#I only learned how pool works in 2022

[peapod20001]

The only Mario and/or Sonic game I actually LEGITIMATELY played and enjoyed was Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games

I knew NO lore or story for either of those franchises except the names of the characters you could play as

[waitmyturtles]

Turtles Catches Up With Old GMMTV: The Eclipse OGMMTVC Rewatch to Reexamine "Genre BLs," Along With a Critical Take on Branded Ships

[What’s going on here? After joining Tumblr and discovering Thai BLs through KinnPorsche in 2022, I began watching GMMTV’s new offerings -- and realized that I had a lot of history to catch up on, to appreciate the more recent works that I was delving into. From tropes to BL frameworks, what we’re watching now hails from somewhere, and I’m learning about Thai BL's history through what I’m calling the Old GMMTV Challenge (OGMMTVC). Starting with recommendations from @absolutebl on their post regarding how GMMTV is correcting for its mistakes with its shows today, I’ve made an expansive list to get me through a condensed history of essential/classic/significant Thai BLs produced by GMMTV and many other BL studios. My watchlist, pasted below, lists what I’ve watched and what’s upcoming, along with the reviews I’ve written so far. Today, I take a look at my very first GMMTV series that I ever watched, The Eclipse, to examine its prowess as a "genre" BL, and to take a critical stab at the branded ship model vis à vis a successful narrative.]

HELLO. Due to BIG SUMMER LIFE (!!!) (WOW -- work trips, work changes, new projects, the regular family stuff, so much travel!), I've been a couple months delayed on getting some words down on my recent rewatch of The Eclipse for my Old GMMTV Challenge project, but I'm glad to take some time now to talk about this show.

I'm at a point in the project where my syllabus (pasted at the bottom of this post) will take me into the territory of many shows that I've already watched since starting my Thai BL journey in the fall of 2022, shows that I watched while they were airing, such as Moonlight Chicken, Bed Friend, Be My Favorite, and others. (I will be offering short, non-rewatch notes on some of these shows as I go along in the chronology.) The Eclipse is one of these.

I wanted to specifically give The Eclipse a full rewatch for a couple of reasons, the biggest one being very personal, in that The Eclipse was my very first ever-EVER GMMTV series (!!!). And, the only Thai BL I had watched, in the late summer and fall of 2022, prior to The Eclipse was KinnPorsche.

So! At the time of my watching The Eclipse in 2022, I had nooooo idea who First Kanaphan or Khaotung Thanawat were; I didn't know about the existence of branded ships in Thai BLs yet; I didn't know about the prevalence and regularity of side couples in Thai BLs, as VegasPete had been my first exposure to that; I didn't effing know about the fabulousity that is Neo Trai, none of it.

I simply just watched the show on the recommendation of a dear mutual. And, fuck, man, I totally had expected WAY more salacious material in The Eclipse coming off of KinnPorsche! At first, I was like, Thailand is WILDIN', and then it was just the GMMTV-PG FirstKhao smooches, which was fine, they were great, ha! I wasn't disappointed, but lmao, that was my mindset and understanding of my very brief introduction to Thai BLs at that very moment -- I thought it was all guns and butts and mafiosos and pool sex.

Besides rewatching The Eclipse with my now-very-experienced Thai BL glasses on to fix ALL of those past assumptions, I also wanted to rewatch the show in the understanding that filmmaker and former politician, Golf Tanwarin (the first transgender member of parliament in Thailand's House of Representatives) was addressing homophobia and leveraging their screenplay to talk about themes of stifling conformation in Thai society vis à vis the fictional environment of the Suppalo boys school. I want to demarcate this moment as an important one: at this point of my syllabus, the late summer and fall of 2022, the Thai BL landscape exists still mostly within the no-homophobia bubble, with only a handful of shows (He's Coming To Me, Secret Crush On You, etc.) stepping out of that bubble to grab the theme of homophobia and really wrangle with it frontally by way of familial and social acceptance.

However, I have to admit something as I write this review. During this recent rewatch, I had the benefit not just of my past historical chronological viewing of old shows behind me to judge The Eclipse's success as a show and as a messenger of deeper themes past straightforward romance; but I also had the benefit of foresight into the future, seeing how First and Khao served as a branded couple again in Only Friends, a series that, I believe, flopped in its narrative end due to the show prioritizing happy endings for its branded couples, rather than taking the time and the risks to break the branded ships up (or, at least, rock their foundations) to offer sophisticated social commentary on casual sex, as the initial marketing for Only Friends had initially promised.

In other words, I had critical glasses on for FirstKhao's performance, not necessarily for the actors themselves (well, kinda, lemme be for real), but I also wanted to understand better how The Eclipse centered THEM as an IT, a tangible IT, the branded ship, either against and/or vis à vis Golf's underlying critical messaging on social conformity and homophobia.

Unfortunately, through that critical lens, what I gained out of this rewatch of The Eclipse is a confirmed judgement that the common Thai BL structure of very much CENTERING a branded ship, especially emanating out of GMMTV, the central home for branded ships in Thailand, will almost CERTAINLY render a show attempting to make higher messages a weaker one in the end.

I found myself FULLY enjoying The Eclipse out of the FirstKhao sequences. When I first watched The Eclipse in 2022, I was a Thua hater, and I engaged for the very first time with @respectthepetty and others on subsequent defenses of Thua's outing of Akk and Ayan in the context of Akk and Ayan acting like loose-cannon-dillholes themselves. (This was a fabulous intro to my engaging with others on Tumblr, by the way, and I remember this discourse fondly!)

This time around, with the blessing of hindsight, I fully appreciated Louis Thanawin's FANTASTIC performance at the end of the series, as an overly frustrated and overwhelmed student wrangling with his sexuality, his attraction to Kan, and watching Kan's own struggles with his own sexuality, along with dealing with an overbearing stepfather -- and all of that happening while he was watching the hypocrisy of Akk slowly warming to Ayan, while Akk simultaneously punished The World Remembers gang. Louis, as Thua, fucking nailed it, and was an utter cutie at the end with Kan (including in Our Skyy 2, swoon). And forget about Neo Trai: Neo as Kan was one of the best performances I've seen of Neo's, as a student struggling literally to the second to manage his outward displays of automatic attraction to Thua for the sake of maintaining a façade of "order" for the Suppalo environment.

How does all of this impact my thoughts on FirstKhao as a branded ship, and AkkAyan as a fictional couple in The Eclipse?

There was so much great commentary on mental health, on social pressures and conformity, and on the reliance of history to contextualize and engage in suppression, in this show. The show hit hard and impactfully on these themes. As I just mentioned, the story of Thua was a welcome inclusion of the various ways in which homophobia impacted the Suppalo environment on micro- and macro-levels. The story of Dika is also gutting, and I appreciated The Eclipse for never turning an eye away from Ayan's continued suffering at losing his uncle so traumatically. (I also understand that there was quite a lot of conservative protest against The Eclipse in Thailand, and that the show being shortened by two episodes may have been related to this, along with the show airing during ongoing student protests.)

Unfortunately, I believe The Eclipse tripped on itself when it stepped away from these themes to move to more lighthearted moments with AkkAyan. I think the centering of this ship led to a number of key unfulfilled narrative moments, including a key factual skip later in the series, when Ayan indicates to Akk that Akk had made a promise to reveal his work against The World Remembers, a promise that did not have prior reference in earlier episodes.

This isn't to say that a budding couple can't have sweet moments. And we saw a tremendous amount of trauma coming from both Akk and Ayan, with Ayan's ongoing anger at Suppalo, and Akk's fear of rejection for his and his family's financial state, leading him to embody Suppalo's culture of suppression for the sake of his own survival at the school. These very-deeply messed-up fictional boys absolutely deserved and needed love.

But I found myself taking the most notes on this show when I felt the tones of previous scenes of protest, trauma, or attack were juxtaposed against getting Akk and Ayan together for a subsequent scene, especially later in the series, when their flirtation continued to grow. I felt this particularly during the outdoor Twitter scene in the bleachers, when Akk and Ayan were using tweets as a means of finding out who was running the counterprotest Twitter account, which was placed right after a particularly brutal attack against The World Remembers. I needed to flip my emotional attention back to a practiced GMMTV routine of watching a ship continue to warm up to each other for memorable and meme-able moments, and I found that juxtaposition jarring.

As opposed to Not Me, GMMTV's first "genre" BL that played with a sandbox outside of romance, The Eclipse was on steadier feet. While Not Me really tried to play around de-centering a shipped pair in OffGun, it truly stumbled in rushing back to inject romance throughout the storyline, particularly with DanYok taking up unexpected and discordant room (ACAB, YOK). And outside of GMMTV, we've seen many "genre" BLs actually work really well, most notably to that point in 2022, the crime-driven Manner of Death (MaxTul, my beloved), which balanced a developing romance with a legitimately interesting and unwinding mystery, all with a sharp and solid screenplay that didn't stray from its intended purpose. (Maybe I'm getting my hopes up too soon, but we're seeing "genre" BL doing well right now with 4 Minutes, and GMMTV has another, riskier, "genre" BL coming up in its crime-driven series, Kidnap.)

GMMTV, however, demands something economically from its shows, a sellable final product that can be transmogrified into fan meetings, branded items, and most of all, enduring and memorable legacies for the branded ships that center most of its BLs. At the time of The Eclipse's airing, both First and Khao had been previously paired with others (First with Gawin Caskey in Not Me; Khao with Podd Suphakorn in Tonhon Chonlotee), and the sao wais had been eagerly awaiting the debut of FirstKhao, and were fed nicely.

I can't say, quantifiably, if the majority of the global Thai BL fandom, or even the majority of the GMMTV fandom, are sao wais who only watch GMMTV shows for branded ships and guaranteed happy endings between shipped actors that only partner with the same person over and over again. I also believe that at this moment in time (in 2024), that we may be seeing differences in preferences emanating from fandoms based in Thailand, China, elsewhere in Asia, and globally, particularly in Europe and North and South America, between fans that will willingly support branded ships through very bad narrative shows, versus fans that prefer well-scripted shows above all else.

I think, after the economic earthquake that was the airing of 2gether in 2020, that GMMTV made a hard-turn decision to prioritize series that centered repeating branded ships above all other kinds of investment in other shows, including excellent screenplays.

I say this not to bemoan the opportunity for Thai filmmakers to have economic success. If these shows are making coin for Thai creatives -- maybe even the kind of coin that will allow these creatives to have more artistic freedom in their futures -- then I cannot begrudge that at all, and I wish these artists economic success.

But from a critical viewpoint of artistically narrative success, I'd argue that the last truly great narrative show of GMMTV's portfolio is 2021-22's Bad Buddy, featuring a branded ship in OhmNanon that I'm sure the network wanted to use again, one that both Nanon Korapat and Ohm Pawat knew they didn't want to repeat. Since then, while we've had a small amount of storytelling gems out of GMMTV like Moonlight Chicken, Cherry Magic Thailand, and Cooking Crush, most of what's come out of that studio has been mediocre for the past few years, with some aching stumbles having been had in shows like 23.5, Wandee Goodday, and My Love Mix-Up Thailand, which is airing now.

A major complaint across social media right now about My Love Mix-Up Thailand, centering Gemini Norawit and Fourth Nattawat, is that the show rushes to create meme-able moments between them, which is more in line with GMMTV's bottom line of engagement first. My Love Mix-Up/Kieta Hatsukoi is an utterly beloved Japanese manga and dorama. While G4 fans are drumming up the level of social media engagement that GMMTV judges "success" on, many other general BL fans have been left disappointed by the show's pulling back from honoring certain moments of hilarity and connection with the original Japanese source material (how could Fourth NOT go into the trash can?!).

I posit that it was 2gether's 2020 airing that encouraged GMMTV to make the pivot from investing in well-crafted screenplays, and taking risks to split ships up -- as the network did with Tay Tawan in 2019's 3 Will Be Free -- to center the branded ships.

And I think 2022's The Eclipse is an excellent example of the result of this decision-making: that while The Eclipse's core ideas within its screenplay were admirable, and much of the acting and romance outside of the branded ship were great to watch, that the show's needing to leave the central path of the narrative central story to spotlight the FirstKhao ship to create engagement-worthy moments ultimately took power away from the show and its message.

Only Friends -- a late-2023 show that initially marketed itself on breaking up ships and celebrating casual sex -- came back around in the end to scold any of us fans that wanted to see the ships sink. The dynamic between First and Khao in Only Friends was incredibly similar to their dynamic in The Eclipse: First acting as a tough-guy character who couldn't help being simp-ly swept away by an overpowering character played by Khao. I'm afraid the same will be repeated again in Jojo Tichakorn's next show, The Heart Killers, and I'd like to be proven wrong there, but.

It's incredible for me to reflect on what I know now about The Eclipse, and how this otherwise-excellent show was, in my eyes, economically impacted by the casting decision to prioritize a branded ship over the narrative cohesiveness of a screenplay. GMMTV has only committed even more to this path since The Eclipse's airing.

For the sake of excellent actors like First, and especially Khao: I hope they can have the future opportunity to spread their wings and act with other actors (as the very extreme majority of actors in entertainment get to enjoy), to shake off the economic prioritizing of branded ships in order to access better screenplays and stories. They deserve it, as hard-working creatives, and I'll certainly support them outside of the branded ship model, one that I believe is showing artistic wear and tear as more branded ship shows keep narratively sinking.

[Alright! So, where am I on the OGMMTV list? I've actually already finished the next show on my list, GAP The Series, this summer, and I hope I can pen that review in short order to get this series back on some kind of timely track.

HOWEVER, HEH HEH, that's actually going to be a bit difficult for me as, per the recommendation of a couple of BL elders, I am backtracking chronologically and tackling 2022's The Miracle of Teddy Bear, Thailand's first queer primetime, broadcast channel-level lakorn, which consists of 16 90-minute episodes, which, woof. Despite its hefty length, I am terribly excited to watch a show (a lakorn, EEEE!) out of the usual Thai BL bubble, one that I understand has been potentially misunderstood and/or mis-marketed to BL fandoms over the years. For the sake of its primetime airing alone, it holds an important place on the OGMMTVC syllabus. And I can't wait to take a crack at a Thai major channel's first attempt to make queer content and BL-genre-influenced content a primetime offering.

This means that, once again, My School President has been held at a delay, but I will get to MSP soon, I SWEAR! (And....oops. I'm thiiiiiinking that I might watch My Love Mix-Up after MSP at literal warp speed, literally 1.5x, to do another piece on branded ships vis à vis G4 and Au Kornprom in 2022 vs. 2024. We'll see. I may not wanna do that to myself, but... but! For science?!?! Maybe.)

Here's the updated OGMMTVC syllabus for your perusal. ONWARDS!

1) The Love of Siam (2007) (movie) (review here) 2) My Bromance (2014) (movie) (review here) 3) Love Sick and Love Sick 2 (2014 and 2015) (review here) 4) Gay OK Bangkok Season 1 (2016) (a non-BL queer series directed by Jojo Tichakorn and written by Aof Noppharnach) (review here) 5) Make It Right (2016) (review here) 6) SOTUS (2016-2017) (review here) 7) Gay OK Bangkok Season 2 (2017) (a non-BL queer series directed by Jojo Tichakorn and written by Aof Noppharnach) (review here) 8) Make It Right 2 (2017) (review here) 9) Together With Me (2017) (review here) 10) SOTUS S/Our Skyy x SOTUS (2017-2018) (review here) 11) Love By Chance (2018) (review here) 12) Kiss Me Again: PeteKao cuts (2018) (no review) 13) He’s Coming To Me (2019) (review here) 14) Dark Blue Kiss (2019) and Our Skyy x Kiss Me Again (2018) (review here) 15) TharnType (2019-2020) (review here) 16) Senior Secret Love: Puppy Honey (OffGun BL cuts) (2016 and 2017) (no review) 17) Theory of Love (2019) (review here) 18) 3 Will Be Free (2019) (a non-BL and an important harbinger of things to come in 2019 and beyond re: Jojo Tichakorn pushing queer content in non-BLs) (review here) 19) Dew the Movie (2019) (review here) 20) Until We Meet Again (2019-2020) (review here) (and notes on my UWMA rewatch here)

21) 2gether (2020) and Still 2gether (2020) (review here) 22) I Told Sunset About You (2020) (review here) 23) YYY (2020, out of chronological order) (review here) 24) Manner of Death (2020-2021) (review here) 25) A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) (review here) 26) A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) OGMMTVC Fastest Rewatch Known To Humankind For The Sake Of Rewatching Our Skyy 2 x BBS x ATOTS (re-review here) 27) Lovely Writer (2021) (review here) 28) Last Twilight in Phuket (2021) (the mini-special before IPYTM) (review here) 29) I Promised You the Moon (2021) (review here) 30) Not Me (2021-2022) (review here)

31) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) (thesis here) 32) 55:15 Never Too Late (2021-2022) (not a BL, but a GMMTV drama that features a macro BL storyline about shipper culture and the BL industry) (review here) 33) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) and Our Skyy 2 x BBS x ATOTS (2023) OGMMTVC Rewatch (Links to the BBS OGMMTVC Meta Series are here: preamble here, part 1, part 2, part 3a, part 3b, and part 4) 34) Secret Crush On You (2022) (review here) 35) The Miracle of Teddy Bear (2022) (watching) 36) KinnPorsche (2022) (tag here)  37) KinnPorsche (2022) OGMMTVC Fastest Rewatch Known To Humankind For the Sake of Re-Analyzing the KP Cultural Zeitgeist (part 1 and part 2) 38) Honorable Mention: War of Y (2022) (for the sake of an attempt to provide meta BL commentary within a BL in the modern BL era), with a complementary watch of Aam Anusorn’s documentary, BL: Broken Fantasy (2020) (thoughts here) 39) The Eclipse (2022) (tag here) 40) The Eclipse OGMMTVC Rewatch to Reexamine "Genre BLs," Along With a Critical Take on Branded Ships

41) GAP (2022-2023) (Thailand’s first GL) (review coming) 42) My School President (2022-2023) and Our Skyy 2 x My School President (2023) 43) Moonlight Chicken (2023) (tag here) 44) Bed Friend (2023) (tag here) 45) La Pluie (2023) (review coming) 46) Be My Favorite (2023) (tag here) (I’m including this for BMF’s sophisticated commentary on Krist’s career past as a BL icon) 47) Wedding Plan (2023) (Recommended as an important trajectory in the course of MAME’s work and influence from TharnType) 48) Only Friends (2023) (tag here) (not technically a BL, but it certainly became one in the end) 49) Last Twilight (2023-24) (tag here) (on the list as Thailand’s first major BL to center disability, successfully or otherwise) 50) Cherry Magic Thailand (2023-24) (tag here) (on the list as the first major Japanese-to-Thai drama adaptation, featuring the comeback of TayNew)

51) Ossan’s Love Returns (2024) (adding for the EarthMix cameo and the eventual Thai remake) 52) Dead Friend Forever (2024) (thoughts here) 53) 23.5 (2024) (GMMTV’s first GL) (thoughts here)]

[everythingpresley]

Don't You Kiss Me Once or Twice - Chapter 20

Character/Fandom: Elvis - Elvis (2022)

Prompt: Jessica Anderson is Elvis Presley's assistant and after months of working together, slowly something sparks between them. Friendship? Or is it more? [ Fem!Reader ]

Rating: Explicit/Mature (NSFW, 18+), Slowburn

    ||     Word Count: 6,104

Author's Note: I'm sorry. This chapter broke me.

