#red limo quartet

[fancypantsrecords]

Adrian Berenguer & Paco Mitos - Summer In Mara (Original Soundtrack) | Kitty On Fire Records | 2022 | "Oceania" Blue Marbled

[hongjoongpresent]

Anyway so wie ben ik 3js feat red limo quartet am I right

[coffeeheartaddict2]

Beautiful

Book: open heart (post series)

Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x Casey Valentine

Rating: General

Category: fluff

Warnings:

Summary: It is finally Casey and Ethan’s Wedding.

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Pixelberry

Authors note: Submission for @choicesmonthlychallengejune2022 prompts will be in bold.

———

15th April 2023.

Ethn awoke, he rolled over to his right but remembered the person he was looking for had not been there as she was in a different room on the next floor up. He was sad at first but then he remembered the date. Finally. It was his and Casey’s wedding day. It had been a journey to get here. But despite the resets, the self denial, his stubbornness, a vindictive former ceo and his vendetta they had arrived.

Meanwhile, the next floor up Casey awoke. She had slept surprisingly well given that she was excited and did not have Ethan beside her. In seven hours she would be walking down the aisle, towards the love of her life and declare what they knew was already true in their hearts, their undying love for each other. Sienna, Jackie and Aurora were her bridesmaids and they would be here soon to get ready. The wedding ceremony is to be held in the courtyard of the McKim building of the Boston Public Library with a sit down reception at one of the spaces of SoWa power station.

The morning went by in a flurry of activity for both Casey and Ethan. They had opted not to have a first look. Casey looked better than what she remembered in her gown. It was white, lace with floral design, skinny straps. The bridesmaids were in red.

Ethan, along with Tobias, Naveen and Casey’s brother Joel made their way to the venue. Joel was initially apprehensive about wearing his dress military uniform but Casey insisted and the other groomsmen were happy for him to do so. Ethan was starting to get nervous. He could not recall ever feeling this nervous and it was disconcerting. Two o’clock neared and Ethan took a calming breath. All the guests had arrived and they were just awaiting the bride. The limo bringing Michael, the bridesmaids and Casey arrived. Casey too was also nervous. Deep down she knew that he would be at the other end of the aisle but she was still nervous. Michael gave her a reassuring hug before the bridesmaids entered. The bridesmaids led by Sienna made their journey and it was time for Michael to walk Casey down the aisle. The string quartet played the opening chords of “All you need is love” and Ethan turned around. His breath was taken away. She was a vision in white and he could not recall a time where she was happier. Casey arrived and it was time to say their vows. They had opted to say their own vows.

“Rookie, Casey. Today I formally and publicly make the promise I make to myself daily to love you, respect you, to be your partner in all aspects of our daily life. You truly opened my eyes and my heart to joys that a loving relationship brings but more so I promise you that I will also be your strength when times get tough. Our relationship has survived my asininity, my cowardice and fears but more importantly, death tried and failed to part us. I promise to take for granted what we currently have and what I know we will build in our future.”

Ethan squeezes Casey’s Hands, wishing he could kiss her already. Casey took a deep breath.

“Ethan, one could argue that you changed my life eights years before we met. Thirteen years ago was when I first read your book and it was then that I decided to be a doctor. I was excited when I placed at Edenbrook. Our journey here has been long but if you told me after my first day that we would be here I would have laughed. As I got to know you better, the man that I envisioned after reading your book came through. Even though we have gone through plenty both together and apart, you have always remained true and steadfast. The downs we have had have not broken us but only made us stronger and I promise you today to remain steadfast and loyal to you and to our relationship and to be your biggest supporter as time goes on.”

The mouth to each other I love you while the officiant goes through the ring exchange. Finally they are wed. He kisses her deeply and passionately and picks her up and turns around. Casey is left breathless by the kiss.

They go for photos whilst the rest of the guests head to the reception venue for some cocktails before the dinner.

Ethan and Casey are the most at peace they have felt in a long time.

They enjoy their meal. There was a variety of chicken, lamb and seafood that was enjoyed by all. It was time for the speeches. Tobias was first. When Tobias was asked to be best man he was surprised, they had reconciled sure but it was still a surprise and he took his role seriously and it included his speech.

“ I met Ethan in 2003 at what we both agreed on that night as a saccharine mixer for first year Medical students. We were not friends straight away, in fact he tried to get away from me as quick as possible but that meeting lead to a friendship that I did eventually take for granted. Before I was a complete idiot however we did get to know each other quite well. Ethan was a man who had been through a lot in his life and that did shape much of his view on people and relationships. Him entering any relationship was something that he did not take lightly so I was not surprised that we were on the outer with each other for so long. There was one day though where many of my preconceptions changed, albeit it did take me too long to reconcile it. That was the day that I brought a team to Edenbrook and helped save two lives. It was on a walk to help me refocus that I saw through the window, our groom with Casey and I could tell that he was in love. An opportunity came for a career change that I took but I also decided that I would take the opportunity to mend some fences also. The more I got to know Casey and the more I got to re-establishing a relationship with Ethan, the more I came to realise how much of a changed man Ethan had become for the better. I know there was plenty external to our work that had happened that would test the strongest of relationships but instead of allowing it to put a wedge they both grew stronger not as individuals but as a couple. I always knew that it was going to be someone spectacular to be a lifelong partner for Ethan and Casey is certainly that. I admit I am possibly not the only one who thought they would never see this day but as much as I never thought I would see it, I am still so glad that it has happened because Ethan with Casey is by far my favourite Ethan. To Ethan and Casey.”Everyone raised their glasses to the married couple and Tobias and Ethan embraced.

The night went on without a hitch. They did their first dance to “Can’t help falling in love”. Eventually it was time for Casey and Ethan to leave for the night. Ethan was very much looking forward to consummating their marriage and so was Casey. Their wedding day had been everything they hoped it to be and the wedding night was equally as memorable also. When they came down from their multiple highs, Ethan quietly whispered “I love you Mrs Ramsey” and Casey whispered back “I love you too, Mr Ramsey.” As she cuddled into and spent their first night together as a married couple.

Authors note 2: spacing is horrible tonight so sorry for the big gaps. Also a picture of Casey in her wedding dress (not my face claim but it is the dress I saw when I envisioned it ages ago for a newlywed game with bree

[autumnleaves1991-blog]

Next One’s on You 3/5

A/N: Thank you so much for reblogging, commenting, and liking! I read them all and I really appreciate it. Let me know if you want to be added to a Taglist. This is my personal favorite chapter so far. :D 

Summary: A series of moments in the life of Maxwell Lord and reader centered around drinks. 

Pairing: Maxwell Lord x F! Reader

Warnings: 18 + for language 

Taglist: @josepedropascal @mrschiltoncat @ghostwiththemostbitch @mrsparknuts @oldstuffnewstuff @yespolkadotkitty @heythere-mel @justanotherblonde23 @artsymaddie @maxlordsgf @xjaywritesx

My Masterlist 

Chapter Two - Vodka Martinis 

Chapter Three: Orange Juice 

Our start was rocky. From the unwanted solicitation, throwing a latte in his face, the note, that horrible date with Tom, and being doused in freezing water. You really thought that things couldn’t get any more rocky. Until you met his mother. Mrs. Lord as she commanded you to call her, was a complete and total bitch. 

Coming in like a hurricane and leaving nothing but devastation in her wake. After that night you continued seeing Maxwell Lord. You’re first date he rented out an entire movie theater, and didn’t even pay attention to the movie, his face buried in your neck the whole night. Followed up by small dinners at his mansion, and late night drives in his blood red corvette, the top down, you curled up against his side after a long day at work. 

After each one of these dates his toxic mother would swoop into your work and threaten you with anything in her arsenal. How she could get you fired, lose your apartment, sue you for some insignificant thing, and each time you would kindly tell her to fuck off. But she wasn’t just going after you but Maxwell as well and her claws were deep into him. Preying on all his fears and insecurities that she had instilled in him from a young age. Whispering lies in his ear that she had you tailed and were cheating on him, just using him for his money, or worse trying to get a baby out of him so he would be paying you for eighteen plus years. 

Each time he would come to you and you would remind him something his traumatized brain forgot in those moments….how much you loved him. 

Yes, he was an egotistical, rich, asshole and that is what the world thinks of him. But you saw so much more than that. The way he would take off your sticky non-slip shoes and rub your feet after a long day at the shop, stinking of coffee grounds. How he would hold your hand and rubs circles with his thumb whenever he drove you somewhere. The way he would make love to you with such tenderness, the aftercare where he would clean you and hold you so close you could feel your heartbeats sync together. You were his deepest secret, proof to the world that Maxwell Lord had a heart. Although no one knew that. 

You sit on the couch with your ice cream watching TV. Maxwell had a charity gala this evening and you're watching the news coverage hoping to get a glimpse of him in his tux. You had given him a new pocket square for his birthday last week and he promised to wear it. You dip the spoon in and lift it up to your lips when it clatters back into the carton. You put it on the table and crawl on your knees closer to the TV. 

Maxwell Lord IV is being interviewed by a local reporter looking immaculate. Not a single strand out of place and smiling jovial as he answers the questions. But that isn’t what caught your attention...it’s the blonde woman on his arm. You recognize her instantly as a model on the cover of the magazine your roommate bought yesterday. She is gorgeous, thin, wearing a floor-length pale pink dress, and a diamond collar. Her hand rests in the crook of his elbow and he has one hand over her own. 

“Mr. Lord, is this your girlfriend?” the reporter buzzes. 

“Oh Kitty here?” he kisses the beautiful woman's cheek and she giggles, “No, she is just a good friend of mine, I don’t have time in my life for any serious relationships.” He smiles at the camera again and you notice the pocket square is a pale pink to match her dress and not the one you bought and you feel the ice cream sour in your stomach. 

You reach for the knob and turn off the television laying down on the floor looking at the small cracks in the ceiling. You recall the conversation about this gala replaying it over and over again in your head. 

“Do you want me to attend with you?” 

“No, it’s just some boring charity gala we have ten to fifteen a year. I wouldn’t want to bore you with having to endure that for an evening,” he adjusts his tie and smiles over at you laying in his bed. 

“I understand,” you nod leaning up to kiss him softly, “Are you...going with anyone?” 

“No. I haven’t been attending these things with anyone since you and I...since you and I,” his eyes soften as he sits on the edge of the bed, taking his hand in yours. “You know how much I love you darling, I just want to keep you all to myself. If I bring you to this gala the press are going to start asking questions and….I’m not ready to share you with the world yet.” 

You smile, tightening the grip on his hand, “As long as I don’t have to share you with anyone either.” 

“There is no one else, you’re it for me honey,” he pulls you in for another kiss and you sigh. 

Your heart shatters thinking of the model and how perfect she looked on his arm. She would be the perfect addition to Maxwell. The words of his mother seep into you and your self doubt begins to bloom. You shake your head and get off the floor, put the ice cream away, and go to bed. The heaviness of your heart dragging you to sleep. 

The next morning doesn’t get any better. Your usual good morning phone call with Maxwell never comes and you go to work and try to clear your mind, sure it’s nothing. When your lunch break comes and still no call or even show of him you call his work. His assistant tells you regretfully that he is in meetings all day and can’t be reached. The sick feeling in your stomach continues to grow and when you get off you decide not to wait around for him, catching a cab to his home. The whole staff knows you and greets you happily and the chef makes you a sandwich and listens to you babble about your day as she cleans up. 

The household quiets down for the night and when it hits eleven and he’s still not home you take off your clothes, put on one of his shirts and crawl into bed. Determined not to let him get away with ignoring you all day. The next morning you wake up early, having tossed and turned the whole night. But this time the bed isn’t empty. A warm arm is draped across your waist and his mouth is pressed against your head holding you close. You sigh and watch him sleep, his face free of worry as he dreams.

You carefully eject yourself from his arms and go into the kitchen starting the button on the coffee. It’s very early and the chef isn’t even here yet so you decide to make some breakfast for yourself and Maxwell. The difficult conversation may be easier over food. You get out the egg whites, onions, peppers, mushrooms, and cheese for omelets and get to work cooking. Halfway through turning on the small radio and dancing around the kitchen to some Beegees. You're almost done cooking, putting the omelets onto the plates and pulling out a carton of orange juice and pouring a glass. 

