nice dream and he was ready to toss his alarm clock across the room, furious at the object for interrupting his dream, that for once, had been a good one. With a startle, Sy realized that no blasting alarm had woken him up but the sunlight on his face. Opening his eyes, he felt almost as if on foreign ground. He was home.

As quietly as he could manage, Sy turned around in bed, seeking his wife only to find her side empty. Just at that moment, he heard cursing coming up from the kitchen and scoffed. He’d bet his life Ada was cracking eggs, something she hated.

Feeling rested and in a much more relaxed mood than the previous day, Sy got out of bed and started searching for a pair of boxer briefs so he could go join her downstairs when he caught a sniff of himself. Fuck, did he stink. How Ada hadn’t thrown him out of bed, he didn’t know.

Out of habit, Sy hurried to the en-suite bathroom, wanting to shower as fast as possible before realizing that this time around, it was different. He wasn’t going back, he didn’t have to rush, their time together wasn’t counted. With that in mind, Sy forced himself to take his time, enjoying the act of brushing his teeth in a bathroom that smelled nice and showering with warm water. Ada had purchased his usual brands of shower gel and toothpaste, he noticed, even putting a red bow around his brand-new toothbrush by the sink. Even though he initially wanted to take his time to enjoy it, Sy still ended up rushing as he dried himself with a blue fluffy towel he didn’t recognize from his previous stay. He didn’t bother putting on anything more than his boxer briefs before heading downstairs. If he was lucky, he wouldn’t keep them on for long either.

Sy walked into one of the best sights he had even seen, when he entered the kitchen. Ada was standing in front of the stove, rhythmically tapping the black spatula against her naked thigh as she focused on the eggs and bacon she was preparing. The thin negligee - or whatever she called it, he always forgot - barely covered her ass and that outfit alone was one of the reasons he never minded that she always cracked up the heat so high, he felt like he was back under the hot desert sun.

Silent and stealthy like a predator despite his stature, Sy sneaked up on her from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist, feeling her startle before relaxing once she noticed it was him. She smelled heavenly, Sy thought, resting his chin on the top of her head. "Watcha got cooking, darlin'?"

"Obviously breakfast," she sassed, making him softly pinch her ass in response. Ada squealed and jumped up. "Good morning to you too, Sy," she said but not before slapping the handle of the spatula against his thigh. He decided to let it slide... for now.

"Morning darlin'," he answered, kissing the crown of her head before darting his fingers into the pan and picking up a piece of bacon. It was sizzling hot, but the taste was worth it. He had missed being home! Speaking of being home... "What do you say we take the food and coffee upstairs and have ourselves breakfast in bed?" His tone failed to hide his true intentions.

Ada scoffed, the back of her head rubbing on his hairy chest and she shook her head. "Nice try but I actually intend to feed you. Your mother will have my head if I let you go hungry."

It was Sy's turn to laugh, his hands now roaming her body as she leaned forward to turn off the stove, pressing her ass against his crotch and eliciting a husky groan from him. "I'm hungry enough to eat both breakfast and you, don't worry."

Ada turned around, a huge grin on her angelic face. "Alright, you win. What do you say, we have breakfast, we do the kinky and then go grocery shopping?"

Sy tried hiding his smile but it was a lost cause. He loved it when she talked like that. He loved her, point. "Yes, ma'am."

[initiala]

wip meme: i mean, selfishly, "the artists formerly known as," but i also am intrigued by "contact au" and "part 2," if you'd rather.

oh, our gloriously indulgent band AU, full of 80s music references, texting each other sad songs and how they fit certain scenes, Instagram pregnancy announcements with cheesy shirts, and Robin literally playing the drums on oversized pickle barrels

It starts as a joke.

College is a time for many things: drunken antics, all-nighters, testing boundaries, taking classes from instructors you’re sure aren’t qualified to teach the subjects they’re teaching. But college is also a time for finding yourself, finding your place in the world, and, sometimes, finding the pieces you never realized were missing from your life.

Actually, it doesn’t start as a joke. It starts on a rainy Saturday when David Nolan, bored of video games (and his usual opponents, his foster siblings Emma and Henry, called away for dinner back home), wanders down to the first floor of his residence hall to see if anyone is as bored as he is. He’s not hungry, having eaten a late lunch after waking up late from staying up too late the night before, so he’s not tempted to wander to the dining hall just yet; but it doesn’t look like there’s anyone else in his predicament, as the res hall lobby is empty save for the desk workers. Discouraged, David turns to wander back up to the room, but someone starts playing a piano.

It starts when David ambles over to the practice rooms out of boredom more than curiosity about who is playing “Piano Man” on a rainy Saturday in September. It starts when David Nolan meets Killian Jones.

*~*

Or maybe it starts when they meet Robin a few weeks later. It’s October now and David and Killian meet up between classes to hang out and complain about their respective midterm projects, drinking coffees that they didn’t order with pumpkin spice but they swear the vestiges of the seasonal flavor linger in the cups. The leaves are falling and the air is turning crisp; David spots the girl who lives on the floor below his, the one with the short black hair and the smile that makes him forget his name, and she’s laughing with one of her friends as they hurry across the oval. Killian punches him in the arm and calls him a lovestruck idiot. Well, he thinks he does anyway -- whatever the British equivalent is.

David doesn’t have time to retort, though, because someone starts banging away on what sounds like a trash can, but when they turn to look it’s just a guy jamming away on some plastic buckets. Killian starts to egg him on, and the guy grins over his thick scarf, flipping one of his sticks and showing off.

And that’s how they meet Robin Locksley.

The Contact AU was going to be the second part of this. However, I got really stuck on which way I wanted to go--I've read Carl Sagan's book almost as many times as I've watched the movie version and I love each iteration's trip through the Machine. In the book, five people get chosen to travel in the Machine. In the movie, only one person -- Ellie -- is able to go. The book shows each person interacting with an alien (the "Vegans" since the Message came from the star system Vega) that takes on the form of someone important in their lives. The movie keeps this, with Ellie getting to talk to "her father" again, but you can see where I might struggle hard in "oh Killian could talk to "Liam" again" and debating if David or Snow would show up for Emma.

Of course, I also had to consider the possibility of showing the Machine firing up scene from Killian's POV. The scene in the movie gets me every time, everyone unsure if the whole thing is about to blow, if it's working as intended, if Ellie's still alive, Palmer Joss' quiet terror at potentially watching this woman he might love die in front of him... and then the quiet, static "okay to go... I'm okay---okay to go" coming over the speakers.

SUE ME I LOVE ANGST, writing that from Killian's POV would be delicious. And then there's the whole "the whole thing happened in a second and no one knew it worked but Ellie.... and Palmer's the only one who really believes her". THAT IS CAPTAIN SWAN RIGHT THERE

Meanwhile, "part 2" was going to be a follow-up to a wedding fic I wrote about the garter toss, but tbh I never really got anywhere with it. I was really just more inspired by the idea of Killian absolutely taking advantage of the situation of the garter toss, and less so by the wedding night

[nitannichionne]

If He Was Your Fan, Chapter 56: A Perfect Day, Henry POV (A Henry Cavill Fan Fic)

Chapter 56: A Perfect Day (Henry POV)

I open my eyes.

Were we so tired last night? We both fell asleep in each other’s arms, which was nice, but we just fell out. I didn’t think we were that tired but this was the first time we’d really relaxed in some time. There was nothing scheduled in the near future. There were no deadlines. The relief must have taken us down.

My ears hear food cooking and I inhale deeply. I smell steak….steak and eggs! With…uh…biscuits..and coffee? YES!

“Babe?” I call out to her, a question in my voice.

“Hey, hon, it’s ready!”

I roll out of bed and am greeted by Kal, who is being his puppy version of adorable.

“Alright, ol’ boy, you’ll get scraps,” I whisper down to him as he weighs my feet down. He pops up like a daisy and I head to the dining area just as she is coming out of the kitchen. “She’s corrupted you.”

“What?” she asks with a raise of an eyebrow. “Who’s corrupted who?”

“Ah, nothing,” I shrug, seeing breakfast.

“Oh, because I thought you might be talking about how Luna gets smoked salmon for no reason,” she teases. “she’s definitely corrupted you, babe.”

“Wow, love, this is…great,” I smile down at it as she brings juice, coffee and water. “Where’s yours?”

