#the ceremony ended 6 hours ago

[t-dykery]

ok the novelty of graduating has worn off i feel sad and directionless now

[southern-fried-simpin]

We Belong Dead| Alastor x Dead Wife!Reader

A/n: Hey everyone I know it’s been a LONG time since I’ve written something and I’m sorry it’s not DC related but I finished Hazbin with my fiancée MONTHS AGO and I’ve been wanting to write Alastor soooo bad! With all of that being said, let it be known that I do NOT condone or agree with any of the questionable actions and opinions of Vivienne Medrano, but I DO enjoy this show and a lot of the characters.

Warning(s): Floofy but suggestive, Alastor “using” reader and reader just kind of going along with it, mentions of murder, sad at first, human Alastor and reader mentioned, temporary unrequited love, Demi romantic Alastor, Alastor because he’s…Alastor, mentions of marriage, canon divergence, suicide, death, loooooong introduction and plot h🫠

“Mama, we’re gonna get married!”

Alastor had decided that you were both ready for marriage in the middle of the school yard and decided to announce this as his mother came to pick him up.

His mother feigned shock as she started to playfully chide him.

“You can’t just marry some girl you met on the first day of school!”

Alastor kept his arms around you as you both giggled and showed his mother the ribbon he had tied around your finger.

“Oh my!” She exclaimed.

“Obviously you two are very serious about this! How about we have your fiancée over for dinner after school one day so I can get to know her better, hm?”

Despite Alastor never having that wedding ceremony with you on the playground, you both remained close all the way up until you graduated high school. After that, you went your separate ways.

Several years later, when Alastor bumped into you as you were leaving the corner store one day, you ended up talking to him for hours. After which, you had started getting together more often. Eating out, going to shows, drinking and having fun together.

Somewhere along the way, however, having fun together turned into going on dates together. Going on dates turned into staying up late talking for hours about anything and everything, and lovely gifts.

One such gift being your engagement ring.

Looking back on it now, you don’t know how or why you thought it was normal for a man to propose after 6 months.

On the outside, Alastor was the husband that every woman dreamed of. He helped you clean and cook, he never raised his voice, and he always bragged about you. On the inside however, something felt stiff. Tense. Off.

Alastor rarely ever initiated kisses, he barely touched you, and he disappeared in the middle of the night rather frequently.

After he was killed, it all made sense. You weren’t his wife so much as you were his alibi. Who would have thought the vicious killer that buried his victims on a hunting ground had a wife waiting at home? A wife who, despite what everyone believed, was oblivious to his crimes. It didn’t matter, though. In a matter of days, you lost your job, your friends, and your peace of mind. In the weeks that came to pass, you slowly lost your mind and your will to live as well.

You died in your sleep after taking a cocktail of pills with a glass of brandy. The police found you in bed wearing your most expensive nightgown, your hair neatly styled, and makeup done perfectly.

Just like before, time had gone on, and your time in hell had been quite interesting. Maybe even a bit enjoyable if you were being honest. The old saying rang true: Hell truly had no fury like a woman scorned. Your arrival in Hell was a testament to that.

Armed with your broken heart and raw, stinging rage, you made a home for yourself and began your own business. Anyone who got in your way was sliced open with the very weapons you sold. You were very aware of Alastor’s presence, but made no effort to contact him. He had no idea you were here, either.

That changed a few days ago.

Who should you see while on an outing in Cannibal Town but your darling husband. He looked different, but you recognized him almost immediately. He offered to walk with you and followed you even after you declined. Every day after that, he miraculously ran into you everywhere you went. He was relentless in trying to get your attention. He would try to talk to you and when you ignored him, he would carry on speaking like it was nothing. Today you finally cracked when he invited you to come to a hotel. The Hazbin Hotel, specifically.

“Why?”

“Well, I thought I might show you this little…business venture…I’ve been working on recently! After all, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen my lovely wi-“

“Don’t call me that.” You spat.

His smile never faltered, but his eyes held a look of momentary discomfort.

“Ah, and here we are!” Alastor pointed his staff towards the building in front of you. It looked like some place from when you were alive, except old and decrepit.

Ever the gentleman, Alastor held the door for you as you walked in before he followed suit. Not 5 minutes passed before a woman with long silver hair angrily stomped in your direction.

“Alastor! Where have y-,” she paused when she noticed you by his side, “who…who the fuck is this?” A blonde was following close behind her.

“I’m glad you asked!” Alastor’s smile broadened. He proceeded to introduce you as his beloved wife to everyone in the room, and then introduced them to you, completely ignoring the looks of shock and awe on their faces. Before anyone else in the room could speak, Alastor hastily took your hand.

“Now, if you excuse us, we have some things to discuss.” With that, you and Alastor promptly dissolved into a shadowy mist.

The lobby was silent then as everyone stared at where Alastor and you once stood.

“Ssso…that was weird for everyone elsse too…right?”

Meanwhile, upstairs, Alastor turned after carefully locking the door to his room.

“Now, I suppose I owe you an explana—“, he was cut off by a resounding smack when your hand connected with his cheek. Alastor’s head turned with a sharp snap. He stood completely still there for a moment, eyes wide and smile looking painfully forced. If it had been anyone else, they would’ve been dead by now, but you? Well…he always liked how feisty you were. Alastor cleared his throat before speaking again.

“Alright…”, he said while turning to face you. “I probably deserved that…”

“You deserve a lot worse than that actually, but go on.”

“I know, and I can’t…” Alastor suddenly felt unsure of what to say. Granted, The Radio Demon was not one for heartfelt apologies (or any apologies for that matter) but if anyone deserved one from him, it was you. Yet, there he stood: the feared Radio Demon, lost for words at your mere presence.

There was a long and uncomfortable silence.

“Do you have any idea what you did to me?” You finally said. “What I suffered because of you?!”

Alastor offered no response.

“What FUCKING-“ you paused as tears began to well in your eyes. Your face red and splotchy and your lips quivering as you started to sob.

“You lied to me-“

“I did.”

“You used me!”

“I did.”

“You told me you loved me!”

“I do.”

And that gave you pause. Had he loved you? Really loved you? No. It had to be a lie. He couldn’t possibly-

“I know I can’t make up for everything I did and everything that happened…” Alastor said while walking towards you. When he stopped, just a few inches from you, you had to look up at him. Alastor was taller than you in life, but now he towered over you. He gently took your hand in his. “But I’ll spend the rest of eternity trying…for you.”

You watched as he gently kissed your fingers. With tears in your eyes and an uneven breath, you laid your head on his chest.

You missed him. You tried not to miss him, but you did and there was no use in denying it anymore.

“One chance,” you finally said. “That’s all you get.”

“That’s all I’m asking.”

You looked up at Alastor and locked eyes with him briefly. The feared Radio Demon wanted nothing more right now than a chance to have you back. His eyes flitted between your lips and your eyes before he dipped you low. To anyone else, it would be an over-the-top gesture, but to you? Oh, how his theatrics made you blush and swoon.

“So…what do you say, darling?” He leaned in closer, almost touching his forehead to yours.

“Do we have a deal?~”

You raised a brow at his words.

He chuckled then.

“Ah, I apologize for my poor choice of words. What I meant was: May I have the honor of courting you, my dear?”

Your eyes softened and you smiled up at him.

“Yes, darling.”

[shiny-crocodile]

the best person i’ve ever met

lucy bronze x ona batlle

Summary:

lucy and ona origin story; semi-slow burn, semi-quick; multi chapters that will get a little smutty

chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3, chapter 4, chapter 5, chapter 6, chapter 7, chapter 8, chapter 9, chapter 10

CHAPTER 1

Chapter Summary: the wedding

Notes: first time writing, feedback appreciated, enjoy ☺️

Lucy was so looking forward to this day, her best friend’s wedding was something they have been talking about since they were kids. She had thought that it may have been her walking down the aisle first given her 7 year relationship, but that had ended a few months ago and her full focus was on her best friend’s special day.

After a hectic first half of the season at her new club, Barcelona, it was also a much needed opportunity for her to let her hair down, hang out with friends she hasn’t seen for a while, marking the start of a fun-filled festive season.

But first she had to make it there on time!

Day 1s group chat

Lucy S: Girls, I don’t need the stress of knowing the details but please tell me you’ll be here in time!

Jordan: We will be there, Stan. I’m waiting for Luce in the pick up zone now.

Lucy S: YOU HAVEN’T PICKED HER UP YET? Oh god, I don’t want to know, I really don’t want to know. Please hurry!

Lucy B: Calma, we’ll be there in 20, get the champagne poured!! Can’t wait to see you! x

Lucy put her phone away as she made her way out of the airport, practically jogging over to Jordan in her black Porsche.

“Nice wheels!!” Lucy exclaimed as she chucked her bags in the boot. “How are you, my friend?” She asked, sliding into the car and embracing her friend over the console.

“Bloody stressed!” Jordan said, immediately starting the engine and racing off. “Not made better by you promising a 20 minute arrival time to a stressed bride when we are at least 30 minutes away.”

“I know you’ve always liked a challenge.”

They spent the rest of the drive with Lucy debriefing Jordan on the last few months as Jordan concentrated on nipping in and out of traffic. After giving up her plus 1 invite and preparing to turn up to an event as a single woman for the first time in 7 years, Lucy was fully expecting to be bombarded with questions throughout the day. So it was nice to get one out of the way on the drive.

Lucy was feeling good. She was in a great headspace. Of course it was strange, it had only been a few months since her breakup, but she was well over the hardest part and had even started going on dates.

“Well you know what they say,” Jordan started, “Gotta get under someone to get over someone.”

“Exactly,” Lucy agreed, knowing she would leave that part out of her answers when others asked her how she was doing later that day. She was having fun back in Barcelona, but they didn’t all need to know that.

/////

As they arrived at the venue, Lucy S’s brother was stood outside the side entrance, vape in hand.

“Oh god, you look even more stressed than Jordan,” Lucy pointed out as she jumped out the car and walked round to the boot.

“Hard not to be when I’m getting stuck with all the maid of honour duties while the actual maid of honour is 2 hours late to hair and make up,” Sam muttered between panicked puffs on his vape.

“Guessing they’ve not quite got to your hair and make up then”, Lucy joked.

“Funny.”

“Got it, I’ll save the jokes till after the ceremony. Which way are we going?”

Lucy didn’t hear his response as a stunning brunette in a bright blue suit and sky high heels caught her attention. She was strutting towards the front entrance with her arm linked with a player Lucy knew, Millie Turner. Lucy recognised the beautiful girl in blue as a player she had faced a few times for Man City and England, but had never really appreciated how good looking she actually was until right now. She’d taken the English player’s breath away.

Sam and Jordan scoffed as they looked at each other knowingly once they’d realised they no longer had Lucy’s attention. They hadn’t seen single Lucy in action for years but they definitely still recognised her.

“Well I guess my sister was right then,” Sam scoffed, breaking Lucy from her staring session.

“Huh?” Lucy said, confused.

Jordan grabbed her by the arm and pulled her along. “Come on Luce, you can drool later, let’s go see the bride!”

///

Two champagne flutes were shoved in their faces as they entered the hotel suite, Lucy blowing a kiss over to the other Lucy and the Staniforth family while being hurried into a chair with a team instantly getting started on her face and hair.

“Wow you look amazing,” the right back said as she saw her best friend approaching in the mirror’s reflection. Lucy S was wearing a gorgeous long laced white dress, with a deep V at the front, showing off her golden tan. Her best friend wasn’t wrong, she looked seriously amazing.

“I’m so happy you made it,” the bride said, kissing the side of her maid of honour’s head, trying to not mess up either of their make up.

Lucy smiled, full of such happiness for her oldest friend, “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I’m so so proud of you.”

“Oh don’t start, I’m not allowed to start crying yet,” Lucy S said, playfully shoving her maid of honours shoulder, “but I’m really proud of you too.”

This had deeper meaning to the Lucys given their frequent long late night chats over the past year, filled with lots of tears and comforting as the right back was forced to come to terms with the realisation she had to end her 7 year relationship, and also come to terms with the end of it in itself. None of it had been easy, there was a lot of love there, even if it became non-romantic. It sent Lucy into some really dark places where she didn’t think there would be any light at the end of the tunnel. She dealt with most of it herself but when she didn’t it was often the other Lucy at the end of the phone.

They shared soft smiles and damp eyes thinking about how much things had improved since then.

“Lucy you will NEVER guess who Bronzey was drooling over outside”, Jordan interrupted while marching over. Both Lucy’s and probably also the make up artists were happy for her intrusion before mascara started running.

“Drooling?! Oh my gosh, who?”

“Begins with an O, greats you with an ‘Hola’,” Sam jumped in as Lucy B rolled her eyes and turned her focus away from the group and onto herself in the mirror as she picked up her champagne.

“Shut the fuck up!” Lucy S exclaimed, “Ona?!”

“Mhmmmmm,” Jordan hummed in confirmation.

Sam nodded eagerly while his sisters jaw hit the floor, “So your plan of wedding day matchmaking is already off to a great start!”

The right back spun her chair back around to face the group, cheeks a slightly deeper shade of red than they were 10 minutes ago. “What do you mean ‘matchmaking’?”

“Well now all the wedding planning is out the way I will need something else to occupy my time,” the bride said while topping up everyone’s glasses. “And no offence but I’m bloody bored of having single friends, me and the mrs need some double date candidates.”

Now it was Lucy B’s turn to gasp in shock. “Wow, well ok then. But maybe you let me chat to her first and see if we actually get on? You know me, all about the personality.”

Jordan laughed a little too loud at that.

“What?” Lucy asked, insulted.

Jordan whipped her phone out and swiped through instagram, “look at some of the insanely fit Spanish girls she’s been going on dates with”. She held up the phone to show the group a series of photos of ridiculously beautiful girls. “Right Luce, these were aaaaall about the personality, yeah?”

“Whatever” Lucy laughed back, her friend may have had a point.

“Well at least Ona is ticking the good looking and Spanish boxes then,” the bride and aspiring match maker said, excited that her plan was coming together. She had obviously known Lucy forever but she had got really close to Ona over the last year and just knew they would be perfect for each other .

Although some people had other ideas…

///

With the ceremony getting underway, Lucy was already a bit buzzed from the 2 glasses of champagne she had in the suite. That would probably explain the surge in confidence she felt when she caught the pretty Spaniard’s gazing at her during the vows. Lucy raised her eyebrows with a smirk at them being the only two in the room whose eyes weren’t on the brides.

You couldn’t blame Ona, Lucy looked incredible in her green silk suit, a white top underneath that showcased abs that looked as though they had been carved by gods. Ona blushed and turned her head quickly to face the brides, which didn’t go unnoticed by Lucy or the Man United players around her.

The Spanish girl had been counting down the days till this wedding. Falling in December, this marked the end of her first full year in England. After a difficult first 6 months of getting used to the language, weather and food, she really felt like she had settled in this year and was looking forward to celebrate love alongside her teammates.

Ona had never been to an English wedding before, she had expectations of what the level of drinking would be like but was excited to see how the English did wedding parties, how it compared to the Spanish dance filled ones.

The ceremony came to an end, the beautiful brides making their way out of the hall, confetti thrown all over them. Ona felt her hands clam up as she saw Lucy start to make her way over.

“Bronzey!!” Tooney shouted, pushing past Alessia to give Lucy a hug.

“You look so good,” Alessia complimented as it was her turn for a hug.

“So do you guys! Look at us all dressed up! Although I desperately need to switch out of these heals,” Lucy complained, pointing down to her shoes that were already giving her blisters after just 30 minutes in them.

“Have you met Oh-na?” Tooney asked, dragging the Spanish girl closer to her side.

“Only in football kits, unfortunately,” Ona said, Tooney quietly chucking at Ona’s unintentional flirting, getting a light shove from Alessia. “Nice to meet you properly.”

“You too! I feel like I know you with the girls at Barça always talking about you anyway,” Lucy said, paying no notice to the childish chuckles from Tooney, full attention on the enchanting eyes of the shorter brunette. “You planning on sticking with those heels all night?” Lucy asked, pointing down to Ona’s shoes that were about double the height of the ones she was complaining about.

“Annoyingly, yes,” Ona responded, “I stupidly forgot my dancing shoes.”

“I’m sure we will work something out,” Lucy said, “I think -“

“Um Hi Lucy,” Millie T interrupted, making Lucy aware of the fact that she had gotten distracted and stopped mid-way down the line, neglecting Millie.

“Millie, hey!” Lucy said enthusiastically, “how are you?”

The brunette noticed an uncharacteristic coldness in Millie as she pulled the blonde in for a hug.

“Yeah, good thank you,” Millie responded, turning to Ona and the rest of the group, “we should go through to our table now.”

Lucy wasn’t sure the reason for the dismissive behaviour but she could take a hint, “Cool I better go see if the brides need me, I’ll catch up with you all later,” she said to the group before her eyes stopped on the younger brunette, “it was lovely to meet you Ona.”

As Lucy made her way out of the hall, Ona’s eyes were glued to her. She would be lying if she said Lucy didn’t look insanely good today, well Ona had always found her good looking, but today the green suit and perky bum bouncing as she left the room were hard not to be transfixed by. The Spanish girl was especially impressed by the English girl’s ability to correctly pronounce her name, despite being introduced by Tooney who completely butchered it. She guessed she had her friends in Barcelona to thank for that.

