#and a ‘fake father and son’ plot point

[rosie321go]

Decided I wanted to write a one-shot, and now, literally TEN MINUTES LATER, I have a full fledged plot forming in my head with a first chapter cliffhanger and future character moments/development

Haha….

uh oh

[dumbbitchenergy17]

Reunion Interview

Plot: A reunion of our two favorite actors following their crazy lives after the ending of the fan-favorite show: The Mandalorian

Word Count: 4.7K

Pairing: Platonic!Pedro Pascal x Platonic!Reader, Paul Mescal x Reader

Warnings: sweet "father-daughter" moments, laughter giggles, just general fluff

A/N: This is something that's been on my mind for a while and with Gladiator 2 this only fueled it. CONTAINS CLAN OF THREE SPOILERS+WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE. Read all of the Clan of Three Series here and also read Where the Wild Things Are here

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“Alright, we are all ready?” The interviewer asks and the cameramen and sound people each give their sounds of agreement and then turn to give the go-ahead to start, “Hello guys it’s a pleasure meeting you two. It must be good to reunite once again. Let’s get a little introduction then go crazy.” He greets the two actors sitting next to each other.

“Hello world I’m Pedro Pascal.” “And I’m Y/n L/n and we’re here with Variety Magazine.” The two of you greet the camera before looking at one another. Pedro gives a fake serious look and you roll your eyes at his antics and he burst into laughter.

“This is what I dealt with for five years oh god how did I do it.” You pinch the bridge of your nose while the older man dies down his chuckles.

“Don’t act all innocent you were in just as much mischief as I was.” Pedro points at you, “I was barely an adult on set you’re supposed to be the responsible one.” It seemed like years had flown by. This TV show was your breakthrough role and allowed your career to skyrocket and it was all thanks to meeting this man.

“Plenty of fun stories from set between the cast and crew.” The interviewer asks you both and Pedro nods enthusiastically.

“The first two seasons this one was attached to my hip. I couldn’t even go for a nap without her waiting outside of my trailer.” He says with a chuckle and you cross your arms.

“You were the only person on set who was childish enough to want to hang out with a high schooler.” You reply sassily and the interviewer has to cover his mouth to hide his laughter while Pedro gasps dramatically while holding his chest. “How dare you call me childish.”

“So Y/n being the youngest person of the cast and growing up on the show how did it affect your character?” You smile smoothing out the wrinkle in your pants.

“Well, I was cast in 2018 a couple of months after Pedro was already cast. It’s funny cause Dave and Jon actually when creating this show my character was never meant to be in this show just an idea thrown around.” You explain, “But they decided why not add another bounty for Mando to take care of, but through the show, they both learn to take care of each other and he becomes a father figure to her.”

“And Pedro how was that playing a role of becoming a father figure and being there in her life?” He asks and Pedro scratches his beard.

“I mean at first not gonna lie I was very nervous. I have worked with younger actors before but this was something different. It wasn’t a child actor that played my son or daughter, or someone who was an adult it was a teenager that I would be working with quite closely. I mean we met for our first table read and you were just this shy girl who was meant to be this sassy badass character. But you blew me and the crew away when we started working together,” Pedro says glancing over at you with a nostalgic look in his eyes, “Both the relationship of our characters had this whole evolution from being adversaries and not even friendly with one another to a bond that ran deeper than blood. I watched her grow up with every episode and season from that timid little girl to this strong intelligent woman before me.” You give a pouting smile before putting your face in your hands.

“I hate you. You’re gonna make me cry.” You sigh making the interviewer and Pedro laugh and wraps his arms around your hunched-over body rocking you side to side. “You’re not the only one teary-eyed,” The interviewer says fanning his eyes and you smile at his attempt to not single you out.

“It’s all good I’m professional.” You steel your face wiping away any trace of sadness from his touching speech. “Yeah, Pedro is an alright guy I guess.” You shrug and Pedro bursts into laughter throwing his head back

“Okay getting back on track. You’ve both been very busy this past year. Season 3 of The Mandalorian has been out and fans are both crying over how good this show is and how you tore us all apart with the ending.” He says and Pedro fake cries remembering the ending.

“Hey, I didn’t want her to leave me. She went to go find herself.” He points his thumb at me and you slap it away, “I didn’t have a decision in it as well. You should have seen him on my final day of filming, so as you know this man over here was gone pretty much all of season three cause he was filming his show with his other kids.” Referencing Bella Ramsey and Nico Parker his two other ‘children’ in The Last Of Us.

“Pedro is just our favorite father figure.” The interviewer says and you nod in agreement. “You have too many children to keep count of.” You say and Pedro gives a sheepish grin.

“I’m just good with kids.” He shrugs.

“But anyways so since he was busy filming for that show we were able to have his amazing stunt doubles, I love you Brendan and Lateef become him. So comes my final scene where I leave and Din is left all sad with Grogu. I think he’s in Canada filming and we block out the scene Dave and Jon tell us we’re all set. That scene feels very close to me 'cause it feels like my goodbye to both the character and to the crew who’s been there since I was eighteen.” You remember the sadness that day on set knowing that this was your final hours with this group.

“So we start rolling and I go through my whole monologue,”

“Which was amazing by the way.” The interviewer butts in and you smile,

“Oh thank you. So I do my thing and who I think is Brendan just breaks down crying before he can say his line I panic and try to improvise to get him back on track but when Dave calls cut I expect it to be Brendan to take off the helmet and apologize but turns out it was this crybaby.” You point your thumb to an embarrassed Pedro.

“Did you expect no waterworks when you were leaving me?” He defends himself, “I didn’t expect you there in the first place! But it was sweet and after many takes because he couldn’t get through his lines without crying we finished my last scenes.”

“I have seen that video from Dave Filoni of the behind-the-scenes of your final day on set.” On the TV beside the interviewer plays a video that shows the set and crew and there are the two of you going through the scene before Jon calls cut.

You remember that take vividly it ended up being the one used for the final cut, the second ‘Cut!’ was shouted the crew broke into cheers. You immediately crouch and break into tears and Pedro removes his helmet pulling you into a bearhug crying into your shoulder you both cry out your characters and each other's final goodbyes on set.

“Give it up to Y/n for her final scene! That’s a wrap for her.” Dave says behind the camera as it moves closer to you and Pedro. Both of you were teary-eyed, Pedro looking like a wreck as you give a cheesy grin through tears and Pedro presses a kiss to your temple before pulling you into another tight hug and that’s when the video ends.

“A very heartfelt video that shows the bond you two have working together over five years.” He says and the two of you smile. Just being a part of the Star Wars franchise had been a dream, growing up watching the original and the prequels as a child and now being involved in this story was game-changing. “Outside of Star Wars, you’ve both been very busy Pedro with Wonder Woman, The Unbearable Weight, hosting SNL, and one of the most popular shows of this year The Last of Us.”

“Stop it you’re making me blush.” Pedro waves his hand acting bashfully, “Don’t forget the three Emmy nominations.” You pipe in and Pedro covers his face at all the compliments headed his way. This man was way too humble.

“You’re not off the hook either you’ve been very busy yourself, you got your nomination for an Emmy for ‘The Mandalorian’, you’ve been in Bullet Train, Across the Spider-Verse, In the Heights, the latest Indiana Jones, and you just wrapped up A Quiet Place: Day One, all while going to school and getting your college degree now finally enjoying adulthood, how is that like.” The interviewer reminds you of the work you’ve done in the past five years.

You laugh twisting the rings that adore your fingers, “I mean high school was easier as I had an on-set teacher and graduated right around in the middle of filming In the Heights. Then for college right as the pandemic hit we all were on lockdown I continued with online courses and once it lifted it was working a schedule of classes and work but all the films I’ve been on have been so accommodating. With the program I took I graduated right after we wrapped Season 3 and before the Press Tour,” Pedro makes a cheering noise as the interviewer laughs.

“I’m assuming you were in attendance for that Pedro?” He questions and Pedro nods enthusiastically, “Of course, I was there for both high school and college! I made a sign and everything.” He and the interviewer laugh as you shake your head.

“Did he?!”

“It was the same big sign with a bunch of horrible pictures of me I think it said, ‘Y/n L/n my unofficial daughter’ with like a bunch of hearts.” You can picture the sign clearly remembering both high school and college walking across the stage to receive your diploma and hearing your friends and family cheer Pedro being one of the loudest.

“Since graduating and now fully dedicating yourself to film how has it been?” The interviewer questions and you give a wide smile.

“I love it so much, while it was stressful balancing work and classes being done is so rewarding. I’ve been able to accept so many new projects and attend so many events I couldn’t before due to classes.” In college, you and your manager had discussed your schedule working around sets while focusing on your education. You decided to strictly do online courses just to make things easier if you do need to travel for work but you’ve been to school events and made friends in college despite your virtual learning.

“Is this the first time you are meeting back up in person since the premiere of Season Three?” He asks and it makes sense with your guys’ busy schedules.

“No surprisingly since we wrapped Season Three there was a time when we didn’t see each other, with Pedro busy with Strange Way of Life, and I had just ended college. Plus I just moved to New York and then got involved with A Quiet Place we didn’t see each other in person until I think it was when you hosted SNL..?” You explain and Pedro perks up.

“Nooo you were there for the premiere of The Last of Us.” He calls you out and your jaw drops you completely forget how busy and how many premieres it all blends. “I would say you kinda stole the show when you appeared on the carpet, none of us were expecting you to be there.” The interviewer says with a laugh.

“That would be an understatement. So it’s the night before the premiere I’m in LA and I think she’s still in New York I remember I called you cause I felt like I was going to die,” Pedro retells and you laugh remembering picking up the phone to see a very nervous Pedro who was pacing in a panic about the premiere for the show.

“You were fine just being a big baby as usual you did the same thing during season one.” He shushes you trying to cover your mouth with his hand but you dodge from it.

“ANYWAYS,” He raises his voice, “Night of the premiere and I feel like I’m going to puke and crap myself all at the same time. But I get there everything is alright I see the rest of the cast happy to see Bellie again all those good things. I’m doing an interview and I think Bella was still on the carpet taking some photos when this roar of cheers came from the beginning. I’m thinking it’s Ashley Johnson or Troy Baker the original Joel and Ellie but I can’t see from down there. So they want me to get some photos with Bella and how I couldn’t tell they were planning something is beyond me.” You and the interviewer start giggling and you see queued up is a video from that night.

“Oh god, you have a video!” Pedro groans covering his face and you nudge him forcing him to watch.

The shouts of fans and photographers as Pedro poses for photos and you can see Bella go over and pull him over as the pair take photos together. Pedro places his hand on his stomach a technique he has used for years to quell his anxiety. The flashing lights and screams of fans only grow louder for a second and he just laughs confused at them. Bella squeezes his arm from his right side and he can sense a presence on his left side and he assumes it’s another cast member.

“Hey P…” A voice whispers in his ear and his eyes widen comically and he whips to turn to face you who has a cheesy smile on your face.

“What the fuck!”

The cameras show Pedro quickly wrapping his arms around your waist and lifting you in the air and you laugh loudly before he puts you down and immediately talks rapidly questioning how you are here, how this happened, when you planned this, he had just called you a few hours before. The cameras start yelling at you two to pose and the pair of you pose a big grin spread across Pedro’s face. The video ends as he pulls Bella and Nico making it a group photo of all his on-screen daughters.

You laugh as it freezes at the photo of all of you smiling and laughing.

“I’m still in shock you managed to pull a fast one on me but that truly made my night,” Pedro says.

“It was all Bella and Nico’s planning I didn’t even know how they even managed to keep it from you during all those press tours. I was fully there like four days before the premiere,” You say, and on the screen are photos you had posted following the surprise of you hanging with Bella and Nico, and the rest of the last of us crew. One photo that makes you giggle is you standing before a snoring Pedro on a couch in a green room that you had Bella take for you when you snuck to watch their interviews.

“Speaking of Bella and Nico. I would say you including Sophie Thatcher blew up the internet in the ‘Children of Pedro’ interview,” The interviewer mentions and you smile and a thumbnail of the interview with you and these amazing actors and actresses.

“Oh, that interview was so much fun. It was the first time I met Bella and Nico as I worked alongside Sophie during Boba Fett and we all had this instant chemistry. Following that we all became good friends and we try to hang out when any of us are in town or plan stuff.” You explain and you see Pedro has a warm smile happy to see all the people he cares deeply for are friends, “Pedro’s glad all his children aren’t fighting.” You smirk and both the interviewer and Pedro laugh at your comment.

“I’m glad my home has some form of order,” Pedro bounces off your quip and the interviewer looks over some of his notes.

“Alright, I have some fan questions sent in for the both of you to answer if that’s alright.” He asks as both you and Pedro take sips from your drinks.

“Sounds great!” “Hit me with them.”

The interviewer nods excitedly looking over at you, “Alright Y/n we’ll start with you. This is a question from @pedroswife1975 ‘I was just as gagged at Pedro’s SNL performance I wanted to know if you had any clue of Pedro’s plans or did you go in just as blind as everyone else.’.” The screen shows a college work on Pedro’s SNL night.

“Oh, that was a crazy night, I was so excited to hear he was hosting SNL cause I was used to this guy’s craziness,” You say pointing a thumb at the older man, “I didn’t realize he was dropping hints or asking for my opinion like the fan cam skit he asked me about how I felt about like fan edits. To those watching I love them so much and genuinely lay in bed kicking my legs seeing the crazy shit yall make of me or people I know. Also, that fucking voice in the memory lost one.” Pedro bursts into laughter.

“What voice? This is my normal talking voice.” He flawlessly does the valley girl's voice that makes you speak through giggles.

“I think it was when he was in New York to rehearse for SNL and we’ve been meeting up and hanging out and we were at this cafe and he slips into this voice and I literally couldn’t help giggling,” You say, “So when I go to the taping I had to cover my mouth to stop from giggling everyone second.”

“It’s an amazing voice though.” The interviewer says in the valley girl accent, “Oh totally it’s completely amazingggg.” You respond by going heavy on the vocal fry unable to burst into a fit of giggles alongside Pedro.

“Okay, next question for Pedro. This is from @y/nssoulmate ‘I’m dying to know cause those Instagram photos were insane, but how crazy was Y/n’s 21st birthday?! Please I’m dying to know I’ll give my first child to know!!’.” You immediately groan covering your face and the pair laugh. On the screen appears a photo of your twenty-first birthday it’s partially blurry but it’s of you looking plastered. A ‘21’ crown halfway on your frizzy hair from the humidity of Pedro’s apartment that he transformed into a club vibe, a drunk grin on your face with an arm around Pedro’s shoulder the other holding a martini. Pedro is practically holding you up looking drunk as well as a beer in his free hand.

Pedro chuckles rubbing the back of his neck, “I’m going to be so honest I don’t remember much of that night. Someone thought it was a good idea to try and outdrink each other.”

“Hey! I was given full rein since it was my birthday. You were meant to be the responsible adult. Luckily Sarah Paulson and Oscar Issac were the actual adults that night,” You defend yourself. Truly that night was a blur but it was such a fun night. Your friends had taken you out for breakfast and a full day of celebration before you received a text from Pedro to go to his apartment to get his gift that he accidentally shipped to his place. Turns out it was a surprise and he was able to come back from shooting for The Last of Us and bring along your close friends and family.

“For my soulmate unfortunately neither Pedro nor I remember that night but trust from what those there that night it was the best birthday someone could through for me. Though I did avoid alcohol for like a month.” You say and Pedro groans remembering the hangout you both suffered the following day.

