#she actually notices Gil a lot

[softquietsteadylove]

Me again! I am once again humbly requesting more of the family law au. Anything you wanna do with the story, I know anything you write will be amazing

Thena looked up as a small body plunked down onto the bench next to her. She looked back at the courtroom door, but the child had appeared from elsewhere. "Hello."

The child sniffled.

She looked around them, but court was in recess, currently. "Where is your guardian?"

The kid shrugged.

She could simply ignore the child. She wasn't a bailiff or authority, she was only in court to close a case of her own, it was signatures in front of the judge. But she recognised the deep hunch in her shoulders and the way her feet kicked idly hanging off the edge of the bench. "I know you have one. Kids aren't allowed to just walk into courtrooms alone."

The kid looked around; she couldn't have been older than twelve. "My parents are talking to a lawyer, but I left."

How did a kid walk out and no one noticed? Thena frowned, "who was watching you?"

"My dad's new wife."

Ah, an unwanted stepmother; Thena angled herself toward the young girl. "Hm, the lawyer speaking with your parents, is he...big?"

She looked up at Thena, her face betraying the vulnerability her body language was trying to hide. "Really big."

Thena couldn't help but smile. There was no more way effective way to describe Gil. "Trust me, he looks scary, but he's actually quite nice."

The girl looked back down at her lap again. "I dunno."

If her parents were speaking with Gil, it was some sort of family issue. Divorce - and to some extent, custody - was her specialty, but Gil handled plenty to do with family settlements and custody issues. He didn't always get to see families on their best day.

Thena rethought her approach. She undid her suit jacket and put her arm up on the back of the bench. "My youngest sister is around your age. She also hates talking."

The girl giggled, just a little. "I don't hate talking."

"Well," Thena paused and shrugged strategically. "Tell me why you're here today."

The kid sighed, seeming even more like Sprite. "My dad's new wife wants us to stay at their new house for his weekends with us. But it's really far away, and they only have one bedroom for me and my sister to share."

As much as she was listening to the child, her mind couldn't help but think that - professionally speaking - it didn't sound suitable for at least one preteen, if not two. "Are you parents discussing this now?--where you and your sister should go, that is?"

She nodded, sniffling again. "They got a little nicer with each other after the divorce. But now all they're doing is yelling again."

Thena bobbed her head slowly to show her understanding. The poor child had been through this already and was now reliving the struggle of an ugly custody hearing. "And do you remember what they were saying?"

The girl made a face, scrunching her small features. "I had to go with my dad's new wife when they started yelling. My sister is still in there, though. They were talking about 'confidence' or something."

So, the sister was older. Even more of a reason that the girls sharing a room would be unfavourable. "Competence--it means they want to know who's the better parent."

She looked up at Thena again, even sadder than before. "I like both my parents. I just don't wanna live an hour away every weekend!"

"Okay, okay, all right, sh," Thena attempted to comfort the girl (which had never been her specialty). She patted her back as the poor thing loudly hiccuped and sniffled up her excess snot. "Can I tell you something?"

Children enjoyed knowing secrets.

The girl nodded.

Thena sighed. It went against all her personal rules against disclosing her personal life, family situation, getting close with people in a professional setting. But she sucked it up, as Sprite would say. "I've had to prove my competence before, when I signed up to take care of my sisters."

"You take care of your sisters?" she asked, although she didn't seem so incredibly astounded.

"One is 16, although it feels like she's turning 20," Thena laughed faintly, and at least the girl smiled. It was the kind of thing a parent would say, much to her dread. But she continued. "I told you the other is around your age, she just turned 13 in the spring."

"How old are you?"

She ignored that question. "I had to prove I could take care of them, like a parent would, although I didn't really know how. But do you know what helped?"

She shook her head.

"Hearing from them," Thena said more gently. It seemed a revelation to the girl that someone might listen to her. "They said they wanted to stay with me. That I would take good care of them, and I swore I would. And I've tried my best, even if I'm not perfect. I get things wrong sometimes, like getting them to school late or forgetting about projects they have."

"What do you do?"

"I try again," she shrugged, and if anything the girl seemed to appreciate her honesty. "Because someone who's going to look after you only wants what's best for you. What's important is if you're safe, and taken care of and comfortable. If you're happy, and doing well in school, or with your friends. The person who's going to take care of you will care about that even if it means you're far away."

Something seemed to dawn on the girl. Although Thena didn't want to sway her opinion any, it would seem her assumption that the husband was not doing his due diligence was correct. Or perhaps the wife was pushing too hard for her new role in his children's lives. Either way, if the girls were best off with their mother, it was more than clear to the client, now.

"Thanks," she smiled at Thena, her shoulders un-hunching faintly. "I'll tell my sister that."

Perhaps the older one could communicate that to the parents. It sounded like the parents were a few precarious steps away from hiring individual lawyers for each of their sides as opposed to using one. But Thena regarded the girl, labelling her 'her client' in her mind. And it was her job to keep her client's best interest at heart.

"There you are!"

Thena looked up, catching Gil jogging over to them. She stood out of habit, holding her coat over her arm. "Mister Gilgamesh."

"Hey," he smiled at her before looking down at the girl. "What's the deal, we turned around and you were gone."

The mother and father immediately began berating the daughter for running off. Thena caught Gil's eye aside from the family. She leaned closer, "my client has some concerns about the pending custody battle."

"Oh," Gil blinked, looking from the girl and back to her. He smiled, showing off the charming and warm temperament that made him so popular, especially with families. "She does, does she?"

They drifted further from the family having their own discussion. Thena eyed Gil, who looked both exhausted and also a whole pot of coffee deep. "How is it?"

He angled himself closer to her and away from the family. "It's getting ugly, and I don't know what I can do to stop it. They're ready to hire their own custody lawyers."

Thena also peeked over at them cautiously. The girl was accepting her berating, although when the father's wife appeared over his shoulder she looked away, taking on a more defensive stance again. She really did remind her of Sprite. "Let the girls talk."

"What?"

She shifted on her feet. It was Gil's case, and she had no real right to get involved, even if it did cross into her expertise. She whispered, "let the girls speak. If nothing else, it should sway the parents enough for them to come to a decision."

Gil made a face, crossing his arms. It pulled his suit jacket to the point of strain; ridiculously thick arms, he had. "Or it could be the drop that makes the dam burst."

Thena shook her head though. "It won't. Those girls know the best place for themselves, and I believe the parents do too. Let the girls state what they want. The parents will respond to their needs and settle."

He gave her a peculiar look, and she couldn't fault him for it. She usually didn't offer personal perspectives on cases. She worked solely and completely on evidence, maybe sometimes on how a judge might regard something. But she didn't give personal opinions. "How do you know?"

Thena looked at the family again. The father patted both his daughters on the shoulder as the bailiff ushered them back to where they had been discussing things during the recess. She looked at Gil. "I just do."

Gil didn't look at the family again. He focused entirely on her, unfolding his arms, slipping his hands into his pockets and raising an eyebrow slightly. But he nodded, "okay."

"That's it?"

He shrugged, furthering the rumpling of his suit, entirely by his own doing. "I trust you. If you say the family will settle, I believe you. I'll ask for the kids to talk."

She smiled, genuinely relieved at the idea of the young girl's feelings being heard. Maybe there was something to how Gil made all of his cases personal. "I think it will be best for everyone."

"So, uh," Gil finally did just barely glance over his shoulder as they started walking back as well. "What'd you say to her?"

Thena pursed her lips. "Not much of anything, truly. The girl is quite competent for her age. All she needs is to be heard."

Gil chuckled.

"What?"

"Nothing," he laughed now, furthering her scrutiny. He shrugged, "you're great with kids, which I guess I should have expected."

"I would not say that."

"You just demonstrated it."

"You didn't see it happen."

"You literally have kids."

"I am not a mother," she argued, and it was true, even as a defense of herself. "She's around Sprite's age, and I recall when Sprite first got into her phase of wanting to shout at the world but not wanting anyone to look at her, either."

"See?" Gil gesticulated with his hand before rolling his shoulders to correct his suit jacket (it did not). "You're a natural."

That was not what the courts thought when she was going through her own proceedings a matter of years ago. But she smiled, giving his poor suit jacket a tug here and there to get it to sit right on him again. Why was he so ridiculously well built for a family lawyer? "Your clients await."

He gave her a more grateful smile as she brushed her hand over his lapel. "Thanks--hey, I'll make sure your client gets her fair say."

She waved him off as he went back to his meeting, and then the proceeding hearing. Technically she didn't have any reason to linger--it wasn't her case. But she sat herself down on the bench outside of the main courtroom doors again, pulling out her phone.

Can I go see that new gangster movie with sersi and her friends?

She would never understand Sprite's obsession with foreign, violent gangster action comedies. But she sighed. She had been poised to say no, that she would pick them up from their free roaming at the mall (which she only allowed them when she had court dates anyway). But she resigned herself to her decision.

That's fine, I'm still at court anyway. But don't stuff yourself on movie snacks, you still have to eat at home

With that, she slipped her phone away again, staring ahead at the elevators opposite her bench of solitude. It was silly to wait. She could ask Gil about it later if she was so concerned. It was inappropriate. It wasn't her case.

Then she would think of how Sprite had tearily asked if she and Sersi would be put in some stranger's house. She would think of that little girl who had sat right down next to her, and she thought of Gil, nervously pacing outside before even she had arrived for her earlier hearing time. He had been poring over this case all week.

Maybe she should do something for him if the case went well--and if it didn't go well, in all honesty.

Thanks thee btw can gil come and cook again it was soooo good

Thena swiped the notification away, decidedly ignoring the leading question. It was nothing but entrapment; as sweet as it was that her sisters had grown a fondness for Gilgamesh, she didn't need them reading too much into her relationship with her colleague.

No matter how amazing his lasagne was, and how often she had thought about it in the past week.

[leletha-jann]

Headcanon on reasonable evidence, actually: Every Heterodyne gets their own specific pack of Jägermonster guards.

Yes, the Jägermonsters are all sworn to the family in general, but Heterodynes do unreasonable and dangerous things on absolutely no notice, and it's helpful to have a specific set of personal guards who know them as individuals well enough to respond immediately. (Of course, Jägers think this sounds like fun.)

Agatha having Dimo, Maxim, and Oggie on more or less permanent assignment to her isn't unusual; it's normal. They know this, and have encouraged her to fall into a pattern they were expecting, actually, and she didn't take any steering at all. On some instinctive level she was expecting it too. Even if Dimo keeps his promotion to General, he'll be a General on the move, from wherever Agatha happens to be. They'll be with her for the rest of her life.

Consorts get their own squads, too. At some point in the future, Gil and Tarvek both acquire a handful of their own personal Jägers, sottle-like. (They notice it happen anyway.)

Jorgi is absolutely one of Tarvek's squad, because there's no way he wasn't designed to be Tarvek's personal guard Jäger, and it will be hilarious.

