#i read and really liked Eleanor & Park
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Dolcezza V
Read Dolcezza here.
Warnings: gonna have an angsty bit in here.
~6k words
“Y’don’t have t’feel embarrassed. Think s’pretty obvious I adore you. If y’want t’do this...” he moved his finger back and forth between them with his freehand. He squeezed her other one again. “S’all I can think ‘bout. Won’t take any convincing on my end. Whenever you’re ready, kitten, m’ready,” he promised and got out of the car.
They were still parked, taking a breather as she hadn’t really had a moment to think since she started on her journey home after her car fiasco. Niall had sent Harry minimal updates. The car was being fixed; he had the key to her apartment in his locker at work. They sat holding hands in the driveway while she tried to figure out the remainder of her day. They had gotten to her mom and dad’s place around noon. It was nearing almost four. As much as the car fiasco caused a hiccup in her plans, she was making good time on all the tasks she needed to get done. The ladder to the attic and the lights would cause another hiccup though. Especially since it would be dark while taking the lights down.
Harry was silent while she thought. He could see her mind turning over and over. He imagined if she was attached to the tachometer, it would be at least 2000 revolutions per minute. That, he was sure. But he let her take her time thinking, he didn’t want to interrupt her deep thoughts.
Eventually, she sighed. “Fixing that ladder is going to be a pain,” she mumbled.
Harry thought so too. It would be small and cramped and not to mention heavy. “Do... do y’have t’fix it?” He asked. She turned to him and looked at him as if that was the dumbest question someone could ask. He smirked. “Sorry, what was I thinking,” he mumbled.
“I’m sorry,” she sighed and rubbed the palms of her hands against her temples. It wasn’t Harry’s fault that he asked that. It was kind of obvious that she should just go home and leave her more than capable family to deal with it. “I know... I know I’m a little crazy and I do too much but—”
Harry shook his head and grabbed the hand closest to him. He threaded his fingers through hers, brought them to his lips. He brushed his mouth over her knuckles lingering on the middle one and peppering kisses down the length of it before placing a longer kiss on the back of her hand. She was watching him the whole time. Harry swore she gulped. They gazed at each other, and she couldn’t believe Harry liked her like that. Enough to kiss her in the middle of her crazy family’s house. Enough to run all kinds of errands with her for other family members. “You are anything but crazy, Principessa.”
“I can’t believe you still call me that,” she murmured. Her voice felt shaky. The kiss they shared in the kitchen was magical, otherworldly. But somehow, that kiss on her hand felt like it was connected right to her chest, a short wire that was pulling so hard and making her woozy.
He chuckled. “You should be treated like one,” he smiled, and he pressed a kiss to her forehead. She was certain all her organs melted into puddles inside her body. It was a miracle she remembered to breathe. A miracle she was still alive after that. “What she said was wrong,” he repeated. “Anyone... anyone who knows you the way I do,” he shook his head. “Y’have made m’life so much better, kitten. Antonio’s, Niall’s, Leo’s, I bet y’made Eleanor and Louis’ lives better too,” he murmured. “Your sister is young. S’not an excuse because it was mean,” he nodded. “She’ll appreciate it when she’s older,” he nodded.
She swallowed. “I am bossy,” she whispered.
He shook his head. “You’re caring.”
“I think it’s a large part of why my ex broke up with me,” she admitted.
He rolled his eyes. “Well, Principessa. That man is an idiot t’let y’get away,” he shrugged. “His opinion s’irrelevant,” he promised. She smirked, her gaze dropping from his eyes, and she looked at their hands intertwined, resting on the console between them.
“I like helping people. But...it comes off bossy—”
“La mia dolcezza, stop saying you’re bossy,” he shook his head. “Please,” he whispered.
“What did you call me?” She whispered breathlessly. Her cheeks were that beautiful pink he adored. His heart skipped a beat. His face warmed as he realized what he said. She remembered Harry telling Antonio’s story of how he named the restaurant. How he called his future wife the very same thing that Harry just said.
He cleared his throat awkwardly, worried that it was somehow too far. It rolled off his tongue. The same way Principessa and kitten did. It was the only thing to call her that made sense. Especially in a moment when she didn’t see how wonderful she was to everyone—especially Harry. He hoped she would see how lovely she was sooner rather than later. “My sweetness,” he murmured softly.
“I want to kiss you so bad,” she whispered in response.
He chuckled with slight relief flooding him. He used his freehand to cup her face and pressed another kiss to her forehead. “Soon, Principessa, soon,” he promised.
*
“What’s James like?”
“A little calmer than the rest of them,” she said as they walked up the path to his apartment. “Maybe it’s because we’re closer in age than Emma and I, but...I don’t know. James is a lot more understanding of me, I think...overall, anyway...” Harry grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips. He nodded as if he hadn’t just completely changed the rhythm of her heart. She bit her lip and stopped abruptly in her path. He smiled at her, taking a moment to look at her pretty being. His lips tingled the second he caught a glimpse of hers.
It was incredible what she could do in a day. Niall and Harry were headed to the restaurant to do early morning prep work—or at least Niall was. But with no plans for his day off, Harry was going to go with him. He was so glad he did. But if she managed to do all of the things on her mental to do list in a day? Harry was in awe. “S’matter, Principessa?” He asked, cupping her cheek and rubbing his thumb on her skin softly.
“James... has a roommate. His best friend Ethan,” she explained. “Ethan has had a crush on me since he was in high school,” her cheeks warmed under his touch.
“Obviously,” he smirked.
“Harry,” she tried to look away as the warmth only amplified against his hand.
“Is Ethan going to be here?” He asked.
She nodded. “He’s... harmless. But... I don’t know how to say this without sounding arrogant or...”
“Kitten, ‘course he likes his best friend’s hot older sister. M’not going t’be jealous or whatever you’re worried ‘bout,” he smirked. “If he tries t’kiss you though, I might have uncontrollable actions,” he admitted almost sheepishly. “Those lips are mine, now,” he rubbed his thumb on her lower lip, and she felt it all the way to her core. Then it was over. He left her breathless. Part of her thought she blacked out for a moment and all he did was touch her lip with his thumb. It took her a moment to realize Harry was now, waiting by the door for her to follow.
She cleared her throat, stepped to the door, and knocked. They only waited a minute before the door was out of the way.
“Hey Sis,” the boy smiled brightly as he answered. He was a spitting image of her dad. The resemblance was less strong between him and her than that of her sister and mother, but it was obvious they were siblings.
“Hi,” she smiled and wrapped her arms around him. James made eye contact with Harry as he held onto his sister.
“Eleanor didn’t want to hang out with us?” He asked.
The poor thing.
She sighed, seeming more defeated but also ignoring the feeling anyway. “Eleanor moved,” she shook her head. “This is Harry,” she explained.
“S’nice to meet you,” Harry stuck his hand out for the last of her family to shake.
“You took him to Mom and Dad’s?” He asked in surprise as he nodded at Harry while shaking his hand. She ignored him and stepped inside. He whistled in appreciation. “I don’t take the girl I’m seeing there for at least three months.”
“That would require you could keep a girl for three months,” she muttered as she started cleaning up the dishes as she went through his living room. James rolled his eyes as Harry smirked. The playfulness, compared to the argument with her sister, was a lot more Harry’s speed. He thought it was a lot nicer on her gentle heart, too.
“Did I hear the love of my life?” A second man appeared in the room, shirtless. He was a little shorter than Harry but still taller than average. Harry couldn’t help but compare how he looked to himself. He was probably attractive. If you liked that sort of thing. Despite what he said, Harry felt a pang of jealousy go through him. Ethan frowned. “James, you said she didn’t have a boyfriend anymore.”
The jealousy went away, and Harry smiled delightedly as she turned the most beautiful shade of pink to date of knowing her. “Jesus Christ,” she put a hand to her face. “Ethan, for the love of God,” she headed toward the kitchen with her armload of dishes. “Put a shirt on! It’s February!” She called.
“Why? Am I distracting you with my hot body?” he called back. The silence that ensued told him that she was ignoring him.
James smiled and shook his head. “This is Harry,” he gestured.
“You are my least favorite person right now,” Ethan said shaking his hand. Harry smirked.
“Sorry,” he chuckled.
“I’ve been in love with her for at least ten years.”
“Disgusting,” James remarked and headed for the kitchen where Harry could hear water running and the spritz of cleaning bottles.
“Can’t say I blame you,” Harry smirked and headed toward the kitchen as well. Ethan grabbed a shirt off the back of the couch and slipped it over his head.
She was once more a tornado of cleaning, doing dishes, and loading the dishwasher. Harry did what he could to help her. He grabbed dishes and threw trash in the bin. It didn’t bother him in the slightest. He wished he could say he would do the same for anyone. Plus, he didn’t want her to be stuck doing everything. Ethan was busy looking in the fridge but Harry noted there wasn’t much there except for a six pack of beer, a bottle of ketchup, and some eggs. “Thanks for the heads up on the attic ladder,” she turned to look at her brother. He bit his lip and nodded.
“Yeah, that’s on me,” he murmured. “Sorry, Sis, are you alright?”
She gestured to her body and nodded. “What do you think?”
“I think you look fantastic,” Ethan grinned eyeing her up and down.
Harry snorted at his forwardness but couldn’t blame him. Her cheeks flamed once more. “I wasn’t asking you,” she glared at him. “Don’t you have a date you need to torture?” She grumbled.
“I did, but I heard you were coming, and I couldn’t leave without saying I love you,” his smile was full of impish delight. Harry didn’t realize he was going to be that flirty. But the way she glared at him and blushed made him feel much less threatened.
Not that he felt threatened. That would be ridiculous. He was at least six years younger than she was. Maybe seven based on the way he flirted with her.
“I was going to ask if you wanted to be my date,” he said knowingly. “But then you brought a guy with you. Where’s Eleanor?”
Sighing, unable to even say it, she rolled her eyes. Harry smirked sadly while he wiped down the counters she cleared. He found a box of trash bags below the sink right by her shin and he gave her calf a little squeeze in recognition. “Well, thank God for Harry then,” she muttered low enough that Harry wasn’t sure anyone but him heard.
James smirked as he helped clean. Harry appreciated that from her brother. His demeanor was a lot more her speed, and ergo Harry’s. It was quieter than her parents’ house. Relaxing almost. “How’s the hangover,” she asked eyeing her brother. He smirked. “I’m fine,” he promised.
“He threw up most of it when we got home,” Ethan assured her. She sighed and looked at James with a blank expression, but Harry could see the worry in her eyes.
“James,” she said softly.
“I’m fine, Sis, promise,” he nodded. But she looked disbelieving.
“You need a cleanse,” she muttered.
“No way,” Ethan said. “The holiday of our people is coming, we have to practice.”
“Neither of you are Irish!” She said with exasperation thick in her voice. It was obvious that this was not the first time she had had this conversation with them. “Alright, are you ready for your to do list?” She looked at Ethan. He saluted her standing at attention like this was serious. “I’m going to look at the state of your laundry room,” the two boys exchanged a look like she was their mom, and they knew immediately they were going to be in trouble. It was equal parts hysterical and adorable. “James and I are going grocery shopping. I’m assuming,” she narrowed her eyes at him. “The bathroom needs to be cleaned,” his answering smile assured her that she was correct. She wrinkled her nose. “No idea how you guys can bring women here with the state of your bathroom. Spotless,” she stuck her finger at him.
“God you’re hot when you’re bossy,” Ethan sighed dreamily.
Much more Harry’s speed, but still a bit jealous of how it sounded. But he couldn’t argue with him either. She was pretty hot when she gave orders.
*
James sat in the middle of the seat making eye contact with Harry in the rearview mirror every so often while he chatted with his sister. They quickly caught up on their lives. James was working a lot, his classes were good, and he was still having a lot of fun. “Good, that means you can’t drink as much,” she remarked.
He sighed with an eyeroll. “I don’t have a drinking problem.”
“The way you drink is not normal. It’s not moderate. It’s binging and you know that’s bad. I did a whole research project in undergrad for my psychology class. It’s horrible,” she reminded him.
“Yes, ma’am. You’ve mentioned it about a thousand times. I don’t feel like I have to drink. I just like to drink. I’m fine.”
She turned toward him in her seat, looked at him suspiciously. “I just worry.”
“I know, Sis. I know. You worry about everyone,” he rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry about me, I’m fine,” he promised. He glanced at Harry again. “How’d you meet?”
“I rent the apartment above the restaurant Harry works at,” she explained.
“Oh, cool. What kind of restaurant?”
“Italian,” Harry answered.
“Oh, so she eats all the garlic bread,” he nodded knowingly. Harry chuckled.
She glared at her brother. “Shut up,” she grumbled. She turned to Harry who was smiling happily as he drove toward the grocery store. “Traitor,” she mumbled.
He grabbed her hand from her lap and held it on the console. The movement wasn’t lost on James. He stared at their intertwined hands for a moment before looking at his sister. He may have been younger, but he would do anything to protect her. “So... how long have you been seeing each other?” He asked.
She blushed. “Um...” she swallowed. “We’re only...”
“S’pretty new,” Harry explained. “S’been a busy few months with the holidays.”
“You didn’t tell us,” James’ attention was on her.
“Um...” she swallowed. Harry squeezed her hand reassuringly. Whatever she said was fine. “I... just have a lot going on. I don’t want to...”
“Oh, I get it, you’re shutting down again.”
She gaped and Harry’s eyes flew to James’ in the rear view. He smirked. “Oh?” Harry asked squeezing her hand again.
“Oh yeah. She does this all the time. She doesn’t let herself be happy,” he squeezed her shoulder. “Gotta worry about everyone else’s happiness,” he winked at her. Her face was no longer pink but bright red. Harry bit his lip.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” he mumbled with a wink in her direction.
“Pretty sure you should be nicer to me since I’m the one buying your groceries,” she grumbled.
He squeezed her shoulder again. “Annoying younger brother,” he reminded her, getting out of the car and heading for the store. She sighed, pressing her head against the back of the seat.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
Harry stayed quiet for a moment. Turned in her direction and smiled weakly. She refused to look at him head on. But he spoke anyway. “Y’deserve t’be happy. I’d like t’make y’happy, Principessa. Worry ‘bout you the way y’worry ‘bout everyone else,” he reached out to gently turn her face toward him. His smile was gentle, his eyes just as gentle too. Her heart was beating unevenly. He was so handsome and so nice. It made her feel like the luckiest woman in the world, and she wasn’t sure she deserved someone so normal and wonderful. He didn’t even flinch about her family. “Y’don’t have t’feel embarrassed. Think s’pretty obvious I adore you. If y’want t’do this...” he moved his finger back and forth between them with his freehand. He squeezed her other one again. “S’all I can think ‘bout. Won’t take any convincing on my end. Whenever you’re ready, kitten, m’ready,” he promised and got out of the car.
It took her a full minute to recover while Harry stood by the passenger door waiting for her signal that she was going to get out. She wanted to throw herself at Harry and kiss him in the middle of a city grocery store parking lot. But she wasn’t kidding when she said it earlier. If she kissed him, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to stop.
*
Harry didn’t know he could fall harder for her. Especially for all the reasons he had fallen for her so much already. But seeing the cost of James’ groceries drop after coupons and her savings card, to one-hundred dollars less than it started, Harry was certain it might be one of the top five hottest things he adored about her. She was taking a picture of the receipt while she walked. “What are you doing?” James asked.
“I get points for receipts on this app. Then I can use the points to redeem gift cards.”
“You sound like mom.”
“Again, bought you your groceries.”
Harry smirked, putting the bags in the trunk of his car. James got the package of water bottles and soda from below the cart and put them in. She tried to grab stuff, but Harry shook his head fluttering his hand and ushering it away. “’Ve got it, Principessa.”
James smirked. “She did always want to be a princess when she was little. So, we’ve been told,” he nodded.
“Shut up.”
Harry smiled. “S’good t’know. Knew she had it in her,” he murmured.
“Er...Harry, would you mind terribly if I talked to her for a moment?” James asked.
She looked at him curiously. “What’s wrong?”
“Can you just—”
“M’jus’ gonna make a call,” Harry nodded and sat in the driver’s seat.
She turned to her brother. She remembered the day in first grade when her mom told her she was going to be a big sister. She was so excited. A real-life doll to play with. James was her best friend—probably still was in a lot of ways. He was intelligent and kind. She thought between the two of them, James was a lot more like her than Emma was.
He looked at his shoes leaning against Harry’s car. “M’sorry,” he murmured.
She sighed, already knowing what he was applying. “How much?”
“I paid all my bills for the month... it’s just... we had a party... and then...” he looked up at her. “I met a girl,” he told her. His cheeks turning pink, and she found him the cutest little thing on the planet. “I really like her,” he explained. “So, I took her out to this fancy place and... I charged it but... I needed books for class. Then... I get paid next week, and I didn’t budget right. I’m sorry,” he rubbed his hand over his mouth. He sounded remorseful.
“What’s she like?” she asked.
He looked up at her and smiled. “You’re going to love her,” he promised. “I want you to meet her,” he nodded.
Her heart clenched in a way she didn’t know was possible. Rarely did she meet James’ girlfriends. She met them when he was in high school, but only because she was around a lot more. But since she moved out and since James was in college, she didn’t hear or see much of his dating life. Other than the components she did not want to hear about and made her want to throw up thinking about her little brother doing weird things to girls.
“Are you embarrassed by me because I’m insane?” She asked him point blank when she saw the text messages popping up on his phone once during the holiday weekend about a year ago. There was a red heart next to the name and she didn’t recognize it.