You hear a slight chuckle and whirl around to see Maxwell Lord IV in his grey sleep pants, white shirt, and wearing bright blue cookie monster slippers you had bought him as a joke since he has a secret affinity for cookies. “What are you doing honey?” he asks, gesturing to the mess. 

“I...I thought we could have breakfast together and...talk...we need to talk Maxwell.” 

He lowers his head and nods grabbing the plates and juice before setting them down at the small kitchen table. Usually he liked to eat in the grand dining room but the small eat in kitchen table was your favorite. He sits close to you and digs in groaning at the taste. “This is delicious.” 

You give a half hearted smile, taking a bite and putting down your fork, turning to him, “I saw your interview at the gala....why did you lie to me about not having a date?” 

He grimaces, “my mother surprised me,” he sighs, “I was getting dressed for the gala and she shows up with Kitty, throws your pocket square in the trash and pushes us into the limo with her. I get the feeling that Kitty didn’t have much choice as well, but we played the part. I never wanted to lie to you, I just didn’t have time to tell you.” 

“Then why ignore me all day yesterday? No call, no visit, and when I tried to call the office they said you were in meetings all day.” 

“I was in meetings all day and I am so sorry about not calling in the morning but I had to take care of something very important yesterday.” 

“What was it?” not taking no for an answer. “My mother,” he rubs a hand over his face, “I had breakfast with my mother...I told her that what she did the night before was unacceptable and that I wanted to be with you. Of course she spent the entire day arguing with me but I couldn’t give a care. And at the end of it all I told her she needed to choose. Either she accepts you and we move forward or she can forget that she has a son.” 

“Maxwell,” you beg, “why didn’t you call me? I could have gone with you, you shouldn’t have had to do that alone! What did she say?” 

“She told me if I wanted to marry that poor coffee shop bitch, then she would never speak to me again.” You're silent as you process his words. Marry…? 

He stands from the table and goes into the foyer of the house. You can hear him digging in his coat and he comes back with a tiffany blue box. He drops to one knee before you and tears sting in your eyes, rubbing at them furiously. 

“I told her goodbye and then went to pick up the ring from the jewelers, I ordered it three weeks ago,” he opens the box and you gasp at the princess cut diamond surrounded by sapphires. “I had this big proposal planned, candles, champagne, a string quartet, your favorite restaurant. But, when I woke up this morning and saw you in my shirt, dancing and cooking breakfast, I thought this was a much better time. Plus you know how impatient I am darling.” 

You let out a watery chuckle and nod in agreement. Allowing him to continue, “I want to be with you for the rest of my life. I want to bring you to every gala, show you off to the world, and every morning I want to wake up with you in my arms. Will you marry me?” 

“Yes,” you cry, “yes of course, I will marry you,” you're openly sobbing and he has tears streaming down his cheeks as he slides the ring onto your finger. Pulling you out of your chair and into his lap as he kisses you passionately. His hands running through your hair and holding you close. 

“Oh my,” the chef opens the door seeing you both on the floor in a passionate embrace and backs out. You laugh calling them back, “We’re engaged!” you shout and the chef and butler run into the room congratulating you both. Maxwell smiles at you and you beam back at him kissing him again. 

A loud knock sounds at the front door and the butler rushes out to answer. Returning a few moments later apologizing as Mrs. Lord slams open the door. “Maxwell!” she shrieks, and you groan holding on tighter to your fiancé who is rising to his feet and pushing you behind him, locking his hand within your own. 

“Mrs. Lord?” he asks, “If you want to speak with me you will need to schedule a meeting with my assistant.” You squeeze his hand in encouragement and watch as she gapes like a fish.  

“You can’t be serious?! You are seriously going to give up your mother for some cheap whore?!” 

He steps forward and growls, “She is not some cheap whore, this is my fiancé and you will never speak to her like that again. I am tired of being your punching bag, allowing your toxic words to seep into me. I will no longer allow you to control me, we are done. Now good day Mrs. Lord.” He tightens his grip. 

“Maxwell, you can’-” she stammers and is cut off when he yells raising his voice. 

“I said good-day! Get the hell out of our home, you are no longer welcome.” She tightens her grip on her Hermes handbag and straightens her Dior dress before glaring daggers at you. 

“This isn’t over,” she hisses and turns on her heel stomping out of the house. 

When the door slams shut behind her, the staff quickly leave you two alone and you hold him close in your arms. Leaning up to whisper in his ear, “I am so proud of you.” He sighs and holds you tighter, placing a kiss to your temple. “I couldn’t let her talk like that about you.  You are going to be my wife, and no one will ever disrespect you like that.” 

“You’ve really changed Maxwell, I think some of those things you said to me the first time we met,” you tease and he groans. 

“Despite our rocky start and how much of an utter asshole I was, I wouldn’t change a thing. Because it brought me to you. I love you sweetheart,” he kisses you gently. 

“I love you too. Do you...do you think she’s going to do something bad? She seemed very angry when she left.” 

“Whatever happens, we will face it together. She is a bitter old woman, what’s the worst she can do?” he holds you close to his chest and reaches down for his orange juice taking a large drink. “Let’s just focus on the next thing.” 

“What’s next?” you sigh taking the glass from him and taking a deep drink. 

“Planning the wedding of the century darling.” 

You cough loudly. Oh fuck what have you gotten yourself into now? 

Chapter 4- Champagne (check master list for link)

[samanthadalton]

Slowly falling (part 2)

part 2 is finally here!!! I hope y’all haven’t forgotten about this fic yet 😭

tw: there’s a bit of swearing

taglist: @cloud9in @alleycat97 @thedaft1 @mrs-avamontjoy @itszdavenport @iamsimpforpoppy @otakufangirl-12 @orisasay @justavampirefan @waterinathermostat @bloodkueen @sparklesoverlooked @alexlabhont @thepotatobleh added people who liked the post about me wanting to write this fic, if you wanna be added or taken off let me know 😊)

wordcount: 4.1k (i did not expect to write so much but i hope you guys enjoy) 

part 1 is available here if you want a recap 

“What the hell do you mean he dies?” Lily replies, dumbfounded. 

“They find him guilty and execute him, what’s difficult to understand about that?” Kamilah snaps, the small cuts in her hand slowly healing as she shakes off the remaining fragments of glass onto the floor. 

“But he’s innocent so he won’t die.”

“We can’t be too sure of that,” Kamilah mumbles. Her gaze flits over to Amy who has been silently absorbing all the information, a pensive look on her face. “It seems….” Kamilah sighs tiredly, “there may be some evidence against Adrian which affiliates him with tonight's events.”

“What evidence?” Amy counters, a hint of anger in her tone as she finally speaks out. 

“I’m not sure, but Vega was… adamant about Adrian being a guilty party. He said all would be revealed at the trial.” 

“Bullshit!” Amy cries out. “Kamilah you know Adrian, you know he would never do anything like this.”

“I agree, Adrian’s a stickler for the rules, there’s no way he orchestrated a massacre of vampires and humans,” Lily chimes in. 

“Kamilah,” Amy ambles forward until she’s standing directly in front of the older vampire, “I know it’s not Adrian,” she says, her tone subtly indirecting the words of Nicole. The two stare at each other with such intensity until Kamilah breaks the eye contact, awkwardly glancing away. 

“It doesn’t make sense to me either, it is rather peculiar as to how Vega already has evidence that incriminates Adrian.” Kamilah deliberates for a few moments, her brows slightly furrowed in thought until she nods with resolution, “I have a plan to extract the evidence Vega has in his possession but we only have one chance.” 

“Anything,” Amy says with determination. Kamilah apprehends the conviction in Amy’s tone, feeling a slight pang in her chest as she revives the memory of her and Amy just a couple of hours prior, reminiscing about the sheer intimacy of the moment. But as she looks over at Amy now, she sees a fire burning in her eyes, one that is for her beloved brother, Adrian and not her. Kamilah builds back her icy exterior, reprimanding herself for letting it melt for a moment, especially for a mortal. 

“Right. Well if Vega does have any incriminating evidence against Adrian our best bet is that he’s hiding it in his home office.” 

“So we just need to hack into his computer?” Lily says condescendingly. 

Kamilah raises an eyebrow at the young vampire, her expression impassive, “don’t be so presumptuous, it might cost us this plan,” she says reprimanding. Lily raises her hands up in a comical defenselessness manner, evoking a unimpressed look from the older vampire. “Right, let’s get down to business.” Kamilah takes a seat at her desk, and gestures towards the chairs in front of her, signalling for the two girls to sit. “Adam is holding a gala in three days which means that is our window of opportunity to extract the evidence he has against Adrian.” 

“Don’t you think it’s weird that Vega is tagretting Adrian to begin with?” Amy asks, her tone perplexed, Kamilah in retort dismissively waves her hand at the girl, brushing away her concerns. 

“Adam was always the more cautious one out of us all, I mean he’s a politician, it’s simply in his blood to want to clean up this mess as quickly and cleanly as possible.” 

“So you’re saying that he’s only blaming Adrian because he’s an easy target?” 

“Precisely, whatever evidence he claims to have we can easily challenge the allegations and prove Adrian is innocent.” 

“So what does this have to do with the gala?” Lily chimes in. 

“Adam is known to store his information in one place, which coincidentally is where the gala is being hosted.”

“His house,” Lily interrupts. Kamilah nods, her expression less irritated and more impressed. 

“So what do we have to do?” Amy inquires. 

“Lily, we will sneak into Adam’s office and use a hard drive to download the evidence. It will most likely be encrypted so you’ll have to use your,” Kamilah waves her hand, “technical skills to access whatever he has on it.” 

“What about me?” 

“Amy,” Kamilah gives the girl a long hard stare before speaking again, “you’ll be in the hall, our second eyes and ears on Vega, it’s imperative we act like everything is normal, we don’t want to raise any suspicion. Or give the council any reason to believe there’s foul play involved.” 

Amy dejectedly nods at the older vampire, dismayed that Kamilah has only offered her a trivial task, but she remains silent knowing that this is all for Adrian. 

……

The day of the gala arrives and Amy and Lily are in their apartment getting ready. When Amy enters the bathroom, she’s overwhelmed by the memory of Nicole and the recollection of the blood all over her hands and body. Amy begins trembling, her breaths becoming panicked and heavy as she clutches her hand over her chest, her body throbbing in torment. Within seconds, Lily speeds into the bathroom, her hands already on Amy’s waist steadying her, concern written all over her face. 

“Hey, it’s okay, just breathe,” Lily rubs comforting circles across Amy’s back, her own voice becoming shaky as she watches her best friend break down into tears. 

“Lily..I...can’t,” Amy says, her tone strangled as her breaths only quicken. Amy feels she’s about to pass out, until she’s thrown back into the memory of the night of the attack, her remembers the softness of Kamilah’s voice, the usual icy timbre of her voice completely gone as she gazes at the human, the soft tones calming her as she regains control. Amy recalls Kamilah’s breathing exercise, mimicking it many times until she’s able to string a sentence without palpitating. 

“You okay?” Lily asks as she leads Amy to the edge of the bathtub, guiding her down to sit. Amy nods, her lips still trembling slightly. “You wanna talk about it?” 

Amy shakes her head, “it’s just jitters I guess.” 

“Okay,” Lily says, unconvinced as her vampire hearing hears the blip in Amy’s heartbeat but she doesn’t press on the issue. “Are you sure you wanna go tonight? If you want we can stay home and play call of duty or something.” 

“No,” Amy sniffles, “we have to do this, for Adrian, Kamilah, they’re depending on us.” 

“In that case, you wanna see the dresses Kamilah sent us?” Amy chuckles and nods and takes Lily’s hand and the vampire guides her into the living room to show her the long evening gowns that are for them. 

“Wow,” Amy says entranced, her fingers graze the dress that is meant for her, the dress being the perfect mix of sophisticated but sexy. The elegant black with a plunging v-neckline, with a slit in the leg showing off the perfect amount of leg, “Kamilah did a good job.” 

“Well girl knows how to dress so I’m not surprised.” The girls spend the next couple of hours getting ready and when they leave their apartment they see a limo waiting for them. 

