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harry-sussex · 1 year

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This was, no joke, the best moment of my entire life. I have been waiting so long for this. I never thought it would happen.

I had originally planned to volunteer with the UK branch of my job today, but when I saw the announcement, I knew I had to do this instead. I decided to get dinner at the pub, Dog and Duck, last night to look inside and try it out - I got bangers and mash and some fish (sans chips) as an appetizer, and it was legitimately so good. I also tried the Timothy Taylor’s Landlord Beer – you can see William in the photos from today right behind the tap. My server’s name was Bernie, and you can see her in some photos with William and Kate today too – tiny woman, short gray hair cut into a bob.

I set earlier alarms this morning but due to the time difference / jet lag, I didn’t make it here until 10am. I popped into a Tesco Express on the way to grab some flowers at @avidroyalfan’s advice – yellow of course, the brightest bunch I could find.

I made it over to the area around the pub and there were barricades and policemen everywhere. There was also a black Range Rover parked at the far end of Frith Street – the street they mentioned in the press release yesterday. It thought it was mildly crowded when I got there, but it didn’t even begin to compare to the crowd that had gathered closer to their arrival.

I really had trouble picking where I was going to stand – I didn’t want to be behind anyone, I just wanted to be up against the barricade, but given that the crowd was so relatively sparse on Frith Street (as opposed to right across from the pub on Dean Street) when I got there, I wasn’t sure they were going to come my way. I was also praying that I’d be on Kate’s side of the road if they came by – you guys know I love William, but if I had a chance, this once in a lifetime chance, I needed Kate. I went with my gut, a little further down the road than where the crowd at the time had started to assemble, so I could be right against the barricades. From the moment I got to the barricade, I was literally shaking, and I am not exaggerating – you can see it in one of the videos.

I passed the time talking to some lovely people – some of whom planned to be there and some of whom happened to stroll by. I met a lovely woman, Cath, who took tons of photos without me even asking – she just saw how excited I was and took the photos to send to me. Another woman named Teri did the same – just out of the kindness of their own hearts. Those are most of the photos you guys are going to see – I took a bunch while Kate was walking around, but I didn’t want to put my own camera in her face if she was standing right in front of me.

I stood for more than four hours start to finish and I do not regret it in the slightest. I thought a lot about what I was going to say to her if I had the chance – I’ve thought about it so many times over the years, but what could I really say that would summarize more than 10 years of pure admiration and adoration in 30 seconds or less? What could I – an American in London all the way from New York – possibly say to the UK’s next queen to tell her how much she’s meant to me for all these years?

There was a policeman right in front of me – his name was Thompson – who was subtly dropping hints about what was going on. He couldn’t say much but he did hint at the time we could expect them to arrive – about 12:45pm. He ended up pretty close – he told me that he got randomly assigned to the event today and that he (and basically the entire police force) would also be at the coronation. He also confirmed that they would be walking down Frith Street, where I was, though he wouldn’t hint at which of them was going to be on my side of the street.

By the time they arrived, the crowd had literally quadrupled – maybe even more. People were on the rooftops and hanging out of windows. Very few of them had flowers. Businesses let people go on their steps to get a closer view. A helicopter was circling above for security. There were policemen and RPOs everywhere. I thought William and Kate were going to drive right up to the pub but instead they walked from the far end of the street – I suppose because they took the tube. Speaking of the tube, that’s the exact line I took this morning. That’s also where the (absolutely enormous) press pack was assembled.

I could tell when they arrived, even though I couldn’t see them right away, because the roar of the crowd and the sound of dozens of cameras clicking said everything I needed to know. As I was a bit further down the street, I didn’t get the greatest view, but it didn’t matter – you could see Kate from a mile away. That jacket was bright in and of itself but she literally glows. There’s just an inherent radiance about her that cannot be explained unless you see it in real life – she’s ethereal in photos, but they don’t even begin to do her justice. She’s radiant. Also, you can see that her hair is perfect no matter how far away you are. As they turned the corner to get to the pub, I was able to crane my neck a little bit to see them get closer to the door, and I saw The Hand with my own two eyes. William placed his hand on Kate’s lower back to guide her inside – we’ve seen photos millions of times, but seeing it with my own two eyes was unreal. Completely surreal.

They spent far less time inside the pub than I would’ve thought (unless time was flying because I knew they were coming), but again, you could hear them come out the door just by virtue of the roar of the crowd. Thompson the policeman then told me that Kate was coming to my side of the street. I thought I was shaking before – nope, not even remotely compared to how I was when I heard that she was coming my way. I saw William first across the street – he went through relatively quickly but I could somewhat hear him saying “nice to meet you” over and over, shaking hands, laughing, the usual. He’s huge – I always knew he was tall but he’s massive, tall and broad. You could tell from twenty feet away - he’s huge. At one point, I literally blurted out “he’s not wearing blue!” once I saw the brown coat. He was on the side of the road that had more people, and he moved along at a solid pace - it’s definitely true that Kate is a chatter, no wonder they gave her the side of the street with fewer people. She would’ve been outside for 3 hours if she was greeting the amount of people on William’s side. He’s honestly such a good sport – he was shaking hands, standing on his tip toes and craning over the barricades to greet as many people as possible. I could very clearly see the faces of the people looking directly at him – you can tell they absolutely love him. Such genuine smiles. The pure adoration and happiness in their eyes said everything one needs to know – those people absolutely love him like their own.

When Kate turned the corner from the pub towards where I was standing, I swear to god my heart jumped right into my throat and my stomach dropped. God, she’s beautiful. Like I knew this, it isn’t news, the entire world is perfectly aware that she’s one of the most beautiful women on the face of the earth…. but she still managed to stun me anyway. She’s radiant. Absolutely gorgeous.

Somewhere along the way, as she moved down the line of people in my direction, it occurred to me that I was legitimately going to meet, or at the very least greet, Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales, after all this time, after so many years… I am not exaggerating when I say I was physically shaking. You can see it on my face in the photos even as she approached, before she came near me – I wasn’t panicking, I was just in awe. I’ve always known she was real of course, but she’s… actually real? Do you know what I mean?

She was moving so slowly compared to William – I swear he was already 75% of the way through his side of the crowd by the time Kate got to me. That’s when I really noticed that she is just so chatty – I didn’t notice her just greeting someone and then moving on quickly. She was so engaged. Every single person I could see was like entranced by her very presence - she’s literally such a vision. It’s not just me, it’s not just us – people are completely fascinated by her.

And then.

She came closer and closer – as I was on her left, I could see the ring. It’s huge – like, it’s big on camera, but the thing is enormous. I could not believe for the life of me that she was right there. I made sure to stick the flowers out enough and stand up straight and believe me when I say I didn’t have to remind myself to smile or make eye contact – I could literally feel myself beaming (right before she got to me):

When she came over, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Before I knew it, Kate was reaching to shake my hand and saying “nice to meet you” and I literally still cannot believe it. I handed over the flowers and I said to her:

“It’s nice to meet you, I just wanted to tell you that I have admired you for so long and that I also studied Italian Renaissance art history just like you did.”

When I said that I admired her, she said “oh, thank you!” as I continued to ramble about the art. She was still holding the flowers. I cannot believe that there are so many pictures of Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales holding bright yellow flowers that I got for her while smiling ear to ear – she handed them off before she moved onto the next person, so she is definitely smiling at me in those photos.