///

The reception area was buzzing with laughter and chatter as the guests enjoyed their 3 course dinner, followed by speeches and a first dance that made most of the room emotional. Then it was time to dance and Lucy kept to her word, really letting her hair down - she had lost count of how many drinks she’d had by this point - shifting from champagne, to wine, to beer and now onto the vodka sodas.

No matter the occasion, if there was a dance floor, Lucy was on it and tonight was no different. She was switching between groups of old friends, work friends, Lucy S’s family. Her green eyes regularly caught on Ona’s brown ones for the first half an hour, until they didn’t anymore, although she was too distracted by the fun drunken times she was having dancing with Sam Staniforth to really think about it.

That was until she saw the rest of Man United girls back out on the dance floor again but Ona was nowhere to be seen. She scanned the room and saw the young brunette sitting on her own sipping her drink, smiling over at her teammates as she watched them enjoy themselves.

“You ok there?” Lucy said as she approached Ona, pulling out a chair and slumping down into it to give her legs a rest. “I thought the Spanish loved to dance!”

Ona looked around and sent a pained smile Lucy’s way. “We do!” she argued, “I’m ashamed to be letting my country down but my feet are in too much pain. All I can do is drink.”

“Ah yes the shoes! Well my feet could do with a rest as well, so all good if I join you for that drink?” Lucy asked, holding up her empty glass and smiling at Ona hopefully. Even countless drinks in, she still felt an unexplainable nervousness talking to her new acquaintance.

“Of course! I would love that, I want you to tell me all about Barcelona,” Ona said, “make me jealous”.

Lucy excitedly jumped up, “what are you drinking then? I’ll get us another.”

“Well seen as though we’re talking about Spain, shall we have some Sangria.”

Lucy’s eyes lit up, “Yes! We absolutely should. You rest those pretty feet, I’ll be right back”.

As Lucy walked away she cursed herself internally for the “pretty feet” comment that she didn’t mean to let spill out of her mouth, now Ona will think she’s got some kind of foot fetish.

Meanwhile all Ona was wondering was whether she was dreaming or if the real Lucy Bronze, the most attractive person at this wedding, was flirting and they were actually going to drink Sangria together.

Once Lucy returned with a big jug and two glasses, the girls talked and talked. It felt so natural, it was flirty but sweet and they were so focused on each other that they forgot where they were and lost all track of time. Then the music switched to reggaeton and Lucy had a sudden urge to dance with Ona but she needed to do something about those shoes and the floors were too sticky for the spaniard to ditch them completely.

“Jordan!” Lucy shouted over to another table, waving her friend over. “Do you have some trainers Ona could borrow? You’re probably closer to her size and she needs to get out of these heels to have a dance” Lucy said, lifting Ona’s leg off the ground to show Jordan the 6 inch heels in question.

“You want me to get her out of her heels?” Jordan teased, “just kidding! Ona, come with me, we will find you something.”

Ona scurried off behind Jordan, trying to keep up with a half limp while smiling back as she left Lucy at the table. She blushed slightly feeling the older brunette’s eyes following her out of the room.

As Lucy picked up her drink for another sip, she shuddered at the grating of the chair next to her as she was joined by someone.

“Oh hi Millie,” Lucy said, noticing the blonde girl was particularly drunk now.

“Lucy,” she said as she grabbed the jug of Sangria, pouring herself a glass without asking.

“Having fun?” Lucy asked, suddenly feeling very awkward. She hated small talk and Millie wouldn’t make this easy, but she couldn’t exactly just sit there in silence.

“Yeah, I love a wedding! Where’s Keira tonight?” Millie asked, avoiding eye contact.

Lucy had successfully navigated that question a couple of times tonight but this was a weird one as Millie would have definitely known they had broken up. “Somewhere in Spain, I’d imagine. Her family are going over there for Christmas.”

“Left her on babysitting duty then,” Millie said, more of statement than a question.

Lucy was starting to feel more uncomfortable now, she was confused as Millie was usually so warm with her, “I guess. You know we broke up though right?” She asked, knowing that Millie would have known, everyone knew, the footballer community isn’t massive and it was the biggest topic of gossip this year.

“Mm maybe I did hear about that? So now you’re going after Ona?”

Ah, Lucy thought, realising the coldness was potentially Ona related. “I wouldn’t say so,” Lucy defended herself, “we’re just chatting and have things in common because of Barcelona and mutual friends.”

“Planning on shitting where you eat then?”

“Pardon?” Lucy asked, knowing what the saying meant but unsure why it was being directed at her.

“Well she’s going to be your teammate next season so might be a good idea not to use her as a rebound.”

Lucy dismissed herself, muttering an excuse about needing the toilet but she just needed to get out of that situation. Something was clearly going on with Millie and Lucy wasn’t going to take it personally, but she couldn’t help but feel a little surprised by the revelation of Ona signing for Barça. They play in the same position and of course Lucy knew she wouldn’t be the first choice right back forever but it did sting a little at the thought she could be replaced so soon.

Ona came back, bouncing over to the table where she left Lucy with a new spring in her step as her feet were finally freed from those heels.

“Where’s Lucy gone?” She asked Millie as she got to the table with Lucy’s seat empty.

“Dunno,” Millie grumbled, “I mentioned something about her girlfriend and she left.”

“Ex-girlfriend” Jordan chimed in, before wandering off to look around for Lucy, managing to annoy Millie with her interjection.

Millie turned around to scan the room, “oh look, she’s over there chatting up that blonde at the bar.”

Ona felt like she’d been punched in the gut as she looked over and saw exactly that. Lucy was leaning over the bar, face way too close to the bartender who was unquestionably attractive. She looked like a model.

“Well let’s go dance then,” Ona said, shaking off the feeling of rejection. They had just been flirting, and Lucy probably thought it as just harmless. It hurt a little as Ona thought they were having a good time together and she fancied Lucy, but it was nothing she couldn’t dance away.

Millie followed her to the dance floor to rejoin the other football girls, Ona finally able to show off her moves. Although the person she wanted to show off to was no longer nearby.

Until she was.

“Hey dancing queen,” Ona heard, feeling a pair of soft lips graze her ear before spinning round to see Lucy’s face impossibly close to hers. Lucy stepped back, holding up a tray of shot glasses between them, “got you something!”

“Tequila!!!” Ona exclaimed, grabbing a glass, some salt and lime before moving back so Lucy could pass the tray round to the other girls.

She even held the tray out to Millie with a smile, before discarding the tray and heading back next to Ona to take the shots together.

“I thought you’d found someone else to talk to,” Ona said, tequila coursing through her as she drunkenly confessed, “it made me sad.”

Lucy put a hand out to hold Ona’s waist and bring her closer, again brushing the younger girl’s ear with her lips. “No way, I wasn’t going to miss our dance.”

She stepped back again and took Ona’s hand in hers, spinning her around, moving together and apart in sync with the music.

The older brunette had considered not coming back, but a quick toilet break brought her back to her senses. She wasn’t going to let anything or anyone stop her from having a good time tonight, she’d been too excited for this night for too long to sulk. Just had to make a quick pit stop to the bar for the shots before joining Ona.

///

As the night went on the two girls danced and danced. They would occasionally part to dance with friends but were soon drawn back into each other like magnets, then glued at the hip until they were amongst the last on the dance floor and it was the last song.

Ona wrapped her arms around Lucy’s neck, pulling her in as the older brunette felt the younger girls breath was over her. She slowly leaned down, moving her lips closer to Ona’s, searching each others eyes for any hesitation, wondering if this was really about to happen in front of all these people.

Lucy was taken out of her thoughts by Ona jumping back suddenly, hand covering her mouth as she spun round and sprinted towards the bathroom.

Lucy stood frozen in shock before she pulled herself together and rushed after her. As she entered the bathroom she saw Ona hunched over a toilet, throwing up everything they’d drunk together over the last few hours.

Lucy rushed to the younger girl’s side and pulled her hair back, taking a hair tie and clip out of her own styled her to secure Ona’s out of her face and away from the toilet bowl.

Lucy gently rubbed circles on Ona’s back while the vomiting continued. As she paused between vomits, Millie entered the room with a glass of water.

“I can take it from here,” Millie asserted.

Lucy started to stand up, before Ona’s tear filled eyes caught hers, longing her to stay. She couldn’t and wouldn’t leave her like this.

“Actually I think I’ll stay, but thanks for the water,” Lucy said, taking the water from Millie and placing it to Ona’s lips, full attention back onto the sickly Spaniard. “That’s it, small sips, you’re ok,” Lucy reassured.

Ona breathed heavily as she seemed to be done vomiting. Ignoring Millie behind them, she grabbed Lucy’s hand saying, “thank you for staying, I’m so sorry, this is so embarrassing.”

Lucy laughed, one hand in Ona’s the other still stroking her back, “don’t worry! Happens to the best of us and I’m probably partly to blame. Let me drop you back to your room.”

“Oh no, you’re sweet but that would make me even more embarrassed to have you escort my drunk self back. I’ll ask one of the girls,” Ona said, using Lucy’s strong shoulder to push herself up to stand.

Lucy followed suit and got to her feet, following Ona over to the sinks, where Millie was no longer leaning, neither girl paying attention to her exit.

“Fair enough, I’ll leave you to it. Honestly nothing to be embarrassed about though,” Lucy said as both girls washed their hands.

“I won’t hug you because I’m a bit disgusting now. But I’ve had a really good night with you.”

Lucy didn’t care as she brought Ona in for a hug anyway, “me too,” she said against Ona’s neck, “maybe see you up for breakfast tomorrow, sweet dreams bonita.” She left a soft kiss on Ona’s cheek before backing away and leaving the bathroom.

Ona turned back to the mirror, not able to miss the red that had washed over her face. She cursed herself for not being able to control her drink, but on some sort of high from the cheek kiss.

She left the bathroom and walked back over to her friends, catching Lucy gazing over at her with a smile as she helped stack away the chairs in the corner of the room.

“You ok?” Millie asked, “shall I walk you back to your room?”

“That’s ok, Less’s room is near mine, she can do it.” Ona said. Usually she would just say yes to Millie for a simple life but she could tell something was up with her today. She had been acting off ever since Ona had mentioned that Barcelona had offered her a contract on the drive over, then the weird behaviour continued and seemed targeted towards Lucy. She couldn’t be bothered with it, she was too exhausted, so she hooked her arm into Less’s and marched them off down the corridor.

“Well you looked like you had a good night,” Jordan said, making Lucy jump while mid chair stack.

“Hah I really did,” Lucy agreed before trying to change the subject, “how was yours?”

Jordan picked up a chair to help her stack, “good as well. Although I reckon the highlight was watching a girl run away to throw up when it looked like you were about to kiss.”

Lucy laughed, tugging the chair out of Jordan’s hands before shoving her, “shut up.”

“Hope the wedding photographers caught that moment,” Jordan teased, digging out a pack of gum from her pocket as she held them up to Lucy. “Maybe you could do with one of these?”

Lucy rolled her eyes, leaving Jordan to go get more of the chairs from other tables, knowing full well that she was going to be teased about this for the rest of time.

Once she’d helped out as much as she could, Lucy headed up to her room, still on a high from the whole day, already excited for the next time she would get to see her new friend.

[octuscle]

My wrestling coach of 6 years has been on my ass trying to get me to join him as his assistant coach. I’m not so interested as I have to prioritize my studies.

The problem is he keeps sending his dirty compression gear to my flat — I don’t get that. But something about that smell… it reminds me of him, his manliness… And I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t had a crush on him for the past 4 years… maybe I should accept his offer…

Well, crush is a harsh word… I mean, you started on the youth team in elementary school with your coach. You're a sophomore in college now. Sure you had a little crush on him when you were in high school. But you weren't really in love.

Since you've had a laundry basket full of his dirty clothes in your apartment, that's changed a bit. You dream about your trainer all the time. And the dream usually ends with rough sex. And a nocturnal ejaculation on your part. You're already sleeping in one of his wrestling singlets so you don't have to keep changing your bed. This prevents bigger messes.

When you get out of the shower this morning, freshly shaved all over, there's a knock at the door. Someone has left a package in front of the door. A wrestling singlet. It's still warm and damp with sweat. And someone has recently squirted into the singlet. It's actually disgusting. You actually have to go to class. But you have to try on the singlet. Now. Damn, it feels so great. The cum from Coach sticks to your smooth cock. You can feel his sweat on your skin. You smell your freshly shaved armpits. It's a good thing you haven't used deodorant yet. So you can smell Coach's musk and imagine it's yours. You have a boner. You play with your nipples. Your precum mixes with Coach's cum. And shortly afterwards you cum. An incredible amount!

You don't have time to shower. Your first marketing lecture starts in half an hour. You pull on a pair of jeans and a hoodie over your singlet, slip into socks and sneakers, grab your backpack and make your way to campus.

You could have saved yourself the day at university. You couldn't concentrate. You went to the toilet three times to have a wank. And as soon as you get back to your apartment, you wank the next time. It feels so great to come in Coach's singlet.

The next morning you wake up in your own university team singlet. You must have changed into it at some point while you were half asleep. Phew, you stink of sweat and cum. Yes, you remember… After training yesterday, there was a private wrestling session with Coach. He tried to use gentle force to persuade you to take on the job of assistant coach. The fight was great. But you don't want to. The fact that you let yourself be persuaded to switch from business studies to sports science a semester ago is the furthest thing from your mind. First lecture this morning is athletics. Not your favorite sport… But at least you don't have to shower. You take a deep breath from your bushy armpit. Fuck, yes! No wonder it drives Coach crazy. If you could, you'd fuck yourself.

Coach is still lying next to you, snoring. Today is your last fight as a student for your university. You're still wondering whether you should cut your hair for the graduation ceremony. Since you've been Coach's assistant, you've let your curls grow. But when you graduate, you'll also lose your assistant position. In two months, you will become a coach at your old high school. Best job you can imagine.

Pic found @athletic-collection

[bzhitstruth]

Coincidental circumstances

In this post I want to list the circumstances that attract my attention due to their pattern or simultaneity. I won't interpret anything, analyze the images or draw any conclusions. They are simply coincidental circumstances, things that actually happened but that may seem intriguing, strange or intentional.

It's not even really a CPN because I'm not making any assumptions. Just events.

1. Their schedules coincided in such a way that several times they were briefly in the same city, for no more than a day. This happened supposedly three times in this month and every time after that GG posts personal content. May 12-13, GGDD were both in Beijing - May 14, old Parisian selfies and videos appear; June 5-6, GGDD were in Beijing again - June 6, GG posts Chongqing photos; June 13-14, GGDD were both in Shanghai - June 14, Chongqing vlog is published.

2. On June 10, both appear in very similar clothes - brown T-shirts and green sneakers of the same style.

3. On June 10, was noticed that GG appeared at the airport without the usual amulets, but with Apple Watch. He hasn't worn one for a very long time, and in general he rarely appears with a watch, except for promotional photo shoots. On June 13, DD also wore Apple Watch during racing training, the last time he was seen with such watch was in October 2023. And it turns out that after a long break, they both wore Apple Watch simultaneously.

4. On June 13, DD flied to Shanghai, where GG has been for three days, and on the evening of June 14, they both flied out of Shanghai, each on their own business and to different places, but about an hour and a half apart.

5. On June 14, in his Chongqing vlog, GG appeared wearing Stone Island shorts, which caused a strong resonance in the fandom, because this is the brand that DD wears quite often, this is clothing from personal wardrobe. On June 16, DD flied to Shanghai wearing Stone Island long-sleeve shirt; the heat in Shanghai at that time was 30 degrees.

6. On June 16, DD received the award at the Weibo Movie Night ceremony, the ceremony ended around 20-21 hours, at 21:43 GG posted the photo from the trip, and 11 minutes later DD made the humorous post on his account. There is another coincidence on this day: exactly a year ago, on June 16, 2023, there was also an award ceremony (20th Movie Channel Media Focus Unit), and DD also received the award. And GG then made the post at 21:41 in support of the film “Street Kid”, in the text of the caption there are words: “those who work hard will shine brightly!” This year the chain of events is repeated, even GG's publications time differs by only 2 minutes.

I won't speculate and assume what exactly happened in GGDD life this month, whether these circumstances are related or not, but the fact is that we are now experiencing a rather eventful time. I just really want the events to be positive.💚❤️.

Photos of clothes are taken from this Weibo account.

[melancholitas]

A random night on the Polar Tang

Penguin: so uhm... Captain?

Shachi: Pen and I have something to tell you...

Law:.. how much do I have to deduct from your share this time?

Shachi: woah, rude! Why do you assume we broke something instantly??

Penguin: Nothing happened! This is a serious matter!

Law: Oh? Consider me listening, then. What's so pressing you're barging into my quarter at this late hour?

Penguin: well... you see... Shachi and I aren't as straight as we thought we were...

Shachi: and as we are a crew we thought you should know we are dating now!

Law: *staring exasperated at the two blushing, nervous men*..... and the sky is blue. Why are you telling me this now? Isn't it a little bit late for that?

Shachi: wait. what? Why are you so calm?!

Penguin: and what do you mean 'a little late'? we came straight to you after deciding on this!

Law:... Are you two for real now...? I wedded you two myself. 6 fucking years ago! You're even wearing wedding bands around your neck ever since?!

Penguin: WE'RE WHAT NOW??!!

Shachi: WE DO WHAT NOW??!!

