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flyingkiki · 3 years

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We played dangerously (1/?)

Because we need more stories that show us just how much of a dirty boi Timbo is. The more smtty #TimRae the better. So excited for this story and delve heavily into their drama and dirty deeds. Strap yourselves in, bbs. it's a steamy one.

The history between them ran deep and long, mostly unspoken, messy, and painfully raw. Years later, here they are - older and carrying just a little bit more baggage than necessary. Tim and Raven reflect on their dangerous history and sift through the extra baggage they acquired.

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“You’re quitting?”

Raven frowned and crossed her arms defensively. She steeled herself as Red Robin stared at her, a look of total disbelief on his face as he processed what she just told him. She ignored how a heavy feeling settled low in her stomach.

“I’m taking a sabbatical,” she said levelly.

“For an undefined period of time,” continued Tim, his voice strained as he drew his eyebrows together trying to process what he just heard five minutes ago. “That sounds like quitting to me,”

She pressed her lips together as she tried to ignore the harsh press of Tim’s emotions against her. She watched him stare at her from across the briefing room, the sound of their computer working on data broke the heavy silence between them. “It’s my life, of course it’s indefinite,”

Tim blinked and followed her stance, crossing his arms as he studied her intently. “I’m not trying to take control of your life, Raven,” he bristled.

Raven tilted her head in challenge. For whatever reason she felt annoyance crawl under her skin. “It sounds like you are,”

“I’m not,” Tim pressed, sighing loudly. With a huff he pulled off his mask and threw it on the briefing table. Raven watched it slide on the flat surface before looking back up at Tim’s confused blue eyes. “Look, I don’t want to fight. You can do whatever you want, Raven. You’re right, it’s your life. I’m sorry if I sounded controlling,”

Raven hummed in acknowledgement. She knew he meant well. She knew Tim well enough that he wanted to understand the situation at hand. She shifted under his gaze and ignored how her stomach gnawed painfully. “When are you leaving?” Tim asked, his tone softer as he slid into the seat across from her. Raven watched him grab his mask and fiddle with it absently. The atmosphere shifted and her stomach churned painfully.

“In two weeks,” Raven replied and sat down in front of him. She watched Tim press his lips together and frown at the news. “I got into a special program. School starts early in August,”

Tim swallowed and threw her a torn look. “I’m glad you’re going off to university,” he began. He paused to inhale as he tried to think. “And this is not something you could do, like part-time online or something?”

Raven frowned at the way he tried to find ways to make her stay. “No,” she said. “Our work is a tight schedule as it is,”

Tim nodded in agreement. He gave a halfhearted smile. “At least I tried,”

Her stomach lurched without her consent and she ignored the jumble of emotions in the room. Her decision was final. This conversation made the move incredibly real. Pain settled low in her stomach. She needed to pack and get things going. “I want a life outside of the Titans, Tim,” she said. “Most of you have lives outside of the Tower. Gar does his stupid acting. Jaime has his family and volunteer work. You run WE, Tim. You all get to do something outside of our uniform. I just want something as close to normal as I can get, whatever that is for Rachel Roth, even if it’s just for a while.”

Tim sighed. The tension was palpable as Tim frowned. His brows furrowed and he nodded. “Yeah, I respect that, Rae,” he said, voice low. Running his hand through his hair, Tim leaned back into his chair with a huff. “Yeah, okay. Yeah,” he breathed and looked deep in thought. She felt the faint press of his carefully controlled emotions. “We’ll make some preparations for your transition and make sure that everything is in order. I’ll let the Justice League know,”

There was a beat of silence between them. Raven was surprised how methodological the conversation was. Then again, was she really expecting an argument for her to stay? There was an inexplicable pin-like pain in her chest she could not shake off. Wasn’t this what she wanted? Sighing softly, she assumed their conversation was done and stood up. Tim probably had to file a report to the JL. She had to pack up and get going with her life – they all did. Raven swallowed a thought.

“Well, thanks,” she said and turned to leave the room. She heard Tim stand up.

“Hey,” Tim called, voice slightly strained. Raven paused and turned back around, eyeing him curiously. Tim swallowed and his brows pressed together and there was a cautious look on his face. “This is not about –”

“No,” Raven cut him off sharply. “It’s not.”

Tim sighed and his shoulders lowered slightly. He caught her blue eyes and Raven watched an expression she cannot quite place cross his face. He offered her a tentative smile and nodded, his brows still furrowed and still looking torn. “Okay,” he breathed. “Yeah, good.” He paused before continuing. “We’ll tell the team after dinner tonight.”

Raven nodded. Her stomach felt heavy, she had enough of this conversation. It was done. “I’m going to start packing up stuff,” she said and made her way towards the door.

“Everyone’s going to miss you, Raven,” Tim said as she opened the door.

She paused at the door, hand resting at the metal doorframe. Her finger tapped the frame thoughtfully as a few stray thoughts ran through her mind, before turning to look over her shoulder, catching Tim’s piercing blue eyes. She sent him a tight smile and buried whatever errant emotions tickled her heart. “Yeah, I’ll miss everyone too. I’ll be back soon, I promise.”

She did not come back anytime soon.

Tim forgot when he was last in the Gotham Public Library – perhaps back when he was still in high school, 11 years ago? He wasn’t all too sure. His high school memories were blurry, given how his vigilante life was far more exciting than high school calculus.

But he was sure that the Gotham Public Library did not look this modern or dazzling since he last stepped into it when he was 15. The large library atrium was cleared out from its usual chairs and tables and instead filled with cocktail tables, round tables with sparkling black and gold table settings, buffet tables lined the walls, upbeat jazz music and heavy conversations filled the usual quiet halls, and every single one of the Gotham’s elite was dressed to the nines.

It was a charity dinner with plates going for the thousands. There was a silent auction too, some collectors’ books were up for grabs. The library was launching a new exhibit with some new codex they found out of Gotham. Wayne Foundation was funding most of the research and restoration work that went with it, and tonight’s event was supposed to help cover costs for the library’s expansion projects.

He idly listened to some politicians talk to Bruce and his siblings, Damian and Cass. Jason had moseyed off somewhere (likely browsing through the bookshelves or bidding on some of the collectibles in the silent auction) – lucky for the asshole. Tim wasn’t really paying attention. There was a lot going on, Tim barely kept up if he was being honest. A business merger was keeping his mind preoccupied, he was flying out to Japan tomorrow morning, and tonight’s dinner was the last place he honestly wanted to be at – but press as CEO of WE was important, Bruce liked to constantly remind him.

“So I was saying to him, ‘Johnny, son, if you don’t pull your pants up, that’s gonna be a lawsuit waiting to happen,’,” said the old man, assistant city treasurer – or whatever – to their small group. The old man heartily laughed, wheezing into his champagne glass. Bruce looked like he just swallowed bad caviar and cleared his throat while Damian and Cass made no effort to hide their bewildered faces. Tim sighed.

“Well, it does sound like a lawsuit waiting to happen, Mr. Peters,” Tim absently fiddled with his scotch glass and wondered if he should get anything stronger to get him through the night.

The man made a wounded sound and said something before slinking off. Bruce and Tim shared an exasperated look. Damian clicked his tongue, absently tapping his glass of orange juice. “This party is terrible, father,” he sniffed and icily scanned the crowd. “May we leave early?”

Bruce eyed his teenage son blandly. “We came here together, we leave together,” he said.

“Tt,” Damian frowned and took a sip from his orange juice.

Tim glanced at Damian, mildly feeling sorry for the 16-year-old gremlin. He remembered how he felt over these galas when he was younger. Internally grimacing at the galas when he first became CEO back when he was 17, Tim hid his displeasure behind his scotch glass while taking a sip.

They milled around more, talking to investors and guests from Gotham’s elite and academe. Tim smiled politely and held conversations where necessary, idly wondering when the night would be over. The crowd soon gathered in the middle of the atrium at the soft chime of a bell, signaling the start of another round of speeches from the library. Tim and his siblings slowly followed Bruce and the rest of the crowd towards the atrium. Tim caught Damian and Cass sharing bored glances.

“We’d like to thank everyone for being with us tonight,” said the Gotham Public Library Head Librarian, a well-dressed elderly man. The man went on with library expansion updates and the latest figures on tonight funds that were raised. Tim barely listed as he checked his phone for his flight details Tam sent him earlier. Ignoring the polite applause that filled the room, Tim continued to discreetly scroll through his itinerary.

“Tonight we’re also delighted to announce the opening of our exhibit, the Life Codex: Ancient Celebrations of Life. The library is honored to house this latest discovery and carry out the research, restoration, and preservation work of these recent discoveries,” the librarian droned on about ancient documents and the restoration work involved. Tim felt Cass nudge him and he blinked, looking up from his briefer. He stared at her quizzically.

“Attention,” she whispered. Tim offered her a sheepish look and pocketed his phone. They both turned their attention back to the stage. He caught sight of Jason’s large built shuffle in next to them, looking utterly bored. Since Jason was ‘legally alive’ again, they had roped him into attending a few events once in a while – much to the older man’s displeasure.

Mr. Tompkins, the Head Librarian, went on to discuss the project details that had gone underway since last month. Documents from Africa had been flown in and the research team had been working on restoring paper and decoding the codex. Tim barely listened as the elderly man droned on and silently wondered if he could still catch some sleep before his flight in the morning. His phone vibrated and he pointedly ignored Cass' look as he pulled out his phone to check an update from Tam.

"Doctor Collins, Dean of Gotham University's history and anthropology department is leading this project and she has built an excellent team for this project. Doctor Collins?" The head librarian welcomed an elderly woman with salt and pepper hair up on stage. Tim drowned out the speech as Dr. Collins started talking about the project, briefly looking at his phone and going through the project document for tomorrow's meeting with the Japanese tech firm. Tim wondered if he could at least get some good sushi while in Tokyo. Perhaps he could ask Tam to squeeze that into his schedule, they could --

"Hey, isn't that…" Jason paused and squinted at the stage. "Huh."

"Tim, look,"

Tim closed his phone and glanced at Cass curiously before turning his attention to the stage. Tim stopped short at what he saw.

Dressed in a flowing halter gown with a modest v-neck and a teasingly stylish slit up her right leg, a strikingly familiar woman walked up on the small platform offering the crowd a tentative smile and a modest wave. Tim watched the small woman carefully shuffle across the platform as a few more members of the research team were introduced. He blinked and stared at the violet-black haired woman and felt his throat tighten.

As if sensing his stare, dark blue eyes caught his light blue ones from across the hall. They zeroed in on him, easily catching him in a sea of hundreds.

There was an inexplicable tightness that seized his chest briefly, as Tim stared back at the woman, watching transfixed as emotions flickered across her face before quickly slipping back into a small pleasant smile and keeping her gaze briefly at him before turning to her colleagues and chuckling at something they were whispering to each other on stage. Tim watched and stared at her, schooling the surprise on his face, and just drinking in every familiar slopes and planes of her face because it had been what? Five? Six? Years since he last saw her.

"That's -"

"Rachel," Tim cut off Cass, blinking away his brief surprise and instead stared intently at his (former?) teammate.

"Rachel Roth leads our research team. Is there anything you'd like to say, dear?" Dr. Collins asked, turning to the group on stage. Rachel looked surprised before shaking her head and waving her hand in decline. "Ms. Roth does excellent work in ancient runes and languages, and restoration work. It's a pleasure to have her on the team. She's a guest lecturer at Gotham U, so if you're lucky, you best sign up for her special lecture series on ancient runes."

Tim watched as Rachel blushed at the praise, ducking her head briefly before chuckling at something a blonde haired woman next to her said. The group on stage shared a laugh and Tim watched curiously at the familiar sight of Raven smiling. There were few more pleasantries on stage before the group had their photo taken

“If we could invite Mr. Bruce Wayne, Mr. Lucius Fox, and Mr. Tim Wayne, to come up on stage for a quick photo with the rest of the team? After which we can proceed with our evening, and hopefully get your support in our library’s expansion work,” the head librarian called.

Tim blinked as Cass nudged him and pulled him out of his thoughts. Clearing his throat, he handed Cass his drink and quickly walked up the stage, following Bruce and Lucius up the small steps. Pulling on his practiced Tim Wayne-CEO-of-WE-smile, he dutifully shook hands with Dr. Collins and the head librarian. He briefly caught Raven’s stare as he moved across the stage to shake hands with people on the stage. Their gaze briefly met and her lips quirked into a small smile before quickly turning away and shuffling to the end of the line and out of reach for any other contact without attracting too much attention on them. Photos were taken swiftly and before Tim knew it everyone was ushered off the stage and he was wrapped up in a rather lengthy conversation on library work and the ongoing renovation projects.

Tim discreetly tried to look over his shoulder, barely catching a glimpse of the familiar slope of Raven’s shoulder disappearing into the crowd.

“Bruce Wayne,” Dr. Collins walked up to them just as the head librarian excused himself. The elderly woman beamed and quickly shook Bruce’s hand.

“Julia, it’s nice to see you again,” Bruce smiled warmly. “You know my son, Tim,”

Tim smiled and shook her hand. “Dr. Collins, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said, easily pulling himself out of his thoughts of trying to find Raven in the crowd.

“Mr. Wayne,” The elderly woman beamed and regarded both men in front of her.

Tim chuckled. “Just Tim, please,”

“I worked with you parents, Jack and Janet, many years ago on a few of their archaeological digs, back in their early years. I met you when you were a little boy once or twice. I must say I am impressed at what a successful grown man you've become, Tim,” praised Dr. Collins. The elderly woman hummed and smiled. “CEO of Wayne Enterprises,”

Tim chuckled, pulling on his best boardroom smile. “Thank you,”

“Also, this makes me realize that time certainly flies when the young boy you last saw in diapers has become the CEO of the world’s most successful conglomerate,” Dr. Collins chuckled, beaming up at Bruce with a mischievous smile. “That does make me feel old,”

Bruce chuckled as Tim politely made a face and their small group fell into an easy conversation. “The last eight years with Tim as CEO have been the best years for the company,”

Tim grinned playfully over his scotch. “Careful, is that praise I hear?”

The small group fell into an easy conversation discussing work and the research project. Tim quickly gathered that Dr. Collins was an old family friend of the Waynes, particularly of Bruce’s parents. He kept rapt attention to the conversation, nodding and chiming in where necessary, while occasionally glancing around the room for even a hint of purple or black.

Feeling distracted by tonight’s discovery of Raven, Tim was ready to excuse himself from the conversation and pretend to make a phone call. That seemed to be the best way to try to look around and catch Raven.

