#viviennexheather

[acciomanorian]

Wasting All These Tears on You (Jurdan Modern Au)

So, I did a thing. This is my first time trying to write fanfiction, and I hope that it isn’t horrible. If you like it, and want more, I would be willing to give it another go. I actually, kinda, had fun. Also, I left room in this fic for their to definitely be a part 2.

This is based off of the song Wasting All These Tears by Cassadee Pope. I couldn’t get it out of my head, so I tried to write it out instead. I really hope you guys enjoy. 1770 words.

Of all the days for Jude Duarte’s car to break down, of course it had to be the one with the downpouring rain. Fortunately, her office was only a ten minute walk from the home she shared with her fiance, Cardan. Unfortunately, she didn’t even have an umbrella, assuming she would have a working car to protect her from the rain. Maybe she could run into the coffee shop five minutes from their house, with the chocolate crullers that Cardan liked so much, a little treat for them both. Jude had been cutting down on carbs since the proposal, when she realized that she would have to wear a wedding dress, and wanting one scandalous enough to offend Madoc and Oriana. 

Just as she was about to duck into the coffee shop, Jude saw something through the glass that made her heart stop. Cardan sitting in a corner booth. He was supposed to be at work until six, he said. Something about an important meeting at the firm, a new client. Maybe that’s who he was meeting, although it doesn’t explain the expression on his face, like a love sick puppy. Or the glimpse she caught of the mysterious person, a girl really, who also happened to look extremely familiar. Nope, not a business meeting, Jude thought as she saw Cardan lean forward and kiss his “client” on the lips. 

As he leaned back, Cardan looked up, out the window and saw Jude standing there, watching him and a look of absolute horror overtook his face. The girl looked over as well. Nicasia. There was a sly smirk on her painted face, and she snuck a kiss on Cardan’s cheek before getting up from the booth and walking out the door. Cardan followed her, and Jude didn’t know if he intended to stop and explain himself or just keep following Nicasia. She turned away at the last second, feeling the tears running down her face, and began to walk towards her home.

“Jude!” She heard Cardan call behind her, but she was not going to wait. “Jude! Please, let me explain.” 

“Explain?” Jude cried, whipping around so fast, her wet hair smacked across her face. “Explain what? That you’re cheating on me? That you’re lying about where you are, so that I think I’m in a loving relationship with a loving fiance.” People were staring,  but it was the least of her concerns. Cardan however, was looking around, trying to find a place where they could talk without all the attention. 

“Please, Jude. Let’s go home, let me talk, let me explain.” 

“No. You can go home. I’m done. I’m going to stay at Vivi’s. I’ll be by tomorrow to pick up my stuff,” Jude turned around again, pulling her phone out of her pocket to call her older sister. Catching sight of the diamond on her finger, Jude ripped it off and threw it at Cardan, shouting “Take this, too. Maybe you can give it to Nicasia, since it seems you care more about her than about me.” 

Cardan let the ring land at his feet, not bothering to pick it up. “Jude, dear…” he said softly, but Jude was done listening to his lies. She didn’t want an explanation. She wanted her sisters, and a dozen bottles of alcohol, preferably the strong stuff. Luckliy, that was Vivi’s specialty, being a bartender at the local gay bar. 

The phone rang once, before Vivienne answered with a “‘Sup.”

“I’m coming over,” was all Jude said. The tears were running down her face, mingling with the rain pouring from the sky. 

There was radio silence, on the other end of the phone, and then “Okay”. No questions, nothing. This was the reason Jude called her older sister first, rather than her twin. She also knew that the second Jude hung up the phone, Vivi would be calling Taryn, and Jude’s best friend Liliver. 

The second Jude walked through the door of Vivi’s apartment, she was bombarded with a hug by Taryn, before being traded off to Vivi, and then Vivi’s wife Heather. After she was released, Jude found a bottle of vodka sitting on the counter, placed there by Vivi only moments before. Without any hesitation, she ripped off the top and began to guzzle it down like it was water, relishing the burn in her throat, hoping that it will make her forget the ache in her heart. 

She was halfway through the bottle when Liliver walked through the door, saw the look of Jude’s face and said, “Viv, you better have more than just that one bottle.”

She shot Lil a look. “What do you take me for? An amature?” 

Liliver just shook her head before coming over to Jude. “Babe, what happened?” she asked, swiping the bottle out of Jude’s hands. Lil took a sip before handing it back to her. 

