#and then a year later he meets a little girl named Manon

[starryschoolgirl]

I'm in love with your au Baby Love!! I assume since it's an au it won't be an issue if I ask if kids are ever on the docket for Elvis and Cosette? And if they do have kids, how many would they have? Or how many have you got planned at the moment? Again, love it all so much and I'm very excited for the next installment!!

Oh what a lovely question! I will take this ask as an opportunity to make the introductions for the Baby Love au children!

Baby Love Family Tree

Cosette & Elvis' 5 children, & how they came to be

First a small clarification! The children, their attitudes, their behavior, and their views on life are heavily influenced by the old-money Chevalier side of the family. This is because for the majority of their childhood Elvis was quite busy with work, so Cosette was almost entirely raising them on her own views which are heavily influenced by her family's views.

Vacations and getaways from 1969 to 1980 were often with the Chevalier side and Elvis' side was too busy caught up in show business. So if you read their profiles and wonder why their attitudes/aesthetics stray from their father's so much, it's due to that lack of connection in childhood despite all the love that Elvis could and would give.

//mention of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome)

Now, onto the little darlings!

Out of all the Presley children, Manon is most like her father personality-wise, which has led to a bit of clashing with her father. She is the first born, right before the spring of 1969. She's named after her mysterious aunt, her mother's sister who is rarely ever spoken about. She's also been dubbed her paternal grandmother's middle name.

Manon was only 12 or 13 when the Yuppie culture of the early 80s began to skyrocket, being the modern girl she is, she of course wanted to take part in that culture. To be a yuppie was to be educated with a solid job, to achieve that she remained on top of her studies, and when it finally came time she graduated overall salutatorian of her class, just one rank below her boyfriend whom she would unfortunately have to end things with.

After graduation, she followed in the footsteps of her uncles and went to Yale, staying with some Chevalier cousins in Connecticut where most of her maternal family is. During her time at Yale she would attend numerous parties as she's a girl with connections, and through those parties she would meet her future husband, Sergey Petroff, 4 years older than her and a new stockbroker. The two of course hit it off as she herself is studying finance.

She's definitely a mommy's girl, but that's just because her and her father are so alike that there are times that the two can't stand each other, but that's not to say she doesn't absolutely adore her father.

The twins. The spoiled rotten princesses of the Presley family. Born just 32 minutes apart on a cold winter day at the very start of 1970.

The two, out of all the children, had shown the most interest in their daddy's career. While Celine was more interested in the business side of it, as a little girl even listening in on her daddy's meetings, Delphine was more interested in the flashy bits.

And she always got her way. All Delphine had to do was point her little finger at something and moments later it would be paid for and in her hands.

With both their interests in show business, or rather just the high life in general having been obvious since birth, they were allowed to start their own adventure, in modeling at the age of 17. After begging since the age of 13, Cosette and Elvis finally gave in, and only allowed them to start modelling with longtime trusted family friend, Jerry Schilling as their manager.

Delphine absolutely loves the life of modeling and loves doing it with her sister. But Celine has always felt a slight emptiness from it all, she'd much rather be one of the people behind the scenes, making up the contracts and making the money.

Julie Jesse Presley, the first born son. He was born in early 1971 after a long and hard pregnancy.

His daddy had teased his mommy for giving him such an effeminate name, but she loved it, and said it suited him, he had this angelic beauty about him. He was also of course named after a dear angel in the family, Elvis' stillborn brother, so there were no qualms about it.

Unfortunately he passed away from SIDS only 23 days after his birth.

He is missed terribly and always remembered. There was a point in time however that little confused Manon hated him, as his death was a turning point for the family, and shed light on underlying issues in Cosette and Elvis' marriage, which would eventually give way for divorce.

The youngest Presley child, Memphis Michael Presley. Born in '74, amidst the divorce of his parents no less. But his birth is sort of the saving grace of the Presley-Chevalier union.

After learning of her pregnancy, and of course needing to tell the court, the court would not approve the famed divorce dispute to be finalized until after the birth of the son.

Had the divorce not been drawn out those extra months, the Presley-Chevalier union would've ended in those rainy, windy months

Despite the fact that he was supposed to be the glue to the family, he grew to have a rather stressed relationship with his father.

Memphis followed in the footsteps of his older sister and maternal side of the family by attending Yale on a football scholarship. The sport is one of the few things that could bring Elvis and Memphis together.

The tension in the relationship stemmed from Elvis' fame. Hearing stories about how his father had treated his mother for a point in time of course filled Memphis with a little bit of frustration when he went from being a little boy who looked up to his daddy, to being a man who felt the need to look after his mama.

Memphis often felt that if his father wasn't famous the two of them would be closer. Fame took his father's time away from him growing up, and now his father's fame overshadowed him as no one took his interest in being involved in politics seriously. All because people were too busy staring at the shadow of his father that staggered over him.

It's also to be noted that out of all the children, he took after the ideals and attitudes of the Chevalier side the most, which at times clashed with his father's own ideals and attitudes.

And that my dear friends, are the Presley-Chevalier children. What do you think? I personally am enamored with all of them, lovely little ones.

I'm very happy to get this out, so now people will have context when I post later installments of the Baby Love au!! I had so much fun making all their little profiles and backstories, I'm so excited to explore them more!

#elvis presley fanfiction #elvis fanfic #elvis fanfiction #elvis presley #elvis presley fic #elvis presley fanfic #elvis x oc #Baby Love

[ccruelgods]

dead plate oc infodump [nobody cheers]

his name is levine moreau, nicknamed "quill", which ill be using to refer to him from here on out. he's 20 (21 at the events of DP), and an agender aroace.

tw for implied s/a and prostitution mentioned.

quill grew up in an entitled, high class family that held his to incredibly high standards, expecting nothing less than the best from him. as the only child, he had a lot of weight on his shoulders, and was expected to carry on the family "legacy".

with a delusional mother who believes him to be a very young girl, even after he became a teenager, and a father who was essentially blind to how it was harmful, quill ended up feeling suffocated in his own house very often and moved out rather early at 17, mostly jumping between hotels, using money he had been saving up.

once he ran out of money for resources at 18, he became somewhat desperate and took any jobs he could, eventually turning to prostitution as a last resort. after being used by a woman named Amira, who left him drunk in the back alley of La Gueule De Saturne , now a 21 y/o at the time of the events, meaning yes, 2-3 years of prostitution, he ended up drunkenly stumbling inside, passing out at one of the tables after breaking in.

vince finds him there in the morning, and begins to criticize him for it, but quill beats him to it, extremely hungover, he begins berating himself out loud, criticizing himself for falling asleep and being hungover, and blaming himself for what happened, muttering about being better, and how he's "better than that".

vince interrupts him, realizing that, judging by his rants, quill isn't just some low class idiot who got drunk and wandered around town, and takes a little pity on him, offering him a job as a cook—a weeklong trial run that quill easily aces, meeting vince's strict expectations and exceeding them.

it was 2 months later when rody came in as a waiter and met quill after bursting into the kitchen to talk to vince. quill took an immediate dislike to him, due to his absurd eagerness and extreme amount of energy. despite this, he made sure to keep rody out of trouble with vince, warming up enough to trust him as an acquaintance and inform him of vince's strictness and how to stay in line as much as possible.

role in:

ending 1: no major role.

ending 2: quill is present at the dinner party as, unsurprisingly, the cook. he is startled to see rody, and can be found later on at the party in vince's room, putting the freezer key in his pocket and shooing rody out, informing him the bathroom is the first room, not the second, and avoiding the question of why he was in vince's room. vince catches rody coming out of the room, and the dialogue progresses normally, with quill missing for the rest of the scene until the freezer sequence.

when rody enters the freezer, which he finds unlocked, quill can be found inspecting the locket, and after a short exchange, it's revealed that quill knew manon vaguely, but not on the best terms, and was unaware of the relationship between her and rody, but was very much aware that vince was corresponding with her.

rody initially believes quill is the one making food from human meat, until quill bluntly states that he only entered the fridge to figure out what the noise from a day ago was, assuming someone was trapped in there. rody, embarrassed, begins to leave the freezer, only to discover it's been locked and barred from the outside.

quill suddenly apologizes, and when rody questions why, quill solemnly explaining that he had no choice but to lure him there, as vince was starting to get impatient and snappish with how perfect the food was, and that it felt suffocating. he tells rody that he only did it to get back on vince's good side and become useful again, but rody dismisses him completely, and is suddenly knocked out. upon awakening, rody finds himself tied up as normal, and also discovers that quill is nowhere to be found.

ending 3: no major role. he can be seen in an end cutscenes stumbling out of the burning restaurant, staring at it before bumping into rody, making eye contact before dropping his gaze and starting to leave—however, rody offers to let him stay at his place.

ending 4: no major role. short cutscenes plays of quill standing beside vince in the kitchen holding a plate of unidentifiable body parts. he turns to the camera with a darkened expression, and then turns to ask vince something. the scene ends at vince glancing up at him in question.

i don't have much official art for him yet, though.

#dead Plate #dead plate oc #vincent dead plate #dead plate rody #dead plate spoilers

[princesslittleworld]

In this post I recommend some books that I think you might like my little princesses, next to each book I will leave you a brief description of the book. Have a nice day and stay hydrated! (most of the books they have strong themes)

ʙᴏᴏᴋꜱ ʟɪꜱᴛ ɪ ᴀᴅᴠɪᴄᴇ ʏᴏᴜ:

- don't think, dear (Growing up, Alice Robb dreamed of becoming a ballet dancer. But by age fifteen, she had to face the reality that she would never meet the impossibly high standards of the hyper-competitive ballet world. After she quit, she tried to avoid ballet—only to realize, years later, that she was still haunted by the lessons she had absorbed in the mirror-lined studios of Lincoln Center, and that they had served her well in the wider world)

- pride and prejudice ( mr. and mrs. bennett and their five daughters, Jane Austen creates a miniature of her world, where social grace and the nuances of behavior predominate in the making of a great love story.)

- girl interrupted (The shocking true story of a young woman sent to a psychiatric hospital without warning. It's often hilarious, always incisive, and full of deep explorations of what sanity really means.)

- the bell jar (When Esther Greenwood wins an internship on a New York fashion magazine in 1953, she is elated, believing she will finally realise her dream to become a writer. But in between the cocktail parties and piles of manuscripts, Esther's life begins to slide out of control. She finds herself spiralling into serious depression as she grapples with difficult relationships and a society which refuses to take her aspirations seriously.)

- lolita (Lolita is a controversial novel by Vladimir Nabokov that tells the story of Humbert Humbert, a middle-aged man who becomes infatuated with a twelve-year-old girl named Lolita. The novel explores themes of obsession, manipulation, and the destructive power of forbidden desire.)

- the little paris book shop (Jean Perdu is fifty years old and has a floating bookshop moored on the Seine, the "literary pharmacy": for him, in fact, every book is medicine for the soul. For twenty-one years he has lived in the memory of his beloved Manon, who arrived in Paris from Provence and suddenly disappeared, leaving him only a letter, which Jean never had the courage to open. Now he lives alone in a building inhabited by the most varied characters: the solitary pianist who improvises concerts on the balcony for the whole neighborhood, the very young writer in creative crisis, the beautiful melancholic lady betrayed and abandoned by her cheating husband. For everyone Jean Perdu finds the cure in a book: for everyone, except himself. Until he decides to travel to look for the woman of his life.)

- my year of rest and relaxation(our anonymous protagonist is cultured, effortlessly beautiful, filthy rich and terribly bored and annoyed by life. Shortly after her parents die, she decides to quit her job at a New York art gallery to embark on what she describes as a hibernation project: taking pills and sleeping all day to avoid life. The protagonist's goal is not to cancel herself forever, but to temporarily cancel herself, cancel her life until then, and then be reborn, at the end of hibernation, like a butterfly from its cocoon.)

- a little princess ( the story of Sara Crewe, the little girl who imagines shes a princess in order to survive hard times at Miss Minchins London boarding school.)

- my dark vanessa (vanessa attends high school and she loves to write,has a slight crush on one of his teachers very normal for a teenager her age.only that her feeling is reciprocated and will ruin her entire existence)

- acts of desperation (a memory of a woman in love that little by little she loses herself because of an unhealthy and sick relationship)

- the passion of artemisia (Artemisia Gentileschi led a remarkably "modern" life. Vreeland tells Artemisia's captivating story, beginning with her public humiliation in a rape trial at the age of eighteen, and continuing through her father's betrayal, her marriage of convenience, motherhood, and growing fame as an artist. Set against the glorious backdrops of Rome, Florence, Genoa, and Naples, inhabited by historical characters such as Galileo and Cosimo de' Medici II, and filled with rich details about life as a seventeenth-century painter, Vreeland creates an inspiring story about one woman's lifelong struggle to reconcile career and family, passion and genius.)

- a deadly education ( Scholomance is a school of magic unlike any other. Here there are no teachers or holidays, and it is not possible to make disinterested friendships because the only bonds that can be built are strategic. Above all, it is a school where failure is synonymous with certain death (seriously!). The rules, at Scholomance, are dramatically simple: you must never wander the school corridors alone. And you have to pay constant attention to the soul-eaters, dangerous monstrous creatures that lurk everywhere. Surviving is more important than any grade. Once you enter school, in fact, you only have two ways to get out: graduate or die! But the entry into the Scholomance of a new student, El, is destined to change the cards on the table and bring to light some secrets of the institute. Galadriel “El” Higgins, in fact, is extraordinarily gifted. Perhaps, among all the students, she is the only one prepared for such a dangerous school. Despite not having a large number of allies on her side - most of the students keep her at a distance because they are very afraid of her and because she is not what one would call a lovable girl - and not exactly embodying the idea of ​​a flawless heroine, he could without much effort summon a dark power so strong as to raze entire mountains to the ground and annihilate millions of unsuspecting and innocent people. For her, in fact, it would be child's play to use her magic to get rid once and for all of the monsters that infest the school and that wait for the night to attack and kill her classmates. The not-so-negligible problem is that resorting to it could lead to the death of all the other studentsWith impeccable mastery, Naomi Novik has created a school teeming with magic you've never seen before and a heroine so atypical and full of shades that will live long in your hearts and minds.)

- the school for good and evil(This year, best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to discover where all the lost children go: the fabled School for Good and Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy-tale heroes and villains. As the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon, Sophie has dreamed of being kidnapped into an enchanted world her whole life. With her glass slippers and devotion to good deeds, Sophie knows she'll earn top marks at the School for Good and join the ranks of past students like Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Snow White. Meanwhile, Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks and wicked black cat, seems a natural fit for the villains in the School for Evil. The two girls soon find their fortunes reversed—Sophie's dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses, and Henchmen Training, while Agatha finds herself in the School for Good, thrust among handsome princes and fair maidens for classes in Princess Etiquette and Animal Communication.)

- the song of achilles (a beautiful love story set in the Trojan War,Patroclus and Achilles, best friends since childhood, I discover the various nuances of a friendship that becomes love but everything will soon begin to end)

#just girly things #im just a girl #girlblogging #this is a girlblog #book blog #bookworm #books and reading #currently reading #self care #mindset

[georgi-girl]

East of the Beauty, West of the Beast

original meme belongs to Blaze-On-Fire. Characters belong to Thomas Atrustic. Here we go! "Beauty and the Beast" recasted with "Miraculous" characters! I've also added elements from the remake and story "East o' the Sun, and West o' the Moon" (hence the title) We have... Ladybug (Marinette) as Belle. She's everyone's go-to problem solver, often referred to as a "Living Lucky Charm". Chat Blanc (Adrien) as the Beast. This version focuses more on the characters' beastly behavior instead of his beastly appearance. Chloe as Gaston. She loves Marinette because she's cute and a good seamstress. I showed her in her "Queen Banana" outfit because that's my favorite outfit of hers. Grandpa Rolland as Maurice. Instead of a wacky, lovable inventor, we have a grumpy, lovable baker. Rose (Princess Fragrance) as Lumiere and Juleka (Reflekta) as Plumette. They're maids who were turned into dolls. Natalee (Mayura) as Cogsworth. She's the castles' major domo and a sorcerous. Nadja Charmak (Prime Queen) as Mrs. Potts. She's a knight who was fused with her armor. Manon Charmak (Puppeteer) as Chip Potts. The curse shrunk her and fused her with her fairy costume. Sabrina as Le Fou. She's in love with Chloe but is too scared to admit it. Lila Rossi as the Enchantress. She's the main antagonist in this story.   I'm also including Nino (The Bubbler) as Cadenza and Alya (Lady Wifi) as Madame Garderobe. They were Natalees' apprentices. The curse fused them with spells they tried to use. Nino can only summon bubbles and shields and Alya can only travel through mirrors, which she's trapped in. Also starring Gorzila as the coatrack and Gabriel as the librarian. (he's secretly scoping out potential brides for his son)   The story is this:   In a world filled with magic and sorcery, one sorcerer named Gabriel Agreste lived with his wife and son in a shining castle. But when his wife Emily died, he became broody and withdrawn, while his 13-year old son Adrien kept bottling up his feelings in an attempt to be a good prince. After a year of mourning, the castle hosts a costume party, where Adrien dresses like a black cat and all the castle staff dress like fairies and toys. In walks a mysterious woman who claims she can bring Emily back to life if Adrien marries her. Gabriel agrees, but Adrien, disgusted at the idea, uncorks his frustrations and angerly turns down the offer, unleashing a tirade that shocks the whole party. The woman -Lila- retaliates by ripping out his humanity, turning him feral and catlike. She then curses the entire castle and tells Gabriel that if he can't find Adrien another bride in 4 years, she'll hold him to his promise to her. Four years later, the castle has been hidden and no-one remembers it. Marinette is a tailors' apprentice living with her grandfather, helping out everyone who asks, and dodging Chloes' crazy flirtations. But her quiet life is shattered by an onslaught of aphids that threaten the towns' farms. Enter, the mysterious Hawk Moth, who says his akumas can wipe out the infestation, if one of the town maidens agrees to be a companion to his son. Marinette agrees, (over the objections of her friends and family) and takes along her mothers' red wedding robe, decorated with black peonies. Hawk Moth spirits her away to his castle, where she meets talking dolls, a girl trapped in a mirror, and a strange wild boy dressed all in white. Even more shocking, instead of her helping everyone out, everyone seems laser focused on helping her out. Each day, she explores the castle and bonds a little more with Adrien and the staff. And each night, she dreams about a handsome blond boy calling out to her, getting closer every time. Meanwhile, Lila goes to the village claiming that they were tricked and Marinette was kidnapped. She rallies them to storm the castle and in the ensuing fight, Chat Blanc is burnt by a broken candle. Lila reveals herself, and takes him back to her home. The battle comes to an abrupt stop. Hawk Moth reveals himself as Gabriel and reveals he set everything up to get Marinette and his son together. Marinette is angry, but she understands. She points out that since the four years aren't officially up, they still have time to save Adrien. She dons her mothers' robe and packs a supply of provisions (including a yo-yo she found while exploring). Some of the villagers and staff members go with her. Along the way: Nino and Alya overcome their curses and discover new spells. Sabrina confesses her feelings to Chloe, who realizes what a fool she's been, and Natalee reveals that the boy from Marinettes' dreams is Adriens' true self, and that dream communication is a sign that they're soulmates. They travel all the way to Lilas' manor on the Northern coast. There, The team frees Chat Blac while Lila and Marinette square off. Lila tried to scare her with illusions, but Marinette ends up tripping Lila with her yo-yo. She and Chat have a beautiful reunion, and with a kiss, the curse is lifted. Adrien regains his humanity, and the first thing he says is that Marinette doesn't have to marry him if she doesn't want to. Marinette says she's happy to get to know him all over again. As for Gabriel... he retires from magic, and finds new love in Natalees' arms. IMAGE DETAILS

#recast meme #movie recast #beauty and the beast #miraculous: tales of ladybug and cat noir #east of the sun west of the moon #fairytale retelling #crossover

[sage-nebula]

PKMN - An Evolution of Trust

Notes: This idea came to me about a day or so ago when I was thinking about situations in which Lizardon could have evolved from charmeleon to charizard. It could have been a standard battle, sure, just like his evolution from charmander to charmeleon; however, with the bond between Alan and Lizardon being what it is, I feel like it had to be something a bit more. Thus, this was born. Particularly since I’ve been in a bit of a writing slump for a bit now, I wanted to force myself to write something in an effect to shake that off.

As a reminder (which is probably not needed due to these notes, but) I headcanon that Alan has nicknamed Lizardon, well, Lizardon, and that he did so from the moment Lizardon hatched, just about. This fic takes place when Alan is fourteen, and as such he has been in Lysandre’s service for about a year at this point.