“There you are,” Dr. Collins glanced over Bruce’s shoulder and beamed. She beckoned for whoever was behind Bruce to come closer.

“I was looking for you,”

Despite the years that passed, Tim recognized the familiar voice in a heartbeat. He watched as Raven appeared from behind Bruce. He schooled his face, trying to fight away any signs of recognition and familiarity towards the black haired woman. Tim watched in a mix of curiosity and internal surprise as Raven smiled softly at their group and confidently walked up to them. From the slopes of her shoulder, the elegant movements of her hands, to her black-violet hair, deep stormy blue eyes, and that achingly familiar errant dusting of a few freckles just around the hollows of her neck, Raven looked exactly like how he remembered her. Tim blinked and absently tapped his scotch glass as he stared openly at her, a sight he had not seen in years.

“Rachel, please meet Bruce Wayne and his son, Tim. As you know Wayne Enterprises provides extensive funding for our work,” Dr. Collins said, waiving at both men in front of them.

“Mr. Wayne,” Raven began, moving her champagne glass into her left hand and went to shake Bruce’s hand. A smile appeared on her face as she and Bruce exchanged pleasantries. There was no air of familiarity between them, despite the schooled smiles that stretched across both of their lips. Tim knew that practiced look from all the undercover missions he had seen, been with, her. “It’s nice to meet you. Thank you for all your support,”

Raven turned to Tim and he watched as her smile immediately curled up just a tiny bit more in that familiar teasing way he had not seen in the last six years. There was that achingly familiar twinkle in her eyes he often saw back in the day, reserved for rare occasions, and Tim found himself smiling back at Raven and eagerly drinking in her familiar presence. “Mr. Wayne,” she said to him, a small quiver in her voice that no one but him seemed to pick up. She reached out and shook his hand.

Tim gave her hand a brief squeeze and he was pleased to see how the corner of her lips curled into a familiar amused smile he remembered. “Just Tim,”

Raven hummed and nodded, pulling her hand back. “Thank you again for supporting the research and restoration project,”

“What were you busy with before joining this project?” Bruce asked curiously. There were little updates from Raven throughout the years as she left the team for university and eventually work. While in the early years of her sabbatical Tim kept some updates on her, these eventually became less up to date as Raven eventually seemed to do her own thing.

“I was in Iceland,” Raven supplied and explained that she worked on an ancient runes translation project with the local university for six months.

Tim felt a distant memory tickle the back of his mind and he ignored the tight feeling that accompanied those distinct memories. He ignored the whisps of memories that teased his mind. Dark blue eyes briefly caught his stare and he watched that familiar curl in the corner of Raven’s lips appear. Tim smiled in return. “Iceland is a beautiful country,” he commented.

Raven stared at him, dark blue eyes intense as he remembered them. “It is,”

“We’re glad that Rachel has joined our project. She’s a fine addition to our team,” commented Dr. Collins. The elderly woman smiled teasingly. “And we’re definitely hoping she’ll considering staying in Gotham after the project ends,”

Raven rolled her eyes in amusement. “We’re just two weeks into the project. We have a long way to go,”

Tim looked at her curiously. How could he have missed her entering Gotham?. “You’ve been here for two weeks?”

Raven looked at him as if catching the slight jump in his emotions at this little discovery. “Three actually, if you count my moving in week,” she shrugged in amusement.

Three weeks. Tim stored that information for later, for a later conversation, and ignored how it settled uncomfortably in his stomach. He instead smiled at her and titled his head curiously. “I hope the transfer into Gotham wasn’t too difficult,”

Raven made a face. “It’s been interesting,” she said and Tim easily caught her familiar teasing lilt in her voice.

“Let us know if you need any assistance getting you settled, I’m sure we can send over someone to help you with your apartment,” Bruce offered, smiling charmingly at Raven.

Raven waved him off. “It’s just a few more boxes, nothing really major,”

Tim watched as a young woman tentatively approached them and offered the group an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry to interrupt,” she said to the group and quickly turned to Raven. With a quick tilt of her head towards the right, she made a face. “The University Press wants to talk to you,”

Raven made a face. “Oh, Why?”

“Just stuff about the project and the lecture,” supplied the young woman. She offered Raven a wry smile and made a face. “Also one of them asked if you were single,”

Raven rolled her eyes before smiling tightly at Bruce and Tim. “I’m sorry, if you’d excuse me. It was really nice to meet you. Thank you again for all your support. I hope you’ll visit the library again and we could show you around our work,” she said. Quickly turning to Dr. Collins, she nodded politely. “I’ll see you later, Julia,”

Smiling at Bruce and Tim, she tilted her head and there was an amused glint in her eyes as she stared at them. “Gentlemen,” she then turned on her heels, casually drank the rest of her champagne with just a little bit more purpose and seemingly bracing herself for what was about to happen next. Standing a little taller and squaring her shoulders, Raven followed the young assistant towards the press. “So, what did you tell them?” she asked, amusement lacing her voice.

As the conversation between Dr. Collins and Bruce resumed, Tim took a long sip of his scotch and stared at Raven’s retreating form. A million thoughts ran through his mind and he silently wondered just how fast he could get through his business trip in Tokyo. Sushi would have to wait for another time.

#timrae #tim drake #teen titans fanfiction #raven roth #raven #timrae 2021 year of smut and steam #be ready for baggage #lots of drama #and lots of steam because WE KNOW THESE BBS

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mytwilightimagines13 · 3 years

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Pet The beginnings (Part Four)

Masterlist

Taglist: @aro-is-gay-af @vamp-army @like-rain-or-confetti @volturidoll13 @raindancer2004 @kpopgirlbtssvt @avyannadawn @alexavolturisblog Word count: 1020

27th of February 2006 Volterra Italy

“Ciao Marco!” I said to the elderly man that run my favourite bakery in town. “Ciao bella Mandy!” he said while he sneakily put a paper bag with my favourite pastry, a cream filled cornetto, in my hand while his wife wasn't looking. “Grazie!” I mouthed to him but all he did was give me a fatherly wink before returning to attending his other customers. For the past month I had spent every lunchbreak in his little bakery. Usually enjoying a small pastry along with a cup of tea or coco as it was still a bit chilly during this time of year. After my first week Marco and I ended up talking a lot about. His wife and he had bought the little bakery when they were barely 21 years old, running away from both their families. It was just after the second world war and Marco's family had been Jew's in hiding all this time. Her family had been quite fans of Hitlers plans of how the world was supposed to look like. But their daughters love for Marco won in the end and they fled to Volterra, as it had been one of the few cities that was barely touched by the Nazi's. Most likely because of the fact that vampires protected it or possibly because it was not big enough to be interesting to the Germans at all. We ended up bonding over his stories and my love for history and ever since then he would always sneak me a little pastry on the go. He thought his wife didn't notice it but one day when Marco had been out of town with his long-lost brother (they had lost contact after the war, but his brother had found him once more and they were inseparable ever since), she too gave me a pastry for free and assuring me she knew with a wink. They were truly a loving couple, not only to each other but to the residents and even the tourists of Volterra as well. She too loved to reminisce in the stories Marco would tell, occasionally filling in the blanks he might leave with her own knowledge of history, only fuelling my hunger for knowledge. Hmm, maybe I will ask the Masters if I could borrow a book from the library about the second world war and the impact vampires had on it. I knew for a fact the Masters recorded every bit of history themselves, a version that told the whole truth including the interventions of the supernatural kind, and a version suitable for humans. I strolled back to the castle, not hurrying too much as the guard and Master were most likely just finishing their own lunch by now and I still had about 10 minutes left before I was expected back. So, I took my time and walking around the winter sun. It never really got too cold in Volterra, but it was chilly enough to be wearing a coat during these months. After an additional five minutes I reached the doors to the castle and they were opened for me by none other than Alec. “Buon pomeriggio, mister Alec. Thank you.” I said as he stepped aside to let me in before closing the doors behind me. “Buon pomeriggio, Mandy. Did you visit Marco's again today?” he asked while walking next to be as I made my way back to my desk. “Yes, I did. He treated me to my favourite pastry again today. If I am not careful, I might not fit in my dresses anymore.” I joked. Alec chuckled softly and shook his head. “Oh, I was meant to inform you, Master Aro and Master Caius requested you to bring the Mistresses their new books. They will be in the clocktower, so I guess your problem with overabundance in calories and sugar will be solved for today at least.” he said giving me a playful wink and I groaned softly. “Do I want to know how many steps of stairs I have to take?” I asked. “713. Alec and I counted them once” Jane said startling me a bit as she appeared out of nothing, a smirk around her features as well. “Well, no better way to know I am alive than to have my heart beating in overdrive and my calves feeling like they might fall off, I guess.” I said, reciprocating the playful wink Alec gave me making them both giggle in glee. Alec, Jane and I had what you could call a very playful connection. They were of course young by heart, changed at the age of 15 and I had soon

found out that they loved to joke around. “Goodluck, Mandy.” Jane said. “Thank you, miss Jane. But I guess if you hear something rolling down it will be due to the fact my calves gave up.” “We will be sure to put some pillows at the bottom of the stairs to break your fall!” Alec said and soon the twins were out of sight, their joyful laughs drifting down the hallway making me chuckle. I sat back down in my chair at my desk and noticed something had changed. A small vase had been added to my right, out of sight for any visitors and it contained four roses, all in a different colour. Blue, pink, orange and black. I gasped at it as they were absolutely beautiful. A small note in beautiful cursive handwriting was placed against the vase. Per la nostra bella umana. I blushed deeply and allowed myself a moment longer to admire them and letting my mind wonder for just a bit as to whom had sent me these roses, before coming back to reality and focussing on my work again. It was the end of the month and many bills had to be paid. Never directly from any of the vampire's their names or accounts. No, it all ran through different companies, unions and foundations. While working my eyes kept falling on the roses every so often, wondering who had put them there.

Next Part

#volturi #twilight imagine #twilight #volturi imagine #pet

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strangest-loser · 4 years

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Twilight Rewrite

Fire in my Blood ~ Jasper Hale x OC ~ Book One: Chapter Two

Chapter One

There weren't very many rules in the Swan household, and they weren't just set by Charlie, his main rule: Alessia couldn't have boys over in her bedroom, if Jacob, Quill and Embry were coming over they had to stay in the living room or the kitchen, but it was very rare that they hung out at her home anyway, they spent most of their time on the reserve.

Alessia's main rule: if Charlie got caught up at work or an emergency happened past 8pm he had to let her know he was safe so she didn't worry herself into a heart attack. That rule was established after one night when Alessia was 15 and Charlie had an animal attack emergency and didn't get home till 2am. Alessia didn't know where he was and when he came home he found her in the corner of the kitchen having a panic attack and ended up making herself sick. He never forgot that rule.

But the rule that was established by the both of them and arguably the most important rule of all: if the song was released after 1990 ... It couldn't be played in the car ever!

~' Rhiannon rings like a bell through the night and Wouldn't you love to love her?

Takes to the sky like a bird in flight and

Who will be her lover? '~

"you did not just say that to me!", came Alessia's outraged voice overlapping the velvety vocals of Stevie Nicks coming from the cruisers radio, Fleetwood Mac's 'Rhiannon' playing through the car as Alessia debated her father, "what you just said is absolute blasphemy, take it back!".

"I won't take it back, I meant what I said, 'don't stop' is the superior Fleetwood Mac song!". Came Charlie's retort as he pulled off the highway towards the airport.

"okay first of all, 'don't stop' isn't superior, the layout, 'Landslide' is their best, then 'Rhiannon', then 'Gypsy', then maybe 'don't stop'." Alessia said, leaving no room for Charlie to argue as he just gave her a look that said `we will finish this later.`

They pulled into the parking lot of William R Fairchild International Airport in Port Angeles just in time for the song to end and Alessia reached forward to change the CD. Fleetwood Mac was swapped out for The Foundations as the opening of 'Build me up Buttercup' flowed into her ears. A laugh was pulled out of Charlie as he and his daughter sang along while looking for a parking spot.

Leaning against the car as she watched her dad walk into the building to get to Bella's gate, Alessia let her nerves begin to creep back into her mind. Would Bella still be kind? Would she like her room? Would their relationship ever go back to the way it was when they were younger? Did Alessia even want that? Shaking those thoughts out of her head she felt an itching sensation in the back of her head, like someone was watching her. She looked behind her to the tree line and let her eyes focus. There was nothing there, maybe she was imagining it.

Her attention was brought back to her father walking back to the car with a suitcase in his hand and with a brunette following behind him. Alessia took this time to really look at her sister.

Bella looked like she was a little bit shorter than her. Her hair was around collarbone length while Alessia's was long, reaching the middle of her back when it was down, Bella's held a wavy curl in it while Alessia's was poker straight, the only similarity they shared was the colour, like chocolate. Bella wore comfy jeans and a shirt, a contrast to the blue and gold that was Alessia's cheerleading uniform. And funnily enough Alessia's skin held a richer tone than Bella's own pale skin, but not much.

Their eyes met and Alessia offered a soft smile to the girl she hadn't seen in four years. Her smile was returned but it didn't really reach Bella's eyes. This would take some time.

Pulling into the driveway concluded probably one of the most awkward car rides of Alessia's life. As soon as the engine cut out Alessia sprung out of the passenger seat and raced to unlock the door. After setting her keys down on the kitchen table she turned to see her father and Bella walk through the front door. "Want me to get started on dinner dad?" She asked already moving to the fridge. " I was thinking we should have a diner night tonight Al".

Alessia's mouth watered at the thought of her favourite desert at the diner, Cora's famous apple crisp with ice cream, after the weird day she had today, nothing sounded better than something familiar. "Sounds like a plan" she replies following them up the stairs to stand in the doorway of Bella's room "I tried not to decorate in here too much because I didn't know what you liked" Alessia explained looking around the room she had prepared for Bella. "No it's great, thanks Alessia" came the younger girls reply.

"ok well I'll be in my room if you need anything, dad, call me when we're leaving for food". Alessia took her leave and walked into the safehaven that was her bedroom. She adored her room. Her double bed had a homemade quilt that Leah and her grandmother had made for her 16th birthday and a bunch of pillows on top of a white bedspread. The walls were lined with photos of her friends going back through the years up until the most recent which stood on her dresser in a frame. It was taken two weeks ago in front of Emmet's jeep, Alessia and Alice were sitting on the hood laughing at each other while Emmet was staring at Rosalie with pure devotion written on his features and Jasper stood next to Alice, Edward had taken the picture. Her ceiling was covered in fairy lights and those glow in the dark stars that she put up when she was 8 which still helped her sleep at night (her most kept secret) and her desk housed her homework and her printer, next to her desk sat her bay window with a window seat that held more pillows and another blanket. The last thing that stood in her room was her bookshelf that held half fiction books and half historical books, all of which were well loved, with dog-eared and yellowed pages (her copy of 'Pride and Prejudice' was falling apart and stained with tea but she still managed to read it countless times).

