#gave me a copy of his book for free told me he wanted to help me

[bowtiepastabitch]

rpf but it's just a self insert of me beating the shit out of becket cook

[c-m-stuff]

Secret Santa

Spencer Reid x Female!Reader

-Description: You and Spencer are together. It's secret Santa time.

-Warnings: Fluffiness

-Word count: 1157

-Note: A sweet fic for the upcoming holidays. Do you guys love Christmas as much as me?🎄🎁

Masterlist

Y/N POV:

'That was delicious, Dave.' JJ complimented the Italian man, the whole team agreeing.

'You really went all out this year.'

'Of course, I went all out. It's Christmas Eve for God's sake.' he replied, while we all laughed.

'My favorite was the wiiiiine.' Penelope giggled, as she poured herself another glass of wine, causing everyone to chuckle.

It became a tradition to all celebrate Christmas Eve at David's place. It was nice, spending time together without standing next to a dead body. Another tradition was secret Santa. The game you pull blindly a name out of a bowl to thereafter buy a Christmas present for that person. I've always loved it.

'Calm down with the wine, baby girl. We don't want a re-do of last year, when you all told us what's in the presents, before we got to actually open them.'

I giggled at Derek's statement, as I felt someone sitting on the couch next to me. Looking up, it was my genius boyfriend.

After pinning at one another for almost a year, the pretty boy himself admitted his feelings and asked me out for a date. The situation it happened wasn't the normal one, though. It was the end of a workday at the BAU, as the elevator suddenly decided to stop working. While we were in it! After panicking at first, and calling the team, we got stuck for a good hour. Which let us to admit our feelings for one another, all while curled up on the elevator floor. After that, time went on, and so did the dates. And, then there was one special moment were he asked me to be his girlfriend. I am still thankful for that elevator to stop working on that special day.

'It's secret Santa time!' David announced, and everyone went to grab their presents from under the Christmas tree, before heading to the comfortable couch.

JJ pulled Emily's name and bought her a gift card from a nice clothing shop and a tequila bottle. Emily got Aaron and decided to gift him with a black coat and a reading light for if he goes over paperwork in bed. Aaron drew Derek's name and bought him two tickets to a football game and a new tool belt for when he is renovating homes. Derek got David and gifted him new cooking equipment and a bottle of 30 years old scotch. David pulled Penelope's name and decided to gift her a pair of beautiful, pink heels and two tickets to a theater play. Penelope got JJ and presented her with a gorgeous necklace she's been talking about buying but never got around to and a mock with a text saying: "I'm a mom, what's your superpower?".

As everyone was done gifting the other their presents, they all realized Spencer and I drew each others names, considering we're the only ones left.

'Of course the two love birds got each other.' Derek commented, a grin plastered on his face. Although, it didn't went unnoticed by me when Derek winked at JJ, who was already grinning by herself. Then, it hit me that JJ was the one who was in charge of the bowl full of names.

'Okay, pretty girl, you first.' Derek said, as I gave my present to Spencer.

I watched as he carefully tore the wrapping paper off, revealing the first edition copy of the book The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury.

'No (Y/N), you did not!' he exclaimed, enthusiastic.

'How did you- Where did you-' he looked flabbergasted and guilty at the same time.

'You didn't have to, I would have been fine with a gift card from the book store. This must have costed you a fortune.'

'Ahh, not quite, genius. Well, I was last helping my grandparents with moving out. They're going to live in an apartment instead of a way too big house, like I told you. And, surprisingly, I found the book on the attic amongst some other books. I got it for free.' he kept staring at me in shock, still flabbergasted. He instantly wrapped me into a greatful hug, pressing multiple kisses on my head.

'Thank you. Thank you so much!'

'That's not all, pretty boy. Open the book.' I told him, as he did. A gift card from the bookstore revealed. Everyone laughed at the earlier mention of a gift card for books, as Spencer once again thanked me with words and a hug.

Then, he gave me a gift bag, covered with Christmas trees. I took the first thing I felt and tore off the wrapping paper. It revealed a stunning vintage camera. My eyes widened, admiring the, in my eyes, piece of art. I've always adored polaroid photos.

'I remembered you saying that you really wanted one. You wanted to capture moments like these, and that you loved the reality of the photos because you have only one shot.'

'Thank you so much! It's amazing!' I pressed him in a tight hug, before he spoke again:

'There's more, though.'

We ended the hug, as I reached for the bag and took the other present out. I was quick in ripping of the wrapping paper, seeing it was a beautiful notebook. He clearly knows my love for notebooks and this one was covered with blue butterflies. Absolutely gorgeous.

'Thank you! I love it!' once again, we shared a tight hug, as Spencer whispered something in my ear.

'That's not everything.' I pulled back and looked at him with a surprised face.

'There is more?' he nodded, gave me the most sweetest smile, and went down on one knee. I gasped, tears already forming into my eyes.

'(Y/N), you're the best thing that ever happened to me. Since the first day I met you, you were nothing but kind, you listened always to my rambling, and you made me a better person. I love you for for being you. You are beautiful, inside and outside. (Y/N), you are my future. Make me the happiest man on earth and marry me?' I was still shocked and couldn't believe this was happening. My soulmate was proposing. I couldn't be more happy.

'YES! YES, I WILL!' I flew in his arms, everyone cheering and clapping.

Tears were now fully pouring out of my eyes, and it wasn't different for Spencer. My fiancé. It felt so good using that word.

'And, I can't wait for you to be my husband.'

'I can't wait for you to be my wife.' he whispered in my ear, as I did the same with him.

_________________________

[dutchess-of-fear]

Vergil Headcanon

Decided to write a headcanon of Vergil from Devil May Cry. I absolutely love devil may cry, and I definitely love Vergil as well, so I hope you enjoy this! This is my first time writing for Vergil and it's kind of a experiment sort of Fanfiction so i get the hang of write Vergil if that makes sense?

Anyway enjoy!

Vergil had finally came back from the underworld and was finally free from Mundus powers,

And might I add is looking younger than his identical twin brother (Dante you look good for your age)

Vergil was busy looking through the library wondering what to pick out for his readings

I mean he already has a complete poetry of William Blake in his hand, but wanted another book as he is a fast reader

As just then a woman who looks to be struggling to carry the monstrous amount of books walked pasted Vergil to which peak his interest at the woman

She then tripped over her own feet as books fly out of her hand

She closed her eyes and waited to fall down and hurt herself once again (yes this isn't the first time today)

But she didn't as she slowly opened her eyes and as Vergil held her gently in his arms as the books laid all across the ground of the library

Regaining composer she quickly scrambled out of Vergil grasp as he just as quickly backed a away a inch from her,

"Thank you, for saving me from that fall, Mister" as she glanced over to what Vergil was holding onto in his hand

"William Blake, I love his work, I seen a couple of his work and wanted to get a copy of his complete work but well I'm very busy"

Vergil couldn't help but softly smile at how cute the woman was

She introduced herself to Vergil as he did two, as she explained that his mother must've got his name from Dante's inferno

It was then began endless hours of talking together about books and all things classic literature

She quickly glance at her phone and realised she was at work and need to pack the books

To which to her surprise Vergil offered to help

And she was saved being told off by her boss, again for the third time today

As her shift was nearing its end, Vergil gave her the complete collection of William Blake

"But I thought you want to read it?" To which he shook his head "I think I still have a copy of it at home"

As he walked out mumbling to himself "that's if Dante didn't decide to it on me"

As the woman stood there looking at the book Vergil gave smiling, hoping to see him again soon

[mommieswithmuscles]

Photographer!Abby x Scrapbooker!Reader

Free Palestine, don't support Neil

No minors and No men

CW: fluff, angst, no smut but it has a suggestive scene, insecure!reader, mention of suicidal tendencies

Based on this song:

Title: No Flash Photography

You're at the dinner table, going through photos Abby had printed out. She reprinted everything so you could have a copy to put in the ever growing scrapbook you have yet to properly bind.

Each bin she gave you had a title so you could organize better. Nature, gatherings, events, us, and polaroids. You start with the one called nature.

You trim the edges with scissors before securing them in the special photo paper with bug stickers. The dual page is a collage of your trip to a national park. It's mostly shrubbery, plants, trees, and water, but there are some animals and insects sprinkled in.

You turn the page and make another collage out of the open space, both sides decorated with a yarn trim. Gatherings weren't really your thing, but Abby liked them, and you obviously like Abby, so you go to each one. You admire how she always brings her big camera.

The next collage is your brother's wedding. Him and his partner are dressed accordingly. You wore basic attire, Abby wore a plain suit. "When are you both getting married?" He had asked after Abby's camera shot the photo.

"Eventually," Abby answered for you both. You nodded in agreement. You knew you underdressed to match the other guests, but you couldn't help but feel you're taking away from the newlyweds. Abby caught onto your dismissive behavior and took you home early.

Shaking your head to clear out the memory, you continue to dig through the bin and retrieve more pictures. A few birthday parties, a couple engagement parties, some random game nights. You secure them with glitter glue, putting more of the colorful yarn around the trims like LEDs.

Pictures of you always have to have Abby. Otherwise you want nothing to do with them and tend to throw them away. Abby's trying to help you with your insecurity, but for some reason you can't work past it. You sigh, pulling out ones you convince yourself you like. Mostly dates, but a few random ones from trips catch your attention, so you add them. The pictures are secured with affirmation stickers that Abby bought you a few months back, when you first started scrapbooking.

The bin you were most nervous for was polaroids. You know they're mostly you, and you know they make Abby happy, but... you get upset every time you look at pictures of yourself.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Abby sits next to you, done with her work for the week. She came out of her office as soon as she was able to. Her hand cups your cheek, thumb ready to swipe away the unshed tears.

"I can't do it. I fucking- I can't, Abby. It's too hard." You kick the bin.

"Why don't I help you?" She presses her lips to your forehead. "We can start with holidays. Would that work?"

"Do it yourself," you bite.

"Don't start that. I know you're upset. I know these make you upset-"

"So why do you make me look at them? I told you that you could keep them, and now-" you gesture to the bin. "We don't need to share everything, especially not these."

"I make you look at them because I'm trying to show you what I see." She's patient. Too patient. Maybe if she could ever be mad at you, or fight with you instead of talk things out, maybe it would hurt less.

The thoughts start to spiral before you can stop them. All of the self worth and self esteem you had built towards crumbling in seconds. And there's Abby, taking care of you because you can't handle something as stupid as putting pictures in a book. Maybe you were better off-

"Eyes on me baby," her voice is gentle. Her hands guide you to face her, thumbs taking away the tears trailing down your cheeks. "That's my girl," she whispers. "You're so kind, and beautiful, and I love you more than anything. I'm glad you came into my life because you're the compass to my map. I wouldn't have it any other way. I've never been more happy than when I've been with you. I married you because you're my person. You're the moon to my stars, the sun for my flowers, and every breath I take with you fills my lungs with fresh air. I know you're in a darker place. And that's ok. We can work you through it step by step." She pulls you into her lap, rubbing your back as you bury yourself in her neck. You can smell your perfume on her. "You're safe, you're loved, you're home." Abby kisses your temple.

After you calm down, Abby lets you go. "Thank you," you sniffle, getting up to grab some tissues.

"Anything for you, my love." You get back to see Abby gluing small, flat, silver tack backs on the polaroids to secure them on the page. It looks like a cork board. Some of the photos are strung on yarn, some singles floating about, and one standing out the most. It's one of you genuinely smiling, tugging Abby along as you make your way to your destination.

"Come on, it's this way!" You had said, nearly dragging Abby through the mud. She's laughing behind you, scooping you up and kissing you once you got to the surprise spot at the creek. She kept her hands under your thighs when your legs wrapped around her waist.

"This view is almost as stunning as you are," Abby said as she put you down.

"Oh hush," you pushed her away lightly. "Ass-kisser."

"No, no, you don't know," she shook her head, voice mocking. She laid with you in the short grass, dirt dry under your backs. You initiated the contact, but she kissed you first, hands traveled along your body until you were gasping for air and begging for her.

"Baby? Where'd you go just now?" Abby's fingers tickle at your jaw as she cups your face.

"Here," you point at the picture you got lost in.

"I'm going to start dinner. Today seems like it was hard for you, and you could use some time away from the pictures for now. You- or we- can start back up soon, ok?"

"Ok," you agree easily. She's right. It's better to take a break, than let something be ruined.

[fandxmslxt69]

Holidays With Them <3

Steven Grant x f!muslim!reader, Jake Lockley x f!muslim!reader, Marc Spector x f!muslim!reader

Warnings: Absolutely tooth rooting fluff, ohmy god it is so so sweet you'll get a cavity. Lots of religion talk, food talk too. This is written with an Arab hijabi reader in mind so yes, it is a female reader!

A/N: AHHHH YOU DONT GET THE GIGGLES I GOT WHILE WRITING THIS!!! There is such a big lack of muslim!reader fics out there so it's my new mission to PUT THEM out there for the sake of me, and all of you pretty baes who asked for a tag or reached out about how touching the little blurb was, THANK YOU.

Synopsis: Disgustingly sweet Ramadan and Eid activities with your favourite boys

Word count: 2215 (sigh. I told you guys.)

Steven Grant: 

Steven’s a very curious soul, and he’s the kind of person who adores learning about new places, people and cultures. So you can imagine when you first started dating, he was already knee deep in studies of Arabian cultures and traditions (he’s a nerd but he’s cute). 

He’s regularly a very comforting person but you swear you’ve never met anyone who you feel so free and open to talk about your heritage and religion with. Naturally, when Ramadan and Eid came around, Steven was actually beyond excited. While he may have done a lot (and I mean a lot.) of research, he also loved listening to you talk for hours about traditions and Islamic history, so he absolutely made sure to sit down and ask at least a million questions, half of which you know he knew the answer to, he just wanted to hear it from you. 

By the time the first week had passed, he’d taken time off from work and decided he was just going to stay home with you for the rest of it even after you protested multiple times. 

He loves spending the mornings with you! On the early mornings when you decide to stay up after Fajr (which is often) he takes over from Marc to stay up with you. You’re sitting on the couch reading through your daily pages of the Qur’an, while he’s sitting at his cluttered desk, bent over a new book with highlighters and pens scribbling in the book margins. 

It’s peaceful and calming and you can’t help the way your heart squeezes every time you look up and glance at him. You felt incredibly blessed to be able to spend such an important holiday with such kind-hearted souls. It made it feel like the world was smiling down on you. When you got tired and started feeling your eyes drooping shut, you heard Steven shuffle over, gently tucking your copy of the Qur’an out of your hands and onto the table, carefully scooping you up and carrying you to bed. It became a routine. You’d wake up for Suhoor and have a quick meal- and like clockwork as soon as you finish Fajr prayer, Steven comes shuffling out of the room, tugging on a fluffy sweater with a little yawn. He grabbed a cup of water, gave you a quick kiss on the cheek, before settling at his desk. There was barely any talking, it was just a comfortable silence. He’d interrupt with the occasional question, or maybe a little fun fact- “Did you know ancient Egyptians didn’t use the wheel until the Old Kingdom?” You hummed, looking up from your reading. “Really? Makes sense. Stones were too heavy for wood anyway,” 

He’d nod, smile, then turn back to reading. Other than that, there were no interruptions. He liked it, especially when you felt good enough to do your Quran reading out loud. It made him happy, listening to you read in your mother tongue- and while he was never a religious person, it filled him with a weird feeling. He didn’t understand a word of it, but it reminded him of poetry- not something he could entirely understand or relate to, but still beautiful. Especially beautiful when you have enough courage to explain what you understand from different parts. It was a form of intimacy to share such sacred and important things with one another- it was a level of trust you both valued beyond anything else. 

He decided this was his favourite time of the day then, and he thrived in the gentle atmosphere of the month- how could he not like spending lazy mornings with you for so long? If he could, he’d never work again, he’d simply stay home and spend forever with you. While that isn’t possible in this reality, he’s more than happy to have this month as a forever. 

Marc Spector: 

Marc was very different from Steven. He was not the kind to research every small aspect, or to encourage you to give him a long lecture about your culture. He was more of a silent lover who showed his lover through small, quiet gestures. He wakes you up every night for Suhoor, leaving a small meal for you in the fridge because he knows Steven would forget. You realised after the first few days, your prayer mat and abaya had gone missing and you had asked him about it, he said he had moved them somewhere quieter. When you had found them, you felt your heart ache so deeply you thought you were dying. He had moved it all to a small corner of the living room, clutter moved out and thoroughly cleaned, with little lanterns and a small plant there. The prayer mat was laid out, along with your Quran and it smells faintly of musk. You thought you might die right then and there as you processed the fact that he had put together a small prayer corner for you. When you’d try to ask him about it, he’d simply shrug, muttering about how “it’s not that big of a deal honey, just glad you liked it.” He doesn’t get that it is a big deal. 

It took a little longer for you to realise that Marc had stopped going out for his…nightly activities. At first, you thought that maybe there just weren’t any new missions, but after a while you knew that something was up because now, he’s staying at home every night. Right after you had Iftar and cleaned up with Jake, Marc would take over, arguing to set up a movie and spend the night cuddling on the couch. When you brought it up, he acted like it was a normal thing. “You said this was a month to get rid of bad things like sex right? Well, sex has been removed from the equation, but violence is still a bad thing,” He shrugged. “Didn’t wanna ruin your time with all the blood on my hands,” You turned to face him properly, frowning. “You’re not ruining anything! Habibi, it’s your duty, isn’t it? Wouldn’t Khonshu get mad?” Marc hummed, tightening his arm around your waist. “Don’t care about him.” “Marc-” “Shhhh, enjoy the movie, baby. I’ve got it figured out, yeah? Besides, I like spending my nights with you, makes me happy that you want to spend this special time with me,” “Well obviously I do,” You leaned into him. “This means you’ll walk with me to Friday prayers now?” He chuckled. “Of course,”

You notice after that talk that he starts opening up a lot more. You noticed he’d ask about kosher food when you went out for Iftar on those off days. And you felt beyond proud and overjoyed when you saw him pulling out his kippah one day. He didn’t wear it, but you knew it was just the next step. Him considering it flooded you with joy- that maybe he’s healing a little every day and that it’s getting better slowly. 

Marc was also very good at another important thing: Period comfort. Your period came as it always did, full speed ahead and a pain in the ass, but Marc is always always there at the ready, this time even more. He makes sure you’re super hydrated, there’s always a water bottle beside you at all times- he makes sure you take the painkillers the first day since it’s always the worst, and he gives the best massages. He’s even gone the extra mile to pull up hours long Quran videos on youtube so you can listen to them as you try to fall asleep.

He was a quiet, gentle lover who swept through like a soft breeze that caressed your cheek and left rain kisses on your face. 

Jake Lockley: 

Jake was a romantic, as much as he hated to admit it (and he really hated it). While he’s definitely not as planted in education as Steven is, he’s still incredibly touched when you ask him to help you make Iftar for the first time. In all honesty, he’s never really learnt much about religions and cultures, so it’s definitely new to him but he feels like he won a lottery every time you share a glimpse of your childhood with him, or your favourite traditions or religious stories. With everything he’s been through in life, he’s never really had much time to learn about other people but he’s definitely very happy to learn now, especially from you. One of his new, all time favourite pastimes is making meals in the kitchen with you. While you’re just two people for the evening, he constantly insists on making many different dishes each night. He’s always the one to go out grocery shopping, whether after a taxi shift or just randomly on an afternoon, he just whips out a list and goes on a whim. He adores spending afternoons with you trying out all sorts of different foods. While he’s not a master chef, he definitely has good talent, but it’s honestly not even the food that makes it fun, it’s just the domestic task being done with you. He can’t help but feel all sappy and emotional over it. It’s just really hard for him to believe that he’s spent so long hurting and alone but now he’s got all this love and care all coming from you- for him. He feels so overwhelmed in moments like these when he forgets that hurt, and he just feels so understood and loved. 

As the days roll around, he starts spreading out more. He’s researching a dozen new recipes every day, a million Youtube tutorials and a notebook full of scribbles for different ideas to try with you. It becomes your thing then, like movie nights with Marc and early morning studying with Steven- cooking with Jake just fit in so easily. He’s cheesy, so much that he’d start dancing with you right there- while you may not be playing music in those days, he’s still humming along to your wedding song as he spins you around a few times, before picking you up and placing you on the counter, insisting that “my princesa shouldn’t have to cook after fasting all day. I’ve got hands, I can do it,” He makes use of every single moment you can get together but he also makes sure to give you your space and time to fulfil your tasks for the month. 

