#Rory gets him this mug for his birthday

[saltygilmores]

THOUGHTS WHILE WATCHING GILMORE GIRLS: S3/EP6: TAKE THE DEVILED EGGS (Pt 2) (This One's Gonna Be a Real Rage Inducer) (Lots Of Interesting Development Though) (So many things happening) (Salty Rambles about Jess Mariano's Birthday)

There is something to be said about Luke (on multiple occasions) readily admitting he pays Jess in ketchup packets to toil in the Coffee Mines more or less against his will. I get that it's just a part time job after school...before school..while he's cutting school..always working...never stopping...never reicieving any tips from Lorelai and Rory... Rory needs a job... Rory and Lorelai need to pay for their food... Anyway these comments shed a light on the shaky economies of small businesses in small towns which is interesting to me. Gilmore Girls is really, at it's core, a show about class. One day he could wake up to find his diner has been turned into a Dunkin Donuts (this is Not-Quite-But-Almost-New England after all, where DD is king).

Hahahahaha!! Jess stole money to buy a car and he committs attempted murder! Hahahahaaha! You're SO FUNNY LORELAI GILMORE. Your daughter stole a boat.

Yeah. And maybe back home, he did had to steal to survive sometimes. How about them apples, Lorelai Gilmore. God, do I loathe her.

Don't say that around Lorelai, I think she'd believe you were being serious.

A couple of the moots and I recently decided that in the recent past, Liz managed to land and then lose a halfway decent boyfriend/ father figure to Jess who had a car and taught Jess to drive and do repairs and some other light adulting. I honestly feel like this is the only thing that makes sense.

HE LOOKS SO GOOD IN THIS SCENE!!! Fuck meeee. Look at that li'l curl...

LOOK AT IT!!!! You know what, I'm calling it. I'm putting my foot down. This is the hottest Milo had ever looked in the entirety of seasons 2 and 3. It's that perfectly gelled hair, the jean jacket, the cool tshirt. Very James Dean. Woof. Let's see, what would I choose for second place? I have to go with the party scene in KegMax, another episode with impeccably jelled hair and a jean jacket (and even while he was apparently sick shooting that episode too). He just progresses in hotness the further season 3 marches on.

These four words "I'm still a minor" are a point of contention for me in the ongoing debate about his birth month. My beliefs: Jess is a Virgo. He was born in August or early September. This would make him just older than Rory by just a smidge. Since well over a year has passed in the show since the episode he arrived in Stars Hollow as a 17 year old (when he arrived, it was early September as Rory had just started school in that episode), he had just celebrated his birthday before arriving and so he has to have already turned 18 by this episode. However, I will consider the theory that Luke was clueless or misinformed about his age at the time he arrived (because it's not like LIz is in any way reliable with information) and he was actually 16 going on 17 when he hopped off the bus last year, and maybe he has an October or November birthday making him slightly younger than Rory. It would make sense that both missed the kindergarten cut off dates in 1989 at their respective schools (which is rock solid canon already for Rory, as she was born in October 84 but graduated in 03 instead of 02), putting them in the same grade.

Salty has put a pathetic amount of thought into this. So, how can I accept this statemen? I attribute it to the same brand of biting sarcasm that gave us "I mugged an old lady" moments ago and also because this scene doesn't make a whole lot of sense to begin with. He's still a minor, but he got his own insurance all by himself under his own name, which is not really a thing, but not his own car registration? Committing insurance fraud perhaps? Sketchy insurance company that didn't ask too many questions? He knows a guy who knows a guy who can print up some fake documents? At that point why not go all the way with the white collar crimes and forge Luke's signature on the registration too? See, Lorelai thinks Jess is a thief and murderer when he's really a white collar criminal like Taylor Doose.

My memory was certain that he produced a cigarrette and not a pen in this scene. I had to edit this post to remove a line about him smoking. I guess I confused it with the Then She Appears/ Cmurrh kissing scene, where he's also wearing a jean jacket with a popped collar. Damn. I can't wait for that scene...

Just some light fraud. If the car belonged to someone in Stars Hollow, whoever's registration he stole probably deserved it anyway. This is how I approach all "Crimes" Jess commits in Stars Hollow. There are only a few people who don't deserve it. Your honor, my client is innocent.

Oh no, the couch of doom. No good conversations ever happens between Rory and Lorelai on the couch, especially after one of them comes home at night and finds the other one on the couch. The Gilmores recieve an invitation to Sherry's baby shower. The moots and I have determined that Doula and Gigi will eventually band together to form the most powerful duo of neglected half sisters the world has ever seen. For the record, today Doula would be 17 and Gigi would be 21. Since Jess eventually comes to adopt and raises Doula she has a somewhat decent chance of coming out a well adjusted adult. At the very least, if she was stuck with TJ and Liz, Jess would still be a positive influence on her life, visit her and look out for her and make sure she didn't get sucked into any cults. The odds are a lot more grim for Gigi with Crusty and Sherry as her forever "parents" and let's face it, very likely her relationship with big sister Rory or any of the other Gilmores is non existent.

And things were so peaceful. Especially since Dean hasn't reared his ugly head in the last two episodes, either.

You flip flop with Crusty so much how can anyone possibly keep track of whether you're on the outs with him or banging him at any given time?

And by saying that out loud you're gonna tip the balance of the universe and he's going to show up. I looked ahead and although this is sadly still a Crusty-Focused episode, he doesn't actually make an appearance. Small blessings. To Lorelai's surprise, Rory admits that she's been in contact with Crusty and Lorelai is okay with it but upset that Rory was hiding it from her. God, he's such a parasite.

Emails. How quaint.

Highly debatable.

[disasterbiwriter]

I always struggle to get the Lorelai/Rory banter to a suitably bouncy level, but I feel like I actually nailed it here - so enjoy!

(this is from my AYITL divergent will they-wont they on A03, so text beneath the cut if you don't want spoilers)

“Party hats?”

Rory snaps the elastic band under her chin in confirmation. “Ow. Check.”

Lorelai nods briskly. “Artfully assembled pile of Twinkies in lieu of a cake?”

“Oh, you mean the artful assembly I’ve had to redo twice because someone keeps eating the Twinkies and damaging the structural integrity?”

Her mother flashes a winsome smile. “The same.”

“Check.”

“And finally – disturbingly lifelike Tom Seaver piñata that we probably should have had checked for curses upon delivery?”

“Check, although I’m not certain it’s the final item.”

Lorelai gasps. “Rory! Are you making my dreams come true and telling me I should go back to the thrift store and get that punch bowl with the cups shaped like little ducklings?”

Rory laughs. “No.”

“Darling child, who squashed the whimsy from your youthful heart?”

“I live in New York. I’m statutorily prohibited from all whimsy.”

“Fine. What’s the final thing?”

“An explanation as to why you planned a birthday party for Luke that reads far more like a birthday party for Lorelai.”

Her mother presses a hand to her heart. “You’re saying you don’t think my beloved husband will appreciate all of this?”

Rory toasts her with her coffee mug. “That is indeed what I’m saying.”

“You’re correct. He won’t. It’s part of the ruse, my dear.”

“Oh, of course, the ruse!”

“Picture it!” Lorelai swishes out from the kitchen into the hallway; Rory gathers up her coffee and follows. Lorelai makes as though to open the front door. “The birthday boy—” Here she pauses, considering. “Birthday man?”

Rory responds, “Each option horrible in its own way.”

Her mom nods briskly. “Noted. Anyway, Luke enters! He sees his loving family and neighbors assembled, decked out for what appears to be a raucous celebration on par with the Arbor Day festivities of 2009.”

“I’m not sure we want to invoke that day. Kirk was never quite the same after that, and neither was our guest bathroom.”

“He is pleased,” Lorelai rattles on, “of course, to see everyone, and will bluster about how none of us needed to make a fuss. And just when he thinks he’s about to have to settle in for one of my patented party games and horrifyingly perfect Twinkie cake, everyone will wave to him and his charming bride as they abscond into their waiting carriage, which will take them to the northeast’s most elegant dining.”

Rory laughs. “So, Sniffy’s?”

“Sniffy’s,” Lorelai says with gusto. “Maisy will have his favorite meal, hot and waiting, and we will enjoy a quiet dinner, just the two of us. And the rest of you can enjoy the party – just sans the guest of honor.” She throws her hands up in the air and does jazz hands. “Ta daaa!”

[maggzblair]

In honor of Rory Gilmore’s 39th birthday, here is a little preview of a fic that I hope to soon publish for all to read called On the Campaign Trail.

Hope you all enjoy!

Prologue: The Decision of a Lifetime

Rory unlocked the door to the apartment which would soon be empty again, boxes of everything they own sprawled everywhere. Tonight was the last night, the very last few hours, before her whole life would change forever, like it or not. There was one thing she should have expected though, as she left her slightly dew dampened shoes on the mat near the door and reached for the coffee pot to start brewing, that there were always surprises on the horizon.

Getting asked by her boyfriend of three years to marry him was one of them.

Rory shook herself out of the rather shocking thought by the sound of the coffee brewing, reaching up into the box marked “cabinet” to pull out a mug, filling it, and settling down on the couch with a pad of paper and a pen. It was time.

The pro/con list had always been something of a comfort for Rory Gilmore, a way for her to sit and think through a major decision, to make the right choice. Every truly big decision in her life had been made this way, from the academic, in which college to choose, to the personal. It was the personal now that had Rory sitting on the couch, surrounded by boxes at three am on the night before her college graduation, pouring over a piece of paper to make the biggest decision of her life.

Should I marry Logan?

To say that it was a difficult decision was not one that Rory liked thinking about. Most girls would have just squealed and said yes when faced with the man they loved down on one knee with a beautiful ring, especially when they had thought about being said man’s wife more often than she would ever admit. As much as she’d considered it, she never thought he would ever ask. That he would be willing to make that ultimate, forever, commitment to her. The boy she met three years ago would have ran the other direction at the thought. Was she one of those girls though? Ready to give up the whole prospect of a wide open world of possibilities to become a wife? To settle for simply being the one on his arm, content at home with a family? Did she love Logan that much?

Turning back to the list before giving herself yet another bout of panic, Rory twirled her pen between her fingers as she thought of another bullet point to add.

Pro:

I love Logan.

He’s always been there when I need him.

He fits in my life — we’re passionate about the same things, we both want to be successful, so it should be together.

Con:

Mom doesn’t like him.