“Okay question for you Ms. Partyer. @imstillsadfromkazsdeath,” You laugh at hearing from the person’s social handle, “Their question is with news of both Wicked which you worked alongside Director John Chu during In the Heights, and Gladiator 2 has your co-star, Joseph Quinn, your father-figure Pedro, and your friend Paul Mescal coming out at the same time. Which are you seeing first Wicked or Gladiator 2?” On the screen, it shows a college of you with each respective person mentioned. A photo of you nineteen on set in New York City with John Chu and Lin Manuel Miranda, a picture of you and Pedro during premiere of season 3 of Mandalorian, a picture of you and Joseph Quinn on the set of A Quiet Place both dusty and covered in fake blood, and finally a picture of you and Paul Mescal at the this recent Met Gala a candid photo of inside the event talking during dinner.

“One more of a sidebar, I’m still sad about Kaz’s death if I could’ve changed it I would’ve both Freddy and I were so bummed filming those scenes. But for your question fuck you.” You answer so seriously that both Pedro and the interviewer burst into laughter.

“Seriously fuck you for making me choose. One I love John Chu and I am so excited to see Wicked I’ve been obsessed with it since a kid and I saw Idina and Kristin on Broadway so I need to see what Cynthia and Ariana do with this. But I also love all three guys and want to support them too 'cause I also love Gladiator and I know my father would be super betrayed since it’s our go-to movie to watch.” You were in such a rough spot.

“Can I clone myself?” You ask and both Pedro and the interviewer shake their head which makes you let out a frustrated groan, “You know what? I’ll see whatever movie I get invited to first. This leaves me not to choose it’s in the hands of John and the boys so they need to battle it out.”

“Wow, seriously such a cop-out,” Pedro whines and you shrug, “You can’t force me to decide if I don’t have the choice.”

“Very well played. Alright, our final question for Pedro from @pedroiszaddyfr they ask ‘Hey Pedro if I get chosen I’m absolutely in love with you and just want you to know that.”

“Aw, I love you too,” Pedro replies and the interviewer continues.

“So my question is in The Last of Us after season 1 in the books ‘The Last of Us: Where the Wild Things Are’ we do get introduced to Joel’s second biological daughter is there any potential plans to include them in the show making them canon since they aren’t in Part 2 and if so. Please for the love of all these mighty get Y/n to play your daughter she would kill the role!” The interviewer chuckles at the question and you look over at Pedro who thinks over the question.

“Well as I’m sure many of you do know in the books we do get an extremely interesting character that changes and adds more depth to the characters of the game. I’d love them to add her into the show and we see the change in Joel and Ellie during the period before season two. I mean I’d be so down for Y/n to be a part of this but that’s in the hands of Craig and Neil. Unless you know something I don’t?” Pedro turns to look at you and you raise your hands shaking your head.

“I’m just as clueless as you. But I would love to be a part of the show. I’ve read the book and she truly is such an interesting character. I mean that opening fight scene in the cabin before Joel and Tommy pull up is so fucking cool. But yeah Craig and Neil hit me up before Pedro starts begging and whining.” You say and a bark of laughter comes from the older man.

“Well thank you both so much for taking the time and talking about your lives and this amazing reunion. Is this the last you too will see each other until the next reunion?” The interviewer says.

“Nope! This girl can’t get rid of me now that we’re both back in New York for the time being.” Pedro says wrapping an arm around your shoulder and resting his head on top of yours.

“If anyone wants to take this old man off my hand you can have him,” You comment and Pedro gasps pushing you away from him as you giggle, “I’m kidding I love him and he’s amazing but yeah we got tickets for Beyonce coming up so I am very excited while I need this one to listen to her entire discography before we go,” You point your thumb at him and he raises his hand.

“Hey, I got a decent chunk under my belt. Plus I’ve known Beyonce longer than you.” Pedro says and the pair of you being bickering having that be the outro of the interview.

The pair of you collect your items from your dressing rooms before heading outside. Pedro has his arm wrapped around your shoulder to make sure you don’t bump into anything your gaze glued to your phone. The cool New York breeze sends chills down your spine as you scroll through Instagram. A buzz from your phone a text saying ‘Look up’ and when you look up you see Paul standing a few feet away in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt a trench coat over it with a cap and glasses.

“Paul!” You smile lowering your phone and pulling away from Pedro to go over to Paul who welcomes you in his arms, “I thought we were gonna meet at dinner?”

He shrugs a half grin on his face, “Thought I surprise you and then we can head together. What’s up Pedro” You smile at his thoughtfulness. Pedro accepts his handshake.

“Good to see you Paul, how’s the city treating you?” He asks knowing that Paul came here just a few days ago from London when you mentioned it.

“Good real good. You know how the city usually is but luckily I have a good guide,” Paul says squeezing your shoulder and you flush shying away. Pedro smiles glad to see you are happy as the pair of you look at each other with loving looks.

“Well, I’ll leave you both be to enjoy the rest of your night. I got plans to meet with Sarah and Lux soon,” He says giving Paul a handshake before you pull away and give Pedro a big hug which he equally reciprocates.

“Send Sarah and Lux my regards.” You say and Pedro nods, “Lux wants to see you soon so be sure to reach out to her.”

“I will and don’t forget we have drinks this Friday,” You say pointing your finger at him and he nods while pulling out his headphones.

“Yes, mom…” He rolls his eyes before starting to walk away sending a final wave, “Have a good night!”

“Bye Pedro.” “Bye P I love you!” You shout so he can hear over his headphones.

“Love you too kid!” He says blowing you a kiss before disappearing within the crowd. You bring your attention back to Paul who tucks a stray strand behind your ear.

“What are you looking at? Is something on my face?” You ask trying to reach for your face but he stops you holding your hand and giving a squeeze.

“I’m just looking at you, a chuisle mo chroí. You’re just beautiful is all.” He says slipping to Irish so easily it sends a shiver down your spine at his accent.

“Stop being so cheesy,” Your face flushes hot as you shove him away starting in the direction of the subway station. You hear him run up after you easily wrapping his arm around your waist before placing a kiss on your lips which you eagerly accept your hand reaching up to cup his cheek. Pulling away a bit, he gives a familiar smirk that makes you grin as you fully step back taking hand and the pair make their way to your plans.

“You’re such a sap.”

“A sap for you my love~”

“Shut up!”

a/n: y'all I'm alive I swear these finals have truly been killing me and TRUST, any paused work will be coming back I swear on my unborn child.

[tsiftor]

The same way I saw someone once give Wu Yanzi a redemption by being wife beamed by Shen Yuan, I lowkey kind of wanna see it done to Qiu Jianluo...

Like, Shen Yuan does not know what type of person Qiu Jianluo is! He's just as clueless as Qiu Haitang. In this life, he was reborn as the son of a rich household. Mayhaps, it's an alternate universe where he has the same family, but in a different time period (in PIDW). Shen Yuan could still have his frail health, or he could be stronger since it's a world where almost anything is possible... all because of Luo Binghe and the wife plots. Luo Binghe is not important in this plot, though.

Anyway, Shen Yuan appears at the Qiu household because he was forced to for whatever reason. He meets Shen Jiu, and is immediately charmed because of how adorable and considerate he is. (Really, Shen Jiu felt like he is walking on thin ice because Shen Yuan is friends with Qiu Jianluo, so he didn't want to get on Shen Yuan's bad side as the consequences could be way worse if Qiu Jianluo heard.) But Shen Jiu clocks that Shen Yuan is not as fake as Qiu Jianluo after meeting him several times. Also, Shen Jiu keeps getting the ick that Qiu Jianluo fake ass persona acts way worse around Shen Yuan.

Qiu Jianluo wants to whip Shen Jiu for being so damn imprudent, but he is always hiding behind Shen Yuan. Qiu Jianluo does not want Shen Yuan of all peeps to find out about his true persona. (Shen Yuan kind of already knew mostly due to rumors, but he thought it was outrageous. Regardless, there may be a good reason for it!) Kind of want Qiu Jianluo to be slightly younger than Shen Yuan because I want Shen Yuan to fawn over a "beast". Qiu Jianluo is a beast in Shen Jiu's eyes. At the same time, while Shen Jiu refuses to admit that he's kind of the same type as Qiu Jianluo, he likes Shen Yuan giving him the same type of affection. (Y'know what they say about like father, like son or like mother, like daughter? Except this is like abuser, like abused type...? Whatever if that doesn't make sense.)

Anyway, Shen Yuan giving Qiu Jianluo head pats, v platonic kisses on the cheek or forehead, hugs, and what not. Qiu Haitang and Shen Jiu also gets the same type of affection. Shen Jiu can tell Qiu Jianluo is fucking jealous and infuriated out of his mind. Although, he is way more chill about it when Shen Yuan does it to Qiu Haitang, he fucking hates Shen Jiu to the point where Qiu Jianluo wants to kick Shen Jiu out rather than keep him to marry Qiu Haitang or have his fun with Shen Jiu. He just wants the slave GONE. However, he can't do that when Shen Yuan adores that damn fucking slave.

Forgot to mention that Qiu Jianluo's obsession with Qiu Haitang decreased as it is going towards Shen Yuan now instead.

Qiu Jianluo had whipped Shen Jiu for this before, but he stopped after seeing how much Shen Yuan coddled the slave when the slave had said his injuries was due to his clumsiness. They both know that Shen Jiu would've gotten punished way worst, maybe to death had he said the truth. However, this is Shen Yuan. That would've never happened.

Qiu Jianluo doesn't even want to find out what Shen Yuan would've done had he actually found out. (So in some case, Shen Jiu has the upper hand here.) Although, Qiu Jianluo would probably try to abuse him more discreetly in locations that Shen Yuan cannot see unless Shen Jiu gets stripped.

Thanks to that Shen Jiu was able to eat well, grow slightly fatter, be hygienic, grow taller, heal from his injuries, be educated—feel human, and not feel like the Xiao Jiu he is.

Shen Jiu still despises men, but he likes how safe he feels with Shen Yuan. He still thinks he is disgusting(?) For feeling safe with women, and Shen Yuan. Not that he'll ever admit it, but he'll use anything that will help him. Qiu Jianluo continues to belittle him, that he is nothing to Shen Yuan no matter how kind he is being treated. Shen Jiu can't tell if that jab was at him or at Qiu Jianluo himself.

Four years later(?), Yue Qingyuan comes to save Shen Jiu as he promised. That's when Shen Yuan learned that Shen Jiu was a slave, and not a servant. Shen Yuan tells Qiu Jianluo to free him, and Qiu Jianluo accepts without hesitation. This makes it easier to get rid of that slave without defiling his own hands. Sure, Qiu Haitang did complain about it, but this was the best scenario for him.

Qiu Jianluo probably sent out assassins to get Shen Jiu's head, but they all mostly failed because Shen Jiu is the scum villain that should die by Luo Binghe's hands, so he has his own type of "protagonist's halo", but in this case, "villain's halo"? The most that happened to Shen Jiu is injuries that may or may not have almost killed him.

While Shen Jiu is still feral, he isn't as feral as the original scum villain thanks to Shen Yuan's presence. Mayhaps, Shen Jiu plans to whisk Shen Yuan away once he is Peak Lord.

[liedownquisition]

I've been working on my Lazarus Pit meta and it's partly what spawned my previous post but I've got a worse bit for you:

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #144-145 (The full 4-issue arc, The Demon Laughs, ran June-Sept 2001)

Now, I'm not going to say the writing in this was particularly good for Talia. She very clearly expressed disapproval for bringing Joker along for this whole venture and I'm pretty sure she was hoping he'd be killed for his insolence from the start, but her tendency to betray Ra's was tossed in the trash with a "And you will not betray me this time. Do you understand, Talia?" "I understand and obey, Father." as if those words would genuinely stop her from doing anything, EXCLUSIVELY so they can force this whole situation where Bruce needs to resurrect Joker in the Pit (That he even has to actively assemble the ingredients and prepare himself!!!)

And, for me, there's two things that make the whole situation worse (Well, three, but I'm trying really hard not to acknowledge the... sigh, "Pit Sanity" even if I'm going to make reluctant mention of it in the Lazarus post). First of all, this from #143:

:(

EDIT: I'm pretty sure she's referring to Joker: Devil's Advocate, where the Joker gets sentenced to the death penalty for a crime he (for once) didn’t do, here. That one, this one, and Joker: Last Laugh are all written by Chuck Dixon, who seems to have a hard-on obsession with forcing Bruce to save Joker for one reason or another. Last Laugh was even published (or started, at least) only three months after this one came out.

And, horrifically, this at the end of the plot:

How many times have you saved Joker's life, Bruce? I said "resurrected him more than once" because of this incident & the one where he resuscitated him after Dick killed him, but how many more times did he save the bastard? (Bruce does go on to implictly threaten that Ra's was probably going to try and kill Joker for HIS betrayal, and that Ra's has already demonstrated being perfectly capable of smoothly faking things so that they can get him out for whatever he wants, but lol. That's nowhere equivalent to the fact that you actively gave him back his life!!! the narrative necessity/justificationstill pisses me off regardless.)

Anyways, this is one of those storylines that like, in retrospect... If we're trying to reconcile the timeline a little, I'm pretty sure this would fall at some point after finding Jason in Gotham. This is pre-Hush (Dec 2002-Nov 2003), so bringing Jason back wasn't even a twinkle in Winick's mind, but if you try to fit it all in context...

Can you imagine, for her? Not only is this her "Beloved's" mortal enemy, this is the murderer of the child you took into your care. That at some point you started to care for. Now, comic timelines are a little finicky and while some things are explicitly before or after other arcs a lot of it you just kind of have to guess when things cover some stuff retroactively... but what if this was, say, right after putting Jason in the Pit?

Ra's has a reputation for forcing Talia to "prove" her loyalty to him by forcing her to go along with whatever plans or giving her cruel missions as punishment for any perceived betrayals. If there's that situation hanging over their heads and perhaps even an implicit threat about the whole situation about what he'd be doing if he wasn't working on this particular scheme...

Can you imagine, you shot this fucker eight times, center mass. And if Batman could review the damage and determine there was only one way to save him, so could Talia. She would know how thoroughly she'd done her job... and what Batman had to have done in turn. His son's murderer.

Can you imagine, later, when she's talking to Jason and he's clearly unhappy about Joker being alive? She doesn't try to justify it with the fact that she (almost) killed Joker once. What does it matter that it happened when he's still alive? It didn't last for any length of time and it didn't meaningfully change anything. It's no comfort for the boy who doesn't understand why his father didn't love him "enough" to never let it happen again.

Alternatively, if it was pre-Pit, there probably isn't that threat the same way, although there could be one of "We are doing this, and I am turning a blind eye to your past betrayals and your little pet project that isn't getting better." Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if knowing Bruce had used it on Joker wasn't some measure of a thought when she put Jason in one too. If Bruce can use it to give the murderer's life back, she can use it to give life back to the victim.

Of course, I wouldn't bet on any of this being intended when UtH/Lost Days was written, but the implications of all this if you try to put it into some kind of cohesive perspective...

[abbey28]

Clarisse x Reader - This is a Life

Clarisse x gn! reader

Reader is from the Aphrodite cabin, but only for the plot!

An- Around 3.3k words, sorry it took so long to get out! Hope you guys enjoy this! Let me know if I should write something that kind of does more of a deep dive into this, because I feel like something is missing or something

Warnings- Weapons, fake dating, blood at one point, affection, petnames, guy named Andrew (apologies to any one named Andrew), Aphrodite is a pretty okay mom in this. Pls tell me if I missed anything!

Everybody in camp recognized you as the favored child of Aphrodite. People looked twice when you walked by, flowers bloomed in your direction, and mirrors wished they could reflect you.

Clarisse is the favored daughter of her dad, Ares. People feared her, flowers looked away as she passed, and only a select few could stand to be close to her.

But even those who were close kept a great distance.

That was what was similar between the favorite Aphrodite kid and the favorite Ares daughter.

