thesharkspajamas

[thesharkspajamas]

James and Angus play cricket - NO SPOILERS

@im-kikimon

Harriet: James' pallas cat daemon. Assume only James can hear her unless is specified as 'aloud'

Context: James and Lydia are staying with the Bells post season one (dw no spoilers here for the show or the books). James has discovered a love for baking with Helen and a talent for pipe icing. He and Lydia have agreed to help her ice 100ish cupcakes for a commission to the bakery. - I have actually posted a similar scene before if you want to read it, but it DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS for season 1.

This is also part of a larger chapter of a growing fic (~20k words) so some parts have been omitted/added to make it make sense, sorry if the flow is a bit off.

Anita is an OC, she's Helen's sister and is a foster parent. Helen rang her to get some advice about James and Lydia staying with them.

Some cricket terminology:

Whites: cricket is traditionally played in white trousers and t-shirt. This kit is often referred to as ‘cricket whites’ or just ‘whites’

Lad: young man - British slang

Guards: here it’s cricket terminology for where a batsman stands in relation to his stumps.

Stumps: the three sticks behind the batsman in cricket

Bails: little pieces of wood that sit on top of the stumps. If these are knocked off in the right circumstances then the batter is out. They indicate that the stumps have been hit.

James was up early on Sunday morning - hardly surprising as he’d been asleep by eight-thirty last night. He left a note on the chopping board and went for a run with Harriet trotting along beside him. 

His thoughts turned to everything he had to sort out, his obligations to the Beaufort name, supporting Lydia...

“But you’ve got cricket with Angus today. We haven’t played since summer,” Harriet interjected, “and we’ve got to ice the cupcakes for the party.”

Good old Harriet for not letting James get too deep in his own head. He was looking forward to both of those things, “Bet you’re looking forward to the cricket, might be some cricket balls.” He teased Harriet.

She stuck her tongue out at him. Harriet had scratched and gnawed four cricket balls beyond repair while James had been focussing on his bowling once, and since then all unattended cricket balls had had to stay in a zipped bag. She didn’t regret it: not her fault they were leather, and stitched, and ball shaped - like yarn, but better.

They passed a florist’s brimming with colourful blooms and James stopped to take it all in. This was (of course) research for his cupcake designs, not because he liked the look and smell of pretty flowers. 

A young woman came out to meet him, “Morning!” she greeted him cheerily.

“Morning,” James greeted politely, “what are these ones called?” He gently turned a large cluster of blue flowers towards her.

“Those are hydrangeas,” she smiled, “You shopping for anyone?”

“I’m decorating some cakes this afternoon and need some inspiration.” But, now he thought about it, some flowers might be nice for Helen and Ruby as a thanks for last night, and a live model was always better for drawing with - icing was probably the same. “Actually, could I make a bouquet?”

“Yeah, if you want to pick some out, bring them in and I’ll wrap them and arrange them for you. Take your time. I’m still setting up.”

Thank goodness for Apple Pay. James returned from his run with a gorgeous pink, white, blue and purple bunch of flowers. And a red rose for Ruby, just because.

He’d been out longer than he’d realised. He saw Helen clearing some space in a cupboard - “good morning, süßer, nice run?”, she smiled at him.

“Great. Thanks for your help last night.”

“Of course, süßer." held up the list of his and Lydia's favourite childhood foods they'd made last night, some of the baked goods had green stars next to them, “I was going to go food shopping this afternoon. I noticed I used to make quite a few of these at the bakery before we slimmed down. I’m happy to buy you some supermarket stuff, but I still have the original recipes if you’d like to try some at-home baking?”

James felt his eyes widen. “You made the brookies? And the apricot-honey things?” He couldn’t believe it, after his mum had stopped bringing them home from her commute, he’d never been able to find those again, and the Beaufort cooks had never got it just right. 

“I’d love that.” He said sincerely. Speaking of at-home baking…

He pulled the bouquet out from behind his back, “I passed the florist. The brief was pink, blue, white, and purple flowers, right?” he suddenly felt embarrassed; he’d never given a woman flowers before, even if she was Ruby’s mum.

“Oh they’re perfect! That’s very thoughtful of you.” Helen exclaimed and sniffed them. She didn’t mention the rose. “I think you and Angus are leaving for cricket at half-nine, but you’ll be back by one so we can do them after lunch?”

