#I'm still going to post one of her in a ball gown though

[michelle-manips]

Bonnie Bennett Manip

[wileys-russo]

forget me not (2) II l.williamson

part one forget me not (2) II l.williamson

"mum i need to go."

"leah no-" but her mums words were cut off as the blonde clicked end call, fingers flying against her screen until she found your contact, call after call declined until it stopped ringing all together.

she then moved to texting, sending message after message until the 'do not disturb' notification popped up and her stomach heaved, you never put your phone on do not disturb.

her guilt peaked even higher noticing all of the messages above those she'd sent to you in a panic, clearly prior to your graduation and worrying about her whereabouts.

(8) iMessages from; lover girl 💐 hey baby i just arrived, you were dead to the world when i left (shock x) i'm kind of nervous! they just handed out our caps and gowns, its feeling really real now. what if i fall over when i'm walking up?? someone just put that thought in my head and now it won't go away 🥲🥲 i can't wait to just look out and see your pretty face, you can always ground me even without trying💘💘💘 *three missed calls* less just called me, she's leaving soon so i hope you're up and showering! i know you're not the best texter in the morning anyway grumpy 🫶🏻 we have to switch our phones off and leave them in our bags now babe but i'll see you in a little while. still so nervous ah! your support means everything, i love you leah 🩵

even though leah knew you were upset, the fact you hadn't made any attempts to call or message her after her no show only solidified it further for her, the blonde selfishly sort of wishing you had to ease her guilt even just a little.

"fuck!" the girl swore as she threw her phone on the passenger seat, burying her face in her hands with a deep and prolonged exhale. "okay think leah, think." she mumbled to herself, fists balling and rubbing against her eyes until she saw stars, head thumping back against the headrest.

grabbing her phone again she winced seeing the multitude of other missed calls, from alessia, your mum, your aunt, your best friend, all worrying that something had happened to her for her not to show up, the sweet messages from your mum checking in if she was okay hitting her in the stomach in a different sort of way.

"alessia!" she realized, quickly hitting call on the girls contact, feeling like an idiot for not even noticing her friends absence and putting two and two together, this was a brand new low.

"come on!" leah grunted, calling the younger girl easily six times and each one going right to voicemail, finger hovering over your mums contact before abandoning that idea with a shake of her head.

"shit." leah swore again checking your location and noticing you'd stopped sharing with her, biting down on her bottom lip as her knee bounced and her fingers drummed against the wheel wracking her brain for anything.

"fuck me leah where did she say the celebration was afterwards?" the footballer mumbled to herself, eyes squeezing close as she tried to think back, unable to even remember you mentioning your graduation in the last few days, another nail in the coffin of realizing she had been an awful girlfriend to put it lightly.

a sudden spark of hope she grabbed her phone again, clicking into instagram and huffing when both you and alessia hadn't posted anything, searching up several of your friends and families accounts finding the same wall of silence in her way.

growing even more desperate leah clicked into an app she checked maybe once a year, only keeping her facebook active for the sake of her childhood friends.

"thank you aunty gillian, thank you!" leah whispered as a quick scroll of her feed showed your godmother had posted some pictures from the graduation and the post ceremony celebrations, a quick zoom confirming the restaurants name on a menu on the table.

without another seconds hesitation she was putting the address into maps, car roaring to life as she peeled out of the colney carpark at top speed, flying across town and swearing loudly as she seemed to hit every red light in all of london.

"williamson." she barked to the valet as she screamed to a halt in front of the hotel where the restaurant was, throwing the keys at the young boy who didn't even have time to say a word before she was pushing through the double doors and bursting inside.

"m'am im really sorry you can't-" the hostess tried to stop leah as she barreled past, ignoring her completely and hurrying into the restaurant. it didn't take her long to find your closest friends and family on a big table in the corner, alessia spotting her before anyone else did and eyes widening.

though as leah came to a screaming halt in front of them, the table falling quiet as they took her in, still clad in an arsenal tracksuit with wet hair and frantic eyes looking as you would have said had you been present, a hot mess.

"no auntie ava its alright, i'll handle it." alessia murmured to your mum as leah shrank under the scrutiny and harsh glares from your friends and family, nobody impressed with her no show even if they didn't know the full story.

"you need to leave, right now." alessia warned, grabbing the blonde by her bicep and pulling her away from the table, around the corner and out of view. "less please i can-" leah started as the younger girl held up a hand.

"i don't care leah. i've just gotten her to calm down after she's just spent twenty minutes crying in the bathroom after her big day!" alessia warned, leah taken aback by the venom in her teammates tone, the girl normally so sweet butter wouldn't melt in her mouth.

but there was one thing your cousin didn't mess about with, and that was family.

"she cried?" leah deflated, voice barely above as whisper as the taller girl nodded. "yes leah she cried several times, she's heartbroken that her girlfriend didn't show up for her graduation. but rather chose to go to the same training we have four or five times a week, she saw on instagram." alessia growled, poking accusingly at leahs shoulder.

"nope." alessia held up a hand again as leah opened her mouth to pour out another excuse or hurried apology.

"i told you leah, i don't care. she deserves to enjoy the rest of her day, you've ruined enough and done more damage than you can apologize for in the two minutes you've got to leave before i let my brothers escort you outside." alessia warned seriously, jaw clenched and still gripping harshly onto leahs arm.

"but less-" "leah, go."

but right as your girlfriend was ready to get on her knees and beg alessia to get her even one minute of your attention, you came stumbling around the corner in search of your cousin.

"baby-" leah started, falling quiet with a hiss as alessia sharply pinched her and moved to put her body in between the two of you like your own personal security guard.

"you have some nerve!" you laughed, leah frowning at the slur in your voice and the way alessia hurried to catch your swaying body, shooting the older blonde a filthy glare over her shoulder as she steadied you and mumbled something in your ear.

"no i know. i'm done crying over her!" you responded, leah swallowing hard as her knees buckled with how much anger was ablaze in your eyes as your gaze moved back toward her.

"you're a little late." you mocked with a pout, voice dripping with sarcasm as your eyes burned holes in your girlfriends head, trained on her like lasers.

"bubba please if you just-" "don't leah, don't call me that." all the anger seemed to deflate out of your voice at that, the obvious hurt and betrayal in it wrapping around leahs heart and squeezing tight like a fist.

"i don't want to hear the excuses, or the apologies, i don't even want to look at you leah. i have never been so let down or dissapointed, hurt, angry, sad." you listed off every emotion which was wracking your body, pausing for a moment and swaying a little leaning into alessia more.

"i have been there for you, for everything leah. i was there by your side every day when you did your acl, through the rehab and recovery good times and bad. i didn't leave when you yelled, when you snapped, when you hurled insults just for helping because i knew you were hurting and you weren't lashing out at me." you shook your head as leah felt sick to her stomach.

"i was there for you during the world cup. i stayed in england to be there for you, watching my own cousin playing the tournament and living out her dream through a phone screen, not daring to mention the games because i knew you were devastated to miss it." you paused to swallow the tears which brimmed at your eyes.

"i have put up with a lot of shit leah, dismissed a lot of things because i love you. but this...this isn't something i can sweep under the rug and excuse because you're hurting and i want to support you. today i needed you, i needed you to support me and you couldn't even do that." you whispered, wishing you had another drink in hand for a spike of liquid courage which was bleeding rapidly out of the open wounds your girlfriends actions slashed you with.

clearing your throat you continued, tilting your chin up a little higher. "less already took me past our place and i grabbed a bag of stuff, i'm moving in with her for awhile. i don't want to see you, hear from you, nothing, until i am ready leah. i never thought you of all people were capable of hurting me like this, now please go." with that you turned around, stumbling slightly but catching yourself with a sharp inhale and marching back off to the table.

"no. leah you heard her, you need to leave." alessia's hands pressed against her chest as she tried to follow after you.

"like i said, you can go on your own terms leah, or i'll get my brothers." your cousin warned seriously, leahs mouth opening and closing before she gave in with a nod, turning and walking away.

~

"its another one for you!" you looked away from the football match your cousin was currently forcing you to watch, alessia appearing seconds after the bell had rung with another bunch of flowers as you got up with a sigh.

"she's consistent, you've gotta give her that." alessia shook her head as you took the flowers from her, perching herself on the arm of the lounge as your eyes scanned over the card.

"we look like we own a florist shop." your cousin commented, eyes roaming over the countless bunches of flowers littering the living and dining rooms.

"i've texted her telling her to stop!" you shook your head placing down the bunch with a deep seeded sigh, dragging your hands down your face. "what are you thinking?" your cousin asked knowingly as you wandered back toward the lounge, collapsing into it as she spun around on the arm to face you.

"i don't know." you exhaled honestly, face buried in your hands as alessia kicked you gently, looking down with a raised eyebrow. "its been two weeks and i miss her." you admitted honestly, sitting up with a slight grunt.

"but i'm also still really hurt and upset and there isn't an excuse under the sun she could make that would help that go away." you added on, grabbing a throw cushion and pushing your face into it with a scream.

"would you consider hearing her out anyway?" alessia asked, playing devils advocate as you looked back up with another sigh. "yes? no? maybe?" you groaned, laying back down on the lounge in a world of indecision.

"sounds like you want to. but you're a little scared of what that might mean? just hear her out, it doesn't mean you have to go running right back into her arms but it'll mean you're not sitting here wondering what it is she has to say." your cousin read you like a book with a small smile. "i hate that you're always right." you shook your head as alessia chuckled.

"just looking out for my little piccoli ravioli!" your cousin cooed, a grunt leaving your body as she dove on top of you, pinching your cheeks and shaking your head side to side before rolling off of you.

"you know i can very easily smother you in your sleep russo."

none the less you took her advice, reaching out to your girlfriend? ex girlfriend? you weren't even sure what the two of you were at this point given you'd had practically no contact for the last fortnight.

which is how you found yourself a few days later taking a deep breath, hand on the door to the coffee shop you'd agreed to meet up with her at, steadying yourself with a nod before you pushed it open.

you spotted her right away, her eyes trained on the door and hand raising to wave you over the very moment you stepped inside. "i got your usual, sorry the ice melted a little...i was early." leah started with a slight blush as you sat down, pushing the iced latte across the table.

"thanks." you gave her a small smile, taking a sip as an awkward silence settled between you two. "should i start? is that okay?" leah blurted out suddenly, knee bouncing nervously as you nodded and she exhaled shakily.

"i'm not going to waste your time making excuses or apologizing over and over or grovelling." leah started as you quirked an eyebrow and sipped at your drink, curious where she was going with this.

"i'm just going to be honest instead, get right to the point. baby i was a selfish blind asshole, to say the least. i took you for granted. i did not support you even a tenth as much as you did for me. i don't deserve you, i don't deserve a second chance." leah paused, meeting your eyes for a moment as you nodded for her to continue.

"i forgot about your graduation, i didn't care enough to remember despite all the little hints you left me that you shouldn't have even needed to. theres no nice way to say it, theres no excuses for it, no lies. i didn't prioritize you, i didn't respect you or your achievements or put your needs above my own when thats all you've ever done for me." leah sighed, fiddling nervously with her hands in her lap.

"i was so blinded by the joy of being back on the pitch, kicking a ball, being with the girls again. all i was focused on was making the roster for camp, returning back to glory and my captaincy and playing full games for arsenal again." leah admitted, neck and ears flushing hot with embarrassment.

"but nothing, not football not arsenal, not anything, should ever take priority over me being a good supportive life partner and girlfriend. you were right you have put up with so much from me, done so much for me, pushed aside your feelings and your problems to put mine first, and i couldn't even do that for a day when you've done it since the moment we got together." leah continued, shaking her head disappointed with herself.

"love there isn't enough apologies in the world that i can ever say to make up for it. obviously i am incredibly sorry, but you deserve better than words you deserve evidence and action and commitment." you were taken by surprise as leah suddenly stood.

"if you will please please please just come with me for a quick drive i have something for you." she hesitated for a moment before offering you her hand, a confused and skeptical frown on your face as you sized her up.

"its not more flowers, is it?" that caused a small smile to make its way onto the blondes face as she shook her head.

"no, no more flowers."

~

"seriously? leah this is all very weird." you shook your head as she pulled up outside your shared home, a place you'd not stepped foot in for just as long as you hadn't seen your girlfriend for, holding out a blindfold.

"i know i know i know. and i'm sure you don't right now which is completely valid, but i need you to just trust me and put this on." leah bit her bottom lip sheepishly as you sighed, giving her a hard look before snatching it out of her hand.

"no! i've got it." you smacked away her hand which tried to help, tying it up yourself as your heart rate sped up the moment your world was plunged into darkness.

"can i grab your hands? please?" you heard the car door open and flinched a little, nodding slowly as you felt leahs warm hands interlock with your own, pulling you up to your feet as the car door closed behind you.

"step, step, rock, puddle, another step, three more steps, gate." leah announced each reason for moving you, your frown deepening as you realised she was leading you around the side and toward the backyard, ears straining and senses heightened trying to work out what was going on.

"leah!" you huffed as you tripped and almost fell, strong hands steadying you as the blonde winced. "sorry...one more step."

"okay, i'm taking the blindfold off now." leah sighed shakily, and you felt her hands trembling slightly as they fumbled around clumsily with the knot on the back of the blindfold.

but persisting she finally got it, wincing as it slipped away and the sunlight struck you in the face. but that was nothing compared to how high you jumped at the large yell which sounded next, your hand coming to cover your mouth.

"happy graduation!"

"what? this is..." you trailed off, all of your friends and family and colleagues gathered around the backyard, fairy lights strung up in trees and a long table splitting the yard in half decked out with flowers and food and candles.

you tensed as leah grabbed your hands again, moving to stand in front of you with a smile. "i know i ruined your special day by not showing up for you. but you deserve to have your achievements celebrated in a way even half as big and special as you are, and everyone who knows you and loves you agrees, and they're here to show that to you." leah explained softly, another cheer ringing out from the crowd in your backyard as you both looked across with a laugh.

"you organised this?" you asked as leah nodded, letting go of your hands. "i'm not asking you to move back in tonight and forgive me right away. but i hope this is a step in the right direction to me showing you that you mean more to me than anything in the world, and i was such a fucking idiot to take that for granted." leah promised sincerely as your features softened.

"thank you." you caught her off guard by pulling her into a hug, admittedly melting into her taller form as you held one another tightly, your guests all turning back into their own conversations as music started up and chatter floated through the air.

"you're very very welcome. now go and be celebrated!" the blonde pulled away and gently pushed you toward the crowd, smile on her face as you nodded, turning and stepping toward your parents first who cheered and handed you a flute of champagne.

"did you know about all of this?" you tugged your cousin aside around an hour later once you'd made your rounds greeting and chatting with everyone, the sun setting as leah was busy setting up the catering she'd organised for dinner, lia by her side helping out as a fair few of the arsenal girls hung about, good friends with you through both leah and alessia.

"who do you think helped her grovel for forgiveness with the whole family?" alessia smiled knowingly, sipping at her drink. "the whole family?" you asked, eyebrows shooting up in surprise as your cousin nodded.

"mhm, had me gather everyone at your mums place and she stood in front of them all delivering a speech about how much of an idiot she is and how much you mean to her, and how first and foremost she wanted to make up for ruining your day, even if it didn't mean you'd take her back." alessia explained as you glanced at leah over her shoulder, a small smile curling into your lips at the way she helped your nephew dish up his food, chattering away to him and pulling silly faces making him giggle.

"was it brutal?" you asked with a chuckle, alessia wincing. "horribly horribly awkward. nonna ripped into her, then your mum, then my mum, then your brother, then my brothers, then-" alessia recounted as you cut her off with a laugh.

"okay okay i get it, we have a very tight knit family who clearly have my back." you smiled with a shake of your head. "we do. but they all agreed to come, and that when she's not being an insensitive stupid idiot leah is crazy about you." alessia spoke a little more softly.

"go talk to her." your cousin kissed your cheek, slipping her drink into your hand and taking your empty one, pushing at your back encouragingly as you sighed and let your feet lead you over to her.

"hey, can we talk?" you asked, leah practically dropping the plate of food in her hand with a nod, hurrying after you as you made your way up the back steps and inside, wanting a little more privacy than your backyard full of friends and family provided.

"is this all okay? is it too much? did i do too much? less warned me not to go overboard and i know i said no more flowers but obviously theres flowers here and i got catering from your favorite restaurant and it took me days and days to get everyone to agree to come and then-" tired of her rambling you leaned in, pressing your lips against her own and effectively silencing her.

"i-okay." leah blinked in shock as you pulled away, a small smile of amusement on your face. "first of all, this is very very sweet leah, its perfect." you assured with a firm nod, leah visibly sagging in relief.

"second of all...i want to come home, tonight." you held up a hand as the blonde perked up and opened her mouth, snapping it right closed. "this doesn't fix everything leah, i'm still hurt and its going to take time for me to trust you properly again" you warned as the defender nodded eagerly.

"but we can't work on things unless we're together, and i have missed you." you admitted quietly, the words scary to confess but knowing you needed to be honest. "i've missed you so much, like...so so much." leah breathed out shakily making you smile.

"but promise me one thing?" your hands came to cup her face as she nodded.

"no more apology flowers leah for like...a long time." you grinned as leah let out a laugh of surprise, hands falling to your hips and drawing your body into hers, eyes searching you face as you nodded knowing what they were looking for, her lips sweetly pressing a few times against yours.

"i promise."

[original-siphon]

And I Love You - (Part 1/?)

Elijah Mikaelson x Reader

Plot: After a century of helping his brother find redemption, Elijah was finally getting married to the love of his life. He knew, now that his bride to be was standing right in front of him, nothing could go wrong. Nothing in the world. Right?

Warning: None in this chapter. Brief mention of Rebekah x Marcel.

A/n: I had this idea from idk where exactly, but I thought of sharing it anyways. Now I know there are going to be at least 4 parts of it and I plan on posting them as soon as possible.

Read Part 2

_____________________________________________________

It was a blissful morning in New Orleans. In one of the rooms in St. Anne's Cathedral, Y/n was getting ready in white, wearing a beautiful off-shoulder ball gown of shimmery satin layers.

"How much longer", she asked, growing impatient as Rebekah did her make up. "Now, now, don't be fussy. It's your special day, you cannot just go out there wearing half-done make up," was Rebekah's reply, while Freya came up behind and put a tulle veil on top of Y/n's perfect hairdo of a bun. "Elijah can't care less about her make up, Rebekah," she said, "I'm sure he just wants to marry her as soon as he gets to."

"The feeling is mutual Freya," Y/n pried, "unfortunately the bride's get up is too important for a certain bridesmaid though." Rebekah rolled her eyes at the words, "Well, you're right dear, I can't just let you walk down the aisle looking homeless," she said as she put down the final make-up brush. "And your impatient arse will be happy to hear that the make up is finally done."

