#harvest town duke

[goodknights]

I don't know... he could be anywhere, man... it's not like he's gonna have an exclamation mark floating over his head...

[yorunoangel]

So the Cliff brainworms are still wriggling around in my head and I realised I really enjoy the whole Cliff and the Aja/Adge Winery family dynamic. That led me to the thought, what if Aja/Adge returned to Mineral Town and met Cliff? So naturally, I had to design her.

My personal headcanon is that Manna's old design is how she looked when she was younger, so I included some elements of that in Aja's design. And though she looks more like Manna, I think her personality would be more like Duke's so she'd be kinda bossy and hard-headed. I imagine her to be in her early 30s and she moved to The City ~5ish years before the beginning of the game, where she worked in some low-key but stable office job.

[ariparri]

2022 Art Summary!

I am very happy with the variety in fandom content I made 😆

Links to original posts

January | February | March

April | May | June

July | August | September

October | November | December

[durotoswrites]

April Drabble Prompts - Insecurity

4. Insecurity

Anna hadn’t meant to look.

Well, maybe she did.

She wasn’t aware that her husband kept a journal at all. Basil’s writings were mainly his research on the local flora and fauna, things that held no interest for her.

But to find a book that simply said “Journal” across the front lying right in the middle of his desk…

It was practically an invitation, she thought with a raised eyebrow.

Anna often failed to conceal her smirk when listening to Manna air out her frustrations about her arguments with Duke over their finances and his childish behavior. Even Sasha, who Anna felt was more prudent and mature of her two friends, had her own disputes with her husband, griping over how much of a pushover Jeff could be. Anna was pleased to report that she and Basil never argued.

Of course, they never really laughed together, and Goddess knows the last time she got anything more passionate than a peck on the cheek from him…

They never really talked at all beyond polite greetings and farewells, reminders to pick up specific groceries, and stern reminders to be home before dinner was on the table.

Okay, maybe I do most of the talking.

But men can be so helpless sometimes!

Anna was flipping through the pages before she even realized she had picked up the book. She found her stomach twisting as she scanned for her name anywhere within the handwritten words.

She gasped at what she saw.

[harvest-town-fun]

Duke Evans: just tell Lulu you like her!, what’s the worst that could happen?

Y/N: she could hear me

[soficierva1734]

¡AL FIN PUDE BAILAR CON ÉL!

[pls-just-let-me-marry-yeung]

Looks like I'm going to throw hands with Duke 😤 No one insults my girl this way 😤😤😤

[bump1nthen1ght]

To Be Cherished (Dragon x GN!Reader)

Pairing: Male!Dragon x Gender Neutral!Reader

Warnings: Kidnapping, Slight infantilization (of the reader)

Word Count: 2255 words

Summary: You'd never thought of yourself as the "darling" type; That seemed more fitting for demure nobility, fawned over by their one true love. Usually a knight, or a duke, or someone else.

But dragons were never ones to play by the rules.

Request: heyo, if it’s okay, could i have a male dragon taking a transmasc (or just gn) human to be their pet? kind of just petting and praising the reader, saying things like “good boy/pet” to them? thank you!

A/N: Another dragon! Feels like I haven't written a proper dragon fic in forever, glad to be back.

I wasn't sure if this request wanted NSFW, so I decided to play it safe and do SFW. But if people want a NSFW second part (or another part in general!), I'd be glad to continue this!

When you started this day, you had expected mundanity. Thats what your whole life up to this point had been, a slightly-changing list of chores on the same land your family has worked on for generations. It may have been boring to some, knowing that some towns folk would refer to your family as ‘simple people’, but you always brushed it off. You loved your life! You loved the ever present routines and the beautiful rolling hills, even the gray-blue mountains that seemed to loom over like a fog. It was nice, your life was nice!

Now, looking down the muzzle of a dragon, you think you may have benefitted from exploring a bit more. Maybe if you had gone into town more, talked to more adventuring parties, you’d have the proper response ready when you found a Dragon sitting in your pumpkin patch.

“Hello?”

You mutter, which has the dragon cocking its head. It’s eyes are frighteningly large, giant pools of yellow with a menacing black slit at the center. they sit several feet above you, even with its head tilted low to look at you. A wave of its hot breath rolls over you like a summer breeze, it’s nostrils right by your face.

“H-how can I help you?”

The dragon doesn’t move, just letting it’s third eyelid flit between, only adding to its uncaring (?) gaze,

“Uhmm…” You mutter, looking at your basket. “I have some cucumber, some eggplant, some tomato-” You hold up a fresh, fat red tomato to the dragon's nose, “-if you want some?”

You know dragons prefer more luxurious gifts, but maybe it's hungry? Whatever it wants, it can have, you’re just hoping it doesn’t sees you as the meal.

Another wave of breath is snorted over you, ruffling your overalls and the straw hat on your head. Your hands shake, still tired from harvesting all your vegetables this morning, your nails caked in dirt. You’re sure you look a mess right now, especially in front of something as regal as a dragon, you hope the smell of sweat and soil is enough to deter it from eating you.

The dragon eyes the tomato, but does nothing to eat it. You slowly put it back into your basket.