Setting her backpack on her desk chair she walked over to her dresser and picked up the picture, observing it once more. It was the coldest day of February and everyone was wrapped up in coats and hats. Alice was holding Alessia's gloves hostage above her head and trying not to fall off the hood of the jeep. Rosalie was wearing her signature necklace and a pretty ring on her index finger and seemed to be engrossed in whatever Emmet was telling her. And Jasper... Alessia stopped in her tracks as she looked at the picture, Jasper was looking at her... How had she never noticed that before.

Her confusion was interrupted by a car pulling into her driveway, she set the framed picture back before walking over to the window and looking out only to see a very familiar black car pull up. An excited smile spread on her face like wildfire as she booked it out of her room and down the stairs, opening the door and running to jump on Jacob Black. "You didn't tell me you were coming! I would have planned something dastardly" she said while giggling as her best friend spun her around before setting her down and giving her his meanest look. "Absolutely not, you have gotten me grounded way too many times and it's never worth it" he said pulling her into a loving headlock while she whined and tried to escape. Once he let her go Alessia whipped her head around and her mischievous face caused Jacob so smile in a similar way. "Want to see what kind of trouble we can get into?" She asked poking him in the stomach, "oh god, we're going to die aren't we?", His response prompted a punch in the shoulder. "It's a Tuesday, I know how to restrain myself" Alessia replied like Jacob had just offended her greatly. The voice of Billy Black then came from over her shoulder, "you absolutely do not!".

Alessia zoned out as she felt that itching feeling coming from the woods again, looking out into the trees she still couldn't see anything out there, this was starting to freak her out. Her mind focused back in on her dad telling Bella that the old orange truck in front of them was her welcome home gift. This sparked a sickly feeling in Alessia's stomach, Alessia had been working her ass off doing odd shifts at the diner and even occasionally assisting Doctor Cullen at the hospital when he had patients but he needed his office sorted through and cleared up, all to save up for a car that she has needed for the past 3 years, and her sister shows up and just gets one handed to her.

Alessia stops her own train of thought there and banishes the jealousy in her mind. Jealousy was an ugly emotion that she hated seeing and hated feeling even more. Charlie hadn't seen Bella since she was 13, it made sense that he would want to spoil her.

The diner was reletively full for a Tuesday evening but it wasn't overcrowded, the atmosphere was nice, and Alessia thought that was why she liked it so much. It really felt like a friendly family restaurant. The dinner went by without much conversation other than sporadic conversations between Alessia and her dad about work and school.

"I normally get a ride to school Bella so you just need to worry about driving yourself there" Alessia said with a smile after finishing her lemonade. The conversation drew to a close when Cora came out from the kitchen with a tray of dessert, two berry cobblers and one apple crisp.

"Al, sweetheart, I've got a shift for you tomorrow evening if you are up for it, Sarah is attending a wedding" Cora told her with a kind smile. Alessia nodded through a mouthful of sweet, warm apple and Cora laughed walking away to put her name on the schedule. Bella's eyes looked up from her plate to meet her sisters, "you work here?"

"sometimes, I just do the odd shift because I don't want to get a proper job till after school, but I've gotta buy a car. Sometimes I work down at the hospital too which should help me with getting into medschool". The only thing that Alessia loved more than apple crisp was helping people.

After that eventful day drew to a close Alessia was finishing up some history homework when she thought back to her class today and how weird it was, she couldn't recall anything from the lesson but her conversation with jasper was playing on repeat in her head. He had never really spoken to her in the entire year and a bit that they were in the same class and group, but today not only did he have a full conversation with Alessia, he had started it. She thought back to the photograph on her dresser and how Jasper's eyes were very clearly trained on her face as she laughed with his sister.

This whole situation was very strange indeed.

Watching as Bella pulled into the parking lot the next morning, Alessia bid Alice goodbye and started walking towards the orange pickup parked in front of Tyler's van. "Hey Bells", Bella turned at the sound of her older sister's voice and a look of relief crossed her face at the familiar face approaching her. "I have no idea where I'm going, can you take me to the office, I have paperwork to finish", came the younger's quiet voice. Alessia shot her a small smile, she could imagine that this was nerve-wracking for Bella. She linked arms with her sister and started walking towards the building at the top of the lot.

Their quiet talking let them have time to catch up, Bella told Alessia about life in Phoenix and informed her sister that she brought her a tiny cactus that matched her own. By the time they reached the office doors they were laughing like they did when they were younger and their bond felt just a little bit stronger. "You know I missed you Bells" Alessia's voice grew softer as she looked towards the floor, for a confident girl she was never the best at eye contact when expressing her emotions. She was just about to panic at the silence that met her words until she felt her arms wrap around her waist in a tight hug, "I missed you too".

And so the next few days carried in like that, Alessia would get in the car with Rosalie, Alice and occasionally Edward, she would sit with them for lunch (catching her baby sister not-so-subtly stare at Edward, and watching him stare back), and Jasper sat next to her in every history class that week. It wasn't until Friday that things got strange.

"Honestly Bella don't worry about Edward he is so dramatic", rang out from Alessia sitting on the hood of the truck while trying to read 'Interview with a Vampire' for the millionth time in her life. Hearing Bella grumble under her breath is what made her jump off the hood and stand beside her. Their back and forth banter had Alessia standing at the bed of the truck with her back to the lot. She didn't notice it until it was too late.

Tyler's tires screeched against the ice that littered the ground and his car spun out of control. Alessia didn't comprehend what was happening until she felt a force push her out of the way making her fall and knock her lights out when her head hit the ground.

Waking up in the hospital was only something Alessia was known for once which meant that waking up with a splitting headache with Dr Cullens extremely handsome face looking down on her was thoroughly confusing for the poor girl. “did I fall asleep during my shift?”, her slurred words made the man in front of her laugh lightly before writing something on his clipboard. “No Alessia, there was an accident at the school, a van crashed into the side of Bella’s truck and you fell over and hit your head on the bed of the truck on your way down, you have concussion, everyone else is just fine”. The throbbing in her head grew worse at the words ‘hit your head’ and Alessia began to fight against the blanket that the nurse beside her was trying to wrap around her.

“Carlisle you are gonna have to walk me through that again, my ears feel like cotton” the brunette muttered at the man as he shined a tiny light into her eyes. She was still fighting against the nurses blanket which prompted Carlisle to dismiss the nurse entirely.

“Why do people keep trying to put this blanket on me ?”

“Because you’re in shock”

“That doesn’t mean I need a blanket. It means I need booze”.

The laugh that rang through the room didn’t come from Carlisle that time but from the opening door as the rest of the Cullen bunch came through the doors of her room. Esme, someone that Alessia considered a mother, came to her bedside and hugged the girl before Alice climbed into the bed with her and began petting her head. The rhythmic movements of the girls cool hand felt heavenly to Alessia’s poor throbbing head and she completely checked out of the conversation happening around her to lean into the younger girls touch. “you guys can afford so much expensive stuff but you cant afford blood circulation” she joked which prompted Rosalie to hit her shoulder lightly “Alessia, you are so loopy right now”.

Her eyes drifted towards the door where a lone figure stood, Jasper’s shoulders were stiff and he looked like he would rather be anywhere else but there at that moment. This caused Alessia to deflate slightly but she quickly snapped herself out of that mentally, it didn’t have to mean anything about her.

Maybe the guy just didn’t like hospitals.

#twilight x reader #jasper hale x reader #twilight rewrite #twilight #rosalie twilight #Alessia Swan OC #bella swan #fire in my blood #original character #rosalie hale #jasper hale #alice cullen #edward cullen

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ronancegayass · 5 years

Note

For the wlw asks: all of them !! (Or, if you don't wanna do that, answer whichever ones you really want to!)

Kinda long so Ill put answers below this! (if it works idk what im doing)

1. how long have you known you liked girls? - I think I really knew when I was around 12-13? I was really into the Skyward Sword Zelda at the time haha but I was never really into boys and when I look back on my childhood it was pretty obvious I was gay when I look back on it imo

2. talk about the girl who made you realize you liked girls - Does Zelda count? lmao jk there was a girl I was, at the time, best friends with for many years. She was well.. my best friend and I had a huge crush on her. I actually admitted my crush, but she was straight and didnt feel the same way and it wasnt awkward or anything and we stayed friends for a bunch more years but shit happened and we’re not friends anymore.

3. are you in a relationship at the moment? - nope single pringle and have been for a long time

4. do you have a crush at the moment? - perhaps

5. describe your crush! - my crush is really nice and makes me laugh and we have a lot of the same interests. sorry thats real vague

6. do you tend to like more masculine, feminine, or androgynous girls? - I think I lean towards liking more androgynous/masculine girls? but it really depends

7. do you look/dress more masculine, feminine, or androgynous? - in terms of looks probably feminine? And I think I dress more androgynous but my closet is really all over the place tbh

8. what’s your gaydar like? Broken lol Im really oblivious and I dont really know unless people actually tell me

9. tall girls or short girls? Im only 5′2 so everybody is taller than me anyway! loll probably same height or taller tho

10. intimidating girls or kind girls? Kind for sure but I get told sometimes that im really intimidating??(thank you resting bitch face) and I really dont think I am so i dont know

11. hugs or kisses? I really love hugs! but im a little biased. If someone would let me I would hug forever

12. do you have an ideal ‘type’? what would they be like? - mm i dont really think I have a ‘type’? I guess just if it feels right? I guess they would be adventurous at times but also like to just hang out and cuddle and play video games or something too

13. what’s your favourite personality trait of yours? - Of mine? ehh I really like that Im a kind/trustworthy person? Like I always like to help out when I can and if I make a commitment I dont back out for no reason

14. what’s your favourite personality trait for a girl to have? - Probably trustworthiness? like just a truthful person who is honest and I feel like I can trust deeply

15. what’s the best thing about liking girls? - Not liking boys ha

16. do you have any friends who are wlw? - Yeah a couple

17. have you ever been to pride? if so, what was your first pride like? - I havent been but I’d really like to go one day!

18. do you like the lesbian flag? -I never really was that fond of the all pink old lesbian flag but I really like the new orange/pink one! I actually have one hung up on my wall

19. what was your first kiss with a girl like? - I havent even had my first kiss yet so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

20. who was your celebrity/fictional gay awakening? - SS Zelda lmao but I really knew when I played TR2013. Gotta love Lara Croft

21. what’s your favourite lgbt+ movie? - I havent really seen hardly any strictly “LGBT+ movies” but The Carmilla Movie hands down

22. who’s your favourite openly wlw celebrity? - I really like Natasha Negovanlis or Ellen Page. And i did just find out that Kat Barrell came out as bi! and I really like her too.

23. do you wear makeup? - A little. Just black eyeshadow and black eyeliner no foundation or anything like that

24. who was the first person you came out to (if you have)? - Technically speaking the first person I came out to was a friend of mine in my Girl Scout troop but it was a very embarrassing and kinda crappy experience... my sister outed me to my parents :^) but its fine now

25. has anyone ever come out to you? - no not really

26. have you found a community of lgbt+ people? - not really? I tried to go to my college’s LGBT+ club but it was a movie night the first day I went and I didnt have the chance to talk to anyone and then I went on a really weird date and I ended up not going back again

27. do you have any older lgbt+ people you look up to? - hm.. not really? other than celebrities

28. do you identify with butch/femme labels? - no. I guess I would lean closer to the ‘femme’ side but i feel like Im kinda in the “middle”

29. who’s your favourite fictional wlw? - ROBIN currently. I have a lot of favorites (especially characters that def should be wlw but arent in canon)

30. what experiences are you looking forward to having in the future (kissing a girl, going to pride, etc)? - a first kiss would be cool

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jbeverywhere · 5 years

Text

Easter in Poland

Ok, so if I wrote about Christmas (<-link) I should write about Easter as well. Second big holiday in Poland with many traditions!

And to remind, those traditions are in my family, in my little village and probably many of them are not known in the other parts of Poland ;) I won’t be surprise, but the main idea is the same ;)

Easter doesn’t mean only one weekend. The beginning is much earlier. I wrote already about Fat Thursday (<- link) - is last Thursday before Lent. So we can say we start from Fat Thursday eating as much pączki as possible. Then on Tuesday there is like last night before Lent so last night of parties etc, we call it Ostatki. I think it’s quite popular to party that night (but remember only till midnight because then is Ash Wednesday).

Ash Wednesday - first day of Lent, we go to church and the priest puts on our heads a little bit of ash (from palms from the previous year). Ash means disability of human life, fleetingness (przemijalność), mortality and also purification, revival. This day we can eat only 3 times (2 light meals and one heavy) and without meat. During 40 days of Lent you can try to be better human, like e.g. stop drinking alcohol, stop eating sweets, etc, like you make your own challenge.

So now we have 40 days of Lent. Are they different days than others during the year? Yes. It’s like schools together with parishes organize days of reflection. There are like 1-3 days off but students should go to the church and listen to special sermons. Some priests (or others) can do it really well, but not all… And there are different ones, for children (with games, questions, stories), for teenagers, for students, for adults, about their “problems” etc. Some people like to do it even more intensive so for example you can go to monastery for few days to spend them with your thoughts, reflections. Why all of this? To start being better human, it’s like New Year’s resolutions. Because Easter is about revival.

Droga Krzyżowa - Way of the Cross - it’s a lenten service (english is strange xD), which takes like ~30 min. Every church has those 14 stations of Jesus way with the cross to Golgotha. And this can be done really well, really heartbreakingly but depends of the church and involved people.

The example from the village next to mine:

youtube

It’s like in the theater. When I was like 10-15 years old I used to take part in those performances ;)

Gorzkie Żale - Lenten Lamentations - another lenten service (every week) where are sung special prayers.

Palm Sunday - one Sunday before Easter. In polish palm is palma xD The day before (or days) we are preparing at least one palm for the house/family. Mostly it’s for children so when we were younger we had even 3 palms in my house. Now just one ;) The original one should be prepared from twigs of willow (or others) but you should put at the end some twigs with willow catkins (it’s the symbol of spring). Ok, so we have the base. That’s all? Of course no! It should be colorful! With maaaaany flowers. So we make flowers from tissue papers. Look:

So beautiful! There are many techniques, we even learn them in the school. And then you put also ribbons and voilà!

