#rw whispering of the many

[altitudeofalcatraz]

Did a reference for the sluggies, now time for the iterators! Along with references for all my current rainworld ocs that I’ve made, hehe ☆ I care for them lots <3

[altitudeslocalgroup]

[CONNECTION ESTABLISHED] Asks are now open! I’m fine with a majority of asks, serious and non-serious, but if I don’t feel comfortable I will deny the ask. The available characters for asks are currently : [VSH] - Violent Sky Hues {they/he} [RI] - Reckless Infatuation {he/they} [HTN] - Haphazardly Throwing Needles {they/them} [STB] - Sight Through Blindness {she/her} [DON] - Denial Of Normality {she/they} [WOTM] - Whispering Of The Many {she/it} [HA] - Harmless Abandonment {he/him} [RB] - Requisite Betrayal {they/them} [DS] - Deafening Silence {he/it}

The Machine {they/them} The Rogue {they/them} The Companion {they/them} Information about the main cast is found here.

[riv-has-stopped]

Rain World Art Month but based on lore in @global-broadcast-network

My best bits

Day 6 - Taming

Ghosts Of Leviathans getting 'tamed' by Shrike

Day 7 - Crafting

Storms On Jupiter crafting extra pearls to archive their data

Day 11 - Lantern

Cavy running into the Crystal Cavern dwelling lizard, Prisma

Days 12 and 14 - Glow Weed and Leviathan

... A leviathan in a narrow canal is not a good sign

Day 17 - Bombs

Whisper chilling in the Void Hydrates, crafting some bombs while her pups play

Day 19 - The Saint (Passage)

Tapestry style art inspired by the storyline of my ancient OCs A Thousand Cries Of Flocking Crows and Silent Voice Of Highest Attunement

Day 21 - Spears

The standoff between Ghosts Of Leviathans and Bright Skies Distant Nebula in one of our many AUs (this time with Villain Nebula)

Day 22 - Lantern Mice

Saturn's Orbit and his little friends :>

Days 23 and 25 - Pearls and Karma 3

Archivist Storms On Jupiter and their pearl collection, documenting data on the iterators of the Northern and Southern Continents

Day 30 - Overseers

Gilded Eclipse finds his separation solution and everyone is watching and waiting to find out more

This was a really fun challenge, all days I was able to complete are posted on the blog with the rw art month tag

Happy 7 year anniversary Rain World and Thanks Andrew :)

- Riv

[rwrdrabbleprompts]

RW&R Drabble Prompt: 01.08.24

Happy New Year! We're back after taking a break for the holidays, and it's time for our first weekly set of one-word drabble prompts for the year!

Remember — your drabbles should be exactly 100 words, you can write as many as you'd like throughout the week, and you can draw inspiration from the prompts however you see fit. If you need a refresher, here are our rules.

This week's words are:

Whisper

Tree

Brave

Oh, and don't forget to tag us in your posts so we can reblog them.

Happy writing!

[tar-thelien]

Silver Streaks (RW) - Gil-Galad Origin fic

Ereinion, also known as Gil-Galad, was discovered by Maedhros during his travels to visit his kinsman in Barad Eithel. After Fingon, the High King of the Noldor, meets the young child, it becomes apparent that he possesses great likeness to the Aran himself and there he has been chosen to be the newly crowned Noldóran´s heir to dispel any rumors about the Noldóran himself.

Summary:

Ereinion is found by Maedhros TW: Graphic description of battlefield wounds and torture, non-grafic mentions of starvation, slavery

Words: 2776

Maedhors´ POV

Upon shifting his gaze from the border of the forest behind him, Maedhros directed his focus towards the compact, barricaded battleground that had been swiftly erected. A groan of disdain escaped him as his eyes landed on one of the overturned wagons haphazardly placed amidst the fallen bodies and limbs of his soldiers, alongside orcs and thralls strewn across the field, painting the ground red and muddy.

"Hérnya," his captains asked him, forcing his attention to yet another place, "how do you suggest we address the remaining thralls? What shall we do?"

Looking at the Eldar speaking to him Maedhros let his eyes wander over the bloodied face of the man. He had taken a brutal hit to the side of his head with a knife if going by the torn up skin on his cheek was anything to go by. In a way it reminded Maedhros of that time Sauron had peeled his skin off his arm, not taking anything off, just slowly peeling at it away in smooth motion as it folded into a gory cylinder. Another big injury had been placed by his colorbone where an arrow had hit in between the armor and was now sticking out with only the end cut off.

After having studied the captain's newly torn face he slowly, he let his eyes wander over the modest cluster of gaunt and tormented Elves his soldiers had retrieved into a group encircled by a few of them. Their heads bowed as if waiting for the orders of a new master.

He found it impossible to disregard the sense of bond he felt with them. Reflecting on his past experience, he had also been in a comparable situation where he was saved, yet initially hesitant to accept it, a sentiment shared by many of his own people too. 

"Find someone who is willing to escort them safely back to Himring, ensuring they receive proper care and rest before their departure. I do not want them to become the Aran´s burden, he has enough to worry about as it is," he answered with a deep sat frown, "when you find someone willing, make sure that they take a contubernium with them."

As the captain left to search for a reliable person, willing to accompany the group of thralls on their journey back to Himring, he made sure that before sending them off that they were provided with the opportunity to rest and eat. Taking a contubernium with them would offer an additional level of security, guaranteeing a secure return journey by safeguarding against the menacing beasts of Morgoth and preventing the thralls from fleeing prematurely, before they had verification of their allegiance as potential spies.

He still felt uncertain about whether he would mention this encounter to Findecáno, but he found it unlikely that his cousin would not inquire about the smaller than usual group he had come with.

“Hér," a centurion, with a hint of apprehension in his demeanor, carefully addressed him, "there is something... that has been discovered by a few of my soldiers. Something... unusual.”

Lifting one of his eyebrows in a gesture of curiosity, Maedhros responded with a rasping deep voice, he never regained his youth voice after Morgoth, "unusual? How unusual?"

The centurion anxiously twisted his hands, signaling Maedhros to accompany him, all the while whispering about the lack of prior knowledge and how different he would have lead his own group of soldier had he been aware of the situation beforehand, but not telling Maedhros why.

The man halted abruptly, wearing a troubled expression on his face, and gestured towards a carriage encircled by alert soldiers, indicating, "Hérnya, over there."

The scene unfolded with a sense of urgency, the soldiers buzzing around the fallen wagon tensing up and taking steps away as Maedhros came near, yet still leaning forward, some with smiles meant to be reassuring, others with horrified expressions.

"What is it!" he ended up growling as he barred his fangs as he showed them away with his arm to see what had caught their attention. The soldiers before him was quick to throw explanations of their own on him, "we thought she was crazy, Hérny," one of them finally spoke aloud, "she wouldn´t shut up about how she would serve us as she tried to turn our attention away, we thought it a mercy to open the doors to Mandos for her!" this prompted Maedhros to halt, reflecting on the unfolding scenario with a mix of contemplation and skepticism.

Maedhros maintained a stoic silence, his gaze fixed upon the lifeless elven woman who bore a grievous wound through her temple. A sign of quick demise if nothing else. Despite her tragic state, she had remained partly huddled over a creature of sorts concealed beneath the wagon's covers. The subtle movements of the fabric betrayed the presence of this hidden creature. Perhaps an animal of sorts. He had seen Thralls take to rats and sometimes even weak wargs. As if Sauron would ever kill any of his beasts, even if it was weak and useless, be it hound, wolf, or warg. He was sure there was a room just for those somewhere in the iron fortress where the Úmaia could keep them content.

As he descended to his knees at a slow pace, he grasped the cloth with his prosthetic hand, his other hand hovering protectively over the hilt of his sword. With a swift motion of his wrist, the fabric was swiftly removed, exposing the creature, now defenseless and exposed to the watchful eyes of the elvers. The scene was tense as the mysterious being lay before them.

Glancing downward in surprise, Maedhros found himself staring into the intense, wide, bright blue eyes of a child. With a gradual movement, he lowered his hand away from his sword, requesting the surrounding spectators to maintain silence and find something more useful to do.

Rest on AO3

[spotsupstuff]

hi! ive been noticing your posts for a while now and ive been thinking about getting into rain world... would you mind telling me a bit about it? if not that's okay! im just curious cuz all these characters you've been drawing look really really good and it's kinda getting me hooked!

hmm hmmmm.... well what could i say... i'll talk about what i love about it because rain world is a wonderful game that i will never stop recommending to people, i think

i adore how "unfair" to usual game standards RW is. it makes it feel like there isn't really a point when you can call yourself a pro, when someone else can call you a noob after youve familiarized yourself with the controls. there isnt really an measurement of skill, sure you can look into some absolutely insane movement techs but the wonderful thing is that they are, at the end of it all, not important

i adore that the moment you accept the fact that this is just how this ecosystem works, you get to find such strange kind of joy out of it. i adore that the game is so loose about so many things including its lore because i can look at this "accept it when you die to become happier" thing and say that it could potentially mirror what the characters in the game (Ancients) should have figured out

i adore the religion in the game, the fact that it takes inspiration from Buddhism, i adore the karma symbols, what they mean, how they are written, how i can interpret them. the fact that i can look at this game and see something so very close to my own believes about life makes me so so happy

i adore the settings, the design, the vastness of the world both pictured and not, the impossibilities hiding in this world. the feeling of everything being so much it makes me want to cry everytime i take in how simply Giant the iterators are

everything is so big but small at the same time. the most breath-taking things become common and insignificant. the most insignificant things affect the most significant, holy ones, reducing objects and people of Unimaginable power and importance into nothing but desolate scrapheaps of nonsense. and yet these unnoteworthy scrapheaps circle back to being something precious but only to us. even though hes a wrackage, even though he is nothing more but trash now, we still love him because unimpressive things deserve to be loved too

i like to think that with some things in this game, something whispers "you're nothing. i love you. what happens to you affects me. you are nothing and i hope others will see the worth in you and love you too"

i adore the designs, i adore the glow of the overseer in the dark in the Monk campaign, i adore and fear the power of the rain, Moon's and Pebbles babbling and buzzing of their innards. i adore the glances we get of their cities, of the past, of the dead yet dear culture, whispers of history, the form of writing, even those stupid ads in Metropolis

i love hearing the opinions of both Moon and Pebbles. hearing from Suns makes me smile even though i want nothing else but to square up with them. thinking of No Significant Harassment and his easy humour even in such a place- his seemingly endless care, his struggles, anger, despair, mischievousness- the confusion and helplessness of something like them, a god brought to his knees- another glorious hard to comprehend impossibility

rain world is so wonderful and the more deeper you try to think about it and figure out what's happening where, why and how the more fun it is going to become

the best thing with RW you can honestly do is just dive in there and make your own opinions on all of these things. i hope u'll be able to take my wonder with you and use it to develop your own unique ideas of it!