Law: what the fuck do you think those are??? You insisted on me doing you the honor that very night. I still don't know where you even got those rings from. Nor do I want to, to be honest.

Penguin&Shachi: huh.... Well... Friendship rings of course?

Law: *can't hold his snort any longer* sure. friendship rings. And that smooching session at the end of the ceremony was just kissing 'the homies good night', I get it.

Penguin: Damn. Did we even go on a honeymoon? I feel betrayed out of my matrimonial rights now.

Shachi: huh.... well. we're just dating for barely 20 minutes, but if you wanna cash in on that, I'm game, dude.

Law: oh for fucks sake...if you don't need anything else, get out!

Shachi&Penguin: Aye Aye, Captain~!

[jhkfan123]

enchanted- tom blyth | ch. 6 (includes ch.7 TEASER)

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

✦vi.

when you woke up, you woke up to notifications. and lots of them. texts from all your friends. they were all something along the lines of, 

"were you on a date with the guy in your movie?"

"girl, have you checked tmz?"

"im so jealous rn. check instagram." 

oh. god. you immediately opened instagram, and there it was. the first post. 

"actor y/n spotted with tom blyth on coffee date!" connected to the headliner, was a photo of the two of you through the window of the coffee shop. this was going to blow up. it already had, according to your friends. you weren't sure what to do. do you reach out to tom? is that weird? you were going to see him tonight anyways. you texted your closest friend, who reassured you that if you wanted to shut this rumor down, you could. but did you want to? what if you didn't, and tom did? the only thing you could think to do was bring it up to tom at the party. 

...

the playlist you had made to get ready for tonight was unbeatable.  you were always the playlist maker in high school. there was always a song that fit the vibe perfectly in your back pocket.  you had named this playlist "what is even going on." you felt it fit right because truly, what was going on. why all the sudden hints, and now the articles? you weren't complaining, per se, but the switch up was pretty weird. 

according to tom's completely blunt description of the party, it was 'less formal', which gave you the idea that he didn't want to tell you it was a rager. so, you dressed appropriately. on your way there, you stopped for food, because you weren't sure what type of food would be there. when you arrived at his rental home, there was a valet outside, which made you question if this was actually a rager.  you valeted your car, tipped the worker a few bucks, and made your way inside. 

when you walked in, the lights were dimmed, there was pop music playing, a bar, and a group of people dancing. but it was nothing compared to what you imagined. you realized that maybe hollywood people don't have full on ragers. it looked like a lot of fun. you placed your coat on the coat rack and walked in. you headed straight for the bar. you needed a shot for confidence. when you approached the bar, you ordered, and took your shot. then, you wandered. looking for anyone you recognized. 

eventually, you found yourself talking to someone you had met at an awards ceremony a few years ago. they were a year older than you, and according to them, had just landed a major role. 

"well, remember me when your famous." you said. she laughed. you ended the conversation as she found another friend of hers. you looked around, but it was a sea of unknown faces, and still no tom. you decided to plop yourself on the couch. hopefully someone would approach you. you began to watch the people.  

you loved people watching. watching people dance, drink, laugh, you loved it. it was so nice to see into other peoples lives, and forget about your own. just by watching their actions, you could tell so much about a person. you could watch people for hours on end. 

"i had thought you bailed." you heard. someone sat down next to you, and tom got your attention. when you looked at him, you swore you felt lightheaded. he was wearing slack-esqe pants, with his silky button up shirt not very buttoned up. in fact, there was maybe three buttons still buttoned. jesus. you weren't sure how much more of this you could take. 

"i would never. i've just been lost in this sea of people, couldn't find you." you replied. he laughed. his hair was slightly wet, which gave you the inclination to believe that he had been dancing. that must have been why you didn't see him. there had been at least 30 people dancing in that pile. you noticed the thing chain around his neck, and his one earring. not many people talked about his earring. but you noticed it the first time you met him. you loved it. 

"i'm assuming you've seen the stories?" he asked, his smile dropped slightly. you thought you were going to have to bring it up first, but clearly not. 

"i would have to live under a rock to not have." you replied. he nodded, thinking for a moment. you decided to keep talking. "but look, there's nothing we can say to change the stories. i'm trying not to think about it or get to involved." you said. he nodded again.

"you're right. you're so right. and I'm glad you are because honestly i came over here and had no idea what to say about it. so thanks for being on top of it." he replied. you smiled at him. he smiled back. and then you were silent for a few seconds. 

"so, this is quite a party." you gestured to the room. 

"it's really not. but thanks anyways. i was originally going to have a quieter party, like rachels, but my friends convinced me to have a bit more, 'fun' with it, i guess? it's stupid. we're not in college anymore." he looked around the room before returning his gaze to you. 

"sometimes people need this kind of fun though, especially in this industry. every single party and gala and ceremony or gathering is on television and photographed, and it's nice to just have a fun party again." you commented. he agreed with you. 

"im going to go get us a drink, ok? what do you want." you told him he could bring you anything, and he was off. however, it was not long until someone took his seat. you recognized him as brady, from rachels party. although this time, he was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans. his hair was a mess. clearly he didn't put himself together for this. and mostly, he reeked of alcohol. you did not want to talk to him. 

"hey pretty, remember me?" he said. he plopped his head down on the cushion. you rolled your eyes. 

"yes, i do, brady. what do you want." you asked. he threw his arm up on the cushion on the couch. not technically on you, but it still made you uncomfortable. you scooted away slightly. 

"nothing, nothing, i just wanted to know if you were enjoying the party?" he was slurring his words. looking at him, he looked tired. even worse, he had another drink in his hand, probably after a lot of others. 

"yeah, i am, but shouldn't you lay off the drinking dude? you look pretty drunk." he did not like that. 

"i am literally fine, back off girl." you were searching for a way out of this situation. no one was paying attention to the two of you. "besides, i want to keep talking to you." this time, he put his hand on your knee. that was enough. 

"alright no, i'm not doing this." you tried to get up but he moved his hand from the cushion onto your shoulders, and applied pressure. he was trying to trap you. "hey, dude get off. i'm serious." you tried to remember the self-defense you had learned, but in this moment of panic, nothing came to mind. you froze. "get off. get off!" you kept repeating it, but he kept getting closer. he tried to kiss your neck, and he was trying to slide his hand up the back of your shirt. 

things were starting to blur, nothing was helping. you starting kicking but you couldn't get your feet where they needed to be. the room felt like it had started spinning. the music louder, the people louder and faster, the lights darker and darker. 

"hey! hey! get the fuck away from her." you heard someone begin to speak, but he wasn't getting off. then you heard a crack and a few thumps. he stopped. someone grabbed your hand and you followed them into a room. your eyes were blurring from tears, but the lights were on in this room. "sit down." your eyes finally cleared, the spinning had finally stopped, and you finally recognized that tom was standing in front of you. 

you took a few deep breaths. 

"are you ok?" he asked. he sat down next to you, and put both hands on your shoulders, signaling you to try to stop tensing, when you finally did, he let go. you hadn't responded to him yet. you were still processing what just happened. 

"i think so. i mean, obviously no, i'm not, but i'm doing ok." he got up and entered the bathroom, and returned with a box of tissues. you took one and wiped your nose, and eyes. 

"good. i'm going to text someone to call the police on him, make him leave." he assured you. his voice made you realize what he had actually done for you.

"tom, did you actually hit him?" you asked. 

"um, yeah, i beat the shit out of that man." you couldn't help but laugh. he had managed to make you laugh after everything that just happened. "i may have broke his jaw, but then again, i wasn't aiming for any particular area. i wasn't thinking. i just needed him to get off you." you saw his face grow more somber. you remembered him mentioning to you that he had known brady almost his whole life. "i wouldn't have imagined in my wildest dreams that brady would have done that. he just lost all my respect." 

"thank you, tom, for getting me out." you saw him peer down at his phone. 

"don't thank me. i feel so guilty that i left you there. i should have known , or something." 

"hey. there is no way that you could have known that was going to happen. don't beat yourself up about it." out of impulse, you placed your hand on his face. he didn't shift, didn't move, nothing. in fact, you swore you felt him relax a little at your touch. 

"i already have. why would i assume that with all the men at the party, not one would touch you?" 

"it's not something anyone expected to happen.  please, please don't get mad at yourself." he nodded. then he looked at you, and he didn't stop.  the two of you seemed to be getting closer, then. you realized that you were. the two of you were leaning in. eventually, you closed your eyes expecting a kiss. 

"no." you heard. you opened your eyes. he was shaking his head, looking down. 

"what?" you asked. your stomach immediately dropped. 

"i won't kiss you. not right now." he answered. you straightened up your posture. 

"why not...but..you just.."you began to stutter. 

"y/n, you were just panicked, and almost taken advantage of, and even though, i really would like to kiss you, i feel like by doing so i am also taking advantage of you." he seemed to be kicking himself over this. "your in a state of shock that i have seen before. if your not thinking straight, i don't want to do this, not right now at least." you sat there for a moment. was he right? you realized that it was really hard to decide. you said nothing. "y/n, listen. the police are here, and i'm going to go talk to them. stay in here." then he left. 

after he closed the door. there was only one thing you could think about:

'i really would like to kiss you'

but he didn't. you didn't kiss. he got up, and left. 

...

next thing you know, he was driving you back to your house. you had heard some yelling when the police arrived, and the party ended as soon as they arrived. you supposed that no one really wanted to party anymore after a man was arrested for attempted assault. 

about five minutes later, once you heard all the voices stop, tom came back in. he told you he was taking you home, and then, once you had stood up, he hugged you. you held the hug for an entire minute. you really needed it. 

on the way home, you called your closest family member and cried to them. 

once home, tom waited for you to shower, and get in bed before he finally left. 

what a night. 

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

TEASER FOR CHAPTER SEVEN

you had spent the entire rest of that second day in bed. you canceled the meeting you had planned, and just sat in bed. you slept a little, cried a little, and most of all, you had texted with tom occasionally. he checked in almost every hour of the day. 

when you woke up the day after that, you woke up to no notifications. so you decided to check social media. bad idea. after a few scrolls, another post from tmz popped up. but it wasn't about you and tom. instead, it read: 

RACHEL ZEGLER AND TOM BLYTH DATING RUMORS ARISE. 

[cafeinthemoon]

Ruins - Part XIX

Chapter 19

Wordcount 4,2k

Title Part XIX

Fandom Shuumatsu no Valkyrie / Record of Ragnarok

Previous chapters 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 . 9 . 10 . 11 . 12 . 13 . 14 . 15 . 16 . 17 . 18

Symbols ⭕ . ➕ . 💛

Warnings: none

Tagging @holdyourwine @lilacshouko @shirayuki-ayumi @telvess (If you want to be tagged in any of my stories, just leave a comment on this chapter or send an ask or a message)

N. A.: Hello again :) I've been so anxious about how this chapter would be, if the descritions would be ok, if it would be too short, too long, boring, over detailed, but finally it's published! I'm so happy and relieved! I feel like I've been putting too much expectations on the Psique's Ritual and my biggest fear was to mess up with it, but I think it's good the way it ended up.

The party after the ceremony will have much more happening, so I knew this chapter wouldn't be enough to tell everything, so wait for the next part and, for now, have some minor, "solar" conflict ;)

The morning of the wedding came still and warm, the first one of the Spring that your life was about to become.

You left your bed with the thought of a sweet expectancy, and with the happy consciousness of having left the weights and fears behind.

It looks like any other day of Valhalla, and it could be. Except for me and my loved ones.

Days ago, you finally managed to talk to your parents about the separation that waited for you in the near future. It was a calm conversation, sad in some points, but surprisingly relieving in others, and those hours you’ve spoken with each other were something that you would never forget.

You’ve been carrying those fears for too long, but you were glad you took the chance to express them while your parents were still there. You confessed to them that you avoided talking about the dreams because you didn’t understand them, and you didn’t want to make them worried; you also supposed that they wouldn’t understand it as well. But to them, the real meaning of the dreams was as surprising as it was to you, and they weren’t less happy, as they soon made you know.

You told them you were scared with the idea of not having them forever by your side, and that you didn’t feel ready to be a Queen. And, about this, they were more prepared than you expected.

– No one feels ready for great roles in life, my dear – your mother explained – But admitting this to yourself is the first step to learn how to assume a responsibility.

– Besides, you won’t be alone in this – your father corroborated – Hades-sama is an experienced, wise god, as far as we could see. He will guide you in everything you need.

– And he seems willing to do that! – your mother said with a smile – Seeing my girls being loved and well treated is the dream of any mother, and you’re going to make it a reality!

– We’re proud of you, y/n-chan!

You felt your throat tightening with those words.

– But you’re not afraid of our separation? You’re not worried that our time together is almost over?

That time, their smiles faded a bit, but not their confidence.

– Even if you stayed human, our time together would come to an end – your father replied – Still, we wouldn’t think too much about this, right?

– We would just live and enjoy our days together, as any family in our world would do – your mother said – This isn’t different. We’re happy to be your parents, and we’re glad for the time you’ve stood with us.

You were no longer able to hold back your tears. You jumped into their arms, squeezing them tight.

– I love you so much…

– We love you too, dear.

– We will love you always.

You had that moment in mind for all the time you prepared yourself to the ceremony, content that you had no regrets.

***

Though you woke up early, the real preparations only started by afternoon, since the ceremony would take place by the evening. Still, you were surprised with the agitation at Valhalla during those few hours: many gods, goddesses and other people were invited, and Hermes and the elves were too busy receiving them. You had the chance to see and even talk to a few of them and, contrary to what you were expecting, they treated you with kindness, as if you were already one of them, though some had peculiar ways to show their surprise, so that you guessed that there were gods that never saw a human being from close before, and others haven’t seen one in centuries.

Hades, on his turn, has been in constant contact with his brothers and solving some practical matters concerning your imminent travel to the Underworld. According to him, Adamas, who was finishing some administrative tasks in Hellheim, was going to arrive at the afternoon, as well as Poseidon. Zeus, on the other hand, has been there for a few days now, and you’ve talked to him about the ambrosia and the procedures involving it.

You didn’t sleep in the same room as the other disciples: you were given a separated space to rest and take ceremonial baths, according to the Greek traditions taught to you by Hades. After being visited by two elvish women who brought you the garment and the accessories, you went to the room where your sisters were, and counted on them to do your hair and your makeup. You showed them the hairpin Hades gave to you and asked them to help you compose a hairstyle with it; the girls were fascinated by its beauty, and it was hard to keep Ellie’s little hands away from it.

After chatting and helping them with their own garments, you called an elf to take them ahead of you to the great hall.

You were there alone meditating when Hermes came to guide you to the great hall where the wedding was going to happen. There was a moment of silence, when you held your breath, but then you stood up and opened your best smile.

– I’m ready.

He offered his arm to you, and with one last look in the mirror to confirm everything was alright, you accepted the invitation to leave the room.

***

That corridor wasn’t different from the one where your room was, through which you’ve walked so many times, so you had a general idea of how long it was. Still, you had mixed sensations about crossing it: sometimes, it looked like you were almost reaching the great hall, and other times you thought you were too far from it.

In the meantime, Hermes and you had a brief conversation.

– I still find it hard to believe we’ve reached this stage, Hermes-sama – you were saying – There was fear, curiosity, warmth, desperation and, finally, happiness. It’s just too much when we remember it has only been a few months!

– You’re right – the god responded with a smile – And it was an interesting experience to observe all of this happening.

You felt your eyes getting filled with tears.

– And it was a privilege to have your company in all of these moments. You’ve been a great friend, Hermes-sama.

Hermes made you turn a corner and stopped, turning to you and kissing your forehead just like he did in the kitchen when you told him you were going to accept Hades’ proposal.

– And you’ve been, and will continue to be, a great little sister, y/n-chan.

The treatment, used by him for the first time, almost made you undo your makeup by crying, but with great effort you managed to control yourself. Hermes then guided you to the end of that new corridor, and pushed the doors that were in front of you by its end.

Soft lights invaded the corridor and touched your faces like the promise of a good dream, and you were presented to the great hall where your family, gods, Zeus-sama and the King of the Underworld were waiting for you.

***

In front of you, there was a long, narrow path covered with a light carpet and petals of yellow narcissus taken from the fields you once visited at the Gardens. You smiled to the vision.

– Can’t believe he remembered the day when we crossed the narcissus paths – you whispered to Hermes.

– Hades-sama has a privileged memory, y/n-chan – was his reply.

You looked around and saw many other details on the decoration that reminded you of the encounters you had: chords of flowers hanging from the ceiling, rounded recipients full of water that resembled the fountains at the Gardens and marble statues on the corners.

There were people on both sides of the path, and all of them stood up at your arrival: at the right, there were gods and goddesses from many pantheons, aside from the Greek gods you’ve already knew, and at the left, you saw the human girls with whom you’ve shared the lodge, demigods, nymphs and other spirits of nature, elves and minor deities. You felt so small when you noticed all those people who were there to celebrate the peculiar union, some of them clearly wanting to see a human for the first time, as well as to witness the rare Psique’s Ritual. For a moment, you considered asking Hermes if the goddess was present to see the ritual that carried her name, but you stood quiet. And, when you saw all those eyes turning to you, all you could think of was running away, and the only thing that stopped you from doing it was the approaching of someone you loved – your father, who came to replace Hermes by your side. He offered his arm and you accepted it, walking toward the altar.