“Wow, remind me to thank Kamilah Ames,” Lily jumps in the backstreet and pops open a bottle of champagne that is sitting in the mini fridge and begins drinking from the bottle. “You want some?” Amy politely shakes her head declining. 

“Sadly my tolerance for alcohol isn’t as high as yours Lil.” 

“Perks of being a vampire I guess,” Lily takes another huge swig from the bottle. 

……

Once they arrive at Senator Vega’s mansion, the girls notice Kamilah waiting at the entrance, a restless expression on her face. The older vampire senses the girls’ arrival and turns her head around to see Amy and Lily leaving the limo, her gaze drifts down to the human’s figure, a faint smile on her lips. ‘The dress fits her perfectly’ Kamilah thinks as she assesses her curves, her legs, she hears the faint beating of Amy’s heart, how it’s beating faster than usual, most likely to do with nerves. 

As she steps out of the limo, Amy is in awe, she gawks at the front gates of Senator Vega’s home, dazzled by the mansion. Her eyes wander over to the front where she sees Kamilah wearing a very red and pretty revealing dress. Her eyes helplessly roams the vampire’s body, taken by how breathtakingly beautiful she is. 

“Ames I see Kamilah,” Lily gives her friend a slight nudge pushing her out of her daze. 

“Uh yeah,” Amy nods and links her arm with Lily’s and walks up the pathway towards the older vampire. Lily lets out a low whistle when she’s face to face with Kamilah. 

“Damn, you look hot Kamilah.” A faint smile tugs at the corner of Kamilah’s lips as her eyes meet Amy’s. 

“I see the dresses were in good taste,” her gaze deftly lowers to Amy’s chest before meeting her eyes again. 

“They’re beautiful Kamilah, thank you,” Amy responds, her hands ghosting to the front of her dress, soothing out the creases. A few other guests begin making their way into the house, and Kamilah’s expression sobers, seriousness washing all over her as she leans in to whisper to the girls. 

“It is imperative that we integrate ourselves into this party and draw no attention to ourselves,” her gaze flits to Lily, a stern look on her face. In retort, Lily gulps and gives Kamilah a nervous smile, “when it’s time I will signal to you and Lily and I will obtain the evidence. Now come on, it looks suspicious with us loitering in the front.” Kamilah begins walking into the house, leaving Amy and Lily to follow behind. 

“Game face girl,” Lily nods to Amy before walking through the front door. As they make their way in, the faint playing of a string quartet comes from the grand hall, as waiters greet the girls and lead them into the hall where it is filled with people dancing, laughing, eating. 

“Oooh there’s a bar, Ames do you want a drink?” 

Amy shakes her head, “I’m good Lil, I’ll grab us a table.” Amy takes her way through the hall, she recognises some of the faces, ‘there are a lot of vampires’ she thinks to herself. Her eyes roam the space, no sign of Vega yet. Just as she finds an empty table, a hand grips her shoulder tightly, forcing her to turn to face to figure. 

“Mmm, you look.. delicious,” Priya seductively licks her lips, a devilish glint in her eyes.

“Ow, you’re hurting me,” Amy grunts, which only spurs Priya to dig her fingers into Amy’s shoulder more. 

“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of a little pain darling,” she leans in close to Amy, her lips ghosting hers. Intimidated by the smell of blood that lingers from Priya, Amy takes a half step back. “You’re afraid,” Priya states with a hint of playfulness, in her voice, “now that Adrian is locked up, I guess you’re in need of a new boss.” She leans in again once more, “the ways I could just break you-” 

“That’s enough Priya.” The voice comes booming from behind the vampire, Amy’s gaze moves to see Kamilah frowning behind Priya. 

“Come on grandma, we’re just having some fun.” 

Kamilah hums in response, “so are you having fun?” 

“Huh?” Amy says, a hint of worriness in her tone. 

“Are you having fun?” Kamilah asks. Amy shakes her head no, “the girl gave you her answer, now let her go.” Priya sighs, retracting her hand from Amy’s shoulder, leaving a series of small bruises. 

“Always killing my vibe,” the vampire sighs as she stalks off to harass more patrons. 

“Are you okay?” Kamilah asks, her brow slightly furrowed as she looks at the state of Amy’s shoulder, Amy’s hand subconsciously moves to grasp her shoulder, rubbing at the wound. 

“I’m okay.” 

Kamilah nods hesitantly. “Lily told me about what happened in the bathroom,” for a second, Amy looks at the vampire quizzically until it hits her, when she realises she scrunches her face up in anger. 

“She had no right.” 

“She’s worried, she has no idea that you’re spiralling.” 

“I’m not spiralling!” Amy raises her voice causing a few guests around them to look over at the exchange. 

Kamilah on the other hand keeps a straight face, her tone ever wavering, “well I’m not going to force you to talk about anything but just keep in mind that it’s never easy dealing with it alone.” She turns to walk away but looks over her shoulder, “trust me I know.” She walks away leaving the human alone to let her words settle in. 

As the night goes on, Vega finally makes an appearance but Kamilah keeps the girls on standby, not being able to find her window of opportunity. Amy and Lily dance with each other for a while to let the time go by as Kamilah consorts with the other guests, not paying any attention to Amy or Lily other than the occasional glance at Amy to see her enjoying herself with Lily. The tapping of glass, silences the guests focusing their attention on Vega who stands at the front of the room with a wide grin on his face. 

“Esteemed guests, I thank you for being here tonight, to celebrate...well me.” The guests all share a small chuckle as Vega drones on with his speech. Kmailah shares a conspiratorial look with Lily and Amy and subtly nods her head towards the doors of the halls. The girls slip out with discretion and meet with Kamilah who’s glancing down impatiently at her watch. 

“Quickly we don’t have enough time, Amy remember you are our eyes and ears, Lily you are with me.” Lily gives the older vampire a nod in response. 

“About that, there’s a problem.” Lily raises a hand gingerly.

“And you’re telling me about this now?” Kamilah grits her teeth. 

Lily raises her hands defensively, “I didn’t raise any attention.” Kamilah raises an eyebrow at the girl, “it’s nothing major, it’s just Vega has this security protocol put into place near his office.” 

“What is it?” 

“Motion sensors.” 

Kamilah rubs her fingers on her temples, “so what do we do?” 

“I can probably disable them but i have to do it from outside the office, which means I can’t come with you.” 

“I can go,” Amy squeaks out. 

“No,” Kamilah bluntly responds. 

“Why not? 

“If I listed all the reasons, we would lose our window.” 

“Kamilah I’m going with you, I don’t care what you have to say about it. The more time you waste trying to pointlessly argue with me, the more time we waste trying to get the evidence,” Amy stubbornly begins walking down the hall and Kamilah sighs before following her. 

“I’ll be close by but here,” Lily hands Kamilah the hard drive before giving her a salute, “let’s go save our boy.” 

Once Kamilah and Amy get into the office, Kamilah stalks up to Vega’s computer, plugging in the hard drive, “crap, his files are encrypted.” 

“Didn’t we expect that?” 

Without looking up from the computer Kamilah replies, “yes but it’s more than I thought so Lily will have her work cut out for her. Now watch the door.” 

Amy obediently moves towards the door, keeping it slightly ajar to look through. “Kamilah?” 

“Hmm?” 

“Why didn’t you want me to come with you?” 

Kamilah doesn’t answer, keeping her focus on uploading the files, Amy frowns before asking more loudly, as if her volume was the issue, “why didn’t you want me here Kamilah?” 

Kamilah sighs, her eyes look up from the screen to look up at Amy, “because you’re a distraction.” 

“I’m a distraction?” 

“That is what I said isn’t it?” 

“Why?” 

Kamilah shrugs her shoulders, visibly getting more frustrated, “you’re not in your right mind Amy, with all this Nicole business, I can tell you’re distracted.” 

Amy balls up her fists before stalking up to the desk, “I’m sorry if ki-, if taking someone’s life is messing me up. But I keep reliving the moment over and over again, and I can’t seem to forget it. So fuck it, I’m not really sorry.” 

“Are you done?” Amy sighs heavily, nodding her head. “I get it Amy, I understand how hard it can be taking someone’s life.” 

“But you told me it gets easier.” 

“Yes, I’m also 2000 years old, of course it gets easier.” 

“Well I don’t have 2000 years, Kamilah. I’m having panic attacks almost every day, I can’t sleep, I can barely eat. Everytime I close my eyes I can just see her body.” 

Kamilah stands up from the chair and walks over to Amy, she looks down to see Amy’s balled up fist and contemplates taking it in her hands, but she pushes the thought of her mind and looks directly into the girl’s eyes, “I know it’s hard to believe, but you did a good thing. Nicole was a bad person. I mean I’ve personally always despised her. She was always too uptight for me.” Amy’s lips quirk up into a small smile, “what?” 

“You calling Nicole upright is just ironic.” 

“Oh hush.” The girls share a smile but the moment is quickly interrupted by the computer making a beeping sound and Kamilah twists her head to look down on the screen. “It’s almost finished downloading, Amy, watch the door.” 

“Oh right,” Amy moves back to the door, keeping an eye out. “Crap, Kamilah!” 

“What?” 

“Vega! He’s walking up.” 

“Damn, we still have a minute left until the files are downloaded.” 

Amy runs up to the desk next to Kamilah, “we have like 10 seconds.” Amy freezes for a second for throwing her arms around Kamilah, “please don’t kill me.” She presses her lips against the vampire, pulling her in for a kiss just as the door of the office swings open. Amy feels forlorn when Kamilah doesn’t reciprocate the kiss, but just as she’s about to pull away, Kamilah places her hands around Amy’s waist, eliminating the space between them. The kiss builds up very quickly as Kamilah takes the lead, slightly pushing Amy against the desk, as her tongue tangles up with the human’s but when Vega lets out a loud cough, the two girls quickly break apart. 

“Senator Vega!” 

“Adam.” Vega offers the two women a small smile, “I apologize for the intrusion in your office but Amy and I wanted a place where we could,” she awkwardly glances at the girl, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks, “fraternize together.” 

Amy stealthily glances at the screen and sees there’s still 30 seconds until the file is finished downloading so she swings her arms and ‘accidentally’ knocks over a few of the papers on Vega’s desk. “Senator Vega I’m so sorry, let me pick them up for you.” 

“That’s okay Miss Parker.” 

“No, no I insist.” Amy sits on the floor and begins to gather up the papers, she subtly nods her head to Kamilah, who begins moving towards Adam who stands near the door.” 

“Adam, I again apologise.” 

Vega raises his hand, “no, no I understand. Sometimes we all have...feelings we have to express. I just didn’t think you would go for Adrian’s girl so fast,” he speaks casually, his usual politician grin plastered on his face, but as his eyes bore into Kamilah, the older vampire can see the animosity inside of them. 

In response Kamilah keeps her poker face, and retorts, “hmm, well Amy is a grown woman, she can consort with whoever she pleases.” 

Adam places his hand over his heart, “ah of course, I meant no offence.” 

“Got it!” Amy stands giving the two vampires a wide smile, “I may have messed up the order of those papers, I hope they weren’t in chronological order Senator.” 

“No need to worry, I’m sure I can sort it out.” 

“Right well we should be getting back to the party, Amy?” Kamilah glances over her shoulder to the human, “shall we?” Amy nods and begins walking out of the door, just as Kamilah is about to follow, Vega lightly grabs her arm. 

“I’m glad to see you opening yourself up to someone, I feel like it’s been a long time.” Vega gives the older vampire a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes and Kamilah politely nods her head before leaving the office. 

Just as her and Amy turn the corner, in a flash, she pushes the human against the wall, her eyes red, “I said don’t kill me!” Amy cries out. 

“What the hell was that?” 

“I’m sorry! I panicked. Vega was so close and I didn’t want him to suspect us so I did the thing they do in movies.” Kamilah stares intensely into Amy’s eyes, her gaze setting Amy alight. After a few moments, she blinks and her eyes return back to its normal color and she removes her hand from Amy. 

“Right. Well did you get the hard drive?” 

Amy pulls it out of her bra, “yup.” 

“Good. Give that to Lily as soon as you can. We’ll need to stay at this party for a while to not raise any suspicion.” Kamilah stalks off and enters the hall without a second glance. Amy exhales heavily, her back still pressed up against the wall, she raises her fingers and begins tracing the outline of her lips, reminiscing about the kiss. 

