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thespiralgrimoire · 4 years

Note

⭐️ STAR ⭐️ STAR ⭐️ GIMME A WHOLE DAMN CONSTELLATION I DON’T EVEN CARE ON WHAT

*Cracks knuckles* Alright y’all it’s go time

I’m going to discuss all the works in my series Boys Will Be Embarrassing and also some WIPS

Lost in Roses

⭐️ This whole fic was an accident. I started writing it with a vague idea of what it was going to be about and I lost that idea along the way.

⭐️ It’s my least favorite in the series because it’s kind of boring, but I did like writing baby Solid

⭐️ It’s included in the series because it’s the origins of Nebra’s crush on Fuegoleon, which is important for later works

⭐️ I got to introduce this headcanon that Nebra is good at climbing here, and have not been able to use it since, which just breaks my heart

In the Lion’s Den

⭐️ This is the fic that properly started the friendly contest that led to the Boys Will Be Embarrassing series, but it is NOT the first fic. It’s the second. The first hasn’t been posted because it takes place post-canon (or canon-divergent, depending on how long Black Clover goes for), and it’s called And They Were Roommates.

⭐️ @loafingdragon waited WEEKS to post this fic because she couldn’t think of a proper meme for one of the lines near the beginning. In the end, I kicked her ass into posting it without a meme. No loss.

⭐️ This is the fic that started us keeping track of all of Nozel and Fuegoleon’s friends, because we had to decide which one hit on Meoroleona and got his nose broken. It was Ben Benfunk. This ended up working well because in the anime, Ben has a throwaway line about the Crimson Lions having to do well or Captain Meoroleona will make them regret it LOL

The Challenge

⭐️ This is my FAVORITE FIC IN THE SERIES it does NOT let you come up for air it’s SO FUNNY

⭐️ This fic’s working title was Boys Will Be Embarrassing. I made my sister change it because at this point I knew we were going to make more stories in his genre and I liked it as a series title.

⭐️ This one was a draft for a long time because in the original ending, Nozel opened up a trap door to see Meoroleona watching them play this game and it just ended with the two staring at each other like this

⭐️ In the original, they also only played one round of the Pocky Game before they played Cherry Chaser, which meant that we didn’t get Nozel doing... all that

⭐️ In the original, Fuego swallowed his cherry and Nozel lost his. When Nozel found Meoro, she popped a cherry in his mouth so that Nozel could win.

⭐️ When I read the second draft of this fic, where Nozel starts doing all those things during the Pocky Game, it killed me on sight

Oasis

⭐️ The working title for this piece was “Hot Boys” LMAO

⭐️ I forced the idea out of my noggin because I wanted to explicitely write fluff. Might have missed the mark on this one but OH WELL

⭐️ Originally they were going to get caught in a cave, and when the temperature dropped a night, Fuegoleon got to be the one keeping them alive. I ditched this because everyone makes Fuegoleon the big strong one and I wanted Nozel to be the one in charge the whole time

⭐️ Did you know that mercury is such an efficient coolant that it’s not advisable to use as a coolant because (along with the fact it’s hard to get) it cools TOO well? Makes your devices frosty

⭐️ Silver Cradle WILL be making an appearance in other fics, actually in a similar fashion to how it appeared in Oasis. But with someone else

⭐️ If it weren’t for my sister @loafingdragon this fic would easily be half the length that it is. I kept writing a little more and she kept saying “It doesn’t feel finished yet!”

⭐️ There are WAY more subtle headcanons worked into this fic than it seems. So many of them are extremely subtle and inconsequential, I didn’t bother pointing them out.

⭐️ Mimosa isn’t playing with Leo and Noelle in this fic because I straight up forgot that she existed LOL. I regret this

⭐️ I didn’t get a single age right in the whole-ass fic but shhhh nobody’s called me on it

⭐️ This is my most popular fic and you know what. It should be. It’s the best so far

The Grimoire Thief

⭐️ The working title for this one was The Grimoire Walker, which was cooler, but didn’t fit, so we had to change it

⭐️ This is the newest fic in the series right now! It’s a beautiful mess and all over the place.

⭐️ This fic is what made me start loving Nebra

⭐️ It’s where she really explored Nebra’s love for games, which I take full advantage of later

⭐️ @loafingdragon is reading this almost entirely by herself so I can’t say a lot about it tbh

The Ring(s)

⭐️ It’s in the notes of the fic, but it was inspired by this post

⭐️ There is a fifth chapter, which follows that post almost like a script, and I like it a lot, but I didn’t post it because it’s entrenched in my preferred AU where instead of ascending, the elves just stuck around and shared bodies with their human hosts. It was too much to explain at the end of a story.

⭐️ I thought up the very important hc that Nozel can eat anything on the spot for this fic and it has colored every other thing I’ve written about him to date

⭐️ This ring comes up in other works because Nozel never stops being enamored by it

Now let’s talk about WIPS a little bit

Disaster Bisexual Fuegoleon Fic

⭐️ The working title right now is Ultimatum but I’m already tired of that

⭐️ We’re about.... 1/2 - 2/3 through this fic and it’s about 80,000 words LOL pray for us

⭐️ This is the first fic where @loafingdragon and I are seriously collaborating on it. Like, there are points in this fic where we’re both writing it, at the same time. It’s really fun and exciting, as I’ve never written anything this collaboratively, and I’m having soooooo much fun with it

⭐️ The reason we’re doing it that way is because there are two OCs in it that belong to my sister. They’re elves who belatedly possessed Fuegoleon and Nozel. This only increases the hilarity of the fic I promise

⭐️ The other reason we’re writing it collaboratively is because it’s a comedy and my sister @loafingdragon is way funnier than me

⭐️ The elf thing is one reason that we haven’t started posting it yet. The other is because it also takes place after/divergent from canon, like And They Were Roommates

⭐️ @loafingdragon did a whole story introducing the elves, which is really good but she hasn’t posted it yet BECAUSE we have to write something ELSE before that is properly situated in this universe. It’s a matryoshka doll of details to explain and I’m losing my resolve to explain them properly

⭐️ Despite us working on this extremely collaboratively, I don’t think my sister knows how I plan to end it??? Which is very sexy of me I think

Traning With Aunt Nebra

⭐️ This fic is completely done, and discusses Nebra training Fuegoleon’s toddler son, who has steam magic

⭐️ It was written real early in the history of this series by @loafingdragon, and has a really flippant feel to it, meaning it’s funnier than anything I’ve written in my life

⭐️ Nebra gets to motorboat Fuegoleon in it. That’s really all you need to know to be sure that it’s good\

⭐️ It’s going to be a while before it’s posted because we still have to explain where Fuegoleon’s son came from

There are actually more fics but they’re @loafingdragon‘s and I don’t have that many thoughts on their beauty

Thank you for enabling me shammie. Now I’ve got to go put on pants and get some breakfast.

#black clover #nozel silva #nebra silva #fuegoleon vermillion #my art #spinda tea #noelle silva #solid silva

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worryinglyinnocent · 4 years

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Fic: Vastly Different Worlds

AU-gust Day One: Fantasy AU Fandom: Stargate Universe Pairing: Nicholas Rush x Chloe Armstrong

Rated: T

Summary: With her father’s kingdom on the brink of war, Princess Chloe turns to the court sorcerer, Master Rush, for solace, frustrated that they must keep their relationship secret.

===

Vastly Different Worlds

“We have the Nakai forces closing in on our northern and eastern borders. We expect that their advance guard will arrive within the week. Whatever secret weapon your sorcerer has been working on, we need it ready to move out now.”

Chloe sighed as the colonels fell to arguing amongst themselves whilst her father considered all of the information that he’d been given. Every war council was much the same these days, just a lot of shouting and no decisions actually being made, before ending by blaming the chief sorcerer for whatever misfortune had befallen their forces this time. This was usually because the chief sorcerer always declined to come to the war councils and as such wasn’t around to defend himself.

Chloe would admit that his continued absence from the war chamber was getting to be somewhat suspicious and if she hadn’t seen him in person around the palace from time to time, she’d think that her father had made up the existence of Master Rush to get the colonels off his back.

She glanced down the table towards Brother Wallace. She had not known Eli long; he had only arrived at the palace to begin his apprenticeship under Master Rush a few months ago, but he had quickly become a firm friend. Since the Nakai insurrection had begun, Eli’s presence in the war chamber was becoming more and more frequent as Rush sent him to represent the magical interests instead of coming himself.

Chloe mouthed a message to Eli. Where is he?

Eli rolled his eyes. Observatory. Where else?

Chloe smiled to herself. She loved the observatory, but she never had much opportunity to visit it, or its inhabitants. Her mother didn’t approve of her dabbling in sorcery, preferring her to be educated in the arts of diplomacy instead. Chloe had already brokered her first alliance between their own kingdom of Destiny and the Langaran elves in the south, and she could categorically state that whilst she definitely appreciated the importance of good allies, especially against the threat of a horde of invading Nakai, diplomacy was so teeth-clenchingly boring that she never wanted to do it again. Well, at least not whilst her parents, who were infinitely better at it than she was, were still around.

No, she’d be far happier, and, dare she think it, far more useful, in the observatory learning magic from Eli and Rush and helping their war effort. She did not have the innate talent that the two sworn sorcerers had, but her learned magic was getting quite strong even if she did say so herself. What she lacked in ability, she made up for in tactical application, which was no sorcerer’s strong point.

She glanced over at Eli again. Cover for me?

He gave a theatrical sigh and nodded, his hands moving deftly and quickly, the pulse of magic that shot out of his palm going completely unnoticed by her father and the preoccupied colonels. Chloe slipped out of her seat, the facsimile of her that Eli had created remaining in her chair. No one ever asked her opinion on anything during these councils; she wouldn’t be missed.

She paused by Eli’s chair as she left the room.

“Thanks Eli, I owe you one.”

“You still haven’t paid me back for the last couple of times. You technically owe me three.”

“I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” She kissed his cheek. “You’re a star.”

She raced out of the room before anyone could notice that there were two of her there, and she made her way through the palace to the observatory, keeping an eye out for anyone who might question her.

Chloe felt the magic of the tower envelop her as she set foot on the first step up to the observatory. She didn’t know what enchantments were in place to protect the spire, but she knew that they recognised her as a friend and let her pass without incident. The generals, she knew, were not welcome in Master Rush’s domain, and she had overheard more than one heated conversation between them about being kept out of the place. She’d never yet been able to see precisely what happened when they attempted to enter, but she had high hopes that it was something amusing.

The magic surrounding her became more and more intense as she made her way up the stairs, and she breathed it in, feeling it race around her veins. She could quite see the attraction of the power and mystery, and she could tell why so many chose to enter the magical arts, even if far fewer stuck the course.

The observatory was its usual mess of potions and parchment, chalk dust and incantations everywhere. At first glance, Master Rush was nowhere to be seen, but she could hear the scratching of chalk against wood and she knew that he had to be here somewhere.

Looking around the large room, she saw something that had not been there on her last visit, a complex spell scrawled around the wall. Master Rush was not a man to let a lack of parchment get in the way of an idea, and it was a very good job that he and Eli had the magic to clean up after themselves or the entire palace would be covered in strange, half-built spells that no one knew precisely what they were for, including the man who had written them in the first place.

She followed the spell around the room, knowing that Rush would likely be at the end of it, and she found him in the shadows behind a bookcase, scraps of parchment in one hand and chalk in the other, worn down almost to a stub. His arms were covered in dust and there were so many smears of it on his glasses that she wondered how on earth he could see.

“Master Rush?”

“Go away, I’m busy.”

“I can see that. Can I hold something for you, maybe?” It certainly looked like he was about to drop one of his many pieces of paper and she’d hate for them to get muddled up in case it resulted in the observatory blowing up. Such an occurrence had not happened yet in Master Rush’s time as chief sorcerer, but there was a first time for everything. “You look like you could use some more chalk.”

Rush stopped his scribbling and looked at his chalk stub, pushing his glasses back up his nose and transferring more white powder to the lenses, and to his face. He looked so focussed on what he was doing that it was almost alarming in its intensity.

“Yes,” he said eventually. “More chalk.”

Chloe left him behind the bookcase and went to source a new stick. “What’s this latest masterpiece?” she asked as she hunted. It looked as if the search might be in vain, there was that much junk lying around. “How do you and Eli ever find anything in here?”

“We have a system. Don’t move anything or you’ll mess it up. And I’m not entirely sure what this new masterpiece is yet, but it will tell me when its ready. With any luck, it’ll be the cloaking spell that everyone’s been so anxious to get their hands on.”

At length, Chloe found a fresh stick of chalk - well, one that was marginally longer than his current one at any rate - and brought it over.

“Yes, the colonels are champing at the bit slightly,” she said, standing next to him as he continued to work. She traced her fingers over the spell lightly without making contact, privately impressed with how many of the symbols she was able to read and translate into magic in her head, even if she didn’t have the nous to cast them yet. “This is light magic isn’t it?”

“Yes.” Rush paused in his scribblings, turning to her. He sounded impressed as well. “The way to make something invisible is to change the way that light refracts around it. This spell, hopefully, will do just that. You’re a quick learner, Your Highness.”

“Thank you, Master Rush.”

He took the new chalk from her, his fingers brushing against hers for a brief moment and transferring a coating of dust. Chloe could still feel the warmth of his skin against her hand, burning there.

She lived for these precious minutes when it was just the two of them. They happened so rarely, commitments by necessity keeping them apart, but neither of them could deny the intensity in the atmosphere when they were together. Despite taking the chalk, Rush didn’t start to write again, just staring at Chloe’s fingers and the dust his own had left.

Finally, he turned away, his movements abrupt and jerky, pulling himself out of whatever reflections he had been caught in.

“You’ll be missed, Your Highness,” he said gruffly. “Eli’s illusions are masterful, but he can’t keep them up forever.”

“Please call me Chloe.”

He turned back to her. There was something haunted in his eyes that Chloe hated to see there. She knew a little of his past, although only from the snippets that she had picked up through Eli. She knew that there was a wife who had died, and she knew that Rush blamed himself, spending so much time on trying to find the magic that would save her and not enough time by her side in her final moments. Perhaps that was why he worked himself up into such a fervour now, barely resting in his attempts to discover everything that the magical world had to offer.

“Please call me Chloe,” she repeated softly. Rush shook his head with a little snort.

“I don’t think that your parents would approve.”

No, they wouldn’t approve. Chloe was a princess and heir to the throne of an influential kingdom, and ever since she had been born, her parents had been grooming her to marry someone influential in a purely political alliance to strengthen their kingdom. She knew that her mother was secretly hoping for a union with one of the Elven kingdoms to introduce some longevity into the bloodline.

