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fayes-fics · 8 months

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When The World Is Free: Chapter 1 - Sous le ciel de Paris

MASTERPOST | NEXT

Pairing: Benedict Bridgerton x fem!reader, WW2 AU.

Warnings: none

Word Count: 2.1k

Summary: Welcome to the start of my new multi-chapter fic based on a request by the lovely @amillcitygirl! Please see the masterpost for a synopsis of this story. Please note that while I do have a plotted outline, I will be posting chapters as I write them, and I expect that process to take quite a few months. Please bear with me! This first chapter sets up the story - reader moving to Paris in the summer of 1939 and bonding with her new flatmate, Eloise Bridgerton. Please note that Benedict won't be turning up for a couple of chapters yet. Thanks to @colettebronte for beta reading. Enjoy! <3

August 1939

Emerging from the underground Trocadero metro stop, you round the corner of the recently completed, gleaming Palais de Chaillot and stop dead in your tracks. There before you is the most iconic landmark of Paris. Perhaps all of France.

La Tour Eiffel.

Breathtaking in its metallic magnificence, glowing in the setting sun. A sight that buoys your travel-weary soul seven days after you left New York: boats and trains finally bringing you to this wondrous spot. A light breeze even dances over your neck in greeting, a balm from the cloying subterranean heat of the metro.

It's a light elbow check to your arm that pulls you back from a state of reverie.

“A beautiful sight, but one you’ll get used to,” your uncle Robert chuckles, shaking your heavy leather case to indicate it's time to move along. “In fact, I've been told you will be able to see it from your appartement…”

He has accompanied you to Paris and will see you settled into your new adventures before continuing on to visit friends in England. He spent the roaring 20s living right here in the 16th arrondissement himself and, indeed, has arranged for you to share living quarters with a young British lady, a relative of his English friends. It's a comfort to know you’ll have at least one English speaker to chat with as you dive headfirst into learning proper French as you go.

Robert leads you away from the amazing sight and into the bustling streets, alive with cars, trams, bicycles and pedestrians buzzing in all directions. It's all at once like New York City, but yet so different as well, cafe terraces filling the wide pavements with all manner of people gathered to sip robust cafe au lait and refreshing limonade.

Within minutes, you are on a quieter side street and stopping outside a handsome honey-coloured stone facade with wrought iron window balconies and window guards, teaming with colourful, fragrant flowering pots. The number 14 gleaming white on a traditional navy blue tile. Your uncle pushes the enormous wooden door open, beckoning you into a cool whitewash wall corridor with mosaic floor tiles.

“Ahhh, Robert!!” a sophisticated middle-aged lady bustles from a nearby doorway and greets your uncle warmly, kissing both cheeks. It would appear they are friends of old.

“Y/n, this is Madam DuLac, your landlady,” he explains as you offer a handshake, admiring her boucle jacket and chic bun.

“Qu’est-ce?” she signals with a good-natured frown, obviously finding your polite greeting lacking, pulling you into a hug and two-cheeked kiss. She smells like Chanel perfume, cigarettes and baked goods. “You are in Paris now, ma chérie; this is how we greet one another,” she counsels in heavily accented but perfect English.

“You speak English?” you sigh, relieved, your French decidedly lacking.

“Bien sûr,” she smiles. “And please call me Solène,” she adds with a friendly smile.

“Eloise should be home from the library maintenant; the perfect time for you to meet,” she gestures towards an elevator cage surrounded by a sweeping grey marble staircase.

“I think I would prefer to take the stairs,” you admit, nerves flaring at the idea of such a contraption.

Your uncle laughs. “Well, I am taking it; I am not hefting this case of yours up five flights of stairs,” he adds dryly as you gaze up the swirling stairwell.

“Five storeys?” you squeak.

“The view is the best from the top,” Solène advises as she rattles back the cage entry and steps in, looking at you expectantly.

Reluctantly, you follow, all three of you and your luggage crammed into the metal cage as it jerks to life and begins its ascent.

“You will get used to it,” Solène smiles as she reads the apprehension on your face, your vice-like grip on your small vanity case and handbag.

Luckily, the lift reaches your destination safely. One shudder before it stops, and the door concertinas back in Solène’s hand to reveal a sweeping hallway with doors left and right.

“Ici,” she signals, the last door on the right-hand side.

But before you can knock, the door peels open, and a pretty, petite brunette jumps in surprise, dropping the book she is holding.

“Pardon,” she offers in perfect accented French, and you wonder for a split second if it is the correct apartment.

“Eloise, this is y/n,” Solène gestures.

“Ohhh, hello,” she grins, and the whiplash back to a plummy British accent is momentarily confusing. “I was about to go read in the courtyard, thought you might not be turning up today. Anyway… come in, come in!”

You shake her proffered hand as she ushers you into the apartment. Instantly, you feel a warmth spreading in your belly, like you have come home. It's light and airy, with large windows looking out across the Parisian rooftops, and yes, to the left is indeed the Eiffel Tower, still gleaming in the fading evening light. But the place also feels homely, that sort of messy that is lived in, comfortable. A large velvet sofa with tumbling stacks of books around it, a little kitchenette awash with colourful enamel cookware, and a jumble of art deco posters and random paintings adorning the walls.

“Solène, I don't suppose you've baked any more of those rather delicious madeleines, have you? To welcome my new housemate?” Eloise pipes up with a chipper, conspiratorial wink your way.

You already like her.

“Effronte!” Solène exclaims with fond exasperation before pausing. “There may be some…”

“I remember those!” your uncle adds with a tinge of nostalgia as he drops your suitcase. “You are in for such a treat, y/n.”

“Well, while our landlady decides if she’s willing to share the treats she has obviously baked but is being coy about…”Eloise raises a pointed eyebrow at the woman before returning to you. “...let me show you your room, then maybe a drink? I'm sure it's been a long journey.”

You nod and, with an exchange of grins, follow her down a corridor. She sweeps open the door to a lovely room, a large double bed with matching bedside tables and a dresser. But best of all, french doors onto a Juliet balcony overlooking a quiet courtyard filled with a riot of birch trees, their leaves gently rustling in the evening breeze.

“Mostly, it’s pesky pigeons down there, but you do get the occasional blackbird singing in the morning,” Eloise smiles as if intuiting your thoughts.

You spend some moments wandering the room and checking out the various fixtures, running idle hands over the furniture, already feeling remarkably at home with your new housemate and, indeed, your new home for the next twelve months.

“I'm just next door,” Eloise reveals, pointing a thumb over her shoulder.

Your uncle appears in the doorway to announce that he and Solène are off to catch up as you unpack and suggests you all reunite for dinner later at a local bistro. It all sounds so very Parisian chic; you cannot wait.

“So tell me about yourself,” Eloise flops onto your bed, already wonderfully casual in your presence, as you open your case and the wardrobe to unpack.

“I’m y/n. I'm from a little town on Long Island called Patchogue, about fifty miles outside New York City. I'm 22…”

“Me too!” she interjects, then signals for you to proceed.

“I wanted to see the world before I settled down. And I’ve dreamed of living in Paris since I was a little girl...” You feel your eyes misting at the fact it's now finally coming true as you continue. “So my parents agreed to pay for me to come to Paris for a year. Under the strict agreement, I get married when I return…”

“You have a fiancé?”

“Yes. Well, sort of. Stanley. We practically grew up together, and we’ve been going steady since we were eighteen.”

“Going steady? That's so American,” Eloise chuckles.

You nod with a giggle, then continue. “He hasn't proposed formally yet, says he is saving up for a ‘real nice’ ring, but it will happen. He is the son of my dad’s business partner. They run a construction company. So, while I'm here, they are building a home for us to live in when I return. We will get married next summer and move right in.”

“You don't mind?” Eloise frowns.

“Don’t mind what?” you query as you hang up your favourite dress.

“That your future is so… plotted out. I couldn't bear the idea. It's why I think my mother let me move to Paris. She was so fed up with me refusing to settle down.” Eloise laughs, idly flicking through the magazine you were reading on your journey.

“I suppose I've never really expected anything else,” you shrug, pausing as you put away your hosiery, but her words make you contemplative. “You don't have a boyfriend back home?”

“God, no. Too many pretty Frenchmen to entertain me here,” she winks. “I’ll introduce you to some, just in case you change your mind,” she breezes, climbing off your bed and drifting to the door. “Wine?”

“Oh… well, why not? When in France, etc,” you agree and close the drawer on the pile of cardigans you have just safely stacked.

“That's the spirit!” she effuses over her shoulder as you follow her back into the living room, the Eiffel Tower still glittering in the dusk.

“This place is so lovely,” you sigh, transfixed by the view as she wanders over and hands you a glass.

“It is a pretty magical view,” she agrees, staring at the skyline with you, watching as each window seems to illuminate in soft yellow with the dying light.

“And the decor, too; I see you love books as much as me,” you smile, tilting your head to the piles before taking a sip of red wine. It's the perfect balance of refreshing, mellow fruitiness and tart tannin coating your tongue, so much better than any wine back home.

“Oh god, yes! I work in the library. I can bring home as many as I want,” she enthuses.

“So, are there actually any left on the shelves?” you jest, lightly, savouring your drink and wandering to take a closer look at a smaller painting that catches your eye. It's very different to all of the others.

“My god, this is beautiful,” you breathe, hugging your wineglass to your chest as you stare transfixed at the art. It appears to be a large country house, probably British, bathed in the warm pinkish light of dawn.

“That's home. Aubrey Hall in Kent. I think the family made me bring it in the hopes it would make me homesick,” Eloise deadpans.

“It’s a wonderful piece,” you breathe, fingers reaching out to lightly trace over the heavily oiled brushstrokes. Something about it is so captivating and intimate.

“I'll be sure to let the artist know,” she smirks. “Although I'm reticent to give him any more praise, seeing as, unfortunately, he is my brother.”

“Your brother painted this?” taken aback by the revelation, assuming it an heirloom.

She nods and comes to stand next to you. “Yup. Benedict. Second eldest. I'm fifth of eight, by the way. Hence ‘E’ for Eloise. It's a thing,” she rolls her eyes.

“Wow. Big family. I just have one brother...”

“Lucky you. Although, as much as he is irritating, if I could only keep one sibling, it probably would be him,” she admits, taking a swig of wine.

“I love art,” you sigh, finally tearing your gaze from the canvas but already knowing it is something you will return to again and again. A pull you can’t quite understand.

“Oh, then I know the perfect job for you! There’s a gallery around the corner from the library, and I saw a sign saying they wanted an English speaker to assist international visitors! You would be perfect!”

“I would love that!” you extol, even as a tiny part of your brain lingers on the idea that it would be too good to be true if it all worked out, that fleeting sense of foreboding in paradise.

“Excellent!” Eloise’s enthusiasm pulls you back to the immediate. “So let’s get your glad rags on! It's time to hit the town for your first night in Paris!”

And thus, you find yourself being bundled back into your room to refresh and change for your first night in the city of your dreams. Indeed, as you find yourself being led by Eloise, arm looped in yours, through the bustling evening streets to a little bistro, your uncle and Solène already waiting at a table with smiling faces and drinks in hand, you can't help but feel this really is the only place in the world you could ever want to be…

Your adventure is just beginning.

Benedict taglist: @foreverlonginguniverse @aintnuthinbutahounddog @severewobblerlightdragon @writergirl-2001 @heeyyyou @enichole445 @enchantedbytomandhenry @ambitionspassionscoffee @chaoticcalzoneranchsports @nikaprincessofkattegat @baebee35 @crowleysqueenofhell @fiction-is-life @lilacbeesworld @broooookiecrisp @queen-of-the-misfit-toys @eleanor-bradstreet @divaanya @musicismyoxygen84 @benedictspaintbrush @miindfucked @sorryallonsy @cayt0123 @hottytoddyhistory @truly-dionysus @fictionalmenloversblog @zinzysstuff @malpalgalz @panhoeofmanyfandoms @kinokomoonshine @causeimissu @delehosies @m-rae23 @last-sheep @kmc1989 @desert-fern @starkeylover @corpseoftrees-queen @magical-spit @bunnyweasley23 @how-many-stars-in-the-sky @amygdtjhddzvb @sya-skies @balladynaaa

#benedict bridgerton fanfiction #benedict bridgerton #benedict bridgerton imagine #bridgerton fanfiction #bridgerton #bridgerton imagine #benedict bridgerton x reader #benedict bridgerton x female reader #benedict bridgerton x you #benedict bridgerton x y/n #bridgerton x reader #bridgerton x female reader #bridgerton x you #bridgerton x y/n

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ziseviolet · 11 months

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Qipao/Cheongsam Taobao Shop Recs

A while ago I received a direct message asking for recs on where to buy qipao/cheongsam, and I figured I’d make a post for others who’d also be interested.

First of all - I think qipao should be tried on and bought in-person if at all possible, since having the right fit is important - especially if it’s for a formal occasion like a wedding. However, since that’s often not possible, I’ve compiled a list of online shop recs, mainly for more casual occasions.