When she enters the hall, she looks around and spots Lily near the buffet and sidles up to her, “hey girl, where were you?” 

“Just needed a moment to myself.” 

“So how did it go?” 

“Oh yeah,” Amy pulls out the hard drive, placing it in Lily’s hand, “this is for you.” 

“Oooh it’s warm.” Lily places it into her bag before turning her attention to the food. “You hungry?” 

“Very.” 

The girls scope out the buffer, collecting mountains of food before sitting down on a table. 

“Why is Kamilah staring at you like that?” 

“Huh?” Just as Amy turns her head to look at the vampire, Kamilah sneakily turns her head to focus on the people in front of her. “She’s not staring.” 

“Uhh yes she is or was. Did something happen?” 

Amy shifts in her seat until she’s facing Lily, “yes but don’t freak out. We kissed.” 

“WHAT!”

“Lily, I said don’t freak out!” 

“Sorry! Sorry!” Lily squeals louder. Lily leans in whispering, “so what happened?” Amy gives Lily the details of the kiss but then recollects the hostility Kamilah had in regards to the kiss. 

“So was it good?” 

Amy shrugs her shoulders, “it was different. I don’t know how to describe it but it felt good.” 

“Oh my god, you’re totally crushing on her.” 

“I’m not! And even if I was I doubt she feels the same.” 

“I doubt that.” 

Amy huffs, “Lil, she hasn’t been with anyone in a hundred years and she barely ever gets close to anyone to begin with. What makes you think she’s going to fall for a human?” 

Lily answers with a smile, internally knowing that Kamilah has been listening to the entire conversation from across the room as she feels the older vampire's gaze burning into them. 

After a few more songs by the quartet is played, the announce they’re about to play their one last song, Kamilah appears out of thin air and raises her hand towards Amy, “indulge me?” 

“I thought you don’t dance.” 

“Well Vega has been watching us like a hawk, if we are to sell the idea that we are….”

“I think the word you used was fraternizing.” 

“Yes, well we should at least have one dance.” Amy slides her hand into Kamilah’s and lets her guide her onto the dancefloor. Kamilah places one hand on Amy’s hip while her other interlocks with Amy’s and the girls glide smoothly on the floor. As they dance, Amy and Kamilah’s eyes bore into each other’s, the atmosphere almost becomes dense with anticipation as they find themselves moving closer to each other, as the seconds pass. Just as Kamilah’s lips are hovering over Amy's, the song finishes and the crowd begins applauding, the sudden sound jerking them apart. 

“Thank you for the dance Kamilah.’ 

“Of course,” Kamilah nods and Amy and steps back a little, putting a little distance between them.

Lily saunters to the two girls, “so can we go now?” 

“Yes, I believe the night is over.” Just as the women begin to exit, a vampire from Kamilah’s clan approaches her, whispering in her ear. “Excuse me, Adam requests an audience.” 

“Is everything okay?” Amy asks, her brows furrowed in confusion. 

“I hope so.” 

After a few moments, Kamilah returns, her face etched into a scowl. 

“So what happened?” Lily inquires. 

“It seems the rest of the council had a meeting without me and they’ve changed the date of Adrian’s trial.” 

“So when is it?” 

“Tomorrow.” 

[avengerscompound]

Bartoned - Chapter 31

Bartoned - A Hawkeye Fanfic

Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Buy me a ☕ Rating:  E

Warnings:  Nothing really

Pairing: Clint Barton x F!Reader

Word Count:  1667

Summary:  Clint’s name has become synonymous with fucking things up.  When you have a one night stand with him, your whole life gets Bartoned.

A/N:  Thank you for @mumbles411​ for your help with this chapter

Chapter 31

The wedding of Kari and Wanda seemed to rush up on everyone suddenly. It was weird how things like that could happen. It would seem like there was an eon before a big event and then it arrived, and you couldn’t believe how fast the time had gone.

You had been so busy though, with work, helping Kari with her wedding preparations, planning your own wedding, the two bachelorette parties, and parenting, there was never a moment of your time not occupied by something. By the time the wedding actually arrived, you felt exhausted and worn a little thin.

Though the excitement radiated off Kari and Wanda, the ceremony was relatively small and was held in Central Park at the Cop Cot under the natural gazebo. Wanda was getting ready with Natasha, Carol, and a few of the other women Avengers who she was close with in the apartment she shared with Kari, while Kari was in your apartment with you and her mother while Clint got ready and kept Nattie out of the way. She was nine months old now and had started self-weaning from breastfeeding, and while she couldn’t walk alone she was very into cruising along, holding herself up on the couch or coffee table, or better yet, holding her daddy’s hand.

A photographer had been taking photos of Kari getting ready but everything seemed to be done now. Hair was set. Makeup was done. Dresses had been smoothed over and double-checked.

“Alright. I think… I think I’m about to become someone’s wife,” Kari said, looking around to see if she missed anything.

You handed her her bouquet of red and white wildflowers. “FRIDAY can you let Bucky know we’re heading to the car? And tell Wanda we’re heading out?” you said.

“Of course, miss,” the A.I. replied.

You kissed Clint and Nattie goodbye and headed down to the cars where Bucky was waiting. You, Bucky, Kari, and her mother all climbed into the back of a limo and it pulled out into the busy midtown street.

“So you’re the one who’s acting as Kari’s father?” Kari’s mother asked.

“That’s right. You can call me, Bucky,” Bucky said, offering her his hand.

“I’m Conny,” she replied, shaking it. “Funny, you don’t look old enough to be her father.”

“I assure you, I am,” Bucky joked.

“You would have been in Europe around the time she was conceived, weren’t you Buck? Any trips to Denmark?” you asked.

Bucky chuckled while Kari glared daggers at you. “No. You cut that out.”

“It’s possible. I was sent all over the place,” Bucky replied.

“Oh god,” Kari groaned. “I should have asked Tony after all.”

The car pulled up at the gates of the park, and the few security that had been hired moved in quickly to help get you all to the venue without a problem. You could hear the group gathered up on top of the hill from where you all waited in the closed-off marque.

When Wanda and her group arrived you heard them talking as they moved into their own one. The celebrant came to collect us as Bucky fixed his kippah to his head and went through the instructions about when each of us should go.

She left and a moment later a four-string quartet started up, letting us know she was making her way down the aisle.

“See you down there,” you said, kissing Kari on the cheek and heading out of the tent.

Natasha was waiting for you looking stunning in her cocktail dress, with its scoop-cut neckline and flared-a-line skirt that reached just below her knees. While the style was completely different from your floor-length empire cut dress, the red matched exactly.

The two of you walked up the path to the large gazebo on top of the hill surrounded by a thick cluster of trees. The music changed and you and Natasha walked arm in arm down the aisle, splitting up when you reached the chuppah and you each moved to either side of the small canopy. The cloth that covered it was red and white and it was decorated with wildflowers.

The music changed again and everyone stood. Kari began walking down the aisle, flanked on either side by Bucky and her mother, their arms linked. When they reached the chuppah, Conny lifted Kari’s veil off her face and kissed her cheeks before both she and Bucky moved to stand beside you and she stepped up in front of the celebrant.

Once again the music changed and the crowd all turned to look again. Kari looked up excitedly and Wanda stepped through the entrance of the Gazebo. She looked like a queen. She wore a ball gown dress with a small train. Red jewels were sewn up the skirt in such a way that every step looked like she was walking through fire. The corseted bust was pulled tight with red ribbon, and on her head, she wore an elaborate diadem that almost looked like it formed two horns. It was heavily jeweled with a large red jewel on her forehead. Her veil was sewn into it and covered her face but even through it, you could see how her eyes were painted with a smokey eyeliner, and even more clear was the huge smile on her dark red lips.

Clint looked just as proud as any father would. He walked on her right, while Steve walked on her left. When they reached the chuppah, Clint lifted Wanda’s veil and kissed her cheek, and then moved over next to Natasha. Steve kissed Wanda too and when he was in place, Wanda and Kari circled each other. When they finally moved into position the ceremony started.

It was a long but beautiful ceremony that blended in a few things from Wanda’s Jewish and Romani heritage - including stepping on a glass and jumping the broom. The one thing that was constant throughout was how Wanda and Kari couldn’t stop looking at each other like one of them had hung the stars and the other had hung the moon. They were so very in love and that whole feeling looked so alien to you. When they finally walked back down the aisle and everyone followed after, the caterers swooped in and began to rearrange the area for the reception. You and Clint found each other outside while the photos started.

“That was a beautiful ceremony,” you said, leaning against Clint as he wrapped his arm around your waist.

“Yeah, it was. They looked so happy too,” Clint agreed.

“I don’t want ours to be anything like that,” you added.

“Fuck no,” Clint said quickly and you both started laughing. “Like ten minutes. I do - I do, get out.”

You leaned in and cradled his jaw as you looked into his blue eyes. “I love you,” you giggled.

“Yeah, yeah. Who can blame you?” he teased and brought his lips to yours.

When you pulled back you were dragged into a few group shots and you stood around trying not to look too awkward as they rearranged everyone again and again. When you finally were let go so that Kari and Wanda could go take photos around the park you made your way back to Clint again and inside the gazebo where they were serving canapes that this time mixed Wanda’s heritage and Kari’s Danish roots. There was dark rye bread with gravlax, stuffed cabbage, and little potato cakes with sweet corn mayonnaise amongst them. On a small table next to the head table was a cake made from stacked rings of marzipan.

You grabbed a flute of champagne from the first server that passed you and drained half the glass in one go.

“Woah, go easy there,” Clint said as he piled canapes onto a napkin.

“No way, this is the first night out with you I’ve had since I got pregnant that I wasn’t either pregnant or with my infant daughter. I’m getting hammered,” you said.

“You’re still breastfeeding!” Clint argued. “Plus we’re still going home to her.”

“I’ll pump and dump,” you said. “She’s not gonna care if she gets a bottle instead. And you -” you tapped his chest “- can stay sober.”

Clint tried to stifle a laugh unsuccessfully and kissed your forehead. “Well, here’s to the second time in my life I’m getting to see my fiance drunk.”

“Here, here!” you cheered and drained the rest of the glass. “You think she’s gonna be okay tonight? There’s always been one of us there for bedtime.”

Clint shrugged. “We’re not gonna be that late. And Doreen has our number. It’s not like she’s never gotten her to sleep before.”

You switched out your glasses and looked around the room. “Tony’s chatting up Kari’s mom,” you said pointing at them with your glass.

Clint snorted. “He’s determined to get back at Kari for not choosing him to walk her down the aisle, isn’t he?”

You giggled. “Looks like it.”

Clint leaned into you and nipped at your throat. “It’s a pity we’re in the middle of Central Park,” he said. “Not having Nattie with us calls for being dragged into a maintenance closet and fucking our brains out.”

“God damn it, Kari,” you cursed. “Spoiling our fun. You’re not even gonna be able to finger me under the table, because we’re not even sitting at the same table.”

“Well that’s just rude,” Clint agreed and shoved the last of his canapes into his mouth.

There was a clinking of glass and Steve went up to the microphone. “Could everyone take their seats? Wanda and Kari are nearly here.”

You huffed and nuzzled at Clint’s cheek. “I’ll see you at the dance, I guess. I’m going to be well drunk by then.”

“Sounds good,” he said and pecked your lips. “Oh, one thing before you go.”

You looked at him quizzically and he brought his lips to your ear. “We’re next,” he whispered.

// NEXT

[lynnie-writes-blog]

Moving On (venom fic)

Summary: Anne and Dan have finally tied the knot. With Eddie in attendance to the wedding he comes to term with his feelings and relationship with Anne, while Venom isn’t as willing to admit this resolution.

     For a lawyer and a doctor, Eddie imagined their wedding would have been a lot more extravagant than a church ceremony. It was a gorgeous cathedral mind you, beams of red and blue raining down on the aisle from the stained glass was impressive enough. From the golden statue of Christ himself and the gothic stone structures, he figured there would have been a bit more pizazz.

     He imagined there would be more flowers, both in quantity, size, and variety, when in reality the only flowers he could see were pale chrysanthemums here and there. Perhaps a string quartet would have added a more expensive atmosphere to the event rather than an old woman on the organ.