Masterlist

Don't You Kiss Me Once or Twice - Chapter 20

I walked in from the pool with Grace to see the guys standing around in the kitchen but Elvis was missing. I frowned when I didn’t spot him. Joe caught my eye, he discreetly pointed up stairs knowing I was looking for Elvis.

“Thank you.” I mouthed and headed for Elvis’ room, making sure no one was looking at me as I quickly ran up the stairs taking two steps at a time. I knocked on the door and walked in. 

Elvis was siting on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands.

“Hey.” I said and smiled gently.

“Hey.” He audible breathed, looking up and gave me a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

I frowned “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah.” He sighed and patted his lap “Come here. I want a hug.”

I smiled, shutting the door behind me before bouncing over to him. I sat on his lap and hugged him, he shoved his face into the crook of my neck. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked him once again as I ran my fingers through his soft raven hair. 

He pulled away from my neck “Now that you’re here. Yes.” He replied and kissed my lips gently. 

“Is something bothering you?” I asked him once he pulled away, pushing his hair away from his forehead.

Elvis shook his head no “I’m just tried. Long meetings.”

He kissed my cheek softly, lingering as he did.

“Are you sniffing me?” I chuckled.

“Yes.” He mumbled against my cheek “You always smell so good.”

“So do you. It drives me insane.” I grinned.

He pulled away and grinned, his smile finally reaching his eyes “I love learning new things but now I know you’re obsessed with me.” He teased.

“Like you’re not obsessed with me?” I teased back, raising a brow.

His smile faltered, sadness creeping back into his eyes as they roamed all over my face. He reached forward and cupped my cheek before slowly leaning in and capturing my lips in a tender kiss. I melted in his arms, his kiss was so tender and heartfelt yet I felt my heart ache with worry.

Why did he look sad? What was wrong? 

I know he said he’s just tired but I wondered if something else was going on inside his head.

“Honey.” I broke the kiss with a frown on my face “What’s going on?” My eyes zeroed into his sad blue ones.

“Just-“ He sighed “Feeling deflated.”

“With what?” I asked running my hands up and down his arms.

“Life. My career. Everything.”

He had mentioned he feels tired from singing the same songs over and over again. He wishes to do something more. I didn't know how to make him feel better. What should I say? Or maybe he’s just venting and doesn't want any input so I chose to remain quiet. 

He sighed and hugged me into him “Just hold me.” 

And I did. 

The next few days I didn’t get to see Elvis much, it’s like we kept missing each other or we were constantly being surrounded by people. Also, Elvis was recording a new album so we didn’t even get to see one another even late at night because recording always ran late. Elvis the perfectionist, especially when it came to his music. However, I loved that about him. I loved his passion of making music and producing only the best for his fans and listeners. 

It was only a few days yet I missed him immensely. I got used to having him for myself, going on little dates, cuddling until the early hours of the morning. This really cemented my decision on staying here and keeping my job as his assistant, I could never handle being miles and miles away from this man. 

I was still thinking back to that night, I didn’t fully believe that he was just upset about his career. What did he mean by life and everything? I was very reluctant to ask him about it incase he gets closed off which he sometimes does when he doesn't want to speak about a certain subject. 

It was another night of me going to bed on my own. I would wake up before him but let him sleep in because of the late night sessions. I fell asleep with a small ache in my heart, wishing Elvis was here cuddling me.

A few hours later, I heard Elvis’ voice come through the cloud of drowsiness. It took me a second to actually realize he was calling me.

“Baby?” He whispered in my ear.

“Hmm?” I hummed but kept my eyes closed, my eye lids feeling to heavy.

“I’m sorry.” He said and kissed my cheek “But can you please turn around and cuddle me?” 

I yawned and rolled over to face him. I opened one eye and saw him smiling softly at me “Thank you.” He said.

I smiled back and closed my eyes as he laid his head on my chest. I happily wrapped my arms around him. 

“I missed you.” He whispered, tightening his arms around my waist.

“Me too. So much.” I replied, sleepily. Sleep easily taking over.

I woke up with the feeling of someone caressing my cheek softly. I smiled before opening my eyes at the feeling of Elvis’ hand on my cheek. 

“Good morning.” He whispered and kissed my lips. 

“Good morning.” I replied and opened my eyes to see him propped up on his elbow, looking down at me with admiration “You’re up before me.”

“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep anyway.” He replied.

“How come?”

He shook his head and shrugged. 

“I hate that I haven’t been seeing you the past few days.” I pouted slightly. 

“I know.” He sighed and leaned down to kiss me again. His eyes roamed my face, it was as if he was taking me in for the first time. I felt my skin tingle at his lingering gaze. I did the same, letting my eyes fully take him in, I raised my hand and cupped his cheek. 

His thumb pulled on my lower lip, his eyes zeroing in on my lips, I could hear his breathing increase. 

“How do you still make my heart beat so fast.” He whispered. 

I gulped, emotions gushing out of me. I blinked back tears, feeling overwhelmed. 

Did he feel the same way I felt when I looked at him? Does he feel the same peace, safety and love I did whenever he’s around? 

He kissed me once again tenderly, it felt very different than our usual passionate kisses. I could recall the exact times he’s kissed me so tenderly and gently. The first time was after our fight in Hawaii on the beach, the second was a few nights ago after I made the decision to stay instead of going to New York and the third time is right now. 

He sighed against my lips, his thumb continued to caress my cheek softly.

Elvis broke the kiss and nuzzled his face into my neck and hugged me tight.

“What do you have planned for today?” I asked him, running my nails up and down his bare back. He loved back and head scratches. 

“Multiple meeting with daddy and the colonel. Dad wants to discuss finances… ugh.” Elvis mumbled against my neck.

I pouted, halting the back scratches “So I won’t see you today?” I asked, sadly. 

“I’m sorry.” He whispered and planted a kiss on my neck. 

“It’s okay. I just miss you.” I replied, not wanting him to feel guilty for doing his job.

We kept cuddling for a while until Elvis said he had to go meet with his father and the Colonel. 

It officially has been a week of rarely seeing Elvis. I guess I’m one of those clingy girlfriends now. But we don’t even talk right now, we see each other for a few minutes during the day. He’s been very busy understandably but I do feel like he’s being distant and I’m not sure if it’s just me overthinking or he’s genuinely very busy. I just really miss him. The past four months have been the best, we spent every second together even when he was working we still found time to spend it with one another. 

I helped Joe and his wife set up for their kid’s birthday party that was held in Graceland. We’d been running around, putting up decorations and candy and arranging play areas. The best part of the party was the huge inflatable slide Elvis requested for the kids as a birthday present along with paying for the whole party. Everyone wanted to get on the slide especially the adults. It was appealing to all the masses. 

The kids ran over to me once they spotted me standing by the popcorn machine. 

“Jess! Play with us!” Ethan, one of the boys yelled. 

“You guys go ahead! You have lots of entertainment this time.” I told them, popping popcorn in my mouth. I recalled when we played hide and seek, I was doing that to get them outside so that Elvis can record. 

“Play with us!” They yelled.

“Please play with us, Jess.” Sofia pouted. 

I sighed and placed my small popcorn on the table “Let’s play musical chairs!” 

The kids cheered and ran towards the play area we had set up with chairs. I pulled the chairs to the middle with the help of the kids and stood with them. 

Grace took control of the music.

We started playing, the number of chairs getting smaller and smaller as we did. I was having so much fun with the children that it took my mind off of not seeing Elvis all day. Even right now, he was late to the party. It was down to Ethan and me with one chair left.

“Ethan!” I yelled, laughing once he shoved me to sit on the chair. 

“Loser!” I heard Elvis yell. I gasped and turned to see him standing next to Grace with a huge grin on his face. 

“Asshole.” I mouthed to him and laughed when he gasped and placed a hand over his chest in mock hurt. 

“Loser! Loser!” Ethan mocked.

“Hey, you pushed me!” I poked his cheek. Ethan squirmed away, laughing as he ran towards the slide. 

“Hey you.” I smiled, walking over to Elvis.

“Hey.” He smiled “I wish I could kiss you right now.” He whispered.

“That can be arranged.” I winked. 

Elvis grinned and pointed to the inflatable slide “I really wanna get on that thing.”

“Me too. Let’s go throw some kids down the slide.” I smirked “First to go is Ethan.” I joked.

“Still bitter about losing musical chairs to a kid?” Elvis teased.

“Very bitter. He cheated.” I narrowed my eyes. 

“Race you! Last one there has to give the other person a foot massage!” Elvis yelled, sprinting towards the slide.

“Cheater!” I yelled, running after him. 

We held hands as we looked down the slide. I turned my head and looked at him, he had a huge smile on his face. Maybe I was overthinking it. 

Elvis squeezed my hand “You ready? We’re gonna jump.”

“I’m not jumping!” I frowned, that was way too scary. 

“Come on.” Elvis laughed “I’ll hold your hand the entire time, baby.”

“The things you make me do.” I huffed “Okay.”

Elvis laughed and started the countdown to three. On the count of three Elvis and I had a small head start and launched ourselves down the slide. I gripped his hand tightly, shrieking as we slide down the slide with Elvis’ childlike laughter in the air. 

“Holy crap. That was fun.” I giggled.

“I told you.” Elvis grinned and kissed my cheek. 

The night was winding down, most opted to leave as their kids were knocked out after their sugar crash and running around all day in the sun. The guys gathered around the fire pit, drinking beer and talking. I kind of stood a bit further away, looking at the stars, thinking about nothing but also my mind drifted back to the interview that I haven’t called to tell them my decision yet. I had exactly 1 week till the interview. I was feeling guilty for not calling them to cancel but something in the pit of my stomach told me not to. 

“Hey.” Grace smiled walking up to me “What’s going on in that head of yours?” 

“Nothing.” I smiled and looked towards the guys. My eyes finding Elvis who sat playing with the Pepsi in his hand. 

“Why does Elvis look sad?” Grace asked me.

“You notice that too?” I asked her. So, I wasn’t the only one who noticed it “He was fine earlier, he was laughing and horsing around with the others but I don’t know. He says he’s tired.” 

“Is something going on with you two?” she asked.

“No.” I shook my head, as far as I know we’re doing great but his busy schedule kept us apart this week “But he has been very quiet lately. Distant maybe. And all he wants is for me to hold him or cuddle him. I honestly don’t know what’s up with him and every time I ask he just says he’s tired or frustrated from work.” 

“Huh.” Grace said, her eyes on Elvis “Did you tell him about your interview?”

“No.” I frowned, shaking my head “I want to stay here. I wanna be with him, Grace.”

“Okay, good. Because I want you to stay here, I can’t imagine not having you around.” Grace grinned and hugged me. I chuckled and wrapped my arms around her, squeezing her into me. 

I spotted Elvis getting up and retreating to the house. After bidding a goodnight to Grace, I headed towards the house. 

“Hey handsome.” I smiled, walking into Elvis’ bedroom. I finally had him for the night after a week of only seeing him for fleeting moments. We had the full night together and it was still pretty early. 

“Hi sweetheart.” He smiled softly and wrapped his arms around my waist. 

I smiled, wrapping my arms around his neck. I soaked him in, my eyes roaming over his face. He seemed sad again, his soft smile not really reaching his eyes. 

“Are you okay? You seem sad.” I whispered, trailing my hand up his neck and into his hair “Did something happen? You were fine today.”

“Just tired. The party made me relax a bit.” Elvis sighed and pulled me into a tight hug, nuzzling his face into my neck.

“Are you sure?” I asked, rubbing his back comfortingly. He wasn’t being fully honest with me, something was clearly bothering him.

“Yeah.” He said and pulled back from my neck to kiss my lips “I missed you so much.” He sighed against my lips. 

I kissed his lips, playing with the hair at his nape. He kissed me softly, gripping my waist tightly. Elvis moved towards the bed and laid me down gently on the mattress, keeping our lips connected. I sighed, happily into his mouth. Elvis pulled away and removed his shirt, throwing it to the side. 

He looked down at me with a little smile “You’re so beautiful, baby.”

I smiled and sat up, reaching to run my hands down his chest. He gripped my hand and pulled it up to his lips, planting a kiss on the top of my hand. Elvis then reached down and pulled my dress up and off of my body, leaving me in a bra and panties. 

Elvis licked his lips and reached over to unclasp my bra. His mouth immediately attached to my nipple. I moaned, arching my back as he sucked and nibbled on my nipple. 

“Such perfect tits.” He mumbled. 

I chuckled and shoved my hands into his hair. 

Elvis continued kissing down my stomach and suddenly, he ripped my lace panties off. I gasped, looking at him with wide, turned on eyes. He looked up at me and smirked. He gripped my legs and kissed inside my thigh. I could feel his breath on my pussy. I moaned and edged slightly forward. Elvis placed his palm on my stomach to stop me from moving. 

“Hold on, baby.” He chuckled and planted a kiss on my pussy before licking up my wet folds. I moaned, throwing my head back against the mattress. 

“A week was too long.” I said. 

“Way too long. You are so fucking wet.” He said and sucked on my clit. 

I grunted and gripped his hair tightly “Please.”

I pulled his head back, he looked at me with a confused look on his face “I want to see your face.” I huffed, out of breath. 

“Honey, we’ve got all night. Relax. I’m taking my time with you tonight.” Elvis smirked and went back to eating me out. 

Elvis continued licking and sucking as the orgasm hit me. I moaned, gripping his hair and tightening my thighs around his head. He climbed back up my body, his face glistening with my wetness. He kissed my lips and I could taste Pepsi and me on his mouth, turning me on even more. 

I pulled on his jeans and popped his button off before pulling his zipper down. I wasted no time seizing his cock in my hand. He grunted against my lips as I stroked him up and down. He pulled away and in one fell swoop he pulled his boxers and jeans off. He hovered over me once again, guiding his cock to my entrance and stroked my clit with his tip. His fingers dug into my hip as he eased himself into me, both of us moaning as he did. I gripped his shoulders tightly as he buried himself deep inside me. 

He took a breather, looking down at me.

“Why are you stopping?” I asked, panting.

“I need to fully take you in. Every second. Every pump. I want you to feel all of me.” He whispered, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. Elvis licked his lips, his eyes roaming all over my face and body “I want to have a mental image of you like this in my head.” 

“I need you.” I whimpered when he kept staring at me. I moved back and forth to get him to move. 

“Okay, needy.” He chuckled softly, again his chuckle did not reach his eyes. He pulled back before thrusting back inside of me, deep in my core. Every time, he would pull completely out and slam back into me, both of us moaning.

I clenched my eyes shut, moaning loudly. 

This time felt different, like he wanted to memorized me inside and out. He kissed and licked every inch of my body like a starved dog, starved for me. And he was taking his sweet time, thrusting fully into me and pulling completely out. It felt desperate and needy but passionate and loving. 