“No, Sis. No way. I... I don’t introduce them to you because you’re the most sane. I want to be sure when they meet you,” he told her. Her heart felt so much adoration for her little brother. It felt like a hug and he wasn’t even touching her.
“I’d like that,” she nodded, trying to keep the tears from filling her eyes.
“Next time,” he nodded. “I know you have to get back and frost Emma’s cupcakes. She’s been texting me the whole time that I’m hogging you.”
She sighed and pulled her checkbook out of her purse. She wrote a sum that no normal sister would write for their younger brother while leaning against the back of the car. But it was better than him asking her mom. “I’ll pay you back,” he promised as she put the check in his hands.
“By my estimates you owe me more than you’ll ever be able to make,” she winked at him. “It’s what older sisters are for,” she promised and gave him another hug.
“Someone should tell Emma that,” he grumbled into her hair. She smiled, her eyes watering against her will. All while holding back the emotion that she felt for feeling understood. Maybe this girl was good for James. She hoped he was. He seemed to have matured in a matter of months since she last saw him. It made her throat tighten and she did her best to control the tears from falling. “Didn’t tell us about Harry,” he said knowingly.
She shrugged and smiled wryly. “I’m still figuring it out.”
“I think you should let him take care of you,” he said knowingly. “I’ve never seen you smile like that,” he wrinkled his nose. “Even if he holds your hand,” he pretended to gag, and she smiled.
“I like him,” she admitted. “A lot.”
“I would think; I wasn’t kidding. I don’t bring girls home to Mom and Dad’s for a while.”
She rolled her eyes. “I think he likes me too,” she sounded shy, like it was hard to believe. It was for her, but still.
“I’ll say. Ethan’s been texting me nonstop saying it’s game over. No more flirting. You’re betrothed to someone else.”
“Ethan did not say betrothed,” she laughed.
“He did, he is distraught,” he chuckled.
She rolled her eyes heading for the passenger seat. Harry smiled as she sat down, winking at her with the phone pressed to his ear. “I’ll call you later, Gem. Jus’ wanted t’say thank you and I love you,” he tapped on the steering wheel. “Tell mum I said hi and I love her,” he added. “Alright, bye,” he gave her a once over assuring she was in one piece—emotionally. “All set?” He asked.
She nodded. “All set.”
*
The ladder was the hardest part. Her dad helped at least. Had all the right tools and all the right pieces of wood needed to fix it. Harry was insistent on keeping her out of the way. “I always help with this stuff, Harry,” she said standing by with a flashlight for more help. It was bright in the hall, but you can never have too much light for these projects.
“It’s true. I had James, but by then my little helper here was doing most of the grunt work,” her dad winked at her as a reminder. She rolled her eyes and shrugged.
But once the ladder was up and functional again, Harry still didn’t want her going up into the attic. “Don’t want you t’hurt yourself, kitten,” he told her as he climbed up.
“Well, what about you—”
“I’ll be fine,” he promised with a wink.
After that, the lights took all of twenty minutes to come down. Harry was insistent he be on the ladder for that as well, pulling the lights off the gutter and handing the strand down to her. She wrapped them up expertly and stashed them in the bins and helped Harry put them back up in the new and improved attic. The way his arms flexed as he lifted the boxes up and over the ledge of the attic opening made his shirt lift a little, showing off a flash of his stomach. It couldn’t have been more than five seconds of time, but she was able to see toned lines of his abdomen and another tattoo on his hip. She swallowed as he descended the ladder trying to keep her thoughts PG, but Harry was looking at her with that beautiful smile of his and he kissed her cheek just like the very first time he did after babysitting Leo.
They finally ate the shepherd’s pie her mom made. It needed to be reheated by then. Harry was delighted with how good it tasted. “It’s Mom’s specialty,” she said. “Also, my favorite,” she smirked. “As you may have guessed, I have a thing for comfort food.”
He chuckled and nodded. “S’delicious, Principessa.”
Now they were frosting cupcakes. Almost silently. She heard the TV in the other room while the rest of her family watched the news and whatever followed it. “This is fun,” Harry smiled excitedly at her.
“Fun?” She snorted.
“Yeah. T’hang out with y’like this? S’nice,” he sounded almost sheepish.
Her heart fluttered because she couldn’t think of anything but how nice and wonderful Harry had been the whole day. “On the way home, you have to tell me all about your family, please.”
He smiled licking a bit of frosting off his thumb. He got up to wash his hands because he was onto vanilla frosting after finishing the cream cheese flavor. “Course, Principessa.”
*
They stayed for a whole hour in the living area with her family. Harry sat next to her, so close the length of her thigh pressed against his. He had his arm draped behind her on the back of the sofa and he chatted with her family so easily. It was cozy. Like he belonged there. It made her heart feel achy and she wished with everything in her that nothing would shatter this perfection she was feeling.
She couldn’t wait to tell Eleanor.
She visited a couple weekends ago. Had to get a few financial and personal documents from the town hall and whatnot to set up more permanent things in her residence. Her new job was nice—she was able to work from home most of the time; but did have to go to the office at least twice a week. But it was easy to shift the days if needed so she could do things like fly in and get her tasks done and still have time to get pasta at Dolcezza.
“Can you please put that poor man out of his misery and marry him already?” Eleanor rolled her eyes as they waited for their waitress to return with the check to sign. Their to go bag was on the table and Eleanor snapped a picture of her smiling cutely. Like they were on a date.
She rolled her eyes at the time. Not knowing that in less than a month she would be kissing Harry in her parents’ kitchen. “He’s not miserable.”
“No, but that’s because he’s so enamored, he would probably follow you around like a puppy on a leash if you asked him too.” She rolled her eyes but at that moment the waitress returned with their check and another bag filled with garlic bread from the cutest chef she had ever met.
“Well, we should get going. I just have to use the bathroom,” she said begrudgingly, getting up from the sofa. She could feel the heat from Harry dissipate almost immediately. It made her want to sit back down and never move from his side again. “I’ll be right back.”
“Thank you, for the cupcakes,” Emma said looking up at her older sister as she walked toward the bathroom. She smiled gently.
“Anytime, Em,” she promised.
“Let me help you get them on trays,” Harry said getting up from the sofa as well and Emma followed him almost implicitly toward the kitchen. Due to the size of the bake sale and how her cupcakes were town-famous, she had invested in several large trays that held cupcakes for ease of transportation. It took two cars and a flat backseat, but it was way more manageable than the first year when she made three or four trips to the school carrying cupcakes in kitschy cases.
After her short trip to the restroom, she nearly tripped over the smoke alarm in the middle of the hall. She rolled her eyes with a sigh. This had to be the hundredth task she did for her family today. But of course, she shouldn’t have expected anything less. She headed to the computer room to find a new battery. It was right near the kitchen, so she overheard Emma and Harry chatting.
“Do you have a sister?” Emma asked.
“Yeah. Gemma. She’s three years older than me.”
“So you know how annoying older sisters are,” she muttered.
Harry chuckled. “I mean...yeah. Gemma’s annoying sometimes... but she’s also m’best friend. Always looks out for me. Think if I were on the edge of a cliff, she’d throw herself off it t’save me,” he said knowingly.
Emma snorted. “She’d never do that for me,” she mumbled. Her heart broke as she eavesdropped on their conversation. Of course, she would. It hurt that Emma didn’t know that.
Harry made a cluck of disapproval. “I wouldn’t say that, Emma,” Harry said quickly. “Your sister talks ‘bout you a lot.”
“She does?” The shock in her voice pulled at her heartstrings. How could Emma not know that? Her baby sister was a spoiled princess. But she was in part to blame for that. She adored her the moment her mom arrived home with her. A new doll. One that she knew how to take care of thanks to James’ arrival three years prior. Emma was just as much of her baby as she was her parents’ baby.
“Yeah... told me all these cute funny stories ‘bout when y’were born. How y’used t’ask her t’do your makeup when y’were eight and she was getting ready for prom and stuff. Now you’re the one that does hers. She thinks you’re brilliant, beautiful, and wonderful.”
Emma was silent for a long time. She held her breath. “Oh...” she mumbled.
“Y’were pretty mean t’her today. M’not gonna lie t’you. I didn’t like it all.”
She was going to cry. Cry a lot. No one had ever stood up for her like that. Harry was perfect. Perfect, perfect, perfect. “I’m sorry,” Emma whispered.
“S’not me who y’need t’apologize to,” Harry said softly.
“She’s...” Emma took a deep breath. “She’s so perfect,” Emma whispered. “It’s hard being her younger sister sometimes. All Mom and Dad say is that they miss her and wish she was here. I miss her. My teachers ask about her. They use her work as model examples, and everyone stares at me like I’m second best. I feel so inadequate...” her voice cracked, and she wanted to do nothing but run out there and hug the girl who would always be a little eight-year-old begging to wear her prom dress even though it trailed off her way too far.
“Oh Emma,” Harry had a frown in his voice. “Y’jus’ need t’tell her that. She adores you...and while I agree with you completely, m’sure she would say she’s not perfect.”
She smirked against her teary eyes and stifled a giggle that she wanted to release. “You’re way better than all her other boyfriends,” Emma said knowingly. “If you break her heart, I will kill you,” she promised. It was really hard to hide her laughter, but Harry found it quite funny, so his laugh hid any little breathy chuckle that managed to escape.
“Thank you, Emma,” he said.
Even though they weren’t really boyfriend and girlfriend, she agreed with her sister completely.
*
Harry told her all about his family. Growing up in England. Getting his degree and traveling until he found Antonio, and she knew the rest. She wanted to meet Gemma more than anything in the world. His mum too, but as a fellow older sister, she imagined she could compare notes. He told funny stories about him and Niall living together in a house across their small town.
He held her hand the whole way home, stroking his thumb soothingly over her knuckles. As awful as the day began, she never wanted it to end. Harry was amazing. In every sense of the word and every physical movement. Not once did he complain. Not once did he mind a single thing, she asked of him.
They made it back to the restaurant. It was only ten, a whole hour before she thought they’d be back. Harry immediately went to the kitchen to get her some garlic bread because it had been a long day and he wanted to make sure she had something good at the very end of the night. He also told her he would get her keys from Niall. She sat at the bar looking at the knots in the wood grain. Patiently, anxiously, she tapped her fingers against it, waiting for Harry to get back. He promised to walk her upstairs and part of her hoped he remembered what he said about kissing her for a lot longer than in the kitchen earlier in the day.
That felt like a lifetime ago.
Niall was ducked behind the bar and reappeared as she glanced up seeing the movement. He was helping himself to a glass of water from the little soda gun. “Hey Niall,” she said softly.
“Hey, Tesorino! How was your day?” He said cheerily. She smiled weakly. Niall assumed it was exhaustion. “Let me get your keys. Did everything—”
“From where you’re standing,” she interrupted. “Don’t be obvious, please. Is there a guy in the left corner? Blonde, longish hair, glasses? Is he staring at me?”
Niall felt his whole body freeze over. Inside and out. The blood in his veins stilled. His muscles locked. His joints stiffened. He looked up briefly, discreetly following her direction. She swallowed waiting nervously as Niall looked to the back corner.
He nodded.
She closed her eyes, inhaled deeply. “Okay,” she whispered. “I was afraid of that.”
--
general taglist: @justlemmeadoreyou @daydreamingofmatilda @sunshinemoonsposts @youdontcaredoyou @tiredinwinter @loving-hazz @likeapplejuicenpeach @straightontilmornin @freedomfireflies @littlenatilda @kathb59 @babegoals @angel-upon @lilfreakjez @mleestiles @ameliaalvarez06 @canyonmoondreams @summertime-pills @daphnesutton @l4rrysh0use @perfectywrong @foreverxholland @lolyouallsuck @buckybarnessimpp @stylesfever @harrysxcarolina @haarrrys @lovrave @st-ev-ie @pandeebearstyles @toosarcastic03 @luvonstyles @tenaciousperfectionunknown @classychalamet
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I'm sorry if I missed anyone in the taglist. Please let me know if you'd like to join, if I put you on the wrong list, if it didn't work, if you no longer want to be included, etc. :)
If you like this, check out my masterlist for more of my writing.
#harry#harry styles writing#harry styles fluff#harry styles blurb#harry styles blurbs#harry styles smut#harry styles angst#harry styles imagine#harry styles imagines#harry styles fic#harry styles fanfiction#harry styles x y/n#harry styles x reader#one direction#one direction writing#dolcezza
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Beginnings and Ends - SasuHina Recs
It's the 21st! That means it's fic writer appreciation day!
In celebration, I'd like to share some SH recs, but in a fun way!!! I'll be posting the first and last line of the fic, along with name, author, and brief description as to why I'm rec-ing it!
Good work, writers!
p.s. - Most of the links will be to FFNet, but if you see purple text, that means it's posted on AO3 as well~ I'm just doing this to save a little time on my end, but I understand some prefer reading on AO3!
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A Miracle by Eleanor Rigby 000
"A field trip!?" The class repeated. After that, several voices chirped, each of them commenting on how psyched they are for the class field trip.
"Forever," she assured
This is a angsty, passionate story of hurt, comfort, love, and meeting an old love. The story is Modern AU where Sasuke's a model and comes back to visit his childhood town, where he meets Hinata. Honestly, this is the first and only fic that has made me actively cry, and I cannot praise it enough! Please check it out!!!
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Okaeri by The Penumbra
She felt his fist connect with her stomach and went crashing down to the ground, barely having time to register what was happening.
"Okaeri, Sasuke. Welcome home."
This is sort of a prequel to the author's other fic "Snapshots: Black and White", which is also a stellar fic. It's set in canonverse, where Sasuke and Hinata slowly develop a friendship/relationship. You'll get your fair amount of angst, but really, you can hardly avoid such things in SH fics xD.
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Ichinen by Cinderella Starsend
Hyuuga Hinata stifled a yawn as she stepped out of the door and shut it behind her.
"And I love you."
I LOVE this fic! It's split into 12 chapters, each corresponding with a month. Hinata works at Ichiraku's in an attempt to get closer to Naruto, but she bonds with Sasuke more. I really enjoy fics set in the narutoverse that change things like this, mixing around dynamics so it's not always ninja stuff and war and training. It's a cute story, and the author's prose is beautiful!
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Neji Hyuuga: Matchmaker by emilyjm
Hyuuga Neji prided himself on seeing things other people never noticed.
Mission: matchmaker must be completed within five years.. Good luck, Neji!
UGHHHHH! Where do I start????? It's set in narutoverse where Neji's not only alive, but in charge of matchmaking everyone in Konoha so that he can get Sasuke and Hinata together. It's incredible sweet and incredibly moving and incredibly moving, and I love SH fics with a heavy focus on Neji. Please read it, and please read Another Story (sequel) which is JUST as good!!!
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When Will I Lose You by @elreinodelpurgatorio
Hinata, Lady of the Underworld, stands in her peach orchard and watches the Doom God and the Messenger God speak to each other.
One of these days, Sasuke, seated on a throne next to Hinata, is the one to look at a wretched soul and say: "Request denied."
This is a really fun HadesxPersephone AU where Hinata is Hades and Sasuke is Persephone! It's a short, magical read that is always a breath of fresh air! The author is really good at coming up with pretty sentences. Highly rec!
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What's Mine To Give by WritingHyuHin
After the massacre of his clan, Sasuke had one goal in his life at that young age. Revenge.
The things I do for you... Only you.... Hinata.
This is a rewriting of The Last movie, but SasuHina style! I think it's very believable and a fun thing to read, since I've watched The Last quite a few times. Seeing things that should be Naruto but are instead replaced with Sasuke warm my little, shipper heart. Give this one a chance!
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Nyctophilia by Sommernacht
For as long as he could remember, the night had offered him comfort.
"Indeed," he whispered against her skin. His fingers found their way under her fishnet top, making her shiver under the touch. "The most beautiful night."
Sommer hits it out of the park once again! This was their 2022 SHMonth one-shot in which Sasuke and Hinata secretly meet each other when 'borrowing' meds at night. They grow close and confide in one another, and I think it's a loving, deep connection that is impressive to make in just one chapter!
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A Study of Mannerisms and Other Alterations by MissLe
Sasuke Uchiha, as it was well known, was in possession of some very, very gorgeous eyes.
She decided, however, that the regal Uchiha nose would always hold a special place in her heart.
Ahhhh, this is probably one of my all time favorite fics! It's fluffy, it's cute, it's funny! I absolutely adore it! This fic is set in a Modern AU, where Hinata is a waitress at a cafe and Sasuke, a member of the firefighter team that comes by almost daily, has a pretty obvious crush on her. These two dweebs are adorable, and I read this fic so much!!!
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Uprooted by @kiljoius
Today, Hinata is 20.
“Maybe I can live with that.” Maybe she can, too, she thinks.
Arranged Marriage? Check. Fluff and Humor in a SH FIC of all things???? Check. Witty dialogue and amazing chemistry? Check check check! Without giving too many spoilers, this Modern AU fic follows Hinata and Sasuke, who plan to act 'over the top' in their arranged relationship in order to get out of it. Lets just say it doesn't work as planned for them huhu. This is a really fun fic, so if you're in the mood, give it a read!
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This is what I've got for now, but please feel free to comment or reblog with your own favorite fics (either your own or others) with their first and last lines.
@kiljoius @elreinodelpurgatorio @daifukumochiin @catruru @fher43 @gardenatsuntime @lavendereyedassassin @cariata @naoko-ichigo @lavender-long-stories @p-crowds @queenfox352 - You guys, too! Show off fics you like (or your own)!
Good work to all authors/writers out there! We love you!!!