Why? In remembrance of Jesus arrival to Jerusalem. We prepare those palms, take them to church to sacrifice them. There are even competitions who has the biggest palm (like really really long ones - hard to suit in the church!) or the most beautiful palm.

What do we do with them next? We keep them till Easter, then I’ll tell what is next.

Some my childhood photos. Notice the difference of the weather. One year during Easter there is snow, another so sunny beautiful day.

One week before in the small city next to my village there is a market of handmade eater things. Women from my village were selling this:

Palm Sunday starts Holy Week.

Holy Thursday - normal working day but in the evening we go to the church to the Mass of the Lord's Supper (Msza Wieczerzy Pańskiej). It inaugurates the Easter Triduum (3 days to recall passion and death). The Mass doesn't finish like normal, is like cut. The Blessed Sacrament is taken to the altar of repose (ciemnica). And then there is time to keep vigil and prey there. Like suddenly the silence everywhere.

Good Friday - in many countries is a day off, in Poland not yet.

The only day during the year when there is not any mass. It's passion and crucifixion of Jesus. There aren’t any bells or music.

The Blessed Sacrament is taken to the tomb and then the firemen stand there to keep guard. They change ie every 30 min. It’s like a choreography. I’m always impressed, they stand like rocks, no moves, no smiles, true guards. This I’ve never done as a firewoman but read more.

During the day you can eat only 3 times (2 lights meals, one heavy) and without meat.

Holy Saturday - and here we start traditions! So in my family in the morning just after breakfast we are painting the eggs! Yes! I love it :D You can buy in the shops some special colors, markers, etc or you can use natural staffs to paint your eggs. There are many different ways to do it, you learn it from your parents, grandparents and also in school.

drapanki - you scrabble the shell of the egg, of course with some sense, beautiful picture.

kraszanki - you boil the egg in the natural dye, like onion - brown, beetroot - pink, etc

pisanki - you draw something on the egg (using wax and some niddle) and then you put it to the dye

oklejanki - you stick something to the egg, like some material - lace, etc

nalepianki - you stick some paper decorations

and much more...

Credits to Ruda! It took her ~2h for 1 egg!!! WOW szacuneczek!

-> Inspiration <-

My mum started to crochet “eggs”, just look:

Do you want to order? ;)

But why we do it? We prepare full basket of food which we will eat the next day for the breakfast (and later because there is a lot). Each thing in the Easter Basket has a meaning.

lamb - not the animal, calm down. It should be baked bread in the form of lamb but in my house we use sugar lamb (which we buy days before from Caritas) or butter lamb - a fundamental symbol of Jesus

bread - it’s like foundation, it symbolizes Jesus body

egg - triumph of life over death

salt - life-giving mineral, catharsis

cooked-meats - health, fertility and wealth

cheese - friendship between human and the nature (oscypek hej!)

horseradish - strength and lustiness

cake - special biscuit cake called: babka, symbol of abilities and perfection

That’s the base, but you put there also what you want for that special breakfast. So in my family we put - oranges! I don’t know why xD I think it’s because it was something special in Poland in the past so to make the basket really special they put oranges and we keep the tradition. Also butter (for the bread) and the best - chocolate bunnies and eggs <3 mmm my favorite! Especially when you challenged yourself for 40 days without sweets then this breakfast is very special.

Basket should be made of wicker, decorated with the white napkin and the lace, with some twigs of boxwood.

So we have the basket ready, what is next? We go to church (yes I know, again) and there is food blessing. It’s a short ceremony, after that you can stay longer and adorate the cross or just you can come back during the day to do it.

Aaaaand! I did it in Valencia too! I mean, I prepared the basket and with Fede we went to polish parish to sacrifice it. Good girls :D My parents were so proud of me :D

Aaaand from childhood xDD

Those clothes <3

That day is also a day to cook and prepare a lot of food for Sunday and Monday, and of course last cleaning to have “perfect house to welcome Jesus”. We even sometimes laugh that before Easter there is like a total cleaning in all polish houses.

Then in the evening (depends on the church, but should be late - after the sunset) there is Resurrection. In the past (like 10 years ago) it was on Sunday before the sunrise. But they changed to Saturday night. So it’s a big celebration because Jesus resurrected. So you should dress pretty elegant. As a fire brigade we all meet dress in elegant uniforms to go to the church together and stand in the front the whole mass. Almost always I’m standing with our banner 😎 Then at the end there is procession, 3 rounds around church singing about Jesus resurrection and being happy.

After the mass as a fire brigade we go to our fire house to eat together easter food (eggs and sausages) and spend time together. I like this tradition :)

Easter Sunday - the day of happiness, food, food and food. The day when the whole family sits together and eat big breakfast. All food which was sacrificed the day before. You take the “scented-so-good” basket and put it on the table, all eggs, bread, sausages, chocolates - it’s time!

And Valencia 2019:

In my home we use to drink cacao and/or chicory coffee that morning. That breakfast it’s very unique. And after it you are sooooo fuuuuuull. To remind - 40 days of lent, less food, less sweets. So now explosiooooon. Just after 12:00 my mom’s sister comes with her family to have lunch together. So more food. The soup should be żurek z kiełbasą (sour rye soup with the sausage).

credits: https://gotujmy.pl/zurek-kujawskii,przepisy-zury-przepis,230935.html

But in my home only my parents would eat it so we have rosół which is the best of the best :D

And the second dish schabowe and more meat :D For the dessert there are some special easter cakes:

babka - we put it to the basket

makowiec - poppy seed cake - this one depends which part of Poland, for me it’s christmas cake, for others easter

mazurek - wikipedia - with all the decorations, but to be honest I’ve never made it and it’s not a cake which you can find in my family table.

And you think we finish eating? No way. We just clean the table after the lunch and we put food “to snack on”, drinks, cakes ;)

click to see the gif ->

Easter Sunday night is also special. At least for us from Moszczenica ;) It’s a night of fire (we say that we burn Judas) and a night of jokes. What? We meet (cousins, neighbors) and we make a bonfire - it’s to say goodbye to winter, hello to spring.

We drink and we dance, it’s a great outside party (like 5-10 degrees xDD).

And when the village, the rest is sleeping we go! We go to our uncles, neighbors to change something, like block the front door with some big planter, move the car, wrap a car with a stretch foil, just move things, to make the morning a little harder BUT still using brain and not being bad ones. For example, the road was blocked :D

In the Monday morning you can hear many gossips. But shhhhh nobody knows! 🤫🤭😇

Easter Monday - Wet Monday - Śmigus-dyngus - this day we split the water on each other :D “I don’t care, I love it”. Why? The tradition was really old,and has changed. In the past it was like that: the boys hit (like a little bit) the girls with pussy (xD) willow branches and now we use only the water and the war is on the both sides. The gender doesn’t matter. In the past it was a little bit about “love” but now it’s just fun. When Easter is late, like the end of April and that day is sunny... wow! Then in the villages you can not be dry. Amazing day! And when Easter is in March and it’s so cold then yes... we still do it xD but more in the houses and praying that mom will understand xD With my uncle I have always a good fight. In the past I threw water over him from the window when he was outside he he ! :D But last year he was prepared as well and he knew... Also his method was to take me to the bath, too strong to fight... I could just scream but everybody was laughing so don’t expect any help that day. Sounds crazy no? But it’s really nice. And yes, villages, in the cities don’t try to split the water on a stranger.

Also that day my father (the man of the family) takes the palm from Palm Sunday, split it to many parts and takes each of it to different part of the house and places which belong to that house, like fields, forests, etc. It’s kind of protection from bad things (fires, droughts, etc). But it’s my father and he does it on Monday because his father did it on Monday as well. In my village you do it normally on Sunday.

So this is our polish Easter, especially in Moszczenica ;)

#easter #poland #śmigus-dyngus #pisanki #polish traditions

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gondalsqueen · 6 years

Link

Chapters: 15/17 Fandom: Star Wars: Rebels Rating: Explicit Warnings: Major Character Death Relationships: Kanan Jarrus/Hera Syndulla, Ketsu Onyo/Sabine Wren, Alexsandr Kallus/Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios Characters: Hera Syndulla, C1-10P | Chopper, Original Characters, Kanan Jarrus, Ezra Bridger, Sabine Wren, Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios, Alexsandr Kallus, CT-7567 | Rex, Mart Mattin, Wedge Antilles, Ketsu Onyo, Jacen Syndulla, Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Ackbar (Star Wars), Lando Calrissian, Jan Dodonna Additional Tags: Pregnancy, vague mentions of abortion, future character death in the background, Season/Series 04, Established Relationship, Oral Sex, Chair Sex, Table Sex, sex during pregnancy, chapter 2 has lots of sex, Secrets, the best pilot in the galaxy, flying combat, character injury, canon torture, flight of the defender, rebel assault, Jedi Night, Major character death - Freeform, Grief, Morning Sickness, Counseling, Masturbation, Dreams, Traditions, Space family, Inappropriate bets, Lothal, Shopping, down time, Space Combat, Battle of Scarif, Rogue One - Freeform, hammerhead corvette!, Yavin 4, Stardust - Freeform, Alderaan, Death Star, labor, Childbirth, domestic life, Lothwolves, Dogfight - Freeform, Hoth, did i mention babies yet?, Babies!, One baby, Work/Life Balance, Advice, Bounty Hunters, Capture, this story has it all apparently, Return of the Jedi, Second Death Star, Existential Anxiety, parenting, Breakups, wine and cheesecake, wine and cheesecake needs its own tag, battle of endor, Battle for Coruscant, forces of destiny: an imperial feast, The New Republic - Freeform

... “LANDO CALRISSIAN?!” “Hera, shh!” “You want to tell me how in the seven hells LANDO CALRISSIAN ended up leading this attack, Gial?”

“You weren’t here.”

“I was coming, and you knew it!”

“And yet.”

“No, don’t feed me that ‘your dedication to the Alliance’ crap, Gial, you of all people—” “—General Syndulla, if you’ll step into the briefing room with me…” She glowered at him. Gial Ackbar nodded his head towards the room—please. “Oh, all right, fine.” Hera sighed in exasperation and let him hold the door for her. Old school Ackbar, still. “Calrissian is NOT leading the attack,” Ackbar told her as soon as the door shut. “Good.” “I am.” Hera considered. “They gave you all the cruisers?” “Yes.” She considered some more. “All right, that’s fair.”

“I’m so very glad you think so,” he told her dryly. “But if you seriously think I’m taking orders from Calrissian—” “If I tell you to, you will.” Karabast. He knew her too well. “Yes, of course I will.”

“Lando Calrissian is leading Gold, Red, Gray, and Green squadrons, and he will spearhead the run on the Death Star’s reactor.”

Hera tried not to feel cheated. Again. “He’s a good pilot, huh?”

“Yes, he is. And he has the Millenium Falcon, which is a good ship. But I want you to look at something, since you missed the briefing.” He dialed up the plans for the half-completed battle station on the table display. “Here is the run.” A dotted blue line. “Here is the target.” A green circle. “Do you see this?” “That shaft is big enough to fit two freighters, side-by-side.” “Yes.” “That target is the size of a corvette.” “Yes.” “So...we get people in there and it’s not hard.” “As you see.” “Hmm.” “We have given you a command, General. In the field, as ever.” “I’m interested.” The blue and green disappeared, and a new green spot lit the entrance to the tunnel. “This is where we begin the run on the Death Star’s reactor. If we can’t get pilots in there and keep them protected once they enter, we can’t complete the mission.” Oh. Hera tried not to grin. “You want me to guard the entrance.” “You and four squadrons. Can you do it?”

She considered. Shooting down TIE fighters was her specialty. It would be difficult not to miss any in a pitched battle, a real challenge, but she could do it. Shooting them down while staying in one area and not getting blown to bits, herself… Now that was a worthy task. “Yeah,” she said. “It’s good.” “We finally get to attack a Death Star.” “I can’t believe they named it the same thing again.” “This from a galactic empire that decided ‘Death Star’ was a good name in the first place.” “Yes, I suppose that puts it into perspective.” “Don’t you have a transport called ‘Phantom 2?’” “Let’s not quibble, Gial.”

...

Hera saw Rex off at the flight deck. “You be careful,” she told him. “Watch out for those kids, and don’t let them do anything dumb.” He hugged her so hard she thought her ribs would crack. “All I have to do is hide behind some trees, General. You keep up the fancy fighting, okay?” “Born for it.” “Yeah.” He grinned, a wry thing. “Me, too.”

Rex boarded the Tydirium and Hera watched, waiting for it to leave. “General Syndulla!” a voice called from behind her. “Hey, Hera!” Lando, of all people. “Calrissian, how did we get so lucky as to end up with you?”

He ignored her tone, as ever. “Eh, you know how it is. I’ve got some good business interests, some good friends…”

“No. Friends, you?”

“I’m as surprised as you are! Speaking of friends—” he clapped her on the shoulder— “I was sorry to hear about Kanan.” Hera blinked. That had been five years ago.Then, putting on his particular brand of smarmy sympathy, he asked her, “How has your sex life recovered?” It was so unexpected, and so Lando, that she burst out laughing. “Classified!” she told him. “And you will never have the clearance.” “Ah, well, a man can dream.”

He’d changed, but not that much. It hadn’t been a pick-up line, though—just a joke to make her feel better, something naughty and unexpected amidst a long list of sincerity and platitudes. The Tydirium’s engines hummed to life and they watched it take off, Lando uncharacteristically silent as it went.

“Your friends are in there?” Hera asked. “They are.” “Mine too.”

…

Space battles typically didn’t last long. One side blew the other up (or EVERYBODY blew up), and then it was done. Endor was the longest combat flight of Hera’s life.

The Alliance fleet jumped into...a LOT of Star Destroyers. And the Death Star itself, looming as large as a moon. She’d forgotten how big those thing were. Get in fast, she thought. Finish this job before they can scramble all of their forces. “All wings, report in,” she called. “Phoenix Squadron, standing by.”

“Orange Squadron, standing by.” “Blue Squadron, standing by.” “Yellow Squadron, standing by.”

“Phoenix and Orange,” she called. “We’re going to beeline for that Death Star. Blue, Yellow, you’re flanking. Keep Imperial fighters off all squadrons and keep us moving.”

“Copy, Phoenix Leader.”