He can be really irresponsible. — Can I depend on him when times are tough?

Marrying into a family that thinks I’m not good enough.

Not a Gilmore anymore.

California? — Do I want to move across the country from my family and all my friends?

Can’t get a job just anywhere. — Will I be able to work? (Without taking a handout.)

Kids? — Do we want kids? Do I want kids?

Rory sighed and put the pen down as she looked at the list, the decision clear if she took the number of bullet points at face value. There were so many reasons why getting married now was a bad idea. She was still so young, 22 and about to graduate from college, about to go out and conquer the world.

But who did she want to be by her side in ten years, twenty, fifty? Some nameless, faceless man somewhere in the future or someone…she loved, someone who loved her enough to ask her to marry him? To commit himself to her forever despite claiming once upon a time that he didn’t commit?

Despite all her worries, all her doubts…there truly was only one answer.

Yes.

[azurevi]

on land where we can touch the moon (1/?)

Ok, so this is a really random idea, but it’s basically The Little Mermaid with Azul. And I wish I could excuse myself by saying that I was drunk writing this, but really I was just rushing it because I’ve been sitting on it for far too long. Anyways, enjoy!

Pairing : Azul / genderneutral reader

Characters : Grim, Ace and Deuce

Warnings/Triggers : none

Word count : 3,371

PART2 PART 3

“Isn’t this great,” you made a show of strolling along the railing, the beer in your hand threatening to spill. “The salty sea air, the wind blowing in your face. Perfect day to be at sea!”

“Yes, well-” Jack paused mid-sentence to lean over the side. He sounded as though he was retching. “It is indeed a favourable weather, your royal highness- urk!”

“Now, what did I say about formalities, Jack?”

“You said, and I quote, ‘Call me by my first name, if only for today. It’s a direct order.’”

You went up to soothe his back. When he pulled his head up, his eyes were glossy and cheeks purple. “It’s inappropriate for you to see me in this state, your majesty,”

“So you’re defying my orders now? And on my birthday, no less?”

“That man is all work and no fun,” Ace commented bitterly. He and Deuce were on the opposite side of the ship, holding their respective mugs of beer.

“That’s what makes him the knight commander,” Deuce said.

“A knight commander who’s seasick, huh?”

“Shut up, both of you!“ 

You chortled blatantly, chest light and hair spraying in the wind. 

"Fireball Attack!”

There was a sharp yell, and Grim’s fur was all up in your face before you knew it.

“Hey, hey! Someone’s in a good mood!” You cradled him in your arms. His fur was fluffy and sticking up in the air in all directions.

While you were entertaining your attention-starved familiar, your personal knights had managed to get into yet another fistfight. Jack, the poor commander, was cornered on the edge of the ship, his golden, distinguished pin somehow threatening to slip off in his fingers.

“If I drop my badge, I swear on my wage you’re getting extra morning training and night patrols for the next whole year-!”

He gagged slightly before turning sharply, elbowing Ace in the process. His arm jolted, and the badge escaped his firm pinch, glistening in the air. Time seemed to slow as it made its way downwards, all the while the knights’ mouths grew rounder and rounder.

It plummeted right into the sea, made an insignificant plop and continued sinking quietly, slowly, until the sea muted the screams on deck and the light dwindled.

“We should really stay away, Rory,”

“Quit being a chicken,”

Lovett was falling behind. Rory had insisted that they visit this deeper and lesser known part of the ocean due to a half-hearted dare. And Rory, headstrong that she was, would never back down from a challenge.

“Haven’t you heard? Deep where the light doesn’t reach lives the evil Sea Merchant! A force to be reckoned with! It’s-”

Lovett swivelled swiftly. He was pretty sure something had just swam past from behind.

“Oh, for the love of Poseidon, please don’t eat me for I’m just a standard merman!”

“Will you zip?” Rory was already a few feets ahead. Lovett continued to mumble prayers as he flapped his tail harder.

There was almost no light now, but they could still make out the outlines of rocks and corals. It was uncanny how there was nary a sign of life, not even a lanternfish.

“What’s- what’s the dare anyways?”

“To steal something from the evil Sea Merchant’s collection,”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Lovett gasped. He had yet to notice how they’d swam into a forest of seaweeds. Some clung to their tails as they swam by and tickled their sides.

Something strong and somewhat slimy wrapped around Lovett’s arm. Presuming that it was just another irritating weed, he swung his arm back and forth. It only seemed to grow tighter.

“Great seas, what-” he turned to inspect. “Oh- oh- ten-TENTACLE!”

Rory sprinted around at the scream. “Holy-” she murmured, speechless and shocked to the core. 

Wrapped around Lovett’s elbow was no doubt a tentacle lined with suckers. For a while, it didn’t seem to be moving, but then Lovett was yanked away like lightning.

“Lovett!”

The first thought that came to his mind was that he was going to be eaten. That was until he was met with a frowning face. One under silver messy hair. Then his eyes traveled down the seemingly countless slithering tentacles that stretched out from the man, and he was trembling in fear again.

“Please-! Don’t eat me! I have the least nutritional diet!”

The man didn’t answer. Instead, he squinted at Lovett for an agonizingly long time before finally letting him loose. Lovett squirmed and backed away. The area where he had been held had become swollen red.

“Lovett?” Rory had just gotten into the scene. Lovett didn’t wait a second to break into a run, but Rory caught him by his elbow where it was still hurting.

“We gotta run, Rory-”

‘Huh. What, it’s just Ashengrotto? Have you forgotten about him already?“

Lovett whimpered when Rory advanced on the man. He narrowed his gaze behind a neat pair of glasses. Lovett half expected Rory to be squeezed to death on the spot.

"You’re lurking down here now? How lame. And I see that you still got those hideous fingers of yours,” Rory gestured at his tentacles. “You seriously don’t remember him, Lovett? You have shit memories. Does Azul Ashengrotto from college ring a bell?”

It took Lovett a long, long time to get it. “That’s right, you’re Azul! Man, how you’ve changed- wait, are you the Sea Merchant?”

There was nothing that could rival the bitterness in Azul’s voice. “Pleased to see you again, Lovett,”

“Is it easier to prey on fishes down here? Or are you just that insecure about yourself?” Rory paid no mind to their conversation.

“… It’s none of your business,”

“It actually is. You see, knowing that an ink-blasting octopus lives in the same water as I do is really unnerving-”

“Then make your leave.”

Rory’s smug look faltered. 

“Why should I? You don’t even own this part of the ocean-”

“Oh? Who are these friends of yours, Azul?”

A singsong voice once again interrupted Rory. She turned on her spot, only to find herself face to face with a grinning face.

“Eek-!”

“Oh! If this isn’t Rory~ how kind of you to visit us!”

Lovett backed away quietly. He wasn’t going to stay for anymore of this horror. When two hands slammed onto his shoulders, he shrieked a key higher than any other that’s been sung by opera singers. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” a far more stern and solid voice asked. It was one of those voices you hear in persuading commercials.

It was the Leech brothers, in their long, slender eel forms.

Lovett thought that was it. This was his doom. He was either going to get eaten alive or squeezed to his demise. He should never have agreed to come here. And now he was going to die. He didn’t even get to experience life-

“It’s fine, Jade, Floyd,” Azul said calmly. The hands on Lovett’s shoulders retreated, and Rory rushed towards him hastily and pulled him up and up until they were out of the seaweeds.

“I can’t believe you let them off that easily!” Floyd complained, pouting hard. “We could’ve had some fun with them first, and yet you decided to play good guy?”

Azul didn’t reply. The three of them travelled between rocks and reefs, and while Azul seemed to be in search of something, the twins were merely accompanying.

“I believe he has his reasons,” Jade said, pausing in anticipation. When Azul didn’t soothe his curiosity, he sighed and decided to drop the topic.

Azul rummaged through the swaying weeds and peeked into the slits of the rocks. Nothing seemed to have piqued his interest. Then they swam even further away from where they’d started and reached a sunken ship.

While almost the entirety of the hull had rotten away the structure of the ship still remained intact. Anemones and sponges had claimed the pieces of wood. Tiny shrimps traveled freely between poles and debrises.

Jade and Floyd followed tightly like bodyguards. They were at least mildly worried after the encounter with Rory and Lovett. They could still recall vividly how notorious Rory was and what a relief that they never had to meet again.

If anything, Azul seemed frustrated. His tentacles worked individually, shoving aside inconvenience hastily just like his hands. It was as though he’d lost something priced and valued.

“Let’s split up, alright? Treasure hunt’s no fun if we’re just following one another,” Floyd said as he rounded a corner and out of sight. Jade hesitantly stayed behind as well, leaving Azul to his own.

He’d been here so many times that he’d lost count. There was always something new and from the land somewhere between the ruins. But this time, it seemed to have become just another bland, boring place without any aesthetic value.

That was until something flickered in the corner of his eyes. It was so weak that it would’ve gone unnoticed by, say, Jade and Floyd, but Azul had always been delicate in treasure hunting. Nothing ever slipped his sight.

It looked like a badge. A golden brimmed badge with two crossed swords in the middle, and at the bottom carved two grand words - 'Knight Commander’.

“Oh, what’s that you’ve got there?”

“Ahh!" 

Azul spoke up finally in a long time. The brothers had at some point started following him again.

"Looks like a badge,”

“Bet it sank just a few hours ago. It looks very intact,”

“Yeah,” Azul flipped it between his fingers, eyes tracing in fascination. “It’s not everyday you see something like this,”

His mood seemed to have lightened after this discovery. He was gratified. It’d been a while since he last found anything worthy enough to add to his collection of trinkets from ashore. It put a smile to his face just remembering his towering shelves of tiny valuables. 

Azul owned a secret grotto that even the Leech brothers knew nothing of. He’d made sure that it was known only to him.

It was where he stored all the human objects he’d found undersea. Things like a trident but with four tips or a shallow, handled bowl. There were items as big as a golden pot and others as small as a hairclip. Everywhere he turned they were shimmering and singing about the unknown world outside the water, where mermaids had legs and walked instead of swimming, where they could dance instead of just swaying and flapping tails. Where they could go so many different places - forests and deserts, mountains and caves - many more than what the ocean held.

And they could reach the moon. The ageless, pensive moon that Azul could only wish to caress. But no matter how hard he stretched, it was only in his dreams where the moon would come down in all its glory, close enough to blind his eyes.