Mod: PC
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The Reddit story reminded me of something from the book Eleanor & Park
Eleanor used to use vanilla extract as perfume and Park thought she always smelled like cupcakes
I can see a hellcheer-ified version where the vanilla extract trick isn’t because Chrissy can’t afford real perfume but because her mom is really strict and won’t let her wear it and maybe it’s a trick she reads in a magazine
And Eddie (who canonically never gets home cooked food) is like she always smells like warm fresh baked cake I want to eat her!
X
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The Princess & the Football Player | Chapter 1
Summary: "They say they want to make the monarchy more modern, to be closer to the people, but then your parents would prefer it if you married a guy whose Godfather is the freaking Prince of Monaco, instead of a guy from Kingston."
Or the love story between Princess Eleanor, heir to the British throne, and Declan Rice, English football player.
Author’s note: This story has been sitting on my drafts for maybe two months because I never was completely happy with it, and tbh, I still feel the same. Though sometimes those are the ones people like the most 😂 I got inspired to write it during the World Cup when people here in Spain went crazy about the idea of Princess Leonor and Gavi dating and him becoming the future King because she, apparently, is her fan and has a crush on him 😅 That's why on this story, the British Royal family has the name of the Spanish one 😁
Hope you like it, and thank you for reading! 💜
Next chapter
Masterlist
"Ok, ask me one more."
"Dad..."
"Just one more, please."
"Fine" I say, rolling my eyes. "Who is that one?" I ask, pointing at the papers he has on his hands.
"That's easy. Aaron Ramsdale, goalkeeper, plays for Arsenal."
"See? You know them all. Relax."
"I just want to do this right. You are the one into sports, not me."
"You'll be fine, you already know them all from the Euros."
"Yeah" he says, letting out a big sigh. "What about you? Are you nervous?"
"Why would I be?"
"You may be meeting one of your crushers."
"I don't have a crush on anyone on the national team."
"Oh, c'mon Eleanor. You watch all their games, you must fancy at least one of them."
"I don't" I shrug.
"Not even Mason Mount? I've heard girls think he is fit."
"That he is what?" I laugh.
"Fit. That's what Sophie says about boys who are handsome and attractive."
"Yes, Sophie. But not you."
"Why? Because I'm old?"
"No, because you are the King of England."
"Whatever" he says. "You don't like anyone, then?"
"No one. So you better not try anything or do what you did when we met One Direction years ago."
"What did I do?"
"Tell Niall Horan that I had a crush on him? That I had photos of him in my room?"
"Oh, yes" he chuckles. "But don't worry, I won't do it again. I learnt my lesson."
"You better. Just imagine that someone hears something and runs to the press with it. I can already see the headlines: Princess Eleanor in love with a football player. And they'll probably pick the worst option."
"Like Grealish."
"You said it, I didn't" I laugh.
"We've arrived, sir" our driver says.
"Good, good. Are you ready?"
"Ready" I say, taking a deep breath before we step out of the car.
As part of all the media events the national football team is doing before they travel to Canada for the World Cup, we are meeting with them to say our farewells and also give them a little something to remember the occasion. And when I say we, I mean my dad, King Philip of England, and I, Princess Eleanor, heir to the throne.
"Welcome to St. George's Park, your Royal Highness" Gareth Southgate says when we walk in. "The boys are waiting over here."
"Wonderful" my dad says. "How are they feeling?"
"Ready. They can't wait to get on that plane."
After a few words from my dad and the gaffer, it's time to give the players that little something we had for them: a shirt with their number and the name of all the players who have previously worn it.
"We'll do one each, ok?" my dad tells me.
"Ok."
We start calling each player, congratulating them and posing for a photo, everything going smoothly... until it doesn't. Until I froze in place when I find myself looking at the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen.
"Your Royal Highness" he says with a smile as breathtaking as his eyes.
"Hi" I reply, my voice sounding all squeaky.
"I was looking forward to meeting you."
"Me? Really?"
"Yes, ma'am. My mum is a big fan of yours, she says you are the best royal."
"Oh, she's too kind" I giggle. I giggled. Why did I do that? What am I, 12?
"Should we pose for the photo?"
"Uh?" I ask, still looking at him. How is he real? How is it possible that I had never noticed that Declan Rice was this handsome?
"The photo, Eleanor" my dad says behind me.
"Oh, yes, sorry. The photo" I repeat, trying to compose myself a bit.
"Big smiles... Perfect" the photographer says.
"Thank you" Declan smiles, taking the box where the shirt is, our fingers touching slightly but making me feel electricity through my whole body. And call me crazy, but judging by the way he looked at me when it happened, he felt the same.
Once we are done giving all the shirts, Southgate gives my dad and I a tour of St. George's Park, but I can't stop thinking about Declan. About his eyes, his smile, about the way that small touch made me feel. I still don't know how I managed to keep going, to be honest.
When we walk outside, some players are practicing free kicks on the training pitch, Declan among them.
"Eleanor, why don't you show these boys how it is done?" my dad says.
"What?"
"We all saw you training with the lionesses, ma'am. That right foot of yours can do things" Mount chuckles.
"But I'm not wearing the right shoes."
"C'mon, ma'am" Southgate insists.
"Ok, then. But if I end up breaking a window, or worse, my ankle... it is your fault" I say, making them all laugh.
"Ready, Rambo?" Rashford asks before shooting.
"Give me your best!" Ramsdale shouts.
"That was so good" my dad says when Rashford scores. "Your turn now, darling."
"Ma'am" Declan says, giving me a ball.
"Thank you" I reply, trying to avoid looking at him, my cheeks already getting hot. "Don't go soft on me, Ramsdale."
"I won't, ma'am" he says with that big smile of his.
"See?" I sigh after shooting and sending the ball far far away. "Wrong shoes."
"Try again" Declan says, putting another ball in front of me. "I know you can do it."
"Will you pay for the window I'm going to break?"
"And I'll carry you to the infirmary myself if you break your ankle" he smirks, making me feel funny things on my stomach, and my father clear his throat behind us.
"Ok" I whisper, trying to forget the thought of his arms around me and taking a deep breath, focusing only on the ball.
"I knew it!" Declan says next to me when the ball goes in, Ramsdale not being able to stop it.
"You believed in me more than I did."
"I've seen you play before, I know what you can do."
"You have?"
"Yep. When you were like... 15? You played a charity game in my area and my mum took the whole family to watch you. I remember that you scored and amazing free kick."
"Oh, wow. I don't know if I remember that day" I chuckle. "I'll have to check the photos back home. I may even see you."
"I didn't look this good, tho. You may not recognize me" Declan says with a cheeky smile.
"But you still had the same eyes, didn't you? Those are hard to miss."
"Thank you, ma'am" he replies, his cheeks turning a dark shade of pink. Did I just make him blush? Me? Oh, wow. "I also remember that I didn't expect a princess to play football like that."
"What did you expect, then?" I ask, raising a brow.
"I don't know" he shrugs. "Maybe that you enjoyed other type of sports, like cricket or that thing with the horses."
"Equestrianism."
"That one, yes."
"Posh sports."
"Yeah..." he chuckles, scratching the back of his head and making the muscles on his arm pop. Why did he have to do that when I was finally acting normal around him, maybe even flirting? Now I'm stuck again just looking at him.
"We must go, Eleanor."
"What?"
"It's time for us to go, the boys have to train" my dad says.
"Oh, yes, of course."
"It was really nice meeting you, ma'am" Declan says.
"You too."
"See you in Canada?"
"See you in Canada" I repeat
"Great" he says with a big smile that makes whatever I'm feeling on my stomach be more intense. "Until then."
"Bye" I say, definitely smiling like an idiot.
━━━━━━❃━━━━━━
"That was nice, wasn't it?" my dad says once we are back in the car.
"Really nice, yes."
"Fell in love with any of them?"
"What?" I say, feeling my cheeks getting hotter and hotter by the second.
"I was only joking, relax."
"Oh" I reply with a nervous laugh.
"You are a clever girl. You know that you can't fall in love with a football player."
"Why not? You married mum and she was a journalist."
"One with a degree and a PhD, a serious career. These boys have nothing beyond money and being good looking. At least some of them" he chuckles.
"These days more and more players are studying while playing, tho" I point out.
"Still, it isn't enough. You are meant to be the next Queen of England. You must marry accordingly."
"Dad, this isn't the 15th century."
"I know, I know. But there are certain things that must still be kept in mind. So when you travel to Canada to support the team, do not fall for any of them, ok?" he laughs.
"Ok" I say, rolling my eyes and looking out the window, thinking that it may be a bit late for that.
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I always forget Ryan Lucan until my brain or your blog reminds me violently about the himbo. Appreciated.
Since we're coming up on the snowy months, how would Ryan keep his boyfriend entertained they got snowed in, and the power's out?
(We all sleep on Ryan Lucan too much! Our gentle ace himbo deserves more love)
I imagine that after Ryan takes over the Black Lantern, he switches out apartments for one on main street, close by. Maybe Eleanor Lethe is selling so she can be closer to Riley at college. But in any case, the town is snowed in, and Ryan knows from experience and his park ranger days that it'll be probably about a day until they can get Main Street unblocked.
The power's out but he's got the fireplace stocked so the place can be heated, and I just know he has board games. Trivial Pursuit at least. I don't think Ryan plays video games on his own, so if there's a console, it's probably yours, but the power's out anyway, so board games it is.
I feel like Ryan would be really good to listen to reading aloud. He's kind of a quieter person in general, though, so any entertaining his does is generally more sedate. I think he might get a little crazy and suggest a drinking game or a Never Have I Ever with some trail mix or candy.
But he does end up investing in a backup generator for the house/apartment just in case for next time. Because I also think Ryan's the kind of guy that likes to have ambient music playing in the background.
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Hi emma,
Do you want to talk about why WS is your favorite book?
(from this game)
How long do you have?
Wayward Son as a whole reminds me of how Rainbow talked about the ending of Eleanor & Park-- "And I don’t believe that 17-year-olds get happy endings. They get beginnings." Even if Simon Snow would have you believe the opposite. Even if the book opens on an "Epilogue." From the very first page, you know you're dealing with an extremely unreliable narrator. At times, the book feels like a puzzle to try and interpret where the truth really lies.
It's cathartic, too. It's a difficult book to read. These characters are flawed and they hurt each other. They're in the world as adults for the first time, making the choices they want to make and not the choices adults would want them to make. Trying to come into their own identities. Grappling with what living up to your potential means when you realize what you were working towards wasn't what you wanted. It's a fantasy novel but their struggles are so familiar. These characters are mages but they're still 18/19/20. Magic doesn't stop this from being one of the hardest points in their life. But they love each other, anyway. And when they meet Shepard, despite it all, he loves them too! I can never stop talking about this-- how wonderful is it to see characters at their lowest and have a book say to you that no matter what, they are still worthy of love.
And then of course the lore we learn from Shepard and the characters we meet along the way gives so much new depth to how the world of mages reads in Carry On. I love Las Vegas-- I love thinking about how all these vampires came to find a sanctuary there in what was once the wild west. I love carhenge and the political implications it reveals. I love Blue and Margaret, and how the land itself is alive with magic.
And controversial though I know it was, I LOVE the ending. That Agatha is home and everyone is safe, and the story should be over, but it isn't. There's a prologue, at the very end. Because much like 17 year olds, 18/19/20 year olds also only get beginnings.
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all’s faire - chapter three
Pairing: Modern!Pero Tovar x F!Reader
Series rating: M
Chapter rating: M
Word count: 4,638
Notes: The chapter I’ve been waiting for that truly sets everything in motion. The fake dating and forced proximity is here and with it confusing feelings! A lot of questions are answered in this chapter and things begin to make more sense, at least in certain regard. Thanks as always to beloved @ezrasbirdie for beta-reading and giving me such wonderful feedback and hyping this story up! (Same goes to @lowlights for hyping this fic up)
This fic is cross-posted to AO3 under the same name and my taglist can be found linked in my bio as well as my masterlist which is linked below.
Comments/reblogs appreciated
Chapter warnings: Death mention/discussion (mention of brain aneurysm), grief/mourning, enemies to lovers, fake dating, swearing, forced proximity, kissing
previous chapter || next chapter || masterlist (main) || masterlist (pero tovar)
Monday arrives, and with it, a new sense of determination. Tess’s recovery is coming along nicely and now she’s down to once a week at physical therapy, today.
After dropping Cassie off at school for her history exam, followed by dropping Tess off at the physical therapist’s office, you find yourself with a bit of wanderlust. It’s not that you don’t know Lockwood Falls, having grown up here, but you feel the need to get reacquainted with the small town. See what’s changed in the time since you’ve been gone.
Much is the same, if updated. But one new thing catches your eye. Inklings Bookstore & Cafe. Having a soft spot for all things books, especially indie bookstores, you pull into a parking spot, hoping that no one sees your attempts at parallel parking. After you feed the parking meter with your loose change, you make your way into the bookshop, noticing a help wanted sign in the window. Maybe you could ask. Now that Tess is becoming more and more independent, you’ll need something to do.
The door jingles as you walk in. A woman that you vaguely recognize from far away peers up at you. “Hello,” she says, and you recognize her as Lin-Mae Garin, aka Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. “Let me know if you need help finding anything.”
“Thanks,” you reply. There’s a new section right up front, right next to summer reading suggestions. A book club section; Inklings must have one, you think. New and gently used books line the shelves. The smell of books and freshly brewed coffee and baked goods fills your nose as you make your way into the nonfiction section, a fantasy book already clutched in your hand. Your eyes land on a book on medieval life. Picking it up, you open it to a random page. “Oh, hello!” says Lin-Mae, recognizing you now, saying your name followed by your Faire name. “I’m sorry I did not recognize you at first.”
You smile politely at her. “It’s okay… Your Majesty.” You practice a curtsy on her and she laughs.
“Just Lin-Mae here. How are you finding Faire so far?” she asks.
Pondering for a moment, you say, “It’s interesting. It wasn’t a thing in Lockwood Falls when we were kids.”
Lin-Mae nods, a wistful look crossing her delicate features for a moment. “No. It was William’s idea.” Absently, she rubs her wedding and engagement rings, the diamond of the engagement ring glinting in the sun. “He was really passionate about this sort of thing.” That’s right. Lin-Mae is William’s… wife? Ex? You’re still not sure. Quickly, though, her expression changes. “How are you getting along with our Captain? I see that you’ve crossed paths a few times.”
You wrinkle your nose. “Is he always so…” you trail off, trying to be diplomatic; you know there’s history between them. “...passionate?” you decide on.
Lin-Mae laughs. “That’s one way to describe him. He’s like that, you just have to get used to him. That’s what William always said to me.”
If she says so, you think. Instead you say, “My niece, Cassie, is having the time of her life. She really loves it. And she’s kind of a teacher’s pet.”
With a nod, Lin-Mae says, “Yes. Pero speaks very highly of her.” This is news to you. He’d done nothing but complain about her in the interview… or had he? You can’t quite remember. Had the bad first impression skewed what he’d had to say to you? You don’t remember. “She’s a really sweet girl, too. I’m lucky to have her as a lady-in-waiting.”
“I’ll be sure to tell her that when she gets home from her friend’s house. She’s writing her history exam now. Or actually—” You check your phone for the time. “—nope, she’s probably finished by now.”
- - - -
Lin-Mae Garin, you find, is a very kind, soft-spoken woman, not too much older than you. She’s gentle but has a commanding presence. It’s easy to chat with her as you browse the shelves as she re-stocks them. You can see why she has a sign in the window, though. It’s too overwhelming for just one person. “Lin-Mae,” you start. She looks up from her box of Jane Austen books. “I noticed the job posting in the window. And I was wondering… that is if you haven’t already filled it or are looking for a student. But I think I’m going to be in Lockwood Falls for the foreseeable future and once Tess is independent enough that she doesn’t need me at her beck and call…”
Lin-Mae’s face brightens immediately. “You mean it?” she asks. “Because I’ve had that sign in the window for months. Do you have retail experience? Or cafe experience?”
You worked in a big box bookstore in college before you were old enough to be a bartender, and while you don’t have cafe experience, you do have experience in working with food and drinks. “Not so much in cafes, but I’m a quick study.”
“That’s fine. It’s easy once you get the hang of the coffee makers. The summer hours are starting next week.” She hands you a bookmark with the summer hours. Closed weekends and Mondays. “So I have a day of catchup after Faire. But I’m contemplating keeping it year-round.”
The bell jangles again. “Keeping what year-round?” asks a familiar voice from behind you.
“Oh, Pero, you’re here earlier than expected,” says Lin-Mae with a jump.
“The examination is done.” He points to a thick manila envelope filled with exam papers in his carrier bag. “I just came to see if the summer reading books have arrived, but I can come back later.”
“Nonsense. Just let me check and I’ll be right back.” Leaving you alone with him.
You clear your throat.
“How are you?” Pero surprises you by asking.
Is he trying to be civil now? “I’m fine. You?”
“Also fine. But dreading marking these,” he says. His tie is loosened, the humidity making his already wavy hair curlier and messier.
You give an understanding nod. “I was a teacher’s assistant in my final year of college. I don’t miss marking those papers and exams. Dare I ask how my niece did on her exam? Or is that some sort of nepotism no-no?”
Pero gives a wry half-smile, the closest you think you’re ever going to get to a real smile from him. “I can’t say how Cassandra did, but I can say that she should be proud of herself when the report cards get mailed out in two weeks. What did you help with? In university.” Is this what it’s like to have a nice, friendly conversation with Pero Tovar? You could get used to this.
“Intro to medieval studies. It was fun, but a lot; I don’t think I could teach full time.” Why did you say that? It’s just more ammunition he can use against you the next time he’s pissed off at you.