One of the harder things for Jake was definitely putting a pause on the mercenary stuff. He’s not the kind to say no to Khonshu, and he takes a sort of…pride in his missions. It keeps him occupied on those nights and makes him feel useful, so when Marc said he wasn’t doing the missions for the month, Jake was definitely hesitant. He understood why, of course, and got why it’s important but he wasn’t sure how to just drop the job for so long. In the end though, he doesn’t regret it one small bit. 

Best part about Jake though? Eid shopping. While Steven is definitely the one with a bit more appreciation for clothing, Jake is all in for style and spoiling his favourite girl. It’s the last few days of the month, and you’re just dragging one another from one store to the next. You try on at least a million different outfits before guys settle on something cute, simple and elegant. He’s also always always determined on buying you new hijabs EVERY TIME you go out, despite you already having many at home, he insists on getting new ones so you have “extras in case anything happens” (let’s be honest, he just likes spending money on you.) He will absolutely NOT let you pay for your Eid clothes, it’s happened more than once where you’ll just be struggling against each other only for him to be the one to reach out and tap his card and pay. He gets all smug and happy about it while you just grumble but in the end he makes up for it, always, with ice cream. 

He’s very damn insistent on goody bags too. While you guys don’t have kids, Jake absolutely goes insane every time he sees the little kids at mosques. He’s very sure to buy at a loooot of chocolate and candy boxes and spends those last few nights with you after Iftar on the living room floor, bags sprawled out everywhere and a bad sitcom in the background as you fill up a hefty amount of bags to hand out. The kids adore him, because he’s funny and sweet and let’s them mess around with him, and the kids have just taken to following you outside after Eid prayers because they know Jake’s going to be outside, leaning against his car and waiting for you to come. 

You always come back to him of course, whether exhausted after work or thrilled after a beautiful morning at the mosque, you always come back, as he always comes back to you too. 

Nothing’s keeping him away from his girl, and the wide smile on your face throughout the day as you go out to celebrate? He can’t help but feel like he’s the luckiest man alive. 

Thanks for reading <3 Please reblog if you've made it this far and enjoyed! Tags for you cuties: @whatthefishh @winterbiipp @looneytooz @twwcs @ahookedheroespureheart

[starkstruck27]

I headcanon that today (June 14th, but I might not get it posted by midnight because time management is not my strong suit lol) is Steve's birthday, and we just had a book signing at the bookstore I work at tonight, so I was inspired to write this. It's modern day, and slightly aged up characters, but not by much. Enjoy!

Steve couldn't believe his luck. It was his birthday, and it seemed like everything was going just right today. First, he woke up before his alarm and actually felt energized, then Robin had promised to take him out wherever he wanted to go later on (even volunteering to drive so she could show off her new license and car), then his favorite coffee place gave him a discount and a free pastry since it was his birthday, and to cap it all off, he had gotten back a test from one of his most difficult classes, and he'd passed it with flying colors. All in all, it was a good day. But then, he saw a sign outside the campus bookstore, and it went from good to great.

The sign was advertising a book signing with a local author, who just so happened to be Steve's favorite author of all time. The guy's name was Ronnie Fitconi, a mysterious man who never had his picture in any of his books. He didn't write much about himself in the little "about the author" section of his books either, the only things he said was that he was 23, just a year younger than Steve was, he lived somewhere in Indianapolis, he preferred tea over coffee, he loved the beach, he was a cat person, and he was gay (which was pretty apparent from the books he wrote, but whatever).

The book that he was promoting with the signing was his fourth, pretty impressive for a guy so young, but Tik Tok had managed to make him blow up practically overnight. That and how secretive the guy was. Seriously, if you looked the guy up on Google, it was like he didn't even exist. There were no pictures of him, and no record of him except that he was a writer that blew up after his first book was released three years ago. This was the first book signing he had ever done, and it was only to the local college bookstore and a few others in the area, but all were small, and none were at big chain stores, only locally owned.

As soon as Steve saw the sign, he took a picture of it, then immediately called Robin as he rushed back to his car.

"Dingus!" She answered, her smile evident in her voice, "Happy Birthday! What's up, buttercup?"

"Hi, Robbie. Thanks for that. But also, you know how you said you'd take me to do anything I wanted tonight for my birthday?" He asked, practically vibrating out of his skin.

"Yeah. Did you finally decide what you want to do?" She asked.

"Yes, and I know it's probably not going to be the rip-roaring time you were planning, but just hear me out, okay?" He said, "How would you like to come with me to meet Ronnie Fitconi?"

"That author you like?" She asked, "Yeah, of course! I told you, anything you want to do, I'm down. So, what's the plan? Are we breaking into his house?"

"What? No! You are seriously so weird. He's doing a book signing at the campus bookstore, I was gonna bring my books and buy his new one and then I get to meet him and get his autograph! No breaking and entering required."

"Well, that's a lot less fun, but I'll be there. What time does it start?" Robin asked.

"6:30 tonight," Steve replied.

"Let's get there at 6:00, we don't want to have to wait forever, so it'd probably be better to get there early."

"Good thinking. In the meantime, we have a couple of hours, and my classes just ended for the day. Will you meet me for dinner and help me pick out what to wear so I don't look like a total idiot?" Steve asked, already heading towards his dorm.

"Of course. I'll bring tacos. I'll be there in ten."

With that, Robin hung up the phone, and Steve drove off towards his place. As soon as he got there, he went to his desk to get his copies of Ronnie's first three books. Steve would probably never admit to liking them as much as he did to anyone but Robin, because the guy wrote only romance novels, but he really did love them. He didn't read much, and when Ronnie's debut novel came out, he didn't have much interest in that, either. But then he read the second book when it came out, and he was hooked. He read the third one when it came out and only got further hooked, and finally he buckled and read the first one, too. He hadn't expected to like it, but he found that he couldn't put it down, and now that another one was coming out, he couldn't wait to read it, too.

The first book the guy had written was called "Kings of the Lost World", and it was a dystopian sci-fi romance. It was about a young man who thought he was king of all he saw, but just as he's settling into the position, the apocalypse hits. The king gets taken down a peg, having to team up with the same guy who had been in his position before, but got kicked off his throne before the new king had taken over, but now, they have to learn to lean on each other to survive. They have a rocky start at first, but eventually, it turns out that they fall in love, and they manage to find a place where they are safe and get to live out the rest of their lives in happiness. Steve honestly didn't think he'd like the book, since he typically hated both sci-fi and dystopian, but he ended up loving the book when he finally read it. It almost reminded him of when he was in high school, when Billy Hargrove came and kicked him off his throne for good, all except for the romance bit.

The second book the guy had published and the one that had gotten Steve hooked on the guy's writing was probably his saddest one, called "Blood of the Innocent". It was a noir thriller set in the 1920s, about a gay man who sang in speakeasies as a drag queen who got accused of murdering a bunch of young men that went to the clubs he sang at. The detective in the story, who was closeted himself, fell in love with the guy while trying to clear his name and solve the case, but after they'd started their affair, they were found out. This book didn't end up as happily as the first, with the two of them being able to run away together, rather they were both killed for their relationship and the original case was mostly forgotten about and covered up, only to go cold and remain unsolved. When Steve read it, he could not put it down, and when he got to the ending, he would be lying if he said he hadn't flat-out bawled over it. He had finished it around two in the morning one night, and Robin was not exactly happy about having to wake up to his call at that time to listen to him rant to her about it, but she read the book later at his insistence, and she soon forgave him once she got to the end.

The third book the guys wrote was called "Don't Fence Me In", and was a cute, sweet, rom-com kind of book about two young men who worked together on a horse ranch. The one man had lived there his whole life and who's father owned the place, but was getting too old to run it, so they hired a farmhand. That's where the other man came in, a handsome guy from out of town who had just been looking for work anywhere, and who the first guy thought was much too prissy and posh for the kind of manual labor that was expected of him. He had come from the city and was the son of a rich businesswoman, so why he wanted to run from that cushy lifestyle just to work on a rinky-dink ranch, the first guy didn't know, but he teased him about it relentlessly. But where he expected the guy to get offended and ditch his position, the other guy just took it lightly and met it with laughter, until they became friends, and eventually, even more than that. At the end of the book, the first guy's father, who, once he found out about the relationship supported it 100%, gave up ownership of the ranch to his son and his boyfriend, and the two were married on their land with the help of a fat check from the second guy's mother, who also supported them completely. Steve had gushed so hard over the book that when he was reading it, he found himself lying on his stomach with his legs kicked up and a permanent smile on his face as he twirled his hair. It was probably his favorite of all three books.

And now, as he held each book in his hands and placed them in his favorite tote bag to take with him to the signing event, he couldn't help but wonder what the next book might be about. That was another reason he loved this author so much, he always kept you guessing on what he might do next. Most authors picked one or two genres and stuck to them, but this guy was all over the place. And yet, everything he wrote was absolutely amazing, and had Steve captivated within a few pages. He could not wait to see where things would go this time.

After a few minutes of thinking about it, he heard a knock on his door, and he knew Robin was there. He went to let her in and immediately, the two of them set up the tacos on his desk and ate while Steve threw practically every piece of clothing he owned around his room, trying to find the perfect outfit. There was still an hour and a half before they had to be at the bookstore, but Steve refused to leave the apartment until he knew he looked perfect.

"Seriously, is it really that big a deal? I mean, you're gonna see him for like, five minutes. If that. You don't have to be in a tux or anything for that," Robin said as Steve continued to fret over whether he should wear his blue sweater or his green button-down as if the fate of the world depended on it.

"Yes, Robin, it is that big a deal! I don't want to look like an idiot! I'm already gonna look like a creep because of how much I love his books, and if I blank on him and say something stupid or can't speak at all, I want to at least look my best so he can't gossip about that to people, too!" Steve said, finally deciding on the sweater, but then having a whole new meltdown over which pants would go best with it.

"Okay, point taken, but also, you're selling yourself short. I'm sure he won't think you're an idiot, and he'll probably be flattered that you like his books so much. I mean, he wrote them for people to read and enjoy, right? And if you freeze up, I'll be right there with you to bring you out of it, so you really don't have anything to worry about. And go with the brown pants, the gray ones don't look right." She said, finally deciding to be helpful.

"Okay, I guess you're right. Now, which shoes should I go with? Dress shoes would probably be too formal, right?" He asked, holding his selections up to himself in the mirror.

"Yeah, just wear your converse or vans. We might still get stuck in line since this guy is so popular, so you should wear something comfortable. And wear your white dress shirt under your sweater so that the collar and cuffs stick out. It'll give you that cute academia look with your glasses and make it less weird to think of you as a bookworm." Robin said, helping him pick out the final few things and then leaving to give him privacy as he changed. Not that he needed it, they've both changed in front of each other countless times, but still. She also had a surprise for him, and she needed an excuse to count her cash without him seeing.

Finally, he was finished, and after he was finally satisfied with his hair, they put the leftover tacos in the fridge and Steve grabbed his books. They hopped in Robin's car, and got to the bookstore right at 6:00, ready to go inside with the others already on their way. The bookstore employees were apparently already checking people in, so Steve was anxious to get in there and get a good spot in line, but before he could jump out of the car (and his skin), Robin grabbed his arm.

"Wait, you're missing a few final things," she said, rummaging around in her little backpack that had the little video game character Kirby all over it.

"What?" Steve asked, his heart beating hard enough already. What could he have forgotten? Was his breath bad after the tacos? Did he have something on his face or in his teeth? Had his hair gone flat?

"One, a breath mint, just in case," she said, opening her pack of Altoids and giving him one. "Two, your inhaler, also just in case. We don't need you hyperventilating in front of your hero. Three, some lip gloss, just like back in our scoops days to really complete the look and make you just that much cuter."

She handed him a tube of her favorite lip gloss, strawberry banana flavored, the same kind she used to lend him way back when that made his lips pink and full. He slathered on a layer and handed it back to her, then popped the breath mint and slipped his inhaler into his pants pocket, fixing his hair and taking one last deep breath before turning to her and smiling nervously.

"You think I have everything?" He asked.

"Almost," she said, "You still need one more thing."

With that, she reached into her bag again and pulled out her wallet, handing him forty dollars in cash with a big smile on her face. Steve stared at the money, dumbfounded, trying to hand it back on instinct.

"No, keep it. You need it if you want to get his new book. Besides, it's your birthday present. You don't get to argue, I'm paying for it. Now let's get inside before they sell out!" Robin said, smiling widely at Steve's confused spluttering.

"Robin, you don't have to pay for me. Thank you, but you really don't-"

"Shut up your face, Dingus! I want to. Besides, like I said, it's your birthday present. Now, let's go, for real. We don't want to be the last ones in line, do we?"

Finally, Steve relented, climbing out of the car and meeting Robin at the front of it to give her the tightest hug he could muster before they walked in. They may be strictly platonic, but Steve loved her more than he ever loved anyone before, and he had to make sure she knew that.

Finally, they walked into the bookstore, where they were greeted by an overly chipper employee who already looked tired, and the event hadn't even started yet.

"Hi! Are you guys here for the book signing?" She asked, her customer service smile and attitude something the two of them were all too familiar with.

"Yeah, we are," Robin said, grinning widely at her.

"Great! Do you have your tickets already or do you need to purchase a copy of the book now?" the employee asked, covering her mouth against a yawn.

"No, we need to buy a copy," Steve said, holding tightly on his tote bag straps.

"Okay, that's perfectly fine. Just go on up to the front registers, Gigi will be there to help you out, and then just keep your receipt and you can jump in line. Have fun!" The employee smiled, then greeted the next people that came in behind them.

Steve and Robin went to the counter and did as instructed, asking the girl there for a copy of the book and paying for it before getting in line and waiting for it to start moving. As they did, Steve was practically on pins and needles, and Robin took the opportunity to examine the cover of the new book. It was called "Court of Royal Rivalries", and the pun was evident when you saw the cover. It was two boys playing basketball, one a brunet in a green and white jersey and the other a blond with not shirt on, just green shorts.

"Hey Dingus, can I see your book for a second?" Robin asked, and Steve handed it over.

"Sure, why?" He asked.

"I just want to read the back and see what it's about," Robin said, flipping it over.

"Ooh, read it out loud, I want to know, too." Steve encouraged, and Robin began to read.

"Seth Haner is the king of his high school, with everything his heart would desire. He's got money, he's got looks, he's got charm, and most of all, he's got his peers groveling at his feet for even a scrap of his attention. But after having been dumped by his girlfriend Natalie seemingly out of nowhere, he realizes that what he really wants, a love that will last, is the one thing he doesn't have. Enter Ben Holden, a new student transferring into the sleepy rural town from California. Suddenly, Ben is the hottest commodity in the school, easily dethroning Seth and taking over his court. Seth can't stand the guy, and is dreading it when he finds out that they'll be playing basketball together, the one things Seth has left after losing practically everything. Ben is a monster on the court, and Seth feels like he's losing basketball, too, when the coach tells them to work out their differences or they'll both be nixed from the team. Can Seth and Ben put aside their differences to find their similarities? Or will the blood of the two kings be spilled as they fight for the crown on the court?"

Steve stared at her as she finished reading the blurb, his jaw hanging open as she finished.

"Okay," he said, debating whether or not he needed to use his inhaler, "Either this is one hell of a coincidence or... Well, no, that has to be it! That's so fucking weird."

"I know! I mean, that's like your high school career in a nutshell. And look at the cover! I'm willing to bet my life that the brunet one is Seth and the blond is Ben, because this is too fucking uncanny. That is the creepiest shit ever. It's like a glitch in the matrix or something!" Robin agreed, handing the book back to Steve.

"Wait a second, hang on, I want to see something," he said, pulling out the other three books from his bag as the line began to move. He flipped them each open to the title pages, and Robin watched as he found what he was looking for.

"Okay, wait, look at this," he said, showing her the first one, "This book is dedicated to his sister, apparently, who 'taught him what it was like to live through the end of the world'. Then this one," he opened the second book to the same page, "This one is dedicated to his mom, who 'kept him safe until things got hard and then left him to the wolves'. And this one," he opened the third one, "is dedicated to his father, who 'should have supported him like Mr. Montgomery supported River'. So I wonder..." Steve said, then opened up the fourth book, and his heart nearly stopped when he read the dedication.

"What does it say?!" Robin insisted. They were only a few people away from meeting the guy, but Steve felt like he knew him already, and it only raised more questions that he couldn't figure out the answers to as he handed the book to Robin to read for herself.

The dedication read, "To my Pretty Boy. You know who you are. This is the way I wish our story ended up. I'm sorry."

Robin finished reading it and her eyes went wide as she looked up at Steve, the both of them utterly baffled. This was just impossible. Neither of them could believe it, and neither of them knew what to say. They were both trying to come up with some way to explain it, but before they could, another bookstore employee, a man about their age with dark hair down to his shoulders, ushered them through the backdrop screens that were set up to keep the interactions private and told them to have fun.

Steve and Robin didn't know if it was more or less confusing when they stepped up to the table and saw none other than Billy Hargrove sitting in front of them, a sharpie in his hand and his blond hair tied up into a knot on top of his head. He had a slight beard now and more tattoos now than back in high school, in fact, he had a whole sleeve on one arm and a few standalone ones on his other arm. He was wearing a short sleeve button up, but unlike back in school, all the buttons were done up, except for the top two, exposing the pendant he still wore and just a sliver of his still golden skin. His eyes were still the same sparkling blue, but they were partially hidden behind a pair of round brown glasses. He still wore his dagger earring, but he had a few more piercings up around the shell of his ear and a stud in his nose now, too. Overall, he looked fantastic, he took Steve's breath away, but he was still completely floored that he was sitting there in front of them.

"Hi, how are yo-" Billy said, finally looking up at them and seeming to choke on the words, literally. He began to cough as his face went red, and the manager of the bookstore ran to get him a bottle of water while another employee, the dark haired man, came over to make sure everything was okay.

"Yeah, yeah, everything's fine, thanks," Billy said, waving the man off, "Just wasn't expecting to see any familiar faces today."

The manager finally returned with the water, and Billy drank it, and once he caught his breath, he finally seemed to get himself collected. At least, collected enough to turn on his charm and start acting like he hadn't just choked at the sight of two blasts from his past.

"Well well well, Steve Harrington and Robin Buckley. I never expected to see you two around here. How've you been?" He asked, motioning for Steve's books and readying his sharpie.

"Um, fine, I guess?" Robin said, "Wow, sorry, it's just a trip seeing you here. I honestly thought you were dead or something."

"Aw, I wish!" Billy joked, smiling as Steve finally handed him the books and he began to scribble in them. "But no, seriously, it's a trip to see you guys, too. I never expected to see anyone from Hawkins ever again once I moved out here. I'm not surprised you thought I was dead, I tried to bury my old self. That's why I don't let anyone take pictures and why I write under a pen name. I didn't want to be found."

"Jesus, what, are you on the run?" Robin asked, Steve still speechless beside her.

"No, just living happily by myself for once and not wanting anyone to find out and ruin it for me. I guess you guys know, but the fact that you're here means you're fans, so I don't think I need to worry too much about you posting my yearbook pictures all over Twitter as long as I ask you really nicely." He grinned, and Steve nearly lost his breath all over again.

"Well, Stevie's more of a fan than I am. It's his birthday today, so I told him we could do whatever he wants tonight and since he loves your books we ended up here, but either way, my lips are sealed." Robin said, finally stepping back and pushing Steve forward to make him interact with the other guy.

"Y-yeah, no, I wouldn't tell anyone. I mean, after all you've gone through to make sure no one knows who you really are. Like, I couldn't even find you when I googled your name, and you can find anyone on google." Steve rambled, hoping that Billy couldn't hear his heart beating practically out of his chest.

"I appreciate that," Billy said, his smile big and bright on his face. "So, how've you been, Stevie? I hear you're a huge fan. What did you think of the last one?"

"I-I loved it. 'Fence' is probably my favorite of them, but I love all your books. You're a really talented writer, I never would've thought- Wait, no, that came out wrong! Jeez, I hope I didn't offend you, I just meant that you always seemed more street smart than book smart- shit, I didn't mean that either, I just meant- Oh, hell," Steve stammered, his face going as red as Robin's t-shirt, "This is coming out all wrong, I didn't mean that, I hope I didn't just piss you off, because I really do like your books and I'm just nervous cuz it's you and you're like, the last person I expected to see here signing them. I'm so sorry!"

"Hey, calm down, Stevie Boy. It's fine, I get it. No need to be sorry for anything. And anyway, I'm the one who choked when I first saw you," Billy chuckled, finally finishing writing in the last book and capping his sharpie before he handed them back to Steve to put in his bag. "I'm glad I got to see you guys again. I think I needed some familiarity. It was starting to get a little lonely being a ghost. Hopefully I'll see you again sometime soon."