I'd also love to see Agatha assign Jenka to him, because Tarvek's recently on record as missing his personal spy network, and he and Jenka would have that up and running in no time flat. They'd have fun. (Jenka doesn't hold "being Andronicus Valois' descendent" against him, because Tarvek's loyalties are firmly with Agatha, and they share a "to hell with that family in particular" attitude.) Also, it would be a neat little parallel with Tarvek giving Violetta to Agatha. Agatha could give him a sneaky lady who can kick his ass (and will if when needed) right back. For maximum humor, Füst should take to Tarvek exactly the same way the wasp eaters did.

(this, but with JAGER BEAR)

I don't know if Gil ends up with Vole as one of his pack, because I don't know where the Foglios are going with him. But I nominate this guy from book one:

And this guy from book 14:

to follow Gil around and be reassuring to him periodically.

Higgs has sort of ended up as immediate supervision of the entire triumvirate. Whichever of them is in reach, or all three of them at once. Insert Higgs looking really deadpan tired here. This face. Forever.

Jägers get EXTREMELY excited when they learn a new baby Heterodyne is on the way, and start campaigning to be on the baby's personal guard squad immediately. Of course, being Jägers, there's a lot of biting involved. I imagine months of Jägers challenging each other, not just to fights, because they did all that already, but to increasingly ridiculous and pointless challenges that they're both making up on the spot and obsessively keeping track of. The only real rule is that if you challenge someone to something, you have to do it too (otherwise how will you know who won?) They challenge each other one on one, or everyone in sight. This leads to things like most of the Jägerhorde running a screaming, pushing, biting, brawling egg-and-spoon race down the longest street in Mechanicsburg. The townsfolk line up to watch and cheer. (They're considered a course hazard, so they get to throw things.) Whoever's currently winning (don't ask me how that points math works) when the baby is born gets assigned to the baby.

Bill and Barry both had their own Jäger squads and never knew it, because their guards weren't allowed anywhere near them. Theodora was pretty much out there with a shotgun if she heard even the hint of a Jägermonster accent. Those Jägers still resent it. They feel robbed of their (most recent) chance to be trusted favorites. They might get special-pleading rights in the next tournament-to-guard-the-new-baby, assuming their brothers aren't completely fed up with their whining about it by now.

Klaus Barry had his own guards, but Bill didn't know because the Jägers were barely even allowed in the Castle by that point, so they just didn't tell him. Master of Mechanicsburg or not, the Jägers didn't trust him not to send them away even further (and rightly so).

Nobody volunteered to guard Lucrezia. Bill didn't understand the insult in that, and the townspeople didn't tell him. But every single one of them NOTICED. Ho yez.

There are only so many Jägermonsters, so by this point everyone who's still alive has been in a personal guard squad at least once. Collectively, the Jägermonsters know all the gossip, going back centuries. They'll never tell. If pressed, they suddenly lose the ability to remember last week, much less 1528. They can't be bribed, not even with alcohol, although they encourage people to try.

Canon: Jenka was in Euphrosnia's personal guard.

Seen elsewhere on Tumblr but I forgot to reblog it: Vole was one of Saturnus' pack, which is why he tried to kill Bill and Barry. Saturnus had tried, after all, and Vole was most loyal to Saturnus in particular. (If this was your theory, let me know! Credit to you.)

TL;DR: Jägers running an egg-and-spoon race through Mechanicsburg. There. Now you have the highlight of this post.

Also: ä is alt-132 (using the keypad). NOW YOU KNOW. (hopefully I also now know, because this is like the fifth time I've tried to memorize that)

[shatcey]

Prince's holiday (part 2)

"Cooking" team

My first thought was… Hey, Yves cooks a lot, Clavis cooks (I still think it's a remarkable achievement as it is), Luke cooks too… What the heck is Licht doing here? Babe, stay away from the oven!

Thank goodness he didn't cook...

That's new...

Actually, baby Licht didn't say much, but every his line makes me smile. His expressionless face combined with his words have somehow a comical effect, unintentional, of course.

Of course not! I just want to see you as a butler… Mind, stop right here!

Gil constantly threatened to destroy the country...

He doesn't like anything about Yves. And on the contrary, he likes everything Luke says or does (I didn't take screenshots, sorry).

And it actually makes me notice how much Gil and Yves have in common.

These constant bickering became the reason for most of the jokes in "heart end" involving the three of them + Belle (but she was more like an observer).

And the last words are just the sweetest… Oh, Gil, you make it so difficult not to like you.

On the "Clover end" baby Licht yet again show his insight

Of course, Clavis has no choice but to make a joke out of it…

It was quite fun. I like it. Looking forward to this event on the English server next year.

[eorzean-tale]

FFxivWrite2024 - Prompt #5: Stamp

“HAPPY NAMEDAY CAPTAIN!” 

Sven nearly jumped out of his skin as he was assaulted by sudden laughter and congratulations. He had only emerged from the sanctum of his readyroom to get some coffee, and wasn’t really in the mood. A rare occurrence for him, but unfortunately navigating by the stars meant that he stayed up much longer than he normally did whenever they were about to embark on any kind of trip where they couldn’t rely on landmarks. He didn’t like to do it on the fly anymore. Not after what happened with The Incident. 

He saw the grinning faces of his crew, his family, and the captain of the CETEA managed to force a smile on his lips. He couldn’t be short with them despite his exhaustion, not in the face of their obvious glee at surprising him yet another year. Cookie had gone all out as well, he saw, having baked not one, not two, but three of his favourite kinds of cakes. No doubt they hadn’t had any trouble finding people to help him decorate the mess as well, as was evident by the myriad of streamers and garlands strung about. A second glance had him notice that some of those garlands had paper cutouts of himself, drawn with over-the-top expressions of awe and appreciation. The least he could do was mimic some of them for their entertainment, and he was met with roaring laughter as he did so. Even Adra and Brigitte cracked a smile. Things were good.

Sven had been staring at the little stamp box when that memory had come to him, as vivid as if he had jumped back in time. Those moments seemed to come more and more, and he couldn’t rightly tell if it was his age, or some side-effect from whatever As’kari’s wife had done to his eye. His dreams certainly had been strange since then, but he wouldn’t be the first to fall for the trap of nostalgia as they got older either, so he couldn’t be sure.

He frowned as he tried to recall if the crew had thrown him one of their surprise parties this Twelvemoon yet. Unlike with most people, his was an actual surprise. He didn’t know what his actual nameday was, that was a discarded detail from the short life he’d lived before his current one. Sure, he’d made something up for the documentation for the Empire - former Empire, he corrected himself - but that was just as random a guess as the crew’s. It had become a little bit of a tradition to just pick a date each year and go all out like it was his actual nameday, but it had been a long time now. He sighed, softly chastising himself.

“You’re procrastinating.” 

That little stampbox had been a gift on one of those Nameday celebrations. As captain, he had to read and sign a lot of documents - a lot. After an afternoon of parchment work, even a young scribe would get stiff fingers, and so he’d been given the little box. To ease the burden. Brigitte could be strangely thoughtful like that, even though she claimed this was a cheaper solution than the ink and quills he went through every season. She had also insulted his handwriting, claiming that it costs them gil each time a clerk returned a document on account of not being able to read his ‘scribbles’. They had argued, because that’s the only way he could thank her without making her upset. That, and by cherishing the gift so it wouldn’t need to be replaced for decades, perhaps never.

Today was the only time he had ever loathed it. Not for its own sake, but because of what he had to write, and to who. It felt heavier than a pistol in his hand as he lifted the stamp, the black ink somehow reminding him of the viscosity of blood. As he pressed it to the bottom of the finished letter, it felt like the soft thud was the drop of an executioner’s axe. Just like that, he might have signed his own death warrant.

Sven carefully placed the stamp back on the inkpad, then slowly placed them both back in their box. His heart was hammering like he’d just taken a draught of poison, though he outwardly looked as calm as ever. Brigitte came to his mind’s eye then: “Glad to be the one to kill you, captain,” her phantom image taunted, and he laughed out loud as he got up. Time to get going.

[grey-gazania]

I'm sorry someone bombarded you with bitchy comments 😭. While my To Read list is lengthy and continually lengthier (actually I think something of yours with her is on it), I'd like to hear more about Ianneth-Fingon-Maedhros if you want to talk about them.

@polutrope

It wasn't really upsetting, just annoying and honestly a little bit funny. This guy left comments on all six chapters of By Love or at Least Free Will, every time I updated the story, just objecting to the entire premise of the story and ranting about how Elves have incorruptible pure souls and are immune to lust. I was sorely tempted to respond with this quote from "Laws & Customs Among the Eldar":

Even when in after days, as the histories reveal, many of the Eldar in Middle-earth became corrupted, and their hearts darkened by the shadow that lies upon Arda, seldom is any tale told of deeds of lust among them.

'Seldom' is not the same thing as 'never', and furthermore, I don't think lust is even a major theme of my story. It's more about conflicting obligations and unruly hearts.

In the end I deleted the comments without responding, because I have a personal policy of not engaging with people who are acting in bad faith. But I have to assume that this guy has no actual hobbies if he spends his time hate-reading entire stories instead of just...closing the window and moving on with his life. Maybe take up crochet, bro? Or volunteer at a soup kitchen? Watch a TV show that you like? Grow some tomatoes? Do something that will be more fulfilling than typing long screeds on AO3. I promise it will make you a happier person.

Anyway. On to the actual topic of your ask! As you've probably noticed, I am very fond of Russingon. However, I am also very fond of Fingon as Gil-galad's father. At first I balanced these two ideas by keeping my Russingon ideas and my Fingon-father-of-Gil-galad ideas in two separate universes, but then I started really fleshing out Gil-galad's mother, and it made me think some thoughts. To repeat something I said to @cuarthol in a comment on AO3:

...half the genesis of Ianneth was seeing so many stories (in multiple fandoms, not just Tolkien) where the woman is written out of a canon or semi-canon couple to make room for a popular M/M ship instead, without the female character being treated with any respect. I decided that the female perspective on that situation would be a nice change of pace and interesting to write.

I'm not trying to point fingers -- I'll readily admit that I have my male faves just like the next gal and that it's fun to make them kiss -- but the wives and girlfriends don't get a lot of love in fandom, do they? And it doesn't help that the legendarium in general tends to be a bit of a sausage fest. So I decided that Fingon would have a wife and be in love with Maedhros. But instead of focusing just on the forbidden love, I was going to focus on the wife's feelings, too.

Ianneth ("bridge-woman") is one of the Northern Sindar, from the community that lives around Lake Mithrim. She's the daughter of Annael (yes, that Annael), whom I've imagined to be one of the more influential leaders among the Northern Sindar, and particularly among the Elves of Mithrim.

Her betrothal to Fingon starts as a political arrangement. Fingolfin loves Fingon dearly, of course, but he's also been hinting for a while now that Fingon really needs to settle down and start having kids so that there will be a strong line of heirs should Fingolfin die. After all, Argon's dead, and Turgon and Aredhel abruptly fucked off to god-knows-where some three hundred years ago and haven't been seen nor heard from since. Your dad needs some grandsons, Fingon, and this also seems like a ripe opportunity to strengthen the Noldor's alliance with the Northern Sindar.