But despite their plans for her, Chloe couldn’t help being her own person and wanting what her heart wanted, rather than going along with what was wanted for her. And what her heart wanted was Rush.

“I don’t care.” She reached out to touch Rush’s shoulder, leaving another smear of chalk dust there in among all the others on his robes.

“Your Highness.”

“Chloe.”

“Chloe…” Rush sighed. “Do you know what you’re getting into here?”

Chloe nodded firmly. “I’ve known ever since I first snuck in here and you started teaching me magic.”

She wasn’t going to back down so easily. If this was something that they both wanted, then she wanted them to at least try and make something of it. The only challenge now was to make sure that she and Rush were both on the same page, and this really was something that they both wanted.

“I want this, Nicholas,” she said. Maybe using his first name would convince him of her intent. “I want you, not whatever match my parents happen to have picked out for me because it’s the most advantageous to Destiny. You understand me in a way no one else does. We understand each other. If you don’t feel the same way, then that’s another thing, but don’t try to push me away by saying it’s something I don’t want if really, it’s something that you don’t want.”

Rush’s fingers closed over her own on his shoulders. “I do want this,” he said softly. “I want it far more than I should, but I’ve accepted that it can never be, Chloe. For all we live in close quarters, we inhabit vastly different worlds.”

“I know we do at the moment, but I don’t see why we should have to forever.”

“There are some elements of the status quo that we can’t change. Maybe it’s for the best.”

Chloe sighed. “How can it be, when we both want something and we’re denying ourselves this thing that we want based on a sense of politics and propriety that’s centuries out of date? Why can’t we just take this chance to be happy whilst we have it?”

“What happens when we no longer have it?” Rush asked quietly. “What will happen when it ends?”

Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, Chloe thought, but she knew better than to voice the sentiments to Rush. It made sense that he was scared of beginning something new after everything that had happened, and she understood that. She just wished that she could get him to open up to her and be truthful about his fears with her. Rush had been so guarded for so long out of necessity that sometimes she thought he hid the truth even from himself.

“Maybe it won’t end,” she said eventually. “Maybe everything will work out well if we just have a little faith. Life doesn’t always have to be a constant cycle of preparing for the worst. Please, Nicholas, won’t you take a chance with me?”

For a long moment, he didn’t speak. He didn’t move, his dark eyes impenetrable as he gazed at her. Chloe was on the verge of giving it up and leaving him alone with his spells; she had done all she could to convince him and it was not to be, so she would have to accept that.

Then his hand was on her face, chalk dust smearing on her cheek as he leaned in to press a chaste, tentative kiss to her lips. The ghost of a smile passed across his face as he broke away, and Chloe returned it.

“Maybe a chance isn’t such a bad thing,” he murmured.

Chloe kissed him again, going in with far more energy than he had given her, but he made no move to pull away, accepting her readily as she slipped her arms around his middle. It felt right, here in the observatory with just the two of them, where they had spent so many precious moments together uncovering the secrets of the most mystical magic and working out its applications. Chloe had no doubt that there would be any more of those precious moments to come, but for now, she was content to enjoy this one. However long this thing between them lasted, and however it might end, she knew that this was something she could never regret.

#SGU #Stargate Universe #Chloe Armstrong #Nicholas Rush #CRush #ChloexRush #Fantasy AU #AU-gust #Worry does AU-gust #Fic: Vastly Different Lives

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blahblahblippyblah · 5 years

Text

The Magic of Dust: first day

Chapter 3

His dark materials AU.

Read on AO3 too.

Remus

Remus was the first one to wake up the next morning. Ileuda was curled up on his chest and glared at him angrily when he sat up and she tumbled on top of the bedsheets. He opened his bed curtains and surveyed the dorm. t was small and the other three beds had their curtains drawn shut still. Remus could hear the sounds of snoring coming from Peter and James’s beds. Orange sunlight spilled into the room, the sun was just showing up. He stretched and heard both his shoulder pop. He was sore today, which as expected the full moon was now 6 days away. He tiptoed barefoot to the bathroom. He quickly washed up and got ready. Ileuda also washed herself up using the sink to wet her little paws and wipe them on her face.

Tiptoeing back to the dorm he was relieved to see everyone was still fast asleep, so he took the opportunity to quickly get dressed. He changed his shirt as quickly as possible not even wanting to risk someone seeing the scars that covered his chest and back. By the time he was putting on his socks James’ curtains had begun to rustle, and by the time he had his bag on and was tying his trainers James stumbled out blurry eyes without glasses heading to the bathroom.

The common room downstairs was practically empty. Only two upper year students were up sitting by the fire chatting quietly. Remus headed straight down to the Great Hall since his stomach was rumbling.

The Great Hall was also sparsely occupied. Only the gamekeepers, and a large porky professor with bushy moustache were up at the head table. Two Slytherins were sitting far apart at their table, a group of three Hufflepuff girls were sitting giggling, and then one other person at the Gryffindor table. When Remus got closer, he saw it was the red-headed girl from yesterday. She looked sad as she poked her scrambled eggs with her fork. Remus decided to go and see what was up.

He sat down across from her and began filling his plate with bacon and filling his mug with some spicy smelling tea that was out.

“Good morning. Lily was it?” He asked when she looked up.

She stared at him for a second with a straight face and slightly squinted eyes. She was obviously deciding how to respond. Remus had forgotten about the fight James sand Sirius had started in the compartment, and she probably was deciding if he was to blame too.

“I’m Remus” Remus said extending his hand to her. “Sorry I didn’t introduce myself properly yesterday. Kind of nerve wracking coming to Hogwarts.” Remus continued trying to convince Lily he wasn’t being malicious.

She reached out and shook his hand back then went back to poking her eggs solemnly.

“It’s ok. I was nervous to come too” She said. On her shoulder her mourning dove daemon let out a mournful sounding sigh.

Beside him Ileuda laid her head in his lap. Remus pet her softly. Obviously, something was up making this girl sad, he felt bad for her, but he didn’t want to be nosy and intrusive, so he decided to try and change the subject.

“You excited for any particular class?”

Lily looked up and smiled faintly.

“Ya, I’m excited for potions. My friend Severus lent me a potions book on rare ingredients before I got my letter and I got really interested.”

Remus smiled; he honestly wasn’t fond of potions. At home his dad had stopped brewing since the smells affected him so strongly. Even if his office door was closed the fumes still seemed to spill out under the door and make him feel ill.

However, his mother would take him out a in the forest behind their house and he would help her pick stuff to eat for dinner, mustards, herbs and berries. Occasionally his dad would come and point out magical plants. Sometimes they would pick they for healing potions. One time they found a wand tree on their property deep in the forest. His dad had pulled out a handful of rice and placed it at the bottom of the tree. Then they stood back quietly behind and watched as a bunch of bowtruckels came down from the canopy to eat the rice. He was young then and seeing the little twig creatures had been a magical moment.

“So did you use to pick potion ingredients with your family?” Remus asked.

“Oh umm no. My family is muggle. But I went out with my friend quite a bit. He used to brew potions in his bedroom. I don’t think my sister would have liked that very much” The last sentence she said with her nose scrunched up a bit. Her dove daemon ruffled its feathers at the mention of their sister. Then it flew up in the air and turned into a monarch butterfly and landed in Lily’s hair.

“My mom’s a muggle. She doesn’t understand potions. She thinks it’s silly to brew a potion for a sore throat when you can just drink some ginger tea.” Remus said trying to keep Lily in conversation now that it seemed to be cheering her up.

Lily chuckled a little. “It is a little silly isn’t it. So what classes are you looking forward too.”

“Oh history of magic sounds fun. I read the text book twice already. Plus, I found a book on the Goblin rebellion of 1419 that I started reading.”

With that they started talking about how they thought school here would work. She had apparently been to a public muggle school, and she was worried Hogwarts would be different. Remus himself had never been to school before. His mom and dad taught him from home. They moved a lot because of his condition, and his dad was worried about people realising that he disappeared every month around the full moon, only to come back injured. So, He was really excited to start school like a regular person.

They continued talking about wizard history till the hall started to get busy. Lily had also read Hogwarts: A History and they started to compared notes when James and Sirius came into the hall. James was tying his new Gryffindor tie as he came in trying to straighten his clothes, which he obviously put on with little effort. Sirius however had just thrown on whatever was probably lying on the top of his trunk and didn’t seem to care. His tie hung untied around his neck, his shirt was opened at the top, and his robe was thrown over his shoulder, everything very wrinkly. This only thing that was done properly was his neatly brushed hair pulled back with a striking red and gold ribbon. This was in contrast to James whose hair looked even more of a rat’s nest than yesterday. They sat down with Lily and him and Lily immediately dropped her niceties and turned to Sirius who sat down beside her.

“I don’t remember asking you two to join us”

James paused but Sirius stayed calm and ignored her.

“Good because I don’t remember asking.” He simply said filling his plate with eggs and toast.

Lily glared daggers at Sirius. Remus thought she was about to hit the guy so he decided to step in.

“Lily this is Sirius and James. You may be confused since they forgot to introduce themselves like regular human beings.” Remus said to Lily while stepping discretely on James’s toes.

James got the message and sat up straight and turned to Lily.

“I’m James.” Remus pressed harder on James toes. He winced and continued “Sorry for that um…kerfuffle yesterday”

Lily didn’t respond. She just glared angrily at him. Sirius who was sitting beside her snorted at the word ‘kerfuffle’ and then coughed a bit since he chocked on his mouth full of eggs. Some went flying from his mouth onto his plate. She shot him a disgusted look and James started laughing out loud at Sirius which caused milk to splatter out of his mouth, which caused Sirius to laugh and a disgusting feedback loop of chewed food.

“You are both disgusting” She said out loud and shuffled further away from them.

Thankfully the post decided to arrive just then, stopping further bickering. The hall filled with owls carrying letters and packages to students. Remus looked up and saw a giant eagle owl land on James’s shoulder. The owl was huge, and very regal in the way it looked. It promptly held out its leg to let James untie the large package attached to it.

“Forgot some stuff. Oh, look mom sent cookies” James said reaching in the box.

Remus was so caught up admiring James’s eagle he didn’t notice his family owl until it nipped at his hand.

“Sorry Toffee” He said taking the letter from the little burrowing owl. He ruffled her feathers and gave one cautious look at James shoulder where his owl was now swallowing a whole boiled egg before taking off again.

Remus opened his letter.

Son,

I hope all went well on your way to Hogwarts. Your mother and I are already missing you terribly, as well as worrying about you. Last night we had Cottage pie only because it was your favourite meal, and your mother felt bad about not making you some before you left. She’s worried they might not feed you well enough so she’s planning on baking a bunch of things to send. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that the Hogwarts house elves are probably the best cooks in Britain. I’ll have to wait to send the sweets until I go to Diagon alley, since muggle post won’t reach you and I will need to borrow a heftier owl. I would have sent some, but poor Toffee wouldn’t have been able to make the journey.

The school has an owlery which you should be able to send letters through instead of having Toffee fly across the country. I’m sure your first day will be busy, but if you could take the time to write home today and let us know how you are doing it would make both me and your mother feel better.

Study hard and keep your head down,

Dad

Remus smiled at the letter. He missed his parents too and appreciated the letter. He made a note to visits the owlery before the end of the day to tell his parents where he was sorted.

“Do you know how to use the muggle post?” James asked. Remus turned to see him looking over his shoulder. He quickly folded the letter and put it away.

“Ya, I use to send my grandmother letters all the time until she died. A little slower than owl post though.”

“That’s so cool. So how do stamps work then?” James asked with wide eyes and apparent interest. It was now Lily’s turn to snort in laughter. James shrank a bit at the laughing. Sirius chose then to but in and save James from further embarrassment.

“Given me a cookie Potter” Sirius said getting up and leaning across the table to reach for the box James was going through and putting in his bag.

“No! You Freeloader!”

Remus moved over a little just like Lily to avoid the fighting that ensued, where Sirius grabbed the box and James tried to wrestle it back.

“I feel sorry that you have to live with them” Lily said to him.

Remus smiled and was about to say that they weren’t that bad when a stray owl flew over them and dropped a red scarlet envelope in between James and Sirius. They both stopped moving immediately looking at it frightened. Everyone around them also stopped and stared at the letter too.

Neither James or Sirius reached out to pick it up both acting like any quick. Movements might make it explode. Remus leaned over to see in emerald green ink the name on the front in large cursive letter.

Sirius Arcturus Black III

“You better run mate” A redhead beside James said. His twin brother across the table nodded.

“What is it?” Lily asked. Remus too was wondering the same thing.

Then the letter started steaming violently.

“Too late” James said backing away from the letter. Sirius too sat down leaned away. The letter exploded with a thunderous bang scorching the table. Then a voice boomed around the hall making all the other students who hadn’t notice the letter stop and turn to see the commotion.

“SIRIUS BLACK! HOW DARE YOU BRING HUMILIATION UPON THE NOBEL HOUSE FOR WHICH YOU REPRESENT. CONSORTING WITH MUDBLOODS AND TRAITORS! YOU HAVE BROUGHT BOTH ME AND YOUR FATHER TO SHAME, YOUR ANCESTORS SHALL ROLL IN THEIR GRAVES!” Sirius kept a blank face but continued to stare down at the black burnt mark on the table where the letter was emanating sound. His eyes lost all the sparkle they had just moments ago, instead becoming grey haze. The voice was shrill with a thick French accent similar to Sirius’s, but this was posher. It out like thundering and making his ears ring with pain.

"YOU WLL FIX THIS EMBARESSMENT IMMDEIDALTY OR THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES!”

And with that final note the hall fell silent. Sirius stayed still and everyone kept watching him.

“All right you lot mind your beeswax” One of the redhead twins said out loud scolding everyone watching. Slowly people went back to their breakfasts.

“Alright mate” James asked quietly.

Sirius shook his head as if coming out of a trance.

“Ya. Of course.” He said sounding as if nothing had happened. “Lovely women my mother, real charmer” Sirius joked. James made a little snort of laughter which was what Sirius must have been going for because he began reaching for the cookies again.

Remus felt a little off. He had only heard about how some pureblood families were prejudice, but he thought Sirius might not have been from one of those families. He was so nice, maybe he didn’t know he was a half blood. But then again Sirius didn’t sound like he agreed with his family the way he just joked about his mom. Remus thought he would just wait and see how the day went with Sirius now knowing he was probably a half blood with James asking about the muggle post.

McGonagall was now going around handing out schedules down the Gryffindor table. Remus looked around.

“Where Peter?”

