#Evaline posting

[applescoven]

Arguing with June haters biggest waste of my time just say you’re transmisogynistic and go

[applescoven]

Idk man

can someone teach me how to write doc titles that arent idk.... like this

[guttedeggs]

Resident Evil 7 au where they're actors on a television show and the actors are encouraged to become friends to feel more comfortable with the intensity of it

Behind the scenes interviews take place and all the Resident Evil games are television shows and movies. A lot of bloopers are accidentally throwing things or hitting one another on accident. The grandma Evaline is a puppet/special effects doll that gets carried around set a lot.

There's a lot of different drinks like tea, coffee or water around set because all the shouting hurts the throat. There's a lot of set props that need repair or replacement often

The food is all edible, it's mostly like...marshmallow, food coloring, gelatin etc to make it look realistic.

I love the idea of this au it brings me joy

[system-of-a-feather]

So what's up with the Feathers anyways?

Hey all, I just wanted to make a formal post that I can attach to my pinned post explaining a few things that we - as a collective and system - are doing lately as part of our recovery since it's something I know might be weird in the standard CDD / system experiences found online.

For those that don't know, we are a diagnosed DID system that has fully fused (we personally dislike Final Fusion as a term the word "Final" implies stuff that doesn't suit us nor do we like the idea of any sort of finality). This just means that probably about 90% of the time, we operate as a fused whole of all parts of our system that we call Feathers, Fei, [irl name], or "the collective" depending on the setting and/or what flows better in text / conversation. This fused whole / collective is what you probably close to what you think of when you think of final fusion and us operating as a "singlet".

The remaining 10% or so are times when we actively choose to operate as individual parts / a specific part separate from the collective; most often this is either to 1) enjoy something in a specific way that a specific part does 2) explore a concept, topic, situation, interaction, event, etc from a specific lens or a diversity of lenses and engage in discourse with ourselves because we find that fun and 3) to assist in trauma processing. (See FAQ 1 below)

And so we've spent the past year? two? three? in a state of functional multiplicity then this weird hybrid of alternating between functional multiplicity and fully fused, and then almost a year of being a fused whole most of our time. We've become extremely resilient and very stable and most of our trauma processing and therapy goals have been explicitly about self improvement and reclaiming the last tight knots of trauma that we still struggle with. We have gained a shit ton of coping skills, self sufficiency, and honestly most of our days are a 8/10 if not better.

That said, even though we are fully fused, that doesn't mean we are perfectly integrated. While we have very very low dissociation / dissociative symptoms and access to all parts of ourselves without experiencing much dissociation, not all parts of ourselves has been fully processed and not all of our parts have found their niche in our fused whole. This also makes it so those parts are MUCH more prone to both being interested in and actively presenting as independent parts from the collective. (See FAQ 2 below)

Historically, our system that is polyfragmented has had one half / side of our overall system that has explicitly refused to engage with life which we respect through our recovery. (No I will not explain any questions on that being unhealthy, its not your place to judge.) We actually managed to reach full fusion without interacting much with those parts beyond through a liason (ie Lin). Because those part had a minimal role in our recovery and development of a fused self, those parts are unevenly integrated and repressented in our fused whole.

Thus, while Feathers / the collective is a fused whole of our entire system, Feathers / the collective is EXTREMELY biased in favor of the "main system" that has been running this blog since like 2018. By all means this is absolutely a sustainable place for us to be in; however, as we've been working in EMDR we've been hitting stuck points rooted in parts in the other side of the system that are harder to navigate and challenge because those parts are not as well integrated as the other parts and thus are less open to discussion and are more rigid. Those parts still operate more as explicit ANPs and EPs (think primary stuctural dissociation) when approached about trauma associated with those parts and it's been a challenge.

Adding on that those parts have been made more aware more often of life continuing forward, we've actually heard expressed interest in potentially "trying again" and exploring themselves as parts, which is an AMAZING win and step for our system. Those parts struggle a lot more than parts of the main system and have much less positive experiences than even some of the "most traumatized" parts in the main system, so even the most ANP part we consider to need a lot of trauma sensitive support.

Lin, who has worked with these parts the longest, has his Method of Doing Things with Heavily Traumatized Children in our system and a lot of that starts with letting those traumatized parts explore the world a their own pace and get used to being Not Triggered AND present and after thinking about it we decided the best way to let those parts explore themselves, explore their world, explore themselves in relation to other versions of themselves, would be to allow that whole side system to do EVERYTHING our side did, but in their own way.

And so we are doing what we jokingly call DID NG+ or DID Season 2, where we are letting all those parts - whenever prominent or present - express and engage in the world as themselves, independent of the collective but not without the collective there. (See FAQ 3 below)

And so our system is fully fused, frequently operates as a fused whole still about 85-90% of our day, AND has a bunch of parts showing up and posting on this blog as independent selves / parts because online spaces is their first place to explore and adjust to existing once again.

Our main system / overall collective honestly doesn't have too much to say on this blog much anymore because plurality and DID just isn't that interesting, relevant, or something we really experience too much anymore; however some of our parts are going to be exploring the DID experience somewhat again and a lot of those parts have a more genuine and personal interest in the topic as it is relevant to them.

Thus, for the most part, we are kind of passing the torch of DID related topics and discussion to those parts. Feathers and the collective and all those parts that have run this blog are 100% here, but its very likely the amount of DID/plurality related posts we make as a collective will likely be SWAMPED out by the more-motivated to talk about DID stuff side system. (See FAQ 4)

-------------

FAQs beneath the cut.

FAQ 1: Wait so are you intentionally dissociating? Isn't that harmful? Aren't you just splitting? Do you switch? Are you really at final fusion / fully fused if you still identify as individual parts?

No. No. No. No. Yes.

No #1. Firstly, this is something we actually practice as something adjacent to our Buddhist exploration and our active practices with mindfulness and meditation and it is partially a meditation on ourselves, a practice of observation of our raw and innate self, and a practice of non-attachment to the concept and sense of self. As a result, our experience of selves come from a method of mindfulness and meditation; as a result we have some of the LEAST amount of dissociative symptoms when we do this and actually function with a lot more awareness of + connection to ourselves and surroundings. It is explicitly the opposite of dissociation in experience and I would know, because I used to chronically dissociate.

No #2, 3, 4. It is not splitting or harmful because there is literally no dissociation. (We heavily disagree that identifying different parts of yourself is inherently dissociative and find that claim to be very White / Western centric and culturally insensitive + blind to systemic white bias in research + clinical spaces) We can choose to divide ourselves, but no part is ever actually separate from the whole / collective beyond self expression and internal representation. Also no, we don't switch nor do we ever feel inclinded to use that word anymore because it really doesn't express our experiences anywhere near accurately. We present, we appear, we show up, we MIGHT consider using the word "front" but at no part does any part ever leave anymore, so switching and implying that places have changed just doesn't make sense. At most a part fades into the background, but that is less them being "gone" or "not front" and more of them just not being prominent, much like water receding from the shore isn't "gone".

Yes #5. Because our base line is fused and every part is actually connected 24/7 and present 24/7, so yes.

FAQ #2: Okay but are you REALLY fused with that side system if you didn't interact with them much? Okay but do THOSE parts have dissociation / switch / everything in FAQ #1?

To the first, yes; to the second, no. I really can't elaborate more in a way that I think isn't a waste of words. All I can say is "you are allowed to be skeptical, but I know myself and my experiences and I think its very weird for that to be questioned"

FAQ #3: So how does this look irl?

We appear and act as a fused whole most of the day, most of the time, and basically in all spaces that are not theraputic or just us on our own. This is likely going to change over time because all the parts from those side are very adverse to being around people irl, so as that likely changes for the better, so will this presentation probably. We aren't too sure exactly how it'll present then, but we are pretty excited to find out. Most of this happens in our own head and in private spaces; online spaces are just the spaces where we practice moving it beyond just our private spaces as it's the next step for parts that are ready.

FAQ #4: So is Feathers / the Collective an alter?

Uhhh.... not really but also kind of? We honestly don't really... identify, like Feathers / the Collective isn't really a person or thing; it's a concept. We don't really consider ourselves a person or a part or an alter in any solid way because we're not really this tangible thing. We just kind of Are. Feathers is just Feathers.

That said, when we do operate with these parts who are exploring themselves in something of a traditional DID process, we kind of operate with them something like an alter / part. I wouldn't say its exactly the same as they still have a very strong and clear connection and access to Feathers / the collective, but we largely do still maintain our mostly fused whole while those parts operate independently and use that lens to mostly observe and every so often assist / debrief about things going on with those parts. We are more so a mentor than anything else? Those parts also aren't seperate from Feathers / the collective literally ever so.... *shrugs*

Honestly, I can't really say a firm "yes or no" to this because I think its really just depends on a lot of a philosophy of "self" and what concepts and philosophies you subscribe to. So I guess my answer is "do you think they are?" cause really, I think either answer could be right and I don't really care too much to label it one or the other.

[pluggedintosaverockandroll]

me? finally finishing the stoker & holmes series after staring it 7 years ago? it's more likely than you think!

[mydarlingdearestdead]

Jude cleared their throat, "Hate to point out the obvious, but..." They took a deep breath, "Sorry, I can't put this delicately. Who the fuck is your father?"

Promptly, Dawson clamped a hand over their mouth, directing a careful word toward Eva, "I am so sorry, they-"

"No." She waved a careless hand, exchanging a furtive glance with Arden, "It's a good question... I mean, if slightly inappropriate. I wish I could answer."

"Oh- Ew, Jude!" Dawson withdrew his hand, squinting in disgust, "Don't lick people! Jesus!"

Arden interjected, "I think they've done worse things with their mouth to you than lick your hand."

"Oh, shut up." Jude told him, "This is about your parentage, not our extra-curriculars."

Eva snorted, attracting every eye.

"What?" She asked, smirking, "Extra-curriculars. It's funny."

Dawson rolled his eyes and Arden groaned. The pair glanced hesitantly at Jude's beaming expression.

"Please," Arden pleaded, "Don't encourage them."

Masterlist

[euphoniusowl]

Since I want to start posting the fics I've been writing, I figured I should do an intro post for my Rook. Basic overview, they're a non-binary elf rogue Shadow Dragon who adores Emmrich. Just posting my notes on them seems boring so I'll let Neve do it instead:

Neve’s Case Notes: Rook

“Rook” is only the latest name. They’ve gone by Evaline, Kel, Teo, Kai, Alexand, Kassa, and Dio, plus various undercover identities.

They were found and adopted by Charon and Helena Mercar as a baby. The Mercars are an old military family with no mages. Charon’s a Legatus near Ventus and well respected. Helena served too but quit when their oldest was born. She went missing during the Antaam invasion. Julius is the older brother. He followed in Charon’s footsteps and is expected to make Legatus soon. Not sure if Rook’s in contact.

Left home at 20 and wandered for a while. Made it to Minrathous a decade ago and never looked back.

Has been with the Shadows almost since the beginning. The Viper recruited them along with their friend Mira and a few others. Takes their oath seriously. Tarquin likes them more than he’ll admit.

Has a pretty standard rap sheet for a Shadow Dragon but Nessus made them famous. Or infamous, depending on who you ask. Pretty sure they were also involved with the Icilius incident. They deny it too fast.

Smarter and more competent than they seem. Most people don’t expect much from an elven soporati and they use that to their advantage. They encourage it, downplaying their abilities and intelligence. I fell for it too until they fleeced me at Wicked Grace.

It’s easy to see why Varric recruited them. Not even a god could see Rook coming.

