#and then they just ditch london and live an oddly quiet life until the end of the war in scotland. they told me that. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

corolune · 3 years

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Breathing Underwater Chapter Two: Nimbus

AO3 / Tumblr Alex had always known he wasn’t like other children. They didn't hear the song of the ocean in their ears, or feel the thrumming rhythm of the waves in their hearts like he did. Then he finds a silvery coat made of seal fur, glistening and calling him to slip it on — and everything he thought he knew about himself washes away like foam on the sea. Alex Rider is a selkie, and this is the story of how a seal becomes a spy. Prologue 〰 Chapter 1: Zephyr 〰 Chapter 2: Nimbus 〰 Chapter 3: Lightning

nim·bus — a large grey rain cloud

The weeks after their little holiday found Alex holed up in his room, going through everything they’d brought back from the lake cottage, his fur coat always by his side. The locket was stubborn, and refused to open no matter what he tried. But he noticed it warmed in his palm the nearer it was to the seal fur. He spent hours and hours researching selkie lore and seals, although he was under strict instructions from Ian to not breathe a word of it to Jack or Tom. He scoffed at the thought, as if he could honestly even try to tell them. What would he even say, Surprise, I’m actually a seal? No, that was a conversation for later, or maybe never.

He told them the sealskin, which was oddly shaped like a small coat, belonged to his mother. It was a passable lie — the head of the skin was shaped like a hood, and the flippers turned into sleeves when it was laid out on his bed. Even when he wore it, it looked like a strange, oversized hoodie with its uneven hem and lumpy material. The internet assured him that young seals had uneven fur which would soon turn velvety smooth as they aged, so he supposed that one day it might look like an elegant coat. The fact that he wandered around wearing his mother’s old fur coat was maybe a little strange, but it was much more sensible than the truth. Unfortunately, once Ian came back home from another business trip, he decided to put an end to it.

“Alex,” he started, once they were alone in the kitchen, Jack having gone to sleep. “You have to put all this away. School’s starting soon and while this…” he waved his hands at the fur which was, as always, around Alex’s shoulders, “is simply incredible, I don’t want you to lose yourself. You’re Alex Rider, a normal, ordinary London boy, not a...selkie.”

“But I am one!” Alex insisted in a harsh whisper. “And I’ve been a perfectly normal boy for my whole life! It’s not exactly the most exciting and desirable thing to be.”

“Trust me, Alex, you’ll thank me for this when you’re older.” Ian shook his head, tugging at the coat. “We don’t want this falling in the wrong hands, do we? Even your mum said to keep it hidden away, and here you are, showing it off to anyone who cares to look.”

Alex stayed standing where he was, crossing his arms to keep his uncle from sliding the fur off of him, and thought of something else his mum had said in her letter. He’d even read about it in one of the many books on selkies that he’d borrowed from the library — an irresistible charm, and a power of persuasion that selkies, especially male ones, held over humans. He’d tried it on Jack earlier in a bid for extra ice cream, and it had worked extraordinarily well. Squinting his eyes, he locked gazes with Ian, and focused on the ocean song that had settled comfortably around him ever since he’d first worn his sealskin. “I think you’d like to change your mind about that,” he said slowly and purposefully.

He was a little offended when Ian just chuckled and ruffled his hair. “Nope, that’s not going to work on me. Not until you’ve had more practice, anyway.”

“Fine,” Alex grumbled, letting his arms drop to his sides. Ian gently took the coat from him, shaking it out softly. “Don’t worry, we’ll find someplace safe to keep this. I’ll make sure we take plenty of holidays to the seaside, and you can wear it then.”

Later, Ian showed him a secret drawer in his study, and Alex carefully folded the fur into the tiny, hidden space. He was still reluctant to part with it, but he had to agree with his uncle that he should be more careful.

〰〰

When Ian was at home, Alex once again spent his days doing schoolwork, playing football, and sneaking off to the shops downtown with Tom. But when Ian was gone, Alex would slip quietly into his study after dark, when Jack was fast asleep. He swiped paperclips from his uncle’s desk and deftly bent them just the way Ian had taught him. It took a little practice, but soon he was easily popping open the lock with a few soft clicks. From the hidden drawer, he would pull out his fur coat, content to hold it close for the night before locking it away again when the sun rose.

Sometimes, if he was feeling especially daring, he would secret it away into the bottom of his school bag where it would settle into a pleasant warmth, like sun-kissed sand. On those days, he would feign sickness to skip football practice after school and make his way to a tiny park nearby, where a large pond sat behind rusted metal gates. It was a strangely quiet, peaceful patch of nature in the middle of the city that he had found quite by accident while biking home one day. Ages ago, it had been closed off with a metal fence running around the empty lot — it was quick work for Alex to throw his bag across and clamber over the flimsy metal. As dusk fell in the short autumn days, he would be hidden from anyone curious enough to peek through the overgrown willow trees and needly shrubs that clung to their makeshift trellis of criss-crossed metal.

There, he was safe enough to dig through his school books and papers, shoving them aside to pull out his sealskin. Sometimes he would only sit on the rocky edge of the pond, dangling his feet in the cool water, basking in the waning sun. Other times, he was brave enough to pull on the skin completely, and splash into the water, leaving his books and shoes behind on the pebbles. Swimming as a seal was so different from all the times he’d swam before — water that should have been icy cold seemed refreshing and he could hold his breath for much longer. Most exciting of all, he could float into all the nooks and crannies and explore them with his much clearer eyesight, following little fish or finding the perfect, shimmery pebble. Once, he even chased an unassuming flock of ducks, delighting in their confusion when he ran after them and dove into the water, reemerging as a seal. Then, before the sun started setting in earnest, he would trudge back to shore, sliding off his coat and shaking it dry in the chilly air.

Alex was able to keep this up for a lot longer than he’d thought — he had to give credit to Ian’s lessons on subterfuge — but as time went on, he became too confident, and his rare days of swimming became more of a regular habit.

It was the spring term of Year 8, with the weather starting to warm and trees starting to bloom — the perfect time for a weekend trip to the lake house, but as usual Ian had gotten tied up in his work and Alex was stuck in London. He’d begged off a film night with his friends, and quietly wandered towards his hidden reprieve. The gentle breeze whistled through the clear skies, and the neighborhood path was filled with children playing in the flowery gardens that lined the street.

He ducked underneath the looming branches of the old weeping willow, and brushed aside the creeping leaves that crawled their way up the fence. In the few years that he’d discovered the little pond, weeds had taken over much of the black metal, and tall grass took up residence on the coarse gravel around it. He’d broken the lock earlier in the year so now the door swung open easily, but latched back into place as he carefully closed it.

The sun glinted off the water invitingly, and he could already tell how warm and pleasant it would feel against his skin. In his haste to peel off his blazer and shoes, he didn’t hear the gate swing open, or the soft footsteps that crept inside the clearing as Alex dug out his coat. By the time he pulled it on and splashed his way to the edge of the water, there was someone else following Alex with his mouth hanging open.

“Mate, you’ve been skipping films and footie to hang out in this dump??”

Alex froze, standing still in the sunlight, before slowly turning to face his friend. There, shaking his head in disbelief, was Tom.

“Er, I can explain?” Alex knew there was no way to explain but surely there was no harm in trying.

Tom pointed at the pond, which was littered with slimy algae and water plants. “You know that’s probably like a biohazard, right? Please tell me you haven’t been swimming in there when there’s perfectly nice swimming pools at school.”

“Um,” Alex tried to stall.

“Oh my God, you have,” Tom groaned, burying his face into his hands. “My best mate is gonna turn into a sea monster and I’m gonna have to find anchovies to feed you!!”

“Okay you’re taking this a bit too far, I’m not going to start eating anchovies just because I swam in a natural pond.”

Tom huffed, throwing his bag down, where it tipped over Alex’s, and rolled up his trousers before wading into the water next to him. “Do you really hate superhero films so much though? You could’ve just told me, we could have ditched the rest of the boys and watched something else.”

Coming from Tom, who lived and breathed superhero films, that was saying a lot. Alex decided then, that this was one of Ian’s rules he would break. Tom had always stood by him and was really one of his only friends — he didn’t deserve to be left in the dark. Maybe he would regret this later, but it seemed like the right thing to do.

“Well, maybe you weren’t, um, too far off with the sea creature thing,” he started, glancing at Tom out of the corner of his eye.

