#i wonder what happens if you try to bring horses into the apartments

[the-cooler-sidestep]

i slipped and bought sims 4: city living oops

[whitecreekvalley-if]

[ Demo TBA ] • Character descriptions • Pinterest •

Genres: Slice of life, drama, mystery, romance

WCV is rated 18+ for explicit language, violence, alcohol and drug use, and explicit sexual content.

Life's taken a nosedive—no apartment, no job, no friends. Desperation pushes you to cling to a chance from a kindly stranger offering a ticket to a town hidden beyond mountains and plains, a place people don't seek but always seem to need.

Welcome to Whitecreek Valley, where the Brass Pine Ranch needs your unique skills to mend a crumbling homestead, and a crumbling family. As you tackle the decay of the ranch and the town alongside the rancher's son, deeper troubles emerge—livestock falling ill sparks fears of a town on the brink of extinction. Can you navigate this community, help them rejuvenate, or will it become another link in the list of ghost towns of America's Wikipedia page?

FEATURES

Customization: Appearance, personality, gender & sexuality, what job they had before, their hobbies, etc. Choose how they feel about being a farmhand, how they're adjusting to the rural life, and - with your choices - how the town as a whole sees them. Are they part of the community or an perpetual outsider?

Skills: Depending on your previous job, you'll have a unique set of skills to help the community. Choose to learn new skills, like woodworking, bronc riding, or sheep shearing, to mention a few.

Animal husbandry: The distances around Whitecreek Valley are hefty, so it's necessary to have at least a horse to get around. Choose your favorite out of a cast of individual equines, each with their own personalities. Also, help a calf into this world and realize how fun it is to raise a baby cow! As long as you're in good standing with the rest of the herd, of course.

Rebuilding: Try your best to rebuild the Brass Pine ranch, and the town adjacent. The better job you manage, the more opportunities (and challenges) come your way.

Community outreach: A dying town is still home, and there are stories to be heard, problems to solve. Lend a helping hand to your new community and see how one kindness can pay itself back.

Romance: Not everyone in town is adverse to strangers, and if your heart yearns romance, there is a chance for a spark along the way. Just be careful as to who you're trying to woo in front of whom. Small town gossips, we've all seen it.

Mystery: There's something hanging over the valley, like a rot in the air. Why are people moving out? Why are exports not moving out? And who's behind the animals getting sick? Don you detective hat and lend a hand to the entire four local police officers working the bizarre case.

THE LOCALS (RO'S)

THE RANCHER'S SON

Mason "Mace" Gannon - 27 - he/him

He used to be so much fun. I miss hanging out with him, out by the bonfires. He'd always make everyone feel so included and happy, and oh, that homemade cider he'd bring? Warmed us up on those chilly late fall nights, when we had nothing else to do. Did I tell you about the time he got us all to go skinny dipping? He was such a charmer, I wonder --

Imagine Mace as your human golden retriever – the guy who's a blast to be around, a bit mischievous, and the first to rush to your aid whenever you need it. After being gone for five years to live his rodeo dreams, he's back, now the sole caretaker of the family ranch in his hometown. He goes to great lengths to keep his personal issues personal, and it's the butt of many jokes how he's always there to help others but has the worst time asking for help himself.

He's you boss, and probably one of the best you'll ever get. Just don't pay mind to the spats between him and his dad.

THE BARTENDER

Alice Marks - 25 - she/her

Alice, she's a feisty one! Like her poppa, rest his soul. How I love the drinks she comes up with at the bar, and that horse of hers! She could go into rodeo, but I don't think after what happened with her pa... Oh, but she's a wonder! Always there with a quip, how they drive her suitors mad. Good thing she stopped with the talk about moving away, the town would be so dull without her!

Alice is the town's most known inhabitant, running the show from the only bar in town, which she just happens to own. Her mind is like a machine for fun, and she's the brain behind all the pop-up events and happenings around town. Sure, she can be a bit like a hurricane of enthusiasm, but hey, that's Alice for you. If the town had a social heartbeat, it'd be Alice – the vibrant, smartass soul making everyday life feel like a blessing.

THE DEPUTY

Word of the wise: Never challenge Alice to a drinking game. You will lose, spectacularly, and it'll all be on film.

Judge Gannon - 34 - he/him

Judge is a bit strange, don't you think? He just vanished as soon as he turned eighteen and popped back out of nowhere! That must've been, let's see... Five years ago? He doesn't spend much time with us commoners though, but I think I've seen him at the bar once or twice. I don't actually think he knows how to make nice with people, he always has that glower on. Gets it from his dad, let me tell you --

Bold and straight to the point, Judge isn't out here trying to be intimidating – it just kinda happens. If his brother is a golden retriever, he's definitely the doberman of the family. He's got this brash, no-nonsense vibe that some folks mistake for arrogance, especially when they try laying on the charm and he's not having it. He steers clear of small talk unless it involves his job, and when duty calls, he's more than ready to throw down to protect his town and county.

There's this local urban legend that he cracked a smile once, but it's like spotting a unicorn – not everyone's buying it.

THE LAWYER

Mercedes "Sadie" Diáz - 32 - she/her

The new girl, yes! Oh, a beauty! And so curious. I do love sitting down with her though, oh the stories she brings from the big city, so intriguing! I hear she finds our town intriguing too, the mayor once - don't tell anyone I told you this - the mayor once said he caught her breaking into the city hall archives! I know, scandalous, but good on her, maybe now someone will argue that my neighbors fence post --

Sadie, the big-shot lawyer from the city, doing her solo act in town. When she's not in court, folks are lining up just to get a piece of the urban tales she's got. A trailblazer and truth-seeker, she's got this knack for poking her nose where it probably shouldn't be, and surprise, she knows more local secrets than the town gossip. Sure, she's all passionate and calculated, a bit out of sync with the town's warmth, but hey, that logical mind of hers might just shake things up and get the town back on track.

It's a well known fact that she could get access to places with the right documents, but she herself has said it's more fun to pick locks. Go figure.

LIST OF MAJOR NPCs

LIST OF MINOR NPCs

[jxncywarrior]

Stranger Things characters and ships as Taylor Swift Albums

Part Two: Fearless (Taylor’s Version)

*Disclaimer: I’m tagging all the ships and characters featured. I’m gonna try not to be biased. MOST of these are strictly based on canon. No hate to ANY ships or shippers.*

Fearless: Jancy (Nancy’s POV)

“Well you stood there with me in the doorway…It's the first kiss, it's flawless, really something, it's fearless”

Fifteen: Will

“In your life you'll do things greater than dating the boy on the football team but I didn't know it at fifteen”

Love Story: Lumax (Max’s POV)

“Romeo, save me, they're tryna tell me how to feel. This love is difficult, but it's real. Don't be afraid, we'll make it out of this mess”

Hey Stephen: Stancy (Steve’s POV)

“Hey Stephen, I could give you 50 reasons why I should be the one you choose”

White Horse: Byers Brothers to Lonnie

“I was a dreamer before you went and let me down. Now it's too late for you and your white horse”

You Belong With Me: Byler (Will’s POV)

“I'm the one who makes you laugh when you know you're 'bout to cry”

Breathe: El to Hopper

“Cause it's tragedy and it'll only bring you down. Now I don't know what to be without you around”

Tell Me Why: Max to Billy

“I need you like a heartbeat but you know you got a mean streak. Makes me run for cover when you're around”

You’re Not Sorry: Mileven (El’s POV)

“You got your share of secrets and I'm tired of being last to know”

The Way I Loved You: Jopper (Joyce’s POV)

“Breaking down and coming undone. It's a roller coaster kind of rush. And I never knew I could feel that much”

Forever & Always: Byler (Will’s POV)

“Oh, and it rains in your bedroom. Everything is wrong It rains when you're here and it rains when you're gone”

The Best Day: Will to Jonathan

“know you were on my side even when I was wrong. And I love you for giving me your eyes. Staying back and watching me shine”

Change: The Upside Down

“These walls that they put up to hold us back will fall down. It's a revolution, the time will come for us to finally win and we'll sing hallelujah, we'll sing hallelujah”

Jump Then Fall: Lumax (Lucas’ POV)

“I realize your laugh is the best sound I have ever heard”

Untouchable: Byler (Will’s POV)

“It's like a million little stars spelling out your name. You gotta come on, come on. Say that we'll be together”

Come In With The Rain: Elmax (El’s POV)

“I've watched you so long, screamed your name. I don't know what else I can say”

Superstar: Steddie (Eddie’s POV)

“And all the girls in the front row scream your name”

The Other Side Of The Door: Jancy (Nancy’s POV)

“You carried me from your car up the stairs. And I broke down crying, was she worth this mess?”

Today Was A Fairytale: Jopper (Joyce’s POV)

“Can you feel this magic in the air? It must have been the way you kissed me”

You All Over Me: Stancy (Steve’s POV)

“I lived, and I learned. Had you, got burned”

Mr Perfectly Fine: Mileven (El’s POV)

“But that was when I got to know Mr. "Change of heart" Mr. "Leaves me all alone, " I fall apart. It takes everything in me just to get up each day. But it's wonderful to see that you're okay”

We Were Happy: Lumax (Max’s POV)

“No one could touch the way we laughed in the dark”

That’s When: Stonathan (Jonathan’s POV)

“I said, "I know" when you said, "I did you wrong, made mistakes and put you through all of this"”

Don’t You: Stancy (Steve’s POV)

“Don't you smile at me and ask me how I've been. Don't you say you've missed me if you don't want me again. You don't know how much I feel I love you still”

Bye Bye Baby: Stancy (Steve’s POV)

“I want you bad but it's come down to nothing and all I have is your sympathy”

If This Was A Movie: Stancy (Steve’s POV)

“I know people change and these things happen but I remember how it was back then”

Links to other parts of this series: Debut, Speak Now, Red, 1989, reputation, Lover, folklore, evermore

[succubusphan]

Two Man Team - Chapter 10

Summary: This is the story of two struggling friends who after many trials and tribulations find their way back to each other and build the life they've always dreamed of.

Or how Phil changed his life by talking to random strangers on the internet.

Rating: E

Tags/warnings: Friends to lovers, Friends with benefits, mental health issues (mainly anxiety), Slow burn, Dan is a psych student. Canon divergence (the timeline is altered and some things never happened), Slutty Phil, Angst with a happy ending. The fic spans many years.

Author's Note: Written for the OSPBB 2023 @oldschoolpbb. Thank you @effingmeteors for being my life saviour and beta as usual and to my artist Lin @anironsidh.

Edits and the art will be added at some point, we are busy bees.

POSTING EVERY DAY UNTIL IT'S COMPLETED.

Total Word Count: 75k ish

Read on Ao3

CHAPTER 10: Wild Horses

The following morning, Noah and Mark made him breakfast and hugged him before leaving for work. Phil smiled at the thought that Mark and Noah sometimes acted like his stand-in parents; he was glad that they never made him feel like a third wheel and that Noah was so wonderful, just accepting their friendship and joining instead of trying to break them apart.

Taking a deep breath, Phil thought about the day ahead. He was not going to check his phone for any sign of Dan because he knew that it would probably take a few days for him to reach out. If he put it into his head that today was the day Dan would text, he would only get anxious. Instead, he went for a morning walk after breakfast, bought lunch and came back home to work on his next video. He considered it for a moment. If Dan really wanted to go on with the project he’d mentioned, it would bring his own sexuality into question, so why not take the opportunity to make a coming out video of his own?

To be fair, Phil wasn’t really in the closet, everyone knew. Or most people knew anyway, he just didn’t announce it. Maybe it was time for a change. 

He grabbed a notebook and started the script titled “Coming Out To You.” It was a bit sassy but it was the truth; Phil wasn’t coming out in general, this was just for his viewers, for them to know a bit more about him, to feel loved and accepted, and to open the door to that conversation. This would come with the added bonus of finally being able to make gay jokes on his channel and it would also probably cost him some sponsors, but if he couldn’t afford to come out with so many subscribers and after 10 years on the platform, what was the point?

He made this script his lifeline, a mental escape from his reality and the imminent wrecking ball to his mental stability that Dan’s text could potentially be. He paused briefly to consider what he would do if Dan backed out of his own project or on wanting to name Phil. He decided that he had made himself to focus on the video so much that he was going to work on it anyway.

It took 3 more days for Dan to contact him. By Sunday, Phil was starting to worry, despite his attempt to avoid thinking about Dan. Maybe the problem was that the script was ready and he had even chosen an outfit to film in. Luckily, just as he was finishing his lunch, Dan texted through Messenger.

“Hey, can we talk?”

“Alright,” Phil replied.

“Really? Just like that?”

“That’s what we agreed on when we last spoke and my friends think that I should talk to you.”

“Mark?” Dan asked and Phil could hear the jealous tone even in written form.

Phil rolled his eyes. “Partially. His boyfriend said that we should talk. Mark didn’t comment on it but said that he would break your legs if you hurt me.”

“I see,” Dan replied. “Where would you like to meet?”

“You can come to my flat.”

“Does Mark still live with you? I need my legs.”

“Planning on hurting me?”

“Technically I already have so I am looking out for myself.”

“I like how you used technically right there.”

“I feel like if we continue this conversation in writing it will not end well for me, so please give me your address and let me know when I can come over.”

Phil sent his address and paused for a moment. “You can come over today, any time that works for you.”

“Thank you. I will take a shower and take a taxi.” 

Phil reacted to the message with crazy eyes.

“Don’t react me,” Dan said, making him laugh.

An hour and a half later, the doorbell rang and Phil checked himself in the mirror before opening the door. “Hi,” he said, sounding almost shy.

Dan smiled at him, probably relieved to see that Phil was not immediately angry at him. “Hi,” he said and handed him a Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks. 

Phil looked at his cup and thought back to the endless hours they had shared at Starbucks back in Manchester. “Thank you.”

“I just figured this would make it so you don’t have to keep making us drinks that we forget to drink,” Dan said and stepped inside, looking around already. “This is nice.”

Phil resisted the urge to remind Dan that this was supposed to be their shared flat. He had never sent Dan the link to the ad because he was already distant towards him. “Yeah.”

“I’m glad that YouTube has been good to you.”

He smiled and didn’t comment.

“What?” Dan asked.

“Nothing.”

Dan raised one eyebrow at him. “Really, Lester?”

Phil sighed. “I moved into this apartment in 2013 to take the job at the BBC and paid one year of rent upfront in cash with my savings.”