But even that was comparable, for she was a daughter, and a daughter could never compare to a son in her fathers eyes, whilst your mother seems to love you unconditionally.

You and Clarisse weren't close by any means, but you had always caught each other's attention on some level.

For you, it was how she sparred. Muscles flexing, covered in sweat, and a wild and free grin spread across across. You could find beauty in her that was no wheres else in the camp.

For her, it was the way you held yourself and how you were with young campers. Your slight confidence, the care you have for each camper, and the way you treat others. It was admirable, considering the way that Clarisse was probably the opposite of you.

“-risse, Clarisse, Clarisse!” Clarisse brook out of the slight stupor she was in and looked across the table where her sibling was calling her name and waving his hand around. “Oh, thank the gods. I about almost called over an Apollo kid to check on you.” She rolled her eyes as he laughed a bit.

They were in the dining hall, for it was lunch. Her plate was still quit full as she looked down at it. She was hungry, but she felt as if there was something preventing her from eating.

“Hey, would you look at that.” Her brother was looking past, his eyes holding questions. She turned her head to look over her shoulder and scoffed. There you were, holding your tray and standing talking to Percy Jackson, who was sitting alone at his Poseidon camp table.

That Capture the flag game happened a while ago now, but it was still upsetting how many people still like that kid, even after what he did, although it makes sense with all of the things he has done.

Her grip on her fork tightened, and she glared hard in your direction. Her brother snorted. “You really like them, huh?” She whipped her head back to look at him.

“What? Who?” She softened just slightly after he said your name. “Where did you get that idea?”

“The way you two look at each other. There's a rumor going around that you two are secretly dating each other, but we all know that you would never.”

“Never what?”

“Date anyone. Especially them.” She scoffed again.

“What do you mean?”

“You're not… an emotional person. Everyone knows you couldn't even make a relationship actually work.” She narrowed her eyes at him.

“Fine then.” She slammed her hands against the table and got up, making her way over to you. Percy noticed her first and scrambled to sit up straighter and to not smile. You raised your eyebrow at him, but he nodded his head in Clarisse’s direction and you laughed a little.

“Hey Claris-” you lifted one of your hands up to wave, but once she was close enough she took that hand in hers and then wrapped her other arm around your waist, pulling you towards her in a kiss.

The whole camp seemed to go quiet, and while it wasn't the most emotional kiss, Clarisse was very passionate in how she was kissing you, it was overwhelming to say the least. Your tray dropped, spilling food all over the ground and making a loud crash. Your hand found its way to the back of her neck and you gently tugged on her curls and twirled some of the baby hairs at her nape around your fingers. She broke off the kiss, looking you right in your eyes as you were flustered and tried to reclaim your breath.

“Um, what the-'' Percy began, but before anything else was said Clarisse tugged on your hand and ran towards the forest with you.

“Clarisse, what was that a-”

“Date me.” She blurted out the words before her mind could tell her to not to.

“What- this is super out of the blue, even for you Clarisse!” Clarisse rolled her eyes.

“We can fake dates then. Just for a few months or so.”

“How is that even relevant?!?!”

“If we fake date, then none of it will be real. And then, I get to prove something, and you…well,  I can make sure people dont bother you.” You narrowed your eyes at her.

“But why?” Clarrise sighed deeply and your eyebrows furrowed more.

“Look, people already think we are dating, my sibling thinks I could never be in a relationship, and I don't hate you. Much.” She then looked you up and down in a way that almost made you wish that you were invisible.

“Now, how well can you act?”

The shock of the century happened at camp Half Blood the next morning at breakfast when Clarrise showed up with you attached to her arm. Jaws were on the floor and every table was turned towards your direction.

Clarisse had a proud smirk on her face as she survived the dining hall. Some part of you also felt weirdly proud as well, as if having your arm intertwined with hers was the reason you were at this camp anyway.

She moved you in the direction of the Ares table, an arrangement the two of you had settled on while setting up rules and guidelines. You would sit with her at her table, at least come to most of her training sessions and sit next to her at the bonfires. She would visit the strawberry fields and lake with you, join the craft classes you have with young campers, and on occasions, she would allow you to place a kiss on her while wearing lipstick or lip gloss, making sure to leave a mark.

You both also agreed on minimal kissing, which was a shame since she was a good kisser. Any other types of touches were pretty much guaranteed if the two of you were near each other.

“Goodmorning.” Clarisse greeted the rest of the table, untangling her arm from yours before setting her tray on the table and then sitting down. You did the same, and in an instant, Clarrise wrapped her arm around your waist, situating her hand on your stomach comfortably. You scratched a bit closer to her so your thighs were touching.

A chorus of morning greetings left various peoples mouths and Clarisse hummed a bit. She reached for a bag of apple slices and ripped open the small bag with the help of her teeth. You giggled a bit and nudged her side.

“Honey, that was kind of weird. You know you could've just let go of me, right?” She stared into your eyes mischtifully.

“You lost me at let go.”

It took everything in you to not burst out laughing as a few people around you literally gagged. She winked at you and you grinned at her before the two of you each turned back to your breakfast.

Your chin sat on both of your palms as you sat in the stands right outside of the training grounds, watching as Clarisse took on another camper in a dual. Capture the flag was coming up in about a week, but despite that, many people have come up to you asking if the news that had spread around camp was true.

“Hey, babe, did you see that?” Clarisse was jogging over to you, a smile on her lips. You smiled back at her and once she was close enough moved to stand between your legs, her hands trailed up your thighs lightly before they landed on your waist. You tried your best to ignore the shiver that went through your body.

“I missed it. I’m sorry hun.” You put one of your hands on her shoulder while you fiddled with one of her strands of curls with the other. She let out a breathe, and you could almost swear she was pouting.

She leaned in closer, her lips almost touching your ear. “You're doing good, yeah?” she whispered.

“Yeah.” you whispered back. She moved a little bit back and smirked.

“Good. You keep doin’ that, 'kay sweetheart?” she patted your thigh twice before turning and running back to her training. Your heart skipped one to many times during that interaction.

Please Mother, let me survive this.

The next week and a half went pretty much like that, with you and Clarisse glued to each other's sides for the entirety of the day. She was even somehow able to convince Chiron to put the Aphrodite cabin on the red team.

You were with Clarisse now, getting ready for the capture the flag game. Your armor sat heavily on your shoulders as you did your best to fix all of the straps while following your “girlfriend” and listening to her bark out orders and plans.

Some of your siblings were grouped together all complaining about how much stuff they had to do compared to when they were on the blue team, but you knew that some of them were grateful that Clarisse knew that they were capable to do things that the other cabins could do.

Clarisse looked behind her where you were still struggling with your armor. She sighed and moved closer to you. She carefully took your hand in hers and then tighten your straps so that way it was secure. You watch her face the whole time, finding the way she furrowed her eyebrows in concentration to be quite cute.

“There. You ready to do this?” She looked up, pausing when her eyes met your. The two of you stared at each other for a moment before your eyes flickered to the ground, or at least any wear that wasn't her face.

“Yeah, I am. What did you want me to do again?” She huffed out a laugh and then moved past you.

“All you need to do sweetheart is to follow me.”

Even though you were out of breath, you continued to follow your fake girlfriends footsteps.

Well, it wasn't like you had much of a choice with how tightly she was holding your hand and tugging you along paths.

Out of nowhere, a group of people from the blue team jumped out of the trees and began to attack. Clarisse let go of your hand and brought out her spear, running forward and taking on two people at once.

You took out your provided sword and prayed that your trainings with Clarisse would pay off. Your sword clashed with the sword of a boy from the Hermes cabin, and you recognized him as a guy named Andrew, someone who used to follow you around and flirt with you before you and Clarisse became a temporary item.

“I’ve been wondering if I could even get you alone.” Andrew backed you away from the rest of the group and more into the trees.

“I have a girlfriend, Andrew.” You made sure your voice was stable and hard. You hoped you could get your point across to him, but this is the guy who couldn't take a hint from you before, so it was evident that he wasn't going to start now.

“Come on, everyone knows that you like me. We can tell that Clarisse pressured you into the relationship. The two of you weren't meant to be.” You tripped over a root, sending you falling, hitting the ground hard and hurting your back in the process.

“Me and you were meant to be together. Couldn't you see that I was flirting with you? ‘Cause I could see that you returned the feelings with how you flirted with me.” Your eyes flickered for any type of escape from his anger and jealousy, but there was no safe way out with how he was practically sitting on your stomach. It made you sick with how close his face was to yours.

“Well,” you carefully moved your hand to twirl a longer strand of his hair between your fingers. It was straight, especially compared to Clarisse’s. You tried to ignore how wrong this felt, and you tried to push away the urge to gag. If using the charm you had gotten from your mother would get you out of this, then so be it. “I had no idea you felt like that, sweety. What can I do to make it up to you?”

Charmspeak wasn't against the rules. After all, this was the gift that was given to you from your godly parents.

You watched as his eyes followed your hand as you began to softly caress his face.

This has to be one of the most disgusting things you have ever done.

“So you do like me! I knew th-” Andrew stopped his sentence as his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he flopped off of you to the side. You jumped up, finding yourself in front of your savior.

“Clarisse! You knocked him out! Is that even aloud?!” Clarisse laughed and poked Andrew with the none sharp end of her spear.

“He deserved it. Easiest decision of my li…” you stopped trying to wipe off all of the dirt that had resided on your clothes to raise your eyebrow at her Clarisse.

She was staring at you, her mouth slightly open and an almost entranced look in her eyes.

Was there dirt on your face? Did you somehow use your charmspeak on her?

“Um, Clarisse, maybe we should-'' Before you could finish your sentence, Clarisse had brought her left hand up and gently slid her thumb over your cheek bone.

You guessed that you had gotten a small cut there, and from the small flash of red that appeared and her thumb, you guessed that you were right. She moved it away a bit, and then she pushed back a strand of hair that had begun to obstruct your vision. She kept her hand there then, and you brought up your hand to touch her wrist, a grounding move for you were starting to feel light headed. You stared into eachothers eyes, and what broke you apart was the flinching sound of the games ending conch shell horn.

The blue team had won, another year in a row.

Clarisse sighed and ended the contact, moving away and bending down to pick up your discarded sword. She put it in your hands.

“You weren’t too bad out there. And, you, huh, you looked, um pretty good too.” She nodded, cleared her throat and turned away from you, heading back down the trail, but not before using her foot to push Andrew out of the way more.

For some reason, that was the moment you finally realized how in love you were with your fake girlfriend.

That night, your mother appeared in your dreams for the first time. Sitting on the wood pierre that was feet above the water, with moon light reflected off the liquid, Aphrodite appeared in front of you. With curly brown hair and brown eyes, and that tanned skin that you could swear you had begun to memorize, your mom looked different from what you expected.

“I appear as what you are attracted to,” Aphrodite nudged your shoulder from where she sat beside you. She seemed to respond to what you were thinking. “For you, that's that girlfriend of yours.”

“Fake girlfriend. We aren't really dating.” Aphrodite laughed in a way that made your heart beat a bit faster. That laugh belonged to someone who now had your heart.

“Could… could you switch to look like someone else? This is kind of unnerving to me.” She laughed again and shook her head.

“I can't be here for long, my child.” She change the subject.

“Then why are you here?”

“You're in love somehow. I know that you probably wouldn't tell her without some sort of push.”

You stared at her. She was practically glowing, the sear fabric that was draped on her body floating.

“Hearts aren't meant to hurt, hunny. If you distance yourself, or try to break away from her and move on, then two hearts will get hurt.”

Silence fell over the two of you, just for a moment.

“Mom?”

“Yes?”

“Am I… am I really your favorite? I mean, other people say that, but you've never given me a gift, and I haven't been on a quest, and this is the first time I've even met you. I just-”

“There are many of you, and I have love for each of you and your siblings. But yes, it could be said that I am very proud of you, and what you have accomplished.” Tears started to fill your eyes, though you weren't sure exactly why you were crying.

“Goodbye, my dear.” She softly pressed a kiss to your cheek.

And with that, your mother was gone once again.

Tears were running down your face once you woke up.

You moved off your blankets and got up moving towards the cabin's front doors. It was almost pitch black, and it was easy to tell that it was still night. Maybe just sitting out on the porch and thinking would do you some good.

But right when you were a few steps away, the door started to crack open.

Your mind jumped to many conclusions, like there was a ghost or one of your siblings had stayed out late with their partner. Then you caught sight of the hand that was pushing on the wood.

It was the same hand that has intertwined with yours, the same hand that had held onto your body all week. The same hand that you had seen wielding a sword for years.

“Clarisse?” The door stopped opening, and then Clarisse poked her head through the opening.

She whispered your name back, and you took note about how this was the most sheepish you had ever witnessed her to be. She backed up, and you went out of your cabin to join her.

“Hey.” she whispered.

“Hi.” you whispered back. “What's wrong?” You could swear that her hand twitched in the slightest, like she was about to reach out and hold yours but thought better.

“I, um, had a nightmare. You were the only place I could think to go to. It’s fine now though, so you should go back inside and get your beauty sleep.” She turned away from you, starting to go down the steps back to her cabin.

“Do you like me?” She stood still on the second step down. You walked towards her slowly, and you started to wish you had brought a blanket out with you. The night chill was starting to get to you, and you were starting to wish that you had that type of safe feeling.

“My, um, my mother visited my dreams tonight. And we talked, and I know that we havent really been dating, but i kike you Clarisse, and I kind of hoped, only if you want, if we could kind of be offic-”

A pair of lips crashed into yours before anything else happened. The passion from the first kiss that the two of you had shared was there still, but this time something felt so much more real.

You felt so many emotions, and so did Clarisse, and you knew that she was trying to convey them all to you like this.

Both of her hands were on your face, each one gently holding your cheeks so you could stay in place. Your hands were on her wrists, but you moved them to the back of her neck where you gently tugged on her curls. You smiled into the kiss.

Her hair would always be your favorite.

Clarisse pulled away from the kiss, and laughed when she saw your eyes were still closed. You glared at her a little, but your smile was still present on your face.

“I do.” Clarisse said. You hummed and tilted your head in confusion. Clarisse laughed again a bit.

“I do like you.” Somehow your smile got even bigger.

“So we can kiss anytime now?”

“Anytime, sweetheart.”

[dangermousie]

I'm watching Sadistic Love, my first mini, and having SUCH a great time! What other minis do you recommend for enjoyers of the torrid and unhinged?

Welcome to the wonderful world of minis!!! Here are some recs!

THESE ARE ACTUALLY QUALITY

These may be minis, but between the cinematography and themes, they are as good or better than a "proper" drama:

Ancient Love Song - a haunting time travel romance with no destined easy out, this is about a modern scholar who travels back in time and interacts with an empress loathed by history. But their timelines flow in reverse...

Butterflied Lover - a period constable, his vampire wife, and one of the most gorgeous dramas out there.

A Familiar Stranger - Cheng Lei before he hit is big in "proper" dramas, the director of Blossom and fourth sister (aka best sister) in Perfect Match. The OTT premise is a face swap, but after that it's an awesome period romance between a general and a woman who he rescued a long time ago. It's torrid torrid torrid btw.

Fortune Writer - even the picky Douban viewers rated this one 7+. This is a story of villains in love but even more interestingly, a knowing fight against the narrative.

Hard to Find - fantasy and tragedy and doomed love; the story is like a darker old school cdrama but it's the gorgeous cinematography that places it in this portion of the list.

Love in a Dream - it’s a mini that has the most gorgeous cinematography I’ve seen in 2024 except for Fangs of Fortune and Eternal Brotherhood. I loved the vibes and the story and its feeling of tragic love and lost time.