“Commence run.” Even now alarms were sounding in all those Star Destroyers, on-duty pilots donning helmets and climbing into their fighters, the rest scrambling into their gear. They wouldn’t encounter the onslaught of TIEs for a few minutes, though. She muted the comm. “Chop, what do you read on that thing?”

He grumbled a negative.

Hera frowned. “You have NO readings? Not even static from interference?”

Nothing. That didn’t make any sense. “You’re sure you would be able to tell if they were jamming us?” Unless the Empire had invented some completely new method of scrambling signals, he could tell. Unless they... Of course they’d invented a new method. She unmuted the comm, but Lando’s voice was already calling, “Break off the attack! That shield is still up.”

“You heard him!” Hera called. “About face!” She pulled the Ghost up sharp, watching in relief as the fighters behind her followed suit. She muted the comm again. “Great, Chop. Now what?”

Ackbar’s voice, “We have enemy ships in sector 47!” Oh. That was what. “Do we have a plan for getting that shield down, or is this just for fun?” Hera asked. “Han will have that shield down. Fly pretty, Phoenix Leader.” Fly pretty. He had some nerve. But Rex was on the strike team too, after all, and she remembered throwing fighters at a blockade, trusting her own people to take care of the planetary defenses. Okay, Hera. Keep your pilots alive and buy them time to work down there. “All right, you heard him. Engage those TIE fighters. Chase them away from the cruisers. Stick with your wingman and force them to fight two-on-two. Make your skill count.” A chorus of “yes, sirs” sounded over the comm. She knew every one of those voices. “May the Force be with you,” Ackbar said. Oh, it will, Hera thought. Then five TIEs came at her all at once, and she and Mart dove right into the middle of them, rendering them unable to shoot lest they be caught in their own crossfire. Wedge Antilles led Red Squadron by moments after they’d dispatched the group, howling like a krayt dragon and having way too much fun. Hera and Mart waited until the X-wings had passed, then caught the TIES that were chasing them. Some of them, anyway. Several of the remainder peeled off and came after Phoenix Squadron. Skill, not luck, Hera reminded herself. Skill, not luck. Take it slow and wait for your chance. Don’t make stupid mistakes. You’ve got a long time. Outfly them. And then it was nothing but the melding of instinct and analysis that was combat, flying in her zone, keeping an eye all around her, keeping the other eye on the shape of the battle as a whole.

Until the Death Star started blowing things up.

“Get the cruisers out of range!” Hera screamed into the command channel. All the other squadron leaders were saying the same thing, a cacophony of voices. The fighters could avoid fixed beams like that one, but the bigger ships were toast. “Home One, get out of there!”

“Break off the attack.” Even now, Ackbar sounded steady and measured.

“We won’t get another chance,” Lando argued. “Han will have that shield down, we’ve just got to give him more time.”

He was right. Fight now or lose...just like always. “Back the cruisers out of range; the fighters will engage,” she argued. That thing could blow up a planet, huh? Let them get frustrated trying to pick off fighters one by one. Meanwhile, she could bounce TIES off the surface of the big ships for a while.

Lando was thinking the same thing. “Move in as close as you can and engage those Star Destroyers at point-blank range!” Yeah, that would work.

“Hey, Gold Leader,” she said. “You want to stay and dance?” “I knew you couldn’t resist me forever, Phoenix Leader.”

“Yeah, yeah, you keep those delusions. You’re going to need them.” She shot two TIEs out of her way and sped towards the Star Destroyers. “You take the six Destroyers on the left, Gold Leader. We’ll take the six on the right.”

“Phoenix leader, I like your style.”

“I’ve picked up one!” Dek called, panic in his voice. “He’s got a lock on me.” “Serra, get on it!” Serra shot the threatening TIE out of the air without even slowing down. A moment later she caught an ion blast right in the fuel port and exploded before she could even call for help. “Stay alive!” Hera yelled. “Your only job right now is to keep each other alive until the shield goes down!” She flew a tight loop around the Star Destroyer’s communications tower and lost the TIE fighter on her tail when it cut the corner too close and crashed against the dish. Then she and Mart ran straight at each other, picking off the fighters on the other’s tail as they went. He wiggled his s-foils as he made the close pass over her, pilot-speak for “Hi, there.” She laughed, but all this was minutiae. They’d never take out all of the TIEs, and she hadn’t gotten in any good hits on the Destroyers. Then one of Green Squadron went down, crashing into the foredeck of a Venator class ship and sending it right into a Super Star Destroyer. Not the way she wanted to take those things out.

She lost four more in quick succession, good pilots, her pilots. That was enough to spook a team, turn their luck. “You’re doing great,” she told them, voice as soothing as she could make it. “We’re hanging in there.”

Ackbar made the call—Hera and the rest of her team were too busy to notice. “The shield is down. Commence attack on the Death Star’s main reactor.” Oh, thank the Force, she thought. “You heard the Admiral,” she called. “Same plan as before. Blue Squadron, Yellow Squadron, you’re on flank. Keep us steady on the sides. Phoenix, Orange, straight through the middle. Clear out a path for the strike team.” No more playing the long game. Now it was all about speed. “Wedge, 0.7!” she warned. Her voice was beginning to go hoarse. Well, at this point, both speed and stamina. Guess you’re thankful for those double-shift practices now, kids, she thought.

“I’m going in,” Lando called. His copilot added something and Lando translated: “Here goes nothing.” Then the Falcon disappeared breakneck speed into the half-finished maintenance tunnel, two X-wings following it in.

“Close the gap,” Hera yelled. Her people moved in but those blasted TIEs were too FAST, and four of them slipped by before she could get a lock on them. She took out the fifth and sixth without wasting a shot. “Gold Leader, you’ve got four hostiles on your tail!” “You guys taking a nap out there, Phoenix Leader?” “I believe your exact words were, ‘I won’t do anything you wouldn’t do,’ so just take them out!”

This was the hard part, though. They flew a pattern, one squad guarding the entrance while everybody else kept the ships off of them, but the entire Imperial fleet was headed her way now, and Hera could tell the difference between “poor odds” and “impossible.” She was losing people left and right, trying to coordinate whose shields were maintaining and whose were gone.

“Fly really, really fast in there, Gold Leader!”

Wedge was with him. That should help. “We aren’t exactly stopping for caf, Phoenix Leader!”

She moved so quickly the only thing she remembered about this part later was trying not to die. They heard nothing from the team in the reactor for five long minutes—five minutes was a death sentence in combat terms. Then:

“We got it!” Lando’s voice was pitched so high she barely recognized it. “Phoenix Leader, we got it! Get those fighters clear, we’re coming out!”

“You heard the man, go go go go go go go!” She was expecting to lose even more on the way out, but the Imperial pilots must have gotten a clue when the Rebels started running, and it was as if everyone together had agreed to make a break for it.

She didn’t see the explosion, though the light from its blast behind her nearly blinded her and the concussion knocked the Ghost head over heels. Hera went with the roll, using her ion engines to steer away from other ships until she’d ridden the shock wave out. When she looked back, she saw nothing but glowing particles and heard nothing but a collective, triumphant roar that had her wondering if her ears had gone as well as her voice. They’d done it. They’d done it.

She didn’t learn until later that both the Emperor and Vader had died with the Death Star.

…

They worked through fifteen hours, rounding up enemy combatants and patrolling the forest moon before pilots were allowed to take shifts. During that time they acquired a hundred and seven TIE fighters and a Star Destroyer, and Hera began to fantasize about flying one of those TIEs again. Then she came off duty, landing the Ghost just beyond the Ewok village and hitting the comm button before she’d gotten on the ground.

Sabine didn’t answer. She tried a second time and got a touseled-haired version of her friend with lines from the sheet still pressed into her face. “We won we won we did it!” she shouted as soon as the image appeared. Behind her, Chopper beeped a string of expletive-laden excitement.

“What? Hera! Are you okay?”

“Yes! We won!”

“Slow down. I can’t understand you. Are you all right? What do you need?”

Hera took a deep breath. “Is Jace asleep?”

“Yeah.” “Go wake him up.”

“...Okay, but you so owe me.”

Five minutes later Sabine reappeared with a mostly asleep Jacen, who perked up when he saw her. “Hi, Mama! Hi, Chopper!”

“Okay,” Sabine said. “Go ahead.” “We destroyed the Death Star,” she said calmly and slowly.

“YEAH! “Woo!” Jace and Sabine high-fived. “The Emperor and Vader are both gone.” “Gone?” Sabine asked.

Chopper tweeted a distinct ha-ha. “D-E-A-D.”

“Dead,” Jacen translated with a disturbing level of satisfaction.

Sabine clapped her hands over her mouth in delight. “The majority of the Imperial fleet destroyed or appropriated.” A small squeak from behind Sabine’s hands. “There’s still plenty of clean-up to do, but we’re expecting a formal surrender from most of the Moffs within hours. We won, you guys. The whole war. We won.” Jacen whooped. Sabine picked him up and twirled him around, then swung him into her arms and kept spinning. “We won! We won!”

She watched them flip out for a solid two minutes and wondered how much her son was going to learn about fireworks tonight. Then they calmed enough to talk to her and Jace turned an eager face to the holocam. “Mama, can you come home now?”

She winced, but only on the inside. “Not yet, love. We’ve got to finish making things safe.”

“Well, how long is it going to take to make things safe?” “I don’t know, baby. A few weeks? We’re close now.” Not safe—she wasn’t naive enough to think that they’d fixed everything—but this triumph was more than she’d expected to see within her lifetime. She’d take it, and offer it to a four-year-old as a win.

“Hey—” Sabine attempted to distract Jacen, “—your mom just beat the Emperor. You want to help celebrate?”

“Yeah!” Walk it back, Sabine, Hera thought. He’s going to be telling everyone that I beat the Emperor from here on out. In an instant she realized: With the Emperor gone, so was the galaxy-wide ban on Jedi.

“Hey, Hera,” Sabine grinned at her. “We’re going to break the news to Lothal. It’s not classified or anything, is it?”

“Certainly not! They probably already have a report.” “Okay, then. Talk to you in the morning. WE LOVE YOU!” “We love you! I love you, Mama!” Jace chorused, all smiles. She laughed. “I love you guys, too.” “Okay, bye! LOVE YOU BYE!” “Bye, buddy.”

Hera switched off the holo, put her face in her hands and thought, I’m going to do it. I’m going to do it. I’m really going to make a better galaxy for him.

Then the comm beeped again—Han Solo—and Chopper gave her a skeptical whistle.

“Of course I’m going to give him the ration bars. I just want to make him sweat for a while first. Here, watch this.”

…

“A few weeks,” she’d told them. Hera didn’t make it back to Lothal for four months. After Endor they rode on momentum, running through Onderon, Corellia, Duros, supporting dozens of worlds in their own rebellions. Mandalore liberated itself, which had been a long time coming, anyway. Hera provided the air support for Ryloth’s Resistance, wincing in embarrassment as her father demanded to know when she was going to bring that sweet baby to see him again—right as they flew in and strafed the AT-ATs that had his forces pinned down. Then they destroyed the remainder of the Imperial fleet at Akiva. She commed Lothal whenever she could, setting aside extra time on Jacen’s birthday. When he appeared in hologram that day he was distracted, running onto camera still talking at someone over his shoulder. “Say hi to your Mom,” Sabine’s voice advised. “Hi, Mama! I’m having a party.”

“Wow! Right now?” “No, tomorrow, but you should SEE the balloons Sabine’s doing. They have these things on the inside—”

Sabine’s face appeared, cutting Jacen off. “They’re safe,” she explained hastily. Then she gave him the “shh,” look.

“Who is invited to your party?”

“My friends from school.” Jacen had long been in school on Lothal at that point, happy and popular if often in trouble with his teachers. (“Jacen is outgoing and sweet, a good friend to all,” she recited his last report to herself. “He is ahead of his age group in all academic subjects. For next quarter, we will work on listening to his teachers and making good judgments about when to exercise caution.” She could have written it herself.) “They’re all bringing me presents,” he added. Ah, the important part. “Did you get my presents?” Hera asked.

“Yeah, but I liked the tooka game and the Luke Skywalker toy better than the clothes.”

“Fair enough. Luke still your favorite?”

“Ye-eah. Me and my friends, we’re going to play Jedi today, though.” “Lothal is crazy about its Jedi,” Sabine put in quickly. I didn’t tell him anything, her tone meant. “What are you learning in school?” Hera asked.

“I learned grav-ball!” Never anything about history or engineering or math. All games and friends. She didn’t really mind that—it was so different from her own early childhood. “Oh, and I learned a song for my music program. It’s about ‘hey, little lothcat.’” He launched into it and sang the whole thing to her. “I’ll record the performance for you,” Sabine promised.

“Thanks. Hey, Jacen Syndulla,” she said.

“What?” “You are five years old today. What’s your favorite color?”

“Green! Or yellow.” “Fair enough. What’s your favorite food?” “Ice cream with meiloorun sugar sauce on top.” “What’s your favorite thing to do?”

“Watch Battle Droids and play fight with my friends. But we don’t get in trouble, Mama.” “If you say so. What do you want to be when you grow up?”

“A Jedi!” Kriff. Hera took a deep breath and told herself not to worry.

“Or a pilot or a teacher or an artist. Or maybe this guy who has a pet rancor and he goes around eating up bad guys with his rancor. And then he lets kids ride it, but it doesn’t eat them unless they’re mean.”

Whew. That was...somehow a less disturbing answer. What did her level of relief say about her parenting?

Jacen turned again and chattered with somebody off-screen. “Do I need to let you guys go?” Hera asked. “Yeah, I think so, for now,” Sabine told her. “The first cake blew u— Uhm, it didn’t turn out great. We’re going to buy a new one.” “I really will be back soon.”

“He’s happy, Hera. He misses you, and I am pissed off that I’m not in the fight on Mandalore right now, but we’re okay.” “Soon.”

“Jace, come back here and say goodbye to your mom!” “Bye, Mama!”

“Bye, love.”

After his holo disappeared she thought: I am just like my father. Then she put her head down and sobbed in guilt and self-pity. Chopper was rearranging some crates in the cargo bay, and she thought she had the cockpit to herself, so she didn’t pull herself together until she heard footsteps on the ladder. When Rex poked his head through the hatch she was still mopping her face guiltily.

“Hey— hey— General— There’s no cause for that; we’re the conquering heroes.” “I know.” “Today’s Jacen’s birthday, huh?”