James nodded, “Would it be okay if we listened to some of the prescribed podcasts while we ice? Just as background..” he trailed off. ‘Idiot’, he thought, ‘this was supposed to be fun and here you are wanting to listen to-’

“-That’s a good idea.” Helen cut off his thoughts, “I hope you don’t mind but I called Anita again while you were out. I just wanted some more on how I could help with the preparation and school and stuff like that. She said that creative stuff like this is perfect for prep, listening without distraction might be pretty depressing.” Anita had also recommended positive enforcement of good behaviour, so she continued, “Well done for asking. I know it’s hard to ask for what you need.”

James felt his cheeks heat, “I’ll go and shower”, and beat a hasty retreat. He still had the rose for Ruby. He should be able to catch her before she left for her shift.

Percy and the Range Rover arrived right on time. Percy handed James his Maxton Hall cricket whites, “Good morning, sir. Your cricket bag is in the boot.”

“Thanks Percy,” James ran back inside to change while Percy loaded Angus and the chair into the car. James had just jumped in the shower when Harriet reminded him that he didn’t have any other sports wear besides his (now-stinky and sweaty) running kit. A quick call to Percy had remedied that.

James got into the car.

“I saw Ruby looking very happy this morning, that got anything to do with you?” Angus smirked as he handed James a tupperware of sandwiches. Neither he nor Helen had seen James eat that morning so Helen made something just in case…

“Oh thank you”, James took the food. He hadn’t realised how hungry he was. “I popped by the florist this morning on a run. They had some roses, and, well, turns out Ruby likes roses.” He shrugged, he’d picked it up on a whim, really. No real thought behind it.

He looked out the window and ate the sandwiches, trying to avoid more questioning. ‘It wasn’t that big of a deal’, he thought. ‘It’s just a flower.’

“It’s cute though,” Harriet teased him aloud from her seat. She loved Range Rover heated seats - they were so much better than the Merc’s.

“You’re such a girl.” James teased her back. It was an inside joke between them.

He missed Percy and Angus stifling their laughter in the front seats.

…

A few Adidas-track-suited local boys decided that James was an easy target in his pristine Maxton Hall whites and expensive kit, “Hey posh boy! Wrong club innit?”, “The fuck you doin’ere?” Their jibes echoed around the sports hall.

“He’s with me, lads.” Angus interjected firmly. “He plays the same cricket we do. Josh, Wills, pad up. We’re working on guards today.”

Jams was impressed by how quickly they fell in line under Angus, and the session continued calmly with only the occasional jibe. He’d rarely experienced this sort of bullying - what with his expensive private school education and closely engineered circle of friends - but  he ignored it easily thanks to his father’s training in Beaufort Nonchalance.

Cricket was one of the very few things he and Mortimer had bonded over. Mortimer had had some nets permanently constructed at the mansion so they could practise year round: the result was that James was seriously good at cricket.

When it was time to go into the nets, James warmed himself up slowly; starting with some basic and slow ones, then gradually getting faster, spinning more. He was fast outstripping Josh and Wills as batsmen, watching them get frustrated as they missed and had to right the stumps every time (they’d given up on bails). 

James let rip: alternating fast bowling with different spins, watching as their frustration boiled over.

Angus called it after Josh swore and flinched away from a particularly fast one, “Alright,” He flashed a torch he kept in his pocket until he had everyone’s attention. “Let’s switch batters. James and Callum, pad up!” He made a batting motion with his hands. 

James and a ginger lad jogged over to the kit pile where Harriet was lounging about with the other daemons. It took James a moment to recognise her in the form of an Italian Greyhound. He narrowed his eyes at her and she privately replied, “If I’m fetching cricket balls, I’m doing it comfortably.”

James shrugged, ‘good paparazzi cover’ he guessed, and turned to the ginger boy.

Angus saw them shake hands. Callum was seventeen, basically deaf, and didn’t have many close friends at the club on account of going to a special school. He also knew that Callum liked spending time with people without necessarily talking to them - on account of the extra effort it took to make out conversation with hearing aids - perfect for James.

He overheard Josh and William muttering as they left the nets, “crazy fucker”, “what the fuck is a player like that doin ‘ere?” Angus let them go, he figured they’d learned their lesson.