     Maybe it was the dress she wore, simple in its plain satin with little details to it. Though the wedding was modest, Eddie could tell from his back row seat that Anne was happy with where she was. He saw in her tears when saying her vows, in her smile that was interrupted by the first kiss of the newlyweds, and the skip in her step as she and Dan walked out of the church and to their limo.

     This is not the end.

     Eddie sighed through his nose with his friend’s reassurance, pulling a phone up to his ear and answering, “I think it is, bud.” Normally he would be willing to look like a tweaker and just talk to “himself,” but he had to be mindful of the very Catholic crowd he was in, so he excused the talking with the phone.

     It is not.

     Eddie opened his mouth to argue, but the voice continued.

     She still has to go to the courthouse to make it legal, yes?

     “Yes, but-”

     Then I will bite his head off before they arrive.

     “No,” Eddie scolded, his tone growing much more stern than it had been before, “you will not.”

     But-

     “No.”

     …Fine. We still have time.

     Eddie didn’t answer the voice in his head this time, keeping the phone to his ear while he followed the rest of the crowd out the doors. All while uncomfortably avoiding eye contact with those around him, after all half of these people were Anne’s family. He knew them well, he liked all of them, but not all of them still liked him. The brunet kept to himself while he slowly inched forward, the process of leaving being slow while everyone in the church was trying to leave at once.

     Eddie?

     “Hm?”

     You aren’t bothered by this?

     “By what?” Eddie spoke as if he didn’t already know what Venom was talking about. He earned a disapproving grunt from the symbiote as a response. “Why would I be bothered?”

     We worked so hard for her, from underneath Eddie’s suit jacket he could feel a familiar ooze coil around his arm, we did everything right for so long.

     In recognition of this Eddie tossed his head from side to side, still unphased and noting, “About a year I think.” Man, Dan and Anne really hit it off quickly, didn’t they? Not even two years and they tied the knot.

     Yes, which is precisely why we deserve her.

     “More than Dan?”

     Yes, more than Dan!

     “Really?” Cocking a brow, Eddie finally was able to step out of the cathedral doors and into the springtime sun, grains of rice scraping underneath his shoes. “Even though Dan never dug into her work files?” Venom didn’t answer so quickly this time. “Never got her fired? Never - oh, I dunno - betrayed her trust entirely?”

     Eddie could hear a low, thoughtful rumble in his head, followed by: You apologized, though.

     “I did.”

     I thought she forgave you.

     “She did.”

     Then why? We - We made it right by her!

     Eddie never thought he would be stuck explaining such a thing to an alien. It made sense that Venom wouldn’t quite understand this, he came from a different planet and a different culture. The man strolled down the few steps to the sidewalk, drifting off to to the side to stay a little more isolated. While family and friends mingled, he took his phone call.

     “Well… yeah, we made it up to her,” he frowned a little in his thought, “but that doesn’t mean she wants us romantically.”

     Why not?

     “Because we- I proved that she can’t always trust me. Dan never did that to her, so she moved on.” His shoulders slumped. “She fell out of love with me, then fell in love with Dan.”

     But we-!

     “Just because we’re nice to her doesn’t mean we get to marry her.” They were both quiet for a moment, allowing Eddie the moment to glance up from the sidewalk and make eye contact with a handful of people. Most of them were giving him odd or sympathetic looks, they must have overheard his side of the conversation. Eddie began to walk further away from the cluster of wedding guests.

     “Dan is a good guy,” Eddie reassured, “he’s nice, and she’s really, really happy with him. Without me.” Eddie stopped walking when he was a comfortable fifteen feet away from the outliers of the crowd, sighing.

     …You didn’t answer my question, Eddie.

     “What?” His face morphed into a scowl, “I totally did! I just gave you a ton of reasons-”

     Not that. Why aren’t you upset?

     Eddie stopped at this, trying to think of his answer.

     You were distraught because she was not with you. You would cry over her.

     “Thank you for the reminder,” Eddie rolled his eyes.

     We have worked tirelessly for her. It was… uncomfortable, and you failed entirely.

     “Wow, nothing gets past you.”

     Shut up. Why are you not sad? Why did you give up?

     “Give up?”

     You’ve been less determined to earn her favor for a while now, Eddie. Why? When you tried so hard?

     “Ahh,” Eddie lifted his free hand to rub the back of his neck, asking himself the same question. “I… I think I’m over her, V.”

     What?

     “Yeah.”

     Are you certain?

     “Not entirely,” Eddie admitted, “but… yeah, I feel really good. I feel okay about this.”

     She meant a lot to you, Eddie.

     “She still does.” Bringing his hand down, it was comfortably stuffed in his pocket, “Just in a different way, now.”

     …Are you absolutely certain? Venom repeated. You haven’t tried giving her a head yet. That might reignite the spark.

     “Thanks for the advice,” Eddie took in a deep breath, “but I think I just want to find someone else to give heads to.”

     Oh…

     Eddie felt a little guilty, admittedly, but not for himself. He felt content with how his path had separated from Anne’s, difficult as it was. But Venom had struggled a lot with this too. Learning how to properly flirt (he still struggled, hence the gifting heads suggestion), practicing restraint, forcing himself to go into situations that were foreign and uncomfortable. Eddie imagined it would be difficult for an alien to take in for the sake of its host.

     “But,” Eddie’s posture straightened, smiling some, “it’s a new day, my friend. There are plenty of fish in this great sea, we just need to find ours.”

     I thought Anne was ours.

     “Ya thought wrong,” the response was short and sweet, and rude, “but the beautiful thing is now we can start fresh. With someone we both choose and agree with, not just a gal I happen to have old beef with.”

     But I chose Ann-

     “And what better place to get some numbers than a wedding reception?” Eddie pulled his phone away from his ear and shoved it back in his pants pocket, strolling up to the rest of the crowd with a bounce in his step. “But first, chocolate.”

     Chocolate?

     “Nothing helps a broken heart better than chocolate, V,” Eddie poked his head around, trying to eye the nearest gas station, “and no one wants to flirt with a guy sulky over his ex.”

     I knew it! You are-

     “I was talking about you.”

[desertislandcloud]

Daníel Hjálmtýsson has been making sounds from early childhood, garnering acclaim for his mature approach to melody and harmony. Fronting garage bands and singing in children´s choirs along with studying music, Daníel grew into liking all kinds of different musical genres as a kid, making demos in his room and studying all different aspects of music. Daníel quickly grew out of wanting to classically study instruments and began getting to know them on his own. Often escaping cruel and harsh circumstances in his day to day and finding security and warmth in music.

Picking up the clarinet at age 7, Daniel gravitated towards guitars around age 9 yet vocals became his main attraction. Still keeping with the attitude of trying to play whatever was around.

In Daníel Hjálmtýsson´s solo venture, that now finally emerges with official releases you can hear influences of the melancholic and melodic, the classical, the rock, the electronic, the ambient, the country folk, the dark and the light that make up the spectrum of Daníel Hjálmtýsson music. Integrating the beautiful in the brutal and vice versa. Poetic lyricism creates a dynamic between Daníel´s worlds of his yesterdays and the dreams of his tomorrows.

Releasing his debut solo single, the dark powerhouse, Birds, in the wake of 2020, Daníel has previously released music through his experimental side project, HYOWLP as well as being a frequent live performer in Iceland throughout the last decade or so.  

His song, Birds, touches on personal experiences of struggle and bleeds like an open wound through the 5-minute mark with Daníel´s poetry and instrumentation being accompanied by members Hálfdán Árnason (bass/synths) and Skúli Gíslason (drums/percussion)along with special guests and friends Magnús Jóhann (piano/synths), a frequent collaborator of Daníel´s and the incredible Red Limo Quartet of the Netherlands. Daníel credits the song as a homage to the inner struggles to survive. http://www.danielhjalmtysson.com/ https://twitter.com/dhjalmtysson https://www.instagram.com/dhjalmtysson https://www.facebook.com/dhjalmtysson

[dargeereads]

The Proposal Kitty Thomas Publication date: October 14th 2020 Genres: Adult, Dark Romance, Romance

I got in over my head.

I bit off more than I could chew.

And now my fate is sealed to the most ruthless man I know.

Two hundred and fifty guests. They think they know what’s happening today. But they don’t have a clue.

My wedding day. But it’s so much more than that.

NOTE: This is a standalone contemporary dark romance with NO cliffhanger!

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play

—

CHAPTER ONE:

I stand at the back of the enormous church. The stained glass windows mute the over bright sun outside on this unassuming summer Saturday at half past four. The string quartet begins to play Pachelbel’s Canon in D. Two hundred and fifty guests stand. I take a deep breath and walk down the aisle clutching the bouquet of pale pink roses which hide my shaking hands. I’m wearing a stunning white Valentino gown which I’m convinced has seven thousand buttons down the back. It’s a true white, but it’s a soft, elegant white.

You don’t realize the variety of white until you shop for your wedding gown. The color palette of white goes all the way from the harsh tacky bright white of office supply copy paper to off-white, into beige and blush barely-there pinks and lavender. Occasionally there is the most subtle mint green which you are sure must be a trick of the light.

And even though they aren’t all really the same color, lined up on the racks they seem like they all belong together. Like family. I’d considered going a little less traditional with a pale lavender or pink gown, or even that daring pale fairy green, but in the end I went with tradition—anything else feels like half measures with a man who doesn’t know the meaning of that word.

I chose to walk down the aisle by myself. I’ve never liked the idea of giving the bride away or what it represents. Besides, I don’t want to bring my father into this; it feels wrong. He’s here, on my side with the rest of my family and friends who admittedly take up a much smaller portion of the guest count than the groom’s side and business associates. His business associates are seated on my side, so everything looks more even and normal for the pictures.

I am twenty-nine, and to everyone here my story is the story of Disney Princesses—the story every seven-year-old girl fantasizes about until she’s long grown out of such fantasies. But I’m not walking down this aisle to my prince. I’m walking down this aisle to the most ruthless man I know.

I feel as though I’m being kidnapped in the middle of a crowded room, but I can’t scream. It’s like a dream where everyone acts as though everything is fine even though an evil killer clown is sawing my hand off. But still, everyone smiles politely and makes small talk—or in this case, everyone stands and murmurs complimentary things they don’t think I can hear as I drift down the aisle like a fairy tale princess.

They think this is the part of the story where the princess gets the prince, where they get married and live happily ever after. But this is the part where she gets locked in the tower.

When I reach the altar, he takes my hand in his, helping me up the two small steps to stand in front of him. The collective sitting of two hundred and fifty people is the last thing I consciously hear as his intense, searing gaze holds mine hostage. His thumb strokes over the back of my hand, and I don’t even know anymore if the gesture is meant to comfort or control me.

We stand there, staring at each other. Words fall over me like gentle rain. Vows are spoken. Rings are exchanged. The announcement that we are now husband and wife moves through the air like a cool breeze.

His hand snakes behind my neck pulling me possessively toward him as he claims my mouth as his property. Later he will claim everything else.

I’ve never had sex with this man. I’m not an innocent. I’m not a virgin, but right now I feel like one—off balance and unsure of what’s in store for me behind the closed doors of our suite in only a few short hours. I want to run as far and as fast as I can, but I know he would catch me. Right now the reception is the only thing that buffers me from his dark intentions.

We take what feels like a thousand wedding photos, each one more intimate and romantic than the last. His hands and mouth suddenly feel foreign on me as though he’s a stranger and not a man I’ve been seeing for the past year. The reception is being held at a swank nearby 5-star hotel called The Fremont, where we’ll spend the night before taking his jet to our honeymoon in Costa Rica. Our jet. Is it our jet now? Or am I merely an indefinite extra on his stage? I’m not really sure anymore.

We don’t speak during the limo ride to the reception. I don’t know what to say to him. Suddenly, for the first time ever, I have no words. All I can think about is what will happen later when there are no longer hordes of unassuming guests to protect me from his attentions. I feel more and more uncertain about this devil’s bargain I’ve made—like I ever had a choice.

He would have destroyed me. At least this way there is a veneer of love and respectability. At least this way it looks like he is giving me the world instead of taking it all away.

