#james and erin kissing my heart!!!!!

[missgalindaaa]

DERRY GIRLS (2018-2022)

[hamliet]

Derry Girls: A Masterclass in Detailed, Thematic Writing

Several years after the end, I finally watched Derry Girls, and it's become one of my favorite shows. Not only for the way it captures the absolutely unhinged aspects of Irish families (askmehowiknow) but for the sheer writing skill.

The vast majority of the episodes are laugh-out-loud hilarious, while also offering insightful commentary on the Troubles and on humanity's foibles as a whole. The characters are allowed to be human and act in unlikable, unsanitized ways, and to still be human and come back from that. (Almost like a metaphor for the Troubles or something.)

The story is also incredibly detailed; for example, when the girls are accused of killing a nun and Erin points out the nun was like, 98 years old and askes "might that shed some light on the situation?" there's an hourglass behind Sister Michael--emphasizing the idea that her time was up. Even more than that... the window is behind the hourglass, literally shining a light on it.

But that's a micro level. On a macro level, I also appreciated the way the story discusses the political backdrop that is part of its premise. Even as Erin, Michelle, James, Clare, and Orla grow up in a place that's been in a state of low-level warfare for decades, they live full lives. In fact, that's kinda the point.

Case in point: episode 4 of the first season, wherein Erin gets an exchange student from Chernobyl. The way the Northern Irish in general treat the Ukrainians is hilariously awful and patronizing, believing that they are giving them a respite from the troubles "over there" while Northern Ireland isn't in a much better state. But, as Sister Michael assures the Ukrainian students, the Irish troubles don't matter because "we're the goodies."

This line gets to the heart of what the episode is saying about political divisions and the way people view an "other." Everyone sees themselves as the "goodies." Because of that, they don't self-examine and wind up hurting the people they see themselves as wanting to help/save with their ignorance. It's a paradoxical egotistical (and frankly teenage) worldview that is also unwilling to look critically at oneself. The focus on their own perceptions over focusing on the actual humanity of the other results in ruining gifts that could come with cross-culture interaction, as seen in how Erin's misunderstandings and petty jealousy of Katya leads to her literally ruining a surprise gift Katya had prepared.

And the end of the episode also comments thematically on the story. One of the Ukrainian boys turns out not to be Ukrainian after all--he's actually Irish and from just down the road. He just didn't know how to say that. The ironic message is clear: despite differences in culture and views, they are actually all human beings, and assumptions make it hard for people to speak. If they could actually talk openly and without presumptions about who is "good" and who is "bad," they could prevent and solve a lot of problems.

This kind of background, symbolic commentary on the Troubles continues in just about every episode of the series. For example, even after the ceasefire, season 3 has an episode where it's discussed how negotiations are stalling, and the entirely of the rest of the episode takes place on a train that stalls between two separate places.

The Troubles are always something affecting their lives, but the only time the Troubles ever become the main story is in the finale episode. Which is also an episode that makes everyone cry. Michelle's brother is finally mentioned for the first time the entire series, yet it doesn't feel like a retcon so much as a recontextualization, and again mirrors how a lot of society (and Michelle's own family) have treated those who murdered others during the conflict.

Erin and James' relationship also works as a metaphor for the Troubles--an Irish Catholic girl and an English boy. Earlier in season 3, after they finally kiss, they're told they can't be together, that it's wrong, and that it'll create problems for everyone around them. Michelle doesn't want things to change. And Erin agrees that it's not good to pursue something.

But, in the final scenes, as Erin prepares to vote in the Good Friday Agreement and talks to James, she directly states she thinks things can't stay the same forever--thereby countering what she said to reject James earlier:

There's a part of me that wishes everything could just stay the same. That we could all just stay like this forever. There's a part of me that doesn't really want to grow up. I'm not sure I'm ready for it. I'm not sure I'm ready for the world. But things can't stay the same, and they shouldn't. No matter how scary it is, we have to move on, and we have to grow up, because things... well, they might just change for the better. So we have to be brave. And if our dreams get broken along the way... we have to make new ones from the pieces.

Symbolically, also, given that we know the outcome of the Good Friday Agreement, I think it's pretty clear Erin and James end up together even if we're not directly shown it.

That the last shot of the episode (besides the funny epilogue) is Grandda Joe, one of the eldest characters, helping his youngest toddler granddaughter Anna leap over a threshold as they leave the voting station, is also incredibly clear in its symbolism.

Erin: People died. Innocent people died, Grandda. They were someone's mother, father, daughter, son. Nothing can ever make that okay. And the people who took those lives, they're just gonna walk free? What if we do it, and it's all for nothing? What if we vote yes and it doesn't even work? Grandda Joe: And what if it does? What if no one else has to die? What if this all becomes a--a ghost story you'll tell your wee-un's some day? A ghost story they'll hardly believe?

I dunno, I think this is a sentiment we need more of in the world. A peaceful future means taking risks and accepting that punitive justice will not be perfectly doled out; however, if you allow more people to be hurt, is that not also injustice? It's a paradox that the story leaves us without a dogmatic answer to (for example, we never find out if Michelle's brother gets released), but it's also hopeful--because we know that the Good Friday Agreement largely worked.

(For further analysis of the final scene, I recommend PillarofGarbage's analysis on YouTube!)

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🌈 Queer Books Coming Out in August 2024 🌈

🌈 Good afternoon, my bookish bats! Here are a FEW of the stunning, diverse queer books you can add to your TBR before the year is over. Happy reading!

[ Text list below ⤵ ]

❓What was the last queer book you read?

[ Release dates may have changed. ]

❤️ Failure to Comply - Sarah Cavar 🧡 I Spit On Your Celluloid - Heidi Honeycutt 💛 You're Embarrassing Yourself - Desiree Akhavan 💚 Death of the Hero - Briona Johnson 💙 Between Dragons and Their Wrath - Devin Madson 💜 The Crimson Crown - Heather Walter ❤️ Sacrificial Animals - Kailee Pedersen 🧡 Oath of Fire - K. Arsenault Rivera 💛 The Palace of Eros - Caro De Robertis 💙 This Ravenous Fate - Hayley Dennings 💜 Mistress of Lies - K.M. Enright 🌈 Wolf Bite - T.J. Nichols

❤️ In the Valley, A Shadow - Samantha Tano 🧡 Follow My Lead - Adrian J. Smith 💛 The Last Woman I Kissed - Venetia Di Pierro 💚 Full Shift - Jennifer Dugan & Kristen Seaton 💙 Hers for the Weekend - Helena Greer 💜 Come Out, Come Out - Natalie C. Parker ❤️ Rules for Ghosting - Shelly Jay Shore 🧡 How to Leave the House - Nathan Newman 💛 Plot Twist - Carmen Sereno 💙 On the Far Side of a Crescendo - Kalyn Hazel 💜 Tiny Oblivions and Mutual Self Destructions - Maxwell I. Gold 🌈 Daylan and the River of Secrets - Edd Tello

❤️ The Italy Letters - Vi Khi Nao 🧡 The Gender Binary Is a Big Lie - Lee Wind 💚 The House Where Death Lives - Alex Brown 💙 Ash's Cabin - Jen Wang 💜 The Avian Hourglass - Lindsey Drager ❤️ The Heart Wants - Krystina Rivers 🧡 A Grand Love - Janna Barkin 💛 You Can't Go Home Again - Jeanette Bears 💜 Libertad - Bessie Flores Zaldivar 🌈 Her Golden Coast - Anat Deracine

❤️ Mighty Millie Novak - Elizabeth Holden 💛 Rise and Divine - Lana Harper 💚 Dying for You - L Flowers 💙 I'll Have What He's Having - Adib Khorram 💜 Changing Her Tune - Amanda Kabak ❤️ Monogamy? In this Economy? - Laura Boyle 🧡 The Rainbow Age of Television - Sayna Maci Warner 💛 Medusa of the Roses - Navid Sinaki 💙 Confounding Oaths - Alexis Hall 💜 Idol Lives - K.T. Salvo 🌈 Brother's Keeper - Quinn Cameron