To absolutely no-one's surprise, James’ batting was also excellent. One of the boys’ dads who stuck around to help sidled up to Angus, “With a player like that, we might just win the league. Where'd you find him?”

Angus didn’t take his eyes off the nets, “He’s one of Ruby’s schoolmates, he’s staying with us for a while.”

“Maxton Hall,” the father read the crest of James’ bag, “that the posh one up the road?”

Angus saw the ‘how do you afford that?’ question coming and shut it down quickly. “Yeah, Ruby’s on scholarship. I dunno if we’ll be able to keep him, but the other lads are copying him, so however long we do get him, we’ll see some permanent improvement.”

It was true: Josh and Will aside, the other boys had watched James’ bowls intently, and they’d all been chatting with him in the queue. It seemed that James fitted into this little club quite nicely.  

[thesharkspajamas]

Jealous James

Requested by @im-kikimon - hope this is kind of what you were looking for :)

If anyone has requests or wants more of this AU please lmk I'm begging for feedback

Harriet - James' Pallas cat daemon

Gunnar - Ruby's badger daemon

Setting: the Beaufort twins are staying with the Bells after the mansion drama at the end of season one. (No real spoilers tho dw)

James listened to Kieran Rutherford’s pitch for an Ascot-themed Easter garden party. As outfitters to the King, the Beaufort family attended Ascot every year, and his mother always made every best dressed list.

“And what? We usher in Lexington in a carriage? So many people at Maxton attend Ascot that people would see it for the rip-off it is. You want to ask actual nobility to picnic like the Queen Anne enclosure?” James scoffed.

Rutherford flushed and his shoulders crept up to his ears. “Do… Do you have a better idea?”

The whole room turned to James, who did not, in fact, have a better idea. “I’m saying we can’t imitate something like that. We could keep the dress code and do a standard party - maybe themed with a flower type, hyacinths or something seasonal.” He shrugged, spinning the words out as they came to him.

Silence fell and the tension was thick as James had crushed Rutherford’s hard work a second time. Lin nudged Ruby until she stood up, “Um…” She hugged her notebook to her chest, and suddenly James felt embarrassed; she was clearly uncomfortable because he’d put her in an awkward position, again, without meaning to. He’d just tried to be helpful. “I think you’ve both got good points,” she nodded to herself as an idea formed, “maybe you could work together on this and come back next week with some solid ideas?”

Both boys scowled at her, but she thought it would be good for them to sort out their issues. She smiled and nodded as if they’d just agreed, “Great. Lexington said he’s trying to arrange the keynote speaker so we don’t have the final schedule yet, but they shouldn’t be more than an hour, and if the lunch starts at twelve then we should expect to serve food around one’oh’five.,” she started writing a vague outline on the paper pad, “canapes around six, as it’s a low alcohol event, carriages at nine, latest.”

…

James emailed Rutherford in the car after lacrosse practice:

Hi,

If you send me what you’ve got for the garden party I’ll read it through and email you back with some notes.

James Beaufort

Sent from my iPhone

That should do it. He didn’t particularly want to meet in person.

…

Rutherford sent a link to a Pinterest board later that evening. No message, only the link. James opened it and he realised he hadn’t just been an asshole to Ruby but to Rutherford as well. He could see the guy had put some serious effort into this, and that the Ascot theme was only a template rather than a theme.

He opened his email and started typing out an apology - cc’ing Ruby.

“Coward,” Harriet accused him.

James remembered how Ruby had apologised to him on the lacrosse pitch and deleted the draft.

...

"Hey,” he walked up to Rutherford, “can we talk about the garden party?”

Rutherford looked at the ground, “Yeah.”

‘Go on’ Harriet urged James with a glare.

“I apologise for being rude to you at the meeting. You clearly put a lot of work into the project and it was wrong of me to stomp on it like that.”

“Yannow, it always annoys me in those stories when the nice girl picks the hot guy who treats her like shit over the boring guy who really likes her.”

‘Yikes,’ James thought. He hadn’t been expecting that. “You think I treat her like shit?”

“You have.”

James exhaled, ‘yep, deserved that one. Wait, what does he know?’

“But…” Rutherford spoke up again, “I admit I’m blindsided by your apology. I think we can at least try to work together.” He pushed his glasses further up his nose.