“Oh, this is the one… I didn’t know. You don’t really show your flat a lot in videos.”

Phil’s lips formed a tiny O as he caught onto that tidbit of information. “So you still watch my videos.”

Dan blushed. “I’ve always been your fan,” he said, and for once, he wasn’t being sarcastic or trying to sound edgy. “Are we going to sit somewhere or are we just going to stand here by the door?”

Phil rolled his eyes. “Come on. Let’s sit on the sofa and drink these before they go cold.” He took a few sips as they walked for good measure. Phil let Dan sit and joined him on the sofa, taking a spot near him, but leaning back against the armrest to avoid any awkward touching. Besides, from this spot, he could really look at Dan without it being so obvious. His eyes followed the outline of Dan’s nose, his dry lips, his rosy patch and all the way down to his black sequin jacket that was catching the afternoon sun and projecting rainbows around the room. 

“So…” Dan said.

Phil stayed silent and just gave him a look, indicating that he should start.

Dan swallowed and gave a small nod. “I gave your analysis of everything a lot of thought and I couldn’t untangle it alone, so I called my therapist and booked an emergency session, which turned into almost 3 and then I continued on my own,” he said. “I believe you were right. I thought that I had everything fairly processed so this caught me off guard. I was so mad at myself for not seeing it sooner.”

“I’m glad that you agree.”

“This whole situation, meeting you in a random street in London… it brought so many memories and, honestly, so many issues back.” He took a sip of his drink and continued, his eyes looking around the room, avoiding Phil’s eyes. “I thought that I had it together and I liked the life I was living, but then I saw you and - I’m not over you.” He finally looked into Phil’s eyes with an openness that made Phil shiver. “It was so easy to see when I was not focusing on helping other people, when you were no longer just part of my past, so I had a mental breakdown.”

Phil tried not to smile but failed miserably. Even if it amounted to nothing, and even though he might not have wanted to admit it to himself the first time he heard it, he was happy to know that Dan still had feelings for him. It almost sounded too good to be true.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?” Dan asked, frowning.

“I am saying many things - inside my head.” He sipped on his coffee and set it back on the coffee table.

“Care to share with the class?”

“Fine,” Phil huffed. “I thought that I was over you because I’ve tried my best to not even think about you, but Noah said that it’s obvious that I have not moved on and other things I am not going to repeat. And I realised that he’s right.” He paused, doubting on whether he should really say it but seeing Dan in front of him, nearly holding his breath, made him take that leap of faith. “I had managed to convince myself that everything was fine, but no. Happy?”

“Very,” Dan said with a gorgeous smile. “Do you think we can try again? I would like to see where this goes and if it doesn’t work out, I would still like to stay friends.” He reached out once again, just like he had a few days ago, waiting for Phil’s reaction.

Phil looked at him, hesitating briefly and nodded, taking Dan’s hand and lacing their fingers together before setting their joined hands on his leg. Then, a thought crossed his mind. “What about Sebastian?” he asked. “Isn’t he your boyfriend?” 

“Not anymore. I thought I was happy with him, but there was never a chance that I would choose him over you and he knew that even before me,” Dan said, chewing on his lip for a moment. “He actually broke up with me before I could even think about it.”

“Oh,” Phil said, trying to not sound happy about it.

“He was right to break up with me,” Dan said, downing the rest of his coffee and setting the cup down. “It’s ok. When I came home from the play and he had moved out I felt relief. That’s a horrible thing to say, Phil. But it’s the truth.”

“How long had you been together?”

“Almost a year.”

“Never made it that long with anyone,” Phil blurted out before he could stop himself.

“Really?” Dan frowned.

“They weren’t you,” Phil said, watching Dan’s gleeful smile appear at the comment. “I stopped going out, I stopped hooking up with random guys. At this point, I could almost qualify as a virgin again.”

Dan smirked and his eyes darkened. “I doubt that.”

Phil knew that look well. “Behave,” he said, squeezing Dan’s hand. “We can’t just pick up where we left off. Things don’t work that way. Last time we rushed into it and it got complicated.”

“That’s true but -” Dan pouted.

“No buts. Let’s just hang out and see how we feel about it. See where it goes, if it goes anywhere.”

“Alright,” Dan said, but the air around them was still charged. “Let’s play some games.”

Phil smiled and let out a sigh of relief, he was hanging onto the will to resist Dan’s lustful eyes from a thread. He wanted it too, but not just for a day. He wasn’t going to repeat that mistake. There was still a chance that Dan would freak out again. He reluctantly let go of Dan’s hand. “Mario Kart?”

“Always,” Dan smiled.

Phil turned the console on and reached for his coffee, downing the last third of it.

“You still haven’t finished it?”

“No, you know I forget I’m drinking something and I finish it when I remember it.” He grabbed a cup containing half of his morning coffee and finished it as well just to prove a point. “This was my breakfast.”

“Come on, man!” Dan said. “Get it together!”

Phil winked at him with both eyes, sending Dan into a fit of laughter. Fuck, Phil had missed that sound. The hyena laugh.

To the surprise of no one, Dan won most of the races until Phil decided to slide closer to him and lay partially against him. Slowly but surely, Dan started to shift his attention from the game towards Phil, giving him little touches, playing with his hair and eventually, just pulling him to sit on his lap. That was the moment they dropped the controllers and just put on a random Studio Ghibli movie. 

Dan was fully enjoying messing with Phil’s hair, giving him odd hairdos. He ran his fingers through it, pushing it into a quiff. “I like your hair pushed back.”

“Did you just quote Regina George to me?”

Dan barked out a laugh. “I think I did.”

“I know you did,” Phil said, poking Dan’s tummy. It was so soft. Phil wanted to lift his T-shirt and look at it.

“You look so gorgeous, Phil,” Dan mumbled. “I hope you don’t mind me saying it. You were always hot but right now you’re just stunning. I can’t cope with that.”

“Me?” Phil said and paused. If he told Dan what he was thinking about his body, things were going to get out of hand, so he reformulated. “Your curly hair suits you so well and your back looks so good too. You look so strong now.”

“Thanks, I think I finally hit puberty,” Dan laughed. “Do you really like my hair like this?”

Phil nodded. “It’s perfect. So pretty,” he said looking at Dan over his shoulder.

Dan wrapped his arms around Phil’s frame and dropped a small kiss to the tip of his nose.

Phil pressed his back to Dan’s chest and dropped his head back just so, their breaths mixing together as they got lost in each other’s eyes, the moment held them captive. Phil swallowed and cleared his throat, giving him a wide smile before looking away. It was not time yet. “How is your video idea coming along?” he asked instead.

“I paused it until we could discuss it again.”

“I like it a lot. I started a script of my own.”

“Oh?”

Phil finally got up from Dan’s lap and went in search of his notebook. He found it laying on his bed, uncapped pen at its side and everything. No, there was not a blue dot on his sheets, thank you for asking. “Here,” he said, handing it over to Dan.

Dan’s eyes widened when he read the title but he kept going, laughing here and there until he reached the end and looked up at Phil. “I love it. It’s much more detailed than your usual draft. Or - more detailed than what you used to write long ago.”

“I still draft the same way, it’s just for this project. I want to say the right thing and keep it brief, you know?”

Dan nodded. “I was thinking about hiring an editor, some are not as expensive as I’d thought. And for visuals… Do you remember Hector from Shittywatercolour? The one who made illustrations of us back in the day? I contacted him and can you believe that he agreed to do some illustrations for it?” He let out a deep sigh and shook his head, twirling a paper napkin between his fingers. “There are almost no people following me anymore, I’m below a million, so this is just for me. I need this video, or a part of me will always feel inside the closet no matter what  I do.”

“ I understand,” Phil said. “Are you scared of your family’s reaction?”

Dan shook his head. “I emailed them last week.”

“What?”

“I kept backing out so one day I just sent them all an email. Everyone was cool except for my dad, so I cut him out of my life. No surprise there. Nana and Popsie said that it’s ok as long as I’m happy but I think they don’t get it. Hopefully they will soon so that I can flaunt you at family gatherings and vacations.”

“Really?” Phil asked. He could almost picture that, but Dan was getting a bit ahead of himself.

“Yeah,” Dan said. “For now, I would like to flaunt you in a few weeks, if you’d like to go see my play. It’s called ‘Family Disaster’ and it’s about a family crumbling as one of its members spirals. The narrator is the person spiralling so things get a bit crazy and abstract at times.”

“Sounds interesting,” Phil said. “Of course I’ll be there.”

“Thank you, Philly,” Dan said, kissing his cheek quickly.

Phil felt his heart grow twice its size inside his chest just from hearing Dan calling him Philly again.

----

Phil both loved and hated the fact that he and Dan were so compatible, now maybe even more so than before. Having grown as individuals had given them a sort of new perspective on life, yet their opinions, their humour and even their flirting had followed the same path. It was almost as if they were soulmates, just as Dan had said in the past, despite insisting that he didn't believe in any of that.

In the following weeks, proofreading and reworking Dan’s script for his “June Video��� was easily overtaking his life. Dan’s passion was just that infectious and it seeped into Phil’s soul, making him even more excited over his own coming out video. At first, he didn’t want to show Dan his work because they were very different videos but Dan was so eager to see it that Phil just couldn’t deny him. 

“So you’re filming it literally inside the closet,” Dan snorted. 

“I thought the old-time viewers would appreciate the irony,” Phil said with a smirk. 

Dan leaned in for a quick peck on the cheek. “I do appreciate it, thank you for thinking about my preferences.”

“Dork.” Phil felt himself blush and couldn’t help but smile like an idiot. It was all so new yet so familiar. They were officially doing a take two on their friendship but after some debating, they decided that certain things were allowed, such as hugging, cuddling and oftentimes, hand-holding, although not in public. “I was thinking, do you think it’s still alright for me to go see your play? I mean, if we are trying to be low-key about it.”

“I doubt that anyone we know will go see it and actually notice you in the crowd,” Dan said. “But if you feel unsure about it you don’t have to go. We can totally skip that and I can come over after, if you let me have a shower though; I’ll be a sweaty boy.”

“No, it’s not that I’m unsure about it,” Phil rushed to reassure Dan. “It’s just that-” he stopped himself, not wanting to plant the seed in Dan’s mind.

“What? You can tell me,” Dan said softly.

Phil knew he would confess all his secrets to Dan if he asked in that tone. He sounded calm, open, honest, ready to discuss things maturely and willing to listen carefully. “I am a bit hesitant because… I fear that you will freak out if someone realises I’m there, and I don’t want that to happen. I want to avoid any setbacks.”

Dan nodded. “I understand, but I don’t think I will. I know that the chance always exists but I know the chance exists, but even if it were to happen, I’m ready.”

Phil pulled him into a tight hug and smiled widely, slowly swaying from side to side, taking his time to let Dan know how proud of him he was without a single word. He pressed a kiss to Dan’s shoulder. “Look for me in the audience.”

“I never stopped looking,” Dan whispered.

---

When the day for Dan’s last show came, and with the support of his friends, Phil was ready to watch the play. He, along with Mark and Noah, sneaked almost last to a decent sized theatre and took their seats in the gallery, waiting for Dan to make an appearance. 

Phil was in awe, his eyes fixated on Dan as he did such an amazing job of fleshing out his character's emotions, putting his entire body into it and not only relying on the dialogue. It was a sad play but it had a hopeful ending as ‘Tom’ underwent treatment for his mental disorder, which had gone unnamed the entire play and the family sat down to eat in a much calmer way, the lighting brighter, reminiscing of a summer afternoon in contrast to the dark and moody ambient from before.

The lights were on and the entire cast came out to bow for their audience. Phil stood and joined the crowd in the final applause. Only then did he tear his eyes away from Dan and saw Noah and Mark at his side, clapping and giving him a knowing look. 

Looking back to the stage, Phil made eye contact with Dan, who winked at him and made a head incline. Phil smiled, feeling as if the butterflies in his stomach were going to fly out of his mouth at any given moment.

Noah leaned closer. “I liked the idea of going out to dinner and finally meeting Dan but it looks like you might want some privacy.”

Phil raised one eyebrow at him and blushed but didn’t address the comment. “We can go out to dinner as we agreed.”

“Please, he has managed to sneak looks your way the entire time,” Mark said. “We can go out some other time, I’m sure he’ll stick around.”

“Really?” Phil asked. “I thought I was imagining it.”

“No, it was obvious if you knew what to look for. He was smart about it,” Noah said. “He’s a good actor.”

Phil nodded proudly. “He was a theatre kid.”

“That makes sense,” Noah said. “Well, we’ll see you another time. Keep us updated.”

Mark wrapped his arms around Noah, setting his chin on his shoulder happily. “Remind him what I said. He better be good to you.”

“Shush,” Phil said, rolling his eyes. He looked down at the stage and found Dan still staring at him with a huge smile.

----

Phil stayed in his seat until most people had left the theatre and only then went in search of  Dan at the back entrance. He whispered a brief hello and grabbed Phil’s hand, catching him by surprise, and led him to a taxi. Once they were sitting inside, Dan just blurted Phil’s address and turned to look at him with wide eyes. “Is that alright? Sorry, I’m just tired and since your friends left I figured we could stay in.”

“Of course. Pizza and Mario Kart sound good?”

Dan let out a breathy laugh. “You know me so well,” he said, wrapping one arm around Phil’s frame.

Letting his head rest on Dan’s shoulder, Phil relaxed and kept thinking about what he’d seen on stage. Dan was born to be in the spotlight, it’s where he looked more comfortable and at peace. 

“What did you think of it?” Dan asked.

“You were amazing and the play was very interesting. It was very creative.”

“Hmm, Is that a good thing?”

“It is. I could tell that you put some of your psych knowledge into it. It was a nice metaphor on mental health and the impact it has on the person and their family.”

Dan nodded happily and stared straight ahead. “Can I still take that shower?”

“Sure,” Phil said, begging his mind to stop in its tracks. He looked at a droplet of sweat, or perhaps it was water, that fell from Dan’s hair and ran down his neck, disappearing under his white shirt.

Dan pinched Phil’s leg when he tried to pay the taxi, paying it himself instead and helping Phil out of the car. Once they were in the flat, Dan pulled him into a tight hug and stared into his soul for a moment before pressing their lips together. The fireworks igniting in Phil’s body were threatening with setting him on fire. They moved slowly, tentatively, but Phil could feel Dan’s love for him in every touch of their lips, in every sigh, in the way Dan’s hand rested on his neck softly. 