My hands slid from his shoulders to his arms, my eyes still screwed shut. I felt something wet drip on my cheeks and forehead. I frowned and opened my eyes to see Elvis with tears dripping down his face. 

“Hey! What’s wrong?” I cupped his cheeks. Elvis stopped moving and let out a sob “Elvis. What?” My heart raced as I took in his face. 

Elvis sobbed and fell into my arms, clutching me tightly. 

“Honey, please tell me what’s wrong?” I asked frantically, holding him in my arms as he sobbed into my neck. 

“Please don’t leave me.” He whimpered against my neck.

“What?” 

He continued to sob, his arms wrapped tightly around me. I kept holding him, not really knowing what to do or what to say. I knew he wasn’t okay, I knew he was sad about something but I have no idea what about. And he wouldn’t tell me. I could feel his tears on my neck and shoulder. It was breaking my heart, I’ve never seen him cry like this not even when I came back from the hospital. 

“I’m not gonna leave you, Elvis. I’m right here.” I told him. He pulled out of me but remained in my arms. 

Slowly, his sobs hushed down. I kept rubbing his back to comfort him which was the least I could do. Just to be there for him through whatever he was going through. But why would he say “Please don’t leave me.”. I wasn’t going to leave him, I would never leave him. I love him. I don’t know how long we stayed laying there but I kept my arms wrapped around him and once his breathing changed and his arms loosened, I finally felt slightly at ease now that he wasn’t crying. However, I couldn’t shut my brain off. For a whole week he’d seemed upset but I barely had any time with him so that I could fully understand what was wrong. 

I planted a kiss on his head, my own eyes filing with unshed tears. I always cried whenever someone cries, if the reason is actually upsetting but seeing Elvis like this just shattered me. Just seeing someone you love so much, suffering in silence. Why wouldn’t he talk to me about it? 

It took me a while until I finally fell asleep, I had no idea when sleep took over but by the time I woke up the bed was empty. I frowned and frantically got out of bed, looking for Elvis.

I tip toed down the stairs in yesterday’s clothes, being careful not to bump into anyone. I headed towards my bedroom and changed into new clothes.The house was too quiet, no one was here. I spotted Martha in the kitchen.

“Good morning.” I smiled at her.

“Good morning, Jess.” She smiled back as she plated some scrambled eggs “I made you some eggs.”

“Oh, thank you.” I wasn’t really up to eating anything, my stomach felt uneasy “Is Elvis here?”

“You just missed him, honey,” 

Shit. I had to wait to see him. It seemed like I was barely needed recently. As an assistant I was always with the guys wherever they go but nowadays I didn’t even know what they were doing. I know he’s busy with contracts and meeting up with RCA for the new album but I wasn’t aware of Elvis’ full schedule like usual. 

I couldn't sit here all day waiting for him, I was confused and I needed to get my mind off of Elvis. I ate some of the scrambled eggs just for Martha’s troubles of making me some eggs and left to go meet up with Janice at the diner since I cancelled our previous plans because of Matt. 

“Hey.” I smiled, plopping down on the stool.

“Hey girly.” Janice smiled behind the counter, pouring coffee into the mug and pushed it towards me “You look like you need this.”

“Even with makeup?” I groaned, I had put on some concealer when I inspected the bags under my eyes. 

“Yes.” Janice chuckled “What happened?”

“Nothing. I wanna take my mind off of things.” 

“Is it Elvis?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Yeah.” I sighed and took a sip of the hot black coffee “He’s being weird and distant. I don’t know what’s wrong.”

“Have you asked him about it?”

“Of course! But I don’t know maybe it’s not about me. Maybe there’s something else going on but he’s not telling me.” 

“I mean he is crazy about you, that’s obvious. So, maybe there is something else going on.” Janice replied. 

I sighed, looking down at my mug. Elvis and I needed to talk about it, this can’t go on like this. Not communicating or not telling one another what’s bothering us. 

After spending some time with Janice at the fairly empty diner, I decided to head home once more people started coming into the diner and it got crowded which meant Janice had to get back to work. I couldn’t sit still the entire day, I walked around the stables and passed by the horses. I chose to spend more time with Rising sun even though he threw me off his back but there were no hard feelings. I still wanted to learn how to ride a horse, that didn't change. However, I have no clue how I would feel once I actually was on the horse, would I be too scared? Only time will tell and Elvis would be there to guide me through it. I confidently stated that in my head but right now that confidence was wavering. The pit in my stomach that formed last night only worsened as the day went on and my mind raced with different scenarios.

I sat down in the little spot Elvis and I always loved siting at under a tree where we would have our usual picnics and just let the sun shine down on me as I waited for Elvis to get back. I had no idea when they were getting back but I hoped it wasn’t late at night. 

Lost in thought, I didn’t hear the mafia’s cars rolling in until I heard loud talking and laughter. I turned my head spotting a somber looking Elvis get out of the car and quickly walked into the house. He then turned around and dismissed them before continuing to walk into the house, they all looked at each other in confusion but piled back into the cars and pulled out.

I quickly headed towards the house once all the cars pulled away. I rushed up the stairs and knocked softly on Elvis’ door. 

“Yes?” He called out.

I took a deep breathe and walked in “Hey.” I gave him a small smile but he didn’t turn around. He was standing by his bed, his back facing the door. 

He ran a hand through his hair “Hey.”

“Can we talk… about what happened last night?” I asked, shutting the door gently behind me.

“Yes. We need to talk.” He sighed and turned to face me.

“Okay, let’s talk. What’s going on Elvis?” 

“I don’t think whatever this is is working.” Elvis said, not really looking me in the eyes. 

I took a step back, my eyes widening as I took in what he just said. It really took me by surprise. 

“What?” I whispered. This is not happening.

“Jess, I don’t think this is working. Even you as my assistant. We’ve should’ve never mixed business with pleasure.” He shrugged.

I couldn't breathe. The man that I had gotten to love so much was right in front of me telling me that he no longer wanted me. 

“Elvis.” I whispered, my eyes already filling with unshed tears.

“I’m sorry Jess.” He sighed “You need to go.”

“This is coming out of nowhere.” I said “What happened? What changed?” I asked him.

“Nothing. I’m bored.” He replied. 

I could literally hear my heart cracking down the middle. 

“I don’t believe you.”

“You don’t believe what?” Elvis scoffed. 

“I don’t believe that this was nothing to you. There’s no way. After everything we’ve gone through the past 2 years. I do not believe what you’re saying at all, Elvis.” I clenched my jaw, refusing to let my tears roll down my face. 

He can not get me to believe what we had was nothing. All those late night, all those conversations, all those little dates. I don’t believe him for a second. He was scared. He was scared of what he was feeling and he’s trying to run away.

“Don’t do that.” I growled “You’re scared because you know you’re falling for me.”

“God you’re so pathetic, Jess.” He spat out, chuckling with no humor behind his laugh “Are you that desperate for love?”

I let out an audible breath. He’s calling me pathetic? 

“You were convenient.” He growled, walking closer to me “It was nothing but sex. It was easy, you live under my roof. It was the best case scenario.”

I scoffed and shook my head, he was throwing my words back at me. I asked him this exact question when we were in Hawaii “Was I just convenient?”  and he got offended when I had. 

“What changed then?” I asked quietly. 

“I’m bored. I need something new.” He replied.

“You were literally crying in my arms last night, begging me not to leave you.” 

“That wasn’t about you!” He growled “Very big headed of you to think that everything is about you.”

“Stop lying to me!” I yelled. 

“God you turned out to be like every other girl I had slept with. We never agreed that this was something more. Why are you looking for something more from someone who doesn't want you?” He growled, stepping even closer to my face. His face was red but I don’t know if it was from anger or something else. We were a few inches away from one another. 

However, he was right we never specified what this was. We never put a label on it and we never told one another how we felt but actions speak louder than words. He didn’t have to utter the words for me to feel so loved and looked after. I always made sure to show him how I felt rather than saying the words. In my mind I knew this would happen based on his track record but I guessed I would be different, I listened to my heart rather than my brain. 

“I need you out by tomorrow morning, Jess.” He sighed and stepped back. 

I gulped, not being able to speak anymore. I wanted to scream and yell. I did not believe a word he was saying, it was like my mind was refusing to acknowledge his words. I saw how panicked he was when we fought in Hawaii, when he thought he was going to lose me. 

Was that just an act? Was all of it just an act? 

It was now making sense to me why I was so reluctant and scared to tell him I loved him and how I chose not to cancel my interview that is exactly a week from now. Thank god my instincts took over that decision. 

“I’ll pay for whatever you need. If you need a place to stay, I can pay for it.” He said. 

“I don’t want your money. Fuck you, Elvis.” I hissed, tears finally rolling down my face. I rushed out of his bedroom, slamming the door shut behind me. 

As I descended down the stairs I heard something crash and the sound of glass breaking coming from Elvis’ room but I kept going. 

The moment I launched myself on my bed, I sobbed hysterically. I didn’t know what to think or do. I cried for hours. Grieving the loss of Elvis, the man I thought I loved. Who I do love, who I thought was the one. I was about to give up my whole life to be with him. It hurt knowing it was nothing to him, that I was nothing to him. He not only ended things with me but he also fired me and kicked me out. 

Losing Elvis also meant I also lost this found family that I had over the past two years, the guys, Grace, Martha. I should’ve never started this with Elvis. Never. I knew it would come to bite me but it was worse. He made me fall in love with him only to shatter my heart in pieces. I’ve never experienced this type of pain, not with any of my ex boyfriends. 

With great loves come great pain. I heard that somewhere but now those words make sense to me.

After crying for hours I got up and started packing my bags. Tears streaming down my face as I did, no longer sobbing hysterically but still had tears in my eyes. I wiped my face and went to the storage room that had used empty boxes and just started packing the clothes I’ve accumulated for the past 2 years. I had to start over. I needed to book a flight to New York, look for a place to stay and buy new furniture that I got rid off once I got this job and found out I had to stay in Graceland. 

I booked the earliest flight to New York with two big bags and two medium size boxes. I left the cowboy hats and boots that Elvis got me behind. I took the pictures I had up on my mirror of Elvis and I on Rising sun that Grace took and shoved them into the drawer. I took one last look at those pictures and cried once again before slamming the drawer shut.

The sun was already out and shining, I had three hours to my flight. I pulled my suitcase up the stairs to see Jerry and Vernon.

“Hi sweetheart.” Vernon smiled gently and pulled me into his embrace “I’m sad to see you go but Elvis said you don’t want to be here anymore.” 

I gulped, choosing not to say anything.

“Thank you for everything Vernon.” I whispered.

“Please keep in touch.” Vernon squeezed my shoulder.

“Of course.” I smiled. 

“Let me help you with your bags.” Jerry said and dashed down the stairs to bring the rest of my stuff. 

“Does Grace know?” I whispered, standing by Jerry by the trunk as he loaded my bags into his car.

“No. Elvis called me early morning to help you with your things. She was still asleep.” Jerry replied, slamming the trunk of his car shut.

I took a deep breath and looked around the place I called home for the past couple of years. My eyes trailed up the house and to Elvis’ bedroom window to see a pair of ocean blue eyes looking back at me. We stared at each other for a second before I turned around and got into the passenger side of the car next to Jerry.

“If you don’t have a place to stay, you can stay at our place. We would love to have you.” Jerry said.

“No, that’s okay. I’m heading for the airport.” I replied.

“What?” Jerry looked at me with wide eyes “You’re not staying in Memphis?”

“No.” I shook my head “Say bye to the guys, I’m really sorry that I didn’t get the chance to say goodbye to them. Also Grace, I love her. She’s like a sister to me. I’ll make sure to call her once I get to New York.” I replied.

“Jess.” Jerry sighed and shook his head “What the heck did Elvis do? Why are you leaving?”

“He fired me, Jerry.” 

“There’s no way. I’ve seen how Elvis looks at you, I know that you guys have been together for a few months and that’s the happiest I’ve ever seen this man. I never thought he’d recover when he lost his mom but then you came along.” 

I bit down on my lip, tears in my eyes “I don’t know Jerry and honestly I don’t care. I just wanna get out of here please.” I sighed and turned to look out of the window. 

I cried silently the whole way to the airport. I hugged Jerry goodbye after he helped me check in my bag.

“I’m really gonna miss you Jess. Please don’t lose contact with us.” Jerry said over my shoulder.

“I would never. You and Grace are like siblings to me, honestly.” I replied. 

Jerry pulled back and placed his hands on my shoulders “I love you.”

My mouth instantly went into a pout, tears filling my eyes “I love you too, Jerry.”

“Are you sure about this?” He frowned looking at the security check line.

“My bags are already on their way to the plane.” I choked, wiping my tears. I really needed to stop crying now. I hated crying in public. 

“We can still head back to my house.” He told me.

“I’m okay, Jerry. This has been my dream for a long time. I’m fulfilling my dreams.” I said, having no confidence in my words. Things change.

Once I got on the plane I thought of everything. This decision was spontaneous but I do have enough money saved up, enough to stay in a hotel room till I could find an apartment. I had a good feeling about the job, I knew I was more than qualified. I could always move back in with my parents if I don’t get the job but I didn’t think about that. 

Taglist: @urrfavvana @girlblogger2002 @butlersluvbot @iheqrtaustin @dramaticpandabear @godlypresley @amiets2 @felis-haxb16 @marie73ep @scarlettlight06 @whatstruthgottodowithit @sassanoe @thatbanditqueen @18lkpeters @rjmartin11 @elvispresleyisfit12

Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!

[rizaposting]

Tagged by @quiet-nocturne! Thank you!! :] I love to waste time (my ass is NOT working)

are you named after anyone? My middle name, yeah! Named after my maternal grandfather who passed away before I was born. I actually don't know why my parents chose my first name--I think they just liked it

when was the last time you cried? Oh Babygirl like 20 minutes ago. I was thinking of a song that makes me emotional (not even listening to it!!!) and I had to wipe my eyes and sniffle pathetically. I'm such a crybaby it's embarrassing, I angry cry too, which is the WORST

do you have kids? No :[ but I want kids really viscerally it's kind of embarrassing

do you use sarcasm a lot? Yeah, and I'm trying to be better about using tone indicators ngjngjkdjkgnkjd

what sports do you play? Haha. I go for a walk around the neighborhood sometimes. I'd love to get back into swimming casually!

what’s the first thing you notice about people? This is maybe a weird thing to say, but their overall color palette? Like if you squint so you can only see the patterns of colors of their outfit and their skin tone/eye/hair.... Like a goddamn raptor I guess

what’s your eye color? Green. Kind of a light, very yellow-leaning green.

scary movies or happy endings? I like both!!! :] I'm really really into horror but I am also a sap and a lover and a romantic and I like happy endings.

any special talents? HAHA. Well. I used to have a really uncanny memory but my brain has been kind of fucked up lately. Do you want to learn how to do a Gram stain? I can teach you how to do a Gram stain. I'm also really good at pouring agar plates. Are these anything.

where were you born? New England -calls a drinking fountain a "bubbler" to do psychic damage to everyone around me-

what are your hobbies? Drawing and writing! I only started writing for fun in ~2022, but I've been drawing digitally since like... 2007. I also like to listen to hours long video essays on things I may or may not care about.

do you have any pets? I have a corn snake named Fion who is the nastiest corn snake I've ever met in my life and is an escape master like no other. Girl has escaped containment in my car THREE TIMES. I love her but she has cage aggression and only recently came out of a self-imposed 6 month brumation. Girl.

I had thought fleetingly about breeding her but now I know I have to keep her STANK DISPOSITION out of the gene pool.

how tall are you? 5' 3"/160cm. La Creatura height.

favorite subject in school? Biology! Microbiology specifically. My favorite courses in college were: a course called "pathogenic microbes", an independent study I did for virology, and immunology. Immunology was really tough but also really rewarding. None of the classes I took in grad school were informative or rewarding lmfao

dream job? Gremlin locked in a room doing 100 Gram stains a day. Honestly, I loved teaching my introductory microbio lab course!!! The foundations are really hands-on and it's so rewarding seeing the kids have fun and watch things click in their brain.

Either that or like... a woodworker snkfsdjsfdnkdsn I'm honestly so close to giving up on science because the job market is in shambles right now. I worked as a theatre set carpenter in college and I really loved getting to work with my hands, so maybe it's time to return to something like that

tagginnnnnnnnggggg: @phoenixfangs, @milekael, @littlewitchbee and @scienceoftheidiot (if you want, no pressure!!! Also if you see this and want to do it I'm tagging you oooo do it I dare you oooo)

[absolutebl]

This Week In BL - The Floodgates Have Opened

Oct 2022 Wk 1

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying the most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

The Eclipse (Fri YT) 9 of 12 - Aye is such an intense and focused little thing. The eye contact with these 2 is beyond eye fucking into something more like eye soul-mating. The pool kiss was fine, but they looked cold. GMMTV loves a pool kiss. 

My Only 12% (Fri iQIYI) 9 of 14 - this show makes me cry. Fee is a wonderful friend. This was a good episode, it was fun to see Eiw come into his own. I look forward to the reunion next week.