"So is your hair, Y/n. All you've left to do now is going out there and getting married," Freya said from behind. Y/n gets up from the chair, twirls to look at herself in the mirror how she looks, "Bloody goodness, sisters. You did a great job." "Oh we know, we're great," Rebekah said, now standing beside Y/n, admiring her work. "Although it would have been an easier task for us without all your complaining."

Three of the ladies stood side by side, all looking at the bride in all her glory. It was a special day for Y/n, but so was for the sisters. They knew, after centuries of helping his brother find redemption, Elijah was finally getting the chance of being happy. They knew how happy Y/n made him.

"I'm glad you two are finally tying the knot," Freya couldn't help the tears that glistened her eyes. "Trust me Freya, even I am glad and everything," Y/n huffs and plops back to her chair, "but most of all I'm impatient. That I'm completely ready but still have to wait to get married for another..." she trails off checking the time. "Just another couple minutes? Oh my god."

She clutches her stomach out of fear and excitement, as Rebekah rushes to her side and says, "Come on, girl. You made it till now without panicking, so why at this moment? Just think, Elijah is still not panicking, you gotta get yourself together."

"Well that's because I'm sure Elijah is going to be a better husband than I'll be a wife."

"That is quite untrue." Freya, Y/n and Rebekah look towards the door, from where Klaus had just emerged into the room. "We all know how different a man is Elijah when you're around," he continued, "and how it's you who keeps him on his toes always." He gives a knowing smirk as Freya and Rebekah smile, reminiscing all the moments where both believed they are a perfect fit. Y/n's face flushes as she hears Klaus speak again, "It's time."

The girls look at each other as Freya and Rebekah take their leave to pair with their respective best men, leaving only Klaus and Y/n in the room.

"You look breathtaking, my love. My brother sure is a lucky man." A smile spreads across Klaus's face, before it fades into a frown when he sees Y/n is at unease.

"Are you alright," concern laces his voice. "Do you need a moment to gather yourself?"

"I'm not alright Klaus," Y/n says, still clutching her stomach, a smile dancing at her lips now. "But I don't need another moment. What I need is waiting outside for me. I'm getting married to everything I'll ever need, today. So no," she paused for a moment before looking up to the man in suit, getting up and saying, "I'm not quite alright. I'm scared. But too excited and happy to be finally doing this!"

Klaus takes Y/n into his arms, embracing her with warmth. But lets go of her in a moment, only to offer her his arm, ready to escort her to the groom, who he knows is waiting impatiently at the altar.

"Then we must not waste another moment. Shall we?"

Y/n looks up at Klaus with a smile, and takes his arm, walking out the door ever so gracefully.

"Yes, we shall."

Doors open, Klaus walks Amelia down the aisle, holding arms, while the bridal march plays in the background in violin. As soon as they walk in everyone turns around, standing up. Just when they reach the end of the altar, Elijah climbs down the stairs, taking Amelia's hand from Klaus, and lifts her veil up.

"You look stunning," he breathed, a breath that he had been holding all morning. He knew, now that his bride to be was standing in front of him, nothing could go wrong. Nothing in the world.

Both stop for a moment, taking each other in, smiles crawling up their faces as they heard Kol clearing his throat from above the altar, "Ahem. As cute as you both look giving each other such romantic glances, I think we may want to finish the wedding first."

Kol flashes Elijah a mischievous smile as he nods at him before saying, "Yes. Certainly. Pardon us." He lets out a low chuckle and helps Y/n up the stairs and both of them take their positions as bride and groom.

'Friends and family," Kol chimed in his minister voice, "we have gathered here to witness the joyous occasion, where my dearest brother and my beloved friend will join hands through this holy matrimony. And I know I speak for everyone when I say there are no other people more meant to be together than them." He looks up at his brother and his sister-in-law with moist eyes, "Time to exchange vows now. Y/n, would you like to go first?

She simply cleared her throat, calming the shivers that ran down her spine, "Yes, Kol." She looks up at Elijah, tears already threatening to spill from her eyes. She swallowed the lump in her throat and continued.

"Growing up, I was incomplete and incapable of love. But you, Elijah, completed me. Made me feel loved. Like the whole world belongs to me. You're more than what I ever deserved and I'll spend my eternity trying to better myself and be deserving of you and all that you give me. I have loved you, I love you now and I promise to love you for the rest of my life. Even death won't be able to part us. Even in death I promise to be yours, Elijah, always and forever."

Everyone looks at them in awe. Rebekah and Marcel share glances, promise in Marcel's eyes that someday they'll be standing at the altar, making vows to each other for the rest of their lives.

Kol took a moment to prepare himself and urging the groom to share his vows now, "Elijah?"

Elijah takes a deep breath, gathering himself to say his next words.

"In the thousand years that I've spent in this world, hadn't I ever thought something this good will happen to me. Y/n, when I fell in love with you, every regret of staying alive for an eternity came to an end. You make me want to be a better man. You make me whole. And I cannot feel more ecstatic that I will have the honour of staying beside you for all throughout my life, during the best and worst days. I promise you, my love for you will be as eternal as our lives. Every part of my heart belongs to you, Y/n, and I promise to love you more and more, everyday."

Tears run down everyone's face. No one could be happier at the moment. "Now I shall ask you to exchange rings," said Kol, nodding at Hope to bring the rings. Hope smiled and walked towards the alter, holding the bands that will bind her uncle and aunt's life for an eternity.

Y/n and Elijah exchange rings. Happy tears already down her cheeks, as Y/n smiles at her newly wedded husband.

Kol composed his voice for his final words now, "By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife, and I wish you an eternity filled with love and happiness. You shall kiss."

Elijah kisses Y/n chastely on her lips, and she was happy to reciprocate.

"I love you," said Elijah, right after breaking the kiss and pressing his forehead down on hers.

"And I love you."

[hlizr50]

To Love You is No Great Burden

This came from the hurt/comfort prompt asks from @thecrispypotatochip

I'm going to link this post in the ask answer, but it ended up longer than I anticipated, so I didn't want to put the whole thing in the answer.

HOSAB Spoilers, but I'm not hiding it all below the line.

Lidia had been silent since they left the gala, walking at his side with her strappy heels in her hand. It grated on him, but Ruhn didn’t want to push her. It was difficult for him to watch her go through this - to encourage her to be brave and put herself out there and watch as people glared and gawked and did much worse things.

The proof was blooming purple and blue across her cheek.

The only words she’d spoken since the enormous Vanir male had sent her sprawling, the navy silk and chiffon fluttering like ocean waves in the firstlight, were in the whispered plea to the Valbaran prince to not make a scene. To not beat the asshole to a bloody pulp. So, after a menacing glare and a purely male display of bared teeth, he’d turned, helped his mate to her feet, and began ushering her out of the gallery.

He wouldn’t ask her why she hadn’t stopped him, even though she could have easily killed the hulking male. They’d had the conversation too many times, and it would only leave him frustrated, feeling helpless for not being able to help her deal with all of this. For not being able to convince her that it was okay to defend herself. She was too aware of her history, too sure that any act of violence, even in self defense, would foster the opinion that the Hind was still a menace and had been set free upon the gleaming streets of the Crescent City. Sometimes he even felt guilty for saving her life and bringing her back home with him. Lidia Cervos had sacrificed more than the world realized. Had given all of herself, so that her dream of a better world might one day come true. She hadn’t expected to live to see it, nor to experience the backlash from the citizenry that would not or could not understand. Even as they benefited from all that she’d given up.

Ruhn’s tongue worked on the ring in his lip, his concern growing in the lengthening quiet. Even as he ushered her through their door, she said nothing.

“Come on, sweet girl,” he murmured as he began guiding her toward their bedroom and the adjoining master bath, “Let’s get you into something comfortable and check on that bruise.”

A small nod. No eye contact.

She gave him nothing. No smiles. No scathing remarks. No eye rolls when he couldn’t help but admire her body when her gown had fallen to the floor before he gingerly pulled his black hoodie over her head. It nearly fell to her knees.

It wasn’t until he was gently thumbing at her swollen cheek, ensuring that the injury required nothing more than ice and fae healing, that the words - far too small for a woman so strong - whispered into existence.

“I’m sorry.”

Ruhn’s brows furrowed as he looked down at her, head tilting. He kept his hand on her cheek, letting his thumb slide gently over her discolored skin. “What in the world are you sorry for?” When her lashes lowered, her gaze falling to the floor, he tilted her head back up to face him. She took a deep breath, her eyes growing glassy.

“For all of this. For everything.” Lidia sniffled, her bottom lip starting to tremble. And the prince thought his heart might shatter. “You have only been loving and understanding and good. And the gods have burdened you with someone like me. You can’t take your mate and enjoy a night out at a restaurant, or partake in charity galas or balls, or be the leader you were meant to be. Because your mate is the Hind -”

“Was the Hind,” he cut her off, and her eyes grew luminous and defiant.

“Does it matter?” she cried. “Nobody will forget, Ruhn. You could do so much more, have so much more. But instead you’re here. With me. After another ruined evening. And I’m sorry.” The tears were falling freely, and she made no move to wipe them away. Ruhn’s eyes widened at her admission.

“Oh, baby, no,” he whispered fiercely. His hands found her hips and lifted her onto the marble surface of the double vanity. Cupping her cheeks, he leaned his forehead against hers. “Lidia, you are not a burden. You could never be.” Her lids remained closed, her vulnerability flowing over her cheeks and sagging her shoulders.

“I just…” she trailed off, and her uncertainty squeezed uncomfortably at his insides. He knew how much she hated being unsure of herself. How for years she knew exactly what she was doing. How she should feel and react. How she should be. Now, without Ophion, without a war, she was just a civilian. Something she hadn’t been since she was a child. The newness of a peace-time life, and the shadow of the Hind, had knocked her off balance. And, even though the two of them now shared a home and a life together, Lidia was still understandably reluctant to open up about her perceived weaknesses and insecurities. She had been cold and unmoving, never had the option of being anything else. His hands moved away from her face and found her hands, clutching them atop her thighs.

“Come on, Lids. Talk to me,” Ruhn urged, giving those hands a gentle squeeze. “After everything we’ve been through? You know you can.” It almost startled him when she quickly removed her hands from his grasp and gripped his face, her eyes molten gold and shimmering with emotion as they finally lifted to meet his own.

“I need you to be honest with me, Ruhn. You are easily the best thing that has happened to me. My first friend. My first love. The first to accept me, monster and all.” Her voice was hushed and steady in spite of her tears. “I carry the weight of so much guilt, every day. But what I can’t bear the thought of, more than anything, is that I could very well be ruining your life. That your reputation is irreparably damaged because of me, and that you will never be able to reach your potential because you are too stubborn and good to give up on me.” Her confession washed over him, and it both warmed and broke his heart.

The prince knew of her guilt. He’d held her close, whispering sweet words when the consuming darkness had woken her from slumber with crying and screaming and begging for forgiveness. And, though she had forgiven him far too quickly than he deserved, Ruhn still felt the shame, knowing that he’d abandoned her in the Eternal City. For so long, as she pleaded for him to listen, to just give her a chance as the fire-swathed agent he’d known on the bridge, and not the creature she had to pretend to be.

But never, in the ten months since the Asteri had been defeated and the two of them, along with his sister, Athalar, and his band of brothers had all begun working with the leaders of Pangera to usher in a new political and social era, had he realized that she was so concerned just for him. For his image. His reputation. What it would mean for him to enter a room with Lidia Cervos at his side.

He hated it. All of it. And he wished so many times that he would have done more, instead of being an embittered male who never truly tried to break from his father’s grasp beyond rebelling with piercings and tattoos and a shitty attitude. Maybe he could have helped her. Maybe she wouldn’t have had to become the Hind. He knew, realistically, that those thoughts didn’t serve him. There was no changing the past, and even if he would have joined Ophion sooner, the chances of crossing paths with her would have been infinitesimally small. But this… Solas, that she felt guilt for him…

Ruhn didn’t give a flying fuck about his reputation. Had he ever?

“Lidia Cervos, you listen to me,” he practically growled. His hands folded over hers at his jaw, and his gaze burned into her eyes as he brought the fingers of one hand to his lips, and then the other. “You, of all people, should know that I don’t pretend. I don’t deal with societal bullshit and I couldn’t care less about political maneuvering.” Her jaw dropped, a rebuttal imminent, but he stopped her with a sharp ‘No’.

“I can probably count on one hand - two hands max - the number of people whose opinions really matter to me. And all of those people - Flynn and Dec, Ithan, Willow, Bryce… Hel, even Pax and Athalar - they know who you are.” The prince blinked away for a moment, to lean in and press his lips firmly to her brow, and then he continued. “I don’t give a single, solitary fuck about what anyone out there has to say about my relationship with you. You deserve to be a part of this world, Lidia. And I’ll be damned if I don’t spend the rest of my life defending your sacrifice and telling everyone, whether they want to hear it or not, that we would still be slaves to the Asteri if it weren’t for you. That is the only thing that matters to me.”

His eyes were burning with the fierceness of that devotion, and he had to flutter his lashes to try to dry the building moisture that was threatening to overflow.

“Ruhn.” Her voice was so quiet and soft, a muted melody of pain and gratitude and something that sounded too much like disbelief for his liking.

“Lidia. My sweet girl.” It was his turn to cup her cheeks, taking care not to press too heavily into the bruise that had started the current spiral. “I know I will never understand the weight of your guilt, and I pray to whatever god or goddess will listen that one day you will let me help you shoulder it. But you are not ruining my life, and you are not a burden. I fucking love you, and I would choose you over any stuffy Vanir and over any political post. You gave me purpose and direction, and now, when I feel stressed or uncertain or incapable, I think of you and how strong and brave and cunning you are. You give me the strength to fulfill my potential, Lidia. Not the other way around.” Those luminous, golden eyes grew rounder and wider with each devoted word. And then she asked one tiny question with an adorable little sniffle, like a timid youngling who had never been able to trust anyone at all.

“You promise?” Hope gleamed like the sun in her wide-eyed stare. Child-like and innocent and heartbreaking. Ruhn’s lips curled up into what he only hoped was an encouraging - yet devastating - grin.

“I promise, Lidia.”

His mate flung her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest, shoulders heaving as she set her emotions free. She was crying. Sobbing. Allowing him to be what he’d only dreamed he could be for her. A rock. A support. Someone she could depend on. Someone with whom she could be entirely honest and open and vulnerable. He wrapped his muscled arms around her, only just realizing that he was still in the crisp, blood red button-down shirt and gray trousers from the gallery event that had become a distant memory. His hands traced the length of her spine as he whispered hushes and pressed tender kisses into Lidia’s hair.

It was unknown minutes before she quieted, still holding onto him as if he might disappear at any moment. Taking advantage he lifted her up, a smile forming as her legs automatically wrapped around his hips. He kept his arms around the small of her back, determined to be a good boy and not grab her by her pert little ass in that sweet, tender moment.

“Why don’t we cuddle on the couch and watch a movie, okay?” He was already carrying her out to the living room when she nodded against him before burrowing herself further into his neck. And as he held her close in the muted light of the television, his fingers brushing over her back and thighs and arms and twirling into her hair, he felt her sigh, her body relaxing more than he had ever seen from her.

“I love you, too, Ruhn,” she whispered, his pulse skittering where her breath warmed his neck. And he knew, in that moment, that everything was going to be alright. 

Tags - Not sure who wants to read the CC fics yet, so I'm just gonna tag a few people I think will like it

@mystical-blaise @daevastanner @rosebudmode @thecrispypotatochip @separatist-apologist

[sassykattery]

A Divine Triad, Pt. 5

Welcome to Part 5 dear readers. I decided to do a bonus part this week because I was in a good mood and I'm excited for this part and the next, for what will be fairly obvious reasons. I still plan on posting tomorrow [Saturday for North America, Sunday for UTC and eastward], so yay for three parts in one week!

This part is super long, so buckle up!

CW: MC is poly, is afab and she/her pronouns are used. MC also wears a dress/gown and heels in this part. Small fairly spicy scene at the end but not explicit [indirect mention of male erection]

Themes: Ballroom scenes, dancing, DiavoloxMC, LuciferxMC. whole lotta fluff, jealousy

Characters: Lucifer, Diavolo, Barbatos, MC="You"

Minors and ageless blogs DNI

18+ only

Please enjoy the show~!

Masterlist

Lucifer knocked at the castle doors. You two were promptly met with Barbatos, welcoming you in. It was several hours before the ball, and you arrived early so you could get ready. Lucifer made his way to Diavolo's study, and Barbatos walked you to the same hallway that led to Diavolo's bedroom, but instead stopped at a room two doors down from it. Barbatos opened it for you.

Inside, there was a huge bed in the center of the wall across from you. The sheets, bed curtains, rugs, window curtains, and furniture were all in your favorite colors. You gasped as you walked in, taking in the look of everything. Everything was exactly to your taste, so regal and elegant looking with only the highest quality finishes. It was essentially the same as Diavolo's room, just in your favorite colors and designs.

"Welcome to your suite within the castle, MC," Barbatos said warmly. You looked at him with glee. "It was finished yesterday."

"This? All of this is for me?" you inquired. He simply nodded and smiled. You looked around again, not being able to believe this was yours.

Barbatos walked over to the closet, opening the two doors to reveal a luxurious walk-in closet the size of Asmo's bathroom. One wall was lined with the latest designs from Majolish, another was all evening gowns and formalwear. There was a whole wall dedicated to shoes! In the middle was a mirror, pedestal, and several chairs.

You ran up to Barbatos and hugged him, surprising the butler as he stiffened against your sudden touch. Slowly, he let his arms rest around your waist. Indeed, your scent was intoxicating, and he enjoyed this brief moment with you. He cleared his throat and pulled away, so you did the same.

"Thank you, Barbatos, it's perfect," you whispered in excitement.

"I'm glad you like it so much. My lord picked out most of everything, it was my idea to have it put in your favorite colors. Be sure to tell him how much you like it," he replied. "Now," he said, getting your attention, "we must get you ready."

"Oh, you're going to help me?" you asked. He nodded.

"My young master has asked me to, but if that makes you uncomfortable, I can wait out here until you need my assistance."

"No, I'd love your help, Barbatos. Come help me choose a gown and then we'll decide what to do with my hair and makeup based off it," you replied with a sweet smile. "Oh! I brought something though," you remembered, pulling out a red velvet box. "I want to wear these," you said as you opened it. Barbatos looked over the earrings Lucifer gave you and nodded.

"They're lovely, you must wear those," he concurred.