Dan was relentless and it was starting to affect Phil, the heat rising within him by the second. It was too soon for that. Phil stepped away and smiled when he caught Dan’s lips chasing after him. “You can use anything from my closet, the shower is down the hall.”

“Sorry,” Dan mumbled, blushing slightly and running upstairs, presumably to Phil’s bedroom in search of clothes. 

Phil pulled his phone out and called Domino’s ordering what used to be their usual. He then went to the living room to set the console and the plates before sitting on the couch for a bit. He was startled by a hand on his shoulder but relaxed when he opened his eyes and saw Dan, his hair still dripping from the shower, wearing his cookie monster pyjama pants and his York hoodie. That pulled at his heartstrings; Dan had always loved to wear that hoodie. “Did I fall asleep?”

“You did,” Dan laughed and pointed at the pizza on the coffee table.

“Fuck, I missed the doorbell?” Phil mumbled.

“It’s fine, it was a funny interaction with the delivery guy. I came out in a towel.”

“You went all the way down in a towel?” Phil asked with wide eyes. 

“No! Oh my god!” Dan snorted. “I buzzed him in and got the door here. Still an unsettling view for the poor guy though.”

Phil rolled his eyes. “Unsettling, right.” He paused. “Have you considered being a model?”

“Are you serious? I could never! I look like a potato.”

“Shut up, you’re gorgeous!”

“I don’t see it,” said Dan and Phil was sad to look into his eyes and realise that he still believed that. “Don’t give me that face,” he said.

“I just think you’re so beautiful and I wish you could see it. I wish you could see yourself through my eyes,” Phil said, still trying to find the right words.

“I’m working on it... Baby steps,” Dan said and shoved him to the side unceremoniously to fit at his side. 

“What’s wrong?” Dan asked, his brow furrowed with worry.

Phil poked his side and smiled at Dan’s childishness. As the night progressed, they melted deeper and deeper into the couch until Phil checked his phone and his stomach dropped at the amount of Twitter notifications. He hadn’t posted anything for a few days, this couldn’t be good news.

“Is this 2012? My 13 year old self is crying tears of joy! My ship is sailing! @amazingphil @danielhowell” Attached to the tweet were three pictures. One taken from Phil’s back as he watched Dan on stage, one zoomed in from across the street as Dan guided him to the taxi and another at the first stoplight where Dan had already settled his arm on Phil’s shoulder.

[villainsimpqueen]

THE BARREN LANDS | AVATAR FANFIC

Miles x Reader

All my fanfics are 18 plus only

CHAPTER FIVE

 You awoke just before dawn, just before the sun will break over the sandy lands and bring its heat. You turned to face the male who slept a few feet away from you and moved over to wake him.  You both would need to get a move on, you could smell the wind changes and soon this area will be caught in sand storms. You moved your hand to wake the male but jumped startled when his bright green eyes opened and laid attentive on you.

You both paused amber meeting green. 

Like a sun meeting freshly bloomed sprouts. 

"'Come, time to move on."' You whispered to the male before climbing out of the den gathering your things. He didn't take long and did not make a sound as you both geared up to leave. You noticed his bare feet and wondered where his weird feet hidings were. To your shock he didn't seem bothered about them and he focused on getting sand out of his lower garments and hood. 

"'Come"' You told him again ready to take the lead but when you turned to face him you paused. He was holding his strange noisy weapon in his hands. A distant look in his eyes as he looked at it.  Your ears twitched and you felt a sense of pity for him. Did he miss his clan? What had happened to them? Was he truly banished or was he just lost? You wish he spoke in your tongue, you craved answers to your questions. 

"'Come!"' you beckoned the male again and he looked up at you from the weapon before glancing down and squatting down by the hole. You gave him a confused glance as you watched him slide it under the rocks into the soon to be abandoned den. Your ears perked and your eyes widened at him as his face seemed to be full of emotion. A silent battle going through it as he stood up and looked at you. He began to walk over, and it was like you could see something change within him.

"'come"" you softly told him to pull him along, you noticed how he looked as if he wanted to say something but was unsure.

"'I follow you."' You spoke to him, placing a hand to his chest making a gesture of him following you. 

You noticed a slight quirk of his lips and his tail swayed some as his ears perked up.

"'I follow you."' He repeated back to you.

and Miles did. 

For next few months he followed you through the lands, learning what you taught him and adapting to the lands harsher climate.  

Hunting had become his favorite thing to do again, and it turns out you both made quite a team in hunting. 

He moved quickly to the flank side of a herd of camels like horses. He could hear your call from the otherside. He go ready as he made a call back. 

The heads of the beasts moved trying to see what made the noise, it wouldnt matter as miles heard another one of you calls before the animals went into a panic and frenzy to run. Miles pushed himself to run on the other side forcing them to panic and run back towards you, his eyes scanned the heard ears flickering around until he saw it. The inner circle where the young and weak stayed hidden from predators. He broke through into the circle breaking them apart from the herd, He learned to let the young ones flee and hunt down the slowest adult and which he did by chasing it from the herd. 

He saw a flash of grayish blue skin come from his right and watched as the animal was shoved into the sand from the sudden attack. Your teeth bared and your dagger struck down deeply into its chest. The animals panting soon died and so did its pain. You both painted from the hunt but silence surrounded you both, Miles moved to you placing a hand over yours on your dagger. He could see in his peripheral vision you looking at him. He moved his forehead to the animal and he could see a sense of pride come over you as you then moved to do the same.

"'May eywa be with you."' Miles spoke to the dead beast, thanking it for its life to continue his own and yours as well as the food it will provide for a while.

"'May eywa be with you."' Your voice echoed your own thanks. You moved away, removing your dagger before handing it to him.

"'You prepare the food."' You told him before getting up to go scavenge up some sticks.

Miles made a noise of amusement and moved to get the meal you both would share prepared. When you arrived you sat by him spearing cuts of meat onto the sticks which then you moved to dry on hot rocks for the sun to dry out. 

Miles prepared the bit you both were to eat in a skull bowl mixing the raw meat with spiced bark roots you had showed him to find in the last oasis you both found roughly a few months ago if he was reading the full moons correctly that is. Once he saw you place the last stick of cut meat to dry out on the rocks he made a noise to call you over. 

He watched as you moved to sit in front of him as he moved the skull bowl in the middle of you both. 

He waited for you to grab the first bite, starting the meal but you only stared at him…He felt a sense of surprised as he gestured to himself as in to say 'me?'. You simply  gave him a court nod and Miles felt a strong sense of pride as he grabbed the first bite, he brought the spiced blood piece of meat to his lips and slid it into his mouth where it continued to watered closing his eyes he savored its taste. The taste of iron with a twang of the spices  settled on his tongue causing a groan to leave him as he began to chew the soft tender meat. Swallowing he opened his eye to see you amber ones watching him a small smile on your face. Miles grinned back before pushing rhe bowl towards you. The pride filling him as he finnaly told you to

"'eat."' 

You both enjoyed yalls meal together, savoring each bite of cut meat. Miles looked over at you, at your fram and at your tail. He noticed a long while ago you didn't need water as much as him nor food,while it was welcomed you could go long periods of time without both. He noticed when you had too, due to him being clumsy in hunting your frame would lose inches from your hefty build and your tail would thin down. He now caught on to why your tail was so much thicker than his, and it reminded him of certain animals he's heard about from earth. A possum being one of them. Possums could store benefitting fat and protein in their tails, when they were forced to go a while without food that fat and protein would be broken down by its body to continue to 'feed' the animal's body, this caused their tails to go thin until they could find a sourceable food. 

 Now that he was no longer like a child in hunting he didn't see your body's frame thin down and how your tail stayed thicker and healthier. It filled him with a sense of pride and a responsibility to make sure you were well taken care of as well. He made sure to provide you food and offered sips of his water anytime he got a drink. 

He watched you lick droplets kf blood from your lips as you bite into another fingerfull of meat. He felt a surge go through him and his tail swayed as you ate the meal you both hunted and shared. 

'beautiful.' He thought as he stared at you. He then shook his head pushing the thought away and focused on eating. 

You both would be staying here long and would need to get a move on to find shelter. He looked over at the rocks where the meat was drying out. He could build a den  underneath one of them for you both to sleep in for the night.  He looked at you, the woman who saved him and was teaching him how to survive out here, he had a strong sense of respect for you now….and yet….

"'What is…your"' He began and paused, catching your attention…He didn't know how to say that word and it frustrated him.

"'Who..are..you?"' He spoke slowly but it was more with care since he didn't want you to misunderstand him, he had messed up words which caused you to whack him more harshly. You had been so flustered then and hewad confused on what he had said to cause you to be so embarrassed…He didnt want to makr that mistake again. 

Your ears perked up as you stared at him, swallowing your bite.

"'I am (y/n) (l/n) daughter of Aryina." You told him proudly.

"'y/E"' He repeated, causing you to make a noise.

"'y/n" You spoke slowly to him, pronouncing your name again.

"'y/n.."' He said once again earning a nod from you. He smiled to himself as he bit into a piece of meat savoring your name in his mind before swallowing.

 "'And your name?"' You asked him, he grinned at you. 

"'Miles Quaritch son of…"' His smile faltered….Did his human life parents….mother mostly still counted? What of his father? Was he still the son of Mrs and Mr.Quaritch? Were they ever told of his death and did they even care? Was he still the son of the abusive controlling drunk and the son of a naive loving and caring woman? Even if that woman considered him dead when he beat that no good bastard down in the backyard of his old childhood home for putting his hands on his momma after she found him laying in her bed with some whore?......That woman chosed that no good drunk over him and kicked him to the streets…He was lucky when a recruiter of the marines found him and gave him a bed to sleep and a place to eat….But now here he was in front of you eatting rawed spiced meat frozen in place.

"'Miles?"' Your voice held worry in as you placed a hand on his calf. It caused him to jump and look at you..

"'....Miles Quaritch…Son of no one." He told you staring into those pretty amber eyes of yours. 

He could see sadness fill them as you comfort him But he ignored it and continued to eat.

No. He wasn't the son of that drunken bastard and fool of a woman, He would be nothing like them, He was nothing like his old man. He wasn't ever drunk, he stayed away from it, only having an occasional glass of whiskey. 

As he chewed he thought of his son…The memories of him finding out that he had a child and how he always neglected to be there came to him. He knew in his past life he had in fact loved his son, But clearly not enough to be in that son's life. While he was quietly eating Miles thought back on the few months he had his son as a hostage…How they bonded even though he flat out told the kid he was not technically his father…But he had craved to be a father for the boy. Miles always wanted a family..He had wanted a wife and a child or two…And yet when he was Colonel Miles Quaritch when his son's mother Paz had told him she was pregnant and that spider was his son. He had ignored her, Not at all getting involved with something he always had wanted. He didn't even go to his son's birth nor paid the child any mind. And the times he did spend time with the child, it was mostly forced by Paz needing a sitter for a few hours and even then he pawned the toddler off to other soldiers or workers too busy to focus on his own son. He may have not been an abusive alcoholic like his old man, but he was a piece of shit father. And while The boy was no longer technically h i s child, he had wanted to be the boy's father. A father that spider could look up too and feel pride in knowing where he came from.  While Miles knew that if he was still human, his past life, He was told he was going to be killed and then Paz would die leaving his kid orphaned and stranded on this planet parentless…He knew he wouldn't have faltered in going into battle. He would've gone to his war to find Jake sully and kill him, No matter if what he was told was true or not……Guess he hasn't changed too much in that aspect. He should've grabbed him..He should've grabbed a spider and fled with the boy. He shouldn't have even given the spider the chance to take off and flee to Jake Sully…He could be here..right now…With you and his son enjoying this meal together.. 

Miles looked at you as you kept giving him worried glances…Would you have accepted his son like you had him?

"'I have a s-"'

"'SH!"' you cut him off, ears twitching and you turned your head. He suddenly became alert listening as well.

They were silent…almost too silent but he heard them, the softest touch of footsteps crunching in the sand. Miles shot you a look and you both moved quickly dodging as your attackers flew back into the sand. 

You moved in front of him in a stance holding you daggers and hissing, baring you fangs at the attackers. Miles kept an eye on them his own daggers in hand. 

Two other na'vi scrambled up, hissing back loudly. A male and female, the male standing protectively in front of the female, she must've been his mate. Though she smelt off…Miles nose flared as he could s m e l l something off of the female navi but he wasn't sure what it was. He scanned her form not seeing injury but she smelt off. 

"'If you wish to keep your son, You will do best to leave!"' Y/n Hissed at the two, your threatening stance unwavering.  

Miles eyes slightly widen and he looked for a child, though he did not see any child with the two…Did they hide the child before attacking? The other female hissed back and her mate growled. 

"'You have all this food Yet I do not smell no son in you!"' The other female hissed back Her mate silently watching read for an attack or to attack.

"Its is OUR catch, Not one for you to steal."' y/n Snapped at them…

Oh…the female was pregnant….

……OH….. 

Miles was thrown off as he now realized why the other female smelt so weirdly. He could smell that she was with child….That was really fucking wierd. His eyes snapped to the other male who had been staring at him, before the male's eyes lowered down to you. The male began to steadily move closer and Miles felt a deep feeling burn in his chest. 

'"Then you are not mated to this man?"' The male questioned, eyeing you. 

Miles' ears slicked back his tail snapping through the air harshly. 

'Oh fuck no.' 

A deep low guttural growl rippled through his body, causing you, the male and the other female to jump in surprise. He saw your head turn to look at him in surprise, an unreadable look in your eyes but his attention was fully on the other male. 

The growl moved from his lower abdomen up his throat before he bared his teeth letting out a deadly hiss as he stood fully up, He towered the other male by at least another head high and he moved in front of you, stalking towards him causing both the male and female to back up. Another guttural growl rippled through miles as he stood protectively in front of you, dagger twirling in his hand.

"'I'll be nice and say this once…Then I won't be." He growled out to the other male. "" Best  move on."' He snarled at both of them. 

The male's mate, pregnant or not, If he dares to even Look at you the way he did again, Miles would gladly rip his eyes out and gut him like a fish. 

The male backed away back closer to his mate much to miles liking. The further away from you the better. 

The female stared at him, eyes moving to his hands and a look of disgust burned onto her face.

"'You paired with One of those aliens?!"' While her wording was quick and some words he didn't quite catch he could see the confusion on your face.

"'Alien?'" He could hear the confusion in your tone.