❤️ Key Lime Sky - Al Hess 🧡 Crushing It - Erin Becker 💛 The Husky and His White Cat Shizun - Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou 💚 Not for the Faint of Heart - Lex Croucher 💙 Tasting Temptation - JJ Arias 💜 Ami - S. Jae-Jones ❤️ You're the Problem, It's You - Emma R. Alban 🧡 Cubs & Campfires - Dylan Drakes 💛 The Dark We Know - Wen-yi Lee 💙 Practical Rules for Cursed Witches - Kayla Cottingham 💜 Riyati Rebirth - Kalani Shimizu 🌈 The Brujos of Borderland High - Gume Laurel III

❤️ A Bánh Mì for Two - Trinity Nguyen 🧡 Dance of the Starlit Sea - Kiana Krystle 💛 Scattered Snows, to the North - Carl Phillips 💚 Beyond a World Apart - Caitlin Myers 💙 Don't Let It Break Your Heart - Maggie Horne 💜 Nothing Heals Me Like You Do - Harper Bliss ❤️ How It All Ends - Emma Hunsinger 🧡 How Do I Sexy? - Mx. Nillin Lore 💛 The Palace of Eros - Caro De Robertis 💙 Prince of the Palisades - Julian Winters 💜 Better Left Buried - Mary E. Roach 🌈 Back to Back - Jo Fletcher

❤️ DITCHLAPSE / [REALLY AFRAID] - Tommy Wyatt 🧡 The Love Archives: Bonus Scenes & Excerpts for Palestine - Various 💛 Guardian: Zhen Hun - Ying Priest 💚 The Sunforge - Sascha Stronach 💙 Queering Reproductive Justice - Candace Bond-Theriault 💜 Gender Explained - Diane Ehrensaft & Michelle Jurkiewicz ❤️ The Unlikely Pair - Jax Calder 🧡 In Universes - Emet North 💛 We Love the Nightlife - Rachel Koller Croft 💙 Lessons from Cruising - Martin Goodman 💜 Wild Ginger in the Rhubarb - Eule Grey 🌈 Not My Circus - Delicia Niami

❤️ Asunder - Kerstin Hall 🧡 The Phoenix Keeper - S.A. MacLean 💛 Encounters with James Baldwin - Various 💚 Verity's Game - Jennifer Giacalone 💙 Hunt Me! I Crave the Chase - Fae Quin 💜 The Audacity Omnibus - Carmen Loup ❤️ Haunted to Death - Frank Anthony Polito 🧡 Blood Orange - Paige Grunewald 💛 The Bad Things We Did - Chris Archeske 💙 Dark Restraint - Katee Robert 💜 Worth the Wait - Kenna White 🌈 The Maid and the Crocodile - Jordan Ifueko

❤️ Loving Corrections - Adrienne Maree Brown 🧡 The Last Witch in Edinburgh - Marielle Thompson 💛 The Duchess of Kokora - Nikhil Prabala 💚 The Scales of Seduction - Rien Gray 💙 Survival Is a Promise - Alexis Pauline Gumbs 💜 Loka - S.B. Divya ❤️ The Every Body Book of Consent - Rachel E Simon 🧡 Southern Lights - Liz Arncliffe 💛 Then Things Went Dark - Bea Fitzgerald 💙 Death at Morning House - Maureen Johnson 💜 The Last Doorbell - William Parker 🌈 The Pairing - Casey McQuiston

[onceuponaoneshotfanfic]

Hey, I just read your Derry Girls 'your mum rang me' oliver wood one shot and was wondering if you could do like a weasley reader (maybe percys twin) and do the scene in last series in Derry Girls where erin and james kiss and Michelle is like 'this is incest!'

No problem if can't and sorry if I've spoiled!!! X

We're Not Related

Oliver Wood x Weasley!Reader 0.9k words Warnings: some kissing, potential Derry Girls spoilers Sorry this took so long! I've been in an absolute writing funk that I'm finally coming out of. Thank you for this request, I love getting to steal Derry Girls dialogue! I cackled writing this!

~

Oliver gazed down with a smile. His girlfriend- Merlin, he really got to call her his girlfriend!- was laying on his bed reading a book. The quiet, private time together made faking sick and skipping a trip to Hogsmeade worth it.

A tiny, quiet part of Oliver felt kind of guilty. As much as he tried to deny it, deep down inside he really did consider Percy Weasley a friend. Probably his best friend, oddly enough. The three of them had hung out regularly since their second year, sometimes adding Penelope Clearwater to the mix. So going behind his back and dating his twin sister was…. not something Oliver felt great about. But he wasn’t ready for whatever fallout would follow Percy finding out about them.

Instead, he watched her, her Weasley-red hair splayed out beneath her, his heart full of the affection he’d been carrying for the past three months. As if she could feel the heat of his gaze, she looked up, scrunching her freckled nose.

“You’re staring at me,” she observed with a little hum.

“And?” Oliver replied, his soft smile morphing into a smirk.

She shrugged, putting down her book. “D’you need something?”

Oliver helped her sit up and pulled her close to himself. “Nah, got everything I need right here.”

It was a cheesy line. Incredibly lame. It should have made her roll her eyes. But because it was Oliver Wood who said it, gazing at her with those honey eyes, his arms doing that flexing thing that drove her mad, it actually worked. Before she knew it, she and Oliver were locked in an embrace, lips moving in sync, hands gripping tight to wherever they landed. Just as Oliver was gently pushing her back onto the bed, the door opened-

“Oh, you sick, sick bastards.”

Percy Weasley stood in the doorway, Honeydukes package in his hand, his face even paler than usual as his wide eyes surveyed the scene before him.

His twin sister sat up, fixing her hair. “Listen, Percy-”

“This is incest!” Percy sputtered, absently tossing the chocolates onto his own bed. Chocolates he had bought in hopes that it would cheer up his supposedly sick roommate.

His definitely-not-sick roommate made a face. “No, it’s not.”

Percy nodded. “Yes, it is, Oliver.”

“We’re not related,” Oliver pointed out, gesturing between himself and the girl who should absolutely not be in the boys’ dorm, let alone on Oliver’s bed.

“Oh, and that makes it okay, I suppose?” Percy had never felt this level of disgust and abhorrence, and maybe even a little betrayal.

His sister snorted. “Well, it makes it not incest,” she mumbled.

Percy was pacing the small room at this point, his face now beginning to redden and match his smattering of freckles. “Right. Okay. I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt, and say that Oliver had a very nasty head injury from last night’s practice, and you-” He pointed to his sister. “-drank a botched batch of Amortentia, which has caused you to think that Wood here is an appropriate snogging partner.”

She huffed, now officially tired of her brother’s nonsense. “This is none of your business, Perce.”

The prefect’s face now matched his tie. “Oh, but it is, troll face.” His resorting to childhood insults was a sure sign of his anger. “It is very much my business. This can’t happen, okay? You two can’t get together because, putting aside the face that it makes me want to hurl, if you get together, you’ll break up, and then where does that leave me, Wood?” His gaze turned to Oliver, begging his roommate to understand. “You might be my best friend, but she’s my sister, and like it or not, I’ll have to stick with her. Don’t put me in that position.”

Oliver jumped off the bed and rushed to Percy’s side, placing a hand gently on the Weasley boy’s shoulder. “I’m your best friend, Weasley?” His honey eyes were wide, full of wonder.

“Of course,” Percy scoffed. “Aren’t I yours?”

For the first time, Oliver said the words every other Gryffindor already knew: “Yeah, you’re my best friend, Percy.”

The two boys stood, smiling at each other, relieved to finally admit their fondness for one another after years of grumbling whenever someone called them anything more than roommates.