But he surprises you again. “It can be difficult, yes.” Looking down at the books you’ve chosen, he frowns. “I thought you were an expert in medieval history,” he says, annoyance edging into his tone.
You blink, flummoxed. “I-I am. What, I can’t be interested?” you ask, trying to keep the snap out of your voice.
“You should know the things this book outlines already.”
“Yeah, because God forbid I forget a small detail or want to refresh my memory.”
Pero blanches at the tone of your voice, remembers himself. “Sorry. That is unfair of me. I’m surrounded by this all the time. Not everyone is. It’s good to maintain an interest in things like this.” This man is an enigma if nothing else.
“Apology accepted.” It’s a begrudging acceptance, but an acceptance all the same. You need to get along with him, if not for both your sakes, then at least for Cassie’s.
And you were doing so well up until now having a normal conversation with him, even getting along with him. Before Pero can say anything else, Lin-Mae, with her impeccable timing, returns and unknowingly diffuses some of the quickly growing tension. She has some paperwork in tow, which she hands to you. “Whenever you get a chance to fill this out,” she says.
You thank her, give her enough money for your two books, and without so much as a second glance at Pero, you bid your new friend goodbye, telling her you’ll be back later with it, and go to pick up your sister.
And you’d really hoped, up until a few minutes ago, you could have told her you were beginning to bury the hatchet with Pero Tovar.
- - - -
Before you know it, it’s the final weekend of rehearsals before Faire starts next weekend.
This will be the first time you see the fairgrounds. According to Sarah, they’re a sight to behold in person. As you arrive on the fairgrounds on Saturday morning you understand what she meant. “Wow,” you breathe.
“Right?” Cassie gushes. “I can’t believe we get to be here for six weeks.” You won’t see as much of it in comparison to Cassie, who’s more or less floating around the entire grounds with Lin-Mae and the other ladies-in-waiting.
After your prompt exit from the bookshop on Monday, you’d filled out the paperwork and returned it to her the following morning. Completely Pero Tovar free. “We’ll chat more about what you’d be doing on Monday; let’s get through dress rehearsal first before you have to worry about anything,” Lin-Mae had said.
You already have ideas for the store, that is, if she’s interested in hearing them. From the little you’ve spoken to her about it, it sounds like she is interested in hearing what you have to suggest. You’re not sure how she came to own Inklings, but she seems to be a bit in over her head.
Finding the dirt parking lot for the volunteers, you pull in beside an older car. Grabbing your Faire stuff from the backseat, you don’t bother asking Cassie to slow down, knowing you’ll catch up to her eventually.
“Good morrow,” greets Sarah.
You return the greeting. “This place is amazing. I had no idea it was going to be this big. I was expecting an acre, tops.”
Sarah grins. “I know, right? Do you know where backstage is?” she asks.
You shake your head. “Cassie knows exactly where it is, though, based on the way she bounded out of the parking lot.”
“I remember when I was that age. Young and full of life.” You laugh. Sarah’s only five years older than you.
“Come on then, grandma, and show me the way.”
Walking through the thicket on a well-trodden path, there’s a clearing with paths leading off into different directions. Half-built stages are dotted here and there, spray-painted lines on the ground mark where vendors' stalls will go. No detail has been spared. For a school production, this faire is pretty damn impressive.
Sarah points vaguely in one direction. “That’s our lovely tavern over there.”
You squint in the early morning sunlight, not seeing anything where she’s pointing. “Uh-huh. Where is it? Do we have to build it ourselves?” you ask.
Sarah laughs. “God, no,” she says. “No, the roadies are going to put it together later today. Today’s more about getting a lay of the land. We tavern wenches aren’t really doing anything today except maybe help touch-up any paint. And practice getting into our costumes.”
Everyone seems so nice in Lockwood Falls. It wasn’t that you weren’t expecting to make friends, especially given that you don’t know your plans long-term, but you’re still surprised that you’ve made so many friends.
Your eyes find Pero. In almost full pirate captain regalia. His slovenly look makes more sense now. And oh, Christ, he’s wearing leather pants. He meets your gaze and holds it. You quickly avert your own gaze, not wanting to be caught… checking him out? Staring at something you shouldn’t?
Instead of Pero making the announcement, Will Ballard, dressed in kingly attire, steps forward. “Today we’re just re-familiarizing ourselves with the grounds and running through a few things.”
Finding Cassie with the other ladies-in-waiting, you turn to Sarah again. “What should I do? Since there’s no tavern yet.” Out of the corner of your eye, you notice Pero slinking away on one of the less-trodden paths.
Sarah shrugs. “Maybe explore a little bit? Since this is your first year and all that. You should probably know where everything is in case people ask you questions.”
Good idea. “Okay, that sounds good.”
First, though, you get into your tavern wench outfit, making sure that Sarah doesn’t tug on the laces too tightly this time around. You help her with her own outfit and carefully fold your street clothes, tucking them into the bottom of your laundry basket. Maybe next week you’d start just wearing the dress to Faire without lacing it up. Save on time.
Properly laced up, you begin to meander the grounds. And promptly get turned around. “Damn it,” you mutter as you try to get your bearings. The area you find yourself in isn’t one that you think will be used much for Faire.
“What are you doing here?” a voice you know all too well comes from behind you and you startle.
“Jesus!” You clutch your chest as you whip around coming face to face with Pero Tovar, looking none too pleased to see you. As usual. “You scared me.”
“Apologies. What are you doing here?” he repeats.
“I was taking a tour of the faire grounds,” you explain. “And I got lost.”
Pero scoffs, not unpleasantly. “Clearly.” Is he… teasing you? “This area is not being used. It has never been used.”
It’s your turn to say, “Clearly. I get lost easily.”
“Just like you mistake the time easily.”
Okay, he’s either roasting you or teasing you and you can’t tell. You don’t reply and Pero’s gaze returns to the tree that he was sitting at. It’s obvious that this tree is no ordinary tree. You follow his gaze.
The tree, no more than a few feet away has a plaque square in the middle of the trunk. A name. Some dates beneath the name. Silently, you step closer to it, Pero not saying anything for once. He figures you’re going to find out soon enough if you don’t already know.
William Garin, the plaque reads and all the breath is knocked out of you. Why had you assumed that William had simply left town? You read the dates. He was young. Late thirties.
This time of year is hard for me, Pero had said last weekend. But who was William to Pero?
You must make a sound because Pero speaks, his voice rough but not harsh. “He was the closest thing I had to a brother.”
“I’m so sorry, Pero,” you murmur. You can’t think of anything else to say. You turn to face him, his face hard. Suddenly everything makes sense. Why he’s been so uptight about everything, his empathy for Lin-Mae, William’s young widow. Wanting to make sure everything is perfect for William; this whole thing had been William’s brainchild and Pero is the one who’s been carrying it out.
Pero grumbles something and stalks off.
You touch the plaque. “I’m sorry,” you murmur again. Sorry that you assumed the worst of him. When he was probably a kind man who wanted to do something for his community. Who loved Pero like a brother and was probably madly in love with his wife. Sorry that you never got to know him.
Monday arrives. Once you’ve dropped Tess at her appointment, you make your way to Inklings. Lin-Mae greets you at the door.
“I’m so glad I finally have help,” she says as she shows you the online ordering system. “My late husband’s parents gave him this store and we were running it together when he… When the brain aneurysm…” Her facial features morph and a wave of empathy for her washes over you.
“I’m sorry,” you say, putting your hand on her shoulder.
She smiles sadly, appreciatively, at you and the sad look mostly vanishes after a moment. “Anyway, it was always meant to be a two or more person job. As I have quickly discovered over the past five years.”
“Well, I’m here now. And I’m happy to help out in any way I can,” you promise.
Lin-Mae takes a sip of her coffee. “I’m happy to hear it,” she says. “I want to hear some of your ideas.”
You have plenty of ideas. Social media accounts, promoting events and new releases. A rewards system. A book club. Free coffee with a twenty-five dollar or more purchase. Lin-Mae writes all of them down, excitement glinting bright in her eyes. “Also, we should have some more baked goods than just a couple of saran wrapped things in the display.” No disrespect to the display of treats but it is quite sad looking.
“I agree,” she says. “I’ve always meant to do more with it. We should make it more welcoming-looking too. Some chairs and tables or something, move some bookshelves around to make more space.”
You nod eagerly. “I was thinking that. And maybe make the shelves less cluttered? I love a good, packed bookstore, but it would be a lot easier to navigate if there was less clutter. Make things more open, too.”
The look of agreement is all the confirmation you need to know that Lin-Mae’s been thinking the same thing for a long time. “I’m glad you’re here. Saying the things I’ve been thinking about since before … well, for a long time.”
You nod, the puzzle pieces continuing to come together. Poor William. Poor Lin-Mae. Poor Pero. When you first met Pero, you never expected to feel empathy for the guy. A lot of things that had been cryptic to you before were now crystal clear. You don’t have to be his friend, but you can treat him with kindness. That is, if he tries to treat you the same.
“Oh, I wanted to ask,” Lin-Mae interrupts your train of thought. “How are you at making coffee?”
It’s your hesitation that tells her everything. “Ummm… I can make a decent K-cup.”
Lin-Mae laughs. “Come on, I’ll show you the basics.”
You feel a sense of purpose. Even as you’re lifting heavy furniture and making lattes over and over again until they have some semblance of being drinkable. It’s not dissimilar to how you feel at Faire. That is, when Pero’s not being rude.
Against all odds, you think you might be beginning to put down roots.
When you arrive at the physical therapist’s office, you have to do a double take. “Your boot! Where is it?” you ask your sister.
“They said I don’t need it anymore!” she says triumphantly, twirling her foot in the air.
You give her a sideways hug as she says that the doctor needs her to not over-exert herself but that by August, she should be mostly healed. “I’m so glad.”
“You’re preaching to the choir, sis. Now let’s go home. I’m starved.”
Home. You don’t know when you started to think of Lockwood Falls as home again, but you suppose Tess is right. It is home.
- - - -
After a few more days of training at Inklings, you think you’ve gotten the hang of things. Lin-Mae is in the backroom when Pero arrives on Thursday to enquire about the books for his reading list. You can tell that he’s expecting you to flub something, if his questioning and skeptical look are anything to go by.
To your immense satisfaction, you pull up all the necessary information and tell Pero exactly where it’s being shelved in the store. You even offer to show him the display. He declines. But he still surprises you when he says “thank you” before leaving, even wishing you a pleasant afternoon.
“Y-you too,” you call after him.
On Saturday, you and Cassie arrive both looking like you’re wearing tents in your unlaced faire costumes. Sarah and Lin-Mae find the two of you quickly and usher you to your designated spots. Faire’s due to start at 9am. It’ll be a slow morning for you, Sarah mentions to you as you’re putting your keys and phone into the over-the-shoulder pouch that she gave you; most people don’t start drinking until about noon after the third jousting tournament.
And sure enough, it’s a slow morning. You serve a few people water here and there as they’re passing through. Aside from that, it’s slow going.
“I am just going to use the facilities, dear,” Sarah-slash-Matilda tells you. You nod and let her go. You’d guess from the position of the sun that it’s not quite noon but close to it. You’ve still got some time before the rush starts.
You wipe down the bar again when someone bursts into the tavern. It’s Cassie.
“My lady!” You curtsy since Cassie’s character is higher in rank than you. “What can I aid you with?” You pour her a goblet of water, noticing she’s about ready to keel over from heat and the exertion of running from God knows where.
“I need you,” she pants out in between sips of water.
“Me?” you ask. ��But where? Whatever for?”
Cassie takes another sip of water, wipes her forehead with the sleeve of her pretty periwinkle dress. “To the blacksmith forge.”
You frown. “B-but my place is here.”
Your niece takes you by the arm, dropping the act and accent. “Just come on. It’s the handfasting ceremony and there aren’t enough sign-ups since it’s the first weekend.”
Frantically you look at the volunteers who nod. “We got it covered. And Sarah will be right back,” says Candace.
“If you say so.” And you allow yourself to be led across the faire grounds by your niece. “So what’s going on?” you ask, completely dropping the faire accent as well.
“It’s handfasting. And Lin-Mae needs one more couple so it doesn’t look too sad. That’s all I know; I was just told to find a wench and quick.”
You sigh and nod, hurrying up the pace. “And to whom am I being married off ?” you ask, resuming your accent as you make it closer to the smithy. Sure enough, there stands two couples, one your age, one middle aged as well as the blacksmith and one of the queen’s maids. Lin-Mae, dressed in her queenly attire stands in front. You frown. “To whom am I getting handfasted?” you ask again just as Lin-Mae steps out of the way. Cassie cringes in anticipation of your reaction to who your fake-intended is.
“Are you…” fucking kidding me? is what you want to finish your sentence with, but you know that it’s inappropriate on several counts. “...playing jape?” you settle on.
“Ah there is mi florecita!” There is no Pero Tovar. Standing before you is completely Captain Bastian. Pirate and mercenary for hire. Though you’re of similar social standing, you still curtsy in deference to him.
“You sent for me, captain? What is thy will?” you ask.
Pero smirks. “I love it when my woman calls me captain,” he says to John the blacksmith. You refuse to acknowledge the rush hearing Pero calling you his woman gives you. Taking your hand in his for a second, Pero presses a kiss to the back of it before slowly letting go of your hand. He touches under your chin, forcing you to look at him. You look up at him and the sight of Pero takes your breath away. In the sunlight, his brown hair has a reddish-golden hue to it. And have his eyes always had a fleck of gold to them? His hair is artfully disheveled. Eyeliner is smudged around his eyes, making them pop. He looks every inch a pirate captain and mercenary. And loath though you are to admit it, the look is doing something for you.
Lin-Mae speaks and everyone stands to attention. A lady-in-waiting joins your hand with Pero’s, a piece of twine at the ready. His hand is dry and warm in yours. Inexplicably a sense of peace washes over you with Pero’s hand in yours. A sense of protectiveness. Like this man was going to take care of you.
And where in the fuck had that come from?
“Groom and bride, look into each other’s eyes,” Lin-Mae instructs. You’ve never heard her as Queen Eleanor; you’re so used to the soft-spoken Lin-Mae, but as Eleanor of Aquitaine? She could command a damn army with her air of authority. You do as you’re told. “Will you honour and respect each other? And will you seek to never break that honour?”
Pero looks at you as if he’s known you for years. It makes your stomach flip. “Aye,” you both say as the twine is looped around your hands.
Lin-Mae continues, asking if you will share your pain and ease it. You all say “aye” again and another loop of the twine is made.
Next, the sharing of burdens. You both agree again. Another loop of the twine and your hands are inextricably tied together. Lin-Mae says some nice words that you don’t really pay attention to. The only thing you’re aware of is your hand in Pero’s, his eyes gazing into yours. Looking at you like you personally hung the moon and the sun and the stars. You wish that he would really look at you like that. Or at least not like you burned down his house.
“You are bound for a year and a day. At the end of this time, should you wish to remain so, return to me and state your intention. Otherwise you are free to go your separate ways.” In character, you nod.
There’s a round of applause as one of the couples that signed up kiss. They look truly in love. The other couple does the same. And then the blacksmith and his girl. Pero gives you a look and you realize, belatedly, that he’s about to kiss you. In character.
You make the best sweet eyes you can at him and brace yourself.
At first it’s just a brushing of his lips against yours. But then it settles into a proper kiss. It’s staged, of course. But that doesn’t mean you don’t notice the way his lips are soft against yours, the way he smiles against your lips. The tingle of his beard and the smell of leather and spice invading your senses.
You know full well that it’s a staged kiss and it means absolutely nothing. Your heart is pounding from the run across the grounds, that’s all. Your blood is roaring from the heat of the late morning July sun and for no other reason.
As you pull apart, he looks as disconcerted as you feel and probably look as well. But then his easy grin that you’d secretly yearned for for weeks slides onto his lips and it absolutely devastates you. The lady-in-waiting untangles the twine that had your hands tied together and hands it to you. You tell yourself that you absolutely do not miss his rough, callused hand twined with yours. Pero takes the twine from you and wraps it around your wrist, still in character as he takes your hand in his again and kisses the back of it one last time, slowly, sensually. “Mi florecita,” he says.
“My captain,” you reply, not breaking eye contact.
You miss the heat and strength of his hands and are flummoxed and confused the entire walk back to the tavern as to why you would have such a response to the man who’s done nothing but belittle you, especially when you feel his eyes on your retreating form for the longest time.
---
taglist in reblog
#pedro pascal#pero tovar#pero tovar x reader#pero tovar x you#my writing#my fic#pedro pascal character fanfiction#pedro pascal fanfiction#modern pero
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very, very late question to an old work and I will perfectly understand if you don't want to reply to this and prefer not to bring the discussion toward your old works.
out of curiosity, how much did the hunger games, divergent, maze runner or other dystopian YA works of the time influence TGATNW?
the curiosity stemmed from the fact that while my initial perspective on your works were that they were a complete divergence from mainstream media due to its rawer, kinkier nature, a thought popped up that your works might have (purposefully?) satisfied the trends of the times they were created. the golden age (and fae tales soon after) was an appropriate dystopian rebellion story in the midst of the YA fever in 2014-2015 containing similar tropes.
On the other hand, falling falling stars and other efnisien centric works which address mental health and recovery more heavily than other works were published in the present day while shows on mental health discourse (for instance sex education and euphoria) are increasingly more popular. there are definitely exceptions, but those mentioned are some of your most prominent works.now that I think about it, my question might actually be: if at all, how do current trends influence your narratives? I think I remember a mention of these works' influences being old tales, so it would be interesting to hear how contemporary works have inspired you as well if it all.
thanks Pia! even if you don't reply, thanks for all the time and effort you've put into these works. they mean a lot and so much more to a many people.