He needed to reach it. There was no other way. It was the single entity in the world that knew all the truths and lies, all the corruptions and praises. He had to see it, then he would get the answers - the truth he’d always hungered for. 

Muffled rumbles snapped him out of his intensity. When he looked up from under the grotto, he’d thought he was hallucinating.

The usually azure (and rather bland, may he add) current was now painted with red- no, yellow- purple- it was changing with every muted clap. It might have as well been the end of the world with its bizarreness. However, there was something else stirring in Azul’s heart aside from confusion.

Curiosity. A haste force that was tingling in all his eight tentacles, as if there was no way to rid of the sensation except to swim towards the source.

It was wrong on so many levels. He’d been taught by teachers, friends and his parents that to go beyond the water was basically pleading to be killed. Humans are nothing but greedy, spineless, nasty fish-eaters who are incapable of emotions, that’s what everyone said.

Was that really the case, though? As Azul surveyed his collections, he found it harder by second to believe in the lore. How would they explain all these sparkling and antique cosmetics? How could a world that made so many wonderful things be bad?

And so he pushed aside all doubts that were chaining his limbs and flew towards the surface.

The moment he broke the fabric of water and chill air entered his ears, he was taken back by the sight before him.

A colossal wooden ship was sailing right above. Behind it, lights and fire burnt themselves in the sky then fell into the water dimly. There were singing and whooping aboard where he couldn’t see. The grandness of it all was so deafening that Azul failed to hear the voice of reason in his head as he neared the boat.

There was an opening at the side of the ship. Azul carefully stuck his head up so he wouldn’t be seen. At least not without squinting.

There were about five people dancing and hollering, some holding drinks in their hands while the others blowing into their snarfblats with reddened cheeks. 

“Encore! Encore!” a red-haired guy yelled. Then there was an airy laugh in response. Azul turned sharply towards where it came from.

Azul was… awestruck, to say the least. You were grinning from eye to eye, which were diminished into slits. As you laughed on, Azul felt his chest lighten little by little. It was one of those laughs that pulled you closer and assured you that the world around was but a facade. He could listen to your laugh for the rest of his life and he’d never be distressed again.

“Alright, but can we first reveal the massive unknown that’s been standing here for the past hours? You know I can see it right?” you asked with confidence, and this confidence was just humble enough not to be arrogant.

“As you wish, mademoiselle,” another man with dark blue hair bowed with a flourish, then approached the object in question which was covered with a drape. He was at least tipsy with his wavering and unsteady steps.

“Presenting-!” he hollered before yanking the drape off. Surprisingly it was a golden statue made to resemble you.

You recoiled in mild distaste, but your smile remained. Azul pondered about how you still managed to radiate a cheerfulness despite your negative reaction.

It also occurred to him that it was made in gold. Out of all his collectibles there was rarely even a gold necklace. You must have a reputation for someone to make you such a big deal.

“Well, here’s your birthday present, milady,” the tipsy man was throwing names spontaneously now. The red-haired had to drag him away from the railing several times. You had all resumed singing and dancing. Azul was so captivated by your figure that he didn’t even notice the fireworks dying down.

You and a dark-skinned man were leaning right next him now. What looked like a cat but with flame shaped ears and a devil’s tail started sniffing in the vicinity. Azul was having a hard time staying out of its way and eavesdropping on your conversation.

“You sure you don’t want some?” you raised your mug to his face, which he declined respectfully.

“I’d prefer to stay sober,” he said. “You know, I don’t wish to spoil your birthday, but the king’s being more pressing than ever,”

“Yeah? About what?”

He stared at you for a moment before answering, as if he was trying to look pass your display. 

“About marriage, of course,”

You didn’t answer. Though the corners of your lips were still raised in the aftermath of all the previous hypes, you were obviously unhappy to be there. Azul wished the man would shut up and bring your smile back instead.

“It’s not just the King, your highness. The whole kingdom wants to see you happily settled down with the right person,”

“Jack-” you took a deep, deep breath. “It’s not something that can come quicker just because you’re anxious. I have to find the right person-”

“I understand…” Jack mumbled under his breath. He didn’t look like he understood at all.

“- and they’re out there somewhere. I’m sure. I just haven’t found them yet,” you turned and dangled your arms over the railing. Azul quietly swam under your hands. He could probably touch your fingertips if he stretched hard enough.

“When I see them, it’s gonna hit me. Like bam! Like lightning-”

As if hearing your prayer the sky cracked open with a loud cry and grew darker still. The other men scattered out hurriedly, looking as though they’d never drunk anything.

“Hurricane coming in! Stand fast, secure the rigging!”

It all happened so fast. The wind was so strong that Azul could almost feel himself being blown away. The sky rumbled again and lightning started a rapid fire where it’d striked. He noticed a rock looming just ahead, but no one on board seemed to have noticed it.

He should probably go. It’s the safest under the sea. The sky couldn’t hurt a hair of his. But then he heard your screams of commands, and suddenly he was a brave knight willing to give up his life for the princette.

You weren’t on the ship when he neared. Instead, you were already secured on a piece of log, as well as the other men. He exhaled a relieved sigh, but it didn’t last as he heard cries from the ship.

“Ah! Get away you nasty fire- help!” cried a high-pitched voice.

“Oh no, Grim!” you gasped. Without a second thought, you let loose of the log and rushed towards the burning ship. The broken ship gave you better access as you hopped on, but the moment you’d secured your familiar, the ship roared and you tripped and fell.

“Look out!” Azul yelled out futilely. The ship ran straight into the rock and BOOM, everything was set ablaze. Azul dodged between dropping debrises mindlessly as he roamed around in search of you.

When nothing was found above, he dived back into the water and there you were - sinking into the water, growing darker and darker by second. He was next to you in a blink - thanks to his fast-moving tentacles. 

Your group had already gone out of sight when he emerged again, but to his best luck there was a piece of land just near, and he raced there like he was going to lose his own life if he was too late. It was only when you were pulled up on the dryland that he could soothe his pounding heartbeat.

He was bewildered at the fact that he could breathe on land just as well as he did under water. Aside from the sand that had started sticking to his tentacles the moment they touched, nothing seemed to be out of place.

“Hey,” he’d never rescued a drowning human before. He didn’t even know what drowning was. 

“Are you dead?” he slapped your cheek lightly. Your chest didn’t seem to be heaving, and your lips were as pale as snow.

“Hey-”

“Blergh!” Your head jerked up and suddenly you were coughing up water. Azul squeaked before scurrying over to hide behind a rock.

Your head was drooping back and forth as you held yourself up with wobbly arms. Then you started turning around and locked eyes with Azul’s as he peeked out tentatively.

Oh, it’s bad. This is very bad.

“Who-” you started to stand, and at the same time Azul began to reach for the water stealthily so you wouldn’t notice. He knew he’d be screwed if he was spotted.

“Y/N!” someone cried from far away, and you turned to look. The split second was just enough for him to crawl back into the water and out of sight.

The water washed the sand off him quickly, erasing all the evidence that he’d been out there violating one of the strictest rules under the sea, but despite all, he found himself already missing the crisp air above.

If any, he’d grown more fond of the unknown world that you lived in.

[roryjackson-archived]

who: @zahrajackson​  🌱​ what: an essay on nights in the jackson household that u didnt ask for & angst that u did where: their kitchen- at a truly ungodly hour

Nightmare patrol. She was pretty sure that’s what Zahra used to call it. After she’d had claimed Rory, she’d taken that nightly job from her dad. Learned to run towards screaming in the night instead of away from it, until Rory had watched her move all of her sleep things into her room so she could eliminate the running entirely. And after months of different tactics, it had actually worked. It had taken most of the first year that she lived there, but the nightmares that had turned the Jackson household semi-nocturnal became rare occurrences. There were still bad nights- anniversaries and birthdays when she invaded Zahra's room with swollen eyes and her comforter wrapped around her shoulders. The door was never locked.  

Those “patrols” were mostly a distant memory until she nearly drowned. It was the night after CPD had to call her uncle to pick them up from the beach, wrapped in the same shock blanket because Rory wouldn’t let go of Zahra- couldn’t let go of her. She had snuck into the hallway and caught Rocky sitting on the floor just outside her room where they were both sleeping. His head was resting against the wall and he had a mug of coffee at his side- a silent sentry keeping watch over his girls. He had given her a tired smile that couldn't quite smooth the worry from his expression, and mouthed a silent thank you when she left the door cracked open after she slipped back in with her cup of water. 

What did he think of them now? After picking them up from the station with inked fingertips and accusations of murder on their records? It couldn’t be easy to watch his daughter and niece getting deeper and deeper into something dangerous that they wouldn't tell him about. Something with a body count. Rory didn’t blame him for going straight to bed when they got home. 

It was a testament to how much she had been shaken by the arrest, that it hadn’t occurred to her she could be in for a rough night when she tried to do the same. No, instead it was a cruel surprise, waking up thrashing and screaming in Zahra's arms like she was eleven years old again. Rory sobbed into her cousin’s shoulder and bitterly hated the Candy Girl for trapping them in Cherry. 

It was only after they’d given up on sleep entirely and headed downstairs, that the lack of surprise on Zahra’s face registered. She had been expecting this. Back on patrol, seven years later. Only this time they were both going through the same thing- and Rory was the only one who couldn’t handle it. She tucked that thought away and pretended it wouldn’t rot inside her."I'm sorry." Her voice was still a little hoarse, even after the hot chocolate she'd been sipping. "Bet you thought you were done with this, huh?"

[abundanceofsoph]

SkyFire 3: Chapter 10

I’m free as a bird when I’m flying in your cage: Nov/Dec 2017  

Word count: 3k

SkyFire 3 MASTERLIST

Please for the love of god, if you like the story just hit the reblog button. I really don’t know how to say it nicely but it’s really starting to bother me and maybe that makes me a dick but so be it.