She then asked me if I liked studying art, and I said of course – she responded “me too!” After that, she asked me if I used it in my career, and I said no (which I don’t) but my master’s was a passion project. She then asked where I flew from (the accent, I guess) and I told her that I came from New York. She said that it was such a long way to come and that she was surprised at how many people have traveled so far for the big weekend. She touched my arm so sweetly for like the quickest second; she then said that it was going to be such a big event and that she was looking forward to joining the celebrations and that it was going to be good for everyone.

The last thing I said to her was “also, I ate in the pub last night because I heard you were coming!” and she responded with “oh that’s great, how was the food?” It was legitimately fantastic – I told her so – and she said that they would have to come back and try it when there were fewer people around.

It was then time for her to get moving so I just said “it was so nice to meet you” again and she said “nice to meet you, have a nice day!” Right before she moved on and as she was saying goodbye, she handed off the flowers and went on her way.

The whole thing lasted maybe two minutes, but I will remember it for the rest of my life. Her eyes are so green and she’s just so stunning up close and I just cannot believe she was that close to me and that we were able to talk and she is everything I have ever dreamed she would be and more. Just so sweet and gorgeous and engaged in what we were talking about – she didn’t just say “hi” and “bye,” you know? She listened to what I said and responded back without generalities… everything I ever dreamed of and more. I thought I couldn’t love her more – I do now. She has made my entire day and my entire life and I will literally never forget the vision of Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales, Catherine Elizabeth, someone I have adored for more than a decade, standing in front of me.

I am so happy I could cry. I was stunned after - literally could not believe what just happened to me. Take a look at the video below - you can see part of our conversation and then just the pure shock at the end. My hands were literally shaking.

Once the shock wore off, I did in fact cry. They say never to meet your heroes – why not? How could you go wrong meeting someone you have idolized when that someone is Kate?

#my post #katie goes to london pt. 2 #prince william #prince of wales #kate middleton #princess of wales #I’m sorry for the shitty quality I did this from my phone in a Starbucks lol #also thank you all for being so sweet I literally could not ask for anything more #I love you all so much #Kate and Katie

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writingsfromhome · 4 years

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Lookalike (2/2)

Part 1/2

A/N: there were a couple requests for Part II to this one, I hope it makes up for the angst of Pt I!

———————————————————————

Jules and I pretend to look at the menu at brunch, already knowing full well we were getting a large stack of pancakes and endless iced coffee. It was our usual Sunday plans for the Saturday nights we spent together.

I had crashed at Jules after the party, too down to imagine going home to an empty flat. And Jules had been more than happy, talking my ear off about the half hour she had spent with Ed, analyzing every detail and falling more in love with him, only hitting pause when I reminded her he was married.

“The usual?” Jules looks up from her menu, her nose scruchled in humour which makes me laugh in agreement. As soon as we place the order, Jules launches into what she’d been sitting on all morning: “So what was up with Harry’s new girl being your exact lookalike?”

Even though this was the last thing I wanted to discuss, I knew it would also keep me sane. “Do they not realise how she looked just like me?”

“I know I kept asking myself that every time I saw her. He’s so not over you. Did you get that vibe?”

“I don’t know Jules! He ended it! That’s so not fair. It feels like I won but I also just feel like the biggest loser ever.”

We’re interrupted by our server and soon we’ve tucked into pancakes, discussing all the details of last night and every last word of mine and Harry’s conversation.

“It’s so weird how you two ended things. I never said anything before but that doesn’t seem like something he would say? He always seemed like one of the good ones.”

“That I’m holding him back?” The words are just as painful now as they were then.

“Yeah! He was so in love with you. I just can’t believe he thought that.”

I shrug, it was those words that made it so hard for me to move on. I felt like I couldn’t trust what anyone said to me-I thought I knew Harry and our falling out just showed I hadn’t. Who knew what would happen if I trusted anyone else.

***

A couple weeks had gone by since seeing Harry, I’d mostly been able to move it to the part of my mind that only activated when I couldn’t sleep at night. If I pretended I was okay, I would eventually be okay. Right?

I decide to walk home from an interview that day instead of taking the heated tube. This was the third interview I’d been to this week and my morale was low. Days like these, I wondered why I even went to uni when I could have stayed in my family’s food business. Who wanted to be depressed and barely making rent when I could have been well-fed and still home. I sigh.

I step into the supermarket as I near closer to home to pick up a few essentials. In line, I notice the trashy magazines with the collage of pictures. But one of them...is me. I do a double take before I snatch it up.

This was definitely me, in the club with Harry. My face is only half in the light, Harry’s profile is clear. It’s when he took me off to the side to talk. How did papparazzi get into the club?

I quickly pay for my groceries and the magazine and rush home, barely putting my bags on the countertop before I rip the glossy pages open.

Is Harry secretly dating twins or does he just have a thing for lookalikes?

A side by side of the picture on the front with me and a photo of Harry walking through a park with Katy. Katy is turned to the side, saying something to Harry. You can see plain as day the similarity. The world knew! I was in a bloody gossip magazine and the world saw what I saw! Harry was dating somebody who looked exactly like me!

I try Jules but she goes to voice mail. I didn’t even know what to do with this information. I always thought my first time in a magazine would be for something far more important.

I sit, try to take some deep breaths. I needed to talk to somebody about this. I look at the spread again and realise there was nothing there about my identity. Nobody knew who I was. At least there was that.

My spiralling is interrupted by an unknown caller. Thinking it was Jules from work, I pick up without checking.

“Y/N,” Harry’s distinct voice carries through the phone to me and it has the same effect as always. I instantly unclench my shoulders but stay on guard. Why was he calling me?

“Harry,” I clear my throat. “What...why are you calling?”

“Um, I don’t know if you’ve been on Twitter and seen the shots...my publicist asked me to reach out to you because...” I almost laugh. Of course it was just business. Why did I think Harry was calling for me. About us. “...and if you can just lay low for a bit. He was saying...”

I zone out again to Harry’s quiet tone. He was probably with his publicist now. I wondered how much heat he was in. I glance at the picture again, trying to see what the outside world saw. It was intimate, I had to admit. Harry’s hand balanced on the wall I was leaning on. His eyes are trained on me and so is what you can see of mine. You can tell we knew each other, Jules would even call that gazing. I wonder what Katy thought. Why did I even care!

“If all you’re calling is to tell me to wait for the photos to calm down, you don’t have to worry.” I cut Harry off. “I’m not famous or anything, that’s your job remember?”

There’s silence on his end, I hear a whisper somewhere-was I on speakerphone?

“Ah great. Thank you Y/N, I owe you.”

“Don’t bother,” I hang up, ignoring the sting.

***

There were some days that just felt harder than others, and I wasn’t sure where it came from, but I could barely get out of bed the next few days. My job search felt useless, I felt so lonely and used, I didn’t know why I couldn’t move on from my past. Why I was sabotaging my future like this.

It was 2pm and I had gotten up for a late breakfast before hiding under the covers again. London was rainy and I couldn’t be bothered.

Jules calls me after work, by then the sun was a lot lower in the sky and my stomach was starting to grumble in hunger. “I’m buying you a get well dinner, I’m swinging by in twenty and you better be ready.” Jules was no nonsense.

