#sister did not in fact have one. so we took the house apart again. still not here. friday i went out and bought the fabric and fur to Make

[i-am-become-a-name]

What's your interpretation of the weird/annoyed look Five gets on his face when Tegan announces that she wants to rejoin the TARDIS at the end of Arc of Infinity? I know it was probably meant to be played for laughs, but it annoys me every time i watch that episode and i'm curious what headcanons people have about it.

My favourite thing I've read about it pointed out that the cybermen specifically used Tegan as a weakness against five, that she's what it took to manipulate him (and through no fault of either of them, Adric's death was part of those consequences.) The novelisation really goes in to the descriptions of the doctor transfixed with the blood running down Tegan's chin from her bitten lip, the building tension as the cybermen get closer and closer to killing her and he's shaking trying to hold himself back from admitting his hearts are so easy to twist, just by threatening his friends. (Does Nyssa ever leave the TARDIS when it's on the spaceship? The cybermen don't even know she exists til they come onboard do they?)

As for why he looks so annoyed? hmmm. Does anyone want someone around that constantly needles them? Really, I think pre Arc of Infinity that even though Tegan had chosen to stay, they still had that power imbalance or even just tension between them that she had not come on board willingly. So five is expecting that to be the continuing, I don't know, continuing manner between them and it hadn't been good. It had its moments (mainly in the audios) but as an arrangement it was not ideal as friends to explore the universe together, all that terrible beauty and awesome monsters.

But it doesn't continue on in that manner - oh they bicker and make faces at each other, sure, but Tegan's conscious decision to step back onto the TARDIS irons out those imbalances, removes that bitterness and the past of her aunt's death. So when he makes that wee face, it's in expectation of the previous status quo. And never let it be said that Tegan's one to do exactly what's expected of her.

Anyway I really hope this makes sense and I may add some more thoughts later but it's 1:50 am Christmas Eve and I couldn't sleep for thinking about this.

----

It's 2am I'm back. I feel like there's also this uneasiness in five about tegan, that mirror that no one likes being held up to themselves. Their similarities but the starkly different ways they express them must be exhausting to five. and here she is back again. To push and prod and challenge and be brashly beautifully glorious. wait. that last bit was the two am shipper coming out. Anyway they draw strength and resolve and anger from each other and Tegan was vital to five, from his first moments till his very last.

[frmisnow]

✧˖ ?! — I'M A GOD AWFUL GUILTY FOOL FOR YOU. - (ANGST / SUGGESTIVE)

— ‧₊˚ — 🌼: " why do you torture me like this ??"

summary. your sisters arranged husband being your long lived past fuck buddy was def. not on your bingo card- neither was him showing up at your apartment entrance every once in a while, begging to let him talk to you

notes. FOR THE CHEOL GIRLIES!!!!! and first slightly angsty work...what do we think??

warnings/includes. non idol! seungcheol x f! reader, forbbiden love kindaaa?? + fuck buddies if you squint, making out

"please leave" you shake your head, avoiding his eyes and body standing at the entrance of your apartment- no, you couldn't dare look into the eyes of the man your sister would soon marry- her fiance. granted, arranged marriage- yet nonetheless.

you look him in the eyes just once, "please leave" you repeated weakly once more, as if he didn't hear you first time.

he takes a step forward, the scent of his oh so familar cologne tickling the nerves in your nose, expression softening, "I can't," he murmured, his voice barely audible, "not without speaking to you first-"

"You have spoken to me enough and you know just how it always ends" you respond, gaze still avoiding his as you could hear him let out a little sigh like he was exhausted,  "then I will talk and you can ignore me" that tone practically pleading.

finally looking up to him, eyes begging "why do you always have to make it hard for me?"

"I could ask you the same"

truly you didn't knew how to respond, it was an endless cycle, one you falters comes to the others house in the middle of the night, you both fuck so roughly that you both can't forget about it though you know it's a mistake and the cycle repeats.

so you keep your mouth shut, walking away from the entrance door to your kitchen as he follows you like a dog and you pour yourself a scotch, though you never usually used to drink.

he stood against the kitchen counter, observing you, his eyes trailing to you as you poured the liquid into the glass, he watched without judgement while you took a longgg sip.

this cycle had gone on for months fuck maybe years now. you can't remember, you can't keep track all you know is that each time it happens- it's like something primal takes over. your anger and guilt are stripped away and you crave him so bad that nothing matters.

you shook your head to forget about all the memories, all the nights - silently pouring scotch into a second glass, again without any eye contact swiping it over the desk to him.

cheol took it instantly like he could def. take some alcohol rn and took a sip, it tasted as good as always, he always liked the specific scotch you always had in the kitchen. "it's my favorite, you know that right?"

"i know" your voice almost uncounciously empathized the 'i' which stung considering that his fiance probably didn't.

his grip tightened around the glass, he didn't want to admit it but your voice almost made him want to drop the glass onto the ground. he sighed, staring at the scotch, "why do you torture me like this?"

"fuck," you mutter under your breath, covering your face with your hands, rubbing over it shortly like trying to wash it till your eyes finally meet his and your tone becomes louder in frustration: "better question: why do you always show up? why are you always there in the right moment at the right time to find a weak unstable me? damn it, why do you always have to look like that?"

and though cheol was pleading with his eyes earlier for you to look at him now that you finally did- he looked away, shame painted his features and you hated the fact that your heart grew tighter.

for a moment he couldn't form a word or respond in any way, guilt hitting him as his silence stretched out. he closed his eyes, the truth of your question hitting him hard. "I'm a fool" he said simply after a moment

and you hated the fact that you wanted to hug him till you couldn't breathe, you hated the fact that you wanted to bury your face in the crotch of his neck, you hated the fact that you wanted to kiss him till your lips were numb.

he swallowed hard and opened his eyes, looking at you again, but only for a second before looking away once more. it was clear he couldn't hold eye contact without thinking of all the times you've done this, the guilt now growing stronger, "I'll leave" he said simply, almost monotone.

you felt like you struggled to breathe, sighing strongly, this is what had to be done- this is what you wanted but no- this was not at all what you wanted. And watching him go, would be even more painful then waking up next to him in his bed, but again you couldn't say no as this is what you've been practically begging him to do for the past seven minutes.

he stepped away from the counter, ready to make his leave. he didn't dare look at you again, he couldn't. but as he walked toward the front door your voice stopped him at the last moment. "cheol...wait" your voice was soft, barerly audible.

you couldn't help the way you leaned forward arms instantly wrapped around his buff body, the way your face burried in his chest.

holding you like that for quite a while, pulling back ever so slightly, only to have you wrap your arms around his neck. he smiled down at you as his hands gripped your cheeks, "I don't understand you" he muttered in-between kisses. "you're so unpredictable, I try so hard not to show up, and yet you still pull me back in".

"If you weren't here in-" broken of by a messy kiss, "the time i wouldn't even have- fuck" again broken off by his greedy lips.

his kisses were messy, sloppy even- he kissed you the same way you could imagine a starving person drinking water after a day long hike. he was so desperate, a deep hunger behind each kiss. after every kiss he leaned his head back away from yours as he took a breath, his hands traveling up your back, your body tightly pressing into his, "please don't stop" he muttered between panting.

"please never leav-" practically groaning as you're cut of once more

"say it again" he muttered hoarsely, as if the words would turn him to dust if you didn't repeat them again.

"never leave," you added, "never leave again"

[thebadboyfanclub]

Do You Love Me? (Aemond x Aegon x Reader)

I know I said I would change a few things but I changed a fair amount so I really do hope this is worth it

There were a lot of mistakes Alicent has made in the past, countless one might say, the biggest one was unleashing a lion from its cage, a lioness at that.

“Let it be known that (y/n) of house Lannister and Aegon of house Targaryen are one heart, one flesh, one soul, cursed be to those who would seek to tear the apart”

As the cloak went over her shoulders (y/n) had ensured her future, the realms lioness had stepped foot in the red keep and she already had her eyes set on the throne, circling around it like a predator would do on its prey.

-

Aegon was a delight, a man that is easily satisfied and with a taste for all the things that brought pleasure to him, (y/n) did not mind it one bit in fact it made their wedlock feel like a breeze, as well as it ensured their image of a perfect match to the eyes of the small court and the whole of 7 kingdoms, the doting wife and the passionate husband that could not get enough of each other.

Aegon was a dragon still he did not posses the fire of a Targaryen, there was no craving for something bigger, he was born into a world that fed him with a silver spoon he has gotten comfortable and did not consider of anything bigger than what he already had, on the other hand Aemond lurked in the shadows waiting patiently for his moment, (y/n) saw an opportunity in the one eyed prince, an equal player that could assist her in winning.

“Am I interrupting?”

“Princess (y/n), no not at all”

Aemond would occupy the library for most of his day, he was a man that worked with a routine, break his fast, sword practise, flying with Vhagar, read at the library, have supper, fly with Vhagar again or spend time with his mother and sister before he excused himself to rest in his chamber.

(Y/n) waltzed in with her eyes scanning the prince that had gone back into focusing on his book, (y/n) sat on the chair directly in front of him, crossing her legs slowly, it was subtle however (y/n) picked up on Aemonds little glance at her leg that barely escaped from her dress.

“May I ask what is the prince reading?”

“The adventures of princess Nymeria”

“The dornish warrior? Interesting choice for a Targaryen”

“We have to give credit when credit is due, she established herself and her name lives on”

“Is that something you aspire to achieve?”

“Of course, I assume you share that ambition”

“How so?”

“I might be a noble man but I am not dim witted princess, you want something from me”

Silence took over the room with the only sound reaching their ears being the cracks of the wood that burned in the fireplace.

A small smirk appeared at Aemonds lips as he finally lifted his eyes to meet (y/n)s hues, she could not tell if it was the flames that licked his astonishing lavender eye or the sparkle of the challenge that made her heart skip a beat. (Y/n) leaned in to rest her chest against her hands that had intertwined in her lap all while biting her bottom lip.

“Mayhaps, I am a fair person prince Aemond it would not be without a reward”

“And what would that be?”

“Everything”

“Does my brother know you are here?”

“No”

“Excellent”

-

To have a Targaryen prince as a husband was a blessing, to have a Targaryen prince as a lover and a confidant was heavenly, (y/n) moved the pawns in her chessboard as she saw fit while Aemond did her dirty work.

“My dear husband, this is an important day for you why are you frowning?”