Since English-language online qipao shops are plentiful and easy to find, I’ll be focusing this list on Taobao shops only. Please note that these are my personal recs, based on my own aesthetic preferences. Thus most of the recs are for shops focused on retro-inspired, minguo-style qipao made using the traditional 平裁/pingcai (flat tailoring) method. Also, I have not actually purchased qipao from any of these shops (all my qipao were bought in person) - this is based mainly on how appealing I find the designs.

1. 嬉姷/Xi You - Elegant qipao modelled closely on historical designs, mainly from the Republican era/minguo. Careful attention paid to historical details. My favorite qipao shop to browse for fun:

2. 海上芳时/Shanghai Fancy - Specializes in chic minguo-style designs of the 1920s-1940s. Recently came out with a neat art deco-inspired collection:

3. 唐之语/Tang Zhi Yu - Retro-style qipao in a variety of bold prints, with a focus on the form-fitting designs of the 1950s-1960s, including those from the film “In the Mood for Love”:

4. 繁莳/Fancy Dream - Dreamy, delicate retro-inspired qipao and modified qipao. Also has a nice selection of winter majia (vests):

5. Top Ulara - A large selection of classic, retro-style qipao with a hint of glamour. Offers lots of long/thick/layered qipao suitable for colder weather:

6. 梦回故里/Menghui Guli - Nostalgic, conservative retro-style qipao for all seasons. Old-fashioned in a good way:

7. 柳园旗袍/Liuyuan Qipao - Retro-style qipao with bold and interesting prints, in styles from the 1910s to the 1960s. The shop currently doesn’t show any products, but hopefully it’ll restock soon:

8. 限时赏味/Xianshi Shangwei - Streamlined, retro-style qipao in subtle colors and prints that exemplify understated elegance:

9. 茉茉/Momo - Tons of options for simple, cute, and casual retro-style qipao suitable for daily wear. Designs tend towards monochromes and all-over prints. Another review/rec here:

10. 珞珞如石/RoseEra - Simple yet elegant retro-style and contemporary qipao. I love the shop’s use of sheer fabrics & layering in its designs:

11. 向南飞FLY - Offers a selection of casually stylish retro-style qipao and modified qipao for daily chic:

12. 川黛/Chuan Dai - Soft, feminine, pastel-infused qipao & modified qipao in retro-inspired and contemporary styles:

13. 四斤自制/Sijin Studio - Creative, avant-garde takes on (modified) qipao & qipao-inspired outfits:

14. 密扇/Mukzin - Colorful, playful, and irreverent modified qipao and qipao-inspired outfits. There’s also an English website here:

If you like the above qipao but still want an English website, there are several Taobao resellers that carry similar designs - for example, Beth and Brian Qipao.

Finally, when it comes to in-person shops, I want to highlight Xiangjiang Silk Co., a relatively new boutique in New York City specializing in actual vintage 1950s-1960s qipao. There’s an article here on the boutique and its founder Heather Guo (who was featured in Vogue). Store visits are appointment-only, so you’ll have to reach out to Heather via her social media if you want to drop by.

If anyone has reviews of the above shops and/or more qipao shop recs, please share! ^^

Bonus: I also have online shop recs for hanfu (1, 2), modified hanfu/hanyuansu (1, 2), hanfu accessories, weimao, and hair accessories.

#qipao #cheongsam #modified qipao #recs #taobao #hanfu #modified hanfu #hanyuansu #>100 #chinese fashion #chinese clothing #china

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deadpresidents · 2 months

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Was Trump's assassination attempt the first time people other than the president were also killed or hurt?

No, it definitely was not the first time. There have been a number of additional victims during Presidential assassinations or assassination attempts throughout American history.

Here are the incidents where someone other than the President was wounded in an assassination attempt on Presidents or Presidential candidates:

•April 14, 1865, Washington, D.C. At the same time that John Wilkes Booth was shooting Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, Booth's fellow conspirator, Lewis Powell, attacked Secretary of State William H. Seward at Seward's home in Washington. Seward had been injured earlier that month in a carriage accident and was bedridden from his injuries, and Powell viciously stabbed the Secretary of State after forcing his way into Seward's home by pretending to deliver medicine. Powell also attacked two of Seward's sons, a male nurse from the Army who was helping to care for Seward, and a messenger from the State Department. Another Booth conspirator, George Azterodt, was supposed to kill Vice President Andrew Johnson at the same time that Lincoln and Seward were being attacked in an attempt to decapitate the senior leadership of the Union government, but Azterodt lost his nerve and got drunk instead. A total of five people were wounded at the Seward home as part of the Booth conspiracy, but Lincoln was the only person who was killed.

•February 15, 1933, Miami, Florida Just 17 days before his first inauguration, President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt was the target of an assassination attempt in Miami's Bayfront Park. Giuseppe Zangara fired five shots at Roosevelt as FDR was speaking from an open car. Roosevelt was not injured, but all five bullets hit people in the crowd, including Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak who was in the car with FDR. Roosevelt may have been saved by a woman in the crowd who hit Zangara's arm with her purse as she noticed he was aiming his gun at the President-elect and caused him to shoot wildly. Mayor Cermak was gravely wounded and immediately rushed to a Miami hospital where he died about two weeks later.

•November 1, 1950, Blair House, Washington, D.C. From 1949-1952, the White House was being extensively renovated with the interior being almost completely gutted and reconstructed. President Harry S. Truman and his family moved into Blair House, a Presidential guest house across the street from the White House that is normally used for visiting VIPs, for 3 1/2 years. On November 1, 1950 two Puerto Rican nationalists, Griselio Torresola and Oscar Collazo, tried to shoot their way into Blair House and attempt to kill President Truman, who was upstairs (reportedly napping) at the time. A wild shootout ensued on Pennsylvania Avenue, leaving White House Police Officer Leslie Coffelt and Torresola dead, and Collazo and two other White House Police Officers wounded.

•November 22, 1963, Dallas, Texas Texas Governor John Connally was severely wounded after being shot while riding in the open limousine with President John F. Kennedy when JFK was assassinated.

•June 5, 1968, Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles, California When he finished delivering a victory speech after winning California's Democratic Presidential primary, Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York was shot several times while walking through the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel. While RFK was mortally wounded and would die a little over a day later, five other people were also wounded in the shooting.

•May 15, 1972, Laurel, Maryland Segregationist Alabama Governor George Wallace was paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by Arthur Bremer at a campaign rally when he was running for the Democratic Presidential nomination. Three bystanders were also wounded in the shooting, but survived.

•September 22, 1975, San Francisco, California A taxi driver in San Francisco was wounded when Sara Jane Moore attempted to shoot President Gerald Ford as he left the St. Francis Hotel. Moore's first shot missed the President by several inches and the second shot, which hit the taxi driver, was altered when a Vietnam veteran in the crowd named Oliver Sipple grabbed her arm as she was firing. Just 17 days earlier and 90 miles away, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a member of the Charles Manson family, had tried to shoot President Ford as he walked through Capitol Park in Sacramento but nobody was injured.

•March 30, 1981, Washington, D.C. President Ronald Reagan was shot and seriously wounded by as he left the Washington Hilton after giving a speech. Three other people were wounded in the shooting, including White House Press Secretary James Brady who was shot in the head and partially paralyzed, Washington D.C. Police Office Thomas Delahanty, and Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy. Video of the assassination attempt shows that when the shots were fired, McCarthy turned and made himself a bigger target in order to shield the President with his own body. President Reagan was struck by a bullet that ricocheted off of the Presidential limousine.

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superhero--imagines · 2 years

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Part 1 Here! / Part 2 Here! /Part 3 Here! / Part 4 Here! / Part 5 Here! / Part 6 Here! / Part 7 Here! / Part 8 Here! / Part 9 Here! / Part 10 Here! / Part 11 Here! / Part 12 Here! /Part 13 Here! / Part 14 Here! / Part 15 Here! / Part 16 Here ! / Part 17 Here! <This is Part 18!>

A/N: Posted a little later-taking a break from Percy Hynes White simping to simp for the original Percy <3

* ‘Isn’t anyone going to ask what four kids are doing all by themselves?’

* You watch with wide eyes as people pass by you, Percy, Grover, and Annabeth on your bench.

* ‘At least they should ask if we’re supposed to be in school or something.’

* Maybe it’s New York, but four kids in marching orange t-shirts doesn't seem to strike anyone as a red flag.

* You watch Annabeth and Percy play hackey-sack with an apple, until they make the mistake of kicking it over to Grover who eats it in one bite.

* You’re a little embarrassed that you laughed just as hard as they did.

* You’re not sure why Chiron dropped you off so early at the bus station, or why you were traveling by bus at all.

* You’re even more dissatisfied with the measly amount of currency and stale squares of ambrosia Chiron sent his favorite hero off with.

* ‘What an absolute asshole.’

* Even more concerning is the awkward expression Percy had when he came back from visiting the oracle, you’d done your part giving him warning and telling him not to be afraid, he still looked as white as a sheet when he came down.

* He refused to let anyone see his card too, which was equally disconcerting.

* Worst of all Chiron seemed smug, no doubt thinking whatever awful event awaited Percy would just make him into a bigger hero.

* The thought makes you angrier than it should, who do these people think they are? They’ve lived thousands of years but they haven’t seemed to learn or grow at all.

* “Hey,” you’re snapped out of your thoughts by a trembling hand placed over your shoulder. “Are you okay?”

* Percy’s big green eyes tremble as he looks up at you with a pained expression. Behind him Annabeth and Grover look equally pained.

* “I’m fine!” You yell, wincing at the edge in your voice. “I’m fine.” You repeat quieter this time. “I’m just feeling off.”

* You can still feel fatigue saturate your body, the only thing that seems to be keeping you awake is your ADHD. You’re going to need all your wits about you if you're going to survive this excursion.

* “You’ve been sleeping a lot lately,” to your surprise it’s Grover that says it, his face tinged pink as his gaze is directed at his hands.

* “And because of it, you aren’t eating on time, or at all most days.” Unlike Grover, Annabeth looks you straight in the eye.

* “Wait, I thought that’s how you always were.” Percy’s head whips from you to Annabeth, who’s shaking her head.

* ‘Great, the kid’s probably worried he bet on the wrong horse.’

* Luckily, time seems to be on your side because your bus pulls onto the curb, passengers clamoring on.

* “Come on, I’d rather not miss our ride.” You can’t imagine anything more embarrassing than having to call Chiron to tell him you botched this quest before it even began.

* You settle into the back of the bus on the long bench with four seats, Percy again, settles in next to you.

* You feel his eyes on you, filled with some hidden emotion you can’t place, you ignore it instead, your eyes focused on the door.

* Slowly passengers begin to file into the bus: There’s a girl and her mother, a middle-aged man with a briefcase, a young man with a varsity jacket, and three teenage girls whispering to each other.

* You keep your eyes trained at the door, your eyebrows threading together when the doors slide shut, and the bus begins to creep out of the junction and onto the road.

* ‘This can’t be right.’

* You don’t remember much from the original book, but you recall that three old women had attacked them during the initial bus ride.

* Annabeth, Percy, and Grover don’t seem worried in the slightest—which seems to be the norm for Percy and Annabeth—but you would figure Grover would have at least smelled them.

* ‘Maybe good old Rick got this one wrong.’

* You turn to your right to join in on the chatter, it’s a long way to California, only to be met with silence and shell-shocked expressions.

* Standing in front of Percy is the teenage girl from earlier, her hand held out to him.

* “Give it back.”

* Did he take something from her by accident? Maybe he was trying to flirt with her or something, she is pretty hot—

* “Wait, Megaera is that you?” Her eyes go wide when she turns to look at you, mouth parting as her eyebrows part. You’ve met her, once or twice, when you were shadowing Hades in the winter. “What’s a fury doing on a crappy bus on the way to California?”

* Before she can get a word in though, Annabeth slams her hat on Percy’s head, turning him invisible, the next parts happen in a whirl, and before you know what’s happening Annabeth is hanging from a frantic Alecto’s back, while Grover hurls tin cans at a shrieking Tisiphone.

* “There’s no need for violence, we can solve this through words!” But your voice can’t seem to reach them.

* “Don’t pay them any mind, all heroes are the same after all.” Megaera rolls her eyes. She looks at you with a smile twitching on her lips, her eyes sparkling like she knows a secret you don’t. Her mouth is about to part, potentially revealing what she finds so interesting about you when you feel the bus jerk to the side.

* The screech of metal against metal fills your ears, smoke filling the bus.

* You barely manage to stumble outside, two hands gripping onto each of your arms, tugging you out.

* You catch a sliver of the blue sky, fluffy white clouds dotting the skyline before you lose consciousness.

* When you wake up the hard ground is pressed against your back, you groan as you bring yourself to an upright position, the scent of strawberries tickling your nose. White flowers dot the landscape around you, and you turn to see a woman with long gold hair running through a strawberry field, her sky blue chiton flowing behind her. Beside her, a long-haired cow nips at her heels, butting her playfully with its head.

* “What a pretty sight.”