And with that, he stood up, gave them each a quick hug, and then motioned for the dark haired man to bring in the next group. Steve and Robin left through another set of screens and to the door, the both of them seemingly in a daze until they got to Robin's car.

"Well, that was... certainly something," Robin said, staring straight ahead, just like Steve, both of them still trying to wrap their heads around it.

"You can say that again. I mean, Billy fucking Hargrove? I never would've guessed in a million years." Steve said, his eyes still wide.

"Neither would I." Robin agreed.

"And to make matters worse, he was so fucking hot! Like, that was not fair for the universe to make me look like such an imbecile in from of him!" Steve ranted.

"Okay, it really wasn't that bad, you were just star-struck, I'm sure he gets that all the time. And besides, he looked happy to see us, especially you," Robin replied, then she seemed to remember something, perking up and turning to look at him. "Wait, what did he write in your books? He wrote for a long time, it couldn't have just been his signature."

Steve nodded his agreement and took the books back out of his tote, starting with the first one and flipping it open to the page that Billy had written on.

"What does it say?" Robin asked, trying to lean over to see, but she couldn't read the cursive Billy wrote in.

"It says, 'Pretty Boy, since you're a fan and you already know, here's some more tidbits you might not have guessed about...(1/4)' then his signature." Steve opened the second book, and read on, "This one says, 'First off, my pseudonym is a joke. I always liked the name Ronnie, and Fitconi is an anagram of the word 'Fiction', because it's a fake name. Clever, huh? (2/4)'. Then his signature again." He flipped open the third book, his heart pounding in his ears as he read, "This one says, 'Secondly, and probably most importantly, all my books-'"

Steve cut himself off as his heart got caught in his throat, but he swallowed as he started over, "'Secondly, and probably most importantly, all my books are about you and me, and the way I wish they'd been for us. (3/4)', and his signature again."

"Holy shit!" Robin said, practically lunging at him as she begged him to read the last one.

"And finally, this one says, 'Lastly, I'd like to see you again. Maybe I can elaborate what I mean by all this, because I really want to. Enjoy this book, and even if you don't let me know your thoughts. Don't be giving this out to people, but-'"

Steve cut himself off again and slammed the book's cover shut, his face flushing even worse than before as he hid his face in his hands.

"What?! What did it say?!" Robin demanded, her hands waving around as she got more excited.

"He gave me his fucking number!" Steve practically screamed, pulling his hands away from his face as he looked at her with a weird smile. "Then he wrote happy birthday and signed his name again! Fuck, I don't know whether to scream or to go back in there and kiss him right on the fucking mouth! This is fucking Twilight Zone levels of insanity and I don't know whether to be happy or terrified!"

"Let's go with happy for right now, he wants to see you again! And all his books are about you! That's so cool! And he wants to see you again! This is definitely a win! I think you should call him tomorrow." Robin said, trying to hype Steve up.

"I don't know..." he said, picking at his sweater sleeve, "What if I make a fool of myself again? I wouldn't even know what to talk about with him. I'd just look dumb."

"I highly doubt he would think so. He practically lit up like a light bulb when he saw you!" Robin said.

"He choked on air when he saw me." Steve deadpanned.

"Yeah, but after that, he lit up! And he told you that his books, which are all romances, are about you! Seriously, you should call him. At least once you finish the book, that way if you don't talk about anything else, you can talk about that!" Robin argued, and Steve reluctantly agreed.

He was finished with the book by that time the next day. He loved it, every word, and he knew from the beginning that it was about him, but it was honestly both weird and heart melting to read his own life (albeit with a different outcome) written down on paper. He remembered the dedication in the book, how Billy said that the happy ending he wrote for Seth and Ben was how he wished things had gone for them back in high school, and finally, Steve buckled.

He called Billy.

[pas-de-duex]

The Black Swan Ch. 9

Logan waited on a small log, twirling a small rose that he snipped from his neighbors garden between his fingers. He was facing towards the creek, and didn’t see Remus enter the small clearing, a faint smile adorning his lips.

“Hello Logan.”

Logan almost dropped the rose into the creek. He quickly grabbed it with his right hand and spun around to face Remus.

“Re-Remus! Um, wonderful to see you again, Remus,”

Logan didn’t want to admit that the man hadn’t left his mind for the past two days.

They had only interacted twice, and yet Logan couldn’t stop thinking about him. He pictured his pale green eyes fluttering shut as he fell asleep in Logan’s bed. The way Remus’s body felt against Logan’s when Logan had pulled him close. The warmth he had felt when Remus had joined their lips together.

“Whatcha got there Lo lo?”

Logan realized he had been holding the rose behind his back.

“Oh um,” he brought out the rose and presented it to Remus. “I, I don’t know. I thought you might like this,”

Remus had a look of shock on his face.

“For, for me?”

Logan nodded. “I know, I know it’s not much, but,”

“Oh Logan, you didn’t have to get me anything! You already gave me this book for free!”

“Yes, well,”

Logan was at a loss for words. Remus seemed to pick up on it and plucked the rose out of Logan’s hand. He quickly tucked it behind his ear and kissed Logan on the cheek.

“I love it, thank you, Logan.”

“Of, of course Remus. Would you, would you like to sit and discuss the book now?”

Remus nodded and allowed Logan to help him sit on the log.

They spent hours discussing books. The book Logan gave Remus, other books they had both read, and what books Logan had sold recently.

“Hardly any.”

“Hardly any?”

Logan nodded. “The only consistent customer I have is Patton Benno, the twin prince’s manservant.”

Remus looked shocked. “So you… you provide the prince’s manservant with books?”

“Yes. Patton knows I’m the only one who can get my hands on any book the princes want. And trust me, they have wanted some strange books.”

“Like, like what?”

“Well, there was this one book, it was a storybook-“

He began describing a book about the lost land of Parthenia, which he had spent a solid two weeks out in the Ecalapdnim desert tracking down a trader who had the last known copy. Patton had told him to spare no expense, and it had been the best two weeks of his life. He had never had so much to eat, and had never laid in a bed as soft as he had at the small inn he had stayed at.

He noticed Remus’s facial expressions rise and fall depending on what he said in the story. When he spoke of his adventures, Remus was smiling. Whenever he spoke of Patton or the royal family, Remus’s smile would falter.

“Shit, I didn’t realize how late it was getting,”

Logan looked where Remus was pointing, and indeed the sun was coming up.

“Well, perhaps we should move this date somewhere else? Well, only if you would like to consider this a date, of course.”

“I…i…”

Logan frowned at Remus’s hesitation.

“Remus? Is everything ok? I’m sorry, this doesn’t have to be a date. I just thought-“

Remus shook his head.

“I’m, I’m sorry Logan. I, I have to leave. I’ll, I’ll come see you soon though, okay?”

“Remus,”

Remus quickly ducked into the forest, and Logan attempted to follow him.

“Remus,”

He followed Remus’s tracks as far as he could, but eventually ended up in an empty clearing, with only another black swan for company.

[nicohischierz]

romeo and juliet ~ pierre gasly

summary: you and pierre were like romeo and juliet in the paddock. but one night can change a lot 

pairing: pierre gasly x oc (juliet wolff)

warnings: mentions of suzuka (this year and 2015 ), mentions of anthoine

pierre turned to his side and watched your sleeping figure. in between the two of you slept your son, he was no older than three but was the carbon copy of his father. 

no one could believe their eyes when they saw the alpha tauri driver walking hand-in-hand with toto wolff’s daughter. 

the french man was happy that through everything the two of you found your way back to each other.  

Someday, down the road, I hope to be your Romeo

I'll climb the wires to your landline

While you're crying on the telephone

the day after you found out you were pregnant you did everything in your power to ignore pierre. 

why? 

because you thought your life was ruined and that your father would force you to go back home and you lock you there. 

but pierre wasn’t getting any of your hints as he sought you out every second he could. finally he saw you outside the mercedes motor home having a heated conversation on your phone. 

once you were done with your call, pierre made his way over to you. his heart ached as he watched you take a seat in front the doors to the motor home. 

And you're sitting, feet dangling

Cheeks so rosy red and saying

"Baby, I was so upset, I thought you'd never set me free"

pierre sat down next to you. you didn’t say anything to him. 

he slowly turned your face to his and wiped the tears from your eyes. a soft smile gracing his lips as he stared into your eyes. “what’s wrong mon chéri?” he whispered. 

you didn’t say anything and handed him the positive pregnancy test in your hand. “i’m sorry,” you whispered, getting up from the floor and walking into the hospitality. 

toto knew something was bugging his daughter when she walked into the motor home and ignored everyone around her. his suspicions were confirmed when she asked him to go back home. 

"Hello?"

after months of encouragement from his best friend, pierre finally called the wolff girl. 

your voice was soft, almost a whisper as you answered the phone.

“juliet,” pierre breathed out in relief. you however were panicked. it had been ten months since you’d heard from the french man.

and in those ten months a lot had happened.

you had moved to the states and given birth to a healthy baby boy a month ago. susie was the first one to find out you were pregnant in the family, she was ecstatic by the news and helped calm your father down when he found out. 

“pierre, are you okay?” you asked.

he sighed. charles looked at his best friend and gave hime a thumbs up before walking towards his girlfriend. 

“can i video call you?” pierre avoided your question. 

“yeah,” 

pierre moved to his room before accepting your call. a smile filled his face as he saw you once again, you returned the gesture. 

“how are you?” he asked. 

you gave him a brief answer. you weren’t sure what his motives were and you didn’t want to let yourself be vulnerable against him. 

the conversation between the two of you flowed smoothly. he even saw a glimpse of his son’s head on your shoulder. 

“is that him?” pierre whispered. 

you didn’t say anything but just nodded. 

I'd say, "Oh, I love you" to my Juliet

If you only knew, I'd kill for you, I am for you

I am just who you need me to be

after pierre found out about his son, he made it his mission to be there. 

he researched everything he could about babies before booking a flight for you and anthoine to come visit him. you’d told him he was only a month old previously. 

so when the day came for the two of you to visit him in milan he was ecstatic. he spent the whole week prior with pyry baby proofing the house. 

it was the summer break and pierre had turned down every offer from his friends to make sure he was with you and his son. charles was the only one who found it odd and had asked his girlfriend to join him in figuring out what his friend was hiding. 

charlotte thought it was ridiculous but followed along as charles staked out his friends house. she wasn’t paying much attention, until she saw you and pierre walking in together. 

pierre was holding your bags as you cradled your son against your chest. 

it was then that the monegasque couple decided to leave the two alone. 

Let's get down, and let's grow old

This fire escape is getting cold

pierre spent the whole summer break trying to convince you to stay in milan with him. at the end of the time you told him it would work. 

you stayed in milan until pierre had to leave to singapore. he would finish his two races in asia and meet you in california once he was done. 

“look anthoine. it’s papa,” you whispered to your child. the two of you were watching the race together. anthoine had woken up abruptly and you’d learned that the sound of the cars calmed the boy down. 

however, when you saw the conditions on track you hoped the race would stop. especially after carlos’ crash. but when pierre appeared on the screen, the tractor in the corner you freaked out. 

you remembered the crash seven years ago. and so did pierre as he yelled through the radio. 

“pierre,” you breathed out when he answered his phone. 

the man sighed at the sound of his girlfriends voice. “i’m okay my love,” he wasn’t sure if he was reassuring himself or her. pyry gave pierre a nod before excusing himself from the room. 

“are you okay?” you asked. sure it was a stupid question but you were desperate. 

“it’s late,” 

“anthoine couldn’t sleep. he likes watching his papa race,” a smile made its way onto pierre’s face. 

after the summer he had gotten a couple questions about the women in his photo dump and the boy in his wallpaper, from the driver. 

pierre had then confided in charles and told him about his son and the rekindling of your relationship. the french man then began showing his best friend an album of photo’s he had on his phone. 

I love that dress, I love the rest

Of all that you've got going on

it had taken everything in pierre to persuade you to join him in the austin grand prix. he argued that you had already made the flight down and people would recognise you if you stayed in the stands. 

just like his attempts to get in contact with you, pierre had gone as far as calling your father and telling him about the situation. so when your father turned up at your hotel room you just rolled your eyes. 

“juliet, stop being stubborn and listen to the poor boy. do you know how many looks i’ve gotten because he kept coming to our garage during free practice,” toto tried reasoning. 

the austrian man was carrying his grandson as he tried convincing his daughter. he never knew where she got her stubbornness from. 

“why?” you asked. 

“because i’ve seen the way he was lost without you. and also because i’ve noticed a change in him ever since he found out about anthoine,” 

you weren’t convinced so toto sighed before setting anthoine down on the bed. “pierre didn’t buy you tickets for the grand prix and to fly all the way down to texas not to be able to see you.”

“when you called after suzuka, pierre was with me. he couldn’t find his phone and he wanted to hear your voice, he didn’t care what it was but he just wanted to see you and anthoine,” 

a small tear ran down your face as you looked at your son. he was almost identical to his father. you remained unresponsive until you nodded “i’ll come with you,” 

you got your son dressed in his special mercedes shirt with his fathers hat sitting on his head. once pierre put the cap on anthoine’s head he never got it back.

 “come on juliet, we’re going to be late!” toto called. 

taking a deep breathe, you walked out of the bathroom wearing a short white dress. it was perfect for the weather and to not show any bias towards who you were supporting. although alpha tauri wore white overalls. 

when you entered the paddock, you were immediately swarmed by media personnel. your father acted as a shield for you and anthoine. lewis was talking with pierre and charles when he noticed the crowd around toto. 

the three of them helped toto seperate the fans and media. pierre grabbed hold of your arm and ushered you towards his drivers room as charles pushed people out of the way. 

anthoine’s cap was covering his face to protect him from rumours. you and pierre weren’t dating anymore and whilst you were working on your relationship, you didn’t want to force anything. 

that was the second time things had changed for you and pierre around the paddock. 

One day when the lines have all been read and memorized

I hope you mean it when you say that

I am yours and you are mine

after the austin grand prix, pierre asked you to be his girlfriend. formally. there were pictures of you and pierre around the paddock together with anthoine before and after races from then on. 

but your favourite was the video reaction of anthoine’s first steps during the abu dhabi grand prix. the young boy made his way to his father after pierre secured pole position. 

with pierre’s move to alpine, you stayed by his side through all the ups and downs. eventually you moved to milan to stay with pierre, closing your house in la. 

anthoine had started walking more around the house and around the paddock. the young boy had grown attached to roscoe during silverstone and now went around finding any dog he could. 

charles had taken his job as godfather very seriously as he made sure anthoine was welcomed in the ferrari garage and had his own space to keep himself occupied. 

however, despite your father’s and lewis’ efforts to get him to be a mercedes fan nothing worked. charles had tried using ferrari propaganda anytime he babysat but anthoine wouldn’t budge. 

so when the boy attached himself to oscar piastri and demanded he have his whole room orange. pierre cried a little. 

anthoine had grown so attached to oscar that during yours and pierre’s wedding the boy wanted the australian to hold his hand during the ring exchange.  

Singing down here, on my knees

I'm begging, "Won't you marry me?"

I love that dress, I love the rest

So Julie make me go, go on

[jamiegeode]

Why yes I would love to know more. I’ve only ever read The Wizard of Oz (and seen the sequel movie to The Wizard of Oz a long time ago) so please feel free to tell me all about them. Also who’s the pumpkin man??

YESSSS YAYAYAY

SO! Jack Pumpkinhead is a scarecrow made by Ozma(at the time known as the boy Tip) and then brought to life by Tip’s guardian, Old Mombi, one of the illegal witches* of the time. Jack is then taken by Mombi and locked up, and she tells Tip(who she never wanted in the first place**) she will turn him into a marble statue and use the Pumpkinhead as a servant instead. Also Tip’s basically been a slave, and Mombi’s like ‘hm. Less annoying AND I don’t need to feed it? Bye kid.’ This leads to Tip and Jack running away, and the rest of the events in The Land of Oz

It’s also worth noting that Jack Pumpkinhead? He has a deep, severe fear of death. Like he gets anywhere near water and goes ‘dear god, will my head start rotting from the inside?’ He also calls Tip his dad for the entirety of The Marvelous Land Of Oz(second book in the series) and ends up starting a pumpkin farm after his adventures, so that he never has to worry about running out of replacement heads. He’s great. Anxiety rep at its most whimsical.

*Mombi’s brand of magic being made illegal after the laws the Scarecrow passed upon becoming king, mostly prohibiting ‘unnatural’ or harmful magics, but pretty much stopping the majority of magicians and witches not directly loyal to the crown from doing any magic. Which. Mombi herself ain’t great but BRO he essentially banned TRANSITIONING SPELLS! **she was paid by the Wizard of Oz to take the heir to the throne of Oz and hide her so she would never be found- so she turned the princess of Oz into a boy. He doesn’t give a shit about gender tho bc of being what we would in modern terms call ‘a genderqueer icon’, but this did make it pretty hard to find them.

Ok. NOW TO THE ICON HERSELF, POSSIBLY BEST KNOWN FOR THESE ILLUSTRATIONS(WHICH APPEAR IN THE OFFICIAL COLLECTION, AND FROM THE BOOK PUBLISHED IN 1909):

(Yes these photos are from my own copy of the collection of books 1-5, Twas a gift)

OZMA, TIP, THE MONARCH OF OZ!!

She’s an icon. He helped a revolt led by the women of Oz. He then helped the scarecrow escape that same rebellion by making a cursed beast out of some rope, couches, palm fromnds, and a deer head. The curse is how much it hates its own body, being more confusing than a chimera. He fathered a horse. She gave another girl free rein of the palace, including Ozma’s private chambers, and that girl is Dorothy. She helped Dorothy’s entire family move to Oz to escape Debt, and might’ve also helped them commit tax fraud. She then took Dorothy’s family on a tour of the entirety of Oz, usually sharing a room with Dorothy. It was literally love at first sight(paraphrase: she loved the other girl when she first saw her). Before Dorothy moved in, they used a magic portrait/mirror set to call each other at a specific time each day. Dorothy can’t always make the calls, but Ozma is always there. Ozma gave Dorothy a magic belt so she could come and go from Oz as she wished. He’s part fairy. His cousin is part rainbow. Said cousin lowkey flirts with Dorothy. She made Dorothy a princess of Oz, with as much say in what happens as they have. They don’t give a fuck about gender but will perform gender roles like it’s a 30s television show, and I legit think that’s just for the fun of it. He made sure everyone in Oz has a minimum of one bread tree per family. He told the gnome king to fuck off and then stole his trinkets. Those trinkets were actually a neighboring kingdom’s royal family. She freaked out a little when she transitioned but then her friends went ‘it’s still you, we don’t care as long as youre you’ and it was deemed the smartest and wisest thing ever said by the speaker. She’s friends with the guy who paid Mombi to hide her.

I could go into the impact that having a canonical queer character in such an old and well known franchise had on me as a kid, and how reading Oz books helped me feel like I was stepping into a safe place, but tbh I’m kinda stuck on the amount of batshit she got herself into in the second book. Wild.

By the way, all of this was written in the 1900s, the decade, not the century. Frank Baum was a real one.

[braveclementine]

Chapter 17

Warnings: None. However, future chapters will contain sexual content so readers that are under the age of 18 may have to skip those chapters (However they are very few so those under the age of 18 can still read a majority of this book. However please keep note of the warnings).

Copyright: I do not own any Wizarding World characters that J.K. Rowling wrote. I do however own Elizabeth Kane (main character) and Trang Nyguen (best friend). There should be no use of these two names without my permission. I also do not condone any copying of this.

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𝕿𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖊 𝖜𝖆𝖘 𝖆 pain like nothing else. Fire, ice, and lightning striking my body. Of course, I'd felt this pain before- twice. But somehow, it seemed almost worse this time. Perhaps because he was angrier than before. Before, he'd been amused, but this time I could've screwed things up for him.

He lifted the curse and I was able to breathe again. It was the end of the day, fairly close to curfew. Uncle Moody- the real one- had woken up sometime throughout my torture, looking fairly tortured himself.

"Let her go." Uncle Moody croaked out, his voice barely a whisper. "She hasn't done anything to you."

Barty Crouch Jr. ignored him completely, grabbing my hair and slamming me against the ladder bars. I gritted my teeth in pain as the rungs dug into my back.

"I suppose I didn't warn you enough. You didn't tell anyone. . . but you interfered, damnit! Crucio!"

I screamed at the pain. I remembered that this was the man who, alongside the Lestranges, had tortured Neville's parents into madness.

When he let the curse up, he let me lay there for a moment, going up to the ladder and closing the trunk lid.