TRASHY FUNNNNNN

Always My General - lady general, revenge, a very bi ML and just great fun!

Beauty Strategy - a mini of what a few years ago would have been a proper angsty drama of palace scheming enemies while lovers, powerless emperor etc etc. Honestly, I loved it.

Bound By Sin - subbiest Republican era ML ever.

Broken the Heart - super duper bonkers, with an evil royal tormenting the pure wife but for REASONS.

Circle of Love - this drama is a nonsense trash heap on fire. After a typhoon hit it. Republican era revenge romance and a ML who's insane.

Enslaved by Love - the ML is toxic enough to be banned by the Geneva convention but FL does get some of her own back and also if you ever wanted to see blindness-curing sex, boy do I have a drama for you!

Is Xianzun Whitewashed Today - this is 100% BL and a SVSSS rip off. Thanks for snoring, censors.

The Killer Is Also Romantic - mild mannered citizens by day, assassins/agents by night. This is a period Mr and Mrs Smith

Lovesickness - a good time about a woman traveling back in time and falling for a powerful but doomed duke.

Maid's Revenge - the ML of Sadistic Love and even more unhinged and slutty than in that one.

My Villain Husband - my first mini! FL wakes up in a novel! As the villain's despised wife. What shall she dooooooooo

Palace Shadows: Between Two Princes - ML pretends to be his own twin, bdsm and sluttiness ensues. I cannot even explain how wild this drama is but the acting is on point and way way fun!

The Prisoner of Love - more like the prisoner of bdsm.

Provoke - in love with one's stepmother? Indeed. But there is also a surprisingly solid plot under the bonkers.

Rise from the Ashes - a wacky as hell mini where reborn FL wreaks revenge with help of her fake uncle as they carry on as some sort of Borgia/Phillip II of Spain fame hybrid. If you don’t need to use your brain, you could have a worse time.

Rising Feather - a woman leading on son in law general (lover) and father in law minister (husband) for revenge and delicious trashiness.

Secrets of the Shadow Sect - head of sect lady and her very very subby bodyguard. What’s not to love?

Stolen Love - general, his first love, a LOT of make outs.

Your Trap/Imprisoned Love - the plot of this mini made no sense but the softcore vibes of sanitized 1990s cinemax were on point!

[brucewaynehater101]

It really gets me so mad that in Batman: The Animated series when all Joker Junior happens they let Tim go. Just like that. WTF???

That's your boy Bruce, the one you drive in your limo, the one that gets an allowance, the one that impersonates you so good because he's your son. And the minute he goes through the worst experience of his life you just let him go.

Like, I get my boy Tim, him been there just reminds him of his trauma, and if being away helps him, then go away, no one's gonna judge you.

BUT 40 YEARS OF SILENCE

Like. Man. Wtf.

And I get the series has other problems (Bruce and Babs together- yuck )

But Tim, hurt Tim forced to go through it alone.

It hurts me so much, it haunts me.

Fuck. I need to watch that series. I was a wee bit scared cause I thought, at first, that Tim got stuck as Joker. I couldn't handle that, tbh. I heard he doesn't, though, so I'm down to try.

However, that's so fucking tragic. Just Tim handling that trauma alone when Bruce is aware of it. I've seen some cool AUs where Bruce and the others aren't aware, but somehow it's worse where Bruce just ignored Tim (or that it happened to him).

40 is fucking bonkers though.

I kind of want an AU where Tim reaches the 10 year anniversary of the JJ incident. The only person who knows is Bruce (maybe Alfred if you want to make him guilty/bad). The age Tim is can vary (from like 19-24), but it'd be hella cool to see the fallout of everyone else learning that Bruce has been a dick to Tim for that. This would be cool if Tim was RR at this point.

Counter AU:

JJ happens when Tim is Robin, and Bruce fires Tim "for his own safety" or whatever. No one else, not even Barbara, knows about this incident. All they know is that there *was* a third Robin, but now there's not.

Other people rein Bruce in until Damian comes along. Maybe Cass helps or something (for plot purposes, Steph isn't Robin. She does get vigilante-adopted by Oracle, though, and joins the Birds of Prey).

Either way, Tim is no longer Robin and basically ignored by Bruce due to Bruce's guilt/fear (not an excuse. Bruce is a huge colossal asshole for that. This is just his reasoning).

The only people who know who the third Robin was are Bruce, Babs, Dick, Alfred, Leslie, Jason, and Talia (technically Ra's too). No one but Jason and Talia know that Jason knows who the third Robin was.

Bruce, once again, is the only one who knows about JJ and why Tim stopped being Robin (maybe Alfred too, but fun drama if Alfred finds out what Bruce did to Tim).

Anyways, Jason never attacks Tim because Tim wasn't Robin by that point. Damian doesn't either. They don't have favorable opinions of Tim, but he's not really important to them in the grand scheme of things.

Dick and Babs initially kept in contact with Tim, but they slowly stopped checking up with him due to the shitshow of their lives (like Jason coming back).

Tim moves out of Gotham for a few years. He was never adopted at this point and keeps up the fake uncle thing. He's pissed at Bruce for firing him (that man can not tell Tim to stop being a vigilante. That's so fucking hypocritical and that man isn't Tim's father), but he can't do anything about it. Bruce can't stop him from being a vigilante if he isn't in Gotham, though [Tim also gets the opportunity to heal while he's not in the same shadow of Gotham].

While Tim isn't Robin, he does maintain some communication with YJ. It's more distant, but they still go on missions together (as long as word won't get back to Batman). Tim is also more of a traveling vigilante who steals money from Lex or other billionaires to fund Tim's night job (he, begrudgingly, doesn't attempt to steal from Bruce. Babs would catch him). Tim also pockets some of the cash from crimes (particularly if the cops are corrupt and the money wouldn't go towards good causes regardless). Maybe Tim remotely manages DI as well, maybe not.

Anyways, years later, the batfam is slowly starting to heal. Jason is starting to forgive Bruce. The old man is putting in the effort to heal their relationship. Damian is healing and bonding with all of the family members in his own way. Dick has a much better relationship with Bruce, and Steph feels accepted by them.

Then Bruce "dies."

Tim stumbles upon proof of Bruce through his travels. He doesn't trust the Bats (especially after at least a year of no contact with them), so he tries to tell them about his proof as a not well-known vigilante. Red Hood has worked with him when The Outlaws crossed paths with him, but they aren't at the stage where RH trusts him. Tim doesn't trust RH due to a conversation or two about the man's hatred of the third Robin.

The Bats, drowning in their grief, push Tim away and deny him.

It stings, but Tim convinces himself to just shrug. What would he expect from the Bats anyways?

Tim goes through the effort of bringing Bruce back by himself. He then tries to dip immediately afterwards. He wants nothing to do with the Bats.

The Bats become curious about why a vigilante who seems to dislike would risk and sacrifice so much to bring back Bruce. They, like the nosy shits they are, try to investigate, charm, and stalk Tim.

Tim wants nothing to do with those fuckers. He wants to be left alone, fucking hell.

This dissolves into Tim trying to stay the fuck away from the Waynes as they chase him. He also can't help the fact that he cares about them, even if they piss him off.

More secrets unravel. Tim, wanting them to just go the fuck away, admits he knew the third Robin and that's why he doesn't like them.

Tim has changed a ton (personality and looks [he's taller and changes his appearance with makeup/wings]) so they don't immediately think of him as the third Robin. Tim also maintains a spotless civilian cover.

This cues the other Bats starting to question each other and Bruce what the fuck happened to the third Robin to make someone else hold a grudge against them.

I got so distracted. Oh well. Imma have to watch that series to feel the pain you're chatting about ^^ I wanna immerse myself in it, lmao

[absent-o-minded]

SFTH - Narrative Tropes

Keeping in line with my previous post about character tropes, I thought that it might be fun to point out some of the improvised narrative tropes that characterise a number of the longforms:

*** Spoiler Warning as I mention plot details

The Big Bad is defeated…but they’re taking the hero down with them:

Magnus O’Puss and Arthur Big Dick: BUS

Juliet and Caesar: Caesar and Juliet

Mama Twiliger and Henry Twiliger: Green Leaves on a Summers Day

Camp German Brothers and Jack Skelter: Burglary and Bobsledding

Sherlock and Moriarty: The Final Baker of Baker Street

The shocking ‘twist’:

Maria’s faked death x Danny parentage: Death For A Dollar

Gavin’s first son is alive and was wearing Johnny Jones as a meatsuit: Too Big To Be A Jockey

Mrs Hudsen reveals herself to be James Moriarty Hudsen(?): The Final Baker of Baker Street

Maria agreeing to the Blue Fairy: The Grape Depression

Tragedy that careens (sometimes forcefully) into a Happy Ending:

The near death of Thomas Jr prevented by Thomas Sr: The Enigma of the High Visionary

Sparkles and Clive’s passionate reunion stalls a nuclear explosion: The Case of Sergeant Sprinkles

Jeremiah gets reincarnated: The Mysterious Cube

Play ends with the prospect of L’s family finally being told about his death: The Creak In The Attic

The adults are oblivious, so the plots development is delegated to the children:

Peter Steven telling his Mum about the school chokey: The Milkman

Johnny and Janae figuring out a plan together: The Neighbours Under The Bed

Alexa escaping the failed assassination attempt with all the other bitches: Ballet of the Battlefield

Michael goes on the search for his vanished father: The Pilots Final Flight

The resolution of conflict finally prompts the yearning couple to get together:

Annabelle x Butch: Never Give Annabelle A Gun

Derek x Titch: The Unrelenting Aubergine

John Jacob x Angelina: The Off-Season

[saintslewis]

𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 — 𝐋𝐇𝟒𝟒

— pairing: lewis hamilton x fem!oc

— trope: fake/arranged marriage

— summary: the Browns and the Hamiltons have been neighbours for many years, Nadia and their oldest son, Lewis, not being as close as the families had hoped they would be. Years later, everyone drifts apart into different neighbourhoods, some others becoming one of the best drivers to ever grace the sport of Formula One however being a man of his stature, fame came along with it and so did the scandals.

can a fake marriage to a complete stranger help keep his image alive? let’s find out!

✧༚ ˎˊ˗ ———————— let’s meet the lovely couple!

👩🏽‍🏫 —— nadia brown!

“the coolest teacher ever”

⸰ֺ⭑ - a south african native who moved to stevenage with her mom when she was 8 and gosh, her character development is one for the books. from being the shy one for all of her school years, university changed everything and made her the social butterfly that you will all grow to love soon. fav colour is pink. fav artist is beyoncé. she teaches history and knows jack shit about f1 except that the cool guy that her parents support used to be their neighbour. absolutely loves the moon and is a part time stylist. will fight for you even she met you a second ago.

🏎️ —— lewis hamilton!

“the goat.”

⸰ֺ⭑ - a literal superstar. the stevenage driver who i would describe as the coolest person ever and many would agree. an adrenaline junky with a heart of gold and filled with positivity (and sass but you didn’t hear it from me). thee fashionista and he knows he’s fine, he just does. father to roscoe. fav colour is purple. loves discussing space and its beauty. did i mention he’s the coolest guy ever? super supportive of everyone around him and he’s knighted. ladies and gents, mr mercedes!

✧༚ ˎˊ˗ info abt renaissance!

˖ ࣪⭑ - warnings: cussing, outfit descriptions, a bit of angst, mentions of alcohol, a talk of ad21, south african slang, slight hints of smut (18+ MDNI), not much of a slow burn lol, lots and lots of brand names, slight themes of sugar daddy! lewis at some point lol (think of it as him spoiling her!)

˖ ࣪⭑ - inspo: this idea just spawned into my head as well as a few of my wip’s mushed together to make this masterpiece. i absolutely love beyonce so using RENAISSANCE for a project so special to me just make wanna do a couple cartwheels. i hope you guys enjoy this as much as i did making this!

˖ ࣪⭑ - saint’s team radio: omg hi everybody 🤭. first oc on tumblr woohoo! not a lot of the song lyrics will relate to the plot of the chapter but more so the beat of the song or the vibe? hope that makes sense lol. i hope you guys like the humour i’m gonna add in here. there isn’t a schedule for this yet but hopefully i’ll be more organised in the future. let’s get this party started!

˖ ࣪⭑ - taglist: @thisismeracing @goldsainz @folkloresthings @flowerchild-96 @userlando (i read your blogs as if it’s my morning paper so i hope you like this 😭) @non-stop-imagines @royallyprincesslilly . let me know if you wanna be tagged in this or future fics!

˖ ࣪⭑ - dividers by @cafekitsune 🫶🏽

˖ ࣪⭑ - pictures from pinterest and twitter

˖ ࣪⭑ - nadia faceclaim: @/unclewaffles_ on ig!

𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 !

1. I’M THAT GIRL

- the first meeting.

2. COZY

- imagine having dinner with your family then they announce that you’re getting married? you better get cozy for this one!

3. ALIEN SUPERSTAR

- first “date”. gotta show the world the newest married couple!

4. CUFF IT

- didn’t Lewis say he was a professional dancer? well now he is 🕺🏽

5. ENERGY

- first day in the paddock, let’s gaurrr

6. BREAK MY SOUL

- ooohhhhh, the school’s calling for a meeting with Nadia 😟

7. CHURCH GIRL

- party time activated ‼️

8. PLASTIC OFF THE SOFA

- a rainy afternoon in the kitchen with the both of them dancing? literally screaming!

9. VIRGO’S GROOVE

- catching feelings there?

10. MOVE

- a visit to Nadia’s work place isn’t so bad, right? …right?

11. HEATED

- time to let the world know who exactly Nadia is and why to not mess with her or her husband. period.

12. THIQUE

- party time pt 2?

13. ALL UP IN YOUR MIND

- how about a little vacation? :D

14. AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM

- seems like it’s more than just america! 😃

15. PURE/HONEY

- coming soon!

16. SUMMER RENAISSANCE

- coming soon!

BONUS!

17. BE MY SUMMER

- a little valentine’s day gift to you all from me + lewis’ (proper) proposal!

status: ongoing

saintslewis 🫶🏽

[wangxianficfinder]

Fic Finder

Oct 6th

~*~

1. Hello. I’m hoping you can help me find a fic. In it Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are poisoned at Jinlintai and fake their deaths. Their bodies are brought back to the ancestral hall at cloud recesses and they escape and live away from the cultivation world for many years. Theres two parts and in the second part the sect leaders come to their mountain thinking immortals live there and asking for help dealing with problems they can’t solve. (Ie The Lan sect is dealing with resentful ghost). Thanks!! @vegdawn

FOUND? To live with no regrets Series by Lyna_Mei (E, 96k, WIP, WangXian, Fix-It of Sorts, Canon Divergence, Angst, Self-Esteem Issues, Golden Core Reveal, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Oral Sex, Developing Relationship, non-consensual marriage, CQL-Verse, Case Fic, Canon-Typical Violence, Established Relationship, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Cultivation Sect Politics, Cultivation World Critical, Not JGY Friendly, Family Feels, Found Family, WWX Has a New Golden Core, Top/Bottom Versatile | Switch WangXian)

~*~

2. hi this is for the fic finder! i’m looking for a fic i read which i’m pretty sure is completed. it should be wangxian, modern au, and i think wwx was living alone (maybe estranged from the jiangs?) and i think mo xuanyu and xue yang were kid brothers who lived in his building that came to hang out with him sometimes? and he was sorta like a big brother to them? this wasn’t a major plot point but it was definitely there. and a-yuan may or may not have been there, either living with wwx or the wens in the same building. does anyone know what this is?