“Damn. I know we forgot something” James said standing up with Sirius and heading out of the hall.

Peter

The first day of classes had gone slowly. The first class they had was charms. Professor Flitwick was a short man with a high pitch voice and a goldfinch for a daemon talked for a bit then set them up to practice levitation feathers. This meant that they could talk with each other for most of the class.

This seemed to both be a blessing and a curse. The blessing was that everyone was so occupied with their own little groups they didn’t notice that Peter wasn’t able to even make his feather twitch. The downside was that everyone was talking about one thing. The howler Sirius Black had gotten. The story James and Sirius had told him when they woke him up hadn’t been complete, but from the rumours he was overhearing he didn’t blame Sirius for not wanting to talk about it.

Sirius however seemed bothered about the howler, he only seemed worried about one particular thing.

“They all think I’m some sort of loony blood purists now” Sirius said glaring at two Ravenclaw girls who were whispering behind them while looking over at Sirius. When James looked back at them and narrowed his eyes, they stopped whispering

“Forget them.” James said turning back to his feather and making it soar up effortlessly. James and Sirius both got the spell on the first try. Remus had taken a few tries but had eventually got it.

Peter turned back to his feather and tired again. Nothing.

“Here” Remus said reaching out and getting his attention. “Try a more flicking wrist thing. Like this”

Remus demonstrated. He tried again using Remus’s movement. The feather in front of him twitched up but didn’t get very far.

“More flick, less swish”

Peter tried again and felt the magic move out from his arm to his wand. The feather raised a little bit up to eye level and slowly fell back down.

“Amazing work Mr. Pettigrew” Professor Flitwick said coming over to check on everyone.

The rest of the day was uneventful. In Herbology they just went over safety rules. Most of which James and Sirius did not pay attention for. They spent most of the class secretly levitating potting soil into some blonde Hufflepuffs school bag. When the boy went to reach for his notebook to write down the readings for next class, the boy was pissed but couldn’t find the culprit. It took everything for them not to burst out laughing when he went to open his quill case to find that also filled with soil.

“Beautiful touch with the quill case Black” James aid as they headed to lunch.

After lunch was a double period of History of Magic. After the initial shock of Professor Binns who to their surprise was a ghost coming out of the chalk board the lesson got boring. Binns droned on reading from his notes about some sort of Goblin legislator formed on the 1600’s and most of the class fell off to sleep within the first hour. Eventually James was full on sleeping. Sirius was playing tic tac toe lazily with him on a spare bit of parchment. The girls sitting in front of them were braiding their hair and drawing doodles on their notes. The only person who seemed to be listening was Remus, who was diligently listening and taking notes.

By the time diner time arrived Peter was exhausted. Thankfully the amazing smell of the food in the hall woke him right up. Aspecta even ended her long nap and crawled out of his pocket landing on the floor as a racoon before getting up beside him at the table.

The girls also came to join them for dinner.

There was Marlene McKinnon and her Squirrel daemon Avita, Mary McDonald and her ginger cat daemon Wholright, Dorcas Meadowes and her snail daemon Reunter, and Lily Evans, who Peter remembered from the train. Lily didn’t seem happy to sit with them but followed her friends anyway. She however sat beside Remus as far from James and Sirius as she could, and only talked to him for the duration of the meal.

It wasn’t until desert something interesting happened. The greasy guy named Severus came over to their table and tapped Lily on the shoulder. He had a straight face on but Peter could feel the contempt coming off of him being this close to James and Sirius, who he kept shooting angry glances at. Thankfully they were both too engrossed in their conversation to even notice him.

“Hey Sev. What’s up? Sit down with us”

Severus looked at the group with disgust then shook his head.

“No thank you. I was actually wondering if you wanted to come to the owlery with me”

“Sure. Sounds fun I can send a letter to Tuney” She said standing up. Her butterfly flew around her head happily. “Remus don’t you have a letter to send as well”

Remus looked up too. “Oh yes. I’ll come with you.” Remus said standing up.

Severus gave him a look that said very clearly that Severus didn’t want Remus to come, but Lily smiled at Remus and him so Severus made a forced smile that disappeared as soon as Lily and Remus turned to head out.

“Ugh. He’s so creepy. No wonder he’s in Slytherin” James said beside him looking at where Remus, Lily and Severus had exited.

“Speaking of creepy Slytherins” Sirius said pointing over James’s shoulder to a blonde witch in Slytherin robes walking towards the Gryffindor table. She was slender and blonde, with perfect posture. She seemed to look down on everyone she walked by even though she couldn’t have been past 4th year herself. Her daemon was a pale white snake with red eyes that had wrapped itself tight around her neck like a scaly choker necklace.

“Who’s that” Peter asked.

“My bossy cousin”

She stopped in front of Sirius and cleared her throat. Sirius however rolled his eyes and went back to his pudding.

“What do you want Sissy?”

Sissy, the girl looked down at Sirius with a sympathetic look.

“Aunt Walburga has asked I talk to you in private. The girl said. She had the same French accent Sirius had, but it sounded softer and more polished like Sirius’s mom.

“Whatever the old bag has to say she can say it herself. She obviously has no problem telling the world”

“Sirius please. Don’t be a child”

“Whatever you have to say you can say it here”

“Sirius you know I can’t, now come along.” She turned gracefully her carefully braided hair whipping around her back as she walked away.

Sirius sighed dramatically then stood up.

“Duty calls apparently” He said sarcastically. “If I go missing, I leave noting to no one”, and with that he stalked off after the girl.

Sirius

Sirius was apathetic about whatever it was Sissy wanted, although he had a good idea what this was about. However, if his mom had contacted her it probably wasn’t good news. They wanted someone and Sissy loved being the bearer of bad news. She was always the goody two shoes, always tattling on him. She was even worse than Regulus.

When they got into the entryway Sissy led him towards the dungeons where it was quiet and no students were walking nearby. She put her hand on his arm and made Sirius walk alongside her. Maybe it would be a nice gesture if it wasn’t for what followed.

“Aunt Walburga and Uncle Orion have asked me to pass on the families remedy to your…. Indiscretion.”

“Ya? and what’s that?” Sirius asked trying to keep the hostility out of his tone.

“That you will remain in Gryffindor only if you can agree not to consort with half bloods and mud bloods. Gryffindor is full of them, and you will not allow them to taint your reputation.”

“My reputation?”

“Yes, your reputation, because whether you like it or not you are the heir to the house of Black, and therefore what you do will reflect on the whole family”

“I don’t care about this stupid blood nonsense” Sirius said pulling away from Sissy feeling annoyed.

“It is not nonsense Sirius, It is very much the opposite. The Blacks are the most powerful of the sacred 28. What we do sets the course for the future of our families. We can’t let lesser wizards work their way into our ranks and taken it down, like a disease slowly killing the tree from the inside out.”

“What a load of ….”

“Sirius. This is not a joke, and this wasn’t a request. Uncle Orion was clear. You are not to consort with anyone who isn’t a pureblood. If other families saw the Black heir consorting with filth, they’ll think our family is weak. Andromeda and I are to make sure you listen, it’s not just your head on the chopping block Sirius.”

“Fine. Is that all” Sirius said now inpatient.

“Yes” Sissy said with a forced calm voice.

“Good” and with that Sirius stormed off.

James

“Mate, where were you?” James asked when he came into the dorm. Sirius was laying on his bed staring at the ceiling. Fid was currently back to snake form, he wound around the bed post slithering up.

“I came right back up. Didn’t feel like finishing desert”

“Huh. Want to talk about it?” James said sitting down beside him on the bed. Bahadurr morphed into a kestrel and flew up onto the top of the bed and looked down at Fid head moving side to side regarding him.

“Just family stuff”

“Something tells me family stuff isn’t normal family stuff.”

Sirius just grunted in agreement. James laid back on the bed with him.

It was quiet for a bit. They both just listened to the sounds of the win blowing around the tower and the sound of people chattering down in the common room and in the stairwell.

“Sissy told me I wasn’t allowed to hang around muggle born and half blood. Said it would make the Blacks look weak or something.” Sirius said it low as if someone might overhear them even though they were alone in the room.

James just grunted out loud. He wasn’t surprised. He knew how most pureblood families thought. That was exactly the reason why his mother and father kept clear of them.

“It’s so stupid” Was all Sirius said after a long pause. James could tell Sirius was deep in thought. James waited a bit before speaking up.

“My dad says that wizards would be extinct if we didn’t marry muggles.”

James jumped up as Sirius started cackling like a mad man. James didn’t know what to do so he waited for Sirius to stop laughing and sat up beside him on the bed.

“I think your dad is right. Maybe my families too inbred to think properly. Either that or their heads are so far up their arses they can’t see past their gloomy manors and stuffy social groups”

“You know what I think.” James said and Sirius turned to him attentive to hear what James had to say. “I think bugger the lot of them. You’re a Gryffindor now.”

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annacwrites · 4 years

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the wip list

Alright, gang. Buckle up. This is going to be a long one, and at this point I can’t even bring myself to be sorry about it. I meant to put this off but then I started thinking about it, so here we are (at 1:05 in the morning when I have to work at 8:30, what am I doing?).

I’m going to break this down in a couple of ways—fanfiction vs. original fiction, fandom (if it’s a fanfic), series/universe (if it’s in one), and then the individual books themselves (if I have the ability to do that, because quite frankly, for some of these I don’t because I have no idea what the titles are or where I’m splitting the story yet).

Also, “WIP” is an incredibly broad term here. In some cases it means I’ve already written the whole thing but I plan to 100% rewrite it (and haven’t started yet). In some cases it means I’ve written half of the thing but haven’t finished yet. In some cases it means I have it all outlined but haven’t started writing yet. In some cases it means I haven’t really touched an outline on paper yet but I have it all worked out in my head. Take the “in progress” part of WIP with a grain of salt.

(Putting this whole thing under the cut because it is so freaking long. I apologize if the read-more doesn’t work on your dash. Idk what tumblr is doing.)

Starting off easy—the fics:

Harry Potter: (JKR can fuck off with her transphobia and cultural appropriation and all the other stupid and fucked-up shit that she’s done/promoted but, as I said to my friends, she can pry my next-gen fanfics from my cold dead hands. Cursed Child is not canon in my life because I’ve never read it and I don’t care what nonsense she came up with.)

The “In Your Arms I’ll Stay” universe (Tedtoire/Scorose):

The first fic in this universe is the first fic I ever finished. 110k words followed up by a ~137k word sequel. It is a disaster and a half but it’s also my baby and I fully intend to rewrite it one of these days. It is full of standard Tedtoire trope-y nonsense—best friends since childhood! two-year age gap! jealousy about other relationships! obliviousness!—and at 15 I thought it was a really good idea to try to turn it into a mystery too, which is a mistake that I have every intention of rectifying because it was unnecessary and I just didn’t know how to do drama and tension back then.

Anyway. It will probably be two parts again when I rewrite it because one part per school year just works, yeah? We’re covering Vic’s fifth/Teddy’s seventh year and Vic’s sixth year/Teddy’s first year out of school over the course of these parts.

Within this universe we also have Heartbeat and Bone, which is a Scorose fic that I’ve written probably 75% of already but have no intention of actually finishing before I rewrite it. I want to get the stories in the right order so that I can get details straightened out, so Teddy and Victoire get the rewrites first and then I’ll be revisiting this fic. Also full of trope-y nonsense (and my continued acceptance of the headcanon that the Heads have their own dormitory at Hogwarts, because it’s just too much fun that way).

some things were meant to be (Tedtoire):

Oh god, another fic with a cliché title taken from Can’t Help Falling In Love. I have zero regrets because it fits them perfectly.

This one is... half-done? I fully intend to finish it but I need to finish the outline first. It was my 2019 NaNoWriMo project and I am 100% just writing it for the lols (and because Teddy and Vic are like... my comfort ship where writing is concerned). I wanted to play with a different universe and change up their relationship and roles at school a bit, but once again... trope-y nonsense. It’s unavoidable with them. There is obliviousness everywhere.

Star Wars: (it’s Reylo, okay? It’s Reylo. I don’t want to hear it about how the ship is ~so terrible.~ That is literally the furthest thing in the world from a hot take, you can’t say a single thing that I haven’t heard before, and I’m a grown adult and can do what I want. Bite me.)

looking for the map that leads me home (Reylo):

Stole the title on this one from We Take Care of Our Own by Bruce Springsteen, because why the fuck not, right?

To put it simply: musician AU. To put it a little less simply: he’s got a dead career, she wants to have even the slightest shot at one, Rose is the best, Poe’s a singing heartthrob, Finn is a love-struck goofball. You know, all that fun stuff. The entire thing is based on a playlist that I made and every chapter has a song that acts as its theme. I haven’t touched it since January 2018. I want to finish it eventually but it’s not really at the top of the priority list.

There’s a few other fics from other fandoms that I’ve started and never finished but the odds of me touching them again are like... nonexistent, so I’m not including them here. I’ll update this post if anything changes on that front (but it probably won’t).

Now for the complicated part—the original fiction:

Maker’s Magic

This is a trilogy (or at least, it’s supposed to be). This is also a rewrite of the first story I ever finished—the fantasy novel that I wrote for my first-ever Camp NaNoWriMo back in August of 2011, when I had literally no clue what I was doing at all and essentially stole the plot structure from The Obsidian Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey and built my own story around it. This is not a good way to write a piece of fiction that you want to publish, kids, but it is a damn good way to get your feet wet when you’ve never really written before.

I am reworking this story entirely from scratch. The characters are... kind of the same as the original story. Kind of. Maybe. I’ve changed a few names and merged a few people together and scrapped some others and entirely shifted the backstory of pretty much everyone, but... they’re definitely still the same, right?

Basically, at this point the plot is really only similar to The Obsidian Trilogy in that we’ve got a trilogy, we’ve got some elves, and it’s your standard good vs. evil fantasy story (in its own unique fashion, of course). I’m still working out the details of this rewrite, but this is kind of the Holy Grail of all of my writing projects and the one that I’m most concerned about getting right, so I’m anticipating that I’ll be in it for the long haul on this one. I’m hoping I might be able to get a draft of the first book done this year, but... we’ll see.

(I also don’t want to give too many details about this project, ‘cause it’s the one that I’d really like to maybe publish one day, so...)

The Willow Hill universe

This started as a single story plus a standalone sequel set in the same universe, conceptualized when I was fourteen and missing horseback riding terribly (so yes, it is a story for all those Weird Horse Girls™ out there). I wrote a good portion of it, then deleted it, then rewrote the entire thing, then deleted it again a few years ago because I was no longer satisfied with the writing quality (after hitting top 100 on the Teen Fiction list on Wattpad way back when, so... I didn’t do too badly as a 16-year-old, but the writing still sucked). I’ve been promising a rewrite to my Wattpad followers since 2016 or something like that (2014? Whenever the hell it was that I deleted it the second time) but haven’t delivered at all.