“My father never wanted this, he never wished for me to be king, for twenty years he upheld Rhaenyras claim”

“He told your mother-“

“Do you truly believe that king Viserys decided to name his heir while on his deathbed? He never liked me (y/n)”

(Y/n) could comprehend why was Aegon acting like this while they were on the carriage, she had witnessed first hand the dismissive behaviour of king Viserys when it came to Aegon and his siblings, the only time she saw the king smile was when she gave birth to their first born Vaegor, she recalled how the frail old man held the babe for the first time as a grin appeared on his deformed face that half of it was concealed by a golden mask.

“A lovely prince, savour this moment Aegon, before you even know it your son will grow taller than you and leave you wondering where did the time go”

Aegons face lit up at the light joke his father had said, (y/n) smiled as well but not to Aegon nor the king, she grinned while for the lightest moment she glimpses to Aemond, the prince stood to the back allowing the others their moment with the new born babe.

The timeline was quite blurry yet (y/n) was certain she had bared Aemonds son, a cold night at the dragon pit that (y/n) had gone to search for Aemond after an argument that had disturbed their affair, Vaegor was the result of that night.

(Y/n) pursed her lips before she rose from her seat to move and get comfortable on her husbands lap, as the carriage was in motion Aegon stretched his hands to help her take a seat, she had given birth to their 3 child not too long ago yet she manage to fit the gown he had gifted her at their wedding day.

“It does not matter what he thought, your father is dead and now you will inherit what you deserve, in a few moments this beautiful head will have a crown and the truth will be what you make it”

“Do you love me?”

(Y/n) did not respond instantly like she usually does, Aegon was casted aside by his family from a very young age even though they held him to a standard that was extremely toxic, to fight against his own sister. (Y/n) leaned closer to his ear slowly as her arm that was wrapped around his shoulders went up to his hair to caress his silver locks.

“Till the end of my days, remember?”

(Y/n) did not lie to him, she loved Aegon he had been good and gentle with her, that being said Aegon was not meant to be king, he would rather spend his days guzzling wine and dancing to music or bedding his wife than attend small council meetings, start a war with Rhaenyra or go fight in a battle.

No that was (y/n)s wish, actually it was everyone else’s wish but his. When the war began that remained in history as “the dance of dragons” after Aegon was crowned (y/n) could finally reveal the person behind the doll like mask, a vicious beast that stopped at nothing, she was the whisper in Aegons and Aemonds ear, moving them like muppets to do whatever she advised them to do so. Rhaenyra got the nickname “Maegor with tits”, Aegon was called “Aegon the usurper” and Aemond was “the kinslayer”, what a tragic day that was when Aemond came back he immediately summoned (y/n)

“What did you do?”

“(Y/n) I swear I did not mean for it to happen, I lost control of Vhagar”

“Vhagar is a war dragon that invaded Dorne it was only natural for her to go for the kill yet you still wanted to torment Lucerys you are a fool”

She was furious, one thing (y/n) counted on was Aemonds restrain, his grudge against the strong boys ran deeper and now he had exposed them to bloodshed.

“We take my children-“

“Our children”

“My children! I almost died for them”

“And I killed for them”

“You killed that boy for yourself do not blame my sons and daughter for your mishaps”

Aemond and Aegon separately thought all three children were from them, (y/n) being the woman that carried them would say it was more complicated than that, her two boy Vaegor and Aelor were Aemonds, her daughter Daenera was Aegons.

Aemond loved all three of the children, he feared for their life the most when the war started and now he was shaking at the idea that he would be responsible for putting them in danger. He could see (y/n)s eyes go from one side to the other with quick speed as she raced in her mind to find a way to fix this.

“You will take Vaegor and Aelor to Essos, Aegon will take Daenera to Dorne, the Martells will not disagree at giving shelter to a babe”

-

The war had taken countless lives, only a handful of the Targaryen line survived, Aegon was severely wounded and in excruciating pain on a daily bases, (y/n) felt her heart ache at the side of his once handsome face suffer the fate of his father, deformed and frail.

“Will there be pain?”

“No my love, I made sure of it”

(Y/n) assured him as she carefully placed her arms around him so Aegon can sit up, it was a few hours past supper and the only light was coming front their candles.

Aegon faintly smiled before he hissed from the pain striking him with any type of movement, as he settled (y/n) reached over for the goblet that sat on the stand next to their shared bed and passed it to Aegon.

“I believe it is the first time that I give you wine and you hesitate to down it”

“At least I’ll leave doing one of my favourite things”

“One?”

“Yes, the other is playing with our children, please (y/n) I beg you, tell them I died in battle, tell them their father sacrificed his life protecting them”

“I will, do not dwell over that I will make sure they know how much you loved them”

“Good, good… well, I raise my cup to the new king, Aemond the one eyed prince”

(Y/n) held Aegon until he let his last breath, dying peacefully and being free from the pain and worry. Tears streaming down her eyes as she could not help but feel responsible, “Aegon never wanted this” she kept repeating before she wiped her tears and pulled herself together.

As the first rays of sunlight started to appear (y/n) walked out of her chamber and went over to Aemonds, she did not bother with knocking the prince would already be up by now especially at a day like this.

“Is it done sweetling?”

“Yes, the throne is yours”

Aemond rushed to hug the queen as she responded with her arms wide open as well, she had achieved what she wanted, Aemond inheriting the throne and her kids being next in line, she was queen and then she would be queen mother, still the tittle “dowager queen” fell heavy in her heart.

“We have duties to attend to, first things first I will ride to Essos for our boys and then to Dorne for our princess, the war is over it is time for our kids to come back”

“You are king now Aemond, you are in need of a wife”

Aemond broke off his rumble at (y/n)s proclaim, her misty eyes confused him even further, they had sacrificed everything for this why was she crying? Aemond let his hands rest on her biceps as he struggled to find the reason behind her meek demeanour.

“You are afraid, I’ve never seen you afraid”

“Aegon is dead, I am the dowager queen, you sit on the iron throne now and I am… what am I Aemond?”

The realm would not allow a king without a queen, when the announcement of Aegons passing will happen and his wish for Aemond to succeed him until Vaegor comes off age the small court will push for Aemond to be wed, uncertainty sunk in her veins and froze her blood at the idea of doing all of this for nothing.

Aemond lifted her chin with his finger moving his hand to not rest there but to go up and brush her cheek lightly as a sign of affection, Aemond adored (y/n), he loved her more than she ever would, she would never admit it yet to Aemond it was obvious that he was second best in her heart, Aegon had been her husband, she did not grace his life until after Aegon had already gotten a bite, a prince of the Targaryen like could have any princess or lady he wanted, the Gods were humorous to torment him with falling for a woman that loved him but did not love him enough.

“I am king until our son comes off age, Aegons wish is for me to succeed him, I will wed you when the moon turns and call it an act of kindness to the Lannister clan for your houses loyalty and to ensure the future of the late kings successor, I would never leave you in the dust dearest”

“We show mercy to Rhaenyras children, we will send for them and keep them in the red keep, the sea snake will decide who will be his successor my guess is Baela”

“I offer you a wedlock and your reaction is to discuss the inheritance of driftmark, is that how little you think of me?”

Her shoulders sunk at the bitter question, she sympathised with him to an extend of course, his jaw tightened when (y/n) pulled away to march at the window of his chamber, it truly seemed like (y/n) genuinely turned her back to him.

Aemond could detect her shoulders move from taking a deep breath, (y/n) faced him once again when she regained her composure her eyes were cold and her lips pursed together tightly.

“I have given you everything, I am called kinslayer and cruel on the streets, I did everything you asked me to”

“And I sacrificed everything, trust me Aemond I know the blood is on my hands, at least I own up to my crimes, you can scurry away and blame me we both know I did not force you to do anything, you wanted the throne for yourself, you used me and I used you”

(Y/n) held strong feelings for Aemond, they had shared such intimate moments and their ambition for greatness was the key to their affair, he was a good man and would be a great ruler, as the time went by she would have to be blind to not pick up on the hatred his eyes held when she walked with Aegon or when he was forced to watch Aegon play with his sons and call him father, his days were filled with agony, he loved his brother but he always got what Aemond thought he should own, his lover, his children, his throne, the bitter taste of being the second best no matter how hard he worked shattered him.

“We are bound for life Aemond, it is pointless to point fingers”

“I love you (y/n), I killed for you”

“You killed for your own ambition”

“I did it for you! For our love! For our children that will never call me father! I am not pointing fingers I am pleading the mother of my children to tell me she loves me, so… do you love me?”

Requests are open!

[luvhughes43]

The Boy Trap | Luke Hughes x reader

request: Heyy i really loved your luke fic could i maybe request an imagine where the reader and Luke are dating but she has a twin sister and everyone can’t tell them apart except Luke? 🥺

word count: 0.5k

the boy trap masterlist🌷

It was a friday night, meaning that there was a house party that everyone was going to. Unfortunately though, you had an essay due tonight that you had left to do till the last minute… so you promised your boyfriend Luke, your twin sister Hallie, and your friends that you would just meet them at the party after you submitted your assignment. 

Luke hated going to parties without you. He always felt awkward and he hated standing around watching his friends play beer pong or whatever drinking game they’d drag him into. suffice to say, the boys were on the lookout for when you would arrive at the party so their boy would stop looking so gloomy. 

they didn’t have to wait long however, as they saw a familiar figure walking through the living room. “yo Luke your girls here”, Duke's voice cut through the loud music. Luke lifted his head up from his phone and his small smile was quickly replaced with a frown. “That's not y/n'' he replied, looking back down at his phone.

“literally what are you talking about? i swear that’s-"

“no that’s Hallie” Luke spoke up as he continued to scroll on his phone. 

“Hey guys!” Hallie greeted the boys as she walked up to their group, “is y/n here yet?” Duke frowned. “Why do you guys look so glum?” Hallie questioned the boys as she took a seat near Luke. 

“I thought you were y/n. it’s literally impossible to tell you guys apart” Duke joined the rest of the group on the couch, sitting next to Hallie. 

“you guys should get your foreheads tattooed with your names or something,” Ethan joked. 

“I can't believe Luke's the only one of yous that can tell us apart” Hallie said exasperated. She and y/n had known the guys ever since y/n and Luke started dating. Their relationship was about to reach the 1 year milestone and the fact that their friends still couldn't tell them apart... was a little annoying.

“You guys don’t even look alike” Luke said and all the others boys groaned. 

“they look the exact same Luke! there’s no way you can tell the difference” Duke started up again. 

“I literally just told them apart?” 

“Lukey! Hallie, guysss what’s up? what did i miss!” you said as you made your way into the living and sitting on Luke’s lap. he wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you in close. “Finally you’re here! next time you’re procrastinating on an assignment i’ll help you” Luke told you as he buried his head in the crook of your neck. 

you smiled, “so.. what were you guys talking about?” 

