#orange calla lilies | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

nagaytoe · 28 days ago

Text

Nativitas Domini

(noun) [Latin] Lord's birth

Jericho Ichabod X Reader

Word count: 5.6k

Requests: open

Note: Me writing something that's not Sol X Reader?! And it's fluff on top of that?! (I have actually never written fluff before if i recall correctly)

Unbelievable... Enjoy this Christmas special though, y'all (even though it's a tad bit late but better late than never, am I right?) and apologies for not having posted any one shot in three weeks (I was in a bad writing slump)

I initially wanted to make this another angst but I was too in love with the fluff, I couldn't bring myself to destroy that...

“My Love, wake up.”

A soft voice woke you from your deep slumber. You opened your eyes slowly, blinking away the remnants of sleep still clearly visible in your gaze.

“Crowe?”

You opened your eyes fully to reveal your lover's silhouette in front of the window, shielding your eyes from direct sunlight.

“Have you slept well?” Crowe brushed your hair out of your face and behind your ear. His gaze was full of love and admiration, as if you were the most precious gem, the most beautiful being he has ever laid eyes on. You hummed in quiet agreement and he chuckled.

“That’s good, that’s good. We still have quite some things planned for today, remember?”

You pondered for a moment, gathering your thoughts, since your mind was still foggy from sleep. Another quiet chuckle snapped you out of your thoughts as a hand was placed on the top of your head, ruffling your hair.

“We wanted to go shopping for presents, then bake some cookies and then go to Jess’ and Brittney's place to celebrate with the others. It’s already 10 am, it might be better if we get started soon.”

You slowly sat up on the bed, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes and yawning.

“I already made breakfast, the only missing piece at the table is you.” Crowe stretched out his hand towards you, a gentle smile playing on his lips. You looked at him for a moment, unable to believe that he is actually here with you, by your side. Taking his hand and nodding, Crowe helped you get out of the bed and the two of you walked towards the kitchen together.

The smell of pancakes and orange juice invaded your senses and you soon saw what Crowe had prepared for you. The table was set for two people, in the middle of the round surface was a plate, soft and thick pancakes stacked on top of it. Next to it was a juice pitcher, filled with your favorite juice. However, these weren't the only things on the table. A big bouquet with the most colorful flowers was placed next to your plate and cutlery.

You let out a soft gasp, looking over at Crowe with a wide smile, your eyes glistening.

“Crowe…they are beautiful…”

Walking up behind you and wrapping his arm around your waist, Crowe pressed a kiss on the crown of your hair. “They are no match for you though…”

You giggled softly in response and leant into Crowe's embrace.

��I love them, Crowe, thank you so much…”

The bouquet truly was beautiful. Purple calla lilies, white baby’s breaths and blue agapanthuses. The colors reminded you of Crowe, with his blue eyes and usual purple attire.

Crowe pulled your chair back, gesturing for you to sit down. Right after you sat down he moved around the table, sitting down in front of you. You loved mornings like these, even when the sun was absent they were filled with warmth. It was domestic. It was real. Sometimes you couldn't quite believe your luck. How were you fortunate enough to end up with someone like Jericho?

“[____]?”

You were snapped out of your thoughts by your lover's voice. Looking up, you saw him smiling at you with admiration and a hint of amusement in his eyes. His arm was propped up on the table, resting his cheek on the palm of his hand.

“What are you thinking about, Love?”

A warm feeling spread through your chest. You were still crushing on him as hard as on the first day. His words, his voice, his personality, his looks… Everything about him was perfect.

“I'm just… thinking about how lucky I am to be with you.”

A swift look of surprise brushed over Crowe's features before he smiled brighter than before. He reached over the table, taking your hand into his bigger, warmer one. “I am the lucky one, my Starlight.”

Swooning at his words, you realized that he had pretty much ruined you for everyone else, Crowe had you on the hook. You doubted that you could ever love someone like you loved him, but then again, you didn't plan to either.

You gave him a sweet smile and he let go of your hand after a few beats, gesturing for you to fill your plate with the pancakes he had prepared. He did this pretty often, surprising you with self-made breakfast, yet you fell head over heels for him over and over again, no matter how often he did it.

Reaching over with knife and fork, you took two pancakes off the pile, filling your plate with them. As soon as you took a bite you perked up. “Crowe, they taste amazing, did you change the recipe up?”

The pancakes were fluffy and sweet, even sweeter than usually. “Just a tad bit. I know that you have kind of a sweet tooth, so I added a bit more sugar.”

You weren't sure what was sweeter, your boyfriend or the sugar he added.

He was probably sweeter, even though he didn't have much of a sweet tooth himself. That brought up another question, however.

“What about you though? You aren't that fond of too much sugar.”

“I can handle a bit more sweetness in my pancakes. After all, I handle you everyday and you are by far sweeter than any pancake I could ever make.”

You had to suppress a grin at that. He could be so cheesy sometimes.

Time seemed to pass way too fast, it felt like the two of you finished breakfast in no time.

“I'll clean up, you can get ready in the meantime, Darling” Crowe took his and your plate and brought them to the kitchen sink. Thanking him, you stood up and you made your way to your shared bedroom to get dressed. You took a look out the window, snow was painting the world in a pure, innocent shade of white and created a calm, serene image. Perhaps Crowe and you can build a snowman later if you have enough time.

Walking up to the closet, you were pondering on what to wear. Crowe was wearing a purple sweater and black slacks, perhaps you could put on a matching outfit. After all, he loved when the two of you wore matching outfits.

You took a pair of black pants out of your closet, before looking for a purple sweater. You had one, albeit the color being a bit lighter, it would have to do.

The colors purple and blue had a special spot in your heart, every time you saw them, you were reminded of Crowe.

He was everywhere, his essence in everything.

The night sky, the ocean, the flowers in your garden during the warmer seasons and the bouquet he gave you this morning, even in your closet you found these colors more present than before.

You walked into the narrow hallway, painted dark red with a birch wood floor, to see Crowe was already putting on his shoes, sitting on the bench near the door. As soon as he was finished and laid eyes on you, he couldn't help but chuckle. “I feel like I have seen that outfit before somewhere…” He walked up to you, wrapping his arm around your waist and pulling you to his chest. “I love you so much, you know that?” He leant down to press a kiss to your forehead, before wrapping both arms around you in a loving embrace. “I love you too, Jericho… More than words can ever describe…”

Crowe pulled back to look at you and raised his hand to cup your cheek, his thumb gently stroking over the soft skin. Before you met him, you didn't know that it was humanly possible to look at someone the way he looked at you, but he proved to you that it indeed was possible and even if it wasn't, he would make it possible.

His bright blue eyes were filled with so much love, you couldn't begin to comprehend just how much love he felt for you.

Your face was gently pulled closer to his by the hand holding your cheek, his own face moving closer at the same time, before your lips met in a sweet kiss. It was an attempt at expressing your feelings for each other, but this universal act of love could only scratch the surface of what truly laid beneath your exteriors. Beneath all that skin, bone and flesh laid a love so profound, it almost made your hearts burst.

Crowe pulled back eventually, but you didn't leave his embrace without him planting another kiss on your forehead. He turned to take your black coat off the hanger and helped you put it on in his usual gentleman-like fashion. While he was looking for something in the hallway's dresser you were putting on your boots. The coat you were currently wearing matched his perfectly well, only your boots weren't matching - his being dark brown and yours being black - but you weren't going to nit-pick every small detail. Crowe stood in front of you again, a purple scarf in his hands. “It's cold outside, my Love, you'll need this.” His voice was as soft and caring as always, while he gently wrapped the scarf around your neck.

Opening the front door, Crowe gestured for you to walk outside before him. He followed close behind, taking your hand in his as he left the house with you and closed the door behind him. As you made your way towards the shopping center, the snow crunched under your boots, accentuating every step.

Despite the thick clothes you were wearing, which engulfed you in a comfortable warmth, the cool december breeze made you shiver. The coldness was slowly biting away at your skin and you tried your best to bury your face in your scarf, though it didn’t help with warming your face as much as you had hoped. Crowe squeezed your hand at this, trying to reassure you. “Don't worry, my Love, we'll be there in no time.”

The walk to the shopping center was peaceful, you walked by multiple groups of children who were building a snowman or having snowball fights. Looking around, you found everything to be covered in thick, white snow, giving the usually dull surroundings an almost magical feeling. It might be cold right now, but at least it was beautiful outside.

The mall wasn’t too far either, luckily. In this type of weather it was going to take around fifteen minutes to reach it, which felt like fifteen seconds in Crowe’s presence. That was one of the many things you loved about him. Any task, any situation, no matter how daunting or boring they may be, they seemed way easier to conquer with Crowe by your side.

The mall was bustling with life, chatter and laughter everywhere. Christmas tunes played from every corner and matching decorations were hung up everywhere. However, the highlight was the 30 feet tall christmas tree in the middle of the mall, cladded with different types of ornaments, ranging from fairy lights and tinsel to brightly colored baubles and little angels hanging from the branches.

“Whose present should we get first?”

You pondered for a moment at Crowe's question, “Jess. I already have something for her.”

Crowe quirked his eyebrow at that. “Lead the way then.”

You tugged Crowe along with you, leading him to a record store. “You know how Jess is absolutely obsessed with Eries, right?”, You looked up at him, feeling a little silly for asking this as you realized that he obviously knows, since he was the one who told you that information in the first place, “Of course you do…Anyways, I was thinking about getting her a vinyl record.”

“Does she even have a record player?”

You shook your head, “Nope, but knowing her, she wouldn’t play the record anyways, however, she would hang it up on the wall for everyone to see, just like her other prized possessions.”

“Are you sure she doesn’t have it already though? She’s one of his biggest fans after all, I kind of doubt that she doesn’t have all his merchandise by now.” Crowe’s question was a valid one, you haven’t told him that piece of information yet, since it was more of an impulsive decision. “I know that she doesn’t have it, she told me herself. See, we were talking about this special edition record of Eries newest album coming out and when the presale was happening, she didn’t manage to get a copy. I, however, did.”

Crowe furrowed his eyebrows at your explanation, still not getting the full picture, “Why did you try to obtain a copy in the first place? As far as I know, you’re not one of his fangirls.”

“Well, I thought it would make a nice present if she didn’t manage to get a copy. And if she had managed to get a copy I would have given it to another friend of mine, who likes Eries as well, but isn’t big enough of a fan to buy limited edition stuff.”

“You had a full-on masterplan, huh?”

You nodded eagerly at his reply, “All that’s left to do is to pick up the copy from the record shop.”

Tugging your boyfriend through the crowd, you weasel your way towards the record store. As soon as you arrived you were met with seemingly endless rows of shelves, packed to the brim with colorful records and the speakers faintly playing a Christmas song.

“By the way, how much was that record?”

You gave Crowe a side-eye, before averting your gaze as you walked towards the register. “Way too much…”, you muttered under your breath before clearing your throat. “But Jess is an amazing friend…I’m sure she’ll love this present!”

Crowe shook his head in disbelief with an airy laugh, “I’m sure she will, but I would still like to know how much that record was, you know? After all, we did agree on splitting the costs for the presents in half.”