Tom stared at him like he’d turned into a frog. “Mate, I think you drank some of this water or something. How’re you feeling?” He brushed the back of his hand to Alex’s forehead. “You’re burning up, why’re you wearing a fur coat in this weather?? Listen you gotta take this off and then we’ll —”

Alex shoved his hands away, pulling his hood back on. “Tom, stop, I’m being serious!”

Tom took this as a challenge, and attacked the coat, tugging sides of it in an effort to take it off. Alex retaliated by grabbing the coat and pulling it closed, and in the scuffle they both splashed into the water, the hood falling over Alex’s face. As he slid into the pond, he could hear the familiar melody of the ocean, and instinctively let it wash over him.

An instant later, he cursed his reflexes.

“Stop pulling my coat!” He tried to say, but what he heard was, bark baaaark ba-bark. He turned wide eyes to Tom, who was again staring at him like he’d turned into a—well, a seal.

“...Alex?” His voice sounded strained. Alex nodded. “Could you, uh, roll? Off of me?”

Oh, thought Alex, that’s why he sounded out of breath. As he moved his flippers around, Tom scrambled out of the water, gasping for breath on the grassy stones behind him. Alex flopped his way over to him, hoping he hadn’t given Tom a heart attack.

As he got closer he could hear Tom mumbling to himself, rubbing his eyes viciously. Alex put a reassuring flipper on his knee. Tom peeked out at him and hesitantly patted the flipper.

“So...this isn’t a dream?”

Alex rolled his large, round, seal-y eyes.

“Ok, so I’ve somehow managed to turn my best friend into a seal, no big deal, we’ll figure out how to turn you back into a person again.”

“Oi, I’m still a person!”

Tom pushed his hands onto Alex’s mouth, looking around frantically. “Bark a little quieter, will you? People are going to think I’ve kidnapped a seal!”

Alex finally came to his senses, and let the watery rhythm evaporate from his mind. Peeling off the wet fur and letting it drip onto the grass he scowled, “I’m a selkie, not a seal.”

“Oh good you’re a person again,” was Tom’s response as he fell back onto the grass.

That was as good a response as any, Alex thought, as he dropped down next to his friend. Later, Tom would have a million questions, and come up with outlandish theories, and stage an impromptu fashion show with the sealskin. But for now, he was just glad his best mate hadn’t turned into a mutant sea monster.

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#alex rider #tom harris #selkie au #selkies #fic #my fic #fanfiction #seals #breathing underwater #my writing #sorry I didn't post this here at the same time as AO3 #I mainly use my ipad for writing and the tumblr app is the WORST

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artificialqueens · 3 years

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Galactica, Chapter 24 (Group Fic) - TheDane/Veronica

A/N: Hello darlings! Thank you for reading this story, we are so grateful. Please let us know what you think if you feel so inclined. Click here if you’re looking for previous chapters (or here if you’d rather read on AO3). 💫

Last Chapter: NY Fashion Week ended, and the team moved on to London.

This Chapter: London Fashion Week brings friends together, both there and back home in New York, where Adore continues to pine over Pearl and both Violet and Sutan fret about being forgotten.

***

Violet knocked on the door to Katya and Trixie’s apartment, waiting for a response. She’d just gotten home from work, and even though she was tired, she needed to keep her promise to Trixie to check on Katya.

“Katya?”

Violet knocked again, and felt stupid. She reached into her pocket, careful not to let the cartons of Chinese food she was carrying tip over, and fished out her phone.

Violet’s fingers hovered over the keys, not sure what she should write, or even who she should write to. She felt like she had to tell Trixie that she had come by, but that Katya wasn’t home, but she didn’t know if two knocks was enough of an effort between friends - if she was doing what she was supposed to.

Violet bit her lip, and she was just about to give up, to just put the food by the door, send Katya a text and ignore her responsibility to Trixie, when the blonde in question came bouncing up the stairs.

“Violet!” Katya smiled brightly. She was wearing a berry pink windbreaker and a neon green skirt, her hair half up in a blue scrunchie, a small set of what looked like doll hands dangling from her ears.

“Katya, hi!” Violet quickly put her phone in her handbag, the bag of take-out dangling awkwardly from her wrist. “I was wondering if, I, umh, if you wanted-”

“Trixie asked you to keep an eye on me, didn’t he?” Katya asked, unlocking the door to the apartment and beckoning for Violet to follow her inside.

“No! I just wanted to… to, to-” Violet was pretty sure she had to deny, that it was friend code to keep secrets like this, but as she shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, unable to come up with anything, she knew she couldn’t keep up the charade. “He did. Sorry.”

“That’s okay,” Katya smiled, waving her hand. “You can tell him I’m fine.” Katya grabbed the food, putting both that and her bags down on the counter and turned back to Violet, another big smile on her face, perfect teeth shining.

“That’s great. I-” Violet stopped, actually looking at Katya. The blonde’s smile wavered slightly, hardly detectable, but her blue eyes were puffy and rimmed with red. Had she been crying? “Katya...are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah!” Katya’s lip trembled, voice breaking slightly, and Violet was sure she was about to cry.

Normally, Violet felt uncomfortable around any and all displays of emotion, unsure what to do, uncertain about what the correct response was if she didn’t know the person intimately, but there was something about Katya that made that worry disappear completely.

Katya was so kind, always taking care of everyone around her: Trixie, Pearl, the neighbors, her students and even Violet herself.

“I don’t want to presume, but, if you’re not okay-” Violet waited a beat, lowering her voice slightly, “I hope you know that that’s okay.”

“I’m okay, it’s just-” Katya walked into the living room, sitting down on the couch, a deep sigh leaving her, Violet right behind her. “It’s been pretty rough.”

“Is it because-” Violet swifted, the situation oddly intimate. “Because Trixie is gone?”

“Trixie’s gone, Pearl’s gone, Max is gone, Shangie’s at her girlfriend’s place, Kim’s working late all week before she goes out of town, too…” Katya sniffled, wiping her eyes, and Violet felt a surge of worry, her hand reaching out and touching Katya’s knee, the blond knitting their fingers together. “Sorry.”

“You can talk.”

“I know it’s just a few weeks, and I’m being a huge baby,” Katya rolled her eyes, wiping at them again, and Violet reached into her bag, pulling a handkerchief out.

“Thanks-” Katya took it, dabbing her eyes. “I just had an extra session with my therapist, and I should be okay, I’ve been sober for forever, but, shit.” Katya snorted. “It’s hard.”

“Do you maybe,” Violet swallowed, “Do you want to umh, watch a movie or something? Your pick.”

“That would be amazing.”

***

“Home sweet home!” Sutan groaned, flopping down on the couch, toeing his shoes off and kicking them to the carpet.

“You don’t live here.” Karl smiled, bending down to pick them up so he could put them by the door.

“Sure mo-“ Sutan burped, holding his hand in front his mouth. “Sorry.”

“Tell me if you have to puke!”

“Mmh-”

Karl rolled his eyes, actually in the hall, when he heard a small groan coming from the living hey.

“You okay?”

“Fuck...”

Karl looked over, the other man’s phone in his hand, his brow furrowed.

“What?”

Sutan was adorably disheveled, his black suit jacket crumbled, the blue shirt twisted around his middle, his tie over his shoulder.

“She still hasn’t texted me back,” Sutan grumbled, running a quick hand over his face before he dumped his phone, reaching up to loosen his tie.

“Who hasn’t-”

They had met up earlier that night at what had turned out to be an outrageously boring, stuffy, industry party which they promptly ditched. They could have gone to another one, London overflowing with options during Fashion Week, but instead, they ended up at the pub, just the two of them, drinking beer and catching up.

“Got any beer?”

“Maybe. I’ll check the fridge,” Karl chuckled, walking towards the kitchen.

Now, hours later, Sutan had insisted on coming back to Karl’s apartment with him instead of his hotel, and apparently wanted to keep the party going.

Not that Karl minded in the least.

He loved spending time with Sutan--in fact, there’d been a time in his life when he would have dropped anything any time Sutan so much as glanced his way.

It had been the dumbest but most exhilarating years of his twenties, back when he had hung on Sutan’s every word, when he followed him everywhere like a loyal puppy, when he would have done anything and said everything to get his attention.

In the beginning, Karl had allowed himself to cling to the foolish hope that his friend would some day reciprocate his feelings, that Sutan would look at him and realize that he had all he needed had been by his side the entire time.