The sound of someone clearing their throats brought them out of their tender moment.

“That’s great and all,” Percy’s sister- no, Oliver’s girlfriend- murmured. “But that doesn’t solve Percy’s… issue.”

Oliver’s cheeks reddened. “Right. Right.” He turned back to his best friend. “Listen, Weasley.” He straightened himself up. “I really like your sister. And we’ve been together three months now, and I’d like to keep seeing her. But I also don’t want to keep it secret from you anymore.” He shrugged. “I dunno. If you can’t trust your best friend to treat your sister right, who can ya trust?”

Percy narrowed his eyes a moment, turning over Oliver’s words in his mind. He had a point.

“You know if you hurt her, I know plenty of spells, right? And I’m not exactly going to punish myself for breaking any rules?”

Oliver nodded earnestly. “Yeah, yeah I know.” He gave Percy a small smack on the back. “We’re good then?”

With a sigh, Percy nodded. “We’re good.” He smiled at Oliver, the two of them officially lost in their own world.

Back on the bed, there came a small sigh. “Merlin, I wish we’d just kept this a secret.”

[agaypanic]

could you do a james maguire x reader? just them being a cute fluffy couple and hanging with their friends (she/her pronouns if you can but they/them is fine!) i love your writing <3

Dating James Maguire Headcanons/Drabbles

Masterlist

Request Something!

***

The girls made fun of you when you and James first started dating

It was lighthearted, but there was a hint of truth whenever it came from Michelle

“I dunno what’s worse, you dating an English fella or you dating my cousin.” Michelle groaned as she looked at your and James’ joined hands.

“Shut up, Michelle.” James rolled his eyes, used to the teasing he’d receive from her just for existing.

“They’re a cute pair, Michelle.” Clare defended, looking at the two of you. “If they were complete strangers, I’d be like, ‘aw, look at them, they’re so cute.’”

“They’re not strangers, Clare. It’s incest.”

“Ew! Michelle, we’re not related.” You said in disgust, looking around to make sure no one passing by had heard her. Michelle shrugged.

“Well, it feels like incest, so you might as well break up now.”

Dates to the chippy when Fionnula decided to lift the ban

He doesn’t get anything for himself, but he knows your order by heart and never lets you pay

“Y/n, what’re you doing?” Clare asked as she watched you pull out some money, trying to be discreet about it. You raised a finger to your lips, signaling her to keep quiet as you got up and made your way to James, who was in line for you. You wrapped an arm around him.

“Hi, Darling.” He greeted, putting an arm around your shoulders and kissing the top of your head.

“Hi.” You responded, getting on your toes to kiss his cheek. “So afterward, the girls were thinking of going to Erin’s. What do you think?”

As you talked, you slid the money into his jacket pocket.

“Yeah, that’s fine. Are we staying over or just for the movie?”

“I’m not opposed to staying over. Just depends on how Mary feels about it.” James nodded in understanding. The line moved up a bit, and you took that as your cue to go back to sit with Clare. You kissed James’ cheek again and went to walk away when he pulled you back.

“Take it back.” You looked at him, confused.

“What?” You watched him pull the money out of his pocket, looking at you less than impressed. You sighed, realizing you were caught.

“Take it back, Y/n.” You reluctantly snatched it and put it in your own pocket.

“I just feel bad that you keep paying for me.”

“Well, stop feeling bad because I wanna do it.”

“You’re too good to me.” You said before kissing him, not caring that others were in the shop.

Study dates!!!

He’ll come over to your house because his is too hectic with Michelle

Usually ends with him sleeping over, which neither of you mind

[lgbtqreads]

Do you know any LGBTQ+ holiday books or winter books?

Sure do! You can find these here: https://lgbtqreads.com/romance/by-tropearchetype/

F/F

Matzo Match by Roz Alexander

Higher by Roz Alexander (Rosh HaShana)

A Masc for Purim by Roz Alexander

How to Excavate a Heart by Jake Maia Arlow (YA)

Snow Globe by Georgia Beers

All I Want for Christmas by Georgia Beers

Checking it Twice by Lucy Bexley

*Make the Season Bright by Ashley Herring Blake

Take Me Home by Lorelie Brown (Thanksgiving) (Amz)

*Most Wonderful by Georgia Clark

Kiss Her Once For Me by Alison Cochrun

Mistletoe by Lyn Gardner

Season of Love by Helena Greer

Mangos & Mistletoe by Adriana Herrera

Under a Falling Star by Jae (Christmas)

Under the Mistletoe by Everly James

In the Event of Love by Courtney Kae (Christmas)

Collie Jolly by Leigh Landry (Christmas)

All I Want for Christmas by Clare Lydon

All I Want for Valentine’s by Clare Lydon

Christmas in Mistletoe by Clare Lydon (Amz)

Holly and Ivy by TB Markinson and Miranda MacLeod

Stocking Stuffers by Erin McLellan

Party Favors by Erin McLellan

The Holiday Trap by Roan Parrish

The Christmas Ball by Lily Seabrooke

Silent Night by Lily Seabrooke

Eight Kinky Nights by Xan West (Chanukah)

M/M

The Geek Who Saved Christmas by Annabeth Albert

Catered All the Way by Annabeth Albert (Christmas)

A (Fake) Boyfriend for Christmas by Sean Ashcroft

Faux Ho Ho by ‘Nathan Burgoine

Felix Navidad by ‘Nathan Burgoine

Hearts Alight by Elliot Cooper (Hanukkah) (Amz)

Real World by AJ Cousins (Christmas)

Glass Tidings by AJ Cousins (Christmas)

You’re a Mean One, Matthew Prince by Timothy Janovsky

Candy Hearts by Erin McLellan

His for Hanukkah by Reese Morrison  – T (Amz)

A Boyfriend for Christmas by Jay Northcote

A Family For Christmas by Jay Northcote

What Happens at Christmas by Jay Northcote (Amz)

The Longest Night by EE Ottoman – T

The Holiday Trap by Roan Parrish

Finding My Elf by David Valdes

Kissing Santa Claus by Max Walker

Red Envelope by Atom Yang (Lunar New Year) (Amz)

M/F

The Mistletoe Motive by Chloe Liese – DF

Bottle Rocket by Erin McLellan – BM

F/NB

Christmas Inn Maine by Chelsea M. Cameron (Demigirl)

NB/NB

A Very Enby Christmas by Eli Wray

M/F/M

Her Christmas Cookie by Katrina Jackson

[acotars]