“I’ll get it.”

“I’ll wait.”

Her eyes widen and she goes and gets her plate as well…after cooking her eggs. I was not going to sit and eat without her after she cooked everything. This was something I was going to keep in mind always. She wasn’t a waitress or cook, she was my…going to be…someday would be…had to be…

“Henry?”

“Huh?”

“You alright?”

“Yeah,” I said quickly. “yeah, just…” She sits down next to me, frowning and watching me. “waiting on you, babe.” I look down. “Hold it!”

“What?”

“That is not what is on my plate.”

“Uh, yeah.”

“I want some of that!”

“Oh, you just want it because—”

“You have it? You bet!”

She rolls her eyes, shaking her head and nodding. “Okay, then but you need to share.”

“Deal.”

After we shared our breakfasts, we packed backpacks and drove to Balmoral Estate. As soon as we got out of the truck, she gasped.

“Oh, my God,” she whispers. “is that a—”

“Pyramid?” I finish. “Yes.” I got out of the car and pulled our bags.

“We’re going to hike here?” she asks, eyes wide.

“This is Balmoral Castle—” I pointed off in the distance. “and Estate. There are cairns, pyramid like monuments, all over the property, but Queen Victoria had a pyramid build memory of her husband Prince Albert over a hundred and fifty years ago. Come on.”

I was a bit surprised to find people on the trail, but it is an outdoor activity. We saw many people on the way, and as usual, selfies here and there. The good thing is that the estate is so big, we really can’t be located. It was a bit of a hike, and we shared snacks of cheese and fruit and water on the way, but we made it.

“This is so…wow.”

“Queen Victoria loved her husband Prince Albert very much, and he became ill,” I told her. “He said as long as his family was well cared for, he could die the next day, but Victoria said if he died, it would kill her, and so he fought the illness to the end. She had this built and grieved for decades after.”

“She loved him like that, so much?” she whispers.

“Yes, he was a part of her, she couldn’t bear the idea of his leaving, even in something as unavoidable as death.” I swallowed hard, looking at her. Who would lightsaber duel with me? Who goes and does ‘her thing’ when I play Warcraft? When would I have ever found out what a blasted Dagwood is? “He died in his forties, relatively young. We saw some of their cairns, or memorials, on the way here.”

“I thought cairns were dogs.”

I chuckled at that. “The breed was known for chasing small quarry between the cairns, they were small and mobile enough to manuver.” I put my arm around her. “Cairn terriers.”

“Oh.”

We walk back to the car together, and we are tiring. Times like these I wish we could go to a restaurant, but I wasn’t ready to risk it.

We managed to get back to the car with minimum fuss and drove back to the cabin.

We decided on pizza. I took care of the crust and she got the ingredients and sauce together. Thin crust meant less time, so I that’s what we did. We ate the first pizza pretty quickly, but the second was a literal pie or stuffed pizza, taking a bit longer so we took Kal and Luna out.

Night fell quickly and the Northern Lights were out for their show.

“God, people live here,” she breathes, her eyes wide. “people wake up and go to sleep to this.”

“Yeah,” I said softly, hugging her from behind. “Nice retirement, hmm?”

She smiles at the sky and turns in my arms. “Maybe.”

“We’ll raise cairns,” I said teasingly.

“Okay, you can practice Warcraft and be a professional gamer.”

“Who says I’m not that good now?”

“Are you?”

“Okay, okay, a little more practice,” I laugh and turn her so she could look at the sky again, rocking her side to side as if we were dancing. She laughs with me. “but the acting thing, I kinda like it.”

She belly laughs at that, leaning back against me. “Gee, ya think?” She sighs, “I would write my whole life if I could.”

“I get that feeling,” I look at her and kiss her temple, my arms around her, her hands in mine. I watch her lift her ring hand and move it, making the diamond glitter and sparkle under the night sky lights. “Wondering about the ring, are you?”

“A little,” she giggles a bit nervously, looking down at it. “Is it really that old?”

“Yes,” I reply. “Many years ago one of my ancestors was a merchant. He loved someone very much, and she was afraid he would not come home to her, especially since she was a commoner. He had this ring made to let her know that she was his North Star, and no matter where he sailed or ventured, she would always be his way home.” I was nervous. I reach into my pocket, and pull out my family crest, no bigger than the size of a small button. I took her hand, and opened the locket ring. “This fits in here.” I put it in gingerly. “If there is ever any doubt of who loves and protect you, you only need open it.” I close it back turn her to me. She looks up at me as I hold her hand in mine, seemingly speechless.

“Thank you,” she breathes.

“Every knight usually has a lady,” I joke softly, still holding her hand with mine and tilting her chin up with the other. I bend down and brush my lips over hers. “Right?” She nods yes, and I pull her to me for a deeper kiss. She melted against me and we both sighed, tasting each slowly, no rush, the world was moving slower for the moment and so could we.

Suddenly her watch went off.

“Pizza?”

“Yeah,” she exhales. We walk back inside, and the house is filled with the aroma. Even Kal and Luna are sniffing around the kitchen door. I follow her in, and she pulls out a huge pizza pie.

“That’s for today and tomorrow, isn’t it?” I asked with a small laugh.

“Definitely, but we can have salad to go with it,” she says, carefully placing it on the counter. “Needs to cool.”

“Okay—” I pick her up and carry her to the bed. She wraps her arms around my neck and curls closer. I lay her down and crawl between her legs, kissing her as I make my way up. Just as my hips align, and my lips meet hers, she curls her limbs around me and reverses our positions.

“Pinned ya,” she whispers.

I chuckle at that and try to sit up, but she grabs my hands and puts them over my head.

“Pinned ya again,” she rubs my nose with hers.

@mistress-of-ward @nuggsmum @messyinsomnimaniac @jencanbeyouryengeralt @sweetdreamsofgelato @mary-ann84 @omgkatinka @the-soot-sprite @viking-raider @keanureevesisbae @henryobsessed @summersong69 @sunshine96love @michelehansel @thelastsock @tumblnewby @tenaciousneckpartypainter @rn7rocks @daydreamin83 @ruthoakenshield @musicartmayheminmyheart @kaatelyynn-blog-blog@forallthebrokenheartedthings @alphacancrii @liquorlaughslove @designerwriterchic @tamychm @nikkilynn303 @circesgirl1 @xoxohannahlee @pixie88@fckdeusername @maan24 @kaatelyyynn​ @october505​ @absentmindr​ @introvertedmouse​ @sassy-pelican @griscka75

[astrablossom]

Reacting To MC Pulling Out NSFW Part 3

Fandom: Shall We Date? Obey Me!

Character: Leviathan

The MC has a penis. No pronouns are used, 2nd person pov.

You were so strung out from last night's activities you didn't even notice the envious look Levi shot you every second. It just wasn't fair, he kept telling himself. His brows furrow at the memory of you screaming Lucifer's name. He could hear through his headphones and had paused his games to hear better. It was embarrassing for him to admit he might've jerk off to your voice. When he closed his eyes it was almost as if he were right beside you.

But of course it had to be Lucifer. You wouldn't want to be near such a dirty, disgusting, otaku like himself. He pushes his food away and sighs loudly.

"Is something the matter Leviathan?" Lucifer asks and Levi didn't need to look to know his older brother was smirking.

"This is so unfair!" He whines out. Asmodeus nodded in agreement, prodding your cheek. "What did you do to our human Lucifer? It was a question they all knew the answer to.

The whole day was a entire wreck for Leviathan. Not only did he lose in a raid but the days he spent splurging on buying packages to increase the odds of getting special tickets to a concert ended up being for nothing. He was in an irritable mood and was stomping down the hallway not paying attention of what was ahead, his mind far away as he mumbled something that sounded like Ruri-chan. It wasn't until he bumped into you did he look up. You turn around to see Leviathan staring down at your, his eyes wavering.

"Is something wrong-" you didn't get to finish speaking, Leviathan's grip on your hand surprising you. He had a firm grip on your wrist and you look closer to see his eyes dilating akin to a lizard or so.

"It's not fair..."

"What?" His face begins to blossom into a full shade a red and before you know it you're being dragged by the purple haired demon right into his room. Your vision is swept into darkness save for the neon lights that illuminate Henry 2.0's tank. "Did you enjoy it?" The hot breathe beside your neck made goosebumps pop up and you turn to the source, only able to hear the demon's breathing.

