#or like they fell madly in love within the first 2 seconds of meeting

[justauthoring]

ACTS OF INTIMACY.

Prompt: Five acts of intimacy between you and Harry -- because those are the moments that truly count.

Please don’t plagiarize my work! Pairing: Harry Styles x Reader Word Count:1,899

1. THE FIRST TIME YOU HOLD HANDS.

Harry and you had just started dating. And while you were a good two weeks into your relationship, things still felt a little... awkward.

For lack of better wording.

It was mainly because the two of you had started out as friends. Really good friends. There was no one like Harry, and while the statement seemed plainly obvious, it was true. So much so, that you’d never had a friend like Harry and while the feelings for him had always been there, it felt entirely foreign and strange to act upon them.

Really, it was just you that found it strange.

Your time spent with Harry felt the same it always had; and it was that that made it hard to ever make any sort of acts of intimacy. He tried, of course he did, and he was always so respectfully understanding of when you shied away. Because you couldn’t help it.

Your stomach would erupt into butterflies and your heart would start pounding madly against your chest, and you shy away, turning your head to tuck your chin into your neck and hide your blushing cheeks away from him. And he’d just chuckle, pull back, and make some silly comment to ease your nerves.

But then the two of you are walking that one fateful day, and the entire time your eyes haven’t stopped flickering to his hands. You love his hands. And the urge to hold them has never been quite this great. Your feelings for him are starting to get the better of you and, of course, make more sense, and you’re no longer so confused between the line of platonic and not.

The sudden urge is just suddenly too great.

You subtly step towards him. Harry barely notices. And then your eyes flicker lower once again, and you feel your chest tighten in nerves even though the act is so simple and you know, you just do, that Harry won’t mind one bit. But thoughts are always hard to ignore, and you can’t help the way your insecurities slip past your defenses.

And then, then, his hand twitches and suddenly your fingers are threading through his own.

The moment stills, your eyes flicker upwards, meeting his own bright green ones which have turned to you in surprise at the touch. However, he catches the look in your eyes and his face eases, every bit of surprise fading, and his lips curve upwards and his eyes twinkle and you’re not sure you’ve ever seen Harry this happy and it just warms your heart.

Knowing such a small act of holding his hands brought his this much joy.

He pulls your entwined hands towards his lips, pressing a kiss against the back of your own, and your stomach erupts in flutters.

After that, you always want to hold his hand.

And Harry doesn’t mind one bit.

2. YOU FORGOT YOUR PJ’S.

You’re spending the night at Harry’s.

It’s not the first time, but you’re definitely still getting accustomed to taking this next step in your guy’s relationship. You’ve been at his house plenty of times, you’ve even spent the night a time or two, but it’s a completely different thing going to his bedroom instead of the guest one and slipping under his covers instead of cold, strange ones.

Harry’s already in bed, waiting for you, when you realize you’ve forgotten a set of your own pajama’s. 

You purse your lips in thought, frazzled, and you’re starting to wish you’d taken up Harry’s offer in just leaving some of your stuff at his place. He’d used the excuse ‘well, you’ll be spending a lot more time here anyway’ and he wasn’t entirely wrong. 

Brushing back your hair, you slowly pull open the bathroom door, peeking your head into the bedroom. “Harry?” And his name leaves your lips in a soft, somewhat nervous whisper, finding his perched form on the bed already staring in your direction, as if he’d been waiting patiently (or maybe not so patiently) for you to come join him.

“Yeah, love?”

“I forgot some pajama’s.”

His eyes meet yours and his lips quirk into a smile. “You want to borrow a shirt of mine?” But before you even give him a proper answer, he’s standing up to grab you a shirt.

You purse your lips. “Only if you don’t mind.”

“Of course I don’t, dove.” And there’s a pause, a moment of rustling in his closet, before he’s stepping towards you, a black shirt in hand. “Here.”

You accept it with a smile, excusing yourself for a moment more as you change quickly. When you step back out, in nothing more then Harry’s shirt now, Harry isn’t on the bed like you’d expected. You’re puzzled for a moment before a light gasp of surprise leaves your lips at the feeling of arms bounding round your middle. 

You’re swept off your feet in a quick, simple stride, and you don’t land back on your feet, but instead your back, on Harry’s bed with him towering over you.

“You look dashing, darling.”

And your cheeks warm, scoffing at Harry. “I’m just wearing a shirt, Haz.”

“Yeah, but,” and his eyes lower, smiling. “It’s mine.”

“It’s definitely comfy.”

“Well,” and his voice is deep, husky, moving to roll over until he’s next to you. He, however, doesn’t hesitate to pull you flush against himself still, cuddling tightly to you. “You can borrow a shirt anytime.”

And now, you don’t need pajama’s because you one way or another, end up just wearing one of Harry’s shirts to bed.

3. HIS HANDS ON YOUR WAIST.

You’re reading a book when the music starts.

And you blink, eyes flickering upwards in confusion, having been under the impression that you’d been alone, before you find Harry stood before you. He’s got a goofy grin on his face, and he’s twirling around on his feet as he slowly but steadily makes his way towards you.

“Harry,” you laugh, shaking your head. “What’re you doing?”

He reaches you by then, taking your hand in his own as your book slides off your lap, landing on the floor with a soft thud as you’re swept up to your feet. Another giggle of confusion but amusement leaves your lips as he starts gently guiding you back with him, the grin never fading from his lips. “We,” he corrects, “are dancing.” 

And then, you’re really swept off your feet as Harry pulls you flush against him with one simply tug, chest pressed against chest. His hands fall on your waist and you have no choice (though you’re not complaining) but to wrap your arms around his neck, laughing.

“Oh?” You question, raising a teasing brow. “I didn’t realize you were such an amazing dancer.”

“Haven’t you seen me perform on stage?”

He feigns hurt by your words and this time a loud, bellowed laugh leaves your lips as your head tilts back. Harry watches on with a fond grin, eyes softening with warmth as your laughter echoes about the room, masking the sound of the slow song he’d turned on for just a moment.

Harry could listen to you laugh for hours.

“When you’re not falling,” you shrug, “sure.”

“Hey!”

Shaking your head, your eyes crinkle with amusement. “So?”

And he blinks. “So?”

“Why’re we dancing?”

“What, can’t a boyfriend just want to slow dance with his girlfriend in the middle of their living room?”

You roll your eyes. “Sure he can.”

“Then,” he shrugs, tightening his grip on your waist. “That’s why.”

“Alrighty then,” you oblige, the grin never fading from your lips. “Spin me, Haz.”

And he’s all too quick to abide.

4. YOUR HEAD ON HIS SHOULDER.

You’d meant to have a movie marathon.

But somewhere along the way, maybe three, four hours in, your eyes had started to grow heavy and Harry’s comments started to lessen in between. His arm around your waist had slacked and your head kept tipping to the side as the urge to stay awake became harder and harder.

Eventually, and you’re not really exactly sure when, you finally lose the fight and your head falls against Harry’s shoulder, body relaxing. It’s a moment or two later, that Harry’s falls against your own, also asleep.

You awake at the credits rolling. You waking wakes Harry up. The both of you pull apart, blinking, confused for a moment, before your eyes turn to his.

“I think we fell asleep.”

You laugh gently at the grogginess of his voice, rubbing at your eyes. “I think we did too.”

A moment of pause echoes, you turn back to the tv. “I don’t even remember what movie we were watching.”

“Me neither,” Harry chuckles, pulling you closer. “I was out halfway through the second movie.”

“Was this three or four?”

“Four, I think.”

Another pause, your eyes drift to Harry. “We suck at all nighters.”

“And movie marathons.”

You laugh. “Should we head to bed?”

“As long as we cuddle.”

You stand, holding your hand out for Harry. “Well, of course,” you grin widely.

Because there’s not a night you two don’t cuddle.

5. EYES FROM THE CROWD.

It’s the first time you’ve been able to join him on tour.

You’re not sure whose more excited; you or him. He plans everything to a T. Making sure you have the best ‘seat’ available for his performance. He wants you to be able to see everything, ecstatic to perform for you, but he also wants to be able to see you amongst the crowd. He also wants to make sure you’re safe from the crowd.

Honestly, you think he goes a little above the beyond; but you don’t have the heart to tell him cause he’s just so excited.

And honestly, when the concert starts, you chide yourself on never having made more of an effort to join him on tour before. The entire night is magical. You’ve been to concerts before, but nothing beats the feeling of watching the man you love do what he loves; perform. His energy on stage in unbeatable and he seems to be on fire even more that night with you on crowd.

Your hearts warms and flutters and everything in between when he calls you out, dedicating a special song for you. Your favourite song of his.

He’s sung for you before. You’ve heard his songs before. But this is something you’ve never experienced, and Y/F/S just means something entirely different as you stare up at him, watching every little detailed of his lit-up, focused on face from your spot within the crowd. Watching the smile on his lips, watching the way his body moves to the beat, listening to how beautiful his voice sounds.

In disbelief that the song is just for you.

It feels like you’re in a dream.

And then his eyes meet yours and everything, everyone else seems to just fade away. The world goes crazy, the screams of the fans go away, and all you can hear is Harry, and all you can see is his eye staring back at you, full of love and warmth.

You never experienced something like it before.

Everything seems to just be said in his eyes, and no words need to be shared between either of you for the other to understand.

The moment is unlike any other.

-

Let me know what you thought?

[kylosgenesis]

Teardrops on Fire

Synopsis:

Steve Rogers is the last Alpha of the an almost extinct Lycan pack. With only less than 100 members left. Steve must produce an heir to ensure the species survival and reduce the chance of attacks from others. Omegas are rare, and betas have a hard time producing children. Steves reality is finally setting in as his obligation of producing an heir faces a major set back.

Reader is the last suitable omega to mate with Steve, due to the fear of her daughters fate in the pack, her mother kept her hidden from the pack after her own exile. Only her mother, and Bucky's family know of her existence. Bucky is Steve's right hand man, and the packs best warrior! He and the reader developed a friendship and bond over the years, but age forced them to become distant.

What happens when she presents and her first heat cycle comes? Her body is in excruciating pain and a strong fever quickly overcomes her body. Facing the fear of her daughters possible death, her mom calls on the only person who can save her at this point, Alpha Steve! Bucky and the alphas friendship will be tested. The reader will be faced with her love for Bucky or her duty to the pack.

Chapter warnings : descriptions of death, abuse, blood, and mentions of miscarriage.

Chapter 2: Honey I tried

“When did it start?” Bucky was holding on to the edge of his kitchen table.He felt nauseated with the thought of her, sick and yearning, He couldn't even picture what she had grown up to look like, A part of him was scared of his own emotions.

“It hasn’t yet!”

“ At least not as of this morning.” her mother was breaking apart! Bucky could tell she was very scared and exhausted! He knew that her daughter's well being must've weighed heavily on her, he could see the physical manifestation of her pain. In just a few hours her nails had been bit to the core, and her tears streaks had left vivid and raw tracks around her cheeks.

“Buck! I know this is a lot to ask, but you have to tell Steve! Were worried she wouldn't make it otherwise. This will be her first heat”

He’d almost forgotten his mothers presence in the room, cause he turned around and met her eyes, tears streaming down her face. She'd grown fond of her friend's daughter over the years. After her own kids had left to form their own lives, she could still go to her and relive some memories of her little ones' younger days.

“I know! I'm still wrapping my head around it, but I know what I have to do” agitation surrounded his voice. He didn't know when his heart started to feel like it wanted to jump out of his chest or when he gripped the glass of water that was left on the table so hard it shattered, but it was evident that he wasn't going to be getting any rest that day.

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

Bucky parked his pickup in front of Steve's house. It was the largest house in the village, it wasn't Steve's choice, but he'd inherited it from his father, and his father had inherited it from his father before him. Being the house farthest away from the city limits, but right in the middle of the village meant Steve was protected, but could also be easily accessed.

Looking back at his passenger seat he saw Winnifred with her mom cradled upon her shoulder, comforting her best friend through the probably the second hardest day of her life.

“You should stay here Ma, I'll go get Steve” I know he’ll be happy to see you, but I still don't know how he'll react to her'' He opened his tool box on the bed of his truck and pulled out a large fleece blanket. Neatly folded he handed it over to his mother.

“Just keep her company till I come back”

The lights in Steve's house were on, but Buck could hear the sound of wood being shopped and Steve's grunts coming from the back of the property. As he reached his best friend's view, he took a deep breath. It was all gonna be different now, for all of them.

Steve had a large pair of headphones in, and was clearly a few songs deep into his playlist because when Bucky came around the corner; Steve almost lost a hold of the axe he was holding! Lookin at Buck he lowered his bulky headphones and stabbed the axe to the soft moody ground next to the small uncut piece of wood he was about to turn into lumber.

Steve's hair was not as long as Bucky's, and he had taken a liking to a neatly kept beard.

He grew it out as a joke at first! Clint dared him to grow it for a month, and after a month he'd grown fond of the style.So for the past year now, Steve looked less like a young soldier, and more like those lumberjacks from the cheesy romance novel covers his sister Rebecca loved to read.

“Hey Buck, didn't expect you around so late” Steve combed his hair back with his fingers. A nervous habit Bucky had noticed since childhood, especially when he had a lot on his mind.

“Couldn't sleep?”

Bucky was concerned for his friend, momentarily forgetting the reason for his sudden visit.

“ Banner called! Wanda was there earlier today, she wasn't feeling well. Turns out she was pregnant, and didn't know it!

“Steves that's awesome, when is she due ? we need to celebra…” as he looked into his best friend's eyes he saw the pain behind his look.

“She was miscarrying at the same time she found out she was pregnant, Buck. That's the third pup we've lost this year.I don't know how we're gonna get through this, It's getting harder and harder to keep everyone safe, and pretend we're not gonna be extinct in 50 years”

“Steve…” Steve's gaze was filled with a mixture of tears and rage. He took everyone's pain personally. And hearing about Wanda had awoken an unease within his soul. He couldn't fight the problem! How could a man used to protecting and fighting, deal with a problem that didn't require a fight?

“There’s an omega! She presented this morning!

“Who is she?”

“Remember Katerina? She … uhh … after she was exiled from the pack, she had a daughter!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 20 years ago

“We can't just let him die! We have to take him outside the walls! Someone out there can help him”

Joseph was the second in command to Benjamin Rogers. Two of the strongest alphas the entire western district had ever known. Both feared together, but explosive apart.

Benjamin had fathered a son 7 years earlier, a frail boy. He was often sickly and his future wasn’t promised! He wasn't meant to live much longer, the boy had once again woken up sick. A high fever overcoming his small body.

Benjamin had changed after his wife's death, he blamed the boy for Sarah’s death. A man that was once kind, and dedicated to his family, now lived like a wandering dark shadow inflicting cruelty against anyone that disagreed and crossed his path. His pack was strong! But there was no harmony, only fear.

Sarah had been a beautiful alpha as well as Benjamin. She had a hard time carrying Steve to term, at 7 months she fell bedridden and two weeks later, she had a seizure that compromised her pregnancy. Benjamin himself had to cut the boy out of his dying wife. That choice, as his wife laid there lifeless , covered in blood, and cut open like an animal awoke a demon in Benjamin. He saw death in his son's eyes, that is why he could never love him. He could never care!

Katerina took care of his young baby like her own, she had struggled to have a baby of her own so when Joseph came home holding a still bloody wailing baby, she fell madly in love with the small bundle in his arms.

The boy was small, but smart! He picked up words as young as a few months, and as a toddler he was incredibly gifted. Steve excelled in art, and even knees bit of music. Katerina loved to sit down and play piano! A young Steve would lean into her side and follow suit to her fingers on the side of the pano with his small hands. Joseph and Katerina watched him grow up, and took care of him.

Steve got sick often, but nothing too serious!

One day as she prepared breakfast she had a feeling of dread on the pit of her stomach, she ran upstairs to check on Steve and found him comatose on the bed!she wailed as she held her adopted infant son to her chest. Joseph came running to her after hearing her screams. He picked up the boy from her hands and loaded him into the car, with Katerina at his side he headed to Benjamin's house.

That was the first time Benjamin had seen his son since his wife died, his son himself nearly dead!

"Please Ben! He needs help! There's another pack two hours away, they have a doctor that can help him. She can heal him for good, please open up the walls so we can go to her! They both pleaded with Ben for hours, but to no avail!

The man was already covered in anger and reeking of alcohol, “Don't you dare challenge your alpha Joe! If I find out you defied me and left this territory you will never be allowed back”

Katerina couldn't let her boy die! With that warning in heart, she and her husband plotted to get little Stevie outside the pack territory, and to that doctor.

Behind Ben’s back, and knowing the consequences in his heart Joe called the Alpha from the neighboring pack, the other alpha had the resources ready for them to arrive in the morning. His doctor, a witch, was ready to give little Steve the life he deserved.

In the early morning of the night they sped their way through the woods. Once they reached the border a car awaited Rina, a beta from the fury pack was ready to take them to their pack.

Ben had closed the pack off to treaties when his wife died, he believed the world was dangerous and the pack was better off without interruptions, he couldn't even save his wife! His pack did not deserve to be mercied, they didn't deserve to live if she couldn't. So Ben slowly watched his pack become secluded and lost.

In the morning Ben, even drunker than the night before, had shown up at Joe's doorstep demanding to see the boy. Fully convinced he'd be dead by now, when Joe failed to produce an explanation as to why his wife was gone and so was Steve.

Ben lost it!

He called a pack meeting on which he publicly executed Joe, whether it was a display of power or just pure psychopathic joy. Joe’s death left the town broken, when Katerina came back with a healed Steve, she found herself widowed and exiled.

As a last sick jab into Joe’s heart even after his death, Ben took Steve!

As the years went by Steve forgot his early years, he forgot Joe and Katerina!

Steve remembered stories of his betrayal, her exile! How their actions forever changed a pack. He grew up kind, giving, and strong! Even if Steve didn't experience or know much love from his father, he was full of it!

And thanks to that witch both Katerina’s little growing heartbeat and Steve were stronger than ever!