—

Trivia:

Knows some amount of five languages: Trade, Tevene (fluent), Old Tevene (as much as any non-linguist), Qunlat (can read & understand but isn’t great at speaking), and Elven (decent but less than Bellara)

Once drunkenly hooked up with Tarquin but it was so weird that they both agreed to never speak of it again

Has a gender-related hang up that means they hate wearing jewelry. Eventually gets over it enough to wear a minimal amount but never fully embraces the Nevarran grave gold tradition.

Claims they got the scar on their nose from fighting slavers but actually hit themself in the face while trying to impress a woman with a knife trick. They were 32.

Plays the piano

Hates being cold and complains anytime the temperature drops below 20℃

[leiawritesstories]

Stunning

Rowaelin Month 2024, Day 7: All Dressed Up @rowaelinscourt

Word count: 3.2k

Warnings: flirting, swearing, rich people talk, badly concealed horniness, NSFW content, a few fun little hidden jokes teehee

A/N: hi hello this is technically for tomorrow BUT it's getting posted now because i'm taking the LSAT tomorrow and i'm going to be way too mentally exhausted to function, yayyyyy ���� also, i might disappear for a little while after the exam, bc i also just started my senior year of college and it's a bit busier than i thought lol. anyway.....enjoy!!! at your own discretion please :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If the club was fancy, its VIP lounge was a study in luxury. A pair of black-suited bouncers flanked the door, their dark-shaded eyes constantly scanning the club, scrutinizing each and every person who approached the lounge doors. Rowan handed over the thick square of embossed ivory paper from his tux jacket pocket and nodded amiably at the bouncers as they checked his invitation and waved him in. Conspicuous as he’d felt before, when he was walking through the club in a custom three-piece designer tux, he felt positively unremarkable among the sea of haute couture that thronged the VIP lounge, all of them centered around a tall, elegant woman in a fitted sheath dress of molten gold with a slit that crept dangerously high up her right leg. Her head tipped an inch sideways with the echo of her laughter, and she rested one graceful hand on the forearm of the handsome man she was talking to, crimson-tipped fingernails contrasting sharply with his black jacket. 

Aelin Galathynius. 

The only daughter of perhaps the most influential voices in Terrasen’s political scene, Aelin filled the spotlight like she was born to it. Which she was. She’d been appearing in front of press cameras and journalists practically since her birth because Evalin Ashryver, the first female secretary of state, had wanted to show the world that a woman could have both a successful high-profile career and a family. Furthermore, her father was Rhoe Galathynius, the deputy prime minister, and he had personally taught his only daughter how to handle the press. 

At twenty-nine, Aelin was one of the most recognizable faces in Terrasen, though that was mostly due to her success as a former professional volleyball player and current coach, as well as an incredibly generous philanthropist, rather than her parents’ collective renown. Rowan had known Aelin since high school, had harbored a crush for her practically as long, and since he was also a retired athlete and the head of a foundation that supported talented young athletes whose families couldn’t afford their sports, he often crossed paths with Aelin at events like this one. 

She was chatting with Dorian Havilliard, the oldest son of Prime Minister Havilliard and a childhood friend of hers, when Rowan strolled over and nodded cordially at the dark-haired man. “Good to see you again, Havilliard. Do you mind?” 

“Not at all!” Dorian air-kissed Aelin’s cheeks. “Whitethorn, good to see you as well. I’ll have my assistant reach out to yours to schedule a proper meeting, yes?” He had recently indicated his interest in sponsoring one of Rowan’s foundation events. 

“Sounds perfect.” Rowan shook Dorian’s hand and pretended not to notice as the other man stage-whispered “he’s so hot” to Aelin before he left the two of them alone. 

“Rowan.” Aelin’s crimson lips curled into a smile. “What brings you here? I thought you usually avoided these little parties like the plague.” 

“I try,” he said dryly. “Unfortunately, there are several key donors here, and my VP practically threatened to strangle me if I didn’t show up and have a drink with them.” 

She chuckled and took a delicate sip of the champagne in her hand. “I wasn’t aware I was one of your key donors, Rowan.” 

“Maybe I’m using you as a human shield,” he teased. 

“I’m afraid I’m more of a spear than a shield,” she said with a wink. “That means I’ll charge at your big scary donors with you if you can work up the balls to ask.” 

“Can you blame me for hesitating?” He swiped a glass of champagne from a passing server’s tray and locked his gaze onto Aelin as he took a deep sip. “You look stunning in that dress, Aelin, and I’m afraid that’s all anyone will see.” 

“Ah, stop it.” She swatted his arm. “I’ll get their attention, and you’ll capture it like you always do with your cute little big-old-shy-guy smile and blush.” His cheeks heated, and she grinned. “There, you see? One of your usual protests that you ‘don’t do as much as you want to do’ and you’ll have those donors eating from the palm of your hand.” 

“I’d like to eat you from the palm of my hand,” he mumbled, mostly to himself. “You’re sure?” 

“Of course.” She set down her champagne and looped her arm through his. She lowered her voice to a throaty whisper. “And if you want to eat, Whitethorn, all you have to do is ask.” 

His pants tightened. He swallowed thickly, forced himself to think about the donors in order to control his traitorous body, and covertly poked Aelin in the ribs. “Quite a naughty thing to say, Aelin.” 

She winked lazily at him. “We’re at a club, Rowan. Certain things happen at clubs.” 

“Such a brazen woman.” He leaned down to whisper in her ear, and his lips just barely brushed her neck. “What kind of things are you thinking about, hmm?” 

“Schmoozing with donors, for one.” She laughed softly at his disgruntled expression and brushed a megawatt smile across her face as they approached one of the couples who were frequent donors to his foundation. “Connall, Sorscha, delighted to see you here!” 

Connall had been one of Rowan’s teammates, and he’d retired a year before Rowan so he could spend more time with his wife, Sorscha, and their family. “Surprised you made it, old man,” he joked as he clasped hands with Rowan and affectionately thumped him on the back. 

“Trust me, we both are,” Rowan deadpanned. “Sorscha, you look lovely as always. How are the little ones?” 

“Growing up too damn fast,” Connall sighed. 

Sorscha nodded in agreement. “Lyla started walking the other day; I turned around for five seconds and she made it into the other room. I almost had a heart attack.” She laughed. “And Gray has been obsessed with taking care of the garden, except that he doesn’t know the difference between the weeds and the herbs.” 

“Little guy brought his mama a fistful of ‘bad weeds’ that were actually dill,” Connall added, snickering. “Oh, and James is doing fantastic at the football camp.” 

Rowan smiled. “That’s amazing! How is it having him stay with you?” One of the projects he was trying to start involved pro athletes having orphans and foster kids stay with them when they participated in training camps for their sports. 

“We love it.” Con grinned down at his wife. “He’s still a little shy with the kids and he basically lives out of his duffle bag, but he’s a lot more talkative now.” 

“He seems more at ease,” Sorscha said. “It could be that he’s made friends at the camp, or that my son pretty much idolizes him because he’s a big boy who plays sports, but I think he’s also just more… comfortable.” 

“That’s almost exactly what we were hoping would happen.” Rowan squeezed Aelin’s hand, and she beamed up at him. “Good. Well, I hope this helps convince the board.” 

Con thumped Rowan’s shoulder. “We’re in your corner, man. I’d be happy to tell the board about our success if you need.” 

“I just might take you up on that.” Rowan shook Con’s hand and accepted Sorscha’s hug. “Thank you so much.” 

“See, that wasn’t so bad,” Aelin teased as they walked away, heading for another donor that Rowan had spotted. “You’re a natural—just get them talking about how much they want to help these kids or how much they love what they’re already doing, and they’ll give you their support.” 

His hand slid to her lower back, guiding her through the throngs of people. “Wish I had half as much confidence as you have, Ae.” 

“Stop that,” she chided. “Rowan, your foundation is hugely successful because of you. That much is evident, and I’ll keep trying to convince you of that until you accept it.” 

“I know a few ways you could convince me,” he murmured, half to himself. 

Her smile melted into lazy dangerousness, and sparks kindled behind her stunning turquoise eyes. “Do you, now?” 

His hand curled possessively around her hip. “I do.” Heat raced through her blood at the weight of his touch. “Dance with me.” 

“Of course.” 

They stepped into the swirl of couples dancing in the middle of the lounge, and Aelin gasped quietly when Rowan pulled her so close that she was almost flush against him, wrapping one arm around her waist with his hand on her hip and lacing his free hand with hers. So close she could feel the thrum of his heartbeat, she draped her free arm around his neck, fingers toying with the collar of his pressed black shirt. The song changed, shifting to a deep, pounding bass and sultry vocals, and her body moved in near-perfect tandem with his as he led her through the dance. 

“All that hockey training certainly gave you good moves, Ro,” she teased, flicking her gaze up to his through her lashes. 

He smirked languidly and rotated his hips in a borderline lustful circle. “And all your volleyball training probably gave you strong legs.” He tipped his head down and purred his next words into her ear. “But how long until they start shaking?” 

“Dream on, hockey boy,” she whispered, even as desire uncoiled between her legs at the sinful rasp of his voice. 

“Every night.” Her breath caught at the admission in those words, and when he brushed a thumb across her lips, she leaned into the touch. Her nod was confirmation enough, and he replaced his thumb with his lips, kissing her softly at first and then deeper, slower, the stroke of his tongue almost too slow for the heat pounding in her blood. 

In a hazy blur, they were in the club’s bathroom, Aelin sucking in a sharp breath as Rowan yanked her dress up around her waist and planted her bare ass on the marble countertop. He chuckled, a low dark gravelly rasp that curled up her spine like smoke, as his eyes traced down her body and discovered her lack of underwear. “Dangerous move, darling,” he murmured, attaching his lips to her neck and pressing his calloused thumb directly onto her clit. “No panties? Anyone could see you, Aelin.” 

“Anyone—ahh, Rowan!—isn’t going to see,” she panted, her words broken up with gasps and hitched breaths. “Just…fuck, just you.” 

“That’s what I like to hear.” Free hand reaching down the front of her dress to tease her hardened nipples, he thrust three fingers into her, reveling in her broken moan and the way her eyes scrunched shut in pain-edged bliss. “Hold still for me, pretty girl.” Wordlessly, she nodded, bracing her hands on the countertop to stabilize herself. He smirked and kissed her hard, swallowing her moans, and pumped his fingers roughly, bringing her to her first orgasm of the night within a few minutes. He worked her through the high, teasing her sensitive clit just enough to make her whimper when he withdrew his glistening fingers and licked them clean, gaze locked on her the whole time. 

“Please, Ro.” She whispered his name, her plea a raspy breath. “Need you to fill me up.” 

“Good girl.” He pushed his trousers and boxers down just enough for his cock to spring free, and her eyes went wide and dark as she stared at his size. 

“Th-that…” Her mouth went dry. “That’s not going to fit.” 

He brushed his thumb over her kiss-swollen lips. “It will, pretty girl. Trust me, it will.” He pushed one of her dress straps off her shoulder and palmed her breast. “Your pretty pussy took my fingers so well, Ae, getting all ready for my dick.” 

Her breath escaped in a shuddering groan. “How is it so hot when you say filthy things like that?” 

“Because you’re my dirty little good girl.” He smirked and tilted her chin up to brush a bare feather of a kiss over her smudged lipstick. “Can you stay quiet for me?” She nodded, and he kissed her as he dipped his fingers into her cunt again, working her in long slow strokes. When she wrapped her hand around his wrist and whispered that she was ready, he lined his cock up and pushed into her slowly, savoring the tight grip of her pussy around his dick and the muffled whimpers she made as she struggled to stay quiet while accommodating the size of his velvet steel schlong. 