There had been a few kisses, here and there, but they had always happened during parties where heavy drinking and hard drugs were involved, and it was nothing they ever talked about sober.

Karl grabbed a bowl, filling it with chips before he got a couple of beers from the fridge, making his way back to his friend.

The sad fact of the matter was that Sutan, in spite of being incredibly chill and a little bit flexible, was actually depressingly straight.

Which was why Karl now lived in London.

He handed over a can of Pilsner, and slid down onto the couch beside Sutan.

“You’re the best-” Sutan smiled, leaning against his side, taking a sip from his can.

“So…” Karl bit his lip, Sutan smelling of sandalwood and man. “Who is she? Another socialite?“

“Who?”

“The girl you’re texting.”

“Ah.” Sutan looked up, his head resting on Karl’s shoulder. “No.”

Normally, Sutan didn’t mind sharing his conquests, the man an absolute idiot when it came to picking up clues, so he had never noticed how uncomfortable it made Karl, but this time, he was being uncharacteristically quiet about his new mystery woman, which made Karl even more suspicious.

“Is she a model?”

“No!” Sutan gasped, pulling back and sitting up. “Of course not!”

He actually looked offended, and Karl couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Come on man,” Sutan clapped his knee, his palm warm. “Who do you think I am? It’s against The Rule.”

“Well,” Karl shrugged, “Rules were made to be broken,” he said with a mischievous grin. It was something everyone knew about Sutan, that he never ever ever dated models. Karl would never have guessed that it would have given his friend an edge, but models seemed to truly trust him, Sutan somehow managing a calm and kind friend of the family vibe that Karl simply couldn’t replicate, nevermind the fact that he was literally gay.

“She’s not a model.” Sutan settled back down, this time leaning against the armrest of the couch. “She’s…” Sutan sighed. “She’s ignoring me.”

Karl couldn’t help but feel a twinge of resentment. Sutan looked genuinely distressed, and now that he thought about it, he had seen Sutan check his phone more than usual.

“Really?”

Did she not know what an amazing guy she had? Karl doubted it.

“I haven’t heard from her since yesterday.”

“Hmm.” Karl pursed his lips. “Wonder why.” He had learned long ago, even before the disastrous engagement, never to actively insult or give his true opinion on the women in Sutan’s life until after they were well out of it.

Not that they ever stuck around for long, the demands of Sutan’s job, his friends and his family always too much for them.

“I just don’t understand.” Sutan whined, the man always a little over-dramatic while drunk. “I’m a catch, right? Karl, be honest.”

“You’re adequate.”

“Karrrl…” Sutan groaned, grabbing his elbow to shake it. Karl’s smile would have broken through had the buzzer not rang just that moment with their perfect, greasy, midnight fast food delivery.

“Food’s here!” Karl jumped up, slapping Sutan’s shoulder in the process.

***

“...and like, he’s just so nice. Did I tell you that he texts me every morning just to say good morning and every night to ask how my day went?”

“Yup, you did,” Adore said. It was a lazy Sunday afternoon, and she was sprawled on her bed with her guitar, plucking out random melodies, while Courtney waxed poetic about her perfect new boyfriend and how wonderful and attentive and funny he was.

Adore knew that she wasn’t intentionally rubbing it in, but it still stung. She’d slept with Pearl over a week ago, and hadn’t gotten so much as a single text, whereas Courtney had already been out with Willam twice and apparently texted every day.

“Well, anyway…” Courtney trailed off, climbing over to Adore. “I guess I’ve been rambling, huh?”

“A little,” Adore said, looking over at her with a rueful smile. “But it’s cool. He sounds great, and you deserve it.”

“Thanks,” Courtney said, curling up beside her. “The only weird thing is…We still haven’t…”

“Fucked?”

“Well, yeah, but-”

“That’s not that weird,” Adore said. “You’ve been on what, two dates? He’s probably just used to girls who aren’t as...giving as you.”

Adore reached over to pat Courtney on the head.

“Ha ha. And yeah, that’s true. But we haven’t even...kissed, really.”

“You haven’t kissed?!” Adore asked.

“No, I mean, we’ve kissed. But we haven’t like...kissed, you know?”

“I love it when you talk in code,” Adore laughed.

“It’s just like...not real kisses. It’s like the kind of kisses I’d give my parents. Or my brother. Like this.” Courtney leaned forward to demonstrate, giving Adore a quick, dry peck on the lips.

“You kiss your brother on the mouth?!” Adore exclaimed, eyes wide with horror.

“You don’t kiss your siblings?”

“Not on the mouth!”

“So you’ve never kissed, um, Bianca, on the mouth?” Courtney asked, a bit of pink creeping into her cheeks.

“With the filthy places her mouth has been?! Hell fucking no.”

Courtney laughed, hugging a pillow to her chest, cheeks now blazing red. “Okay, well, I think we’re getting sidetracked. The point is...I like Willam. But I don’t know...”

“I guess. But, maybe he’s just shy.”

“Yeah. Yeah, maybe…” Courtney sighed. “What about you?”

“What about me? I’m definitely not shy.”

“No, I mean, any new developments in your love life?” Courtney asked carefully, as if there would be anything she didn’t already know.

Adore could tell that as supportive as Courtney was, she was a bit reticent to get fully onboard the Pearl Liaison train. She’s been dropping little hints here and there about Pearl being a player--hints which Adore had ignored. It wasn’t that she didn’t know about Pearl’s reputation. It’s that she didn’t fucking care.

Pearl was amazing in bed, cool and funny, and incredibly sexy, and Adore was prepared to have her heart ripped out of her chest.

If only she could get a second date.

“Ugh, no.” Adore sat up, setting her guitar aside with a groan. “I’m a fucking disaster as usual. Pearl still hasn’t called.”

“Well...she is traveling right now. Maybe she’s just really busy,” Courtney said, and Adore smiled, appreciating her attempt, however small, to defend Adore’s ridiculous infatuation.

“Yeah, maybe. But Bianca calls me whenever she goes abroad, even when she goes somewhere stupid like Japan, or like… Siberia or something.”

“I’m pretty sure your sister has never been to Siberia,” Courtney laughed.

“You don’t know her.”

“True…” Courtney bit her lip, then added, “I kind of wish I did, though.”

Adore tilted her head, looking at her curiously. Of course, her sister was one of her favorite people on the planet, and had been for as far back as she could remember. So hearing that her bestie liked her probably shouldn’t have been as surprising as it was.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. She seems cool.” Courtney picked at the comforter.

“Well, of course she’s cool. She’s related to me,” Adore said, and Courtney grinned.

“Exactly!”

“Annnnd...she’s having this big birthday party next month. Some crazy-ass, fancy thing at the Guggenheim. You should come, be my date.”

“Oh, I don’t...I don’t know, Adore.”

“Why not?!”

“Well...won’t like, my bosses all be there? It’s a little weird.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Adore said. “But listen, it’ll be a huge crowd. And if you come, Bianca will give me so much less shit than usual, since she actually likes you.”

Courtney’s eyes widened. “She does? Did she say that?”

“No, but I would definitely know if she didn’t,” Adore assured her. “You know Laila? She hasn’t seen her for years, but she still calls her ‘that garbage-faced slut.’”

Courtney burst out laughing, asking cheekily, “Is she wrong?”

“Hey!” Adore hit Courtney in the face with a pillow, knocking her onto her back. “Be nice!”

***

Violet groaned, taking a step back from the window. She bit her lip, flipping through the pictures she had just taken of herself on her phone.

Sutan had asked what she was wearing in a text, and while Violet normally hated getting her picture taken, and never took selfies in any shape or form, she was doing her best to attempt just that.

If anyone else had asked, Violet would have shut it down instantly, but even though Sutan had sent along a winky face, the text didn’t read to her as something sexual, the message more a joke than a serious request to see her in her underwear--or even worse, naked.

Violet wanted to make Sutan happy, wanted to play along with his game, but as she looked at the photos, she cringed; she had no idea how models, influencers or even normal people made taking pictures seem so easy.

She sighed, getting back in position in front of the window, Max always telling her how important light was for a good photo. It felt wrong to be standing in Fame’s office, but she wasn’t touching anything, the background only a crisp white carpet.

Violet thought that it had been hard having an almost boyfriend during Fashion Week, but what she had not expected was how Sutan being abroad felt about a million times worse, the fact that he was now in Milan and not London not making it any better at all.