>Instagram posts

Thankfully, after a day and a half of vocal rest, Harry was ready to go for the Manchester show and he very much dialled his performance up to 11 for his hometown crowd. Just as she had told Grimmy, Aurora stayed off social media in the days following the interview, but she heard from others that a small section of the fandom was absolutely furious with her and the social media manager that Mark had hired years ago to clear out her comment sections was working overtime to keep some of the nastier shit from her feeds. As much as Aurora herself was able to avoid it all together, she knew that a lot of her fans would be reading the comments and she wanted to keep it safe for them. Harry’s team was also working to keep his own accounts clear as well, and while they couldn’t hide from what was being said about them or Louis and Elanor, they could try to filter out the worst of it. This was the one part of celebrity that they all agreed was the worst. It was the unfortunate consequence of having such passionate fans. Ella had no such inclination to avoid the comment sections and was spending her free time picking fights with Larries and attempting to set them straight on the reality of Harry and Louis’ relationship as nothing more than brotherly love. Aurora tried to urge her to let it go, but unfortunately her best friend was feisty and easy to anger which was not a good combination with how overprotective she was about her loved ones. By the time they stepped out onto the Manchester stage, both Rori and Harry were happy to put aside the drama and focus on the music.  Things started to cool down over the following week which took them up to Glasgow and then on to Stockholm, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Milan. By the time they returned to London on the 11th, the music video for Kiwi had been live for 3 days and the fans had thankfully moved on from Aurora’s interview in exchange for raving about the new video.  

They spent the first few days relaxing at home before Rori headed to North London to meet up with Liam at the recording studio he liked to use to work on the song he had mentioned at Niall’s launch party. Aurora had spent the last few weeks listening to the demo on repeat while pouring over the sheet music Liam had emailed her. She was obsessed with the song and the two had been messaging back and forth constantly, discussing the arrangement and which parts each of them would take. Stepping back into a recording studio, even one she’d never visited before, felt like coming home after weeks on the road and her face lit up immediately as soon as she caught sight of Liam,  wrapping her arms around him in a rib crushing hug.

“Ready to jump straight in?” he asked after letting her go.

“Absolutely,” she replied excitedly before following him as he introduced her to the producer and technicians that they would be working with for the following few days.

With a full week before Harry and Rori were due to  fly to Shanghai, neither she nor Liam were on a tight schedule to finish the song. This meant that the environment in the studio was very chilled and there were many tangents and breaks taken while they worked.

“How attached are you and Lou to the lyrics?” Rori asked on their second day in the studio.

“Of course, you want to change something,” Liam laughed in a response. “Wouldn’t be you if you didn’t.”

“I’m sorry,” Rori replied with a laugh of her own. “I am who I am.”

“I know,” Liam agreed. “So, show me what you’re thinking.”

“I’ve been tossing around the pre-chorus and I was wondering if instead of what you lads have there, instead we go with this.”

I'm free as a bird When I'm flying in your cage I'm diving in deep And I'm riding with no brakes And I'm bleeding in love You're swimming in my veins You got me now

“Well fuck,” Liam replied. “Think I need to stop writing with Louis and start writing with you more often.”

“You like it?”

“Rors, I love it,” he said. “It’s way better than what we came up with. Let’s get back in the booth and record it.”

They ended up spending four days finishing the song which left Aurora with a few remaining days to catch up with Ella and also relax at home with her husband before they were thrown back into work.

xXx

The day before they were set to fly to China, Aurora headed over to Ella’s flat in Wimbledon. “I brought cake,” she yelled as she let herself into the flat with the spare key Ella had given her when Rori first moved back to London.

“Fuck yes!” Ella cheered in response, her voice carrying down the hall from the kitchen. “I’m just making us tea,” she continued as Rori made her way inside. “Get yourself comfy on the sofa and I’ll meet you in there, babe.”

Rori made herself at home in the living room, Ella’s elderly tabby cat Elliot, immediately padding over to make himself comfortable in her lap.

“You were recording with Liam this week yeah?” Ella asked as she joined Rori on the sofa, placing mugs of tea in front of them. “How was it?”

“God, it was so much fun El,” Rori sighed. “I didn’t realise how much I missed being in the studio. I mean don’t get me wrong, I love touring and I’m having an incredible time on the road, but it felt so good to be back recording again and it just has me itching to write again.”

“You should make sure to do more of it over the Christmas break then,” Ella pointed out. “Speaking of which are you going to be in New York or are you coming home for winter?”

“We’re planning a bit of both. Christmas and my birthday in New York with my dads and then we’ll come back here for February before the tour kicks off again in March. I think Gemma and Anne are going to join us for Christmas too and then when we get back Liam and I have made plans to have a writing session together. ”

“Sounds like a good plan,” Ella nodded before taking a sip of her tea. “Selfishly I’m glad you’ll be spending a decent chunk of time here. I miss you.”

“Urggh,” Rori groaned. “I miss you too. Was thinking of maybe doing something for Harry’s birthday and getting you, Lou, Liam, and Niall over to our flat for a game’s night or something. I feel like Harry could use something a little more lowkey this year after the insanity of tour.”

“Don’t feel like you need to invite me,” Ella replied awkwardly. “I mean, if you’re inviting the band over, I’m not really part of that group.”

“Oh bullshit,” Rori laughed. “They boys love you just like I do. You all get along great whenever we were all together for wedding stuff or the album launch. Why on earth would you feel like I shouldn’t invite you too?”

“Rori,” Ella sighed. “While yes, I have gotten along with yours and Harry’s friends in the past, that doesn’t mean that I run in the same circles as they do. They’re celebrities, you are a celebrity and I just think that sometimes you forget that I’m just your old friend from school. It’s two separate worlds that you live in.”

Aurora rolled her eyes in response, taking a sip of her tea while she compiled her rebuttal. “That’s such a load of shit El. They are mine and Harry’s friends and so are you. When we are away from the paparazzi, they are no different to you and me. I get that we grew up with their pictures on our bedroom walls but once you put that aside they’re just a bunch of really great guys that I think could become your close friends too if you let them in and stop freaking out around them.”

“Ok fine,” Ella agreed after a moment of silent staring between the two women. “I’ll try to get over myself and give them a chance next time we’re all in the same room. Can we change the subject now?”

“That’s all I’m asking for and absolutely we can change the subject. How’s things with Tim? Feel like we haven’t talked about him in a while.” Ella made a face and Aurora felt her heart break for her best friend. “When?” she asked softly. “What happened, love?”

“He broke it off a few weeks ago,” Ella explained. “Said he didn’t feel a spark or something.”

“I’m sorry babe, things seemed to be going so well when I left for the tour.”

“They were. At least I thought they were. We barely made it past 3 months before he gave up.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You were half a world away having the best time,” Ella replied. “If I’d told you then you would have just felt guilty for not being here.”

“And now instead I feel guilty for not even being able to be a sympathetic ear since I couldn’t provide a shoulder. How are you now?”

“I’ll be ok. I’ve been a bit down in the dumps, but I think it’s for the best. He made some good points about me not really knowing what I wanted and he’s right. I think I’m gonna swear off dating until I really figure out who I am and what I’m looking for.”

“Well if you ever want help figuring out who you are, I think I know you pretty well by now.”

“I might take you up on that offer,” Ella said with a small smile before changing topic. “Now enough moping, you said you brought cake with you? You are never going to believe the scandal that’s broken out amongst some of the girls in my Colonial History class.”

xXx

Occasionally something would happen in Aurora’s life that would give her pause and remind her how incredibly ludicrous her life had become. Standing behind her keyboard in the middle of a Victoria Secrets show in Shanghai while her husband sang and danced his heart out in front of her while literally supermodels strutted past them was one of those moments.

It was hard for her to believe that only 2 days ago she was sitting on her best friend’s sofa eating a chocolate cake from Sainsbury’s and discussing the latest high school drama playing out in Ella’s classroom. She found herself thinking about how her mother would react if she somehow had a way to travel back in time seven years and tell her about this moment and all the other life changing moments that had occurred since they parted. It was while her thoughts were caught on her mother that Harry turned, catching her eye, a mile-wide smile lighting up his face as he winked at her, causing her own smile to grow in response. No matter how strange her life had become and how much everything had changed since she was an average teenager living above a small bar, she knew that she wouldn’t change a single thing that had happened if it meant ending up here with Harry smiling at her like that.

xXx

Following the Victoria Secrets show, the band arrived in Singapore early and spent a few days exploring before their show there after which the flew on to Australia, a country that Harry had toured many times over the years with One Direction, but Aurora had never managed to visit herself. They had a week in the land Down Under, with shows in both Sydney and Melbourne and Aurora made it her mission to see as much as she could of the 2 state capitals, often dragging Harry or other members of the band along on her adventures. Given that it was the last week of November everywhere was getting into the Christmas spirit, however since it was the southern hemisphere the weather was scorching hot and the group found the combination highly entertaining, if somewhat baffling.

While in Sydney they took in the iconic sights such as Bondi beach, the Opera House, and the Harbour Bridge, as well as a day trip out to explore the Blue Mountains. In Melbourne they visited the Eureka Tower with it’s Skydeck that offered an amazing view of the city spread out beneath them. They also spent some time at the Melbourne Zoo and National Gallery of Victoria, then the day after their show at the Forum, they were taken on a drive out of the city and down along the coastal Great Ocean Road.

The tour stop in Auckland was similarly packed out with touristy opportunities where Aurora’s highlight was the art gallery Toi o Tāmaki. While the laid back vibes in both Australia and New Zealand captured Aurora’s attention, it was the week they spent in Tokyo that held Harry’s, so much so that while everyone else headed home the day after the last show, the young couple made a last minute change to their travel plans and extended their stay by an additional week to explore the city more.

Once again, Tokyo was somewhere that Harry had visited many times with the band while Aurora had never been, and he enjoyed to opportunity to show her his favourite parts. Something Aurora noticed almost immediately about Tokyo was that unlike in the US or the UK, people either didn’t recognize them when they were out and about or they did but respected their privacy and left them alone. She pointed this out to Harry on their second day wandering the city streets and he smiled back at her, agreeing that it was something he’d also noticed in a previous visit and had definitely played a role in him falling in love with the city.

