#i was going to make a post earlier about how during their wedding night the domesticity felt wrong bc we know where Gil Chae's heart

[theinfinitedivides]

Gil Chae: i will become a good wife. please trust me

Mr. General: *does not in fact trust her*

[riddles-n-games]

That Night In Prague Rant

Let me start off by saying Hannah and Toby's story was amazing and heartbreaking, Libby and Nash were also sweet and supportive of one another, Xander is awesome at giving emotional depth to others even in the strange circumstance of tackling, and Secret Santa was quite literally a blast. But there's one story I haven't mentioned yet, have I? You know which one since it's the literal title to this rant/critique.

To get the basic pleasantries out of the way, I loved the promise ring scene, the way Jameson admires Avery lighting up and wanting to see the world through her eyes, the fact he wrote her postcards, and Avery's protectiveness of him. That's it. Great. Now we can get to the real stuff. My dear Jennifer Lynn Barnes, when you announced this book back in February during the month of romance, I recall that this book promised to deliver on ROMANTIC stories and showing us how a Hawthorne man loves. Why the heck did you keep trying to insert every possible wink wink nudge nudge moment possible in Avery's POV then?

When she stated Avery was gonna have a POV again, I was excited but I wasn't sure if I should leap for joy. See, given how Averyjameson were portrayed in the last book, I was somewhat disappointed since I really wanted to see Avery through Jameson's eyes in a more romantic light. It was an eyeroll, unfortunately, and what a missed chance for a wedding dress ref in the race outfit scene since he gave her a promise ring.

However, people were saying, ah, it's Jameson, he's a teenage boy. And ok, I did bite my tongue after that because alright, that's just him (though I am still bitter about his lack of development in TBH), but that wasn't the case with Avery. She's my girl, I can always rely on her, right? Three books of build up with a pretty solid character voice made her who she became in TFG. Cool, I was ready to go back. And as I said so many times before, she gave Jameson depth which helped us see what so many did not and I loved how she didn't let him get away with certain things. She was sensible.

WTF was this then? This is not Avery Kylie Grambs. This is A Very Random Imposter (you come up with the anagram). Imagine my fricken surprise when out of nowhere Jameson As A Girl.

The crimes of the story: "after a lengthy and not quite G-rated negotiation" (WT actual F), "like his body wasn't tense in all the right ways", "smile of his made me want to do things", “I would let him demonstrate all the many, many reasons he had to be that smug", "His search had been... thorough" (????).

This sounds so cringey and unlike Avery. It felt like JLB was trying to force Max and Jameson and Rohan into her POV. Clearly after only two years of not being in her original character's POV and changing through 5 main characters (which was a horrible idea in the first place), she's managed to mish-mash her only properly developed character into sounding like another person.

The innuendos here are the worst I've seen. Avery has never been crass or sexually charged so why start that now? We already have characters that take on that route and now you're trying to ruin Avery with that? PUH-lease. Jameson was enough in TBH and now you're trying to ruin my girl? NO. Absolutely NOT. If JLB wanted to implement this in the og trilogy, then it should have been done earlier but no, Avery was never that girl and she shouldn't be now.

This isn't and cannot be listed as character growth in the slightest because if she sounded the same after a year in TFG post THL and also sounded like her normal self in Secret Santa which is in the same book as TNIP, there should be no reason why she sounds like this here. It ruins the continuation in her character POV which is something that at this point should be solid as stone. Not to mention, not everything works for everyone and that's ok. While I hate it, it makes more sense in Jameson's POV than hers. In Avery's POV, I cringe at it because it sounds so unnatural for her and feels like I'm looking at someone trying to fit into a crowd they just don't mesh with.

Three books solidified that. Why else did we fall in love with TIG in the first place? Partly because of who Avery was and who she became over the course of the trilogy. She stood out amongst the crowd. Did she have a similar way of thinking about puzzles like Jameson? Yes. Did she have a different approach to romance? Yes. Did she help Jamie become a more sensible guy? Yes! Was their flirty banter fun and interesting? Always. That's part of what made me love them so much in the first place but it shifted so suddenly that now they're sounding like Savannah and Rohan.

In October, when we had the preview of more chapters, I immediately noted this sounds like a very different Avery, either older or an alternate universe version of her. If she wants to do this with Rohannah, go ahead; they're a new budding romance so that has room for whatever she didn't use in other ones but leave Averyjameson as we've known them to be for three novels that solidified who they are. I know other romances should be given a chance, I never said that shouldn't be the case but if I'm being given the chance to see my favorite ship being in the spotlight, then do it right one last time. You have three books as your guideline.

Anyways, I'm dissatisfied so I will be doing a rewrite of TNIP since this is a shorter thing to take care of than a whole novel. Have a great day and thanks for reading. Fics will be out at some point, God, so much real life work to do.

[radiant-reid]

A drabble where Reader got pregnant shortly after Reid went to prison and after they both arrived back home and he was thanking her for all of her support during those months and asks her to marry her and she blurts out "I'm pregnant!" and ofc he's shocked but he's also like eeeek!!!!!! so he wake up extra early for her and makes a big breakfast/takes a few weeks off work or sm and she's like "you didn't have to do that" but he responds "I missed _____ weeks already I'm not about to miss another day of this" and kisses her on the forehead

happy spencer post-prison >>

He holds you for 15 minutes once you get through the door. 900 seconds where you do nothing but stand together, embraced in each other's arms. It doesn't make up for the three months he was away, but it's a start.

"Thank you." He finally says, pulling back to look at you. "Y/n, there's no way I could have gotten through that without you."

"You could have." You assure him. "You're the bravest person I know."

"I needed you, so thank you." He repeats, softly smiling at you. It's muscle memory he didn't realize was still there.

You nod, wiping up the tears he's spilling. "I'm always here for you."

Spencer holds your chin with one hand, brushing a strand of hair behind your ear with the other. "I love you more than anything in the world. You've kept me me through this. Will you marry me?"

You stand there stunned for a moment before blurting something out that's not technically an answer to the question. "I'm pregnant."

Then he's standing there stunned, not sure of what to say before he tears up. "I'm going to be a dad?" He whimpers out. A day ago, his life was in one of the worst places it had been and he had no idea if it would ever end, and now everything he's ever wanted is falling into place.

You match his gentle crying. "You're going to be the best dad." You answer. "And, yes, I would love to marry you."

"I'll get you a ring, I promise. I just needed to ask." He promises you. "I want to take some time away from the BAU, too. Do you think that's okay?"

"I think it's necessary." You reply, honestly confused about how he could consider returning to work tomorrow or assume Emily would let him. "You went through some terrible things and need a break. Go to the cabin to clear your head or something."

He nods. "I'll think of something."

That night is restful. Spencer needs time to rest and you've missed takeout, talking, and cuddling on the couch with him. He needs sleep too, and you make sure he's in bed early.

He's up early, though. Earlier than you and you panic when you wake up and he's not next to you.

"I'm here." He says, walking through the bedroom door carrying a tray of food, and announcing he's there like he can sense that you're worrying about him.

"What are you doing?" You ask sleepily, sitting up against the headboard.

He walks over, placing the breakfast tray on the bed. "Serving you breakfast in bed." He says.

"You really didn't have to do that." You remind him, grabbing his hand in yours. He's going to have guilt, you know that, but you don't want him trying to make it up to you by thinking he has to do things.

He shakes his head. "I've missed... far too much of this pregnancy already and I'm not going to miss another second. I don't want to go to a cabin in the woods and be alone because I want to be with you every step of the way." He tells you before cupping your cheeks, pulling you forward, and kissing your forehead.

You grin giddily, unable to think about anything but how happy you are. "You'll hear no complains from me about that." You assure him.

"So, do we discuss wedding stuff or baby stuff first?" He wonders, but you don't care, all you feel is grateful.

[vanillablankcanvas]

You have a headcanon/idea for broppy proposal (they both proposed at the same time and it's cute)

But what about other brothers. Did they propose? Were they proposed to? Any ideas?

TROLLS PROPOSING

I keep changing my mind how I picture the Broppy proposal. My post planned out what basically everyone else is doing during, but not really the whole set up for the actual proposal.

Branch and Poppy Proposal

Poppy is hard to surprise.

If he steps one TOE into a jewelry store, the whole village would immediately know what's coming, so he makes the ring himself.

All those invitations he kept? He used them to spell out 'Will You Marry Me?'

And you know as he was actually speaking the words she also pulled out a ring and asked him.

Clay and Viva Proposal

With the Bergens help they moved a bunch of the Hole n Funs buildings to Pop Village.

It left the Hole n Fun practically empty.

Viva knew this was a good plan but it was still a sad sight to see her former home stripped bare.

Clay had a plan.

Clay appreciated the symbolism of 'starting a new chapter'

He organized a campout with all of the PuttPutt Trolls on the last night there.

When Viva wasn't looking, Clay had the PuttPutts take turns leaving the group and arranging the leftover fairy lights.

Later in the evening, the lights were switched on and they formed a path.

Viva followed them to the highest spot on the course, where Clay was waiting for her.

Right at sunset.

He had a very long, carefully worded speech written ready to go but when the time came he was tongue tied.

So Viva asked him. 😏

And boy does Clay love a good plot twist.

And he cried.

All the PuttPutts were like "FINALLY!"

In celebration the PuttPutts threw the biggest, the loudest and the craziest party ever.

John Dory and Sable Proposal

Everyone was joking about it for months.

Clay and Bruce telling Sable to go for the bouquet at Branch and Poppy's wedding and she's like "Awww you guys want to be related to me so badly huh?" "We like you more than John Dory." 😆

Her elderly mother and father are the kind to make jokes about how she's 'not getting any younger' 😑

They were in the middle of an argument when Sable sarcastically said something like "OH, I GUESS WE SHOULD JUST GET MARRIED THEN?!" And JD is like "YEAH WE SHOULD!"

...

JD "Was that an...actual-?"

Sable "I ugh... maybe now's not the best time to be talking about that. John, we're in the middle of an argument."

"I think that makes this the best time."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I don't know if you know this but Trolls like to argue with me a lot."

😑 "You don't say?"

"But for some reason I love when you argue with me the most!"

🥹

JD "I've spend a lot of time alone, waiting for things to happen and I don't wanna do that anymore. No more wasting time."

"When I'm here, with you, I'm not a former pop star or the Kings brother or nothing. I'm just... John Dory and you make me feel like I'm enough."

🥹

"So Sable, wanna maybe go get married?"

"You've rehearsed this haven't you?" 🥹

"I'll tell you when you answer the question." 😏

"You are such a moron but you are my moron. Yes, John Dory I would very much like to marry you."

*Pumps fist* "YES!"

"This does not mean you won our earlier argument."

"Yeah it does! I win! Woo!"

John Dory made their bands out of pieces of her old wooden leg and his leather glove.

Floyd and Boom Proposal

Boom asks Floyd.❤️

He visits Dom's grave to ask permission. 💔

By this point, Branch is officially King of Pop so Boom asks him as well.

He proposed after the last show of a tour, he invited a confused Floyd on stage.

The huge screen on the stage played photos and videos of the two of them.

His brothers were in the front row.