She wasn’t a texter by nature, the fact that Sutan had messaged her not even crossing her mind for the first 48 hours. They had talked on the phone, and texted back and forth, but it wasn’t the same and she missed him. She missed Sutan, longed to see his smile and hear his voice, a phone call or even Facetime not the same at all.

She missed feeling his hands on her body, his weight on top of hers.

Violet pulled her hair over her shoulder, twisted her shoulder, lifting her phone, ready to try again, when she spotted something in the corner of the screen.

Courtney was leaning against the doorframe, an infuriating smile on her face.

“Shit!” Violet jumped, dropping her phone before she whirled around. “I wasn’t-” Violet held up her hand, her stomach tight with embarrassment. “This, it’s, I- Don’t tell anyone. Please”

“As if,” Courtney's annoying grin deepened. "You don't have to be embarrassed, Vi.”

Violet almost opened her mouth to reprimand her, the other again acting way too familiar for Violet’s comfort, when she continued talking.

“It's not like you had your top off."

"What-” Violet could feel her cheeks heat up, her entire face going red. “I'd never-” Violet left Fame’s office, closing the door behind her. “Don’t say that.”

"Never?” Courtney giggled, skipping forward to perch on the edge of Violet's desk. “Why not?"

"That's not-” Violet wanted to say that it wasn’t any of Courtney’s business, that she should watch her attitude, but the other looked genuinely interested, like she actually cared about the why. “I don't have that kind of body."

“Please,” Courtney scoffed. "You have an amazing body, what are you talking about?"

"I'm not very-" Violet wasn’t sure if she wanted to say the word. She knew she wasn't hideous, that she could dress herself, that she was pretty if you were into her type, which Sutan thankfully was. "Very sexy."

Courtney looked genuinely confused, and Violet almost wanted to sigh.

Of course she didn’t understand her; Violet wasn’t sure why she thought, even for a second, that she would.

Everything about Courtney was dainty and feminine and all the things that a girl was supposed to be. From the way she walked to the way she dressed to the way she sat on the edge of Violet’s desk with her legs crossed coyly.

Everything about Courtney screamed that she was hot, fun, flirty, and knew it. She hadn’t even batted an eye when those suits drooled all over her in the cafeteria; she’d probably been told she was beautiful every day she’d been alive.

"Violet…” Courtney smiled, something that looked disgustingly like pity in her gaze. “I really hate to be the one to break this to you. I mean, someone probably should have already told you, like a long time ago, but…you're really hot." Courtney grinned playfully, twirling her hair. "Like, really really, really hot."

Violet almost snorted. She had been called pretty, beautiful, Sutan often telling her she was gorgeous or lovely, her style most often described as elegant and classy, but being called hot, and even really hot, was not something she’d experienced.

"Thanks." Violet bent down to pick up her phone. "I'll keep that in mind." Part of her wanted to forget the whole selfie business, to not even attempt it again, but Sutan deserved it, and she wanted to do something for him.

“Let me know if you change your mind about the topless thing. I have a lot of experience in that area,” Courtney said.

“What-” Violet’s head snapped up, horror all over her face. “Get off my desk!”

“Sorry.” Courtney slid down with a giggle.

#rpdr fanfiction #thedane #veronica #galactica #vitan #witney #adore x pearl #violet chachki #katya zamolodchikova #raja gemini #manila luzon #courtney act #adore delano #lesbian au #fashion au #fluff

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bensboynton · 5 years

Text

Perfectly Flawed b.h

hi hello!!! @kellysimagines sent in a really cute prompt and i just finished it, so here it is :)

the borhap cast is involved in a lot of this one

female!reader x ben hardy

word count: 4.8k

warnings: fluffy, angsty, mentions of infidelity (DO NOT CHEAT ON YOUR S/O) unedited

“Hey babe, going out with the boys for a drink tonight after we’re done filming for the day. Don’t wait up for me, I’ll be late. Love you.”

You removed the phone from its place on the side of your face, anxiousness gnawing at the insides of your stomach that sprouted from the harshness of your boyfriend’s voice. And that you had barely seen him at all this week, the third night in a row he was going out.

He left early in the morning for “a workout” or to “auditions” or whatever else he could come up with an excuse, and either didn’t get home until you were long asleep or would come in for five minutes to change and leave again.

You had been living with Ben for almost a year now, and saying you were in love with him would be the understatement of the year. You were completely smitten.

Everyone around you constantly spoke about how you had literal hearts in your eyes every time you looked at him, how you were the perfect couple, blah blah. And you believed it for a long time. But the last week has made the foundations of your relationship begin to crumble in your brain.

Every Tuesday, you and Ben go out to eat somewhere and stop at an ice cream parlor near your shared Townhouse after, but he canceled this week. He claimed he “forgot” and made plans that day even though you’ve been doing it every week since you started dating. That was three years ago.

And then the one day you saw him after work, he was distant. Said he was “too tired” to watch one of his favorite movies of all time with you. At first, you gave him the benefit of the doubt. But now your mind was beginning to turn to the worst.

You texted the first person to come to mind, desperate for human contact. You sent a loving paragraph to your best friend, Lucy, asking if she could come over for a much-needed girls night, but she sadly declined. She had plans to go out to eat with Rami.

Must be nice spending time with your boyfriend.

You shook your head and scolded yourself for having so little trust in the loyalty of your boyfriend. But, you couldn’t help to wonder what was going on. He used to go out once a week, at most, and now he’s going out every other day?

You weren’t having it.

Picking up your cell phone again, you scrolled to Joe’s contact in your phone. You chewed your lip, weighing the pros and cons in your head.

You could leave it alone and put your trust in your boyfriend, or call one of your mutual best friends and see if Ben was really out to drink with him. I mean, it’s not like you were accusing Ben of anything just by calling. Plus, you were worried about his safety.

And also if he was fucking another woman. But you tried to push those thoughts from your mind.

You deserved to know, especially after being ditched and denied quality time again and again. He would creep in after midnight, and you’d wake up to him in his sweatpants at the far end of the bed.

You had dropped plenty of hints of how much you wanted to spend time with him, how much you missed being around him and he seemed to ignore it. At the time, you shook it off as you being clingy. But the more you thought about it, the angrier and more abandoned you felt. You deserve an explanation!

So, in a burst of impulse, you clicked on Joe’s contact, your stomach doing backflips as you waited for him to pick up.

“Hello?” you heard a concerned voice on the other line, “Y/N are you okay? You never call me.”

“Hey! Yeah, yeah I’m good I just…” you trailed off, noticing the odd silence of the background, “where are you?”

“Home. Rami and Lucy are over and we’re eating dinner. Why? Do you need me to come over?”

“No! No, it’s okay. I just thought you were with Ben.”

“What? Was I supposed to be with Ben?”

You felt tears welling up in your eyes before you blinked them away. Maybe Ben just hadn’t invited Joe. No big deal.

“No, it’s nothing. Thanks, Joe. I’ll see you tomorrow for lunch,” you were short with him, ending the phone call abruptly. I guess it didn’t make sense for Joe to go out with Ben when you and Joe had planned a little brunch get together.

You repeated the process, listening to the ringing before another familiar, yet British voice popped up on the phone.

“Y/N! How are you love?” Gwilym spoke cheerily into the phone. Still, the same silence in the background.

You felt your heartbeat begin to quicken in your chest again, “Hey, Gwil. Just wanted to check if you were out with Ben?”

“Me? No, I haven’t heard from Ben in a few days actually. Why, what’s going on?” Gwil asked, his cheerful voice slowly quieting as he heard the distress in yours.

“It’s nothing Gwil. Have a good night, I hope I get to see you soon.” You mumbled quickly into the phone, praying that Gwil didn’t catch the large crack in your voice.

But, to your dismay, he tried calling you back a minute later. You let the phone ring, taking a deep breath and wiping the one lone tear off of your cheek. One last phone call to make. One last chance.

Ben’s childhood best friend Sam was supposed to be coming into town soon to visit, and you were banking on the idea that he got an earlier flight. You were crossing your fingers that they were together at some bar dancing and singing really bad karaoke. You were about to get on your knees and pray to any God that that’s what was going on.

You rung him up, using all your energy to hold back tears.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Sam! It’s Y/N.”

“Oh Christ, Y/N! How are you love, it’s been a while since I’ve heard from you.”

“I’m doing great actually,” you lied through your teeth, fidgeting with the ends of your hair, “I just needed to call and ask if you were with Ben by chance?”