n here's two fools vibin together

[little--ghost]

its 1:37am its time for me to b incoherent again /j (im horrible at explaining, and a lot of my hcs aren't 100% fully thought through so this makes more sense in my head i am so sorry o7)

All vessels are born from within the Abyss, as such all of them contain shades

Vessels aren't necessarily separate from their shades in this verse, when taking enough mortal damage they revert into their shade and move to wandering until their physical form recovers fully after however much time is needed. Shades sort of exist in the background as the 2nd voice in their vessel's minds by default, but some are capable of overtake due to something like intensely strong emotion, self protection ect. Shades' appearances match the vessel they're from. Except more wispy and ghost like. (Mod note: an example of "this makes more sense in my head")

While in a shaded state the vessel is not 100% conscious, being aware yet not at the same time and taking the back seat in watching their actions- mostly staying to simple courses of action and/or emotion if any at all. Most of the time they prioritize not experiencing further harm. Capable of fighting back, and actually can be quite dangerous in some cases. Many vessels won't remember anything that occurred during this period, if they do it will be in blurry or spotty bits in memory. The time leading up to whatever caused it may or may not be affected.

Shades have been observed to be relatively violent to any entity in its proximity, sometimes even other vessels. Though, for many, staying a respectable distance away or backing away slowly if spotted is enough to remain out of harm’s way. However, some shades can be extremely violent. It’s unknown what causes certain shades to show extreme agitation to anything within its area, but it’s suspected it may have something to do relating to the vessel’s personality, tendencies and other factors amplifying whilst as a shade.

Void by nature is somewhat violent, having only grown more agitated after the infection started. It'll overtake whatever it can grasp, and consume those who get too close which can include beings of its own creation at its worst. Most of it has stayed contained within the Abyss, but traces can be found within the basin above, and curiously enough in a small section within Deepnest. It's rumored in the hushed whispers amongst the siblings an escape through Deepnest is possible from the Abyss.

Death is. weird. when it comes to vessels. Admittedly I haven't even figured this part out myself. Though one reasonably could choose however to return back to the void, if they put their regrets to rest. Most exist still, keeping their conscious and just exists within the mass that is some kind of shared hivemind of some kind. Just existing as passing whispers in the darkness. But if one wanted to fully return to complete unconscious all attachments and ties must be fully severed otherwise they go into... something. A purgatory state? Where the physical being exists but the mind no longer is attached? They just go into a coma i guess?? (Mod note: i definitely was thinking about RW in the back of my mind when i first thought of this)

Void is generally used as a more obscure source of magic, and its thought currently only the old snail shamans and vessels are capable of using it. Some uses include minor teleportation (Echo has shown capability of this), offensive spells (Ghost mostly just stole these, but Azu is capable of this) or self defense (all 4 vessels on this blog use their capes as void tendrils when needed to defend themselves. but that's only because its easier that way. Echo is capable of using their missing arm to form tendrils)

Ghost has been observed being capable of shading themself for More Power at will, though is required to be fueled by desperation and seen as a last resort (this is completely unrelated to the fact they get more aggressive as they take more damage) Pre-Voidheart this state was mostly uncontrolled and kind of just... happened sometimes. You can reasonably say they kinda just go a bit feral, and while they do have some extent of influence on their actions a lot of it isn't fully conscious. They do not remember much, if anything at all when it happened. Post-Voidheart it's a lot more controlled, though memory is still somewhat fuzzy afterward they remain conscious and aware of their actions. The constant in both periods of timespans is it's extremely draining in all aspects and usually results in them being left unable to fight once they're out of that state. They try very hard not to fall into this, and while other vessels are maybe capable of this only Ghost has been observed so far to be able to willingly do this. May have something to do with the fact they're Lord of Shades in present time.

[okie-dokieartichokie]

Deep Breaths pt. 1 | RW

Plot: Victor Krum's little sister has been invited to Hogwarts to help the different qudditich teams become superstar level like her brother, there she meets a cute redheaded dork.

Warnings: long plot, little fluff

House: none

Year: 6th

Word count: 1.2k

_______________________________

Gentle grass gave way to heavy feet as the Gryffindor's qudditich team walked excitedly towards the pitch. A special guest had been staying at Hogwarts the past week, helping the different qudditich teams and even sitting in on some of the lessons. Y/N Krum, best known as Victor Krum's baby sister or the second best Krum. Sure it irked you knowing people held you to the same standards as your very athletic brother, but you learned to live with it. No one truly saw you for Y/N, world class, award winning female qudditich player, and just as good as your brother.

You had already set up everything you needed, you Nimbus 3000, your qudditich equipment set. You were in your gear already and your team's uniform ready to teach some older and younger students, "Welcome Gryffindor's, please gather around for a moment, I would like to speak to you and then see you scrimmage a little so I know what I'm working with." As everyone entered the pitch slowly but surely you smiled seeing all the happy faces ready to play the game you adore so dearly. You took a deep breath gathering your thoughts before speaking to your pupils, "Okay now that I have your attention, I'm Y/N Krum, but I'm sure you already knew that. I'm here to look after all your techniques, especially flying, to make sure this year's qudditich matches can be safe and fun. I will also teach you some tricks on the field to help you get an upper hand on your opponent, however fair warning I gave all the same advice to the other teams so maybe not as much an upper hand as just an evenly upper hand." You giggled softly as a few people laughed politely. You clapped your hands together signaling your little chat was over, "Now let's play some qudditich!" An up roar of laughing and howling came from the crowd as they one by one mounted their brooms and took off into the sky.

You thought it would be best to be in the air too, flying around and watching each players technique. You had just passed by Harry Potter who was after the snitch when you came to the keeper. A scruffy haired ginger sat clenching his broom as his head whipped back and forth panickedly. You decided to fly closer and offer a little bit of savory advice, "Hey ginger," the fluffy head of hair whipped towards you in the most adorable 'who, me?' look you've ever seen, "become one with the broom let your motions flow with it's. Lighten your grip and imagine you and your broom are one." He nodded slowly, taking a deep breath he slowly let it out loosening his grip on his broom as he watched the ball carefully. You stood by for a little bit just making sure the boy's grip didn't re-tighten when the ball came near but luckily he kept cool and didn't grip any harder. You went on with your viewing until the buzzer you had set rang.

As everyone sat around you in a circle panting and hydrating, you thought over the notes you had made mentally. So far the Gryffindor's were the best team you'd seen at the school, good sportsmanship (unlike Slytherin), played fair but rough (unlike Hufflepuff), and of course had a fun time just making sure everyone on their team was playing at their best relaxed state instead of panicing to make sure they were following a specific play 24/7 (unlike Ravenclaw). You let the athletes breath and socialize for a second before clearing your voice and getting almost everyone's attention, "Thank you for listening, luckily I didn't see too many mistakes out there today so my training with you will be minimal," a few happy noises were let out along with a few sad groans, "but I do still need to cover somethings before we can actually just kick back and play another chilled game." As you talked you noticed a bit of whispering coming from the back of the group. Everyone was quiet as the two boys seemed oblivious to the almost silent air. With an annoyed sigh you decided to show your standing right then and there, your were not going to take any disrespect or funny business, "Ginger, glasses, something important you'd like to share with the rest of us?" You decided not to call Harry by his name, you figured you knew the pain of people constantly knowing you over something you couldn't control, you'd let him have the satisfaction of thinking you didn't actually know who his is. Both boys looked up sheepishly shaking their heads, "Well good, becsuse you just reminded me of what I wanted to go over first. Ginger, front and center, and first and last name please." The boy scurried to get to the front of the group hoping to not further get on your 'bad side.' He hurried and stood beside you quietly before remembering what you had asked for to begin with. With a deep blush, the boy spoke up, "I'm uh Ron, Ron Weasley." You smiled, the name sounding familiar, "Well Mr. Weasley, mind helping me demonstrate something for the group?" Ron smiled softly nodding, holy crap that smile could knock you off your damn feet. You quickly controled yourself from sputtering or tripping over words by clearing your throat, "Ah yes, very good. Now Ron can you please get onto your broom and demonstrate how you held it at the beginning of the game?"