“But I really-“

“No butts except yours in a cute outfit. I’ll call you when I’m there.”

***

“Jules this is fancy,” I gasp when we pull up to a dimly lit restaurant I knew was owned by a celebrity chef.

“Don’t worry, it’s on me. I can smell the fact you didn’t take a shower recently, so I know you’ve been in bed all day. You need this.”

Tears spring to my eyes and I pull Jules into a tight hug. “I’d be in a ditch somewhere without you.”

Everything is going perfectly, I even begin to feel myself relaxing and forgetting about my worries temporarily. But it’s like the universe really couldn’t give me a break.

“Don’t look right now,” Jules says as she casts her eyes to our dessert. “But the devil himself just walked in with your doppleganger.”

“What?” I whisper. “Are you kidding? Here?”

“Shh,” Jules switches to a laugh and launches into a story as if she were midway through it. “So I’ll be doing casts of people’s heads next week and-Harry hi!”

I slowly turn, the blood rushing to my head, pounding against my ears. He’s in a stylish black button up and perfectly tailored trousers, his hand holds Katy’s who is wearing a fitted checkered dress. Her eyes meet mine and I attempt to smile but she looks away-so much for being friendly.

“Jules, Y/N, what a surprise. To bump into you two here.” Harry sounds closed off.

“We’re celebrating, so I picked the fanciest place I know. You can join in the celebration if you want?” Jules says cheerily.

I kick Jules under the table but she barely glances at me, still smiling up at Harry. I finally look at Harry and he’s watching me. Our eyes meet for one, two, three seconds, and he breaks contact.

“Best not to, what with all the stories right now...it was nice uhm seeing you ladies.” Harry looks nervous, his other hand running through his hair before he trails after the waiter who’s showing them to their table.

“What was that?” I hiss at Jules. I don’t bother even responding to Harry. He wanted to make it business so I would keep my personal feelings out.

“It’s so obvious Harry and his girl are one date away from breaking up.”

“And how do you know that?”

“Did you not see the same couple I saw?” Jules exclaims. “Mega. Tension.”

I eye them again from where I sit, no one’s smiling or talking. They stare at their menus. Then suddenly, Harry looks to the side and our eyes meet. Shit.

“Can we change the topic?” I ask, my body is breaking out in a sweat and I couldn’t piece together what I felt. Why I still felt a connection with Harry when he thought he was too good for me or why every inch of my body was aware of Harry in the room.

Jules changes the topic as requested and the rest of the evening is spent on edge. I turn down Jules’ offer to get drinks. I just wanted to be alone; today had been a roller coaster. And I was tired, I don’t even change when I get home. I simply collapse onto the couch and turn on the TV.

But at midnight on the dot, I receive a text.

I know I don’t deserve to ask, but can I see you? -H

I cross check the number to the one that called me before and it’s the same. This was Harry, wanting to see me. But after how he’d treated me-not even how he left me, but the way he played with me at the club and then left it strictly business on the phone, I didn’t want to deal with him.

You’re right, you don’t deserve to ask, I respond. I had to have some self respect if I wanted to move on from this part of my life.

I just need to explain, please? I’ll leave you alone after this if that’s what you want.

It was like holding my breath underwater knowing I’d come up for air eventually. It was just a matter of when I’d crumble. After re-reading his text, I come up for air. I let him know the door was unlocked, he knew this flat inside out. He knew where to come if he wanted to talk. And I swore I’d just let him talk and then take him up on his offer to leave me alone.

It was as if he were in the lobby because I hear the door open a few minutes later.

“Were you downstairs the whole time?” I ask as he walks in, his magnetism undeniable.

“Uh,” he pauses by the doorway. “I guess I should have given it a few before I charged up?”

I shake my head, fighting back a smile. Harry was never a good liar, but a very good charmer.

“Do you want a drink?” I ask out of habit.

“Ah no...no. Y/N...I just want to explain some things.”

I sit back down and Harry walks over tentatively, perching on the sofa himself, his long legs stretching out. It was weird seeing him back here.

“What did you want to say?” I ask.

“Firstly, that I’m an idiot and I’m sorry.” He looks down at his hands, barely making eye contact. “I regret so many things but the way I treated you is number one. Everything’s just a bloody mess and I keep getting deeper into this pile of shite I created.”

I raise my eyebrow, where was he going with this.

“Right so I...I had to call you that day, about those photos. I really didn’t care if people saw you with me or not but I realised if they found out who you were, you may not get any peace so that’s the only reason I agreed to call you when my manager said I should-“

“Yeah since I’m not cut out for fame, right?”

“No, no tha...” Harry sighs, I was being petty and I knew it. I ease up and let him continue. “That’s not it. I didn’t want you to be harassed every time you stepped out. But what I was trying to say is...Y/N I’m sorry for the way I ended things. It was a shitshow-“

“That’s right,” I interrupt, I couldn’t help it. “It cheapened the whole relationship. Harry I don’t even know who you are or what you want with me anymore. You claimed you were too good for me, I was holding you back-“

“I didn’t mean any of it! I heard you that day.” Harry stops my rambling. “I heard you on the phone with your mum, saying you were thinking of deferring your last semester to join me on tour. It killed me! I knew you were going to do it. But I would hear you talking about your studies and...you love what you do-but you were willing to put it aside to be with me? I couldn’t let you do that. I’m not worth that Y/N. And I tried to word it but you know how shite I am at words. It was a slippery slope and before I knew it you were angry at me at something I didn’t even mean. But it was better that, than you going on tour and realising you didn’t want to be with me and realising you’d wasted your year for nothing.”

The silence that follows his confession is loaded. I can barely swallow. But I can see his relief at unloading, the burden lifts from his shoulders, he finally looks at me with hesitance. But the burden settles on my own shoulders. All this time, all the weeks turned to months I had felt my lowest and this breakup had just added to it...it was all just a misunderstanding, a way for Harry to push me away because he thought he was protecting me. Where did that leave me? Leave us?

“Why are you telling me this now?” I choke out, tears threatening to fall.

“Because I realised...I realised I still love you. I bloody love you and I don’t think I’ll ever stop. Katy is a wonderful woman but she was a stand-in...I was only looking for you. I...” Harry gets up and walks over to the window to catch his breath. “I’m ashamed it took me this long to realise I was dating your lookalike. She looked just like you Y/N, how did I not see that? I was just trying to hold onto you.”

He turns to me and his eyes have a wild look, I can’t imagine all the trouble he’d gotten in since those photos. With his team and his girlfriend. And here he didn’t even know his girlfriend was just a lookalike. He literally went out and dated my lookalike and he hadn’t even realised! The thought bursts my tension like a bubble, a giggle escapes me and Harry furrows his brows.

“Are you laughing?” He asks. Which sends me into a full blown laugh. The reality of what happened between us settles over me, I feel a sense of clarity. All this anger and hurt I’d held onto for so long was just Harry’s fucked up insecurity pushing me away. He never meant a thing. And I feel lighter than I had in forever: He didn’t hate me, I was enough for him.

“I-you didn’t even...” my words trail off as I’m overtaken by more laughter. “When did you realise she looked-“ I manage to get out.