I don't think political marriage is unknown among the Elves of Beleriand. (For one example in the text, see Celegorm trying to marry Luthien to force Doriath into an alliance.) And the quote I drew the title of the aforementioned Fingon/Ianneth story from, also found in "Laws and Customs Among the Eldar," is:

The Eldar wedded only once in life, and for love or at the least by free will upon either part.

Free will could easily mean, "Are we in love? No. But I'll still marry you, for the good of our peoples, and I'll bring some of Dad's soldiers along with me." That sort of thing happened all the time among real-world nobility, so I see no reason why it can't happen among Elven nobility in Beleriand, too.

At any rate, Fingolfin arranges for Fingon to meet the daughters of some of the more powerful leaders of the Northern Sindar, and he's hint-hint-hinting that Fingon really needs to pick one of them to be his wife. Fingon, having been in love with Maedhros since they were young in Valinor, is not exactly keen on this plan. But he goes along with it anyway because he is a dutiful son, he knows that his father is right about needing to strengthen the line of succession, and he also knows that revealing his (quite taboo!) relationship with Maedhros to his father would probably break Fingolfin's heart.

It takes Fingon a while to decide who to court, but he picks Ianneth because he likes her sense of humor; she has the guts to gently tease him at their first meeting, which he finds quite charming. He doesn't think he can love anyone besides Maedhros, but he does look at Ianneth and think, "This is a woman I could grow to care for and whose companionship I think could enjoy."

The trouble begins when, over the course of their courtship, Fingon starts falling in love with Ianneth without falling out of love with Maedhros. And he doesn't know what to do about this. He can't call off the marriage, and he doesn't want to break things off with Maedhros, so he decides to just...keep the whole thing with Maedhros a secret and marry Ianneth anyway. It's not a good decision, but really, are there any options here that won't end with someone getting hurt? I don't think so.

So we have Ianneth, blissfully ignorant of her husband's infidelity (for now); Fingon, in love with two people at once and feeling horribly guilty about it, but unwilling to pick one partner over the other; and Maedhros, resigned to the situation but still hurting because Fingon is no longer his alone.

Maedhros' feelings are complicated by the fact that, once he meets her, he finds that likes Ianneth. It would be easier, he thinks, if he could write her off as just a political necessity for Fingon, but it turns out that she's charming and intelligent and kind, and he can understand why Fingon loves her. His feelings soften further once Ereiniel is born, because Fingon is so happy being a father, and he loves Fingon, so how can he begrudge him that? There's a line from "Famous Blue Raincoat" by Leonard Cohen that I always think of when I'm getting into Maedhros' head at this point:

And thanks for the trouble you took from [his] eyes. I thought it was there for good, so I never tried.

Things tick along about as smoothly as they can for thirteen years, until, in the aftermath of Fingolfin's death during the Dagor Bragollach, as Fingon prepares to send Ianneth and Ereiniel to the Falas for their safety, Ianneth learns his secret. This is understandably devastating for her, and leaves her wondering if Fingon ever really loved her as she loved him, or if his marriage to her was simply a politically expedient sham.

Add to that the fact that she leaves for the Falas less than ten hours after this revelation and spends most of that ten hours either crying or asleep, as she's too upset to really talk to Fingon about what she's discovered, and it leaves her with this horrible knowledge and all the worst thoughts that come from it gnawing at her nearly a full year until Fingon next comes to Eglarest -- time that she spends as the sole caregiver for her young daughter, among strangers in a foreign city, without her mother or her sister or any of her friends who might have theoretically been able to offer her some emotional support.

Theoretically is a key word there, though, because even if, say, her sister had come to Eglarest, Ianneth isn't sure she'd even be able to tell her. For one thing, she can't help feeling ashamed, because infidelity is very rare among Elves, and she can't help thinking that maybe she failed as a wife somehow, and if she'd done something different, Fingon wouldn't have strayed. Then there's the fact that he's the High King of the Noldor, and if this gets out it could cause a crisis in the Noldorin government and possibly tank the alliance between the House of Fingolfin and the Northern Sindar. Ianneth is a practical woman, and she's of the Northern Sindar -- the people who have been living practically on Morgoth's doorstep for centuries, with no Maia queen's magic girdle to protect them. Their alliance with the Noldor is vital, and she would never want to jeopardize it.

So Ianneth is just...completely alone with this pain. She has no one to turn to, no one who can comfort her. And that pain is central to her story, and a not insignificant part of Ereiniel's story, too.

[irisopranta]

The Girl From Gridania - Part 6

Part 6 of Iris’s origin story. She's in Ul'dah, where she meets a fairly interesting rogue. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Word Count: 3075

It has been quite the trip so far. The boisterous life of Limsa Lominsa was something Iris expected to an extent. However, she was shocked to the extent it was. The smell of stale ale and tobacco smoke made the air thick to breathe in, to the point that she had issues breathing. She couldn’t understand how the citizenry could live without gasping nature’s fresh air. Glad that she found herself in in Ul’dah. Though it is just as bad as Limsa Lominsa, it at least seemed to be contained to the tavern and the back alleys.

She was able to deliver the missive from the Elder Seedseer to the Sultana. The mission was all and all a success and all she needed to do was return back home. It would be a few days before the airship could take her back to Gridania. The streets were unusual. Stairs were everywhere and wrapped all over the city. She decedent down a set near the Sultana’s throne room. The halls were just as twisted as the stairs.

She returned to the city square, looking around where she shall go to explore. She spotted a green cloth leading outside and decided to follow it. She walked through the the door way to be greeted with desert’s arid air. The markets were bustling, a sight that she never saw in Gridania. The stalls were side by side, brimming with all sorts of goods. The shopkeepers calling out for potential buyers.

I should be able to find something for everyone here. She hummed in her thoughts. She double check her purse to see how much gil she had on her. 30,000, that should be plenty. The stall next to her was selling various pieces of jewelry. Many of the pieces were more suitable for men. Cuff links, large chains, even some decorative knifes were laying on the counter. As she looked intently at them all, she place her thumb on her chin, staring at a knife that had some delicate metalworking, gold and silver twisted between each other as though they were vine. The guard were two groups of three leaves that laid over each other. The thought of giving it to Ephault tickled her a bit.

“Something caught your eye there miss.” A lalafellin man behind the counter broke her concentration. He looked well kept, however, Iris did notice that his clothing were quite old. Quite shocked that they still were holding up as it seemed the seams could fall apart at any moment.

“Well yes actually.” Her voice hummed at him as she pointed at the knife. “Its quite a nice piece.”

The man smiled, “A fine piece indeed, made by Miss Serendpity herself.” The name means nothing to Iris, however, she could at least tell the the lady was quite skilled at her craft. “If you want it, it will be 15,000 gil.”

Her face reeled back. 15,000 gil, that seems too much for a non functioning knife. Would Euphalt even like it if I got it for him? She sighed. “15,000 seems quite a lot for a nice looking knife without much function. Would you be willing to go down to 8,000?”

The lalafell scoffed “8,000? That’s way too low for such an exquisite piece. 14,500 if you must try to barter.”

“I must insist on 9,000 then, The poor thing is ill fitted to even skin a squirrel. Purely decorative I say.” She huffed out those words, slightly disgusted at him. Then again this seemed par of the course with any Ul'dahn customer she ever had to deal with at her mother’s shop.

“Then I refuse to sell you the piece.” He huffed. “Away with you, disgusting street urchin” He shooed her away in his anger. However, in that moment it was as though Nymeia was smiling upon Iris. The man’s shirt seemly fell apart. He gasped as he didn’t seem to notice that his clothing were in such a poor state. His face turned redder than a rolanberry from the embarrassment.

Iris smiled, knowing she could take advantage of this situation. Normally, she feel bad, but in this case she felt she could make an exception “Well, wouldn’t look at that. How about a new deal? You see, I’m a seamstress, and quite a skilled one at that. I can fix your shirt situation, but in exchange, you give me the knife and why not those emerald cuff links as well?” She pointed at a set that were also on the counter, figuring they were make a good gift for her father.

“I would rather Nald’thal take me to the seventh hell than part with that much money.” He grumbled.

“Very well then. I guess I will take my leave. Good luck trying to selling things without a shirt.” Iris turned away from the stall and started to walk away.

“Wait” the lalafell called out to her. She stop walking. “I think I can part with those. I’ll just consider it a business expense. Yes an expense.” He nodded in his nervousness. Iris return to the stall and even walked behind the counter. She looked at the scraps of silk that were scattered over the floor. It wasn’t the highest quality of the material she had seen. It had seemed that the fabric at the seams were way too wore. Mending it would make shirt too small for him with no seam allowance to work with

“Hmm, I think that I would need to get new fabric to just make you a new one. Is there a place to get fabric near by?”

He nodded “Yes the weaver’s guild is just down that corridor.” He point into the direction of the guild. Iris gathered all the pieces and started to head to the guild.

She went down the corridor that was before her. The walls were lined with mannequins and bolts of fabrics. Fine silks and linens in bright hues. She shouldn’t be shocked as these would be more suitable for the city’s arid climate than the furs and hides one may get in Gridania’s damp and cold climate. There was a double door adorn with gold and brass. Iris opened the door, only to be greeted by clattering looms and scissors snipping away. The room that she found herself in was filled to the brim with many people. Many of whom were moving fabrics about or steadily stitching away making garments. The scene is more familiar to her than the rowdy taverns of Limsa or the scene that she had just subjected herself to.

She looked on to see what everyone was working on. One on a dress fit for a noble lalafell, complete with lace and ribbons. The colors were a stunning red, something that would be too bold in Gridania.

“Something caught you’re eye I see. Though I don’t think you can fit into that.” A boisterous voice called out from behind her. She turned around to see a large but well dressed roegadyn. “The name is Redolent Rose, the leader of this fabulous guild. We are weavers and tailors. Is there anything we can do to help you miss? Mayhaps you would like a new dress? While the one you are wearing is quite lovely, it’s ill suited for this climate with how thick it is.”

Iris closed her eyes to ponder his offer. Humming and hawing it over she spoke “While I like that offer, and your dresses do look amazing, but I’ll pass on your offer. I can’t imagine they would be cheap. After all I’m only here for another day or so while I wait for the airship to take me back home to Gridania. Plus I’m here to get fabrics to fix a shirt.” Pulling out the fabric that were under her arm.

“Ah from Gridania are you? I’ve been meaning to look at the fashion trends there.” The roegadyn looked over the Elezen woman again. “So this is what they wear?”

Iris chuckled. “Sort of. I’m a seamstress myself so I might be more fashionable than my fellow citizen. I did make this myself.” She twirl her skirt a bit to show the fullness and lace trim a bit.

