#Wedding Color Schemes For All Season

[shaadiwish]

Wedding color schemes change with every season and this time around. With the new trends in wedding decor, we are sure you want to amp up your wedding in the best way possible.

[idyllcy]

a pathological people pleaser

word count: 4.4k

warnings: smut || pt 2 to and i wouldn't marry me either

summary: Jinshi's getting desperate to bed you.

夏

Jinshi contemplates what kind of a ring to get you. He really does. He looks through the designs that had been initially made for your marriage, but he finds inspiration in none of them. You would suit a ring that's crafted with only the finest of materials, not a ring that was just bought from the streets. Though, you had been going out with Maomao more often with some guards to have fun and buy food. At some point, the palace chefs are going to need to learn how to make a roujiamo that tastes like the ones on the street and not the fancy food that you had grown used to having.

He calls Maomao and Gaoshun for help picking a ring, but ultimately neither of them come up with something that would suit you. (He even asks his mother, but she is no help either.)

So, he rots in the confinement of your shared office, head spinning as he sketches more and more ring designs. The one of the current empress is nice, but it is not something of your style. The one that his mother had received was pretty as well, but not something that he desired to put on you. Perhaps a simple jade ring of your size would do better, but it seemed too plain compared to the kind of treatment he was supposed to give you. A simple jade ring would be fitting for him, but not necessarily for you. He would give you gold, but he wasn't quite sure what kind of a ring design would fit you.

He's gonna age from this, he swears.

Yet, he continues sketching at it between his paperwork, frowning at how big of a demand there are for eunuchs. The lower ranking concubines were still desperate, he finds. Perhaps especially with the announcement of his marriage... not announcement. He was married, but with the revealing of his marriage, it seems some concubines are getting desperate for some sexual release. Jinshi... really is no better than they are. He finds that he can't sit still around you these days.

He's... desperate. Yeah. Desperate is the right word.

"Rotting in here again?"

"You know, I'm starting to think you're actually Diu from your actions." Jinshi grumbles from his desk, shoving the paper with the ring designs to the side, catching your eye.

"To be fair, I am him, and he is me." You pick up the paper, tilting your head at the ring designs. "Designing rings for me? How sweet of you. Why not just use one from the treasury?"

"You deserve a new one." He groans. "I wanted to design one for you."

"Why not just gold?" You hum. "And then thread a pearl and jade orb through them."

"A jade ring would be nice." Jinshi hums, staring up at the pin in your hair. "To match your pin."

"Whatever you design." You hum. "I'm sure I will be satisfied."

"It has to be perfect." He mopes. "Or else I will not forgive myself."

"That's rather harsh on yourself." You hum, reaching for his brush as you sketch a design. "I liked the ring presented to the empress."

"The blue gem?"

You tap your chin. "Though, the gold isn't my favorite combination." You finish your sketch, noting down the color scheme, and Jinshi blinks at the choice.

"You just want a plain jade ring?"

"For the wedding ring." You blink. "The westerners are quite intriguing with the tales they tell. The women there boast many rings."

"You went to the west?"

You shrug. "A season is plenty of time to explore."

"She went to a port city." Maomao speaks up from the door. "Gaoshun is asking for the report."

"I sent it to him already?" You raise a brow.

"The one regarding the ceremony in the winter."

"Ah." Jinshi's fingers slide down the stack, pulling out a booklet between all of it. "Here."

Maomao nods, pausing as she catches wind of the ring design. "How about a ring with the royal family's seal?"

"I'm not becoming crown prince." Jinshi grimaces.

"I am sure the emperor would allow it regardless."

"I don't want a ring like that." You pause. "though, it would be quite a statement to wear it on the pinky."

"You want a divorce?!" Jinshi cries, heartbroken as Maomao leaves the room with the report.

"No." You shrug. "I might if you keep putting off the concubines' requests."

Jinshi jumps in his skin as he goes back to the papers, and you glance at the ring you've drawn.

"Carve a jade ring with a phoenix for our wedding ring. I do not desire gold." You hum. "And you are to have a dragon on yours."

Jinshi looks up at you, eyes gentle as he drinks in your figure under the setting sun, summer wind rustling the leaves outside, heat not too much to handle either. There is something delicate and breathless about you to him. You are worth so much, yet he had to spend such little time compared to the age of the universe to prove that you are his only one. Time is suck a fickle thing when it came to the clouds and sky. He supposes that's more a reason to treat you well and make up for time lost.

"Is that all you want?"

"What else would I want?"

"How about a jade pendant?"

"With the royal family's seal carved into it?"

Jinshi laughs. "Why not my last name?"

"Sure, pretty prince."

Jinshi flushes.

秋

You have tea with Ah-Duo a lot during fall. The weather cools bit by bit, and you sit in your yard, peeling the sugarcane as she looks through the files, humming at your writing, each stroke nice and clean. She puts the papers down, a maid rushing over to take them to your study, and she glances at the sickle and cane in your hand. It seems you have found new talents outside of the palace walls. It fills her with a sense of warmth, almost.

"How do you feel about the new eunuchs?" She hums.

"Some of them are rather attractive." You hum, not paying much mind as you cut off a piece for the lady.

"Is that so? Yue would have a heart attack if he heard you say that." She takes the piece, popping it in her mouth as she chews, humming. "It's sweet. I like it."

"That's good." You laugh. "I had the chefs just hand me whichever one." You continue to hack at the crop with the sickle. "Jinshi would be fine."

"I doubt it." She hums, spitting out the dry cane into the bowl prepared beforehand by the maids. "He is rather protective when it comes to things he desires... you included."

"It is only recently that he has become protective over me." You hum, putting a piece into your own mouth as you chew. She was right. It is sweet. "Which is also why he refuses to become the imperial prince."

"You would make a great empress."

"I would." You chuckle. "I have been raise for the role, after all."

"Though, this is better." She smiles. "You are happier like this."

"Oh, well as empress, I suppose I would not do too much. Jinshi, though? That poor man."

"He would have quite the work set out for him." She hums. "Though, you would be there to support him."

"I suppose." You hum. "It would be better had you been ascended to the position of empress."

"What is done is done." She hums. "I find it more amusing that your talk with the emperor of letting me visit worked."

You snort. "I saw the chance and took it. It would be a shame to not host you at least once in a house that is now warm."

"I suppose so." She smiles. "Does it not hurt to cut the sugarcane yourself?"

"It does not." You hum. "My hands are stained with sugar, and I work up a good sweat. I find it fun."

"Fun?"

You snap the plant in half, handing the peeled half to Ah-Duo as you continue with the unpeeled half.

She bites it, humming. "It is good. Is there a reason to cut it? I no longer remember."

"It's so you can get the most of it." You offer her one of the knives on the table. "Be careful not to cut yourself."

"I will." She nods. "Have you learned anything else?"

"A foreigner showed me how to peel a pomegranate." You pause. "Oh, and I have developed a strange talent for peeling oranges. It is incredible how clean it can peel with the right tools."

She nods, popping a piece into her mouth.

"How are the children?" You tilt your head, cutting another piece to put in the central bowl.

"They are faring well." She hums. "They are children, after all."

"I suppose." You mumble. "Jinshi went a little insane on their family."

"Not to mention he had full right, holding the army seal." She chuckles. "I heard from the maids that the imperial court threw a fit upon the realization that you had been holding onto something so precious and had just casually given it to Jinshi in order to save a maid."

"Not just any maid at the time." You snort. "Jinshi's dear maid."

"Of course." She smiles. "Though, he had been in love you. He had simply pushed it down."

"Like father like son, I suppose." You mumble. "Has the emperor visited?"

"Not yet." She pauses. "Is he planning so?"

You turn your head at the sound of footsteps.

"Jinshi." You hum, smiling.

He steps over to press his lips to your forehead, smiling fondly at your juice-stained hands, only freezing when he remembers his mother is with you. "...niang."

Ah-Duo waives her hand. "How cute."

Jinshi flushes, and you chuckle, pinching his cheek.

"You needed something?"

"The emperor is coming for a visit, niang." He pauses. "To our residence. He will be visiting the tearoom."

You raise a brow at Jinshi.

Jinshi shakes his head at you.

"Very well." You grin, shaking Jinshi off of you as you peel the sugarcane with eerie accuracy, cutting the rest into bits for the late consort to enjoy. "You can take the bowl."

"None for me?" Jinshi pouts.

"The emperor matters more in this case." You shrug. "I shall send some maids to accompany you."

"Alone will be fine." Ah-Duo nods. "Thank you."

You smile as she leaves, and Jinshi takes her spot, pouting at the sugarcane she had left behind.

"I want a bite."

You take the plant from him, cutting pieces off for him, watching as he chews, reaching for his throat as he threatens to swallow. This fucking dumbass.

You pry his jaw open, ignoring the fact that your hands probably taste like some sort of sugar, ordering him to spit it out. He listens, dry cane spat into the bowl you've held before his mouth, and his spit slides down with hit, the poor male panting like some bitch in heat. You let go of his mouth, exhaling as you mumble. "Good boy."

The words ring in Jinshi's head and shoot straight to his dick, and he licks your fingers unconsciously, eyes half-lidded as he tastes the sugar on them. Wait.

fuck.

He was NOT supposed to do that.

You freeze as something brushes your knee, and you stare into Jinshi's eyes as he stares back up at you, blinking rapidly, praying you wouldn't point it out. The two of you meet eyes, and you back up, sitting back down as the two of you wait for the other to speak up. Jinshi refuses to speak up.

You break the silence. "I'll wait."

"Thank you." He mumbles, cheeks red in embarrassment as he rushes off to somewhere private.

This is awful.

冬

some days you wonder how long Jinshi went without sexual release.

It's a strange thought, really. So, when you and Jinshi are wedded and you're waiting for him on the wedding night in your shared bed, you don't know what to think. Alright, wedded is the wrong word. The two of you are rewedded, and you are dressed in the robes the late empress had prepared for the two of you to sleep together in. You think it's too little, but apparently it's supposed to rile Jinshi up. Speaking of Jinshi, you wonder how he's dealt with getting boners. He... can't sleep with someone because he's a eunuch, but he can't just leave himself hard forever.

Jinshi stares at you from the door as you're lost in thought.

Skin. You're showing skin. He feels rabid at the sight— as though he were some carnivore in the wild, grew before his eyes. He feels as though he would go feral if he were to get his hands on you, so he stands there, collecting himself. He can't scare you off. He finally has you in his hands again, this time treating you properly, and he can't just scare you off because he's wanted to touch you for ages but couldn't.

"Jinshi?" You tilt your head at him, and he musters up a smile.

"I don't want to scare you." He pauses. "But I fear the maids did a little too good of a job with you."

He offers you a drink, and the two of you down it before you lick your lips to speak up.

"Why? You want to defile me?" You lean forward, almost as if to emphasize your point, and Jinshi flushes red.

"I really wonder how you learned to flirt like that when you were Diu." Jinshi sits next to you, fingers pushing your hair back as he leans in. "This is fine, right?"

"Would be funnier if I were Diu right n-" You're cut off as Jinshi presses his lips to have you shut up. He loves you, but god, were you infuriating sometimes. It was as though the winter and spring without him had changed you into a different person— not that he minded. You're charming no matter how you act or react. Your hair scrunches between his palm and fingers, and you tilt your head to give him better access, passion and longing staining your face as he presses his lips to yours and his fingers bloody with something he's wanted forever. Some sort of twisted passion beats from his chest to yours, a whimper spilling past his lips as you thread your fingers through his hair.

He only pulls away when you soften against him, chest pressed to his as he feels your muscles tensing from the lack of breath.

"You still with me?" He moves his hand out, your hair slipping between his fingers as you hang your head to breathe.

"I sure wish you weren't good at everything you did," You keep your head hung, unraveling his robes with ease, palming his cock through the fabric wrapped around his waist. Jinshi's hips shift slightly for more friction, and your hand presses down on his hipbone, forcing him to still as you pull on the strand to free him, licking your lips at his length. "I don't think you're going to fit, pretty boy."

"We'll make it fit." He hisses out as you let the spit on your tongue roll onto the tip of his cock, smearing the precum with your saliva, your fingers smooth against his length as you spread it. Jinshi whimpers as you do, the ring around your finger cool against his skin, and you lean in to stare up at him through your lashes, biting your bottom lip as your hand speeds up. Jinshi whimpers, hand flying to wrap around your wrist and hold you still, and you tilt your head, yelping as he takes your lips pushing you back into the mattress. You lean into the kiss as he tugs on the bow, string coming out and top falling off with ease as his fingers brush your tits, thumb pressed to your nipple, humming into your mouth at the feeling of it hard. "Let me take care of you tonight." He huffs, pulling from you as he forces your tits up with his hands, pinching your nipple to catch a wince from you.

"Mean." You pout, no real annoyance on your face, and Jinshi busies himself with your chest, lips pressing a kiss to the meat of your chest, biting down— almost as though to mark you as his territory. It irks him some days that the maids still have lingering crushes on you from when you were Diu. So, his bites trail up from your chest to your neck, canines crazing over your pulse point as he bites down, hands sliding down to hold your waist as you crane your neck and whimper. Jinshi leans to force his chest to yours, and your fingers curl uncomfortably next to you as he sucks on your neck, purple blooming across your skin wherever his lips were.

"You're so pretty." Jinshi mumbles, finally pulling his lips off of you with a pop, staring down at you as you're suddenly aware that you are bare. You try to hide yourself but Jinshi makes work of his hands swiftly, holding your wrists together as he rolls his hips against yours experimentally. "I wonder how much of my reading is going to pay off."

"Studying through indecent literature? How sinful of you." You arch your back as he pulls your undergarments off, spreading your legs slightly as he slides his index finger down your slit, taking note of the slick threatening to spill out.

"I'd say this is worse, though." He slides a finger into you with ease, and you whimper as he curls it, nails slightly grazing your walls, making you gasp. "You sound so sinful like this. I sure hope you didn't let any other man see you like this."

"And if I did?"

"Then I'd suppose I'd just have to ruin their life." Jinshi straightens his middle finger as he curls his index out of you, sliding both into you at once. You shift slightly at the stretch. Jinshi curses under his breath at how tight you are. He doesn't want to break you your first night. So, he spreads his fingers in you slightly, thumb on your clit as he tries to loosen you. Instead, you flutter around him, only a light gasp freeing from your lips as he furrows his brows. He spreads his fingers, trying to make space for a third and get a reaction out of you. Instead, you don't react, simply shifting your hips to accommodate the stretch from his fingers.

"Am I bad?" He pouts, thumb finding your clit.

"No." You breathe, squirming from his touch.

"Am I average?"

"Jinshi, I have no idea. This is as much of my first time as it is yours." Your wrists fight against the grip of his hand, and he lets them go, lowering his face to your pussy instead, hooking your knees over his shoulders as he pulls you up. You back arches dramatically as he wraps his arms around your thighs, and Jinshi presses his tongue flat against your cunt, licking up as you jolt. He watches as your pussy flutters around nothing, and he slides his tongue in, moaning into your against as he tastes you. So this is what you taste like— some mixture of sin and lust, nectar that would put even the sweetest of peaches to shame. It would drive Jinshi to madness, he supposes.

Your fingers grasp at the pillow above your head, whimpering with each flex of Jinshi's tongue, and his fingers dig into your thighs, earning a squeal from your lips as you feel something tighten in your stomach. Your eyes widen as your nails dig into the sheets and your back arches impossibly more, tears in the corner of your eyes as Jinshi sucks at your orgasm, ignoring the mess of slick sliding down his chin and splattering onto the sheets. You turn red in embarrassment at the mess, but Jinshi pays it no mind, continuing to lap at your pussy, eyes digging into yours as he puts on a show for you. You look away from his eyes, opting to make a mess on his tongue instead, eyes rolled to the back of your head as a second orgasm crashes upon you. Jinshi drinks it up just as eagerly as the last, eyes half-lidded as

Your legs shake as Jinshi lets you down, fingers wiping the slick from his face as he pumps himself with it, and then sliding his tip beneath the hood of your clit to further coat his dick in your cum. You shift against his cock, grinding lightly into him as he chuckles. "Patience, beloved."

"I'd say you're worse than me." You heave, walls fluttering around Jinshi's length as he slides in. He notices the way your skin lifts with him inside of you, and he presses down on the bulge, blinking slowly. You gasp, stomach flexing out of instinct, pussy clenching around Jinshi with a hiss. Jinshi stays still, thumb brushing your clit to incite a reaction from you, earning him a lewd whimper. The sound shoots straight to his cock, head spinning as he slides his palm up your abdomen to your chest, pinching your nipple as he swallows.

"This is fine, right?"

"Insecure?" You roll your hips in affirmation. "I wouldn't have married you or let you catch me if it wasn't."

"Tease." He grumbles, taking your legs and folding them to your shoulders, forcing himself further into you. You moan, clenching around him as he moves, holding you down by the hips as he slams into you with each thrust, gasps slipping past your lips and colors in your vision as he moves. Flowers blossom in your lungs as you try to catch your breath, head spinning deliciously at the taste of Jinshi's lips on yours, a light fragrance from the rice wine he had taken mixing with the one on your lips, and you moan into his mouth, squirming from his touch. Your legs relax over his shoulders as he presses into you, fingers digging into the plush of your thighs, hair sliding off his shoulders to cage you in as you whimper.

The wind rustles the trees outside as you cum around Jinshi the first time, brows knit together and eyes closed as your face twists from the unfamiliar sensation, head thrown back and lips parting once the crash ended, and Jinshi stills, hand reaching to brush your hair to the side, cupping your face with his hand. "You alright?"

"Felt weird." You mumble. "Did you..?"

"No." Jinshi hums. "Would you like me to? Inside?"

"I don't mind." You whisper.

"Alright," He starts moving again, focusing on himself as your legs slide off his shoulders and fall into the mattress, hooking behind his pelvis as he thrusts, your arms wrapping around his shoulders as he pistons into you, your breath caught in your throat as you see white and stars, drool threatening to leak down your chin and choke you with your head thrown back and muscles tense. Jinshi pants into your ear as he feels himself get close, pulsing and ebbing inside of you with each roll of his hips, your name spilling past his lips in some sort of raw desperation and begging, only spilling into you once you call his name back through your cloudy haze, white painting your walls as white fills your vision, the same white visible in the air on the snowy trees.

His breath mixes with yours as he rests his forehead on yours, bare skin pressed to yours, sweat and cum mixing with your own, the two of you merged as one. In the distant past, you loved him until it physically destroyed you, and in the distant future he will love you until he is stuck in the same destruction that had dragged you away from him. Only then would he forgive himself, lips spreading into a gentle smile, eyes staring into yours as yours are closed, catching your breath as your chest rises and falls, vine of hickeys and bruises trailing down from your neck to your waist. Your walls flutter around him as you recover from another orgasm, skin flushed like peonies as Jinshi tilts his head to press a kiss to your shoulder.

"Still with me?" He presses his palm to your cheek, palm brushing your skin.

"Yes." You pant, grimacing at the squelch that sounds when he pulls out of you.

"I wonder if we'll be with child."

"I doubt it's this easy." You mumble, lashes fluttering. "Would you want one?"

"Up to you." He mumbles, reaching to the side to pour himself another glass of wine. "We do not have to worry about succession either."

"Oh, I've never been so thankful to have not ended up where I was supposed to." You sigh in relief.

"You do not want one?"

"Not my priority." You hum. "Unless you wish for one."

"You are my priority." Jinshi hums, offering you a glass. "Another?"

"No." You roll onto your stomach to stretch your back. "We have plenty of time as well."

"I suppose." Jinshi hums, holding his hand out for yours.

You give him your right hand, and he pouts.

"Your left. The ring."

You free your arm and hold it out, and Jinshi kisses your knuckles gently, eyes closed as he hums contently.

"We match." He smiles, lips curled into a gentle smile, eyes full of a warmth you had forgotten he was capable of. You smile, a laugh bubbling out of your chest as he fiddles with your fingers, some sort of domestic ambiance filling the room. And just like that, your anxieties fade away, and a smile makes way on your face.

"I love you." He hums, lips pressed to your forehead as he lays next to you, still holding your hand, his ring brushing against yours.

"I love you too." and you close your eyes, body relaxing into his, heartbeat one below the missing sun.

[swarvey]

when you've moved on | elliott x gn!reader | part two

summary -> he slowly lost interest in you after you got married. now he watches you fall back in love with someone else. warnings -> very slight mention of nsfw, implied age gap, mainly just angst! wc -> 1106

a/n: i swear i keep trying to write for the bachelorettes but then get inspired with an idea for the bachelors :') anyways have this, decided to do elliott since he's "so much older and wiser" iykyk.

this was inspired by the dialogue you get when your hearts with your sdv spouse gets low, except i flipped the tables :) lmk if you guys want to see this as a series!!

part one -> the way i loved you (sebastian)

tolerate it -> "what would you do if i break free and leave us in ruins?"

elliott's pen hovers over the page in front of him, unmoving for the past ten minutes now. his grip tightens, knuckles white in frustration as he finally releases it, falling back in his chair with his eyes closed as it clatters onto his table.

his writer's block has never been worse, and it's because all he can think of is you.

more so, his loss of you.

no matter how many times he replays the scenario in his head, he can't make sense of how he lost you. he still remembers his wedding day, how he couldn't help but tear up at the sight of you approaching him down the aisle.

"you said you wouldn't cry," you'd teased him.

"i said i would try, my dear," he responded, touching your cheek gently, "but how can i not? your beauty is otherworldly today."

he remembers his vows, his promise to always be by your side. he remembers kissing you like his life depended on it. he remembers going home with you that night, in disbelief that he could finally call you his as he pulled his hair into a bun, mermaid's pendant hitting his bare chest as he dragged you to the bedroom.

"i love you, y/n," he'd said after, both of you panting in exhaustion and satisfaction beside each other. "more than anything else in this universe. i wouldn't trade you for a hundred iridium bars."

you'd laughed, turning your head to look at him with shining eyes and pink cheeks. "really? how about a thousand?"

"nor a thousand."

"ten thousand?"

"not even ten thousand bars, no."

". . . how about a hundred thousand?"

"no, not even a hundred thousand bars!" he'd turned to you then, wide-eyed and holding back a grin at the sight of your scheming gaze. "my love, let's be reasonable—"

"what about a million bars?"

"wha . . . a million bars of pure iridium . . . ? dear, don't make me do this . . ."

"a-ha!" you'd said, sitting up in bed suddenly. "so you would!"

"i never said such a thing!"

at the sight of his pout, you had sprawled yourself on top of him, planting a kiss on his nose as he looked down at you with a smile.

"i love you, too, el."

elliott sighs, his head falling forward into his hand. one part of him wishes to hear you utter those words again; the other prays he'll one day forget you ever said them.

the first few seasons after the wedding had been dreamlike — elliott had never felt so full of life before. it was like being with you had opened his eyes to how colorful and bright the world could be. sometimes he would wake up before you and admire your sleeping figure, a soft smile appearing on his lips every time he caught a glimpse of your necklace.

he doesn't remember when the spark began to fade, though.

no, he only recalls the days he began to leave the farm early in the morning to spend time alone in his old cabin on the beach, coming back only for dinner. the two of you would eat quietly, sitting at opposite ends of the table. he would ask and answer questions shortly, mainly focusing on the dull, uninspiring feeling he seemed to get every time he was in your shared house.

he never noticed the sad look filling your eyes, begging him to pay attention to you, to show you the love he once had for you. he paid no mind to how your face lit up every time he came home, only to deflate as he walked past you. he never even thought about how your conversations with him had turned one-sided, as he would spill his troubles to you without even giving you a chance to share yours.

not until it was too late, that is.

". . . do you still love me?"

it was a question he never thought he would hear from you, and yet he'd unknowingly driven you to that point. elliott had never heard silence so loud until then, realizing that, for some reason, he couldn't answer your question.

"answer me, elliott," you'd said, voice wavering as he uneasily met your eyes. "i need to know this. i feel like you've been treating me like a kid lately — when i talk to you, i can barely get a word out without you lecturing me. you're barely home to even do that anymore."

he scoffed. "please, y/n, be reasonable," he had replied, the same words he had said that night after professing his love to you. "i've simply been a bit caught up lately, that's all. i need my own time to write."

"seriously? that's what you're going to say?" you shook your head, crossing your arms as you looked at him pleadingly. "why are you acting like this? do you seriously think being a bit older than me justifies how you've been treating me?"

"that has nothing to do with our situation," he snapped sharply, then sighed. "please, can we go to bed? i'm tired of this." he started towards the bedroom door, leaving you behind him.

"you never answered my question."

he stopped.

"it's okay, el," you'd whispered. "i had a feeling i already knew. i was just hoping you would at least be able to tell me."

so now, here he is. unable to finish the sequel to his novel because he'd dedicated the first one to you, and what's the point of writing a second one if you're no longer by his side?

what's the point if you have sebastian now, who spends every second with you? who is much younger than him and rides a motorcycle? who gives you a mermaid's pendant — a year after the two of you separated, by the way — and makes sure the entire town can make it to your wedding?

he doesn't know what you see in him. sure, his passion for music is a bit admirable, but can he really treat you properly? there's no way seb can make you smile, make you laugh, make you cry out of pure joy or pleasure like he did.

elliott had attended the wedding, of course, so he could make sure you were happy.

he most certainly wasn't hoping to see a twinge of hesitation, maybe even regret in your eyes as you walked down the aisle again.

as elliott abandons his writing and heads out the doorway of his cabin, the image of you happier than he'd ever seen you while passionately kissing sebastian is burned into his mind.

you are no longer his, and it's entirely his fault.

[starsandhughes]

Penalty Box Series— Imagines Edition: Little Bird

totaalllyyy not projecting a little bit here! (this is a lie. i cried for two hours straight over this song.)

here’s a little wedding planning fic! happy ending! i promise!

warnings: crying, mentions of a rough childhood, particularly absent fathers

word count: ~1.8k

22-23 Season/Summer Series Masterlist

—————

The last thing you wanted while starting to plan your wedding was to have a mental breakdown in front of everyone.

And by everyone, you mean everyone. Trevor, Jack, Quinn, Luke, Cole, Alex, and your essentially adoptive parents Ellen and Jim.

You had your music on shuffle as you started looking at color schemes and flower arrangements. It was great at first— the speaker played Taylor, early 2000s pop music, Morgan Wallen and other country songs, 5SOS, and even some One Direction.

And then Little Bird by The Jonas Brothers came on.

You barely noticed it at first, treating it more like background music. Until the chorus. And the second verse. And the rest of the song.

'Cause I know if I'm doin' my job correct

Nights like these will happen less

So please just keep me in your heart

When you fly into somebody else's arms, little bird

Yeah, yeah

Walked down the aisle, breakin' my heart

Lay down my pride, I know I gotta let you go

'Cause he's gonna love you when I gotta leave you

Gotta believe it when the Lord takes me home

You got a little emotional at the chorus and decided to push past it. It was just a song. But when Joe started singing about a father walking his daughter down the aisle, you lost it.

Trevor was quick to jump out of his seat and wrap his arms around you. He was standing while you were still sitting, cradling your head into his chest and rubbing your back.

“Turn it off,” Trevor said softly, but urgently, to Jack.

Jack ushered to the speaker and unplugged it, ceasing the music in the middle of the next chorus. Trevor and Quinn shared a panicked look. Everyone was dead silent and still, no one knew what to do. The lyrics that got to you were wedding and father related. The whole song is about a father’s love for his daughter, something that your biological father didn’t have for you.

“I won’t be offended if you need Quinn, sweet girl,” Trevor whispered to you. “Just nod your head if it’s him you need.”

“B-both,” you choked out.

That took your fiancé off guard. He wasn’t sure if there was ever a moment where you needed both of the two most important people to you during a breakdown.

“Let’s go upstairs,” Quinn said.

Trevor slowly released his hold and held out both of his hands for you to take. He pulled you up and threw one arm around your shoulder and used his other to place a comforting hand on your upper arm.

You bit back your sobs as you left the kitchen to go upstairs into your and Trevor’s room in the lake house. The second the door closed behind you, you threw yourself into Quinn’s arms, who was sitting on the edge of the bed.

Quinn wrapped you up tight, and Trevor sat down close to you and Quinn and returned to rubbing your back in soothing circles.

“It’s alright, Sissy,” Quinn cooed. “We got you. You’re safe. Let it all out.”

You violently sobbed into your best friend’s chest. Your entire body was shaking; there was no way that the rest of your loved ones downstairs couldn’t hear you.

“Why didn’t he want me?!” you shouted through your cries. Then, softer, “Why didn’t he love me?”

“He didn’t deserve you,” Quinn answered low.

“He still doesn’t deserve you,” Trevor elaborated on Quinn’s words.

You continued to bawl. You sobbed so hard that your head was starting to pound. You sobbed so loud that your throat was burning. The boys stayed mostly quiet, only occasionally offering assuring whispers of “it’s alright,” and “let it out” variations.

Your sobs, over half an hour later, eventually died down into a silent cry with only sniffles as a tell.

“He doesn’t deserve me,” you said weakly.

“That’s right, Quinn agreed. “You decide who deserves you. And I think five year old you made the decision that your biological parents don’t the first time they forgot to pick you up from our house.”

“I always liked it better there.”

Quinn kisses the top of your head, “We liked it better when you were there. We worried when you weren’t.”

At some point during your breakdown, you had laid down in Quinn’s lap. You slowly sat up and turned slightly to dive into Trevor’s chest. You wrapped your arms around his waist and he pulled your legs over so that you were sitting between his legs, turning you towards Quinn so that you could see him and he could still place his hand on you. Trevor put his arms around you and started to stroke your hair while his cheek rested on top of your head.

“You deserve me,” Trevor whispered. “You deserve everything and I plan to give it to you.”

“You already have,” you told him, hugging him tighter.

“Then I’ll give you everything and more. And I’ll tell you every day that you deserve me. And Quinn. And Jack. And Luke, Cole, Alex, Jamie, Ellen, Jim, all our teammates, and every single hockey player that you’ve deemed your son.”

Trevor’s words brought more cries from you, but in a good way this time. Quinn lifted your legs and scooted closer to Trevor so that he could lay your legs across his lap. You kept one arm tightly around Trevor, but you held your other hand out for Quinn to hold.

Quinn grabbed it and squeezed it gently, “I’ve never met anyone more loved than you.”

“You’d probably explode with any more love,” Trevor quipped. He smiled when he got a small chuckle out of you. He always knew when it was okay to lightly joke to help get you feeling better. You love that about him.

“Quinn?”

“Yeah, Sissy?”

“I know I originally asked you to walk me down the aisle, but would you be offended if I asked Jim to?”

Quinn broke out into a smile at your question.

“Not at all. I think it’s a great idea,” he answered.

“How about you officiate us?” Trevor suggested. “And I’ll finally cave and let Y/N have Cole as her Man of Honor instead.”

“I’d be honored,” Quinn said.

You didn’t say it out loud yet, but something about Trevor asking Quinn’s permission to ask you out on a date and then asking him to marry you two brought you immense joy. It felt like your story together was coming full circle. It was perfect.

You held on to Trevor’s hand as the three of you made your way back downstairs. Everyone’s eyes were immediately directed towards you, all of them filled with either worry or sympathy.

Jack got up off the couch and walked over to you, “Want a hug? Or do you want Trevor?”

You gave your brother a soft smile and wrapped your arm that wasn’t attached to Trevor around his waist. Jack’s arms slid around your shoulders as he held you in a firm hug.

“How do you want to ask this?” Trevor asked you.

“Ask what?” Cole asked. “Are you eloping? Are you asking for permission to elope?”

“No, dumbass,” you laughed lightly. “We do have something to ask of you, though. You and um… Dad.”

The room stilled. It had been addressed multiple times that Quinn was walking you down the aisle.

Cole and Jim moved so that they were sitting next to each other on the couch; you and Trevor took a seat on the ottoman.

You turned your attention to Jim, “I’ve already talked to Quinn, and he’s not offended or anything. But Trevor and I— well, I guess mainly me, decided to ask if you’d like to walk me down the aisle instead? You’ve been a dad to me for almost all my life. Not just a father, but a dad, too. And I’d—“

You started to get choked up. Everyone now knew what you were going to ask, but it was clear that you wanted to get it out. Trevor rubbed your back for some encouragement and to help calm you.

“I’d like you to walk me down the aisle,” you said.

Ellen was crying, and Jim had the happiest face on him that you’ve ever seen.

He took your hands in his as his eyes started to water a bit as well, “I’d like nothing more.”

You got up and hugged him, really hugged him. Quinn means so much to you, but you weren’t really sure why you didn’t go with the most obvious and important father figure in your life in the beginning of planning. Hell, you’ve been calling him “dad” since you were in middle school and really started to understand things about life.

You wiped some tears as you pulled away and forced out a fake laugh to shake off some of the intense emotions you were still feeling. You sat back down and faced Cole this time to ask him your next question.

“I know Trevor and I originally asked you to marry us, but since Quinn isn’t walking me anymore, Trevor had the idea of him marrying us instead. He asked Quinn’s permission to date me in the first place, which obviously later turned into us being boyfriend and girlfriend, so I thought it was a perfect idea that he’d be the one making us husband and wife.

“I was originally going to ask Taryn, but I haven’t yet so she doesn’t even have to know. So, Cole?”

“Yes?” he smiled. He knew what was coming.

“Would you be my Man of Honor?”

Cole dived towards you and tackled you into a hug, “I would be HONORED to be your Man of Honor, best friend number two!”

You let out a real laugh as Cole snuggled himself against you even harder to where his face was practically making a permanent indent in the ottoman cushion.

“Alright! Tell me how you really feel,” you teased.

“Nothing else has changed, right?” Jack asked. “I’m still one of Trevor’s best men?”

“Yeah, bud,” Trevor assured him. “I’ve got my groom party set in stone.”

You were really happy with your decision. Yeah, sometimes your past comes back to you with a vengeance, but you just have to take a step back and remember all the good that the bad brought.

Your fucked up family brought you a real family.

A family that every one of your school classmates thought you were apart of anyways.

A family that showed you what a family should be.

A family that showed you what love was.

A family that still shows you what love is.

A family that brought you the love of your life.

A family that brought you the best people in your life.

A family that brought you back to life.

It wasn’t that day, but eventually you were able to listen to Little Bird with a smile. You sing along to it with so much heart and emotion every time; all because of Jim Hughes.

All because of your real dad.

You’ve been a Hughes for seventeen years. And soon, you’ll be Mrs. Zegras-Hughes to finally, legally, solidify that.

You can’t wait.

———

reblogs appreciated! it helps spread the fic <3

[perfectsunlight]

01 ━━━ THE WAY THINGS GO

warnings: minor angst.

word count: 2.3k

synopsis: your ex-wife receives an invite to your wedding, but will she let you say "i do" for a second time?

masterlist | next

when the leaves grow green and the cherry blossoms bloom, soyeon remembers your wedding. however, she wasn’t expecting that reminder six months earlier, and this time it wasn’t a reminder of the past.

the ceo furrowed her eyebrows as she flipped over the white envelope that had been addressed to her as “jeon soyeon” and not “ceo jeon.” did her mother send her a late birthday card? or was it something from a friend?

a pit formed in her stomach when she recognized the handwriting. it was yours.

the woman’s fingers trembled slightly as she gently opened the invitation, and prayed to every god in the sky that it wasn’t true. she hoped that the non-formal addressing and the color scheme meant anything but the thoughts running through her head.

the elegant script on the invitation danced before her eyes, adorned with black and white lettering. the weight of the revelation caused her chest to tighten and the air inside her lungs to disappear. 

you were getting re-married. 

it had been 5 years since the divorce. had you really moved on?

as she read the details of the upcoming ceremony, soyeon couldn't shake the mixture of disbelief and subtle pain that twisted in her stomach. 

on top of that, you were marrying a man who happened to be an old school friend of yours. he was always the only person who had been closer to you than she was.

with a heavy heart, she traced the letters of your name on the invitation, feeling the ink under her fingertips as she remembered the way her name looked next to yours all those years ago. 

she thought about reaching for her phone, dialing your number and demanding an explanation from you. but the rational ceo within her prevailed, reminding her that the past was just that—a chapter closed and done, sealed with the ink of divorce papers.

yet, in the solitude of her office, surrounded by the trappings of success, soyeon couldn't escape the way this single white envelope had made her feel. the memories of your love that once bloomed like the blossoms outside her window did in early may were now juxtaposed against the harsh reality of a future that no longer included her.

with a sigh, she folded the invitation, holding it in her hands as if the act itself could contain the storm of emotions brewing deep inside her. she had so much left to say to you, but she didn’t even want to bother trying at this point. 

you were getting re-married, and she would have to accept the fact that you no longer were in love with her. 

she gently placed the envelope against the side of her desk lamp, not wanting to throw it away, but also not knowing exactly what to do with it either.

her gaze lingered on the invitation, her mind oscillating between the urge to confront the past and the wisdom of letting it rest. she wrestled with the conflicting desires, knowing very well that your happiness was all she ever wanted, but also hating that your happiness was no longer coming from her.

but soyeon knew that it hadn’t been coming from her for years now.

the ceo knew she couldn't change the course of your life or the feelings that led to this moment. the realization stung, but it also carried a quiet strength—a reminder that she had weathered storms before, and this, too, was just another tempest to endure.

as she leaned back in her chair, she allowed herself a moment of reflection. her eyes briefly glanced at the scenery outside her window. autumn leaves were falling, symbolizing the true arrival of the fall season. the tiniest smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she watched them dance in the wind.

it reminded her of the first time she met you.

the air outside was cold, and on that day specifically, soyeon remembered thinking she could feel the brisk touch of winter lurking in the breeze. it was a day much like this one, with leaves in hues of amber and gold painting the path beneath her feet. the crunching sound echoed with each step as she approached cube’s headquarters.

her breath escaped in visible puffs before she entered the warm heating from the establishment. a soft beep announced her arrival as she made her way to the elevator. once her feet carried her to the practice room, her eyes scanned the figures of the other girls there, searching for a face she had only seen in photographs and the youtube videos she watched for over 50 hours.

there was soojin, the master of the stage. shuhua and yuqi, the loud ones. miyeon and minnie, the two aces up soyeon’s sleeve.

and then there was you.

you, the newcomer whose presence was anticipated for weeks. you, with a burning passion that seemed to radiate like the winter sun filtering through the frosted windows of the practice room. you, with an undeniable presence that made you stand out even among the most talented ensembles.

when yuqi mentioned that she had a cousin who was, as she said, “even better than me”, the leader raised her eyebrows, intrigued by the idea that there was another who was at the same level of talent. 

it wasn't long before soyeon found you.

jeon soyeon probably spent hours watching videos of you, consumed and captivated with everything you did. cube wanted to cap the group at six members, but soyeon begged for them to let you in. 

she presented a compelling case, illustrating how your unique talents and energy would enrich the ensemble, creating a harmonious blend that surpassed the limitations of a predefined vision. you, in her eyes, were the vital piece needed to complete the puzzle she envisioned.

after much persuasion, the company relented, granting you a place within the group lineup.

the girls paused in their dance routine, their attention turning towards the doorway that signaled their leader’s arrival.

soyeon felt a mixture of responsibility and eagerness. as the leader, it was her role to guide and nurture the talents within the group, and your arrival brought both the challenge and the potential for something extraordinary. she remembered the way the stress felt on her young shoulders at the time, but there was something that changed in that very next moment.

the way your eyes met hers for the first time was something she’d never forget. 

soyeon had never seen such soft irises.

it was a bit awkward at first, especially since she remembered that your korean vocabulary was very limited at the time. you actually mentioned to her once that you spent the flight to incheon memorizing korean phrases.

you just simply smiled, and soyeon remembered thinking you were the best thing she’d ever seen.

the ringing of her office phone snapped her back to reality, where the responsibilities of being a leader and the demands of the industry pressed upon her. soyeon shook off the remnants of the memory, though the warmth of your smile lingered in her thoughts.

with a composed demeanor, she answered the phone, her ceo mode immediately activated. it was a flurry of discussions, decisions, and planning for the upcoming schedule. the music industry moved at a relentless pace, and soyeon had proven time and time again that she was an immovable force.

but truth be told, she didn’t really process half of what the other person was saying. matter of fact, she was running on autopilot even after work when she was in the back of her all black suv returning home.

the home you once lived in. 

the ceo punched in the code for the door with a heavy sigh, being met with the dark and quiet space. she was used to the lack of life that lingered in her home. as she took her shoes off and placed her bag down, the wedding invitation slipped and landed onto the floor.

soyeon didn’t remember slipping it in there. or maybe she did, and couldn’t remember? her mind had been a mess all day, and with the shake of her head she gently picked it up and placed it on the nearby tabletop.

she wandered into the living room, where subtle traces of your life together still lingered. the color of the walls you had chosen was still the same. soyeon didn’t have the time to change them after you left. it felt like too much work for something that meant nothing.

at least, to her the color didn’t mean anything. you were the only thing that mattered.

the brief thought of you painting the walls of your new home that same shade of cream entered her mind. it didn’t sit well with her at all.

to be honest, the divorce never sat well with her either. but at the time, she was too prideful to admit that losing you would mean losing everything.

soyeon’s eyes wandered to the empty mantle, where empty command hooks still remained. you would be decorating the house around this time of the year. she never understood why you needed to cover every square inch of your shared home with holiday decor, but it made you happy and she never questioned it.

the ceo made her way up the stairs and into the bedroom and into her bathroom. she remembered the days you’d yell at her to go shower before laying in bed, and for a moment she could remember your laughter at the sight of her laying in bed all sweaty after a long day of practice.

she stood in the bathroom, the echoes of your playful banter ringing in her ears. soyeon's gaze fell on the shower, a space that had witnessed both the mundane routines and the intimate moments of your shared life. she hated the tiles when you insisted on buying them for the house. she couldn't help but smile wistfully at the memory of your insistence on those particular tiles. 

you had argued that they added a touch of character to the bathroom, and now after all these years, standing amidst the steam and droplets, she had to admit that you were right.

with a contemplative sigh, soyeon turned to face the water, allowing it to cascade over her tired shoulders. the familiar sound of water against tile was soothing to her. it was her only source of solace nowadays. she was too old to party, too mature for clubbing, and far too busy to find a new hobby.

it reminded her of the times when you would always call to tell her about something new you had learned every day. she didn’t know how you did it, but you always seemed to constantly be doing ten things at once.

the ceo reached for her shampoo bottle, the same brand she had been using ever since you complemented its scent all those years ago. she always told you she was just a creature of habit, and that she liked it because she had it for so long.

but she never mentioned the other truth to it. maybe she should have. perhaps it would have made you feel even an ounce more appreciated than you did when you were married to her. 

eventually she stepped out of the shower and changed into comfortable loungewear. her hair was still wet as it left small impressions on her white shirt, and for a fleeting moment she could hear you yelling at her to just blow dry it. 

she never listened to you before. perhaps she should have listened to you, not just about tiles and wet hair.

the former idol made her way to the bookshelf in the hallway beside her bedroom. soyeon had developed a habit of reading every night before bed (thanks to you), but she never read anything but her manga. 

soyeon's eyes wandered over the titles, each one she had read over numerous times and yet still enjoyed it. but tonight, she didn’t feel like reading her usual choices.

she reached for one that held a particularly special place in her heart—the novel you had recommended during one of your late-night conversations. as she held the book in her hands, the cover brought back a flood of memories.

you used to pick so many different books that you thought would resonate with her, begging her to pick up literature of “more value” for once instead of a picture book. eventually, you gave up on making her read something different and just stored the numerous novels on the shelf next to soyeon’s comics.

but tonight she would finally listen to you for once.

fahrenheit 451. a book you refused to put down all those years ago.

she traced the spine of the book with her fingers, reminiscing about the nights you spent discussing the intricacies of the plot, dissecting the characters' motivations, and sharing the emotions the story stirred within you. the book, a tangible artifact of the intellectual intimacy you once held, now felt both comforting and achingly distant.

as she gently thumbed through the pages, a small, forgotten object slipped out and landed on her feet. it was a bookmark—a simple yet profound reminder of your shared history. soyeon gently picked it up, her twitching fingers tracing the edges. 

it was your old wedding invitation, elegantly adorned with the details of a day that had once symbolized the union of your lives.

soyeon just stared at the bookmark you had used, her mind flooded with emotions. if it was any other day, maybe she wouldn’t feel like this. maybe she’d brush it off with a small smile and move onto reading the book without any problems.

but after seeing your new wedding invitation this morning, she couldn’t escape the feeling gnawing in her chest. 

water droplets landed on the small piece of paper—perhaps remnants from her wet hair, or maybe they were the silent traces of tears that had escaped her eyes. whichever it might have been, soyeon only knew one thing was for certain.

she should have listened to you. 

[reminiscingtonight]

Sisterly Love

Leah Williamson x Morgan!Reader

Word Count: 1.1k

A/N: Pt 1 of ?

[WOSO Masterlist]

Blowing past your teammates, you make a beeline for your fiancée. Leah doesn’t even have a chance to properly greet you before you’re dropping yourself right into her lap. 

“Hello,” she chuckles, amused at the way you instantly mold your body against hers.

“There’s too many of them,” you groan into Leah’s shoulder.

“Too many of who?” she laughs, hand coming up to rub soothingly at your back.

“The Alexes.”

If you had known letting your sister plan your wedding would lead to her nitpicking every detail of your life, including the way you liked to start off your mornings, you wouldn’t have let her stay at your place during the NWSL off season. 

The day started off to a strong start when you rolled over in bed to find your fiancée already gone, a note left on her pillow about a media thing she had this morning. Deprived of your morning cuddles, you trudged into your kitchen… and straight into the waiting arms of Alex (Morgan), who seemed as if she was waiting for her prey to arrive. You couldn’t even drink your coffee in peace, your sister whipping out a couple wedding brochures and instantly talking your head off about the proper color scheme you needed to “really make your wedding pop.”

You only managed to slip out of the room undetected when Charlie started whining about wanting her mom’s attention. While Alex was busy making Charlie pancakes, you took the opportunity to grab your bag and slip out the back door, intent on getting some extra time in the gym… only to run right into Alex (Scott), who then promptly ushered you back inside to talk weddings with your sister.

Dating Leah has been nothing but bliss. Her family welcomed you with open arms and you the same. The more the merrier, you always like to say. But lately, you wanted to draw the line right where her bloodline ends. You always knew what getting involved with Leah entailed. It meant daily calls with her mom, weekly brunches with her dad, biweekly FIFA game nights with her brother. 

And it also meant becoming wrapped up in all things Alex Scott. 

Alex was the older sister Leah never had. Leah looked up to Alex in all the ways you looked up to your own Alex. 

And don’t get anything wrong, you love her. You really do.

You love the way she helps Leah loosen up when you’re all having a night out together. You love the way she’s Leah’s personal hype man, always cheering her on from the sidelines. You love the way she cares for the love of your life, never hesitating to drop things if Leah needs her.

And since you’re such a big part of Leah’s life, it almost seems logical that Alex’s care has extended to you. She’s always there to pick you up when you have bad games. She’s always there as an ear when you’re craving advice from anyone other than those you share a last name with.

So really, there’s nothing wrong that you can find with Alex Scott.

Except. 

Except you’re really starting to get tired of what happens when she teams up with your sister and becomes the honorary fourth older Morgan sister you don’t need.

When Alex (Scott) and Alex (Morgan) start scheming together, there’s nowhere safe you can hide. If you could only pick one thing about the whole wedding planning that’s been annoying you the most, it would be exactly that. The fact that both Alexes have seemingly found common ground in making your life a living hell.

“Oh come on, your sister babies you because she cares about you. Scott babies you because she cares about Leah.”

“Says the person with a surplus of siblings,” you grumble, flipping Katie off without turning around. “Trust me when I say three sisters is more than enough. Can you take Scottie? Please?”

“You literally just said I have a surplus of siblings. Why would I want Alex?”

“So your family will finally have a soccer star in their ranks, obviously.”

Leah gives Katie a hard stare before she can round on you. And then she’s tightening her arms around you before you can try running away so she can properly chastise you herself.

You bat your eyelashes at her, hoping to get away with your comment, but Leah rolls her eyes goodheartedly at you. “First off, it’s football. Second, we will not be giving away any of our Alexes.”

“But--”

A raise of her eyebrow has you shutting your mouth dejectedly.

“Baby, they’re only bothering us because they love us.”

“‘Us?’ Leah, I think you mean ‘me’.”

It’s no secret that both Alexes treat you like you’re a walking hazard sign. Your sister’s been treating you like that ever since your birth, and Scott has picked up on it ever since you came into Leah’s life. If your own flesh and blood misses something, Scott’s quick to catch it and take charge of you herself. 

And it would be okay, really, if you had Leah to help shoulder all of the smothering. But you don’t have her. Because the two of them pamper your fiancée almost worse than you do yourself. If anything, Alex (Morgan) almost seems to prefer your fiancée over you --- not that you could really blame her because, let’s be real, who wouldn’t.

So when Leah says “bothering us,” she really means “bothering you,” because you could count on one hand the number of times they’ve harped on Leah since the two of you got together. (Spoiler, the answer is zero)

“There’s no ‘I’ in team, babe.”

“Well good thing I said ‘me’ and not ‘I’ then, huh.” 

Your quip earns you a pinch to the side, to which you playfully swat Leah back in return.

“She does have you there, Leah,” Katie chuckles.

A pointed look from the blonde has Katie instantly putting her hands up in apology. 

Leah turns her attention back onto where you’re still pouting in her lap.

“We’re in this for the long run, and the Alexes just happen to come included in this deal. I love you, you love me, they love us, and we love them back. It’s always been like this and will probably always be like this, so we might as well roll with the punches, right?”

Sighing, you can’t help but grumble out an agreement. It isn’t like Leah’s wrong. While overbearing, the two Alexes only act this way because--

“If you’re giving away an Alex, can I have Morgan? I kinda want her to teach me how to--”

Leah gives Caitlin an unimpressed look when you instantly perk up at her request.

[feeling--pink]

Hi 🥺 what if they- 👉👈 what if they got mawwied???? 💕💕💕

Okay hi I’ve been working on these on and off all month (mostly off I got really busy whoops) and I have A LOT of thoughts about a Legbone wedding (ft. the drawtectives cause they really are my blorbos) 

Anyways here’s a list of headcannons that I didn’t get to draw:

So right off the bat let’s talk OUTFITS

To me Legzi and Ryjinah had gone looking for dresses but Legzi wasn’t really pumped about any of them 

So maybe they went on a road trip (because ladies bookclub road trips my beloved) to either go look in a different boutique or to do other wedding related shenanigans 

And on the side of the road Legzi spots this rag 

And of course it’s a torn up wedding dress and suddenly she has a Vision^TM

Just Legzi being more excited about fixing up this dress than anything she could have just bought up to that point 

Because to me Legzi is someone who loves to feel like a part of the process and having all her random skills she picked up from Darkmouth 

Then design wise I wanted something puffy so I could hide how much taller I made her 

Because personally I think her using the leg stilts on her wedding day is not only very Legzi^TM but I also made myself laugh with the concept :) 

And florals because those are fun, green, and easy to make by hand (as someone who’s made a lot of ribbon flowers)!! The vines were places where the dress was really torn and needed more structural stitching 

Ryjinahs dress on the other hand I wanted to take some inspiration from her season 1 design (even though I haven’t seen it) 

Also I love a chance to draw some boob 

so anyways York’s invitation

I’ve said it before but “artists draw fan art of each other’s art” where Karina drew Ryjinah, York, Rowan, and Jacob horse all hanging out is CANON TO ME

Which is why all of those characters were invited!! :)

Anyways I imagine all the invitations had your standard stuff- names, dates, rsvp section

But where it would’ve said +1 I think Ryjinah scribbled that out and hand wrote “+2 ;)” 

Which of course Grandma would be slightly flustered by meanwhile York is like “AWESOME you guys can come!!!” 

I believe in drawtectives polycule supremacy and also York is aroace

Which also lead to my miniature leg wrestling joke :)

Oh but the second York and Rah’ōxah lock eyes they’re going to leg wrestle (Pokémon rules) 

Then they can become friends too and we can make Julia’s drawing in “pro artists redraw their old OCs” canon!!! 

Rah’ōxah is both Legzi and Ryjinahs maid of honor :) 

She’s awesome of course she can do both!!!!!!

I wish I had drawn this but to me Parker the cat officiated :)

Maybe while standing on top of Parker the horse 

Ryjinah was not pleased with this but also couldn’t say no to the combined force of Legzi and Rah’ōxah’s puppy dog eyes 

Plus Parker the cat is the only person (cat) they know who’s ordained

Oh last thing I wanted to but didn’t draw was a Rosé & Rowan interaction 

Or not even so much of an interaction but they catch each other’s gaze from across the room and freeze 

Oh more headcannons but they’re siblings to me 

I mean dyed hair? Knives? Mysterious pasts? Color schemes?? Attracted to himbos??? 

Anyways they both have moved on from their family in different directions 

So to suddenly meet again even from across the room 

Then York or Gramdma calls for Rosé and she looks away and they’re gone

But I digress 

Tbh for everyone’s outfits I kinda just went “you know what would be cute???” 

So floral dress for grandma (obviously) 

Jumpsuit + long gloves for Rosé because vibes 

Unbuttoned shirt and double breasted vest for York so he doesn’t have sleeves 

Similar thought process for Rah’ōxah because they give off similar vibes BUT I made Rah’ōxah’s the same colors as Ryjinah and Legzi so she could match both :)

Then a demon Johnny button on her outer vest kinda like the pin/broach she has in Julia’s drawing in pro artists redraw old OCs 

Rowan I just wanted to look swanky and what’s more swanky than a tailcoat? 

And for everyone but Rah’ōxah I tried to keep to their normal color schemes!! :) 

Are all these outfits practical for what I made a beach wedding on a whim? Absolutely not 

I gave pretty much all of them some sort of heels even if they are technically wedges which is better but STILL 

Beaches are fun and easy ish to draw and I never do backgrounds anyways give me a break lol 

But anyways I think that’s all my thoughts!!!

So Legzi & Ryjinah ride into the sunset on their noble steed Jacob Horse :)

[busterswritehand]

You're Timeless To Me

-

Roughly 180 years after the events of ACOSF, Lucien looks up to find that he is surrounded by strangers. Meanwhile, Nesta realizes she has stayed still while the world around her keeps moving. Misery loves company, but these two can hardly make small talk.

-

Part 1

Strangers. Lucien Vanserra was completely and utterly surrounded by strangers. He sat at the council table created by him and his friends. His family. A small band of exiles that dared to dream - to want more for themselves and others below the wall. He had always known that he would outlive them. Mourn them. That he would be responsible for keeping their memory alive. He never considered, however, that everything he had built with Jurian and Vassa would outgrow him.

Lucien looked around at a council of human nations and territories. Some leaders were human or half-fae, some represented monarchies or democracies, but they all ignored him. He led the first generation of leaders alongside his friends, the second generation revered him as a sage, but this lot treated him like an ancient relic. They often bickered over each other as they were doing now. If they weren't arguing, they were scheming and schmoozing. In that way, they reminded him of the courts above the wall.

He wasn't sure why or how it had not hit him sooner, but Lucien missed his home. Not the Autumn or Spring Court or even Velaris - but Prythian. He had not returned since Elain's wedding, where her viper of a sister nearly bit his head off. Lucien couldn't believe it, but in that moment he missed Nesta too.

He missed familiarity - some sense of stagnation. Humans changed quicker than the seasons and developed new technologies too fast for him to keep up these days. Hell, with more readily available access to magic the human territories started to see an industrial boom. Lucien hated the isolation and unfamiliarity that plagued his everyday life. Once again he was without a true home.

He fidgeted with the crisp paper in his hands, his thumbs stroking over the creases left by his back pocket.

Dear Lucien,

I hope the human territories have continued to treat you well. I apologize for not reaching out sooner or more frequently.

Starfall is coming up. Maybe you would consider visiting us back in Velaris. The Night Court misses its old emissary, and I miss my friend.

Best,

Feyre

Lucien smiled faintly at the letter before looking back up at the dysfunctional group in front of him. When had everything devolved so much? They swore like sailors and acted like petulant children.

He sighed. Maybe it was time to return to Prythian.

-

Lucien knocked on the door of Feyre and Rhysand's river house in Velaris. He stood at the front steps, shifting in his clothes. As he waited, he peered back over his shoulders to look at the town.

Velaris beamed with the same technologies that thrived in the human world. Factories were being constructed on the outskirts near the edge of the mountain valley. The wealthier citizens drove around in their brightly colored automobiles on the cliffside roads bordering the city. He watched as tints of blue, red, and purple flashed past and around the city. They were accompanied by shrill honks and deep revving of engines as fae raced by.

Lucien's attention was swiftly ripped away from the city by the front door swinging open. Nesta stood past the threshold, staring down at Lucien. He took a step on the next stair and opened his mouth to speak. The door slammed shut - inches from his nose.

Lucien blinked, utterly baffled. He knocked again.

"Nesta," he said, "could you let me in?"

Silence. He knocked again. Stubbornness and pride kept him planted on those steps. He'd wait there all night if he had to. After all, he was invited to be their guest.

With his fae hearing he could make out the sound of shuffling footsteps then two female voices bickering. He listened closer. A satisfied smile peeked out from Lucien. It sounded like Feyre was chastising Nesta.

Sure enough, Feyre opened the door a moment later. A strained smile plastered her face. Nesta stood behind her in the shadows, glaring at the two of them.

Feyre's expression softened as she pulled Lucien into a welcoming hug.

"Sorry about her," Feyre said.

Lucien chuckled, "It's good to see that she hasn't changed a bit."

He watched the sour female silently scoff and walk toward the sitting room. Feyre leaned back, planting firm friendly hands on his shoulders.

"It seems like you haven't either."

As they studied each other, Lucien realized she had cut her hair into a short bob. The front pieces of her hair were braided towards the back. He contorted his face into comical shock.

"Has empty nest syndrome gotten to you that badly?"

Feyre rolled her eyes, shoving him playfully.

"Can a lady not change her hair once in a while?"

They laughed as Feyre welcomed him into her home.

[wheelercore]

The Curious Case of The Dead Wheeler Granny

Also known as: I need to make a cohesive post that actually has context so i can add it to the ✨ master post ✨. So basically if you already know, you know. idk.

So... recently have been thinking A Lot about weird "production errors" (tm) and creel home fuckery + wheeler parallels. Its no secret that there are Many references to the creel home in the wheeler home for whatever reason, from the piano to the wedding dress to even the clock chimes (?) close to the the door way of the wheeler home.

However one of the most fascinating Choices was when the main urn that sat on the wheeler mantle place since s1 suddenly changed to a completely different urn during the convergence of the four gates at the climax of s4. What was the reason for this? It's also no secret that ST is riddled with what we can call "intentional" errors in objects, peoples positions, etc etc. But why a seemingly random object that has been sitting in the background of the home for 4 seasons w/o any special attention? And why at the important climax of the season?

Season 1

Season 4- before the climax

Season 4- after the climax

(and this isnt even to mention the fact that the wheeler dining room is covered in rose vases that mimic the OG urn)

If you reference this back to the mantle place in the Creel home... there is something quite interesting:

A few little trinkets, weirdly placed and evenly spread out. There is a little bird (dove?) statue like how the wheelers have two geese statues sitting on their mantle place. Next to that though? A strange looking golden vase. Mind you, this is happened when Virginia is having her "holding up the mirror" moment. As in this mirror is right there reflecting Virginia and this little urn-looking vase trinket and the rose-y wallpaper behind her (which is interesting given that the OG urn has pink roses on it with a framed picture of pink roses next to it).

Put the Virginia relation in your back pocket for now. Lets go up to the stuff in the Creel attic, which are heavily referenced in the wheeler home, in particular the wedding dress:

Where has have we seen a piece of a brides clothing in s4? In Suzie's home, where her sister Tabitha is wearing a wedding veil, and you guess it, a pink floral (roses? Honestly the color scheme is very similar to the creel wallpaper mentioned above) dress:

In which Tabitha pretends to die. She's not really dying. The joke here is that Tabitha's father had thought she was dying though ("it looked genuine"). And oh... is that the edge of a grandfather clock I see right outside the doorway framed right there this scene?

If I was extra weird about it I could also point out that the letter blocks on Tabitha's bracelet kind of spell out (M?)AMA. But its super blurry and I cant get a good shot of it so take this with a grain of salt:

A little sprinkle of Petergate here but Tabitha is a woman who was raised from the dead by Saint Peter:

Which I mean... If we're going to talk about lying about moms dying? The "Nanas got cancer" gag in s3 in which... Hopper lies about Mikes Nana being sick but then goes onto say:

There's nothing wrong with Nana

Mike then proceeds to repeatedly call him a liar. So... nothing's wrong with Nana? Would that explain the weird trend of people specifically lying over the phone about having a sick family member also in s3/s4?

(credit: screenshots from this @/heroesbyler post - unrelated to this theory, I just think its neat)

And if we're talking about lies:

(oh holly girl... wearing that pink + white outfit and that rose shirt lmao)

And of course: Papa lies.

(don't even get me started on how the grandfather clock most likely represents Brenner ("maybe hes a clock maker?" and s4 literally starting with Brenner setting a timer))

But this begs the question... If, by all accounts, nothing is wrong with Nana, so much so it would be like she was raised from the dead, then who's ashes do the Wheeler's have on their mantle place thinking that its their granny?

Could it be, thinking back to the weird trinket on front of the mirror in the Creel home, Virginia's ashes instead? Quick question, where exactly are Virginia and Alice buried? Did Victor get a say in his wife's funeral arrangements?

And if Nana Wheeler's death was a lie designed to conceal a truth and Papa lies... ah who am i kidding it was martin brenner. it was fucking brenner who else would do some weird shit like this. it was him.

Anyways things like this really make me question why exactly the Wheelers are one of two main families in the show. As far as I know they didn't do much in TFS, so hell, why not Patty? Bob? The Sin Claires?

Regardless, I would really like them to be kind and rewind back to whatever is going on here if you know what I mean

[keepitmovinshawty]

I know it probably won’t happen in this season but I need the costume department to work harder for Alicent. I’m tired of her wearing different versions of the same damn dress. She hasn’t served since she interrupted Rhaenyra’s wedding feast. I understand they have to stick to the color scheme but all her dresses run together.

[saltygilmores]

Thoughts While Watching Gilmore Girls- Season 2, Episode 22 (Last Episode of the Season). "I Can't Get Started" Part 1

This episode may just be the ultimate game of memory roulette, because I remember nothing. Zero. Nada. Zilch. Zippo. except these two things:

I am told this episode involves a Lorelai-Crusty hookup and I have no recollection of that whatsoever. The mind has a way of bleaching itself sometimes. Can't wait to be retraumatized! The episode begins with Sookie playing wedding music choices for her coworkers and everyone falls asleep listening to the depressing songs she picked. Leave my girl Sookie and her emo music alone. She lives in Stars Hollow, of course she can relate to songs about pain, depression and misery.

Emily the Strange, seen on Rory's cast.

My conflicting emotions as I think about how Season 3 brings Jess to the forefront (that's good) but he rarely knows a moment's peace (that's bad) and in the blink of an eye we lose him to the California Wormhole (that's bad) but it also temporarily sidelines Dean (that's good) but it brings Crusty back (that's bad) but there's the debut of Dave Rygalski (that's good) but in the blink of an eye we also lose Dave Rygalski to the California Wormhole (that's bad) then we meet Alex who is cool and also hot (that's good) but then he disappears forever (wormhole?) and Max briefly returns from the California Wormhole (meh?) When Michel complains about the drudgery of wedding preparations, Lorelai reminds him she's in Sookie's wedding party so he has to oversee the entire wedding by himself, which is something he's never done before. Excuse me? Why don't you hire some more staff Lorelai, you fucking cheapskate. (We also learn later on that Sookie's catering her own wedding. WHAT? I know Sookie is a perfectionist when it comes to food but that's fucking bonkers). Rory offers to brainstorm with Lane to come up with wedding songs for Sookie and she agrees to let them do it because letting teenagers pick the music for the most important day of your life is a smart idea. This is where I realized I have no idea what kind of music Rory is actually into except that she has expressed she doesn't like the pop music/boybands of the day, which is fine. I just hope Rory wasn't one of those super annoying kids in school who were always coming up to me saying things like "You know, the Backstreet Boys don't play their own instruments." I was well aware. Anyway, Lane was definitely one of those types, as we see it happen on the show frequently, but as for Rory, that one is maybe up for debate.

Sookie asks Lorelai if she wants to invite Emily and Richard to the wedding. Uhh, may I ask why? Just 5 episodes ago, Emily was meddling in the wedding planning and blew up Sookie's budget and Lorelai had to intervene so she wouldn't go bankrupt. That's about the extent of any significant interaction between the Gilmore Grands and Sookie. After that mess, why would Sookie want her there? Sookie's all "Ah, that ol "almost bankrupted me" thing. She was so thoughtful to help me with the planning! Even though it was nothing more than a passive aggressive scheme to stick it to you for never getting married. She made me realize I love the color pink!" And then she giggles away the deep seated pain that anyone so relentlessly cheerful and forgiving has to be holding deep inside. Something historic just happened: I watched the Intro, instead of skipping it, which is something I haven't done in years. Let it be known I have nothing against the intro nor the song, and they're very nice and heartwarming, but I'm just not an intro girl. But I've been pretty down in the dumps and the theme song is like a warm cup of cocoa. It might behoove me to watch the opening credits once in a while so I know when to expect Dean, Crusty and other creatures from the deep.

More fine work from the Gilmore Girls fake food designer. Looks delish. She's still wearing that fucking quarter on a string, god damn. Rory is pestering Butthead to trade his pancakes for her fruit and egg platter.

You know, sometimes I start writing a joke, then realize it was funny, but it didn't make any sense and I have to scrap it, which makes me sad. Sometimes I don't even notice it after I've already posted and have to do a quick deletion (it just happened with LGD, in fact). Today, you're in for a treat because I'm going to give you one of my bloopers. Rory is incessantly asking Dean for his opinion on the pancakes. I decided she had poisoned them and she was monitoring his reactions, like when his breathing would start to become labored, or if he started to foam at the mouth, or if he would say something like that "huh, these pancakes taste kinda metallic." and then he would keel over. But then I remember they are at Luke's and she didn't cook the pancakes. But she could have sprinkled some rat poison on top of it when he had his back turned. I'm 100% convinced Lindsay had tried unsuccessfully to poison his meatloaf.

Oh no, they traded breakfasts. Eat AROUND the poison sprinkles, Rory. Rory and Buttzilla are observing someone who is repeatedly walking back and forth in front of the diner without coming in. *Sniffs the air* I smell unhealthy boundaries. It must be Lorelai.

I actually forgot that Luke and Lorelai were still "fighting". In fact, I just realized there was no Luke whatsoever in the previous episode. Okay, okay! I plum forgot about Luke completely! Anyway, can we please resolve this nonsense before season 3? How is Lorelai hooking up with Crusty going to end this stalemate?

Ya'll, she really blurted out "Dean don't leave me", not "Don't leave me, guys" or "Rory don't leave me." I CAN’T! I'm dying! Poor Rory, shows where she really ranks on the list of her mother's priorities. Anyways, sucks to suck Lorelai, good luck with solving this fucking mess completely of your own making.

lolbye

That's a wild under-exaggeration for how you acted after that car crash. Just wild.

There is no quicker way to get Lorelai’s goat than to act Pleasant Neutral towards her and not entertain her quirkiness! it is aggravating her to no end that Luke isn’t entertaining her stupid doughnut jokes! Hahahahaha! He isn’t groveling at her feet over her half baked fake bullshit apologies either. Sucks to suck Lore! Luke being so indifferent to Lorelai's bullshit is glorious, no one has ever deserved it more.

Meanwhile, Paris is running for student council president. Her campaign promises include mandatory recycling, clearly gendered bathrooms and gluten free options in the cafeteria (hey, as long as Rory can still order her favorite Chilton lunch, The Prison Special, two slices of white bread with nothing in the middle). After Madeline and Louise poll 150 students in the span of about 1 minute, the results are in: While the People think she would make a competent politican, nobody actually likes her. So she strong arms a very reluctant Rory into becoming her running mate. Paris feels Rory's nice girl image will soften her own. She puts the fear of God into Rory that she will end up going to Connecticut State instead of Harvard if she doesn't take this opportunity to pad her college resume with school politics. I mean, she's not wrong. Rory is still pitifully lacking in extra cirricular activities. Until they showed Rory writing in the audience, I had completely forgotten she was already on the school newspaper because it hasn't been mentioned in ages. And now I just remembered that horrid school newspaper storyline in s3 is approaching. The one with the redheaded mean girl, Francie. Ugh! S3 is going to be such a rollercoaster. Wait, isn't Connecticut State where Dean was considering going to school? Heheh.

Out of context Gilmore Girls.

Hmmm.

You know who else AmyShermanPalladino said this about?

AmyShermanPalladino wrote Paris to adore Rory as much she adores Milo, I'm just saying. Rory is getting her cast off.

Emily Strange again...

SECURITY!!!! No, but what kind of medical office is this where anyone can just barge in to a child’s appointment and be like "it's okay I'm the Dad" and the Dr is like “sure I believe you have a seat”. Not like Crusty is ever around that the doctor would recognize him. He drove down all the way from Boston to watch Rory have her cast cut off but can't be present for anything important? Alright. Anything to get into Lore’s pants I guess.

Yeah. Love is in the air at their child’s medical appointment.

Their nauseating attraction clouded their minds enough that they both resisted the urge to get in one last jab about Jess being the cause of Rory's injury. Miraculous.

Hur hur hur! You're so funny! Drink drain cleaner.

Honestly? They deserve each other. R: “If I become vice president, I'll have to spend my summer at some junior leadership program in Washington."

Oh, you would HATE That.

[merrybrides]

Oh-So-Pretty Peony Wedding Bouquets

This beloved flower needs no introduction.

Peonies are among the most coveted flowers that grace us year after year, owing to their stunning array of colors and voluminous, velvety petals that captivate our senses. These flowers are particularly popular for weddings, offering delightful ways to incorporate them into your arrangements, whether your style leans toward opulent glamour or a more carefree spirit.

What Is a Peony?

Peonies are a type of perennial (a plant that re-blooms every year). Along with being a favorite for home gardens and landscaping, peonies are one of the most popular wedding flowers of all time. The flowers have large, cupped petals that open and expand over the course of the bloom, which lasts for about one week. Peonies are often mistaken for garden roses but are distinguished by their narrow, elongated leaves and thornless stems.

What Does a Peony Flower Symbolize?

These iconic flowers don't just look pretty—they also hold special significance for your wedding day. Peonies represent a happy marriage, prosperity and bashfulness.

Peony Colors

Peonies bloom in several of the most popular wedding colors, which makes them easy to match almost any color scheme. Peony colors range from white to light pink, coral pink, fuchsia, purple, red and yellow. Peonies have bright yellow stamens at the center.

Peony Season

Peony season is from April to June, making them a popular spring wedding flower.

Peonies can also extend into the summer months, but generally, your florist will have to work harder to find peonies after their peak during the spring season. This could mean sourcing the blooms from a grower in another state or even purchasing them from outside of the U.S., which will ultimately impact your total wedding flower cost.

Average Peony Flower Cost

Because of their short bloom window and incredibly high demand, peonies are one of the most expensive wedding flowers.

The exact cost will vary depending on when you're getting married and where your florist is sourcing the peonies from. If the peonies can be sourced from a local grower and your wedding takes place during peony season, the cost might be slightly lower. Otherwise, shipping fees and seasonality will affect the price.

Tips for Adding Peonies to Your Bridal Bouquet

Your wedding florist should be your first source of truth when it comes to deciding how to add peonies to your wedding bouquet, because ultimately, it depends on your wedding budget and desired style. But there are a few tried-and-true tricks that are helpful to know ahead of time as you're preparing for your floral consultation.

Use peonies as a statement flower.

Peonies make a statement even when they're used in small quantities. Adding just two or three to your wedding bouquet can help elevate the overall design while being a budget-friendly alternative to a full peony arrangement.

Use multiple peonies to maximize their impact.

If you do want to go all out, splurge on a wedding bouquet entirely of peonies. Closed peonies have a formal, classic romance look with their tightly cupped petals.

Open peonies are a little more whimsical and bold, with some flowers spanning several inches wide once the petals have fully bloomed. Skip the accent flowers to put all the focus on the peonies in your bouquet.

Create a playful cascading peony bridal bouquet by mixing blush peonies with a delicate trail of asparagus ferns. Finish the arrangement with white, blush and purple tulip.

[typingtess]

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NCIS: Los Angeles Season 14 Rewatch:    “Maybe Today”

The basics:  While Kilbride visits his son, the team works a cold case from 2003.

Written by: Samantha Chasse & Matt Klafter

Samantha Chasse co-wrote “Kill Beale Vol. 1”, wrote “Impostor Syndrome” (one of season 12’s best episodes) and “Murmuration”. 

Matt Klafter co-wrote “Smokescreen Part II”, “A Fait Accompli” and “Hard for the Money”.  Was the sole writer for “Where Loyalties Lie”.

Directed by: Eric A. Pot directed “Resurrection”, “Windfall”, “Traitor”, “Internal Affairs”, “Home is Where the Heart Is”, “Forasteira”, “Reentry”, “Hit List”, “The One Who Got Away”, “Kill Beale Vol 1” (co-written by Chasse), “Fortune Favors the Bold”, “A Fait Accopli” (co-written by Klafter), “Imposter Syndrome” (written by Chasse), “Indentured”, “Sorry for Your Loss” and “Survival of the Fittest”.

Guest stars of note:  Christopher Gorham as Alex Kilbride, Rose Abdoo as Special Agent Daisy Van Zandt, Eva Tamargo as Mrs. Perez, Kevin McCorkle as Jack Baker, Cuyle Carvin as Aaron Baker, Courtney Cunningham as Jen Anderson, Jhey Castles as Melissa Baker, Keenan Henson as Kevin Phillips and Joe Keyes as Taxi Driver.

Our heroes:  Deal with parents and children.

What important things did we learn about: Callen:  Not afraid of strong women. Sam:   Senior Chief, Special Warfare Kensi:  Couldn’t imagine what a mother would feel about a missing child. Deeks:  Working well with LAPD. Fatima:  Listening to old interview cassette tapes in Kilbride’s truck. Rountree:  Not a fan of old case files in moldy, charred boxes. Kilbride:  Finally listening to his son.

What not so important things did we learn about: Callen:  Looking for a Sam’s plus one for the wedding. Sam:    No interest in Callen’s plus one-ing. Kensi:  Wants Rosa to participate in extra circular activities. Deeks:   Wants Rosa to be protected from all types of danger. Fatima:   Office bound. Rountree:   See Fatima. Kilbride:  Spending the night on his son’s couch.

Where in the world is Henrietta Lange?  Not a mention.

Who's down with OTP:   Kensi and Deeks have debates over keeping Rosa safe.  Callen is comfortable marrying a confident woman.

Who's down with BrOTP:  Callen is looking for a Sam love connection which is a complete change in roles from the first five seasons.

Fashion review:  Callen wore a midnight blue sweater.  Another long-sleeve black tee for Sam.  Kensi wears a long-sleeve top that has a graduated color scheme that starts white around her shoulders, pink and grey across her chest and black the rest of the way down.  Deeks has a light blue henley on.  Fatima has a thick brown sweater.  Rountree is wearing a black hoodie.  Kilbride is casual with a thick dark blue sweater over a lighter blue plaid button down shirt.

Music:   “Killer” by Phoebe Bridgers plays in a montage near the end of the episode.

Any notable cut scene:  Yes, one, after weeks of nothing.  Driving to Jen Anderson’s, Kensi and Deeks discuss the case moving from a missing persons case to a death.  Kensi is down on local law enforcement for not doing more.  Deeks is a bit more sympathetic.   Missing persons aren’t always missing persons, sometimes people just walk away from their lives.  After a while, the police have other cases to solve.

Kensi hears from Rountree – the local news stations have picked up the story.  Deeks checks his phone – national news, NPR, the BBC are all cover the story.  Kensi and Deeks realize that the killer, who lived 20-years without anyone knowing there was a killing, now knows they are the focus of a national news story.

Quote:  Callen:  “How can we help?” Daisy:  “Stay close by.  Try not to get in the way.  First cold case?” Callen:  “Yeah.” Daisy:  “Couple of virgins. This'll be fun.  I've been working cases since '04.  Solved more of them than the next two agents combined.” Callen:  “I like your modesty.” Daisy:  “Confidence in a woman make you uncomfortable, Agent Callen?” Callen:  “Well, if it did, then I'm about to marry the wrong woman.”

Anything else:  A car is driving down a rural road.  2003 shows up on the screen.  The radio in the car is playing an address by then President George W. Bush about major combat operations ending in Iraq.  A man steps out of the vehicle and puts on some gloves.  Inside the vehicle is a woman wearing a Navy sweatshirt who looks like she’s out cold.   There’s duct tape on her mouth and her hands are bound. 

As the man walks away from the vehicle to use a payphone, the woman is awake and alert.  She takes off the seat belt holding her to the car seat.  She tries to open the car door but the man finished his call and is returning to the vehicle.  Again, playing unconscious, she waits until the man nears the car door.  She opens the door with great force, knocking the man to the ground.  She flees on foot.  She gets the bindings off her hands and removes the tape on her mouth as she runs.  The man starts the car to chase her.  She calls for help as she runs into a wooded area.

In 2024, a car is pulled from a lake.  The license plate and the vehicle are from the 2003 scenes.  A female NCIS agent confirms “it’s hers” and calls for the best NCIS team in the area.

Walking into the office, Kensi and Deeks are talking about Rosa, extracurricular activities and college applications.  Kensi thinks Rosa needs them, Deeks thinks Yale won’t care since you can get into law school there by twirling a baton.  Baton is color guard, Kensi correct Deeks, Rosa is interested in doing gymnastics, Deeks is worried she’ll get hurt.  Kensi lists a number of activities Rosa could join – track, water polo, AV Club – where Deeks has a reason she could get hurt - shin splints, chlorine poisoning (obviously), electrocution.  Kensi tells him to stop.  He is half-joking but he wants her safe,  Kensi says they can’t cover Rosa in bubble wrap.  Deeks is looking more for small packing peanuts.

In Ops, Kensi asks if they have a new case.  Fatima and Rountree explains it is more a like an old one.  Navy Petty Officer Britney Perez, Fatima starts to explain but Kensi thinks the name sounds familiar.  It was – there was a documentary series about Perez recently.  A hiker at Castaic Lake saw a car in the lake – water levels are so low it was easy to see on a trail.  Deeks thinks this may be the one time where climate change is good.  He knows it sounds wrong.  The four talk about bringing Kilbride into the case but Deeks wants Kilbride to spend time with his son.  Callen and Sam on their way to the crime scene.  Kensi asks about next of kin.  Perez had a mother who has not been informed about the car.  Kensi can’t fathom being a mother to a missing child.  She and Deeks are going to see Mrs. Perez, maybe offer some answers.

Walking up to an apartment door, Admiral Kilbride sighs before knocking.  A man in his mid-to-late 40’s answers the door and says hello Dad.  Dad Kilbride replies with just “Alex.”  Inviting his father into the apartment, Alex explains the set-up is temporary, he’s still trying to work things out with his wife Deb.  It is a rather generic one-bedroom apartment with rather generic furniture. 

Kilbride asks where he can hang his coat and hat as Alex pours the two some coffee.  Opening a closet, Kilbride sees it is full of fancy diplomas, an expensive desk name plate.  There is a hook so the hat and jacket go there.  Kilbride asks Alex about work and Alex replies “great.”  He has a new client working on a cryptocurrency exchange.  The silence after that is uncomfortable.

Callen and Sam pull up at the crime scene.  They’re talking about Stacy, Anna’s maid of honor.  Sam is adding drama according to Callen.  The two address Special Agent Daisy Van Zandt, the female agent who supervised the car being removed from the lake.  Callen and Sam are investigating their first cold case  - “a couple of virgins” according to Daisy – so she asks them to stay close but also stay out of the way.

Daisy has been working cold cases in 2004 and has solved twice as many cold cases in her time than the next two agents combined.  Callen admires her modesty.  Daisy asks if confidence in woman worries Callen.  If it does, Callen tells her, he’s going to have a problem with the woman he’s about to marry.  Daisy tells Callen and Sam that the case of Brittney Perez “had my number”.  There’s never been any evidence until now.  An agent calls for Daisy.  The car truck is opened and the skeletal remains of someone are inside.

Calling Kensi and Deeks, Callen says the coroner ID’d the body as Brittney Perez.  Hanging up, he returns to Sam and Daisy.  Kensi and Deeks will be telling Perez’s mother.  Daisy doesn’t envy that task.  Callen asks about the original case agents.  Two local field office agents, Walker and Haskins, had the case originally.  Walker retired to Florida a few years back, Haskins is dead.  Sam asks Daisy what she thought of all this.  “There’s good work, there’s sloppy work and there there’s whatever the hell this was.  It’s no wonder why this case wound up with us.” 

Callen asks about suspects.  There was one suspect – Petty Office Aaron Baker.  A witness said Baker and Perez were arguing outside a bar.  Perez slapped Baker.  Sam wondered about the argument but Daisy doesn’t know what it was about.  Neither does Baker, according to Daisy, who was too drunk to remember according to Walker and Haskins.  They didn’t bother to push him on what he could and couldn’t remember.  He’s third generation Navy.  Callen is stunned. 

When Perez went missing, Baker was home according to his bunkmate.  The two were watching video games all night.  Looking at the truck, Sam asks for a vial.  He found a tooth in the trunk.  Perez’s body is still in the trunk and it is obvious she has all her teeth.  Sam believes Perez fought until the end.  There will be a DNA test and while teeth and bone are really strong for finding DNA, 20-years in the water isn’t a good environment.  Callen and Sam are off to talk to Baker. 

In the boat shed, Kensi and Deeks are comforting and kind to Mrs. Perez.  Mrs. Perez shares photos of Britney stored on her phone.  Britney was strong and smart and funny.  Mrs. Perez explains that she was a single mom.  She and Britney only had each other.  That’s why she never believed the investigators who thought Britney went AWOL, fearing she would be deployed.  Asked if Britney was worried about being deployed, Mrs. Perez said her daughter loved the Navy.  Besides, she would never leave without saying goodbye. 

Before she went missing, Britney was upset and a frazzled.  There was something about her roommate Jen, there was a bad situation.  Britney wouldn’t tell her mother the whole story.  She wanted to protect her mother.  Mrs. Perez tells Kensi and Deeks that she was waiting for this day for the last 20-years.  Now she’d like to have one more day of not knowing that someone killed her daughter.  Grabbing Kensi’s arm, Mrs. Perez asks that they not give up on Britney this time.  Kensi promises.

In Ops, Rountree has been looking into Aaron Baker.  At 18, Baker was arrested for assault and battery, a charge that was pled down to a misdemeanor.  While he got away with that, his DNA is now in the system so it should be easy to match anything that can be retrieved from the tooth.  Fatima is still waiting for the files for the case to be sent – it is taking hours. 

Fatima is also investigating Petty Officer Jen Anderson, Perez’s roommate.  Anderson went AWOL days before Perez disappeared.  Rountree gets a text – the files are downstairs.  Fatima is surprised, her tablet didn’t beep when the files were sent.  The files were sent – physical files.  They are in charred yet damp banker boxes.  Daisy sent a note – the burn marks are from wildfires in 2009, the dampness from flooding in 2015.  Rountree leaves, saying “you’ve got this, right.”  Fatima is not pleased.

Callen and Sam approach a man asking if he’s Aaron Baker.  It’s Jack Baker, Aaron’s dad.  He’s working on a boat in the garage.  Jack Baker explains he’s been living with Aaron and Aaron’s wife Melissa since his house burned down in the Bell Canyon fires.  Aaron’s out and Jack is happy to tell him that NCIS stopped by – why were they stopping by.  When Callen says a cold case from 2003, Jack reacts poorly.  Since the documentary series, the family has gotten late night phone calls, people just showing up at the house, death threats.  Callen is sorry they had to go through that.  Before they leave, Sam fixes a knot on a boat.  Jack is impressed and asks if Sam is Navy.  When Sam says Senior Chief, Special Warfare, Jack is a bit more open.  Since Aaron and Melissa went shopping and will be back soon, Jack’s fine with Callen and Sam waiting inside the house.

Inside the house, Jack is showing some photos he has of his time during Desert Storm.  He was a Chief Petty Officer running the Beachmasters unit.  Aaron and Melissa arrive.  When Callen explains they are from NCIS and it is about Britney Perez, Melissa wants no part of the interview – the family has been through enough.  Callen tells them about Britney’s body being found.  “The sooner we have answers, the sooner this will be over for everyone,” Sam says.  Jack seems supportive of Callen and Sam so Aaron is open to answering questions.

Asked about what he was arguing about with Britney, Aaron doesn’t remember.  Jack is cheerleading for his son during the interview.  Things happened 20-years ago, hard to remember.  Sam asks if Aaron remember his roommate for 20-years ago.  He does – Kevin Phillips and they were friends at the time.  The two haven’t spoken in over a decade.  Before they plan on leaving, Callen asks if Aaron was willing to turn over his dental records.  Melissa puts her foot down – she considers this harassment.  She’s calling a lawyer and if they want his dental records, Callen and Sam need a warrant. 

Leaving the home, both Callen and Sam are sure Aaron remembers more than saying and Melissa knows that too.  They want Rountree to find Kevin Phillips to see what he remembers.  Callen gets a text from Daisy – they found DNA in the tooth.  They don’t need a warrant for Aaron’s dental records, they already have his DNA on file.

Coming down the stairs, Rountree asks how Fatima is doing with the physical files.  About half of the files belong to different cases.  What belongs to this case is either burned or moldy.  She also thinks there is something live in one of the boxes.  Rountree found Jen Anderson, who is living in Sun Valley.  She was arrested for drugs about five years ago and is currently on parole.  Kensi and Deeks are on their way to see her. 

Fatima finds a box of cassette tapes of interviews, amazed at the lack of technical prowess of the original investigators.  Rountree isn’t sure where they would find a cassette player.  Fatima is – Kilbride’s truck is in the carport.  He’s on vacation, probably having the time of his life, according to Rountree.  They can listen to the tapes in Kilbride’s truck.

Not having the time of his life – Kilbride.  Alex is explaining how the coffee he’s serving is from a farmer’s market downtown that has a direct connection with a coffeehouse in Guatemala.  The Admiral doesn’t much care about the coffee.  The Admiral knows what’s going on.  Alex admits he’s back in rehab, sticking with the program and going to meetings.  The Admiral is happy to hear it.  Alex thinks everything is so weird.  Kilbride is willing to go back to the last conversation the two had.  Things are going downhill fast.

When Kilbride complains that things aren’t that easy for him either, Alex asks why Kilbride is even there. Alex realizes “Mom asked you to come.”  Alex is annoyed that his mother couldn’t leave well enough along.  “If you were ‘well enough’ she never would have asked,” Kilbride replies.  He’s angry that Alex was given every opportunity, given anything a person could ask for.  Alex tells his father he didn’t ask for what he’s got now.  Kilbride replies he didn’t turn it down either. 

Exasperated, Alex says he wasn’t born ready to take on the world like Kilbride was.  Kilbride disagrees – the only difference between the two of them was “I didn’t fold up like a cheap suit every time life got hard.”  Imitating his father offering advice like “suck it up” and “take it like a man”, Alex asked if he missed any not helpful pieces of advice.  Pausing a beat, Kilbride tells Alex he’s there to help.  Alex thinks that help is 40-years too late.  “I don’t want your help.  Just go.”  Alex is sure Kilbride has more important work to do.  Grabbing his coat and hat, Kilbride leaves.

In the cold case lab, Callen brings up Emily instead of Stacy, another possible plus one for the wedding.  Callen thinks Emily is a much better fit for the wedding.  Daisy arrives.  The tooth is inconclusive when it comes to a match for Aaron Baker.  The pool of suspects is basically anyone living in Los Angeles in 2003.  Callen asks about forensic genealogy – that’s how they found the Golden State Killer.  Daisy says TV makes that all look too easy.  They would have to build out a family tree, that takes time, and other family members who put in their DNA for genealogy.  But she’ll get her staff working on that.  When Daisy leaves, Sam mentions he really likes Daisy.  Callen wants to know if that’s in a plus-one sort of way.  Rountree calls – he found Kevin Phillips.  Phillips has been working in Long Beach for a masonry firm.  Before that, several years in prison for wire fraud and falsifying records.  Baker’s alibi was from a convicted liar.  And it is a non-violent crime so Phillips’s DNA wouldn’t be in the system.  Callen and Sam want to talk to Phillips.

While Fatima listens to some really bad detective work in Kilbride’s truck, Rountree pretends the Admiral has returned.  Fatima isn’t all that amused.  She updates Rountree on what she’s learned.  Perez spoke to her CO before she disappeared.  The CO on the tape said Perez wanted to report a crime for her roommate but he thought it was just a he said/she said situation.  If they reported every he said/she said situation to NCIS, NCIS would stop taking the base’s calls.  Perez was forced to take matters in her own hands by confronting Baker.  But since she already reported the crime, Baker would have no reason to silence Perez.  Unless she was willing to take her claims to a larger audience.

Continuing his litany of dangerous things for Rosa to stay away from, Deeks has vetoed the Girl Scouts, academic decathlon, choir and ceramics.  “What sort of a manic lets minors around a kiln?” Deeks asks.  At Jen Anderson’s door, Deeks knocks and someone starts shooting through the door.  Kensi goes out back to find Anderson washed all her sheets and they’re all hanging on clothes lines.  A man shoots at Kensi.  She returns fire, hitting him on the leg.  When Deeks joins Kensi in the backyard, they hear something at the back door.  It is Jen Anderson.

The man shooting at Kensi is Anderson’s friend Marcus, “a narcissistic idiot”, who thought Kensi and Deeks were there to arrest him.  Seems he had a lot of drugs with him.  Marcus is going to jail for a long time for drugs and shooting at Federal Agents.  Deeks asks Anderson about Aaron Baker and Britney Perez 20-years ago.   When Anderson asks if Kensi spoke to Baker about “it”, Kensi said they did.  Anderson walks away while Deeks deals with LAPD.

Gently, Kensi pushes Anderson to talk about what happened with Aaron Baker.  They can’t solve Perez’s case without her.  Anderson tells Kensi that Baker “assaulted” her.  Took her life away while his went on without a worry in the world.  Anderson left the Navy.  Perez was the only person who knew what happened.  She was a good friend to Anderson who wouldn’t let Baker walk around free as Anderson was losing her career.  Perez reported the crime against Anderson’s wishes.  Anderson left the day Perez reported the crime.  A few days later, Perez’s disappearance was all over the news.  Anderson didn’t speak to investigators – if they didn’t believe Perez, they weren’t going to believe her.

Kevin Phillips is on the wrong side of the desk in Interrogation.  Aaron Baker may have been Phillips’s best friend but he wouldn’t lie for him.  Sam asks if Phillips is lying for himself.  He swears he had no reason to kill Perez.  Sam sees a way that Philips, knowing that Baker had a Navy family, would protect Baker from the harm caused Perez’s accusations.  Phillips is firm – Baker didn’t kill Perez and he didn’t kill Perez.  Callen asks Phillips to prove it – provide a DNA sample.  Phillips agrees. 

As Callen goes to speak with Daisy, Sam questions Phillip about his reaction to Sam’s Navy-oriented question.  Sam wonders how serious Aaron Baker was about the Navy.  Phillips admits that Baker liked the Navy because it helped his dating life.  When Baker would get blackout drunk – which was all the time – he’d speak about his father.  Jack Baker would bully his son, calling him a failure and a disgrace to the family.  Sam asks if Jack Baker knew about Perez’s accusations.  He did.

Daisy puts the kibosh on a DNA test for Kevin Phillips.  A deeper look into the DNA again a genealogy search matched Aaron Baker – a partial match.  Sam arrives, asking if it a 50% match.  It is.  Daisy would need to see a DNA sample for Jack Baker.  Callen has just the man for the case.

Wearing Artie, Deeks is trash pail diving around the Baker home.  He’s not happy about the assignment.  Kensi is taking photos of Deeks to support the chain of custody.  Under the Abandoned DNA Act, any genetic material left in a public place can be used by law enforcement.   Chanting he has a law degree and loves his job, Deeks is picking through the regular trash.

Jack Baker leaves the home, dropping paint cans and rubber gloves into the recycling pail.  The gloves would have DNA so Deeks goes to retrieve them, muttering all the way.  As Deeks gets into the recycling pail, Jack Baker tries to run Deeks off.  Deeks knocks down the pail, yells “I am Spartacus” and shows Kensi he has the gloves.  Fatima and Rountree listen in to all this.

As Kilbride is Ubering back to the airport, the driver mentions that a tough day can be forgotten by showering and a good night sleep.  Kilbride instead, returns to Alex’s apartment.  Alex asks why Kilbride is there.  Kilbride replies he’s there to do something he should have done years ago.

In the cold cases lab, Daisy confirms to Kensi and Deeks that the DNA on the gloves is a 100% match.  Kensi calls that into Ops – they’ll meet Callen and Sam at the Baker home but Jack Baker is gone.  He left to go to the hardware store – LAPD had him under surveillance – but lost him in the store.  Fatima is trying to track his truck with GPS.  He was at a storage facility in Van Nuys.  Rountree has security cam photos of Jack Baker removing a rifle from his storage unit and putting it in his truck.  Kensi sighs – Jack Baker knows NCIS is coming for him, “and that’s not good,” according to Deeks.

On the freeway, Callen and Sam are trying to find Jack Baker.  He’s going north – to Castaic Lake.  Kensi and Deeks are about 15-minutes behind Callen and Sam.  There was a hit and run by Aaron Baker’s house – with Baker’s BMW.  Kensi and Deeks are going to Aaron Baker’s home to see if Aaron was making a run for it.  Callen and Sam will deal with Jack Baker. 

At Castaic Lake, Sam looks around Jack Baker’s truck – the rifle is gone. 

Kensi and Deeks cut off Aaron Baker, ordering him out of his car.  Saying he doesn’t have time for this, he’s afraid his father is going to hurt himself.  Or something worse. 

On comms, Kensi warns Callen and Sam that Jack Baker may be on a suicide mission.  Callen and Sam realize Jack Baker wants to kill himself but wants Callen and Sam to do the actual killing.  Sam sees Baker and starts approaching him.  When Baker stops, he complains “that bitch” was going to ruin his son’s life.  Sam disagrees – Aaron ruined his own life by his actions.  Baker claims he was doing what any father would do – protect his son.  Again Sam disagrees – Baker killed a woman who was doing the right thing.  Baker promises he won’t die in prison.  He turns his gun on Sam and tries to fire.  Sam shoots Baker.  Looking at the body, Sam realizes Baker had the safety on.

“Great, I miss all the fun,” Daisy says as she pulls up to the crime scene.  She wanted to know how the story ends.  Callen asks if they can send back the file boxes.  The OSP would like the file boxes to be returned.  Asked what she’s going to do now, Daisy has lots of cold cases – she’ll work on them until there are none left.  Callen wonders how many cold cases are there.  She doesn’t keep count.  She’d like Callen and Sam to join her – she could always use another body or two.  Probably phrased wrong. 

As Daisy goes to see what’s going on, Callen gets a text.  Stacey has a date for the wedding but Emily is still looking for a plus one.  Sam is sure Emily can find a date for the wedding.  Callen pushes until Sam relents.  He’d like to get to know Emily – really know her as his plus one.  Maybe Callen, Sam, Anna and Emily can go for a fancy dinner Friday – Callen’s treat.  Then next Friday, pricey sushi – Callen’s treat.  Then there’s a private chef that will cook for couples.  Callen walks way, even threatens to walk home.  Sam is sure his days of fending off plus one offers are done.

Jen Anderson texts Kensi.  She’s going public with her accusations against Aaron Blake.  Maybe her telling the truth will give strength to other victims.  Deeks puts his arms around Kensi.

Mrs. Perez lights a floating candle at Castaic Lake.

Daisy puts the tooth and DNA into an evidence bag.  Putting it all in a freezer where there are thousands of vials of DNA, she says, “one down, hundreds to go.”

In his apartment, Alex explains to his father that his marriage is over.  Kilbride wants to know what can he do for Alex.  “Talking help,” he explains.   Admitting the truth, Alex says he doesn’t have a new client, his firm let him go.  Kilbride already knew.  Alex found talking to his father “nice.”  Alex notes that Kilbride was going to miss his flight – until he realizes that Kilbride already missed the flight.  Kilbride will be sacking out on the couch, enjoying another cup of coffee with his son. 

What head canon can be formed from here:    There are probably two really good episodes here but because the Drona drama has to eat up lots of episodes, the two great storylines were crammed into one good but not great episode. 

There were two really good episodes in this episode but by cutting and pasting them together, there was one good episode instead. 

Cramming the two episodes together, you had a theme of parents and their children.  Fathers – Deeks, Kilbride and Jack Baker – and mothers – Kensi, Mrs. Perez.  Deeks had the easy part – he was playing it for laughs but with his history in the public defenders office, the LAPD and now with NCIS, he knows how badly things can go for young people in the world.  Also knowing how badly things can go for young people in the world is Kilbride.  Kilbride wound up with the career and code in life to live by.  That wasn’t want Alex needed and Kilbride did not have the ability to deal with his issues.  Jack Baker seemingly forced his career on his son who had no interest in the code a man should live by.  So Jack Baker murdered an innocent woman to keep his son’s future bright. 

With Kensi and Mrs. Perez, you have two women who want/wanted their daughters to go out into the world to be the best versions of themselves.  Deeks’s over-the-top worries about Rosa’s safety is undercut by how Britney Perez did all the right things – protected and friend, fought for justice – and spent 20-years drowned in the trunk of her car.

There should have been a solo episode about Britney Perez’s disappearance and one solo episode about Kilbride with his son/Kensi and Deeks dealing with Rosa’s future. 

Loved, loved, loved Daisy.  Memo to the surviving NCIS and the possible new NCIS.  Find something for Daisy to do in either 2024 or in the past with the young Gibbs/young Mike Frank.  This was a program that spent years with limited recurring characters – how great would it have been to have Hetty and Daisy mixing things up in season four.

One good episode that could have been two great hours.

Episode number:   This is episode number 319, the 17th episode of season 14.

[houseoracastle]

@fromthelight

Cass was doing everything he could to stop himself from falling into old cycles. The kind where he was all-fun-all-the-time, making crazy impulsive decisions, doing a million things at once, and then suddenly falling off the face of the earth and not finishing any of the million things he'd started. But it wasn't easy. Already, there were unfinished projects in his wake, and here he was trying to keep moving, in the hopes that nobody would notice.

At least he was still going, head up, fairly lucid for the time being. "I just haven't settled on a color scheme for the wedding," he said, frowning and pushing one of the old wedding magazines he'd managed to find towards Luxanna. "It could be because half of this shit is from the late nineties, but also I think it's because we haven't picked a date, you know? How do I settle on a color scheme when I don't even know what season we're getting married in?"

[angelfrommontgomery]

One of my many dearly held hater beliefs is that I think having a dress code for a wedding beyond the traditional cocktail/formal/whatever is insane. Maybe if you had a very small wedding and knew all the guests very well and it had a lot of wiggle room. But people handing out a specific color palette?????? Wdym everyone is supposed to get an outfit that matches your theme/vibes. If you want a curated vibe so bad, pay for the decor for it. Guests usually dress for the season anyways, so you’ll probably get muted tones in the fall and bright in the summer anyways. You can ask somebody involved in the ceremony or somebody you’re very very close with to follow the color scheme, but I would roll my eyes so hard if I was just a regular guest at a wedding and I was asked to wear a specific style or color (probably making me buy a new outfit) just to be an on theme prop in the background of photos…get real. Making it a must is crazyyyy

“Well our wedding is a party! It’s got a theme!” If u invited me to a regular party that demanded I wear an nice cocktail or more formal outfit to ur specifications just to be in attendance I would not go to to ur party.

[skcfrontpage]

•┈┈┈••✦ Question for You ✦••┈┈┈•

Do you remember when all your friends had these ideas of how they wanted to live their life after school? They all seemed to have their ideal wedding with their ideal man all written out. They knew what season they’d walk down the aisle, what dress they were going to wear, the color scheme of the bridesmaid dresses and the decor of the venue. They all had a picture painted clear as day in their minds. The house they were going to live in, where that house was located, the number of children and pets they were going to have. Looking back on it you felt a little bit out of the loop because you had no clue where you were going to end up after school was over, who you were going to meet, where you’d travel to, if you’d even be married with children at all. All you knew deep down, was that you wanted to fall so deep in love with someone who wanted to do the same. You never really liked the idea of being alone. Sure, you have plenty of friends, but friends have their own lives with their own places to stay and their own boyfriends or girlfriends. You just wanted someone in your life that was going to love and support you no matter what and would always be there to hold you when you needed them. To be that person for them as well. A best friend and a lover too. You’ve been able to find that a few times, but they all fell wilted as fast as they were in bloom. Your favorite people have turned into lessons you’ve had to learn, and as you sit here now and reflect on another favorite person-gone-teachable moment, you ask yourself, will you ever have a love like that stay for good?