Tags:

@austynparksandpizza @exposition-belongs-somewhere

[joachimnapoleon]

Meet the Bonapartes: Pauline (3/3)

[Part 1] [Part 2]

Following the untimely death of Leclerc, Pauline’s brothers were anxious to find her a new husband--preferably a politically advantageous one. Napoleon had hoped to marry her to Francesco Melzi d’Eril, a wealthy Milanese nobleman who had just become the Vice President of the Italian republic (Napoleon himself being the president), but Melzi respectfully declined. On August 28, 1803, Pauline was married to twenty-eight-year-old Don Camillo Filippo Ludovico Borghese, Prince of Sulmon and of Rossano, Duke and Prince of Guastalla, who, in the words of Hortense de Beauharnais, “was not particularly clever but good-looking and who possessed a great fortune in Rome.” Napoleon was lukewarm to the match and, like Pauline, quickly came to regard Camillo as “an imbecile” (Napoleon, who adored bestowing derogatory nicknames on people, would also style Camillo as “His Serene Idiot”). The pair had no real chemistry and the marriage turned sour in no time. 

[Camillo Borghese]

In the summer of 1804, however, Camillo, still enthralled by his wife’s beauty, commissioned the sculptor Antonio Canova to immortalize Pauline in white marble. Canova was initially reluctant to accept the commission--until he laid eyes on Pauline in person, after which he agreed to begin working on it within a month. To Canova’s suggestion that he depict her as Diana, the virgin huntress, Pauline laughed, saying “No one would believe in my chastity.” She insisted on being portrayed as Venus, the goddess of love. 

[Canova’s statue of Pauline as Venus Victrix]

It was in August of 1804 that the relationship between Pauline and Camillo ruptured, and it would remain ruptured seemingly past the point of repair for the next twenty years. On the 14th of August, Dermide, Pauline’s only child with Leclerc, died in Rome after falling ill with a fever. Pauline was in Tuscany at the time, trying to reestablish her poor health. The news was first received by Camillo, who, anticipating his wife’s blame, had it kept from her for several days. “Pauline will regard me with horror!” he declared. “Wasn't it I who wanted her to leave her son in Rome? No doubt he would have died anyway, but she is bound to accuse me of his death.” Finally, one of Pauline’s attendants was forced to reveal the news after arousing her suspicions. Pauline raged at Camillo as “the butcher of my son” and ordered him out of her sight. The break between them was complete, and quite public. Pauline viciously hinted to her companions that Camillo was impotent, declaring that "to give oneself to Camillo was to give oneself to no one." She showed no interest in attempting to provide him with an heir, and took great delight in humiliating him by embarking on a series of openly flaunted love affairs. For his part, Camillo soon began a long-term affair with a distant cousin, the Duchessa Lante. From this point, Pauline and Camillo would lead mostly separate lives, until the final months of Pauline’s. Having never truly enjoyed Rome, she now grabbed any opportunity she could find to escape it.

In 1805, she began the first of the only two of her numerous affairs in the aftermath of Leclerc’s death in which she showed a legitimate, deep attachment to her lover. While taking the waters at Plombières, she met an artist, the thirty-year-old Comte de Forbin, and fell madly in love with him. Pauline soon made Forbin her chamberlain, so he could be with her constantly. The affair lasted for the next two years and, writes Pauline’s biographer Margery Weiner, 

was so intense, passionate and almost fatal because her obsession with him was so great that she declined visibly, although nothing would persuade her to detach herself from him; no doubt in temperament Forbin had much in common with Murat.

[The Comte de Forbin]

The eventual decline in her health was so great that a renowned gynecologist, Dr. Hallé, was called in, to consult with Pauline’s personal physician, Peyre. Hallé explained the situation in a letter to Peyre as follows:

Her habitual and constant state is one of uterine excitement and if this state is continued and prolonged it can become alarming. The spasms I saw in her arms were hysteric and so were the headaches. Her general condition is one of exhaustion. I talked to her in general terms about everything which contributed to the uterine irritation and I thought she listened to me but I'm afraid not sufficiently. One cannot always make douches responsible and one must suppose that in a young, pretty, sensitive and solitary woman, who is visibly fading away, there is a constant cause for this decline. Whatever this cause is it is time and more than time to eliminate it.

Napoleon was greatly displeased by the stories reaching him in Paris of his sister’s behavior in Rome. “Do not count on me for help,” he wrote to her, “if at your age you let yourself be governed by bad advice,” adding that if she continued to quarrel with Camillo, “France will be closed to you.” For good measure, he had their uncle Cardinal Fesch, write to Pauline to tell her, “on my behalf, that she is no longer pretty, that she will be much less so in a few years, and... she should not indulge in those bad manners which the bon ton reproves.”

Pauline’s affair with Forbin ended only when Forbin accepted an appointment in the army--whether at his own request, or at the insistence of Napoleon, remains unclear. Pauline soon moved on to other amusements. While staying in Nice during the winter of 1807-8, a young violinist, Felice Blangini, caught Pauline’s wandering eye. Pauline offered him the post of her chef d’orchestra (she had no orchestra). Blangini was a shy man, of a much humbler station than his predecessor Forbin, and found his suddenly elevation vaguely terrifying. "I knew,” he wrote later, “that the Emperor was kept informed of what his sister did, the names of her intimates.” But he lacked the will to stand up to Pauline, and submitted to being paraded around by her in public. It was with considerable relief on Blangini’s part that the affair was abruptly ended when Napoleon appointed Camillo governor-general of the Transalpine Department of the French Empire, and ordered him and Pauline to travel to Turin together to take up the seat. 

Pauline, disgusted at finding herself shackled to Camillo once more, made the journey to Turin as quarrelsome as possible. At one point she reminded her husband "in a not very amiable fashion that he was only governor-general by virtue of being her husband, and that he would be nothing if he had not married the Emperor's sister. Which," recounts Maxime de Villemarest, the secretary who accompanied the pair, "had some truth in it." To which Camillo responded in "the most piteous manner" (in the words of de Villemarest) with cries of "Paulette! Paulette!"

By mid-1808 she had already found a way to escape from Camillo and Turin (she insisted to Napoleon that the climate was bad for her health) and was back in France once more. Added to her delight was an increase of her income by Napoleon to six hundred thousand francs, a sum that Napoleon rendered off-limits to Camillo. In Paris she presided regularly over balls and cercles, and in no time had resumed her position as one of the central figures in Parisian society. In the words of one of her neighbors, Stanislas de Girardin, 

Pauline Borghese was then in the full brilliance of her beauty. Men pressed about her to admire her, to pay court. And she enjoyed this homage as her due. In the glances she exchanged with some of them, indeed, there was a recognition of past favors granted or hints of romance to come. Few women have savored more the pleasure of being beautiful.

She was one of the few people in whom Napoleon found comfort following his divorce with Josephine--an event which pleased Pauline greatly--in December of 1809. She was less pleased at Napoleon’s choice for a new bride--the teenage archduchess Marie-Louise--and sulked with her sisters over having to carry the bride’s train at the imperial wedding. The Countess Potocka has left this innuendo-laden description of Pauline from around this time (the italics are hers):

Princess Pauline Borghese was a type of classical beauty to be found in Greek statues. Despite the things she did which hastened the ravages of time, in the evening, by the aid of a little artifice, she captured all suffrages, and not a woman would have dared to dispute her the apple which Canova awarded her after unveiled contemplation, as it was said. To the most delicate and regular features imaginable she added an admirable figure too often admired. Thanks to so many graces, her wit passed unnoticed; nothing but her gallantries were spoken of, and certainly they gave plenty of matter for discussion.

After brief liaisons with Russian general Prince Alexander Tchernitcheff and Polish general (and future Marshal) Józef Poniatowski, Pauline embarked on her second of the two aforementioned love affairs in which she genuinely seems to have fallen for her partner. This time, her lover was a young hussar from Berthier’s staff named Jules de Canouville, who became fiercely devoted to her. At Pauline’s request, Napoleon made de Canouville a baron, but the young man (and his affair with Pauline) soon incurred the Emperor’s wrath. Napoleon sent him to Marshal Masséna in Spain, bearing dispatches (and a secret order to Masséna to keep the young man in Spain until further notice). It didn’t go quite as Napoleon had planned. Pauline’s biographer Fraser describes de Canouville’s journey:

Even in the midst of this duty, de Canouville thought only of Pauline. Knowing that, with her, to be absent was to be soon forgotten, he covered 170 relays at a gallop, a distance of over seven hundred miles, and arrived a few days later, covered in mud, at headquarters in Salamanca. There he learned that the supply lines to Portugal were cut and resolved to return the next day to Paris with the news, rather than pursue his quarry further.  An hour without Pauline, he said, was a desert, and he whiled away the evening while telling all who would listen that Napoleon had charged him with his mission only by way of vengeance.

[Jules de Canouville]

In 1812, he departed with the Grande Armée for Russia, where he served on the staff of Pauline’s brother-in-law Murat, who kept Pauline apprised of de Canouville’s whereabouts--and also informed her of his death at the battle of Borodino on 7 September. News of de Canouville’s death hit Pauline hard. “Apparently this braggart cavalier,” writes Fraser, “with his joie de vivre and optimism, had touched in Pauline some chord that her other, more sophisticated lovers had not. Weeks later Pauline's librarian and confidant Ferrand wrote: 'She does nothing but cry, she doesn't eat, and her health is altered.'"

She remained at Nice throughout 1813 and into 1814, her health continuing to decline, and her anxieties over the future of her brother’s reign mounting. She made efforts to prepare her finances for any potential catastrophe that might befall the family, but evinced no concern for her personal safety. When Napoleon was finally defeated and forced to abdicate in April of 1814, Pauline prepared to join him in exile on the island of Elba--after first going to Naples. She stayed in Naples from June through October, residing in a villa loaned to her during this period by her sister Caroline, the Queen of Naples, and reportedly helping to broker a reconciliation between Napoleon and the Murats, though there is no trace of any correspondence between Napoleon and his brother-in-law from this period. She also worked to quickly sell off her remaining properties in France, rather than risk having them sequestered by the Bourbons. Her final property, Neuilly--formerly belonging to the Murats--was sold to the British government, to serve as the residence of the newly-appointed ambassador to the court of Louis XVIII, the Duke of Wellington.

Pauline finally joined Napoleon on Elba in November of 1814, the only one of his siblings to do so. Her presence delighted Napoleon, and this delight in turn gave renewed life in the British tabloids to the long-recurring rumors of an affair between Napoleon and Pauline. At any rate, Napoleon soon began to fall into a state of depression, which Pauline worked to cure by arranging various balls and other entertainments to keep him occupied. She apparently attempted to coax multiple generals into affairs on Elba, and was turned down repeatedly, and Napoleon’s Mameluke servant Ali was highly critical of her conduct. Displeased with Napoleon’s plans to escape the island and return to France, she confided to Marchand both a diamond necklace for Napoleon to sell if he needed money, and her fear that she would never see her brother again. She was proven correct.

When it became known that the Allies intended to exile Napoleon to Saint Helena after his defeat at Waterloo, Pauline wrote to the Pope to request asylum in Rome. It was granted (partly on account of her brother Louis, now residing there himself, arguing on her behalf) and she made the journey in October. Like the rest of the Bonaparte siblings, she would remain, until the death of Napoleon, under heavy surveillance by multiple governments. The further intervention of the Pope ended a dispute between Camillo and Pauline which enabled Pauline to return to the Palazzo Borghese. Pauline received many British visitors here while Napoleon was on Saint Helena, and tried to charm as many influential Whigs as she could, knowing that they were sympathetic to Napoleon’s situation. As the years passed, reports of Napoleon's deteriorating health caused Pauline great anxiety, affecting her own health in turn. Visitors described her as "much altered" and "grown thin." The Canova statue--and its obvious contrast with her own now diminished figure--suddenly brought about in her a marked insecurity, to the point where Pauline eventually asked Camillo not to show it off to visitors anymore, using the absurd excuse that "the nudity of the statue approaches indecency." 

News of Napoleon's death in 1821 left Pauline both heartbroken and outraged. As she had following the death of Dermide, she lashed out for a scapegoat, finding it this time in the English people as a whole. “I have made a vow to receive no more of the English. Without exception they are all butchers." To Hortense she wrote, "I cannot accustom myself to the idea that I will never see him again. I am in despair. Adieu. For me life has no more charm, all is finished."

She fell deathly ill in Rome in late 1823, but recovered enough to continue to charm visitors and dance at soirees again the following year. Another reconciliation was affected with Camillo (this one also via the Pope), and Pauline moved back into the Palazzo Borghese--this time for good--in 1824. Surprisingly, their relationship seemed at last to be taking a genuinely positive turn, even inspiring a local poet “to write an ode on the subject of their matrimonial felicity."

In the spring 1825, Pauline's health began to fail for the final time. She suffered greatly--her bedchamber woman writing later that Pauline had been in pain for over eighty days. Her last letter was written to her brother Louis in Rome on 13 May 1825. "I do nothing but vomit and suffer, I am reduced to a shadow. They are repairing the street and I can't stand the awful noise. The Prince is going to take a villa in the suburbs here where we shall spend the month of May. It is impossible in the state in which I am to think of going to the villa in Lucca.... Embrace Mamma and I send a thousand good wishes to the family. I am ill, ill, but I embrace you." She also confirmed herself as a devout Catholic. "I die without any feelings of hatred or animosity against anyone, in the principles of the faith and doctrine of the apostolic church, and in piety and resignation." She died on 9 June 1825; a stomach tumor was attributed as her cause of death, as it had been for her father.

“Her greatest quality,” writes Margery Weiner, “was hidden except from those who knew her best; lovable herself, she was capable of the greatest devotion.... Not as Queen of Hearts, not as a woman given over to frivolity, narcissism and promiscuity should Pauline Bonaparte be remembered, but as a perfect example of a devoted and loving sister.”

***

Sources:

Broers, Michael. Napoleon: Soldier of Destiny. 2014.

Broers, Michael. Napoleon: The Spirit of the Age, 1805-1810. 2018.

De Beauharnais, Hortense. The Memoirs of Queen Hortense, Vol I (ebook, 2016)

Fraser, Flora. Venus of Empire: The Life of Pauline Bonaparte, 2009.

Roberts, Andrews. Napoleon: A Life. 2014.

Stryienski, Casimir (ed.), Memoirs of Countess Potocka, 1900.

Weiner, Margery. The Parvenue Princesses: Elisa, Pauline, and Caroline Bonaparte. 1964.

[corie-the-writer]

Fate - Chapter 2

Authors Note: Aubrey's ex-boyfriend will be portrayed by actor Ryan Guzman, based on his role in Boy Next Door. In case anyone is wondering since he will be mentioned in this chapter. And Kenny Rixton will be Jay's partner in this series, because I loved his character (Not that I don't like Hailey, I just don't think Rixton got enough credit for his role) 

Chapter 2 

It had been two weeks since Detective Jay Halstead had met his son for the first time, and he couldn't be happier. He was madly in love with the little boy who had warmed up to him quicker than him or Aubrey had expected. Henry was glued to Jay's hip from the moment the little boy spotted his father walk into Hank's home. It made it difficult for Aubrey to put the little boy down for bed, resulting in Jay having to carry the little boy up the stairs, laying with him until Henry fell asleep. There were a couple of nights where Jay had fallen asleep, waking up the next morning to see Henry cuddling with him while his little hand was holding onto whatever part of Aubrey he could, with her arm draped across his little stomach, and Jay’s arm wrapped around the both of them. Jay had ended up snagging a photo of them and putt it as his lock screen wallpaper. 

Hank Voight had given Jay a week off, he spent that entire time spending time with Henry as much as he could, the days that Aubrey worked, Jay would watch their little boy. The week that he had went back to work, he hated being away from the little boy, who was being babysat by Cindy Hermann, the only person Aubrey and Jay could agree on. 

Once he had got back to work, Hank had pulled him into his office, wanting to investigate Aubrey's ex-boyfriend, without the woman knowing. He had pulled the entire team onto finding out whatever they could on the man. Jay had decided to check out Aubrey's Facebook page since he was friends with her, seeing if there was anything that he could find. Jay wasn't surprised that there wasn't much information on there, barely any posts. 

"I got something..." 

Jay looked up to see Kenny Rixton speaking from his desk, causing him to push his chair back from his desk, standing up. Jay let out a breath as he moved towards Kenny's desk, standing behind him, looking to the computer screen. "According to his Instagram name, his name is Noah." Jay looked at all the different pictures displayed on the screen. He felt a pain in his chest seeing the dark-haired man, his dark eyes, silently admitting the man was decent looking. Jay's eyes looked to the few pictures of Noah and Aubrey, it felt like his heart clenched seeing another man kissing her cheek, a large smile on her face, the same smile he had put on her face over the years.

"See if you can run any facial recognition." Hank's voice caused Jay to tear his eyes away from the screen, "I want to know what we are dealing with. I rather be prepared than be caught off guard." Hank added then looked to Jay, "Aren't you supposed to be meeting your father?" Hank questioned and Jay glanced to his watch to see the time. 

"I'm late." Jay realized that he was going on twenty minutes late, he was suppose to pick up Henry and Aubrey, so that his father could meet their son for the first time for an early lunch, "I gotta go..." Jay moved quickly past Hank and towards his desk to grab his jacket, cell phone, badge and gun, then headed for the stairs. 

Jay had been hesitant to allow Pat Halstead to meet his son, considering that Pat had not always been kind to him, he didn't want his son to deal with that. Aubrey had mentioned introducing Henry to Pat, since Jay was trying to give the man a second chance now that he had stopped drinking. Jay had been torn about it for a few days, but he finally caved. Jay had told Aubrey that he didn't want his father to be alone with Henry, just not trusting him entirely. Aubrey respected his wishes, and he had called his father to tell him the news. Jay had to admit that he was surprised that Pat handled the news pretty well, it helped that Pat had always loved Aubrey saying, "I'm glad it's her and not some hussy you slept around with."