There were a lot of tears. (Floyd)

[sssammich]

collateral pt5

author's note: this part finishes this arc of the story. i'll post again until the next arc is finished. no eta on that, unfortunately. but outline has been written out so there's an end to this lol

this part is rated M for sexual content.

ao3 link (opens to part 5)

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4

alright thx yall xo

---

Kara stood right next to Andrea as she eyed both hotel doors. 

“It seems we’re neighbors,” Andrea offered. 

She glanced at the woman beside her. “Why do I get the feeling you knew that already?” 

Andrea only shrugged, seemingly unaffected. “That’s why my hair’s so pretty. It’s full of secrets.” 

Kara’s jaw dropped, not sure how to process the unexpected joke. “Did you just…quote Mean Girls to me?” 

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that that movie was only for peasants.” 

“Peasa—I have a Pulitzer!” 

The other woman smirked and stepped forward, their face suddenly closer than Kara anticipated. “Oh, so now you accept that you have a Pulitzer.” 

“I always accepted–! It was the nickname. It’s don’t like the nick—” 

Yet before she could finish speaking, Andrea’s lips found their way on hers. 

Kara’s first thought should have been to stop Andrea. To pull back, To immediately put a stop to whatever this was. Instead, her first thought was the softness and suppleness of Andrea’s lips as she kissed back. Her second thought was that Andrea tasted a little bit of alcohol and faintly of the cigarette she’d had earlier. Her third and most fleeting thought was how she hoped her own lips weren’t chapped—

“Whoa, wait…” she said, finally pulling back just as she placed some distance between them. Andrea carded her fingers through her hair and watched patiently as Kara tried to gather her wits about her, all of which were slipping through her fingers like water. “I don’t understand. You know I’m in love with someone else.” 

“I’m aware.” 

“So why would you…” 

“Haven’t you ever heard that the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else?” 

“Yeah, but…” 

“Look, Kara,” Andrea started. It was weird to hear her name come out of Andrea’s mouth, but now that she had, Kara realized that it was the first time Andrea had said her name all night. “The way I see it is that if you want to get over Lena, you have to let her go. And what I’m offering can help with that, if you’re open to it. I just think that if you’re interested, an arrangement could be made that’s equally beneficial to the both of us.” 

She furrowed her brows. “What’s in it for you?” 

“Well, Pulitzer, if you’re not terrible, then an orgasm or two.” 

Kara stepped up and placed a hand on Andrea. “Please, be serious.” 

Andrea watched her, a moment passing between them. Kara tried not to squirm, her eyes focused on Andrea’s blue-green eyes roaming her face. Then, Andrea brought thumb up and tried to wipe something off around her mouth, Kara belatedly realizing it was probably the other woman’s lipstick. “It’s exactly as I said. This doesn’t have to mean more than what it is. You and I can have fun tonight and be back to normal in the morning. The walk of shame for you isn’t even that long.” 

Finally, Andrea stepped back, taking out her keycard from her purse and tapping it against her door until they both heard the small chime of the door unlocking. The other woman pushed the door open into a darkened room before she shifted to face Kara, leaning against the door and looking directly in Kara’s eyes. 

“You have until the door slams shut to make a decision.” 

Kara watched as Andrea slowly walked into her room, pushing the door as far back as possible and walked away leaving the decision in Kara’s hands. 

She didn’t know Andrea, didn’t know if the woman was genuine. But as she quickly rifled through their time together during the evening, she couldn’t deny that she had a fun time with the other woman. Whatever her reason was for helping Kara worked, because Kara came out of that wedding alive. 

And, if she was being very honest, Kara couldn’t deny that Andrea was a very attractive woman. 

Kara caught a glimpse of warm light filling the room, but the door was just about to slam in her face when—

The tip of her shoe wedged itself between the door and the jamb. She shut her eyes, wondering if she was really going to do this, before taking a deep breath. All she’d done tonight was think and overthink, her mind running rampant and her heart struggling to catch up. Whether there was more or less to Andrea’s offer, she’d run out of time to determine. And, at this point, she didn’t care anymore. 

With a push, the door swung open and she rushed to where Andrea was standing by the edge of the bed, taking her earrings off. 

Just as Andrea was about to make some comment—no doubt some testing quip of some sort, Kara surged forward and kissed her. She took Andrea’s face in her hands and held her there—a touch to ground her as she closed her eyes and kissed a woman who held no place in her heart. 

Their kisses turned frantic, her hands relinquishing their hold of Andrea’s face as they roamed down Andrea’s shoulders and to the zipper on the back of her dress. Andrea, for her part, was all too eager to run her own hands all over Kara’s body, her hands lingering and squeezing her biceps. Kara would have teased her about focusing on her arms if she hadn’t been so distracted with the fine figure beneath her after she tugged at Andrea’s dress. She then pushed Andrea down on her now exposed back, brown hair fanning in contrast with the white comforter. 

“This means nothing,” she insisted, even as she unzipped her own dress from the side and let it crumple on the ground. Andrea pushed herself up on her elbows and fully slid back to get to the center of the bed, her dress pooling by her ankles, kicking them out of the way until she was left in her matching red underwear. 

“You’re not even my type, Pulitzer.” 

“I thought you said you wouldn’t kick a girl while she’s down?” she asked with an arch of her brow, a teasing grin on her face. 

Andrea shrugged and unclasped her strapless bra and let it fall to the side. “Surprise, I lied.” 

Kara unclasped her bra and threw it somewhere behind her before she crawled between Andrea’s legs, excitement growing as she glanced down at Andrea’s red lace panties. It made sense, Kara mused, that this woman would match and accessorize accordingly. She almost wanted to make a joke of it, but when she saw the darkened patch at the center of the lace, her mind blanked a little.  

Instead, carefully, she slid her hands starting from Andrea’s hips and slowly up those smooth long legs until her thumbs teased the inside of her  “Anybody ever tell you that you have a bad habit of lying.” 

“And you have a bad habit of stalling. So, if you don’t mind,” Andrea said, waving her hand for Kara to continue. She shook her head, amusement and arousal prickling her skin as she shoved all thoughts of Lena and the wedding and the grief of all the love she could not give freely out of the way for something that could tether her to this moment. 

She dropped her head and kissed Andrea fully in the mouth, further encouraged by Andrea wrapping her legs around Kara’s middle. Kara then shifted to bring her body down, until their naked fronts touched, their nipples pressing into one another. She enjoyed the way Andrea’s nails scratched at the base of her neck and her shoulders in response to their bodies reacting to one another. 

Entangled with each other, she rocked them back and forth as they kissed and nipped for control. Their rhythm was fast, hungry, unable to stay in any one place. Kara was more than fine with that, because they weren’t anything to each other but a means to an end. She groaned when Andrea managed to push her head to the side so she could suck purple a sensitive spot on Kara’s neck. 

She caressed Andrea’s body as she slid down, her mouth traveling from the crook of Andrea’s neck and onto her chest until she was faced with Andrea’s tits in full display. She hoisted herself on her elbows as she palmed both of them, giving them a teasing squeeze before her mouth descended on a nipple. Andrea moaned underneath her and tightened her legs around Kara’s body. 

Encouraged, Kara continued to play and tease Andrea with her tongue while a free hand made its way down to Andrea’s center, her knuckle rubbing against the lace fabric, worsening the wet patch as she pushed in to tease. 

“You’re this turned on already?” she asked, pulling up slightly and looking up to see Andrea’s eyes remain closed. 

Andrea huffed, her hand making its way to Kara’s hair. “Not for long if you don’t keep going.” 

She rolled her eyes but nonetheless returned to her task at hand. Andrea seemed content with Kara’s decision to continue because her hand held Kara’s head in place. Kara pushed the lace fabric to the side and let her fingers finally touch Andrea’s wetness, the heat of her core affecting Kara as she slid her fingers back and forth between Andrea’s sensitive inner lips. 

“Fuuuck—yeah keep doing that.” 

Dutifully, she followed Andrea’s voice as she directed Kara to play her body to her specifications. Of course, Kara was more than happy to comply, her own underwear growing a wet patch at how gratifying it was to satisfy someone. 

She pushed back up to kiss Andrea, her brain hazy with the feel of this woman beneath her just as her fingers pushed into Andrea’s depths. Meanwhile, Andrea’s fingers dug into her back, small delicious bites of those beautiful red nails against her skin. 

Soon, Andrea was moving her hips in rhythm to Kara pumping her fingers in and out, her forearm straining slightly from the angle, but not wanting to disappoint the woman in front of her. 

“Yes, yes—” Andrea groaned. “Almost…” 

Kara brought their lips together once more, her tongue seeking entrance in Andrea’s mouth even as the other woman struggled to kiss back as she neared the precipice of her orgasm. Kara stayed quiet during the whole ordeal, though her eyes were laser-focused on Andrea’s features when shadows of their movements danced on her skin, sweat forcing her hair to stick on the edges of her face. 

Finally, Andrea pulled Kara into a searing kiss just as she tightened her arms around Kara’s shoulders, her ankles crossed behind Kara’s back. Kara let her body move with the climaxing current that was Andrea as the woman underneath her came all around her fingers. 

They held each other for a moment, their heavy pants slowing to loud exhales, until Andrea completely dropped her limbs to her side. The heat of their entangled bodies suddenly disappeared, Kara suddenly feeling all cold. 

Silently, she watched in wonder and curiosity until Andrea opened her eyes and gave her a pleasant smile. “Not bad, Pulitzer,” she offered, her voice coming out rough. Kara found it hot, if she was being honest. 

She laughed, despite herself, her body and mind feeling weightless at this particular moment. She carefully pulled her fingers out, wiggling them before touching the wetness from her fingers on Andrea’s breast. She was rewarded with a squeak escaping from Andrea’s mouth and an earned slap on the shoulder. “I can do better, if you’re so unhappy with my performance,” she reasoned as she bracketed her arms around Andrea’s frame.  

Andrea placed an arm under her head and stared at Kara above her. She nodded exaggeratedly even as she pulled Kara down with her free hand. “Very unhappy. Try again.” 

Kara still didn’t know what was going to happen after tonight. Maybe nothing, maybe something. But Andrea was here with her, and not the figment and fantasy of a life she wished she had. So she would take what she could get. And she would give the woman in front of her another orgasm. 

So, as she tilted her head down until their lips touched and she pushed her thumb on Andrea’s clit, Kara tried again.

[therk900]

📷 May TC Challenge (Day 1 - 31) 📷

1. Have you ever said something embarrassing to/in front of your TC? Thankfully no. I’m careful what I say and do most of the time

2. When did your TC start teaching you? Does he/she still teach you? B started teaching in 2022 and left at the end of 2023, S started teaching at the start of 2021, M started in 2020, and N started in 2022

3. Do you know anything about your TC’s childhood/youth? B had a cat when he was younger and S used to live in the country. N used to be so shy during school which is a surprise, since he is the complete opposite now!  

4. Describe your TC’s eyes. Gentle

5. What’s your favourite outfit on him/her? B had this blue jumper that he wore most of the time over his formal clothes. S wears formal clothes with these boots and he has 3 jumpers that I love. N’s one is a green jumper and formal pants and a white button up shirt with this brown jacket he has! A had this nice jumper that I LOVE! It’s a navy blue jumper with some white writing on it. My favourite one for M would be a dark navy blue button up shirt, and dark formal pants! 