“Sorry, that’s all I’ve got it. Just a farmer, as you can tell.” You rub the back of your neck, mayb you could appease to it’s sense of humor? Dragons love wiley adventurers, don’t they? “I’ve been told I can make a mean brisket, though. W-would you like some of that?”

The dragon blinks again, but this time you see the sides of its mouth begin to curl up, it’s tail flitting behind it. Is it…smiling?

“Yes.” The dragon’s booming voice nealry rocks you backwards, just as noble and threatening sounding as you thought it would be. “I think you will do, just fine.”

Before you can even stutter out a “What?” the dragon's claw descends upon you, gingerly wrapping around your torso as its wings extend. The ground rumbled as it flaps the giant wings, pushing it’s massive body off the ground with you still in it’s paw. You’re gobsmacked, no words and breath left to exclaim as it begins to take off into the air. A million and one thoughts and panics run through your mind, but as quickly as you realize you are being kidnapped, you black out.

—--

You’ve never actually swam in a lake, but if it was anything like this 30 foot cavern-bath you were taking, you were clearly missing out.

You had woken up in a dark cave, so far underground that the only light source were the various braziers and bioluminescent mushrooms decorating the walls. Laying on top a pile of furs, you noticed how surprisingly intact your body still was before noticing the dragon sitting nearby. It’s only when the dragon huffs that you jerk upward and look at the beast.

“Oh….hello again.” You say, trying not to freak the fuck out. The beast is just a mere 20 feet away from you, the tip of his (at least you think its a he) tail just close enough to tilt up your chin. The dragon hums, appraising you, its lips curling into that same intimidating smile.

“You look so cute when you sleep, pet. I was wondering if you would ever wake up.”

Your jaw would’ve dropped if not for the sharp scales pointing it upwards. This is really not what you were expecting.

The tail moves to your cheek and coerces to tilt your head to one side, then the other. The dragon hums again.

“What nice features. I feel awfully lucky to have found you dear, before you had to suffer any more hard labor.”

Hey, it wasn’t that hard.

You rebut in your thoughts, not daring to speak out of turn. The dragon doesn’t seem to be dangerous…not yet.

The tail moves down your chest and to your hands, lifting them up by the wrists but not pulling you uncomfortably. The dragon leans its head closer, its black scales shining like mother-of-pearl in the mushrooms glow. It tsks. “Workers hands, I loathe the fool who callused these hands. Who has you breaking your back, picking those fruits.” The tail reaches up, and pats you on the head, almost like a dog. “But you mustn’t worry, my pet, you won’t have to do that anymore.”

“I-I think there may be a misunderstanding.” You meekly say, almost a whisper. The dragon tilts its head, still amused. “I appreciate your kindness, dragon, but I wasn’t an indentured servant. Those fields were my own, I chose to work in them, and wasn't forced to do anything.” Your shoulders shrug up, trying to appear grateful but embarrassed at the mix up. “So you can take me back, I promise I wasn’t being hurt.”

The dragon looks at you, not saying anything and still having the amused look on his face. You feel sweat bead on the back of your neck, trying to avoid losing eye contact, showing disrespect or weakness. But the tail simply tips up your chin again, the dragon chuckling.

“Oh no my dear pet, I’m afraid you have misunderstood.” The dragon stands up on its paws, circling around the piles of furs yet keeping his tail under your chin. “ I know you weren’t imprisoned, you just didn’t know any better.”

You furrow your brow. That literally explained nothing.

“You will find your accomadations much more suitable for you now, my dear. Now, lets get you cleaned.”

The dragon’s tail nudges you backwards, turning you to see the large cavernous pool of water behind you.

Huh, that's why it’s so humid in here.

The dragons tail moves down to your shoulder, moving with enough finesse to pull down a single strap of your overalls. Your eyes go wide and you find yourself stumbling away.

“I c-can undress myself!” You squeal, before catching the way the dragon’s brow furrows. “I-uhm- thank you. But I can manage.”

The dragon chuckles, retracting his tail.

“Of course dear, I forgot how important clothing was for human propriety. Here,” The dragon sits up again, sitting around the rim of the bath, though facing away. That long tail flops over the side and stirs the bath water, the fragrant steams of lavender and bergamot bath salts wafting across, “I won’t even look.”

You shrug. You think thats about as much privacy as you’re going to get.

—--

To his credit, that bath was amazing. You don’t think you’ve ever been this clean in your entire life, having grown comfortable with a base level of sweat and grime.

Still, did he have to get rid of my clothes?

You’re not sure how he did it, but when you stepped out of the bath all that remained as a silk robe and fluffy slipper for your to wear. No sign of those well-worn overalls. He even had you do a spin as you got out, cooing at the outfit.

“My, my, now don’t you look handsome?”

You rub the back of your neck, not quite sure how to feel. Embarrassed, flattered? The growl from your stomach does the hard part of filling the silence for you.

“Lets get you some food, huh?”