Pat had no filter, since he had been on speaker phone, Aubrey had heard his words, and Jay could have sworn that Aubrey looked hurt at the comment. Jay knew that there was a lot of history between him and Aubrey, and as much as he loved her through everything, he still had needs. He knew that if he heard about Aubrey's sex life, he would probably want to drive his truck into a building. He didn't want to think about another man touching her, he couldn't think about it, because he would end up losing his entire shit. Jay had offered her an apology for his father's blunt comment, and watched as she just shrugged it off, focusing her attention on Henry. 

Now rushing through the streets of Chicago, Jay had glanced to his phone to see that Aubrey had text him, saying that she and Henry were going to be meeting Pat at a small pizza joint near his apartment building. He definitely didn't want Aubrey and Henry alone with Pat. He found himself rushing to pull in front of the restaurant, slamming his truck into park and climbing out. 

Quickly walking through the door, Jay spotted Aubrey, Henry and Pat sitting in a corner booth, noticing that Will Halstead had joined them. Aubrey was smiling at something Pat was saying as Henry sat on Will's lap, and he slowly made his way across the floor towards his family. 

"Dada!" 

Jay grinned hearing his son's voice, watching as he quickly climbed out of Will's arms, and out of the booth, running straight for him. Jay quickly bent down to pick the little boy up. 

"Hey buddy, you having fun?" Jay questioned, kissing his son's cheek then moving towards the booth, sliding in next to Aubrey, kissing the side of her head, "Sorry I'm late. There was a case we were working on." Jay commented, letting Henry settle on his lap, "Hey dad, Will." Jay looked to his father and brother, giving both men a nod.

"Pat was telling me how much Henry is like you." Aubrey commented causing Jay to glance to her, "Guess you were a shy too, which surprises me for how much trouble you'd get in as a teenager." Aubrey joked with a playful wink causing Jay to chuckle. 

"I never thought I'd live to see the day that you would have a son Jay." Pat commented, "He's a real good lookin' kid, I see a lot of you in him, but mostly Aubrey." Pat joked causing Aubrey to chuckle beside Jay. 

Jay focused his attention on Henry who was using the crayons on the table to draw on the paper mat, he wasn't too interested in having a conversation with Pat. There was still a lot of resentment that Jay held towards his father, and was extremely skeptical of having him in his life now that Henry was involved. 

"So are you two living together?" Pat questioned, causing Jay to glance up from seeing what Henry was drawing. 

"No, I am staying with my father for right now." Aubrey spoke up, "I had an apartment that fell through when I moved here." Aubrey explained. 

"How is the pizza here?" Will questioned, trying to change the subject on behalf of his brother's sake, knowing that this conversation was going to cause some tension, but Pat cut him off. 

"You two ever think you'll get your shit together?" Pat chuckled. Jay tensed and felt Aubrey's hand on his knee under the table within seconds, giving him a squeeze, trying to calm him down, "Jay, she's a good girl, I've told you that since she started coming around. You need to step up and be the man she deserves or let someone else." Pat spoke coolly, Aubrey swallowed loudly as Jay tensed beside her.

"Well, right now our main focus is Henry." Aubrey spoke up, "We aren't the same people we were back when we were kids Pat, a lot has happened." Jay used his free hand to lay it on top of Aubrey's as it rested on her leg under the table. 

"Well you're the best thing that's ever happened to him." Pat stated, "I've seen some of the chicks..." 

"Enough." Jay snapped, not wanting to have Aubrey hear any of what was going to come out of Pat's mouth, "Is this how you really want the first time you meet your grandson to go?" Jay questioned heatedly, keeping his voice low to not upset Henry, "Unbelievable." Jay shook his head with disgust, "I get it, I'm no Will, but don't you dare ever question if I'm man enough." Jay nearly growled, and Aubrey decided to speak up. 

"Jay..." Aubrey's soft voice caused him to tear his glare away from his father, then glanced to Aubrey, feeling her hand squeeze his hand, silently telling him now wasn't the time. 

"No Aubrey, let him say what he wants." Pat offered, while Will spoke up beside his father. 

"Now is not the time for this." Will stated trying to de-escalate the situation. 

"No. Now is the perfect time for this." Jay gently lifted Henry from his lap, moving the little boy to Aubrey, who wrapped her arms around the dark-haired boy, then turned his attention to Pat, "Since I met her, you've done nothing but shove it in my face how Will would be a better match for her. You've done nothing but try to beat me down since mom died, when I found her, you decided to try to beat me down even more. You don't know anything about our relationship, so you have zero input on what happens, and you get to make no comments on what you think. The only thing that matters is I love her and I love our son, and I'll spend every day of my damn life making sure I never treat them the way you treated me." Jay spoke heatedly and Aubrey frowned, not knowing that Pat had used his favoritism with Will against Jay when it came to their relationship, "You can't even just focus on your grandson because you have to try to prove a point that Will is a better person than me, he can offer them so much more than I can, it's pathetic, and this was a mistake." Jay added. 

Aubrey was getting ready to speak up when her cell phone began to ring, then Will's and then Jay's, causing the table to fall eerily silent for a moment. 

Aubrey glanced to the screen of her phone, seeing that the hospital was calling and she was needing to come in because it was an all hands on deck situation. Aubrey glanced to Jay and then Will.

"I have to go into work." Will spoke up, glancing to Aubrey and then Jay.

"So do I." Aubrey stated, kissing her son's forehead. 

"Me too." Jay moved to stand up from the booth, grabbing ahold of Henry, "I'll drive you." Jay stated, thankful he hadn't taken Henry's car seat out of his truck. 

"Who's gonna watch Henry?" Pat questioned, hopeful. 

Jay grabbed ahold of Aubrey's hand, helping her stand up from the booth while Henry was hoisted on his hip, Aubrey was about to answer, but saw Jay shake his head. Aubrey offered Pat a small smile as Will said his goodbyes to his father, quickly following Jay and Aubrey out of the restaurant. 

Aubrey quickly called Cindy Hermann, who had began babysitting Henry just last week once her husband came in asking if the hospital had any part time positions available. Once Aubrey had told him that she was looking to hire a babysitter for Henry, Cindy jumped at the chance to watch the little boy. 

As Jay drove his truck to the Hermann residence, it was extremely silent and Aubrey wasn't sure what to say. Aubrey decided to remain quiet as Jay pulled up to Cindy's home, moving to the back of the truck to un-hook Henry from his car-seat. Once the little boy was in her arms, she moved to Jay's door, allowing the man to have a quick goodbye, and was surprised that Jay opened the door, pulling her and Henry both into his arms. His face buried into the curve of her neck for a moment, feeling him let out a big sigh, then turned to face his son, kissing him on top of his head, and telling him he loved him. Aubrey quickly made her way up to the porch, promising Cindy that she would let her know as soon as she could what time she would be back to get him, then kissed her son, and jogged to Jay's truck. 

Driving through the streets of Chicago, Jay found himself reaching for Aubrey's hand. His fingers lacing around hers as her hand rested in her lap, giving her hand a squeeze. Jay knew that he couldn't speak because he was still angry over Pat's comments, but this was his way of letting her know that he was somewhat okay. Jay glanced to the woman, seeing her a pair of black boots, black jeans and a white t-shirt that was covered by her black leather jacket. 

"Do I need to take you to the house to get scrubs?" Jay spoke quietly, seeing Aubrey turn her head away from the window to look at him, and shake her head. 

"I have an extra set of scrubs and shoes in my locker at the hospital." Aubrey commented, "Do you think your call had anything to do with why we got called in?" Aubrey found herself questioning. 

"I'm not sure." Jay spoke, "Voight didn't say anything other than we needed to come in." Jay added pulling under the awning of the hospital, "I'm sorry for how I reacted to what he was saying." Jay added a few moments later, "I shouldn't have done that with Henry there." 

"Jay don't apologize, okay?" Aubrey gave him a soft smile, squeezing his hand, "Be safe, okay?" Aubrey moved to reach for the door handle, and Jay had stopped her. 

"I meant what I said, about loving you, loving Henry..." Jay spoke quickly, "I might not be the man you deserve, but I will try like hell to be." Jay added. 

"Jay..." Aubrey sighed, her hand reaching to cup Jay's cheek, "We will talk about this later, okay?" Aubrey hated that she couldn't continue this conversation, and leaned towards Jay to brush her lips against the corner of his mouth, "I promise, we'll talk about this later." Aubrey promised, watching as Jay's eyes turned hopeful, "Now go save the city Detective." Aubrey heard Jay chuckle as she climbed out of his truck, shutting the door and rushing into the hospital. 

Aubrey rushed into the locker room to change into her maroon colored scrubs and white sneakers, tying her long hair into a tight bun at the top of her head, and quickly went to work. 

"What do we have?" Aubrey questioned to Will Halstead as he met her at the nurses station, gesturing for her to follow him into a patient's room. 

"I'm not entirely sure." Will stated, "It's some sort of flesh eating bacteria." Will stated, moving the patients cover down to reveal a large portion of the man's leg, and Aubrey couldn't help the small gasp that escaped, seeing the man's flesh oozing different liquids, the skin practically eating itself. 

"Start him up on IV's, keep him monitored until we figure out what this is." Aubrey glanced to the nurse, then back to Will, "It looks like you and I are going to be doing some research."

Tag List: @samiam9525 @yespleasejayhalstead @chloebear26 @daenerys-targaryes @tyzerman91@fofisstilinski @aparkel @mamamiush @nursejuju86 @toomuchtv95 @smalltowngirly05 @hehurst23 @itsdesiree86 @kaite1996 @spiridakos-wp @thesunwillriseagain-13 @esauthor @chrisanddumness @supyfish @haileymatthewss @am918 @onechicagofan20 @raindreamsxx @alievans007 @live-in-the-waves @katiehud @beachfan412 @kadygirl @nikki1dxx @realbasoeverything @bethii1 @faithhasnowords @death-star-canteen @wearesodrica @amylouwho9 @bellageorge03 @shadyfox242 @httphiddlestan @lovecatystuff @cobym @mheart27

[thewizardofrp]

( drab ) scourge of the wicked : part 2

There were shouts coming from all around, an angry crowd - no, an angry mob with their voices rising in the cool night’s air. The shouts and curses and cries were muffled at first as Abe started to stir, but then they grew louder and louder, making his head throb worse and worse until finally his eyes opened and he blinked through the haze. 

Things were a bit blurry right off the bat. 

He could see shapes and figures, but none of them were immediately on him. He saw the flicker of flames, the light of which made his head hurt even more, and he noted that the ground was moving, jolting him here and there. 

 No, wait, not the ground. 

He blinked rapidly, groaning as he sat up, head protesting but him doing it anyway. It took a few moments for his eyes to really adjust, but when they did he found himself sitting in a caged cart that was moving through the woods towards an area that was lit up with torches, all burning brightly against the night sky. 

Oz laid there beside him, hands bound in front of him, dried blood along his face from a gash there on his forehead. Abe went to reach out for him, but chains clinked and held back his wrists. He followed the link of chains to the bars behind him. The people had purposely made them shorter so he couldn’t reach out for Oz, so he couldn’t touch him when and if he woke. 

He clenched his teeth, feeling a flicker of panic but mostly feeling rage boiling deep within his core. 

He wanted to say something, he wanted to snap at the people around them, but now that he was finally paying attention their shouts got through to him, sending a spike of blood curdling fear through him. 

”BURN THEM BOTH!” 
“PURGE THE LAND OF THEM!” 
“BURN THEM!” 
“BURN THEM!” 
“BURN THEM!” 

His gaze shot back to the lit up area and his heart dropped into the pit of his stomach. There, in the middle of the clearing, were two pyres with sticks and brush already gathered around them and the leader of the village standing ready to light them ablaze. 

”Oz, wake up.” Abe said then, frantic -Oh, so, frantic, giving the cart a bit of a stomp with his foot. ”OZ!” 

His husband groaned, but didn’t stir. 

Abe closed his eyes and concentrated on his husband. ”Oz, you gotta wake up.” He could feel him now, their connection weak. He could feel the pain Oz was in, how his husband was lost to the darkness of his mind, unable to wake out of it. He swallowed hard and felt the cart stop, the shouts growing louder and hearing the jangling of keys. 

They were going to be burnt at the stake. 

These people were going to drag them over to the pyres and burn them alive! 

Abe was no stranger to fire. It was part of his magical abilities after all - fire elemental and such - but he knew he wasn’t immune to its affects. And this woods were still suppressing his magic. He could feel it there, tingling in his fingers, but no matter how hard he concentrated on it, he couldn’t get it to manifest. 

The door to the cage opened. 

From behind him he heard the ‘click’ of the lock that kept his chains tight around the bars. 

”Nononono!” He kicked out at the men who tried to grab at him, but they grasped at his ankle and tugged roughly, yanking him out of the cart and to the ground with a harsh - thud! 

They did the same to Oz, who still didn’t stir, who only moaned weakly. 

”STOP IT! He’s hurt!” Abe shouted at them, trying to struggle and break free from their grasp, but three men against one wasn’t a fair fight. Two grabbed at his arms, the third grasped at his feet and they hoisted him from the ground, carrying him over to the pyre as two other men grabbed Oz and took him to the pyre directly behind his. ”You’ll pay for this!” Abe shouted as they shoved him against the large stake in the middle. He winced, but kept his glare in his eyes. ”This is wrong! We’re innocent!” The leader, Pavlen, scoffed at that. “Innocent, he says!” He barked at the crowd with bitter laughter. “Says the man who killed our Archon, scorched the lands, and takes up company with filth! Who shares his bed with another man!” 

Abe clenched his teeth. ”It’s the 21st century, pops, get with the times. Men sleep with men! Women sleep with women!” A gasp from several came from the crowd, followed by more cursing. ”Love is love! No one should be punished for it - especially not like this!” 

“LOVE.” Pavlen mocked with a scoff, then spit at Abe’s feet. “You are demons. You are scum. You are NOT our King.” 

From behind the pyre, Oz was finally stirring, he looked around, dazed and confused as the men tied his hands around the stake behind him. ”Abe?” 

Abe whimpered at that, feeling the confusion and fear swelling up in his husband. ”Babe, it’s okay! We’re gonna be fine! Just, let me talk to the angry villagers and we’ll go home soon-“ 

“The only place you and that other piece of filth will be going is the depths of the Underworld.” Pavlen gave a nod of his head to the men tying Abe up and he felt the ropes go tighter around him, almost cutting off the air that flowed in his chest. “You both will BURN.” 

”BURN THEM!” 
“BURN THEM TO ASH!”
“SCOURGE! SCOURGE!” 

Abe’s heart was racing madly, ”You don’t want to do this.” He pleaded with Pavlen, ”We’ll go. We’ll go far away and won’t ever come back to this place just please-“ 

Pavlen sneered at him, nose turned up before he stepped down from the pyre with the other men. He faced the crowds, arms outstretched. “Brothers and sisters, we will rid the lands of this sin, of this filth! We will make the lands whole again and demand that those in the kingdom elect a better, pure, Archon!” 

Shouts of agreement rose up, fists raised, cheering - it made Abe’s chest tightened with fear, but also made the anger within him grow hotter. He and Oz had come to see about them, to see if they could help the village, and this was how they were treated? And because why? Because they fucking kissed?! 

What was this? 
The dark ages?! 

”STOP!” Abe continued to plead. ”DON’T DO THIS!” 

Pavlen was handed a torch and he turned back to Abe, raising a brow at him, features void of emotion except for pure hate. “Time to meet your maker.” He growled, but instead of coming to his pyre and setting it ablaze, he stepped around him to Oz’s pyre and laid the torch against the sticks and brushes. A moment later, smoke and flame rose up, hot and unyielding. 

”NO!” Abe screamed, feeling the heat, hearing the crackling of the flames. ”OZ! NO! NO!” He struggled against the ropes, felt fear and panic crash over him, fell the tingling his fingers turn into a throb that pulsed from his fingertips to a place in his very core where heat and flame and magic stirred. 

”ABE!” Oz tried to call out, but the smoke was growing heavy around him and the heat was making him wince in pain. His coughs rose up as the smoke filled his lungs. 

Abe couldn’t let this happen. 

He wouldn’t let this happen. 

Letting out a yell from the very depths of his soul, his eyes turned red and his body gave a flash of light that made the villagers cry out and double over, shielding their eyes. The ropes that were tied around him dissolved and the flames from the torches were snuffed out. 

They should have listened. 

They should have left them alone. 

Something entirely beyond what Abe was had taken over, something from the depths of himself that was unforgiving. With a twist of his fingers and a flick of his wrist, the people around them turned to ash without so much as a flame needed. One minute they w ere there, a cry rising up for a split second, then they were gone. 

He then turned and gave another flick of his wrist, the flames around Oz vanishing. 

His husband remained tied there, head slumped, unmoving, his chest barely rising and falling. 

Abe’s red hues flickered over to Pavlen who was shaking where he stood, the torch with flame snuffed out, falling to the ground at his feet. 

“I…I didn’t mean….I’m sorry….think of the others in the village! They need me to lead! They need-“ 

Abe growled low and flicked his wrist. 

A jagged gash appeared on Pavlen’s neck, blood spurting from the wound. His eyes widened and he brought a hand to it, gurgling, trying his best to stop the flow, but as Abe made his way past him he dropped to his knees, then finally the ground where his raspy breathing ceased seconds later, blood pooling around his body. 

Abe didn’t stop until he got to Oz. He made the ropes vanish, then caught his husband’s body in his arm, lowering them down and cradling Oz’s face in his hands. His red hues slowly turned back to their dark brown, full of sorrow and worry. ”Baby….Baby, come on. Come back to me. Oz, everything’s okay now. Please….Please….” 

There was a pause of silence in which Abe held his breath. 

But then he felt it, the spark of life within Oz, followed by his husband gasping for breath and Oz’s eyes fluttering open. Oz coughed roughly, chest aching and pain searing through him where the flames had managed to lick at his legs, but he was alive. Alive and looking back up at Abe. ”W-what happened?” He questioned. ”They let us go?” 

There was nothing but silence around them now. 

No angry voices. 

No one condemning them. 

Just them. 

Just them and the smoldering piles of ash. 

Abe said nothing about that though, instead he gently caressed his husband’s face. ”It doesn’t matter. We’re safe now.”

[lotustories]

Lie To Me

Part 2 / ?