“the boys were just talking about how they can’t tell us apart” your twin Hallie replied. 

the boys started getting into a heated debate on how you and hallie looked so similar, and how it was impossible to tell you two apart. 

y/nuser

Liked by lhughes_06, edwards.73, and others

y/nuser: hallie and i🤞💗

load more comments

edwards.73: lhughes_06 which ones y/n quickly!

lhughes_06: why do u guys keep trying to test me i know who my gf is😭

mackie.samo: lukey we’re only asking because we don’t know who’s who

lhughes_06: it’s literally so obvious…

edwards.73: and yet you haven’t answered the question…

bestiegirl: hottest sisters ever

hallie04: loml what’s up😎

lhughes_06: look at my beautiful gf on the right, and on the left❤️

y/nuser: love you😭🤞

hallie04: when he can tell u and your twin apart🤩

y/nuser: only boy to ever do it🤞

[creedslove]

omfg we need dave confessing feelings in a fight with reader and then its sex omgg and then theyre just in bed cuddling talking about their love and maybe future??

Dave York x f!reader

A/N: omg bestie, I love Dave York 😍

• Dave was usually an impatient person towards everyone, except you

• you were his baby girl and for that man to lose his patient with you, you would have to infuriate him

• which you did, when you gave some guy at a bar your number

• but in fact, you didn't do that, your sister did it. You two were out for a girls' night when a guy approached you and even if you had showed him absolutely no interest, the moment you walked to the bar, she gave him your number

• you told your boyfriend it was just a silly joke, but you two knew damn well it wasn't: your sister didn't like Dave at all and had always been against your relationship with him

• she didn't exactly why she didn't like him, perhaps it was the fact he was divorced, a little older than you and he had a job he was always so mysterious about, even if she didn't know the whole truth, she already disliked him

• and Dave wasn't a big fan of hers either, because no matter how much he reminded himself he needed to respect your relationship with your sister and be patient, she was always coming up with shit like that to keep the two of you apart

• and even if you had explained Dave what happened at the bar, he was still angry, pissed and trying really hard to hold himself back and not yell at you

• you knew all about Dave's real job and you weren't scared of him at all, you knew he would never hurt you, but judging by his reaction, you were scared he would break up with you

"how many times do I have to tell you I'm sorry? Dave, she gave him my number without my permission! I told that guy I had a boyfriend!"

"and yet he was calling you, y/n! That's fucked up! Would you be okay with some random woman I met at a bar calling after me?"

"I wouldn't!!! But I would trust you because I know you would be telling me the truth if you said you didn't give her your number!!! I already blocked his number anyway, he's never calling me again, what else do I have to do so you believe me? Why are you so angry?"

"because I fucking love you, y/n! Is this a good enough reason? I love you, and no one thinks I'm good enough for you, not even your sister is capable of supporting us, she'd rather throw you into any guy's arms than let me have you!"

• and just like that he accidentally blurted out his feelings

• he wasn't one of hiding his feelings but at the same time he hadn't planned on admitting them in the middle of a fight

• but when your sad expression was replaced by a soft smile and you gently placed your hands on his cheeks and pecked his lips, confessing him you also loved him, all that anger he felt simply went away

• and he took you into his arms, kissing you and before the two of you realized, you were stripping each other naked and having sex

• but you also noticed it wasn't the usual sex you two had, there was more to it, not simply lust, instead, you two made love

• and once you were both resting in each other's arms, you played with Dave's hair while he kissed down your neck, still not wanting to let go of your body

"I knew I loved you for a long time..."

• he told you against your skin which made you smile

"I knew it too, I've loved you since we met, Dave, no matter what happens I'll still love you"

"I'm going to look for a house, a real nice one, with a garden, swimming pool, a lot of space... I'm tired of this apartment, it's too empty for me to live alone and yet, it's too small for you to move in with me, so with a house we can finally be comfortable and you'll leave your sister's place and she will stop interfering in our relationship"

"if you're asking me to move in with you, Dave, my answer is yes"

• Dave smiled and pecked your lips once more. He would find yourselves a nice house, have you move in with you and then he could finally ask you to marry him officially, this time he knew it was for real

____

[mrsfrecklesmarauders]

The Moment She knew

Lily still remembered that night with clarity. Lily remembered everything. The conversations, the laughs, the jokes, the shy touches. Their first kiss.

It had been magical. Lily remembered everything around her had a shade of pink. Lily's house had been wonderfully decorated. With lights and flowers of all colors.

Lily was wearing a dress. It was purple and it reached to her knees. And he looked absolutely handsome in that suit.

"I want to dance this song with you" Lily said.

Her boldness came with the glasses of wine she had been taking. Petunia and Vernon looked happy and in love. And wow. Even Vernon was smiling. Lily was so glad her sister had found love. The song was the most romantic tune, Lily had heard. Something about eternity. And Lily wanted to dance with the boy next to her. Just pretend a little she could have that romantic fantasy for a while.

Even if the boy in question was none other that James Potter.

James stopped chewing. He was finishing Lily's piece of cake because she couldn't have no more sugar. Nothing really. She was completely full.

"This particular song?" James asked after he swallowed.

"Yes sir..." Lily teased.

James smiled, looking at the dance floor. Only couples were dancing. It was that kind of slow dance song. The one you dance with that special someone.

"We've been dancing the whole night anyway"  Lily added, trying to hide her blush.

James looked at her amused.

"I would love to, Lils" Just for tonight they stopped calling each other by their surnames "But I don't know how"

"You had been dancing other songs"

"Not slow songs..." James giggled.

"You've never slow danced with a girl?"

James shook his head smiling.

"Have you?"

Lily chuckled.

"Not with a girl"

"With a boy?"

"Only with my dad" Lily sighed "He taught me all I need to know"

James looked at her in that particular way. The one that made Lily shiver.

She cleared her throat and stood up. She ignored she was kind of dizzy for the booze and extended her hand for him.

"Come on... I'll teach you"

"I really don't want to make an embarrassing scene in front of your family, Lils"

"Come on, you twat!"

Lily grabbed James' hand and dragged him to the dance floor. He didn't have time to protest. He didn't want to protest. He was smiling the whole time.

"Right... So..." Lily said, facing James "You have to grab my waist"

James' cheeks went pink. But he tried to hide that fact. James swallowed but stayed still.

Lily was losing patience so she grabbed James' hand again and put it on her waist. She was definitely drunk.

"Like this..." she said "I put mine on your shoulder... And we come a little closer..."

Lily took a step closer. She laughed because she was having so much fun watching James get redder and redder each time.

"Then we take a step to the side..." They did that "And to the other side..." They did that.

James was too nervous to move smoothly and he kept staring at his feet.

"And you have to look at me"

She made him face her.

"Hey..."

"Hey..."

They giggled a little as they swayed side to side. Lily was having the best time. When she was little and she danced with her dad, she imagined that dancing with a boy would be magical. But here with James, everything was easy and funny. It was better.

"Am I doing it correctly?"

"Apart from the fact you have two left feet?"

James gasped "Excuse me?"

Lily laughed.

"You're doing it okay..." Lily added "Now to spice it a little..."

Lily spinned herself around and landed grabbing both of James' hands.

"I can do that..."

James spinned her around this time. Lily let out a soft giggle.

"That's the one thing my mum taught me at parties... To spin her around" James explained "Now imagine seven year old me spinning a grown woman so much taller than me..."

Lily laughed imagining it.

James pulled her closer, grabbing her waist again.

"I like dancing with you"

They weren't only swaying. They were turning slowly.

Lily smiled in response.

They were silent after that, they were listening to the music. James pulled Lily closer, like the way Vernon was doing with Petunia.

Lily put her chin on James' shoulder. Just like Petunia was doing with Vernon. James smelled nicely. Lily liked his cologne. And it felt nice to be held by someone like that. Even though they were only friends. They weren't even friends. The relationship was complicated.

But they were miles away from Hogwarts. And no one from school was around. Lily could let herself go. She could have her sappy romantic dance. The one she always wanted.

"I asked my dad to teach me to dance, because I wanted to do it like every Disney Princess has done in every Disney Movie..." Lily said, she was still leaning on James' shoulder "Have you ever noticed that's how..."

"That's how what?" James asked.

"Princesses fall in love with their princes" Lily smiled "It is the most romantic scene in every Disney Princess Movie... Cinderella... Beauty and The Beast... Sleeping Beauty..."

Lily didn't see it. But she knew James was smiling. 

"I wanted that..."

"Be sure, Evans. I am the closest to a prince you will get"

Lily smiled at first. But then she noticed the mischievous smile her mother was giving her from the other side of the room. As if she was happy Lily finally had a boyfriend. But James was not her boyfriend... James was... Oh God! This was James Potter.

Lily pulled away. And hit James on the chest.

"You're more like a frog, Potter"

James chuckled. He spinned Lily around again. And pulled her closer.

"Until the princess kisses me" he whispered in her ear.

Lily snorted.

"Only in your dreams, Potter"

They dance a bit more as another song started. Since it was a bit more upbeat, they had fun making fun dance moves. James did his best impression by moving her around spinning her around the dance floor. Lily let herself be guided. Just like she did with her father.

It wasn't until James spinned her three times in a row that Lily got dizzy.

"Woow..." she steadied herself with James' chest.

James wrapped his warm arms around her. But Lily was fine. She was more than fine. She looked at James with a new light. Was Lily that drunk or James Potter was handsome as fuck? Look at those shinny eyes of his. His hair was wild buy sexy. And he looked so good in a suit, God dammit....

"Are you okay?"

"Too much wine"

Yeah... That was the explanation. She had had too much wine.

They were too close now. Lily was too intoxicated by this moment. The song talked about love and how beautiful the world was when you are in love. Lily wanted so badly to be in love.

When Lily leaned closer, James grabbed her chin. And he leaned closer as well. James closed his eyes first. And Lily did it as well mostly immediately.

Their lips touched slowly. Then they took a quick breath before kissing again. James kissed her slowly, taking his time to taste Lily's lips.

It felt warm and welcoming to kiss James. Not awkward at all, like had happened with other boys. Lily felt her chest burning. She was actually enjoying this.

They broke apart after a while. And they both couldn't believe what they just did. James' cheeks were red and he seemed in shock. Lily's cheeks felt red too.

Then they both smiled at the same time. They couldn't hide how happy they were. Lily bit her lip and James giggled a little.

Then James pinched his arm.

"Ouch!"

"What are you doing?"