In a couple hours, you were all dolled up. The gown you chose was a black velvet ballgown with a chapel length train. It was strapless with a straight neckline, but the edges of the neckline where your arm began came up to a point, giving the dress a more angular look in the front. Along the bodice and waistline were gold appliqués bejeweled with white, glittering diamonds that looked like branches coming from your waist, with some of the appliques going halfway down the silhouette of the gown. You both picked out glittering black pumps to go with your gown. Barbatos did your hair in a spectacular and intricate updo that involved lots of pins in a modern Devildom style. Your makeup was perfect as well, a lovely smokey eye to compliment your eyes and bring out your enchanting features. You were adorned with Lucifer's earrings and a choker that brought it all together.

Barbatos left and returned with Diavolo and Lucifer in tow. They were both in their demon forms, ready for the night's festivities. You had asked the butler to fetch them so they could have a private viewing of you before the ball. The doors to the closet were closed with you inside, and you heard footsteps approaching. You turned to have your back to them, just for added drama.

"Barbatos, what is going on?" you heard Diavolo ask. Apparently, the butler neglected to tell them as to why they were in your chambers outside your closet.

Lucifer sounded strained, "Where's MC?"

Barbatos opened the doors ceremoniously for you, and you waited two seconds before twirling around in your dress to see the very surprised expressions of your boyfriends. Your outfit clearly complimented the both of them, but more importantly, you looked like a celestial being in their eyes.

Lucifer's face was tinged with pink, with a more prominent red dusting his cheekbones, clearly noting his earrings on you, and not being able to stop taking you in like you were a meal on a glittering platter. He held his hand over his mouth, trying to look as though he was deep in thought, but when he was in reality trying to hide his smirk that would give away the many inappropriate thoughts he was having.

Diavolo fared no better as he crossed his arms with pink cheeks as well, clearly staring at your beautifully exposed arms and chest, how the dress hugged your bosom, shifting around trying to fight off the urge to pick you up and take you to his room.

You started to feel awkward. "So... do you guys like it?" you asked sheepishly, starting to fiddle with your fingers. This broke them of their trance and they both nodded.

"Enchanting, darling. You never cease to amaze me," Diavolo replied.

"You put every goddess to shame, dove," Lucifer also replied.

You finally smiled again, feeling more at ease. "I'm glad you both like it. Barbatos helped me with everything, thank you," you said, turning to the butler. He bowed his head.

"Anything for you MC, thank you for treating me to such an experience," he replied humbly. Diavolo and Lucifer looked over at Barbatos, and you saw just the twinge of jealousy in both their gazes.

Diavolo snapped out of it and approached you. He took your hand and bowed to kiss it, like princes did to princesses in the movies back in the human world.

"Are you ready?" he asked, running his thumb over your knuckles. "I believe we should be starting momentarily." You nodded, hints of anxiety twinkling on your throat. He offered his arm to you, and you graciously accepted it. You began to walk together, but Lucifer stopped you and took your other hand, kissing it as well. You smiled and he released you. He went a different route to join the rest of the guests.

You and Diavolo walked through the halls to arrive in the corridor leading to the top of the stairs to the ballroom. You both stopped in the hallway where no one could see you, and Diavolo looked down at you. "Ready?" he asked with a big smile.

Taking a deep breath, you nodded. He let go of your arm and turned toward you. He cupped your face in your hands. "I love you," he said before kissing you. His lips were soft, but there were hints of desire in the way he moved against your lips. He broke away.

"I love you too," you replied, smiling up at him.

Taking up his arm again, he led the way out of the hallway and out to the top of the stairs where you both could be seen. There were many demons below, some you had briefly seen last time, some you didn't recognize at all. You spotted Lucifer up against one of the walls in the room, intently watching you, much like every other demon in the room. You focused your gaze on him as a source of comfort, and he let a small smirk grace his face.

Even now, you choose to stare at me? My, my, MC, you're something else, Lucifer thought.

After finally making it to the bottom of the stairs, Diavolo welcomed everyone to the ball, thanking them for coming, and to enjoy the night. You made sure to smile with confidence and gaze at the sea of eyes watching you. After he was done, some returned to their previous conversations, while some of the aristocrats approached you and Diavolo. He made sure to introduce you immediately to everyone.

Truly, you had no issues conversing with those demons who decided to try and entertain you, and each one found you to be charming and delightful. Some could have done without your bubbliness, but there was something undeniably welcoming and pure about how you treated everyone you met. Though, they could have just been attracted to your soul as well as far as their willingness to talk to you. But there was something to be said that if the crowned prince chose you as his partner, some respected it.

Diavolo couldn't have been prouder with how you handled each demon who talked to you. Even when they snubbed you in favor of only talking to the prince, you stood there with a smile, listening intently and not interrupting. You tried to not take offense to it, since you were a human. Finally, Lucifer approached after the wave of demons who wanted to speak to the prince first wandered off.

You instantly smiled up at Lucifer when he came up to you. He maintained his more stoic expression, but he acknowledged you with a nod. He walked over to Diavolo and stood beside the prince, gazing at the demons before you all. Typically, Lucifer remained a wallflower at these events unless political matters were brought up, so it wasn't a surprise he was so quiet. Attending these events wasn't the most favorite aspect of his job, however he did it, as required, but he wasn't going to show unadulterated happiness while doing it.

Ballroom dance music began to play, and Diavolo looked down towards you. "May I have this dance? I'd like to take you out to the floor first, if you don't mind," he requested, polite and laying on the charm thickly.

After nodding your acceptance, he led you to the middle of the floor, holding your hand out. Though many were still talking, a hush flushed over the crowd as you two entered the main floor. Diavolo embraced you into the first position, pressed together, and as the leading note dropped, he led you through the dance, a sweeping waltz that you learned when you first came to the Devildom. No one else ever dared to enter the floor, and for this song it was just you two.

You giggled at a thought you had, and Diavolo raised an eyebrow in a silent question.

"We have so many onlookers, maybe we should give them a treat," you replied, being cheeky. His golden eyes beamed with excitement.

He brought his hand up and you took the cue to twirl several times in an underarm turn, letting your beautiful black gown sweep the floor with its gorgeous train, the diamonds on the appliqués glittering like fire on your torso. There was a murmur of approval within the crowd, even Lucifer raised an eyebrow.

You returned to your original positions, continuing the dance with grace and poise. The biggest grin was plastered on your face as you enjoyed the sweeping moves with your lover. It truly was like a scene from a movie with your Prince Charming. Diavolo smiled back down at you, absolute adoration in his eyes. With every twist and turn, you followed his lead, never taking your eyes off of his. The rest of the world didn't matter in this moment. A flush crept across your neck and chest as he mouthed "I love you" silently to you. You mouthed it back and gave the dance all you had. You two gave several more twirls and ended with you in a small dip, smiling at the audience as you tilted your head back to see everyone.

All too soon, the song was over, the crowd was clapping, and you were breathing a little harder as Diavolo led you back to the rest of the crowd.

He smiled and said, "That was wonderful. I see your dancing has improved." His face was so bright, it was one of the happiest moments he's ever looked. "I'm afraid I need to speak with some acquaintances briefly, are you alright for a moment? I'm sure Lucifer will be right over." You nodded and watched as your prince went into the crowd. He was one of the tallest demons in the room, so it was hard to lose him.

You turned toward the drinks behind you and took a glass of Demonus. As you rested, you looked around. Truly, you didn't feel terribly out of place. Many of the demons wanted to know your name, took interest in you, and were fairly nice. You knew better than to trust them, after all, they're demons that you didn't really know. However, this was going better than you originally thought.

As you watched the crowd, a couple of guests approached you. They were wrath noble demons that you had met earlier.

"Good evening, MC," one stated. He was a shorter gentleman by demon standards, but still taller than you. From what you remembered, he owned a chain of bakeries in the human world.

"Good evening, Suavem, it's lovely to see you again," you replied politely.

"Indeed, you remember my partner, Uvam, yes?" he said, turning the other male demon beside him. You nodded and bowed your head.

"I certainly do. I hope the evening is treating you well," you said sweetly.

"Right. So, we have an inquiry for you, if you don't mind," Uvam stated. He was just a hint taller than Suavem, but quieter and sterner.

"Go on."

"Is it true that you are courting Lord Diavolo and Lucifer Morningstar?" Uvam asked, his voice low.

Maintaining your façade of calm, you nodded. "That is correct," you replied.

"How interesting. Humans tend to be monogamous, do they not?" Suavem asked.

"Not all of them, no. Where a particular human comes from, and what kind of culture they come up in, heavily impacts how they perceive such things," you replied diplomatically.

"Very wise response, MC," Uvam stated. "You certainly are an enigma; I see why everyone's so interested in you. Very well, thank you for entertaining us." They bowed their heads to you and left.

Once they were gone, your face slightly fell. It seemed as though you were able to jump through that hoop, but you were still a touch nervous that people were piecing together your love life. But you couldn't be too upset, as you were warned by Diavolo that being public with him did put the spotlight more on you, even on top of being a rather famous human in general within the Devildom.

However, it didn't pass by you the number of nearby demons who stopped talking to listen to your response, so you knew others were curious as well.

As you gathered up the train of your dress to retrieve the bustle loop to put on your wrist so no one would trip over it and dancing would be easier, a familiar cologne got your attention, one that someone only wore for special events, and for you. You stared straight ahead again, watching everyone and sipping down your Demonus. Lucifer had appeared right next to you, following your gaze to see what you were observing.

"Having fun?" you asked, being somewhat sarcastic.

"Hmm, I could ask you the same, since you were so worried about everything," Lucifer retorted. He noted the two demons who spoke with you and how solemn you looked after your conversation.

"It hasn't been so bad, so far," you replied.

Lucifer also grabbed a glass of Demonus. He looked down at you, and you did the same up at him.

"Don't tell me you're having fun," Lucifer teased. You rolled your eyes and finished your glass, setting it down.

"I am definitely having more fun than you," you said pointedly.

Lucifer finished his glass and smirked, putting it down. He turned to you again and replied, "That, I don't doubt. Now, dance with me," he demanded. A new song had started, and there were two other couples out on the floor about to begin. He took your hand, leaving you very little say in the matter. This time, the dance was Hell's Tango, which you instantly blushed at the thought of your last dance lesson when you learned the moves for this particular dance.

-

"You have to show passion in this dance for your partner. Let your audience know that you belong to them. In demon culture, it's a promise of unbridled passion and desire for the one you're dancing with," Satan said. "So, keep your eyes on me and show me desire."

-

Once you found your spot, Lucifer pulled you into the first position. You stared up at him with wide eyes, not terribly sure if this was wise. This dance was hard, and the meaning behind it felt very risqué. The music started and away you two went. You kept up with his pace, matching him for each open step, forward cross, and back cross. He kept his stoic expression for the rest of the crowd, but you could see his desire in the way his eyes lowered looking into yours. In one of your double cortés, you saw Diavolo watching you two intensely.

The closeness you felt to Lucifer's body made you aware of the heat radiating between the two of you, and you were very aware of his proximity, both of your chests and pelvises glued together. Without thinking, your eyes drifted to the crowd of onlookers. The two couples had left the area in favor of letting you two have the floor entirely. At one point you were in a tango walk and his lips brushed your ear, and Lucifer barely whispered to you, "Focus on me, not them."

Always one to give the people what they want, you gave yourself wholly to the dance. For each twist and turn, you let your body do the talking, as if you were telling a story of two lovers, even adding tantalizing foot play into your steps. You held Lucifer's gaze the rest of the time, both of you oozing passion and unadulterated sexiness.

Your mind wandered but your eyes remained on Lucifer's. You couldn't help but focus on the sensations of his body held against yours. Then images of being held close to Diavolo popped up as well, and your body betrayed you in running wild with the thoughts of a different sort of dance with each of them.

Planning it all perfectly to the end of the song, Lucifer led you to the middle of the floor for the final dip, with your leg wrapped around his hip, the other wrapped around his leg, and you bent backward, one arm extended out reaching to the crowd, and he held your back with one arm.

There were more murmurs of approval, and there was another slow clap erupting from the crowd. Lucifer pulled you back upright, and escorted you to one of the back walls, away from most of the crowd as many couples took to the floor. You were breathing hard now, feeling lightheaded and dazed from the dance. He shielded you from everyone's view with his body and wings.

"Are you alright?" he inquired in a low but also breathy voice.

"Yeah, I just- I just need to breathe," you panted back to him. He watched as you gasped for air, feeling slightly worried. But then when he inspected you closer, saw the flush of pink on your chest, he saw how your heart raced, your eyes were dilated, how you kept avoiding his eyes, the scent you emitted was stimulating. When Lucifer realized what was happening, he felt slightly nervous in a room of demons who could easily catch on to it as well. You were aroused.

Diavolo came up to you both, and saw the state you were in. He wrapped an arm around your shoulders and whispered, "Do you need to rest?"

You shook your head, "No, no I'm- I'm, f-fine," you stammered, still breathless. You most certainly did not look fine. You wobbled a little, leaning into Diavolo to steady yourself.

"No, you aren't. Lucifer, take MC back to her room to rest for a little while." The other demon nodded at the command. Diavolo continued and held your chin in his hand, "You can return to us when you're feeling better, okay?"

Without so much as a word, Lucifer took your arm and quietly moved around the crowd with you in tow, slipping out into the rest of the castle. When you two were out of sight, he picked you up bridal style to take you to your room.

Once in your room, Lucifer carefully kicked the door closed with his foot and walked you over to your bed. He placed you down gently, laying you down on the soft mattress.

"Really, Lucifer, that wasn't necessary," you tried to complain. He stared at you while standing next to the bed, acting strangely. You raised an eyebrow and asked, "Maybe I should be asking if you feel alright? What's got into you?"

Lucifer was silent, still staring at you. You started to feel uneasy and sat up in the bed. In a flash, he crawled on top of your legs, on one knee on the outside of your thigh, leaning over in front of you at eye-level like a predator watching his prey.

"Lucifer what is wrong with-" he snatched your lips with his without letting you finish that sentence. You grunted in shock and pulled back. Ducking around his arm, you pushed off the bed only to be cornered into wall as he slammed his hand against it beside you. You stared at the demon in bewilderment, unsure of what is going on with him.

He brought his other hand to the other side of your head, effectively trapping you, back against the wall. Bringing his face just an inch from yours, he glared at you and whispered harshly, "Do you know the kind of temptation you present to a room full of demons?"

Starting to get upset, your voice cracked when you retorted, "Did I do something wrong? What is this about? You wanted-"

"It's about how you're a walking temptress to everyone in there! Your scent was enough to drive any one of them wild and they could have tried to..." he trailed off from his shouting. His pupils were dilated, and his breathing was ragged. But it was when he saw the tears forming in your eyes as you tried to blink them away, the angry and frenzied haze started to fade.

"MC," he said breathlessly. He dropped his hands. "I... I couldn't help myself. I was tempted by you," he said solemnly and quietly. He looked away and continued, "You were stimulated after our dance, I could read it and sense it from you, and it made me frantic. That's no excuse though, I apologize."

Lucifer turned away but you grabbed his arm. He turned his head to look at you. Your eyes were wide, and you asked, "You were tempted by me...?"

"Yes."

You then used your other hand to pull on the lapel of his suit jacket. He followed your grasp, and you pulled him into a kiss. He stiffened, surprised by you. Crushing your lips into his, you wanted him to know that you were aroused, that you did want him. He pushed you back into the wall, making a small thud as your body slammed back into it. Both your tongues started searching each other's mouths before sliding all around each other.

Lucifer was fully pressed into you with his hands on your shoulders. His grip was tight, almost painfully so. Your hands were curled into his suit jacket. You could feel the heat emanating off of his body, his own arousal straining against both your outfits.

"Well, what do we have here?" a voice called out.

Thank you for reading~ <3

Post made by sassykattery. Do not repost. Likes and reblogs appreciated.

Masterlist

[taraljc]

so I finished my Marvelous Mrs Maisel season 1 rewatch. I was supposed to have been sorting stuff for sale while I did it. as with most things in my life 'supposed to' exited stage left pursued by a bear. however I have been writing bits and pieces even though I have absolutely no idea where any of them are going to fit. but part of it does include a lot of missing scenes, including the walk from the Station House or whatever they call it in New York. precincts? the walk from the 8th precinct to The City Corner and actually both Midge using her one phone call to call Susie to tell Susie to call her mother, and then after Lenny bails her out, trying to get through to the Gaslight to tell Susie not to go to the station because Lenny bailed her out but the line is busy because Susie still on the phone with Midge's mother. so then there is the comedy of errors getting another nickel so Lenny can call someone he knows to send a runner to the Gaslight to tell Susie to meet them at the diner.

long story short the only money Midge has on her is like the 20 bucks her dad handed her before she walked out, and only because it was in the pocket of her dress. all of her change from the cab ride is actually in the pocket of her coat which Susie has and Lenny has no change. and Lenny gets to watch the transformation that is Midge using her feminine wiles to get a random guy on the street to give them change. and it also includes the first time Midge actually tells Lenny a joke and he thinks holy shit this chick is really funny because at that point they have only interacted at police stations and he only has it on hearsay that she is actually a comic.

anyway, I wasted like 2 hours trying to look up an actual vintage phone number because I didn't know what the exchange would be for Riverside and 111th in 1958 and so I was literally combing through vintage newspapers looking for a phone number I could steal and the fact that I bothered to do that for literally a throwaway gag tells you a lot about me I guess?

anyway I put a placeholder in because I have to find somebody who actually lived in New York in the 60s who can tell me what the exchange would have been and until that happens, I'm just sticking with what I've got.

so I'm aware that all of this on the surface sounds like progress. because you would think based on the way I talk about it that I have made great strides. but the problem is I'm not making great strides anywhere except sitting on my ass on the sofa and watching TV and occasionally typing into a computer.

I am not getting laundry done. I am not getting dishes done. I did make myself ramen for dinner so that was something. and I played with the cat for a while--also something. since I'm on the phone dictating this tumblr post my cat is actually trying to crawl inside a gigantic bin bag that holds a ball gown (which is a really long story).

my cat has become increasingly despondent with the amount of time I have been spending reading about Lenny Bruce and talking about Lenny Bruce and writing about Lenny Bruce and not playing with my cat. however being a cat I'm pretty sure if I keep on giving her lots of treats she'll be fine.

oh good the cat has removed herself from the nest of crinolins and is now under my bed.

anyway, I am still poking things with sticks. I still need to gather up another pair of 30 gallon bins of doll stuff to give to Tiny Frock Shop to sell. I need to raise $5,000 for a special assessment on my building for the HOA. I got ghosted by the only interview I've had in a year so that was fun. literally ghosted while in the process of trying to arrange the follow-up interview. so that was new.

anyway it's early Saturday morning and I'm only just now getting to bed.