* For a second the woman’s gaze meets yours, her lips twitching up.

* You tilt your head, a smile arching onto your mouth.

* The light comes sooner this time, floating into the wind as you regain consciousness.

* Your first thought is focused on the ache in your neck, and your second thought is that the ache isn’t just in your neck, it lingers in your entire body.

* “Are you awake?” Annabeth rushes over to your side, her hair tickling your face.

* You feel your face grow hot as you begin to realize the situation.

* Percy’s carrying you on his back, his arms holding your legs in place.

* “I-I’m fine now, I can walk on my own!”

* “Are you sure? You hit your head pretty hard.”

* As if punctuating his words, you feel a sharp throb in your head.

* “Do you have my staff?” Annabeth wordlessly presses it into your hand.

* Healing magic isn’t your strong suit, but according to Circe, you’re serviceable at least.

* You breathe in deeply, soft white light emanating from the staff, bit by bit you feel the throb in your head decrease until it’s just a little sore.

* “Where are we?”

* They give you a rundown of what happened, after Percy became invisible he shuffled to the front of the bus, and at the time the best decision he could make was to crash the bus.

* “You know they just wanted to talk right? Why’d you jump Alecto?”

* “I panicked, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a monster.” Annabeth mumbles, shuffling uncomfortably under your gaze.

* “I’m not sorry, one of them used to be my teacher and they attacked me.”

* “I’ve never met them before today, but I heard Tisiphone has a terrible temper.”

* Hades is probably going to give you an earful about this later.

* “What did she mean when she said to give it back?” You ask, and Percy shrugs.

* “I guess she thinks I stole the lightning bolt and your—someone—wants me to give it to them.”

* ‘No, that isn’t it. They think Hades took the lightning bolt, so politically they’re either framing Percy or…’

* Maybe something else is missing too.

* You vaguely remember something like that happening in the book.

* ‘But Hades doesn’t care about material things, he wouldn’t send three of his best furies to retrieve it—especially not since the underworld has been so busy lately.’

* You’re trying to make sense of it all, wondering how the facts you know string together, but despite your situation you do know one thing:

* “Thanks for carrying me Percy.”

* It can’t have been easy carrying you all this way.

* He flushes slightly, hastily nodding.

* “I-it was no problem.” He rubs the back of his neck as you trudge forward.

* You walk for a handful of minutes until a small building comes into view.

* It looks like something out of a Scooby-Doo episode. It’s a small one story building on the side of the highway, most likely some sort of curio shop that sells Knick-knacks for ten times their usual cost.

* ‘We should stay away.’

* So someone please explain why you and three children are clamoring towards it like it’s a lighthouse and you’ve been lost at sea for days.

* And then you smell the heavy scent of soft pretzels and think—

* ‘Oh, that’s why.’

* You squint up at the sign as you pass through the threshold, Auntie M’s Curio Shop glared back at you in big neon red letters.

* The proprietress is nice enough, adorning a long veil in which her entire face and body are covered, the only skin exposed are from her olive-toned colored hands.

* ‘Something about this feels wrong.’

* Despite the feeling you allow yourself to be coerced into the back of the shop, passing by strange objects—bat wings stored in a jar, stone sculptures, and strange paintings that seem to be staring back at you—as you’re led to a small snack bar area.

* “We should leave.” You mumble, but your fatigue gets the best of you, your lips wrapping around a straw as you sip cola.

* Beside you Percy’s already inhaled a burger.

* Annabeth seems a bit more cautious, taking a tentative sip of her milkshake.

* Grover looks like he’s a second from pissing himself.

* “I think we should go too.” Grover whispers.

* “You guys are crazy.” Percy manages to say between bites of his burger.

* ‘Something about this isn’t adding up.’

* The woman places food in front of each of you, asking to take a picture of you all just like this.

* “I don’t know—” Annabeth starts, but Percy agrees for the group.

* “It’s just a picture, it’s the least we can do.”

* “Something about this is familiar…familiar in a bad way.”

* The realization dawns on you just as the woman is about to take off her veil, a certain reptilian hiss filling the air.

* Your eyes meet Annabeth’s, both of you with identical shocked expressions.

* The next events happen in quick succession. Annabeth shoves Percy to the ground, Grover shouts “Maia!”, and you tap the pin of your jacket twice, turning invisible.

* ‘That’s Medusa.’

* “I would have spared you Annabeth, but then you brought that man’s son into my store!” She shrieks, and you shield your eyes. Flinching as you creep behind her, hitting her on the backside of her head with your staff.

* Percy doesn’t miss a beat, using the moment to slice her head off.

* “Why was she so mad at me?” Percy asks as Annabeth wraps Medusa’s head as the rest of her disintegrates into ash.

* “I heard your dad, Poseidon, traumatized her pretty bad.”

* “Shouldn’t she be mad at Athena for making her into a monster?” Annabeth asks, a grimace arched on her mouth as she deposits the head into a plastic bag.

* “The world might remember her as cursed, but being a monster can be a gift.”

* Circe had told you about a similar experience, the most beautiful nymph she knew was going to get married to a man she detested.

* Circe made her into someone who men could never hurt again, someone who would not be a victim, a creature who would elicit fear and terror for all of eternity.

* ‘A monster.’

* The thought is probably too heavy for three children to comprehend.

* Percy clears his throat, clearing the tension in the air.

* “Why didn’t the rest of her disappear?”

* “The head becomes a spoil of war, like your horn.”

* You proceed to ransack the place, there’s about thirty dollars in cash in the register, and a handful of slips for Hermes Delivery Service.

* Without warning Percy smacks Medusa’s head into a box, signing a packing slip with his name.

* “You shouldn’t do that, the gods will see you as impetuous.” Grover hisses.

* “I am impetuous.” Percy retorts.

* “The gods can get rekt.” You agree, signing your name beside his. When you notice his confused gaze you shrug.

* “If you’re going to get in trouble either way, you might as well get in trouble with a friend.”

* Percy gives you that look again, like he’s going to burst into tears any second, gulping hard and looking down so you can’t see.

* ‘I’ll give him a moment to compose himself.’

* “Annabeth, Grover, grab some food, anything packaged with a decent expiration date.”

* You grab four cans of energy drink, you’re going to need it if you’re going to be able to keep watch throughout the night.

* You drop the package off into the mailbox, before making your way to a small clearing.

* You watch the children settle onto the ground, too fatigued and afraid to start a fire.

* “This has been a really shitty day,” you announce, startling the others. “And I for one, do not take well to being in the dark.”

* You tap your staff twice, concentrating your energy, watching as a black inky void begins to envelope the surrounding area.

* The Demi-gods and Grover stumble over themselves.

* “(Y/N), what are you—”

* You kneel on the ground, angry as you slam the ground three times.

* “Aidoneus.”

* The three watch in horror as in your dark blue void, lightning cracks at the edge, a plume of black smoke curling from the center of the dome.

* Just like all those years ago, a hand appears first, then a leg, until he comes into view fully.

* He has a picnic basket tucked under his arm, the other hand holding a twine bag full of pomegranates.

* “Oh good, there’s only three more of you, I was worried I didn’t bring enough silverware.”

* He snaps his fingers, a fire appearing in the middle of your space time distortion, three logs placed around either side.

* “Hello children, I am Aidoneus, also known as Hades, King of the Underworld.”

Tag List: @holybatflapexpert @atomicsoph @fadingunknowncoffee @hopeworldsupremacy @padsfirewhisky @magical-dreamland @kookiedesi @kiritokunuwu @bleepmorp @flickeringlizard @luckyzipperscissorsbat @jessiegerl @bluegremlin108 @undecided-as-always @officiallydarkgeek

@marsbars09 @smolfrogz @yizhoutv @alicesolengg @luxaryllis-primaryacc @time-shardz @cryinghotmess @crow-with-a-hoodie @the-nerdy-fangirl @crackedpumpkin @geekyandgay98

@lazydreamers @agentsofblinks @justsomestuffiguessman @elodietea @mxacegrey @angelic-simp @astrial @babypink224221 @weaponb33 @redactedhimbo @heart-charming @psychomanias @aliinunderland @karnellius @lunavixia @cerberus-the-cutie @bes2005 @girlcrafter408 @loser-keiji

#percy jackson #percy jackson x reader #percy jackson imagine #percy jackson x you #percy jackson x y/n #percy jackon and the olympians #waking up in percy jackson #waking up in pjo #pjo x reader #pjo imagine #pjo x y/n #pjo x you #superhero--imagines

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foxes-that-run · 10 months

Text

2016 Haylor Timeline

Timeline Tag, back to 2015.

1 January - Yachtgate with Kendall, OOTW video released with Haylor references galore, including HS on her wrist. 12 Jan - CH and TS seen for for last time till March.

6 January - Harry posted photo of rain on a window. On 6 January 2015 Taylor posted Clear Blue Water" which may have been the day they last broke up.

14 January - rather than dine alone with CH TS encourages 14 year old fan sit with them

16 January - taylor wears outfit and hair like Delicates making of a song to visit Jaime King

17 January - Taylor didn't acknowledge Calvin's birthday. Taylor is in New York

18 January - Tabloid gossip that Taylor is jealous of the yacht, she had been liking angsty Tumblr posts about Harry. Out of the Woods official release Taylor back in LA

20 January - Harry arrives at LAX. Also seen in LA 22 and 23rd.

21 January - Harry celebrates 22nd Birthday in London, early, with Nick Grimshaw, stylist spends the night in his house. Kendall flies LA to Paris…. if she and Harry were dating she would have flown a day early and been at his London birthday party??

23 January - Taylor releases New Romantics. Kendall and Harry at Jeff's birthday roast. Kendall is wearing a Big o' Fur (Pop tart??) and leaves alone.

24 January - Harry celebrates his 22nd birthday in LA, also early with Glenn (Jeff's wife) and presumably others.

26 January - 58th Grammys, Taylor performed Out of the Woods, Harry posted photo of woods.

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27 January - Harry signs with Jeff Azoff, also in LA. timeline

29 January - Taylor posted ““So how do you spend your time now that the tour is over?”” in Genius shirt with video with Meredith, I love it.

1 February - Harry unseen on birthday, tweets "I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 22."

2 February Harry looked fine AF in this Hawaiian shirt

11 February - Kanye releases Famous - it's snake time.

14 February - TN posts “you bring the James dean I’ll bring the red lip” Valentine’s Day. Harry at Clive Davis party

16 February - Taylor wins the Grammy Album of the Year for 1989. Calvin was at an after-party in a t-shirt. In Miss Americana (21 mins in) she says 'I remember thinking afterwards, Oh my god, that was all you wanted. You get to the mountaintop and you look around and Oh god, what now? I didn't have a partner I climbed it with, I didn't have anyone I could relate to, I had my mom, but I wondered shouldn't I have someone I could call right now? Harry in LA

20 February - Harry records 'Sweet Creature' in LA. In the Album show at the Troubadour (21:40) Harry introduced 'Sweet Creature' saying it was the first song written in the studio a couple of weeks after his birthday. He was photographed in the studio 20 February.

21-29 February - CH starts Ole, it references Harry and Hendall The video (screen shots in the top line above) is about a guy who neglects his GF, the lyrics of the song are about a girl who cheats on her BF but goes on trips. The lyrics include "lowkey" aka 'Loki' and refer to the trip they take 2 weeks later - so he worked on it more. Kanye releases Famous

26 February - Taylor out in LA

28 February - Taylor looks amazing at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party alone. Harry tweets 'you can shake an apple off a tree ' (Elvis Presley Stuck on You lyric)..... 0_0 and posted a colour photo to IG of a scrabble game thanking for voting for Brits. HS IG has been b&w since OOTW, but this was in screaming colour! ❤️

3 March - Harry tweets Norah Jones Come Away with me lyrics "The yellow grass grows knee high."

6 March - Harry seen buying groceries in Hampstead

7 March - CH and TS 1 anniversary TS thin and uncomfortable.

13 March - Harry in London, gets parking ticket.

13 - 15 March Taylor and Calvin Bikini photos in the Bahamas. A 5 hour flight, 3 nights, 4 swimsuits. Rumour they flew separately. Complete with swan inflatable for added shade. :/

15 March Harry back in LA at Cafe Habana Malibu

16 March - KK posts TS where’s the drop. Blind Calvin hooked up with someone. Harry in Beverly Hills, 24 at St Laurent

25 March - Taylor back in LA and Harry also back in LA same day, LA on the 6th, 11 April & 20 April (kid harpoons birthday).

3 April -Taylor and Calvin attended the iHeart Radio Awards, arrive separately. He looked bored, didn’t thank her. Made a face when Taylor thanked him, she didn’t every time. Calvin on his phone during her last acceptance speech. Rumors they are having trouble. Harry in LA he bought a fan’s family dinner the night before. Harry papped buying fuel in LA.