James gasped "I'm not dreaming... That actually happened!" he exclaimed "I just kissed you.... I just kissed Lily Evans!"

The last part he screamed it outloud.

Lily laughed covering his mouth. Luckily no one heard them because the music and chatting were too loud.

"Shut up, James" Lily giggled. She was so happy. Oh my God.

James put Lily's hand away. James touched her cheek, looking at her like he couldn't believe she was real. Then he leaned slowly to kiss her again.

This time, Lily responded eagerly. She even wrapped his arms around his neck. She felt how he delicately placed his hands on her hips. Yeep this was heaven. Their second perfect kiss.

******

Now everything was ruined. Lily had been so stupid to fall for all of that. Why did she kiss him? Why did she started having feelings for him? James Potter had been only playing with her.

Severus was right. James Potter had only changed his stragety. All he wanted was prove his friends he could have the impossible. That he could have Lily, just like all the other girls. That was all Lily was for him. A little game.

But Lily was not going to show weakness. Not even if her heart had been broken into a million pieces.

Severus had had the brilliant idea of telling Potter it had been the other way around. That she had been the one playing in the first place. That she invited him to that wedding, dance with him and kissed him only to have a little fun. To see James' reaction when he found out it had only been a lie.

It hadn't been a lie. None of it. At least not for Lily.

James had been furious with her ever since he found out. He stopped talking to her entirely. Completely. Like that morning when he greeted Marlene and Mary with a smile. And then passed over her like she didn't exist.

Couldn't he see that that hurt like hell? That twat! Why did he do that? And why did Lily care so much?

"You know what, Potter? I am a human being! I exist! At least say hi to me!"

And Lily sounded like maniac yelling at James in the middle of the hall. She should be happy that James was finally leaving her alone. That he won't bother her saying: "Hey gorgeous" or flirting with her like an idiot. Lily could finally get rid of him. Then why did she feel so miserable?

James turned slowly. But he didn't look at her. He was looking at everything except her.

Lily came closer.

"Just leave him alone, Ginger"

"Shut up, Black!"

Lily turned to James, trying to find his gaze.

"It is not fair that you treat me like that! I mean what I did is not a big deal... Did I hurt your ego? You still got to kiss me! And brag to your friends about it!"

James frowned at those words. Like he couldn't believe what she was saying.

"Lily, that's not what..."

"Leave it, Remus" James spoke to him and only him "It is not worthy"

Lily felt a strong knot on her throat. She didn't know if it was sadness or pure rage.

"Maybe it was for the best, you know? I get to realize or rather remember the asshole that you are!" Lily hit his chest because she couldn't take it anymore "I can't believe I kissed you!"

She hit him several times.

"I can't believe I kissed you either" James spat without a trace of emotion.

Lily was taken aback.

"You know what, Evans?" James added "I am sick and tired of chasing after you, of expecting you to like me a tiny bit as much as I like you...." he shook his head "But you don't and you never will..."

Lily swallowed unsure of what to say next.

"And you are not even that pretty..."

Lily blinked away her tears.

"Sirius is right... There are prettier girls out there. And prettier than you... Girls that won't lose any chance to be with me"

"Go with those fucking girls if you want! I don't care!! I couldn't care less!!"

The fact that Lily was yelling, didn't make it believable that she didn't care.

"I am so sick and tired of you chasing me after just to feed your ego or something..."

"Don't worry... I am officially over you, Lily Evans"

James said it calmly. Like it was the most random thing to say. Like he meant it. And Lily didn't like that. She didn't like that idea.

"Enjoy your time with your precious Snivy friend" James added "You two are meant for each other..."

"Fine!!" Lily yelled again. Why couldn't she talk calmer like James was. She was making a fool of herself. And plenty of people were watching.

"I will have fun with him because he is so much better person than you will ever be!"

"Oh yeah he is such a precious friend! Calling you a slut and spreading nasty lies about you... Wow..." James clapped to emphasize.

"At least he is not a bully! Like you!"

James was hurt by those words.

"Go fuck yourself, Lily!"

The fact that he used her name made it official. More serious. Not like he was just joking or something.

"Go fuck yourself, Potter!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

There was a minute of silence. Lily felt the weight of every emotion in the room. She stared into James' watery eyes. And she saw the mix of feelings he was experiencing. He was hurt. Lily had really hurt him.

But it couldn't be. James was only playing with her. Right? He didn't care. He never meant any of it. Did he?

Lily saw how the way he was looking at her changed. There was always mischief, nervousness, happiness in his eyes. A twinkling spark that he particularly had. That man who was just a playful boy in the inside. Innocent and wondered by everything. Lily used to feel shivers down her spine. Because she had never been looked like that by anyone before.

But right now, that look was gone. Replaced by an empty one. James Potter didn't feel anything for her anymore. It was all emptiness.

It hit Lily like a lightning struck. She wanted to be loved by James Potter again. Because she might have been feeling it as well. And she didn't realize until now. But now it was too late. Fuck.

James looked away first. And he walked away. His friends followed him. Remus felt pity for her. Peter felt pity for her. Sirius hated her.

Oh no... Lily had lost James Potter forverer. Not now.... Not now when she knew she loved him. Not now. God... Lily had fallen in love for the first time. And she had lost it immediately. Just like that. What an irony.

Lily's chest hurt in a horrible way. So badly, she had a difficult time breathing.

"No..." Lily whispered as she grabbed her chest and she leaned on the wall "Shit... Come back... James, come back..."

But James was gone. Not only from the hall but from her life.

Lily started to sob. Dry sobs at first. Then she felt the tears. And she exploded crying. Lily hadn't cried like that. Not since her father's death.

She dropped to the floor helplessly. Until she felt  arms wrapping her, and touching her hair. Mary and Marlene were kneeling beside her. They both looked concerned.

Lily was glad they were there. She needed them.

Lily grabbed Mary's sweater and cried in her chest, while Marlene caressed her head.

"It's ok, Lily.... It is going to be okay" Marlene whispered.

Except it wasn't going to be okay. Everyone was right. James Potter was like sunlight. And now that he was gone from her life she felt cold. So cold.

[nightcourtseer]

Disclaimer: This is the first time I’ve attempted a Feysand POV, even though it’s Elriel centered (one track mind over here). I haven’t seen this covered much, but I’m really interested in seeing when Feyre and Rhys have this out - another thing Rhys has kept from Feyre. I love me some Rhys, and he often ends up as the villain in the forbidden love trope (with reason), but in this I wanted to explore a little bit more of his rationale, even though the means aren’t entirely justified of course.

(Feyre POV)

“Elain?” I whispered softly, rapping two knuckles against the door as I pushed it open slowly.

My sister had slept through lunch again. Rising early to help me with Nyx, seeing to it that both he and I ate breakfast, and then excusing herself to her room to rest, claiming a headache. It wasn’t the first time in the past few weeks that she had done so, and it was becoming more of a frequent occurrence.

After the clock struck two and she still hadn’t appeared, I had handed Nyx off to Rhys to be put down for an afternoon nap, and headed to the opposite end of the hallway to check on her.

She was asleep under a quilt, not even fully under the covers. The curtains were drawn, the afternoon sun seeping through to soak the room in amber light. Her golden brown curls were spread haphazardly across the cotton pillow case, partially covering her beautiful face, drawn with an expression I couldn’t quite place, even while she slept.

Elain was always sleeping, but despite that, the circles under her eyes seemed to grow darker by the hour. I also had had to buy her new dresses, as hers seemed to be growing looser and looser, shrugging off her shoulders while she shifted my youngling in her arms as she carried Nyx.

I felt like she was slipping through our fingers again, and so soon after we had gotten her back.

Slowly approaching her side of the bed, I went to go blow out the single faelight dancing on her nightstand. When I did so, I noticed that her delicate hand was curled in a fist next to her cheek, with a sharp point of paper protruding from her grasp.

As carefully as I could, I put my hands around hers and gently opened her closed fist to pull out the small scrap.

Not a scrap, but what appeared to be a gift tag.

“Elain,” was all it said, in a light, scrawling script that I recognized immediately from the dozens of reports that I read weekly, neatly organized and alphabetized by location, by informer.

As I brought it closer to my face, it even smelled a little bit like him, night-chilled mist and cedar clinging to the small piece of parchment. A little piece of him, even though he so rarely stepped foot in our new home, besides Rhys’ office when he was required to.

And then it snapped into place for me. Something that had been slipping my mind for months, as I took care of a newborn, healed my body, celebrated my sister and new brother-in-law’s mating ceremony.

I no longer saw them together in the garden. No longer saw her take his arm and blush, a dainty pink against the dark cobalt of his siphons. Laughing together in the sunshine outside at some story shared between just the two of them, his shadows nowhere to be found as his face flushed at her attention and the warm sun that met his dark wings.

Spring had almost passed us by, and the River House garden had remained empty this year. I chalked it up to the fact that Elain had been so busy helping others in the community with their own gardens, as well as me and Nyx.

And hadn’t I noticed Azriel drawing away from us, just as Elain had? Even moreso away from my mate, who had only seemed to greet his brother with careful looks and was met with stony silence whenever they were alone together, or before I entered the room.

Just as miserable as my sister. And so, if he hadn’t been the one to break her heart, there must be some piece of the puzzle that was still eluding me. Some external factor that had pushed them apart.

Perhaps even commanded them to step apart from each other, against their wishes.

I let the note slip from my fingers, and watched in stunned silence as it floated back down on the bed beside where Elain slept, her hand still outstretched, brow furrowed slightly even as she slept, as if even unconscious she was reaching for something that was missing.

I winnowed to the nursery. To where I knew my mate, our High Lord, would be waiting for me.

“Rhys…” my voice was so low it came out closer to a growl as I took a step toward my mate. “What did you do?”

Rhys seemed to have been expecting this moment, this confrontation, as his shoulders curled inward at my words.

He didn’t answer, as he avoided meeting my gaze, turning to look at Nyx sound asleep in his crib, putting a hand on the top bar as he stared down at our son.

“Rhys,” I repeated, a keen desperation creeping in as my stomach dropped. “What. Did. You. Do.”

When he finally looked up to meet my eyes, I almost stumbled back at the pain I saw in them, the confliction. His expression warring with a sadness and anger that I hadn’t seen on his face since he had told me that we might die together as I tried to labor our son, because of his wings. After Nesta had blurted out the truth.

“I did what I had to do. To protect you, and Nyx, and this court.” His voice was flat, so at odds with the emotions flickering across his face like shadows, his grip on the crib bar tightening.

“Bullshit,” I spat back, still whispering so as not to wake Nyx. And then I reached out to put my arms on his and winnowed us to our bedroom.