"Elizabeth." Uncle Moody croaked from the corner, "What happened to you?"

I trembled, unable to answer for a moment and finally made it into a sitting position and hugged my knees. "I found out he was the impostor." I muttered. "I tried to go to Dumbledore but he intercepted and threatened someone's life that I love." Tears dripped down my face along with sweat. "I can't tell anyone now or he'll kill them."

Uncle Moody put a gnarled hand on my own. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too." I said. "If I didn't love him so much you'd be free by now." I snorted shakily. "God I'm pathetic."

"Love isn't a bad thing." Uncle Moody said dreamily. I knew he was under the imperius curse and probably so tired he couldn't fight it. He was probably going to drift back off to sleep any moment now. Indeed, he was soon snoring lightly.

I got to my feet, stamping out the sleepiness. I wasn't sure why Barty Crouch Jr. had left, but I wasn't all that sure I was supposed to leave. The torture still fresh in my mind, I sat back down in the opposite corner from him.

However, Crouch Jr. returned fairly soon and set the curse on me again. After twenty moments, he told me to leave. My limbs were shaky, my face wet with salty tears, and my voice hoarse from screaming. I nearly fell climbing the ladder and had to stop several times on my way to the common room.

Once in the common room, I had to avoid Cedric and get up to my dorm so I could fall asleep. Cedric called my name as I slipped through the door but I didn't turn back. I didn't want hi m to see me like this.

Over the next few days, I helped Harry get ready for the third task. I was thankful that the third task was coming soon and exams were almost here and I could leave this horrible place. I would make Snape come home with me so I could then send a letter to Dumbledore about Moody and Barty Crouch Jr. It was a daydream, a stupid one, but it gave me a bit of hope.

Harry had worked on the Stunning spell mostly and kept stunning Ron over and over. Hermione and I watched.

When the bell rang, Hermione headed off for Arithmancy, I went down to Care of Magical Creatures, and Harry and Ron went to Divination.

Hagrid had us dealing with fairies today which was a very interesting experience. They are very vain creatures, fairies. They liked mirrors and other shiny things. Hagrid had us building small houses for them- each one had to have a mirror- for we were going to have a fairy farm. I made four before class was over and set them with the other ones.

When I went back up to the castle, Ron and Hermione were sitting at the Gryffindor table. Harry was no where to be found.

"Where's Harry?" I asked, my voice trembling just slightly. I was very near tears most of the time. Along with being shaky and terrified all the time.

"Hospital wing." Ron said in a worried voice. "He had a sort of. . . fit in the Divination classroom."

"I see." I said, pulling over a plate of cakes and taking one.

After dinner, I went with them up to the Gryffindor common room. I had open a big Defense Against the Dark Arts spell book, and was looking for more spells for Harry to try out, writing them down on a list.

Harry came in and sat down near us.

"How was Dumbledore's?" I asked without looking up.

Hermione and Ron's heads turned to me and then back up to Harry.

"Interesting." Harry said. "I was listening at the door at first, because Fudge, Moody, and Dumbledore were all in there talking. Fudge reckons that it was Madam Maxime because of her possibly being half-giant. Of course, Dumbledore wasn't happy with that." Harry looked in the fire and said, "Dumbledore told me to wait in the office and there was thing he called a pensieve."

"Memory catcher." I said aloud to Ron who looked confused.

"Yeah. Anyways, I accidentally went into some of Dumbledore's memories." Harry said, looking extremely thoughtful. "The first trial was Karkaroffs'. It was pretty much as Elizabeth said back in the cave. Most of his names were useless and he tried to use Snapes name. Dumbledore stood up and confirmed that Snape had indeed been a Death Eater but that Snape had been on our side. The second trial was for Ludo Bagman. Apparently he'd been caught passing information to Rookwood who turned out to be a Death Eater. But none of the witches and wizards seemed to want to convict him. Instead, they seemed a bit outraged he was even on trail. Bagman said that he thought he was collecting information for our side. Anyways, Mr. Crouch seemed to be the only one that wanted to convict him. The third trial was his son's trial. I don't know if he really ever did it." Harry looked at me for a second.

I put the book down. Of course, I knew that he had- he'd been an evil little git, but still.

Harry continued saying, "Crouch's son kept yelling that he didn't do it. He begged his mother and his father not to send him to the dementors but he did. . . Mr. Crouch really didn't care about his son..." Harry seemed lost in his thoughts and then continued saying, "That was when Dumbledore showed up to take me out of his memories. I asked what it was and he told me it was a pensieve and that the stuff was his memories."

Harry paused, running his hands though his hair, looking frustrated, "He showed me an example, by taking his thoughts out of his head and putting it into the basin. It was a memory of Snape saying, 'It's coming back. . . Karkaroff's too. . . stronger and clearer than ever. . .' I don't know what he was talking about though. Dumbledore then brought up a girl- Bertha Jorkins. Of course, he hasn't told the ministry about her death."

"He hasn't?" I asked sharply. "Well, why not?"

"Evidence or something like that." Harry said. "He doesn't think the ministry will listen to him. I then told him about my dream where Voldemort was torturing Wormtail. . . because he'd failed or something but it was fixed because someone had died. . . I don't really know what that was all about either."

"Isn't it obvious?" I asked, frowning. "He must've been talking about Mr. Crouch. Wormtail must've been keeping an eye on Mr. Crouch for some reason but if Wormtail took his eye off him or something and he managed to get up here. . . well it was a blunder on Wormtail's part wasn't it? And if Mr. Crouch is dead, then the blunder is fixed."

There was silence for a moment. "Continue Harry, I didn't mean to interrupt."

"No, that's okay." Harry said, "It's just another thing to think about, isn't it? I asked Dumbledore if he thinks Voldemorts rising again and he said he believes he is. He thinks Bertha Jorkins, Crouch, and a Muggle named Frank Bryce are all connections. Apparently you confirmed that Frank Bryce was the muggle in our dream?" Harry asked me.

I nodded, "I didn't know his name, of course, but I recognized him when Dumbledore showed me his picture in the paper."

Hermione and Ron looked back and forth as we talked.

"Dumbledore also thinks Crouch's son might not have been part of the torture they did either." Harry said and I knew he was editing because Dumbledore had told him not to tell us about Neville's parents. "He said Bagman was never convicted of any Dark activity and that neither has Snape." Harry finished.

"Dumbledore reckons You-Know-Who's getting stronger again as well?" Ron whispered in horror. "And he trusts Snape? He really trusts Snape, even though he knows he was a Death Eater?"

"Yes." Harry said.

I felt a bit annoyed with Ron. "I know you guys don't like Professor Snape, but he really isn't as bad as you guys make him out to be."

"Just because he has a soft spot for you-" Ron started disgruntled but Hermione interrupted him.

"Rita Skeeter." Hermione muttered.

"How can you be worrying about her now?" Ron asked in disbelief.

"I'm not worrying about her, I'm just thinking. . . remember what she said to me in the Three Broomsticks? 'I know things about Ludo Bagman that would make your hair curl'. This is what she meant, isn't it? She reported his trial, she knew he'd passed information to the Death Eaters. And Winky too, remember. . . 'Ludo Bagman's a bad wizard.' Mr. Crouch would have been furious he got off, he would have talked about it at home." Hermione said, talking to her knees.

"Yeah, but Bagman didn't pass information on purpose, did he?" Ron asked defensively.

Hermione simply shrugged.

"He could've been under the Imperius Curse, no one can really detect when people are under it." I said and then realized I sounded a little bitter and stopped talking.

"And Fudge reckons Madam Maxime attacked Crouch?" Ron asked Harry.

"Yeah, but he's only saying that because Crouch disappeared near the Beauxbatons carriage." Harry answered.

"We never thought of her, did we? Mind you, she's definitely got giant blood, and she doesn't want to admit it-" Ron started.

I interrupted sharply, "Of course she doesn't. Why would she? Look what happened to Hagrid when he opened his mouth about it! Fudge is already jumping to conclusions because of it! Who needs that kind of prejudice?"

Hermione looked at her watch, "We haven't done any practicing! We were going to do the Impediment Curse! We'll have to really get down to it tomorrow! Come on, Harry, you need to get some sleep."

I said goodnight to the others and made my way back to the Hufflepuff Common room. Halfway there, I saw someone coming down the hallway and I froze. It was just Professor Snape and he froze when he saw me too. We stared at each other for a moment and I said, "I'm not under the curse. I was coming back from the Gryffindor common room."

He nodded curtly and motioned to me to hurry up. "Let's get you to the Hufflepuff common room quickly."

He kept his arm around me tightly and when we got to the Hufflepuff common room I took his left arm. "Can I?" I whispered. "I mean, I know you already have it and you don't have to show me if you don't want to but. . ." I trailed off

He pulled his sleeve up and I saw the dark mark on his arm. It was the same skull and snake that had appeared in the sky. I lightly ran my fingers over it and looked up at him. "He's going to come back, isn't he?"

"Yes, I believe he is." Snape said.

I stared up at him, wanting to kiss him. I let go of his arm slowly and turned and said, "good-night Professor." I entered the pattern to go inside and headed up to my dorm.

💙💙💙💙

𝕺𝖛𝖊𝖗 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖓𝖊𝖝𝖙 few days we continued to help Harry learn more spells instead of studying for our exams.

"I don't mind practicing on my own you know." He said. "You guys should be working on your exams."

I shrugged, laying on the desk, looking up at the ceiling, waving my wand around, and lazily creating gold bubbles to float through the air. It was relaxing. "What's there to study? Besides astronomy I mean and no one expects me to get a good grade on that exam."

"Besides." Hermione said, crossing off another spell on the list. "we'll get top marks in Defense Against the Dark Arts. We'd never have found out about all these hexes in class."

"I'm not so sure about that." I muttered under my breath.

"Good training for when we're all Aurors." Ron said happily.

June entered and I was much happier. Though I was still carrying the heavy burden of a secret, I hadn't been tortured recently which was a nice plus for me. However, at breakfast one morning, a screech owl arrived for Hermione. She read the front lines and spat out a mouthful of pumpkin juice all over it.

"What?" Harry, Ron, and I all asked together.

"Nothing." Hermione said quickly, shoving the paper away but Ron grabbed it and said, "No way. Not today. That old cow."

"What?" Harry asked. "Rita Skeeter again?"

"No." Ron said, shoving it out of sight.

"It's about me, isn't it?" Harry asked, almost amused.

"No." Ron said.

"Hey, Potter! Potter! How's your head? You feeling all right? Sure you're not going to go berserk on us?" Draco Malfoy called over from the other table.

"Let me see it. Give it here." Harry said.

Ron reluctantly handed over the paper and I looked over Harry's shoulder to read the following:

HARRY POTTER "DISTRUBTED AND DANGEROUS      The boy who defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be- Named is unstable and possibly dangerous, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Alarming evidence has recently come to light about Harry Pot- ter's strange behavior, which casts doubts upon his suitability to compete in the demanding comeptition like the Triwizard Tournament, or even to attend Hogwarts school.      Potter, the Daily Prophet can exclusively reveal, regularly collapses at school, and is often heard to complain of pain in the scar on his forehead (relic of the curse with which You-Know-Who attempted to kill him). On Monday last, midway through a Divination lesson, your Daily Prophet reporter witnessed Potter storming from the class, claiming that his scar was hurting too badly to continue studying.      It is possible, say top experts at St. Mungo's Hos- pital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, that Pot- ter's brain was affected by the attack inflicted upon him by You-Know-Who, and that his insistence that the scar is still hurting is an expression of his deep-seated confusion.      "He might even be pretending," said one spe- cialist. "This could be a plea for attention." The Daily Prophet, however, has unearthed worrying facts about Harry Potter that Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, has care- fully concealed from the wizarding public.      "Potter can speak Parseltongue. So can his friend/ sister Elizabeth Kane," reveals Draco Malfoy, a Hogwarts fourth- year. "There were a lot of attacks on students a couple of years ago, and most people though Potter or Kane was behind them, especially after they saw Potter lose his temper at a dueling club and set a snake on another boy. It was all hushed up, though. But he's made friends with werewolves and giants too. We think he'd do anything for a bit of power.      Parseltongue, the ability to converse with snakes, has long been considered a Dark Art. Indeed, the most famous Parselmouth of our times is none other than You-Know-Who himself. A member of the Dark Force Defense League, who wished to remain unnamed, stated that they would regard any wizard or witch who could speak Parseltongue "as worthy of investigation. Personally, I would be highly suspic- ioius of anybody who could converse with snakes, as serpents are often used in the worst kinds of Dark Magic, and are historically associated with evildoers." Similarly, "anyone who seeks out the company of such vicious creatures as werewolves and giants would appear to have a fondness for violence."     As Elizabeth Kane lives with a werewolf, this causes for major questions about why she stays so close to Harry Potter.      Albus Dumbledore should surely consider whether a boy such as this should be allowed to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. Some fear that Potter might resort to the Dark Arts in his des- peration to win the tournament, the third task of which takes place this evening.

"Gone off me a bit, hasn't she?" Harry asked lightly, shooting me a glance. I was holding my knife so tightly, I'd cut myself. He reached over and pried the knife out of my fingers. Blood dripped sown my palm.

"Not all werewolves are vicious," I snarled and I stood up abruptly, and made my way off to the chamber behind the teachers desk, ignoring everyone's glances. In front of the fireplace was Mrs. Weasley and Bill. They both looked at me in surprise.

"Elizabeth!" Mrs. Weasley said, and giving me a hug, "What are you doing back here?"

"Well." I said, a bit sarcastically and I tried to change my tune because I wasn't really upset with her. "The Daily Prophet seems to make it out that I'm Harry's sister so it's my sisterly duty to be here for Harry."

Mrs. Weasley seemed stunned and I smiled in a stressed way, and said, "Sorry, the Daily Prophet's been driving me crazy with all it's fake news and they just attacked dad and I'm a bit put out."

"Ah yes." Bill said, grinning at me and a light blush crept over my cheeks. "I believe your dad's the dangerous, violent, werewolf, no?"

I scowled at him even though I knew he was joking.

"Lighten up." Bill said, nudging me with his shoulder. "You'll get frown lines early."

I stuck my tongue out at him. He took my hand and said, "Ferula." Bandages wrapped around the cut.

"Thanks." I said.

Cedric came in and waved at me and went over to where his parents were standing. Fleur was talking with her mother in fast French and Krum was talking to his mother and father in Bulgarian. I picked up a few phrases but none of it made much sense to me.

Harry entered only after Cedric went back out to get him. I supposed he didn't think any family was going to be there. He waved at Gabrielle, who was holding her mother's hand and had waved at him first.

"Surprise!" Mrs. Weasley said excitedly as he smiled broadly at us and walked over. "Thought we'd come and watch you, Harry!" She kissed his cheek.

"You all right?" Bill asked, shaking Harry's hand. "Charlie wanted to come, but he couldn't get time off. He said you were incredible against the Horntail."

"This is really nice of you. I thought for a moment- the Dursleys-" Harry muttered.

"Hey Bill." I whispered, nudging him. "That girl over there is interested in you and I think I foresee a future between the two of you." My eyes twinkled.

Bill glanced furtively over at Fleur who quickly looked away, a blush creeping up on her pale cheeks. "Not bad." He said softly to me.

I laughed. I hugged Harry. "I have to go, of course. I'll have to turn time back a little to make it to exams. You'll do wonderfully tonight." I kiss his cheek and, waved to Cedric again and dashed from the room.

I turned back time for thirty minutes outside the Transfiguration classroom and then went inside just before the bell rang to start my exams. And then I saw the vision. Oh, I wished I hadn't seen the vision.

At lunch, I ate with the Hufflepuffs instead. I sat near Cedric and his parents. His father had a lot to stay about the Harry Potter situation, but if I hadn't known that there was a possibility Cedric was going to die tonight, I would've snapped at him.

As it was, I was trying very hard not to break out into tears. There wasn't much I could do: It was either Cedric's life or Snape's life and I was going to have to choose. I dug my fork into the potatoes I wasn't eating and tried to figure out a way that I could save both of their lives and it dawned on me.

"Ced." I whispered in his ear when I got up, "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure." He said and he followed me out of the Great Hall. I went into an abandoned classroom, closing the door behind us. "What's wrong?"

I was trembling and Cedric put his arms around me. "Elizabeth, what's wrong?"

"I- I can't say. . ." I said, forcing the words out through gritted teeth, "I- literally can't- say." I looked up at him with pleading eyes. "But- I feel that- this could be- the last time- I see you." My eyes welled up with tears, "And I need you t- to know that- I- I do love- love you Cedric. Perhaps- not the way- Cho loves you- but I- I- I do love you."

Cedric looked down at me with mixed emotions: Panic, confusion, worry, and also something that looked a bit like love as well. "Elizabeth. . ."

"I know." I said a little easier, "I know you don't love me that way, that you love Cho- I know that. But I needed you to know in case- in case things don't work out- how I want them to-" I took a deep breath. The imperius cruse weighed heavily on me now. I'm not going to tell him, I thought. The imperius curse lifted a little bit more.

Cedric took my face in his hands and smiled, "Don't worry Elizabeth. Everything's going to work out fine! I'm always going to be here."

I smiled up at him sadly, and put my lips against his and pulled away. "Good luck Cedric." I left the room, leaving him behind- perhaps seeing him for the last time. I couldn't look back.

I walked as innocently as possible out the front doors and down into the woods. My heart was pounding and it felt that it might be in my throat. I just had to hope. . . I just had to pray that he wasn't going to be nearby.

I knew any moment the champions would be coming down to the Quidditch pitch. I had to act quickly and I had to act without Crouch Jr. finding out my plan. I slipped my wand into my hand, wishing I had an invisibility cloak or a map. The map! I started sprinting through the forest. If he saw me on the map, well he could only guess what I was doing.

I had never run so fast in my entire life. I shouted, "Accio Cleansweep!" and continued to run. About a minute later, the broom caught up to me and I grabbed it and swung my leg over and flew up over the pitch. The hedges were about twenty feet tall and I zoomed across them, searching for the Cup.

I knew Moody had already placed it in here, I knew that the spell was already on it. All I had to do was grab it, show up, kill Pettigrew, and destroy what was left of Voldemort. Difficult, but not impossible. I wished I'd learned to become an Animagus so that I could hide as some sort of animal. But it was to late now.

I saw the Cup in the middle of the maze and quickly flew down to it. I propped the broomstick up against the hedges and it got sucked in. The hedges sometimes changed shapes, I knew. I hurried over to the cup and on the other side, Moody appeared, looking livid.

"Oh shit." I whimpered, clutching my wand.

"This is the last time Kane! I will not let you interfere with this!" He shot a nonverbal spell at me and I dodged it. If I could just get to the cup. . .

I ducked another spell and threw one of my own. It hit him and he flew back ten feet. I rushed forward for the Cup, ignoring him, and my fingers reached out to grab it, and then everything went dark.

⬅️➡️

[afterthegreatunknown]

Fernald Thinks of the Past, and Gets into a Role

Hello! Welcome to the second 'chapter' of my Seven Six Widdershins Family Members AU. Inspired by the Six Baudelaires AU by tumblr user unfortunate-stranger-losers, in this AU, the Book!Widdershins Family and Netflix!Widdershins Family are now combined together to make a family of six. This 'chapter' focuses on the Reptile Room, meaning only the two Fernalds -Verne who is Netflix!Fernald and Book!Fernald- are present. It's a mixture of actual fanfic written out, and a summary of events. More summary than fanfic, in fact.

So! Violet, Klaus and Sunny are living the best of their lives -so far- with their Uncle Monty, and plan on going to Peru with him soon. Olaf, disguised as Stephano, the new lab assistant, pretty much ruins that. Soon, it's almost time for the group of four (would be five if Monty didn't tore up Olaf's ticket) to go to Peru, and nothing has yet to happened. Well, nothing happened yet when when looking at what the Acting Troupe is doing back in the City...

“Hold it steady, Verne. Steady…steady…steady…steady…steady…steady…steady…”

“Stop saying steady so much, Harper. It doesn’t sound like a real word anymore. Why can’t we do something else? Playing cards are meant to be play with! Not building houses! We can play a nice game of—”

“You’re the one who destroyed my last two attempts of building a house of cards. They were near completion too. It’s only fair that you help me with my last attempt.”

“I said I was sorry. Twice.”

“I know. That’s why I said it’s only fair. And I don’t want to play card games, especially with you. If it’s the game I think you’re thinking of, Penny and Lucy told me how you convinced them to play, and how you won over their favorite hats. I’m not taking the chance to lose my own favorite hat.”

“You don’t have to bet on a hat. You can bet on something else. Like your scarf.”