- - -

Had Alan been blessed with a pocket of time in which to study, he would have liked to examine and unravel many of the mysteries of the world that resolutely remained unsolved. Mysteries such as why people steadfastly believed that the bone helmets every cubone wore were absolutely the skulls of their mothers (even when the cubone’s mother was very much alive and seated right next to the baby), or how ditto didn’t go extinct when they didn’t appear able to breed with one another, or why the Houndoominite the Director had sent him to retrieve was wedged in the middle of a canyon wall a few thousand feet off the ground.

Peering down at it from a plateau at the top of the canyon wall, Alan looked to his left and exchanged a frown with Lizardon.

The mountain range was off Route 10, near Geosenge Town, Reflection Cave, and a little village nestled in the woods that Alan felt was better off left alone. He and Lizardon had traveled deep into the canyon, not too far past where a pack of houndour liked to den in the autumn, in order to find the Houndoominite the Director wanted him to retrieve. He hadn’t been particularly thrilled about this assignment---this part of Kalos was an area he usually tried to avoid---but he knew better than to complain or argue with the Director. The quicker he retrieved the Houndoominite, the quicker he could leave. Besides, he had been able to skirt around the village entirely in order to make it into the mountains, and the mountains themselves weren’t bad. It was still too early for the houndour pack to be here---they were probably still back on Route 10, if nothing had disrupted their annual pilgrimage---but he had some pleasant memories in this mountain range that he didn’t mind thinking about. One, anyway.

“I’m going to have to climb down to get it,” he said after a moment, and he looked back down at the mega stone wedged into the canyon wall, glittering in the early afternoon sunlight.

Lizardon had been lying on his stomach beside Alan, looking down at the Houndoominite just as Alan himself was, but at Alan’s words he sat up straighter, and loosed a soft cry of protest.

“There aren’t any other options. There isn’t a path down there, and it isn’t like either one of us can fly. I’ll have to climb.” Alan glanced over in time to see a look of hurt cross Lizardon’s face, and he offered an apologetic smile as he reached over to pat Lizardon’s head. “I’m sorry. Don’t feel bad. It’s not your fault you haven’t evolved, and I don’t mind that you haven’t. You’re fine just the way you are.”

Lizardon pushed his head up under Alan’s palm, an unhappy croon rumbling in his throat. Alan scratched the top of Lizardon’s head gently for a moment longer before he pulled his hand away and looked back down at the mega stone. His stomach fell unpleasantly at the sight.

“It’s my fault for not preparing for this,” he muttered, more to himself than to Lizardon. “I should have brought a rope at the very least.” But the thought that the mega stone would be embedded in the canyon wall without a path down to it hadn’t crossed his mind. In his defense, Alan thought, the mountain range was littered with paths; there was a winding path nearer to the center of the canyon, along which the houndour liked to den each year. There were other paths on either end. Yet this particular part of the canyon had none, and that was where whoever had decided to stash the Houndoominite however many years ago. How they had managed, Alan had no idea; he wondered if this was one of the things the Professor would research if he had the chance---or if perhaps it was one of the things the Professor already knew---but pushed the thought out of his mind a second later.

Wondering that wouldn’t help him get the Houndoominite, and it wasn’t like he could call the Professor and ask. There was no use in thinking about it, and no use in feeling . . . anything beyond the determination he needed to get that mega stone.

“All right,” he said, and he took a deep breath as he swung his legs over the canyon wall. As he turned to face Lizardon he forced another smile, even though the look Lizardon was giving him in return could only be described as ‘deeply afraid.’ “I’m going to go get it. Wait here.”

Lizardon cried out in protest again, reaching one clawed hand out toward Alan, but Alan shook his head.

“No, I mean it,” he said, more firmly this time. “It’s dangerous, and safer for you if you wait here. I’ll climb right back up once I have the mega stone.”

Lizardon whined unhappily, but his arms fell back by his sides, his shoulders slumping, as he nodded. Satisfied that Lizardon would remain on the top of the canyon wall where it was safe, Alan began to slowly make his way down.

Though there was no path that led down to the Houndoominite, there were little footholds and pieces of rock jutting out from the canyon wall. Much farther down, a few of them even looked large enough for Alan to stand on at least briefly, if he needed to reorient himself. With as much care as he could, he lowered himself onto each foothold just long enough so that he could grab onto another piece of rock jutting out from the wall, and after a few minutes passed with no catastrophe befalling him, he smiled.

It really wasn’t as difficult as either he or Lizardon had thought it would be.

Of course, the second those words crossed his mind the universe deemed it time to prove him wrong. He looked down over his shoulder for the next foothold, and frowned at his prospects. There wasn’t one within comfortable range; the best he could hope for was one a little down to his right, but he would have to let go of the canyon wall completely in hopes of reaching it. Then again, it was a bit larger; he might be able to land on it just long enough to grab a hold of the canyon wall again using a piece of rock above it---

Lizardon called out to him in question from above, and Alan looked up and forced another smile.

“It’s okay,” he said. “Everything’s okay.” It was a bit hard to see due to the sun, but Lizardon didn’t look very reassured. The situation being what it was, Alan couldn’t say he blamed him.

He looked back down at the nearest foothold. He would have to let go of the canyon wall entirely, and if his footing slipped for even a moment when he hit that foothold, he was likely looking at a tumble down to the bottom of the canyon. If nothing else, at least death from this great of a fall would probably be instantaneous. He wouldn’t suffer excruciating pain, and he couldn’t imagine it would leave him alive but paralyzed. There was at least that thin, almost invisible silver lining to the situation if he happened to fail. And Lizardon would be all right, he was sure. Mountainous regions were good habitats for charmeleon. And he was smart; he could find a way back to the lab if he needed to. He would know to go back to the Professor instead of the Director.

But that was only if Alan fell, and he didn’t have any intention of falling. Not on purpose, anyway. He had a job to do, and he couldn’t do that if he was dead at the bottom of the canyon. He took a deep breath, gave the handhold he was currently using one final squeeze (and it was a bit hard, due to how his palms and fingers were slicked with sweat), before he simultaneously released the portion of the wall he was holding and stepped off his current foothold to drop toward the lower one.

Lizardon cried out in alarm, but Alan didn’t spare a glance up as his foot hit the foothold he needed. But it was too---he hit it too fast---

The angle at which he hit it, combined with his weight and the force of his fall, caused him to careen to the right; he grasped at any portion of the canyon wall he could get his fingers on in a panic, but somehow the entire wall felt smooth---merciless---beneath his touch. It wasn’t until he was nearly horizontal against the wall that he managed to secure his fingers on a sliver of rock jutting out from it, but that sliver was too far away from the foothold; he dangled thousands of feet above the canyon floor, Lizardon crying out again from the plateau up above.

“I---I’m all right!” Alan called, but even as he swallowed to try and force more strength into his voice, his voice cracked, as brittle as the rock around him. He dug his nails into the little handhold he had, and his heart throbbed painfully in his chest as he felt pieces of dirt and stone come loose beneath his fingertips. “Just . . . just hold . . .”

He wasn’t sure whether he was speaking to Lizardon or the little sliver of rock that was the only barrier between him and death, but he also knew it didn’t matter as he cast his eyes along the wall for something else to grab onto. He could try getting onto the failed foothold again, but he didn’t think he could get good enough balance on it for long enough to find a proper handhold. If anything, he would just fall again, and this time there was no guarantee that he---

His fingers slipped, and as he tightened his grip with his other hand to make sure he wouldn’t fall, the weak little piece of rock crumbled beneath them.

Alan was too taken by the sudden drop to scream, but Lizardon wasn’t. His scream echoed against the canyon walls and brought Alan’s attention up instead of back at the wall, and what he saw when he turned his eyes skyward was enough to rip a scream of his own from his throat.

“LIZARDON!”

Lizardon had jumped. He had jumped and was diving, his claws outstretched toward Alan even though there was nothing, nothing he could do, because as a charmeleon he didn’t have wings, couldn’t fly, and they were both going to die, both going to die because Alan was careless, unprepared, stupid---

Alan scrambled at his pocket, fumbling for Lizardon’s pokéball, because maybe, maybe if he recalled him then the fall wouldn’t kill him, maybe he would live---

A brilliant light suddenly flashed through the canyon.

Despite his rapid descent toward the bottom, time seemed to freeze. Alan watched, too transfixed to be afraid, as Lizardon’s form shifted and changed---as great wings sprouted from his back and his scales washed from deep red to vivid orange. Two horns crested Lizardon’s head now instead of just the one, and the flame that tipped his tail blazed more furiously than ever.

Charizard.

He had evolved into charizard.

Realistically, time had never frozen, but the second that realization snapped in Alan’s mind, time felt like it snapped back into place as well. Lizardon gave three strong beats of his new wings to propel him faster toward the bottom, his weight carrying him the rest of the way. Feeling dazed, Alan lifted both of his arms up as Lizardon reached down. It only took another second for Lizardon to reach him. Lizardon’s arms snapped around Alan in a tight embrace, holding him close as Alan wrapped his own arms around Lizardon’s neck, and in another few powerful beats of his wings Lizardon pushed his flight trajectory horizontal and then vertical, carrying them both up to the top of the canyon. He didn’t release Alan until he had landed safely back on the plateau, yet when he did and Alan’s feet hit solid ground, Alan still felt himself shaking all over.

“I can’t . . . believe it,” he said, and he spun back around to face Lizardon---Lizardon, whom he now had to look up at in order to meet his eyes, whose tail was now so large it looked like it could easily uproot a tree (at least partially) if he gave it a good smack. “You . . . you evolved. You evolved, Lizardon, you evolved . . .” He blinked, and if he had felt breathless before, it was nothing compared to how he felt now as a new realization ignited in his mind. “. . . to save me?”

Lizardon crooned an affirmation, and bumped his snout against Alan’s forehead in a quick kiss. Alan huffed a laugh, dizzy less from the sudden fall and more from the exhilaration of everything that had just happened, and placed both of his hands on either side of Lizardon’s head so that he could tug him down to eye level.

“Thank you,” he said. “You’re the best partner I could ever ask for, you know that?”

Lizardon snorted as if to say ‘like you have to ask,’ and his hot breath ruffled Alan’s hair. Alan laughed again, and that brought a reptilian smile to Lizardon’s own lips as he bumped his head into the crook of Alan’s neck in an unspoken request for a better hug.

#pokemon #pokeani #trainer alan #trainer alain #lizardon #the bond that overcomes reason #fic fix #and then a year later he meets a little girl named Manon #who tells him an unprompted story about a boy who jumped off a tower to save a pokémon #and she says ''you can't do that unless you trust each other right?'' #and he smiles and looks away as if recalling something #and Manon says ''huh?'' because she doesn't know why he's smiling all of a sudden #and he says ''nothing'' because they're still strangers and he's not one to share his feelings #that's canon guys - that's an actual scene in TSME 1 #i just provided some background/reasoning for why he smiles right then ;) #imagine that he does share this story later - tells Sycamore for instance #tells him how he nearly died trying to retrieve Houndoominite #Sycamore just holds his coffee mug very tightly #''Professor? Are you okay?'' #''Yes! Yes I'm fine. Everything is fine'' Sycamore says #looking like 8) as he does so. very tight smile. wide eyes. #he nearly died trying to get that mega stone thank xerneas for lizardon honestly #how many OTHER times has he nearly died hmm?? #(well . . .) #also i'm not apologizing for the Genesis references. it's canon to me ok. #anyway here's this

[blueknightdg]

We’re Soulmates

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

She was a lovely girl, big blue eyes and midnight hair. We met at a convention. The convention lasted a week and it was in england.

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

I only went to the convention because my father was there under cover. I was bored and wandered around without interest. She was server.

She offered me a pastry, just a was about to decline, a villain showed up. She seemed like a weak girl, so I grabbed her and lead her away. Unfortunately, she was their target. I didn't know why, but they captured her.

I couldn't let them take her, so I tried to get her back. They ended taking me with them. I turned on my tracking device and hoped that we'd be in the same room or at least nearby.

We did, but there were no windows or bars, just thick, see through plastic walls.

I asked her questions to see if I could get a read in what we were dealing with. She was hesitant, but decided to tell me what she could so we could get out of there.

From what she’s said, they want to get information out of her. Her friend was the son a villain, who long ago disappeared when he exposed by said friend. Her friend then went into witness protection and never seen again. Magic was involved and she didn’t want to say more. What’s more, the government of where she’s from erased all traces of what happened so they don’t have such a big blemish on its record. Seemed like she hadn’t meant to say all of that, but she was in a panic.

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

I didn’t know when the kidnappers where going to come and she didn’t look like she could handle any interrogation they would give her, so I hatched a plan.

I guided her on how to pick locks with hairpins and I undid hers. We then carefully snuck out. Unfortunately, we were spotted and I carried her as I ran. She was most likely slow.

By the time they caught up to us, Batman and his crew showed up.

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

Me and the girl were reunited with our respective families and I never thought much of her again. I did, however, look into which villain her friend was the child of and how well covered up it was.

To say it was almost impressive how well they did was no small thing. Though, a public blog was still up but inactive. Mostly because the person who created it was fiction novelist and amature journalist. They have little credibility, but I’m sure there was some truth to it hidden under all the fantasies.

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

I eventually did meet the girl later on in that same year when my sponsored eco event began. I hired her parents to cater and she was there. She was trying to help her parents by being a waitress. They wouldn’t let her, because she was an active member of the event. She was incharge of overseeing children in the daycare. 

When one of the kids took a liking to me, she tried to get them to stop bothering me. The child made things a lot worst by telling me to marry her. She was embarrassed and kept apologizing to me.

I waved her off and just plopped the child her arms. I walked away, hoping she could distract the child. Didn’t work, the child was back and more adamant to play matchmaker.

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

“Manon, just why do you want him to marry me? We don’t know each other!”

“He’s pretty! You’re pretty! You can be pretty together!”

“We are way to young for that. Manon, looks aren’t everything. How would you feel if someone tried making you marry someone just because they thought you’d look cute together?”

“...upset....I’m sorry Marinette, I just wanted to make you happy.”

“Thank you, Manon, but relationships don’t solve problems. Now, please apologize to him for making him uncomfortable.” 

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

After that we’d see each other once every other event or conference. Eventually, we became friends. She was the one who helped me realize I like Raven and set up dates for us. It’s thanks to her we got married. She truly was an angel.

Figuratively and literally, Marinette died in an unforeseen accident as the group that kidnapped us all those years ago, took her friend and she went to save him. I went with her, as did my family. 

Her dedication to her friend, her loyalty is what got her killed. It was a mess and so many things went wrong. We saved him, but she got hurt in the process. For days, we waited in the hospital, hoping the surgery would succeed. It did not, she flat lined. Her friend cried and so did I. I named my child after her. She was the best friend I never knew I wanted until I met her.

----------

I remember her confining in me that she was tired of being pushed. When my brothers teased and made jokes about us being together, it hurt her. She recalled her friend that was a villain’s son had been confused and toxic when they were younger. He didn’t understand her, that if he loved her that he shouldn’t have done what he use to do before going to therapy. Sure they made up and he got better, but he traumatized her with his pushing. 

When he realize what he did to her was wrong, he apologized and never went near her again, he avoided her. She was confused and had started to believe his old behavior was okay. It hurt her to agree with him that he should never be alone with her ever again.

----------

My brother’s teasing got so bad that she snapped and started crying. I was really mad, I glared at them.  We told them once, we told them twice, we told them so many times to stop it and they didn’t listen. She was forced to open up and tell them things she didn’t want to say. She told them how she had rather to love on her own terms and not be pushed into it. She didn’t trust her own decision in love and rather not deal with it at all. I was happy they felt so guilty. She was like a soulmate to me. A sister that truly cared and understood my feelings.

My brothers did what they could to show her how sorry they were and gave us both space. 

----------

I didn’t talk to them for a good four years. Eventually we did talk again and I wouldn’t let them near her for several months after.

My gosh, do I miss her.

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

Raven understood. She was as close to her as I was. I tried to move on and so did she, but she couldn’t handle it. We talked and our marriage wasn’t going to last if it kept up. We let our daughter decide on if we have joint custody or she’d go with either of us.

-----------

She didn’t want either of us. She was mad. We hadn’t talked for so long, that by the time we reconnected, I was an old man.

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

Before I went, she talked to me. She had finally understood and wanted me back in her life even if mine was ending. She was there even if Raven couldn’t. Raven had moved on from Marinette’s death at last, but with regret, she would then have to move on from mine. 

She aged slower than a normal person. She still looked so young compared to me. I told her how beautiful she was.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to do anything?”

“I’m sure, at the very least I want to die like a normal person.”

She smiled at last, “Please, you’re just happy to see your sister again.”

I chuckled, “If they let me.”

She frowned, “Of course they will,” she spoke softly.

“You are a good person and I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you again.”

“I hope so.”

With that I closed my eyes.

--------

The End.

Not all soulmates are romantic and not all ladybugs get together with someone. I just really wanted one where they don’t fall in love and prove that she didn’t have to have a lover. She’s a solid person that’s not defined by what other people believe after all.

#Marinette #Damian #Daminette #maribat #au #Soulmate #batman #robin #raven #Damirae #platonic #platonic soulmate #miraculous #ladybug #miraculous ladybug

[miraculouscontent]

(non-Miraculous asks)

Anonymous said:

Ok this may just be me but I hate deconstructions. I feel like they are always mean spirited and try to be dark and edgy and thinks that every single person is an asshole because that’s “realistic” when no it’s not. This maybe because I like superhero stories and love it when the heroes overcome their struggles.

I can agree for the most part. Whenever I hear “okay but what if it was dArK--” I’m just okay, gonna stop you right there.

Anonymous said:

I swear, nothing bothers me more than people who want Miraculous Ladybug to literally just be Yandere Simulator(with Marinette as Ayano, Alya as Info-chan, Adrien as Taro, Chloe as Osana, Lila as Kizana, Kagami as Megami, and Luka as Budo). It just grinds my gears, especially because they're, once again, framing Marinette as a stalker, which just makes her look bad, AND pits all the girls against each other for Mr. Generic Harem Protagonist, once a-fucking-gain. Just go play the actual game, ok?

All I'm hearing is that now I have to ship Ayano and Budo and write a fic where the ghost girl uses fancy fantasy magic to merge her soul with Ayano and lets her actually have emotions, healing her from being a yandere while the ghost girl (in a way) gets to live a life she was cut short of, also allowing Ayano to be happy and go onto be friends with all the rivals.

Extremely convoluted but that’s the only way we get happy endings in this house.

Anonymous said:

I remember how, when writing Sailor Moon, Naoko Takeuchi refused to bow to older male writers wanted, say, for the girls to be stereotypical manga characters, with one being overweight, one being a stereotypical nerd, etc. But Naoko wanted each of the girls to be beautiful and feminine. While I don't like that they all share a body type, I admire how she didn't listen to grown men when writing for and about young girls. And I can't help but think about how Madoka is the antithesis of all that.

I can appreciate writers who put their foot down to stick to their values. There are limits of course, but yeah, a women writing women probably shouldn’t be listening to a man’s input. I’m sure good advice exists buuut...

Anonymous said:

What is your ranking of the seasons of the year from most to least favorite and why?

Summer - I work best in the warmth

Spring - Always brings images of flowers blooming to mind

Autumn - Things are getting cold and I don’t like it

Winter - It can go choke for all I care

Anonymous asked:

Someone on TV Tropes actually said that the name Feminist Fantasy should be changed because "feminism excludes men the same way meninism excludes women" and actually had the nerve to link that to the "Not So Different" trope, as if women haven't been excluded throughout the history of almost every human society. Fortunately, someone responded to them in a way that technically amounted to "do your damn research" but I'm still facepalming so hard at TV Tropes' "what about the men" rhetoric.

I feel like I lost braincells reading this.

Anonymous asked:

I feel like in fiction written by men there are only three flaws that female protagonists are allowed to have: clumsy, boy-crazy, or ashamed of their flat chests. I hate it.

Don’t forget, “having to listen to the men for how they’re supposed to feel.”

Anonymous asked:

Jatp. Nominated. For. Seven. Emmys. SEVEN!!!! Miraculous could NEVER. Literally.

omg!! Congrats to Julie and the Phantoms!

Anonymous asked:

WHAT ARE YOUR FLASHBACKS TO EVER AFTER HIGH?? I GOTTA KNOW? OMG?

Oh, I’ve seen basically the whole series, though the one I remember most is definitely Epic Winter. It was my favorite one though Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney movie so I’m biased.