"'HE'S PART OF THE SKY DEMONS!"' The woman hissed a hand moving to point at him. 

"LOOK AT HIM, AT HIS HANDS. HE IS THE SAME AS THEM, THE MONSTERS WHO ATTACK US. KILL US! STRIVES TO KILL  EYWA! And you STAND BESIDE HIM!"' the female yelled in pain and anger in her voice. The male quickly looked at him again and more recognition formed on his face before hissing at him. Miles only growled back warning the fucker to stay back. 

He could hear a growl leave your own throat. though he couldn't see your face and he didn't dare to take his eyes off the two to look at you. He only caught on to a few words but he was sure they told you of his comings.  What he was, where he really came from. 

Your form moved beside him, and you hissed loudly at the other pair.

"' He Is part of my own!"' Your snarled hissing. You had begun to advance towards him and miles followed your lead. The two seemed to keep moving away. 

"'His blood to me is worth far more than yours."' You snarled once again, before you lunged at them, Miles following in suit. 

The battle didn't last very long, while both parties earned their own new fresh scars and bruises, the attackers suffered great loss. Whole you lunged at the male and prepared to throw you back, but you moved quicker, sliding between his legs to his mate. Before he could attack you Miles had already advanced on him, punching the absolute shit out of him and moving into beating him. Miles was experienced in his past lives memories, he had decades of experience in fighting, in stopping a man's heart beat. He didn't play by the na'vi rules, he played dirty. When the male had focused on him and tried to get the upper hand miles slung sand into his eyes and swung for the throat knocking the male to the ground choking up blood. He straddles the male's stomach and begins punching his head down hissing as each punch echoed crackling noises. The male hands went flying hitting, clawing him back anything to knock him off, but miles had the upper hand.

The fighting had come to a stop when a loud terrified shrill of a female squilled out. Both males freezed attention falling to the females that stood several feet away.  Miles watched as your dagger pulled away from the other's stomach and a large gash cut deeply into her. You bare your teeth and kick the female to the sand snarling. 

The male from under miles began to panic, failing and shouting to the other female as she curled into herself trying to protect her womb. 

Miles saw how deadly your eyes were as you hissed at the wounded female, your voice dripped a venom that caused his own chest to seize up with fear. 

"'May eywa be with them."' You snarled as the female weeped out pained terrified noises.  The male broke free from miles hold, rushing past you straight to his mate trying to comfort. He proceeded to quickly get her up over his shoulders and pushing away a fear burning in both of the stray na'vis eyes. 

Once they were out of sight those deadly sharp bright amber eyes burned into his own head. He had always thought Mrs. Sully was absolutely terrifying…Being the one who killed him and traumatized him, But as he stared into the eyes of a wolf who felt no regret in possibly killing its unborn child, Mrs.sully was a mere bobcat. 

"'You. will.explain."' You hissed at him charging towards him causing him to scramble back falling into the sand. 

He took that back. Mrs.sully was a mere house cat compared to you…

He scrambled to find words but they died down as he felt fear seize him again as you were in front of him snatching his hand, his five fingered hand, a burning rage, a furious fire burned in those gorgeous amber eyes as you hissed at him.

"'Explain!!!"' You snarled. 

'This woman if absolutely fucking terrifying…' Miles thought as his tail swayed at her. 

His heart froze in fear, but his tail swayed with excitement. 

'She would make a terrifying protective mother for spider…' a bad timing intrusive thought plagued him as his green eyes stayed locked with burning amber. 

[siravalondulac]

001. cerelle i

house of lies, city of blood

asoiaf ff | fem!oc centric

summary: the wayward princess finds her way home word count: 1989 warnings: none author's note: welcome back to book three of 'stars above, songs below'. i know i have left you waiting for quite a while, so i hope you enjoy this chapter :3

masterlist

previous | next

She did not know what she had expected, returning home near eleven years later. Relief, perhaps? Joy and hope, now that she was back. Or something in the complete opposite direction. Fear. Pain about having left at all.

Yet the only thing on her mind as she looked down on King's Landing and its red castle rising high above the city, was uncertainty. What if... What if her mother did not want her back? What if Oberyn didn't? What if she had changed so much no one recognised nor believed her? She had burnt so many bridges with so many people in her life, if that happened she might just throw herself into the sea and stay there. Perhaps the merfolk would be kinder.

Her mother's necklace chafed around her neck, the added weight of Benjiamin Vypren's ring doing her few favours.

(The scroll he had received from Tywin, foretelling the events at the Twins and confirming her grandfather’s involvement, was hidden safely in her pocket. The words had faded due to her escape through the river, yet were still legible. Just in case.)

She wondered what Jon would say if he saw her now. Running away from her problems once again, abandoning his siblings, turning her back on the people who truly needed her. Sure, she had saved his brother, but at what cost? Would he be more disgusted about her cowardice or the blood on her hands? Or would he simply not care?

Such a thought terrified her.

Starlight grew restless beneath her, stomping with her hooves, trying to move forward. She patted her horse's neck, speaking calming words to her as much as to herself.

How her mare had, once again, managed to find her way back to her unsettled her. After the attack by the Stark soldiers, the thing at the Twins, and then her escape from Riverrun, she had thought her horse lost forever to her. But here Starlight was, white hide as glowing as ever.

Cerelle took a deep breath.

Standing on a hill until the sun set and rose again would bring her no closer to alleviating her fears. So she finally urged Starlight on, and set off for her city.

As she neared the gate, two things started increasing: the amount of travellers around her, and the terrible smell. Neither of which she particularly liked, but supposed she had to endure.

The city walls seemed smaller than in her memory, the cobblestone pavement less secure under Starlight's hooves, the streets populated with far, far more goldcloaks than possible. And then... There were Lannister soldiers walking along the houses and huts, never alone, always in groups of four or more, hands on their swords, faces obscured, and if any of them found out she was the Golden Paladin-

No. They would not. She was the Paladin no more, therefore no one would hunt her for it. Never again.

Her fingers traced her dagger's outline underneath her thin shirt. She would not draw it, would not draw blood with it, but just in case she needed it.

As she rode along the shops on Cobbler's Square and further on the Gods' Way, she turned Oberyn's words in his letter around in her head.

Look out for seven suns on the King's Way.

A direction, most likely, on where to meet with him. Only that she had no clue what these "seven suns" were meant to symbolise - paintings, statues, people even?

The King's Way led directly towards the Red Keep, and it took everything in her not to gallop through the gates and fall into her mother's arms. Yet she needed to meet Oberyn beforehand, to mend their bond before the court might rip them apart once more.

One after the other.

Manses lined the cobbled pathway, each rising higher and higher, reaching out towards the castle, yet not one able to replicate its glory. They were painted in all the colours of nature, with numerous decorations on its veneers, roses and animals and suns and mosaics-

She stopped Starlight abruptly.

One of the manses had seven golden suns painted above its wooden gate, almost indistinguishable against its yellow backdrop. But they were there. And in the front, equipped with a spear and a shield each, stood two guards of House Martell.

Where she had assumed her family would reside previously, she had not considered. The Red Keep had been out of the question due to the bad blood with its inhabitants, but outside of this… Of course Oberyn - or Doran - held property in King’s Landing. Just in case, they might say if asked.

She dismounted and carefully walked towards the gate with Starlight’s reigns in hand. Her heart pounded in her chest, louder and louder, rushing the blood through her body, clouding her thoughts.

“Pardon me,” she said quietly to one of the guards. “I desire to speak with Prince Oberyn.”

The man mustered her, his black beard hiding the lower half of his face and his head-scarf the upper half. “And who is it that demands such?”

She was about to answer, when the second guard suddenly called out, “Elle?” Turning to him, a smile had spread on his face. He looked almost the exact same as the man beside him, leading her to believe they might be brothers. “What happened to you?”

Two things could be meant by his question: the more obvious, of her having been missing for near three years, or the one at hand, of her current looks. The dirty and tattered shirt and pants coupled with her unruly hair and the three scars worked miracles of hiding who she truly was.

“That is a long story,” she answered. “One I would like to discuss with my father first.”

“Of course. Please, follow me.”

The gate opened to reveal a moderate courtyard, yet filled with plants of all colours and sizes, encircling a happily-pattering fountain embedded into the ground. Stairs led up to a balcony stretching along the entire wall.

Starlight was taken from her by a dark-skinned stablegirl, who was close to having to wrench the reigns from Cerelle's hands. Yet eventually, she was pulled away by the guard and led up the stairs and through a simple red door.

She felt for her dagger. Just in case.

“My prince.” The man had stepped between two panels and bowed deeply. “There is someone here for you.”

He then gave way for her. She took a breath, and stepped forward.

Oberyn sat beside Ellaria and Elia, the round table between them filled with food. They all stared at her in disbelief, none of them moving as they had to take in who stood before them.

What if they did not recognise her? Worse, what if they did but threw her out again? If they had found out that - and why - she had run away, and now thought less of her? If they-

Faster than she could react, Elia had slammed into her. Her breath was knocked out of her, and in the grip around her body she had trouble regaining it, but she did not care. Her sister embraced her, despite everything, and so she could do little but hug her back, if awkwardly.

Elia pulled back, breaking their contact, yet her face remained full of glee. “I’m sorry, I know you don't like that, I just-” She broke off and threw herself around her neck again, moving the bandages underneath her shirt. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too,” Cerelle whispered to her sister. “So terribly.”

Oberyn and Ellaria had stood up as well, yet had not moved further.

“What happened to you?” Elia asked once they had separated completely. “One day you were just gone and no one knew anything.”

“That is a bit complicated.” Her gaze shifted to Oberyn for a moment, then back to her sister. “Could you leave me alone with our father? Just for a moment. Then I promise I will explain everything to you.”

Elia looked to her parents, glee and happiness deluded by confusion. And worry. Ellaria walked forward and took her daughter's hand.

“Let us wait outside.”

The door fell close, and they were alone.

She studied the man that had taken her in all those years ago, the man that had been more of a father to her than her true ones had ever been, who had raised her in the knowledge he had to eventually betray her. His appearance had not changed in the slightest.

“You've grown.”

“I heard you talk to Doran.” Better get right to it. “You have been planning to marry me to Quentyn and seat me on the throne ever since you found me in Braavos.”

The few steps he had taken towards her - either to view her better or hug her as well - seemed forgotten. “Elle-”

“You lied to me. I thought I was safe with you, that I could trust you!”

“Elle, please-”

“You knew why I ran away! And yet you were planning to do the exact same thing to me!” For the first time, she did not care she was losing control of her voice. “For seven years I blindly followed every word you said, went to every lesson you sent me to, did not question why a bastard received a king’s education-”

“It was for your best.”

“For my best?! I do not want to be queen! I just wanted a family.”

He looked at her. Only that, nothing more. Why would he not be angry at her, scream at her like she did to him, throw her out to punish her for her misdeeds? How could he be so calm when she was… When she had lost control far too easily.

“If I betrayed you so,” Oberyn finally asked after a long silence, “why have you returned?”

Leave it to him to alway trump her, to be the only one she never won against. To be the only one to know her, inside and out.

“I… realised-” Her voice wavered. “How quickly light could be snuffed out, how easily one could go from having many regrets to none of them mattering. I realised I had to see you again one more time and ask you why? Why me?”

Why did you involve a little girl in your revenge schemes? Why did you treat the child of your enemy with such kindness? Why did you take me in at all?

He stepped closer, slowly, carefully, as if he were approaching a frightened animal.

She was taller than him, she realised with frightening clarity.

“It is true,” he said quietly. “I took you in because I wanted to take revenge on House Lannister. Doran and I had plans to seat you on the throne and use you to punish those who had wronged us. But-” he quickly added. “Over the years I have grown to love you like you were my own. Back when you disappeared, I had already grown hesitant about our plans.”

She wanted to scream at him, wanted to call him a liar and traitor, wanted to justify the many years they had missed because of her. But…

The conversation she had overheard had been as he had described. Oberyn had seemed cautious about using her and marrying her to his nephew. Had she truly destroyed their lives over this?

No. He had needed to learn a lesson. A hesitant reconsidering would not have undone seven years of lies.

“I will tell Elia.” Not want, or should, or might. “She deserves to know the truth about me.”

He gave a single nod. “What reason will you give for your disappearance?”

Oh, she wanted to scare him. Make him suffer the way she had that day, and tell him what he expected. Yet that was not her.

“That someone found out the truth, and I ran to protect you all.”