FOUND? Visitations by Vir_Abelasan (M, 18k, WIP, WangXian, past XiYao, Modern AU, Corporate Espionage, Post-Divorce, Reconciliation, Father-Son Relationship, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Found Family, Custody Arrangements, Not a revenge fic, Past Abuse)

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3. Looking for a highly specific fic where WWX is forced to wear scantily clad armour that only covers his nipples and man-bits as a punishment by Madam Yu. Wangxian encounter each other in a night-hunt sort of thing, but its not set in the jianghu but an AU where its more fantasy magic with warlocks, that sort of thing? There is a specific scene where WWX has to go change the armor and it hurts alot and makes LWJ very sad and angry at madam yu?? GOSH HELP its been stuck in my head foreverr thank u

FOUND? 🔒 His Knight in Shining Armour by celerydragon (E, 23k, WangXian, dead dove do not eat, Curses, Sexual Abuse, Child Abuse, Non-Consensual Body Modification, Slut Shaming, Top LWJ/Bottom WWX, yu furen sucks, protective lwj, Hurt/Comfort, Anal Sex, Dirty Talk, mild dirty talk, Biting, Outdoor Sex)

~*~

4. Hello, I am looking for an AO3 Fix it Fic where all the sects bring gifts to the Burial Mounds to compete showing who is the most generous. @hopefulbeardface-blog

FOUND? The Untamed: A Dinner to Remember by YenGirl (Not Rated, 33k, WangXian, XuanLi, post sunshot, Indulgent Fic, Feed WY & the Wen survivors, Some angst, Some humour, Dinner is about family and love, Some Fluff, Soft Boys, Manly Tears, JGS is still greedy, Possible OOC-ness, No hundred holes curse, Unreliable Narrator, accidental heroes, Some violence and gore in Chap 9, Redeemed JGY, Redeemed SS)

~*~

5. HI!!!this is for a fic finder, it had madam yu as a super toxic parent idrm bt maybe she was also abusive, she sends wwx to this school owned by the lans and i think theres 2 divisions, 1 for the smart kids and one for the delinquents

the school is super weird and strict , lqr is especially mean to wwx and all the staff is aswell and they do horrible things to him and in the end i think lxc exposes his uncles school?? wwx and lzh get tg to.

Thankyou!! @jnxi839

~*~

6. Hi! For FicFinder

The fic I'm looking for is canon divergence, I believe. I can't remember if it had time travel or not, but Wei Ying left the Jangs before the war. I think there was focus on his inventions. The only clear details I can remember are the Jins giving him multiple chests full of gold, and them sending him someone to his rooms in the night. The person gets caught in an array at the door. Also, there were two Lans assigned to help Wei Ying. Thanks in advance! @rens-shadow

FOUND? Just go forward like you mean it by tawaen (M, 101k, WangXian, WWX & WN &WQ, WWX & JYL, NHS & WWX, Canon Divergence, WWx does not attend the Wen indoctrination, WWX saves Lotus Pier, Inventor WWX, No Golden Core Transfer, Sect Leader JYL, JC Has No Golden Core, Bad Parents JFM & YZY, Not JC Friendly, but he gets a happier ending than canon so don’t look here for bashing)

~*~

7. Fic finder please!🙏

A wlw wangxian where LWJ was self conscious about her body bc LQR wasn’t really helpful when she was going through puberty and bought her too small bras and stuff and then she meets wwx, much later on who encourages her to wear what she likes and love her body. There’s a scene with them on the couch cuddling and idk how it ends bc ao3 went down and I lost my tab!! 😭😭😭

FOUND? your lips, my lips, apocalypse by lily_winterwood (E, 12k, WangXian, Modern, Fashion & Models, College/University, Lingerie, Burlesque, Rule 63, partial genderswap, Not Everyone is Cisswapped, Nonbinary Character, Trans Male Character, Female LWJ, Female WWX, Trans LXC, References to conservative Chinese family values, Mild Transphobia, Body Dysphoria, Self-Esteem Issues, Brief reference to eating disorders, Sexism, Pining, Filial Piety, Masturbation, Cunnilingus, Gender Changes)

~*~

8. fic finder help! there is a modern fic where lan zhan and Wei ying are best friends and the fic starts off with Wei ying asking lan zhan to call off work to play hooky for the day. eventually we find out Wei ying quit his job (he's working with the jiangs). it was part of a series I think. @the-marathon-continues-nip

FOUND! in good time by magicianprince (T, 11k, WangXian, Slice of Life, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Pre-Relationship, Modern AU, modern with cultivation (pretty background tho), lwj has a cat, and some unresolved feelings! oh boy, "in good time" by magicianprince [Podfic] by The_Grynne)

~*~

9. Looking for a fic where lan xichen and possibly lan qiren? go into a meeting with the elders, who have been giving Wei wuxian a hard time, and they hand out lists of rules that the elders have each individually have broken @lonelyreverances-corner

~*~

10. hi i have a request: i want to find fanfic which included older lan wangji (i think he was older by 7 years) who meets wei wuxian in yiling and it is their first meeting. he and lan xichen are twins and it is mostly focused on lwj visiting burial mounds and wy and lz have a sex not long after they meet first time. i think it counted from 20 to 30 (or 35) chapters and it also had 18+ fanarts

FOUND? Awaiting Your Return by Karmiya (E, 126k, WangXian, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, the opposite of slow burn, Found Family, Canon Divergence, Age Difference, discussions of wwx's canonical abusive childhood)

~*~

11. Hi! I'm looking for a fic (I think it may be a series of fics) where Wei Wuxian was accused of spying on Lan Corp. I think this is one where Lan Wangji believes in him the entire time and leaves his family over the accusations. I don't remember if he served any time or not, but the truth comes out that he was innocent (thanks in part to NHS). WWX and LWJ live with Wens, started a company with them, and live in the same building with them.

FOUND?🔒 moonlight falls Series by RoseThorne (T, 19k, WangXian, Modern, Found Family, Corporate Espionage, Bunnies, Adoption, Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, References to Depression, Anxiety, Blind Character, POV Third Person, POV WWX, Confrontations, Bad Parent LQR, Dissociation, Mental Health Issues, Anniversary, Food, Food as a Metaphor for Love, Emotional Constipation, Communication Failure, JC is Bad at Feelings, JC is Trying, WWX Needs a Hug, Implied/Referenced Sex, Food Sex, Friendship, Reconciliation, Psychological Trauma)

~*~

12. hi! i am looking for a fic that is a juniors time-travel fix it. i know they go back in time to right before jin zixuan gets killed and save him, the juniors reveal that wangxian are married in the future, and then also there is a scene where jin zixuan and jiang yanli tell older jin ling that he is their son, too, even though baby jin ling is there. thank you so much! @whenstarsignite

FOUND! ❤️ Tragedy is Not the End by Hobbsy3 (T, 358k, wangxian, Time Travel, Torture, Hurt/Comfort, Golden Core Reveal, Canon Divergence from Qiongqi Pass, Angst with a Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Yunmeng sibling bonding, good dad wwx, good dad lwj, JZX Lives, JYL Lives, Junior Quartet Dynamics)

NOT FOUND! Time, Time, Time by skeletonofaplant (G, 44k, wangxian, JYL/JZX, LSZ & WWX, JYL & JL & JZX, LJY & LSZ, Time Travel Fix-It, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Identity Porn, Identity Reveal, Angst, Fluff, Junior Quartet Dynamics, Time Travelling Junior Ensemble, Junior Ensemble Shenanigans, Humor)

~*~

13. Hi! I'm looking for two fics. I think I initially saw B on this page, but I can't find it anywhere

A) A meteor crashed near college student WWX’s house, where he finds a shape-shifting bunny/toddler alien A-Yuan. LWJ is also a different kind of alien.

B) I think it takes place in a camp after defeating the Wen. JGY spikes the Lan's tea with alcohol. LWJ and WWX spend the night together, but by morning the Jiang siblings think it was noncon. Eventually JGY confesses that it was JGS's idea to serve alcohol.

13A)

FOUND! Lost and Found by diamondbruise (E, 52k, WangXian, Modern AU, Aliens, Slow Burn, Alien LWJ, Crack Treated Seriously, Soulmates, Kid Fic…..kind of, i use that tag very loosely, Masturbation, Rough Sex, canon typical cnc elements, Happy Ending)

13B)

FOUND! The Teapot Plot by ToxicAngel13 (M, 52k, wangxian, LXC/NMJ, Misunderstandings, Plots, protective Jiang siblings, Golden Core Reveal, Golden Core Transfer Fix-It, Idiots in Love, Damn Jins, Post-Sunshot Campaign, Pre-Burial Mounds, Potential for M-Preg, Fix-It, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Idiots Everywhere, LWJ ’s Biting Kink, WangXian Get a Happy Ending, Protective LWJ, Protective WQ, JGS is his own warning, Protective JYL)

~*~

14. hiya! for the fic finder, i'm struggling to find a fic i read a few months ago - not sure if it's been deleted or not. i am fairly certain it was an a/b/o au where wwx was carrying lwj's kid by the time he ended up in the burial mounds and basically he kept control of the spirits by asking the female ghosts to help him protect him unborn baby. wen qing also refused to take his golden core because of the baby and jiang cheng ended up with wen ning's core instead going into the sunshot campaign. the wen siblings and the wen remnants live in this au and help wwx raise his daughter after she's born. somewhere along the way wwx tells his siblings and lwj about his daughter too.

second fic i've been looking for, but not as much of a priority to me as the first one, all i remember about this one was lwj found out about wwx giving up his core almost immediately after it happened and wwx lets lwj help him sooner. one scene i remember was wwx and jiang cheng were arguing and jiang cheng uses zidian on wwx and mortally wounds him and stops wwx heart (i think?)

thank you for your help in advance! <3

14A)

FOUND! 🧡 Don’t Wanna Fall by nekojita (M, 111k, WangXian, Mpreg, A/B/O, Fix-it, Lots of pining, Angst with a happy ending, Canon Divergence, Child thief WN)

14B)

FOUND! these colours fade for you only by doodlebutt (T, 36k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Fix-It, Fluff and Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Everybody Lives, Golden Core Transfer Fix-It, …eventually, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, bed sharing, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Sunshot Campaign)

~*~

15. Hi! This is for fic finder. There are 2 fic that i want to read

A) It short fic. JYL and WWX likes to play the "xianxian is 3 years old". I dont remember how but NMJ knows and ask to join with NHS. JYL give them permission, thinking it was like a play between her and WWX. Then they (JYL and WWX) found out it was different. Between JYL and WWX is like a play pretend but between NMJ and NHS is different in a way that NHS transform into a 3 years old child

B) The story is between yunmeng trio and nie sibs. JGY wants to make the nies and jiangs enemy. He then found out that NHS didnt have a single blood of nie. In the discussion conference, he invite nhs blood aunt that thinking nhs deserve better than become the second young master of the nie and revealed that nhs is jfm child not the former nie's sect leader. I only remember that

Thanks

15A)

FOUND? Little by nirejseki (T, 3k, NHS & JC & WWX & NMJ, Age Regression/De-Aging, Non-Sexual Age Play, Misunderstandings)

~*~

16. I'm hoping you guys can help me find a fic I vaguely remember. It was fox!wwx and I think he was in an arranged marriage to lwj, but before he left he cut off a tail and left it as a present for JC to find (I think) when he got back to Lotus Pier.

I think I've read #16, was the Jiangs doing a silk/cloth dyeing business and JYL was super sick, and Wei ying was conscripted to be part of the search for a mate for prince ? I'll try to find it if it is

FOUND! #16 reminds me of the deleted "Bleeding Bones, Aching Hearts " by scarletmoontears. Do you remember if Wei Ying was a war general of Yunmeng Jiang and was sent as a warprize to the Lans?

~*~

17. Hi!! I'm looking for a fic. This is a Modern AU where WWX fakes his death (I think because of Madam Yu) and LWJ sends him voice and text messages during his grieving process. Everything changes when WWX accidentally answers one of those messages and LWJ finds out he's not dead. I don't recall more. Thank you so much for your help!! @fantasiacoral-blog

FOUND? Love Don’t Belong To Me by airinshaw (E, 28k, WangXian, Modern, Getting Together, Kissing, Intercrural Sex, Light Angst, Happy Ending, PTSD, Panic Attack, WWX’s canonical self-esteem issues, Canonical Child Abuse, not as dark as the tags imply, Past Relationships mention)

~*~

18. Hello! This if for a fic finder

A) mo xuanyu is a ghost that stays with wwx i think he and wwx can both be concious in the body? Idrm much but it was wwx/mxy/lwj

B) this was a modern au lan jingyi came out to his parents or something like that and they gor abusive , jiangcheng ends up adopting jingyi or smth like that they tale him to a doctor too I remember jiangcheng and lan xichen were dating

18A)

FOUND? Serrated by InkSplatterM and MrMissMrsRandom (E, 194k, WangXianYu, Slow Burn, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon-Typical Gore, Past Abuse, Canon Divergence, MXY Lives, spirit possession, 2/3 men are virgin idiots, WWX is an emotional dunce, MXY is gay and tired, LWJ finds his heart is very large, Discussions of Suicide, Suicide Attempt, victim self-blame, Panic Attacks, mentions of past sexual abuse, PTSD, Past Rape/Non-con, Masturbation, Voyeurism, Outdoor Sex, Exhibitionism, light cum play, Praise Kink, gentle dirty talk, D/s elements, Under-negotiated Kink, Dom MXY, Sub LWJ)

~*~

19. Hello! I'm looking for a modern au fic wherein i think lwj and wwx are roommates. wwx is writing a paper on the effect of spanking on children and asks lwj to spank him to experience it firsthand. i think there's a couple of instances where wwx forgets to clear out the sink and stuff and gets spanked for it and then gets aftercare??? i think there's some dialogue that goes like "my hand. no french. over the couch" idk?? I cannot seem to find it

FOUND! "The Efficacy of Spanking on Behavioural Change" by redscudery (E, 15k, WangXian, SL/WWX, Platonic BDSM, Oblivious WWX, Spanking, we all know this is not platonic, With One Exception, Bisexual Disaster WWX, Light Dom/sub, not a single brain cell was consulted, Boys Kissing, Boys In Love, Getting Together, First Time, Lube Shenanigans, mild alcohol and marijuana use, Non-graphic vomiting, big bisexual awakenings r us, Love Confessions, Modern, Canada)

~*~

20. Hi I would like to ask if you know the title of the story in ao3 that I read back then. It’s like burial mound setting, they made a village inside the Burial Mounds but it’s hidden in the rock and no one can enter but then they invited Lan Xichen in their home. Thank you have a nice day ahead!

~*~

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV Musings - Unreliable Narrators: Louis

I am SO sick of people in this effing fandom calling Louis an unreliable narrator as a thinly veiled code for him being a LIAR™. Everyone lies, to themselves & to others. Unless you're a literal sociopath, no one wants to be the villain; blamed for things effing up; or take responsibility for eff ups. But there's a patented difference b/t someone OCCASIONALLY LYING, and a HABITUAL LIAR™ whose modus operandi is to willfully deceive, manipulate, gaslight, trick or con(trol). Louis is many things (good & bad); and no, he can't be relied on to tell the story straight, for many reasons (that are & aren't his fault). But the one huge factor differentiating his 1973 interview (a la the book) & his 2022 interview in Dubai is Louis' SINCERITY.

2022 Dubai =/= 1973 SanFran: Odyssey of Recollection / Memory is a Monster

The whole premise of AMC!IWTV is that there are things Louis CANNOT REMEMBER about his past, no matter how hard he TRIES to remember. Back in S1 Jacob Anderson was fighting for his life not to spoil anything about S2, cuz by then he already knew that yes, Louis IS the problem with this whole recounting, cuz HIS MEMORY is the problem. How TF can you sit here tryna tell your life story when you don't even remember wtf happened!? ("You don't need a memoir, Louis. You need a hundred sessions of EMDR!") You're unreliable AF!