Ai Long Nhai (Mon iQIYI) 2 of 10 - I figured it out, this is Make it Right the uni years! That’s why I like it. Nhai Is apparently flirtier and gayer when drunk. I’ve known some British lads like that. OK so sex happened. I like that there was some kind of confused drunken consent. But also serious regrets and bisexual identity crisis. Poor Nhai: You can’t have your friend and eat him too. This plot is moving quickly: it’s ep 2 and they have slept together and confessed, plus a one month trial relationship. I like it. This is messy gay in a way I appreciate. 

Ghost Host, Ghost House (Weds YouTube & Gaga) 1 of 8 - I'm enjoying the lead pair, the meet cute, and the combative nature of their relationship. I’m not wild about the premise but I like how different it is from all the previous “my ghost boyfriend” takes on this concept. More “our human pet.” I’m beginning to be weirdly charmed by how bureaucratic the Thai afterlife always seems to be. 

Big Dragon (Sat Gaga) 1 of 8 - Basically we have player love-rivals (a girl)/enemies to lovers + a rich/poor pairing: Yai & Mangkorn. It had a good hook but most of the ep was dull; thankfully Gaga has a 1.5x speed. The acting is bad but the sex scene was fine: dominance struggles, lots of switching, and verse stuff. *we likie* This show is using drugging (impaired judgement/dub-con/both men), sexual extortion, and blackmail as a plot device not unlike LITA. But it’s using antiheroes and presenting everything, including the characters, in a negative light. Thus right now in BL we have a great example of how the same plot device can be depicted differently and result in an entirely different perspective and watcher experience. In other words: a narrative I’m hating in LITA doesn’t bother me here, because of characterization.  

Work from Heart (Thurs YouTube) 3 of 7 - The agro yet deeply in-crush behavior of our tsundere seme is kinda fun, but the fashion remains truly terrible and the most unpleasant performer in this show. Although it’s got competition. 

Love in the Air (Thurs iQIYI) 8 of 13 - the premise and blackmail set up for this couple really fucked with me (because Sky is a broken angel-baby and Pai is an irredeemable pustule). I am not happy about it: DUMPSTER FIRE TRASH WATCH ALONG HERE. That said, there is a GREAT analysis of Sky’s character here (that I totally enjoy and want to be true, but I think gives Mame too much credit). 

Fahlanruk (Sun GaGa) 4 of 12 - So Fah’s bf cheated first? Okay, still doesn’t justify his behavior. Honestly, I really can’t stand this show. Now we are playing a game of how long can I go before dropping it.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Takara-kun and Amagi-kun (Japan Thurs GaGa & Viki) 7 of 8 - these two pretty much define awkward. Takara because he is trying desperately to keep his cool reserve (and perform perfect seme) while simultaneously being so in love/lust with Amagi in high school where desire is, by definition and practice, uncool. Amagi is all frenetic movements and angles, like he cannot control his limbs or his emotions, everything is deeply confusing to him including Takara’s affection. Watching them stumble around each other and agonize over every little movement and conversation is an exercise in joy, patience, and agony. It’s all so “teenager” I can hardly stand it. This episode, however, was more about Tanaka coping with learning his friend is 1. not straight and 2. deeply in love with an adorable weirdo. It was a quieter ep than I expected but sweet. “He said something cute and I couldn’t help myself“ is so traditional Japanese seme in one sentence I can’t even.

Kabe Koji (Japan Mon Viki) 1 of 10 - basically this is A Man Who Defies the World of BL + Senpai This Can’t be Love (as @heretherebedork said). Nakao Masaki playing a sunshine bouncy himbo character is a fucking revelation, I didn’t think he had it in him. But our tsundere uke is far too tsundere for me, and despite the premise (AN IDOL LOVE INTEREST!) I do not not really like it. I just hate the stalker photograph obsession thing (My Engineer, SCOY, STCBL, now this) and I can’t support a character that starts out this way, it’s apparently a trigger I didn’t know I had until BL tried to romanticize it. I love Nakao Masaki (in a non stalker, no photos kind of way) so I might muscle through but... 

Once Again (Korea Fri GaGa) 7-8fin - Cute date plus hand holding and a mild but sweet moot kiss does not a satisfying ending make. They are great boyfriends even if only for a few days. As expected, like Kissable Lips, this one ends sad. Can’t stop the Koreans when a temporal paradox and death is on the line. They do love their tragedy, not to mention unavoidable fate. 2/10 NOT RECOMMENDED

It’s Airing But I’m Not Watching It

War of Y - 20 eps A spy have reported in on a spoiler assessment of the first 2 installments here. 2 more to go. 

Oh My Sunshine Night 16 eps - I’m scared it’s gonna be sad, so I’m waiting for spies to tell me it’s safe, so far reported to be quite the soap opera. 

To Sir With Love AKA Khun Chai 10 eps - dito OMSN, so I’m holding until it finishes its run. 

My Roommate - 32 eps of 2 minutes each? Terrible production values, worse than the pulps. I not bothering. 

In Case You Missed It

180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us had a sad end, or at least, not a happy one, so I will not be watching it. I’m happy to leave it permanently listed dnf. 2022 will be the year I dnf’d the most BL, partly because there’s so much of it. (Thailand is at 108 BLs and counting this year). 

I talk a lot on this blog about linguistics (language intersecting with culture) here’s a fun podcast from Hidden Brain on How language shapes our perspective on life. 

Gossip

HIStory 5 is coming! Called HIStory5: Love in the Future. Since it’s going to be the only one under the 5 moniker I’ll probably default (like it did with H4) to just calling it H5. 

That omegaverse Thai BL got cancelled. Probably because of the fuss being kicked up about it. I am sad. No trash watch for me. Maybe Japan will still do one at some point. 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Starting: Remember Me starts tomorrow, Thai (Sun Gaga)1 of 8. 2 Moons 3 Thai (Mon ??) 1 of 10. Roommates of Poongduck 304 (Korea Thurs Viki) 1 of 8. SELF Thai (Thurs ??). My Tooth Your Love (Taiwan Fri Gaga & Viki) 1 of 12. Hard Love Mission Thai (Sat WeTV & iQiyi?). Wish Me Luck Thai (Sat ??). 

I’m traveling so I may not be able to watch the ones I already have in rotation, let alone track down the new babies. You on your own peeps, best of luck! 

Honestly Thailand, too many. You gotta stop now. We saturated. 

FULL October 2022 line up is here.

This week’s best moments?

The return of That Staircase in Eclipse! 

Tell us something we don’t know, Aye. 

Breaking news: Cute bit is very cute. 

Work from Heart: I just love the sniff test trope (AKA I like the way he smells) one of my favs. 

Although neck kisses are good too, thanks Ai Long Nhai. 

Activating seme agressive tendencies. 

Bisexual rep, yes please! 

And a direct address of drunk one night stand regrets. You’re doing well little pulp. 

Such boyfriends. 

The most seme line in a BL ever. 

(last week)

Current earworm? The Rose’s Sour 

[mycupofrum]

Fic writer questions

Thank you for the tag @lovelymasks! Once again I’m really late with my replies but I really enjoyed doing this one. 😊

🍓 How did you get into writing fanfiction?

I was a teenager and started writing HP fics with a friend of mine who first introduced me to fanfiction. We would send fics to each other and commented on each other’s stories and gave each other writing prompts. I think I did that for about a year until I had the courage to post anything online. I started on a Finnish HP forum and returned there after a long break from fandom, though I’m more active on Tumblr/AO3 these days. I think I did post one or two fics in English on ff.net back in the day but they were very short gen fics. I posted One of these days on Tumblr at the end of 2022 and that was the first piece of creative writing in English that I did in a long time and I was shit scared for whatever reason, but people were very nice to me about it. :D

🍇How many fandoms have you written in?

I’ve written for Harry Potter and Star Wars fandoms and a few cringe rpf crack fics about celebrities I shall not name back in the day, but that’s something I’m ready to put behind me.

🍈 How many years have you been writing fanfiction?

Around 7 years with a long break in between.

🍎 Do you read or write more fanfiction?

Lately I’ve been reading more than writing. It goes in phases...sometimes I write more and at other times read more.

🍌 What is one way you've improved as a writer?

I think I’ve learned to be aware of filler words and improved in "show don’t tell", though that one is something I’m still working on.

🍑 Do you have any bad habits as a writer?

I need the stars to align to get into a writing mood. I don’t practise it every day. I know writing is a like exercising a muscle etc. etc. but you know, this is a hobby for me, so I only do it whenever I feel like it (and yet feel guilty for not doing it more. Fun times. 😅).

🍍 What's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

The last one has been the Catholic church, just the whole vocabulary of it and anything related to it. I don’t know if it’s weird per se, but I find it so funny I’m researching prayers and the confession process when ultimately I just want the characters to end up having sex. 😄

I’ve also researched train announcements in the UK, business buildings in London in the 1990s, British police ranks, instructions on how to play pool, and shamanism to name a few.

🍉What's your favourite type of comment to receive on your work?

All comments, short and long! I appreciate a keysmash, emojis or if someone points out their favourite parts from the fic. Sometimes a reader can find foreshadowing or connections to something that I never even realised myself, which is amazing! It’s like someone pointing out your own subconscious thoughts to you. It helps to go back to reading comments if I have a bad day, writing-wise or just in general. <3

🍐What's the most fringe trope/topic you write about?

I don't really know. I write about whatever pleases me. :)

🥭What is the hardest type of story for you to write?

Toxic relationships, emotional abuse. Sometimes I enjoy reading stories like that but I don’t think I have it in me to pull off that kind of dynamic in my writing. At least not easily, but I haven’t really tried it either. I write from the place of "wouldn’t it be really funny if…" That’s legit how most of my fics are born.

🍏What is the easiest type?

Romance with a little bit of humour. And so much tension. All the tension. I want tension. Did I mention tension? Hot and funny. I have accepted that that’s what my brain likes to come up with most often. Occasionally I enjoy dabbling into angst.

🍑Where do you do your writing? What platform? When?

On my laptop or mobile phone at home. I usually get my ideas when I’m trying to fall asleep so I’m like the meme of a writer whose brain starts to work out solutions when I should be sleeping, and then it’s just me and the pale light of my phone in the darkness of my bedroom. Also in general I tend to write in the evening. I use both LibreOffice (which allows me to use Word format) and the free online Word because I can access my files on OneDrive on both laptop and phone.

🍋What is something you've been too nervous/ intimidated to write, but would love to write one day?

A longfic with a proper plot. I have some longer WIP fics in the making but that’s just the thing...they’re still WIPs. I’m just genuinely terrible at finishing longer fics. So, here’s to improving in that.

🍇What made you choose your username?

At first I kept thinking of mycupoftea and then decided nah that’s too basic, so I came up with mycupofrum because I liked my rum-based drinks. That was 10 years ago and I haven’t changed the username since then. As for Satine which has been my pen name for a longer time, it’s from Moulin Rouge.

Tagging @heartofspells @squintclover @in-flvx @annabtg if you want to do this. And anyone else who is up for this tag game. :)

[httpiastri]

pepe does deserve any and every compliment in the world… and not talking about his happy trail would also make me go crazy… and isn’t unhealthy to repress your emotions? even pepe has a psychologist to help him… and i think we should learn from example so

AAAAAAA AJSJKAKSKS i don’t even KNOW HOW TO PUT IT IN A NICE AND POLITE AND FORMAL AND OBJECTIVE MANNER (and trust me when i say ive thought long and hard about this… (about this phrasing… not about him of course…))

I MEAN THIS ISN’T THE FIRST TIME (okay sorry i’ll use my indoor voice) we’ve seen his bare torso but like 🤭 we’ve seen it in chasing the dream when he was in that silly little inflatable pool but also remember how i mentioned that ive liked him since like 2022? and that you were one of the first few people to have his name anywhere on your blog? don’t know if you did this but i used to regularly search him up on pinterest hoping one day there would be frequent new and good pepe content on there (used to search him up on tumblr too and that’s how i first found you but anyway)

obviously… because there’s loads more pepe pics on pinterest these days, lots of older ones disappear and i think sometime last year there was a pepe picture with christian where he was shirtless and like its just the top half of his body but… THIS IS SO WRONG i can’t say anymore because im ashamed but basically i am a big fan of pepe 👍 i love his work 💗 i love his driving style 💗 i love his face 💗 i like that he does not shave much 💗 like with his stubble that time 💗 and more 💗 maybe especially so 💗 i hope he wins in barcelona 💗 and even more 💗

if you could see me right now you’d see how ive been pacing around typing this and trying to hold back from jumping up and down and squealing yippee!!

- 🪷

oh yes, it's definitely unhealthy!!! i wouldnt wanna see you feeling bad bcs you cant let out your feelings abt pepe's happy trail 🥺 ALSKDJDFJ

no bcs i kinda freaked in the chasing the dream clip too..... (i mean i did have it as my banner on my fic rec blog ever since then shkdhfdj i only changed it the other day 😶) and its funny because i usually don't find body hair that attractive but uh... i mean anything abt pepe is 🥰 but aaaaaa i wish i had been a fan of him since that long too, i just saw him in the beginning of last season and liked him instantly 🤭 but hmmm i mean if you were to find that pic somewhere... uh it would be kinda funny if it just happened to find its way to my inbox....... 😶 but pls don't feel embarrassed because you're not alone in what you feel 🥰 i too kinda hope he wins in barcelona 🥰 and has a good life 🥰 and that he's happy 🥰 if he wants someone to cheer him up in between races i may know someone who could offer 🥰

ur so real for that, like... how can someone not have that reaction to thinking abt pepe?........

[ask-de-writer]

FIENDSHIP IS MAGIC  

(Part 64 of ?)  

18+ readers only  (sex scenes)

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FIENDSHIP IS MAGIC

or

Making Fiends and Influencing Ponies

An Anthro *Tail* of the Mane Six

Part 64 of ? (Work in Progress)

by

De Writer

67461 words (story in progress)

© 2022 by Glen Ten-Eyck

All rights reserved.  This document may not be copied or distributed on   or to any medium or placed in any mass storage system except by the express written consent of the author.

//////////////

Copyright fair use rules for Tumblr users

This story is age restricted to 18+

years or older!

Users  of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights.  They may   reblog the story provided that all author and copyright information remains intact.  They may use the characters or original  characters in my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical compositions.

All sorts of fan art, cosplay, music or fiction is actively encouraged.

///////////////////////

New to the story?  Read from the start HERE

//////////////////////

Princess Twilight's attention was captivated by the dancers on the different stages. She practically glomped the other two Princesses and demanded to know, “Have you ever seen any dance performance like these? I know that there is no record of them in the Royal Library! I looked, after I found your private closed stacks!”

Princess Luna gave her a sideways look as she replied, “Oh, you did, did you?”

Princess Celestia just turned red in the face. Quietly, she returned, “No, Twi, a performance like this is turning into? Never in close enough to four thousand years have I seen anything like this.”

Kin had quietly herded Pinkie Pie back to the group. She whispered, “Twi is hatching an idea that you will absolutely want to hear.”

The Gryphon Ambassador was listening closely. He had a mirror out and was whispering, “Grata, Hisst, Empress, this show is like nothing ever done before and it is being done for our aid! Princess Celestia just confirmed that she has never beheld anything like it! The show has not even been put on and already they have raised about thirty eight thousand golden bits for us!”

He listened carefully to the reply. “I will tell them. There is much else happening in the Kingdom. They are, along with this, working to forstall a coup attempt.

“The first of the four casualty trains will be coming this afternoon. The Kindred Spirit Trauma Hospital is fully staffed and waiting for them.”

He listened more and closed his mirror.

He turned to Pinkie and gestured with a wing at the set dance going on the stage, “How do you manage to have a three step waterfall and pool on the stage?”

Pinkie snorted, “We had a little help with that one! It is mostly a Glamor spell cast by one of the foremost practitioners of non Equine magic in the kingdom.”

Meanwhile, Luna, eybrows raised almost all the way to her crown, was asking, “Are you sure about this, Twilight? Yes, Tia and I are the second and third best Rom dancers presently living but Rom dance is not like this!”

Nodding emphatically, Twilight stated, “True. Kin can coach us in how this kind of dance works in only a few minutes. We saw that last night.”

Celestia pointed out, “This might conflict with the Hospital's work.”

Luna replied, “We have a day and a half. Besides casualties we have ten more Gryphon surgeons who are not injured coming to learn. With their help, we could easily deal with the new cases.

“I think that Twi's idea is a good one! We have WATCHED enough performances. It is about time that we are IN one! Get Pinkie, Foamy, and Clarice over here while we still have the time!”

Pinkie piped up, “I'm already here. What's your idea?”

The other two nudged Twilight forward, “It's your idea, Twi. You pitch it.”

She took a deep breath and began, “Well, I thought that We, the Princesses could do one of the features between the set pieces. The basic idea is that we will all be on stage, taking turns as the lead. We will all be using those hidden wing outfits. First, Celestia will begin, with a low spotlight that will brighten. As it does, she will do the wing reveal and some flashy wing work, then she will be pulling hers close as I join her and sort of do the same while she goes to support dancing and then Luna will join me and I will retire to the support role with Celestia.