And with that, she left the room.

previous | next

author's note: new chapter will release every sunday 6pm cet, so see you next week :3

[the-firebird69]

We're sitting here wondering about social security if we offer him a temporary apartment and they're going to mess with it regardless it wouldn't be in dance hands and it would not be in Trump's hands. And we became aware of it and we're pulling out and I start to think about it and looking around and I can see one of them poking their heads out beaming it to us they're saying that trumpsters we don't have verification and a friend says that Tommy f is over there probably watching and he's having his guy doing but it's because that's what Trump is going to be up to. And we do see who the other guy is and it's probably a trumpster which is hilarious so bring it out there because we are offering a temporary apartment and he said he's accepting doing it it was flooded as well but we don't detect mold and we look and it's clear so he wants to accept the offer and stay in the temporary apartment in that way he will not incur more expense the resort life is expensive and it's kind of crazy that they're doing that but there was nobody there and it is kind of odd it's kind of a gesture opening it to people who are downtrodden but it's really all of us. And that's kind of what we needed it was hell it's much better and we have ways of doing stuff and he's not spending too much but there's a limit and he is having trouble with his diet his legs are killing him and he needs to eat a lot more food we did figure out how much he was spending it's not that much by comparison it's about $8 for his big meals so it's half that's a big difference in the long run so make a big difference and he can get his ebike and his stuff together clean everything and get it all ready and move back in and that's what we want to do and he likes it and he's going to be getting ready in the meantime we will be waiting for the storm season to end and it's wise he says and he's very thankful that he has an option and he didn't have an option before that was like this he would have to go through FEMA and it's not a guarantee and it's hard to find even a hotel so we're very thankful that he likes it we are going ahead and we're going to talk to Stan but this is important that he's going to be screwing with social security and he's going to be messing with us and messing with Stan if he goes into a temporary apartment because he won't be at the resort I want to conclude by saying he'll try to extend the resort and if they don't it's on Trump and it does make a difference

Lily

Good. I was there Aaron is listening and I do understand it and he wants to stay at the resort because it won't have must or mold or mildew and just in case and he also wants to reduce the pressure and put it on to Trump and Trump doesn't care it doesn't really know about it and things are happening that people aren't happy with and they're pursuing him and he thinks it's a good time and a good thing to do and so on so he won the election and he blames it on him being there so he should be able to extend it and he's going to go back and go down and try and do that and it's a moment and it's hell but he's got to do it

Hera

Department is talking about was underwater it was nearby my place is only about 2 ft and we opened up some of it and then we don't see any mold and it is old horse here and we're going to patch it back but it's not much work and we do see what you're saying if you need to stay somewhere temporary and it's a place to stay it's not near my house like you said but he's not remembering it or something. Probably not remembering it right and it's not bad it's got two bedrooms and if you found a roommate he'd be saving money it's a little bit more rent but not a ton so we are going ahead with that and he said it would be great so I'm going to look at how long and see if he can get a hotel if not we can move them in and we're going to go ahead with that and he appreciates it

Stan

We're feeling a little better today it's going to be hell and Trump demands it but he's going to get pummeled

Lily Jason

Olympus

[stardust-in-my-mind-blog]

melancholy slayer of kingdoms

my daughter made me a playlist awhile ago

my phone is a treasure that I rarely use

all the kids love to mess around on it

she called the playlist "slay" with star emicons all around

most of the songs are taylor swift

with some of my usual bangers I sing in the car

today I lived up to the verb

I took my oldest two aside to tell them of the changes

fuck, they never tell you how to do this stuff

and I've taken college classes on child development

fucking aced that shit too

I knew it was going to hurt them

I knew I was going to have to hold space for that hurt

and I was going to have to let them express it

however they wanted to and just be there to witness

and comfort where I could as the news sank in

they say the millennial burden we struggle with

is not "up hill both ways" or some misquoted bootstraps

it's holding space for feelings when we didn't get to have them

and let me tell you I've always had them

I just never had the right ones for anyone to handle

but that can always change and it will

the despair came up first after the first sadness

I wanted to avoid everything and cancel the plan

I didn't really consciously make it was more like

my intuition dragged me over the threshold to tell them

gave me the perfect opportunities and environment

oh, hey gavin looks like we are in the car alone together

let's talk about the changes that are going to happen

knowing how disconnected and isolated I've been

it fucking stabbed me and twisted when he said

something about his experience not mattering

how he was fine and it was my relationship

my inner critic wanted to tear me apart for that

look at me repeating cycles and making my son

feel exactly like little me who never belonged

not even in her own family let alone the world

but I'm changing it now so I can't get caught up in it

deep breath and a few more tears to wipe away

fiona wondered if we'd bring the dog

if she'd have to change schools or quit cheer

I told her if was just me changing locations

everything else would stay the same

I apologized to them both for letting myself be blinded

for not seeing the dysfunction for what it was

for not being able to move more quickly

at least I know now and have the strength to forge new

feel the feelings but don't attach to them

now I understand what the cards meant

I want to hold the guilt and the shame and the blame

against me and use it as a warm fire of self-loathing

that's what I used to do to make myself feel better

hate myself more than everyone around me

I could do it so much better than they ever could

that's not my practice now and my inner knowing

that glowing soothing warmth in this adjusting soul

it tells me I am doing my best and can only learn so quickly

as long as my intentions are good I can't control the rest

fuck this is hard but another step is taken

there's no going back and I'm taking inspired action

to be absolutely sure of history not repeating itself

"this one only brings pain and destruction"

yeah maybe that's true and I'm living up to my name

fi was worried about my room and asked how

we'd decorate it to look so nice in here again

they adjust so quickly and take things as they are

I held her weeping and told her it was okay to cry

I heard her breathing deeply to try and reel it in

my little dragons, my babies, those little sea horses

I created inside of me and brought into this world

that I'm still learning in and we're all growing together

through my mistakes and life's challenges

another step forward and another check on the list

I do feel a lightening of my burden now

this was the part I dreaded the most somehow

more of the fog has lifted and things feel more hopeful

outside there is thunder and flashes of light

I love the sound of the raining

I have this little black stuffed mothman I got at the mall

he's soft like my rabbits were

the sensory information I get from petting him

comforts me and my breathing evens

maybe the body never stops being a child

our intellect just fools us into thinking we're grown

[apatheticcrossovers]

Hey it's same anon that requested biltzo x monika,I was wondering if you could make a part 2?

part 2 can be about biltzo looking for a way to monika out of game while also telling her about best horse names and maybe she can come up with her own names for horses if she ever get one

Oh yeah, sure! I hope you like it anon! - Mod Apathetic

All for You (Part 2)

Fandoms: Doki Doki Literature Club, Helluva Boss Ship: Blitzo (Helluva Boss)/Monika (Doki Doki Literature Club) Characters: Blitzo (Helluva Boss), Monika (Doki Doki Literature Club Tw: none Summary: Trying to find a way to bring Monika to his world has not been easy, that's for sure. They decided that in the meantime, they'll learn more about eachother. Monika finds out very quickly that Blitzo loves horses.

Blitzo let out a sigh as he continued searching the internet for ways to bring a self-aware fictional character into reality, which was surprisingly hard, given the type of stuff you could do in hell. Monika's game ran in the background as Blitzo did his searching, mainly because Blitzo wasn't sure what would happen if he turned the game off with her still in it.

"Blitzo, maybe you should take a break..." Monika said, crossing her arms as she looked at Blitzo through the screen. Blitzo had been searching ever since he promised her that he'd find a way to bring her to life. 

"Oh come on Monika, I promise, I'm getting really close!" Blitzo waved his hand dismissively, letting out a small scoff as he continued on his search. There was another small moment of silence before Monika spoke again.

"Blitzo, I can see your screen..." Blitzo stopped typing as she said that, becoming embarrassed as he switched to the window with her game.

"How long have you been able to see my screen?"

"The entire time."

"And why didn't you tell me?"

"I thought you knew!" Monika put her hands up defensively, trying to explain herself to Blitzo. Blitzo didn't seem too mad though, it's not like she's seen anything bad, all he really had done outside of searching for a way to bring Monika to his world is just goggle about words he didn't understand. "Listen, just, if you're so persistent on keeping up this search, why don't we talk for a bit? Ya know, get to know each other more?"

Blitzo was quiet for a moment, thinking to himself. Well, that would be good, Blitzo could just probably google stuff about Monika, but Monika probably couldn't do that for him, and even then, he wasn't sure if everything he'd seen about Monika online was true. "Alright, sure, why not, whatcha wanna talk about?"

"Well..." Monika rested her elbows on her desk as Blitzo switched back to his search engine, continuing to search for at least something that could help him. "Let's start with something simple. What's your favorite animal?" She continued, causing Blitzo to perk up a bit.

"I uh... I like horses! A lot, actually..." Blitzo let out a small laugh, rubbing the back of his head as he felt a bit of embarrassment forming inside of him. He remembered how his last relationship fell apart because he was just obsessed with horses. Monika though seemed intrigued by this.

"Really? That's great! I would've never thought you'd be the type of person to like horses!" Monika exclaimed, straightening her back as she spoke. She had to admit, Blitzo did not really seem like a horse guy, but it was a pleasant surprise. "I've actually thought about taking horse riding lessons before! Maybe we could take them together once I'm in your world!" Monika let out a giggle as she saw Blitzo's eyes light up.

"W-wait, really? You wanna take horse riding lessons with me?!" He sounded ecstatic, tapping his fingers against his own desk as her leaned towards the screen slightly. Monika let out a giggle and nodded.

"Yeah! I've also thought about maybe owning a horse myself. I know they have to be a lot of care though, and I doubt the horses in hell are any easier, but I wouldn't mind the work it would take!" Monika explained, resting her chin on her hands as she looked at Blitzo, who, needless to say, was overjoyed by this information.

"Oh, I can help with naming the horse if you want, I know a lot about horse naming. There are always the common ones like Blaze, Seabiscuit, Bailey, Buck. But if you're feeling you want something more uncommon, you could always go with stuff like Shadowfax or-"

"What about Sugardust?" Monika Interrupted, putting a finger up in interjection. "Oh, I've heard cinnamon is actually a pretty common horse name, and I always thought that was pretty!" She continued, letting out another giggle as she saw Blitzo's face.

"Monika, honey... Sugardust is such a good name! It's like Sugarcube, but, well, different!" Blitzo slammed his hands down onto his desk in excitement, smiling at Monika with stars in his eyes. "And yeah, Cinnamon is a pretty common horse name, but hey, there's nothing wrong with common names! It's like, the safest option when it comes to naming."

Blitzo had gotten so caught up in their conversation, that he completely forgot about finding away to bring Monika to life, at least for a moment. Monika didn't mind in the slightest though, seeing Blitzo talk about something that made him so happy made her happy, and for now, that's all that really mattered to her.

[vaultofqueenorion]

Rot and Silver and That Which Lives in the Woods

Trying to get back into writing again, so here's a little something.

It ends well I promise.

_________________________________________

It lives in the woods, they say. 

With a razor mouth and writhing limbs, all ashen fur and ruby gem eyes. He hadn't seen it, and that wasn’t for lack of trying. So many nights he’d spent staring into the dark trees that stretched for him, branch fingers tangling in his hair as he walked. 

So many nights with nothing but the giant star cat’s one eye keeping him company, the fireflies lighting his way. He knew the trail by heart by now. One step left, one right, one down and a fall up until he was finally standing where he was supposed to be. 

Where those glinting eyes would greet him, rending claws spreading dirt through his hair. Where fire from torches did not burn and they cupped the fire between them.

It lived in the woods, they say. 

His chest burned whenever he came here. He told himself that he’s getting out of shape and that the sharp sting that formed beneath his eyes is from the heels of his hands digging into them.

His cheeks get wet, anyway. 

The carcass was more macabre now that it was when it happened, and he looked away from it. He couldn’t quite figure out whether his inability to bury it was a curse or a blessing, whether the rings of colorful flowers were nourished by the blood that ran rivers through the clearing or whether they would have grown despite it. 

He forced himself to go closer, hands clenching and unclenching, feeling somehow incomplete without their clawed, furred counterparts enveloping them. He settled for hugging himself, brushing away the ice that he swore was there, the one that no one from the town could ever see.

There had been something so thoroughly maddening about that - something that tore away at the cracks and made him want to scream until his voice gave out, until he splintered apart, until he coated the whole world in the ice that grasped his heart. 

You must be mad, they said. 

He should have known when they couldn’t see the ice that coated him from head to toe, the flames that pixies use to spell their poems, and feathers that always seemed to drop from a raven as it passed you by. 

He should have known what they’d see.

It’s a monster, they’d said. 

Was, he corrected in his own mind, hands running over ashen fur, the stench of rot cloying his nose. He wondered whether he could stomach taking a bone, something to bind into the ice that seems to never let go once he lost those warm nights of grasping at the fire. 

But he couldn’t bring himself to light one now, let alone stand near it. He traced the charred fur, sulfur and smoke and burned flesh writhing within his mind, a play of shadows where the town becomes a living mass of undulating pain, razor sharp and burning up from within. 

And those fangs had glinted, the claws unsheathing before those gemstone eyes found him in the dark, coiled in rope and caked in blood and mud from having been strung from the nearest horse until the creatures refused to run further. He’d been no more than a struggling sack of potatoes to them as they closed in on the clearing.

You or him, they’d sneered. 

That was the moment he’d attempted to carve open his own throat upon the blade pressed into his neck. If he was gone, there would be nothing stopping fangs from tearing the rest apart. 

He’d failed, of course. 

And here he was, sitting next to the remains with tears trailing down his face. It had taken him too long to convince the town that he had let go of his previous notions - that he had made a mistake and stepped sideways into madness instead of forwards into the family business. 

He leaned forwards, pressing a kiss above the one eye that was not a bloody crater, the eyelid closed as if merely in slumber.

Above, the star cat blinked.

A single drop of silver stardust slithered from the eye, sliding down the outer parts of the cosmos before finding its way to him. Softly illuminated, he traces the parts that lit up, the carcass glowing as if buried under layers upon layers of moondust. 

The gemstone red cracked open, covering a wince with a fanged smile as sickening squelches of bone and sinew and muscle knitted itself together. 

There’s no such thing as love for monsters, they’d growled. Besides, it is already dead. 

He cupped the chin, kissing along those glinting, deadly fangs as the tears continued to stream. 

A true love's kiss, huh? They said, rubies glinting in the moonlight. I wouldn’t have bet on it. 

That’s why I won, he said, hair filled with fresh dirt from rending claws.

[h3rmitsunited]

If you're wondering if it's worth it watching (at least) the first episode of Billy the Kid for the Joey content, I think, yeah, it was pretty worth it. Joey is in most of the episode, even though he doesn't have a whole lot of lines, he has a good amount of screen time.

I'm in the US and was able to watch it on Amazon Prime, where they had the two first episodes posted for free (with a subscription to Prime). I'm not sure where else it is available, and if it's on Prime outside the US, but that's where I watched it.

If you want to read my thoughts on the episode, what happened in the episode, and how Joey did, (with spoilers, obviously) you can check it out under the read more.

The show is a story on Billy the Kid, the infamous outlaw. The first episode, The Immigrants, details Billy and his family's journey from New York out west to Kansas, seeking somewhere that they could find work and prosperity since the opportunities where they were living were non-existent.

His family are Irish-Catholic immigrants, and Joey plays Billy's father, Patrick McCarty, a man that when we're introduced to him, already feels beaten down and exhausted by the reality of life as an immigrant, but with a quiet love for his family, and a sadness from the difficulty he has in providing for them. The mother, Kathleen, is portrayed by Eileen O’Higgins, and she also does a good job in her role, a determined and optimistic woman, pushed forth by the desire to keep her family safe and taken care of, while watching her husband fall into a deep depression.