They spent their days wandering the streets, ducking into quirky shops that caught their eye and just revelling in the normalcy of being together in public. As they walked, they both realized that they had never had this; a chance to be like everyone else crowding the sidewalks around them. Save for stolen moments in the early days of their relationship like their first date in Hampstead Heath or when they were able to sneak into galleries on quiet days, they’d never really been able to be themselves within a crowd. They’d always needed to wrap a scarf that little bit higher around their chins or wear a hat a little lower on their heads or glasses a little bit larger. To walk hand in hand like any other couple was freeing in a way that Rori hadn’t realized she’d been missing, and she soaked up every moment of their time in Tokyo. If only for a week she felt like she was living the life she would have had if her mother hadn’t died. If she had continued living as a normal girl from Wimbledon instead of being thrust into the spotlight, free to live her life without the scrutiny of the press and the public. Of course, it wasn’t lost on her that the man holding her hand wouldn’t be Harry in this parallel universe and for that she would happily trade in her freedom. She could accept that the price she paid to be married to Harry and be Steve and Tony’s daughter was that she would never really be allowed to have this normality, so she simply tried to make the most of their time before they flew on to New York for Christmas. They never spoke about any of this during their little vacation away from their lives but even without voicing her thoughts, Rori was certain that Harry was thinking the same thing and would willingly make the same sacrifices for the life they had built together.

xXx

Both Aurora and Harry were exhausted by the time they reached New York and were grateful to find Happy waiting for them as soon as they exited the arrivals terminal at JFK. He offered a quick hug to Rori before collecting their bags from them and leading them to the town car waiting for them. She leant against Harry in the back seat as they made the hour long drive into Manhattan. Her blinks began to lengthen as the airport shrank in the rear-view mirror and she was fast asleep before they reached Queens. Harry had to gently coax her awake once they finally reached the tower and she slowly made her way out of the car and into the elevator up to the penthouse. Tony and Steve were waiting up for their arrival and excitedly pulled their daughter into tight hugs the moment she stepped out of the elevator. It was Steve that noticed the way both Rori and Harry’s eyelids seem to droop and their gazes glazed over while Tony asked them a dozen questions about their recent adventures, and Rori was grateful when her Pops shooed them both off to bed with promises that they could catch up properly over a homecooked breakfast the next morning. They were barely conscious by the time they stripped out of their clothes and crawled into bed, however Aurora remained awake just long enough the think about how good it felt to be home.

NEXT CHAPTER

OR CONTINUE READING ON AO3                               

[streamacademe]

Week 176, Day 1228.

A late post this week as it was MY BIRTHDAY YESTERDAY!! Although I didn’t take the day off, I did eliminate anything moderately non-essential on my to-do list for the day, which included writing anything non-thesis related. 🎉

Irrespective of it being a lockdown birthday, I had the best day. Aside from all the messages of love, and extremely thoughtful gifts, my other half also picked up Zizzis takeaway pizza for us and bought me my favourite ‘Rory the Lion’ cake. And yes, I am aware that this is not a typical choice for someone in their late 20′s, but I also do not care. 💛🦁

Photo: My all time favourite cake. Source: Phone camera - HUJI app.

One of the most meaningful gifts I received was a mug with my first journal paper printed on it. The friend that this was from is currently 24 days away from her official thesis deadline and yet found the time to do something so considerate. Respectfully, I christened the mug with an honourable drink of Bailey’s hot chocolate. ☕

Photo: My journal paper mug being used as a vessel for Bailey’s hot chocolate. Source: Phone camera - HUJI app.

The week leading up to my birthday, however, was a little meh. Although my supervisors didn’t hate my analysis technique or the report that I mentioned last week, and gave me good feedback, I must’ve worked on it too much and at around 10 pm on Saturday hit a wall with it and burst into tears. 😂 So I decided to park it until my next supervisory meeting, which was yesterday. I was honest with them about hitting a wall and having a meltdown and, honestly, they were really helpful and made me feel both back on track and more confident in my abilities, which was probably one of the best birthday gifts I could’ve asked for right now. 

I also had a bit of an emotional trigger from someone who I cut ties with back in 2019. I needed him to be either in or out of my life and he couldn’t choose, so I made the decision for us. However, he briefly reappeared the other day and it kinda messed me up for a few days because I really miss him and have had to work really hard to keep a distance. There’s a lot of unprocessed hurt still, linked to his actions, which I can’t resolve without answers that I doubt I’ll ever get, so I’ve been shutting it away instead. Hey ho, such is life. Mentioning it on here because there is no shame in feeling a strong way about something or someone. Let it be known that pretending like you don’t will only make things worse and is exactly how him and I ended up in this position in the first place. Own your feelings. 💔

Anywhom, the positives from the last week definitely outweigh the negatives, and now that my brain feels more awake (partly fuelled by cake), I better go get on with the million things I still have to do today. 💡 Ciao!

Photo: Final year PhD mood. Source: Google. 

[what-is-your-plan-today]

What The Stark Spangled F**k?

One Shot- Finding Rori

Summary: Rori gets a pet. And hilarity/chaos ensues.

Warnings: Bad language words…

A/N: This came to me yesterday and is inspired by my own fairground goldfish, Evans, who is 5 this year. This one fits in the timeline after “Changes”

The Rogers household for once, was reasonably quiet. It was a Saturday afternoon and both Jamie and Aurora were out with Bucky and Sam, leaving Katie and Steve with just Harry (and bump, which was still in the very small, early bump stages being 16 weeks or so). Katie was led on the sofa, Stark squashed alongside her n his back whilst she read a book and Steve was led on the rug with Harry, the pair of them drawing on a large piece of paper using the crayons that Stark hadn’t eaten. The little boy was happily colouring along, grinning and talking to his Dad as he went, occasionally glancing up at Moana which was playing on the TV, sometimes he would start to imitate the singing, causing Katie to glance up and watch him, smiling softly. Out of their 3 born kids, he had without doubt been the easiest one to deal with. He hardly ever cried or made a fuss, never complained, he was such a placid little boy. The pair of them had no idea who he took after as neither of them were known for their patience or calmness really. And frankly, compared to his sister who could be the biggest pain in the ass on the planet, it was a welcome change. Which was why they liked to make time for him on his own as when the other 2 were around, they demanded all the attention, something which Katie hated, and Steve knew was worrying her about when baby number 4 arrived.

But their peace was shattered as the security system alerted them to the fact the gate had been opened by “Bucky Barnes” and Steve glanced up at the clock. It was gone 5, he hadn’t realised it was getting that late in the day. He let out a sigh, and exchanged a look with Katie who had placed her book down in preparation for the onslaught.

Which arrived a few minutes later as Jamie sauntered into the room, baseball cap perched on his head backwards, followed by Rori who was clutching a plastic bag in her hand, and contained in which was…

“Oh you are kidding me, right?” Steve nodded to the offending fish swimming around in small circles as Rori held it up grinning. He looked at Katie who was trying not to laugh as he shook his head. Rori had been asking the two of them for a fish for weeks and they had persistently said no…and surprise, surprise here she was with one.

“BUCKY…BUCKY!” Steve yelled as Harry grinned, joining in and clapping.

Buck appeared in the doorway, looking at Steve innocently whilst behind him Sam carried some form of small tank which held a pink castle and some other ornaments along with some food, gravel and a filter.

“I told you not to buy her a damned goldfish Bucky!” Steve looked at him, shaking his head

“I didn’t.” Bucky shrugged “I won her one.”

“Fisheee!” Harry said as he toddled over to Rori to get a closer look.

“That’s…that’s a technicality!” Steve spluttered before he looked at Sam who shook his head.

“I had nothing to do with this man.”

“Don’t lie Uncle Sam.” Jamie said, dropping onto the sofa, Stark licking his face “You helped Rori pick the tank in the pet store.” “Traitor” Sam narrowed his eyes at him.

“You…” Steve pointed at Bucky as he stood up from the rug “Are the biggest jerk ever, you know that?”

Bucky grinned innocently as Rori turned to Katie who examined the fish before she gave a shake of her head and sighed.

“Well it’s hear now so we might as well set the tank up.” And just like that, the Star Spangled Diva once more got her own way, as half an hour or so later, said bastard fish was safely in its new home, the tank sitting on the corner unit in the den where Steve had placed it once it had been filled and the ornaments arranged EXACTLY how Rori wanted them.

“I think we should call it Klaus.” Jamie said.

“What the hell kinda name is that?” Bucky looked at him.

“The fish from American Dad.” Jamie shrugged.

“Ok, ok two things…” Steve looked at Jamie “One, me and your Ma told you that you were far too young to watch that and therefore were not allowed and two, I echo what Buck just said, what the hell kinda name is that?”

“The fish can talk.” Jamie said “And he’s German, used to be a guy until the CIA turned him into a fish and-“ “Ok, just no.” Steve shook his head “The fish is not being called Klaus and if I catch you watching that again, I’m gonna take the plug off your TV” “Oh come on dad, like you didn’t watch shows you weren’t allowed to when you were my age.” Jamie protested and Katie gave a snort.

“Yeah, like TV existed back then…” Sam snorted.

Jamie frowned for a moment before a look of realisation spread across his face “Oh yeah…” “Most Exciting thing we saw was the Wizard of Oz.” Bucky said, nostalgically “Man, Technicolour…what a revelation.” “That’s so whack.” Jamie mumbled.

“Ok, now you’re talking and I’m hearing words but…” Steve shrugged and grinned as Jamie aimed a dig at him which Steve easily dodged. The two began to play spar with one another, their laugher and exclamations getting louder until Rori cut across the noise as she moved her head from where she was looking at the fish in its tank. “I’m going to call her Dori.” she said. Steve stopped what he was doing, which allowed Jamie to land a punch to his arm, which in all fairness was pretty fucking hard.

“Ow…” He said, rubbing at the place Jamie’s knuckles at connected with his bicep and looked down at the 9 year old “Good shot son…” Jamie grinned and they all turned to where Rori was stood, Katie crouched down next to her as they both watched the fish. “What did you say Princess?”

“I said her name. Imma call her Dori, like in Finding Nemo and Finding Dori…” she shrugged “And it’s like my name…”

“Dori and Rori.” Katie grinned at her daughter “Hey, Finding Rori…gedddit?”

Rori grinned and Hi-Fived her Momma the pair of them laughing whilst Steve and Jamie exchanged a look.

“Nah, I think you should call it Dot.” Bucky said simply. Steve turned to look at him. “What? It’s orangey red…so was her hair…”

“No,it’s Dori” Rori corrected him.

“Dot is better.”

“Dori!”

“Dot!”

“DORI MY FISH, MY NAME UNCLE BUCKY!” Rori stamped her foot. And Katie turned to look at her, a firm expression on her face but it was Steve that issued the warning.

“Aurora enough!” he said sternly “Stop it, and you…” he pointed at Bucky who grinned at him “Stop antagonising her”

“Chaos, confusion…my work here is done…” Bucky grinned, giving Steve a salute. “Same time next week?”

******* It was a few weeks later when disaster struck…

“Steeeeeeve!” Katie’s yell hit his ears and he stiffened slightly, before he put down his mug and hurried out of the kitchen and into the den.