“Rowan,” she choked out, near desperate. “Please!” 

“Good fucking girl,” he groaned, and he rocked into the cradle of her hips, thrusting with increasing force. Gripping her waist, he pinned her to the counter and fucked her hard, and she buried her face in his shoulder to muffle the uncontrollable moans that tore from her throat. The soap dish clattered to the floor, and he just kicked it underneath the sink and thrust harder, hurtling them both towards climax. Aelin tipped her head back and rasped out his name as she came, ecstasy written all over her features, and he groaned her name as he came inside of her. As their bodies stilled, he gently pulled out, smirking at the sight of his rowillymilk dripping down her legs. 

She trailed a finger between her thighs and lifted it to her lips, licking their cum off and humming softly in pleasure. “Delicious.” 

He growled and pulled his pants back up and lifted her off the counter, stopping to fix her dress before he laced his fingers with hers and led her out of the bathroom and back through the flashing strobe lights of the lounge and out a side door. “Your place or mine?” 

“Mine.” She flicked a heated glance at him from under her darkened lashes. “Got a few toys I like to use in my bedroom.” 

“Get in the car.” Rowan pulled the passenger door of a sleek black SUV open with more force than strictly necessary, the muscled lines of his body tense, the gleam of his eyes predatory. Aelin touched the smudged lipstick at the corner of her mouth, wiping it away as she slid gracefully into the car. He closed the door and went around to the driver’s side, and she sucked in a half-surprised, half-aroused gasp when he accelerated down the dark, empty city streets with a hand splayed on her thigh. Heat pulsed between her legs, radiating outward from the warm, firm weight of his palm atop her leg. 

She at least had enough of her wits to direct him towards her townhouse. “Turn left here,” she directed, guiding him down the familiar path to her home. “First right, then second right.” He navigated the turns with expert precision, and it was only minutes before he’d pulled into the single parking space marked out in front of her property. 

A sudden, thick silence blanketed the vehicle, and Aelin had the urge to caress Rowan’s face when she caught sight of the faint uncertainty nearly buried in his fiery gaze. So she did, gently tracing her fingertips across his cheekbones. “Welcome to my home, Ro.” She winked lazily. “Want me to show you my bedroom?” 

His lingering hesitation melted into molten, commanding desire. “That’s my good girl.” The praise flowed over her like sunlight. “Can you get out of the car, Ae, or do you need to be carried?” 

“Someone has a high opinion of himself.” She clicked her tongue and smoothly climbed out of the car. He prowled around from the driver’s side, banded one thickly muscled arm around her waist, and pressed her back against the door. 

“Still so naughty,” he murmured. “What should we do about that, hmm?” 

“Why don’t you come inside and show me?” she whispered right back. 

He kissed her, and it would have been sweet if not for the cum sticking to her thighs. “Good girl.” Hand in her hand, he followed her into her townhouse, locked the front door behind them, and waited all of twenty seconds for her to drop her small purse before he hauled her over his shoulder and stormed up the stairs. She managed to point him towards her bedroom door, and he set her onto her bed with uncharacteristic gentleness. 

And tore her dress down the middle. 

She was halfway through an outraged gasp when he yanked her hips to the edge of the mattress, dropped to his knees, and licked her dripping pussy. Her outrage kindled into lust, and she plunged her fingers into his hair, shoving him closer as his tongue drew harsh patterns on her needy clit. Through the incoherent, garbled whimpers and moans streaming from her throat, she managed to reach sideways and grab her wand vibrator from her bedside table and switch the toy on before tracing the buzzing tip around her stiff, aching nipples. 

“What,” Rowan growled, “do you think you’re doing, hmm?” He didn’t wait for an answer, just took the vibrator from her and replaced his tongue with the toy, teasing her cunt with too-light touches and biting kisses, ignoring her breasts altogether. “Did I say you could touch yourself, Ae?” 

“N–no, sir,” she whispered. Calling him sir had been impulsive, but it felt so right. 

He swore filthily and shoved his pants off, letting his massive meat pole spring free. “That’s correct. Now be a good girl and put your hands above your head.” The vibrator skimmed her throbbing pussy and dipped farther back, circling the rim of her ass, and her fists curled into the pillows above her head as words failed her. He seemed pleased with her obedience, because he kept the toy there as he returned his mouth to her cunt and devoured her, tongue spearing into her and teeth scraping her most sensitive parts. It couldn’t have been more than two minutes before stars exploded across her vision as she came so hard she shook with the force of it. 

He turned off the vibrator, threw it across the floor, stripped out of the rest of his clothes, and hauled her up the bed, kissing and nipping up her body as he went. “Don’t hold back,” she breathed, the words shaky from the last waves of her orgasm but no less confident. 

“Scream for me, pretty girl,” was all he said in response, and he flipped them over and pulled her down onto his cock. She was so wet that her cunt slid down effortlessly, and he didn’t give her any time to adjust before he lifted her hips up and down, helping her ride his dick at a frenetic pace. “Fuck, Aelin!” 

“Fuck, Rowan!” she screamed in tandem, head falling back in bliss. He sat up, deepening the angle, and fucked her relentlessly, until she was a mess of broken cries of his name. 

“Come with me,” he ordered, and he pinched her clit sharply. She screamed his name to the gods as she shattered, and he came with her, burying himself deep. He rocked his hips gently as she shook, working her through every last second of the drawn-out orgasm, milking his own pleasure. As she calmed and rolled off of him, sprawled onto her stomach, he ran his fingers through her hair, smoothing the mussed strands. “So fuckin’ good, Fireheart.” 