Fernald shifted around on the sofa, eyes still closed shut, and continued to listen to Uncle Verne and Harper talking to one another. Uncle Verne was really trying to get someone else to play a particular card game. Fernald wouldn’t mind playing it, for it’s a fun game. But very much like Penny and Lucy, he didn’t want to lose anything he wager. Uncle Verne was pretty much unstoppable. No one can defeat him.

Well, except one person. But that’s in the past.

The front door soon opened up, and the sounds of two pairs of boots hit against the wooden floor of the old living room. Fernald opened his eyes, and sprung upward. He saw Uncle Verne and Harper stopping their house of cards. Uncle Verne also accidentally knocked it down again, with Harper giving out a sigh.

“I guess there’s always tomorrow,” said Harper, shrugging their shoulders in defeat.

Fernald slid off the sofa, and stood up. Fernald focused his attention onto Penny and Lucy, now standing in the living room proper. The former was holding a copy of The Daily Punctilio, while the latter was carrying two plastic bags of what Fernald hope is food. The leftover pasta and pudding were all eaten up, and Olaf well…

The bastard only had wine and beer around the house.

“Please tell me you have some grub for us, Lucy,” said Fernald, walking towards them.

“Yep! And it’s not that crap from the Anxious Clown this time!” Lucy had a giant smile plastered on her face, and her eyes twinkled like a kaleidoscope. “We got take-out food from this lovely Chinese restaurant, as well as this cute bakery that’s sadly about to close! The latter gave us free cupcakes because we were the first customers there!”

“Is the cake vanilla, chocolate, or carrot flavor?” asked Harper, approaching them.

“It’s lemon flavor,” answered Penny, unfolding the newspaper. “I say we eat the cupcakes first. You know how the boss is sensitive to the word ‘lemon’ and ‘lemony.’ By the way, speaking of Olaf, is he still at Dr. Montgomery’s home as ‘Stephano’?”

“We’re not sure. Seller went downtown to try make contact,” said Uncle Verne. “But he hasn’t come back yet.”

“I hope the jackass got arrested,” commented Fernald, and smiled. “Out of all of us, I think he deserves going to prison the most.”

“Don’t say such things, Fernald,” said Uncle Verne, giving Fernald a glare. “I’m sure Seller’s holdup is due to the Olaf’s situation. Montgomery is the most intelligent man we know. I wouldn’t be surprise if he figured out what happened to Gustav, and is doing everything to prevent the boss from taking away the Baudelaires.”

Penny kept quiet as she continued to unfold the newspaper, her hands trembling with each unfold. Lucy’s lower lip quivered, and hands the plastic bags to Harper. Lucy then rubbed her eyes, and sniffled. Fernald gently placed a hook over Lucy’s shoulder, and gives her a reassuring smile. Despite Gustav being their enemy —Fernald still can’t believe that’s his reality; same goes to Uncle Monty— Lucy’s behavior was understandable. Lucy and Penny when given the order, couldn’t go through with it.

No one wanted to murdered Gustav, in fact. Not Harper, not Uncle Verne, not even Fernald himself. It was an order from Olaf that no one wanted to do. Except that asshole Seller. However, Olaf was smart to not ask Seller of it.

“I still think Gustav should have been tied up to a train,” said Lucy, her voice barely above a whisper, making it hard for Fernald to heard. “He would be out of our way, and alive. I don’t…I can’t bear the thought of Sally eventually discovering her brother —the only family she had left— dying from foul play. You think they’ll ever find his body?”

Fernald briefly turned his head towards Uncle Verne’s direction. Uncle Verne was lowering his head, and closed his eyes.

“Who knows,” answered Uncle Verne, his voice also barely audible. “This is Olaf we’re talking about.”

Penny shuddered, and blinked a few times. She then finally unfolded the newspaper completely. She flipped some pages, and showed everyone the review written by Gomez Guzmán, actor turned dramatic critic for The Daily Punctilio after an event Fernald doesn’t like to think about. “Speaking of the boss, guess whose ridiculous, terrible play got blasted once more!”

[Trying to work HTML in the new editor refuses to make align center show up, let alone proper breaks. So breaks of sections is me rambling in brackets. Moving on now...]

The Acting Troupe take some joy on reading Guzmán’s review of The Marvelous Marriage, while eating the cupcakes all to themselves. Verne tried convincing everyone to save at least one cupcake but he got outvoted four-to-one (Fernald personally can’t understand why Verne wants to be nice to Seller).

Guzmán criticized the lack of plot and flat characters for a full page, and mentioned how a majority of the audience found themselves dozing off until the ending. Guzmán himself admitted how he had to pinched himself awake to be able to write the review.

Guzmán’s review: “The one exciting thing of this pathetic excuse of a play wasn’t part of the play at all. The reveal that everything was a terrible, yet brilliant planned ruse for the main male lead to attempt on stealing the well-known Baudelaire fortune woke everyone up. Everyone was figuratively fuming to where this critic was certain someone from the audience was ready to literally beat the main male lead up to a bloody pulp.”

Fernald, stabbing his cupcake: “I would have loved to see this with my own eyes!”

Guzmán did gave praises as they were rightfully deserved. He praised how while there were limited sets, they were easy on the eyes, and fitted the lack of plot as best it could, especially on an obvious cheap budget (which make Harper, Penny, and Lucy smile). He praised how the costumes, while also on a cheap budget, got allocated well to look almost professional (which has Verne taking pride how one of his skills is getting appreciated). In particular, it’s the unexpected pirate outfit that got Guzmán’s attention.

Guzmán’s review: “Seeing a pirate outfit on the stage in such a long time has me thinking of The Pirates of Penzance. One performance in particular, but this review isn’t meant to be reminiscing of the pleasant past.”

Penny was about ready to read the wonderful words about Fernald’s acting, and Fernald himself found himself hyping up to it (for Penny had read it before the return back, and mentioned to Fernald that it’s a good one), Seller barged in.

Seller, pointing to Fernald: “You! Get your ass out of the chair NOW! You’re the lucky one to be chosen by our boss to help out his latest scheme!”

Penny, peeved: “Good to see you too, asshole!”

Fernald, standing up: “Why does the boss need my help in particular? Surely you or someone else could take my place.”

Seller: “He thought you can redeem yourself after your little stunt during The Marvelous Marriage! Besides, he said you’re the only one who knows know to get to the late Dr. Montgomery house without needing a map. He brought up how you used to visit the herpetologist’s house alongside your annoying-ass stepfather and—”

Verne, standing up also now: “Montgomery’s dead!?”

Seller: “Dead, and dead, and dead indeed. Now Fernald, GET YOUR ASS MOVING!”

But being so late at night, Verne managed to convince Seller to let Fernald go in the morning, which Seller reluctantly agreed too. The next morning, Verne quickly gets to work on Fernald’s disguise as Doctor (O.) Lucafont. Due to the rush, Lucafont resembles more of a private detective than a proper doctor/medical examiner: trench coat and fedora hat. Lucafont has a fake mustache, and has circular red-tinted glasses that has Fernald wondering if Olaf wanted him to wear such a silly disguise.

Fernald on the drive to Monty’s house, took the chance to steal a real doctor’s medical bag that actually has medical tools. Too bad they’re not needed for the corpse. Upon arriving to Monty’s house, Fernald is order to ‘examine’ the body. He gets a bit too into the role of Lucafont, for he found a pad and pencil inside the bag.

Lucafont: *writing his ‘observations’ down* “I don’t think the Baudelaires will enjoy hearing their poor uncle cause of death.”

Inside the kitchen, Lucafont showed everyone his badly written notes of Monty’s death: killed by a Mamba du Mal. Lucafont was so into showing his notes, he failed to realize how Stephano was fuming at the notebook. Still, Stephano gives Lucafont a cup of coffee when asked, since Fernald’s role is done, and he politely asked for it (Olaf knows Fernald is a coffee fanatic, and tolerates it).

As Lucafont, Stephano, and Mr. Poe discuss driving and seating arrangement, Lucafont ended up pissing off Stephano. This is what happens with Fernald is too into his role.

Stephano: “I got it. I will drive the children in Dr. Lucafont’s car, and Dr. Lucafont can go with you and Dr. Montgomery in Dr. Montgomery’s jeep.”

Lucafont: *awkwardly pushes up glasses with wooden hand* “I’m afraid that won’t work. The city laws won’t allow anybody else to drive my car.”

Stephano, realizes Fernald is way in-character: “Oh? Pardon me for not knowing.”

Mr. Poe: “Oh my. Then what will that mean about the children’s luggage? We didn’t even discuss the matter on the children’s luggage!”

Going back to the canonical ranches, Violet had figure out how Stephano killed Uncle Monty, Klaus had read up about the Mamba du Mal, and Sunny decided to fake getting attack by the Incredibly Deadly Viper. This of course, gets Mr. Poe to freak out in the funniest way possible, which leads to Stephano slipping up about how the Incredibly Deadly Viper won’t harm her. Lucafont, realizing what might happen next, attempted to tap Stephano’s shoulder with his wooden hand. Stephano pushed back Lucafont for his interruption. Shoved him in fact.

As such, Lucafont upon seeing Stephano getting reveal as Olaf and getting caught…

Lucafont: “I daresay you deserve to get caught after everything you did!”

Lucafont still of course help Olaf to escape by offering to put him in back into his car, and to give him up to the authorities. Violet and Klaus said their goodbyes, and Sunny, being a clever baby that she is, decided to bite one of the wooden hands. Violet starts freaking out (“SUNNY!?”) but upon realizing the doctor is second hook-handed Man, tries to go after him. But of course…

Mr. Poe: *stops Violet* “He can’t be the Hook-Handed Man! That is the man is who Olaf called Nemo on his walkie-talkie! This is the man who gave the on-stage pirate monologue that was the only worthy thing of that dreadful performance! I’m surprised by your accusation, Violet!”

Violet, bewildered and pissed: “Mr. Poe, there’s two accomplices that has hooks for hands! This one just hides them with fake wooden hands!”

Fernald drives himself and Olaf back to the City and back to the house, all while breaking traffic laws and speed limits. Fernald on running away lost his other wooden hand, so now he’s just wooden hand-less. When they finally made it back at the house, Fernald told everyone what happened, and gets teased on what Sunny did.

Verne: *laughs* “I’m sorry, but it’s just so funny! You got outsmarted by an infant!”

Verne eventually stops laughing when Olaf attempted to strike Fernald across the face, with Fernald ducking in time.

Seller: “Boo.”

Olaf: *managed to shove Fernald to the floor, and begins to walk away to the Tower stairs* “The next you’re working alongside me, you better not make another damn mistake, if you want to see the light of day ever again.”

Fernald, quiet and shaken up: “…”

Harper: *crossing arms* “Said the jerk who actually made the mistake himself.”

[uidbmgmt]

And so Everfree Northwest 2023 has come and gone. I had such a blast this past weekend. Lemme regale to you my story.

Long post ahead.

I got to room with some amazing new people and learn more about them and their lives. Cross was there for The Owl House VAs and he was a joy. We watched random videos on YouTube and talked about all kinds of stuff. Erik was a great roomie. He’s an author and gave each of us copies of his work! I’m not much of a book reader, but I’ll try my hardest to stick to it. Tori was so kind and a pleasure to room with. It’s so wonderful to room with strangers and end up as friends.

I was so fortunate to see some of my friends there and hang out with them. I always enjoy my time with friends, especially at con. It’s extra special when we all start making real talk and let out our true feelings. It was always wonderful to run into other bronies at the smoke area and make chitchat about stuff with them. Would have done it more, but it was hot outside and I was keeping busy.

I entered the cosplay contest, my first ever, with one of my con roomies. We didn’t win, but that’s okay. It was fun to try. I made sure to cheer and shout extra loud for all the cosplayers who went up on stage. I am so happy that my friend Stuart won judges choice in the contest from The Owl House VAs. He works so hard on his cosplays every year and he deserves every bit of recognition he got. So proud of him. Give the man a big round of applause!

I made sure to bring my bubble bazooka with me so I could blow bubbles for everyone. I was gonna do it in the Gala but they didn’t want the dance floor slippery. Totally understandable. I went outside the gala and blew bubbles at the entrance, people coming and going through a pathway of bubbles! People LOVED it. After a bit someone came out and told me a few of the bubbles were making their way to the stage! That’s faaarrrr. XDDD I’ll have to bring it back again next year and blow bubbles in the foals room, with permission of course.

I made over 250 kandi bracelets for Everfree this year, had been working on them since the beginning of the year. I started giving them out on day zero. I’m happy to report I gave away every single kandi bracelet I had brought with me. I was not the only one doing this as other people were dropping kandi bracelets here and there on the free tables too. People absolutely loved them. I think next year I might give out buttons too, we’ll see.

I went to one panel while I was there. It was a panel for plushie making. It was hosted by a person named Hibiscus Stitch and they have been making plushies since the early 2000’s. I made sure to give them a kandi bracelet before the panel started. It interesting to hear about their story and see the progress they have made in their journey. They even had words of encouragement for aspiring plush toy makers from other plushie artists out there. Before the panel, a person came up the them three unicorn Twilight Sparkle plush toys and asked if they would hand them out during the panel. They agreed and so at the end, they threw them into the audience. I got supremely lucky as they threw one right in my direction, I was sitting in the front, so I jumped up, grabbed it, fell back into my chair and then onto the floor, on my back. I laughed because it was funny and my friend Stuart helped me up. Needless to say I got the plushie. I’m so happy to add a Twilight Sparkle plush to my collection. I didn’t have one before now. :3

After the panel, since there was no plush toy meetup on the schedule, I convinced the other attendees in the panel with plush toys to gather them all together for a photo. There were so many big ass plush toys there, it’s enough to make you squeal. I got a real good photo of the plushies, including the ones I had with me, Twilight and my own girl Magic Lady, but I totally forgot to include Angel Bunny in the video. OOPS. Sorry Angel, I know you just wanted the attention.

It was great fun to go to two room parties while I was there! I always enjoy a good room party, so I absolutely had to attend one. Or two. On Friday, Stuart and I went and checked out the BABScon room party. It was pretty bussin. They had several different drink options, both alcoholic and nonalcoholic, and so my friend and I each got ourselves a drink, donating the rest of my change to the tip jar. I got a tasty, pony themed, alcoholic beverage while Stuart got a pony themed mocktail. Both were delicious. We didn’t stay there for long, just enough to finish my drink. Stuart doesn’t take to loud parties so I made sure we got out quick. Hope you weren’t too overstimulated while there. I know the awesome convo in the room probably made up for it.

The second room party I went to was on Saturday and it was in my Bitch Buddy’s room. Her and her newlywed husband hosted a small party with drinks and Cards Against Humanity. There were oven ten people at the party! We played cards against the plush toys and I got drunk. Not too drunk though, just a comfortable level where I was still competent. I had so much fun at this room party. I always enjoy having a small room party with friends and CAH always makes for a great time. I got lucky and Bitch Buddy let me write in a black card. “What got me kicked out of the convention?” It was the first card we played. I also won that round because I wrote my custom white card as a direct response to that question that would also be hilarious in other situations. I didn’t set out to fix myself the winner, it just ended up that way. LOL, I got karma, it was the only black card I won that game. XDDD

Do you feel sad and need your faith in humanity restored? I got you. At the end of day one, I stopped at a free table while on the way to vape to check for goodies. I put my bag down on a seat next to it and then walked away without it. After getting back to my room, I realized I didn’t have it and went to look for it. Stuart was with me, so we checked the areas we were at and nothing. Feeling panicked, but not wanting to show any emotion about it, I masked being calm and decided to check first with hotel staff and then secondly with con ops. I went to the front desk and kindly asked, “Has anybody turned in a bag? It’s a clear MLP bag and it has my wallet, a plush toy that opens into a bag, two pairs of glasses,” etc and so on. The two at the desk looked at each other and one said, “I’ll go get it, I just took it down,” and he left for the staff door. They told me yes, someone just turned it into them. I was beyond happy. I literally turned around and shouted loudly, “Thank you bronies!” I quickly looked back to the receptionist and apologized for the noise. They didn’t mind. I checked my phone while waiting and I had a new discord notification from someone I had not known. Apparently the hotel notified the con that I had lost my bag and they sent me a message to check with hotel front of desk to get it. I was so happy. When I got my bag back, I made sure to check it. Everything was still there, including my grocery money. Man, if you needed a story to restore your faith in humanity, that was it.

On day zero, while I was waiting for the head of room to arrive, I was lucky to run into someone giving away little pony figures. They were in a crochet bag. I picked up a Mrs Cake to go with my Mr Cake. The person with the toys mentioned that once they were all out, they would be giving the bag they were in away. They asked if I wanted it and so I said absolutely! It was such a lovely bag. They said once they run out they’re giving it to the first person who wants it, so hopefully I would get lucky. On day two, I ran into them again and they had emptied the bag of all its contents. They mentioned again that they were going to give it away and I happen to be the first person he encountered. Well, I have a brand new bag now. It’s a lovely, handmade shoulder bag, big enough to hold a pony plush or two. It looks like something Izzy Moonbow would make, so it’s now officially my Izzy bag. I’d I ever cosplay her, I’ll have the perfect bag. I took all my pony pins and buttons and put them on the bag. I’m gonna cover the whole thing.

The arts and crafts room is always a great place to find good people. I went there to make kandi bracelets and ended up running into what I would call my most favorite cosplayers there this year. I didn’t notice them when I sat down, but a couple minutes later, I looked over and grinned from ear to ear. They looked at me confused, until they realized I recognized their cosplay. They were cosplaying as Nostalgia Critic. It gets better. The guy next to them looks at me too and goes, “And I’m Linkara.” I lost it. I was so happy. I managed to get a great picture of them together. A short bit later, they hand me a bracelet and ask me if I wanted to keep it. I love all gifts so I said yes. It said E621 on it. I felt like I knew that from somewhere, but couldn’t recall. Later in my room, I asked my roomies about it and Cross laughed. “It’s a furry porn site,” he said. I immediately shouted, “OKAY THIS IS MINE NOW.” I think it’s so hilarious.

My brain is not a nice place and while making a bracelet with trans colors on it, my brain said to put the word “tr*n*y” on it. I immediately told the people around me that my brain said that and they all cringed. I did too. Everyone, including my heart was telling me no way Jose. I said, “Brain, you can do better.” Instead, another voice in the brain said, “Okay, you want a trans bracelet but don’t want it to directly say “transgender” or “trans”, make it say “transmission”. You’re a transmission, just a little refurbished.” I laughed at that and went with it. Now I have a transmission bracelet. LOL I rather like it, actually. It’s evidence that even though my brain is a pit of disgusting filth, my heart is still golden and trying its best.

The vendor hall was great. Such a variety of pony related goods. Plushies, clothing, bags, pins, keychains, stickers, cups, all manner of things. I didn’t have a ton of money to spend but I was able to get myself a glass tumbler filled with glitter, featuring Princess Luna on the front. I wanted something useful from the vendor hall so that was a logical choice. I use a tumbler every day for water. I sure hope my cats or my absentmindedness don’t accidentally break it. I also was able to purchase a Zipp Storm badge and two pins, SciTwi and Sunset, for myself.

My caretaker, my roomie, and her girlfriend were supposed to attend the con too, but their hotel got overbooked and they couldn’t find another room so they ended up going home. At the very least, they were able to bring me my medications that I forgot. I felt so bad for them so I spent the last of my money for the month to get them each something from the vendor hall to make up for it. I got Greg a Derpy lanyard, Maya a SciTwi pin, and Carrie got an Aria button. I’m so sorry you weren’t able to attend this year. I’ll see if I can talk Greg into going next year and we can all room in the convention hotel together, no overbooking there.

I am a small artist, barely even known, so I decided to take a few of my unity crystal lapel pins with me and see if anyone wanted to buy one or trade. I was fortunate to be able to trade with two other artists while there, Moozua and GleamyDreams. I got a Fluttershy pin and a keychain of Bowser in a jar. My first trades ever!! I was gonna trade more with the vendors, because Sunday is the day to do it, but I was out of service then.

Out of service? Well, I woke up Sunday morning from PTSD nightmares with one hell of a tension headache. I couldn’t do anything but sleep all day. I did eventually wake up with no headache but by that time, the convention had officially come to an end. I’m not too upset about it. Sure, I missed the last day, but I had a FANTASTIC couple days before then. That more than made up for it. It ended up working out anyways.