There was something incredibly unnerving about your current situation and you felt the need to make some space. As you go to move you pause when something scaly starts to slither up your pants leg.

"Levi-"

"Did you enjoy it?" The tone he spoke with wasn't shy anymore. Maybe borderline calm and a hint of anger? Envious? You feel the the snake like appendage making its way up your body, the thicker part slipping around your neck and squeezing just enough that you could still breathe. The edge of his tail poked a bit at your mouth and hesitantly you open it to lick the tip. It was the right course of action since Levi immediately pushed the length of his tail down your throat before pushing you against the back of the door.

"H-Haa...you feel so nice. You must have incredibly low standards if you're doing this right?" The voice teased in the near darkness and all you could do was simply buck against Levi's body, your hands traveling down to his waist and slipping up underneath the sweater. He gasps out in surprise. By this point you'd figured out why Levi had been staring you down all day and decided that you would show him some appreciation. Carefully you run your hands under his sweater, squeezing the soft pudginess his body had to offer. He felt so soft and you hum against his tail, enjoying the small moan he let's out.

Nimble fingers travel around his body and Leviathan could slowly feel himself losing himself to the touch, small gasps erupting when you cup his chest. He pulls his tail out your mouth, salivia parting from the tip and your lips.

"Levi, were you jealous?" You asked in a low and husky tone, your fingers pressing softly against his semi budding nipples.

"N-no..." he moans out, completely confused at how the tables turned. You chuckle softly and move to kiss whatever part of his face you'd touch.

"If you want my attention then you'll have to work for it."

...

Your vision was still dark as you now lay on the bed naked. But this time your vision was hidden because of the blindfold you wore, he didn't want you to see him in such a gross state. Your legs were spread open as you awaited for Leviathan to do as he wanted with you.

It was only mere moments until you felt the slickness of a thick appendage wrapping around you, reflexes forcing your hip to buck. Was this his tongue? It was far different from what you experienced before. It wrapped around you like a hand and it felt thicker than usual. Either way you let out a soft shudder as Leviathan begins running his tongue up from the base and to the tip, the split in his tongue flickering over the sensitive slit.

Moans started to fill the room, mostly yours as you started to buck around in the warmth of his mouth. "L-Leviathan- ah damn...you better hurry up-" your toes curl and you grip the sheets tightly when Leviathan moans in response, the vibrations doing wonders as he drags his teeth against the throbbing veins on your cock. He pulls off with a small pop and you wished you could see his expression as you sense him hovering over you. You bet he was embarrassed, his face a heavy shade of red. How adorable.

Because you currently wasn't using your sight you had to rely on you ears, the sound of Leviathan breathing over you, the slight shuffles of the sheets made you very aware of what was about to happen.

"You ready?" You wait patiently as you hear a small yes and exhale when sweaty palms grab your dick, directing into another very tight hole. The moan you let out was so loud and long, it made Leviathan blush. He was the one who made you moan. Him.

"You're really big..." he closes his eyes and adjusts to the stretch before placing his arms on both sides of you, lifting his ass up and slamming it down onto your swollen cock. You grit your teeth, head turning sideways as he makes a quick pace.

It wouldn't be long until precum started to dribble from his cocks, the mess getting on your stomach but you didn't care. Your dick felt extremely sensitive in his hole and your body was already showing signs of coming close to a orgasm. Cussing, you blindly reach a hand out and push Levi off, your cock slipping and bouncing in the air as you exhale.

"Levi I'm so-" you go to reach for the blindfold on your face only to feel a hand shoving you back down. The sudden move made you still and you stress your ears to listen to the low growl coming from Leviathan. A chill runs down your spine.

Exasperated, the demon climbs back up on you but not to slip you in him. No, he decided to move further up and you could smell the salt scent of precum near your mouth. Confused you tilt your head up when you feel Leviathan prying your jaw open with his fingers.

"It's really unfair...I was just about to cum and you go ahead and pull me off!" He pushes a sharp finger in you mouth, enjoying how your tongue felt against his index finger. "You'll do this for me right? No you have to! It only seems right anyways." And with that you feel your mouth being opened even wider, you jerking up suddenly when two large objects enter your mouth. You gag against whatever it was, your hands flying to grip Levi's waist so you can at least breathe a bit better. When you move a hand to touch what was in your mouth, your eyebrows rise up from under the blindfold.

Oh. That was his cock. Two of them.

The sudden push in your mouth made you whine softly, precum dripping into your throat as you suck the best you could. Leviathan, strangely more dominant, sighed from above as he rocks himself in your mouth. Carefully you rub your tongue over whatever you could, taking your time as you suck down both cocks that were stretching your mouth. Ignoring your own needs, you realize the stretch was unavoidable and you were sure you wouldn't be able to speak after this. You make a reminder to never piss Leviathan off again when suddenly he grabs your head tightly, the only warning you received before he plowed into your mouth.

...

You couldn't speak for the next few days. And Leviathan kept avoiding eye contact when you walked in the room. Anytime the the brothers tried to hold a conversation all you could do was shake your head or write what you needed. And secretly Leviathan wasn't even upset about that.

Next: Belphegor

Lucifer Asmodeus Mammon Satan Beelzebub Diavolo Simeon Solomon Barbatos

[justafandomfollower]

Thoughts on Stargirl S02E01

Season 2 is here! So, I watched the first episode last night and, while I don’t often do this for TV shows I watch, wanted to share/write up my thoughts about the episode. I mean, overall, I thought it was really good and I was grinning like a loon to see the familiar characters back onscreen. But, more than that, I had some thoughts on individual characters.

First, I really really liked the way they handled Courtney’s “overworking” as Stargirl. A lot of other shows would have the debate about how being Stargirl is dangerous and she’s just a teenager, etc., etc. But they hashed that out last season, and they’re not bringing it up again here, which should be the bare minimum but ends up just being refreshing. Pat never says she needs to put away the staff (except for that last bit where he grounds her, and even that’s temporary). Instead, he cautions her to find a balance between the superhero and non-superhero parts of her life, to pass her classes, get good grades, get some sleep, learn to take breaks every now and again, and think about her future.

I do think Courtney will ultimately be proven right about the threats that are out there (I mean, duh, we saw Cindy and Eclipso right there), but nothing Pat said was wrong, or telling her that there were no threats. So, yeah. Big fan of that part. As for Green Lantern’s daughter, while Courtney was her usual “act first, think later” self, I also kind of can’t blame her, because someone did sneak into their house and steal important JSA relics. There were faults on both sides here.

The rest of my thoughts I’ve thrown under a read-more because it’s long and rambling:

I’m pretty solid and happy with where the other three JSA kids are at the moment, but I figured I’d still break it down a little.

Yolanda: I like that she’s struggling with what she did, even months later. I like that she knows she can’t say anything at church, I like that she’s still able to talk about it with Courtney, and I like that Courtney was supportive without outright agreeing with or condemning her actions. It’s a tough thing for kids to talk about, and while an experienced adult like Pat might be able to understand it better, I like that Yolanda’s not completely bottling it up.

On that note, though, they said Cindy might have gotten crushed when the satellite came down, “like Brainwave”, so there’s a possibility here that nobody else knows what Yolanda did, which’ll be interesting to see play out, if that’s true.

Rick: Again, I like where he’s at. He’s more confident in who he is, a little more settled, but also still lost. He claims Tyler as his name again and knows he’s a hero, but he doesn’t know where he goes from here. I think that’s part of why he’s seeking out Grundy, because he’s still clinging to that part of his past because he doesn’t have any clue of what’s in his future.

He’s still very much an angry teenager new at being a superhero, ranting to that teacher about how he saved her, but knowing his character (and acknowledging how crappy that teacher was), I can’t entirely blame him for that. Was it a good move? No. Did it make sense? Absolutely.

Speaking of that teacher, she was not a good one. Can I understand her wariness about the bad boy of the school suddenly getting every answer right? Sure. But, 1) it’s been months, so surely there’s been some gradual improvement, 2) that’s not the way to do it; talk to him about it, sure, but don’t refuse to accept his explanations, and 3) refusing to accept his name change is a jerk move that a figure of authority shouldn’t be making. I could wave away the first one from TV-time-skipping-magic, but not the other two. I don’t really think we’ll see this character again (but maybe in summer school), but she’s more of a vessel to show us 1) how Rick’s changed and 2) how the way others see him hasn’t, so, I suppose, in that regard, she did her job.