“You told me no more secrets, Rhys.” I let my voice raise as I stepped away from him. I hadn’t felt this way since I had found out about Nyx. And before that, since he had withheld that he was my mate. “You promised me, no more lies. That we would tell each other everything.”

Rhys turned to face me, his body language defeated even as he tried to reason with me, to explain himself. Part of me didn’t want to listen, wanted to run away to the cabin like I had that first time we had fought like this. But the bigger part of me wanted to stay, needed to stay, with him. To talk it out, with my mate, my husband. No matter how angry and hurt I felt.

His violet eyes were pleading as he met my angry eyes, which I could feel flashing with my own war of emotions.

“You would have tried to stop me, Feyre. I did what I had to do. You were still pregnant, what if we had gone to war over them?” He shook his head, as if shaking away the ghost of the memory of the fear that he felt throughout my pregnancy, longer than even I had known what might be coming. “While our fates were still in the hands of the Mother? We would have left this Court without both of their rulers, fighting a war that they need not fight.”

“But if the situation were reversed?” I pointed out, gesturing between us. “You would have gone to war for me, without question. You would have done anything, you said it yourself.”

My voice dropped. I was so, so tired. I was so tired of being kept in the dark.

“What makes them different, Rhys? Elain, Azriel, and Lucien…. They’re the inverse of us.”

I paused, the realization dawning on me. On the fear that Rhys felt, of the what if’s that he must be feeling as he looked at Lucien.

“You’re putting yourself in their shoes. In Lucien’s shoes, Rhys. Over your own brother.”

He turned away from me again, but I didn’t miss the glint of shame and guilt cloud his violet eyes.

“They aren’t us, Rhys,” I said more softly. “Elain is not me. Lucien is not you. And Azriel is certainly not Tamlin.”

“She’s tried, I can tell, Rhys. She’s tried to give him a chance. But think about us, think about how we couldn’t stay away from each other. Even when I was with Tamlin, I could feel… something. That clearly isn’t there for Elain. And maybe not even for Lucien, either. I see more fire in his eyes when he talks about Vassa.”

“She’s fading away Rhys, right in front of our eyes. And she tries to hide it, better than I ever did, but I can see it. We’re losing her, and we’re losing him too.”

Rhys threw himself in the rocking chair across from Nyx’s crib and put his head in his hands.

I drifted closer, and rested a comforting hand on his shoulder. I was tired of fighting. Things needed to change, but I was ready to forgive.

“I think they love each other, Rhys,” I whispered. “I know they aren’t mates. But I also see how they look at each other. It’s obvious how they hear each other, even when the rest of us don’t hear a thing. That right there is what’s different about them. Tamlin never listened to me like you did, Rhys. Never took the time.”

“But I think that this is real. And I think that we’re killing them, by keeping them apart.” I paused, choking on my words as I felt my eyes fill with tears. “And haven’t we suffered enough loss? Haven’t we all suffered enough, to not add to it if we can help it?”

I could feel Rhys shaking under my hands, under the weight of what he had been holding in for so long, keeping from me. And maybe from more than just me.

“Who knows about this, Rhys?”

He let out a loan, pained moan and shook his head, still buried in his hands. I let my hand start to drift back and forth across his back. Trying to send whatever comfort, whatever sense of forgiveness, as I could his way. His mental shields held fast, even as I carefully tapped them with my own mental claws.

“Just Azriel. It happened on Solstice. I was so worried about you, Feyre.” He choked on a sob. “And this was just one more thing. One more thing that could ruin us, and I just couldn’t let it happen. So I snapped. I caught them about to kiss in the hallway that night, when Lucien could have walked out any second and caught them. Called a Blood Duel right then and there.”

Rhys paused, steadying himself with slower breaths as he tried to continue.

“And I just lost it on him. I pulled rank, and banned Azriel from pursuing Elain. Ordered him to stay away.”

My hand dropped of its own volition. As I thought about my sister, grieving of a broken heart, twice within two years, sleeping unaware down the hall.

“Does Elain know, Rhys?” I asked, my voice urgent.

Rhys looked up to meet my eyes, his own expression filled with remorse.

“No, she doesn’t.”

My heart broke for Elain. She was grieving a love that she thought had left her once more.

“You need to tell her, Rhys,” I insisted. “Please, you need to go tell her now.”

He didn’t break my stare as he nodded, slowly. I watched as a small bit of weight left his shoulders, even as he faced one of his least favorite tasks ahead - admitting he was wrong.

He would do the right thing. He always tried to, and I understood why he had thought as he did in that moment. In the desperation to protect me, and his family, and his people.

But it couldn’t come at the expense of two people who were only trying to love each other.

I leaned down to press a soft kiss to Rhys’ forehead, and we were quiet for a moment as we listened to Nyx’s steady breathing, completely unaware as he dreamed sweetly away in his crib.

We were all just trying to dream.

[eyeopeningarchivist]

Statement of Anon (tw: Death & Depression)

Concerning their depressive self isolation.

Statement given Tuesday, July 11th, 2023

Transcript and editing by Tim Stoker, archival assistant at The Magnus Institute, London.

Statement begins...

I don’t remember a time I was scared of the dark, not really. Maybe one time but it’s been so long and I was so young that I don’t know why I was even scared. My older sister was definitely scared by it though. For quite a while, in fact...

We used to share a room, for basically the majority of our lives. At night she’d have her nightlight and the tv on, watching a dvd of one of her favourite shows. Since I was younger, I naturally disliked the shows (since that’s how siblings are sometimes) but I was mainly irritated by her having so much light and noise to sleep. I loved the complete silence and darkness of our room and almost needed it to sleep. Almost.

We eventually stopped sharing a room, mostly because we were getting older and needed our own privacy and space from each other. The last time we’d tried to have separate rooms, we’d been way younger and had missed each other a lot so we went back to sharing. I miss those days...

This time was different.

On a Monday at the beginning of June, my sister and I were sat down in the living room by our parents and told that our grandmother had died. She had been sick for a few months and had been admitted to the hospital about a month before. I didn’t know how to react. Our parents asked if we wanted the day off from school and we both agreed. I remember going out with Mum and my sister to get funeral clothes. It was the first funeral I’d been to in my life and currently the only one. I doubt it’ll be my last.

I still didn’t react. I didn’t even cry. I think I was in shock and it took a long time for me to process it. Sometime after the funeral, during summer holidays, I moved into my own room. It was smaller than the old one, the reasoning being that I never put my things away properly so there was less room for mess.

I guess my body processed what had happened faster than I did as I began subconsciously isolating myself, my brain eventually catching up. It happened at the worst time though, right as I was starting high school.

It might have been the stress and all the change that was going on that caused me to realize my gran was dead. I knew her my entire life as she and my grandpa lived in our house with us. She was there for everything and then, suddenly, she wasn’t and never would be again.

Then I truly began to isolate myself, mainly staying in my room, and I started keeping the curtains closed almost all the time to leave me in complete darkness. I liked it, the dark was comforting and I felt safe in it.

Over the next three or four years it stayed like that, me in complete darkness in my room. At some point I stopped isolating myself and made some friends in my year at school. I had a girlfriend for a bit too but we broke up and that led to me isolating again for a time.

Due to the extensive amount of time I spent in the dark, some changes started to take place. I grew paler, my hair darkened from light brown to dark brown, and I could see pretty clearly through the dark. I developed a sensitivity to light though and can barely go out on non-cloudy days without blinking in pain the whole time. Sunny days are the worst.

Then, 2020 happened and self isolation. I had joined Discord two years before and, when I saw a Tiktok of a Twitch streamer I checked them out, then joined their Discord server. I made friends and connected with people, feeling happier.

I eventually stopped being friends with those people as our friendship wasn’t truly healthy and naturally fell apart. Having friends that actually felt like friends helped though. I connected more with people in my year at school and, when I dropped out to go to uni, I connected quickly there too. Now I have friends on Discord where the relationships are healthy.

I’m happier now. I don’t have to rely on the darkness and isolation to feel comfort... Still, I sometimes keep my curtains shut.

Statement ends...

Not sure if this is really a supernatural event but if it helped them then I guess it works. Anon is possibly being monitored by the Lonely or the Dark but, as this is an anonymous statement, there’s no way we can do followup to see if they’re okay... I hope they are...

[joy-of-life88]

Inked Temptation [a Damian Priest story] 6 A chance to explain

Damian POV

I could not believe my ears. Her fiancé? Therefore, she had fooled me all this time. So much for not having a boyfriend in ages! I felt so stupid. I stared at Ellie for a second. Her face clearly showed how shocked she was.

"I need to get out of here." I muttered, basically running for the door.

"Damian wait! It's not what it looks like. I swear he's not-" Ellie began as she followed me and grabbed my hand.

I tore myself away and gave her a nasty glare. I didn't feel like listening to her excuses. She had obviously lied to me more than once. Why would I want to hear more of it?

"Leave me alone, Ellie! I don't want to hear it. I'm not going to help you cheat." I said as I got in the car and drove away without looking back.

I was so pissed. And I was confused. And I felt taken advantage of and I felt betrayed. So many feelings all at once. My head was spinning. Part of me couldn't believe I had fallen for this. Another part missed Ellie already. Jeez, I was a mess. Right now I was glad I didn't have to see her again until the weekend. Maybe I'd be lucky and my inner chaos would have subsided by then. But somehow I highly doubted that.

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

Meanwhile it was Saturday, but my thoughts still revolved around Ellie. This was mainly due to the fact that until yesterday she had tried to call me all the time and had also sent me countless messages, but I had neither answered the calls nor read the messages.

I mean, the whole thing was really clear. She wanted a thing on the side and had obviously not expected that her.... fiancé would come home so early.

With a deep sigh, I entered the arena. I hoped that I could avoid her as long as possible. But of course I had no luck. I had just managed to get my bag into the locker room. When I came out again, I was already expected.

Ellie stood leaning against the wall with her arms folded across her chest. Obviously she was very determined to tell me her story. However, I still did not have the slightest interest in it. The only thing that was weird to me was the fact that she was wearing sunglasses.

"Can we talk?" she asked.

"No." I grumbled and walked away.

"I deserve the chance to explain it to you Damian." she replied as she followed me down the hall.

"Go tell your fiancé," I said.

"He's not my fiancé, Damian!" she yelled at me as she grabbed my arm, forcing me to stop.

"What?" I asked as I looked at her after all.

"It's true, we were engaged. But that ended over two years ago! I broke up with him when I found out he was cheating on me basically from day one!" she explained to me.