books read in 2023

january

sweep in peace by ilona andrews

one fell sweep by ilona andrews

a court of mist and fury by sarah j. maas

sweep of the blade by ilona andrews

sweep with me by ilona andrews

my best friend’s exorcism by grady hendrix

kiss her once for me by alison cochrun

the seven husbands of evelyn hugo by taylor jenkins reid

i’m glad my mom died by jennette mccurdy

love and other words by christina lauren

sweep of the heart by ilona andrews

the only living girl on earth by charles yu

witches get stuff done by molly harper

you had me at hola by alexis daria

her vigilante by lillian lark

inconvenient daughter by lauren j. sharkey

anon pls. by deuxmoi

you are eating an orange. you are naked. by sheung-king

legends & lattes by travis baldree

bad vibes only (and other things i bring to the table) by nora mcinerny

signs of cupidity by raven kennedy

bonds of cupidity by raven kennedy

crimes of cupidity by raven kennedy

read: 23

february

exciting times by naoise dolan

sweethand by n.g. peltier

you made a fool of death with your beauty by akwaeke emezi

something wilder by christina lauren

highly suspicious and unfairly cute by talia hibbert

you deserve each other by sarah hogle

this is how you lose the time war by amal el-mohtar and max goldstone

would you rather by allison ashley

read: 8

march

meet me in the margins by melissa ferguson

king of battle and blood by scarlett st. clair

the exotic by hampton sides

river of shadows by karina halle

alone with you in the ether by olivie blake

lovelight farms by b.k. borison

the soulmate equation by christina lauren

before i let go by kennedy ryan

haunting adeline by h.d. carlson

the lies i tell by julie clark

one jump at a time by nathan chen

our wives under the sea by julia armfield

all systems red (the murderbot diaries #1) by martha wells

before the coffee gets cold by toshikazu kawaguchi

read: 14

april

funny you should ask by elissa sussman

make a scene by mimi grace

sweeter than chocolate by lizzie shane

the kiss quotient by helen hoang

my favorite half-night stand by christina lauren

romantic comedy by curtis sittenfeld

icebreaker by a.l. graziadei

the wedding proposal by john swansiger

circling back to you by julie tieu

by the book by amanda sellet

a lady’s guide to mischief and mayhem by manda collins

love in the time of serial killers by alicia thompson

if the shoe fits by julie murphy

whispers of you by catherine cowles

the kiss curse by erin sterling

by the book by jasmine guillory

honey & spice by bolu babalola

one night on the island by josie silver

the bodyguard by katherine center

the reunion by kayla olson

the neighbor favor by kristina forest

crooked kingdom by leigh bardugo

do i know you? by emily wibberley & austin siegemund-broka

just my type by falon ballard

delilah green doesn’t care by ashley herring blake

happy place by emily henry

dating dr. dil by nisha sharma

icebreaker by hannah grace

count your lucky stars by alexandria bellefleur

stone cold fox by rachel koller croft 

fake it till you bake it by jamie wesley

read: 31

may

the dead romantics

motherthing by ainslie hogarth

the woman in the library by sulari gentill

artificial condition (the murderbot diaries #2) by martha wells

the last word by taylor adams

you shouldn’t have come here by jeneva rose

read: 6

june

fourth wing (the empyrean #1) by rebecca yarros

the very secret society of irregular witches by sangu mandanna

love, theoretically by ali hazelwood

read: 3

july

the traitor queen (the bridge kingdom #2) by danielle l. jensen

the beast by katee robert

baldur's gate: descent into avernus by by james introcaso et. al

forget me not by julie soto

the wishing game by meg shaffer

read: 5

august

the true love experiment by christina lauren

pachinko by min jin lee

almond by sohn won-pyung, translated by joosun lee

hook, line, and sinker by tessa bailey

read: 4

september

hey, u up? (for a serious relationship): how to turn your booty call into your emergency contact by emily axford & brian murphy

everyone knows your mother is a witch by rivka galchen

fangs by sarah andersen

a room with a view by e.m. forster

juniper bean resorts to murder by gracie ruth mitchell

one's company by ashley hutson

the mysterious affair at styles by agatha christie

solita: a gothic romance by vivien rainn

you, again by kate goldbeck

the undertaking of hart and mercy by megan bannen

my roommate is a vampire by jenna levine

the picture of dorian gray by oscar wilde

the vampires of el norte by isabel cañas

her body and other parties by carmen maria machado

evil eye by etaf rum

the seven year slip by ashley poston

read: 17

october

keeper of enchanted rooms by charlie n. holmberg

the serpent and the wings of night by carissa broadbent

shy by max porter

down comes the night by allison saft

the unfortunate side effects of heartbreak and magic by breanne randall

the hurricane wars by thea guanzon

read: 6

november

a witch's guide to fake dating a demon by sarah hawley

the wake-up call by beth o'leary

when in rome by sarah adams

the view was exhausting by mikaella clements and onjuli datta

hello stranger by katherine center

practice makes perfect by sarah adams

do your worst by rosie danan

read: 7

december

bookshops & bonedust by travis baldree

the fake mate by lana ferguson

read: 2

final count: 127/100

[areseebee]

The imitating-the-head-movement thing is soo great, tbh, I wonder if he was directed to or if he did that on his own. There's some really brilliant "little acting" in this show that's just so very good. I rewatched the S2 finale, and that scene with Cathy (not her eyebrows!), when she has that discussion with Ma Mary, he's full on beaming at his mother's pathetic claims about how much she's missed him, face completely dropping at Mary's "well you did dump him here quite a long time ago!", the way he says "Mum's had a lot going on" - that was sooo nailing the abandoned child in denial about their parent's lack of affection, brilliant, but also Mary's reaction!! When her eyes stay on James for a second before going back to Cathy going on about her business, you can literally watch Ma Mary's heart break for him! Considering there's some quite silly slapsticky comedy and over the top physical stuff in there as well, in some moments we really get to see how much *serious* acting talent there's assembled in this cast! ("Serious" acting talend in addition to comic acting talent, which is obvious in practically every scene I mean)

[this ask is referencing my tags on this reblog of a gifset of james in 3x07 as he watches his erin fancam footage]

yes, totally agree! there's some really, really top tier "little acting" from the entire cast (face acting, i think it's called? idk, don't quote me on that, i am not a trained actor).

in the same vein as the "little acting," the background acting in derry girls is just so excellent. i remember an interview with one of the main cast members where they talk about how tiring some of the long filming days would be because, even if they didn't many lines, they are always in the scene, reacting or doing something in the background. orla/louisa harland gets a lot of recognition for their/her background antics, but i think james/dylan llewellyn is really, really excellent with his background acting too. and, imo, it leads to a really rich text to work with as a fic writer and makes the show endlessly layered and rewatchable. i still feel like i pick up on new things when i revisit the show.

mine and @derrygirlstrash's fic, making moves, is grounded in only a look that erin gives james in the dark when the gang is sneaking into the protestant boys' room in 2x01. she's concerned about how she "doesn't have any moves," looks back at james anxiously, he very clearly notices, and then his next line is about how "boys like girls who are confident." like! why was she looking at him? had they talked about this together before? he's so quick to reassure her, to make sure she's not worried. boom - we wrote a fic about it.

or in 3x03, when james is about to sneeze on the train and erin is looking at him encouragingly, hoping she'll get to hear about his "hopes and dreams," and michelle is looking between the two of them like she suspects something, like whatever is about to happen needs to be stopped. did michelle really just happen on them kissing in 3x04 or had she been watching them for a while, seeing this develop right in front of her eyes and try to interrupt it? because i think it's fun, my headcanon is the latter and it's based literally on that one look in 3x03 alone. i'm not gonna write it, but someone give me a "5 times michelle suspected" fic!

there's just so much there if you've got an eye to it, so many spaces for fun ideas. it's the way i like to write and think about fic - to find those spaces in a source material, to find those opportunities within it to really explore what else could be there and to better understand who the characters are to themselves and to each other. imo not all source material has those spaces, but derry girls has it in spades.

[critical-quoter]

December Books

Here we are, the end of 2023. When I first got back into reading, I was not expecting to be so hyper-fixated on it. I was just looking for something to help with the brain fog and mental slump that I was struggling with.