She turned onto her side and grinned, linking her fingers with his. “Happy anniversary, my love. Should we do that again next year?”

~~~

TAGS:

@live-the-fangirl-life

@superspiritfestival

@thegreyj

@wordsafterhours

@elentiyawhitethorn

@mariaofdoranelle

@rowanaelinn

@house-of-galathynius

@tomtenadia

@julemmaes

@swankii-art-teacher

@charlizeed

@booknerdproblems

@earthtolinds

@goddess-aelin

@sweet-but-stormy

@clea-nightingale

@autumnbabylon

@llyncooljones

@silentquartz

@renxzs

@anarchiii

@fauna-flora11

[rotten-hazael]

Dumb RE7/RE8 Headcannons

[Mostly RE8 sowwy]

Ethan Winters:

Avoids pet names, after Louisiana he started calling Mia "his miracle" to friends and family, Rosemary was the exception to this however, he constantly called her Rose / Rosey, My little flower, and his darling daughter. Mia is only slightly jealous

Used to have an annotated mushroom forging book, threw it out the second he got home.

CisHet, but an absolute ally. Would punch your homophobic dad in the face

Would've been that dad to somehow have a dozen random kids in his house that he fed and took care of like his own

Quit his office job once he came back and ended up being a stay-at-home dad while Mia picked up a job nearby in Europe

Spent most of Biohazard half asleep because he got around 2 hours due to driving straight there after getting the email [stolen from the diva @crumb-crumblet-s-crumbington ]

Knows how to use guns due to his dad being a cop

Weeb

Absolutely adores his wife. Constantly posts on social media about her. He only posts about Rosemary more

Mia Winters:

Unlike Ethan, almost exclusively uses pet names. Hubby is probably her favorite

Less of a headcannon and more of a fun concept: her maiden name was Wesker

Cis, Biromantic Demisexual. Ethan totally gifts her random pride merch because it reminds him of her

Had a sort of will they / won't they with Zoe before Ethan showed back up, still had a lot of unresolved feelings there when she got kidnapped

Mia was kidnapped around 2 weeks after Rosemary was born, and Miranda used "postpartum struggles" to more easily fit in

With Chris' help as a platonic co-parent, she was able to stay at home with Rose, but she was unable to properly care for her for around two years due to grieving Ethan. Chris ended up seeing a lot of Rose's firsts, and Mia spends all of her time trying to make up for lost time that Rosemary doesn't even remember

Was actually really fond of Evaline before she went berserk, and saw her as almost a little sister

Can absolutely fold a man in half if so desired

Rosemary:

Note: I have not seen the shadow of rose dlc, don't come at me

Occasionally accidently calls Chris 'dad', always profusely apologizes to both him and the photo of Ethan she has in her locket

Which, yes! She both wears his jacket and has a photo of him in her pocket. For some reason the face is worn away...?

Has a weirdly strong obsession with rot and fungi. Once scared her entire class by bringing in moldy food for show and tell

She's lesbian. I don't make the rules. Look at her.

Secretly hordes manga, she found it one day while they were going through old things and she uses it to try and bond with Ethan

Frequently refers to Ethan with his full name, sometimes calling him "her father", but never dad. She wishes she got to know him

OSU player

Somehow got the world record Speedrun for Alan Wake 2

Heisenberg:

Horse girl. I still don't make the rules

Bisexual Trans man [projects onto you like a motherfucker]

Homophobic /j

Miranda walked in on him watching MLP once. They never spoke about it again

Blatantly flirts with the very straight and very confused Ethan Winters

Coos about his horrible human experiment robots like they're his children. He does not take constructive criticism.

Dog person

Bullies Moraeu

Hates seafood [may or may not be related]

Collects Yu-Gi-Oh cards and will throw them at you full force

Less of a headcannon and more of a "I make cannon", his mecha form is a giant horse <3

Loves guns. Loves playing with guns. Once shot a hole in Dimetresc's wall and narrowly avoided getting his head cut off

Read about the French revolution ONCE and decided he wanted to do that, because it's silly!

Clown coded. Again, don't make the rules

Lady Dimetresc:

Shockingly Aroace [I'm sorry folks]

Absolutely adores her daughters, would've been good friends with Ethan under different circumstances

Helped Bela shave her hair

Spends half her time doing her hair. Spends the other half of her time murdering people and drinking their blood

Finds horror movies genuinely hilarious and watches them like comedies

Shortest temper known to MAN. Has thrown Heisenberg through a wall 78 times. But who's counting?

Scared of water

Hates how short all the doorways in her house are but keeps murdering the contractors she hires to fix them. Smh

Donna + Angie:

Donna loves little cakes and cookies! Frequently has tea parties with her dolls + Dimetresc

Pretty childish and reserved

Was genuinely scared of Ethan when he broke into the estate, thus The Infant

Has a fear of childbirth

Probably Aroace?

Angie is a front Donna puts up so the other lords take her seriously, and it's also a way for her to vent out her frustrations

Loves creating her own dolls

Would watch Moonlight Jewel / Dollightful

Spends her time either tending to her dolls or her garden, absolutely adores flowers

Her favorite flowers are Daffodils

[banal-nadas]

Self-indulgent post to remind myself that Evaline Lavellan looks so incredibly like her Inquisitior self.

[charincharge]

I Don't Want To Wait, seventy-four

rowaelin high school bff au masterlist

AN: Well, babes, this is it. The final effing chapter of IDWTW. When I started writing this, almost exactly four years ago (chapter 1 posted on may 29, 2020!), I had no idea what it would become. I thought it was going to be vv casual prompt-based high school pining vignettes, simply to rewrite my own version of Dawson’s Creek – if you’ve ever wondered why it was called IDWTW, that’s why! It was a temp title that stuck! – but 375k+ words later… it’s become so much more. And that is because of YOU. Whether you have been here since 2020 or you joined along the way or you're finding this years after the face, I am infinitely grateful. I don’t know that I would have been able to pull through the last few years without your kindness and enthusiasm for these two idiots (and their friends and fam). I have loved telling this story, but mostly, I’m grateful that this journey introduced me to so many incredible humans and created a community of babes I will hold near and dear to my heart for literally ever (it’s true, I loved one of you so much that I drove across the country to meet her, and in a few short months she will be my WIFE!). This story brought so much good into my life, and I am hella proud to finally conclude it. From the incredible creators who made fanart, to the essays of comments on each chapter, to the back and forth of discussing consent, sexuality, and reproductive rights in my inbox, every gif, comment, reblog, message, ask, and interaction of any kind has been a joy. Thank you.

With all of that said, let’s wrap this mother up.

A soft glowing circle lit up the black beneath Aelin’s feet. Her stomach tightened as she rested on one leg and hitched to the side in a slow exhale. Her breath centered her as she pulled her pointed toes up her calf until it extended into a slow and steady develope. Just as she had barely met the apex of her leg’s vertical reach, she exhaled again and twirled to the floor. The music cascaded over her as she continued to move, her muscles moving on autopilot into seamless choreography. She had beaten out several far more senior company members for this solo and had practiced it so many times that it lived within her, sure to remain there for the rest of time.  With each of her graceful steps, the spotlight followed her and swathed her in its golden column, as if she were being beamed up into the sky above. With how much lift she got in her leaps, she felt like she was, too. Finally, the bass came in signaling the end of her solo and for the rest of the company to join her on stage, but even as the spot widened until it cast a bright haze across the floor, the floor remained empty.

Confused, she looked into the wings, but all she saw was blackness, not even the barely there violet glow of the stage manager’s lamp. She was grateful for her muscle memory, as her limbs continued their practiced movements as her brain whirled in confusion and panic. She was mid-twirl when the music came to an abrupt stop, and she had to put her entire energy into not tumbling over her own foot. When she finally regained her balance, she looked up and around in confusion. The audience, which she’d thought was packed, was emptied out, only one solitary figure remained. Even barely lit and in silhouette, Aelin would recognize her mother’s haughty posture and signature bouffant. Her slow, delicate clap was a stark contrast to the thrumming pulse of Aelin’s heart pounding against her rib cage.

“Mom?” she breathed, barely a whisper but it still echoed through the empty theater.

“A child bride,” Evalin replied with disgust.

Aelin’s brow shot up. “H-how did you—?”

Evalin cut her off. “You thought you could steal my wedding dress from my closet, and I wouldn’t know about it?”

Aelin looked down in confusion, but sure enough, her recital clothes had transformed into the ivory strapless column sheath she used to admire as a small girl. Rhoe had kept their wedding photo in his bedroom long after Evalin left, only removing the photo when a young Aelin commented with a wistful sigh that she’d never seen Rhoe smile the way he did in the black and white snapshot. The dress was stunning in its simplicity, all clean lines and structured satin.

Her hands pressed against the fabric, as if knowing this wasn’t right, but unsure of the how or why. A soft tinkling laugh drifted across the room, and Aelin’s eyes darted to the noise, hopeful that someone had come to save her from this bizarre encounter and nearly collapsed in relief when Rowan’s shock of icy hair appeared in the doorway.

He looked as handsome as ever in his lacrosse jersey, a wide grin on his face and a giant trophy in his hands. Her smile matched his, realizing that he must have come here straight from his championship. Winning his championship.

“Rowan!” she called out, but he didn’t look up. Instead, he offered his free arm to the source of the tinkling laughter. A beautiful woman accepted his bicep and wrapped both her manicured hands around his forearm possessively. He leaned down and brushed his lips against the top of her head in a gesture so familiar that it physically hurt Aelin to watch. “Rowan?” she called out again, this time much quieter.

Evalin’s cruel bark of laughter was the only response she received. “You offered him everything, and it still wasn’t enough. You’ll never leave this small town. You really are your father’s daughter.”

“No,” Aelin told her mom emphatically. “NO!”

“Yes,” she said simply.

“NO!” Aelin screamed again as unwitting tears streamed down her cheeks, hot under the persisting spotlight. “R-rowan!” she choked out, but he couldn’t hear her, too enraptured by the woman in his arms, eyes — and ears, apparently — only for her. “Rowan!” she sobbed. She went to leap off the stage, but she was caught mid-air, her back hitting something with such a force that it knocked the wind of her.

“Ace?” Rowan’s voice was in her ear, his hand rubbing at her back as she gasped for air. She cracked her eyes open and sagged as she realized that she was safely wrapped in Rowan’s firm embrace. “Whoa, you’re okay.” His voice was a reassuring balm to her heart, which felt bloody and bruised.

“I’m okay,” she forced out, though it came out so shaky that Rowan pulled back to peer into her eyes. She wanted to avert her gaze, hopeful that he wouldn’t be able to see the panic that was still coursing through her body, but the dark green of his irises calmed her, so she stared and focused and thought of things that reminded her of the deep shade of Rowan’s eyes. Emeralds. Yulemas garlands. The long row of lockers in their gym room. Grass and trees in the setting summer sun. The jade plant that Maeve claimed brought her good luck that sat on her kitchen counter. Moss. Green tea leaves. The fake snake he’d placed in her bed every prank week. That knocked her out of her tranquil stupor, and she couldn’t help but frown at him.

“Yeah, you’re okay,” he said, but continued to rub circles into the tense space between her shoulder blades. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Aelin shrugged. “It was weird.” She paused for a long while, trying to think of how to tell him about it. “My dance showcase went off the rails?”

Her admission had its intended effect. He squeezed her tightly and kissed the soft spot of skin behind her ear. “Well, that’s silly, brain,” he said, letting his kisses trail up to the side of her temple. “You already crushed your showcase.”

She grinned in response. It was true. She had crushed the showcase, and Rowan had been there just as she’d dreamed in his jersey and trophy in hand. They’d gone into double overtime, and he’d barely made it to her opening solo. With seconds to spare, he’d slid into a seat in the front row, so she’d be sure to see him cheering her on. But she’d known it the whole time. She could feel his gaze on her as she twirled across the stage. The end of that performance had been, well… not the same as her brain had rewritten it. But, Rowan was right. Her brain was being silly.

“Maybe it’s just acting out because someone kept me up all night,” she said, loving the way that Rowan’s ears still turned pink.

“It’s not my fault,” Rowan said, but his blush said otherwise.

“Sure it’s not,” she said with a lascivious smile.

To celebrate their final week of high school, Aelin and Rowan had planned a movie marathon on Maeve’s rooftop. It included a trifecta of essential graduation movies: Can’t Hardly Wait, Booksmart, and Grease. But what she hadn’t realized was that Rowan wouldn’t be able to help himself from singing along. And he knew what his singing voice did to Aelin’s libido. She couldn’t help herself. Somewhere in the middle of Greased Lightning, the movies were all but forgotten as the pair tangled themselves in each other.

Stretching his limbs to the sky, Rowan looked like a literal god. The early morning sun cast a glow across his stern brow and strong nose, making him look as chiseled as a marble statue.