7 April - Taylor shopping at St Laurent, (which Harry had been wearing all the time) and looking like the Ready For It..? VM

8 April Blind Taylor and Calvin talk-fighting on paper walk. Harry seen shopping with Kid Harpoon and Kendall, “watch KUWK May 1

9 April Harry seen leaving Nobu Malibu

15 April -Coachella, black skinny jeans and Chelsea boots in top right of pool photo on Taylor’s instagram. Taylor at Coachella with bleached hair and a 'This Is What You Came For' jacket. CH performed. She also released that Drake Apple ad. KK there

16 April - Taylor vogue cover

22 April - Harry Tweet's "it's not the Ribbons in your Hair" Cars Just what I needed lyrics about not minding anything because a person is who they needed.

April 29 - this is what you came for:

28 April - Taylor is Bewjelled at Gigi Hadid's 21st birthday . Harry is not photographed there, but is also in L.A. the next day

29 April - This Is What You Came For is released. Taylor was an uncredited writer and has backing vocals. CH later throws shade about her not promo-ing it. Later blind that TIWYCF is about person Taylor cheating with. Calvin has an interview with Nick Grimshaw (!) in his house, where he says John Newman was there last week (Ole), talks about how John Newman has a great track coming, that the guide vocal (Taylor's) could not get better then he heard Rhianna's and it was much better:

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30 April - Taylor NY for Met Gala dinner, wearing Billy Joel shirt. Calvin goes on radio and (at 2:30) says Taylor is on a break, they haven't spoken about a collab.

In August the video has a similar hawaiian shirt but in red, he posts to his instagram photos of him wearing one like Harry's

They then marked this day - in 2017 Harry marks the anniversary of this by getting papped in that same shirt! hahahaha

In 2018 - Calvin Harris later tweets that he grew a beard to get a Grammy

October 2022 - High Infidelity released, it opens with 'lock broken, slur spoken' and includes 'Do you really want to know where I was April 29th? Do I really have to chart the constellations in his eyes?

1 May - Taylor has dinner at Anna Wintour's house with Tom Hiddleston and James Corden!

2 May - Taylor at met gala, TS meets Joe, Hiddleswift starts.

5 May - Erskine Records,

7 May - Harry, back in London, cuts off his hair - farewell LHH. 'Only a few songs' were recorded for his Debut before Dunkirk. Taylor posts photo of herself at Met Gala with "we never go out of style"

17 May - Harry’s friend Matt Irving’s funeral.

May - 1D purchased its f to j shares back off the band and they sold director titles, each was paid £14m. They still receive royalties. Harry stopped using his twitter, PR tweets since

20 May - Taylor and Calvin seen together for the last time in a carpark. Blind that implies Calvin did something “I give the "relationship" another week […] what happened last night is going to open a whole bunch of boxes.”

22 May - Calvin in car accident, Taylor doesn’t go to hospital. Blinds implying drugs involved, but police report says no drugs and Calvin a passenger. He has a cut to the face in an SUV, other car a beetle with teenagers with pelvic features, the other car hit CHs

23 May - July Harry shoots Dunkirk, in France on radio he said he just slept when not filming and did not make music.

2 June - CH and TS breakup confirmed on Twitter

13 June - Taylor rents house in Cornelia Street

14 June - Taylor first seen with Tom Hiddleston. Article on Taylor staged photos

16 June - tabloid gossip that Calvin Harris sent a music exec a dick pick was break up reason

23 June - both Harry and Taylor are in London. Calvin admits Taylor controlled break up media

2 July - Harry signed a solo contract for $80m, with Columbia

4 July - the last 4th July party, (until 1989-esk gathering in 2023) with I heart TS hiddleswift exploits. Harry was in London.

13 July - taylorswiftisoverparty hashtag trending CH was messy as hell on Twitter, TMZ reports taylor wrote TWYCF, the notes are now corrected. Joe in London

17 July - Kim K posts that she has a recording of Snake convo. Harry was quick to provide supportive comments.

21 July - Kendall posts "tea time" with photo Taylor later copies in LAWYMMD video. Also likes anti-swift posts.

8 August - Taylor performs at oil heir Mike Hess's 30th birthday in the Hamptons and grinds on him, no Tom Hiddleston.

21 August - Daisy Lowe posts a person in a Harry styles tshirt to IG

24 August - Hiddleswift officially over, Tom has talked to media. Taylor wears this yellow outfit in New York which Calvin copied in the ole video.

25 August - Harry seen in LA, first time he has been seen for 16 days. Wears a similar shirt to Ole. End of Dunkirk shooting.

29 August - Taylor Lover Journal "this summer is the apocalypse" Nashville. Taylor still in NY. Rumour Harry saw her in NY.

30 August - Taylor not at VMAs due to Jury Duty

2 September - Kendall and Harry at Nobu in LA, Dunkirk wraps. Harry not seen for another 15 days after.

3 September - Harry buys LA House. He listed it for sale in May 2017 and in 2019 sold it at a loss.

5 September - Harry has dinner with Kendall then disappears. Could have been when he first went to Jamaica.

9 September - Taylor front row Gigi's fashion show

19 September - Taylor writes a lot of reputation. Taylor flies to NY and attends Max Martin & Shellback studio. (The Swift Life video) Works on Gorgeous, I Did Something Bad, Delicate & King Of My Heart. Joe in London at Burberry show.

22 September - Hendall over, Harry hasn't been seen for 15 days.

25 September - Harry posts 3 white squares to IG

28 September - Taylor was with Cara Delevingne and Joe was in London.

29 September Harry’s another man mix tape with HS1 inspiration/ clues and Haylor love songs. Capital FM runs an article "DJs Are Just As Baller As Multi-Millionaire Rappers & Here's The Proof" and use a photo of Calvin copying Harry's St Laurent shirt!

4 October - Joe Alwyn in London, last seen 2 weeks earlier also in London. First time they are actually in same place since May. Lover Journal 3 January says they had been dating 3 months so that lines up. Their anniversary was never 28 September.

6 October - Harry in London, last seen 5 September in LA, next seen 3 November in LA.

13 October - Taylor and Joe attend Kings of Leon show. In this video, Joe enters The Bowery with another blonde at (0:43) Taylor enters at 1:24. Joe in NY for 'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk' Premiere and press conferences

15 October - Rumour that Harry was seen at the airport in Jamaica. He stayed there for 2 months writing HS1. (the funny thing about that is that the rumor was true and the 'insider' tumblr said it wasn't.) At 30 mins into Harry Styles: Behind the Album Harry says they had had a week in a 'total hole.' "I can't write songs" he said in the first time in a long time I had actually done something and then came back to the studio and wrote Carolina, which was the last song on the album. He's wearing the same blue hawaiian St Laurent Shirt while recording it.

20 October - Big Little Town releases "Better Man" written for Red.

21 October - Someday is released. "Someday maybe when we're old and gray, We could be in love once more. Till then I won't give my love away, Darling, I'm forever only yours".

22 October - Taylor plays a very Haylor setlist at US Grand Prix and also performs TIWYCF

October - November Harry records his debut in Jamaica. He meets Mitch - see behind the album.This photo from Jan 2017 in an LA studio. Worse version of Famous leaked.

24 October - Taylor at Drakes Birthday with a golden tattoo (dress) with Karlie Kloss

31 October - Taylor posts photos of Halloween party where she wore deadpool costume. Harry unseen, last seen on 6th in London

1 November - Taylor reveals she wrote Better Man in a post, it goes to #1

3 November - Harry seen back in LA at Kendall birthday and concert next day. Joe in Taipei Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk.

5 November - Harry seen at Meghan Trainor's surprise party

8 November - Karlie and Taylor at Lorde's birthday, this is the last time she is seen hanging out with KK. On 8 November Trump elected, KKs husband is connected.

November - To Zane Lowe (48 mins) Taylor said about Evermore

"There was a sort of a double meaning to the months that are mentioned and the feelings that are mentioned one of the meanings is that we were I wrote this song and these lyrics when we were coming up to the election and I didn't know what was going to happen. So almost I was almost preparing for the worst to happen and trying to see some sort of glimmer at the at the at the end of the tunnel. The last verse you know the song is it goes through walking through the forest barefoot in the middle of winter or standing on a balcony and letting the icy wind just hit you and you're catching your death. Then in the last verse the person goes inside and finally is warm and finally is safe. It's about the process of finding hope again but it also reflected back to an experience that I had that was pretty life altering when I went through like a bunch of bad stuff in 2016 in like July, November all those times were just sort of taking it day by day to get through trying to find some trying to find a glimmer of hope all of that so I was coming from both of those perspectives"

9 November - Joe in Hong Kong for Billy Lynn's Long Halftime walk premiere

11 November - Taylor goes to Joe's movie screening, he's not named in press about it.

19 November - Reputation magazine "how do you feel about having a song written about you" photo

25 November - Harry seen in LA, then not seen again till 30th.

26 November - Taylor thanksgiving in RI, Lily D, Lily A, and Todrick. Karlie not invited, Joe not pictured. Lily D posts on her snapchat that her uber driver (Taylor) is “so pretty.” Harry MIA

5 - 30 November - Harry in LA.

30 November - Harry got coffee in LA

3 December - Harry arriving at Heathrow in London

7, 8 20th December - Harry in London

10 December - "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" released with Zayn, there are HS looking figures and outfits like the 2015 VS show

26 November - Taylor thanksgiving in RI, Lily D, Lily A, and Todrick. Karlie not invited, Joe not pictured. Lily D posts on her snapchat that her uber driver (Taylor) is “so pretty.” Harry MIA

5 - 30 November - Harry in LA.

30 November - Harry got coffee in LA

3 December - Harry arriving at Heathrow in London

7, 8 20th December - Harry in London

10 December - "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" released with Zayn, there are HS looking figures and outfits like the 2015 VS show

13 December - Taylor has party in London house she rented in Frognall, near Hampstead which is in the Reputation book. Karlie Kloss posts a throwback photo of Taylor for her birthday, years later stories emerge that they had a falling out over Karlie throwing a party at Taylor’s NY apartment which TS refers to in LAWYMMD.

28 December - there is an unconfirmed sighting of Harry and Taylor (Lover journal indicates Taylor in London. Harry seen in London (the next day) and soon after Taylor gave Austin a record signed by a friend of Harry's

31 December - Photos of Taylor and Joe getting ready thought to be taken this day. Later only 7 photos leak in 2020. Harry in Holmes Chapel on NYE

Continue in 2017

#haylor #Youtube #haylor timeline #april 29 #taylor swift #2017

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mostlyimmortal · 7 months

Text

Interview with the Vampire (S1): A collection of articles with Jacob Anderson (Part 1)

New York Post Jacob Anderson on ‘Interview with the Vampire’: A ‘beautiful rant about an ex’ (10/03/2022)

W Magazine Jacob Anderson Saw the Meme-ification of Don’t Worry Darling Happen in Real Time The Interview With the Vampire actor discusses binge-reading Anne Rice’s novels and his thoughts on filmic meta-commentary. (10/03/2022)

Vulture Interview With the Vampire’s Jacob Anderson on Power Struggles and Ethical Feeding (10/21/2022)

The New Yorker Jacob Anderson Scares Easily The “Interview with the Vampire” star ruminates on death and immortality while visiting the crypts under St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral. (11/08/2022)

Gizmodo Interview With the Vampire's Jacob Anderson on His Character Inspiration Ahead of the penultimate episode of AMC's Interview With the Vampire, star Jacob Anderson talks with io9 about creating many versions of one vampire. (11/12/2022)

The Washington Post In ‘Interview with the Vampire,’ Jacob Anderson is a complicated monster (11/14/2022)

The Grio Jacob Anderson calls AMC’s Black, queer ‘Interview With The Vampire’ series ‘very special, refreshing and rare’ Adapted from the 1976 novel of the same name, it has enjoyed critical acclaim for its execution, themes and tweaks to the original story. (11/14/2022)

Inside Hook Jacob Anderson Has Been Waiting His Whole Career for a Show Like “Interview with the Vampire” The actor explains why his part on the popular AMC+ series is the role of a lifetime (11/17/2022)

AMC Talk Interview With The Vampire Q&A — Jacob Anderson On Louis Falling Under Lestat’s Spell One Last Time (11/23/2022)

#interview with the vampire #iwtv #amc iwtv #jacob anderson #louis de pointe du lac

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popcorn-plots · 7 months

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Day 1: Helpless | 100 words | Wong reflects on being sick. | Ao3 | Tumblr

Day 2: Solitary confinement | 100 words | Stephen Strange laments. | Ao3 | Tumblr

Day 3: "Bit down on this" | 689 words | Sherlo-- Stephen gets injured on a casemission. Watson Wong to the rescue. | Ao3 | Tumblr

Day 4/5: Obedience/Rope burns | 932 words | Stephen and Wong are held captive in their own home in a robbery gone wrong (mostly). | Ao3 | Tumblr

Day 6: "You lied to me." | 500 words | Tony confronts Stephen about a choice he made. A choice that ruined both their lives. | Ao3 | Tumblr

Day 7: Suffering in silence. | 150 words | Stephen Strange was fine. | Ao3 | Tumblr