Time seemed to fly by as practice finally ended, everyone packing up and getting ready to leave when you felt a gentle tap on your shoulder. You turned to see the ginger from before smiling nervously. You gave the boy your full attention, putting the stuff you were packing up to the side, "Mm yes Ron? Everything alright, you don't mind that I had you help demonstrate, right?" You immediately panicked feeling bad, you knew how unwanted participation sucked and turned you away from a lot of great things. He shook his head quickly, "No no not at all, I was completely fine with that! I am actually here to ask you something..." You sighed relieved and nodded, "Go ahead then Ron, what would you like to ask?" Ron took a deep breath, identical to the one he had taken mid air and slowly released it seemingly relaxing, "You really were incredible out there and your help really has made me feel way better in myself. You're an incredible quidditch player, I hope you know that. When I'm with you I feel fuzzy and warm inside Y/N," you quirked an eyebrow confused the conversation turning seemingly more serious, "I feel like I should do it now or never so Y/N would you like to go to get butterbeer sometime? If it wouldn't ruin your chance to continue to help out our team of course!" You smiled, though the boy was short with words it still meant the world what he said to you. You took a deep breath of your own and nodded smiling from ear to ear, "Yes of course yes." You stuffed the rest of your things into your team duffle bag and offered Ron your hand, "Come on, we don't have all day Weasley." You smiled as the stunned boy quickly scurried to help take a bag and your free hand. Who would've thought, Ron Weasley was the first person to see Y/N as what she truly was and not just Victor Krum's sister?

[altitudeofalcatraz]

Iterator posting Mix of both canon and non-canon, hehe [:

[altitudeslocalgroup]

HA, how did you get your name?

[HA: Thhhough.... Technically it cccould be consideredd... myy real name nnow... hmmm...]

[magstorrn]

rating the artilleryman actors from jeff wayne’s musical version of the war of the worlds*

*from the perspective of someone who’s never seen the show live but, in my defence, has sought out just about every illegally filmed snippet on youtube and I've seen both official recordings many times. some of these are based on a single recording tho so take my words w/ a grain of salt. im also not going to get everyone because for a number of the actors there’s not enough evidence to go off

david essex

summary: the man the myth the legend. there are only a couple photos of him during recording sessions but he was clearly having the time of his life, and his hoarse voice and cockney accent bring an edge to the character that’s often absent (also means his own background is closest to that of the character). obviously they didn’t kick start the stage show until about 30 years after he recorded for the role but sometimes i daydream about an actual theatre production of twotw in the 70s bc holy shit, he was already doing evita when he recorded for twotw and had starred in godspell by this time and he wouldve been absolutely magnificent. 

he’s also like the only actor im aware of that properly belts the ‘it’s going to have to start’ line and it just. sounds so good. he’s also the only artilleryman actor that imo sounds good in act 1 and like someone who’s genuinely witnessed a traumatic event and is still reeling in shock. he brings this kind of manic earnest with him in brave new world and it enhances the song 100% bc he’s so completely convinced things will work out

iconic moment: the way he yells ‘just’ after the whispered section in the middle of brave new world. chef’s kiss

rating: 10/10 im biased as all hell

alexis james

summary: the true mystery of this man is that he looks so old and so young at the same time (put it down to the incredibly fake weird sideburns and the receding hairline) and that he didn’t seem to do any more work in this vein post-2006. deserves credit for being the first stage show actor in the role, running around for 12 minutes straight pretending to use a massive pencil compass and digging at the stage, and for pulling things off pretty damn well. the almost surgical slit at the knee of his pants irritates me and im glad they didnt do it again

iconic moment: singing the entirety of brave new world with a pseudo american accent for no reason at all. im 99% sure he’s english

rating: 7/10

jason donovan

summary: the day that jason moved from the artilleryman role to the parson role was the finest day of his life as well as mine. he’s absolutely outstanding as nathaniel but tbh i think in the artilleryman role he’s just... bad (and doesnt have NEARLY enough fake blood everywhere). a lot of the lines sound like theyre cut short or like he can’t quite hit the note he’s aiming for, and there’s times when he just sounds completely off, or barks his lines for no reason. like alexis james he was part of the pre-new gen era so he has like two props and he has to pretend to use these for over ten minutes and i salute him for that. speaking of salutes i love how he randomly embellishes some of his lines with a salute

iconic moment: *high pitched australian accent* iT’S You. the MAn from mayBury HILL

rating: 4/10

ricky wilson

summary: ricky wilson was the first artilleryman for the new gen era which was iconic enough in itself, but then he also gave us the black eye, goggles, waxed moustache, the glass of water trick, rolled up sleeves, and so much more. also the tragic victim of the bottle of whiskey line, but he salvages it by just swigging from the bottle right then and there. act 1 RW kinda has the vibe of a man who’s just unexpectedly watched his football team of preference lose badly rather than witnessed a massacre, but by act 2 he sounds like he just came up with a plan to save civilisation at 3am while blind drunk and he’s going to tell you about it whether you like it or not. also pioneered the trend of stripping his coat at the start of the song. he definitely sounds better in the visual recording than on the album as he barely sounds like himself on the latter (why is he like the only actor from the stage show that’s also on the album?? ill always wonder). even then though he seems very jittery and nervous and like he’s trying to overcompensate by being super energetic and the way he basically screams all his lines gets annoying after long enough

that said his swagger and confidence are completely unbeatable and while i wouldnt trust him as far as i can throw him, he deserves a spot in the artilleryman hall of fame, although im still unsure to this day whether he’s using the spade correctly

iconic moment: *hip thrust* WALLOP

rating: 9/10

shayne ward

summary: again this is based on like a single recording but he can SING and i wish he showed off more than he does. he also sounds properly panicky/shaky in the first act which i always appreciate since he’s been Through It and a lot of performances don’t get that across. he’s giving it his all/aiming to give the best performance he can and it shows! he also has a ton of bruises/so much fake blood everywhere and his shirt’s in tatters and it’s great. the high notes sound fantastic also

iconic moment: stripping off the coat about ten minutes before any other artilleryman actor im aware of, and yeeting it off the stage

rating: 8/10

adam garcia

summary: i would say that bc he’s australian i have no choice but to stan but ive already been rly mean to jason donovan so that doesnt stand up anymore. anyway i basically regard adam garcia as the spiritual successor to david essex - similar sound, similar vibes, similar musical theatre background, similar genuine earnest with that edge of manic desperation and oncoming insanity. his facial expressions and gestures and pure enthusiasm throughout BNW are my favourite thing, and he maintains more of a long-sleeved pirate vibe as opposed to the ricky wilson rolled up sleeve vibe. unlike ricky wilson i also think he might’ve actually used a spade before

he also does so so much running around, and has more props than ever - the chair, the blackboard, the goggles, the gun, the spade, but at least he’s kept busy for the long instrumental sections, although i think it’s awful he gets cut off at the end of his song by life begins again while he just like, keeps digging? his singing is rly consistent and really quality, although i think he unfortunately sounds pretty bad in act 1. the whole losing his mind thing in act 2 salvages it tho

iconic moment: *obvious david essex impression* holidees 

rating: 9/10

honourable mentions to daniel bedingfield (can’t find a recording anywhere), michael falzon (i can’t find a full recording of him), and taron egerton (doesnt get to sing in the audio drama but his character is clearly gay)

[sugar-kisser]

Park Seonghwa « What Ifs (RW)

original warnings: none word count: 1855

Summer has slowly come to an end, and autumn is just beginning. The cool breeze is what everyone was begging for, but were not expecting this early. But none the less, college students still trudge around campus preparing for their midterms that are in the coming weeks. Just about all the floors in every library is filled except for the oldest library on campus that is said to be abandon, but you and Seonghwa found it the perfect place to study because not many student’s actually step foot near the old building.

So behind several shelves and almost lodged into a secret corner of the library on the second floor, Seonghwa and you sit at one of the small rectangular tables. You currently have three different biology books opened to random pages and sitting in half a circle around you and your not very completed study guide. Seonghwa on the other hand has a stack of four textbooks sitting next to his large history textbook that’s opened to the back so he can right down all the laws he needs to memorize for his history exam in two days. Some times he wished he started on things like this sooner, but you know, college is basically procrastination. Like if you think high school is bad just you wait. Plus he had a life he wanted to live and he didn’t need to attend every single class, so he skipped a few, and just a few. You probably wouldn’t catch him with bad grades so when he found the time to ditch for a day trip somewhere, he did.

You on the other hand never missed a day of class. You were afraid you would fall behind easily considering you’re not the fastest learner and it takes twice as long for you to completely understand something than the average student. But that also makes you a perfectionist because you want to be able to explain it with your eyes closed or even in a different language if you need to. The big achiever that nobody really liked to be friends with in high school, but you cut all ties with your previous life. You needed that fresh start, and you’re happy you did because you met Seonghwa on the first day of college in a level 300 class you accidentally signed up for instead of the level 100, but he managed to help you through it and you ended with a B.

You deeply sigh which easily distracts Seonghwa who puts his pencil down to look at you.

“You okay?” He asks with a small little grin on his face that you want to wipe off.

“No,” you whine, “this midterm is going to be the reason I fail college.” Seonghwa pulls his lips together to not only hide his smile but the oncoming laugh from your dramatic statement. You then drop your head onto the table with a loud thud that could probably be heard from the other side of the library. Seonghwa reaches out to help you back up while sneakily laughing.

“Laugh all you want I don’t care,” you tell him. Your dramatic mood changed to a more depressed tone, and Seonghwa practically feels the life and energy drained from you. All in a matter of a second which quickly concerns him.

“You’re going to be just fine on this test. You have nothing to worry about,” Seonghwa tells you as he rest his hand on your upper back, slightly running his fingers up and down for comfort.

“But I also don’t have your test to copy off of,” you counter which makes Seonghwa bite the inner parts of his cheeks to reframe himself from continuing to laugh as your despair is a little more important at the minute.

“Just take a five minute break, relax, and then get back to doing the study guide,” Seonghwa suggests, “you’ll feel better.” You lift your head up from the table and Seonghwa retracts his arm. You sigh again and look over the mess of your half of the table is. In the corner of your eye you watch as Seonghwa continues about his time writing down his needed information from his history book. You lean over and rest your head against his arm, only causing him to stop writing.