Harry begins chuckling at this point as he sits back down, closer to me than before.

“Well as soon as I saw the two of you side by side that night. I knew I fucked up.”

I fall back and laugh harder, but as I catch my breath again, a sob bubbles up in it’s place and pretty soon my laughing fit has turned into crying.

Harry looks on, confused by my manic descension. “Y/N...” he sounds unsure.

“Jesus, Styles, You put me through hell.” I say as I gain control of myself again, taking a few breaths to calm down. “I was at my lowest because of you. I was barely living here.”

Harry moves back, “I’m sorry Y/N. You don’t know how sorry I am. I hated myself for doing that to you. And I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you if I have to.”

“How?” I demand. “We’re on two different paths remember? And you’re dating Katy.”

“We broke up after those pictures,” Harry moves closer to me again. “We just had to keep up pretense for the paps. And who bloody cares if we’re on two different paths. We’ll build a bridge or something. We’ll make it work.”

Harry’s voices grows deeper as he moves in closer, lowered so I couldn’t hear it if I were across the room. I don’t stop the smile overtaking my face, I’d felt ungrounded for so long. Harry being here, promising me a future where we can make it work, it felt like my old roots were finding me again. I feel myself shedding the darkness I’d been clouded under for so long.

“You’re radiant,” Harry gazes at me, his hand coming up to the side of my face and I feel the heat rush to my face.

“You’re charming,” I try not to give in too easily but he made it difficult with the way he grins, his eyes drifting to my lips.

“As for how I can make it up to you,” Harry whispers to them before he looks back up at me. “I can think of a few ways.”

He slowly leans the rest of the way in and every one of my senses are overwhelmed as he kisses me the way he always did. The way he was always meant to. The way we always would.

I wasn’t too fussy. With each kiss Harry leaves across my face, my neck, my body, I forgive him a little more until there’s just me and him and nothing else between us.

#harry styles fanfic #harry styles #harry styles imagine #harry styles x reader #harry styles fic #conan gray #lookalike #fic #writingsfromhome

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afterglowparker · 5 years

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fanfic writer appreciation day

i love this day, because while i believe it is important to appreciate fanfic authors everyday, i do think it is nice to dedicate a day to doing so. fanfic writers (those of us who have been here for years, those of us who just started, those of us who write full-length novels, and those of us who dabble in blurbs--litearlly every single person) work very hard on their craft and i want to take the time to show some love to some of my favorite authors! i haven’t had much time to read, but here is a short list of writers who i have loved for awhile, always return too, and have had the pleasure of enjoying their work. thank you for inspiring me and giving me a way to escape from the hectic nature of life and the stress of adult responsibilities. i highly recommend giving everyone on this list a follow if you haven’t yet—you won’t regret it. 💓

the writers below are a mix of tom holland and peter parker writers (and co.)!

@hey-marlie there are simply not enough words in the english language that could express my love for miss marlie b. as a writer, marlie has done something so incredibly astounding, phenomenal, and spectacular. every piece of work she puts out moves me (i laugh, i cry, i scream in frustration and i bite my nails in anticipation) and pushes me to want to work on my own craft. i’ve been with her since far from you (home) was just about 2/3 of the way through and have fallen more in love with the world she has been creating since. i cannot chose just one piece to recommend, because they have all taken my breath away, so here is her entire spider-man masterlist. (though spidey code sleepover, homage to heartbreak and london pt.3 are on my permanent re-read list.)

@pparkerwrites j! i don’t think there’s many more things i could say about her that i haven’t already. she’s as kind as she is talented, which is a pretty staggeringly high amount. one of the first marvel writers i ever found and fell in love with, i have only become more enamored by her work. my favorites include sunburn, revelations and her mini-series ex-friends (here is pt. 1!) || masterlist

@starksparker kaylee. where do i begin? kaylee is the writer who pushed me to begin writing again. she is the writer who never fails to inspire me and constantly puts out work (and i mean full length novels—take a moment to bow down to this wonder of a woman!) that makes me have to stop and catch my breath, because the emotional roller-coaster i was put on was so exhilarating. forever and dare you to move are two of my favorite series from her! || masterlist

@madmadmilk i’ve expressed my love for j before, but let’s do this one more time (cue into the spider-verse type introduction scene). i can’t remember how i found her blog, but i’m insanely happy that i did. i’ve been following her for quite some time and it has been nothing short of a good time. her stories have a way of taking you away and making you feel a multitude of emotions all at once. she makes you laugh, she makes you cry, and she makes you thirst. my favorites include ground rules and contrapposto (seriously, i cannot tell you how many times i have re-read both of these series...and they still take my breath away each time). || masterlist

@ispiderdudei laney knows how big of a fan and supporter i am of her’s, but i want to let you all know once more! some time ago, i stumbled across her series only and fell head-over-heels in love with it, and in turn, her!! it’s a dad!tom fic and if that’s your jam, i cannot recommend the series enough. it’s a fic that i continuously look forward too and don’t get tired of reading. || masterlist

@keepingupwiththeparkers katie! wow oh wow! i’ve only been following her for a short amount of time, but i’ve loved getting to know her and her work more as time goes on! i’m currently working through her series sweetner and i’m truly at a loss for words when it comes to how i feel about it. it’s so sweet (hmm no pun intended, tho it does seem fitting) and makes me crave my own uni!barista!tom! the series truly has it all and i promise you will love it if you read it; i don’t get tired of reading it. and it really is the kind of love i am searching for in uni. and i love her for that! || masterlist

@angelic-holland alice! where do i begin? i think i found her work shortly before leaving for a flight across seas and i remember being upset i wouldn’t have any internet so that i could continue binge reading her work!! i even tried to open as many tabs with stories that peaked my intrigue as i could so i would at least have a few stories to read--safe to say i was entertained and felt many emotions on that flight. you can pick any piece of her work and it will take your breath away (and probably make you thirst), but i do have to recommend her series drive north, as it is one i always return to! || masterlist

@lousimusician i actually found this author from other people recommending them in some of my mutual’s inboxes and i’m insanely glad they did! they have a lot of great work, but my favorite is their series i want you back! it has made me laugh, but mostly cry, as it has ripped my heart straight out of my chest and stomped on it—but in the best way possible. do yourself a favor, and give it a read! || masterlist

@mcuspidey lixi! my love! you know how big of a fan of yours i am, but imma gush about you some more! lixi has a hold on my heart and i am completely okay with that; she is as great a friend as she is a writer. reading her work is always such a joy, as it doesn’t just past the time for me, but it actually makes me feel. i feel my eyes water, i feel my heart clench during angsty parts, and i feel my cheeks hurt from smiling so wide though all the fluff. because i’m a sucker for my boy peter parker, one of my favorites is her piece i like you! (she also makes such pretty moodboards and masterlists—in fact, she made my masterlist and i am so in love with it!) || masterlist

