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hollandorks · 2 years

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matt murdock x original female character

chapter twelve

Summary: Fleeing from an abusive relationship, Grace St. James goes to the only place she still has a friend: Hell’s Kitchen. She’s forced to live in her car and beg for a job from the law firm Nelson, Murdock, and Page all the while making sure her past doesn’t catch up to her. Enter Matt Murdock: cocky, handsome, and willing to let her live with him for free until she can afford to get a place of her own. Grace is drawn to Matt in a way she’s never been drawn to anyone, causing sparks to fly as they inevitably grow closer and closer.

a/n: Oh look one of my favorite tropes/ kinds of scenes to write....you’ll probably know it when we see it. Things are steadily heating up and the slow burn is becoming a little less slow. I’m pretty excited for what’s coming up in the fic, starting with this chapter! Also, I am 1000000% making lawyer shit up. I’m also leaving out a lot of details on purpose. Can’t get anything wrong if you don’t add details, right? Besides, the legal case isn’t what’s important in this chapter. Grace’s heart eyes are!

(Bonus: next update is the chapter the teaser is from! If I wasn’t on desktop I’d put the eyes emoji here)

Series Masterlist

word count: 4532

It had been a long, long day.

Grace’s dream haunted her for a week. Every time she looked at Matt, she remembered how it felt to have him next to her, kissing her, touching her. She craved it, ached for it, and she hated that she wanted it so much. It hadn’t been real, but it had been so close to real that it was more of a memory than a dream.

To distract herself, she buried herself in work. It wasn’t too difficult–their big case was about to go to trial and every one of them was twice as busy. Often, Grace went out and got dinner and brought it back to the office for everyone. They usually sent her home after that, even while all three of them continued working well into the night. Sometimes she wasn’t even sure they went home.

When Grace got back to the apartment each night, she paced and waited until it was late enough to check the roof for any signs of Daredevil. He was her other distraction from all things dream-Matt related. She tried to work on her lists of things to incriminate Dean–usually getting nowhere–and usually had to talk herself out of returning to that warehouse on her own.

It was about a week after their last meeting that he finally showed up.

It was Friday night and Grace had gotten home maybe an hour before midnight. Matt had grabbed his gym gear and immediately left again, muttering about needing to think about something other than work for a while.

Grace had to admit she was both relieved and apprehensive to see the familiar deep red armor emerge from the shadows.

“I was beginning to think you wouldn’t show up again,” she said. She bit her lip and let her gaze skate over him. “Did you…find anything?”

The last time she’d been at that warehouse had been an accident. Dean had taken her there with him on the way to a date, which was really a meeting with some CEO or other and his wife. But then thirty minutes had gone by. So she went inside. No one spared her a second glance, which was usual when she was with Dean. They all knew she was his.

It had been a normal warehouse at first glance. She thought it was for whatever things Dean’s company needed to store. The first floor was covered in equipment she didn’t know the names for and boxes of every size.

When he found her, Dean had used her to send a message to Harry Spencer.

She could still smell the blood.

“It was empty,” Daredevil said, interrupting her thoughts. His deep voice always brought to mind smoke and shadow when she heard it.

“I–” Grace paused. Empty. Maybe when she’d left Dean he’d gotten cautious. It seemed like him, preparing for every outcome. Another reason why she would have trouble ever tying anything back to him.

“The only thing I found was evidence of blood. A lot of blood. Everything else had been cleared out.”

Daredevil started pacing the edge of the roof, dangerously close to going over. He reminded her of a caged animal, prowling the perimeter of its enclosure, waiting for the right moment to pounce.

“That was…the most solid piece of evidence I had,” she said, a note of despair entering her voice. Her mind spun. She’d really hoped, naively probably, that he would have found some sort of tangible evidence. Evidence that would have been the beginning of the end. “I’m sorry, I–”

He stopped pacing so abruptly she startled. “Tell me what you know, Grace.” He was still half-in shadow, his voice barely a growl in the cold night air. Something about the way he said her name stirred in the recesses of her mind.

She wrapped her arms around herself and resisted the urge to try to hide. “I saw him there. Harry Spencer. He’d been…kidnapped. I don’t know. About six months ago.”

“Who kidnapped him?” She watched his gloved hands clench and unclench before they settled at his sides.

The panic coated her tongue, cloying and almost metallic. “I can’t prove anything. That’s the problem. I can’t prove anything, even though I saw him there.” Now it was her turn to pace. She whirled away from him, her words fogging in the air. Her emotions simmered under the surface of her skin and she suddenly understood very clearly why the man on the roof with her took the law into his own hands.

“You could testify. I know some good lawyers–”

“Yeah, so do I, and there’s nothing they can do without any evidence. One testimony that can’t be proved is worthless.” She stopped pacing and faced him, hands on her hips.

He took one solitary, purposeful step towards her. “Then tell me a name.” There was danger in the words. A barely restrained anger. Her basest instincts told her to run from him, though she wasn’t actually scared.

“I can’t,” she said with a helpless shrug. “I–He’d know it was me.”

“I can protect you.” He sounded almost desperate. Pleading.

“Not by yourself.” She thought of the countless people Dean had in his pocket, not including the entire security team he hired, made up of what she was pretty sure was a former military unit. “Just–give me some time to try and prove the building is owned by him. Maybe that–maybe that would be enough of a start.”

Even with most of his face hidden, she could tell his entire focus was on her. She could feel his stare like a touch on her face. “I can’t help you if you don’t let me.”

She gave a growl of frustration. “I am letting you! But I need to protect myself too. And my friends. My life. If I don’t have proof and I do anything to try and lay the blame somewhere…It’ll come back to get me. I know it will. And you seem very capable and all in a fight, but even you can be outnumbered.”

Daredevil was silent for a long moment. Finally, he blew out a breath in a cloud of fog. “Okay. I’ll keep an eye on the warehouse, see if anything else comes up. Just…be careful.”

He turned to leave.

“Wait! How do I–how do I get in contact with you if I find something?” She realized she’d reached out a hand as if to grab his arm and quickly lowered it.

He glanced over his shoulder at her. “I’ll come up here every Friday at twelve-thirty.”

And then he was gone.

Grace wondered why he was helping her when all she’d done was send him on a wild goose chase that may or may not find Harry Spencer’s murderer at the end.

But she was grateful that someone was on her side, someone who could stand up against Dean himself, even if she couldn’t.

–

Grace spent the weekend trying to figure out tax and property records for the city and feeling like she was running in circles. Her self defense classes were a welcome relief. She’d never wanted to hit something so much. Dean was plaguing her, a disease she couldn’t shake no matter what she did. The nightmares were back in full force, Harry Spencer’s bloodied face gazing up at her pleadingly every time she drifted off.

Grace wished she’d dream about Matt again, if only for a break.

Monday morning dawned too early.

She woke before her alarm and stared at the ceiling as the sun rose and lightened the room from the inside out. She heard the telltale noise of the coffee maker in the kitchen and roused herself enough to get up in search of caffeine.

Matt had his eyes closed as he shuffled around the kitchen to put an empty bowl in the sink and the milk back in the fridge. He was in his regular sweats and a hoodie that was only half-zipped, revealing some of his muscled chest.

Grace felt a warmth that had nothing to do with the heat kicking on as she watched him. There was something about Matt first thing in the morning, barely awake and rumpled from sleep.

“Morning,” she said softly as she made a beeline for the coffee.

Matt grunted and put the cereal back in its place. His eyes were still closed.

Grace frowned at the coffee maker and debated the merits of grabbing it before it had finished. She decided to wait, mostly so she didn’t look like a greedy caffeine hoarder in front of Matt and potentially spill coffee everywhere in the process.

“You’re not sleepwalking, are you?” she asked with one eyebrow raised as Matt kept his eyes closed.

A ghost of a smile and his eyes opened a slit. “No. But I’m not totally awake, either.” His voice was rougher than usual and it made her shiver.

She reached for the cabinet with the mugs at the same time he did and was rewarded with a rush of his scent on a wave of body heat as his chest brushed her arm. Grace froze, mind going utterly blank and quiet for a moment.

“Sorry,” Matt said in his gravelly voice, but he made no move to get out of the way. He simply grabbed two mugs, caging her in against the edge of the counter with his arm for a moment.

Grace looked up at him through her lashes, thinking of how much she wanted to kiss him, when she saw the bruise shadowing one of his eyes.

“Your eye,” she said. Without thinking, she reached up and traced the edge of the bruise with a fingertip. It was Matt’s turn to go still. “Let me get an ice pack.”

She darted to the freezer more to escape his tantalizing warmth than anything. Grace remembered how he’d taken care of her when she’d been so sick. How he’d pressed the ice pack to the insides of her wrists, to her throat, her head. How gentle he’d been. It was only fair that she returned the favor, if only marginally.

She pressed the ice pack gently against Matt’s eye. He still hadn’t moved.

“How’d that happen?” she asked in a low murmur. His hand came up and covered hers and stayed there. It dwarfed hers, his skin warm especially in contrast to the ice.

“I was boxing,” he said, so close that his breath brushed against her face. Her heart stuttered a little at their proximity, but neither of them moved.

She was so distracted by the warmth of him that it took her a full minute to process his words. “Boxing?” she repeated incredulously as she frowned up at him.

He smiled and her heart flipped over. Dangerous, that smile. “Yeah. The gym I go to, Fogwell’s, they’ve been teaching me some stuff since I was a kid.”

“You box?” she said again. Her mind chose that moment to picture a sweaty Matt in his gym clothes, and her heart did another flip. She mentally shook away the images.

“Don’t sound so surprised.”

“No, no–it’s more that I’m wondering what kind of person wants to hit a blind guy less than I’m wondering how a blind guy boxes.” She realized she was digging a hole for herself and shut her mouth tight. Matt’s hand shifted over hers. Her elbow bumped against him as she moved the ice pack to look at the dark bruise again. Matt made it look good. Too good. “Though the black eye does add a certain level of charm.” She bit her lip and blushed furiously. She hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

His grin turned into something that turned her blood molten in her veins. “Charm, huh?” he said softly. Was he…flirting with her?

They were steadily leaning closer and closer to each other, caught in an invisible orbit with each other.

She really, really wanted to kiss him.

Matt’s head tilted down, just slightly, and she realized that he might actually kiss her.

Her pulse thundered in her ears. She watched as his lips parted slightly to make room for the tip of his tongue. She watched, rapt, as he wet his perfect lover’s lips and moved almost imperceptibly closer. His hip bumped her stomach.

She was still holding the ice pack, but her arm was resting against him instead of pressing it to his face.

He was going to kiss her.

Everything slowed.

Matt groaned and stepped back right as a knock sounded on the front door. It was more of a loud banging, actually.

“I have muffins!” Foggy’s voice preceded him into the apartment.

Grace’s entire body blushed from head to toe.

She and Matt had almost kissed.

Matt reached out and very lightly touched her arm before he stepped around her towards Foggy.

“You’re lucky we’re awake,” he said to his friend in what was supposed to be a threatening tone.

Grace turned to face the cabinets and reached up to touch her lips with a shaking hand.

She busied herself fixing coffee so Foggy wouldn’t see her blush.

“Did you know Matt boxes?” she said to Foggy as she stirred sugar into her cup and tasted it.

When she turned, Foggy was frozen, a paper bag clutched in one hand. “Uh,” he said with a glance towards Matt, who was standing with his arms crossed next to him. “Yes?”

“Who in their right mind would feel okay about hitting a blind guy, is what I want to know,” she said as she went and gently took the bag of muffins from him. She had a feeling her face was still flushed, so she quickly drank more coffee as she dug out what looked to be a pumpkin muffin.

“Trust me, Grace, there have been plenty of times I’ve wanted to punch Matt in the face. It wouldn’t be too hard to find someone willing.” Foggy took the muffins back and grabbed one for himself as Matt rolled his eyes.

Grace laughed as Matt and Foggy started goodnaturedly making fun of each other and talked about punching each other in the face.

But nothing took her mind off of that almost kiss, even as they all walked to the office later.

Had she read too much into the moment? Had he really been about to kiss her? Or did she just think he had because she wanted it so badly?

Grace again felt her own inexperience. Ryan and Dean had been her only two real relationships. She’d been attracted to others before, of course, but she’d always been with Dean and the feelings fizzled out naturally. She’d never liked someone like she liked Matt. Had never enjoyed their company. Had never thought so much about kissing them.

With Matt, everything was…easy. They got along, worked and lived well together, could talk easily. And, of course, there was the raging attraction she felt towards him every waking moment–and most sleeping moments, too.

She was certain a man like Matt wouldn’t want someone like her. Someone inexperienced, someone damaged, someone who was running away from things more than she was running towards them. Matt was the kind of man who was confident in everything he did, whereas Grace was…not confident in much of anything most of the time.

And still she couldn’t shake the feeling that he really had been about to kiss her.

Maybe it was wishful thinking. Maybe it was what had really been about to happen.

The thought followed her all day either way.

Throughout the work day, even as busy as they were, she kept glancing at Matt. She wished they could have a moment alone. Just one moment. She wavered between wanting to ask if they really had almost kissed, kissing him herself the second they were alone, or trying to be casual about the whole thing instead of potentially horribly embarrassing herself.

But trial prep was ramping up and Grace barely had a minute to think let alone get Matt alone to talk.

Grace was surprised when, the night before the trial, Karen made a comment about riding to the courthouse together.

“Uh,” she said, unsure how to phrase the question. “I’m allowed to be there?”

Foggy and Karen stared at her as Matt frowned.

“Well, yeah,” Karen said as if Grace were a bit slow.

“You’re part of the team, Grace,” Foggy said. He said it as if it were obvious. As if she had always been a part of the team, and a welcome one.

Grace’s throat suddenly felt tight. “But–I don’t know what to do. I’ve never been in court.”

Karen flashed Grace a kind smile. “That’s okay. You’re mostly there to keep track of our papers and notes. And for moral support.”

“Definitely moral support,” Foggy said. “Just dress…you know, professional. Like you do here.”

And that’s how, the next morning, Grace found herself walking arm in arm into the courthouse with Matt. She was way more nervous than he was, and she wasn’t the one about to give an opening statement.

“How are you so calm?” she asked as she scanned the area for Foggy and Karen after they’d made it through security. She clutched Matt’s arm with one hand and a tray of coffees with the other. They’d picked them up on the way at Grace’s insistence. Matt had paid, surprisingly fast for a blind man, having the cash out before she had even found her wallet in her purse.

Matt shrugged. “I feel good about the case. We have a really solid defense and a really solid team. And the law is on our side.”

“That always helps, yeah. Instead of, you know, defending something illegal,” she said with a wry smile. Matt laughed.

Foggy’s dirty blond head bobbed through the crowd towards them as he waved wildly with one hand. There was an absolutely gorgeous blonde woman next to him looking like a Barbie doll in her smart pantsuit and heels. Her hair was perfectly straight, her skin tan and blemish-free, her legs stretching on for miles.

“Coffee!” Foggy said excitedly, grabbing for the cup with his name on it. He passed over a bag of pastries he’d brought. “Grace, this is Marci. Marci, Grace.”

Grace let go of Matt to put one hand out to shake. This was Foggy’s fiance? Marci was every inch the beautiful, intimidating woman the others had made her out to be.

“Nice to meet you. Foggy Bear’s told me a lot about you.” She flashed a perfectly white smile. “I hear we’re on the moral support team today.”

“I guess so,” Grace said as she blushed a little. She held up the drink carrier with four drinks and winced. “Sorry we didn’t bring you a coffee, I didn’t know you were coming. You can have mine.”

“Thankfully, Marci’s on our side for once,” Foggy said as he inhaled his coffee. “When we’re on opposing sides…she’s crazy good.”

Marci laughed. “He’s right. I’d crush them. But today I’m just watching, taking notes. Trying to recruit them for my own firm. And don’t worry about the coffee, I’ve had enough today already.”

Foggy watched Marci talk like she’d hung the moon, and something in Grace’s chest gave a painful lurch. Marci, intimidating and perfect as she seemed, looked at Foggy the exact same way. Grace had no idea how they fit together, but fit they did, and something painfully close to jealousy washed through her at the sight of them.

“I guess we all had the same idea,” Karen said as she stepped into their small circle. She held up a drink carrier with coffees.

“Karen brought coffee too. And Foggy has breakfast,” Grace said quietly to Matt as everyone laughed and traded cups and bags back and forth.

Matt smiled down at her, his expression gentle and open. “Great minds,” he said softly, for her ears only. She stared at him for a beat too long before turning back to the others. She remembered their almost kiss a couple of days earlier and a completely different blush settled into her cheeks.

“Foggy Bear, huh?” she murmured to Matt once they all made their way inside the courtroom.

He tilted his head back and laughed, long and loud. “He loves it, don’t let him fool you.”

Seeing Matt–and Foggy and Karen–in action in the courtroom was almost an out of body experience. To put it simply, they crushed it. Matt’s opening statement was clear, heartfelt, and pulled just enough on the heartstrings that even Marci murmured appreciatively when he was done.

Grace couldn’t take her eyes off of him. He was every inch the confident lawyer she’d come to know, but intensified a hundredfold. She watched his precise hand movements and the way he paced slowly back and forth in front of the jury like a caged animal, every line of him powerful and controlled. He was entirely in his element, and it showed.

She jolted when he took his seat again as she came out of the trance she’d been in.

Next, Foggy and Karen teamed up questioning witnesses and presenting evidence.

As the case went on, Marci whispered explanations about things to Grace, telling her various law interpretations and strategies the trio were employing. She even quietly pumped her fist a few times when a question was particularly spot on or an objection was sustained. Grace liked her immediately.

They broke for a lunch recess after a few hours, Grace’s head spinning. She hurried to find the notes and files Foggy was asking her for as they all went to eat during the short hour break. There were several food trucks parked outside, which was apparently the norm.

“So, what do you think?” Matt asked her as they walked together. Marci was emphatically explaining something to Karen, who had a yellow legal pad open and was scribbling furiously as she walked.

“It’s nothing like what’s on TV,” Grace said truthfully. “But still somehow as awesome. Marci was explaining some stuff to me. I get why you were so confident this morning.”

Matt grinned at her and she almost stumbled into the others, not noticing that they had stopped at the end of a short line for the food. “I’m glad you think it’s awesome. It feels awesome, most days. We should have a verdict by the end of the day, actually.”

“Really?” she asked, surprised. “I figured it would take a few days, at least. Jury deliberations and all of that.”

“No, that’s more for big cases. Or complicated ones. This one is really cut and dry. Like I said, the law is on our side, and the evidence is clear.”

Grace quietly read the menu to him as they shuffled forward. His hand rested somewhere against the small of her back. She wondered if he could feel her shiver at the touch, if he even realized he was doing it, or if he was simply trying to orient himself in the small crowd.

Lunch in hand, they huddled together and went over more things for the case before the hour ended.

The rest of the trial was, as Matt had promised, cut and dry. By four in the afternoon, the trial had concluded with an amazing closing statement by Karen, and Nelson, Murdock, and Page had won their case.

Grace let out a little cheer at the not guilty verdict before quickly covering her mouth. She hadn’t meant to cheer, but she was too excited not to. She felt better once Marci giggled next to her and Foggy turned to flash them both a huge grin. She caught the edge of Matt’s smile. No one else seemed to have noticed the outburst.

Outside, the team lost their calm demeanor. Foggy pumped his fist in the air, kissed Marci deeply, and high-fived everyone else in the span of three seconds.

“You guys were amazing,” Marci said, her cheeks flushed from the kiss. “Seriously. You could be making so much money.”

“We don’t do it for the money,” Matt said, a familiar refrain to Grace and evidently to Marci too, because she rolled her eyes.

“We’re going to Josie’s,” Foggy said. His eyes were overbright with excitement. “To celebrate.”

“You and I are going to dinner first,” Marci said, but something in her tone made Foggy blush. Grace decided to ignore it. She really didn’t want to know if dinner meant dinner or something else.

“Okay, Josie’s at…nine ish then?” Foggy shrugged. Marci nodded.

“I’ll see you there. I promised Ellison a quick interview if we won the case,” Karen said.

“Great idea. Good press.” Foggy snapped his fingers. He pointed at Matt. “Murdock?”

“Nine at Josie’s,” Matt said. He had a faint smile on his face that Grace couldn’t look away from.

“St. James?” Foggy asked with another snap of his fingers.

She laughed at his use of her last name. “Sure, nine at Josie’s, wherever that is.”

A quiet gasp from all sides. Marci groaned.

“You still haven’t been to Josie’s?” Karen said. Her mouth, along with Foggy’s, had dropped open in shock.

“Uh. No?” Grace shrugged. She assumed it was some sort of bar or restaurant since they were using it to celebrate.

“Oh, you’re in for a treat,” Foggy said with what could only be described as a delighted but slightly mischievous laugh.

“She’s in for a disease, probably,” Marci said with a curl of her lip, but she was still smiling.

“Both, probably,” Matt said. He grinned at Grace. Stop staring, she told herself.

“Definitely both,” Karen agreed. She slid her blonde hair over one shoulder. Hers was more sunshine yellow next to Marci’s platinum. “Josie’s is our usual bar.”

“Favorite bar,” Foggy said. He winked at Grace. “You’ll really be one of us when you drink at Josie’s.”

Grace’s pulse thrummed. One of us. She liked the idea of that.

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Marci said. She pointed a stern finger at Grace. “It’s a dive bar. And I mean dive.”

“Don’t knock the place,” Foggy said. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. “You know you love it.”

Marci rolled her eyes but didn’t deny it.

“Nine at Josie’s then!” Foggy declared when there were no more objections. He winked again. “See you later, team!”

“Dinner?” Matt asked as the couple left. He tilted his head back and forth between Grace and Karen. “Karen?”

“Nah, I’ll get something on the way from the Bulletin. See you later.” She waved and walked off with a little skip in her step. Grace felt that lightness too, even though she hadn’t been the one to win the case. The excitement was catching.

“Don’t let them scare you,” Matt said softly as they started to walk in the general direction of the apartment. They would catch a taxi at some point, she assumed, unless he had a specific place in mind for dinner. “Josie’s is fun. It might give you a disease though.”

Grace laughed. “Not sure that’s convincing me, but okay. I don’t scare easy.”

“I’ll take care of you, don’t worry,” Matt said, bumping his shoulder into hers.

She liked the sound of that.

Next Chapter

taglist:

@zaminoo @yanna-banana @bellal1 @thetrinitytest @harry-bowie-mercury @lorosette @feliciab1990

#matt murdock x oc #matt murdock x ofc #matt murdock x original female character #matt murdock x original character #matt murdock #daredevil x oc #daredevil x ofc #daredevil x original character #daredevil x original female character #daredevil #netflix daredevil #saved #saved fic #saved daredevil #I'm literally foaming at the mouth over these next few chapters because they are THE most self indulgent #aka they're what I started writing when I first had the idea for the fic!#also this is half edited but whatever

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seriouslysam8 · 2 years

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I always thought of Hermione as someone who would be single forever. She would be too into her career to focus on any relationship or anyone. If she ever dated anyone I think it would fizzle out because of her lack of commitment. I always pictured her continuing her education and going to muggle university to get her degree and maybe even her masters. I think this would have drifted her away from from Ron and Harry. Since she loves to argue and prove she’s always right she would have become a magical lawyer. I don’t know who in their right mind thought she could ever be the minister of magic. There is no way in hell she could have ever become the minister of magic. You need to be popular, liked, and be empathetic. She does not have a likeable personality. The only Weasley she was compatible with was Percy. I hate that git lol. Those two belong together. Both are controlling, think they are always right, and have a stick up their arses. I support your hate for Hermione. Sorry I just had to rant 😅

No, I totally agree with you! She is not relationship material. If she were to get married, it would be someone just as career oriented and academic as her with no real interest in having a family.

Her relationship with Ron makes zero sense. He’s very family oriented and a lot more social. If canon was to be believable, Ron would have divorced her shortly after Rose was born when she had zero interest in being a mother and more interest in climbing the corporate ladder. Before you come at me saying Ron climbed his career, he did but I also picture him like Harry where he didn’t miss anything important and was always there for those kids. Hermione would totally miss a game or performance in favor of work. Hugo never would have existed either. Sometimes, when I’m nostalgic, I really wish I wouldn’t have let people talk me into killing Hermione in Legerdemain. My gut was a divorce and I wish I would have listened to my gut. It’s one of my biggest regrets with that series.

I agree, she’s not charismatic or social enough to become Minister of Magic. There is no way anyone would want her to lead their party. They would be annoyed by her instantly. Even in my canon series, I quickly nixed that idea because that’s ludicrous.

Percy and Hermione would be perfect together. I could actually picture that. Ron deserves someone fun and more like him. Someone who would compliment him and build him up. Not argue with him and tear him down constantly like Hermione did.

It always warms my heart when others speak out against Hermione. Never apologize for a Hermione rant to me.

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popentertainment-interviews · 1 year

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India de Beaufort

Bring on The Night Court

by Jay S. Jacobs

British-born actress India de Beaufort is courting fame in the colonies.

De Beaufort is turning heads as Olivia, the brilliant-but-neurotic assistant district attorney on NBC’s popular new reimagining of the beloved 1980s situation comedy Night Court. The original series, about the crazy goings on the late-night hearings in an eccentric New York City courtroom starred the late Harry Anderson, Markie Post and John Larroquette as an unconventional judge, assistant district attorney and public defender.

The new series has Larroquette returning in his star-making role of cynical lawyer Dan Fielding, although he has switched roles from prosecution to defense. Former Big Bang Theory co-star Melissa Rauch plays the new judge for the Night Court – the sweet and slightly naïve daughter of Harry Anderson’s character from the original. De Beaufort’s Olivia is a whip-smart but horribly insecure barrister working for the State to get all the oddball plaintiffs off the street, or at least make sure that justice is served.

De Beaufort also currently has an extended arc in the second (and final) season of Netflix’s popular series Firefly Lane. In that, she plays Charlotte, the sorta other woman character. In the 1980s, she was a nervous aspiring TV journalist called Lottie who had a crush on her boss Johnny (Ben Lawson), not knowing he was involved with her co-worker Kate (Sarah Chalke). In later years, she has become a confident, assured foreign war correspondent called Charlie who returns to Johnny’s life while he and Kate are broken up.

Beyond these roles, the British-born actress has been getting lots of gigs since moving across the pond, like playing the girlfriend of her real-life husband, actor Todd Grinnell, on the reboot of One Day at a Time. De Beaufort also had recurring roles on series like Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, NCIS: Los Angeles, Jane By Design, One Tree Hill and Veep. She has even done voiceovers on such animated shows as All Hail King Julian, Fast and Furious Spy Racers and It’s Pony.

We recently had the chance to chat via Zoom with de Beaufort about Night Court, Firefly Lane, working with her husband, going to Fashion Week and even her musical aspirations.

I spoke with your husband a couple of years ago when he did [the movie] Paradise Cove.

Oh, that's awesome.

You grew up in the UK and you started out acting there. When did you decide that you were ready to come to the to the United States and do some acting?

It was kind of accidental. I shot a movie in London (the 2007 film Run Fat Boy Run with Simon Pegg) with David Schwimmer (the former Friends actor), who directed. At the time, I wanted to be a singer. He said, “I think you should be an actor.” I thought about it and thought that could be kind of fun. (laughs) I had a girlfriend who was living out in LA at the time. She said, “Why don't you come out and hang out? Come and see what LA is all about.” So I came out for a few months. Loved it. Loved the sunshine. Loved the pace of life, just shaking it up a little bit. Before I knew it, I was shooting a series for Comedy Central in the UK (Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire). It was a co-production, half and half. That was my first step into something that wasn't only showing in the UK. I got a manager. Next thing I know, here I am.

Coming from the UK, and also, you're a little bit young, were you familiar at all with the original series of Night Court before you got involved with the new version?

No, not at all. When I had the first audition, I did some homework and checked out the show. I continued to binge it while we were shooting so that I could get a feel for the original and make sure that I was doing it justice.

Olivia is a very smart woman, at least professionally, but she's also a little bit insecure and neurotic about her personal life and even her career to a certain extent. How was that dichotomy fun for you to play as an actress?

She's so fun. I get to say all the things I would never normally say in real life. I love that she's a bit of a broken mess. She's a bit of a broken bird, looking for a nest. Then there is this courthouse, there is Night Court. That is the perfect band of misfits for her to find a place to call home, whether or not she would like to admit it.

You've got a really terrific cast. Obviously, John Larroquette from the original series is there, and Melissa Rauch, and Lacretta. What's it like on set?

It's an education. I feel like I spend all my time observing, watching, planning to steal. It's so incredible being with so many wonderful comedians, who also just bring a whole lot of heart to the show. I’m just absorbing and learning.

How do you feel that the new version is different from the old version? And how do you think that it's similar?

Well, we have a new cast, obviously, except John. That brings in a whole new, fresh take. But in a lot of ways, I love how much we've paid homage to the original. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I don't think our goal was to try to reboot, I think our goal was to create a continuation of the original show. The writers have done a beautiful job of capturing that. It's a cozy throwback to the 80s that's delightful for all the family. That's welcoming to an old audience and a new audience because of this fresh cast.