“Cardan cheated on me. I saw him kissing another girl, and not just any other girl, but Nicasia.”

“Nicasia,” Taryn started, “as in his ex Nicasia.” 

“The one and only.” Jude took another chug of the vodka and wiped her wet eyes with the palm of her free hand. 

“That bastard. Wait until I get my hands on him, he’ll never know what hit him, my baby sister.” Vivi began to pace, until Heather put a hand on her back and handed her a glass of honey whiskey. She had two more glasses, as well as a barely opened bottle. Pouring generous amounts of the alcohol into the cups, she handed them out to Taryn and Liliver. Heather opted for a ginger ale herself, due to the fact that she was 3 months pregnant. 

“I have a better idea,” said Taryn after draining her glass. “Let’s go out and get wasted.”

Jude looked up at her twin, and saw the devilish grin on her face. “For the record, I had already planned on getting wasted, either alone or with you guys, but I’m in. Anything to make me forget, even for a little while.” She turned to Vivi, “You got something I can wear, cause I’m not going to a bar in my slacks.” 

Vivienne ran to her room, returning moments later with a silver mini dress. “The only way you’re wearing this is if you promise no more Cardan tears, cause I don’t need that negative energy polluting my favorite dress.” Jude only wiped her eyes a final time and took the last swig out of the vodka bottle. Rising from the chair, she accepted the dress from her sister and made her way to the bathroom. She splashed water on her face, thanking God for waterproof mascara and proceeded to get dressed. The silver mini was a little tight, thanks to Vivi’s slender figure, but fit nonetheless. 

Jude exited the bathroom, and grabbed her phone from her bag by the door. 13 missed calls, all from Cardan. She shut it off and threw it back into her bag, no inclination to call him back. 

“Let’s go get wildly drunk and make me forget everything,” Jude loudly shouted, followed by a woot from her sisters and friends. She was beginning to slur a little, the effects of an entire bottle of vodka slowly hitting her brain. Heather noticed this, and also knew that it was only going to get worse. 

“As the only person here who can’t drink, I volunteer to be the designated driver and get all of your drunk asses home tonight.” Heather also knew that she would be the only one with a working brain tonight.

The girls piled into Heather and Vivi’s car and made their way to Elfhame, the only bar where ladies get in free at all hours. Even though it was only a ten minute ride, Jude couldn’t hide her delight of the tiny bottles of assorted liquors being handed out from Vivi’s tiny bag. 

“Bottom’s up,” said Lil, before shooting back whatever was in the bottle she had been handed. Jude also drained hers, some cheap tequila. Good enough to get her drunk fast, but not enough to avoid a major hangover in the morning. 

Two more shots later, they arrived at the club, and were ceremoniously allowed inside. Jude would be lying if she said that she hadn’t flirted with the bouncer a bit in her inebriated state, just for a little extra treatment. It was granted, as the group was corralled into the VIP section and handed complimentary margaritas, mostly alcohol from the smell of them. A sip of her’s confirmed Jude’s suspicion, and she began to take bigger sips. As soon, as she finished the first drink, a second was pressed into her hand, another margarita that Jude drank half of immediately before making her way to the dance floor. 

Two hours, and about five drinks later, Jude was having the time of her life. Dancing with her sisters and friends, enjoying herself without the pressure of having a fiance at home who might not be too approving of the dancing she was doing with strangers at the club. 

When Jude and Taryn excused themselves for a quick brush up in the bathroom, she caught a glimpse of a guy watching her with profound interest. She knew him too, and allowed him to see her face, and the enjoyment of the night. Valerian just shot her a grin, in his eyes, a promise for something fun later. 

“How are you feeling?” Taryn asked once they got into the bathroom. 

“Never better,” Jude replied, throwing on another layer of lipstick. “I don’t even remember what I was crying about earlier, or if I was even crying.”

“Good, I’m glad. We haven’t had a good girls night out in a while. I missed this, and I missed you.” 

“I missed you too.” Jude gave her twin a big hug and a kiss on the cheek, leaving a bright red lipstick stain behind. Taryn didn’t even bother to wipe it off, she just laughed and pulled her sister out the door and back onto the dance floor, where they were greeted with another round of tequila shots and margaritas.