Day 8: "Why won't it stop?" | 200 words | Stephen Strange breaks after using Atlantean Black Magic. | Ao3 | Tumblr

Day 9: Bees | 1128 words | America gets stung by a bee. Stephen comforts her when she admits her biggest fear. | Ao3 | Tumblr

Day 10: Killing in self-defense | 100 words | Stephen Strange is found guilty. | Ao3 | Tumblr

Day 11: Time loop | 100 words | Tony Stark is stuck in a time loop. | Ao3 | Tumblr

Day 12: Semi-conscious | 741 words | Stephen has a nightmare in the library, one he didn't quite wake up from until he was safe in Wong's arms. | Ao3 | Tumblr

Day 13: "You weren't supposed to get hurt." | 176 words | Stephen watches his daughter grow up. | Ao3 | Tumblr

Day 14: Blood-stained tiles | 59 words | Wong reflects on his husbands death. | Ao3 | Tumblr

Day 15: "Who did this to you?" | 150 words | Stephen visits a grave. | Ao3 | Tumblr

Day 16: Alt -- "I love you." | 903 words | Stephen plays the bait in a mission to take out a group of rogue sorcerers. Wong intervenes and feelings are felt. | Ao3 | Tumblr

Day 17: Hostage situation | 694 words | Strange or the people of New York. Tough decision. Who lives, who dies…. You are playing a delicate game, Sorcerer Supreme. You decide who survives. Play God, just for a second, or we destroy your planet. Your choice, Sorcerer Supreme. You have 24 hours to decide. | Ao3 | Tumblr

Day 18: Alt -- Found footage | 756 words | A video is posted about Stephen Strange and the death of his sister, Donna. Stephen watches his old high school bullies vandalize his locker -- and his well-being. | Ao3 | Tumblr

Day 19: "Please don't." | 100 words | Stephen and Eugene’s relationship is all but healthy. So when Stephen gets home and finds his father drinking, he tries to avoid him at all costs... but avoiding Eugene is near impossible when you’re the one he’s angry at. | Ao3 | Tumblr

Day 20: Truth serum | 367 words | Stephen ingests a truth serum. The students of Kamar-Taj are curious, but some take it a bit too far. | Ao3 | Tumblr

Day 21: Unresponsive | 567 words | Tony finds Stephen nearly dead, barely breathing, an empty bottle of painkillers just out of reach. | Ao3 | Tumblr

Day 22: Alt -- CPR | 866 words | Tony Stark has a heart attack during an event. Peter performs CPR with the help of a mysterious stranger. | Ao3 | Tumblr

Day 23: Presumed dead | 200 words | With the cloak returning from the fight alone and radiating sadness, one could only assume the worst. | Ao3 | Tumblr

Day 24: "I'm doing this because I care about you." | 261 words | Wong is not the person he once was. | Ao3 | Tumblr

Day 25: Waterboarding | 1110 words | Stephen Strange is part of the .1% of the world's population that can see their soulmate's experiences. Great for Tony Stark, not so great for Stephen when his soulmate gets waterboarded in the middle of Stephen's shift. | Ao3 | Tumblr

Day 26: "Help them." | 375 words | Stephen knows he's going to die. Why waste time on him when others need it more? | Ao3 | Tumblr

Day 27: Left for dead | 455 words | The Illuminati on Earth-838 don't kill Stephen Strange. They maroon him on Titan, alone and stripped of his magic.

Stephen doesn't believe this is punishment enough for his crimes. | Ao3 | Tumblr

Day 28: "No... not like this."/Alt -- last words | 500 words | Wong finally confesses his feelings for Stephen... just as he's dying in the man's arms. | Ao3 | Tumblr

Day 29: Not allowed to die/Alt -- immortality | 682 words | Stephen Strange is cursed. | Ao3 | Tumblr

Guys we did it. We finished Febuwhump!

#stephen strange #doctor stephen strange #wong #wongstrange #wong x strange #febuwhump 2024 #tony stark x stephen strange #all the tags #might add some more later #masterlist #we finished!#i'm kind of proud of myself

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world-of-wales · 2 years

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CATHERINE'S STYLE FILES - 2014

7 DECEMBER 2014 || The Duchess of Cambridge along with Prince William attended a private dinner in benefit of the American Friends of The Royal Foundation at Gramercy Park in NYC on their first day in the city.

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loveandthings11 · 6 months

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How Deep My Love Goes, Chapter 14

Read on AO3 Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3 Ch 4 Ch 5 Ch 6 Ch 7 Ch 8 Ch 9 Ch 10 Ch 11 Ch 12 Ch 13

Fic Summary: A fix-it alongside canon that answers the question "how would things change if Rava said yes?" 💗 Chapter Summary: At Argestes, Kendall gathers support for the takeover from Waystar's inner circle even as tension builds and trust splinters within his team. Everyone scrambles to gauge each other's reactions to Logan's out-of-control anger.

Breaking News

Shanghai, 2003

“I can’t deal with this,” Kendall says into his office phone. She can hear that he’s suffering as she struggles to stay awake in New York.

“I’m sorry I’m so tired,” she says sleepily.

“No, I should have called you earlier. You- you should be falling asleep with me,” he says. He sounds almost desperate. “You have to come out here. I can’t stand it without you. I seriously, like- I’m not- I need you. Fuck. I miss you. No one understands how hard this is.”

She takes in a breath.

“I might be the only one who does,” she says more clearly. “I miss you so much it hurts.” She hugs her pillow. “I wish I could hug you right now. Make you feel better.”

“Oh my god, I’m dying for it,” he says. His voice sounds so stressed and it hurts that she can’t be there to comfort him.

“I want to hold you and cover us up in this comforter,” she says. “Keep you warm, kiss your face.” Sometimes she stays away from it, but tonight she’s just allowing the torture.

He drops his head into his hands. “I fucking- I need that so badly. I need you. I’m-“ he shakes his head “-yeah, you know what? I’m sending a plane for you. Come stay with me. Please.”

“What about-“ she starts.

“I’ll call Yale. It doesn’t matter. You can finish the semester from here. We’ll figure it out.”

“Oh? And how is that going to work?” she laughs.

“Because I’ll make it work. I’m calling them tomorrow.” He sounds serious.

“And- they’ll just say yes?” she asks, trying not to let herself believe it yet.

“One of the few advantages my father offers,” he grumbles. “Their endowment can increase significantly.” He and his dad have been fighting for months over Logan’s decision to send him across the world for a year.

“Oh, one of the few,” Rava smiles.

“I’ll pay your law professors personally. They’ll do individual sessions, whatever it takes. It’s your last year. You’ll have bar exam tutors, whatever, I’ll fly them out.”

“Okay! Well, you’ve convinced me,” she says. She feels a smile spreading across her face. “Ken, can you actually do this? Because if I think I’m going to be wrapping my entire body around you this week and then it doesn’t happen-“

“Well, now that you’ve put it like that, my entire body is very ready for that scenario,” he says. He drags a hand over his face. “Jesus. Two months since your last visit is like a fucking year, I’m fixing this right now. I’m gonna let you go to sleep before I lose my mind in this office.”

“Okay,” she agrees reluctantly. “I really wish you were here.”

He sighs.

“I can’t even think about you in bed right now.” He pauses. “Except that now I will think about you in bed, and nothing else, for the rest of the day.” He pictures their fluffy comforter, soft-as-air sheets wrapped around her perfect body, arms reaching toward him with sparkles in her eyes. “What are you wearing?” he asks to complete the fantasy.

“I thought I wasn’t supposed to talk about that while you’re at work,” Rava teases. He chuckles.

“You’re not. But now I fucking have to know. Break my rule. Get your camera and email me a picture.”

“Kendall Roy, what kind of a girl do you think I am?” she asks with pretend shock. He smiles.

“Does that mean you’re not wearing anyth… no. Don’t answer that. You’re getting on a plane this week.”

“Whatever you say,” she says nonchalantly. He raises his eyebrows.

“Whatever I say? Are we keeping that rule when you get here?” he asks.

“Maybe,” Rava answers sweetly. “What are you wearing?”

He grins a little but refuses to give in.

“A suit.”

“That’s not very descriptive. That’s like me just saying ‘lingerie,’” she says. He wonders if anyone can see his smile through the glass of the office. Anyone could tell this is not a business call but he can’t stop.

“I’m not describing my suit.”

“Oh, you’re soooo serious and business-like,” she says mockingly. He tries unsuccessfully to keep his expression neutral.

“Okay. Well, this is a serious day-“ he attempts.

“What color is it?” she interrupts.

He gives it up, shaking his head and laughing.

“Navy blue. Are you happy?” She loves the sound of his laughter. It takes a lot of work and it’s always worth it.

“I will be if I see you this week,” she answers honestly. “You’re really going to call them tomorrow?” she asks hopefully. The possibility makes her heart race and she yearns for definite confirmation that she’ll have him back in her arms soon.

“Absolutely.” He looks at his watch and sighs. “Okay, well-“

“Nooo, don’t go,” she coos. But she knows she has to sleep and he has to work.

“Believe me, I don’t want to,” he says. She makes him feel more wanted than he’s ever felt.

“Okay. Thank you for taking care of this. I love you so, so much. I hope I get to see you this week.” She buries her face in the pillow and wills herself to stop being so excited before she knows if it’s really going to happen.

“You will. I love you too,” he says. He remembers the awful feeling of practically being pulled away from her at the hangar when he left and seeing her crying through the jet window. He can’t do that again. “You’ll stay? When you come?” he asks.

“For as long as you want,” she smiles.

“Forever,” he says. “Just so we’re clear.”

She blushes into speechlessness. She can’t believe how lucky she is.

“Forever. But we’re not staying there forever,” she half-asks.

“Don’t even worry. The day we get back to New York, that townhouse is gonna be home for real.” He’d bought them their dream place on the Upper East Side right before Logan had casually announced that Kendall would be in Shanghai for a year. He can’t wait to propose this coming year and make it all official.

“I love that,” she says dreamily.

“The place is good so far?” he asks. He’s jealous he’s not getting to experience it with her. His long-term hotel penthouse feels cold and impersonal and he misses Rava’s ability to make every room she walks into feel like home to him. He feels warmer at the idea of her in the suite. He likes it better already.

“It’s perfect,” she replies truthfully. “It’s missing you, though. It’s a good thing I have your sweatshirt.” She pauses. “Actually, can I break your rule?”

He smiles.

“Sure,” he agrees.

“Your sweatshirt. That’s what I’m wearing,” she says.

He wonders how she’s real.

“That’s even better than what I was thinking. Well, sort of.” She giggles. She’s warm in their bed inside his sweatshirt. He can’t do this anymore without going insane. “So… you go to sleep. I’ll take care of everything. You’ll be here within the week.”

“You’ll tell me exactly when tomorrow?” she asks. They had stopped doing their hourly count when she’d emailed him to ask how many hours til she saw him and he’d replied “a million :(“

“Yes. And it’s going to be less than a hundred hours. I can make it,” he says. “I think.”

“I’m so ready to see you. Less than a hundred hours.” She’s suddenly filled with relief. It hits her and she squeals. He smiles at the sound. She’s that excited to see him. “You have to cancel everything on your schedule because when I get there I am not letting go of you for two entire days!”

“That sounds so good,” he says. He glances out his glass office door at Nate and three of his coworkers heading his way. “Okay, I’m really sorry, but the guys are coming in here for the meeting. I love you. I can’t wait to see you. You have no idea.”

“I’m so excited! I love you!” she exclaims. Have a good meeting. I love you, I love you, I love you!”

……

Kendall’s leaning against the upholstered headboard smiling as he reads Rava’s gifted diary. He’d planned to read it all in one day but decided that reading one entry at a time was better.

She drapes her arm over his stomach from the pillow.

“What are you reading about?” she whispers.

“The week you came out to Shanghai.” He looks down at her. “You’re so fucking cute.”

“Mm I remember that. Just couldn’t take it anymore!” she smiles and nudges him to come closer. He slides down back under the comforter next to her and she puts the journal in the nightstand drawer.

“Yeah, that was physically painful.” He rolls onto his side and pulls her into his arms, exhaling fully. “This,” he says. “This is what I needed.”

She kisses him slowly and remembers the absolute euphoria of running into his arms as soon as she’d touched down.

He’d picked her up at the bottom of the plane staircase and she’d finally felt like she was flying even though she’d been in the air for hours. His driver and the flight attendants had stared at them kissing on the tarmac and fumbling and tripping backwards through laughs into the waiting limo.

“You brought literal sunshine with you,” he’d smiled as she shamelessly laid on top of him on the long seat and they saw the rays shining through the window. She had beamed at him and kissed him again and again.

“Where are we going?” she’d asked as the car started moving.

“Bed. Immediately.” He’d flashed her a devilish smile and she’d returned it as he started slipping his fingertips under her shirt.

She’d been terrified for months that she was going to lose him to someone else or that he would get stuck working in Shanghai permanently and wouldn’t be allowed to come home.

The relief of knowing she doesn’t ever have to be without him again floods her like it had in that moment and she rubs his shoulders.