It's also a multi-cam show, which is not all that common anymore. Is that fun to do?

Yeah, it's my favorite. It's my favorite kind of television to make. I wish it was more common. My husband was on a multi-cam for four or five years. A Norman Lear multi-cam. Another technical reboot of One Day at a Time. There's just nothing like a live audience. You can't beat it. We get to be on TV and have an audience. That's the only medium where that exists. It’s pretty magical.

Well, you just mentioned your husband being on One Day at a Time. You were in the series as well with him. What was it like to work with him on the show?

A dream. I believe on my first day, I’d had a baby three weeks prior. I was so really just grateful to Gloria Calderón Kellett and Mike Royce, the show runners, for giving me the opportunity to get back into work and find my sense of self while I was being a mom. A multi-cam schedule is the best way to do that. Three days a week you're home for dinner. Maybe you have a couple of longer days, but for the most part, you get to be around and be with your family, while still continuing in the workplace, which has been traditionally challenging for women. It was incredible to feel supported in that way.

With both of you being working actors, how do you handle being parents and family? Do you schedule around each other's work?

It hasn't been easy. I almost missed our wedding. (laughs) I was at my brother's wedding for 36 hours. I flew into my grandmother's 90th birthday for 24 hours. Also, there's a lot of begging studios and networks and show runners to let you off for huge family events. But thanks to Night Court, I get to pick my son up and drop him off from preschool three days a week, and I'm home for dinner five days a week. I get to see a whole lot more of him. He gets to come to work with me too. So, not only is it a show made for families, but it is a show that's the right one to be shooting if you have a family.

Not only do you have Night Court going on right now, but you're also in the second season of Firefly Lane. The first half has dropped, and the second half is coming in April. That show had been going for a season before you got there. How quickly did you feel like you fit into the cast?

They were so welcoming. They made me feel a part of the group on day one. Sarah Chalke and Katherine Heigl are pros, and two of the nicest human beings I've ever worked with. I only ever continually saw them support each other and their crew and every guest cast member that came through. It was one of my favorite jobs to date.

I had actually read the book of Firefly Lane, which is very different than the series. But were you familiar with the book or even the first season before you got involved with it?

I wasn't familiar with the book. But I always check out the first season, or at least a good stretch of episodes of a show before I audition for it, let alone start working on it. So that I can be respectful, but make sure I'm going to slot in right. I loved it. I thought it was heartwarming and funny and engaging and handled a lot of crazy subjects with grace. It's a beautifully made show. It's just a little pocket of sunshine.

You're playing Charlotte over a period of many different years and in many different positions. She starts out sort of like a slightly nerdy worker, and then she finds herself as a professional. Is it interesting for you to be able to cover the entire scope of her growth?

I loved it. That's the only time I've ever essentially gotten to pay to play two characters on one show. They were the same person – both characters were Charlotte – but Lottie, as you said, was early days finding her feet, a bit of a wallflower. Charlie, once she had aged into herself, was an assertive, accomplished, sexy, young woman. It was incredible to get to flip flop between the two. Also find those two parts of myself. I had a hoot, but I will say Lottie was my favorite by far.

You were recently in New York for Fashion Week. What was that like? And what did you do while you were there?

I had a blast with my mom [British actress Karen de Beaufort]. (laughs) Mom was my partner in crime. We hit the streets and New York loved her. I swear photographers were stopping her left, right and center and she was giving it, and making everybody laugh. I saw a bunch of shows which were really phenomenal and inspiring. We had a bunch of great meals and walked the city. Then after that, we flew to London and hit London Fashion Week. And now back in LA, so busy, busy. But all of it just ignited the flame of my love for fashion, so it was really fun to be there.

You had mentioned earlier that you were originally interested in being a singer before an actress. Do you still do music?

Yeah, I released a single called “Crack” a few years ago. That was sort of political. I never intended it for it to become what it was. I was shooting Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist at the time. I had a lot of time in a hotel room by myself. I just started writing something that I couldn't put down. Then the next thing I knew I had a song. Then the next thing I knew I made a music video. (chuckles) Now it exists, so you can check that out. It's on Spotify streams everywhere. You can see the video on YouTube, or on Instagram. I just directed and I'm editing my next music video which is called “Karma,” that I'm hoping to release in the next couple of months.

Have you heard whether Night Court is going to be coming back?

We have been renewed for a second season. We’re going to hopefully start production sometime soon.

youtube

#India de Beaufort #2023 #Actress Interview #Night Court #Firefly Lane #Jay S. Jacobs

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lifeofzmzm · 1 year

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Sex and The City

I came up with another TV series which I finished one week ago. I am having a hard time in my life right now. When I am depressed I watch something to not to think about my problem. Sex and the City really help my mood. I laugh and laugh then suddenly I was feeling better. So if you want to just relax and watch something you can go for it.

Actually, I watched the movies a few years ago and I never watch the TV series. So it was my first time. Maybe some of you really like it and watched it a few times. Also, I want to hear your perspective on the series. How is the Sex and the City for you? What do you like or dislike?

Let's go on the characters. We listen to or watch the series from Carrie's voice. She is the writer for the newspaper. This series is trying to show different perspectives of women. Women do not have to wait for their husbands and just raise their children. Women can live like men too. They have the right to have sex with whomever they want. In every episode, we see different social impositions on women. While I was watching it made me think how many of them I faced or seen it to happen to my friends or relatives. How sad that We are living in the 21st century but still people cannot live equally all over the World.

From the start, the most important relationship in the series was Carrie and Big. Eventually, they became together in the end. After a few break-ups and suddenly they understand that they we meant to be each other. What do you think about their relationship? I am really sad about Aidan. She cheated on him and I got really angry. They get back together then rejected him after proposing. Really how sad this is for him?

Let's continue with Miranda. All four of them are independent women but when it comes to Miranda, it becomes serious in my opinion. She has a perfect job. She bought a beautiful home. When she got pregnant she did not need a man to help her in her mind. And it's actually true we can raise our children by ourselves. For sure it will be hard but we can. In the end, she gets back together with Steve cuz she was in love with him. And they are a really good couple. I love them.

Who is next? Samantha? Yes, Samantha! I really like her. She is who she is. She is living exactly how she wants to be. Men can have sex with who they want but when women do that, people talk behind you that you're whore. She has faced this fact most of the episode. Most of my laughing was because of that woman. She was an important part of the series. I know that the Sex and the City TV series is being redrawn and Samantha is not in it. I am sad to hear that. And also people should stop redrawing old series again and again. It's not giving the same taste. In the end, Samantha had a real relationship with the young actor(thanks yo Samantha. she made him famous). Who loves her and was with her when she had cancer. So I am happy for her.

Sweat Charlotte! She was the one who want a perfect husband, children, and family. She tried so hard to be happy with her first husband. But she was right to divorce. She wanted to have a child it was her dream and she would have not given up her dream cuz of a man. It was good to watch how she handled the divorce and fall in love with her divorce lawyer. We judge people by how they look like. So she did this to Harry too. But in the end, she fall in love changed her religion, had a dog, and adopt a child. Harry really tried to do his best to make her happy. They were perfect couple for me.

That's it from my side. So tell me what do you think? And did you watch And Just Like That..? Did you love it without Samantha? What do you think about Big and Carrie? Which one is your perfect couple?

Have a wonderful day. See you..

ZmZm

#sex and the city #carrie bradshaw #samantha jones #miranda hobbes #charlotte york #mr big

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thegreatestofheck · 4 years

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Heck’s Masterlist

OBX Masterlist

Since some of my fics are getting long, here’s a masterlist of everything I’ve made so far in relation to Outer Banks! It will continually be updated as more fics, blurbs, and requests are added!

Also, my requests are open! I don’t generally do smut, but I’m open to mostly anything else!

JJ Maybank

Requests:

Jump - You are John B’s sister and you’ve been following him around your whole life. After deciding to make your own path, you find yourself caught up with a boy who is no good and JJ is the only one who can get you out of it.

Wedding Dress - JJ makes a promise to himself that he’s now not sure he can keep.

Run - You’re John B’s sister and after sending him off on the Phantom, it’s up to you to cover for him. But Ward Cameron is still your legal guardian and he comes to collect his property.

Ransom - John B’s sister is taken by the square groupers. In exchange for her life, they ask for the compass and a heavy ransom price. It’s a race of time as the Pogues, with the help of Sheriff Peterkin, journey into the marsh to save her life before the clock runs out.

Not So Unrequited - in the middle of an argument with your best friend, he says something to you that you had never wanted to hear.

i love you - your relationship with JJ had always been rocky, built on a mutual desire for affection. that doesn’t mean he would never break your heart.

fill the void - she always felt alone, so when he needed her most, she couldn’t resist.

promises, promises - You and JJ have an unspoken thing, passed only though stolen glances and half serious flirting. But the day after he takes the fall for Pope, you find yourself standing at a crossroads; do you step in to protect him from his dad, or do you stay out of it?

Series:

Ocean and Alcohol - (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, Epilogue, Rafe’s POV) You’re a kook, but your life is less than ideal. After a fight with some of the other kooks, you let slip a little about your home life to one JJ Maybank, who is more than intrigued. (reader insert with a name, tw: abuse, canon content)

Tempest and Gin - (1, 2) The gold is gone, but Elma’s problems are just beginning. With her dad in police custody and her mom once again AWOL and refusing to pay for legal council, Elma and Ms. Lana struggle to get through the trial with a court appointed lawyer. At the end of her rope, Elma finds herself juggling friends, family, rivals, and enemies as she struggles to keep her wits about her and do the one thing she’s always done; protect Kid.

Girl With No Heartbeat - (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) After a near death experience, JJ is saved by a girl in the water. When he and the Pogues find her washed ashore the next day, they are more than surprised to discover that she isn’t your everyday girl. (mermaid/siren au, canon divergence)

Imagines:

Sweet as Honey, Hard as Steel - JJ’s girlfriend is the complete opposite of everything one would expect. A straight A student with big life goals, Elena has never been the drinking, smoking, fighting type. And JJ wouldn’t have it any other way.

Coward - Your mom just passed and your absentee father has come to collect you. But that means leaving the life you knew and loved, including your best friend (and a little more), JJ Maybank. But he isn’t ready to hear what you have to say on your last night together.

Rafe Cameron

Series:

Fire and Storm - Rafe Cameron had always wanted her. He wanted to be hers and he wanted her to be his. But she wasn’t and he was slowly beginning to realize that he never would be. (this is Rafe’s POV for a bit of another series, Ocean and Alcohol)

Requests:

Better - Secretly dating Rafe as JJ Maybank’s sister isn’t the easiest thing, especially when your brother finally learns the truth.

Imagines:

Meant to Be Yours - Rafe Cameron, your boyfriend, was more broken than you realized. He wants more from you than you can give. (based on the song “Meant to Be Yours” from Heathers the Musical)

John B

Imagines:

Girl Crush - You spent years yearning after John B, your best friend. You just didn’t realize it until he fell in love with the most beautiful girl on the island...and it wasn’t you. After that, only Sarah Cameron was on your mind. (based on the song “Girl Crush”)

Tethered - (routledge!reader, John B’s little sister) Surfing the surge was a Pogue rite of passage. You had been waiting for the next big storm to show your older brother that you were ready to be one of them. But the storm was stronger than you or your brother could have imagined.

Just Come Home - (routledge!reader, John B’s little sister) You come home one day to find your brother bearing harsh news.

Series:

By Dawn - (1, 2, 3) John B meets a mysterious girl at his court ordered group therapy. After spending weeks trying to get to know her, he slowly realizes that she’s a tough nut to crack. But then one day, she leaves him a cryptic message...the night before she goes missing. With the disappearance of his father still so raw in his mind, John B refuses to lose anyone else. And he will stop at nothing until he finds her.

Sarah Cameron

Imagines:

Kie Carrera

Imagines:

For Forever - When you’re parents find out that you’ve been secretly dating your best friend, Kie, they go off on you. Afterward, she comforts you, reminding you that blood doesn’t mean family. (tw: homophobia, found family to the max)

she - As a Pogue, having a crush on Kie Carrera was almost a prerequisite. You knew that all the boys were crushing on her, at least a little bit, but accepting your own feelings for her is a different matter. (reader has a crush on Kie but isn’t really ready to admit her feelings)

Requests:

Nothing More - You’re secretly dating one of the Pogues and your brother is starting to become suspicious. The only problem; he’s fixated on the wrong friend.

Pope Heyward

Imagines:

Nothing to Prove - Pope helps you with some relationship problems. Later, while hanging out with your boyfriend, you realize that running from your fears got you nowhere and the only place you wanted to be was with Pope. (very soft)

Delivery Boy - With an absent mother and a distant father, you’ve always felt alone living in your empty house. But a certain delivery boy might be the one thing that makes running an estate worth it.

Seires:

Bare Bones - (Preview, Theory 1, Theory 2, Theory 3) Pippa Cantu has always been a little…strange. With a knack for knowing everything there is to know about every conspiracy, every mystery, and every weird happening, she doesn’t have much time (or desire) for friends. But when her chemistry lab partner asks her to join him and his friends on a hunt for the Royal Merchant, she just can’t say no.

Kelce

Series:

Simple Melancholy - (2) Jemma “Little J” Maybank finds herself a little over her head when she accidentally falls for a boy from Figure Eight. Between her overly protective brother and Kelce’s incredibly rude friends, neither of them are sure how they’re going to make it, but they’re determined to.

General (Everybody)

Imagines:

Do Not Stand - One of the Pogues passes away and leaves a message for her friends. Each of them take it in a different way.

Series:

Little Village - (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, Finale) As the oldest of the Pogues and John B’s big sister, June always acted as their mother. She helped with assignments and studying, helped pay bills when it was needed, made dinner, reminded them about hygiene. But then she got pregnant and her boyfriend left and suddenly she found herself unable to do all those things she was once able to. When they say it takes a village, she wasn’t entirely sure they meant a bunch of teenagers. (post-canon, I haven’t decided who the love interest will be or if there will be one at all, so that’s why its here)

Requests:

Homeward Bound - After spending years abroad at a boarding school, Kie’s sister returns to the Outer Banks. The Pogues quickly realize that, despite her cold exterior, there is a free spirit inside her just longing to break free.

A Bunch of Love Stories Masterlist - A series of fics based on Taylor Swift’s album “Fearless”.

Outerbanks Playlist - This is just a list of songs that remind of the Pogues and other characters in the show. A few of the songs are connected to some of my fics as well!

ATLA Masterlist

Zuko

The Sun, The Moon, and the Stars - She is a non-bender from the Southern Water Tribe who somehow found herself smack in the middle of Fire Nation central, where a young prince is fighting an internal battle she hopes to help him win.

Harry Potter Masterlist

Fred Weasley

warm - you and your husband survive the second wizarding war, but so do some of Voldemort’s old followers, and they are hell bent on revenge.

Severus Snape

The Other Her - Severus Snape had two friends while he was at school. One, every body knew as Lily Evans. The other was you, an unknown student who wanted nothing more than to be noticed by your friend. You couldn’t help but compare yourself to the Gryffindor heartthrob every time he mentioned her name.

Only One - You return to Hogwarts years later to watch your son’s Quidditch match, only to find yourself a little bit in over your head.

Criminal Minds Masterlist

Derek Morgan

breathe again - he saved her life and now she has to deal with the aftermath. he’s there to help her every step of the way.

Aaron Hotchner

dark of the night - an agent gets taken in the middle of an investigation. in a race against time, the team at the bau must find her by diving into her deepest secrets. when a video tape arrives with horrible images of the state of their friends, aaron hotchner realizes just how terrified he is of losing her.

The Musketeers (BBC) Masterlist

Porthos

enough for you - the wife of a musketeer reflects on her relationship with her husband while Porthos watches from the sidelines.

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havethetimeofyourstyles · 3 years

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Chapter Four.

a/n: this was one of my fav chapters to write, so hope you all enjoy! I think you’re all gonna like this one hehe :’) pls reblog to share and leave feedback as it continues to motivate me <3

SERIES MASTERLIST | word count: 10.1k

come talk to me about WTSGD! i’d love to know your thoughts!

October 31, 2017

A lot had happened in the last five months that felt like an eternity.

After Luci’s very first performance for Miss Saigon and her unfortunate breakdown that was caused by one of the biggest critics of Broadway, practically insulting her, she performed almost every night after that.

When one bad review on her performance was ratified by hundreds of tweets and reviews, saying that Luci’s performance was one of the best they’d ever seen, she’d say she did her damn job. The night of her breakdown, she received a text from Nina, who sent her a link to a few reviews on her Broadway debut. Those articles directly addressed how unprofessional and poorly written Adam West’s review was, and that he needed to open his eyes to observe and admire brilliant, wonderful, and beautifully performed talent. On top of the important names next to Adam West, theatre-Twitter seemed to agree with the positive articles that were written about her, tweeting that Luci was the next face of Broadway; and who cared if she started her career in commercials and Off-Broadway because getting the role in Miss Saigon had proved that she worked her way up and that she was good.

After reading the articles and tweets, her mood had drastically shifted. She was so overwhelmed by the positive comments that defended her from a misogynistic man that she cried again, but it was tears of happiness this time around. She walked out of her apartment, headed to Harry’s door to show him the uplifting reviews, and he was happy to see that she was ecstatic—he was happy for her.

They had definitely become closer since that day.

Harry and Luci hung out a lot. Whenever they had the chance and they both weren’t busy, they would knock on each other’s doors or text one another, asking to hang out. For the most part, he opened up to her, showcasing his true personality and becoming more comfortable around Luci—enough to joke around and be himself. He loved the way he didn’t feel like he had to be someone he’s not; everything felt true and real.

It was refreshing for Harry to have a real friend, a best friend, other than Jeff and Mitch. Although he developed a small crush on said friend, it was nice to just have a chat and walk around the neighborhood with her. He’d been talking himself up to ask her out, not knowing if she’ll say yes or if she even feels that way about him; but from what he could tell, he thinks that she’s sort of infatuated with him. Luci would flirt with him from time to time, and would tell him that he’s adorable and sweet, making Harry’s cheeks redden from the sweet talk.

Luci’s situation with Daisy and Samuel never got better. Ever since she started to perform more and more—sometimes even more than Daisy—they would be nothing but rude to her. They weren’t used to someone taking their spotlight; it was like someone stepping right in front of them on center stage to steal the show—especially if it was someone they despised and was new to Broadway. The two tried to take it up with Tal, demanding and arguing about how they deserved to perform every single night, but Tal kept her word to Luci and the rest of the industry: that she would stand up for her cast and run the show herself.

Throughout the months, Luci had been talking with Harry about something very, very important. It was a few weeks ago, during their walk to a bagel place in the morning, when she first brought it up.

“Remember that lady who came up to me after the show?” She asked as they walked along the sidewalk. Harry nodded, letting out a ‘mhm.’ “So, she’s a talent agent…” Harry raised his brows, thinking she was an agent for Broadway. “In Hollywood.” Samantha Stone was one of Hollywood’s greatest and biggest agents; she mostly worked with actors who were first starting out in the industry before making them successful. Samantha was always on the hunt for new and fresh talent; she walked the streets with an eye like a hawk.

In early September, Samantha was in New York for a small getaway, as well as to meet one of her side pieces in the city. She figured she could watch a show or two since she was already in the city, and it’d been ages since she'd seen a Broadway show. Deciding on Miss Saigon because she saw the tweets and reviews of Luciana, she decided to give it a shot and see what her hype was about. And it did not disappoint. She was so intrigued and invested in the story, and was absolutely blown away by Luciana’s performance. Naturally, even though she shouldn’t be working, she waited until the cast was coming out of the theatre to approach her.

Luci was in complete shock because she’d never had anyone walk up to her, telling her to give her a call because she was a talent agent and hoped to work with her soon. When Luci got back home, she looked up Samantha Stone and her breath hitched as she found out who she had worked with and what she did for a living.

“Holy shit!” Harry completely stopped walking, making Luci stop as well. They stood on the side of the sidewalk as people passed by them. Harry beamed excitedly, but soon his smile softened, noticing Luci’s didn’t match his. “What’s the matter? Why aren’t you excited?”

“I-I don’t know. I just get nervous thinking about it, like she wants to work with me.” Luci fiddled with her fingers.

“Isn’t that great?” Harry asked softly; he didn’t see what was wrong with that, but he was being patient with Luci to try and understand what she was feeling and thinking about.

She nodded. “It is. I’m just nervous; I hate disappointing people. What if I call her and I do an audition or whatever, and she realizes that I’m not meant for the job? She’s the biggest agent in Hollywood, Harry. That would mean I’m not meant for any job,” she explained worriedly, anxiety bubbling up in her stomach as if it’d been simmering for hours on the stove.

Harry slightly frowned. He couldn’t imagine how it must feel to doubt one’s own talents, and he absolutely hated that Luci was doing it.

“Luciana, listen to me.” Well, that definitely caught her attention. “You’re remarkably talented, end of. If you end up being dropped by that agent, then fuck her. She shouldn’t be a talent agent if she can’t see clear talent right in front of her. Literally everyone in the same room knows you are so incredibly gifted. Plus, wouldn’t you like to try it out? It doesn’t hurt to try because you have nothing to lose. You’ll still be on Broadway; and then you’ll try again later if right now is not your time.”

Smiling, she appreciated his words. She nodded, knowing he was completely right. “Okay, I’ll give it a shot.” Her response seemed to satisfy Harry. “Thank you.”

“Of course. I’ll always be here for you.” She smiled. “Still gonna help me grade papers?”

She chuckled as they started walking on the pavement again. “Yup. Believe it or not, it’s actually fun grading papers.”

He turned to her shockingly. “Oh, really? Then maybe you could be my TA and I’ll have you grade all the papers.” Luci laughed, saying that she didn’t mind; she adored moments when they were playful. Their friendship was refreshing to the both of them.

A week after her conversation with Harry, where he reassured and encouraged her, she called Samantha, who was delighted to hear from Luci. Samantha asked if she wanted to meet for lunch; Luci was hesitant, but she remembered Harry’s words, and it really didn’t hurt to try, so she agreed and they met in Midtown at a Thai restaurant.

It was a casual luncheon where Samantha got to know Luci before she decided if she wanted to sign her or not. Luci completely rocked her socks; she was funny, kind, and very humble—traits that not a lot of stars had. So, Samantha immediately thought she was perfect and very likeable. After thirty minutes of eating and chatting, Samantha pulled out her business side, along with a contract, and discussed what this could mean for Luci. She went over her contract very quickly, and Luci knew she couldn’t keep up so she pretended to listen, nodding and letting out a ‘mhm’ to be interactive.

Samantha had a pen ready for her to sign, but if Luci knew anything, it was to not sign contracts right then and there, and to go over the contract in further details on her own. So, Luci told her that she would look over the stack of papers once more before she got back to her potential agent.

Luci wished she took a business class to understand such things about contracts and how to handle things herself, but she thinks that she might enroll in some classes some time soon. She attended Boston University and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Performing Arts in Theatre Arts. On top of auditioning, solo acts, musical pieces, and countless shows for the four years she was there, she maintained a 3.5 GPA in her general education, and that’s something she’s incredibly proud of herself for. There were a few classes during her freshman year that she failed, making her consider dropping out, but she picked herself back up and promised herself to work harder, and she did.

When she got back home, she tossed the contract on her coffee table as she sighed, grabbing a glass of water. She had felt stressed out about the situation, but then she remembered that Harry’s sister, Gemma, was a lawyer in London. So, she sent Harry a quick text, telling him about her situation, and asked if Gemma was able to help out. Harry was on his lunch when she texted, but he quickly asked Gemma and she was quick to comply, anything to help her brother’s friend.

The day after, Harry and Luci both sat down on his couch, FaceTiming Gemma on his laptop; it was the very first time his sister and Luci were meeting each other. Harry warned Luci that Gemma was a bit tough with his new friends, but once the two women chatted for a few minutes, Gemma was smittened with her; Harry was shocked at how quick they seemed to become friends, but he cherished it because he liked Luci…a lot.

Luci had sent over a scanned version of the contract, so they went over it together with Harry sitting next to her for moral support; and from what Gemma said, the contract was clean. The most important thing that Gemma was looking for was that Luci had a say to back out of the contract, and it stated that clearly. Gemma told her that she could sign the contract if she wanted, and that eased Luci’s anxieties, making her thank Gemma almost a million times for her help.

The next day, Luci met up with Samantha for brunch with the signed contract in her hand. Samantha was delighted to see that it was inked with her signature; she told Luci that this won’t be the only thing she was going to sign because so many people are going to want her autograph. That made Luci smile, giggling a tad bit at the thought of it.

By the beginning of October, Samantha called Luci and informed her that she was booked for an audition for a supporting character in Ocean’s Eight that was to be released late next year. Luci was surprised at how quickly Samantha was able to get her an audition, but they didn’t call her the best for nothing.

With only two weeks to prepare, Luci put her time and effort into rehearsing the few pages of the script Samantha had sent her. Luci didn’t have a talent coach whatsoever, so she tried her best to see every aspect of her acting, jotting down notes on the margins so she could further better herself. She was hiding her stress and nerves quite well as she tried not to freak out about how insane this opportunity was to even audition.

When her audition was only two days away, she called Ren for the traditional pep-talk that inspired and motivated her to do better and to try her best because that was all that she could do. She wished that her family was physically next to her so she could feel the comfort and warmth that they provide because after all, they are home and always will be.

Luckily, some producers were in New York holding auditions, so she didn’t have to fly to California for a day or two. She’d never felt more intimidated and nervous than the moment she stepped inside the medium-sized room that was painted in a light gray tone. A long foldable table was in the middle of the room with a small camcorder on a tripod next to it. Luci’s had many auditions, but this…this was real shit, the real deal. She was standing in front of Hollywood and big name producers who’d never heard of her name until the moment she walked in and they had a glimpse of her portfolio.

She introduced herself, masking the nerves that were crawling up and down her body with a warm smile—not too bright, but enough to show her gorgeous grin. They asked her to read off of page twenty-three to twenty-five; taking a breath, she gave all that she could. And in her opinion, it’s the best acting she’d ever done, which is saying a lot because she thinks she did quite well after every show of Miss Saigon.

The producers’ faces were unreadable as they simply looked at one another, writing a few notes on their yellow notepads. Luci wanted to lurk, to see what they were writing as she hoped they weren’t disappointed or had immediately crossed out her name from their list.

They thanked her for coming in before dismissing her; she thanked them as well, waving as she walked out the door where she released the biggest sigh. It wasn’t from relief because she was still on edge of the result of her audition, but she felt like she had been holding her breath for the ten to fifteen minutes that she was in that room. Her heart was pounding quite sturdily; and if she was being honest, her mind had completely blanked out once they yelled ‘action,’ but that was usual for her.

Now that it was ten days after her audition and Halloween, Harry practically begged Luci to get out of her apartment. She knew that she couldn’t stay cooped up in her room as she overthought the audition constantly. She began to get headaches from overthinking every single thing she did in that audition, and it drove her insane.

So, when Harry suggested that she should go to the Halloween party that Daisy was throwing on the rooftop of her building, she dreaded it at first, but the thought of going out was calling her. She assumed Daisy wouldn’t want Luci to be at her party, but she invited the entire cast and a few more people that she knew personally, so it wasn’t like Daisy was going to speak to her. Since it was a party, everyone could bring a guest or a few friends, so that was when Luci begged Harry to attend with her.

“Please, come with me.” She had her best pouty lip on, looking at him with doe eyes. Just by that look, he almost gave in, but he wasn’t sure if this type of party was for him. Harry was a mellow and chill guy; he didn’t need rooftop parties and unlimited amounts of booze. He was fine with a small gathering, a few movies and board games—now, that was his type of party. “The party would be so much more fun with you there.”

Harry playfully scoffed. “Please. Luci, I’m the most boring guy there is.”

Her brows furrowed in disagreement. “No, you’re not. I happen to think you’re quite fun.” He smiled softly at her in appreciation. “Please. We wouldn’t even have to stay that long.”

He could tell that she wanted, no, needed him to be there with her. She wasn’t very close with her cast mates—despite all the months she’d been part of the production—besides Nina. But Nina knew everyone so Luci would be left awkwardly standing there, waiting for her friend to come back.

“How long would we stay?”

Her eyes brightened with hope. “However long you want.”

“An hour? Hour and a half, tops?”

“Sounds perfectly fine to me.”

“And what would we wear?”

Luci was a bit shocked by his question. “You wanna match?”

“I mean, that would be fun, right?” She nodded, agreeing. “Since it is quite last minute, I say we dress up as the 70s or 80s era. Pretty easy, right?”

She liked the sound of that. “Yes, let’s do 70s! I wanna raid your closet because I know you have some gems in there.”

Harry laughed out loud—her favorite laugh that was music to her ears. He knew he had a great sense of fashion, and he’d always go to the thrift store to pick up something that he’d never worn before. It wasn’t like he was not going to wear it, he just needed to be more comfortable with himself to wear the clothes that he buys. So, for now, he settled with black skinny jeans and patterned-print button downs, which is the most ‘flashy’ he’d dress as…for now.