I now envision this universe as a duology plus the aforementioned standalone sequel, except it’s not entirely fair to call it a YA duology in that the first book is definitely YA, but the second is more romance-y?

I originally just revealed the main character’s endgame relationship in the epilogue of the story, but I love both her and her boyfriend and their relationship so much that I decided that I’m going to be self-indulgent and write the story of them actually falling in love with each other, so that’s book two (so really, you don’t actually have to read book two to understand anything, I’m just writing it because I want to and it’s also kind of a present to anyone who read the original story when they were also a teenager and is now an adult who wants to read other stuff).

Book one is now about the teenage struggle of crushes and trying to figure out what it is that you actually want out of your life and what you value (I say “now” because it was definitely way more self-insert-y the first time I wrote it and it is decidedly not at this point). It’s also sort of a love letter to trainers who are amazing and the kind of person we should all be so lucky as to be coached by.

These characters are my comfort characters where original fiction is concerned since they’ve been bouncing around in my head for the last ten years or so, and I’m hoping I can get at least the first book rewritten in the next year-ish, partly because I’ve been promising it for so long, and partly because I just really enjoy this world and I want to get back to it again.

The Coffee Shop Chronicles

AKA, I lived in one coffee shop on my university campus for pretty much the entirety of my college experience and it was a very inspiring place to be, so this has less to do with coffee shop AUs and more to do with the fact that I met several of my favorite human beings on this earth over a vanilla chai latte and mutual sass with the baristas.

(One of said baristas is very near and dear to me and introduced me to another regular who is now a very good friend with the statement “You’re both sarcastic assholes. You’ll love each other.”)

None of the characters in this universe are based on actual human beings whom I know, but I liked the idea of the campus coffee shop serving as this thing that tangentially connected all of these people to one another, much in the way that I am tangentially connected to god knows how many people via my barista friend. Essentially, the idea is that the stories in this universe are all standalone, but the characters sometimes cross paths with one another at Caffeinated, so it’s sort of... Easter-egg-y in terms of who pops up where in which story.

Currently I only have two stories in this universe that are legitimately plotted out, but there is room for any number of spin-offs based on whichever characters show up in those stories (or don’t—that’s the fun of it being a coffee shop. The barista is the only reliable character). Those two stories are as follows:

Chance Encounters (title so totally subject to change, also stealing the terribly summary from the Wattpad draft that never saw the light of day):

For Bennett McGuire, things with guys just didn't seem to want to go her way. From the disasters that were her attempts at dating in high school to the problem that had been Elijah Becker, she hadn't exactly had the best luck. With all that in mind, it made perfect sense to swear off dating until she finished college—that is, it made sense until one frozen day in February when Gordon Evans walked into her life. After that, who was to say what would happen?

What’s Your Metaphor? (once again, enjoy the terrible summary from the Wattpad draft that never was. I am cringing reading it but also too tired to come up with anything better):

"What's the point?"

It's a question asked widely, for all sorts of reasons, and it's one that April Hayes didn't know the answer to any better than anyone else. All she knew was that she had her plan, and she was going to stick to it, because it was the only thing that seemed to have any sort of logic to it in her life. The things she thought, the things she believed—well, they all fell before the plan, because she didn't have time to ask herself "What's the point?"

That is, she didn't have the time to know the answer—her answer—until one guy by the name of Drew Collier showed up and made her consider things that she had never even thought of before.

High Blood

Yinz can go read my WIP introduction post for this one. It’s a fantasy story. Just for the hell of it, here’s the summary from said WIP introduction post:

At the age of seventeen, Thessaly of Averak had a choice—take the crown of her people and her place as her father’s heir, or set it aside to become one of the High Warriors, dedicated to protecting their people and the country that her long-dead ancestor Enred built after leading its citizens out of a long and bloody war. Amidst raids and famine at the borders, she gave up her crown to better serve the people that her family rules.

Ten years later, all is quiet. At least, all is quiet until Beca’s pendant is stolen by a thief who disappears into the night on the journey back from the summer palace, Tess gets herself stabbed, and the discovery is made that the rock-solid foundations of their family’s claim to the throne—and the peace that depends upon them—are laced with hairline fractures.

(I didn’t write anything to speak of for Camp NaNo July 2020 and actually wound up deleting my project for this on the NaNo site because my dad was hit by a car while cycling the Friday before the weekend when I was planning to write like... 30k words to catch up, so obviously I gave up on that plan (he is doing well now, thank you for asking). I’m hoping I’ll get around to this one eventually because this particular universe arguably has the most potential for having multiple stories set in it, fantasy-wise.)

Emerson’s Lights

Natalie Flynn has been best friends with Evan Acheson practically since birth. They've stuck together through thick and thin, from her braces in seventh grade to his jump to stardom as a singer-songwriter their freshman year of college.

She’d do anything for him, but spending a week with him on tour involves a lot more than she bargained for, culminating in the turn of events that is Caleb Blake, lead singer and primary songwriter of opening act Emerson’s Lights, moving into her house for the better part of a month.

She always knew there would be complications being the best friend of a rock star, but this? This was one that she didn’t bet on.

(Aka, girl meets boy in a band trope. Yay.)

(NaNoWriMo 2020 project)

The famous musician story (this thing doesn’t have a title right now and I’m not even going to try)

Stupid, trope-y nonsense idea that I came up with for my own personal amusement and nothing else. I’ve written a few chapters of it but genuinely have no idea where this falls in the hierarchy of things that I want to get done. Long story short, she’s in grad school for history, he’s a famous musician in town recording for a new album, they meet in the library, she pretends she has no idea who he is, and shenanigans ensue.

And that is where I think I’m going to leave it. There’s four other stories that I can think of off the top of my head that I could theoretically add to this list, but they are legitimately just ideas right now so they can be added at a later date when they’ve manifested themselves a little more strongly. There’s also another quartet in the Willow Hill universe that I came up with in high school that could theoretically be added but I think I might just steal those character names and give them their own little world instead. We’ll see.

Basically, if you didn’t get the point from this list: I am working on a lot of things, and when I say I’m writing, it could mean literally anything on this list (or any of the other ideas that I have floating around). The stories/universe here are the most likely candidates for my time, depending on whether I’m doing a deep dive into my writing or just playing around with something fun, and hopefully (god, hopefully) I’ll be able to move one or two of these to a “completed works” list in the next year(ish).

(Or at least, as complete as a draft ever gets before you start going in on it again.)

#the wip list

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whereismywarden · 5 years

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OC Masterlist

@kiraia pointed out (rightfully so) that I made quite a few vague posts about my OCs, but that I’ve never properly introduced them. It’s true, mostly because I tend to wait until they are well developed to properly do anything with them, which doesn’t happen all that often. So consider this a formal introduction to my current OCs :)

(Under a cut because there are quite a bunch of them. I hope it works on mobile, because otherwise yikes! I’m very sorry.)

Sad Mages Worldstate

It’s probably the one I talk about the most. It’s the most developed worldstate, with the most developed OCs and I’ve written a lot of fics about them.

The Warden: Ana Surana [Tag | Complete bio | Fanfictions]

pairings: Ana x Daylen Amell (friends with benefits), Ana x Alistair (DAO romance), Ana x Carver (current pairing, now married) + I occasionally throw Isabela into the mix because reasons.

Born in the Gallows and taken to an orphanage in Highever until her magic manifested.

Grew up close to Anders, Jowan, Amell and (to a lesser extent) Finn.

Had a baby that she was forced to give to the Chantry.

Main DAO choices include: romancing Alistair, getting her heart broken after making him king, stupidly refusing to do Morrigan’s ritual and watching him sacrifice his life for her.

Later she starts dating Carver (whom she actually met at Ostagar where they had a brief fling before the Battle).

Takes part in the Mage Underground and helps Anders build his bomb.

Starts hearing the Calling shortly before DAI.

Is Hawke’s contact during HLtA.

The Champion: Alwyn Hawke [Tag | Complete bio | Fanfictions]

pairings: Alwyn x Anders (DA2 romance, on and off), Alwyn x Cullen (one time), Alwyn x Rylen (post DAI, considering making them endgame, not sure yet).

Purple Hawke.

Carver becomes a warden.

Supports the mages.

Develops a close friendship with Ana.

Breaks up with Anders after the Chantry explosion, wishing he’d trusted him enough to share his plan with him. They do get back together later on.

Is the first one to learn about Ana hearing the Calling.

Stays behind in the Fade during HLtA, but eventually finds a way out.

He was found by Inquisition scouts in the Western Approach, suffering from amnesia.

Later falls in love with Rylen.

(Note that I still need to update that last part into his bio.)

The Inquisitor: Violette Surana [Tag | Complete bio | Fanfictions]

pairings: Violette x Orsino (once twice), Violette x Samson (current partner).

Ana’s mum.

Orlesian who grew up in Ferelden during the occupation.

Was taken to the Gallows at age 13.

Was a close friend of Malcolm Hawke.

Had her baby (Ana) taken by the Chantry. Later escaped.

Hates the Chantry.

Attends the Conclave in the hopes that Ana might be there.

Starts sleeping with Samson after his capture because he basically said fuck the Chantry to her face and it turned her on.

Hardened Leliana becomes Divine.

Other OC: Neriah Amell-Hawke

Is Ana’s daughter. She got her out of the orphanage after the Blight (thanks, Leliana).

Her father is Daylen Amell. Carver adopted her when he married her mama.

Is 18 as of Trespasser.

Second Chances Worldstate

This one started off as an AU for a fic starring Ana and Alistair which is why these two worldstates are so similar. The point of divergence is that Jowan went to Amell for help instead of Ana for some reason.

The Warden: Daylen Amell [Tag | Fanfictions]

pairings: Day x Ana (friends with benefits), Day x Morrigan (DAO romance and while I did consider for a while not having him follow her through the eluvian, I changed my mind. There’s too much growth potential.)

His father was Maurevar Carver, because I say so.

Main DAO choices include: Sparing Loghain, Alistair becoming a drunk, not doing Morrigan’s ritual because he can just throw Loghain at the Archdemon (which he did).

Helps Ana get their daughter out of the Kirkwall orphanage. Bails on them right afterwards.

Does follow Morrigan through the eluvian and actually ends up being a decent dad to Kieran.

Does not become Ferelden’s Warden-Commander.

The Champion: Alwyn Hawke (yes, again)

Like I said, this was originally an AU, so it made sense to keep the same Hawke. There are quite a few differences, however.

pairings: none.

Does not bring Anders to the Deep Roads. Carver dies.

Suffers from severe depression afterwards.

Goes from purple to full blue after Leandra’s death.

Stays behind in the Fade. Probably won’t make it out in this worldstate.

The Inquisitor: Asaara Adaar [Tag | Fanfictions]

pairings: Asaara x Cullen (starts before DAI, now married).

Meets Cullen shortly before the Chantry explosion. They fall in love.

Not going into too much details because it will be part of Second Chances’ main story.

Other OCs: Ana Surana and Neriah [Main fic | Other fics]

Again, can’t go into too much detail because spoilers.

pairings: Ana x Carver (before the Deep Roads expedition anyway), Ana x Alistair.

Day brings Ana to Kirkwall shortly after the Blight to meet their daughter. She ends up staying after they get Neriah out of the orphanage.

Single mom. Works as a waitress.

They find drunk Alistair in their garbage. Ana wants to help him get better.

Other OC: Issala Adaar [Tag]

pairings: Issala x Varric (post-DAI).

Is Asaara’s overexcited little sister.

Likes to tinker with explosives.

Built a handheld cannon. It’s clunky, not very accurate and is prone to misfire. In other words, it still needs a lot of work.

Varric thinks she’s adorable so he made her his personal bodyguard.

Angry Dalish Worldstate

The Warden: Shaelyn Mahariel [Tag | Fanfictions]

pairings: Lyn x Tamlen (Origin), Lyn x Bethany, (considering Lyn x Alistair between DA2 and DAI but even that might be too cruel.)

Doesn’t want to be a warden.

DAO choices include: Alistair remaining with the wardens because he doesn’t want to be king.

No in-game romance, she was too heartbroken after losing Tamlen.

Eventually starts dating Bethany.

Travels to the Free Marches after the death of her clan to kill the man responsible.

Almost dies in the resulting fight against Hawke (thank the Creators Anders was there).

Goes home and confesses to Bethany that she almost killed her brother and that she would have done it had he not been so badass. They break up.

The two of them reconcile post-DAI, after Hawke and Merrill’s wedding.

The Champion: Kris Hawke [Tag]

pairings: Kris x Merrill (now married).

Blue Hawke.

Sadly couldn’t save Merrill’s clan.

Didn’t want to hurt Lyn that badly during their fight, he was just defending himself. Deeply regrets it afterwards.

The Inquisitor: no one specific yet, but likely a Lavellan romancing Solas.

Alistair stays behind in the Fade.

Elves in Luuuuv Worldstate

The Warden: Kallian Tabris [Tag | Fanfictions]

pairings: Tabs x Alistair (DAO romance)

Probably the most canon-compliant OC.

Main DAO choices include: making Alistair king with Anora as queen and becoming his mistress.

Madly in love.

Will have a happy ending.

No Hawke or Inquisitor yet.

Homecoming Worldstate

The Warden: Elaine Cousland [Tag]

pairings: Elle x Nathaniel (pre-DAO, now ex-husband), Elle x Leliana (DAO romance), Elle x Sebastian (current).

Was BFF with Anora during their childhood.

Actually met Sebastian before he was sent to the Chantry. The two of them had similar lifestyles back then, so when Elle visited Starkhaven with her father, the two of them developed a rivalry of sorts in their romantic pursuits (think Merteuil and Valmont, but a lot more light-hearted). They do spend one night together after learning that he is going to be sent to the Chantry.

Eventually fell in love and married Nate. They kept their relationship a secret, however. They divorced after the Blight.

Main DAO choices include: romancing Leliana, making Alistair king with Anora as queen, sparing Loghain and performing the ritual.

Her relationship with Leliana didn’t survive the distance.

Leaves the Wardens after the Chantry explosion and basically goes on the run from everyone because she feels responsible for what happened.

Helps Sebastian reclaim his throne. They fall in love. (I’m currently writing a fic about this, actually)

Still unsure about her DAI fate. Either she replaces Hawke in HLtA and stays behind in the Fade, or she becomes Inquisitor.