“Y/N,” Seonghwa coos to you, “I need to write.” You whine and move your head back over to your own workspace. You rest your head on top of your hands and close your eyes. A few moments of just not doing anything could be good right? You promise yourself just to count to one hundred before getting back to your assignments. But you don’t quite reach thirty before passing out.

Your light snores don’t go past Seonghwa as he every once in a while glances over at you to make sure you’re okay and not drooling over the libraries textbooks. He’s glad you’re finally getting some sleep. He’ll notice your apartment lights still on when he returns from his late shift hours just about every other day. Lately he’s wondered if you’ve even been sleeping considering the bags under your eyes are black and purple. You do try to hide them with your make-up but Seonghwa knows your little tricks and you can’t fool him. 

An hour and a half passes by and Seonghwa gets through most of all his work before deciding he wants to call it a night. He looks over you one last time deciding if he should wake you now or if he should let you sleep a little longer. You don’t quite look comfortable slouched over a table sleeping but you didn’t seem to mind it all that much. Seonghwa leans back in his chair and looks out the tall skinny ceiling to floor window. A smile blossoms on his face as a lightbulb blinks in his head. 

Seonghwa packs his bag and collects his textbooks setting them on a cart for a student librarian to place them back. He sets his bag on the floor after grabbing his wallet and hurries out of the library and across the street to your guys’ favorite coffee shop.

You eventually find yourself waking up when you no longer feel any other body near you radiating off even the smallest amount of heat. You push your head off your textbook and run your hand through your hair. You look over and notice that Seonghwa’s side of the table is spotless clean. His bag isn’t even anywhere in your sight. Had he left you?

You flip your phone around and check the time when the screen turns on- 7:46 PM. You feel your heart sink a little further. Didn’t Seonghwa have another late shift tonight? It starts in about 15 minutes. What sits heaviest on you overall is the fact that Seonghwa didn’t even wake you. Usually he would if you fall asleep during one of your study sessions, so what makes tonight different? 

With a shaky little sigh that breaks past your lips and small little droplets of water collecting at your waterline you push yourself up in your chair and look over your study guide and the textbooks in front of you. You at least need to complete the study guide tonight so you can study it for the next seven days straight to get the A you need on the test. You absentmindedly find answers to your study guide questions and write them down without retaining the actual information which will easily leave you lost later on when you come back to study it.

“Ah! You’re awake,” Seonghwa’s voice softly calls out. You whip your head to face the black haired boy approaching you, two large hot drinks in his hands.

“Seonghwa, I thought you left? Don’t you work tonight?” You ask, your voice rather quiet and hoarse.

“No, silly. I don’t work Thursday nights, remember?” Seonghwa lightly laughs, “besides why would I leave you alone in the library sleeping?” He sets the two cups down and that’s when he see’s the build up of water about to fall down your cheeks.

“Y/N,” Seonghwa’s face drops instantly and he wraps his arms around your shoulders and pulls you into a hug. You arms wrap around his waist and the side of your face buries itself into his mid-torso. “I’m sorry I didn’t leave a note. I didn’t think I’d be gone long, nor did I think you were going to wake up until I got back.” Seonghwa let’s go of you before crouching down, his butt almost brushing the floor.

“How about I walk you back to your apartment and we watch a movie? You’re way to stressed to be working on this study guide,” Seonghwa suggests, but you shake your head and blink back your tears.

“I can’t,” you whisper afraid anything above that you’ll have a mental breakdown, “I need to finish this tonight. My test is next week.”

“Which means you still have plenty of time to finish it and study it all,” Seonghwa counters with a small smile, trying to convince you to take a break.

“What if I forget about it?”

“You won’t.”

“What if I don’t complete it?”

“You will.”

“What if I fail the test.”

“Y/N,” Seonghwa laughs in almost disbelief at all your excuses which only causes you to feel more guilt.

“You’re going to be just fine if we take the rest of the night off,” Seonghwa explains as he brushes your hair out of your face, “and when you pass your test next week after not forgetting to complete your study guide I’ll take you out.” You feel everything in the world stop. Did he?

“I won’t know my grades until after the short break,” you tell him which causes him to laugh.

“Y/N you’re going to pass this. So I’m going to take you out,” Seonghwa more-so tells you rather than suggests, “on a date.” You feel heat rise to your cheeks and you reach up to lightly brush your fingers against your pink cheeks.

“Come on cutie,” Seonghwa pats your head before standing all the way back up, “let’s head back to your apartment, watch a movie, and eat food because I am starving.” You break into a small smile which makes Seonghwa instantly feel better that he’s lighten your mood. You put your papers back into your bag and before you can grab your coat Seonghwa does and helps you put it on.

“Thanks,” you squeak before picking up your three textbooks. Seonghwa grabs his backpack and your two hot chocolates, and the two of you head towards the exit. You place your books on the return cart next to Seonghwa’s and take your hot beverage from his hands. 

A cool breeze swipes right past the two of you as you head outside into the cold. You slightly shiver but that doesn’t stop Seonghwa from grabbing your hand and pulling it into his coat pocket along with his. You bite back a smile as the two of you head towards your apartment.

[rwrdrabbleprompts]

RW&RB Drabble Prompt: 11.13.23

Happy Monday, everyone! It's time for our weekly set of one-word drabble prompts. Remember ��� your drabbles should be exactly 100 words, you can write as many as you'd like throughout the week, and you can draw inspiration from the prompts however you see fit. If you need a refresher, here are our rules.

This week’s words are:

Typewriter

Serendipity

Whisper

Don’t forget to tag us so we can reblog your drabble! Happy writing!

[shesclearlya3]

Grow As We Go

pairing: Xavier Plympton x Reader

word count: 3,538

warnings: au! in present time, mentions of drug use, overdose, angst, fluffy at times, no camp rw

disclaimer: i am in no way shape or form using the topic of addiction lightly or willingly romanticizing it. the use of heroin is a major problem in my state and my family has personally been affected by it. i lost family to this horrible epidemic and this has been a coping mechanism for me as i was too young to understand the gravity of the situation my family was under at the time it happened seven years ago. i also am not tagging due to possible triggers. 

*not entirely proof-read* *inspired by Ben Platt’s song*

You sat on the couch in your shared apartment, waiting for your boyfriend, Xavier, to come home.

It was a Friday night, and like most Friday's, you were supposed to watch movies with him and eat a ridiculous amount of takeout. You had rushed home from work, taking a shower and making sure you shaved your legs for specific events you knew would be happening later that night.

A box of pizza sat on the coffee table, now growing cold. Everything was set up, the television on Netflix, multiple blankets piled up next to you, and you wearing your soft pajamas and fuzzy socks. Xavier was supposed to be home from work nearly two hours ago. He had finally landed a small role on a beloved show, and his excitement about it was the cutest thing you'd ever seen. An eight-hour shoot soon turned into ten.

At least that's what you hoped.

You had sent him a ridiculous amount of texts and voicemails, your voice growing more and more concerned with each one. You went as far as to text your mutual friends, Montana, Brooke, Ray, and Chet, to see if they had heard from them. Nobody had heard anything, but the girls assured you they'd try and contact him in some way.

This wasn't like him, not showing up and ignoring your messages, you thought as you turned off the random episode of your favorite show you started playing. The characters made you feel less lonely. You stood up, slowly pacing the room as you debated on what to do.

Is it too early to file a missing person's report?

"Don't be stupid, y/n," you grumbled to yourself. "Xavier said he can't have his phone while filming."

Another hour had passed by. You had put the untouched pizza in the refrigerator, before going into your bedroom and taking one of Xavier's jackets. You slipped it on, inhaling his scent and feeling more at ease.

Your thoughts only became darker as the time ticked by. You lived in Los Angeles, anything could have happened if he wasn't at work. You had no idea how to call a studio and ask for an actor; for all they knew, you could be a creepy stalker. Your hands were shaking as you stuffed them into the pockets.

One thing that always lingered in the back of your mind was Xavier's past.

When you met him, it was just out of high school. Montana was your best friend for years, and she introduced the two of you just weeks after graduation. They had a little fling, nothing too serious. He was older than you by a year, and you instantly took a liking to him.

The first few times you had hung out, you never thought you'd one day become Xavier's girlfriend. First, it would be against girl code. Second, even though he was with Montana for a short period, he had the mindset of being unable to be tied down.

However, it didn't take long for you to uncover the truth.

Xavier Plympton was a softie hiding behind a facade. He always claimed he didn't need a girlfriend, and all he needed and could rely on was nobody other than himself. His arrogant demeanor attracted girls for the wrong reasons. If they wanted a true rebellious bad boy, they wouldn't find it with Xavier.

Just months after Montana moved on with a guy named Trevor, Xavier had shown up at your doorstep. One of the few times it actually rained in Los Angeles, his car had broken down, and you were the closest apartment to him. His blond hair was matted to his forehead as he smiled at you sheepishly.

"Xavier?" You frowned, pulling your blanket from your shoulders to pull him into your apartment. "Why are you soaking wet?"

"My fucking car broke down, and I got cold," he pouted as you locked the door. "I called for help, and the storm has them backed up, it's like a hurricane out there."

"You need to get out of those clothes, Xavier," you said as you led him to your small bathroom. "How long did they say?"

"I don't know, just a few hours?" Xavier shrugged.

"Why didn't you call me? I would have picked you up."

"Yeah..." Xavier grimaced, pulling his cracked iPhone out of his pocket. "I had another little accident."

You huffed a laugh, grabbing a clean towel and setting it on the counter. "What did you do?"

"I tripped and fell, it landed in a puddle, and now it won't turn on, this piece of shit," Xavier mumbled.