“I knew I liked you for a reason because I was hoping you’d say 70s.” Luci felt her cheeks warm up before they went to Harry’s apartment.

It took an hour and a half to find an outfit that Harry liked; it would’ve been shorter, but with Harry’s 70s playlist that was playing in the background, they took breaks to dance and sing. Harry had a beautiful voice, Luci thought; and she wondered if he was ever in a band before or wrote music because he does have an elaborate music taste, and that added to Luci’s liking for him.

They proceeded to go to Luci’s apartment so Harry could help her find an outfit. He brought his wireless speaker so the music wouldn’t stop; and she continuously threw the articles of clothing onto her bed—where Harry was lying on his stomach—every time he shook his head no.

With the same amount of time it took Harry to decide on an outfit, Luci settled on hers. She looked in her full-body mirror, twirling around to see if it looked okay and if she was satisfied with it. Harry remained on her bed, admiring how beautiful she looked as he thought that she was way out of his league. As Luci was dancing and prancing around her apartment, Harry was deep in his thoughts; he didn’t know if asking Luci out was the way to go. Not only would he lose her as a friend when or if she rejects him, but he couldn’t bear the ache he would feel in his heart.

For his own sake, he needed to protect himself before the heartbreak; and if that meant refraining himself from making a move, then that was completely fine to him.

“Ready?” Luci called out from the doorway. Harry got off the bed, looking her up and down.

She was wearing peach colored pants that flare at the bottom, sitting high on her waist; a white silk blouse with orange accents, a long brown coat because it was quite chilly outside, and pink glasses that were transparent. He thought she looked absolutely beautiful, and her outfit was meant for her. The colors matched Harry’s outfit as he wore rust-orange pants that sat wide at the bottom, a flashy patterned long-sleeved blouse with the collar matching his pants. Luci gave him a similar pair of glasses as hers, so they weren’t wearing shaded lenses in the nighttime.

“Yup. You, uh, look really good.”

Luci smiled, shrugging one shoulder. “Thank you! You look good, too. This color looks amazing on you.”

Harry looked down at his outfit, hiding the blush that formed on his cheeks. “Thank you. I like it a lot.”

They headed out and towards Daisy’s apartment building where the rooftop was large enough for everyone to stand comfortably without feeling like they were shoulder-to-shoulder. There were plenty of lounge chairs, and a few tall bar tables next to tall heaters, considering it was just below fifty degrees.

Some people were making their way towards Daisy's apartment since it was too cold outside, but Harry and Luci decided to stay, both agreeing that the heaters were keeping them warm as they sipped on their drinks.

“Luci!” Nina walked over towards her, giving her a hug; Luci made sure not to mess up the placement of her fairy wings.

“You look amazing!” Luci complimented as Nina put her hands on her cheeks, thanking her friend. Luci could tell that Nina was a bit drunk already as her eyes were drooping and she couldn’t stand straight on her own two feet.

“Harry! I’m so glad you’re here.” He smiled saying hello to her. Nina and Harry met in July when he had gone to see another show. He was giving Luci another bouquet of flowers—the same bundle that he gave her the last time since she told him that she really liked them, and they looked amazing on her windowsill—and she dragged him to find Nina since she was performing the same show. Nina immediately gave Luci that certain look that said ‘he’s really cute,’ and Luci just nodded, giving her an apparent look as well.

“Did you bring anyone?” Luci asked, knowing that she was talking to a few guys; her favorites, from what Nina told her, was Laurent and Alec—the two guys that are in her Soul Cycle class, one on Monday and the other on Friday.

Nina shook her head. “No. I wanted to get fucked up today and didn’t want any of my mans see that shit. Oh! Can I take a picture of you two? You both look so cute!”

Luci looked at Harry, silently asking and he nodded. She stood beside him, not knowing whether to put her arm around his waist. They’d never taken a picture together before, after all the months of knowing each other. Luci handed Nina her phone before she turned on the flash, taking a picture of the two. Harry hesitantly puts his arm around Luci’s shoulder, making her look at him, smiling. She then wrapped her arm around his waist as they both smiled at each other before looking back at the camera. Nina was squealing behind the phone because she just captured the cute and quiet interaction between them that made for a sweet candid.

Nina handed Luci’s phone back to her before she told her that she was going to talk to some other people. The two women hugged, and Nina said goodbye to Harry.

Harry leaned into Luci’s side, bending down slightly. “Send me those pictures, yeah?”

A chill ran through her body at the sound of his voice so close to her ear. “Sure,” she croaked out, sending the pictures to him.

After a few moments of light conversation and humming the beat of the music, Harry asked, “So, which one is Daisy?”

Luci looked at him, quite shocked as to what sparked his interest in her, but she didn’t say anything. She looked around until she spotted her in a leather catwoman suit, hugging her body tightly that Luci thought it was cutting off her circulation. But she had to admit that it looked amazing on her.

“That one.” She slyly pointed at Daisy who was talking to some of her friends. Luci was surprised to see that Samuel wasn’t here, considering that he was part of the cast. Daisy and Samuel seemed to be in their ‘off again’ stage of their relationship; and no one who was part of the cast or who was close to them could keep up with how many times they’d been through that stage, but they seemed to like each other too much to call it quits for good.

“Hmm. She seems nice.”

“Yeah, she does—to everyone except me.” They were both looking at Daisy, and it was like Daisy could sense a few eyes on her, so she looked around and made direct eye contact with Luci. She excused herself to her group of friends before making her way towards her and Harry. “Speak of the devil.” Luci sighed, making Harry chuckle.

“Luci! I’m so glad you made it.” Daisy faked a smile as she greeted Luci with a hug, which surprised both Luci and Harry. Daisy pulled away, immediately locking eyes on this. “Oh, who’s your friend?” Instantly, Luci knew why Daisy was so nice to her; it was because she spotted Harry and didn’t want him to think she was such a bitch.

With her brows furrowed, Luci shifted a little closer to Harry who was standing there and not saying anything. “This is Harry.”

Daisy flashed him her stunning smile that wooed almost everyone. “Hi, I’m Daisy.” He shook her hand, introducing himself. “Your outfit looks really good.” She complimented him.

“Thanks, Luci helped me pick it out.” He smiled at Luci, who was smirking. For a second, Daisy rolled her eyes before she returned to her big smile.

“Would you like to get a drink with me? I see you’re almost empty.” Daisy’s eyes pointed at his cup, which only had a small sip lingering at the bottom of his clear plastic cup.

“Uh-”

“C’mon, just one drink?” Her voice was innocent and sweet, nothing like the cruel and rude Daisy that Luci knew all too well.

What Luci expected Harry to say was that he was okay and that he didn’t want a drink with her, but he responded quite the opposite.

“Okay, sure.” Luci’s head averted towards Harry as she looked at him with shock and a face asking what the fuck he was doing. But he shrugged as Daisy clapped, grabbing his wrist and pulling him towards the bar. Luci huffed, watching the two walk away and she was left by herself with a watered down drink and the cold air.

She figured she’d wait for him to come back to where she was sitting, hoping he wouldn’t take too long.

But twenty minutes had gone by, and Luci started getting annoyed.

Thirty minutes, and Luci tells herself that she doesn’t care and mindlessly goes on her phone.

An hour had gone by when Luci huffed, mentally saying that she does give a shit and goes to find Harry.

How long could one drink take anyways? Definitely not an hour, Luci thought. She searched the rooftop for the two, only to hope that Harry was looking for her too. After ten minutes of looking around the rooftop, passing her cast mates who were asking her to take a shot with them—she took another one, adding more alcohol into her body—she couldn’t find Harry. She started to think the worst; he could’ve possibly taken Daisy home, or Daisy could have taken him up to her room—either way, she didn’t like any of those options.

For a minute, she mentally debated if she should check Daisy’s apartment, which would be better since it was warmer indoors than it was out—she was convinced it got colder once Harry left her side—but the negative side of her mind, who was taunting her like the devil on her left shoulder, told her to check if Harry was inside because she wasn’t going to like what she was going to see.

Either way, she needed to find Harry and she didn’t want to go home without him, so she went inside the building and took the elevator down to Daisy’s floor. There were people walking in and out of her place, so it wasn’t that difficult to find which one was hers. With the same amount of people inside her apartment as there was on the rooftop, Luci made her way through the nice and luxurious apartment. She was just on the edge of tipsy; the drinks with her coworkers had gotten her there. Heading up the stairs, she passed by people who were making out, cuddling on the steps, and talking.

Once she got to the end of the hallway, she had almost given up on her search for Harry until the door at the end of the hall opened, revealing Harry who was leaving and quietly closing the door.

Luci stood in the middle with an expressionless face. He hadn’t seen her yet, but the way she wasn’t giving any emotion didn’t mean that she didn’t care; the thoughts in her mind were invading every inch that there was just too much to focus on.

Harry turned around, stopping in his tracks once he faced her.

“Hey,” he greeted softly.

“Hi.”

“I’m sorry for leaving-”

“Were you…” Luci referred to what was happening inside the room as she couldn’t finish her sentence because the thought and the words simply disgusted her.

“N-No.”

“Why do you seem unsure?” She was testing him; she heard the hesitancy in his voice, like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to tell the truth.

A new attitude rose him. “Why do you care?” His voice was a tad bit harsher, but he was a little confused on why she was questioning his actions.

She inhaled and exhaled deeply, crossing her arms, avoiding his question. “I’m going home. Are you coming with or…?” Harry bit the inside of his cheek, remembering that she hadn’t answered his question, so he’ll ask again later. He nodded, and Luci turned around; he followed.

The entire ride on the subway and walking towards their apartment building was quiet. They didn’t even sit next to each other like they always did; just across one another, avoiding eye contact.

It was when they were both in front and unlocking their doors was when Harry spoke up.

“Luci.” She stopped her movements, turning around slowly as did he. This time, she looked at him so deeply in the eyes that it was physically difficult for her to take her eyes off him. “Why were you mad at me before we left?”

On the ride back home, Harry thought about the events at the party. He’d never seen Luci so annoyed at him before, so it got him thinking a lot about what she felt for him. She was jealous, anyone could see that, and he wanted her to say it out loud why she was jealous because he could name a few reasons.

“Did you have a good time with Daisy?”

Harry breathed out a chuckle. “You’re jealous,” he stated immediately.

“Answer my question-”

“Then answer mine.”

The tension was so thick that with just one small poke of a needle, it would collapse and break. They’d never had this type of conversation before, where the tension was rising and the room felt warm; they were always playful and laughing with each other that neither of them thought they were capable of having this certain type of energy with one another.

“I was mad because you left me alone at the party…with Daisy of all people,” she said honestly, leaving a few things out.

“Is that all?” He raised his brows, crossing his arms.

Luci shook her head. “That’s not how it works, Styles. I answer yours, you answer mine.”

A smug grin landed on Harry’s face. “Did I have a good time with Daisy?” He repeated her question. “To be honest with you, no. She was pretty drunk, so I took her to her bedroom—that’s why I was in there, She was…nice.” Luci sensed a ‘but’ trailing. “She even asked me if I’d wanna go out some time.”

“What’d you say?”

He tsked. “Not how it works, Suki.” Luci rolled her eyes, letting out a soft huff. “Hey, they’re your rules.” He chuckled. “Now, answer this: why were you jealous?”

There was a surge of confidence that Harry’s never felt before; maybe it was because he knew things Luci didn’t know herself, but watching her unfold those realizations was definitely feeding his ego.

Luci sighed deeply before she started. “Knowing that Daisy could possibly get anyone she wanted was a bit of an insecurity of mine when we were on our way to the party. That was because I knew she’d want you. I mean…look at you, you’re literally so gorgeous.” Harry blushed. “And I knew that it was inevitable that she would ask you to hang out; I was just surprised when you said yes.”

He nodded. “I rejected her when she asked if I wanted to go out.” A bit of weight lifted from Luci’s shoulders, but not completely as there was still something heavy she’s been wanting to say. “Why’d you hope I’d say no? Besides the obvious that she’s mean and rude to you.”

Alright, time to fess up, Luci.

Luci inhaled deeply, hoping her confession wouldn’t have him running for the hills. “Because why would you go out with her when you could go out with me? Like, on a date…” Her anxiety was up to her chin as she locked her hands behind her back, preventing them from shaking any more than they already were.

That one simple question had answered all of the other questions swirling in his mind; not the ones that were asked in the rapid fire round of questioning and answering under the thick cloud of tension over them, but the ones he asked himself a few months ago when he was doubting that she’d ever felt something for him because all this time, she had felt something, and she just asked him out.

His heart flipped. “You wanna go on a date with me?”

“Yeah, I’ve been wanting to ask, but I didn’t know if you were interested in me or not,” she said shyly. Luci hadn’t asked someone out before—someone she was really interested in. She’d either wait until they asked her and if they didn’t, she’d move on and pretend that her feelings for them never existed. But Harry was different; seeing him with Daisy tonight had made her realize just how much she felt for him. He made her laugh, smile, and he was such a kind person.

“I’d love to.” He suddenly answered, taking her back a little.

She looked at him with wide eyes. “R-Really?”

“Yeah. I’ve been meaning to ask you too, because I’m very much interested in you, but I didn’t know you were interested, well, until tonight.” Luci giggled.

“I made it pretty obvious that I was jealous, huh?”

“A tad bit, but it’s sweet; and I wasn’t gonna go on a date with Daisy. She’s no Luciana Ivy Suki.” He teased, making her face heat up at the sound of her full name coming from his lips. She wanted to kiss him right then and then, wanted to taste the sweet taste that he was storing in his mouth; but she refrained from doing so, figuring that they’d wait until after their date—whenever that was—to wait to kiss him because it would very much be worth the wait.

“Okay, I’ll, uh, plan the date then.” Her lips turned up, feeling a certain ache on her cheeks already from smiling too much.

“Can I plan it too?” He genuinely asked.

“I did ask you, Harry.” She raised her brows teasingly.

“Alright, alright. I’ll plan the next date then.” He blushed.

Luci tilted her head, smiling sweetly at his words. “The next date, huh? We haven’t even been on the first date; what makes you think there’ll be a second one.”

“Oh, love, I think there will be.” Harry stepped closer to her, heart pounding in his chest; Luci gulped at the closeness. For a moment, she thought he was going to kiss her by the way he was looking at her intently. And for a moment, she was gonna give in and say ‘fuck waiting,’ and kiss his pink lips until he leaned forward and kissed her soft cheek for a brief moment. “Can’t wait for our date. Let me know what the plans are.”

“O-Okay.” The touch of his lips on her skin had stunned her, and she wanted them back on her instantly.

Harry opened his door, giving Luci a small smile before walking in. She started to slowly back into her open apartment, holding onto the door handle tightly. Before they closed their doors, they stared at one another, admiring each other before they said:

“Sweet dreams, Luciana.”

“Sweet dreams, Harry.”

November 8, 2017

Harry strongly knocked three times on the door right across from his own door with a bag full of takeout, another bag full of snacks, and a small brown bag that had a white box inside.

The door swung open; Luci smiled at the person behind it.

“Happy Birthday, love!” Harry greeted.

“Aww, Harry, thank you so much.” She was surprised that he remembered, let alone bring a celebration to her as she eyed the bags in his hands. Luci turned twenty-six today; her day was full of greetings from her cast mates, her family, and FaceTime calls from her brother and parents. She was going to make a trip back home for a day or two since she had to perform on Friday, but she was going to see her parents during Thanksgiving, so FaceTime calls had to suffice till then.

Stepping to the side, she invited him in. He hugged her tightly, kissing the side of her head as her face heated up. They walked to the kitchen, and Harry set the bags on the countertop, unraveling the tie of the takeout.

“First, I’m sorry for just showing up unannounced and invading your place.” He added a breathy laugh.

“No, it’s okay! You’re welcomed any time,” she genuinely said; Harry made a mental note of that.

“Second, this is not a date. I know you didn’t want today to be our first date, but I couldn’t just sit in my apartment and not do anything on your special day! So, here I am.”

“Here you are.” Luci couldn’t help the warmth that rushed to her face and neck.

“Third, I brought Chinese since it’s your favorite food. And I just so happen to know a lovely place that has the best Chinese in Brooklyn, which is my favorite place that I’ll take you to soon, but know that you’re so incredibly special because I never take anyone there.” He took the takeaway boxes out of the bag, opening them up as steam released from the boxes.

Luci leaned against the countertop. “And what makes me so special?” Teasingly fluttering her eyes.

Harry stopped what he was doing, looking at her intently. “You’re so sweet, funny, and incredibly kind. But most importantly, you’re grounded and humble; and you’re special to me.” His dimpled poked through his skin as he smiled, meaning every word.

Heart flipping, stomach in knots, and tears washing over her eyes, Luci walked around the counter to hug him, head resting against his chest as she whispered a ‘thank you’ in his ear.

For the rest of their night, they ate the authentic Chinese food while Harry told her about the restaurant he got it from, including the workers who owned the place. They also talked about work, teased, flirted, and bantered about whether fruit belonged in salads—they do not.

Harry gave her the brown paper bag that held her gift, and she opened it with shock. He gifted her a gold circle pin that was customized with her initials engraved in the middle, and the saying ‘Shine bright, Dream even bigger,’ separated at the top and bottom. He’d noticed that she had pins on her travel backpack, and would occasionally wear one on the side of her baseball cap. It was the most thoughtful and attentive gift she’d ever received, and that earned Harry a tight hug and many thank you’s.

After the night was coming close to eleven-thirty, Harry called it a night as he still had to wake up early tomorrow for work. Their goodbye at her door was a long one that was filled with tight and long hugs as they swayed for a moment, enjoying the warmth of each other. They promised each other that they would find a day that was open in their schedule so they could finally have their date; they even pinky swore on it—Harry kissed her pinky, vowing.

Luci watched Harry open his door before walking inside his apartment; she blew him a kiss as he caught it, placing his palm on his cheek, making her smile.

As they closed their doors, Luci couldn’t help but think that she just had the best birthday ever.

November 17, 2017

Luci’s leg nervously shook as she waited for her digital clock to hit 2:30 p.m.

Today was Luci and Harry’s first date, and will hopefully be written down in history. She’d been anticipating this day for a while now, and she couldn’t believe the day was finally here. The few days after she asked him out, they tried settling on a date, but the two weeks after Halloween were booked for them.

Luci was performing most days out of the week and Harry needed to figure out his teaching plans since it was close to Thanksgiving break and winter break. But when Harry found out that he had a random Friday off, he immediately told her, and to their luck, Luci wasn’t performing that day. So, they were settled on a day, and Luci couldn’t wait to take him out.

She told him that he was going to need to dress warm since they were going to be outside for most of the day, so he opted for light blue jeans that were a bit baggy, a white t-shirt, a black coat that had faux fur on the thick collar and cuffs; since he, assumingly, was going to be walking around a lot, he wore black old school vans. Harry looked in the mirror, ruffling his hair in his hands to get it to stick the way he wanted it to. His hands slightly shook as he was fixing his hair, and he realized he hadn’t felt this nervous in a while; it had been a while since he’d gone on a date with someone he truly liked.

When it hit two-thirty, Harry opened his door and locked it before taking a step forward. He took a breath, shaking his nerves off; as he was just about to knock, he heard Luci shuffling around inside her apartment as her keys jingled in her hands and her boots thudded against the wood. He put his hand down, thinking it would be nice for her to just see him right when she opened the door. After a few moments, Luci felt like she had everything she needed, so she swung her door open to only find Harry standing right in front of it, hiding behind a familiar bouquet of flowers—her favorite ones from him.

“Hello.” He smiled, dimples clearly present. Luci felt like she could cry on the spot from just being so overwhelmed with her nerves and the anticipation leading up to this day, this moment. “These are for you. Hope you never get tired of them.” Harry handed her the bouquet, and she hugged them to her chest.

“Harry, thank you. Believe me, I would never.” The start of her cheek aches had begun, and it had been about thirty seconds into their date. But cheek aches with Harry were her favorite type of aches, so she didn’t really mind it.

She went back inside her apartment as Harry followed her in; she put the flowers in a vase before fixing them a little, making sure none of them were drooping down on the edge of the glass vase. Placing them on her windowsill, where she usually puts the flowers Harry gifted her, she smiled gratefully at them before turning her head and smiling at Harry, extra grateful.

“Shall we go?” He asked, and she nodded.

Harry followed Luci down to the subway station as she got on the M train. In eleven minutes, there were four stops; the subway was quite packed with no available seats, so the two stood, holding onto the silver bar in between them with their bodies close in proximity as they stood. Harry took the chance to look down at her, simply admiring her beauty as she mindlessly looked around, not noticing his eyes lingering on her.

When their stop was on Essex Street, they got off, transferring onto the F train towards Coney Island; and Harry suddenly knew exactly where they were going. He didn’t say anything but smile. The entirety of the ride took forty-two minutes with twenty-two stops; they were able to sit down next to each other after the first stop.

Their bodies were close—thigh to thigh, shoulder to shoulder. Luci took out her wired earphones—figuring they were going to be there for a while, why not listen to some music—handing Harry the left one as she put the right one in. She played Fleetwood Mac, Tame Impala, ABBA, Lorde, and Hozier��a few artists they’d bonded over—as they both swayed in their seats, making up some dance routine with their arms and shoulders. They laughed and ignored the weird looks of bystanders, who were trying to have a peaceful train ride to their destination, but Luci and Harry were too focused on each other to care.

Once it was their stop, Luci put her headphones and phone in her purse before they got off and walked side by side one another. Harry had the urge to pull her close to his side, to hold her soft hand, but he was too shy to make a move. When they walked up the stairs to exit the station, their fingers brushed together—practically bumping into one another. Luci confidently made the move and linked their fingers together; Harry looked down and back up at her as he blushed, squeezing her hand lightly.

“Is this okay?” She asked, looking up at him.

“It’s perfect.” He meant it; the way her small hands fit so perfectly into his, as if he was protecting them. Holding her hand was comforting, and it surprised him at how comfortable he was to be making physical contact with her; but ever since he met Luci, he’s surprised himself quite a few times already.

They finally reached their first date hotspot, and Harry assumed right as to where she was taking him.

Three wide entryways painted in navy blue and orange had ‘Luna Park’ painted in orange at the top. Above the entryways were large flower-like and crescent moons that lit up during the nighttime, giving the boardwalk the most illuminating glow. The large Ferris wheel could not be missed as the carts swung and rattled back and forth. On top of the excitement of the amusement park, there were screams from people who were on the roller coasters, and the smell of fair food that they couldn’t wait to devour.

Luci paid for their entrance admission, and Harry frowned, wanting to pay, but they both agreed that they could go half on the food, and games and rides.

They felt like little kids who were at Disneyland, minus the famous castle and Main Street music, as they walked around the park to check it out as the wood beneath them creaked with every step while they hadn’t let go of each other’s hands.

“Everything looks really fun,” Harry exclaimed.

“Right! Do you wanna play some games first or ride on some rides?”

“How about we get the rides out of the way? You look very excited to go on them, and I have a feeling there’s no way you’re not going on them without me.” Harry assumed, quite accurately.

Luci put her hand on her heart teasingly. “You know me too well.” Harry chuckled. “Okay, let’s go on some rides!” She dragged him to the admissions booth, and Harry paid for both of their passes for rides.

They waited in line for the ‘Cyclone,’ which was the biggest rollercoaster besides the Wonder Wheel. Luci sensed Harry’s nerves as he kept looking up at the ride, and he couldn’t keep still.

She squeezed his hand tightly. “Harry, you don’t have to go on the ride with me.” She was starting to feel concerned for him because his hands were becoming damp, which she didn’t care for, and he kept bouncing his leg everytime the line stopped moving.

He raised his brows, and brushed away his nerves to the side but not very far. “No, no. It’s okay—I’ll be okay.”

“Are you sure?”

Pressing a kiss to the back of her hand, he nodded. “I’m sure. We’re here to have some fun, not be nervous, right?”

“Yeah. But I’ll admit, I was nervous before we left,” she said, hoping to change the subject to distract him from the fast ride above them.

“Why’s that?” He curled his lips into his mouth.

“This is our first date, I want it to go well,” she said honestly. It had been a while since she’d been on a real date—the last one being in college—but to be nervous for a date was a feeling she wasn’t familiar with.

“Think it’s going quite well, don’t you think?” He gave her a toothless grin, brows raised. Luci nodded, happy that he was always reassuring her and making her feel comfortable. “Plus, I was nervous too—still am, if I’m being honest.”

“Yeah?”

He nodded his head as if his nerves were the most obvious thing. “Oh, yeah. I want this to go well too. But by the way we’ve been friends for months before this happened, I think we’ll be okay, Ci.” Her eyes slightly widened at the new nickname that she’d never heard; Harry instantly noticed her shock. “I-Is it okay if I call you that?” To be honest, he’s always wanted to call her some unique nickname that would only be for him. ‘Luci’ seemed to be the name everyone called her, ‘Ana’ was her brother’s name for her, so the last syllable in her name seemed to be free.

“No one’s ever called me that.” And she thinks that’s extra special. “But yes, please call me that.” She approved, and he smiled.

It was their turn to get onto the Cyclone, and Harry suddenly didn’t feel so nervous anymore as they were being safely strapped into their rollercoaster cart. The ride was quite high, looking over the blue water and Coney Island Beach; the view was quite gorgeous, even in the middle of a cold November day in New York.

They screamed as the ride dropped; Luci held up one of her arms as the other held tightly on Harry’s hand as he grasped the metal bar, afraid to bravely put his arm up like his beautiful date.

When the ride was finished, they had a rush of exhilaration, wanting to go on the other rides. So, they did; they laughed, screamed, and were the most carefree people they’d ever been in their entire lives because they brought it out of each other.

After they filled their rollercoaster crave, they ate and talked. Individually, they were both worried about this part of the date where they had to talk because they’d been hanging out for so many months and getting to know each other that they thought coming up with conversation topics were going to be difficult. But it was natural for them; they didn’t put any pressure on themselves to speak every single minute of the date. Instead, they relished in the comfortable silence they seemed to form, not minding it one bit.

The sky had turned into a cotton candy pink from a bright blue quite quickly. Luci wanted to watch the sunset, but was a bit sad that they hadn’t played the majority of the games; but Harry told her it was okay, and they would come back another time when the park reopened again during the Spring.

Hand in hand, they walked to the beach that was just across the street from Luna Park. The bright lights from the park were becoming distant as they continued to walk further away from it. Since it was mid November, there weren’t that many people out because of the cold temperature—just the few people who were passing by along with others who decided to watch the sunset as well.

“Tell me about your last relationship?” Luci suddenly asked; Harry looked at her amusingly.

“Like now? In the middle of our date?” He teased, making her laugh.

“I mean, if you want to. I was just curious.”

Harry thought for a moment. “Hmm. My last serious relationship was over a year ago. We broke up right before I started teaching at the middle school.”

“What happened?” She asked softly, not wanting to pry, but she was also curious.

“We weren’t good for each other anymore. I guess life happened, and we turned into people we weren’t proud of. We grew apart; she was more in love with her career than she was in love with me. Couldn’t say I was the best boyfriend either,” he explained, not getting into too much detail. But he’d neglected her without even realizing it, causing his ex to occupy herself with work. “So, we broke up. And it felt like it was a sign from the universe that was holding me back from venturing out because I immediately got a job at the school when I had been putting off finding a proper teaching job.” He breathed out a chuckle, remembering the memory.

He’ll admit, his last relationship had hurt him quite a lot. He’d never felt such pain before, and it had made him quiet and reserved. But how it ended made him not seek out to find a relationship. For a while, he didn’t like the idea of love because it had only hurt you. But then he met Luci, and at first, he was hesitant to even be her friend because just at first glance, he was ruined, and he didn’t want to go through that process again; but here they are now. And maybe, he’ll tell her this, but for now, he doesn’t want to scare her off.

“Do you still talk to her?”

“Nope. Last I heard of her, she was engaged to this woman she met a few weeks after our breakup, but I have no clue if they’re still together.” He shrugged his shoulders. “What about you?”

“My last relationship?” Harry nodded. “To be honest, I’ve never been in a serious one…like ever.”

He raised his brows in shock. “Really?”

“Yeah. The furthest I’ve gone that was close to a relationship was a friends-with-benefits towards the end of college, which didn’t end well.” Harry sensed her mood change a bit, so he didn’t pry on asking what happened in the past. The bad memories had filled her mind, making her frown, but she pushed those thoughts away, not wanting to think about them at the moment because the timing is unbelievable. “That’s that; I don't have any exciting or tea-spilling relationship stories.”

For a moment, she didn’t want to jinx her luck, but she imagined what it would be like to be in a relationship with Harry—despite it only being their first date. Her mind took her to a fantasy that was so special and sweet because that was how she pictured what it would be like to be with him.