Summary of the episode:

Patrick and Kathleen live with another Irish family in a tenement house, and they decide that they are going to leave and go to Kansas where the government has said that there are plenty of jobs out there for hard working people. They put all their money together and pack all of the belongings that they have in the world and hire a driver to bring them to Kansas. It's a dangerous trip. One of the carts breaks apart as they are crossing a river and Patrick nearly drowns trying to salvage their belongings, but they lose everything to the water. The patriarch of the other family they are traveling with gets shot one night when horse thieves ambush their camp. The final blow comes when they arrive at their destination, Coffeyville, Kansas, and it turns out to be a mud filled backwater nothing town with no jobs, and no opportunities. Kathleen tries her best to make something of their time there, working her way into a job in the boarding house, as Patrick descends deeper into the depression that he'd been falling into during their journey, losing everything they owned, and losing hope for anything more. Billy watches all of this, quietly protective over his mother, and with confusion and concern for his father. We see the beginnings of the gun-wielding outlaw for a few moments. Patrick sees the town's doctor, hoping for an answer, but is told that his illness is of the mind and it's not something that he can fix, and if he can't pull out of it, it will kill him. Patrick shares a conversation with Billy under the stars, and it's emotional, and feels like a last goodbye from his father, wanting Billy to be more than he could give to him. Kathleen brings the priest in to give Patrick his last rites and he ultimately succumbs to the depression, leaving Kathleen alone to care for her two boys in the middle of nowhere.

Review of Joey:

Joey's performance as Patrick McCarty is quiet, but deeply emotional. There's a weight to his presence when he is on the screen, the way that he uses his energy and stillness to get this hopelessness he's feeling across. The actor is present in most of the episode, but you see the character loses his presence, feeling out of place and lost in his own body and it's heartbreaking watching as he's beaten down further and further during their journey. There were a few moments in the episode where I felt like Joey really shined (though honestly it'd be anytime he was on the screen).

There is a scene, before the family leaves New York, where Kathleen and Patrick are in bed, trying to sleep, and Kathleen is talking to Patrick about leaving. Kathleen is optimistic and Patrick is afraid and hesitant. Kathleen says she wants to open a boarding house and a restaurant and asks Patrick what he thinks and he's quiet, and there's a pause.

Kathleen: Are you crying?

Patrick: (whispered) Yeah.

Kathleen desperately tells him God will provide and Patrick doesn't seem reassured, but he pulls her into his arms and the scene ends.

I just felt like it was a really good scene to show us where the two parents are at, emotionally. We get an idea of Kathleen as this devout woman who believes in a better life, who's supportive and understanding, and Patrick is quiet, the emotions keeping him locked in his own mind, letting out this tearful moment with his wife in their bed at night. 

I think it was also interesting that the subject of depression and Patrick as a character, wasn't treated as a shameful thing, considering the environment of the time. There's a moment after the loss of the other father, where Billy glances back at Patrick who is just staring off blankly, and Billy asks the old driver Moss what his father was like, and Moss understands his meaning immediately and responds something like things don't always turn out the way that we hope they do. Even with the doctor, Patrick tells him he doesn't care about his body, that he feels sad most of the time, he doesn't feel hungry, can't get out of bed, and the doctor tells him that it's not an illness he can treat, that he doesn't have medicine to prescribe to heal him, and that the mind could kill the body, and not to let that happen to him. It's the 1800s, so it's not like therapy, and it's not helpful, but it's also not what I would have expected from a doctor in this rough backwater town to have said. Patrick's on his death bed, and even then, there isn't a moment of anger towards him for not being able to pull himself out of this, just this desperate sadness and loss.

Another scene that stuck out was the moment near the end of the episode where Patrick comes outside one night before he's really bad off, and talks with Billy under the stars. Patrick knows he's not going to be able to pull himself out of this. Billy tells him he'll get better, and Patrick tears up, not wanting to take away Billy's hope of a better life, and tells him that he's like one of the stars, that he's going to shine so brightly, and they hug, and it's emotional and sad, and we get to see Joey being emotional and sad and he does a very good job.

There was like a single second where Patrick had some energy that reminded me of Jaskier, just because he actually had some energy and fight to him, and that was when Patrick was arguing with the cart drivers about the costs and he's calling them fucking charlatans and Kathleen pulls him back and he says some line I can't recall, but the delivery and his expression was giving me very subtle Jaskier/Joey vibes, and then they were gone.

Anyways, Joey did a terrific job, which isn't a surprise. I liked seeing him in period clothes, with a big beard and soft looking hair and sad sad eyes and all the gratuitous hand shots and being a quiet and subdued man very very very different from Jaskier. 

I watched the second episode also because Amazon prime had them both up already for free and it obviously did not have Joey in it, so I was less interested from the beginning lol, and I'm also not that into straight up cowboy/outlaw shows anyways. I liked Billy being protective over his mother and showing this like progression towards his outlaw stuff, and Kathleen pushing herself to do what she can to keep her and her sons alive. It's obviously not like a fun carefree story There is an attempted sexual assault at the beginning of the episode, aftermath of assualt against a sex worker later in the episode, brief nudity, violence, and a pretty graphic hanging scene. Also a CGI snake at the end that gets shot in the head by Billy.

A review of the episode here writes this about Joey's performance.

"Mentioning Patrick’s demise hardly qualifies as a spoiler. His spirits were so thoroughly crushed by a brush with death during a river crossing that recalled a similarly devastating incident in 1883, it seemed like the poor guy just gave up all desire to live, and was merely marking time until he could simply will himself to die. If ever there was a character in a western who, for all his good intentions, clearly lacked the right temperament to persevere as a pioneer, Patrick filled the bill, and Joey Batey played him accordingly and effectively. Unfortunately, all it takes for some men is to be knocked down once, and they never get up again."

[stcrmcps]

plots based on my playlist ( pt 5 )

ALBUM: a touch of the beat gets you up on your feet gets you out and then into the sun by aly & aj ( link in source ) / part 2 / part 3 tba 

song: pretty places

notable lyric: “all the pretty places / pull us away from where the pain is / these open skies / leaving the past behind” 

MUSE A and muse b, maybe they’ve known each other forever or maybe they happened to meet at the right time. they both needed an escape from whatever was going in their lives. maybe it started as a joke, “hey...let’s pack up the car and just go. all we need are books and music and we can get the hell out of here, right?” except...it turned into something totally unexpected. an actual trip, a getaway, seeing the world from the rearview mirror of the beat up car they both filled up with gas as the sun was rising and setting. and everything is changing. now they’re closer--if they were friends before, maybe something else is brewing now, and if they had barely known each other, it’s the beginnings of a deeper connection. they’ve left their past behind to find something new, with each other. 

song: lost cause

notable lyric: “like we're a lost cause / like we're betting on a dead horse / i try reaching out with both arms / for something that never was”

it’s that relationship on it’s last leg. when neither MUSE A or muse b wants to admit it to themselves, let alone to each other. they’ve tried everything to mend their relationship together, but maybe it’s just a lost cause. there’s so much love in the relationship, but there’s just something missing. so it’s come to that time where it’s the tough decision to break up, but neither of them want to make that first move to bring up that conversation. a promise of maybe someday they can come back, because they’re trying to reach out for everything that this relationship started as. but it’s just not there now. but...someday? 

song: break yourself

notable lyric: “it's an impossible day / might be the time for a change / you hit the ceiling, burning the candle light / you wanna re-light the flame”

it’s time for a change. and that’s what everyone knows, but when MUSE A and muse b meet, they’re just trying to change themselves. whatever circumstances brought them to that decision it was their own, and now somehow the world brought the two of them together. it’s no longer feeling like a pressure cooker, they’re feeling finally like themselves. but is it the time to get into a relationship? should MUSE A and muse b be trying this when they’re so freshly in their own new space? 

song: slow dancing

notable lyric: “i don't need anything fancy / i just need me and you slow dancing”

MUSE A and muse b come from different worlds. they’ve been together for a while, but something always seems to be getting in their way--or trying to at least. and both of them just want one thing: to be with each other. both muses have put everything on the line to be together, but all they need is each other. no money, no fame, nothing else. just being in each other’s arms makes it worth it at the end of the day. but...does that erase all the extra pressures? can the two of them really just focus on their own relationship and slow dance away in the kitchen without the world around them tearing them apart? 

song: paradise

notable lyric: “running on bad ideas like they're nothing / racing through red lights like we're young / living on gut feelings, high rollers / wanting the time to stop and it won't ... would you say we made it to our paradise, paradise? / will we know that it's paradise?”

MUSE A and muse b were always reckless. they were the duo that everyone knew would do something and probably wind up in trouble. getting back at weird hours, pulling up in different places and always making a mess. but paradise in some form was something they looked for. wanting the best they could have looked for, and now at least one of them wonders if they’d even recognize paradise if it walked up to them and told them what it was. was that how it was supposed to be when they wound up walking around like that when they were young and looking for everything they wanted? or do they still just want to go around and act like they were when they were kids and hope for that same feeling to come back around?

song: symptom of your touch

notable lyric: “if you're asking me for closure / don't expect it to happen when i lose my composure?”

MUSE A and muse b were together for a while, but broke up for whatever reason. or maybe they’re still together in some way--fwb, never really ended things officially? and for some reason it’s harder and harder to say goodbye to muse b each time they’re around. MUSE A keeps saying “it’s just for closure”, but they keep falling back into these same patterns. winding up together even though they’re not supposed to be, even though they broke up. MUSE A keeps losing their composure every time they’re around muse b. and maybe it’s because they just can’t seem to let them go? but then why does it hurt when they’re around each other and not together? 

[cheekygreenty]

Hi, I just saw your prompt list for Shadow&Bone!! could you possibly do No. 2 from Angst, but like with a happy ending? Like reader n Kirigan are togeather but then Alina's comes along.. just, please let be happy at the end. I like angst, but my heart can't handle sad endings 😢😢 thank you!!! ❤❤

Future- The Darkling x Reader

(Very very angsty with a happy (?) ending. It made me cry a lil bit writing it ngl)

You trusted him, wholeheartedly. At least that's what you told yourself every day since she came to the Little Palace; the place you had always called home, where you felt safe from the prying eyes of the public.

Yet now, the place was fueled by harsh rumors of him and her. Everywhere you went you could hear a whisper, nobody tried to hide it anymore, the words were always entirely devoted to your crumbling union;

'I thought they were happy'

We were.

'How can he and Alina not be together, it's destiny.'

I'm starting to think so too.

You didn't acknowledge it. Just put on a sweet smile and a brave face. Don't let them see you're hurting. Even in your own home, you had to pretend and lie, which at the end of the day, when you laid in an empty bed, made you exhausted.

He told you she meant nothing more to him than a mere weapon. But that was when she first came and when he still managed to make it to your shared chambers and would whisper sweet nothings as you fell asleep.

It was different now, on more than one occasion you caught a glimpse of them together, him looking at her the way he always looked at you. However much he claimed to be a good actor and manipulator, there was something there and he couldn't deny it either.

You hadn't confronted him about it yet fearing that if you did, the truth would hurt and sting and make all those rumors true. In addition, you haven't seen him in days and the last time you did, he told you to stay away from the wonderful Sun-Summoner.

The truth was you knew deep down in your heart that she wasn't at fault. That she was not the root of the problem. You constantly fought with yourself to stop any hatred you felt towards her. She was lovely, kind compassionate, and innocent. She didn't deserve to feel your wrath.

But with that came the confusion of who to blame. You or Him. It made you tired and weak. The smallest of tasks made you drained and tears would well in your eyes at the thought of having to live another day like this, a day full of questioning yourself and the man you loved more than anything in the world.

No matter how much of a strong person you swore you were, this was taking a substantial toll on you. He had become your support network and he knew it, he loved it. He always said he finally felt appreciated when you came around, that he wasn't alone anymore. He had conditioned you to be this way. When times got tough, he was always your shoulder to cry on.

No doubt that shoulder was now next to Alina. Perhaps they went on a horse ride, visited the Black Heretic fountain, or were enjoying a rendezvous next to the lake.

You didn't want to know, all that mattered was that he wasn't there with you when you were falling apart. Maybe you relied on him too much.

You wondered if he noticed the whispers too, or the way you'd been missing crucial meetings, or even if he noticed you wearing your red kefta more often, ditching the black once you'd heard Genya speak of making a golden-black kefta for Alina, per the Darkling's request.

That was a punch in the gut. It hurt more than him avoiding conversation with you or even his deterrence of touching you. He had bestowed his colors to her when not even three months ago he didn't know she existed. It had taken you a long time to gain his trust and don his signature black yet all she had to do was waltz in and show up. And it hurt.

And now here you were, training the next generation of heartrenderers, as you did almost every day. You had given your life to the Little Palace and its Grisha and this is how you were being repaid. Not even Ivan, who you had shaped into an excellent soldier, had looked your way lately.

'Excuse me Ms. Y/L/N I have an urgent request from the General' You whipped your head around to the young Grisha boy with an obviously hurt look on your face which he couldn't understand.

'Of course' you choked out and took the piece of paper from his hands and watched him in sorrow as he left.

Ms.Y/L/N? what happened to moya sovereignny? You were never one to uphold the formality, but this was just another blow to your confidence. You were no longer referred to as his other half which only meant your position in the palace was quickly dwindling.

You opened the wax-sealed envelope and took out the thick sheet of paper. There was a time when he himself would deliver the news to you himself and use it as an excuse to spend extra time with you.

'I cannot make it to the meeting with the King this evening, attend and report back to me anything relevant, no horse business'

You scoffed loudly, drawing attention from the young Corporalki around you and leaned on the table in front of you. Not even a please or thank you. With the note clutched in your hand and tears of frustration in your eyes, you stormed out of the Corporalki room and towards his war room.

You peeked through the open door and seen him. He didn't look at all busy as he chatted with Zoya, Ivan, Fedyor, and some other Squaller you didn't recognize. Zoya threw her head back in laughter at something Fedyor said but Aleksander kept his stony expression. You threw the door open dramatically and everyone froze.

'Leave us' you cautioned as Aleksander's onyx eyes looked right into your own.

Nobody moved but Zoya was the first to speak ' Y/N, we're actually in a meeting if you couldn't tell' while everyone nodded along, except him.

You never had anything against anyone in that room, but in that moment you couldn't help yourself and used your small science to bring everyone to their knees in front of you, except him.

'Leave us' His voice rang out in the midst of their sharp breaths and chest-clutching. They scrambled to their feet and left one by one, Fedyor quietly muttering 'moya sovereignny' as he passed you which filled you with some courage. The door shut and the sound echoed over the walls.

You threw the note across the room and let it hit his arm. 'Did you forget your manners General? Or does it only apply to the people you claim to love?'

'Funny you should say that Y/N, you haven't attended any meetings in weeks without providing a reason. You're making me look like a fool'

'I'M MAKING YOU LOOK LIKE A FOOL?!' Your tears were now streaming down your face, falling quicker than you could wipe them away.

He stayed silent and that broke your heart even more, he could've said something, anything.