JA said "Louis REALLY BELIEVES that a lot of this is the TRUTH." But that deep down he KNOWS something ain't right.

Rolin Jones specifically wanted the 1x7 image Louis presented of him & "the love of my life" Armand to look like the scene from The Graduate. There's ZERO CHEMISTRY with Loumand in this shot, cuz it's not REAL. It's FORCED, a PERFORMANCE, just like JA said Lou is always been forced to do: perform; presenting the cookie-cutter image of a man who's supposedly got all his crap together, when BTS he's a freaking wreck who doesn't even KNOW or love himself ("Who are you, Louis? If there was no me? If there was no him? Who would you be? What do you want? How're you gon' get there?").

And Loumand doubles-down on that fake AF performance in 2x2, cheesing & hamming it up as if they're the perfect Stepford Family. And Daniel calls that ish out immediately; "keep selling it;" cuz he's "built this way," to dismantle BS, and Louis KNOWS this, and WANTS it to happen. The person constantly tryna STOP them is ARMAND, (Daniel effing pounced in 2x5 to sort everything out while Armand was AWAY. Daniel realized what/who the REAL PROBLEM was!).

Lou called Daniel for a reason, to help him UNPACK the jumbled mess ("he's good at his job"), cuz Lou KNOWS something's wrong with the way he's telling the story. Lou KNOWS he's unreliable, that there's a very real problem with him, and that he needs HELP. Louis is not a LIAR™, he has AMNESIA. That does NOT make him the villain or the bad guy, or the one to point malicious ableist AF fingers at as a gotcha! every time it's repeatedly said that YES, Lou's NOT the most reliable source of information; cackling like hyenas when Dan asked if Lou's schizophrenic and totally missing how that's the crux of the matter: Louis is mentally unwell, and CANNOT process his traumas all by himself; for reasons that both ARE and also are NOT his fault.

And what's more is that Lou HATES himself--his Confession Booth monologue lays out everything he hates about himself and will continue to hate himself for, even for the things that legit aren't even his fault (Louis: "I failed my brother!" Father Matthias: "NO, son!"). Lou's suicidal & all-too-willing to accept & internalize the NEGATIVE things people who HATE him say ("maybe I am arrogant!"), or what people actively plotting AGAINST him say ("You should go with Lestat's version, for the book, I think. I'm sorry!").

Self-loathing is at the very core of The Vampire Chronicles, and precisely what Prince Lestat finally teaches the vampires to get rid of at the end if the book series: the self-destructive self-sabotaging tendencies rooted in self-loathing that led vampires like Nicki & Louis (AND Lestat) to kill themselves, rather than to seek help or help themselves get better & love & accept themselves. Accepting that they're vampires doesn't mean they have to act like soulless monsters--they DO have a soul/conscience & CAN/SHOULD take responsibility for their actions, esp. their effs up, to become BETTER.

Louis is the antihero of IWTV, but DANIEL is the actual hero. Louis couldn't save himself from any of the situations he was in; he needed HELP (Claudia in S1, Armand & Lestat in 2x7, Daniel in 2x8). Without Daniel getting Sam's script, Lou would've just accepted how "that's the end of it. There's nothing else;" assuming he finally had all the answers & everything was sorted out, when CHIIIIILE~! 💀Lou was still in the Sunken Place!

After Armand's seismic lies were exposed, Louis finally started "learning to live honestly" without the toxic sludge of literal mind control keeping him back anymore; and esp. without Armand's narrative spoonfed to him that Lestat hated him & wanted him dead.

1973 SanFran: lies on top of lies

The 1973 interview was a whole steaming crappy heap of lies Louis told Daniel but most importantly HIMSELF. Cuz the SEISMIC LIE Armand told him about "Banishment" had a ripple-effect, dominoe implications. If Armand saved Lou and NOT Lestat, that means Les must've really hated Lou and was fine with him being executed at the Trial. So Lou spiraled, thinking Les didn't love him (anymore?), and that Lou himself was an idiot for falling for what must've obvs been lies Les fed him the entire time about their oh-so-sacred "cord you cannot see, loving you with ALL of myself," if he could let that disgusting lynching happen and NOT save his "Companion Heart."

Louis SINCERELY WANTS to remember & give the more "nuanced portrait" about his life. But if the person at the center if his life is Lestat, and Lestat screwed him over, what does that mean about Louis' whole life? He picked the wrong person--he chose Lestat over Paul, over Claudia, over himself, and THIS is how Lestat treats him? No, Les must've manipulated TF outta him, he's the devil, Claudia was right that Les is the "Father of Lies!" What "love?! I bled him like a pig and waited for the death rattle!"

BUT!

Lestat was MORE than Louis' Maker. They really were companions. Their hearts beat in sync the way Lestat & Claudia's obvs NEVER did. Something MORE than the Vampire Bond tied them together. It WAS real. Right? Lestat did love him, right? So wtf? The math ain't mathin. ARMAND is the love of my life.

Right?....

That's not a LIAR. That's what a real library of CONFUSION looks like.

[atopvisenyashill]

i was thinking more about characters Performing Gender, but not necessarily Transgressing Gender. I wound up focusing on Ned and Sansa bc I feel like I understand them the most but-

Sansa as a hostage is imo the most obvious (bc it’s so well done) moment of someone clearly Performing Gender but not being transgressive in that performance. Which isn’t to say it’s not a complicated performance; it’s a fine line Sansa walks between weaponizing her gender to protect herself without seeming too fake. She’s trying to placate the Lannisters by playing the perfect, dedicated, air headed betrothed because it’s the only defense she has - if she outwardly rebels, she will be punished in a likely violent and/or sexual way (which isn’t even conjecture - when she says “or maybe he’ll give me yours” Joffrey has her struck with an armored hand). She’s not quite successful in being convincing but that’s because it’s a rather extreme situation; despite no one believing her, she does make herself seem meek and stupid enough that no one suspects she’s plotting to escape with Dontos until she’s well away from KL. The fact that she even has Dontos to confide in is because of Sansa’s relationship with gender! When she saves him, she covers her rebellious slip by playing up Joffrey’s intelligence & his role as King; she reaches for “tools” of her gender AND of ~proper manhood~ to save a life and herself from another beating. Her retreats into the godswood and silence are very much Sansa attempting to recharge from these draining interactions, the same way a knight would need to stop and eat and rest after a fight. She is fighting, constantly, by forcing herself to stay within the narrow confines of a specific type of gender performance as a way of shielding herself from harm.

Ned yelling at Cat is another big one, and I’ve seen the scene referred to as Ned using his patriarchal power to scare Cat, which is a great description. It feels like a Performance because Ned is putting on this terrifying Lord Stark mask in an attempt to get Catelyn to stop asking about Jon (and Lyanna). This is not how he usually acts with those he loves! When Ned is with His People, he is welcoming of questions, curiosity, emotion, even transgressive thought (to a point! the idea that Ned is a feminist because he lets Arya learn to fight is Not accurate but you can’t deny he allows significantly more flexibility wrt gender expression than most of the fathers we meet in this series. the bar is in hell tho). Yet when Cat asks him about Jon’s mother, Ned scares her so well she stops asking & still remembers the moment bitterly over a decade later. And if that snippet we see through Bran’s eyes of Ned praying that Cat will forgive him does come after she asks (like it’s suspected), it’s clear not only that this is a performance he’s putting on & weaponizing against Cat, it’s one he does not like using as a weapon against someone he is close to. After using the power his gender gives him to cause harm, he retreats to the godswood and silence to pray and rest, much like Sansa. A spiritual cleanse, the way a soldier may pray after battle, to reset and reconnect Being A Proper Man to Being A Kind Man.

I think there’s something interesting in that two of the characters most widely defined by how well they adhere to Westerosi gender norms both dislike feeling like they had to weaponize their gender. They are exhausted by the performance, because it’s a performance. This isn’t Sansa getting excited over tourneys, or Ned teaching his sons to fight; it’s toxic masculinity, it’s structural misogyny. It’s something they’re good at, excel at, and connected to something they enjoy but when it’s paired with violence, whether done by Ned or done to Sansa, it crosses over in their minds from an innate part of themselves (The Gender) to a performance necessary due to survival (The Gender Role). And that after these performances, both retreat to nature & god as a way of resting and cleansing from the experience.

[abdy-18]

If I could write fanfics I would write a one-shot of the theory that [redacted]'s family was the ostanian version of the op strix, the mission ended and although we can't know if Twilight's father still loved his wife or not, I'm sure he did love his son only that he normalized violence in his education due to the time in which they lived ( [redacted] must have been a child around the 40s).

This is very long, I over thought again.

The "ostanian op strix" ended and here are three options:

He knew that Luwen was going to be bombed shortly and still decided to leave [redacted] and his mom behind knowing that they would probably die or be seriously injured

or he didn't know and went to Ostania thinking that they would be much better without him, since he was aware that he fought a lot with his wife and that his son preferred his mother over him, only to later learn that Luwen was bombed, that there is a record of his wife's body but that his son, like other children, is missing.

Or he had planned to leave Westalis, but not yet. Maybe that "work trip" he had was actually a spy mission that was going to take a few days, His plan was to finish that mission, return to Luwen, spend a few last days with his family and that is why he promised [redacted] that when he returned he would take him to the fair, then finally he would return to Ostania thinking that they're going to be better without him.Unfortunately his plan failed and he never got to say goodbye to [redacted] because he never got to return to Luwen.

In either case, he assumed that [redacted] had died because from his point of view, what chance did a little boy as weak and cowardly as his son have of surviving in a war without the care of an adult? If he didn't die from one of the bombs, then he must have starved to death.

When he arrived in Ostania, he burned his things from his previous identity (like Twilight when he was no longer Robert), but before throwing away his old wallet with westalian money and fake documents, he opened it for a moment and realized that it still had a small picture of his son, he immediately regretted opening it because he is very conscious that he has to get rid of ALL the things from his life in Westalis, but now he simply cannot burn the picture of the little boy.

He folded the photo and since then, he never saw it again, (he hid it more than Twilight hides his spy equipment in the Forger house lmao), but suddenly one day, by fate, he sees a ghost on the street, a blond man too similar to his deceased son to be coincidence, although he is trained and knows his memory is perfect, he tries to chalk it up to bad memory since it's been over 20 years since he saw the boy.

(I think Yuri did tell his boss about his sister's husband, so he knows the “ f***ing Loid Forger” by name, but he doesn't know what he looks like since Yuri only has pictures of his sister and if he has any pictures of his sister where there's Loid he probably cropped him out of the picture XD).

He doesn't interact with the man, he only saw him in the distance for a few seconds, but he still finds himself unsettled by the creepy similarity, so, for the first time in 20 years, he pulls out the box in which he's had hidden the only reminder that he ever had a family, the photo was bent, torn, crumpled, dusty and generally in very bad condition, yet he can still see the boy's features in it and although the ink on the lettering is smudged and almost fading, he can still read “[redacted] - 19xx” on the back.

Now, here I use a plot convenience to create some scenario where for some reason he lose that photo and for some reason Yuri finds it and realizes it belongs to his boss, he would see the photo and say something like “hey he looks a bit like the bastard Lotty” but I don't think he would suspect anything immediately since:

[redacted] was very young in that picture.

The kid's name is on the picture

It belongs to his boss, and I don't think he would question his superior.

So dismiss the similarity as a curious coincidence.

I'd have to think of a scenario where this makes sense, but let's imagine that Yuri keeps that photo in his coat with the intention of returning it to his boss the next day but he has an accident like I don't know, gets hit by another truck XD but this time he gets badly hurt so he has to go to the hospital.

They call Yor to go see his brother, but seeing her so worried and crying, Loid decides to accompany her for the mission™.

When they arrive, they hand Yor her brother's belongings in a bag, she puts it on her lap and asks the nurse if she can go see him, she says yes to which Yor quickly gets up and drops the bag on the floor, but she is in such a hurry that she runs away and doesn't notice.

Loid is left alone in the living room waiting for his wife, he notices that Yuri's things are on the floor and decides to pick them up, then he notices the small paper that came out of his jacket, so he takes, and when he sees the photo he sees the boy he hasn't seen in his reflection for years.

And naturally he almost fainted.

Because regardless of the identity of his father, Twilight would not be happy that he is alive, he would see him as a threat because naturally his father knows many things about him, the worst thing for a spy.

----_-

If someone for some reason is inspired by this and wants to write something, be my guest, because I seriously can't write 🥲

Thanks to anyone who has read all this jsjsj

(My first language is not English, sorry is there's mistakes🫢)

[sk1fanfiction]

loved ch.3 and 4 sm, you can tell the plot/story has gotten heavier (despite it being heavy since the first one lets bfr), harry was right the malfoy house incident felt like the turning point fs. also, idk why but i literally never ever deeped the fact that molly never met harry or ruby???? like that's so crazy, my brain just assumed it's a given. it's so cute how people came to celebrate the twins' bday (shhh, ik it was for the order meeting) they really do deserve to just be teens, and i'm holding out a little hope that the teen-feels of hbp echoes in here? i'd love to see something between lav and ron or whatever !! also i feel like ruby at least deserves to have her birthday be a 'tee-free day' like wdym he's making her homicidal mad on her own bday smh, he can't read the room (also my fave moments of him were defos the 'innocent angel' act with molly and the hissing at the cat in parseltongue, you're an icon tom. i love you). the death eater initiation is definitely interesting, nott's so annoying that even voldemort got unsettled and bothered by him. actually, voldemort's kind of funny with his internal monologue and lowkey being insecure, my favourite kind of voldemort (and him trying to read bellatrix and thinking she's mad bc he maybeeeee has a bastard son and then leaving his 'talk' for tmrw). poor sirius really needs to move to hogwarts atp or he's going to burn the house down, that's a stressed and depressed father right there. also i just realised ruby doesn't really have her own adult if that makes sense? like harry has sirius, tom has dumbledore and she was meant to have either of them but it's not the same, i think she deserves to be mothered by andromeda but what do i know? on that note, minnie hitting a nerve with tommy? loved it, he deserves it and i am also very intrigued with what he finds out with his snooping and thieving !!

idk why but i literally never ever deeped the fact that molly never met harry or ruby???? like that's so crazy, my brain just assumed it's a given.

Honestly, same (even though I'm the one writing). I even meant to put it earlier because it feels like they should meet but it never seemed to be a good time.

i'm holding out a little hope that the teen-feels of hbp echoes in here?

There will be some!

wdym he's making her homicidal mad on her own bday smh, he can't read the room

He *can't* or perhaps he *can* and decided to be a menace anyway...

the death eater initiation is definitely interesting,

Lol when I said Voldemort made up a fake ritual based off a Pliny the Elder paragraph I definitely was not talking about me.

nott's so annoying that even voldemort got unsettled and bothered by him

He is, after all, Theodore 'master of invisibility' 'i don't' lurk' Nott.

voldemort's kind of funny with his internal monologue and lowkey being insecure

One of the best things about Voldemort is that he is literally just Tom Riddle in a trench coat and a funny hat (although he'd like to deny it)

and him trying to read bellatrix and thinking she's mad bc he maybeeeee has a bastard son and then leaving his 'talk' for tmrw

"don't worry babe i didn't cheat on you, that's just me at nineteen."

poor sirius really needs to move to hogwarts atp or he's going to burn the house down, that's a stressed and depressed father right there.

For real, he misses being 'Professor Gloucester' and keeping tabs on them all the time.

also i just realised ruby doesn't really have her own adult if that makes sense? like harry has sirius, tom has dumbledore and she was meant to have either of them but it's not the same

That's a good point! Dumbledore was originally Ruby's adult before Tom stole him back, Sirius is both Harry and Ruby's adults but recently he's been more Harry's.

i think she deserves to be mothered by andromeda

I mean Andromeda is the OG rebel Slytherin so I see the vision

minnie hitting a nerve with tommy?