“If you keep that up, I’m taking you right back to bed,” he said of her lusty gaze and hooded eyes. He poked her side, eliciting a loud squeal.

“Whatever,” she laughed. “It’s not like we have anywhere to be today.”

It was true. Today was the last Monday of the year. AKA, senior skip day. And she’d purposefully not committed to joining anyone’s plans, so she and Rowan could extend their marathon if they wanted to – she also had High School Musical 3, She’s All That, and Dazed & Confused lined up — or just laze around all day. But they had time. Considering where the sun was, it was still very, very early. She imagined Maeve would be in the midst of morning service and briefly considered heading downstairs to grab them some coffee and croissants, but instead she laid back onto the mattress and fluffed a pillow beneath her head. Rowan followed, nuzzling onto her chest. She stroked his hair, not wanting to separate herself from him with the tendrils of her dream still lingering in her consciousness.

“Last week of senior year,” he said. “In three days we’ll be high school graduates. How do you feel?”

“Terrified,” Aelin said, the word blurting out before she could filter it back. Damn that coffee-free brain.

She could feel Rowan tense slightly, but he let her early morning admission slide, and she was grateful for it. “Mm, me too,” he agreed. “The lacrosse boys signed up to do a car wash for community service day, and I’m worried I’m going to see things I can’t unsee,” he said with a shudder.

Aelin couldn’t help but snort. While today was a skip day, tomorrow was a service day. Each senior had to do some sort of community service in order to graduate. Ridiculous. Not like they hadn’t all passed their classes already. She supposed the sentiment was nice, but as someone who’d been volunteering with the hospital for the last two years, it felt a bit shallow. Unauthentic. Forced, if you will. And the athletic teams always used it as an excuse to strip down to their skivvies and wash horny housewives’ cars for an exorbitant amount of money. At least it was better than the Boy Toy auction Lorcan had told them they’d finally outlawed because of the gross raunch factor.

“Just tell them to use a sponge and that their junk isn’t for rubbing against dirty cars,” Aelin advised. Rowan groaned loudly.

“Great, now I can never close my eyes again,” he whined.

“Are the cheerleaders also doing the car wash?” Aelin asked, definitely not thinking about her dream at all. But Rowan was definitely not going to let that comment slide. His head popped up, and she found herself ensconced in his shadow as he peered down at her with an accusatory glare.

“I think a few of them are,” he said. “But… you remember that I’m about to marry you, right?”

“A lot of married people cheat, Rowan,” she said, pushing him off. She hadn’t meant to be so pouty about it, but she couldn’t get the image of his arms wrapped around that dream woman out of her mind.

Rowan looked rightfully hurt, the corners of his mouth turned down and his brow furrowed as he stared her down. “You cannot be serious.” He knocked at her temple. “This has gone beyond your brain being silly. We are so many years beyond this. Do you have amnesia?” He knocked again. “Helloooo, Aelin, are you in there? Have you been possessed by the ghost of your past self?”

“Shut up,” she mumbled, pushing his hand away, but he persisted.

“No,” he said, pulling his pants from last night on. He searched for his shirt briefly, but unable to find it, he simply turned toward Aelin in stoic silence, arms crossed over his bare chest and face looking discontent. “I’m not going to let you say shit like that, Ace. That’s…” He pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. To be fair, she was exasperating. “That’s hurtful. To me. I know you’re scared about the future, but I thought we established that I’m in this with you.”

Aelin scrambled to her feet. “We did.”

“So…?”

He stood there, tapping his fingers against his bicep which was curled protectively around his torso still. Not letting her in. Waiting.

But she couldn’t explain it to him. That lingering nagging feeling of insecurity and worry and failure. So instead, she apologized. It wasn’t what he wanted, but it was good enough for now.

. . .

Instead of spending senior ditch day in bed, Aelin and Rowan joined their friends for a never ending picnic day in the park. Which wasn’t exactly what Aelin had wanted, but she had a feeling that she needed to loosen the reins on her panic, lest she piss him off even more. She had a feeling that maybe she’d loosened things too much, though, when she realized midway through her community service day that she hadn’t heard from Rowan in hours. She’d been helping the hospice section of the hospital, which was designated for those who needed round the clock medical care. Their rooms varied from being fully decked out with medical equipment and monitors to the one she was in, which simply had a low bed, a tv, and a chair. Not a monitor in sight. Had she not known the woman needed constant care and surveillance each time she rose from her chair to go to the bathroom, she would have thought she was in someone’s grandmother’s house. As the woman made her tenth trip to the bathroom, Aelin took out her phone. Just to peek. There was no text from Rowan, btu there was one from Dorian. It was a link to a TikTok with the side eye emoji, and she clicked it quickly.

She watched as washboard abs and pecs were drenched with soapy suds as they washed dirt-ridden cars. She bit her lip as Rowan came into view, his muscles rippling as he reached across the hood, his biceps flexing and unflexing with each wipe.

“Mmmmm,” Aelin’s elderly patient hummed appreciatively over her shoulder as she exited the bathroom and spotted the phone screen. She scrambled to put it back in her pocket, but her patient simply chuckled dryly as she snatched the phone into her wiry grasp. “A friend of yours?” she asked curiously, peering up from the screen where the video was replaying.

“Boyfriend,” Aelin admitted, her cheeks burning.

“Lucky girl,” the woman giggled, her hazel eyes alight with joy as she handed the phone back to Aelin where it made its way back into her pocket quickly. “What are you doing spending your time here with an old fuddy-duddy like me?” Aelin was about to protest, but the woman continued. “What’s his name?”

“Rowan,” she finally said as the woman wrapped herself in a thin blanket and tucked herself into her favorite upholstered rocking chair.

“Rowan,” she repeated back. “That’s a good name. A strong name. A reliable name.”

Aelin frowned. “Reliable?”

“Well, isn’t he?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“Sturdy,” the woman continued. “In more ways than one. I can tell.”

Aelin gasped, chastising the woman for her forwardness but she simply laughed it off.

“You’re right,” she whispered, as if she were letting her in on a big secret.

“Go, get out of here,” the woman laughed.

“But I still have two more hours?” Aelin said of her unsigned sheet of volunteer paper, but the woman simply shook her head and beckoned for Aelin to come closer.

“I appreciate your service,” she rasped, “But I just want to nap, and it’d be a shame for you to watch me sleep for two hours. You’ll have the rest of your life to work,” she said signing and dating Aelin’s paper for two hours in the future. “You can fuck around for a few hours.”

Aelin gasped again at the profanity, but smiled regardless.

“Thanks,” she said, but the woman had already nodded off in her chair.

. . .

“Droooooool,” Lysandra laughed as she poked Aelin’s side and pulled her out of her skin-induced stupor.

“I—”

“Were staring?” Lys cackled, following Aelin’s eyeline to where Rowan was clad only in his old red lifeguard shorts. The backs of his thighs were exposed, the hem of the shorts riding up as he leaned down to clean the back bumper of a particularly dirty sedan. Unlike his teammates who were filming each other and tossing sponges back and forth, Rowan was focused on the task at hand, making sure that the car he was working on was well-cleaned. “I hate to interrupt your literal wet dream,” she continued, “But, I wanted to invite you to a party.”

Aelin grabbed the paper from Lysandra’s hands and looked down at it.

“You’re having a party?” Aelin asked, surprised by the idea of her sober friend having the graduation rager she’d always wanted to throw.

“It’s gonna have booze,” Lys said, “But… I will not be partaking.” She cleared her throat. “I know that this year is not at all what I imagined, but I finally feel like I’m okay, and I would feel like shit if I didn’t throw the graduation party of the century.” She flicked her brown curls over her shoulder. “Just because I’m sober doesn’t mean I can’t party.”

“Certainly not,” Aelin agreed. She looked at her friend who’d been through the wringer and spit out again and had come out seemingly unscathed and couldn’t help but wonder… “Hey, Lys?” she asked before her friend could move to the next person. Lysandra looked up, eyes curious. “Do your parents know you’re having this party?”

If Lysandra was surprised by the question, she didn’t show it. Instead, she half shook her head and half shrugged. “No.”

“Should I be worried about that?” she asked, but to that, Lys gave a hard head shake.

“No.”

“But you haven’t reconciled with them?” Aelin didn’t know why she was asking these questions, but at the same time, the answers seemed all too important.

“It’s hard to reconcile with someone who doesn’t care,” Lysandra finally said. “But, I will say that I’ve let it go.” She cleared her throat. “The needing them to care.” She smiled then, a small curve but Aelin saw it regardless. “I wanted them to care for so long,” she admitted. “For too long, probably. So I acted out. A lot. Willing them to pay attention, at the very least. But you can’t will someone to care, even your parents,” she laughed softly. “And I’ve been through enough therapy now that I’m starting to realize that as much as that hurts, it’s okay.” She paused. “I don’t need them to care. Because I care enough for all of us. And I realized there are a lot of people out there who care, too.” She paused, looking at Aelin, as if trying to cut through the bullshit and tell Aelin exactly what she wanted to hear, and in that moment… she did. “Does that make sense?”

Aelin nodded. “It does.”

Lysandra tapped the paper in her hands. “Immediately after graduation, and we’ll go all night. Bring your bathing suit,” she said.

“Will do,” Aelin laughed, but she couldn’t help but let her mind wander to Lysandra’s words. Her friend had laid it out plainly for her. What she’d been afraid to admit all along. That she maybe really seriously actually needed to go to therapy. The wounds her mom had imparted on her psyche ran deeper than she knew how to deal with. If her dream was any indication, her mom still controlled some part of her identity, and she needed to release that. Because that had nothing to do with who she was as a human. Not at all.

After the dream, she had thought that maybe she needed to call her mom and let her hear her thoughts, but Lys was right in her assessment: it was impossible to control someone else’s feelings. Even your mom’s. Yes, she wanted her mom to love her and want the best for her, but truly, her mom barely knew her. All Evalin knew was propriety and etiquette and history. She didn’t know that her favorite color was green, like Rowan’s eyes. She didn’t know that her favorite food was Maeve’s chocolate cake. She didn’t know that she was thinking about a career in medicine and how much she loved helping people. And she certainly didn’t know that Aelin wanted at least five kids and to make sure that every single one of them felt loved and adored by both their parents. No. She couldn’t make Evalin care, or pay attention long enough to even try to care. And she had to let that go. It would take a lot of work, but she had to.

With that in mind, she called out Rowan’s name, followed by a whoop and a loud expletive. His answering blush and crooked finger, beckoning her to wrap herself in his half-naked embrace was all she needed to know that she’d been forgiven. But she knew she had to explain anyway. He let his teammates know that he would be back in a minute and let Aelin pull him away from the long line of cars still waiting to be washed.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized, tilting her head upwards where he loomed over her. He softly kissed the top of her head, warming her even more than the mid-afternoon sun. “I could say I don’t what came over me yesterday, but… that’d be a lie,” Aelin continued.

He squeezed her side in response, not interrupting her but acknowledging that he was listening and waiting.

“Did you know that the morning of my sixteenth birthday I woke up and resolved that I would kiss you that year?” she asked, and he barked out a confused laugh.

“Um, what?”

“I was so determined to do it, too. And do you know why?” she asked as she let her hands trace small circles into the soft skin of his back.

“Because you knew you wanted to be with me forever and ever and that we’re perfect together and meant to be and we’re each other’s soul mates and other halves and one of us just needed to make a move?”

Aelin snorted loudly. “No,” she laughed, screwing up her face. “Not at all.”

Rowan’s forehead wrinkled as his brow transformed into a deep furrow. Clearly her words weren’t at all what he expected to hear. But, she knew she needed to get this out.

“When I thought about why I wanted to kiss you so badly, I realized that it was a test. If I kissed you and blew up our entire friendship, then I’d be right about everything I thought about myself. That you could never love me as much as I loved you. And so obviously you’d leave. Because everyone leaves.”

Rowan’s grasp tightened around her waist, locking her against his chest. “But I’m still here.”

“You are.” She paused, finally letting the words come to the surface. “I think…” She shook her head. That wasn’t the right start at all. “I know… that my mom deeply screwed me up.” She took another deep breath. “And watching you get recruited and this whole college limbo thing has made it so much worse. Because every day it feels like I’m just waiting for you to get up and realize that you’ve outgrown me. But you haven’t done anything to make me feel like that at all. And so, I’m really sorry. My issues are my own, and I’m going to work on them.”

“Thank you,” he said. “For the apology, and for letting me know what’s going on in there.” His fingers tucked under the hem of her shirt and matched the circles she was placing on his back. “I’ll try and remember all of that when you inevitably freak out again, but I look forward to proving you wrong every day for the rest of our lives. Because I’ve said it a few hundred times before, but I’ll keep saying it until you believe it: you’re stuck with me. Forever.”