Chapter Navigation

Summary: Years of friendship with 7 boys, yet you were madly in love with 1. It wasn’t a secret to anyone, except him. He never saw you that way and until he got a girlfriend, you thought he did. 

Pairing: Hoseok x Reader, Yoongi x Reader

Type: fluff, angst, maybe some smut 

Friday came around unnervingly quickly. You hadn’t spoken to hoseok since that day, which was unusual for you. You texted him everyday.  you were that damn clingy to him, and he never once texted you to see why you hadn’t. That only made your heart hurt more. So when 7pm came around and your phone began ringing. You didn’t even bother checking who it was, but as soon as you heard him speak. You knew “Y/n where are you? we are waiting for you.” He was shouting, he sounded like he was having fun. “Waiting for what?” confused, you hadn’t even realized what he was talking about until he answered your question. “It’s Friday, we’re watching The Conjuring.” He laughed slightly. “Not tonight I don’t feel good, sorry.” You answered and were ready to hang up but he stopped you. “In the 6 years I have known you, we have never missed a Friday movie night.” He sounded upset, but the small laughter of her made you want to hang up right then. “Sorry” your voice small. You didn’t want to be on the phone with him. “Guys tell y/n she better come.” He fumbled with the phone and you can tell he tried to put you on speaker before you could hang up. “Y/N GET OVER HERE!” They were all shouting, and then your phone buzzed.

Yoongi[7:12pm]: this is tradition, please come. 

You stayed silent, staring at his message. Your phone buzzed again

Yoongi[7:13pm]: I’ll distract you from them. 

You sighed at your phone placed it back to your ear, “ill be there in a little” the sound of the cheers only made you feel worse so you hung up before anyone else said anything. As you entered their apartment to chaos. The loud yelling and sounds of having fun, the visual of them drinking and you instantly regretted going. You weren’t in the mood for any of it. “Y/n!” Taehyung lifted himself off the floor to hug you. He was drunk already. “You have to get to know Luna! She is amazing, I’m glad she’s with hobi.” You pulled away from taehyung and forced a smile. “hi,” You nodded at her and she only shyly smiled back. You didn’t have anything against her, but seeing her made you upset because she had the one thing you wanted. hoseok hadn’t even acknowledge your presence and it was hurtful because he’s the one who begged you to come. After heading to the kitchen to grab a drink, you walked in to hoseok lying on her thighs as she played with his hair, as you always did during the movies. You stared for a moment. Realizing the man you loved, wanted someone else. Suddenly you felt yoongi pushing you from behind gently as he led you to the couch with him. Unfortunately you were seated between both men. Hoseok on your right side, now sitting up so you had room to sit, and yoongi on your left side. “isn’t this the movie you wanted me to watch so badly?” Hoseok leaned over to you and you shrugged, not speaking to him. That’s how most of the night went, you being an asshole for no reason other than the fact that he broke your heart unintentionally. So you helped yourself the only way you knew how, shutting him out. He tried to talk to you but you ignored his efforts and only responded in shrugs. 

When the movie was over, Luna started playfully flirting with hoseok and you quickly tried to leave the couch, but we’re stopped by yoongi who pulled you back down. “We’re watching one more.” He mumbled as he motioned to Jungkook who was inserting the dvd. “What now?” You whispered to him and he nodded. “Watch” the screen glitched and suddenly Jimin appeared. The birthday cake in his hands as he held it up to the camera. “Namjoon likes cake right?” You heard your voice from behind the camera. “Who doesn’t like cake?” The camera now focused on hoseok. “Me.” You retorted and he gave you this offended look. His face making you giggle at the same time as you did in the recording. “I’m just saying, if namjoon doesn’t like cake. I was not apart of this.” The camera flew back to Jimin and a young Jungkook who was trying to light the old candles. “Y/n this is your 5th month with us and you don’t like cake? I don’t think this friendship will last” 

“Look at us now y/n. 6 years, who would have thought that your hatred for cakes would spread.” Jungkook turned back to you smiling. “Youre this gym freak now, that is the only reason you won’t eat cake.” You argued and he only laughed. You suddenly remember the next part of this video and became upset again. The first time you remember ever feeling anything for him. Not visible on the tv, hoseok wrapped his arms around you and pulled you into the pool. The birthday surprise for namjoon turned into your initiation with the boys that would bring you six years of friendship. “HOBI!” Your voiced echoed through the tv speakers. Both of you completely soaked but he was laughing his ass off as he swam closer to you and you only pouted at him. You had never seen this from another point of view other than your own. “Welcome to the family” hoseok nudged you. “I remember that. You were mad at us for an hour.” You could feel hoseok staring but you refused to meet his eyes. “Yeah.” Was all you managed out. 

The clock soon hit midnight and everyone was getting tired, Luna had left some point during the night, but once again. They refused to let you leave. “Y/n just stay.” Namjoon begged you as he blocked the front door. “I really want my own bed, and my clothes” you tried pushing him away but that is literally like an ant trying to move a building. “I will carry you to a room if you keep trying to leave.” He stood up straight and you raised your brow at him. “So kidnapping is your thing now.” He shook his head and lifted you up within seconds and carried you around the house. “Hey! This isn’t fair. you’re stronger than me.” You wiggled around his hold and he only laughed. “What’s happening?” You could hear hoseoks voice but you’re too high up to see making namjoon laugh. “She tried leaving.” He answered and hoseok only laughed at your state. “Namjoon I will bite you.” You threatened and he immediately put you down. “Are you scared of a little bite?” Hoseok teased him, Namjoon’s face changing as he turned to hoseok. “A LITTLE?” His voice was high, “she bites hard!” He defended himself. Your teeth snapping at him making him flinch. “to bed.” Namjoon pointed his finger down the hall to the rooms but you looked at the front door. “You won’t make it.” He added. “Please, we all know I can.” You scoffed at his reply and he only ruffled your hair. “Come on, you can sleep in my room again.” Hoseok offered and you suddenly remember he was standing there too and for the first time since last week, you looked at him. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” You we’re now serious. “Why? You did last time it’s fine.” before you could answer yoongi opened his door. “Come on.” He mumbled and hoseok snapped his head to him as you made your way to Yoongi’s room, he shut the door as you plopped yourself on his bed. “Who said you can sleep on my bed, move.” He pulled your legs down so you fell off the bed. “YOU DID.” You groaned from the floor as he jumped up. “I don’t remember saying that, I said come on.” You could hear him giggle from above. As soon as he felt your hands wrap around his ankles he surprisingly - very quickly grabbed your hands and tossed you on the bed, his body on top of yours as his face hovered extremely close to you. “Don’t even try it.” His eyes piercing through you, blowing the strand of hair that fell over your face away. “Go get a shirt from closet, you can sleep in that.” He laughed as he lifted himself off you. 

quickly changing into the far too short shirt. “Uh, yoongi” you walked out of his bathroom, and motioned to the length. “Give me a longer shirt.” You complained as he got up. “That’s not even mine it’s Jimin’s.” He tossed you this white tee and you quickly changed in front of him not realizing he’s never seen you so bare. “Why do you have Jimin’s clothes in your closet” you casually continued the conversation as you tried to put the new shirt on. You looked up to him staring at you with this glare you had never seen before. It was scary almost. “What?” You asked as the shirt slide over your head and then it clicked. “Oh my god!” Your gasp brought his eyes back to yours. “I didn’t even think” you truly meant that. You didn’t , but yoongi just nodded. “I can sleep on the floor.” He cleared his throat, his hand flying to the back of his head to scratch. “Yoongi it’s your bed, I’m not kicking you out of it.” He looked up shocked almost. “You want me to sleep in it with you?” That wasn’t what you had meant, but things were already awkward so you thought you might as well go with it. “It doesn’t bother me.” You shrugged and he nodded back. “Get in so i Can turn this light off, I don’t need you falling on your face because it’s dark.” He mumbled and you did as told. Quickly running to the bed like something would get you in the dark. “You’re such a dork.” You heard him snort and then felt the bed sink a bit more. Yoongi’s room had this glowing light coming from his computers, the light giving just enough to expose his face. As your body shifted to faced him, his eyes were already closed. “Ah” your voice soft “you’re already asleep?” You sounded sad almost, but his eyes remained closed and you continued to stare. “Stop staring at me.” His brows furrowed, his eyes still not opening. Ignoring him, you kept staring. Yoongi had delicate features. His lips were soft pink and he had the most detailed Cupid’s bow. His hair was pushed out of his face exposing his perfectly shaped brows and the small crinkle in his forehead from him furrowing his eyebrows. “stop furrowing your eyebrows, you’re gonna get wrinkles.” You whispered and he only did it harder. You pressed your lips to his nose softly and his eyes fluttered open. Confused on what had just happened. “you’re too pretty for wrinkles.” You added and he just stared quietly. His gaze softening the longer he stared. “Go to bed.” He closed his eyes and his arms wrapped around your waist and he forced your head to his chest. 

The morning after was taehyung entering Yoongi’s room to wake up both of you for breakfast. Still entangled in Yoongi’s arms, you groaned pulling the covers over the both of you. You were a morning person, but not today. You wanted nothing more than to stay in bed with yoongi. “Taehyung wake them up!” You could hear hoseok’s voice echoing as he walked towards the room. “I don’t think they want to be woken up, they’re cuddling.” Taehyung answered innocently. “What?” Hoseok’s voice came to a stop as he entered the room. “Go away.” Yoongi’s voice vibrates against your ears. “Y/n come on i made you smiley face pancakes.” Hoseok begged softly, the tone of his voice off but you paid it no attention. “Mmm, I want to stay right here.” You groaned as you felt yoongi chuckle. “Five second to get out of bed or I’m getting the water.” Seokjin’s voice added to the room and you yanked the covers off. “I’m up.” You tried to lift yourself up but yoongi wouldn’t let go of you. “Listen you’re cute and all but I don’t want water thrown on me.” You argued as you tried twisting out of him. “He wouldn’t, just lay back down.” He protested causing Seokjin to scoff. You felt arms pull you away from yoongi making you let out a small scream only to notice it was taehyung pulling you off the bed. Seokjin tossing the ice cold water on him with this expression of satisfaction plastered across his face. “Taehyung put her down, she doesn’t have shorts on.” Hoseok glared at him, and taehyung did as told. “Go get changed and go eat.” Hoseok had left the room without looking at you. Taehyung still behind you, snorted softly, “Come on love birds, Seokjin is getting more water.” Yoongi was sitting up now, his hair a mess from the first round. “I. Am. Up.” He grunted, lifting his body off the bed to stretch. “Do you want to wear jeans again?” Yoongi asked mid stretch, “I have some shorts somewhere, or baggy sweats.” He pointed to his dresser and you joked. “I think you just like me in your clothes.” you flirted, but he couldn’t help the smile that formed on his face. “shut up.” He mumbled before turning towards the bathroom. Slipping on some sweats you made your way to the kitchen. “I said get ready.” He seemed grumpy today, a sight you never see from him. “I am wearing clothes, I don’t know how much more ready you want me to be.” arguing as you popped the strawberry into your mouth. “He means not wear Yoongi’s clothes.” Jimin whispered while hoseok had his back turned. The way hoseok started acting toward you since this morning was almost as if he was jealous of you being with yoongi, which you found ridiculous seeing as he had a girlfriend, so you ignored it. Yoongi finally joined you in the kitchen, sitting beside you as he stole some of your food only causing hoseok to swat his hand away. “That is for her, leave it.” He pushed yoongi away but yoongi ignored hoseok, looking to you for some food. “Here.” Your fork in front of his face with a bit of everything on your plate. Yoongi didn’t hesitate to take it, but hoseok only groaned. “He Can get his own plate, you eat.” He tapped on the table, his brows furrowed at your stubbornness. “Yoongi doesn’t each much in the morning, one more bite and he won’t want anymore.” You responded as you got the fork full with food once more. “Are you coming to the mall with us today?” Hoseok changed the conversation, his eyes focused on you. “What time, I want to go shower and get ready.” You finally turned to him. You didn’t realize how much you were trying your best to not look at him until you actually did. The feeling of this ping in your chest as if your heart was being squeezed. “We wanted to go now, but we can wait for you.” He smiled and you turned to yoongi. “Are you going?” Yoongi was deep in thought until your voice brought him back to the conversation. “Sure.” Hoseok clapped his hands and stood up correctly. “Come on I will take you home.” He offered and you only nodded in response. “Im not a baby.” You groaned at him. You had a car, a very new one if anything, but you never drove it.

 They insisted on picking you up and driving you back home. If you all hung out, one of them always picked you up and another always took you home. You knew it was their way of making you hang out as long as they could, so you didn’t mind much. “I’ll go shower.” Yoongi mumbled before getting off the stool, his hand squeezing yours before he walked away. “Okay lets go.” You shouted at hoseok who quickly followed after you to his car. “So,” he finally broke the silence “what.” Your head snapping to him. “Do you like Luna?” You Can see him gripping the steering wheel as if he was anxious or your answer. “Why wouldn’t I?” The small shrug you gave caused him to relax. “I didn’t tell the boys about her, I wanted you to meet her first. You are my best friend, almost like a sister.” He paused but your heart was in pain.  “I wanted to make sure you approved of her.” He looked over but your eyes were on the road. “As long as you’re happy.” Was all you managed out. Hurt at the fact that every day was becoming clearer and clearer that he didn’t want anything more than a friendship. 

[chogiwank]

Forgotten Keys

Yoo Kihyun Smut

Warning:  not much tbh,, fingering?!

Your family had left for the weekend so you made plans to go out on a cute date with your boyfriend, Kihyun, but things don't end the way you expected.

You found yourself sitting on the couch in Kihyuns apartment. This is definitely not how I wanted it to go, you thought to yourself. "Oh man, oh man, oh man", you quietly whispered to yourself.

Yesterday your family had told you that they will be going to stay at some relative of ours and that they will be gone for the weekend. Naturally, your parents continued to lecture you about behaving, being extra safe, not talking to strangers and much more but you were only paying partial attention to them. You were too busy racking your head to think of cute date ideas to go on with your boyfriend, Kihyun. It's been a while since you guys have been out on a date, so this was the perfect opportunity. They left that night so you quickly ran to the living room and started to search for cute date spots. You called Kihyun the moment you finished the list.

"HEY BABE!", you yelled into the phone.

"What the fuck are you doing. What happened?!" asked Kihyun confused and slightly annoyed.

"Let's go out on a date tomorrow, my parents are gone for the weekend."

"Hell yeah, we haven't been on a date in so long, " he said and you could hear the tingle of excitement in his voice.

"I know this great restaurant that sells the best tasting food."

"Oh, really because the only thing I like to eat is you, and that tastes like heaven." he softly whispered, making your face go red in an instant.

"Great so I'll pick you up tomorrow at 6."

"Kihyun you ass-" you didn't get to finish since Kihyun ended the call knowing you were about to yell at him. You still haven't gotten to him talking like that, especially since he randomly throws it in a conversation. But you were more than excited to meet him tomorrow so that was the only thing on your mind the whole night.

The next day at 6 pm sharp, you could hear Kihyun car pulling up on the driveway. You looked in the mirror once again making sure you were looked good. You were wearing an off-the-shoulder navy dress which stopped mid-thigh. You looked damn good and you knew it. Kihyun knocked on the door which made you stumble a bit because you were still way too excited. When you opened the door you could only hear him saying "Fuck you look so good" and a bunch of other muffled words that you couldn't make out. You were just as in awe as he was as he was wearing a white button-down shirt with a black tie and a black blazer making you gasp at how hot he looked.

"Let's go now shall we?" He said taking your hand.

The car ride took about 15 mins, and the entire time Kihyun couldn't take his eyes off of your exposed thighs.

"Look at the road!" you yelled at him noticing he was looking at your thighs, "Oh what do we have here? Kihyun being flustered?" you said laughing. But he didn't say anything back, what could he even say?

You both made it and after a long wait, the food finally arrived. Kihyun was madly in love with the food asking for seconds and more varieties. After you both were done you told him that he should take you home now. You looked through your purse for your house key but they weren't there. You were in disbelief, you started panicking you couldn't believe this. "Crap, crap, crap. Kihyun I left my keys at home. I'll call my friend she lives near this area, I'll ask if I can stay over at her place" you told him with a worried expression

"No need," he said grabbing my phone and my hand while dragging me to the car, "You can come to my apartment. Why bother someone else. And we haven't seen each other in a while this will be a good time to catch up." There was a glint in his eyes as he talked but you didn't notice. You agreed with him, why bother someone else.

So there you are now, sitting perfectly straight on Kihyuns couch. It's not that you hate being there it's just that it was your first time being at his apartment alone with him which for some reason made you more nervous than you should be. Kihyun, on the other hand, was perfectly calm, no strange behavior or anything of that sort. He was just fine making some tea for himself in the kitchen.

"What are you sitting so straight for?" he asked leaning against the wall with a smug grin on his face.

"Wha-what- no- I meant no I'm not", you stuttered. "Fuck," you thought to yourself "Fuck I stuttered"

Kihyun chuckled walking towards you while loosening his tie. You looked away and thought that he was going to sit beside you but instead you felt his presence behind the couch. You were about to turn around when he whispered in your ear, "Why's my girl so nervous?"

You felt shivers go down your spine. Your insides were flying around and you could feel your throat getting dryer and dryer.

"Who says I'm nervous", you said it less fierce than you intended. You were hoping he wouldn't catch it but of course, he did. Trying to change the subject quickly you told him you're going to change into a pair of his clothes. You got up quickly in case Kihyun wanted to say anything more. You went into his room and picked out a pair of sweatpants and shirt that looked comfy. You were trying to unzip your dress when a pair of other hands came to help you. You gasped at his sudden touch. You could feel his cold hands, one unzipping your dress while the other softly touched your back. The dress then fell to the ground and his hands ran down your body sending shivers down your spine.

"Kihyu-", you were about to yell at him when he cut you off

"Looked like you needed some help", he whispered into your ear. He began laying kisses down your neck making sure to go along your sweet spots making you let out a quiet moan.  He bit down on your neck leaving a mark which will definitely last for a few days. He slowly brought one of his hands up to squeeze your boob, and his other hand went down. He pulled down your panty a little, just enough for him to slide one of his fingers in between your clit.