Beth: It’s neat that the goggles still seem to be (mostly) working, but it’s the AI that’s not functioning. Not the route I’d thought they’d go, but it’s really interesting because it gives Beth a chance to expand her skill set, or at least expand it to the viewer, and give her a role as a coder/computer scientist. It also doesn’t cheapen the “death” of the AI that happened last season.

Also, like the others (Rick at school with the teachers, Courtney and Yolanda having a discussion in the middle of main street, even Pat with STRIPE), she’s not great at hiding her activities. They’re just goggles, maybe, and she could explain them away fairly easy, but I don’t like the way she just leaves them out around the house. I’m okay with it for now because 1) she’s a teenager, still learning, and they are pretty innocuous, 2) some of it’s probably just TV “requirements”, like not wanting to cut from scene to scene or whatever (idk, I’m not in the TV business), and 3) her parents seem pretty clueless.

And speaking of her parents, man did I not like them even more this season. Every time I saw them on screen my mind went straight to: “good people, terrible parents”. Did they ever even want a kid, or did they just like the idea of having a kid to fit into their “perfect lives” until even that wasn’t enough to keep them together? They’re barely aware of what Beth does on a day to day basis, she still seems to be the one doing all the cooking, and they forget to tell her they’re coming home late? Bad parenting, and selfish parenting at that.

Overall, my mood about Beth this episode can be summed up like this: Do I like Beth struggling? No. Does it open up possibilities for what could be a really intriguing character arc? Yeah.

My biggest complaint about our JSA is that there weren’t really any scenes of them together, but that’s more of the time constraints of having so many characters we needed to get concrete information on regarding where they stand. They had that nice patrol scene in the beginning to let us know they’re all still solid friends, so I’m happy enough with that for now.

Other thoughts:

Barbara wasn’t really in it much (no mention of her job, though the newspaper article did say something about The American Dream going through changes after the death of its leader or something like that), but I can sympathize with her wanting a vacation and not getting one. It’ll be interesting to see how okay she is with Courtney as Stargirl as things get more dangerous.

Mike, likewise, wasn’t much present, but it’s clear he’s still struggling to be a part of things. Pat wasn’t wrong, when he said that the discipline, etc. from having a job was important, but it still feels like he’s brushing Mike aside and not letting him be involved, so I can see some more resentment brewing this season. Better than last season, but c’mon Pat. Mike just wants to help. Still, hopefully we’ll get a better idea of where Mike stands in future episodes.

Artemis. Really interesting the way she brushed aside her parents being in jail as them being wrongly convicted. I’ve seen Young Justice, so I’m looking forward to seeing if they turn her into a villain or hero here.

Zeek. (Is that how he spelled it? It looked like that on his hat.) I’m, probably unnecessarily, wary of how interested he was in working with Pat at the show (does he know something?) but for now I’m mostly just mildly amused at his “I don’t care what you do on your time, but hey, do you think that robot could use a flamethrower?”. Also. Pat. C’mon man. You’ve been in this business for decades. Hide your robot better. (Though, I’ll admit, he was only resigned when he realized Zeek had found it, so... Did he have an excuse ready? Did he just not read Zeek as a threat? I’m probably reading too much into this, but it’ll again be interesting to see where it goes.)

Cameron’s back, seemingly unaware of everything, and it looks like his murderous grandparents are taking care of him. Not great, but, eh, we’ll see what happens.

Sylvester is still tracking down Pat. I’m a little bit glad the landlord either didn’t give him, or didn’t have, Pat’s information from that end scene last season. I’m also interested to see if Maggie (Mike’s Mom, if my understanding of comics I haven’t read is correct) sticks around. Sylvester seems supremely unworried and in a mostly good mood, despite his desire to track down Pat, so I really want to know what’s up with him. I’ve seen some fan theories of time travel and him being a displaced Starman, which could be interesting, but I have no idea if they’re accurate. He certainly seems to be the real deal, at least with all the right memories.

Cindy and Eclipso. That opening scene was creepy, and made me question if I’d turned on the right show, and the connection with the McNider family is really interesting. Did not like the way she had Mike’s picture, but from a writing POV I really liked it. I don’t want Mike to go villain, but I mostly trust the writers to see how this plays out.

Other thoughts: The town seems to have moved on from the mind control/satellite-dish-from-the-football-field thing, so I’m guessing there weren’t too many causalities. New principal makes sense, and I like that they didn’t need to shove it in our face to remind us what happened to the old one (plus that scene where Courtney bumps into her kid; nice and simple and shows a little of how he’s coping). I appreciate that Henry hasn’t been forgotten. No glimpse of Yolanda’s home life yet, or Rick’s uncle. No idea how Rick managed to change his name, but the threat he was hiding from is more or less gone, so it makes sense.

I may have forgotten something here or there, but anyone who’s made it this far deserves a cookie, so, thanks for reading! I’m always up for discussion if anyone wants to add on or debate any of my points.

[period-dramallama]

Mini review: A Matter of Conscience by Judith Arnopp

TLDR: Interesting to analyse, but it feels rushed.

I think JA bit off more than she could chew by trying to write Henry VIII in first person. I think she lacks the experience, and even an experienced writer would find it a phenomenal challenge. I only ever write first person for OCs. The challenge is that you have to find a character's unique voice, and then stick with it for 300 pages.

I know, I know. I usually say novels are too long but I think this might prove to be a case of a novel being too short. It's telling Henry's story from beginning to end in about 300 pages. Some things are going to get glossed over. I fear this is going to be another elaborate-wikipedia-summary kind of historical novel.

There's a disclaimer at the beginning of the book, that the views of the characters are not the views of the author. Cool cool cool. Apparently we can have disclaimers for the benefit of the author, but not trigger warnings for the benefit of the reader. Fucking love that. (And while Intractable Heart came out 2014, the edition I was looking at was 2019, so no excuses.)

You are essentially an actor, constantly in character. If you slip out of your character's fixed voice for even a sentence, the illusion is shattered. And Arnopp just doesn't have the experience to master Henry's voice and maintain it constantly.

Arnopp's issues with first person continue. I get the sense that she wants to have her cake and eat it. She wants to write Henry's POV, but she also wants the ease of having an objective narrator.

But these two desires contradict each other. I cannot overemphasise that. If you write Henry VIII's POV accurately you are 1000% going to get a biased, self-serving narrative. His personality will dominate the narrative. You have to see things as Henry would see them, but you also have to say things as Henry would say them.

Compare with Humbert Humbert in Lolita. He has a distinct character voice, full of wordplay and colour and erudition. He's quick to assure us, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, that he's not a bad guy, not a bad guy at all because [excuses]. But the reader knows from Humbert's actions that his excuses are a veneer of glossy bullshit. The reader can see, when Humbert cannot/will not/doesn't want to, the horrifying damage that Humbert is doing.

Imagine JA wrote Lolita. She'd probably have Humbert say "I'm a bad man who does bad things, but I don't believe I'm doing anything wrong."

This Henry, I think, shows much too much self awareness, and tells us things about his personality that we really should deduce from the story. For example: "left to my own devices, I am a happy fellow, it is only when life goes wrong that my spirit rebels." He's also aware of other people's motives, when people try to grandstand their affiliation with him. He even acknowledges that he's resentful of Margaret. He also admits that the prospect of bedding a woman fills him with both excitement and terror.

I do definitely think the real Henry could feel resentment, but that doesn't mean he'd admit to feeling it- or even consciously know that he's feeling it. Would Henry's ego allow him to tell the reader that he feels jealous, or embarrassed, or envious, or resentful? Would his machismo allow him to admit even to himself, that he is sexually nervous? How much does Henry trust the reader, so as to show his vulnerabilities? How much does he admit his vulnerabilities to himself?

There is a moment that does feel in character: Henry feels little grief for his dead baby sister because if she lived, she'd have grown up without a mother, rather implying that she's better off dead. It's a pretty gross thing to think, but it does give a sense that Henry already is deciding what's 'best' for others in matters of life and death. JA has also nailed Henry's desire for attention.

Mantel talked of "the Cromwell that Cromwell doesn't know." I think writers trying to do Henry's POV should keep that in mind. Henry doesn't necessarily know the depths of his own mind.