They sat in silence as the sound of the waves crashing and the seagulls above them took over their hearing. It was nice and refreshing to sit side by side, taking in the beautiful scenery that the world provided. Sunsets had always made Luci feel a vast amount of gratitude towards the world and the people around her; the opportunities, the things that she got to see—they all wouldn’t have happened if the sun didn't go down, promising a new tomorrow.

Suddenly, Harry stood up, brushing the sand that had gotten on his jeans. He reached out to Luci, who was still sitting down and looking up at him.

“C’mon. Let’s walk,” he suggested. She grabbed his hand as he helped her up, and she patted away the soft sand that had stuck to her black jeans.

They held hands as they walked the shore of Coney Island Beach, walking towards where the sun was departing from the world. Once the sky had turned into a purple and orange blended masterpiece, Harry stopped walking, facing Luci as he took a deep breath.

“I’m trying…really hard to hold back.” He held her cold hands in his, lightly pushing and pulling her towards him. He’d been thinking about it for the entirety of their date, and he just wanted to pull her in and kiss her whenever.

Luci shook her head softly as she stopped swaying; her eyes flickered towards his mouth, glad she wasn’t the only one thinking the same thing. She dreamed of this—had been wanting to press her lips against his for quite some time

“Don’t hold back. Please, don’t hold back.” Her tone and eyes were pleading for him to not refrain himself from the most magical feeling. Luci let go of his hands, wrapping them around his waist as if she was giving him permission to kiss her.

He placed his hands on her shoulders, gently rubbing down to her elbows before he trailed them back up and to the sides of her neck and jaw. Placing a soft kiss to her forehead before placing his on Luci’s, he inhaled deeply, taking in the saltiness of the ocean next to them and the sweetness of her skin.

Luci fluttered her eyes closed, and Harry took that opportunity to connect his lips with hers. They molded their lips together as if it were one, tasting one another for the first time. The feeling of their passionate kiss felt like the ocean had synchronized together, forming the most beautiful and largest wave for the most dedicated surfer; and when it crashed, it was powerful, breathtaking, and strong—like no other wave could top this one, no one could top this one of a kind kiss.

Harry smiled into the kiss, making Luci smile and giggle as well. Her stomach fluttered, hugging him tighter to her as his thumbs gently caressed her soft skin. Nothing could top this feeling.

Pulling back, Harry breathed out a giddy chuckle before placing a few more pecks on her lips as if he was dreaming the first time. Luci opened her eyes as did he; she looked into his and found an immense amount of adoration within him.

“I like you…a lot.”

She leaned her forehead against his chest, cheekily smiling and restricting herself from squealing before she looked back up at him. “I like you too, Harry.”

Harry flashed her his smile, something that he couldn’t wipe off his face, not like he tried. Nowadays, he was smiling a lot more, and he was one hundred percent sure Luci was the cause of it.

Kissing her forehead, Harry hugged her to his chest as they watched the sun go down. With her face pressed against his chest, she heard the erratic heartbeat that was pounded heavily; and in that moment, she knew exactly how that felt—to feel so much for one person that your heart could fall out—and she only hoped he could feel hers because it was pounding just the same.

As they held each other tightly, they both knew that this was going to be something special.

And they were all in for the ride.

an exciting chapter! come talk to me about your thoughts, feelings, favorite moments and scenes! thank you for reading <3 next chapter will be up next saturday!

#harry styles fanfiction #harry styles au #harry styles angst #harry styles fluff #harry styles x oc #harry styles smut #harry styles series #harry styles writing #harry styles ff #harry styles fanfic #boyfriend!harry #actress!oc #harry styles #hs au

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carewyncromwell · 3 years

Text

[Ficlet] Gonna Hit Rewind

Hi guys! So this is a little drabble inspired by a prompt by my friend @drinkyoursoupbitch, where I show what my MC, Carewyn Cromwell, was up to during a certain scene in the Harry Potter series!

Before we begin, just a couple of notes --

Post-Hogwarts, Carewyn becomes a lawyer for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement -- you can read more about her life as an adult here, if you’d like! When it comes to the Order of the Phoenix, Carey-Bear doesn’t formally join, instead providing covert assistance while staying autonomous from Dumbledore (who she doesn’t really like as a person) and looking “subservient” to Fudge’s wishes. Later on, this becomes very useful after the Death Eaters take over the Ministry in 1997: when the Battle of Hogwarts begins, Carewyn actually helps take back the Ministry by placing Umbridge under citizen’s arrest and temporarily taking charge until Kingsley Shacklebolt is officially appointed Minister. Carewyn’s outfit in the sketch enclosed below is inspired by this design. Musical accompaniment for this ficlet were “Leave Me Alone” by Michael Jackson (for Carewyn’s conversation with that...certain family member in the aforementioned sketch) and “Turn Back Time” by Derivakat (which inspired the title of this drabble!). And in regards to Carewyn’s negative attitude toward Time Turners...that is 110% my mother talking. When we read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child together, she absolutely hated that it involved time travel, as she found the whole idea ridiculously confusing and illogical. (The whole climax of Prisoner of Azkaban was even her least favorite aspect of the original Potter books. 😂)

Hope you enjoy -- and much love, Soup dear! xoxo

x~x~x~x

“Down here, down here,” panted Mr. Weasley, taking two steps at a time. “The lift doesn’t even come down this far…why they’re doing it there…”

They reached the bottom of the steps and ran along yet another corridor, which bore a great resemblance to that which led to Snape’s dungeon at Hogwarts, with rough stone walls and torches in brackets. The doors they passed here were heavy wooden ones with iron bolts and keyholes.

“Courtroom…Ten…I think…we’re nearly … yes.”

As Arthur Weasley rushed down the hall toward Courtroom Ten, he was unaware that in Courtroom Seven, the door of which was left slightly ajar, Carewyn Cromwell was speaking to her estranged uncle, the new head of the Cromwell Clan, at that very moment, nor that their conversation would ultimately determine Harry’s fate in that courtroom happening just three doors down.

“You’re not supposed to be here, Blaise, and you know that full well.”

“I merely wished to speak with the Minister, little Winnie -- you are aware of how much our family still supports the Ministry and, by extension, your career, are you not?”

Carewyn fixed Blaise with a very cold blue eye. “And I suppose Lucius Malfoy speaking with the Minister down here mere moments ago had nothing to do with you making an unscheduled visit?”

Blaise cocked his eyebrows, his identically colored and shaped eyes narrowing under them.

“I can sense you trying to enter my mind, Winnie,” he said very softly, his eyes rippling like light blue flames despite the hardness of his face. “It won’t work. You couldn’t reach my thoughts when you were a girl, and you can’t reach them now.”

His voice became cooler, to the point of sounding condescending.

“Whatever questions you have, you know your uncle would be more than willing to answer them, if you merely ask nicely.”

‘Answer’ -- ha! Carewyn thought to herself scornfully. Lie your face off, more like. But even so...if I’m going to get what I need, I need to keep him talking...

Carewyn went very quiet, considering Blaise carefully and her next words even more so.

“...Are you or are you not associating with Lucius Malfoy?” she asked softly.

“You might recall that he and Father were business associates back in the day.”

“Of course I do. That’s why I’m asking. Or have you forgotten where Grandfather’s activities sentenced him -- where they sentenced you, until you were able to bribe the Minister to reduce the rest of your family’s sentences?”

“Our family, little Winnie,” Blaise corrected her, a notable, fiery edge to his voice.

You all may be related to me by blood, but you are not my family, Carewyn thought fiercely, but she once again bit her tongue. If she provoked his temper the way she was tempted to, he’d be less likely to talk to her.

When she didn’t respond, Blaise continued.

“Lucius Malfoy has always had a working relationship with the Cromwell Clan. It’s only natural that we speak from time to time, as two patriarchs of prominent magical families.”

“Magical families with certain reputations, you mean,” Carewyn said very coolly.

“Cornelius Fudge thinks very highly of Lucius Malfoy.”

“And of you, thanks to your impressive acting. But that doesn’t extend to everyone else, and you know it.”

“Of course,” said Blaise with a very cool smirk. “That’s something we have in common, isn’t it, Winnie? Putting on a charming face to get what we want, and not caring who hates us for it?”

Carewyn didn’t care enough to argue this point -- she’d already had this sort of discussion with Rakepick several times back in the day, and she knew that it meant Blaise was not only trying to divert the conversation, but also was absolutely full of it.

You’re acting like this fact makes us just as bad as each other, Blaise, but it doesn’t. Even if we have some similarities in our methods, that does not make us the same. I’ve never terrorized people to try to advance myself. I’ve never manipulated or forced anyone to join a criminal organization. I’ve never masqueraded as my nephew in order to try to manipulate my niece into selling her soul and her freedom just to save him. However much I’m not perfect, I’m head-and-shoulders above you, when it comes to the moral high ground.

But honestly, there was no point in arguing with people like Blaise. It wasn’t like she’d ever convince him that everything he thought was wrong -- that Muggles weren’t inferior, Charles Cromwell was an abusive monster, and everything he and the Cromwell Clan did to try to get Carewyn, Jacob, and Lane back under their control was reprehensible rather than justified -- and she didn’t feel enough passion to try. Especially not when there were more important things happening at that very moment...

Harry would be in the courtroom by now. She had to hurry.

Although Carewyn tried to keep her face stoic, her brain was working very fast. Her eyes drifted away, off toward the far wall of the courtroom where the Wizengamot benches were lined up.

“...Look,” she said slowly, her voice becoming a little softer, “my Legilimency has become very sensitive, in this line of work. It allows me to read people’s intentions and feelings very quickly, even when I’m not actively trying to. And Lucius Malfoy...he doesn’t see you as an equal, but as a pawn.”

Blaise’s eyebrows came down over his eyes, but he didn’t respond.

“You and the rest of the Cromwell Clan only got out of Azkaban because you were able to appeal to Fudge,” said Carewyn, “but if you’re associating with the wrong people, that could very quickly sour. Your position will become uncertain again, and you won’t be able to protect them -- especially if Fudge gets the kind of control over the Wizengamot that he wants...where charges and judgments are laid down based on favoritism more than legality. We’re already seeing it with how Fudge is now treating Dumbledore and Potter, after how much he always sucked up to them. End up outside of Fudge’s good graces, as they did, and the same might befall you. I realize that you and Malfoy...”

Are Muggle-hating bigots.

“...have similar politics,” she said at last very stiffly, “...but Lucius Malfoy’s politics are far more extreme than yours, and although the courts decided there wasn’t enough evidence to prove his methods were also...we both know that’s also true. If he falls, he will drag you down with him -- and if you take the fall for his actions, he won’t lift a finger to help you.”

Carewyn forced herself to look Blaise in the eye.

“Grandfather’s dealings with R got you all in enough trouble. You bought yourself and the rest of...our family a second chance -- something many others did not get. Are you sure you want to endanger that?”

Blaise considered Carewyn very carefully as she spoke, his blue eyes boring into hers critically. By the end, they’d actually widened.

“...Are you actually expressing concern for us, Winnie?” he asked very lowly.

Carewyn scoffed. “Don’t misunderstand me, Blaise -- I don’t really think you all deserved a second chance in the first place, after everything you’ve pulled.”

Her blue eyes became a bit more solemn.

“But truthfully...I’m not that upset that you were released from Azkaban. Dementors...they’re wretched creatures. I’ve seen what they can do to people.”

Her expression darkened.

“...I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, however terrible they are.”

Something confused and almost disgusted rippled over Blaise’s face, making his nose wrinkle.

“Ugh -- and here I’d thought you’d actually weeded out that weakness in your heart...”

Carewyn’s red lips came together tightly, but she didn’t reply. The two stared each other down for a moment, before Blaise finally exhaled.

“Very well, Winnie -- you want to know why I’m down here?”

He reached into his scarlet robes and pulled out a gold chain, on the end of which dangled a tiny gold hourglass.

A Time Turner.

Carewyn’s eyes narrowed upon it.

“Lucius Malfoy has expressed quite a bit of interest in my old department, when we’ve spoken,” murmured Blaise. “One sub-section in particular -- one where records of magical predictions are kept.”

Carewyn’s eyebrows furrowed. “Prophecies?”

“They are truly a fascinating thing,” said Blaise, his voice sounding rather airy. “So much value is placed on them -- too much, one could argue...just as one puts too much value on all attempts at ‘future sight.’ Alas, the section of my old department that Malfoy was interested in was not my area of expertise -- my area was in the study of Time, specifically backwards-facing. We did occasionally dip into the study of forward-facing time magic, but more in the sphere of inevitabilities -- things that evolve naturally in nature, every season -- not human affairs. Unfortunately when I was there, there was an employee monitoring the perimeter of the section I meant to enter -- I couldn’t have explored further even if I’d wanted to.”

“So Malfoy wanted you to stop by your old desk and pick up something that might help him or someone else enter the Department of Mysteries?” Carewyn asked. “Why?”

Blaise shrugged. “He didn’t say.”

“And yet you have a suspicion as to why?”

Blaise’s eyes narrowed upon Carewyn’s face, not angrily, but almost darkly.

“I may no longer work for the Department of Mysteries, Winnie, but I cannot discuss the more classified branches of their work too deeply. That is part of the Vow I made when I first joined the Department -- it forces me to speak in hypotheticals and vague descriptions more than specific details. But I fear no random stooge using this tool to try to enter my old department, whether Malfoy or otherwise. In fact,” he added with a smirk, “I would frankly love to see them try.”

He ignored Carewyn’s critical, confused expression and pressed on more seriously.

“You’re not a stupid girl, Winnie. I know you know what’s really going on, under the surface. Me offering assistance to Lucius Malfoy early on is merely how I intend to earn enough favor to keep my family safe, should the worst happen.”

“And what is that?” asked Carewyn.

Blaise cocked his eyebrows again. “Ask your mother. She remembers the First Wizarding War just as well as I do -- how it all started before.”

He turned on his heel and headed for the door.

“Blaise.”

Carewyn speaking his name and sharply grabbing his arm holding the Time Turner made him stop.

“If you wish to provide Lucius Malfoy useful information,” she said lowly, “you can tell him that that employee was not there by accident.”

Blaise looked back over his shoulder, startled. Carewyn closed her eyes tight, trying to block out the intense nausea rippling over her.

“He’s there to make sure Malfoy’s superior can’t reach what he wants,” she murmured. “There are many more, just like him, all with the same goal. It doesn’t matter when you go there -- there will always be someone there who will keep him away from what he wants.”

Blaise stared at Carewyn, his eyes narrowing in bewilderment.

“...Why are you telling me this?” he whispered.

Carewyn swallowed back the lump in her throat.

“I haven’t worked with time magic like you have...but people aren’t supposed to be in two places at once. That I do know. A lot of problems have been caused by people trying to mess with time. Mum told me that once in the 19th century, a whole bunch of people’s lives were erased out of existence, all because someone messed around with a Time Turner...”

“Ah, yes, Eloise Mintumble,” said Blaise, sounding as darkly amused as a bully might upon seeing one of their usual targets wearing a particularly obnoxious dress. “Tried to go back more than a few hours and ended up changing things so dramatically that she both erased 25 people out of existence and aged her body five centuries and died upon return trip. A rather fascinating case study.”

“You’re disgusting,” Carewyn said coldly. But she got back to the task at hand, her voice hardening. “Even if Malfoy couldn’t get what his master wants from the Department of Mysteries with that Time Turner, he could still do irreparable damage with it. If all Malfoy needs is assistance, to believe that you’re helping him and for you to earn enough esteem that the Cromwell Clan stays safe...then give him the intelligence I’ve given you. Don’t give him that Time Turner.”

Blaise raised an eyebrow, his lips spreading into a rather condescending smirk. “Why? Because it’s wrong, little Winnie? Because it’s illegal and immoral, and ‘not the right thing to do?’”

“I’m not foolish enough to appeal to you with morality, Blaise -- I know you don’t have any,” spat Carewyn. “I’m asking you not to do it for your own self-preservation. For the Clan’s. ...For your family’s.”

Blaise’s smirk actually slid off his face. Carewyn held his gaze as best as she could, even with how ill she felt.

“I may not be one of those who takes turns standing watch in your old department,” Carewyn said very softly, “but Jacob is.”

Blaise’s face went rather white, and Carewyn knew she’d struck a cord. For as cruel, selfish, and immoral of a person as Blaise was, he still saw his family -- all of it -- like his personal belongings. And he “took care” of his belongings. He wanted complete control over them and, like Charles before him, he never respected them as people, nurtured them, or gave them any freedom...but Blaise didn’t want anyone touching “his things.”

The older man’s jaw clenched as a rather dark glint flashed through his eyes.

“...I see.”

His teeth still bared, he extended the hand holding the Time Turner’s gold chain and, very slowly, lowered it into Carewyn’s hand.

Carewyn’s eyes softened in relief.

“Thank you.”

Blaise exhaled heatedly through his nose.

“Jacob always was a fool,” he growled, his voice full of resentment. “Risking his life for people like that Muggle filth who abandoned you and your mother -- ”

“Better than selling his soul and freedom to serve the person who locked my mother and all of you up like prisoners,” Carewyn shot back rather coolly.

Blaise’s eyes flashed angrily. “You will not speak ill of your grandfather, Winnie! Everything he ever did in his life was for us, including you, your brother, and your mother, and I will not have you forgetting that!”

“Crow that lie as much as you want -- it won’t ever make it true.”

Blaise seethed as Carewyn pocketed the Time Turner in her robes. Slowly, his temper cooled enough that his lips spread back out into a rather vindictive smirk.

“For the record, Winnie...Time moves in a loop. If Lucius Malfoy were to use the Time Turner after I give it to him a half-hour from now, the effects would’ve already been felt by us by now. We would have heard about someone having broken into the Department of Mysteries before our conversation even started. The fact that we are not hearing that means that he never receives the Time Turner from me. So, in fact, it was already clear that I would give you the Time Turner before I actually did -- ”

“Oh, shut your trap,” Carewyn said tiredly. Just listening to Blaise wax on was giving her a headache. “I don’t even want to try unpacking all that time travel rubbish. All I care about is that Malfoy and his ilk can’t try to mess with time, now or ever.”

She turned on her heel and strode for the slightly ajar door. Pushing it further open, she then looked back over her shoulder at Blaise.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some business to take care of. Stay out of trouble, or I will not hesitate to prosecute you.”

Blaise’s eyes were very cold even around his smirk. “If there’s anyone who should be warned to stay out of trouble, it’s you, Winnie. I’m not the only one who’s aligned themselves with people who could drag them down, if they fall.”

“Perhaps,” said Carewyn mildly. “But my friends will catch me if I fall, just as they have before. Just like I always catch them. That makes all the difference.”

She walked away, her heels clapping against the black tiled floor as she strode to the end of the hall, listening at the door of Courtroom Ten. She could hear several voices talking inside -- after a moment, she recognized two as Amelia Bones and Cornelius Fudge.

“...certainly described the effects of a dementor attack very accurately. And I can’t imagine why she would say they were there if they weren’t -- ”

“But dementors wandering into a Muggle suburb and just happening to come across a wizard! The odds on that must be very, very long, even Bagman wouldn’t have bet -- ”

“Oh, I don’t think any of us believe the dementors were there by coincidence,” said a very misty, serene voice from inside the Courtroom.

Carewyn’s shoulders relaxed, even as her eyes rolled up toward the ceiling.

Dumbledore. He’d made it in time.

Exhaling heavily, Carewyn quickly turned back around and walked briskly back down the hallway, back upstairs toward her office. On the way, she walked by Blaise, who was now deep in quiet conversation with Lucius Malfoy, and Carewyn and Malfoy coldly stared each other down as she passed.

x~x~x~x

Carewyn hated keeping the Time Turner in her desk. She wanted to be rid of the thing immediately, but she knew she had to be patient.

Around 11:00, just before lunchtime, Carewyn asked to borrow a Dungbomb from Tonks and covertly dropped off it just outside the Auror Department on her way back to her tiny office. The resulting smell resulted in the entire floor clearing out, until someone could deal with the smell. Carewyn herself, however, stayed in her office and powered through, spraying some Muggle air freshener to try to mask the smell.

I forgot how much I hate Dungbombs, Carewyn thought dully. Oh well...desperate times call for desperate measures, I guess.

Keeping the files on a case she was working on open on either side of her, Carewyn read through them every-so-often as she pecked away at a letter she had to write. This letter had to be concise and to the point, if its recipient was going to know it was safe and exactly what she had to do, to help keep Harry Potter from getting unjustly expelled.

Right on time, three hours after Harry’s hearing, Carewyn’s Legilimency picked up the feeling that someone was approaching her office. A moment later, there was a knock on her door.

The ginger-haired lawyer exhaled heavily, her eyebrows knitting together.

“Come in,” she said.

Although she kept her voice level, she already felt a headache coming on. She knew who was on the other side of that door -- and sure enough, when it opened, in came tall, silver-bearded Albus Dumbledore, dressed in long midnight-blue robes.

Carewyn’s eyes hardened as the Hogwarts Headmaster closed the door behind him.

“Hello, Carewyn,” Dumbledore said pleasantly.

“You got my message from Tonks, then?” Carewyn asked.

“To come straight to your office as soon as I arrived, but to not let anyone see me entering? Yes. Though I daresay the evacuation of this floor thanks to the smell of Dungbombs helped with that considerably,” said Dumbledore, and his light blue eyes twinkled. “I presume it has something to do with why some members of the Wizengamot were asking what I was doing back here so soon, and why Cornelius looked even more sour at my presence than usual.”

Carewyn’s face was twisted in a deep frown as she finally took the Time Turner out of the drawer and put it on top of her desk.

“The time and place of Harry’s hearing was changed three hours ago, with no notice,” she said stridently. “The hearing originally scheduled for 11 o’clock instead was moved to 8 o’clock at 7:58 this morning. The letter was sent by owl to Privet Drive at 7:59, right before a second letter informing Harry that because he didn’t show up for his hearing, he was presumed guilty and therefore expelled from Hogwarts. Both letters arrived at 8:52. The Order wasn’t informed of the change until a little after 9, but was also informed by Arthur Weasley that you’d had the matter well in hand and had arrived miraculously early.”

“And so they felt no need to send me any post regarding the matter,” presumed Dumbledore with a dewy smile. “But in order for all of that to have happened, I will have to go back and ensure it does happen -- isn’t that so?”

Carewyn nodded curtly as she handed the Time Turner and a sealed envelope to Dumbledore.

“Three turns back should be enough -- you don’t want to risk changing too much, by arriving too early, and I have a closed-door meeting with Chester Davies prior to that. Give this letter to me as soon as you arrive in the past. As soon as she...escorts you out, head straight for Courtroom Ten. You should arrive just after Harry does -- it shouldn’t raise as much suspicion if you make it to the courtroom after Harry, since he was already in Arthur’s office when he first received word of the change...”

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled with some mischief. “Clever as always, Carewyn, my dear. You do the Order very proud.”

Carewyn’s eyes flashed. “I’m not doing this for you or your ‘Order,’ Dumbledore, as you know full well. Jacob was completely at R’s mercy after he was expelled from Hogwarts, and I don’t want to even think about where Potter might end up, if the same thing happened to him. And if Jacob’s guarding something in the Department of Mysteries, I don’t want to make it any easier for You-Know-Who and his goons to get the drop on him.”

Dumbledore’s calm didn’t shift, though his eyes did turn a bit more solemn. “And as always, Carewyn, your cleverness is only rivaled by your caring for others.”

Rising to his feet, the Headmaster tucked the envelope inside his robes and then picked up the Time Turner.

“I’ll be seeing you,” he said cheerily, “or, should I say, ‘I will have seen you?’”

And with three turns, he’d disappeared.

Carewyn gave an exhausted, groan-like sigh.

“I hate Time Turners,” she muttered to herself.

x~x~x~x

When Dumbledore appeared in Carewyn’s office out of the blue at 8 o’clock that morning, the ginger-haired lawyer reacted with a lot of irritation and suspicion. Those feelings weren’t helped when Dumbledore handed her the letter addressed to her, and yet written in a hand identical to hers.

Carewyn,

First of all, yes, I know you recognize this handwriting. This isn’t a trick -- it’s just the work of a Time Turner: specifically the one Dumbledore’s holding. On that note, ask him to hand it over and then smash it. We have more than enough problems in the here and now: no sense in adding more time travel rubbish to the pile.

Now that that’s been taken care of, let’s get to business --

The time and place of Harry’s hearing was moved just a minute ago. It now starts at 8 o’clock in the morning in Courtroom Ten. Don’t worry, Arthur’s already been notified and is ferrying Harry as we speak, but Dumbledore needs to get down there right now. Kick him out of your office, nice and loudly -- there are people outside who could overhear, and you don’t want anyone to think you and Dumbledore are on good terms. Which, fortunately, you’re not.

Now that Dumbledore’s out of your hair, let’s go over what you need to do --

Blaise has sneaked into the Ministry, specifically the bottommost floor near the Department of Mysteries, on Lucius Malfoy’s direction. No, Blaise isn’t a Death Eater -- just short-sighted and self-serving as ever. The point is that he has a Time Turner on his person, which he cannot be allowed to walk away with, under any circumstances. You’ll be able to catch him leaving the Department of Mysteries if you go downstairs in the next fifteen minutes. He’ll be meeting Lucius Malfoy around 8:30, in the middle of Harry’s hearing, so don’t let him walk away without getting that Time Turner away from him. Don’t come at the issue straight-on, though -- you can appeal to Blaise to give it to you willingly. Just keep him talking. Once you have the Time Turner, you can hold onto it until Dumbledore arrives in your office at the time that was originally scheduled for Harry’s hearing, so he can use it to go back far enough to arrive at Harry’s hearing on time.

I know, this Time Travel stuff is absolutely bloody ridiculous. But at least this way Malfoy won’t be able to use the Time Turner Blaise stole to cause even more havoc.

Burn this letter as soon as you’re done reading it. We don’t want anyone coming across it.

Good luck.

As for Dumbledore himself, he arrived at Harry’s hearing right on time, all according to plan.

“Ah,” said Fudge, who looked thoroughly disconcerted. “Dumbledore. Yes. You --er -- got our -- er -- message that the time and -- er -- place of the hearing had been changed, then?”

“I must have missed it,” said Dumbledore cheerfully. “However, due to a lucky mistake I arrived at the Ministry three hours early, so no harm done.”

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #my writing #harry potter #fanfiction #carewyn cromwell #albus dumbledore #cornelius fudge #amelia bones #blaise cromwell #lucius malfoy #time turners #AHHHHHH #YES IT ALL COMES TOGETHER #this took a while to write but it was worth it #but yeah my mum loathes time travel stories #she's a scientist at heart so the illogicality of them just drives her crazy #jacob honestly doesn't like working with dumbledore any more than carewyn does but he does see 'the greater good' of it #so he ends up being a guard not just for the prophecy but also later on for people escaping the death eaters #he likewise just barely evades ministry scrutiny enough to be able to hide people during the War #yes carewyn's choice ultimately does lead to negative fall-out like bode getting imperiused and arthur getting attacked by nagini #which of course carey-bear deeply regrets #but at the same time how much more damage might she have prevented? we'll never know #sometimes in war you have to make bad choices to try to mitigate even worse consequences :(

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bumblebear30 · 3 years

Text

Cookie Jar

uuuh so @storiesofsvu answered an ask the other day about would you rather have your hands stuck in jars or your head stuck in a bucket and it immediately spawned this whole idea so now you get a daft wee story. Just a bit of chaotic fun so I hope you enjoy.

Once again Olivia found herself sat in the DA’s office long after her shift finished. Of course it wasn’t just any old office that she found herself sat in, again, but rather she’d made a home for herself in the seat opposite Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cabot’s desk. Of late she’d found herself spending more time sat there than at her own desk in the precinct, but she wasn’t exactly complaining.

Tonight it was a thinly veiled excuse of working through a case that was coming up for trial with Alex. A case she knew the blonde could win blindfolded but she was just so pleased to have Alex back in her life now after witsec, that she was more than happy to use work as an excuse whilst supporting Alex. Olivia shifted in the seat slightly as she ignored the fact that increasingly she was finding the work excuse wasn’t cutting it, it was like she couldn’t get enough of Alex and she’d found herself getting increasingly anxious every time she had to leave. Not that she'd admit that feeling or any others, or to Alex.

The blonde in question tried to stifle yet another in a series of yawns, drawing Olivia’s attention to just quite how late it had gotten,

“Hey, do you want to finish up?”

The blonde tipped her head from side to side to stretch it out before smiling tiredly at Olivia,

“No, no we've just got to get through this tonight so that it is done.”

“Well how about a coffee?” At the offer Alex pulls an adorable disgruntled face that makes Liv chuckle, “Okay, tea it is then, it okay to use the kitchenette or do I have to go out for it?

Grateful for the break Alex continues to stretch like a cat, popping her back and neck from having hunched over for slightly too long - Olivia is ever so thankful Alex keeps her eyes closed during the whole process as she knows she had no chance of suppressing a blush from colouring her cheeks at the sight. Finally stretched out Alex smiled gently and waved at Olivia who was already standing,

“The breakroom kitchen should be fine, there's some good tea on the top shelf.” She winked at Liv conspiratorially, “It's where we hide all the good stuff. Help yourself - just don't use the two milks in the front door, they've been there for months.”