She knows him enough to hit where it hurts haha

[b0xerdancer-writes]

It Wasn't Supposed To Happen Like This Part 2

Eris x Rhy's Sister! Reader

Summary: Eris used to be attached at the hip to Rhysand’s younger sister. Now that he has taken over as High Lord of the Autumn Court, his father’s old high table have been pressuring him to take a wife, he comes up with the brilliant lie that hes already courting someone and has been for several years now. Eris asks Rhysand’s little sister, the best way to get away with it and make it believable, to fake court her.

Warnings: Elain and Mor slander (I love Mor but it’s a plot point for later on I promise!), cussing 18+, some nsfw lean but no sex scenes yet, alcohol.

Trope/Prompt: Fake Dating

Word Count: 7,195

Notes: Part 2 is here! get ready for drunk and baby Eris. Also, this is entirely not proofread at all.

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

I was eight, on a visit to the Autumn Court with my father; what was to be discussed I had no clue, and even if I did know I was eight I wouldn’t have understood the big words they used. All I had cared about this day was getting to see my best friend named Eris, a young male who I understood was the son of the Autumn Court High Lord my father was talking with. He was younger than Rhys by many years apparently. We were only a few months apart in our birth, so our parents thought it would be good for us to hang out around each other when they had these meetings.

Last time we had been here Eris had shown me around the gardens, and told me stories about the many creatures he had seen pass through them from his bedroom window. I was excited to think about what our adventure would be today, my father had let me wear pants and a nice blouse this time instead of a dress. 

“If you're going to be running around outside like your brother, the least you can do is save your mother from the heart attack of getting mud and grass stains out of your nice dresses.” My father had laughed and messed with my hair then morning he came to wake me up, clothes and boots snuggly under his arm.

He handed me the neatly folded clothing and pushed me softly towards my bathing room. I excitedly had taken the change of clothes and rushed myself together, eager to finally be able to keep up with Eris. The pants were a dark tan, almost black color, and the blouse was a pretty silver. Once I excitedly made my way back to father he had helped me into the fancy leather boots he had got me, they matched his and folded over at the knees. After he had dealt with my energy, laughing softly and playfully scolding me for not being able to sit still; he had finally corralled me to sit at my vanity table.

He had pulled my hair into two sections, one of them he made into a soft braid at the top, the other he left loose as he pulled the two sections into a ponytail. I never took these small moments for granted, I knew he never acted like this with mom or Rhys, this was a special side of him only I got to see. Once he had deemed my appearance appropriate he took my hand and led me through the house. Once we had made it to the many steps he had picked me up carrying me under my knees by his left arm, my small arms steadied myself by clinging to his shoulder and cloak. I had never really understood how his winnowing worked back then, he bent the world around us and it was an inky black that shimmered like glitter or the stars. It comforted me like how sitting on my balcony and staring at the sky of an evening did, when Rhys would be in Velaris he would occasionally come and sit with me telling me about the stars and constellations. I savored those days before the world became dark. 

Once the world had folded back into place instead of the dark glittering world that was Velaris and the Night Court, I was greeted by gorgeous colors of red, orange, yellow, greens, and browns. Everytime it unfolded around us I was still mesmerized, the view was like something out of the books father would read with me. 

I was drawn from my thoughts as father put me down and grasped my hand, straightening his back out and rolling his shoulders; he gave me a small smile and a nod as he guided us towards the forest house, where Eris stood with his own father. The small red headed male dressed in nice riding clothes could barely contain his energy; trying his best to contain his excitement in front of our fathers, his eyes sparkled as he watched us step through the archway that separated the gardens from the rest of the forest house property. 

Once we had gotten close enough our fathers shook hands dismissing the both of us to whatever shenanigans we would be getting up too and headed inside the large extremely ornate house. Eris was quick to take my hands and lead me through the gardens, various flowers and plants whizzing by as Eris pulled me full sprint down the pathway that led to the woods on the grounds.

“Come on, come on! I have the best thing to show you! I just found it the other day and I think you’ll love it!” His sharp voice as a child was laced with excitement, breaths sharp as he ran. 

“I am! I’m sure I’ll love it, I love everything you show me!” I giggled and picked up my speed to match his own pace. “Nuh Uh, I’m not telling you I want it to be a surprise!” He had flashed me a smile as we had begun weaving through trees.

After a few  minutes of weaving through the trees I realized we were further in than we had ever been before. This section of the woods was thicker and I couldn’t see the house any longer. Eris didn’t seem worried and I trusted him but there was just some kind of unease that something was going to happen.

Eris slowed and giggled “Cover your eyes silly, I said I wanted it to be a surprise.” He rocked on his heels eagerly and I giggled and did what he told me.

Once I had covered my eyes Eris placed a hand on my back and guided me slowly through the woods. We walked for a few more minutes till Eris slowed me to a stop and grasped my hand firmly. His voice was soft as he spoke to me. “You can open your eyes now.” 

The sight in front of me was beautiful, Eris a step in front of me looking at me waiting for my reaction; Sat in the center of a small clearing surrounded by trees with leaves so bright it looked like a fire above us was a quiet pond, the leaves of the trees reflected off the top but it was so clear you could see the bottom. Eris smiled as he watched me take in the scenery  pulling me over to two logs that rested near the edge of the pond, Eris joined me as I sat down on the log the both of us losing ourselves in telling the other stories of what had happened in our lives in the few weeks we hadn’t seen the other. 

After a while we had begun talking about what our parents were having us train in, he was baffled when I had told him I was not being taught how to fight. I had spent my time in the library, reading, and learning about politics. Eris stood and scoffed, crossing his arms and tapping his foot while thinking. I tilted my head at him while giggling, he looked like an adult how he stood and I could only imagine him as a high lord when he would be older in the same pose. He looked down at me with a quirked brow and looked like he was about to question my giggles when his eyes widened and he smiled brightly at me.

“I’ve got it! I’ll teach you how to wield a sword myself! Only problem is we don't have any wooden practice swords here.” He  covered his mouth while thinking before he snapped his fingers. “We can just use sticks, there's bound to be some around here that would work, I mean we are out in the middle of the woods.”

I nodded eagerly in agreement and pointed to some bushes near the edge of the clearing. “I’ll check those bushes over there, thank you Eris, it means the world to me! You are gonna be the best High Lord one day I mean it!” 

He smiled brightly at me “When I’m High Lord of Autumn you’ll be my High Lady!” I didn’t even have time to respond before he had run off to his own set of bushes.

I turned my back to him as I felt my face heat up, High Ladies weren’t a thing back then and just him speaking it into the world seemed blasphemous. I kneeled on the forest floor and pushed some of the bush leaves away, I scrounged around the bushes for several minutes and came up empty handed. I stood up and dusted off my knees, I froze up as I heard a stick break deeper out into the woods. 

One stick broke and then another, the noises were rapidly making their way at me but I was frozen. I couldn't move, couldn't call out for Eris, couldn’t do anything. Before I knew it I heard my name be called as I was pushed behind Eris who stood between me and a startled deer that was now reared up, Eris had a hold on my left wrist as he pushed me behind him and his other held a thick medium sized stick that he had pointed towards the creature.  The scene in front of me seemed like it was slowed down as Eris put himself between me and the creature trying to protect me, that was the first time I ever felt that tug. Before I could truly understand what was happening That gold thread snapped in my chest and pulled my breath from me, tears began welling in my eyes as I realized what it meant. 

I knew if Eris didn’t turn around and mention the bond here and now I would have to wait for it to snap into place for him. Knew that I would have to resign myself to just informing my father and hope he would see it as a reason to finally solidify mine and Eris’s engagement. We had both known what our fathers meeting meant, why they were so happy with us becoming close friends. 

I wanted to sob when he turned around to me and instead of saying anything about a bond all he had asked was if I was okay. I fought back tears but they still welled in my eyes and he pulled me close, worry laced in his eyes. 

“Hey, hey, shhhhh, it's okay the deer didn’t mean to hurt you, it was just scared and not thinking straight. It's okay I’ve got you, nothing is gonna happen to you.” He pulled me into a hug and I began to sob into his shoulder as he rubbed my back softly.

We stayed there till my tears dried, all thoughts of training lost as we made our way back through the forest house. Eris had me tucked softly into his side as we walked, he motioned to a swing that hung from a tree and softly asked if I wanted to sit there for a bit. We sat on the swing Eris keeping it rocking softly, before both of our fathers pushed the door open. My father looked us over, once he had noticed the now dried tear tracks he rushed over keeling softly in front of the swing to take my face into his hands. 

“What happened Starlight?” his metal rings were cold against my face. 

I sniffled again as Eris moved to rub my back again softly and answered my father for me. “We were out in the woods exploring and there was a startled deer, it charged her but I put myself between them and scared the deer back the other way.”

My father looked him over before he patted him on the shoulder. “Good job my boy, you'll make a good male when you are older.”

Eris beamed at him and I saw his eyes glance over to Beron, who I noticed made a small nod of approval at him. I felt Eris relax beside me and roll his shoulders back. I sniffled and looked up at him and my father stood up to talk to Beron in a hushed voice. 

“I wasn’t able to thank you properly early Eris. So, thank you for making sure I was safe.” I scooted closer to him on the swing and pulled him into a hug.

After a few moments my father and Beron had both nodded agreeing on whatever they had been talking about and shook hands. My father walked back over to collect me from the swing, when I pulled back from Eris he had picked me up the same as he had earlier. 

“I’ll see you next time Eris, I look forward to seeing what adventure you think of next time.” I waved at him and he waved back, jumping off the swing to stand next to Beron who placed a firm hand on the younger male's shoulder. 

Before I knew it the world was covered in that shimmering inky darkness and then as it unfolded around us I was back home in Velaris. My father set me down gently on the moonstone floor and his voice was soft when he called out to me before I could slip up the stairs that led to my bed chambers.

“Are you okay, I mean other than the deer incident? It seems something more is bothering you.” His brows were furrowed but his eyes were soft. 

I had to fight back a sob from breaking through my lips, but as my father he could already tell I was going to cry. He swept me up in his arms and sat us both on the couch, it would be just me and him in Velaris this week. Mother was at the camps with Rhys, which surprised me father would let her from his view. I had been told she was to have another baby soon and it was due within the next few months now. They must have had another argument, I reasoned, that was slowly becoming a regular thing but I never knew what it was about; all I knew was when I walked in on them arguing one time mother had glared at me and father’s eyes had softened on me.

“Starlight talk to me, what happened my love?” He ran a soothing hand on my upper back as I began to sob into his chest.

I could hardly speak over the sobs that wracked my body but father had always been patient with me. “Eris,” I hiccuped and he soothed me, telling me to take my time. “When he stood between me and the deer, that bond you've told me about in the story books.” I paused for a moment to collect myself and stop myself from sobbing uncontrollably again. 

Father stilled and his voice was quiet. “He’s your mate, but I take it he didn’t feel it snap into place himself. Don’t worry Starlight he will one of these days, till then you at least have the comfort knowing you will be married to him one of these days when you are older. It will all be okay my dear.” 

Father had sat with me there for hours as I sobbed, I couldn’t even quite understand why I had been crying really.  I still didn’t quite understand why other than maybe I was just overwhelmed by the ache that accompanied the bond. I must have gotten lost staring at myself in the mirror because I was pulled back into the moment by a soft knock on the outside of the changing room and Eris had popped his head in.

“You Okay? Need help with your dress?” His brows are furrowed slightly, just enough though that the smallest of creases begins to form.

“Oh, Sorry, yeah I’m okay I must have gotten lost in my thoughts.” I  rubbed my temples and before I could even move to zip up the back of the dress myself Eris had slipped in behind me and zipped it up himself.

Resting his chin on my shoulder he looked into my eyes through the mirror, his hands resting on my hips. “Talk to me darling, what's going on in that pretty head of yours?” 

I could’ve stopped breathing right there, I could die happy even if this was the most affection I got from him. “Just distracted, thinking back on our childhood together to think of stories I can tell at gatherings so no one suspects anything.” A half truth. 

He raised a brow at me with a smile on his face. “Always thinking ahead of the game, what story got you so lost in your head you couldn't hear me call out to you earlier.” 

“The deer incident.” I whispered.

“Ahhh. Makes sense, what story are you thinking to accompany me saving your life when we were eight?” He moved from my shoulder, straightening behind me so he had to look down at me, and his hands found their way to my hair as he undid my current style and began winding a braid into it.

“Haven’t quite thought of that yet, just stuck out to me for some reason.” I watched as a small content smile covered his features, finishing whatever style he had weaved into my hair. 

“We will think of something love,” he smiled and sighed, his hands finding their perch on the bare section of my shoulders. He laughed to himself. “Could always say it was the first time you realized you were in love with me, for saving your life.”

I turned in his arms and hugged him, laying my cheek against where his heart would have been. “As always Eris, you are brilliant. What would I do without you?” 

“Be lost in your own thoughts? Getting trampled by a deer? Honestly I can continue listing off events.” He laughed and it sounded like a melody to me, I could hear where it rumbled in his chest before it had even made its way out from between those lips.

I smiled and took his hand in mine to lead him back through that curtain to further our efforts in making it seem like we had been courting for years. “My hero.” I smiled softly and rolled my eyes. 

He laughed and let me lead him out into the shop again, the heels of his boots clicked against the floor and he smiled down at me. “They will bring the dress up to the house for us, I  told them we had more shopping to do.” 

I nodded and thanked him softly, I saw the two female fae peek out from the back room both giggling and trying to hide it behind their hands. He separated his hand from mine and moved to hold the shop door open for me. “After you, my lady.” 

He giggled and I smiled, matching his energy. “Why thank you, my most handsome high lord.”

After I had passed the door threshold he was back at my side, arm slung over my shoulders. “So I’m handsome?” he leaned his weight onto me looking down at me.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head at him. “And you think I’m pretty. Point?” 

He laughed and it was so infectious I was quickly joining in as we moved around between various shops on the ground floor of the palace. We had made a stop here or there, Eris had purchased an outfit for Rita’s tonight: a deep V cut black shirt with some black high waisted pants that made the shirt poof out more. He planned to just wear his current boots but had adorned the outfit with a burnt muted red suit jacket that had gold detailing.  In the same store as that, we found a dress in the same red color that was just a simple backless halter that had a slit on each side. We had worn those outfits out. 

We were currently in a jewelry store at Eris’s request. He had picked out an arm band for me that was gold and carved to look like leaves winding around my upper arm; It had a matching anklet that had Eris sold on it. He had actually given me puppy eyes when he spotted it. I was left alone for a few moments while I looked through the many necklaces the store had on display. Eris returned 5 minutes later with a soft smile on his face but an excited glint in his eyes that just screamed he was up to something that I wouldn’t know about till later. 

I was torn between two necklaces, a golden chain that had two leaves suspending a ruby between them or a gold multi layered one with small onyx gems hanging from each layer.

Eris leaned over my shoulder to look at both of them. “Just get both but wear the onyx one to Rita’s the other one seems more intimate like I would have gifted it to you, wear it with the dress for equinox.”  

He made damn good sense and I had taken both necklaces up to the counter and was ready to go with what I had in the small basket I carried but Eris stopped me with a soft hand on my waist. When I turned to look at him his face was a bright red, and his eyes couldn’t meet mine. 

He had to clear his throat before he spoke. “While we are here, I like this store's designs, I mean. Fuck I butchered that.” He let out a bitter laugh and shook his head at himself, clearly disappointed in his delivery.  “If we had been courting this long, I would have already given you a ring as a promise. I like this store’s designs and craftsmanship. I would like to look at what they have, see if there's anything we both kind of like?”