I glance up to find his triumphant gaze locked on mine. It scares me as much as it thrills me, and then his thumb is stroking the back of my hand again. I find the courage to speak, but the words fly out of my mind as soon as they appear as the limo comes to a stop in front of the hotel.

The door is opened for us and my husband guides me out, helping me so that my dress doesn’t get dirty. Husband. That word feels so strange to me. So wrong and somehow scandalous. This can’t be real.

His grip on my hand tightens as he leads me up the stairs and through the hotel lobby back to where our reception is starting. The guests are already seated and being served their dinner. We’re led to our own private table at the front of everything. Some people come by and talk to him. He’s so polite to everyone, so normal, so different from the man I’ve come to know.

As we eat, silverware clinks against glasses, and each time we kiss as expected. Before the first dance, he rises from his chair, takes the microphone that is handed to him, and addresses our crowd of guests. And he is so charming. So smooth. The perfect beautiful lie.

“Livia and I would like to thank you all so much for coming to share this special day with us and supporting us as we start our life together. Don’t get too creeped out, but I filmed the proposal. If she’d said no, I would have burned the evidence.”

Obligatory laughter. He continues.

“But it occurred to me that probably many women wish they had a video of the proposal. And so now she does. With Livia’s permission I’d like to share that video with you now.”

Our guests are very excited about this prospect. No one knew they’d be seeing this. A large projector is rolled out along with a screen and a few minutes later a video begins to play.

He and I are on his boat in the middle of the ocean. I’m lying in the sun in a red bikini and oversized dark sunglasses. He approaches with a wrapped gift. It’s large—about the size of a Labrador puppy.

“Livia, I have something for you.”

My eyes light up on the screen. “A present? Is it a pony?”

He chuckles. “Not a pony.”

“A Ferrari?”

“Nope.”

Our guests laugh at my antics, their anticipation growing, knowing somehow inside that giant box is a ring.

“Open it,” he says.

I dutifully open it, only to find another gift wrapped box, then another, then another as I go through about five boxes, each time the gift getting smaller and smaller.

“Is it an empty box?”

He chuckles again. “No. There’s something in there.”

I open the final box to find a blue box. Yes, that blue box. A box from Tiffany in just the right size. The me on the video screen looks up at him and says playfully, “Is it a clown pin?”

He laughs again. “No.”

I open it and start to cry when I see the ring.

He gets down on one knee and says, “Livia Fairchild, will you be my person?”

I’m blubbering and crying and say, “Yes, I will be your person.” We kiss. He puts the ring on me. It’s all so perfect.

Our guests say a collective, “Awwww” as the screen goes black. Then they’re back to clinking their silverware against their glasses, and he leans over and kisses me again.

Before he pulls away, his mouth brushes my ear. “Time’s up. You’re mine tonight.” His words are a growl so different from the version of himself that everyone else in this ballroom sees. It’s jarring the way he can go from this charming facade to something so dark and menacing in an eye blink—the way he can transform only feet from our guests. Yet only I can see the monster. Everyone else sees the man.

I swallow hard at this proclamation and twist the wedding band on my finger. There are three words engraved on the inside of the band. Those three words seal my fate.

The rest of the reception goes by in a blur. The first dance. The dances with the parents. The cake. The bouquet. The garter. All the well wishes that come from guests as they each take turns wishing us a long and happy marriage. We go through a tunnel of sparklers created by our guests, riding off in the limo with the just married sign on the back and the cans dragging along the road behind us, only to circle back into the parking garage so we can go up to our suite for the night.

My hand is trembling as he takes it in his, leading me back inside the hotel and up the elevator to our room. He carries me over the threshold. Inside are candles and champagne and fancy chocolate and rose petals everywhere.

Two men in tuxedos step out of the shadows, looking me up and down with an appreciative once-over.

“It’s about time,” one of them says.

My husband guides me over to the other two men, and then all three of them are touching me.

The words inscribed on the inside of my wedding band are their names: Griffin. Dayne. Soren.

Author Bio:

KITTY THOMAS writes dark stories that play with power and have unconventional HEAs. She began publishing in early 2010 with her bestselling COMFORT FOOD and is considered one of the original authors of the dark romance subgenre.

To find out FIRST when a new book comes out, subscribe to Kitty's New Release List: KITTYTHOMAS.COM

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Book and Main Bites / Bookbub

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[toastyships-moved]

Day 2

DAY 2: Weddings or other celebrations with your F/O - Can be your wedding/celebration or just a wedding/celebration in general!

Self ship: From the Stars (J'onn J'onzz/Martian Manhunter)

This is gonna be a trend ain't it?

She just wanted a courthouse wedding with Bruce, Clark and M'gann as the witnesses, big events overwhelmed her, but M'gann had insisted on a traditional wedding with the entirety of League attending. She blamed it all on M'gann watching too much Earth media and getting it in her head about it, but she didn't have the heart to tell the young Martian about it, fearing the sad look on her face, this being her first Earth wedding after all.

She shuffled through her wardrobe before pulling a small blue dress. M'gann's nose scrunched up. "What is that?" She looked from the dress to M'gann and then back to the dress. "My prom dress?" The young Martian shook her head. "No. Put it back. You're getting a real wedding dress." She sighed. "M'gann why would I but an expensive dress that I'm only going to wear once?" She shouldn't have said that because the Martian used her puppy dog eyes on her. She gave another sigh. "Fine." M'gann cheered.

M'gann had her call Bruce and have him take them to a bridal shop to find a dress.

The limo arrived and Alfred stepped out from the driver's side to open the back door for them. She rolled her eyes. "No need for that Al." She said, stepping into the vehicle after M'gann. The butler smiled at her. "Force of habit Ms. Guerra." His smile grew. "Or should I call you Mrs. J'onzz?" She flushed a deep red. "Alfred stop teasing her." A voice sounded. It was from Bruce. "Of course Master Bruce." He closed the door. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, B."

The ride to the shop was practically uneventful. They just talked about the wedding until they arrived at their destination.

The quartet entered into the bridal shop. "B! Please!" She whined. "Don't do everything for me!" Bruce rolled his eyes. "It's not like you would be able to afford everything." He said. She sputtered. "B!" M'gann, meanwhile, excitedly leafed through all the dresses, taking one out and examining it before putting it back. She continued until she found some dresses she deemed worthy. "Roni! I found some!" M'gann chirped. She grimaced. "I hate clothes shopping." She muttered under her breath, walking over to M'gann who tugged her to a changing room. The two males were just amused.

It took a while, trying on a lot of dresses, before M'gann gave her approval. "That one!" She grinned. She looked at it with a frown. "I don't know." She muttered. The Martian got up from her seat and took her hands in hers. "You'll look great aunt Roni!" M'gann beamed. She flushed, almost forgetting that she'll be her aunt. "Is that the dress?" Bruce asked. She turned to look at him. "Y-yeah." She went back into the changing room to change back into her clothes. Coming out with dress in hand, it was paid for and they were on their way home.

It also took a while planning things as every wedding planner in the city was clamoring to be their planner. They mostly wanted bragging rights because being the wedding planner for two members of the Justice League would be a big deal and would probably boost their sales. They eventually found a good planner and started planning the wedding.

It also also took a while deciding on the guests and roles. J'onn had decided on Clark being his best man while Bruce walked her down the aisle. If anyone asked about it, they'd just say that they knew each other from Roni previously working as Bruce's assistant and Clark had interviewed her about her clinic one day and it just kinda took off from there. It was slightly true so no one really questioned it.

They'd also get questions if anyone else from the League would be attending. They....responded as vague as they could.

~

It was the day of the wedding and she was nervously standing in front of a mirror, smoothing out her dress. The door opened but she didn't notice until a voice startled her. "There's the radiant bride." She whipped around to see Lex standing there. "Jesus fuck Lex!" She hissed. "It's like you're trying to kill me." He just let out an amused hum. She went back to nervously smoothing out her dress. His eyes softened as he approached her. "You're nervous." He pointed out. "Of course I'm nervous!" She said. "I didn't want this!" She froze before quickly adding. "The big wedding thing. I didn't want it." Lex hummed. "Of course you didn't." She frowned. "I-I, wait what are you even doing here?" She questioned, changing the subject. "Figured you wouldn't be allowed in." A smirk grew on his face. "Like I would miss your wedding." She looked at him, eyes filled with worry. "Just....don't cause trouble, please." She asked. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Wouldn't dream of it." He said. She shrugged his hand off.

Music sounded indicating that the ceremony was starting. "It's time it seems." He said, walking out of the room and brushing past Bruce who had opened the door to get her. He stared after him before turning his attention to her. "Are you okay?" He asked as she approached him. "Yeah, just nervous." She responded. He opened his mouth to speak but she but him off. "And before you say anything, no, nothing happened, we were just talking." He eyed her before putting his arm out. She took his arm and they walked to the entrance of the ceremony.

The doors opened and they stepped through.

~

His breath caught in his throat at the sight of her. Gods of Mars she was beautiful. Her hair was done in curls, her dress was a floor-length ball gown with lace sleeves and a black ribbon wrapped around her waist, a small crown rested on her head and when she came closer he noticed that she was wearing makeup. He mentally chuckled at the image of her impatiently sitting through the entire process of getting her hair done and applying makeup. He held out his hand for her to take and she did, joy alight in her eyes and he felt warmth in his chest.

"Nervous?" He asked through the mental link.

"Yeah." She responded.

He squeezed her hand in reassurance. "Just get through this and the reception and we'll go home and watch a movie."

"A movie sounds nice."

A chuckle sounded through the link. "Of course it does."

The ceremony went on and they exchanged vows and rings before sealing their union in a kiss.

[shy-fairy-levele3]

Our House

Strange Magic Week- Day 7: When We Are Old 

Inspired by this playlist 

AO3

Bog’s liver spotted hand shook slightly and he tightened the grip on the handle of his cane. Getting old sucked. Today though Bog liked to believe the minor tremor was a result of his being nervous and not simply old age. Sweet heavens, 85 years old and she could still make him nervous. Bog shook his head at the thought. Today was their 60th wedding anniversary.    

Bog shuffled around their Livingroom, stopping every so often to inspect one of the many pictures placed around the room. Some hung on the walls, a neat row lined the top of the fireplace mantle, and still more sat guard on end tables. The pictures were not just a record of their time together but also an art piece on the change in technology. From the black and white polaroid’s of their wedding to the crisp digital photos of their grandchildren’s birthdays.  

Bog looked at one photo, it had been taken the day they moved into this house. They stood on the front stoop, he and Marianne each held a cat in their arms, Bog held the white one, Imp they had called him, and Marianne held the grey tabby, Lizard. For five long years the cats had filled the otherwise emptiness of the house. Bog turned away from that picture, to look at another one, the day they brought home the twins.  

Waiting for that call had been one of the hardest things Bog and Marianne had to endure. At last the adoption centre called, a new baby needed a home. They had been willing to take any child in need of a good home, never dreamed that when they got there they would have a choice.  

“Would you like a boy or a girl?” the kind lady had asked.

When she further explained that the children were twins, Bog and Marianne hadn’t even discussed it.  

“We’ll take them both.”

That was how Ian and Innis became part of the King family.  

There were many summer time pictures taken out in a field by the lake, a place he and Marianne had frequented both before and after they were married. The orange and brown plaid blanket they had shared was prominent in so many of the photos. Halloween pictures and Christmas pictures blurred together, Bog didn’t know where the time had gone.  

The next picture his eyes landed on was a good example of that. It was from their 50th Wedding Anniversary party. It was a good photo of Bog, Sunny, Pare, and Gus all dressed in matching red and cream striped jackets. They had done a barbershop quartet routine to Billy Joel’s The Longest Time. It had been the highlight of the evening. Afterword’s Marianne had told him how handsome she thought he looked, “just like Dick Van Dyke in Marry Poppins” she had said. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Bog had asked in return, rather cheeky. It turned out to be a good thing. Had that really been ten years ago?

There was a tell-tale creak from the upstairs hallway and Bog made his way to the foot of the stairs. He didn’t know how after all these years the sight of Marianne could still take his breath away, and increase his heartrate- something that could be fatal at his age. Oh well, as his Da had always said, “it’s better to die, doing what you love.”