@stuckonspidey lilly—how i love you so. i can’t remember how i found your blog or what piece i first read, all i know for sure is that first night i stumbled across your blog, i binge read everything you had posted. i started reading i only feel you when there was only about four parts posted! to see how far you come is a joy and to get to know you more as person is a gift. lilly has a way of transporting you into her stories and one of my absolute favorites is her series we all wear masks! if you have a moment, i highly recommend sitting down and checking out her work. || masterlist

this hellsite has so many wonderful authors, many of whom i haven’t even discovered yet, so just know that even if you aren’t on this list, i appreciate the hell out of you. keep doing what you’re doing, because you’re so wonderful! 💓

pt. 2 pt. 3

#this is in no way shape or form contains all the authors i love #i'm just very tired and want to express my love fully and not just slap down meaningless words #so i will most likely make a pt. 2 #and probably a pt. 3 as well #fanfic writer appreciation day #peter parker x reader #peter parker imagine #peter parker one shot #peter parker fic rec #tom holland x reader #tom holland imagine #tom holland one shot #tom holland fic rec #grace babbles #i'll meet queue in the afterglow

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sceawere · 7 years

Text

My Fic Masterlist

Alfie Solomons:

ar maidin | alfie solomons/reader | fluffy as all get out, give that boy a nap, also mild sexual suggestion just ya know [wc:1466]

truce | alfie solomons/shelby!reader | set after ‘ar maidin’ | talk of feelings, angstyness, everyone gets cuteness in the end, also mild sexual suggestion bc ya know [wc:1825]

an oíche | alfie solomons/shelby!reader | set after ‘ar maidin’ and ‘truce’ | it’s important to share traditions and make your big gangster husbands sleep in a field sometimes k [wc:1332]

mo mhadra | alfie solomons/reader | they get a puppy in a typical alfie way (mild mention of animal abuse just a heads up) [wc:1065]

an post | alfie solomons/reader | anon request, worker!reader, bigsister!reader, domestic!alfie | you start working for alfie to support your siblings, end up falling in love [wc:5667]

uncail | alfie solomons/reader | set after ‘an post’, domestic goodness, mild sexual suggestion [wc:1359]

an leanbh | alfie solomons/reader | dad!alfie basking in the glow of newborness, you’ll weep and then ovulate [wc:465]

feicim tú | alfie solomons | request: childhood friend/love returns from absence, witnesses his violence [wc:3875]

live in | alfie solomons/reader | thelandattheendofourtoesgoeson requested maid!reader | alfie doing business stuff, cuteness, everyone who works for him is best friends, mention of dogs, presence of dogs, oh woah surprise they’re endgame, there is a cute nana who bosses alfie around, domestic!alfie is the best kind, just get married and grow old together already [wc: 1527]

fáilte abhaile | dad!alfie | who left this man alone with children? pls protect this giant gruff gangster and his sassy offspring [wc: 799]

an deireadh seachtaine | alfie solomons | anon wanted more sleepy alfie, doggies, domesticity, polly putting him in his place [wc: 1123]

battle plans | alfie solomons | anon wanted alfie angst | killed in the line of duty, crime boss wife holding up her end, let me speak to you some truth, bear thy soul, bear thy soul [wc: 1313]

snippet: dad!alfie | a combination of an @ATELIEFLORESDAPRIMAVERA headcanon and the fact that my dad always used to call me ‘his poor little wounded soldier’ when i was ill as a child | alfie is alfie, alcohol is medicinal, right? cuteness but also seriously pls supervise this man [wc:152]

bosses | alfie solomons | the bakerstreetdragon requested boss wife | what else do you expect from a woman who would marry alfie? i mean [wc: 433]

the other one | alfie solomons | anon requested tommy’s twin, who is a nurse, and alfie | she doesn’t take no shit but she does enjoy herself, if tommy is sassy then so is she, alfie needs looking after, tommy is unimpressed as usual, oh well would you look at that we’re stuck in this flat together better get comfy hey buddy [wc: 2202]

the peace process | alfie solomons/twin!reader | set in the same verse as ‘the other one’, tommy’s twin is a little shit, knows exactly how to work a room, polly taught this girl good, wait woops looks like we have to fake a relaTIONSHIP, hold ma hand, oh buddy oh pal is alfie blushing? [wc: 1927]

diamonds | alfie solomons/shelby!reader | anon wanted irl jeweller alfie | awkward big brother tommy doing his best prom night shtick, alfie is a flustered cutie pie [wc: 1342]

tell me all about it | alfie + polly are best friends and also founding members of the ‘tommy shelby ain’t shit’ club [wc: 311]

reassurance | anon wanted alfie being looked after and also being a cute little shit [wc: 567]

domestic!alfie snippets | thinemineours wanted more domestic alfie - ranges of verses that reference ‘mo mhadra’ and ‘fáilte abhaile’ [wc: 1000]

birthday | ateliefloresdaprimavera requested alfie and the kids being cute to reader on her birthday and also there’s a how did you meet story time - ties the ‘FÁILTE ABHAILE’ verse to ‘THE OTHER ONE’ and ‘THE PEACE PROCESS’ [wc: 1119]

razor blades | alfie and arthur fall victim to mischievous kids and clumsy wives [wc: 502]

the keepsake | samascara requested a good old bag-of-flour baby test [wc: 1828]

the proposal | anon requested stumbling alfie trying to propose and i did it in what i think would be typical alfie fashion: go big or go dig a grave. or both [wc: 1716]

soulmates snippet | alfie/shelby!reader | cute couple chat abt murdering each other woops [wc: 227]

the races | alfie/reader | alfie’s girlfriend is smarter than he is or at least has better inside knowledge [wc: 535]

kids and pups | alfie/reader | anon requested alfie/reader babysitting johns kids and also the dog is here, alfie dishes out some male role model wisdom, katty continues to be a delight [wc: 926]

dad!alfie snippets | alfie really isn’t sure about this whole offspring thing, reggie has truly been a little shit since utero [wc: 692]

protector | alfie/reader | thunderstorms can get scary and alfie can get soft [wc: 905]

warm milk | alfie + daisy | alfie being a dad makes me want to weep, daisy has a nightmare, alfie makes it better [wc: 1083]

crush | alfie/reader | age difference gives alfie the temporary heebie-jeebies, reader tells him to take a running jump [wc: 3455]

another time pt. 1 | alfie/reader | girllostinthewoods requested time travel fic - first in a series tbc [wc: 1276]

rsvps | alfie/reader | weddings are stressful, brothers are dicks, and turns out warehouses are flammable[wc: 1493]

halves | alfie/reader | oh buddy alfie pal is really not sure about this offspring thing [wc: 1567]

Finn Shelby:

an leabharlann | finn shelby/librarian | fluffyluffy teenage crush shit woah buddy my small son [wc:2736]

an leabharlann - part 2 | finn shelby/librarian | fluff with brothers taking the piss [wc:2578]

an leabharlann - part 3 | finny shelby/librarian | *weeping* i just want them to be happy and in love [wc:1442]

Michael Gray:

ask me again in the morning | michael gray/reader | you get drunk with polly and then we delve into the marshmallow fluff just a whole jar of the stuff [wc:1836]

twin snippets - kind of a sequel to iníon? | anyway sibling squabbling and michael being cute

athair | michael gray/reader | theaqueenakaspeedy requested: you’re Father Hughes daughter and you date Michael (after months he founds out who’s your dad), when Charlie is kidnapped he ask where your dad is he tells u what the priest does to kids what he did to him, them when he’s arrested you heard the officer saying that Michael kill your dad. | we’ve got angst, we’ve got angst, we’ve got annnggsstttt | also warning for vague mentions of child abuse [wc: 2666]

toast | michael gray/reader | drunk!michael fluff [wc: 773]

flower crowns | michael gray/reader | michael somehow bagged a delightful flower child and oh buddy are they cutesy [wc: 529]

finders keepers | michael gray/reader | anon requested tommy’s errand girl and michael sharing similar pasts finding each other [wc: 2158]