"Look at you already being this wet even when I've barely touched you"

You threw your head back not realizing that you let out a moan, which stimulated Kihyun to finger you faster and harder. He enjoyed this, he enjoyed this very much, to be in full control of you. He likes the feeling of making you weak at his slightest touch because it shows who has the power.

"Stop", you said breathily. That just made him want to do more.

"Oh, you want more you say?" he says chuckling. He doesn't hesitate to put another finger inside of your pussy making you bite your lip so hard it bleeds. He's fingering you with 2 fingers now going faster and faster. He soon found your g-spot, making sure to hit right there each time causing you more pain.

All you could do was try to hold in your moans which took a lot of energy out of you.

"I don't like it when my baby girl holds in her moans." He growled in your ear, making your knees weak.

He suddenly thrust a third finger into your pussy and this time you let out the loudest moan. All while he's fingering you with three fingers, he's also biting down on your neck and squeezing your boobs. You feel yourself breathing heavier and faster, and you could feel you reaching your climax. He continued to thrust his fingers deep inside of you at an even faster pace and within seconds you were screaming and had orgasmed all over his hands. He continued to ride you out of your climax as your breathing became normal. You turned around to look at him and at the same time, he took his hand that was covered in your juices and licked it,

"I told you, you taste the best"

I hope y’all enjoyed that even a lil! 

It’s my first time writing one so it probably sucks lMaO,, feedback would be appreciated though, thANks

Also if you have any requests don’t hesitate to ask!! ;))

- Jeno’s babygirl

[whipped-for-kpop-fics]

Life Lessons 2/3

Nursery class teacher Namjoon x social worker Y/N(reader) fluffish thing???

Warning; Revolving around child abuse but the act itself will not be depicted, just discussed.

“Aren’t you a little young to be a social worker?“ He eyed you suspiciously as if you were going to tell him you knew the secret to the location of the fountain of youth.

"Aren’t you a little young to be a teacher?” You retorted and a grin stretched his cheeks.

“Touche.”

As much as you hated to, you had to leave Jaehyuk at the nursery to return to his home that night. Unless he showed obvious signs of distress at the mention of home, you couldn't take him. Everytime you mentioned home to him subtly, he never seemed upset or concerned about returning. He had even painted a picture for his dad and was excited to give it to him after school. Clearly, he loved his father like any child loved their parent. There was no way that Jaehyuk's father could be giving the child anything but love and affection in the correct ways. That left you with only one question.

If it wasn't his father doing such terrible things to him, then who was?

The answer came to you the next day almost as soon as you returned to the nursery. 

Namjoon had been at the entrance, pacing anxiously while waiting for your arrival. The day had already begun thirty minutes ago yet he hadn't been in to play with the children like he always did.

Like every morning, he opened the doors and greeted them all, smiling widely and crouching down to accept all the hugs and enthusiastic stories the children excitedly gave him. But then he saw Jaehyuk and everything changed. He felt sick to his stomach seeing a fresh bruise on the child's eye. To anyone else, it would look like any other bruise a child that age gained when playtime met childlike clumsiness but Namjoon knew it wasn't as innocent as that. He gave Jaehyuk an extra tight hug which resulted in missing the last two children but Namjoon barely even noticed. As soon as he had shut the door after watching Jaehyuk put up his coat and go in happily to meet his friends, Namjoon went into the office and called your private number. You had given it to him at the end of the day yesterday under the pretence of Jaehyuk's sake. Of course, you did mostly give your personal contact details to the man for that very reason but part of you handed it over in hopes of Namjoon wanting to talk to you more in general. The pair of you got along very well and you felt clear chemistry there. You hoped he felt it too.

The second you arrived at the building, Namjoon grabbed your wrist and pulled you into the office, shutting the door firmly behind you.

"What is it? Has something happened?" You questioned, looking at him with worry swimming through your body. 

Namjoon looked panicked, his eyes wide and darting around madly as his thoughts ran through his mind at rapid speed rendering him unable to keep up and only stumble along behind in hopes being able to grasp the remnants of a thought before it passed arms reach. He still paced, even within the small space, hands moving as he mimed words silently as he tried to piece everything in his brain together into one coherent string of syllables.

"Namjoon." You called upon realising he had blocked you out, however intentionally, to focus on his thoughts. When he didn't even respond to the sound of his name, you marched over and grabbed his face in your hands to force him to face you.

His movements ceased instantly and his eyes met yours. You could see the frenzy behind the orbs but it simmered the second he held your gaze.

"I'm here, it's okay, you need to calm down and tell me what happened." Your tone was soft, designed to calm him and it worked remarkably fast. Only seconds after your gentle touch met his cheeks, he was entirely relaxed and ready to talk.

"I know who has been hurting Jaehyuk." He announced. Your eyes widened and you nodded, encouraging him to continue while not removing your hands from him, afraid he would spiral back into panic and disorganised thoughts once again. "I should've realised something was wrong ages ago. I always noticed he wasn't himself when he picked him up but I always thought it was just because he was upset his dad wasn't there." 

"Who?" 

"His uncle." You didn't remember reading anything about an uncle in Jaehyuk's file. Logically you knew that every family member would not be listed in a child's school file but if the member picked the child up from school, surely their name would be penned down for future teachers to know. "Jaehyuk's dad sometimes works the night shift so his uncle will take him home and look after him. I thought maybe Jaehyuk just didn't like his house like he got bored and missed home easily or just missed his dad. I never thought his uncle was doing anything wrong." 

"Why have you realised now?" 

"He picked him up last night and now Jaehyuk has a bruise near his eye. Near his eye Y/N." He whimpered and your heart broke for the man who cared so deeply for his students. "It's unbelievable, how could someone do such things to a child and so blatantly too?" 

"It's disgusting." He nodded madly in agreement. "I'll make sure he doesn't do it again." You removed your hands finally to turn your attention to your phone as you pulled it from your bag. As your attention was turned, you failed to notice the way Namjoon's frown deepened as he lost your gentle caress on his cheeks. He enjoyed it a little too much.

While he watched you dial up your boss and have an intense discussion with the woman on the other end of the phone, Namjoon couldn't stop the thrumming of his heart. If he didn't know any better, he'd put it down to fear for the child's safety and anxiety over what was going to happen next, adrenaline even. But, he knew better. He knew from the first time you smiled at him that he wouldn't be able to get you out of his mind for the foreseeable future. He knew you'd have his attention whenever you demanded it. He knew he'd struggle not to take advantage of your kind offer to give your personal number to him for Jaehyuk's sake. He knew he was screwed.

When your call ended, you had a happy expression on your face and Namjoon couldn't help the upward curl of his lips when you faced him.

"I can take him today. My boss looked up the uncle and saw he has a record for gang-related crime." Namjoon's eyebrows lifted in surprise. The uncle seemed just as kind as the father but there had always been something lying just under the surface ready to tear it's way out and rear its ugly head, Namjoon had sensed that much one day a few weeks ago. Still, he never expected abuse or gang activity to be on the list of suspects.

"Are you taking him now? Should I collect his belongings?" Namjoon was ready to do whatever you asked, his posture told you that much. He was headed to the door before you even thought through your answer.

"No." Namjoon stopped with one hand on the handle and looked at you puzzled. "Let him have today to play with his friends. It may be the last time he sees them." 

"Oh, right." A sad look took over his face as he turned back around. Slowly, his hand fell from the handle and his forehead pressed against the wood of the door. "Do you think he won't be coming back?" 

"I don't know. I hope he will. This is the best nursery I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Everyone here cares for each other. It's a very nurturing environment." You answered honestly. You really did believe the nursery was a great place for any child, especially a child like Jaehyuk that needed the reassurance of love and that he was valid and important. But, you couldn't tell how the case would go. "It depends if we can get anything to pin on the uncle. If we can't, there's a chance we'll have to change Jaehyuk's name and relocate him somewhere the abuser can't get to him." Namjoon's shoulders sagged and he pressed his body closer to the door, fingertips dragging against the wood as if he was trying to grip something. "But even if it goes well, there's no saying how the father will take this. He may well want to get up and move as far away from the brother that betrayed him." 

"I understand." Namjoon's voice was weak. If you hadn't been so entirely focused on his every inch, you would've struggled to hear the muffled words. 

"I wish that he could stay here." 

"It's out of your control, out of all of our control." He reasoned. For a few minutes, the room was completely silent, not even the ticking of a clock to cut the air. 

A short, quiet sniffle followed by a harsh cough to clear a throat broke the silence. Namjoon straightened up and looked at you. He looked so broken. Clearly, he didn't want any of his students to leave but he knew he couldn't stop them. Life had to take it's course even if that meant taking his dear students from him.

"Are you staying today?" He asked firmly, trying to keep his voice and posture steady. Trying to hide the pain he was experiencing.

"I'd like to...if you'd have me." A barely audible amused expel of air left his body and the corner of his mouth twitched up slightly into an almost invisible smile.

"Yeah, I'd love it if you stayed." 

***

For the first time in a long time, you let your professional demeanour leave so you could get down and play with the children at their level. They had you running around playing police and thieves one minute and sat curled up in a corner with one of them on your lap to read a story the next, others gathered around to listen. 

Even during the lunch break, they yelled and called for you to join them and you couldn't say no to their little pleading faces so you sat down at one of the tables making smiles grow so wide. While you sat there talking about your favourite foods with the children, Namjoon sat on the table behind you, sneakily listening in with a dopey smile on his face.

Watching you interact with the children genuinely felt to him like a woman playing with his own children and it sent his heart into a fluttering frenzy. 

Even though it was only the second day of knowing you, he knew he was in danger of falling for you. Looking over at you as you enthused with the children over fruit in a bid to get them to believe fruit was wonderful and not something to avoid, Namjoon found he was perfectly okay with falling in love with you.

[isleofthelxst]

Pranks A Lot, Mal - EvieXCarlos

Even as a young girl, Evie had a tendency to romanticize everything.

Everything.

At the market on the Isle, she dreamed that the man who sold rotten vegetables was madly in love with his regular customer, a high-cheeked woman who visted a little too often for “butternut squash”. She hoped that somewhere in her heart, her mother still yearned for Evie’s father, and that they’d get married again someday. The thought of throwing dead rose petals down the aisle for her mother’s wedding made her tingle with happiness at one point in her life.

Though things were different now, especially now that she lived in Auradon, her tendency to romanticize only got worse. Study dates with Doug were romantic lunches under the sun, in her mind. The way she saw it, Chad didn’t want her to do his homework, but was instead infatuated by her glowing beauty. She felt a rush brushing past Jay when they passed each other in the halls between classes, when his smirk and intentional shoulder bump sent her heart racing. Even Ben, with his kind eyes, made her stomach flutter at times.

Only Carlos was exempt from her daze.

Carlos was her first best friend on the Isle, the only one of the foursome who hadn’t snubbed her upon meeting her. Ever since her first day of school, he was there. She’d never done anything cruel to him, as wicked as she may have seemed. In fact, she’d like to think of them both as never having been wicked, not even remotely misbehaved. It wasn’t until they’d combined forces with Mal and Jay that they’d ever been seen as “rotten”, a quality that, while it was perfectly acceptable on the Isle, was frowned upon in Auradon.

They were still friends, of course, but perhaps not as close as before, an idea that nagged at the back of Evie’s mind. She’d left herself completely approachable, of course, but he didn’t seem to notice. As new manager of the tourney team, Carlos’s mind was constantly on the books, and always seemed to ignore Evie’s rather open invites for him to critique her newest designs. She remembered him sitting on the edge of her bed, doe-eyed and fascinated when she’d model her clothes. He had a keen eye for fashion, but he was rewired now, and had other interests. She did too; the Science Fair was rapidly approaching, and she had to focus on her project.

Simply enough, Evie’s project focused on the molecular makeup and chemical reaction between the ingredients of chocolate chip cookies, something that would get her an A+, and be an excuse to eat cookies all day.

She tucked her magic mirror in the pocket of her purse and took a deep breath, standing in the school’s kitchen. “No magic,” she repeated to herself. “You don’t need it. This is a basic… human recipe.” With another sigh, she got back to work, whisking eggs in a large bowl. She whined to herself; this was already too much work. Maybe a little magic won’t hurt…

As if she’d read her mind, Mal entered the kitchen with a sort of hop in her step. “E’!” she sang, a little too sweetly. “Heard you were making cookies.” She closed her eyes and took a deep, dramatic whiff of the air. “Mmm… smells good!”

Evie frowned and looked down at the bowl in front of her, full of runny eggs, yolks dripping down the sides of the bowl. She’d hardly made a dent in the recipe, much less baking anything at all. What Mal could have possibly been smelling, other than another opportunity to be wicked, was beyond her. She rolled her eyes.

“I haven’t even started, Mal. C'mon, what do you want? Spill.”

Mal smiled coyly. “Smart girl.” She pointed to the recipe card in front of Evie. “Cookies, as you know, are the perfect vehicle for a Love Spell.”

Evie raised her eyebrows. Sometimes, she couldn’t help but be surprised at the new, blond Mal, whose inhabitions always got the best of her. Just as Evie had the tendency to romanticize, Mal had the tendency to be rotten whenever she saw the opportunity. She slowly continued whisking, trying to remain casual, masking her curiousity.

“For who?”

Mal traced her finger along the edge of the counter and smirked. “Carlos. He’s been such a bore lately.” She sighed wistfully. “He needs some fun.”

Evie’s curiousity sparked again. “Fun with who?” she pryed again, hoping the answer might be her. She immediately regretted even thinking something so selfish, but it was just in her nature.

Mal shrugged, tossing back a handful of chocolate chips. “I dunno. The first person he sees.” She snickered after a moment. “If he saw Dude, nothing would change. He’s already in love!”

Evie smiled at the idea of this. Dude was Carlos’s best friend; she never thought she’d live to see the day that Carlos de Vil fell in love with a dog.

An idea flickered dully in her mind for a moment and vanished within seconds, only to return with a prismatic glow.

She would be the first to see Carlos after he ate the cookie.

She smiled sweetly at Mal, whose green eyes were aglow with mischief. “Deal.”

••• “What’s this for?”

Carlos stared at the bag of warm cookies, and while he trusted Evie, all kids, even VK’s, didn’t take treats from other villains. Basic rule of survival.

Evie smiled. “They were leftover from my science project batch. Try them! I need to know if they’re good or not. I need to get on my teacher’s good side.”

Carlos didn’t hesitate to pop a whole cookie in his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully for a moment. “Good. Could use a little more chocolate, though.”

She dismissed his comment quickly. “Yeah, yeah, Mal ate most of the chips.” She wrinkled her nose. “You good…?”

He shrugged, unchanged. “I’m fine, why?”

Before the stunned girl could reply, Carlos peered behind her at the flurry of students rushing to class, his eyes widening.

“Crap! Sorry E’, I’m gonna be late to class, I’ll talk to you later!” He scurried off in the hoarde of students, leaving behind a bewildered Evie, who wasn’t the least bit concerned with getting to class now.

•••

Evie couldn’t concentrate in chemistry when it was clear that her own chemistry with Carlos had been a flop. Even if she never intended on pursuing Carlos, the feeling of not getting what she wanted was irritating, to say the least. Now, she was infatuated with the idea of him trailing behind her like a puppy dog, and, with the way she adored him, she wasn’t opposed to the idea of being with him. Still, she filed through all of the things that could have possibly gone wrong, jotting them along the margin of her notes in her usual, loopy cursive.

1.) The spell didn’t work! ☹ 2.) Our friendship is SO platonic that the spell was NOT strong enough! ☹ x2

Either way, Evie was extremely disappointed, distraught even.

After class, it was evident that something was still bothering her, possibly even more than before, after the initial shock.

Mal raised her eyebrows in concern. “What’s biting you, E’?”

Evie huffed. “It didn’t work,” she muttered quietly.

Mal smirked. “Sounding very disappointed for someone who doesn’t like him.”

Evie blushed, even brighter than the already dutifully applied blush already present. “Shut up. It’s just weird. He just acted… normal. Like nothing had changed.”

Mal bit her lip thoughtfully, and, after a moment’s thought, her eyes glowed green with excitement. “That’s because nothing did change! We made the spell correctly, he’s just in LOVE with you!”

Evie’s heart rate instantly accelerated. “Wh-what? That’s… crazy. That’s seriously crazy Mal. You’ve lost it.”

Mal rolled her eyes. “Think about it. You’re the only girl he’s ever been attached to. You constantly flirt with him without ever realizing it. He’s hopeless, and so are you. Can’t you see it?”

Evie bit her lip and gave it some thought. Maybe there was a reason that he’d accepted her every whim; that he was there for her at any hour and could listen to her for hours, regardless of what she was babbling about.

Maybe she needed someone like that.

Her face reddened even more at this revalation. “You think so?” She habitually straightened her clothes and smoothed out her hair. “Sh-should I go talk to him? Do I look okay? Nevermind, I know I do.” Before she knew it, she was blabbering nervously.

Carlos approached from the corner of her eye. “Talk to who? Another boy, Evie?” he teased. She processed his words for a moment, trying to listen for even a faintly present tinge of jealously in his voice.

She quickly composed herself. “I was talking about you, actually,” she stated, boldly, on impulse. His face instantly lightened. “Oh. What about?”

She blushed. “Do you like me? Like at all?” She nearly broke out into a nervous sweat, which was very much unlike her. “S-sorry if thats a weird question… it’s just…” She looked around for assistance and only found the amused stare of Mal, still by her side. She grabbed onto her and thrust her forward, much to the purple haired girl’s surprised. “… Mal wanted to know! Because she thinks so. But it’s totally cool if you don’t… duh.”

Carlos stared for a while with a blank expression at the two clearly anxious girls before him, before breaking out into a grin.

“I know you guys tried to prank me. With the cookies.”

Both girls released heavy sighs. Mal wrinkled her nose.

“So what, you reversed the spell somehow?”

He shook his head adamantly. “No, I-” He paused, and his face reddened, realizing what he was admitting. “I-I mean yeah…! Ben, he uh…”

Mal flicked a dismissive hand at him. “You’re an awful liar, Carlos.” She turned on her heels and bounded away, going to catch up with Ben, leaving the two awkward and breathless teens alone.