"Then why would he suddenly show up at your apartment?" I wanted to know.

"Because he still imagines he can get me back and my fucking sister is a bitch," Ellie replied.

"What? What does this have to do with your sister?" I wanted to know.

"Because she's a friend of Scott's and apparently has been keeping him up to date  about my life all along. She knew from the beginning that he was cheating on me. She didn't think it was necessary to tell me though. Yvonne hates me and would have loved to see me marry the bastard," Ellie said and then took off her sunglasses.

But when I saw her face, my anger and confusion vanished in one fell swoop. Not just because I had missed it so much, but because she had a swollen, black eye.

"Oh my God, Ellie! Please tell me that not happened what I think..." I said in shock as I put my hand to her cheek.

"No... Don't worry, it wasn't Scott. He wouldn't dare... He's a pig, but he's a cop and he can't afford to hit women. After I made him tell me everything, he confessed that Yvonne told him I had a new boyfriend. And she encouraged him to mess it up for me.

I then drove the 100 miles to her house to confront her. And let me put it this way.... You once told me I should have slapped her... This time I did more... Trust me when I tell you she looks a lot worse.

I just wanted you to know everything. I didn't lie to you. We didn't know where we stood yet. Besides, we haven't talked about our past. Still, I can understand if you don't want to have anything to do with me anymore," Ellie explained while looking me firmly in the eyes.

A sad smile appeared on her lips and tears sparkled in her eyes before she turned away from me. But she couldn't even take a step when I grabbed her hand this time and didn't let her go.

Instead, I pulled her closer to me, carefully took her face in my hands and gave her a long kiss.

[tiny-cloud-of-flowers]

(last one i promise) (SORRY FOR ALL THE ASKS) for felix!! how did you come to see catarina as a sister ?? whats your favorite thing to do together when theres free time ??

(IT’S ALRIGHT, ANYONE CAN ALWAYS SEND AS MANY ASKS AS THEY WOULD LIKE TO!)

Felix: “Taking some time off from your usual expeditions, are we? Well, it’s good to see you in good spirits.

To answer your first question, that.. took a bit of time. You know what I was like back at the academy, after all. I didn’t actually get to meet Catarina until partway through the year, since it was only then that we ended up in the same house, but.. I’ll admit she caught my attention pretty quickly. She’s never trained as often as me, but we ended up arranging to spar together a lot, and that’s really how things got started. I’d say we have quite similar ways of fighting, so that common ground helped us to build up a connection, and then.. we started talking about other things than training, somehow. I suppose it was just- refreshing, to have someone around who had such an outside perspective. She may have roots in Faerghus, but the fact she wasn’t raised there, or raised to uphold the same typical values the Kingdom prides itself on - or even anywhere else in Fódlan - meant that.. there’s a lot I felt I could talk to her about, in a way I just couldn’t with others. Also, she wouldn’t hesitate to give me a piece of her mind, or say what she thought about things. Not many others were like that, so it stuck out to me.

By the end of the year, it didn’t feel like we had developed the same dynamic I have with my friends - and I wouldn’t necessarily say it was any worse or better, it’s just.. there was something different about it. Maybe it’s because it was just something shared between the two of us, not a piece of a larger group setting. A closeness that almost seemed more natural, or permanent, than just friendship, even despite the much shorter time we’d actually known each other. What I mean by that is that.. Rina and I can talk about anything, and it’d never feel like what we had could just suddenly fall apart, no matter what we actually said to each other. In fact, I don’t know if we’ve ever fallen out in a serious way; we may bicker a lot over little things, but it’s always more playful than anything else - never as tense or able to suddenly escalate as it could be with others. So, that’s.. really where the whole “sister” thing started.

Oh, and for your second question - we still train together, a lot. Catarina prides herself on being a difficult opponent to strike, and I’m very familiar with that by this point, but it doesn’t make it that much easier to get a hit in on her. Sometimes it can feel like I’m fighting a mirage of myself when she’s more on the offensive, which.. is a strange feeling, but I think it’s good. She also keeps trying to help me with the magic side of things, which usually results in her taking a pile of books out of the library and dragging me somewhere to go read them with her until one of us gets bored. ..I’ll admit that seeing her own spellcraft in action has helped me gain a greater appreciation of magic than I used to have, but I’m still not close to her own proficiency. Then again, I know I’d overpower her if she wasn’t using magic, so me having greater physical strength can still be more useful than her balanced and more agile style. And, the magic I do know how to cast is already far above what most swordsmen could use or expect from me, so I still have the edge in most combat situations, even without being an expert.

I.. hope that all of this answers your questions. Feel free to stop by again if you want to ask more.”

[ilikethequiet]

In the Wee Small Hours (A The Nanny Fic)

Title:  In the Wee Small Hours Summary: A late night conversation reveals a softer side to C.C. Rating: G, for now. Might go up in later parts. Author’s Note: This came to me, and I decided to run with it. There will be more parts, yes.

I checked it through with Grammarly, so it sounds okay, tell me if it doesn’t 😘Feedback/likes are so appreciated. Will also be posted to AO3.

It wasn’t unusual for C.C. to stay at the mansion, sometimes the endless revisions to plays and productions ate up her time and it was too late to head back to her apartment which truthfully, she preferred, her apartment was so cold and sterile compared to the Sheffield’s home; it was warm, and the fridge was always stocked with goodies and alcohol, what more could a person want?

The house was quiet, the family has gone to be hours ago. In her early days of staying over, C.C. entertained the idea of sneaking into Maxwell’s bedroom and offering herself to him, but she could imagine how that would go down, rejection and never-ending ridicule from Niles if she failed. She wouldn’t be able to show her face again. Getting the ice cream out of the fridge she leaned on the counter, taking a few mouthfuls.

She heard soft footsteps come down the stairs and hoped that it wasn’t Nanny Fine, she did not want to put up with that woman right now. C.C. looked over, surprised to see that it was in fact Brighton coming down the stairs. She didn’t have a lot of contact with the children, she preferred it that way, but the boy looked unsettled, she supposed she could try talking to him.

“You’re up late. Everything all right?”

Brighton shrugged as he went to get a glass of milk, an important date was coming up that the rest of the family had either chosen to ignore or had forgotten about but not him, and it had been playing on his mind.

C.C. wondered what it was that had put him in such a melancholy mood, a test at school perhaps? Bullies? A girl? As she observed him, she couldn’t help but notice how much he resembled his mother; Maxwell often said as such about the girls, but C.C. thought it truer of him. She glanced over at the calendar and suddenly understood what was vexing him.

“Ah, Sara’s birthday.” She’d been too involved in work to notice the date was fast approaching. It wasn’t something the family celebrated; Maxwell always tried to distract the kids with some activity to do that day so they wouldn’t be sad and while it worked, C.C. could tell it wouldn’t this time.

“You were friends, right? You don’t talk about her.”

“Your father thought it would be easier for you and your sisters if we didn’t.” She took a seat next to Brighton. “But I miss her every day, I still expect her to be here when I walk in.” C.C. smiled sadly.

“When her birthday comes around, I try to do everything that we would have done together; get coffee, go to the theatre, come back and annoy Niles while he’s cooking.” She chuckled; that was one tradition she kept alive daily. “Then I go to the cemetery and place flowers on her grave.”

“Thank you,” Brighton answered, he hadn’t been to their mother’s grave in years, and it never felt like the right time to ask. It was nice to know that Miss Babcock kept the woman in her memory.  “I just wish I remembered more about her,” Brighton said solemnly; his memory had gaps and while they had home videos, it wasn’t the same.

“You get your cocky attitude from her,” C.C. commented, while Maxwell would claim otherwise, C.C. knew that Sara was the real comedian; One time she had even suggested that Niles was in love with her, C.C. Babcock, the very idea. “And you have her smile.”

“Do you think I can come with you when you go to the cemetery? I just want to see her, I guess.” Brighton knew she wasn’t there, that it was just bones and a piece of stone that commemorated who his mother had been, but he wanted to visit.

 “Perhaps if you decide to take a sudden interest in the theatre on that day, something can be arranged.” C.C. could always use a gopher and then let him walk in Sara’s footsteps.

“I can probably go to sleep now. Thanks, Miss Babcock.”

“Don’t tell anyone about this all right? I’ve got a reputation to protect.” It cannot be known that she was nice to a child, she would never work in this town again.

Brighton washed out his cup and put it in the dishwasher. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Brighton.” She smiled and went back to her ice cream.

-------

In another part of the house, Niles had been privy to the entire conversation having figured out long ago how to keep the kitchen intercom on, finding it helpful to keep him abreast of goings on. When he heard Miss Babcock address Brighton, he thought perhaps he should intervene should the witch try to cook him in the oven but something out of the ordinary happened; the ice queen ended up having a civil conversation with the boy, one where they had seemingly planned to celebrate the late Mrs Sheffield’s birthday together.

Niles had to wonder if the real Miss Babcock had been taken by pod people with a copy put in her place because there would be no way that she would willingly spend time with one of Maxwell’s children. He needed to find out what her angle was.

When he got to the kitchen, C.C. was rummaging through the fridge, Nile took a moment to take in her outfit; white silk pyjamas with a matching long robe, very different from what Miss Fine wore but classy, Niles expected no less. He moved quietly until he was behind her, then spoke. “What are you up to, witch?”

The voice was unexpected, and it caused C.C. to jump, almost dropping the cake she had retrieved from the fridge. She glared at Niles and put it over on the counter. “Eating cake? What, did you have a bad dream or something?”

“Mm yes, it was quite horrifying. I dreamt you were a decent person.”

C.C. smirked as she cut into the cake. “That doesn’t sound like me. What was I doing? Feeding the poor? Giving away my money?”

“Comforting a child.”

Her eyes snapped to Niles’, his words were too much of a coincidence for him to come up with such a thing on his own, he must have had the kitchen bugged or something.

it was a thrill watching the heiress so unnerved. “You put so much effort into pretending you don’t care but deep down you do have a heart. You even remembered Brighton’s name.”

Of course, C.C. knew Brighton’s name, she was his godmother after all, but it was one of those titles that had been lost over time due to Sara’s passing.

“You’ll be telling Mr Sheffield about your plans, yes? Should bring your brownie points up to one.” Not that he kept a chart, but Miss Babcock would have to put in extra effort if she was going to catch up to Miss Fine.

 C.C. glared at him; did he really think her to be so shallow as to use her friend’s death to get in Maxwell’s good books? “Okay servant, what is your silence going to cost? Name your price.” C.C. regretted her words immediately, who knew what the butler would want in return, or how long he would hold it over her?