"Take a shower, I'll wash your clothes. When you're done, you still have clothes here from the last time you invaded my home." You joked, averting your eyes as Xavier slipped off his drenched shirt.

"I was drunk, and friends don't let friends drive drunk, y/n," he smirked at you. He had already started unbuttoning his expensive jeans when you slammed the door in his face.

When he was done, he came out and lounged with you on the couch. The same one that was now in your new apartment. You forced him to watch Heathers and yelled at him whenever he put his cold feet against your warm body.

Xavier used your phone to call about his car, and they said he'd have to come to look at it in the morning. He smiled at you as you rolled your eyes, granting him permission to sleepover, and you'd drop him off. This is what started your movie marathon traditions. And it's when Xavier kissed you for the first time.

Ever since then, it was like a poorly written romance novel.

You started dating after Montana assured you she wouldn't hate your guts. At the time, Xavier was taking acting classes, making money on the side doing mediocre jobs. You were just months short of getting your degree, and your current job as your primary source of income when you eventually moved in together.

Xavier slowly booked more and more roles over the years. He refused all commercial gigs until his agent eventually stopped offering them. Xavier was proud of his work and spent many nights holding you and telling you when he wins his first Oscar, you better be in the audience so he can show the world what keeps him grounded in life outside of the screen.

Xavier was arrogant about his fame to outsiders. In his inner circle, however, he knew that one day he would blow up. You believed in him, you loved and adored him, and all his accomplishments so far.

Those were the good times.

One thing that Xavier was never open about to anyone besides you was his history with drugs.

Montana had known he was a user when they met. The story was that his parents sent him to rehab after finding needles and a bag of heroin in his room.

But that's all it was, a story.

You remember the night perfectly. You were forced to work over as someone bailed on their shift, and like tonight, you texted Xavier and told him you'd be late, just to get no answer.

When you arrived, the living room was empty, and the house was dark. You called his name after setting your things down, seeing the light coming from the bathroom door. You walked to it, knocking gently.

"Xavier?"

You could hear the shower running and what sounded like quiet sniffles. You frowned, going to touch the handle when you heard his voice. "Yeah?"

"Are you okay, babe?" You questioned. Xavier remained silent for a few seconds, and you could hear the sound of skin against the tub as if he were sitting down.

"I'm fine, I'll be out in a minute." He called, his voice thick.

You decided to leave him be, going into your bedroom and stripping from your uniform. Xavier never liked to cry in front of you. He was self-conscious about it, he wanted you to know he could be strong for you. As much as you told him you hated it, you had only seen him cry a handful of times.

You laid on the bed in your bra and panties, pulling a blanket over you as the bathroom door creaked open. Xavier shuffled into your room, wearing sweatpants and his blond hair pushed away from his face. You could already tell his eyes were red as he put his dirty clothes in the hamper.

"The shower's free," he said, his voice monotone. Xavier refused to look at you. He crossed the room, sitting on the bed before plopping on his back, his head nudged your leg.

"What's wrong, Xavier?" You asked gently. You could smell his body wash, and you slowly pushed yourself down, so your heads were level. He kept his eyes closed.

"I'm fine, y/n,"

You tsked at him. "Your eyes were red."

"So? I got soap in them."

You rolled your eyes, "Don't lie to me, Xavier Plympton!"

"I really don't want to talk about it, babe." He groaned. You continued to stare at him until he opened one eye, snapping it shut when he realized he got caught.

"I had a long day," you whispered. "Please, tell me what's bothering you, Xavier. It's going to kill me inside."

Xavier stared up at the ceiling after he finally cracked. He told you what really happened when he was younger.

When he was 18, one of his closest friends at the time, Andrew, started to become heavily involved in drugs. Xavier initially tried to get him to stop, but one day he was stupidly persuaded to try some. You played with his hair as he quietly explained how it got out of control. Whenever Xavier was angry or upset, he would use.

And then, his friend died.

By the time his parents found him, it was too late. His anniversary had passed a few days before, and suddenly Xavier's sour mood the past few days made sense. You held him tightly as he went on to say that shortly after his friend's funeral, he left his home in the middle of the night and wandered to a park where he injected himself and passed out after stumbling around and hitting his head.

He woke up the next day to a man named Blake, who threatened to expose Xavier's drug use if he didn't repay him for saving Xavier in the park. Your heart pounded in your chest as Xavier admitted that he had made porn, specifically with other males after being extorted by Blake.

You didn't know what to say at this admission. Your heartbreak was not because your current boyfriend, who you've had sex with many times, slept with other men. That was Xavier's worst fear, you abandoning him or leaving after he kept it from you. Your heart was breaking because of what this disgusting man did to the love of your life.

"You don't hate me?" Xavier tearfully asked after you comforted him.

"I don't hate you." You confirmed.

Xavier finished by saying he got away once Blake was arrested for his actions. Xavier and countless other men, some underage, were freed from the monster, but some never fully recovered for the mental abuse they suffered.

"After that, I told my parents that I didn't want to end up like Andrew. I didn't want to die, I wanted to get better. That's when I went and got help, and I've been clean ever since, y/n,"

That was a year ago.

Which is why when you got the call from Montana, your heart shattered.

"They found him slumped over, y/n," Montana said tearfully into the phone as you ran to your car, tears threatening your vision as you climbed inside, gasping for breath. "They were able to revive him, but his parents are out of town, and they won't let me inside!"

"I'll be there soon!" You cried into the phone as you drove as fast as you could to the hospital Montana said they were at. She stayed on the line with you the entire time, but you were both dead silent.

You were out of breath when you finally met her, hugging her tightly as Trevor and Chet stood up at the sight of you.

"We tried contacting his parents again, but they're not fucking answering," Chet explained as he and Montana followed you to the receptionist currently talking on the phone. "None of us are his emergency contact, his mom called me and begged us to come here. They might be on a plane ride back."

"I don't know if I am," you breathed as you impatiently waited for the lady to hang up. "M-Maybe I'll tell them we're engaged, or married?" You whispered.

"Married, most definitely," Montana mumbled.

Chet answered his phone when it started ringing, before stating he was going to meet Ray downstairs and bring him up. You watched him go, feeling more tears well up as the lady finally hung up, typing away on her computer.

"Excuse me!" You gasped, hitting the desk as you all but ran to it. She jumped back, looking at your disheveled state before her eyes settled on Montana.

"Look, I'm sorry, but I've already told you-"

"I'm his wife!" You choked up, causing the woman to look at you. "I-I should be one of his contacts."

The woman slowly looked at your hands, seeing the promise ring Xavier had given you on your first anniversary. She sighed before looking up his files.

"Name?" She asked.

You repeated your name, almost crying in relief when she stood up, "Come on, Mrs. Plympton," she said. Montana watched as you walked off, unable to keep the slight smirk off her face.

When you approached his room, a doctor was just coming out. He stopped at the sight of you two, quirking an eyebrow at the lady as she quietly explained who you were.

"How is he?" You blurted out, not meaning to interrupt the nurse as she spoke.

"He's awake, his vitals are back to normal, but he is a little out of it, I'm afraid." He said before his eyes slowly trailed you up and down. "Mrs. Plympton, are you aware your husband is a user?"

Your mouth was dry as you answered, "Xavier had been sober for almost four years, I-I had no idea he was using again..."

The doctor slowly nodded, but you could still feel his judgemental stare as you shifted uncomfortably. "If I were you, I'd consider the possibility he may need to enter rehabilitation. The use of heroin has become quite an epidemic, if he has been sober for as long as you said, a relapse would seem rather unlikely-"

"Doctor Stephens, with all do respect, I do not believe this is the appropriate time or place," the nurse said, glaring at him as she gently squeezed your arm. "Her husband almost died. Let her see him before we discuss any further steps."

You looked at her gratefully, before noticing her last name was also Stephens. You hid your smile as you realized they were probably married.

"Very well, in you go," he said, before nudging you inside. As the door clicked shut behind you, you heard him mumble, "Sharon, in the workplace we are not-"

You slowly approached Xavier's bed as he tiredly glared at the television, playing old reruns of Friends. He whipped his head around at the sound of your footsteps, and a mixture of relief and remorse crossed his face. "y/n?"

You let the tears spill over as you slowly approached him. His blue eyes shining at you from the reflection of the television. He was hooked up to machines, yet he moved over for you to climb into bed with him. He let you sob into his hair, his own lips trembling as he silently cried.

When you both seemed to settle down, that's when you began to talk.

"What happened, Xavier?" You sniffed. "What caused you to relapse?"

Xavier remained silent, bringing a hand to wipe at his face. The only sounds you could hear were the beeping of his heart monitor.

"When Blake went to trial," he began, "The courts ordered all of our... Tapes to be destroyed," he sighed. "They were, except for one,"

Your stomach dropped as his brows furrowed, another sob bubbling in his chest, but he pushed it down. "It was the second video Blake forced me to make. It was of another kid who was younger than me and me. It was his first time ever having sex. Someone found it, or it had been stolen before the trial, I don't know. It was uploaded to the internet last night, and..." he squeezed his eyes shut as the need to cry suddenly became too much. "I didn't know about it until the FBI called me and informed me today. They took it down, but-"

"Oh my God," you breathed out.

"They don't know how many copies exist, they're doing everything they can to track down the person who uploaded it, but my life is so FUCKED up!" He yelled, more tears spilling over as he buried his head in your chest.

"H-Has anybody?..."

"I don't know, nobody has reported on it, my fucking Instagram hasn't blown up or anything, but my fucking life was supposed to start over, that was all supposed to be behind me." He said. "Some times, I can almost forget that it even happened. My life has changed so much in the past four years. I never had the urge to use again until tonight."

His voice was so broken and small that you almost didn't recognize it. You stroked his hair, hoping it still had the same calming effect on him like the many times before.