“What’s wrong?” he frowned. She simply pointed to the corner of the room where Dori’s tank sat and he saw the orange fish bobbing on the surface.

Dead

“Oh fuck.” He swallowed. “How did that happen?”

“Well, I’m no expert but I suspect the half disintegrated cookie at the bottom of the tank might be something to do with it.” Katie sighed.

“I told her not to feed it them.” Steve groaned.

“You’re gonna have to go get a new one.” Katie looked at him “Before she gets back because I can’t cope with a diva meltdown Steve, not today.”

“Me?” Steve looked at her

“Yes, you.” Katie said. “I was up all night as you know, I can’t stop puking, I’m tired and you’re not in today and…”

“Ok, ok.” Steve nodded, placating her as he dropped a kiss to her cheek “Right…leave it with me.” She smiled at him, leaned up to give him a kiss before she swept out of the den, Harry toddling behind her. Steve glanced at the dead fish before he pulled out his phone.

“S’up Punk?” Bucky greeted him.

“Me and you got a mission, a big mission.” Steve said, “Meet me at the Coffee shop in 30.”

And that’s how both World War 2 Veterans, the Captain and his Sergeant, ended up in a local Pet Shop an hour or so later with said dead fish in a Tupperware container, a very bemused assistant looking at them.

“I need one of these” Steve explained, showing the fish to him.

“You need a goldfish, Sir?” “Yeah but it needs to look exactly like this one.” Steve said.

“Ok, they all look similar…” the assistant began until Bucky cut him off. “No, you don’t know his daughter.” Bucky shook his head “When we say exactly the same, we mean, exactly the same…” Less than an hour later, Dori The Second was placed in the now cleaned tank, the 3 adults and Harry watching it carefully.

“Think she’ll notice?” Steve asked, looking at Katie.

“Hmmm, it looks the same to me.” she said. “Suppose we’ll find out later.” Steve was crapping his pants all day. And when he finally collected Rori from school, he was on tenterhooks until she headed into the Den after getting changed and having a juice box. He glanced at Katie, as the pair of them held their breath, and they thought they’d gotten away with it for a few minutes, until they heard her yell.

“Shit…” Katie mumbled, as they both headed into the room.

“Everything ok?”

“Why does Dori have a white spot on her tail?” Rori looked at her mom and dad.

“Where?” Steve frowned.

“There!” She exclaimed, pointing. Steve leaned down to look and there was the tiniest white spot on the tip of the fish’s tail, no bigger than a pin prick.

“Some fish get markings like that.” Katie said, her quick thinking kicking in “it might go again, or it might get bigger…maybe you should keep notes and some pictures, then you can track it.” “Oh, ok, yeah that sounds cool!” Rori grinned and Steve glanced at his wife, relief flooding his system.

A little later, once Jamie, Rori and Harry were in bed, Katie and Steve sat down to dinner.

“I can’t believe we pulled it off.” Steve sighed, spearing a piece of broccoli with his fork “I mean, of all the missions we’ve run…”

Katie chuckled, “You know, when I was a kid I had a goldfish. Tony got him for my 8th birthday, called him Flounder, you know after the fish in the little mermaid?”

“Yeah?” Steve looked at her.

She nodded “Yup. He lived for like 11 years…or rather I thought he did. On my 18th birthday Tony confessed that Flounder, who was at this point still alive, was in fact Flounder the 9th. He had in fact died 9 times and each time Tony replaced him without me knowing.”

Steve paused, his fork raised halfway to his mouth before he gave a groan. “So basically I’ve turned into Tony?”

“There are worse people you could have become.” Katie snorted as Steve shook his head, swallowing his food.

“Bucky is a dead man.” he sighed, “This is all his fault.” “Well he’d do anything for Rori.” Katie shrugged “She has the pair of you, and Sam for that matter, wrapped around her pinkie.”

“Wonder where she gets that from?” Steve looked at her “I mean, can you blame me? She’s basically Tony with your looks.”

A couple of hours later, after some TV and a cuddle on the couch, both of them decided to head to bed. It was still reasonably early but Katie was tired and Steve decided to go with her, he could watch TV in bed. They both checked on their kids, and Steve left Katie to tuck Harry in properly as he wandered over to Jamie’s room. He opened the door, Stark pushing in to take his customary place on the foot of the bed.

“Lights out pal.” Steve said gently as he dropped a kiss to his forehead. He reached for the remote, turning his son’s TV off as Jamie reached for his lamp, clicking the switch, leaving the only source of light as that which was coming from the hall way.  “Night buddy.” “Night…” Jamie said, before he spoke again just as Steve was about to leave the room. “I know you swapped the fish.” Steve turned back to look at him, shrugging “I don’t know what you mean.” “Mom’s right, you’re a terrible liar.” Jamie said and Steve could just make out his face, a smirk was playing on his lips “Don’t worry, I won’t tell Rori…if you give me twenty bucks…” “How about I don’t, and you still don’t or you’re grounded.” “Grounding me aint gonna reverse time and stop me telling her in the first place.” Jamie shrugged.

Steve blinked. He paused for a second, contemplating his options. He could come down like a tonne of bricks on the kid, which to be fair was very tempting, or he could take the easy way out which frankly, at that moment, was far more appealing. And so, Steve Rogers, the first Captain America, once-upon-a-time leader of the World’s Mightiest Heroes found himself reduced to bargaining with a blackmailing 9 year old. His blackmailing 9 year old to be precise.

You little shit.

“5 bucks.” Steve opened the negotiation.

“15.” shot back Jamie.

“10.”

“Deal.” Jamie grinned. “Night dad.” “Yeah, whatever…” Steve grumbled, closing the bedroom door behind him. He stopped dead as he saw Katie looking at him, her hands on her hips.

“Did you seriously just let him do that?” she shook her head.

“Do you wanna deal with a diva tantrum?”

“Steve, he just completely…”

“I know what he did, Doll.” Steve sighed, following her into their room “And for the record, this is on you.” “Me?”  she frowned as he reached out, his arms wrapping around her from behind, hands softly cupping her bump. “Yes, because that part of him that just blackmailed me, was 100% Stark.” he said, placing a kiss to her neck.

Katie tilted her head and looked at him with narrowed eyes. He arched an eyebrow at her and she gave a snort, shaking her head. “Who knew your own daughter would be your downfall.”

“She’s Tony but with your looks.” Steve shrugged “What do you expect?”

“Well…” she mused “You said you’d give him 10 bucks but you didn’t say when. You can point this out to him tomorrow, if he wants it he can have it when he’s tidied his room.” “That’s…sneaky” Steve grinned.

“Fight fire with fire Soldier.” she smirked “You pointed out he’s half Stark…well, I’m 100% Stark, which means I can out Stark him all day long.”

[wardenrainwall]

Ficback Friday

I’m always a day late and a dollar short ....

But I absolutely love this idea!

Tagged by @khajiithasnowares

Take an older fic (or art for our artist friends) from about a year ago or older even and talk about it, show it off and hype it up.

lets see, a year ago I was working on Little Explosions of Hope, a fic that turned into something incredibly long (for me). Most often I have a vague idea, or a specific scene in mind and then I start writing at a completely different point to reach that idea, and this one was no different. The scene that spawned the entire fic didn’t happen until chapter 40.

It starts in Kirkwall, Wren, a woman who worked many years at the Blooming Rose has her own place where she makes tonics and medicines for the people of Darktown. Upon meeting Cullen, she hates him from the start because she hates all Templars, but slowly as time goes on they grow closer and despite everything going on (Templars generally up to no good/the Qunari/Meredith) in Kirkwall they fall in love. And then it gets really angsty, and they end up in Skyhold and the Inquisitor and the Companions(mainly the inquisitor, blackwall and rylen) come into play.

I spent a little over a year working on this fic, and I am quite proud of what I accomplished.

Little Explosions of Hope

Rating : Explicit (for violence and smut)

Words: 168,721 (74 chapters)

a small snippet

Wren ducked her head, withdrawing she walked around to sit back down in her usual spot at the table. Cullen sat as well and for a few moments, they sat in silence, sipping their wine. “You don’t have to keep buying me things. That isn’t why… that isn’t why I keep letting you come around. You’re my friend, too. As much as it pains me to admit that I might actually like a Templar,” she smiled a little, reached her hand across the table to run her fingertip along the knuckles of Cullen’s hand that was curled around his mug. “When Rory-” she pursed her lips together. They hadn’t talked about him. “It broke my heart to think you were like them. That you would be so cruel. I-”

She sunk her teeth into her lower lip and Cullen wasn’t sure what to say, so he turned his hand, curled his fingers around hers. She held his gaze for a long time and then she pulled her hand back, stood and came around the table. Cullen watched her, his brow knit together. “Scoot back,” Wren said, pushing at his shoulder and Cullen obeyed. Then she was standing there between his legs.

Delicate fingertips touched his stubbled jaw, and he stared up into her eyes. The deep turquoise darker than usual. He found it hard to breathe with her so close. The heat of her body warm through their thin clothing. Surely, she didn’t mean to- Wren leaned closer, their breath mingled, but she never broke their gaze. “I’m glad you’re here,” she murmured.

“Wren-” his voice was barely a breath of sound. He wanted to reach for her, drag her closer and push her away.

“Happy birthday, Cullen,” she spoke the words quietly, her lips almost on his. Cullen held his breath, one of her hands slid into his hair, cupping the back of his head and then soft as a down feather, her lips brushed against the corner of his mouth. Then the other side. Then her eyes slid shut and the world fell away as Wren pressed her mouth to his.

He didn’t know what to do, where to put his hands that were now clenched into fists on his thighs. Her lips were so gentle and full against his. Her hands small and fragile. Wren pulled back, just a fraction, their lips still touching as her eyes fluttered open. “Aren’t you going to kiss me back, Knight-Captain?”

“I-I don’t know-I’ve never- Wren,” her name came out a desperate sound and she smiled so tenderly that Cullen’s heart ached.

“I suspected,” she murmured, tilted her head and rubbed the tip of her nose against his. “Kiss me,” she breathed, her lips against his again and he obeyed. It was slow and sweet and heat built inside of Cullen’s chest. He heard her moan quietly, realized he’d gripped her hips, one hand twisting into a fist around the cotton of her chemise.

[queenofeden]

Rory and 🥂

literally this emoji will not show up on mobile or my computer for some unfathomable reason so

🍻-Treat them to Drinks!