I also like a lot of the “twists” and just--crazy concepts they rolled with, like with Red Riding Hood’s story and how Apple White gets woken up from her slumber.

Anonymous asked:

You're gonna be happy to hear this...I just started watching Cardcaptor Sakura today, and holy shit not only do I love it, but I also love how freaking META it is! I know you said you're not all that knowledgeable about Magical Girl, but this show is AWARE that it's a Magical Girl show! From Tomoyo(the main reason this show is so meta, tbh) realizing Sakura is a Magical Girl and asking if she has a transformation pose, to designing outfits for her(more on that later) to videotaping her(aka literally making a Magical Girl anime out of her Magical Girl friend), it just has fun with itself and plays with Magical Girl tropes without making a mockery of them like all those "dark" male-aimed ones do(lookin' at you, Madoka Magica and Yuki Yuna!).

And not only is it hilarious and adorable(especially with Sakura's crush on Yukito, Tomoyo's crush on Sakura, and Touya picking on Sakura, but playfully), but I love how it's riddled with girl power. While watching some of the first episodes I was looking forward to seeing Syaoran(partly because I love male Tsunderes and partly because I can't pronounce his name), and was surprised that he wasn't in the first few episodes, but more importantly I was so happy to see a show that treats its female characters with respect and shows women unironically receiving support from other women and being shown possessing power and authority.

I love Sakura and Tomoyo's friendship even if I hate the trope of "Lesbian Never Gets The Girl"(not that I think she's entitled to Sakura's affections or anything, but still.) and watching her support Sakura in her magic endeavors without being jealous or vindictive, I love that they're allowed to be independent and smart but that the show doesn't forget that they're kids, instead of making them like Manon and Chris, and I love that the show passes the Bechdel test in pretty much the first or second episode, and that pretty much every important and unimportant character we meet that's not Sakura's family members, Kero, or Yukito(plus maaaayyybe the Shadow Clow Card) are female.

Even little things, like all FOUR of Tomoyo's bodyguards in the second episode being female without there being a "reason" or the show making a big deal of it(either in a "yay girl power!" way or a "what but women can't x" way or an objectifying way) fills me with insurmountable joy. Also, I love that the show follows the Magical Girl trend of pretty much admitting that femininity is power, since frilly dresses are stated to be the most "fitting" thing for a Cardcaptor to wear, as without it, they might not be mentally up to the task, and this is an unironic truth rather than a joke(although Sakura is shown to be embarrassed, but it's much more likely that she's simply not used to that kind of gear due to not being rich as Tomoyo is.) or a gag.

I just thought I should tell you this because I know you like Cardcaptor Sakura, and with the crappy episodes that just came out of this show, I think you deserve to read an ask that's about a GENUINE girl power Magical Girl show, instead of yet more Miraculous Ladybug salt or Madoka Magica hate(not that there's anything wrong with either of those two, but it just gets grating after a while.). Overall, I'm looking forward to watching this show, since I've been looking for a Magical Girl show to watch nowadays(I've been meaning to watch Star Twinkle Precure but I can't find the third episode and all of Cardcaptor Sakura is on YouTube now, so.). So excited!

Hey, I’m glad that you’re having fun with it!

Though, just a warning, you might wanna steer clear of the Clear Card arc. It’s a sequel to the original series made waaaay after the original (think the equivalent of Yashahime for Inuyasha, though continuing with the original characters) but omg I hated it.

Anonymous asked:

With the crappy Season 4 episodes that just came out I'm glad I got into Cardcaptor Sakura when I did. Who needs "Marinette needs to make a mistake every episode and learn something from it" when you can have genuine girl power and sweetness incarnate?

Alya could never compete with Tomoyo, I’m just sayin’.

Anonymous asked:

Your comment about white men feeling "disenfranchised" because more shows are about black people and/or women(I say and/or because the two aren't mutually exclusive.), as if there aren't a million other things they could be watching instead is so true! It reminds me of how I was talking to someone recently about the new generation of MLP, in which I stated that we didn't need a male mane pony(spoiler alert: they have one, sadly.), and he claimed that it would be beneficial since many shows aimed at boys at least try to include at least one main girl, and that it would be good for G5 of MLP to have at least one strong male lead so that boys could have a role model and know that the show isn't "girly".

Okay, so far, so good, but this I could chalk up to just unconscious internalized misogyny, especially since he didn't say it in any sort of "way". So I respectfully told him that the scale regarding representation is already not equal and that boys can look up to girls and that a show being girly is not a bad thing and all that stuff that you already know about. Then he responded claiming some stuff about how he keeps trying to pitch stories about straight white male characters and how nobody is accepting his offers and so this means that straight white men are underrepresented compared to everyone else. He even explicitly said, and I quote "White people are actually critically underrepresented in media right now. Especially boys."; I swear to the Goddess above.

At this point I was officially upset as a black girl, to hear this white(and presumably adult) man telling me that he was underrepresented in media compared to me, even saying that the media execs are practicing "quotas and tokenization"(and yes, he repeatedly used those terms for any instance of representation, even when I asked him politely to stop.) by replacing women with men or white people with pocs and are making white men look like incompetent doofuses.

He also kept saying stuff about how shows are always shoehorning people of color in where they don't belong by casting them in settings such as Shakespeare and medieval times when "realistically" there were no people of color during those time periods(which is obviously not true, it's just not what the history books show us.), and made a really insensitive comment about how black children in the USA today don't know the significance of having the first black president because the media supposedly already shows them black people in various professions(despite also claiming he couldn't speak to the "black experience" and yet here he is whitesplaining that shit.).

It got to the point where he was seriously and unironically using the word "blackwashing". When I pointed out to him that white men aren't underrepresented and that it's just his self-centered ego telling him that they are, that the word "blackwashing" isn't a thing, and that mis/underrepresentation in media DOES affect black kids negatively(even citing myself as an example) he went on to claim that I was being tone-deaf and that "blackwashing" is just as bad as whitewashing, and that making Ariel black is just as bad as making Jasmine white.

At this point I had to bang my head on the table and explain to him the difference; his ass still wouldn't get it. Eventually he started saying some really skeevy and hypocritical shite that white men say all the time when whining about how "oppressed and underrepresented" they are: that black people and/or women

(it looks like there might be an ask missing here, in which case, sorry if Tubmlr ate it!)

avor of supporting the commonly believed LIE that "women and/or minority groups don't have as much history worth learning about, so there's no point in focusing on them." He also kept using patronizing, condescending, mansplaining language such as "let me explain it to you" or "you still don't get it do you?", and when he said women had nothing to contribute to society because "oppression" he even had the nerve to tack on "welcome to the unequal society" as if I hadn't been lecturing him about just that.

Because obviously only white men did anything worthwhile or important in history. At this point, I had to block him. I couldn't take it anymore and this was on an MLP site of all places(although I'm probably just as guilty of that part, but at least I wasn't an ass!). I just can't stand white men who "want to be oppressed so bad" but still want to claim that their achievements are more important and deserve to be more prominent. Honestly, so many white men are so fragile the second they're not in the spotlight. I can't help but think that despite all the privilege afforded to their class being a white man sounds like the worst thing ever.

“he claimed that it would be beneficial since many shows aimed at boys at least try to include at least one main girl, and that it would be good for G5 of MLP to have at least one strong male lead so that boys could have a role model and know that the show isn't "girly". “

I might be looking too deep into that but I don’t like the idea of, “Well WE squeezed in a girl and therefore YOUR SHOWS--” like it’s some sort of matter of “fairness” or that boys’ shows aren’t putting in girls out of a genuine like for them but because they “need” one or it’s some sort of obligation.

Also, we need to stop this idea that boys can’t look up to female characters and vice versa for girls. You already said it but yeah.

And yeah, I hear "quotas and tokenization" and I officially tune out of whatever the person is saying, lol. White men are critically underrepresented???? Newsflash, maybe it’s just because others are being represented more??

Just the whole thing about whites being “underrepresented” boggles my mind. White people don’t have some sort of special ability or skill that other races can’t do themselves unless you count the “superpower” of white privilege.

Like, oh my god, all that “whitesplaining” and having to read the word “blackwashing” was physically painful. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. I don’t know how they got hold of the technology to communicate with you from whatever time period their from, presumably the Stone Age.

Don’t even blame you for blocking them. There’s just a level of absolute... blindness? Arrogance??? That comes with the territory with them sometimes, I swear. You had every right to be upset; other races come to ask for equality and fair representation and suddenly you have these white men (not all obviously but damn) coming by and crying that they’re being oPpReSsEd. U_U

Like, honestly, my father in particular is absolutely that kind of person so I’ve heard that kind of stuff before. it’s all gross.

On a slightly unrelated note (trying to end this with some positivity), I hadn’t even heard about a fifth generation of MLP until I read this, and just wanted to let you know that I really hope you have a really good time with it! Hopefully the male character isn’t... well, you know.

#other: ask and answer #other: non ml talk

[julemmaes]

“If I go on a date with you, will you bring the dog from your profile picture?” for Rowaelin or Elorcan maybe? 🙂

Puppies - October 15th

Elide Lochan x Lorcan Salvaterre

A/N: I think I’m running a fever and I’m pissed cause it’s not the ideal right now, don’t you all think? But still, I wanted to post this and PP chapter 6, but I cannot for the love of god try and translate that too, so I hope I can do it for tomorrow, in the meantime enjoy this fluffy/cute thing since I’m always giving you just angst.

Enjoy:)

Oh and I think I’m gonna write a part two to this, just like for the Rowaelin one when I get the time and I finish every prompt. Also, again, I’m sorry if this is taking so fucking long, I do understand it’s December and this thing is called October Something so yeah

Word count: 3,883

Lorcan could not get over the fact that a beautiful girl like Elide had agreed to go out with him. Or rather, he could not understand how a beautiful girl like her had asked him out on a date.

A hint of panic crept into his mind, causing his smile to waver when he remembered his best friend's mocking words. "She didn't ask you out, she just wants to see your dogs." Rowan had joked when he had explained why he was taking the dogs for a walk dressed so elegantly.

Lorcan had eyed his black skinny and his beige sweater with an arched eyebrow, feeling sorry for Aelin if Rowan thought that outfit was elegant. He told him he had to meet a girl and his friend demanded to see some photos and Lorcan knew he would never let him out until he pulled out her tinder profile.

Rowan had opened his eyes wide in front of Elide's black-haired, pearly-skinned beauty, then burst out laughing, slamming his hand on his back and telling him he didn't stand a chance with someone like that.

Now, as he walked with Opal by his side with Maya pulling them both way too excitedly, he felt the anxiety grow with every step.

They had exchanged numbers almost immediately and talked for a week, sending pictures of what they were doing and eating, and when Elide had sent him a picture of a meat plate with rice, he had asked her where she was. She had gone out with some friends to her favorite restaurant in town and from there a conversation about their favorite places had started and Lorcan had mentioned that he should try the dish she had ordered, because it was as if he could smell it through the phone. At that point Elide had told him that she would gladly accompany him and Lorcan, like the idiot he was, had asked her if she was serious and she had sent him a message: "If I go on a date with you, will you bring the dogs from your profile picture?"

He had grinned like an idiot, happy to know that she didn't think they were vicious beasts. His two little dogs, two sisters, had entered his life when they were only a few weeks old and now he couldn't imagine his life without them, but sometimes it was difficult to convince other people, especially strangers, that they weren't aggressive and wouldn't tear them to pieces.

They had decided to meet at the Gardens of Orynth so that his two pitbulls could run a little bit free, instead of having to walk around the city with muzzles all the time and Elide had sent him a short video of her jumping happily at the idea of meeting him.

He was looking around for the girl, when he heard someone calling for him and his head snapped in the direction of the Turtle Fountain.

He opened his eyes wide, chuckling in dismay when he realized that Elide was dressed almost exactly like him. A beige sweater tucked on the front of her black pants, torn at the knees, which did absolutely no justice to the legs he had seen her show on her tinder profile. Even the shoes were the same, simple black lumberjack ankle boots, years old in appearance. The only thing differentiating them was the religiously black jacket she wore, which enveloped her figure perfectly.

That moment of distraction in which he admired her cost him the grip on Maya's leash, which with a sudden snap managed to pull him forward and free herself. The pitch black dog ran up to the girl and Elide smiled widely, crouching on the ground and opening her arms. The little dog immediately started to welcome her, licking her face and getting up on her hind paws, scratching her legs with those in front.

Lorcan cursed loudly and ran towards them, Opal looked up at him for a moment, starting to toddle next to him a second later, to keep up.

"Hello you beautiful," Elide was saying, rubbing her hand on the dark fur, "you must be Maya." When the dog started whining, wagging her tail even more, she giggled, "Yes, it's you."

Lorcan was sincerely surprised by the scene, but when Elide looked up, smiling at him with bright eyes, he remembered that he should speak. "I'm so sorry, normally I can hold her." He apologized, scratching the back of his neck.

She shrugged, "Don't worry about it." Then she went back to the dogs, extending her hand to Opal, who seemed just as excited as Maya, but sat next to him.  When she sniffed Elide's hand without approaching, she stood up and Lorcan saw with horror that she had mud marks on her pants. He felt himself blush, "Fuck, I'm sorry," and then she handed him Maya's leash, shaking her head. He touched her hand and his brain short-circuited.

"Don't worry," she said smiling and showing her teeth, "really." she repeated when Lorcan glared at the dog. Then she tilted her head to the side, "Hi."

Lorcan smiled in turn, looking at her. God, she was so beautiful.

"Hi."

She leaned towards him, leaving a light kiss on his cheek and immediately returning to her place, adjusting her bag on her shoulder, "I like the way you are dressed, excellent choice."

He was dumbfounded for a moment by her spontaneous gesture. Not that no girl had ever kissed his cheek, but her lips had been so soft and warm against his skin and at the same time so confident and solid. He quickly recovered, pointing to her clothes, "Yes, I must say that your taste is impeccable too."

She smiled at him, shifting her gaze to the dogs for a few seconds, then those black puddles locked on him, "So, how's your day going so far?"

Maya kept circling around her and Opal seemed less and less uncomfortable, her ears now low and her tail moving slightly behind her. The most excitement she would show for a stranger, Lorcan knew. But he was still happy that she was not hiding behind his legs.

He grinned at her, "Very well, I was looking forward to going out with a certain girl," he joked.

Elide snickered, looking him in the eye, "Yes, I was quite excited to meet this new friend of mine too." Then she turned to the dog pen - a huge section of the park reserved for animals, so that people wouldn't bother them while they too were running free. "Shall we go there?" she asked, pointing with one hand.

Lorcan nodded, urging the puppies to walk.

The second he released the leash to both of them, the dogs snapped forward, starting to run in the area. The two of them sat down on a bench just right by the fence and when he turned towards her, Elide was giving him a bright smile.

"What?" he asked her, arching an eyebrow.

She shrugged, "Nothing," she muttered, "I just thought you'd be a lot more chatty, you know."

Lorcan felt himself blush again. It was true, by message and the few times they had called each other, Lorcan had talked a lot and there had never been a second he hadn't had his line ready, but now it was almost as if he no longer had the ability to have a normal conversation. He gave her a frustrated look, "Sorry."

"You don't have to apologize," she giggled and Lorcan felt his chest tighten to that sound. She turned to the dogs when she heard Opal barking and he was breathless when her smile widened even further, seeing the silvery dog running in their direction, "What did you do this morning that was so important that you couldn't answer me?"

He forced his body to relax under her inquisitive eyes, "I had to convince my roommate that calling a plumber to fix the toilet was a much better idea than trying to solve the problem on our own and-". Lorcan puffed, passing a hand through his hair, "Sometimes he can be difficult."

Elide became pensive, "Are you talking about Rowan?"

He nodded, surprised that she remembered the name of his best friend.

"If it's any consolation, my roommates are headstrong too," she said as she opened her eyes wide, "and most of the time it's just as hard as childbirth to have someone else help us around the house," she sighed, "Asterin drives me crazy, too, for other reasons."

Lorcan raised an eyebrow, asking tentatively, "How come?"

He had heard about her roommates, Asterin and Manon, only a couple of times and Elide hardly ever answered his messages when the two girls were present, she always found an excuse to end the conversation.

Initially, Lorcan had thought that Elide simply wanted to spend time with them, but the more days passed the more she avoided him when they were home. He started to think that she didn't want them to know that she was talking to a loser like him, which hurt him more than it should. He was used to people avoiding him on the street and judging him too soon because of his grumpy attitude and the grimace always present on his face, but Elide had found out more about him than any other person had ever done in twice the time and he believed there was a connection between the two of them.

Perhaps it was not the same for her.

When she took a while to respond, he looked closely at her, seeing that she was biting her lip.  Maybe he shouldn't have asked. He should have left it alone.

Before he could tell her that they didn't need to talk about it, she said, "She always brings new people home and" she made a noise that sounded more like a grunt than a laugh, "I have absolutely nothing against having a different partner every night," she said.

Lorcan stiffened beside her and saw her eyes open wide. Now that he thought about it, she was hardly ever free in the evening to call him or to stay on face time.

She carried her hand to her mouth, snorting, "Oh God, I didn't mean it that way -" she stopped, "I don't do- I never- Shit." She cursed out loud and took a deep breath, "I meant Asterin is big and vaccinated and can do whatever she wants, I'd just rather she was less noisy." she concluded sighing and carrying a hand to her chest.

Lorcan looked at her gently, "You know," he offered to comfort her, "there would be nothing wrong with it if you had a-" he choked on his words and coughed, "a different partner every night."

The idea disturbed him more than expected. Not because he saw such a thing as distasteful - he, too, had had his golden days when he was younger by Rowan's side - but because the idea of someone else touching Elide as he had only once dared to dream about, gave him chills.

She looked at him carefully, frowning, and he had to shift his gaze to the dogs because he couldn't stand the emotion on her face. He could not decipher it.

He spoke in a low voice when he said, "But I'm not looking for something temporary or a fling, Elide." he gave her a thoughtful look, letting her see the sincerity in his eyes, "I'm quite tired of the occasional stories I find myself in every time."

His mind went straight to Maeve and a shiver ran down his spine.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and when he turned around, she was smiling, "I've never dated anyone, Lorcan," she whispered, as if she was afraid of his reaction. Her hand slipped away from his body and he missed that touch immediately, "I'm serious." Then she grimaced, "I've never even had a boyfriend, but that's a story for another date. Definitely not for our first time out."

Lorcan studied her carefully as Opal approached them and let herself be pampered by Elide. Maya somewhere playing with the other dogs.

She seemed upset and if the deep frown between her eyebrows was not enough to let him realize it, her bouncing leg confirmed his doubts.

Whatever they would talk about that night, neither of them would bring up the subject of relationships, and he felt relieved, if only slightly.

"I didn't want to meddle in your affairs, I just wanted to make it clear that I don't want anything casual." he bent forward, resting his elbows on his knees and crossing his fingers.

He was surprised when she murmured, "Neither do I."

He threw a stunned smile over his shoulder and she took a deep breath. Then she chuckled, scratching behind the dog's ears and making her mumble, "And not to mention Manon." She closed her eyes and dropped her head backwards, without letting go of her grip on Opal's snout, "That girl will be the end of me."

This time he remained silent, waiting for her to continue.

"She's been dating a guy for years and it seems like their fucking honeymoon phase never ends." she grunted, "Between the two of them I don't know which one makes me feel worse about my non-existent sex life."

Lorcan laughed, covering his face with his hands. He liked how comfortable she was talking about such things with him. All the girls he had dated up to that point had been uneasy just because he used bad words in his daily life, but Elide seemed to use them in turn, so she certainly wouldn't dump him and tell him she couldn't be with a longshoreman.

He leaned against the backrest, extending an arm behind her and maybe it was his imagination or maybe not, but it seemed to him that Elide moved closer to him. "I feel you, Rowan and Aelin, his girlfriend, are the loudest couple I know and it's so agonizing sometimes that I have to go to sleep at our neighbors' house. And even there I can still hear them, but at least I can fall asleep." she looked at him amused and shocked at the same time, "They have been our friends for years too," he explained quickly.

Elide nodded, "I have no neighbor to seek shelter from."

He caressed her shoulder lightly, "You can always camp in my living room, they tell me that the sofa is very comfortable."

She laughed, "Thank you," then looked at him, licking her lower lip, "I will consider your offer the next time Dorian or the stranger number two thousand will be our guest."

They didn't notice Maya running towards them until a big heavy black hairy ball threw itself between the two of them and Elide let go a noisy breath, laughing, when the dog gave her a muzzle against her chest with all her strength.