This one is easy to answer:
my question might actually be: if at all, how do current trends influence your narratives?
So the TL;DR upfront -> I don't read, and often don't know about current trends. I have zero interest in writing to market. I hadn't read any of those books you mentioned when I wrote The Golden Age that Never Was with the exception of The Hunger Games, which came out over half a decade beforehand (except for the last installment in the trilogy, which was my least favourite lol).
In more detail:
I was inspired to write The Golden Age that Never Was - I can't believe I'm saying this - based on a dream I had in August, 2015.
I read Divergent for the first time in 2016 (er, so after I'd started TGATNW). I read book 1, gave it 2 stars, and don't remember anything about it. I haven't read Maze Runner and I know nothing about it.
Going back through my Goodreads account in 2013 and 2014, I read what looks like almost no books actually published in those years. I read books on cod (literally, the nonfiction book Cod, it's really very good), I read Manna Francis (defo not YA), I read nonfiction books on trauma, I read a bunch of Tricia Owens (M/M not YA), I read Eleanor & Park (YA but contemporary), I read a bunch of M/M, Hagio Moto's Zankoku na Kami ga Shihaisuru manga took over my life for a few months, and then I read a bunch more BL manga (none of it recently published that year) for consecutive months and checked out of anything written in the western world for almost half a year.
I got back into M/M at the end of / beginning of 2015 and it looks like that was all I was reading through all of 2015 with very few exceptions (one more Rainbow Rowell book, Station Eleven by Mandel, and nonfiction). I read no dystopian YA in the 2 year lead up to writing The Golden Age that Never Was. Not a single title. Out of like 200 titles. I didn't even read historical dystopian YA. I think we can safely say that was in no way a direct influence and I can bet you around $500 I had no idea it was a trend lmao.
I do not know exactly how to convey how little I give a shit about reading or responding to publishing trends. I don't care and have never cared. No, wait, I think I attempted to care for about 2 months after seeing a Facebook post about it and then was like 'wait, this is extremely demotivating' and stopped. There are some - few - absolute favourite authors who if they release a book, I will read it that year. (Like the latest Murderbot by Martha Wells). Otherwise I prefer generally not knowing what the trends are, and I don't read author blogs etc. that keep me updated on this. New genres rise and fall and by the time I hear of them, they've either already vanished, or new names have been invented for them.
I feel the same way about music and a lot of television as well. I started watching True Detective for the first time this year. A lot of the music I've listened to and discovered didn't release that music this year. And while I have watched and listened to things that did release this year, it was less because it was 'trendy' and more because they are musicians I've always listened to (Manchester Orchestra) or TV shows I would have wanted to watch anyway.
Also The Golden Age that Never Was isn't dystopian YA. But I wasn't reading much by the way of any dystopian romantic science fiction anyway (and certainly nothing released in those years), and no space operas or anything like that. If TGATNW synced up with any trends at all, it was a happy coincidence. But given I don't think it's YA, if people who only wanted to read dystopian YA found it, they were going to be really disappointed! Lmao.
Around 2013 I also just stopped reading anything heterosexual because I had a choice in the moment and exercised that choice. And I tell you - it's low key hilarious how much you get locked out of almost all the trends (certainly almost 10 years ago) anyway, if you exclusively read same sex.
I also just have general disdain for the idea of purposefully satisfying any kind of fiction trends in fanfiction. Like, no, that's not for me. I think that's a waste of my time, and it's not why I write fanfiction. I write fanfic for fun, and to me, looking at trends and writing to trends is one of the least fun things I can actually think of doing.
(Re: Your Sex Education / Euphoria example, I had to laugh. I haven't seen the latter, and the former I only watched for the first time late last year, when I'd already finished Falling Falling Stars.)
No trend has ever inspired anything I've ever written. And no book / show has ever directly inspired anything I've ever written too. I definitely have inspirations - everyone does - but like, yeah no, one of the reasons I let other people rec works similar to mine is because I can never think of any, because I write because of a perceived vacuum providing what I want to read. If what I want to read is already present and there's a lot of it, I won't write anything, because I don't need to. I am the opposite of an 'adding my book into the pile of a trend' author, like literally, that's a reason to not write for me.
I write what I don't see in the world, and it's pretty much that simple.
#asks and answers#personal#pia on writing#the golden age that never was#like i get that other people write trends very successfully#i hate doing it and i hate even knowing what the trends are#it never lasts and it leads to a bloat in that arena#and honestly anon most of that stuff is still painfully heterosexual#so it's not what i want to read anyway#reading almost exclusively m/m locks me out of almost all the trends#because this world is still heteronormative and writing trends#are still saturated in bigotry#it's gotten better slightly but not a great deal#there are also trends in M/M that i don't particularly care about either#like mafia romance being the rage for the last year or so#in dark m/m romance#like good for them if i feel like writing a mafia romance one day#it'll have nothing to do with what's trendy#will that lose me readers? probably#i can't remember what divergent was about but my review was very scathing and i didn't read any future books fsdalfkajsd
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The Four Seasons
Color guide for the characters' comments:
Winter; Spring; Summer; Autumn;
_______
Winter
Jittery because had way too much sugar
Started buying presents and wrapping them in September
Has a special mug for every occasion
Likes to relax by the fire while reading or scrolling through their phone
Gives Christmas-themed socks to everyone
Sits in weird positions
Loud and affectionate with people they feel close with (even too affectionate... )
Cold and unforgiving when pissed
Has a reading list and is gonna finish it before the year ends (hopefully)
Struggles with anger management
Smiles at strangers on the street
Starts stuttering and their lisp comes out when too nervous or excited (I heard Autumn saying it was cute - oh really? - S-spring!!!!!!)
Loves surprises
Prideful, gets offended easily, but also forgives and forgets easily (it took us a whole afternoon to get them to open the door just because the three of us hung out without them - still don't know why we bothered. - HEY!!! )
Calls instead of texting
Ready to throw hands if any of their friends gets bullied or insulted
Aesthetics:
Hot chocolate and a crackling fireplace, Christmas songs and mulled wine, snow and cold wind, warm scarves and knitted gloves, snow angles and snowball fights, smirks and fistbumps, warm sweaters and tight hugs, doodles on frosty window panes, dad jokes and uncoordinated dance moves
Playlist:
Mr. Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra
Everybody Talks by Neon Trees
Don't Stop Me Now by Queen
Tongue Tied by Grouplove
(I Can Get No) Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones
This Side of Paradise by Coyote Theory
Line Without a Hook by Ricky Montgomery
Eleanor Rigby by Cody Fry
Somebody To Love by Queen
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas by Michael Bublé
Snowman by Sia
Winter Wonderland by Michael Bublé
Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy by Queen
_______
Spring
Has various nervous tics because of anxiety
Always sitting on the floor
Often with their head in the clouds (AM NOT! - darling, I've literally seen you walk into door frames more times than I can count - ... )
Almost never raises their voice
Starts reading a book, then forgets about it and starts another one
Gets lost in daydreaming and dissociates from reality
Defends strongly what they believe in
"If I were a frog you'd be welcome on my lily pad"
Starts projects but never finishes them
Sensitive, cries easily when animals and environment is involved
In touch with their emotions and nature (and also with summer apparently - if you don't shut up, I swear. - Autumn, help me!! - oh, hell nah)
Spends long afternoons having pic-nics in the park, reading, sleeping and sunbathing
Walks in the woods looking for fae traps and playing hide and seek with foxes
Aesthetics:
Flower crowns, pic-nics and apricot jam, sunshine filtering through the leaves, birds chirping and bubbly laughter, bumblebees and bees flying from flower to flower, soft singing, flower crowns and daisy chains, curious eyes and pastel colors, small frogs and lilly pads, strawberry toasts and herbal teas, sweet smiles and paint-stained hands
Playlist:
Ocean Eyes by Billie Eilish
Cool Kids by Echosmith
Ophelia by The Lumineers
Hey There Delilah by Plain White T's
Swing Lynn by Harmless
My Kind of Woman by Mac DeMarco
girls by girl in red
Coffee by beabadoobee
Juliet by Cavetown
rises the moon by Liana Flores
Where'd All the Time Go? By Dr. Dog
cardigan by Taylor Swift
No Plan by Hozier
_______
Summer
Sleeps with the windows open
Goes to the beach at sunrise to walk along the shore
Parties until late at night and comes home in the early morning
Afraid of never being good enough
Plans their day to the second, has a set goal in life
Chatty, makes friends easily but sometimes tries too hard
Just plain gorgeous (agreed!! - *blushes*)
Constantly doing something so they doesn't have any time to wallow in their thoughts
Sees the best in people (even Autumn? - Would you knock it off!?!!)
Doesn't need anyone's approval but cares about their found family's opinion
Has always something urgent to do
Done with everyone's whining (e- even me? - no, not you - pffft, simp. - *proceeds to throw a shoe at Winter* - You asked for it.)
Always tries to be strong by repressing their emotions (yeah, you shouldn't do that - sigh, I'll try not to)
Aesthetics:
Sunshine and linen sheets, freckles and dimples, gold and sand, warm laughter and cold cocktails, strawberry lemonade, pizza and a can of soda, tan lines and stretch marks, afternoon naps on the porch and late night rides, roller skating with their headphones on the promenade, thrift-shopping, a light breeze in the summer heat
Playlist:
Juicy by Doja Cat
Chicken Noodle Soup by J-Hope (ft. Becky G)
Cool for the Summer by Demi Lovato
WANNABE by ITZY
Need to Know by Doja Cat
I'm Legit by Nicki Minaj ft. Ciara
About Damn Time by Lizzo
Levitating (ft. DaBaby) by Dua Lipa
Egoistic by Mamamoo
Next Level by aespa
Truth Hurts by Lizzo
Gashina by SUNMI
Dirty Harry by Gorillaz
_______
Autumn
Lovely and deep, like the woods they like to wander
Started planning their Halloween costume since summer
Chooses their afternoon tea depending on their mood
Likes to sit by the window and read when starts raining
Often misunderstood
Looks dark and broody but is just a cinnamon roll (a cute, little, squishy cinnamon roll!!! - sometimes I struggle to repress the urge to push you off a cliff - nah, you know you love me - who's gonna tell them? - Not me.)
Starts reading several books at the same time and switches between them
Spends long afternoons reading in coffee shops
Struggles with depression and anxiety
Cannot function without coffee in the morning
Gets startled easily if they are focused on something else
Judges everyone silently, that's just what they do (Except Spring, she can do whatever she wants. - is it the cuteness? - It is.)
Waits for the call to end and then texts "What do you want?!?"
Aesthetics:
Eye-rolls, tired eyes, old books and fallen leaves as bookmarks, sentences underlined with shaky lines, large cardigans and knitted sweaters, dark coffee with splashes of milk, Earl Grey tea and butter biscuits, soft sighs and sweater paws, leather messenger bags and worn-out notebooks, the pitter-patter of rain on the sidewalk, fog and drizzle, the distant rumble of an incoming storm
Playlist:
The Less I Know the Better by Tame Impala
Tired by beabadoobee
Devil Town by Cavetown
Coffee by Jack Stauber's Micropop
Blondie by Current Joys
Alien Blues by Vundabar
Little Dark Age by MGMT
Hey Kids by Molina ft. Late Verlane
Take a Slice by Glass Animals
Vide Noir by Lord Huron
Mary On a Cross by Ghost
The Chain by Fleetwood Mac
Zombie by The Cranberries
----------------------🍏
Helloo!!! ✨
Sorry it's been a while since I've posted anything (again, sob) but I'm back!
I chose seasons this time, and I've also added comments from each one, I thought it would be a cute thing to add, I had fun doing it.
For the character's comments I used different colors to recognize them, I hope it's not too chaotic.
Hope you enjoy, and please take care of yourselves,
lots of love 💜
#moodboard#aestethic#character aesthetics#tag your aesthetic#character concept#tag yourself#playlist#song suggestions#types of people#seasons#autumn#summer#winter#spring
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2023 Fandom Year in Review
I'm a bit late on this because I kept being busy, but here! I probably forgot a bunch of stuff in my answers - c'est la vie.
✨Dollsome’s Fandom Year in Review!✨
Favorite new (to me) shows of the year:
Rectify
Joe Pera Talks With You
Reservation Dogs
Dave
The Righteous Gemstones
The Gilded Age
The Buccaneers
Beef
Somebody Somewhere
Vice Principals
Feel Good
Creamerie
Colin From Accounts
Poker Face
Favorite shows with new episodes this year:
OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH!!!!!!!!!! 🏴☠️💘
Good Omens
Succession
Ted Lasso (kind of? 🫤)
What We Do In The Shadows
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
The Great
Abbott Elementary
Sanditon
The Nevers
Black Mirror
Some favorite TV show episodes watched for the first time this year (one per show! Just for a challenge!):
Our Flag Means Death - 2.04 “Fun and Games”
What We Do in The Shadows - 5.05 “Local News”
The Great 3.07 “Fun”
Succession - 4.09 “Church and State”
Ted Lasso - 3.10 “International Break”
Good Omens - 2.05 “The Ball”
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel - 5.06 “The Testi-Roastial”
Beef - 1.10 “Figures of Light”
Dave - 3.10 “Looking for Love”
Reservation Dogs - 2.04 “Mabel”
Black Mirror - 6.05 “Demon 79”
Joe Pera Talks With You - 2.01 - “Joe Pera Talks With You About Beans” and 2.04 “Joe Pera Guides You Through The Dark” (Cheating and picking two because the episodes are so short!)
Favorite books read this year:
The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe, Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh, Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton, Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Favorite song, album, or artist to listen to this year:
I discovered this album a few years late because I got tickets to a concert by them this year, but Bitter Better by Laura Cortese & The Dance Cards! I also loved Guts by Olivia Rodrigoooooo.
My favorite song is “Misbehavin’” from Righteous Gemstones, a bop like NO OTHER.
Favorite movies of the year:
No Hard Feelings, Saltburn, Barbie, M3GAN, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Rye Lane, Next Goal Wins, Quiz Lady, Eileen, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Cocaine Bear 🤣
First fandom of the year:
In January I had a major Jurassic Park/World resurgence wherein I watched all the Lego Jurassic World shows about Claire and Owen on Netflix and also read all of Tess Sharpe’s tie-in novels, while also feeling nine zillion feelings about Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler on the side because they are THE movie otp. I regret none of this, it was fun as hell.
Best new fandom discovery of the year:
The Gilded Age. I can’t believe I was living without Bertha and George Russell, and Julian Fellowes’ extremely stupid yet incomparably enchanting writing, for so long.
Biggest fandom disappointment of the year:
Ted and Rebecca not happening and also not getting nearly as much significant screentime together as I wanted. 😭 That one hurt me real hard, even though I always kind of saw it coming. I somehow just knew all the way back in season 1 that it was too wonderful and refreshing to happen. But even more disappointing to me was Keeley and Roy not getting back together. (And the fake-out of them seeming to get back together and then not really doing so. Ouch!) I wish they hadn’t broken up at all! That whole plotline gets a million thumbs downs from me. It made me feel so, so bad inside, a badness that never healed.
Honorary mention: Roman and Gerri’s last ever interaction getting deleted from 4.09!!!!!!! FERAL SCREAM!!!!!
I also really didn’t like what they did with Orlo’s character in s3 of The Great.
Biggest squee moments of the year:
(I can’t possibly narrow ‘em down well but let’s try.)
Like the entirety of OFMD season two, but I’ll narrow it down with great restraint to Mermaid Stede, the conversation on the sofa in “Fun and Games,” and the “You wear fine things well” redux kiss.
Roman watching Gerri recite the limerick and being besotted! Gerri caring about Roman with her eyeballs at the funeral! Roman’s Gerri tribute martini! Gerri smiling at Roman making fun of Greg that one time even though he didn’t know she was! It was a rough season, okay!
Guillermo dancing in the Pride Parade episode! Nandor always knowing that Guillermo didn’t have what it took to be a vampire and helping him become human again! The vampires doing the news!
Old ladies Midge and Susie making each other laugh at the end of TMMM! What a perfect way to go out.
Rebecca spitting her tea in Ted’s face in an act of fond vengeance. I really thought we were so happening after that one, mates! (And that moment in the hallway! And the Ted’s A Work In Progmess scene! Everything that made it feel like it might be happening!!!)
I also squeed during the Morning After Ted In Rebecca’s Kitchen Fakeout until I was dashed back down upon the rocks of cruel reality. Congratulations, show: I 100% fell for it. (Though part of that was because the people watching with me were like, “Wow, congratulations! It happened!” as if I had somehow personally willed it into happening. And you know I would have if I could have!)
Crowley and Aziraphale’s big scene at the end of Good Omens. It was a squee moment tinged with terrible pain, but such a squee moment nonetheless!
Also, Aziraphale’s “Smitten, I believe” lil’ look/remark. Will delight me forever.
Gregory and Janine kissing on Abbott Elementary! The flowers!!!!!!
Kelvin and Keefe’s first kiss (finally!) on The Righteous Gemstones!
Also on The Righteous Gemstones: Judy and BJ walking into the party to “Dance Hall Days” while BJ is rocking his shorts-romper ensemble. A moment that simply stunned me!
The end of the first episode (I think?) of Beef where “The Reason” by Hoobastank is playing specifically in the context of, I just found my nemesis whose life I’m going to make a misery. That made me so happy.
Seeing the Doctor and Donna Noble together again!