“Gross, but thanks for the heads up,”

“Oh and Liv?”

Olivia spun on her heel to face Alex,

“Yeah?”

Olivia's heart squeezed extra hard at the soft look Alex seemed to be giving her as she tilted her head,

“Thank you.”

***

Alex sifted through the papers and statements spread out in front of her - truth be told she should have been finished up by now but she'd been too caught up in enjoying having Olivia in the same room, going through everything in the case together with a fine tooth-comb that made her relaxed and far happier than she'd care to admit... Publicly at least. And even if she could have gone through everything by herself quicker, Olivia's input and presence definitely meant she did as thorough a job as she was capable of - for the case, not to impress her detective, of course.

‘Speaking of detective’, Alex mused to herself trying ever so hard to ignore the possessive term she'd accidently just used, where on earth had she gotten to?

Giving Olivia another 5 minutes Alex eventually gave in to her growing concern and went searching, a bubbling fear of Olivia falling whilst trying to reach the top shelf suddenly becoming more acute with each passing moment.

“Liv? Is everything okay? Do you need a hand?”

Alex quickly rounded into the small break room kitchenette and was immediately relieved to not find Olivia sprawled unconscious on the floor. But the way the brunette had instantly startled and turned to face Alex with her hands clutched behind her back, looking slightly red faced and harried (even if the flushed colour did look so damn good on her Alex thought), immediately clued the lawyer in that something was amiss.

She quickly reached back and closed the door behind her and looked the scene over more thoroughly. The cabinet door was still open, her box of tea down on the counter next to two gently steaming mugs. Everything there seemed quite normal. Olivia's ongoing nervous silence however, was not. She'd still made no move to show whatever it was she was hiding behind her back and was nervously shifting her weight where she stood. Alex crossed her arms and tried to pin her with a look,

"Olivia Benson what did you do?"

"Do? Me?! Nothing! Why would you think I'd done anything, everything is fine."

Without breaking eye contact Alex stepped towards her and her suspicions were only confirmed and heightened when the detective matched her with a step away, still keeping her back to the wall and away from Alex.

"If you haven't done anything then what are you hiding?"

Alex's slow smirk was matched by Olivia's shoulders slumping momentarily as she realised her on the spot acting had not been up to par,

"I'm not hiding anything, I'm fine,” her gaze shifted guiltily thought as she gulped, “or I will be in a little bit…”

A sudden horrible thought occurred to Alex that had her stepping forward unconsciously,

"Oh god did you get hurt? You didn’t’ scald yourself on the kettle did you? It's an awful old thing."

It would be so typical of her detective to be injured and not think to make a fuss of it or tell Alex, but before the blonde could reach her to tug her arms up to inspect for injuries Olivia shifted again, still keeping Alex at bay.

"No Alex, please don't, I'm not hurt… although maybe my ego is...”

Alex stopped and pursed her lips whilst fixing the brunette with a hard stare, it was an automatic motion really but it seemed to make something click for the detective.

"Did you mean it before?”

"Mean what?"

Olivia finally, sheepishly brought her hands up in front of her, well one of them at least - the other seemed to be firmly stuck in a ceramic cookie jar,

"That you'd give me a hand?"

***

After Alex had finally stopped laughing - she'd literally had to take her glasses off and wipe away a few tears - Olivia was secretly bowled over with how gorgeous she looked with such a wide grin and mischievous sparkle in her eyes. It was enough to take away the sting of mortification of being caught, quite literally, with her hand in the cookie jar.

She had to remind herself to breathe when the willowy blonde stepped in her space and picked up her jar/hand, turning it over carefully as she took stock of the hapless detective’s predicament,

"How on earth did you manage to do this?"

The way their eyes met whilst their faces were so close made Olivia's faltering attempts to breathe stutter even more. Every inhalation brought with it traces of Alex's perfume - definitely something with bergamot her brain not so helpfully supplied - and it was turning Olivia's already overwrought senses spinning. Swallowing thickly and looking down at the jar so she didn't get lost in the depths of Alex's blue eyes even more she tried to shrug,

"I spotted the jar at the back of the shelf with your tea and was curious,” her eyes flicked back to Alex's warm gaze for a second before glancing back down, "I thought you deserved a small treat for working through dinner.” She quickly tried to reassure Alex, “I would’ve replaced the cookies tomorrow you know, I wasn't just going to steal them.”

"As a decorated detective first class of the NYPD I would have hated to ruin your sterling reputation by reporting you for cookie theft." Alex teased her as she gently rotated the jar trying to get a sense of how it could be pried off.

Olivia laughed,

"As an officer of the courts I would understand that any involvement in such a crime would put you in an awkward spot, but to sell me out so quickly?!" she clutched her free hand to her chest dramatically, "Alexandra I'm hurt that our years together have meant so little to you."

‘And if only you knew how much they meant to me’ Olivia mentally finished to herself.

Her counter teasing at least earned an eye roll and good-natured huff from Alex who dragged her over to the sink by the en-jarred hand, before rummaging through the cupboard and emerging victorious with a small bottle of olive oil,

"Well it’s a tough spot you've put me in you know," Olivia simply watched quietly amused as Alex drizzled a little of the oil over her wrist and gently rotated the jar to spread it, "I'm now a material witness at least."

"Witness? Wouldn't this currently could as aiding and abetting?" Olivia wiggled her still trapped hand whilst arching her eyebrow at Alex, earning a slightly petulant huff,

"Remind me, who is the lawyer here? I'm a witness."

"Anything you say counsellor."

"Exactly. Now just let me think how to get us both out of this mess."

***

Alex tried to keep herself on the task at hand - ha! at hand, she really was hilarious at times, far more than Novak ever gave her credit for- and ignored how being in such close proximity and getting to touch Olivia this freely was entirely too enjoyable. She continued to try twist the jar off, seemingly having some success with the oil lubricating the way but she stopped as soon as she noticed a tightening of Olivia's eyes,

"If I'm hurting you, you need to say."

"No, its not sore it just felt... Weird."

"Can't you like curl your fingers together? We could get a better angle then."

“Like this?”

“No, try like this.”

“It's just such a tight space.”

“Well you got in there just fine. Stop wriggling, oh no wait keep moving your fingers like that.”

“I should've known you would be bossy –“

"I am not bos-“

"Oh thank fuck you guys are clothed!"

Both of them of them jumped together before twisting their heads, guilty wide-eyed looks plastered over their faces as an immensely relieved looking Casey Novak was leaning against the door for support.

"Novak!? What are you doing here," Alex was the first to recover even as Olivia quickly blurted a not so subtle follow up,

"It’s not what it looks like!" It earned her a particular glare from Alex.

"Well I'm just damn relieved it's not what it sounded like either." Casey could barely keep from laughing.

"Wait what?" Olivia seemed even more confused than Alex felt, although she was quite pleased at how Olivia's free hand had come to rest along her back protectively.

"From out there" - Casey waved behind her to the empty corridor, "I thought you two had finally stopped dancing round each other you know?"

"What??" Alex internally winced at how high pitched her usually reliable voice came out. She refused to look at Olivia in case the detective could read her but as they were still pressed together - somehow instinctually having both decided to hide the cookie jar from whoever the intruder was - she couldn't unsee how rigid Olivia's posture had become.

Casey looked at the two of them shifting nervously for a moment or two before grinning,

"You know what, never mind, I'll make a coffee later," some part of Alex really didn't like the knowing smirk Casey was sending them both as she motioned towards them, "I'll leave you two to get back to whatever it was you were doing. Just don't break the coffee machine is all I ask. Defile whatever ever else you want."

With a parting chuckle the redhead disappeared and Alex had never felt such a mix of confusion, relief and apprehension. She turned to Liv slowly, seeing a similarly bemused and befuddled look gracing her unfairly gorgeous face,

"I don't quite know what just happened." Alex chuckled to try dispel the tension that was rising at being so still and so close to Liv. In an attempt to deflect away from her own jumping pulse rate she motioned for Olivia to give her her trapped hand again,

"Come on let's get you free."

After several more minutes of pulling, rotating, wriggling and cursing the jar was still stuck and Alex could feel her frustration rising as her cheeks got flushed and hair got messed up the more she ran her hands through it.

"Maybe we should've asked Casey to help?"

Olivia's suggestion sent a flash of irrational jealousy through Alex,

"And bring in another lawyer to witness your crime Liv? I wouldn't be able to protect you then you know." With a huff of renewed vigour Alex braced her hands around the jar and motioned for Olivia to pull,

"Oh yeah?" Olivia let out a small grunt as she pulled, her voice a little breathless from the exertion which sent Alex pulse and brain spinning unhelpfully. That noise was going to haunt her sleepless nights for weeks she just knew it. She only refocused when Olivia continued to huff as she rotated and pulled again, "so how were you going to protect me and not incriminate yourself exactly?"

Alex readjusted her grip, as usual her lawyer ability to work through a legal argument in the background of her subconscious kicked in, not even really realising what she was saying as her brain tried to cope with operating on so many levels,

"Spousal privilege."

"What?" Olivia's shock meant she didn't counterbrace for Alex's next pull and the blonde suddenly had an armful of slightly ruffled hot detective, those big brown eyes boring into her blue ones as they stumbled back a step or two.

"What did you just say Alex?" Olivia's voice was low, almost just louder than a whisper and it pulled Alex's focus to the soft roundness of Olivia's lips which were now oh so close to her own. Her blood raced in her ears as she finally worked out what Olivia was asking and her earlier response. Her tongue peeked out momentarily as she wetted her bottom lip, and Alex could see how Olivia's gaze zeroed in on the motion. Everything was happening so fast,

"Spousal privilege," Olivia's eyebrow arched as she looked at Alex, the small movement making the normally composed blonde stutter and panic, "I wouldn't be able to testify as a witness against you then."

Olivia's head dipped forward just fractionally, and Alex's heart stopped as she thought the detective might be going in for a kiss but she pulled up short. Her eyes closed and giving a small quiet sigh so Alex set about convincing herself she must've just read it wrong, again. Olivia righted herself from Alex's arms, it was a small step away but Alex felt the loss and distance keenly,

"Oh I see," there was a heaviness to the detectives voice and she was looking at her feet as if they contained the answer for the world's problems. Alex decided to be just a little bit braver, it was now or never really,

"Of course," her voice and small half step towards Olivia drew the brunettes gaze back to her own, "You'd have to actually ask me out first you know."

She aimed for nonchalant, on that edge of acceptable fun flirting with a friend that could be laughed off, a place she knew all too well when it came to how she had protected herself around Olivia for so long. Alex could see Olivia's throat bob as she swallowed, her brown eyes casting quickly over Alex's face as if she were looking for something,

“And would you?"

The question back was not what Alex was expecting,

"What?"

Olivia took a half a step back towards her, the two of them stood so close once again Alex could smell the other woman's perfume,

"Would you go out with me if I asked?"

Holding Olivia's gaze her response was so immediate, so quietly confident that she just hoped it would be obvious to the detective how truly she meant it. With her detective stood so close to her it took Alex no effort to briefly brush her fingers across Olivia's strong jaw to tuck some of the wavy brown locks that had come loose behind her ear,

"In a heartbeat Liv."

Neither of them moved, the moment so heavy with tension and hope that everything that surrounded them was a blur. She could see the exact moment Olivia's cheek splitting grin started, a brightness to her eyes and lightness to the set of her shoulders that Alex hadn't realised she'd been missing for so long.

"Really?"

Almost tentatively Olivia reached out to place a hand on Alex's hip and heat of the gentle touch caused her to breathe in sharply. She looked up to meet Olivia's eyes with a coy smile of her own, biting down on her bottom lip momentarily,

"Really really."

And suddenly Alex's arms were filled with her detective once more but this time Olivia's lips were pressing gently but purposefully against hers and Alex's own hands were skating up strong arms and shoulders and burying themselves in those temptingly soft chocolate brown locks that had tormented her for years.

Olivia broke the kiss after a second or two, leaning back just enough to check in with Alex and the blonde's heart burst with sheer adoration for the woman in front of her. She surged forward and a small moan escaped her when Olivia's lips met her own with heated ease. The sound seemed to spark something in the detective and Alex felt herself be pressed back several steps as the fieriness of the kiss increased, years of pent up emotion being poured between them.

Alex's back thumped into the wall and whilst not winded or sore, the impact was enough to make her gasp slightly and Olivia, her free hand still wrapped around Alex waist, pulled her closer against her body as she swiped her tongue across Alex's pouty bottom lip. The tall lawyer didn't stand a chance of suppressing the noise of guttural want that escaped her, her hips pressing up against Liv's as she arched into her.

Only the sound of breaking ceramic hitting the floor interrupted them, and they both paused, breaths heavy, chests heaving as they blinked at each other for a second or two before glancing down to the side where Liv's now free hand was flexing and the cookie jar laid in several pieces on the floor below.

Glancing back up Alex caught Olivia's gaze and couldn't help but giggle, a sound she tried to hastily to cover up with her own hands across her face but when Olivia matched her, a soft laugh that was then muffled as the detective placed her forehead against Alex's shoulder as they tried to compose themselves. Eventually she pulled away, an all too pleased if not still coy smile gracing her face as she pushed away from the wall and gave Alex enough room to right herself and brush the front of her shirt back down,

"Sorry, uh, the wall, I forgot, and, uh, guess I'm free now?"

She flexed her wrist around and wriggled her fingers to check them. Alex stepped forward and carefully took Olivia's hand in her own, her pulse stuttering and soaring as she also inspected for any damage,

"You do know there are easier ways to get a girls attention detective."

The teasing glance over the top of her glasses was enough to have Olivia fingers curling round her own and Alex couldn't suppress the happy shiver or blinding smile such an innocuous and relatively innocent motion elicited in her,

"Yeah, well, it seems to have worked for the only one whose attention I wanted," she bumped her shoulder against Alex which made the lawyer blush happily.

She gave Olivia's hand an extra squeeze before dropping it gently. Turning she quickly knelt and carefully scooped up the broken pieces of jar.

She rose to find Olivia watching her, an odd mix of what looked like hunger and fondness shining through,

"Come on you, I think we've got some talking to do..."

Glancing over her shoulder Alex was pleased to see Olivia was eagerly following her,

“Just talking?”

The flirtatious and hopeful question makes Alex smile, she turns and walks backwards the last few steps to her office, reaching out to tug Olivia to her as she arches her eyebrow enticingly,

“Guess you’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you?”

***

It was a few days later when Olivia next found herself, once again, heading towards Alex’s office, although this time with a particularly noticeable spring in her step and glow about her that even Elliot and Cragen had commented on. Her pace quickened as she neared it, although had to pull up sharply as the door was opened by Casey, still facing into the office where she was obviously still talking to Alex,

“- Sure Al, whatever you need to tell yourself.”

Olivia could hear her Alex’s voice – normally so composed and forthright – was whiny, almost bordering on panicked,

“No, Casey! She literally had her hand in the cookie jar!”

Casey laughed once more and finally spotted Olivia loitering at the door a little sheepishly. The boisterous redhead winked at her before replying to Alex,

“Oh I bet she did Alex, I bet she did.”

#Alex Cabot #Olivia Benson #Cabenson #one shot #ooops #why is my brain like this

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dontcare77ghj · 4 years

Text

Breaking the News

Natasha x reader x Bucky

Note: Direct sequel to Witches. Honestly want to start a series in this universe and the Parenting universe. Requested by anon.

"There you are. I was just about to get Clint to check if you were dead." Tony said, raising a mug in your direction.

"Like I would go up there without warning them." Clint snorted. "I don't need to be permanently scarred."

"Didn't Tony you walk in on a naked, drunk Tony once?" Wanda asked the archer.

"How did you know about that?" Clint spluttered as Tony turned his attention to his drink.

"Telepath, remember?" She reminded him. "The only person's thoughts I can't hear are Y/N's."

"I think Occlumency could help you with that." You hummed. "Guess you already know the news?"

"I do." She grinned, moving over to hug you. "I'm so happy for you. All of you."

"You feel left out, Barton?" Tony asked the archer, watching as Wanda hugged Bucky and Natasha too.

"Can we join the party, or are Tony and me just going to sit here wondering?" Clint asked, watching the four of you intently.

"You're going to be an uncle, Barton." Natasha shrugged, struggling to keep her expression blank and the smirk off her face.

"Nat, you better not be joking," Clint said, looking between the three of you suspiciously. "I've already been fooled once."

"That was your fault for eavesdropping." Bucky shook his head. "But it's not a joke."

"We're pregnant." You grinned, gaining matching grins from the men.

"That's fantastic, Y/N!" Clint cheered, moving forward and pulling you into an enthusiastic hug. "Remember, Clint is a fantastic name." He said, pulling back and nodding at you.

"Nowhere near as good as Anthony." Tony scoffed, stepping towards you. "Can even be changed to Antonia."

"What makes you think we're naming our kid after any of you?" Natasha scoffed.

"Clint is a great name! And one of my kids is named after you!"

"You could convince me to have it as a middle name, depending on what you've made for lunch," Natasha smirked, leading you over to the kitchen table.

"That is considered bribery, Romanoff." Tony scoffed as he and the others joined you at the table. "I could be extorted for much more."

"The only thing I want is for James and I to be relieved of duty for the next year minimum," Natasha said, taking yours and Bucky's hand as she stared the billionaire down.

"You don't need to give me the assassin stare," Tony said, raising his hands in innocence. "Honestly, you could say you're out entirely, and I wouldn't say a word."

"I would like to add as a request, Wanda comes to visit at least once a month." You said as Clint placed a plate in front of you. "Even after the baby's born. They'll need to get to know their big sister."

"Big sister?" Wanda asked, eyes going wide.

"If you want the job, that is. No pressure." You told her with a smile.

"No, I'd love to. If that's okay with you all?" She said, looking between the three of you.

"Wanda, Y/N already wants to adopt you. And at this point, I'm inclined to agree. We'd love for you to be apart of the baby's life." Bucky assured the girl.

"Y/N, I want joint custody," Clint said, sitting down. "I already promised Laura that she could meet Wanda, and I refuse to anger her."

"Wanda lives with me. That means you need to include me in this custody agreement." Tony announced. "Give me your lawyer's name, and I'll have my people contact them. We can have the papers drawn up within minutes."

"Are either of you idiots going to ask Wanda's opinion?" Natasha raised a brow.

"No, because they know she likes it here best," Bucky smirked.

"Says who?" Clint and Tony exclaimed in unison.

As the four continued their playful banter, you snuck a look over to Wanda. The girl was watching the exchange with a wide grin and slightly misted eyes.

'You alright?' You mouthed as you caught her eye.

'Never better.' She assured you with a bright smile.

"Okay, I think that we've practiced enough for today." You said as Wanda finished her spell. "I think we might have to get you another year level's books." You smiled.

"Really?" Wanda questioned you. "You really think I'm ready?"

"I think you're as ready as a house-elf is to clean." You told her. "And I want to talk with you anyway."

"What's up?" Wanda asked.

"I wanted to see how you really feel about what we talked about yesterday." You began. "I wanted to see if you were actually okay with being apart of this child's life."

"I wasn't lying when I said I want to be around," Wanda told you. "I lost my entire family. I thought I was alone, and then I got the team. And I was so happy because they were becoming my family, I was getting control of my powers, and I thought everything was finally working out. But then my inner witch was spiraling, and I thought everything was going to disappear. I thought they'd all hate me, and I'd end up alone again.

But they didn't, and instead, Bucky and Nat invited me to your home. Introduced me to you, and you have not once acted like I'm, like I'm a monster. You've taught me I'm a witch, you taught me what it means to be a witch. That I don't have to be scared of any of my powers, or who I am. I want to help pass that along to others." Wanda explained with a soft smile. "I want to be around and help you teach your child that message."

"I don't know if I've said this before, but you are too sweet for this shitty, shitty world." You said, making the girl giggle. "You remind me of someone I knew long ago."

"Is that a good thing?"

"The best thing." You said, moving next to her. "And Wanda? You're never going to be alone again. I swear to you. You have so many people in your corner, and we might not be your biological family, but we'll be your family as long as you want us to." You told her, wrapping your arms around the girl.

"Thank you."

"Are you sure it's okay if I come?" Wanda asked, chewing her lip nervously as she looked at the three of you.

It had been three weeks since you'd announced your pregnancy to your partner's family, and now it was time to tell yours.

The war had left you an orphan, but you still had family you wanted to tell.

It was time to tell the Potter's and the Weasley's.

"Of course it is, Wand." Natasha smiled as Bucky handed her her coat.

"I've been talking everyone's ear off about you, and I think Hermione will wack me if I don't bring you along." You said, causing Bucky to chuckle.

"That woman is terrifying." He shook his head. "I'll never forget the donkey incident."

"To be fair, she was pregnant at the time." You defended your friend. "And Ron was kind of asking for it."

"Do I even want to know?" Wanda asked with a smirk.

"No." Natasha shook her head. "You really don't. Now put your coat on, it's cold."

"And it's going to be colder at the Burrow," Bucky added.

"Where exactly are we going again?" Wanda questioned as she did what Natasha asked.

"England." You told her. "Molly and Arthur still live in the Burrow and have invited us all there."

"But they don't know me. What makes you think they will be okay with me coming?" Wanda insisted.

"Hon, Y/N has been talking everyone's ear off about a little witch who is the brightest, sweetest, and the kindest person she's met. Everyone wants to meet you." Bucky said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

"Plus, Molly loves having new people to smother and feed." You smirked.

"Expect a jumper come Christmas," Natasha told her. "All right, is everyone ready to go?"

"How are we getting there? Plane?" Wanda asked as you and Bucky nodded.

"We're witches, Wanda." You reminded her. "We have a better way." You said, holding a hand out to her and Bucky as Natasha took your hand. "Hold my hand tightly, keep your eyes closed, and don't let go." You instructed as Wanda took your hand, and Bucky placed his on your shoulder.

"I hate apparating," Bucky whined.

"Do you want to try the floo again?" You raised a brow.

"Just apparate already." He shuddered, causing Natasha to snicker.

Closing your eyes, you let out a deep breath, and within seconds you were all in front of the Weasley family home.

The tall, spindly, home, which was only held up by magic, was still standing as tall and proud as it had been in your childhood.

The land had not changed much, despite the tragedy of your sixth year, and it brought you a feeling of nostalgia.

"Aunty Y/N! Aunty Nat! Uncle J!" An excited voice squealed and was followed by pounding footfalls.

“Lilly-petal!” You grinned, kneeling to hug the red head. “Look how big you’ve gotten.”

“I missed you, Aunty Y/N.” She said, squeezing your neck.

“What no hug for your favorite uncle?” Bucky asked, drawing her attention to him. Lilly giggled and moved to hug him.

“Y/N!” A male voice called as you stood. You grinned widely at the sight of the man before you.

“Hiya Harry.” You chirped as he brought you into an embrace.

“You know you’re late, right? You’re just lucky Molly knows you’re always late.” Harry smirked, causing you to wack him in the head. “Blimey Y/N!”

“He’s not wrong, dorogoy.” Natasha said. “You’re always late.”

“Nat.” You groaned, watching as she hugged her niece. “You’re supposed to defend my honor.”

“He’s still right.” Bucky agreed. “You’re rarely on time to anything.”

“I will divorce the two of you.” You deadpanned.

“No you won’t.” Natasha and Bucky replied in unison, causing Wanda to giggle and you to sigh.

“Harry, this is Wanda Maximoff.” You said, pulling Wanda to your side. “Wanda, this is Harry Potter and this is his daughter Lily.”

“It’s very nice to meet you, Mr. Potter.” Wanda stuck her hand out.

“Nope, none of that.” Harry said, pulling her into a quick hug. “It’s Harry, and if Y/N considers you family, then you’re my family too. Okay?”

“Okay.” Wanda smiled.

“Great. Let’s get the four of you inside, everyone’s waiting to see you.” He said, taking Lily’s hand.

“Look what the Hippogriff dragged in.” Ron smirked, holding an eight year old Hugo in his arms. “Is this the brilliant witch you’ve got ‘Mione so excited to meet?”

“Yep, Ron this Wanda Maximoff.”

“Nice to meet to meet you, Wanda. We’ve heard a lot about you.” Ron smiled at her.

“Y/N has told a lot of stories about you all too.” Wanda told him.

“Oh God, you’ve heard some shit then.” Ron chuckled.

“Ronald, you better not be swearing in front of Hugo.” Hermione scolded, entering the hall with her hands on her hips.

“No, never. I would never swear in front of our son.” Ron stammered as Harry laughed. “Uh Hermione, Y/N has someone for you to meet.”

“Oh Y/N, is this Wanda? You must be Wanda! Oh it’s so nice to meet you, I have so many questions for you.” Hermione said almost in one breath as she launched forward and embraced Wanda.

“Nice to see you too, Hermione.” You shook your head.

“Oh, it’s good to see you three too.” Hermione said, pulling back. “Now, Wanda, would you like to sit so I can ask you some questions? Is that okay with you? Y/N?”

“Breathe, Hermione, you’re going to scare her away.” Harry laughed.

“Oh I’m sorry, it’s just so nice to meet you.” Hermione sighed. “Y/N has told me so many things about you, your magic, and your other powers. I just would love to talk to you. If you want, no pressure.”

“I’ll sit with you if you want.” Natasha said as she took Hugo into her arms. “Just in case.”

“I’d like that.” Wanda smiled.

“Excellent! I have a whole list of questions for you. Oh Y/N! Molly’s in the kitchen and wants to see you.” Hermione said, before pulling Wanda and Natasha away.

“Your wife is a tornado.” Bucky said to Ron.

“Don’t I bloody know it.” Ron smiled. “You better get going, mum’ll throw a pan at you.”

“She loves me.” You shrugged. “You want to come see nanna, miss Lily? Maybe we can find chocolate frogs somewhere.”

“Chocolate frogs!” Lily exclaimed, latching onto your hand and began pulling you towards the door.

“Have fun boys.” You laughed, following the little girl. “Hi, Molly.”

“Oh, Y/N! It’s so nice to see you.” The short woman said, giving you a hug as Lily searched for sweets, having no interest in the conversation. “How’s my newest grandbaby?” Molly asked, placing a hand on your stomach.

When you first suspected you were pregnant there was only one person you could think to ask for help. Molly had been the first to know you were expecting and promised to keep your secret until you were ready.

“They’re doing really well.” You promised.

“Have you told Natasha and James? And how’s my other grandchild?”

“Tash and Buck both know along with their family. And Wanda’s amazing. I would’ve brought her in with me, but ‘Mione snatched her up.” You told her.

“I’ll get to meet her at lunch.” Molly waved you off. “Sit! You’re carrying precious cargo.”

“I’m not an invalid, Molly.” You said, still taking the seat.

“Have you thought about how you’re going to tell everyone else?” Molly asked as she returned to making lunch.

“I have. I’m going to say during lunch. Gives everyone a chance to settle and I have the perfect way to say it.” You told her.

“Am I going to be included with everyone or can I know before?” She raised a brow.

“I want you to be surprised.”

“I’m not a fan of surprises, dear, but I suppose I can wait.” She sighed. “Go join everyone else, lunch will be ready in ten.” She said, shooing you out of the kitchen. “Lily, go with Y/N. No sweets before lunch.”

“Okay, nana.”

You led Lily into the living room where everyone, bar Arthur, was sitting.

“Have they scared you away yet?” You asked as Lily ran to her mother and you took a seat next to Wanda.

“We’re not scary, Y/N.” Hermione rolled her eyes.

“Well you have your moments.” Ron smiled, receiving a thump to the arm from his sister. “Bloody hell, Gin.”

“Everyone’s been very nice.” Wanda assured you. “Hermione says she has some books she wants to send me.”

“Of course she does.” You grinned. The fourteen of you were continuing your light conversation when you were summoned into the kitchen where Molly and Arthur were waiting.

You all served yourself lunch and continued with your conversations.

“How is the Avengers?” Ginny asked Natasha. “Driving you up the wall?”

“Always.” Natasha chuckled, sipping her wine. “It’s like being stuck with a group of children.”

“You must be itching for a vacation.” Ginny smiled.

“They’re about to take one.” You told her.

“Y/N bully you into it?” Harry asked Bucky with a smirk.

“Harry James Potter, you take that back. I am not a bully.” You gasped.

“You hit me in the back of the head not even an hour ago.” He pointed out.

“You were being a bloody git that’s why.” You grumbled. “But I did not bully them into taking a vacation.”

“Did you miss aunty Y/N too much?” Lily asked as Ginny cut her meat.

“We always miss aunty Y/N.” Bucky smiled at her.

“Actually they’re taking a vacation for other reasons.” You told your niece. “They want to be around when the baby’s born.” You casually said, drinking your water.

The room went silent for several seconds before cheers rang out.

“Congratulations!”

“How wonderful!”

“Bloody hell you three!”

“The kids absolutely love her.” Ginny said to you. Lunch had turned into dinner. The four of you had made no want to return to your home and decided to stay with everyone else.