I had smiled and nodded, taking the step forward to pull him towards the rings, it was sweet how flustered he had gotten at the idea of ring shopping. A short older male came from the back with an odd magnifying device over his right eye and a thick beard, Eris explained what we were looking for and the gray-haired male studied us both before he pulled several out. One was a simple gold band of leaves and vines tangling within itself, Eris liked the simplicity of it he had murmured under his breath. There was a topaz one carved to look like a rose, the band mimicking the vines and thorns, Eris simply said he didn’t feel that topaz fit the design and didn’t think roses fit either of us, that I could agree with. Eris had finally settled on a moonstone blue sandstone ring, the jewel on it looked like the night sky tiny flecks inside glittering like the stars. The gem was set between two branches or vines with leaves and other tiny sandstone gems.

The man had checked us out and packaged everything safely; letting us wear the golden leaf bands, Eris had to help me with the anklet due to my pumps, and the onyx necklace. Though when he had handed Eris the ring to put on me, the older male had done it earlier to see if it needed any adjustments to which was done with magic, Eris was red in the face and flustered as he took my hand in his. The male had made a noise that sounded kinda like a laugh and urged him on, Eris had swallowed his breath as he slid the ring onto my hand. Eris was startled when the man landed a firm pat on Eris’s back and the man gave him a smile and wink as he slid back into the back. 

Eris led us outside where he took a giant breath in, hands on his knees as he shook himself out. “You Okay Eris? Seems like you got really worked up in there.” 

Eris looked at me and smiled. “Yeah, just fine, that was somehow way more nerve wracking than I expected it to be honestly with him there. That guy, cauldron, had one firm hand.”

I laughed as Eris rubbed the spot on his back and shot me a glare. “You just, sorry, you just seemed so nervous asking me to look at them, but were so in the zone analyzing each ring, but then got so nervous putting it on my hand.”

Eris straightened and huffed at me. “It had to make sense! It had to be a mix of both of us but since it was for you it needed more of you, but had to stay impressive enough for anyone at court that might ask to see the promise ring.” 

I smiled and walked past him, leaning close to whisper a quick “Thank you handsome.” Into his ear before I started towards my brother’s townhouse. I'd drop the other bags of our stuff off there and pick them up on my way home. 

Eris caught up to me with a sarcastic huff but still smiling. The sun had begun to set, everyone wouldn’t be at Rita’s till after the sun had disappeared behind the mountains and the sky was dark. I looked around trying to think of something to do till we would all meet up. 

“Well, I’m officially out of ideas and we have maybe an hour till everyone will start meeting up at Rita’s.” I huffed and put my hands on my hips as I turned to look at the red headed male. 

He tilted his head at me and his bangs fell in his face. “Well miss sass, how are there any good cafes  on our way to Rita’s? Wouldn’t hurt to be seen in public together so rumors start to spread.” The way the setting sun leaked around him he looked like one of the gods, before the cauldron and before the mother existed. Thank the mother this male was mine to worship like one too. 

“There is one I think, they serve small pastries, coffees, and teas.” I had to think about where it was in relation to Rita's. I often stopped in early mornings on my free days when I wouldn’t be doing anything but reading all day. 

“Perfect! They have outside seats?” He smiled at me and mocked me by putting his own hands on his hips. 

“Yes they do, thank you very much.” I  laughed and stuck my tongue out at him.  He reached out and grabbed it between his pointer and middle finger with a smirk.

“Then lead the way, but watch that attitude my dear could get you into real trouble one day.” He winked at me and I saw some of the females that were passing by blushing and giggling at his remark. 

Once he had released my tongue, my face turned scarlet, he had truly caught me off guard with that move. I smoothed out my skirts and looped my arm with his. Weaving through the streets of Velaris till we came to stop at a small cafe decked in pastel blue and green colors. I pushed the door open and a small bell rang, I could hear a clatter from the back and quickly a female with hair the color of wine peaked from the back. An excited squeak left her mouth as she dusted her hands on her apron and moved to wash her hands. Her name was Panthea and she was by far my favorite baker we had in Velaris, her pastries were so well loved she had managed to purchase a storefront that was right on the Sidra.  

She greeted us happily and asked what we both wanted, I told her just my same as always, a sweetened caramel concoction that was her signature and a pumpkin roll.  Eris studied the pastry case for a few minutes and spotted her cinnamon knots at the bottom of the case, they had a cream cheese icing on them and Eris asked for two of them with some kind of apple tea. Panthea boxed both pastries up and handed us our cups, Eris once again held the door open for me. He sat his cup down on one of the wooden tables and pulled my chair out for me as dramatically as he possibly could while still making it a believable romantic gesture. 

I snorted and rolled my eyes moving to take a seat. “My Prince Charming.” I mused at him.

He snorted himself as he pushed me in. “Anything for my princess then, I aim to please.” taking his own seat he tore a piece of his cinnamon knot off and popped it in his mouth. 

We spent the hour making cheesy jokes and gossiping about whatever we could, falling back into that familiar rhythm from all those years ago. At some point Eris had gotten bored and started throwing tiny paper balls he tore from his napkin at me. One of the balls smacked straight in the center of my forehead and he began cackling hard enough he had to take a moment and rest his forehead against the table. I joined him, having to take a moment myself to grab the tiny ball and chuck it back at him. Though I had landed it in his shirt and he began howling as he  shook his shirt out, the ball hitting the ground. 

After we picked up our mess and threw our trash away we set off for Rita’s. I had to wipe a stray tear from laughing too hard with him as we both calmed down and spotted Lucien leaning against the outside wall of Rita’s. The younger male waved at us and we waved back once we had gotten close enough Eris looped his arm around Lucien’s shoulder and pulled him in for a hug.

Lucien had told us the others had beat us by a few minutes and were already inside, they had winnowed apparently while the three of us chose to walk. It would be a full party tonight Lucien had stated, everyone had decided to come, which meant Nesta who I loved for her sarcasm, and Elain. Great.

I hadn’t even noticed Eris had stiffened up behind me as I hugged Lucien, but Lucien must have because he grabbed Eris’s shoulder and nodded. “I’ll give you two a minute, take a breather before you come inside, tensions seem high tonight.” 

Eris nodded and gave Lucien a small smile, letting out a shaky breath. This was it, the calm before the storm that was my family, I’m sure there would be venom laced in every word exchanged tonight. Thank the cauldron for alcohol, if it got too bad I would order a round of shots for the table and then pull Eris to the dance floor. Eris looked up at me with a sad smile, a smile I understood all too well. I had known this smile since his first brother was born; it was the smile that said ‘It’s time to put up our masks. No more just me and you, we have to put on a show and let me only see a facade.’

I gave Eris a small smile back and wrapped my arms around him in a reassuring hug. “Hey, it’s going to be okay. If the boys get too much we can have a code or a signal or something and I’ll step in.” He hesitated to agree which I knew meant even if he did need to signal me he wouldn’t but I played along and gave him a code word and let him know if he couldn’t get the word out to just tap me twice in quick succession. 

He let out a shaky breath. “Right, mask up. Thank you darling.” 

I knew how deep their words cut into him. Had been there enough times to see him breakdown over becoming like his father. Had cried to my own father when the lashings first started because Beron was hurting my mate but neither of us could do anything about how Beron saw fit to raise his heir who didn’t even know I was his mate. I had been forced by my father to bite my tongue anytime anyone talked bad about Eris in our household, to protect Eris my father told me. He entwined his fingers with mine and pulled me towards the door to Rita’s. 

Inside the party was full swing, lights darkened with fancy lights coming from the live band on stage. Lively attendees filled the dancefloor, and under a faint light in a back corner semi near the bar around a large booth with additional chairs pulled up for Cassian and Azriel was the inner circle and Lucien. Everyone was engaged in conversations except for Lucien who was sipping on a glass of fire brandy from the looks of it. 

It was Lucien who was the first to even notice us approach, he scooted over for both of us to fit in the booth. Eris sat next to him and I was on the outside edge of the booth, Feyre chirped a happy greeting and I nodded and smiled back at her. Azriel and Mor shot a glare at Eris, Cassian waved and took a sip of whatever dark liquor he was drinking and continued his conversation with Nesta. The latter gave me a warm smile and tipped her glass towards me in greeting, everyone but Azriel, Mor and Elain had given us some kind of small greeting. 

Small talk took over the table. Lucien and Eris finding comfort in each other, I took the chance to slip from the table and grab me and Eris some drinks. I got Eris a glass of the same fire brandy his brother had been drinking, it was an export of the Autumn Court but I knew it was his favorite, and got myself a glass of a spiked Cinnamon and apple cider that was house made. I brought the two glasses back to the table but before I had even made it there I could see the discomfort that lay beneath Eris’s mask.  They had waited till I left the table to begin berating him and it angered me, none of them could see me except for Lucien and Eris. Lucien shot me a warning glance, it meant they were getting real nasty with Eris. I felt my blood boiling and I tried to calm it even slightly as I stepped closer to them, the sound from the band drowning out my movements. 

“What right do you even have to ask her to do that, Eris? You are no better than your father, for all we know you whisk her away to the equinox dance and she comes back to us in a worse condition than Mor was because she trusts you for whatever reason. Though I’m sure it's just a flawed judgment on her part.” Azriel growled it at the red head. 

I growled under my breath as I raked my own claws across all of their shields as I sat down. I watched Mor flinch as the claws raked against hers and I glared at all of them. Rhy’s eyes found the anger in mine and I saw him recoil slightly realizing he should've stopped them from saying anything while I was gone. 

“Absolutely pathetic.” I growled, passing Eris’s cup to him, not bothering to look at anyone else. “I would have thought  you knew better than to behave like complete and utter pricks in my absence.” 

“Its fine, they're just trying to protect you.” Eris tried to defend them but I wasn’t going to let him be berated all night. 

“No. Eris, it's not fine.” I softened my voice just for him. “My brothers should know you are one of my oldest friends and I will not let them talk bad about you. I have held my tongue long enough. I will not tolerate them saying shit like this to your face at all. I was forced to tolerate it behind your back.”

Eris’s mask cracked just a hair as I could tell he wanted to cry. And Azriel went to say something else, I shot him a dark look. “You have no right to say a word Azriel, you are no better, you only think you are. That ego doesn’t look good on you. Who are you to speak when you do not even know the entire story behind what you bring up.” 

Elain scoffed and I had to stop myself from ripping into her own ego as I took a large swing from my own drink. Azriel shut up though he knew I could rip him apart with pretty words as easily as Rhys could mist someone.  Mor flinched  and tried to defend herself. 

“Save it, I don't want to hear any of your disappointing excuses for being terrible people. He has been my friend since birth and he is important to me in that regard. I know him better than I know some of you, I have let you slander him because father assured me it was the right thing to do but I am finally done. Apologize for your shitty behavior.” A murmur of apologies echoed from every member of the table and Lucien raised his brows and took a sip from his glass, Eris  looked like he wanted to cry even more now.

“Additionally, did I not run half of this court during Rhys’s absence? Am I not just a few years younger than any of you born fae at this table.” A chorus of yeahs found me. 

“Then I will do as I please. And if that means courting Eris, courting my best friend even if it is fake,  so be it because I make my own decisions.” I growled and sat down. 

Rhys smiled and nodded, though he wasn’t off the leash himself he at least approved of what I had to say on the matter. Eris took a sip of his fire brandy but his hand found my thigh under the table and he squeezed softly, a silent thank you. Eris’s hand eventually found mine and I played with his rings, if it was comfort he wanted, it was comfort he would get. I only got up from the table to refill our drinks, but when I got back each time it seemed my outburst had silenced them from saying anything to Eris. His warm smile was all that greeted me when I returned with another glass of fire brandy and apple cider in hand. 

Rounds of shots and appetizers had made it through the table when Mor had finally pulled all the girls to dance. Rhys pulled Azriel outside to talk, leaving me with both red heads and an incredibly intoxicated Cassian who only managed to mumble a “I'm proud of you, I’m gonna go find Nesta, my pretty lady.” 

Lucien dismissed himself to get another glass of his own fire brandy. He had just finished his first glass and was eager to talk to his brother rather than actually drink, though I couldn’t blame the kid. Now that it was just me and Eris left at the table he let his mask slip, he had made it to six glasses of brandy, drinking away the discomfort that was my brothers. 

He had greeted me with a big smile when I turned to check in on him. I hadn’t even been able to get a word out before he was thanking me. “I can not begin to describe the many ways in which I am thankful for what you did for me my dear.” 

Oh no, he was romantic drunk, and it would be in front of the entire inner circle. “You, my pretty lady, are absolutely, irrevocably wonderful. I am honored to have you defend me so passionately.” He grasped my hand and smiled up at me, I’m cutting him off myself this is his last glass I swear.

I shushed him and he wrapped his arms around my waist, while he was seated and I was still standing so he buried his face into my stomach and murmured continual thanks to me. Lucien appeared back at the table and he took a sip before looking over his glass at me. 

“I’ll take him to the bathroom.” Lucien mumbled rubbing his temples and sat his glass down. “Come on Eris, we are going to the bathroom.”

The older sibling whined into my stomach something that sounded like a “I don't wanna leave the pretty lady”

I had to pry his hands from around my waist and tilt his head to look up at me, he gave me those pretty puppy dog eyes. “Eris honey, go with your brother to the bathroom. I’ll be right here when you get back and we can go and dance then.” 

He nodded an agreement and stood to walk with Lucien. I had to stifle a laugh when he tried to whisper-yell to Lucien. “Lucien did you hear that she called me honey!”

All Luucien could answer was a small “Yes I heard Eris, what a lucky male you are brother.” and flashed me a look that screamed you owe me for this.

I happily sunk down into my seat and nursed my third glass of my apple cider. After a few moments I saw Mor who wouldn’t make eye contact with me slide into the seat across from me. I wanted to groan thinking my peaceful alone time with my cider was about to get ruined.

I however, was caught off guard when she said “You know the true story about what happened?” I nodded and she took in a sharp breath. 

“Then I want to apologize, all this time I thought you just hated me because I took your chance to marry him away.” Her tone was entirely defeated.

“Don’t think anything of it Mor, you had every reason to think that was my problem, It wasn’t my place to start a scene so soon. Plus Eris told me about the uh,” I motioned to her stomach  and she flinched “Wasn’t my place to out you on that though you should clear it up with everyone soon. If anything at least with Cassian, he deserves to know.”

She nodded and gave me a small smile. “What can I do to make it up to you?”

I smiled back at her, our first understanding with each other in hundreds of years. “Just don’t slander him anymore and don’t let anyone else slander him either.” she just nodded and reached out her hand. I shook it, a small barely noticeable tattoo of a butterfly appeared on our inner wrists. She made a deal with me about Eris. 

Next thing I knew I had the scent of firewood and cinnamon around me, Eris’s arms encircling me and his happily intoxicated voice chirped at me. “You promised me we could go dance when I got back.”

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[actual-changeling]

i love thinking about episode plots and making them so much worse.

imagine scully's fake suicide in kitsunegari but instead of there being only linda bowman/nothing she actually shoots the real scully (in the shoulder/leg/non lethal body area of your choosing) and mulder is actually holding her covered in blood—just that he believes she is already dead while she's slowly slipping away begging him to see her.

the blood is there, the pain is real, her body is too heavy and not heavy enough in his arms.

and scully really needs medical attention

her palms are sticky with blood and pressed against his cheeks so she can pull him in, so she can touch their foreheads together, so he can feel her breathe against his lips.

dying, broken, both of them at absolute rock bottom, and she is just whispering "i'm not dead" over and over and over.

extra points for setting the episode after two fathers/one son instead for maximum psychic damage