She nodded, then burst out crying again in spite of herself. “I’m RUINING him, Rex.” “Hera, I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.” “I’m not even there. He knows I’m somewhere in danger. I can’t even bother to make his school performance.” “He’s, what? Four? I’m sure there will be other school performances. I doubt his life is ruined.”

But Hera shook her head. If he stayed on Lothal, he was happy and safe in a society that adored him. And without her. When she came back she’d scoop him up and they’d be off to whatever child-unfriendly outpost came next. “I don’t want to do to him what… I don’t want him to grow up to be like me.” “That’s because you’re an idiot, General.”

She wiped the handkerchief across her face angrily. “You unhappy with the galaxy?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Everything you’ve been through? You’re still out here fighting and believing in us, still happy to be alive? We should all grow up to be like you.” “That’s...incredibly nice, Rex, but you don’t really know me.”

“With all due respect, General, maybe YOU don’t really know you.” They took Coruscant the next week with so much support from its citizens that Hera was able to leave and await a new posting.

She returned to Jacen and Sabine as a General of the New Republic.

#hera syndulla #jacen syndulla #battle of endor #fanfiction #next season #foundation

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bughead-fic-request · 7 years

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I would like to thank @leaalda for making these amazing banners.

This is an effort to spread the word about all fan fiction writers in our little fandom. If you would like to be featured or nominate a writer, please contact me. Please reblog this post if you can and check out some of @cooperjones2020 work!

1. First things first, if someone wanted to read your stories where can they find them.

I post all of them on AO3 as well as on tumblr @cooperjones2020 under the tag #mine and on my master list. (also fyi it’s a sideblog, so if you ever get a reply from @acitrusmoon, that’s also me!)

2. Tell us a little about yourself.

I’ve tipped the scale into second half of my 20’s. I’m currently doing my master’s in English lit, focusing on early modern drama and cultural studies. Canada is the third country I’ve lived in. I’ve been in four separate countries within a 24-hour timespan on two separate occasions. I prefer children’s toothbrushes to adult ones. I made my parents let me drop out of preschool when I was four because they wouldn’t give me orange juice.

3. What do you never leave home without?

Nothing. I leave with the absolute bare minimum I can get away with. So 99% of the time I have my phone, but even that’s not a sure thing. If I can stick a card or some cash in my bra so I don’t have to carry a purse or wallet, I’m doing it. If I do have a bag, I definitely have my giant reusable water bottle and a book with me.

4. Are you an early bird or a night owl?

Early bird. I’ve hit the level of adulthood where I wake up at like 6:30 sans alarm. And I have no excuse. I don’t have to be at work til 10.

5. If you could live in any fictional world which one would you choose and why?

I’ve been thinking about this question and I can’t come up with anything other than HP. I basically learned to read off those books and grew up alongside them. That fictional world is so embedded with my real one, it would be a disservice to pick something else.

6. Who is the most famous person you’ve ever met.

In general, I have no interest in meeting famous people, so I think the most famous person I’ve ever actually met was Roger Ebert at an ice cream shop in Michigan when I was 8. But I’ve been adjacent to famous people. I saw Josh Radnor in my college bookstore, I’ve emailed with John Green, and Chicago Fire used to film in my old apartment in Chicago before it became my apartment. They would still shut our street down to do external shots, and NBC paid my landlord not to gut the apartment when he rehabbed it, in case they needed to use it again.

Does Walk the Moon count as famous now? I’ve met Nick Petricca at parties (figure out what Josh Radnor, John Green, and Nick Petricca have in common, and you’ll learn something else about me).

7. What are some of your favorite movies/TV?

I’m the worst with “favorite” type questions because I change my mind all the time when my attention wanders. So TV shows I’ve loved a long time and will continue to rewatch ad infinitum: Gilmore Girls, Charmed, Boy Meets World. I don’t really re-watch movies, which is my general bar for loving something. I recently saw The Third Man and it blew my mind, so much so that it made it into chapter 5 of “Nobodies Nobody Knows.”

(but also I haven’t had consistent access to a television since 2006 because I went to boarding school for nerds, so I’m out of touch with a lot what’s been on unless I’ve been able to find it on the internet and binge watch it)

8. What are some of your favorite bands/musicians?

Again, I don’t know if I have anyone I would say is a favorite above all the music I like. I cycle through songs I get obsessed with for a week or two. The Spotify playlist I’m currently listening to on repeat includes Halsey, Imagine Dragons, Walk the Moon, Regina Spektor, Lorde, Cigarettes After Sex, Ed Sheeran, Adele, X Embassadors, and Sia. But it’s also my Bughead writing playlist. I’d really like to see Maren Morris in concert.

9. Favorite Books?

I could fill a library with my favorite books. The books that have been most foundational to me as a person were probably HP and the Anne of Green Gables series. The books/authors I loved enough to ship to Canada, which really just means I like rereading them, include Emily Dickinson, Raymond Carver, Louise Erdrich, Junot Diaz, Harper Lee, Milan Kundera, Diana Gabaldon, Deborah Harkness, and a little bit of Nora Roberts and Andrew Greeley for variety. But actually the hardest part of moving back to America will be having to round up all my books and get them to my new place of residence.

10. Favorite Food?

Soup. Which is really a non-answer because there’s infinite varieties.

11. Biggest pet peeve?

People who are passive aggressive and manipulative.

12. What did you want to be when you were little? What do you want to be now?

I went through an intense phase of wanting to be a flight attendant for a while. I was pretty sure I wanted to do a PhD, but the first year of my masters has taught me that I do not want to do that. So now, I have no idea. Something that involving writing and editing as part of its daily tasks. I did some freelancing for SparkNotes earlier this summer and they had a full-time opening that would have been perfect for me if it were a year from now. Before coming back to school, I worked for a tutoring company creating curriculum materials and overseeing/developing tutors.

13. What are your biggest fears? Do you have any strange fears?

The stereotypical things I’m afraid of are heights and clowns. I’m also afraid of bridges and really uncomfortable on escalators, though that’s gotten better. I’m a big believer in facing your fears, so one time I forced myself to do a high ropes course at a team-building retreat and I literally had a panic attack forty feet up in the air.

14. When you are on your deathbed what would be the one you’d regret not doing?

I think I’ll regret the times I’ve said no to things because I was afraid.

Okay… lets talk about your writing!

15. Which is your favorite of the fics you've written for the Bughead fandom?

The one I’m enjoying writing the most/is coming the easiest is ”Second City.” I also really love ”Marked” because it’s the one that got me into the fandom and because it challenged me to go out of my comfort zone.

16. Which was the hardest to write, in terms of plot?

“What’s Past is Prologue” because the plot structure is so weird, so I wind up feeling like I’m just hitting the same note over and over.

17. How do you come up with the ideas for you fic(s)? Do you people watch? Listen to music? Get inspired by TV/movies?

I haven’t written enough fics to have a developed answer to this. “Marked” and “WPIP” came about because of a conversation @jandjsalmon was having that I lurked on. “Second City” came about because I love post-break up/the characters are now in their 20s fics, and I was homesick (hence the setting). Also, with all the discourse around how healthy and communicative Betty and Jug are, I was wondering what would be a convincing enough circumstance to cause them to break up, and how would they find their way back to each other. As far as individual ideas within the fics themselves, I do, as mentioned, have a writing playlist, but I don’t listen to it while actually writing. Just while I’m doing things around the house or walking to school, which is when I brainstorm. I often have to stop walking and move out of the way so I can type ideas into the notes on my phone. A lot of times, I’ll just get a half a line or sentence that sounds nice and then I’ll have to figure out how to work it in later.

18. Idea that you always wanted to write but could never make work?

I haven’t been doing this long enough to be able to answer this question with any level of confidence. I don’t think there’s anything I’ve really wanted to write and been unable to, at least as far as fic goes. I have a lot of half-planned ideas for original stories that refuse to come out how I want them to.

19. Least favorite plot point/chapter/moment you’ve written?

The next chapter of WPIP because I don’t think it’s doing anything beyond serving as a vehicle to the chapter after it. But I recently had an idea of something to add to it which might help.

20. Favorite plot point/chapter/moment you’ve written?

I love chapter 5 of “Second City.” I’m genuinely happy about every scene in it, especially the flashback. I also really like the end of chapter 8, parts of chapter 10 and pretty much all of chapter 11. More than plot points/chapters, I tend to love little details or turns of phrase, like the crown scar from “Marked,” or Jughead in a “this is what a feminist looks like” t shirt, or lines like “It hurts. She knows it shouldn’t. She knows it makes sense. But it does. Because it sounds like ‘I don’t think about you’” from “Second City.”

21.Favorite character to write?

Betty because I overly identify with her. In “Second City,” I’ve found Alice and Veronica particularly easy to write in the little they’ve appeared thus far. Like, their voices have been very clear. But watch, I’ve probably just jinxed myself.

22. Favorite line or lines of dialogue that you've written?

I don’t know if I have a favorite, and I use too much dialogue to go back through it all. I try really hard to make it sound realistic. I’m particularly proud of the ending dialogue of chapter 9 of “Second City,” basically everything from after they go back into the spare bedroom.

Also, spoiler: “You harassed Sheriff Keller. You questioned FP. What’s next, Betty? Were you going to interrogate Jellybean?” Betty feels heat suffuse her face. “Oh, you thought I wouldn’t know about that, huh?”

“I did see JB,” she mumbles.

“Fuck, I knew she was lying.”

23. Best comment/review you’ve ever received?

I don’t want to call out anyone in particular because I love and appreciate every single one and I spend way too much time staring at my email waiting for comment notifications. I particularly enjoy when people point out a specific line or plot point that resonated with them, or when they say something rung particularly true to character. I also love when people will talk to me in the comments, because I reply to everyone and literary analysis is my jam.

24. How do you handle bad reviews or comments?

I’ve never had any! I’m not a big enough deal for that.

25. If you could change anything in any of your stories, what would it be?

I would have written more of “WPIP” before posting it because that was my first attempt at anything multi-chapter and I didn’t know what I was doing. I still don’t, but I’ve gotten slightly better at masking it.

26. What is your favorite story you’ve ever written? Any fandom?

Fandom-wise, I’ve only written for Bughead. “Second City”/the “Who Sings Heartache to Sleep” universe is (clearly) my favorite. I actually enjoy rereading old chapters, which is not a place I’ve been with my own writing in ages and ages.

27. What are you reading right now? Both fan fiction and general fiction?

I’m working on my master’s thesis proposal, so I’m doing a lot of reading about early modern theatre, seventeenth century midwifery manuals, and feminist theory. I’m also running a reading group on film noir, so I’ve read several of those this summer. I reread The Unbearable Lightness of Being for the sixth time, but it was for a student I tutor. I’m looking forward to reading a romance novel, probably Nora Roberts, when I visit my parents in a few weeks.

For fic, I’m subscribed to so so many and am behind on most of them. The ones I’ll drop everything to read as soon as I see the notification include anything by @lessoleilscouchants or @sylwrites, Summer Storm by @lazydaizies, Interbellum by @wolfofansbach, Serpent and the Swan by @jugandbettsdetectiveagency, Hearts in Velvet by @raptorlily, Carry On by @soulsofstarsliveinyourveins, Wicked Games by @ariquitecontrary, He Was Gone by @bettyluvsjuggie, What Fools These Mortals Be by @gellbellshead …gah, I know there are more. Those are ones that have either updated recently or that I’ve thought about recently for some reason or another.

28. Do you have an advice for writers that want to get into this fandom but might be scared?

Please please do it. I cannot emphasize enough how welcoming people are. I literally inserted myself in someone else’s conversation like a total creep and it’s the best thing I’ve done in months. I’ve never done anything like that before and definitely wouldn’t be able to in non-internet life. Think about if positions were reversed and you were the one already established in the fandom, how would you react to someone wanting to be your friend? You’d be pretty darn excited. That’s how I feel every day with all of you and I just want to spread the love.

And for writing specifically, and this is cliché advice but, you won’t get better unless you let other people read your work. And letting other people in and letting them be excited (because they will be) will make you so much more confident and motivated.

For real, though, while the last year of my life has been super rewarding personally and I’m happy, it’s also been one of the hardest and loneliest years of my life. And the hits just keep on coming. And you all have made the last month, at least, a lot easier.

#bughead author spotlight #fan fiction #fan fiction writers #ao3 #Bughead #bughead fanfiction #jughead jones #betty cooper #riverdale #betty x jughead #jughead x betty #cooperjones2020 #second city #what's past is prologue #marked

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swedishroyallove · 7 years

Text

Chapter 34

June 15, 2015: Haga Palace:

It was around 8 am when Isak’s phone rang, which woke both he and Lucy up. He answered to hear Madeleine on the other line, “Going to hospital. AHHHHHHHHH!” She screamed while Isak pulled his phone away from his ear.

Leonore was asleep in Estelle’s room. Victoria offered to take Leonore to Haga since Madeleine was so close to her due date.

After the wedding, she told Madeleine, “Madde, let me take Leonore. You are so close to giving birth, and you have been having minor contractions. This way you do not have to worry when you have to rush to the hospital. Estelle will love the sleepover.”

“That’s actually a good idea. Thank you, Vic. I don’t think it is going to be long before he’s born.”

Isak hung up the phone and started to tell Lucy, but she interrupted, “Trust me I heard. Madde is in labor.”

They both fell back asleep until they were woken up by two little girls sitting on them. “Up! Up!” Leonore said as she smacked Isak’s face. Meanwhile, Estelle was pulling Lucy’s arms to get her up. Both Isak and Lucy relented and got up to go downstairs.

Daniel was cooking breakfast, and he turned to see both Isak and Lucy sauntering into the kitchen looking like zombies - all while being drug by a three and one-year-old.

“Estelle, I told you to let them sleep!” Victoria said as she came out of the pantry.

“But Mamma they have to eat breakfast!” Estelle said.

“Ya betfast!” Leonore said. Victoria picked Leonore up and put her in the highchair.

They enjoy breakfast and relax around the house before lunch. Lucy and Victoria cooked while Daniel and Isak were outside playing basketball. It was just after two when Victoria’s phone rang. She answered to hear Chris on the other line, “Nicolas was born at 1:45. He’s perfect. Madeleine did amazing. I will bring Leonore over tomorrow before we leave the hospital if you don’t care to watch her one more night?”

“Of course! That is fine! I’m glad they are both healthy. Get some rest. I’ll let the others know here,” Victoria responded.

Victoria told Lucy, and they went upstairs to tell Leonore about her baby brother. At just one, she did not quite understand, but Estelle was ecstatic to have another cousin. They went back downstairs just as Daniel and Isak walked in.