It was currently almost dusk and you had all made your way outside. The kids had dragged Harry, Bucky, Ron, Arthur, and Wanda to play while the rest of you sat watching.

“Everyone loves her.” Hermione corrected, smiling at her children. “She’s incredibly sweet.”

“Clint’s wife said the same thing.” Natasha said, squeezing your hand.

“She’s so smart. For someone who never attended a school, and has only been learning a couple weeks, her progress is incredible.” Hermione added.

“Hopefully this ones the same.” Natasha commented. “Otherwise we might need to stock up on fire extinguishers.”

“They could come out muggle.” You reminded her.

“At least you’ll have plenty of help with the baby, magic or no magic.” Molly said. “For this one and any of kids in the future.”

“Definitely in the future. We’ve already got two.” You said, watching Wanda and Bucky laugh as Natasha kissed your cheek.

None of your family was actually related to you. None of your family shared your last name, but they were still your family.

It didn’t matter you were a L/N, and they were Weasley’s, or Potter’s, Maximoff’s, Barton’s, Stark’s, or whoever. It didn’t matter weather they were muggle, witch or wizard.

Your family was your family. And they always would be.

Taglist

@rvgrsbrns @smilexcaptainx @hopingforbarnes @starlingelliot @piper-koko-barnes-rogers @jelly-fishy-babie @skeletoresinthebasement @agent-barnes40 @reann-loves-sebstan @skadikh @summergeezburr @buckybarton03 @sunshinepower17 @bindythedemon @natasharomanoffismywife @keenmarvellover @alissaginger

Natasha Romanoff Taglist

@natasha-danvers @5aftermidnight @ohfuckno

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awed-frog · 4 years

Note

“The big flaw with this is that it completely misunderstands who JK Rowling is and why she wrote the books. Simply put, this novel is a Christian tale. You miss that, you miss the entire point of everything it has to say.” Elaborate? Sounds interesting and I haven’t heard that before.

Well - I love this to bits and sort of wrote my thesis about it, so here we go.

Basically, you’ve got several kinds of heroes, but ‘left-wing hero’ is almost a contradiction in terms (more on this later). There’s your average Greek hero, whose status as a hero is more of a social class than it is a job and who generally doesn’t have any morally redeeming qualities (have you met Theseus?). Then there’s the medieval Christian hero - he comes in different flavours, but what’s relevant here is the Perceval model: basically the village idiot, whose only power is his good heart and who has no desire to challenge the status quo (because kings are divinely ordained and also poets tend to work for them, so ‘That vassal guy of yours has rescued yet another damsel’ story is going to be better received than ‘Your tax system is corrupt and this knight will now implement direct democracy’). Next you have the modern superhero, who was born in a very different historical context (the vigilantism of 19th century US) and as such has very different priorities. Namely: in his world, there is no higher authority and it’s up to him to use his superior skills to be judge and executioner so he can protect the most vulnerable. This understandable but toxic narrative will later get mixed up with WW2 and then the rampant capitalism of the last 30 years, resulting in the current blockbustery mess.

Anyway - if you’re a Western writer, it’s basically impossible to escape these three shaping forces we’ve all grown up with (classical Antiquity, Christianity, and US-led imperialism/capitalism), so most books and movies of the last forever decades can be analyzed through this lens. In the case of JK Rowling, what you have is a Christian author who openly used her YA series to chart out her own relationship with God. This is not a secret, or a meta writer’s delusion, or anything: she’s discussed it in several interviews. Her main problem, which is most believers’ main problem, is how to reconcile her faith in a benevolent God with the suffering in her daily life; and something she’s mentioned more than once is how her mom died when she was 25, and how this was very much on her mind especially when she was writing Deathly Hallows.

Now, I don’t want to write a novel here, so I won’t analyze the entire series, but what it is is basically a social critique of British society, mixed up with Greek and Roman elements in a cosmetic way only, and - crucially - led by an extremely Christian hero.

In every way that matters, Harry Potter is a direct descendant of Perceval: he’s someone who’s grown up in isolation as the village idiot (remember how he was shunned by other children because he was ‘dangerous’ and ‘different’), randomly found a more exciting world of which he previously knew nothing (he’s basically the only kid who gets to Hogwarts without knowing anything about the magical world, just like Perceval joined Arthur’s court after living in the woods for 15 years), and proceeded to make his mark not because of his innate powers or special abilities (he’s average at magic, except for Defence against the Dark Arts), but because he’s kind and good and humble. And in the end, he willingly sacrifices himself so everyone else can be saved: a Christ-like figure who even gets his very own Deposition (in the arms of Hagrid, the closest thing to a parent his actually has).

(This, by the way, was the only reason why Hagrid was kept alive. JK Rowling had planned to kill him, but she absolutely wanted this scene - one of the most recognizable and beloved image in Christian art - in the books.)

And even if he ultimately survives his ‘death’ (like Jesus did), Harry refuses the riches and rank he was surely offered and chooses to spend his days in middle-class obscurity as a husband and father (if I remember correctly, Harry and Ginny’s house isn’t even big enough for their three kids). And no, of course he doesn’t stand for anything or challenges the status quo: that’s not his job. His job, like Jesus’, was to defeat evil by offering himself up in sacrifice; and the entire story - especially the last book - is a profound, intimate, and very moving reflection on faith.

(“Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's”, remember? It’s not your job to change anything in the temporal, material world; your job is to nurture your immortal soul and prepare it for the true life that comes after death.)

Like - I don’t know how it was for younger readers, but for me, reading Deathy Hallows as an adult, it wrecked me. Even as an agnostic, I read it over and over again, and I kep finding new meaning in it. The whole thing is basically a retelling of the Book of Job, one of the most puzzling and beautiful parts of the Old Testament. That’s when Harry’s faith in God Dumbledore is tested, when his mentor, the cornerstone of his world, disappears; when Harry has to decide whether he’ll continue to believe in this absent, flawed figure despite all the bad things he keeps uncovering or give up his faith - and thus his soul - completely. The clearest, most startling moment exemplifying this religious dilemma is when Harry decides not to go after the wand. Getting it is the logical thing to do, the only way he can win, but Harry - while mourning Dobby - decides not to do it. That’s when he recovers his faith, and starts trusting his own kindness and piety (whatever happens, he will not defile a tomb) over everything else.

Another key moment is King’s Cross - here, and once more, Harry forgives his enemy, thus obeying Jesus’ commands. He sees Voldemort, the being who took everything from him - and he pities the pathetic, unloved thing he’s become. This is what sets him apart from everyone else and what makes him special: not his birth, not his magic, not some extraordinary artefact - but simply, like Dumbledore puts it, that he can love. After everything that’s bene done to him, he can still love; not only his friends, but his enemies. He forgives Voldemort, he forgives Snape, he forgives Malfoy, he forgives Dudley; and I see so many people angry about this, ranting about abuse victims and how hate is a right, but I think they’re missing the point. This is a Christian story; from a Christian perspective, your enemies need love more than your friends do.

(“It is not those who are healthy who need a physician” and all that.)

And in any case, a hero is inherently not left-wing. The whole trope relies on three rock-solid facts: the hero is special, and he can do something you can’t, and that gives him the right or the duty to save others who can’t save themselves. Whether it is declined in its Christian form (the hero as self-sacrificing nobody) or in its fascist form (the hero as judge and king of the inferior masses), that is is the exact opposite of any kind of left-wing narrative, where meaningful change is brought about not by individual martyrdom or a benevolent super-human, but by collective action.

So, yeah - Harry changes nothing and is not the leader of the revolution, but it’s unfair to link this to JK Rowling’s politics. It’s just how the trope works. And, in fairness to her, many kind and compassionate authors who write books concerned with social justice tend to lean towards this kind of hero because the only workable alternative - the fascist super-hero - is way worse. Had Harry been that, for instance, he would have ended up ruling the wizarding world. Would that have been better for its democracy? A 19-year-old PM who knows nothing about the law or justice or diplomacy? A venerated war hero drunk on power? Instead, JK Rowling chooses the milder way out: Harry and his friends do change the system - little by little, and within the limits of the genre. Hermione becomes the equivalent of a human rights lawyer, while Harry and Ron join the Aurors (and I know there’s a lot of justified suspicion towards law enforcement, but frankly having good people in their ranks is still the only way to move things forward. It’s been years and I still haven’t heard a practical suggestion as to how a police-less nation would work). As for the government, it is restored to a fairer status quo - again, not the revolution many readers wanted, but also not the totalitarian monarchies or oligarchies or the super-hero’s world.

And as to how one can write a story that’s actually revolutionary - I don’t exactly know. Some writers rely on multiple narrating voices to try and escape the heroic trope; others work on bleak stories which point out the flaws in the system and stop short of solving them. I guess that, in the end, is one of the problem with left-wing politics: they’re simply less eye-catching, less cinematic. On the whole, it’s dull, boring work, the victories achieved by committees and celebrated with a piece of paper. From a literary point of view, it just doesn’t work.

#ask #harry potter #hp #meta #jk rowling #tropes #heroes #literary tropes #ancient greece #superheroes #the jesus fandom #writers problems #right vs left #politics #again i don't hold it against it #i think it works beautifully #and has a lot to offer to non-believers as well

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causeiwanttoandican · 3 years

Text

They are massive liars and have been planning this all along.

Meghan is definitely doing most of the planning.

Harry and Meghan were in talks with video platform a year before ‘Megxit’

The Telegraph has learned the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had discussions with the now defunct Quibi service from early 2019

By Camilla Tominey, Associate Editor2 April 2021 • 9:00pm

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were discussing projects with a billion-dollar backed US streaming service a year before they stepped down as senior members of the Royal family, it has emerged.

The Sussexes had a series of meetings with Quibi, a now-defunct rival to YouTube, from early 2019 until after they dropped their 'Megxit' bombshell in January last year.

The Duke returned from the so-called Sandringham Summit to meet executives from the short video platform in London as plans for him to provide content apparently reached advanced stages.

In their interview with Oprah Winfrey, the couple said that they “didn’t have a plan” upon leaving the Royal family, but The Telegraph has learnt that they had talks with executives of the £1.3 billion start-up before their son Archie was born in May 2019.

The discussions are understood to have led to tensions with Palace staff fearful they would be accused of “cashing in” on their status, and because the couple were predominantly consulting Meghan’s US-based team of advisers.

A source with knowledge of the situation said: “There were well-developed proposals in place with Quibi from early 2019.”

A royal source added: “A lot of it was orchestrated by Meghan’s people in America. It was a bit of a secret squirrel.”

Sources in the UK and US confirmed there were numerous conversations with Quibi, including its founder Jeffrey Katzenberg, described as “one of Hollywood’s premier political kingmakers”, and Meg Whitman, chief executive, a former president of eBay.

After Quibi drew up a proposal in early 2019, there were conference calls to discuss a plan for their own series of 10-minute videos. There was a meeting in London last January, which the Duke attended with James Holt, the new executive director of Archewell, the couple’s non-profit organisation.

Shortly afterwards, the couple relocated to Los Angeles, and the pandemic put all plans on hold.

Quibi did well on its launch last April, but by September, around the time the Sussexes said they had signed a multimillion-dollar deal with Netflix, it was on the verge of shutting down.

A spokesman for Buckingham Palace declined to comment.

Unfolding events

They told Oprah Winfrey they “didn’t have a plan”. Revealing that they had been “cut off” by the Royal family, Harry, Duke of Sussex, insisted that he and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, only signed deals with Netflix and Spotify out of immediate financial necessity.

As the Duke told the US chat show host: “The Netflix and the Spotify, they’re all . . . that was never part of the plan.”

“Because you didn’t have a plan?” prompted Ms Winfrey. “We didn’t have a plan,” replied the Duchess, with the Duke adding: “We didn’t have a plan. That was suggested by somebody else by the point of where my family literally cut me off financially, and I had to afford . . . afford security for us.”

The Telegraph has now learned that the couple spent more than a year in the lead up to “Megxit” in talks with a now defunct US streaming platform which would have seen them make a series of 10-minute videos.

The story behind their conversations with Quibi, once hailed the next YouTube and backed by £1.3 billion of investment from the likes of Disney, NBC and Goldman Sachs, lays bare some of the apparent tensions between the Sussexes and their staff as they attempted to walk the tightrope between royal duty and potential commercial opportunity.

Throughout 2019, the couple held a series of discussions with senior executives from Quibi including its founder Jeffrey Katzenberg, described as "one of Hollywood's premier political kingmakers” and its CEO Meg Whitman, a former president of eBay and Hewlett Packard.

Worth an estimated £650 million, Mr Katzenberg, a former chairman of Walt Disney Studios, is one of the Democratic Party’s top national fundraisers in the US, having actively supported Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren and Barack Obama.

Ms Whitman was a senior member of Mitt Romney's presidential campaigns in both 2008 and 2012 and ran for governor of California as a Republican in 2010, but supported Democrats Mrs Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020.

Both apparently viewed the Duke and Duchess as the key to getting their “mobile-based Netflix” off the ground, actively courting them in the run up to its eagerly-anticipated launch in April 2020.

The couple stated in their “Megxit” statement of January 2020 that they “intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen.”

Still working royals

They went on to sign lucrative deals with Netflix and Spotify, thought to be worth millions of dollars.

But when they were still full-time working royals, palace aides are understood to have long harboured concerns that the couple would be accused of cashing in on their royal status because of their meetings with Quibi, or tarnished by association if it failed to take off.

As one source put it: “Chinese walls were put up and certain amounts of information weren’t shared which just made it difficult to protect the couple from accusations of attempting to monetise their role.

“It was hard for royal aides to be supportive of projects like Quibi because they knew how it might look but the couple kept dismissing these concerns. They didn’t seem to see the pitfalls of any potential conflict of interests.”

Amid much talk of conflict behind the gates of Kensington Palace, with a bullying complaint submitted against the couple in October 2018, it seems one bone of contention for royal aides was the couple's “secretive” conversations with the Duchess's trio of US advisers.

Asked whether she would be giving up her career in their November 2017 engagement interview, the Duchess replied: “I don’t see it as giving anything up. I just see it as a change.”

Sunshine Sachs and sussexroyal.com

Multiple sources in the UK and US have confirmed that the Duchess continued to consult her lawyer Rick Genow, her business manager Andrew Meyer and her talent agent Nick Collins, during her time in the Royal family – with regular conference calls even set up to link both sides of the Atlantic.

Another key figure who remained in her sphere of external advisers throughout was Keleigh Thomas Morgan of PR firm Sunshine Sachs, who helped to broker the Duchess’s first interview about dating the Duke with Vanity Fair in September 2017, before going on to mastermind the couple's first charitable foundation, Sussex Royal.

The quartet are understood to have helped with the registration and development of the couple’s new website, sussexroyal.com, in March 2019.

According to one insider: “Rick, Andrew and Nick came with the territory. So did Keleigh. They were constantly fielding proposals for Meghan and bringing stuff to her.

“But the team in America did pose problems for staff at KP. There was always quite a lot of secrecy surrounding the couple’s conversations with the US.

“Certain people would be in the know about what was going on with things like Quibi, while others wouldn’t have a clue. Discussions that had been quite public would then suddenly go underground, into the 'private' space. It was all quite difficult to manage at times.”

In September 2019, James Holt, now executive director of the couple’s Archewell non-profit organisation, confirmed that Sunshine Sachs had been “supporting us with outreach and coordination in the US.”

The firm helped with the launch of the Duke's sustainable travel initiative, Travlyst.

Mental health initiative

Around the time the Sussexes had received a proposal from Quibi in April 2019, they announced that the Duke would be teaming up with Ms Winfey to create a series of documentaries about mental health. The shows were to air on Apple TV+, Apple’s video streaming service expected to be released that autumn, after Ms Winfrey had signed a multi-year deal to create programmes for the streaming platform.

But the announcement on the Sussexes’ new Instagram page took Buckingham Palace by surprise, with the Queen’s private secretary Sir Edward Young and Prince Charles’s counterpart Clive Alderton both contacting Samantha Cohen, then the couple’s private secretary, requesting more details.

“The Apple TV series was a bit problematic because senior palace staff were given minimal information about it," added a royal source.

“Meghan had insisted it be announced on Instagram because they had just launched the Sussex Royal page and wanted to make all the big announcements on there. But no one had seen the fine print. There was uncertainty over the commercial terms of the deal.”

The palace briefed at the time that the collaboration to “accelerate change for a more compassionate, connected and positive society” was the result of “several months of discussions” with Ms Winfrey, who had attended the couple’s wedding in May 2018.

'Surviving' rather than 'thriving'

Confirming the Duke would be donating his fee to a mental health charity, a spokesman for Kensington Palace said the multi-part documentary series "will focus on both mental illness and mental wellness, inspiring viewers to have an honest conversation about the challenges each of us faces, and how to equip ourselves with the tools to thrive, rather than to simply survive".

The Duchess would later use the same terminology to describe how she was “surviving” rather than “thriving” in the Royal family during an October 2019 interview with ITV’s Tom Bradby.

During the Oprah interview, the Duchess suggested that she went into the Royal family “naively” and that they “only wanted to have the same type of role that exists”.

Citing royals who “earn a living, live on palace grounds, can support the Queen if and when called upon", she said: “We weren’t reinventing the wheel here.”

However, there was no precedent for full-time working royals to earn money outside the institution. Figures like the Earl and Countess of Wessex had to give up successful careers to devote their lives to public service.

While Prince Andrew’s daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, do earn their own living, they are not and never have been full-time working royals.

The royal source added: “There was a constant dialogue from the couple along the lines of: “Why can’t we do this? You can’t stop us from doing what we want to do".

Calling the shots

“They were calling the shots and would be the ones instructing the press office on what line to put out.”

The Duchess suggested in the Oprah interview that the institution did not do enough to defend her against negative press coverage. But insiders on both sides of the Atlantic revealed the Duchess did have a great deal of control over the couple’s PR, writing her own Instagram posts and even selecting the imagery to go with them.

“Meghan was the one controlling the timing of announcements, and doing a lot of the planning,” said one source. “She had a grid and was plotting the cadence and order in which all of their plans would come to fruition. There was a sense that Meghan thought she knew what was best for them.”

Another insider revealed how royal aides were left in a quandary after Meghan attended a baby shower in New York without taking any palace staff with her.

As guests including Serena Williams and Amal Clooney began to arrive at the exclusive Mark Hotel alongside trolleys-full of baby items, staff back in London wondered how they should register the freebies in accordance with the Royal family's strict rules on declaring gifts.

“That was a bit of a headache, not least because no one from the palace was there to oversee what was happening,” said the source. “The American lot were the ones dealing with the baby shower.”

Eyebrows were also raised four months later when the couple attended the Lion King premiere in London, when they met the singer Beyonce and her rapper husband Jay Z.

Voiceover work

Video footage later emerged of the Duke touting the Duchess's skills as a voice over artist to Disney CEO Bob Iger. “You know she does voiceovers, right?” he told the media mogul. “She’s really interested,” to which Mr Iger replied: “We’d love to try”.

In January 2020, it emerged that the Duchess had signed a deal with Disney to do a voiceover for a wildlife charity called Elephants Without Borders, having reportedly recorded it before the couple left for their six-week sabbatical in Canada in November 2019 to consider their future.

The couple said Disney had made a donation to their charity work on the environment and conservation.

Holed up in a multi-million pound mansion on Vancouver Island over Christmas 2019, the couple are understood to have masterminded their departure from the Royal family with the help of Mr Genow, Mr Meyer, Mr Collins and Ms Thomas Morgan.

Around the same time, the Duchess’s company, Frim Fram Inc, was moved out of California and incorporated in Delaware, which tax experts suggested could have been done to avoid being hit with tax liabilities in California.

Corporation filings seen by The Telegraph showed that the move was made on New Year's Eve, while the couple were still in Canada. Mr Meyer and Mr Genow are listed as CEO and secretary of Frim Fram Inc.

With its flexible business laws and low personal income tax rates, Delaware is known for being home to more corporations than people, with almost 65 per cent of Fortune 500 companies incorporated in the state.

A source said at the time that as the Duchess was no longer resident in California it was appropriate for the registration to be moved. It is understood that the company receives payments for work undertaken by the Duchess before she joined the Royal Family, such as residual payments from her acting work.

The company was described by the source as "largely inactive". On March 10 last year, the company’s status changed from “active” to “merged out”.

In January 2020, the Duke had his last meeting with Quibi at Soho Works, a workspace in London’s White City. Previous conversations had taken place while the Duke was at Kensington Palace and at Frogmore, the couple’s Windsor home.

The discussions with Quibi, understood to have been about a sustainable tourism project, never came to anything. Its app fell out of the list of the 50 most-downloaded free iPhone apps in the US a week after it was released in April 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic put the global economy on hold.

In late 2020, the streaming platform shut down after just over seven months of operation due to a lack of interest and profitability. Of the initial £1.3 billion raised, Quibi only returned £250 million.

On October 22, 2020, Mr Katzenberg reportedly told the employees to listen to the song "Get Back Up Again" from the Dreamworks movie Trolls as he announced that they would be fired.

By then, the Duke and Duchess had announced they had signed a multi-million dollar deal to make content for Netflix. Three months later, they announced they had also signed a similarly lucrative deal to make podcasts for Spotify.

21 notes · View notes

vanchlo · 4 years

Text

The Firsts / #1 “The First Time Meeting The Family”

ABOUT: A blurb series retelling the important firsts in the first year or so in Becks and Harry’s relationship, covering the gap between the end of The Assistant, and the beginning of its sequel, The Partner.

---> NEXT BLURB: I hope that I can put it out on October 4th, following the every other week rule, but I’m not sure with my busy schedule. Keep an eye out for updates on the series masterlist!

READ THE ASSISTANT, AKA WHAT CAME FIRST

SERIES MASTERLIST

MAIN MASTERLIST

READ ON WATTPAD

LEGEND:

+ : a break in the story; a time jump.

italics : a flashback in the story.

++ : a point of view change in the story.

WARNINGS: Some mild language, and a small incidence of physical assault

WORD COUNT: 10.9k words (!!!)

SONG: A Love Like This by Ben Rector (CLICK TO LISTEN AND I KNOW I USE TOO MANY OF HIS SONGS BUT THEYRE SOOO ROMANTIC)

* SNEAK PEEK, DUH BC ALWAYS *

“Always, baby - protect you, save you- you name it and ‘ll be there,” Harry coos with the softest of smiles, tracing with his thumb the new red lines that litter my face in places. “Always,” he whispers, leaning forward to kiss the place under my eye where my birthmark sits, and beside it a new scar that he’s kissed more times than I could count.

I could never keep track of how many times I’ve looked at him and silently said those three words that once itched to jump off of my tongue and into his ears. The very three that sit in his eyes, just for me.

“No matter how much it hurts, no matter how hard it gets, you gotta keep grinding. And that’s how we’re gonna win. We’re gonna win and anyone that gets in our way? Well, God help them.” - Dean Winchester, Supernatural

The phone rang with a shrill bringggggg!, yanking a sigh from my lips.

Another one.

Another sigh.

Another call.

It’s just another normal day for me.

After sliding back on the mask that I so often wear within these walls, I at last leave my office and the phone that tends to keep ringing off the hook. Ignoring it and letting the answering machine take it this time, my heels click-clack on the dark tiled floor, a sound I had long ago become accustomed to.

Yet another sound is that of the hot coffee churning into my mug from the Keurig in the break room, and the splash of the creamer I pour in next.

A sound that I don’t think I could ever get used to, nor would I want to become mundane, is that of the breathy giggle trickling out from my open office when I return. He doesn’t see me yet, but I see him as I take a page from his book and lean in the doorway to watch him. Steam wafts across my smiling lips before the coffee meets them, my eyes fixed on the back of his tousled curls.

“It’s about time your meeting finished,” I announce, returning to my stride as I close the door. Setting down the hot mug on the corner of my desk, I tread over to my chair and let my arms wind around his neck from behind.

“Yer tellin’ me,” he nearly scoffs, switching apps on his phone quickly.

“What are you being secretive about, hmm, Harry?” I tease with a peck to his satiny smooth cheek.

“Oh, nuthin’, I jus’ wanted t’ check tha weather. Reckon we’re in fer some sun this weekend, yet anotha thing that’s overdue. We should go on a hike or sumthin’ Sunday, but we might need our Wellies.”

“You say that I’m a bad liar, but you should know that so are you,” I huff against his cheek, catching a whiff of his aftershave’s notes of cucumber and aloe vera.

“I dunno what yer talkin’ ‘bout, Becks,” he insists with a measly shrug of his shoulders, but he tries to act like I can’t hear the slight snicker in his voice, or see the red appearing in his cheeks.

“Fine, I give up . . We should get cracking on those testimonies already, seeing as now I’m done waiting on you.”

“Agreed. ‘m gonna go grab a cuppa, and ‘ll meet you in me office. ‘Kay?” Harry responds, standing to his feet, and turning around to face me. The smile falling into my cheeks is instantaneous at the mere sight of him, making me realize that I somehow missed him for the last three hours he was in his meeting. Well, I wouldn’t be wrong to say that I’m most definitely spoiled getting to work with my boyfriend for nearly every second for five days a week. My dream at last came true. “Wait, I thought you were gettin’ sick o’ me earlier? ‘sn’t that right, bug?” he poses with a perfect raise of his eyebrows, taking a step towards me.

“I uh, dunno what you’re talking about.”

“Yer a bloody terrible liar, still dunno why ya think I can’t sniff ‘em out on you,” he smirks, clicking his tongue in disappointment as he taps my nose. The tall white roses on his baby pink slacks billow with every step of his, only worsening my giggle. “Becks, Becks, Becks,” he tuts with a shake of his growing curls. My lips sparking with a happy nervousness bring out the dimples in his cheeks.

“What, Harold?”

“Dunno how many times ‘ve told ya not t’ call me that,” he exhales with a wag of his finger, only a few steps between myself and the door now.

“But Rory gets to call you that!”

“He doesn’t get t’ call me anythin’, bug. Rory doesn’t listen t’ a fookin’ word I say, so he’s not goin’ t’ start callin’ me by me real name fer tha first time in eight years, I don’t think,” he chuckles, and I let an eye roll slip, but not quick enough. “Ya betta watch it now, and my bloody God, Rebecca Holte, you best put that pout away befo’ I-.”

“Before you what, Harry?” I tease with a cock of my head.

“Y’know yer pushin’ me buttons, right? Oh wait, yer fully aware o’ that, arentcha, Becks? I can see tha look on yer face right now, y’know yer diggin’ yerself a hole here, babe,” Harry tuts, continuing to wag that finger at me until my back meets the door and he lays his hands above my head to steady himself. “And, t’ answer yer question - reckon ya won’t get any kisses fer tha rest o’ tha day if yer gonna be a brat,” he shrugs with full composure, sliding a hand to my back that he presses on to come closer to him. “Make this one last,” he whispers, leaving a kiss on my forehead before opening the door.

“Harry!” I exclaim, whirling around to find him already escaping down the hallway.

His hearty laugh wanders down to grace my ears, and then, he turns around with that smart grin on his face, “‘m jus’ grabbin’ a new cup o’ coffee, ‘ll meet you in me office, love,” he calls back ever so innocently, almost running into one of Asher’s blokes from IT. Groaning, I imitate his typical stance of leaning against the doorway with crossed arms, watching his figure become all the smaller as he stops to talk with Amelia and then to Jennings with an always cheerful smile.

At times, it still boggles me how different things are, although it’s difficult to remember how things were before. How they were when my view every day was this very hallway from my measly desk sat at the end of it. It makes it all the harder to remember how much I longed for, how it tore me apart, and not just that, but how different of a person he was. I wasn’t the same either - I started off cold and brash with him, as did he, and I could never entertain the thought of what things would be like if he hadn’t warmed up to me, as well.

Memories flash in front of me as the sofa molds to my body, like all of the other times, followed by the thud of my heels falling to the floor. With a blink, I’m propelled back to the days when I’d be scared to set foot in this office, his. Now, I can’t imagine feeling anything other than safe to be in here. Despite the traumas that took place inside of these four walls, my lips curl up at the thought of the lovely things that were born in here as well. The hidden kisses. The beginning of our friendship. Our first hug. My beginnings as a lawyer, and so much more that warms me from the inside.

My, all of the firsts that we have had.

Pulling my cardigan around me tighter, I round a corner and then another, hoping I’m at least going in the right direction. The images keep flashing before my eyes - the silence that fell over the room when he entered it, a completely different person than the one that I know. A pride that I want to deny and forget still clings to my body and every thought that I have. So often, I find myself hating him, and yet I couldn’t have been more proud sitting in that room and watching him do what he does best, argue.

Coming to a halt, I look around for a sign to tell me where I’m going, in the hopes that the front doors are somewhere near. Shaking my head, I take another left on a whim, and regret it within a matter of moments.

“Holte?” comes a voice from ahead of me. Glancing up, I freeze in my place before my feet try to scurry away. “What tha bloody hell are you doin’ here, and where are you goin’ so fast?” they say, almost making a sound. A laugh, perhaps?