“Sort of presenting the passage of a day, through evening and night. You see?”

Pinkie bobbed her head as she turned and sprinted for the stages, “Foamy! Clarice! Quick! We have a dance emergency! You need to score a new one, fast!”

The Princesses huddled with the choreographers as Twilight explained her idea. Kin joined them shortly.

Kin pointed out, “I will need to do Princess Twilight entirely from scratch, which is no problem. For both Princesses Celestia and Luna I will need to lift coordination issues from Red. Their dancing is done to a music that is completely alien to what you will all be working with. Also, stripping is a whole different mindset. With your royal permission I will take care of it for you.”

Without waiting, she took up a pencil and pad, beginning to make sketches while talking over the act with the choreographers.

Pinkie nodded, not even waiting for their answer as she took off for backstage! Shortly she returned with Red. “Here you are, Kin. She is happy to do this for the show! Giving Royals, wing work and stripping reflexes? Not something found on most resumes!”

Celestia nodded, “True enough! Have we got time enough to do a full rehearsal? I mean, those trains of casualties will be arriving soon.”

Luna gave a slightly embarrassed happy skip as she replied, “Plenty of time, actually. Even once they get here, they have to be offloaded and the cases transported to the hospital. These are nearly all serious injuries but not life threatening. What I wonder is whether our costumes can be ready in time for us to rehearse with them.”

Rarity spoke up from where she was watching the finale of the mainstage second act, “If I can get the measurements and costume work up sketches, I should be able to have them for you in less than an hour.”

Kin put down her pencil and handed Rarity the file of drawings that she had been working on. “Here you go, Sweet Love. But not before you get a kiss. I've missed hugging you for simply hours!”

Suiting action to words, she pulled Rarity close and kissed her deeply. As they broke the kiss, Rarity added, “As soon as I get back with these, we will watch a run through of the act and then, Love of Mine, we both are in serious need of milking!”

Kin grinned, placing a hand over her boobs in fake modesty, she replied archly, "Should you speak of such things in public?” Breaking into a grin, she finished, “Only when alone or with some pony, like say, ME! Now scoot! Sooner done, sooner we play!”

With a flirt of her tail, Rarity got.

Kin held Red close and gently stroked from the back of her head to the end of her ribs, her fingers dancing lightly along. She gave Red a quick hug and then gestured to Princess Twilight.

“You first, My Princess. It will not take long, but I have the most to do with you. As I have promised, State and personal secrets are totally safe.”

She simply nodded and snuggled up to Kin. As Kin's fingers danced along her spine, Twilight's ears pointed down to the stage where the between act feature dancer was beginning! Her eyes opened in comprehension! “So THAT is what all those dance teachers were trying to show me!”

As she traded places with Princess Luna, Luna giggled, “What? They were trying to teach you how to strip?”

Twilight bleped her tongue at Luna and confessed, “Actually, it was picking up the rhythm of the music for dancing. I've always sort of had two left hooves at dancing. Now I know how to do it right!”

As Celestia took her turn with Kin, she commented, “That's wonderful, Twi. I love Rom dancing but Court ballroom? Boring. I rather expect that this will be anything but!”

TO BE CONTINUED

<==PREVIOUS ~ NEXT==>

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[melanieathene]

Suptober 2022 Day 27 - Liar

Dean Winchester was a consummate liar and con man. He learned from an early age that he could get what he wanted much faster with a lie than with the truth. It was a skill he cultivated and put to good use time and time again.

“You wouldn’t know the truth if it bit you on the ass,” Sam said, one morning after Dean had lied his way in and out of yet another curvaceous young woman’s bed.

“You’re not much of a boy scout yourself,” Dean countered. “You’re out there with me, posing as an FBI agent, scamming suckers at pool… and how many fake IDs and credit cards do you have?”

“That’s different,” Sam replied haughtily. “That’’s for the job, not personal gain.”

“So your fucking iPod is work related?”

“Shut up, Dean.”

Dean just laughed and walked away. But Sam had made a valid point, he had to admit. Dean had told so many lies, that he was beginning to believe them himself. Which also led him to believe that he was a bad person, worthless, stupid, undeserving of love. Hadn’t his own father said as much? Hell was no more than he deserved. That was the only truth he knew.

But that was before he met an angel – an actual angel. And this angel told him over and over again that he was worthy, he was good, and his soul burned more brightly than the sun.

Dean told Castiel in no uncertain terms that he was full of crap.

But Castiel was persistent, Dean had to give him that. Plus, the angel had a way of looking right through the hunter, seeing the truth behind whatever lie Dean told. Bit by bit, year by year, he wore down Dean’s resistance to the truth. Bit by bit, year by year, Dean began to feel an emotion he had never felt before: trust and fondness that grew into something more with every passing day; unexpected chick flick feelings that he tried hard to deny.

Castiel was the first to label the emotion, an emotion which had also grown within his heart and filled it to overflowing. Being direct and honest, he blurted out, “I love you,” and let the words fall into Dean’s stunned silence, rippling in the air like a pebble tossed into a pool.

“C-cas,” Dean stuttered. “I don’t… I can’t…”

“Liar,” Castiel said. And kissed him.

“I love you, too,” Dean whispered later, much later, as they lay tangled together in his bed. And it was no word of a lie.

[marimeetsmischief]

Wishes & Wands (and other miraculous adventures) - Part II

A (mildly) late chapter two update! I really loved writing this one.

Read on AO3

Tags: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Fantasy, Summoned Heroes, Magic Powers, Fluff, Mildly Sarcastic Narractor, Rivals to friends to lovers (eventually), Plagg is a book, Tikki is also a book, Actual Cat Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Slow burn, Ladynoir, ML Big Bang 2022

Summary: Wishing upon a star has been something Adrien grew up doing, but he never imagined it would end up like this. Sucked into a world of fairy tales that need to be brought to completion, he faces stories that are far more different than he's ever heard them told, and the endings aren't always quite what he expects. He'll have help along the way, though, with his trusty (and lazy) magic storybook, and a mysterious girl who seems to always be one step ahead of him.

Part II: Pumpkins, Mice, and Magic Wands

In which Adrien learns about the importance of alarms, a little faith, and the magic of a good make-over.

Careening backward, Adrien could feel nothing but wind all around him. The rushing air tore through his hair and clothes and he couldn’t help but flail his arms, trying to catch at anything until the ground suddenly came rushing up at him and he landed with a quiet thump. Somehow, the crash was cushioned and he felt no pain, only lush grass underneath him and warm sunlight above.

“-power…” he finished, staring up at the suddenly open sky; all of the trees that had been surrounding him were now replaced with open air. “Huh. Hey, Plagg?”

“Yeah, kid?”

“Am I… inside the book?” he asked, trying to figure out how this all worked, even though he’d probably be better off not knowing and trying would only worry him further.

“Well, it’s kind of a pocket dimension that’s part of a web of connections to the rest of the stories. The book acts as a gateway and connects them to the source power of all of the stories, which…” Plagg trailed off, pausing for a second as he sensed, rather than saw, his chosen’s confusion. “On second thought, it’ll just give you a headache.”

“I think you’re right,” Adrien mumbled awkwardly as he started to push himself onto his feet, brushing his hands over the back of his pants and looking around. “Well, where are we supposed to go?”

Just as he asked the question, his eyes searching the horizon and the setting sun, he heard a sound from the distance behind him. Whipping around, he saw a carriage thundering down a road worn into the fields, a modest trail of deep ruts from old-fashioned wheels carved into the dirt just meters from where he stood. Only having a few moments to decide, he started to walk towards the carriage, trying to get a closer look at the riders. As he did, he was struck with an overwhelming feeling of familiarity, and as they approached he began to sense why.

The carriage held three women, with a driver sitting at the front. One of the women faced away from him, and all he could see was her hair, piled high and elaborately styled and ornamented. The two ladies sitting across from her seemed young, maybe his age if he had to take a guess. Their hair was just as carefully curled and pooled at the top of their heads, both with ridiculous feather ornaments pinned to the front. He frowned as an idea formed in his head, reaching for his storybook.

“Hey, Plagg?”

“What do you need now, kid?” the book asked, stretched out in the grass in the rays of the setting sun.

Adrien turned to him and knelt, picking the book up. “Can you show me the Cinderella pages again?” he asked, looking between the book and the carriage that was almost at his location. The pages fluttered even though the air was still and landed on the first page of Cinderella, a sound almost like a yawn escaping from between the pages.

“Beautiful of face, but vile and black of heart…” Adrien murmured to himself, looking back up at the carriage that was now passing him. Its occupants didn't even spare him a glance, though he could swear he felt sharp eyes on his back as he continued to walk along the road and headed back the way they had come from. He could make out small snippets of their conversation, superficial talk about outfits, namely whose looked better, and a quick mention of a prince. “I’d call those evil step-sisters if I’ve ever seen any, Plagg.”

The possessed book didn't really answer, only letting out a quiet noise that almost sounded like a purr.

Adrien kept his eyes on the pages as he walked next to the road, reading over the sentences that had already filled it. It seemed like whatever had happened before, the story had been left incomplete at the first night of the King’s Ball, and Cinderella was supposed to be getting her magic makeover any moment now.

He finally reached the end of the road, where it turned into a tree-lined path that was more overgrown than the road he’d walked along. Branches hung over everywhere and he found himself having to duck down quite frequently to avoid them. After just a few minutes more of walking, he found what he was looking for: an ivy-covered and poorly kept chateau that had seen better days. The yard was weed-ridden and uneven, vines of ivy climbing up everything in sight. It looked as if one person was trying to take care of it all, a small garden maintained enough that he could see trellises with flowering plants twined around them.

He carefully crept into the yard, slipping over the low stone wall and glancing around, looking for any sign of the soon-to-be princess he was supposed to be assisting. After circling the front yard and edging his way into the back, he had almost given up hope when he heard soft murmurs coming from an open window.

Peering in, he saw blonde curls spilling over the shoulders of a figure kneeling in front of the hearth. She seemed to be leaning forward and speaking to something small in front of her. He crept closer to the window, trying to get a better look at what she was talking to. As he started to get close enough, something cracked under his foot and he froze, watching the blonde inside turn around. He dropped down, trying to get out of view of the window.

“Hello?” she asked, glancing around the kitchen surrounding her. “Is someone there?”

Adrien could hear her get to her feet, moving around the table and going to the window. He crept to the side, moving around a corner and praying that he was not visible to her as she peeked out. The last thing he wanted was to be caught sneaking around her garden at sunset.

She hummed softly, seeming to have given up and going back to what she was doing. This time, he could hear faint chirps answering her murmurs, and he narrowed his eyes in confusion. It almost sounded like she was having a conversation with a bird, somehow.

Trying to put the strangeness out of his mind, he reached for Plagg, where the book was hidden against his hip and flipped to the latest pages of the story. Skimming the paragraphs, he read about how Cinderella had called birds to help her sort the lentils from the ashes of the fireplace. As he got to the last words that had appeared in the book, he noticed that what it described next hadn’t seemed to have happened yet. Left behind by her step-mother and sisters even after she’d completed their menial tasks, the book detailed how she fled to the large tree behind her home and spoke to her mother.

Just as he started to wonder if he'd gotten the right house after all, he could hear her mumbling to her bird about visiting mother’s tree. He whipped his head around and tried to spot the tree, finally letting his eyes stop on a large willow tree that overshadowed most of the yard.

Adrien hurried to the tree, not quite sure what his plan was but having the distinct feeling that he needed to reach the tree before she did. He climbed its branches nimbly and found a spot high among them that was covered by leafy foliage. Before too long he could hear a door open and shut in the distance, and he hoped he was hidden well enough in the branches of the tree.

Cinderella, or at least the girl he was assuming was her, knelt at the roots of the tree, pressing her hands into fists in her lap. At first she was silent, but the more his ears adjusted to the sounds of the wood, he could hear soft sniffles and stuttered breathing.

“Mother… I’m sorry. I know you asked me to be gracious and kind, always, but it is so hard. My step-sisters are awful, and I don’t know if I can handle any more of their taunts.” She shuddered, her arms curling tightly around her chest. Looking down at her from his perch, Adrien noticed how tattered and dirty her clothes were compared to the manicured perfection that had adorned the three ladies who had left in the carriage.

“All I wanted… all I still want is to feel different for one night. To feel human, and worthwhile, not just an outlet for their cruel words and coldness.”

Adrien flinched a little as her words resonated with him, drawing his mind back to the thought that had brought him here in the first place. Wherever here was, dream or even real magic, he had wished for an escape the same way.

He opened his book up, seeking out guidance on what he could do next. “Plagg,” he whispered, hoping the weeping girl below him wouldn’t hear. “What are we supposed to do?”

He knew from most versions of the story that some form of assistance came to the protagonist, usually in the form of magical transformation. But as far as he could tell, there was no one in sight, and it didn’t appear that help was coming to her at all. He frowned and looked around, stretching up to see through the leaves and waited anxiously for something to happen.

“You heard what the old man said,” Plagg grouched quietly, floating out of Adrien’s hands and resting midair. The book opened wide as if it was some kind of lounge chair and Adrien was struck with the distinct feeling that if the spirit within it was physical, he’d be stretched out on top of it. “You might not always be playing the support role you expect. Are you just gonna wait to see if someone saves her, or are you going to do something, kid?”

“But what am I supposed to do? I’m not a fairy godmother, and I don’t exactly have magic, now do I?” Adrien questioned, struggling to keep his voice low against the helpless frustration building in his chest.

Plagg snickered, the book snapping shut and landing back in Adrien’s open hands. “Oh please. You’re anything here, kid, as far as your mind can imagine. Did you really think you’d be closing these stories without any kind of powers?”

Adrien shook his head slightly, thinking the question through. “I mean, I guess not, but I don’t know how I’m supposed to do anything. It’s not like anyone taught me how to use these magic powers or whatever they are.”

“Well, I hope you can stop overthinking it before the story decides for itself. The ending won’t wait forever, not while you’re in the story. Time has to move forward somehow, so do something fast.”

Not sure what that meant, Adrien struggled to think of how exactly he was supposed to interfere in the progression of this story without messing it all up. His mind reeled with versions he had heard or seen before and finally the obvious solution hit him. He couldn’t wait forever to see if a fairy godmother showed up to fix everything with a magic wand, so maybe, if Plagg was telling the truth, he could just be one himself.

Closing his eyes, he focused on the weight of the book in his hand and thought about every time he’d seen magic in movies and comics. Maybe if he just pictured in his mind what he wanted, wished for it hard enough like he had when he’d been brought here…

Before he could doubt himself further, he began to form the idea in his mind, following the train of thought until he had pictured a wand, dark wood shaped carefully and practically aglow with magic power. He could feel the leather cover of the book warm in his hands, growing hotter until the heat almost burned, his hands peeling away from it and tingling with power even after they’d been separated.

He opened his eyes, thinking he’d just dropped the book down on the head of the girl he was supposed to be saving. Instead, the book hovered in the air right where it had been in his hands, and the cover parted, pages moving with invisible wind. He saw light in the cracks between them, and at first he thought the binding of the book was glowing until the pages stopped moving and he could see a picture had appeared on the pages of Cinderella’s story, a wand laid flat across the width of the page. It seemed to shimmer when the moonlight above hit it, and the shadows were so in-depth that it was like he could reach out and touch it.

Curiosity getting the better of him, he did exactly that, and felt his fingertips pass through the page and curl around the wooden wand.

“Woah,” he murmured, remarking on the odd sensation of his fingers being partially inside of the page. It almost started to get uncomfortable, and he quickly pulled back, but was surprised to feel the wand pull free with his hand.

It grew larger once pulled from the pages, expanding to fit his hand properly. It was almost 10in long, and more ornate than he had pictured it, decorated with curling silver tendrils and small green gems. He wrapped his fingers more tightly around it and gave it a tentative flick, and felt the leaves around him shudder as a harsh gust of wind passed through them. Eyes narrowing in thought, he swirled the wand in a circle over his own head and felt a warm weight settle on his shoulders. Looking down at his arms, he could see he was now covered with a green cloak and hood, and grinned.

“This is easier than I thought,” he murmured, pinching the soft fabric over his body and pulling it away from his chest to get a better look at it. He let the wand hover again over his face, a black mask appearing over it, obscuring the upper half of his face.

“Yeah, yeah, kid. Now that you’ve gotten your costume change, maybe it’s time to do what we’re here for?” Plagg said, yawning. His voice almost seemed quieter than before and Adrien wondered how exactly taking the wand from the pages had affected the spirit.

“Right, sorry,” he finally mumbled, shaking his head and resolving to ask Plagg about it later. “Let’s go be a fairy godparent, I suppose,” he added with a shrug.

With a little more magic, he conjured a holster of sorts for the storybook, with a black leather strap that he slung over his shoulder so that he could carry – and hide – the book a tad more discretely. Once Plagg was securely tucked into it with some minor complaining, Adrien began his descent.