“Ben? As in Benjamin Jones?”

“Yes, that’s the one.” You added a mechanical laugh for effect.

“Is Ben flying into London to see me? I’m sitting in my flat right now darling.” You could hear the confusion seeping from Sam’s voice.

“Ah. Okay. Thank you, Sam.”

You ended the phone call before placing your phone on the couch, breaking down into a mess of tears. You had just called all the people that Ben would normally consider getting drinks with, and none of them were with him.

Your mind quickly turned back to all the many scenarios you had hoped to God weren’t true. After a long while of crying on the couch in your living room, you changed into a sweatshirt and sleep shorts, making your way back to the bedroom you shared with Ben.

You sat down under the covers with a random episode of Friends playing off of Netflix, not really focusing on it. Your mind was racing at a million miles a minute. Were you not good enough for Ben? You knew you weren’t perfect, but was it stupid for you to believe him when he told you he loved you?

You were so absorbed in your thoughts, you didn’t hear Ben enter the house, only noticing as he crept into the bedroom.

You quickly closed your eyes, calming your breathing pattern. You felt Ben walk around to your side of the bed to make sure you were asleep, before turning to put on something comfier for bed.

You heard his phone start to vibrate on the dresser, and a whispered “shit” as he grabbed the phone and quietly responded to the phone call. There were a few mumbled “yeah’s” and “okays” and “sounds goods” and a long silence before he started speaking again.

“Thank you so much for this, Jessica,” your breathing hitched in your chest as he continued talking into his phone, “I appreciate all of this so much.” There was another pause.

“No! No, it was perfect. I promise. Why would I lie to you?”

Jessica. So it was true. The man who you told all your friends was the love of his life, the man you told you mom you wanted to marry. He was cheating on you with another woman.

Your brain was telling you to “wake up” and talk to him rationally, quietly, and express your emotions in a healthy way but your heart was so shattered you couldn’t move. You sat there for a while, waiting to hear the soft sounds of Ben snoring before getting out of bed. You grabbed your phone and a random pair of gym shoes, practically running out of the house.

Ben, of course, didn’t stir. He was a heavy sleeper, always was. You were almost jealous of the way he was able to sleep at night, not giving you a second thought.

You shakily called an Uber to your townhouse, even though you had a car. Your eyes were blurry with tears, and your arms were shaking, so you couldn’t trust yourself to drive. You sat down on the stairs near your doorstep as you waited for the red Toyota to pick you up.

You tried to calm yourself down as much as possible, but you couldn’t. You were shivering in the oddly brisk LA air and could taste the saltiness of your tears.

Your Uber arrived extremely fast, and you stepped into the backseat. The driver looked to say something but saw how puffy and slicked your face was with tears before turning back around. Thank God he took a hint.

He stayed silent for the entire ride until you were suddenly standing in front of Joe’s home. Rami’s Audi was parked near the curb, and you sighed a shaky breath of relief that you were far away from Ben and that house.

Never thought you would say you were glad to be away from Ben.

“Have a good night. Hope you feel better,” your Uber driver said with a slight wave and sympathetic smile. You returned the favor, walking up the stairs to Joe’s house, knocking three times.

“Joe, are you expecting anyone?” you heard Rami bellow through the house, obviously tipsy on white wine.

“No. Maybe they did a late delivery on my amazon package.”

“Was it your sex toys?”

“Rami!” Joe scolded in disapproval.

“I’ll get it,” Lucy hummed, opening the lock and swinging the door open cheerfully. She had a beautiful, content grin on her sweet face before she went slightly pale at the sight of you on the doorstep.

You were shaking, bawling your eyes out in the ugliest sweatshirt you owned with a pair of mismatching socks and a very thin layer of sweat clinging to your skin from your rattling sobs.

“Oh my fucking god,” she muttered, rushing out the door to wrap you in her arms, “Y/N, baby what’s wrong? What happened?” you just started crying harder at the sound of your best friend’s voice.

“Did I hear ‘Y/N?’ Why is she here-” Joe began before gasping at the sight of you collapsing in Lucy’s arms at the door.

Rami and Joe both ran up behind Lucy and helped lead you to the couch. Your throat and chest were beginning to tighten from the constant crying, and you just wanted to go to sleep and forget about all of this.

Rami and Lucy were on either side of you, comforting you gently instead of pestering you with questions. Joe walked swiftly from the kitchen, a glass of water in hand before sitting in front of you. You could see the pain on his face from seeing you like this.

You had known Joe, Rami, and Lucy from when you went with Ben on the set of Bohemian Rhapsody, as well as the other cast. You had gotten really close with everyone, and you considered them all your family.

“Sorry for interrupting your little get together,” you sniffled, trying to hold back sobs.

“No, don’t say that you weren’t interrupting anything,” Rami comforted you quickly, rubbing your back assuringly. He always had a comforting aura but for some reason, his calming persona didn’t seem to be helping.

“I-I just didn’t know where else to go,” you spoke, your voice cracking as a few more tears escaped your eyes. The same eyes Ben used to look into every time he said he loved you.

“It’s me and Ben.”

Lucy’s grasp on your hand tightened and Joe’s eyes went wide, “What do you mean?” Lucy asked quietly, her voice overly quiet.

“He’s been going out the get drinks almost every day this week, which isn’t a big deal. But he’s just been distant and cold for a while and I…” you trailed off, sobs working their way back up your throat and you started to cry again.

Rami, Lucy, and Joe were so silent you could drop a pin on the floor and it would probably hurt your ears it’d be so loud.

“He told me he was going out for drinks tonight with ‘the boys,’ so I called Joe, Gwil, and Sam to see if he was with him and they all said no.”

Your three best friends just nodded, an idea of what happened started to grow in the pits of their mind.

“And he came home late, so I pretended to be asleep to avoid a conversation with him,” you paused, taking a shaky deep breath in, “and someone called him, so he answered and starting thanking this girl named Jessica and talking about how perfect ‘it’ was and I just- I ran.”

Lucy put a hand to her mouth and Joe’s jaw dropped, their shock somehow adding to the painful silence in the room. Joe stood up slowly and walked to gaze out the window onto the street in front of his house. You were feeling so much, yet so little you felt like you were going to disintegrate.

“That son of a bitch,” Joe sighed from his spot looking out the window. He let out a huff of disbelief, “I thought he would be better than this. Truly.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Rami said to no one in particular, struggling to wipe the shocked look off his face. You looked up to meet Lucy’s eyes who her glazed over in tears.

“I can’t believe he would do something like this…” Lucy trailed off, “especially to Y/N.” Her voice cracked as she pulled you into a tight hug. You slowly looked back up at Joe who was pacing.

“I’m gonna kill him for that. What a piece of shit!” Joe was starting to angrier as time passed, “give me one second,” he mumbled, walking out the door and dialing a number on his phone.

A few minutes later, Joe walks back inside, his face slightly red and out of breath from yelling into the phone and walking back to meet you on the couch.

“He’s asleep but I just left a very unpleasant voicemail for him to wake up to,” Joe mumbled, pulling out his phone again, “I’m calling Gwil and Allen just so they know not to be to nice to him.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” Rami said, a wave of newfound anger in his normally soft voice. He typed furiously into his phone, and Lucy followed his lead. You glanced at their phones to see them practically typing novels in your defense at Ben.

“I’m so, so sorry Y/N. You deserve better than that.” Lucy said, pulling you into another hug before the quiet was interrupted by Joe again. He burst into the room, slightly out of breath.

“So, Gwil and Allen are apparently on the way over right now, so just to warn you all,” Joe sighed, plopping down on the chair next to the couch.

You absentmindedly snuggled up to Lucy as Rami covered both of you with a blanket, and Joe turned on your favorite movie on Netflix to try and bring some comfort to you.

They didn’t really know what to say, so they tried to make up for their lack of words with all the comfort they could possibly offer.

You had been so scared that you’d show up and tell them what you heard and they wouldn’t believe you, or maybe not care. After all, they knew Ben better and were really close to him. You knew it was irrational to think these things because they were your best friends, but your entire existence was irrational at this point.

You were starting to fall asleep leaning against Lucy when there was an aggressive knock at the door. Joe leaped up to answer it to reveal Gwilym and Allen standing at the door.

“Where’s Ben? Is he here? I want to kick him in the nuts,” Allen spoke aggressively, his hard expression softening immediately at the sight of you.