James was stunned. He nodded, “Library? Breaktime?” 

“Yeah, I prefer the desk third from the door by the east window. There’s a squirrel drey in the tree right next to it.”

“Third desk from the door by the east window. Got it.”

James glanced at the empty desks near the windows; Rutherford wasn’t here yet. He pulled out his phone and checked the compass app before walking to the eastern side. He sat down at the third from the door and opened up his tablet. He’d made a folder in his sketchbook app last night of different things to go with the theme; invitations, drinks stands, signage, all sorts.

“Did you see the squirrel? It’s a Eurasian red squirrel, pretty rare for around here.”

James looked up as Rutherford sat down and hoped that his disinterest in all things squirrel wasn’t all over his face. “Couldn’t spot it.”

“That branch fork right there,” Rutherford leaned over the table and pointed to a nondescript cluster of twigs.

James nodded, “ahh” and angled his tablet so Rutherford could see it. “I liked the muted colours idea. That was clever. Lydia told me lupins are in season and they come in all sorts of colours, so I thought we could use those as a theme. I sketched an invitation.” He flicked through the app to his ‘sketch’ which had actually taken him ages.

Rutherford took it all in, “That looks really good. Can you mass-produce the invitation?”

“Not by hand, but we could have them printed or send it as an e-invite.”

Rutherford scrunched his nose and shook his head as if James was an amateur, “Paper. Always paper. We send an email to remind them to RSVP anyway, no use clogging their inbox.”

“If you’re okay with it I’ll send a photo to Ruby for her approval?”

“Uh, better on the group chat, the food people might want to put extra details on there and I was thinking about asking Lexington if we could use the conservatory in case it rains. That way we can have a garden or indoor party easily.”

“Good idea.” James added a new plain slide titled, ‘conservatory party rain’.

“And I wondered about an easter egg hunt. If you find an egg, you put your name on it and then you enter it into a raffle. Winner wins champagne or something.”

“Yeah. I can see that working. Where would we get the prize?”

“If you could design a fancy label, maybe we could re-label some champagne or something. Make it one of a kind.”

James nodded. He’d been forced to endure many events with some of these parents; they love the challenge of something they can’t buy. Rumour had it one of them bought a jar of honey for fifteen thousand pounds at a Tory charity gala. “That’ll do it. I’ll get on that. We have some easter eggs at my house from past Easter parties. I’ll ask the housekeeper if we can borrow those.”

Rutherford glanced at his watch, “I’ve gotta go, but it was good chatting with you, Beaufort.”

James stuck out his hand, “James. Thank you for being so decent about all this...” He made a vague gesture with his other hand.

Rutherford shook his hand, “Kieran.”

A few days later:

(Callum is an OC, and Percy (and an SUV) are assigned to chauffeur the Bells and Beauforts around while the twins stay with them. Mortimer sees it as a way of keeping them supervised, but not underfoot.)

James bit back a cringe as he watched Kieran present his and James’ party ideas to Ruby, (the whole committee was present, but he talked to Ruby as if they weren’t) desperate for a ‘good boy’ and a pat on the head or something. Pathetic.

When Ruby stood up, she thanked him ’so much’ for working with James on this, and how wonderful it was to have such ‘a cohesive committee working forward’ - or something like that. James was focussed on the way Rutherford was looking at her, like she was the only thing that mattered in the whole world.

James knew on some level that Kieran Rutherford was somewhat of a decent bloke. Just one with an insane crush on his girlfriend. And it was starting to irritate him.

He felt Harriet pawing at his ankle, “she verbally eviscerated you at Oxford,” she hissed, “keep it to yourself.”

‘Amazing how much you sound like him, like your father’, James realised Ruby was right; that was probably how his father would have dealt with it.

…

When Percy dropped Ruby and the twins back at the Bells, James got out of the back seat and slid into the front passenger seat. Percy regarded him calmly; he always spoke second.

“Percy. Could you give me some advice?”

Percy undid his seatbelt and shifted to fully face James, “Certainly, Sir.”

”There’s a boy on the events committee who clearly fancies Ruby. And, I’m… struggling to watch them interact.”

“You feel jealous when he talks to Ruby?” Percy clarified.

Jealousy sounded childish to James. Straight out of one of those awful romance books Lydia used to read. But, he realised that was exactly it. Jealousy. He nodded.