Hades was there at the left side, waiting for you with his hands behind his back, while his brother was in the middle of it, in front of a golden table. The man you loved was as beautiful as you’ve always seen him, but something in the lights made you think his godly nature has never been so evident, and the majesty in his figure set him apart even from his fellow gods. His eyes – that is, his left eye and the right one covered with the eye patch – were glued on you, and as you approached the altar, you noticed the glow of tears over his visible eye: his happiness was there for anyone to see, and that only deepened your love and admiration for him.

You father stopped with you in front of the altar, and Hades walked down the three stairs that separated you to meet you two. Your father released your arm and kissed your head, murmuring encouraging words to you; he turned to the groom and, with a nod, he walked to your mother’s side, in the first row of the left wing, where she was holding Ellie while Luna and Helena were with her.

When your father left, Hades and you exchanged whispered, sweet words and giggling.

– You’re scary today, my Lord – you joked about the eye patch.

– Today I need to be scary, my girl – he replied – There’s too much people watching.

He took your hand and led you to the first stair, where Zeus was waiting for you. He opened a brief smile, then turned to the table and took something from it; when he turned again, you saw a silver goblet in his hands, filled with a liquid that reminded you of wine – ambrosia, about which you’ve talked in your conversations concerning the ceremony. You already knew you would have to drink it before the wedding itself, but never thought too much about this moment until it finally came, so when the Lord of Heaven offered the goblet to you, your hands hesitated for a second, but then you grabbed the object and held it tight in front of you.

Zeus changed his posture, raising his hands and speaking with a firm, louder voice, different from the one you’ve got used to hear from his mouth.

– Before the eyes of all the immortal and mortal ones who are here, I, Zeus, Lord of Heavens and Head of the Greek House, declare the beginning of the Ritual of Psique. And I call you, human Y/n of the Ys/n Family, from Midgard, to take your part on it by drinking the blessed liquid – and, looking into your eyes, – Take it, now, and change to join divinity.

A heavy silence spread all over the great hall as the echo of the god’s words reached its deepest parts and died, and you felt everyone’s eyes burning your back. With a deep breath, you glanced inside the goblet and closed your eyes as you approached its brim from your lips, emptying the cup in a few seconds.

You would never be able to remember the exact taste of the ambrosia: you only remembered the sensation of a cold liquid filling your mouth, and a warmth appearing as it was poured down your throat, but instead of the familiar feeling of a liquid reaching your stomach, the ambrosia simply disappeared inside your body, and no remaining taste was noticed in your mouth; it was like you never consumed anything.

However, it didn’t take long for the effects to start showing.

While a heat wave spread all over your limbs, a tingling sensation started on your fingertips, under your nails, and all over your scalp, increasing slowly as if something was bubbling, or growing out of these parts; the sensation, however, reverberated in your entire body. You raised your hands and looked at your nails, gasping when you saw them changing their color from the natural one, under the transparent polish nail you chose, to a purplish shade, soft and pleasing to the eye; besides, they were now longer, but still followed the almond shape you used to wear.

You looked at Hades and found him staring at you, ecstatic; at the moment when you were going to touch your hair, feeling something strange after the tingling started, he approached his hand and took off the hairpin from it, and that time you were the surprised one: untying and spreading by themselves, a mass of curls and waves fell on your back and reached your ankles’ height; you held some strands and laughed when you saw that their color was also changed, but to a darker version of the nails’ purple.

Hades approached for the second time and, passing his hands around your head, he grabbed a few strands and tied them with the hairpin. He took the chance to reveal a third change, this one invisible to you until you had the chance to look into a mirror.

– Your eyes are now lilac, little one.

You opened your mouth in surprise, and Zeus intervened:

– Since you are on the growing spectrum, more changes are expected in the next days – he explained, in a lower, assuring tone – But the first seeds of your new nature are alive and awake. Welcome to the world of the gods, Y/n.

Your emotions were roaring inside you, but you kept composed and nodded in respect.

– Thank you, Zeus-sama.

You raised the goblet and Zeus took it, returning it to its place on the table. He then showed the crowd a second object: a small, silver plate where you saw two pieces of what looked like sesame cakes.

Now, the way for the wedding was free, as the god’s next words indicated.

– For now we have both god and goddess before us, there are no impediments for the marital contract to be sealed – he put the plate between you – You both, take them.

Hades and you took the cakes at the same time. That was the moment of the ceremony you were the most anxious to take part in: the exchange of the ceremonial food. It as a simple part, but you were afraid you would start laughing of nervousness, but fortunately none of this happened. Obeying Zeus’ orientations, Hades gave you his cake and you gave yours to him.

Zeus put the plate back on the table and, for the third time, took something from it: a large stray with a golden ring and a delicate earring of the same color. Hades took the earring and, moving your hair away with a gentle gesture, he put the jewel on your left ear; you took the ring from the stray and put it on his left hand, on his ring finger.

Zeus held your hands together for a moment, then made the announcement.

– By the powers of Heaven, I declare you husband and wife.

Those words, the concretization of something you’ve been dreaming of for months, brought hot tears to your eyes. Hades – now, your husband – pulled you closer and kissed you twice, the first time on your forehead, the second on your lips.

You both turned to the crowd, and watched with silent happiness as they received with smiles and claps the new couple and the new goddess.

***

The festivity that happened right after the ceremony, in the same rooms where the ball in which you’ve solved Hades’ enigma took place, was organized to receive the new family of the Greek pantheon and it was a good counterpoint for the solemnity of both the wedding and the ritual. Despite continuing to be the focus of the attentions beside your husband, you were more at will now, for your family was close, you already talked to the friends you’ve made on the lodge and had the opportunity to meet many gods and goddesses you’ve only knew by name.

And, about each of them, you formed curious opinions.

One of the first gods you met was from your own, new pantheon, and even when you’ve never saw him before, you’ve kind of guessed his identity once he appeared in front of you: a young man with pretty, delicate traits, dressed in extravagant, golden garment and with a long, pink hair falling on his back approached you two with the confidence of a king, bringing with him the heat you’d expect to feel outside your home in a Summer day.

As soon as he put his scrutinizing eyes on you, a feeling of being exposed to an intense light took over you, and you had to fight the impulse of hiding behind Hades.

I’m a goddess now. I can’t just shame myself this way.

The first words exchanged between you were said by the newcomer.

– If only I could tell you, big bro, how much I had to restrain myself from approaching the altar and examining her from close – the man stretched his hand and held your jawline, turning your face from one side to the other, as to not miss the smallest detail of your appearance – She’s such a beauty! – and, blinking an eye to your husband, – You’ve always had an eye for treasures, dear uncle.

You glanced at Hades and, to your surprise, his response to the god’s attitude was to smile.

– Your enthusiasm is laudable, but I’m afraid you’re scaring my wife, Apollo.

The other man, only then realizing the possibility of being intrusive, let go of your jawline and made a proper presentation.

– Forgive me for this indiscretion, little flower – he nodded – I am Apollo, God of the Sun. It is a pleasure to receive you in our family. From now on, consider me your elder brother.

You followed the etiquette and nodded to greet him.

– Thank you for celebrating with us and considering me part of your family, Apollo-sama.

– Ah, you don’t need to thank me, dear – Apollo caressed your chin – I’m too attached to my family, so of course I’d come. Besides, don’t you know that the ritual to transform a mortal being in a deity hasn’t been seen in ages? I couldn’t miss this opportunity. And, obviously, I was curious to know the woman who won my uncle’s cold heart, that is, what kind of beauty she carried in her.

You laughed at those words: despite his extravagance, Apollo was a good guy, with a pleasing sense of humor.

The conversation would have continued in this rhythm if it wasn’t for the arrival of another person, as interesting as him: a woman of Asian traits, with a young, majestic face covered in white makeup and red lips, contrasting with her black hair, tied up with luxurious hairpins; something in her way resembled Apollo, but in a quieter manner. The god of the Sun fell silent once he noticed her presence, and you sensed that he wasn’t exactly content with it.

The goddess’ voice sounded just like her figure suggested it would sound: soft, but firm, articulated, but sensitive.

– Hades-sama, Apollo-sama – she nodded to each of them as she spoke – It’s been a long time since our last reunion – and, turning to you, – But I’m content that the reason that reunited us today is a happy one.

Hades made the presentations.

– Y/n, this is Amaterasu, from the Japanese pantheon. She’s the Goddess of the Sun.

You greeted her with the same respect you treated her Greek counterpart. Amaterasu looked into your eyes for a moment, as if reading a secret in them, then spoke in a prophetic tone:

– There is a light inside you that has been there since you were born, young goddess – and, opening a hopeful smile, – The consumption of the ambrosia amplified and strengthened it, for your own good and for the ones you love.

You had no idea of what she was talking about, but you wouldn’t interrupt her. However, there was someone who wasn’t so composed in this sense.

– It is a pleasure for me to meet you again after so many centuries, Amaterasu – it was Apollo’s voice; he was really displeased for having his chatting with you interrupted by a member of a foreigner pantheon – But if you don’t mind, Y/n must receive blessings from her own pantheon first.

The Japanese goddess stared at him and, without arguing, smiled and raised her hands in a gesture of rendition.

– I just thought you already gave her your blessing, Apollo-sama. But if you didn’t, go ahead. I’m not stopping you.

Apollo, still with his hurt ego, didn’t mind replying to her, turning to you instead.

– Young Y/n, you’ve already proved your beauty by your hard work concerning the solution of your husband’s enigma, in which you showed your aspiration for a greater fate than your former nature could concede you.

You didn’t see yourself as this ambitious person, but you let him continue. And, as he spoke, you began to see his surroundings changing as a golden light involved his figure.

Is this an ability I gained as a goddess? I felt like I’m witnessing a glimpse of his true form.

– This is my gift to you, my dear – he took your hands and held them tight between you – May you continue what you started here in your new life as a Queen, and your soul grow in wisdom, kindness and strength of will, for all of this is beauty.

You gave his hands a soft squeeze in response.

– May everything happens exactly as you say, Apollo-sama – you whispered – Thank you for your blessing.

– Once again, no need to thank me, my flower, for prophecy isn’t but my job – untangling his hands from yours, he brushed your hair behind your ear; and, glancing at Hades, – Now, if you two excuse me, there are a group of anxious nymphs longing for company somewhere in this hall.

Without any other word or need for verbal responses from you or the other presents, Apollo turned his back on the group and walked away, as dramatic as a Summer sunset.

When he was out of sight, you heard a sweet giggle. You looked around and saw Amaterasu staring at the path taken by the other sun god.

– He never changes – she turned to you – But he’s a good man, despite what you just saw. Now, allow me to give you my blessing, Y/n – she repeated Apollo’s gesture, taking your hands in hers – The light you already bear in you, which has been brought to sight by the blessed drink, must never fade, and never fail you. The paths that wait for you, young goddess, are sinuous and dark, but may the lamps of consciousness be fed by this light, and fear never lead you stray.

Something similar to what happened during Apollo’s blessing happened now: you saw Amaterasu’s figure surround itself with a light that reminded you the first rays of a calm day, and as much as you felt encouraged and inspired by Apollo’s words, you felt comforted and determined with Amaterasu’s, and you thanked her with the same enthusiasm you showed to the Greek solar deity.

– I pray that everything happens as you determine, Amaterasu-sama. Thank you for your blessing.

The goddess inclined her head toward you, then did the same to Hades before leaving, with the same serenity in which she came.

You were still thinking of her words when you felt your hand being held by your husband. You turned to him to find a smile on his lips.

– Being blessed by solar deities is a great privilege for any person, god or mortal – he commented; and, with a playful tone, – But having two of them competing for attention is something you must never forget.

You laughed.

– I can see that. But it’s funny that, though I understand they must have reasons to not be so fond of each other, I don’t think they should feed conflicts between them so often.

Hades raised an eyebrow.

– How so?

– They might be the representations for the same concept in different pantheons, but each of them bring something unique to it – you explained – Apollo-sama, is like the imposing, powerful midday sun; Amaterasu-sama, on the other hand, is solemn, but welcoming as the morning sun. And I like both.

The King of Hellheim stared at you with kindness, as recognizing in your attitude one more reason to love you.

– Sustaining this view on such subjects is easier in theory, but I suppose it’s not going to be a problem for you to bring it to the practical field as a former human – he pondered.

– Do you think so?

He caressed your hair in response.

– I do. And I think we will have much fun learning with each other in this sense.

Part XX

[dancingtotuyo]

The Life We Built (Joel Miller)

Part 5 of Build You The World Joel X Reader Rating: PG-13 (Language) Warnings: fluff, that's it. Tags: no outbreak, fluff, craftsman!Joel, Time jump, it's 2023 folks, no mentions of COVID, you decide if it happened Notes: So we've reached the end of this little adventure that was only supposed to be a one shot, but never fear! I have another Joel Miller idea in the works. Check out my Masterlist for some Javier Peña works as well! Thank you everyone for your support! Words: 1998

Series Master List | Author Master list

Joel eased into the chair next to you under the pergola he built 25 years ago. It was still sturdy and spoke to Joel’s craftsmanship. The sun was beginning to set, granting some relief to the spring heat as you watched your three grown children clean up the backyard. They’d insisted the two of you relax. 

Emma graduated from Duke last weekend with honors in Pre-med. Which meant traveling to North Carolina for the ceremony. Joel has insisted on driving up. He hated flying. With a 20-hour car ride one way, you caught up on a lot of reading and almost booked yourself a plane ticket home. The two of you had been gone for almost a week. So her graduation party took place this weekend at home. She’d been accepted into UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Medicine and would be going back to Durham in a couple of weeks. She was officially moving out, boxes already stacked high in her room. You and Joel both chose not to think about your baby leaving the nest for good.  

Emma laughed at something Asher said. You couldn’t see Sarah roll her eyes, but you knew by her body language. Joel chuckled next to you. He sensed it too, both in tune with your children. 

Asher graduated with a Bachelor's in Engineering from UT-Austin a few years ago, choosing to stay close to home. He had a small apartment in town working at Miller Construction since graduation. Joel joked that if he didn’t put his degree to use soon, he was gonna have to rebrand as Miller and Son. You had a sneaking suspicion that’s what Asher wanted. He and Joel shared the same love of building things with their hands. 

“Grandpa!” Sarah’s 3-year-old daughter, Jessie bounded across the yard, dark curls bouncing like springs behind her. You could see the brightly colored book in her grasp.

She panted heavily as she reached the two of you. Her small hands rested on Joel’s knees. She looked up through dark lashes. “Will you read this to me?”

Joel smiled. She reminded you so much of Sarah at her age. “Don’t you want grandma to do it? She’s a much better reader than me.”

“No, you!”

“Okay, Okay.” Joel chuckled, pulling the child onto his lap. You closed your eyes as you listened to Joel read. His drawl had only deepened with age but it still flowed like honey. It soothed your weary bones and often brought you through time, making you feel 25 again. 

Sarah had started college at the University of Georgia but transferred to UT-Austin after her freshman year. She loved Georgia, but she missed being close to her family more. She’d earned her Bachelor's in Journalism and Creative Writing (also with Honors). Working across all aspects of journalism, she went back to get her MFA several years later. She worked freelance for several publications and taught a creative writing class at the community college in town. She’d married Mike 6 years ago. They’d been together since senior year of college aside from a one-year gap. They’d bought a house just down the street from you and Joel soon after their wedding. Jessie’s 4th birthday was next week, and aside from her husband, you were the only other person to know that Sarah was 8 weeks pregnant. They were planning to reveal it next on Father’s Day.

You and Sarah were convinced Joel didn’t have a clue. The two of you were desperate to surprise him. Other than his 45th birthday party, you and Sarah hadn’t been able to surprise Joel in the 31 years you’d loved him. He’d even figured out Sarah’s first pregnancy before they’d told anyone. 

Joel continued to read. The world drifted further away only anchored by the sound of his voice. Sometimes a bird’s song drifted in and out. The warm breeze floated across your skin. Joel’s voice stayed constant. 

“Grandpa… Shhhhh, grandma is sleepin.”

Joel looked up from the book. He smiled. The wrinkles around his eyes were well-defined now. “I think she’s just restin her eyes, kiddo.”

“That’s what you say when you’re sleeping!” Jessie giggled. 

“Keep reading,” you said, keeping your eyes closed. “The story was just getting good.” 

He looked at Jessie who nodded her head, and he continued. 

The construction business had been good to Joel. Miller Construction kept its outstanding reputation throughout the years, something Joel worried about as the number of crews grew and his ability to check up on every job decreased. Joel spent most of his days on job sites in a supervisory capacity. He trained the new hires to meet his rigid standards, and his body took less wear and tear. He was able to spend more quiet morning moments with you. At 56 years old, he was still the best pitcher in the men’s rec softball league. He took every Thursday morning off to hang out with Jessie while Sarah taught her class at the Community College. He piddled in the garage on weekends, working on the next project. He’d just redone the kitchen cabinets. Tommy joked that Joel lived in partial retirement, but there was some truth to it. You liked seeing him take time 

Joel finished the book as Sarah and Mike walked over. You slowly opened your eyes, letting the world envelope you once again. 

“It’s time for us to go home, Bear,” Mike said. 

Before Jessie could issue a complaint, Joel pulled her into a back-breaking squeeze. She laughed. He tickled her sides. “Grandpa!” 

“I gotta make sure you meet your tickle quota.” 