"Maya!" Lorcan scolded her, gasping. The dog wagged his tail on their legs, hitting them both in the face as she turned to lick his face first and then hers. Lorcan tried several times to push her away to prevent her from ruining Elide's light makeup, but the girl didn't seem to care at all and when Opal got on the bench, laying her snout on her leg, Lorcan gave up completely.

They played for more than half an hour with the dogs, even getting up at a certain point to throw sticks and balls and when the sun began to set, Elide turned towards him, short of breath for the various races made to chase the dogs, "What do you say if we head towards the restaurant?"

Lorcan sniffed, trying to catch his breath, "I'd love to."

Putting the leashes back on Maya and Opal, Elide asked him if she could carry one. He didn't even think as he passed her Opal's. Surely if he had let her carry Maya, it would have ended badly and she would have fallen over and he didn't feel like finishing the night in the emergency room at all.

They were walking along the perimeter of the park and Maya was pulling as usual, dictating the pace and Lorcan tried as much as possible to pull her back so they wouldn't have to run, but it seemed impossible.  He tried to slow down every time Elide started talking and by the sixth time she had to stop mid-sentence to catch her breath, Lorcan wondered if everything was alright.

At one point, she had taken his hand and now, while they were talking about this and that, he was trying not to squeeze her fingers too hard every time he had to squeeze the leash. The gesture was a spontaneous reaction of his body.

When Maya made them speed up one more time, Elide whimpered and stopped talking, stumbling slightly in her footsteps. Opal turned around in a flash towards her, stopping a few steps in front of them.

Lorcan halted, taking his hand away from Elide's and turning completely towards her. Her breath was wheezing and her forehead was sweating and he could see she was suffering. Panic poured into his stomach.

"El," he murmured that nickname silently, opening his eyes wide in front of her pained expression, "what is it?"

He, too, had been out of breath, but it was already twenty minutes they were walking along quietly, and even though Maya seemed to want to give them a slimming workout, she shouldn't have been so tired.

She closed her eyes, shifting her weight to her left leg and jerked, grunting, "It's nothing." she breathed, looking at him with blurred eyes, "Don't worry," she smiled slightly.

Nothing-

"I shouldn't worry?" he put his hand on her arm, pushing her gently toward a bench nearby, "It looks like you're about to die." the fear was clear in his voice. Elide held back another groan, but Lorcan heard her gasp under his grasp. "Are you having an asthma attack?"

He said the first thing that came to his mind and was surprised to hear Elide giggling beside him.

The second she sat down, her expression changed completely and she seemed to relax. She stretched her right leg forward and his eyes fell on her ankle. Only then, with her pants pulled up slightly and her shoe shifted, did he see the scars that marked her skin. He held his breath.

When he met Elide's gaze again, she had a guilty grimace on her face.

"I'm sorry," she murmured to him.

Lorcan shook his head, closing his eyes, "Sorry, mh, why are you apologizing?"

Elide sighed, passing her hand over her face, "Normally I can walk on it for more than an hour without any problem, but with running before and Maya pulling now, I think I strained it too much and it's really hurting me." In the meantime she had leaned forward, her hands stretched out on her leg while she was massaging her calf going further and further down towards her ankle.

He sat down next to her, making sure that both dogs were sitting on the opposite side of her, so as not to risk worsening her already difficult situation.

He didn't know what to say, too many questions were going through his head.

"Why didn't you tell me? We could have taken a cab or we could have met directly at the restaurant," he told her, putting his hand on her back when, touching the swollen part of her ankle, she whined.

Elide looked at him from under her eyelashes, "Because guys normally don't want to go out with cripples. Or a girl with a cane." Then she turned down again, "And I really wanted to go out with you tonight."

It warmed Lorcan's heart, but he was still annoyed that he made her think he was that kind of person and that she didn't trust him enough to tell him the truth - or hide it from him. Then he felt sick at the thought of how many more times Elide had had to face that conversation and who knows how many more times someone had told her that they were no longer interested after finding out the truth.

He swallowed, choosing his next words wisely, "I don't care if you have scars or if you have difficulty walking without support, Elide." He told her sincerely, "I understand why you didn't tell me, but I'd rather you didn't hide these things from me from now on."

He would not ask her questions about how or why her leg was damaged in such a way.

Elide sat up, covering her face with her hands, "Do you think you could slow Maya down a little bit?" the sound muffled by her fingers, "The restaurant is right on that street." she pointed out a road only a hundred meters ahead. Then she looked at him and her eyes were shiny and Lorcan's throat tightened.

"Are you alright?"

He immediately regretted the question. It was obvious she wasn't.

It didn't seem to bother Elide in the slightest. She nodded, then moved her foot in a circular pattern, biting her lower lip so hard that Lorcan thought she was going to tear it off. "Yes, I'm fine," she said with wheezing breath.

Lorcan looked at her with worried eyes, "You don't look well though."

Elide stared at him taking deep breaths, "Because the bones in my ankle are rubbing against each other and I have no water behind me to take painkillers," she said honestly, "But I can make it to the restaurant and on the way back I'll take a cab or call Manon or Asterin to pick me up."

Lorcan looked at her and then the restaurant, then her again, "Are you sure you can make it?"

"What other options do I have?" she smiled at him.

He nodded, "You're right."

She sighed and put her forehead over his shoulder. It seemed so familiar to Lorcan that he risked tearing the skin off his face so quickly he smiled.

"Can we rest for five minutes?" she asked him in a tired voice.

Lorcan put his arm around her shoulders and held her closer, feeling brave and kissing her temple, "We can rest all night as far as I am concerned."

Elide made a verse of approval and when Lorcan looked at her, he noticed that her eyes were closed and although she still had a sweaty forehead and a grieving expression, she was smiling.

They sat down for more than five minutes and only when Elide was able to take more than five steps without flinching, Lorcan decided that they could go to the restaurant. An arm tied around her hips to support her and the two leashes tightened in his free hand.

He did not know for what grace of God, but even Maya seemed to have realized the situation, and had slowed down her pace drastically, trotting alongside Opal undisturbed.

Inay, the owner of the place, had made them sit inside, near the large window overlooking the river, and there, Elide and Lorcan enjoyed the first of a thousand other dinners they would share.

tog taglist (if you wanna be added or removed dm me or send me an ask)

@maastrash @ireallyshouldsleeprn @sleeping-and-books @ladywitchling @thegoddessofyou @ghostlyrose2 @claralady @queenestarcheron

#elorcan #elide lochan #lorcan salvaterre #lorcan x elide #fluff #elorcan fic #tog fic #throne of glass fic #ff

[snelbz]

Shot to the Heart {Rowaelin AU Fluff}

Tag Team with @tacmc aka the BDavis to myPSawyer.

Once a month, everyone took a night to spend time together, outside of a bar, and just have fun. Oftentimes, that meant a game night at someone’s house, a nice dinner or ice skating, in the winter. But sometimes, they liked to get out and do more fun things. They’d been zip lining, kayaking, played putt putt, you name it. There were times where things got a little competitive between them all, especially when they decided to compete between the sexes.

They were still banned from the Strike & Spare from the last boys and girls night.

So when it was Elide and Lorcan’s turn to choose, they decided to do something a little more conducive to their violent behavior.

“Where exactly are we going?” Aelin asked as she climbed into Rowan’s truck.

He glanced at his watch. “No clue, Lorcan just said to meet at Rita’s at eight.”

“That’s dangerous,” Aelin muttered, but her grin told him that she approved.

He pulled onto the road and began their drive, only the radio playing in the background. He kept trying not to stare, even though she looked beautiful and he wanted to tell her as much. They’d been best friends for years, always teasing that fine line between best friends and so much more.

Their friends constantly teased them about it, as they all began to settle down one by one.

You already spend as much time together as a couple does.

They’d always had reasons not to though. In high school, there was Sam and Lyria, though the four of them were always together. Makes sense that they ended up together, after they both went away to Fennharrow for college. Rowan and Aelin couldn’t be happier for them. The break ups had been amicable and they were going to Fennharrow together for their wedding next Spring.

In college, Aelin had met Chaol and Rowan had Remelle. Chaol was a permanent figure for a while, but Remelle was more of a time to time thing. They’d both been single for a while, but nothing had ever happened. There were many glances and accidental brushes between them, more so when the two of them had a movie night.

Then, the next time they saw one another, they pretended like nothing had happened.

Rowan didn’t mind it, though. He preferred to have Aelin as a best friend then not have her at all. Even if he did make a move one day, he didn’t know how she would take it.

When Rowan pulled into Rita’s, the others were already there, on the patio, drinks on their hands. Aelin was out before he was, hurrying over to throw her arms around Lysandra and Elide. Rowan watched her before grabbing his wallet, his phone, and his keys and joining them there.

Lorcan was watching him suspiciously.

He sat next to him, motioning to their regular server for his regular drink. He looked over and found Lorcan still looking at him.

“What?” He asked.

Lorcan raises his beer to his lips. “This a date?”

Rowan rolled his eyes. “No, I offered to drive her because it was on the way and she can’t hold her liquor.”

The two looked up and found the trio of girls tossing back a shot of amber liquid.

Lorcan took his drink, setting the bottle on the table top and crossing his ankle over his knee. “It’s reasonable, as far as your excuses go. Both are valid and make sense.”

Two dark bottles appeared in front of them and their server slipped away like she’d never been there.

“It’s not an excuse,” Rowan muttered, taking a sip from his glass. “It’s a fact.”

“Whatever you say,” Lorcan mumbled, but it was blatantly obvious that he thought Rowan was full of shit. “But when you two get married, Elide has called Maid of Honor.”

It took everything in Rowan’s power not to roll his eyes. “Don’t you two have anything better to talk about when you’re alone?”

“We’ve been together for five years,” Lorcan said, as if it was an appropriate answer. “So...no. We talk about bills, who’s going to do the dishes, and when the hell the two of you are going to fuck.”

Rowan choked on his drink.

“I never thought I’d have to ask this, but please don’t discuss my sex life with your fiancée.”

“Excuse you?”

Rowan and Lorcan looked up and found Elide and Aelin standing at the end of the table.

Rowan stammered but Lorcan laughed quietly.

“Okay,” Aelin said, awkwardly, “Is everyone here?”

Elide sat down next to Lorcan and said, “Fenrys, Asterin, and Manon are meeting us at the...place. Dorian is already there.”

“So, that’s a yes?” Aelin laughed.

“That’s a yes,” Elide confirmed, snuggling up close to Lorcan’s massive frame. “So, let’s get tipsy and go get banned from yet another family-friendly establishment.”

Lorcan snorted and raised his glass.

Rowan raised his glass to Aelin’s and met it with a clink.

“Our friends are ridiculous,” Aelin said, underneath her breath.

“Sometimes I wonder why I keep coming back,” Rowan replied, before chugging half his glass and setting it down on the table. When he met her humored gaze, he was reminded exactly why he kept coming back.

They finished their drinks and Rowan and Aelin packed themselves back up into Rowan’s truck so that they could follow Lorcan and Elide to the surprise location. Aedion and Lysandra stayed to order food and would join them shortly.

“So what conversation did I walk in on back there?” Aelin asked once they were on the way.

Rowan cleared his throat and said, “What conversation?”

Without even looking, he knew she had an eyebrow raised. “Really, Rowan. The conversation about your sex life.”

“Just Lorcan being an asshole,” he said, trying to wave her off the conversation.

Aelin was looking at him, and he was trying so hard not to look back

“I have no sex life,” Rowan blurted, after her silence had gone on a few seconds too long. “Not that I’ve never had sex, or don’t have opportunities to...Gods. Nevermind.”

Aelin was laughing quietly. “Holy shit, you’re flustered.”

“No, I’m not,” he said, gripping the wheel a little bit tighter. “I’m just...very personal.”

“Even with me?” She asked, humored.

Especially with you, he thought. Instead, he said, “Yes.”

Her grin only widened. “When’s the last time you got laid, Ro?”

His cheeks were on fire. His ears were on fire. The back of his neck was on fire. Everything was on fire. He cleared his throat again. “That’s none of your business.”

“Just tell me if it was recent or not,” she turned in her seatbelt to face him.

“No,” he laughed. “I’m not telling you that.”

Aelin said, “Why not, we tell each other everything. I’ll tell you.”

“Please, please don’t,” he blurted.

She lifted a brow, then began to nod, slowly, recognition showing in her eyes. Rowan suddenly felt like an idiot, but then Aelin said, quietly, “It’s been a long ass time, if that makes you feel any better.”

“I don’t- it doesn’t-.” His words broke off as he sighed, and Aelin laughed quietly. “You go get some if you wanna get some… I just…don’t want you to get hurt, that’s all.”

“How very kind of you,” Aelin crooned, but he was sure he ruined it all now, was certain she knew that he was full of bullshit.

“As your best friend, that’s my job,” Rowan said, trying to make himself sound convincing.

As he pulled up to a red light, she leaned over and patted his cheek. “And you’ve done a wonderful job.”

Unable to stop himself, he turned and pressed his lips to her palm, locking eyes with her. It was the ballsiest thing he’d ever done and he felt hot and cold all over as he waited for her to react. She swallowed hard, tongue peeking out to wet her bottom lip and-.

A horn honked behind them, as the light had been green for longer than two seconds, and Rowan turned his head forward as quickly as Aelin withdrew her arm back to her own side of the cab. He hit the gas and they took off, and Aelin flipped the bird behind them.

“Ace,” he laughed, “you can’t do that. He had every right to honk at me.”

She crossed her arms and sat up a little higher. “Yeah, well he didn’t have to lay on his horn like an asshole. A simple beep beep would have sufficed. Stupid, impatient fucker.”

The truck got quiet for a second and then they both dissolved into laughter, the tension from the moment before fading into near obscurity.

Two minutes later they followed Lorcan’s car into the parking lot of a laser tag facility, and Rowan swore under his breath.

Aelin laughed. “What? You don’t like laser tag?”

“The last time I played laser tag, I was twelve and ate too much shitty pizza,” he muttered, parking and turning off the engine. “Let’s just say they had to stop the game, turn the lights on, and call for the janitor to come in with a mop.”

“Aw,” Aelin said, her grin suggesting that she felt no pity. “Well, it’s a decade later, and you’ve had no shitty pizza. So, get out and let me kick your ass.”

Before Rowan could reply, she was out of the truck and closing the door behind her.

He groaned and laughed quietly as he had a feeling he was in for a hell of a night.

He got out of the truck and slipped his hands in his pockets as he walked over to where everyone was grouping up.

“I want to be up front and say that I feel like the girls cheated,” Rowan said to Lorcan as he leaned against the rail next to him.

“And why is that?” Elide asked, outrage written across her face.

“Because every single one of you are wearing black.” Lorcan tossed a pointed glance at his fiancée.

Elide held up her hands. “I said nothing.”

Manon’s man-eating grin said otherwise.

Rowan looked down at his light gray t-shirt. At least it wouldn’t glow when they got inside, unlike Dorian’s pure white v-neck.

“If Aedion and Lys don’t get here soon, we’re starting without them,” Manon announced, already growing impatient.

“Agreed,” Lorcan said.

They waited thirty more seconds before the impatience grew unbearable, then their group of eight was walking in.

Girls vs. boys.

Rowan was unprepared. He needed another drink.

Thankfully, it seemed Lorcan was in agreement because the first place he went was to the snack bar and ordered two pitchers of beer. Rowan reached for one of the glasses but Lorcan pulled them back.

“Nope, these are part of the game.”

Rowan raised an eyebrow as Elide began to explain the rules.

For the most part, it was the regular run of the laser tag - hit your opponents’ targets with your point-and-shoot laser pointer and get the most points for your team. There was one caveat though.

“Both pitchers have to be empty by the end of the round,” Lorcan announced. “If your team doesn’t finish your pitcher, you automatically lose.”

“It doesn’t have to be drunk equally. If Aelin doesn’t feel like drinking,” Lorcan mumbled Like that would ever happen, and Aelin glared at him, “she doesn’t have to drink. Just as long as its empty at the end.”

They all voiced their agreement, put on their vests and gathered their guns, then they were tossed into the room.

Rowan was met with darkness and neon, glowing lights as he hurried into a tower. It was his go to. Get to the highest point, and see everyone. Then he paused, as he noticed a lock of his hair falling down in front of his face.

He had silver hair, in a room full of blacklights.

He was instantly a target.

After cursing his hair, he was on the move. He spotted Manon from the other side of the room, took aim, and hit her target.

She yelled a curse at him before he was moving, once more.

He headed for the predetermined boys base, and filled a cup with beer. It seemed he was the first to do so, but Fenrys soon jogged up, muttering about how it was unfair for a marksman like Manon to even be playing this game. His chest target was lit up red and he had a good ten seconds left before he could get back in the game. He saw Rowan and said, “That your first?”

He nodded and began drinking. “Drink two every time we stop?”

Fen nodded. “Quickest way to kill it.”

They both took a minute to chug before Rowan asked, “Seen Aelin?”

Fenrys shook his head. “She’s got a good spot, I’m sure. She has the mind for these things. Strategic.”

Rowan agreed. She was that.

After setting his plastic cup down, Rowan was back on the move.

He crept around a few different corners before he caught sight of her golden ponytail. He followed her, slowly, fully aware that he didn’t have the same graceful, quiet movements that she did. He knew there was straightaway up ahead and if he could stay back long enough, he could get a clean shot on her as she fled to the other side.

He crept along the final corner, pausing to peek behind him-.

He felt a hand on his chest and looked back to find Aelin gazing up at him. He didn’t even fumble for his gun as she pushed slightly and he backed up a few steps. His back hit the wall with a quiet thump and Aelin said, quietly, “Would you like to do what you did in the truck one more time?”

He hesitated, unsure if he was understanding her correctly. She took his bewildered look as acceptance, though, because her smile softened as she leaned up on her toes and pulled his face closer to hers with her hand on the back of his head.

Their lips met softly in the middle, once, twice, slowly, gently.

She tasted bitterly sweet, her peach chapstick mixed with the tequila shots she had earlier and the beer she was downing now. Rowan wanted the moment to last forever, but it was soon broken as Aelin leaned back, her eyes bright.

He smiled and leaned down, wanting to capture her lips against his one more time, closing his eyes.

There was a loud buzzing and then his best began to vibrate. His eyes shot open and Aelin was running away, a devilish glint in her eyes.

He blinked, watching her run away.

She had shot him.

She had kissed him.

Then she had shot him.

He stood, completely frozen, utterly dumbfounded.

Lorcan came around the corner, saw that he’d been shot, and shook his head. “You suck at this, Whitethorn.”

Rowan couldn’t even remember how to form words for a sarcastic reply. Instead, he just turned and walked back toward the pitcher of beer, where he downed two more glasses before deciding to hunt Aelin down as the alcohol warmed his body.

He knew the girls couldn’t be as close to finishing as they were, especially seeing Dorian heading back to their base with maybe one full cup and a half left in their pitcher. Rowan successfully snuck around to where the girls had named their base and found a perfect wall to crouch behind and lie in wait. The pitcher was directly in his line of sight, and it was still over half full.

Elide ran right past his hiding place without noticing him and he knew he could get a free shot out of it, but he’d give away his position. So he waited and he bided his time.

Rowan had just begun scoping out the alley behind his when a flash of white to his left distracted him. Manon ran by putting the pitcher directly to her lips and drinking. His eyebrows raised as she took down a sizable amount of their beer at once, but Aelin appeared beside her. They spoke animatedly and Aelin laughed as Manon ran back down the middle lane, hunting for another victim.

Holding his breath, he threw the empty plastic cup he’d been holding down the empty alley beside him.

Aelin heard it immediately, turning and staring in his direction. He was obscured by the half wall and as soon as she crept by, her gun aimed down the alley, he reached out and wrapped his hand around her wrist, pinning it - and her gun - to the wall.

Her eyes were bright with excitement and he couldn’t stop his gaze from dipping down and watching intently as she bit her bottom lip.

He didn’t know why his voice had dropped so low, why it sounded like he’d been gargling nails, but he leaned down by her ear and breathed, “Was that just so you could distract me?”

He was almost worried for her reply, but then she asked, “Is this just so you can distract me?”

He glanced down, not even realizing he’d been using his body to press her into the wall, hadn’t realized how close their faces had gotten.

He shook his head, slowly, the tip of his nose brushing hers ever so lightly.

Aelin sucked in a breath as she whispered, “Good.”

He kissed her then, much harder than she had kissed him. He slowly dropped her arms that were pinned to the wall, only so he could drop his gun and cup her face. Those delicate, steady arms of hers wrapped around his waist and she held his body close up against hers.