It worked out, because during the room party, we were exposed to ‘you know what’. I’m not upset about it whatsoever. I had a fun time and if I die, I die happy. Don’t worry though, I don’t think I’m gonna die from anything yet. I would take a test but it’s too early and you can’t find them in our town. I will just self isolate in my room, wear a mask, and monitor myself for any bad signs. Not too difficult, I self isolate all the time. XDDD

I had a couple issues finding a ride, but managed to find one a month before con. They were so very nice, the both of them, and very understanding of my being in contact with you know what. They even still offered me a ride home, despite it, and the next day they were transparent with me about having a sore throat and still offered their services. I made sure to give each of them one of my custom unity crystal pins as a token of gratitude.

I am so fortunate to have such loving people in my life. I received so many gifts from people this year. A Fluttershy ID, a Sunset Shimmer lighter, several kandi bracelets, and some artwork. Not to mention the books, the bag, and plushie unicorn Twilight (if you count that). I am truly blessed by some force of the universe. Something made sure I did not go unrecognized.

I had such a wonderful time at Everfree this year. It was truly awesome. I’m ecstatic I got to see so many wonderful people there and make lasting memories. I hope to go back next year and room with my housemates. I’ll convince them. We’ll all have so much fun. We can host a room party and invite all our friends. I plan to apply to host a plushie meetup, since there wasn’t one on the schedule, and maybe host another panel, if I get approved. I have a couple ideas floating around in my head.

My apologies if you went to Everfree and we did not get to talk much. I didn’t mean to snub you and I hope I get to make up for it next convention. I also apologize if I said or did anything else that might have upset or rubbed you the wrong way. Do let me know if I did and we will work things out. That’s what friends do. I love you all so very much and thank you for reading along.

[layzgal]

A Merlin Fanfiction thing that will never get finished

I own nothing but my own ideas and o/c’s!! Everything else belongs to its rightful owners!!

(Also, feel free to take ideas but don’t copy the entire thing please. Although this is likely to not get finished, I still treasure it dearly.)

“No young man, no matter how great, can know his destiny.”

~The Great Dragon

    “Merlin come on!” Meris told her twin from the top of the hill.

    “I’m coming hold your horses!” He shouted from the middle of the hill. When he made it to the top he stood there a moment, panting and catching his breath.

    “You’re very slow you know that?” Meris remarked.

    “Why did they have to make this road so hilly?” Merlin panted.

    “Just to annoy you, now come on slow-poke.” Meris began down the hill and her brother came trudging behind her.

    In Camelot…

    The twins stared in wonder at Camelot, seeing as how they’ve never been outside of their village, it was truly a sight to see. They came into the citadel to find a group of people gathered around something. As the two newcomers watched, they realized it was an execution. As some guards brought out a young man in chains, another man in a crown upon a balcony spoke,

    “Let this serve as a lesson to all. This man, Thomas James Cullens, is adjudged guilty of conspiring to use enchantments and magic, and pressed to the law that I, Uther Pendragon, have decreed that such practices are banned, on penalty of death. I pride myself as a fair and just king, but for the crime of sorcery, there is but one sentence I can pass.” The king nodded to the guard, who made the accused man kneel at the cutting block. The executioner came beside the accused, raised his axe above his head, and brought it down upon the accused as Uther gave the signal, causing a gasp to fall across the crowd and people to look away. “When I came to this land,” Uther explained, “this kingdom was mired in chaos, but with the people’s help magic was driven from the realm, so I declare a festival, to celebrate twenty years since the great dragon was captured, and Camelot freed from the evil of sorcery. “Let the celebrations begin.”

    As the people began to disperse, a cry of grief rang across the citadel. The people parted to reveal an elderly woman with tears streaming down her face. “There is only one evil in this land it is not magic, it is you! With your hatred, and your ignorance,” She pointed to the execution block where the corpse now lay. “you took my son!” Her face turned from grief to anger and her voice became sharper than a knife. “I promise you, before these celebrations are over, you will share my tears. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a son for a son!”

    “Seize her!” The king ordered.

    The old woman reacted by chanting a spell into her jewel and disappearing into nothing, escaping from the guards.

    “Merlin,” Meris grabbed her brother’s sleeve to get his attention, “you know what this means.” She whispered to him. “No magic.” She told him with a serious voice.

    “I know.” Meris gave him a look. “I know.”

    Meris rolled her eyes. “Come on, let’s find Gaius.”

    After making their way through the castle’s halls to Gaius’s chambers, they waited a moment before Merlin knocked on the door. After a moment they went inside to find Gaius studying some books upon a small loft.

    “Gaius?” Merlin asked, then cleared his throat. Gaius turned, but lost his balance and fell, then the next thing they knew, Gaius lay in a bed that wasn’t there before, unharmed. Meris knew how the bed got there.

     “Merlin!” She hissed at him, then went to Gaius. “Are you alright?”

    “What? What did you just do?” Gaius asked as he got up off the bed. The twins paused, unsure of how to answer. “Answer me!”

    “I… I have no idea what happened.” Merlin uttered.

    “If anyone had seen that…”

    “No that had nothing to do with me-“

    “I know what it was, I just want to know where you learned to do it.”

    “No way.”

    “How is it that you know magic?”

    “I don’t.”

    “Where did you study?”

    “We didn’t learn this from anywhere.” Meris interjected.

    “Are you two lying to me?” Gaius asked in a threatening tone.

    “What do you want us to say?” Meris questioned.

    “The truth!”

    “We were born like this.”

    “That’s impossible.” He paused a moment. “Who are you?”

    “Oh, I have this letter.” Merlin grabbed the letter from his backpack and handed it to Gaius.

    “Well, I don’t have my glasses.”

    “He’s Merlin and I'm Meris.” Meris introduced them.

    “Hunith’s children. But you’re not meant to be here till Wednesday.”

    “It is Wednesday.” Merlin and Meris said together.

    Gaius paused. “Ahh, right then. Well Merlin you can put your bag in there,” He pointed to a doorway right behind him. “and Meris can set hers in there.” He pointed to another room.

    The two began to walk to their new rooms but stopped and began to ask, “You won’t say anything about-“

   “No.” The twins sighed. “Although,” They turned back to face him. “I should say thank you.”

    The two split and went into their rooms. Meris set her bag down on the bed in her room. After unpacking her things she glanced at her closed window, went over, stepped onto a table, opened the window, and gazed out into Camelot. Let’s hope nothing bad happens to any of us. She thought solemnly, reminiscing back to the woman at the execution.

    The next morning…

    Meris, a voice spoke out in her mind. Meris. Her eyes fluttered open to see sunlight streaming through her window. She sat up, stretching the tiredness out of her, got dressed, then went to Gaius’ chambers. Gaius had made porridge, which Meris accepted gladly while Merlin came out of his room.

    “I got you water.” Gaius told him, gesturing to a bucket full of water on the table. “You didn’t wash last night.”

    “Oh, sorry.” Merlin apologized.

    “Help yourself to breakfast.” While Merlin started eating, Gaius knocked over the bucket and Merlin reacted by freezing the bucket in place for a second, then letting it fall. “How did you do that? Did you incant a spell in your mind?”

    “I don’t know any spells.” Merlin said.

    “Then what did you do? There must be something.”

    “It just… happens.” Meris explained.

    “Can you do anything?” Gaius asked Meris as Merlin went to clean the water up.

    “I-I’m not sure, nothing like this has ever happened with me.”

    “Well, we better keep you both out of trouble. You can help me until I can find some paid work for the both of you.” He set a small sack on the table. “Here Merlin, Hollyhock in fever dew for lady Percival and this is for sir Orwin.” He held up a bottle with some yellowish-orange liquid inside. “He’s as blind as a weevil So warn him not to take it all at once.”

    “Okay.” Merlin told him.

    “And here.” Gaius gave Merlin a sandwich to eat. “Off you go.” Merlin went to the door and was about to leave before Gaius told him, “And Merlin, I need hardly tell you that the practice of any form of enchantments will get you killed.” Merlin nodded and left.

    “What do you want me to do?” Meris asked after Merlin left.

    “Well, to keep yourself busy you can sort those old books.” Gaius gestured to a shelf of unorganized books as he mopped up the spilled water.

    Meris went over to the shelf and took a look at the different book titles. They were all out of place so she began to sort them out. Pretty soon Gaius had to run an errand so that left her by herself. She picked up a book with the title Lylye of Medicynes and began to read. For some strange reason, she loved reading the book. She wasn’t one to just read books, not that they had any in their home village, she always stayed with her mother while her brother played with William when they were children.

    “Meris.” Gaius said as he came through the door, startling Meris.

    “Uh, Yes?” She spoke as she quickly put the book up.

    “I don’t suppose you know how to classify wormwood, sage, and balm?”

    “Yes, do you need me to pick you some?”

    “Yes, here.” He handed Meris a basket and sent her off.

    Finding the herbs was easy enough, it was coming back that was troublesome. Meris was walking back past what looked like a training ground for soldiers and knights. She looked and saw a blonde young man holding a familiar black-haired sibling.

    “I’ll have you thrown in jail for that.” The blonde said to Merlin.

    “Who do you think you are, the king?” Merlin replied.

    “No, I’m his son, Arthur.” He put Merlin on his knees and let some guards take him to his cell.

    Meris sighed angrily and went to Gaius’ chambers. “Gaius, Merlin’s in jail.”

    “What for?” Gaius asked panicked.

    “It wasn’t for practicing magic, he just got tangled up with the king's son, Arthur.”

    “There’s not much I can do now, but maybe I can pull a few strings in the morning.”

    “Thank you Gaius.”

    Meris. A voice rang through her head. Meris immediately aroused and glanced around her room in a futile attempt to find the source. Her vain search only ended when a knock on her door alerted her of someone on the other side.

    “It’s Gaius, are you decent?” The physician called out from outside.

    “Oh, um, yes it’s alright.” Gaius came into the room. “Yes?”

    “Come on, let’s get your brother.”

    Meris hurridly got herself dressed and followed Gaius out of his chambers and down flights of stairs to an area of the castle she had never been to before. It wasn’t long before Meris realized that they were headed to the dungeons, where they found Merlin laying on the ground in his cell. “Merlin!” Gaius called out to him. “you never cease to amaze me. The one thing that someone like you should do is keep your head down, and what do you do? You behave like an idiot.”

   “I’m sorry.” Merlin apologized.

    “You’re lucky, I’ve managed to pull a few strings to get you released.”

    Merlin became excited at the news. “Oh, thank you, thank you! I won’t forget this.”

    “Well, there is a small price to pay.” Meris added.

    The next thing Merlin knew, he was in the stocks with vegetables being hurled at him. Meris stood to the side along with Gaius holding back a chuckle. "Remind me again, why I'm here Meris." Merlin asked his sister.

    "Well, someone decided they needed to draw attention to themself." Meris recalled.

    "And how did that land me here?"

    "Play foolish, games-"

    "Win foolish prizes." Merlin finished as a tomato hit him square in the face.

    "Do you want some vegetables with that?" Gaius asked Merlin as he sat down for lunch, earning a small laugh from Merlin and a brief smile from Meris as she sat down.

    "I know you're still angry with me." Merlin told Gaius.

    "Your mother asked me to look after you both."

    "Yes." Merlin played with his food a bit.

    "What did your mother say to you both about your gifts?" Gaius questioned them.

    "That we were special." Merlin answered.

    "You are special, the likes of which I had never seen before."

    A puzzled look came across Meris' face. "What do you mean?"

    "Well, magic requires incantations, spells that take years to study. What I saw you do Merlin, was... elemental, instinctive."

    "Well, what's the point if it can't be used?" Merlin wondered.

    "That I do not know. You are a question that has never been posed before Merlin."

    "Did you ever study magic?" Meris asked Gaius.

    "Uther banned all such work twenty years ago." Gaius answered.

    "Why?" Merlin inquired.

    “People used magic for the wring end at the time. It threw the natural order of the world into chaos. Uther made it his life’s mission to destroy everything from back then, even the dragons.”

    “What, all of them?”

    “There was one dragon he choose not to kill, kept it as an example. He imprisoned it in a cave deep beneath the castle, where no one can free it. Now, eat up, the both of you, and when you’re finished I need you to take a concoction to Lady Helen. She needs it for her voice.”

    “Wait, both of us?” Merlin asked. “Why?”

    “Well, considering where you were just a few hours ago,” Meris spoke, “I’d say you need someone to keep you out of trouble.”

    “Fair enough.” Merlin pouted as he finished his food.

    “I think her room is right over there.” Meris told Merlin as the twins made their way throughout the vast halls of the castle. Once there, Meris knocked on the door. “Lady Helen?” When they were met with silence, they went inside and Merlin set the concoction on Lady Helen’s vanity.

    “Meris, look at this.” Merlin had picked up an object on the vanity.

    “Merlin,” Meris scolded him as she snatched the object from him, “you shouldn’t be going through someone else’s things, least of all a royal guest’s. Do you wish to end up back in the cells?” Meris had finally noticed what was in her hand and looked at it curiously; it was a straw figure tied together with strings, and looking at the mirror, Meris noticed it was mostly covered by a sheet. Holding the straw figure gave Meris a bad feeling, so she put it back as she saw Merlin examining a book bound by string.

    Before she could reprimand him again, they heard a noise and Merlin hurriedly put the items back in their place. Just as he put them back, Meris turned to see Lady Helen herself. The two had never seen Lady Helen before, but her talented voice was the talk of many kingdoms.

    A moment of silence passed as Lady Helen glanced between Meris, Merlin, and her vanity. "What are you doing in here?"

    "Uh-uhm," Merlin stuttered. "We were asked to deliver this." Merlin got the vial containing the concoction and handed it to Lady Helen. While he did, Meris noticed Helen's behavior, it seemed odd. Once he handed the vial to Helen, the twins left, not being able to shake an uneasy feeling.

    The two went through the town on more errands for Gaius when they walked pass a group being led by a blonde male partially dressed in armor. "How's your knee-walking moving along?" Merlin tried to ignore him at first but the blonde persisted. "Oh, don't run away!"

    Merlin stopped. "From you?"

    "Aw thank God, I thought you were deaf as well as dumb."

    "Look, I told you you're an ass," Merlin said as he turned to face the blonde that Meris had recognized as Prince Arthur, "I just didn't realize you were a royal one. Oh, what are you going to do, you got your daddy's men to protect you?"

    The prince laughed. "I could take you apart with one blow."

    "I could take you apart with less than that."

    "Are you sure?"

    Merlin stared at them for a long moment before removing his jacket, much to the prince's amusement and to Meris' worry. Meris grabbed Merlin's arm in a feeble attempt to de-escalate the situation. "Merlin, it's not worth it."

    Merlin didn’t listen as Arthur took a flail from one of his men and tossed it to Merlin, who failed to catch it, being so unused to the weapon.

    "Come on then." Arthur told Merlin as he swung his flail above his head. "I warn you, I've been trained to kill since birth."

    "Wow," Merlin replied sarcastically, "and how long have you been training to be a prat?"

    Arthur scoffed. "You can't address me like that."

    "Sorry, how long have you been training to be a prat," Merlin mockingly bowed, "my lord?"

    Arthur responded by taking a swing at Merlin, and Meris ran off to find Gaius, who she hoped to de-escalate the situation before someone, mainly Merlin got hurt. She got to Gaius' chambers to find him looking at the window. "Gaius!"

    "Don't tell me." Gaius started.

    "Merlin's got into a fight with the prince."

    The two went back where Merlin and Arthur were to find Merlin standing over Arthur in victory. The victory didn't last king since Arthur got his hands on a broom and knocked Merlin to the ground with it. As the guards began to seize Merlin, Arthur stopped them. "No, let him go. He may be an idiot, but he's a brave one." He stopped and looked at Merlin. "There's something about you. I can't quite put my finger on it."

    "How could you be so foolish?!" Gaius asked Merlin angrily as the trio entered his chambers.

    "He needed to be taught a lesson." Merlin answered.

    "Magic must be studied, mastered, and used for good, not for idiotic pranks!"

    Merlin turned to Gaius. "What is there to master? I could move objects like that before I could talk!"

    "Then by now, you should know how to control yourself!"

    "I don't want to! If I can't use magic then what have I got? I'm just a nobody, and I always will be.  If I can't use magic, I might as well die."

    Merlin went into his room, as Gaius began to gather his medicinal supplies. Meris stood, shaken by Merlin's words. Merlin had never said anything like that before, even back home, though she knew that he always felt different than the rest for obvious reasons.

    Gaius began to head to Merlin's room, but Meris stopped him. "Just tell me what I need to do, I'll go talk to him." As Gaius gathered the supplies she would need, Meris asked, “You don’t know why he has magic, do you Gaius?”

    “Truthfully, no, but maybe there is someone with greater knowledge than me.” Gaius gave her the tonics she needed, and Meris went into her brother's room to find him chest-down on his bed.

    "Come on, get up and take your shirt off."

    Merlin did as Meris set the medicines on his nightstand and sat beside him. As she got the tonic for the wounds on Merlin’s back, Merlin asked, “Gaius doesn’t know why we were born like this, does he?”

    “No, but I’m sure that there is a good reason why you have magic.”

    “I’m not a monster, am I?”

    Meris lightly hit Merlin. “Am I a monster?” Merlin shook his head. “Then you’re not either.”

    “But I wish I knew why I have magic.” Merlin told Meris as she poured a liquid into a cup.

    “Gaius mentioned that there might be someone with greater knowledge than him.” Meris said as she handed the tonic to her brother. "Drink this, Gaius said it will help with the pain." After he drank the liquid, Merlin handed the small cup back and Meris stood to leave, ruffling Merlin's hair as she did.

    "Meris?"

    "Hm?" Meris stopped at the door.

    "Thank you."

    Meris softly smiled. "Just try not to get yourself into any more trouble, alright?"

    Meris. Meris. The young lady shifted in her sleep as the voice called to her. Only when she saw flashes of a chandelier falling and dagger being thrown did she startle awake. She got out of bed, put on her cloak over her underdress and boots, and crept out into Gaius' room.

    To her surprise, she found Merlin in there, looking as surprised as she was when he realized she was awake. They made gestures to each other as if having a silent conversation with each other until Merlin accidentally knocked a metal object over, causing them to flinch in fear of waking Gaius. His only response was shifting over away from the two. Merlin gestured for Meris to come to him, and before the two left, Merlin used his magic to cover Gaius with his sheet. Once they left the room, quietly shutting the door, they finally spoke in whispers.

    "What the hell are you doing up?" Merlin whispered to his sister.

    "I couldn't sleep, what the hell are you doing up?" She whispered back

    "I kept hearing a voice in my head."

    "You're hearing one too?"

    "Come on, let's go find out what it is."

    The twins made their way throughout the castle. They were careful to not alert the guard on patrol. As the two walked across the courtyard, they heard the voice calling their names again.

    The voice called them to the dungeons where they halted due to a pair of guards keeping watch over the entrance. Merlin looked to see they were playing with some die, so he used his magic to move the die away from the guards until they were out of the room entirely. Before heading into the entrance, Merlin grabbed a torch and lit it before the two descended down a flight of stairs behind an open metal door, the voice calling to them as they did.

    Before they knew it, the twins found themselves in a large cavern, lit only by the moon from outside and the torch in Merlin's hand. A moment later they heard a chuckle echo throughout the cave.

    "Where are you?" Merlin called out into the cavity.

    Out of the darkness, a large, scaly, figure flew onto a rock where the twins could see it. The two stared in wonder at the great beast. The only word that could come to mind as far as describing it was, dragon.

    "I'm here." The dragon said as he and the twins studied each other, having never seen anything, or anyone, like them before. "How small you are, for such great destinies."

    Merlin and Meris glanced at each other for a moment before turning back to the dragon. "Why, what do you mean?" Merlin asked him.

    "What destinies?" Meris inquired.

    "Your gifts, Merlin, and Meris," The dragon answered, "were given to you both for a reason."

    "So there is a reason?" Merlin sounded hopeful.

    "Arthur is the Once and Future King who will unite the land of Albion."

    "Right."

    "But he faces many threats from friend and foe alike."

    "I don't see what this has to do with me."

    "Everything." The dragon told the two of them. "Without you, Arthur will never succeed. Without you, there will be no Albion."

    "No, no you've got this wrong." Merlin told the dragon.

    "There is no right or wrong, only what is and what isn't."

    "I'm serious, if anyone wants to go and kill him, they can go ahead. In fact, I'll give them a hand."

    "Merlin!" Meris scolded him. "You can't mean that."

    The dragon simply chuckled. "None of us can choose our destiny, and none of us can escape it."

    "No, there must be another Arthur, because this one's an idiot." Merlin spoke.

    "Perhaps it's your destiny to change that."

    "You've got this all wrong." Meris told the dragon. "I don't have a gift. I can't make things move with my mind. I'm completely ordinary."