6. How do you try to impress your tc? I try anything and everything really

7. Describe what you think your wedding would look like. What are you both wearing? Who’s invited? What’s for dinner? Hopefully in some sort of lovely garden with a modern feel to it. I feel like we would invite our friends and family to the occasion. For dinner, salad with some fish maybe. 

8. Have you ever caught her staring at you? How did you react? Yes Yes YES! Multiple times with B! One time earlier last year, B was taking a class of mine, and when I looked up, I saw him completely staring at me. I looked down in an instant. When I looked up 30 secs later to see if he was still looking, and he was!!!! I was just doing some sketching and he was sitting at the table diagonal to me. I looked up a few more times since and he wasn’t looking for some but for most of them, he was!

9. would you run away from home and leave your entire life (friends, family etc.) behind just to be with your TC? Maybe

10. what does your tc teach? B: English S & M: Science G: Media

11. If you lived together, would you rather have kids or pets with him/her? KIDS! And maybe one pet

12. are you in love with your tc or is it just a crush? I think it’s just a crush. Not 100% sure

13. do you think your tc could you like you back? Well, for M and N, they both have a wife, so no. But who knows for the others.

14. have you ever dreamt about your tc? The amount of times I have dreamt about them is concerning

15. imagine that someone wanted to make a movie about your life with your tc - what actor/actress would play you and your tc? For A, maybe Alex Wolff With B, maybe Seth rogan I’m not sure about myself, S, M or G

16. have you ever had an argument with your tc? Nope

17. how did you find the tcc? I was just searching up “teacher crush” on tumblr and found it! I was a viewer of the Community and didn’t have the courage to post anything until the start of last year

18. can you remember the moment you fell for your tc? Kind of. It was an end of one of B’s classes, and I was listening to a song called "Get into it (yuh)" by Doja Cat, and all i could think about was B. With S, it was just a realisation when I was speaking to him one time. I found out with A via a dream. And with M, I was just in class. i forgot how with G and N

19. Think of a song that reminds you of your TC and tell us your favourite line from it.  B: Here with me - d4vd “As long as I'm with you I've got a smile on my face” A: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John "So goodbye yellow brick road Where the dogs of society howl" S: Enchanted - Taylor Swift “This night is sparkling, don't you let it go I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home I'll spend forever wondering if you knew I was enchanted to meet you” N: Just Like That - THAT BAND HONEY "Baby that's just why we can't commit, maybe And our back and forth makes me want it more" M: Guys My Age - Hey Violet "Guys my age don't know how to treat me... Guys my age don't know how to touch me Don't know how to love me good Guys my age don't know how to keep me" G: Love In The Dark - Adele "We're not the only ones, I don't regret a thing Every word I've said, you know I'll always mean It is the world to me that you are in my life But I want to live and not just survive"

20. does anyone else know about your TC? Only one of my friends know

21. Have you ever stalked your TC online? If yes, what did you find? If no: do it and tell us what you find, it’s fun! I haven’t stalked them online.  Edit: I just found S and B's accounts. They are both private. 

22. what outfit would you most like to see your TC in? A SUIT! I wonder how they look in a suit

23. what is the best outfit they’ve ever worn?  B used to wear these brown formal pants with a nice formal shirt and also a dark blue jumper that I loved For S, he had these nice jumpers, and when he wore that with his formal outfit, it looked so good on him For A, jeans and a navy blue jumper that he owns With N, and G, anything formal For M, he has this green jumper, and he wears it all the time, and it really suits him

24. your best friend tells you that they have a crush on your tc - how do you react? I wouldn’t be surprised!

25. has your tc ever helped you with something that’s not school related? Yes. B has helped me with my drawings since he knows how much I love drawing

26. do you want to get over your tc or are you happy with it for now? I am very happy with it for now! it has made me know them better 

27. If your life was a book series/tv series/movie and you had a fan base, would your fans realistically ship you and your tc?  Depends really

28. What’s something that always makes you think of them?  A: Have no idea yet!  S: Anything to do with science for some reason G: A movie called “Alien” N: Have no idea yet!  M: DILF (because he is one)

29. Let’s chat for a sec! What’s something you’ve been dying to talk about regarding your tc?  How nice they are

30. How often do you think about them?  I think about them here and there

31. What’s something you’re manifesting happening between you two? (If you don’t manifest, what’s something you hope happens?)  That I get to see them outside of school, like in a cafe or something.

[sweaterkittensahoy]

prompt: jackharding post-war, settling in and figuring things out

To love during wartime and to love during peace are so utterly different. Jack is surprised by this. Chick was already career military, and Jack's figured out it's what he wants for himself. But somehow, being at home together isn't the same as being overseas.

There's a yelling, screaming argument about whose job it is to make dinner on any given night. Chick turns his face away when Jack tells him it's only fair to split the job, and Jack replies by flinging a stick of butter at Chick's face.

It hits dead on. Jack always got great scores in markmanship.

"Did you--" Chick asks. He stares at Jack, then down at the butter, which is sitting on the table because Chick came in and sat at the table and acted shocked and annoyed that Jack didn't have dinner on the table. Jack had gotten home ten minutes earlier and had had the fridge open to decide what the fuck one makes for dinner when one is in a relationship but also doesn't want to fucking cook.

Before Jack can find an answer, Chick picks up the butter and unwraps it, then takes a huge bite.

"Needs salt," he says.

And Jack's anger is gone. There's butter in Chick's moustache, and he's trying to pretend like he is truly trying to like the butter. He laughs, and Chick grins, and there's butter in his teeth as well, and then they're howling with laughter as Chick gets up to spit the butter in the sink and run water to wash it down the drain.

"I'm sorry," Chick says when they've calmed down. "It's not fair to expect you'll take care of everything just because you're here when I walk in."

"I didn't expect to come back to the war and have to figure out how to keep house," Jack says. "I figured I'd get married after. Not during."

Chick turns and pulls Jack in close. They're both still in their uniforms. He takes Jack's left hand in both of his own and kisses Jack's ring. A quickie ceremony with the Chaplin before Chick had been driven by ambulance to London to take care of his gallbladder. Once he'd recovered from ignoring a gallstone until it had gotten even worse, he'd shown back up at Thorpe's Abbot with rings. A combination of brass and gold that makes Jack's finger slightly green from wearing it for all of twelve hours.

He won't ever accept a different ring.

"Let's go out tonight," Chick says. "And tomorrow's Saturday. I can make a decent omelet, and we can go to the bookstore and find a cookbook that looks useful. We'll take turns. I'll start with cooking on Sunday."

"I'll take the first one," Jack replies, tipping his head to kiss Chick's own wedding band. "I know my mom's Sunday roast recipe by heart. We should definitely start the week on something that doesn't taste like shit."

Chick chuckles and looks at Jack for a long moment. His face shifts and relaxes. He smiles. "We made it through a war," he says. "We can figure out all this."

Jack smiles in response and squeezes Chick's hands. "My dad has a rule. He won't make any decision with my mom until they've both dressed for and had dinner."

Chick glances at his uniform, then Jack's. "Let's try that out, too," he says. "Make our home our home."

"Our home," Jack replies because it sounds so nice.

They change and go to dinner and have such a good time they catch a movie and end up having a drink at the end of the night.

The bartender grins as he watches them make each other laugh. "You newlyweds?" he asks.

It's been two years, actually, but Jack figures they can set the clock from the moment they got home from the war. "Yes," he says. "As a matter of fact."

The bartender pours a round for free, and they toast and grin and drink.

[blackjackkent]

oh my god, I want to hear all about Hec and Karlach married hahahaha

More Hec/Karlach content, you say? :D :D

Y'all spoil me tremendously with this sort of encouragement. XD

(This is a response to my tag novel on this post about what people's Tavs/Durges would wear to their wedding.)

I really s2g I am going to write this Avernus fic at some point which I fully intend to be a longish collection of one-shots eventually leading to Karlach and Hector having a happily-ever-after which would include all this. (I have the first chapter of another Jaheira-related fic in the cooker rn and then the Avernus fic's first chapter will be up next; I'm trying to rotate my longfics a bit. XD ) So... this is all obviously subject to change based on how that fic eventually plays out.

However, with this minute bit of prompting I will indulge myself in some weapons-grade Hector/Karlach Fluff anyway. :D This is less a full fic and more some random snippets/headcanons about them getting married and afterwards.

-----

They have a first official "commitment" to each other, sometime after arriving in Avernus. Once they're safely installed in the House of Hope as their headquarters and start settling in for the long-haul war against Zariel, they take some time to themselves in an abandoned wing of the building and make private vows to each other. (Think something like this scene from Aerie's romance in ToB.) Neither of them calls it a marriage, but deep down they both know they mean it just as strongly.

It's kind of a tossup that they will leave Avernus until right before they do; their several years of guerilla warfare in the Hells culminates in a massive multipart raid on Zariels' main headquarters; Zariel is killed along with a number of her main lieutenants, and the group gets away with a defecting infernal blacksmith and blueprints for upgrades to Karlach's heart that will allow her to finally return home.

(It's Cespenar. The infernal blacksmith is Cespenar. @rhysintherain generously donated this idea and I'm not letting go of it. XD )

Their first few weeks back in the Material Plane are spent reconnecting with friends, finding a place to live in the city, and generally being a bit shell-shocked that they actually made it out, but eventually they start trying to make real plans for the future.

They're both huge saps, and Karlach has been denied so many traditional life events because of her time in the Hells, so even though they're basically already married, Hector definitely makes a big deal out of the proposal. He STUDIES the subject deeply to try and do it right, combing through all of Baldur's Gates libraries for examples of romantic gestures, and enlists Wyll's help.

(Wyll has shipped them aggressively this whole time and is super excited about the romance of it all. I haven't decided on the details of who, but he also got involved with someone during their time in the Hells so he's not alone either, bc Wyll deserves nice things to happen to him also. <3)

With Wyll's help, Hector arranges a trip outside the city to an inn that sits on a very tall hilltop. He does his "official" proposal while they're having a picnic at a spot that has a beautiful view of the entire city, from the Outer City on in. It's super romantic and they're both giant saps about it. They both cry. (And then have sex behind some nearby bushes in a lovestruck haze.)

They don't really plan a huge ceremony. Mostly it's about having all their friends there (even dragging Lae'zel back from the Astral), and making the same commitment publicly that they made privately years earlier.

Karlach becomes oddly nervous about it as the event draws closer. She has a very slight superstitious streak and is still after all these years gunshy of how her life went so fast to shit all at once, and part of her feels like making it "official" is asking for something bad to happen. Hector spends a lot of time being comforting and reassuring her.

They have a night wedding. This is Karlach's idea - she knows Hector has missed the moonlight and its associated connection with Selune in all the time they've spent in the Hells, even though he'd never complain about it, so she ensures that their wedding will be under the night sky on a night when the moon will be full or near so.

He insists, as a counterpoint, that she picks the location - she decides on a place in the Outer City near where she grew up, against the water.