Sweet, Sexy Heart - Melissa Foster ⭐⭐⭐⭐ King of Greed - Ana Huang ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Serendipity - Carly Phillips ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Forever My Girl - Heidi McLaughlin ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Real - Katy Evans ⭐ Bratva Knight - T. J. Maguire ⭐⭐⭐⭐ If I Break - Portia Moore ⭐ Found by You - Victoria H. Smith ⭐⭐⭐ Always Been Mine - Victoria Paige ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Days of Blood and Starlight - Laini Taylor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Savage - Michelle St. James ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Quick Trick - Skye Jordan ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Captive - Jex Lane ⭐⭐⭐ Forged by Malice - Elizabeth Helen ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Gold - Raven Kennedy ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Where Good Girls Go to Die - Holly Renee ⭐⭐⭐ Baby Baby: Chicago - Victoria H. Smith ⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Risk - S. T. Abby ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Sidetracked - S. T. Abby ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Scarlet Angel - S. T. Abby ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ All the Lies - S. T. Abby ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Paint It Red - S. T. Abby ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Bought - Lauren Landish ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Keeping Lily - Izzy Sweet ⭐⭐⭐ Love and Other Words - Christina Lauren ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Beautiful Revenge - Sienna Blake ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Born, Darkly - Trisha Wolfe ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Beg, Borrow or Steal - Susie Tate ⭐⭐⭐ The Kiss Quotient - Helen Hoang ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Breakaway - Heather M. Orgeron ⭐⭐⭐⭐ From Lukov with Love - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Sweetet Oblivion - Danielle Lori ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Hero - Lauren Rowe ⭐️⭐️ Wait With Me - Amy Daws ⭐️⭐️ Trick Play - Eden Finley ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ His Sweetest Song - Victoria H. Smith ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Gent - Harloe Rae ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Taking It Easy - Erin Nicholas ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Chance - Louise Rose ⭐️ Beyond Repair - Susie Tate ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Pestilence - Laura Thalassa ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ War - Laura Thalassa ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Famine - Laura Thalassa ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Death - Laura Thalassa ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Marriage Effect - Karla Sorensen ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Hidden Miles - Claire Kingsley ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Let Me Burn - Carrie Elks ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Deep in the Pocket - Lainey Davis ⭐️⭐️ Secrets of the Sea Lord - Starla Night ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Hate to Love You - Jennifer Sucevic ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Going Down Easy - Carly Phillips ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Remember When - Judith McNaught ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ One for My Enemy - Olivie Blake ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Maddest Obsession - Danielle Lori ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Desperate Measures - Katie Robert ⭐️⭐️⭐️ A Serenade to the Elf Queen - Niro J. Halle ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Crow - Erin Trejo ⭐️⭐️ From Now Until Forever - Alexa Rivers ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Taking Meghan - Izzy Sweet ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Ruthless Vows - Rebecca Ross ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Breaker - Harloe Rae ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Silenced by Sin - Ashley Lane ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Wild for You - Kendall Ryan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Haunted by Regret - Ashley Lane ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Hungry Like a Wolf - Jessica Lynch ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Phantom - Greer Rivers ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Deal Breaker - Melissa McClone ⭐️⭐️⭐️ A Vampire Bewitched - L. E. Wilson ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Beautiful Savage - Caroline Peckham ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Devil Wears Black - L. J. Shen ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

71 total books read in December.

[hondagirll]

pairings for you! keeley/roy, beckett/castle, alexis/ted, erin/james, lucy moderatz/jack callaghan, roz/fraiser

Can I just say I love that you send me a bunch? YOU KNOW ME SO WELLLLLLLLL ❤️

Keeley/Roy: Probably my favorite Ted Lasso couple. I am still utterly devastated by how badly they were written in s3. They were so solid and communicated well and then....ugh.

Beckett/Castle: Love them so much. They had such good banter and back and forth and the way they open up and complimented each other? Oh. Forever in my heart.

Alexis/Ted: Took me a little awhile but they totally grew on me by the end of the show. While I get why they went their separate ways in canon, in my head they run into each other again in a few years and this time it all works out like it should.

Erin/James: I like sorta ship them? More so in S3 than any other season but I do like them. When James told Erin he could wait after their kiss I nearly had a heart attack. So good!

Lucy/Jack from While You Were Sleeping: the best 90's romcom couple (I STAND BY WHAT I SAY). He leaned and she leaned, and I swooned.

Roz/Frasier: I don't ship them romantically (I think they are just too different from each other) but I love their friendship. It's probably my favorite friendship on the show. There is just so much love and respect for the other and it really comes across even when they drive each other crazy or make decisions the other doesn't agree with. They really are each other's sounding board.

Send me a ship and I’ll give you my (brutally) honest opinion on it

[aalwaysthecarcrash]

Shannon’s recent watches:

Nosferatu: very cunty slay. Count orlock was just a little autistic gay boy who i aspire to be like. Also I learned that a lot of vampire lore is rooted in antisemitism which is NOT fun

They Cloned Tyrone: SUCH a good movie oh my GOOOD I havent seen such a good new movie in a while. The “plot twist” was kind of weird if you think about it a little bit but I still really liked it. Very spooky and the soundtrack was 🤌 yum chefs kiss and the film camera esque quality was very cool. Loved the fits and the strange vague time period

Midnight Mass: I started this to avoid watching and binging s2 of heart stopper because I had work early the next day but instead I wanted to binge midnight mass and was also terrified of it. I am only 3 episodes in and I am so scared of it which is saying something because I am usually pretty good with scary things

Warm Bodies: 💕💕 Nicholas hoult 💕💕 is so boy. I didnt like the book as much as the movie, weirdly. I think the fandom needs to be bigger bc I want more fanfiction. Will be writing some to make up for the lack.

Derry girls: have three episodes left of the show and i do NOT like the Erin/James dynamic

Heart stopper s2: caved. Binging it. Its a Friday night so what the hell. I had a to watch something to calm myself down after a scary ep of midnight mass

[pqnnier]

top 5 movies!

😳 i wasn’t expecting anyone to actually ask asdfghjk, BUT THANK YOU ERIN — i’ve forgotten every movie i’ve ever seen….

1. Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003) dir. Peter Webber

all time favorite, i love this movie with all my heart 😭 i love the pacing, setting, characters — when i watch a movie i will 100% be inserting myself into it and it is very easy to do with this movie

2. Titanic (1997) dir. James Cameron

this movie and it’s two vhs tapes will forever be apart of my brain chemistry. it’s the only movie that i know every single line to and can perform as a one-woman show 

3. Barbie (2023) dir. Greta Gerwig

hi barbie! <3

4. Amadeus (1984) dir. Milos Forman

listen to me; the costumes suck 😩 but tom hulce???? kiss me. i watched this movie as a romance hating teen and the way he and elizabeth berridge made me believe in love?? shut up

5. Cyrano (2021) dir. Joe Wright

TALK OF THE BLANK SPACE BEHIND THE SUN WHERE YOU TOLD ME YOU’D MEET ME WHEN EVERYONE’S GONE

[wartsandwarlocks]

Lily was in pain. A terrible, heart wrenching, gut squeezing, tongue twisting pain caused by non other than her new best friend, James Potter. If only had she been more careful of his charming ways, had she not allowed her heart to grow a little bigger to make space for the messy haired Gryffindor, none of this would have happened. Had she stayed in her room as she had planned, had Remus not convinced her of coming to this stupid party, she would be perfectly fine, or at least not crying in the middle of the common room.

“Oh Lils, I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have made you come with me to this stupid party, its all so stupid anyway, I’m sorry.” Remus apologized.

“Don’t be, it’s my own fault.” She cried

“don’t be so harsh.”

“But I have to, I’ve been so careless! This whole time i’ve been allowing him in not realizing how damaging it was going to be! I just let myself go with the flow until i got caught up in a fucking waterspout!!”

“Well, you’re so deep in the flow and you were having such a great time, why stop now?”

“Because, Remus, it’s going the exact opposite way it was supposed to. We were supposed to be friends, it was supposed to be easier, talking, laughing and no kissing, no compromise, no nothing. But it’s getting just so much more complicated. I see him and I- I- fuck!” she cried before blowing her nose.

“Oh my sweet Lily, I think I forgot to mention how nice and caring James is…” Remus comforted

“fuck you. You should have. You should have warned me before I found myself crying here after seeing him talk to Erin.”

“Well she’s a cunt, so it makes sense.”

“It doesn’t!” Lily said holding onto her knees as if she were about to fall down. “It doesn’t matter who he’s talking to, it’s just, not me.”

“Oh, and now you care?”

“Yes.”

“Brilliant.” Remus chuckled “personally, I’m loving this, I love James for you.”

“I know. Everybody does, and everyone makes a point of telling me. Literally. Even Amos Amelinst told me ‘he’s a great guy for you’.”