You mumbled a response under your breath, incoherent to Crowe’s ears. When he asked again, your response was still quiet, but he heard your answer at last, “Sixty-five bucks…”

Crowe’s bright blue eyes widened a little in surprise, which is why you decided to quickly reassure him, “I know it’s a lot, that’s why the record will be on me, you don’t have to pay half the price-”

“Nonsense, I’ll pay half the price, just like we agreed, don’t worry about it, my Love” He cut you off, holding his hand up in the air to stop your rambling. You gave him a soft smile, your face a little flushed as you muttered a small “Thank you”, fully aware that debating with him on this matter will get you nowhere.

After informing the employee at the register about the order you wanted to pick up, he went to the back and swiftly returned with it, handing the record to you with a sweet smile.

Crowe wrapped his arm around your waist, an innocent gesture, though a hint of jealousy laced it. You were his partner after all, he should -and would- let the whole world know how lucky he got, even if this poor employee probably didn’t have any ulterior motives behind his smile and wave good-bye.

“How about we get Brittney’s present next?” Crowe asked, giving your hand a gentle squeeze as the two of you made your way out of the record store. You nodded, thinking back to all the times Brit told you something related to her interests.

“Do you already have something in mind?”, Crowe asked as he scanned your contemplating expression. You slowly nodded, “Yeah… she mentioned something about this skin care set she thought about getting. It’s a bit pricey, though…”

Crowe smiled softly at you, letting go of your hand and stroking the back of your head softly. “Don’t worry about it, my Love. If something is out of your budget I don’t mind paying more than half the price or entirely for the present.”

Your head snapped towards him as you immediately protested, “No way in hell am I gonna let you pay for everything yourself, that wouldn’t be fair at all!”

Your boyfriend could only chuckle in response, shaking his head lightly, “Whatever you say, Love…”

The two of you made your way towards the mall’s beauty store, Crowe’s hand tightly holding your own, almost as if he was afraid you would be swept away by the crowd of people present. It didn’t take long for you to find the skin care set Brittney told you about, despite the shelves being lined with all kinds of beauty products, ranging from perfume to high-end makeup products. Albeit the fairly high price the set was almost sold out and you barely managed to grab one of the last boxes.

The store was filled to the brim with teenage girls and husbands with their wives, all of them trying to find last minute presents for their loved ones. Thus, Crowe and you had to wait quite some time at the register, however, time always seemed to pass in the blink of an eye whenever he was with you.

“By the way, what should we get Deryl?”

You looked up at Crowe, waiting for a response as he pondered for a moment.

“Well, he loves football and sweets… though I believe you know as much about football as I do, which is practically nothing at all.”, Crowe chuckled slightly and of course he was right, both of you barely had any knowledge about football.

“Then sweets it is, we just have to hope that he eats them in private and not at the party, unless we want him bouncing off the walls-” You cut yourself off with a gasp as an idea hit you, “How about one of these international sweets boxes? As far as I know there is a shop here which sells sweets from all around the world. I believe that would make a great present for Deryl!”

Your boyfriend smiled gently at you as he responded, “Great thinking, let’s go there once we’re finished here.”

Crowe and you checked out at the register and made your way towards the sweets store shortly after.

The sweets store was probably the most colorful shop in the entire shopping center, the walls were painted in bright colors and even the tiles on the floor were practically glowing in neon hues. The shelves were lined with all kinds of sweets, all of them wrapped in bright packaging and sorted into different aisles depending on which country they’re from.

“Is there anything specific Deryl likes?” Crowe shook his head in response, thus you took it upon yourself to search for tasty-looking sweets, hooking a shopping basket on your arm.

You were able to fill the basket in no time with all different types of sweets; savory ones, sour ones and just classical sweet ones.

“Those are quite a lot of sweets… it might be better to give him this when we are about to leave…”

You raised an eyebrow at Crowe’s suggestion, “And leave the others with the mess of a Deryl who is high on sugar?”

He smirked smugly at you in reply and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes at his antics.

The two of you wrapped up at the sweets store not long after, walking out with two shopping bags in your right hand, one containing Brittney’s and one Jess’ present, and a big box of sweets for Deryl tucked away under Crowe’s left arm.

“We still need to get a present for Geo, do you have any idea what we could get him? It’s not like that guy is an open book when it comes to anything regarding him personally…”

“I already have something in mind for Geo, don’t worry.”

Your eyes widen ever so slightly in surprise at Crowe’s declaration.

“Follow me.”, He took your free hand in his, making his way through the crowd and leading you to the mall’s exit.

Curious as to where Crowe was taking you, you couldn’t help but ask him, “Where are we going, Crowe?”

“To the box office, it’s on the way home anyways.”

You furrowed your eyebrows at his response, but decided not to dwell on it. You would see what Crowe is up to soon enough, since the box office was pretty close to the mall.

As you left the shopping center, the coldness engulfed you in an icy embrace, stinging at your flesh. You immediately missed the comforting warmth of the shopping center, even if the atmosphere was chaotic. The only source of warmth you now had were your thick clothes and the warmth of your boyfriend’s soft hand, but all this didn’t do much to keep you from shivering.

After what felt like an eternity out in the harsh coldness of December, you finally reached the box office.

Crowe leant a little towards the cashier as he spoke his request, “I’d like to buy a gift voucher for 75 dollars, please.”

You lifted your eyebrows up slightly, before nudging him softly with your elbow while the employee was preparing the voucher. “I would have thought that you were gonna give him a present that’s more… personal.” Crowe looked at you for a moment, processing your words.

“Well, he’s not the type to be against vouchers as a gift, in fact, he thinks it’s the best type of present to give to someone; if it’s required to give them something, that is.”

“I guess that makes sense for him… he doesn’t seem like the type to give others personalized presents… or any at all, to be honest…”

Crowe couldn’t help but chuckle at your reply, “Yeah, he finds it to be the most practical type of present and I am not going to disagree with him on that, I get where he’s coming from.”

You nodded in silent agreement as the employee finished wrapping up the voucher, handing it to Crowe, who gave him the required amount of cash in exchange, before bidding goodbye and putting the envelope containing the voucher into one of the bags you were carrying.

“What time is it?”

Crowe took a look at the watch on his wrist, “1 pm. The party starts at 4.30, therefore we still have some time to get everything ready.”

Your boyfriend gave your hand a small squeeze and smiled warmly at you. This was almost enough to make you forget about the crisp cold air surrounding you, emphasis on almost. You were walking at a faster pace than usually, desperate to get home as quickly as possible.

Luckily, you soon saw the row houses on your street, one of them being the one you and Crowe resided in. The two of you moved in together after a year of dating, deeming it safer for the both of you - well, mostly for you. He insisted that you move into the townhouse he rented with him, considering it a safer option than the apartment you previously called your home. Of course, he was right, this part of town was much safer and if something were to happen, he would be there to protect you.

The houses were made of brownstone and not much bigger than your old apartment, though it was still nice to have a bit more space available, not to mention the tiny garden at the back - something your previous home lacked entirely.

Speed-walking towards the dark green front door, you ushered Crowe to unlock the door, who chuckled in response to your antics. What may have been annoying to anyone else, he found endearing. To him, you could hardly do any wrong, you were perfect, perfect for him.

You were greeted by the familiar smell of your home and the comforting warmth it provided. Taking off your boots and coat you turned to face Crowe, “Ready to bake some cookies?”

The kitchen was small, but it was big enough for the two of you. The counter, made of ebony and an oak countertop, formed a U-shape, lining all walls except for the one with the door. A big window overlooking the garden was above the kitchen sink and opposite of the door. Some potted plants hung from the ceiling, giving the room a rural feeling.

You walked to the kitchen cabinet and whipped out every required ingredient and equipment.

“Did you decide on which type of cookies we are baking?” Crowe entered the kitchen, rolling up the sleeves of his sweater, revealing his toned lower arms.

“I was thinking we could bake some good old chocolate chip cookies, how does that sound?”

Crowe cracked a grin at that. Chocolate chips were his favourite and you knew that all too well.

“I’m definitely not opposed to that suggestion.”

You playfully rolled your eyes at him, “Of course you are not.”

You ordered Crowe to weigh the ingredients while you took care of mixing everything, the dough soon being finished. The moment you turned your back to grab a scissor for the package of chocolate chunks, Crowe grabbed a spoon from the kitchen drawer and tried some of the cookie dough.

“No snacking on the cookie dough, Crowe.”, you turned around to find your boyfriend frowning at you, causing a little laugh of yours to break free.

“Mind you, I was taste-testing.”

You shook your head at his answer, but at the same time you were endeared. Crowe was usually this composed, mature gentleman, but around you he could unleash a more childish side of him, one he didn’t show anyone else. Coming from him, this was a huge sign of trust, a privilege he didn't grant just anyone.

Right after you mixed the chocolate chunks into the cookie dough, you took small scoops and placed them onto the tray Crowe got ready for you. Once you were finished with placing small piles of dough, your boyfriend took the tray from you and put it in the oven.

“Now that the cookies are in the oven, what should we do in the meantime? Wrap the presents?” Crowe asked while wiping the surface of the countertop with a wet cloth. You pondered for a moment, recalling the children you saw on your way to the mall and pointed towards the window overlooking the garden

“I have a better idea… See all that snow? How about we build a snowman?”

Looking at him, your eyes glistened with hope and he smiled brightly at you, an indescribable amount of love in his gaze.

You definitely were perfect for him.

“Of course we can, Love, but weren’t you the one freezing outside earlier today?”

He just couldn’t help but tease you a little every now and then.

“That was different. I can handle the coldness if it means I get to feel like a kid again.”, you argued, a lop-sided smile gracing your features.

“Touché.”

With a pep in your step you went back into the hallway to grab both of your boots and coats, along with a pair of gloves for each of you. You swiftly returned to the kitchen and walked through the doorway into the living room, straight towards the back door, handing Crowe his clothes, before putting on your own coat and boots.

No five minutes later were the two of you out in the freezing cold. You already got to work, making a little snowball and rolling it around on the ground, your gloves doing very little to keep the snow’s iciness away from your skin, though you couldn’t care less right now.

The garden was small, surrounded by high bushes, which were painted white by the snow just like the ground was. The big apple tree at the very back already lost all its leaves weeks ago and the flowers you usually kept were long gone.

Crowe joined you, rolling his own snowball on the ground and turning to you for a moment, “I take it that you want to be in charge of the big snowball at the bottom?”

Looking over at him with a smile you nod eagerly, earning you his warm signature smile in return.

The two of you kept rolling the snowballs around, which were getting bigger and bigger by the minute, until they finally had a size you were satisfied with. Crowe placed his slightly smaller snowball on your bigger one, going off to find some sticks to use as arms right after while you were busy making the head. Once you were finished and placed the third and smallest snowball on top of the other two, Crowe returned with some sticks and a couple of small rocks.

Handing you the two biggest sticks, you took them and placed one on either side of the snowmans upper body and some smaller branches on the top of his head. You took three small stones out of Crowe’s palm and placed them in a vertical row on the snowman's upper body.

“By the way, do we have a carrot laying around?”