Father Enric, the Abbot from Hector's monastery, travels to the city to officiate. There's no best man/maid of honor concept, but all of their companions from the Absolute adventure are lined up as part of the ceremony, as well as a few friends made during the campaign in Avernus.

The ringbearer is Buddy the owlbear, bearing the rings very carefully on a pillow resting on his head.

Wyll and Shadowheart take the lead on dressing the couple, neither of whom have the faintest clue how to put together an ensemble. (I spent way too long getting these screenshots so please appreciate how pretty my babies look. XD )

Karlach, contrary to all expectations, really enjoys getting gussied up in a dress and looking pretty; it's not an everyday thing for her but she enjoys it. Hector, conversely, feels INCREDIBLY out of his element in the fancy jacket Wyll arranges for him. Wyll teases him quite a bit about it while they're waiting for the ceremony to start.

The absolute cutest part of the whole ceremony, by unanimous vote from everyone present, is that they do the whole thing where the bride and groom aren't supposed to see each other before the ceremony. Jaheira and Shadowheart hang out with Karlach helping her get ready, and Wyll and Halsin hang out with Hector, and both groups report back later that their charges repeatedly tried to escape custody to go find each other early.

When Hector does finally see her as the ceremony is starting, he goes completely slackjawed and just stares at her like he cannot believe his luck.

Karlach forgets her lines halfway through the vows and just kisses him anyway. Hector remembers them all perfectly (of course) - he just forgets to speak when it's his turn because he's so busy looking at her with the biggest puppy dog eyes. He keeps trying to go for his usual super-composed vibe and just failing utterly.

All in all it's just a massive sap-fest. Both of them feel like they've earned it, though, after everything they've been through. (Hector does feel a little embarrassed that Enric sees him acting like such a dope and not showing any of his usual self-discipline. Enric thinks it's sweet though.)

They have a big party at a local tavern afterwards, one Karlach hung out at as a teenager all the time. The innkeeper still remembers her and gives them drinks on the house and everyone gets sloshed off their asses. Hector and Karlach try to dance and both of them are pretty not great at it but neither seems to much care.

They get back home at about four in the morning, still trashed. Both of them are exhausted and ready to fall asleep at a moment's notice, but Karlach mumbles something jokingly about not wanting to miss out on her wedding night. So they end up kind of curling up together and having drowsy, tipsy, super-soft sex, drifting in and out of sleep, extremely happy.

Neither of them really can think of anywhere they'd rather be, nor do they have a day job to take a vacation from, so they don't really have a honeymoon. But nobody sees hide nor hair of them after the ceremony for a good week. XD

Bonus nose squish kiss:

[bonnielass23]

Writer WIP Poll Game

Rules: make a 24-hour poll with the names of your wip's, let it run, then write one sentence for every vote the winner got.

I was tagged by the lovely @astarkey and @alwaysupatnight. Thank you for allowing to open the floodgates of just how many WIPS I have.

Since I was tagged by a fellow Dusk fan I'm gonna list my fdtd wips all of which are sethkate. Some serious. Some complete crack. Most of these do not have titles yet

Outside of my fdtd friends who have already posted, I'm gonna tag everyone else across multiple fandoms : @lilmissuncreative @saltyunderscored @kelkat9 @fortysevenswrites @psilocybinlemon @elialys @milkshakemicrowave @kelkat9 and anyone else I missed or wants to do it!

Some of these have an official summary, some is just me throwing out the info. It should be obvious which is which lol

If anyone has any questions about these feel free to hit me up!

Raccoon Amaru - Canon divergent post season 2. With Kate surviving the blood well and Seth bringing her back to Jeds from the hospital to recover, Amaru finds herself in a different vessel.

La Jefe - Canon divergent post season 2 episode 9. At the blood well Kate stays up on the hill with Richie. It’s only after he’s gone down to try to take the blood for himself, in a move that is peak dumbass, that Kate has to intervene. With Richie wounded by a Xiblaban weapon and lying useless in the backseat of the car it’s up to Kate to deliver the blood and unwittingly become the new La Jefe, the head of Malvado’s empire. Seth lives his best life as a sugar baby and Richie is crying in a corner because he's supposed to be the boss.

Wild West AU - Wild West likely with supernatural elements. Kate frees Seth from the jail in Bethel the night before he's set to hang in exchange for him helping her track down her brother who disappeared with Carlos six months earlier. (Also the memorial piece for my mare, Bandit, who passed away almost a year ago and will be written in as Seth's horse.)

SethKate Wedding Date AU - Modern Day. No culebras. Kate is invited to her cousin's wedding and decides to ask Seth to be her date

“He’s not just my date, Scott.” A maniacal grin spreads over Kate’s face. “He’s my weapon. You really think I’m gonna walk in there with all their passive aggressive, pretending to be concerned comments? No, Scott. I’m going to fight fire with fire.” “That’s not fighting fire with fire Kate. That’s fighting fire with a nuclear warhead!”

Shangri-La - Canon divergent post season 2. With Eddie in critical condition and his chances of survival slim, the Geckos chose to go through with the plan to rob Malvado, even managing to save Kate’s life in the process. After coming back from their meeting with the lords, their relief at the news of Eddie’s survival is soon eclipsed by the sheer panic of realizing they now have to explain to him that not only did they pull his Shangri-La, swan song job without him, but they also lost the money.

Hero Twins AU - Canon divergent post season 2 episode 2. Kate reveals to Seth that she's pregnant during their fight in the car. After Sonja gets Seth clean, and with Eddie's help they hide away from the culebra world. 7 years later Richie and Kisa come crashing in with the news that their daughters are the next set of Hero Twins, destined to shake up the culebra and Xibalban hierarchy.

This leans very heavily into Mayan mythology, including a bibliography of academic sources, that will be included. It could be considered an exploration of the hero twin archetype told through Seth and Kate's fictional twins.

Witch AU - Modern day with supernatural elements. No culebras. Kate comes from a line of witches cursed to die when they begin to manifest their magical abilities. When she starts to have visions of her own death she goes to a professor of the occult Richard Gecko to try to figure out why her family keeps dying young. A witch himself, he tries to help her figure out the curse along with Seth who has turned his back on his supernatural abilities. It's a race against the clock to see if they can save Kate before her visions of her death come true.

Selkie AU - Coming home from college to attend her mother's funeral, Kate finds a package Jenny had left her. Kate's seal skin and an explanation of what she is. After going out to learn more about who she is her skin is stolen and she has to rely on the owner of a nearby bar, Seth Gecko, and his friends to steal back her skin.

[akirakirxaa]

FFXIVWrite Prompt 6: Ring

Rating: T

Word Count: 1018

Warnings: None

Summary: Valeria is hit with nerves just before she is to walk down the aisle at her wedding to the Emperor. Noelle, her best friend and soon to be Lady in Waiting, talks her through it.

Master Post

There were so many people!

Valeria peeked into the packed room through the servants' side door. Bigger than her old house, bigger than multiple houses probably, it was full of important military leaders and prominent nobles and people rich or important enough to warrant an invitation to the main event.

"Oh hells," she muttered to herself, quietly closing the door and trying to keep herself from hyperventilating. She was going to have to walk down the aisle in front of a crowd of very important, very powerful strangers. What if she tripped? What if she did something embarrassing? What if there was an assassin hiding in the crowd and-

"Alright, it's almost time for your cue, let's get you- Val? Are you okay?" Noelle, a tiny Hyuran woman, came bustling over to her, hands reaching up to cup Valeria's distraught - and growing more distraught by the moment - face and pull her down to Noelle's level.

"I can't do this!" Valeria whispered to her friend, as if to keep the empty corridor they stood in from hearing. Despite the corset fitted to her this morning being comfortable at the time, now it felt suffocating. Noelle looked at her thoughtfully for a moment.

"Wait here, I'll be right back," she said, turning on her heel and leaving her friend in the corridor alone. After a few minutes (during which Valeria heavily considered running), Noelle returned, hair slightly askew.

"What did you do?" Valeria eyed her friend warily as she slipped her hand into her own.

"I got the quartet to buy us some time," she explained. "They're going to replay a section from earlier before your cue. I told them you tripped over your train and we needed a moment to fix it. Now then-" she led her friend over to a bench, sitting Valeria down and arranging her voluminous ivory skirts before settling down herself. "What's going on?"

"I can't go out there," Valeria's wide eyes glanced at the huge double doors she was meant to appear from behind. "There's so many people out there, Noelle, important people. What if I make a fool of myself? What if I trip? Or faint? What if there's an assassin in the crowd ready to kill the new Empress? What if I'm a bad Empress? What if he's only been pretending to be nice to get me to marry him and now-"

"Val, Val, stop for a second," Noelle gave her hand a comforting squeeze. "First off, not everyone is like your family. You have to stop waiting for people to 'inevitably'-" she lifted her free hand to make quotes in the air "-be horrible. I've seen how he looks at you when you're not looking. If it's not love I'll eat your dress, petticoats and all."

"Secondly, stop thinking about this as a job interview. It's your wedding! You're getting married to someone you really like just like so many others do every day." At that, Valeria let out a hysterical little laugh.

"Ah yes, plenty of people marry into royalty," her voice dripped with sarcasm and Noelle sighed.

"You know what I mean. All you have to do is focus on getting to the end of that aisle," Noelle patted Valeria's arm. "You know, people say if you're afraid of public speaking, you should picture your audience in their undergarments so it feels less serious. Of course," Noelle's face twisted into a mischievous smirk. "You might wanna be careful with that, don't wanna get distracted thinking about your impending wedding night..." Valeria smacked Noelle on the shoulder as the Hyuran woman flinched away, hiding her face in her other hand.

"Did you have to bring that up, too?" Valeria grumbled into her hand, words muffled as Noelle tried to stifle her own snickers.

"What, are you not looking forward to it? And here I thought you said he was handsome." Her voice turned taunting as Valeria's face turned a light pink.

"No, it's not... I... I've never done that before!" She stammered out, and Noelle blinked.

"What, never? You're so pretty I'd have thought you'd have had suitors practically falling at your feet, even considering how...unpleasant your family was."

"Yes, well, my stepmother was very good at ensuring everyone knew to stay away. Hells, you're already my only friend, and if I couldn't even keep friends, how could I have...no, just. I never did," she finished somewhat lamely, twisting a dangling gem of the delicate necklace she wore anxiously.

"Well, put that back on the shelf to worry about later," Noelle said firmly. "Besides, think about it, lots of people like it enough to do it a lot so, frankly, you shouldn't have anything to worry about." Valeria groaned, burying her reddening face in her hands.

"Thanks for the encouragement."

"You're welcome!" Noelle produced a small pouch from...somewhere, retrieving cosmetics from inside and pulling Valeria's hands away from her face. "Well, at least we won't need to fix your blush."

Valeria sat still as Noelle carefully touched up her smeared makeup, wiping away that which was out of place and darkening that which had been wiped away. When she was done, there was no evidence left of Valeria's distress besides the apprehension still in her eyes.

"Come on, it's almost time," Noelle pushed her spectacles back up her nose and pulled Valeria to her feet, circling her to make sure her skirt was laying smooth all the way around. "Remember, one foot in front of the other. And if you faint, I'll drag you the rest of the way. I'm right behind you. Oh, and don't forget to give me your bouquet when you get to the end!"