The dragon leads to a different part of the cave, an outcropping with a gigantic dining room table, several blankets and quilts, and a circular bed in the center. Theres a stack of books, paper and pencils by the bed, but what draws your attention is the platter of delicious food on the table. You walk a little too eagerly to the table, the site of a freshly roasted chicken and potatoes tempting you in. When you sit down, you try not to lunge for it. This is the most luxurious food you’ve ever seen, plates of figs and rinds of cheese for you to snack on, alongside various other fruits. You give the dragon a side eye, wondering if you could start.

The dragon nudges your chair, effectively pushing you in, and gestures with its head for you to eat. Trying to keep some sense of propriety, you use the fancy silverware to your right instead of just digging in with bare hands. You even try to take a delicate bite of one of the chicken wings, but find yourself quickly melting under the flavor.

You were right, this is the best food you have ever eaten.

“Do you like it?”

You nod, taking another large bite. The dragon chuckles, laying down its head and just watching you. You swallow and give it a smile. A real one.

“Yes, thank you. I…don’t know what to say.” You take another quick bite of a nearby fig, almost moaning at the sweet taste. “How’d you get all this?”

“I have my ways, sweetling.” The dragon winks.

“Well, good job because this is incredible.”

You eat until your belly’s full, the lingering heat from the bath weighing down your muscles and making you feel drowsy. Sitting back in your chair you hum in content, before looking at the dragon. He still watches you, that pleased smile on his face.

“Uhm, could I ask you your name?” You set aside your plate, brushing imaginary crumbs off your robe. “I feel like I don’t know anything about you.”

“My name is Nyryym, dear.”

“Na-rim?” You enunciate, smiling when the dragon nods. “Nice to meet you, my name is ____.”

Nyryym nods, sitting upward so his head lies above the table, looking down at you. “A fitting name for my adorable pet.” He uses his tail to tilt your chin, admiring the way you fluster and blush. Your body responds almost naturally, that drowsiness from before weakening your resolve.

“Yeah, about that-” You swallow, a shaky smile on your face, “What’s the plan? Like, do you want me to do something or…” you gesticulate randomly. You’ve heard of dragons enjoying human talents before, like taking dancers or musicians, artists and poets to keep them entertained. But those were usually carefully curated picks, often from a big city or a royal court. You were just a farmer and while you’d like to think you're witty and charming, you didn’t have any extraordinary talents. “I c-can clean, or cook, maybe-” You look at the big pile of books near your bed, “Read to you?” You’d sometimes read to the children next door, putting on funny voices and such.

Nyryym chuckles again, patting you on the head with his tail.

“That is very sweet of you to offer, pet. You are such a dutiful sweetling. But I do not require you to do anything.” He sweeps his tail around your waist, nudging you to stand up and walk towards him. “Your company shall be delight enough, pet.”

“O-okay.” You nod, eyeing the large bed nearby. Surely he didn’t mean..

Well, you’re not gonna even broach that topic.

“I’m happy to help, Nyryym.”

His smile is less disconcerting than you thought it would be, especially with a mouth full of teeth that could grind your bones into dust. Nyrymm draws you even closer to him, his tail now fully wrapped around your waist. His head leans down dangerously close, enough that you yave to coach yourself not flinch away. Another hot breath of air blows through your hair, when you realize he’s smelling you.

Nyryym lets out a content sigh, rubbing your stomach with the tip of his tail. It almost tickles. After another sniff, he opens his eyes and stares you down.

“That’s a good pet. How about we retire for the night?”

You both look toward the bed, luxuriously plush and practically begging to be slept in. The combination of shock, the bath, the food and a morning full of work beforehand urges you to lie down. Now knowing that Nyryym doesn’t plan to eat you, that urge is even more compelling. So you nod, letting him guide you to the bed.

Laying down in the cotton sheets confirms your suspicions; You’re fucking exhausted. Your body sinks into the cushions, immediately pulling up the blankets to tuck yourself in. Nyrymm curls around the bed, lying his head so it's parallel to yours.

“Good night, my sweet pet.” He says, rubbing your face with his tail one last time.

“Good night, Nyryym.”

The hum of the cave and Nyryym’s heavy breathing, alongside everything else, quickly lulls you to sleep. It might be the best sleep you’ve ever had.

You guess things could be worse.

[copperbadge]

Cleaning out my Google Drive archive, I happened to stumble across the original spec Hallmark Movie script that Fete For A King was based on -- not that I had lost it, I'd just kind of forgotten about it. And it occurred to me you guys might enjoy seeing a scene or two from it.

I wrote Fete basically from the script -- I made a copy of the script and rewrote it into prose as I went, then did a second pass to make it less Scripty, so most of it would be very familiar. The plot came through basically intact. The one thing I significantly altered was Jerry and Alanna's subplot -- in the script, as often happens with Hallmark films, the supporting characters also have a love storyline. I took that out of the book because it didn't need the padding, and it allowed me to give them a book of their own later, but the script scenes were pretty fun. :D

(In this version Jerry still attends the Agricultural Cabinet meeting for Gregory, but mentions this fact to Michaelis, which gets Gregory in trouble for blowing it off.)

ALANNA, spying on the lunch meeting through the door to the Prince's office, leans back behind a column or wall. DUKE GERALD (JERRY), looking apologetic, winces.

ALANNA: How could you, Jerry?