“I was just uh, meeting a friend.”

“Since when do friends meet at a courthouse?” he asks with skewed eyebrows, his steps ending in front of me. His hand full of rings cards through his long curls, and my, they only look better up close.

“My friend . . works here.”

“Oh ‘s that so? What department do they work in?” he continues, the dimples slowly finding their place in his cheeks, especially as the words fleet me. “Yer lyin’ t’ me arentcha, Holte?”

“Fine, I wanted to come and watch you argue your case, since you were making a big deal out of how important it is,” I sigh, turning around and placing my back to him.

“Hey, you. Wait!” he calls, and I soon feel his rings against the flesh of my bicep. “What’s tha rush?” he titters, and when I turn around, this all only gets all the more weird.

“What, is it a crime to come and watch you in action?”

“No, so why’re you actin’ like yer doin’ sumthin’ yer not s’posed t’ do?” he smirks. “Huh, Holte?”

“I don’t know, Mr. Styles,” I sigh, wishing I could sneak a look at his fingers gentle around my arm to prove that it’s real, but . . that would give it away and perhaps make him stop. That’s the last thing I want, even though two seconds ago, I thought that running into him here was the last thing I wanted. Now, I’m not so sure. I should have known that this would happen, though. “You were great, you know,” I say slowly, a smile mirrored on his reddening face.

“Thank you,” he responds quietly, looking away and regrettably, letting his hand fall from my arm. “I didn’t know you were there . . watchin’ me.”

“I wasn’t planning on it . . but I’m glad that I came and spent my lunch break watching you.”

“Me too,” he replies softly, his bottom lip escaping to between his teeth.

“Well, good luck and I’ll see you at work, I guess.”

“Ya, you too, Holte. Thanks,” Harry says, and I find it painful to walk away from him now, and awkward. Sighing, I find a hallway in each direction when I reach the corner, and take one at random.

“Tha main entrance ‘s tha other direction, Holte,” Harry giggles, and I stop in my tracks, hearing his familiar Saint Laurent boots click-clack on the tiled floor. “Here, I was jus’ goin’ t’ lunch, I can show you tha way.”

“No, I’m okay.”

“No, please. Let me,” he insists, and when I steal a glance at him he’s pushing back the dark sleeve of his smooth black blazer to look at his watch. I’m left wondering which was more expensive, the suit or the watch. “I was jus’ poppin’ ova t’ a restaurant down tha street fer lunch, if ya’d like t’ join me, yer welcome t’.”

Gulping, I quickly look away and to the ground where he can’t see my eyes threaten to pop out of my skull. Did he really just ask me to get lunch with him? What should I say? Wouldn’t it be awkward? What would we even talk about? I should say no, he’s probably just being nice.

“I um . . “

“‘ll take that as a yes then,” he pipes up eagerly, accompanied by the sound of his booming steps. “Hurry up, Holte, time’s a tickin.’ I reckon this ‘s tha only time you’ve been in these walls, so ‘ll be kind enough t’ show ya t’ tha front doors, even tho’ me car ‘s on tha otha side.”

Because of course he would say that, Mr. Hotshot Lawyer who is cocky, annoying, frustrating, full of himself, bossy, rude-

“Thank you,” I say, interrupting my thoughts and taking a plunge, right into those deep green eyes that land on me, and to my surprise, with a smile.

“Welcome, Holte.”

“Thank you,” he says with a rose colored smile to the server, plucking the black book from the middle of the table before I could even think to grab it first. With a quiet sigh, I watch him fish out his wallet and slide a sleek credit card out from a sleeve, stuffing it into the small pocket inside the book, without even a glance inside. “What’s yer problem?” he huffs, chewing on the mint-flavored toothpick and pointing his eyes at me. His eyebrows do all of the talking that stops me from refusing.

“You don’t have to pay for me, I can pay for my own meal,” I insist firmly, touching my wallet that I had pulled out and placed next to my dwindling glass of water.

“I know that,” he begins with strength in his voice, and I worry that I just offended him. I’m afraid it could erase the memorable first meal we just had together of brunch, talking about his case and actually finding out things that he likes and enjoys. “But I would like t’ treat you, and I did invite you after all,” he finishes, smiling briefly when the server returns the book. Sliding out his credit card, he replaces it in his wallet and instead grabs a few bills that he tucks into the black book. “Goin’ t’ argue with me some mo’, are we?”

“No.”

“Good choice,” Harry replies, and when he meets my eyes across the round wooden table, I think that I may see him smile at me.

“But-.”

“And what tha bloody hell d’ya want now?” he grins, propping his chin on his upheld fist, his cheeks round from his smile.

“Maybe I wanted to pay for your meal too.”

“You can tha next time, love. Alright?” he replies softly. When he tears his eyes away to glance at his dinging phone, something stirs inside of me and I wish I could make him look at me like that again. I wish I could create another moment where it feels like he actually likes me.

“On one condition.”

“What’s that, love?” he asks with that breathy laugh of his I’ve only heard a few times now, and never has it been because of me.

“You go back to calling me Becks . . no more ‘Holte,’” I announce slowly and carefully, because if I said them too fast or not just right, I’m afraid that they may break altogether and ruin it. One corner of his mouth reaches higher up his cheek, and I think that for the first time, I’ve made him smile all on my own. “I like it when you call me that.”

“I like it too, darlin’. Reckon ya could be a good lawyer, y’know, with that convincin’ face o’ yers, yer hard t’ say no t’,” he answers, standing to his feet and sliding on his coat, waiting for me to do the same. Does that mean my puppy dog eyes worked on him, fucking finally?

“Thank you, Mr. Styles.”

“Yer not allowed t’ call me that anymo’ then,” Harry says, looking back over his shoulder at me, a few steps ahead of me now.

“Okay,” I agree softly, and the breath hitches in my throat when his eyebrows raise at me with the smallest of smirks. “Harry.”

“Good, I like tha sound o’ that betta.”

“Me too,” I echo ever so quietly, stepping out into the fall air as he holds the door open for me, dreading the strange friendship of ours that will end in the next few moments. A friendship that I wish could live within the walls of the firm, and inside of my heart as something more.

“Ya, that all sounds great. I can’t wait fer this weekend . . Ya, ‘ll ask her soon and let y’know . . Alright, bye,” I hear from down the hall in a happy lilt. Within moments, the smile I hear in his voice appears before my eyes, and somehow only grows brighter.

“What are you smiling about? Oh, and what’s this you’re going to ask me?”

“I neva said I had sumthin’ t’ ask you,” he shrugs with a rosiness to his round cheeks, gliding into his office with his bottom lip held between his teeth.

“Don’t be rude.”

“‘m not,” he giggles softly, stopping at his desk to grab his dark gray Macbook.

“You don’t have me convinced, Mr. Styles,” I sigh, letting my chin fall into my hand as I open up my Google Docs.

“Ah, I rememba when ya used t’ call me that, ‘s been awhile.”

“You can say that again, and God, don’t get too big of a head about it,” I huff with an ironic laugh, feeling myself pulled down memory lane regrettably. “I was just thinking about that, and how much things have changed.”

“Too true,” Harry hums, getting comfy beside me on the sofa while his Macbook blankets his face in a soft glow. “You were Holte and I was Mr. Styles or sir sumtimes. Talk ‘bout a bloody blast from tha past,” he tsks and I find myself nodding along with him. Glancing over to him, my eyebrows fall as my cheeks deceive me with a balmy warmth filling them.

“What are you looking at me like that for?” I wheeze, my fingers drifting to my hair nervously. After all of this time, he can still make me blush like there’s no tomorrow.

“What, I can’t admire me pretty girlfriend?” he scoffs with a shake of his head, booping my nose with his finger. Sometimes, I really still can’t believe that I get to be called that by him.

“I guess you can.”

“Reckon ya should be nicer t’ yer boss, miss. ‘m tha person who signs yer checks,” he tuts while I admire the beauty of his side profile, still trying to get used to how he looks without a beard. Give him back his long hair and it would be like the beginning all over again, although I’m not sure why I keep thinking back to then. I’m not even positive if it’s a good or bad nostalgia.

“Hey!”

“Hey!” he returns in a high pitched voice, imitating me, I suppose. His bubbly laugh soon follows and so do those olive greens that return to me, quite possibly my favourite color in all of existence. “Look at us, bug, back where it all started, aren’t we?” he coos, pulling me into his side and pressing his lips to my head in a loud smooch.

“Mmmhmm, better than ever.”

“Yes, we are. A new beginnin’ o’ sorts, Becks. I dunno how I got so lucky with you,” he winks and thumbs at my chin, his lips only a breath away.

“I think I’m the lucky one.”

“No, that’s me,” he argues with his trademark breathy laugh, and before I get two words out, my comeback is smothered with a kiss. I really did get lucky, luckier than little old me ever thought I would, or could.

God, I’m so proud of her - the old Becks. Him, too. The new us, and especially the old us. We earned this.

“Woman, I swear t’ bloody God if ya send me one mo’ bleedin’ photo o’ a puppy ‘stead o’ writin’ yer brief, imma boot you outta me office and yer not allowed back.”

“Harry!” I scoff after a sound of disbelief, my eyes tearing away from the Google search and to him. His chin is held in his palm while he taps his temple with his pointer finger, eyebrows raised in a silent question at me. “You wouldn’t!”

“Oh, you wanna try me, Holte?” he returns with his eyes narrowed at me, giving me a nod.

Huffing, I look away and back to my laptop, to a screen filled with photos of golden retriever puppies. “Y’know, you’ll seal yer fate if ya roll those pretty eyes at me.”

“I won’t,” I grumble softly, closing out of the tab sadly.

“Good girl,” he hums, tapping the corner of my laptop from above. Looking up, his green eyes draw me over, but I don’t let them pull me in. “Good girl listenin’ t’ yer boss, bug,” he finishes with a wink.

“Don’t call me that, you know I don’t like it,” I retort curtly, switching tabs to my brief where the cursor stares back at me, daring me to try my hand at it.

“But ’s cute, brings back good memories. I like tha name, ’s yer last name. Rebecca Holte,” he teases, nosing at my cheek that grows warmer with every word he speaks.

“For you it does, not me, Harry,” I almost snap, closing the laptop with a sudden clap! He clears his throat and the sound is followed by that of his velvet black Chelsea boots backing up. Spiegel im Spiegel floats from his iMac across the room, a black folder sitting in front of it with now forgotten documents.

“‘m sorry, Becks, it wasn’t tha best o’ times fer me either . . ,” Harry says softly. I wouldn’t have to even look and I know that his lip is held between his teeth like a vice. At my eye level, he twirls a red gemstone ring around a finger, much like I do when something is itching at my insides annoyingly.

“It was the best of times and the worst of times, somewhat minus the best part,” I mumble, picking at the Coldplay sticker already peeling from the lilac case of my laptop.

“Hey, it wasn’t all that bad when ya think o’ tha good parts, babe. Tacos at Pedro’s, stayin’ late drinkin’ wine coolers togetha, tha Halloween party, all o’ our games o’ Scrabble, takin’ you t’ that charity ball with the masquerade theme, and meeting me best friend in tha whole entire world.”

“You know how to work the floor, you know that?” I say gently, smoothing down the sticker with the back of my fingernail.

“Looks like we need anotha night at mine, paintin’ our nails togetha,” he pipes up, but when I remain silent, he returns to my comment that he so easily ignored. “Well yes, yer datin’ a lawyer here, bug. That’s how I swept you off yer feet, dontcha rememba?”

“I dunno about that,” I giggle, ever so slightly, distracted by his hands that come into view and his rings that I bother with. At last, I find those green eyes waiting for me, just as they always do.

“Hey, why tha long face, my love?” he coos sadly, eyebrows bent beneath the weight of his words. “‘m sorry t’ upset you, ‘m not gonna kick you outta me office, y’know I couldn’t handle you bein’ gone eitha.”

“I know,” I titter softly, sliding off his silver ring dotted with little figures and placing it on my thumb where it still hangs loose.

“I like tha name, maybe even fer a boy one day . . Holte,” he muses happily, but I can’t find any words that I’d be willing to say. Instead, I pry the jewelry from my hand and swiftly glide it back onto his. “Altho’ I reckon I treated you like shit when I called you that.”

“Just a bit.”

“‘m sorry t’ drudge tha memory up like I did,” he whispers, only feeding the awkward tension waiting in the air. His lanky figure leaves its place in front of me, reminding me of the money tree sitting across me by the window, an ironic gift from Myles last month. “Can I help you with yer brief, li’l one?” Harry continues, the cushion underneath me dipping with his weight. I nod before I even feel his hand squeeze my adjacent shoulder and pull me into his side with a lasting kiss to my forehead. “Love you.”

“I love you too,” I echo, tipping my head to his shoulder as he lifts the closed laptop from my lap. Laying back, he props it on his spread lap as I snuggle into his side.

“I like what ya have so far, I think yer inna good spot. How ‘bout this, next we . . . . ,” Harry says after reading the document, but with his greens back in sight and that dimple threatening to pop loose, I find it hard to listen to a word he says while staring up at him. My boyfriend. Can you believe it, Becky? “You even listenin’ t’ me there?”

“I’m sorry, it’s just hard to when you’re so cute.”

“Bloody hell,” he chuckles with rosy cheeks, the dimples loud and proud at the helm of his smile. “Alright, let’s take a break from goo-goo-gaga land for a few, Ms. Holte, and work on yer brief fer yer case that’s bein’ heard next week. Alright?”

“Alright,” I sigh with a slight pout that he sees instantaneously with a shake of his head.

“Shall I entice you? Dunno why I should hafta, but I guess we all need a li’l bit o’ bribery e’ry now and then,” he smirks, finishing his words with a wink. “My Becks likes bribes.”

“Oh and what, you don’t, Ha-,” the giggle flows from my lips, and is yanked in by his that silence my words. Sometimes, I really do wish that I could tell The Old Me about how good it gets, and to hold on, because it may be a bumpy ride, Old Becky, but it’s going to all pay off in the end.

“Bloody hell, no wonder ya’ve had t’ pee ten times t’day. Chill on tha caffeine, would ya?” somebody gripes from behind me, but it falls away when their arms come around my middle, soon nosing at my neck.

“Hey, I gave into coffee long ago. It owns me by now,” I return, closing the top to the Keurig. After pressing a few buttons, the machine begins to whir and spit out the dark liquid. My neck tickles from his warm breaths behind me, and the feeling of his lips.

“Becks?”

“Yeah, Harry?” I respond, my hands finding their way to surround his that lay clasped over my belly. The tip of his middle finger ghosts over my several inch scar, making me wonder when he had memorized it in his mind.

“My mum ‘s comin’ t’ visit this weekend, t’ see Gemma and tha kids, and me. She’s comin’ over t’ mine Saturday mornin’ fer brekky . . and I was uh, wonderin’ if ya’d like t’ join us? If ya’d like t’ meet me mum at last? She hasn’t stopped askin’ t’ meet you fer tha last two months.” the words leave his lips in an announcement, taking away all else and no longer do I feel his hands on my stomach or hear the churning of the coffee. Turning around, his dimples live far away and so does his bottom lip that’s trapped between his teeth, telling me that I’m not the only one being consumed by my nervousness. “I reckon she’s mo’ excited t’ see you than she ‘s t’ see me,” Harry chuckles but the light on his lips sputters out when I tear my eyes away from his hopeful ones.

“Harry, I . . “

“What ‘s it, Becks?” he whispers. My eyes close when he noses against my cheek, his next words crawling along my neck. “Y’know she’ll love you, ‘ssa given, babe.”

“How can she love me when she hasn’t even met me?”

“‘Cuz yer so lovable, that’s why,” he insists from below my ear, mouthing at the hollow that lives there. “Why’re ya so nervous, babe? I reckon this ‘s a piece o’ cake compared t’ how I met yer bloody parents, in hospitals o’ all places.”

“Yeah, I shouldn’t complain,” I respond quietly, but that’s all that I can think of when we pull apart at the sound of a voice from behind the break room door. Clearing my throat, I turn back to my mug of coffee where the last few drops plop into the steaming liquid.

“Promise you it’ll be okay. There’s nuthin’ t’ be nervous ‘bout, she’s tha sweetest woman ‘ve ever met- well, besides you that ‘s,” Harry says quietly, eyes wandering between our guest and me. “‘s jus’ brekky and if ya like, dinner at me sista’s that night too.”

“Two in one?” I exclaim, setting down my coffee and turning to face him where he leans against the counter. The smirk painted across his face spreads to his shoulders that he shrugs ever so smugly. “God, Harry, bombard me much?” I sigh sarcastically with a shake of my head, turning away from him and watching how the coffee does somersaults when I pour creamer into it.

“Well? Ya aren’t jus’ gonna leave me hangin’ there, Becks, are you?” he plods on, pulling at the cuff of my blazer impatiently while one of the blokes from IT rummages through the refrigerator.

“I dunno, Harry, meeting two family members in one day is a lot to ask of me,” I tut jokingly with my lips pressed into an uncertain line. The disappointment on his face melts away when I find his greens with my own again. “Of course I’ll meet your mum, but I’m supposed to have dinner with Skye and her parents Saturday night, so I can’t make it to your sister’s, I’m sorry. It seems to be a popular weekend for parents to come into town.”

“Oh, I rememba you mentionin’ that now. ‘m sorry, I forgot. No worries on meetin’ me sista, she lives in town y’know, so we’ll jus’ find anotha day,” he agrees in a soft voice, brushing it off expertly. “Yer not gettin’ outta that one that easily, Becks,” he teases, pointing a finger at me that I push away.

“If you meet Skye’s mum, I’ll meet your sister. Sound like a deal?”

“Skye’s mum?” he questions, crossing his arms over his chest with knotted brows. I almost giggle at the confusion swept over his face until the bulging of his muscles beneath the arms of his button up pulls me in and far away. Once again, this man really does know what he’s doing to me, even when he’s not exactly aware of it.

“Yes,” I exhale, dragging my eyes back to my tan colored coffee. Finished with the creamer, it closes with an excited snap! “I was nervous for you to meet my mum, although I never thought it’d happen, but I’m more about you meeting Eliza, Skye’s mum. She’s more of a mum to me than mine ever was, always letting me sleep over when things got bad with mine, and Robbie too. I’d really like for you to meet her, maybe lunch or something while she’s in town the next few days.”

His eyes are soft and light dances within them, just for me. “‘Course, bug, ‘d love t’ meet her. She sounds lovely, and so would lunch with her and Skye. Altho’ ‘m not sure how somebody who birthed Skye could be lovely,” he jokes and quickly laughs when my jaw slackens. “‘m bloody jokin’ and whateva ya do, don’t tell her I said that,” he chuckles, enjoying this far too much than he should be.

“You’re really going to be in for it with Skye now,” I giggle with a dismissive shake of my head as I lift the mug to my lips.

“What’s new?” he asks with his hands held out in front of him, leaving my side to grab a Styles and Lawson mug from the cabinet, identical to my own. “I thought you and Rose didn’t like our mugs, so why d’ya keep usin’ ‘em, hmm?”

“I dunno, they have . . good handles.”

“Sureeeee, Becks,” he tuts as the K-Cup falls into the holder with a signifying pop! “So, Saturday then?” he says nonchalantly while placing the mug under the impending stream of caffeine. He continues his trained practice of his voice dipping when the bloke gets too close to us- Brian, I think it is, I can’t remember. He really does know what he’s doing, this man of mine.

My name on his lips rouses me from my overactive thoughts and pulls my eyes over to his and his already five o’clock shadow, distracting me from the clang! of the door closing. “What should I wear?” I wonder aloud with placid lips that only move to imitate the emotion yanking his towards the heavens.

“You’ll look gorgeous in absolutely anythin’, bug, and ‘s jus’ brekky. Please, ya don’t hafta worry ‘bout meetin’ her, she’s so easy t’ get on with. ‘s like she already knows you from everythin’ ‘ve told her ‘bout you over tha years.”

“Wow, no pressure or anything,” I exhale loudly, glad to have the room back to ourselves, and for the way his arms lull the monsters away. “Do I even want to know what you’ve told her?”

“I dunno, sumthin’ along tha lines o’ how ‘m in love with this girl, and have been fer awhile now,” he coos into my ear, zings sent down my spine when his lips brush my earlobe. The next words stop in their tracks on my tongue and my arms stop halfway to wrapping around him.

“Wait,” I begin lightly, taking a step back and wishing I could in this conversation. “You’re in love with me?” I say tentatively, the front of his blazer grounding me to this moment when my fingers grab onto it.

“I thought that you knew . . that it went without sayin’,” he giggles with cheeks resembling apples, both by shape and color. “I couldn’t be anythin’ other than that, Becks.”

“Huh,” I hum absently, admiring the threads of each white flower that climb from the sides of his slacks and all the way up to his lapels between my fingers.

I think I lose my grasp on them when his lips attach themselves to my forehead, and I just hope that he can’t feel the racing of my pulse all the way up there. That may not be possible, but to feel the way his lips curl against my skin is, and a whisper of a laugh.

“Reckon ‘s time we have a li’l argument over who’s been in love with tha other fer longer, innit?” Harry begins before a kiss brings an end to his words, their sound whisked away by a long silence that I fear. “Ya don’t hafta say it back y’know, I won’t-.”

“It’s not you,” I interrupt, my fear quickly being allotted to the same emotion that wipes his face clean. “The winner, I mean. I’ve been in love with you far longer, that’s for sure.”

“Can ya maybe not gi’mme a bloody heart attack there?” he giggles, clutching at his chest.

“What, I rarely get the chance to one up you, so I have to take it!” I exclaim and my eyes grow wide when I see the look on his face. One of his signature looks. A squeal tickles the air when he lifts me off of my feet and into the air. “Harry Styles!”

“What, Rebecca Ann?” he titters after a few spins, soon setting me down on my feet. My lips have only parted when he silences them with his, and I wonder how I went from dreaming a dream that I knew could never exist and now, getting to live it every second of every day.

“I think I fell in love with you when I saw you get off that lift,” I begin, looking away shyly, but he doesn’t let me get away with it, lifting my chin with his finger. He may let me get away with loads of shit, but no, not this time. “That night in Madley, at the hospital . . . but I think I had fallen in love with you a little bit loads of other times before, and not known it.”

“I swear, woman, tha amount o’ times ya make me fall fer you all over ‘gain,” Harry wheezes with damp eyes, shaking his head with the largest contradicting smile. “C’mere, my love . . Bloody hell, I think ya win this one, ‘cuz I can’t even rememba tha moment I fell fer you, ‘s been so many times fer me as well. Reckon I prolly told me mum each time they happened too.”

“Saturday should be fun then,” I joke from the corner of his neck, relaxing with my exhale against him.

“Yes, it shall. Until then, let’s get goin.’”

“What, where?” I giggle, finding the glitter in his eye that I have a hard time remembering them being without.

“‘s Tuesday, silly,” he titters with dimples shining, and face skewed into a confused question. “Let’s go get our tacos. ‘ll even buy ya extra churros.”

“That’s the only reason I’m going,” I joke, feeling him squeeze my hand. When I look over to him, I find those warm greens painting their happiness all over me.

“Don’t be bloody rude,” he chuckles with a shake of his head, holding the door open for me.

Although this impromptu ‘meeting the parents’ gig is eating away at my nerves, I can’t help but grow in excitement at the idea of meeting the very person I have to thank for him.

My God, I have my whole world to thank her for.

We had fallen into our own routine at work and quickly, but that was due to ‘push came to shove’ and there was no real way around it. Much to my mortification, Harry had told me that while in the hospital Myles had informed the rest of the legal team at the firm that we were dating, and so they knew. There wasn’t any way around it really, trying to explain why Harry was also gone for the same length I was from work, and suddenly. Regardless, Harry and I still avoided acting like we were dating, and at times I let it get to me, dwelling over the fact that everybody knew our secret. It was fun at first to keep, but it grew out of hand swiftly. It frustrated me often and I think it did the same for Harry, refraining from hugging when a team meeting went well or we won a case. The rules of the courtroom were far stricter, but it still upset me at times.

Like now, seeing how Amelia’s substitute was flirting it up with Harry, unbeknownst to him. It’s not like I could exactly walk up to them and tell her to stop, although it bothers me how her flirting goes through one of his ears and out the other while he shows her how to do something at the front desk.

“Fuck me,” I groan, giving up on waiting for him and going ahead with what I was doing. Blinking hard and filling my lungs with air, my opal necklace dances below my collarbones with every step.

I find that I have the room to myself, and as the copier beeps with each button that I press, I hum a song to myself. The documents sitting in my hands are whisked away by the large machine, a newer and larger one since my first time here. Thank God, because that thing was always having problems.

“I think somebody’s got a little crush on our boss out there,” somebody snickers from the doorway. My eyes flit over to find Jennings waltzing into the copier room, his horn rims perched on his long nose. Awkwardly, I look away and answer with a soft ‘mmhmm.’ I occupy myself with watching the machine spit out new sheets onto its bottom tray. “I hope you’re not too jealous,” he jokes with a loud laugh, but I don’t echo it. Why would I? Could you bring up anything more awkward or inappropriate to say to me, Jennings?

“I’m fine,” I answer gently, picking up the stack after the whirring sound finishes. Stepping to the side, I tap the stack against the black counter and slide open a drawer.

“Figure I owe you a congrats on your Employee of the Month recognition, that’s a rather big deal,” he continues, meandering through the wire shelves of supplies across the room from me.

“Thank you, I appreciate it,” I return with emphasis in my voice, feeling out the lack of compassion in his. Clearing my throat, I dig around in the plastic tray set in the drawer until I grab a few large binder clips.

“I’ve worked here for years, and haven’t had the luck of getting it since they started it this year,” he remarks, shaking a box of pens that he plucked from the shelf.

“It’s only April, I’m sure you’ll have your chance,” I say slowly, separating my piles and tapping them against the counter until they’re neat and tidy.

“I dunno about that, I haven’t even made bloody partner yet here. You’ll probably make it before me, seeing as how you have an in with the boss,” Jennings nearly retorts, and I gulp hard, suddenly reminded of the iffy feeling I’ve always had about him. I can’t place the blame on myself though, because he’s given me good reason for it, and I hope that he isn’t about to give me more. “It’s a shame you lost your case last week though, I hope Harry wasn’t too upset with you, but I’m sure he couldn’t be mad at his little girlfriend. He would’ve been mad at Rose, or even me, but no, not you. Isn’t that right?”

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” I begin, the papers threatened between my suddenly clammy fingers.

“Excuse me? I’d say it is, I don’t want you giving the firm a bad name now, but it looks like your boyfriend can’t save you from everything.”

“What are you implying?” I demand curtly, turning around swiftly just in time to watch him slip a Macbook charger into his pocket.

“I thought you were supposed to be a brilliant lawyer from what I hear, Becky, so I’ll leave that one up to you, wouldn’t you say?” Jennings poses with a dark glint in his eye, raising one thick eyebrow at me. “Oh wait, maybe I’ll give you a little help, seeing as how you couldn’t even win the case of that ex-wife racking up debt in her ex-husband’s name . . How do I say it? Well, I find it rather unfair the special treatment you receive, wouldn’t you agree? No, I guess you wouldn’t, would you?” he snickers, the swing and fall of his shoulders and eyebrows being more than enough for me to see.

Turning back around, I hastily fasten the clips onto the stacks of documents for Harry’s new case, and well, mine too, much to somebody’s dissatisfaction. Excerpts from legal books, testimonies, and rough drafts of the argument. The tapping of a pen against the wire shelf gnaws at my ears, and accelerates the time bomb inside of me.

“I don’t receive any special treatment, because of Harry or from him,” I mutter through gritted teeth, gathering the stacks all into one final pile. “I’d say that you’re being out of line and that you need to stop while you’re ahead.”

“Or what, you’ll tell your big, bad, boss boyfriend? Nobody likes snitches, you should know that. Plus, I’m his friend and I’ve known him longer than you, so who would he believe?” he chuckles darkly, igniting the hairs on the back of my neck with his impending footsteps. “Don’t deny it, you do receive special treatment. You get out of meetings and trainings even, the firm pays for your lunch several times a week I’m sure, you get overtime when you want it, you got a free thousand-dollar laptop again, and I’m sure your reviews will come out just sparkling. Not to mention, still having a job after being gone all that time after your accident. Did I miss anything there, Becky?” he finishes, his snarky words slithering along my back and into my ears where his breath wafts over me.

“‘s everythin’ alright in here?” comes a voice from out of the blue. The three-level paper organizer sat in front of me blurs as my eyes widen. The ball in my throat is met with an unsuccessful gulp when I feel a hand on my arm. I shrink away from the touch before he can squeeze it.

“Oh yes, I was just congratulating Becky on her Employee of the Month recognition. She deserves it,” Jennings answers for us, voice boisterous with faux cheer.

“Becks?” Harry murmurs, cautiously touching my arm again and this time, I don’t run away from his touch. “Alright?” he whispers questioningly, the gentleness of his voice wills my eyes over to him. There’s a pang in my gut when I watch the emotion mirrored on his face - alarmed with fear and confusion. “Hey, what’s tha matter?” he probes, the warmth of his rings seeping through the thin fabric of my long sleeved blouse.