“What do you need my advice on?” Percy wasn’t sure if James needed any more advice;  sometimes as a kid he just needed help identifying what he was feeling and then he’d work it out himself.

“Last time, with someone else, I lashed out, and…” He didn’t want to admit it, but if he could admit it to anyone, it was Percy, “Ruby said I sounded like dad.” He looked at the textured dials as he held his head in shame.

“Communication is the foundation of any relationship. You each need to communicate your feelings and be vulnerable with each-other. Tell her how you’re feeling, but be mindful that the committee is an obligation to her, and he might be too.”

James reflected on the interactions he’d seen between Ruby and Rutherford. “I’ve never seen her reciprocate. She’s pretty closed off around him.” The more James thought, he realised Percy was probably right. The logical conclusion was that James didn’t have anything to be jealous about, but… ugh, it’s still there. Just a bit.

“Sir, have you officially asked her to be your girlfriend yet?”

James frowned and looked at Percy as if it was a forgone conclusion that she was.

Percy smiled softly. “Ask her.”

James nodded to himself. He could do that. He’d get her flowers too; he’d seen how happy that one rose made her. Angus had too. “Should I ask her father before?”

“Before you marry her, Sir.” Percy was really doing his best not to laugh, but the way James flushed really tested him.

…

James bought some flowers on his way back from his next run with Callum. Angus gave him a knowing look as he crept into the kitchen with the bouquet. 

“These are for Ruby. Where can I hide them while I shower?”

“There’s a vase in that cabinet,” Angus pointed to a cabinet. When James put it down on the counter Angus had a pair of scissors. “Giving a woman flowers like this,” he tugged at the wrapping paper, “is giving her a task. Giving them flowers in a vase means she just has to enjoy them.”

He proceeded to teach James how to cut and arrange flowers in a vase, making sure to add the plant food sachet to the water. “As for hiding them, you can put them in our bedroom for a while with the door closed.”

“Thank you.” He hadn’t even thought about the ‘giving her a task’ bit. Now he knew Ruby would ‘only have to enjoy them’ he was looking forward to asking her even more.

He ran upstairs and placed the vase just inside the doorframe of Helen and Angus’ bedroom before heading to the bathroom.

…

“Ruby”

Ruby and Gunnar both looked up from her manga to see James in her bedroom doorway, hiding something behind his back, it was cute.

All the practice James had definitely not done in the shower left him. He came to stand right next to the bed, stalling for time.

“I haven’t done this before, so I wanted to make sure we’re on the same page.” He saw Ruby’s brows furrow and quickly held the flowers out for her before she got the wrong idea, “Will you be my girlfriend?”

Ruby’s face was frozen in a delightfully surprised, open-mouthed smile, “Yes!” She set the flowers on the bedside table and hugged him tightly. James hooked his chin over her head and breathed in deeply, glad it had gone well. Would have been a bit awkward if it hadn’t. He saw Harriet and Gunnar curling up together on the bed and sighed as the extra feeling of intimacy washed over him.

…

“Ruby, can I ask you something?”

She gave him a look which screamed ‘you just did.’

“Is there, or has there ever been anything between you and Kieran? I’ve seen the way he talks to you, and while I’ve never seen you reciprocate… I just wondered…”

Ruby shook her head easily, “No. Nothing between us, I know he’s got a crush on me but hasn’t made any moves and I’m not interested in him. He’ll get the message, especially with you around.”

James was surprised that that was good enough for him. ‘Guess Percy was spot on on both accounts.’ He thought to himself. Harriet only moved her head in a way that said ‘told you so’.

[thesharkspajamas]

Anyone got any prompts/scenes they'd like to read for Bellfort? Can be Ruby and James or any of the other characters. (I've only watched the series, no spoilers please :))

[thesharkspajamas]

ANSWERS: How much does Tumblr know about the British upper class and aristocracy? ORIGINAL POST HERE

Do you know why people pay for private members' clubs in London?

A: It's like having your own staffed living room in the centre of town. It's familiar in terms of dress code, behaviour, discretion, and even interior decor. The behaviour part is most important; it takes away most of the uncertainties of dining in public, and you won't be photographed. Examples include The Carlton Club and The Caledonian Club. With the big daddies being White's (mentioned in Bridgerton) and the Aspinall club. This gif from Netflix's 'The Gentlemen' strike me as a club environment.