“Forever,” she echoed back.

“Whitethorn,” a rough voice called out. “We need you back!”

In his absence, the line of cars had somehow grown impossibly longer. “Looks like you’ve got work to do,” she said, raising her brow.

“Will I see you later?” he asked, and Aelin couldn’t help but scoff.

“Oh, you thought I was leaving?” she laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m going to snag a prime spot for ogling and then maybe we can hop into the jeep when you’re finished.”

“Really?” he laughed. “Even smelling like sweat and sunscreen?”

“Ohhhhh yes,” she said, practically drooling as he let her hands climb up the ridges of his defined abs. “That’s even better.”

He responded with a deep kiss that set her body ablaze, tingling from head to toe, that was interrupted by more panicked calls from his teammates. After prying himself away, Aelin found a spot on a nearby bench, giving her the perfect view to fawn over half-naked and half-wet Rowan for the next few hours.

. . .

The next morning, Aelin was awoken much too early. She was pulled from her easy slumber with a dance remix of Pomp & Circumstance coming from her phone alarm. What the hell? As she slapped at the table next to her, attempting to turn off the too-loud music in vain, she felt her dad’s hand cover hers and lead it to the offending object.

“Congrats, graduate,” Rhoe’s warm voice lilted as he gently rubbed at her shoulder.

“Dadddd,” she groaned as she attempted to put her pillow over her head. Now that that music was off she could go back to sleep. Or so she thought. She should have known better than to play tug of war with a man who could bench press and carry three times her weight. Rhoe’s soft laughter was a stark contrast to the forceful way he wrenched the pillow away. She managed to keep it within her grasp, but Rhoe’s strength kept it locked at a significant distance from her face. She tried to pull it closer, but Rhoe wasn’t letting that happen. She guessed it was time to wake up, per Rhoe’s request.

Defeated, Aelin let her fingers drop from the pillow, and finally cracked an eye open. Behind her dad’s head was a swath of green and gold, and she focused she could see that nearly ever inch of the room had been filled with balloons.

“Happy last day of high school,” her dad said with a too-wide smile given the early hour. When she opened her other eye, his smile widened even further, showing off two deep dimples that she recognized from her own reflection.

“It’d be happier if I could sleep more,” Aelin grumbled, but it wasn’t with any real mirth. Hung on the outside of her closet door, Rhoe had steamed her deep emerald graduation robe.

“I have one more day left with my high school student, and I plan on making every second count,” Rhoe said, causing Aelin to smile in reply.

“Tyrant,” she laughed. But she was grateful.

After allowing her to get ready, the pair made their way to Maeve’s, where she’d saved a two top for them by the window. Within seconds of sitting, a large hazelnut coffee and platter of stuffed French toast and bacon appeared in front of her. Yes, being in a small town was sometimes annoying – but no matter where she and Rowan went in the world, she knew a plate of Maeve’s home cooking would be waiting for her when she came back.

She and Rhoe enjoyed a lazy brunch, ordering second and third cups of coffee.

“Fourth?” Rowan asked, coming around with the coffee pot.

“If I have any more coffee I’ll be peeing every twenty minutes for the rest of the day,” she laughed, shoving him away. Though he hadn’t been able to join them for their breakfast because he was helping train a new staff member for Maeve, he’d dropped a soft kiss on her cheek every time he’d passed by their table. Which. Was a perfect way to enjoy her day. They’d planned to have a celebratory brunch the four of them, since they’d all be going to Lysandra’s (family inclusive!) graduation party following their graduation ceremony, but having it just be Rhoe and Aelin felt right, too.  

“As if you don’t do that already,” Rhoe scoffed. “I’m half expecting you to hop off the graduation stage as soon as they hand you your degree to take a pee break.”

“Dad!” she said, cheeks blooming with redness. Yes, she had brought up peeing first, but she couldn’t believe her dad would talk about her like that in front of Rowan.

“Please,” Rowan laughed. “As if I don’t know about your tiny bladder.”

“You’re both the worst,” she grumbled. “Can we talk about something else besides my pee schedule?”

“Yes, I wanted to ask what you’re wearing under your gown today,” he said before his brain caught up to what he said. “Not in a sexy way!” he said, blush raging as Rhoe raised a pointed brow in his direction. It’d been a while since she saw Rowan look so flustered under Rhoe’s gaze, and she forgot how amusing it was. “So we can coordinate,” he finally said. “For photos.”

“Not in a sexy way,” Rhoe muttered to himself. Something akin to a wheeze came out of Rowan’s mouth as he tried to correct himself again, but Aelin thought it was time to put him out of his misery.

“You can wear whatever you want,” she said. “Because I’ll be wearing a white dress.”

Rowan’s widened eyes darted to Rhoe and then back to her, and she didn’t miss the way his throat bobbed with a nervous gulp.

“A white dress?” he croaked.

“Mhm,” she said. “So anything you wear will go with it.” Her eyes sparkled with mischief.

“Speaking of,” Rhoe said, clapping his hands loudly and breaking them from their joint reverie. “We should head out so you can start getting ready.”

Aelin rolled her eyes, knowing that her dad was teasing her about how long it took her to get ready, but as she glanced at the time she realized he wasn’t entirely wrong. They had been so caught up in their lengthy breakfast that it was now well after noon.

With a small kiss, she told Rowan she’d see him out on the lacrosse field in a few hours. Unfortunately, Galathynius and Whitethorn were annoyingly far apart in their grade lineup, so she wouldn’t see him for real until after the ceremony. But all he did was send her away with a smile and a kiss.

“Can’t wait,” he said.

. . .

Of course they were graduating on the hottest day of the year. Though the weather forecast had predicted partly sunny skies and balmy breezes, instead they received a cloudless sky, still and relentlessly hot beneath the beatific sun. The thick polyester robe in dark emerald green created a tent of heat around her, and she could feel every inch of her skin beading with sweat beneath it. She hoped when she took off the gown she still looked somewhat presentable, otherwise her hours of preparation would be for naught.

True to her dad’s prediction, Aelin had taken a while to get ready, shaving her legs thoroughly and straightening each strand of her long blonde locks. Of course, beneath her cap and combined with the thick humidity, her hair was beginning to show its natural wavy texture again. And she had a feeling that as soon as her cap was off, she’d be pulling her tresses into a giant pile on top of her head, pictures be damned. Luckily, she’d sprayed her face with a few layers of setting spray so no matter how much she sweat, her winged eyeliner and flawless complexion weren’t budging.

Beside her, Dorian swiped a bead of sweat that had fallen down his temple. Not even his mop of thick curls was enough to prevent the amounts of sweat from cascading down his cheeks and neck.

“If this speaker doesn’t hurry up, we’re going to boil alive,” he whispered as their graduation speaker drolled on. The man was supposed to be inspiring — he was an author turned executive, but his slow talking pace seemed to be getting slower with each word. Not only that, but each word seemed to be the same tone with no inflection, and Aelin was worried all of them were going to fall asleep before their names were called. Maybe she’d be more inclined to listen to his words of wisdom if the hundreds of them weren’t swimming in pools of their own sweat.

Somewhere in her musings, she heard a round of applause, signaling the end of the speech. Thank god.

The next speaker was their class valedictorian, slash Prom Queen. None other than Elide.

“On behalf of the Seniors, I’d like to take a moment to thank everyone who has been a part of our success,” she began. “The last four years have been filled with bumps in the road, and it hasn’t been easy. But our success is a direct result of everything you’ve given us. Your care and belief in us and faith when we doubted ourselves have been integral in our quest for knowledge. That includes our teachers, who taught us not only school lessons but lessons in life. Our parents and families, who have been there since the beginning. And the families we’ve created along the way.” She paused, searching for a face in the audience, smiling widely when she found her teal-haired girlfriend smiling back at her. “The bond that links us isn’t one of blood. It’s forged in joy and tears and friendship and respect,” Elide’s eyes found Aelin’s at that moment, and she couldn’t help but smile at her friend. “And no matter where this crazy life takes us beyond today, we will always take this place with us. Because home isn’t just a place. It’s a feeling, it’s a light in the darkness. It’s hope. And so, to the Orynth High senior class, I say, as we forge new paths for ourselves, may we never forget home.” She cleared her throat and smiled widely. “Let’s hold onto the memories and camaraderie and picture-perfect moments, for they made us who we are. Congratulations… we did it!”

The whole class whooped and hollered and clapped wildly, none more so than Manon, who beamed up at her girlfriend from the front row.

And just like that, it was time.

Aelin held her breath as Principal Havillard took the podium and started calling out their names. Her heart raced as her row stood, waiting to take the stage. Her nerves were momentarily squashed as Manon made a lewd gesture with her tongue between her fingers after accepting her diploma. She watched as Lysandra proudly plucked the degree and held it over her head. She knew her friend hadn’t been sure she’d be able to graduate, and it was a relief to hear her name.

Before she could process anything else, she was walking up the stairs and hearing her name being called out. “Aelin Ashryver Galathynius.”

She nearly tripped over her own feet at the chorus of shouting that came from the back of the chairs. She looked over at where Rhoe and Lorcan were shouting wildly and realized that they were accompanied by the entire fire squad. Aelin’s breath caught in her throat at the display of raucous hooting and hollering. These people who had known her since she was a child had come to cheer for her and see her graduate. She had not anticipated that at all. And she found herself completely overwhelmed.

Beside the squad, Maeve cheered, and on the other side of the chairs, down by the W’s, Chaol and Rowan stood and shouted with hands on either side of their mouths. A thrill of love and support rushed through her. She couldn’t believe how many people were here for her.

She grabbed the diploma from Principal Havillard’s hands and raised it into the air, causing the cheering to explode again. She stuck out her tongue and crossed her eyes, making a silly face in the direction of her family.

Elide’s words rang in her ears. Her family. The squad, her dad, Lorcan, Maeve, her friends, and of course, Rowan. That vast group was more support than most people got in their lifetime. She’d never forget that.

She made her way back to her seat, laughing as Dorian flipped off his father and then booked it away from him, cackling wildly. Always a troublemaker, that one. And finally, after what seemed like forever, it was Rowan’s turn.

“Rowan Eugene Whitethorn.”

Aelin shot up from her chair, screaming as loud as she could, and despite being many rows back, she could feel Rowan’s eyes lock with hers. His lopsided grin was just for her, and she felt a thrill of joy run up her spine at the look.

“I love you,” she mouthed to him, causing his grin to widen.

“And with that,” Principal Havillard concluded. “I give you the senior class. Congratulations, graduates!”

Aelin stood and joined in the cheering again, her voice starting to go hoarse with the efforts of her support. They did it.

. . .

“Congratulations, Fireheart,” Rhoe said, throwing his arms around Aelin. Despite the heat, she welcomed his embrace.

When he pulled back, she noticed a large bouquet of her favorite flowers in his hand. He held them out to her, the red and orange flowers flickering like a live fire beneath the late afternoon sun.

“Thanks, Dad,” she said, suddenly feeling emotional.

“I’m so proud of you,” he said, and she could tell that despite his dry cheeks, he’d been crying. “And I love you so much.”

She hugged him again, pulling him tight and not letting go for a long while. After they parted, Aelin was passed around for hugs to the entire squad, each one of them telling her a story of something she did when she was a small girl hanging out at the station, imbuing her with joyful memories.

Then it was Maeve’s turn, who didn’t hold back her tears at all. Fat blobs rolled down her face, and she didn’t both to move them away, seeing as they were coming in a steady stream.

“Oh, hon, I’m so proud of you,” she said as she practically squeezed the life out of Aelin. She was grateful she’d unzipped her graduation robe, otherwise she was sure she would have passed out from heat stroke by now.

“And what about me?” Rowan low voice interjected. Maeve burst into a fresh round of sobs as she pulled him close.

She blubbered into his shoulder about how proud she was of him, of both of them, of all their achievements and how grown up they were, and Aelin could feel her heart expanding. It felt like she was going to burst wide open.

By the time everyone had said their piece, the field had mostly emptied out. Aelin heard a soft ripple of groans as a few of the firefighters took out their pagers.

“Fire?” Aelin asked as she peeled the sweaty gown from her shoulders.

Rhoe shook his head. “Worse. Graduation pranks abound, apparently.”

Aelin laughed, understanding that her dad was probably in for a long night of nonsense work.

“So I shouldn’t expect you at Lysandra’s?”

Rhoe shook his head. “You don’t want your old man crashing anyway.” He narrowed his eyes at her, as if he was blinking back more tears and sniffed loudly. “Have fun. You deserve it.”