“I think so… let me take a look.” Crowe handed you the rocks and turned around, walking back inside. In the meantime, you took two rocks and placed them where you thought the snowman's eyes might be and used the leftover stones to give the snowman a smile. Crowe eventually returned, a carrot in his hand. “There you go, finish the job.”

You side-eyed him, processing his words, “You’re saying this as if I’m assassinating this poor snowman…”

Your boyfriend chuckled in response as you added the final detail to your snowman.

Suddenly, an alarm went off.

“Ah! The cookies are ready. Just in time…” Crowe turned off the alarm on his phone and took your hand in his as the two of you made your way back inside.

Once back in the kitchen, the two of you took off your boots, coats and gloves. Crowe took out the tray with cookies while you carried the clothes back into the hallway, hanging the coats back on their hangers, placing the boots on the mat next to the front door and the gloves back into the dresser.

The smell of fresh cookies invaded your nostrils and you could feel your mouth watering, causing you to swiftly return to the kitchen.

“It smells so good in here!” You entered the kitchen, causing Crowe to turn away from you quickly, making you stop in your tracks, “Wait… are you eating one of the cookies?”

“...No…” Crowe was trying his best to not sound like he was talking with a full mouth, but failed miserably.

“You are!” You could hear Crowe swallowing before turning back to face you, trying to defend himself, “I had to do a taste test…”

You take one cookie from the tray, studying it a little. Judging by the looks of it, those cookies turned out amazing.

“Firstly, you already did one with the raw cookie dough and secondly, I highly doubt that one was necessary…Though, I might do one as well. You know, two tongues can taste more than one, or something like that.” Putting the cookie in your mouth, you can almost hear your taste buds singing Hallelujah, your eyes widening as you let the warm, sweet taste of chocolate chip melt on your tongue.

“Oh my…these cookies are perfect!”

Crowe nodded in agreement with a grin on his face as he watched your fond expression, before looking at his watch, “It’s 2.20 pm, we have about two hours until the party, any ideas what should we do until then?”

You thought for a moment before a smug smirk crawled onto your face.

“Don’t tell me-”

You cut off your boyfriend, “Let’s watch a Christmas movie!”

“We still need to wrap the presents, my Love” , Crowe pointed out, but you quickly shot down his argument.

“We can do that while watching the movie. It’s not like we have tons of presents to wrap anyways.”

Crowe sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose, though more in a playful fashion, before nodding slowly.

“Alright, let’s watch a Christmas movie then.”

You immediately made your way towards the living room, the walls were painted a light blue shade and lined with tons of shelves, the floor was birch wood, just like the hallway. Sitting down on the soft, dark blue couch and grabbing the remote, you made yourself comfortable, nuzzling against one of the couch’s cushions. While you were busy picking out a movie, Crowe grabbed some wrapping paper, as well as the presents for your friends, and carried them towards the living room, setting everything down on the oak coffee table in front of the couch.

He sat down next to you, wrapping his arm around your shoulder and pulling you closer as you put on your favorite christmas movie. You shuffled closer to him, basking in the warmth Crowe radiated, not just emotionally but also physically. No matter how tough times might get, next to him any problem ceased to exist, if only for the moment and you could swear your love for him was growing more and more the longer you were together.

Leaning your head on his shoulder, you couldn’t help but feel giddy for tonight, looking forward to spending time with all the people who grew on you so much during your years at university.

Were you to look out the window, you’d catch the snowman smiling at you, the snow which was currently falling from the sky accumulating on his carrot nose.

Everything was perfect, you were exactly where you were always meant to be and you wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

#tkatb vn #the kid at the back vn #tkatb #yandere visual novel #yandere vn #the kid at the back #jericho ichabod #jericho #crowe ichabod #crowe #tkatb crowe #tkatb x reader #crowe x reader #jericho ichabod x reader #the kid at the back x reader #the kid at the back crowe

144 notes · View notes

juliasgoodusername · 2 years ago

Text

Sometimes a girl has to go a little crazy. Sometimes a girl has to make a book-accurate floorplan for 300 Fox Way. These things just happen, sometimes.

Obsessive annotations under the cut ✨ but be warned, there's a LOT

Exterior

Okay first of all, I'm no architect, and my only knowledge comes from work experience in the real estate industry + a lot of Sims. The style is sort of neo-rural French colonial. I didn't set out to adhere to that standard so much as I made an amalgamation of homes in Blue Ridge Mountains-adjacent towns in Virginia. Specifically, my headcanon Henrietta template is Orange, VA (I'll save that explanation for another post) so I took inspiration from real estate listings from there.

Alright alright I know there is supposed to be one bathroom, but I simply can't tolerate that in a house with 6+ residents. I can't. There was a possible contradiction in the descriptions of "the single shared bathroom" that I used as an excuse to add a 3/4 bath, and I threw in a powder room for free. Because technically there is still only one full bathroom! But seriously with that many women over 30 most of them probably have IBS or chronic constipation and I'm not making them all share a toilet.

Officially we only have 4 bedrooms listed in text: Blue's, Persephone's, Maura's, and Calla and Jimi's shared one. Everyone else gets rooms that don't qualify as bedrooms via Virginia residential building codes (such as the attic, obviously, which falls below the combined ceiling height and square footage requirements). That really just leaves Orla unaccounted for but I'll get to that later. Other aunts and friends seem to visit during the day and live somewhere else, because in The Raven King only Jimi and Orla were described as needing to move out of the house during the demon stuff.

I designed the entire interior floorplan before I even touched the exterior, so there's a few issues, like how I'm totally missing shutters on the windows that functionally need them most. 🫶 I didn't feel like making the windows smaller to fit them, and I could have added faux-shutters but I think those are stupid. 😘

First floor

"This house is lovely. So many walls. So, so many walls," Malory said as Blue entered the living room a little later.

- Blue Lily, Lily Blue, Chapter 30

Right off the bat, we have an insane number of doors and walls. Old colonial houses are pretty much the opposite of open concept. Functionally I believe that's because it's easier to control heat with closed off rooms, but Virginia is not particularly cold so idk. As for the number of doors, I mean....😤😤😤 I prefer archways/doorless frames in small high-traffic spaces, but every time I thought I could get away with it Maggie would specifically describe doors opening and closing (For example BL,LB Ch 41 gives the reading room double doors, and even the living room gets one in Ch 11. What kind of living room needs a door???). I'm actually missing one of the doorways described in canon, but if you know which one I'm talking about I DARE you to find a place to put that thing!! But I digress.

“Mom," she said as she jumped down the crooked stairs.

- The Raven Boys, Chapter 3

I'm liberally using "crooked" to establish the corner turn stairs. Blue steadies herself on the stair railing when she identifies Gansey for the first time (TRB Ch 15), so I wanted the stairs to have good visual access to visitors. It also sort of has a feng shui-ish effect of separating the public and private energy zones in the house. If that statement made zero sense, I think one of us doesn't know enough about feng shui 👀 and it might be me.

I'm also using that quote to establish Maura's room downstairs, if Blue generally expects to find her mother there, but mostly because everything else was upstairs and it was getting hard to fit. Granted, at one point Blue leads the boys "up the stairs to Maura's bedroom" (TDT Epilogue) but since they were just arriving at 300 Fox Way those stairs could easily be the outdoor ones. There's a handful of little things to support me here, such as Adam grabbing a scrying bowl from Maura's room to use in the reading room (BL,LB Ch 41) implying that her room was the closest place to find one. And speaking of Maura's room-

Calla was overwhelmed by how much shit Maura had in her room at 300 Fox Way, and she told Blue this.

... The mess was taking years from her life. ... Maura liked chaos.

... The psychic hotline rang in the room next door. Calla's concentration fluttered away.

- Blue Lily, Lily Blue, Prologue

Maura is my favorite hypocrite. She claims to detest clutter (TRB Ch 34) and yet her room is literally described as chaos. She probably treats her room like a college student and moves the furniture every time she gets bored/stressed. Thus, I gave her the most insane furniture configuration I could think of while still matching all the contents described.

The phone ringing next door might imply that she neighbors the phone/sewing/cat room, but that area is pretty well described and Maura's room is never mentioned there in any other instance. That leaves us with the kitchen phone (TRB Ch 27) which I put in the hallway with kitchen access as a compromise so it would technically still be in a room next to Maura's.

In the reading room, the man looked around with clinical interest. His gaze passed over the candles, the potted plants, the incense burners, the elaborate dining room chandelier, the rustic table that dominated the room, the lace curtains, and finally landed on a framed photograph of Steve Martin.

- The Raven Boys, Chapter 13

There are so many quotes about the reading room that I just don't feel like citing them, but other details include the mismatched chairs, the shelves, doors etc. It's also described specifically as Maura's "front room" (TRB Prologue) so it's one of the cornerstones that I designed the rest of the layout around. Because of the plants, it makes sense that this room would be south-facing too. (Although idk how much light they get with the wraparound porch awning in the way. Oops lol!)

The outside suddenly seemed vivid in comparison to the dim kitchen. The April-bright trees pressed against the windows of the breakfast area, ...

- The Raven Boys, Chapter 3

Blue Stormed into 300 Fox Way's kitchen and began a one-sided interrogation with Artemus, who was still hidden behind the closed storage closet door.

- The Raven King, Chapter 9

Likewise, I'm using the particularly dim kitchen to place it on the north side, where we also know there's trees in the backyard.

I'll say the kitchen layout is weirder than it strictly needed to be because in the Virginia homes I referenced I adored all the strange kitchens, especially with old timey 'servants area' vibes where laundry kitchen and pantry are all connected. Instead of a kitchen island, they get one of those rolling kitchen carts which I doubled as a bar cart for the drinks they have in the living room.

The kitchen has a doorway to the hall (TRB Ch 13) and the living room is within view when Blue's on the kitchen phone (Ch 27).

Speaking of chapter 27, that's when we get the description "The morning light through the windows turned the drinks a brilliant, translucent yellow." So I put the living room on the east side of the house, where the rising sun would cast really strong light like that.

Second Floor

When she woke up, her normally morning-bright room had the breath-held dimness of afternoon. In the next room over, Orla was talking to either her boyfriend or to one of the psychic hotline callers.

- The Raven Boys, Chapter 3

Blue headed toward the red-painted door at the end of the hall. On her way, she had to pass the frenzy of activity in the Phone/Sewing/Cat Room and the furious battle for the bathroom. The room behind the red door belonged to Persephone, ...

- The Raven Boys, Chapter 11

Blue's room and the Phone/Sewing/Cat room are our cornerstones for this floor. In several examples we know that the Phone/Sewing/Cat room faces the street and has a window (TRB Ch 15, BL,LB Ch 4). While Blue's room is "morning-bright," we also get descriptions of guests at the front door "backlit by the evening sun," (TRB Ch 15) so once again we're probably talking about south windows if it's sunlit at both times of day.

Adam sat awkwardly on the edge of Blue's bed. It felt strange to have so easily gained access to a girl's bed- room. If you knew Blue at all, the room was unsurprising - canvas silhouettes of trees stuck to the walls, leaves hanging in chains from the ceiling fan, a bird with a talk bubble reading WORMS FOR ALL painted above a shelf cluttered with buttons and about nine different pairs of scissors. Against the wall, Blue self-consciously taped up the drooping branch on one of the trees.