But watching the entirety of the first episode of season 2 for the first time since the first episode of season 2 aired, instead of just the flashback scene from the end of the season finale of season 1, was interesting. I wish I had some real solid sense of how much time had passed. was it weeks? was it a month? how long was Rose gone before Abe and Midge even noticed? enough time for Midge to get incredibly proficient at being a phone operator in the basement of B Altman. And enough time for Rose to restart her life in Paris reliving her glory days as a student in I presume the 1920s and get a dog and train said dog. I'm already very attached to Simone and concerned about the dog because I don't remember what happens to the dog I'm sure the dog lives a long and happy life with the landlady. also the female impersonators are wonderful and it makes me want to watch Victor/Victoria again which I should because it's fantastic. and the silly nightclub set that Midge does is actually worth it for the interpreter because the because the interpreter is absolutely hitting every cadence. I mean I have enough French to follow right up until it becomes pretty much overlapping completely.

(although weirdly I had a very difficult time understanding the landlady which I guess is the difference between listening to an actual Parisian speak French as opposed to a New Yorker speaking French. I haven't actually carried on extended conversations with parisians in about 30 years so the fact that I retained any french at all is sort of a huge surprise to me.)

I forgot how weird it is for the dynamic to be reversed with Midge wanting to get back together with Joel and Joel being the one saying no that won't work. but I had forgotten how completely separate their lives had been over those 3 months. she had no idea that he had suddenly actually invested any time and passion in his day job and he has no idea that she suddenly has his burgeoning career as a comic. in fact she's the one who told him about where to find the party albums which I had forgotten. I keep thinking that he knew about the record shop and had bought his comedy albums there.

also the part where Midge's bedroom is attached to the kitchen makes no sense to me because that should actually be the maid's room but maybe not. I need to look at schematics of that building again. maybe the maid's room has its own access? I don't know I've never lived in a building with a doorman and although I have lived in a house that had maids quarters that my father had converted into a home office and there was a really narrow really steep staircase that went from that room down to the kitchen and it was located behind my bedroom so in order to get to it you'd walk through my bedroom and let me tell you that was fun as a child.

also I had had it in my head this whole time that Frank and Nicky we're sent to rough up Susie over gambling debts not sent by Susie's mentor Harry Drake. That's cold. that is seriously cold. although I will say this, that's probably the most press Sophie Lennon has gotten in years.

also I wonder if Midge kept the coat. she should have kept the coat. it was a really good coat. also it was from Marshall Fields which was a massive part of my childhood and so I have affection for that code based entirely upon the label.

God I am so sorry about all of the scrolling. I'm on my phone which means I can't insert a read more. but when I get up in the morning I mean in the afternoon when I get up later and go to my computer I will try and remember to go back to this and edit it so it makes sense and add a read more so it doesn't scroll for six pages and by pages I mean screens.

[jessbakescakes]

Is there any chance you’d be willing to write a fic where Donna tells Josh she’s pregnant? Thank you! 🥺

Okay, I've been really bad about prompts lately, but I'm going to try to fill a few over the next couple of days. I haven't forgotten anyone's prompts! If you sent me one, it's in there, percolating. Here's one for you, anon! Takes place post-series.

December 2007

“Donnatella Cinderella! Hurry up! Your Prince Charming is ready to escort you to the ball.”

Donna takes one last look at herself in the mirror. Her dress, a v-neck wrap gold sequined gown, was all Josh had been able to talk about for days. He’d caught a glimpse of it in the closet while he was in the midst of a moment of tunnel vision, in search of something else entirely, and he’d been begging her to try it on ever since. She’d been excited to wear it, too, if for no other reason than to see Josh’s reaction to her in it.

But now she’s a little distracted, and she finds herself with a lot of nervous energy she doesn’t know how to expend. The thought in the back of her mind, a quiet whisper of a possibility, has become a reality faster than she’s been able to process: she and Josh are going to have a baby.

It wasn’t planned this way, certainly, but she was ecstatic. She was certain Josh would be, too. They’d discussed the possibility of her using up the rest of her birth control prescription and then seeing what happened, but they hadn’t set any timelines or started officially trying. The concept was still a hypothetical one until a few minutes ago, so it’s likely going to take them both some time to process the good news.

Donna grabs the hairspray and gives her hair another spritz -- should she have done that? Is that bad for the baby? -- before turning off the bathroom light and starting down the hallway. She’ll tell him at midnight. That’s the perfect plan. All she has to do is wait six hours, pull him aside, and give him the news after a kiss to ring in the new year.

When she sees him in his tux, though, she feels her resolve start to disappear. This sweet, often ridiculous man of hers is going to be a dad. To their baby. Josh is checking something on his phone when she walks into the living room, but it’s like he senses her presence because he snaps his head up before she has to announce herself. “You look incredible,” he says.

She grins, stepping forward to tie his bow tie. “I told you that your patience would be worth it.”

“I’m going to have to insist that you don’t lose any items of clothing before we make it home tonight,” Josh says. “In fact, we should take our cue from the fairy godmother and be home before midnight. Celebrate the new year in private.”

Donna just shakes her head and laughs. “You’re in a good mood.”

“It’s been a good day,” Josh says. “It’s been a good year. Best year of my life.”

She finds herself a little distracted and begins the tying process again, replaying some of her favorite memories of the last year. Donna remembers the Inauguration and the Inaugural Balls, how they barely spent a collective thirty minutes apart the entire evening. She remembers a sticky summer night, Josh waking her up in the middle of a deep sleep to propose to her because he simply couldn’t wait any longer. And of course, their recent autumn wedding, perhaps her favorite of them all.

Until this one.

“It’s been a good year,” she agrees, tugging at his bow tie to straighten it out. “But I think next year’s going to top it.”

As soon as her hands leave his bow tie, Josh takes one of her hands in his, lifting his arm to twirl her. Then he pulls her close, beginning to sway to whatever music is playing in his head. He lifts their joined hands to his lips, pressing a kiss to her knuckles as he leads her in a small circle around their living room. “So, next year, huh?”

“Yes,” Donna grins.

He raises an eyebrow. “Better than this year?”

“Yes,” she repeats.

“Okay. You’re sure about that?”

“Well. Pretty sure.”

He looks at her for a moment, studying her face as though looking at her expression would give him the answer he’s looking for. His face breaks into a dimpled smile. “You know something I don’t,” he says, moving their adjoined hands toward her as though he were pointing. “Spill it.”

“What makes you think…”

“Donna, you’re the worst secret keeper I know,” Josh laughs, leaning forward to kiss her softly. “I know when you’re hiding something. What’s going on?”

“We’re having a baby,” she says, not able to hold the secret in any longer.

He stops moving. She can suddenly hear her heartbeat in her ears as Josh’s expression changes. “What did you say?” he asks, his voice nearly a whisper.

“We’re having a baby, Josh.”

He glances down at her stomach, then up at her face again. “You’re pregnant?”

Donna nods. “At least, according to the two tests in the bathroom trash.”

Josh pulls her into a hug, holding her close for a moment before he pulls back to look at her. Donna cups his face in her hands, using her thumb to brush a tear from Josh’s cheek. He lets out a shaky exhale. “This is for real?”

“Yeah,” Donna says. “I know it’s a little sooner than we’d discussed, but…”

“Donna, this is… I’m so happy. Wait, are you okay? Are you feeling okay?”

She laughs, feeling her heart swell at his sudden concern for her well-being. “I’m fine. Although it does explain why I got sick this morning. Probably wasn’t the food from last night.”

“We don’t have to go if you don’t feel up to it,” he says, his eyes glued to her midsection. “We can just… do you think we should make a doctor’s appointment?”

“Honey,” Donna says, gently lifting his chin so she can look into his eyes. “We can do that later in the week. Or next week. Everything will be closed for the next couple of days, anyway. I’m fine, I promise I am.”

He moves his hand down to her stomach and lets it rest there for a moment, his expression completely entranced as his gaze wanders down again. “How long have you known?”

“About… I don’t know, ten minutes? I got to thinking, realized I was late, and then just… decided to go ahead and take a test. I was going to wait until midnight to tell you, but I couldn’t wait any longer.”

“Donna, I can’t believe you waited this long.” He pauses for a moment, then looks up at her. “Our baby’s in there,” he whispers.

Donna can feel the tears welling up in her eyes as he says this, the realization hitting her again in a second wave. She sniffs softly and Josh immediately wraps her up in his arms, pulling her close and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. They stay there for a few moments before he pulls away, putting his hands in his pockets. “I don’t… really have a handkerchief or anything,” he laughs. “I’d offer you one if I did.”

She shakes her head, gently wiping tears from her eyes and hoping it didn’t smudge her mascara too badly. “It’s okay. I’m going to fix my makeup and then we can head out?”

“Are you sure you’re feeling up to this?”

“Yes, Josh, I’m sure. To continue with your earlier strange yet charming extended metaphor, I won’t turn into a pumpkin for a few months yet,” she says, giving his arm a gentle squeeze on the way to the bathroom.

He follows her in, giving her a little space to touch up her makeup before he slides up behind her, his hands making their way to her midsection and letting his chin rest on her shoulder. He looks at her in the mirror, grinning. “Next year’s gonna be a good year.”

She twists in his arms so that her back is to the bathroom counter, then moves her hands up to play with the curls at the base of his neck for a moment before leaning forward for a kiss. “Yeah. it really is.”

[alj4890]

All Through the Night

A Choices: The Royal Romance Dark AU

A/N We are still at the ball and I didn't mean to post this, LOL! I am still working on it but when I went to edit, I accidentally hit post and didn't realize it until I started getting notifications. I will be adding to this by posting another piece either this evening or tomorrow. So Sorry for this short bit, LOL. At least it is some fluff with Hana and Rashad.

@gkittylove99 @krsnlove @kingliam2019 @texaskitten30 @yourmajesty09 @mom2000aggie @ofpixelsandscribbles @twinkleallnight @lodberg @twinkleallnight @amandablink @neotericthemis  @mm2305 @sfb123 @iufilms @tessa-liam @busywoman ​

Masterlist

Part 4 (first half)

"Your majesty," Rashad bowed, "I was surprised to receive an invitation to tonight's event."

Olivia rolled her eyes. "I know we usually hold our meetings in your office, but I can be called upon to help when there is a need."

Rashad shook his head. "It isn't that." He glanced about to make certain no one was near enough to overhear. "If Constantine learns of our business transactions along with your friendship to me and Liam--"

"I know." Olivia searched through the crowd for Liam. "I won't insult your intelligence with a lie that I'm not worried." She relaxed some when she saw her friend safely dancing with one of the ladies she had seen Maxwell walk in with. "I couldn't refuse Liam when he asked." Her nose wrinkled. "It's annoying how endearing he can be at times."

The duke beside her chuckled.

"Anyway," Olivia huffed, "You are a Cordonian noble regardless of your..." She waved her hand around, "sky tendencies."

"Sky tendencies?" Rashad chuckled again. "I like that. I'll have to tell Sherry that one. She'll probably use it to describe us for now on."

"Where is your cousin? I thought I was finally going to meet her."

"There she is, in the black and silver gown."

Olivia craned her neck. "She and Maxwell are truly together."

"You didn't know?" Rashad's eyes widened.

"Not until Liam told me the other night" A soft smile appeared on her lips. "I don't think I've ever seen him that happy."

"I haven't seen my cousin that happy either. Ever since Sherry saw Maxwell, her wanderlust has disappeared. I guess she just needed to find her other half." Rashad added. "From all she's told me about him, he seems to meet every need she has."

"I think that might be the only thing I envy about all of you." Olivia mumbled. "You have such security in finding the person meant for you."

"Your aunt pressuring you to marry again?" He asked.

"Yes along with the council and people." She shook her head. "And let's not forget the press reminding everyone that my parents were not only married at my age but also had a three year old heir to the throne."

"You'll find someone." Rashad told her.

"I can have this room filled with men willing to marry a queen." Olivia huffed. "Finding someone isn't the problem. It's the thought of being stuck with this person for life and having children with them."

"I understand." He shifted as he watched his cousin twirl in her love's arms. "Constantine has been hinting at arranging a marriage for me since I've never seen my mate."

Olivia stiffened. "Is it to another monster?"

"As you well know, we aren't all bad." He bit out, tired of how they always ended up in this same argument. "I was only trying to be sympathetic."

"Well I need to know on whether or not I need to protect Cordonia from the future duchess of Domvallier." She hissed.

"Oh for the love of--" Rashad clamped his mouth closed as heat moved over his skin.

He didn't know why he felt so touchy tonight. Normally, he was calm. Unlike his more spirited cousin, he had never been quick to anger or excitement.

Yet lately, he felt restless. He had transformed into his dragon form more the past few months than usual. He spent many nights flying above the clouds to try and ease the need he felt to get away.

At work, he felt hemmed in. Though he was considered a brilliant, calculating CEO, he had lost his joy in the deals he and William Sloan made. The legalese of the contracts he created had lost the peace they had once given him.

He never sniped at Olivia, and yet tonight he just wanted to argue. He wanted to pour out his frustrations with the direction his life had taken him on someone else.

And she just so happened to be the one reminding him that he didn't really belong in this kingdom. He wasn't sure he belonged in the Dark Kingdom either since he did business with both Cordonia and other nations that most likely wouldn't welcome their kind.

And if he were honest with himself, he actually felt jealousy over Sherry and Liam's luck in finding their mates. He didn't begrudge them doing so, more that the joy they seemed to feel was so foreign to him. He had for the most part a happy, fulfilled life. He had the close relationships with Liam, Drake, and Sherry. He was successful in every endeavor he attemtped.

Just not in matters of the heart.

He had tried normal, human dating. He had even managed to have a few steady girlfriends in college and law school. But when it came time to pop the question, he just couldn't. Knowing how love was for his kind, misleading these women that he was in love with them seemed wrong.

So here he was once again, nowhere near finding what he--

"Rashad?" Olivia took a step away from him. "Your eyes are glowing!"

He shut them while trying to keep the flames from forming in his palms. He began to recite the different corporate laws he knew by heart to divert his mind from what he had just happened.

Once he thought he had cooled down, he opened his eyes. The source for his reaction was nowhere in sight.

"Excuse me." He muttered, already walking away.

Olivia eyed him warily. The last thing she needed tonight was a dragon revealing himself in her ballroom.

Liam owes me big time for this, she thought.

****************

Hana waved to Riley as she danced once more with the handsome man who had whisked her away earlier. She had caught glimpses of Maxwell and Sherry dancing together and had even spotted Bertrand with his Savannah waltzing.

Conversations and laughter surrounded her while couples whirled about in the elaborate costumes. Instead of joinging in or simply reveling in the decadence, she felt the loneliness that always crept up on her at parties.

She knew she wasn't truly alone in life. Hana had her parents. It might be a somewhat contentious relationship, but she knew they were her family. She had her best friend in the entire world. But...if she were to go how Riley was looking at the man holding her close, her friend would be leaving her alone at night to go on dates. She didn't blame her for that. Still. It would be nice to have someone.

The past few days spent with Maxwell and Sherry had opened her eyes to how nice it must be to find the love of your life.

And it had opened her eyes to the fact that she was nowhere near that kind of happiness.

Hana could feel the frustrated tears forming. The last thing she wanted was to embarass herself in front of these nobles. Gathering her full skirt, she darted out of the ballroom. She ran down a hallway that opened up to the palace's foyer. Seeing no one around, she sat down on the third step of the grand staircase.

She removed her pink sequined demi mask then dug through her small clutch for a tissue.

"Surely, I packed my compact--" her head jerked up when she heard footsteps approaching.

**************

Rashad was dumbfounded. Seeing the woman on the staircase made that strange feeling course through him that he had felt in the ballroom.

Their eyes met.

"I'm sorry." He stuttered. "I didn't mean to intrude on your solitude."

"It's alright!" Hana quickly replied. "You're not intruding."

Rashad felt his heart pick up speed just with the sound of her sweet voice.

She shyly smiled at him to try and put him at ease.

He audibly swallowed and felt himself stepping towards her.

"What are you doing out here?" He silently cursed himself for asking such a stupid question.

She averted her eyes and gave a brief shrug. "I just wanted a moment alone."

"I'm sorry." He made himself step back. "I'll leave you--"

"No please!" She got up and gently grasped his arm.

He hoped he didn't accidentally burn her. It was taking every ounce of what little concentration he had near her to control the heat surging through his body. He wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her senseless.

Hana tilted her head as she looked up at him.

"Is something wrong?" She asked.

Something wrong? Of course there's something wrong! You're mine yet you don't even know who I am. I'm in a palace with people that will kill me, my cousin, and Liam if I for a moment lose control. And yet all I want to do is find an empty bedroom and make you mine for all eternity.

He toyed with his cuffs.

"I seem to have lost one of my cufflinks." He held his arm up to show her. "I came out here hoping it's somewhere in here rather than than the ballroom."

"Oh." She smiled once more. "I'd be happy to help you." She began to look around. "What does it look like?"

He blinked when she reached for his other hand.

Hana moved his jacket back some so she could see the remaining silver cufflink.

She gently patted his hand. "I'm sure we'll find it."

When she turned her back on him to search near the staircase, Rashad quickly tossed the cufflink across the room. It landed on a thick, Persian carpet near some portraits.

"Where all have you been this evening?" She asked.

"In the ballroom." He cleared his throat and pretended to search about. "Outside in one of the smaller courtyards. And in here."

"Hmm." Hana placed her hands on her hips. "After we search here, we can then look outside."

"Thank you, Lady...?"

Hana twirled around. "Oh! Forgive me for not introducing myself, sir. I'm Hana Lee."

"Hana." Rashad removed his mask.

Her smile grew as her eyes traced over his handsome features. "And you are?"

"Rashad Kovak." He bowed to her.

"Rashad Kovak?" Hana tapped a finger to her chin. "I know that name from somewhere."

"I'm the Duke of Domvallier." He explained. "And I'm business partners with--"

"William Sloan!" She said excitedly. "Yes, of course! My father is currently in negotiations with your firm."

Rashad couldn't help but smile. "You're Xinghai Lee's daughter."

She nodded. "It is a pleasure to meet you, your grace."

He stopped her from curtseying. "The pleasure is all mine." He pressed a kiss to her knuckles.

Hana felt her heart flutter with the feeling of his lips on her skin. It was strange. Other men had kissed her hand in the ballroom, yet this man's made her long to get closer.

"Your cufflink!' She felt heat rise up to her cheeks. "We must find it."

"We'll start over here." Rashad guided her away from where he had thrown it. "And do a complete sweep together that way we don't miss anything."

And so I can keep you with me a little longer.

While they searched, Rashad asked her about herself.

He then stilled when she said that she was a guest of sorts of Maxwell Beaumont.