The Champion: Violetta Hawke [Tag | Fanfictions]

pairings: Letta x Isabela (DA2 romance).

Yes, she was totally named after Violette.

Is Kris’ sister.

Carver becomes a Templar.

Spared Anders.

Sails into the sunset with Isabela.

DAI fate will depend on what I decide to do with Elle.

The Inquisitor: no one yet.

Loghain survives HLtA.

I am considering having Neriah (yes, again) be the Herald with someone else as Inquisitor since she’s only a kid. In this worldstate, she grew up in Kirkwall’s orphanage before being taken to the Gallows. She escapes the massacre and Carver eventually takes her under his wing.

I'm planning to have two additional worldstates (I want one per warden origin). One called "Happy Dwarves" with a male Brosca romancing Zevran and one called "Dead Heroes" with a male Aeducan romancing Leliana (and probably Alwyn again, idk). I also have a couple of Cadashes that I want to put somewhere, a woman romancing Josie and a man romancing Divine Cassandra. Idk yet if they'll be Inquisitors or if I'll just add them to one of the existing worldstates. Odds are one will be Inquisitor while the other just tags along.

I probably missed a few things here and there, but that’s basically the gist of it. Thanks to anyone who actually stuck to the end, lmao.

#dragon age #oc masterpost #ana surana #alwyn hawke #violette surana #neriah amell-hawke #daylen amell #asaara adaar #issala adaar #shaelyn mahariel #kris hawke #kallian tabris #elaine cousland #violetta hawke #long post

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auds-art · 5 years

Text

Solavellan AU- Rated E for eventual shenanigans

What if Lavellan was not the Inquisitor, but a simple healer, come as an emissary from her clan to assist the refugees gathering at Haven? Would she be able to prove, without the anchor, that this world was not what Solas expected? Will she still be able to change everything?

It wasn’t a hot day, but Ellana felt a bead of sweat trickle down the length of her spine. Whether it was nerves or the large bag of dried elfroot she was carrying, she couldn’t say. She breathed in deeply, and the cold stung her lungs, but refreshed her at the same time. A fresh wave of energy hit her right in the chest. With that came more anxiety. She shielded her eyes and looked over her shoulder. If she hadn’t know they were there, she likely would have missed them in the trees. Their bows weren’t drawn, but they were ready nonetheless, their eyes scanning ahead. With a huff of reluctance, Ellana returned to her trudge through the snow. This was her duty, as First, and she motioned to her one visible companion to follow.

Maereth nodded, quickly coming to her side. The fort was in sight now, if you could call it that. They had passed the remains of the village, and the smell of charred flesh was still clinging to the back of Ellana’s throat.

She held up a hand, halting their progress. Maereth stopped instantly, waiting for her to signal again. She could see humans below, what looked like Templars, clashing and fighting, preparing for something. Of course, news had spread. The survivor, whom some were beginning to call the Herald of Andraste, was the key to closing the tear in the Veil.

“This place is setheneran,” Maereth whispered, their voice a harsh ghost of a sound that was nearly lost on the breeze.

“I haven’t seen any felandaris,” Ellana returned, then glanced at them askance. “But I can feel the vibration.”

Her companion repressed a shiver, but they had never been fond of the beyond. Ellana checked on their hidden guards one last time before she pressed forward, Maereth one step behind. At first, when they two emerged from the trees, they were largely unnoticed. Then, as Ellana expected, the training soldiers began to stop, to turn, to stare. A few weapons were drawn, but nothing was aimed at them. It took only mere moments before two shems—humans—Ellana corrected, approached them.

The woman was tall, elegant as she walked, hips swaying, hand on pommel. The man beside her was impossibly large, fur-trimmed cloak making him appear even larger. He stopped just slightly behind the other warrior, and Ellana took that to mean she was the superior of the two. Of course, she knew their names. She knew what their functions were in this growing, well, movement she supposed. She reminded herself to breathe.

“I am Ellana Lavellan,” she said, keep her voice low, melodic and soothing. They were not a threat, and she prayed these humans understood that. “I’m here as First from clan Lavellan to offer our assistance to Haven and the people gathered here.”

Cassandra looked between the two, not trusting. She narrowed her eyes, and not because of the glint from the sun. “You...two,” she paused, emphasizing the word, “are here to help?”

It did seem a bit strange, when put like that. Ellana nodded, her large eyes sparkling in the blinding sun. “I’m our clan’s most talented healer.” She said it plainly, and reached around to pat the large satchel on her back. “We’ve brought enough elfroot and other healing herbs to last our clan a month. I imagine it would help to bolster your supplies. If you have a healer, I would be happy to speak with them and see how we can best assist.”

“Out of the goodness of your hearts, is it?” Cullen didn’t sound angry when he spoke—more tired. Wary.

“We were near when it happened.” Maereth’s voice was deep and still, like the rumble of summer thunder in the distance.

Ellana pressed a hand to their shoulder, knowing their patience was much shorter than her own. “My apprentice speaks truth. We would have been here sooner, but we are a cautious people. We wanted to help, but did not know how. After much discussion, our Keeper has decided this is the best course of action.”

“He’s your apprentice?” Cullen sounded genuinely shocked. “But he looks to be ten years your senior.”

Ellana could sense the instant tension in her companion. “They are only a handful of winters older than I,” Ellana corrected, gently but firmly emphasizing the correct pronoun. “And they only realized seven seasons ago that they were drawn to healing.”

It was a partial truth. Maereth was interested in healing, yes, and had been studying with Ellana for the last two years, but they were a rogue, an assassin, and were to be Ellana’s protection.

“May we see?” Cassandra asked, motioning at the bags both elves carried. Without hesitation, Ellana dropped her satchel and opened it. There were bricks of dried and packed elfroot, and Maereth revealed much the same, with a few other herbs and dried flowers. Cassandra’s eyebrows shot up.

“That is an impressive amount. Yes, I am certain our potions master, Adan, will be grateful for the help.”

Cullen, perhaps to make up for his faux pas earlier, stepped forward. “I will get you through the gate’s. Come, and I apologize for my earlier mistake.” This last he said, looking into Maereth’s eyes. The rogue nodded their acknowledgment, but said nothing.

The lion-crested man led them past the crowds, many of who had begun their sparring again, and into Haven again. The large doors were open, but soldiers killed about everywhere. Cullen spoke a few words to a handful of ironclad warriors, and turned to the elves. “You’ll be unharassed while you’re here. Our potions master, Adan, as Cassandra said, is in the back. To the right of the Chantry.” As he turned to leave them to it, he paused, and looked back. “I’m Cullen Rutherford, and I apologize again for not introducing myself before.”

With a polite nod of his head, he turned and was a gone. Ellana watched him go for only a moment, then made eye contact with Maereth. They nodded once, and followed Ellana’s lead as she made her way through the sea of humans. There was some muttering, stares at the blood writing on their faces, but mostly the quicklings kept their distance.

There was that panicking sensation in her chest again. She never felt comfortable near the Chantry. It was just a matter of meeting a particularly ardent worshipper before she was accused of being an apostate. The relief that hit Ellana in the gut was palpable when she saw another elf. No, he didn’t have a vallaslin, but his broad shoulders and height let her know he was no city elf.

He was aware of her gaze, sensing it. His eyes, a piercing blue, met hers, and she could immediately see the curiosity that sparked. She adjusted her path, aiming for him. She stopped a few feet short of him, and inclined her head respectfully.

“Hello,” she tried, almost tripping over the elvhen that nearly spilled from her lips. It was rude to assume that every elf she met spoke their language, so she would wait to see. “Would you be kind enough to direct my friend and I to the potions master?”

“Adan,” Maereth supplied, the gruff sound emanating from where in their chest.

“Ah, yes,” the elf said, his voice deep, regal. Oddly, it made Ellana’s toes curl in delight, an embarrassment given their lack of footwear. Maereth would notice. “Master Adan works from that cabin,” he continued, looking behind her. Ellana glanced over her shoulder to spot the cabin. Hard to miss. Only a few feet away.

“Thank you,” Ellana said, a smile dimpling one of her cheeks. At his nod, the two turned together and knocked upon the door.

A voice, not tempered by patience, answered. “Whatever Maker-damned person that is better be bringing the supplies I ordered, and not suffering another self-inflicted injury—and yes, training counts as self-inflicted!”

“Well,” Ellana said, raising her voice to be heard through the door, “we have two satchels of healing herbs, dried and ready to be brewed into potions.”

It sounded like something slammed closed, a tome, perhaps, and the door was abruptly thrust open. A man with more scruff than beard opened the door, eyes wide beneath bushy brows. “Dalish!” he exclaimed, truly surprised. That was better than knife-ear, Ellana supposed.

Needless to say, Adan was grateful for the help. He set them to work, and as they were unloading the dried herbs, brick by brick, the potions master appraised them.

“I’m surprised to see the Dalish actually taking an interest in human affairs.”

He hadn’t said much, up to that point, other than to give out orders. He clearly didn’t mean it to be an insult, but Ellana could almost feel Maereth tense beside her. The sun was beating down upon them heavily, where they were working on a table Adan had set up out front. It warmed the air nicely, giving the icy atmosphere a golden feel.

“While the hole in the Veil concerns all peoples,” Ellana said, gently, “we are hoping to break some of the stereotypes surrounding the Dalish.” She wiped her brow on the back of her arm, smiling over at Adan to keep the tone friendly. “We all share this one realm. It makes sense to work together for a greater good, doesn’t it?”

She couldn’t help her eyes sliding to the mysterious elf just a few feet away. His back was to them, so she felt free to examine him at leisure as she worked. His hair was shorn, close to the scalp, which, to her, seemed to emphasize his handsome features. Of course, it could just be the mystery of a non-Dalish, non-city elf. That wasn’t why she was here, however, so she quickly returned her focus.

“I agree,” he said after a moment. “If only more Dalish did!”

Well. She had tried. She said nothing, and as the silence lingered, the human mage paused his own work of hanging embrium. “...I can see how that sounds, and I apologize. I don’t mean that elves—what I mean to say is—well, I know, the past—well, dammit, I’m trying to say that elves have a good reason to want nothing to do with us.”

Ellana smiled, and inclined her head, fingers deftly separating bricks of elfroot. “Yes, but we hope to put such things behind, if we can. Someone must make the first gesture, and we need to look to the future.”

They fell into silence. After the herbs had all been sorted, separated and properly stored, they used the remaining sunlight to prepare a few potions.

“Are you staying?” Adan asked as the dusk chill swept away the remaining warm glow of day. “I can get a cabin for the two of you, maybe. I was using the one there,” he waved at the cabin to the right, directly across from the one the tall elf had disappeared into. “But I can move into here with my work.”

Maereth looked at Ellana. She nodded once, and they snorted softly. Ignoring them, Ellana produced her dimpled smile yet again. “Yes, we shall stay. For a few days, perhaps longer. Our clan plans to leave the area in two weeks, so we will rendezvous then.”

Adan sighed in relief. “Thank the Maker. This,” he said, waving gruffly at the pots and piles of herbs, “is not my forte.”

He saw them settled into their cabin, and disappeared. Maereth sighed heavily as they unrolled the small bundle they carried beneath their satchel. They wrote something onto a scroll so small it might as well have been a blade of grass, and slipped out the window facing the Chantry hall. They were going to release a small bird, which would inform the Clan of their expected departure.

It had been a long day. Ellana expected tomorrow they would meet with the Spymaster, Leliana, and softly hoped to see the so-called Herald. Her hand glowed, she had heard. That would be quite the sight.

With such thoughts dancing behind her eyelids, she slipped into a light sleep, not bothering to wait for Maereth to return. She trusted them implicitly, as they did her. They’d see themselves to bed, and would waken her if they needed her.

xxx

Solas sat before the hearth of his cabin, gazing at the flames as he prepared himself for a walk in the Fade. That young elven woman was fascinating, as was her clan. Wanting to work with humans, focusing on, what had she said? The greater good? Of course, it didn’t change anything, but it was...interesting, nonetheless.

As he set the wards he always used before sleep, it occurred to him that he was going to enjoy the coming two weeks, if only to see more about this clan Lavellan.

#solas #solavellan #solavellan au #dragon age #ellana lavellan #solavellan fic #lemon

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ryqoshay · 6 years

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Happy Life: Angelic Game

Primary Pairing: YohaRiko Words: ~2.8k Rating: K AU: Angelic? Time Frame: First day of Riko’s 2nd and Yohane’s 1st year of college Story Arc: Stand Alone

List of all HL scenes

Author’s Note: Writing Revelations and My Angel got me thinking about scenes that might lead up well to them. This is the first resulting scene.

Ughn… what a day… Riko sighed as she got off the train and started walking toward her apartment. First, she had missed her train in the morning so she was late for her first class. Then, she had foolishly answered a trick question of one of her professors, embarrassing herself in front of the class. Next, her class right before lunch had gone over its scheduled time, leaving her with little time to eat.

It was also then that she realized she had forgotten her lunch on the counter. However, her saving grace was that Yoshiko had found it on her way out and brought it to her. And even though she still had to shove it down before her next class, it had been a small oasis of happiness in the midst of the chaos. After that…

Riko continued to a mental replay of her dismal first day of the new term. She was tired, both physically and mentally. She was tired of dealing with people. She was tired of dealing with crowds. All she wanted to do was curl up on the couch with one of her favorite manga books and forget the rest of the world existed.

“Welcome home, Riri!” An excited voice called from within the apartment as Riko opened the door. A moment later, a blue-haired bundle of energy bounded around the corner.

“Hey, Yocchan.” Riko felt a smile turn up the edges of her lips and some of her tension eased at the warm greeting.

“I was just about to send you a message on LINE to see if you had plans for dinner.”

“I’ll get things started in a moment.”

“Are you sure?” Yoshiko tilted her head as concern tinged her voice. “You look kinda tired.”

“I’ll be fine. Cooking will help take my mind off things.”

“Not a good day?”

“Could have been better.” Riko decided not to go into full detail. “How was yours?”

“Let it be known that on this darkest of days,” The fallen angel began to announce with pride as she held her signature gesture up to her eye “Yohane’s fate may have become entwined with some wonderfully wicked little demons.”

Riko chuckled. “Let me guess, in your drama class?”

“Of course! Where better to find them?”

“It’s good to hear that you’re making friends.”

“But you aren’t?” The hint of concern returned.

“I’m still in touch with the friends I made last year. We’ll see how things go this year, but that was only the first day.” Riko shrugged. “And if nothing else, I can still come here and see you.”