What is Ascot?

A: "The races" refers to horse racing. Ascot is possibly the biggest event of that particular calendar. It has a dress code which varies between enclosures (this is where the people are sorted into areas depending on how much they paid for their tickets/if they're a member of the club) but generally dictates suits and hats.

What is a duke/duchess?

A: the highest ranking member of the peerage (the titled aristocracy). Prince William became the Duke of Cambridge when he married his wife Catherine Middleton.

What is millinery?

A: Hat making for events such as Ascot. I reccomend Phillip Treacy's website for examples. He has designed for the Royals on numerous occasions.

Does a marchioness rank above a duke?

A: A marchioness is the wife or widow of a marquess. The five ranks of British nobility, in descending order, are duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron. Here for more info

What is the House of Lords?

A: The second chamber of the British Parliament. Quite literally full of Lords unelected by the public. Most are appointed seats for their lifespan for achievements in their careers, some are hereditary seats. (Yes, really)

What is primogeniture?

A: The rule that a title can only be inherited by the eldest male offspring. Passing over any females even if the nearest male heir is a cousin of the main family. This doesn't apply to the Royal family anymore, but it does apply to other members of the peerage.

Which career do graduates from Norland college pursue?

A: Nannies to the super rich. (They're kind of awesome)

What is Harrods?

A: The most upscale department store in the world. They used to cater all ALL the whims of the super-wealthy - able to procure pretty much anything, including a lion. There's an old joke that someone asked Harrods to procure a camel for them and the sales associate replied, "With one hump or two?"

What is a Royal Warrant?

A: A Royal Warrant of Appointment is granted as a mark of recognition to people or companies who have regularly supplied goods or services to the Royal Household.

What type of clothing is associated with Savile Row?

A: Bespoke and tailored suits for men.

What is Henley Royal Regatta?

A series of rowing races held at Henley, also known as the Mecca of Rowing. Similar to Ascot in some regards.

When can a tiara be worn, and by whom?

A: By married women, at white tie events and coronations, and only after six o'clock in the evening. The exception is for a bride on her wedding day. You don't actually have to be titled to wear one.

What is finishing school?

A course one might attend after school to learn the necessary skills for their place in society as a socialite, a leader or a public figure. Posture, table manners, hosting, smalltalk, even getting out of low cars in short skirts can feature on the curriculum. This is generally regarded as very posh.

If you actually read down here I hope you found it interesting - it took me ages to type this all out lmao :)

[thesharkspajamas]

How much do folks know about the modern British upper class?

With shows like The Crown, Kingsman, Bridgerton, and The Gentlemen gaining popularity, I'd like to find out how much Tumblr knows about the British upper class and aristocracy.

One point per question:

Do you know why people pay for private members' clubs in London?

What is Ascot?

What is a duke/duchess?

What is millinery?

Does a marchioness rank above a duke?

What is the House of Lords?

What is primogeniture?

Which career do graduates from Norland college pursue?

What is Harrods?

What is a Royal Warrant?

What type of clothing is associated with Savile Row?

What is Henley Royal Regatta?

When can a tiara be worn, and by whom?

What is finishing school?

An extra point for each of these schools if you've heard of them before: Cheltenham Ladies' College, Eton, Winchester, Harrow, Marlborough, Fettes, Uppingham, Repton, Wycombe Abbey

If anyone is even remotely interested in the answers, comment and I'll post them tomorrow.

[thesharkspajamas]

Do you ever write 20k+ words of fanfic and think, 'hey, maybe I should publish this, someone might enjoy it' then re-read the first chapter and think nope. nope. nope.

[thesharkspajamas]

Elaine Ellington... yuck

I already said that if James had been female the sexual bribery scene would have been uncomfortable.

But if James was female and Elaine was male, Elaine's behaviour wouldn't have gone under the radar:

James cringed when he realised he'd slept with her while he was drunk - (yes a minor thing but put it in context below....)

When they they played golf she placed an inappropriately long kiss on James' cheek. It's a small thing but if a man had done that to a woman it would give serious predator vibes.

She splashed champagne/prosecco all over Ruby ON PURPOSE. She doesn't care if she has to hurt somebody - she WANTS JAMES.