Hana was one of the ladies the hunter was protecting.

Is she the one Liam claimed as his mate?

Rashad cursed himself for having zoned out once his vampire relative had claimed he had found the one. He had been stuck trying tp wade through a very badly worded contract when the news was announced.

He did remember the woman was from America. And her name was...

"Riley and I can hardly decide what to show first in our videos." Hana continued to talk about her life while kneeling down to check around a potted plant.

Riley! That is the name of the woman Liam has talked nonstop about!

Rashad breathed easier now knowing that he hadn't fallen immediately for someone meant for someone else.

He reached down to help her up. "Lady Hana?"

"Yes, your grace?"

"I don't suppose you would like my help in choosing some sights around Cordonia?" He smiled down at her. "There are some places that I love that aren't typically listed in guidebooks."

Her bright smile would have been enough thanks for him.

Hana threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight.

His own arms wrapped around her. She smelled so good to him. Like confectionary sugar, lavendar, and a hint of honey. He wanted to bury his face against her neck and simply breathe her in while hearing her melodious voice tell him everything about herself.

He had never been interested in questioning people about themselves. He didn't mind listening to those that volunteered information, he was just not a very curious person.

Yet with Hana hugging him, he thought he could happily spend the rest of his life hearing about every single thought, experience, and feeling she had ever had. He needed to know her.

Hana was surprised at her own spontaneous hug of a man she did not know.

He's so warm.

It wasn't just the gentle way he held her as if she was some delicate, almost precious, rare treasure. His skin was warm and soothing.

Like hot chocolate.

He was the kind a man one wanted to snuggle against after a long day of work.

Her imagination ran wild with that. She could picture him coming home, loosening his tie, his coat draped over his shoulder. He would smile at her hurrying over to greet him, dropping his briefcase and coat just so he could return her hug. She would then tug him over to a couch when she could curl up against his side while they shared how their day went.

She sighed softly at that sweet dream taking form.

Rashad felt her breath against his neck. And knew he was in trouble. He took a deep breath to calm down and ended up breathing in more of her intoxicating scent.

Hana eased out of his arms. She looked up at him and wondered if it was a trick of the lights that made his eyes glimmer with such intensity.

"Shall we look on this side?"

Rashad had no idea what she was talking about and merely nodded. He followed her over to the portraits.

"Wait!" Hana grabbed his arm to stop him from stepping forward.

He watched as she knelt down and picked up his supposed missing cufflink.

"Here it is." She held his wrist as she slipped it back into the cuff of his shirt sleeve. She smiled up at him when he took her hand once more.

Rashad lifted her hand to his lips again. His eyes held hers while he placed a tender kiss upon her knuckles.

"Hana, I want to spend more time with you."

Her cheeks colored more as she shyly looked away. "I would like to spend more time with you too, your grace."

"Rashad." He insisted. Relief flooded through him that she actually wanted to know him like he wanted to her. "Will tomorrow evening work out for you?"

She nodded. "That will be perfect."

Hana x Rashad moodboard

[diana-prince-s]

I will read literally ANYTHING u write

hi I'm using this to continue the camgirl nali au, they're finally going to meet!

---

Rosé never should have RSVP'd to the company Christmas party.

Sure, it's a great opportunity to network within the magazine and see some of her coworkers outside of the office -- but these kinds of events just give her anxiety. She may look stunning in her overpriced black cocktail dress that shows much of her cleavage and with her blonde hair perfectly coiffed and styled. She may even be happy to partake in the delicious hors d'oeuvres that are carried out by the wait staff at various intervals. But she still has this sinking feeling of being out of place and alone.

She should have brought Jan or Lagoona as her plus-one instead of sending the RSVP message back with a sad little lonely empty space on the line for add-ons.

Ted from finance scoops her up near the bar while she's ordering her third virgin Red Bull and proceeds to talk to her about year-end sales and the Q-4 numbers, probably all stuff that he could get fired for sharing. Rosé nods along and lets him talk, and in the meantime she contemplates if it's too late to get one of her friends to the party to keep her company. She's counting down the minutes until it's socially-acceptable to leave the conversation when her phone buzzes -- perfect, she can play it off as an emergency.

"Excuse me," she says, and she turns around so she can check it in a semblance of privacy, and when she sees the notification she's glad that she does.

It's Icy Spicy Princess. She's posted a new update to her OnlyFans, and from what little Rosé lets herself look at (she's still in public, of course), the woman is riding reverse-cowgirl on a man with a ball gag in her mouth and cuffs around her wrists. Rosé marvels at the sheer core strength Icy Spicy Princess must be using to be bound and still ride like that. Then the sounds of the party come back to her ears -- the deafening small-talk and din of glasses clinking together and forks scraping over plates, and the band switching to their next cover of a Christmas song -- and she closes her phone quickly.

This isn't the time or the place.

As soon as Rosé tucks her phone back into her purse, she feels a tap on her shoulder. She turns around, deep breath already in her throat, steeling herself for another boring conversation with Ted, but her eyes catch warm and sharp eyes belonging to Chamilla, and she smiles politely.

"Glad to see you here, Rosé," Chamilla says. Her hand is laced with a man's, and she tugs him closer. "This is my husband, Manny. And our daughter, Denali..."

Chamilla steps to the side, a little away from the bar, and over her shoulder Rosé can see her daughter taking a glass of champagne from the bartender. She turns towards them, and Rosé's heart stops.

It's all she can do to keep her mouth closed, and she isn't even sure she succeeds at that when the Icy Spicy Princess, there in the flesh, looks at her like she's grown a second head.

She looks as beautiful as ever, more radiant in person, and sexy even fully clothed. Though Rosé can't in good conscience admit that Denali is fully clothed -- her black silk slip gown dips low on her chest, barely held up by thin straps over her shoulders, and the sides of the gown are cut high enough that Rosé gets a good look at her thighs -- those thighs that she just saw riding...

"Nice to, uh, see-- meet you," Rosé says, her voice several octaves too high. She swallows and tears her eyes away from Icy Spicy -- Denali, Denali Foxx, her boss's daughter -- to look at Chamilla again. "You have a lovely family, Ms. Foxx."

Chamilla smiles politely and tips her head. "I was just telling Manny and Denali how quickly you've made a name for yourself here. It isn't often new hires pick up..."

Rosé can't hear much over the sound of her own breathing in her ears. She keeps her eyes on Chamilla's lips moving, otherwise she won't be able to control the blush on her cheeks and the way the room is starting to spin.

This can't be happening. Her first foray into the world of live, online pornography and the object of her desires is her boss's daughter? It's a cruel trick the Universe is playing on her, testing her self-control and punishing her for her lust. And if she gets found out-- she'll never be able to show her face at the magazine again. Hell, she'll get fired, and then she'll be back to doing what she was doing before she got this job, singing at nightclubs with barely more than a dime to her name. Then how will she pay for the Only Fans subscription...

"You know what?" Rosé says suddenly, cutting off whatever praises of hers Chamilla was singing. "I'm so sorry, but I just got a text about an emergency, a-- fire, at my friend's... library, and I've gotta--"

She points over her shoulder pathetically but doesn't wait around long enough to see her boss's incredulous reaction.

Rosé moves quickly through the crowd, dodging waiters and her coworkers alike. The restrooms are at the edge of the large ballroom behind a heavy door that she yanks open with a sudden force of urgency. Thankfully, the powder room in the ladies' restroom is empty, so she collapses against the vanity and pulls her phone out of her purse.

Rosé: SOS situation that the Christmas party

The text in the Steph's Child group chat can't send fast enough. Her friends are always on their phones, though, so she gets a quick reply.

Jan: What's wrong, doll? Need rescuing?

Lagoona: Who do we need to fight?

It's an embarrassing situation, and not one that Rosé ever imagined telling her friends. They know everything about her, but Icy Spicy Princess was just going to be her secret so she could stew in her shame all alone. But this -- it's too much for her to handle on her own. So she starts typing.

It's a long block of text, and she's halfway through when the restroom door opens. Rosé ignores it, too deep into her embarrassing recount of blowing hundreds of dollars on porn websites for just one woman who happens to be her boss's daughter! But the person stops just next to her and Rosé, curious and ashamed and anxious all at once, glances over at her. Her phone tumbles out of her hands.

Denali raises a manicured eyebrow at her. "My mom told me that you were going to talk to me about jobs or whatever," she says, "so I'm here to talk."

Rosé bites the inside of her cheek and keeps quiet.

Denali sighs. "Look, I don't know what your problem is-- maybe you hate my mom or you're just a mean girl or whatever, but I promised her, so--"

God, to know that the Icy Spicy Princess is just as bratty in real life--

"Well, like I said, I'm kinda busy..."

Rosé points to her phone where it's face-down on the vanity, and she regrets it instantly because Denali reaches for it, probably to be nice and hand it to her, but in the fall from her hands Rosé somehow managed to leave her text messages and switch over to the only other app that's open -- OnlyFans, where the video of the woman standing in front of her riding a dick and moaning obscenely around a ball gag starts playing, sound on.

Denali stares at the phone in her hand for a moment. Rosé stares at it, too, and then snatches it away from Denali, locking it so the sounds disappear. When she looks back up, Denali is staring at her, her eyes and features gone cold and harsh.

"The fuck..." Denali crosses her arms over her chest. "You're a fucking subscriber?"

Rosé throws her hands up in defense. "Hey, I didn't know, okay? I didn't know that you were Chamilla's daughter, I didn't even know your name. I just came across your Twitter the other week and I-- I liked what I saw--"

Rosé's eyes go wide when she hears the words that are coming out of her mouth right now. She looks down in a feeble attempt to hide her blush.

"You won't tell my mom, will you?" Denali asks, and Rosé hears the genuine fear in her voice behind the chilly exterior.

Rosé shakes her head, still unable to look Denali in the eye. "No, I don't think that would go well for either of us."

It's silent for a few moments. Rosé is becoming well-acquainted with the pretty, strappy red shoes Denali is wearing -- totally impractical for the weather, but Rosé thinks trivial things like that won't get in the way of Denali looking like the most beautiful woman in the room from head-to-toe--

"What's your name?"

Rosé looks up at Denali from beneath her lashes. "Rosé?"

Denali rolls her eyes. "I mean your screen name, idiot."

"Oh." Rosé bites the inside of her cheek to keep her blush from deepening. "Uh, pinkchardonnay."

Saying that name out loud, in this public space, feels wrong, especially when she knows Denali has moaned it during an orgasm.

Denali, surprisingly, shows a little smile. "I remember you from the last stream." She regards Rosé for a minute, and Rosé feels seen in a way that she isn't sure she's ready for. "I don't usually have a face to match the name, but--" She shrugs a little nonchalantly, a little dismissively. "--can't say I'm disappointed."

It's not necessarily a compliment, but it isn't not a compliment. Rosé doesn't have time to decide what it means or how she should respond, if she should respond, because Denali is already out the door and into the party again.

Rosé slumps against the vanity. It feels like air has finally been let back into the room, and she practically gulps it into her lungs. So she's met the Icy Spicy Princess, something she's been dreaming about but has now become somewhat of a nightmare.

There's no way Chamilla can figure it out, though. As long as she keeps her notifications turned off, wipes her browser history, and never sees Denali in person again...

Her phone rings. It's Jan. Rosé answers it carefully.

"Hey, girl, I'm here with Goons. You didn't answer, are you okay?"

Rosé bites her lip. "Jan, I think I really fucked up this time..."

[celestialevie]

Weddings and what could’ve been’s // F.W. x F! Reader

Hi! This is my first ever posted fic, I hope you’ll like it!

PAIRING: Fred Weasley x F! Reader

Genre: Angst 

Summary: You’ve been friends with Fred since forever. But what happens when the one you love is not feeling the same and now he’s getting married to the girl he loves. Based off of this song :))

Word count: 2.5k

It was supposed to be a good day. Waking up, getting ready for another day of writing her novel about picturing a certain red head as love interest of her novel. But it all flushed down when she saw a small envelope just sitting there on the table, almost as if it was mocking her. It's been sitting there ever since it arrived yesterday afternoon, not expecting to receive an invitation to the wedding of one person she didn't want to participate in. Fredrick Gideon Weasley. Her best friend since their second year of Hogwarts. It was almost ironic how a simple wedding invitation can break a heart that's already been on the verge of breaking, tears were rolling down her face, not a single sound could've been heard besides her sobs. Her best friend/roommate ran out of her room as soon as she heard her. Not expecting to see her best friend on the floor crying over a single paper, she realises what happened, the one thing she dreaded even though it was only a matter of time before it happened. The way Fred was talking about that girl, she knew that her best friend was in a wait of a permanent broken heart. But now a day later, she decided to throw the invitation in the rubbish, deciding no matter how much she cared about her best friend she knew she wouldn't be able to handle watching him promising himself to someone else for forever. Taking out a bottle of her favourite rose, she pours some of it in a glass and heads back to her room, deciding to forget about her heartbreak by throwing herself into her fictional world where she was the one Fred loved. 

 Soon, she'll realise that not even wine and her own fictional world would help cure her broken heart. Not when the one she's so in love with decided so pay her a visit, not hearing anything from her in over a week. He wondered if she got the invitation to the wedding, the day he couldn't wait for it to finally happen. The thing is, he's not going to be able to do it, if his soulmate in a form of his best friend isn't there by his side, making sure he doesn't panic like he often happens to do in stressful situations. 

Upon hearing knocking on her door, she slowly gets up from her desk, heading to open the door, not expecting to see the person she wanted to see the least, standing in front of her. 

Every day they were closer to the day that changes everything for forever. One of them was dreading that day, while the other one couldn't want for it to come any sooner. Soon it was the day of rehearsal dinner or also known as the day before it all goes shit show for her. Everything was ready, her outfit ready for tomorrow. Deciding she wasn't strong enough to make it through the wedding alone, she begged her best friend to go with her, helping her survive with alcohol. The wedding was in the backyard of The Burrow, but it wasn't anything special or near as big as it was Bill's, both Fred and Lillian agreeing it was best to have a smaller intimate wedding with their closest ones there. Apparating a minute away from The Burrow, she walks towards the door, knocking softly before entering the house. Everyone was on their feet, final preparations for tomorrow are being made. Ginny was the first one to notice her, running towards the girl. Brining her in the hug, she laughs. '' Hi Ginny '' they pull away from the hug, Ginny looking at the girl. '' You look gorgeous y/n. I'm still angry at my brother for not marrying you. '' y/n rolls her eyes playfully. '' Stop it, you know we would never work as a couple, plus Lillian is a lovely girl, I'm sure she'll be a good sister-in-law. '' they talked as they walked upstairs heading towards Ginny's room.  What no one knew is that the night of the Yule ball, Fred was ready to confess his dying crush on his best friend, that's why he brought her to the astronomy tower. He had it all planned out  until they were interrupted, and it was all ruined. Fred often wondered if they hadn't been interrupted would've it been her who he was marrying. Would it work out or would it fail and therefore ruin their friendship. George was the only one along with Lee who knew about it. That's why the night before the wedding he found himself sitting in front of the small lake they had behind their house, wondering if Lillian is truly the one he wants to marry. Y/n found him after a few minutes, joining him. '' I knew I'd find you here. '' he said nothing, just kept looking in front of him. '' What's bothering you, Freddie? '' she gently took his hand into hers, brushing her thumb gently across his hand. '' I'm just worried if I'm making a mistake or rushing this. Before tonight, I couldn't been happier waiting for this day to finally come, but now that it's here all my mind seems to do is make me wonder if I'm marrying the wrong girl. Maybe I should just marry you, we've been friends for forever, it wouldn't change much. '' he lets out a small laugh. Letting go off his hand, I grab his face with my hands on both sides of his face. '' Fred I need you to look at me. Do you love Lillian? '' he nods his head. '' I don't think I've ever loved anyone the way I love her. '' a small smile appears in the corner of his mouth. '' Do you see yourself being with her for the rest of your life? Is she the one you want to see growing old with you? '' y/n questions him. Fred waits for a few seconds before answering, with a big smile on his face. '' Yeah, I do. God, why was I even doubting this. This is why I need you by my side, you always know how to get me out of my head. Thank you, love. '' he pulls her into a strong hug. '' Hey, if you need a getaway car tomorrow, me and George will have one prepared and then we can get married. '' she joked, even though there was some half truth in it. '' it's late, I have to go get that beauty sleep for tomorrow so do you. Goodnight Freddie. '' she plants a small kiss on his cheek before apparating herself back to her flat, before crashing down in the middle of living room, bursting into tears of heartbreak. The pieces that weren't shatter from before, had shattered now. There were no pieces left of her heart. The rest of the night she spent in the arms of her best friend, crying herself to sleep. 

 It was funny really. The story of how they met, how they became inseparable and how she eventually fell in love with him. The latter didn't come to much of a surprise. How could someone not fall in love with him, when he's the most amazing person she's ever come across. It was their second year in Hogwarts, and she was heading towards the library, deciding to prepare herself for the upcoming Potions exam. Merlin knows how much she dreaded those. It wasn't her fault, most people on her mom's side of family never really knew how to do potions. As she was walking there, someone grabbed her by her arm and started dragging her away with them in a direction of the nearest broom closet. In a second she realised it was one of the Weasley twins. Not even needing to ask why he was in such a hurry, already knowing they caused another trouble. Quickly running inside the broom closet, one of the twins put a hand on her mouth, signalling for her to be quiet. Rolling her eyes, she did as told until we heard Filch and Mrs. Norris passing by. Another minute passed on until he removed his hand from her mouth. '' I'm Fred. '' he introduced himself. '' Y/n '' she shook his hand. '' Care to explain why you dragged me into this dusty broom closet with yourself? '' Fred laughed. '' Had to move you out of the way from Filch or else you'd be in the trouble along with me. '' nodding her head, she left the closet. And that was the beginning of their weird friendship. From participating in the pranks, to making excuses why they're not in the certain classes you shared with them to Fred asking her to go to the Yule Ball with him, leading us to the night they had almost kissed. Somewhere in between she slowly fell for her best friend without intending to. It all felt like a dream. Dancing with her best friend so closely, to sneaking off to the astronomy tower because that night, the stars were shining so bright. Slow dancing in the moonlight, it all felt almost to perfect. Both of them slowly leaning towards each other until they heard a crashing noise, interrupting their intimate moment. It made her realise that it was for the best for them to be just friends, their friendship being worth more than a relationship not knowing how it'll end. Almost as if it was a silent agreement between them, neither of the two brought it up ever again. She would never want to ruin his day, so yes she had agreed to be his second best man, no matter how much it'll hurt to be there so up close seeing it all unfold almost like in a film scene. 