JERRY: I told you, I didn't mean to! I thought if I told the king I stepped in for Gregory, it would show I'm taking an interest. Turning over a new leaf.

ALANNA: Nobody asked you to take an interest.

JERRY: Least of all me. But I was interested, really, Alanna. We could be doing so much more with olives. I didn't know crop planning was such a precise science.

ALANNA: And that's great, but you could have just said you went WITH Greg to the meeting.

JERRY: Why would I go with Greg to an agricultural meeting? Anyway, I would have but I didn't think of it. Don't be mad at me.

ALANNA: It's not me you have to worry about.

JERRY: But Greg knows I wouldn't sabotage him. Besides, uncle Mike would have heard about it eventually anyway. Everyone in town was talking about the Prince coming to try that cheese shop with the social media chef guy.

ALANNA: He's under a lot of pressure.

JERRY: I know.

ALANNA: And now unless that cheese REALLY impresses the king, he's going to start following Greg around everywhere and trying to offer his opinion.

JERRY: He's been king for forty years. His opinion's probably useful.

ALANNA: Not if the prince wants to make his own way.

JERRY: Well, what do you want me to do? I can't make uncle Mike like cheese.

ALANNA: I want you to keep an eye on them and keep the king distracted. Can't you do something mildly embarrassing?

JERRY: More or less embarrassing than visiting a cheese shop in a "Truly Tasty" hat?

ALANNA: Fix it, Jerry!

JERRY: Fine, I'll do my best. But I want you to make Greg make me his vizier when he's king.

ALANNA: We haven't had a vizier in a hundred years. What does a vizier even do?

JERRY: Nothing, but with drama.

ALANNA: Fine. I have meetings. Stay here, keep spying, report back when they leave.

JERRY gives her a thumbs up and watches her leave, then turns to spying on the meeting.

***

And then Alanna has a realization....

ALANNA is still leading JERRY away from the picnic.

JERRY: I thought you wanted me to keep Uncle Mike off Greg's case.

ALANNA: Not tonight. Eddie's pitching his new high-concept for the coronation feast, so they've got to be there together.

JERRY: Well, I wish someone would make up their mind around here.

ALANNA: You could set a trend.

JERRY: What's that supposed to mean?

ALANNA: You're not interested in olives, Jerry.

JERRY: Of course I am.

ALANNA: You're interested in the fact that my dad heads the cabinet board that supervises the olive harvest.

JERRY: Olives are very interesting to me. (deflating) And I wanted to impress your dad.

ALANNA: He's known you since we were kids running around the palace together.

JERRY: Is that good?

ALANNA: My father has literally watched you fall out of multiple trees you were trying to climb.

JERRY: Failing to climb, mostly.

ALANNA: So why are you trying to impress him now?

JERRY: Well, isn't it obvious?

They stare at each other.

ALANNA: I cannot go on a date with you.

JERRY looks crestfallen. ALANNA pulls out her phone.

ALANNA: There's too much to do, Jerry. Between now and the coronation every hour I'm awake is booked. The best I can give you is three weeks from Tuesday.

JERRY: What?

ALANNA: Three weeks from Tuesday. Does that work for you? Never mind, your calendar's on my phone. I'm booking us in. Dinner okay?

JERRY: Uh. Yes.

ALANNA: Good. I'll send you a calendar invite, you pick the place.

She walks off, still typing in her phone.

JERRY: What just happened?

[uss-edsall]

Sometimes it’s really fucking bitterly funny reading fanfiction, like for example this Battletech one I’m reading (‘Manufacturing A Blueprint For A More Stable Federated Suns’) The MC is a Mary Sue self insert, yadda yadda whatever, standard fare for spacebattles. What’s amusing is uh, he gets appointed the duke of a world with a population of 100,000. The writer makes up an interesting concept of farmers at odds with roaming nomad clans that follow around massive 175-tonne automated harvesters (BT’s Saturn Harvesters).

The nomad clans are literally called gypsies, treated as a massive nuisance, and at the first opportunity the MC offers ‘three Saturn Harvesters and ten thousand people’ as a package deal. The response is, and I quote verbatim:

“The key is to divide them up by direct family units and then spread them out among your holdings. A few families per city, village, and town means that over time their connections with one another will severely lessen over time; by the time the third generation is grown up the young adults will only have passing stories from their grandparents about the way things used to be. It is always a sad thing to see the culture of a people wither and die away, but such is the way of things, I'm afraid, for all of us in the Inner Sphere.”

Mate… that is… quite literally. forced displacement and cultural genocide. lol.

[millylotus]

Rasberries & Lemon Delights

Country Boy!Danny x Emo Punk!Duke

Danny[18] goes to live with Aunt Alicia on the family farm for a gap year, which just so happens to be in Smallville. He’s been there since January. A town in the middle of nowhere with at least a nice small population of people, it's not a big jump from small town Amity Park.

Duke[18] doesn’t usually visit the Kents but he had nothing better to do and Damian[16] wanted to go see Jon[15] for the summer, so roadtrip it was. Besides, Duke didn’t have much else to do and Martha & Jonathan had invited him to stay as well. It’ll be fun to just get away from the constant buzz of Gotham.