- The Dream Thieves, Chapter 49

We get some great descriptions of Blue's room (especially TRB Ch 43), although the above one is my favorite (#wormsforall). Every piece of furniture is accounted for exactly as described except the desk which I added because it seemed practical, and Blue is nothing if not practical™.

Persephone's room is also very well-described, all the way down to the furniture and lighting placement (BL,LB Ch 4 and TRB Ch 11) and it's surprisingly similar to Blue's room, if not a bit smaller. Her room gets strong afternoon sunlight, so I put it on the south too (BL,LB Ch 43).

Calla and Jimi share a room that's also upstairs (TRK Ch 16). Because they are the only two who have to share a room, I have justified that it must be the "master bedroom" (sorry for using that term) and is far bigger than the other bedrooms. I managed to fit two queen beds in there, but some scholars [me] would argue that Jimi and Calla might also share a bed because they are in love. Can you prove me wrong? No, you can't.

As for the bathroom, remember when I mentioned a possible contradiction? Famously, Maura draws the ley line symbol in the steamed up shower door (TRB Ch 1). However, much later we get Maura, Orla, Calla and Jimi all sitting in the bathtub for some kind of ritual (TRK Ch 9). No matter how I picture it, I can't put 4 full grown women in a bathtub together without someone partially sitting on/spilling over the side. But that would be impossible in a combo bath/shower enclosed by glass doors!! Thus, I gave The Bathroom a nice tub and put a small shower in the en suite of Jimi and Calla's room. I know this is a stretch but I don't really care.

Attic

Blue had never been a big fan of the attic, even before Neeve moved in. Numerous slanting roof lines provided dozens of opportunities to hit your head on a sloping ceiling. Unfinished wood floorboards and areas patched with prickly plywood were unfriendly to bare feet. Summer turned the attic into an inferno.

... In one of the narrow dormers, two full-length, footed mirrors faced each other, reflecting mirrored images back and forth at each other in perpetuum.

- The Raven Boys, Chapter 34

Trying to fit the attic access in after everything in the second floor was my biggest challenge, because stairs normally take up a lot of space and you have to be careful about head room. I'm the end, I decided it was one of those fold out attic doors that you have to reach from the ceiling of the hallway. We might get a lot of instances of the attic door being opened (😤 seriously, Maggie... 😤) but technically a trap door in the ceiling is still a door!

Dormers pretty much cemented the French colonial style for me. And you know the drill by now: a hot room probably means a lot of sun, which means I give it a south facing window!

Mud Room/Cellar/Basement

This cellar has absolutely zero mention in the text, but my justification is based in the architecture. So far we've got a funky old colonial house, built without a garage, lots of walls etc. Especially in a low-income/semi-rural area, it's not crazy to assume that 300 Fox Way was built before most residents had refrigerators (1930s-40s). Besides iceboxes, a major way to keep food fresh was root cellars. Modern renovations for old homes convert these to concrete basements, but that's why the basement is so small and connects to the kitchen.

My headcanon is that Orla originally shared a room. Pick whoever you want: Maura, Blue or Persephone, any of them would easily be such a chaotic roommate that Orla snapped and in a fit of teen girl rage moved herself down to the crummy dark basement. Over time, she made efforts to glamorize it, such as a vintage dressing screen to hide the flood drainage pump. The privacy also allows her to bring boyfriends over, even sneaking them through the mud room.

This is really just my artistic license, but I swear it makes a surprising amount of sense in context. There's cases of Orla sneaking into the kitchen (easier if she has a back entrance) and she's almost always using the phone upstairs or in the kitchen (because a basement would get bad reception) even though her calls get kinda ~intimate.

Aaaaaand I think that's everything. Sorry it doesn't look like the photo from the wiki at all, but I couldn't find a source for it and Victorian style wasn't super common in the areas I researched. Let me know if I missed anything major! I'll probably cry myself to sleep if so.

#happy hyperfixation friday everyone #January was a weird month for me ngl this was one of my more hinged projects if you can believe it #please don't let this flop tho like this definitely took longer than any drawing I've ever posted here #trc #the raven cycle #the raven cycle fanart #300 Fox Way #Blue Sargent #the raven boys #my art #trc unraveled

3K notes · View notes

aloysiavirgata · 5 months ago

Note

She walks in beauty, like the night

Scully in the simplest, blackest silk. Scully pale, moon-kissed, vulnerable. Scully’s hair and eyes like where the stars are born.

***

Scully comes to him when even the moon is all but asleep, like a single calla lily from a secret admirer. Unbidden. Unexpected.

Unparalleled.

“Mulder,” she says, outside his open door, in a negligee that last shade of sky blue before it goes pitch black.

Spaghetti straps and a low décolletage, though not shockingly low. Lace trim, mid thigh. It looks like something Katharine Hepburn would wear to slap you.

Not you. Him.

Specifically him.

She looks up at him through her heavy-lashed, heavy-lidded eyes.

He stares at her for his own sake because deep in his 12 year old heart, no one would ever, ever, believe that nerdy Fox Muld-

Scully takes another step closer onto the sad oatmeal carpet of his hotel room. She has such pretty ankles, she has such pretty calves. She smells like honeysuckle and hot bike tires and buttery lobster rolls and the sweetest, purest moments of his life.

She tips her face up to him, Agent Scully does, all eyes and lips and cheekbones like a geometric proof.

“God,” he says. And he means it.

***

LA belongs to the sun and Scully is a San Diego baby but he knows, he knows, she is an East Coast girl at heart. He knows she loves the first retinal purple-orange sunrises of America and the first sapphire kisses of night. He knows she loves the stars by which her father learned to navigate. He knows she loves the distant moon.

He knows she loves blue crabs and wool duffel coats and khaki shorts and aspires to East Hampton in her most secret, silent heart.

One day he will make love to her in London because she will, he knows, hark to the call of the City. She is a creature of old stone and lichen and liminal space.

She is the answer to Samson’s riddle.

***

He’d rented a jet black ‘57 Chevy Bel Air because Christ, this girl. Abductions and cancer and the most awful brutality and stolen ova and Christ; this brilliant, moonbeam girl.

She sees the car and she says nothing. But her eyes, her eyes. Her Star of India eyes.

Scully sees the car and she smiles, shy. Scully squeezes his hand.

***

He fucks her - hard, desperate - in the Chevy out over Mullholland and she cries out for him because even Saint Teresa writhed in ecstasy.

He kisses her the way a mariner kisses his homeland soil because she is his human credential. He kisses her like a Torah scroll. He shudders, murmurs I love you, I love you into the hot, sweet dark of her mouth.

***

She is bleeding, just a little. She is bleeding in the warm caress of a Southern California night. She is bleeding as though she were a virgin and maybe she is; maybe there is sex and there is fucking and there is making love and there is This.

Are you there, god? It’s me, Dana.

She touches his sleeping rosebud lips. She touches his funny nose and his beautiful jaw and she doesn’t say I love you aloud like he had because she’d learned it was shameful. She’d learned to salute.

But it’s 3 AM, neither properly morning nor properly night. It’s 3 AM and she isn’t LA pretty, not by a long shot, but she’s here with him, with Mulder, who is very LA pretty and has money besides.

She’s too short and too pale and her nose is patrician rather than cute and she gets burnt instead of tan. She doesn’t laugh in the right places at movies. She likes copper because it burns green, she likes moths more than butterflies, she can quote Jane Austen’s most acerbic lines.

She thinks of Mulder swimming hard across the Vineyard tides, Mulder with his cinnamon skin in the whipped cream breakers. Riding a red fixed-gear along Lake Tashmoo, tugging his tiny sister along. Mulder basking on the beach like a young god of summer. Mulder with his heart afire like Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque.

Her father is dead and look, look Mulder has such a tender soul even if he’s Jewish and atheist, Daddy. Mulder has eyes like fern moss.

“I love you,” she says, her eyes brimming with tears, her eyes bright as the newest stars.

#xf fanfic #xfiles fanfic #msr #prompt #my fic #inbox #hollywood ad

128 notes · View notes

dsudis · 3 months ago

Text

Dreamling Bingo Fill: What Remains

Square/Prompt: D2, "Scars"

Title: What Remains

Rating: T

Ship(s): Dreamling

Additional Tags: Scars, Hand Injuries, Graphic Description of Wounds, Retired Dream, The Kindly Ones

Summary: Dream is content with his scars.

Dream woke to a springtime smell, bright and sharp in his nose, and opened his eyes to see that the marigolds in their windowsill pots had bloomed, orange and yellow and cheerful. The morning sun was shining on them, and Hob was already out of bed; the sounds of him puttering around the flat were faintly audible over the music that was always playing if Hob had no one to talk to.

He didn't recognize the music, though he knew that if he listened long enough, the name would come to him. It was something up-tempo and cheerful; Hob knew, too, that spring was here. Spring, and Sunday, which meant a changing of bandages.

Dream lay on his back and raised his right hand into the light, studying it in the glow of the sun. The scars that made up nearly the whole inner surface of his index finger and thumb had faded from red to a vibrant pink which he found he rather liked. Yesterday he and Hob had wandered about some botanical garden or other, looking for a flower to match the color, debating happily over fuchsias versus azaleas until they found that stand of calla lilies that were absolutely inarguably perfect.

The scar also trailed downward from his hand nearly to his elbow, with a few jagged branches curling around his forearm. These, too, had healed to sturdy scars; it was only the palm of his hand where a waterproof tan bandage still obscured the wound.

It might not be a wound any longer. Today was Sunday; today he would find out.

He lowered his right hand a bit, and raised his left to meet it, trying, as he often did, to recreate what he remembered of his last moments as—whatever he had been, before he became a human being whose identification bore the name Morris LeReve, which Hob found delightful and Dream found as good as any other name. He had no right to the one he could no longer even speak—not Dream, though Dream was the nearest approximation in English, the one Hob had latched onto after hearing his sister say it.

His sister had been beside him, before it happened. They had sat side by side in some desolate place, and she had been sad, and angry, and resigned.

He had only been tired, so tired that he could feel nothing else through it, smothering under the weight of what he had been, back then. He had not been able to feel sadness, or fear, or anything, but he had known that he was about to die. He had known how it would happen: he would take his sister's hand.

He had not known that when he took her hand, there would be a great flash of light, like lightning striking from the tip of her finger to his palm. He had not known that dying would make a hole in him, letting loose all of him that was too much, too heavy to bear, too vast to be held in a form that looked like his.

It had torn free of him in that instant, in that great flash of light, and gone away to someone else who could, thus far, bear it better. And he had been left with this form, and this ragged hole in himself, and—

He smiled, dropping his two hands to rest on his chest, and remembered how it had been, the beginning of his life as he knew it.

There was the flash of light, and the impossibly vast something rushing away from him, or he from it—for he was no longer in that desolate place when he could see again. He had blinked the afterimages from his eyes, had still heard the echoes of the explosion in his ears. He had been leaning against something, just barely sheltered from the torrential downpour that had arrived along with him.