Next morning when she woke up, she felt so exhausted while getting ready. She barely had any energy in her body and she was pretty sure she also had no tears left. Putting on her beautiful dress, she did her makeup and hair. She was ready to stand there next to her best friend, and watch him marry the love of his life, no matter how much the fact that it's not her hurted. It was a beautiful ceremony, he looked so beautiful in his dark blue suit, it really made his hair and eyes stand out a bit more, and don't her started on how beautiful the bride was. Her gown looked straight out of a fairytale. A few tears espaced during the ceremony but when George asked her why is she crying, she brushed it off as happy tears, even though she knew she didn't fool George with that lie. During the reception she mostly stayed at her table, trying to drown her sorrow in the wine and other alcoholic drinks. She watched as her roommate/best friend danced with George along with watching Fred and Lillian dance together like it was only two of them. Molly and Ginny often came and talked to me, but it wasn't long until I couldn't handle it anymore and just drowned the rest of my drink before saying goodbye to everyone, making an excuse saying she unfortunately had to go home and finish her book, her publisher gave her a deadline until tomorrow. The last person left to say goodbye to was Fred. Tapping him on the shoulder, she gives him a smile as he turns around. '' Congratulations Freddie boy once again. But I have to leave now unfortunately, I have a book to finish. '' Before she could even say anything he took her hands and put them around his neck, pulling her closer to him. '' Just this one dance and then I'm setting you free, okay? '' He begged her. Nodding her head, they start slow dancing. '' I'm really proud of you Freddie, you finally found the one you always talked about. Hopefully one day I'm gonna find my prince charming one day. '' she rested her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. '' I'm sorry I wasn't the one for you. '' he said, making the tears slowly start pooling in my eyes. '' That's not for you to apologise, we're too good friends for us to work in a relationship. Us not kissing that night of the yule ball was for the best. If we kissed who knows if you'd meet Lillian, your true love. Don''t you worry about me. '' and with that she pulled away from him, placing a small kiss on his cheek before apparating home. Letting him stand there alone, her words sinking in, making him wonder again if he had made a mistake by not letting her know of his feeling that night. But soon his thoughts were brushed away as he felt the lips of his wife on his.

'' Hello love '' he greets her after she moved aside, letting him in. Pulling her into a hug, he goes into the living room, while she still stands there shocked at her door. Quickly getting rid of her thoughts, she heads over to where he was. '' Hi Freddie, what are you doing here? I didn't expect you to visit. '' she sits down next to him. '' Well it's been over a week since I've last heard from you, so I decided to pay you a visit. She nods her head. '' Yeah, sorry about that. I started working on my novel again and that's all I've focusing on recently. Didn't mean to neglect your need for constant attention. '' she jokes, even though she knew he had his fiancée know to give him attention. Fred rolls his eyes. '' Yeah yeah whatever. Listen I have a question/favour to ask you. '' she furrows her eyebrows. '' Okay, I'm listening. '' taking a deep breath, he begins. '' So as you probably know I proposed to Liliana. Speaking of that, have you received my invitation to the wedding? '' it's been over a month since they got engaged, and yet she still couldn't bare the thought of losing Fred forever. '' Yes I have, it's very beautiful Freddie, I am very happy for the two of you. '' she gives him her best fake smile, not wanting to upset her best friend. '' Thank you, love. My question is, would you like to be my second best man? Along with George of course. I don't think that I would be able to do it without you by my side. Please say yes or at least think about it. It would really mean everything to me. '' This was definitely something she hadn't expect. There goes your plan on not going to the wedding, making an excuse of why she can't make it and get drunk in her room while watching her favourite romcoms. '' Of course Freddie, anything for you. '' those words came out before you even had a chance to think about them. 

[jaeminscoffee]

Drapetomania.

Drapetomania- An overwhelming urge to run away.

Pairing- Lee Taeyong x reader.

Genre- Angst, business!au

Word count- 2.73k

Warning- Mention of intake of alcohol, smoking and plans of running away.

Summary- A friend as good as ready to run away with you but you stop him dead in track, wanting solitude away from the cruelty of your world.

Ever felt like wanting to turn a blind eye towards all your responsibilities and just run away? 

The night was cold, gusty winds blowing through the open curtain of the ball room. Sounds of wine and whiskey glasses clattering filled the air. Sniffs of all sorts of cuisines from around the world had everyone's mouth watering. The entrance to the room leading up to the podium had a crimson carpet taut. All dressed fancy, women in gowns, men in tux. 

You yourself adorned a glitter black red flowing gown. Elegantly falling off your shoulder. The dress starting black, fading into red paired with a black bow heels, which was hidden by your gown pleats.

This was your life as the next head of your enterprise. Well, your father's company to be precise. It wasn't bad living in a world full of business talks, money exchange and complacency. 

Your company has earned its name as one of the top three of your country, alongside the Lee and Kim enterprises. The competition between all three companies was cut throat. All united and tranquil though, amidst all sorts of competition and the want to win, you were all acquaintances. 

All your parents dated a long time back, starting from their ancestors, passing through generations now passing onto you.

Business ran in all of your blood. 

As soon as you'd received your masters degree, your parents had immediately given you the post of the assistant manager at their company, not giving you a chance to state what your interests lie in. 

It wasn't half as bad as you'd thought it would be. You made a couple of friends going through the same as you, Lee Taeyong from the Lee Enterprise. Kim Doyoung and his younger brother Kim Jungwoo, from the Kim Corporations. Lastly, Jung Jaehyun from Jung Entertainments, CEO in training, a current partner and your fiancé. 

Yes, the Jung's and your family decided to merge ownership to create a much stronger stake.

This world, as lavish it sounds, snatches all types of freedom from you. Having money doesn't sound that bad, right? Having power sounds great, doesn't it? 

Well, it really isn't, you didn't get to enjoy the adult life you'd hoped for growing up. Not many stay beside you until you spend dollars on them either. The power either scared them or had their jealousy drive them away from you. 

Responsibilities came in one by one as a chain, giving you little to no time to breathe, adding onto that your wedding in a few months. You tried talking your way out of the arranged relationship, but it was futile. It was set once then it's set. No more turning points from there. 

The lad you're getting tied to wasn't bad, neither had he been rude to you, nor does he have that cockiness almost every other business man has. The arrogance was absent too. But rather, he was a gentleman, an absolute eye candy, a hard working young man. You were friends, as previously mentioned. You'd spoken the next day after the arrangement as you'd ran straight to the closest of your friends, Lee Taeyong, to bawl your eyes out of distaste. 

Jaehyun didn't want the marriage either, both of you were still so young, just starting your lives. 

Taeyong had to go through the same, but unlike your parents, they actually listened to him. 

That leads you to today, standing by the casement of your hotel room after exchanging a few formal greetings by the party hall, having Taeyong sit by the bed as your parents made their ments about the future of the company, possibly even announcing your marriage plan. 

"You know this hotel has a huge smoking prohibited board outside right?" Taeyong asked, clearing the air, coughing, watching you take swig after swig of your half burnt cigarette. You laugh at your friends' talks and silent complaints. This was the real you, you back talked, you screamed, you spent money on buying graphic t-shirts rather fancy clothes, you smoked, clubbed on the weekends. The real you was totally in contrast to you in front of the others. You were expected to be perfect, mannerisms on point not to disobey even.

"Yeah? And?" you said, puffing out the tobacco filled air right onto Taeyong's face, chuckling as he dramatically starts choking, exaggerating it a bit too much than required.

"I'm not going to help you when you get arrested," He said, shrugging his shoulders, standing up from the edge of the bed and standing beside you, taking the stick out of your hands, throwing it out of the window. You at him, looking up because of the height difference, "health comes first, princess" he said in feigned politeness, earning a smack on the shoulder as a reply from your end, "Oh fuck you, Lee" you reply with a petty tone having the toxic been taken from between your fingers. 

"So you dragged me all the way up to cuss at me or you have something to tell me?" he asked, breaking the silence taking over the air. You lean forward by the sill, looking outside the window as you let out a sigh, taking a whiff of the blustery night before turning towards Taeyong who already had his focus on you.

"It's about the marriage, and starting today, I-uh..I'll be taking over the company. I don't think I'm ready for it, Tae" you say, looking down at where your dress met the carpeted floor of your hotel room. 

You've had this talk with him multiple times, and he always had the same answer. What could the poor boy say anyways? 

"Y/n listen-" he was cut off by a soft knock on the door, the both of you whip your heads towards the door when the knocking occured again, "The door's unlocked!" you voice out. 

The door knob rattled the slightest, opening the wooden block by a little. "Y/n" a deep voice spoke, the door opening wider to display Jaehyun on the other end, a red velvet tux matching your clothing adorned his structure. "Jaehyun! Hey man!" Taeyong exclaimed, making his way towards the boy who stood with a wide smile after seeing his friend. "Hey Tae! Glad to see you didn't flee away from the party like you did last time" the boys laughed, embracing each other, you letting out a chuckle yourself. 

"Someone here, wouldn't let me run away until i take her along with me, I'm not stating names" Taeyong said jokingly, Jaehyun laughing at it, you poking your tongue out at the boys. 

"Can't have the spotlight taken away from the main, now can we?" Jaehyun said, the boys fist bumping at their adjoined 'tease Y/n until she's fuming' agenda. 

"Back to why I'm here, Your father's expecting you downstairs" Jaehyun looked over at you, your figure leaning against the now closed casement. "But i don't want to go down there" you reply grumpily, making your way towards the bed about to flop down, only to be stopped by Taeyong with his hands around your waist. "You're going to ruin your dress up, doll. Your mom won't let you breathe, then" he said pulling you up as you stand up right. 

"Right, almost forgot, thanks" you say, smoothing out the crease. Taeyong then pushed you towards your other friend, him catching you by your forearm. "Happy acting perfect! Oh also, all the best for the same" Taeyong said, waving as Jaehyun started pulling you out the room, ignoring your protests and whines. 

"Jae, i don't want to! They'll ask me to give speeches and you know how much i hate that!" you complain, trying to put all your weight onto the ground to make it hard for him to pull you, but he kept going with ease. "You don't really have to, we've finished that part of the day, thank the lords"

Jaehyun said, drawing a cross as you laugh at his antics. 

"Then why does father need me?" You see him pause the walk down the hallway towards the marble staircase, too fancy for your liking but already grown accustomed to it. 

"Because, they wanted to discuss something about the marriage" he said, resuming his steps. 

"What about it? There's still 7 months for it" you said, earning a sigh from the lad. This time, he stopped again, turning around to face you, gripping your shoulders in a soft, comforting grip. 

He looked at you hesitantly. Sensing something wrong, you grip his palms that rest on your shoulder, looking at him with a soft expression. "Jae.. Is something wrong?" you ask. 

"Y/n..about the marriage" he started, clearing his throat slowly then looking you straight in the eyes. "They.. My parents and yours.. They decided to.. Uh" he stopped, contemplating whether to let it out or not. 

"They decided to what? Jae just spit it out" you started to grow impatient.

"They decided to prepone our wedding"

-x-

You run down the hallway, towards the huge double doors leading to the party hall, frantically searching for your father, Jaehyun hot on your trail.

"Y/n wait up-"

"Father." you call out, finding him seated beside your mother, sipping on his whiskey. 

"Ah! If it isn't my pride! Y/n, your mom and Mrs.Jung-" he started, you cut him off. 

"Father, could i have a word with you in private?" you say, voice void of any form of emotion. 

"Of course, darling. Excuse me" he looked at the guests seated in the round table, smiling at them as you led him away from the crowd, to the hallway you'd previously run down.

"What is it, sweetheart?" He said, smile so wide it had to be fake. "You prepone the wedding?" your voice slightly quivered, crossing your fingers hoping it wasn't true. 

"Ah yes! I see Jaehyun already told you. I was thinking-" he started off again, with that honey coated voice of his. "why did you do that?" you step back, stumbling a bit. "Because the quicker the marriage, the faster the merge and more the profit, baby. It's all a full circle" he smoothened your hair out, you smack his hands away. "I'm not ready for a marriage yet, father! Two weeks? That's too early!" you scream at him, disbelief evident in your voice. "Oh of course you're ready! You're the daughter of a businessman, you're born ready!" he said, with pride, his shoulders pulled back. 

"I-i'm really not, dad. It's too soon, i don't want it. I'm going to call off the wedding-" you shakily say, turning around to make your way back to where Jaehyun stood, to be pulled back with much force. 

"Listen Y/n, It isn't about what you want or what you don't. You're ready when i say so, you get married when i say so. If you, ever, dare ruin our partnership with the Jungs, you see what you'll have to face." he said with a glare, giving you one last look before pausing to correct his bowtie, making his way back to the ballroom. 

Taeyong who had just so happened to make his way down the stairs, had unintentionally eavesdropped the entire conversation. He'd wanted nothing more than just to pull you in close, but after scanning the room, he saw your fiance standing there, by the corner, looking at Y/n then at him.

Taeyong nodded his head forward, wanting Jaehyun to come in and soothe you with comfort talks, but the latter shook his head. 

Your soon to be husband would probably be the last person you'd want to see, and so he faded back into the crowd. 

Taeyong hesitated first, having two successors seen together at a party isn't a news that should reach anyone, unless you're engaged, but seeing you let out a feeble sob, pulled his last string, and he made his way quick down the stairs, the hallway, pulling you into a tight embrace as soon as he reached you. 

"T-Taeyo-" you start between your feeble sobs, controlling yourself to not have a full on breakdown and create a scene at the party. "Shh doll, don't say anything, i heard it all" his voice calming, rubbing your back his palms in a comforting manner. "It's too e-early, Tae, i haven't even s-started living my life to th-the fullest yet and here-" you pause to inhale deeply, "-here i am, getting pulled in work after work, cutting my dreams out c-completely" you sob harder into his chest. 

"It's alright.. " he said, slowly starting to make his way out the crowded area, back up the stairs to where your rooms were located, unlocking your door upon reaching. 

"Is it? Of course it isn't Tae!" you let out louder now having the freedom to breathe normally, speak out all your pent up frustration. 

"It's just the stakes he cares about.. Not me, never has it been me and never will it be me." you spoke up before he could. 

"It was always about business. Never about me personally, and that hurts for thinking." you stop, burying your head into your palm, crying your heart out. 

Taeyong stood there, in front of you with a saddened glaze hooding his dark hazel eyes. The words you let out came from a very heartbroken, left to feel the pain alone girl. 

This is the harsh world of business and entertainment. 

He made his way closer to you, kneeling down in front of you, placing his hands over your legs to get you to look at him. No vail. 

"Y/n..doll, you see, we were forced into this world prior to adulthood, no consent whatsoever, we're just robot's basically, programmed to be perfect in all aspects." he started slow. "But there's nothing we can do about it"

With that the room went silent. The only sounds being from the loud acoustic downstairs and your sobs. 

You get up from your bed all of a sudden, sadness now turning to desperation and want for freedom. You make your way into the closet, taking out your already packed luggage, stuffing in whatever was left outside. 

"I'm really not ready-" "Y/n? What are you doing?" he said, voice panicked watching his friend throw random fabrics in. "And I'm tired of this-" "Y/n stop-" "-all of this" "Y/n-" 

"I should've done this long back-"

Taeyong grew even more panicked every second passing by, it only worsened when he saw you take the luggage and make your way towards the door. He took a hold of your hand in a tight grip as you felt the air turn black around you. It was hard to breathe with all the thoughts running through your head.

"Our world." you start, not trying to break out of his grip, slowly placing your hand over his.

"Our world Taeyong.. It's too cruel, harsh and dark even." you continue, stopping midway to look around you and then back at him, "none of us are safe in this world, none of us are happy, truly." you say removing his hands gently from the grip he had on yours.

Turning around once again, Taeyong was quicker. He caught your hands the second time, in a softer grip. 

"I know." 

"I know that our world is cruel. We don't experience the same as the others but Y/n..if you'd maybe, just maybe, -"

"Maybe if you'd let me, i could be your safe space in this harsh world" 

Taeyong stated, looking at you with nothing but sincerity. 

You contemplate for a while, option tempting. You could run away and not be alone. But that would only ruin his image. You blink your tears away, shaking your head. 

"No Tae.. You don't deserve to waste your life following me. You deserve so much better than that" you said, breaking free from his grip once again, smiling at him with a heavy heart before making your way out the door.

Taeyong felt his own eyes glaze over, watching his friend walk out the door, maybe now towards the exit and out towards freedom. 

When Taeyong looked at you, he saw a reflection of himself. A helpless, broken young adult wanting nothing more than love and solitude. 

But now that you're gone, Taeyong was left alone, with no one to confide in. 

And worse, he was left without a reflection. 

[pens-swords-stuff]

Hi Undine! I really love your advice on static vs. dynamic descriptions, and I was wondering if you might be able to elaborate on it further, especially in regards to navigating dynamic physical description (i.e. hair/eye color, clothing) for several characters at once? Every time I try describe my characters' appearances, the details either feel too dispersed/jumbled, or it sounds like I'm writing a 'My Immortal' sequel. Thank you for your help!

In response to this post: Static vs Dynamic Description.

Thank you so much!

In my personal opinion, I think that static and dynamic descriptions have two very different strengths when it comes to physical descriptions of a character.

STATIC PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

I believe that static physical description is a wonderful way to establish something for the first time, or to bring attention to something that is remarkable.

Static description tends to be more on the ‘tell’ side of the show and tell spectrum. You mentioned My Immortal, so let’s use that as an example.

I was wearing a black corset with matching lace around it and a black leather miniskirt, pink fishnets and black combat boots. I was wearing black lipstick, white foundation, black eyeliner and red eye shadow.

— My Immortal: Chapter One

My Immortal gets a lot of criticism for good reason, but this particular excerpt is actually a decent example of static description. It’s straight to the point, it gives the reader an idea of what the character is wearing, and it’s doing a lot of telling.

Could it be a little more dynamic? It could be, yes. But does it have to be? Not necessarily.

Say you saw Ebony (the speaking character in the My Immortal example) for the first time in a suburban cookie-cutter neighborhood. You would take notice of a person wearing black lipstick and pink fishnets because it’s different and not something you’d expect to see. You might stop and stare for a little bit, it might leave some sort of impression on you.

This is a really good time to break out the static description in writing. Your character has a reason to notice someone’s physical description because it’s not what they expect to see — thus, you can get away with a little info dump of physical description.

Other times that static physical description might be effective is when your character meets someone for the first time. When you meet someone for the first time, you might not know their name, so all you have to identify them is with their physical appearance. Have you ever referred to someone by the color of their shirt, or the color of their hair because you didn’t know what else to call them? It’s the same thing here. There is someone new, and when it’s someone new, people tend to examine them a little bit more. 