Evie blushed, at a loss for words. She looked down at her feet bashfully. “Do you… love me?” she whispered, apprehensively. She’d never been so vunerable in her life.

Carlos blushed. “I thought you knew that.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets, feeling misplaced now. “You have a lot of better options though, Evie.”

She felt her face warm up under the comfort and familiarity of Carlos’s voice. She knew now, this was what she needed. She reached out and gingerly held his hand.

“You know I think you’re as much a prince as anyone else here, and then some.” She squeezed his hand tighter, like a firm reassurance. “Okay?”

He nodded and blushed furiously. “I know. I think the same of you. B-but, like, as a princess! Obviously.” He stumbled nervously over his words, staring at her like a lovesick puppy, now that he had nothing to hide.

She smiled, ear to ear now. “We’re gonna give us a try,” she whispered. With that, they walked to class, hand in hand, hearts full of the purest love either could imagine.

For once, one of Mal’s schemes paid off. Big time.

[superfreakerz]

SWF 3

“Sailing with Fire”

Rated M for eventual smut.

Summary: Lucy is in desperate need from the mage life and embarks on a two week cruise alongside her partner, Natsu. What they don’t know is that it’s a cruise designed specifically for couples. With no other choice than to pretend they are married, the two try to enjoy the cruise the best they can, all the while dealing with uncharted feelings.

Read  on FF.net Chapter: 1, 2, 3

Birds chirped loudly as the sun rose in the sky, its rays cracking through the blinds over Lucy's window and washing over her sleeping body. At first the girl rolled over, attempting to ignore the bright sunlight. But after remembering her plans for the day, she sat up at in speed of light with a wide grin stretched over her face. Hopping out of bed, Lucy rushed into her bathroom and took what was to be her last shower in her apartment for two whole weeks. She hoped the cruise's showerhead had a harsher stream. She liked the feeling of water pelting her skin in the morning. Once finished with that, Lucy began to get dressed. Wanting to look nice on their first day, the blonde grinned as she slipped into an orange sundress, one of its sides slit to reveal a slender, creamy leg. Summoning Cancer, the girl waited patiently for the crab spirit to finish with her hair. "It's done, ebi," he said after a few minutes. Lucy held up a mirror and smiled seeing her golden locks braided into two pigtails, some left down to frame her face. Her bangs swooped to the side and were pinned with a red hibiscus flower pin. "This looks great, Cancer!" the blonde gushed, marveling at her hair. "Thanks!" "I'm glad you like it, ebi," the spirit replied. "Is that all you will be needing?" "Yep! Thanks again! I'll see you and the rest of the spirits in two weeks, alright?" "Yes. Enjoy your cruise, ebi." Giving one last wave, Lucy closed Cancer's gate. She grabbed the handle to her rolling suitcase and said goodbye to her apartment before leaving towards Natsu's cottage, where they were meeting up so she could say goodbye to Happy. The streets were barren as it was still in the early hours of the day. The train ride to Hargeon was going to take an hour, then they were to check in before boarding the ship. Lucy practically skipped with each step, her excitement bubbling within her. Finally her aching body was going to have the break it deserved! Reaching Natsu's house, Lucy wasn't surprised to have the door thrown open before she even knocked. Natsu's sense of smell was extraordinary, after all. "Yo, Lucy!" the dragon slayer himself greeted. "You ready to go?" The blonde nodded with a smile. "You seem more excited now than you were before." "Wendy just dropped by to use Troia on me before our ride to Hargeon so I feel good!" the pinkette informed her. "That's great!" All that was left was to say goodbye to Happy, who was snoozing away on the couch. Approaching the exceed, she shook him gently to wake him up. Happy's eyes slowly opened and blinked in recognition seeing the blonde. "Lucy. Are you here to say bye?" Lucy nodded and smiled at the exceed. Despite how annoying and borderline rude he could get sometimes, he was one of her best friends. "I'll see you in two weeks, alright?" Happy rubbed his eyes and flew to give the blonde a hug. Natsu smiled at the scene. He loved the two's relationship, it was nearly as close as his with Lucy's. Patting the cat's head, Natsu grinned. "We'll be back soon, Happy!" he promised. The cat nodded and waved. "Have fun." Then he dozed back to sleep. Lucy and Natsu shared a look before leaving the small house together, on the way to Hargeon.

Natsu was glad that his stomach didn't churn at all thanks to Troia, even when they boarded the train. They sat beside each other, ready for their short ride to Hargeon. It was quiet and nearly empty in the train, and soon enough, Lucy's eyes began to feel heavy. Leaning her head on Natsu's shoulder, she allowed her eyes to shut closed, not noticing the way Natsu's body stiffened or the way his cheeks pinked. Natsu glanced down at the blonde, chuckling softly to himself after seeing a dopy smile on her face as she dozed into sleep. He had seen her sleeping countless of times, and he came to know that the dopy smile on her face meant she was having a good dream. Letting his head rest on Lucy's, he allowed himself to relish in the small moment between them. Before Lucy came around, the boy never saw the fascination with romantic, mushy stuff. But after growing closer and realizing there was no way he could ever go a day without seeing her, he discovered his feelings for the blonde went deeper than mere friendship. Since then, he had found himself curious about things he dismissed as uninteresting before. He was curious to know if her lips were as soft as they looked, or if her hands fit in his like how Bisca's hand fit in Alzack's. Luckily for him, his dreams allowed him to imagine it.

An hour later, Lucy's eyes fluttered open to the sound of a bell signaling their arrival. Lifting her head, the blonde found that she had been snoozing away on Natsu's shoulder, and that he was still sleeping peacefully. A faint shade of pink coated her cheeks, realizing how they must've looked. It wasn't the first time that they had slept next to each other in the slightest. Still, it brought a strange warmth through her body. Gently nudging Natsu awake, Lucy smiled as he slowly opened his eyes with an adorable yawn. "He's pretty cute," Lucy noted with a smile. Her eyes then fell towards his exposed torso and blushed madly. "And I guess he's got a good body." With surprising reluctance, Lucy tore her gaze away from Natsu's chiseled abs and retrieved her belongings, leading the way out of the train. The fresh scent of the beach hit them like a brick and the gentle breeze washed over them. Lucy smiled nostalgically. Hargeon was the place she first met Natsu, when he saved her from Bora's charm magic. She figured her partner didn't remember such a small detail. "But then again, he does keep a lot of mementos." "So where do we go now?" Natsu asked, standing beside her. "The Earthland Cruise's Hargeon office. We pay for our tickets there," Lucy answered as she began the walk there. The office was small but the interior was nice with marble tiles and crystalline chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Regal chairs and desks furnished the center of the room while abstract paintings hung to the wall. Overall, it was an elegant building, which was why the teenage boy at the front desk was out of place. The boy had dusty blonde hair and brown, dull eyes that only lit up after seeing Lucy approach him. He shamelessly ogled her curvaceous figure. Natsu felt fire lick his palms as the urge to punch the boy grew strong. Knowing that Lucy would get mad at him, however, he settled for glaring menacingly from behind the girl and holding a flaming fist in the air to get the point across. The boy paled and immediately brought his gaze strictly into Lucy's eyes as she smiled politely and unknowingly at him. "What can I do for you?" the boy asked, leaning back in the seat lazily. His bored persona returned after his view of the hot blonde was ruined. "Hi, my name is Lucy Heartfilia and I'm here to pick up and pay for our tickets for the cruise that departs in an hour," she answered. Her heart crushed after being told the price but paid anyways. The boy looked over the two then shrugged, accepting the money and handing them their tickets. "Have fun." "Thanks!" The two exited the building and onto the paved streets of Hargeon. "Why did we come here so early if the ship leaves in another hour?" Natsu questioned with his arms crossed behind his head. "So that we can scope out all the stuff they have and check in. We can unpack in our room early too," Lucy answered, heading towards the ship. When the two arrived at the port, their jaws dropped as they took in the sight of a large ship, much bigger than the other boats around it. It was a pristine white with the company's name in between two palm trees printed on the back. The two shared an excited grin before racing each other towards the line, which was short considering they were early. As they stood in the quickly moving line, Lucy took the time to look at the other passengers. To her surprise, all of them were couples of varying ages, each touching in some intimate way, whether it be by interlocked hands or an arm wrapped around their significant other's waist. "I'm surprised there aren't any families here," Lucy thought. "They're all couples. But I guess we're early, so there's bound to be others coming." As they reached the entrance to the ship, Lucy and Natsu stopped in front of an attendant, next to whom stood two security guards. Handing the attendant their tickets, the two waited patiently to be let in. The woman accepted the tickets and studied them before handing them back to the two. She smiled and exclaimed, "You two are a cute couple! Newlyweds, I presume?" Lucy blushed from head to toe as she shook her head frantically and replied, "N-No! We're just-" The attendant was then tapped on the shoulder by a coworker. "It's time for your break," he stated. The woman nodded and turned back to Lucy and Natsu. "Enjoy your time here!" She then headed towards an employee's only room. The security guards ushered the two to board the ship, which they then did, going to the line to the front desk. This line went just as fast and soon enough, Lucy and Natsu were handed a key to their room. The woman at the front desk smiled at them. "Your room is 202, located on the second floor!" "Can I ask where the mages to help with motion sickness are stationed?" Lucy questioned. "Oh, are you motion sick?" "Right now he's feeling fine, but it'll come later." "I see. Well you can just come here when it starts acting up!" "Great! Thanks!" With that settled, the two walked towards the stairs, which had multiple signs pointing to. Lucy was glad that their room was on the second floor, not too high up to involve a lot of stairs, but not on the floor in which all of the activities were held, where it was sure to be loud. Finding their room, the two shared a grin before unlocking the door. Upon stepping into the room, their jaws dropped to the carpeted floor. The room was extravagant with marble countertops, a sofa and a mahogany desk paired with a matching chair. The regality of the room wasn't what shocked them, however. What shocked them was the single bed. The keyword being single. The bed was just as extravagant as the rest of the room if not more with thick eggshell comforters, five pillows, and even a bed skirt. With the price they paid for the room, however, Lucy expected the bed to be nice. It was the two towel-swans with their necks forming hearts and the romantic rose petals scattered on the bed that surprised them. "I-I think there's been a mistake," Lucy stammered with widened eyes. Her cheeks were blazing at what the bed was insinuating. "Are you sure this is room 202?" Natsu double checked the door and nodded. "Yep, this is it." "Oh. M-Maybe they do this for all of the rooms." Natsu shrugged, not caring either way. He didn't mind it at all; it was just a couple of swans and petals. As long as the bed was comfortable, he didn't care what was on it. There was a sudden knock on the door, which had been left open due to the two's shock of the bed. Turning around, they found a male attendant in a florescent orange life-jacket. "There will be a meeting on safety measures in an hour downstairs," the man stated. "It is mandatory, so I would unpack now and then head down." "Oh, okay," Lucy replied. When the man left with a nod, the blonde closed their door and breathed a heavy sigh, glancing back at the bed. "There's only one bed." "Yep," Natsu replied, crossing his arms behind his head. "What are we going to do about that? Should we get a new room?" Lucy questioned, her cheeks rosy. She was unable to meet Natsu's gaze. She was sure he didn't mind, but did she? "Nah," he answered nonchalantly. "We're already here and we would have to wait in line again." "Do you want to take turns each night on who gets the bed then?" "What? No way. We can both share it." Lucy didn't think it was possible for her cheeks to get any redder, but it was. "We can't just share." "Why not? We've done it before," Natsu argued. "That's only because you sneak in when I'm asleep!" "Same difference. Point is, we've done it before. And the couch is way too small to sleep on. So unless you wanna take the couch, we're sharing the bed." Lucy looked between the couch and the bed, weighing her options. On the one hand, the couch was small, just as the boy said. Sleeping would be hard, if it was even possible. On the other hand, there was no way she could willingly share a bed with Natsu, right? He was a guy, didn't that make it wrong? Deciding to deal with that ordeal at another time, Lucy sighed and grabbed her suitcase. Since they were going to be there for a couple weeks, she wasn't going to leave her clothes in her suitcase and would instead put them in the drawers. Natsu, not having much to unpack, opted for surveying the room some more. Opening the drawer of the nightstand beside the bed, his face immediately matched his hair after finding an orange box, inside of which being four condoms. "What are you looking at?" Lucy questioned with a raised brow. Something definitely caught his attention. The pinkette immediately slammed the drawer shut and faced her with a flushed face. "Nothing." Lucy narrowed her eyes in suspicion, moving towards him to find out for herself. The boy blocked her path, not wanting to let her see the condoms. To his chagrin, there were times in which the blonde would surprise him with her speed and restrain him with her whip. This just had to be one of those times. Before Natsu could wriggle his way out of Lucy's whip, she opened the drawer with a raised brow. In seconds, her face morphed into one of embarrassment, her skin crimson. "D-Do all cruises supply c-condoms!?" she shrieked. "Guess so," Natsu replied. Both of them stood still, staring at the ground while their faces burned. So far, their vacation was giving them more stress than they had before.

About an hour later found the two heading downstairs where everyone was waiting to begin the safety meeting. Everyone was wearing the neon life-jackets, hurting Lucy's eyes with how vibrant they were. When they reached the deck, the two stood behind the huge crowd, in front of which being the Captain and a few attendants. As the Captain began the meeting with some boring introduction, Lucy zoned out. She dealt with life-threatening situations all the time, a drowning boat was the least of her concerns. So, she studied the other passengers instead. And that was when all of the signs hit her like a brick. Just like before, there were absolutely no children or families. Everyone was holding hands and leaning against each other. They were all couples. Dread filled the blonde as she waited for the meeting to finish, and when it did, a loud horn blared as the ship began its departure. After being dismissed, Lucy rushed to the front desk, her eyes landing on a stack of pamphlets just like the one she had before. Natsu ran after Lucy, confused as to why she was in such a hurry. He watched as she read the pamphlet and for some reason, she turned to face him with wide eyes and flushed cheeks. "Shit," she breathed out. "Natsu. Room, now." Natsu nodded wordlessly and followed her back up the stairs and into the room. Lucy sat on the bed and pinched the skin on the roof of her nose. With a heavy sigh, she reluctantly met Natsu's confused gaze. "I may have made a mistake," she stated with an awkward chuckle. "What do you mean?" Natsu asked. Lucy sighed, pressing her fingertips together as she answered, "Turns out reading all of the pamphlet would've been helpful." "Lucy, what's wrong?" "Natsu, we're on a couple's cruise. This cruise is meant specifically for married couples!" "But we aren't married." "I know. That's the problem!" "Why don't we just tell someone then?" Lucy shook her head and answered, "We can't. We were supposed to show the guy that gave us our tickets our marriage license. He never asked to see it though… Natsu, there's got to be harsh punishments for sneaking onto a cruise. There were security guards and everything." "So what do you want us to do?" Lucy averted her gaze and clamped her teeth over her bottom lip. Her blush deepened as she fidgeted in her seat. "Natsu, let's pretend to be married."

[xoruffitup]

Harry Potter & the Cursed Child Show Report 18/1/17

I haven’t formally done one of these before, but today was my last time seeing the show before I move from London and I don’t want to lose the details so HERE WE GO! :D WIZZO!

Highlights - For the tl;dr people 2 Points! (It’s always 2 points with her, isn’t it?) First point: The big goof of the night happened when Harry transfigures into Voldemort... Harry sinks down into a trap door or something under the stage and when Voldemort’s supposed to rise up through Harry’s robes, his shoulder got caught on the robes and he FELL OVER and all the cast on stage immediately scrambled to help him up! And after Ron exclaims “Bloody hell,” Harry/Voldemort is supposed to say “It worked then?” but instead tonight he said “IT NEARLY WORKED” and omg it was literally the equivalent of the awkward Draco hug scene in DH2 when you can no longer take Voldemort seriously at all. Second point, more significant POINT: Bscly, Scorbus are in love and this entire cast are legendary talents. More detail to follow but just gotta put all the analysis and recap that follows under that general umbrella!

Also, my unexpected personal highlight: ANDY HURLEY FROM FALL OUT BOY WAS THERE TODAY I SAW HIM TWICE BUT DIDN’T WANT TO BOTHER HIM BUT AAAH ANDY

Okay so let’s get into the scene-by-scene deets! (And I’ll put it out there right now that my heart unabashedly belongs to Scorpius Malfoy, so many things that stick with me are Scorpius-centric.)

(All original cast were on, except Annabel Baldwin played Delphi)

Act 1, Scene 5 (Ministry of Magic, Harry’s Office) Harry was more whimsical and relaxed in this scene than I’ve ever seen him. He actually had his feet up on the desk and was leaning back completely relaxed in his chair when first talking with Hermione! When I watch Jamie, his defining trait usually seems to be the helpless anger constantly bubbling under his exterior, waiting to burst forth when he’s unduly provoked or feels particularly helpless. But today he was genuinely laughing and joking with Hermione about not being on top of his paperwork and “no longer chaotic!” Then, he switched incredibly quickly to frustration with “It was me who heard the remours about the Time-Turner and me who acted upon it. You really don’t need to tell me off.” Here was the first little step down Harry’s looong, oh-so-difficult emotional hurdles during the play, but it was nice really seeing him start from a place where he did actually seem comfortable and at-ease - even if for a few brief moments.

Act 1, Scene 7 (The Potters’ House) Today had some of the most intense Albus/Harry argument scenes I’ve ever seen. Even when we saw Sam going into the theater beforehand, we thought he looked particularly prickly angry and boyyy did Albus channel that today. I think today was the BEST performance I’ve ever seen from Sam. In this scene, the way he egged on, antagonized, and provoked Harry was truly painful to watch. He wasn’t overtly yelling, just mocking in a tone that really conveyed so much frustration and resentment. When the inevitable, painful retaliation came with Harry saying that terrible line, Albus didn’t look immediately crushed like he normally does, instead it looked like he swallowed it, like a hard, painful stone that landed heavy and sour within him. It would only grow much uglier as the play went on. I’ll talk more about this, but seriously, Sam was so, so great today.