“Yes I see. I feel inspired, my dear.” He paced around her, looking at her garments. “The verdant greens, the brilliant blues. Yes, I think I must make this the report for the week. My dear you are absolutely stunning.” Iris face was red from blushing from his comment. She felt a bit light headed. Was another vision about to the appear in front of her or was the complement too much for her to hear from someone that skilled about her outfit.

She gathered herself. A cough escaped from her throat and gave the gentleman a smile. “Why thank you. In any case, can I look over what fabrics you have here? I have a job to do.”

“Ah yes, I apologize. I get quite excited seeing such a nice looking outfit. If you got a project to work on please feel free to use the guild resource miss.” Redolent Rose hummed into his thoughts. “Though may I ask for a favor in return?”

“A favor?” she inquired.

“Would you be willing to teach some of new recruits the techniques you used for your dress? I think it would be nice for them to learn how other locations handle their clothing situation. I will make it worth your while, a few bolts of fine silk for the trouble.”

“Fine silk you say. I think I can spare the time, though I would need to finish this job first. I have a nice knife and some cuff links to get.”

Redolent Rose let out a hearty chuckle, much in Iris’ confusion. “I thought I recognize that fabric. You happen to pull a quick one on old Totopigu did you?” Iris nodded. “Good, the man needed to be knocked down a peg or two. He tends to try to con travelers on the goods he sells. I don’t allow him in the guild because of it and the reason I don’t allow guild members to sell their work to him to sell. In any case get your work done and let me know when you can teach those recruits.”

Iris was amused with herself. I guess that lalafell doesn’t have many friends in the area. At least he isn’t liked by a tailor that has a lot of control on the textiles in the area. No wonder he needed her to do the work. Much luck to her that she could get those items from without spending too much gil.

She started her work. It wasn’t too hard, with all the tools at her disposal at the guild. They even have those fancy sewing machines that makes sewing so much faster. She was done in no time with the size of the garment being so small. She returned to Totopigu to give him his shirt. He was reluctant to hand over the stuff she asked for but he figured not to upset the elezen even more unless he wants to lose more items from his shop.

Iris returned to the guild and told Redolent Rose she was ready to teach his recruits. The roegadyn singal to other tailors and seamstresses near them. Before she knew it there were at least five of them looking over Iris and her outfit. They were investigating every stitch and hem. Asking how she made it. She could tell that they were very much new to the trade. Happily she was willing to spend her time to help instruct them. As thanks for helping him, Redolent Rose gave her some bolts of silk to take with her back to Gridania.

After all the excitement of teaching eager weavers, she was trying to carry the heavy bolts back to her inn room. The alleys between the markets and the inn were nothing like the rest of the city. It reminded her a bit of Limsa Lominsa, just without the hint of sea salt in the air. The heat from the desert may have made the stench of stale ale and vomit much worst.

As the sun started to set she quickly tried to make her way back. The weight of the bolts slowed her down a bit. The seedier folks were spying her down, making her feel uncomfortable. She started to pick up her pace a bit. As she turn the corner, a few cloaked beings approached from behind.

Were they the ones that were stalking me? She thought. “W-w-who are you?” She stutter. She dropped the bolts as they lunge at her. Everything went dark for her.

She felt warm. Burning hot. Her eyes were starting to flutter open. She saw nothing but embers and flames at first. As she wakes up a bit more there were others with her. All them were tied up just as she.

“Hee hee! Our Amalj'aa friends will keep you company!” A voice called out. Iris looked onto the direction it was coming from. A priest she could surmise, rather if her was truly a man of holy cloth was to be determined. “Hee hee! How long will you last, I wonder!?” He crackled. As he did the area grew darker. It was as though the sun was blocked out. It was blocked out.

It was pitch black barring the flames. As it did, a large beast appeared from the blacked out sun. It had glowing red horns and claws in as sharp as any bear she had seen. It’s nose was narrow. “Pitiful children of man! By my breath I claim you!” it growled. It spewed flames among those who were tied up. “Arise once more as my loyal minions! Feed my flames with your faith, and all who stand against us shall burn!”

The flames approached them. She braced herself as the flames radiated around her. As it consumed her, it felt warm and comforting instead of burning pain that one would expect. She open her eyes as the beast stood in front of her.

“All praise to Ifrit.” The voices behind her called out. She turned to only see the others in a trance.

The beast snared. “How can this be so? Are you already tempered by another?” Iris’ eyes were wide open. Ifrit burst out another flame towards the Elezen. As was before, it was warm and comforting for her. Ifrit can only growl in his frustration. “Minions take down this already tempered woman.”

The others started to move towards her. It seemed they all lost their minds. What can she do. It wasn’t like she were able to protect herself, her staff was back in the inn room and it doesn’t seem to be any other weapon for her to fight. Was this truly her end. As they were to pounced, a knife fell between her and the crowd.

"I've heard of bewitching women, but you certainly are at the top of the list for ones I've met." A male voice called out and a staff appeared at her feet. She looked around to figure out where he is. He appeared before her from the darkness. “Thancred here.” He gave a quick introduction before return his attention the the foul beast before them. His white hair contrast the darkness that surrounded them, his eyes were golden and bright. He had a certain charm to him that Iris recognized but he seemed a bit different that she couldn’t place her finger on it. Mayhaps it was his roguish look and speech that made her feel that way.

Those thoughts will have to wait however, the two were before a primal and one that just tempered a group of people. She picked up the staff that was at her feet. She got up from the ground and ran to the roguish man. “So what’s the plan?”

Thancred looked onto her. “Well, the best thing we can do is take down the beast. You’re a healer, back me up and keep me alive.” He dashed forth toward Ifrit. Iris eyes widen if not popping out of her eyes from his charging. He jumped up to slash at the beast’s face. As he connected, Ifrit knocked him back onto the floor. Iris knew he needed some healing from that fall. She seeked out the mana from the elementals to heal his wounds. As he was getting up Ifrit tried to swing once more at the rogue. Tried but Iris was aware and summoned a burst of water to knocked him off his attacking.

Thancred got back on his feet and started to slashed at Ifrit’s feet. He howled from the pain. Snarling, he brought forth more flames. It wasn’t directed at anyone but the heat felt is singed a bit of their hair. Ifrit was getting infuriate with the two, so much so the beast decided to summon big spikes of fires. “The nonbelievers must burn.” Big plumes of flames radiated from the spikes.

“Focus on those spikes.” Thancred shouted. He then took his daggers and threw them at the spikes. As one just impaled itself into one of the spikes, causing it to overcharge and explode. Iris took note. She charged up a water spell and aimed it at another one of the spikes.

Despite them looking sturdy, they seemed pretty weak against being hit. The other two spikes fell just the same after the two attacked them. Again, they exploded and the heat radiant around them. With the spikes gone the two can focus on the primal before them. Thancred pick up the daggers from the ground. He charged forth with the intention of attacking Ifrit. Iris, backing him up charged another water spell. The spell fired off, knocking Ifrit off guard. As he was trying regain his balance, Thancred striked him down, causing him fall down. The aether around him started to dissipate. Ifrit was disappearing with the aether.

Iris looked onward to the rogue that came to save her. How could he have found me? She thought as her face was twisted in bewilderment. The rogue flashed a smile, a smile that you expect a cheeky rogue to throw to charm a lady. He was about to speak up but Iris’ head started to spin. Another vision? No that isn’t quite right. Before she knows it her vision when black.

[buffyfan145]

OMG, I'm freaking out about the latest scoop from Fellowship of Fans as this is a huge spoiler and possibly a huge Haladriel one!!! :D Also they announced the character Selina Lo is playing too which I'll post first behind a cut as it's going to get long me talking about the big spoiler as I'm so excited!!! LOL

So first off Selina is playing an elf. Her scenes are mostly in Eregion and she filmed a lot with Benjamin (Gil Galad), Robert (Elrond), and Celebrimbor (Charles). There was a scoop last year that Celebrimbor was getting a female elf assistant at the forge and seems likely Selina's character is the same.

Now for the big spoiler.

I was not expecting this but apparently Adar is going to kidnap Galadriel!!! :o My first thought was this has to be him getting back at Sauron, who I'm guessing by this point he knows is Halbrand, and going back to him noticing the connection Halbrand/Sauron and Galadriel have. This would anger Halbrand/Sauron so much and have the two factions at war with each other, and possibly show whatever he still feels for Galadriel is there as I can't help but think he'll try to rescue her. So Galadriel is likely going to have to choose to either work with him or Adar to get out of this.

Morfydd did already hint in recent interviews that she and Charlie do have scenes again, and most of us were thinking it was dream sequence type (which I think still likely is too) but this would for sure have them seeing each other in person again. Also a lot are speculating too that this leads up to Halbrand/Sauron killing Adar, which I agree with most Adar likely won't be in this show much longer after season 2. Though do wish Joseph stayed, but still looking forward to Sam's version.

Then of course some think this means Celeborn is also being held prisoner by Adar, but I really wish they didn't do this and get their hopes up as there's been no spoilers at all indicating he's even been cast. I know a lot think Calam Lynch is playing him, but his filming dates last fall and recently actually match up with the Numenor scenes that FOF confirmed were filming at those times. So again I don't think Celeborn has been cast yet and I doubt Adar is the one that had him prisoner (if that's where he is).

But I do agree it's interesting having Galadriel also get captured by orcs and dark elves, when her daughter Celebrian sadly did too in the Third Age.

[runawaymun]

WIP Wednesday!

I was tagged last wednesday by @that-angry-noldo to share a snippet of what I am working on :D I LOVE this game yay!!

Here is a snippet from Beneath a Boundless Sky:

Still, even though Thalionel preferred Arwen’s company, he had to admit the mornings when Lord Elrond took him out for a ride were the best, because often they went out onto the hiking trails around the city, and there was always something interesting to look at, or to ask about, or to find. That was how he had discovered this chunk of rock. He hadn’t known what it was at first. He’d just caught the glint of the sun on its glossy surface. There was an entire trail of it down the side of the mountain. He had hopped down from Trastadweg and gone to look at it more closely, and that was when Lord Elrond had warned him to be careful, because obsidian, as he had called it, was sharp.  “The mountain made it,” Lord Elrond had said as he slipped off of his own horse to join him at the flow. “Just like it makes the hot pools.”  Thalionel had only vaguely listened as he’d explained something about melted rock and rapid temperature changes. Mostly, he’d stayed focused on the chunk of rock he’d picked up from the pile. It was as big as his fist. Rough on one side, and glassy on the other where the rock had broken in one, clean cut.  It had been a trick to get it into his pocket without Lord Elrond noticing. Thalionel wasn’t sure if he’d succeeded. He just hoped that Lord Elrond didn’t suspect what he meant to do with it.

To be honest though upon editing it's likely this will change slightly!! I am thinking about writing it out into a full present scene, rather than keeping it as a past-tense memory. I think it will suit it better and we need more Elrond and Thal time anyway!