JA's present tense issues continue. "The sorrow of the adults compounds my own." Does that sound like a child/teenager? Does that sound like Henry VIII at all?

I do think show don't tell applies here. When Charles Brandon loses the game, Henry boasts. When Charles wins, Henry sulks. Henry should not be telling us this fact honestly: we should have a scene where Henry wins one game, boasts, loses the second game, sulks. This reveals Henry's character without him admitting to things his ego wouldn't admit to. JA is telling us the plot rather than showing us events.

The book does recreate Henry weeping on his mother's bed, and references 'closeted like a girl'.

Henry doesn't like being patronised by Henry VII and Margaret Beaufort: "it is as if they think I am a peasant just crawled from the gutter." That does give some sense of his pride, but overall I just do not feel his personality radiating from the page. Which it should. I do like that "Grandmother's bark is sharper than her bite."

Some minor things: characters at one point warm their 'nethers' by the fire. Henry fears Katherine of Aragon will be sent home "like a misdirected package" which feels like a very modern simile. Some of the writing is a bit clunky "the continuance of the House of Tudor that must at all costs perpetuate." Was that written by a bureaucrat? Also all caps is back for when characters shout.

[royallyprincesslilly]

Title: Kismet {8}

Henry Cavill x Famous OFC Aliya Taylor

Warning: Plot, Tiny Slow Burn, Mild Cursing, Dialogue Heavy, POV Changes, Small Time Jumps

Words: 6.6k

Summary: Aliya is a singer turned model turned actress. Since she was fifteen, she’s been creating her empire in the entertainment world. As the daughter of a famous fashion model/designer and Hollywood director, you’d think life is easy for her, but her past has been anything but easy. Due to past trauma, she’s forever changed and no longer trusts any man that is not in her family and a select few in her team. She’s sworn off love and serious relationships and has planned never to fall again, but love isn’t something that can be planned. It just happens when it’s meant to. Can Aliya outrun a love that seems hellbent on holding tight to her, a love that is Kismet?

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***Loosely Edited/Proofread***

***Interactive***

Previous Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |

-Henry-

The minute he woke the next day and the alcohol had worn off; he instantly regretted his actions. His head was pounding and his nose stuffy, which was always what the morning after a drinking fest looked and felt like for him. the pain in his head made him painfully aware of everything he’d said to you. More than half of him wished he would have just held his peace and moved on, but the other side of him—the stubborn bull side felt nothing but satisfaction from what he’d done. It was time, especially seeing that you completely had the wrong idea about who he was and his character. He couldn’t help but wonder what you thought about your conversation, but instead of dwelling on it, he decided to push it to the side and do the logical thing. Move on.

 It was now five days since that conversation, and though it felt strange the first couple of days to not send you a message when you ran across his mind, he did it and adapted. He now was throwing himself into work because there wasn’t a shortage of it. Most days, he was in pre-production for Witcher two, and that in itself was a lot of work. Production decided to kick fight choreography up a notch because last season wasn’t badass enough. The choreography this season was definitely taking it up several notches, and it meant more long hours of training and even more potential for him to be hurt.

By week two post convo, he was steadily counting down to his vacation time. Training was kicking his ass, and the more and more days that passed, the more he thought of you. That wasn’t all though, the more the way he thought of you changed. In the beginning, he thought he was infatuated or possibly obsessed. When he was around you, he always felt as if he wasn’t in control. He felt like there were forces that were controlling your interactions and pulling a starry blanket over his feelings. He expected this time away to act as a purge, but it hadn’t, not in the way he’d anticipated.

 “Come on, her name is Becca, and she’s super cute,” Alisha said.

 “Why is it that all my brother’s wives want to set me up?”

 “Because we care. You’re too great of a guy to be alone,” Halley complimented.

 They all nodded, and his eldest brother painfully squeezed his cheek.

 “Plus, look at this face,” Nik teased, making all of them elate.

 It had been like this since they were kids. Nothing had changed.

 “I’m perfectly fine being alone,” he answered.

 “Doesn’t mean you should be,” Amee piped out.

 No matter what, he said it wouldn’t be good enough until he gave them what they wanted. He had no intention of doing it, though. He wasn’t sure if it was really his loathing of being set up or because he didn’t want to pretend to want anyone else. Whatever it was, it had him declining to their annoyance. He could stick it out for the next two weeks until he got out of London.

  -Aliya-

“You fucked up, plain and simple,” Amaya blurted out as she flipped through a magazine.

 You rolled your eyes and tried to continue writing notes to the song you’d just wrote. As sure as you were that it was pitch black outside, you knew she wasn’t done—not by a long shot. A minute passed in silence, but as projected, Amaya began again.

 “Just explain to me why you don’t want to be happy.” Amaya tossed the magazine aside, giving you her full attention. Still, you ignored her and kept your eyes glued to the note pad.

 “Liya, come on. At some point in your life, you’re going to have to be honest with yourself.”

 She was right. For the last few weeks, you’d spent a lot of sleepless nights doing just that. Since Henry’s call, you’d been forced to look at your situation in a light you’d ignored. It wasn’t that you were doing it maliciously. It was just easier and neater to see the worst in every situation hence the worst in people. You’d been the girl who dug deep for the best in people and only focused on that and their potential for too long. It made more sense from a survivalist standpoint to be different.

 You’d went back and forth and round and round your situation, and perhaps you were too quick to jump to conclusions. The bottom line was the things he said had affected you, more than you liked and more than you could ignore. A few days after his call, you saw his picture in The Sun. He wasn’t alone. It looked like he’d had a long night of partying. You deduced it was probably the same night he called you. Though he was obviously drunk, he still looked so damn good. In the last few weeks, you’d thought about him a lot. On several occasions, you’d taken up your phone for the sole purpose to stalk his Instagram or even scroll through your gallery to gawk at his pictures. Never though, did you attempt to call.

 The main reason was that you hated being the one in the wrong. You hated feeling like the asshole and what was worse was that you also hated apologizing. So, you bit your tongue, pushed your thoughts and emotions aside, and just hoped time would make it all fade. It didn’t.

 “Aliya!”

 Closing your notepad, you stood. “We’re going to miss the flight.”

 “Whatever! It’s a private jet. It’s your private jet.”

 You were already out of the room, which meant thankfully, you didn’t have to see her face. The drive to the private airfield was about forty-five minutes. For the entire ride, you could feel Amaya’s annoyance with you. she didn’t say one word. Instead, she kept her nose buried in her phone scrolling her life away. It was okay with you; you had plenty of work to do. Plus, you knew this wasn’t over, not by a long shot.

 Sure enough, twenty minutes into the flight to London, she was back at it. The difference between Amaya and Alicia was simple. Where Alicia liked to leave me be until she knew the perfect time to go in because she knew the perfect time would come when you would be more receptive to it, Amaya preferred to go in all the time. She was always on one hundred. You loved both your best friends dearly, and they both spoke to different sides of you, but sometimes you wished they were wrong a lot more often than they were right.

 When you got pulled into a phone meeting, you were grateful and even more so when it lasted for almost two hours. By the time you ended the call, Amaya was napping. Though you thought the silence was what you wanted, it was a blessing in disguise. It meant you now had peace and quiet to think, and your thoughts more often than not went right to Henry.

 When you landed in London and checked into the hotel, it was after midnight. Once you’d taken a shower and answered a few emails, you popped two sleep aids in hopes they would knock you out because you needed all your energy tomorrow.

  -The Next Day-

Hectic was an understatement for how your morning and afternoon had been going. One of the great things about being you was that when you got bored with one career avenue, you had three more to distract yourself with. For the last several months, you’d been focusing on your acting career and had been able to complete two films and three guest appearances. In between acting gigs you were also able to do a few modeling events, including Fall and Spring fashion week.

 What had fallen to the wayside was your singing career. It was almost time for you to fulfill your contractual obligations by releasing another album. You’d been focusing on writing new material for the last few weeks, and tonight you were putting on one of the last stops on a mini-tour your team had planned months ago. The travel alone was killing you. You were exhausted, even more than usual. With every show, you felt your body telling you it would soon be time to slow down or stop for a few months. You needed a break.

 “I should have flown in days ago. I hate feeling like this isn’t perfect.”

 “Aliya, it’s fine,” Alicia countered.

 The perfectionist in you didn’t believe her.