“So? What seems to be the problem. He obviously likes you.”

“I know but. I like him too much. And… And what if he’s great for me but I’m terrible for him. I’m too messy and so dependent and needy. It’s unsustainable, just look at my other relationships. My sister hates me, my parents never liked me that much either and my best friend since… forever, calls me a fucking mudblood. I can’t ruin something so perfect like him.”

“I thought I was your best friend…”

“You are! It’s just,” Lily paused to blow her nose once again “I don’t know, I’m scared.”

“Don’t be, James is not that perfect anyways and I bet he’ll love to be ruined if it meant you’re the one doing it.”

“Oh stop it! You’re supposed to discourage me! Tell me he still eats his boogers or pees himself when he sleeps.”

“I would, but I hate lying.”

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🌈 Queer Books Coming Out in June 2024 🌈

🌈 Good morning, my bookish bats, and happy Pride Month!! Struggling to keep up with all the amazing queer books coming out this month? Here are a FEW of the stunning, diverse queer books you can add to your TBR before the year is over. Remember to #readqueerallyear! Happy reading!

[ Release dates may have changed. ]

❤️ The Shadow of Summer - Marlon Yelich 🧡 Of Stardust - (ed) Avrah C. Baren 💛 The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye - Briony Cameron 💚 Triple Sec - T.J. Alexander 💙 Same Difference - E.J. Copperman 💜 The Pull of the Tide - Various ❤️ The Misadventures of Getting Lainey a Date - Eija Jimenez 🧡 Surface Pressure - Adrian J. Smith & Neen Cohen 💛 Mirrored Heavens - Rebecca Roanhorse 💙 The Fire Within Them - Matthew Ward 💜 One and Done - Frederick Smith 🌈 Digging for Destiny - Jenna Jarvis

❤️ She Who Brought the Storm - Vaela Denarr & Micah Iannandrea 🧡 Tristan and Lancelot: A Tale of Two Knights - James Persichetti & L.S. Biehler 💛 London on My Mind - Clara Alves (translated by Nina Perrotta) 💚 The Deep Dark - Molly Knox Ostertag 💙 Furious - Jamie Pacton & Rebecca Podos 💜 Gay the Pray Away - Natalie Naudus ❤️ Such A Small World - Jordan Clayden-Lewis 🧡 Make It Count: My Fight to Become the First Transgender Olympic Runner - CeCé Telfer 💛 Cicada Summer - Erica McKeen 💙 We Used to Live Here - Marcus Kliewer 💜 Dandelion - Merlina Garance 🌈 The Curse of the Goddess - C.C. González

❤️ The Schoolmaster - Jessica Tvordi 🧡 Cigarette Lemonade - Connor de Bruler 💛 Coil of Boughs - Penny Moss 💚 Ballad for Jasmine Town - Molly Ringle 💙 Asking for a Friend - Ronnie Riley 💜 Pleasure Principle - Madeleine Cravens ❤️ Perfect Revenge - Jessica Burkhart 🧡 Lockjaw - Matteo L. Cerilli 💛 Markless - C.G. Malburi 💙 Queer Art - Gemma Rolls-Bentley 💜 Morally Straight - Mike De Socio 🌈 Our Bodies Electric - Zackary Vernon

❤️ Love Is All - Various 🧡 Becoming Ted - Matt Cain 💛 Annie LeBlanc Is Not Dead Yet - Molly Morris 💚 Dear Cisgender People: A Guide to Trans Allyship and Empathy - Kenny Ethan Jones 💙 Pole Position - Rebecca J. Caffery 💜 Something to be Proud Of - Anna Zoe Quirke ❤️ Hot Hires - Nan Campbell, Alaina Erdell, Jesse J. Thoma 🧡 Lord of the Empty Isles - Jules Arbeaux 💛 Kissing Girls on Shabbat - Sara Glass 💙 When You Smile - Melissa Brayden 💜 We Could Be Heroes - Philip Ellis 🌈 But How Are You, Really - Ella Dawson

❤️ A Bluestocking's Guide to Decadence - Jess Everlee 🧡 Take All of Us - Natalie Leif 💛 One Killer Problem - Justine Pucella Winans 💚 Why Are People Into That? - Tina Horn 💙 Free to Be: Understanding Kids & Gender Identity - Jack Turban 💜 Lady Eve's Last Con - Rebecca Fraimow ❤️ Sea of Broken Glass - Jenna Pine 🧡 Rapunzella, Or, Don't Touch My Hair - Ella McLeod 💛 Wolfpitch - Balazs Lorinczi 💙 Looking for a Sign - Susie Dumond 💜 Director's Cut - Carlyn Greenwald 🌈 Wish You Weren't Here - Erin Baldwin

❤️ Act Two - Rochelle Wolf 🧡 Unexploded Remnants - Elaine Gallagher 💛 The Stars Want Blood - Morgan Lawson 💚 Shadows Dark and Deadly - Andrea Marie Johnson 💙 Design of Darkness - R.D. Pires 💜 Two Sides to Every Murder - Danielle Valentine ❤️ Meet Me in the Sky - Jeffrey K. Davenport 🧡 A Shore Thing - Joanna Lowell 💛 The Lions' Den - Iris Mwanza 💙 Under the Dragon Moon - Mawce Hanlin 💜 A Sea of Wolves - Sarah Street 🌈 Saints of Storm and Sorrow - Gabriella Buba

❤️ Private Rites - Julia Armfield 🧡 Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous - Mae Marvel 💛 The Stars Too Fondly - Emily Hamilton 💚 Keeping Carmen Ruiz - Alyson Root 💙 Cuckoo - Gretchen Felker-Martin 💜 Heartwaves - Anita Kelly ❤️ Bound to the Wild Fae - Tavia Lark 🧡 Four Squares - Bobby Finger 💛 The Ghost of Us - James L. Sutter 💙 Poison in Their Hearts - Laura Sebastian 💜 Puppy Love - Elle Sprinkle 🌈 Hot Summer - Elle Everhart

❤️ Liddy-Jean Marketing Queen and the Matchmaking Scheme - Mari SanGiovanni 🧡 All Friends Are Necessary - Tomas Moniz 💛 Six of Sorrow - Amanda Linsmeier 💚 Shanghai Murder - Jessie Chandler 💙 PROUD - Anthology 💜 Little Rot - Akwaeke Emezi ❤️ Fling - Deja Elise 🧡 Too Many Stars to Count - Frances M. Thompson 💛 Rakesfall - Vajra Chandrasekera 💙 The Unrelenting Earth - Kritika H. Rao 💜 Freakslaw - Jane Flett 🌈 Please Stop Trying to Leave Me - Alana Saab

❤️ A Sense of Shifting - Coco Romack, Yael Malka 🧡 Moonstorm - Yoon Ha Lee 💛 Now, Conjurers - Freddie Kölsch 💚 Hide No More - Rita Potter 💙 Running Close to the Wind - Alexandra Rowland 💜 The Afterlife of Mal Caldera - Nadi Reed Perez ❤️ Her, Him & I - Christian Weissmann 🧡 The Sons of El Rey - Alex Espinoza 💛 Show Me Your Teeth - Amy Marsden 💙 Defeating Demons and Breaking Up With My Boyfriend - Dylan James 💜 For Real - Alexis Hall 🌈 The Clarity of Light - Jade Church

[erineverly]

“eating glass might hurt less than therapy, too,” erin muses with a faint chuckle, running her fingers through his greasy strands with affection. she feels proud of them for not choosing the easy way out, for deciding to get help even though it would probably feel so good to just fall into their old routine of empty promises, hugs and kisses and… after all, they’ve been here before, countless times, holding each other after a vicious storm and swearing to do better next time. “it’s our last chance.” her smile fading as her pale blue eyes grow serious, she gently touches his chin and urges him to look at her. there’s something different about what’s happening tonight, something that makes her want to believe they’re finally getting it right and there will be no more fighting and leaving. “but i’m so happy that we have this one last chance. i couldn’t live without you, axl. and you know, if we survive this, we’ll survive anything.” there’s a statistic floating around, erin stumbled upon it while paging through one of her mother’s newspapers at breakfast the other day, that up to 80% of marriages end in divorce after the death of a child. she’s convinced that if they only manage to get through this, nothing will ever tear them apart. “you’re very welcome, honey,” she coos softly, puckering her own lips and meeting him halfway. the kiss is so quick and soft, but it speaks louder than any promises they’ve made. it fills her heart with hope.