And here is a snippet from To Partake (it was hard to pick something for this actually because so much of this chapter feels a little spoilery to share, but I do like the writing in this section a lot):

Elrond writes Erestor another note to let him know where he has gone, and when he estimates he will return, slips it under his door, and then starts down the winding staircase of the tower. His footsteps echo in the cool silence of the early morning. As he passes people, each gives him a wide berth, avoiding his gaze as if to ward off any possibility of interaction. It’s nothing particularly new, but it is a little different than the stares he’d gotten upon his arrival. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, he wonders if word about his summons to Gil-Galad’s solar —and Gil-Galad’s black mood— had traveled around the court.  It had probably been the fault of the guards. Heniriel is not a gossip, or else she would not hold such a high position.  He keeps his head low as he heads out beneath the stars to the far end of the citadel. The closer he gets to the kitchens, the more the air begins to smell like fresh bread. It makes his stomach rumble. The kitchens are a set of buildings attached to the northern side of the castle, close to the king’s quarters, the banquet hall, and the ambassadorial suites. Elrond elects to pass through a courtyard full of babbling fountains, since it looks empty enough. He follows the cobblestone footpath to a tall rock wall with a door in it which opens out onto the kitchen gardens, where carefully tended beds of herbs and vegetables lay slumbering beneath the starlight. Beyond are the King’s orchards. Elrond loves to spend time there. He will have to find a moment soon to slip away and say hello to his favorite apple tree. For now, he takes the path as it curves to the left, heading toward the kitchen proper, and more importantly: the bakery, where the citadel’s baker is likely to be starting on the day’s bread.

no pressure tags for: @the-commonplace-book @creativity-of-death @raointean @valasania-the-pale @niennawept @jaz-the-bard & anyone else who wants to play!!! I want to read what you're working on :D

[askauradonprep]

Poly Pirate Crew Timeline

I should not have been allowed to do this rewatch. I am back on my poly pirate crew bullshit and I'm about to drag a bunch of new followers down with me if I have my way. :P

SO.

About three months before D2 (and 3 months after D1) the crew first forms. They're described as 'hardened mercenaries' 'cutthroats' and 'a bunch of scoundrels' but also as kids who were deemed not worth very much by the Isle. There are bumps and bruises in getting some of them into teamwork but overall, things go really well. Uma quickly inspires confidence by doing things like diving into the sea to rescue Gil or waiting at the mouth of a collapsing cave to make sure her entire crew gets out.

Over that three month interval, the crew not only makes major territory grabs (including Mal's former territory) and even begins to be taken seriously by some of the adults. They also start hanging out and spending most of their time together, so when it comes to doing things like making out as stress relief or going to places together, it's usually with each other. At some point it occurs that they're all pretty much dating each other but they have bigger things to worry about so it's not that big of a deal.

Descendants 2 goes down, Uma's missing for a whole year. Harry takes over and manages to hold down the fort but the crew is a mess without Uma and he knows it. Even people who don't hang around the crew like Ginny Gothel notice how close knit the crew is and can no longer imagine Harry without them. Harriet notes that getting Harry a VK Day application is pointless because he won't leave without his crew. They also note he's been miserable without Uma.

Descendants 3 goes down, Uma returns! The crew is elated but only for a moment. Uma has to tell them the gut punching news that the barrier is going to stay closed forever and they're all going to die on the Isle. Rather than dwell on that, she focuses them on preparing to protect the Isle as supplies dwindle and chaos breaks out. Obviously this crisis is averted by Mal letting down the barrier and setting them all free.

The crew is in Auradon now! They take about a semester to get caught up on educational requirement differences and their 'we're REASONABLY certain they won't destroy Auradon' stamp of remedial goodness. They make things official and enjoy both running wild and having actual DATING moments. During this time, they find an abandoned villa in Auradon that they claim as theirs (by hiding it from everyone else with magic). Then they're officially free to pursue their own interests and they all....split. Everyone is on their own for about a year. Uma's happy for them chasing their dreams but also devastated to lose them. Well, after that year, Drey calls a meeting in a warehouse to see everybody. Harry reveals he's spent that time fixing up the Lost Revenge to be seaworthy and now they can go wherever they want and do whatever they want. The crew gets back together and sets sail for about a year and a half (totally not doing revolutionary things to stop certain escaped villains from hurting kids or bringing down places like the Isle, nooooo).

Uma is invited to be in charge when Mal, Jay, Evie and Ben go off to do some alliance building. She accepts and her crew accompanies her back. Most of them settle the villa and get their 'living on land' ducks in a row, but about six get Uma's office ready and help her out (yes this is from the Merlin verse but IDC, I like it, do it happens here too. :P)

Once Mal and Ben return, Uma's crew goes back to the water. They return periodically but for the most part, they are now full time pirates. After a while they start considering themselves PRETTY MUCH married. During one of these visits back, Drey gets pregnant with the crew's first kid born during the relationship (Valor being born before hand) at about age 26. This kicks off the start of lots of kids. Does this stop them adventuring, treasure hunting or pirating? Absolutely not.

There's a lot of details to fill in in between these but this is the general gist of how I imagine that relationship going.

[hollygl125]

Tag Game: First 10 Lines Challenge:

Rules: Share the first line of your last ten published works or as many as you are able to and see if there are any patterns!

I’ve tagged myself off a general invitation to participate, so I invite anyone else who’s interested to do the same.

I haven’t stayed strictly with the last ten stories. Instead I went with the ten stories posted so far—of a total of fourteen—in my ongoing canon GSR series. I also haven’t stayed strictly with the first lines—I couldn’t decide whether to do the first lines of the introductions (where applicable) or of the actual story text, so I went with both.

Today is the two-year anniversary of when I started posting this series, which I thought this would be a good time to share this! When I first started writing the series back in late June 2022, I didn’t imagine I’d still be posting it over two years later. But it’s now almost three times as long as it was when I had completed my first draft—though the end point is not significantly different.

1.   Survivors in the Night: AAFS Conference to Las Vegas: A How They Met Story [12 chapters; 21,420 words]

Introduction:

Gil Grissom meets Sara Sidle at the 1998 forensic academy conference in San Francisco. They immediately fall in love. Maybe that should have been the end of the story; maybe it should have been that easy. But it wasn’t, not for these two science nerds. They live happily ever after, eventually, but not in this story. This story is the first loop in their roller coaster ride, though. This story gets Sara Sidle to Vegas.

October 2000. Las Vegas, Nevada.

“You are . . .” he trailed off, struggling to find the right word. “You are so . . .” Again, he couldn’t get it. He was usually quite adept with words. He had a good memory and a Shakespeare quotation close at hand for almost any situation. But he currently had a very tall, very attractive, very naked young brunette in his bed, and she always seemed to do this to him. He was at a loss.

“You are so . . . completely f[***]able,” he finally concluded.

She laughed. Of all the words she might have expected to come out of the eminent entomologist’s mouth, that was possibly the last. He could have called her a Martian, and she’d have been less surprised.

2.   No, I Never Meant to Break Your Heart: This Area Was Always a Good Place for Stargazing: A How They Got Together Story [6 chapters; 10,492 words]

Introduction:

Sara Sidle and Gil Grissom had worked together very well in the beginning. They’d kind of flirted a bit in the beginning (okay, they probably still did that), and they’d stood really very abnormally close together (they definitely still did that), and no one had seemed to notice this, except Catherine Willows had maybe noticed their flirting, but that really was way back in the beginning

[. . .]

March 2005. Las Vegas, Nevada.

Sara didn’t know what he was doing. She really didn’t. Ever since she’d told Grissom about her deep, dark, secret past, he’d been confusing her. Ever since she’d told him about that deep, dark, secret past, he’d just . . . been there.

3.   No, I Never Meant to Let You Down: After the Meteors: The Smallest of Moments [Drabble]

April 2005. Later that same day. Las Vegas, Nevada.

“Sara . . .”

She looked at him.

“Sara, we . . .” He hesitated.

Why did he look nervous?

4.   I Never Meant to Turn Away: Committed: Some Reflections by the Scientist [One-shot; 3,596 words]

April 2005. Later that same week. Las Vegas, Nevada.

Commit. To commit. To be committed. Suddenly these phrases had taken on a lot of significance in Sara Sidle’s life—too much significance, perhaps.

5.   No, I Never Meant to Cause You Pain: Grave Danger to Law of Gravity: Various Encounters [9 chapters; 14,875 words]

Introduction:

Sara Sidle was Gil Grissom’s fantasy. That much was obvious. Sara Sidle and Gil Grissom were in fact already sleeping together. Should that have been obvious? (No one else seemed to figure it out, except maybe that shrewd detective Jim Brass.)

[. . .]

December 2006. Las Vegas, Nevada.

He knew he needed to tell her. He would tell her the next day—always the next day. He most definitely needed to tell her. It wasn’t going to get any better if he put it off. It was going to happen, and he couldn’t exactly just have her wake up one day and find him gone.

6.   No, I Never Meant to Hurt You: The Good, the Bad, and the Happy Ending(s): More Encounters; A Conversation Takes Place [One-shot; 4,001 words]

Introduction:

By now, Grissom had shaved again. Well, no, Sara had shaved him. It was pretty intimate. Sara had not yet read the letter from Williamstown, but she soon would. (That’s the subject of another story, though.) Regardless, they were both pretty happy.

[. . .]

May 2007. Las Vegas, Nevada.

She was fine. Sara Sidle was fine. And doesn’t that tell you all you really need to know?

April 2007. Las Vegas, Nevada.

Sara Sidle swooned—or close to it. The man she loved had just declared his love for her while on a case, and it was just about the sweetest thing she’d ever heard. He hadn’t said those exact words, of course, but his meaning was clear. So Sara swooned.

7.   All I Ever Wanted Was to Be Right Here: After the Desert: A Very Brief Interlude [One-shot; 576 words]

Introduction:

Sara Sidle made it out of the desert. Sara Sidle is a survivor.

May 2007. Las Vegas, Nevada.

As soon as he was allowed, Grissom had gone to sit by her bed. Since then, he’d only left her side for the briefest of moments. He held her hand, and he praised everything in which he believed, and everything in which he didn’t, that she’d made it through the ordeal alive.

8.   All I Want to Do Now Is to Try My Best: I Love It When You Dress Up: A Moment of Happiness [One-shot; 3,776 words]

Introduction:

“Yes. Let’s do it.”

October 2007. Las Vegas, Nevada.

Well, he’d gone and done it. He’d done the thing she’d always kind of dreamed of him doing—the thing she’d always kind of dreamed of him doing, even before it was safe (well before it was safe) for her to dream of him doing anything of the sort.

She had never dreamed of her wedding day. For much of her life, truth be told, she hadn’t imagined she would ever get married. Growing up—first with her parents and their disastrous (nay, tragic) relationship and then in her string of foster homes—she hadn’t exactly acquired an idea of marriage as anything to be emulated. But then she’d met this man. Ever since she’d met him, she’d always wanted to be connected to this man. And so, quite despite herself, Sara Sidle had dreamed.