He slipped down from the branch he was seated on, trying to make as little noise as possible as he watched below them carefully. The girl had wrapped her arms around her knees, curling up and hiding her face, which was perfect for Adrien’s intentions. He finally made it to the lowest branches without her looking up, and with almost cat-like grace, slipped down and landed on the roots of the great tree.

This finally made the girl look up and he smiled as warmly as he could when their eyes met, seeing the fear and desperation appear in her own.

“Who are you?” she asked, caution lacing her tone as she started to uncurl her limbs, struggling to stand up with the way that her legs shook under her. Still, she seemed to grit her jaw with determination and he couldn’t help but admire it.

“I’m not going to hurt you, I promise. I’m just here to help,” he explained, frowning a little as he tried to figure out what to say to explain this without making her more nervous. “What’s your name?”

She hesitated before seeming to give into her own curiosity, holding a hand out to him. “I’m Aurore,” she answered, and he grasped her hand in his own, giving it a soft shake. “You haven’t answered my question though.”

Adrien flushed a little, pulling his hand back to rub the back of his neck as he gave her an awkward smile. “Consider me a fairy godparent. I’m here to help make sure you get your wish.”

“My wish?” she questioned, her eyes narrowing again as she looked at him more carefully.

“You wanted a night of freedom, right? I want to make that happen.”

“Really?” she said, surprise flickering across her features, and he wasn’t sure if it was because he’d known her wish, or because he was offering to make it come true. “But how? I’m not exactly dressed for a ball, and I don’t even own anything that would be considered nice enough.”

He held up the wand in his hand, giving it a dramatic flourish as he bowed forward, a grin on his lips. “At your service, my lady,” he said, laying the charm onto his tone a bit overly thick for someone who was supposed to be making sure that she fell in love with the prince.

“Oh, I’m not a lady,” she murmured quietly, looking down at her messy clothing and callused hands. “I’m just a servant at this point.”

“Not tonight, you aren’t. Tonight, you’re going to be the most beautiful lady at that ball, and you’ll have the night of freedom and magic that you wished for, alright?” He grinned at her, his eyes reflecting the genuine care behind the words despite the cheeky expression.

She hesitated for a moment but finally nodded, her spine straightening as she tilted her chin up. Smiling back at him finally, she placed her hands on her hips. “Alright then, what do we need to do?” she asked, looking at the wand in his hand curiously.

At the reminder that he had to figure out how to get her dressed up and to the ball, he frowned again. “Hmm, well, let’s see if I can remember how this goes. First things first,” he said, looking around the yard until he spotted what he was looking for, in a patch of overgrown garden.

He walked over to it, picking up a large, orange pumpkin, humming to himself as he carried it back to the open part of the yard. “Transportation!” he exclaimed, giving her a conspiratorial grin and setting it down between them. “And if I give it just a little…” he murmured to himself, trailing off as he circled the pumpkin with the wand outstretched in his hand, making small circles over the orange vegetable.

Before his eyes, flecks of light fell from the tip of the wand and shimmered down to land on the rind of the pumpkin. A quiet creaking started, coming from deep inside and he took a step back, pushing Aurore back with him. The whole thing glowed with golden light for a moment and then it began to grow, first to their knees, and then hips, up and up and up until it towered over their heads. The vines attached to its stem twined and curled outward, forming wheels and ornaments as they morphed from green to gold. A delicate pattern of gold circled the pumpkin that was now a carriage, complete with a door, windows, and seats inside, as well as at the front and back for a driver and a footman.

He looked over at Aurore and grinned. “Not bad, huh? This is my first time turning any vegetables into carriages, and frankly, I think it went quite well.”

The girl didn’t really seem to know what to say at all and stood there in obviously stunned silence. “You know, for a minute there I was so sure that you were just crazy,” she remarked after a long moment.

He immediately whipped around to face her. “Well that’s just rude. Such little faith in your fairy godparent,” he murmured, clicking his tongue disapprovingly. He glanced around again, still piecing together the tasks ahead of him.

“The carriage is nice, but how is it going to move?” came a hissed whisper from his side, and he was suddenly reminded that Plagg was still there.

“What did you say?” Aurore asked, tearing her eyes away from the gleaming gold and white carriage to look at him with concern.

He coughed out a laugh and waved his hand, quickly trying to deflect away from any mention of the talking book attached to his side. Hearing a soft squeak, he noticed an upside down planter, turning it over and finding just what he’d expected: two small mice. “How do you guys feel about being horses for a night?” he said with a cheshire grin, ignoring the small squeaks of complaint as he picked the mice up in one hand.

Waving the wand over both, gold sparkles once again fell from the tip and coated the animals, and he set them down in front of the carriage. They sat still, sniffing the open air cautiously and Adrien couldn’t help but wonder what they were feeling of the transformation. Before even a few seconds had passed, they began to morph into stark white horses with twitching ears. Both animals looked around, then at each other, whinnying and shuffling their feet. He was sure the world looked a little different and more surprising from their new height.

“What am I missing?” he murmured to himself, pacing back and forth beside the carriage. Suddenly, the idea clicked in his head. “Do you have a dog? Or maybe a lizard?” he questioned, looking around.

Aurore suddenly looked nervous, as if concerned about what else he could possibly want to transfigure. “Well, we have a cat? He’s a bit old though, he mostly just sits around instead of chasing the mice.”

“That’ll work, bring him out,” Adrien said, nodding to himself as he continued to pace. He waited until she was inside, searching for the cat before talking out loud to himself. “Alright, carriage, horses, the cat will make an acceptable footman, but what else?”

He could feel that he was forgetting something, and it nagged at the back of his mind as he tried to remember all of the steps he’d seen in movies and other retellings of this story.

“Oh, a driver!” he finally said out loud. He looked around again but wasn’t exactly thrilled at the idea of leaving Aurore to be driven around by another animal turned human. He glanced down at himself instead, frowning and then shrugging.

Waving the wand once again over his own head, he felt the warm tingle of magic settle over his body and his cloak and plain clothes had been replaced with a white and gold uniform that looked reminiscent of the uniform he’d seen worn by guards in most fairy tale adaptations. Even the mask had turned white with gold accents.

“Ugh, kid, warn me next time you plan to cover me in magic dust,” he heard, remembering that Plagg was still attached. When he looked down, the book was coated in lingering gold flecks and he carefully removed the holster from himself, dusting it off and setting it on the bench of the carriage.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, his hand scratching at the back of his neck once again. “This will have to work,” he said looking down at himself once again, then turning as he heard footsteps and saw Aurore come up the stairs with an uncomfortable looking gray cat in her arms.

“This is Tom,” she said, scratching behind his ear and then holding the cat out.

Adrien smiled, reaching out to give the cat a few scratches of his own. “Well, Tom, it’s a pleasure to be working with you.”

Wasting no time, he swirled the wand in a quick circle over the cat’s head and let the gold dust shower onto the cat’s fur, then gesture to Aurore to set him down. The cat glowed brightly, shifting to stand on his back legs as he grew and grew until he was Aurore’s height, his feline face replace with human features. Where the cat had been now stood a gray haired man with a thin, whiskery mustache and white uniform that matched Adrien’s own.

“Perfect, we’re all set,” he said, pushing the former cat towards the door. “Tom, your only job is to open and close this door, and help your Lady in and out of her carriage. Got it?” he quizzed, and Tom nodded simply in response, licking the back of his hand and wiping it over his face. Adrien grimaced.

“All ready to go, Aurore?” he said, trying to ignore the footman grooming himself next to them. Aurore frowned and looked down at herself, then back at him with a raised brow. “Oh, obviously, I’m sorry.”

Adrien quickly pulled her a few steps away from the carriage, circling around her. “Well, I’m not as much of a fashion aficionado as my father, but I’ll try my best,” he said, trying to just picture the fancy dresses he’d seen in movies and fashion shows. He gave the wand a swirl over her head and a few flicks to shake some extra dust off for good measure. A soft wind swirled around them, picking up petals and leaves from the garden in its breeze as it curled around her. For a moment, she was almost completely obscured from his view by the rush of flowers, but with a bright flash of light, everything converged towards her and a beautiful ball gown began to form. Layers upon layers of glittering silver and blue fabric coated her form. The few remaining flowers and petals landed on the dress and melted into silver embroidery along the trim of the skirts and bodice.

Aurore looked down at her dress in awe, swishing the skirts around herself with a joyful laugh. “This is incredible. It’s more than I ever dreamed,” she said in an admiring sigh, smoothing her hands down over the skirts.

“One more thing,” Adrien said in a hum, touching the wand to her loose hair first, and then flicking it twice at the ground. Her hair coiled up into an intricate crown of braids complete with threads of silver twined into it and ornamented with almost lifelike looking glittering baby blue flowers. On the ground in front of her appeared a pair of delicate glass slippers that reflected every bit of starlight in the garden.

“Glass?” Aurore asked, looking cautious.

“It’s… traditional?” Adrien offered, not sure what other explanation to provide her with. “I made sure they’ll be sturdy and comfortable, please don’t worry.”

She hesitated for a moment more before slipping off her own worn flats and stepping into the glass slippers instead. She closed her eyes for a moment, wincing as if she was expecting the shoes to crumble but they held up perfectly, and the blinked in silence, taking a few steps in them. “Huh, they actually are fairly comfortable,” she said, amazement clear in her tone. You could even hear a faint clink as the heels hit the rocky ground, and she seemed to be more careful to avoid anything sharp even though Adrien seemed certain that nothing would shatter the shoes.

“Ready to go, my lady?” Adrien offered, bowing in the same way he had when he’d first introduced himself, gesturing to the carriage door that was waiting open for the cat-turned-footman standing and waiting for Aurore to take her place.

Everything was in place, and for some reason she still hesitated. “Can I… really do this?” she asked, her shoulders slumping down as she shrank into herself. “Pretend to be a real lady, in front of all of them? They’ll see right through me.”

Adrien could hear the hopelessness seeping into her voice and he immediately stepped forward to comfort her. He laid a gentle hand on her shoulder and shook his head. “Not a chance. I’ll tell you a trick that I learned from… well, something I used to do. Keep your chin up, and a half smile on your face. It’s all the perception of confidence. They’ll only see whatever you project into the world. If you move with certainty and never look down, they won’t be able to see past their own motivations, I promise you.”

She nodded slowly, seeming to square her shoulders and meet his gaze finally. “What do fairy godparents do before they’re fairy godparents?” she asked, a small smile lifting the corners of her lips.

Adrien froze for a moment, looking back at her in dumb shock before laughing, linking his elbow with hers to lead her to the carriage. “Now that, sadly, is classified magical information,” he said simply, flashing her a wink as she took the footman’s hand to be lead into the carriage.

“Fine, fine, I won’t pry,” she pouted, seating herself as comfortably as she could in the carriage with the cloud of skirts surrounding her.

Adrien made sure the door was shut completely behind her, and then stepped around the front of the carriage, hopping into the driver’s seat. He knocked twice on the surface of the coach before picking up the reins and gently urging the horses forward. The former mice seemed a little over-excited to be such a size, and move so quickly, and they took over with a jolt, almost sending Adrien tumbling from his seat. Holding a little tighter to the reins once he’d gotten readjusted on the bench, he just shook his head and set off down the long road that led away from the property.

After a carriage ride that felt shorter than it was, night truly began to fall, and the carriage pulled to a stop in front of the grand front steps of the palace. He stepped down from the driver’s seat, eyeing the horses as if to silently tell them not to move a muscle. To his great relief, they stayed in place while he stepped around, where the cat-footman was already opening the door for Aurore. Adrien held his hand out to her, beating the footman to doing so and she smiled at him as she took it.

“There’s one more thing I forgot to mention,” he said as she gingerly stepped out of the carriage, leaning slightly on his arm. “The magic… as wonderful as it is, can only last so long. It will wear off at midnight, and we’ll need to be well on our way back by then, alright?”

She nodded, letting go of his hand as she moved to stand between the steps and the carriage she had just exited. “Until midnight is more than I’d ever thought I’d have. Truly, thank you,” she said with sincerity crystal clear in every word.

He nodded back and then gestured towards the steps, shaking his head. “Go on, have the night of your life, Aurore. Don’t keep the party waiting for its star,” he teased, smiling warmly at her.

She smiled back and turned, beginning the walk up the stairs. Adrien watched her the entire way until he saw the doors at the top open wide, bright light and echoes of waltzes pouring out of the opened doors. When they had safely shut behind her, he hopped back up into the seat of the carriage, leaning back in his seat comfortably to wait the night out.

Adrien had barely closed his eyes and felt like drifting off when he jumped upright with a start at the sound of a bell chiming, coming from a tower high above his head. A quick glance at the tower confirmed that it was seconds from midnight. His eyes widened and he bolted up from his seat, taking the stairs two at a time until he reached the doors and opened them for himself without bothering to wait for the guards positioned in front of them to do so.

He eyes scanned over the party, spotting a head of blonde hair dashing into the crowd from a doorway off to the side and pushing her way through the throng of people. “Hurry, Aurore,” he whispered to himself, watching as she barely made it through the dance floor before the second strike had echoed. She ascended the stairs toward him and out of the ballroom, turning back to watch a suited figure with chin-length dark hair follow behind from the doorway she’d run through. Aurore finally reached the top of the stairs, smiling brightly and flush with life from her run and from the night itself.

“I’m late, I’m sorry, I know you said we should already-”

“There’s no time.” He pushed her towards the doorway as the third chime cut them both off. “I’m going to tell you to do something, and you’re going to think it’s odd, but just trust me,” he said, letting her walk ahead of him as she left the ballroom.

He turned back once more, now identifying the figure that he’d seen following Aurore as the prince, judging by the guards that now circled around the suited figure. One in particular caught his eye, and as if feeling his gaze, they turned and met his eyes, frowning slightly. He was struck immediately by how blue those eyes were, locked onto his own, and how much life blazed within them. He stood frozen under their gaze, even when the prince and the guards started to force their own way through the crowd. It wasn’t until Aurore tugged on his arm that he shook himself out of it.

“What were you saying?” she asked, pulling him out of the doors as he followed in a stupor, still picturing bluebell eyes in his mind.

“What?” he asked, finally looking at Aurore as they descended the overly-long stair case to the sound of the fourth chime. “Oh, a shoe!” he quickly said, stopping in place and jerking Aurore back with him.

She turned back, wide eyed and her brows raised. “A shoe?”

“You have to leave one behind, on the steps,” he said quickly, pointing down at their feet and gesturing wildly. “Don’t question it, we’re not going to even make it back to your home if we don’t leave right now.”

“Alright, I’ll do it. Let’s just hurry,” she said, her eyes darting quickly back to the doorway above them. She delicately stepped out of one of the glass slippers, leaving it on the very last stair before picking the other up and holding it as they walked back to the carriage.

Barely a second had passed before noise sounded from the top of the stairs and the bell tower simultaneously. The doors burst open once more, a dozen guards piling out of them and rushing down the steps. Adrien and Aurore took one glance at each other before starting to run. They wasted no time as they reached the carriage and she threw the door open and threw herself in, jostling the whole vehicle. Shutting the door behind her, Adrien moved around to the front of the carriage, hopping up onto the bench and flicking the reins immediately. The horses pulled forward with a lurch, their slow trot becoming a rapid gallop within moments as they sped away from the steps of the palace.

Turning the corner to exit the gates while the bell was struck again, Adrien risked a glance back and saw that some of the guards had already found horses and were mounting them as quickly as they could. He spurred the horses faster as the first of the guards swung their leg into the stirrups. It was the same girl from before, her bright blue eyes digging into him as he tried to get as much ground between them as possible. Soon, they passed beyond the border of the gates and out of sight.

“Plagg,” Adrien hissed, leaning to his side to address the book still laid on the bench seat next to him. “How many chimes was that?”

“Six,” Plagg’s voice said disinterestedly, propped against the back of the bench.

Adrien groaned, shaking his head as he snapped the reins again to try anything to get the carriage to move faster. They were quite a bit away from the gates of the palace at least, but not even halfway back yet, and he didn’t know if they could cross that distance fast enough.

Seven.

The bell rang again, the sound still loud enough to reach them even as they raced away from the tower. Adrien glanced around the side of the carriage, making sure they weren’t being actively pursued yet and almost relaxed with relief when he saw no one behind them. He wasn’t sure how long the horses could keep this paces but the answer was certainly not indefinitely.

They passed over bridges and under towering trees, and every chime of the bell tower made Adrien wince.

Eight.

The carriage tore through the small town near the castle. It was blissfully empty and abandoned with everyone at the festivities.

Nine.

Adrien felt the carriage begin to shudder and he knew what was coming, taking another glance behind them to see if the palace guards were catching up yet.

Ten.

The horses in front of him sprouted round ears, their tails twisting together until it was a single pointed cord of skin instead of horse hair. The carriage shuddered even more now, and sparing a glance down at his hands, he could see the gold leather reins turning into green vine under his fingertips. He didn’t even need to look back to know that the white of the carriage was turning orange, and he could feel the bench he was sat upon shrinking.

Eleven.

“Aurore, we’re not going to make it!” he said, raising his voice over the din of clattering hooves and rattling wheels. They were at least passing out of the town now, which meant they had passed the halfway mark and would be left with grassy road through the field and forest.