"What? Why?" Valeria craned her neck to look at Noelle taking her place just behind her, ready to mind the truly monstrous train dragging along the ground.

"You need your hands free to exchange the rings, silly!" Noelle laughed as the huge doors creaked.

Valeria turned forward, hiding her shaking hands behind her bouquet, and held her head high as she took her first, wobbly steps down the aisle.

[pichipeachy]

Sharing again some headcanons during the Bridgerton Triple Wedding Bonanza of 1824. I posted part 1 about Colin and Penelope here.

Part 2: Eloise and Philip

Anthony and Violet were quite delighted to watch Colin whisk Penelope away after their surprise revelation of Lady Whistledown. The ball continued on merrily to the wee hours of dawn, and everyone enjoyed the festivities to their heart's content, most especially the Bridgertons.

Little did they know how Eloise could turn their worlds upside down the next day.

Violet woke up late (and slightly hungover) from the previous night's festivities. She went about her usual routine before checking in on her children.

Violet goes into Eloise's room, which was strangely untouched. She did not think much of it at first until the maid informs her of Eloise's absence. Alarm bells rang in Violet's head.

Violet and the staff frantically search for Eloise, to no avail. She ran to the bank with her solicitor, trying to prepare for the worst-case scenario. Violet only lost her composure when Anthony rushed to her side at the bank.

Anthony brought her back to Number Five, where she breaks down in front of her children.

"I cannot lose her Anthony," Violet said in between sobs.

Kate and Hyacinth comfort the matriarch while Anthony looked on with troubled features. Determination floods his features as he spoke.

"I will find her, Mother. I promise."

Anthony went on a mission possessed. He enlisted Gregory's help to search for their sister. It was not until the entire day passed that Gregory raised a pertinent question.

"I know we do not want to disturb the newlyweds, but don't you think we should involve Colin and Penelope in this?"

Colin and Penelope join them the next day. The Bridgerton siblings helped Penelope as she scoured through Eloise's personal effects for any morsel of information. It wasn't until they moved furnitures that Penelope noticed a letter wedged behind a desk.

The Bridgerton men surround Penelope as she frantically scanned the letter.

"Oh, Eloise..." Penelope whispered as her eyes scanned the letter, picking up the pressed flower inside it and holding it for everyone to see.

"This is a letter from a Mr. Philip Crane, from Gloucestershire."

The implications sank into everyone's heads. Gregory swore to himself. Colin said nothing and sighed in disappointment, though anger emanated in his green eyes.

Anthony took the note from Penelope's hands. Fury rolled off him in waves as he memorized the address of this Crane fellow.

"Send a missive for Benedict. Brothers, we ride for Romney Hall."

--

Anthony walked Eloise back to the dining room in Romney Hall. All of the four Bridgerton brothers were worried and furious about their sister recklessly going to this place alone. Anthony would never admit it out loud, but he knew Sir Philip Crane and Eloise would make a perfect match. He saw how Sir Crane and Eloise defended each other earlier (even after the fact that he and his brothers almost killed the man).

Anthony knows love can blossom between the two. It happened to him and his other siblings, it could happen to Eloise too. He can only hope Eloise would be receptive to love once it comes.

--

Violet lets out a sigh of relief as the priest declared Sir Philip and Eloise husband and wife. She wished the circumstances were better, but overall Violet was happy to see her daughter marry someone who seemed to match her.

Violet had been hesitant at first, after hearing the entire truth from her sons. She did not want to marry Eloise off to some unknown gentleman. Anthony assuaged her fears though, telling her there was nothing to fret about.

"I have high hopes for them, Mother. You will see it once you see them together."

True enough, Anthony was right. Violet observed the couple during the ceremony, and during the reception on the lawns of Romney Hall. Something brewed between Sir Philip and Eloise as they interact with each other. Violet saw the potential Anthony talked about, but she still could not help but worry. Eloise, out of all her children, is the most headstrong, even compared to Anthony. Her daughter charges head-on, expecting everything to fall into place as she sees fit and just.

Violet could only hope that Eloise does not charge into her marriage with that fervor, so she advised her daughter to take their time.

It took some time, but Anthony and Violet saw how Eloise's marriage to Sir Philip bloomed into the love match it was meant to be, and both of them couldn't be happier.

Now only if the remaining single Bridgertons do not go into scandalous matches... Life would be great.

--

Bonus: A headcanon of the Bridgerton Brothers at My Cottage, after fetching Eloise from Romney Hall

In Benedict's study...

Benedict: So, what do you think of Sir Philip Crane?

Gregory: Meh, the chap's all right. Wish I'd hit him once more though, just to warn him not to mess up anymore with Eloise.

Colin (munching on something God knows what): Sod off, Gregory, do not traumatize the man lest he runs away from his upcoming nuptials with our sister.

Benedict: I think he seems like a studious type of fellow. Eloise would like that.

Colin: He displayed immediate loyalty to Eloise, despite the circumstances. He got my vote there.

Anthony: I agree. Sir Crane will be a fine match for Eloise. We'll make sure of that. *cracks his knuckles*

Gregory: *grins*

[buddyhollyscurls]

Hi I'm the previous anon who sent the ask about Marcela and wow I read your follow up post and I completely agree. It's just very sad that everyone knew he cheated on her:

-Hugo for sure knew he screwed around with models. Even on the night of Adriana Arboleda's event when Armando refuses to party with the models (since he was chasing Betty) , he says that he cannot imagine what kind of beautiful woman he must have on the side for him to ditch them. All the while designing Marcela's wedding dress.

- Everyone at El Mesón de San Diego. Seriously, the way that woman approached him and was all over him trying to get him to sleep with her once again before he got married. Then, when Betty asks him to kiss her there, and he refuses supposedly because of Marcela, but she states she knows that's not really an issue because he had made out with other beautiful women in that very same place and it hadn't tarnished his image nor destroyed his relationship with her. This is a place that Armando told Betty it was surrounded by his and Marcela's acquaintances and friends. So they all knew he frequently cheated.

- María Beatriz. She quickly deduced that Armando was cheating the night of the collection launch before the board meeting and their wedding. When Armando tells Marcela that couldn't celebrate with them after because he had to go back to Ecomoda, María Beatriz once again deduces he is having an affair. In fact, she seemed to be the only one who had Marcela's best interests at heart because she tells her not to marry Armando if she knows he is having an affair.

I don't think neither Armando nor Marcela had people in their lives that truly cared about their well being. They either only cared about keeping up with appearances or didn't care for them as individuals at all. If they had had that someone, the relationship would have been over way earlier and would have been less destructive for both. In fact, it's crazy to think that Marcela never had concrete proof of his cheating when it seems like everyone in their immediate circle knew about it (aside from Betty which was obvious but nobody would believe because of her physical characteristics).

I love your blog so much. Reading your thoughts has been the best and you are so kind to reply to my ramblings 💜

THANK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUU MY FRENNNNNNNNNNNN

NO BUT LET'S TALK ABOUT THIS!!!!!!!!! LET'S TALK ABOUT THIS BECAUSE IT IS BANANAS TO ME THAT HER FRIENDS AND FAMILY ALL KNOW THAT ARMANDO CHEATS AND SHE IS STILL WITH HIM ANYWAY?? HUGO LITERALLY BE LIKE ARE U SURE U WANNA MARRY HIM WHY DO U WANT TO MARRY HIM LITERALLY TELLS ARMANDO THAT HE KNOWS HE'S GONNA MAKE MARCELA UNHAPPY BC OF HIS CONSTANT CHEATING DANIEL OBVIOUSLY AS A BIG BROTHER DOES NOT LIKE THEIR RELATIONSHIP AT ALL (WE ALL KNOW DANIEL HAS HIS OWN PERSONAL MOTIVES FOR NOT WANTING THEM TOGETHER IE THEIR RIVALRY BUT ALSO LBR HE DOES NOT WANT ARMANDO FOR HIS SISTER) AND ITS CRAZY THAT IN SPITE OF HOW OPENLY HE CHEATS CHEATING AT PLACES WHERE ALL THEIR FRIENDS GO CHEATING WITH MODELS AT THEIR WORK SHE IS STILL WILLING TO FORGIVE HIM???? IT'S SO SAD (OR AT LEAST IT WOULD BE IF SHE DID ANYTHING ABOUT IT BUT REMEMBER EARLY ON THEIR ENGAGEMENT WHEN SHE TOLD HIM THAT IF THEY GOT MARRIED SHE'D BE THE "COOL WIFE" LETTING HIM HAVE HIS WEEKENDS TO HIMSELF, HE COULD COME HOME WHENEVER HE WANTED, HE'D NEVER HAVE TO ANSWER TO HER AND SHE'D BE OK WITH THAT?????????????? THIS WOMAN WAS TOTALLY OK WITH HIM JUST DISRESPECTING HER EVEN DURING THEIR MARRIAGE

also feel free to keep ranting and rambling ABOUT ANYTHING my inbox is always open for ppl who want to scream about whatever their interest are atm <3

[440mxs-wife]

Mail Order Bride, Part 4: Wedding Night

Pairing: Sheriff!McCoy x Paige Stone (OFC). Other characters: Thomas Morgan (OMC, mentioned)

Word Count: 5155

General warnings:  As the title implies, mail-order bride arrangement, parent’s illness, outlaws, overprotective sister, Wild West-level violence but some fluff as well. Each chapter will have individual warnings as needed.

Chapter warning: Slightly NSFW (16+ only) Paige’s first time, body-image/insecurity, unprotected p in v sex, Leonard is an awesome husband

A/N: This is set around the 1930′s in the Western U.S. I will endeavor to remain as true to the historical timeline as I can. There may be some....bending of history to fit the narrative, but nothing major. This is, after all, a work of fiction. :) Enjoy and please let me know if you’d like to be tagged in future chapters!

A/N 2: This is somewhat of a “filler” chapter, in that it is entirely about the wedding night activities. Now that I’ve crossed this hurdle, the story can get moving once again. But, if you aren’t comfortable with the subject, you can skip it and it won’t detract from the story as I post more chapters.

As always, thank you for reading. Enjoy!

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

"Welcome home, Mrs. McCoy," he remarked.

Before entering their home, Leonard had scooped Paige up into his arms to carry her across the threshold. Just as the newlyweds stepped through the doorway, Paige meshed her lips with Leonard's in a passionate, lingering kiss. He could taste the sweetness of the wedding cake they'd consumed earlier in the evening. She detected a hint of the bourbon he'd sipped during the toast to their nuptials.

"Leonard," Paige sighed, and he hummed in response. "Don't you think you oughta put me down now?" she asked.

Leonard pulled back to gaze lovingly at his new wife. "Never, darlin'," he grinned. "I gotcha right where I want ya, and that's here in my arms, always," he smirked as he peppered her face with kisses.

Paige squirmed in his hold, giggling at his playfulness. This side of him was her favorite, the one who smiled the easiest, who wasn't burdened by the gravity and importance of his profession. Although, she wondered which side was in charge of him when he agreed to marry her and take over the contract and send the money to her family. That's a problem for another day, Paige thought. This is my wedding day and wedding night, so I'm going to enjoy it.