The Palad Family Farm has a rasberry orchard [it should be spelled this way or like raz(s)berry, not fucking RASPberry I had to fucking look this up, it’s only ever been spelled rasberry in my head, english can go suck my dick [sorry bout that anyways]] with a couple chikens and cow and a produce garden. it’s off to the side compared to the others in Smallville, separated by a line of trees that you might be able to call a forest. Their closest neighbors are the Kents, and that’s through the trees.

For this AU i changed the boys’ appearance a little bit

Duke is less emo-punk and more punk-emo when it comes to his aesthetic

Danny’s bigger in the muscle aspect kinda like a toned down version of Jack

About a week into their stay Danny comes over to the Kent’s to bring over some rasberries as a gift.

The kids just so happen to be hanging out outside when he walks up.

Duke sat lounging on a chair he’d dragged out to the front lawn, reading his book which sat heavy between his cross legs.

Damian and Jon were further into the brush chatting and messing around.

The only thing really odd were the sunglasses the brothers wore, heavily shaded and thick, with the bright Kansas sun and being from one of the gloomiest cities of the world it was practically a necessity.

Jon paused as he spoke and looked down the road, both brothers turned their heads in interest.

A couple meters down the road a young man Duke’s age was walking their way, a straw garden hat on his head, holding a crate in his arms.

The kryptonian smiled and stood up waving at the approaching stranger, “Hey Danny!” he shouted in greeting.

The stranger whose name was evidently named Danny walked up the driveway to the Kent house.

“Hey Jon! Who are your friends?” He said with a smile.

“Damian and Duke, family friends. They’re visiting for the summer.” Jon said happily as he pointed at each sibling.

Damian stood up and walked over to Jon’s side “Nice to meet you” . His voice was as flat as it always was with strangers.

Duke nodded at Danny, “Sup.”

Danny nodded back with a smile, before turning back to Jon, “Me and Aunt Alicia harvested some rasberries yesterday, we got a lot and where wondering if y’all wanted some.”

Jon’s face lit up like a star, “Fuck yeah! Ma’s gonna love ‘em! Come on!”

Jon took Damian’s hand and pulled him back to the house, Damian and Danny following. Duke sighed and decided to go as well, closing his book he stood up and caught up with them. He ended up walking side by side with Danny.

Danny looks down to the shorter boy walking by his side. Duke is gorgeous in an ethereal way, brown eyes almost glowing under his sunnies, winged with perfect black eyeliner. His face was stoic in the same way Damian’s was, little to no emotion shown. It didn’t take away from his serene and chill vibes though.

Duke glances up at Danny, and the taller boy quickly looks away to the Kent house, face flushed.

He almost missed the playful smirk that spread on Duke’s face.

Ma thanks Danny for the raspberry and ropes him into chatting for a bit with the boys adding little commentary and things

Duke’s trying to not be obvious about staring at Danny’s muscles

Dami & Jon notice of course

Jon and Dami glanced at each other as Duke tried to grab their attention, desperately trying to make them stop whatever they were scheming.

“Hey Danny?” Jon says

Danny looks towards the teen, “Yeah?”

“Damian and Duke kinda just got to Smallville and they haven’t even gone all that deep into the fields, – Jon leans in a bit with a wide smile – We could go out tomorrow and us country kids could show them around?”

“I wouldn’t mind that, how ‘bout ‘round after 10?” Danny afford with a smile.

Danny shows them around the area near his family’s farm

Damian and Jon end up scurrying off to let Danny & Duke be alone, of course they’re watching from the sidelines

Duke pretends to be externally calm but is kinda freaking out on the inside his internal monologue is “Hot Boy Hot Boy That was so fucking weird don’t say that again God he’s so fucking funny I kinda wanna kiss him”

Danny is much the same, but he’s not very good at hiding how flustered he is, he’s smiling like a goof and his face is all flushed “Pretty Boy Cute Boy Pretty Goth Boy I have a type Ancients I wanna kiss him”

Duke is not so subtly flirting with Danny, complementing his muscle, being actively interested when Danny talks about the farm and his friends back home

Danny’s also flirting back of course, drifting closer to Duke, asking him about Gotham and his friend, the book he was reading yesterday

When they get to the Palad family farm, Jon and Dami had already gotten there and where drinking some sweet tea with Alicia

Alicia is of course entertained with Danny’s crush, and watches as he and Duke walk around the rasberry orchard

When Jon and the brothers have to go back Duke and Danny trade numbers, even though they’ll probably talk again tomorrow and basically the rest of the summer

They’re both smitten with each other

Duke and Damian are in the attic of the Kent farmhouse, each on their own twin bed on either side of the room

Duke: *yearning sigh*

Dami *teasing*: You like the Palad boy don’t you?

Duke *suspicious*: No ... Whatcha gonna do about it?

Dami: Oh nothing it’s just funny, you always said you wouldn’t fall for someone on the family type list

Duke: What are you- *realization* oh OH! Screw you, you can’t say shit Dames! *chucks pillow at Dami who’s laughing* I see how you look at Jon *teasing*

Dami: Shush! Don’t say that he could hear you!