Marianne was dressed in a lilac poodle skirt-complete with poodle, white stockings, and a white t-shirt, over which she wore a wool cardigan that matched her skirt. Dawn, who had been a seamstress her whole life, and was still quick with a sewing machine at age 75 had made her sister’s skirt for the occasion. Marianne did not look her 79 years, though her once rich brown hair had faded to a lovely dark grey. She had dyed the tips purple for the anniversary and her upcoming 80th birthday.  

Bog himself still had a full head of hair, but the vibrant black had turned to what Marianne described as “a rather fetching shade of silver.”  Bog had styled it as though he was still in his early twenties, and living in the fifties. He had on a pair of black jeans, a white t-shirt, and had even shrugged on his old leather jacket, which now hung off his bent frame. The look would not be complete without his large, round and thick-rimmed glasses, and of course his polished wooden cane. A greaser with glasses, who would have thought?

Too preoccupied checking one another out, neither heard the car pull in the driveway so both of them jumped when the loud knock came at the front door.  

“Shall we?” Bog asked, extending his arm to his wife.

The whole thing was pretense, she knew he needed the support more that she did, but still Marianne played along, slipping her arm though his. The way he was just looking at her, had made her feel young again. One glance from him and Marianne was once more a blushing bride of nineteen.  

On the front porch, which had been upgraded from the small concrete step it had once been to a fully functional wood deck, complete with fancy pillars and a three seater swing, stood their youngest grandson, Kieran, dressed head to foot in white 1930’s limo driver livery. His long white-blonde ponytail hung out the back of the cap.  

“Oh Bog, you didn’t!” Marianne gasped at the sight of the car in the driveway.

“Aye, Ah did” Bog grinned at her like the fool he was and she took the opportunity to playfully slap his arm, which was followed by a quick peck on the cheek.  

In the drive sat a white 1936 Rolls-Royce Phantom III, the exact same car Marianne’s father had rented for them for a week as his wedding present to them. Marianne remembered thinking it must have cost a fortune back then, the car had already been 20-21 years old at the time, she couldn’t even fathom the figure it would cost today.

“Bog you shouldn’t have” she chastised, but still the thought that had gone into it, Marianne couldn’t begrudge him that.

“The kids chipped in a bit” he confessed, unable to stop smiling at the absolute pleasure reflected in Marianne’s face.  

“Nan, Gramps, your chariot awaits” Kieran declared, waving his hand out towards the car, he even had on white drivers gloves.

He hurried over to open the doors for each of his grandparents, and waited until each of them was settled before closing their doors.

Kieran hopped in the driver’s seat and started the car.  

“Hello, my name is Kieran and I will be your driver this evening” Kieran declared.

Kieran was not far past sixteen and had successfully passed his driving test the first time round’, something which neither of his two older siblings had achieved.  

Ian had blessed them with three grandchildren, only the first of which Marianne’s father had lived to meet. Innis and her wife Katie were awaiting confirmation on their adoption process, although Katie brought two step-grandchildren with her, from her first marriage. Marianne hopped they had been lying about the delay and that they would bring the new baby with them today as a surprise.  

Marianne couldn’t believe how much their family tree had grown. Sunny and Dawn had three of their own, and each of them had two or three kids. She and Bog had gone from zero to two in a heartbeat, which still made her ache. When the twins were two Marianne had become pregnant for a short time, she was almost ready to tell Bog the joyful news when she had suddenly lost it.  

He had of course been heartbroken when she finally got the courage to tell him two weeks later, but he had also been angry at himself. Bog had made an appointment that day for a vasectomy, not wanting Marianne to go through that pain of loss ever again. They had both cried but the twins were their light that brought them through.  

***

The rented hall was full of friends and family that erupted into a loud applause when Kieran ushered his grandparents in the door. Marianne and Bog had waved graciously as if they were royalty. The room was decorated with still more photographs, pictures of old friends, new friends, and friends long since passed.  

Marianne and Bog danced a jive to Dan Seal’s Bop, and then a waltz to Valdy’s Renaissance. Then they had to take a break because of Bog’s back and knees and Marianne’s hips. Getting old sucked.

Marianne slipped up only once, calling Kieran by Ian’s name and Ian had pulled his father aside.

“Mom’s getting worse” Ian said to his father, deep concern in his voice.

“She’s fine” Bog assured, but he had his own doubts. His biggest fear was that one morning he’d wake up and she wouldn’t know who he was.

The other day they had been out driving and Marianne had come to a full stop at a green light. He hadn’t been allowed to drive for years.

“We just don’t want you guys going all The Note Book on us. Have you thought any more about selling the house?”

“Pah, The Note Book” Bog said waving his hand in the air as if the title of the movie left behind a bad smell after being spoken.

“If anything” Bog said, raising a finger as if he was giving a lecture, “Your mother and I will go the way of Cocoon.”

“Alien abduction dad, really?” Ian asked raising a skeptic eyebrow.  

“The Note Book” Bog said, in counter protest, “do you really think your mother and I watch that romantic crap?”

“Dad, it’s mom’s favourite movie” Ian deadpanned, before turning serious again, “It’s just, I’m worried about you guys, we all are.”  

“Don’t worry so much son” Bog said, laying a comforting hand on Ian’s shoulder, “It’s no’ something ye have any control over.”  

“Losing you both at the same time would just be really hard” Ian confessed, “and I just know that if mom goes first-” Ian couldn’t finish his own sentence.  

“It would kill me too?” Bog finished, it was something that echoed his own thoughts on the matter.

Innis and Katie did surprise everyone by bringing along Ben, a sweet baby boy of eight months old, already sprouting dark curly hair. Sarah and Jenny tagged along sheepishly, knowing that they weren’t unwelcome but still feeling out of place.  

Everyone had a grand time and no one was surprised that when they cut the cake Marianne managed to get a swipe of icing on her husband’s large nose.

***

Bog awoke in the middle of the night to find the space beside him in bed empty. It was one of his worse fears come true. Marianne had gotten up and wandered off somewhere. Bog felt around on his nightstand until he found his glasses. As soon as Bog removed the blankets to get out of bed he felt the chilly night air and knew Marianne hadn’t gone far. Bog quickly wrapped himself in his brown fleecy house coat and slipped his feet into some slippers and padded out onto the small balcony.  

Marianne sat in one of the white wooden Adirondack chairs, with her coat, hat, boots, and scarf on right over her nightgown, a packed suitcase sat next to her. She just sat there gazing up at the starry night sky.

“Going somewhere love?” Bog asked cautiously.

It was another minute before she seemed to notice he was there.

“Bog?” she asked, turning to look at him, “what are you doing out of bed?”

“I was kind of wondering the same thing about you” he replied.

“Oh, I’m going home” Marianne said with firm resolution.

“You are home love, come back to bed.”  Bog’s voice was gentle, not pressuring, and etched with sadness.

“The garden folk say I can’t stay long. But we’ll see each other again.” She turned back towards the sky and Bog saw a tear glisten at the corner of her eye.

Bog sat out with her a while longer but the autumn night chilled him quickly and he soon made his way back to bed.  

It wasn’t long before Bog woke again, this time Marianne back in bed beside him. He felt relieved, they still had time.

***

In the morning there were fresh flowers in the vase on the kitchen table, as there had been every morning since they moved into the house. Neither Bog nor Marianne had ever picked or bought the flowers. Bog knew as long as there were flowers in the vase Marianne would still be with him.

She entered the kitchen, a plum housecoat wrapped tight around her humming a song, a song Bog knew well….

                 “I’ll light the fire, while you place the flowers in the vase…”

[daisysaulls]

What was the most important thing to you when planning your wedding? Making sure our guests were comfortable and had fun. We had guests traveling from all over the country and other states and we wanted to make sure that if guests were too hot, they had parasols or fans; if they were older and tired from walking, they had seats in the shade where they could watch the festivities during the Baraat and cocktail hour.

How does he/she make you a better person? Natalie is very thorough and helps me think about every angle. She’s also a great listener and asks great questions, which has pushed me to be better at that too. Samrat has an exuberance for life that is perfectly balanced by earned wisdom. As a result, he helps me relax, have fun, and keep a healthy perspective.

What was your favorite wedding detail? We didn’t have a particular “wedding color”, but all of the colors we picked really came together well. For the ceremony, Natalie wore a traditional (western) white wedding gown and Samrat wore a traditional sherwani in a robin’s egg blue. The groomsmen wore peach-colored sherwani’s and the bridesmaids wore light green dresses. For the reception, we reversed cultures. Natalie wore a traditional red chaniya choli (lehenga) and Samrat wore a navy tux, while the bridesmaids wore white and gold Indian dresses and the groomsmen wore black suits. At one point while planning, we realized that for the ceremony, the outfit colors matched the Indian flag (green, orange, white, and blue), and for the reception, the outfit colors matched the American flag (red, white, and blue)! When deciding flower colors, we first considered what would look good with the green bridesmaid dresses. We landed on peach, ivory, cream, and blush colored flowers, with dahlias as a focal flower, and with hues that grew deeper for the reception. Lynnvale Studios knocked it out of the park with the flowers. They looked great with the multi-colored clothing. Seeing all of our work and planning around colors pay off exactly as we hoped for was a highlight.

When you think about your future together, what is the thing you look forward to most? So many things. We’ve known each other for less than 3 years. While we know each other deeply, there will be many layers to uncover and intimacies yet to gain, and we look forward to this. We also look forward to building a life together as well as a family – whatever form that takes.

When have you been most proud of him/her? Natalie: The things that first come to mind are actually moments before I met him (though I see evidence of them every day). Samrat lost his dad when he was 18. That caused him to take on responsibility early on, which denied him a more carefree early adulthood experience. Through these tumultuous circumstances he has made choices along the way to define who he is, and I’m very proud of how he continually explores and asserts himself. In particular as of late, I’m proud when he intentionally spends time with a couple young family members who have lost parents. 

Samrat: I have been impressed with Natalie ever since we met, but I was most proud of her when she decided to go get her MBA. She was going back and forth on whether to go, and she ultimately chose to do the harder thing and go to improve her skills for the long term, when it would have been more comfortable and less risky to decline. She made the right decision for her future and for us, and any worries she had initially were quickly resolved

What was your favorite moment on your wedding day? I loved our ceremony. In particular, our officiant had us give her (in advance) a list of five things we love about each other. We knew she would read them during the ceremony, but that she would present it as though we didn’t know. Those “favorite things” brought pure joy to our audience but also each other, as we had no idea what the other had said.

Did everything go as planned? If not, how did you make the best of it and why did you choose to do it that way?

One of the shuttle buses broke down before the wedding which made 50 people late. Fortunately we had a Baraat (parade and dancing with groom on horse) before the ceremony so they didn’t miss much. We also had an issue with our bartenders not knowing how to serve our signature drinks. Ultimately, we decided to fall back on the fact that we planned as well as we could and just let go and have as much fun as we could. Everyone we invited really wanted to be at the wedding so they found a way to make things work. People on the shuttle bus reached out to people at the venue to get photos and videos sent to them so they could partake. For the drinks, people just started making their own mixed drinks or drinking more wine and beer. We had planned such a relaxing day that everyone had so much fun regardless any small inconvenience they may have had.

What advice can you give other couples planning their wedding? Have fun while planning, don’t sweat the small stuff, definitely don’t make it too hard on yourself by leaving things to the end, and help each other out so that one person isn’t overburdened.

I wish I could play Natalie and Samrat’s wedding toasts for you. Their loved ones were spot on in their description of this fantastic couple. Even though I’ve known Natalie and Samrat only through this experience, I quickly realized what everyone else in their lives already knew…they are sunshine.  

When Natalie’s brother and sister described her as physical sunshine, I remember thinking… “Why, yes! That’s exactly it!”. She radiates grace, class, and kindness. Similarly, Samrat’s sisters and groomsmen echoed the same about him. Between the two, I believe there’s enough kindness and light to fill any space! It was a joy spending the day documenting their contagious love. Also, Baraats are a blast! 

Thank you both for allowing me to be a part of your day! 

Vendor Team:

Venue - The Middleburg Barn 

Wedding Coordinator - The Envision Firm

Caterer - IndAroma

Photography - Daisy Saulls Photography

Officiant - Divine Transformation, LLC.