“I will,” Aelin said, hugging her dad one more time. As he left her with a wave, she looked around for Rowan, who was standing just a few feet away, talking with Maeve. She took a deep breath and lifted her chin.

“Hey, you” he said, offering his arm out to her with a wide smile. She leaned into his side and took a deep breath, letting her happiness flow through her.

A flash went off in their face, and Aelin knew that whatever moment Maeve had just captured that she’d be framing it.

“You ready?” she asked, and his smile widened.

“You headed to Lysandra’s?” Maeve asked, completely unaware of the real conversation happening between the two of them.

Rowan nodded. “Do you want to meet us there?” he asked Maeve, but she shook her head and waved them off. Apparently she had a big night of dinner service ahead of her, but she sent them off with a joint hug and another tearful smile.

And just like that, it was time.

. . .

 In the days, months, and years that followed, whenever Aelin was asked about her wedding, she would say that it went by so quickly that she couldn’t remember it, and that was mostly true.

From the time the pair entered city hall to when they exited, a total of maybe ten minutes had passed. There was no aisle to walk down, no verbose exchanging of vows, no romantic readings or passages, but it was perfect nonetheless.

Aelin clasped her bouquet of kingsflames in one hand and Rowan’s hand in another, letting her skirt swish as she swayed back and forth. She had no idea what words the city official said. All she remembered was the brightness in Rowan’s eyes as they stared down at her and the way he kissed her when they’d been pronounced husband and wife.

As they made their way back to his car, Aelin was giddy. They rolled the windows down, letting the cooler air whip through the jeep, a wild giggle bubbling up in her throat and fizzing like champagne with each second that passed. Delicious and lightheaded inducing.

They had done it. They’d actually gotten married.

She looked over at Rowan, who was already staring back at her, a soft dreamy smile on his face. She couldn’t help but grin wider at him, laughing again as his smile pressed against hers. She loved when they kissed like this – a smashing of two smiles that wasn’t quite a kiss at all.

The stress that they’d felt over the last however many weeks, months, years, wasn’t present at all in his posture. She glanced down at his hands poised on the steering wheel, his fingers curling around the black leather in a loose grasp and tapping along to some silent tune in his head. The late afternoon sun filtered through the window casting him in a glow that made him look like a bronzed god, and Aelin sighed happily. This man was all hers. Forever.

FOREVER.

She’d always known their lives would be intertwined, but to actually make it official was something else. The light turned green and the car lurched forward as he pressed on the gas and began driving again. But the adrenaline surging through her was too much. She couldn’t just sit in this passenger seat, she needed to do something.

“Pull over,” she said, eyes flashing at their surroundings.

“Huh?” Rowan’s head whipped toward hers, confused.

“Pull over!” she said again, louder this time. Verging on panic.  

Rowan’s relaxed posture immediately reversed, the thick corded muscles of his shoulders and neck tensing as he looked for a spot to pull over.

“There!” she said, her pulse racing wildly.

Up ahead was the empty parking lot of the library. Though it was usually sparse there, there was not a car in sight, and Rowan wasted no time swerving into the lot and putting his hands on Aelin’s shoulders, examining her up and down.

“Are you okay?” he asked, green eyes taking in every detail of her body as if searching for a gaping wound or sudden injury.

“I’m perfect,” she replied. And she was. She was elated. Running on adrenaline and joy.

To calm her suddenly worried boyfriend — no, husband — down, she placed her hands on both his cheeks and kissed his mouth in a soft, sweet kiss.

“Keep the car running,” she said, picking up Rowan’s phone where it was plugged into the car and adding a song to his Spotify queue.

“What are you doing, Ace?” Rowan sighed, exasperated with her antics. Panic was nowhere to be seen anymore in his posture, only annoyance. Which only made her smile wider. As the first notes of the song came onto the stereo, she cranked up the volume and hopped out of the car. She smiled up at the sky, swaying to the beat, basking in the first signs of sunset and pink tinged clouds overhead.

To his credit, Rowan didn’t ask any more questions. He simply followed her lead and exited the jeep.

“Husband,” Aelin said, offering out her hand. “May I have this dance?”

Rowan’s returning smile was so large she thought it might crack his whole face. Gods, he was gorgeous.

He pulled her close, swaying with her as their song played. “I can’t believe our first dance is to Dancing In The Moonlight,” he chuckled.

“We wouldn’t be us if it weren’t,” she said, leaning into his chest as his arms circled her waist and pulled her close.

And though the song was upbeat, they stayed embraced and tangled up in each other, slowly swaying, chest to chest, hearts beating in rapid tandem with the beat of the song. They were so wrapped up in each other that Aelin barely noticed the sun disappearing behind an ominously dark cloud until a large raindrop plopped onto her nose.

And another.

And another.

She thought they would run back into the car and seek shelter, but neither of them made a move. In fact, the rain just seemed to invigorate them. Rowan stared up at the sky and laughed, Aelin following right after him. He lifted his hand and spun her in a circle, both of them laughing with reckless abandon as Aelin’s skirt flared out around them. He spun her again and this time ended his flourish with a dip, kissing her deeply.

Time seemed to cease to exist as they danced. Under the raining sky they became a mess of water-drenched spinning, laughing, kissing, and singing.

The skies continued to pour, until they were both soaked through. But as the last notes of the song played, their little magic bubble disappeared.

Aelin looked at Rowan and then back at her white dress, which was now dripping.

“Omg I look like a drowned rat!” she shouted through the rain.

Rowan laughed, pulling her back into the jeep and grabbing a towel from his back seat to dry his own hair off before sliding into the driver’s seat.

“But a very cute rat,” he said, causing them both to burst into laughter once again as they took off toward their graduation party.

By the time they arrived at Lysandra’s, they were still water-logged, giggling messes. Lys gasped at their disheveled appearance, eyeing them up and down with a wary eye.

“Ummm, no,” she said.

“No?” Aelin laughed, feeling drunk on endorphins.

Lysandra’s wary eye morphed into a blinding smile at the pair of them. “Get out of here and go celebrate on your own,” she laughed. “And congratulations,” she whispered.

“For graduating…?” Aelin asked, and Lysandra couldn’t help but snort loudly.

“Babe, you’re wearing a white dress and a shit-eating grin.” She paused. “I’m happy for you.”

She embraced the pair of them. “Now get out of here before anyone sees you.”

Aelin and Rowan didn’t need any more prompting. Apparently they were not subtle enough to pull off seeing other people right now.

“Where to?” Aelin asked Rowan as they slid back into the car.

Rowan smiled back at her. “Anywhere we want.”

“Let’s go,” she said.

And with that, they hit the road. Overwhelmed from the day, Aelin promptly fell asleep in the passenger seat, letting the feel of the car lull her into a dreamless sleep.

. . .

“Aceeee,” Rowan whispered, pulling her from her slumber. It was completely dark outside and the pair were stopped at a gas station slash motel. “You gotta get out of the car and then you can go right back to sleep,” he said softly.

“I’m awake,” she mumbled through a wide yawn. “Where are we?”

Rowan chuckled as she practically poured out of the car into his arms. She hadn’t realized how exhausted she truly was until after they’d checked into the motel, which was surprisingly not seedy, and she was sitting back on the bed. Her dress wasn’t wet anymore, but it certainly wasn’t going to be comfortable to sleep in. She wished they’d thought to prepare better for this sudden excursion. Of course, Rowan had.

“I picked up some essentials at a rest stop,” Rowan said, as if reading her mind. He pulled out an oversized tee that read “Geck Yo Act Together,” with a large picture of a gecko on it and tossed it to her, along with a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a little thing of mouthwash. He also pulled out giant sandwiches and chips and bottles of water and a Terrasen mountains tee for himself.

“Smart,” Aelin laughed, realizing the last time she ate was her (albeit giant) brunch, hours ago. “Is that where we are?” she asked, realizing she had no idea where they were.

“No,” he said, grinning softly. “I thought maybe we’d drive south. Explore for a while.”

“Is this our honeymoon?” Aelin laughed, looking around the small, dingy motel room. It wasn’t exactly what she’d imagined, but she also had never imagined getting married at eighteen.

“You told me you wanted to find the continent’s best chocolate piece of cake,” he said, and she couldn’t help but bark out a loud laugh.

“That could take weeks!”

“You got somewhere to be?” he asked, brow raised. And she loved the way his smile promised devious, devious things. And suddenly, she wasn’t so tired anymore.  

“I also got one more thing,” he said. She watched as he pulled a thick gold band out of his pocket, and she suddenly couldn’t breathe. He sat on the bed beside her and slid it onto her finger and her heart nearly stopped as he pulled another to slide onto his own. They were practically matching, except while a red stone sat in the middle of her ring, a dark green one that matched the shade of his eyes sat on his.

“Oh,” she said, her throat feeling remarkably dry. She tried to swallow, but it was too rough. A lump in her throat that wouldn’t abate. She tried again as she stared at the ring on her finger, her heart pounding as the red stone flickered in the dim motel room lighting. Why couldn’t she swallow?

“It’s just temporary,” Rowan rushed out, mistaking her silence as dislike. “The rest stop had a pawn shop, and I just knew we needed them, but they’re just for now…”

She cut him off with a swift and forceful kiss. “They’re perfect.”

“Hey, where’s my phone?” she asked. “I need to take a picture of this immediately.”

“I plugged it in,” he said, pointing to where he’d already set up a little charging station.

She picked it up, intending to take a picture of her ring, but an alert from literal hours ago disrupted that. She couldn’t believe it. An email in her inbox that read: Wendlyn University Admissions Update. Oh gods.

Without another word, she clicked into the email, heart pounding. Her eyes skimmed quickly, hoping to get the band-aid ripped off quickly, but she paused on the word CONGRATULATIONS.

“Oh my god. OH MY GOD!” she screamed, throwing the phone at Rowan. He picked up the phone and smiled widely, whooping and wrapping her into a bear hug so tight she couldn’t breathe.

“You did it,” he mumbled through kisses. “I knew you were going to do it.”

Unable to control themselves, their kisses increased, heating up wildly until his kisses seared through her, worshipping each inch of her skin. She was breathing hard as he peeled her out of her dress and pushed her onto the bed and continued to whisper adorations and plans of their future. How proud of her he was, and how he was never going to let her forget it. She shivered as he let his mouth skimmed against her, and she promised in that moment to never take him or his love for granted. This is why she didn’t need handwritten wedding vows — because they vowed to each other all the time with a simple kiss. And more than kisses. They brought each other to orgasm again and again, until they were both sweaty and spent and shaking with pleasure. They both poured every ounce of joy and relief into their intertwining bodies, finding their own perfect rhythm, until long after they should have gone to sleep. But neither wanted this magical day to end.

He was twirling the ring around her finger when Aelin remembered that she hadn’t taken a picture of it yet. She reached for her phone and started at a text from her dad, which just said: Checking in.

“Oh my god,” Aelin said again, bolting upright.

But Rowan just chuckled sleepily, reaching out with one of his hands to squeeze her bare backside. “Yeah, baby. Oh my god. You’re incredible.”

“NO, ROWAN,” she said smacking his shoulder. “What were we thinking? We got married! And then left home without telling anyone?” She actually couldn’t believe she had done that. What was she supposed to write back to her dad? “Rhoe is going to KILL ME,” she said, finally realizing what had occurred over the last twelve hours. “No, wait. He’s going to kill YOU! He’s going to arrest you for kidnapping his only daughter!”

At that Rowan really did laugh and pulled her back down into his embrace. “Ace, are you serious?” his laughter poured over her, silky smooth. “You think I would marry you and take you out of state without explicitly asking your father for permission and telling him our plans?”

Aelin’s eyes widened as she looked at Rowan with serious eyes. “He knew?”

Rowan kissed her shoulder and mumbled a soft, “Go to sleep. I’ll tell you everything in the morning.”

She paused. “You made a plan, but didn’t think to pack a bag for me?”

He chuckled again, pulling her tighter against his side. “I did pack a bag for you,” he said. ”I just forgot toothpaste and a nightshirt,” he said, his lips loosening as sleep threatened to take him over. “You didn’t need it, though.” And with that, he was asleep.

“I love you, too,” she replied, pushing his hair from his eyes and loving the way he smiled at her touch, even asleep. Unable to help herself, she laced her fingers through his and snapped a quick pic of their intertwined hands before sending it off to her dad. As she rested the phone down and closed her eyes, she felt ready for the next chapter. Except, it wasn’t really a chapter, she guessed. It was the rest of her life. A new book she was writing. She didn’t know what it would entail, but she knew that she couldn’t wait.

THE END

[applescoven]

I wish transfem joy on everyone btw. If you are transfem you have to stay living forever I love you

[manonblaqkbeak]

A Little Tumble

Rowaelin month Day 6: Misunderstanding Leading to Disaster. @rowaelinscourt