He had looked down and seen his hand, his arm—raw from fingertip to elbow, torn open to reveal wet red insides. He had seen the blood vessels of his wrist pulsing nakedly among the shreds of muscle, miraculously unbroken but horrifically vulnerable. He had not known where or what he was, but he had known that he was hurt, even if he could not exactly feel any pain; he had begun to keen, a high helpless wordless sound, for he had not known what words he could possibly use in that moment.

Then the door had opened, and he had barely begun to fall through it before someone was kneeling beside him. All at once strong arms were cradling him, and he had looked up into a face he knew just as Hob said, "My friend, my friend, what has become of you?"

"My friend," he echoed back, his head lolling against Hob's shoulder as he realized he knew what these words meant, and how they applied to this man. Hob had been worried for him, the last time they met. "My friend, my friend—" and then the words came to him and he answered Hob's question. "Death became of me. I became this. Here."

"Not a bit dead," Hob had said. "Too warm and chatty to be dead," and then he hoisted Dream up and carried him inside.

He had bandaged Dream's arm, asking again and again if it hurt, but it didn't; eventually he had conceded that there didn't seem to be enough left of the ruined places to have nerves to hurt with, and he attended to other concerns instead.

It was only days later that Hob had suggested seeing a doctor about it, but Dream had refused. That had been after Dream had remembered where the townhouse was, and realized that the key in the pocket of his jeans opened its door, and discovered the cards and papers neatly arranged on the table which made him not only the discarded shell of an unfathomable being, but also a human being and citizen of the United Kingdom named Morris LeReve.

Hob called him Morrie sometimes; Dream faithfully pretended to be mildly annoyed by it, so that Hob would continue to find it funny and thus continue to call him by it, just now and again. Hob would stop, if he were actually upset by it, and if he knew that Dream actually liked it, he would scrupulously call Dream by that name and no other, but Dream liked the ordinary name his sister and Hob called him by well enough. He liked Morrie being a thing Hob said just sometimes, half jokingly.

Hob always listened when Dream was definite about something, as he had been about the fact that his hand and arm would heal in their own time. Hob had done all he could to help without forcing Dream to change his mind: he had bought a variety of salves for the wounds, and yards of gauze and tape to shroud them in, and he carefully examined and cleaned and re-anointed the whole length of the broken places. First each day, then every other day, and then every three, every five, as the bandages grew smaller and more and more scar tissue could be exposed to air and light. Every day, whether bandages were to be changed or not, Hob rubbed in a cream to soften the scars, and helped him to flex his fingers and hand and wrist, to keep them mobile.

Now the marigolds Hob had planted to make his own salve from were blooming, and they might never be needed for anything other than their bright lovely colors.

There was only one way to find out. Dream got out of bed and then spent a few moments carefully tidying the coverlet and putting the pillows neatly in place.

It was one of the things he had never needed to do in his old life, one of the thousand things Hob had taught him to do with his own hands now that he was human. He could use his right hand nearly as well as the left now, even if his index finger and thumb could not bend on their own or grip; it was mainly a matter of smoothing things into place, and that his right hand could do well enough.

When he was finished he stood for a moment, admiring his work, and then he pulled on a t-shirt and went looking for Hob.

Dream found him promptly; Hob was in the kitchen, studying something on his phone. All the things for bandage changing were set out on the table, along with a steaming mug of tea and a jar of honey.

Hob looked up with a smile as soon as Dream walked in. "What would you like to do for breakfast today? Full—" Dream kissed him before he could offer a Full English, something Dream had declined every morning of his existence thus far. Hob thought he was wearing Dream down; Dream was sure he could train Hob out of it sooner or later.

"Poached eggs," Dream announced, sitting down beside his mug of tea and opening the jar of honey, noticing as he did that it was easy now, just like making up the bed. He spooned the honey out left-handed, until the rich sweet scent of it drowned out the tannic smell of the tea, and added, "I'm going to get them right this time. I watched more videos."

"Ought to move somewhere with beehives," Hob murmured. "Or stop bothering with the tea bags."

"Every man has a right to make his tea the way he likes," Dream informed him primly; it had been Hob himself who told him so.

He smiled when Dream defended himself, and didn't make any more objections, nor offer to put the lid back on the jar for him. Dream could do it just fine, and did, once he had had a sip of his wonderfully sweet tea.

Then he offered his scarred hand to Hob, his palm turned up to display the bandage.

"Right, let's do this," Hob said, and ceremoniously applied sanitizer to his hands while Dream peeled the bandage back.

It didn't hurt to pull it off; it didn't feel like anything, except maybe a faint tugging sensation. Everything the bandage stuck to was scarred.

He gasped a little at the sight of what the bandage had covered, but Hob made a calmly approving noise. "We did think it might be this week," he said, and ran gentle fingers down along the angry red spots that had been the last raw places when he put the bandage on—and now were scars, closed up and shiny-smooth. "Look at you go, you living creature. Look at you heal."

Dream smiled, feeling oddly shy at the warm, proud look in Hob's eyes. He hadn't really done anything, except to go on living all these weeks, and eating and sleeping and letting Hob look after his injuries—and learning things, and dancing, and laughing, and discovering all the ways his human body liked to be kissed and touched, and comparing them with all the ways Hob's body liked to be kissed and touched...

He had done a lot of things, actually. He had lived; he had healed. And now the last of the wound left behind by what he had been before was closed, and all that was left was one great scar.

And him, a person who liked his tea very sweet and was going to successfully poach some eggs today while Hob made toast. Here he was: living on, scars and all.

----

[This fic is also on AO3!]

#dreamling #the sandman #fic #scars #dreamling bingo 2024 #dreamling bingo

66 notes · View notes

phoward89 · 7 months ago

Text

Based on this ask

Coriolanus Snow, for as long as he could remember, had always linked the scent of roses to his mother, Demeter Snow. His mother was too sweet for this world. She was very beautiful, but vapid. She didn't have a grasp on the hardships of life, being sheltered from them due to her standing as a young lady from a wealthy Capitolite family. And, of course, Coriolanus' father, Crassus, kept his wife with a heart of gold and who enjoyed singing love songs and playing the piano at his Corso penthouse with his mother while he served in District 12 as the Commander.

Coriolanus' vaguely remembers how his mother always sang him love songs from the days before Panem. Oh, how she sang to him all of the classics, ballads, and operas she enjoyed. She would also pick him up and sling him on her hip, singing to him while helping her mother-in-law tend to the rooftop rose garden. A garden that she always smelled like.

But one day, when he was 5, tragedy stuck. Coriolanus was going to be a big brother. His mother, Demeter, was expecting a baby girl. It wasn't planned (at least it wasn't on Crassus' part) but the new addition was going to be a little bit of newfound joy in the Snow family. Much needed joy considering the rebellion breaking out in the districts.

Demeter had gotten Coriolanus all excited about becoming a big brother to a little sister. So excited that he couldn't wait for the baby to come. His mother said that her name was going to be a floral one. Calla. Like the calla lily. Coriolanus wondered if his baby sister would smell like lilies when she was born since she'd be named after them.

But Coriolanus discovered one fateful night that his baby sister would not smell of lilies, but of the stench of death and blood when she was born. That she'd struggle to breath with too tiny lungs and struggle to stay warm with her translucent skin covering her nearly 2 pound body. That his baby sister would die wrapped in a blanket as he held her in his arms, sitting by the roaring fireplace as his Grandma’am and the cook tried to save his mother, who was hemorrhaging in the birthing bed.

Sadly, Demeter Snow bleeds to death in the birthing bed after going into premature labor at 7 months due to the sudden bombing by the districts. Yes, the official start of the war between the Capitol and their allies and the Districts had triggered off a premature labor that had proven deadly for the delicate woman that was too softhearted for this world. The woman who smelled of roses, always powdered her nose with rose scented powder, and enjoyed singing love songs and playing the piano.

As the war drew on, the Snow family had to make sacrifices to eat and stay warm. Since the Capitol was under siege for a few years, food was scarce and so was fuel. The Snow family, thankfully, had their neighbor Pluribus to help them acquire lima beans from the black market. He was also able to give Grandma'am Snow some cabbage seeds to grow in her garden.

Fuel was hard to find, but thankfully the Snow penthouse has a fireplace. And in order to keep the flames fanning, Coriolanus had to sacrifice his beloved picture books to the flames. The books his mother always read to him and to be burned to stay warm. Just like his mother's prized baby grand piano had to be chopped up for firewood. It was either freeze to death in the bitter winters in the valley of the Rocky Mountains or sacrifice sentimental items to use us fuel for flames of warmth

The latter was the choice Grandma'am Snow made for her family. Of course, she had help from the neighbor, Pluribus with chopping up the piano; she even shared the wood from it for his help.

After the loss of his mother's baby grand piano, the only thing Coriolanus had left of his mother that was tangible was her silver compact full of her rose scented powder, her bright orange shawl, and a picture of her with him slung on her hip as a baby.

Coriolanus took to smelling his mother's compact for comfort whenever he was feeling anxious. The smell of roses, his mother's scent, always seemed to calm him.

And it was like this as he grew into a young man.

Until one day he's sitting in the front row seat of his morning class and in walks Dean Casca Highbottom with a new girl in tow.

You.

“Class, I’d like to introduce you to Miss Y/N Halvir.” Dean Highbottom waves his hand towards you while informing the class, “She's the daughter of Colonel Javani Halvir, the war hero, and she's just transferred here District 2 where her father was stationed at PK Base- The Nut.”

You're nervous, standing in front of the entire class. Everyone's eyes are on you, scrutinizing you; judging you. But a pair of icy blue eyes that belong to a boy with a prominent nose and light golden curls makes you feel like the air has left your lungs as they pin you with a look you can't distinguish.

“Mr. Snow, I'm assigning you the task of showing Miss Y/N around the Academy.” Dean Highbottom told Coriolanus, who just gave the dean a curt nod. Dean Highbottom turned to you, only to say, “Please have a seat between Mr. Snow and Mr. Plinth.”

But before you could even ask who those boys were, a broad boy with dark curly hair smiled warmly at you and the icy eyed boy, who made you feel a bit uneasy from his gaze, subtly nodded to the empty seat next to him.

You walk over to your newly assigned seat and place yourself in between your new classmates, Plinth and Snow. The dark haired boy, Plinth, smiles and introduces himself as Sejanus.

“I’m from 2, but I moved here right after the war when I was 8.” Sejanus informs you before asking, “How long were you in 2 for? Do you miss it?”

“I was there long enough and no, I don't miss it there.” You tell your classmate.

Coriolanus can't help, but stare at you in awe. For one, you couldn't wait to leave the district your father was stationed in for the Capitol, but the other reason- the real reason he was in awe over you was because of your smell. Your scent was one he hasn't had the luxury to smell in a long time.

You smell like roses.

“I'm Coriolanus Snow; I'd be honored to become your friend.” The blonde boy smiled, extending his hand out for you to shake.

“I think I'd like that.” You smile, shaking Coriolanus hand before turning your attention to the lesson being taught.

And during the entire class Coriolanus finds himself drawn to your rosy scent instead of paying attention to the lecture being given. Roses fill his nostrils faintly and it's intoxicating. All he can do is fall into a feeling of comfort, since the scent of roses always eased his anxiety. He's positive that you'll be a warm, gentle soul like his mother was because you smell like roses- just like she did.