You were crying again at the idea and sight of all your best friends gathered in the same spot to support you and be there for you. You walked over and quickly hugged Gwilym and Allen before they took off their jackets and made themselves at home in Joe’s house.

“Just want to be clear, do you need to talk about it? Because if so let’s get that done with before we start Titanic. I want to bask in all of Leo’s glory, uninterrupted.” Joe spoke, trying to lift the heavy mood in the room with a joke. You let out a breathy laugh before meeting the bluish-green eyes of Lucy.

“Let’s talk about it.”

And that you did.

You all sat there and you told them all about Ben’s weird behavior the past few days, the phone call, all of it. They all sat around with you quietly with open ears, drinking in the details of the recent events, silently nodding or expressing their anger when it was appropriate.

“I-I just don’t know what to do. Where to go,” you said, choking on tears in the back of your throat.

“Y/N, you have a home with all of us until you figure out where to go. We’ll go beat up Ben- I mean, we’ll settle this situation calmly tomorrow,” Gwil began, “but for now I think we should all just watch Titanic and simultaneously fall in love with Leonardo DiCaprio.”

You laughed, a smile creeping onto your face for the first time in quite a few hours. “There she is. There’s that famous Y/N smile.” Rami said from next to you, pulling you into a side hug.

Joe turned on the movie, sitting in the chair to the left of the couch alone, while Allen and Rami sat on the floor in front of the coffee table. Gwil and Lucy were on either side of you on the couch, and you’re not quite sure when, but you were eventually lulled to sleep. The comforting voice of Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio kept you company, while you were also surrounded by the group of people you love most in the world.

You were at peace. For now.

“Ben, I promise you she doesn’t wanna see you.”

“None of us do, actually.”

“You’re a piece of shit Ben. If I didn’t have any common sense I would-”

“Joe, not now.”

“Right. Sorry.”

“Point is Ben, Y/N doesn’t want you here and you’re not exactly a sight for sore eyes for all of us. Just leave before you hurt her anymore.”

You were rudely awoken by some intense whisper yelling happening at the front door, and you kept your best to keep up your act even with your sore neck from sleeping on Joe’s couch all night.

You assumed that everyone had stayed the night at Joe’s, due to their intense defending of your honor and mental state at the front door. But you could also assume that Ben was there.

“Please, just let me talk to her. I didn’t cheat. I promise that’s not what it was. I can explain the whole thing-”

“Oh, yes I’m sure you can Ben. Tell it to ‘Jessica.’” Lucy snarled, slamming the door in his face. it was frightening to hear the normally bubbly and optimistic girl sound so mean. The loud noise of the door almost coming off of its hinges caused you to jump.

You decided to stop with your act, sitting up and cracking your neck to alleviate the stiffness. Lucy turned around and her face softened, suddenly very apologetic. “Oh! Y/N I’m so sorry for waking you up I got carried away and-”

“I want to see him.”

“Ben?” Joe questioned, uncertainty written all over his face. The rest of your friends seemed to be thinking the same thing.

“Just to get closure.” The group nodded, and Lucy opened the door again and called Ben back in. He tripped he ran back up the steps to the porch so fast.

“You say anything that is off, I swear to god I’ll-”

“JOE!” your friends yelled, practically dragging him off into the other room. Lucy gave you a small reassuring smile as she closed the door behind her, leaving you and Ben alone in Joe’s living room.

The silence was crushing. It was awkward and grimy, making you feel like it was encasing you in a layer of goo that made you want to run out of the house and never look back.

“So-” Ben began before you abruptly cut him off.

“I’ll start,” you croaked, your voice already cracking. This scenario sounded better in your head, your voice was a lot stronger and assertive. But this would have to do.

“I don’t know what I did, what made me so boring or why you would want to cheat on me, but you must’ve had a reason. And I’m sorry for ever making you feel trapped or like you couldn’t talk to me or break up with me. Because you deserve better than that.” you paused for a moment. You could tell in Ben’s eyes that he was screaming to say something, but you continued.

“But I also know that I deserve better than to have my loyalty and trust betrayed by you. And cheating on me was a really shitty thing to do-”

“Y/N for the love of God please listen to me. I’m begging you I don’t know what else to do.” Ben pleaded, his voice weak and his eyes searching yours desperately. You closed your mouth and nodded, trying to prepare yourself for the worst.

“I didn't cheat on you,” you scoffed loudly at his statement, “and I know, that sounds fake but just give me a moment to explain.” Ben took a deep breath, looking at his shoes before meeting your eyes.

“I know I’ve been distant, and it’s physically pained me every single day that I’d have to lie to you and tell you I couldn’t hang out and watch movies, or canceling our ice cream date. It was physically hurting my heart. But I was worried I would slip up and tell you the secret-”

“That you were cheating on me.”

“No! Christ, no. Y/N I was going to ask you to fucking marry me.”

To say your heart dropped out of your ass would be an understatement. Suddenly, pieces slowly started to come together in your mind.

“Jessica is the woman at the jeweler's who was in charge of your ring… and when I said I was out I was actually arranging a spot to bring you to, and checking on the ring size. And I was scared I’d accidentally ruin the surprise.” Ben ran his large hands through his hair, meeting your eyes again. You were frozen.

“I love you Y/N. More than I’ve ever loved anyone in my entire life. I would never even glance at another woman because you’re the only one I see.”

Your heart melted in your chest as you felt a tear roll down your chin and settle in the hollows of your collar bone.

“Ben… I-I’m sorry for assuming anything-”

“No. Don’t say sorry. You had every right to be upset that I was ditching you. I could’ve handled that a lot better,” Ben took a few steps closer to you before laughing and looking up at the ceiling, “I was planning on waiting to do this, but what the hell, right?”

Ben pulled a tiny black velvet box out of the pocket of his jeans and knelt down on one knee in front of you, opening it up to reveal a beautiful, silver ring. You gasped and took a step back, clutching your hands to your face as you started to cry harder.

“Y/N,” Ben swallowed thickly, never breaking eye contact, “as cheesy as it sounds, I’ve loved you from the day I met you, and even though you were with someone else, I knew we were bound to be together. It was fate. And you know I don’t believe in fate. But with you… the only way I could’ve gotten so lucky was if some otherworldly force brought us together. I love you. Please, do me the absolute honor of being my wife.”

You couldn’t believe the turn of events. One moment you were crying because your boyfriend was cheating on you (so you thought) and now you were bawling because he was proposing to you.

“Yes. Yes, Ben yes!” you screeched, bouncing back on your heels as Ben wrapped you in his arms and pressed his lips to yours. You felt a strong warmth run through your body at the feeling of his touch, something you had missed so much.

At the sound of you screaming slightly, the rest of the cast burst into the room to see you and Ben almost making out in the middle of the living room.

“Oh my god… he proposed,” Lucy spoke, gasping lightly, her face brightening as all the pieces started to click into place in her mind. You turned around, smiling the hardest you’ve smiled in months, which quickly brought a smile to Joe’s, Rami’s, Allen’s, and Gwil’s faces.

“Thank God Ben didn’t cheat. I was about to go and have him removed as my emergency contact,” Joe joked, earning a laugh from everyone, “what? I wasn’t kidding.”

You turned back to Ben and threw your arms around him, basking in the feeling of his hug and smelling the stale cigarettes on his shirt(a smell only he could pull off).

This past week had been a rollercoaster, to say the least. And you had cried way too many tears, but standing in that brilliantly sunlit room at 8 am felt so impossibly right, so perfect, you could’ve cried again.

You looked up into the crystal orb-like eyes that belonged to your lover, and you couldn’t help but smile. The stress and pits of despair brewing in the bottom of your stomach were gone. You were relieved again.

Standing there in the arms of the man you loved, surrounded by your family, you had never felt so at peace and calm in your entire life. Everything was perfect, even if you didn’t get a glamorous dinner or romantic beach walk for your proposal. It was flawed, and that was honestly very fitting.

Because both you and Ben were very flawed, and that led to a flawed relationship, with flaws in every single thing that you did. For example, when you literally just jumped to conclusions about Ben cheating. And that one time you almost burnt down your house trying to make grilled cheese because you forgot you put it on the stove. But those flaws is what made you two a perfect match, that’s why you were made for each other.

Because suddenly, when you were with Ben, those flaws and imperfections didn’t matter. You looked beyond them, you accepted them, and you learned to love them.