“yeah, okay, that’s true. you’re no james dean,” she admits with a sigh, pursing her lips as she tries to stifle a laugh. there’s a glimmer of playfulness in her eye, enough to let the other know that she’s only messing with him. “and that’s because you’re way, way more handsome than james dean.” nothing but sincerity in her voice this time, she curls her arms around his neck and steals one more chaste kiss from his lips. she lingers in his orbit like a lost comet, just marveling at him. he really is so beautiful. “well, i wouldn’t trade my scrawny redhead for no arnold. actually, i wouldn’t trade him for the world.” there’s love in her eyes again, mixed with a certain kind of devotion. she’ll never understand why he can’t just look at himself and see what an amazing man he really is, so beautiful inside and out, but figures it’s her job to remind him of it as often as possible. “of course… how could i not? i mean, show me one actor that could compete with you. there’s no one.” she’s reluctant to let go of him, but does so anyway because there’s a few more things that she wants to prepare for his bath and doesn’t want the tub to accidentally overflow. “aww, that’s so sweet of you, honey. but — did you just describe my mom as having beautiful old hollywood starlet looks? do you have a secret crush on my mom, axl? huh?” she jokingly teases, squinting her eyes in feigned suspicion, trying to avert his attention from her flushed cheeks. she doesn’t know how to accept compliments like this.

“no, don’t even bother checking, we don’t have any decorations left at the condo. i actually ended up donating most of them back in september. i only left like one wreath, a few garlands and some lights so it might not be enough for our house,” she admits with a shake of her head, averting her gaze in embarrassment. it clearly wasn’t the smartest decision to just give everything up, but at the time, while she was packing their whole life into boxes so that they could u-haul them to malibu, she labeled old christmas decor as clutter and decided it ought to be replaced anyway. “yes! oh, my gosh, yes!” her features light up at the mere sound of his next suggestion, a dazzling grin tugging at her lips. she doesn’t remember the last time she actually had the strength to go shopping so the idea of heading to kmart or sears tomorrow really makes her day. it gives her a sense of normalcy, of their old life when they did simple things together and enjoyed them. “both! let’s check out both. sears has some real cute outdoor decorations. i saw in their catalog.” she’s going around picking up every towel in sight and putting them all in the hamper so that she can replace them with fresh ones, and has to pause just to kiss him on the cheek. all out of sheer excitement. “and we can finally buy a big christmas tree! do you think a 15-foot-tall one would fit into our living room? we’d have to buy a ladder, too.” she’s watching her husband with happiness and affection, wondering how it’s possible that he’s so sweet and eager to take her on a shopping spree. most people would just call her crazy and refuse to spend thousands of dollars on christmas decorations, especially on christmas eve. what’s the point now? they’ll have to take everything down in a week or so anyway. “i have to buy you something, too,” she admits shyly, feeling silly because she somehow forgot about the entire holiday and hasn’t bought any presents yet. “i mean, you should probably write a letter to santa if you haven’t already.” maybe they can do that later, once they get downstairs and she begins to fix them some food. after all, it’s santa who brings gifts on christmas day. it’s more magical to pretend. “hey, are you buying a gift for me or yourself, huh?” she giggles, blushing furiously at his suggestion. not that it would be an entirely bad idea. after all, she hasn’t felt attractive in weeks. “forget about teeny tiny panties for a moment and hear me out. we could get matching grinch pajamas and slippers!” she suggests, swaying her hips and shimmying her shoulders to the sounds of an old classic — santa claus is coming to town. she  suddenly feels so giddy that she can’t help but do a silly little dance, losing one of her sneakers in the process and toeing the other one off on purpose, fingers drumming occasionally on the counter. “can we agree that a hand promise is better than a pinky promise?” she asks, giggling and grabbing his toothbrush. it quickly turns into a microphone, her dance becomes a full blown performance meant to cheer him up. “you better watch out, you better not cry, better not pout, i’m telling you why — ladies and gentlemen, mr rose!” she points the toothbrush in his direction, a mere inch away from his cigarette, and expects him to pick up where she’s left off.

“thank you so much for describing that accident in vivid details. i almost managed to forget about it.” rolling her eyes playfully, she still can’t believe that it was actually one of the first times that she saw him naked. she had to put cooling ointment on his privates, too, and was actually considering taking him to a doctor. it was traumatic, but now that she looks back on it, also kind of hilarious. “you only got a rash ‘cause you mixed a bunch of stuff together, and it was cheap stuff, too. i mean, real cheap.” decent dish soap costs more than those bath bombs she bought back then. they looked and smelled amazing, but were made of artificial ingredients that quickly irritated his sensitive skin. “i’ve got some nice stuff now. look.” she takes out a basket where she keeps all of her fancy bath supplies and sets it on the counter beside his cigarettes so that she can go through it and present everything to him. “for my favorite baby with sensitive skin.” she shows him a set of organic fizzy bombs that are meant for toddlers. they’re made of natural ingredients such as coconut oil, olive oil, and natural essential oils. there’s no glitter or artificial coloring in them so they don’t look quite as fun as their cheaper equivalents but they surely won’t give him a nasty rash. there’s a lavender teddy bear, a cute daisy that smells like vanilla, a pale pink rose, a peach, a star that smells like oranges. “yeah, bath balls, axl,” she giggles, refusing to correct him because it sounds so funny. “i mean, you already got two of your own so just pick a third that you’d like to play with in the tub.”

it’s a big risk, one he knows could end up flip flopping like it usually does when he decides to forgive and forget. he doesn’t want this relationship and marriage to make him feel like he’s drowning any longer…it’s almost worrisome that she’s rerouted the direction she wants to go in with herself and her treatment towards him. but he can’t bring himself to shut her out and feel like he wants to lose her forever, so he takes this big fucking risk and hopes he doesn’t fuck himself. “you’re welcome.” saying humbly, hoping he doesn’t regret it and they really can make it work and function together as two people connected as one. listening to her testimony, his stomach muscles flinch when her fingers tickle his skin at the cold touch stunning him and the way her fingers brushing over his skin tickles to the point his stomach jolts. “i agree to work on it too, otherwise eating glass is our only option left.” he says a little amusingly, rubbing tiredly at his eyes, “but really, i’m more than over the moon about this. so thank you too, baby.” he leans down to peck her lips, hands gently squeezing her upper arms over the cloth of her sweat shirt.

“yeah, i know,” nodding in agreement, he can feel his heart pang if he replays all the things she’s said but he doesn’t want to elaborate on that out loud to erin and make her feel bad for it. he just doesn’t understand why she’s like two different people. “you must’ve just missed me too much or something…i’m no james dean.” he responds in his usual down to earth but also insecure way, chuckling. never believed he’s ever been some hunky guy with all the looks and charisma. “i know, i couldn’t be arnold even i gain pounds. i’m just some scrawny redhead.” he snorts. it’s foreign for him to even say it out loud, admit he’s a redhead. he’s always tried to not think about the color of his hair or deny its red. “i’m happy you think i’m some moviestar though.” axl’s deep voice fills with happiness once he thinks about that, small smile playing on his lips. “i always have thought you were one. your mama definitely gave you those beautiful old hollywood starlet looks.” he tells her while eyes trail over her beautiful features. “mhm, exactly.” one loses their will to live, let alone to eat and keep going. he does wonder what she’s been doing all of this time without him.