And another good time to use static physical description that I’ll talk about here, is when a character looks different from how they normally do. If a character who always wears jeans and a T-shirt suddenly shows up wearing a ball gown, that’s remarkable. That’s something noteworthy for your character. Static physical description would be great here to describe the dress, how their hair is styled, etc.

DYNAMIC PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

On the other hand, I think one of the strengths of dynamic physical description is to subtly and smoothly slide in physical description without making a big deal about it because it’s interwoven with something else.

Some examples of simple dynamic physical description might be:

She tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear.

Their band-aid covered hand slammed into the table.

This is dynamic physical description because there’s movement involved. It’s not describing someone’s appearance; it’s describing an action with an aspect of appearance.

In my opinion, this is also a fantastic way to drop little hints about the appearance of several characters in a scene because it doesn’t overwhelm the reader with too many details. Think about how you notice a group of strangers for example. Do you look at all of them in detail, or are there are few select details that jump out at you per person? If someone I meet has bright, piercing blue eyes, I’m probably going to notice and remember that specific detail, rather than the fact that they were wearing a red shirt. Physical description doesn’t have to be done all at once; they can be done gradually throughout the story.

I think that dynamic physical description really shines in small doses. One of the most amazing things and the most frustrating things about being a writer is that we don’t need to hold our readers’ hands the entire way. Readers can and will fill in their own details, like how a character looks. As writers, we don’t need to spoon-feed them that information for the most part; we just need to leave little hints to guide their imagination. Dynamic physical description is fantastic at that.

Another useful application of this is that it is possible to mix in a character voice in a physical description.

So here is an example of a static physical description:

There were dark circles underneath her eyes. Her hair was tied up in a lifeless ponytail, haphazardly bunched up on the top of her head. The grey sweats hung baggily around her legs.

Here is how I might rewrite it as dynamic physical description and mix some character voice in.

There were dark circles underneath her eyes — did she not get any sleep last night? Were the nightmares still keeping her awake? Her hair was tied up in a lifeless ponytail, even though I knew that she loved spending time doing her hair in the morning. The grey sweats that she was wearing, she referred to them once as her comfort pants because they were as comfortable as they were ugly; She only wore them when she felt terrible. She was hurting, and I had no idea what to say.

Dynamic physical description can also be a lot more personal than static, because it’s interactive, it’s mobile, and it’s not passively describing something. There are thoughts and knowledge and voice intertwined to convey more than just the character’s appearance. 

You could also add some character actions in there if you want, so it feels even less listy.

There were dark circles underneath her eyes — did she not get any sleep last night? Were the nightmares still keeping her awake? Her hair was tied up in a lifeless ponytail, even though I knew that she loved spending time doing her hair in the morning. 

“You’re wearing your comfy pants,” I said, pinching some of the fabric of her baggy grey sweatpants. It looked lumpy, but was surprisingly soft under my fingertips. “I haven’t seen you wear them in a long time.”

None of these three examples of description are bad in any way (besides for my terrible writing skills, sorry about that!!!). They all convey something different though, and each of them gives information in their own unique way. 

And to close this post off, I’m going to end with a reminder: Neither type or description is inherently better or worse than the other. If used effectively, they can both be amazing and appropriate for a scene. If used ineffectively, they can both really hinder a scene as well. They’re both valid! There is no wrong answer with what type of description to use, and I think it’s worth exploring and experimenting with both.

Remember that all writing advice is subjective, and there are no hard rules! 

If you’d like to ask me for advice on writing or running a writeblr, please check out my Ask Guidelines and FAQ first.

Ask Guidelines | FAQ | Advice Masterlist

[ravn-87]

Ask submitted by: @sensual-red-siren

Hey beautiful! I would like for you to answer questions, 8, 16, 25 and 30 😘

I hate that Tumblr didn't tell me this was submitted. 🙄🙄 I'm sorry, I didn't see this sooner. 😚😅

--------------+-

8. How would you describe your fashion sense?

I'd happily wear him (James McAvoy),

him (Ludi Lin),

and him (Will Yun Lee). 😏😎😎🔥

😜😜 jk.

I'm really bad at knowing the exact names of the styles, all I can do is basically point, "ooooo"and grin (and envy 😅😅). But my Pinterest is loaded with things I like. And much of it for different reasons. Sometimes I'll save a pin simply because I like the just the fabric, or cut of the design while hating the pattern, or I like the color combination while hating the design altogether.

I do like comfortable, but modern, and tasteful - classy would be a perk. 😁✨ Me personally, I overheat easily which causes headaches that I've lived with all my life, even as a kid I was real sensitive to overheating and it would get me sick. So I like wearing layers. Lots and lots of layers - simply because you can mix and match and of course, shed!! 🥵

I also got into the whole layer accessorizing where you can wear removable sleeves, or leg warmers, or collars. So I've taken to liking open-back dress shirts, or razor back tank top under shirts, with layer shirts over it. I also like boat neck or off-shoulder tops. Not big on collared shirts personally, but if it's a nice style. I do love dresses, they are so comfortable, and some even surprisingly warm. Preferably with a fitted waist. I was never big on princess bell-skirt ball gown style, but more the elegant flowy thin skirt evening wear. But also - if I could dress like her: I'd be happy.

Also, if it were possible for me to pull these off in a cute way, that would be awesome:

I also have a thing for trench coats, simple light makeup, some awesome lip color, and alternative jewelry (ear climbers, piercings, arm cuffs, cute thin rings, gold tattoos, ).

16. Who is your favorite celebrity?

Gaw I have so many.

I looove Lin-Manuel Miranda - in how creative and intelligent he is but more importantly how kind and encouraging and warm and light-hearted he can be. I love his philanthropy and how he treats people. He never looks down on anybody and he's so playful. I think he's amazing!

James McAvoy - another sweet and intelligent guy with a sassy streak that's hilarious. Gosh I'd love to joke around with him for a while. He seems like a ton of boyish fun. He comes from humble background and never takes his fortunate life for granted. He's incredible.

Gal Gadot - she's so elegant and feminine and still an amazing actress. I love how she portrays classy personality and still such a kid herself. She's a cutie.

Mike Shinoda - I've admired him since I knew who Linkin Park was. Another self-made artist in my aspects, still supportive and makes it a point to connect to humanity and stays grounded, whether it's loyalty to his fans, his band's integrity all through their career, or pairing up his non-profit with other organizations to help hard hit societies. He's humble, he's energetic, he's deep, and power-driven without the ego. I hope his career spans more decades.

Bruce Lee & Jet Li - honor, discipline, respect, integrity. just amazing to admire and look up to as humans. Need I say more?

Noel Fisher - self-made actor, super driven, holds a philosophy I totally feel. I love his energy, I love his personality, and his Bad ass Mickey & Mikey send my spirits and heart soaring. I love who he is and how free-spirited he is and his dynamic acting skills. He reminds me a lot of James McAvoy in a few ways.

There are so many more, even ones who hold my greater admiration, but those are ones right off the top of my head.

25. DC or Marvel? I was a hardcore Batman girl as a kid (and guilty at the age of 8 - desperately wanted to be Catwoman, still want to be Michelle Pfeiffer because my gosh is she amazing, even today!), And I can't help but like men with deep dark streaks but heavily intense moral integrity. So I was more familiar with DC as a kid than I ever was with Marvel, although I wasn't too familiar with a lot of comics back then. But you have to admit, whoever is running the Marvel Hollywood franchise is A FREAKIN' GENIUS!!! They make it both super witty, and humorously sarcastic while still carrying the epic heaviness of a superhero persona in all of their movies. This freakin' franchise has literally held hollywood hostage with amazing captivation, I don't know how they do it, but they're phenomenal at it. But. Personally, even if the DC world isn't quite translating in the same fashion

....😅 I'm still a DC girl.

30. If you could go back in time, what would you do?

Exercise more. I mean seriously, I think that right there is the core bane to all of my other problems - not tending to my energy levels and keeping me active. I really needed to devote more time to that. I'm trying still....

My phone holds my attention hostage more than a lot though. I'm completely guilty about that. Not cool. I certainly know if I had exercised more, my life would be a whole lot different with probably a whole lot less headaches. I need more devotion to that than to anything else. I know it may sound shallow - but the manner in which I conduct my life, if I'm honest, comes down to the willpower in managing my daily habits and making much wiser and more disciplined decisions. I know I would have a lot less regrets in regard to opportunities I skipped out on because I wasn't feeling the best.

Daily habits. It's the daily habits that either rescue or kill us. :/

Also, I seriously wish I had this frame:

I admire athletic women.

Thank you for sending these! I had fun with them. 😁😁😁😘🍧

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

Per this ask post:

[astranne]

ROYAL - Bruce Wayne

undefined

I've never seen a diamond in the flesh 

I cut my teeth on wedding rings in the movies 

And I'm not proud of my address, in the torn up town

No post code envy

I looked up. My gaze caught every little detail. The beautiful but fake-looking women, the handsome men, smoking expensive cigars and talking about money and their big houses. Houses like the Wayne Manor. I felt the glances of the rich men trying to undress me with their mere eyes. But it didn't really bother me, I always liked the attention of men. I always loved the way how I affected men. But this was different. They had women by their side and fucked me with their eyes.

Slowly, I made my way upstairs. My long, black coat hid my dress. Everyone wore pastel colors, it was the dress code after all. The butler of the family Wayne smiled pleasantly and nodded in my direction.

„Miss Jackson, it's a pleasure to see you at the gala. May I have your coat?"

„Alfred, please, call me Lara. You've known me for many years."

„Indeed, Lara." I smiled and took off my coat. Alfred raised an eyebrow at my dress but didn't say a thing.

„You look like your mother, Lara. She would be very proud of you."

„Thank you, Alfred. But I couldn't have done it without you." He reached his arm to me, I smiled and took it.

„I'm afraid, but Master Bruce wouldn't approve that," he made reference to the dress. It was scandalous. Scandalous red.

„Well Alfred, you should know, I don't care about the opinion of a rich man. I never did."

„I know, dear. I know." Our way led us to the big saloon, full of laughter and rich people. It wasn't my world, it will never be and still, I'm here.

But every song's like gold teeth, 

Grey Goose, trippin' in the bathroom 

Bloodstains, ball gowns, trashin' the hotel room 

We don't care, we're driving Cadillacs in our dreams 

But everybody's like Cristal, Maybach, diamonds on your timepiece Jet planes, islands, tigers on a gold leash 

We don't care, we aren't caught up in your love affair

I inspected every woman and every man. There were models, actors, politicians, businessmen... rich people. Before I could do my way to a waiter serving the champagne, a young man stopped next to me. Another followed him and flashed a flirtatious smile towards me. Both had black hair, blue eyes and were muscular. They were handsome men. But too young for me.

„Good evening, my lady. You look beautiful." The one with the longer hair took my hand and kissed it.

„I must say, red fits you well, beautiful lady. May I know your name?"

„Lara Jackson. With whom do I have the pleasure?" Before any of them could answer, a little boy stepped between us, he looked like ten, but his hard look didn't belong to a child.

„Grayson, Todd. If I find this woman in anyone's room tonight, I will kill you. We don’t have time for this."

„What do you want, demon spawn?" The child huffed and crossed his arms.

„Father wants to speak with you. Both of you." Both rolled their eyes.

„I'm sorry, beautiful lady. The old man can’t have a fun night. We will see us again." The one with the white streak in his black hair kissed my cheek, the other my hand.

„Idiots. Please forgive my brothers, they don't have any respect for a good looking lady."

„It's okay. And thank you."

„You're familiar", he noticed. I just raised an eyebrow. This child was odd. Just like his father.

„Well, I know your father, Damian." His head shoots up and he frowned.

„How do you know me? Or him?"

„It was many years ago, but your father and I had a great friendship. One day he went missing and the day he came back, he wasn't the same anymore. Still, I stayed in contact with Alfred, he was a great friend and like a father to me."

„Why did my father abandon you?"

„I'm not rich." He looked confused but didn’t say anything.

„He never said something about you. Why not?"

„Again Damian. I'm not rich. I will never be like these models or actresses. I'm just a simple girl, that lived alone with her mother. It was a coincidence, that your father and I met."

And we'll never be royals 

It don't run in our blood 

That kind of lux just ain't for us 

We crave a different kind of buzz

„Then why are you here, Jackson?"

„I wanted to see Alfred. I wanted to see the house since it was my second home. And for the last time, I wanted to feel the atmosphere at a gala."

„It sounds like a goodbye. Why? What did my father do that you are such full of hate?" I looked surprised at him.

„How?", I just asked.

„I know that look. You don't hate my father, you hate that rich life, you hate his behavior. I'm also like this. I hate my mother, well, if you can call her a mother. And I hate my stupid brothers, who get more attention from my father then I do. I know they spend more time with him and know him better, but it’s..."

„Frustrating", I finished his sentence.

„I like you." I smiled and sipped at my champagne.

„Well Damian, I like you too."

„More than your brothers." He smiled smugly and I snorted silently.

Let me be your ruler, you can call me Queen B 

And baby I'll rule (I'll rule I'll rule I'll rule) 

Let me live that fantasy

„If you see them, could you clarify for me, that I'm definitely not interested? They are too young. Goodlooking, but too young."

„With pleasure, Lara."

I stayed the whole evening with Damian. He was a cute child, but he would never allow anyone to say that out loud. And he looked like his father. Well, almost. His eyes were green, they must be from his mother. But I didn't ask since he made clear, that his mother was a forbidden topic.

After that evening, I spent the night with Oliver Queen. We were both drunk and afterward, I found out that he had a girlfriend. So I did the one most logical thing, I ran away and swore, I will never be just a woman for a night. These times are now past, I want to be someone special, someone, that my mother can be proud of. So I began to search for my father. I never knew or saw him. But I wanted to find him.

My friends and I we've cracked the code 

We count our dollars on the train to the party 

And everyone who knows us knows that we're fine with this 

We didn't come from money

After months of searching and traveling around the world, I found him. Well, he found me. He didn't know he had a daughter. My mother never told him about me. But he didn't abandon me like other people. He gave me a new home, a new task. He gave me a new family. I began to train, train to defend myself, train to defend others, train to kill. Especially rich people who were assholes. I just followed my father's footsteps. You may ask now, who my father is. Im a Wilson now. My father is called Slade Wilson but feared as Deathstroke.

I was educated by the League of the Shadows also called the League of Assassins. Ra's al Guhl himself trained me and let me fight against his daughter, who is the mother of Damian. Talia al Guhl, or whatever they call her. I hate her. I hate her for manipulating Bruce and abandon her son. I hate her for her behavior, I just hate her presence. And everybody knows that. Because I almost killed her. Well, I killed her, but she was brought back with the Lazarus Pit. My father was really proud of me since nobody can stand her. I mean, she is a fucking bitch, she betrayed the League just for a son of Batman. And did so many other awful things. But that's not my problem anymore. Ra's send me to protect his grandson, the heritage of the League. The fact, Damian liked me, made my job so much easier. But I had no idea, how to become one of the Wayne family members. So we built a plan. My father as Deathstroke, would try to kill Robin and Batman, and I would save them both. After all the planning, it worked perfectly.

„Who are you?"

„Your pseud, deep voice doesnt scare me, Batman. You've just could thank me."

„Lara?"

„Hello, Damian. Its nice to see you again"

„I thought you would never come back to Gotham." I fake sighed and crossed my arms.

„Well... I was all around the world. I met your mother and I must say, she is a bitch. Sadly she survived our meeting." Batman huffed.

„And how did you know about the whole hero thing?"

„Talia is a really shitty secret keeper. She told me all about it, in the hope, I would show some mercy. Its nice to see you, Bruce."

„Who are you?"

„Its a shame, you dont recognize me, Brucie." I took my black hood off, also my mask, that hid the lower half of my face. I could feel the confusion of my childhood crush.

„Lara Jackson?"

„What a welcome." I was surprised after he hugged me. Awkwardly, I tapped his back.

„Im so sorry." That was easier than I thought.

„It’s okay, Brucie. It’s okay." Damian coughed and crossed his arms.

„Umm... can I have a bed for tonight?", I asked silently.

„You can have a bed as long as you want, Lara."

„Thank you, Bruce."

„Lets go home." He jumped off the roof, Damian followed him. I turned around and saw my father in the shadows. With a smirk, I followed the Waynes.

But every song's like gold teeth, 

Grey Goose, trippin' in the bathroom 

Bloodstains, ball gowns, trashin' the hotel room 

We don't care, we're driving Cadillacs in our dreams 

But everybody's like Cristal, Maybach, diamonds on your timepiece Jet planes, islands, tigers on a gold leash 

We don't care, we aren't caught up in your love affair

I was now a month at Wayne Manor. Bruce acted a little bit strange but I didn't mind. But what I minded was his big family. He has five sons and two daughters and other family members. They didn't trust me. Richard and Jason always flirted with me, the other women in the house hated me for that. Until one day.

„Hey, beautiful. What are you doin’?" I just rose an eyebrow, a move I would do every day.

„Do you have eyes, Jason?"

„Yes, why?"

„Well, then you can see, I’m reading." He sat aside me and wiggled his eyebrows.

„Mind, if I take this book and we do something?" I tried to ignore him.

„Darlin', I know you would take me. Don't act so heartless even though its hot as fuck." And then I had enough.

„Okay, listen, Jason. I'm not interested to fuck you or Richard. I'm so much older than you, I could be your fucking mother! And if you don't stop, I’m gonna kick your fucking ass so hard, that the pit wont help you come back to life! So shut the fuck up and just let me live my fucking life! Without you or Richard or any playboy." He just blinked.

„How old are you?", he asked bluntly. I slapped him with the book. Jason yelled and ran away from the couch.

„Jason Peter Todd! Come back, you fucking asshole! I'm going to fucking killing you, you dipshit! You don't ask a woman about her age! COME BACK!" I ran after him, passing next to Richard and Tim.

„Jason!", I yelled. „Come back, you motherfucking bastard!" He sprinted downwards, trying to escape. With the speed I had gained, I jumped down and rolled off.

„What the fuck! That woman! Help! Anyone!"

„Shut up!" I tackled him down and began to punch him. Blood spattered out of his nose, ruining the expensive carpet.

„What the fuck?! Lara? Jason?" Dick tried to separate us but he also collected a punch in his nose.

„Don't touch me, you pervert!" Jason managed to escape out of my hold and we began to fight, Richard joined, after I kicked him in his stomach.

„Bruce? Alfred? Anyone? Lara is going crazy!", Tim shouted. He was smart enough to stay out of our fight. I swiped the blood out of my face, not knowing to whom it belonged.

„Still imagining how to fuck me?" Both men grunted, trying to punch me, which I easily caught. My hands gripped Richard's shoulders and I let his nose met my head. He groaned and held his nose, trying to kick me.