"You've come so far, Xavier," you whispered to him. "Everything you've been through, everything you've become is so inspiring." You started to comfort him, but he shook his head in disappointment.

"I'm too much of a fuck-up, y/n," he mumbled. "You don't deserve any of this. I don't deserve you."

"Don't you dare fucking say that!" You gasped.

"It's true, y/n," Xavier said. "Whatever happens because of this, I don't want to be the one responsible for ruining your life. It's going to get out what happened to me tonight, what that guy did, and what I did to myself. You deserve nothing but happiness and a great life."

"Please stop," you whimpered.

"If you want to leave me, I won't stop you. I-I love you too much to hurt you, y/n."

You squeezed him tighter, whispering assurances in his ear that you weren't going to leave him. You loved Xavier with all your heart. "I'm not throwing away two years of us being together over this."

Xavier cupped your wet cheek in his hand, bringing his lips to your forehead as you crumbled beneath his touch.

"W-We can get through this," you said. "Xavier, if people heard the story of what actually happened to you, your real fans will love and support you no matter what. What Blake did was a horrible thing, and now he is spending the rest of his life in prison."

Xavier nodded, but you could still see the hurt in his eyes. "They'll find out I was a heroin addict. Society doesn't care about people like me."

As much as you wanted to convince him he was wrong, you knew in a way that not everybody would be supportive of someone with an addiction, society could be unbearably cruel.

There was a knock at the door, and you both straightened up as two uniformed agents slowly stepped into the room. You immediately found yourself recoiling at the sight of them, more worry coursing through you as Xavier looked at them nervously.

They introduced themselves as partners with the FBI. Due to the ongoing investigation, no details of what happened tonight will be made public. Xavier wished for much secrecy as possible, not wanting any of this to get out.

"We are currently monitoring all adult websites and making sure no articles about this are being made public. The woman who found you is being cooperative and will not spread the word of what has happened, Mr. Plympton."

They stayed for about twenty minutes, explaining that Xavier was under their protection for the time being. When it’s time for him to discharge from the hospital, it will be at an undisclosed time and location, and they also informed you to not be alarmed if any agents show up at your doorstep.

After they left, Xavier was exhausted. You had since moved to the chair, continuing running your fingers through his hair as his eyes drooped.

"y/n?" He whispered.

"What is it, babe?" You asked.

"I'm happy you decided to stay."

You cracked a smile, "Did you really think I wouldn't have?"

Xavier didn't say anything but held a mischievous twinkle in his eye as you pressed a kiss to his forehead. You whispered to him as he slowly dozed off, promising him of a better tomorrow.

And most importantly, of your future with him by your side.

[spine-buster]

Alone, Together | Chapter 38 | Morgan Rielly

A/N: Many thanks again for understanding why I couldn’t upload last week.  We’re in the homestretch now and nearing the end of the story (only two more official chapters -- eeeeek!).  Remember that canon questions are always welcome, and there will be at least four (4) “epilogues”/glimpses into the future.

When Bee awoke to soft, quick butterfly kisses on her shoulder and neck early in the morning of her 24th birthday, she knew she was waking up in her own personal form of paradise.  With the comforter draped over her body, the morning sun peeking through the blinds, the strong arms wrapped around her body, holding her close – there was nothing better.  She could wake up like this everyday.  

Wait.

She did wake up like this everyday.  Well, almost everyday.  

Morgan’s breath was hot against her neck as he continued to kiss and suck lightly on her skin.  She moved her legs slightly and backed her ass onto his already hardening member.  He groaned slightly, knowing that she was now awake.  

“Happy birthday, beautiful,” he mumbled into the crook of her neck.  His voice was sleepy, scraggly, and low.  She couldn’t help but smile, feeling like the luckiest girl in the world.  She turned around to face him.

It didn’t matter that Morgan just had a giant photoshoot and campaign released with RW&Co that saw him looking like a five course meal in a variety of different suits.  It didn’t matter that soon she’d be seeing him in suits almost every other night going in and out of Scotiabank Arena.  None of it mattered.  Her favourite Morgan was here, in bed with her, drowsy blue eyes and messy hair and scruff on his face, his body warm with a cheeky smile adorning his face.  This was the best Morgan.  This was the Morgan she fell in love with.  Not the one situated in front of the cameras, giving answers.  Not the one who signed up for sponsorship opportunities with Nike and Hockey Night in Canada and whatever else.  Not the hockey player playing over 20 minutes a night.  This Morgan.  Simple Morgan.  The Morgan she saw when they were alone together.

She really was the luckiest girl in the world.  

“I love you,” she whispered, leaning in to kiss him.

“I love you too,” he responded, leaning in to kiss her again before their lips and tongues were all over one another’s, kissing passionately for what felt like hours before they had to stop to catch their breath.  

It was then that Bee brought her hand up, caressing his cheek, her thumb outlining his lips.  “I didn’t think…” she began, wondering if she should even say it.  She hesitating before deciding yes, she should say it, because it was her 24th birthday and her feelings should be out in the open for Morgan to know.  “I didn’t think I was capable of loving another person this much.”

His big blue eyes flashed at her admission.  “I didn’t think I could, either,” he admitted.

“But it’s different for me.”

Morgan nodded his head.  He knew what she meant.  He knew that this was something that had been on her mind for a while, leading up to day, her birthday.  He knew that she probably wanted to express it before, but didn’t think she could, or should, because of one reason or another that she told herself.  But she did now.  “Just think.  We have the rest of our lives to feel it.  To show it.”

Bee couldn’t help but smile before giving him another kiss.  “Show me.  Show me right now.”

Morgan was more than ready to oblige.  He attached his lips to hers again and moved so that his body was over hers.  Luckily, he slept without a shirt that night, so when Bee’s hands began to wander over his chest and back and along his shoulders, he was able to feel her delicate touch and her nails sinking gently into his skin, in the area between his shoulder blades.  Almost immediately, his hand wandered underneath her shirt – one of his old shirts, technically – and began cupping her breast and pinching her nipple, causing her to arch her back slightly.  In no time at all, he shoved the shirt all the way up, over her head, and threw it behind them on the bed.  

With Bee underneath him, Morgan took advantage of the situation by kissing from her lips, across her jawline, along her neck and clavicle, all the way to her breasts, sucking a nipple into his mouth.  He heard Bee let out a small gasp, and that was all he needed to keep going.  He paid her breasts a lot of attention, sucking and caressing them, Bee’s soft sighs his fuel for not stopping for a while until he was hungry for more.  He began kissing his way down her soft stomach, only for her to stop him.

“Later.  Later later later,” she mumbled quickly, trying to pull him back up.  

“What?  Briony--” Morgan was confused.  There was no way.  No way he was not going to--

“I just want you in me right now.  I want to feel you inside me,” she whispered out, her voice frantic.  “Please Morgan.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.  I just want to feel you inside me.”

Her pulled her pyjama bottoms off before doing the same with his.  Bee wrapped her legs around his torso as he hovered over her and began kissing her again – light, airy kisses until she could feel him at her entrance, pushing in slowly.  Another light gasp escaped her lips as he bottomed out.  “I love you baby,” she whispered in between more kisses, sighing into him as she began to feel him begin to move in and out of her slowly.  “I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” he replied automatically.  He stopped kissing her momentarily to get a good look at her.  “Remember the night of the home opener?  Karl Marx?”

Bee couldn’t help but smile at the memory.  That was the night he tried to seduce her by talking about economics, only to ruin the whole thing and send her into a fit of giggles by mentioning Alan Greenspan.  “”Mhm,” she nodded, digging her nails into his shoulder blades again.  “You had quite the uprising in your pants that night.”

“Well I’ve been studying more than usual,” he said.  “Did you know that a social safety net is essential to the success of any economy, and that Canada should be investing more into public education and healthcare for a more educated and healthier society?”

Bee snorted, much like she did that night.  “You sound like you’re running for Prime Minister in October.”

“Oh, it gets better,” Morgan smiled, kissing her quickly.  “I finally learned the difference between microeconomics and macroeconomics.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Micro is individuals and businesses, macro is the decisions of countries and governments.”

Bee couldn’t help but smile.  “You get an A plus, baby.”

Morgan kissed her again, letting his lips linger for a while.  “And get this,” he paused for dramatic effect.  “Friedrich Engels.”

Bee snorted again, louder this time, shaking her head at his ridiculousness.  “What’s the going interest rate settled by the Bank of Canada?” she asked to go along with his ridiculousness.

“1.75%,” he said matter of factly.  

Her eyes went wide.  “Morgan Rielly!” she laughed, messing his hair with her hand.  

“That was an easy one,” he winked.

“You’re just looking for extra credit,” she teased, biting her lip.  “As if you making love to me isn’t enough.”

“You know me, always gotta go that extra mile,” he joked, dipping down to kiss her again as he began to move in and out of her steadily, keeping his lips attached to hers.  

It was cheesy, and perhaps a bit overused and repetitive thing to say, but as they lay in the bed together, holding each other and kissing and looking deep into each other’s eyes, Bee thought that there was nothing better than making love.  The laughing, the jokes, the soft ‘I love you’s escaping their mouths – she loved it all.  There was nothing more intimate.  There was nothing more soft.  There was nothing more that she longed for, that she would long for, when he was gone for the season again.

They came together, naturally, as they knew they would in such a position and with such intimacy.  There were more kisses and more bites as they came down from their highs, Morgan collapsing on top of her gently with her legs still wrapped around him.  Bee made sure he didn’t move, that he didn’t slip out, savouring the warmth and the feeling of him within her as they regained their breaths, drifting off into a light sleep again, without a care about the outside world.  

***

“Can I give you your presents now?”