9.   So Don't Ever, Don't Ever, Don't Forget: I Miss You with Every Beat of My Heart: A Long-distance Telephone Call . . . and a Movie [One-shot; 2,912 words]

Introduction:

What do you do when you can’t be with the one you love?

Winter 2008. San Francisco, California and Las Vegas, Nevada.

“Hi,” he said softly, after flipping open his phone and putting it to his ear, as if a more forceful response would scare her off.

“Hi,” she replied, just as softly, as if it took all her strength to exist so far from this man who was so much a part of her.

10.                 All I Ever Wanted Was to Stand Beside You: Costa Rica to the Ishmael, and Then Some: A How They Fell Apart & How They Came Back Together Story [21 (of 28) chapters; 64,901 words (and counting)] [WIP]

Introduction:

Sara Sidle and Gil Grissom were living together very happily (with their dog, Hank—we will never forget Hank, the best dog either of them ever had) in Las Vegas, Nevada, when a serial killer decided to exact revenge on Grissom by kidnapping and killing Sara.

[. . .]

Fall 2015. San Diego, California.

Gil Grissom had found himself in a spot of trouble in San Diego, while carrying out some of his ongoing (and slightly illegal—he’d been found trespassing on a boat) conservation efforts. But an odd twist of fate was helping Grissom out. An officer from San Diego Harbor Patrol was just finishing up on the phone with Grissom’s former colleague, the current Las Vegas sheriff, Conrad Ecklie. Ecklie had requested Grissom’s urgent assistance on a case.

“It’s your lucky day, pal,” the officer told Grissom, after ending the call. “I’d tell you not to leave town, but I guess you’re going to Sin City.”

Grissom sighed. “Vegas,” he said, with a not-slight measure of regret. On the surface, Grissom looked a little put out but generally calm. Inside, however, was a different matter: Vegas. F[***]. F[*******]. F[***]. Even in his head, Grissom didn’t ordinarily curse. But in this case he would make an exception: F[**********].

It wasn’t Vegas itself that was the problem. It was his ex-wife: Sara Sidle. She was overseeing the case on which he’d agreed to assist. It was both because of her that he’d agreed to assist and because of her that he had almost refused. Ultimately the tie had been broken by his desire for Ecklie’s help on his current, er, situation with the harbor patrol.

[artzychic27]

Another random thought: Sparky and I have done a few of these, but I would love to see your take on the VK/AK kids meeting the Class of Heroes/Villainy gang, who are essentially alternate versions of their parents.

Roselle: *Squishing Ben's face* JULEKA! LOOK HOW CUTE HE IS! Don't you just wanna hug him?!

Julebeast: Sweetie, let him breathe... But, I agree, he is so fucking adorable.

Ben: Aw, thanks... This is gonna sound weird, but you remind me a lot of my parents.

Roselle: Well, as your stand-in parents for today-

Ben: I never agreed to that.

Roselle: We are going to tell you how your relationship with Mal is built upon lies.

-

Mireides/Juleficent: *Staring at Mal* ...

Mal: ...

Mireides: Let's uh... Let's never speak of this again.

Juleficent: That is completely fine with me.

Mal: Same.

-

King Marc: Well, I must say, your makeup work is resplendent. Your Prince is a lucky man.

Evie: Well, actually, I'm dating Dopey's son, Doug.

King Marc: ... You're joking, right?

Evie: No. He likes me for who I am and sees me for things other than my beauty.

King Marc: ... I don't understand the words you are saying. Does he see you for your vast riches?

Evie: No.

King Marc: Your royal status.

Evie: No! That's so shallow. He sees me for my intellect and my goal to become a successful fashion designer.

King Marc: ... Have you hit your head, dear?

-

Sleeping Nath: Look, I probably would have done the same.

Audrey: Really?

Sleeping Nath: Of course. Who wouldn't become a badass spell-caster with a just as badass song, and try to get revenge on the person who stole your significant other? And let me just say, you deserve so much better.

Audrey: Aaw! Thank you.

Sleeping Nath: No prob... *Falls asleep on the grass*

Audrey: ... I... Anyone?!... He just collapsed!

-

Gil: Dude! How much you bench?!

Kimton: How much does an oven weigh?

Gil: Awesome! You know, it's weird, you look a lot like my old man, down to the colors, and- Oh! Hey, babe!

Kimton: You've got a girlfriend?

Gil: Actually... *Harry makes his way over and kisses him on the cheek*

Harry: Hey, love. *Notices Kimton* Who's the musclehead?

Kimton: ...

Captain Reshma: I know, it's weird. But, queer pirates. * Taps Harry's hook with her own*

-

Uma: *Gripping on one Mylensula's tentacles* I'll ask again. Who's the most badass of the seven seas?

Mylensula: You are! Just let them go!

-

Darcy: *Putting Ivan Oogie in a headlock* I'll ask ya one more time, ya ant-stuffed potato sack! Who's the true scare master! HUH?!

Ivan Oogie: *Screaming* YOUR DAD!

Darcy: Yeah, that's right, he is! Don't YOU forget it!

-

Doctor Cabello: I've gotta say, sugar, your taste in fashion is impeccable.

Celia: Hey, you're not so bad yourself. Your shadow's got some spunk to it, though. But, I've gotta know, why are you dating that holy roller?

Doctor Cabello: I like to see him get all worked up whenever I "sin."

Celia: Okay, valid.

-

Zoé: You, uh... You really live up to your name.

Chad: What's that supposed to mean?

Zoé: Oh, nothing.

-

Carlos: JAY! HIDE ME! *Hides behind Jay while he's talking to Jafadrien*

Jafadrien: Wow. Rude much?

Jay: Bud, what's going on?

Carlos: I'm being chased by an evil, malevolent creature!

Jafadrien: *Looks to where he's pointing* That'sss jussst Mari. And she'sss more sssadissstic than malevolent, but you're on the right track.

Jay: Whoa, she looks like your mom.

Carlos: That's why I'm running!

-

Fairy GodBro: So, you're this world's version of me.

Fairy GodMother: You bippidi boppidi better believe it!

Fairy GodBro: Oh my gosh! You do that too?! Does it annoy everyone else?

Fairy GodMother: It's why I keep saying it.

Fairy GodBro: Oh, you and I are gonna have some fun.

@imsparky2002 @msweebyness

[softquietsteadylove]

But also!!! I love the headcanons!!! Can I request more for a different AU? (your choice for which AU, I can honestly say I’d read novels about any of them and I want to know EVERYTHING)

You...you want to hear my headcanons?

Okay!!!! (I'm so excited)

So let's talk Ballerina/Boxer AU, because that's another one with a lot of in-between things I've imagined but haven't appeared in any stories, even if I've alluded to them in the tags.

Mutual pining--my absolute favourite. Thena saw Gil a few times going into his studio across the hall. Sersi immediately called her out on it because Thena does not stare at guys. Thena doesn't really notice guys, for the most part. Until the handsome boxer smiles and waves at her. Sersi is on high alert.

Likewise, Gil noticed her because who wouldn't? He adjusted his schedule so he could come in a little earlier and catch a glimpse of her before class. Once he was smiling and waving and walked right into the propped open door. He felt like an idiot and avoided eye-contact for a week, but she was completely charmed by it.

Thena is all grace but at home she's a little forgetful. She's so exhausted that by the time she gets in the door everything is getting dropped on the spot. Then she comes out the next morning looking for her bag, her shoes, her water bottle, everything. Having Gil around has actually helped her keep her stuff organized better, she just doesn't want to admit it.

Gil loves spoiling her. He thinks it's so cute to get to see his graceful and beautiful swan curled up on the couch in a grumpy little ball. She loves watching tv with her head on a pillow on his lap with his fingers running through her hair. She has no idea what's happening in any of the shows they watch together because she always falls asleep, but Gil gives her the gist of what happens. It's super all-over-the-place and she still doesn't know what happens, but it's sweet.

She used to let him help her with her cool down after classes and rehearsals but it always ends up with them getting up to other things so now she has to ban him until after she's done or she won't stretch properly.

He brings up the locker room incident on at least a weekly basis.

Thena has never been in all that serious a relationship before. She's embarrassed and thinks it's terrible, but Gil doesn't care. He's happy and proud to be the first man she calls her 'boyfriend'. Sometimes he jokingly slutshames himself in comparison to her.

Thena only owns one pair of jeans, and one white leather jacket. Everything else is...what you might imagine a professional ballerina to own. Again, she thinks maybe this isn't a good thing, but Gil doesn't care of she dresses super casual or not.

Once they started seeing each other he immediately got his regular suit re-tailored and bought three new ones, so he could have options for her show nights, or if she went to fancy events and stuff. He just wants to feel like he belongs with his Gorgeous Swan.

Ben knew Thena had a thing for Gil from the first moment she mentioned him. All she said was "Gil, the boxing instructor in the studio across from ours" and he went oh yes, your future husband.

Thena was never nervous for performances until Gil started coming to them. It's not terribly nervous, maybe more like excited butterflies. And when she comes on stage he makes a loud 'whoo!' which everyone hates and is inappropriate for the venue, but she loves it.

Thena is much more eager to experiment than Gil. He's up for it, of course, but she's the one who's actively searching for ways or excuses to get up to wild things together. Unless he's going to ask her about it later, in which case it never happened.

Early on, Gil asked to do her warm up with her, for a change in his routine. It nearly broke him.

Thena is completely at the mercy of her students. First it was them calling Gil her boyfriend before they were really that official, which was why she would get so flustered. She didn't know that he loved them doing that. They go 'oooooh!' every time they see him, which embarrasses her every time. Soon they'll start asking if they're going to get married, at which point she will explode and burst into flames on the spot.

Sersi will say 'yes, they will', like a traitor.

Gil has a more distanced but friendly relationship with his boxing students. His oldest and friendliest student is Makkari, who was the one to tell him to just talk to Thena for a month before he ended up actually doing it.

After her fall, Gil starts subtly asking if and when she would ever give up performing for any reason (he's just worried about her).

Gil would never do anything as petty as retaliate against Lara for how she treats Thena. But he did once see her and her husband getting out of their car one day downtown. He called and had the car towed by claiming it had been there way past the allowed parking time.

When they move in, Gil will move in with Thena, because she has more stuff, it's easier, he's always there anyway, and he thinks her apartment is nicer than his.

The rose he gave her the first night he asked her out is dried properly and sits in a vase on a shelf on her wall above her bed (very romantic).

When Gil meets Jack, Jack asks if he and Aunt Thena are in love, to which Gil excitedly says he's head over heels for her. Thena is eavesdropping and has to stick her head in the fridge to recover.

[mrlarkstin]

Because everyone's been asking and things have finally calmed down enough. This is what went down.

IRL drama that happened because of XIV below the cut

So because a lot of my twitter and discord friends have been asking and unfortunately twitter/discord word limit is crap- this is probably the best place to explain everything. As this is literally two years in the making.