Aurore leaned out of the window behind him, her brow furrowed and her knuckles white from her grip on the edge of the shrinking window. “What do we do?”

“We get ready to jump,” he said back, gritting his jaw and steering the carriage towards the edge of the road. “When the final toll sounds, jump.”

If she had complaints, he didn’t hear or see them, busying himself immediately with strapping his storybook back against his side securely and holding the wand inside of his hand. Then, it happened.

Twelve.

He threw himself off of the side of the bench, tucking into a roll as he hit the soft ground of the meadow surrounding the road. Landing on his back with a grunt, he heard a loud creak and then a crash, sitting up in time to watch the now normal sized pumpkin smash into a rock. Looking around, he spotted the cat looking around in confusion, his nose turned up and sniffing the air before running off and then Aurore not too far from his own landing spot, sprawled on her side with the slipper tucked in against her stomach. Her dramatic ball gown had turned back into the worn slip it was before he’d transformed it at the start of the night. He took a deep breath and forced himself to his feet, wincing at the slight ache from standing up.

Adrien moved to Aurore’s side as quickly as he was able, gently shaking her shoulder. “Are you alright?” he said.

She groaned but nodded slowly after a moment, rolling onto her back with a sharp inhale. “I can’t believe that just happened.”

He laughed, nodding back at her with a slight grin. “Honestly, me either,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand.

The sound of hoofbeats echoed from down the road before either of them could say anything more and they both whipped their gazes in that direction, seeing the group of guards from the palace finally approach. Adrien held his hand out to her and pulled her into a seated position from where she’d been laying down. He crouched down next to her, putting his finger to his lip as he looked at Aurore.

“Stay low and stay quiet,” he whispered. The grass was tall enough that he could only hope it covered them well enough for the moment, but the crushed grass from their landing would be too obvious from the road.

He led her forward in the field, trying to move quickly but carefully enough to avoid too much movement from the grass around them. A glance behind him showed Aurore following his steps as much as she could, moving on her hands and knees through the grass. They worked their way to the edge of the forest in good time, and he ducked behind a tree, watching Aurore take cover behind a bush across from him. Just as they’d both hidden themselves, the guards reached the spot where they had jumped from the crashing carriage.

He could see a few of them slow down, noticing the remnants of the pumpkin and the patches of smushed grass. The same guard from the ball knelt at the edge of the field and he could finally get a clear look at her.

Her eyes still stood out the most, startlingly bright blue under the moonlight to the point he almost thought they were glowing. Once he was able to tear his gaze away from them though, he looked at the rest of her. She was dressed in a guard’s uniform that matched the others almost exactly, but instead of the black and gold that the other guards wore, her coat was bright red with gold trim, and black pants with a gold band down the side of the leg. Her hair was plaited back away from her face in twin braids, and he could clearly see the calculating expression on her face in the bright light of the open field, her brow tensed and her eyes scanning the distance.

Her gaze swept over their location and he could feel his heart beating rapidly against his throat. The sound was loud enough in his own ears that he almost worried it would give away their hiding spot.

Aurore tensed across from him as well, and he turned his face to her, trying to reassure her. He gave her his best confident smile, trying to soften the tension in his brow and jaw for just a moment to at least give her the illusion of confidence.

She seemed to accept it for a moment before she looked back at the road and her eyes widened, flicking wildly back and forth between him and the group of guards. He looked back himself and saw the same guard slowly walking towards them and he felt the panic rise in his own chest.

Just when he thought they were going to be caught for sure, he heard a horse in the distance and the guard snapped toward the sound at the same time he did. She rushed back to her horse, swinging up into the saddle with ease.

“That way!” she called out, her voice sounding lighter than he’d thought it would.

The guards took off in the direction she pointed ahead of her, but she stalled for a moment. Her eyes ghosted over their location once more before she mouthed something silently. She frowned, slipping something he hadn’t noticed she’d even been holding back into a sleeve on her saddle. She shook her head and urged her own horse forward, finally following after the guards who were now nearing the edge of the woods.

Adrien heaved out a sigh of relief, slumping back against the tree behind him. Silently, he thanked whatever force of fate or luck had distracted the guards, knowing that without it, there was no chance they’d have stayed hidden for long. He took a moment to catch his breath before turning to Aurore.

“Ready to get home?” he said, slowly starting to stand up. He held a hand out to her to help her up.

She accepted the hand with a grateful nod. “More than ready. I think that’s enough excitement for one lifetime,” she said with a quiet laugh.

She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering slightly and he frowned, giving the wand a little flick and covering her with a dark blue cloak. She looked over at him, nearly tripping in shock as the warm fabric wrapped around her shoulders. “Thank you.”

He nodded in response, giving the wand a wave over his own head to revert the white uniform to the more relaxed outfit he’d had before, and then pulling his dark green cloak over his own shoulders.

“I hope you’re alright walking back. I don’t think transfiguring any more forest animals would be advisable for tonight,” he said, starting to walk along the edge of the treeline parallel to the road.

She shrugged, her arms swinging lightly at her sides while they walked through the woods. “Yes, it’s not a problem for me. I walk most places.”

Nodding his head at her slowly, he looked over at the glass slipper cradled in her hands. Even though he’d known from reading iterations of the story, he was still surprised to see it in her hands after they’d landed, when everything else he’d done had worn off right at the last stroke of midnight. It meant that at least something about the story was going right so far, and maybe he’d be able to end it the way it should be.

Adrien curled his hands around the storybook in them, wishing he could see for his own eyes if the story was writing itself the way it was supposed to. He knew without being told, though, that looking at the pages in front of the story’s main character would not be advisable under any circumstances. It felt like something he’d always known somehow.

After a short, silent walk, they reached the edges of the property and passed over the wall. Aurore’s step family’s carriage hadn’t pulled into the drive yet, and he could see the tension in her shoulders melt away at that fact. She turned to face him.

“Thank you for everything. This night was more than I ever imagined. The dancing, the dress, the prince…” she said, trailing off in quiet reverence.

“The prince?” he questioned, a smile on his lips as he prodded her for more details.

She blushed, her cheeks turning faintly pink as she turned to look at the willow tree in the far back of the yard. “The prince was wonderful… and kind, and gentle, and charming. Everything people described and more. We danced for what felt like hours,” she said. Even with her back partially turned to him, he could see the shy smile on her lips.

“It sounds like you really had chemistry,” Adrien said, moving to stand at her side. “Do you think anything will come of it? They seemed fairly determined to catch up with you.”

“It’s… a little unlikely.” Aurore paused, humming slightly and crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“Why? What prince would give up a chance at love?”

Aurore sighed, her hands curling around the edges of her cloak as she pulled it taut around herself. “Her name is Mireille. She’s the oldest of her siblings and fought her family and the court to be called prince instead of princess, since the throne is her birthright, not any of her brothers.”

Adrien couldn’t help but grin widely at this information, enjoying the little twists that the fairy tale continued to throw his way. “She sounds amazing, then. It sounds to me like she’s someone who would go to great lengths for the things – and people – she cares about,” he said with a pointed look.

Aurore flushed. “It’s not that simple. She’s supposed to marry someone titled to strengthen the whole kingdom.”

“Why do they have to be titled to give strength? You seem plenty strong to me,” Adrien said. He glanced at her, brows furrowed in concern even if she was faced away and couldn’t see it.

“Not that kind of strong. I can’t provide armies or money, and I’m definitely not what her parents have in mind. They want a successor, heirs. Someone with the right knowledge and skills to make the whole country better. Not a plain, country girl.”

Frowning, Adrien sighed and looked away from Aurore and out at the road they walked. “What does Mireille want?”

She shrugged quietly, not daring to voice the answer she hoped was true.

“It’s not like I’ll ever see her again, so does it really matter?”

“Don’t be so sure of that,” he said, not explaining anything beyond the simple statement.

They ended their walk in silence, each contemplating the events that lie before – and in Adrien’s case, still ahead of – them. When they reached Aurore’s home, they sequestered themselves in the ash covered kitchen that he’d first seen her in.

After settling a sack of grain against a corner, Aurore frowned at him. “Are you sure you’ll be alright hiding out in here? You don’t have to stay here for me anymore, I’m sure there’s someone else who deserves your magic,” she said quietly.

He glanced at the dark stone corner behind him and nodded resolutely. “Entirely sure, Aurore. I have a feeling that your story isn’t over. I won’t leave you before then.”

Smiling at her, he sat down on the floor of the small storage space in the kitchen, drawing his cloak around his shoulders as he leaned into the sack. Aurore sighed, and knowing she could not argue with him, drew the curtain closed in front of him. For a moment, she could have almost sworn that she heard hushed whispers coming from where Adrien was hidden by the curtain, and not just his own. She listened for a moment, but whatever she heard didn’t make itself known again, so she stepped away and moved to her own bed near the fireplace.

She had taken to sleeping down in the kitchen for warmth, and eventually gone as far to simply move her flattened cot with her. Now the kitchen simply felt safe to her, and she stared in slight awe at the glass slipper resting on her worn bed. She felt as thought every time she blinked, it would be gone when she opened her eyes, but the slipper continued to defy that reality. It glittered in the firelight, the dancing flames reflecting against her skin. Picking it up in her hands, she curled up in the thin cot and clutched it close to her chest, staring into the flames as darkness seeped into the edges of her vision and she drifted into sleep.

[grace-e-b]

Fairy Fountain

Photos taken: July 16, 2022

Finished Editing: July 20, 2022

I paired these photos with the songs "(Feels Like) Heaven" by Fiction Factory and "Fairy Fountain" from The Legend of Zelda by Koji Kondo.

I was feeling really inspired by the ethereal and stunning works of Pierre et Gilles, and their common themes of highly saturated colors, flowery frames, and the film-like quality of their pieces. Pierre et Gilles are a French couple who have been working together since the '70's, combining photography and painting to create romantic fantasy portraits.

I took these photos in a home pool with my iPhone, and surprisingly…not a lot of flowers! Upon preparing to take these photos, I quickly learned that fake flowers can get really expensive (and hard to store) so I only bought one bouquet.

Editing these photos really helped me learn how to duplicate physical objects to make it appear that I had many more than 10 flowers and how to overlay textures like water.

I really like how these came out, but I noticed a couple weeks later that it was pretty obvious I had to photoshop some of the flowers in the first photo because I didn't overlay the water correctly. I'd love to try Pierre's and Gille's style again and hopefully capture it with a greater resemblance than I did this time.

[shameaboutthedilettantism]

2022 Writing Year in Review

1. Number of stories posted to Ao3: 1, plus 2 chapters of a story I started in 2020...ugh, can I even call myself a writer?

2. Word count this year: 15,807 not counting all the ones written for stories that were never published

3. Fandoms I wrote for: Avatar: The Last Airbender

4. Pairings: Aang/Katara, Zuko/Mai

5. Stories with the most:

Kudos:

Bookmarks:

Comment threads: 

Word count:

Since I only published one story this year, it's obviously So I Wait for You with 50 kudos, 28 comments (oh wait, that said 'threads'..let's just say half that because I responded to most of the comments before I just ran out of steam for everything), 6 bookmarks, and 10,860 words.

6. Work I’m most proud of (and why): 

Well, I am a bit proud of the completed fic I published because now I believe I can complete a multichapter story. Some day I will finish The Only Way to Hold On!

7.   Work I’m least proud of (and why):

Umm, same I guess, since I only published one story. I find typos and stuff I hate every time I look at it. The last chapter was so bad the first time I posted it that I took it down and reworked large swathes of it before posting it again.

8.   Share or describe a favorite review you received:

Y'all, @coyotelemon is the kind of friend I wish everyone had. She is so kind and encouraging and every time I feel down on myself, I go back and read the final comment she left on my story

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

FUCK I LOVE THIS SO MUCH

Dilly!!!!!! DILLY?!?!?!???!!!!

This was— and I mean this with my whole everything— a perfect story from start to finish. It’s amazing, it’s hot, it’s hilarious!!!

She says a bit more, but it's maybe spoilery, so I'll leave it out. It's so comforting and serotonin-boosting to get a review like that, ya know? Get you a friend like Coyote, folks.

9.   A time when writing was really, really hard:

2022? Okay, mostly post July. I got a promotion at work then and the imposter syndrome and drowning sensation have been intense. Between work and some family stuff, I haven't had the focus or mental energy to write much.

10. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you:

The fight scene in chapter 17 of OWTHO. I hadn't planned for anyone to get really hurt, but I started writing and suddenly Mai's dress was on fire and Li was lying in a pool of blood.

11. A favorite excerpt of your writing:  

I was really happy with my introduction of Meng in So I Wait for You

“Hey, Katara, why are you still asleep?” came the annoyingly perky voice of her roommate, Meng.

Katara surfaced slowly from sleep, where she'd been dreaming something warm and pleasant that dissipated so quickly it was gone by the time her eyes squinted blearily open. “Huh?” she queried, voice slumber-roughened.

Then she bolted upright. Her room was bright with morning, each corner illuminated by sunshine. A golden glow surrounded Meng's darkened silhouette and slashed bars of light across the wall behind her. What time was it? Why hadn't her alarm gone off? She patted her nightstand desperately, trying to find her phone so she could figure out how late she was.

Meng's snort of laughter stilled her hand. Katara growled, low and long, the sound rumbling in her throat and soothing her irritation. When would she learn?

After heaving a disgusted sigh, Katara asked “It's Saturday, isn't it?”

12. How did you grow as a writer this year:

Ugh. I don't think I did. My growth this year was professional.

13. How do you hope to grow next year:

I'd like to try to write some every day. Though I wish I could say something more profound like Choco and Northern did, but dang I really need to get more words out before I can focus on using metaphor and foreshadowing. Baby steps.

14. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc):

I have to pick one? @coyotelemon, then. She helped me come up with so many ideas for So I Wait for You and cheered me on when I did writing sprints and left amazing comments. (but @flameohotwife, @princessofnewcorona, and Nettie Sprinkle helped so much, too, with joining me in sprints as well as cheering me on while I sprinted and having unhinged reactions to the bits I shared. I have such incredible friends!)

15. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year: 

Soju. That's all I will say on the matter. I plead the fifth.

16. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers: 

Make fandom friends who will encourage and advise you, maybe even beta read for you.

17. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year: 

An' it please the Lord, finishing OWTHO.

Thanks for the tags, @chocomd @flameohotwife and @northerngoshawk

[punkpoemprose]

Hunter’s Daughter- Kristanna Vampire AU Pt 4

Universe: Vampire AU [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] Rating: T (Teen & Up, mentions of sex) Length: 1723 Words

A/N: Kristanna Advent 2022 Day 8. I can’t help but revisit this one every now and again. I fully planned on being done with it last year, but I have a couple more scenes in me that I’d like to write so you can probably expect 2-3 more of these in the future.

Kristoff had changed careers, at least somewhat. He still hunted with the blessing of his wife and sister-in-law, but he’d also taken up some less dangerous work at the local sawmill. He’d still send in fangs to the hunter’s guild, if only to prevent anyone seeking him out and potentially learning about his wife and sister-in-law. These days little of his income came from that trade, most of his work being using his axe for more palatable purposes. The mill owner didn’t care what hours he kept, only that the work was done, and he’d found it useful even that Kristoff preferred working in the evenings rather than the mornings because it allowed him to get more done between a day shift and a night shift. It wasn’t necessary that he work at night of course, he was human, but it did give him time to build up a schedule before it became necessary.

He doubted that he’d ever stop hunting entirely, even if Anna finally agreed to turn him, because despite it all he still wanted to make the world a safer place. These days the only hunting he did was to destroy the monsters who killed to sate their appetite, but to his great pleasure he’d found in his travels, some vampires who were moral enough to feed from humans without killing them. Some were established in large cities and had pools of consenting volunteers who liked to be bitten, which he’d have more opinions about if he himself didn’t enjoy his wife feeding from him. He’d even met a couple of vampires who, like Elsa and Anna, fed from animal blood rather than human.

He doubted that he would ever be able to change the mind of the hunters who’d raised him, to show them that not all vampires were cruel, but he was content to spend his life, his potential eternity, protecting his little family in every way he could. He’d never let hunters take his wife from him, nor would he allow them to touch her sister. He also intended to provide for them, bringing in his own small financial contribution to their household despite Elsa and Anna’s insistence that it was unnecessary given their wealth.

He did it regardless, feeling better when he provided what he could, particularly in recent months.

“Welcome home,” Anna said as he walked through the door, “I made us dinner.”

It was nearly midnight, but their “dinner” was always more akin to a midnight snack. Anna didn’t really need to eat, her sustenance came from blood, his at times and animals’ blood at others, but she could eat for the taste if she wanted to and Kristoff enjoyed the company.

“You’ve been doing so much of the cooking for me lately,” he said as he shucked off his books and doffed his coat, “You should be resting.”

She approached him for a hug and received it, her swollen stomach making it difficult to hold her as close as he’d like to. She’d always been slight and lately it looked like she’d taken to putting a watermelon under her gown. He’d so rarely ever seen pregnant women in his life, and it had been a blessing when he’d found a female vampire in the city who was a midwife and surgeon’s assistant who had confirmed to him that Anna’s progress was normal and that she’d be happy to assist in the birthing. He'd not been wholly disgusted, as he once would have been, that her work was how she kept herself fed.