    "No one person can bear such a great destiny alone. That is why you have strengths to help Merlin fulfill his destiny, and why he has strengths that will help you fulfill yours." The dragon flew away, despite the two begging for more knowledge about their so-called 'destinies'.

    The next morning, Meris woke with a start to the same images she saw the night before. After she recovered from the nightmares, she got dressed and went out into Gaius' chambers to find him preparing a drought. "What's that for?" Meris asked curiously.

    "This is for the Lady Morgana," Gaius explained, "the poor girl is suffering from nightmares. Will you wake your brother so he can deliver this to Morgana?"

    Meris walked over to her brother's room and knocked on the door. "Merlin, are you awake?" A faint,'Hmm' was the only answer she got, so she went inside to find the room in a chaotic state. “What is this? We haven’t been here a week and your room is already a mess!”

    Merlin held his hands up in a, ‘I don’t know’ manner. “It just happens.”

    “By magic?” Meris sarcastically guessed.

    “Yeah.”

    “Right, and now I’m sure you can clean it up. Without magic.” Meris tossed a pair of trousers at Merlin’s face. “After that Gaius needs you to deliver a tonic to the Lady Morgana.”

    After she made sure that Merlin was getting himself out of bed, she went from Merlin’s room back to Gaius. “Ah, Meris, I need some herbs.”

    “Of course, what are they?”

    “Henbane, wormwood, and sorrel. Here,” Gaius handed Meris a small book for classifying plants, “to help you find them. The plants shouldn’t be too far from Camelot.”

    “Thank you Gaius.” Meris grabbed her basket and cloak, then headed off.

    Once she finished gathering herbs, Meris returned to the castle with just enough time to wash up for the celebration. Once they were all ready, Merlin, Meris, and Gaius entered the hall where the celebration was being held. The twins looked about the hall in wonder, which made sense since the two had never been exposed to such wonderful architecture before.

    Meris caught Merlin glaring at Arthur and his comrades laughing and joking, more than likely about the quarrel that happened the day before. Meris rubbed Merlin's shoulder in comfort. "Put them out of your mind Merlin. They're just bullies, nothing more."

    Then, Lady Morgana walked in with a stunning red dress, leaving the majority of the room speechless, including Merlin. Gaius caught Merlin gazing at the Lady Morgana. "Merlin," he whispered, lightly scolding him, "remember, you're here to work." Gaius went to mingle with the others as a young brunette came up to Merlin and Meris.

    "She looks beautiful doesn't she?" The young brunette asked.

    "Yeah." Merlin answered dreamily.

    "Some people are just born to be queen."

    "No," Merlin said in disbelief.

    "I hope so, one day. Not that I'd want to be her. Who'd wanna marry Arthur?" The young lady noticed Meris beside Merlin. "Who's this?"

    "I'm Meris." Meris introduced herself, sticking her hand out to shake. "Merin's sister."

    "Nice to meet you, I'm Gwenivere, but most people call me 'Gwen'." Gwen accepted Meris' handshake.

    Suddenly, the king arrived with the flourish of trumpets, and everyone bowed as he made his way to the table where he stood as he gave a speech. "We have enjoyed twenty years of peace and prosperity. It has brought the kingdom and myself many pleasures. But few can compare with the honor of introducing Lady Helen of Mora." The king sat with his son and ward as the entire room gave a round of applause to Lady Helen, who began singing.

    As her song echoed throughout the room, the twins realized that everyone had begun to sleep, and covered their ears as the flames in the rooms died out and cobwebs began to cover every nook and cranny of the place. As this was happening, the 'Lady Helen' moved closer to Prince Arthur and pulled a dagger from her sleeve. Thinking fast, Merlin caused the chandelier above Helen to fall onto her, pinning her to the floor and causing the spell to wear off.

    Everyone stirred from their short sleep to find the Lady Helen pinned to the floor from the chandelier, only, it wasn't the Lady Helen. Meris looked to see it was the elderly woman from the first day she and Merlin arrived in Camelot. Everything made sense, the elderly woman had sworn vengeance to the king for killing her son, so she impersonated Lady Helen to kill Prince Arthur. Thankfully, now she seemed unable to do any more harm...

    ... or so everyone thought. The elderly woman used the last of her strength to throw the dagger she had where Arthur stood. As quickly as they could, the twins pulled Arthur out of the way of the dagger. Luckily, the twins acted in time and the only thing the dagger harmed was Arthur's chair. Her strength spent and her life gone, the elder woman took a final breath as she slumped onto the ground, dead.

    The twins and the prince stood, taking in what had just happened. The king was the first to speak. 'You saved my boy's life. A debt must be repaid."

    "Ah, well, I." Merlin stuttered.

    "It's nothing, sire, any good citizen of Camelot would have done the same." Meris assured the king.

    "Don't be so modest. You shall be rewarded." The king told them.

    "No, honestly, you don't have to your highness." Merlin replied.

    "No absolutely, this merits something quite special."

    "Well..."

    "You shall be awarded with a position in the royal household, you shall be prince Arthur's manservant." He noticed Meris. "What about you?"

    "Sire, there is no need-"

    Gaius came up to the small group. "Sire, if I may, I have been needing some help as of late, and the girl has shown promising talent in the field of science."

    "Then you shall be awarded as Gaius's assistant." The king walked away as the room burst into thunderous applause.

    "So," Meris found her brother staring into the lit candle in his room, "how does it feel to be a hero?"

    Merlin snapped out of his trance. "I suppose I could ask you the same question."

    The two turned when the sound of knocking grabbed their attention as Gaius came into the room. "Seems you two are heroes."

    "Hard to believe, isn't it?"

    "No, I knew it from the moment I met you two."

    The twins shared a glance, remembering how they met their new guardian just a few days ago. A moment later Meris realized, "but that was Merlin's magic."

    "And now it seems we've finally found a use for it." Gaius told them.

    "What do you mean?" Merlin asked.

    "I saw how you saved Arthur's life." Merlin tried to protest, but Meris gave him a silencing look. "Perhaps that is its purpose."

    Melin sighed. "My destiny."

   "Indeed." Gaius handed Merlin an object wrapped in cloth. "This book was given to me when I was your age, but I have a feeling it will be of more use to you than it was to me."

    Hesitant at first, Merlin opened the cloth-bound object to find it was a book held closed by two clasps. Opening the clasps, he flipped through the book and found the contents to be interesting. "But this is a book of magic."

    "Which is why you must keep it hidden."

    Merlin turned to Meris. "What about you?"

    "Merlin, I've never shown any sign of being able to use magic." Meris told her brother. "The book is of no use to me."

    A knock at Gaius' door drew the trio's attention away from the book. "Merlin? Prince Arthur wants you right away." A servant called out.

    Gaius turned back to Merlin. "Your destiny is calling. You'd better find out what he wants."

[iwasjustgoingthere]

Books Read 2022

1. Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente

Decibel Jones and the Absolute Zeros have to compete for humanity’s survival in intergalactic Eurovision. Lots of fun language and praise of glam

2. The House at Tyneford by Natasha Solomons

I stayed up late my last night in Washington to finish it. Historical fiction of a Jewish girl fleeing Vienna to work in a British manor, romance develops. I’m glad they gave the ending it deserved, even if the final chapter 40 years later was strange. 

3. The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

A caseworker, Linus Baker, who’s job is to check orphanages for magical youth is sent to an extra special orphanage on an island. He learns to love it there. Warmed my heart and made me cry while I was home alone in late winter. 

4. Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link

A series of magic realism short stories. I loved these. The point of them seemed to be to experience the stories and not understand them fully. I normally want to understand everything so it was interesting how much I could enjoy a story I don’t understand. 

5. What to say next by Julie Buxbaum

Guy with Asperger’s befriends popular girl going through grief/trauma. It was a good book, I thought.

6. Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

Literally SO good. First of all the story/world-building, incredible, and then the fact that they solved a love triangle with a throuple makes me unbelievably happy. 

6. Heartstopper, books 1 - 4 by Alice Oseman

Not to be that person but I read these before the Netflix series became a thing. A happy coincidence! Yes they’re so cute 

7. And then there were none, by Agatha Christie

I borrowed this book, along with Heartstopper, from a friend so I’d have something to read in the train. 

8. The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

I started it and wasn’t interested, but when Alka told me it was good I finished the book, and boy am I glad I did. A psychotherapist tries to help a woman who killed her husband and hasn’t spoken since. 

9. Sperling by Katharina Korbach

A German novel that my friend’s girlfriend lent me. A college student struggling with an eating disorder meets a lonely phD student who lives near her. A sad book but well-written. 

10. Beautiful World Where are You by Sally Rooney

I’m not a fan of Sally Rooney so we’ll see if I finish this book. I’m at least mildly compelled by it, as long as I skip the email portions. (update: as of October, not finished)

11. Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding

I got it for free from a book box. It’s crazy that the book is slightly older than me, the main character would be approaching 60 years old. I’m getting into it though, maybe this will relaunch a book phase for me. At this point (mid-June) it’s clear I won’t be reading 50 books this year. 

12. Ilium by Dan Simmons

Dan Simmons has male-author syndrome but unfortunately his world-building is superb. Really enjoyed this book overall 

13. The Husbands by Chandler Baker 

Yeah, this was good. While one aspect of the whole thing was clear, it was still a chilling story and made me think (the book is about what to do about husbands who don’t take on their fair share of the household and how far you can go for justice). 

14. One Last Stop by Casey McQuinston

Fluffy, but we love a somewhat supernatural fluffy lesbian romance. Girls on Ney York’s subway trains. 

15. Everyone in this Room will Someday be Dead by Emily Austin

A lesbian struggling with her mental health ends up with a job in a Catholic church and struggles to manage her life and find out who killed the person who had the job before her. This book is my comfort book right now, I have ordered a paper copy from World of Books and wish it was arriving before November. 

16. Mauersegler by Jasmin Schreiber

Finally. I’ve been meaning to read it forever. A man is on the run from something he did that lead to his best friend’s death. 

17. They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

Two boys find out they’re dying sometime that day and get together to live their last day to its fullest. It’s crazy how long and important a single day can be, I feel like it could be a little exaggerated in the book but it really doesn’t feel like it while reading. 

18. Dracula by Bram Stoker

Courtesy of Dracula Daily, which I can recommend. 

19. A Terrible Kindness by Jo Browning Wroe

A young embalmer avoids dealing with his past regarding his best friend, their choir days, his mother, and the time he had to do emergency work after a landslide. He’s stupid but the book is good! His best friend was wonderful.

20. The Truth about Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin

Yes, nice. A girl is traumatized by her best friend drowning randomly and tries to find some meaning in the incident through jellyfish.

21. The Next Great Paulie Fink by Ali Benjamin 

A girl goes to a new school unlike her previous school with a small class of colorful characters and becomes a better person while they all speculate what happened to the class legend, Paulie Fink.

22. The First to Die at the End by Adam Silvera

The prequel to “they both die at the end” and very nice. Makes me want to flip through the other book to catch all the references. 

23. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

25-year-old April May finds one of many giant robot statues and becomes the face of the global movement to understand their possibly alien nature. 

24. S by Doug Dorst and J. J. Abrams

A book that’s both a typed story and the interactions of two young people in the margins, trying to figure out the book, the author, and each other. 

Ok there we have it! I don’t want to count the Sally Rooney book but if I count all the Heartstopper Books individually we’re at 27 books in 2022!  Pretty good! That seems like a nice number of books for a book lover.

[writersblog20]

Italian ice cream

Henry Cavill x reader

Summary: You and Henry had both feelings towards each other but never talked about them. Maybe all it needed was some Italian food and some ice cream.

Warnings: Depression, anxiety, mention of overthinking. Cockwarming and a whole bunch of Italian food and fluff!

Words 4.2K

A/N: I wrote this for Chris as well but I really wanted a Henry one too so I copied it and changed it up a bit. So if you’ve read the one about Chris, just know this is the same one.

Italian ice cream

It had been a tough couple of months for you. Depression and anxiety had been keeping you company for so long now that you forgot how it is without it. Everyday overthinking, struggling with eating, sleeping and overall just living in general. You tried though, you really did but there wasn’t one sign that things would soon become better instead, it looked like things would just getting harder.

One thing that brought you happiness, or well at least some sort of comfort and safety and that had been Henry. He had been living with you for some weeks now out of circumstances. Your family members had been a big job in one of the movie projects and took you with them to set in hopes that it would make you feel a little better.

That’s when you met Henry. You both got along pretty quick but you kept him at distance. It was because of the way you felt, you would close up on pretty much everyone, including yourself. You knew you were doing it but didn’t knew how to stop it.

Henry needed a place to stay and your family pointed out you, which, eventually you agreed to. Even though you were closed up, you couldn’t help but feel butterflies when Henry would be around. You hated eye contact with him, scared he could tell that you were utterly and hopelessly in love with the blued eyed man.

This day wasn’t any easier. It was a tough one from the moment you opened your eyes. You felt tired but knew couldn’t sleep again because of the anxiety and overthinking. You wanted to stay in bed but the anxiety kept giving you the feeling that you had to fleet the place.

You got up, brushed your teeth, got downstair and made some coffee. You saw Henry already in the kitchen as it was one of his free days. “Good morning, Sunshine. How’d you sleep?” he gave you a cup of coffee. You smiled gratefully at him. “the same.” You told him.

Henry knew about how you felt. You told him one day after a severe panic attack. After that you promised him to be honest with him and not to downplay it. When you would, automatically, downplay it, he noticed in an instance. He would help you with your panic attacks and stayed besides you in the darkest days. He could read you like an open book

You always wondered why as it came with the low self-esteem. He would always tell you that, in the better days, even when your suffering, you are a sunshine in his life. He meant that, that was also why he called you sunshine. He would say that you were really a light in his life even when you didn’t feel like it or believed him, he told you the truth though.

Henry was making pancakes and even though you weren’t hungry, you ate a little bit. Henry could tell that you were having a bad day today because you were really silent. It was a habit of you. he scanned your face with a soft smile on his lips as he chewed on the pancakes.

“So…. I have a free day and the wheatear is nice today…. Want to do something with me?” he asked you carefully. You looked up and met his kind eyes, he would always look at you with so much softness in his eyes. You quickly looked outside, seeing the sun with a bright blue sky.

You looked down, knowing it would be good if you got out of the house for a while even though you really didn’t want to. You knew he was asking you but also knew he would drag you out if he had to. “Sure….. what do you have in mind?” you asked him softly, already regretting your decision.

Henry smiled brightly “Great! Well, we could walk around a bit, you can show me some stuff around town if you’d like.” You nodded, already feeling pissed at yourself. Why is it so hard to understand that you just wanted to hide from the world. You knew that it wasn’t rational but you felt like nothing was rational lately.

He saw you sinking deep in though. “Sunshine? You still here with me? I know you really don’t want to go but let me make you an offer. If you go with me, we can get something on the way back. Your favorite snack or something, you decide. And after we can hide from the world together.” He could read you like a book. Damn that man.

“Yeah, ehm yeah sure.” You told him with a forced smile. He stayed silent for a moment, scanning you again. “Bad day huh” he said with so much softness, covering his voice. you just nodded as you felt the tears sting in your eyes. he saw, he sees everything.

He stood up and took your hand, forcing you to get up and pulled you in a tight hug. He rested his head against yours as he softly rocked the both of you. “I’m here sweetheart, I’m here. It’ll get better, I promise you that.” You nodded as you felt the tears fall. He went with his hand over your hair and kissed the side of your head.

He only let go if you when you wanted that. Even though you hated the idea, you loved him for trying to get you out of the house, knowing it would help at the end of the day.  

That day you walked around and you pointed some things out and when you felt your heart grow heavy, he would hold your hand on cue. Like he felt it too. You would walk hand in hand for a while, not caring who would see you together.

You walked into town and you bought some nice stuff for yourself, while Henry bought some stuff for himself as well. You held tightly onto your new books when you saw that the blue sky, quickly got replaced by rainy clouds.

“Look like it’s going to rain soon….” Henry told you and you nodded. “Yeah we probably head home.” Henry  nodded in agreement. You walked by a restaurant on your way home. You always used to go there as a kid since they had the best Italian ice cream. You stopped for a second as memories flooded your clouded mind and a visible soft smile crept up on your lips at the thought of the nice memories.

“Do you want to get some ice cream for home?” Henry asked you and you nodded, already waking inside. The owners knew you very well since you came there at least twice a week.

The man saw you and got a bright smile and held his hands up in the air. “Y/N!!! It’s so nice to see you again!!! How’ve you been? It has been too long.” His thick Italian accent covering his words. You smiled and hugged him “I’m good, how are you? It has been a while, we were in the neighborhood and thought we should drop in.”

Henry smiled at your interaction. “Is this your boyfriend?” The owner asked excitedly as he shook Henry’s hand. You chuckled softly “No he’s not. But he’s a great friend.” You told him. Henry’s smile faded just a little. “Well, She’s an amazing woman! Any man should be lucky to have her.” Henry smiled again and looked at you with adoration in his eyes “Trust me, I know. She is amazing.” You felt your cheeks heat up with a shy smile.

“Y/N, We have new ice cream and we want you to try it! Have you both eaten yet? You should eat, don’t worry it’s on me.” The man was so excited to see you again and he ushered you on a table.

“We haven’t yet but we need to go home soon I’m afraid. But we’ll come by soon!” you promised him. He looked down a little bit but then yelled something to the back in Italian. “Don’t worry. Only if you promise to try the new ice cream like you did when you were younger.” You smiled

The man looked at Henry, who still looked with adoration at you. “You know, if it wasn’t for this young lady, then we wouldn’t have our best ice cream. Back in the day I had a new taste of ice cream but I wasn’t a fan of it and my lovely wife told me that I needed her opinion on it.” He pointed at you when he said ‘her opinion.’ “She loved it so that was that and we decided to sell it. it’s the most sold flavored ice cream here now and we even got presented as best restaurant in the city, mostly because of our ice cream.”

You smiled shyly as Henry got a big, proud smile on his face. “you never told me that.” He told you softly as he nudged your shoulder a little. “Every week we had her try out new ice cream flavors.” He smiled proudly.

He got the new buckets of new flavors and placed them in a cup for you to try it. You liked three of the five flavors and told him honestly. You brought the spoon up to Henry’s lips for him to try it as well. He looked deeply into your eyes as he tried the ice cream. You felt intimidated and yet the butterflies were flying all around.

You always felt a little intimidated and small around Henry since he was such a broad man and could tower over you. But for some reason he was always soft and caring around you, like you were from glass and could break any moment. Well it was sort of true but you knew there was more behind it.

Henry agreed with you in the end in not liking the last two flavors. “Alright, come, come, pick some ice cream.” He told you after he thanked you for your opinion. You both got 2 big cups with 6 scoops of different types of flavor. And of course he got you both extra. You smiled and paid the man with a grateful tip.

All of a sudden his son came into view with a huge plastic bag with all kinds of food in it. You both looked at the man in surprise. “You both need to eat, so we got you lots of appetizers, main dinner (Your favorite, as I remember) with some fine wine and of course dessert.” He smiled and you felt so loved by them.

They treated you more like family than your own family did. You got your wallet out but he placed his hand over it. “It’s on the house if you promise to come back soon.” The man gave you a sweet smile.

You gave him a hug. “Thank you so much. You’ve always treated me like family and I can’t thank you enough” the man hugged you back. “I’ve seen you grow up to the fine young lady you are today, you are family. Now you both go and enjoy your dinner together before it gets cold!” you smiled and so did Henry after he gave the man a handshake.

You said your last goodbyes and both left to head home. “That was so nice, we really need to go back there soon” Henry told you and you nodded in agreement. “Maybe next weekend?” Henry nodded again.

When you both got home you opened the bag to see what they got you after putting the huge cups of ice cream in the freezer. For the appetizers they got you, fresh garlic bread, still warm, olives, carpaccio, some melon with some sort of ham around it and bruschetta.

“Wow they really went all out for you.” Henry said “Yeah, I’ve been coming there, like I said, twice a week for over 4 years. Sometimes for dinner, sometimes for ice cream or just to chat.” You told him, smiling at the memory.

“I’ve missed it more than I thought.”  You told him honest. For main dinner you both got pizza (which are just amazing there. not the big ones but the real Italian pizza’s) and pasta. It already smelled delicious.

You got everything on the table while Henry got some glasses for the wine. You plopped on the couch together and put Shrek on before diving in the food. There was no way that you would both finish everything this evening “Well I don’t think we have to worry about dinner tomorrow.” Henry chuckled as he took a big bite from the pizza “I wouldn’t be so sure about that, I can eat a lot sweetheart.” You chuckled, that was true, that man could eat for at least four people.  