And because you smell like roses, Coriolanus is determined to make you his girl; his one true comfort in a life of anxieties and unknowns.

Tags: @kuroosbby001 @purriteen @poppyflower-22 @meetmeatyourworst @whipwhoops @bxtchopolis @readingthingsonhere @savagenctzen @ryswritingrecord @erikasurfer @tulips2715 @universal-s1ut @thesmutconnoisseur @squidscottjeans @sudek4l @wearemadeofstardust0 @mashiromochi @gracieroxzy @belcalis9503 @shari-berri @aoi-targaryen @whiteoakoak @spear-bearing-bi-witch @gisellesprettylies @loverandqueenofdragons @qoopeeya @mfnqueen1 @permanentlyexhaustedpigeon88 @v-love @swiftieblyth @joyfulyouthlover @lady-harvey @chxrrybomb22 @marvel-hiddles-stark @xjinnix @devils-blackrose @zombicupcake3 @jacesvelaryons @tempt-ress

144 notes · View notes

tsunael · 10 months ago

Text

If there's anyone out there that cares about flower language and symbolism like I do, I made an informal write-up some time ago about the in-game flowers (that you can put in your house) and the different symbolism that they can mean.

I only included the symbolism for the in-game colors and also their general meaning.

Also as a disclaimer these could be incorrect, have contrasting meanings, or have different meanings in different real-world cultures. White chrysanthemums (kiku) are usually a funeral flower in Japan for instance. (My Japanese professor once said they were a faux pas for her to receive in a bouquet!) So your mileage may vary!

Now with added sunflower.

This was simply a fun personal project I made for myself that I thought other people might enjoy as well! So here's a question to answer in the tags:

What flowers would your WoL have in their residence?

Arums (calla lily) 🔷magnificent beauty, feminine modesty

Brightlilies (easter lily) 🔷purity, refined beauty 🔷White: virginity, purity, majesty 🔷Pink: wealth and prosperity 🔷Red: warmth, desire 🔷Yellow: gaiety, falsehood, "I’m walking on air" 🔷Orange: hatred

Campanulas (bellflower) 🔷humility, constancy

Chrysanthemum 🔷cheerfulness, "You’re a wonderful friend" 🔷Red: I love you 🔷White: truth 🔷Yellow: slighted love

Cosmos 🔷harmony, peace, modesty, "the joys that love and life can bring", beautiful

Dahlias 🔷dignity, elegance

Daisies 🔷innocence, beauty

Lilies of the Valley 🔷return of happiness, sweetness, humility, purity

Oldrose 🔷Red: I love you, love, beauty, passion, romance 🔷Blue: mystery, attaining the impossible, love at first sight 🔷White: innocence and purity, "I am worthy of you", reverence 🔷Yellow: decrease of love, jealousy, friendship

Shroud Cherries (cherry blossom) 🔷spiritual beauty, a good education

Tulips 🔷perfect lover, fame 🔷Red: declaration of love, true love, eternal love, romantic love, "believe me" 🔷Yellow: hopeless love, unrequited love, brightness, sunshine 🔷White: ask for forgiveness, purity 🔷Purple: royalty

Hyacinths 🔷sports, games, rashness 🔷Purple: I am sorry, sorrow, "please forgive me" 🔷Red: play 🔷White: loveliness, "I’ll pray for you" 🔷Blue: constancy, sincerity 🔷Yellow: jealousy

Hydrangeas 🔷heartlessness, boastfulness, "You are cold"

Morning Glories 🔷love in vain, affection

Violas (violets) 🔷modesty, faithfulness 🔷Purple: daydreaming, "You occupy my thoughts" 🔷Blue: watchfulness, love 🔷White: candor, innocence 🔷Yellow: rural happiness

Byregotia (begonia?) 🔷Beware

Carnation 🔷fascination, love, distinction 🔷Red: "My heart aches for you", deep love, admiration 🔷White: sweet and lovely, innocence, pure love 🔷Yellow: "You have disappointed me", rejection, disdain 🔷Purple: capriciousness, changeable

Moth Orchid 🔷love, beauty, refinement, beautiful lady

Sweet Pea 🔷departure, good-bye, delicate pleasure, tender memory, blissful pleasure

Triteleia 🔷 They're a North American wildflower also called 'triplet lilies' or 'Ithuriel's spear' which is a reference to John Milton's epic English poem, Paradise Lost. It's about an angel sent by Gabriel to find Satan in the Garden of Eden. Satan, in the form of a toad, is introducing evil suggestions into the ear of Eve when Ithuriel pokes him with a spear. Satan then returns to his true form, "... for no falsehood can endure Touch of Celestial temper, but returns Of force to its own likeness."

So, I can't find any symbolism for this one. Would make a possibly good Halone/Ishgard reference if you wanted to read into it, though.

Sunflower 🔷 Haughtiness, respect, passionate love, adoration, radiance.

#queue time #mine #ffxiv #tsuna has white brightlillies white daisies and red carnations in her house 🥺#with some white chrysanthemum and shroud cherries growing #and a yellow oldrose bouquet...#I should update them tbh

100 notes · View notes

theshslpumpkinghost · 8 months ago

Text

drdt summer fun day 3: flowers!

DRDT But It’s Flower Meanings!

Teruko

- Butterfly Weed - ‘Leave me,’ ‘You’ve been warned.’

- Marigolds are seen as a sign of death and misfortune by many cultures

- Anemones - mean forsaken and also a sign of fragility

- Bells of Ireland - Good Luck

- Blackthorn - Hope against adversity, Good Fortune, Difficulty

- Catchfly (white) - Betrayed

- Celandine - Deceptive hopes

David

- Mock oranges - mean deceit

- Cyclamens - meaning resignation or goodbye

- Angelicas - meaning inspiration

Eden

- Daisies - Innocence, Loyalty, Love

- Arborvitae - Everlasting friendship

- Aloysia - Forgiveness

- Asters (pink) - Innocence, Love, Affection.

- Violets (purple) - Love between two women

- Freesia - Innocence, Trust

- Hydrangea (Purple) - A desire to deeply understand someone

Xander

- Adder’s Tongue - Deceit

- Hyacinths - Rashness

- Weeping Willow - Mourning

- Purple Hyacinths - 'I am sorry, please forgive me,' sorrow.

- Rue - Regret, Sorrow, Repentance

- Coltsfoot - ‘Justice shall be done.’

Min

- Roses - Love

- Asters (pink) - Innocence, Love, Affection.

- Pink Roses - Perfect happiness, 'please believe me'

- Evening Primrose - Silent Love

- Walnut - Intellect

- Scabius - Unfortunate attachment

Charles

- White Chrysanthemums - Used as a funeral flower or to lay on graves, also meaning 'truth'

- Adonis’ Flower - Painful remembrance

- Buttercups - Memories of childhood

Ace

- Petunias - Resentment, Anger

- Barberry - Sourness of temper

- Basil - Hate

- Lilies (orange) - Hatred, Disdain, Contempt

- Foxglove - Insecurity

- Roses (yellow) - Cowardice

Levi

- White Roses (Dried) - Death is preferable to loss of virtue

- Purple Hyacinths - 'I am sorry, please forgive me,' sorrow.

- Orchids - Love, Beauty, Refinement, 'Beautiful Lady'

- Wood Sorrel - Maternal Tenderness

- Daylilies - Chinese emblem for 'mother'

- Cinquefoils - Maternal Affection

Whit

- Crocuses - Cheerfulness

- Coreopsis - Always cheerful

- Tulips (yellow) - Hopeless love

- Xeranthemum - Cheerfulness under adversity

- Tulips (orange) - Understanding

Veronika

- Monkshoods - Beware, a deadly foe is here

- Roses (black) - Death, Obsession, Mystery

- Tuberose - Dangerous pleasures

Arturo

- Jonquils - 'Love me,' desire for affection to be returned

- Callas - Beauty

- Narcissus - Self-love, Egotism

- Sweet Sultan - Felicity

- Gladioli - 'Give me a break

- Petunias - Resentment

- Roses (yellow) - intense emotion

Rose

- Acanthus - Art

- Forget-Me-Nots - Memories

- Moonwort - Forgetfulness

Nico

- Adder’s Tongue - Deceit

- Borage - Bluntness

- Petunias - Resentment

- Hellebores - Anxiety, 'tranquilise my anxiety'

Arei

- Zinnias (Mixed) - Thinking/In memory of an absent friend

- Laurestine - ‘i die if neglected’

- Arborvitae - Everlasting friendship

- Irises - 'Your friendship means so much to me’

if you wanna add any, feel free to ask! :D

…i spent so long on this thing aaa

#drdt #drdt summer fun 2024 #flower meanings #danganronpa despair time #i have four different exams tomorrow #but i’m doing this #definitely worth it #wait technically it’s today because 2am-

49 notes · View notes

bad-fucking-omens · 1 year ago

Text

The Witch Twin (Alec V. x OC) - Epilogue & Postface

Summary: When I thought about my future, I was sure that I had the rest of my life vaguely planned out.

Then, my older sister moved up from Arizona to stay with us — and turned my entire life upside down.

I had no idea just how bad it had gotten until I was standing in a castle in Italy, convinced that I was about to die.

Length: 1.2K words (Complete fic 71.8K words)

Fic warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, death, explicit smut (M/F), referenced/implied past child abuse, emotional manipulation by sibling

Chapter warnings: None

Note: This is the final part of 'The Witch Twin'. Thank you for reading <3

Read on AO3 or read below

EPILOGUE

“You look so beautiful,” Jane said. “Alec will be speechless.

I laughed softly at her kind words, meeting her eyes in the mirror. Heidi was putting the finishing touches on my hair. She carefully threaded the sprigs of baby’s breath flowers through the two braids that were pulled back behind my head, almost like a crown. The rest of my hair fell down my back in gentle waves.

“You really are gorgeous,” Heidi agreed as she brushed a loose curl away from my cheek.

“Do you think I’m ready, then?” I asked.

They both nodded and I stood, smoothing my hands over the skirt of my dress anxiously.

I was wearing a cream-white satin dress with a cowl neckline. Thin straps went over my shoulders and crossed along my back. The dress was long enough that the bottom hem just barely brushed along the ground when I was standing in my cream-colored heels, and it had a thigh-high slit on the right side. The way the dress perfectly hugged my curves made me feel incredibly attractive and I knew that Alec was going to absolutely love it.

“Do you think you’re ready?” Jane asked. I turned towards her and nodded. We shared a smile and she handed me a bouquet of white calla lilies, asphodel, and orange blossoms.

“Well then, let’s not keep that mate of yours waiting,” Heidi teased.

She slipped out of the room ahead of us to ensure that everything else was ready. Alec and I had chosen to have our wedding ceremony in the courtyard of the castle. The entire guard, the kings, and their wives would be in attendance. Neither Alec or I had wanted a big wedding, but everyone in the castle was family, and that was more than enough for us. As soon as we told Heidi that we wanted to get married, she instantly jumped into planning the ceremony with her mate, Corin. Alec and I were happy to leave all of the planning to the two women, since all we really cared about was actually getting married.