Leonard studied the facial expressions as they flitted across his new bride's face. Though he'd only known her for just over a week, he had learned some of her tells. Right now, Leonard was certain she'd had something on her mind, but she'd chosen to dismiss it for the time being. We have a whole lifetime to figure each other out. I only hope I can make her as happy as she's already made me, he thought with a soft smile.

Paige placed her hand alongside her new husband's cheek, gently grazing his face with her thumb. "What're you thinking about, Leonard?" she wondered.

Without breaking eye contact with Paige, Leonard bypassed the question as he pressed a kiss to her palm and heard the hitch in her breathing. "You like that, sugar?" he murmured and watched Paige slowly nod her head. "Trust me, this is only the beginnin'. And I can't wait to kiss your silky skin all over and mark you as mine," he whispered.

Paige let out a shuddering breath at the thought of Leonard seeing the parts of her body she was so used to keeping covered up. Tendrils of doubt began to creep in and threatened to burst the bubble of bliss they were in as they inched closer to the wedding night activities. Will he like what he sees? How does my body look compared to other women, to his ex-wife, Jocelyn? What if he's completely disgusted by my body? These and other thoughts were among the ones raging through her head at the moment.

Leonard sensed a shift in Paige the moment he talked about more intimate matters between them. "Paige? Sweetheart, are you all right?" he asked.

Paige dropped her hand and her gaze from Leonard's face. "I'm fine, Leonard," she replied. "It's been a long but wonderful day. I think it's all catching up with me, that's all," she explained.

Leonard carefully released Paige from his hold and placed her feet on the floor. He hooked his index finger under her chin, tilted it up and held it until Paige's eyes finally met his. "Now, sugar, we may have only been married for a matter of hours, but I can tell somethin's botherin' you. Whatever it is, I promise, you can tell me," he added.

Paige took a deep breath before answering as she tried to stave off the sting of tears. "What if...." she started then looked away, twisting her hands together. Leonard waited patiently for her to continue, which she did after another stabilizing breath. "I know you've been married before, and probably courted others before that, so....what if you don't like what you see? Of me," she finished.

Leonard's heart nearly broke at how small Paige sounded, at the thought that he would ever reject her. If she only knew how many of the past few nights he had laid awake, thinking of her just down the hall. How soft her skin would be under his rough, calloused hands. He couldn't wait to breathe in the scent of her perfume as his lips traced a path, mapping every part of her body. From her lips to her neck, upon her collarbone, right over her heart, across her stomach, down her thighs, all the way to the tips of her toes.

As much as he desired her, craved being close to her in that way, he was determined to let Paige set the pace. If the farthest she wanted to go tonight was to sleep in the same bed and for them to hold each other, then that's what would happen. Leonard's main concern was to make sure Paige felt safe with him. He wanted her to feel secure enough to explore certain avenues of intimacy without fear of rejection.

"Oh my darling wife," Leonard murmured. "You have no idea how utterly enticing you are to me. From your eyes that saw past a gruff, sarcastic sheriff and that light up whenever I enter the room. To your hands that have done so much to make this house a home for us. These same hands are the ones I long to hold and have exploring every inch of me. And your lips....oh, sweetheart, this is where I can't even begin to describe the effect your lips have on me. I can't wait to show you all that I can do to you with my lips. My imagination is running wild thinking of how it will feel when you do the same for me," he remarked.

Paige had been letting Leonard take the lead in their brief courtship, because that's how she was raised, that the man was in charge. Over and over, Leonard proved to her otherwise, with his thoughts on their marriage being more of a partnership. He was the more experienced partner, and yet he was willing to let her control their path to intimacy. Anything that happened was going to do so on her timetable, which gave her a sense of empowerment she'd never had before.

She didn't know if what else she was feeling for Leonard could be called "love" at this point. There was so much more to learn about him, parts she couldn't wait to explore. She was certain that whatever the sentiment, it was considerably more than what she'd felt for that boy back home. Paige had grown up with her former beau, Thomas Morgan, and been friends since they were in grade school. However, in the end, he chose another. Leonard was a loyal, trustworthy, patient and honorable man. And she couldn't help but be physically attracted to him.

Paige rose up on her toes and surged forward, crashing her lips to Leonard's, knocking him half a step back in astonishment. He quickly recovered as his hands instinctively flew to her waist, tugging her body so that it was flush with his. A moan of pleasure escaped from Paige but it was quickly swallowed by Leonard's mouth as his hands roamed up and down her back. Her hands cradled Leonard's neck and her fingertips teased the hairs at the base of his neck, while her thumbs caressed his jawline.

Leonard decided to test the waters with his new wife by deepening the kiss. His tongue darted out to trace the seam of Paige's lips, which caused her to gasp in shock. He took advantage of her surprise and slid his tongue into the wet, heated cavern of her mouth. At first, her tongue was unmoving, almost rigid, but Leonard persisted. When her tongue slipped over into his mouth to explore, a groan of pleasure rumbled through his chest. The sound seemed to have emboldened Paige, because her kisses grew more heated, and her grip on his hair tightened.

As eager as he was to continue, Leonard was bound by his unspoken promise to let Paige lead. He gently pulled his lips from hers and reached up to tenderly cup her cheek with his large, capable hand. At the separation, a flicker of uncertainty crossed Paige's sweet face as she met his eyes. "Leonard? I-is everything okay? Did I do something wrong? I'm sorry, I've never--"

Leonard rushed to reassure Paige. "Darlin', you did nothing wrong, not at all. I loved every second of what just happened," he replied softly. "I know I may have given you a little nudge into some new territory, but I gotta tell ya sweet girl--everything about that was perfect," he affirmed. "I only wanted to make sure you were still on board with how things were moving. Are you okay?"

Paige nodded then smiled shyly and her cheeks grew rosy at his praise. Her confidence growing, she slid her hands up the back of his head and around to the brim of his hat. "Do you s'pose maybe we could take this hat off?" she asked breathily. Without waiting for his answer, she lifted the hat from his head and carefully set it in the chair next to her.

When she met with no resistance from Leonard, she took it another step. At the thought that he may want to undress her at some point, she felt a little dampness down below. "Maybe loosen up this tie a little," she suggested. Her fingertips danced across his neck until they were poised beneath his Adam's apple. Paige slowly worked at the knot until it released, then she pulled one end of his tie until it completely slipped out from under his collar.

Leonard marveled at the change he was seeing in Paige after such a short time. He wanted to see how far she would go at undressing him before allowing him to return the favor. He watched as her nimble fingers unbuttoned his jacket next, then her hands blazed a path up his broad chest. When the tips of her nails grazed his peaked nipples, it sent a shudder through his body as he moaned at the sensation.

Paige's eyes flew up to his to check that she didn't hurt him, but the look on Leonard's face showed anything but pain. She wasn't sure what caused his reaction, so instead of taking off his jacket, her hands traveled up his sides, along his rib cage. When they moved back over his nipples again, he groaned louder at the pleasurable sensation.

Realization dawned on Paige that if Leonard was sensitive there, what would it be like when he touched her in the same place? Her breasts were of an average size, nothing she considered remarkable, but larger than Leonard's pecs were. Suddenly, she was aching to find out how it would feel to have his hands on any part of her breasts for any amount of time. The thoughts only added to the wetness in her panties, which she was sure were nearly soaked.

"Not nice to tease, darlin'," Leonard playfully warned. He captured her hands by the wrists and kissed each fingertip, one by one. Then he positioned her palms on his upper chest, just under his jacket and watched as she pushed it off of his shoulders. She caught it behind his back and carefully draped it across the back of the chair where she'd deposited his hat.

"Not teasin', just uncovering you, layer by layer," Paige replied. "Help me with my boots, Len?"

"Of course, sweetheart," he responded. Leonard dropped to his knees in front of his wife and placed Paige's hands on his shoulders. Then he lifted her left foot to remove her boot, repeating the motion for her right foot. Before he stood up, he ran his hands up and down the lower half of her legs eventually, stopping at the knee. His nose was at the same height as her center and when he inhaled deeply, he could smell the sweet scent of her arousal.

"May-maybe we should go to the bedroom?" Paige suggested.

Leonard caught her hands in his. "We can do that, but we don't have to do anything you don't want to do, sugar. If all you want to do tonight is fall asleep in each other's arms, that's all right with me, I promise I won't be upset. I'm not gonna lie though, I've been looking forward to this night all week, but it's about what you want, what you're comfortable with," he affirmed. "I just want to make you feel good, darlin'."

"I do feel good with everything we've done so far, but I know there's more. I feel safe with you. Cherished, respected even. I want....I want you to show me, Leonard. Will you show me more? Please?" she whispered.

Her soft plea was enough for him. Leonard scooped Paige back up into his arms and she wrapped hers around his neck for the short trip from the living room to the bedroom. Once inside, he lowered her feet to the ground so that she stood before him. Her face was turned upward, searching for and was granted eye contact with him. His hand cupped her cheek, the pad of his thumb gently stroking her skin. "We can stop any time you want. Any time, no matter what, and I won't be angry. Okay?" he murmured.

Paige nodded. "Words, baby. I need you to tell me you want this," he insisted.

"I want this Leonard, want you," Paige confirmed. "Make me yours," she begged him.

Still holding her hands, Leonard started walking backwards towards the bed, gently tugging Paige with him. When the backs of his legs hit the mattress, he untucked his shirt from his trousers then sat down and released her hands. He bent down so that he could remove his boots and socks.

Paige took a half step back to give him more room, and when he was done, she moved closer to him. She placed her hands on his cheeks and tilted his head up to meet her gaze. Slowly she threaded her fingers through his hair, lightly scratching his scalp and his eyes drifted closed. She smiled at the hum of contentment emanating from her husband. When he nuzzled his nose into her midsection, she giggled.

Leonard lifted his eyes but rested his chin on her tummy. To Leonard, her laughter was the sweetest sound in the world, one he'd never tire of hearing. Paige's nimble fingers started to unfasten the buttons of his shirt. As his shirt was pushed from his broad shoulders, his eyes drifted to the left side of her dress and the row of buttons concealing the zipper. He kept her gaze until he heard her say, "yes" ever so softly in permission.

Rising to his feet, Leonard pivoted around Paige until he was standing behind her. His right hand settled at her waist, while his left hand glided over her curves to the bottom button. One by one, Leonard worked at unfastening each of the twelve satin-covered buttons. At the top, he slowly and carefully pulled down the zipper, thus loosening the dress that was previously clinging to Paige's curves.

Leonard's hands left her waist and ghosted a path up her sides, cupping the undersides of her breasts. His thumbs gently grazed her already pert nipples. It caused her to nearly double over and drew a cry of ecstasy from her at the unexpected but not unwelcome sensation. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"'M fine, didn't expect that, is all. It was....an amazing feeling," Paige whispered.

"Oh, we're just getting started, sugar. Relax baby, I've got you. Gonna take good care of you," Leonard murmured in the delicate shell of her ear. His hands rubbed up and down Paige's arms, then settled on her shoulders. His thumbs hooked under the lace of her dress and lazily eased it off of her shoulders.