It suddenly hit you, standing there, that all of those perfect relationships never work out because they don’t know how to handle issues or fights or false conclusions. It’s like a blizzard suddenly rolling in on a perfectly sunny day in Florida. It’s a shock to them, they don’t understand it or know how to deal with it. You and Ben, on the other hand, frequently experienced blizzards and tiny drizzles of rain, and sometimes full-on hurricanes. But those storms only managed to make you stronger.

And you had never felt more grateful for every single flaw and imperfection and Ben both possessed at that moment.

You were both perfectly flawed. And you were both perfectly okay with that.

#ben hardy #ben hardy headcanon #ben hardy fic #ben hardy x reader #ben hardy x you #ben hardy fanfic #ben hardy fanfiction #borhap #bohemian rhapsody #lucy boynton #borhap cast #borhap guys #borhap boys #queen #bohemian rhapsody cast #bohemian rhapsody movie #joe mazzello #allen leech #gwilym lee

268 notes · View notes

theprodigypenguin · 5 years

Text

Scamander Headcanons Cuz I'm Pissed At Life Right Now

I'm in a very shitty mood so I'm gonna try and get rid of it by indulging in my version of the Scamander twins and their parents and life. Please note none of these are canon, they're my personal headcanons and opinions, you're allowed to have different ones. These are the ones I'm sticking too though, so have fun with yours like I have fun with mine:

Lysander is the oldest by a full five minutes.

They're the same age as Lily Luna, but Lily was born first.

While they aren't official Wotters, Luna and Rolf spend many holidays and just general get-togethers with them, so the twins grew up around the Weasley cousins and the Potter kids.

Lorcan is a Hufflepuff like his father but takes after his mother in personality.

Lysander is actually strikingly similar to his great grandmother (Tina) and his great grand uncle (Theseus).

Lysander is a Ravenclaw like Luna.

Lorcan is a very quiet and airy person, seeming to be constantly stuck in a daydream and often seen swaying on his feet as if to music.

He's a generally very happy person and loves hugs.

He gets along with most people, though he is occasionally bullied for being "weird".

Never seems to mind the bullying, usually just smiles through it and often will try to hug his bullies because "they need a hug".

Lysander, on the other hand, is very different, argumentative and cynical, hard to talk to because he tends to ramble when he's anxious (which is a lot).

Unlike Lorcan, Lysander has trouble working around his emotions, and usually just ends up getting frustrated and angry.

Finds it difficult to make friends because of internal self doubt and the fear that they'll ditch him eventually when they realize he's so difficult.

Because of this fear, he tends to ghost potential friends before they can really get to know him.

Says it's for the best.

Lorcan is a Legilimens like his great grand aunt (Queenie).

Lysander, an absolute dumb ass, is unaware of his brother's talent until they're around seventeen or eighteen, because he's a fucking idiot.

Like most born Legilimens, Lorcan has trouble controlling it sometimes, which often lead to migraines and physical trembling, fatigue and fainting spells.

If the thoughts get too overwhelming then Lorcan will seek out the most relaxing presences, the people whose thoughts aren't as loud, or are more predictable.

Lysander is often thinking of simple things like school or music, occasionally he'll be reciting something ridiculous in his head, and Lorcan finds it oddly therapeutic, so nine times out of ten he'll look to Lysander for comfort.

Other comforting presences are Filius Flitwick (he's always thinking of music compositions for some reason), Hagrid (always thinking about his creatures and his cooking), Scorpius Malfoy (his internal rambling is quite similar to Lysander's), McGonagall (she knows about his talent and always tries to be aware of her thoughts when she's around him, so she doesn't overwhelm him), Madam Pomfrey (also aware of his condition), and of course his parents.

Being in the great hall for meals always strains him the most.

Lorcan seems to take after their family the most, and has a born talent for dealing with and caring for magical creatures.

He was capable of calming even the testiest of creatures when he was still very small (and he's Newt's favorite but don't tell Lysander).

Lysander, on the other hand, is absolutely horrible around animals.

He doesn't even own an owl/cat/toad because when Rolf took him to get a pet for school, everything he held tried to bite or scratch him.

Because of this stark deviation from his family, Lysander spends much of his youth and teenage years hating himself, doubting himself, and fighting against incredible shame, thinking he's somehow less than the rest of his family, assuming they're ashamed of him and hate him as much as he hates himself.

He finds a bit of comfort in his studies, and prefers reading and hiding in the library or down by Black Lake over making friends (because he's honestly terrified of making friends).

He has amazing grades in everything accept for his Care of Magical Creatures class.

Though Hagrid never says so, Lysander can tell his teacher is always disappointed when he messes something up.

He's excellent at the written aspect of the class, he just can't physically handle the creatures.

Lorcan can read him like a book, and always feels sad when he hears Lysander thinking so badly of himself.

He tries to cheer Lysander up the best he can by reassuring him that just because their name is Scamander, doesn't mean they all have to be Magizoologists.

That Lysander can be anything he wants.

In the end he takes a lot of strength from Tina and Theseus, who become his role models, and he becomes an Auror straight out of Hogwarts.

Lorcan, unlike Lysander, loves animals. Creatures don't have any discernible thought process that humans can interpret, so Lorcan finds being around them very soothing.

He owns a big ginger half Kneazle cat, a gift from Rolf when he was just a kid, given to him when it was just a kitten.

The cat fucking hates Lysander and Lysander hates it right the fuck back.

Lorcan takes him everywhere though and it annoys Lysander SO much, cats don't belong in the FUCKING classroom!!!!

Despite how different the twins are, they're very close. Maybe not attached at the hip, but still close.

Lorcan isn't ashamed of hugging his brother whenever they cross paths at school, saying he loves him every chance he gets.

Lysander, while not as physical as Lorcan, still loves his brother dearly, and though he complains about the constant hugging, he has never and will never push Lorcan away.

Also not one to throw around the phrase "I love you", Lysander will mumble it incoherently when Lorcan insists he say it back.

He acts annoyed with his brother sometimes, because Lorcan's airy go with the flow attitude clashes terribly with Lysander's schedule oriented life.

Lorcan is a messy kid, his robes are never on right and his tie is always crooked or knotted wrong, so whenever Lysander sees him he stops just to fix the tie and straighten his robes.

Of course the minute he's gone Lorcan absentmindedly messes everything up again and gives Lysander a brain aneurysm from it.

To people who don't know them, it might look as if Lysander hates his brother, is so terribly annoyed with him, but Lysander loves his brother, and he hates nothing more than when people bully him.

While Lorcan doesn't mind it, Lysander has gotten into more than one physical fight (who needs fucking wands when you have fucking FISTS) trying to get the bullies to back off.

Lysander has a strong sense of justice and wanting to look after the little guys who can't defend themselves, which is one of the reasons being an Auror fits so perfectly for him.

Lysander is also an excellent flier and loves Quidditch, but never tried out for his house team because of his anxiety and fear of failure.

After Hogwarts, Lorcan studies Magizoology with his parents, specializing as a Healer for Magical Beasts (wizard vet!!!).

Lysander moves to his own flat in London to be closer to the Ministry and his work, partly because being an Auror is dangerous and has the potential of making him enemies, so he doesn’t want to end up bringing danger to his family.

Lorcan stays living at home because that was where their creatures were, where he studied after school and took care of the magical beasts that his family would bring home.

Though he would also travel in the situation where a creature was sick and couldn’t come to him instead.

Lysander is bisexual, but he’s had a crush on Lily since they were thirteen.

It took him several years to realize he liked her as more than a friend, though, and Lily was the one to ask him out first.

At first their “dates” were restricted to studying as friends (Lysander helping Lily prepare for exams), flying together during free periods (Lily insists Lysander help her practice for Quidditch), and walking to Hogsmeade and spending the day there together.

They don’t become an “official” couple or tell their families until after graduating and getting jobs.

Lorcan is omnisexual, but it’s very difficult for him to open up to people since their intentions are so clear to him, and normally not as pure as he would like.

He isn’t one to take relationships lightly, and is actually very sensitive when it comes to people’s crushes on him, or if he’s the one with the crush.

In the future he ends up falling in love with one of Lysander’s Auror partners, Liam McLaggen (OC), which Lysander isn’t exactly HAPPY about.

Both Lysander and Lorcan are around the same height.

Lysander has his mother’s silvery-blue eyes and keeps his hair neatly cut and styled.