Duke *smirking* : Or what? not my country boy to worry about

Dami groans and flops into pillow tossing back Duke’s pillow & flipping him off

Duke laughs and lays onto his back, staring up at the ceiling with a smile, before closing his eyes and going to sleep

Danny and Alicia are eating dinner

Alicia: So the Wayne boys, I only really got to talk to Damian, what’s Duke like?

Danny *excited*: Oh he’s so cool! He’s reading this romance novel right now. Sounds really cool, so I might drop by the library to check if they have it!

As Danny talks about Duke, Alicia watches him with a smile

Alicia: When are you gonna go out and see him again?

Danny: Not sure, but I hope sooner or later

Alicia: mmm, If you like so much you better ask him out soon

Danny *high pitched*: What!

Alicia *laughing*: Duke’s the new mysterious pretty boy in town. The other kids your age will be falling over themselves to get to know him

Danny tries not to let himself look stressed, Alicia shakes her head fondly

Alicia: Don’t worry to much kid, Duke already seems to like you, you’ve got a good chance of winning his heart

Danny sighs at his food

Danny: I hope so

I don’t know where I wanna put this but like Alicia has a weird reputation in Smallville

She doesn’t leave her farm very often, only for big events like the Farmers market

And she has most of everything she needs for food at her farm

If she does need to buy something she’ll pop into town at the weirdest of times and leave quickly

When Danny comes around this doesn’t really change, he goes out into town more than her

There were a couple rumors about Ms.Alicia’s nephew staying for awhile

Danny’s been basically the line connecting Alicia and the rest of town

Anyway back to the main plot!

What Alicia said is true, the few other college kids visiting their family in Smallville do want to get closer to Duke

Duke doesn’t really mind, since he’s always kinda been popular, but he insists on staying with Danny at all times

Danny sometimes feels jealous so he often does things to catch Duke’s attention, even though he knows he doesn’t have to do much

When Summer Farmer’s Market time rolls around a bunch of farmers in Smallville drive to the bigger town nearby Dolmeny Town

Alicia & Danny have their own stand selling more rasberry desserts & treats, along with some little carved statues that Danny makes

The Kents also have a stand, selling breads, a few milk products, and flowers pressed and or fresh from Ma’s garden

The stands are like right across from each other as well, both in the food section

Danny & Duke  staring at each other from across the street, going over to each other’s stands to buy a few things

Duke complementing the rasberry pastries, and Danny promises to save some for him later

It ends up becoming a a date, they meet up near the end of the day, Duke brings a bouquet he made and Danny brings some rasberry scones

They sit at a bench and just start talking about themselves learning more about each other

Cute stuff like that, by the end of it they’re holding hands when Danny walks Duke back to the Kent’s at the end of the day

I have other date ideas, as well. Maybe there’s a party or concert going on in Dolmeny that Danny found out about and they go there. I think they’d have similar music tastes

Going to a cafe, and talking about their favorite foods

The library, where Duke gets Danny to read some of the romance novels he loves

Duke buying some gotham brand lemon candy for Danny, like the really sour stuff cause Danny mentioned he liked sour stuff

Going to the lake for a beach day with the others

Just hanging out together

Danny fixing Duke’s makeup cause he’s done it for Sam before

Of course I want a scene or part where the rest of the Superfam and Batfam, and the Fentons plus Sam & Tucker of course

Come over to visit their family in Smallville for the summer, like a week or even just a day or two

Jazz, Tuck & Sam meeting Duke for the first time and him & Sam immediately getting along

Conner dragging the kids to a bigger concert than they’ve ever been to before

Batfam mildly hazing Danny because they can

The Fentons being able to play wrestle with the Supers with no real problem cause of liminal bullshit

The three families having a big dinner on the last day with barbecue and such, it’s basically a feast with how many people and food is there

Danny & Duke walk away near the end and go for a walk together

The sun’s set and the sky is filled with stars, as Danny talks on about the constellations and planets the two sit together

Eventually they get to talking about what will happen when the summer's over, Danny’s going to either Caltech or Princeton and Duke will be going back to Gotham U for his second year

Princeton’s in Gotham, so it would keep them closer, but Caltech has the first best Space Science program in the country

Duke doesn’t want to affect such a big decision in Danny’s life, and Danny really wants to go to Caltech

Danny chooses Caltech [Cause he deserves it gosh darnit! and if their relationship doesn’t pan out at least they have a whole country between them]

They end the night with a kiss!

THE END

I think this the first one with a proper ending! :D

DEADLIGHTS MASTERPOST, GENERAL NOTES, MEMES, AO3

[goodknights]

DUKE PLEASE

[ariparri]

Played Duke’s aquarium date and I enjoyed that one too ʕ⁎̯͡⁎ʔ

Although the dialogue said motorboats, I was thinking jet skis because it made more sense with what they were doing on the date.

🚫No Reposting🚫

[durotoswrites]

The Shy Newcomer Update

Thank you so much for your patience!  I ended up breaking this current chapter in half because it was getting unwieldy, hehe.

Chapter 125: Rose-Tinted

As Cliff and Manna reflect on the past, Gray’s friends focus on the future.