Leonard started leaving wet, open-mouthed kisses on the newly exposed surface. He lightly nipped the area where Paige's neck met her collarbone before sucking his mark onto her skin. He softly blew across the moistened area, and was pleased to see the goosebumps that formed on her creamy, delicate flesh. Paige closed her eyes and shuddered at the effect that Leonard's mouth was having on her. "Feels....so good," she rasped.

The dress was pushed further down her arms and over her chest, where Leonard again paused, this time to gently squeeze her breasts. Paige leaned into his touch, and a moan escaped when she felt Leonard's lips on her bare right shoulder. She could feel the evidence of his arousal pressing against her backside. Once the dress was past her hips, it dropped to her ankles in a puddle of white lace, leaving her in her white satin slip and undergarments.

Out of instinct, Paige's hands flew up in an effort to cover herself as she turned to face her husband. Leonard lightly shook his head and tugged her arms to uncover her body. "No no, sweet girl, I wanna see all of you, and I want you to see all of me," he remarked. "Besides, you have nothing to be ashamed of, darlin', you're absolutely gorgeous."

Paige took stock of the man she married, standing shirtless in front of her. His muscular, toned chest had a smattering of dark curly hair on his pecs and a trail down the middle to his waist. She could see places where the skin was pink and puckered, indicating an injury as a result of his often dangerous profession. Her fingertips ghosted over the scars and she reverently kissed any she could reach. She felt Leonard shudder in response this time, bringing a smile to her face.

Leonard was in awe of the woman before him, how tenderly she was grazing his skin, and how responsive she was to his touch. Since they had entered what was now their bedroom, he had seen her confidence grow little bits at a time. She let him remove her wedding dress, and at the same time, learn about her body so he knew how to bring her the most pleasure possible.

When his shirt was removed, she didn't turn away from him and wasn't put off by his scars or any other imperfections, real or imagined. Although he didn't know why she felt the need to hide her body from him. His new wife was completely breathtaking and from this moment forward, he intended to worship her in the manner she deserved.

Before he could reach for the spaghetti straps of her satin slip, Paige leisurely slid them down off of her shoulders, one by one. She saw Leonard's eyes darken with desire as he watched the slinky fabric drop from her body to join her dress on the floor. As she reached behind her to unclasp her bra, Leonard caught her hands in his. "Wait. Allow me," he added huskily.

Paige nodded and stepped closer to Leonard. Her arms wound around his neck, while his hands met in the middle of her back to release the clasp for her bra. Leonard drew the straps down her outstretched arms and away from her body, revealing her exquisite breasts. His blood shot due south at the sight of her pink pebbled nipples and couldn't resist taking one in his mouth.

The moment his lips closed around her sensitive peak, Paige threw her head back and closed her eyes in unbridled pleasure. Her breathing came out in short puffs as her mind scrambled to keep up with the new sensations flooding her body. "Oh, Leonard!" she panted.

Leonard released the nipple with an audible pop as he turned his attention to the other breast, lavishing the same treatment. Paige was breathing heavily now, with her head lolled back and her mouth open in absolute ecstasy. The wetness in her panties seemed to have increased tenfold, like there was a waterfall between her legs. "Leonard, please," was all Paige could manage to say.

He disengaged his mouth from her breast, noticing how it glistened with moisture. He blew across the surface, causing the nipple to stiffen once more and a shiver to run through Paige. "You're so beautiful, sweetheart, so responsive," he crooned. Leonard trailed his hands down Paige's ribcage until he reached her waist, where the top seam of her panties rested. He waited until she met his gaze and waited for permission, which she granted with a whispered "yes".

Leonard hooked his thumbs into the waistband of her panties and slowly dragged them down her legs. She stepped out of them, placing her hands on Leonard's shoulders to brace herself. As he rose to stand again, Leonard's hands swept up the backs of her calves and thighs. He molded his hands to her backside, then gave a quick swat to one cheek. Paige gasped both in surprise and at the brief sting of pain, then relaxed as it morphed into pleasure.

"Hmm, you like that darlin'? Maybe we can revisit that some other time," Leonard smirked. He gripped Paige's thighs and lifted her, then placed her gently in the middle of the bed. "You are exquisite, and all mine," he added.

"All yours, always," Paige echoed. She reached out with her hand, beckoning him to join her in the bed.

"I'll be right there, sugar. Just have to get m'self ready for you. Now that I can see all of you, I want you to see all of me," he replied softly. Leonard slowly unbuckled his belt and withdrew the leather band from the loops on his trousers. He rolled it up and placed it neatly in his top dresser drawer. He returned to stand at the side of the bed, where Paige was laying on her side, propped up on one elbow.

Without breaking eye contact, Leonard unbuttoned his trousers, then slowly slid the zipper down to reveal his dark blue boxers. He dipped his thumbs inside the waistband of his boxers and pushed them and his pants past his hips, down his legs and dropped them to the floor. He bent down to pick up his trousers and Paige's remaining articles of clothing and draped them over the chair next to his dresser.

When Leonard was about to climb into bed, he was stopped by the perplexed look on his wife's face. "What's wrong, darlin'? You okay?" he asked. His eyes followed her wide-eyed gaze, which had dropped to focus on the situation occurring between his legs. Leonard fought back the urge to chuckle, as it wasn't her fault she was innocent in the ways of marital relations.

"Is....is it....that's not going to fit, Leonard," Paige whispered. She felt like it was all over before it even started, because if her body couldn't accommodate him, then she'd already failed him as his wife.

"Of course it will, sweetheart, but I've got to prepare you," he replied as he knelt on the bed. He nudged her shoulder so that she was laying on her back, with him hovering over her.

Paige reached out with her hand, then glanced up at Leonard. "Can I touch it?" she wondered. Before her fingers could graze any part of him, he caught her hand in his. She quickly retracted her hand and dropped her gaze, fearing she'd done something wrong again.

Leonard at once realized his mistake and gently cupped her cheek. "I'm sorry darlin', you didn't do anything wrong. As good as it would feel for you to touch me there, I'm afraid that if you did, this would all be over before it started," he explained with a grin. "This is your first time, and I want it to be special for you," he added lovingly.

Paige covered his hand still resting on your cheek and pressed a kiss to his palm. "And it will be special, Leonard, because it's you," she remarked. "I'm ready for you to show me," she affirmed.

Leonard bent down and captured Paige's lips with his own, his mouth moving languidly with hers. At the same time, his hand was trailing over her legs, reaching between them to nudge them open. His finger breached her folds, gathering her arousal and spreading it around to prepare her to be able to take him.

Paige gasped at the unexpected intrusion, her hand immediately grasping Leonard's forearm to anchor herself. She rolled and bucked her hips as if by instinct, creating a friction that drove her passion to a higher level. Leonard continued with his ministrations, his thumb grazing her bundle of nerves and nearly sending her into orbit. "Oh, Leonard! Don't stop, please d-don't st-stop....fee-feels good," she babbled.

Leonard's mouth traced a path from Paige's lips to her jawline, then down the valley of her breasts and back to nip the skin at her neck. He inserted one finger into her tight, wet channel, quickly adding a second in a scissor-like motion to work her open. "Oh, baby, you look so beautiful like this, so receptive," he soothed. Seeing his wife's reactions to his caresses furthered his enjoyment as well.

As Leonard's fingers continued to stroke Paige in her most intimate area, she felt an unfamiliar, pressure-like sensation building in her lower body. "Leonard," she moaned. "Some--something's happening--" she panted.

Leonard realized Paige was close to reaching her peak. "Let go, sweetheart. Just relax and let it happen," he assured. He rocked his two fingers in and out of her, then pressed on her sweet spot with his thumb and watched her come apart. Her body writhed beneath him, while her legs shook with the intensity of her first ever orgasm. A series of incoherent babbles fell from her mouth, with Leonard's name dropping from her lips like a prayer.

While Paige was coming down from her high, it felt more like her soul was returning to her body, as if it was floating back to earth. Her breathing was gradually returning to normal, though she shuddered from oversensitivity when Leonard withdrew his hand. "Leonard, that was....it was unbelievable, you were incredible," she remarked breathily. As she looked down, Paige noticed that her husband was still in a state of arousal.

Leonard followed her gaze and reached over to take her hand in his. He rose up on his knees and guided Paige's hand to wrap around his throbbing member. He moved her hand up and down along the shaft, covering her thumb to help spread the moisture leaking from the tip. He relished not only the feeling created by the friction, but from having his wife's hand on his most sensitive part. "Just like that, baby. Ohhh, that feels so good, sweetheart," he whispered as his eyes closed in pleasure.

Paige kept moving her hand up and down, and Leonard soon let go once she got into a rhythm. When she tried to change the angle of her wrist, she twisted her hand as she stroked his velvety steel shaft. " "Darlin'...sugar...baby...angel," he chanted, followed by a drawn-out moan of satisfaction. "Whoa whoa, hold on a minute, sweetheart," he panted. "I want to be inside you," he remarked. "You know, like earlier with my fingers but--"

"With your....?" Paige's eyes dropped to view Leonard's aching manhood. He nodded, then she whispered, "Yes....please."

Leonard wasted no time moving to kneel between her legs, while Paige rolled over onto her back. She held her arms out in acceptance of what was about to happen as well as to embrace her lover, her husband. Paige knew a little more about what to expect based on her earlier experience, and she implicitly trusted Leonard to take care of her.

After lining himself up with her entrance, Leonard began to slowly push forward, inch by glorious inch. He kept his gaze on Paige, checking for any signs of discomfort. With it being her first time, there was a little pain to be expected, but he wanted to make sure there was no more than absolutely necessary.

As Leonard continued to press himself further within her walls, Paige took note of  how full she felt and the slight burn of the stretch as he moved inside her. When he was almost fully sheathed, she felt a pinch of pain, but it soon gave way to a pleasurable sensation. Leonard braced himself above her, an elbow on each side, so he didn't rest all of his weight on Paige.

When he had buried himself to the hilt within her, Leonard began to rock his hips to create a rhythm, which Paige met stroke for stroke. The friction between them elevated their desire for one another and built layers of passion, each one higher than the last. Leonard hooked Paige's legs around his hips, which changed the angle and allowed him to drive even deeper.

Blissful moans and whispers of praise and adoration reverberated filled the room as they edged towards their peaks. It wasn't long before Paige began to feel the pressure building in her lower body, as it did before. "Oh! Leonard--it's--I'm gonna--" she rambled. By now, Paige was clinging to Leonard like a koala, her legs locked behind him at the ankles, still meeting his thrusts.

"Almost there with you, darlin'," he panted as his hips rocked faster and increased the friction. Leonard reached between their bodies to rub circles around her bundle of nerves, which sent Paige tumbling over the edge with a shout of his name. Another few thrusts and he was following her, with spurts of his warm seed painting her velvety walls as he chanted her name.

Still connected, Leonard carefully rolled them over so they were on their sides, facing each other. A blissful smile graced Paige's face, prompting Leonard to wear one as well. They basked in the afterglow, holding each other, waiting for their breathing and heartbeats to return to normal.

Once they did, Leonard carefully eased himself out of her, then padded to the bathroom to clean up, returning with a washcloth to do the same for his wife. He draped the washcloth on the edge of the laundry basket then climbed back into bed with Paige. Leonard lay on his side, propped up on one elbow, his free hand grazing Paige's cheek. "You are so beautiful," he murmured.