„Enough!" I heard Bruce's voice and stepped a little back. Jason didn't stop and punched right in my jaw. I growled and rushed forward, my legs slung around his neck, and threw him on the ground.

„Lara! Enough!" It took Bruce, Tim, and Alfred to keep me away from the second oldest.

And we'll never be royals It don't run in our blood That kind of lux just ain't for us We crave a different kind of buzz

Bruce himself stitched me up, doesn't allow anyone to come too near towards me. He forbid everyone, even Alfred, to come to the Batcave.

„Why?", he just asked. I huffed and crossed my arms.

„Why? Both were flirting with me! Its disgusting! I could be their fucking mother!"

„They are kids, Lara", he sighed and sat across me. I rolled my eyes.

„Kids don’t fight the Joker, Bruce." It was silent, we just sat there.

„Why are you like this?"

„What do you mean?" I frowned.

„You're cold. Towards me. I have the feeling, you only like Alfred and Damian", he almost whispered. I swallowed and tried to avoid his gaze.

„Bruce, I...I had a hard childhood. I just had my mother and you. You were my best friend, my first love. And when my mother passed, I was alone. I know, you were there for me, but not like the way I wanted. I changed Bruce, I'm not the glamorous girl anymore."

„Why you didn't say anything?"

„You were Bruce Wayne, the son of millionaires, the heritage of Wayne Enterprises. I was madly in love with you, I never said something because I was so scared. Scared, that you wouldnt love me back, scared you would see me just like as a friend. So I started to date other boys, boys who gave me attention in a way, who filled the gap my mother left. It was like a drug. I loved the way I affected every man. They gave me love, physically." At the end of my speech, I'd met Bruces eyes. They were soft and full of love.

„Im so sorry, Lara. I never- If I ever would know that...Do you remember your first boyfriend?" He didn't wait for an answer.

„I was so jealous and I saw you at his side it made me clear, you weren't the little girl anymore, who I met at my parents funeral. In my eyes, you were a grown, beautiful and independent woman. That day I realized, I loved you from the first day and still do." My eyes grew big. How?

„You still love me?", I whispered.

„I do." I almost melted at these words. My fucking childhood crush, my first love, loves me. He smiled and leaned towards me. Our noses touched, my eyes fluttered. He stopped, obviously waiting for me. I sighed when our lips finally met. We kissed slowly, without any tongue. It was a romantic kiss, heck, he would top every Hollywood movie. We parted, his lips brushed against mine. Bruce cupped my face with his hands and kissed me again. Roughly. A light moan escaped my lips, my hands tugged his black hair. He groaned deeply and heat rushed downwards all around my body. His arms pulled me nearer to him. Slowly, while kissing him, I climbed on his lap. But before it could go any farther, Alfred cleared his throat. I blushed and tried to hide my face in Bruce's neck while he just chuckled.

Let me be your ruler, you can call me Queen B 

And baby I'll rule (I'll rule I'll rule I'll rule)

Let me live that fantasy

Everything was perfect. As perfect as it could be in such a chaotic family. Since I beat up Jason and Richard, everyone tries to not piss me off. I warmed up to the girls and also Tim. Everything was perfect until Talia showed up. She and some traitors of the league managed to break into the Manor and tied the whole Wayne Family up.

„Hello, Lara. Its nice to see you again." A mad smile graced her face. I didn't respond and gripped the handle of my sword harder.

„Why are you here, Talia?"

„Oh I don’t know, maybe to kill you?" I rolled my eyes.

„Besides that." She grinned widely at me.

„I want my son back."

„No." She frowned, the Waynes behind me began to protest.

„No? Who do you think you are? I’m the mother of him!"

„Well, I don't care who you are Talia. You're a traitor and I don't listen to traitors."

„Wilson", she growled.

„Al Guhl."

„My son."

„No."

„I want my son! And I will kill you to get him!"

„Try me, bitch. I killed you once and I will do it again."

„Why are you here?", she asked out of nowhere.

„Classified."

„Really, Wilson?"

„Why is mother naming her Wilson?", whispered Damian to his father. Before Bruce could answer, Talia rushed with a war cry forward raising her sword. I easily dodged, spinning around and kicking her in her stomach.

„You have a deathwish, Al Guhl. Stop it and I will let you go."

„Never, Wilson", she spat and rammed her sword in my leg. I gritted my teeth but fought on. I felt, how my wound slowly stopped bleeding until it closed completely. But the pain was still there.

„How-?", she stuttered.

„You should've known, dear Talia. The reason, why Im a better fighter than you, the reason, why I could kill you. All because of my fathers powers."

„Your father has powers? But he is no metahuman."

„Who said he is a mutant? He's an experiment, he's an improved human. So am I."

„That's why you could learn so fast to fight", she realized.

„Yes. And now, get out of here, or I kill you and your friends."

We're bigger than we ever dreamed, and I'm in love with being queen (Ooh ooh oh) 

Life is great without a care 

We aren't caught up in your love affair

„Who is your father, Lara?" I sighed at Damian's question.

„Does it really matter right now?"

„Hell yes it does!", shouted Jason. „I want some awesome powers too!" I rolled my eyes.

„I never knew my father, Bruce knows that. And my mother never told him, that she was pregnant. After I met Damian, I began to search for my father. Without any results. Then, he found me. He's a member of the league of the assassins, so he brought me there and I was trained."

„You didn't answer Damians question”, Bruce noticed. I sighed again and shouldered my backpack.

„Because I knew, you all wouldn't like it. Damian, your grandfather send me to protect you. My job is done, I will go back to Nanda Parbat."

„What?"

„No!", they cried out.

„Why? I thought you-", I interrupted Bruce.

„Bruce, I love you. I really do. But I know, when you learn, who my father is, you will abandon me. So I better go by myself."

„Wait, what? Are you and Bruce a thing?" Jason's eyes switched between us.

„We were."

And we'll never be royals 

It don't run in our blood 

That kind of lux just ain't for us 

We crave a different kind of buzz 

Let me be your ruler, you can call me Queen B 

And baby I'll rule (I'll rule I'll rule I'll rule) 

---

Masterlist

This was my first oneshot in english, I hope you like it. You can also find it on Wattpad, there I have the same username like on Tumblr. 

I’m aware, that not everything I wrote matches with the personalities of the batfam, I have more knowledge of the MCU and MARVEL. And if something is wrong with my english (my first language is german) please tell me. :) 

[lizzybeth1986]

Quick Thoughts on Book 3, Chapter 14

• Apologies for the delay, guys. Still recovering.

• It's time for our Ball! YAY.

• ...and for Hana's parents. Not so yay.

• Every LI in the group has at least one not-very-ideal parent. For Liam and Maxwell it's their dads (though Bartalemy seems to be the best of the four) and for Drake and Hana it's their mums.

• Title: Welcome, One and All!

• Alternate Titles should include This Chapter Is Brought To You By Jeffery.

• For those who don't remember the TRR pre-release interviews, Jeffery is the dude who loves hats:

I'm pretty sure this chapter is his baby.

• So technically Xinghai and Lorelai have not kept in touch with Hana since her fight with Xinghai in Shanghai (that rhymes). There is a hint that she might have tried to reach out to them before the tour if you were getting engaged to her (she asks Ana de Luca to send the copies of her shoot to an address, which I presume was her home in Shanghai).

•

You bet I slammed that last option.

• There's also not a lot of difference in this scene between the Hana playthrough and the non-Hana one, and there should have been. The dynamics of this discussion will - should - be different if you're Hana's fiancée. They have Lorelai and Hana's dialogues change if you're marrying her at the end, but technically that's unavoidable. There should have been an obvious difference in dialogue here as well.

• Bertrand has returned. Again.

• AND HE'S LATE. Apparently because his son needs to be coached on proper cutlery placement through the babysitter.

• We have a brief tete-a-tete about Savannah and Bartie before moving on to our OOTD:

Tbh I think I'm okay with both. I had my reservations about the neck but I also like capes so I will take it. The traditional dove one makes you look like Red Riding Hood.

If you choose the phoenix gown, you also get to don a humongous hat, and you get the option to take it off anytime.

Esther loves hats. She's a happy happy camper xD She may not have said those 'fancy hat's comments to Regina in Book 1 but you bet she was thinking them! So Esther - and I as Esther's creator - feel validated and vindicated and all other sorts of v words 😄

• Also yes, Esther, I'm pretty sure that hat ate every other hat in Cordonia before making its way to your head.

• It's now time for our Ball, and our LIs are waiting for us to make our entrance. Liam calls you 'a heroine of myth and song', Maxwell tells you you're 'on fire', Drake asks him if you're trying to give him a heart attack, and Hana settles for a very simple 'you look gorgeous'.

• Okay yadda yadda announcements, yadda yadda speech, yadda yadda complimentes from guests esp if you chose the phoenix decor, yadda accolades all around.

• Basically the main conversations taking place at the Ball are with Madeleine, Kiara, Regina, Mara and Olivia.

- Madeleine: Mainly to close the main loop of Madeleine's role as press secretary. The previous conversation with Liam/Drake at the Lythikos Ball is implied when you choose to call her a snake, even though she sees that as a compliment.

- Kiara: You get to either call her brave, or to ask her about her well-being. Thankfully, she is able to at least sleep at night now. They're definitely wrapping up Kiara's story here. Which is okay, I'm pretty certain it wasn't meant to be manifested in the first place and I suppose I'm expected to be grateful she got some attention. But I won't be, because she deserved this - and perhaps better. I couldn't care less for her brother and would rather not see him again but at least they had the decency to wrap up her storyline first this time rather than ignore it in favour of him completely.

- One of my favourite sequences is the one with Regina. She's clearly affected by Constantine's death and still hasn't recovered enough to get used to the idea of attending a Ball without his presence yet. But you also see her struggling with the stoicism she's been brought up on, and chastising herself because she can't. You have the choice of either asking her what Constantine would have told her if he were alive (like hell I'll choose that option!) or telling her she should allow herself to grieve. I thought her parting words in this conversation were beautiful.

- Mara: From Mara we learn that the Nevrakis family had connections with the Sons of Earth, and that in fact Anton is the son of the leader of that group. I've seen some interesting theories around this, one of which is (I believe this one is @alicars theory) that he is Francesco's son. Which...would make that first meeting in Italy quite interesting, as well as the reveal that Francesco was friends with Liam's mother. Will Liam's mother's background be brought up in future chapters??

- Olivia: So this is what all our efforts to win Olivia over culminates into! I have such Diavolos vibes with this scene (not the betrayal bit, but the winning their trust bit. Olivia I think sticks by Liam's side whether she likes you or not), because if you look at the TCaTF ally chart in Book 3, Diavolos' name is the last on the list of people to join you, even though he has spent time with you as an ally and been part of the rescue mission to save Mind Control!Dom. In a lot of ways, while Olivia has a huge connection to Liam and becomes your ally on that score, it requires effort and some ice-breaking to get her to fully support you.

• Say hello to my new pets y'all!

As of now Esther has a horse named Celestia, a corgi names Joy, a visiting hawk named Tiberius, a black panther named Cava and two red pandas she has named Hansel and Gretel.

• I wonder if you have the ensuing group scene if you don't choose to accept the red pandas (I'd see for myself but the red pandas have really adorable sad faces).

• The group scene is alright, it's a lot like the one in Shanghai with the pandas. Liam is adorable and holds them like a pro, Maxwell is super super SUPER excited, Hana is shocked by their lack of manners (Hana they're animals!) in comparison to pandas and Drake is a mean meanie. You have Zeke on the side giving us factual animal info.

• We're now back at the estate, and Hana's folks have arrived.

• TO TAKE HANA BACK???

• Hana puts up a good fight against her mum (let's be honest, Xinghai hardly seems to have a say in this. He looks sad about this and barely gets in a sentence. This show is all Lorelai's), and refuses to come with them, at which point Lorelai insists on taking her belongings away since they belong to the Lee family, and she isn't a Lee anymore.

• You know what I want Hana to say?

"FINE KEEP THE CRUMMY LUGGAGE MOM LETS SEE IF YOU CAN MAKE ANOTHER WHOLEASS CHILD OUT OF THAT"

• Please tell me she gets to kick Lorelai's ass this chapter. Please.

• So the Ball and festival will continue this chapter, and I'm guessing that any drama might happen later on in the Capitol if we go by the trajectory of the previous books. The places most closely connected to the MC - Ramsford, New York, Valtoria - are usually where you forget briefly the tension in the books, before being plunged into complete and total chaos.

• I still think there's a LOT we have left to find out. A LOT.

• There is a possibility that Hana will get a diamond scene post her confrontation with her parents. And as far as I can see it, this is the culmination of her entire journey, her entire struggle. This is the last shot the writers have at doing justice to her character, and giving her a good scene. If Hana doesn't get an extremely fulfilling, nuanced scene - one that has a marked difference between her as a fiancee and her as a friend - then I doubt she will get another one. They will have lost their chance to be fair to this character.

• And if they fail to do justice to this character...I'm afraid that will be the end for me. I may be chapter reviews and essays, I may still write stuff inspired by this book...but whatever love I still have for TRR will be lost for good.

• Because you know what you're telling me, a brown woman with an upbringing not entirely unlike Hana's? Who loves this character and has to now try to relate to her because her own writers didn't give me enough material? You're telling me that you don't think stories like Hana's - stories like mine - are worth attention, worth nuance, worth telling properly, worth telling with heart. You're telling me women like Hana are alright as tokens, but not important enough as characters. You're telling me you want the accolades that go with using women of colour in your stories, but don't want to put in the work. In fact...you're already telling me that. You've been telling me that for the last two books.

• I'm sincerely hoping this will change with the chapter I will play now, and that I and other Hana stans don't walk away from this chapter disappointed. I really, really do. It won't completely make up for the lack of care they have given this character...but it will be SOMETHING.

• With that, I'm going to go into this week's chapter, folks. Seeya!

[creampuffsn]

I looked at her pale sleeping face. Even her eyes are closed and in the blanket of nothingness, i can't tell if she's in peace. She's been fighting her bone cancer for fifteen years. It was been discovered when she's five and i guess that's where Mom started being stressed until now. My sister would undergo her operation tomorrow. We never got along in so many ways but I'm not ready to lose her yet. Yngrid even laughed so hard as i sulked in my room after knowing she really needed the operation. There's a 70-30% chance of both prons and cons. The family's gut feelings are enough to win the 70% for pros and Yngrid wanted to fight too. 

I was about to drift off in the sofa next to her hospital bed when i remembered she left her favorite lavender shawl on the rooftop and she asked me to fetch it for her. She loves staying there during 5pm to witness the orange hue of sky. I stood and paved my way through the elevator to hoist me up. Yngrid's room was in 21st floor and this building has 30 floors. My phone beeped and it was Mom's text asking if she've dozed off already and i sent a thumbs up to her. 

The elevator dinged and opened before me. I climbed the stairs on my right and i opened the door. The rushing wind of 10:47 pm is enough to give me chills. I hugged myself even I'm wearing a hoodie. 

The hazy orange post light spread in an odd way maybe because it has been used for many years. I spread my gaze and adjusted my sight to the darkness and i saw something err, is that a person walking above the wall? The wall's probably waist-length from the floor  relatively. I don't know how thick the wall is but the hair on my neck stood and i run towards the motion. I have a feeling the person raised its head to glance at me then i grabbed her clothes. 

"What the fuck, dick-hole?!" She shouted at me and we stumbled on the rough floor with her above me. I can tell she's really mad even I can't see her in this darkness. But her fruity scent seemed to intoxicate me. 

She stood and frowned at my existence. I got up and i heard my back cracked. I can see her now. She tied her hair in messy bun that's why i can't address a noun for her earlier.

"Speak you motherfucking idiot. Oh my god why do somebody like you just existed. You make me hate your kind even more." She's so infuriated and made a face palm many times. Her knee-high hospital gown was crumpled because she's been balling her fist. 

"I'm sorry to interrupt your suicidal attempt but that's my first action to take after seeing you floating in there." I said trying to stand my point because her madness shook the shit out of me. 

"Go mind your own business. Can you just go and fuck yourself and just die." She said kicking the empty canned beer off the wall. 

"You know what i don't know what you're going through but i can't tolerate something like this. I have a sister suffering and seeing you like that? And act like it's nothing? I'm sorry but if saving someone means their hatred then go pick a voodoo doll for me." I said. 

She glared at me as she pursed her lip. 

"You cant save everybody. Go save your sister. And if you're feeling compassionate, fuck off. Make a room of exception for me. Oh my god can you just go." She said turning her back at me and stared at the city lights.

I can't do anything to save my sister if ever. I can't drag her off from jumping the building. I can't grab her a bottle of painkillers from drinking. Everything's in the hands of her surgeon. Maybe that's why seeing an opportunity to help this way rushed in me. 

"I can't save my sister on my own. That's why seeing you in there gave me the guts to." 

I followed her. I can see more of her now. The freckles under her eyes danced with the dots of reflected city lights. Her deep sunken eyes are almond-sized. She has a small face. Her wrists are full of lines. Scarred lines. Some are fresh because the blood's still there. 

"I might stab your eye right now can you just stop staring. I have the right to tell you to go fuck off because i came here first." She said after rolling her eyes. She untied her bun and her long wavy hair hangs on her shoulder and she immediately covered her neck. It's too late because i saw her scratches in there. 

I sighed. I spread my sight and found my sister's shawl and grabbed it. 

"I came for this." I said and waved it in front of her. 

She just glanced my way and didn't replied. 

"I'm all ears." I said. 

"Are you stupid enough to not understand everything now?" 

"Maybe i am. But hear this, have you gone to Verona? You should write to Juliet first. How about Paris? Have your padlock there first and if you really want to die, throw the keys on the sea. Jump off the cliffs in Norway, I'm sure it's a to-go place for everyone like you. I'm not saying it'll save you, it's just a recommendation."

You stared at me. I smiled. The smile i always give my sister after she wakes up every morning. Her frown has worn off now. There's only a blank expression in there. I don't know what's scary. The pain or the emptiness. 

I turned my back and walked away from her. As I'm about to descend, i peered at your way and you're still fixed on the city lights. I smiled. "Until then, i hope to see you soon," i blurted though i don't know if she heard me. 

-

I woke up one morning and it's been seven months since Yngrid survived the operation. I drowsily walked to the bathroom to brush my teeth when Mom screamed my name downstairs. 

"There's a mail for you, Drew! Be downstairs now!" I jolted. Who would send me a mail when there's an electronic for that? I hesitated brushing my teeth and hurried downstairs. 

"Where's the mail, Muuuum?!"

She pointed at the table and i grabbed it. It displays "From The Girl You Saved That Night" with the address "Juneau, Alaska".

My blood runs cold. 

-- Johna Latiban, "she didn't yeeted" 

//photo from Pinterest//