Bee gave Morgan a look.  She had just finished putting on her outfit for the day – “We’re not doing anything fancy until tonight, so keep it casual for now,” Morgan told her, so she opted for a simple scalloped top and jeans – and still needed to decide what to do with her hair.  When she looked at him, she could tell he was a bit antsy and didn’t wait to wait.  “Let me just put my hair in a bun,” she said, grabbing the elastic from her wrist and putting it in her mouth.

“I’m gonna get them,” she said, immediately shooting up from the bed. She laughed to herself, quickly twisting her hair and securing it tightly with her elastic.  When Morgan arrived back in the room carrying two envelopes, Bee couldn’t help the look of shock on her face.  It was definitely not that she was expecting more, it was that she was surprised Morgan wasn’t hauling in the entire Chanel store.  He warned her he was going to be “a lot”; she told him not to go crazy.

“What’s this?” she asked as he sat beside her on the bed, turning to face her.

“Just a little somethin’,” he wiggled his eyebrows comically.  “You need to open this one first.”

“Are you mocking me?” she asked, remembering back to when she told him he needed to open his gifts in a particular order for his own birthday.

“No.  Just open it, baby.”

She tore open the envelope delicately to reveal six tickets.  When she took a closer look, she noticed that they were for the Saturday, October 26th game the Leafs were having against the Montreal Canadiens.  In Montreal.  “Tickets to a game?”

“Mhm.”

“In Montreal?”

“Yup.  Because I know you’ve never been there.  I thought it’d be a good opportunity for you to take a weekend trip there.”

A smile crept its way onto her face.  She knew what he was doing.  “But…but why are there six tickets?”

“Do you really think I’m going to send you to Montreal and not give the Queen of Montreal herself, Clarette Favaro, and her family tickets as well?” Morgan posed.

Bee’s eyes immediately lit up.  “They’re coming too?!” she asked.  Morgan nodded his head.  “Me, Angie, Mason, Rocco, Clarette, and Josh?”

“You got it.”

“Morgan!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him and climbing on top of his lap.  She began peppering his face with kisses, mumbling thank you after thank you.  She knew her first trip to Montreal would be a memorable one.

“There’s still one more,” he mumbled in between kisses.  

“Oh, right,” she remembered, though she stayed on his lap as Morgan handed her the second envelope.  She tore it open delicately again to reveal more tickets.  This time, it was just one.  And this time, when she looked closely at the details, it was for the game against Colorado on Saturday, November 23rd.  In Colorado.

“Bumblebee?” Morgan asked softly, noticing that she was taking a bit of time to take in what was before her.

“Am I…” she began, pausing.  She looked him in the eye.  “Am I going to Colorado?”

“You’re going to Colorado.”

“To visit Ashley and Naz and Naylah?”

“To visit Ashley, Naz, and Naylah.”

Bee hesitated before she put the envelope down on the bed beside them and wrapped her arms around Morgan again tightly.  She tucked her head into the crook of his neck before exhaling deeply, trying to contain her emotions.  “I love you so much,” she mumbled, her lips grazing his skin.  “I love you so so so so so much.”

“I love you too.”

“No, you don’t get it.  I love love love you.”

Morgan chuckled slightly.  “I love love love love you too,” he said, squeezing her tightly.  “Always, Bumblebee.  Always.”

She untucked her head and brought her hands up to cradle his face, kissing him again.  She didn’t want to leave.  She could have stayed in this position and in the moment for the rest of the day.  They didn’t need to do anything else.  It was only when he moved to stand, bringing her with him, that she yelped and stopped kissing him.  “Morgan!” she screamed, giggling slightly.

“C’mon, we gotta go.  I gotta take you out for the day.  We’re gonna be busy,” he said in between quick kisses.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“That’s for me to know and you to find out,” he said before kissing her again.

She rolled her eyes before looking down at the way his arms looked, his muscles bulging as he held her in his arms.  “Jesus, Mo,” she muttered under her breath, her fingertips grazing his skin.  He kept up his workout regimen all summer, and while she usually noticed the changes in his body, for some reason, she hadn’t quite picked up on how…jacked he’d gotten.  It was like whatever fat he had last year had turned into muscle and she could now reap the rewards.  “Can you carry me the whole way there?”

“Carry you?”

“So I can see your muscles,” she looked down at them, causing him to look down as well.  “They grew, baby.”

“They better have, I’ve been lifting all summer.”

Bee giggled slightly.  “Bro, do you even lift?”

“Do you seriously want me to carry you all the way to the car?” he asked.

“No!”

“I can – if you want.  I mean it’s your bir--”

“Oh shush,” she wiggled out of his grasp until her feet were firmly planted on the floor, despite his arms still being around her waist.  “Just promise you’ll wear something tonight that shows off that body.”

“You better promise the same thing,” he said, winking at her before slapping her ass.

***

Bee was a little bit confused as she and Morgan arrived at the Eaton’s Centre.  As they walked together, Bee tried to think of the possibilities of where they could end up, but she couldn’t think of why he’d bring her to a mall.  She was even more confused when he still refused to tell her where they were going. When he made an abrupt stop in front of the Indigo and gave her a look, she was still…well, confused.  

“So you brought me to Indigo…” she said, trying to piece the whole thing together.  “Why?”

“So you could go crazy,” he said simply.

“Go crazy how?” she asked.  She still didn’t get it.

Morgan couldn’t help but chuckle.  “You have that list of books you want.”

He was referring to the ongoing list she was curating of all the books she wanted to read and have in her life.  Of course, it was constantly changing based on all the new releases.  “Yeah…”

“Indigo is a bookstore, Briony.  And if you don’t find them here we’ll drive up to Bay and Bloor and get them there.  And if not there, we’ll call Yorkdale, Square One…”

She was finally piecing the puzzle together.  “You…you want…” she began, doubt somehow still getting the best of her.  She took a step forward, but then a step back; her right leg outstretched, waiting to take its step, her body shifting between her two feet, rocking forward and back while standing.  She couldn’t move.  “You’re…you’re serious?”

“Of course I’m serious,” he said.  “C’mon Bumbleblee.  I know you’ve always wanted to build your collection.”

He watched as a smile crept its way onto her face.  Small at first, almost non-existent, then getting bigger and bigger, eventually taking over her entire face.  “I don’t…you’re absolutely sure, Morgan.”

Morgan rolled his eyes.  “Did you really think your birthday present wouldn’t involve books?” he asked rhetorically.  “I am positive.  Now go.”

***

The day had been everything that Bee could have ever wanted.  

She bought most of the books on her list.  Morgan followed her around, holding the books and putting them into a rolling basket and wheeling it to the front cash registers, telling the employees “We’re going to need more baskets”, then filling up more baskets with books and asking another employee “Are there any more baskets?” and filling those too.  By the end of it, after the books had all been bought and were loaded, bag by bag, into Morgan’s car, she looked at all the bags overflowing and said “We’re gonna need more bookcases.”

It took most of the day.  So when they got back home, they showered for their night festivities.  Except, well, Morgan had other ideas.  He wanted to use the showerhead for other purposes.  And he did.  And he also wanted to use his hands for other purposes.  And he did.  And it made them a little late for dinner at Jacobs and Co, the famous steakhouse, but by only 20 minutes or so.  Then after some great steak, and some even better wine, they stumbled their way over to Early Mercy, right next door, where Angie and Mason, Josh and his boyfriend Patrick, Zach and Alannah, Auston, and Fred were waiting to surprise her and dance the night away.  Tyler even surprised her with his attendance, and she practically pushed Auston out of the way to run to him and hug him, pulling him to dance with everyone else.  And they did.  They danced and they danced and they danced, and then they relaxed out on the patio, and then they danced again, and then it was last call, and Auston tried to convince the manager to keep it open, but to no avail.  And so they called Ubers, at 2:30 in the morning, and Tyler went to stay with Auston and took an UberPool with him and Fred, and Morgan and Bee took theirs, making out in the backseat all the way home.

It was why they were giggly when they stumbled back into their apartment.  Their kisses were playful and soft and quick and airy as they made their way in, but the second the door closed behind them, Morgan’s kisses became hungrier, his hands wandering down to squeeze her ass.  

“I love you so God damn much,” Bee mumbled in between sloppy kisses in their kitchen.

“Bedroom,” Morgan mumbled hastily.  “Bedroom.  One more surprise.  Bedroom.”

“What?” she pulled away from him.  “One more?”

“One more,” he said, grabbing her hand and dragging her through the apartment.  He kissed her one last time before disappearing into the washroom, leaving her alone on the bed, hot and desperate and confused as to what the fuck was going on.  

“Morgan,” she begged.  “I…what…what do I do?”

“Just wait there,” he called out from the other side of the door.

“Just wait?!”

“Make yourself comfortable!”

“Morgan!” she chastised.  “You can’t be serious!”

“Briony!”

“I don’t know what you’re up to in there but it better be good!”

“Oh, it’s gonna be spectacular,” his voice was mischievous.  “Get comfortable.”

“Can I start touching myself?” Bee asked in an equally mischievous voice.

She heard a loud thump and something drop dramatically from inside the bathroom, causing her to snort.  God knows what the fuck he was doing in there.  “No,” he said hastily.  “Don’t.  This is gonna be all me.”

Bee waited as patiently as she could, listening to Morgan fuss around in there without a clue in the world as to what he was doing and what surprise he was keeping up his sleeve.  It was, of course, only when he unlocked the door and pushed it open dramatically did Bee get an idea about what was going to happen.  Standing there, he leaned up against the doorframe wearing a perfectly tailored suit.  Perfectly tailored.  Slim fit, just how she liked.  Crisp white shirt.  Perfectly tailored.  Navy blue.  Did she mention perfectly tailored?  Because it was perfectly tailored.  And when he began sauntering towards her, she could see just how perfectly tailored it really was, with his thighs and his broad, defined chest and his arms threatening to rip the fabric if he flexed even slightly.  Bee gulped.