“Hey,” she murmurs. “I love you.”

“I love you,” he mumbles into her hair.

“I’m going to go to Argestes with you,” she tells him.

He’s glad to hear the confirmation. He wants to look at her but he wants to stay where he is more.

“Yeah? Even with the kids and the plane and everything?”

“Yeah.”

He nods contentedly.

“Good.”

……

After dinner that night, Rava scrolls through The New York Times headlines while the staff cleans up. Kendall is reading through his hundreds of subject lines looking for anything that actually needs his attention when Connor calls him. He’s surprised for a moment but picks up right away once he remembers what the rest of the family is doing.

“Miss you, Kenny,” Connor slurs a little as soon as Kendall answers the phone. “Miss. You.”

Kendall is touched. And touched by guilt. He’d told himself he was going to make more of an effort with his big brother and they’ve barely spoken since RECNY.

“Hey, I miss you, too. How’s, uh… where are you all again?” He feels a pang of being left out. It’s been wearing on him lately.

“Tern Haven. What the Pierces call their compound.” Connor rolls his eyes. “They won’t take me seriously as a candidate, you know? They’re so into their elite establishments-“

“Dude. Criticism of the elite? Like- seriously?”

“Ha! You fit with everyone so well. Fuck,” Connor shakes his head. “Even when you’re out, you’re in,” he says. Kendall can hear the resentment and envy.

“Uh. Well, I don’t know that Dad would say that,” he responds. “So- so, what’s been happening? Is Nan Pierce-“

“Kenny, I love you. But I’m not calling to talk about company bullshit.”

“Oh- uh, right. Okay. Well…” Kendall doesn’t know quite what to say for a moment. “So- how are you?” he asks.

“Well, thank you for asking. I’m tired of not being taken seriously.”

“Well- Con, I get it, but you have to prove you deserve it to Dad if you want his-“

“-love?”

“-I was going to say respect. Although….” Kendall rubs his face. “He- I mean, not that I necessarily know everything- but- I think I’ve spent a lot of time close to him, so…”

“That you have,” Connor says plainly. Kendall’s a little thrown off by the attitude.

“Uh, are you guys drinking a lot?”

Rava glances up at him.

“You’re going to ask me if I’m drinking?” Connor asks with an edge.

Kendall sighs and looks at Rava with an expression that conveys how aggressive his brother sounds.

“I just- you seem…” he searches for the right words.

“Upset? Taken advantage of? You’re god damned right. And you’re off with your other family just laughing it up and taking away the company that makes any of us somebodies.”

“My other family?” Kendall is a little aghast at that and Rava looks taken aback. “You’re the one who- who always said I’d get them back? What the fuck? You know what happened with Dad. I had to do something.”

“Not this!” Connor exclaims. Kendall can hear the booze in his voice. “Splitting us up. We could have all been here together, you know? For once.”

“Okay, I’m not doing this. It is not my fault that we’re- you know, split like this. Blame Dad. I’m sure he’s pinning this all on me, but, it’s not just me. What was I supposed to do?” Rava is increasingly annoyed at the disruption in their peaceful day.

“Not take everything for yourself,” Connor grumbles.

“What? It was all taken from me. I- I can’t talk to you when you’re like this.” Kendall has a bit of an out-of-body experience saying the things that were once said to him in similar situations. “I’m just going to hang up- and- and we can talk later.” He thinks he sounds like Rava four years ago and wonders if she thinks the same thing.

“No,” Connor says. “I’m sorry. I’m- drunk. I don’t want to- just, you’re the favorite and you don’t appreciate it. You’re not even here. The one time I’m actually invited.”

“Con, Dad tried to destroy my life multiple times in the last four- five months. I don’t think I’m his favorite. Or- not anymore, I dunno.” Hearing himself say it makes him sad. “As for me being there, that just doesn’t- it doesn’t make any sense. When you’re back in the city we can get together. If you want.”

“Sure,” Connor says dully. “But we won’t.”

“Yeah, yes we will,” Kendall replies. “You know, if it made any sense for me to be there, I would be. I actually- it’s hard not to see anyone. Are you going to be at Argestes?”

“No,” Connor answers flatly. “Not invited to things like that. You know, the way the little ones talk to me is unacceptable. Roman thinks I’m a joke and Shiv couldn’t care less.”

“I mean- that’s the way they are,” Kendall says as sympathetically as he can. “They talk to me like that, too. Sometimes it’s good with them, but then- well, they have their own thing.”

“You three have your own thing.”

“Uh, less now. I mean, if it makes you feel better that we’re apart,” Kendall says with some bitterness. He doesn’t like it himself.

“Great, now I’m bad for wanting to separate you,” Connor replies. Kendall rolls his eyes. This conversation is impossible. Connor continues, “But you know, I would know, it sucks that you aren’t talking to them.”

Kendall feels more guilt seep in. His frequent talks with Roman and his last one with Shiv are too secret to mention. He hates to lie when Connor feels like this.

“I mean, yeah, it’s hard not to see them much, but- but all of this is necessary. And it’s temporary.” His carefully chosen words make him feel slimy.

“Right.” Connor scoffs lightly. “Necessary. Because you can’t live without Waystar, right?”

Kendall looks down. He’s sorry to say it, but at least he can tell the truth here.

“Not- not really.”

Connor nods sadly.

“Yeah.” He pauses. “I fucking love you, Kenny. I really do. I’m happy you’re happy.”

“Well- I don’t want you to- I- I mean, I love you, too. I don’t know if I’d say I’m just happy. Everything you said? Roman and Shiv? I don’t like this either.” Rava shifts in her chair and looks sad for a moment. He catches her eye and points to the phone like he had to say it, but she can tell it’s not all made up. He pauses for a moment and gets up to walk out of the room. “Look- you- you helped me when things were bad,” he says quietly. “So, if you want to talk about anything-“ he sees an opportunity. “-the President thing maybe?” he approaches cautiously. “Like, are you just doing this for-“

“Attention?” Connor finishes. “In fact, I am doing this because my principles are the ones America needs to adopt in order to save herself.”

Jesus, Kendall thinks.

“Okay, well. If you want to talk. You know.”

He feels bad but he can’t stop wondering about what happened at dinner. He thinks he’d better not ask Connor.

“Yeah. Okay. Well, I made a friend here. Maxim Pierce. I kinda hate him, but he kinda hates me too, so it’s fun. He’s got some port that’s life-changing. I guess I better get back out there. So…”

“I’ll see you in New York,” Kendall offers.

“Uh-huh. That’ll be good,” Connor says. Kendall hears the doubt in his voice and promises himself he’ll do better with reaching out.

……

Tanya the travel nanny sits reading to the kids in their seat cluster on the jet as Rava pores over the latest documents the firm sent her. Kendall looks out the window and plays music to hype himself up for the upcoming run-in with his dad and siblings at Argestes. He looks at the text he’d received from Roman the morning before and lets it fill him with energy.

Naomi Pierce swung the vote against Waystar. An absolute no. But Dad will get them at Argestes anyway.

Stewy laughs at his phone and calls over to Kendall’s side of the plane.

“Take off your headphones and come look at this shit,” he says. This girl just sent me an article from some site called Fuckable in Finance. It’s a countdown. Top ten.”

Rava looks at Stewy disapprovingly for his language and its content near the kids, but Kendall’s obvious intrigue dances on his face. Stewy gives her an unconvincing apologetic look. Kendall pulls the headphones down around the back of his neck.

“So-?”

“Guess who number one is?” Stewy asks smugly.

“Do we have to?” Rava says drily.

“I guess no one really does now,” Stewy answers mock-thoughtfully.

Kendall stands up and strides over to Stewy, picking up his iPad and scrolling. He wrinkles his nose.

“Four?”

“You’re very hard on yourself, Ken,” Rava says as she pretends to focus on her paperwork.

“I know, seemed a little high for you,” Stewy says. “Recent media appearances probably skewed it in your favor, though. People love it when a thirty-nine-year-old goes through a rebellious phase.”

“Okay. Ha ha.” Kendall wishes Roman were here to do something annoying like put a blanket over Stewy’s head, or at least mess his hair up. “Are there a lot of these countdowns?” he asks.

“Oh god, take the iPad from him now,” Rava says to Stewy as she gives him a rare rye smile. Stewy looks triumphant as Kendall furrows his brow and does a Google search.

“Kendall, do you want to read the next chapter to the kids?” Tanya calls over. “They’re asking for you to do it.”

“With the voices!” Sophie exclaims.

Rava looks at Kendall lovingly and he looks up from Stewy’s iPad.

“Uh, yeah. Okay. I’ll be right there.”

“iPad, please,” Stewy says in a self-satisfied way. Kendall drops it onto Stewy’s armrest without looking at him as Rava stifles a laugh at their adolescent behavior. Kendall walks over to the kids and glances over self-consciously at Rava and Stewy watching him expectantly as he picks up the book.

“In here,” Kendall says to the kids, and ushers them behind a curtain to the other room.

……

Rava glances over at Roman and Kendall poking each other as soon as they’ve walked into the building for Argestes day one.

“Rockin’ some horny ankle cleavage,” Roman’s saying quietly to Kendall. Kendall looks at him with a smirk.

“Oooh, that’s scary. I’m scared.”

Rava chuckles and looks around to see who she might chat with. They’ve been spending so much time alone together lately that she hasn’t seen Bro Kendall in a while. She forgot how funny the inflated ego makes him.

“Maybe you should be scared,” Roman smirks. “We have this deal on lock.”

“I don’t think you do,” Kendall says, trying to sound sure of himself. “I think Nan wants nothing to do with Dad, Waystar, and especially ATN.”

“Well, unless you’ve got something huge to stand in Waystar’s way, you and Stewy and Sandy are dead in the water.”

Kendall works hard to maintain a neutral face until an hour later, when he and Stewy are sitting in armchairs in a breakout room, laptops out and coffees on tables.

“Are you seeing this email from Sandy?” Stewy raises his eyebrows as he scrolls on his phone. Kendall stares at his computer screen.

“Yeah. Fuck. This is a shitstorm. The wolf pack, the whole fucking- I think Greg knows all about this cruises shit… we should have stopped this, done something-“ Kendall starts.

“Dude. What are you talking about, Sandy’s thrilled! No chance Pierce sells to your dad once this story is released,” Stewy almost laughs. “It was supposed to be a while til they published this, but you know Logan’s going to make another attempt to buy while Nan is here. We’ve got to stop that. Waystar tanks, it’ll be nice and easy for us to buy it up.”

Kendall looks at him.

“I- I mean, yeah, but this can’t be the reason Pierce doesn’t sell. What are we doing to stop this article?”

“Stop it?” Stewy drops his head back. “Ken. Don’t be sentimental here. You want Waystar? This is how we get it.”

“How we get it?” Kendall’s wheels turn. “Did Sandy have something to do with this? Did- did he move up the publishing date?”

“Don’t get crazy,” Stewy warns.

“He fucking called New York Magazine?”

“It is his.”

Kendall gives Stewy an almost hurt look.

“Stewy. I did not agree to this. I wasn’t consulted, I would never have allowed this.”

“Well, you’re not the one in charge yet,” Stewy says.

“But you knew about this, obviously. And you didn’t tell me?” Stewy keeps the calm voice that he knows Kendall has to hear right now.

“You can’t always see through it all. It’s Sandy’s way of making things work, okay? You’ll be glad down the line.” Kendall looks at him like he’s insane.

“There might not be a way through it all. He didn’t even talk to me? Stew. Fucking- level with me. Is he trying to get me off the team? Does he have a new CEO in mind?”

“Don’t be paranoid. You’re fine, he’s just being practical.”

“He hasn’t taken my calls the last two days. We don’t have to destroy the company’s reputation,” Kendall says. Stewy still looks far too tranquil.

“Well, it’s happening. Nothing I can do,” Stewy shrugs. He sees a group walking by outside the door and nods at Kendall. “I’ll be back later.” He starts walking away.

“Come on, bro, I’m not done with this. Don’t fucking-“

Kendall is left standing by himself, tension bubbling from his stomach into his chest and clouding his head. The only thing he can think is that he has got to talk to Sandy. He shuts the door of the side room and reenters the cavernous networking space. He spies Sandy schmoozing with some others in the corner and begins to make his way over. He glances up at the balcony and sees Roman and Gerri rushing away into a conference room followed by Hugo and Logan. His stomach flips and he feels a physical pull toward that room. He should be in there. They’re defending the company. He tries to straighten his thoughts. He’s going to try to defend the company the only way he can. He walks over to Sandy and gives him a tight smile.

Sandy extricates himself from the group he’s with and walks with Kendall into a corner, sporting matching publicly-viewable smiles and relaxed expressions.

“Sandy. New York Magazine?” Kendall starts, keeping a pleasant tone for the many curious lookers-on. “This- this is how you want to win?”

“Kendall, I think you are maybe a little close to this situation,” Sandy says with an edge to his voice as he looks calmly at Kendall.

“What does that mean?”