Aelin brushed her tongue along the seam of Rowan’s lips, asking permission, not just taking as she’d done before. But there was nothing he wouldn’t do for this woman, nothing he wouldn’t give to her if it was in his power. He opened for her and let his tongue brush against hers softly. She groaned quietly.

Rowan pulled back, catching his breath, and rested his forehead against hers. He took the moment to gaze at her in the darkness. She was the most beautiful damn thing he’d ever seen.

She breathed, “I’ve wanted to do that for a really, really long time.”

“Me too,” he whispered, laughing quietly. He brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear as he kissed her, once again, damning the game and forgetting about their friends.

For a moment, it was just the two of them, and that was all he cared about.

#tacmc toab tag team #tacmc x throne of ashes and beauty #toab tacmc collab #the shara tag #shara writes #rowaelin au #rowan whitethorn #aelin galythinius #throne of ashes and beauty x tacmc collab #throne of glass

[elentiyawhitethorn]

Sneaking Around | Chapter Nine

All of the next week passed without any problems. Aelin prided herself on being responsible, especially in the workplace, causing her not to summon Rowan to her office and lock the door. Damned responsibility.

It was now officially one week from Christmas. Work was out until after the holiday. This was Aelin’s favorite time of the year. Now some of the office gang was gathering at the bar at the end of Friday to celebrate this exciting fact. Lots of other employees had had the same idea, and Ansel was very busy. Lorcan was also excluded (that’s what he gets for working at a gym). Elide, Gavriel, and Manon were working late. Lysandra and Aedion had gone to get drinks and failed to return. Shocker.

Vaughan had just gone to the bathroom, and at this moment, Fenrys and Connall, the bastards, made an announcement. “Rowan,” said Fen, “we have a surprise for you.”

Connall continued, “You haven’t been in a relationship for, like, years.” Aelin, the only other person at the table right now, snickered at this. That is, until she tried to figure out where this was going.

Fenrys spoke again. “And so, we have arranged a date for you.”

Rowan, quite understandably, looked utterly shocked and quite a bit horrified. “Um, no.”

Connall winced. “Now, hear us out. Of course you’re angry. But. She’s hot.”

“Very hot,” added Fenrys.

Rowan scowled. “I don’t need your help getting a girlfriend, thank you. Stay out of my love life.”

“But dude,” Fenrys pleaded. “She’s a family friend, and she’s totally looking forward to her date with my lovely coworker. That’s you, by the way.”

Rowan didn’t even bother looking sorry. “I am not going on an arranged date. I can’t fathom why you would tell this woman I’m just going on a date with her. Did you seriously expect me to agree to this?”

“Okay, see,” Fenrys was pleading now. “You totally owe me-”

“For what?” Rowan intervened.

Ignoring him, Fenrys continued. “And she would be really upset if I didn’t pull through. You know, she’s not going to be in town for long. You could just put up with one date, maybe screw her, and you’ll never have to see her again.” Men. Aelin needed new friends.

Rowan sighed. He was pointedly not looking in her direction. “I suppose I feel a little bad now, but I am not going on a date with her.” Aelin could tell from his tone he didn’t feel bad at all.

Connall scowled. “Dude, what, do you have a secret girl or something?”

Rowan almost imperceptibly stiffened and didn’t answer the question. Aelin had frozen as well. Connall’s glare deepened. “Yeah, right. Don’t pretend you’re getting laid just because you don’t want to go on this date. Doesn’t work on me.”

Connall’s stupidity relieved Aelin (he wasn’t the brightest), but she lost all relaxation when she glanced over at Fenrys. He was staring at her as Connall continued to pressure Rowan into agreeing to the date.

Aelin raised her eyebrows in a What? gesture.

Fenrys just stared, until a smirk began to spread across his face. Hell no.

At the sign of Aelin’s panic, his grin grew. Fuck. She gave a slight shake of the head and prayed Fenrys had more compassion than Vaughan would in this situation. Or Lorcan. Or Lysandra. Yes, she definitely needed new friends.

Just as Aelin started thanking the gods for Fenrys’ kindness when he looked away and seemed to drop that revelation, he said, “I seem to recall winning a bet last week, Rowan. Your payment was, if I recall correctly, one favor of my choice.”

Rowan froze once again. Aelin tried not to sigh. “What the hell did you bet on?” asked Aelin in her most amused, but also I-totally-don’t-really-care voice. Fenrys seemed to have figured out what was going on with them, but Connall probably wouldn’t connect the question to anything important.

Rowan did sigh. “I don’t remember. We make so many bets.” Idiot men.

Connall sneered. “It looks like you have to go on the date. And be pleasant; she doesn’t deserve to be scowled at all night just because you’re grumpy.” Aelin, despite herself, snorted at this.

Rowan casually glanced at her and she gave a small shrug. He still hesitated. “I will go on the damned date if I really must, but are you sure you don’t want to spare me? Please, dudes?” Okay, maybe Aelin should be annoyed or jealous or whatever it is normal people feel in situations like this, but she could only bring herself to find it hilarious. She couldn’t help the chuckle that slipped out of her as Rowan continued begging.

Rowan turned and glared at Aelin, then put his gaze back on the twins. “What’s her name?” he asked the boys.

“Remelle.”

And that is how Rowan got roped into a date that was not with his sort-of girlfriend. Aelin laughed again.

-

“So,” said Fenrys, who insisted on walking Aelin to her apartment hours later. Neither were in any state to drive, she and Fen lived near each other, and Rowan didn’t want to risk being spotted with her on the way out. “You’re fucking Whitethorn,” he stated.

Aelin snorted. “Yep.”

Fenrys grinned at her. “I have a few questions. Like how long? And why?”

Aelin giggled. She’d certainly had a lot to drink. “We’re dating. Well sort of. I mean, we’ve gone on dates. And we’re in like. Like in love except it’s like, not love.”

Fenrys chuckled. “You’ve both seemed happier recently. Although we all knew you had some secret lover.”

Aelin giggled again. Beer really did wonders for her. “You’re not nice, though. You didn’t have to make him go on that date when you found out.”

Fenrys seemed quite a bit more sober than her. “I couldn’t help myself. Payback for not telling me.”

Aelin rolled her eyes, almost getting disoriented enough at this to run into the nearby streetlight. Fenrys grabbed her before she could bash her nose in.

“Did you get me all drunk so I’d spill the beans?” Aelin asked.

Fenrys chuckled. “Darling, you got drunk all by yourself.”

Aelin sighed. “Yeah, I guess so.”

Fenrys smiled fondly at her.

-

Fenrys had dropped Aelin off at her apartment and headed to his own. The rest of the walk hadn’t consisted of much questioning, which surprised Aelin at first, but when she thought about it, Fenrys always had his motives.

She was now sitting at the counter the next morning, battling the effects of last night’s drinks; namely, a migraine.

Her phone rang. Aelin picked it up to see Rowan’s name on the caller ID.

“Yeah?” she answered quietly. Ansel was still asleep.

“I wanted to ask you if you’re sure you’re okay with the date. I didn’t have a chance to talk about it last night.”

Just hearing Rowan’s voice made her happy. She didn’t care if the subject of their conversation was some “very hot” woman he was going to have dinner with.

“I’ll admit, it’s pretty weird. If she’s just going to be here for a little bit, though, it’s fine if you get roped into it.”

She could almost feel Rowan’s scowl through the phone. “Um, no, not fine. Not anywhere close to fine.”

Laughing quietly, Aelin said, “You have to admit it’s kind of funny.” When Rowan did not seemed inclined to admit anything of the sort, Aelin continued. “And you had that coming. Who the hell bets favors? You out of cash?” He didn’t respond to this either. “Oh, Fenrys figured it out, by the way. We are damned awful at keeping secrets.”

Rowan sighed. “I can’t argue with that. What did he say?”

“Well, I was rather drunk at the time, but I seem to recall he wasn’t totally horrified or whatever. I doubt he’ll tell. There were surprisingly few questions.”

“Fenrys will be the death of us, I can assure you of that. So, anyways, from Connall I have gleaned that Remelle is hot, sexy, and totally cool. He’s probably exaggerating, but either way, you needn’t feel jealous.”

Aelin laughed. “I wasn’t planning on it. I trust you. If you do cheat on me, though, I’ll kill you.”

Rowan snorted. “I believe it. I won’t, though. Well, technically, is the date in itself cheating?”

“Gods, who cares? Don’t kiss the lady, come back and fuck me. As simple as that.”

Rowan chuckled. “Your wish is my command, Majesty.”

“Dweeb,” Aelin muttered.

They planned to meet tomorrow after Rowan’s date. He was to be polite, leave, and come back to his apartment where Aelin would be waiting. He called her overprotective for wanting to check on him immediately afterwards, to which Aelin just replied he had better WiFi.

Soon after hanging up, Ansel came out of her bedroom. “Calling your lover boy?”

Aelin glanced at the ceiling. “Lord save me. Yes, that was Rowan. I suppose I should fill you in.”

Ansel said after a moment, “Um, I think that’s your queue to say something, not just stand there looking mopey. Oh no, he didn’t dump you, did he?”

A snort from Aelin. “People don’t dump me, A. I’m too irresistible.” She sighed. “Rowan is going on a date.”

“Um, what, with someone else? Wait, but you two were so good together! The slimy bastard. Didn’t he realize you were supposed to be exclusive?”

“We’ve never actually discussed that. No, he’s going on a date the twins set up for him.” Aelin recounted the evening. Ansel was laughing so hard she could barely breathe by the end of it.

“Aw, honey, he’s a gentleman. You don’t need to be worried about him cheating on you.”

“What happened to slimy bastard? And I’m not worried, by the way. I laughed too when this happened. It’s just kind of weird. And Fenrys is lucky I was stone-cold drunk last night or I would have pummeled him.”

Ansel giggled. “I want to high-five him. This is great.”

“Whatever.”

Aelin had been so confident at first, but even though she didn’t feel any more doubtful, she still felt... nervous? No, jealous. Aelin was actually starting to feel jealous of some lady Rowan was probably wasn’t even going to like that much. Hopefully.

At least this Remelle woman sounded nice. Nothing could go wrong there...

-

Aelin sat on Rowan’s couch. It was the next day, about time for Rowan to get back. She was partway through a bag of chips when the door opened.

She turned her head to see Rowan in the doorway. But he wasn’t alone. There was a very pretty woman standing next to him, clutching his arm and giving him a seductive smile.

#rowaelin #tog #sneaking around #my writing

[venmomejoy]

Convince Me- pt. 1

Summary: When Aelin Ashryver-Galathynius, lead singer of Bitch Queen, gets in a twitter fight with Rowan Whitethorn, drummer of The Cadre, everyone is buzzing about their hatred for each other. When their PR teams decide they need to fake a friendship to keep up a good public image, the two are vehemently against it. But slowly, a fake friendship turns into a real connection, maybe something more. 

read it on AO3 here :) and here’s the link to part two / part three / part four / part five / part six / part seven / part eight / part nine / part ten / part eleven / part twelve / part thirteen

Most celebrities rattled on about how they hated fame, hated all the attention, but Aelin knew that was a load. Sure, there were aspects of fame that could be frustrating, but not one of them would trade their careers for a chance to go to the grocery store unnoticed.

She wouldn't, that's for sure. Aelin had worked her ass off for her career, and she wasn't ashamed to admit that she was proud of her success. Bitch Queen had started from nothing, and now they had a top-charting album with two number one singles. She reveled every time a fan stopped her in the street, every time someone asked to take a photo with her, because she had worked for every ounce of fame she had, and they had finally made it.

Aelin hadn't even planned on being in a band. She'd always been a good singer, a raw talent her parents had fostered from her childhood, but she'd never intended on doing anything with it. But when her best friend started learning the guitar she begged Aelin to do some duets with her, and Lysandra was a tough person to deny. So they would mess around with different arrangements, would butcher their favorite songs, until one day, it sounded good. Really good.

They started practicing more seriously then, and by their senior year of high school, they had really honed their skills. Lysandra's fingers danced along the strings with ease, rarely making a mistake, and Aelin had enrolled in singing lessons to refine her ability. She even tried her hand at songwriting, and after a year of failed attempts, finally produced something passable.

They roomed together in college, Aelin majoring in Business, as she planned on following in her mother's footsteps and running Ashryver Inc., while Lysandra chose psychology, since she intended on going into social work. They spent any free moment composing and playing and videoing their songs, but they still hadn't decided to do anything with their newfound skills. But somehow, everything fell into place.

Aelin found their keyboard player when she bumped into a childhood friend on campus. She hadn't seen Elide since elementary school, when she had moved to New York to live with her uncle after her mother's death, but college had brought her back to California, and Aelin was eager to rekindle their friendship. The girls became close quickly, old bonds quickly reinstated, and when she told Elide about her and Lysandra's little duo, Elide told her that she was currently enrolled in the school's music program, and had been training on the keys for years. Aelin insisted she play with them, just for fun, but Elide was hesitant- she had grown very shy in their years apart. Elide eventually agreed, but only if she could invite her roommate, Manon, who played the drums.

Aelin easily agreed. She was happy to find one new person to play with, not to mention two.

The next afternoon, Elide let them into the music hall, taking them to one of the many rehearsal rooms in the building. Inside, a silver-haired girl was adjusting the height of her drummer's throne, flashing them an assessing glare as they entered. Lysandra immediately darted towards the rack of guitars on the wall, running her hands over the glossy wood in wonder. But Aelin didn't have any fancy instruments to fawn over- mics were mics- so she scanned the area, taking in the sheer amount of instruments in that one room. She didn't know what kind of funding this school had, if every rehearsal room was stocked like this.

Manon stalked over to them, using her height to her advantage as she stared down at Aelin. She could see why people thought Manon was intimidating, with her blood-red lips that curled into a smirk and her metallic painted nails, so long they were basically claws. Aelin just looked up at Manon, a slow smile spreading across her face as she extended her hand. "Aelin Ashryver-Galathynius." Aelin respected the effort at intimidation, but hoped Manon didn't think she would be able to cow her. Aelin actually really wanted to be her friend- she loved a girl who would get shit done- but she had too much self-respect, and maybe too much pride, to let herself get steamrolled by this girl.

Manon raised an eyebrow at Aelin's gall, her smirk turning into a proper smile. She probably wasn't used to meeting her match, but she didn't seem unhappy about it. "Manon Blackbeak," she said, grasping Aelin's hand firmly. "Elide said you sing?"

"Yeah, and my roommate Lysandra," she pointed at Lys, "plays guitar."

Flipping her silver hair over her shoulder with a curt nod, Manon said, "Well, let's get started. No point wasting more time than we need too."

Aelin frowned at her pessimism, but they all got into position, Lysandra widening her eyes dramatically at her roommate when the other's backs were turned. They all toyed with their instruments, tuning them while Aelin warmed up her voice, before deciding on a song they all knew. The first couple tries were rough, but eventually they got a feel for each other's style and techniques and the song really came together. It was far from perfect, but it had potential.

Surprisingly enough, it was Manon who suggested they start practicing seriously, as a band. The girls had been shocked at the suggestion, but quickly agreed. What did they have to lose? Maybe something would come of it, but even if nothing did, they all loved music, so there was no time and energy wasted. They compared schedules and found a time they could meet every day.

They started with covers, getting the hang of playing together and making their sounds blend seamlessly, before moving on to original tracks. Lysandra and Aelin started looking into gigs, and when it came time for them to pick a name, Aelin had the perfect one. Bitch Queen, the nickname given to her courtesy of her entire high school student body; she had loved it then and she loved it now. The girls loved it too.

They played gigs all throughout college, becoming regulars at small venues, even scoring Friday night spots at a couple bars and clubs. When someone posted a video of their set on YouTube, everything went nuts, and suddenly they had offers from twenty different labels. Everything after that was a blur: signing the contract with Terrasen Records, dropping their first singles, writing their first album, recording their music videos. In just over a year, they had become one of the biggest names in indie rock.

It was while they were recording at the studio that they met the men of The Cadre. Their lead singer, Fenrys, had popped his golden head into their recording room in the middle of a set, scaring the living shit out of Lysandra and ruining the take, but he just laughed and said, "The boss told us the label was getting a new group, but didn't expect them all to be so pretty," with an exaggerated wink. They all just rolled their eyes and laughed at his come-on, except for Manon, who snarled at him. Fenrys had the good sense to look nervous at that, but he quickly recovered, sticking his hand out to all of them. "I'm Fenrys, lead singer in The Cadre. These are the guys," he said, gesturing behind him to where three other men had slipped into the room, looking much more uncomfortable than their friend. Aelin's eyes scanned the guys, thoroughly impressed by the sheer size of them. They had to be the most muscular men she had ever seen, and all unfairly attractive.

"This is Gavriel, our guitarist," Fenrys said, gesturing to the other blond in the group, who flashed them all a small smile.

"Next to him is our bassist, Lorcan." Lorcan's long black hair shone as he pulled it up into a ponytail, barely sparing them a glance before turning away. Aelin smiled to herself when his eyes shot back up and went straight to Elide, but the moment only lasted a few seconds before Lorcan schooled his features and dropped his gaze.

Chuckling to herself, her eyes caught on the white-haired man towards the back, his toned arms crossed over his chest. "Lastly, we have Rowan Whitethorn, our drummer." He had a wicked tattoo stretching down the side of his face and onto his torso, judging by the way it disappeared into his turtleneck. When she dragged her eyes back up to his face, she found his eyes already on her, though he didn't seem to be appreciating the view the way she was. No, he was sneering at her, looking at her like she was the dirt on the bottom of his shoes. Aelin blinked at him, as much surprise as she would show, before drawing her eyebrows in and fixing him with a glare of her own. She had just met the man. How could he already hate her? Aelin snapped her gaze away from him, briefly introducing her friends to the men.

The two bands ended up spending a lot of time together, since both groups happened to be in the recording process at the same time. Aelin and Fenrys became fast friends- their personalities were too similar for them not to get along. But they weren't the only one's getting close. Anytime the bands met up or had lunch together, Elide and Lorcan always wound up next to each other, practically ignoring everyone else as they listened to each other in rapt attention. No one was surprised when the two announced they were dating later that month; everyone had seen that one coming from a mile away. The girls were thrilled for their friend- even though Lorcan was a raging bastard to all of them, he seemed really good to Elide. And both Manon and Aelin didn't refrain from detailing exactly what they would do to him if he hurt her. He only gave them an unimpressed look.

Aelin managed to become decent friends with Gavriel, his soft-spoken demeanor giving into wicked humor once he got comfortable. She tried, several times, to speak to Rowan, but every single time he met her friendliness with hostility, barking insults at her that hurt more than she was willing to admit. She hurled insults of her own in response, but after a while, she gave up trying to get Rowan to warm up to her. Whatever she had done to make him hate her, there was obviously no way for her to undo it, so she decided to just leave it be.

They all kept in touch after they finished recording, attending the same events and even going out to dinner together. Bitch Queen's album was a smash hit, and The Cadre's third album was pretty popular as well. They met up for congratulatory drinks after both albums had dropped, toasting to new music and new friends.  

Now, Bitch Queen was prepping to go on tour in two months, and Aelin was lying if she said she wasn't freaking out. Playing their little shows when they were unknown was one thing, but an entire tour of sold out venues? She knew they were good, was confident in the songs she had written and in her own vocal ability, but she just didn't want to let anyone down.

Aelin couldn't help that she channeled her nervousness into aggression. And it was Rowan's fault for tweeting that shit, anyway.

She had tweeted a picture of their tour dates with the caption: "20 shows!! I'm crazy nervous but crazy excited to see you all!!"

To which Rowan replied: "we've got 35 shows, and I'm not nervous at all."

It wasn't really that big of a deal, but it made Aelin's blood boil. Was he insinuating that she was less professional than him because she was nervous? For her first tour ever? And of course The Cadre had more shows than them, this was their third studio album, they already have a fanbase. What was Bitch Queen supposed to do, become The Strokes after their first single?

Aelin couldn't help herself: "Maybe if you played anything difficult, you would be. Manon could play your parts in her sleep."

The response came in minutes: "No, experience just makes you more composed. Maybe you'd know if you had some."

She was seething. Was he calling her an amateur?: "I think nerves make me a better performer; it means I care about the quality of the show I give my fans. I won't disappoint them because of my own arrogance."

Rowan replied: "Fans? What fans? Your 8,000 streams on Spotify?"

Aelin was going to murder him: "Try 800,000. If I recall correctly, your band's debut album didn't do near as good as ours. Watch yourself."