“True.” Yoshiko nodded. “Anyway, a new game was released in one of my favorite series, and I just put the disk in when you came in, so I’m going to get back to that. Let me know if you change your mind and want help with making dinner.”

“Will do. Thanks, Yocchan.”

Yoshiko displayed a wide and toothy grin before heading back to the living room.

“Dinner is ready!” Riko called.

“Smells delicious.” Yoshiko replied, appearing quickly, almost as if magically summoned. She took her seat and clapped her hands together. “Itadakimasu!” She declared happily before holding out her plate.

Riko laughed lightly at her roommate’s enthusiasm as she ladled out a serving to her.

Yoshiko’s chopsticks snapped up an impressive portion and shoved it into her mouth. “Mmmm!” She hummed merrily. “It is even more delicious than it smelled!” She took another bite. “Had Yohane known the mortal realm held such delicacies, surely she would have fallen sooner.”

“Alright, now you’re just being dramatic.” Riko shook her head, though she couldn’t shake the smile she had, even if she had wanted to do so.

“But it is really good, Riri.” Yoshiko insisted. “Try it for yourself!” She held out her chopsticks.

Riko blinked. “I have my…” She realized the younger girl wasn’t paying attention to her attempted protest as she moved her chopsticks closer. Fine, whatever. She leaned forward and accepted the offer.

Wha…?

Riko resisted the urge to recoil as the tofu hit her tongue. Why was it so salty? And did she taste vinegar as well? Had the recipe even called for vinegar?

“Good, isn’t it?” Yoshiko said with a smile. “Riri is a good cook.”

Well, it wasn’t bad, per se, but it definitely was not what Riko had expected. Should she admit this fact to Yoshiko? She tried to think about what she might have done wrong as she chewed.

“It’s not bad.” Riko decided to admit after swallowing. “But I think I can do better.”

“Anything more delicious might end up becoming sinful.” Yoshiko said with a warning tone. “Riri had best be careful lest she fall.” She smirked. “Unless, of course, that’s what Riri wants.”

“I doubt I’m in danger of falling just yet.” Riko replied, taking the first bite from her own plate and deciding it was tolerable enough to finish. “But thanks for the compliment.” At least the younger girl seemed to be enjoying herself, despite whatever mistake had apparently been made. “So, Yocchan,” she decided to change the subject “tell me more about this drama class you decided to take.”

“Oh!” Yoshiko perked up even more. “Well, you see…”

The two girls continued to chat as they finished their meal. Then, since Riko had cooked, Yoshiko insisted she clean up, though Riko still helped a little. Finally, they both made their way to the living room.

“Ahhh…” Yoshiko sighed as she took a spot on the couch. “Yohane may have committed a deadly sin and overindulged a little.” She patted her belly and grinned. “But perhaps she can be forgiven as Riri prepared such a divine dish.”

“I’m glad you liked it.” Riko smiled as she sat down on the other side of the couch and opened her book.

“Mmm…” Yoshiko hummed as she put on her headphones and unpaused her game.

A moment later, Riko looked up from her manga. Something that sounded like swords clashing had caught her attention. Sure enough, Yoshiko was in the middle of an intense battle against a group she assumed were bandits or some sort of outlaws. Riko watched as the other girl deftly dodged their strikes before slipping behind one to deliver a devastating blow. The fight concluded with Yoshiko as the victor and shortly after, a cutscene began. Though Riko could read the subtitles on the screen, she found herself straining to hear the voices coming out the tiny speakers of Yoshiko’s headphones.

“Yocchan…”

“Mmm?” The blue-haired girl paused the game. “What’s up, Riri?” She asked, turning to the redhead.

“Would you mind, uhm…”

“Oh, sorry. I know these are cheap,” she indicated the headphones “so there’s probably some sound leakage. I can turn it down.”

“No, that’s not it.” Riko shook her head. “Actually, I was wondering if you would mind switching the sound to the TV?”

Yoshiko blinked. “Well, I can, but I was trying to avoid distracting you, Riri.”

“It’s not distracting.” Riko set her book down on the end table. “In fact, that scene looked interesting, so I’d like to watch for a bit, if you don’t mind. And I’d like to hear the voices better for the next one.”

Yoshiko stared at Riko for a moment before a smile crossed her lips. “Alright.” She pulled the cord for the headset.

“So, would you mind filling me in with what I’ve missed?”

“Why don’t I just start a new game?”

“Oh, no, you don’t have to go that far…”

“I was going to soon anyway.” Yoshiko explained. “I was just playing through the tutorial to see if I might like the new class they introduced, but I definitely prefer the one I’ve used in all of the other games. I’d’ve finished that fight a lot easier if I was playing my normal class. Plus the opening cinematic is awesome and gives a good summary of the last few games so even people new to the series can just start playing without feeling completely lost. And Riri is kinda like a new player, so, yeah.”

“You’re sure you don’t mind?”

“Not at all.” Yoshiko grinned as she quit out to the main menu. “And if you want, you can help me design my character.”

“Design?”

“Yup. See?”

“You can play as a woman?”

“Uh-huh.” Yoshiko nodded as she made the selection. “I was just playing as a guy earlier because I didn’t want to bother with this part for a character I probably wasn’t going to keep, so I just took the default. But I usually play female characters because they get the best outfits.”

“They do?”

“Yeah, like, uhm…” Yoshiko reached for her phone. “I saved a shot of one of my favorites from the last game because I want to try to make it someday.” She found the picture and turned the screen to Riko.

“It’s lovely… but… how does that even work?”

“I dunno.” Yoshiko admitted with a shrug. “I’ll find out when I design it.”

“How do you fight in it?”

“No idea.”

“Would that even be comfortable?”

“Dunno. But it looks awesome.”

“I suppose…”

“Anyway, this game has even better graphics and according to the advertising, there are even more outfits that can be unlocked than in the last game.” Yoshiko grinned. “I can’t wait to see them. Ooo, how about this color for the hair?”

“It looks like your hair color.”

“Exactly.” Yoshiko grinned. “Seems fitting of a fallen angel.”

“They made a fallen angel class?” Riko raised an eyebrow.

“No, no, silly Riri.” Yoshiko laughed. “However, there is an angelic race. Sadly, they haven’t made it available as a playable one yet. Anyway, I’ll be playing a subrace of elf that was exiled from the high elves, so they kinda have the fallen vibe going for them. Oh, and she’ll be a warlock, and so she’ll have a bunch of magic spells powered by darkness and chaos and whatnot, which would of course be appropriate for a fallen angel.”

“So you’ve figured out a way to make your own version of a fallen angel in this game.”

“Pretty much.”

“Is that why you like it so much?”

“Well, it’s a nice bonus.” Yoshiko admitted. “But it is still a really fun game with an awesome story. Anyway, here is the initial setup.” She pointed to the screen. “How does she look? Anything you want me to change? Don’t worry about the outfit just yet, that’s just what we start with. I’ll find something better soon.”

Riko studied the character on screen for a moment. “It… I mean she… really looks like you…” She found herself impressed with the level of detail and how well Yoshiko had manipulated the settings to create what she wanted. And if she was to be entirely honest, the character was kind of cute. Almost as cute as the girl she represented. “Except she’s missing…”

“Yeah, I know. Unfortunately, even with all of the hairstyle choices they programed in, they neglected to include a conduit.”

“Conduit?”

Yoshiko reached up to tap her bun. “The conduit through which a fallen angel draws her powers.”

“Ah…”

“So, on to the intro.” Yoshiko accepted the settings. “If you have any questions, just ask. Oh, and say, Riri, you know romance type stuff, right?”

“I… wha?” Where did that question come from?

“Pretty much all of the companions have optional romance side quests.” Yoshiko explained, pausing the scene so they wouldn’t miss anything. “Your actions through the game and your conversations with them affect how they feel about you, and if you do things right, you can choose one, or more, as romantic partners.” She smirked. “I’m willing to bet you’ll like some of those cutscenes, Riri, considering your tastes.” She jutted a thumb in the direction of the bookshelf that held some of Riko’s manga collection.

Riko felt herself blush a bit.

“Anyway, I’ve never been good at those things, so I’ve always just skipped them, but there is one companion in this game that I’d really like to get and make my partner if I can. So, maybe Riri can use her knowledge of romance type stuff to help?”

“Maybe…” Riko had to admit the concept sounded interesting. She hadn’t expected a fantasy adventure type game to have romantic subplots and found herself curious how they might play out.

“She appears in the intro.” Yoshiko unpaused the game again. “I’ll point her out.”

“Alright.”

The intro began to describe a war-torn world with multiple races, factions, kingdoms and empires. It touched on the various alliances that had formed and fallen apart over the years and the friction that existed between… well, pretty much everyone. While at first glance, it felt like the typical setup for an action-packed adventure game, Riko had the feeling there was a lot of passion that went into the world building of the project.

“There she is!” Yoshiko suddenly said as a crimson-haired woman appeared on the screen.

Riko shifted her attention to the character. Strange. Other than the hair color, she looked rather similar to all of the other characters; nothing really set her apart from… oh… Suddenly, a pair of brilliant white wings sprouted from the woman’s back and in a flurry of flaps and feathers, she was borne aloft.

“Oooo, she’s so cool!” Yoshiko practically squealed with delight. “I wish you could play as someone from her race, but I can understand why they didn’t implement it; the whole thing about being able to fly would probably be game breaking early on. Still, they did include it in some of her side quests. Apparently, she carries you, but you get to control the flight. Oooo… I can’t wait to get her as a companion! The beta testers were talking about how difficult it is to gain rep with her, but they were pretty sure there was some sort of hidden bonus if you played as a female character, so I have that at least. And with Riri’s help, Yohane might even be able to make her my partner!”

Riko couldn’t help smiling as Yoshiko’s excitement began to feel a little contagious. Once the opening cinematic had concluded, Yoshiko proved her earlier point by completing the tutorial fight in less than half the time of her first run and moved on to new parts of the game. But despite Riko finding herself enjoying the bits of plot scattered between battles, she quickly realized she was far more interested in watching the girl playing than the game itself. The way she carefully considered her speech options, or how she gleefully dispatched dozens of lesser foes with her spells, or how intensely she concentrated during tougher boss battles, it was all fascinating. Who knew video games were this interesting, or more specifically, watching someone play them?

Riko felt a yawn come up and was unable to contain it. She glanced at her phone. When had it become so late? Had she really been that lost in watching Yoshiko play her game? Not that really minded, it had been quite an entertaining experience.

“Yocchan.”

“Mmm?”

“I’m going to go get ready for bed. I didn’t realize…” Riko was interrupted by another yawn “the time. And I have class in the morning.”

“Alright, just let me save…. and… there.” The game returned to the main menu.

“Oh, you don’t have to stop playing. I didn’t mean…”

“It’s fine. Did you like watching?”

“I did.” Riko nodded.

“Then Yohane doesn’t mind waiting for Riri before playing again so nothing important is missed.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yup.” Yoshiko grinned. “I have plenty of other games I can play when you’re not available. Plus, I’m really hoping Riri can help me with that companion. I hope she is introduced soon. If she was an optional companion and not introduced during the main story, I would have hoped someone would have said something online by now…”

“Alright.” Riko returned the smile before getting up to go take her bath. “Oh.” She paused and turned back to her roommate. “Thank you, Yocchan.”

“Hm?” The younger girl tilted her head questioningly.

“For an enjoyable evening. I needed that after today.”

“It is a fallen angel’s duty to ensure the well-being and happiness of her little demons.” Yoshiko held up her signature gesture.

“Right. Of course. Anyway, I’ll be out in a bit and you can have your turn.”

“Alright.”

Riko continued to smile as she stepped into the bathroom and began to fill the tub. Even in their short time living together, Yoshiko continued to prove herself a good choice in roommates. Riko wondered if the younger girl realized the effect she had. For someone claiming to be a fallen angel with dismal luck, she maintained a fairly positive energy that filled the apartment with a welcoming aura. And because of that, during the last week or so, Riko had felt something she hadn’t felt since moving out of her parents.

Riko eased herself into the water and sighed contently. She felt relaxed. She felt happy. She felt at home.

Author’s Note Continued: So, yeah... Yohane is taking a drama class now. That idea came to me literally as I reached that point in writing the scene. But I like it and it has already given me more ideas to play with for future scenes. I can see her combining assignments from both drama and design classes by designing costumes for a play. I can see her convincing Riko to play the piano in the orchestra for a play. I can even go further into the timeline and see her helping out at a local theater after she opens her shop; designing costumes, taking minor roles here and there, and still wrangling Riko in for some fun as well.

Also, the working title for this scene was Home, but as I ended up getting carried away with the part about Yohane’s game, I changed it. Perhaps later I will write a different scene with another way that Yohane makes Riko feel at home in the apartment they share. Or maybe I’ll flip it and show how Riko makes Yohane feel at home. As always, I’ll see where my µ’s muse takes me.

And on the topic of feeling at home and being comfortable and such, this scene is the first of what I hope to be several that touch on the ideas I mentioned in my set of Unsent love letters. For example, in Riko’s letter, she mentions being grateful for Yohane’s unusual tastes, so I wanted to show Yohane enjoying one of Riko’s mistakes. Riko also mentions watching Yohane get excited playing video games, thus what ended up being the central theme in this scene. And finally, the aura and energy that Yohane brings to the apartment. I’d like to extrapolate out some stuff from the other main letters as well at some point to showcase what Maki loves about Nico, what Nico loves about Maki and what Yohane loves about Riko.

Finally, I’m not exactly sure what game Yohane is playing. Maybe some sort of mix of Skyrim, Dragon Age and the like. It’s a fantasy game. It has swords and sorcery. Definitely has elves and dwarves and gnomes and trolls and orcs. Probably a dragon or two or three. And an angel companion who I may or may not get around to naming... would it be too blatant to name her Sakura?

#YohaRiko #YoshiRiko #Sakurauchi Riko #Tsushima Yohane #Love Live Sunshine #Happy Life #fanfic #Tsushima Yoshiko

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cali-holland · 7 years

Text

Holland Manor- Tom Holland One Shot (Hogwarts AU)

Pairing: Tom Holland X Reader

Prompt: (Requested by anonymous) Hi! I LIVE FOR YOUR TOM HOLLAND (HARRY POTTER) IMAGINES. They are the best! Can I request one? Like reader and Tom are both purebloods, so their parents decide to engage them, reader (Ravenclaw) likes Tom (Griffyndor) , but he doesn't cause she isn't very curvy. And he makes fun of her name because she's called Raven and the house has quite the same name. But they end up together in the end. Hope this made sense. YOU ARE AMAZING THANK YOU

Prompt: Despite being rivals in school, everything changes for you when your family makes you spend a break at Tom’s manor.