Jane slipped her arm through mine and we walked through the halls of the castle.

“I am very happy that you and Alec found each other,” Jane said quietly. “You have brought out the very best in each other, and I’ve never seen my brother as happy as he has been with you. . . . You were truly made for each other.”

“Thank you,” I murmured. “And I hope you don’t mind that I’ve begun to think of you as a sister.”

Jane smiled at me. She teased, “You are literally going to become my sister in a few minutes.”

We laughed together as we finally reached the doors to the courtyard. Jane leaned close to kiss my cheek before she slipped out of the doors. I took a deep breath and waited for a moment before I entered the courtyard.

Everyone was standing, watching with warm smiles as I walked down the aisle, but my eyes were only focused on Alec.

My soulmate was wearing a perfectly tailored, light grey suit with a white dress shirt beneath. He didn’t wear any kind of tie at my request, since I thought he looked more attractive without one.

When my eyes finally flickered up to his face, I saw that he was staring at me with a soft smile on his face, his gaze exuding pure love and admiration. The way he looked at me — as if I was the only person to have ever existed — filled my chest with warmth.

I glided down the aisle in time with the quiet violin music. Alec held his hand out to me when I was close enough and I eagerly took it. Heidi quickly snatched my bouquet from my hands just before I took the final step to the altar. She returned to her seat, holding the flowers delicately in her lap. Alec took my free hand so that he was now holding both of my hands.

‘You are so beautiful,’ Alec murmured in my mind. ‘My gorgeous, sweet girl. . . . I love you so much.’

‘I love you, too, Alec. My wonderful mate.’

We grinned at each other, then glanced at Aro as he began to speak.

“My dearest ones, we have gathered today to witness our beloved Alec and wonderful Eve unify their lives for the rest of their existence. They have chose to join together in marriage, to have a celebration of their love and loyalty and commitment to each other. They have endured through the challenges and obstacles that were placed before them, but we all know that true love always wins in the end.”

Aro looked at my mate. “Alec, do you come here today to marry Eve, and to join your path in life with hers?”

“I do,” he answered, looking into my eyes. He squeezed my hands gently.

“Eve, do you come here today to marry Alec, and to join your path in life with his?”

“I do,” I said. Alec’s lips twitched up into a soft smile and I breathed out a quiet laugh.”

“Alec and Eve have chose to tie their lives together in a hand-fasting ceremony,” Aro announced. “If you would please raise your hands up, my dears.”

We turned so that we were standing beside each other. We raised our clasped hands up between us, extending them towards Aro. He produced a long, red silk ribbon from his suit pocket.

“Alec, Eve, will you be each other’s faithful partner for eternity and be each other’s constant friend and one true love?”

“We will,” we said together.

Aro wrapped the ribbon around our hands once. “And so the first binding is made. Do you promise to love each other without reservation, to always stand united against any challenges you may face?”

“We do.”

“And so the second binding is made. Will you stand together in time of joy and of sorrow, and share the burdens of each other?”

“We will.”

“And so the third binding is made. Will you honor each other, and seek to cherish and strengthen that honor?”

“We will.”

Aro wrapped the ribbon around our hands one last time and tied it in an elegant knot.

“And so the final binding is made. The knots of this binding are not formed by this ribbon, but instead by your vows. . . . Alec, Eve, I am pleased to announce that you are now husband and wife. One flesh, one heart, one soul. Now, and forevermore.”

Alec pulled me close, his free hand on my waist, and kissed me fiercely while everyone cheered and clapped for us. I laughed against his mouth and reached up with my free hand to caress his cheek. We pulled apart a few moments later to face our guests. We walked back down the aisle together, our hands still tied.

We slipped out of the courtyard to wait patiently as Heidi ordered a few other guards around, transforming the courtyard from a wedding ceremony into a reception venue.

Alec pressed me against the stone wall, his lips claiming mine passionately. I giggled, but I still wrapped my free arm around his neck and pulled him closer. His arm slipped around my waist to gently tug me against his body.

“My beautiful wife,” Alec whispered against my lips.

I giggled and replied, “My handsome husband.”

POSTFACE

I asked Persephone,

“How could you grow to love him?

He took you from flowers to a kingdom

where not a single living thing can grow.”

Persephone smiled,

“My darling, every flower on your earth withers.

What Hades gave me was a crown

made for the immortal flowers in my bones.”

- Nikita Gill

#alec volturi x reader #alec volturi imagine #alec volturi fanfiction #alec volturi #twilight imagine #twilight fanfiction #twilight #volturi fanfiction #volturi #fanfic

68 notes · View notes

name-that-flower · 9 months ago

Text

Source: Wild Flora Design | Los Angeles

Poppy

Cymbidium orchid

Delphinium

Bird of paradise

Fritillaria

Eremerus

Ornithogalum (Star of Bethlehem)

Anthurium

Allium bullet

Spray rose

Rose shimmer or similar

Calla lily

Leucospermum (pin cushion flower)

Rose orange crush or similar

#flowers #roses #poppies #delphinium

32 notes · View notes

glamphantasm · 4 months ago

Text

Scents

dear friend @arklayraven got a question that was asking about their FO's scents/colognes. i love scents. I love blending them and creating things with them. So, I built off the ask and their ideas. ... and now I have to build cologne/perfume oil for everyone. lots of stuff beneath the fold that may or may not be interesting depending on how smell-oriented you are.

Scents - The brothers end up with two blends each. If you think I forgot anyone - no, I didn't. 💞

The Avatars

Lucifer – Sandalwood, white musk, vetiver, woody amber, chypre, white pepper, violet leaf. Blond wood, lilac fougere, black musk, red apple, bergamot, spiced amber, dark red wine reduction. Mammon – Oud, woody amber, shimmering adelhyde metal, sandalwood, yuzu rind. Patchouli, copal, sun-baked spices, resinous gold amber. Leviathan – Camphor, amber, labdanum, black pepper, violet, black musk Seafoam ambergris, sea salt musk, choya absolute, lichen, bergamot Satan – Green apple skin, Carmelite water, davana, frankincense, leather, tonka. Bitter almond, parchment, sandalwood, dust, faded incense, ancient leather. Asmodeus – Peach, honey, ylang ylang, rose, and a bit of dark musk. Patchouli, a hint of synthetic leather. Overripe cherries and dry champagne. Red musk and salt. Beelzebub – Skin musk, salt, oiled leather, thick spiced cream and hazelnut, amber, crushed grass, vetiver. Black musk, pepper, galangal, amber, cacao wood, balsam, coconut palm, toasted sesame.

Belphegor – Roman chamomile, cotton sheets, lavender, opium poppy, white musk, carrot seed Absinthe, opium, lilac blossoms, dragon’s blood resin, mandrake root, warm vanilla milk

The Royals

Diavolo – Cypress, sandalwood, lilac, smokey dark musk, tobacco leaf, neroli, spiced rum. Barbatos – A touch of a very proper old gentleman’s cologne, mixed with the scents of his day. Tonka, jasmine, lavender fougere, thyme, black tea, lemon rind, polished dark woods. Mephistopheles – Black amber, frankincense, lime, juniper berry, ambergris, sugary chai, ti leaf, soapy clean skin and starched cotton

The Angels

Simeon – Milk, wildflower honey, roses, champagne grape, olibanum, with a touch of opium poppy and black patchouli. Cacao, toasted cardamon, white sandalwood, myrrh, rose, burnt sugar, faded ritual incense, communion wine. Raphael – Vetiver, patchouli, orange flower, bergamot, copper, heliotrope, adelhyde geranium, blue musk, coniferous foliage. Luke – Rose geranium, pale white mint, orange blossom, rosemary, sugared hazelnuts, soft faded incense.

Misc. Thirteen – Something clashing and vibrant and sticky and bright, unsettling. Lemon blossom, sour apple gummy candy, hibiscus, lime, coconut water, blonde oak, calla lily, a touch of grave dust.

#obey me #obey me headcanons #obey me shall we date #what do demons (and others) smell like?#here's one idea #(or a lot)

14 notes · View notes

kazyurmao · 11 months ago

Text

𝓢𝓲𝓵𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮: 𝓞𝓷𝓮 𝓢𝓹𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓰'𝓼 𝓝𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽

╔══ ❀•°❀°•❀ ══╗

𝓢𝓲𝓵𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮

╚══ ❀•°❀°•❀ ══╝

╔⏤⏤⏤╝❀╚⏤⏤⏤╗

Diluc Ragnvindr x Female Reader

╚⏤⏤⏤╗❀╔⏤⏤⏤╝

⚘ Synopsis: A young noblelady is convinced to attend a party that is being held by the House of Ragnvindr

⚘ Synopsis for chapter: Entering the manor of the Ragnvindr, you are quick to notice that it is impossible to not avoid the gossip of the nobles.

⚘ Warnings: Slow–burn. Fem-reader, Social Class.

*Clarifying: both the prologue and first few chapters of this series take place before the events of Diluc's father dying. Hence the reason for both the reader and Diluc being the age of 14 as of right now.

⚘ Word Count: 2,6k

⚘ Previous Chapter: 𝓟𝓻𝓸𝓵𝓸𝓰𝓾𝓮 :𝓞𝓷𝓮 𝓢𝓹𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓰'𝓼 𝓝𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽

⚘ Key: (F.N) = Father's name , (F.L.N) = Family's last name , (l.n) = Last name

⚘ 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓘 :𝓞𝓷𝓮 𝓢𝓹𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓰'𝓼 𝓝𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽

A peaceful, friendly gold, luminous ray surrounded the outside environment of the manor. Giant windows decorated the House of Ragnvindr—displaying the grand party for the Duke’s son. A line of carriages parked near the circular driveway, and butlers and maids stood in line to bow their heads to the rich.

It was a cold evening. The breeze was gentle—letting its guard down. There were no blades of sharp wind that could spear through the lungs of the nobles.

Indeed, the god of the wind is blessing the young and future Duke—Diluc Ragnvindr. The party was to commemorate his fourteenth birthday, alongside his uprising of becoming the Calvary Captain at such a young age. His father, Crepus Ragnvindr, clearly wanted to brag about his son. But who wouldn’t? When the young boy has a prosperous future ahead. Everyone craves power, and it is clear that Diluc Ragnvindr—despite his age—is the most powerful noble.

The party was, well, extravagant—the sight of calla lilies is what captured your attention. The whole great hall was decorated with the white bulbs and their signature orange—ombré—red, truly a remarkable flower. Entering the house of Ragnvindr felt like you were entering a magical place—a realm of its own. It almost felt…like you had become a princess. It was weird. This very manner felt like your true home—it almost felt acquainted, as if you were once here.

Déjà vu was a foe of yours. You were led from the corridor to the main living area, where the party was held. You immediately felt the eyes of all the nobles. They were perplexed. The daughter of Duke (F.N) at last made her first appearance.

“Is she finally debuting?” one older noble lady hid her whispers behind her overly decorated fan, “How—How—preposterous! Debuting at a time like this! Is she not shameful to appear right now when the party is clearly about the young future Duke of Ragnvindr!” Another—older—lady spoke. They both complained when a third party interrupted their rant, “Are you both not ashamed to make those remarks around the young lady? For all we know, her father could’ve forced her! The (F.L.N) don’t have shame! I take pity on the young lady.” A much older man—with a gruff voice—began to shame on her family.