Rowan: "Ooh, you've really scared me now."

Aelin's phone rang before she could finish her response, her PR manager interrupting her tirade. She tried to cool her anger before she answered the phone, but she still snapped, "What?" into the receiver.

"Aelin! What the hell are you doing?"

"Hey, don't look at me, Rowan started this. I'm just defending myself."

"Well, stop. Christ, Aelin, Twitter's having a field day with this. You and Rowan are going to be the main story in every tabloid by tomorrow morning. Everyone's talking about your hatred for one another."

"Whatever, it doesn't matter."

"It does matter, Aelin. This not only makes you look trashy, which is especially bad for an up-and-coming band like yours, it also reflects poorly on the label to have two of its artists fighting on a public domain."

Aelin deflated. She didn't even think of it like that. "Okay, what do we do?"

"You don't do anything. I'm emailing with The Cadre's PR manager right now. We're going to have to meet in person to work out the logistics, but you and Rowan are going to have to make everyone think you're friends."

"What?" She and Rowan have not had one pleasant interaction. She doubts anyone would buy that they were friends.

"You can't take back what you've already said, so we're going to have to twist it like you two were joking around. But we can't stop there, people will think its just a ploy."

"Which it is."

"Yes, but they don't need to know that. So we're going to have to sell that you two have been really close friends ever since you started working at Terrasen Labels. That means hanging out one-on-one in public, posting photos together on social media, doing whatever you have to do to make this believable." She sighed. "Look, I'll update you tomorrow on what the plan is, but for now, just stay quiet, okay? No more social media posts."

Alien could practically hear her rubbing her temples through the phone. "Got it. For what it’s worth, I'm sorry?"

"Yeah, yeah. Get some sleep," she said before hanging up the phone.

Aelin tried to sleep, but she couldn't stop thinking about how they were going to pull this off. Rowan was a prick; there was no way she convincingly act like she enjoys spending time with him. She wouldn't be surprised if he outright refused the plan their PR teams had created, what with his egotism. Stardom really went to his head.

Aelin imagined going out to get coffee with Rowan Whitethorn for all of one second before she smashed her pillow on top of her face and turned her brain off for the night. She would deal with all of this in the morning.

notes: ahhh I'm actually really excited for this fic, so I hope you guys have some interest in it!! let me know what you think or if you would like to be tagged!

#throne of glass #sarah j maas #rowan x aelin #rowaelin #rowan whitethorn #aelin ashryver galathynius #celaena sardothien #kingdom of ash #yrene towers #chaol westfall #dorian havilliard #elide lochan #fenrys moonbeam #lorcan salvaterre #gavriel #terrasen #modern au #band au #enemies to lovers #lorcan x elide #elorcan

[hateswifi]

Jasonette July: Children

Day ten of being committal, I love this one so much. Also not even gonna try sleepin on time. It’s either no sleep or post late.

The Master: Master List

Jasonette July: Master List

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

He didn’t know what to expect at the age of twenty when he heard crying from an alley while on patrol. What he didn’t expect to find was a crying raven-haired baby. His heart melted, maybe its because he saw himself in her or maybe because she is an abandoned baby. The next thing he knew, he was running back to the manor holding a now more calm baby.

“Hey, Brucie! I know you always have those adoption papers on hand, can I have a pack?” Jason says, walking into Bruce’s office.

“Please tell me I’m dreaming, you’re adopted, my adoption dis- habits shouldn’t affect you,” Bruce says, looking up from his work.

“Wait, I’m adopted, I’m so hurt…” Jason says, putting the back of his hand on his head.

“Stop being dramatic, I’ll give you the papers if you show me my grandchild,” Bruce says, opening his desk draw.

“I don’t know her name, but I would love to call her Maria-Angelina, after my grandmother,” Jason said, showing off his soon-to-be daughter. It was at that moment she starts crying. Not even two minutes later, Damian and Alfred burst into the room.

“Another one Father?”

“Master Bruce, I have always supported you, but another one?”

“No, this one isn’t mine, she is Jason’s.” Bruce smiled, standing up to walk around his desk.

“Alfred, I would like you to meet your great-granddaughter and Damian your niece, Maria-Angelina,” Jason says, holding her out.

“She is beautiful,” Alfred says, brushing a stray strand of hair out of her face. 

Jason loved his daughter even though she was not his biological daughter. As Maria grew older she realized she was missing something, more like someone. Her dad did everything for her, she loved him and he did everything her could to make her happy. But even at the age of eight, she knew her dad was missing someone as well. 

It was when she wandered away from dad while they were at the mall did she realize who she was missing and she found it in a dark-haired woman. She was beautiful. She was on the phone when the woman noticed her standing by herself. She puts her phone away and approaches her.

She crouches down to her height and asks “Are you lost, little miss?”

“Hi, yeah, I’m missing my dad,” She says slowly.

“Hi, my name is Marinette, would you like me to help you find your father? Or would you like me to walk you to security?”

“Could you help me find him?”

“Sure, what does he look like? Is your mom here too?”

“I don’t have a mom.”

“Oh I’m sorry, honey,” Marinette says, squeezing her shoulder.

“It’s fine, I never had one,” Maria says with a shrug. “My dad is tall, he has dark hair with a white patch on the front of his head. He has blue eyes, he big and awesome!”

“Where did you last see him?”

“We were at the book store.”

“Let’s head there then,” Marinette says, standing with a smile. They go down the escalator and walk to the book store. “What do you like to read?”

“I like Charlotte’s Web!” She smiles.

“That’s good.”

“What do you do? My daddy helps with my grandpa’s business,” She smiles, looking up at the pretty woman.

“I design clothes,” Marinette smiles, looking through the aisles for anyone meeting the little girl’s description.

“Oh! That’s so cool! Did you make your dress?”

“Yes, have you seen your dad?”

“Not yet,” She sighs.

“What’s you favorite subject?”

“I love English and art class!” she exclaims, rocking on her feet.

“Ok well, it doesn’t look like he’s here, we should go to security,” Marinette says.

“Aww… I’m having fun with you though,” Maria sighs and hangs her head.

“Well, we still have to walk there and wait for your dad,” Marinette points out as they leave the bookstore. The approach the map and Marinette listens to the girl’s chatter as she looks for the lost child area. Third floor.

“Ready? We’re heading up to the third floor,” Marinette smiles toward the little girl. “Do you know your dad’s name.

“Umm…. Jason Todd I think,” She contemplates. 

“Ok, we’ll tell the people who find parent,” Marinette says, as they step onto the elevator. There was a small back and forth conversation and all too soon, they reach the lost child area. “Hello, this is a lost child, she says her father’s name is Jason Todd, would you be able to call him?”

“Jason Todd, please report to security, we’ve found your missing daughter,” a voice comes over the loudspeaker. They continue their conversation until a big man bursts into the room. The little girl jumps up and rushes to hug him.

“Maria-Angelina Catherine Todd! What’ve I told you about wandering off,” He yells, pulling her into a hug.

“Hi, Dad,” Maria says, pulling out of the hug. “This is Marinette! She helped me look for you.” For the first since he entered the room, he looked up and saw the pixie, she was a sight, standing there in her light blue sundress that brings out her eye. 

He stands up. “Thank you so much for helping her, I don’t know what would happen if she was hurt or taken,” her dad- Jason- says taking her hand. “Please let us take you out as a thank you.”

“No, I couldn't, I just saw a lost child and helped her,” Marinette shrugs with a smile.

“Please, Marinette,” Maria asks, looking up at her with puppy dog eye.

“You have better puppy dog eye than Manon did,” Marinette giggles.

“Trust me, I know,” Jason chuckles.

“So is that a yes?”

“Fine,” Marinette says reluctantly.

“Yay!” Maria says, turning to rush out of the room.

“Kids huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Got any of your own,” Jason asks, a slight smirk spreading across his face.

“No, I don’t even have a boyfriend, but that beside the point, I use to babysit,” Marinette smiles. “What about you? She said she didn’t have a mom.”

“She’s adopted, I found her in an alleyway,” Jason says quickly.

“That’s sweet of you,” Marinette coos. They walk together to a close-by coffee place. They spend time talking and laughing. They leave saying goodbye to each other.

“Hey, Dad, you know how everyone has a mommy and a daddy?” Maria asks Jason nods in response, already knowing where this conversation was going. “Can she be my mommy?”

“Sweetie, that’s not up to me.”

“Can we see her again?” It was at the moment he realized, he never got her number. The next couple of days, though Jason tried to hide it, Maria could see the loneliness in her dad’s actions and the longing in his eyes.

“Dad, are you ok?”

“Yeah, honey, just a bit tired, just as a heads up we’re going for measurements later today at Grandpa’s house,” Jason says, packing her lunch.

“Ok, Dad,” Maria says, hopping off her stool. As she closes the door to head to the bus stop, she hears him sigh. She wishes she could see Marinette again. She wishes her dad was able to make Marinette her mommy, however that worked.

Her dad picked her up and they head over to the Wayne Manor. She rushes ahead of her dad and bursts into the lobby, “Hi, Grandpa! Hi, Great Grandpa!” 

“Hi sweetie, Uncle Damian is getting is measurements taken right now, but you can go in next,” Bruce says.

“Thank you, Grandpa! Will the nice designer make me a pretty dress?” She asks, hugging Bruce.

“Of course I will,” A feminine voice says, coming from the living room. “I’m ready for the princess, as Damian called her.” She giggles.

“Marinette?”

“Maria? Jason? You guys are Waynes? I thought you are Todds,” Marinette asks.

“Well we are, but Wayne is hyphenated,” Jason shrugs. The measurements go well. In Jason’s case really well,  he gets a kiss and a date. 

They start dating a week later, Maria is really happy, especially a year later when they announce that she’s going to have a baby brother. She was happy before she went wandering off but now she couldn’t be happier, she has a mommy, a dad, and a baby brother on the way. The wedding plans, which she was promised to be the flower girl in, was planned for after the baby’s birth. She loved her family and they loved her.

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

Tag List:

@jasonette-july-2k20 @abrx2002 @pawsitivelymiraculous​ @ironspiderstark@thestressmademedoit @bigpicklebananatree @zalladane

Permanent Tag:

@ash-amg @bee-wrecker @damianette-is-life @mjisntme @i-will-be-your-ace @k-poplunardreams @chocolateherringtacofan @toodaloo-kangaroo @i-is-mysterious @zambie-trashart @imnotfluffy @nanakeid

#maribat #marinette dupain cheng #batfam #ml x dc #jasonettejuly2k 20 #jason todd #jasonette

[abruisedmuse]

Handle With Care

Written for @ladywitchling​, “Something with Manorian and children” Here ya go babes

WC: 4747

                                ********************************************

"Manon, I'm sorry," he said, weaving his silken, slim tie underneath each other. Looping it into a knot pulling it flush against the white-collar, "I didn't think I'd be called in when I told Aelin we could."

Her arms folded tight across her chest. Leaning against the crowning of the door frame. Fixing him a pointed look through the mirror. Holding his gaze, gold meeting sapphire. She watched her husband run his long fingers through perfectly coiled blue-black hair.

"Since it was your suggestion. Why don't you take her to work?" she questioned, surveying the way his solid muscle moved underneath his button-down. Crimson lips pursing as her gaze swept over him.

He simply turned towards her, a lazy smile from a mouth that harbored all sorts of wicked things. Dorian pinned her against the door. A hand settling on her hip. Her palms splayed across his chest.

"I can't or I would. Besides, it’s not for long. Chaol said Duke needs to have a finance meeting immediately, " Manon rolled her eyes, huffing out a response while Dorian brushed his nose along hers, hovering his mouth over Manon's blood-red ones, "Are you telling me Manon Havilliard can't handle a toddler?" If it wasn’t displayed so roguishly on his handsome face, she could hear his mocking smile in the words.

Her lips curled upward, coiling at his tie bringing his lips hovering over hers, “Oh I can. And you will bring me that big bottle of merlot from Wendlyn Wines and sushi when you get home,” She tugged him a tad closer, feeling his breath hot against her mouth. Like the caress of a heated wind kissing her lips.

Dorian dropped a hand gripping her waist firmly. She in turn tilted her head, holding his gaze. His words fell from his lips, tone dark and sensual, “I’ll give you something big alright.”

He closed the short distance between them, nipping at her bottom lip before claiming her mouth. A soft moan came from her, slipping her tongue between his parted lips searching for his. Dorian pressed his wife harder into the door, hearing it smack against the wall behind them. Her hands slid up into the perfectly styled hair all set for a day's worth of meetings. Just when his hands moved to cup her pert ass and lift her. The doorbell chimed ringing through both floors of the house. Breaking apart from each other, both with heavy breaths and blushed cheeks. Manon fixed her loose fitted shirt the color of granite giving him a chaste kiss.

“Finish getting ready. I’ll get her,” She turned to leave their room.

He called out to Manon as she reached the hallway smiling at her with encouragement, “You’re gonna do great.”

“I know."

Dorian knew the way she said it, his wife wasn't so sure.

It wasn’t that Manon had some irrational fear of kids. She simply didn’t know what to do with them. Despite her cousin Asterin having one and Elide having two. Manon had successfully dodged babysitting. Until now. Two years into marriage and the question was like a battering ram. To her and Dorian both. Have you thought about kids? Do you know time is ticking? She was a thirty-year-old woman and they had a few years before “time was ticking”. The happily married couple had discussed it. Plenty of times and the answer was always the same. If it happens, then it was meant to be. The Havilliards were perfectly content with their huskies, Abby and Abraxos. That was their family. Having a child wasn’t on top of their lists. At least for Manon.

For Dorian, the more their friends had children the more she noticed the longing on his face. Whether it was family gatherings, dinners, or birthdays he was always with the kids. Playing whatever games they asked and roughhousing with them. Majority of the time a babe would be in his arms. Or an older child on his hip or his shoulders. The warmth and tenderness would fill her watching him play the role of fun uncle. Knowing how good he would be as a dad. Manon knew her husband only said if it happens to appease her. To let her know it was okay and he’d wait months, years for her to be ready. It seemed now, she would have a test to see if she was. If she’d ever be.

Manon walked out of their room and down the hall, following the loud noises of their dogs barking relentlessly in a chorus of excitement. She shouted at the door, knowing it was Aelin on the other side. Quickly she pulled the sliding glass door open ushering the dogs outside. Closing it after Abby stepped onto the porch. Manon rushed to the front door pulling it open with a twist of the knob. Aelin stood in the doorway, a backpack over her shoulder filled to the brim. Looking more like she was preparing Manon for a hike in the Terrasen mountains and not watching a child. Manon’s gaze fell to the girl, standing up to Aelin’s knee, Keira Whitehorn. Her hair primarily taking after her father. Though thanks to her mother most likely, it was a lighter shade. More of pale moonlight. Close to Manon’s. The girl sported evenly split pigtails that bounced as she swayed behind her mother. Besides the hair shade, she looked practically identical to her. Including the traditional Ashryver eyes, turquoise, and gold.

It was then Manon noticed the shimmer on Keira’s lips and the bright pink on her cheeks. Manon arched a brow at the look. Aelin must’ve caught the confused look in her eyes as she sighed.

“Kay refused to leave until she did her makeup. Because auntie Manon likes makeup. She’s in a copycat phase, “ Aeling said handing over the bag. Manon took it setting it inside her home, “It’s pretend makeup and will come off with water. Anyways, Good Morning.”

She thought most of the kids tolerated her because they loved Dorian so much. Honestly, she believed they were scared of her. Which was ridiculous although given her usual cold appearance understandable. It was never the kids' fault, Manon just had a people tolerance level and after some point, she was ready to go home and be with her dogs and Dorian. He always felt the same, Dorian just had a better way of masking it. Little Keira wanted to copy her, to be like her. Manon could truly say she was touched by this notion.

“Good Morning, “ Manon crouched down to Keira’s level, a softness in her voice that surprised even her, “Not bad, I could give you some pointers if you’d like, I might need a model... If your mother is okay with it that is.”

Keira gasped, eyes widening tugging on her mother's blazer, “Please oh please!” she begged, working her best puppy face.

“Your father would have a fit,” Aelin commented, running her fingers as if in thought before flashing a grin, “but his face would be priceless. Do it.”

“What are we doing?”

Manon heard her husband question as he stepped behind her. Keira shouted his name flying into his arms. Dorian hoisted her up, keeping her on the seat of his hips. Keira’s small four-year-old face lit up as bright as the smile on his. Gone was the seductive prowl of the man moments ago who almost took his wife against a door. Yet, Manon found him equally desirable at this moment.

“Manon’s gonna do my makeup,” she giggled.

“She is?” he quipped, looking over at her. Manon shrugged as if saying, it’s what she wants.

“I have to go. Thanks again you guys,” Aelin kissed her daughter's brow, “Don’t be a terror,” the girl twisted her brows pouting her face, “too much of a terror. I love you and I’ll see you tonight.”

Keira said her goodbyes as Aelin walked away shouting good luck. As she peeled out of the parking lot Dorian slid Keira into Manon’s arms. Manon kept her steady on her hip. She’s held kids before, but the feeling always felt off to her. Dorian pressed a quick peck to her cheek, as he ruffled the top of Keira’s hair musing up the perfectly brushed strands pulled into elastic bands.

“I should go too. The sooner I get this over with. The sooner I can come home.”

Manon nodded, “Remember your promise. Sushi and wine. The big bottle.”

He leaned over growling against her ear that sent a shiver down her spine, “I told you there’s something bigger I’d rather give you,” teeth nipping at her ear. Causing her body to heat at the wanton touch. Prick.

Manon squeezed Keira tightly as she stepped back, shoving Dorian in the shoulder as he laughed, “I'm holding a kid you rutting ass-” he cut his wife off with a quick searing kiss.

“Language Havilliard. There’s a child present,” Dorian quipped.

Manon glared at her ass of a husband. He grinned, his sapphire eyes shining bright in the sunlight. Suddenly his features turned soft and caring. Then Manon knew why he did what he did. To ease her tension. On the outside, she appeared calm and ready for a day with a four-year-old. On the inside, she was still nerve wrecked. Taking care of kids wasn’t something she knew nor understood. In mere minutes it would only be Manon and Keira. When Manon glanced over to the girl in her arms, with pretend makeup on for her. She felt the uneasiness begin to ebb away.

Dorian flashed her a glance that said, If you need me just call, but I think you’ve got this.

Manon placed the young girl down onto the cemented ground, approaching her husband kissing him ever so lightly on his lush lips, "I love you. Have a good day at work,” she responded in the way a loving wife would. Manon whispered into his ear far away from the peering ears of the toddler behind her, “Bring me my wine or that big thing can find your hand tonight.”

His only response was a low hungry purr. Dorian knelt to Keira, wrapping her in a tight embrace as he said his goodbye. How he can be in a state of primal desire and tender to a child in the same breath, Manon didn’t know. Only that her desire and love for him grew. With a wink and an I’ll call you later he left, leaving behind Manon and Keira as they went inside.

“Auntie Manon?” Keira questioned following Manon to the patio door. She didn’t wait for her aunt to respond, “You don’t have to worry. Mommy calls daddy a bastard all the time.”

“I see.” it was the only thing she could muster in the shock of this four-year-old saying bastard. Then again she is Aelin’s child.

After Manon let the dogs in and they kissed all over the little girl. The duo went to their food and skittered off somewhere in the house. Keira flopped onto the crimson sofa as Manon sat next to her. The little girl kicked her feet as her aunt chewed her bottom lip lost in thought. Manon was good at thinking on her toes, but with kids, she was unsure of what to do. Sure she promised her make up lessons. By Aelin’s response, she thought it better to wait until later.

The girl leaned back on the sofa, staring up at the ceiling, “Mama told me you met uncle Dorian on my birthday at the hospital.”

Manon bit back a smile recalling the memory of Asterin's thirteen-hour delivery and the sapphire blue-eyed idiot who wouldn’t leave her alone in the general waiting room, “I did.”

“So you fell in love and married because of me?”

“If that’s what you wanna think kid.” Manon drawled.

Things fell to another beat of silence. Manon was sure the dogs were sprawled out on her bed, napping. The living room felt still and awkward. She could hear the rustle of Keira’s tutu as she moved and twisted angling herself to look at Manon. Manon looked at her from the corner of her eyes as the girl watched her and she could tell Keira had more questions.

“Why don’t you have a baby? Do you want a baby? Mommy says you’re not sure. Daddy tells her it’s none of her business. She sticks out her tongue and then he gives her a spanking,” Keira rushed that all out in a single breath. It was more of Rowan and Aelin then she cared to know.