Word Count: 5100 (longest one as of now)

Warnings: self-image issues

Masterlist Tom Holland Masterlist

*Gif is not mine*

“I’m going to miss you.” Your closest friend, Victoire, said as she hugged you tightly.

“I’ll miss you too.” You replied, pulling out of the hug and giving her a sad smile.

“Promise to write to me? I need to know what your big surprise is.”

“I will, I promise.” You felt tears start to form. Going home was always a hard thing to do for you- you never wanted to leave Hogwarts. Now, you had just graduated from your last year there, meaning you would probably never return.

“Is the skinny, little Raven crying?” You heard the ever increasingly obnoxious voice of Tom Holland behind you. You and your friend simultaneously rolled your eyes, before glaring over at Tom. You both turned back to each, in attempt to ignore him. His attention was immediately drawn away from you as his friends approached him.

“Goodbye to Hogwarts and goodbye to that bastard.” Your friend stated with a laugh and you shrugged.

“Y/N!” You heard the familiar sound of your parents’ voices.

“I’ve got to go, Victoire. I’ll miss you.” You repeated to your friend, hugging her one last time.

“I’ll miss you too.” She said, before leaving to find her own family.

“Mum! Dad!” You smiled at them as they wrapped you in a hug.

“I’ve missed you both so much.”

“We’ve missed you too, sweetheart. How was the ride?” Your mom asked as your dad grabbed your bags.

“Bittersweet. I’m going to miss my friends.” Your sad smile faltered as you saw the trunk of their car already loaded with luggage. You turned to your mom in confusion, “Are we not going home?”

“No, we’re going to stay at a friends’ house for a couple weeks.” She replied.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fun.” Your dad added.

“Which friend?” You asked.

“It doesn’t matter, you’ll find out soon enough. Their manor is just outside of London.” Your mother said, entering the car. You followed her actions and sat in the back seat, trying to think of all the family friends you knew of that had manors- the only troubling thought was that you could come up with none.

~~~

Green was all you could see as your dad drove the car along a winding path. He turned into a stone driveway, lined with perfectly rounded bushes and tall apple trees. The stones ran a long ways up to a beautiful, brick manor that had vines traveling up its sides, crowding around a few of the windows. Your father followed the rounded driveway and came to a stop in front of the large, white door. You got out of the car in awe. Sure, you spent most of your days at Hogwarts, a large castle itself; but the elegant manner in front of you put you in pure amazement.

“What do you think?” Your mother asked, stepping out of the car to fall beside you.

“It’s beautiful.” Your eyes raked over every intricate detail of the mansion.

“Ah, you’re here.” You heard a voice greet and your eyes fell from outlining the manor to the new person. The woman emerged from the doorway and walked over to you. She held her hand out to you, “You must be Y/N. Your mother here has told me so much about you.”

“Yes, and you are?” You replied with a smile as you shook her hand.

“I’m Nikki. Your mother and I met during our own time at Hogwarts.” She said, moving on to say hello to your mother.

“You can leave the bags. Binky will see their arrival to your rooms.” Nikki told your father as a house elf appeared beside her. The elf went to the bags and Nikki ushered you three inside, “Come in, dinner will be ready soon.”

The three of you followed her inside and you continued to be amazed as the exquisite estate. The walls were painted a rich cream and the ceiling was pure white. A beautiful chandelier hung from the center of the room. Your shoes felt slick against the perfectly spotless floors beneath you. The archway into the next room was created by two large marble staircases that met at the second floor landing. Nikki led you into the next room, which was equally as marvelous. A black grand piano sat in the corner and plush, white couches faced the large fireplace.

“Make yourselves comfortable. After all, this will be your home for the next few weeks.” Nikki insisted.

“Your house is magnificent.” You said with your eyes still processing the room’s extravagance.

“Thank you. My family has owned it for centuries. It’s one of the things passed down to specifically the eldest woman.”

“Your daughter must be very happy.” You replied, making her laugh lightheartedly.

“Oh my dear, I don’t have a daughter. Instead, I have four boys.” She explained.

“Oh,” You mumbled, unsure of what to say. Another house elf walked into the room, shuffling its little feet along to get to where Nikki stood.

“Madame, dinner is ready.” It said politely.

“Thank you. Please call the boys.” Nikki replied and it vanished with a snap of its fingers. Nikki led your family over to the dining room. A long, black oak table filled the room. Nine spots were set, each having a plate made of fine china, silverware with intricate designs on the handles, beautiful glasses, and cloth napkins.

“Please, sit. The boys will be here in a few moments.” Nikki gestured to three of the chairs with their backs to the door. Your mother and father sat in two of them, leaving the one beside the empty place setting for you. You sat down and waited nervously as house elves began to bring food to the table. Nikki quietly took her seat beside your mother. A man who you assumed to be Nikki’s husband filed into the room with three boys behind him. They filled in each seat except for the one across from you.

“Paddy, where is your brother?” Nikki asked the youngest one.

“He’s on his way.” The boy replied. Less than a moment later, the final boy came in.

“Sorry, mum.” He said. Your head popped up at the sound of his voice; it was too recognizable to miss. Your eyes followed him as he went to sit down. Once in place, he finally looked up and saw you. His eyebrows scrunched and his mother cleared her throat. Tom turned his attention back to his mother and you looked anywhere but at him.

“Before dinner begins, I’d like to introduce our guests. This is Y/M/N and Y/F/N Y/L/N and their daughter Y/N.” Nikki announced, “Y/L/Ns, this is my husband Dominic and my four sons: Tom, Harry, Sam, and Patrick.” After a silence, everyone began to serve themselves.

“Tom, you’ve just finished at Hogwarts, yes?” Your mother asked and he nodded while taking a drink of his pumpkin juice, “Y/N did too. Do you know each other?”

“We’ve seen each other around- yes.” He replied and you let out a scoff. All eyes fell on you and sat up straighter.

“Sorry, I had something in my throat.” You lied, hoping for their attention to be drawn elsewhere.

Dinner continued on smoothly with Tom acting as if he had only briefly met you. He made his family and yours out to believe that he didn’t relentlessly verbally taunt you at Hogwarts. His parents asked you so many questions about yourself that you almost felt like you were being interrogated.

“Tom, would you show Y/N to her room? It’s the empty room beside yours.” Nikki asked after dinner and he nodded.

“Follow me.” Tom said, before leading you up the grand staircase.

“I had no idea your family was so wealthy.” You stated.

“I don’t like to flaunt it.” He replied, “Besides, I won’t inherit much.”

“What do you mean?”

“Pureblood tradition is to give the eldest the inheritance; well, for my family, our tradition is giving the eldest female the inheritance, or most of it that is. None of us are female, so my mother is planning on giving it to my cousin, who is Paddy’s age.” Tom explained, taking you down the hall.

“Enjoy it while it lasts. You never know who could come take away your happiness.” You said.

“You’re not talking about-” He turned to you and cut himself short, upon seeing your slight smirk. “I think it’s best if we don’t talk about it. My parents like to keep their image spotless and that includes keeping me seen as the golden boy.”

“I’ll stay quiet to your parents for now, but, if you keep up this ‘Raven’ thing, your mother might just get an owl from me.”

“Are you threatening me?” Tom stopped.

“Do you feel threatened?” You asked, crossing your arms.

“No.” He answered after a moment. He quickly turned and continued walking until coming to an abrupt stop in front of a dark brown oak door.

“This is your room.” Tom stated, opening up the door. He gestured for you to step inside. You did as commanded and he followed behind you. Filling up most of the room was a large, four-poster bed with a red blanket and fluffy white pillows on it. The walls were the same creamy color as the entryway. A plush, red couch was facing the window, which was partially covered on the outside by vines. A chandelier was hung over the couch and a few smaller lights accented the room.

“So you’ve got the closet there.” Tom pointed to a door to the left of the bed and then he pointed to a door to the right of the bed, “And a bathroom there. If you need anything, I’m the next door over.”

“Thank you.” You replied with a nod.

“Just doing as told.” He shrugged, “I’ll leave you to it.”

~~~

‘Dear Victoire,

I figured out the surprise my parents had for me. We’re spending Christmas holiday at a “friends’” house- turns out that that friend is Tom Holland’s mother. I am currently writing to you from the rose garden at his manor. As much as I hate to admit it, it’s beautiful here. The manor itself is a masterpiece, but the yard is just as lovely. The rose garden, despite it being winter, is still filled with vibrant pinks, whites, and reds.’

You quit writing when you heard footsteps approaching. Looking up, you saw it was Tom. You folded your paper and put away your things.

“Mum sent me out here to show you the grounds.” Tom said.

“Oh, okay.” You nodded.

“So I see you’ve found our rose garden.” He stated with a short laugh.

“Yes, it’s quite beautiful.” You replied, looking around at the flowers surrounding you.

“Well?” Tom asked, holding out his elbow to you.

“Are you escorting me?” You raised an eyebrow at him as you stood up.

“Is it not a chivalrous thing to do?” He answered and you let out a laugh, wrapping your hand around his elbow.

“There are over 60 different varieties of roses in the garden, including hybrids. My great grandfather designed this garden for my great grandmother- her name was Rose.” Tom explained as you walked together along the grass, admiring the roses.

“So many roses- it’s magnificent.” You said.

“I know. I find it quite peaceful out here.”

“I love it.”

Tom took you out of the rose garden and led you across a field to a building that resembled the manor with the same architectural style and the same building material, but it was stretched out instead of being three stories tall. A white fence surrounded the building and you followed Tom through a large gate into the area around the building.

“What is this place?” You asked.

“The stables.” He replied.

“You have horses?” You raised an eyebrow.

“Yes. We may be purebloods, but we have regular horses.” Tom laughed, taking you inside of the stables. There were six stalls on each side and it simply smelt like horse. Some horses let out neighs from their stalls. Tom stopped at one of the first stalls and a large, tan horse appeared behind the half door.

“This here is my horse, Jasper.” Tom stated, petting the horse in between the ears.

“He’s beautiful. What breed is he?”

“English Thoroughbred. Do you ride?”

“I’ve done it a few times.”

“Why don’t we go for a ride?” He asked.

“Right now?” You questioned.

“Yeah, why not?” Tom shrugged and walked over to another stall. “You can ride this horse. Her name’s Poppy.” He said as he pushed open the stall. You watched as Tom led the large brown animal over to you.

Tom got Poppy and Jasper ready for the two of you to ride as you waited. When they were ready, he helped you onto the horse and he got onto his with ease.

You and Tom rode the horses around the rest of the property. Tom showed you their lake, rock garden, and everything in between. In the late afternoon, you both headed back towards the stables.

“I’m sorry.” Tom said after a moment of silence.

“Pardon?” You replied in confusion.

“I’m sorry for everything I did to you at Hogwarts. It was wrong of me to call you Raven.” He explained, “Can we start over?”

“I’d like that.” You smiled and he reciprocated.

“There’s one last thing I want to show you before the tour ends.” He came to a halt in front of the stables and you two dismounted.

“And what would that be?”

“It’s a surprise, but I guarantee you’ll love it.” He unsaddled the horses and put them back into their respective stalls. He led you back inside the manor and took you straight to the third floor. He stopped in front of a large oak door that was twice the size of the normal doors in the house.

“Close your eyes.” He said, placing a hand on the doorknob. You did as told and you heard the door squeak open. “Okay, open them.”

You opened your eyes and you were in shock. Every single room in this manor was beautiful and grand to you, but this room was over the top. Your jaw dropped as your eyes scanned the walls, all covered in bookshelves. Books were neatly placed on each shelf and there was not a bare spot.

“I figured as one of the smartest Ravenclaws I know, you’d enjoy the library.”

“This is amazing. Have you read all of these?” You asked.

“No. There’s too many.” He laughed, “Are you going to read as much of them as you can in these next few weeks?”

“I’ll probably try.” You said. You heard a pop echo from behind the two of you and you both turned.

“Master Tom, dinner is ready.” The house elf spoke and Tom nodded.

“We will be down in a moment.” Tom answered before it disappeared.

“Come on, they will still be here after dinner.” He teased, g”rabbing your hand and pulling you out of the large library before you got lost in it.

~~~

Over the course of the next week, you and Tom became close. The small crush you had developed for him at Hogwarts was continuing to grow. You kept your feelings to yourself, as you were sure that he could never feel the same.

One morning, his mother and your mother insisted that you two accompany them to Diagon Alley. Tom questioned her request, since he rarely went there unless for Hogwarts materials, and his mother explained the need for you to have a “proper” dress.

“Why does she need a dress though?” Tom asked.

“Don’t be silly, Tom. We’re having a ball tomorrow night.”

“A ball?” You repeated.

“Yes.” She nodded, “You need a ball gown for it and I know just the place.”

The four of you apparated to the busy street and Nikki led you all into Twilfitt and Tatting’s, one of the upperclass shops. The owner immediately helped Nikki and your mother in picking out the perfect dress for you.

“I still don’t fully understand why I’m here.” Tom mumbled to you.

“Maybe your mum just wants you out of the manor.” You said with a shrug.

“I doubt that.” He laughed lightly.

“Y/N, we’ve got dresses for you.” Your mother called to you after a few minutes of you and Tom waiting for the three older women to find dresses.

You were stuffed into dress after dress, each being disapproved by all or most of your audience. Tom had said that he liked each one you tried on equally, which provided no help whatsoever. You finally found a dress that you loved: a satin, navy blue off-the-shoulder gown with bronze trim and small, bronze bow around the waist. Feeling nervous, but confident in the dress, you stepped out of the dressing room.

“How do I look?” You asked, smoothing down the front of it.

“You look gorgeous.” Nikki smiled and Tom looked up at you. His eyes lit up, but then, after a moment, he frowned.

“You don’t have the curves for it, Raven. I don’t like it.” He said, flatly. The shop fell silent and you felt all that confidence drain away.

“I’ll go try on the next one.” You stated, disappearing back into the dressing room. You could hear Nikki talking to Tom in a harsh tone, but her words were incomprehensible. You slipped off the perfect dress and tried on another one. When you came out of the dressing room again, Tom was gone and it was just your mother, his mother, and the shop owner.

“What do you think?” You asked, looking down at the white ball gown with red and pink roses along the bottom of the skirt.

“It’s wonderful.” Your mother said.

“You look stunning, dear.” Nikki added.

After trying on a few more dresses, the three of you decided on getting that white one. As Nikki paid- much to your mother’s despair- you looked longing at the navy dress, hanging up on the rack across the store. ‘Maybe one day’, you told yourself.

“Come on, let’s go get us some tea.” Nikki said, leading you and your mother across the street to the tea shop.