John Shelby:

these moments | request: happy marriage, polly’s surrogate daughter | badass wife, dad!john, ppl genuinely in love, their daughter katie is a polly in training and there’s a vv cute leanbh beag bc why not also i used john’s canon aversion to gendered slurs bc yes my son get it boy [wc:2435]

come home safe | anon wanted reader calming john down after a murder [wc: 966]

sister-in-law | anon requested john and ada’s best friend, pre-war bbs who don’t know what’s gonna hit them, cute dreaming of the future, only half joking about spending the rest of our damn lives together [wc: 1631]

schooldays | john shelby | prequel to ‘these moments’, explains a reference in ‘tm’, tiny john being cute but also a little shit [wc: 797]

three rings | set between schooldays and these moments | [wc: 977]

what could have been | tied to schooldays, these moments, and three rings, buy a damn gunsafe people | [wc: 1826]

sister | john + reader + daughter | anon requested john’s daughter not talking to reader bc she’s afraid their new baby will be a girl, cutesy parental stuff [wc: 938]

Polly Gray:

iníon | polly gray+daughter!reader | anon request: reader is michael’s twin, separated from family/adopted separately, goes to search for polly | search for adoptive mother, mild criminal activity involving records, arthur is a teddy bear, tommy is himself, michael is tommy jr, long long twins pissing each other off in their quest for emotional fulfilment, is it day drinking or midnight snacks?, polly is getting a babe for a son-in-law i can see it happening [wc: 4579]

untitled snippet | anon wanted more polly/alfie [wc: 168]

settle | polly gray+daughter!reader | drabble cos i’m sick and polly is lovely [wc: 298]

considerations | polly gray+shelby!reader | [wc: 869]

Tommy Shelby:

táimid naimhde sa chathair | tommy shelby/reader | anon request: childhood love, broken apart, reader moves to london, works in sabini’s club, engaged to his son, tommy decides to walk back in and cause shit as usual [wc:2656]

táimid naimhde sa chathair | tommy shelby/reader part 2 | reader bins a guy who does not deserve her, hailee steinfield’s ‘love myself’ plays heavily in the background, cool girls who don’t let a stupid boy get in the way of their friendship, she just wants tommy to be happy bc she’s a goddamn grown up [wc:1624]

táimid naimhde sa chathair | tommy shelby/reader part 3 | alfie turns up and comments on relationships and now i want to read his agony aunt column, getting drunk with cute russians is my favourite thing to do too!, soul baring, soul baring, SOUL BARING, i loved you once, i’ll love you forever, boy get your head together cos if you wanna be my lover oh no wait that song doesn’t work but the sentiment if thereord count [wc: 1458]

welcome home soldier | tommy shelby/reader | request: reader meets tommy through letter during the war, wartime letter romance, my sad soldiers sons let me hold you, tommy being a little shit, military antics, polly manages to be present yet again bc i will work her into ANY prompt possible, pls just let everyone be happy [wc: 3366]

snippet: dad!tommy | anon wanted more of the guys as dads so i’m going to write snippets | tommy’s kids get creative, their mother is not impressed [wc: 213]

sun + sums: dad!tommy snippets | the babies have a name now! also they’re delightful. etta does sums and also eats sand. violet is on this shit work work work work work work. tommy’s ya know. [wc: 756]

sense | tommy/reader, lil bit of alfie | childhood sweethearts, war feelings, alfie obliviously flirting, tommy’s wife is a spitfire [wc: 1246]

Isaiah Jesus:

do dheartháireacha | isaiah/shelby!reader | anon request: isaiah is crushing on shelby sister, her brothers get his act together | cute drunken-ness, are we friends or are we gonna make out? just asking for a friend?, john being john, mentions of pol being a bamf, isaiah is a cutie pls protect him [wc: 1737]

get real | isaiah/reader | anon wanted isaiah fluff and sneaking around/getting caught | cute domesticity, deal with your feelings ppl, i just want to snuggle?, polly doing her thing [wc: 1433]

surprises | isaiah/reader | the course of trying to turn up to your boyfriends house in fancy underwear never did run smooth [wc: 567]

miracle | isaiah/reader | imagine the bbs though [wc: 798]

Arthur Shelby:

read to me | arthur shelby/reader | anon request: librarian!reader, helps arthur with his ptsd, mentions of philosophy bc i have to use that qualification for something, my sad sonhusband pls be happy and find peace, mistreatment of books, cute bathtimes, mild sexual suggestion? [wc: 822]

the garrison | arthur shelby/nurse!reader | yjrevolution requested arthur and his nurse, boss lady who is also v sad, we found love in a hopeless place, here let us bond over trauma, cutesyness, polly approves, i just want my poor love to be happy [wc: 2926]

dad!arthur snippets | samascara requested dad!arthur snippets and since my true otp is arthur+happiness i obliged [wc: 629]

Ada Shelby:

no-name | samascara wanted ada and her girl friend *sitting in a tree, k i s s-*, anyway cute artist girlfriend antics and lovely domesticity [wc: 2001]

#housekeeping #|writing

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harry-sussex · 1 year

Text

Okay guys, as promised, another long post! Day 2, another one of the craziest days of my life - brace yourselves. This is a wild ride from start to finish - I put my blood, sweat, and tears (literally) into this one.

On Friday, I did a lot - I headed to the National Gallery (where I cried, like a lot, you know how much I love art), and then I went to BP and the mall to scope out locations and check out the vibe for the coronation, and then I met @duchessofostergotlands for dinner (she’s as fun, hilarious, and sweet as you’d expect, we had a blast).

After dinner, I decided I’d head on over to Parliament / Big Ben / the London Eye / etc. just to do the touristy thing, because why not?

I spent about an hour just roaming about, basking, doing whatever when I decided to head on over to the Abbey, just to check it out, see with my own two eyes the place where William and Catherine got married, where the coronation was going to happen, all that.

So I’m just roaming about, staring at the Abbey (which is massive and beautiful, by the way), chatting with some policemen and also texting @claireofluxembourg and @cambridgemadness about how crazy it all was and how it didn’t seem real and just how different things are now, you know?