“Well you’re father is right. It is none of her business and I don’t know."

Manon prayed to whatever God would listen that this conversation would end and soon. She didn’t want to find some child-like way of explaining her fears. Terrified of being a horrible mother. Growing up she didn’t have a mother figure. Her mother and father passed away in a tragic accident. Her grandmother was a hard woman with a cold heart. Because of that Manon believed in the depths of her soul, she would parent with a cold harshness. That wasn’t what she wanted for any future child of hers.

“Babies are cute and funny. You should think about it. Can we watch Frozen and have a tea party?”

Manon furrowed her brows, tapping a finger lightly on her chin, “I’ve never had a tea party before,” she didn’t miss the confused look or the gaping on the small girl, “My grandmother raised me. She wasn’t a tea party kind of person. I learned how to shoot a bow, martial arts, Sword Fighting, which sounds insane now that I think about it.”

Keira’s eyes danced like rays of sun glittering on the clear ocean waters. Her smile grew from ear to ear. If Manon had any doubt this kid belonged to Rowan and Aelin, her excitement over this showed it. With Rowan being an FBI agent in a specialized unit called The Cadre, he knew various skill sets of a violent trade. Aelin took up jiu-jitsu as well as a routine fitness regime. Which Manon knew well being they worked out together. It was no surprise Keira marveled at her confession.

“What would your parents say if I let you play with a wooden sword in the yard?” she grinned.

Keira shot her an incredulous look too much like Aelin.

"I have toy swords all over my home."

"Welp," Manon slapped a hand on her leg, "To the yard. Beat me once I'll buy Frozen and order pizza for lunch. Kids like pizza right?"

Keira nodded jumping off the sofa, speaking with enthusiasm, "Deal!"

Perhaps, this kid thing wasn't all too bad.

******************************

There were no other words to put it. Dorian simply felt bad for his wife. He had a whole day planned for them, but when Chaol called about a meeting his irritating second cousin, Duke demanded to be held today. Citing it needed immediate attention, Dorian had no choice in the matter.

He knew she wasn’t ready for kids if she ever would be. Despite their friends around them growing their families, It suited them both just fine. True, he loved kids. He loved playing with their nieces and nephews during get-togethers, holidays, and the like. A small part of him envied the fatherly joy beheld by Rowan, Chaol, and Lorcan.

He understood the depths of her fears. That it wasn’t the thought of having kids, it was Manon’s inner conflict. The fear of treating her children the way her grandmother treated her, with little love and a brutal life. That thought usually kept her away from kids, even her goddaughter. Dorian despised her grandmother for sowing these feelings so deep into Manon.

When the few times she was with Asterin’s daughter, Stella, or how she was with their dogs, he knew Manon would be the perfect mother. Harsh and stern when needed, yet loving them with such fierceness that even the mere thought made his heart swell with pride. He hoped with two of them watching Keira it would ease that fear. Now he was sitting here in a four-walled office tapping his fingers along the rich mahogany desk and she was home with a child and her fears swirling inside her like darkness.

As he waited for that damned prick, Dorian looked through his emails when the camera icon caught his attention. He might not be able to be with her, but he could watch her. Was it an invasion of privacy? Probably. Would she beat his ass for it? Yes. If he saw her acting like a mother, perhaps he could ease those wicked feelings. It was worth the risk. Clicking the icon and waiting for the cameras to appear he wasn’t prepared for the video that popped up.

There was his wife, her precious crimson blanket passed down from her family on her father’s side, wrapped around her neck like a cloak. Something in her hand, a wooden sword he assumed. Dorian rubbed his palm over his face, keeping it over his mouth hiding his laugh. His wife was in their yard with a play sword clashing against a toddler. Noticing Keira’s hair was now pulled into a braid just like Manon as the small girl charged at her, most likely with a warrior’s cry. His dogs running beside her.

He could envision himself there, with a child of their own running through the yard. With a kid and the dogs trailing behind as he or she chased down their parents. Until they would collide into each other, Dorian tickling the kid while he busied kissing his wife. Abby and Abraxos jumping in on the fun licking whoever they could. Or until one of them fell, like Keira just did of the gravel clutching her legs. He didn’t have to be there to know the girl was crying a wallop of tears falling down her small face. Manon threw the sword down undoing the blanket immediately scooping the girl in her arms and running into their home.

His phone rang as Dorian looked over Manon’s distressed face appearing on his screen. Flicking the answer key he held up his phone smiling at her pretending he didn’t witness the events that unfolded, “Having fun?”

“Dorian I broke the kid," Manon confessed

“Babe you didn’t break her,” he noted the worry hidden behind her golden gaze.

Keira was crying and whimpering in the background. From what he could see, Aelin’s daughter sat on the toilet. Legs propped up, with two bright red knee caps, a deep scarlet slowly trickling down. Manon wiped the blood away once more.

“I already cleaned both knees, but I can’t find any band-aids,” she rushed out, setting her phone down.

Dorian watched as she lowered herself to Keira. Brushing a thumb affectionately over the girl’s tiny hand. The touch he could tell was gentle like a mother’s caress. Manon tucked a stray strand behind her ear.

“You’re a tough girl right?” she said soothingly. Keira sniffled, nodding her head. Manon took a tissue wiping Keira’s tears away, “Tough girls can cry when we get hurt, but we’re strong right?” Another nod followed by a smile from his wife, “ Tough girls dry there eyes because these,” pointing to her knees, “Are your battle scars from defeating the evil witch queen. You should wear them with pride.”

“Okay,” Keira’s voice was barely above a whisper. Dorian was lucky enough to hear it, “We can watch Frozen now? With pizza and a tea party?”

“Soon as I find the band-aids."

Dorian refused to bring attention to what he witnessed. He’d save that for later.

“Manon look on the top shelf in the cabinet. We have a first aid kit in the kitchen too.”

Picking up the phone she replied, “Thanks. I’ll text you later.” and then she clicked off the phone.

Dorian sat in this meeting bored out of his mind. What any part of this couldn’t wait till Monday he didn’t understand. He was only half paying attention to the discussion. His mind on other things as in his wife having a tea party with pizza and Disney films. Being the CEO of Havilliard Enterprises he knew this was highly unprofessional. However, as the man in charge, he could do as he pleased. To which included pulling his phone out and accessing the security cameras of his home. Dorian leaned into the armchair of his cushioned leather seat. Eyes scanning the small squares until he found the camera angled in his living room. If the swordplay warmed his heart, this melted it entirely.

There sat Manon, her back braced against the sofa, tucked in between the base and the coffee table. A box opened in front of her that Dorian figured was pizza. He stifled a laugh seeing she had two coffee mugs on the table and not teacups. It was hard to tell what part of the movie was playing. Seeing Keira twirling around and pulling Manon to her feet, he knew the iconic song that every parent abhorred was about to play. The pride and love in him radiated watching Manon pretend to use ice magic and what he guessed was sing with Keira.

“Mr. Havilliard I had no idea fiances put a smile like that on your face,” Perrington commented in a way that seemed to be a falsified attempt at pleasantries, “Or was I disturbing something important?” he questioned raising his brow.

It was this moment, Dorian knew he’d have enough. This dreadful meeting could wait. He wanted to be near his wife and niece.

Turning his phone off returning it to his pocket as he stood grabbing his blazer from his chair, the faintest glare on his face, “Truthfully Mr. Perrington. I find this immediate finance meeting on a Saturday unimportant. Nothing you have mentioned needed any sense of urgency and could have easily waited until Monday,” Duke went to speak and Dorian held up a hand, “I’m not finished. To answer your question yes you did disturb something important today. If you’ll excuse me I’m going to leave now and we can continue this Monday. Disturb me again when things do not need urgency and you will find yourself out of a job,”

“You wouldn’t do that to your second cousin would you?”

Dorian had to reign in the gag at his pathetic attempt of innocence.

“You mean the same cousin who believes I am unfit to run this company?” Dorian’s smile turned wicked almost lethal striding over to him, clapping a shoulder on the older man squeezing it tightly, “Enjoy your day Duke,” Dorian lowered his head down, “My warning holds. I will fucking fire you.”

******************************

With that Dorian walked away from the grey walled meeting room, leaving a raging Duke Perrington behind. Dorian didn’t care, he was going to go home.

Opening the door with Manon’s favorite merlot in hand, he noticed it was quiet. Too quiet for a four-year-old and two dogs. As if they heard him thinking Abby and Abraxos showed up. Dorian hung his keys on the wall before petting them. He looked around for any movement and saw nothing. The couch was empty and the tv stayed on the rental screen. Settling the bottle on their counter he walked through the house.

“Man? I’m home,” he wondered if they were hiding from him. He did send her a message after all. Maybe they were trying to spook him, “Babe?”

His shoes tapped along the wooden flooring down the hallway. Checking everywhere he could think, even their bedroom. No one. His heart started racing. They weren’t outside and Manon’s car was in the driveway so they didn’t leave. If anyone broke in there was no sign of struggle. Rounding the corner he noticed their library door ajar, though the lights were off. Still, he pressed on pushing against the ivory door. This was Aelin’s kid he should have looked here first.

“Manon?”

Still nothing.

He moved past the various shelves of books. All lined with fantasy, history, and whatever books caught their eyes. Walking past four aisles he wandered into the reading space. In between, two wing-backed chairs he found blankets tied on the knobs of each one, a faint glow coming from within. Dorian silently stepped forward, crouching when he opened the lip of this makeshift tent. Immediately he pulled his phone out to snap a picture before crawling inside.

In the tent, there were pillows scattered across the floor. Manon and Keira huddled in a corner a protective arm wrapped tightly around the little girl. Keira nuzzled into the nape of his wife’s neck. A small hand resting on her chest. Manon’s hand settled over Keira’s hair. Both of them breathing deeply as they slept. Carefully Dorian slipped next to his wife. The tips of his fingers, gingerly running across her arm kissing her brow as he did so. Manon shifted ever so lightly leaning into him. Her hold on Keira remaining tight.

“You’re home earlier than expected,” she whispered keeping her eyes closed.

“I can leave,” he suggested. “And take your wine with me.”

Golden eyes flashed open as quick as she could, Manon turned at him, “Don’t you dare,” she paused, “and my sushi?”

He pulled her and Keira in tighter, his nose brushing along her neck, “I was thinking after Aelin picks up Kay we can order sushi, finish what we started earlier…” he trailed off.

Manon hummed her approval, “practice making a baby,” the way she suggested it gave him the implications she was serious.

He blinked once, twice. His mouth opening several times to speak yet no words would come, until he swallowed thickly as her statement sunk in.

“Manon...Are you serious?” She turned to face him carefully slipping out and away from Keira. Sitting up Dorian followed her movements.

She thought about her day with Keira. From the sword playing to the fear and maternal instincts that kicked in when she fell. Even in her panicked moment how Dorian, unknowing to him calmed Manon. After Manon placed a bandage on her knees, Keira flung herself from the toilet hugging her. At first, she froze surprised by the action, then she returned the hug. Since then she didn't think as a sitter, or an aunt, she thought as a mother. To test it out. Manon pictured her husband with her doing these things, the movies, dancing, innocent duels, and stories in a tent.

When Keira asked for story time in a tent. They built one together, the one they sat in now. It was this moment that truly settled the notion everything would be fine. When Keira snuggled up to her as she read the book about a pig named Olivia. Occasionally Manon would glance over to the empty spot, thinking of this situation with Dorian and a child of their own. It struck her how badly she wanted this. There was an ache, a burn in her chest knowing in a couple of hours and after she does Keira’s makeup, she will be childless again. Until the foreseeable future. And she hated it.

Manon knew not every day would be perfect. There would be days she struggled. That Dorian would struggle. Days where they would argue and days where their kids would be at their absolute worst. Seeing this girl look at her today like she was the world. Filled her with a feeling she couldn’t possibly describe. It was a sensation that made the fear and those soon to be harsh days worth it.

Manon glanced over at Keira watching as she started to stir under the blanket, “Being with her today and you not being here. I kept thinking of what it would be like for us to be doing these things with our own, “turning to face Dorian once more, “I want that Dorian. I want our family to grow. I know on low days as a parent I’ll have you and you won’t let me fall.”

Dorian pulled her into a warm embrace, wrapping his arms around her. Resting his head over hers. Manon ran her hands down the expanse of his back, “I saw you on the security cameras playing with her. I watched you, heard you comfort her when she was hurt. Manon, you will be amazing as a mother and yes I won't let you fall. I'll be here. Always."

                                    ******************************************** 

Read it on Ao3

Come celebrate with me!

If you want to be added on my taglist let me know!

taglist: @slightlyrebelliouswriter23 @clockworkgraystairs @hizqueen4life @b00kworm @negativenesta @sjm-things @whataboutmyfries @justgiu12

#manorian #dorian havilliard #manon blackbeak #aelin galythinius #Fluffy nonsense #manon the babysitter #throne of glass #sjm fandom #this was supposed to be a drabble #it is not #I ran with it and i'm not sorry #msv drabbles #beccas 9k celebration #becca writes #ladywitchling

[mistydacat]

Felinette November Day 1 || Purrito

@felinettenovember

Aaah, I’m sorry for posting this late >~<

Read it on AO3

Felinette November 2020 Masterlist

mistydacat Masterlists

This isn't mentioned but I'll give a quick backstory for this to make sense.

Marinette moved to an art school, but steal sees her old friends. At her new school, she befriends Allan, Claude, Allegra, and Felix. Marinette is still Ladybug, Adrien is still Chat Noir.

Established Relationship between Felix and Marinette.

»»————- ⚜ ————-««

Marinette counted the stuffies that lay on the ground.

Twenty-three.

Twenty-four.

Twenty-five.

Twenty-six.

Twenty-six stuffed animals that she had handmade.

For Manon.

The young girl had come over about a week ago. They had played with the Ladybug and Cat Noir stuffies, as per usual. This time, though, Marinette thought it was getting boring for Manon to play with the same stuffies every time, so she decided it was time to make a few new stuffies.

And so, here she was, a week later. She may have gone just a tad overboard.

Okay, maybe just a little more than a tad overboard. Manon wouldn't play with all of them. Maybe five, max.

She could give Manon a few to take home and keep some in her room for when she comes over, but that would still leave a lot.

Oh! I should give some to my friends as a gift! Marinette thought, getting excited. She was meeting up with Adrien, Nino, and Alya that weekend, and she would see Claude, Allegra, Allan and Felix when she went to school.

She observed the stuffies. Which ones should she give? She had a ladybug doll (the insect, not her superhero persona), perfect for Alya. She had a dog and a cat wearing headphones. Allan would love the dog, and Nino would take the cat. An owl for Allegra. A monkey for Claude. She had a smiling sun, which she would give to Adrien.

That left twenty options for Felix. 

Marinette's eyes landed on the most recent one she'd made.

A black cat peeking out of a burrito.

Perfect.

Felix had always complained about his bad luck, even after getting rid of his cursed ring. The black cat was perfect.

Or... purrfect.

...Perhaps she had been spending too much time with Cat Noir. His puns were starting to rub off on her.

»»————- ⚜ ————-««

The next day, Marinette went to school with the stuffies in her bag. The first few classes went by pretty smoothly, as usual. No akumas, either.

By the time lunch rolled around, Marinette was hyped to give her friends their gifts, but, to her surprise, Felix wasn't there.

Marinette unlocked her phone and, finding three missed messages, opened up their group chat. 

Grumpy: I have a pretty bad cold.

Grumpy: I don't think I can make it to school today.

Grumpy: Also, why the hell is this still my nickname.

Marinette pouted. "He's sick." She informed the group.

Allan frowned. "That sucks. Do you think we could drop by after school and visit him?"

"Let's ask." Marinette responded.

Nettie: Can we come over later and keep you company for a while?

There was no response for a few minutes before the three dots finally appeared at the bottom left, signifying that he was typing.

Grumpy: I'd prefer it if you didn't. I don't want to get you all sick.

Nettie: Okay! But we're seeing you the second you feel better <333

Grumpy: Thank you.

"Felix said no. He doesn't want to make us sick." Marinette explained. "Oh, and I have things for you guys!" Marinette opened her bag and started taking out the stuffies.

»»————- ⚜ ————-««

(Definitely not skipping a bunch of stuff because just getting up to this point has taken me a ridiculously long amount of time, and I very much do not want to spend a million years on that scene. No way!)

A few days later, while Marinette was working on a sewing commission, she received a notification from her phone. She checked, realizing it was a private message from Felix.

Felix ❤: Hey, I am feeling a lot better. Would you like to meet up somewhere today?

Marinette: Of course! Where do you wanna go?

Felix ❤: How about that cafe near the park?

Marinette: Okay! See you in an hour?

Felix ❤: Okay.

Today was a warm day, so Marinette put on a pink t-shirt and some jeans. She almost left without the stuffy she had made for Felix but managed to remember it right before she left the bakery. This was the perfect opportunity to give it to him.

"Do you think he'll like it?" Marinette asked Tikki.

"You made it! Of course, he'll like it!” Her kwami assured her.

Marinette arrived at the cafe on time for once. Maybe it was because she was excited. Despite her rare punctuality, Felix still came before her.

Felix was sitting at a two-person table next to the window. The blond was dressed in his usual attire: a dress shirt with a vest and dress pants.

 "Felix!"  Marinette greeted him once she reached the table, pulling him into a hug once he got up. 

Felix smiled warmly, accepting her embrace.

Marinette gave Felix a quick kiss before sitting down, causing Felix to blush. He still wasn't quite used to physical affection. He sat down as well.

"You seem to be in a good mood." He commented. Watching Marinette's cheery expression warmed his heart.

"I have something for you." She told him, reaching into her purse to take out the stuffy.

Marinette placed it on the table, watching as Felix examined the small object.

"Is that... a cat inside of a... burrito?" He asked incredulously.

"A Purrito." Marinette corrected, giggling a little.

"A what?"

Marinette burst into a fit of laughter. "Purrito." She said again.

Felix pinched the bridge of his nose. "Nettie. This is ridiculous." He said, using the nickname her newer group of friends had assigned her.

"You called me Nettie! You like it!" She accused.

"I do not!" He retorted though the look on his face suggested otherwise.

»»————- ⚜ ————-««

About two weeks later, Marinette video called Felix after school. He had answered the call from his desk in his room. In the background, Marinette could see his bed and nightstand. And, more importantly, what was on the nightstand.

"Is that my Purrito?" She asked him.

Felix turned around, his eyes catching the little black cat on his nightstand. His face turned red.

"Uh." He said dumbly, searching his brain for an excuse.

"I knew it! You liked it! You sleep with it next to your bed? Felix, that's adorable."

Felix's cheeks burned a deeper shade of red.

"Admit it, Felix. Please?"

"Alright. Fine. I liked the Purrito thing and was too embarrassed to admit it."

Needless to say, that confession brought a lot of Purrito-themed gifts with it. Larger stuffies, shirts, sweaters, sweatpants. Felix was beginning to think that he would need a second closet solely for all the Purrito clothes he had received. (which he only ever wore to sleep or to sleepovers with Marinette)

Marinette teased him about it relentlessly, which he didn't mind at first, until Claude, Allan, and Allegra joined in on it too.

It wasn't long until his name on the group chat was changed to 'PurritoLover107'. 

Felix almost choked when Marinette called him "My Little Purrito."

Eventually, the Purrito jokes died down, along with Marinette's horrendous nickname.

But he still went to sleep in the clothes she has given him, and the little Purrito still sat on his nightstand, watching over him.

»»————- ⚜ ————-««

#felinette november #felinette november 2020 #felinette #felinette november day 1 #felinette november purrito #miraculous ladybug #mlb #felix graham de vanily

[abraxos-is-toothless]

The Beauty That Is She

Started this a few weeks back but never finished so I decided I would:) It will be in about 4/5 parts? Maybe a few more if I feel as though it needs it.

This will be about Fenrys and an Original character, but the character’s name came from the books:)

Full Masterlist.

—————

Fenrys was feeling the most relaxed today than he had in weeks, they had all been run ragged with meeting after meeting, everyone wanting to see his Queen about requests for this and requests for that. He loved his Queen he truly did, she’d saved his life. She gave him a home and a family. But damn it if he didn’t want to strangle her sometimes for making him sit through the boring shit every day. Fenrys was glad they finally had a short break from it all since today it was the twins’ twentieth year of life, and he had only been given one order from Rowan this morning. Search all the rutting nooks and crannies of the castle to find his mischievous son. Connall –Aelin had asked him the day their son was born if he’d allow her to name him after his brother, he’d cried (not that he would ever admit that) and said he’d be honoured- was only seventeen and looked exactly like his father but had the same fiery and devious personality as his mother. They could often be seen plotting together in the corner and then be a new plank played on his elder sisters a few days later. The twins –Nehemia and Evalin- always got revenge after going to their father for new ideas.