Act 1, Scene 10 (The Hogwarts Express) Truly, the things Anthony can do with his voice are incredible. In a previous show report @ohscorbus described the noises he makes after the “I mean nice bread, good bread!!” line as ‘excitable noises in a French accent’ and this is literally so accurate! Today it was like ‘om nom nom’ sounds of eating something really delicious but with this hilarious French accent and I cannot even with this boy.

Act 1, Scene 14 (St. Oswald’s Home For Old Witches And Wizards) So I had a restricted view seat at the end of the fourth row in the stalls, and I actually couldn’t see Amos, Delphi, or Albus at all in this scene... so instead I spent it enjoying a very close-up view of Anthony. :’) (Big hardship, right?) Scorpius remains silent for most of the exchange while Albus tries to convince Amos to let them help him, but he’s incredibly expressive as he just watches Albus speaking. Once Albus launches into “I know what it is to be the spare...” you see so much change in Scorpius’s face, as it sets in on him how important this is to Albus. Before, Scorpius’s face radiates skepticism, like he’s just there going along with and humoring Albus’s crazy whim for the time being. But as he watches Albus speaking here, he realizes his best friend has some truly deep emotions and determination bound up in this, and that’s what finally draws Scorpius in to this mission as well. Despite his always-hilarious “Do we?!” and “Are we?!” you can tell by the changing way he watches Albus in this scene, and of course the way he immediately throws himself between Albus and Amos when Amos draws his wand - that this boy would do anything to protect and help his best friend when it comes to the things that really matter to him.

Act 1, Scene 16 (Whitehall) Scorpius’s lines about the potion tasting like fish were just HYSTERICAL today. He interrupted the “Fish doesn’t agree with me” line with these hilarious grossed-out, tongue-sticking-out noises, shaking his head around madly like the prospect of drinking a potion that tastes of fish is really just the most terrible thing he could possibly imagine. When he puts Harry’s glasses on, his “We’re doing this...~togethahh~!” line is truly the cutest and most hilarious thing, when he gets this guileless grin and gestures in a roundabout way to his own face like “Look! We’re having an adventure and I get to be Harry Potter haha neat!! Wizzo!!” The Polyjuice transformation scene is really just amazingly out of control. Scorpius makes literal seal noises and Albus twitches and yells so much his face turns bright cherry red. Once they’ve transformed, Jamie’s delivery of the “Go to your room. You’ve been an incredibly awful and bad son” line with his accompanying dramatic robe flip is, I dare say, even better and more Scorpius than even Anthony could do. The way Jamie nails Scorpius’s mannerisms and twitchy energy is literally 100% PERFECT - the man’s a legend, truly. He embodies Anthony’s Scorpius to a perfect T. Oh, and the last 2 times I’ve seen the show, Albus/Ron has accompanied the “Uncle Ron’s got a bit of a gut growing” line with belly-bumping Scorpius/Harry and it’s GOLDEN. 

Act 1, Scene 19 (Ministry of Magic, Hermione’s Office) Continuing the Jamie’s-a-legend track, he let out this incredibly hilarious high-pitched scream at one point when one of the books grabbed him. And he got adorabley bouncey excited at one of the forbidden book titles he found on the shelf - Jumping up and down a little bit and flapping his hands with “That’s not even allowed at Hogwarts!” I also always love when Scorpius turns back into himself and solves the last riddle, and delivers the gleefully-geeky “We beat the library!!!” line sprawled over the top of the bookcase and grinning, brandishing the final book over his head like it’s the best trophy ever.

Act 2, Scene 7 (Triwizard Tournamend, Edge of the Forbidden Forest) As always, the boys’ GO GO CRAZY KRUM dance was hilarious and over-the-top and thoroughly enjoyable. And following Albus’s line to Hermione “He’s got you mixed up with someone else,” Scorpius’s “YeeEEssSSSS!” in a cray Russian-type accent while holding his hands up like he’s delivering the weirdest Shakespeare line ever, was equally enjoyable, plus hilariously weird moments like these are where I can’t even’t believe Scorpius exists and what did we do to deserve this level of unbelievableamazingawkwardlovable Malfoy :’’)  But mvp best-moment award in this scene went to Tom Mackley - While messing around in the crowd, at one point he started horse playing with the student next to him and pretended to try pushing the other kid into the arena where the dragons were. He mimed grabbing the kid and throwing him in until a Professor gave him a thoroughly disapproving look, and he stepped back looking appropriately chided and disappointed (but still adorable and fluffy, as always :3)

Act 2, Scene 11 (Hogwarts, Defence Against the Dark Arts Class) This is probably the best scene to talk generally about Noma’s performance. Today was the most raw and visibly emotional I’ve ever seen Hermione. I’ll give more specific examples in later scenes, but even while she remained as fierce and stoic as Hermione usually is, it was accompanied by the most overt moments of pain, vulnerability, and sensitivity that I’ve ever seen from her. Today, it really seemed as if teaching this class was a truly arduous, incredibly difficult thing for her. It took a long time for her to get out the lines “It is a gift of light ... You can protect yourself against the world. Which, in some of our cases, seems like a necessity sooner rather than later.” There was more desperation and longing in these words than I’ve ever heard.

Act 2, Scene 12 (Hogwarts, Staircases) Aaah, the staircase ballet scene. Always a favorite, and always shreds my heart into little pieces every time :’’) It still strikes me how beautifully the scene is composed - between the music and the choreography of both the moving staircases and the boys traveling up and down the staircases, together then parting from each other. The moment when the staircases glide together and Albus and Scorpius meet at the top is still painful to watch. Scorpius thinks, tries desperately to say something friendly, something to break the ice and close the chasm of distance that’s opened between them. Albus looks deeply frustrated and so, so lost. He looks angry at the situation, not knowing what he can do to get back to Scorpius, and that bubble of anger around him leaves him insusceptible to Scorpius’s hopeful attempted advances. By the end of the scene, Scorpius’s hopes have receded, just as the staircases finally recede off stage. I always watch Scorpius just before he’s wheeled off stage. When he slowly, dejectedly walks down those final steps, the hopeless, lost look on his face - the way his posture suddenly slumps as if his shoulders can’t hold the weight of the world anymore... UGH THIS IS REAL ROMANCE MOVIE SHIT HERE, PEOPLE. How can ANYONE watch this scene and not realize the pining literally happening before your eyes?! 

Act 2, Scene 14 (Hogwarts, Staircases) Usually, I’ve seen Scorpius deliver the imaginary friend “I had one of those too! Hector!” line where he says HECTOR in a really aggressive way and kind of makes claw-hands accompanying it, as if HECTOR had been super fierce. But today he kind of sing-songed HECTOOOR instead, as if actually he and Hector just skipped through flowers together before their falling out over the rules of Gobstones :’) Also in this scene, after having his bout of jealousy about Delphi and demanding “How many owls has he sent you now?!”, he immediately raced down the stairs saying “NONONOI’MSORRY” desperately when Delphi began to turn and walk away. And at the bottom of the stairs, he just collapsed inward on himself, sitting down on the bottom step and hugging himself completely helplessly. You can see physically how much it pains him to be separated from Albus. I feel like usually Scorpius remains quite hopeless-looking in this scene, but this time, once Delphi told him “Find him. You two belong together,” he actually smiled and perked up with a visibly-determined look that yes, he does belong with Albus and he’s about to make good on that.

Act 2, Scene 16 (Hogwarts, Library) Okay so this is actually my FAVORITE scene of the whole play. Yes, it hurts to see Scorbus fight and hurt each other, but to me, this scene is the real heart of their whole relationship. They fight because they care so deeply, because the emotions for each other run so strong. Both of their characters are built up so well in this scene, and we see, at the end of it all, exactly why they need and love each other so much.  Today, Albus started this scene more combative than I’ve usually seen him. He set Scorpius off with a particularly forceful “Maybe, without you holding me back, I can make a proper go of it.” As far as I can remember, I’ve always seen Scorpius deliver his entire speech from “Poor Albus Potter. With his chip on his shoulder. So sad” mostly uninterrupted, but today Albus fought back. I can’t remember him ever interrupting Scorpius here, but when Scorpius started working himself up to “People look at me because they think my dad is Voldemort...,” Albus exploded back, bursting out with “Oh, don’t you even...!” before Scorpius had to shout over him - “Can you even slightly imagine what that’s like?!” In the script, Albus does have a line here, but I can’t remember ever witnessing Albus have an audible outburst of anger in response to Scorpius’ accusations here. I looked over at @anthonyboyles in surprise, and she was taken aback by it too. This feeds into what I said earlier about Sam really having high intensity and anger today. As always, Anthony worked himself so expertly, movingly, and painfully from desperate anger to forlorn disappointment. His talent is always on full display here and I’m blown away by the force of him in this scene every damn time. The lines “I’m still the child of Voldemort, without a mother... I’m sorry if I’ve ruined your life because I tell you - you wouldn’t have a chance of ruining mine” still destroy me. And as for Albus’s reaction, by the time Scorpius finally reaches “The most terrible friend...” all Albus’s anger has just, finally, evaporated. There were heavy tears in his eyes and he stood there hugging himself. It was hard to tell what he felt more strongly - Pain on his friend’s behalf, or shame regarding his own behavior. Once McGonagall came and went, Sam delivered the most heartfelt, tender apology I’ve ever seen. It was delivered so slowly and deliberately, hugging himself the entire time - he had to fight his way through his own tears to get out each and every word, and the pain and regret on his face was so clear. The look on Albus’s face when Scorpius says sometimes he finds himself thinking the rumors are true was nothing short of horrified. And the “To the depths of your belly, tips of your fingers” was just so, so exquisitely heartfelt.  I LOVE THIS SCENE I LOVE THEM OK MOVING ON

Act 2, Scene 17 (Hogwarts, Staircases) For the first time I can remember, Hermione actually put her hand on top of Ron’s on the staircase bannister. Usually she just rests hers beside his, but Ron’s face showed as much surprise as I felt when she actually touched his hand. And then when she turned away from him afterwards, the heartbreak and longing in her face was just devastating. There was nothing subtle about this scene tonight. They were two separated soul mates.

Act 3, Scene 3 (Office of the Head of Magical Law Enforcement) Reason #2837 why I love Anthony: He always plays this scene differently and I’m always excited to see how it unfolds. Today, he was bold and accusatory and wanted justification and answers from his father. He wasn’t afraid to seek them out. He marched up to Draco’s desk rather than speaking from across the room, getting right up in his face with the lines “this is what you really are isn’t it? A murderer, a torturer!” His anger and audacity were so bold, it didn’t seem heavy-handed when Draco slammed him down on the desk. Once Scorpius recovered and moved away again, the rest of his lines weren’t delivered sounding lost or unsure as they sometimes do, but more resigned and determined. And I always look forward to his response when Draco does the Voldemort-and-Valor salute. Tonight, Scorpius was quiet for a moment, just watching his father. Then, Scorpius very deliberately returned the salute. There are only a handful of times I can remember Scorpius ever actually fully doing the salute in any shows I’ve seen. Tonight, it seemed like a sort of promise to his father that yes, he would be careful, and an acknowledgement of the new albeit tentative understanding that had just passed between them.

Act 3, Scene 9 (Edge of the Forbidden Forest) It always hurts, but when Scorpius faced the dementors tonight, his “I can hear my mother. She wants my help but she knows I can’t help” were particularly desperate and devastating. Then comes one of my always-favorite moments with Snape’s line “Think of Albus - You’re giving up your kingdom for Albus!” After that, Scorpius gradually took a step away from the dementor, and slowly raised his hands before him. It was as if the memory of Albus slowly filling his mind began to fill his body with the courage and composure to resist and physically ward off the influence of the dementor. Okay so the library-argument scene is my favorite emotional-substance scene, but this lake scene when Albus reappears is my favorite comedic-happy scene. The last couple times I’ve seen the play, Scorpius has always screamed for an impressively long time when Albus pops up in the water next to him. And tonight, when Albus started blabbing at him, Scorpius just watched him with this sappy, weepy, overjoyed expression, as if Albus is literally the most beautiful sight to ever grace his eyes... alsdkfjadl it’s written on Scorpius’s face so clearly here how much this boy means to him, how empty Scorpius’s entire world was without him... As always, I absolutely cracked up at Scorpius’s “Yes. AND IT’S AMAZING” shimmy-dance. And the gleeful way he says “NOoO!” to Albus asking if they changed anything. The “AAAH IT’S HARRY POTTER!” is ALWAYS one of my favorite moments, and this time it was followed by a hilarious point-and-wiggle-his-arms dance that accompanied “~and Prooofessoooor McGonagaaall.” ....Have I mentioned I freakin’ love Anthony Boyle? Boy brings so much joy into my life <3 K ANYWAY...

Act 3, Scene 11 (Slytherin Dormitory) Okay. I thought this was actually the most intense scene of the entire night. This argument is relatively brief compared to the others, but DAMN was it killer. Jamie was brooding and still building on simmering residual anger from the last scene, when they were all being chewed out by McGonagall. For the first time I can remember, Harry really looked furious at Albus while listening to McGonagall’s words. In previous shows, I always had the impression that Harry’s anger at his son’s recklessness was tempered by his relief to have Albus back and safe. Tonight, the scales were just tipped allllll the way to anger - Like McGonagall’s words about all that had been sacrificed to bring about their world hit much too close to home for Harry. So at the beginning of this scene, with Harry still wearing that anger visibly on his face and Albus still stewing the most heated resentment I can ever remember seeing in him, @anthonyboyles and I looked at each other almost nervously as this scene started because it was almost like you could feel heat coming off the stage. The both of them were blistering at each other and ready to blow. ....And oh did they. Harry seemed almost too angry to speak when he got to the point of shouting “...ALMOST DESTROYED EVERYTHING!” He absolutely growled out the words “You really scared her... and me!” And then when Albus turned around to face his father at that, it was visible in his face that he wanted to hurt his father. They continued to scream at each other through “I thought Harry Potter wasn’t afraid of anything” - “Is that how I make you feel?!” .....Whew. I’m covering my face just remembering it. Sam really buzzing with that angry energy today absolutely fed into Jamie, and the two just continued to reinforce each other to some really intense heights.

Act 3, Scene 14 (Slytherin Dormitory) After seeing Albus in so much pain, what a relief to see him relaxed and joking with Scorpius. :’) Aaah, this scene is a goldmine for great Scorpius moments. After yelling over Albus’s bed to wake him up, he did a little shuffle-dance back to his bed as he dubbed himself “~Malfoy the Unanxious~”. He’s also lately been doing something that always cracks me up - When he asks Albus “But you know, we can’t, like, try again...” he makes these like pretend fighting sounds and kind of makes boxing fists with his hands like he’s miming battling someone. When he revealed the Timeturner tonight, he delivered the “Turns out Malfoy the Unanxious is a pretty good liar!” line while laying out dramatically and hilariously over his bed. Then he proceeded to lie there spread-eagle for the next couple of lines. When he finally stood up and got to the “It’s time that Time-Turning became a thing of the past” line, he delivered it with hilarious feigned stoicism, that lasted a good couple seconds before it crumbled and gave way to his gleeful “I’ve been working on it all day!” :’ ) Scorpius Malfoy everyone, what. a. gift.

Act 3, Scene 19 (Hogwarts, Quidditch Pitch) Just want to say I really enjoyed the chance to see Annabel’s Delphi. She is really unexpectedly seditious. Her voice stays so sweet, while she obvious delights and revels in the violence and horror she commits. She isn’t at all afraid to manhandle and push the boys around, taunting them ceaselessly. After she AK’s Craig, the detachment and false-kindness she speaks with when she says “Did you not understand? You are useful to me. Your friends are not” was just chilling. She kicks Craig’s body after he dies, and you feel real fear for Scorpius when she advances on him, twisting her wand almost gleefully at him, ready to do whatever she has to do and enjoy doing it.

Act 4, Scene 3 (Godric’s Hollow) Tonight was possibly my all-time favorite delivery of the iconic “My geekness is a-quivering!” line. After doing his little flaily thing and making the squeak! noise once Bathilda Bagshot walked off stage, he delivered the Geekness line while kind of strutting in what I can only describe as a swag walk. Like yeah, my geekness is a-quiverin’... whatcha gonna do about it? This boy is too much for me.

Act 4, Scene 4 (Harry’s Office) THE MOST PAINFUL HARRY SCENE - I always have to have a jacket or something in my hands to hug during this one. As always, hearing the oncoming of his tears and watching his shoulders shake as he holds his head and weeps absolutely breaks you apart to watch. But this time, what really got me was the way Jamie put across his knack for acting with every inch of his body. After he begged Dumbledore “Don’t go!” he stood leaning back against his desk for support, still covering his face with one hand. It took him a long, difficult time to work himself up to saying “I loved you too,” and in those moments, I remember watching his feet. They were twisted inwards, one of them crooked so he was leaning on the outside of his ankle. When he finally spoke the words, his feet shuddered and shuffled a bit - and then the rest of him followed, as he had to gasp the words out. They had to be wrung up all the way from his toes, and work their way up through his entire body. I didn’t see Jamie at my last performance, and it made me realize just how much he carries this show. He alone is at least 50% of the show’s emotional impact - He’s the one that makes the real tears run down my face. Then, when Draco first entered tonight and saw Harry crying, he did a hilarious turn-around walk-out move for a second before thinking better of it. Crying and laughing in such quick succession hurt quite a bit. </3 I’m currently re-reading Chamber of Secrets, so it’s really incredible with that comparison to see how much Harry and Draco’s adult selves grow, and the emotional understanding they come to in this scene. When Draco opens up about Astoria, and then breaks down a bit about how much Scorpius meant to them both - it’s nothing short of incredible to see these two opening themselves up to each other so much; Showing each other their most deeply-hidden vulnerabilities, and finding commonality between their experiences and struggles. The way both these characters are developed here as adults is nothing short of masterful.