Niles smiled devilishly, having the producer in his debt had several interesting possibilities. “A decision such as this should not be made lightly, like a fine wine it needs to be savoured.”

God, he was pretentious. “Well, I’m going to bed, some of us work early.” C.C. made her way back up to her room, going over in her head what Niles could ask for. He could be crafty, but a Babcock’s word was their bond, C.C. would have to honour it, whatever it was.

It couldn’t be that bad, right?

[dumbledore-and-grindelwald]

Not the same anon as before but it got me thinking about albus and depression again. I think the majority of the fandom vastly underestimates the scope of the trauma he took away from 1899. (tw for discussion of depression and suicidal ideations) I wouldn't be surprised if he was suicidal in the tears following that summer and knowing how much of a workaholuc albus is, I'm sure the only way he stayed alive was by staying busy. Whst you said absolutly makes sense to me. Getting a teaching job at hogwarts probably saved him.

But we know he never healed from that trauma. Even almost a century later, he saw the resurrection stone and instantly succumbed to its lure towards death. It leads me to believe that he spent the vast majority of his life at least passively suicidal. That doesn't mean he was never content. He clearly derives great joy from teaching and guiding his students. Hogwarts is as much a haven to albus as it ever was to tom riddle or harry, maybe more so. But towards the end of his life he was more war general than teacher, possibly having to sacrifice the student he loves most for the greater good and being unable to prevent it. Honestly, if he ever came close to thinking he could love people without harming them, I'm sure his role in Harry's life completely destroyed any healing that might have taken place there. No wonder he put on the ring shortly after the disaster that was Harry's fifth year. It breaks my heart to think how much he must have hated himself by the time of his death ...

I overall agree and I don' have much to add. You've touched upon so many goot points.

I have a small counterargument about his involvment with Harry. Harry was a dead man walking since he was chosen by Riddle. There were two possibilities: 1)he'd get killed by Riddle upon the 2nd or the 3rd try or 2)he'd win, by some miracle. Albus did the one thing he could. He never planned to sacrifice Harry for the greater good. Snape mentions at some point that Albus raised Harry to die at the proper moment, but he didn't know the entire plan: Albus raised Harry so that he could SURVIVE dying at the proper moment and so that he'd have the power to defeat Voldemort after that. Of course the plan backfired, but it did so in favor of Harry.

In terms of psychology, that doesn't change the facts: Albus did not raise Harry to sacrifice him for the Greater Good, but he still had to treat him as a man beyond his years and to contribute in him losing his childhood early to be ready for the war. Funnily enough, Albus TRIED to not love Harry in a personal way, and to maintain a certain emotional boundary that would keep his own judgment from being clouded but couldn't, so at the end of the day, on an emotional level, we're back at what you said. He ended up blaming and hating himself for all of it. There were also the circumstances of the fifth year: Sirius had to stay inside his own home so that he wouldn't be captured. There was a situation that was hard to control and he ended up dead in his attempt to save Harry. Harry fell apart in front of Albus. In his youth, Albus himself had his sister kept in the house. Ariana lost control when she was trying to help him and Aberforth and ended up death. It's not the same situation, but there are enough similarities and Albus himself was involved in a way that would have obviously triggered him and made him even more eager to see his family again.

[jacevelaryonswife]

This is not a request. Again, yes... I'm sorry, please...

Our days. Rhaenyra got married again. Not for love, again. She married our father because, um... Well... It was necessary. Our younger sisters were told, that daddy loves this woman very much, but we know the truth. Well, more precisely, we don't know the exact truth, but we know, that this is for some benefit. For the benefit of both of them. Well, in general, it doesn't change anything for us. Only the extra two younger brothers... Fortunately, the boys seem to be independent. There were a lot of people at the wedding. That's where we met our whole new family. God, they're weird and creepy...

We are the very first child in the family. The oldest sister in not the happiest family. We, literally, from the very moment of our birth, are forced to fulfill the role of the hostess of the house. Our mother managed to give birth to a bunch of children, for whom, in fact, we are the mother. And so it has been all our live... We are already an adult girl, but we are still in this house, we still pretend that everything is fine, we... Yeah... Whatever... So! The wedding! Beautiful, and... We don't like it, we want to go home... It was at this wedding, that we met our... Um... Who is he to us..? In short, his name is Aemond, the son of our foster mother's father from another mother and a couple of our youngest sisters got a crash on him, and the smallest one, was afraid of his eye patch...

After the wedding, we returned to our normal life. We are torn between our work, our teenage sisters and very young girls. Yes, all the children in our family are girls. The only boy in the family is our father, and now Jayke... Lutze... Fuck it! The boys are adults, we don't have to wipe their drool! Yes, once, at a family dinner, we broke down. We yelled at everyone present at the table, so that the younger girls burst into tears. We're tired. We are pulling on the whole house, and now we have an additional burden, in the form of new family members, who cannot get along with each other. They can't get along with you and girls, and your teenage sister throws eternal tantrums, that she doesn't want to live with a new mom, she hates her, she wants her real mom! And all this you have to clean up yourself...

Almost from the very beginning, Aemond tried to make friends with us. Even after we politely explained to him, that we would not become friends. And after our little tantrum, he began to try noticeably harder, he decided, that he and we should stick together. But one day, one of younger sisters accidentally found him, although she wanted to find us. The girl is terribly afraid of the storm. The sound of thunder and the flash of lightning brings her to tears. Aemond took her in his arms, and was with her until morning. Waking up in the morning with a little girl on his chest and a stain from her saliva on his T-shirt, he made a decision. Aemond has done everything for them, for us. Need to buy something, bring it, take it, help with anything. Aemond could have run away from work for them. In general, he took on the responsibilities of a father for the girls. After one of the girls, who noticed him from the very beginning, accidentally called him: "daddy!" he broke down. He sent ue several links to spacious apartments and small houses, already fully finished and those in which repairs need to be done. Yes, they are not too luxurious, so far, this is all, that he can afford, but he will work more so that, in the future, we, he and the girls would live in better conditions. Aemond noticed a long time ago, that the smallest of the girls sometimes call us: "mama", and now he has become: "papa" as well, sometimes. Aemond has already fallen in love with girls and made them fall in love with him, and they have become his weapon against us. They're on his side. They want to live together.

Did it cause a scandal in the family? Yes? Were the "adults" unhappy? Yes. Does Aemond care about that? No. Does Aemond want to take custody of the girls? Oh, yeah.

Most of our sisters are underage, and he and we are adults. Yes, Aemond works separately from his father, yes, he earns money himself, yes, he has not resorted to the help of his family for many years, but he is more than capable of taking care of us. Moreover, as he knows, our distant relatives, the Greyjoy family, already have experience in such things. The only thing, is that, the uncle took custody of his niece there, but it doesn't matter, Mr. Greyjoy will help us and Aemond in this matter. He knows what to do and how to do it. It will be difficult, long, it will be worth it, Aemond promises.

He really wants to have the family he never had. Aemond has already decided everything. And even if we don't give him this family voluntarily, he will force us. Yes, he is a little sad to part with his family, with his mother, but he has made a decision. He won't let these children grow up the way he did. He'll go out of his way, but he'll make the girls happy. And us.

We are not sad to part with this family. Moreover, our younger sisters are with us, and we have never been close to the others. The girls, for the most part, were not sad either. They are already used to Aemond being their dad. It all happened too fast...

One day, even before the story with the registration of custody, one of the younger girls joyfully shouted: "daddy!" and ran to him. Our father had already opened his arms for her, and the girl jumped into the arms of Aemond, who miraculously managed to catch her, half out of the car. Yes, it was the very time, when Aemond finally decided, that he needed these girls. And us.

Yes, he used to think, that it is too early for him to have a family, children, that no one would want him, and that he wasn't sure, if he needed it at all, but... But that's not the case now. He wants a family. He needs a family. And we are have to give him this family, even if we are not completely sure, whether we want it. Everything will be fine, he promises! We'll be the perfect family. We have no other choice.

“And we are have to give him this family, even if we are not completely sure, whether we want it. Everything will be fine, he promises! We'll be the perfect family. We have no other choice.”

This end was so fucking creep anon, like what he thinks???? We will be a sister/mom for the gurls? Bitch???????? This bitch is insane.

But I really like this lil story u share with me/us, I don’t see only a soft Aemond here wanting a fam he never had, but a slight(?) medium dark obsessive Aem who use the girls against us to enter in our lives and pull he’s plan in practice. He’ll be perfect for the girls, but we see what is really happening. I really like this… tysmm lovely 💙

😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈

[casmybelovedass]

Imma rumble a bit about housing and money okay?

This is my second year in university and I am VERY LUCKY to be paying only 275€ rent a month (not counting bills), having to walk only 8 minutes to school and having the supermarket literally in front of me.

That being said, I share the apartment with 4 other people, we sleep in doubles, have only one small ass bathroom and the kitchen is small amd SHIT. meaning the ceiling above the counters is cracked and crumbling, and there's MOLD on half the left wall. I don't have the courage to move the counter and look at just how far it spreads. Not to mention they built the pipe system wrong and we couldn't use the heater for most of last winter.

(Bit of backstory: I found this place OUT OF PURE LUCK cuz this dude I was first looking for rooms with had seen two apartments, didn't like this one, and asked me if I was interested instead. Before this, after two months of looking, I had been almost scammed by these fuckers pretending to be an agency on housing sites, who I called for a couple apartments they were advertising. They told me I had to come in person to sort everything out. 2h 45 and a train ticket later, turns out they wanted me to pay them 250€ to "start looking for a house for the next 6 months". I fucking sprinted out the door.)

I wanted to try and find another place to stay this year, but quickly had to turn back once I saw the prices. 400 - 500€ for a fucking double, up to 800€ for a single room, and bills are always additional. My new course mates are desperate and have been trying to find a place since they got accepted (some of them got word in JULY) and I took I upon myself to contact the people in charge of my apartment for some of them since apparently THESE FUCKERS AREN'T RESPONDING CALLS OR EMAILS

And yes I have fucking proof. I called AND emailed them, leaving my course mates' details (with their permission) stating they were very urgently looking for places. I immediately received a response email. AT THE SAME TIME, under my instructions, THEY sent their own emails details contacts and all. THEY STILL HAVEN'T HEARD BACK.

School starts in 3 weeks. Now many of them will either have to pay an absurd amount of money to be a 40 minutes bus ride from school IF THEY'RE LUCKY or renounce their studies. Of which they have already paid the first 1000 something € fee. Non refundable.