'Aleksander, I'm trying to keep myself together for everyone, I'm trying so very hard to appear normal and happy but I don't think I can do this any longer. The whispers and the rumors, watching you and her-' You slid down the door and sat on the floor, head resting on your knees. '-It's getting to me.... and it's killing me.'

You thanked the Saints you didn't see his face, for the silence spoke for itself. He didn't deny anything or reach out to comfort you. I've lost him.

'All I wanted was a happy ending.' You laughed a sad laugh that pulled at his heartstrings. With your eyes still facing away from him, you didn't see his hand go up to wipe the lone tear that fell down his face or the slight shake in his hands as he did so. He had no words that would comfort you. He knew what he'd done. He'd been avoiding you ever since he realized it. He didn't want to see you cry or see how his actions affected you.

Telling you that it means nothing to him was of no use. You had it in your mind now, forever engrained around his name, the rumors wouldn't stop and Alina was still around. He truly felt nothing of importance for her. All she meant for him was a key to a better future with you.

He approached you slowly, getting down on his knees next to you. He took your hand in his and held it up to his lips. He never prayed, but right now he silently muttered words to all the Saints. Don't let her leave.

'I'm so sorry Darling. Y/N I love you so much.'

'But you love her more' You yanked your hands away.

'NO. no. Y/N. I swear it. You are everything to me' He had grown serious now, he wanted you to look at him. He missed you.

'Then explain why you're parading her around like a Queen, letting her wear your colors, probably sleeping in her bed'

'I have never toucher her in that way. I'm yours Y/N.' Please look at me.

You lifted your head and looked at his beautiful face. He too looked tired, exhausted. His eyes were red and puffy. Saints, I've never seen him cry.

'You will have a happy ending. I promise Darling' He took your face into his hands and connected your foreheads together. 'I promise. I'm doing everything I can to make sure you will, and even if I can't, I swear you will you and our children-'

Children. Aleksander never spoke of them to the point where you had settled with the idea you'll never have them. Something about the desperation in his voice made you believe him, Aleksander was strong, he never gave up but he also never sacrificed himself for anybody. Up until now, you didn't think yourself worthy enough to be saved in exchange for him.

'-I would give up everything to see you and them safe, away from harm's way. Right now, the world doesn't deserve them, but once I do what I have to do, I'll give you children. However many you want, Just stay. Please'

You were borderline hysterical as you melted into his embrace. Weeks of frustration and hurt disappeared into thin air. Aleksander held you so tight you were having trouble breathing but you didn't care. He held you all day and all night. All meetings and tasks forgotten.

He explained everything in detail, from the stag and firebird to what happens if things don't go to plan. He kept nothing from you, not even the stress and pressure he felt. You comforted him as he always does to you. You fell asleep together and dreamed of a life with a happy ending, one where you never had to doubt his motives, you dreamed of your future.

Taglist (if you want to be added, plz tell me!)

@theonelittleone @searching-for-gallifrey @lostysworld

@0-artemis

[thecountoflondonfansite]

Victor immediately raced towards Rachel’s body. He knelt down and put two fingers on her neck to check for a pulse. Victor let out a sigh of relief when he felt something. She was alive, just unconscious. “What happened here?” Adrian asked, his voice sounding panicked. Victor examined Rachel and noticed a few tranquilizer darts sticking out of her arm. “Someone came in here and drugged Rachel. Victor looked back towards the door. “There are no signs of a break in so Rachel seemed to know this person and let them in, whoever they were.” Victor exclaimed in a stoic tone. Adrian said nothing but the expression on his face contained restrained hints of alarm and terror. Quickly Adrian ran around the apartment, looking for something or someone. Victor was confused by Barton’s expression and actions. ‘What is the guy doing?’ Victor wondered to himself. He then looked around the room to search for clues until he caught sight of something that once again made his stomach drop. Right across from Rachel was Winne, laying discarded, without her owner around. Adrian soon came rushing back into the living room. “I couldn’t find anyone else here.” Adrian exclaimed. He then looked down at what Victor was staring at and let out a gasp of horror. Victor’s expression became stoic and determined as he picked up the toy horse. “Adrian, help me carry Rachel to my car. I’ll drive us to my brother’s lair if he’s still there. He should have some vials that will help bring Rachel back to consciousness.” Victor commanded. He hated that he didn’t bring anything with him to immediately help out Rachel. Adrian nodded and proceeded to help Victor as fast as they could. Hugh felt bad about forcing Dr. Jekyll into a difficult and emotional state. He wasn’t trying to be nosy. Hugh was genuinely concerned about Henry and Robert’s health as he is with anyone who has a health issue. Slowly, Two Brains released Henry from his grasp and gave the man a kiss on the forehead. “I love you hun. Nothing will ever change that. You are one of the best things that has happened to me. I don’t want to lose you.” Two Brains exclaimed in such a loving voice. It made Henry melt and feel more ashamed of himself. Here he had, such a caring and understanding boyfriend who wasn’t pressuring him to confess, and the biggest secrets he was keeping were Hyde and the fact that he knows Becky is Wordgirl. “Thank ye darling. Ah love ye so much as well. Ah…ah do want to tell you everything. Ah am just not ready right now.” Henry exclaimed. ‘What the bloody hell are ye doing Jekyll!’ Hyde exclaimed in frustration. He couldn’t believe his counterpart was considering revealing their biggest secret. Hyde wasn’t ready for Henry to reveal things. He especially wasn’t ready to confront Two Brains after seeing the blood drinking and Becky being a superhero. Unfortunately the way things were going, it looked like their secret was about to be revealed sooner than intended. The other three soon returned. Patricia and Archie had some blood on them which likely came from disposing of the body. Jenkins looked a bit squeamish and pale but otherwise fine. “We’re back. Did anything happen while we were gone?” Archie asked. Two Brains looked at them with a stern look while Henry looked nervous. “I’m sorry. I asked Dr. Jekyll about the HJ7 formula and about Robert Lanyon. Apparently he and Dr. Lanyon share the same issues that I told you about earlier.” Hugh explained. He then turned to Henry. “I’m sorry for making you upset, Dr. Jekyll. I was only concerned about your physical health. I didn’t mean to push you into an uncomfortable position.” Hugh apologized. Henry gave him a small smile. “It’s fine. Ah am not mad at ye. Ah am actually impressed and touched by how much genuine concern ye show for others.” Henry replied. Hyde just huffed but didn’t make any insulting comments. He really wasn’t mad at this Hugh fellow. The guy did seem genuine and caring. He unfortunately just had a huge mouth.   

Though someone this Miss Ito did know Henry Jekyll. Did his brother's new boyfriend get this woman to look into him? If so, why didn't this man just ask Dr.Two-Brains about himself? This raised more questions than it answered. Maybe Henry didn't have the courage to look into his brother after he gave him a little 'friendly' talk. Yet the thinly veiled threats Victor had made shouldn't have been enough to get the teacher looking into Dr.Two-Brains. There was also the fact that Henry had no idea that Victor could find out who was hacking. Perhaps the man was intelligent enough to have the heat on someone else just in case they were found out, but he didn't seem like the type to do so. Especially to someone he had entrusted The Society to. Victor was going to have to get a few agents to take a little trip to check out why they decided to hack like they did. Maybe Robert Lanyon had someone to do with Miss Itos hacking. It would be expected when the man's father had been murdered. Perhaps he wanted to make sure that Henry was safe. Maybe this man was protecting Henry from someone who was threatening him. This could've had the culprit retaliate against the doctor by going after Henry or Robert could be responsible for his own father's murder and for Mr. Carew's attempted murder. The reason both Mr. Hyde and Henry left could be because Robert was threatening one and framing the other. Victor felt a headache coming on. For now, he was going to find out exactly where Robert was. If he wanted to take over The Society, he would've easily done so. Yet he didn't, instead only oversaw important business. He couldn't scratch any of his theories out just yet. He didn't know what was going on, but he was going to find out. He didn't realize that Eris had finally gotten home. He didn't notice the sound of the apartment door opening and closing. “Victor, are you okay? You look like you're stressed about something.” He expressed his concern, brows furrowed. “Eris! I'm fine. I was just overthinking some things.” Eris went over to Victor and placed a kiss on his temple. “Get some rest, my sweet. You'll be able to figure things out better with fresh eyes.” Victor smiled at his boyfriend. “You're right. I'll take a nap. If you'll join me.” Eris smiled at that. He found Victor endearing. The toymaker closed his laptop. Meanwhile in another part of the city, two people were arguing. “Must you stalk these people? I would rather not have the police sniffing around if they take legal action.” The woman shook her head. “It is necessary. I must save that girl from that horrid man. Who knows what he could do to them. I'm doing what is right.” The blond man shook his head. “You admitted that you were interested in our plan.” Calvin frowned at that. “I didn't do anything too crazy. I promise.” Athena muttered under her breath. Athena began to pace a bit. She wanted Dr.Two-Brains to break and admit who he is. “You're making me dizzy, cousin.”

Athena gave a weak glare towards Calvin's rudeness. "You know I can't help it. I haven't been the same after what that demon did to me!" Athena snapped back. Calvin merely huffed. Deep down, he couldn't help but feel some intimidation from the mouse man, especially when he knew what that abomination was capable of. At first, Calvin was shocked to hear what the man did to his cousin. He had always viewed Steven, or Gene, or whatever it called himself, as a sniveling worm with goody moral ethics. He never thought that the man was capable of doing something that heinous, even with his paternal instincts heightened. Things made much more sense to Calvin once he learned of his former coworker's family background. "Very well. Continue with your plans. I have other matters to attend to." Calvin exclaimed in a haughty tone, waving off Athena's anger. Athena gave him a suspicious look. "What are you planning that is more important than my mission?" She inquired. "Well why you have been playing vigilante stalker to a babysitter and her charge, I have been looking into the reason for the Mad Science League's sudden movement here." Calvin explained. Athena looked surprised at that. "Adrian Barton is here?" The B.E.A.W labs' leader has expressed interest in the mysterious Mad Science League. A small group of scientists lead by a self proclaimed immortal man whose made it his mission to fight against tyranny and corruption of the higher classes. Adrian Barton and his associates had proven too slippery for capture due to the man's chaotic and unpredictable movements. Athena was curious and confused as to why he came here of all places. "We don't know why he is here or what business he has, but for some reason he has made himself more open in public though he has maintained a cautious guard. I last saw him talking with Professor Doohickey, though I highly doubt the reason he came to this city was to help the man's predicament." Calvin answered as if he seemed to understand what his cousin was thinking. "Do you think it has something to do with the murder of Mr. Hastie Lanyon?" Athena asked as she recalled hearing about the murder. Calvin shook his head. "I doubt Barton was behind that. He has a clear hatred for the rich and elite, but he would have been more subtle in killing that man, actually making it look like a robbery in progress that went bad. There is another reason why Mr. Barton is here. One in which I intend to find out. So hopefully your antics won't interfere in my mission. Good day Athena." Soon Calvin walked away, leaving the deranged woman to her own thoughts and delusions. "Blimey! Those cleaners know how to clean out goop stains. It looks brand new." Hyde exclaimed in a joyous tone once he received his outfit from Rachel. "Yep. It appears people getting their clothes ruined by goop is a common occurrence around here. So they developed a new way to remove the stains and residue even thought it takes a lot of time. It's definitely well worth it. I must say." Rachel replied with agreement. Hyde ginned widely at his clean outfit. He then looked back towards Rachel. "So, anything happened while ah was gone?" Hyde inquired. Rachel quickly shook her head. "Not really. Like I said, we waited a long time at the cleaners. Also Wordgirl showed up trying to stop a robbery caused by Lady Redundant Woman. She gave a wave to Amber before she flew off. Amber got a little fussy on the way home, but it was likely due to us being out for so long. She's fine now." Rachel explained. Hyde nodded but the usually grinning blonde had a serious expression as he thought back to what happened and what Whiskers admitted to him. "Did Wordgirl seem okay to ye?" Hyde inquired. Rachel looked confused by his question and expression. "She seemed alright to me. Why do you ask?" Rachel was surprised to hear Hyde express genuine concern for anyone that wasn't Amber, herself, or one of the lodgers. Hyde let out a sigh and proceeded to explain what happened today with Two Brains and his sister. @unhingedexperimenter

[fandom-imagines-stories]

Evermore

Simon Basset x Reader

Words: 2319

Summary: While residing in the same house, Simon and his wife could not be further apart. His resistance to love may cost him the only thing he holds dear while he can merely stand and watch it fade. 

Notes: I love Simon waaaaaaay too much. I have been dying to write for him, so please please let me know what you think! 

More period dramas: HERE

-

I never needed anybody in my life

I learned the truth too late

From this spot, he had a view of the entire garden. He watched as you strolled between the flowers, pausing occasionally to smell a particular bloom. You used to walk together, but now, he could hardly bear to even look at the gardens. Seeing you there sent a feeling through his heart that he could not rid himself of. It was better this way. The happiness that you had felt in your first few months of marriage was an illusion. Simon knew that he could never truly make you happy, no matter how badly he wanted to. Still, these days of silence ate at his soul. 

You felt his gaze upon you before you spotted him in a second-story window. Looking up from the rose in your hand, you held his stare with your own, as if daring him to come out from behind his closed doors. This was the first time you’d seen your husband in two days and even when you had seen each other, it was in passing, shrouded in bitter quiet. 

You looked away first, dropping your flower and storming back into the house with renewed frustration. From the corner of your eye, you could see him vanish from the window, probably to disappear into his office for yet another day of avoidance. Through your anger, your heart ached. He never explained his sudden hatred towards you. One night, he simply stopped speaking to you. When you confronted him, he’d shouted and shut himself away in his room. No word between you had been uttered since. 

To fill your lonely hours, you walked the length of the house. Clyvedon was a beautiful estate and offered at least some distraction from your empty heart. This time, however, your usual path was interrupted. 

“Your grace,” You greeted coolly. It was odd to see him in this part of the house, so far away from his usual fortress. He rarely left his office anymore. “I must say, I am surprised to see you away from your desk. You have been married to your work recently.” You put as much venom into your words as you could muster. For a moment, you thought you saw him flinch. 

“Y/N, I understand you are uncomfortable with our current situation-”

“Uncomfortable?” You exclaimed furiously. “You think that I am uncomfortable? This is not an ill fitting dress or-or a pebble in my shoe. I saw you in that window and I couldn’t breathe. Even now, it feels like my heart is trying to leap out of my chest and give itself to you, for maybe that will finally be enough for you.” His eyes shifted to the window, desperately trying to escape your hateful stare. 