I hope it's okay that I'm posting this a day early, I have a busy weekend ahead and I don't trust tumblr's queue system tbh lol.

I can't wait to read everyone's stories and see what everyone does, I feel like I'm never on here anymore but I couldn't stay away for rowaelin month. I love this little tradition of ours!! Rowaelin forever <3

cw: forced kisses, teenagers being dramatic (although not about the forced kiss because that would be horrible), injuries and mentions of sex but nothing graphic and me attempting to be humorous because nothing super disastrous happens lol.

1700 plus words. Sorry for any grammar errors :)

Please enjoy!!! Xx

Aelin couldn't stop crying. She had been crying for an eternity now, or what felt like it. And everything hurt, from her eyes to her toes as she sobbed and sobbed.

She hugged her pillow tighter as she heard her phone vibrate on her nightstand. She didn't need to look to know that it was Rowan. Her phone had been buzzing for ages now. She was sure her phone would soon freeze from the force of all the notifications she was getting.

She should block him. She should, but she couldn't move her arms. She breathed in the scent of Rowan's aftershave that clung to his pillow.

He wouldn't be sleeping in this bed next to her anymore. Wouldn't buy her iced coffee every morning on their way to school, would no longer would there be talks about their futures. No more of him buying her favourite snacks as study aides. No more calling her 'Princess'.

She no longer had a future with Rowan Whitethorn and her soul broke at the realisation.

A soft knock rapped against her bedroom door, and her mother's voice filled her ears. “Aelin, sweetheart, can I come in? I just want to talk.” Aelin nodded, her throat too sore to speak. “What happened today, at school?”

Fresh tears left Aelin's eyes as she made herself speak the horrible truth. “Rowan broke up with me.” Her voice was raspy.

“What? What do you mean that Rowan broke up with you?” Evalin asked.

“He dumped me, mum. He dropped me for Remelle Frost.”

“Are you sure?” she had never heard her mother sound so confused.

“Yes! I saw him kiss her!” Just saying it out loud made her cry even more, if that was even possible. Her mother came closer to her, running a smoothing hair along her hair. Her phone buzzed again. “Can you please leave me alone, and take my phone with you?”

“Okay, sweetheart, but I'll be downstairs if you need me.”

Aelin just nodded and her mother left, taking Aelin's phone with her.

Aelin closed her eyes and sobbed some more.

X X X X

Aelin woke up to the sound of knocking—not on her door, but her bedroom window. She lived in a two storey house, so that only meant one thing; someone climbed the tree next to her side of the house and was standing on the roof.

Aelin sat up and saw Rowan outside her window, his face desperate as he knocked again. Like she was fucking blind and couldn't see him there. At some point it had started to rain and he was drenched.

Anger shot through her at the sight of him, that he would come here after everything that happened today.

She left her bed, her blankets tangling around her legs but she managed to stand up straight as she unlocked her window. “What do you want, Rowan? To rub it in my face about your new girlfriend? Because I don't want to fucking hear it.”

Rowan's face crumpled at her anger. “Aelin, please, I can explain. There's been a misunderstanding.”

“A misunderstanding?” she hissed. “I saw you kiss Remelle.” Bile raised in her throat at the words, at the image that zapped through her head. Remelle's hands clenched in Rowan's school blazer, her lips on his. “If there's a misunderstanding, then I don't want to hear it. Go to your new girlfriend and leave me alone!” Aelin ripped off her beloved promise ring and threw it at him. He flinched as it hit his face and tumbled off the roof.

Aelin heard her parents voices echoing, asking her if she was alright, and then they were there, at her bedroom door, watching Rowan as he watched her.

“I didn't kiss her!” Rowan said, pleading. “She was talking about how she's leaving during the summer to go to a new school and that she didn't want to leave with no regrets and she kissed me. Forced herself on me, actually. I pushed her off. Lorcan saw the whole thing, he can tell you what happened. Please, Aelin, let me in.”

“I don't believe you.” Even though it did sound like something Remelle would do—and Aelin was aware that Remelle was leaving, and was ecstatic when she heard the news. She and Remelle had never gotten along, not even in kindergarten.

“Please, text Lorcan,” Rowan begged, his own eyes filling with tears. “He doesn't like you enough to lie to you.”

That was definitely true.

“Rowan, you should come inside, before you hurt yourself,” Aelin's dad, Rhoe, interjected. He ignored the glare Aelin sent his way. She was willing to text Lorcan but she didn't want Rowan in her room, not now.

Aelin went to ask her mother for her phone when her parents gasped and swore, and when Aelin turned around, Rowan had fallen off the slip of the roof and was on the ground.

Aelin had never run so fast in her life.

X X X X

Waiting in the urgent care felt like an eternity—which made Aelin dub this day as the longest day in her life.

But soon Rowan was walking out towards the waiting room—towards her—when Aelin noticed the cast covering his right forearm. Tears sprung up in her eyes at the sight.

“I'm okay,” Rowan said as he sat next to her. “No concussion, no bleeding on the brain or anything, just this eyesore for the next eight weeks. Thank the gods that summer has started, at least.”

“What about work?” They were both employed at the Stag Rose Grille as servers and were going to use half their weekly paychecks to go towards their trip after graduation next year.

“Doctor gave me a sick note, and I have a lot of personal leave saved up.”

Aelin nodded and they sat in silence, even as the loudness of the urgent care lobby surrounded them.

“I called Lorcan as I was waiting,” Aelin said after a moment, and Rowan's dark green eyes snapped towards her tear swollen face. And his heart broke at the sight, at knowing that she had cried so much over him. “And he told me what happened, about Remelle. I'm sorry that I didn't believe you, and I'm sorry that she forced herself onto you. Are you okay? We can go to the police and report it, I'll be with you every step of the way.”

Rowan leaned over and kissed his girlfriend on the cheek. “I'll be okay. And I just want to forget that it happened. I've already blocked her on everything—I should have years ago.”

“I blocked her, too,” Aelin said, “but not before I gave her a piece of my mind.”

Rowan knew Aelin, and knew that what she said wouldn't have minced words. “What did you say?”

Aelin's answering smile was the very definition of pleased. “That if she ever came back here or ever contacted you after what she did, I was going to set her on fire.”

“Aelin! I think that's considered a felony.”

“What she did to you is a felony! Besides, she called me a cunt and said I was insane and that she would torch me if she ever saw me, so I think we're even.”

Rowan snorted, even though it made his head throb a little—he had no concussion, but his head was definitely a little sore.

Aelin yawned and looked ready to pass out. “You should tell your parents what happened, I know they're away for their anniversary weekend, but they would want to know before they come home to an unexpected insurance bill.”

“I'll tell them later. Let's get you home.”

Aelin smiled and kissed him on the lips. “I like the sound of that.” As they slowly made the way to Aelin's car, she said, “I also like the idea of ordering an extra large cheese crust pepperoni pizza, with garlic dipping sauce.”

Rowan smiled. “You drive and I'll order.”

X X X X

It was midnight when Evalin checked in on Aelin and Rowan, the young couple clinging to each other in Aelin's queen sized bed, Rowan's cast resting on one of Aelin's many pillows.

The room stunk of garlic and cheese and she slowly made her way across her only child's room to open up her window to let in some fresh air.

As Evalin made her way towards Aelin's nightstand where the last of the pizza remained, Aelin's eyes cracked open.

“Sorry about today, mama.” Her voice was still a little strained.

Evalin reached down and kissed her daughter on the forehead and smoothed her hair away from her eyes. “It's okay, I'm glad it worked out for the best. And your father found your ring, by the way, it's in the kitchen, drying after its wash.”

“Thank you.”

“Get some sleep, you've had a long day.” Aelin nodded and closed her eyes.

Evalin grabbed the pizza box and froze at the sight of Aelin's bin.

She knew that Aelin and her boyfriend had made up after the events of today—they had been dating for three years, after all, and Aelin was very open about their relationship— it was the reason why Aelin's TV was so damned loud earlier, but she hadn't expected to see three condoms on top of the waste bin.

“Mama, if you keep looking at them like that, your eyeballs are going to fall out,” Aelin said, her eyes still closed. “Rowan got too excited—”

“I don't really need to hear the rest. Goodnight, love.”

Aelin chuckled. “Night, mama.”

Aelin's bedroom door closed and Rowan groaned beside her. “Did you really just tell your mum that I came too early?”

Aelin chuckled again, her boyfriends face a little red from the embarrassment. “She won't judge, she'll just tell me to cover them up next time like I normally do. Besides, she knows everything that we've done. And she's walked in on us, too, remember?”

Rowan's groan vibrated the bed. “No. I had made myself forget.”

Aelin smiled at how bright Rowan's face had become and pressed a great, big smacking kiss on her boyfriends cheek. “Goodnight, buzzard.”

“Goodnight, Fireheart.”

Aelin rested her cheek against Rowan's bare chest and fell asleep to the sound of Rowan's strong heartbeat and the light drizzle of rain.

[heartblobs]

July, 1890

🎶She's the sunshine of Paradise Alley Ev'ry Sunday down to her home we go, All the boys and all the girls they love her so, Always jolly, heart that is true I know, She is the Sunshine of Paradise Alley🎶

Evaline and Walter were deeply infatuated with one another. When all of the housework was over and done with, the young couple would dance to their hearts' content well into the night, happy to have one another as their dance partner.

Then the two would whisper sweet nothings to each other, acting like bashful teenagers sneaking around their parents. Evaline loved the gentle way his hands would hold her, the way his eyes never faltered from her gaze whenever she spoke. She especially enjoyed when her husband would whisper close into her ear, "Eres el cielo mismo, mi amor." You are heaven itself. It ran chills down her spine and flutters throughout her heart every time. How lucky she was to have such a romantic for a husband, she thought to herself.

🕰️ / 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 / 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡

(Also special thanks to @aheathen-conceivably & @surely-sims for inspiring me with the songs linked with their posts! I listen to every song y’all link to 🥰)

[uwmspeccoll]

SNOW DAY!

Because of inclement winter weather, Special Collections, along with the rest of the university, will be closed today. Some of us will be working from home, while others might use this opportunity to take a snow day and enjoy the time off (although to be honest it looks pretty bleak out there right now). Nevertheless, with the expectation that it might turn into a full-on winter wonderland, we offer this children's book from our Historical Curriculum Collection: Josie and the Snow by American educator and children's author Helen E. Buckley (1918-2001), with Illustrations by American artist Evaline Ness (1911-1986), published in New York by Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co. in 1964.

Buckley's story is pleasantly simple: a family's day-long rollick in the snow. Ness matches this simplicity with illustrations informed by her career in commercial artwork. Helen Buckley began her career as an elementary school teacher, earned a doctorate in education from Columbia University, and was an English professor at the State University College of New York at Oswego when she wrote this book.

After a long career as a fashion illustrator and model, Evaline Ness began illustrating children's books in 1951. She was at the height of her children's illustration career when she illustrated Jose and the Snow, receiving Caldecott Honors in 1964, 1965, and 1966, and finally receiving the 1967 Caldecott Medal for her own book, Sam, Bangs & Moonshine. The name "Ness" might sound familiar, as she had a colorful, 5-year marriage to Eliot Ness of "The Untouchables" fame.

View a post from a previous Snow Day.

[alter-hotel]

Level 3 creators choice madoka magica for our collective please

Enjoy your stay!

I’ve always considered her a little underrated, she’s been my favorite since I was a kid :) (also sorry for dissapearing! I had some finals to finish but I’m done now)

Names: Mami, Maggie, Magnolia, Elaine, Evaline, Theodosia, Emeline, Odette

Pronouns: she/her , kyu/kyutes , vel/veil , pure/pures , fluer/fleurs , el/elegant , ribbon/ribbons , love/loves

Preferred terms: feminine terms

Gender identity: Penamic , drizzlic , corgoldix , holyutopic , female

Orientation: aromantic , demisexual, lesbian

Source: Madoka Magica (post rebellion)

Age: 16

Role: emotional protector, soother, beauheur

Sign off/ proxy: 🪽,🌼,🌻,⭐️,☀️,☕️,🫖,🏵️,🌅,💛,🔆

Likes: tea, sweets, baking (especially for friends), protecting people, altruism, soft music, fighting alongside her friends, bebe

Dislikes: selfish people, witches/wraiths, talking about her past, immature people and seeming immature herself, kyubey

Species: human

IDs: magical girl, older sister figure, permanently kind, permateen

Paras: 🌷, 🍬, 🛐, 🐰🎀,

(For list of emoji codes, click me!)

Possible front triggers: tea, source, Magia Exedra (game), bodily stress, family issues, babysitting/ caring for kids, cute animal videos

Aesthetic:

Typing quirk: types in full proper syntax with full punctuation

Extra info: often comes up with excuses to make tea (calls them “special occasions”), works very hard to seem proper and responsible, wants to be an older sister and teach younger people

(Personal drawing under cut! Feel free to use with credit <3)

Please remember this is just a guide or inspiration! Your headmate may not turn out the exact same and this completely normal <3