"And you are the best and most incredible husband I could ever have asked for," she replied warmly. "I loved every second of today, especially the last part. When can we do that again?" she asked brightly.

Leonard chuckled lightly. "It's going to take me a little time to recover, sweetheart. Besides, I'm a bit tired from everything that went on today. Getting married to you," he grinned, tapping the end of her nose. "Celebrating afterwards with our friends, then carrying you through the door and makin' you mine," he remarked.

"Now that you mention it, I am somewhat tired myself," Paige admitted while trying to stifle a yawn. Her fingers threaded through his hair, then traced a path down the side of his face and came to rest by cradling his neck. She pressed a kiss to the end of his nose. "Goodnight, Leonard," she whispered.

Leonard in turn kissed her forehead, then her cheek before finally capturing her lips with his own. "Goodnight, Mrs. McCoy," he murmured softly.

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

Tags:

@marvelouslytrekking @writercole @spacedancer1701 @anna-phora @hlabounty96 @darkestfireee​ @rooweighton​ @phoenixisred​

[iloveschiaparelli]

Something that happens to me a lot is I just disappear from social media/social circles (go "off the radar") for several days/weeks at a time. I'm not talking about like instagram or tumblr I mean like snapchat, which is already only close friends, and I start missing friend hangouts/church all the time. Instead I stay active on youtube/tumblr/webtoon doomscrolling or reading copious amounts of comics. The reason is just that I get overly exhausted and can't handle the demands of social interaction, or my health tanks from exhaustion and I start missing hangouts because I'm at home asleep even though its 3 in the afternoon. My bones hurt. I feel icky and my stomach feels like I'm about 3 steps removed from throwing up.

This then leads to greater emotional distress, that being severe discontent with the state of my body, but since i lack the energy to correct it through activity, I'm instead trapped in a sensation of hopelessness and depression that additionally suppresses my appetite. It's a cycle of tiredness, not eating, getting more tired, eating even less. Before you know it, consuming any type of food gives me GI issues and now I'm avoiding all sorts of foods, which then in turn lessens nutrition. It's a mess! Anyway, all this just leads to huge amounts of exhaustion and my body not functioning the way it's intended to (on any sort of schedule), so I'm spending a disproportionate amount of time awake at night and asleep during the day.

Being on the radar reveals your waking hours: through posting times, message times, pictures, etc. And it's embarrassing to admit to people, especially those I'm not especially close with, just how screwed up my body is and my life and schedule. In addition, being exhausted and having irregular sleep ruins any type of posting schedule, streaks, etc. So I end up going off-radar. Nobody has any idea what I'm going through (except my roommates) because I have become invisible. But then I also miss huge events and disappear from other people's lives: I'm not just off-radar, I'm withdrawn, which leads to atrophy in friendships. It doesn't help that right now, for the summer, a lot of the regular hangouts I would normally go to like D&D and Wing Chun are either not meeting or I'm taking a break because, in the case of Wing Chun at least, the best times to doordash are coincidentally also the class times, and I have to prioritize making money to survive (I only came up $175 short this month! That's really good, I thought I was gonna be way more screwed. My mom is helping me cover the difference so that's good.)

Anyway, so all this combined means that when I finally have enough energy to interact with those friends again, they're way behind on my life events and I'm way behind on theirs. You know how hard it is to be at someone's wedding and have that be the time you tell your friend that you got dumped a month earlier???? Ummm it was super awkward..... but because the conversation had turned that way, I couldn't avoid letting it on. Thankfully that friend respected my wishes to keep it on the down-low for the rest of the day (I didn't want to affect the vibes at the wedding. Which ended up being fantastic btw.) But now, because I'm still really off-radar, me and that friend promised to talk about it later, but it's been nearly a month and we haven't spoken a word to each other.

Anyway, just a little rant(?) about how exhaustion/chronic issues can lead to unintentional social withdrawal.

[modestcatholiclife]

A Week of Progress & Small Victories

This week has been very rewarding. We're still leading up to Lent, my first time participating Lent, and it is a little daunting. Fasting from meat isn't fun but that is the point and it is doable. How I'm going to cope with this week after cheesefare is beyond me. I definitely don't think being vegan is in the cards for me at this time 😅.

On Wednesday, my fiance and I met up with our priest finally! We've been trying to find a time to talk about my baptism for months. Thankfully, he not only covered that during our talk but also our wedding plans and my fiance's interest in potentially changing rites. Because of the distance between us and general business of our lives, our priest and I will be doing catechism via email with the goal of having me ready for baptism by Pentecost! After that we'll be able to start talking marriage prep, which will take roughly 3-6 months so, hopefully, we'll be getting married before the end of this year. One of my fiance's friends has two other weddings to attend in November so we just have to pray that's not where we end up. I'd rather not put the wedding off any longer than necessary.

On Thursday, my fiance and I visited St. Volodymyr's in order to help with the changing over of the cloths. We weren't exactly the greatest help but there's a first time for everything and we can only get better from here. We got everything done in 3 hours and then sat down to chat in the parish hall with some coffee and very cold cookies from the fridge. On the walk home from the church, my fiance and I passed an appliance store that is always closed when we pass it on Sundays. This was the first time we've seen it open and the cat that lives in there (see my previous post for the photo) was very calm and friendly to the two strangers who like to stare at him through the glass. His name is Alex and he is honestly a very sturdy cat. Not fat, not skinny, very muscular actually.

On Sunday, we went to the 5pm mass at the local cathedral where we joined the choir! I'm not much of a singer but I really enjoy it and am willing to put the effort in to try and make my voice sound at least pleasant. This is a mass that a lot for young adults attend so our young adult group decided we should get more involved with it so that we can include the people that go there in community events. The mass was followed by vespers and then we all went out to dinner in honour of the priest who said the mass that night: a younger priest, in his thirties, who has been very involved in our young adult community and has begun a midweek mass at the local uni, who is moving on to another parish. It was a very lovely night, I got to catch up with people I haven't seen in several weeks, including one of the women there who is always very sweet to everyone. We had a great conversation. I got to talk a bit about my talk with our priest earlier in the week and about the wedding. She invited me to a weekly run some of the women do each Saturday. I won't be able to make it this week but I'd love to join them, even if I haven't physically ran in years and it'll probably kill me. She also offered to help me with fertility awareness, as that is the area she is qualified in which sounds like such a blessing. I'm feeling very hopeful for this year.

Today I've begun my Lenten fasts. My laptop has been put away which has helped me tremendously. I've done a load of laundry (not the single biggest achievement but it was long overdue) and completely tidied my room. Though this week without dairy will be tough, I'm looking forward to Lent as a whole.

Glory to Jesus Christ!

[streetlights-was-taken]

a bunch of fic ideas

I'm still sick but can't sleep, so rather than do my actual work I'll procrastinate by writing all my fic ideas so far (genshin only)

I can't say I'll do them all this year, or at all, since I'm a slow writer. but who knows?

anyway, in no particular order:

secondary gain (a treatise on life) — the dottonari ethics fic (with a side of scarae). I already outlined my ideas in its own tag but the main concept is about the clash of perspectives between dottore (boattore) (life-tolerating, scientifically idealist, wants to create something beyond human) and tighnari (life-affirming, scientifically pragmatic, affirms the humanity in all life). the segments also play a little game here, so we'll see some contrast between boattore and selfishtorre. finally, the underlying plot is that scaramouche consumes the divine knowledge capsules and the only way to save him and nahida lie with tighnari and aether.

Scaramouche consumes the Divine Knowledge Capsules earlier than expected, the segments play a little game, and Tighnari and Aether are caught in the middle of it all. Or: Dottore brings a most interesting patient unto Tighnari’s expertise. How do you medicate sleeping gods?

spooky action at a distance (we're in superposition baby) — a nonsense dream fic (think alice in wonderland) featuring kunikuzushi, venti, and aether during the time they were all asleep 500 years ago. kunikuzushi was put to sleep by ei; venti fell asleep after defeating durin; aether was asleep and sent forward in time by the sustainer of heavenly principles. the idea is that when they sleep, they enter a chaotic space. a special dream world that is more like a "probability space" that warps and changes based on its occupants, the events of the real world of teyvat, and so on.

"What is this place?" The music stops. The bard looks up from his lyre, momentarily taken aback. "Oh? It's rare for me to get visitors. Welcome! Thre's not much I can tell you. This place has no name and has no observers. Nothing makes sense here." Two glasses of wine appear in his hands. "Care for a drink, traveler?" Aether accepts the glass but doesn't drink. He eys the two clocks hanging from the sky, ominous and ever present. Flowers bloom from the cracks on the floor, the walls, the spaces between the bard's fingers. "Who are you?" The bard smiles. It's a nice smile. "This is your dream. Why don't you tell me?" 500 years of Venti visiting Aether in his dreams before he awakens in Teyvat. Or was it Aether who intrudes on Venti's dreams? In the world of slumber, nothing really matters, does it?

eclipse — the gender fic. academia/idol AU where albedo's research assistant, aether, is more than what he seems. I already have notes for this fic in its own tag.

FACE — the fashion heist revenge fic. fontaine fashion week is upon us, but someone in the shadows is creating a team whose whole purpose is to crash the most glamorous fashion event of the year. this idea is basically inspired by high society grifting scams (think anna delvey — the actual person not the netflix show, how to crash paris fashion week, faking a model to fashion week, faking as a billionaire, and so on). this one will probably lead me to a lot of research, so I'm putting this off until we get to fontaine in-game.

life in the rearview — a modern roadtrip fic featuring: meteorolgist!venti (who is a storm chaser), failed attempts at wedding planning, aliens, and a witch cult. albether are on a roadtrip to plan their wedding; venlumi hijacks the event and journeys with them around mondstadt. a bit of fake marriage going on (venlumi pretends to be engaged so they can do the cake tasting with albether), mostly a fluff fic with a stealth "reincarnation" plot at the end. this was an idea I had back in 2020 and I actually have a lot of worldbuilding notes for this. I might post those one day.

surface tension — modern spy AU. diluc's personal spy team that work as bartenders by day, undercover spies by night. featuring: criminal psychologist mona, intelligence officer albedo, field agents aether and lumine, etc. not sure what to do with this setting yet; my first thought is that it would just be the background for a quick albether oneshot with dom/sub undertones focusing on aether's hero complex and albedo being very meticulous with results/control. it could be the setting for a casefic as well, or some found family type of fic. depends on where this idea ends up.

There are occupational hazards that come with working under an underground spy network. Most agents find healthy ways to cope. Mona runs her cosomolgy blog, Fischl takes up ventriloquism, and Lumine has her idol boyfriend to distract her. Aether... doesn't cope. It falls on Albedo to take control of the situation

all the world's a stage — modern theater au. the immernachtreich theater produces plays based on ancient teyvat; however, the lives of the actors tend to parallel the story of the play they stay in. I haven't fully fleshed out the concept, but some examples are: enkanomiya's story with kokomi as the vishap experimentee, gorou as the guard assigned to the experiment, and kazuha as the person who wants to see the surface. sal vindagnyr's story with albedo as the princess painting the fresco and aether as the outlander. and so on. here are my notes from my phone: