#but i’m so happy with the ending and the epilogue i cried they’re MARRIED AND HAVE A DAUGHTER AND ARE HAPPY AF!!!!!

[lilmeowmeowsagelesath]

so i finally finished tfftf during that diamond rush and 😭🥹😭 i’m so beyond sad it’s over omg kingu my love i miss you already

[amor-immortalem]

Everything Undesired Epilogue

chapter 12

It’s been fifteen years to the day since Cyrus disappeared without a trace. He and Arella had long since graduated from RAD alongside his brothers. They had gotten married and have three children together now. Mammon remembers back to when they told Cyrus he would be a big brother- how excited he had been to not be the only child in a house full of adults. Now his son would never have that experience and it was all Mammon’s fault so it’s here in the room he and Arella had saved for Cyrus that he sits.

Surrounded by everything that reminds him of the child he’d lost, the Avatar of Greed flips through a photo album that Levi had made in honor of the little one, eyes wet with fresh tears. This room stays locked for the entire year except for today. The twins know they’re not allowed in here, even if they don’t exactly know why and his youngest is too young to even care about the door that’s always locked. They never told their children about their older brother- it was far too painful for both him and Arella, neither of them having accepted that their son was really gone forever.

In the aftermath of losing his heir, Mammon had become extremely over-protective of the twins and Mahlon. He would never allow this to happen again- he might actually die from a broken heart if he were to lose another child due to his carelessness.

“I wish I knew where ya were...” his voice catches in his throat. “I know you’re alive- that you’re out there... somewhere... I can feel it.”

And that was the sad truth of it all. As the years went on, he’d watched carefully over his only daughter, Azalea. If Cyrus was truly gone, it would be her that would inherit his title and throne. But she never developed all the abilities necessary to be Mammon’s successor. With every year that passed without the development of those powers, the demon only became more certain that his oldest was still alive.

For as overjoyed as he would be for Cyrus to return, he knew it would only cause friction in their little family. Azalea had gone her entire life thinking she was meant to be her father’s successor. She always took pride in it and Mammon now feared that the revelation that she was never meant to be would destroy his daughter’s world. Another thing that was his fault. She had assumed all this because he and Arella couldn’t find a way to break it to her.

Things were already tense between them after the birth of her youngest brother. She had pulled away from them in fear that she was being replaced and they didn’t want to lose her completely now. Azalea was considered a trouble maker to anyone who didn’t know the real her, often getting herself into more fights than anyone could count. If they told their daughter the truth now, she would think they were taking the position away from her and giving it to one of her brothers as punishment. Mammon and Arella were still trying to convince her that she wasn’t being replaced- that they still loved her regardless of all the trouble she gets into on a regular basis but it hadn’t been working.

And it was now, Mammon realized all the mistakes he’d made in not biting the bullet in talking about Cyrus. The white-haired demon resolves to tell them today when they come home for dinner as they did every Friday night since they’d moved into the House of Lamentation after they had gone off to RAD. He wondered how they would take the news. Would it be shock? Anger? It had to be now or never.

As the front door opened, Mammon perked up. He could hear the twins whispering amongst themselves, neither wanting to risk waking their little brother and then there was a soft gasp from the both of them.

“Zay, the door to that room’s open,” it’s Aurelius’ voice that sounds first.

“Mum and Dad don’t want us seein’ what’s in there so we should prolly jus’ avoid it. There’s a reason it’s always locked...”

He was about to call them into the room when his D.D.D. rang. It was a call from Lucifer so he answered.

“You need to come to the House of Lamentation as soon as you can.” and then the call cut off- not even a good bye which only served to worry the Avatar of Greed.

Mammon’s first fear was that something had happened to his wife on her return trip from the mortal world. He hoped it wasn’t that. As he got up, he left the door to Cyrus’ room open.

“Hey, I have to go to the House of Lamentation really quick, can ya stay with your brother, please?” The demon knows he should have waited for a response from the teenagers but this was an emergency in his mind. He needed to be quick.

Azalea and Aurelius only exchanged a confused look before Azalea called after their father. “Wait, I wanna go too!” And off she ran after him.

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“Damn, at least slow down, Old Man!” She shouts although she doubted he could actually hear her with the wind in his ears. Azalea was having a hell of a time keeping up with Mammon as she hopped from roof top to roof top, having to transform into her demon form to even have a chance at keeping up with her father. She really wishes she was born with wings as like her twin.

As the pair reached the doors of the House of Lamentation, Azalea tries to catch her breath and as Mammon pushes open the doors open, their breaths catch in the throats at the sight before them. There, sitting on the floor having Arella using healing magic to tend to the nasty cut on his cheek, was Cyrus.

The Avatar of Greed rushes forward quickly, a million thoughts racing through his mind as he embraced his son in a tight hug. He doesn’t even know where to start with his words, he was so relieved to see Cyrus safe and mostly unharmed as he pulled back to inspect him.

He’s mostly unchanged but his white hair had grown out a considerable length, tipped with black indicating that it had been dyed at some point and as expected he had grown- nearly as tall as his father now.

“What happened to you?” Mammon’s voice is soft, “Do ya know how worried we were? Where did you go?”

Cyrus couldn’t answer. Instead, he just wrapped his parents in a tight hug as he cried and cried. He just buried his face in their shoulders as they rubbed his back.

“Shhhh, it’s okay, Baby.” Arella said as she held back tears. “It’s okay. You’re home now. You’re safe now.”

Azalea just stood in the doorway as she watched her parents. She didn’t know what to think. It felt like her whole world was crashing down around her. Who was this person her parents were fussing over? When it finally clicked in her mind that she had an older brother- that she wasn’t her father’s heir- she sank to her knees. Great, she thought, yet another person to compete against for Mum and Dad’s love.

“Azalea?” Lucifer's voice called as he knelt next to her. “Are you alright?” He can tell something’s not right with the girl.

“I....” she turns her head, “I.... I don’t know. I... Why didn’t they tell us about him?”

“When you lose someone you love, sometimes it can be very hard to talk about them. Especially when you can’t accept that they were lost.” The Avatar of Pride stands his niece up, letting her hold onto him for support- for grounding. “Your parents have wanted to tell you for some time, but they just couldn’t bring themselves to. They didn’t mean to deceive you.”

Even with her uncle’s words, Azalea was still unsure. She just wants to escape right now, feeling like she was suffocating. “I... I think I’m gonna hang out in my room right now. I need some space.” With that she dashes up the stairs, an action not unnoticed by her parents.

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“Azalea, can we talk?” Arella opens the door to her daughter’s room- the one that had once been her husband’s.

“Yeah,” The girl says softly as she thumbs through a book absentmindedly.

Arella takes a seat next to her daughter as she opens her arms for her, a little relieved when the half-demon takes the invitation, the book discarded to the side as she buried her face in her mother’s chest.

“Why didn’t you guys tell me that I wasn’t....”

“We weren’t sure how- at least with you, my little flower.” She runs her hands through her daughter’s hair. “We didn’t want you to think we were punishing you in the worst way possible...”

“So what happens next for me? What’s my purpose now?”

“I’m afraid that’s something you have to discover on your own. You’ll find it one day, but you’re free now from the weight that your father’s title brings. You can be whatever you want.”

“Do you and Dad still love me? Am I good enough...?”

“Of course we do. We will always love you, princess. You are enough for us so don’t worry, okay?” She presses a kiss to the top of Azalea’s head. “We’re heading home now, okay? It's time for dinner and we can’t leave your brothers waiting.”

Azalea nods as she rises from the couch and they head out to meet Mammon and Cyrus. As the four of them walk home, everything feels right once more. With Cyrus back, their family finally feels complete.

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And so the story has a happy ending. I could possibly do another fic all bout how Azalea copes with not being Mammon’s successor anymore but I haven’t decided yet. I’m going to write a tumblr exclusive fic for Aurelius first instead of a comic before I do any of that though.

find more on my masterlist

[prettyboyjackhughes]

-Little Crosby- |D. Cozens| [Epilogue/Part 8]

This is the end of Little Crosby and I don’t think I've ever been this sad for one of my fics to end. I fell in love with Dylan and Ava’s story and I absolutely loved getting to write this with @prettyboycozens​. This story turned into something I never thought it would and I am so thankful to everyone who supported, encouraged and got to read this story! So thank you for all the love and support for Little Crosby! Enjoy the last part!

“Momma?” I hear Wes call from the top of the stairs as Dylan tugs me down onto the couch next to him.

“We’re down here, Baby!” I call, relaxing into Dylan’s arms. Wes is 4 now and looks just like Dylan. Dad says he acts just like me though. He’s your typical little boy, all dirt, loud and hockey. He loves hockey, of course, and getting to go to his dad, grandpa and uncles’ games and spending time with all of his family. He’s grown up surrounded by cousins which he absolutely loves, even if they are 3 hours away.

“We have to leave for dinner in about 15 minutes. Are you ready?” I ask, looking up at Dylan. He shrugs and I move off of him, letting him get up.

“I need to change and let the dog out, then we can leave.” He says, heading back to our room. Wes runs out of his room. He rushes down the stairs and jumps up onto the couch, a Sabres jersey hanging off of his already tall and skinny frame. As he jumps, I see a flash of black and I smile. Underneath the Cozens jersey he has on is a Crosby jersey; the one Dad got him for Christmas last year. When he knows he’s gonna see Dad, he always wears both jerseys.

“Hey Buddy, why don’t we pick one jersey to wear tonight? You’ll want the other one clean for tomorrow’s game.” I say, walking over to the couch and sitting down as he bounces over to me.  

“We’re gonna see Grandpa! We’re gonna see Grandpa!” Wes yells, still jumping on the couch.

“Yes we are. Why don’t we take Daddy’s jersey off and you can wear it tomorrow. Wear Grandpa’s tonight.” He finally stops and lets me tug the Sabres jersey over his head, leaving the black Crosby jersey on.

It’s been 6 years since the Canada trip that Dylan and I met on. Dylan and I have been living in Buffalo for 5 years, having just moved into a new house right before Wes’ last birthday. We still haven’t gotten married but the ring Dylan gave me all those years ago, that still has a place on my finger, still reminds me and him about the promise he made, what seems like forever ago in that hospital bed. So we’ll get around to getting married one day. Everything’s been going wonderfully in Buffalo. Dylan’s been playing well, Wes is loving preschool and I’m working at a doctor’s office as a pediatric nurse. With it being the first time I’m more than 20 minutes away from Dad and my family, even after 6 years, it’s taken a while to get used to planning weekend trips to Pittsburgh and Chicago to visit Dad and the uncles, along with Kirby and Carter.

Carter and Kirby stayed together while Carter was in college on the west coast, and are talking about getting married now that she’s graduated, which is really exciting. My uncles’ kids have all started to grow up and become actual humans, which has been really fun to watch. They’re all happy and living life. The biggest change has been that Marc and his family moved back to Pittsburgh. He ended up getting traded back to Pittsburgh, which meant our not so little family was all together again, at least when Dylan and I come to Pittsburgh. He plans on retiring in Pittsburgh with Dad, Kris and Geno, when the time comes.

“Come on Dylan! We’re going to be late for dinner!” I call as Wes returns to bouncing on the couch. Dylan finally comes out of our bedroom, our dog following behind him.

“Let me let Milo out then we can leave.” He calls as he opens the back sliding door and Milo runs out, barking. Dad had called a family meeting while he and my uncles were on a road trip to Buffalo. He usually only calls family meetings when something important happened so I was a little nervous to see what he needed to tell us. We were meeting at a restaurant about 20 minutes away from the house with a big room since there were going to be all 16 of us together in Buffalo, for the first time since Christmas. Dad hadn’t mentioned anything happening the last time he and I had talked on the phone earlier this week but maybe something had happened since then. Wes climbed into my lap and snuggled into my chest. I knew he wouldn’t stay this little forever but I wanted him to. I loved how his big brown eyes somehow managed to get bigger when he was talking about something exciting. I loved how he talked with his hands, waving and pointing to make sure everyone understood exactly what he was saying. Most of all, I loved how he called me “Momma” and loved to cuddle and be cuddled. Dylan and I had talked about having more kids, which I loved the idea of, but I was savoring every minute of it being just the 3 of us.

“Okay Baby, let’s get going.” Dylan says as he lets Milo back inside and gets him into his cage.

“I’m nervous, why am I nervous?” I ask as Dylan tugs his coat on then kneels down to help Wes zip his coat and put his shoes on.

“Because the last family meeting your dad called was when we told your uncles you were pregnant?” I roll my eyes and zip my coat up.

“You’re really not helping.” Dylan laughs as he picks Wes up and we head out the door.

“Maybe he’s retiring?” Dylan offers as I climb into the passenger seat and he straps Wes into his carseat. Wes is preoccupied by his ipad, oblivious to what Dylan and I are talking about.

“He would’ve told me first. If it was something that big. But I really have no idea what it could be.”  Dylan shrugs as he gets into the driver’s seat.

“Babe, it could be nothing. Maybe he just wants us all together. Don’t think too much into it.” He says, softly kissing my cheek before starting the car. We drive in silence, the only sound in the car is Wes’ ipad. As we pull into the parking lot of the restaurant, I see Carter and Kirby heading inside.

“Okay this must be really big. Carter and Kirby are here too.” I say, trying to fight the building anxiety rising in my chest. Dad wasn’t old, only 39, but he had been playing in the NHL for 21 years. Maybe he really was retiring. Or maybe something else had happened.

“Momma! I’m hungry!” Wes cried from the backseat, his ipad now forgotten on the seat next to him.

“Alright Buddy, we’re gonna go inside and see all your cousins and aunts and uncles, and Grandpa. It looks like Aunt Carter and Uncle Kirby are here too!” I say, turning around and smiling at him as Dylan puts the car in park. Wes bounces excitedly in his seat, waiting for Dylan and I to get out and unbuckle him. Carter must’ve seen us because she and Kirby are waiting in front of the restaurant for us.

“Whatever Dad tells us, promise me it’s gonna be okay?” I ask, looking over at Dylan before climbing out of the car.

“It’s gonna be okay. Everything’s gonna be fine.” He says, watching me with intent eyes. I nod and open Wes’ door, unbuckling him and holding him close.

“I wanna go see Uncle Kirby, Momma!” He shouts, excitedly. So I let him down once we reach the sidewalk and he runs to Kirby who scoops him up and tickles him. Dylan’s hand finds mine and we meet up with Carter and Kirby.

“Any idea why we got told to come to Buffalo for the weekend?” Carter asks. I shrug and she grimaces a little.

“Are we in trouble?” She asks, taking Kirby’s hand as Wes runs ahead of us and waits at the door to the restaurant.

“Not that I know of. Why, did you do something to get us in trouble?” I ask, nudging her and laughing. She shakes her head and leads the 5 of us into the restaurant. The hostess leads us back to the room where my 3 nephews are running laps around the table while my nieces are huddled in the corner with one of my aunts. Wes runs to join the boys and I spot Dad on the other side of the room with Kris. We exchange a wave and I notice a woman I’m not familiar with next to him. Geno and Marc are sitting at the table, making sure the boys don’t break anything.

“Who’s the lady?” Kirby asks, attempting to hide himself pointing at the woman next to Dad.

“Your guess is as good as mine, Kirbs.” I say, shrugging as Dad walks over to me.

“Hi Sweetheart, good to see you!” He says as my hand slips out of Dylan’s and he hugs me. No matter how old I get, my anxiety seems to melt away whenever Dad hugs me.

“You know, you’ve had me freaking out ever since you called me to tell me about dinner.” I say as Wes jumps into Dad’s arms.

“Hi Buddy! I told you on the phone there was nothing to be worried about, Ava.” I cross my arms and look up at him.

“Uh huh. You know how I get, Dad.” He nods and wraps an arm around my shoulders.

“I think you’ll like this announcement.” I groan internally but nod. Dylan’s hand has found its way back into mine and he leads me over to where my uncles are now all sitting.

“Who’s the lady with Dad?” I ask as we sit down with the 3 of them.

“Kathy? You’ve met her, Ava. She works for the team as a physical therapist.” And as Kris answers, I start to realize he’s right.

“Oh yeah yeah I remember her. But that doesn’t explain why she’s here.” I say, looking between her and my 3 uncles sitting around me.

“She always travel with us.” Geno says, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair.

“I’ve told her about 10 times that she shouldn’t be freaking out but she doesn’t listen to me.” Dylan injects, his arm resting around the back of my chair.

“Hey you’re the one who reminded me that the last family meeting we had was to tell everyone I was pregnant so now my mind is going all sorts of places.” Marc laughs and shakes his head.

“I don’t think it’s anything that big. Just calm down Ava.” I shrug and look around the room, watching Wes, who is still clinging to Dad, talk animatedly to his cousins gathered around them. Kathy is standing with Veronique, Marc’s wife, talking. I watch her glance at Dad whose eyes are already on her. There’s definitely something there but I can’t put my finger on what. Dad finally lets Wes down and he wanders his way over to Dylan, climbing up onto his lap.

“Daddy I’m hungry. Is it time to eat yet?” Wes asks, cuddling into Dylan’s chest.

“Almost. I think Grandpa has to tell us something and then we’re gonna eat dinner. Did you have fun with all your cousins?” Wes nods, playing with the hem of his jersey.

“Did you show Grandpa that you’re wearing his jersey?” I ask, smoothing Wes’ hair down. His hair is dark, just like Dylan’s and is in a constant state of bedhead.

“He liked it. He told me a story about when you were little and had one of his jerseys, Momma. Daddy, I’m wearing your jersey for the game tomorrow.” Dylan smiles as Wes slides off his lap. He runs over to Dad, who is now standing at the head of the table.

“Hey, if you wouldn’t mind, I think it’s time for my announcement.” He says he picks Wes up and everyone starts to sit down.

“It’s great getting to see everyone here, together. Especially with the news I’m about to share. Everyone, this is Kathy. Ava and the guys know her. But she’s one of the physical therapists that works for the team. Um, she and I have been dating for the past 3 years. I asked her to marry me a little over a month ago and she said yes. So...We’re getting married.” My mouth drops open and Dylan glances at me, trying to gauge how I’m handling this news. As I glance around the room, trying to figure out if I heard that right, everyone’s faces look the same as mine.

“You didn’t know about this?” I whisper, turning to look at Marc with wide eyes.

“We had no idea! He doesn’t tell us things!” Marc says, his eyes as wide as mine. It takes Dylan’s hand finding mine to keep me in my seat and somewhat grounded.

“I know this is a shock but we’re very happy. And we want you all to be a part of our wedding.” It’s like everyone gets snapped out of a trance. Everyone is up, congratulating Dad and Kathy and I’m still in my seat. I’m frozen, unable to move from the shock. I see Dylan glance back at me, before talking to Dad. Kris comes to check on me, kneeling down in front of me.

“You okay, Kid?” I shake my head and he stands, tugging me to my feet and into a hug. Wes runs up and hugs my legs.

“Momma! I’m gonna have a grandma! Does that mean she’s your momma now?” He asks, his eyes bigger than dinner plates. Somehow, that manages to snap me out of my trance and Kris lets me go. I bend down to Wes’ level and he puts his hands on my shoulders.

“Sorta. She’ll be my step mom, Baby. Have you told Grandpa congratulations?” He shakes his head and I gather him in my arms.

“No! I wanna tell them ‘gratitations!” He says, bouncing in my arms. I smile at his mispronunciation of the word and start to walk in the direction of Dylan and Marc.

“Let’s go find Daddy and then we’ll go tell Grandpa and Kathy congratulations.” Wes rests his head on my shoulder and wraps his arms around my neck. My family has always been a comfort to me, and it’s definitely one I need today. I’ve always wanted Dad to find someone and fall in love. But it’s just been him and I for so long, even with my uncles and aunts, cousins and now Dylan and Wes. My heart hurts a little, thinking about letting Dad go, but I see how happy Dad is and I can’t help but push those feelings aside for him to be happy. He’s put so much on hold for me, waiting until I was ready and on my own, I can’t help but do the same for him. But there’s still a part of me that’s not sure about all of it. A part of me that’s terrified about losing my dad. That fear keeps me from being able to be as happy as Dad deserves me being.

“Hey Baby.” Dylan says, his arm automatically going around my waist and pulling me close. Wes squirms out of my arms and runs to Dad who is now walking over to us, Kathy in tow. He presses a kiss to the top of my head and ruffles Wes’ hair.

“Congratulations Dad. Kathy, I can’t wait to get to know you better!” I say, trying to hide the other emotions threatening to break through.

“Thank you so much, Ava. I’ve heard so much about you and the last time I remember seeing you was probably when you were in middle school. You’ve grown up so much. And you must be Dylan.” Kathy says, reaching out to shake Dylan’s outstretched hand. He nods, the smile on his face genuine, unlike the fake one I’m trying to pass off as real. Dad keeps glancing at me, probably because he can see right through the fake smile.

“And you’re Wesley. But you like being called Wes, right?” Kathy asks, bending down to Wes’ level. He grins shyly and leans against my legs.

“I’m Wes. Momma, can I say ‘gratitations now?” He asks, looking up at me with big eyes. I nod and he grins.

“Gratitations! Are you gonna be my grandma now?” He asks, looking up at Kathy.

“I’d like to be your grandma. Is that okay with you?” He nods and launches himself at her, hugging her. She smiles, hugging him back and then returning him to my arms.

“I think we should definitely think about doing dinner or something soon. Maybe before you guys head back to Pittsburgh.” Dylan says, looking down at me. His hand slips into mine, stopping me from twisting my ring. It’s been a habit since he put it on my finger, usually one that’s a sign of how anxious I’m feeling.

“We definitely can do that. I’d love to see your house.” Kathy says. I’ve spent the last few minutes just watching Dad. He’s been focused on Kathy and the look in his eyes says everything. He loves her, which should make me happy, to see Dad this happy but it’s still tearing me up. This is so much harder than I ever imagined it would be.

“We have a puppy. His name is Milo! He likes to play hockey with me.” Wes says, obviously warming up to Kathy already. He’s not really shy, usually he talks strangers’ ears off, so it doesn’t surprise me that he’s comfortable with her already. Dylan and I have had to talk to him a couple times to get him to understand the whole stranger danger thing. It doesn’t make sense that both Dylan and I are pretty reserved, quiet people and somehow we end up with a kid who is the most outgoing child ever.

“Well I would love to come over and meet Milo.” Wes suddenly runs off, calling goodbye to Kathy,  going to play with his cousins.

“He’s a sweet boy. He looks just like you, Dylan.” Dylan smiles. Kathy and Dad share a sweet smile and I stay quiet.

Eventually, everyone sits back down and we have dinner. Everyone laughs and talks. Carter, Kirby, and Dylan won’t stop checking to make sure I’m okay, even though I’ve told them all a thousand times I’m fine. We make it through the evening and head back home. We’ll see everyone tomorrow at the game so it’s just a few quick goodbyes. Carter and Kirby come over to the house and Wes ropes them into watching Cars 2 with us. The day has taken a lot out of me and I fight sleep the whole movie.

I feel Dylan get up from beside me, taking Wes from where he was laying, cuddled between us. Carter and Kirby left a little while ago, whispering goodbyes since Wes fell asleep about halfway through the movie. The play menu for ‘Cars 2’ lights up the living room and I sit there, lost in thought. I need to call Dad, talk through today. But I can’t bring myself to grab my phone off of the table and press call on his contact. I’ve only ever wanted Dad to be happy, that’s what he’s always wanted for me. After spending most of the evening talking to Kathy, I know how in love she is with Dad and that she’s good for him, it’s just hard letting go of my dad.

As I’m sitting there, contemplating calling Dad, my phone starts to ring. It snaps me out of my thoughtful state and I rush to check to see who’s calling. Dad’s name stares back at me as I pick my phone up. I take a deep breath and press the answer button.

“Hey Baby.” Dad’s voice breaks through the noise in my head.

“Hi Daddy. It’s late, why are you still up?” I ask, tugging my knees into my chest and running my free hand through my hair.

“I’ve been thinking about you. You seemed off tonight. You okay?” I sigh and lean my head against the back of the couch.

“I’m-I’m okay. I was just a little surprised with your announcement, that’s all.” His voice sounds tired.

“I know Sweetheart. I wanted to tell you sooner. I wanted you to meet Kathy before I told anyone, before anything happened. Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Dylan suddenly appears in the doorway without Wes. He must’ve gotten Wes into bed pretty easily. He raises an eyebrow, making sure I’m okay and I nod. He comes over to me, dropping a kiss on my forehead and whispering he’s going to bed. I nod, squeezing his hand as he walks away.

“I just wasn’t expecting it. I’m really happy for you both, Dad. There’s plenty of time for me to get to know Kathy before you get married and even after you guys get married. You put so much on hold for me while I was growing up. But I’m all grown up, now it’s your turn. I’ll always be your little girl, no matter what, but I have Dylan to take care of me now. You need someone else to take care of now, and that person is Kathy now. So don’t worry about me, Daddy. I’ll be okay.” And as I say I’m okay, it's the first time in a few hours that I’ve actually felt okay and haven’t been lying. I hear Dad sniffle a little on the other end of the call, which of course makes me tear up.

“Baby, you’re absolutely amazing. You’re a wonderful mom to Wes, you love Dylan so much and I would never trade being your dad for anything in the entire world. You’ve been the highlight of my life. Not winning the Stanley Cup, not playing in the All-Star game. You are the reason for all of it. Getting to share you with our family and now with Kathy is beyond a dream come true. Thank you for being so supportive.” His voice breaks a little and I’m full on crying now.

“I love you Daddy. I’m happy for you. Dylan and I are happy for you. And I know Wes is so excited for Kathy to be his grandma.” Dad clears his throat and I try to control the tears running down my face.

“I love you too, Ava Grace. Now you probably need to head to bed so I’ll let you go. Good night.” He lets me say goodnight then ends the call. I lean my head against the back of the couch and take a deep breath. The tears slow and I regain my composure.

“Hey Avs, you okay?” Dylan asks, sitting down on the couch next to me and pulling me into his lap.

“I thought you went to bed? But I’m okay.” He kisses my forehead and relaxes into the couch.

“I could hear you on the phone. I wanted to make sure you were okay.” I snuggle into his chest and sigh.

“It’s been a long, surprising day but I think I’ll be okay.” I can feel him smile and he moves so we’re laying down on the couch, me resting on his chest.

“Your dad is happy. He’s going to have what all your uncles and we have. I think it’ll be fun to plan a wedding with your dad. Speaking of, we need to talk about us getting married.” Dylan says, looking down at me. I sit up a little, resting my chin on my hands and looking into his eyes.

“Oh I like when we do this. I want a big wedding.” I say, punctuating my sentence with a kiss on his lips.

“With all of our friends and family. And Wes as the ring bearer.” He says, twisting a few strands of hair between his fingers as I smile.

“Oh he’d be so cute in his little suit!” Dylan smiles and I settle back down on his chest again. We spend pretty much the rest of the night talking about our wedding and everything the future would bring, including siblings for Wes and in the morning, Wes finds us cuddled up on the couch and joins us, snuggling into Dylan’s side.

Dad calls a little after breakfast and asks to take Wes for the day, giving him some time to get to know Kathy. I agree and he picks him up, Kathy sitting in the passenger seat of his car. I wave from the doorway and she smiles, waving back. As I close the front door, Dylan scoops me into his arms and we head back to our room for his pregame nap, even though the game isn’t till later tonight. We end up sleeping until right before Wes gets home and Dylan needs to leave to be at the rink. Wes ends up laying down for a nap, which gives me some time to pick up the house a little and start getting ready for the game tonight. I love getting to spend games with my aunts and the rest of my family. It’s also nice to see all my uncles, Dad and Dylan all on the ice together.

Wes wears both of his jerseys, like he always does for Penguins-Sabres games, and is so excited to leave and head to the arena. Since I wear Dylan’s jersey for every other game, my tradition is to wear Dad’s jersey for games when he plays Dylan. All of the aunts, the kids, Wes and I hang out in a box, the kids running all over the box and back and forth with the other wives’ boxes for both the Sabres and the Penguins. It’s nice getting to sit and talk to my aunts. I don’t get to spend as much time with them as I do with my dad and uncles. We spend the whole game talking, making sure the kids don’t get too rambunctious while also watching the game at the same time. The game ends with the Penguins on top, 3-2 but Dylan scored and Dad did too with an assist from Geno. We all celebrate with dinner and drinks back at our house, giving me a chance to give my aunts an official tour, not over facetime. Wes shows off his playroom, bedroom and rink down in the basement that Dad and Dylan built him for his birthday. It’s the perfect ending to a family-filled day.            

Thank God Dad waited till the off season to get married. I couldn’t imagine planning a wedding during the season. But if I see one more sports website or magazine with the title ‘Sidney Crosby to Marry Team Physical Therapist! Letang, Malkin, Fleury, and Cozens among those in attendance’ or something like that, I will scream. It seems like this is the event of the year and it’s all anyone can talk about. Kathy and I have spent months, along with my aunts to plan the perfect wedding for her and Dad. The boys had been no help at all, being typical boys. Kathy and I had tried to get Dad involved in the planning but he had just kissed Kathy’s forehead and told her to do whatever she wanted. That night, I had gotten off the phone with the caterer for the wedding and collapsed into bed beside Dylan.

“I swear, if you don’t help me plan our wedding, I might break up with you before the wedding even happens.” I groan, rolling over to face him. He smirks and rolls over, eyes locked on mine.

“How do you manage to still be absolutely adorable while threatening to break up with me?” He asks, gently kissing me.

“Because you love me.” I say, smiling and letting him pull me closer.

“You’re right. I love you very very much.” He says, his forehead pressed to mine and his eyes wide.

“You’re cute, Babe. Now go to sleep. I have to fight with the florist in the morning.” He laughs but doesn’t say anything else. I manage to fall asleep, a list of what we still need to do for the wedding playing over and over again in my head.

The time between that night and the wedding flies by and before we know it, it’s the rehearsal dinner and I’m having to make a speech. And as I stand in front of my family and a few other people, I realize just how lucky I am.

“Hi everyone. You all know who I am so we can skip the introductions. But anyways, Dad and Kathy, congratulations. I had been waiting for the day that Dad told me he was getting married. And honestly, I was a little worried it would never come. But then Kathy came into the picture. She turned Dad’s world upside down and with that, turned everyone else’s lives in our family upside down. And I will always thank her for that because of the light and love she has brought into our family. Our family is complete now with her in it. So Kathy, I just want to say thank you. I can’t wait for you to officially join our family tomorrow. So here’s to Dad and Kathy, enjoy your last night apart.” I say, raising the glass of wine I’ve been sipping on all night. Everyone filling the dining room does the same and we all drink. The rest of the evening is carefree, enjoyable and fun. We all leave the dinner exhausted but excited for tomorrow. I collapse into bed and manage to sleep without having to worry about wedding plans.

The next morning is complete chaos. Everything that could be going wrong, seems to be going wrong and everyone is panicking. And as I try to get everything figured out so Dad and Kathy don’t have to worry, Dylan pulls me aside and kisses me softly.

“You’re doing amazing, Baby. The wedding is going to be perfect, don’t worry.” He says, running his hands up and down my arms, eyes locked on mine. He automatically calms me down and I’m able to finish getting everything worked out.

Thank God the wedding went off flawlessly. Dad only cried a little, I cried a little; everybody cried a little. Wes made it all the way down the aisle, only getting distracted by his cousins sitting in the front row and he looked adorable in his little tux. Dylan and I walked down the aisle together, being the maid of honor and Dylan being a groomsman. The whole time we’re walking down the aisle, in front of everyone, Dylan is whispering goofy things in my ear and making me giggle. Wes keeps looking up at Dylan, making silly faces throughout the whole ceremony. And as soon as we walk back down the aisle, he’s off and running with his cousins. Everywhere I look during the reception, there’s a hockey player. Which is something I should be used to, after being the kid of a hockey player and now dating a hockey player but I’m not. The later it gets, the more everyone drinks and the louder the music gets. After Dylan and I have both had a few drinks, Dylan pulls me out onto the dance floor and we dance the night away.          

A few weeks after Dad and Kathy’s wedding and honeymoon, he and Kathy drive up to Buffalo to spend a couple weeks with us. It’s wonderful having them at the house with us, giving Dylan and I a little break from Wes. One night, we’re all having dinner when Dylan turns to look at me.

“We’ve been together for how many years now? 7? And you know what? I still get butterflies every time you look at me.” Dylan says, looking deep into my eyes. I smile, watching him and trying to figure out what’s going on with the sudden outburst of mushiness.

“What I have with you? I don’t want it with anyone else. I choose you and I’ll choose you over and over again. You and Wes are the best things I could’ve never planned. I’m getting the future I’ve always wanted, with the girl I always wanted it with.” He says, taking my hands and pulling me to my feet. Dad sits behind us, Wes in his arms and Kathy holds close to his side, watching everything.

“I know I’ve done this before but we were young. So I’m doing it right this time. Ava Grace Crosby, will you marry me?” Dylan asks, slowly getting down on one knee and opening a ring box. My mouth drops open and I know I shouldn’t be surprised since we’ve already done this once but after what he said, I can’t help it.

“Are you kidding me? Yes!” I cry, pulling him to his feet and kissing him, my hands cupping his cheeks. I can hear Wes and Dad cheering, Kathy clapping. I pull away from Dylan, laughing and resting my cheek against his chest as his arms encircle me. Dad lets Wes down and he runs to us. Dylan scoops him up and he’s giggling, clapping his hands.

“Gratitaions Momma! Daddy!” He shouts. Dad and Kathy both join us and hug us. As I stand there, surrounded by my family, I think about how I’m getting the happy ending I’ve always wanted. I have the future with Dylan that I’ve thought about since we met, a son who I love more than anything in this world, the most amazing, supportive, and loving family. It’s everything I could’ve ever dreamed of and I’m completely in love with my life.

Tag List:

@theblushinglittle

@2manytabsopen

@nhlboyshavemyhart88​

@kirbyy-dach​

[fallinforgyu]

I just finished reading cherry epilogue and…like I said in “star-crossed pt2” my life feels so complete. Also I’m literally crying rn because I can’t believe it’s finished. Bun u have so much power omg, i haven’t cried over a smut since “star-crossed” which u also made- I also love how all the people in the enhypen smut hashtag were so invested in Heeseung’s and y/n’s story.

And god I love the ending, all I’m thinking during the epilogue was part 2 of cherry especially that part where Heeseung says he wants to marry y/n and fuck her everyday- I love how when they see each other again it felt kinda nostalgic. Idk how to explain it but it’s like they’ve grown up, they’ve changed but at the same time they’re still those teenagers that were scared of growing up and scared of growing apart. Also the seggsy time part made me think “Heeseung switch?????”.

( Idk how to end this lol but I hope u have a good day ! ૮₍ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ₎ა )

AAAAAAAAAAA thank you so so so much lovey i’m so glad you liked the ending!!! and i’m so glad you liked star-crossed too i literally can’t even begin to tell you how happy that makes me 🥺💘💘 i truly can’t thank you enough for reading and supporting my work bestie ilysm!!! 😭💓💓💓

[queerchoicesblog]

Epilogue: Underwater (SC Titanic, Zetta x Adele Series)

As promised, here the epilogue of the Zetta x Adele Series, folks. 

This is the very end of a project that meant me quite a lot to me and got me through the last terrible year. Thanks to all those who supported it: hope you enjoyed it and will enjoy this ending.

In case you were wondering, this song inspired the whole series, particularly the last chapters:

I will skip the tag list for once since it’s pointless anyway. 

➡️ Ch. 1, Ch. 2/1, Ch. 2/2, Ch. 3, Ch. 4, Ch. 5, Ch. 6, Ch. 7, Ch. 8/1, Ch. 8/2, Ch. 9, Ch. 10/1, Ch. 10/2, Ch. 11/1, Ch. 11/2, Ch. 12, Ch. 13, Ch. 14, Ch. 15 , Ch. 16, Ch. 17

_________________________

Almost a century after the sinking of the RMS Titanic and to celebrate Canada becoming the first country outside Europe to legalise same-sex marriage, the Canadian Film Institute decided to work side by side with several LGBTQ+ organisations across the world to put together an exhibition focused on the early queer cinema and the many queer stars who were forced to hide their true selves in the Golden Age of cinematography, spanning from 1890s till the aftermath of Second World War. "A testament to the role the LGBTQ+ community played in the history of cinema and that we have always been here, even if people hardly saw us" as a journalist wrote on a queer magazine. After the recent discovery of some private documents, the curators were overjoyed to include an icon of the 1900s - 1910s cinema like Zetta Serda into the retrospective and cast a new light on her extraordinary career sadly soon forgotten after the advent of the sound era. Yet, the silent picture star was mentioned as a model and 'endless source of inspiration" by many queer movie stars like Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, Greta Garbo all part of the retrospective. Rumor has it that as soon as she landed in America, Marlene Dietrich demanded his agent a meeting with Mrs King.

A curator drove all the way to Montreal to meet the last known heir, a certain Mrs. Julia Nowak, who greeted him on the threshold of a cosy downtown apartment. She offered him a coffee and a slice of a Polish sweet bread: the recipe was a family heirloom, she explained, beaming. She was in her late fifties, a therapist, she said. Her hazel eyes gleamed when she added, in a pleasantly soothing voice that betrayed a hint of excitement: "I must confess I am so incredibly happy that you contacted me about the retrospective. I adore the idea and I will make sure to attend it. Also" she nodded to a wedding picture hung to the wall "did you know that my wife is in politics? She campaigned for the legalisation...yes, Madeleine Fournier: see, you know her! We got married right after the law passed. If anything, your call and project made me twice as happy". She took a pause, smiling over her coffee in remembrance. "Anyway, back to the matter of your visit...yes, as far as I know, I am Zetta's last heir. As you probably know, my family wasn't officially related to her but she stated otherwise in her will". She moved to the couch and gestured the curator to follow her as she opened up one of the boxes and chests piled into the living room and picked out an old album, the leather cover worn at the edges. Dust waltzed in the air as she opened it with caution and gentle care. She showed him a slightly discoloured black and white picture of a young couple kissing for the camera in front of a church. Another wedding picture, from a different era. "Nana Hileni and Papa Maciej's wedding picture. I still remember them even if they both died when I was barely a teen...as if one couldn't bear to live without the other. Or so I like to think. She would help me with the homework, mathematics particularly, and he baked this bread for me till he was too weak to do so. He always claimed that he won Nana's heart with his pastries but she always denied it laughing". She passed another picture of the same couple proudly standing in front of the Nowak family bakery in Hoboken. "Frankly, I believe that Papa's broad shoulders and Marlon Brando smile are more likely to blame for this coup de foudre" she laughed. "And he knew how to deal with her no-nonsense attitude and vice versa. They...balanced each other, if you wish". She picked another picture and handed it to him. A woman was looking down in tender adoration and awe to a baby nestled in her arms looking up at her, outstretching a tiny arm in an attempt to touch her face. "There! This is Dad" she pointed at the baby before turning the picture where someone wrote 'Alex meets Auntie Adele'. Turning it again, she pointed at the woman. "This is Adele Carrem. Or Auntie Adele as I've always heard calling her. Nana's sister and Zetta's publicist and companion" Putting it back into the album, she carefully picked a bunch of other old pictures. "You surely know who this one is" she smiled, handing out the one on top. The photo was rather grainy but you could still recognise the same kid, slightly older, around two, sucking his thumb, cuddled up in Zetta's lap. The actress had aged a little but her features were unmistakable and it was endearing to see her sitting by the fireplace to read that kid with the sleepy face a bedtime story. "Sadly, I have never met them. I wish I did, oh you have no idea...but stories of them lived through in our family" Julia continued. "My Dad loved his Aunties - as he called them - dearly and by what I've heard and read, they loved him in manner as if he was their own. He knew little of them or Zetta's career back then...to him they were just the sweet ladies who would buy him ice-cream in Central Park or take him to see his favourite pictures over and over again at the movie theater. He said he will never forget the afternoons he used to spend with them in a Manhattan cafe that no longer exists around Christmas: Nana and Papa worked like crazy as the festive season approached and the glorious cup of hot chocolate with an elegant puff of cream on top with the Aunties became a tradition to him. He kept it alive somehow as he did the same with me". She handed the curator a bunch of other pictures: Zetta cleaning up Alex's face smeared with jam, the both of them laughing; Zetta posing with Maciej and her Dad at a table in the Hoboken bakery. He eventually mirrored her smile seeing a five years old Alex at the beach all engrossed in building a sandcastle with Hileni and Adele, and he standing at the water edge hand in hand with Miss Carrem, looking out into the distance. "These are family pictures. I'll show you the Zetta's private memorabilia we cherished". Julia searched a little, opening an old chest and handling every item inside with tender care. When she found what she was looking for, she showed the curator an elegant set of smaller boxes containing letters, dried flowers and photos. "I have already received an offer to get these published. I'm still pondering it. Before agreeing, I want to consider throughly if this is a thing they would have wanted, even if they're no longer here" The curator nodded as she kept searching. He skimmed a few letters and smiled as his eyes fall on the photos hidden away in those boxes: the two women sitting together and chatting at Hileni's wedding, Zetta's reading a script, lazily sprawled on a chaise long in her apartment. Some had short lines handwritten on the back, like a promotional picture with "Missing you" written by Zetta herself. The curator showed another to Mrs Nowak: a visibly excited Miss Carrem proudly showing to the camera a document announcing her voter registration. On the back, in Zetta's penmanship: "On the way to vote...my sweet Adele won!". "Oh you didn't know? Auntie Adele was a suffragette! I couldn't believe it when I first heard it! Nana told me that she was in and out jail when they lived in London because of protests. You know, like those suffragettes you read about in history books but less famous. Yet she fought for women's rights and kept fighting for them even in America. She was quite disappointed though by some major decisions of some feminist movements and eventually joined a socialist Union 'more rightfully welcoming working class individuals, immigrants and black brothers and sisters'. It's all in those letters but yeah, you couldn't possibly know. So little is known about her outside family". A little smile drew on her face as she put back the photo. "That photo was taken the day of the first election open to women. I checked the date. I suppose Zetta wanted to immortalise the moment...it was sweet of her, huh? Auntie Adele must have been so proud and overjoyed that day! You know, my Dad was born in 1920 when women's right to vote was legalised nationally and Nana once told me that Auntie commented the lucky coincidence saying she was incredibly happy her nephew would get to live in a fairer world. She was a true force of nature...she never talked much of the sinking of the Titanic just like Zetta and Nana actually but when one day Dad asked...he was barely a child and probably found an old article about the tragedy...Auntie Adele minimised but Nana assured him that her sister saved her life that night, risking her own to go down to the belly of the sinking ship to bring her to safety. Auntie simply shrugged, saying that it was what sisters do and that they made it to the lifeboats only thanks to Zetta, who shouted protests to stubborn officers and eventually found them a spot on a boat. I cannot even bring myself to imagine how scary that must have been: I cried so much when Madeleine took me to see Leo and Kate...to think they were there and it was all real!" She picked a few other objects out the box: a Shakespeare Sonnets book in a leather cover with golden engravings, with a little handwritten dedication 'To Adele, my sonnet 116. Happy birthday! With all my love, Zetta'; old scripts with annotations, a framed photograph of Adele and Zetta slow dancing barefoot in the living room of a gorgeous Long Island mansion. "These have a sentimental value" Mrs Nowak noted, her voice betraying the flicker of emotions as she picked it up. She took a deep sigh and continued. "I remember the day I told Dad I was gay as it was yesterday. We had always been quite close so it came natural to tell him first. We were in his car, he had come straight from college to pick me up at ice-skating practice. I..I dropped it in the middle of a conversation, bracing myself for the worst. I heard so many bad stories about coming out to your parents I was terrified of the consequences but I couldn't hide it anymore. I mean, yes, in public: bullies get even nastier if they know and I didn't want people shouting me "dyke" at school. But I needed to get it out of my chest...with someone at least. He kept quiet for a moment and I felt like drowning in shame. But then he spoke". A nostalgic tender smile formed Julia's lips. "He said he had two amazing Aunties that contributed to make his life a wondrous adventure. It was thanks to them that he, the son of a baker, could attend a prestigious college, for instance: they offered to pay for it without asking a penny back. They also helped him write his first romantic letter to his childhood sweetheart and consoled him when the little girl turned him down. But his Aunties had a secret, he added. He said: to my kid eyes they were no less a couple than Mom and Dad and at home we all treated them in manner but one day Mom made me promise to behave differently when we were in public. In public I would refer to her sister as 'Auntie Adele' but call Zetta by her name. He didn't get it and it took some getting used to. He soon noticed that even the Aunties behaved a bit differently out in the sun: they wouldn't hold hands or use endearing words in the street or when other people were around. They simply behaved like good friends did. He understood it later when he, as stubborn as a mule, asked them directly". Julia gently grazed her fingers on the glass of the framed photograph, caressing it. "And they told me everything, he said. That they were in love, just like mom and dad were, but people out there could be uncomfortable and extremely rude to women loving other women and men loving other men. That they kept their companionship a secret in public because those people had no problems with women being friends and they didn't want to have bad words or worse happening to them. I remember asking him what he thought about it. He smiled. 'I cried. Since Auntie Zetta mentioned people claiming that women like them were sick and would burn in hell, I actually started crying. I sobbed desperately in her arms, crying that I didn't want them to burn in hell, I loved my Aunties and I was happy they loved each other. Eventually they explained me it was just a vile lie spread my malignant people. But I got quite a scare and kept staring at them with puffy red eyes and my face wet with tears for a while. It required lots of cuddling to bring a smile back on my face'. He shook his head, laughing of his endearing naivety. Then he pulled over and looked at me. He continued: 'I still don't get why people keep spreading those mean lies but I know for sure that my Aunties weren't sick and didn't end up in hell and so won't you. Don't believe bullshits like that for a split second, okay? And I also want you to remember that it doesn't change a thing for me and mom too. You will always be my little girl, our little girl and we love you'. We shared a long hug before driving back home. On the way back he insisted to buy my favourite chicken and waffles for dinner, saying mom's veggie soup could wait. For my birthday, a month later or so, he asked me to follow him to the attic and showed me this chest. To meet the Aunties that 'would have surely been there for me'". She tipped away a tear. "I told you I married Madeleine right after the legalisation of same-sex marriages. My wedding was also the last public event Mom and Dad attended together before his health worsened irremediably. He passed away last year". For a moment she looked on the verge of tears but she recovered quickly. "Sorry...anyway, that day Dad insisted on walking me down the aisle even if he was getting weak. He beamed with pride when a friend fixed a rainbow ribbon to his jacket. Later at the lunch he read a speech he had written for the day, his hand shaking. He shared the story of his Aunties. He said that despite the hardships their situation forced upon them, they had quite a happy life together, a happiness carefully hidden from the world. He wished us to find something similar to what they shared without needing to hide anymore. He said Adele and Zetta would have been so happy and proud to celebrate with all of us that day" Mrs. Nowak picked the Shakespeare Sonnet book and gave him a fond look. "He brought this to the wedding. And he read for us the sonnet 116, the one Zetta mentioned in her dedication. You know, the one that starts with 'Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments..." ----------------------- A few months later the exhibition on old Hollywood queer cinema and artists opened. Each artist had a room that soon filled with a crowd of enthusiastic visitors. In the first half, in a room arranged as a turn of the century nickelodeon with velvet chairs, all the memorabilia of Zetta Serda's public life: panels explaining the various stages of her career and the birth of her myth, promotional pictures of her performances, articles about her and a copy of a gazette announcing her wedding with the director Richard King. On the wall, on a screen her entire filmography rolled up in loop, bewitching spectators after a century. In display cases: the gorgeous sapphire necklace she wore on her last night on the Ship of Dreams and at the movie party of Surviving the Titanic, and a replica of her Cleopatra costume. The aging Queen of Egypt with a tragic love and destiny immortalised by Shakespeare was her last role back on the theater stage before retiring from the scenes. Old scripts with her personal annotation were displayed with photographs taken on sets and mundane events. The wall hosting the motion-picture screen cut the room in half. On the other side, the hidden half of her life. Her life with Adele no one suspected back then. A life kept secret that now unveiled in front of the eyes of the visitors. The curators discovered that finding public pictures of Miss Carrem was nearly impossible, true to the nickname she acquired as time went by: The Shadow. She stayed at Zetta's side until and even after she stopped acting, showing rare loyalty and devotion, but ever surrounded by this mystery allure. No one, even the most stubborn reporters managed to know anything about her and she was soon dismissed as a Titanic survivor, possibly a fan, who worked as Zetta's secretary and somehow gained her respect. Little they knew about the depth of their relationship and what stacks of secret letters and family memories revealed of the life of Miss Carrem. A panel finally told her story and her secret achievements: Adele, or better Adal, kept fighting for a fairer world and society her whole life and marched for women's right to vote on the famous parade in 1915. She also passed the teaching of Edith Garrud to her American sisters. The only pictures of her came from the Nowak family, except for one. The only photograph of a public appearance of Miss Carrem as well as the only known public appearance of Zetta and Adele. An old grainy photo accurately framed showed Adele shaking hands with The Unsinkable Molly Brown on a podium. In her free hand a shiny medal and a few steps behind the mayor of New York. According to the panel, the survivors' committee founded by Mrs. Brown decided to award Miss Carrem a medal for bravery and a generous check "to help her and her sister starting a new life in America". With great surprise, Miss Carrem received the medal and the check, thanked the board but refused the honors. Instead, she asked to deliver them both to the family of a certain Charlie Stoke, a stewart that lost his life in the sinking to save her life and those of many passengers. She added that her friend expressed the desire to study naval engineering one day and she wished that the money kindly offered to her would be enough to establish a scholarship for boys like him across the ocean. In another picture, Miss Carrem and her sister chatted with Moll Brown in company of Zetta. Eventually, other philanthropists and wealthy socialites signed checks for her cause so that the Stoke family received a generous contribution too. And today, as another picture confirmed, the faculty of naval engineering of the University of Newcastle hosts a marble engraving of Charlie Stoke: to his memory a scholarship had been instituted one year after on the anniversary of the sinking. Since 1913 it has been helping students of poor background to get an education and improve their life. Zetta herself became a philanthropist during her Renaissance and ever since. The first act of her new phase of her life was joining the Moll Brown survivors committee to provide help to the second and third class passengers families and survivors. Some said that the tragedy she witnessed touched her heart, other claimed that it was to be attributed to the influence of her publicist. Jokingly, she used to say that after all, she had too much money yet all she could have wished for in her life, so why not doing some good with it? A considerable donation under her and Mr King was received by the main hospital during the Spanish flu pandemic; she was particularly active in providing financial help to struggling neighbourhoods and female education institutions. In the middle of the room, a long glass display hosted the Shakespeare Sonnets opened at sonnet 116 and a selection of the private correspondence between Zetta and Adele. My darling, You will receive this letter tomorrow morning when I'll be already off to Chicago. The suitcases are ready and packed, this is a goodnight note scribbled the night before leaving you to remind you how much I love you and care about you. How much I'm going to miss you even if - thank God! - we won't be parted for long... Do not forget you promised me to write every day! Write to me, Adele, write to me whatever thought crosses that gorgeous mind of you: you know I could you rambling for hours without getting tired of the sound of your voice, of your sparkling wisdom. I wanna know everything. So don't be shy: I'll be waiting your letters with tender impatience. Can't wait to be in your arms once more. Adoringly yours, Zetta - Dear, dearest Zetta, I went to Central Park today with Hileni. It was a gorgeous spring day, sunny, a gentle breeze blowing: 'simply too beautiful to be wasted inside' as my sister put it. Did I tell you that she's still exchanging letters with the delivery boy from the hat shop? I thought they were over but apparently he invited her to the nickelodeon next week. Anyway, walking in the park with her I suddenly realised how I wanted to share that spring wonder with you. When are you coming back to New York? Tell me soon, please. And even 'soon' won't be soon enough: you're always on my mind since you left. But yes, tell me soon so I can make you promise we will go for a walk before the weather becomes too hot. Do you think I can wrap my arm with yours? Is it professional enough for a publicist? Even just for a few steps: oh you have no idea how I would love that! Or maybe you have? I hope so: it'd mean you miss me as much as I miss you when we are apart. Oh, I almost forgot: all settled with that magazine you mentioned before your departure! I negotiated a two pages long interview, plus pictures. And a cover mention. Hope I did well: you have already fired me as your secretary, I must prove you I am just what you're looking for in a publicist... Can't wait to see you again! Loving you always, Adele Only one letter was copied on a panel of its own on the main wall side by side with a blow-up of the picture of Adele and Zetta slow-dancing barefoot and free, for a blessed moment immortalised in a discreet shot. Adele pressing a tender kiss on Zetta's forehead, drawing a soft smile on the acrtress' lips. Many visitors commented it was heartwarming to see such a photograph that conveyed the intimacy and the warmth of affection radiating from the dancing couple. Some said that Zetta was even more beautiful like that: free, hair slightly askew and genuinely happy, loved. What stole their hearts away though was the letter attached to it. It was no surprise that the curators decided to name the retrospective Underwater. Dearest Adele, Forgive me for the tone of this letter. I am writing it down in bed while I cannot sleep and my mind runs back to you as if we could meet halfway between the miles separating us, in a world of fantasy of our own. It's ridiculous how much I miss you! I want you near, I need you near all the time. Take tonight: if you were here with me, I would be heavenly sleeping in your loving embrace. Most unfortunately, you are not and I'm lying here, insomniac, thinking of you. And about my life. No, don't frown. I am not getting all sad again. It's...bittersweet. And - I'll spoil you the ending so you will stop worrying, hopefully - it gets better the more you proceed. Have you ever felt trapped underwater? I did, my whole life. Always hiding, always measuring words, gestures, gazes not to let them see, not to let them know...so little time to go up and break the surface. Drop the mask and breathe. In, out. Once, twice. In my lowest moments I repeated to my myself: how are you gonna survive? One day an acquaintance with a remarkable passion for the sea explained me and the other bored commensals that you can keep someone alive by breathing oxygen into their mouth underwater. Pretty much like mouth-to-mouth resuscitation helps an unconscious person to regain consciousness. I found it interesting but doubted his words. Then I met you, Adele. My dearest, wondrous Adele. And I learnt that yes, you can't breathe if you're constantly underwater...but you won't drown if you have the right person swimming by your side in those deep waters. Put your lips on me, Adele. Touch me, hold me in your arms. And I can live underwater. With your love, I can live underwater. We can live underwater. I love you. I want to cover a full page of these three simple words: I love you. I want to cry them out and entrust them to the winds, to the night. But what for? Who cares if the world knows or not? I'll whisper them over your lips when we will be reunited. So you can breathe underwater. Counting down the hours separating us, my love. Eternally yours, Zetta

[all-pacas]

a very important analysis of raphael endings in fe3h

okay because the lorenz one was fun: let’s rank raphael’s support epilogues from worst to best!! not gonna lie, raph’s are all pretty damn wholesome. (and often weirdly platonic.)

raphael/shamir: a platonic ending, which isn’t that uncommon with raphael’s supports, actually. raphael becomes a knight, and then a robin hood figure, working with shamir as a bandit who preys on the wealthy and cruel. but he also abandons his family/sister and she never hears from him again, which is just??? maya is in literally EVERY SINGLE ONE of his supports, come on.

raphael solo: he opens his inn, takes care of his family, ends up becoming an amazing chef. real wholesome, and i don’t think he’d be lonely or anything, but he can do better!

raphael/leonie: a tough one because… oof? leonie wanders around and ends up at raphael’s inn and promptly accrues such a debt in unpaid alcohol bills that she works there until she pays it off and then they get married? leonie, are you okay? is she having some kind of breakdown?? them running an inn together is cute and so are their supports, but… leonie, my gal… ranking it low because i don’t want leonie to have a dark end like this :(

raphael/byleth: kind of bland as far as endings go: they get married and are very happy and a full two sentences are devoted to the fact that raph’s sister maya paints beautiful portraits of them. i do love how much she factors into raphael’s endings, but this one is just… a little boring.

raphael/flayn: another seemingly platonic one! raphael opens his inn and stops training, and then flayn comes to visit and they start exercising and motivating  one another. honestly it’s pretty bland, but it’s cute to imagine them just practicing their battle cries together.

raphael/bernadetta: really sweet, he helps her overcome her shyness and supports her as she leads her house, and they eventually get married. it’s hard to rank these because raphael is just so universally kind, but i’m putting it low because the epilogue is entirely about her and barely even mentions him. it’s one of his few unambiguous romantic endings, though.

raphael/hilda: hilda and maya bond, maya convinces raphael to switch from innkeeping to selling cute accessories, hilda goes into business with  the family, they’re all very happy. like i said, i do enjoy how much maya is important to raph’s endings, but… this one does get points for the image of these two tiny women just rearranging raphael’s life for him. you know he’s fine with it.

raphael/marianne: raphael opens his inn and when marianne comes to visit, she ends up staying and helping run the inn and they bond over their shared love of birds. it’s not even clear if it’s romantic, but it’s very sweet.

raphael/ingrid: a weirdly fascinating one, because in blue eagles it seems like they don’t actually get married, but in the other routes they do? either way, they end up serving together as knights, and raphael’s Good and Honest vibes mean he helps people until ingrid just falls in love with him and proposes, or they just are loyal knights and partners forever. incredibly wholesome!! i’m ranking it high because the difference between routes is interesting, and i like the “raphael slowly impresses ingrid with his wholesomeness and only later do they marry” angle, i think it’s sweet.

raphael/lysithea: unambiguously platonic but fucking adorable: raphael doesn’t become a knight, instead running his family’s inn, which lysithea and her parents begin to visit. eventually, lysithea just moves herself in uninvited, becomes close friends with maya, starts helping out at the inn, and eventually runs the inn’s kitchen and becomes desert chef. i just… can absolutely picture lysithea visiting the inn as a guest and then being so bossy and putting herself in charge until she’s suddenly a pasty chef lmao. it’s low-key as far as lysithea’s endings go, but there’s something really sweet about her living out the rest of her days not struggling for a cure but just… bossing her friends around in a little village somewhere.

raphael & ignatz: raphael becomes a knight, but soon gives it up because maya announces she wants to become an artist and straight up leaves, so raphael manages the inn until she comes back, years later, with ignatz, who she married off-screen. raphael is like “excellent” and they all live very happily. there’s something just hilarious and appropriate to me about how maya hijacks this entire epilogue for herself, and the idea of her rolling home with ignatz like HEY I MARRIED THIS GUY. it also seems appropriate that the two would end up brothers, as they’re so connected in the story, and in their a support there’s definitely some “childhood crush” vibes with maya and ignatz. a good blend of wholesome, sister-oriented, and “living happily ever after in our inn,” 10/10

[kookieskiwi]

Hi! Can I request ot7 mafia au! x reader with the situasion of panic attack "we're here baby take a breath for us". Kookieskiwi I hope you're doing well btw I like your new drabble and I'm in love with it and its make me want more Im sorry 😭. I love you 😘💜

(Akbdiandhe I screamed when I got this notification ❤️ I’m doing really good, thank you for your concern 🥺💕 i try really hard to write things my readers want to read so I’m extremely happy that you liked my recent Drabble 🥺✨ don’t apologize for wanting more! You have no idea how happy it makes me to write for you guys ❤️ and even more so when it’s because you liked one of my previous works so much! I love you so much more and remember ‘you nice keep going’ my lovely 💜😘���)

This is the last Drabble they are referring to btw

WARNING: MENTIONS OF A PANIC ATTACK AND MURDER, if these topics are triggering for you I suggest you don’t read this!

-

Today wasn’t a good day for you at all. The boys left before you had even woken up for a deal they had been planning for months now leaving you to spend the entire day alone. You understood they were business men of sorts and with that occupation came ungodly hours of work which often left you alone. But being alone wasn’t that much of a problem because you always had contact with the boys somehow wether it be a simple text message or a quick phone call.

But now, in the early hours of the next morning when you hadn’t heard from them all day; you weren’t okay at all. You kept your phone near you at all times; when you showered, went to the bathroom, cooked dinner for all of you only to put the rest in the fridge, but ultimately you did nothing but lay around the house hoping to hear a ‘ding’ from your phone which never came.

They had been gone for 24 hours without a single word. From midnight to three am you had been calling guards and those who worked under them in case they had any knowledge of their whereabouts but all came back negative. They had been gone for days before but never without checking in every few hours or so to let you know they were okay. Sometimes it was simply a heart emoji or a ‘love you’ which was enough to let you know they were okay.

“Are you sure you haven’t heard anything from them?” You asked one of their subordinates from the agency. “No ma’am, the last we heard from them was right before they left. We’ve been searching everywhere and hacking into security footage around town but they’re good at what they do, they won’t be found easily.” He responded telling you everything you already knew. They were the best of the best when it came to everything including secrecy. Which was great, until now.

“Thank you Soobin, please keep an ear and eye out in case you see or hear anything from them.” You told him sighing, “will do Noona, until then please don’t make any rash decisions. Stay home and if they don’t check in within the next few hours I’ll send someone to get you and bring you to the HQ.” He informed you of his plan which you agreed to easily, it’d be much better being alone with people around as odd as that may seem. You were alone without the loves of your life and without knowing if they were okay or not.

It was now 5 am and they hadn’t checked in with anyone and no one knew of their whereabouts. You tried holding in your tears as the gut wrenching feeling that something had gone wrong hit it was hard not to let a tear fall. Trekking up the stairs to your shared bedroom you didn’t want to see the empty bed so you walked slowly hoping that before you got to the top of the stairs they would come rushing through the door and they’d be safe in your arms once again.

You were tired and worried which was never a good mix for you. The fear of losing the ones you loved the most got to you on the last step of the staircase before you came tumbling down both emotionally and physically. You tried clutching onto the railing to keep you stabilized but it failed as your body crumpled onto the stairs curling yourself into a ball and you resting your head in your hands.

Your stomach felt as if it you were one a roller coaster at the tip top before it fell. The anxiety you had build up during the day was the roller coaster and the falling was you right now. All the way to rock bottom. Your sobs filled the room while you tried to comfort yourself by curling even further into your own body. “Please let them be okay, god please.” You prayed knowing it was the only thing you could do now besides wait. The simple thought of them not making it back home was enough to throw you into a downward spiral.

Ringing in your ears began to drown out the sound of your own cries and please that you were no longer controlling. Your head began to ache with a fuzz which clouded your thoughts and filled your head. Your throat was on fire from crying, you were shaking like a leaf in the wind, you couldn’t hear anything but the blood thrumming through your veins but none of that mattered. No, all that mattered to you was your boys who weren’t here and that was the worst part.

Clutching your pounding head you tried breathing but you couldn’t, you couldn’t do anything but lie there letting yourself fade into your own emotions. Your chest ached as if your heart had physically shattered from the agony of not knowing and knowing you were helpless in this situation.

“Please be okay, please come home to me. I promise to love you for the rest of our lives, I love you all so much God please let them come back home.” You pleaded with your eyes screwed shut. You felt like you were drowning in your own tears, the inability to catch your breath being the main factor in this feeling but your whole body felt under some sort of pressure.

That was until you felt a much heavier pressure on top of that, the numbness you had felt overcome your body slowly went away with the ringing in your ears which allowed you to come to an understanding of what exactly that pressure was.

A person.

Opening your eyes you tried to see but everything was blurry, your tears kept falling no matter how hard you tried to stop. “We’re here baby. Take a breath for us please.” It was Yoongi. Your Yoongi. And he said ‘We’re’ meaning they are all home. Choking on your sobs once again you reach out to him and anyone near you to hold them as close as possible.

“You’re- home.” You sobbed into his chest as him arms reached around you to pull you further into his embrace. You let everything else out in tears of relief. They were home. Alive. Safe. The more you cried the less intense your sobs got and the more you could breath even though it was still hard to regulate your body. “Please never do that again.” Your voice cracked as you squeezed Jimin’s hand in yours sighing but still hiccuped as you tried to calm down.

“We won’t baby. I promise because we are retiring from that job.” Namjoon told you coming close to your face to wipe the tears away, he held your face between his calloused hands which you leaned into, craving to feel him; all of them. “W-what?” You asked confused, you thought you heard correctly but you weren’t sure. After coming down from such an intense panic attack you didn’t know what was real and what was part of your imagination. “We are here, for there rest of out lives. Just you and us. No more late night jobs, no more trades that make us leave for days, none of it anymore. Just us, settling down and staring the family we’ve always wanted.” He explained further making you want to sob even more knowing all your nights of worrying were coming to an end.

You couldn’t help but let a few more tears slip as you smile at them, crying now from the sheer thought of having all of them home safe and sound. “I love you all so much, I was so scared.” You told them shutting your eyes closed once again to cry a little more. “I’m so sorry baby, we were ambushed and we lost all connection with you and the agency. We couldn’t risk them finding our home, finding you, so we hide and we couldn’t contact anyone in fear they had the entire city’s phone system tapped to listen in.” Hoseok told you helping you stand up on your shaky legs only for him to pick you up like a koala and to have you cling to him for dear life.

“Did you kill them? Because if you didn’t I will.” You mumbled looking at the six others who followed behind Hoseok as he walked with you in his arms to the bedroom. They all let out a simultaneous chuckle and you could feel the warmth re-enter your body at the sound. These were the men you loved and lived for. “We did baby, don’t worry.” Taehyung told you with his signature boxy smile as if you weren’t just talking about murder making you giggle.

Hoseok laid you on the bed softly and kept you in his embrace as the others changed and showered before handing you to Jin who kissed all over your face as he helped you shower and relax by massaging you with the bath oils and soap.

After everyone was cleaned and dressed you were tucked into bed between all of your lovers but sandwiched between Jungkook and Jimin. You were in the bed that would no longer be empty when you woke up for went to sleep because you’d have your lovers right beside you for the rest of your life. And you couldn’t be happier at the thought of that.

“What do you say about getting married?”

-

...I’m smelling an epilogue or part two if requested 😏 maybe some brief baby making on their honeymoon?

[thedevilsruby]

Business, Torture and Pleasure (Clierra multi chap fic)

Sierra is a Team Rocket Leader who has it all: A great job with amazing pay, a nice apartment and the envy of Team Rocket Grunts. The downside? She must submit to her lustful boss Giovanni to keep it all. Will she find love in her coleader Cliff or will it fall apart at Giovanni’s hands?

Warning: This fic will contain sexual abuse, sexual assault, physical abuse and gaslighting. You have been warned.

(Chapter One) (Chapter Two) (Chapter Three) (Chapter Four) (Chapter Five) (Chapter Six) (Chapter Seven) (Chapter Eight) (Chapter Nine) (Chapter Ten) (Chapter Eleven) (Chapter Twelve) (Chapter Thirteen) (Chapter Fourteen) (Chapter Fifteen)

Chapter Sixteen: It’s Over...Or Is it?

“Where’s Sierra?” Cliff growled. “I know you have her!”

“Oh Cliff, I have no idea what you’re talking about!” Giovanni exclaimed. “You dare accuse me of keeping a secret?”

“Don’t give me that Tauros crap!” Cliff roared, punching that bastard’s desk. “Where. Is. She?!”

“You really wanna know?” Giovanni asked. “You’re on speaker.”

“Cliff!” Cliff relaxed slightly as he heard Sierra sob, but his heart broke at the crack in her voice, she was crying.

“Sierra, are you hurt?!” He asked.

“No, but I need you!” Sierra cried out. “Please help me!”

“Just you wait, gorgeous, I’m coming!” Cliff said, holding her good luck charm against his heart, hoping it would help him find her. “Where are you?”

“We’re in-!” A cry and a smack were heard, flaring Cliff’s already short temper.

“Don’t touch her, you fucker!” Cliff yelled.

“You want to see her alive, don’t you?” Giovanni sneered, ignoring Sierra’s protests to come back and let her talk to Cliff in the background. “Come to the unfinished building on the intersection of Smeargle Road and 6th Avenue.” 

Cliff tried to calculate in his head, the only sound he heard was his heart pounding out of his chest. Finally he remembered. “The one they’re working on near the mall?”

“That’s correct. Meet me there and I’ll give you the girl as long as you do what I say.” Giovanni smirked.

“You better not be lying.” Cliff snarled.

“I’m not. Just go.” Giovanni scoffed.

Cliff hung up with a snarl. He raced back into his truck and sped down the road, clutching the tail close to him. He was going to save her, no matter the cost.

Giovanni turned to the sobbing Sierra, who had her eyes in her hand, the other clenched into a fist. He smirked. “Your knight in shining armor is on his way. Too bad you’ll never see him again after this.” 

Sierra gasped, looking up at him with a glare. “Don’t you hurt him!” She yelled, pounding the ground with her fist.

“See you later, my favorite lady! I’m off!” He called back, walking away and closing the door behind him. Sierra desperately pulled at her cuff, looking for anything that would help her get it off.

“Come on, come on!!” She screamed in desperation, looking for a nail or anything to help her unlock it.

She looked at the end table that was next to her bed, she opened the drawer frantically and gasped as she saw a set of bobby pins.

“YES! THANK YOU!” She giggled out of relief, grabbing one and jamming it into the lock, trying with all her might to unlock it. Finally the cuff came loose and she rubbed her ankle quickly before getting up and running as fast as she could to the door, almost tripping but getting back up.

“DON’T YOU TOUCH HIM!” She screamed, running around and looking for Giovanni and the exit. “This must be his mansion.” She concluded, then widened her eyes as she remembered the conversation.

If this was his mansion, then the construction site had to be down the street! She always remembered he would brag that he would get his suits from the finest retailer and everyone knew the most expensive was at the mall.

Finding the stair case, she ran down and gasped as she saw his car pulling out and away. “NO!” She shrieked, running down, almost falling but gripping the railing.

She ran out the door with a glare. She was going to be the one to save Cliff.

Cliff got out of his truck with a glare, looking around at the unfinished building. “Where the hell are you?” He muttered to himself, being on the watch out for any movement out of the corner of his eye.

“Sierra?” He called out, in case she was nearby. But he got silence in reply. “Sierra, if you’re here, I need you to tell me.”

Sierra was there, she got there just as he said that, she smiled in relief and tears filled her eyes. She had never been so happy to see him!

“Cliff-!” She was about to squeal and run into his arms, but she gasped and hid behind a piece of unfinished wall as headlights blinded her. Giovanni exited the car, that stupid smirk on his face.

Cliff gritted his teeth as he saw the bastard. “Where’s Sierra?!” He screamed.

“Oh, she’s not here.” Giovanni sighed. “She’s...got her hands tied.”

“YOU SON OF A BITCH!” Cliff roared, ready to charge at Giovanni and beat the daylight s out of him.

“Ah ah, Cliff.” Giovanni chided, wagging his finger as if he were scolding a child. “You want to see her alive right?”

“Yes.” Cliff snarled, stopping himself and taking a deep breath to calm himself for Sierra’s sake.

“Then here’s what you’re going to do,” Giovanni stated,  folding his arms behind his back. “You’re going to quit and leave me and Sierra alone.”

“LIKE HELL!” Cliff screamed, loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear.

“Silence!” Giovanni yelled.

Sierra had enough. she picked up the lead pipe that was by her and clenched it. “This is it. No going back. For Cliff.” She whispered.

“Sierra and I are going to lead a happy life! She’s going to provide me with an heir, a proper one! Unlike that failure, Silver.” Giovanni practically spat his only son’s name. 

“She’s not someone you can own!” Cliff snapped.

“She’s my property and I’ll do what I want with her!”

“I am NO ONE’S PROPERTY!”

Giovanni whirled around, only to be hit in the head with a pipe as hard as Sierra could deliver.

It was enough for him to be dazed for a moment before falling unconscious. Cliff’s jaw was dropped in shock before snapping out of it, catching Sierra in his arms as tightly as he could as she jumped into them.

“Sierra!”

“Oh Cliff!” She sobbed, hugging him as tightly as she could. “I thought I would never see you again!”

“I’m so glad you’re safe!” He exclaimed, gently taking her cheeks into his hands and looking at her. “Did he hurt you?”

“He slapped me, nothing he hasn’t done before.” She said, the something hit her. “You...You came here to save me.” She whispered, looking into his eyes.

“Of course I did.” He whispered back, leaning their noses together. “I love you.”

Her heart nearly stopped and her breath hitched, her whole world froze.

Did he just say what she thinks he just said?

“W-What?” She asked, barely able to speak.

He smiled gently and brushed their lips together. “I love you, truly. You’re the only woman I’ll ever want. If you’ll have me.”

Sierra smiled and her eyes filled with tears. When was the last time she was this happy? “I love you too!” She exclaimed, crashing her lips onto his, wrapping her arms around his neck.

A groan from Giovanni was heard and she broke the kiss off with a glare down at him. “Shut up!” She screamed, giving him a kick in the shoulder.

“I’ll call Jenny.” Cliff chuckled, getting his phone out.

Epilogue (Warning, NSFW ahead):

One Year Later...

Sierra panted, biting her lip. “Cliff!” She moaned, throwing her head back.

“Oh, Sierra...” Cliff groaned, hands on her hips.

Their two story, four bedroom house wasn’t even close to being fully unpacked. boxes were everywhere and furniture was askew, yet to be arranged.

“Oh Cliff, yes!” She squealed as his hands moved from her hips to her breasts, cupping and massaging them. “Oh baby, I’m close!”

“I am too,” He breathed, gripping her hands into his. “Together.” 

“Always.” She sighed, leaning down so she could brush their lips together.

With a near scream, they finished, Sierra panted as she plopped onto Cliff’s chest. He hugged her close, stroking her hair with an airy chuckle.

“Maybe we shouldn’t have set up the bed first.” He said. “We don’t even have the sheets and stuff on it yet.”

“You should have known I couldn’t resist you.” She giggled, kissing his nose. “I just had to have you.”

“You’ll always have me.” He stated, kissing her nose back. “That ring proves it.”

Sierra smiled down at the heart that held half an Ametrine and half a Sapphire on her left ring finger. 

Their birthstones.

It was held by a silver band and it fit perfectly on her. She loved it and him. “I can’t believe we’re getting married in a year.”

“I know. Everyone will be there. Including our new bosses, Candela, Blanche and Spark.” Cliff smirked. Ever since Giovanni had been arrested and after Sierra came out, other women had spoken up, claiming he has sexually abused and harassed them too, earning him a good long sentence with no bail.

“Arlo’s going to be there too, of course.” Sierra smiled.

Arlo had apologized to Sierra for not taking the situation as seriously as he should have. Sierra forgave him and now he works for Valor again, having made amends with Candela. He meets with them a few times a week to have lunch and catch up when he can when he’s not doing field research.

“Okay, we really should unpack.” Cliff chuckled, sitting up and holding Sierra in his lap.

“Right.” She giggled, grabbing his plaid and putting it on. “Gorgeous, I am going to run out of plaids because of you.” He teased.

“Live with it.” She teased back, hugging it close.

“Oh I will.” He said, pulling her close and kissing her passionately. 

They were free.

Or so they thought...

Giovanni sat in his cell, tossing a tennis ball at the wall and catching it with a glare.

He had been in this hellhole for a year. Nothing but crappy food, crappy people and a crappy life.

He was so lucky they allowed him to keep his Persian.

Damn that Sierra and Cliff.

A man in a suit came up to his cell door, catching his attention. he stopped throwing the ball, letting it land on the floor with a thud.

“Is it done?” He asked, standing up.

“It’s done.” The man said with a nod. “Within two years, you should be out on good behavior.”

Giovanni frowned. “Was two years really all you could do?”

“It’s either that or wait five years.” The man said.

“I’ll take it.” Giovanni shrugged, sitting back down. “Thank you. I’ll pay you back when I get out.”

The man simply nodded and walked out. Giovanni began formulating a plan, trying t think of the worst ways he could hurt the two who ruined his life.

“You better watch out in two years, Grossbergs.” He snarled. “I’ll be waiting.”

--

DUN DUN DUN.

Y’ALL THIS WAS MY FIRST MULTI CHAPTER FIC IN YEARS AND I FINISHED IT.

Thank you all so so so so much for reading, commenting, and the helpful suggestions!

Huge shoutouts to @whatsupwithjinx for helping me figure out details when this was in development, @bloodcountessbathory for being patient with me and helping me a lot with the plot and my friend Phantos and my boyfriend for always reading this and telling me what they liked!! Y’all are my rocks and I appreciate you!! ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

Now...be on the look out for the sequel: Blood Ties! Coming soon!

[fericita-s]

Epilogue

The end has arrived for the A Mansion House Murder!

Big thanks to all the writers of this quarantine round-robin: @jomiddlemarch, who had the idea to begin with and wrote so many good chapters, @broadwaybaggins and @sagiow who dragged us all across the finish line, and @mercurygray and @tortoisesshells for their wonderful chapters and effusive comments and @the-spaztic-fantastic for the faithful beta-ing. I think this story probably set a record on AO3 for the comments to kudos ratio.  300 comments and 20 kudos?! We are a chatty bunch.  And I love it.

“Thank you, Belinda.  For so much. Not just today,” Emma said from the doorway.  Belinda hadn’t invited her in and Emma didn’t want to assume.  She’d already assumed too much about Belinda’s desires, or discounted them completely. “I’m going to see Mother and explain about Jimmy.  And Frank.”

Belinda looked to Emma’s arm looped through Henry’s, to the pale circle of white around her ring finger where a wedding ring had been.  “Would you like me to go with you?”

“No, Belinda. I won’t ask that of you. I just wanted to tell you all of that myself before you hear it gossiped about.” 

“Well,” said Belinda, a smile turning one corner of her mouth. “I think I’d like to see her take the news.”

“Even if she asks you for laudanum?” Emma asked, matching her smile. It was a sad thing to tell her mother that her brother was arrested, her husband dead, her sister currently in hysterics that Percival was trying to soothe with one arm while signing away the family hotel to Mrs. Morris with the other.  It was sad. But the lightness and laughter kept rising in her chest and she couldn’t stop smiling over the freedom she felt and the relief that she would be leaving soon.

“I can tell her where to find it if she does,” said Belinda, reaching to the peg by the door for a shawl.

***

“It’s a fair price,” Anne said, though she knew it was a bargain. She also knew how desperate they were to sell and she knew what being desperate felt like, so she didn’t push further. Emma, at least, deserved the money and Anne was eager to send it to her.  Anne had more money than she could spend and Charlotte’s idea for a school was the first thing to excite her about the future since Frederick’s death.  They could scrub the blood out of the walls, purge the secrets from each closet.  The Greens had done it once before.  Anne was determined she and Leah and the Diggs would do it even better. Bridget too, if she could persuade her.  

Percival nodded and might have shaken her hand, but his arms were currently around his wife who was crying.  Anne couldn’t tell if Alice was genuinely grief-stricken and whether it was for the loss of property or the loss of life, and she didn’t much care to find out.  She’d had her fill of mysteries. 

***

    They went to Boston before Williamstown and Mary took her shopping.  In Boston, it was easy to find ready-to-wear, though Mary took her to a favorite tailor and dressmaker and insisted on some pieces made to Emma’s own measurements.  They moved slowly through town, at Mary’s normal pace and Emma’s preferred one for seeing a new city. It wasn’t so different from Alexandria, not really, not until people spoke to her or their eyebrows shot up at her accent. The kid gloves were to guard against the cold more than the sun, and she’d never had nor needed a sealskin toque or fur muff.  But the Yankees weren’t the fearsome lot her mother had promised they would be, practically drowning out the vows she and Henry made to one another in the Green family drawing room with a subdued Dr. Hale doing the honors. 

    After a wool cape and fur-trimmed pelisse that Emma bought with Henry’s money (our money he had said, pressing it into her hands that morning as he kissed her forehead), Mary bought her a silk Paisley shawl with fringe, calling it a wedding present.

“If I was really spoiling you it would be Kashmir.  These are going out of fashion now what with everyone’s desperation to show off their bustles.  But I find them the best way to keep warm at home, at least when Jed’s not there.” Mary pulled the shawl around Emma and fiddled with the fringe. “I hope you’ll be happy here.  I know Henry wishes it too. But I know what it is to lose a husband.”

Emma put her hands in Mary’s and smiled at her friend. “I am happy.  Or, I will be. I’m not sure what I am now, but it’s better than I was.”

***

    He married her in Virginia but, all he had offered since then was a chaste kiss or an arm for hers to loop through as they navigated trains and carriages. Their overnight at the Foster’s home was a late night of reminiscences by the fire, mulled wine, and the steady interruptions of Johnny and Daniel and then even Elias coming to complain about the loud ruckus downstairs.  When Mary finally shooed both the boys and the adults to bed with a meaningful “They’re newlyweds after all, Jed,” Emma and Henry had both hesitated when he shut the door behind them.  

    “You’re weary from the travel; I’ll let you - “

    “Henry,” Emma said, her hands already reaching for the buttons of his waistcoat. “Don’t make me wait any longer.  Don’t you think we’ve waited long enough?”

    Henry closed his eyes and reached for her cheek, remembering his first touch there years ago. When he had wiped away a tear and wished he could kiss her. 

    “Is it that you don’t want me this way? That I’m - “

    “No, Emma not that.” He opened his eyes and stepped back so he could see her clearly, reaching for her hands and squeezing. “I want you very much. So much I hardly know how to start.”

    “Then let me show you, Henry,” Emma said, pushing on him gently until they were at the bed and he sat down heavily, off balance and out of breath. She nudged his knees open with her own and stood between them, her hands on his shoulders and his at her waist, leaning in to kiss him behind the ear and to whisper “I am my beloved’s and he is mine.”

***

Henry and Emma continued west to Williamstown, waving from the carriage that took them from the Foster home and promising to return soon for a visit and to write even sooner.  One week later the Foster boys welcomed their much desired puppy, and one year later, a rather less desired sister.  Jed’s apprehension turned to delight when Mary reached for her daughter with eager arms, bringing her to her breast and leaning back into the pillows with a laugh.  “There’s two of us now.  Three if you count the dog.  We’ll be evenly matched soon, Mr. Foster.”

Jed washed his hands in the basin and looked at the brightness in her cheeks and the sweat on her brow, walking to her to check for fever. He kissed her forehead and then the baby’s.  “Oh, I’m very happily outmatched already.”

***

Frank didn’t haunt her.  But sometimes her own inaction did. Her complicity. 

The cold of Williamstown was nothing to the bone-chilling terror of life in Franklin County, the shiver of fear she felt as she heard horses whinny in the dark and hooves pound the dirt as Frank and his most loyal congregants rode off to wreak whatever hateful havoc they could. 

In Williamstown, Henry knew how to stoke the fire just so, and soon afterwards the Rumford fireplace in the house was replaced by a coal furnace, the intricate ironwork and decorative finials as fancy as any etched crystal her mother had been proud to show.

She did not long for her life in Virginia and it took a while before Henry’s encouragement to write letters to her mother and sister and Belinda yielded missives sent south.  She hardly wrote to Mary because they visited so often - heading east for Boston meetings of the American Woman Suffrage Association with Mary and her friend Josephine Bhaer and then later to meet baby Penelope Foster.

Emma taught Sunday School and led sewing circles and an auxiliary chapter of the AWSA. She waved to Henry’s students as they walked by their house and he brought her flowers that Alice might have called weeds but Emma would not.

When Henry’s hands were on her, she never thought of Frank. The way he loosened her corset and spread his hands over her stomach and chest, pulling her to him before it was dark and he could see her best, it was uniquely Henry. He had started hesitant and unsure, but she showed him with her sighs and fingers spread across his shoulders and legs wrapped around his middle that she wanted this too, so much.

In the end, all of her new fitted dresses and smartly tailored coats that Mary helped her buy were useless by her second winter as it became clear the Reverend and Mrs. Hopkins would welcome a baby with the spring.

***

The first students at The Lou Morris School knew there were ghosts, and they knew Ms. Leah Gordon took care of them.  They knew there had been a war and they knew about loss.  In their beds, under clean cotton sheets, they whispered about the cries they heard in the night, the thuds and thumps and rhythmic banging.  Laughter too, though only when patrons Doctor and Mrs. Hale came on their weekly tours and Mrs. Diggs walked them to an upstairs room.  The children decided the ghosts liked ornate bustles and lacy flounces like Mrs. Hale wore and drew elaborate flourishes on the pictures they drew of the spirits they imagined. 

But after a few years, no one spoke of ghosts, even though Ms. Gordon still sang at night to calm them and Jack and Harriet had been there the whole time and remembered.  The children knew people came in different colors; the grown-ups said black and white, but to them, they were all brown and beige, with a few pink, with freckles all over their faces, like Miss Brannan. They also knew people had different skills; some spoke with words, others with their hands, and some, not at all. Some could run and jump over the fence they weren’t supposed to jump over, earning a scowl from Old Mrs. Green who seemed to always walk by when they were at play in the yard.  Some could walk with some help, and others had special chairs with wheels that needed to be pushed - slowly! the teachers always said, Mrs. Morris most of all, her eyes all seeing, her tone sharp but never mean.

When the cries in the night and the thumps and thuds sounded, it wasn’t with fear that the children strained to listen.  They stilled in their beds to listen for Ms. Gordon’s voice floating down the halls.

Nobody knows the trouble I've seen

Nobody knows but Jesus

Nobody knows the trouble I've seen

Glory, Hallelujah

[ssa-lesbian]

criminal minds rewrite, with jemily endgame

rewrite 1: jemily was always gonna happen

s2e18, jones: jj wakes up with emily in her bed. it is implied that this isn’t the first time this has happened, and when jj suggests they stop, emily gets upset. they begin avoiding each other. the team notices but they don’t comment on it until they’re alone. jj is hit on by will but she struggles with her own feelings about emily and eventually brushes off will by explaining she’s in love with someone else. episode concludes with her approaching emily about their relationship, and it is implied they make up.

s3e17, in heat: it is revealed emily and jj are still sleeping together and “kinda maybe” dating but are super quiet about it. they meet will in florida and he accidentally outs them to the team, as he figured it out when they were in new orleans and thought the rest of the team knew. emily was already out, but jj is worried about the implications of being in an out relationship despite her team’s reassurances. episode concludes with emily telling jj she understands if she still wants to be secret, but jj takes a deep breath, locks eyes with her, and tells her “no. i need to be me. and that means loving you, no matter what.” and then they passionately make out.

s3e18, the crossing: end of the episode, jj tells emily she’s expecting their first kid. emily just loses it and bawls her eyes out. (she’s trans and sired the baby)

s3e20, lo-fi: the rest of the team finds out about the pregnancy when jj is hit with morning sickness and everyone’s like “lol are you pregnant or something” and she’s quiet for a moment too long and they’re like “oh my god you’re pregnant”

s4e7, memorium: agent todd flirts a little with emily, but emily kindly explains she’s dating jj and jj is carrying their child. todd is mortified but emily and jj think it’s cute. when jj goes into labor, emily cannot stop crying. she’s afraid to hold henry at first, but when she does, she cries even harder. she’s a fucking baby. also garcia and reid are still named their godparents, or honorary uncles and aunties since neither are particularly religious.

emily keeps showing the team pictures of henry when jj’s gone. all she does is talk about henry. everyone makes fun of her for it but secretly they’re glad she’s so happy.

s6e2, jj: jj still leaves for the pentagon. she and emily still live together, just different jobs.

s6e2-e18: jj doesn’t know about emily’s past, and emily doesn’t know about her afghanistan mission. emily never wanted to think about her old life, and jj didn’t want to burden emily.

s6e18, lauren: when emily disappears, jj isn’t targeted by doyle because she was in afghanistan and henry was with her mom, who took him to disneyland that week (whatever, rough timelines). she’s notified and her son and mom put into protective custody and immediately joins the bau to track down emily and doyle. jj is the one to ride in the ambulance with emily to the hospital and is also holding her hand when she codes. she nearly loses it when emily comes back. jj then makes the call, transferring her to a different hospital and calling only hotch. when emily wakes up from her operation, jj explains everything before going back to the original hospital and telling the team. “blackbird” is still a thing, just more kissing on the jet. her two weeks in paris with her are her last for a very long time. scrabble is still their only communication. jj tells henry that emily will be with them soon and he just has to wait. no one has the heart to tell him otherwise. little did they know—

s6e18–s6e24: her daughter was conceived in paris, and this is when the horrible afghanistan mission went down. jj doesn’t think about it much. she doesn’t tell emily until much, much later.

s7e1, it takes a village: jj rejoins the bau and brings back emily. they kiss a lot.

s7e6, epilogue: when emily brings up her death, jj is startled, as that was a memory she specifically pushed away because of how painful it was.

s7e23, hit: fluffy domestic jemily in the beginning. emily is a bit off and jj asks why. emily tells her not to worry about it. the whole interpol situation is brought up, and emily brushes off jj’s insistance. emily is sent in undercover with another cop to try and sneak in, but their lines are cut short after two gunshots. jj loses it. just as the ranks move in, the bombs go off.

s7e24, run: emily is taken as the hostage this time. izzy still fucks with jj and henry and jj beats her up. morgan finds emily with the bomb strapped to her, and emily tells morgan to go. he snaps at her— “i’m not leaving you. not ever.” it’s a callback to when morgan found her impaled by doyle and blamed himself for her “death”. i love parallels. the bomb is dismantled. in the hospital, emily talks with jj about interpol. jj encourages her to take the job since it’s a huge promotion. they’ll still see each other, just not always. jj doesn’t take it well but she tries. it’s not a wedding but a going-away party. jj and emily kiss tenderly before emily turns and walks away.

s8-s9: jj is on her phone a lot and smiling; it is implied she’s looking at emily’s texts.

s9e14, 200: when jj is kidnapped, her disappearance is noted by sandy, who was watching henry and was supposed to pick him up that morning. first thing hotch does is call emily, but she’s on an assignment without service. a few hours later, he calls her again, and that’s when she flies over. same thing, yada yada. blackbird. she finds and saves her. they kiss so much. emily stays with her for the next few weeks making sure jj recovers before moving back to interpol.

s10e11, the forever people: when jj’s trauma is called out by reid, he calls emily, who flies over. she stays with her as she breaks down. michael is conceived during this time period.

s11e1, the job: when jj calls hotch, emily is home with her, having taken a few months off for maternity leave

s11e7, target rich: one of the new framed photos on jj’s desk is of emily holding michael.

s11e19, tribute: basically the entire episode, except in the beginning emily wakes up by herself. the episode continues as usual, they just hold hands and touch each other and kiss each other more. when tara first meets her, she says “oh, jj’s girlfriend” and emily’s smile is so big.

s12e3, taboo: emily greets the team joyfully. luke doesn’t realize she and jj are together until the end of the episode when he realizes she’s the woman holding michael in one of jj’s photos.

s12e6, elliot’s pond: emily moves back to the states. jj is overjoyed.

during cases they’re professional but occasionally brush hands and touch shoulders.

s14e5, the tall man: domestic jemily fluff in the beginning. emily gives jj the opportunity to opt out of this case since it’s in e. alleghany, but jj still goes. emily already knows the details about rosaline’s suicide and helps ground jj. at the end she gives jj her new necklace. they cuddle. they are in Love.

s14e15, truth or dare: it’s emily and jj who are kidnapped. emily has the gun, but while emily is telling jj about her truth (it’s a lie btw, she says smth like i never loved you or whatever), jj is the one who sees the unsub raise the gun to shoot emily, yells out emily’s name and launches herself to take the shot meant for emily. emily shoots the unsub, but not before jj is sprawled over her, bleeding out. emily begs for jj to stay awake and that she never meant it, that jj was and is and will always be her one true love and that she had bought a ring and was gonna propose to her after this case and— jj’s eyes close.

s15e1, (different name cause no chameleon): okay the canon s15 opening two-parter doesn’t happen cause i think it’s stupid. s15e1 picks up directly off of where s14e15 leaves off as a cliffhanger. jj recovers. shyly mentions that she wouldn’t mind being married to emily. they kiss. emily officially proposes. everyone claps.

s15e4, saturday: emily takes off and gets super drunk at matt’s. jj works the case.

s15e8, rusty: mendoza doesn’t exist. at the end of the episode, they’re lying in bed, and emily, thinking about how lonely the unsub was, asks, “jj?” jj murmurs. emily says, “i love you.” they snuggle even closer. the light catches on their engagement rings, hands locked together.

s15e9, face off: i don’t care about the chameleon. the beginning shows emily and jj planning their wedding and getting a little overwhelmed. the unsub is garcia’s stalker. at the end, the unsub captures garcia, but emily and jj rescue her. tara and luke follow the unsub after he’s escaped. tara tricks him, and luke shoots him.

s15e10, and in the end: aftermath is resolved. garcia opts to step down from the bau and go work at the nonprofit. she struggles with telling the team. jj and emily have their wedding at rossi’s house. rossi announces his retirement. garcia announces her departure. luke asks her out. jj and emily kiss. the kids are cute. all is good.

[37-children-of-the-dreams]

Day #36: Love Story (Epilogue)

The day is finally here. Korkie and Crosshair might have been just a brain worm, but these two have been fun to write. So long boys. May the Force be with you.

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

(Epilogue)

The rich deserts of Kalevala was shining through the windshield of the Katalyst and the passengers were happy to be back. Even if it wasn’t going to be for long. 

Fennec had the pilot’s pit to herself. Korkie and Crosshair were far too busy at their bedroom to be the pilots. Sarad was too busy playing with her wedding bow that she tore it apart. Crosshair was smirking too much for Korkie’s sake.

“That’s my duchess!” Crosshair said. “You look better with armor anyway.”

“Cross, she’s too tiny,” Korkie groaned. “She’s the size of a two-year old. Kryze would wear armor when they’re bigger. Also, today’s our wedding.”

“Well, it’s a Mandalorian wedding. Shouldn't we have armor?”

“We have weapons. No one is going to attack our wedding if they know what’s good for them.”

Crosshair smiled and kissed his fiancee’s forehead. It was a year since they’ve met and they’ve been through so much. The fights, the target practice, the bounties and having Sarad. They grew as partners and as a couple. And now they’re getting married in Kalevala.

Which was Crosshair’s idea. He wanted Bo-Katan to watch him marry her former nephew. Though, he said it was because he wanted to marry at the place they first met.

Korkie didn’t believe his excuse, but he wanted Nanny Rana to watch his wedding. Also, he wanted to see Bo-Katan faint at the sight of him marrying Crosshair while the Bad Batch was in attendance. 

The Bad Batch was already at Kalevala because of Crosshair. He wanted Rana to get them fitted for the wedding and he deathly knows how bad they were at wearing top-grade suits. Hunter and Echo were always trying to get away from wearing something they felt undeserving, Tech would be too busy talking about clothing facts to wear one, and Wrecker was just big. Yet, Rana seemed to know what to do since she sent a comm of them in their wedding outfits.

As for the Shands. Well, Luka was once a wedding officiant before Fennec was born and he did demand that he wear clothes fitting for a former officiant. Kristal wore a motherly blue gray dress that matched her husband’s clothes. Fennec wouldn’t stop beaming in happiness at the sight of her happy parents. She asked to wear a dress with leggings in case of a Bo-Katan attack.

As for the grooms and Sarad? Crosshair had a gray suit he asked Rana to prepare for his wedding. It was simple and made out of Beskar to make sure it would hold for years. Korkie wanted to wear the last outfit he ever created for his mother. A rather plain blue dress that he knows Bo-Katan would try to burn in anger. To match her fathers, Korkie made Sarad wear a gray and blue dress. With a now broken blue bow because it wasn't made with Beskar.

Fennec saw the Havoc Marauder and landed near the Bad Batch’s ship. The four exited the Katalyst with two boxes containing Fennec’s dress and Korkie’s wedding dress. Rana and the Shands greeted the four first. Then, the Bad Batch came out and hugged Crosshair.

“Congrats, Crosshair,” Hunter said. “I’m so proud to call you my brother.”

“I’m happy to know you’re the one giving me away,” Crosshair said.

They went back to the mansion to talk about the steps of the wedding. Korkie and Fennec went to their rooms to wear their dress while Crosshair was too busy cradling Sarad. Rana and the Shands went to the garden to finish up the place.

“She’ll always have bragging rights against future siblings,” Wrecker said. 

“Your next children would possible ask you for a recreation of the wedding,” Tech pointed out. “ Sarad might rally them if she wants them to understand what a wedding is.”

“Wouldn’t they already understand if they teach the kids?” Echo asked.

“They might,” Crosshair said. “But, I’d be happy to recreate the best day of my life.”

Hunter laughed. Crosshair had changed from the cold sniper they all knew. HE was kinder and warmer.

“It’s time,” Kristal said when she fetched them. “The place is ready, Fennec is there, Rana is getting Korkie and my husband is trying his best not to cry. Oh, and the birds are singing like it’s the biggest wedding in the whole galaxy.”

The Bad Batch and Sarad were taken to the garden where Crosshair met Korkie. He gave Sarad to Fennec and the girls went to their designated spot. Tech, Wrecker and Echo went to the opposite side of her. Hunter took out his arm and walked Crosshair down the aisle. Hunter was not going to cry before his brother said his vows. At the aisle, Crosshair looked at the entrance and smiled. Korkie was wearing the wedding dress like a true Duke of Mandalore and had a bouquet of beautiful flowers. Rana was already crying since she was full of happiness that she couldn’t wait. 

When Korkie took to his side of the aisle, Crosshair couldn’t stop laughing at the sight of his groom. He had a hard life as a defective clone, but what can he say now? He got the best man to marry him.

“Friends, Family and Guest,” Luka started. “We are gathered here to join these men as husbands in wedded life. If there is anyone who would deny this right, speak now--”

The door open and Korkie groaned in unsurpassed annoyance. Bo-Katan and her Nite Owls had arrived. They brought Amis, Lagos and Soniee with them.

“What now Lady Bo-Katan?!” Korkie screamed. “I know I’m not supposed to be here, but this place is where my husband and I met!”

Bo-Katan steeled herself as Amis, Lagos, ans Sonies said sorry to the wedding party.

“I’m not here to stop you,” she said.

Korkie and Crosshair gave her a surprised look. She had to be joking, right?

“I really am not going to ruin whatever this is. I’m just here to witness it and finally announce that Satine’s bloodline has finally ended. You’re more than open to continue. I just have to see the last of my sister leave Clan Kryze and be with someone I know might not have been the best pick, but the one that makes him happy for the rest of his life.”

Bo-Katan said nothing else and let the wedding continue by having her Nite Owls stand next to the doors as if they were going to exit the instant the wedding ended. Korkie nodded at his former aunt and her decision. It might have been more hurtful to her losing the last piece of Satine, but even they knew their relationship was not going to be the same anymore.

“Well,” Luka said. “Let’s get back to the wedding. I’ve read the entire book on Kryze weddings, and I know it’s time for the promise vows. Then after the vows, it’s the marriage vows to which they’ll be husbands for life.”

Korkie went first since he was a former Kryze.

“Crosshair,” he started. “When I first met you, I was an unhappy former duke who had his entire life destroyed and was exiled from Mandalore for whatever reasons. I initially wanted to use you to get away from Mandalore and anger my entire House because you were there in my visions getting me away from Mandalore. 

Then, I realize I’m not a master manipulator and stuck myself to you because why not? I’m already away from Kalevala and you’re a bounty hunter, so what were the chances?”

The entire wedding party laughed much to Crosshair’s dismay. He really know how to end up with Korkie of all Mandalorians.

“Then, we bonded. I know I made stupid risk that day getting the carbonite unit and almost got both of us killed, but I’m grateful that you saw that I was just trying to help. Then, I forgot the fuel for the hyperdrive and we talked about our respective families. Then, Tatooine where we met Fennec...”

Korkie took a breathe and finally cried looking at his Crosshair.

“What I’m just saying is, you had multiple chances to just ditch me and leave me for dead, but you didn’t. You said I was important when I needed to hear it. I made me feel important after all the pain I had been given after my mother’s death. You gave me a family again. I will never stop loving you and I will always love hearing that I’m your husband til the day I die. I love you, Cyare.”

Crosshair smiled. He knows it’s his turn, but he needs a pause. He took a breathe and spoke.

“You’re never going to stop being important to me,” he declared. “I was angry, lonely, and I had just broke away from my brothers. I wanted to show me I was capable of being a big-time bounty hunter and it lead me to you. I’ll never forget the day I thought I had you as a bounty, you were just sitting here in this garden ready for a deal that would change my life. I didn’t believe you until you almost killed that Death Watch commander and made me realize how true your deal was. 

Ans you’re right, we had a bunch of ups and downs, but you never gave up on me. I remember the day I was teaching Fennec how to shoot. We both know it was a disaster since I’m not a teacher, but instead of just leaving me in the rain, you came for me and told me I can always talk to you. Which is true because despite the fact I made you feel like we’re galaxies apart at times, you still wanted to be near me. You were patient and you did not take my words as a sign of backing off, but instead you kept telling me that I can talk to you. Then, you’re old friends came, and I really thought for one second you’d leave me for them. Yet, you never did and you made us trick them into thinking we’re already married by scarring Lagos for life with us kissing like it’s our actual wedding night.”

Lagos blushed as Bo-Katan looked at her with dismay. She never did tell Bo-Katan that Korkie and Crosshair might have done the deed before marriage. The Bad Batch had to hold their laughter as Bo-Katan looked like she was about to faint. They were betting with Fennec on this. One hundred credits on the line.

“And like you said, we have a family to ourselves because of our bond. Well, including my brothers and Fennec it’s a quite a chaotic family. Yet, it’s perfect for me. You healed me and I’d die fighting for this marriage, and this family. Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum, my darling Korkie. You’re forever the only one for me.”

“Now for the marriage vows!” Luka announced.

Korkie and Crosshair looked at each other’s eyes and started their vows.

“Mhi solus tome, mhi solus dar'tome, mhi me'dinui an, mhi ba'juri verde" (We are one when together, we are one when parted, we will share all, we will raise warriors.)”

The two Keldabe kissed first and kissed on the lips afterward.

The entire place erupted in cheers. Even Bo-Katan and her Nite Owls cheered for the marriage. Then, Bo-Katan went towards them.

“Please,” Bo-Katan begged. “Tell you didn’t pull a Satine. You know? As in did the deed before marriage?”

Korkie blushed and ducked his head on Crosshair’s suit. Crosshair shrugged as if to say ‘So what?’

Bo-Katan fainted to the happiness of Wrecker and Fennec. They did bet against Hunter, Tech and Echo that Bo-Katan might come and faint during the wedding. The three placed their credits to the winners as the Nite Owls grabbed her and steadied the heiress.

“You really are Satine’s son,” Bo-Katan said. “Going after the worst possible suitors and being in love with them.”

“At least I’m not a Jedi,” Crosshair pointed out.

“That kind of makes it less painful.”

Bo-Katan exited the mansion with her Nite Owls following her. Amis, Lagos, and Soniee stayed for the wedding reception. Which was minutes after the wedding. The food was great, the atmosphere was nice and the family pictures were one to remember.

As Korkie and Crosshair took their last couples photo alone. They took each other’s hand and closed their eyes. This was the best love story they had a part in. It felt like a dream come true to the both of them.

(That is my fan art of Crosshair and Korkie. It was a hard fought second place.)

[365days365movies]

February 27, 2021: Love Actually (Part 2)

In case you hadn’t noticed by now...this movie is a lot.

I won’t dwell, and I’ll get back into All Around, but just trust me...this is a bit too much. All I know is that they packed way too much in this film, which is also somehow too long? It’s a lot, yeah? OK, first part of the Recap is right here, let’s get into the second half before I lose my nerve.

Recap (2/2)

So, good news is, Rodrigo and Sarah start dancing at the party, then start to hook up at her place! But the sad news (not bad, just sad) is that it’s interrupted by calls from her brother, Michael (Michael Fitzgerald), a very mentally ill man who lives in an asylum. Their love affair is cut short, and Sarah visits him the next day, where he lashes out at her and claims the nurses are trying to kill him, before being subdued. YIKES. Fuckin’s whiplash.

A little more sadness, as Karen’s convinced that Harry’s fallen out of love with her, having seen how he interacted with the attractive Mia at the party. That’s going to cause some friction, I’m sure. This is folllowed by Mia’s flirtations the following afternoon, which are once again accepted by Harry with no words to the contrary. He also calls her as he’s out, and he appears to be giving into the flirtation, rather than denying them. And as he’s meeting Karen for shopping! Dammit, Harry.

At the store, he buys a necklace for Mia from jewelry salesman Rufus (Rowan Atkinson!). Rufus asks is Harry wants the necklace gift-wrapped, and he agrees. And Rufus...Rufus is the best gift-wrapper of all time. Seriously, the man is a fucking ARTIST. His attention to detail is astonishing, and I love him. Harry doesn’t, as it’s taking way to long. YOU CANNOT RUSH PERFECTION, HARRY! But, yeah, it’s taking too long, and Karen shows up. Harry abandons the necklace, and poor devoted Rufus.

One week until Christmas, as holiday shenanigans take place with everybody! Jamie’s learning Portuguese for Aurélia. Colin (yeah, remember him?) is headed to America, while his roommate Tony is back to work at the film set, where Judy and Jack are being stand-ins for a myriad of sex positions, and Jack asks Judy on a date, which she accepts! A very cute couple, all things considered. They go out on a date on Christmas Eve, and the two kiss on the doorstep. They are legitimately adorable.

Colin arrives at a bar in the United States, and as soon as he orders a beer, his accent IMMEDIATELY draws the attention of Stacey, Jeannie, and Carol-Anne (Ivana Miličević, January Jones, and Elisha Cuthbert). And...IT FUCKING WORKED? These girls are all immediately into him, and invite him to stay with them at their place. However, they only have a small bed, and no couch. Not to mention the fourth girl, Harriet. But he bites the bullet, and accepts the invitation. And once he gets there, the sex proceeds in shadow. I cannot believe it worked, and it’s kind of hilarious.

Meanwhile, the jig is up for Harry. He did indeed get the necklace, and Karen finds it in his pocket before Christmas, assuming that it’s for her. However, when Christmas comes, Harry gives her a Joni Mitchell CD instead, and she realizes that the necklace was for Mia. Which is...shattering. Karen’s extremely hurt by this, fucking understandably.

Christmas Eve! Billy Mack’s song, despite the odds being completely against him, has reached the number one spot on the charts. He appears to be quite happy at a party celebrating him, although his manager appear slightly less so. Wonder why. Jamie, meanwhile, heads to the airport, quite on impulse. Wonder why.

Karl bids Sarah a good night and a Merry Christmas, and she cries when she realizes that their chance of getting together again is shot. Damn. She goes to visit her brother, and I gotta say - she’s a very loving sister. And then...well, it’s the scene. The most famous scene in the movie. You know the one.

And here’s the thing about this scene: is it superficially romantic? Yeah, sure, I guess. And it’s true that Mark doesn’t actually expect anything to come from this, but...this is still an AMAZINGLY shitty thing to do to someone in a committed relationship that involves your friend. Because it could potentially sabotage their relationship. I mean, maybe she’d be tempted to kiss you in a brief moment of infidelity that initially seems romantic, but is kinda fucked up when you really think about it.

Yeah, yeah, LITERALLY JUST LIKE THAT

OK, after that terrible idea, Bill shows up by surprise at his manager Joe’s place, and notes that he could be going to a big party at this point, but Christmas is a time to spend with his family and loved ones, and that the closest thing to that is, in fact, his manager, who is in fact the love of his life. Not sure if that’s necessarily romantic, but that is still sweet. Anyway, they get drunk and watch porn together. Yup.

David, meanwhile, gets a bevy of Christmas cards, one of which comes from Natalie. She apologizes for the kiss situation, and refers to herself as “Your Natalie”. Time to get in the fuckin’ car, David. He drives down to her neighborhood, and goes from door-to-door until he finds Natalie’s place. Her and her entire family are headed to a school concert, and David offers to give her and her little brother a lift there.

On the way there, the two begin to admit their feelings for one another, and Natlie notes that the President forced herself on her, but nothing else happened. While he’s reluctant about the whole affair, she brings him into the concert backstage. As he enters, he runs into his sister Katie, who’s glad to see him, and is clearly holding back tears because of the Harry situation. Judy and Jack are also there, as well as Daniel and Sam (who’s in the concert).

The kids’ concert takes place, and its headed by a solo from Sam’s crush, Joanna (Olivia Olson), who...WAIT, OLIVIA OLSON? As in...

...Huh. Of all the members of this ensemble cast, she’s the one I least expected! But OK! As expected, she’s an excellent singer, and headlines a rendition of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas”. Which seems mildly inappropriate for a kid’s concert, but whatever, sure. She points at various people when saying “is you” in the song, but never at Sam, who’s on the drums. Oof. Sorry, buddy.

The song ends, and the curtain drops, and...

Well, uh...shit. I ean, I’m happy for them both, but David’s officially FUCKED at this point. However, the crowd seems to receive it very well, and that’s lucky. The night ends, and everyone disbands for the night. Harry and Karen are amongst them, and Karen confronts him. She asks what would he do if he were in her position, revealing her knowledge about the necklace. And it’s...affecting, goddamn. He’s made a fool of himself and of her, and she’s struggling.

Daniel congratulates Sam about his performance, but notes that it didn’t work Still, Daniel encourages him to tell Joanna his feelings for her, and he goes to get his things first. Daniel bumps into Carol (Claudia Schiffer), and there’s a connection. Daniel and Sam go to speak with Joanna, but they’re on their way to the airport. They run to meet her there, like in a terrible romance movie. Wait - 

At the airport, Daniel and Sam are too late, but decide to make a run for it while Rufus (KING OF GIFT WRAPPERS) is holding up the attendant while looking for his boarding pass. Sam bolts, unnoticed, and Rufus walks away, giving Daniel a knowing look as he passes by, LIKE A KING. Sam bolts through the metal detectors, as the post-9/11 airport attendants RIGHTFULLY FREAK OUT ABOUT THIS WHOLE SITUATION. However, they’re once again distracted by Billy Mack on TV and he catches up to Joanna before being taken away by the fuzz. However, she gives him a kiss on the cheek, and Sam and Daniel hug. Supportive father-son relationship is sweet. 

Jamie goes to find Aurélia in Portugal, and the entire village ends up following him until getting to the restaurant were he works, and proposes to her in INSANELY broken Portuguese, which is hilarious. And she accepts...IN ENGLISH! Which is saccharine as fuck...but also sweet.

We cut to a month later, and everybody’s at the airport for the Epilogue. And we’re gonna do this...well, bit by bit.

Billy Mack and Joe: Career’s going well, and a comeback is imminent. Not in a romantic relationship, but still extremely close friends...I think.

Juliet, Peter, and Mark: Juliet and Peter are still together; Mark is still single, seemingly. They meet up with...

Jamie and Aurélia: Coming to England for the first time together, and still in love.

Daniel and Sam: Went to see Joanna at the airport, and Daniel is now dating Carol, which is nice!

Harry and Karen: Oof, icy. They definitely don’t appear to be on good terms, and we never learn why Harry’s been away, but yeah. Not looking good for their relationship, understandably.

Jack and Judy: Married! FUCK YEAH! Adorable. They run into...

Colin and Tony: Colin’s back, and he’s brought back Harriet (Shannon Elizabeth) and her sister Carla (Denise Richards), who IMMEDIATELY takes a liking to Tony and they make out at the gate. Can’t believe that Colin was right, goddamn.

David and Natalie: David’s back from a visit somewhere overseas, and he and Natalie happily reunite right in front of the press, and it’s sweet.

And we’re full-circle, as countless people at the airport reunite in loving embraces. And, I gotta say...it is sweet, but you ever been to a crowded airport around Christmastime? Dude, I’ve been to JFK around that time period, and lemme tell you, it’s less happy reunions, and more pissed-off TSA, lost luggage, stressed out EVERYBODY, and Cinnabon. That last one’s not a complaint...I just really want Cinnabon.

Mmmmmmmm...OH RIGHT, THAT’S All Around (AKA Love Actually). This has been...a lot. BUT, I’ll get into the whole thing in the Review! See you there!

[chilling-seavey]

Amoureux (c.s./d.s.) - Epilogue

A/N This story has received even more amazing feedback than my other ones have and I feel so sad that it’s over but so happy that you guys loved it just as much as I did. Even you Team Christian people who yelled at me a little ;) Anyway, here’s the final chapter. Do you think Louisa really got her happily ever after she had been dreaming of? 

Jamestown, Virginia ~ January 18, 1822

Louisa carefully slid the knife over the skin of the potato in her hand, the scraps falling onto the wooden countertop as she worked by light of the early evening sun seeping through the window in front of her. When the potatoes were peeled, she chopped them up and slipped them into the pot of cooking stew that was hanging over the fire for their supper. She wiped her hands on her apron and pushed her tied back hair from her face with a sigh before tidying up the food scraps and glancing in their storage to check on their winter stock.

It was starting to get chilly, so Louisa bent down to tend to the fire in the kitchen, trying to warm up the single storey house. It wasn’t a huge place, definitely not what they were used to in England or France, but it was all they could afford for the price of the diamond engagement ring that they sold the second they set foot in the United States. At only sixteen, and coming from very privileged lifestyles, Daniel and Louisa were oblivious to the cost of the necessities of life, especially in a new country. They didn’t know that they got completely ripped off by the pawnshop owner who was willing to take advantage of the youthful runaway Brits who stumbled into his store, fresh off the ship. Regardless, they ended up with a bit of cash in their pockets and a (somewhat) sturdy roof over their heads and that was enough for them, having been married by the captain of the ship the first day at sea, ready to start their new life together.

Louisa barely sat herself down at the kitchen table before a soft cry came from the bedroom across the hall. She rushed over, making sure her hands were clean against her apron as she leaned over the small wooden crib in the corner to pick up the baby. He was born in August, just over a year since Louisa had first arrived at Kensington Palace although he was not born to any regal destiny. He was conceived during their first winter in America; the young couple nearly frozen to the bone in their drafty single storey and desperate for any warmth, he was carried almost full term by seventeen-year-old Louisa who had gone into labour a few weeks early due to her tendency to overwork around their small house, and he was delivered by candlelight to parents who had more love than money.

The five-month-old baby was a little cold to the touch and Louisa tucked the wool blanket around him as she picked him up and carried him to the kitchen so they could warm up by the fire, shushing his cries softy as she sat down. It was often that she found herself sitting alone, tending to the housework and the baby, Daniel busy with work or, rather, trying to find something better for them.

One thing that Louisa and Daniel had learned after moving to United States was that they were not liked very much. Still freshly independent from their ties to Britain, America didn’t enjoy having Brits around and Daniel’s accent was a dead giveaway, Louisa’s English also tied up in European taste, and from the start they were always treated poorly by their colonial counterparts. The only people who seemed to lend a hand were their neighbours, property owners on the land north of them and the husband took Daniel in to work at his blacksmiths shop for pennies. It was better than nothing and Daniel was grateful, but it was grueling work and he hated every second he was there.

Louisa glanced up at the sound of the front door creaking open and being shut and the boots being stomped clear of snow before Daniel was in the doorway to the kitchen, his hat in his soot covered hands. He sent a tired smile to his little family and trudged over to press a kiss to Louisa’s head and then to the baby’s.

“How was it?” Louisa asked softly as he pulled out a chair and sat with them at the table. Snow fell from his coat and he brushed it onto the floor as he pulled out the papers from his inside pocket.

“Nothing again.” Daniel sighed, tossing the stack of scribbled lines onto the table and leaned his elbow down to rest his chin in his hand tiredly.

“Did they say anything worth repeating?” Louisa set her hand on his thigh and he tucked his fingers around hers, still wearing his gloves that were dotted with holes.

“They said plenty. None really worth repeating.” Daniel sighed. “Laughed in my face, called me names like they all do, telling me how I won’t amount to anything…that I am a joke of a composer and I make their mare giving birth sound like angles singing.”

“That’s not true.” Louisa mumbled, giving his hand a squeeze.

“I was sitting at that piano and I couldn’t play.” Daniel breathed to the tabletop. “I haven’t practiced since England. It’s like all the pieces have vanished from my memory and I was so choppy and messy and I keep making an idiot of myself.��

“We can find you a place to practice. Maybe the librarian knows a building with an old piano where you could practice.”

“And be away from you two longer?” Daniel frowned sadly, reaching with his free hand to rub gently against the baby’s chubby cheek. “I can’t.”

“We need the money, Dani.” Louisa whispered. “Our food stocks are running low and the winter is barely over. We won’t make it at this rate, we need more money.”

“I know.” Daniel ran his hands over his face tiredly. “I’ve been working all I can, but David can only spare so much. He said he’s running himself thin too.”

“Someone’s going to want your music, I’m sure of it.” Louisa assured him, although her own words didn’t do much to even comfort herself.

She passed over the baby to Daniel who instantly smiled at his young son in his arms as Louisa moved to tend to the supper. The sun was setting quickly, meaning they were sitting in the near dark when she served the two bowls of watered-down stew, the light of the fire being their only illumination. Louisa hated eating the same tasteless soup every night, only being watered down more and more as their winter stock lessened. They ate in silence, the baby sat on Daniel’s lap and held against his chest by his gloved hand and tucked warmly in his open jacket, Louisa trying to hold in her own shivers of cold, the fire not doing much against the brutal winter wind that leaked through the thin walls.

“Have you heard back from your father?” Daniel asked softly, as if hesitant to ask.

Louisa shook her head, letting her spoon fall against the side of her empty bowl so she could run her hand tiredly over her forehead.

“I’m sure they’re alright.” It was Daniel’s turn for a failed attempt at reassurance, setting his hand on hers against the tabletop.

Louisa didn’t reply as she stood up to put their empty dishes on the counter and began to wash them to put away. Daniel sighed deeply from behind her and he looked down at the baby on his lap who was nibbling on the edge of his open jacket. He pulled it out of his son’s mouth and the baby smiled up at him with dimples that mirrored Christian’s own. Daniel figured it was fate punishing him for fleeing and stealing the future Queen with him; giving his son features of his brother so every time he looked at him he was reminded of his own guilt.

They never knew what happened to their families after jumping onto the ship bound for America, ties completely cut and bridges burned. Louisa always assumed the worst, knowing that France had probably fallen under English control when she fled and she couldn’t help but think of her family being sent to the guillotine for their daughter’s terrible behaviour in putting the future of the British Royal Family at risk. Christian wouldn’t let that happen though, would he?

Even Daniel didn’t know the capabilities his own brother, especially in the last few weeks before they fled, hardly recognising the young man who had threatened his life. They could only hope Christian’s love for Louisa would have spared her family, although there was no way to know for sure. It would forever be an unknown.

Daniel looked up at Louisa, watching her back as she scrubbed the dishes by the window in the rising moonlight. He picked up his sheet music with the hand that wasn’t holding the baby and scanned it over, eyeing the scribbled notes and trembling handwritten bars, stained in dried alcohol where the panel of men had thrown their drinks at him from crystal glasses. Similar crystal glasses that once fit in his own hand in gold trimmed ballrooms in expensive clothing, sitting next to Louisa in her diamond tiara and her rouge coloured cheeks, the light glinting off her ring on her left hand. Now he couldn’t afford to even put food on the table yet alone buy her a wedding ring.

“I wish I had more to offer you.”

Louisa turned around at his sudden statement, dishes drying on the counter and she wiped her damp hands on her apron, before bending down to stifle the fire, “Why do you say that?”

“You were set for a life of riches and royalty and status and now…now we can’t even afford to keep the fire on through the night. You have nothing with me.” Daniel mumbled.

Louisa sighed and stood up as they were engulfed in darkness and cold as the fire died out, and she walked around him to wrap her arms around his shoulders, resting her head against his, “I have you. And our boy. That’s all that matters.”

Daniel nodded weakly, sending her a small smile before she kissed him once, her lips cold from the winter weather. “I love you.”

Louisa kissed his cheek, tightening her arms around his shoulders as she stared out the window in the snow coated countryside, swallowing back her tears for another uncountable time, “I love you too.”

[bepoets]

Review for Trish’s Dream Fic

Trish ( @couragedontdesertme  ) said she’d write an epilogue of the elsarik dream Fic if I made a Formal Review of the elsarik dream fic. So here we are.

Please note review should be taken VERY LIGHTLY this is more or less me re-reading the Fic and loudly yelling about things with too many exclamation points. Enjoy Trish.

Ch1

First of all imagine my fucking surprise I didn’t even know you had gotten work done on the dream fic???? Here I was thinking the link you sent me was the next chapter of city of ice and then I click on it and it saYS DREAM FIC???? E X C U S E M E oh my goodness

The first section is just so entirely domestic and beautiful and you can tell how lived in and content they are in their life as roommates. ALARIK (listen my phone autocorrects ALARIK to be in all caps and I’m too lazy to fix it so y’all are gonna have to deal with reading ALARIK’s name as if I’m yelling it every time I type it) anyway ALARIK just bringing her the chocolate croissants she loves so dearly and Elsa curling up with a book and him fretting and worrying over her being there alone all day and later... it’s just SO DOMESTIC. it’s such a small short moment but it’s so domestic and a perfect opposite of the PAIN THAT HAPPENS AFTER!!! And we al know I LOVE READING PAIN

The fact that ALARIK was only home late because he was doing tutoring to earn more money to by Elsa A PRESENT????? Shut up no one speak to me that’s true love but also PAINFUL the guilt he must feel oh my god

Elsa...stops struggling... because she doesn’t want ,,,, ALARIK ,,,, to get hurt. Because she cares for his safety more than her own because he has protected her and he is her friend and she loves him I am going to SCREAM

The fact that you use the phrase ~marching her out of the warmth of the room~ when she just used her magic to like cover the walls in frost makes my Heart burst cause idk if it was intentional or not but I just love the thought that this room has become Home to her it’s become safe and beautiful and lovely and WARM because it is full of love and friendship and companionship rather than the cold loneliness of say her ice palace of her locked room as a child. I like to think Elsa could have covered the room entirely in ice and snow and frost and it would still feel warm to her because of the love that’s developed there thank you for coming to my tedtalk

Ugh fuck hans

I have literally no words other than fuck hans for any section with hans in it I DONT even want to RECOGNIZE THAT HE EXISTS !!! Making Elsa feel like she’s nothing I am going to punch him in the eye

~ALARIK weeps over smushed chocolate croissant. End scene~

I know that it’s such a heartbreaking sad ending for that first chapter but also I really can’t stop laughing about him crying over a stepped on croissant since I know that your like planning note for that last scene was literally just some variant of ALARIK cried over a smushed croissant and that’s just such a funny IMAGE TO ME EVEN THOUGH ITS SAD

I just like to imagine ALARIK cradling the chocolate croissant in his arms like a bébé as he sobs

Ch2

I’m fucking S A D

ALARIK having like NO MONEY and just thinking about that the money he has was going to go to a gift for Elsa and the guard LAUGHING AT HIM LIKE THATS IT THATS ALL YOU HAVE?? Like shut UP HES TRYING TO SAVE HIS BELOVED

P e t t y c h a n g e HE IS TRYING MR GUARD I WILL HAVE YOU KNOW HE WORKED EXTRA TO GET THAT MONEY

ALARIK is so fucking DEVOTED I’m going to run through a goddamn wall I cannot cope. Willing to sell the clothes off his back have you ever seen an idiot more iN LOVE

ALARIK just going willingly cause he has no fight left in him and he just wants to see Elsa even if it means he gets imprisoned too oh my GOD

THE SCENE ITS THE SCENE!!!!!!!!!

STRAIGHT FROM TRISH’S SUBCONSCIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHAT STARTED IT ALL!!!!!!!!!!

ALARIK wanting to hold her hands when her hands are what are chained up and seen as dangerous and what ~make her a witch~ the absolute love and power that holds.

LET ALARIK AND ELSA HOLD HANDS

“I promised to keep you safe” the pain I feel oh mY GOD

“They’ll KILL you” they’re really out here trying to protect each other at all costs oh my god nothing matters more to the other than keeping the other safe and for that I want to cry and love them and also I want to ram their heads into the wall because wHY WONT THEY JUST PROTECT ESCH OTHER TOGETHER

The PARALLEL OH MY FUCKING GOD

the P A R A L L E L of ALARIK stilling and no longer struggling when the guards threaten Elsa’s death in the same way that Elsa stilled and stopped struggling when they threatened ALARIK’s death oh my god that broke me right there

U g h hans fuck that guy

A N N A !!!!!!!!

When I first read this,,, I DONT know why??? But for some reason??? I didn’t think Anna would be in it???? Which like thinking back on that it makes no sense of COURSE Anna would be in the FIC why would I ever think otherwise. But anyway I was so surprised when she showed up I literally gasped and went ANNA??? Out loud because I was so shocked

ALFAFA GERANIUM

ALARIK really is just so bad under pressure who thought this was a good idea

AG FOR SHORT wink wink nudge nudge cough cough

I’ll be thinking about ALARIK shouting alfafa geranium on my death bed let us never forget

“No harm, no foul” is literally the most fucking Anna line I’ve ever heard. She absolutely would say that to someone who was being question for a crime she’d be like “it’s not biggy”

Why is it that when hans says “BUT ANNA!!!” I hear it like he’s wining like a petulant child I read it like “bUT annNNAAAAA” ugh I hate him

“Don’t scream” *ALARIK’s inner monologue* “this ,, is the story of how I died”

ILL HELP YOU HELP HER ESCAPE!!!!! HELL YEA YOU WILL ANNA HELL YEA YOU WILL

Ch3

My dumbass really went “why are none of the children named neta” before remembering that is the child of Anna and Kristoff and these...are the children of Anna ,,, and .... ugh please don’t make me say his name

I would die for these kids though I love them and I want to protect them at all costs 

Johannes at 5 (and a half!!!!) being a fine soldier GOOD FOR HIM

Isak owns my entire heart from the moment he started fake crying for his mother what a star performer a true Actor he’s too good

Arendellian Royal Guards, are they guards? Or are they simply baby sitters? The world may never know

JOAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! One of the babies being named JOAN!!! Hang in there Joan!!!!!!!!! That made me cry oh my god J O A N

Bébé Isak lookout supreme with his big eyeballs and smile and goofy lil salute I love him

The fact that Elsa says she felt stupid for being lured into a false sense of security means she felt secure and safe for literally the first time since she was a child when she was with ALARIK and I cannot properly articulate how much that made me cry I love that so much that has to mean sO MUCH TO HER oh my god

“You have to get out!! Do the magic!!” NO ONE SPEAK TO ME ABOUT ANYTHING EXCEPT THIS LINE FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS I LITERALLY WEPT

the use of DO THE MAGIC oh my god AND ELSAS HEART LIKE BREAKING BECAUSE SHE FEELS LIKE SHE CANT

DO ! THE ! MAGIC !

Brave little boy with his mother’s determination saying “be brave. That’s what mama said to tell you” oh my GOD THESE CHILDREN HAVE MY WHOLE HEART OH MY GOD

A rooster crow for the signal COUKD they be more obvious I love these kids they’re ridiculous they are truly the children of Anna

Elsa!!! Chose!! To be!!! Brave!!!

IF SHE TRIED TO SAY GOODBYE TO ELSA!!! SHE MAY NEVER LET GO!!!

SHE HAD NO WHERE TO GO!!! BUT SHE DOES BEVAUSE THERES ALARIK WAITING FOR HER BECAUSE GUESS WHAT

ALARIK IS HER HOME !!!!! HE IS HER HOME !!!! SHE CAN GO TO HIM!!!!

Queue another one of my shocked and delightfully surprised screams as I shouted KRISTOFF????? Because blonde dude driving a reindeer cart

Let’s get you somewhere safe I’m going to cry THEYRE finally together again and they can keep each other safe together as. They. Should.

They are cuddling and my heart is exploding oh my god ALARIK seems so surprised like you big dumb idiot you’re both in love with each other it’s a mutual thing get with the program

SLEEP ELSA! ITS GOING TO BE OKAY! AND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN PROBABLY FOREVER! IT WILL BE!

Ch4

*queue another gasp* there’s only one bed?????

Yea I saw it coming yea I was just as shocked even so yea I got very excited about it wHAT DID YOU EXPECT

They’re cUDDLING and he went to move away and she DOESNT WANT HIM TO they could’ve been sharing a bed THIS WHOLE TIME AND I JUST WANT TO SCREAM BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY

ALARIK laying all the credit on kristoff and the kids when he’s kind of the one that steamrolled the whole plan into happening because he’s the one who showed up ALARIK please give yourself more credit

“You came back” “of course I came back... I couldnt ...” “why?” And then ALARIK refusing to meet her eyes has me absolutely weeping this is the kind of shit I THRIVE ON this is truly a gift to us all everyone say thank you Trish for these three bits of dialogue I will be thinking about them for all my days

ELSA KISSED HIM!!!!!!!!!

Yeah I do lose my shit anytime Elsa is the one to make the first move you go girl you go

THE SPICE VENDOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bringing in all my favorites I am going to cry thank you Trish I love Darius

I SUPPOSE YOU TWO HAVE FINALLY GOTTEN MARRIED

listen I SCREAMED WHEN HE SAID THAT I SQUAWKED!!!! MARRIED!!!!!!

I had been observing you two and just assumed!!!!! You would assume right mr spice vendor sir if they WERENT so stupid for so long it’s okay we understand

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE ??? And Elsa says MARRY US? And ALARIK is going to PASS THE FUCK OUT

He literally got to finally kiss the woman he’s in love with for the first time last night and now they’re getting married poor boy is going to get WHIPLASH from how fast things are progressing but it’s okay im sure he is happy

Elsa’s little vows of just needing each other and keeping each other safe and keeping company and not needing gold or silver ugh TRUE LOVE

And ALARIK hopelessly devoted to her being like I PROMISE

“just you being there no matter what is enough” peak romance true love the devotion the dedication I’m a wreck

LE SMOOCH! LE MARRIAGE! INCREDIBLE I LOVE THEM

~end review~

Okay where is my epilogue please and thank you

[littlemarvelfics]

Whatever Comes Next: Epilogue

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader, Steve Rogers x Reader

Word Count: about 1.1k 

Warnings: alludes to cheating, a lil angsty

A/N: This is the end! Thank you all for reading! 

You stood on a chair, straightening the banner hanging above the fireplace for probably the hundredth time that day. You felt hands on your hips, gripping you tightly before gently lifting you off the chair and placing you on the ground with a kiss on your head. 

“It’s perfect,” Steve said, wrapping his arms around your waist. 

“Steveeee,” you whined. “She only turns seven once!” 

“She’s turning seven?!” he said, sarcastically. “I had no idea. It’s not like both of you have been waking me up every morning with a countdown to the big day or anything.”

“It’s a big deal, Steve!” 

“I know, I know. What can I do to help?” 

 “There are some heavy bags of ice in the kitchen calling your name,” you said with a smirk. 

Steve gave you a salute and then turned on his heel and headed off to the kitchen. You watched him walk away and you smiled. It had been a little over two years since the day Steve found you in the grocery store parking lot. 

When you finally got the courage to go back home, it wasn’t pretty. You and Bucky both yelled and cried until you couldn’t anymore. Bucky talked until he was blue in the face about how much he loved you and how it was just another mistake. He told you he would do anything, more counseling, trial separation- anything to keep you. But you had had enough. You couldn’t keep doing the back and forth. You told him you wanted a divorce and for a few months, things were bad. Bucky starting drinking more and showing up announced until you finally stood your ground. He had to get it together or he wouldn’t see Becca anymore. Apparently, being faced with losing his daughter was enough to get him to shape up. Now he had Becca every other weekend and some Wednesday’s, whenever his schedule allowed. 

You and Steve had gotten back to the close friendship you’d had before the whole mess had started. You told him countless times that if he wanted to take Bucky’s side in everything or find a less messy family to hang around with, you would be okay but he wouldn’t hear it. He helped you take care of Becca and take care of yourself. It didn’t take long for a friendship to evolve into something more. Steve had moved in six months ago. You were worried about how Becca would take it but when you brought it up, she was over the moon. The three of you had settled into the routine of a happy family. 

A few hours later, the party was in full swing. Kids ran around, yelling and laughing while hopped up on sugar. The adults stood around and mingled, sharing stories of their growing kids and families. You looked as you heard the door open and saw Bucky walk in. He gave you a tight smile and a wave before coming into the living room and placing his gift for Becca on her growing pile. He made his way into the kitchen to grab a beer before finally making his way to you. Steve and Bucky were by no means friends anymore but no more punches were thrown between the two. They were civil towards each other and that’s all you could hope for. 

“So, she’s seven huh?” Bucky commented. “She’s getting so big.” 

“Yeah, pretty soon it’ll be off to college with her,” you said with a laugh. 

“Hey, babe…” you heard Steve say, trailing off midsentence.

“Steve,” Bucky said with a nod. 

“Bucky,” Steve responded, equally as cordial. 

“What’s up?” you interjected, hoping to end the awkward reunion. 

“Becca wants to know if we can have cake soon. Apparently, the bowls of sugar weren’t enough,” Steve said, referring to the bowls of candy you had placed around the house. 

“I’m on it,” you confirmed. “Will you grab the plates?” 

You smiled at Bucky as you walked back towards the kitchen, getting Becca’s cake ready for her. 

++++++++++

Bucky watched as Steve followed you into the kitchen, laughing at something you had said. He watched you in the kitchen, licking frosting from your finger as you delicately pushed the candles in place on the cake. Steve had come up behind you and was holding your hips and kissing your cheek- just like Bucky used to. He watched as Steve moved around the kitchen he used to call his own, making you laugh just like he used to. 

When you told him you had wanted a divorce, it broke him. Bucky had thought the two of you could make it through anything but apparently, you’d had enough. The divorce had hurt, but watching Steve take his place in his family hurt more. Bucky had heard from mutual friends that Steve was going to propose soon. He knew you would say yes and then he wouldn’t ever have a chance to get you back. Bucky wanted you to be happy and while he knew he couldn’t be that for you anymore, he couldn’t help but fantasize about it. 

He had started cheating because he was unhappy and part of him thought that once the two of you weren’t married anymore, he would have a shot at being happy again but it just made things worse. He was glad Becca was still in his life but if he was being honest with himself, it was harder than he had thought. They still got along and it was clear Becca didn’t harbor any resentment towards him. 

Bucky watched as Becca ran into the kitchen, flying past him before backtracking and running towards him. They had a quick chat where Bucky promised to pick her up for dinner on Wednesday before she continued on her journey to her cake. She crashed into Steve and hugged him tightly before he picked her up. You took the cake, balancing it carefully and brought it into the dining room where everyone had gathered. Bucky joined in, singing happy birthday to the daughter he felt he barely knew, a fake smile plastered on his face. You set the cake down and Steve sat Becca in a chair so she could blow out her candles. Bucky watched as Steve pulled you closer, running his hand over your stomach as he whispered something you, making you grin. 

“I can’t believe they’re having their own baby,” he heard someone say. 

“I know, he’s been in love with her forever- thank god they finally worked it out,” someone else responded. 

Bucky stared at you until you finally looked up, your fingers still running absentmindedly along your stomach. He glanced at your stomach before looking back up at you, eyebrows raised in question. You gave him a smile and a reluctant nod before Becca stole your attention. 

That’s when Bucky finally realized it. He really had lost you, once and for all. But he was determined not to lose Becca. He was going to do everything he could to be the dad he hadn’t been in the past for years.

[writing-wolf]

I did it; I watched and read After by Anna Todd

Alright, I’m going on a rant, kinda. 

I’m very single, very touch-starved and quarantine makes me pick up on my guilty pleasures: reading/watching crappy romance. So far I’ve read like 4 bad romance books besides the After series, and I’m thriving. We love a cheesy, cliché romance at 2 am, yes we do. 

I read the whole series before watching the movie, and I’m kinda glad I did. The movie was, surprisingly, somewhat better than the books and I’ll tell you why. 

The books were pretty much garbage. Like, I’m not talking about the garbage that romance books made for young adult women with a fantasy usually are (although I secretly kinda like em), I’m talking Wattpad Y/N garbage. I know that’s to be expected because it is a Harry Styles fanfic, buuut a part of me hoped that with it being published as a real book, the ignorant, horrible parts would be cut out. Yeah, nope. 

Spoiler Alert: I’m going to discuss the story under the cut.

First book was kinda bad, pretty dramatic, but like, it was your kind of mindless ‘bad boy’ story. Red flags were starting to show in the relationship (they keep fighting, Hardin’s pretty much a horrible jealous jerk when he’s drunk, and kind of when he’s sober tbh), which kind of made me a bit unhappy. You can’t start off an entire series when it already seems like the main couple is toxic as all hell. The cute parts get overshadowed by the fighting and lies, secrets, violence, double standards, etc. The bet was disgusting and I just couldn’t get behind Hardin. 

At this point, I’m kind of invested in the story though, and I want to see how the hell Hardin’s going to get back with Tessa (because of course they get back together) after this virginity bet, and I read After We Collided. It’s starts off with this Zed guy, and we see the whole aftermath of the bet, with Tessa swearing she’s over it before seamlessly transitioning back into this ‘non-relationship but actually pretty much a relationship’ (this will be an ongoing theme in the next books) when Hardin’s mum shows up. They get back together over a bracelet and some other stuff. Blah blah, book’s kind of forgettable at this point. Hardin’s a selfish dick who doesn’t want to marry, have kids or move to Seattle with his girlfriend, whilst she’s just doing really hurtful things to spite him and hanging out with a couple of random dudes. Somehow she catches feelings (only a lil, because we know she only loves Hardin) for Zed, which is incredibly illogical. But the latest thing we can hope for is character development. The cute moments are actually cute, and they give me feels, but then 5 pages later they’re fighting again, so idk why I even bother. At the end of the book, somehow Hardin gets a tattoo for Tessa, and they meet her estranged, alcoholic dad. Cliffhanger....I guess?

After We Fell is the longest book in the series and OH MY DAYS, IT’S HOT GARBAGE. I couldn’t wait for this book to be over. There’s Hardin asking her to marry him so she doesn’t go to Seattle (he’s drunk, surprise?). Well, shit gets weird, because Hardin, Tessa and Hardin’s family go to Seattle for the weekend or smth. There’s a lesbian couple that has to represent Hardin and Tessa, but better, and that was decently well-done. They have sex, she drinks underage again, he tried to get sober but fails because every time they break up it’s the same story: he drinks and trashes the place, she cries and hates his arse, vows to stay away, they get back together and he promises to do better. And then it starts again. Dysfunctional as shit, basically. There’s huge signs of a toxic, unhealthy, possessive relationship between both of them. 

Hardin sabotages Tessa’s move to Seattle, she looks through his phone (something she’s done before). For the first time though, I end up disliking Hardin a little less than Tessa, because I kind of understand his point? The whole dysfunctional family thing did a part on him, and I get it. She’s also pretty toxic, pointing out his insecurities and being self-centred and wants him to change so badly. I just. By the end of this book, I maybe want them to end up together? Not really, because they’re almost (or maybe even actually) emotionally abusive to each other. But when they get their shit together, I’d like them to have a good, romance novel fuelled love story. Anyways, it was shit.

Last one, After Ever Happy (I didn’t read Before because I was tired of this shit and I don’t massively care). Starts off with this whole thing at Hardin’s mum’s wedding and whatever. He ends up leaving her and stays in London so she can return to Washington alone and he can get high with his ‘delinquent’ buddies from back in the day. She finds her father, overdosed, in their old apartment and that’s what it takes for him to come back to her. I know. Horseshit and I still hate them. He somehow tries to fix all of this, Zed’s a manipulative asshole, Hardin asks her to marry him but Tessa’s depressed, grieving and really not ready to get back into this tumultuous relationship (and honey, I really don’t blame you). I ended up liking this book the most because it felt human. It felt like Tessa was finally growing up and making choices that wouldn’t restart the fucking cycle again. She still drank too much, but I like the change when she left for NY. At that point, I could say I liked the story. Hardin changed a lot and became a capable man/boyfriend. They end up not dating until years later, and I have to say, good for them. Neither of them were ready for a relationship, so I think it was nice that they got the time apart to live first. Epilogue was wayy too rushes and kind of meh, but I was glad it was over. 

The reason I liked the movie was because it was mindless romance and not despite, but because it was so different from the book. Not nearly as toxic and just a lot more calm. Sure, it wasn’t amazing cinema, but it was cute, and the actors weren’t that bad. The main couple looked mad cute together too. The bet got changed and you could see that Anna Todd had made decisions in her book that she probably regretted and tried to rectify. And it was decent. I’m glad Hardin isn’t as horrible, and I’m glad that it seems like they’re in a relationship I could root for, however bad it started. Because that’s romance. Encouraging the audience to love the couple is so important, and the books just forgot about that imo. I still don’t love the series, but I’d be lying if I wouldn’t watch the rest. As a break from good, meaningful cinema and literature, the movies will do just fine.