The seedy little backroom bar is crowded, boisterous and lively to a nigh riotous degree, complete with a lanky man on a pipe in the corner churning out a familiar reel. Rory lifts his twin, frothing mugs high over his head, carrying them between the jostling bodies to the relative safety of their table. He sets one down in front of Laurel, and sweeps his hair off his neck with one newly freed hand before taking a deep draught of his cider.

“Sorry, I didn’t think it would be quite this busy. Who knew it was Clive’s birthday today?”

Laurel snorts indelicately into her drink. “I don’t even know who Clive is.”

Rory grins, and shrugs, then slides into the torn booth beside her. “Me either, but apparently it’s his birthday. Cheers, love.”

He bunts his mug against hers with a half-lipped smile. Already one drink ahead of her, his movements are loose and languid, the set of his shoulders eased slightly.

“How did you find this place, anyway?” Laurel asks, eyeing the dark room, the crooked “HAPPY BIRTHDAY CLIVE” banner, with mild curiosity, and even milder distaste. The cider is good though, cold and sweet against her tongue, calming her nerves as she drinks.

“Only place in the quarter that has yet to ban me for life,” he replies, with a quick drum of his fingers against the stained table-top. “Could change by the end of the night, though. The hour is young.”

With a slight groan, Laurel eyes him. “Don’t you think it’s a little, I don’t know, gauche? Getting into a bar fight on Valentine’s Day?”

“Thought we were well passed gauche when you asked your own brother to take you out.”

“Oh shut up.”

He shies away from her jutting, angry elbow, reflexes still lightning fast even inebriated.

“If you won’t do it for me, then do it for poor Clive,” Laurel entreats. “Not on his birthday!”

With an air of faux solemnity, Rory nods. “Ah, yes. Good old Clive. My dearest friend. You’re right, can’t fight in front of Clive, it just won’t do.”

“Okay, now, that’s enough.”

“To Clive!” Rory toasts, loudly, with a snicker, and drains the last of his drink as Laurel sighs and begrudgingly lifts her cup as the patrons around them begin to cheer. 

[abercrombiearcher]

[ boop ] & [ gift ]

[ boop ]  for  your  muse  to  boop  my  muse  on  the  nose

“What the-” Roy drew back, wrinkling his nose as he felt Rory press her finger into his nose, wriggling it as he felt the telltale trace of something on it. “Did you just put flower on my nose?” He questioned with a small laugh. He had wanted to make a cake for the twins 5th birthday, since they could actually appreciate it for once, and asked for his sister’s help in doing so. He hadn’t anticipated her betraying him in the process. “You’re getting it.” He promised her, quickly dipping his hand into the bag of flower to grab a handful and chuck it at her.

[ gift ]  for  your  muse  to  surprise  my muse  with  a  gift

“Were they out of ‘best dad’ ones?” Roy chuckled as he brandished the mug saying ‘world’s best uncle’ that Rory had delivered to him. “It’s not my birthday, or father’s day so you would have been as well waiting until they restocked.” He noted, putting it back down with an amused chuckle.

“No, they weren’t out of best dad ones.” Rory replied, her amused tone matching his own as she propped herself against his and Thea’s kitchen island. “And it’s a little bit premature, but I figured it doesn’t matter. I know you’ll be a great uncle.” She told him. He rose an eyebrow at that, turning to look back at the mug, before looking back to her, then back and forth until his gaze landed on the hand resting subtly but protectively over her stomach. “You’re serious?” He questioned, his tone shifting from amusement to wonder as he stepped closer to her. “You and Jason- you’re gonna be a mom?” He beamed immediately at the thought, lifting her up by the waist with an elated laugh. “You’re gonna be a mom!”

[rorydakota]

Cat back with a new muse and FC. I bring you Lorelai “Rory” Dakota Baudelaire (yes, like the Baudelaire children only I promise her life has less unfortunate events). She’s slightly based off an old muse of mine; but pretty much only two or three things are the same. Otherwise, she’s completely new, which means I’ve not fully developed her yet. I’ve also never played a Dominique Provost-Chalkley FC before; so please be patient with me while I figure out her gifs. Below the cut, you can read a bit about Rory. And like always, don’t hesitate to hit me up for plotting/connections. She could really use them.

[ dominique provost-chalkley, twenty four, cisfemale, she/her ] ━ hey, I just saw [ lorelai “rory” dakota baudelaire ] walking down the streets of crownsville. they’ve lived in town for [ six months ], and you can catch them around town working as a [ travel blogger/activist ]. I hear they’re known to be [ sincere & clever ] and [ naive & reserved ]. if asked, they would say their aesthetic would be [ stacks of old books, elaborate bedtime stories, passport stamps, celebrating deaf culture, fairylights and flower crowns, a warm cup of tea ]. 

History (TW: Chronic Illness, Ableism)

With a name like Baudelaire, one would think the family to be cursed or something; but in actuality, the Baudelaires are a pretty normal upper class family of old French money from Bristol, England. 

Okay, maybe there were a few unfortunate events throughout the years; and most of them seemed to affect the youngest.

Born Lorelai Dakota, Rory is the seventh and final child of Arthur Baudelaire (a cardiothoracic surgeon) and his wife Naomi (a journalist). She was born on September 25th.

At birth, it was discovered that Rory was completely deaf, news that was difficult at first for her parents; but her parents learned that was the lesser of their problems once their daughter was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot.

At only a month old, she underwent her first heart surgery to repair part of defects. Her second heart surgery was performed shortly after her first birthday. This was to fully repair the defects; and while both surgeries were successful, she’d grow up having to be monitored to ensure no complications appeared.

She underwent a third heart surgery at the age of five and a half to fix some lingering issues from the first surgery. It was around the time of this surgery that her parents bought her a stuffed monkey who she named ‘Sunny’. She still sleeps with this monkey every night.

Growing up, her parents were very protective of her, not wanting her to strain herself or her heart too much. She wasn’t allowed to play sports or do anything else too risky. This led young Rory to discover her passion for books and storytelling.

The Baudelaire’s had a library in their home; and that’s where Rory spent most of her childhood days when she wasn’t at school, at a doctor’s appointment, or at a friend’s house.

She preferred the solace of the library. The characters in the books she read never made fun of her speech troubles/lisp or her deaf accent. They just existed and allowed her to live in peace, unlike many of the kids at school who often mocked her (and some of her siblings even mocked her from time to time just to fit in).

Being mocked so much led Rory to leave public school by the age of 11 when her parents enrolled her in a school for the deaf. She thrived there, making friends with many of the other students and become a star in the eyes of her teachers.

One of the things she loved most about books were the many vast worlds she got to explore from the comfort of her home. It made her want to travel the world, visit all the wonderful places she read about.

But travelling outside the British Isles was tough due to her parents’ protective nature. While her family went on a few holidays to countries like France, The Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany,  it wasn’t until she was in university that she was really given the chance to find adventure.

She was fortunate enough to study abroad in Greece for half a year (which her Percy Jackson loving self fangirled over mythology the whole time). It was later blogging about that trip that led her to her current career path.

After coming back from Greece, she began a blog called ‘Diary of a Deaf Adventurer’ which talked about the struggles of being deaf while travelling abroad and facing multiple language barriers.

 Her blog caught the eye of one of her professors; and he showed it to a friend of his who ultimately ended up wanting to sponsor it. He offered to pay for Rory to travel and blog about her experiences, highlighting the difficulties of traveling with a disability and potential solutions for improving the issues faced. 

After she graduated from university with degrees in linguistics, modern languages/cultures, English, and comparative literature, she began travelling (much against the wishes of her parents who worried it’d be too much for her heart). She’s spent the last few years visiting different countries throughout Europe, Asia, and South America. It wasn’t until a few months ago she found herself stateside for the first time.

Initially, her plan was to travel around the USA for a year while also learning ASL. However, she fell in love with the smalltown of Crownsville, GA and decided she wanted to spent a year in the town while taking a break from the constant travel.

She’s been in town for roughly six months now; and honestly, she can’t picture herself leaving any time soon. It’s started to feel like home away from home. She knows she’s got another six months before she leaves; but she’s hoping something will happen that’ll keep her in town just a bit longer.

Likes: Books; Fairylights; Linguistics; Tea; Honey; Wildflowers; Succulents; Libraries; Scrapbooks; Zero Waste; Greek Mythology 

Dislikes: Ableism; Confrontation; Prejudice; Twilight; Cochlear Implants; Plastic; Pity; Slurs

Miscellaneous

She was named ‘Lorelai’ due to her parents simply loving the name; though her middle name of ‘Dakota’ came from a close friend of her mother’s who had passed just before Rory was born.

She got her first pair of hearing aids at the age of 18 months. They were green BTE aids with a glittery clear ear mold. She never changed the style, always opting for green hearing aids when possible. Currently, her hearing aids are silver with a light green glittery ear mold.

She’s never had an interest in getting cochlear implants. As much as her parents tried to push them on her, she’s always declined. She’s fine with her hearing aids, despite knowing a CI might give her slightly more hearing. She doesn’t really want that. She’d rather embrace her deafness given it’s a big part of who she is.

She is a beegan (vegan that eats honey) and has been since she was around 7 years of age. She tried full on veganism for a year in her teens; but she missed honey in her tea too much. If it wasn’t for honey, she’d be fine being a vegan. She’s against eating animals, doesn’t like eggs; and she’s allergic to dairy.

She can best be described as ‘looks like a cinnamon roll and is actually a cinnamon roll’. She’s about as intimidating as a teacup poodle. She’s the type of person who will catch and release a spider instead of squashing it.

She’s gone through over ten years of speech therapy; and while she’s gotten to the point most people can understand what she says more often than not, she was never fully able to get rid of her lisp or the slight monotone tone to her voice. 

Whenever she’s lipreading, her responses are always delayed as she has to take a few moments to process what she was able to read and put together what she missed (she tends to only capture about 40% of what she tries to lipread).

She has a deep fear of dogs that stems from being attacked and bitten by a dog when she was six years old. The attack required multiple stitches; and she’s just had an issue being around dogs ever since.

Her not-so-guilty pleasure is watching episodes of the animated Madeline series when she’s sick or upset. It was her favorite show as a child; and it still has the ability to make her smile.