“I’m nesting, I want to cook. I’ve cleaned the whole house top to bottom every day this week and our little one will need normal food for some time after the milk, and I still sometimes eat out of habit, plus you need to eat for now, so please don’t fuss. It’s a good hobby for me.”

He never won when he argued with her save for the extraordinary circumstance in which she couldn’t find a flaw in his logic, so he simply nodded.

“Good,” she said cheerily, “Elsa and I had steak so that’s what I made you.”

“Steak” was cow’s blood for her and actual meat for him. He’d come to find some humor in the ways in which she and her sister referred to the blood they drank by the meats they were born from. Pig’s blood was pork, sometimes cheekily ham or bacon, sheep’s’ blood was mutton, chicken’s blood was… well chicken, and the list went on and on.

She rarely, if ever actually ate the meat with him, but instead frequently made herself a taster of the vegetables and starches that she cooked for him along with it.

You’ll see someday, she’d told him some months before, vegetables and desserts and grains and things taste nice, but cooked meat just sort of has a taste of char.

He wondered if he would experience that as well and whether the child she carried would ever appreciate the taste of a well cooked piece of meat.

Babies were something of a new territory for them. The hunters’ society had never said anything at all about vampire children, likely because the conditions to create them were vile in one circumstance and likely unrecorded in their methodology. He’d found, since meeting Anna and Elsa that there was plenty that hunters didn’t know about vampires, and he supposed that someday he could write the book on the matter if it weren’t for the fact that he never wanted to offer anyone, anywhere the sort of information that could lead to someone in his little family getting hurt.

“How was the mill?”

He smiled, following her into the dinning room of their family home. She almost waddled from the extra weight around her front, and he wished that he had been around to witness the likely comical way she’d been cleaning their home with her daughter getting in the way.

Of course, they didn’t know that it was a girl, he just felt certain of it. He’d been sure that she’d have a girl from the first night he dreamed of a little red-haired baby with his brown eyes. Elsa also thought as much, having both the same gut inclination and the “proof” of the pendulum test she’d performed with Anna the day she’d been informed of the pregnancy.

“It was nice,” he said, “I like the work, it makes me feel productive.”

She smiled at him and sat at his side when he settled at their overlarge dinner table. Once he was seated, she removed the cloche from his plate that was keeping the food warm and then removed a second from her own plate which included a variety of the vegetables she’d been growing herself in the estate’s garden.

“I’m glad, I wouldn’t want you to do it if you didn’t like it, but I do have to admit that you doing safer work closer to home has me feeling much better with the baby almost here.”

“I know,” he said fondly, spearing some of the same vegetables on his plate with a fork, “I’m happy that I get to come home every night and make sure all is well. I’ll have to go back to hunting once she’s born, if only to keep anyone from looking for me, but I think that working close to home is ideal.”

She ate her vegetables slowly, savoring the taste, while he ate quite speedily, feeling hungry from the day’s work.

“Was your steak enough?”

“The baby has me feeding more often… eating for two I suppose, but I think that eating the vegetables and things is helping. I suppose that the parts of me that are still functioning like a normal person are getting the nutrients to her even if the steak is the only thing that feeds me. So to make a long story short, yes, it was.”

He nodded, “Because you know you can always ask… I’m always offering Anna.”

She nodded in return, “I know, but you know that makes me terribly amorous most of the time, and despite the fact that I’d rarely if never say no to your attentions, she’s been kicking all day and I…”

He didn’t mean to interrupt, not really, but he couldn’t help himself.

“She?”

Anna blushed, evidence to him that she wasn’t fibbing about having been well fed. She could only ever flush when she’d fed recently. He always knew that she needed more to drink when she was pale.

“Okay, I might finally believe you and Elsa that the baby is a girl. I don’t know how I know, but I just… I know it.”

He grinned appreciatively.

“Which is the same thing we’ve been saying. When did you realize it?”

“I don’t know that realize is the right word love… It’s more that I just felt it today, that she was there and she was going to be so beautiful and have all my clumsiness and fire and your sense and… God Kristoff I just, I love her already, even if she’s not a her.”

He watched as her hands settled lovingly on her stomach and he set down his cutlery to do the same.

“She is… and if she isn’t we’ll love them just the same. I already love her too Anna, because she’s ours and she’s going to be every good and bad part of us both which is perfect.”

“Oh no, she might have your feet!”

He knew that she was teasing him, but for a moment he saw legitimate concern flash over her features.

“Oh gosh, delivery will be terrible if she has your feet.”

As if to prove a point, the baby kicked.

He laughed to himself while Anna groaned.

“You have my apologies in advance. Let’s hope she has your innocent expression; you’ll forgive her instantly with one look.”

“Is that why you can never stay mad at me, even when I do things that make you cross?”

He didn’t answer, instead gently running his fingers in circles over the fabric covered bump and using his other hand to feed himself.

He couldn’t tell her that. It would give her entirely too much power, and even though he’d always been struck by her goodness, he knew that she would use such information for evil.

[dojae-huh]

JN and JW hinting they are starting to record for 127 cb album. The keyword is "starting" we may not know when it'll release it could be next year. DJJ start recording for mini album since Jan 2022 its means the plans had been cooked since 2021. DJJ is still busy with fansigns and if the fancon is a tour we might get another date at least until July. TY solo is on June 5th. Dream tours is still going until July 11th (if theres no additional show). If nct2023 will be release on Aug then Dream cb is on Sept (SM said they both in Q3). On the other hand, today timeline has been talking bout TI bbl, he said about sleeping for hours and feel hopeless. I dont know exactly what he refered it could be anything, but I bet its about lack of solo activity and his e-date is due. Or it could be about his songs got rejected by SM. SM has a plan for whole year, its only on Q2 yet already messed up (aespa and Taeyeon cb should be on April). Seems like he cant fit anything on the masterplan and he frustated. I pity him really, but SM is SM, they are business oriented company. He must be working on something profitable if making music doesnt give him a place in company. I wish he has a bit of DY/TY confidence in building his own idol self, doing something to gain attention from gp, networking with people in industries, creating his own portofolio on sns, etc.

I'd prefer to wait more but get a good result out of it.

Granted, we, fans, lost fate in SM after the mess of the last year, however, the delays were always a problem, meanwhile SM does have a record of performing well (2018 run, NCT2020 run). DJJ's debut and aespa's comeback show improvements in quality of preparations. As such, I wouldn't catastrophize. It's in SM's interest to give 127 an album this year. Album sales and new songs for a new tour bring money, not delays. It's not like 127 is an unprofitable group or a group from a small company that has no funds for a new comeback.

I think what's important to realise is that the fear of 127 disbanding is not valid anymore.

Taeil's bubble.

Fans in quirts "read the future". They put words in Taeil's mouth, they don't know what he feels really, what he meant to convey with his bubble. Who wouldn't want to have a long sleep? People dream of having lots of money and not needing to work. And here is Taeil, with money, and not needing to wake up 3 a.m.

Taeyong did a promotion today in a theme park for the Rose day. He said he always wanted to do something on this day, and here he is, giving out 605 roses on the street. The company heard his wish and arranged the flowers and the event. Is this mistreatment? If Doyoung and Taeyong get budget for their covers and dance numbers for a YT channel, then why it is expected that Taeil would be treated differently? Being the best vocal in the group? Why SM can give him two solo numbers for Link+ and center a cooking show for YT content around him, but "acts evil" otherwise?

We don't know what is the deal with Taeil. Is it the problem of scheduling and him needing to enlist soon, or maybe it's a problem of him being a less popular member and SM starting the solo releases with more popular members for a better publicity, or maybe he is stuck with the creative side of things/SM not finding him a worthy A-track yet. He will get his solo album sooner or later. Everyone does now, so there is no worry about that.

You wish Taeil to be like Taeyong or Doyoung. Will it make him happier? Why the fans refuse idols like him (homebodies who instead of wandering the streets of a new city spend hours playing pool or who cook meat in 20 ways) to exist and just be? He has respect from people around him, he is friends with renowned producers, he has security in his job, he travels the world, he has money for a private pilates instructor, he has time to play piano and guitar and learn how to compose, he has freedom of doing lives where he sings for hours for millions of people tuning in if he wishes so... and if he sounds or looks unhappy or frustrated sometimes it is because noone is always happy, it's simply impossible, our human programming doesn't allow it.

Anyways. Let's stop thinking for idols and pity those who made it to the top of idol career.

[justanotherghostwriter]

a03 wrapped asks: 3, 5, 6, 18, 29, 30!

What a wonderful gift: lots of opportunities to talk about myself! :'D Thank you for sending this in! I've answered 3 in a previous ask, but I'll copy and paste the answer here so you don't have to go clicking.

3. What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?

I was actually surprised by how little I wrote this year lmao. So there isn’t the biggest pool of fic to choose from. If I have to choose a fic that’s finished, then I’m most proud of While the Music Lasts (Zutara) because it was written with love for one of the best. And because I got to infodump about music, throw in show references, and flex the “say a lot with little” skills I’m trying to learn from marijayne-writing.

If it doesn’t have to be complete, then you know I’m going to say Atlas: Rebuilding (Zutara). That one is a culmination of many years of very specific headcanons and tropes. :P

5. What work of yours got more feedback than you expected?

While the Music Lasts (Zutara). I honestly thought a modern band AU that’s basically just a retelling of the show with no big original plotpoints would get as much love as it did. But it was quite well-received!

6. Favorite title you used

I don’t like writing titles, actually; they’re the most difficult part of writing for me, in many ways. And with so few fic to choose from, this was a struggle for me to answer. If I had to choose one of the five fic... We Saw a Spark. Even without knowing the song reference, that line speaks a lot about hope and the sudden striking of new things that could be dangerous, yes, but could also bring light.

18. The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

Azula. She may have only really featured in While the Music Lasts so far in practise, in theory there are a lot of things in my head (and in secret documents. If you know, you know) that feature her. Azula, Mai (and Aang, to some degree) are similar cases for me as a writer: I neither want to vilify or water them down. They’re human. They’re complex. And wrapping my head around that, especially in a modern setting, say, is freaking hard.

29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

I’ve already answered this for another ask, here. But I’ll give another two lines that I’m unabashedly fond of. One speaks to my bad sense of humour, and the other to my melodramatic streak that’s actually more like a melodramatic canyon:

"'I’ll be, um. Hungry. Tomorrow. So. We could…' He hesitated, again, even as Katara sat up straighter in anticipation. 'Do you want to get dinner food things with me?' he blurted." — While the Music Lasts, ch 1.

"The song changed, and Katara rose with the violins..." — While the Music Lasts, ch 2.

30. Biggest surprise while writing this year?

That I didn’t finish any of the event fic that I swore I would be done by their deadlines? No, honestly, We Saw a Spark somehow gained chapters and is months and months overdue. I’m Pikachu surprised meme that, wow, breaking my self-vow never to post something before it was complete ever again led to me ghosting my own fanfic. I guess I’m just really living up to my username in ways I never, ever expected.

Less cheekily, the biggest surprise is always the feedback. The love in the comments and the tags and the bookmark notes. The recs. The fanart (Liz, thank you <3). I hope I never stop not expecting it.

Ask me AO3 wrapped questions.

Fic from 2022:

Atlas: Rebuilding (Zutara)

Dog Days (Zutara)

We Saw A Spark (Zutara)

What Goes Must Come (Agent Carter)

While the Music Lasts (Zutara)

[enigmaticxbee]

I posted 2,181 times in 2022

That's 445 more posts than 2021!

95 posts created (4%)

2,086 posts reblogged (96%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@ellivia

@enigmaticxbee

@baronessblixen

@scullyverse

@lotzzoforangezoutside

I tagged 1,899 of my posts in 2022

Only 13% of my posts had no tags

#xf fanart - 734 posts

#i’m not going to ask queue if you just said what i think queue just said because i know it’s what queue just said - 378 posts

#xf rewatch - 195 posts

#txf - 69 posts

#revival - 55 posts

#the x files - 49 posts

#msr - 48 posts

#❤️ - 47 posts

#🥺 - 43 posts

#xf meta - 34 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#interesting i’ve never thought that much about mulder’s relationship to religion but his animosity when he’s open to so much else must come

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

See the full post

122 notes - Posted January 1, 2022

#4

Revival Rewatch - Fic Recs

Need something to read to pass the time waiting for date night to start while your (past - present? - future) partner tears his (your?) Unremarkable House apart in search of a lost Twilight Zone episode that he’s sure is somewhere in this pile of old vhs tapes? I don’t read a lot of revival fics but here are a few I can recommend:

Revival Smut:

Subterranean Pool by @somekindofseizure - Office sex, season 7 vs season 10, NSFW, so good.

Gravity by @ms-starlight71 - Sex in the Unremarkable House, NSFW.

Birthday Girl by @storybycorey - It’s her birthday, you know. Fifty-four years old and tucked into the back of a shiny yellow St. Louis cab, wearing a dress probably better suited to a thirty year old, with its slit up the side and its deep V of a neckline, but she looks so damn good in it, she doesn’t care. NSFW, so hot.

Just One by @observeroftheuniverse - Plus One sex scene, what we all needed, NSFW.

Familiar by @phillippadgettwrites - Plus One sex scene, NSFW.

Revival Fix-its:

Untitled by @myassbrokethefall - rewrite of the Plus One conversation in bed so that it actually makes sense.

End of Story by @cecilysass - Plus One conversation in bed fix-it.

Transitive Property of Equality by flicked_switch - fills in the gaps of their relationship over the course of season 11, canon-compliant, NSFW.

Of Monsters and Men, and a Woman by @snickerl - the confrontation with CSM they deserved.

After She Left by @agoodwoman - Over the course of the season 10 timeline, Mulder and Scully have to heal, forgive and learn to trust again as they decide what the future holds for their relationship before it's too late. NSFW. I’ve been trying to find a fic I remember with similar themes to this, where they work through their issues after the breakup in the season 10 era - it was a casefile (like this fic has between season 10 episodes) but I remember couples therapy being a big part of the other fic - if you know what that other fic might be please let me know!

Post Revival:

Times Colliding by @gaycrouton - 2018 and 1998 Mulders switch places, WIP but I just love this concept so much. NSFW.

Reprise by akaJake - Thirty years after Eugene Victor Tooms was mangled to death inside a moving escalator, several murder victims are discovered with their livers missing, ripped from their bodies without the aid of cutting tools. There are no identifiable points of entry at any of the crime scenes. Could Tooms be back?

Straight Out of the 3-Pack by DanaScullyMakesMeFeelAutopsyTurvey - Following the events of My Struggle 4, Scully finds a token from their shared past, inspiring a revelation and a sensual reimagining. NSFW.

It’s Après Ski, Scully by @agirlcallednarelle - Mulder takes Scully skiing for New Year's in 2018 to help them both move on from the events of the year. Some angst, some fluff, some closure. This is what I want for them post-revival.

The Rains of Bimini by @slippinmickeys - How could he have known, when she walked into his office with her bad suit and her earnest smile, that she would be the last person he would ever love? You don’t always realize the momentous things as they’re happening, and so he’d needled her a little; without any thought to his lost sister, he’d used his snottiest big brother voice and accused her of spying. Her. His last, best love. Set far in the future, it’s just lovely.

128 notes - Posted September 5, 2022

#3

S10 Rewatch - MSR

I’m not even sure where to start here because all of the writers except CC seemed to pretty much ignore the break up, and CC had no interest in really exploring why they broke up or what it would mean to start working together again post break up. I certainly would have been on board with the show exploring the fissures in their relationship - if it actually wanted to take seriously their personal and shared traumas and how terrible they’ve historically been at communicating. (Although I don’t think they would have even needed to break up if that was the aim - people can be in a relationship and have issues and work through those issues you know! Might actually be interesting to watch!)

But all we get is one line by a random character about how Scully left because of Mulder’s endogenous depression?? Bullshit. And once they start working together again they’re fine. If there was supposed to be some kind of arc this season where they come back to each other (without working through any of the issues that tore them apart apparently) then I guess it all happened when Scully agreed to go back the X-Files in the first episode? Because literally nothing in the rest of the season would have to be different if they had never broken up… Does the Mulder who shows up - to sit with her at her mother’s hospital bed and hold her as she cries and go back to work with her even though it’s a terrible fucking idea and sit and listen as she grieves the answers she’ll never get about her mother and her son - seem like a man dealing with his ex who he still works with or like a man showing up for and supporting the most important person in his life, the love of his life, no matter how complicated the current status of their relationship?

So what was the fucking point of the break up this season? To get back to that Schrodinger’s box place the original series lingered in for far too long where they both were and were not in a relationship as long as the show didn’t directly acknowledge it? Because that ship fucking sailed a long time ago and if CC really wanted to capture the old magic he would have put Mulder and Scully on screen together for more than two minutes.

145 notes - Posted April 15, 2022

#2

158 notes - Posted May 1, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

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169 notes - Posted January 1, 2022

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