~~~

When you returned to the manor, you buried yourself in the library, knowing that the books would take your mind far from your saddening thoughts. On your way to your safe haven, you didn’t see Tom and for that you were very pleased. After his apology and your truce, it hurt more than you ever imagined to hear him say such things to you once again, especially at a time when you felt so good about yourself.

A house elf came to you, informing you that dinner was ready, but you simply told them to leave you be and it did so. Your evening was quiet and peaceful; peaceful enough that you were able to sleep in the comfy chair with a book in your hand.

The next day, you found yourself sitting in the rose garden again. An owl came flying down to you and you easily recognized it as Victoire’s owl. You smiled and pet it before removing the letter from its foot.

‘Dear Y/N,

It’s nearly been two weeks and I haven’t heard from you at all. I guess that means you’re enjoying that surprise. Well, whatever it is you’re up to, I hope you’re having fun. My parents, and my aunts and uncles, were invited to a ball tonight. It’s being held at Tom’s manor- I guess I might see him tonight-’

Your heart fell as you read the letter. You had forgotten how close her pureblood family was with his and it only made sense that Victoire’s entire family was invited to the ball tonight (you assumed Nikki invited all of the best pureblood families). Victoire would be here and she’d be furious about what you had done for the past several days, about what you had let your heart do. A small smile formed on your face as you remembered that you would be seeing your friend again. Clutching the letter in hand, you hurried back to your room so that you could send her a message back.

You rounded the corner just before your door as Tom came out of his room. You both stopped seeing each other. He looked you in the eyes for a short moment, then continued on his way past you. Shaking your head lightly, you walked into your room and prepared a piece of paper for her.

“Dear Victoire,

I meant to send you a letter previously, but I never got around to it- my apologies. I hope your summer has been going well. Mine has for the most part. My surprise is a two week vacation at the Holland manor with the Hollands themselves. It’s been interesting. I wish I could write more, but I’ll tell you everything when I see you tonight at the ball.

Sincerely, Y/N.’

~~~

“Tom, we need to have a word with you.” Nikki said the moment he reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Mother-” He started and she shook her head.

“Your father’s office, now.” She replied, walking into the said room. Tom wordlessly followed behind her. He sat in one of the two large red leather chairs in front of his dad’s desk. His parents stood on the opposite side of the black desk and looked at him disapprovingly.

“Tom, your actions yesterday were hurtful and uncivil-” His mother started.

“It’s just a dress.” Tom said.

“No, it’s about so much more than that. Y/N absolutely loved that dress and she wanted it the most. That dress was the only one in that entire store that made her look and feel like a true princess. She felt very self-confident. Now, I don’t expect you to understand that because I know how ruthless you are to her at school and I know how destructive to her self-image you have been. I did not raise you to be such an arrogant, inconsiderate, disrespectful young man. I don’t know why you did all those things and I don’t want to know. I want you to be better, be supportive, be kind, be respectful, be everything I know you can be.”

“So you planned all of this? Them staying here, her room being besides mine, me taking her on a tour, and the ball just so I would be nice to her.”

“No, Tom.” His dad spoke up, “You know of our family tradition, from your mother’s side.” Tom nodded slowly, “We knew since Patrick was born that we would need someone, some girl, to be close to the family. It just so happened that your mother ran into Y/N’s mother a week later in Diagon Alley.”

“What do you mean? That Y/N gets all of our inheritance? It’s not going to a cousin or anyone in our bloodline?” Tom stood up, outraged by his father’s words. He watched as his mother silently pulled out a small velvet box and set it on the desk in front of him.

“No. No.” Tom repeated, staring at the ring box before him.

“You’re betrothed to her, Tom, and she to you.” His mother said calmly.

“No, it can’t be.” He replied. His mother reached to comfort him, but he disapparated away. Tom opened his eyes and found himself at his family’s lake. He paced around the edge of it as he shook lividly. He disapparated again, this time to a place all too familiar.

Hours later, Tom returned to his room to get ready for the ball- the engagement ball. ‘No wonder mum wanted me to help with the dress shopping’ Tom mentally scoffed. As he went to grab his dress robes from laying on his bed, he noticed the same ring box next to them. Sighing, he changed into his robes and stuffed the box into his pocket.

~~~

“Y/N, dear, are you almost ready?” Your mother asked you.

“Yes, I just need a moment.” You called back to her from the other side of the door. Just as you were about to slip on your heels, you heard an owl tapping on the door.

You opened your window and let the bird with the package in. It dropped the package on your bed and then flew out the window. You curiously opened the material and your eyes lit up seeing the familiar navy and bronze material. You took it out of the wrapping completely and stared at it in admiration. A note fell from the skirt and you picked it up.

‘Y/N,

I am so sorry. This dress is the dress for you. It’s beautiful. Forgive me.’

It had no name on the bottom, but it didn’t matter because you already knew who sent it to you. You quickly changed out of the white dress and into the navy dress, despite your mother’s persistent knocks on the door.

You stepped out of your bedroom and your mother looked at you in shock. “Where did this come from?” she asked. Your reply was simply a smile.

“I’m ready now.” You said and the two of you made your down the hallway and to the ballroom, which was currently filled with guests.

You placed your hand on the railing at the top of the stairs and you cautiously made your way down the stairs. The room fell silent and all eyes fell on you. Your eyes drifted up from your shaking feet and they scanned the room for Tom. He stood in the corner by his friends. His mouth fell open as he took in your appearance. You gave him a shy smile from across the room and he smiled back at you. Blushing, you finished your descent. The crowd of people turned back to their own conversations and the music picked up again. You began to make your way towards where you saw Tom, but you came to a halt upon hearing a familiar voice calling your name.

“Y/N!” Victoire smiled as she bounded up to you.

“Victoire! I’ve missed you.” You said, hugging her.

“I missed you too.” She replied.

“You look amazing.” You complimented. Her red hair was perfectly accented by her pink gown.

“Thank you, so do you. I love the colors.” She winked, referring to Ravenclaw, “So you’ve been here all summer? That must have been torture.”

“It was nice actually.” You stated bashfully.

“Nice? Am I hearing this correctly?”

“Yes. It hasn’t been terrible living an estate like this.”

“I guess. Oh what I’d give to live in a manor. It’s so beautiful and everything is spotless and perfect.”

“Yeah, but it will be over in a few days.” You shrugged nonchalantly.

“Y/N.” You heard someone call from behind you. You turned and were met by Tom. His breath caught in his throat as his eyes shifted from you to Victoire. He cleared his throat, “Can I talk to you? In private?”

“Yes.” You said with uncertainty. You followed him through the crowd of people and to a secluded room. You both stood in silence, not knowing what to say, for there was so much to be explained and none of it would be easy.

“Thank you,” You said and Tom rushed out, “I love you.”

“What?” You both simultaneously asked.

“You first.” Tom stated.

“Thank you for the dress. It means a lot to me.” You replied.

“I know.” He answered and it was silent for another moment before you broke it.

“Did you say you love me?” You asked and his cheeks turned bright red.

“Yeah, um-” He ran a nervous hand through his hair, “I love you. I know I’ve been a real jerk lately and I am so so incredibly sorry. I just saw you in that dress and I was speechless. I was so completely stunned by you that I didn’t know what to say and that all just came out. I didn’t mean it. You looked beautiful then and you look beautiful now. You’ve always been beautiful- I’ve just been too blind and stupid to see it.”

“I thought you liked curvy girls.” You mumbled.

“I did. Back when I was an inconsiderate boy, I liked them, but, now, I love you. I don’t care if you’re curvy or not. All I care about is having you in my life.”

“Do you really mean it?” You asked, stepping closer to him.

“Yes. I understand if you don’t love me back. After all I’ve done to you, it wouldn’t be a surprise.”

“You’re in luck.” You stated, placing your hand in his, “I love you too.” You leaned up and kissed him. Tom happily kissed back for a moment, but then pulled away.

“There’s just one thing I have to tell you and it does not change anything I just told you, I promise.”

“What is it?” You asked, feeling worry start to creep into your mind. Tom reached into his pocket and pulled out a velvet ring box.

“I’m assuming your parents didn’t tell you, but mine did. You and I are kinda-” Tom said as he knelt down onto one knee and opened up the box, “betrothed, so Y/N Y/L/N, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife- at some distant point in the future when we’re both ready to settle down?”

“Yes.” You laughed and Tom slipped the diamond ring onto your finger. He stood up to his full height and gave you a kiss.

“We should go rejoin the party now.” Tom suggested as he put the ring box back into his pocket.

“I guess we should.” You said, slipping your left hand into his right hand. “Are we betrothed so you inherit your family’s fortune?”

“Maybe, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’m in love with you.” He shrugged with a small smirk on his face. You looked down at the sparkling ring and laughed to yourself- oh Victoire was going to kill you.

~~~

Tag List:

@gray-rose13 @cutefluffy89 @flammy-whater @ria132love @devan-d

#tom holland #tom holland one shot #tom holland x you #tom holland x reader #tom holland imagine #tom holland headcanon #tom holland harry potter #Harry Potter #harry potter au #hogwarts au #hogwarts

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glassrain83 · 5 years

Text

Dear Yuletide Writer

I am GlassRain on AO3, and thank you for writing for my tiny fandom(s)!

Any fic about these characters will be exciting. This is all just extra information to use if you want inspiration or guidance or specific prompts to think about.

Yes please: gay stuff, outer space, magic, microphilia. Non-con, dub-con, and mind control. Relationships where there’s a power imbalance but they also truly love each other and do the work to make it good. Identity porn or any other kind of reveal where the audience knows something and gets to enjoy watching the characters figure it out.

No thanks: Gore/body horror/graphic depictions of violence, embarrassment, extreme underage (teenage sex is fine), bodily fluids (except the usual ones for sex scenes), non-canon character death, mundane AUs.

Mini-challenges: Yuleporn, Make The Yuletide Gay, canon trans/nb relationships

Fandoms:

Doctrine of Labyrinths - Sarah Monette

Characters: Felix, Mildmay

The Doctrine of Labyrinths is a series of fantasy novels by Sarah Monette. It is set in the secondary world of Meduse and tells the story of the adventures of the wizard Felix Harrowgate and his half-brother, former assassin Mildmay the Fox.

Lush fantasy melodrama full of codependence and great hurt/comfort. I’ve read the whole thing by now, so spoilers are welcome.

Prompts:

Sci-fi/cyberpunk AU. Make the hocuses into hackers, the magical curses into corrupted cybernetics, the petty thieves into data pirates. Write this version of some event from Melusine, or use the AU to give the course of the plot a new twist.

Missing scene from Felix and Mildmay’s journey across the continent in book 1, something where Felix has a bad turn and Mildmay successfully calms him down. Just lean all the way into the h/c in their weird-but-deep sibling bond.

This is one fandom where I would love some guilty frantic brothercest. (During a time in canon when they’re both mentally capable of consenting.) Especially if it’s already an ongoing situation when the story starts, so it’s not a story about how they fell into it but about how they can’t seem to get out.

The Good Place (TV)

Characters: Tahani Al-Jamil

The series focuses on Eleanor Shellstrop, a woman who wakes up in the afterlife and is introduced by Michael to “The Good Place”, a highly selective Heaven-like utopia he designed, as a reward for her righteous life. She realizes that she was sent there by mistake and must hide her morally imperfect behavior and try to become a better, more ethical person.

Ongoing TV fantasy sitcom. The final season will have ended by reveals, and spoilers for all of it will be welcome. I don’t ship Tahani with any of the male characters, but would love either gen or f/f.

Prompts:

AU where Tahani was the one who was “mixed up” with a different “Tahani Al-Jamil”. Where is she placed instead of a creepy clown house? How does she cope? How does Vicky (or whoever) craft the role of her most torturously-unsuitable soulmate?

Kidfic about the terrible family dynamics in Tahani’s childhood. Especially things that her POV frames as happy, or fine, or at least justified...but the reader can tell how much it’s not.

Friendship fic with Eleanor and Tahani during their time on Earth. They couldn’t possibly know each other for a whole year without bonding.

Leif & Thorn (Webcomic)

Characters: Any

Leif is a gardener in thrall to a mysterious debt, serving his native Sønheim at a foreign embassy. Thorn is a Knight of Ceannis who got severely burned while dragonslaying, and was rewarded with a cushy job guarding the embassy gates. Thorn doesn’t speak Leif’s language too well at first — but as they get to know each other, he finds a lot of reasons to learn.

Ongoing fantasy dramedy, with a cross-cultural romance and a great ensemble cast. (Read it here.) Leif/Thorn is canon. I’d love fic about them, and/or any romance (canon or not) that doesn’t break them up, and/or gen about anyone else.

Prompts:

Violet’s participation in fandom on the magic-crystal-internet. And maybe off of it, if a convention comes to town. What is magical-crystal-Yuletide like? Which series have split fandoms over badly-translated Ceannic-language dubs? Who else in the cast loves Violet’s fic without realizing she’s the one behind the pseudonym?

Something sexy from the “Thorn studied magic” AU, where Thorn uses his powers to suppress the consent-subverting functions of Leif’s microchip.

Canon divergence AU where Thorn joined the Secret Order of Monster Hunters instead of the knights. Does he sneak back to check on Leif later, Batman-style? Or just straight-up steal Leif in the moment? How does Agent Delphinium feel about all this?

Holiday fic where Leif and Thorn share their traditions with each other. Warmth and fluffiness a plus.

Tender, loving, slow-and-thorough Thorn/Kale -- with Leif’s permission and/or participation. In which Thorn notices how touch-starved Kale is and makes every effort to rectify that for him.

Jeeves & Wooster

Characters: Jeeves, Wooster

Bertram Wooster, a well-intentioned, wealthy layabout, has a habit of getting himself into trouble and it's up to his brilliant valet, Jeeves, to get him out.

Completed TV adaptation of the books by P.G. Wodehouse, starring Hugh Laurie as Wooster and Stephen Fry as Jeeves. I’ll take gen or m/m between the two of of them.

Prompts:

Magical AU where they’re supernatural creatures -- fae, elves, angels, demons, nature spirits, things in that category -- and still manage to have the same dynamic, over much more ethereal problems.

Role-swap where Jeeves is a smart-but-disaffected member of the idle rich, and Bertie is a fanciful valet. Problems are solved by a mix of Bertie’s own talents and his ability to inspire Jeeves into thinking harder.

Bertie discovers the fandom for his published writing. This can be a modern AU if you want to get the internet into it.

#yuletide #yuletide letter #webcomics #doctrine of labyrinths #the good place #jeeves and wooster #Leif & Thorn

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