 “I promise. I wouldn’t lie to you. You have to go anyway. The show is supposed to start at six; it’s already three.”

 She was right. Though you hated it, you would have to cross your fingers and hope things looked cohesive. After finishing up the last-minute wardrobe adjustments and a quick pep talk with your dancers, you made your way back to the hotel to get in a little bit of pampering before having to get back to the center for prep.

 As you laid on the table and enjoyed your deep tissue massage, you allowed the worries to float away. There was nothing you could do about it now anyway. You were also sure it was perfectly fine, and just your obsessive nature taking over. Tuning everything out, you focused on your meditative breathing. Before you knew it, it was time to get back to the center to get into wardrobe and put on a show worthy of the hundreds that were spent on tickets. You were determined to perform your ass off.

  -Henry-

He couldn’t have gotten out of tonight no matter what. He’d tried. When Charlie announced to everyone that Heather had made plans for their adults' date night, he rolled his eyes. Now that he thought of it, it was around the time that Amee tried to set him up with that woman. This was supposed to be a blind date, and since he’d declined, he was here alone while all his other brothers were snuggling up and whispering to their significant others.

 Here he was an hour and ten minutes into your show, and he’d never had more fluctuating thoughts and feelings. At first, it was surprise; then annoyance, then it transitioned into awe until it moved to arousal and admiration. Now he was stewing deep in all of them, and it was not a good look. Your voice was incredible. He’d always known how talented you were. Your stamina to dance and sing blew his mind. Then when he watched those dance moves closer, it was impossible to keep his thoughts pure. It also didn’t help that the outfits you were wearing only fueled his imagination more.

 “What’s wrong with you? You said you liked Aliya Taylor,” Amee shouted over the music.

 Plastering a smile on his face, he nodded. “Yeah, she’s great. I’m tired.” It wasn’t a complete lie.

 When you came out for the final song in a flowing low cut white gown and barefoot, he staggered backward when he envisioned you walking down a flower aisle.

 “Fucking hell!”

 All eyes snapped to him, and the curious looks on their faces only had him needing air even more.

 “I—I’m gonna get a head start to the cars.”

 Not waiting for a response, he turned and walked through the crowd, not daring to look back at you.

   -Aliya-

Amaya and Alicia laughed together at something on Amaya’s timeline. No doubt it was some picture of one of her boy toys. You sipped from your flower decorated porcelain teacup while staring out over London to the Eye. Just behind it, Big Ben stood tall and proud as it chimes for four o’clock echoed through the city. This was a city you’d spent a lot of time in thanks to your grandparents on your father’s side. Not as much time as they’d like, but there was only so much free time you had. Big Ben and the Eye were two of your favorite things about London.

 You should have been on cloud nine after another successful show and checking another thing off your extensive to-do list, but you weren’t. You felt almost as gloomy as the rolling clouds in the sky that threatened rain.

 “You seem depressed.”

 Alicia’s voice had you turning back to them you softly smiled. “I’m not.”

 “You look it,” Amaya slid home.

 Rolling your eyes, you finished your cup of tea and gently placed it on its matching saucer with a shrug. “I don’t know what to tell you then.”

 Amaya then gasped with a smile in her eyes. “I know what it is. You’re finally missing your grade A prime beef of a man.”

 Snorting, you shook your head. “Oh god. Try again.”

 “You might be right, Mya,” Leece started placed her elbows on the table to peer at you closer. “This all started the night we had dinner with him. What’s his name again?” Both of them pretended to wrack their brains to remember his name, but they knew damn well what it was.

 “Ah, Henry,” Amaya cooed, making you roll your eyes even harder.

 “Both of you stop. You’re not funny.”

 “We approve.”

 “I second that,” Alicia added.

 “What? Really?”

 “Are you kidding? Yeah. Not only is he gorgeous, like drop dead gorgeous, but he is also super nice. Throughout dinner he was very courteous and sincere. You know I’m a good people reader,” Amaya attested.

 “He’s funny, and he seemed to be genuine with his efforts to get to know Mya and me. He also was putting in effort into proving something to you.”

 Sighing, you took a few sips of your water.

 “Honestly, I couldn’t find anything wrong with him.”

 “Really? Perfection?”

 You couldn’t believe your ears. Yes, you’d suspected they liked him, but the perfect word was just uttered. It was never spoken of, not by them.

 “Pretty much,” Amaya doubled down.

 “Wow.”

 “Tell me about it. Move on that before some other chick does. He will not be single for long,” Amaya added.

 For some reason, this was the first time you’d thought about that, and you couldn’t believe it. She was right. He was gorgeous, among other things, and women already fawned over him. He wouldn’t be licking his wounds much longer. A knot formed in your gut, and a sour taste in your mouth followed. Glancing away from their penetrative gazes, you looked around the restaurant and nearly dropped the water glass when you saw Henry across the restaurant laughing. This was the first time you’d seen him in person since your breakfast in New York weeks and weeks ago, and he looked great.

Your eyes drank him up, taking their time soaking up every detail of his face, the slight stubble that decorated his chiseled jaw, his perfectly imperfect smile, his hair that fell slightly longer than you remembered. When he spoke again, you watched his mouth move and quickly got lost. You didn’t have to hear his words. You knew how he spoke them. You knew the effect his voice had. At the thought of that effect, you peeled your eyes away and tried to keep them on either Alicia, Amaya, or the table. Of course, it was impossible. Your eyes continuously found him, and it was on him they remained until you forced yourself to look away.

 “What do you keep looking at?”

 Amaya glanced around the restaurant. You knew she’d found him because when she turned to face you again, her smile was as wide as a thief's.

 “Oh ho ho, looks like fate is on mine and Leece’s side.”

 “Stop. Be cool, act natural. Don’t make a scene,” you pleaded.

 “Look at that, same place, same time, just mere feet away.”

 From the tone of her voice, you knew she was tempted to fuck with you.

 “Stop, Amaya. Don’t.”

 “Why?”

 Trying to keep your voice down and the panic from your face, you pleaded again. “Just don’t.”

 Amaya studied you for a few moments before she nodded in defeat. Relief flooded you. Though you tried, you couldn’t get your head back onto lunch and off of him no matter how you tried. The three of you left shortly after passing his table on the way out.

 Thanks to a little free time, you, Amaya, and Alicia were able to soak up some shopping in London and before getting back to the hotel for a quick change, then dinner. Even though you tried to stop thinking about Henry’s face earlier, you weren’t the least bit successful, but you played it off like everything was cool. You didn’t know if you fooled either of them, but you really didn’t care. You were so ready to get the hell out of London.

  -That Night-

Big Ben’s chime for one in the morning ringing out all around you. It was yet another night of sleeplessness. From your seat at the window, you could feel the nice breeze. It still smelled like rain, but for whatever reason, the rain was staying away. Finishing your glass of wine, you sighed out and nearly leaped out your skin when your phone rang in the quiet room.

 “Hello?”

 “What’s wrong?”

 You smiled from the unexpected sound of your gramaw’s voice. It was like the concrete gate you had around your heart that was constricting it to the point where it was challenging to breathe loosened.

 Sighing, you leaned back, reclining against the surface.

 “I think I fell in love,” you whispered.

 “In love?”

 Hearing the words said back to you made you close your eyes and shake your head.

 “Yeah, at least I think that’s what I’m feeling. I can’t sleep well, not that I could before. I feel a little depressed, and I can’t pinpoint why, but when I think about it, I feel this way when I think about him. Not to mention, I think about him all the time. Christ, I even dream about him.”

 Pausing, you glanced at your phone to find his picture there. It was the last thing you’d been looking at before tossing your phone away.

 “I truly feel like I did something wrong, like I was wrong,” you confessed.

 “Have you talked to him?”

 Hitting your head back, you groaned. “Not since he called me and told me I’m missing out on him and gave me all the reasons why I should realizing I’m missing out.”

 You couldn't help but smile at his words as you remembered them.

 “Do you feel like you’re missing out?”

 Your Gramaw always knew the right questions to ask. She was one of the few that did, one of the few that you’d even listen to. Bowing your head, you sighed again.

 “Maybe. Normally I’m sure about someone and sure that I don’t need or want them in my life, but with him—I have doubts with my snap judgment.”

 “Oh no, snap judgments are never a good thing, Aliya.”

 You groaned hearing the disappointment in her voice. “I know, jeez do I know.”