“You are more concerned about the company’s reputation than ensuring our success.”

“Well, yeah, it matters that the company is in good shape once it’s in our hands.”

“This is a good move, and if it were any other firm, you’d agree that this is the right path.” Kendall tries not to think about whether that’s true. “I think you’re a bit emotion-focused right now.” Kendall tries not to let the fury spill out. “We can PR this… unseemly issue.”

“Sandy-“

“You’re not willing to damage the value temporarily, which we need to do in order to take over,” Sandy continues without allowing the interruption. “We have to stop this Pierce deal. Make them balk.”

“They already said no at Tern Haven. Roman told me so.” Kendall says flatly.

“For their own floppy reasons,” Sandy points out. “Logan is a persuasive man, is he not?” Kendall can’t argue with that. “We need something that even he can’t outbid. Something the Pierces will find sharply distasteful, not just generally offensive.”

“Sure, but-“ Kendall tries again to interrupt.

“But it’s your baby. Isn’t it?” Sandy maintains eye contact with Kendall, smiling placidly as if this isn’t a question that could end the world. “I also worry that this is more about your ego than anything else. You were across the department at the time, you might get dragged for it.”

“I- well- no. It’s- that was Mo, and Bill, first of all,“ Kendall starts. “It’s more than that. This- I am serious about being CEO, Sandy, and shepherding Waystar into the future. Let me say first that obviously whatever happened back then is not okay. I was not aware. I mean, of course there were people I- Mo, you know, he was an old family friend but- but, yeah, we should’ve gotten rid of him. There were-“ he shakes his head. “Sandy, you don’t have to publish. You don’t have to do this.”

“Kendall. It’s going to happen whether we do this or not. And I think you are gong to have to figure out what to say about these things when they come up. I’m sure you will.” And with that, he’s walking away and Kendall’s standing there silently arguing.

He’s so worked up he’s running his hand over the back of his head and starts looking around. He clocks Stewy coming toward him and slapping his own serene smile on top of his concern.

“Ken, what are you doing?”

“Sandy’s fucking threatening me I think?” Kendall begins. “Unless I’m good with the company being destroyed by his article, I’m out?”

“Relax,” Stewy practically whispers. “You are not being removed. He’s doing what is necessary.”

“And if that results in the company being trashed?”

“We’ll PR that shit so hard no one will even remember.”

“Stewy. The cruises thing is fucked up, but I can take care of it our way. Those responsible should be held responsible, but-“

Stewy rolls his eyes.

“We’ll get you your very own soap box,” he says, patting Kendall’s shoulder. He sees someone out of the corner of his eye and walks away again.

Kendall stands in a spiral and looks around hoping to find someone who will relate. Just then, Rava sidles up to him and gives him an excited smile.

“Oh, this is actually fun,” she says. “It’s been a long time but I just had a great talk with-“ she sees his frown. “What’s up?”

“Uh- no. Nothing. It’s good you’re having a good time, I like it here too.”

“Okay. So… what’s with the face?”

He sighs.

“There’s an-an article coming out, about cruises stuff. I don’t know exactly what the story is but it’s going to be bad. Make the company look like shit, possibly make me look like the bad guy. I fucking know who the bad guys were.” He grumbles. “Sandy’s publishing in New York Magazine, which he owns. I couldn’t even- stop him, he’s doing this. He- he doesn’t care what happens to me, Stewy says we’ll just PR it, but I don’t know that I come out of this, or that Waystar even comes out of this-“

“So, what, you just keep it a secret? What kind of accusations are we talking about here?”

“I don’t- I don’t even know. I-“ he glances at her. “You know, bad guys. They did bad shit. Shadow logs, coercion… maybe some assault. Maybe, uh, worse.” He braces himself.

“Maybe some assault?” Rava repeats. “And what, murder? What are you going to say about this?”

“Well, it’s going to depend on how they frame it. They’re doing whatever Sandy says, so the blame is going to land wherever he says it’s going to land. It doesn’t matter what the truth is. Sandy is not that different from Dad, you know… If he says it, it’s real.”

Rava scoffs.

“It is not real just because he says it. And Sandy doesn’t want you to look bad. You’re on his team. I mean, right?”

Kendall thinks for a minute.

“Sure. For now. But, but yeah. If this comes out, we’re going to have to have a big reaction. People are going to look to me. I have to condemn this, have a better reaction than the sibs. I’m going to call some crisis people.” Rava sighs and nods. Always another crisis.

……

The next morning, Kendall and Rava sit with Sandy and Stewy at a table staring over at Logan and Nan and Rhea. The tension is thick in the thin air. Rava’s watching Kendall and can practically hear his thoughts. Can’t believe Sandy’s fucking doing this. He sits refreshing New York Magazine’s home page over and over, wondering what Roman and Shiv are thinking about this. He notices they weren’t invited to Logan’s table this morning.

“You good?” Rava whispers.

He nods.

“Had enough PR people and lawyers to last me a lifetime last night.”

“Oh?” Rava asks, mock-insulted.

He gives her a stressed smile.

“Yeah. Well, except one.” He fidgets in his chair and Sandy looks over.

“Can you relax? It’s not as bad as it could be, Kendall. I am not destroying the company I’m taking over,” he says. Kendall notices his use of “I’m.”

Over at the other table, Rhea is doing the same refreshing. Sandy grins and glances at the time.

“Three… two… one.”

The story pops up on Kendall’s screen and he starts to read it furiously between stares at his father’s table.

Sandy looks on contentedly as he watches Rhea get up from the table with Nan and sees Logan look after them.

“And there goes Pierce,” Sandy says in a tranquil tone.

“Fuck,” Kendall whispers as he reads. “I mean… this is not good.”

Rava reads over his shoulder. Sandy clinks glasses with Stewy and Kendall tries not to throw something. Stewy looks at his face and knows.

“Ken. This was necessary. No Pierce, Waystar’s ours.”

“Ours and ‘embattled,’” Kendall says indignantly as he continues to read. He is sick of being embattled.

“You really don’t see what this does for us?” Sandy asks. Kendall is seething.

“Respectfully, neither of you built this company,” he says in as controlled a voice as he can.

“You are not going to be taken down by this, man,” Stewy tells him. “It’ll be a temporary dip. You know this.”

Sandy and Stewy glance at each other and know that Kendall just can’t see the big picture here.

“You’ll see,” Sandy says. Rava looks at Kendall supportively but she wonders if it might really be necessary to make the takeover happen.

……

After hours of pacing and texting endless questions to Stewy while trying to find out what response Waystar is going to have at the evening’s panel, the time finally comes to sit down and watch it happen. He fidgets anxiously next to Rava in the audience as the discussions begin.

“Who are they even going to have?” he whispers between nail-bitings and foot bounces.

“Stop that,” Rava whispers back, forcing him to sit still and not draw attention to himself. “The more obvious it is that you’re here, the more people are going to stare.” He does his best to stop.

“This is insane.” He glances ahead of him two rows at Stewy and Sandy sitting together. “I would know exactly what to say for this if I were up there,” he whispers into Rava’s ear.

“I know. But it’s probably for the best that you are not the face of Waystar right now, don’t you think?” Rava points out.

“Yeah, I-I guess. Let Shiv and Rome look like idiots trying to defend this? Or throw me under the bus?”

“They can’t do that without also throwing your dad under the bus, which I doubt he would like very much. If they’re going to say you knew, no one would believe he didn’t know.”

Kendall sighs. That’s something. Roman and Shiv are announced and make their way onto the stage.

“This is a joke,” Kendall whispers.

His eyes bore into them as they begin their interview, but after a minute it’s too hard to look at them. He should up there, he should already be CEO. He makes himself take a look around at who else is there. He spots Frank and wills him to turn toward him. Frank continues gazing forward with his hand holding his face. Kendall doesn’t take his eyes off him. This could be the moment to convince him to leave.

“Maybe it’s time for a good old-fashioned dinosaur cull,” Shiv says. The room quiets. Kendall’s mouth falls open and so does Frank’s. In a moment, Frank turns and he’s looking right at Kendall. Kendall eyes him intently, hoping he’ll read his mind. But he lets his godfather lead and stays stoic until Frank breaks the silent pause.

“We need to talk,” Frank mouths. Kendall nods.

Half an hour later, he watches Frank cross his legs as he leans back in the swivel chair at the of table of the small conference room they’d snuck into. He observes his every expression as he continues making his case. “You can’t be seen to take the side of the old guard. Look what they allowed to happen.”

“Well, Ken, if we’re being honest, it could look like this is what you allowed to happen,” Frank says.

“Well, Frank, if I’m going to be honest with you, it could easily look like you orchestrated it and are trying to blame me.” It’s ribbing, it’s serious, it’s everything in between. Frank sighs and Kendall continues. “I-I mean, I’m just saying, I think it’s a solid move for you to show that it wasn’t you. Come to the light, you know? I know you, panic-meister. This is killing you. You’ve got to do something, yeah?” he says with mounting enthusiasm. “Yeah?! I fucking know you! Get away from the incompetents, come remake this thing with us.”

Frank looks at the door and back at Kendall.

“You trust Sandy?” Frank asks.

“I…” Kendall realizes a pause is dangerous. “Yes. Yes, I trust him.”

“Well,” he sighs. “I’ll think about it. He’s easing into the possibility and Kendall tries to temper his eagerness.

“Okay. Good, that’s all I’m asking.”

Frank gets up and turns toward the doorway.

“Hey, Frank?” Kendall asks before he goes. The uncertainty of his situation is getting to him. “Do you think- do you think I can do this?”

“Well,” Frank answers, “I think your dad has definitely thought so. In the past, you know.”

“Sure,” Kendall says. He loves hearing that. “But, do you?”

Frank nods equivocally.

“Yeah,” he says lightly. “Probably, yeah, I think you could. Maybe,” he chuckles.

Kendall nods. He hopes he’s right about whose team Frank’s going to end up on.

They walk back into the room full of networkers, shoe-lickers, show horses, and hangers-on. Kendall darts up the stairs and knows exactly who he’s looking for next. The tallest man in the room.

“Greg the motherfuckin’ egg,” Kendall smiles sardonically as he finds Greg walking down a hallway. Greg looks like he’s been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“Oh, h-hey, Ken! How’s everything going with, uh-“

“Greg,” he interrupts. “I’ve been thinking about our conversation at my sister’s wedding.”

“Oh-oh, yeah? Yeah.” Greg swallows and tries to breathe slowly.

“Well, I’m just wondering how much of this you know about. Because some of that insider information might be very useful. I thought we could talk about some opportunities for you at the new Waystar.”

“The new Waystar. That’s super- exciting, yeah. I really- um, I’ve been working a lot with Tom… though?”

“Tom?” Kendall scoffs lightly. “Greg. I like Tom. I do. But Tom is in charge of ATN. I’m about to be his boss. I already was his boss. If he’s lucky and gets to stay, we’ll see. He was also directly in the line of information that you shouldn’t have.” Kendall thinks for a second and looks directly at Greg. “Actually, is- is that where you got this information? From Tom?”

Greg looks too scared for that not to be the case. Kendall laughs a bitter laugh.

“Right. Okay. So you’re both stuck. I think you know I have every incentive to place the blame squarely on Mo, where it belongs, by the way, and Bill for covering it up, and unfortunately, that means Tom is in the line of fire. You, though? You could escape. Take the lifeboat.” Greg looks worried and Kendall looks at him seriously. “Just in case you hadn’t noticed, the cruise ship is sinking.”

On the other side of the room, on the ground floor, Rava’s gaze crosses the door that Logan, the old guard, Shiv, and Roman had entered after the panel discussion. Suddenly, she sees Roman stumble out holding his jaw and is shocked to see some unmistakable drops of blood on his hand where he’s holding his face. Her mouth drops open and she makes a beeline for him. He sees her coming and tries to turn the other way.

“Roman,” Rava calls, approaching him slowly. She’s pretty sure she knows what just happened. She catches up to him as he turns a corner into an empty hallway. “Roman. Are you okay?”

“I’m fucking fine, why is everyone asking me that?” But he’s looking at his hand in horror.

“Well,” Rava indicates his hand, his face.

“It was nothing,” Roman insists. “A fucking- accident.” But there are tears forming.

Rava reaches her hand out to touch his shoulder. It’s so tense it feels like a rock. He’s defended and doesn’t really respond.

“Hey. I’m not new here,” she says softly. He still doesn’t want to make eye contact. “Did he break anyth- oh, god,” she reacts as he pulls a tooth out.

“Ow, fuck. It’s fine, it’s nothing, I’ll get a new one,” Roman shrugs. But he’s obviously falling apart.

“Unbelievable,” she whispers. “I’m so sorry.”

She puts her arm around him even though he tries to shrug her off. He sniffles.

“I’m sure Kendall loves that shit, but I’m stronger than him. If he even chipped a tooth he’d be in a plastic surgeon’s office with three psychiatrists convincing him not to jump off a fucking building.”

Rava squeezes her eyes shut and smiles.

“Okay. Can I get you some ice?”