“Well we have a healthy nephew!”

“That’s great!” Daniel said.

“Fantastic!” Isak responded. “When can we see him? Should we take Leonore?”

“Chris is going to get Leonore tomorrow to take over before they leave the hospital. We can go see him at the Royal Mews so there’s not too many people in and out of the hospital,” Victoria told her brother.

“Good thinking. Leni must be exhausted.”

The next day they all travel to the Royal Mews. Estelle runs in to find Leonore and see her baby cousin. Victoria follows and gets to hold her nephew first. Isak complains to which Victoria responds, “I’m older. Get over it.”

Lucy chatted with Madeleine who looked completely exhausted, “How are you feeling?”

“Sore and tired,” Madeleine said honestly.

“I can imagine you’ll be uncomfortable for quite a bit,” Lucy said.

“Oh, yes! It takes some time to heal after giving birth. You’ll see! Plus, there are months of sleepless nights ahead - especially if he is like his sister!”

“My mom always said children have opposite personalities, so Nicolas may be a bit easier!”

“This is true! Speaking of your mom, how is she doing?”

“She has good days and bad days. There’s no improvements. They don’t come with this disease. I see her body getting weaker. Some days she has more energy than others. Some days she is better able to eat than others. It really all just depends.”

“I am so sorry. I really am. How are you holding up?”

“Thank you. I’m as well as anyone could expect. It’s hard. Really hard. I don’t know how to describe it. It’s nice being here to be at the wedding and now seeing little Nicolas.”

“I know it can’t cause you to forget, but I hope it gives a bit of happiness for right now. Know we are all praying for all of you.”

“Thank you,” Lucy says as she hugs Madeleine.

“So, Isak. When are you going to make Pappa send the press release for your engagement?” Madeleine asks.

“Uh, Leni? You just had a baby. It can wait!”

“Well I didn’t mean this week. I meant next.”

Victoria rolls her eyes, “Anything to get the media attention off of you. I know what you are up to.”

Madeleine looks innocent, “What? I just want to share the happy news.”

Chris interrupts, “Yes, but you want it this very second to keep the media off of you.”

Isak then says, “Yeah, sis, I know you hate the media. You aren’t getting off this easy.”

“Damn! I thought that plan would work!” Madeleine says.

“It was a good try,” Victoria responds.

Just a couple of days later, Lucy returns back home to Tennessee to be with her family. She and Isak had met with the King and press department. It was decided the announcement would come after Victoriadagen on July 17. They would meet the media later that afternoon at Solliden.

July 15, 2015: Solliden Palace:

Isak, Lucy, her parents and brother pull into the driveway. They had just flown in from the States. Isak and Lucy would have a day to prepare before the world finally knew their happy news. It was decided they would meet the press in the living room of the palace. There would be the typical Swedish press, but some American press would also be there. The local news from Tennessee, Good Morning America and Fox News would cover it for the American audience.

Lucy was nervous all day on the 16th. She was still nowhere close to being fluent in Swedish, and she was afraid people would take issue with that. Madeleine helped Lucy pick out a orange and white dress for the photos that were taken that day. It was a way to pay homage to the state Lucy loved so much. She had a short-sleeved baby pink dress ready for the next afternoon. They decided on four photos to accompany the press release the next morning. Three of the pictures were just of Lucy and Isak, but the fourth was of the couple with their parents.

The next morning the press release with the four photos were sent out:

Engagement between Prince Isak and Miss Lucille Kingston

The Marshal of the Realm is delighted to announce the engagement between Prince Isak and Miss Lucille (Lucy) Kingston.

After His Majesty The King of Sweden had given his consent to the marriage between Prince Isak and Miss Lucy Kingston, His Majesty requested the approval by the Swedish Government, in accordance with the procedures set out in the Swedish Constitution.

- Lucy said yes when I proposed on her birthday last year. We are so happy to be spending the rest of our lives together. I can’t wait to introduce Lucy to the Swedish people,” says Isak.

The wedding date has not yet been decided but it is planned to take place during the spring or summer of 2016.

Marshal of the Realm

------

Information about Miss Lucy Kingston.PDF

For anyone who wishes to send a greeting to Prince Isak and Miss Lucy Kingston can do so via Facebook, via e-mail or by mail to:

H.R.H. Prince Isak and Miss Lucy Kingston Royal Palace Stockholm

The couple wishes that instead of sending gifts, please consider donating to the World Childhood Foundation or the ALS Association.

#swedishroyallove #royal fanfic #royalfanficcollection #royalfanficcentral

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fromthedeskofelizabeththird · 7 years

Text

Memento Mori 1/4

You ever write a fic so fucking angsty that Gary Jules materializes next to you. That is this fic. This fic is a DICK MOVE. It will HONESTLY make 2:15 look like a happy funfair ride by comparison (and this is a two parter welp). Also this is Violets are Blue-verse, so if you’re slightly confused about some of the plotline, my masterlist will enlighten you

It also has a threesome in it, so it’s NSFW. - Jumin x MC x V

Trigger warnings for miscarriage and blood.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | AO3

The anesthesia was wearing off and with it came a thousand thoughts. A thousand and one individual discomforts.

The first thing that crossed her mind when she opened her eyes was how bright the room was; so bright that it hurt and she closed them again.

Where was she anyway? Every time she tried to remember, she forgot what it was she was looking for.

The sheets around her were starchy-scratchy-and someone was stroking her hand. Someone whose hands were so gentle that she found herself remembering her own first day of school.

She remembered her Mother kneeling down to check her backpack, even if she couldn’t quite remember her face.

“Now, Nari,” she had said, “be sure to be on your best behaviour.”

And the little, child sized her had jumped up for a kiss to the forehead, promising that she would do her very best. Nari didn’t know why it brought tears to her eyes.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized her lips were dry. At the back of her mind was the glass of water she knew she wanted, but the moment she thought of it, she forgot how thirsty she was and remembered the ocean instead.

The same ocean that lazily lapped the shore as she Jumin and V dined on the deck of the Kim family’s summer home: one of many residences that V’s parents retired to when inspiration proved fruitless. According to V, his Father would sit by the water with a blank canvas and a tortured stare, all while his Mother played the piano in the front room.

Nari didn’t know what she had expected from that sort of description but, as she stood in front of what could only be described as a palace, she knew that it wasn’t that. The house stretched three floors, with high domed ceilings and Greek style pillars, all with wide, enormous windows that faced the ocean.

Jumin insisted they eat fresh shellfish, leaving V to grimace wholeheartedly at the prospect of broiling sea creatures. Nari had watched them squabble with a glass of clear water and enjoyed the ocean breeze instead.

Had she fallen asleep at the table, perhaps? Would she wake up to discover that night had fallen?

No. No, she knew that was wrong.

She distinctly remembered walking across the beach in an ivory dress of Jumin’s choosing, following V as he examined the skyline for the perfect angle of the setting sun. She remembered the grains of sand in her toes and each individual shade of pink and orange and burning red in the sky.

When they found the spot, she knew that she had turned to look for Jumin. He had been with them when they left the house, although the moment they crossed the threshold, he dialed Jaehee’s number to check on Elizabeth and walked several paces behind them, following their footsteps in the sand.

“I understand,” he said, subconsciously fiddling with his bag. “Hmm…a signature should do. An extra stamp if you have doubts…mhmm…good. Send me an update at the earliest convenience.”

He hung up the phone and joined them at the waterside, just as V adjusted his lens.

“Everything alright at the office?”

His tone was dry, but as he glanced up from his camera, Nari recalled that his smile was genuine. So too was Jumin’s despairing sigh.

“For some reason my Father is passing a new project onto my department,” he said. “He knows that the new RFA party is only a couple of months away. He knows I have contractors coming to lay down the foundations of our house next week. Why would he do this?”

Ah, yes…That was it…Nari remembered.

They had gone to Jeju to chase up some last minute business connections for the next RFA party. Only her second as the party planner and she would be lying if she said she didn’t feel the pressure. Despite her best efforts, she had already postponed it twice because of outside complications.

“You know,” she had said, “we can go back whenever you want to…Jaehee-”

“-is keeping me informed on the situation.”

Even though she remembered it correctly, at the back of her mind, she knew that something about it was wrong. Something her drug addled brain was not quite ready to comprehend.

What was it?

What

was

She remembered the weight of their combined silence as she waded into the water.

“Fuck that’s cold,” she had said, only submerged as far as her ankles and already feeling as if she stood in the middle of the arctic circle.

Could it be that she had never left the ocean? Was that the thing that was so very wrong?

She remembered reaching to embrace the setting sun and gasping at the incredible beauty of its reflection on the water. A part of her knew that this was the shot that made it into a frame at the penthouse; the one that Jumin would smugly stand in front of while taking a sip of wine.

She wasn’t in the ocean anymore either; she knew that much. She was still cradled in starched sheets and the same person stroked her hand that had been holding onto it from the beginning. Whenever she reached out for the setting sun, they held onto her that much tighter.

She knew she had forgotten something, but could not hold onto a coherent thought any more than she could the surrounding waters.

She remembered diving into the waters with V after taking that initial amber frame. The chance to photograph her swimming by moonlight was all he had wanted ever since they arrived on the island and it seemed wrong to refuse him, even if it left Jumin practically spitting feathers.

“You’ll both catch pneumonia,” he had said, turning to the business section. “And then what will we do?”

“Well first I expect we’ll cry about it,” Nari had said, leaning in from behind to kiss his cheek. “And then we’ll call you.”

His concerns were not without merit. Nari recalled the chill of the ocean water and the strange way that her hair and dress billowed around her. V’s camera was waterproof and he dived down a little further than she was, giving her the thumbs up when he was ready to go back to the surface. She remembered the burn in her chest as she gasped for air, the water leaving V’s hair several shades darker than usual as he surfaced beside her.

“That was,” she had said, so cold and overwhelmed that she could not find a word that appropriately summarised how she felt.

For one, brief moment, she was seven years old again, climbing out of the swimming pool and into her mother’s arms. She still could not remember her face and it only existed in her imagination as a shadow, but in her mind it did not matter. The seven year old her laughed as her mother wrapped a towel around her body and pinched at her nose and she knew she ought to have been happy-in her mind, she even laughed-but her heart was filled with such an all encompassing sorrow that her eyes brimmed with tears.

This time they fell, dampening her cheeks and blistered lips in the process. Whoever it was that held her hand called her name and her heart swelled like it had when she had been swimming, for she knew them.

She cast her mind back to the look of cool calculation she shared with V as Jumin opened his bag and pulled out a towel.

“The pair of you are going to-”

He had leaned across to reach for them and they both took the chance to drag him into the water. His fall was not so elegant as theirs; casting a tidal wave across the beach and leaving the pair of them laughing as he swam back up.

“Y-y-you,” he had said, gasping at the chill of the water and scowling as V photographed his expression of shock. “You planned that.”

“Of course we did,” Nari had said as V lowered his camera. “We can’t have you missing out on the fun.”

“I think we need to reevaluate your definition of fun.”

“Oh I disagree. I think this is easily the best shot of the day,” said V. “No offense, Nari.”

“None taken.”

She remembered sprinting towards the apartment, Jumin two steps behind her and V lagging at distance, preferring to take pictures of their joined hands and dripping forms than keep up. She remembered the uncomfortable coating of wet sand and seawater that covered their bodies and the three of them crowding in the same bathroom to run a hot bath and help one another out of their ruined clothing.

A terrible idea, in retrospect.

She remembered Jumin’s silence as V fiddled with the fastenings of her dress; his purrs that they had been especially odious and ought to be punished. Somehow, though exactly how she did not remember, Jumin’s idea of a punishment led to her straddling V on the bathroom floor, trailing her tongue across Jumin’s hard cock every time she sank down onto V’s.

V came first and Nari felt it happen. A shudder of warmth deep within her that sent V up into a sitting position and fixing his hands to her waist. Out of the corner of her eye, Nari had spotted Jumin lean over to fetch V’s camera and point it in their general direction.

“Should we tell him?” She had whispered to V as he rolled her over onto her front.

“I think that would be polite,” he said and within a matter of moments they had positioned themselves at Jumin’s feet.

SNAP

Jumin took pictures of the pair of them taking turns to suck at his cock.

SNAP

“Jumin,” said V.

SNAP.

Jumin took a picture of them locking lips, Nari stroking the inside of his thigh and V giving his cock the same treatment, which left him with no choice but to lean his weight against the bathroom sink.

“Jumin,” said V, louder this time.

“Yes?”

“You have to take the lens cap off first,”

And she remembered that moment of realisation. Of Jumin turning the camera over and over in his hands and her own giggles that only grew more boisterous as he bent her over the sink.

“You know, bad girls don’t get presents,” he had said, “and you’re being especially vexing today.”

“Sweet talker,” she said as he lifted one of her legs up and over his waist and V crawled across to kiss her lips.

She remembered not being nearly so confident as Jumin took that first thrust. Her knees were weak even before V trailed kisses across her throat and headed south across her breasts, down past her hips and-

“Oh, fuck!” She had cried out, as Jumin’s thrusts hit a spot deep within her that left her toes curling. Shortly afterwards, V’s lips skimmed over the softness of her stomach and onto her clitoris, and she tossed aside all ideas of coherency.

She had been unable to grasp onto an individual thought then, too.

Perhaps she was still there, lying on the bathroom floor and staring at the ceiling. Perhaps if she opened her eyes they would still be there, limbs entangled. She tightened her grip on the hand clutching hers and opened her eyes again.

The room was still bright, but not so bright that she could not stand to look at it. Instead she took in the closed blinds and open door; the bars on her bed; the pattern on her hospital gown.

V was the one sitting beside her bed and holding onto her hand; the same hand that he smothered in kisses in a display of unrestrained joy when he realized she was awake and looking at him.

Ah, that’s right.

She remembered the three of them lying on the bathroom floor and her own observation that the bathwater would soon be cold. Jumin had joked about pneumonia and as she climbed in, she laughed about it too, but none of them were laughing when they returned home to three very real cases of the flu.

Dr. Park begged and pleaded for them to rest. They were all on the brink of exhaustion even before their health deteriorated and the doctor had made it very clear that in his honest opinion, that was to blame more than the cold water. In her own small way, Nari had agreed with him.