Oh yeah did I mention my school costs 7500€ a year? (which it was 6800 last year and got raised) And that the only reason I can afford that is the fact my little sister doesn't want to ho to uni, so I'm using two people's worth school fund? And I still have 3 more years to go, not knowing if the piece will raise again.

We have class Monday to Saturday, 9 to 8, and sometimes 9 to 9. We're physically unable to work and those who try working either can't find anything or quit almost immediately.

I have a "budget" of around 400€ a month for bills, food and meds. I don't eat out, I don't go out for drinks, I only drink 1€ black coffee and god knows I eat just the right amount of food I need to survive. And sometimes it's not enough, and I have to fight with my parents about needing more money cuz "You can't possibly have spent it all already". And even when I show them the fucking records from my card, the same story repeats the month after.

What the fuck are we supposed to fucking do?? I know our generation will never be able to afford a house, but not even a small apartment to share with 3 to 5 other people?!?!?

This is fucking insane.

[queen-of-midnights]

Dreamer of light

Masterlist

Word count: 1k

Chapter 8

"Training"

I had an interesting early morning, to say the least, as I woke up with none other than Morrigan on my doorstep, a pile of leathers in hands, trying to pass off as friendly, so I took up her offer on trying all of them on. Maybe she isn't so bad.

"So how are you dealing with it all? Your sisters, they..." she averted her gaze while I analyzed the outfits, mostly trying not to sound offensive when she describes them. Understandable.

"Are having a terrible time with it, indeed. But it was expected. It's unlike anything you may experience, I find out so many new things about myself, some worse than others. And then there is a matter of my new 'position' which is more than weird." She smiled sadly, reaching out a hand and placed it on my arm in support.

"Well, you can expect that given that you and your sister took parts of the Cauldron with you. And the fact that you nearly destroyed it is.. unbelievable. "She looked at me as if I cut the world apart and then sew it back together, amazement shone across her delicate features.

"So it's still standing?" I ask as I go to change, finding a white pair of leathers that I liked.

"From intel, yes." Morrigan sounded shaken, that meeting really gave her a good scare, it seems.

The leathers fit me like a glove, the white giving me the same comfort it did on the Mortal Lands. Thankfully that did not change. I take a moment for the first time since I became Fae to take in my features in, pointed ears, my brown hair had a strange kind of glow, the tattoos on my arms also shone quite brightly, although now they were covered, my features were more perfected and despite the fact that my limbs were slightly longer, that did not change my slightly more curved figure. I still find myself sometimes in small things.

My wings also looked completely ethereal, they somehow didn't get stuck while putting on the costume.

I sense Morrigan's worry from the time I spent alone confined in the bathroom with no word, so I sighed and got out, continuing the conversation.

"Unfortunate thing. I have to finish the job now. Again." She simply stared at me, her eyes giving dome sort of shine.

"You look.. wow." I giggle, so this is what left her speechless, huh?

"I also like it, a lot." She shot up, looking excited.

"You should wear it, then. Oh, I have so many ideas for dresses, we must go shopping!" Maybe we can become friends.

"I would love that, Mor. Thank you." She smiled and hugged me, leaving while reminding me that I am expected to be on the rooftop in 15 minutes, so I decided that I was also going to tale my leave not long after her.

The house led me to the roof easily, as I was yet to get used to my surroundings. There was no one there yet so I went along and sat in the middle of the fighting ring. Spreading my wings, feeling the coolness of the early morning air, feeling the sparks of life and energy led by the cool wind.

I felt at peace.

Then I heard multiple gasps and I turned to found my friends and sisters all wearing on surprised expressions. When Feyre saw the confusion on my face, she spoke.

"Look around you, Sienna." And then I saw them, the same energies I felt could now be seen, resembling shards of light. Now I understood their reaction. It was mesmerizing.

Slowly I took my concentration off of them and saw them turn into mist. With their departure, quietness settled in. But I could feel that one person was not entirely content, turning around to see Rhys' frown lessen trying to force a smile.

I dislike his pride, and I believed through and through that we could get along. Now I am seriously doubtful.

I had no time left to think about it as Cassian laughed loudly before picking me up and spinning me around, making me giggle in return.

"You're ready for training, little one?" He put me down gently while smiling widely.

"I believe so." At that Feyre put a hand on my shoulder, fake whispering.

"Sadly you won't say that after the actual training." And with that we began.

It is quite unfortunate that Feyre was right, training was extremely difficult, especially when I was not particularly athletic.

Warm ups were decent, mostly because they were meant for beginners. But after, when we worked on my back muscles, especially those of my wings, I can wholeheartedly admit that I have not felt such pain in a while.

"Have you had the instinct to take flight ever since you got them?" I nodded.

"Every single day. Why do you think I pick forests as my place for my walks?" He grinned.

"Smart choice." He patted me on the back as I winced, my muscles already sore. He gave me an apologetic look.

"Seems we'll have to leave that for another day. Go and fresh up, Amren is waiting for you. You'll need your luck then." He seemed pained only by the thought, which was understandable as they had no idea about the likes of us, although they still see me as the little sister. All but one.

"Unfortunately, I don't believe in luck. Thanks for everything, Cass." He hummed, turning back to his own devices.

With that, I left for my room, ever muscle in my body sore, I basically had to drag myself to the bath, which was already filled with water and flower petals, as well as scents, lilac, rain and sea salt.

The warmth was all I needed, although, I had one thought in mind, how in the world would I dry up my wings to not look like a disheveled duck?

[onthesandsofdreams]

In Dreams [7/?]

Pairing: SanSan Rating: T Summary:  “Because Cersei – Tywin’s daughter – was married to Robert Baratheon and we lived here in Kings Landing.” Words: 1013 Notes: Couple days late, sorry about that, my migraines acted up.

Read @ AO3

Sansa’s mouth falls open, “What?!”

Sandor barks a bitter laugh. “I do not think you would truly understand, Sansa.” He looks at her, serious and solemn. “For what I have seen and heard, your siblings love and care for you. Gregor? He was an animal. There is no way else to describe him. A brutal animal who delighted in inflicting pain,” he moved his face so she could see his scars. “He is responsible for this.”

“Oh, Sandor!” Pity rolls through her. To have such terrible pain and betrayal inflicted on him, she could not imagine. “I am so sorry.”

“Do not be,” Sandor shakes his head. “It is not your fault.”

“I know that,” She says softly. “But that doesn’t mean I cannot feel for you. Did anyone do anything for you?”

“No. My father covered it up. And Gregor repaid him by killing him. Oh, it was said that it had been an accident, but I know better. I am sure that Gregor was the one responsible. So, I took my sister and ran to Tywin Lannister. My sister worked in the kitchen, I entered his personal guard and later on, I was moved to his daughter’s personal guard, which suited me better, that way, I did not have to see Gregor as often.”

“Why?”

“Because Cersei – Tywin’s daughter – was married to Robert Baratheon and we lived here in Kings Landing.”

She was enthralled, she had always loved history. She knew of Robert Baratheon, he had ended as King after Aerys, and after his death, his children had died, as had Cersei. She was living for this, the fact that Sandor was living history and she was finding first hand about events that had happened centuries before! She made a mental note to do her best to remember everything so she could write it down. Maybe it could be a good source of inspiration for a book! She then frowned, “Then why…?”

Sandor shook his head, “I am about to shock you. You see, Cersei and Jaime were lovers.”

Shock and disgust rolled through her stomach, horrified, she exclaimed, “But weren’t they twins?!”

“Of course,” Sandor said. “I do not know when it started, but I realized it very quickly what was going on. The affair continued after Cersei’s marriage.” Sandor gave her a wry smile. “It gets worse, the children were his.”

At this point, she was sure that her jaw was on the floor. Feeling a bit lightheaded, she sat on the floor. “So, Robert died without legitimate issue!”

Sandor gave her a knowing look, “So, you know he had bastards?”

She nodded, “My sister’s boyfriend is a descendant of one of his bastards. In fact, he’s named after him. Gendry Waters.”

“Oh, that must have smarted for Cersei!” Sandor laughed again. “She tried her best to kill as many of his bastards as she could. Out of fear, I know now.”

She nodded, “I know that Stannis Baratheon made a decree about it.” She bit her lip, “I am sorry, I don’t want to be rude, but I still don’t understand how this ended in…”

“My death and me killing Gregor?”

“Yes.”

“My apologies, Sansa. But you needed the backstory, so to speak, because otherwise it would not make sense. Well, something tore the twins apart, I do not know what it was, I was no longer working for Cersei. Just knew that one day, Jaime had married Lady Brienne. I visited them often, Jaime could be a bastard, but he always treated me well. And Brienne was good with a broadsword, I quite liked her. Anyway, one day, on a tavern, I overheard someone who was on Cersei’s inner circle. She had planned to send Gregor to kill Brienne.” He looked away. “I could not allow that, so I rode hard, nearly killed my horse.

“I managed to get there before Gregor. I warned Jaime and Brienne, they hid in a secret part of the carriage house and I, well, faced my brother. He wounded me, but I struck the killing blow, I beheaded him. I do not remember anything beyond that.”

“You did a good thing,” she whispered. “Even if you committed the ultimate sacrifice.”

“Honestly, I agree. It is one of the few things I did right.”

“Just another question, if you don’t mind?”

“Go ahead.”

“Why not tell Tywin about the twins?”

Sandor gave her an astonished look, “Sansa, you truly do not know what kind of man Tywin was. He was a hard bastard, a bitter one that his precious Cersei had not been chosen to marry Rhaegar or Viserys Targaryen. Had I walked to his office, and said, ‘Your golden twins are fucking’, he would have had me killed. Because you did not wound Tywin’s pride without feeling his bloody wrath. And when I say bloody, I mean it Sansa. He had enemies killed and never lost a wink of sleep.”

“I see,” she said. “I am sorry you were put in that position…” she was about to speak again, but a mighty yawn interrupted her. “I think I’m waking up.”

Sandor nodded, “Speak to me whenever you want, I appreciate it. I have spent so many years alone. It is nice to have someone to talk to.”

“I – will.” A blink, and Sandor and the clearing faded. She blinked, she now had more information, she knew that now she would be able to find more about the House, about Sandor and his sister. “Sansa Stark, history detective,” she said out loud and then snorted. “Yeah, right.”

A moment later, Lady jumped into her bed, tail wagging and giving her doggy kisses. That was something that never failed to make her smile. She remained in bed with Lady for a while, she made plans to call her mother, to find more information – maybe she could call Sam Tarly? - about the house and Cersei Lannister. She suddenly remembered that she needed to buy more food for Lady.

Smiling, she patted Lady’s head. “Come on Lady, we have to play detectives!”

Lady barked.