Just, yuck. I don't think she's talked about enough.

[thesharkspajamas]

Imagine James, Lydia and Helen sitting in the Bells' kitchen icing peony cupcakes for Helen's bakery

CONTEXT: In my fanfic which is a mostly fluffy continuation of season 1 (no, I haven't read the books), James and Lydia stay with the Bells after the Mansion Incident. Here they're helping Helen with icing cupcakes for a random party order (we know they're both very talented creatively) , but what if Helen receives an order from the Beaufort mansion for some cupcakes for Cordelia's funeral? Will the twins help?)

(They have the readings and hymns from Cordelia's funeral's order of service playing over Ember's portable speaker)

"...So when tomorrow starts without me

Don't think we’re apart

For every time you think of me

I’m right here in your heart."

You could have heard a pin drop. 

All the icing pipes were lying on the table, their bright colours garish in the gloom.

James loudly shunted his chair right up against Lydia's. They grabbed each others’ hands, ‘Together.’

Lydia studied the bouquet with teary eyes. “Helen?” her voice was small. “I know you already took the samples, but… mummy loved peonies.”

And so, that coming Friday James, Lydia, and Helen all sat at the same small kitchen table. They fondly remembered their mother as they iced intricate, colourful flowers.

Somehow, in that tiny kitchen, Cordelia Beaufort didn't seem too far away at all.

[thesharkspajamas]

[thesharkspajamas]

'Everyone has a price...'

and then thinking Ruby wanted him sexually... anyone else get horrible vibes off this?

If their sexes had been the other way around this would have been a very uncomfortable scene indeed...

Do you think James might have had a past experience with this?

[thesharkspajamas]

Maxton Hall - Daemon AU

I'm writing it :)

James - Pallas cat called Harriet

Ruby - Badger called Gunnar

Lydia - I'm stuck on. Part of me wants all the Beauforts to have grey daemons, so I wondered about a whippet or a cat, but I wonder if she could be the outlier - maybe a bright brown bengal cat (bengal cat colours below) or something whacky like a lizard.

Elaine - I don't like Elaine (who does tbh) so I thought about a literal snake for her. But then I thought 'I want to give Mortimer Beaufort something particularly nasty though, so maybe I'll reserve the snake for him.' So I'm thinking I'll give her something unbearably plain (a bit like her) - please suggest something!

Alex - golden retriever or some such loyal good boi.

Mortimer Beaufort - giant iridescent snake named Maxima he can use to intimidate people - literal chokehold of need be

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Cordelia Beaufort - Blue Bengal cat named Lyuba. It means ''beloved in slavic (Yes I lifted this name from the His Dark Materials show)

Recommendations are also welcome for other characters :)

[thesharkspajamas]

Maxton Hall - Daemon AU

I'm writing my first fanfic and I could really do with a beta reader.

The working title is 'It takes courage to look beyond the present' and it's a hurt/comfort continuation episode 6 of the Maxton Hall series. It is also somewhat of a cross-over with His Dark Materials; as the characters have daemons.

I've got roughly 3600 words at the moment, with 2 alternate endings which I thought I'd publish as separate chapters.

WARNING: I'm not sure how to tag it properly, but there is a mention of foster care, and a sexual assault scenario. The latter isn't graphic, and is stopped before genitals get involved, but still upsetting.

Here's a sample - Yes it's angsty af, but there are cuddles and lots of comfort too... I promise! (Harriet is James' daemon btw)

"He’d thought it took courage to look beyond the present, but right now, the present was too much. So, he did what he’d always done when he was afraid as a child: he kept stroking in time with with Harriet’s kneading, and hid his face in her fur until he stopped shaking."

And another sample as proof of snuggles (Gunnar is Ruby's daemon):

"A few pages later, Gunnar stirred in her lap. Glancing upwards, she looked up and saw Harriet’s huge eyes staring back at her. Sure enough, James soon emerged from the covers, blinking slowly as he took in his surroundings. Once he found Ruby, he reached a hand out to her in a grabbing motion; universal code for ‘come here and cuddle me’. She took his hand and let him arrange her so she sat on the bed and he could put his head in her lap."

Please comment or message me if you're interested. Thanks in advance, and I look forward to contributing to this wonderful fandom :)