“yeah it is. and yeah, we definitely need a tree up. it’s not goin’ to feel like christmas without it. do we have any christmas decorations left at the condo? i haven’t been back there in awhile but i still decided to keep it. if not, we can go crazy in kmart or sears tomorrow.” he adds to the plan, smiling softly she’s getting into her usual erin fashion of getting all excited about plans. they can head there after the grocery store. “santa for granny panties…oh yeah, i gotta buy you something for christmas while we’re out tomorrow. maybe i’ll get you some teeny tiny panties.” he chuckles as he jokes, turning the knob on the built in radio in the bathroom wall to turn the stations until he comes upon one with christmas tunes playing. letting them softly play once he turns back around. “yeah it was a hand promise.” axl amusingly adds, grabbing the cigarettes off the bathroom sink and pulling one out of his box of marlboro reds as he sits down on the toilet lid. “thanks, sugar.” he takes the lighter from her, looking over at the ashtray up on the counter then flicking his lighter to ignite the flame to make the cigarette burn. he takes that first draw and loves the soothing flavor of it as he gets back up and turns the fan on so the smoke smell well at least absorb into it after he places the box of cigarettes down and the lighter next to the ashtray. “oh, i won’t. i’ll be reeeal careful and i’m also very lucky and feelin’ special that i’m erin’s favorite.” he smiles cutely at her as he watches her work on his bath tub water, exhaling his smoke up in the air. “you can put whatever into it, just as long as it doesn’t put a rash up my ass or on my dick like one time those bath balls or bath bombs— whatever they are— did. that shit burned my ass up, from the crack to the surroundings of my balls.”

[aweecrush]

"I wasn't mad, I was just saying - Pete didn't get it, and he was wrong."

Erin just scoffs.

"Oh but you were mad," she smiles as he looks down at her, tightening her fingers around his and moving her other hand to squeeze his arm to let him know she's only gently teasing. "You still are. He just sees it a different way, that's all."

"Come on - you're not starting to agree with him, are you?"

"Of course not - I think you're right. I think it was meant to be that way since the very start - "

" - everything's been pointing towards it - "

" - there's no other satisfying option - not even one that would make sense, really - "

" - all the bloody arcs have been centered around it year after year - "

" - and I mean, you can just feel it, right - "

" - you can see it, for fuck sake! I don't even understand how that’s a question - "

" - which is why I agree with you, and Pete's going to be buying us a couple of beers next week."

James snorts. "A couple? I bet an entire night of free drinks: get ready to get properly pissed, because I really intend for this nice, new salary of his to take a hit," and she laughs, the beers they did already have tonight still making her head spin in that pleasing way.

She kisses his cheek once, twice, just because she can. He angles his head just the right way, and she plonks her lips on his for just a second, a no doubt very stupid looking smile on her face. "I love that you're so passionate about stuff like this. Haven't seen you get this riled up in a while, though."

"I wasn't - "

She raises an eyebrow. He rolls his eyes. "Alright, maybe I was a little. But in my defense, this is a proper piece of pop culture that our children will probably be watching just like us, and I'm not the only one involved in it."

"Mhm hm."

"Also, he was purposefully being bullheaded about it - it's fine to think something that turns out to be wrong, or to not agree, or discuss, or just to be bothered by the fact that you might not be right, but he was just being a dick."

"Fair enough."

"I suppose I was kinda drunk to be honest, so that didn't help, sure."

"I think we still are, really, but go on."

"It's so obvious! I know it's kinda subjective, but...it is, right? Plus - "

He stops waving his hand all around, then, his pretty little upset face suddenly turning a bit more - vulnerable, maybe.

She vaguely registers that they've arrived home as James types the code, pushing the door open with his back. His eyes aren't exactly meeting hers, and under the London moonlighted night (and the streets lamps, really), she thinks she sees the slightest of pink color his cheeks.

She grins.

"Plus what?"

"You'll make fun of me and I will never hear the end of it."

"Aye, probably yeah," she nods, faking seriousness.

Erin plants herself right in front of him, fingers grazing his stomach and eyes dead set on his. "Spill it."

Half smiling, half embarassed (and by God, completely handsome), he breathes an exaggerated sigh. Looks back at her.

"I guess - I guess I relate to the nerdy guy who's been in love with his best friend since high school, and hasn't stopped ever since."

Oh. Oh.

He has that look now, the one where you'd think she hung all the bloody stars in the sky or something.

Her teasing grin falls a little. "To that, and to the fact that, you know - they're meant to be. And he'd be lost lost without her, so."

Aye, but here they are again.

It's been almost seven year now - seven years since that morning in a cold, half haunted house in the arsehole of Donegal, since he's confessed his feelings and told her he thought she was beautiful and made her heart stop. He'd done it countless times since then, so much so that she was afraid the damn thing would stop working for good at some point.

And yet, she's still not used to it.

"You want Ross and Rachel to end up together because they remind you of us?"

Chuckling, James rolls his eyes and snakes his arms around her waist, bringing her even closer.

"Alright, have at it - go ahead."

In her belly, the familiar butterflies go wild. She's beaming so hard, it almost hurts.

"Ach baby - "

"Here we go."

"You are such a sap."

"I am not!" She laughs as he shakes his head, grumbling something about knowing he should have kept his mouth shut.

Erin rises on her tiptoes to kiss his cheeks, his nose, every bit of skin available to her, one hand on the back of his neck, the other getting lost in his hair the way she knows he loves.

"You definitely are, love. You're one handsome, perfect, sappy wee dote."

"I mean, even without the whole couple thing, we'd be them anyway. Orla’s Phoebe - "

" - Michelle is Joey - "

" - Clare is Monica," they say in unison.

"And you're the Ross to my Rachel," she finishes softly, bringing him even closer.

Their chests are so close, she can feel him breathing against her. It's always been the most calming thing to her - still is.

James smiles. So sweet, it melts her heart a little. "Hopefully. I mean - you see it too, right?"

He doesn't specify what he's referring to - who he's referring to. Ross and Rachel, or them. The answer is the same, anyway.

She kisses him as gently as she can, almost dizzy with happiness (and admittedly, Guiness) as he wraps himself around her, his scent surrounding her completely.

"Of course I do," she whispers.

Then, makes a face. "Although let's not get married to anyone else down the line, eh. And I'd really appreciate it if we didn't break up and you immediately shag the first lass you see?"

It tickles when he laughs, his warm breath on her face before he pecks her once, twice, a grin stuck on his lips.

"Deal."

Aye, that smile.

"So," she beams, feeling a bit cocky again. "To sum up, I'm the main, beautiful, fashionable character of the story, you've been hopelessly in love with me since the beginning of said story, we're going to have wains of our own - yes you did say that too -, we're meant to be and you'd be lost without me. Did I get it right?" The light is making the green of his eyes thay much more enticing, somehow.

Or maybe it has nothing to do with the light.

"Oh, absolutely. Didn't I mention that before?"

He still has that wicked smirk that makes her feel all kind of things when he leans in again, deepening the kiss with each brush of his lips on hers. She's not sure how long they stay like this, snogging like two teenagers in the entrance of their building.

The summer air is warm, and everything’s getting even warmer now, the fingers he slips under her shirt all but setting her skin on fire at that point.

She holds on as tight as she can.

"Maybe - maybe we should go up to the flat." She's panting now, and even if he looks way too proud of himself, Erin can’t quite stop herself from beaming back at him.

Jesus but she's too far gone.

"Yeah - let's go."

Next week, they'll sit down and watch Ross and Rachel hopefully end up together as Friends comes to an end, the end of an era. It'll be sad to say goodbye, really, even more so if they dont' get the ending they deserve. She has a feeling they'll be fine, though.

In any case, James and her definitely will be.

Read on AO3.