“A promise is a promise,” Morgan said in a low voice, a shit-eating smirk on his face as he saw the blush on Bee’s cheeks.  “I promised I’d wear something tonight that showed off my body.”

Bee shook her head at his ridiculousness before she noticed him starting to take out his phone.  “If you start playing Pony by Ginuwine I swear to God I’m not letting you fuck me tonight,” she giggled out.

Morgan shot her a look.  “HEY!”

“Just get over here, will you?” she beckoned; rising to her knees from her sitting position so she could kiss him.  Almost immediately, she stuck her tongue down his throat and tugged at the hair at the nape of his neck, causing him to groan and wrap his arms around her body, still covered in her glittering gold sequined dress she bought especially for her birthday.  

Morgan’s hands slipped underneath the fabric, playing with the material of her underwear before he helped her get out of them, dropping them in between them onto the floor.  Bee’s hands began wandering all over his chest, over the material of his shirt, not bothering to unbutton it.  Eventually, Morgan’s hand slipped underneath her dress again and began playing with the lips of her pussy, causing her to whimper in pleasure.  

“You’re already so wet for me,” he mumbled as he inserted one finger.  

“It’s the suit,” she winked, biting down on his bottom lip as she felt him insert a second finger.  “You have no idea how good you look.”

“Lie down on your back and spread your legs for me,” he ordered, his voice low.

There was a flash in Bee’s eyes as Morgan watched her do what she was told.  She kept her eyes on him the entire time as she lay on the edge of the bed.  Morgan hooked her legs in his arms and pulled her towards the edge, letting them dangle off the bed.  He pushed the fabric of her dress up before kneeling in front of her, licking his lips.  “I’ve been thinking about this all day,” he said.

“It’s all yours, Mr. Rielly,” she smiled, watching as he dove in.  No pretence, no teasing – just going right for it, his lips and tongue attaching themselves to her pussy, bringing Bee – as always – the greatest pleasure she’d ever known.  She ran her fingers through his hair and tugged on it as he continued to lap at her hungrily, squeezing his head between her thighs when the feeling was too pleasurable to handle.

“Baby…baby baby baby,” Bee breathed out as she felt him insert two fingers while he sucked on her clit.  “Fuck, Morgan, it’s so – it’s so good.”

“Cum on my face,” he ordered again, knowing she was close.  He began curling his fingers inside of her, causing her to squirm, and before long, she was screaming out his name, his face becoming wet with her juices as he lapped up every last bit of her.  When he was finished, he began smothering her with kisses, and she could taste herself on his mouth as she kissed him back, wrapping her legs around his torso.  He began unbuttoning the white shirt he was wearing, but didn’t get too far before Bee stopped him.  

“Keep it on.  Keep it on,” she mumbled quickly.

His stopped dead in his tracks.  “Keep it on?”

“For fuck sakes, keep it on,” her breathing was heavy, her voice hasty.  “Keep it on and fuck me.”

He practically growled as he picked her up, her legs still wrapped around him, and held her in his arms.  When he placed her onto their dresser, he felt her hands dip between them and unzip his pants, pulling them and his underwear down just enough to free his hard cock.  She began stroking it as he moved to kiss down her neck, pushing the fabric of her dress down to expose her breasts in their lace bra.  He pushed the lace down and began pinching her nipples, eventually taking one into his mouth and sucking, twirling his tongue around it.

“Morgan, please,” her breath was heavy.  “I want you to fuck me so bad.  I can’t wait anymore.”

Morgan pulled her off the dresser, turning her around so her back was towards him, bending her over it.  He could see her smile as he pushed up the fabric of her dress again so it bunched at her hips.  He teased her at her entrance before thrusting into her in one go, causing her to cry out in pleasure.  The smile that played on her lips continued as he moved in and out of her.  “Fuck Morgan, that feels so good.”

“You like it when I bend you over like this?” he asked, to which Bee nodded her head enthusiastically.  “You like me taking you from behind.”

“Yes.”

“Are you gonna be a good girl for your birthday?”

“Yes, fuck, yes.  Yes.  I’m gonna be your best girl.”

He tugged at her hair, making her arch her back as he pulled her towards him.  He kissed and bit at her neck and shoulder, slipping an arm around her body and grabbing one of her breasts.  “I love you, baby,” he cooed, biting at her neck.  “I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” she breathed out.  “God Morgan, I love you so much.”

“Did you like your birthday?”

She nodded her head.  She was finding it hard to keep a conversation while her back was arched the way it was and he was still pounding into her, with his fucking suit on, but this was the situation she found herself in.  “Of course I did.  This was my best birthday ever because of you.”

He began walking back, slow enough so he wouldn’t slip out, until he fell back onto the bed, Bee’s body with his.  She began riding him reverse cowgirl, looking over her shoulder at him lying there, still in his suit, all dishevelled and ready to be ripped off of him.  “Cum with me baby.  Are you close?”

Morgan nodded his head.  “Bounce on that dick, baby.”

She continued riding him, squeezing his thighs over the fabric of his suit, until she squeezed her walls around him and felt him explode inside of her.  She came again, her body shaking from pleasure until she fell back onto him trying to catch her breath.  She felt his arms wrap around her.  “Fuck Mo, that was so fucking hot,” she breathed out.  

He took a few moments to respond – she knew he was trying to catch his breath too.  “Never knew this was the possibility whenever I wore a suit,” he joked.

“Well now you know.  Every suit you have makes me feel like this.”

“You’re telling me every game day suit I have makes you this hot and bothered?” he asked.  Bee nodded her head.  “We gotta do this more often.”

Bee couldn’t help but laugh.  “Show up in the bedroom with a suit on more often and we just might.”

Morgan slipped out of her slowly, pulling her body to his side, hooking one of her legs over his torso as they lay in bed together, their clothes wrinkled and bunched up.  “Do you think about how around this time last year, we were at dbar with Fred and Auston?”

Bee nodded her head.  “A lot has happened since then, huh?”

“Mhm,” he mumbled, kissing her quickly.  “What a year it’s been.”

“Still in bed together though,” she said cheekily, thinking about how, just maybe a week before that night at dbar, it was their first time together after Morgan had returned from Vancouver.  “Some things never change.”

“Yeah, well, I plan to be in bed together all night,” Morgan said.  

“Me too,” Bee’s eyes flashed.  “Again.  And again.  I want to go all night.”

Morgan let out a deep chuckle.  “Don’t worry baby.  I got you,” he said, slipping his fingers into her pussy again.

[extasiswings]

Rec Tag!

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) & link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2019. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want so we can spread the love & link each other to awesome works!

I was tagged by the wonderful @koortega! Thanks, doll!

2019 was a massive whirlwind of a year for me, involving, among other things, finishing a second postgraduate degree, being shoved out into the world to find a job in my field, spending the last free summer of my life alternating between studying about 8-10 hours a day for a hellish licensing exam and wanting to completely lose it over the aforementioned studying for 8-10 hours a day, somehow managing to actually GET a fantastic job in my field, passing said hellish licensing exam, and more.  In light of all that, it also involved writing way more fic than it probably should have, especially over the summer, but!  That just means more to choose from.  So, here we go!

1.  two better hemispheres (Lord Peter Wimsey - Dorothy L. Sayers).

I started reading the Wimsey books on the recommendation of @oldshrewsburyian and became instantly enamored with DLS and Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane.  These two are a joy to read and a pleasure to write, even as I find that they are both far smarter than I myself am.  I wrote the above as a post-script to Gaudy Night after I stayed up all night finishing it, and I like to think it is not too bad in the grand scheme of things. 

2. (baby) don’t make me spell it out (Red, White & Royal Blue).

If you look to your left, folks, you will see a prime example of “if you give me lovely canon queer ships, I will probably go absolutely feral and fall in love” aka “I read RW&RB, immediately re-read it, and then wrote 6 fics in the span of about 2 weeks in the middle of exam prep because Reasons.”  This was the first one of the six, because @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels wanted a FirstPrince proposal fic and I am soft and love these boys a whole lot. 

3. we couldn’t bring the columns down (Timeless)

This one is funny because it is technically backstory fic for fic, specifically Asher/Maria backstory for @qqueenofhades‘ impeccable All Souls AU.  It also has the distinction of falling into the category of “I really did not need to be writing several thousand words of fic two weeks before the most important exam of my life, but they would not shut up and I went a little feral.” This is definitely one that only 3 people and a cat bothered to read, but I don’t mind that so much since originally I wasn’t planning on posting it anyway.  That said, I’m very pleased with it and think it’s great.

4.  the lost myth of true love (Timeless)

Oh, look, another one for 5 people and a cat.  I wanted to write a canon-verse Asher/Maria backstory fic because while I stand by my earlier interpretations of their relationship I was also tired of that and wanted something soft and lovely and feelsy for them.  Plus I wanted to do more of a Maria character study, so, two birds, etc.  But!  Backstory!  Romance!  Healing from tragedy!  I love this one.

5. whispers like poetry (Timeless)

I would be remiss if I didn’t include this one.  Technically, it was started on Christmas of 2018, but we did write most of it in 2019 so shhh, it counts.  What is there to say about this, really?  I had a blast writing it, all the Lucy/Flynn feelings, all the angst, and yes, the smut as well.  And it was a really wonderful experience getting to write with my favorite partner in crime @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels.  I still laugh every time I look at the main fic tag (“There’s a lot of sex in here considering nobody is talking about feelings”) and would also propose an additional clarifying statement of “There are a lot of feelings here, if only SOME PEOPLE would be brave enough to talk about them.” 

Tagging @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels @qqueenofhades @mearcatsreturns @somekindofflowergirl