“I have! I have!” Jessie laughed, her cheeks turning red. 

“Okay,” Joel let out a deep breath. “I think that’s enough for today.” 

Jessie wrapped her arms around Joel’s neck, kissing his cheek. “Love you, Grandpa!”

“I love you too.” He kissed her cheek, patting her back. “I’ll see you on Thursday.”

Jessie slid off his lap, rushing to you. A chorus of goodbyes between parties rose in the corner of your backyard in hugs and handshakes. Jessie nestled into her father’s arms, eyes already beginning to droop. 

Joel wrapped his arms around you. You leaned into him. His hands traveled down your back, lips finding yours. You grinned feeling warm and giddy. Even after all these years, he still had the same effect on you. 

Gagging noises interrupted your moment. Asher and Emma stood on the porch directing said sounds at you. 

“Get a room!”

“We don’t want to see that!”

Joel flipped them off before firmly grabbing your ass making a show of the steamy kiss he planted on you. You laughed. He kissed your neck softly. 

“You’re gonna traumatize the kids.”

“They’re grown adults. They can leave.” He nuzzled into your neck. “I want to kiss my wife in our backyard.”  

“Y’all are gross.” Asher chided. 

“If it weren’t for us, you two wouldn’t be here,” Joel shouted back. 

“You say that like it’s a good thing!” Emma responded. “Have you seen the world?”

“Hey,” You laughed. “You’re the saving grace of this family, Miss I’m going to be a doctor.” 

Asher scowled. “Don’t say that. Her head will get bigger than it already is.” He ruffled Emma’s hair. 

Emma rolled her eyes. “We’re done cleaning up. We’ll leave you two to do… that.” She motioned toward you and Joel. “Asher’s gonna take me out on the town.”

“Make smart decisions,” Joel called.

“Always!” Emma smiled. 

The duo filed out of the backyard leaving you and Joel alone. Joel kissed your forehead as you swayed to a nonexistent tune. 

When you finally stopped, you and Joel sought the respite of AC inside. Joel prepared a plate of leftovers for the two of you to share on the couch. You read as Joel watched the Baseball game on low volume. You propped your feet on his lap. His thumbs found the soles of your feet applying pressure. You hummed. 

You had stepped down from your position at Miller Construction after Emma started high school. As much as you loved working with Joel and helping him build and expand the business, desires drew you elsewhere. You started working part-time at the public library. When their head librarian announced plans to retire, the city had offered to pay for you to get your Masters in Library Science providing you could give them a 10-year commitment. Daunting at first, you’d managed to complete the courses in 2 years via an online program. You work at the library full-time now. Joel often brought Jessie in on Thursday mornings along with a coffee for you. You tended to the garden on weekends. Joel replaced your raised beds a few years ago. You had the kids over for dinner once a week. You and Sarah walked the block on pleasant evenings. You spent lazy evenings on the couch with Joel, something that had rarely been a part of your marriage until the past few years. 

“I’ve been thinking…”

You looked up from your book. “Uh oh, that’s never good.”

He tickled the bottom of your foot earning a squeal. Everyone talked about growing out of being ticklish. That had never happened to you. “I think it’s probably time to refinish the book nook.”

You glanced behind you, eyes trailing over the bookshelves Joel had built you more than 25 years ago. They’d been through it. The finish was peeling in a few places. The cabinet doors that lined the bottom were dented and scratched from a number of things bumping and running into it while raising 3 kids. You glanced at the farthest one, still stained with faint marks from Emma taking Sharpies to it when she was 3. Residue from stickers marked other areas. 

“Sounds like a big project.”

“I’ve got the time.” Joel smiled. 

He reached down beside him, revealing a gift bag. A simple brown paper bag with a gold ribbon neatly tied and curled. Sarah’s trademark. He handed it to you with a smile.

“This from you or Sarah?”

“Me.” Joel crinkled his nose. “Just asked Sarah to wrap it for you.”

You lifted the bag up and down. It felt like it was probably a book. It rarely wasn’t. “And what is this for?” You smiled at him.

“Just fulfilling my husbandly duties.”

You laughed as you untied the ribbon. Joel had taken your first line to him like an oath over the course of your relationship. He’d surprised you with a new book at random times. Sometimes you came home to one on the kitchen counter or your nightstand. Other times, wrapped or handed to you, each with an inscription detailing something he loved about you and how “Pretty” didn’t cut it. 

You smiled at him, pulling a hardcover book out of the bag. You opened the front cover. A piece of paper slipped out. Before you could investigate, Joel’s handwriting caught your attention. 

I don’t know if you’ve been counting, darling, but this is the 100th book I’ve given you. When I met you in that bar, I knew if I had the chance to give you just one, I’d be the luckiest man alive. 

We always talked about going on a big trip for our 25th wedding anniversary. I know it’s a little bit late, but I booked us on that trip to Italy you were eying last year. 

I’m sure it’ll be beautiful, but I still think the best view is you. 

I love you, Darling. 

You picked up the slip of paper: the booking confirmation set for mid-September. You looked up at Joel, tears blurring your vision. 

He chuckled. “Surprise.”

You set the book carefully on the end table, moving onto Joel’s lap. “You hate flying.”

“But I love new places.” He kissed your nose. He still looked at you like you hung the galaxy. You imagined you looked at him the same. “And you.”  

You kissed him, the words whispered for just the two of you. “I love you too.”

[jerzwriter]

I do. Me too.

Ethan & Kaycee

Ainna strikes again! How we give her a few little pieces and an idea, and she just brings it to life will never cease to amaze me! In my HC, Ethan & Kaycee's wedding day was last week, July 29th. It's a simple, informal affair held at a beach house they had rented on the Cape. It's also a surprise wedding. With guests thinking they're coming to a surprise birthday/engagement party for Kaycee, but the guests are the ones in for the surprise. Here's a little more about their big day. I'll be adding to it over time.

I hope you enjoy this little fic about how they spent the morning of their big day!

Book: Open Heart (Post Series)

Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Kaycee MacClennan)

Rating: Teen

Words: 1,400

Summary: They didn't want a lot of fuss, so they planned their "surprise wedding" in less than a month. On the morning of the big day, they remember they forgot to iron out a couple of details, but it all works out in the end.

A/N: @choicesmonthlychallenge (Throwback to February, Day 12, Marriage).

Kaycee peered out the bedroom window, perplexed to see the beach nearly deserted on a perfect July day. The homes on this part of the Cape owned the beaches that served as their backyards. Still, she and Ethan had had rented this property before, and on a Saturday in July, the neighbors were usually out in force. She let the curtain fall from her hand and shook her head.

“Ethan, what did you do?” she laughed to herself.

July 29th had arrived. She couldn’t say finally, as she and Ethan picked this day less than a month before, but it was hard to believe it was here. In just over an hour, they’d greet their guests, who would learn they weren’t sitting in traffic on Route 6 for Kaycee’s surprise birthday party. No, the surprise was all for them because today was their wedding day.

With the exception of her parents, Alan and Naveen, no one knew. They only caved and told them the week before, and now, she was glad they did. The four of them were happily attending to last-minute details – which she was convinced included threatening the neighbors to stay inside until the ceremony ended – leaving her to quietly enjoy her last hours as a single woman.  

Also, she couldn’t have imagined getting ready for this day without her Mom. Rose had helped her into her wedding gown. Then she presented her with the pearl drop earrings she wore on her own wedding day, and Kaycee’s grandmother had worn on hers many years before. Even though Kaycee was going for a natural look, makeup still had to be reapplied after that. Now, with Rose off to ensure every flower was in its perfect place, Kaycee stood before the full-length mirror in her room, spinning in circles and watching the sheer, delicate lace of her gown dancing around her. Time spent planning be damned, she was allowed to say... the day was finally here!

A knock on the door startled her. She was pretty sure it was Rose making her way back, but just to be safe, she asked.

“Who is it?”

“It’s your future husband,” Ethan declared, a smile present in his voice. “I’m just checking to make sure you haven’t come to your senses and run away.”

“Hmmm, it was a close call,” she laughed through the door. “But Naveen stopped by and put this ankle monitor on me, so you’re safe.”

“Thank God for Naveen,” he chuckled. “You know, since Tobias still has no idea that he’s going to be my best man, I could change my mind and give the honor to Naveen.”

“Now, Ethan Ramsey! What has Tobias done for you to consider taking his title away?”

“Nothing. That’s just it; he’s done nothing, whereas Naveen prevented you from becoming a runaway bride.”

“Ethan,” she laughed. “If I was going to run away, it would have been long ago. You’re safe with me.”

Their conversation had all been in good fun, but those last four words left Ethan choked up. You’re safe with me.

“I know that,” he said with a cracked voice. “And I hope you know you’re safe with me, too.”

Kaycee leaned against the wooden door, a tender smile on her face. “Of course, I do, Ethan. Of course, I do.”

“Good,” he grinned. “And I heard two I do’s there. Excellent work, Rookie. Get practice in because I’m going to need you to say that one more time very soon.”  

“Oh, I plan on it,” she reassured.

“So, we never really discussed it.. but when do I get to see you? It won’t be when you’re walking down the aisle, will it?”

“Considering we’ll be greeting our guests together, I think that’s a no. See, these are the things we would have ironed out if we had gone a more traditional route.”

“Any regrets?” he asked.

“Not one.”

“Good. But that puts me right back where I started. When do I get to see you?”

“Well... nothing is stopping me from opening this door right now.”

“All right, but shouldn’t I go grab the photographer? I believe it’s called a first look shot or something like that.”

“You could,” she replied with a question in her voice. “But I’m not of the belief that every moment has to be shared or recorded. Some of them should just be lived, and I want to share this with you and you alone. Is that all right?”

“All right?” He enthused. “I think I just fell in love with you a little more.”

“All right,” she beamed, bouncing on the balls of her feet with excitement. “Let me step back, and I’ll tell you when to open the door so we can see each other at the same time.”

Ethan’s heart began to race with anticipation. “Sounds good, but don’t make it long.”

“The room isn’t that big, Ethan,” she teased as she fluffed her skirt and positioned her lace train around her. “OK,” she beamed. “You can come in.”

His hand was already on the knob, and the door opened before Kaycee could complete the words. A puff of air escaped him, and he visibly stepped back when his eyes fell upon her.

“Kaycee...”  he gasped, completely overwhelmed. “You look...” he wanted to say so much, but words truly escaped him.

“So, is it appropriate?” she giggled.

A bright smile spread on his lips, and he quickly closed the distance between them before taking his bride into his arms.

“You are breathtaking,” he breathed into her ear. “I knew you would be, but,” he stepped back with tears in his eyes. “Nothing could prepare me for this.”

“So... it’s definitely appropriate,” she grinned. 

“I’m glad to see that getting married will have no impact on you being the wiseass I fell in love with.”

“Oh, never!” she assured. Moving closer, she smoothed out his lapel as Ethan wrapped his arm around the small of her back, pulling her tightly against him. “You look gorgeous, too,” Kaycee whispered. “Remind me how I got this lucky?”

“You,” he asked, lifting her hand over her head and giving her a gentle spin. His eyes drinking in every inch of her. “The lucky one is me, and I won’t hear any arguments.”

“We’re both lucky,” she smiled.

“OK, I’ll accept that one!”

“So,” she questioned. “We have a little time to kill before guests begin to arrive. What would you like to do?”

Ethan smirked, leaving little to the imagination. “If I did what I want to do right now, I promise, we wouldn’t be in any condition to greet our guests anytime soon.”

“We will save that for tonight, dear.”

“Yes, and we’ll be kicking people out early! But what would you like to do now?” he asked.

“I know! Why don’t we take a quick walk along the beach? I know it’s a small guest list, but even so... once everyone arrives, I won’t have you to myself until the end of the day. So, want to take a quick walk, just you and me?”

“I’d love that,” he smiled. “But you need one thing before we go.”

“I do. What’s that?”

Ethan stepped back into the hall, returning with Kaycee’s bridal bouquet in his hand. 

“I think this will complete the picture.”

Kaycee held the bouquet to her nose, inhaling the beautiful fragrance of the soft pink and white roses and peonies in her bouquet. 

“It’s so beautiful,” she sang.

“It is, but it pales in comparison to you.”

Kaycee reached up and pulled him into a tender kiss. 

“Aren’t we supposed to wait until the officiant tells us to do that?” He asked.

“I won’t tell if you won’t.”

“Come on,” Ethan insisted as he took her hand. “Let’s take that walk so we’ll be back in time to greet everyone. Until then, I’m showing you off to everyone on the beach.”

“Speaking of that... who do you plan to show me off to? The starfish? Can you explain why none of the neighbors are on the beach on this gorgeous summer day?”

“Briberly,” he deadpanned. “Bribery may have had something to do with it. I also told them they could join us at the reception later.”

“I knew you were behind it!” she laughed as they approached the door.

But just before they reached it, Ethan stopped and turned to Kaycee, gently taking her face in his hands.

“I love you, Kaycee. I love you more than I could ever express, and I hope you know that.’

Reaching up, she gently squeezed his hand.

“I do. And I love you every bit as much. I hope you know that.”

“I do,” he smiled.

“Thank goodness,” she grinned as they stepped outside. “I do...now you’re practicing, too!”

@choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

Remaining tags in reblog.

[rogerswifesblog]

A/N: it’s my first time writing this much angst, I hope you like it. It’s sad. No Happy End.

Please feedback?🥺❤️

Written in the stars

Summary: Steve always loved you. And he’d always love you, in health…and in sickness. Till your forever would end. You two only hoped it wouldn’t happen so soon,

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader

Warnings: MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH, cancer, angst, angst, angst, fluff, but it’s sad

You and Steve met 6 years ago, literally bumping into each other on the streets. He had spilled his coffee over your white shirt-yes, very Rom-com cliché. He gave you his hoodie to wear, and his number in case you’d like to call him…

You did.

After six months of pinning, meeting the avengers and a lot of teasing you were together. A perfect, happy couple.

Steve had realized he loved you very quickly into your friendship-two months after meeting you, you had invited him over (not for the first time), but this time you wanted to show him something. Something that you loved. A little hobby and passion of yours.

Stargazing.

While you were laying on the blanket, covered with another one, your gaze was glued to the sky-while Steve had only eyes for you. He couldn’t stop looking at you. Your eyes were so sparkly and pretty…your pretty lips so rosy and soft looking…and the smile creeping over your face whenever you saw a shooting star.

“Oh Steve look! The Coma Berenices…”, your voice brought him out of his thoughts, quickly looking to the sky. “It’s really pretty…”, he mumbled, once again letting his gaze slide to you. “Beautiful even….”

He put his arm around you “come here, little star, have it comfortable”, he laughed gently in your hair, pulling the blanket higher.

You had spent many hours just stargazing. After a while you had put your head on his chest, cuddling him closer, since it was a bit cold. Well, you had the blanket, which was technically enough, but….but you really wanted to cuddle him. And he enjoyed it as much as you did.

When you fell asleep on his chest, talking about the stars and how much you loved watching them. He had known about a few of your hobbies-but you’ve never talked with so much passion about something. It made his heartbeat fasten.

In this new world people didn’t show their feelings or love for other stuff than technology-internet, YouTube or Netflix. Everything was always about social media-and he was an old fashioned man. Don’t get him wrong, technology was great but he enjoyed the simple things. Like sketching or…or just stargazing.

He fell in love.

What he didn’t know was that you had also fallen for him that day.

Steve had asked you if you wanted him as your boyfriend-which was sweet. He didn’t ask you to be his girlfriend. He asked you to be yours.

And he did it again. Three years later.

He asked you if you’d let him be your husband. Be the one at your side for the rest of your life. Be your forever.

But you didn’t know that forever would end so soon.

Five years into your relationship you got married. It was a small ceremony, with Natasha being on your side, while Steve had Bucky standing behind him.

Steve cried. (You did too.)

Natasha said she didn’t cry. (She totally did.)

Bucky cried openly, seeing his best friend-that one that got beaten up in alleys twice a week-getting married.

One year after your marriage you got diagnosed.

You were taken to a hospital, after passing out while shopping with Natasha. She was supposed to help you find a pretty dress for your anniversary.

You tried on a dress, spinning around and needing to sit down after that. Moments later you lost consciousness.

Cancer.

Terminal cancer, to be specific.

You were completely surprised with this diagnosis-shocked, actually. It came out of the blue. Well, you were a bit more tired lately, slept more and had trouble with your appetite. You were often exhausted by doing very simple things, like walking down the stair-lately even carrying the laundry was difficult.

Maybe you should’ve seen it coming?

Steve spent the next hours with you, just holding you in a tight hug.

Needing it as much as you did.

Maybe even more than you.

Definitely more than you.

In the evening he had to leave you, since he wasn’t allowed to spend the night in the hospital. (He tried the Captain America card. Didn’t work. Stupid people. His wife was dying and he wasn’t allowed to be with her.)

He spent the night in Bucky's room, not being able to be alone.

He cried.

Hours passed and he was still crying.

Until he fell asleep.

Three months passed and you felt weaker every day. Steve stopped going on missions to be with you-he didn’t tell you that, but you knew. You knew why he was doing this.

He wanted to spend more time with you. The last days, weeks….as long as you had left. Which probably wasn’t that long anymore. You could tell it wouldn’t take long.