“You are more than enough for me-”

“Then tell me, your Grace,” You spat, “why you can’t even bring yourself to look at me!” You had raised your voice beyond what was proper, but you didn’t care. You wanted him to see the anguish that this forced solitude was bringing you. “Explain to me how we can be making love one morning and by that afternoon, you can hardly utter a word to me. Look at me, Simon! For God’s sake just look at me.” 

Whatever his reasoning for coming to you was lost to him now. He could only hear the anger and frustration in your voice. The hatred you must hold for him. While his eyes finally found yours, it felt as though he was looking past you. 

“I presume you will be eating in your quarters again.” Was all he said. The return of his indifference was the final straw for you. Having had enough, you charged off to find the furthest place in the house away from him. Simon watched you go in quiet agony, cursing himself for being unable to shut out his affection for you. He told himself again that this was how it must be. If only that was enough. 

-

Wasting in my lonely tower

Waiting by an open door

He wasn’t sure how late it was, but his eyes were starting to burn from staring at documents all night. He could hardly keep them open. Setting his work aside, he ran a hand down his face, trying to rub the exhaustion from his eyes, and slowly dimmed his lamp until the light was gone. When he looked up, he found you standing in the doorway, shrouded in shadow. If he didn’t know better, he’d say you looked like a spirit in your white nightgown and tear stained face. 

“Why are you not in bed?” He questioned, only half awake himself. 

“I came to…” The words caught in your throat, making them sound garbled and broken. You stepped into the moonlight and composed yourself. “I came to say goodbye.” Simon froze. 

“What?”

“I have arranged for a carriage to take me back to London at dawn.” You stared blankly at him, your face sunken and despaired. He hadn’t realized the depths of the misery he had caused you until now. “My presence is clearly unwanted and I feel that we may live our lives more peacefully apart.” 

“I see you’ve already made up your mind on the matter.” Simon scoffed, the pain your words inflicted fueling anger. You didn’t reply. Instead, you turned and started back down the dark hallway to your quarters. He caught your arm before you got too far. “You cannot just leave.” 

“I see no reason to stay, your grace.” 

“You are my wife.” He growled. Finally, your sullen exterior broke away to reveal the anger burning inside of your chest, threatening to swallow you. 

“Am I?” You jerked your arm away, stumbling backwards in the dark. “Because these past few days I’ve felt like a stranger, wandering these beautiful halls, looking for something in them to keep me here. There is nothing but emptiness and grief and pain and I cannot-” 

He placed a hand on your cheek, your words halting on your tongue. You stepped closer into his touch, a touch that you had been aching to feel for days. Simon dipped his head down, bringing your lips slowly to his own. 

His movements were fast and urgent, his lips moving against yours like he depended on you for breath. You felt the familiar feeling rush over you. It was the intense feeling you’d felt so many times at the beginning of your marriage, one you had feared you’d never feel again. But it wasn’t enough. 

“Simon, wait.” You pushed back, trying to find anything in his eyes that could explain to you why he’d been acting so distant. “Talk to me, my love.” 

He tried. He wanted so desperately to be able to share with you his fears, but every time he opened his mouth he felt like that stuttering little boy again. Your gaze pleaded with him. 

“Please, say something.” Still no response. You pulled out of his grasp forcefully, that feeling fleeing just as quickly as it had come. “Tomorrow, I am leaving for London. At least there I will not be reminded how little I must mean to you.” 

You gave him no chance to reply, vanishing into the dark night while he furiously went back into his office, knocking almost every paper off his desk. Simon craved to follow you back to your quarters and show you what you really meant to him, but his feelings didn’t matter. You were miserable and it was his doing. 

Still, the idea of being away from you, the feeling of abandonment sunk into him like sharp claws. It was dark and grim and kept him awake, pacing back and forth in the confines of his office. That night, he did not get a moment’s rest. 

-

I let her steal into my melancholy heart

It’s more than I can bear

Days passed, each one quieter and darker than the last. You were gone. He had watched your carriage leave from his window, solemn and alone. Each day he waited. He waited to hear the rattling of the carriage, the pounding of the horse’s hooves. He left the door to his office open as if he expected you to walk in like nothing had happened. In fact, he hardly left his office at all in hopes that his waiting would conjure you somehow. 

It was the fifth day of your absences when he received the letter. Lady Danbury started by inquiring as to why his wife was in London unaccompanied, but it was the end of the letter that sent an icy fear through his blood. You had fallen ill and had doctors in and out of the house for the last two days. While she did not know the severity of your illness she had heard that you had been bed ridden and unable to take any visitors. She feared the worst. 

Simon didn’t waste a second readying his horse and taking off towards the city. It didn’t matter how many hours the ride took, he went on without stopping. His horse sped through the city, having little care for the foot traffic around him. Hastings house stretched ominously over him, adding to the dread filling his chest. He didn’t wait for a servant to open the door, he didn’t wait to be shown to your room. He ran through the halls like a mad man only to find your quarters empty. 

“Your Grace?” Your lady's maid gasped, nearly dropping the bundle of fabrics she was carrying. “I-I thought you were staying in-”

“Where is she?” He barked, making her jump. He didn’t mean to frighten the poor girl, but he did not have the patients for explanation. 

“S-she’s having tea with Lady Danbury in the drawing room.” The girl squeaked. His confusion was quickly replaced by rage and he stormed into the drawing room, Lady’s Danbury’s letter crumpled in his fist. Your eyes widened at the sight of your husband, sweating and disheveled. 

“Simon, what are you-”

“Your Grace, how wonderful for you to join us.” Lady Danbury smiled triumphantly. 

“Is this meant to be some kind of cruel joke to you?” He snapped viciously. You’d never seen him this way before and, frankly, it frightened you. Lady Danbury didn’t seem phased. “My life is not a game for you to meddle in!” 

“Someone had to show you how much you stand to lose, your Grace.” She said, keeping incredibly calm under the circumstances. 

“How dare you.” Simon was seething. “You wretched woman-”

“Simon!” You exclaimed, jumping up from your seat. “A word, your Grace.” You opened the door to the garden and waited outside for him to join you. 

“I think it’s time for you to leave.” Simon glared. Lady Danbury stood and walked past him with enviable elegance. 

“Don’t lose her, your Grace. Not when she’s finally made you believe in love.” She left without further comment. 

Simon finally walked out and you resisted the urge to slap him. Your fists were balled at your sides and you were walking furiously back and forth on the path. 

“How dare you come here and speak to my guest in such a manner.” You wanted to scream and cry and kiss him all at once. “What on earth are you doing here, anyway?” 

“Lady Danbury sent me a lie in order to get me to come here.” He finally let the exhaustion of his ride rush over him and he leaned against the wall. 

“And what lie could have been so great to get you to leave your office?” You scoffed. Simon’s face softened. 

“She said that you were ill.” He said quietly, his voice betraying the truth. For those few hours before he arrived were the most terrifying he’d ever experienced. “I thought that… I was afraid I would lose you.” 

“You haven’t seemed that concerned these past weeks.” You muttered in irritation. Simon’s face fell. 

“Do you really believe that?” He asked with such pain in his voice it nearly broke your heart. “That I am not concerned for your well being? That I do not care if you are hurt or-or sick?” 

“What else am I to believe, Simon?” You said, exasperated and exhausted with his constantly shifting moods towards you. “You avoid me at all costs when I am with you, you have suspended any affection towards me, and now you tell me that you came all this way because you thought I was ill? I don’t understand you, your grace, I truly don’t.” 

“Everything I have done has been for your benefit.” He stepped towards you. “My affection towards you runs deeper than I could possibly explain and that is why I cannot condemn you to a life cast into my darkness.” His eyes did not look through you now. Rather, they pierced down to your very soul. You stood in shock, trying to find the right words to convey your true feelings. 

“Simon…” You gasped, laying a hand on his chest to feel his racing heartbeat. “You are not a shadow. You are the moon. Yes, you have darkness. Yes there are parts of you that I do not yet understand, but that does not mean I do not wish to know you. You are the guiding light in my darkest nights. You are my husband and I love you.” 

You wrapped your arms around him and brought his lips to yours. It was like your first kiss, hesitant at first, but soon evolved with passion and need. Simon cupped your face in his hands and vowed. 

“I will not hide my love from you again. I will cherish you the way you are meant to be. And I will remind you how dear you are to me every moment I can.” He brushed a joyous tear from your cheek. “For evermore.” 

-

General Tag: @rae-gar-targaryen; @takemepedropascal; @childhood-imagination;  @mylovegoesto; @yellowbadgergirl; @itmejado; @suckmyapplejacks

[elsascushion]

Hollywood B!tch

Pairing: Bea X Poppy

Kinda Safe for work yall, swearing involved but no smut. this is more of a prologue than chapter 1 as The pair doesn’t meet yet and this is set a year after graduation

Chapter 1

It has been over a year since Bea has met up with anyone from Belvoire. Of course Zoey and her occasionally FaceTime or go out for coffee when they both happen to be in New York, their schedules have just never really matched. Now that Bea is officially a superstar on the rise, studios are just waiting for the chance to work with the actress. For over the past year Apoidea have been extremely helpful in helping to kickstart her new career with some of her shows and films rivalling Zendayas at the box office. Of course even with Apoidea connections the pressures of Hollywood was just as tough as she thought, but Bea of course was already trained to handle the drama world thanks to good old Belvoire.

Speaking of Belvoire, Bea has recently returned back to New York from filming in Korea just in a weeks time before Veronica’s little top 15 “reunion”. Now for why Veronica decided to hold a Belvoire reunion is unknown considering she hated everyone there but it could be due to the fact that Bea’s name is trending everywhere now days and the clout she would be getting would be insane. So just a few weeks prior Veronica had created this group chat to discuss potential dates on when to do this and when everyone was free. She had added Bea, Zoey, Chloe,…….so on and a few people who Bea had forgot even existed. To be honest Bea didnt even want to go at first but after checking everyone’s names on the list one really stood out to her. Poppy Min-sinclair. A name that she could never forget no matter no hard she has tried to. Ever since her confession at graduation she never was able to see or contact Poppy again. That girl practically pulled a Persephone Dalton and went MIA maybe she even now has a new identity, and due to Beas busy schedule she was never able to visit the Sinclair’s closing mansion one last time wondering if it is even still there now days. How Veronica got Poppy’s contact details is still a mystery but I guess she just has her ways, although Bea began to wonder if that was even poppy considering she never typed anything on that group chat.

Now weeks later with everyone (except poppy) confirming their availabilities Bea was back in New York. She first checks into this penthouse apartment building, a curtesy of Zoeys, before throwing her luggage down on the floor and grabbing out a few boxes of expensive looking chocolate she got as gifts in Belgium a while back, in preparation for her meeting with zoey. She heads down the apartment and slinks into a nearby cafe where she was greeted with the face that helped her survive her Belvoire years.

“OMG BITCH YOU’RE ACTUALLY HERE THE BEA HUGHES” Zoey dramatically gasps drawing the attention of other customers

Bea quickly covers Zoey’s mouth with her palms whispering loudly “Girl not so loud!” Before dragging her upstairs into a more private booth.

“Heyyy did you not miss me” Zoey rolls her eyes sarcastically, smoothing down her skirt as she sits down at the opposite side of Bea.

“Babe of course I did but I’m trying to avoid press while being jet lagged and all if you know what I mean” Bea blinks a few times as Zoey takes note on the dark circles around Beas dead brown eyes

“Of course, of course so do not want to be caught outside after a late night concert” Zoey says as she takes a sip of her coffee before speaking again

“Ok but are you excited for Veronica’s reunion i mean we haven’t seen those people in like forever”

But Bea doesn’t respond instead she stares off into the distance at some peculiar looking potrait of a two headed horse

“Hello earth to Bea!” Zoey snaps her fingers a few times bringing Bea back to reality

“Oh sorry sleep deprived and all” Bea sighs taking another sip of her iced latte “so what were you saying?”

“Right, as I was saying” Zoey coughs “are you excited for Veronica’s reunion party thing”

It was technically just a party for her to clout from everyone but no one is questioning it as they all wanted to see Bea again

“Well about that could I ask you something?”, Zoey nods preoccupied by her coffee as Bea continues “it’s about Poppy”

Zoey shoots Bea a sharp glare making the brunette freeze a little before saying “hun do you remember what I told you night after graduation as we were packing up our stuff”

Bea sighs “That life wasn’t a whatpad and for me to move on from people who made our lives miserable for the past two years especially she devils named Poppy”

“Yes and I still stand by that”

After that the girls exchanged gifts to avoid an awkward conversation and changed between a variety of topics such as how Chloe and Ohio even managed to graduate, stories about Zoey’s time on tour to Bea spilling the tea about scandals in Hollywood. As time flew by it was almost late in the afternoon when Zoey had to meet with another producer bidding Bea goodbye and that they will meet up again soon.

Bea traveled back up to her apartment, ran straight to the couch and took a fat nap for an hour. When her eyes fluttered open she noticed a figure on top of her, one she’s all too familiar with. The women she spent her senior years trying to ruin the life of instead of confessing sooner. Her blond hair fell like curtains around Bea’s face making her blush all too noticiable. Then finally a whisper in her ear “god Farmsville you’re still obsessed with me it seems like you haven’t changed at all” a cool breath hits Bea’s ear seeming all too real

“AHH Poppy how the fuck did you get in here!” Bea screamed as her eyes shot wide open looking around her apartment to see if Poppy was actually there, slightly disappointed when she wasn’t.

“Just a dream huh” Bea thought to her self as she layed back on her $25000 couch questioning her life.

However she wondered how that dream could’ve ended if she had not woken up just before the fun parts…. Soon the girl’s desires overcame her as she rolled over to grab her phone shooting a quick text to Veronica

Bea: hey V it’s Bea I’m back in New York planning to give some gifts to our cohorts 😜 but just wondering if you know where Poppy is staying for education purposes

Not long after a notification shows up on her phone with an address attached from Veronica. Bea quickly inserts the address into her maps app noticing the location was only an hour away.

Shocked She quickly unpacks her luggage to find a cute outfit, retouched her makeup before spraying on her favourite YSL perfume.

“Alright let’s go see if our favourite bitch is still alive”

—————

To anyone who reads this sorry if it is bad writing has always been my weak point and I needa practice for my final year of HS 😞