Read on 

Archive of Our Own

or

Fanfiction.net

Preview under the cut ^-^

Starry Night… a lot of the teens in Akiyama Village gossiped about who would ask who out on what they referred to as “Date Night”.  Wren and her grandfather had joined their family a few times, but as they grew older, the smirk on Ivy’s face would only get wider as his cheeks became warmer, too afraid to look at the girl sitting beside his sister.  They were happy memories with his family – the hunters were always home, so that meant the whole family would trek out to watch the stars together.  He never thought about it much as a child, but he could recall the way his parents would always look out into the night, wrapping their arms around each other, the stars reflecting in their eyes.

Ah, now that I’m adult I can just ask Claire if we could…

He gasped slightly in spite of himself, a large, foolish grin spreading across his lips.

[mayhemwrites]

to hold or to break

(or, 5 times Zoya almost said "I love you" and 1 time she did)

5 + 1 zoyalai fic for the @grishaversebigbang mini-bang event!!

read on ao3 here

materialki: @jmie-draws, who created this amazing art piece, and @soupdreamer, who created this amazing art piece!!!

Summary: Zoya is usually excellent at speaking her mind. Except, apparently, when it comes to telling Nikolai she loves him.

full fic under the cut!! angst/pining with a cute fluffy ending, 1966 words

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

Zoya is not going to think about how much she hates this. Because if she thinks about it, then she won't let it happen. She'll call the whole plan off, and that would be a disaster. She knows it would be a disaster. Nikolai has to get married, for the good of Ravka. He needs to make a strong alliance, especially with Fjerda threatening war. Especially with the demon as an ever present threat to his stability.

Knowing all of that doesn't stop her from hating it, though, so she writes up a list of all the people he should consider marrying, and brings it to him in his office. The quicker she gets this done, the less she has to think about it.

He's quick to veto half the names on her list (not because she deliberately picked outlandish suggestions, of course), but she stays firm on the others. However much she wants to forget about the list.

"You just don't want to go along with this," she tells him, and he shrugs in acknowledgement.

"Of course I don't."

So don't, then.

But he would never want her instead, even if he didn't need to marry for the good of Ravka. So she says nothing except: "You have to."

He shrugs again. "I'm aware. That doesn't mean I have to like it."

She nods. Both of them know the sacrifices that need to be made for a country. For Ravka.

He is sacrificing his freedom to marry the person of his choosing. In return, in that moment, she gives up her childish dream of him returning her secret love. Not that she's in love with him. There isn't any point. Not when he's agreed to court the remaining few women on her list.

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

She realizes that her plan to ignore her growing feelings for him has failed about a week into their journey across Ravka.

As she watches him charm some duke of some country town - she's stopped keeping track, at this point, because really, who can be bothered to learn the names of dozens of idiot men who hold a title simply because of their birth - and wishes, just for a second, that he would turn a fraction of that charm, just an inch of his dazzling grin, on her.

She pushes that down quickly enough, but it's the next morning that she stops being able to.

It's nothing special. They're sitting together, in a room of the duke's mansion (yes, a mansion, when the people living in this town have just had their third failed harvest in a row and are struggling to feed themselves). They're doing paperwork together, just as they always do. Nothing special.

So why does the way he catches her eye across a particularly tedious piece of legislation make it impossible for her to ignore the fluttering feeling in her stomach?

Honestly. Fluttering. She might as well be a teenager again, infatuated with the first man who paid her the slightest bit of attention.

But it's impossible to deny that she feels something for Nikolai, as futile as it is.

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

The night before Nikolai is due to attempt the obisbaya.

She almost says it, then.

She doesn't, though. Because if he survives, then he will still need to marry for the good of Ravka. And if he doesn't survive…

She's not thinking about what happens if he doesn't survive the ritual. There's a lot she's not thinking about. The list keeps building up, and she keeps pushing all her inconvenient, unwanted thoughts down. It never works for long, but she can hope.

Besides, in 24 hours she won't have to worry about whether Nikolai will survive the obisbaya. Either he will have survived, or he won't have. Whatever the outcome, there's nothing Zoya can do about it, so there's no point worrying.

That doesn't mean she doesn't want to say the words she's been pushing down for so long, though. As Elizaveta seals her in amber, she desperately wants to tell him that she has complete faith in him. Not just because she is a general and he is her king, but because she knows him. (Possibly better than anybody else does.) Because she knows that if anybody could survive a deadly ritual and not only that, but come out of it with his clothes uncreased and that damned crooked grin on his face - well, if anybody could manage that, it's Nikolai.

She doesn't say anything, in the end. She lets herself be sealed in amber for the final time, and watches as Nikolai begins the ritual.

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

Zoya looks out of the window of the carriage, trying to ignore the man sitting beside her. Why did she agree to this, again? She wishes Alina were less self-sacrificing. Then she wouldn't have to transport the Darkling across the country.

Her second cross-country trip in as many months. Except this time she's on her own. (Well, she has the Soldat Sol, but they hardly count as company.) No Tamar to spar with at rest stops, no Tolya to share comfortable silences with. No Nikolai.