He thinks about saying no but he can feel the swelling.

“Fuck you, fine.”

“Rome?!” They hear Shiv’s voice echoing as she quickly strides in their direction, the door slamming behind her. Rava watches her turn the corner and spot him, bending down to look at his face and make sure he’s okay.

“I’ll be back,” Rava assures him as she heads to find a server.

Once she’s collected the ice, she returns to him, now sitting in a chair in an awkward ball next to Shiv.

“Here you go,” she hands him the pack. He sighs.

“Thank you,” he says begrudgingly. “Where’s Ken, by the way? Can you- where is he?”

“I’ll get him,” she says immediately. “You want me to send him here, or-“

“No,” Shiv says. “No, we’ll be in Rome’s room. Right?” she asks him. He nods.

“Okay. I’ll tell him to come right to you.” Rava takes off to find Kendall. She walks all around the room and looks up to the balcony. Greg is slowly turning away from Kendall and walking back down to the Waystar room Roman just left. She takes long strides to get to Kendall faster. He catches her eye and she gives him a look that screams problems. He rushes to meet her on the staircase.

“Hey. What’s up?” he asks tensely. He looks pulled in a million directions and there’s about to be one more. She tries to keep her voice as delicate as possible.

“Uh, Ken, I’m sorry to tell you this, but your dad-“ she sighs. “Your dad hit Roman- pretty badly. Lost a tooth, he’s-”

The color drains from Kendall’s face.

“He fucking what? When- just now?” Rage spurts out of him. “I’m going to fucking kill him.” She puts a hand on his arm to make him keep listening.

“Yes, it was just a minute ago. I found Roman coming out of the room, and he’s with Shiv now. He asked for you to come to his room.”

Kendall is about to lunge toward the room he knows Logan is in when he’s physically pulled in the other direction by her words.

“He- he wants to see me?”

“He does.”

“Well, is he- is he okay? I’ll go right now.”

“He’s sort of okay? I got him some ice and stayed with him until Shiv got there.” Kendall pauses and looks at her.

“Of course you did,” he says quietly. She’s so good. He holds her hand. “Thank you.”

She squeezes his hand.

“He’s pretty shaken up. But I think he’ll recover.” Kendall looks almost as upset as Roman. She gives him a quick hug. “You should go, take care of him.” He nods.

“Yeah. Okay, yeah, I’m going now.” He walks briskly in the direction of the residences.

Rava watches him go and wishes for freedom for all the siblings. As he disappears behind a corner, she’s approached by a tall man in a suit who taps her on the shoulder.

“Rava. Nice to see you in the wild,” the man says.

“Oh, Joe,” she says. “How’s the case I want back?” she jokes, though they both know she’s serious.

“I’m glad you’re here, figured you’d be attending since the rest of the, uh, family is here,” he laughs a bit and she grins unconvincingly and nods.

“Yes, it’s a great day to have the last name ‘Roy,’” she acknowledges.

“Do you have a few minutes?” Joe asks. “I wanted to update you on the latest from the firm. Things have gotten interesting.”

“Oh? Well, yeah, actually, this is good timing for a few minutes.” Rava follows Joe into a nearby breakout room.

In the next set of buildings, Kendall knocks on his brother’s door.

“Rome? It’s me. Rava said- you wanted me to come.”

Shiv opens the door.

“Hey,” she says mirthlessly. Her expression looks like she’s been to war.

“Hey,” Kendall says, uncertainly giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Everything, uh..?”

“It’s pretty bad. He’s in there.” She indicates the bathroom.

“Should I-?”

“Sure, take a shot,” Shiv answers. She sits on the bed with her head in her hands, taking a moment before she reaches for the snifter of brandy on the nightstand. Kendall will handle her next. He walks into the bathroom and beholds Roman in a cloud of steam from the shower examining his face in the mirror, wrapped in a huge white robe. It’s far too big for him and Kendall could swear he still looks like the scared little kid he used to comfort.

“Hey,” Kendall starts. “Rava told me you- uh-“ He looks more closely at his face in the mirror. “Fuck. Wow. He’s such a piece of shit. Come here, let me see.” Roman reluctantly turns toward Kendall and lets him look.

“It was an accident. Whatever,” Roman tries.

“Rome,” Kendall stops him. He can see that his little brother’s eyes are red. He looks at Roman’s mouth.

“Where’s the-“

Roman gestures to the tooth on the counter. Kendall drags his hands over his face.

“I’m gonna fucking kill him,” he says.

“Would you stop? I don’t- it’s fine.” Kendall puts his arm around Roman and he lets it happen for a moment.

“Your wife tried this shit too. I said she’s just used to a weaker man who needs it.”

Kendall smiles at him.

“Sure,” he says, allowing the dig. Picturing Rava taking care of Roman in such an awful, lonely moment makes him ache for her. “Rome, you know none of that was okay. I’m gonna go talk to him, I am.”

“Don’t fucking do that. It was nothing.”

“Hey. It wasn’t nothing,” Kendall says gently. Roman seems to relax a few muscles and Kendall leaves his hand on his shoulder. “You okay?” Roman shrugs. “You’re going to be okay.” He looks at Roman’s eyes as he looks away and makes a face. “Yeah?”

“Whatever, yeah.” Roman finally answers. “Yeah. I’m glad you could take time out of your busy schedule of ruining our family’s company to come here,” Roman attempts to spit out.

“Uh huh. Me too.”

“Are you even going to defend yourself?”

“Today? No.”

Roman rolls his eyes.

“Go talk to Shiv. And just- don't talk to Dad today."

Kendall pats his shoulder and nods reluctantly. He walks back out where Shiv is sitting with her knees up leaning back against the headboard with a nearly-empty glass. To him, she’s eight years old again, looking to him to explain why their brother won’t come out of his room.

“Hey,” he sits on the bed near her.

She takes a shallow breath in and stares at the bed.

“It was my fault. So. There you go.”

“Shiv-“ he says.

“No, it was. I said ‘dinosaur cull,’ he hit our brother.”

“It’s never your fault,” he echoes one of his early therapists. “I- I mean, you know that.” He can’t quite help himself. “I might have phrased the- dinosaur thing differently, but- but it doesn’t matter. This?” He gestures toward the bathroom door. “This is not your fault.” She glances at him and back down at the bed, takes a long sip. He leans away from the smell and she puts it down.

“Sorry,” she says, back to avoiding his gaze.

“No, if I could I would. Believe me.” She nods and he reaches for her hand and holds it. “If you don’t want to go to the dinner tonight, you don’t have to.”

“Oh, sure, you would love that,” she says, grabbing a pillow and holding it. “But of course, you have to go, because if you missed a night of bullshit, you might die.”

“Shiv. Come on.” He hates that she’s a little bit right. But he means it when he asks, “Do you want me to stay here? I will.”

She shakes her head.

“No, no. You go. I’ll be there.”

Kendall looks concerned.

“Well- what about-“ he indicates the closed door.

Shiv shrugs.

“I texted Connor. He said he’s going to call him.”

“I mean, sure, Roman’s not going to answer, but-“

Roman walks out of the room on the phone and dramatically shushes them.

“Can you stop talking about me, I’m on a call,” he snaps sarcastically. He walks into the second bedroom of the suite and shuts the French doors loudly.

“You think?” Kendall asks. Shiv raises her eyebrows.

“I guess so!” They sit for a moment of quiet.

“So, back to the shitshow?” Shiv asks. They share a guilty moment of being the ones who love the drama. Kendall nods and sends a text to Connor.

Thanks bro. Back in the city day after tomorrow. Come over for dinner?

Kendall and Shiv walk out of the hallway together into the room full of people, which has quickly started turning into a cocktail party. Kendall looks around for Rava and sees her on the balcony walking out of a breakout room with a man he doesn’t recognize. He nods up at them.

“Hey, who is that?” he asks Shiv.

“Oh, that’s Rava’s side piece. Sorry you had to find out this way,” she teases.

“Uh huh. Okay,” he nods.

“You’re so jealous. You wish you had a relationship like mine,” she tucks her hair behind her ear. Kendall watches as she notices Tom talking to another woman on the other side of the balcony and clocks her disgruntled face.

“Yeah? And how is the perfect marriage going?” he asks. “He tell you what he knew before the article came out?”

She rolls her eyes because she can’t answer that and they walk away from each other.

Kendall climbs the stairs to meet Rava.

“Hey,” he greets her.

She slips her arm around his waist and he dips his head toward her. She makes him want to leave the party and go lie in bed with her watching something funny on tv.

“Hi, baby.” She uses pet names when he might be more anxious than usual. “How’s Roman?” she asks.

“Uh, he’s…” he shakes his head. “I dunno. He seemed okay. He was on the phone with Connor when we left.”

“Are you sure it’s a good idea that you leave him alone?”

“Well, not alone. With Connor, sort of.” Rava raises her eyebrows and he acknowledges that she’s right. “I’ll go check on him before dinner.” He looks up and sees the same man strolling the hall. “Who’s that?”

“It’s Joe from the firm that took Tony Trume’s case! They found a bunch of information. They’ve got management names, company info, they’re working on tracking the company’s history, which is basically impossible, but they’re magicians. I learned so much just from being in there. I think I’m going in their New York office next week.”

“Company history. Gotta be careful when that starts coming out,” Kendall notes.

“Yeah, can’t say I’m hearing great compliments about the Roys tonight,” she says.

He sighs.

“Yeah, and I can’t imagine it’ll get much better at dinner. You good if we-“

“Leave early? My favorite,” Rava smiles.

“Okay,” he chuckles. “Good.”

…..

“Permission to never board?” the comedian calls out.

Stewy looks at Rava and snickers. Rava knows Kendall’s emotional fallout would be worse if she joined in, so she privately gives Stewy an amused look and lets it turn into a grimace at the distasteful joke. Everyone takes a second to look for Logan’s reaction at the next table. Stoic. Unmoved. No one’s surprised.

Shiv leans over to Kendall.

“Did you talk to Roman again?”

“Yeah,” he whispers back. “Well, sort of, he just told me to fuck off so I came here.”

She shrugs.

“Then he’s probably fine,” she says. They look at each other. “But I’ll go back after this is over. I had to come to dinner. Can’t be seen being a bad sport and not showing up,” she says as she straightens her jacket. Just then, Logan gets up from his table and storms out, seemingly following Nan Pierce out the door. Kendall and Shiv turn in their chairs to stare after him.

“Or maybe you can be a bad sport. What the fuck?” Shiv whispers. Suddenly she realizes their conspiratorial camaraderie is not appropriate. “Actually- no. You know what? We are not talking about this. Why are you even at this table?”

“Why are you at my table?” Kendall counters. “I don’t see you being invited to that one.” He gestures to the one Logan had left.

“Fuck you, I wasn’t even supposed to go to this stupid thing.”

“Kind of making my point,” he says. She looks away from him. “Shivvy, you’ll join my side eventually,” Kendall grins.

She gives him a look and turns her attention back to the comedian, who has finally moved on to others.

Once the performance has wound down, Rava looks questioningly at Kendall and he nods. They get up to go and say their goodbyes to everyone at the table. Stewy rolls his eyes dramatically.

“Ugghhh, you’re going to bed at- what is it, like ten o’clock? Drink three? Rava, can you make him stop being so fucking boring?”

“Can I make you stop pretending you’re twenty-two?” she asks playfully.

“Age is just a number. On a bank account in Geneva.” He gestures to the server that he wants another drink. A voice pops up behind Stewy.

“Yeahhh, I thought only women had ages.” Roman gives everyone a confused look as he sits down at the table. “Men just have bank accounts that get bigger. Right, Shiv?”

She smiles for a millisecond before it turns to a scowl.

“Look how delighted she is to see me.”

Kendall relaxes a little and doesn’t see Gerri’s long concerned look at Roman from Logan’s table.

“Glad you’re here, bro,” Kendall says. He looks at Rava hesitatingly. She nods graciously and sits back down. He scoots his chair closer to hers.

“Are you kidding?” Roman says loudly enough to be heard at the next table. “Wouldn’t miss this shit-fest. Someone just texted me that Dad and Nan are yelling at each other outside. I heard it was a must-see event.” Gerri takes a sip of her martini as she stands up.

Kendall tries not to smile at the welcome news of their argument, but he knows what that means. He glances down at his phone and opens a text from Connor.

Roman’s doing all right. And yes. I’ll come to dinner.

Rava taps him to look up for a second as Gerri walks by with Frank, now deep in conversation. Kendall leans toward them to try to eavesdrop. He only catches a few words from Gerri’s forceful whisper, but they’re enough.

“…Logan… losing it?”

#tern haven is in here too! but as Kendall says it doesn't make any sense for him to be there so he's not #I really tried to pretzel that in my mind but he needed not to be here for this chapter's plot anyway SO mostly chaos at Argestes!!#kendall roy fic #kendall roy #succession #kendall x rava #this is more popular on ao3 I promise #rava roy #kenrava #argestes #tern haven #fix-it fic #roman roy #stewy hosseini #frank vernon

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