Steve knew it too. He could hear your weak heartbeat. Your heavy breathing…

You slept a lot-making him nervous Every Time you went to sleep or napped. He was scared you wouldn’t wake up one time, which made him scared of falling asleep himself.

Steve gave you a gentle kiss, walking past the couch on which you were sitting. “Hungry, sweetheart?”, he asked, putting his hands on your shoulders and squeezing gently. A small smile crept over your face, while you put your head in your neck and looked up at him. Your eyes seemed so sad…slowly losing their sparkle.

“I could eat”, you mumbled. “Okay, I’ll make you…something that I won’t burn”, he grinned, giving you another kiss. It made you laugh quietly too. He really was a bad cook, always burning everything-but with the many tutorials (and JARVIS’ reminder to check the food) he managed to make decent meals. Even really good ones.

Even Bucky ate with you two once, praising the food, thinking you had cooked. He didn’t believe it, when you two told him the truth. You remember the red blush on his cheeks hearing the praise.

Twenty minutes later Steve sat down next to you, two bowls in his hands, one for you, the other for himself, clearly a much bigger portion. “I think it’s not salty enough-but I’m not sure”, he mumbled, looking at you and waiting for a reaction.

After eating a bite you shook your head quickly. “It’s really good. I like it”, you mumbled, slowly leaning your head against his shoulder. Enjoying the warmth radiating from his body.

If someone had asked you ten years ago, If you wanted to die you'd say yes.

If someone had asked you, If you were afraid of dying you’d say no. Back then, you didn’t care. You didn’t feel like life was worth living. Always working, being stressed and not being able to sleep from all the coffee you were drinking, to staying awake at work. You often had enough, just needing to scream into your pillow to let out your frustrations.

You hadn’t really appreciated life. You hadn’t found your reason to love life.

Until meeting this gorgeous, sweet man.

He made life worth living. You loved every second you spent with him.

Now you are scared. You didn’t want to die. Not when you had your whole life with Steve before you.

A single tear rolled down your cheek. You didn’t want to leave Steve behind. He didn’t deserve it.

While Steve had made your life worth living, the same happened to him. Having met you, he finally felt like he had a purpose. Not as Captain America, but as Steve. You made him happy.

“Today is a meteor shooting. Maybe you’d like to watch it? I could put some blankets on the roof…make us some snacks…”, Steve mentioned one day, while you were a bit stronger than the days before, taking a walk outside.

Steve still wanted you to hold onto his arm, which you gladly did, leaning your head against his bicep.

Smiling brightly, you looked up at him. He finally saw some of the sparkle he had missed so much. “Yes, it’s so sweet you remembered, Mr Rogers”, grinning you gave him a kiss on his cheek-to do that you needed to step on your toes. Steve pulled you a bit closer, kissing your lips gently. “Of course I remembered Mrs Rogers. It’ll be a beautiful night”, he whispered, giving you a few gentle kisses on your face.

A few hours later you two were laying down on a blanket on the roof, with you cuddling against his chest. He was like a human heat pack- “I’m what?”, you felt your cheeks blush, realising you had said these words out loud. “Oh god, sorry Steve-it’s just you’re so warm”, you laughed quietly, matching his own laugh.

He shook his head slightly. “Yeah, okay, you’re always telling me I’m warm but…a heat pack? Interesting” Steve grinned, looking at the sky, slowly turning a darker shade, from the most beautiful rosy, organ he and purple shades the the dark night shades, lighted with beautiful bright stars.

Both of you sighed, watching the stars shining brighter than ever.

It felt special.

A special, beautiful night.

“There’s the constellation Coma Berenices…”, you pointed at the sky, where you saw it-knowing that Steve had no idea what you were talking about, but he liked listening either way. He tried to find it. “I remember you’ve mentioned it a few times before…What does it look like?”

You pointed once again at the stars. “These…these three stars in the half square are the main stars” “what is it about?”he asked, looking at the stars you were pointing at.

A small chuckle escaped your lips. “It’s a constellation for lovers-well, technically for the sacrifice of the beautiful hair of Queen Berenice of Egypt. She did it for her husband Ptolemy…was so concerned for his safety when he went off to war….so she vowed to cut off her glorious long hair as a sacrifice to Venus”, you whispered, closing your eyes slowly.

“Did it work?” Steve sounded hopeful, making you smile a bit. He had such a good heart. “Yes. He came home safely…and Zeus placed Berenices beautiful hair in the heavens to shine among the stars…” “that’s a beautiful story.”

You nodded slowly. “It really is….I get why she did it. I’d do everything for you too”, you whispered. Steve was quiet for a moment, looking at the brightly shining stars. He kissed your head gently. “I’d do everything for you too. Meeting you was the best thing that happened to me.”

Smiling, you put your arm around his waist, inhaling his rich smell. “I love you, Steve. You’re the love of my life…the reason I was the happiest I’ve ever been in the last few years. God, you’ve no idea”, you said, which nearly ended in a sob. Steve felt like he could cry himself, which he often did.

“I love you too, my little star.”

You smiled, looking at the Coma Berenices again, then also seeing another shooting star. Then you closed your eyes again, cuddling a bit closer against his chest.

Lying in Steve’s arms was an incredible feeling.

He was your home.

It’s the best place you could imagine ever being.

It was perfect.

For a while you two just watched the shooting stars. The sky was filled with beautiful and bright lights. Nature was the most beautiful thing. Incredible.

Feeling Steve hugging you even closer-if that was possible-made you sigh quietly, softly.

If hugs could heal, you’d never be sick in the first place. Maybe they did. Maybe Steve’s embrace was the only thing you needed.

The pain stopped.

Steve stroked over your hair gently. Another star fell, making him smile lightly. “Look, another one.”

But no answer came. “Sweetheart, we’ve been here for only two hours, you can’t sleep now”, he laughed, gently shaking your shoulder.

You still didn’t move.

He took a deep breath, listening to your heartbeat.

Silence.

Gently kissing your head he stroked over your hair, not holding the tears back anymore. It was over. Your pain was over.

And he was happy he was with you, till your forever came to an end. You weren’t alone. You died in his arms.

In the arms of your true love. He knew you were happy in your last moments, doing what you loved the most, watching the stars. With him. He knew you loved him, he saw it in your eyes everyday. Even when your sparkle vanished, he saw love.

“I’ll love you till my forever ends, my little star…”

And looking up at the sky he knew you were looking right back at him. Free. At peace.

Thank you for reading!

Please interact, leave some feedback!❤️

I’m thinking about writing another one shot about this-maybe some fluff and cute memories or something, or Steve’s life after…I’m not sure, but I enjoyed writing this. (Even if it broke my heart, it was nice to write something like this)

[honestlyspookytyphoon]

Little Cupid

Summary: you meet an adorable little girl at your friend’s wedding. At the end, she happened to be the best possible wing-woman her really attractive cousin could have asked for.

Wordcount: +/- 3.5k

Pairing: non-famous!Charles x non-famous!reader

Warnings: Angst, but I am also a hopeless romantic so the end might turn out sweeter than Pixie Sticks 👀  Not really proof-read. My apologies for any incoherence and bad writing. Feedback is, as always, more than welcome! 😊

L/G/N: Little Girl’s Name - Y/N: Your Name - I will go with Charles for now as male lead (I mean, look at him!) but feel free to change it yourself - Y/F/S: Your Favourite Song

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It was July 23rd, meaning that summer was at its peak. It was 1.30 pm and the sun had been shining brighter than during every other day that year, which you believed had to be a good omen. It is not that you were superstitious, but life had been rough on you the past couple of months and you made it your personal mission to find those little sparks of happiness again everywhere you went and in everything you did.

A few months ago, you and your boyfriend went separate ways after almost 6 years together. It was truly a wonderful relationship and, in contrary to what everyone seemed to expect once you break up, you did not regret a single second of it. He had been your everything, your rock-bottom. He was the person you first called when something happened in your life. He was there through all the highs and lows. He was your first ‘good morning’ and last ‘good night’. He was the one who loved you when you did not. Your family absolutely adored him and you really thought you two were endgame.

However, after 5 years together and looking for a little house for you two, you noticed him slip away. His texts became shorter and less frequent. Instead of going on holidays with you - under the guise of not being able to close his business for so long - he chose to go on holidays with his friends or to go to the track to support the GT3 team he used to work for. He did not seem keen on moving in anymore, on sharing his life with you. His own dreams became bigger than the dreams you shared. He always said he wanted to marry and have kids - god, you two even made a shortlist with names -, but he seemed to become more and more reluctant to both ideas. You were no longer his number 1 and your future together was no longer the reason he worked long hours for. You both did not known when exactly things started to go south but they did and there was no going back. The split rather came as a shock to you two and both of your families and you were still not entirely over it, but you knew it was for the best.

Hence, you were a bit scared to arrive at the townhall alone instead of with your expected +1, not ready to be met with pitying looks and well-meant but unneeded break up advice. It even took quite some convincing from your friend’s part to get you to come to her wedding in the first place, but after a while you gave in. You owned her that after everything she did for you the past months and, as a close friend, you were more than happy to celebrate this special day with her.

The ceremony had been brief but wonderful. While the newly-weds got into the car that would bring them to the party venue a few kilometers up north, you looked back one more time and you hoped that you would ever be able to find that type of love again.

After returning home, you replied to the most urgent emails and ran some errands before you got ready for the wedding reception and afterparty. Luckily for you, the thermometer still indicated 25°C , which allowed you put on the most gorgeous festive attire you owned. It was a mustard-coloured one-shoulder jumpsuit that hugged your petite frame in all the right places. It highlighted the few female traits you did have and, helped by a pair of solid nude heels, it made your legs look endless. After a last quick check in the mirror, you closed the door and made your way towards the party.

Although you were right on time, the reception was already in full swing when you arrived. You spotted some friends in the back of the garden, so after congratulating the couple again and having a short chat with the family, you got yourself a glass of champagne and walked to their table.

On your way, you were stopped by a small girl who was without a doubt the most adorable little creature you had ever seen. With her braided curly hair, cute mint green dress, matching shoes and little tiara, she looked like she walked straight out of a Disney movie. You guessed she was not older than 4. To your surprise, she had a mustard-coloured flower clamped firmly between her two small hands, almost as she was scared to lose it.

You looked around to see if someone was searching for her but since nobody seemed to be bothered, you kneeled down to meet her level and greeted the little girl.

“Hello there, what is your name?”, you asked. 

 “Ello. My name is L/G/N”, she said. 

 “Hi L/G/N, I am Y/N. How can I help you?”. You did not know her and you were curious what she was up to. 

“I wanted to give you this”, she answered and handed you the flower. “Also, I think you are really pretty”, she giggled coyly.

“Oh, thank you! That is very kind of you”, you smiled and signaled her to come closer. “Can I tell you a secret?”, you whispered. She nodded eagerly, causing her tiara to wiggle up and down so hard it almost fell off her head. 

 “Did you know that I wanted to buy this dress as well?”, you asked, slightly tugging at the small sleeves of the little dress. 

 “Really?!”, she whisper-yelled. 

 “Yes, really. But the shop assistant said that I could not buy it because it belonged to a real princess. And since you are wearing the dress, you must have been the princess she was talking about! Do you like princesses?”, you tried. 

 “Uhu, my favourite princess is Belle, she is so pretty. And I like Pendule too”, she said, showing a toothy grin.

“He is really cool indeed”, you replied, remembering him from the times you watched Beauty and the Beast yourself. “Are you here alone?”, you asked. 

“No, I am here with mommy and daddy but they are talking to nanna so uncle Charles decided to play hide-and-seek with me. But I found him, look!”, she exclaimed enthusiastically and she pointed towards a guy you had not seen before. He was already looking your way, probably alerted by the squeals from the little girl.

Charles was absolutely breathtaking. He seemed to be your age and he was wearing a slick black suit, which was perfectly tailored and highlighted his athletic form. Together with the black tie and patent shoes, he just radiated confidence - something you found widely attractive. His dark brown hair looked thick and healthy and the small golden earring in his left ear gave him some edginess. He really was what you called a picture perfect. Charles smiled at you politely, already intrigued by the gorgeous woman his niece was talking to and wanting to meet her later that night too.

You smiled too and averted your attention back to the cute girl in front of you. “Oh, okay. What about you back to Charles and continue playing?” 

 “I want to play with you too”, she said softly, clearly disappointed that you were leaving. 

 “Look, what about I go to my friends now for a while and you come to me after dinner? Then we can draw and do silly dances?”, you asked, “Is that okay?”

“Yeah, ‘s good”, she giggled, “Bye Y/N!” and off she went.

Later that night, not even a minute after dinner had finished and the speeches were given, you found L/G/N standing next to you. This time, however, she was not alone. 

“I am so sorry”, Charles said, “But I really couldn’t hold her down any longer”. He gave you an apologetic smile. “She seems to be very fond of you”, he continued. And I can totally see why, he whispered to himself. 

“It is okay, really. I promised her to play after dinner, didn’t I?”, you said, picking up the little girl. “And I mean, isn’t she adorable? Come on L/G/N, let’s draw and dance, yeah?”

After an hour or two filled with drawing and dancing, the little girl started to become tired. “Oh, look at you”, you said, “you are almost falling asleep. Let’s go find your parents, okay? They can bring you home.” She nodded sleepily. You stood up, but soon realised that you had no clue who her parents were. So you decided to look for Charles instead and ask him to get her parents. You spotted him sitting at a table with other relatives of the groom and although he was surrounded by people, he looked lonely.

“It’s sad, isn’t it?”, you said, “so many people here to talk to and have fun with, but everybody is still on their phones. A sign of the times, I’m afraid. I hate it.”

 “Yeah, it’s horrible. And I am even feeling worse since my favourite niece decided to ditch me for you!”, he answered teasingly. 

“Oh, I am sorry”, you replied, “but nobody said you couldn’t join us and have some fun too”. You shot him a wink. 

“Maybe I should have done that, yeah”, he smiled. 

 “I am Y/N, by the way”. A beautiful name for a beautiful woman, he thought.  

“I am Charles. Thank you again for doing this, Y/N, I know she can be a handful at times.” 

“No problem, I love kids - especially cute ones like her”, you smiled while looking at the little girl you were still holding and you noticed she had fallen fully asleep on your shoulder. “Do you know where her parents are? I mean, I have been playing with her for hours and it was fun, but putting this little one to bed is a bit too intimate I feel. And, to be honest, I really want to be alone for a second and get some fresh air”, you whispered. 

 “Of course, Y/N, I totally get it”, he stated, “If you hand her to me, I will get her parents. Enjoy your time off, you deserved it”, he said cheekily. 

 “Thank you, Charles. She’s lucky to have an uncle like you.”

The venue your friend had chosen for her wedding was absolutely beautiful. It was a 18th-century Renaissance building at the country side. It had a large main room, several small rooms that could be used as storage, a wine cellar, a bridal suite at the first floor and a wonderful garden. In the middle of the garden stood a small garden house, which was surrounded by flowers whose colours seemed to have darkened even more upon the sight of so much love today. The sun had started to set, turning the sky into a sea of warm red and orange shades. What a beautiful day to get married, you said to yourself. You managed not to think of your ex for the entire night, but now that you were on your own, you could not help but wonder how it would have been with him by your side.

He would have looked great in his suit.

He would have adored my outfit, saying that he could not wait to be back home and show me how much he loved me.

He would have enjoyed the mingling with the other guests and free drinks.

He would have liked the food.

He would have befriended the groom, since they share a thing for fast cars.

He would not have liked you spending your evening with L/G/N, she was too energetic for his liking.

He would have been on his phone as well, watching bits of the 1000 km of Palanga instead of talking to you. 

He would have not danced with you until he was sufficiently drunk.

He would have stopped you from saying ‘What do you want our wedding to be like?’, because he thought it was too early to discuss these things.

“Do you mind if I join you?”, someone asked, breaking your train of thoughts. You turned around and saw Charles standing there with two glasses of still water in his hands.

“No, not at all. I could use some grown-up company now after spending so much time with a toddler”, you smiled. 

“I thought so”, he chuckled. “And I could use some human interaction as well, after being around phone addicts the entire night. Here”, he offered you a drink, “I figured you might be thirsty.” 

“Thank you, Charles. That is very kind of you.” You took the glass and took a sip. “Damn, I was secretly hoping for vodka”, you joked. 

“Oh, I am sorry”, he stuttered, “I just...I just did not see you drink any alcohol tonight so I assumed...sorry, that sounded weird, I did not stalk you, Y/N. I did not mean it like that, it just slipped, I...”, he was rambling now. 

“Easy, Charles. It is fine, water is perfect, thank you. I was just teasing you a bit, that’s all”, you said, holding back a smile. 

He let a sigh of relief, “Thank god.”

Conversation with Charles flew effortlessly. The two of you happened to share several interests and opinions on both important and irrelevant things, such as political matters and which ice cream flavour is superior. You talked about your jobs, hobbies, idols and ideal holiday destinations. You talked about your families and how much they meant to you. You reminisced your childhood and shared funny stories. You gossiped about the other wedding guests. For the first time in months, you genuinely felt happy again. All thanks to him.

The sun had now set completely and the temperature had dropped, causing you to shiver slightly.

“Do you mind going back inside?”, you asked. “It is getting a little cold and I actually also need to go the toilet real quick”. 

“Yeah, sure. I was going to get a re-fill anyway”, he said, “I had a great time talking to you. This might sound a little weird, but do you maybe want to share a dance with me later? From what I saw earlier, you seem to have the moves”, he winked.