So about 2ish years ago, like...mid 2022, I was playing a lot on my Crystal alt. Like a lot, I had a ton of friends on Crystal and this was before cross DC travel. Anyways, so I joined my friends FC and just kinda vibed, helped them decorate, run things, blah blah blah. Well, I very quickly realized something kinda sus about one member who liked to do things with her "twin".

Well this twin wasn't an irl twin, it was her characters twin, a character run on a separate service account. Well, this member liked to have her "twin" stand beside her all the time. And, it looked sus all the time because the twin didn't talk, it just followed her around. It was, very sus. And she'd openly talk about sending her twin out into Eureka to farm, and to have her twin do maps and such. And, okay, whatever- but the way it was constantly worded was setting off my red warning flags. "Send my twin into Eureka" and the twin would come back like an hour or two later with TONS of rare hard to get items from the various zones. It. was weird. Very weird. And it was the same with maps.

RIGHT IN FRONT OF US- she'd send her twin off to go do maps. Alone. Level 80 maps alone. And the dungeon maps. Send her out and then call her back randomly at any time. It was at that moment I clued in that she was a bot. A full on bot being completely open about it. But because she gave her bot an actual name, you wouldn't have clued in right away.

Originally I had just given her the benefit of the doubt. Okay sure! She had a couple service accounts! Sure! But, the characters on the other service accounts were all, from my guess, bots. Given how she would just "send them out to do Eureka" and various things. It was fucking weird.

So, over the next year I did a lot of digging into botting, various bots, how they work and talked to people who OPENLY botted. And yeah, most of the time, people with multiple service accounts tend to be botting or doing something sus (like owning fucking 10 FCs??????? Why???? To farm gil?? If you are that bad at the game you gotta spend tons of irl money to make gil- you need help). But yeah, naturally not everyone with multiple service accounts are sus but, a good chunk are.

I found the bot she uses.

This one. Its the ONLY one that makes sense, this or Miqobot. But both are very likely.

Regardless. I STILL tried to give them the benefit of the doubt. That was, until they got their hands on the fucking Crystal FC Workshop. Everyone was getting ready for EW, content and such so people were logging in less and less, and I noticed they instantly started to take an immense interest in the workshop the MOMENT people stopped logging in. Which was fucking weird...because we had all been talking about it a couple weeks ago before and she had taken ZERO interest in it. But the moment everyones like "I'm taking a break!" she suddenly has an interest.

It got weird, she started to slip into the workshop. But, she had no crafters, no gatherers above level 20. And was telling me she was spending 20million A DAY to do subs.

How? What? What is that logic? HOW ARE YOU SPENDING 20MIL A DAY???

YOU DON'T HAVE CRAFTERS? OR GATHERERS? YOU HAVE NOTHING THAT INDICATES YOU WORK FOR THAT GIL??? AND HOW?? HOW ARE YOU SPENDING FUCKING 20MIL A DAY???

WHAT

So anyways, EW hits and I take off onto my main for a few months, I come back and literally no one had logged in, in months. The FC chest was empty and the bot was literally taking everything and selling it. Then was trying to tell people that she wasn't getting anything worthwhile from the subs.

Lies.

There are a lot of mats, salvaged jewelry, spoils, housing items, deep and superior crystals and clusters- there is a lot.

Turns out. She was stealing all the good shit, taking the gil and using it for who knows what. She was stealing from two fcs and was stealing all the good shit. Wouldn't put any of the gil that she was making into the chest for the actual fc. She was taking it and pocketing it. And since my friends were kinda newbies, they didn't really realize what was happening, I brought it to their attention.

"Hey, this person isn't actually like giving anything back to your FC and is clearly taking everything"

My friend Elora got pretty fucked, 4 level 60 subs and the bot was trying to tell her "Oh, you didn't get anything good" Which. Is a lie. Whether its crafting mats to further your sub or just other mats, a lot of shit can be worth a pretty penny. Its not just about "spoils" and shit, mats, housing items, ect can be worth a lot too depending on your server.

The bottom line is, she was taking from two fcs and not putting any of the money she was making back into the FCs. She had waited until everyone disappeared and decided then and there that she was going to take them over.

Well finally, Elora had, had enough and just, got rid of her and blocked her. She only got a little of what the bot was taking and the bot kept everything that was of value. Most likely because she had sold it all already and was funneling the gil from her bots to her main.

So, everything came to ahead last night when the original owner of the FC came back and saw the mess that was made.

Now its not my place to tell the shit between the FC lead and the old FC lead, thats not what this is about. But it did not go well.

The new FC lead took personal offense that we were concerned about what was happening with the subs (because she liked the bot) and instantly invited some rando? who spent 4 HOURS berating and mocking us. Calling us incompetent, idiots, losers and every variation of the word because we were CONCERNED about the theft happening.

Now I want to remind everyone this is NOT taking place in my mains FC. I keep that shit locked up tight and vet people who join.

But this rando admitting to basically being a bot and doing the exact same fucking thing. Owning 10 FCs with various alts on various service accounts all to "fund" their RP venue? Which, if your venue is doing that badly...you probably are doing something very wrong that you have to use 10 FCs to fucking keep it alive.

So instead of having an open dialogue with us, the new leader basically got this rando to tell us all to go fuck ourselves and that she doesn't care that this bot is taking things, selling it and funneling the gil into who knows what.

So, thats that.

The new leader doesn't care, the old leader cares, the bot is just doing whatever in the fuck she wants and some rando decided to berate us for hours and hours.

And at the end, the bot left the FC. But ONLY put the shitty items into the chest and naturally kept all the good shit for themselves. Over a year of subs and you're telling me you didn't get ANY spoils? No salvaged jewelry? No Deep crystals? No balsa wood scrap or anything else along those lines? In a year you didn't get any of that? Despite using your bot to quite religiously fucking do the subs?

Okay.

The damage is done. And everyones leaving. So the FC will rot. The house will be demolished and thats that. Its game over.

[humaforever]

“You fell asleep right on my lap.  No no no, don’t feel bad.  I actually thought it was pretty cute.” (Huma prompt- Set during D3)

Not during D3, but post d3. Just because they seemed busy, probably not a lot of time to sleep.

________________________

The tour of Auradon prep had been long, boring, and worst of all, excruciatingly early.

Uma zoned out almost immediately. She couldn't care less about the history and what not of the building. She just wanted to quickly run through, briefly look at all the rooms and call it a day. But of course it couldn't be that easy.

Blah, blah, blah, It was all white noise to Uma.

And she wasn't the only one annoyed. Harry looked like he was quite actually dying from boredom. Gil, was being a good sport but he wasn't enjoying this either.

So when they ended up in the dorms where Harry and Gil would be staying, Uma wanted more than anything to kick Mal and Ben out and crash on one of the insanely fluffy beds. But it seemed like Ben could talk for days.

"We should go out to eat later! My treat" Ben said happily

Uma was officially over it

"Okaaaay greeat" She said shooing him and Mal out of the room

"Oh- okay I'll... I'll text you the info!" Ben said but he was already out of the room and Uma was already closing the door

Uma turned around with a sigh to see Harry already lounging on the bed and Gil inspecting a spinning chair. Uma walked over to the bed Harry was sitting on and plopped down with a groan. Her head falling into Harry's lap, the boy wasted no time in running his fingers through her hair.

"You alright Captain?" Harry questioned as he brushed a stray hair out of her face

"This is exhausting" She said with a slight shake of her head

"Tell me about it" Harry scoffed

"Why did I have to wake up at 8:00 am? Don't they know we're pirates? We don't go to sleep until 8:00 am!" Uma said exasperated

"Seriously. I don't think this perfect fairy tale life is for me. It's too bright and it's too fucking early" Harry said

He waited for a second for a response but when he looked down Uma had already fallen asleep. Well, looks like he was stuck here, busy being used as a pillow.

Gil seemed to notice the silence so he looked over at his crewmates. Harry was gently pulling one of the blankets over Uma.

"Did she fall asleep?" Gil questioned

Harry quickly made a shushing motion to Gil. The last thing he wanted was for Uma to wake up and move from his lap.

"She's wiped out man, she's not gonna wake up" Gil said unimpressed

"You don't know that" Harry said as he was already realizing that his legs were going to become numb from the weight and odd position Uma was sleeping in.

"Captain!" Gil practically shouted just to prove his point.

Uma stirred slightly but Gil was right, she wasn't going to be waking up anytime soon. But her small stir made Harry's eyes go wide and he immediately shot Gil a death glare. Nobody was going to ruin this moment.

"Shut up!" Harry whisper yelled

Gil held his hands up defensively and decided it would probably be best if he didn't disturb Uma or Harry.

Eventually, Gil risided on the other bed and with no one to talk to he fell asleep too. Harry was tired but he was busy taking small pieces of Uma's hair and putting them into braids, and of course admiring her beauty.

_____________________________

Uma woke up around mid afternoon. The first thing she realized was that her pillow was quite boney, but still rather plush. She wasn't going to complain because it was actually quite comfortable. In her still delirious state she was about to snuggle back into her pillow but then her pillow started stroking her arm. Her eyes shot wide open as she turned on her back.

Uma was greeted by a sleepy smile and a tiny wave. She waved back, stretching out but not having enough energy to sit up.

"What happened? What time is it?" She asked groggily looking around

"Well, you see, you fell asleep on my lap and made yourself a cozy little spot" Harry smiled

Uma grimaced slightly as she started to sit up "sorry, I didn't mean to constrain you for half of the day. You could've moved me, I didn't think I would fall asleep so fast"

Harry immediately denied "No, no, you can use me as a bed whenever you want darling" He told her, then a grin spread across his face "It was actually pretty cute."

Uma rolled her eyes but she couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, well you're not a very good bed. All muscle and bone" She joked, patting his leg

Harry winced a little at the pressure she applied to his very numb legs.

"What?" Uma's smile fell as she immediately noticed that small wince

"My legs are tingly" he told her

Uma chuckled under her breath "and whose fault is that?"

"Arguably yours" Harry said

"You could've moved me"

"Uma let's stop pretending. We all knew that was never going to happen. I'd rather have my leg amputated then disturb you in your sleep." He said

"Yeah, I know you would" she smirked

"Don't you think a peg leg would suit me?"

"Absolutely not" Uma said, but her attention was drawn away by Harry's phone vibrating "Who's texting?" She questioned

"Ben. We're supposed to meet for lunch or something" Harry shrugged

"When?"

"Now. I don't know. Twenty minutes ago" He said

"What?" Uma narrowed her eyes

"Mhmm" Harry hummed

Uma eyed him before climbing off the bed and grabbing her phone to check the time. "You should've woken me up!"

"Uma, stop saying that like it was ever a possibility!" Gil suddenly spoke, rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes.

"Get up Gil. Apparently we're currently ghosting the king on lunch." Uma said

Behind her a loud thump was heard. Gil and Uma quickly turned their attention to where Harry had just fallen to the floor.

"Guess my legs are still numb" Harry said shooting Uma a cheerful smile.

[hqmillioncorn]

Fun in the Sun (or the Shade!)