Favorite Main Character of the Year:
Catherine from The Great. Season three was such a tour de force for Elle Fanning, and I just loved every note of her character’s journey! I’m so bummed that we won’t get to see what happens to her next and I’m going to miss that performance and that character so much. 😢 She is INCREDIBLE!
Favorite Villain of the Year:
The briefly-seen Logan Roy, and the way he haunted his kids and kept tearing them apart after he died, and yet they still stared at him with such love and fondness and longing in that video in the finale and then proceeded to try to tear each other to shreds because that’s what he raised them to do. AAAH!
Favorite m/f couple of the year:
Gotta be RomanGerri. Good lord, what a time we had!
Runner-up: George and Bertha Russell, the morally questionable marrieds of my dreams.
Favorite f/f couple of the year:
I loved Midge/Susie with all my heart and rambled weirdly about them being Luke/Lorelai in (slightly) different clothes for the entire run of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, from the pilot being in that pilots contest onwards (remember that??). So it was just so wonderful and satisfying to have their relationship so loved on in the last season. And to get some canon ‘Susie is in love with Midge’ vibes going on, aaah! (Midge is in love with Susie, too. To me.)
Runner-up: Anne and Mary on Our Flag Means Death. I know they were only there for one episode but I’m god damn obsessed with them and will always dream of seeing them again in hypothetical s3. Staying at Ed and Stede’s inn? Swashbuckling into their lives on the high seas, possibly wearing other people’s faces? I will take ANYTHING!!! They ARE love and romance!!!!!!!!
Favorite m/m couple of the year:
Ed/Stede!!!!!!!! They came back to me!!!!!!! They were so in love and so deranged about it in so many moments that were absolute bangers!!!!!!!!! It was a total dream come true and I will never love another season of television quite in the way that I love season two of OFMD!!!!!!!!!
Also Crowley and Aziraphale, hoo boy. Don’t think I’ve forgotten what season two did to us as a society!!!! It was spectacular and I loved every minute of my deranged feelings.
And Nandermo always always always, and more with every season. Sorry, WWDITS showrunner dude!
Favorite fictional friendship of the year:
I really enjoyed getting to see Mabel and Oliver and Charles again in Only Murders in the Building season three! And the Rez Dogs in Reservation Dogs, which I finally watched! And the return of the Doctor and Donna to finish off the year!
Also, this doesn’t totally count as friendship per se, but George obstinately pretending to be Catherine’s bestie for self-preservation reasons in season three of The Great was riveting at every second and I was obsessed with it.
Your fictional boyfriend of the year?:
Edward Teach, going through every single human emotion and being so god damn beautiful doing it! 🥹
Your fictional girlfriend of the year?:
Gerri Kellman, my love, my light, THE stone-cold killer bitch of all time. 👑👑👑
Fandom that you never expected to get into:
I guess I never expected to get AS into Succession as I did. But somehow that final season really hit the exact vibe of ‘Your dreams could come true but they never will’ that absolutely and lastingly obsessed me.
Fandom that made an unexpected comeback:
Community, I guess? I’ve been really fixated on Community since our rewatch was begun! I always forget exactly HOW obsessed and emotionally invested I am until I am watching it again. And then I’m left in an abyss of feelios.
Fandom that inspired the most crack:
Oh, it’s gotta be Succession. That’s the only way to engage with Succession.
Last fandom of the year:
As mentioned: I am currently very in my Community feels due to my rewatch! Oh, does this show ever dwell in a tender and sweet place in my heart.
Overall favorite fandoms of the year:
Succession, Good Omens, OFMD
Your main fandom of the year:
Oh, gosh. Is it Succession?? I feel like the three above all got some major attention, but Succession might have been stretched out over the longest amount of time. Just, y’know. All that trying to recover!
The most missed of your old fandoms:
My year was definitely too Gilmore Girls lite for my liking! I also already miss Ted Lasso and simply insist that they make a fourth season. Even if they have to do it without Ted anymore 😢, I could dream of Roy and Keeley getting back together and see Rebecca and Nate and Higgins and Beard and the team and all my buddies again. I just feel like season three did not feel like an ending season and there’s still so much more juice in that ensemble.
Fandom resolutions for next year:
Just keep having a jolly time! Maybe watch less TV. Be more discerning in choosing which TV shows to watch so that there are more free hours in my day.
Fandom predictions for next year:
I predict Ted Lasso is going to come back in some form. It wasn’t over! It still isn’t over!! (I know if this happens it probably won’t include Ted, but wouldn’t it be hilarious if the desperate dream of Ted/Rebecca was suddenly back on? And by ‘hilarious’, I mean ‘everything to me’?)
I’m still quietly predicting the Killing Eve fix-it movie. I know it won’t happen, that Jodie and Sandra have moved on, but I’m dreaming of it anyway. And dreams can come true!
I predict that Jeff and Annie will finally get to be in love in the Community movie if it comes out. I am just choosing optimism and sweetness in this moment. I am choosing to believe.
In that vein: I predict that OFMD season three will exist!
I predict that Hugh Grant and Colin Firth will finally make a romcom together as the love interests. WHY NOT. IT'S TIME.
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KATE BISHOP x READER
THE WORLD’S GREATEST ARCHER (PART 3)
A/N: HELLO BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE!
First of all I want to start saying... 200K views on my imagine book?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?! I have no words to explain how grateful I am for each one of you spending time reading, liking, commenting and sharing my stories, it means the world to me ❤️
To celebrate, here's another chapter! Enjoy!
Sending love ❤️
-
Summary: Y/N, Kate and Clint pay a visit to the LARPers, Y/N meets Eleanor and someone follows Y/N and Kate.
Warnings: none.
Word count: 4341 words.
-
"Oh my god, this is amazing." Y/N gasped out in amazement when they arrived at the park they knew the Larpers would be due to Kate successfully tracking someone of them’s phone.
Kate and Clint turned their heads around at Y/N’s statement, then Clint focused his attention on the Y/H/C girl and looked at her in puzzlement at her big, shit eating grin on her face. "Really?" Clint asked unsure, furrowing his eyebrows uncertainly as he switched his gaze from the Maximoff to the group of people dressed with medieval clothes and fighting with foam weapons.
"Yeah! Holy shit, let’s go!" Y/N started to walk towards the battlefield but was immediately stopped by Clint’s hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, no, no, no, no, no. We’re here to take that suit back. He’s our guy." Clint pointed to a tall man wearing the Ronin costume and fighting against a bunch of people with a foam katana.
"Oh yeah, there it is." Kate spoke up for the first time after staying uncharacteristically quiet for a few minutes as she let Clint and Y/N bicker beside them.
"Yeah, let’s go." As soon as Clint started walking towards their target, they got stopped by a blonde girl wearing some kind of brown, leather uniform.
"Woah, woah. You can’t go in there."
"Ah, I’m sorry. I just need to talk to that guy over there." Clint smiled politely, but Y/N noticed an ounce of irritation in it and rolled her eyes in fond exasperation.
"I’m sorry, you can’t do that. You need to partecipate at our play."
"It won’t be necessary. I just need that costume back. That suit was stolen."
The blonde grimaced in regret and shook her head, "look I know who you are, but this goes against our rules. If you want to talk to him you either partecipate at our play or wait for it to be over."
Just when Y/N opened her mouth to tell the girl they were going to partecipate, Clint beat her to it and spoke up first, "how long until it ends?"
"10 hours." The blonde answered seriously and both Y/N and Kate snorted under their breaths at the irritated face Clint had on.
"Where can we sign in for the campaign?" It was then that Y/N butted in the conversation and looked at Kate in a silent question, the young archer nodding eagerly at her before smiling politely at the blonde.
"Follow me!"
After they took everything covered and Kate left her dog at the front desk, they finally changed into their medieval clothes and walked into the battle field, Y/N and Kate walking in side by side, followed by an unamused Clint with a deep frown on his features a few feet back. "Remember, we’re the most dreaded Twins of Deepdale. No one will survive on our path."
Clint rolled his eyes when Y/N repeated the words from the scroll they gave them and watched Kate nod resolutely before turning around and sinking her foam sword on the back of a boy near her. "Why is this happening to me?"
"YES! You foolish man, daring to challenge the dreadful Twins of Deepdale."
"You shall not live another day!" After Kate delivered her line, Y/N stabbed that said man with her foam sword while with her other hand she hit a girl running towards her with her shield. Kate rolled over Y/N’s back when she crouched down to dodge a hit and slashed her fake sword along three people’s abdomen after landing perfectly on her feet. Y/N and Kate stopped to look at their enemies falling on the ground and smiling triumphantly. Then Y/N squatted on her legs a bit and shielded her body as she stared determined in the distance. "I could do this all day."
"Holy shit you didn’t." Kate laughed heartily at the Captain America quote spoke with a low, deep tone to try to replicate Steve’s voice and high-fived Y/N.
"Let‘e go claim our land, my dearest twin sister."
Clint huffed out as he looked up in exasperation and walked past the two doofus, now in the middle of fighting against 10 people, Y/N and Kate screaming in victory when they all fell on the ground, and with a few stabs and hits he approached the guy wearing the Ronin suit.
"What?"
"Just let me kill you. Look, you are already a hero but this is all I got. Let me just have this."
"Ugh and I defeated Thanos." He murmured lowly before crouching down and sighing out loud, "please make it quick."
"What? No. We have to put on a show, make them believe we are dueling and I kill you."
Clint then, not noticing the other two girls approaching them, jumped back in fright when Y/N, now behind him with Kate by her side, screamed at the top of her lungs, "YES! A DUEL!"
Clint was having an hard time keeping his rage at ease as Missy and the other LARPers pushed him and the guy to a pit and circled around them to watch the duel unfold. He stared into distance with an exasperated look while Missy explained the rules of the duel, "here, drink this. It’s a bottle."
"No thank you."
"What?! He’s not drinking?!" Orville gasped in shock beside Y/N.
"Are you out of your mind?!" Y/N spoke up at the same time, followed by Kate beside her screaming a bunch of disapproving ‘boo’s.
"Oh no Clint, you’re in trouble!" The young archer yelled and patted Y/N on the shoulder mouthing an ‘I know, I know’ to Y/N.
Clint rolled his eyes and huffed out loud as he turned around from the two girls having too much fun on this, hoping at all costs for this torture to end soon. They started fighting as soon as Missy gave the signal, Clint stopping after he blocked a hit from the guy he was fighting with to look at Y/N and another guy beside her mimic the sound of swords hitting each other.
He shook his head with a disbelieving look in his eyes and focused back on this charade before pushing the guy off of him, "what are you doing?"
"Giving them a show worth of watching!"
"Just kill me."
"Okay, okay. Are you ready?"
"I’m begging you, just kill me." Clint said exasperated and sighed in relief when he faked being stabbed by the guy and fell to his knees. He turned his head around and watched Y/N and Kate stare at him with widened eyes and their mouth open in O shapes.
"And now we burn the corpse!"
Clint lifted his head up in confusion, only to return his gaze to his two companion when he heard them scream excitedly.
"YES!" The two girl both screamed as they both hugged Orville. Clint felt himself being lifted up from the ground by a mist of blue before finding himself being tied up to a pole and fake flames burning around him.
"Holy shit, this is amazing." Kate laughed in amusement while Y/N eyed her work proudly, her eyes moving in the air as she controlled the mist around Clint.
"Are you recording everything?" Y/N asked, turning her head around from Clint’s sight to stare at the young archer with her phone in her hand.
"Yup."
"Great."
-
"That was irritating."
"Oh c’mon, grumpy cat, I know you had fun." Y/N probed Clint’s side as they walked back to the girl’s apartment.
"Oh shit! My mom is calling me. I was supposed to be at work today!" Kate nervously started at her phone before answering her call. "Hey mom."
Y/N watched interested as a slight reprimanding could be heard from her position beside Kate and watched the black haired archer grimace as she stammered her words to try to make amends with her mother. "What’s wrong?" Y/N mouthed to Kate, who just sighed and whispered ‘later’ back.
"Yeah mom, I know I should’ve already been there, but listen something came up and-"
Kate once again was stopped by her mother, the Y/H/C could hear her disappointed tone and sighed softly under her breath. Already gone for this girl, hm? Y/N thought derisively in her mind as she spoke up in an hushed tone, "tell her you’ll be there."
Kate looked confused at Y/N, her eyes showing uncertainty and bemusement, but Y/N just nodded resolutely and smiled at her in encouragement. "Mom- hey, mom, I’ll be there. Just give me 15 minutes. ‘K, bye. Love you."
"What do you have in mind?" Clint asked inquisitively, stopping at a red light and using this opportunity to gaze at her curiously.
"You need to hide that suit. We are on our way to my place to start planning how to get the tracksuits off Kate’s back, we’re just stopping at Bishop Security on the way." Y/N explained with a shrug of her shoulders, turning her head around to look at Kate to silently ask if she was okay with her plan and she was met with a sweet smile and a small nod. "We can’t leave her alone because of the tracksuits, so I’ll keep an eye on her and you do your thing."
"I bet you won’t mind looking at Kate." Clint teased in his mind, forcing his thoughts into Y/N’s brain like Y/N and Wanda taught him to and smirked imperceptibly, before putting his stoic face back on and nodding in understanding. "Alright, do not get into trouble. I won’t hear the end of it from your mom."
"Don’t worry Barton, I’m the mature one between us two." Y/N motioned with her hand to herself and Clint and chuckled when the archer rolled his eyes good-naturedly. She totally ignored Clint’s thought that he purposefully pushed into her mind as she fought against flushing hard, she wasn’t going to dwell on that with the girl in question so close to her. In the meantime they started walking again when the light turned green and stopped not too long after, where they will take two different directions and go to their separate ways.
"Okay, Bishop Security is not too far from here."
"Alright, see you later grumpy cat?" Y/N grinned brightly when Clint grunted at the nickname and winked at him innocently with a soft shrug of her shoulders.
"Hey, can you take the dog with you? Pets aren’t allowed in the building." Kate looked down at the one-eyed golden retriever to caress his head before giving the leash to Clint after her agreed with bringing the dog with him with a soft smile.
The two girls bid Clint goodbye and started their short walk towards Bishop Security side by side, their shoulders brushing gently together from time to time and causing Y/N’s cheeks to burn slightly. The Y/H/C girl thanked God that it was windy and freezing out there so if the archer noticed her red cheeks she would think it was due to the winter’s cold. "Kate, I can feel you wanting to ask a question."
"Sorry! I’m just- you’ve been one of my favorite Avengers since you joined the team and now I’m here with you!" Y/N found Kate’s gushing adorable, so she just smiled down at her feet and shook her head.
"I’m always happy to meet my fans."
"Only a fan? Pfft, you’re like a role model to me. I have had your giant poster on my bedroom wall for years! I even dressed up as you at one Halloween party. And why am I saying this?! To you moreover?! You know what? Let’s just forget I ever talked. Yeah, that’s cool. Oh look Santa!"
Y/N snickered loudly at the girl’s ramble and to ease the girl’s worries she bumped their shoulders softly together and changed the subject quickly, "so what’s the plan? I can stay down here and keep an eye on you from here. If anything happens I will be there to you in a second."
Kate smiled at Y/N in appreciation for her purposefully ignoring her embarrassing ramble and sighed out under her breath, "there’s no need. You can come up with me. I’m just telling my mom I can’t work today and everything will be fine so we can go."
Y/N nodded and stayed quiet, enjoying the comfortable silence surrounding them as they wandered through the busy streets of New York, full of people rushing in and out of shops for last minute Christmas shopping. Just before they entered the massive building with "Bishop Security" written on it, Y/N let a big, smug smirk settle on her lips as she spoke without looking at her archer and staring ahead of her, "by the way I would like to see that poster, Bishop."
Kate’s face got impossibly red as she stumbled in her steps and almost crashed into someone walking out of the building, "are you out of your mind?! There’s no way I’m showing you that. I shouldn’t have said anything in the first place."
"Why? I want to know what picture of me you picked for your poster! I want to know if I look cool in it."
Kate’s face got impossibly red as the picture in question popped into her mind. She chose one particular picture of Y/N, one extrapolated from a fragment of a documentary about the Avengers where Y/N was showing her workout routine as an Avenger. She choose that one in particular for 2 reasons: 1) she was wearing black and purple yoga pants with a matching black and purple sport bra, giving Kate a great view of her abs on display. 2) she was smiling cutely at the camera as she imitated Bucky’s pose during a fight, causing the muscles on her arms to stand out deliciously. 3) her body was glistening with a thin layer of sweat from her workout. Okay she said 2, but she probably could list a lot more reasons if she thought about that picture intensely. It was nothing short but perfect. "I- no, you won’t ever look at it. That’s a big, fat no."
"Oh c’mon!" Y/N pressed more, touching Kate’s bicep as they walked into the elevator, both thankful that no one else entered as the doors closed and it started its journey up to the top floor. "I won’t judge you, I promise!" Y/N tapped the archer’s arm repeatedly with what Kate could only describe as the most adorable pout in the entire multiverse and the blue eyed girl fought against every cell of her body that screamed to embrace her and protect her at all costs.
"No, nope, not happening." Kate kept her eyes glued on the elevator doors and avoided Y/N’s big, doe eyes pleading her. "Stop looking at me like that. Those adorable eyes and pout could force anyone to do anything."
"I know." Y/N winked and smiled slyly, dropping the subject with a dejected sigh as she heard the elevator ding, announcing their arrival at the top floor. "This isn’t over Bishop. I will see that poster, sooner than you think!"