Lorcan has blue-green eyes (see Newt!!!!) and his hair is a bit longer and curlier than Lysander’s (it’s also a lighter shade of blond).

After years of reading by dim wand light in the middle of the night, Lysander had to get himself glasses before starting at the Ministry(who hasn’t read books in the middle of the night under the covers with nothing but a flashlight?).

He’s supposed to wear them all the time, but rarely does, claiming he only needs them for “reading”.

It takes a while, but Lysander eventually becomes good friends with both James and Teddy.

James played difficult at first, pretended he didn’t like Lysander because he was dating Lily (and as the big brother it’s his job to be suspicious of his baby sister’s boyfriend, right?) but they genuinely got along and enjoyed each other’s company.

James basically adopted both Lysander and Lorcan as two more little brothers. Lorcan is very pleased with having another brother, Lysander not so much.

Lysander didn’t make any permanent friends during his seven years at Hogwarts, but as soon as he joined the Aurors and was placed into a field team he quickly made friends with each of his partners.

He would die for them, and they would die for him (but he’s not allowed to die cuz Lorcan would cry and Rolf would ground him).

Okay heck that’s all I got for right now, but writing all this down was super therapeutic. Heck I love the Scamander brothers. And I know everyone in fandom probably have a million different headcanons for these good boys, considering they’re not mentioned much in canon aside from the fact they exist, so their personalities are entirely fluid and up for interpretation, buuuuuut I’ve thought so damn much about about them and I’ve grown super attached to my version of the boys. I wanna reiterate what I said before though, if you have headcanons that differ from mine you are hecking valid and should be proud of your headcanons because they can be insanely hard to think up!

Anyway yeah, I’m in love with the Scamander brothers, bye!

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tcsnextgen · 5 years

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Why is London "putting on the red light" ? (Lol me and my stupid tendencies to speak in song references. Why is she selling her charms? What got her into that?)

Soooooo… I put some more thought into my girl over the last few days but really, she’s my absolute brand-newest character ever! I hardly ever brag about new characters right away and usually toy with them in my head for a little while before letting them out of the house for the first time so some things are bound to be a little vague and are also likely to get altered a bit in the future, once everything progresses. :D

(Also, use ANY song reference you want! *_* I get that, lol. I’d make tons of song references if I could, lol.)

I feel that London - I should probably refer to her as Skylar in this, though - was always a bit of a ‘wild child’. Her family was a middle class family, her parents are nice and hard-working people but hardly had the time to spend any quality time with their kids (Skylar has an older sister, Sandra). Thus, the two girls spent much time on their own or playing with the kids in the neighbourhood, being at other people’s houses and outside a lot, always coming home as late as possible.

Skylar started admiring the boys around her at a rather early age. Her and her school girlfriends were a little bunch of cuties, always flirting and making eyes at them and it didn’t take Skylar long to actually get involved with some of them. She had her first time at 14 only, believing that he was The One, which he - of course - wasn’t. He dumped her only a few days after but that didn’t keep Skylar from trying to find her true love. She was sweet, young and naive, looking for love, subconsciously trying to define her self-worth by relying on the affection from others.

Skylar became a hairdresser after she finished school. She liked the job, she still met up regularly with the people she knew from school and while life was okay, it never got exciting. Skylar often asked herself whether this was it, whether things now were as good as they were ever going to get. She had a routine, she knew all the guys already (not everyone in THAT way, though, oh dear no) and everything was so predictable.

And then, just a bit after Skylar had turned 21, Ethan showed up. Ethan was already 31 and from Dublin. Big City Boy. Ethan was also handsome and smart and really nice. He had a shiny car, always wore those expensive button-down shirts and fancy watches and he was so generous. A real gentleman, so very into her. He took her out to fancy places all over the country, he listened to her, he took her seriously.

And then he took her away. After only a few months of being involved with him, Skylar - still naive and lovestruck - would’ve followed him anywhere, really.

Ethan turned out to be a narcissist and control freak, engaging in some rather shady activities. He emotionally manipulated Skylar by gaslighting her over such a long time, making her feel terrible for being who she is, for having needs, for wanting things. He also got her hooked on drugs. Not heavy drugs but still.

Skylar never had any ambitions or greater plans for her life, all she wanted was to be loved by a really great guy. The guy was now there (Ethan always insisted that he loved her and would do anything for her!) and she still wasn’t statisfied. “What else do you want, Sky? I am at my wit’s end, honestly. Can’t you see all the things I’m doing for you? How I’m breaking my back to make you happy?”)

He was right, probably. She was most likely being a selfish brat. And he had every right to throw her out at some point, probably, when he had enough of her antics. At least that was what he did. He threw her out. Returning home didn’t seem to be an option at this point, Skylar felt guilty and embarrassed and her parents would probably abandon her anyway, for being a terrible person, for leaving, for becoming who she became and so she became a stray, with only a few belongings left to carry around in a small backpack, sleeping in all kinds of places, stealing, using public loos and also the loos at restaurants to wash and take care of herself, often randomly hooking up to have a bed and a long hot shower in the morning. She also tried several jobs to keep herself above water but she always got fired after a few days, either for stealing or not showing up at all, because being hungry all the time and living a homeless life is hard and tiring.

At some point, one of her random hook ups, a quiet (and surprisingly polite) guy, probably in his mid- or late thirties, got out his wallet, just after the two of them had entered his apartment.

“I’m sorry, should’ve asked beforehand, I guess. What’s your rate, dear?”

Rate? she thought to herself, confused.

He now looked at her and hesitantly pulled three green notes out of the wallet. Three hundred Euro. Skylar looked at the money and then looked back at the guy, eyes wide, realising what was happening.

“I’m sorry. I don’t have any more cash on me right now, I could-” he stammered.

“Three-hundred is fine.” Skylar said quickly. She didn’t care that he had obviously mistaken her for a prostitute. She saw the money in his hands, so much of it, and that’s all that mattered to her in that moment. Her head was spinning.

First thing she did after leaving his apartment in the morning (”Wow, you’re staying the whole night? For three hundred? You sure are something else, dear.”) was treating herself with a large Latte Macchiato and a nice English breakfast in the cute little restaurant around the corner. While she sat there, enjoying the taste of good food after months of hardly eating at all, she pondered last night’s events. The money in her pocket was such easy money. It was money for something she knew how to do well. Despite her love for sex, prostitution had never crossed her mind, actually, but now she had done it, just like that. And it felt strangely… okay. Actually, it felt good. For the first time in many months, Skylar felt like she was in control of her own life again.

The guy she had just done it with became her first regular for a while. He was always nice, he treated her like a lady somehow. At least she guessed that this was what being treated like a lady felt like. She had forgotten at this point. Probably never knew anyway.

Becoming a prostitute helped her gaining back at least some of her confidence, though. She was the one who made the rules. She was in charge again. So Skylar walked the streets for a while, always thinking how easy life had suddenly become for her, until that one fateful night when that client beat her up (aka the night she met Rory).

Staying with Rory for a little while made her realise one thing, though: She missed some security in her life. She still had no actual place of her own after all and she was also afraid that such an incident could happen again, with another guy, who could possibly do even worse things to her. Rory and his friends helped her get a tiny apartment, really tiny, but it was fine, it was hers. Skylar also looked for a place to work at, very well knowing that this would take away a good bit of her freedom but the prospect of falling victim to the mood of a drunk and aggressive client and maybe ending up dead in a ditch was so much worse. A big dude named Andy eventually hired her to work at his club. (”He’s a bit of a fuckwad but still alright. Hates it when someone hits a gal. Makes me like him enough.” Rory had said.) She would be an exotic dancer, a waitress, a prostitute. She also would chop off her long, brown hair and dye it. She would start wearing all these trashy-funky clothes from now on.

Skylar Smith would become London.

People often refer to prostitues as “fallen women” which London can’t comprehend at all. Her own life had improved so much ever since she became one after all. She lives at her own place in a nice city, she has good friends, she owns tons of clothes and make up supplies. She has her favourite cafés, restaurants and bars, she has her hobbies and enough free time for “me time”. She enjoys talking walks, going to the movies and beating Rory and his friends at poker. She has a real life now and, in the end, her job is just a job.

London is oddly happy, just like Rory is oddly happy with his life. Both of them don’t expect people to understand, though. It’s not something that can easily be explained after all. The two of them are just happy to have each other and also somehow get each other. :D

#tidbits #rambling #london

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