You mentally groaned at how they were all shameful, to not only begin gossiping in front of you but also badmouth your family! The whispering of those nobles, who keep a tab with the latest gossip, drives you into insanity—well, close, but you aren’t quite there yet. Soon, and you know this, the gossip would turn its attention to Diluc Ragnvindr. You can’t help but feel a twinge of pity toward Diluc. Just knowing that there are nobles out in this world who overindulge in petty gossip is enough to drive anyone into isolation—you know this since you have isolated yourself from the noble life.

Cheers break loose, and the sound of palms hitting against each other echoes through the ball. The star of the show had made his big entranced; his face was decorated with a confident smile. The squeals of young ladies also infiltrated the lively scenery. As he stepped into his party—that had been dedicated to him—he bowed and shamelessly waved at the group of ladies who hoped to be married to him. You had separated yourself from the large group of people since the commotion they created at the sight of Diluc was too loud for your ears. Of course, you still weren’t used to the public lifestyle.

Weirdly, you were a bit thankful to your father for convincing you to attend this party. In the future, you knew you had to be acquainted with this type of scenery; if you didn’t practice your skills right now…it would only lead you to be estranged from the rest of the nobles. You watched, from afar, the way Diluc was the happiest boy. Who wouldn’t after being named the most powerful noble in all Mondstadt? His soft features, in all honesty, did not match his position. He looked way too innocent to fit the title of Calvary captain.

Rumors were not wrong—the boy who stood afar from you appeared to be the gentleman—but then again, everything is an act. For all you know, the man who acts like a gentleman in public could be prideful and overly cocky. You watch all the nobles line up to greet and congratulate a child. If the church were to witness this very sight, they would have deemed it blasphemous for nobles to worship a young boy.

You were on the brink of leaving the party to explore the magnificent gardens— that were just decorated for the occasion. However, your eyes somehow meet the ruby eyes of the boy, who is the same age as you. When you stare at him, something feels so familiar, as if you had met those eyes countless times. They—his eyes—felt so welcoming, so familiar. It was like you had entered heaven. You quickly look away—-this—this is such a familiar yet foreign feeling. This is your first time meeting him, so why does it feel like you have met him before? You wonder if he feels the same. From your perspective, his eyes held an endearing soft look, as if he had known who you were at first glance. When you had looked back at him—his eyes had drifted back to a conversation he was having with Duke Gunnhild. Have you been making all of this up? Was your imagination toying with your soul?

You were quickly snapped back into reality; you remembered that your purpose was to avoid him. You knew that you had failed to prevent the noble society from gossiping about you, but if you were caught stealing glances with Diluc Ragnvindr…everything would go downhill. Despite your goal being engraved in your mind, you knew you had one flaw. No matter what, you couldn’t avoid the birthday boy. It was your duty as the daughter of (F.L.N) to be polite—to be able to greet the host. Your family might be influential, but the family of Ragnvindr is more crucial for the industry of Mondstadt. Being the tycoon of the wine industry in the nation of freedom, nobody can compete with their title. It would be impossible and even deemed monstrous for not greeting him.

You quickly and gracefully drink the sparkling water given to you by a kind maid. The water runs down your throat, and you can feel small pops against your esophagus. You make a mental note of how much you hate sparkling water.

You start walking towards the Calvary Captain. On your way, you can feel your heartbeat race exponentially. The heart that allocates inside your body had never felt this way. A mixture of anxiety and adrenaline consumed your body. Your fingers even shocked each step you took. It was apparent now that the room was cold—extremely—cold. The room felt more unwelcoming. The glances of the nobles and your incompetence to be confident engulfed your paranoia. Everything you thought was plummeting down. The more you moved closer—the more dread you felt. But that quickly shifted as you seemingly moved closer toward the young Ragnvindr. Instead of shivering cold, you felt the warmth build-up. It got to the point where it was excessively scalding to move further closer to him.

It was as if an invisible barrier was preventing you from meeting him. “Oh? Greetings, you must be (y.n) (l.n), the daughter of House of (F.L.N). A pleasure is to meet you, my lady.” While you clung in your small world and reflections, it appeared that Diluc Ragnvindr had taken his initiative to greet you. He snapped you out of your worries as you heard his soft, friendly voice greet you. You looked up at him, staring at him with amazement—it was as if he could read your mind. His ruby-red eyes did not hold the gaze you saw when his eyes captured yours. It was more of a friendly, casual greeting. One that he gave to everyone. Perhaps it was, indeed, your imagination.

“Good evening to you, Lord Diluc Ragnvindr. I wish to congratulate you on your accomplishments.” Politely responding to him, a polite smile adorned your face. You raise your fan closely to your mouth to cover your face, “I hope your grace likes the gift from the house of (F.L.N). My father sends congratulatory sentiments to the young lord.” With a small courtesy bow, you signal your lady-in-waiting to hand him his present. “We used the finest jewels out there; we hope it is up to your standards.”

You close your eyes, afraid he might react badly that his gift isn’t up to his standards. However, your ears are graced with a peal of laughter, “My lady, I appreciate the gift. There is no need to be too formal. We are the same age, of course! So why should we act like we are adults?” Your eyes widen…he’s not being formal…

You wanted to scoff. He has the luxury of not caring what others think since being the sweetheart of this nation can give you a free pass. As much as you desire to lash out in front of him, it would be too rude and scandalous to act how you wanted. You understand he meant it sincerely. After all, you both are just children. He isn’t wrong. A tiny laugh was released from your lips, “Oh my…that would simply be too impolite to address Lord Diluc in such a manner.” Feeling miniature drops of sweat form on your forehead—you weren’t sure if it was just you, but it was intensely hot. “My…” you mutter under your breath.

Diluc is the Calvary Captain of the Knights of Favonius. Of course, he can read people’s expressions quite well. He didn’t hesitate to laugh at your expression, “I apologize. I didn’t know I would be this happy today. It seems like I can’t contain my emotions.” He sheepishly stated. You can see how he scratched the back of his neck with his right hand. He slightly opens up his suit near his chest, taking out a small object that is illuminated red, “Ahem…this is the source of warmth—I can tell you’re…erm..sweating.” Hearing his throat clear and hearing him state how you were sweating made you embarrassed. You quickly cover the entirety of your face and turn around, “I’ll excuse myself. It seems as if others wish to see you, my lord.” Leaving immediately, you began to walk faster towards the gardens. So the source of the scalding fire was his vision…

Wait vision?

At such a young age, he has an elemental vision. No less, he possesses a pyro vision! He, Diluc Ragnvindr, is truly blessed by the gods…

That shameless man! Claiming to be a gentleman, yet he dares to emphasize the obvious (you sweating.) You make your way towards the gardens, feeling shaken by the interaction. You can’t quite place how you felt when speaking to him. It was…rather an interesting yet humiliating interaction. Though you must admit that his smooth voice is quite soothing, it was rich—a bit authoritarian—yet caring. You…can’t describe it. No. No, you can’t when he speaks. His pronunciation is elegant—it is almost angelic when he speaks.

You can tell how his chest rises when his stentorian voice leaves his silky pink lips. When his voice reached your ears, it almost felt like—like—you…,

“I shouldn’t think of this…” you stumble with your words—you try your best to balance your breathing pattern, yet it seems futile. You had sped walked towards your destination, and your mind had plagued itself with the thoughts of him. He, Diluc Ragnvindr, is a bewitching creature, indeed. Leaving you, more like leaving him, for you to only think solely about him.

At last, catching your breath, you gather your thoughts, walking around the well-kept garden that houses the native flower of Mondstadt. The flowers are freshly watered; you can even see the petals drip the droplets of moisture. You roam around the foreign setting for an unknown amount of time. You admire the beauty, yet you can’t help but feel like the garden that you created was better. A small bench presented itself—it sat facing the lake that acted as a border from Liyue. The anemo crystalflies beautify the scenery, giving you a source of light to guide your vision towards the stars.

At a glance, you thought everything was perfectly fair. However, you had failed to realize how you were slowly dozing off. Your eyes were swift to shut themselves down. It was a quick swoosh of the wind, and soon, your consciousness took you to an acquainted setting. Your arms molded into the hands of a stranger, but you knew who this stranger was since it was the same man who held you dearly. His hands traced towards your face; you felt a smallish tingle on your right cheek—he had pinched your cheek. Again, this stranger had seemed to move his lips—yet—to much of your disappointment, his words were blocked out. He entangled his fingers with yours, and you couldn’t help but feel his fingers having slight cuts. Frowning instantly, you looked up towards him, “Why…why must you hurt yourself?”

Your words seemed to bear deafness to his ears as the man never responded to you. He wrapped his muscular arms around your waist as his face nuzzled against your neck. Feeling the firmness and his breath gently puff against your neck, he oddly smelled and felt a speck of familiarity, yet you couldn’t precisely point it out.

It was as if you had fallen while you slept—that’s precisely how you could describe your situation. You felt a gravitational pull drag you down south; your heart dropped the instant you felt a shiver travel all over your body. You were in shock. You wake up to find yourself lying on a relatively comfortable bed. Graced by the soft—dark—blue hair, a young boy stood with his eyes wide open. He seemed to be a couple of years younger than the young lord (Diluc). Perhaps one or two years younger? You couldn’t guess.

“You’re awake!” he exclaimed. He seemed to be relieved that you had woken up. This brought you into confusion. What happened precisely…? And why weren’t you back in your manner? The nerves in your body quickly transmit a signal to your brain, and you instantly hiss at the pain you are receiving. You were about to get up, but the boy shoved you back into the bed, “I’ll inform father that you woke up!” You held your hands near your forehead. Why was he shouting? Perhaps he is thankful that you woke up from this slumber. Your head nodded weakly; you looked back at the young child, and it was quite an adorable sight. His little hands latched onto the mattress, and his figure leaned towards you. Immediately, you noted that his eyes had the shade of a cute periwinkle. So this must be Duke Ragnvindr's adopted son.

You saw how he dashed out of the room; you assume he was directed towards the Duke’s office. Left alone, you can’t stop thinking about what exactly led you to this point.

╔══ ❀•°❀°•❀ ══╗

Miffyur’s note:

Hiii, happy belated Valentine's day! Well this was originally supposed to be uploaded by that time, but it's 11:47, which means I failed to upload this on time D:

I had writer's block for awhile, and it honestly caused me to not want to write. Things happen! (a lot) , hopefully eveything sails smoothly from now on.

(If you want to be tagged for future updates, please let me know! I'll make sure to tag everyone <3)

Bye Bye!

Miffyur (\_/)

╚══ ❀•°❀°•❀ ══╝

#genshin x y/n #genshin x you #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact #genshin x reader #genshin x female reader #genshin diluc #diluc x y/n #diluc x reader #diluc ragnivindr x you #diluc ragnivindr x reader #diluc ragnvindr #diluc x you #diluc fluff #diluc fanfic #genshin impact x female reader

34 notes · View notes