Act 4, Scene 11 (St. Gerome’s Church) Wheeeew boy, a lot of stuff happened in this scene that’s not supposed to happen! After Voldemort fell over, Albus and Ginny messed up some lines when she’s trying to comfort him that it’s not his fault. I think Sam missed a few, so their conversation didn’t even really make sense... And then Noma was trying not to laugh. But once Delphi entered, it go back on track. Oh but then - I didn’t see it myself, but @anthonyboyles said when everyone was coming out from behind the doors, Scorpius slipped and wiped out. Wow what a trip this scene was! The struggle was real not to laugh at Voldemort falling...

Act 4, Scene 13 (Inside James and Lily Potter’s House) After the total and utter emotional devastation of the previous scene... (The script direction writes “And it’s like lighting passes through Harry’s body. He’s sent to the floor, a pure mess of grief” and this is to-the-letter exactly what happens to Jamie at the moment Lily is murdered. It’s hard to watch, hard to breathe, and his scream of utter agony when he collapses haunts you) ... I always forget about this scene immediately following it - and it always hits me hard. When Hagrid lifts up the baby Harry in his blanket and says, “And I’m going to be your friend, whether you like it or not... Because you’ve had it tough, not that you know it yet, and you’re going to need friends.” I always sit there laughing and crying at the same time - Just because Hagrid is so good and so devoted, and it’s a little, much-needed touch of heartfelt love and hope for a future where happiness will be possible again - even as the fires in the Potters’ house continue to burn on stage. It’s a beautiful, understated, and powerful scene, and it always helps me take a deep breath and recover from all that was just witnessed. 

Act 4, Scene 14 (Hogwarts, Classroom) Reason #3987 why I love Anthony Boyle: He and his robes defy gravity. I know it’s his thing now to spin around and half-fall down the stairs when Rose comes in on this scene, and he’s gradually turning haphazardly falling down stairs into an art form. Today, he literally landed spread over two stairs, his legs splayed apart, and with one arm and half his robes over his head. He put on a suave expression, as if this was exactly what he had planned. I was just sitting there laughing like how did his arm and robe even get up there?! Once Rose turned to leave and he scrambled to get up, he smacked himself in the face with his robes and it was just 100% gold.  And the “New version of us I had in my head” hug was very long, and very nice. :’)  OH and Albus booped Scorpius on the nose, and Scorpius booped him back on the chest!! A SHOW WITH NOSE BOOPS IS A PERFECT SHOW, AS FAR AS I’M CONCERNED (Doesn’t even matter that Voldemort fell over!!!)

Act 4, Scene 15 (A Beautiful Hill) Usually, we’re in the clear from Potter-pain once we get to this scene. NOT TONIGHT. I was completely unprepared - and it looked like Albus was too - but Harry choked up hard as he got to the lines “I thought I’d lost him - and then my scar started hurting again and I had dreams of him...” I mean, he had his handkerchief out and was dabbing his eyes, and it took him a while to get himself together again. It wasn’t until the laughs around confessing his pigeon-fear that he solidified again. When he finally got to telling Albus, “That heart is a good one,” his words were so convincing and touching - I can’t remember this scene ever being so moving. He usually just holds Albus’s shoulders here, but tonight he had this long intake of breath, and he kept shifting his hands between Albus’s shoulders and cupping his face. He cares about and loves his son so, so much - and finally, Albus is able to see and feel it. I can still see perfectly vividly that final image of Albus leaning his head into his father’s shoulder, with Harry’s arm around him and his hand just reaching to stroke Albus’s hair as they look up together into a brighter sky.

[bookreviewsbytayanna]

~~~ Blog Tour ~~~ His True Queen by Jodi Ellen Malpas Series: Smoke & Mirrors Duology Book 2 Publication Date: August 7th, 2018 Genre: Contemporary Romance A beautiful, defiant princess. A renowned, sinfully gorgeous Hollywood actor. A love affair that is sure to rock the British Monarchy…and the world. Their love affair began intensely and passionately. Princess Adeline and Josh Jameson knew any future together was impossible—her status as a princess and his standing as a Hollywood heartthrob dictated that. But the heights of pleasure they could take each other to were wildly unanticipated by them both. Josh’s absolute disregard for Adeline’s status quickly drew her into his hedonistic world. And her perfectly worn mask and false façade captivated Josh to the point of obsession. The boundaries became blurred. The physical became emotional. Their hearts became entwined. But a cruel turn of events rips their worlds apart and Adeline is more bound than ever by the protocol and expectations her title commands. The army of royal advisors who guard the secrets and scandals of the Monarchy will go to unthinkable lengths to keep the smoke and mirrors in place…and Josh away from Adeline. She knows the power she possesses comes with agonizing sacrifices. Walking away from Josh devastates her…but it keeps him safe from the corrupt institution that has ruled her life. Yet Josh refuses to lose the woman who has consumed him so completely, distorted his boundaries, and stripped him of all sensibility. Will the power of the British Monarchy triumph? Or will Adeline and Josh’s fierce love for each other change the course of history? Read Today! Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2G2hwwM ​Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2I3wdkd iBooks: https://goo.gl/wX2kEK Nook: https://goo.gl/vo8W7F Kobo: https://goo.gl/bH5LY4 Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2ti7xPe Add to Bookbub: http://bit.ly/2M7a470 Read The Controversial Princess (Smoke & Mirrors Duology #1) Today! Amazon US ➤ https://amzn.to/2FyEtXU Amazon UK ➤ http://bit.ly/Princess-Amz-UK Amazon CA ➤ https://amzn.to/2vOysqB iBooks ➤ bit.ly/Princess-iBooks Nook ➤ http://bit.ly/Princess-Nook-US Kobo ➤ http://bit.ly/2wX3JZ7 Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2lntaL2 Add to BookBub: http://bit.ly/2CpdXD7 Excerpt: “You’re lying to me.” Josh shouts. “You’re lying to yourself. You’re lying to every single person in this fuckin’ world.” He stomps forward, and I blindly stumble back, catching my foot on a stray branch. I lose my footing and fall to my arse in a pile of dry leaves. I don’t yelp because it doesn’t hurt—I’m numb to everything except Josh—but I do curse to high heaven, further cementing Josh’s claim that I have a vulgar mouth. “God damn it.” With my palms splattered on the muddy ground behind me, my knees bent, I look up at the man looming over me. “This is all your fault.” “I take full responsibility,” He says. “For everything.” Everything? “Like what?” “Your fall. My feelings.” Josh offers his hand, but I ignore it, getting myself to my feet and brushing myself down of dry leaves. “For your feelings,” he finishes softly. My hands falter midway down my jodhpurs. “I do not have any feelings,” I grate, ignoring the unrelenting…feelings. The warmth, the disappearance of my woes, the heady sensations of want manifesting within me. Me. Him. The potent cocktail of chemistry we create, just being in each other’s presence. The woodland surrounding us is drenched in it. The atmosphere is thick. I glance up when a few moments have passed, silent moments, and meet his eyes. The amber swirl of desire sparkles madly. My heart kicks. He licks his lips, and I follow the path of his tongue from one corner of his mouth to the other. “Stop,” I whisper, to who I don’t know. Him? Me? My hands come up to my head, my fingertips pushing into my temples, as if I’m trying to force every reason why this can’t happen to the front of my mind. I look for my father’s words, but I find other words instead. You will be ripped apart. Eddie will be ripped apart. Your father’s and brother’s memory with be tarnished. But…I fell so madly in love with a man, and now I am being forced to disregard that. Can I? Should I? I swivel on my boots and run. I can’t trust my head to talk reason, can’t promise I’ll even listen to my reason if I find it, so I’m depending on my legs to take me away as quickly as they can. “No thumbs down,” he growls, snatching my wrist and yanking me to a stop, spinning me to face him. My face is grabbed with one brutal hand, and his mouth is quickly on mine. He’s gone low, way below the belt, and worse still, we both know it will work. My universe seems to align, positive and negative working together, our lips glued by an invisible, highly powerful force. Then I feel his tongue sweep through my mouth and explosions of the most calming kind erupt in my soul. My keen hands find his hair and force him closer, our kiss crazed and messy, but so utterly calming and immaculate. I let him guide my backward steps, I let him spin me away from him, and I let him thrust me up against a tree trunk. The scratchiness of the bark on my forehead doesn’t faze me. I’m too blindsided by the reminder of what we share. Hips pushed into my arse, his wet mouth by my cheek, Josh holds me tightly. Possessively. Like he owns me. And I don’t care. He’s the only thing in this world I don’t mind controlling me. He reaches to my hips and slowly draws my jodhpurs over my backside. His lazy approach could be mistaken for giving me time to deny him. It’s not. He’s merely prolonging my agony. I want him so badly, and he knows it. His hand on my arse. His mouth all over me. Bringing my arms up to the tree, I rest my head on them to lessen the risk of grazing my head when he strikes me. Thwack! As is always the way when Josh tans my backside, I don’t cry out in pain, but rather moan my way through it, being carried to another world. A world where I am not me, but just his. And then his fingers are between my thighs and he’s massaging me gently, my flesh wet and ready for him. “Some things don’t change,” he whispers, biting at my cheek, circling his fingers, plunging them deeply, scissoring my swollen clitoris. “Thank God. Tell me you’ve missed me, Adeline.” “I’ve missed you,” I say on demand, my pleasure making it more of a labored whisper than a sure proclamation, as my pulse races and my desire for him multiplies unstoppably. I start to roll my head, my knees becoming weak. And when I reach the pinnacle of pleasure, I feel like every shitty thing in this world pours from my body with my climax, my whole being relaxed for the first time in weeks. I’ve needed this so much. Needed him. About the Author: Jodi Ellen Malpas wrote her debut series, The This Man Trilogy, in secret, worried about what people might think if they knew what her imagination was capable of. She was shocked herself. But she finally found the courage to unleash her creative streak and self-published THIS MAN – the first book of the This Man Trilogy – in October 2012. She took a chance on the story with a hero who soon became one of modern day fictions most prolific alpha male characters. Jesse Ward – also affectionately known as The Lord of The Manor, sparked incredible reactions from women across the globe and catapulted Jodi into the world of women’s fiction. Jodi went on to self-publish the second book in the trilogy, Beneath This Man in Jan 2013, just before Grand Central Publishing, part of the Hachette Book Group, picked up the popular trilogy and the unknown Jodi. The third book of the trilogy, This Man Confessed, took Jodi to the top of the bestsellers lists, earning her the proud title of #1 New York Times Bestselling Author. This Man has since been voted one of the top romance novels of all time. With so much love, enthusiasm and a thirst for her words from her readers, Jodi suddenly wasn’t afraid of her imagination anymore. She went on to write The One Night Trilogy with the delectable and mysterious Miller Hart, and stole the hearts of her readers once again. Her first stand-alone novel, THE PROTECTOR, released in September 2016 and has since been nominated for a Reviewers’ Choice Best Book Award. Jodi’s next stand-alone novel. THE FORBIDDEN, is set for release in August 2017. All seven of her published novels have hit the New York Times best sellers list – as well as the Sunday Times list and various international best seller lists. Her work is now published in over 24 languages across the world. Jodi was born and raised in the Midlands town of Northampton, England, where she lives with her two boys and a beagle. She is a self-professed daydreamer, a mojito addict, is famous for her obsession with Converse, and has a terrible weak spot for Alpha Males. Writing powerful love stories and creating addictive characters has become her passion – a passion she now shares with her devoted readers. Connect with Jodi: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JodiEllenMalpas/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/JodiEllenMalpas YouTube: https://goo.gl/2kGLbt Instagram: http://www.jodiellenmalpas.co.uk/instagram/ Website: http://www.jodiellenmalpas.co.uk/home/

[anthonysouji-blog]

Death Note - The City of Love part 2

Part 2 of 7

It was a complete coincidence when one day in March 2017 that a customer walked into my bakery. He's a tall man, around 180 cm with a slender body and broad shoulder. From his face I could tell that he's of asian heritage. It's not unusual for foreign people to come to our store especially when Spring is around the corner, since it's tourist season. He bought some croissants and 2 slices of vegetable terrine, our speciality from my recommendations to him. His face was sharp looking, probably from his stressful line of work I presume. I rarely paid any attention to men before but this person had a weird vibe around him that made me feel strangely attracted.

before he left I had the chance to talk to him a little bit, out of curiosity I asked him where he's from.

"Japan." he said with a slightly smiling face. that explained his politeness and noddings here and there.

"are you a tourist?" I asked.

"....yes." there was a pause before his response. His mysterious vibe made me want to know more about him. but at the same time, not wanting to take too much of his time I blurted, "would you, would you like me to show you around ? I know a good bar just around the President Wilson avenue."

He thought for a few seconds and said, "sure, why not?".

"okay, just give me a few minutes to close the shop!"

we went to the bar and had some drinks and talks. His name was Matsuda Toshihiro, he worked for the Police in Japan but he quitted his job last October to travel the world. he's stopping in Paris for a week before taking off to Belgium and other European countries and heading to United States at the end of April,or so he said. and I told him about myself too. How I live a mundane life baking breads and cakes. and I thought it sounds fun living a free life like him being able to travel the world. Although our shop was doing quite well for the past few years but it had been impossible for me and my mother to take a long break for vacation and such,because of the expensive rent that we had to commit to monthly. He's a bright and smart guy, and his jokes were amazing. I don't know if it is just me or it's normal for girls to come to like funny people like Matsuda.

we talked until it's past midnight and he sent me back to the shop. It was a short meeting, but it has been a while since I talked to a guy happily like this. before we parted, he said with a smile "I'll try your pastries for breakfast tomorrow, and if I like it I will come for more!" and that night for the first time in my life I couldn't sleep well, engrossed with the thought whether Matsuda will come again or not. It's a strange feeling that I have never felt before in my life, and in the end I only fell asleep at around 3 a.m.

The next day, Matsuda came to the shop. "hey, I liked the terrine!" I don't know if I had ever felt anymore delighted than I was that evening. We went out for a drink again that night, and the next too. And the moments I spent with him were the best of my life, if I was not exaggerating. I had lived in Paris in my whole life but it's only now, during this moments that I saw and felt it for myself. How every street corners seemed beautiful. How red the roses were. How enchanting the Eiffel tower looked in the sunset. and how lovely the air of spring felt in the morning, in this city of love.

but I know those moments that felt like forever, will soon come to an end. Tomorrow, he would leave. Leaving Paris for Belgium and then the world. leaving me alone again in this small part of the city, and I would continue my daily life as a small bakery's owner. Baking breads and cakes. and Matsuda will forever be a part of my memory, knowing that I would never see him again for the rest of my life. Why did I feel like this ? why did a single man would make me feel so troubled and melancholic, and without realizing it all I had been thinking of is him ?

it is love. the unknown substance that had been binding mankind together since the beginning of time. Love is a compulsion, a change in human brainwave that triggered the chemical reactions in human brains that leads to affinity towards each other. I see now. I see. what I am feeling now is Love. I had fallen in love with the man known as Matsuda Toshihiro and I want him to stay by my side for the rest of my life.

That night, we went to the bar for the last time. I made my resolve to tell him how I felt about him, and I was going to tell him that I love him no matter what. This was the only chance I had. It was the last night, and we drank a little bit more than we usually did. and it happened, for some reasons I could not remember properly. I kissed him on the lips. and he kissed me back. and we went back to my apartment. It happened. and we made love. It was the best night I have had in my entire life, and the best sex I had too.

the next morning came and I woke up next to him. Seeing his sleeping face under the morning sunlight from the window of my apartment was like a picture from a fairy tale. It was a dream came true. I got out of the bed, thinking to fix breakfast for both of us, humming happily. I went to the kitchen and made coffee and toasts, and fried eggs. sometime later, I heard him grunting. must be having hung over headache from drinking last night. I brought the coffee and a glass of water and went to him.

He was holding his head, slowly gaining his conciousness. "Oh God..."

"hey...good morning. are you okay? Here, drink some water" I passed him the water but he wouldn't take it.

"I...We shouldn't....Oh God..." he's kind of mumbling, his face a little blue as if regretting something.

"are you okay?" I got close to him, as close and I touched him in the shoulder a little bit. and then he said,

"I....I'm married."

I couldn't tell if the sound I heard the next moment was the sound of glass breaking as I dropped the glass of water to the floor or was it the sound of my own heart breaking. I was at lost for words. as tears ran through my cheek the whole day, I couldn't tell when did he leave. I haven't cried this much since my father passed away. I couldn't tell him how I felt about him, as I understood that I had no right to do so. I tried to slowly fathom the fact that he would never be mine and he had gone forever, and there was nothing I could do to win his love and make him come back to me. At this point I thought about death. I was at the state of severely depressed yet my mind is still filled with the existence of the man with the name of Matsuda Toshihiro.

and that was when I got up from the floor and went to my desk in the other room. I opened up the bottom drawer of the desk, and took it out. I put it on my desk. sat down, still in tears. I knew, deeply I knew that what I was doing was wrong. But I was madly in love. Madly in love that it hurted so much.I was mad. I was out of my mind. I loved him so much that I wanted to have him all for myself. He must belong to me.

I opened a blank page of the dark, black, notebook. and took a pen.

-First rule of The Death Note : The human whose name is written in this note shall die.

and I wrote, in alphabets.

Matsuda Toshihiro

-Third rule of The Death Note : If the cause of death is written within the next 40 seconds of writing the person's name, it will happen.

Died a natural death on a bed in the city of love, Paris

- Fifth rule of The Death Note : After writing the cause of death, details of the death should be written in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds.

Matsuda Toshihiro, died a natural death on a bed in the city of love, Paris at the age of 90 years old after living a happy life with partner Jeanne Laforet aged 85 who died on the same day and the same time. Matsuda Toshihiro would return to Jeanne Laforet before he board the train to Belgium and confessed his love to her. The both of them would get married after 6 months of dating each other.They loved each other their whole life and worked at the bakery together, living a simple life and blessed with two children, one who would inherit the Death Note from Jeanne Laforet and clean the world as Kira when he/she reached the age of 17.

".....is this alright...? Pierro...? am I allowed to...do this...?" tears were still running down my cheek as the Grim Reaper smiled softly, eating his oranges.

"the note is yours.YOU ARE KIRA. YOU ARE GOD. you are free to do anything you want .hahahahahaha !"

....that's...right.

I am Kira.

to be continued