…

At five in the morning, Jude found herself on the bathroom floor of the guest room she was sharing with Taryn and Lil. She was over the toilet, dry-heaving the alcohol left in her system. As the memories returned to her more sober brain, she began to cry in earnest again. She remembered why she wanted to go out drinking, remembered seeing Cardan and Nicasia together, the fight, the ring. Jude felt her heart break a second time.

[acciomanorian]

Oak Head Canon

Thanks to the lovely @queenoffaerieandnothing, I have been inspired to do a little something involving the death of our beloved Oak from The Folk of the Air by Holly Black. Because I didn’t want to ugly cry over a full story, I decided to just to a little head canon. Please don’t be super mad🥺🥺.

When Oak was about 10 years old, he saw a Women’s Rights protest happening right in front of his family brownstone in New York City.

His mother explained why these men and women were marching, and Oak was inspired and began to research protests and activism. He was half-black, due to his being adopted from a friend of Oriana’s who had died in childbirth.

When Oak was 15, he took a course in high school that talked about activism and human rights, and there was even a guest speaker to tell the kids in the class the types of courses they should take if they were interested in becoming an activist.

Oak listened, completely enraptured, to the guest speaker, and even followed through with some questions, continuing an email correspondence with her.

At 18, Oak graduated high school with a partial scholarship into Harvard’s Law Program, having already been taking summer classes for two years. Of course, Madoc and Oriana were proud, as well as Vivi and her wife Heather, Taryn, and Jude and her boyfriend Cardan. 

At 21, Oak was graduating from Harvard with a degree in law and an internship with UNICEF working on women’s rights, black rights, children protection, and LGBTQ rights.

When the pandemic hit, Oak was 25, now with a job at UNICEF, that was paying him to go back to school. He pledged to be on the front lines, helping out anyone who needed it.

Oak was 25 when the #BLM riots started, and he was right there, peacefully protesting for the rights of all Americans, not just the privileged white ones. He proudly waved that banner, held hands with his black brothers and sisters, and fought for a better America,

Oak was 25 when those riots began to get violent, when people were found bleeding on the streets, when police began to use tear gas and guns, when some policemen created a name for othes, baring the corruption. He was still there, still trying to create a peace in America, because he believed in a world united, not one divided. 

Oak was 25 when he was killed by an errant gunshot from the opposing side, an unnamed rioter who randomly shot into the crowd of peaceful protesters. If taken care of immediately, the bullet alone wouldn’t have killed him, but there was no police escort for the ambulance, nothing to clear the streets as they tried desperately to get Oak to the hospital. 

Vivienne was 37 when she got the call. She had been happily married to Heather for many years, and had been blessed with two children, both through adoption, both black. She was devastated, on the floor before the call was even finished. It was left to Heather to hang up the call, to comfort her wife, to sooth her children. 

Jude was 34 when she got the call. She was at her second job, teaching Karate to young children, while Cardan stayed home with their three year old. They both taught at the local middle school, and paid Vivi to watch Maddie, named after their father, every afternoon, 5 days a week. Jude ran down the block as soon as she got a call from the hospital, knowing that she was only five minutes away… it was still too late. When Cardan found her, she had broken down, hyperventilating.

Taryn was also 34 when she got the call. She was also overseas, as part of her job as a private chef. She could not drop everything and run as her sisters could, and she grieved the loss of her baby brother even as she cooked meals for the wealthy. She had yet to marry, although there was a woman back home waiting for her to return to finally put a ring on it.

Oriana was 64 when she got the call, far too young to lose her baby boy. She had already suffered enough after the death of Madoc due to pancreatic cancer 5 years ago at the age of 62. Her heart broke, and the only thing that kept her together was the reminder of her girls, who needed their mother to stay put together, to be a shoulder to cry on, even though she herself needed a shoulder to cry on. 

When Oak died, he had been about to gain a promotion through UNICEF, get another degree from Harvard and one through the law school of UCLA, and he was three days away from a third date with the girl of his dreams. All Oak wanted to do was help create a better America, and he paid for the hatred and discrimination that faced society, and especially those of color, everyday. He had his whole life ahead of him, and one undecided moment took that all away.

So I’m just using the same tag list from my last The Folk of the Air fic. If you want to stay on my permanent tag list, don’t bother saying anything. If you don’t, let me know and I’ll take you off. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. 

@fantasyfox101

@ireallyshouldsleeprn

@theoceanfaewriter

@snusbandxknifewife

@angelofmusic223

@slightlyrebelliouswriter23

@clockworkgraystairs

@sweetlyvillainous

@b00kworm