In the middle of our conversation, I get this absolutely PANICKED text from Vanessa:

So I immediately freak out and call them both and they’re like SOS RED ALERT THIS IS NOT A DRILL GO GO GO GO GO so all three of us are at the same time looking at the fastest route from the Abbey to Oswald’s while on the phone and I’m sprinting in whichever direction I saw first and it’s no joke 23 minutes on foot and not worth waiting for the tube. So I start booking it, and I mean BOOKING it while V and Ara are on the phone trying to find a route while I’m just going going going. And they’re telling me who was spotted going in and what time the royals got there and when they think they’d leave, the whole conversation was just a rapid, frenzied SOS THIS IS NOT A DRILL SOUND THE ALARMS RED ALERT GO GO GO GO GO GO GO GO GO. So I’m on the phone with two people and it’s pitch black minus the (very occasional) street lamp and I am not even looking at anything other than Google Maps on my phone. Before I knew it, I was crossing the bridge at St. James’ Park and as I’m getting to the other side I am still booking it SO quickly and I’m not paying attention to anything other than my phone and I am most definitely NOT watching where I was walking and it was so dark that I literally SLAMMED myself, full force, RIGHT into one of those black metal bollards at 100mph. I didn’t stand a chance of catching myself so I go flying, my bag goes flying, and I land on my hands and knees (but like, my knuckles, which are still scratched to hell btw). The whole thing hurt like hell (my right knee is legit purple lmao) but I somehow managed to hang onto my phone. So without hesitating for even a second I IMMEDIATELY got up, completely ignored my battle wounds, and frantically started grabbing my stuff while shouting “YES I’M FINE IT’S FINE EVERYTHING IS FINE” to the 5 million people yelling “ARE YOU OKAY??” from every corner of the park. I legit didn’t even stop - this woman almost had to chase me down because my wallet (!!) went flying and I didn’t even notice amid the chaos.

Unfortunately (but hilariously), I am still on the phone with Vanessa and Arantxa while the commotion is happening and they heard the whole thing, including my body slamming into first the bollard and then the pavement and my “oof” as I’m going down and then the groan once I’d landed and of course they are both crying laughing, which is where this post came from (I am also laughing out loud reading this as I’m writing lmao):

So at this point I’m bleeding, I’m half limping, I’m breathing heavy and sweating because I’m booking it, I almost lost my wallet, I’m still more than 10mins from Oswald’s, and I’m crying laughing at myself while Vanessa and Arantxa are dying laughing at me and honestly that part alone, battle wounds and all, was one of the highlights of my entire trip because let me tell you, it was HILARIOUS - nothing like uncontrollably cracking up with your friends even when they’re thousands of miles away.

Anyway, so I eventually make it to Albemarle Street and get to Oswald’s in one piece and relatively okay considering the earlier incident - I was still bleeding, though. I saw a few paps, some Range Rovers and Audis, plenty of protection officers and security, and maybe 5 regular people like me taking iPhone pictures on the sidewalk. So I found my spot and flung myself in between these two fancy cars across the street and slightly to the left of the entrance. I had my phone in my hand still (I literally did not put it down for a single second in more than 24 hours lmao) so I immediately start snapping pics while Arantxa and I are yelling about God only knows what. Vanessa had to hang up (I was so sad) but Arantxa stayed on the phone with me the entire time - poor thing had to listen to the whole commotion for more than an hour.

So I’m frantically snapping pictures without looking and when I finally get situated I look up I see Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko of Japan just like… standing there. Less than 20 feet away from me. Right across the street, on the sidewalk, like the world had decided “this is really not a big deal.” So naturally I’m completely starstruck and I couldn’t find any words so I’m just yelling “JAPAN!!! JAPAN!!! to Arantxa on the phone while she was also yelling into the abyss. Honestly I wish I could see security footage of this because the vision of me yelling on the sidewalk and her yelling on the phone was probably the comedy show of the century.

So eventually it occurs to me that they’re, like, literal people, who actually exist, who can hear and see and communicate just like I can, standing right in front of me, so I just start bellowing “HIIIIII!!!!” from across the street, waving so enthusiastically, and they looked at me and made eye contact and smiled! The Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Japan smiled at me! Acknowledged my presence! Communicated with me! Knew I existed, for even just a moment, can you believe it?

I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why nobody else on the street was saying hi - even after I said hi and waved, I figured somebody else would get the idea too, but nope - it was just me in an absolute tizzy, frantically waving and saying hi and using their names and telling them to have fun at the coronation and whatnot. I found out later that the women next to me were only there for the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (lol), so they had no clue who these other people were (fun fact, he never came out). They weren’t even fun about it - they were kind of judgmental about it. “Oh, you run a royal blog? I don’t care about any of these people.” They tried to be a buzzkill, but not on my weekend - no way.

Before I knew it, the royals just kept coming, and I just kept yelling and saying hi and waving, because why not, you know? Once in a lifetime, what was I going to do? Play coy? Act shy? Act like I didn’t know who they were even though I’ve known for years? Please. Literally - you only live once. When was I ever going to get the chance to see them again? Much less all at once?

And seriously, they just kept coming. At one point I was begging Arantxa to write it all down and I was also frantically trying to write in my little notebook and snap photos and pay attention without missing anything important (more on that last part later). All of the pictures are awful because I wasn’t looking at my phone while snapping them, I was just looking at the door, but you’ll see.

After Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko:

Prince and Princess Michael of Kent - I didn’t say anything to Princess Michael, of course (she got in on the other side of the car anyway), but I did say hi to Prince Michael and told him to enjoy the coronation and he waved and smiled at me!

Then came King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Queen Jetsun Pema of Bhutan. I said hi and waved at first and they both honestly seemed quite shy, but then I bellowed YOU LOOK SO PRETTY!! at the Queen and she smiled at me!! She really is so stunningly beautiful. Like, so beautiful.

And after that… came Prince Andrew, The Duke of York. I don’t know why I wasn’t expecting that, but I wasn’t, and it took me a minute to figure it out and once I did, I literally gasped out loud and said “it’s Andrew” to nobody in particular (except Arantxa I guess lol), but yeah. I didn’t say a thing to him of course, just took pictures. He didn’t look up at anyone or make a single expression or anything - he and his team booked it to his car at the far end of the road which was in the complete opposite direction of the paparazzi. I didn’t think a 60 year old man could move that fast without breaking a sweat (lol) - top right is him keeping his head down and bottom right is the best shot I could get of his team absolutely sprinting to the car on the far end of the street:

I will forever, forever, forever, FOREVER be furious at myself about this next one. 2 days later and I am still absolutely dumbfounded and so, so, so pissed at myself. I saw this guy and I thought it was Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg - I couldn’t tell though, so I was absolutely fixated on it. He went right, and I was snapping pictures so I could figure it out later, and I didn’t look left. Didn’t even think of it again until later when I was scrolling through my pictures. Spoiler alert, it was not Grand Duke Henri. Not only that, but even worse - leaving to the left at the same time were King Carl XIV Gustaf and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden - aka half the reason why I booked it over there (wounds and all), because Victoria is, of course, one of my favorites. I’m absolutely furious at myself - I cannot believe I wasted my eyesight on a random guy who I thought was Grand Duke Henri when CROWN PRINCESS VICTORIA was RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY FACE!!!

So of course I didn’t get to wave or say hi to her because I didn’t even SEE HER because I am an IDIOT and I cannot stop thinking about the idea that she may have seen me waving to all of these people and saying hi and that she might think I have no idea who she is because I DO and I am so SAD that I didn’t get to say hi to her. AND I booked it all the way across London and fell and got bruised and bloodied specifically for her (see Arantxa’s post lol), and I didn’t even realize because I was looking at someone who wasn’t even the person I thought he was! And I’m far less interested in him! But here she is, with her father, proof that she was in front of me, which doesn’t really matter a lot in the grand scheme of my weekend, but I guess it’s something.

After, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway came out. I was SO excited to see them - the Norwegians are my next favorite royal family after the Brits, so my excited “HI HAAKON!! HI METTE-MARIT!!!” plus my frantic waving maybe have been a little too much for the average person, but Mette-Marit was totally unbothered by my nonsense! She made eye contact, smiled, laughed, AND waved back!! She was so sweet I can’t stand it. I always thought she seemed like a sweetheart but her reaction was one of the best parts of my night. They both got in the car on the other side of the street so I didn’t get to see her too closely in person but her hair is so pretty! So blonde and shiny!! Side note - have no idea if I pronounced either of their names right - ‘Met-tee Marie’? ‘Met-eh Marie’? ‘Met Mur-it’? ‘Hay-con’? Hah-con?’ - who knows, but I tried. I said “Hah-con” and “Met Marie”.

Then came (in this order) Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence and Princess Anne, The Princess Royal. I about fell over when I saw Tim - the guy is HUGE! We knew this, it’s not news, but he’s about 10 feet taller than Anne. He came out solo at first and I literally gasped and yelled “TIM!! VICE ADMIRAL, HI!!!” It was definitely too much for dignified, stoic Tim lol but he did say hi out loud, didn’t really smile or nod but he did look in my general direction, no eye contact. He went back inside I guess to fetch Anne because they both came out and I absolutely lost it with Anne! “HI ANNE!! ENJOY TOMORROW!!!” She absolutely ignored me in the most Anne way possible, didn’t even flinch, I might as well have not been there at all. The most typical Anne response to a frantic American yelling her name from across the street - I’m not even upset that she outright ignored me, I almost would’ve been disappointed if she did anything more. It wouldn’t have matched the vision of her personality that’s in my head - happy we’ve been right all these years. No-nonsense Anne (and trust me, I was giving nothing but nonsense). Anne - the biggest badass on earth.

Afterwards came Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark. Mary is PRETTY, like so so so pretty. Her hair is absolutely stunning. I completely forgot that we usually call Frederik “Fred” and I totally butchered his name when I said hi, so it came out “HI FRED-*stutter*-RICK!” which didn’t make any sense at all, it came out as jumbled, gargled nonsense. I got it together with Mary though because I was like “MARY!!! HI!! YOU’RE SO PRETTY!! ENJOY TOMORROW!!!!!” Mary looked genuinely delighted to see me, almost like she couldn’t believe that anyone on the sidewalk had any clue who she was. Their car was a bit closer to my side of the road - more in the middle lane than the left lane - so I got such a good look at her face and we made such direct eye contact and her face like lit up!! She waved and smiled and said hello out loud and I could hear her plain as day and she was just such a bright ray of sunshine, it made my night! What an absolute sweetheart! I was so happy to see her and wave to her and have such an interaction that I literally blacked out and forgot about the pics until they got in the car and drove off so I only have the picture of the car below - you can kind of see Fred’s head through the rear window, but that’s about it.

And then The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, The Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, and James, Earl of Wessex. I saw James through the door first and he’s just so adorable. After a few ins and outs of the door by security, Edward came out first, and at this point, I didn’t care how I looked because they’d all been so nice so far! Edward smiled, that made me happy, I feel like crowds probably don’t go crazy for him too often. And then Sophie - she outright WAVED and smiled and made eye contact, and I caught it on camera!! I told her to enjoy tomorrow and she is the only one of the bunch I remembered to call “Your Royal Highness.” She’s also so pretty. Like smiley! Happy! I didn’t say anything to James because he is a child, but I waved just in case - he kept his head down though, definitely a shy little thing. I also gently said hi to Louise (not as frantically as I did to her parents and everyone else) and she gave me like a half not-smile but that’s okay because it must have been so weird to see someone like me across the street from her.

The last group to come out with security was Princess Beatrice, Edoardo Mapelli-Mozzi, Princess Eugenie, and Jack Brooksbank. I was… mildly surprised and definitely bummed with this group. I wasn’t expecting much from Jack but I thought I’d get something out of the rest of them, some kind of smile or nod or something, but nope. I know they don’t owe me anything, but I was kind of bummed that they didn’t acknowledge anything. I even yelled my congratulations to Eugenie and Jack on their pregnancy and they didn’t flinch, but not in a fun way (like Anne). Not sure what I was expecting - maybe my expectations were different because everyone else generally seemed mildly happy to acknowledge a fan? I don’t know, but it bummed me out. As an aside, Beatrice’s hair is just as pretty in person - if not more - than it is in the photos.

So after the York princesses and their husbands left, security and the paparazzi scattered pretty quickly. I stuck around for quite a while, but when the restaurant’s security started getting into a van to leave, I went and asked one of them if Crown Princess Victoria was still in there (because, at the time, I had no clue she had already left because I am dumb). He told me nobody was left in there, so I sat down on a stoop and rambled to Arantxa about how that was the most badass day and just hung out outside for a while. I was out there for I don’t know, 15 minutes after security left? I just sat on the stoop looking at my phone and then out of nowhere I looked up and saw Mike and Zara Tindall walking out of Oswald’s! No security! And not only that, they didn’t even get into a car! They just walked down the street like it was absolutely no big deal! I was so surprised to see them - I wasn’t expecting anyone else because the security guard said nobody was left inside. So I jumped up and yelled “ZARA!! MIKE!! HI!!!” and they both waved and smiled! They then posed for a picture for someone across the street (I got the back end of it, so sweet) and just went on their merry way.

So all in all, I saw TWENTY-FIVE (25!!!!!!!) royals and royal adjacents on Friday:

Crown Prince Akishino of Japan

Crown Princess Kiko of Japan

Prince Michael of Kent

Princess Michael of Kent

King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan

Queen Jetsun Pema of Bhutan

Prince Andrew, The Duke of York

King Carl XIV Gustaf of Sweden

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden

Crown Prince Haakon of Norway

Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway

Princess Anne, The Princess Royal

Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence

Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark

Crown Princess Mary of Denmark

Prince Edward, The Duke of Edinburgh

The Duchess of Edinburgh

The Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor

James, The Earl of Wessex

Princess Beatrice, Mrs. Mapelli-Mozzi

Edoardo Mapelli-Mozzi

Princess Eugenie, Mrs. Brooksbank

Jack Brooksbank

Zara Tindall

Mike Tindall

That doesn’t include the coronation or any of the other incredible things and people I got to see this weekend. Just Friday night, on the side of the road, among a whopping 10 people looking to see and greet royalty from all over the world. What a wild ride. I will never see this many of them in one place ever again. It is likely I never will see any of them ever again. It is also likely that I never would have seen most of them in my lifetime. Even if I did see them at another time in this life, I never would have gotten the chance to greet them and say hi and have some form of non-verbal communication with most of them without Vanessa and Arantxa’s tip-off to head to Oswald’s and without that now-infamous sprint through St. James’ Park. I didn’t leave until midnight, with the coronation the next day, and I don’t regret it a bit. That’s a story for another time, though.

Blood, sweat, and tears, baby. Blood, sweat, and tears. I still cannot believe how lucky I was and how lucky I am. Worth it? Absolutely - worth every second. Battle wounds and all.

#katie goes to london pt. 2 #I cannot possibly tag this many of them #so #British royal family #swedish royal family #Norwegian royal family #Bhutan royal family #japanese imperial family #danish royal family #isn’t this fucking wild guys #I’ll never get over it #5/5/2023

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