No Nikolai this time, because he's at Genya and David's wedding. She should be there too, smiling up at her two closest friends from the front row of seats. But Ravka comes first. It always does. It has to.

So here she is, travelling across the country with the one person she hates more than anybody else, trying not to think about the boy she left behind in Os Alta.

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

Zoya is a fool. She knows this. Why had she said nothing?

(Because of Ravka. Because he wouldn't have said what he had said, if he'd known how miserably fucked-up she is. Because he undoubtedly regrets it now, so it's too late.)

The moment Nikolai leaves, she wants to curl up into a ball on the floor of the airship and sob like a heartbroken teenage girl. But she hasn't been one of those for six years now, and she doesn't intend to go back to the person she had been.

She runs through the list of reasons in her mind why he shouldn't choose her. He needs to marry for the good of Ravka. He deserves somebody who can love him wholly, not Zoya, scarred and afraid, who can barely admit that she does love him.

Saints, she loves him.

More than she has ever loved anybody, she loves him. More than she thought herself capable of loving anybody. She loves him in a way that makes her want to tear down the walls surrounding her heart and give it to him, to hold or to break. Like she had let him into her garden, she wants to let him into her heart, let him see all of her - the good, the bad, the horrifying, even the part of her that has not quite hardened into a soldier yet. (The part of her that is nine years old at the altar, thirteen years old and bleeding in the snow, nineteen years old frantically searching Novokribrisk for Liliyana, twenty-three years old standing at David's grave.)

And that is exactly why he can never know that he has even the slightest effect on her, because she is a general and he is her king, and she cannot afford to be acting like a lovesick teenager when Ravka is on the brink of war.

She certainly can't tell him that she loves him. Especially not now that she knows he loves her. She knows him well enough to guess that if he knew the truth, he would gladly damn Ravka for a singular promise of her love. So one of them has to be responsible about this.

She will let her heart shatter silently a hundred times over before she lets even a single crack appear in Ravka for her sake.

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

Zoya is fairly certain that the last twenty-four hours have been a dream. Something she hallucinated.

Since the early hours of the morning, she has: defeated the Fjerdan navy, rescued and reconciled with Nina Zenik, seen the Apparat almost torn to pieces by corpses, turned into a dragon, been hailed as a Saint by Ravkans and Fjerdans alike, seen Nikolai Lantsov give up his throne, become Queen herself, and perhaps most unbelievably, she has confessed her love to him and the world has not ended yet.

Quite the opposite, in fact. If she were one for grand romantic declarations, she might say that it feels as if her world is only just beginning.

It is six o'clock in the morning, and the sun is not even close to rising. Ordinarily, she would already be up at this hour. (So would Nikolai, not that she pays close attention to his daily routine - except no, now she can freely admit to doing so. He would probably find it endearing.)

But she is not up. She is not washed and dressed, or getting in some early-morning training before breakfast. She is not taking this excellent opportunity to work on the stacks of paperwork that are undoubtedly waiting for her.

Instead, she is still lying in bed, debating whether or not to wake Nikolai up. On one hand, they have things to be doing and he probably should be awake by now. On the other hand, she could stay here and watch his face, at peace for once, for ever.

This is why she hadn't wanted to confess her love for him - because her own greed to have as many moments of peace and domesticity with him would outweigh her sense of duty. Now that it's actually happening, though, she finds she doesn't mind in the slightest.

He takes the decision out of her hands, though, by waking up himself. The moment his eyes open, they land on her face and he breaks into a smile.

"I thought I might have dreamed you," he admits, and she has to laugh.

"Dreamt up my entire existence? Don't be ridiculous."

"You know what I meant," he says, his eyes never once leaving hers. (And she is not looking into his eyes, because that really would prevent any sort of productivity this morning.)

"I do, yes. You're fun to tease, though," she tells him just to see his cheeks turn faintly pink.

"So yesterday really happened?"

"Of course it did," she says. "Unless we both had the same very vivid dream, you did give me your throne and I did turn into a dragon."

"Good," he says, still smiling. "Because I nearly died yesterday. Three times, in fact. And yet it was still the best day of my life."

Her heart races. "You're being sentimental, Nikolai."

"Am I not allowed to be?"

"No, I'll allow it. If you must be."

"Indeed I must. And I have about three years' worth of sentimentality to get out, so prepare yourself."

She pretends to groan, but secretly, once again, she finds she doesn't mind at all.

"By all means continue to flatter me," she says. "In fact, if you must know, I welcome your sentimentality. However impractical it may be."

"I suspected as much," he says, now grinning that damned crooked smile of his. "Then may I continue?"

"You may," she says, heart beating even faster in anticipation of what he might say next.

"In which case: Zoya, are you aware that I am completely head-over-heels in love with you?"

She can't help smiling softly. "Yes, I was aware."

He pauses, raising an eyebrow at her. She knows what he wants to hear. Is this the moment she finally says it?

Yes, it must be. And now that the moment has arrived, the words feel less like an insurmountable obstacle, and more like the words she has been searching for her whole life.

"I love you too, Nikolai."

[soficierva1734]

Ay, se ven tan lindos. >.<