Where before Jumin would return from work and sulk if there was no one to shower him with affection the moment he walked through the door, more recently he would make a beeline for his home office to pore over the blueprints of the new house. V came and went to his therapist, but while at home he could be found wherever was most comfortable, cleaning his camera equipment, editing his photos, e-mailing contacts or just reading. Of late, though, he and Seven had had a disagreement, which led to him being out of the penthouse more often.

The reunion of Seven and his younger brother shattered most of whatever trust the RFA had in V. The arguments on the messenger lasted long into the night, with topics that carried on for several months. With the complete dissolution of Minteye and Rika’s departure, however, the others were still angry but they seemed to be healing in ways that Seven never had.

Ultimately, everyone was busy and nobody got much time for rest, much less cough medicine or genuine recovery and the fact that her own personal strain of the flu was several times worse than whatever the other two had only served insult to injury. It did not seem to matter that Jumin had conferences all day long or that V had coughed up a lung during therapy; both would drop everything if Nari so much as mentioned a headache.

V let go of her hand at that moment and even though the sudden lack of contact left her feeling rather lost, she was relieved at the prospect of an explanation.

“Jumin’s with the doctor,” said V, in the quiet voice he used when everyone was still on the cusp of sleep. It reminded her of breakfast in bed, of wellington boots on rainy days and other comforting things so strangely opposed to their present situation.

She was reminded, though she did not know why, of swinging her legs over the side of her bed as her mother brushed her hair. She remembered the song on the radio; the warm light shining through the curtains and the gentle tugging of the brush, but no matter how hard she searched her muddled thoughts, she could not find her mother’s face.

She must have looked upset, for V stroked her arm.

“He’s going to come back soon,” he said. “He’ll be so happy to see that you’re awake. You gave us quite a fright.”

A fright?

Yes.

She had been afraid of Seven’s cries the night he broke into the penthouse only a matter of months ago, all while she stood helplessly in the corner of the room with a bottle of carefully considered pinot noir.

“Have you even bothered to look at him?” He screamed at V, who reached out for his shoulders and urged him to calm down.

She had never seen Seven angry before. Since the wedding, she had not seen him very much at all. She did not know the full extent of everything that had happened, but she knew he had thrown the agency he worked for to the dogs en route to reclaiming his brother. She knew that in the past few months he had devoted his time to his brother’s recovery. She also knew that he barely called anyone and on the occasions that Nari called him, he made very little in the way of sense.

“Calm down?!” He had snapped, only to break out into fits of laughter. “Of course you would say that. You might have had your eyes fixed but you still don’t see.”

“Luciel-”

“All you’ve done is swap one castle for another!”

And in that moment, Nari felt ashamed of the dress Jumin had picked out for her; of the Pinot noir she had carefully chosen and the menu they had examined only a few minutes before.

She remembered a phone call from before her first party and the way that Seven had said, without a moment’s hesitation, that she only cared for Jumin. In truth, the idea that Seven believed she did not care for him frightened her the most of all. In that moment, she could not even convince herself that it was a lie. While Seven and V plotted to bring down Minteye, she had concentrated on her wedding.

She didn’t know when exactly she decided that the next RFA party had to be bigger and better than the last. Perhaps around about the third time Seven’s brother attacked his therapist and Jumin was forced to make alternative arrangements, which left little choice but to push back the planning. Perhaps it was Chief Han’s own brief admission to hospital a month prior to their trip to Jeju. To Jumin’s ire, he had decided on plastic surgery to give him an even more youthful appearance, which put him out of action for only a matter of weeks, but pushed back the party planning even further.

Perhaps it was the sinking feeling of guilt every time a feverish Jumin or V got up the middle of the night to fetch her another blanket or the knowledge that she could not have helped Seven even if she had wanted to. To all intents and purposes, she felt very much like a princess locked away in an ivory tower to comb her hair and stare at her reflection in one looking glass or another.

“V,” she said, her voice a whisper that she barely recognised. “V, I…”

He lifted her hand at that and rested it against his face. Nari was sure she felt tears against the skin.

“Don’t,” he said and she realised then that he was crying, though she didn’t know why. “You don’t have to say anything.”

Nari had seen him cry before; sometimes for almost an hour after 2:15am. This was different, though. It reminded her of something more recent; of a time she walked into the home office at the penthouse in floods of tears herself, all while V and Jumin chatted about which way their new house ought to face. The moment she stepped through the door in tears, however, they abandoned the blueprints.

Following a 3am call from Jumin, Dr. Park seemed to have given up on recommending rest. V and Jumin were better, but if anything, Nari was getting worse. When Jumin called, it was to demand an explanation for why she kept being sick.

“You are a doctor, are you not?” She remembered him growling down the phone and pacing the perimeter of the room as she laid her head in V’s lap.

“You okay?” V had said, stroking her back and shoulders, to which she had smirked.

“The last time we were all in a bathroom together, it was a lot more fun.”

Humour aside, the next day Dr. Park tested her for everything and she remembered that the results were what sent her into Jumin’s home study in tears.

“What is it?” Jumin had said, grabbing her shoulders and seeming to prepare himself for the worst. “Your results, did they come back?”

At the time, she couldn’t explain her tears, but she had been sobbing ever since she got the news, leaving Dr. Park to tap her shoulder politely and Driver Kim to stroke her hair as she got into the car.

“He says we’re going to have a baby,” she said.

All she could think about was the house that was not built yet. The hours of therapy and reparations that took up so much of V’s time. It was another burden and that was not even the worst to come.

“I don’t know which of you is the father.”

The fact that they weren’t in the least bit angry with her only made it worse. She spent hours sobbing into V’s chest, all while Jumin stroked her hair and told her it was going to be alright. Later she laughed about it and said that her tears were because of hormones, but she knew for a fact that it was guilt.

Guilt at being a burden and almost completely useless.

Guilt at her morning sickness pushing her behind in her party planning.

Guilt at her own mixed feelings about being pregnant in the first place, all while Jumin and V were ecstatic in their own ways.

V wanted to document her growing stomach, regardless of how it did not seem to be changing at all.

“But there’s nothing there,” she had told him as they sat in the bathtub. “Look.”

She ran her hands over her stomach and he slipped his over hers.

“Not now, maybe,” he had said. “But soon we’ll have to roll you everywhere.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” she said and then, smiling smugly. “Jumin would never let you.”

“He would if I told him it was more aerodynamically efficient.”

His hands had still been on her stomach and she turned to him, meaning to make another joke, only to spot that there were tears in his eyes.

“Jihyun,” she said. “I-”

“Please don’t take this the wrong way,” he had said. “It’s just…when I was a boy, all I ever wanted was a family and now-” he laughed at his own sentimentality- “I guess I finally get to have one.”

The anesthesia was wearing off and Nari’s thoughts were clearing. As she watched V grip onto her hand, she knew she was running out of places to hide. The truth was hidden in her thoughts and memories and would not wait forever.

Nari recalled that one month after their trip to Jeju, she and Jumin had celebrated their first wedding anniversary. They had reservations at a top tier restaurant and Nari made the mistake of leaning back on the bed as she attempted to untangle her necklace. The bed was warm and inviting and she had closed her eyes

-just for minute

-only to be swallowed whole by a wave of fatigue that she did not bother to fight.

Jumin had been perplexed by the sight of her stretched out across the bed and at first he thought there was something wrong.

“Nari, are you feeling unwell?”

“No,” she had said, waving her hand to gesture at the clock. “I’ll be up in a minute.”

“The car is outside,” he had said. “Would you like more time?”

“I…no,” she pushed herself into a sitting position. “I’m coming…just give me a…”

He had already left the room, however and Nari climbed up off the bed to slip on her shoes and chase after him. She knew he would not be angry; the maître d’ would find them a different table at a moment’s notice without referencing their lateness. Still, she did not relish the thought of being a burden in some other small, subtle way.

It came as something of a surprise that when he reappeared he was holding a bottle of wine in one hand and a tub of ice cream in the other.

“This is for me,” he had said, cradling the wine under one arm. “And this,” he held out the ice cream, “is for you.”

She remembered accepting the ice cream and staring at the label; the same label that Jumin had recited to Dr. Park on more than one occasion for fear that it might harm her.

“What about the restaurant? Our reservation?”

And at that he had kissed her forehead, in the same soft way that he did before bed.

“You are my princess,” he said, “but more importantly, you are my wife. What manner of husband would I be if I dragged you out to dinner when you are so tired that you can barely keep your eyes open?”

And so they spent their anniversary in bed, spending far longer in each other’s undivided company than they had for several months.

That night was the first that he touched her stomach. Up until that point, V had been unable to stop doing so and commenting that soon there would be kicks, but Jumin never had. Nari supposed she understood-it was illogical to feel attachment to an abstract idea and Jumin was nothing if not logical- though her heart skipped a beat that first time he rested his head against her waist.

“I almost told my father today,” he had said, all while Nari ran her fingers through his hair.

“You did?”

“Yes. He took me for lunch and asked after your health.”

Nari’s relationship with Chief Han had always been on the awkward side, especially considering the circumstances of their first meeting. Even so, they had reached an unspoken understanding to each pretend they did not remember the actions of the other, leaving Nari to smile and nod and accept his every compliment with as much grace as she could muster. Even so, he had made one thing very clear at every dinner she attended; he expected grandchildren and soon and, though he was too polite to say so with her present, grew increasingly impatient with each passing day.

Nari understood that he viewed grandchildren as his legacy and wanted to hold the heirs to his fortune in his arms, but he did not-could not- know about V. He did not understand that there were reasons they had held back.

“And you didn’t tell him?” She had said, unable to hide her surprise.

“No,” said Jumin, running a hand over her nonexistent bump and back across so that it rested beside his face. “I wanted this to remain…ours for now.”

It was a sentiment that she had not expected from him, almost as unexpected as the way he took to trailing his hand from her hip to her stomach as he kissed her goodbye in a morning. As she grew that bit larger, he sometimes stopped to observe the fact with a small smile on his face.

A few weeks later, they still had not made any announcement, though not for lack of excitement. The RFA party was already overdue.

She was sure that she was going to remember the events of the past few hours for the rest of her life, but she didn’t want to. She wanted to remember happy things, like her mother’s deliberately awful singing voice and watching cartoons at the breakfast table but only the ugly thoughts remained.

Only a pang of discomfort after breakfast that she ignored until she realized she had started to bleed. Only the fact that she had never had cause to call Dr. Park before and had entered his number into her phone reluctantly, joking that Jumin called him quite often enough for everyone. Even so, her first instinct was to dial his number with shaking hands.

In the time it took for him to answer, however, she had already ended the call. Already tossed aside her phone. She knew then that her tears were ones of guilt; there was no use denying it as she dragged off her clothes and sobbed in the shower, watching the hopes and dreams of everyone around her quite literally pour down the drain.

In her wildest dreams she would never have imagined there would be so much blood and as she switched on the water, she had wondered how she was going to tell them. Every time she thought about it, she had remembered V’s tears in the bathtub and Jumin’s subtle defiance and all she wanted was to hold onto that reality for a moment longer.

She remembered sinking down onto the tiles, remembered the sting of the water against her face…and remembered laughing despairingly at the realisation that Elizabeth 3rd had positioned herself on the bathroom counter and had been yowling for the past ten minutes for someone to feed her.

Nari waited for the bleeding to slow before turning off the water and towelling herself off, wanting nothing more than to go to bed. Maybe when she woke up it would all be a dream and she could carry on as if nothing had happened.

She didn’t go to bed, though. After feeding Elizabeth, she went into Jumin’s office, locked the door and curled up at the desk in the hopes of responding to emails. She could not stand the thought of her party being anything less than perfect. There had to be way in which she could still be useful. She could still answer messages and double check the guest list.

At some point, though she did not know when, she convinced herself that it was the party at the forefront of her mind and not the idea that she might once again be a burden on all she had loved. When she thought of the party, she did not have to think of the blood.

It was harder to redirect her own thoughts when the pain began. A deep, intense pain at the center of her being that refused to be ignored. It left her curling up in a sobbing heap on the floor, clutching at the desk and honestly starting to believe that she was about to die.

And all of the while, she was still bleeding. Slowly at first, but not for long. She honestly did not know how many pads she soaked through in the end before heading back into the sitting room in search of her phone, but she did know that she tripped over Elizabeth en route, who happened to be sitting outside of the bathroom door.

“What is it?” She said, more than a little woozy. “I’ve fed you already.”

Elizabeth yowled and the pain broke out again, leaving Nari to double over into the nearest wall and groan, wrapping both arms around her waist.

She had staggered into the sitting room in search of her phone, only to realise that she no longer remembered where it had landed. She crossed the room to reach for the one on the coffee table instead, feeling faint and more than a little bit frightened.

Jumin’s number was the first on the list and she dialed that one first, unsure whether to be grateful or not when the call went straight through to voicemail. She did not want to tell him what was happening, but at the same time she wanted him to stroke her hair and tell her she would be okay.

V didn’t answer either, although that came as far less of a shock. He had therapy that morning and meetings that afternoon and had gotten into the habit of switching his phone off for most of the day.

Nari dialed Jumin’s desk phone again, willing him to answer and to ignore it in equal measure. When he did answer, she genuinely cried.

“Jumin!” She sobbed by way of greeting.

“I…kitten?”

At her feet, Elizabeth yowled.

“Jumin,” she had said, “something's…”

She never got the chance to tell him that something was wrong. The phone hit the ground with a clatter and so did she. Everything went black, but before she closed her eyes, she remembered Jumin calling her name through the phone receiver and Elizabeth pawing at her face.

She dreamed of Jeju; of her mother chasing her across the beach.

“A shell for you,” she had said in her dreams, never quite understanding how it was she could not make out her mother’s face but knew she was crying.

She opened her eyes only twice afterwards and on both occasions her thoughts were jumbled. She remembered Dr. Park leaning over her and reassuring her that she was going to be all right. She remembered voices-so many and all at once- and that one singular moment she picked out Jumin’s.

“How was this allowed to happen?!”

“Mr Han, I-”

“Do not ‘Mr Han’ me. Explain yourselves!”

She remembered the moment she fell into a dreamless sleep interrupted only by memories of Jeju. Of holding hands with her mother and sitting side by side on the deck of the cabin.

In her dreams, she had a moment of clarity and understood everything that she came to protect herself from later. It had never been her own mother she dreamed of, but her own child. A child whose eyes were sometimes grey and sometimes blue and dipped their toes in the ocean in the darkest corners of her imagination.

A child she had not realised quite how much she actually wanted until it was gone.

To be Continued…

#mystic messenger #mysme #jumin han #jihyun kim #v #mystic messenger fanfic

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