 “What do you feel like doing?”

 You scoffed, if you knew that you wouldn’t be going through this struggle.

 “I’ll be to you in a few days. I’ll see you soon.”

 “Your heart, Aliya, not your head,” she cautioned before you ended the call.

 For the next thirty or so minutes, you paced the balcony of your room as you debated with yourself over what you were going to do. After psyching yourself up as much as you could, you bit the bullet dialing Henry’s number before you talked yourself out of it. After one ring, you almost hung up but forced yourself to stick through the terror running through you. Two rings passed, then three. At the fourth you began to lower your hand to end the call and then his voice echoed through the speaker.

 “Hello?”

 You froze drawing a blank and forgetting for a moment you had a voice.

 “Hello?”

 “Hello,” you whispered.

 The rustling on his end was loud but brief.

 “Aliya?”

 Swallowing the lump, you took a deep breath. “Yeah. Hi.”

 “It’s after one in the morning. Is everything all right? Are you hurt?”

 Your heart lurched, and a soft smile spread across your lips. “Yeah, I’m okay. I’m not hurt,” you assured.

 He sighed, then yawned.

 “I uh—I know it’s late or early. I know you, um, probably have something better to do than be up. I’m sorry if I woke you,” you half rushed and stuttered out.

 “You’re rambling, Aliya.” You stopped your pacing then and slapped your forehead.

 “Yes, I am. I do that when I’m nervous,” you blurted.

 “Why are you nervous?”

 Pausing, you gripped the rail on the balcony and used it to center yourself and get your nerves under control.

 “Well, I’m about to ask the man I told I wouldn’t be with to meet me somewhere at nearly two in the morning. I’m—sending major mixed signals.”

 Henry didn’t speak right away. Instead, he waited, making you chew your bottom lip as your anxiety increased.

 “Why?”

 “Wh—why? Why what?”

 “Why should I?”

 Stunned, your jaw dropped. “Oh, wow, out with the hard questions. Okay. Um—well—you should meet me because uh—it’s not often that I realize I was wrong or did something wrong and when I realize that, I like to say so.”

 Again the silence over the phone stretched for long moments. After a full minute of it, your anxiety peaked.

 “Still there?”

 Henry sighed. “I’m here. I’m thinking.”

 His voice sounded so deliciously deep. Either you had woken him, and this was his sleepy voice, or he was purposely giving you that sexy baritone.

 “By all means. Think as long as you need to. Um—I’ll be at the eye until 2:30. I um—I hope you show. If you don’t, I understand, really I do and no hard feelings.”

 Quickly you ended the call and panted as if you’d been running a marathon all in an effort to calm yourself down. It had been years since you’d put yourself through something like that, and you had a feeling it was only the beginning of you making amends.

Being Aliya Taylor afforded you some perks, and one was being able to have access to the eye well after closing. All it took was one call, well two to be exact, and voila, you were sitting in one of the cars anxiously waiting for Henry. You had no idea if he’d show, and the more and more time that passed with him not magically appearing, the more and more your brain worked overtime. The scenery helped a lot, but when you glanced at your watch and saw that it was almost 2:30, the scenery could do no more. Your nerves and anxiety had erupted like a volcano.

 “You shouldn’t be out here alone.”

 Spinning, you saw Henry at the door still on the platform. You released a relieved sigh, realizing he hadn’t stood you up.

 “Good thing I’m not—anymore.”

 Henry stepped into the car and took a few steps to you but stopped when he was still a ways away.

 “London after two is not safe,” Henry informed.

 “I know.”

 The doors closed, and the contraption began moving.

 “How in the world did you get them to open this for you?”

 Smiling, you shrugged. “I may know people in high places,” you replied, which made him smile.

“This is one of my favorite places in London,” you announced as you walked around the car, taking care not to get too close. You didn’t know if you could handle it right away, and you had to feel him out to see what his coming really meant.

 “Why?”

 “You can see all of greater London from here and out to the countryside if you really look once you’re up high.”

 Henry also walked around the car, mirroring your intentions. Neither of you came close enough to touch one another.

 “How often do you come to London?”

 “A lot. I have some family here, plus I prefer the countryside.”

 “So you have some British blood,” Henry inquired, half a question, half a statement.

 “I had to. Only the Bris would dare think to send their daughters off to finishing school,” you quipped.

 Henry’s laugh filled the car, making you smile widely. He walked to one of the many windows turning his back to you. Slowly you looked over his broad back, taking in every detail. Your fingers could still remember what the dance of his muscles felt like underneath them, and they itched to feel them dance again. Taking a deep breath, you fiddled your fingers.

 “Uh--I hope I didn’t interrupt anything important by asking you here. Like I hope I didn’t impose on—anyone.”

 You were fishing, it was obvious, and you felt no shame.

 “Eh, who needs sleep anyway. I can sleep when I’m dead,” Henry replied with a shrug of those magnificent shoulders still keeping his back to you.

 “Were um--were you uh—sleeping—alone?”

 Your heart was pounding so loudly you could swear he could hear it. He didn’t speak or turn around. He just stood there torturing you. You wondered if he knew it was sheer torture what he was doing. Did he even care? The longer he remained quiet, the more you freaked out until you decided to backtrack all the way back.

“I’m sorry. Don’t answer that. It is absolutely none of my business. I don’t even know why I asked that,” you rushed out, rubbing your forehead from embarrassment before beginning to pace the car.

 That was when Henry chose to turn around.

 “I know a woman doesn’t say something she doesn’t mean, and usually when a woman asks a question, she wants to know the answer either to prove herself right or in hopes she’s wrong. What is it for you?”

 His voice made you stop in the midst of pacing to watch his mouth as he spoke. There was something poetic about how he spoke, and it always distracted you. Nibbling your bottom lip, you thought about how to respond. You were already tired of the verbal Olympics and talking around each other.

 Sighing, you rolled your eyes. “Henry--.”

 “You know that’s the first time you’ve said my name without the word goodbye in front of it.”

 That made you snap your mouth shut. Had it?

 “That’s not true,” you protested.

 “It actually is. I was beginning to think you like saying goodbye rather than hello.”

 You took a step to him. “That’s not true. I like saying hello way more than goodbye,” you defended.

 The neutral look on his face gave you no confidence to go on, so you rolled your eyes and continued to walk around the car. This would be harder than you expected, you thought.

 “I was sleeping alone. I’ve slept alone for quite some time now,” he informed just as you were looking out of the window to the city.

 “Look, Henry, I-,” you began again, but then henry cut you off.

 “That day in New York those weeks ago, I should have plain and simply laid it out for you. I should have told you everything. I was with Francesca--.”

 “Don’t, don’t, don’t. I honestly don’t want to know.”

 “But you need to know. There is no way you can begin to trust me or begin to let yourself gravitate to me the way you’re entire being wants until you know,” Henry slid out. Pressing your palm to your abdomen, you tried to slow the butterflies that began flitting.

 “I was with Francesca for about two years. The whole time I knew she wanted a family in life. She was always vocal about her wanting to get married young and have kids. I knew, but I never paid attention to it. I was away filming something for a while, and when I came home one weekend, I caught her with someone else.”

 Your eyes widened, hearing his words.

 “turns out she was beginning a relationship with someone else, someone who she thought would lead to marriage and kids,” Henry added. His voice held steady, but you could imagine the pain going through those memories again.

 “I’m sorry.”

 Henry shook his head, “It’s not necessary. After a few months of her trying to make amends, I thought we’d try again.” He scoffed then rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m a hopeless romantic. After months of trying, I knew it wouldn’t work, but I kept a relationship of sorts with her.”

 You understood. They were bed buddies.

 “I then met Abby, and what started as a fling developed into something more. Long story short, I got wind of a rumor she was using me for fame and money, so I distanced myself from her. after some time of her telling I had it all wrong, I decided it was easier keeping her around though my heart wasn’t in it. I wasn’t juggling them. I hadn’t slept with either of them in a long time. I just—I felt it was better to have someone who misses me and wants me than living the lonely actor life.”

 His honesty had you frozen. When he began to explain, you hadn’t expected him to reveal so much. You expected a bare minimum explanation, but what you’d gotten revealed so much more about him. You felt bad.

 “I guess allowing the attentions and affections to remain is just as bad as juggling them. I was playing with their hearts. I’m not proud of it.”