“This is the most amazing pizza I have ever had.” He commented, making you smile. “I know, it’s so good.” You sighed as you took another bite of the pizza. The appetizers were amazing as well and you both thoroughly enjoyed dinner together.

“I’m so full.” Henry said and you chuckled “Yeah me too.” Shrek was finished. “You want to watch the second movie or something else?” he asked you. “Can we maybe watch a documentary?” he looked a little surprised at you “Yeah sure of course.” He told you and you quickly searched for a documentary, you started watching last night.

It was about the night stalker and you were at episode 3 now. He looked a little surprised at you. “You like this?” he asked you surprised “No, it really interests me. I just can’t wrap my head around why someone would do this and it just interests me. Maybe because I wanted to study criminology when I was a little younger.”

Henry never knew this about you as he saw you like this creative woman. “Why didn’t you?” he asked as your eyes were glued to the screen. “Well, I think I wouldn’t be able to let something go. Besides if I have all the evidence but the jury doesn’t convict the suspect than I would absolutely lose my mind. I know how it is at the other end, you know as a victim and not getting justice for it. I don’t know, it interests me but if I would do it, I would go down under, if you understand. I know the explanation is a little off but it’s not for me.”

He smiled a little sad at you.

Throughout the episode, you leaned more against Henry. You didn’t notice but Henry definitely did with a smile creeping on his face. He placed his arm behind you and pulled you more in. You looked up, realizing you’ve been leaning against him. “Oh I’m sorry.” You told him and sat straight again.

He gave you a comforting, warm smile “It’s okay, I actually like it.” he told you with his voice thick. You thought about it as you felt flustered but got back into your comforting place but this time you got even more comfortable. Henry placed his arm around you again and softly went with his hand over your head and massaged it softly with his fingertips

After the episode finished you got up to get the ice cream. “You want yours?” You asked and Henry already got a grin. “You know I can’t say no to that or you.” You felt flustered at the last two words.

You smiled and got both big cups out of the freezer, got the spoons and walked back to your place. You sat closely against Henry as you gave him his cup and spoon. You both ate the delicious ice cream while watching another episode and discussing the topic together.

“This is so good, here try it!” Henry told you as he got some ice cream on his spoon and put it in front of your mouth to feed you. You chuckled and opened your mouth to taste the ice cream. “Oh wow that’s really good!” you told him. “Here try mine!” you told him happy, this time Henry chuckled deeply and you could feel the rumble in your back, making you feel shy and flustered. You brought the spoon to his lips and he did the same thing as he did back in the ice cream shop/restaurant.

You felt butterflies swirling again as your heart started doing flips. He looked so intently in your eyes and you couldn’t break away from him. It was like he was teasing you. Ones his lips left the spoon you kept looking at him like he had you under his spell.

“I really like you Henry.” You blurted out. He looked at you but you couldn’t read his expression. You realized what you just had said. Your cheeks heated up and you felt embarrassed. “I’m sorry… I..”

“Do you really mean that?” Henry asked you all of a sudden but even more softer than normally. You looked down but nodded. “But I understand if…” you got cut off by his cold lips from the ice cream as he connected with your lips. It took you quite by surprise to say the least. You could taste the ice cream form his lips.

He pulled back but made eye contact with you. It was silent for a minute while you both kept looking at each other. This time you connected your lips against his in a more heated kiss. The flavors of ice cream mixing together as you felt his tongue against yours.

You placed on hand on his cheek and the other in his hair. You could feel his hand on your waist and the other got the cup of ice cream out of your hand before placing it on the table without breaking the kiss.

His other arm around your waist as he hinted you to sit on his lap. You replaced yourself on his lap with his help and placed your arms around his neck and played with his hair.

After you both pulled back, you placed your forehead against his while he cupped your cheek with one hand and his other hand drew circles on your back. You felt so warm inside and happy that you hugged him. Your face hidden in the crook of his neck as he did the same, letting out a loud sigh and kept rubbing your back. You both needed to be close together, to hold each other tightly. Basically cling to each other.

After a while he got you out of the hug and placed a lingering kiss on your forehead. “I love you so much sunshine.” You felt yourself automatically smile “I love you too Henry, I really do.” You could feel him smile through his lips on your forehead.

“Let’s try it together if you want to. I don’t just want to be friends anymore. I need you more, I want all of you.” you hugged him tighter as a reaction. “I wouldn’t want anything else.” You told him honestly. He nuzzled your nose with his own and placed soft kisses on your lips. You stayed like that for a while as his thumb softly went over your lips and you looked deeply into each other eyes.  

You never needed to feel someone so close. Not something sexual in particular, at least not now, but for comfort and security. You got him in a hug again as you hang on to him like a koala. He seemed to mirror your emotions as in wanting to be close as well, snuggling into your neck and so now and then placing kisses on your skin.

“Can we cuddle in bed?” you asked him and he smiled at you while he placed a piece of hair behind your ear. “Of course darling, whatever you want.” Your hand still resting on his cheek and this time you went with your thumb over his lips before kissing him.

You got off of his lap and placed the containers of ice cream back in the freezer. Henry was putting the light off and you walked to the bathroom to freshen up for sleep, just like Henry.

After a while you met him in your bedroom as you crawled in, exhausted about the day but a little more happier than before. Henry got in as well and smiled at you. He wore a t-shirt and his boxers but you wanted to feel him as close as you could, even feeling a little embarrassed about it.

You laid on his shoulder while he played with your hair. “Henry?” he hummed as a sign that he was listening. “I eh…. I want to feel you closer….” You told him very shy but he smiled brightly.

“You want to feel me in you?” he asked to be sure and you nodded embarrassed. “I just want to feel you closer.” You told him softly, unable to look at him. He placed a finger underneath your chin so you would look at him. “It’s nothing to be embarrassed about sweetheart. I understand, I want to feel you closer as well.” he told you sincere.

You felt a little calmer about it and it wasn’t a sexual vibe but a loving and comforting vibe. The need to feel each other without it being sexual. He took his shirt off and you did the same and after your underwear as he took his boxers off.

Even though it wasn’t sexual, you couldn’t believe the size the man was. You tried to look away before Henry noticed but that was too late. “Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you. Come here sweetheart.” You did as he told you, scooting closer. “Put your leg over mine.” He instructed and you did but this man was so broad that it took you a minute to get completely comfortable.

He carefully grabbed your chin to pull you in a kiss to distract you. You felt his tongue in your mouth and felt his fingers go over your stomach, slowly going down. He went softly up and down by your thighs with the top of his fingers, already making you wet with the teasing.

You felt in heaven and let him have all control over your body. You pulled back from the kiss because you got distracted by his fingers but he made you look at him as he shook his head as a sign, not to stop “Focus here sweetheart” he told you a little stern yet still soft, it send shivers over your body. He started kissing you again and his fingers continued to go up to where you wanted him.

Your nipples were hard now as you laid tightly against Henry, feeling his body heat radiating from him. His fingers went softly over your slit and you gasped in the kiss. Henry took that as a sign to pull you even closer. His finger went over your clit and you started to moan and buck your hips.

“You’re already so wet for me but not tonight sunshine. Slow down sweetheart.” He told you between kisses. Ones he decided you were wet enough he pumped his cock but was already hard from feeling your wet slick slit.

He went with his hand over the tip, removing the pre-cum before going to your entrance. “You’re sure sweetheart?” you nodded eagerly. He smiled and pulled you in a kiss again before slowly and carefully entering you. He tried not to hurt you but he was just so big.

Both moaning at the feeling as he filled you up to the brim and stretched you out completely. Once he was fully in, he moved a couple of times so you would open up more. “You feel so good baby.” he told you, resting his forehead against yours. You just softly moaned in reaction.

You both got comfortable and held each other and making out. After a while he traced your features with his finger, smiling happily. He kissed your forehead and the top of your nose.

“Let’s get some sleep sweetheart. You did more than amazing today and tomorrow, we’ll do whatever you want. Even if that means staying inside all day. I’m so proud of you.” You smiled and kissed him deeply, feeling his warm and soft lips against yours as he sight in the kiss from relaxation.

“Next weekend, I’ll take you on our first date to that amazing restaurant.” You smiled brightly “I’d like that. I’ll introduce you as my boyfriend than.” You told him proudly and he chuckled deeply and you could feel him move inside of you and you moaned out of reaction.

“I’m sorry sweetheart.”  He told you sheepishly and you smiled at him. You nuzzled your noses together and he start to hold you tightly, tucking the blanket more over the both of you. “Good night sweetheart.” He told you softly. “Goodnight Henry, I love you.” he kissed the top of your head as it rested on his chest. “I love you more sunshine.”

Who would’ve thought that Henry Cavill was such a softie and clingy man. You wouldn’t have it any other way as you snuggled closer in his broad chest.

Your hands softly lingering through his chest hair while he kept you closely and tightly against him. It was all going to be okay in the end, even though it would take a while.

[luveline]

you know, I'm coming right back [Fred Weasley x Reader]

summary: you're a lonely artist and Fred is your adoring model

word count: 2.4k

tags: reader insert, lonely reader, artist reader, seventh year, kids in love, first kiss, getting together, pining, fluff, friends-to-lovers

It was easy for you, usually, to act fine. To feel fine. Any loneliness that clouded your life was pushed firmly into the depths of your thoughts. You tried to focus on the things that mattered, essays and charms and your art.

You loved to draw. You had sketchbooks filled to the brim with sketches, some half finished, others coloured and lined. You drew everything, though you struggled to bring anything from your memory. Everything you drew had to be done right there, right then, with unsuspecting models. You sketched students eating their dinner, scribbled side profiles when you managed a spare minute in class. But you're most impressive artwork was done in the library, where nothing moved. Everyone was silent. You had pages and pages of bored, tired looking students. When exams approached, you hurriedly copied down the expressions of people on the edge of depression and panic.

You had friends, ish. You knew people. You'd had intense friendships that somehow always ended in awkward drifting aparts. Well, you thought. There must be something wrong with me. They liked me before they didn't, so the fault must've been mine.

You huffed out a sigh, pressing your face deep into the textured page of your sketch book, breathing in the smell of charcoal. You were sketching the illusive Fred Weasley, who you'd never truly drawn before. Maybe you had scraps from your second or third year when you'd still attempted to draw moving objects before getting comfortable and accepting that still life was your forte.

He was maddeningly good lucking when his eyebrows puckered in concentration. He seemed to actually be studying for once, sat at a table with his brother, George, and housemates Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet.

You were sat by yourself, and couldn't help listening to his lilting voice as he bantered with his friends. They were talking about Umbridge (the current victim of the Hogwarts' student body hate train), and quidditch, and their recent ban from quidditch. You'd never played.

"Watch out, dolly fell asleep," said one of the girls.

You bit your lip. You'd been nicknamed dolly by the girls in your dorm because of your porcelain doll you'd had since childhood. Even though this year was your last, you still hadn't felt the need to hide her away. She made you feel much less anxious and alone.

The whole school knew, naturally.

"Don't get any funny ideas," said Angelina,  to the twins.

"Come on Angie, you think so little of us?" said George.

"Yesterday I watched you trick a group of forth years into taking puking pastilles." Angelina said.

"It was hardly a trick. We told them they were multi-faceted," said George.

You could hear your heartbeat if you focused. It was in your ears. It bump, bump, bumped.

Bump bump. You flinched, a hand settled on your shoulder quickly moved.

"Wake up, dolly. Library's closing."

You squinted up into Fred's face, head halo'd by candlelight. Lifting your head from the wooden table, you stretched your neck to the left. It clicked.

"Uh..."

"Hmm?" You prompted him, smoothing your hair behind your ears.

"You have - dirt. On your face. Here-" He said, reaching forward. You closed your eyes as he gently wiped the skin above your eyebrow.

"It's charcoal."

"What?"

"It's not dirt," you said, peaking at him through your eyelashes. "It's charcoal."

He looked mildly surprised. You shifted, hoping to cover your sketch before he caught sight of it.

It didn't matter.

"It's me. My gorgeous dolly, you've created quite the masterpiece right there, haven't you? I look vexingly handsome, of course. Thought if that's a consequence of your skill or my handsomeness is anyones guess."

You were lost for words. "Uh, quite."

"Yes, yes, quite. Say, could I keep it?"

"... You want the drawing?"

"I'd love it, if that's okay."

"I," you quickly dug your thumbnail into the paper, tearing carefully at the centre. The paper came away a little ragged and smudged. "Of course. It's yours."

He handled it with care.

The librarian jingled her little bell again.

"Thank you. So, see you?"

"Yep," you agreed.

He nodded his head and bowed out with his friends. You tried not to feel paranoid at their laughter.

-

You were curled up in a hidden alcove, though it was hardly hidden. Most students knew where to seek privacy in the castle. You just so happened to get there first that evening.

You were trying to sketch Fred again. It felt weird to be missing a page from your book, and weirder still that you couldn't remember his face when he wasn't right in front of you. You tried, but it kept going wrong.

When you finally managed one you liked well enough, you had accidentally ruined it with a heavy hand and the wrong shade of brown.

He looked much too brunette.

You carefully rolled your coloured pencils back up, securing the leather ties tightly so as to keep every pencil confined.

Sighing morosely, you flipped to a new page. Things got so complicated sometimes, it made you agitated. You doodled a little sad face in the corner of your page. When the one thing that you enjoyed in life started to go wrong, it set off your whole mood.

Your birthday was coming up. It had been on your mind a lot lately. You'd spend it alone. That's what you figured. Nobody would know it was your birthday, or if they did, you weren't friends now, so...

You began with an arching circle, bisecting the lines appropriately. Feeling out the familiar lines of your own face came easy, the slight upper tilt of your brows, your hair and your pursed mouth. You always looked sad in the mirror, and it showed, dotted here and there when the only thing to draw was your own face.

The rudimentary outline of a birthday cake took form. The candles were unlit.

In a fit of unhappiness, you scratched out your mouth. It was never smiling.

"What did that piece of paper ever do to you?" said a voice.

You jumped. Fred was peering down at you curiously, wringing his hands. You put your pencil between the soft cover and smashed it flat, closed.

"Hi, dolly."

"Weasley."

"Oh, not even a first name?"

"You neglected mine first," you reasoned, rolling the words. He smiled at your joking tone.

"How rude of me. Hi, Y/N," he corrected himself.

"Hi, Weasley."

He smirked.

"Anymore of me in that blessed vessel?"

"Nah. You never stand still."

"If I pose for it?" He asked. You patted the ground in front of you.

He was a lovely model. He stayed infinitely still, more still than you imagined possible for him. He sat at a 3/4ths angle, chin up but not too far, mouth tilted and eyes open.

His eyes were the one thing he couldn't keep still. You tried not to flame in the cheeks everything you'd catch his gaze on you.

You sketched fast, choosing to hatch rather than render, big swooping lines to give the illusion of a depth that wasn't really there. You would've loved to do a full render, maybe even a colour portrait, but he was beginning to look a little antsy.

You set the book on the floor to face him and pushed it into his eyesight softlt. He turned. He looked nice like that, face bent, hair falling into his eyes.

After a moment, he began scrounging through his robe pockets. He set down a box, a lighter, a pair of gloves.

Finally, he set a galleon onto the floor close to your crossed legs.

"For you," he said, smiling at your inquisitive look. "For the drawing."

"Oh, I can't accept that. And I'd like to keep this one, if it's alright."

Fred thought for a moment. "Alright, you keep it. And the galleon, too, for the one you gave me the other day."

You bit back a smile. "I can't take your money, Fred."

"I can't keep having you draw me for free. It's as valuable a service as anything else. Plus, I'm not sure if you know, but I run a lucrative business these days."

You picked up the coin, rubbing your thumb against the engravings thoughtfully. "It's hardly a service."

"A talent, then. A skill. You're very good."

You're neck almost snapped as you looked into his face, wanting to assess his expression for genuineness. He looked earnest, and kind. You blinked away the gathering heat behind your eyes.

"Thank you."

He waved a hand at you. "Think nothing of it."

"Really-" you cleared your throat, "-you're doing me a favour. I'm not good at drawing things that move."

"I'm sure you're better than you think," he said.

You shook your head, smiling smiling smiling.

"What's in the box?"

"Oh, this old thing?" Fred weighed the box in his hands. It was soft at the corners, like a simple jewelry box that you had in your trunk. He offered it to you. You opened it carefully, the lid sliding free with a shhhhh sound. Inside was an evil looking fruit pastille, a match stick and a dried up flower petal.

It felt like a very private thing to see, suddenly. Such an eclectic collection of items couldn't be random.

"The first puking pastille George and I made. Or rather, the second - the first was forcibly fed to Lee Jordan in our third year. The match stick is from my Uncle's matchbox. I never met him. And the flower was from Ginny, when she was 9." He sounded nervous.

"It's a memory box."

"I- yes. It is. Things are sometimes so miserable now, with Umbridge and you-know-who. Scary, even. I look at them when I feel like it won't ever end."

You took them in for a little while longer and then placed the lid onto the box with nimble fingers. You scratched the lid with a fingernail.

"It's nice. You're right. Things are so awful right now, it's good to have reminders of why we keep going."

"Exaclty. Dolly, can I interest you in a fruit pastille?"

"Not on your life."

"They're perfectly edible!"

"Sure, Fred."

-

The honest conversation you'd shared with Fred was a catalyst between you. He often came to find you, each time whining and nagging you to just sit in the library like most people do.

"What, so your housemates can throw paper balls at me?"

"They thought you were sleeping!"

A likely story, you thought. He sometimes asked you to draw him, posing with the elegance of a natural born model. It was great for you personally, you felt that you were really getting a feel for his face. Eventually, you were able to draw his face from memory, the details of his nose coming to your fingers as easily as a first year spell.

It became about capturing emotion. You could capture his likeness now without a second thought, but his emotions were much more complicated. How would you show his veiled frustration the day Umbridge kicked him off the quidditch team? Through the clenching of his jaw? The shy veins in his forehead? How did you showcase the fear when he'd come back to Hogwarts after Christmas break, through his eyes, downturned and squinting just a little?

Today, it was poorly hidden elation. "How come you're so happy?" You asked, pencil between your teeth. He grinned. You measured his face with your thumb in the air, forming an L.

"Is it a prank?"

"You're thinking too small."

"A new product?"

"Still need to go bigger!"

"Hmmm," you hummed. Measure twice, cut once. Or in your case, sketch once.

"George and I, we're gonna open a shop."

"A section at Zonko's isn't enough for you?" You asked, casually, though you were very very happy for him.

"It's going to be amazing. We're going to run it, just the two of us, and you won't catch me in these scrappy long sleeves anymore. The next time you see me, I'll be in a full suit and tie."

"The next time? Is that not tomorrow?"

Fred closed his mouth, realising his mistake. He had revealed something he hadn't intended to. "We're leaving," he confessed. "We were going to wait for our NEWTs but... Well, we won't need them. This is going to work."

"So. You're leaving today?" You asked, crestfallen.

"Hey," Fred said, rubbing a placating hand over the curve of your shoulder. "Tomorrow. During the DADA OWL. We have a plan."

"This is goodbye?"

"No! No. Not if you don't want it to be. Actually, I've been meaning to ask you something, and maybe now isn't the best time, I had this whole letter planned and I didn't want to distract you from your exams and-"

"What do you want to ask me?"

Fred straightened. "I wanted to ask - will you go out with me? Not, you don't have to be my girlfriend if it's too soon, I'd love to take you for food someplace, I was going to ask you to Hogsmeade, but when the shop officially became ours, the plans changed so fast and I didn't know if you'd still want-" you cut off his rambling.

"I'll be your girlfriend," you said.

"You will?"

"Sure, if you'll be my boyfriend," you murmured.

Fred moved the arm that had been on your shoulder to the nape of your neck. "That's a dealbreaker," he said, leaning in.

He kissed you chastely on the lips first and then pulled back to look into your face. You chased him, a moment of bravery, and opened your mouth to taste him. He was sweet, like sugar. Your sketch pad crinkled beneath you both as he pressed forward. Your chests touched, heaving.

"You're not gonna be my boyfriend?" You asked against his mouth, breathing hard.

"I'm gonna be much more than that, dolly," he said heatedly.

Your mouth was tingling. "Kiss me again?"

You gasped at the force of him, laughing. He laughed too against your lips, and the sound tickled. He gave you a multitude of short and sweet kisses before pulling away again.

He wiped the wetness from your lip with his pinky finger. "Godric, you're cute. Look how flushed you are! You're insane."

Something churned in your stomach. The butterflies had acquired a trampoline. You felt happier than you had in a very long time. "You're not half-bad yourself, Weasley."