“I had a great time talking to you too”, you said genuinely. “And I wouldn’t say that, I mean, it hard not to slay the Chicken Dance”, you laughed. “Especially compared to a four-year old, but please don’t tell her I said that”. 

“You’re secret is safe with me”, he promised jokingly. “So what do you say, Y/N? Do we have a deal?”, Charles asked hopefully.

“Deal. You know where to find me”, you winked.

You had gotten back to your table after your conversation with Charles, catching up with your friends. Charles was also back at his seat, and to his surprise, his absence did not go by unnoticed. He had been listening to his brother’s and cousins’ teasing for a good hour now when suddenly one of his cousins made his way to the DJ.

“So, since you are too scared to act upon your feelings, I did”, he said upon returning, “I requested Y/F/S, so you can dance to that song with her”. 

“I am sorry, YOU DID WHAT?!”, Charles hissed. 

“I helped you, mate!”, he exclaimed, “I am sorry, but I can no longer deal with you sitting here and looking at her with those puppy eyes. Listen, we saw you two sitting outside for hours...We could see the sparks fly, I think even the astronauts in the ISS noticed. So man up, go get her. Have some fun. She’s a great gal, Charles.” 

“But...how do you know her favourite song anyway?”, he questioned, “How can I be sure that you’re not pulling a cruel prank on me?”

“Look, I know I am not sharpest tool in the shed but I am not an idiot. I can see how happy she makes you and how happy you make her. You would be perfect together and this might be the perfect first step”, his cousin said sincerely, “And to answer your first question, I follow her on Spotify and that song is her most played one”.

Just when he was about to ask more, he heard the intro of Y/F/S playing. Getting a nudge from his brother, he knew his time had come so he got up and rolled up his sleeves. Taking one last deep breath, he made his way to your table. “Good luck bro!”, his cousin shouted, “Sway her off of her feet!”.

All his doubts disappeared as soon as his eyes locked with yours. You just looked so radiant he was sure you even put the sun to shame. The glisters in your eyes were visible. You were actually excited to dance with him.

This song is good. She’s got great taste.

I hope I do not step on her toes.

Oh god, does my breath smells? Do I have peppermints?

Am I sweating? Oh no, what if...

“Could I have this dance please, Y/N?”, he asked politely as if you did not agree on this just over two hours ago. 

“Of course you can, Charles”, you said, giggling like L/G/N had done hours prior when you told her ‘a secret’.

Once he had led you to the dance floor, he took your hand in his and rested his other hand in the small of your back. “I was already wondering what took you so long”, you teased, “I thought you were going to back out”. 

“I would never, Y/N. I just...wanted to wait for the perfect song, if that makes sense?”, he wondered. 

“It does”, you smiled, “I love this song too.” He was definitely buying his cousin a beer afterwards. 

“You’re doing great, by the way. You’re a natural”, Charles said before twirling you around with ease. A soft giggle escaped your lips when he pulled you back in his arms. 

“Well, it’s hard to be bad when you have such a great dance partner”, you replied.

You continued to dance in silence until the song ended. Once the last note died down, you two kept standing on the dance floor as neither of you was ready to part again. Charles was the first one to speak up.

“I really enjoyed this dance, Y/N, and...”, he hesitantly continued, “...meeting you was by far the best part of today. I know we just met, but I like you and I was wondering if, maybe and only if you want to, we could see each other again? Preferably not with our friends and family spying on us though”, he laughed. 

“I think we can”, you smiled, “I would love that, actually.”

Your fingers intertwined for the first time that evening and at that very moment you knew you were ready to open your heart again. For Charles and L/G/N, his cute little matchmaker.

[in-search-of-a-fallen-star]

at the last stroke of midnight (pt. 7); shouto todoroki/reader

Content warnings: aged up characters, everyone is in their 20s or older. fantasy au. no pronouns used for reader, but they are described to wear skirts and are referred to as ‘my lady’. this last part is mostly smut, fair warning. reader is described briefly to have afab genitalia.

we made it to the end folks! break out the party horns (and the lube). i hope this series was as fun to read as it was to write.

part 6 : part 7 (you are here)

MINORS AND AGELESS BLOGS DNI

Once again, you and Shouto are in a ballroom. This time, there's no secrets; no hidden identities or hectic chases through the palace. Instead, there is just the comforting weight of his hand in yours, and the warmth of his body against you as he leads you in another dance.

 This time, it's your first dance together as fiancés. A few moments ago, the queen had announced your engagement to the gathered nobility, and Shouto had swept you out on to the dance floor, eager to show you off. "You know I'm yours, right?" you whisper up to him.

The corner of his mouth twists up in a smirk, and he dips you down low. "I do," he whispers, lips brushing the shell of your ear. "But it never hurts to remind people."

You swat his arm, hiding your embarrassment in the curve of his shoulder. "You're a menace, Shouto."

"Only for you, my love."

The song reaches its end, and Shouto leads you off the dance floor. He bows gallantly to you, raising your hand to his lips without averting his gaze from your eyes.  You dip into a curtsy as protocol demands, and then the two of you are separated by duty, as nobles come to wish you both congratulations.

Rei has prepped you for this moment. You straighten your back and smile, running through hours of etiquette lessons in your head to remember the proper names, titles, and greetings for the nobles who approach you. You let a few even lead you out onto the dance floor, as courtesy demands.

The whole time you feel Shouto's eyes on you. The heat of his gaze sends little sparks of heat flying up the base of your spine, and you're reminded that in the months you've been courting, you've had to steal moments alone together. His duties as prince and your duties to the queen keep you both busy, and the damnable southern etiquette requires the two of you to be chaperoned while you're together.

The few moments of passion that you've stolen have been frantic, a flurry of limbs and clothes while you try to get as close to each other as you can in a limited amount of time. You've never managed more than heavy petting before one of you is called away or you're interrupted, and you're pent up enough at this point that it takes only a spark to ignite the flame simmering in your belly.

From the way he looks at you, you know Shouto feels the same way. You can feel the weight of his gaze on you while you dance; a heated caress stroking the bare skin of your neck.

The two of you have been looking forward to this day in more ways than one. After this ball, the two of you are practically married. All that's left is the formal ceremony, scheduled to be held in three months' time. Once this celebration is over, you'll be allowed to spend time alone, without a chaperone.

Your imagination runs wild, after all, Shouto has given it plenty of fuel. In your secret moments alone, he's whispered many filthy secrets against your skin; the desires he's been holding on to for the months you've been together. Your mind is full of images of his hands on your skin, followed by his lips… and then other things.

You snap yourself back to the present, smiling politely at the lord you're dancing with, thanking him for his well-wishes. As the music ends, he leads you off to the side, bowing politely before taking his leave. Shouto appears at your side as if summoned, a glass in his hand that he offers to you.

You accept it gratefully, taking a sip and letting him pull you into his side as he wraps an arm around your waist. You lean your head against his shoulder, pressing a kiss to the velvet of his jacket. He kisses your temple, his thumb stroking the fabric at your waist.

For a second, the moment is beautiful; the two of you standing under the glittering lights wrapped in an embrace. Then he leans down and whispers in your ear, "How much longer must we stay, before I get to feel you under me for the first time?"

The champagne burns as you choke, disguising it as a cough behind your hand.  You glare up at him, but he just smiles down at you, unrepentant. "Shouto," you hiss. "At least wait until there's no one around to hear you speak like that!"

"No one's listening, my love," he counters, his hand heavy on your hip.

"You don't know that," you protest, ears burning.

"If you're so worried, would you let me take you somewhere where no one could overhear?"

"We can't leave before the queen, it would be rude."

He huffs, pouting that you won't let him have his way. "Fine. We stay until my mother leaves, but not a moment longer."

You miss the look he sends the queen, distracted by your own thoughts. Not even 10 minutes later, as the band is beginning to wind down, the queen stands up, flanked by her new attendant, and makes her way down from the dais. She cuts a swath through the crowd, nobles bowing and moving out of her way as she makes her way towards the pair of you. She wraps Shouto in a hug, whispering something in his ear, before leaning down to kiss your cheek.

"Take care of him," she whispers to you, eyes bright. Rei squeezes your hand, and then turns to leave the ballroom.

Shouto looks down at you expectantly. You ignore his searching gaze for as long as you can, before finally caving. "Alright, we can go. Just make sure that no one sees us sneak out."

"As you wish, my love." He chuckles and grabs your hand, leading you to the edge of the ballroom. Most of the nobles have left at this point, and the ones that remain are gathered near the front of the room, making small talk as they wait for their coats. The important part is that none of them seem to be paying attention to the secluded alcove tucked into the corner of the ballroom Shouto leads you to.

You watch as he presses a hidden button, and a door swings open, cleverly disguised in a plaster relief. You have only a moment to excitedly inspect the door before he tugs you inside, pulling a handle to close the door behind you.

"This way, my love," he whispers, taking your hand and leading you down the dark passageway that unfolds before you. He summons a flame to his fingertips, lighting the way ahead as he leads you through the narrow passage.

"Where are we, Shouto?"

"These used to be escape tunnels for the royal family. They haven't been used in quite some time," he says, stopping to light a torch mounted on the wall. He uses your joined hands to pin yours against the wall next to your head, his other hand coming up to grasp your chin.

"Shouto, wh-" you stammer out, before his mouth descends on yours. The kiss is chaste at first, just a brush of his lips against yours. He laughs under his breath when you instinctively chase after him after he pulls away, and rewards you with another kiss. This one is hot and heavy, his tongue tracing the seam of your lips, and he nips at your bottom lip to persuade you to open your mouth to him.

He plunders your mouth for everything he can get, the kiss a dance of lips, tongue and teeth. When you pull your head back to take a breath, he begins tracing kisses down the side of your neck, ending with biting kisses at your decolletage.

"Not there," you pant, pushing his head away. "Someone will see-"

"Then I shall have to leave my mark in a place only we know," he says. He meets your gaze and sinks to his knees in front of you, hands reaching hungrily for the hem of your gown.

"Shouto!" you hiss. "What if someone finds us!?"

He ignores you, running a soothing hand up your calf, and in the same motion lifting your skirt. "You worry too much, my love. I used these passages to sneak out of the palace as a boy; I know no one comes down this way. Besides," he looks up at you with a devilish smirk, one hand lifting your skirts over his head. "If you're so worried about being caught, perhaps you should focus on being quiet."

He disappears under your skirt, and you can feel him leaving a trail of kisses up your leg, from your ankle to the fat of your thigh, when you yelp as he bites down and sucks a mark near the apex of your thighs. You hear a muffled chuckle, and your cheeks burn as you remember his reminder to be quiet.

Your resolve is tested as he begins mouthing at the fabric of your panties, the already damp cotton getting soaked as he laves his tongue over the swollen bud of your clit. Finally, you feel him take the gusset and pull it to the side, and you have to bite your lip to muffle the groan that rattles your ribcage as you finally feel his hot tongue where you want it most.

You can feel him gathering your wetness on his tongue. He might have told you to be quiet, but he is certainly taking no precautions himself. Under your skirts, you can hear a muffled groan as he teases your dripping hole, sliding his tongue up your slit to toy with your clit. Stars burst behind your eyes, and your knees wobble.

He traces a hand up one of your legs, teasing at your slit with one finger before sliding it in. It takes a moment, both for you to adjust to the intrusion and for him to find a spot inside you that makes your chest vibrate with another moan threatening to break loose.

After that, he takes no mercy on you, and you can't help the noises  that slip through as he rapidly and relentlessly brings you to the peak of an orgasm. It burns through you like wildfire, leaving you trembling like a leaf against the cold stone wall.

Shouto emerges from underneath your skirts, mouth shining with your slick and looking very, very pleased with himself. You swat at him halfheartedly, trying to recover the breath that the orgasm ripped from your lungs. He catches your hand and leaves a glistening kiss on the back of it before unceremoniously wiping his face on the cuff of his jacket.

"Someone had to have heard that," you say, voice breathless.

"Of course not, my love. This passage leads only to my private chambers. I would not risk a chance of anyone else getting a glimpse of you in the throes of pleasure."

You glare at him with all the fury you can muster, which after that orgasm, is unfortunately not much. He laughs and gathers you into his arms, extinguishing the torch with a wave of his hand and following the dim path to a door, which opens underneath a tapestry in his own room.

He sets you on your feet at the foot of his bed, hands going to the laces of your gown. "I would have you, if you'll allow me," he murmurs quietly, hands still and waiting for your permission.

"Please," you whisper back, turning fully so that he can help you out of your gown. Between the two of you, both of your clothes end up in rumpled heaps on the floor, with your back on his bed and him positioned over you. You reach up to pull his lips down to yours, and you both are content to let your lips glide against each other for a moment.

When you nip at his lip, Shouto unconsciously groans and rolls his hips against yours, grinding his hardness against your hip. He murmurs an apology and pulls away from you, but you hook a leg over his hip and pull him back down into you, rolling your hips up to meet his.

"Please, Shouto. I want this. I want you," you say, meeting his eyes.

He groans again, dropping his head to mouth kisses against your hairline. You feel him reach down between your bodies, guiding his cock into your wet hole. When he enters you, you both moan, and you roll your hips down to take more of him.

He starts to fuck in and out of you, finding a rhythm that makes sparks skitter up and down your nerves. "Ah- faster, please Shou-" you gasp, winding your fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck.

Shouto grunts and obliges, hitching your leg higher up on his waist and rolling his hips into you. He moans in your ear, and reaches down to roll your clit between his fingers. Pleasure sparks in you like a flame, the crest of an orgasm fast approaching. He pounds into you, teasing your clit until a second orgasm sends you plummeting over a peak of pleasure.

He follows shortly after, his thrusts slowing until he's just grinding into you with slow jerks of his hips. "I love you," he murmurs dreamily into the skin of your throat as he drops to rest his head in the crook of your shoulder.

You turn your head to press a kiss to his forehead, stroking his soft hair with one of your arms wrapped around him. "I love you too, Shou."

The two of you bask in the afterglow, sweat cooling on your skin as you catch your breath. You keep running your fingers through Shouto's hair; you swear he's purring from where he's pressed against your chest. A thought crosses your mind as you lay together-

"Shouto?" you ask.

"Hmm?"

"What did your mother say to you before she left the ball?"

"Oh. She told me not to run out too fast after she left."

[fort-cozy-mcblanket]

As of The Change Constant, Sheldon and Amy have had coitus 12 times. But do we know all 12 times? 

The Shamy Coital Count: What We Know, What We Don’t, and What We Can Wildly Speculate

1. Amy’s 36th Birthday The Opening Night Excitation

Date: December 17th, 2015 Location: Amy’s bed in her apartment #314

Obviously we all know the first time. Sheldon skipped the advance screening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens to be with Amy on her birthday, and coitus was his gift to her. It is implied that it lasted for approximately the runtime of the movie, which is 2 hours and 16 minutes. When they are done, Sheldon says he looks forward to her next birthday when they will do it again, to which Amy agrees. 

2. Amy’s 37th Birthday The Birthday Synchronicity

Date: December 17th, 2016 Location: Apartment 4B, most likely on Sheldon and Amy’s shared bed

Per their verbal agreement after their first time, Sheldon and Amy do not have coitus again until Amy’s next birthday. Sheldon wakes Amy up right at midnight for it, however they are interrupted by Bernadette going into labor. They do not end up doing it until after the birth and after returning from a trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Harry Potter roleplay may or may not have been involved. 

3. Amy Leaves for Princeton The Gyroscopic Collapse

Date: May 6th, 2017 (estimated) Location: Sheldon and Amy’s shared bed in apartment 4B

Amy is offered a summer research fellowship at Princeton, and they break their rule of only having coitus on her birthday to do it once before she leaves. This is the first time we hear Sheldon refer to it as “lovemaking.” They fold their clothes neatly before they do it. Leonard, Penny, and Raj hear them going at it from out in the hallway of the apartment building. The exact date this occurs is uncertain, but if we assume the episode’s airdate of May 4th, 2017, to be the date at the start of the episode, they have coitus 2 days later on May 6th, 2017. 

4. Amy’s 38th Birthday The Celebration Reverberation

Date: December 17th, 2017 Location: Unoccupied bedroom in Howard and Bernadette’s house

Back to tradition, the next time they have coitus is on Amy’s birthday. It almost didn’t happen, as the day prior they both got food poisoning from the Little House on the Prairie-inspired frontier dinner Sheldon prepared. They were still sick that morning, but felt good enough later in the day to attend Halley’s first birthday party. At the party, while everyone else is distracted by the baby, Sheldon and Amy jump in the inflatable bounce house and then find an unoccupied bedroom for their own celebration. This is the first known time they do it as an engaged couple and the first known time they do it outside of one of their own bedrooms. 

5. Wedding Night The Bow Tie Asymmetry/The Conjugal Configuration

Date: May 12th, 2018 Location: Hotel room outside of Legoland California

Per The Athenaeum Allocation, we know Sheldon and Amy got married on May 12th. Nothing beyond the wedding ceremony is shown in The Bow Tie Asymmetry, but when we see them again in The Conjugal Configuration they are just waking up the next morning. Sheldon confirms that they consummated. Apparently Sheldon made Lego snapping sounds during the consummation. 