Kate shook her head good-naturedly and walked out of the elevator, throwing her coat and backpack on the floor beside Dee and strides towards her mother’s office. She turned around to make sure Y/N was following her, only to stop a few feet later when she noticed the girl was standing awkwardly beside the reception desk, both of Kate’s and her coat in her arms and Kate’s backpack slung over her left shoulder. "What are you doing there? C’mon, it won’t take long." Kate nodded in the direction of her mother’s office, but Y/N stayed put with an unsure look on her beautiful features. After Kate sent Y/N another determined look, Y/N sighed out as she made up her mind and forced a tight lipped smile at Dee before catching up with her.
"I know, I know, I’m late mom but-"
"Katy." Kate stopped herself in her tracks as her gaze shifted from her mom sat on the loveseat in front of her to Jack, who walked past her mother’s desk and sat on the couch.
"Kate." Y/N shivered imperceptibly at the hard tone the black haired girl used to correct the man - she totally reprimanded her body for that reaction - before regarding her mother with an annoyed look, "can we talk? In private?"
"What’s wrong honey?" Eleanor asked in worry at her daughter before finally noticing the other person in the room, "hold on, why is an Avenger in my office?"
"Hello." Y/N smiled awkwardly at both Eleanor and Jack staring at her in awe and confusion, "sorry to bother you-"
"But we really need to go. I just came here to ask you if it’s okay if I take a few days off."
"Yeah darling, no problem. But- wait- I’m still processing. How do you two know each other?"
"We-" Kate trailed off with a pensive look on her face, her lips curling over a duck face as she closed her left eye in thought.
"We bumped into each other last night. I was craving some pizza and met Kate in the pizza place under her apartment."
"Yeah! I wasn’t looking where I was going and I made her pizza fall on the ground. I offered to buy her a new one and then invited her in my apartment to eat." Kate sighed out inwardly at their impressive improvisation skills, especially when her mother had her signature inquisitive, motherly look in her blue eyes and was staring at them with an hard face on.
"So you were there when the fire started."
Y/N’s and Kate’s face dropped just a tad to luckily be not noticeable enough to Jack and Eleanor at the question but Y/N quickly recovered and found her voice to answer, "yeah."
"She helped us to get out without injuries." Kate smiled reassuringly at her mother and Y/N watched the woman’s worries wash away from her face as a small smile of gratitude appeared on her lips.
"Thank you Nightstorm."
"Don’t mention it."
"So about our talking-"
"Kate please, go have fun with your new friend, we’ll talk another day."
"But mom I really need to talk to you." Kate pressed with a desperate tone, but she was once again interrupted by her mother ad Y/N sighed out sadly that she couldn’t help Kate out from her unbending mother.
"Why don’t you join us for dinner? It’s been a while and you just came back from college."
Kate rolled her eyes and let out a puff of air, ready to decline her mother’s invitation only for it to come out strangled as a determined, mischievous look settled on her features, "fine. On one condition." Kate trailed off as she eyed her mother challengingly with her eyebrows slightly arched up, "I come up with the conversation topics."
Eleanor scoffed in fond exasperation but nodded nonetheless, "you can join us too."
Y/N was taken aback from the attention being focused on her as three pair of eyes settled on her, "uhm, there’s no need."
"I insist please. It would be a pleasure to have an Avenger at dinner and I want to properly thank you for saving Kate."
"Mh-" Y/N desperately met Kate’s eyes to ask for her help, but the blue eyed archer barely shrugged with a lost expression. "I’ll be there."
"Perfect." Eleanor grinned at her and nodded gleefully.
"Okay, we better head off. Thank you mom for these few days off." Kate sat up and walked to hug her mother, then sent a tight lipped smile at Jack, who reciprocated with a big, bright grin and waved at her enthusiastically.
"I hope you didn’t get into some trouble, young lady." Eleanor’s motherly tone was present as she scowled at Kate in reprimand.
"Mh no, Ms. Bishop. I- Kate is helping me searching for a Christmas present for my mom."
"Oh that’s so lovely. Go do your thing. I’ll see you two tonight."
After bidding Eleanor and Jack goodbye, they quickly entered an elevator and walked out of the building. Y/N waited a few more seconds for good measure before speaking up inquisitively, "so, tell me again about that Jack theory you have."
"You believe me?" Kate asked bewildered before starting to narrate once again the events of the night prior and how it was all strangely connected to Jack.
When they were almost near her apartment, Y/N entwined their arms together and pushed Kate towards the opposite way her apartment was, making Kate stare at her strangely. "I think someone is following us."
"What?" Kate whispered between them, looking subtly behind them and found a suspicious-looking man walking a few feet behind them.
"Yes, bald man, black suit, aviators. He has been following us from a few blocks by now."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, look." Y/N turned abruptly to the left and after a few seconds made Kate turn around to see him turn too into the street they just walked in.
"Holy shit, what do we do?"
"We’re gonna lose him." Y/N eyed warily around her to make sure it was just that man following them and sighing out in relief when she found no one else suspicious-looking.
"How?"
"Follow my lead." Y/N grasped Kate’s hand and entwined their hands, before walking into the nearest shop and speed walked towards the end of the place, peering from a shelve to see that big man enter the shop 20 seconds later. "Ready?" Y/N turned around and stepped in front of Kate, grasping both of her arms and stared into her eyes intently, and Kate nodded rapidly right after, looking at her expectantly. "It might feel weird but this is the only way to lose him now."
Kate understood what Y/N meant only when in a millisecond she noticed they weren’t in the shop anymore but in Y/N’s apartment as her eyes took in their new surroundings, "holy shit- how did you do that?!"
Clint, sat on the Y/H/C girl’s couch, jumped up a bit at the sudden presence of the two girls and looked up from his phone, previously busy texting someone. "Hey."
"Hey Clint." Y/N smiled at him as she shrugged off her coat before answering Kate’s question, the girl still staring at her with her ocean blue eyes open wide in shock about what just happened, "I teleported us here."
"You can do that?!" Kate asked with a mix of bewilderment and amazement at the Y/E/C girl just as Clint spoke up.
"Why did you teleported you two here?"
"Someone was following us. After about 10 minutes we left Bishop Security, someone started stalking us. I think she may be right about Jack."
"Okay, okay, we’ll investigate more. What I want you two to do now is stay here until I fix this Ronin mess."
"We can’t." Y/N countered back as she walked into the kitchen and poured herself and Kate two glasses of water, handing one to the young archer on her way back to the living room and nodding at Kate, who thanked her with a sweet smile, and mirrored her grin.
"What does it mean ‘we can’t’?"
"My mom invited us tonight to dinner at her penthouse."
"You can’t go, it’s too dangerous." Clint shook his head resolutely as he walked around the room to gather his things.
"We’re going. I know it’s dangerous-" Y/N stopped Clint after she saw him open his mouth, probably to talk them out of this situation, to explain further, "but think about it, it will give me the opportunity to look into Jack’s mind and see what he is up to. Plus, it will allow me to look out for Kate."
"Fine. But you’re telling all of this to your mom. Wanda will send me to the moon if she thinks I’m putting you in danger."
Y/N scoffed as she watched Clint putting on his coat and his backpack, "don’t be ridiculous." She trailed off to take a sip of water before continuing nonchalantly, "she will send you to Uranus or Neptune if she finds out."
"Ha ha. Very funny." Clint rolled his eyes before opening the door and closing it behind him, bidding them goodbye with a gentle nod.
"Okay, do you want something to eat? We can or-"
"Can we talk about you teleporting us here?!"
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Y/N chuckled at the wide blue eyes staring back at her as she sat down on the couch, motioning Kate to do the same.
"Because that was unexpected but so fucking cool!" Kate sat beside Y/N and stared at her in awe. "Can you do it again?" Y/N stayed silent a few seconds, getting lost into those intoxicating ocean blue irises before disappearing right before Kate’s eyes. "Y/N?"
"Yes?" Y/N spoke up into Kate’s ear, perching over the couch top cuscions, right behind the black haired archer.
"Holy-" Kate jumped up in fright at the sudden voice in her ear, causing Y/N to cackle over the couch in amusement. "That wasn’t fair!" Kate slapped Y/N’s forearm with a big pout and crossed her arms with a fake angered huff.
"Ohw come on, it was hilarious. At least you didn’t scream like a little girl like Scott did."
"I was going to, but I wanted to look cool, so I didn’t."
Y/N smiled at the cuteness overflowing from the archer and circled her arms around the girl’s shoulders still perching over the couch, "sorry." She murmured in apology in her ear, not noticing the goosebumps appearing on the blue eyed beauty’s skin at the air hitting her ear, before jumping over the couch to sat right back beside Kate and with a flick of her hand turned the TV on. "So about tonight-" Kate turned her attention from the reality show on the screen to Y/N beside her, noticing the smug smirk present on her lips and braced herself for whatever the girl wanted to say, "are you going to show me that giant poster of me in your bedroom?"
#kate bishop#katebishop#kate bishop x oc#kate bishop x y/n#kate bishop x reader#kate bishop imagines#kate bishop imagine#kate bishop fanfics#kate bishop fanfiction#kate bishop smut#kate bishop fic#kate bishop x original character#kate bishop x fem!reader#kate bishop x original female character#kate bishop fanfic#kate bishop fanfictions#kate bishop fics#kate bishop fluff#mcu imagine#mcu smut#mcu imagines#mcu x reader#hailee steinfeld#haileesteinfeld#hailee steinfeld x y/n#hailee steinfeld fluff#hailee steinfeld imagines#hailee steinfeld x reader#hailee steinfeld smut#hailee steinfeld imagine
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{ A Slow BURN, of Aaron Hotchner & Fem! Reader. As of right now, you jst look like you!! Not any race color. }
New Episode, Criminal Minds. Which comes with,
Tw ; Gore, Description of Dead Bodies, Slow Burn, 2022 writing (that im fixing rn!), use of You(s) instead of I(s) and her!!
New Case. - Part 3
“Alright, Lets begin.”
JJ said as she put the screen up. A picture of a young girl with (H/C) {hair color!} and soft looks.. appeared on the tv, Jennifer sighed as she looked at the file. Everyone looked at it, As it said.. “Kasse Jayde Cole” “16”
“Police said that Kasse was found in Chicago, {___} at 3:30AM in a park, by park rangers as well. The wounds on her body was completely fresh.”
“Don’t people call 3AM between 4AM the "witching hour" or something?”
You said it quietly but yet everyone heard you.. You looked back at the file, already knowing that reid will say something smart about what you said but. As you flipped through the stuff.. you saw the wounds, it creeped you out really. It looked like vampire bites in vampire romance books or movies or shows too..
“Actually, it wasn’t always the witching hour. It was when "demons" were strongest.. but then, as early as 1775 Rev. Matthew West in the poem "Night, an Ode" started the thing where they called 3AM and the time between that through 4AM the "witching hour"!”
Reid said, and explained. No one stopped him well… you didn’t let them, he has been shut up one too many times. And you care about how he feels so! What if he feels bad about rambling- anyways.. You were looking at reid before looking at the file again. Sighing as you kept staring into the picture of the wound, it felt familiar. Way too familiar, it’s like you have seen the same wound somewhere, just somewhere.. it messed with your mind a lot, you shook your head before looking up at Jennifer or JJ.
“Go on jj..”
“As I was saying. The police called us as they have been dealing with the same problem each time, as so in the files.. This is the fifth victim, the media has been calling the unsub "Vampire" and the police has been encouraging it.”
JJ paused as she pressed a button on the remote that made another picture pop up, a girl with (E/C) and (S/C) {eye color & skin color} You looked a small shocked before shaking your head again, you looked through the file until the girl’s picture popped up.
“Jasmine Bayou Isuma. The police said she was found in an adandom warehouse by teens, the same wounds on her neck like Kasse. Clearly like vampire bites as to the unsub’s name. But Jasmine looked like she was there in the warehouse for a couple of days, but something that they both had been completely drained out of blood, Kasse and Jasmine.”
You looked up from the file and to the screen, completely more shocked than you looked like before. You tried to put stuff together as you looked back at the file, reading Jasmine’s page.. You compared their photos of their dead body. Both pale and their wounds in the same place.. you looked absolutely confused. Before you could say anything, JJ spoke up again.
“There was another girl, but her body was cut off besides her head and neck. The unsub kept the head and neck together as to show her wound on her neck, the same wounds on Jasmine and Kasse.. As of right now, they haven’t found the rest but they do know the identity of the girl. Her name was Eleanor.”
You sighed softly, looking at the picture of Eleanor. It was her high school yearbook picture.. she looked so happy there, Eleanor’s next picture was her head and neck cut off from the rest of her body. It was upsetting that each one of these girls had a whole life ahead of them and all three were only sixteen. You quickly got snapped out of your own thoughts by a chair moving back loudly, it was Hotchner getting up. You absolutely sighed, make annoyed and everyone but him heard it, Derek looked at you and smirked at you teasingly. You glared at him immediately when he did that.
“Alright. Wheels up in thirty.”
WELL! Its another part of new case😊 and get ready!! im literally abt to MAKE A BUNCH OF STORIES. i dont have writer block anymore people!! The next is gonna be surprising! I don’t know how this is alr to post because i haven’t proofread it yet but its alr- i have a bunch of stories to do rn so.. its fun writing this type of series 😊😊
- Akira!.. Akira! Logging.. logg- logging off..
#akiraiscute#x reader#criminal minds#criminal minds x reader#aaron hotch x reader#aaron hotchner#spencer reid#derek morgan#jennifer jareau#criminal minds emily prentiss#slow burn#enemies to lovers#part 3#<3#is daddy#new case
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welcome to charming // chibs telford x oc
Chibs Telford x F!OC
Warnings: 18+, language, talk of sexual assault and violence, slight fatphobia
Word Count: 2,887
A/N: I've finally written the first time that Ellie and Chibs met. Felt good to write the beginning of their story. Gaelic translations will be at the very end. Enjoy!
I haven't relaxed in two weeks. I don't remember what it was like to not be nauseous and shaking with heart palpitations. I grew up in an extremely stressful family and environment, yet I don't think I've ever been so unable to relax. I prayed that as soon as my plane landed that I would feel some sort of relief, but it's been twenty minutes in a cab and I still can't slow my breathing.
The driver stops in front of a large garage and another building surrounded by a fence. I peek and see a giant sign that reads "Teller-Morrow Automotive Repair" which tells me that I'm in the right place. I grab my backpack and small suitcase before paying the driver and thanking him. Once my feet are settled on the pavement, he races away, eager to get to his next job that doesn't involve a strange girl who barely speaks. I don't blame him.
As I'm walking towards the garage, a group of men on motorcycles pull in and parks before going into the additional building. I barely get a glimpse of their familiar patch, but I'm further assured that I'm in the right place. I've seen McGee's patch enough to know what it looks like, and it finally feels like a piece of home is here.
"Can I help you, sweetheart? You look lost," A tall woman says as she exits the garage. I should be intimidated by her biker babe clothing and judging stare, but I've faced far worse than her.
"I'm Eleanor Drysdale. I'm looking for Clay Morrow," I answer, and the second she hears my accent her stare relaxes.
"He's just gone into the clubhouse. You're the girl that McGee sent, aren't you," She asks as she leads me towards the additional building.
"Aye. He said that I should ask for Clay and that if I can't find him, to ask for Gemma," I answer, feeling my body relax minutely with the knowledge that I was one step closer to safety.
"Well, I'm Gemma. I'm Clay's Old Lady and my son, Jax, is also in the club. You'll be staying at my house, so I'm sure we'll get to know each other well," She says as she places her hand on my arm as I walk past her through the doorway. I try to not jump, but can't help the involuntary reaction of feeling someone else's touch after what happened.
She stares at me for a second before the sound of a bunch of men interrupts. There are at least a dozen of them and they all seem to be laughing and talking, most of them with a drink in their hand despite it being just barely noon. A man with long blonde hair comes over and kisses Gemma's cheek before looking me up and down. Despite my worn-out jeans and a black long-sleeve top, he seems to enjoy what he sees.
"I'm Jax. What's your name, darling?" The drawl of his voice is full of confidence and I can tell that he always gets what he wants.
"I'm Eleanor, but you can call me Ellie. Is Clay here?"
I don't have time to flirt with boys; I need to ensure my safety and make a plan and Jax was standing in the way of that. He just barely hides his look of hurt before pointing over to the bar where a large man is talking to two other men, one with dark curly hair and the other with scars on his cheeks. I nod at Jax, before heading over to him. They stop talking as I approach them, and Clay seems to be annoyed that I've interrupted him.
"I'm Eleanor Drysdale, Alastair Drysdale's daughter. McGee sent me to you for safety from Jimmy O'Phelan and I would really appreciate it if you could tell me that I'm safe." I do my best to not let my voice crack on the last word, but it's a losing battle. His gaze on me softens and he looks behind me at Gemma.
"You're safe, sweetheart," She says as she comes up next to me and wraps her arm around my shoulder.
"You're safe. Jimmy doesn't know that you're here and everyone in this club is sworn to secrecy about where you are," Clay adds and it's the straw that breaks the camel's back.
The tears that I've been holding in for two weeks fall and I can't control the sobs that come out of my throat. Things go into motion around me and I'm gently pushed into a bar stool with a glass of Jameson and a cigarette and a lighter waiting for me. Gemma rubs up and down my back and the man with the scars stands opposite me behind the bar.
"You're Alastair's girl?" The Scottish accent scares me at first before soothing me. I nod and he continues. "I knew your father. He was a good man and I know that he would want you taken care of. It's gonna be okay, lass. Tha thu sàbhailte an seo."