She collects mugs. Given she’s an avid tea drinker, she’s developed quite the collection of mugs over the years. Her favorites are her Doctor Who TARDIS mug, her L-O-V-E in BSL mug, and her CHD warrior heartbeat mug.

She tries to live as zero waste as possible; so she is known for carrying a reusable orange water bottle wherever she goes as well as for having a reusable metal straw in her bag. She’s also notorious for using canvas totes.

So far, she’s managed to travel to the following places: UK, Ireland, The Netherlands, Denmark, France, Germany, Switzerland, Greece, Italy, Croatia, Serbia, Portugal, Turkey, India, Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica, USA. 

Some of the places she’d still like to cross off her list of places travelled include: Romania, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Egypt, Morocco, Malta, Israel, Vietnam, Madagascar, and Nigeria (though she’d honestly be excited to travel anywhere). 

Wanted Connections

Older Sibling(s) ━ Rory is the youngest of seven; so it would be nice for one or more of her siblings to end up in Crownsville now that she’s settled into the small town. I picture her having two older sisters and four older brothers. Their names and ages are ultimately utp; though I picture their age range being between 27-39 and I do have name suggestions. The only one whose name isn’t negotiable is Rory’s brother Wolfgang “Wolf”. I have a lot planned for how their relationship was growing up; and I’d love to see him brought to Crownsville the most. OPEN (1/6)

First Friend in Crownsville  ━ This is very straightforward. This connection is for the very first person Rory met in Crownsville and befriended. OPEN (0/1)

Roommate  ━  Rory found herself an apartment shortly after deciding to stay in Crownsville for an extended period of time. She found a roommate initially; but things didn’t quite work out. She needs a new roommate to split the rent with as well as someone to become a close friend. OPEN (0/1)

Ride or Die Bestie  ━ This person has become Rory’s #1 best friend in Crownsville. She feels like she can go to them about anything; and they will always be there for her. They’re the one person she can truly rely on and loves more like family than a friend. TAKEN (1/1)

Future Love Interest ━ Rory is demisexual and has never been in any sort of romantic relationship before. She’s never had the interest. This connection would be for the individual who makes her feel romantic chemistry with someone for the first time. It would be a slow burn relationship. TAKEN (1/1) *I am up for discussing this plot; but I would prefer to see if the chemistry is there before solidifying the connection.*

Doctors  ━ Given Rory’s heart condition, this connection would be for any of the doctors who help treat her while she’s staying in Crownsville. OPEN (0/3)

General Friends; Close Friends; Frienemies; Neighbors, etc.

More to come...

Click here for Rory’s stats page.

[i-just-like-to-see-you-happy]

GILMORE GIRLS FICLET

I had this idea for an AU for a while. What if when, in “Rory’s Birthday Parties”, instead of when he asked Lorelai to marry him, he asked a question that may have seemed as unattainable as marrying her: “Will you go out with me?”

Thought I’d post it here just for kicks, see if it gets any attention. I might post more if people like it.

......................................................................................................................................................

1.06 Rory’s Birthday Parties

Lorelai walked into Luke’s diner and looked around, then looked at Luke expectantly.

Luke didn’t have to guess who she was looking for. “She’s not here yet.”

“Alright, well you’ll have to entertain me until she arrives.” Lorelai sat at the counter. “Alright, burger boy, dance!”

Luke stood there with his order pad, looking at Lorelai. “You wanna go out with me?”

She froze, staring at him, her arms were frozen holding a garment bag half folded over the stool next to her. “Like a date?”

Luke was taken off guard. The last thing he’d expected was for his flirty friend to take him seriously, despite being attracted to her.

“I- I just… W-was…” He stammered. I was just looking to shut you up. I didn’t mean it! I mean, I meant it, but not yet! You weren’t supposed to take me seriously. Oh, jeez, you took me seriously.

“Luke?” Lorelai asked. “You just were… what?”

“Uh…” Luke's heart felt like it was going to beat out his chest. “I- I was just thinking, we- we should hang out sometime.”

“We already do.” Lorelai pointed out. “Here. At the diner.”

“I meant, outside the diner. Something fun.”

“So, like, a date?” She asked again.

“No!” Luke said quickly. Too quickly. “No, no, as friends.”

“Oh.” Lorelai looked down at the counter to hide her face. “Okay. That sounds fun.”

No, no, no, don’t make it seem like you’re opposed to the idea of a date. God dammit! Luke berated himself.

“Well, I mean, if- if you wanted to…” Luke stuttered.

She raised her head and looked at him, wide-eyed. But before Luke could say anything else, the bell on the door of the diner rang, and Luke and Lorelai looked up to see Rory walking in. She looked upset. Luke took the opportunity to make a swift exit, leaving a slightly bewildered Lorelai behind.

He walked all the way back into the storeroom, and tried to collect himself, leaning his head against the door, thinking to himself.

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Just ask her out, dumbass.

But it’s Lorelai. Your friend, Lorelai. What happens if you ask her out and she says no? I'll never see her again, she'll think I'm a creep.

She wouldn’t say no, she likes you!

That’s worse! Cause then, she’s only saying yes because she feels like she has to, I’d feel like a creep. I would be a creep.

No, she likes you. She flirts with you all the time.

That’s just Lorelai.

She wanted you to ask her out. She was clearly disappointed when you didn’t. Besides, what’s the worst she could say, no?

No, the worst she could say is yes.

He sighed and peeked out the door. He had to go back out there, he still had customers. And Lorelai and Rory didn’t have any coffee yet, so it was only a matter of time before she went behind his counter and got it herself.

But you don’t actually mind her going behind your counter.

Shut up.

Luke went back to the counter, grabbed a couple mugs and a coffee pot and went over to Lorelai and Rory’s table.

“I got your coffee.” Luke said.

“Thanks.” Lorelai said. As he walked away, she called him back. “Hey Luke!”

He turned around. “Yeah?”

“We're throwing Rory a birthday party on Saturday night, you wanna come?”

“Look, you don't have to-”

“I want you to come.” Lorelai insisted.

“It'll be fun.” Rory said. “Mom's famous for her blowouts.”

“The best one was her eighth birthday.”

Rory’s face brightened at the memory. “Oh yeah, that was good.”

“The cops shut us down.” She told him.

He frowned.“The cops shut down an eight year old’s birthday party?”

“And arrested the clown.” Rory grinned.

He shook his head at them, trying to ignore all the concerned questions that bubbled up in his mind.

“I don't want to hear anymore of this.” Luke turned to walk away.

“Seven o'clock, don't be late!” Lorelai shouted after him.

[sutbpromo-blog]

Name: Jonathan “Jonny” Devlin

FC: Up To Player

Age: 36

Gender: Up To Player

Faction: Brigid Boy

Status: Open

Protective

Loyal

Fierce

Background

The oldest of five kids, and raised by a single mother, Jonny had to grow up quickly. One day, when his mother sent him out to buy bread and milk for the family, Jonny was mugged by a tweaked-out homeless man. Billy Sullivan happened to be passing by at the time, and offered to buy the whole family groceries for the rest of the year. From that moment, Jonny was in debt to Billy, whether he liked it or not. Like many others in his neighborhood, Jonny left school early and went straight to working for the Sullivan family. As soon as the twins were born and their mother died, Jonny became their nanny and protector. He raised, guarded, and loved them. Some said he was closer to them than Billy was. If anyone tried to hurt them, they could be assured Jonny would not let it happen.

Personality

Jonny is by far the most loyal Brigid Boy. Because his family is so dependent on the Sullivans, Jonny would never dream of betraying Billy. However, most of his loyalty rests with his charges, Rory Flynn and Nor. He wouldn’t think twice about killing if it meant keeping them safe, and would even give his life to protect them. Although Jonny is little more than a glorified babysitter with a gun, people know not to cross him. Although known as one of the best shots in Boston, Jonny is also gentle and kind, especially to children and those in need. He would never hurt anyone unless they are asking for it.

Currently

When Billy dies, Jonny realizes his job is only about to become harder. Although he never finished high school, Jonny isn’t stupid when it comes to the Brigid Boys. He knows Frank isn’t what he appears and has no qualms about getting rid of the twins. Jonny makes a vow at Billy’s funeral that he will make sure Rory Flynn and Nor stay safe until their eighteenth birthday, even if it means he dies in the process. As things start to heat up among the Brigid Boys and in Southie, Jonny realizes his chances of living to see the twins reach adulthood are very slim.

Primary Faceclaim

Jeremy Renner

Alternate Faceclaims

Daniel Craig, Karl Urban

[sutbpromo-blog]

Name: Jonathan “Jonny” Devlin

FC: Up To Player

Age: 36

Gender: Up To Player

Faction: Brigid Boy

Status: Open

Protective

Loyal

Fierce

Background

The oldest of five kids, and raised by a single mother, Jonny had to grow up quickly. One day, when his mother sent him out to buy bread and milk for the family, Jonny was mugged by a tweaked-out homeless man. Billy Sullivan happened to be passing by at the time, and offered to buy the whole family groceries for the rest of the year. From that moment, Jonny was in debt to Billy, whether he liked it or not. Like many others in his neighborhood, Jonny left school early and went straight to working for the Sullivan family. As soon as the twins were born and their mother died, Jonny became their nanny and protector. He raised, guarded, and loved them. Some said he was closer to them than Billy was. If anyone tried to hurt them, they could be assured Jonny would not let it happen.

Personality

Jonny is by far the most loyal Brigid Boy. Because his family is so dependent on the Sullivans, Jonny would never dream of betraying Billy. However, most of his loyalty rests with his charges, Rory Flynn and Nor. He wouldn’t think twice about killing if it meant keeping them safe, and would even give his life to protect them. Although Jonny is little more than a glorified babysitter with a gun, people know not to cross him. Although known as one of the best shots in Boston, Jonny is also gentle and kind, especially to children and those in need. He would never hurt anyone unless they are asking for it.

Currently

When Billy dies, Jonny realizes his job is only about to become harder. Although he never finished high school, Jonny isn’t stupid when it comes to the Brigid Boys. He knows Frank isn’t what he appears and has no qualms about getting rid of the twins. Jonny makes a vow at Billy’s funeral that he will make sure Rory Flynn and Nor stay safe until their eighteenth birthday, even if it means he dies in the process. As things start to heat up among the Brigid Boys and in Southie, Jonny realizes his chances of living to see the twins reach adulthood are very slim.

Primary Faceclaim

Jeremy Renner

Alternate Faceclaims

Daniel Craig, Karl Urban