Connall was meant to be testing his magic with Rowan while the girls trained with their Uncle Aedion, however he would never go the first time you asked and eventually you would have to drag him out to the courtyard, but luckily for Fenrys he knew all of the boys hiding spots. He found him sitting in front of the window of the corridor leading to the Great Hall with his nose buried in a book; Dorian brought him a new one every time he had to visit for boring royal business. “Con? You know it’s your turn to train with your father, the sooner you do it the sooner you can go back to your books.” Once those pine green eyes met his gaze and the boy let out a very audible sigh he chuckled lightly- he was too much like his mother for his own good.

“I’ll never be able to live up to the power he holds so what does it matter if I train or not?”

They had this argument every time and Fenrys’ answer was always the same, “It doesn’t matter if you hold the same power that Rowan does, your parents just want you to learn so you have multiple things to fall back on if you ever get put into harm's way.” Con finally put his book down and agreed to go train as long as he would come and help him too. He said yes, as he always had to each of the kids since the day they were born.

Once they had both stepped out into the courtyard you could hear Aedion’s deep laughter and a war cry from one of the girls from not being able to get the upper hand on him yet. As they got closer Fenrys noticed that his Queen was sitting up in one of the trees, smirking as she watched her girls trying to figure out where they were going wrong. Rowan was stood off to the side with his arms crossed over his chest and a calculating look on his face, and Lysandra was reprimanding her husband whilst rubbing a hand across her swollen belly asking him to ease up on them for a few minutes and as for the girls, they were throwing insults back and forth blaming each other for their screw up. Nehemia was her mother through and through. Looked like her, sassed like her and had even inherited the power of fire. Not a lot of course, but she and Aelin trained with it as much as they could, the Queen knowing from experience what happens when you don’t. Evalin was different from any of them. She looked like Rowan, most likely because of the hair, but she had Aelin’s eyes. Her powers were extraordinary too, being able to bring forth her father's ice and wind, yet she too could master fire.

Rowan had been almost out of his wits when they had realised what she could do, having witnessed Aelin’s power almost destroy her several times. It had taken Lorcan and himself what had felt like days to reassure him that she would be fine, that all three of them would teach her how to stay in control and Aelin would teach her how to disperse little increments, as not to be overloaded by it.

“Rowan, I’ve found your devil spawn, he’s all yours.” With a wink at the boy in question he shoved him by the shoulder towards the magic lecture that awaited him and walked over to lean against the tree that Aelin was currently sat in. Looking up at her he asked “How’re they doing today?” Dragging her eyes from the girls to focus on him she said, “Mia just wants to throw herself head first into the chaos but Lin keeps trying to tell her about the strategies that you taught her.” He grinned then and turned back towards the sparring blondes muttering ‘That’s my girl.’ Eva -the name only he was allowed to call her; she said it was because people always chose ‘Lin’ or ‘Eve’ but he was the first to use ‘Eva’- had always been the sensible one, using that beautiful brain of hers constantly to break down each sparring scenario they were given and trying to find the weak spots of each opponent she was given. Mia on the other hand had inherited her mother’s stubbornness and seemed to favour the teachings of Lorcan whenever he came for training; kill first and ask questions later. Gods, someone needed to start keeping a closer eye on the two of them on Lorcan’s day for lessons. Maybe Elide could chaperone for a change. Lady Lochan despised watching her husband train, so she always says, yet the two would disappear the minute he stopped. But she was the only one that was able to keep him in check, so he would suffer with the scent of the two of them, if only to stop Mia from becoming a terrifying mix of Death and Fire.

After a few hours had passed, Fenrys was watching Connall throw shard after shard of ice for his father to dodge when Eva caught his eye from across the yard and he watched her pull a manoeuvre he’d taught her a few days ago on a clueless Aedion, making him laugh. She turned towards him then, but he froze suddenly as turquoise eyes locked with his. There was a sudden tug on his soul that left him breathless and made his senses feel heightened. She had felt it too it seemed because her sword arm had fallen limp at her side, however the distraction cost her, when Aedion’s blade managed to slice across Eva’s shoulder. He watched her cry out and drop to her knees yet he couldn’t hear anything past the blood rushing in his ears but from the vibrations in his chest he knew he was growling. All eyes were flicking between the wounded female on the floor and him; Rowan had stopped just short of his daughter when he heard Fenrys. He couldn’t focus on anything other than the fact that Eva was hurt and bleeding and that there was a voice in the back of his head that would not stop shouting at him, over and over.

Mate. Mate. Mate.

Of all the people fate had to choose for him, it gave him someone that was very much off limits. Rowan fucking Whitehorn’s daughter. Oh he was so very, very dead. Everything had come back to him now and he could still hear himself growling when he said “Whitehorn. Do. Not. Move.” The threat was stupid of course because that was her god’s damned father, but she was hurt, she was bleeding and Rowan was incredibly close to her and nearly cutting her from his line of sight.

He knew that Rowan knew then, when he caught him scenting the air and turned to look at him but simply stated, “Do not assume to think you have some claim on her because of what has just been revealed, she hasn’t even accepted you yet. She has no idea what this means.”

Aelin had come down from the tree now and was steadily walking towards them, eyes only for her daughter. Eva looked to her mother when she was close enough to kneel at her side and, voice laced with confusion, asking, “What’s happening? What haven’t I accepted? I don’t understand.” Every instinct was screaming at him to go to her, to soothe her and tell her everything was going to be alright, however, as he dared to lift his foot to do just that, Rowan was blocking his path in an instant.

“Please. Please just let me go to her. You know how this feels, just. Please.” There was a hand placed on his shoulder then, as a comfort or a restraint he wasn’t sure.

“Not until she understands.”

Connall was now on the ground by his sister helping her to heal faster with his magic. Mia was looking at them all with confusion and curiosity. Aedion and Lys seemed to be torn between leaving to give them privacy and staying to provide some sort of back up just in case. Not they needed to; he’d never, ever, put her in danger.

“Lin,” Aelin was saying, “I need you to listen to me carefully okay?” A nod for her mother but her eyes were focused on him. “Do you remember the story I told you about when Manon and I fought?”

“You said that when you were trying to get away again, Manon’s friend Asterin shot an arrow that was aimed for you but daddy jumped in front of it.” Eva’s words were a little slow and shaky, probably trying to recall as much of the story as she could. He tried taking another step, growling again when Rowan tightened the grip on his shoulder. He watched as her eyes went wide, and there was a slight twitch of her hand, as if she too wanted to reach out for him.

“And then what did I tell you about that moment?”

Eva’s brows furrowed and he wanted to press his thumb into the spot, smoothing it away. She was beautiful, truly, no matter what she was doing and he wanted to tell her, wanted to breathe the words against her lips, neck, her stomach, and then lower. The last few years, he hadn’t stopped noticing her beauty, and it was difficult at first. She had always been Rowan’s daughter but now, now he didn’t care. Now he just wanted, wanted, wanted.

“You said that you had screamed because in that moment you had felt...you had...he was...” Her eyes widened and her head whipped towards her mother, her breathing ragged and the scent of her filling the air. She was a mix of pine and jasmine, a mix of her parents, and it was the most intoxicating scent. He breathed in deeply as his eyes fluttered for a moment, letting it calm him.

Suddenly, Eva was standing, legs a little wobbly as she walked over to him and tapping Rowan’s arm, silently asking him to move. His brother hesitated but relented and stepped back, taking Aelin’s hand in his own as they watched their daughter. She was right in front of him now, head tilted back to actually look at him and that voice in his mind returned.

Mate. Mate. Mate.

His breath caught in his throat when she lifted one of her hands and stroked from his temple to his jaw, then cupping his cheek gently in her palm. Fenrys let out and unsteady breath and his heart soared when she whispered into the space between them;

“You’re my mate.”

—————

I’ll probably make a little personality thing on each of the kids at some point, just to go into more depth. If you want to be in the tags for this then just let me know!!:))

Tags: @bryaxisthefaceofnightmares @fancyclodpaintercookie @empress-sei @acourtofterrasenandvelaris @tswaney17 @queen-of-glass @thesirenwashere @awkward-avocado-s @b00kworm @http-itsrebecca @eatmysandwiches @poisonous00 @flowersinvegas @julemmaes @mu-si-ca-l @spyofthenightcourt @sis-it-dont-add-up  @mad-madeline-ace​ @df3ndyr @jesstargaryenqueen @notyournymphetish @nightcourtcinnamonroll @acourtofmarauders @rhyswhitethorn @booknerdproblems

#tog #throne of glass #fenrys moonbeam #fenrys x original #aelin galathynius #rowan whitethorn #aedion ashryver #lysandra ennar #original character #-> #evalin #nehemia #connall #all names came from the books #my writing #my fic #haz writes #tog fanfic #tog fic #fanfiction #post koa

[signofwolf]

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas – book review

Series: Throne of Glass #7 Genre: YA, Fantasy Theme: Fae, magic users, war Warnings: mentions of torture, imprisonment Star rating: 0,5/10

Why did I pick this up?: I wanted to end this horrible series once and for all.

[Heavy spoilers ahead]

To make myself clear, before this book I quite liked this series. It wouldn’t place in my top 100 books, not even close, but it was a pleasant pageturner to listen to in audiobooks when working.

Language

Let’s start slow. I lack the words to express how much I hate the words ‘male’, ‘female’ and ‘mate’ after this series. Not even gonna try to express my trauma. But these 3 gems aside, Sarah J. Maas needs a dictionary. Or compress her work to a manageable size. Everything sang, Everyone melted, Every man roared, Every woman trembled, Everyone was unleashing themselves at least once a chapter (number of chapters: 122) ). And now I know definitely too much about Yrene’s ‘womb’. I know so much…

Dynamism

I thought that was a book about a war with heavy action content. Oh boy, I was wrong. This 984-pages monstrosity has maybe 5 pages of action. If you squint.

Every sequence, where by design action should take place was followed by one of two scripts:

Few sentences of action and then a few pages long internal monologue. Often repeated with the same character after the next few sentences of action, or with the next character and then the next (sometimes the first character made a second appearance and then everything would go all over again). And the word ‘character’ used in these sentences is not because I’m rambling. This book is written that way!

Few sentences of action and then action stops, and we are graced by a few pages long conversation. In the middle of a battle. Or spying. Or in Erawan’s chambers, when his castle is going down, and he is running up the stairs...

Time

Leaving alone the fact that apparently all series took less than a year (till this book I estimated the plot for about 3 years, Wiki told me it was 2, but Maas knows best), because that is a can of worms in itself. Time in this one? I honestly have no idea. There were many ‘few weeks of travel’ parts with two main groups of POVs. Personally my only time indicator was ‘Orynth won’t fall till Aelin gets here’. But nothing just fit. And I saw Lost Song when in the last episode we as the audience realized that our two POVs parallel storylines are in reality millennia apart. Lost Song made sense.

Emotional loading

… there wasn’t any. Really, it was like reading a milk label. Every time the scene was potentially emotionally impactful, Maas went ahead to overexplaining EVERY. GOD. DAMMED. THING. And it was abso-fucking-lutely everything. ‘Emotional dilemma? Let’s current POV explain it! 2 pages should be enough… Damn maybe it wasn’t enough. I know! I’ll switch POVs and explain it through the other character!’ <= My impression of Maas’ thought process. I’m fairly sure that the record was 7 POVs explaining the same thing in the row, but I was blacking out a little, so I cannot be sure.

And if that wasn’t enough, this book had a second way to defuse tension: random-plastic-repetitive-badly_written-smut. Really badly written and really repetitive. How could you not feel the spicy bits, when Manon (cruel, self assured 100+years old witch-queen) reacts the same in bed as Elide (20years old, virgin, ex-slave). And the rest of them were the same, there weren’t ANY distinctions.Just copy-paste.

The next point in current case: Someone died, it was impactful, I really liked the character, so I got sad. But then 2 of our characters came out of the room with a body, and after a paragraph of grieving they started making out, and then I was regaled with 2-pages-long description of melting cores. That was the place then this book stopped being badly written, and started being distasteful.

Characters

Remember when I was writing about switching POVs (which is 15(!!!) In the whole book. Oh and an omniscient narrator in places when our current POV was grieving too much to overthink something, but Maas still wanted to inform us about something)? They were all savagely murdered in the worst way: character mutilation. Somewhere between books our maybe-not-that-original but colorful and interesting characters became carbon copies of each other. I have no idea how many times I didn’t realise there was a POV switch. The only indicator was a change of pronoun, or when Maas was telling us the name of a current narrator. These were the only ways. And if you can't distinguish if you are in Dorian’s head or in Manon’s, that is the sign of a really BAD writing.

Romance

…there wasn't any. In all this book there wasn't any naturally progressing romantic scene. There were Maas’ endgame pairings which were sexing or pinning. As the author Maas loves to write about soulmates. And it’s not a bad thing itself. When I want some fluffy story I often tag ‘soulmates’ in AO3 and voila, +10 to good mood. But God above, it is not cute when every pair you write about are ‘true mates’ just BECAUSE. It is the only way Maas sees a relationship, as a fated pairing, written in the wake of the universe by the God himself. There is no choice, nor the work to put in it. They are the author's OTP and that means that they are perfect and they should have children right now. Point in case:

Guy was treating a girl like a shit on his sole, including throwing her naked out of tent, on a snow, with their friends present, all the while abusing her verbally in a worst way. But it’s okay, because when she almost died he realised his mistakes and apologised. Two scenes later, he was forgiven, because... fated mates?

The pathos

I know that many people don't like this type of scenes, but it's not my case. I’m reading by picturing images and not repeating words. I like sequences that I can imagine to be grand and glorious, even if they are a little corny. That said, the pathos scenes were the most disappointing ones for me. Maas likes to write parts that are more picturesquely exalted than logically possible [point in case: meeting of 5 armies/forces in the random patch of sand in Empire of Storms, and it being painted as ‘an Aelin’s great plan’. I laughed myself silly at that. But not taking logic and all the plot holes into consideration that was a nicely looking scene. In Kingdom of Ash that wasn’t the case. I would say that the author wanted to paint us a renaissance painting every 20 pages or so. In my opinion, every time she failed miserably. Each and every of those scenes was or to farfetched to be even remotely realistic, and evidently written only for a sake of the picture, or just plainly stupid.

Example, and it’s so priceless a scene, that I just need to share it: Battle of Orynth, 25th day or so (time in this book doesn’t exist), the 13. sacrificed themselves (like thousands before them but hush). And then, time stops: grieving Manon is going through the city, they open the gates for her (yes, the siege is still on), she goes to the place where they died, after her come out all of our main heroes, and half the city itself with ‘flowers, rocks and precious possessions’ and they lay it there in a tribute to these brave (evil till 2 months ago) witches. I honestly can’t remember when was the last time I saw such an abstract scene. It’s a material for an essay in itself. No, I could not take it seriously.

Additionally, it's hard to make an impact as every damn sentence is grand and lofty. In the end it became truly pathetic, Aelin vs Maeve was unreadable.

Character deaths:

Let's make a quick count: main characters in a series at the start of KoA: 12 secondary characters in a series at the start of KoA: 20ish minor and total background: a lot more

Death count: main: 0 secondary: 3 minor: 2 (11 if we try very hard)

Resurrections: 1 (possibly 3, but not gonna analyze it)

Did you feel emotions of this impossible war against this all-encompassing, all-powerful, invincible, immortal, cunning Evil with armies from 3 continents and 2 worlds? No? Me neither.

Oh well, but there were a lot of deaths of ordinary soldiers. I’m quite certain that all of Terrasen’s army was at least twice brought back to life for them to die in these numbers.

Logic or lack thereof

Oh, and let’s not forget about the Deus ex machina army of unbeatable, magical elves on wolves, from legends, living for the past thousands of years in the unreachable lands of the north, because they managed to run from the surprise attack 10 years earlier. Did I mention that they came from portals, which the whole book was telling us were impossible to make in this scenario? After the previous saviour army was already fighting there for a day? And that Aelin didn’t know they would come for sure (how did she contact them again?)? Even though they were waiting in the full armours for these portals? Ah, and also: that army didn’t do anything. They just came and fought for maybe 4 minutes. And there were just so many things like that!

And if we’re on the topic of armies I present you: ‘My favourite absurd-list in the series: allied armies’.

(As a comparison, in A Song of Ice and Fire by J.R.R Martin, in 7 kingdoms of Westeros, at the peak of war there were 7 forces present, but not all were even engaged in a war.)

First the ones that made sense:

Armies of Terrasen’s Lords (counted as one, not gonna nitpick)

The Khaganate army (also counted as one)

Galan Ashryver’s armada

Whitethorn fraction

Rebel Ironteeth witches

…should Dorian be counted as an ‘army’?

And there were some that did not:

Ansel of Briarcliff’s army

The Silent Assassins

Mycenians

Wild Men of the Fangs

Army of magical elves on wolves

And the ‘I don’t even know’ category:

Crochan witches

Overpowering and overreaching

Section title tells it all. The stakes were too high. I was honestly waiting for Aelin to become Super Saiyan and start to throw planets at Maeve and Erawan. I won’t spoil if this happened.

In my opinion it could be a really great series, if our list of villains ended with Arobynn and King of Adarlan, and the list of Aelin titles with an assassin and a princess. We could have had two main fight plots: one emotional with Arobynn, when Aelin would have to face a damage he had done to her, and overcome it. And the second one, with freeing Terrasen from Adarlan’s rule. That’s it. There was an asshole, power hungry king, who feared magic and wanted to rule the East part of a continent. A lot of plot, but not so much that we stopped to care, or didn’t have time to cover everything. We could really get to know what Terrasen and his people were like and not JUST GET TOLD that it was ‘the greatest place in the world’ every damn 20 pages.

Plus…should Dorian be counted as an ‘army’? It's a REALLY valid question.

Climaxes

IIf I have to write a list of things that disappointed me in this book, this review would be thrice its current size, but one of the worst grievances I have is the complete lack of acknowledging the plotlines that had been started. This book series has overall 4 372 pages (not counting novellas) and 12 main characters (still not gonna address this). All of them had their storylines and arcs but if they weren't tied up in the previous instalments they wouldn’t be in this one. I get it, Maeve and Erawan got beaten (in an extremely unsatisfactory way) but they were only a background in this series' plots.

Aelin Well, Aelin was one of 3 people (+2 paragraf-long insertion from Nesryn and Chaol) who got their own POV’s after the battle (second was technically Rowan, who was ‘Aelin’s POV outside of Aelin’.The third Dorian, who got almost a full two pages). And from this we got that: she got crowned, Aedion got his bond and that Maas have no idea how the city looks after weeks of siege. In her case what angered me the most was ‘Terrasen is my home’ subplot. Only in this tome we read at least 3 times that Aelin will be okay with dying, if only she gets to see Terrasen one last time, or if she get to die on Terrassen soil. But you know what? Maas forgot to write the scene where Aelin actually ‘comes in’.

Mannon Didn't get her own POV after the battle, but here’s what we’ve got: She is going to the Wastes with Croachans and Ironteeth. Whait. What? Yes, that was the ending of this 500+ years of feud. They fought together and they decided to unite their two species, completely forgetting more than half a millenia of slaughter. I can only hope that there were at least some talks behind the scenes… NO! F*** NO! This isn’t how it works!

Rowan, Dorian, Chaol, Yrene, Lysandra, Aedion, Lorcan, Elide, Nesryn, Sartaq Lived happily ever after

Secondary minor and total background characters Survived (I acknowledge that they would be ignored in most books’ epilogues, but this abomination is almost 1000 pages of nothing!!).

Good Scenes

That saying, this book actually had 4 good scenes:

Crochan witches go to war - gathering-forces-to-fight trope, which is my *love-always trope* so I’m not even sure if it was relatively good, or if I’m just a slut for this trope. It was still only a paragraph long though.

[recurring] The children’s tale Aelin repeated to herself to remember who she is.

‘Lorcan Lochan’ - the only marginally funny scene in the whole book

I actually found Darrel making Evangeline his heir charming. Even if circumstances were far-fetched at least.

But the words crime of this book? It was agonisingly, mind-numbingly boring. If the overexplaining and repetitions were to be taken out I highly doubt that there would be 300 pages left.

For these 33 hours of audiobook I suffered through I give it half a star. Because Abraxos exist.

Please see my garishly accurate cover on my instagram! You can also like it there :D

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