6. Honeymoon in New York The Conjugal Configuration

Date: May 15th, 2018 Location: Hotel room in New York City

Sheldon and Amy get into an argument over Sheldon’s need to schedule their coital encounters, and this comes to a head while they are on the Nikola Tesla tour. Later, they reach a compromise and decide that Sheldon can make a schedule and just not tell Amy about it. He plans to create an algorithm that will generate a pseudo-random schedule to accomplish this, and Amy’s explanation of why it cannot be a true random schedule excites him so much, they rush back to the hotel so she can explain it to him again naked. 

7. Three Weeks Ago The Donation Oscillation 

Date: January 19, 2019 (estimated) Location: Unknown, but most likely their shared bed in apartment 4B

When Leonard goes to apartment 4B to get away from Penny, who was trying to seduce him, Amy asks him why he is trying to avoid having sex. Sheldon, mistakingly thinking the question was directed at him, says they just did it three weeks ago. The exact date this occurred is uncertain. Based on the airdate and events of the episode, they had this conversation on February 9th, 2019. Three weeks prior would be Saturday, January 19th, 2019. 

Because this is a seemingly insignificant date, this could be one of Sheldon’s randomly scheduled sessions. It is important to note, though, that this does fall around the events of the Confirmation Polarization, where their super-asymmetry theory is proven by Drs. Pemberton and Campbell and they decide to fight them for the Nobel Prize. Perhaps they made love to celebrate that their theory got proven? Or as a physical manifestation of their commitment to either win the Nobel together or not at all? Something to think about. 

8 & 9. The Avengers Trailer The Change Constant

Date: December 7th, 2018 or March 14th, 2019 (estimated) Location: Unknown, but most likely their shared bed in apartment 4B

When Penny says Sheldon has had sex almost as many times as she has fingers, Sheldon corrects her and says it was more by two, thus bringing the grand total up to 12. He then goes on to say it was because of the Avengers trailer. The dialogue is a little ambiguous, but this implies that those two extra times are both because of the trailer. I’m going to go ahead and count them both here, because that is my interpretation and also because I think it’s funny that seemingly the first time they go two rounds is because Sheldon got too excited about a movie trailer release. 

Anyway, most likely Sheldon is referring to Avengers: Endgame, which hit theaters April 26th, 2019. The first trailer was released on December 7th, 2018, which potentially puts this prior to the previous list entry. However, considering this the events of the Change Constant take place in October 2019 (due to the Nobel ceremony taking place in December every year and this episode being set two months prior to that), it’s a little strange that Sheldon would bring up an example from so long ago. It’s possible too that it could have been the release of the second Endgame trailer on March 14, 2019, although that still is quite some time ago. (Unsure about any subsequent trailers.) Then again, perhaps Sheldon just knew that Penny was unaware of these two instances in particular, eidetic memory and all that.

---

So, that brings us up to 9 confirmed coital encounters. What about the other 3? 

Well, I have some suggestions . . .

10. Amy’s 39th Birthday

Date: December 17th, 2018 Location: Unknown

Although Amy was not given a birthday episode in season 12, I feel very confident in saying this was one of the missing instances. It’s their tradition, after all. In the timeline of the show, this would fall somewhere between the VCR Illumination and the Paintball Scattering, so while they’re still working on their super-asymmetry paper, before it was published. 

11. Honeymoon Round Two

Date: May 14th - May 20th 2018 (estimated) Location: Hotel room in New York City

This is less of a sure thing than Amy’s birthday, but I still think it is likely that they did it another time while away on their honeymoon. Actually, I originally was counting their arrival in New York as a confirmed coital encounter, as Sheldon says they can either make love or steam their wizard robes once the bellman leaves them alone in their room. I ended up removing it as the dialogue is just ambiguous enough that I can’t say for sure, plus when they get back from the Harry Potter play they are wearing the same clothes and the bed looks untouched. I could see Sheldon wanting to remake the bed after sex, but putting back on the same clothes that they assumedly also were traveling in earlier? In any case, if not on their arrival, I think they could have found at least one more time to do it before leaving, especially considering Sheldon originally scheduled multiple rounds for them. It’s unclear exactly how long their honeymoon was, but I assume it would be for at least a week, hence the date range. 

12. Randomly Scheduled Session

Date: Unknown but between May 21st, 2018 and early-middle October 2019 Location: Unknown

I know this isn’t terribly exciting, but the final time was likely due to the pseudo-random schedule Sheldon said he was going to create. Assuming he created one at all, it would almost have to be, as there’s only one other instance that could qualify as part of the schedule (the “three weeks ago” one discussed earlier). Clearly the dates are pretty spread out, so whatever algorithm he created must be set to generate dates at a fairly low frequency. But you could also disregard my additional honeymoon suggestion and say the remaining 2 were from the schedule. 

Other opportunities that I think are less likely but still possible:

The Nobel announcement - This could have worked except remember that the announcement came in the very early hours of the morning and then they still went to work. Would they have had time to make love and still get some sleep in? Uncertain.

Wedding anniversary - Because the last two episodes had to skip ahead in time, Sheldon and Amy’s first wedding anniversary is not mentioned, but this does seem like a likely time for them to do it. 

Valentine’s Day - They never had coitus on Valentine’s Day before but there’s no reason they couldn’t start.

Amy’s return from Princeton - Seems like a great way to welcome Amy home and get reacquainted, but I do get the impression that Sheldon was still more or less sticking to the birthday tradition at this point with only the one exception before she left. 

---

So, now that we’ve covered all that, where do we go from here?

The Future of Shamy Coitus

Sheldon and Amy started out having sex only once a year, but the number has been increasing. Here’s the information above placed into a handy graph:

I made some executive decisions for the dates we are unsure on. For the Avengers trailer instance, I split the 2 rounds between the 2 possible dates, and for the unknown 12th time, I placed it in 2019. 

Now, this is just for the 12 times Sheldon mentioned as of October 2019. The year wasn’t over, and I personally believe they manage a few more times before it ends. In particular: 

Make up coitus when Sheldon returns to the apartment after the Change Constant

Celebratory coitus after the Nobel Prize ceremony

Amy’s 40th birthday

So here’s a new graph:

Again, this is just speculative. 

I would like to think it continues to increase for a few years, but perhaps that’s wishful thinking on my end. At the very least, I think it’s safe to say they continue the tradition of birthday coitus for Amy, and so it never drops down to zero. 

Keep in mind, we know from Young Sheldon that Sheldon and Amy have children. How this affects their sex life is hard to say. Would the count jump way up when they’re trying to conceive? Would it drop down significantly while the children are young? Would Sheldon continue using his randomly scheduled coitus algorithm once they have a family? Would they need it?

No one knows, but perhaps as new episodes of Young Sheldon continue to air, we can get a better idea. It remains to be seen. But here’s to hoping!

---

[chronotopes]

⭐ tell me everything. (atp wise but honestly it'd also be really funny if you talked about your hs fanfics as well)

HI ALARY i fell asleep last night and now we're so back

yall have gotta stop giving me choices it ends with me staring into my own novel for an hour like i'm narcissus in the pond. also i'm super biased towards later chapters right now because those are the ones i have most recently finished. all that being said, let's talk about one of my favorite parts of chapter 6: aivide in stelad's apartment.

Maybe you should have gone back to Teavon after all. But there’s no good in being afraid of your own apartment. Your apartment, not Nora’s or Donnah’s or the AMHL’s. Surely that counts for something. Besides the two rooms you’ve seen, what it counts for is a small bedroom furnished with a desk and a twin-sized bed, very much like what you’ve slept on all your life, and a bathroom about the size of Donnah’s. You note with some distress that there are a few trinkets left in the desk drawers – hair ties, a pair of reading glasses, a broken stylus, a half-empty tube of what you gather, from the faded packaging, had once been vanilla-scented hand lotion. Opening drawers and cabinets more deliberately now, you find more of your mom’s ancient ephemera in the bathroom. A tin of cheap bath salts, a comb, a tangle of bobby pins. Headache pills, expired just under two hundred sweeps ago. A candle, mostly burned out. A single pearl earring. In the closet, you find – fuck, the Directrix had not been exaggerating – a number of identical blouses, several tasteful black pencil skirts, a long, warm coat that looks quite like your own, and a mysterious garment bag. It’s barely a surprise when the latter turns out to contain a floor-length flared gown made of shining teal fabric. Gala wear. Fuck, if anyone had bothered to tell you that you had an ancestral gown, Nora could have saved herself a little money. It’s disquieting. The apartment is too full of items to have feasibly been professionally cleared out after your ancestor’s death, but empty enough that it triggers questions in itself. There’s nothing written, nothing with pictures. No college memorabilia, no old name badges from her job, no jewelry except the pearl earring that, stupidly, you’d slipped into your pocket. There are several logical assumptions. That your ancestor, for whatever reason, had cleared out those things herself. Not completely far-fetched, though your apartment in Seilat had contained a few boxes of her things. That whoever cleans teal apartments doesn’t do so with great zeal, isn’t given a lot of time. Possible. Or that someone else has been here before you, has gathered anything truly memento-like for themself.

Ever since leaving Donnah's place, this has been an extremely dialogue-heavy section of the novel – and not just any dialogue but her 'job interview' with Eubala (Eubala, of course, would have hired her on the basis of ancestry no matter what. The rumor come out does Aivide is a nepo baby??). A consistent theme of Chapter 6 is that, as far back as her graduation, Aivide is reconsidering Stelad as more of a real troll and less of someone who was just Born Cruel And Evil.

The little graduation ceremony takes place in the Savant Latoil Library and Archival Center on the morning of New Sweep’s Eve, and doesn’t last very long. Still, the Provost reads off your name when she acknowledges the cohort’s top ten TECQE performers. Still, when she pins the little medal to your chest, designating you as a formal graduate of the AMHL, she gives you a little smile of what you think is recognition. As you walk back to where you’re standing with Sieala and Turabi, you catch sight of your ancestor’s portrait on the wall. When she graduated, you know she must have already had a job with Malcos Enterprises, which she would work for in several capacities for the next hundred eighty sweeps. You wonder if she had already ended her relationship with the handsome teal woman you saw in that picture, whether her eyes had already lost their soft light. Whether she, too, had wondered if she was going to spend the rest of her life alone in some capacity.

We've been setting up for this change in Aivide's outlook towards her ancestor – from one of 'I'll never be like you! Look how much I'll never be like you! I have to never be like you or I'll die' to 'fuck, what if you were like me? what if you had messy breakups and self-isolating impulses and lengthy depressive spells?' for several chapters, most notably in chapters 3 and 4, which are the pre-chapter 6 chapter to engage most directly with Stelad's humanity. These are kind of the dual preoccupations of the novel – chapters 1, 3, 4, and 6 are aggressively concerned with Stelad's World And How It Impacts Aivide's World, whereas chapters 2, 4, and 5 are aggressively concerned with Nora's World* And How It Impacts Aivide's World.

(*more pertinently to the audience, vinbre's world is also the key driver of chapters 2 and 4, but aivide doesn't know that! #neverforget that when aivide and nora fuck it's technically a result of vinbre's actions. knowing this helps nobody but it is funny)

Tangent aside, though, part of what's going on in this frantic search for remnants of Aivide's mother is Aivide accessing a part of herself that only comes out by accident – the part that calls Stelad 'Mom' rather than 'Stelad' or 'my ancestor,' unwilling to completely renounce that ancestral closeness and search for understanding. Aivide is more comfortable see Stelad as the type of pearls-twirling* villain that had a great time doing everything she did than as someone who did everything she did and was still left deeply unhappy by it. She doesn't like confronting the idea that someone can be cruel and unhappy at the same time, which is a shame because she's about to get a direct line into the psyche of eubala malcos, one of the cruelest and unhappiest people on the entire planet.

(*mustache twirling, For Her!)

But anyway context aside I think several more important takeaways from this scene are the following:

1 - the extremely unsubtle implication that eubala went through this apartment and picked up a bunch of mementos for herself, which aivide has realized by the end of this passage but doesn't want to admit to herself because it feels like a fucking crazy to admit, and

2 - As she walks through this apartment and finds her mom's old stuff, Aivide deterministically assigns herself Stelad's fate. If I walked into and agreed to being called the Optimizer, it means I have earned the same miserable life as the last one. If Aivide had returned to Donnah's apartment first, if the two of them had explored the place together with a fair amount of humor about the whole thing... it's not 100% that they would have stayed together, but there's more of a chance there. In that way the choice to see the apartment before calling Donnah is the same kind of point of departure as Aivide choosing to call Annise for relationship advice in chapter 4 instead of telling Donnah and her friends the truth about what happens. Aivide continually avoids making the choices that would set her up to have an easier time of things, more at 10.

3 - this is the gown aivide finds. No modifications or anything it just looks exactly like that.

[kerubimcrepin]

Liveblog 6: analsysising harder

I am having a finals' nightmare week in university, but finally found the time to sit down and relax, so here's to episode 3.

He's so supportive. For all his faults as a father, (like the fact that Joris might not be able to read yet in here, despite seemingly being pretty ready to be taught how to, as was pointed out to me by @dullard during our separate rewatch from this rewatch) the fact that Joris can sell things at the market all by himself at 7yo and knows what a commission is, is actually really cool. Good job, Keke! This once, I will not kill you with hammers.

Do start teaching your son to read/write soon. Please. Please.

ANALYSIS EVENT LEVEL 10 ALARM WEE WOO WEE WOO. CAN WE TALK ABOUT THIS.

Joris is seven years old. Kerubim was, by his own words, "barely older than him," during his confirmation ceremony at the Orphan Temple. Can we actually ask what Kerubim Crepin was doing, at seven years old, in the orphan temple??

As we know from Dofus Heroes Kerubim comic, he was busy being an orphan, plotting to resurrect his parents, (either adoptive, or step-father and biological-mother. It doesn't really matter !) and being sad, to the point that, as an adult, even while amnesiac, he empathizes greatly with a stray kitten.

Having dreams of not wanting to be lonely, projecting his loneliness onto stray animals... It's the reason why he's afraid of showing people that he's weak and driving them away, and what makes him a compulsive liar, as I've pointed out in the last post. He can't bear being alone.

No wonder, then, that despite being old, and having a decrepit house, he didn't try to find Joris a better home. It would be a betrayal of his own ideals of protecting children from what he went through. It would mean that someone so similar to him would, too, be all alone. And, a bit more selfishly, he does need someone by his side.

I would point out, that Atcham was in the temple, implied to be mistreated, that they are both full brothers who grew up in the same family, and that him and Kerubim didn't have the best relationship even as kids, — with Bashi also disliking Atcham heavily, for unstated reasons, — and how it all might tie into Kerubim also adoptng Joris out of guilt, because he feels like he might end up like Atcham, but I don't have ten hours.

And also bc Atcham doesn't appear often, and I am mostly delusional about this.

Kerubim avoids mentioning Atcham or any of his adventures in Brakmar, so... man just give us anything to work with.

Despite Keke playing it off now, he really didn't have an easy childhood.

For all the times I say he's a bad dad, or that I want to beat him up, it is all in jest. I think he's a very tragic character who was just... never really given a chance to develop a healthy way of interacting with the world.

And for what it's worth, he grew up to be as decent of a person he could have, and did the best he could, at becoming a family with Joris and raising him, as flawed and uneven as it is.

He really just wants this kid to have a good childhood, or an approximation of one, with no violence, loneliness, or fear he went through — and it's all going to be ruined in the movie, isn't it?

It won't stop me from joking about beating him up in the future of this blog, but I wanted to make my stance clear. No non-joking slander of Kerubim in this household. Ever.

I think he was scared shitless of having a deadly quest here, but HAD to pretend he wasn't, for the public. He looks happier now than seconds ago in the queue line, lol.

Low self-esteem can result in seeking attention through being loud and obnoxious, as well as a fear of embarrassment, so, it checks out. Lying is a likely thing for Kerubim to do, and I love and respect him for it.

His immediate reaction to being embarrassed by getting a clothespin, and made fun of, as audience laughs? Double down, baby! Though, his angry facade doesn't last until the end of the line. He's just... looking sadly to the side.

By the way, considering he's only a bit older than seven, the "I've been training for years" is a bit haunting.

Do you know who DOES deserve to get beaten with hammers for real, non-ironically? The god Ecaflip. Can I get an amen?

No wonder, Kerubim coddled Joris and wanted his life to be better! His life sucked!

Of all the things not to lie about, he seemed not to lie about being trained. Doesn't stop him from being beaten up, though...

We have to beat God Ecaflip with hammers. There is no other way.

For all his cockiness, he's so stressed out. His facade is so, so ruined, the second he realizes his plan is not working.

Really, this whole scene puts their relationship together the best. He's a God, holding Kerubim, a 7-9yo orphan, on a tiny string.

His whole life, Ecaflip just belittles him over some random bullshit, makes him hate his brother for being bald, and then gives him a gambling addiction before putting him into a mental asylum to treat it. All of that because he loves him that much.

We have to kill him. There is no other way. I may be a wakfu season 3 hater, but Oropo was right.

Yay, trauma bonding, in its correct definition!

If my whole family died, and a god cared so much about me, he made me the protagonist of various sad cringe stories of overcoming personal adversities mostly caused BY him, I too, would develop some sort of complex to cope. So I get it.

But I feel like, even if Kerubim will never voice it out loud, considering what repercussions may follow, deep down he knows that Ecaflip himself is one of the reasons for his loneliness, and that most of all, he's scared of him.