“Here ya go miss!”  Babycorn stepped aside to let Cherrypit deliver a bag full of millioncorn to the woman who had hired them to gather them. “We got as many as you told us to get and then we got lots more too!”  It had been almost too easy. Especially with Babycorn’s newfound skill of actually being good at botany.  “Lotsa corn! We go lots!” Cherrypit cheered. He was always happy to help.  The woman nodded, thanking them and giving them the gil she had promised. “If you’d like–you can join me inside for some stew as well.” It had been so long since she and Al had had guests. A part of her missed it. “It might be a while though so I understand if you adventuering types don’t have the patience for-” “YIPPEE FOOD!” Babycorn ran in with Cherrypit right behind her. Both of them hopping up and down in excitement.  There was something about them that was so familiar to Meeth. Too familiar. 

ffxiv write day 21: shade

aleria and lalatov go vegetable picking for some millioncorns but also its really hot oh no :(

The sun relentlessly shined down on almost all of eastern Thanalan. Today was a particularly strange weather day. The sky was almost covered entirely in clouds, making the possibility of the sun making it through near impossible. 

Yet of course, fate always found a way to make Aleria’s life just a little harder. 

Aleria moved her hand slightly above her eyes to try and block out the sun. She let out a small growl while considering the ramifications of what destroying the sun would do to the local ecosystem. 

Both her and Lalatov were currently hard at work collecting millioncorn as a favor for Meeth. 

Meeth hadn’t seen either of them out into the sun without any protection. Meeth had sent them both out into the wild with two of the biggest sun hats she owned. “Make sure to bring them back in one piece and bring yourselves back in one piece too!” Then she laughed loudly at her own joke before sending them off. 

But even with the added buff of having a sunhat, Aleria was still getting the sun in her eyes. 

Aleria noticed that Lalatov was having just as much trouble as her. Either the millioncorns were stronger than they looked or Lalatov had little to no strength in those skinny arms of his. Something told Aleria it was probably the latter. No matter how hard he seemed to pull, the millioncorns wouldn’t budge. “Do you need some help?” Aleria cried out.

“Huah?” Lalatov turned his head over to look over to her, “No! No! I’m fine! Totally fine!” 

Aleria was less than convinced. “Are you sure?” While her basket was already filled to the brim with millioncorns, Lalatov was struggling to even get halfway. Aleria grabbed a millioncorn from her basket and looked at it.  Was it worth it to work this hard just for this little thing? “What are these even for anyway?” 

Lalatov took a step back from trying to harvest a millioncorn to catch his breath. “They’re for Meeth’s stew!” She had told them that they could get as many helpings as they wanted in exchange for helping her gather ingredients. 

A stew in such hot weather wasn’t exactly the kind of thing Aleria was dying to try. Not only that but she preferred eating at home, alone. “Sorry but I think I’ll pass on the stew.” 

It’s better for her not to get close to people. 

“What?!” Lalatov fell on his back in surprise, scrambling to his feet in record time. “I promise it’s like the best thing you’ve ever tasted!” 

If Aleria learned anything about Lalatov by now it was that he never gave up easily. 

“Really?” Of course there was skepticism on her part. One didn’t just declare something being the best thing you’ve ever tasted without some proof. There was only one way for Aleria to test this. “...Could you survive being buried up to your head in it?!”

Lalatov didn’t miss a beat. “I would eat myself out of the stew in a flash!” 

“Damn. That must be some stew.” 

Lalatov nodded excitedly, “You don’t know the half of it!” He turned his back to her and looked at the millioncorn with more determination than ever. “And once we finish here we can go and eat with everyone!!” Though he had more determination, his strength sadly had not increased at all between then and now. 

Unbeknownst that Lalatov was doing all of that to impress Aleria, she decided to step in. “Here let me help!” Alaria walked up behind him, wrapping her hands around his own. “Alright-! On the count of three we pull together! Okay?” 

Lalatov’s face blushed a light pink. “O-O-O-Okayyyy…!”

Aleria was confused. Why did it sound like Lalatov was suddenly shivering? In this hot weather? Oh well, probably nothing to worry about. He was a weird guy. He had to be–if he wanted to befriend her. 

Lalatov had almost been too flustered to do anything on three, having just been quick enough to help Aleria once the number left her mouth. It was a shock to him how easy it had turned out to be. 

The millioncorn landed in Lalatov’s palm and he hurried to drop it into his basket as if he were holding a hot popoto instead. 

“Wow! You’re a natural!” Lalatov grinned, “You made it look so easy!”

“Hey don’t forget you helped too.” Even if it wasn’t by much.  

“I-I guess so…!” 

Lalatov looked around nervously. Maybe it was time to throw in the towel and admit he just wasn’t cut out for farm work. “Could you…Maybe help get the rest too…?” No doubt Aleria had already seen his poor attempt to harvest millioncorns already. Why would she offer her help otherwise? 

Aleria looked surprised, if only for a second. Then she gave Lalatov a sympathetic smile. “Alright! But only if you carry the basket behind me.” She didn’t want him to feel too left out now.

“Of course!” 

Lalatov grabbed the basket, happily carrying it while running behind Aleria. 

With the millioncorn that Meeth had asked Aleria and Lalatov to harvest all collected, both started on the journey home. It wasn’t a particularly long trip back home but the heat was making it feel like it would never end. 

Even with the help of Meeth’s sun hats the sun was relentless. 

For Aleria the heat wasn’t much of a problem, it was the sun getting in her eyes that she couldn't stand for much longer. Aleria set down the basket of millioncorn to adjust her sun hat for the umpteenth time. “Sorry Lalatov.” She sighed and picked the basket back up, “I just don’t like having my eyes hurt so much. You know?” 

That and the idea of not being able to see where she was going. It was making her nervous. 

Though she would never admit that part. 

Lalatov nodded, “We’re almost there! Don’t worry!” He assured her. 

Ever the optimist. Aleria liked that about him. A little too nice for his own preservation but that’s what she was here for, wasn’t it? 

As they continued to walk suddenly, the sun disappeared from Aleria’s eyes. “Hmm?” Instead now there was what looked like a shadow of something over her, completely blocking the sun from hitting her. “That feels nice…” Aleria hummed. A nice cool shade was just the right thing she needed on such a hot day like this. 

It was so nice that, for a moment, she never considered where the shade itself might be coming from.  

Aleria let out a sharp gasp and looked up. Afraid of what she would find.

Instead of the worst she could imagine, she was staring right at the wing of a dragon. A wing she had seen not too long ago. “Jeepers…” Aleria’s mouth hung open. That being said, it still was quite a sight to behold for her. 

Lalatov leaned in, a smirk on his face. “Is this any better?” He flapped his dragon wing a bit, trying to create a slight breeze. 

His wand, the limiter that his parents had given him, was broken now. 

With it gone he was free to do whatever he wanted to do with his inheritance. The dragon blood from his mother was never anything he was scared of showing people, unlike what his parents believed. The day he used it to its full potential to save Aleria was one of the best days of his life so far. 

Aleria thought otherwise. “Are you crazy?!” She dropped her basket and grabbed Lalatov by the collar of his robe. “If someone sees you with that wing out or anything they’ll…they’ll…” Her hands were shaking, she knew what the consequences of standing out were. 

The idea of losing Lalatov–of losing the one person who could come close to understanding her. It would be too much to bear. 

Lalatov gently held Aleria’s hands with his own, giving her the chance to let him go. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m not going anywhere!” He took his wing and wrapped it around Aleria. Shielding her from the outside. “Besides I'm already hanging out with you! I don’t think my social standing could get any lower!”

“You’re so…” Aleria wiped some tears from her eyes and laughed,  “...You’re so stupid you know that?”

“I’ve been told once or twice.” 

Sometimes even thrice. 

With the Lalatov’s wing protecting her from the sun, Aleria picked her basket back up and sighed. “Sorry I can’t shade you with my own...” 

“Don’t worry about it!” Lalatov gave her a warm smile. The same one that Aleria loved seeing.  “Until you can and even if you never do, I’ll stay right by your side.”

[grey-gazania]

Self-rec time! What are your favorite five fics that you've written and why? After replying to this ask, feel free to pass on to five other writers to spread the love. 💗 — @emyn-arnens

My dear @emyn-arnens, you sent this to me weeks ago, and I saw it and then unfortunately forgot to answer it, because Real Life has been kicking my ass, so I want both to thank you for the ask and to apologize for how long this took me.

My 5 Favorite Fics (Which Are Not Necessarily My 5 Best Fics)

Loyalty (yes I know this is actually a series, not a fic, hush)

In some ways this series is the bane of my existence, and in other ways it's one of my favorite things I've ever started written. I began planning it in 2011, began posting it in 2015, and, uh, still haven't finished it, whoops, because I think I need to drastically restructure the whole thing before I can proceed. But I've had a lot of fun creating my conlang, and Tókhesh/Tavoreth is one of my favorite OCs I've ever come up with for any fandom, not just Tolkien. I also really wanted to give the Easterlings the chance to be well-developed people in a well-developed society, instead of just being a glorified plot device, and I like to think that I've succeeded.

Unconscious Arithmetic

This story is by now quite old, written in 2011, but it was both my first foray into writing Caranthir and my first attempt at writing in 1st person -- a style I've since found works particularly well for Caranthir, or at least for my version of him. It was also my second story featuring Parmacundë, though she had yet to earn that epessë at the time this story is set, and was the beginning of my plan to work her into the broader story of The Silmarillion. I think I conveyed a particularly vivid picture of how I imagine adolescent Caranthir and what kind of person he might risk befriending.

The Flight of Birds

I hold great affections for the Kidnap Family, as you have probably noticed, but damn, those poor twins must have been pretty messed up by the time they were returned to their parents' people. Transitions are hard even when you haven't began kidnapped and raised by the people who tried to murder your mother, and I thought it would be interesting to explore the turmoil the twins must have felt through Elrond's eyes. I feel like Elros often ends up getting treated as the conflicted twin, while Elrond is the one who is wise and serene, but I think Elrond should get the chance to be an angry adolescent full of turmoil, too.

Root and All

This story is a favorite less because of anything I've done with the characters and more because writing it was a trip down memory lane. I spent large swaths of my summers as a child at a camp in the NJ Highlands, where we spent a lot of time hiking in the woods and swamps and learning about the nature that surrounded us. My fondness for those hikes and that part of NJ was really the driving force behind this story. I first encountered and learned about both ghost pipe and water hemlock at summer camp, which are the two plants that anchor this story.

Darkness and Light

Bet you guys were starting to think we'd get through this list without any representatives from my Woman King AU, but fat chance! The Woman King AU is my life's work, and this is my favorite installment of it. It's short, but I think I did a very good job of portraying Ereiniel's grief and pain following Fingon's death. Fingon and the shadows he cast after his death were a massive influence on the woman Ereiniel grew into, the Gil-galad she became. In some ways the Woman King AU is just as much about Fingon and his wife as it is about Ereiniel, because their choices, successes, and failures echo down to their daughter and shape the woman she grows into.