Hair and Makeup - Blushaway

Ceremony Music - Sage String Quartet

Reception DJ/photobooth - Chris Styles Events

Baraat Horse - Marriage, Carriage and More LLC

Bus Transport - A La Carte Limo

Décor/Staging - A2Z Music Factory

Baraat DJ - Shivish Entertainment

Videographer - RIMAS Films

Florist - Lynnvale Studios LLC

Cake - Girl Meets Cake

[spacewich20]

Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder performed for the first time since Chris Cornell’s death in Amsterdam last night, and while he didn’t mention Cornell by name, fans in attendance said it was clear Cornell was on Vedder’s mind during the emotional set. According to dimitrispearljam on the Pearl Jam.com forums, a fan screamed, “I love you!” Vedder then responded, “Thank you. I need it – we all need it. I’m thinking of a lot of people tonight. And some in particular and their families. And I just know that healing takes time, if it ever happens. It takes time, and that means you have to start somewhere. So let it be music. Let it be love and togetherness. And let it be Amsterdam.” Electro_UK wrote on the PearlJam.com forums, “The show was pretty much entirely about Chris without directly mentioning him. It was clear Eddie couldn’t bring himself to talk about it head on. He spoke a little how the healing process can start with music and made numerous references to how sad he was and how much he and his friends were struggling. Frankly it is the bravest performance I have ever seen. At times it seemed like he was a word or two away from breaking into tears. He mumbled more than usual, he violently stamped into the floor on Immortality and others and after The End I thought he was ready to just walk off and not play anymore. There were funny moments and he picked up in the second half. You could hear the crowd emotionally gasp when Light Years started. On the outro to Sometimes he cried out ‘Where were you, dear God?’ It was heart breaking.” Sea posted the following setlist and notes (via John) on the PearlJam.com forums. Before Glen Hansard’s opening set one minute of silence was observed for the victims of the bombing in Manchester, England. Setlist: 01. Long Road 02. Trouble-(Stevens) 03. Sometimes (speaks to audience in Dutch) 04. Can’t Keep 05. Sleeping By Myself 06. Without You 07. Longing To Belong (with Jonas Pap playing cello) 08. The Needle and The Damage Done-(Young) 09. I Am Mine 10. Light Years 11. Good Woman-(Marshall) 12. Far Behind 13. No Ceiling 14. Guaranteed 15. Rise 16. I’m Open 17. Better Man 18. Immortality 19. Porch Encore Break One 20. I’m So Tired-(Fugazi) 21. Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town 22. Imagine-(Lennon) The Red Limo String Quartet comes on stage 23. “Heroes”-(Bowie, Eno) String Quartet and Ed vocal. (partial song) Ed adapts the lyrics at the “I, I will be king…” through “We can be Heroes” with some different lyrics and pulls lines from different sections. It only lasts 1:04 minutes/seconds. 24. Just Breathe 25. Lukin 26. Song Of Good Hope-(Hansard) {Ed sings main vocal, Glen plays guitar and sings harmony} 27. Falling Slowly-(Hansard, Irglová)-Glen sings main vocal and plays guitar. Ed sings lead on a verse and harmony vocals) 28. The End The Red Limo String Quartet leaves the stage 29. Rockin’ In The Free World-(Young) 30. Hard Sun-(Peterson) with Glen Hansard

[kuroorchidnobass]

QN Evolution Concert Twitter Round Up/Report

DISCLAIMER: I DID NOT GO TO THE CONCERT OR THE LIVE VIEWING. I AM MERELY REPORTING/ROUNDING UP INFORMATION IN ONE POST FOR EASY ACCESS OF INFORMATION.

This is a really long post so I put it under the cut! I haven’t put everything I could onto this post but if there’s things you want to read up on you can read more about the live with #カルライレポ2017 on twitter!

Also no DVD/BD announcement yet

Set List

Opening Video

Quartet Night

The Dice are cast

A bit of MC

Dekiai Temptation

Junketsunaru ai -Aspiration-

Innocent Wind

ONLY ONE

Tsukakari no Dearest

Itoshiki Hito he

BRIGHT ROAD

RISE AGAIN

Winter Blossom

AURORA

Starlight Memory

Opening video bts footage

Introduce Dancers (DJ Morikubo)

Hurrayx2 Dreamers

Double Face

No. 1

Mune no Kodou

WILD SOUL

A.I.

Kiss wa Wink de

Zetta Reido Emotion

Marriage

God’s S.T.A.R.

KIZUNA

MC

Evolution Eve

Encore

Poison Kiss

MC

You’re my life

General things: 

Everyone cried at the end, Shoutan was breaking down into tears PROTECT THIS CHILD AND HID HIMSELF ON MAENU’S SHOULDER

All 4 had nail polish on

Morikubo: had his pinky nail green

Tattsun: Alternating between Red and Black

Shoutan: Lavender colored

Maenu: light blue

All 4 had the bangle light, ring light on their pinky finger

The first part of the concert, all 4 of them had kinda a sparkly version of the pamphlet outfits

MARACAS MIC

DJ Morikubo: introduced the dancers with his maracas mic, he had sunglasses on and had another golden maracas

Morikubo acknowledged the live viewing fans saying, “Hey live viewing!!”

During the MCs all 4 of them were super close together and Morikubo was like “Do we really need to be this close together???” Tattsun and Maenu “This kinda makes us feel safe. Yep yep.”

Morikubo mentioned how the QN LINE chat was really happy to learn that QN got a golden disc (an award given to cd’s that sell a certain amount)

Maenu told Shoutan he was pretty (?)

Before Ranmaru’s solo: Tattsun “Watch over …. my evolution”

Tattsun pointed at a dancer and lifted up their chin 

Maenu and Tattsun made a heart and high-fived

Tattsun and Maenu danced all of their songs

Terashii and Suwabe san were at the concert!!!

Morikubo: You know, I reaaaaaaaally love singing with you 3!!!!! This is a secret but I’m glad I was in Quartet Night!!!!

Tattsun: Me too!

Maenu Shoutan: Mhm!

Concert itself:

There was an opening video thing with all 4 of the QN VA’s:

Started off with Morikubo whistling, swinging car keys around his finger to go to a garage with a vintage car. He goes to pick up Shoutan who was reading some human psychology (?) book. Shoutan pouts, tapping his wrist and Morikubo apologizes (he was probably late LOL). Scene changes, we see Maenu in a limo sipping his sugar filled tea reading, something… The limo passes by a certain figure, Tattsun is walking with a bass(?) case on his back and he meets a cat, and pets it (THE RANRAN FEELS ARE REAL)

Then in slow motion, Morikubo and Shoutan get out of the car, the driver of the limo opens the door and Maenu comes out, into the driver’s hand, Tattsun gives him the bass case. Close up on each and every one of their faces, Morikubo wears his hat, Maenu takes off his glasses and they disappear, going to the stage.

Then here starts QUARTET NIGHT to The Dice are Cast

The Dice are Cast: Same formation as the 5th Live with the whole stairs thing

MC

Maenu at the beginning:

“Good evening everyone, this is Camus. I hope to make this the best stage tonight…..hm? Are you waiting for something?” *the other 3 and the fans laugh*

“Please enjoy yourselves today…like I would say that you peasant!”

“Don’t get all happy coming all the way here to this venue to be called peasant you peasant!”

“Also over at the live viewing, don’t get all happy being called peasant you peasant!”

“As a commemoration, I’ll say it one more time, you peasant!!!”

Usual dirty joke Tattsun

Morikubo: We’ll go full speed and sing! Today isn’t an event, it’s a concert!

Tattsun: There won’t be time to go to the bathroom. If you’re worried about peeing  your pants…

Maenu: You’re so direct lol

Tattsun: You’re going to get wet today…

Maenu: In many ways yes, certain fluids yes.

After the MC, the start of Dekiai Temptation starting going on and Tattsun said “This song means it’s this guy’s turn” And Tattsun Maenu and Shoutan all said, “Rolling…” at the beginning of Dekiai Temptation and left the stage

At the beginning of ONLY ONE, Tattsun yelled out “It’s time for revenge!”

Itoshiki hito he: Morikubo came down from the stairs holding a rose. He puts down the rose and gets an umbrella and holds that

Shoutan played the piano for a bit at the beginning of Winter Blossom, then before he started singing he said, “Hey, smile okay?” 

Yes Maenu had all of his rings AURORA: Maenu at the beginning said “STARISH isn’t here on this stage right now but their hearts are with me” and slowly brought out the 3rd, 4th, and 5th live rings

Starlight Memory: Mic stand performance, during the “Love me, Love me, Love me” lyrics they touched the mic stand, doesn’t look like they performed this in full, Tattsun+Maenu on the top half of the stairs, Morikubo+Shoutan on the bottom half of the stairs. Red lights, they looked at each other when singing

Hurrayx2 Dreamers: dancers had two different colored maracas???

Double Face: Maenu legit sang it without any backing/recorded vocals (other than the chorus). He had a mic stand, on one side of Maenu, dancers had a white cape, on the other side black capes. When Maenu’s right hand was on the mic, he was Butler!Camus, smiling and all. When Maenu’s left hand was on the mic, he was “Peasant”!Camus, staring down everyone

No. 1: Tattsun pointed the mic to everyone at the shouting parts 

Mune no Kodou: the venue was filled with white lights

WILD SOUL: red lights~ mic stand yes

A.I.: Beginning Shoutan said “C’mon, let’s walk together” with the screen behind him with a sunset, at the end-ish it looked Shoutan had a sad face and said “I love you”  Shoutan went away like he disappeared

Kiss wa Wink de: the usual maracas mic plus maracas 

Zettai Reido Emotion: the usual Camus stick

God’s S.T.A.R.: They recreated a good amount of the dance that was in the anime 

MC:

Morikubo: We were able to come all the way here today because of Utapri, STARISH, the dancers, the staff, and the fans. We did this concert with the mindset of repaying all of you.

Tattsun: I want to apologize to everyone. I am really sorry for hurting Kurosaki Ranmaru’s name. Ever since the interview where I said I don’t have the merits to say that I’m Ranmaru, I haven’t become “Ranmaru” other than during recording song and recording the episodes. So I’m standing here on this stage to repay all of you. Thank you for letting me voice as Ranmaru. Today there are some STARISH members in the audience

*the audience starts to rustle around, looking for the STARISH VA’s*

Morikubo: Heeeey! Concentrate!!

Shoutan: Concentrate!!

Maenu: Your gaze should be over here!!!

Shoutan: There are many words that I don’t know that Mikaze Ai knows. And because Aoi Shouta is an idiot…I have been chasing after Mikaze Ai, and QN’s back this whole time. I think that I got a bit closer to Ai by standing up here on this stage today. Than you to the staff, the fans, and QN.

Maenu: When I first saw the cast I thought I’m such an outlier because I haven’t done anything other than seiyuu related things. So I think what I could do is to is be Camus and act like Camus. And I’m really happy that I can make everyone happy. Thank you everyone.

Morikubo: Even though everyone says this, I’m really supported by everyone too!This man called Maeno Tomoaki! Even though he says this, he’s the number one person to put a lot of effort! When I notice he’s always practicing! Did you see the amount of rings he has?

Tattsun: He even has some cologne on

Morikubo: Even though Tattsun was that down he really makes all of us passionate and is a reliable man! You know for Shoutan! He taught us how to be an idol! He teaches us how to show off to everyone!

Morikubo says KIZUNA makes him cry the most

During KIZUNA, the anime scene was played in the back and all 4 of the QN VA’s recreated the scene at the stairs, Morikubo was totally into imitating the driving part

Evolution Eve: HARMONIES

MC:

Tattsun: You know…I don’t want this to end

*everyone looks at Morikubo*

Shoutan: Nii-san, how about it?

Morikubo: I don’t have that much power! I don’t want it to end too!!!

Morikubo rolled around the stairs at the encore saying he didn’t want the concert to end

Tattsun: If Shoutaro-san cries over KIZUNA, You’re My Life makes me cry

You’re my life: Tattsun, Maenu, Shoutan were all crying while Morikubo was only teary eyed….something Reiji would do, but he kinda cried at the end

Morikubo: One last thing!

All 4: QUARTET NIGHT FOREVER!!! See you next stage!!