With shaky hands, I light the cigarette and allow the smoke to enter my lungs. After a couple of sips of Jameson and the rest of the cigarette, I've calmed down some. My heart has finally stopped trying to escape my chest.
"Tell us what happened," Gemma says, her voice soft and motherly. I lost my own mother to a bomb when I was eight and haven't been around any sort of nurturing since.
"I was sixteen when Jimmy first met me. He was working with my father on some gun shipments and took a liking to me. Once I finished school and was eighteen, he started to try to seduce me despite having a wife. I denied him, of course, and my father's power protected me from anything worse. My father was killed and three days later, Jimmy was on my doorstep telling me that I wasn't protected anymore and that I couldn't keep him away.
He had his men follow me wherever I went and he tried to kidnap me a handful of times over the past two years but was unsuccessful. The last time that he tried to kidnap me, he also tried to sexually assault me. When I got away from him, he came after me with a knife and cut open my thighs and my arms. I went to McGee for help and he sent me here."
You could hear a pin drop, the room was so silent. The Scotsman across the bar seemed to be vibrating with rage, and I was both confused and comforted by a stranger's anger for what happened to me. I left out that the stitches I received from one of McGee's men were poorly done and hurt more than they helped. That wasn't one of my top priorities so it didn't matter to me now.
"Did you go to the hospital," The Scotsman asks, breaking the silence.
"I didn't want to risk it. One of McGee's men patched me up," I answer, wondering why that was the part of the story that he decided to fixate on.
"Let me see the stitches." When I don't move to expose myself to him, he continues talking. "I was a medic in the army. Show me the stitches so that I can make sure that there's nothing wrong with them."
"I'm not going to expose myself to you. I don't even know you," I answer, shocked by his boldness.
"Lass, infected stitches can kill you. We can go to another room so that no one sees anything, but you're showing me the stitches." The authority that oozes from his voice would turn me on in other circumstances, but right now it just pisses me off. When I don't move from the bar stool, he comes around and throws me over his shoulder. I cry out at the pressure on the stitches and I can almost feel his self-satisfaction.
Once we're in another room with a large table with a Reaper on it, he closes the door and grabs a bag which he begins unpacking on the table. It's full of medical supplies and he organizes them in a way that must make sense to his mind.
"Take off your pants," He orders without looking at me and I contemplate fighting him on it, but decide that it would be a waste of energy.
"Will you at least tell me your name?"
"Chibs." Short and sweet but not his name.
"Your real name." He looks over his shoulder at me, probably surprised that I would further question him.
"Filip. Filip Telford."
I automatically understand his rage earlier. His wife was Fiona, the woman that Jimmy was in an odd marriage with. I'd never met him, but his story was told as a warning to not cross Jimmy. I take a deep breath and pull of my jeans then sit on top of the table in front of him. I avert my eyes away from the stitches, knowing the pain that will fill me when I see them again.
"Oh, lamb." He's looked at the letters etched into my skin. Now he understands why I didn't want him to see them.
The J is a little more ragged than the O. By the time he got to his second initial, I had stopped fighting and had given into his anger. The mental pain of knowing that he literally would be etched in my skin for forever far outweighed the physical pain of the knife in my skin. I had already disliked my large thighs and now I would never be able to look at them again without being forced to relive my trauma.
"He said that if he couldn't have me, I would have to always have him," I whisper as I wipe the silent tears falling down my face. The stitches are red and angry, but Filip tries to be as gentle as he can as he begins to undo them.
"Once they heal, you'll hardly notice them. Mine were about as deep as yours are and they took around three months to heal. I don't know how bad your arms are, though," He answers with his eyes laser focused on what he's doing.
"Why did he do it to you," I ask and almost instantly wish that I hadn't. He surprisingly doesn't get angry at the question, just continues to undo the jagged stitches.
"He banished me from the IRA and wanted me to live with the knowledge that my wife would never want me again with the scars," He answers, his tone showing no anger. "You know who Fiona is so I'm sure you know the rest of the story."
"My Uncle Galen told Jimmy where I was hiding from him because he killed my father and wanted to get rid of me so that I wouldn't find out. What he doesn't know is that I watched him shoot my father fifteen times on the steps of Kellan Ashby's church." He looks up at me when I say that. "I've never told anyone that."
Filip continues to work in silence, undoing the stitches before redoing them. The difference is instantly noticeable; the stitches are tight and even, rather than loose and jagged. I'm grateful that he forced me to do this because hopefully my scars would look better with proper stitches. Once's he's finished, I remove my shirt so that he can fix the ones on my forearm. These read out 'slut' though they don't seem to bother me as much.
"I want to kill him even more than I already did. How could he do this to a little girl," He says to himself.
"I'm a woman, not a child," I snap at him and he seems surprised by my bite.
"I know, lass, I know," He reassures me, guilt in his eyes.
"No one believed me for months that Jimmy was after me. They said that I was doing it for attention and that I was just a little girl with mommy issues. Why would the great Jimmy O'Phelan want the chubby daughter of an IRA King when he could get whoever he wanted?" He stops attending to my wounds to grab my face so that I maintained eye contact with him.
"Don't ever talk about yourself like that. You're more beautiful than half the women in Ireland and I won't listen to you insult yourself," He tells me with his voice raised. I can't help the blush that rises to me cheeks and pull away from his grip to hide my face from him.
He finishes his work in silence and I watch his face the whole time. Though he's definitely older than me, I find myself incredibly attracted to him. His eyes are soft and gentle, his mouth set in a firm frown that almost makes me pity him. The scars enhance his face structure rather than taking away from it, and I find myself more and more enamored with them. I like the sprinkles of gray throughout his hair and beard. His hands are calloused yet gentle, and I find myself watching their every move. I've spent the last year avoiding every man I've come into contact with to protect myself, and now that I'm safe I can't help but fall for the first man that shows me attention.
A knock on the door breaks our silence and he looks up at me to make sure that it's okay for them to come in before allowing them in. Gemma walks in with her purse in hand.
"I've got to go home and check on the birds. I've got your suitcase and backpack in my car, so I'll bring them to the house and pick you up later, Ellie." She barely knows me and she's already taking care of me.
"No need. I'll bring her by on my bike when we finish up here. She needs to go over a few things with Clay," Chibs answers for me. Gemma nods before kissing my forehead and Chibs' cheek and leaving.
The rest of the guys take the open door as an invitation to enter what I've figured out to be their room for Church. I spent some time hanging out at SAMBel over the past couple of years, so I'm familiar with how the club works. Clay sits at the head of the table and the rest of them sit in what seems to be their assigned seats. Chibs continues finishing up the stitches as Clay starts talking.
"Ellie, you'll be staying with me and Gemma for the time being. If we think the Irish are coming for a visit, we'll move you to our cabin with at least two members, but we don't expect that to happen any time soon. You'll be working with Gemma in the garage, doing some office work and just helping around with the club so no one becomes suspicious. Your cover is that you're McGee's adopted daughter and he sent you here because you're thinking about going to school in America." I nod while Clay tells me all of this, absorbing as much information as I can. I'm about to reply when Filip pulls particularly hard on the last stitch.
"Fuck, Filip! Na bi garbh," I hiss at him and he glares up at me. The guys seem to find it funny that I called him Filip, which only makes him glare harder.
"Bi nad nighean mhath," He answers, which makes me glare back at him.
"Go fuck yourself." The guys really get a kick out of that, but Filip and I keep glaring at each other.
"I think Chibs has finally met his match," Jax says as he smirks at the two of us.
They finish up talking about whatever else they needed to talk about before Clay dismisses everyone. Chibs helps me put my shirt back on since I already put my jeans back on when he finished restitching my thighs. His fingertips graze my waist and goosebumps arise under his touch. Once I'm situated, he puts his hand on my lower back to lead me out of the clubhouse. Jax is climbing on his bike at the same time as Chibs and I are walking to his.
"Don't be too hard on Chibs, Ellie. He's getting old," Jax teases before speeding off. Chibs ignores him and helps me put a helmet on over my mass of dark curls, making sure that it's clasped properly before putting his own on and climbing on the bike. I settle in behind him and precariously wrap my arms around his waist. There's a good two inches between us and he uses my hands to pull me so that my front is pressed firmly against his back.
"Hold on tight, little lamb," He says, and I can practically hear the smile in his voice.
He speeds off into the afternoon traffic, taking me to Gemma's house. Neither of us know this yet, but this certainly won't be the last time on the back of his bike and it is definitely not the last time that I'm pressed against him like this.
"Welcome to Charming, lass."
Gaelic Translations:
Tha thu sàbhailte an seo: You're safe here.
Na bi garbh: Don't be rough.
Bi nad nighean mhath: Be a good girl.
#chibs fanfiction#chibs#chibs telford#fanfiction#filip telford#soa#sons of anarchy#jaxteller#jax#gemma teller#clay morrow#sons of anarchy fanfiction
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Asks about my OTPs
Pick your top 10 OTPs without reading the questions, then answer the questions after you've made your list (I will do my top 10 Austen OTPs)
Catherine Morland & Henry Tilney
Fanny Price & Henry Crawford
Elizabeth Bennet & Fitzwilliam Darcy
Harriet Smith & Robert Martin
Caroline Bingley & Sir Walter Elliot
Elinor Dashwood & Edward Ferrars
Marianne Dashwood & Colonel Brandon
Emma Woodhouse & Jane Fairfax
Eleanor Tilney & her laundry Viscount
Sir Walter & Himself
1. Do you remember the episode/scene/chapter that you first started shipping 6? – When Edward comes to Barton and makes fun of Marianne's love of dead trees.
2. Have you ever read a fanfic about 2? – Yes, my favourite is Fanny: A Mansfield Park Story by Amelia Marie Logan, and I've written severa, including one full length novel.
3. Has a picture of 4 ever been your screen saver/profile picture/tumblr screen saver? – Nope! Always my kids these days.
4. If 7 were to suddenly break up today, what would your reaction be? – This actually happens in FF quite a lot, people are always killing off Brandon early into the marriage and leaving Marianne with a baby. It makes me sad, let Brandon be happy! He's only 37 when they marry he probably has another 20 years at least! (Honestly, since Brandon has survived to his age, Marianne actually has a higher chance of passing away since she's the one making babies).
5. Why is 1 so important? – Because they are so uncomplicated and happy. Just two very cute people making a cute marriage and I would defend their ship to the ends of the earth.
6. Is 9 a funny ship or a serious ship? – Um, it's a whole joke that Austen didn't reveal a new character because the new viscount made a laundry list that Catherine found. But I love Eleanor so much that I do seriously want her to be happy.
7. Out of all the ships listed, which ship has the most chemistry? – Henry & Catherine, Harriet & Robert I think? I may be a bad judge of "chemistry".
8. Out of all your ships listed, which ship has the strongest bond? – Elinor & Edward, I'm always surprised how sure they are of the other's love in spite of of all the obstacles.
9. How many times have you read/watched the 10’s fandom? - I honestly don't know at this point, I read Persuasion once as a teenager and I didn't like it but I LOVED Sir Walter. I've watched all the adaptations (including 1971) and I've read/listened to the book multiple times now.
10. Which ship has lasted the longest? – Sir Walter & himself obviously, that's been going strong for 54 years. I hope it continues until his death at 93. All the others are new pairings.
11. How many times, if ever, has 6 broken up? – The only Austen couple to break up and get back together is Anne & Wentworth, so zero for Elinor & Edward.
12. If the world was suddenly thrust into a zombie apocalypse, which ship would make it out alive, 2 or 8? – Huh, Fanny & Henry or Emma & Jane? They both have a sickly member, which is not great for their odds... Emma is smart but often distracted which would be really bad but Jane is a devoted learner.... Henry would "improve" his estate with zombie moats... I'm voting for both Fanny and Emma don't make it and Henry Crawford & Jane Fairfax find their second true pairing together.
13. Did 7 ever have to hide their relationship for any reason? – Colonel Brandon is attempting to hide his regard out of respect for Marianne and that's why I love him so much.
14. Is 4 still together? – Yes, eating walnuts and petting "her" little cow. Man they are cute!
15. Is 10 canon? – Yep! Though a bunch of the others aren't
16. If all 10 ships were put into a couple’s Hunger Games, which couple would win? – I'm going to put my money on Colonel Brandon, who will do anything to save Marianne. He would be the Katniss and she is the Peeta.
17. Has anybody ever tried to sabotage 5’s ship? – Yes, Mr. Elliot has been trying to prevent Sir Walter from marrying again so he can inherit the baronetcy. He almost succeeds!
18. Which ship would you defend to the death and beyond? – Catherine Morland and Henry Tilney, they are the only couple I can't bring myself to break up in fan fiction.
19. Do you spend hours a day going through 3’s tumblr page? – Um, none? I end up seeing Elizabeth & Darcy stuff no matter what, I have tags on the lesser known Austen characters.
20. If an evil witch descended from the sky and told you that you had to pick one of the ten ships to break up forever or else she’d break them all forever, which ship would you sink? – That is hard because these are my favourite, but I guess Emma can marry boring Knightley instead of having a torrid enemies-to-lovers affair with Jane Fairfax...
I'm not big on chain letters. Thank you @firawren for the tag, if anyone wants to try go ahead!
#otp#jane austen#jane austen fan fiction#and before you yell at me about leaving off canon hero/heroine pairings#They aren't my favourite#I get to pick my own OTPs!#I ship Henry and Fanny starting at Ch 30#I love elinor and edward#I'm not wild about some of the others#Henry tilney supremacy#Henry & Catherine make me die of cuteness
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Ok what Jane Austen novel do you think is Eddie's favorite because I read something that said it would be Mansfield Park, but personally I think he would like Northanger Abby the best.
I think it depends on when in his life you're asking.
I think Sense & Sensibility was his first favorite. I think he would really identify with Eleanor Dashwood - someone who keeps their emotions in tight check and doesn't feel free to speak of them and has a strong sense of duty. I think he would also like Colonel Brandon, in a slightly idolizing way and in a slightly "yeah I'd end up in that situation like a dumbass" kind of way.
As he got older I think he would identify more with Persuasion. Given everything with Shannon I think Eddie would really feel for Anne, someone who also has made mistakes in her love life and deeply regrets them and wishes she could redo them, even though that choice felt like the right thing to do at the time. I think he'd also, again because of Shannon, understand Captain Wentworth's position of loving someone and being unsure if you can forgive them. And now that he's in a position of pining after Buck (I mean it's not confirmed but personally I think that's where the show is angling), he'd identify with both Anne and Wentworth, being painfully in love with someone and thinking you missed your chance and trying to distract yourself with something lower-stakes and lighthearted. "Half agony, half hope" indeed.
But, while those are his favorite(s), I do think he'd enjoy Pride & Prejudice and have a soft spot for it because Lizzie would remind him of Buck.
#mads answers things#thegingerparty#I mean everyone's entitled to their opinions that's just how I feel
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SUMMARY
a literary could've been who had vague aspirations for writing, only for their dreams to be dampened by the perceived smallness of their existence. left their reservation in montana to follow in the footsteps of their far more accomplished brother and to soar through great heights, only to drift in and out as they struggled to keep their footing in the city. picked up a degree in english, found temp work, and slowly began to build a life independent of their family. that is, until family tragedy came in full force and forced her to confront the last two decades of missed opportunities and mistakes. for two years, she has lived in wilmington — where her father, her last remaining immediate family member, settled with his second family — and bought the independent bookstore in wrightsville beach. spends their days still drifting, but now aching for real purpose and a chance in fulfilling her unrealized dreams. ( full bio )
VITALS
NAME: eleanor robertson
NICKNAME: goes by eleanor or lenny. on occasion, nora. + give them some :)
GENDER & PRONOUNS: genderfluid / they/she
AGE: 38 / november 3, 1986
OCCUPATION: owner of read it n’ weep
NEIGHBORHOOD: wrightsville beach
SEXUALITY: lesbian
CHARACTER INSPIRATIONS: sameen shaw (person of interest), cam bentland (under the bridge), joan watson (elementary), wendy carr (mindhunter), kim wexler (better call saul), tbd.
PERSONALITY AND HEADCANONS
i want to say that they're cool but honestly it's probably just that they tune half of whatever people are saying half the time. not quite bubbly, but not quite serious, either — most days they're just the ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ internally.
can appear a bit scattered, but is genuinely just unable to bring their focus onto anything if it is not within their sphere of interest. that being said, their literary interests include detective fiction, pulpy lesbian novels, and poetry. outside of it, they're probably engaging in their 101st newfound hobby of the year. (in season: knitting)
does not have any real patience for people who are too serious or emotional for their own good, and likely withdraws from any sort of emotional outburst. which could appear as if they were disengaged from their friends/family, but really, they just don't quite know what to do with feelings, what with flight being their primary coping mechanism almost their life. but points for trying yk!!!
WANTED CONNECTIONS
FAMILIAL: i'd love some paternal half-siblings — their last name is robertson — or cousins from their father's side of the family (whom i've hced as living as wilmington/broader nc area). on their maternal side, relatives, or people who may have resided in the blackfeet reservation and in the greater montana area.
PLATONIC: acquaintances. neighbors on wrightsville beach. people who frequent/lurk around the bookstore. people they might have encountered on their usual haunts (fit and toned, tric, cinema, the boxing room, lincoln park, the vet clinic).
ROMANTIC (they're a lesbian): exes/flings. flirtationships. the 30something equivalent of a crush.
PLOT-SPECIFIC (might entail further plotting/oc creation): people who may have known their brother. their ex-fiancée. a local benefactor whom they've tapped to help keep the bookstore afloat. someone who pushes them to finally finish their manuscript T___T + anything and everything you see them fitting with your char!
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