 Henry dipped his head, showing he felt some shame for his actions.

 “When I met you, I realized although I had these two women sort of vying for me, I was still lonely, but those moments we were together, I didn’t feel alone. I felt--,” he paused as if trying to find the right word. His hesitation made you look down.

 You knew what you’d felt.

 “When I met you, I felt someone I’d never felt before, something I don’t fully understand. I don’t know what that means, but I know I want to find out—with you.”

 Finally, able to release the breath you held, you took another, then cleared your throat. “I’m not juggling two guys. I was dating two guys, but not sleeping with both. I was with Liam first, and we had an okay relationship. We were busy, never saw each other and when we did it wasn’t for long. He um—he got annoyed and broke up with me. He said I was impacting his work, and he needed to focus.”

 You remembered how he’d said it too. He’d said it like you were the one to blame for the roles he’d gotten or hadn’t gotten.

 “I was fine with it, and during those five months apart, I met Jesse. We worked together and had fun and began dating. It wasn't anything sexual. Then Liam comes back and wants to pick up where we left off. I told him about Jesse, and he was fine with it.”

 The shock on Henry’s face almost made you laugh. Alicia and Amaya were also surprised they’d chosen that unconventional path. Amaya, of course, thought you should have kept it secret from both of them.

 “One day, Jesse sees Liam and me out, and it pissed him off enough to end things. Three weeks later, I lay it out for both that I don’t want to choose, and I don’t want anything serious. They were both fine with it, and so it went on. Six months later, I decided I needed to be on my own to focus on work and me. They didn’t like the decision. They call and text me to try to—rekindle something.”

 Henry scoffed, and you watched a soft smile tickle his lips.

 “I haven’t physically seen either of them in weeks, now maybe months,” you finished.

 Henry was quiet for a few seconds before he snorted.

 “They were mad.”

 “Angry?”

 “No, mad, bonkers,” Henry clarified.

 “Oh, crazy.”

 “Yeah. To be okay to share you, be willing to do something like that. I couldn’t do that,” Henry informed, making you smile in the process.

 “Well, men do crazy things.”

 “I can attest to that, but I’d never do something that crazy. I can’t share what’s mine. I won’t.”

 Your eyes locked, and your body swayed toward his. It was like he was metal and you a magnet. Everything in you wanted to be close to him. The more you tried to fight the pull, the harder it became to breathe. The harder it was to breathe, the dizzier you became.

 “I—I—I—I,” you began before gulping the knot in your throat down that was making you speak in a raspy whisper. “I don’t—know what this is.”

 Henry nodded.

 “I am not used to not knowing and being out of control,” you continued.

 “You feel less controlled too?”

 You couldn't help but to nod. Once you did, Henry took a step to you. You took a step back.

 “Hold on. I like control. I like control a lot. Anything that threatens that control is not for me.”

 Henry’s eyes lowered but only for a moment before he was looking right back into yours.

 “But—I really want to find out why you make me less controlled,” you finally admitted.

 The uncertainty on his face spoke volumes.  “What does that mean? Where does that leave this—us?”

 You chewed your bottom lip; you realized how ill-prepared you’d been.

 “Honestly, I didn’t think this meeting out that far. I only planned up to when you showed up. I’ve um—I’ve been winging it this whole time.”

 His smile started small but spread wide in seconds; then, he laughed loudly.

 “So you won’t mind me making a plan?”

 Oh lord, you thought, feeling his alpha pop out. You bit your bottom lip again.

 “What kind of plan?”

 Henry closed the remaining space between you. Every step he took had you shaking even more.

 “A plan that I’ve envisioned every night since brunch.”

Stopped in front of you and held you captivated by his gaze and the sheer dominating energy rolling off of him. The way he stood there taller than you made your mouth run dry.

 “Jesus, you’re freakishly short,” Henry teased in his perfect Englishman voice.

 Smiling, you shook your head. “I know, I debated wearing heels but didn’t—I wanted you to see me normal for someone reason I don’t under--.”

 Henry’s sudden movement cut you off. He dipped down the entire foot he overshadowed you and lifted you into the air to hold you flush against his body. Then he lowered his lips to yours, taking and keeping control of an intensely passionate kiss. A kiss you hadn’t known you craved until it began, a kiss you were not prepared for. You moaned against his lips, and that moan triggered his. Wrapping your arm around his neck, you clung to him, and every sensation you were feeling and even new ones he was awakening within you.

 Slowly, Henry pulled his lips from your, but he kept your body to his. You kept your eyes closed, relishing the lingering effects.

 “You’re shaking,” Henry whispered.

 “So are you.”

 You opened your eyes and gazed into his as he slowly lowered you back to your feet.

 “What else is part of your plan?”

 Henry's smile spread across his face. “For me to carry out any other part of my plan would be completely rakish of  me.”

 His smile was adorable, but still intimidatingly sexy.

 “I take it you’re not a rake.”

 “Not in the least.”

 “All right. So, alternate plan?”

 He smiled again. “Still pretty rakish.”

 With that, he brought his lips back to yours, but this time he didn’t pull back for several long minutes.

 Though you knew people in high places, it didn’t mean you could keep the eye open all morning. After three trips around, the two of you got off then walked around London holding hands and eating ice cream. It was such a weird sensation allowing someone to hold your hand. It had been a long time since you’d ever wanted to. The entire time you laughed and talked about everything and nothing at the same time. One thing was clear; neither of you was in any rush for your time together to end.

 But end, it had to. When Henry walked you back to your hotel, it was almost time for the sun to come up.

 “Home safe and sound,” Henry joked.

 “Yes, thanks to Superman.”

 “No, no, I’m just the man. Henry Cavill.”

 He held his hand out to you. Smiling, you rolled your eyes.

 “Now is when we get to this?”

 His goofy smile and shrug had your head skip a beat.

 “Aliya Taylor,” you said, shaking his hand.

 “Nice to meet you. Mind if I call you Aliya or Liya, that's all a mouthful,” Henry teased.

 Your laugh was loud, and you had to clamp your hand over your mouth, remembering what time it was.

 “Yes, you can call me either. Can I call you Henners or Hank?”

 “No. My friends call me that.”

 “So, I’m not your friend?”

 “If I have anything to say about it, which I do, then no. I don’t want you as a friend.” Henry replied, making you smile like a little girl at Christmas.

 “Then what do you want me as?”

 Your eyes lingered for a few seconds before Henry was pulling you closer to brush the back of his hand against your cheek.

 “For now, I’ll settle for my girlfriend.”

 The man was an expert at charm. You bit into your bottom lip and tried to stop smiling. “Girlfriend, wow. That’s a loaded title. What does it entail?”

 “Well, for one, it entails being your true self with me, accepting my true self, being there for me when I need you, letting me be there for you when you need me or when I need you, allowing me to be your strength when you’re weak, your hope when you’re hopeless. Allowing me to grow with you, learn with you. Giving me your time and attention, enough of it so what we have can grow. Trusting me and letting me spoil you rotten.”

 If he weren’t holding you against him, you would have fallen back.

 “Is that all?”

 Henry leaned closer kisses your cheek. “To begin.”

 “And if I refused to be this girlfriend you speak of?”

 “Then I’d just have to convince you,” Henry cooed.

 “How?”

 Right on que, Henry dipped his lips to yours. The second they touched, you moaned and held him close. Why resist when you could enjoy it, you thought. His tongue swirled with yours before he nibbled then sucked your bottom lip. When he pulled back, your eyes remained closed.

 “I’m convinced.”

 Henry pecked your lips once, then twice. “Good. Girlfriend.”

 Your eyes locked again, and you forgot all common sense for what felt like an eternity.

 “Eh-em—I have to be on a set in the morning.”

 “Which is now,” Henry filled in.

 Still hazed in the brain, you stuttered and smiled like a fool.

 “Mm, did I stay out all night?”

 “You did. I hope it was worth it.”

 Smiling, you kissed his jaw. “We’ll see,” you whispered as you backed away from him, making your way to the door.

 “Good morning, Henry.”

 He smiled again, watching you disappear inside the hotel. As you walked to the elevator bank, you couldn’t stop smiling or stop the butterflies that had been flying all night in your stomach. As you stepped onto the elevator and watched the doors closed, you recognized the feeling you felt as happiness. It had been absent for a long time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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