“H-He . . was saying this stuff to me- awful stuff, and . . ,” I trail off quietly, my eyes flitting to the sandy brown hair I see from behind Harry, watching and listening as well.

“What tha hell did ya say t’ her, Pete?” Harry questions, turning to face his colleague as he holds my elbow firmly.

“Nothing,” he almost laughs, and then he makes a sound as if something came to mind. “Okay, okay. I guess I upset her when I told her that I saw her nick one of the Macbook chargers the other day. I approached the subject gently, just letting her know that they’re eighty bucks a pop, and she can only have one here at-.”

“What, I did not! You’re the one who just stuffed one down your pants, you liar!” I scoff, spinning to face them both. “You did it when you were accusing me of getting special treatment from Harry!” I exclaim with my voice breaking in mid-sentence, the explanation soon growing wet.

“What?!” Harry breathes, shock coating his every syllable. “Pete, what in tha bloody fuck ‘s tha matter with you? Becks would never steal and- wait, yer accusin’ her o’ gettin’ treated special jus’ ‘cuz she’s datin’ me? Have ya fell off yer fookin’ rocker, mate? I don’t treat Myles any bleedin’ different fer bein’ me best friend all me life, I treat e’rybody here tha fookin’ same, if ya hadn’t noticed. I reckon ‘s none o’ yer damn business how I mentor her, and don’t forget who fookin’ hired you as well, mate, and who can fire you.”

“I just dunno why I’ve been here for how many bloody years as only a senior associate, mind you, and in walks her and-.”

“I don’t care what yer fookin’ problem ‘s, Pete, but maybe I would’ve if ya’d bloody brought it t’ me instead o’ takin’ it out on her. ‘m yer boss, mate, I coulda helped you, so what good was it t’ cuss her out ‘cuz ya feel like shit?” Harry interrupts defensively, and with a blink, I see the redness rising in their faces.

“Harry, please, let’s just go. I’m fine,” I beg, taking his hand and pulling on it. He doesn’t move an inch, and neither do his eyes from Jennings.

“I tried, if you hadn’t noticed, but you were always too fucking busy for me, weren’t you? ‘Cause apparently, the only people who can get your bleeding attention as of late are those who are sucking your prick,” Jennings shrugs matter of factly. The surprise morphing my features and shaking my body is nothing compared to the shift in Harry’s demeanor.

“Harry,” I begin when his fingers slip from mine. “No, don’t!” I exclaim, stepping forward and grabbing onto his arm, but my fingers only grasp at air.

“A li’l fookin’ jealous, are we? Would ya rather it be you suckin’ me dick?” he jests at Jennings who steps closer to him.

“Jealous of that? Fucking, hell no. I can’t believe you even call her a lawyer,” Jennings retorts, pushing his glasses off his nose and into his hair. “I see now why you hired her, she must be pretty fucking good at giving head and-.”

“Harry!” I almost shout, wanting to step forward and instead backing up when I watch his fist fly. A wrenched sound escapes my lips when I see it connect with Jennings’ face, but it shrinks in comparison to the tear that splits my heart when Harry’s knocked back by Jennings’ swing. “Stop it! Now!” I nearly scream through a curtain of tears, my throat burning. Only then, does Harry lift his head of messy curls to look at me, wiping his fist against his nose that comes back red.

Muttered curses fall from Jennings as he leaves hastily clutching his cheek, and I remain frozen until I see the blood gush from his nose.

“You idiot! What were you thinking?” I cry, rushing forward and surrounding his face with my hands.

“What was I thinkin’? I was thinkin’ I was standin’ up fer you, I wasn’t gonna let him say one mo’ nasty word ‘bout you, Becks. I could do with a thank you, y’know,” he sighs, eyeing the scarlet plummeting to the marbled floor with silent plops.

“Harry,” I sob with a dismissive shake of my head, brushing back his hair to find the shock of red skin surrounding his nose below his eye.

“Oh, baby, ‘m so sorry,” he huffs, grabbing a handful of tissues from a shelf and shoving them against his nose. At last, he yanks me into his arms and there I shed my tears into his cream button down that’s already marred by his sudden bloody nose. “I didn’t mean t’ frighten you, it jus’ happened so fast . . But I don’t regret it, standin’ up fer you . . I can’t believe tha mouth on him . . ‘m so sorry he said those things t’ you, none o’ them are true, I hope y’know.”

Sniffling, I move away and find his eyes that beg for me, “Don’t let what he said get t’ you fer one second, e’rythin’ he said was lies, Becks. Every li’l thing, I promise you that,” he says firmly, pulling away a strand of hair that sticks to my cheek slick with tears. “‘d never let sumbody hurt you like that . . never ever.”

“I haven’t even sucked your dick yet,” I giggle from beneath him, and then, can I start to relax when his giggle graces the air.

“Ya, ‘d rather we keep that info’ t’ ourselves, wouldn’t you?” he snickers with that breathy laugh I love so dearly. “Don’t need tha whole bloody firm knowin’ I haven’t even gotten me dicked properly sucked yet.”

“Hey!” I shoot back, slapping at his chest ever so faintly.

“‘m kiddin’, bug. Y’know I don’t care it hasn’t happened yet, e’rythin’ in good time,” he insists, pulling me back against his front. I relent, but remain with my eyes pointed skywards. “I mean it, don’t worry yer pretty li’l head ‘bout inconsequential shit like that, or what he said.”

“You’re still an idiot,” I sigh, caressing his cheek that tickles my hand with its stubble.

“Why, ‘cuz ‘ll have a bruised up face fer our lunch with Skye and her mum t’day, or fer brekky with mine?” he jokes with a grin half hidden by his handful of Kleenex.

“Yes, and no. Wait- you will. Harry!” I whine, only making him laugh against my hair when he kisses the top of my head. “No, you idiot, you’re not going to get it to stop bleeding like that. Sit down.”

“Yes, m’am. I always knew I had a thing fer in charge women,” he snickers with a click of his tongue, stealing a kiss from my cheek before dragging over a chair against the wall.

“Okay, give me the tissues. Thanks, now- No, you’ll only swallow blood that way. What, are you stupid?” I instruct, leaving him one to manage the nosebleed by himself as I fold up the rest. “Here, you need to hold them against your nose and with your other hand, pinch the bridge of your nose as you look down. Do that for, I dunno, five or ten minutes until it stops bleeding. Let me go and get you some ice for that shiner of yours.”

“‘m fine, Becks. Really. All I want ‘s fer you t’ stay,” he says, grabbing hold of my hand when I turn away to leave. His expressive eyebrows near his hairline when he raises them at me in a near dare, but all I can see is the man I love and those eyelashes I’m so jealous of. “And t’ apologize, even tho’ ‘m not even really sorry for what I did.”

“Apology accepted,” I concur sarcastically, stepping back to lean against the counter. “I’ll let you be an idiot this one time.”

“Hey, don’t get yer hopes up too high now,” the sound of his giggle floats away and then my eyes are lulled to our hands that he laces together with a squeeze.

“Thank you, Harry,” I tell him sincerely, finding those greens hidden amongst his obnoxious curls.

“You’re sure?” she asks in between the noises that sound like bubbles trickling from her lips.

“Yes, ‘m sure. Dunno how many times I hafta tell ya.”

“You know it’ll never be enough,” she giggles below me, her face screwed up in absolute happiness. “Harry!” she yelps, shoving at my chest weakly.

��I know it won’t, yer stubborn as a bloody bull, you are,” I tsk with a click of my tongue, her body jolting with every stroke of my fingers across her ribs. Chuckling, I back up and watch how the laughs still peel off of her lips. “What’re you laughin’ at now, hmm? ‘m not even ticklin’ you anymo’ and yer still laughin’, li’l one.”

The crinkles around her eyes remain and so does the divot in her left cheek that I love almost as much as her eyes, but not quite. Speaking of, those very blues open up and land on me with a glitter to them, only to flee when the chime of the doorbell rings throughout the house. I watch how the skin of her throat is disrupted by a nervous swallow, followed by the automatic twirling of her ring around her pointer finger.

“Coming!” I call behind me, glancing to the door and then her. The way her dark waves are splayed across the sofa cushions. The glittery opal that sits perfectly above the scoop of her maroon blouse. The pink seeping through in her cheeks that I could kiss until I taste their sweetness.

“You’re really sure, Harry?” Becks asks softly, her eyes wandering nervously to the front door and then me.

“Yes, ‘m absolutely positive she’ll love you. Now, take a deep breath and let’s go answer tha door.”

A small ‘okay’ greets the air as her fingers fall between mine that I reassuringly squeeze. My steps come to a halt in front of the cherry oak, but I’m not quite there. Looking up, my thoughts are confirmed when I see my arm outstretched holding onto her where she stands, much too far away.

“C’mere,” I laugh in a whisper, tugging on her arm until she arrives at my side. The smell of orange blossoms and vanilla flood my senses as I pull away from the forehead kiss.

“You know, she’s going to be mad, don’t you?” I pose, ghosting my thumb over the concoction of purple and blue painted below his eye.

“Hush, li’l one, I already have one mum. I don’t need anotha,” he chirps with a teasing wink, twisting open the door.

“What is this I’m going to be mad about?” a voice pipes up with a curious accusatory sound to their voice. “Harry Edward!” she exclaims, not even one foot in the door. “What’d you do to your beautiful face?”

“I uh, ran into a door. Y’know, my sunglasses were really dark and-,” he begins, but much to my surprise and happiness, his mother doesn’t let him get away with the terrible lie. I’m liking her already.

“Don’t lie to your mother, son,” she tuts with a shake of her head, lightly smacking the back of his head that he mutters an ‘ow!’ at. The oddly cold Spring day rushes in with her first steps, but my insides warm at the sigh she shares with me when our eyes meet. “I thought you were old enough to know better to avoid fist fights.”

“Pete started it, not me!”

“I don’t care who started it, you’re a grown man, Harry.”

“That’s what I tried to tell him,” I groan, watching him take her coat to hang in the closet beside the stairs.

“Bloody hell, I see you two are gettin’ on already. Who’s side are you on, anyways?” Harry scoffs, closing the dark cherry wood door.

“Yes, I see we are. It’s so wonderful to finally meet you, Becky. I’ll just blame it on me son keeping you away from me,” Harry’s mum croons, her lips painted with lipstick spreading into a cheery smile. Chuckling, I ignore Harry’s arguing ‘hey!’ as I step forward into her outreached arms. “I think I have a bone to pick with him, you’re prettier than he ever said you were.”

“So are you,” I chortle, picking up on the geranium and amber notes of her perfume before I step away to find her cobalt blue eyes smiling at me.

“I do like her!” she chuckles to Harry, squeezing my opposite arm that she still holds onto.

“What’d I tell ya?” Harry pipes up, nodding at me. “Two peas inna pod already, you lot are. Talkin’ shit ‘bout me and motherin’ me togetha in tha first bleedin’ minute ya’ve met,” he sighs, taking down three white plates from the cabinets that he reaches easily with his height.

“That’s good, I need somebody else here to mother you while ‘m away. I reckon it doesn’t help much when you’re too stubborn to avoid boyish fist fights,” she returns, turning to me with a joking look in her eyes. Our laughs echo the others as she leads me over to the oval wooden table on the other side of the kitchen island, against the sliding patio door. “Who better than your girlfriend and colleague?”

“I guess so,” Harry groans, pulling back a chair for her to sit, soon falling into the chair across from me. “Neither o’ you even let me get t’ tha introductions, you women and yer talkin,’” he grunts, pulling himself closer to the table. With a calming breath, he runs a hand through his hair and pushes up the sleeves of his olive green knitted jumper. “Mum, this ‘s me girlfriend, Becky, but I like t’ call her Becks. And bug, this ‘s me mum, Anne. Shall we finally have that brekky togetha we’ve been talkin’ ‘bout fer months?”

“Yes, let’s dig in,” Anne chuckles, a sliver of Harry’s song heard in her voice. “Oooo, ‘s this apple bread by the famous chef I’ve heard so much about?”

“Yes, she doesn’t disappoint, never ever,” Harry winks, licking a crumb off of his thumb after grabbing a slice of the bread. A pink sits in his cheeks that I’m sure is mirrored in my own, and perhaps greater. I look away with a small smile, shoveling the egg bake onto my plate. “Not in tha court room, with baking, or with how good o’ job she does takin’ care o’ me,” he muses with a glint in his eye and cheeks rounder than I’ve ever seen.

I go on and listen to the stories, I even help tell some of them. Some of them make me tear up, whether it be from laughing, the wetness in Harry’s, or the love shining through in his and in hers.

“I told ya so.”

“Yeah, when don’t you?” I bite back, and immediately regret it when I feel his fingers along my ribs, eliciting laughs from my lips.

“Hey, watch it, li’l one. I have you inna compromisin’ situation here, so ya betta watch yerself,” Harry giggles, the words tickling my ear. The sounds continue from my lips and I hear them shadowed in his, and how they play off of each other while his hands keep my stomach warm. “I told ya she’d love you, and she did. Couldn’t shutup ‘bout you at Gemma’s last night, ‘specially tha fact you gave her a whole loaf o’ yer apple bread. You made her bloody day, ‘m sure. Speakin’ of, ya ready t’ meet me sista properly fer lunch t’morrow?”

“Yeah, I guess,” I groan, the words whisked away with a sound that my lips, I sometimes think, hold just for him. His stubbly face is itchy against my temple, but he remedies it with soft pecks to the skin.

“You guess?!” he exclaims, squeezing me around the middle. My head knocks against his, and he keeps my fingers secure between his while the smells of greasy pizza and floor cleaner lull me with their familiarity. His argument dissolves into a soft chuckle muffled against my hair where he mouths kisses.

“You know who I wish you could meet?”

“Hmmm, who’s that, bug?” Harry replies. Gulping, my eyes fall away from the crowds of people mingling around at the their tables, sucking the last few drops from their soda or guzzling pints. The answer flees from my lips, but after I twirl it around my finger a few times, I think he knows after he nuzzles his head against mine. “I wish I coulda meet yer gran,’ too, y’know. I wish you coulda met my granddad as well. ‘m sad I didn’t get t’ meet yers eitha . . . You’ll have t’ come home t’ Cheshire one o’ these weekends and meet me Gran’ Clara- Claire, she likes t’ go by. She’s a real hoot and already knows ‘bout you, naturally. She reminds me loads o’ Skye’s mum- bloody hell, I see where Skye gets tha crazies from now.”

“I agree with you on that one,” I titter and he nods into my neck, but the sounds fall when he spins the ring around my finger before folding my hands inside of his own.

In a whisper against my cheek, he whispers words that take away the breath I didn’t know that I had left. “‘m so bloody glad that I met you, Becks, and that we’re here . . finally. Met me mum, met Skye’s tha other day, and meetin’ me sista t’morrow. Harper will be delighted t’ see you, I know, and tha baby ‘s gettin’ bigger e’ryday.”

I nod and any words I had wanted to say escape me with the squeal garnered by his fingers digging into my tummy, remedied by a kiss below my ear.

“You lot are fucking disgusting, y’know that, don’t you?” comes a voice with a disdainful scoff. “It’s been your turn for a good thirty seconds now, Ree. Get going, would you?!”

“I know, ‘s great, innit? Go on, babe. Show me how t’ get a strike,” Harry teases with a loud kiss to my cheek to annoy Robbie, pushing me off of his lap where his arms wrapped around me kept us arm. It’s drowned out by the sound of surprise I utter when he slaps my ass with his hand.

“My fricken God, you two are embarrassing me,” Robbie groans, walking past me to pick up his pint from the table, and taking a seat beside his muddy Wellies. Turning around in shock, I find Harry’s greens lit with a smirk that shines on his face. “C’mon, Ree, bowl already! You’re shit half of the time anyways, what’s the difference now?” he jokes and a loud scoff graces the air, much to Harry’s amusement.

Sighing, I step up to the little contraption that wheels forward Robbie’s glittery navy blue bowling ball. I lean over to grab my electric yellow one etched with a white ‘7’ and widen my eyes at Harry’s green ‘10.’ Threading my fingers into the three holes, my clown like shoes step onto the polished wood, and I try to remain cool and calm. Closing my eyes, I grimace at their teasing of me from behind, but Harry’s contagious breathy laugh propels me forward.

“Ya, that’s me girl! Three pins down, woohoo!” he shouts loudly in a squeaky and sarcastic voice, holding up his beer in a fake cheer. Shaking my head with red cheeks, I wait for my ball to return and to try again.

Slowly, I realize with the ball heavy in my hands and my score falling far behind theirs on the tv above, that just like any other time, I don’t care if I win or lose. This time is different, listening to how my boyfriend and my twin brother joke from behind me and laugh, their conversation quickly turning to football and then music.

Sometimes, I have a hard time believing this is a day in my life after everything, and it’s only one of the firsts.

A/N: Hello, friends! Thank you SO MUCH to those still reading, and also to new readers! Welcome, and I’m so glad you’re here! I’m so sorry that this blurb took awhile than I originally planned . . it boggles me how I spend basically every minute I’m not working and shadowing doing homework :/ I hope to have the next blurb out in two weeks, so I’ll keep you all posted! Enjoy and let me know what you think, please! I love you all and good luck with everything!

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monsieur-hadrien · 4 years

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Harry Potter Fanfic Recommendations continued...

I did one of these lists back in June, and y’all KNOW! that I have even more to share with the world.

This list is a mix between crossovers and single-fandom fics, and are drarry or rarepair-centric, but either way I’ll mark which are which when I get to it.

If you want to see what I’ve been enjoying lately, check out my bookmarks on the Archive

Man of Iron, Child of Magic by zathara001

Harry Potter and MCU, no slash, 107k word count, 32 chapters, completed, teen

In the aftermath of the Chitauri invasion, Tony Stark sorts out his priorities - including one he didn't think he had.

Okay I followed this one from the beginning as a WIP because this is exactly the fic that I was looking for. Tony being Irondad for Harry is the most wholesome thing ever, and Uncle Steve is also 20/10. I will say, this fic is not as dark as a lot of this hp/mcu fics of this trope because it happens in Harry’s younger Hogwarts years and his childhood isn’t too ruined just yet. It focuses a lot on Tony’s growth as a father rather than working through Harry’s trauma (which, don’t get me wrong, that happens as well). Harry still has the naive outlook on life that a child should have and it just makes my heart swell.

Although this fic is done, the sequel has not been uploaded yet, as this fic was just completed late August, but don’t let that deter you. The author is a sweetheart to interact with on new updates (which were quite frequent).

Golden Boy’s Dance by Madriddler

Harry Potter, Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy/Blaise Zabini, 57k word count, 13 chapters, completed, explicit

Two years after the defeat of Voldemort and Harry is feeling useless. Jobless and suffering from PTSD, Harry spent his days going from horrible interview to horrible interview hopelessly looking for a job. Feeling completely useless, Harry, with the help of George, turns to a new profession that Harry never even thought of : being a camboy. Pleasuring himself for money and people's entertainment, Harry hopes to find a use for the Savior of the Wizarding World in this Peaceful Era.

Yeah so uh,,, this is a total guilty pleasure kink fic and I’m not at all ashamed for putting this fic on here. I won’t even lie, sometimes it felt a bit cheesey, but the porn was so well written it didn’t even matter. I swear to you this is porn with plot and lots of it. Harry works through his post traumatic stress disorder in ways that may or may not be slightly unhealthy, but beyond the porn, it’s really about Harry being okay in his own skin, as someone with mental health issues and as a sex worker. It was a hell of a good time to read and I definitely cried for Harry a time or two.

A Dented Old Street Sign by orphanghost

Harry Potter, Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy, 27k word count, one-shot, completed, mature

Draco knows they aren't the only students who will be completing their NEWTs this year, but they are the only ones whose home fireplaces were disconnected from the floo network by the ministry.

At least, Draco assumes as much until he sees the light falling out from the front door of one of the other rickety old houses in front of them and the three figures cast in its warm glow. For a moment they look like some sort of strange, many legged creature. An acromantula, or a particularly massive Blast-Ended Skrewt. Then Draco hears Pansy make a disgusted sound beside him and the light falls in a less blinding way, and Draco can see that it is actually Potter and the Weasel carrying a large couch between them, and Granger fluttering around them with her wand out, seeming concerned.

I don’t think I’ve laughed this much reading a fic in a long time. The golden trio and the Slytherin gang live in the same neighborhood while attending their 8th year at Hogwarts and i swear to fucking god, the amount of mutual pining and angst between Harry and Draco is fucking ridiculous, but you can’t help but love them anyway. Sometimes I wanted to throttle them and then shove them into a closet together so they would just t a l k but like in a good way. also the Christmastime atmosphere is something I just live for.

Words Unread, Things Unsaid by PinkCrupps

Harry Potter, no slash Harry & Snape, 18k word count, 7 chapters, completed, teen

What if the Dursley’s were a little crueler, and a little smarter? What if they didn’t want Harry going to school because they didn’t want anyone to see the bruises?

What if Harry had to leave for Hogwarts, carrying a shameful secret? One that Severus Snape is determined to discover.

When I say this one hurt, I mean it h u r t. I feel so bad because when I first read the tags I laughed when I saw the illiterate tag because I make the “I can’t read” jokes often but then I read the fic and i felt SO BAD OMG.

I am no fan of Snape, let it be known, but this fic, I think made me feel like he actually deserved a bit of a redemption arc (even if it’s fanon). This whole time, all I could think of is giving harry a big hug and never letting him go.

I said this in the notes of my bookmark, and I stand by it: “

I feel like the hurt/comfort tag on this one is also meant for the reader”

What Happens to the Heart by Mossycoat

Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, 33k word count, 18 chapters, completed, mature

With no girlfriend, no job, and no idea what he wants, Harry has decided to let life go on without him. If only prophetic dreams, demanding ghosts, and Draco Malfoy would let him.

If you need a pick-me-up after the sadness for the prior fic, may i recommend this one. Seer!Harry is a headcanon that I had never seen before this fic, and I was not let down whatsoever. We love a fic where the OCs are wonderful and the writing style is immaculate. The incorporation of tarot and divination into the chapter names and plot also makes my babywitch heart s i n g!!

Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Relevant_Peach

Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, 70k word count, 15 chapters, completed, no rating specified, but probably teen/ mature for mental health tingz

Draco Malfoy would do anything to find a cure for his son's life-threatening disease. When he crosses paths with an old acquaintance, it unleashes a string of events that will uncover secrets and deceptions. Will Draco be able to look past the misdeeds of his old lover's past? Will Harry ever find the family he longs for?

Ah yes, who knew that pain could feel so good. Everything seems to be fine until it isn’t with this one.

Turn by Saras_Girl

Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, 306k word count, 14 chapters, completed, explicit

One good turn always deserves another. Apparently.

oh my goD yes a classic we love to see it. This is one of those fics that is long but doesn’t reallly feel like it is? This is definitely another feel-good fic, even if it doesn’t seem that way in the beginning. Not only does it focus on Harry and Draco’s relationship, but also their relationships with their family, specifically their children. It’s just really heartwarming whenever Harry get’s all fatherly with his kids. ugh I swear I don’t want any but this is just SO ADORABLE! Plus Blaise Zabini rights thank you very much.

Also Boris can suck my left toe.

There’s a Pureblood Custom For That by Lomonaaeren

Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, 105k word count, 36 chapters, completed, mature

The day that Harry stops Draco Malfoy and his son from being bothered in the middle of Diagon Alley starts a strange series of interactions between him and Malfoy. Who knew there was a pure-blood custom for every situation?

This is another fluffier one, and I have absolutely no shame. Draco is just trying so hard to get through Harry’s thick, clueless skull and Harry is just trying to understand. They’re just so adorable I can’t. And Harry defending Draco’s and his relationship after people are like fuck naw just warms my heart. Like yes Harry, protect ur mans you adorable himbo you.

Our Own Demons by Emmalie22

Harry Potter, MCU, Harry Potter & Tony Stark, Harry Potter/Peter Parker, 119k word count, 24 chapters, WIP, teen/mature

Tony Stark. Genius. Billionaire. Philanthropist. Ironman. (Reckless. Lonely. Father.)

Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived. The Chosen One. Wizard. (The Master of Death. Survivor. Breaking.)

Tony Stark never thought he would be a father. But when a lawyer comes knocking and truths become evident, he realizes that he can’t let his son walk out of his life. For Harry, acknowledging his relationship with Tony is a last-ditch effort to gain freedom and control over his life. Although the journey might not be easy, Tony and Harry learn to heal and become a family, facing trials and tribulations on the way such as a scheming Death, a Mad Titian, Dark Wizards, dangerous Doctors, and living Wards.

I’m so sorry to give you a WIP that hasn’t been updated in 10 months, but I couldn’t let this one slide. I’m so attached to these characters it’s unhealthy. I’m not gonna lie, this fic was the product of a very hyperspecific filtered search on AO3 but I’m not even mad at it. Tony is Harry’s father but unlike the other fic on this rec list, Harry is a bit more grown up and bears a lot of the scars of 5th year (y’all don’t need me to specify with that one). It’s a lovely family dynamic and super fluffy Peter and Harry wow we love to see it. Harry is also super fucking smart AS HE IS! I will never get over people calling him stupid ugh Harry rights. But yes, author friend, if you see this, update when you can I’m so in love with this.

If anybody wants me to do more specific lists, I will totally do so. Just reblog or private message me. And if you have any other fic recs, please do so too because I’m always looking for something else to read.

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dukeofonions · 4 years

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Puppet vs Video Games (The Gimmicks of Sanders Sides)

If you’ve followed me for awhile (meaning the short amount of time I’ve been running this blog) then you’ll probably be aware of what my opinions are of the “gimmicks” that have been making themselves prevalent in recent Sanders Sides episodes. Now just to make things clear, almost every episode of Sanders Sides uses some kind of gimmick.

Well, besides the first one, which consists entirely of talking with no added effects.

And I, being the faceless entity that sits behind a computer screen judging an online web series, am going to rant about that because this is my blog and I do what I want. So let’s begin…

The Prologue

As season one progresses we see things like location changes, a song, Thomas’ friends making several appearances, simple editing tricks (like putting text or pictures on a screen) minor costume changes (Logan and Patton dressing as Sherlock and Watson) split screen effects, and even an episode featuring an animated segment.

At the end of Season One we were introduced to the concept of “Rooms” which added a whole new layer to the story and got people excited to see what the other rooms would entail. Still, up to this point, the gimmicks remained mostly in the background as small ways to sprinkle in some extra storytelling while the dialogue continued to be the main thing carrying the series.

Then Season Two began with Fitting In, which featured a few more props that served to signify each of the Hogwarts houses. This made sense seeing as that was the focus of the video, and for fans of Harry Potter, it would be fun to see the characters wearing things from the different houses.

After Fitting In, we got Moving On which featured the introduction of Patton’s room. Like with Virgil’s, a lot went into designing his room. There is a lot to look at, who knows how long it took to find all the stuff they showcased in the background? On top of that they also had the filter they used to give the room a dreamlike quality, and my favorite detail, the pictures that continue to change throughout the episode depending on what the characters are talking about.

It remains one of my favorite set pieces from the series just from the amount of detail they put into it, and it felt like a step up from Virgil’s room (which I also love) and it makes me excited for the rest of the rooms that have yet to be revealed.

However! I am not here to discuss the rooms. Even though I already did…

After Moving On, however, is when things start to change with the series.

During the 12 Days of Christmas, the Sides are each given their own custom Christmas sweaters, but that’s only part of the gimmick. The centerpiece for this episode is, of course, the song sung by all four Sides. This moment is pretty significant as it marks the first time all four of them appeared on screen together at the same time.

This was just the tip of the iceberg for what was to come…

Immediately following 12 Days we get Can Lying Be Good? Which featured a new location where the video spent the majority in, using quick cuts with the cameras to give off the illusion of Roman pretending to be Joan (including clever uses of audio) and of course, Deceit himself. The makeup and costume was unlike anything we’d seen in the series yet. Throw in some more split screen to show two Sides on screen together, as well as some clever costume choices for character Thomas, makes this episode (in my opinion) the best at utilizing its effects and filming techniques to tell its story.

And then, things start to shift again….

The next episode we get is Why Do We Get Out Of Bed In The Morning? Which took some time to produce, coming out in April after CLBG? Was released in February. Still, good time considering what was to come.

This episode had some mixed reviews once it finally came out, but I plan on tackling that later. The reason this episode (which was really just a longer, drawn out version of Losing My Motivation but starring Logan and Roman) was the use of animations.

For Logan, his arguments were displayed via “Stop Motion” writings of graphs and charts which he used to explain his points. And from a short behind the scenes video, each of these were drawn by hand and took hours to make. From what I understand, all of Roman’s bits were animated on a computer, though I don’t have much info on how they were made.

Within the episode, these different types of animations were used to help Roman and Logan illustrate their points. And while on their own they’re quite adorable, they aren’t necessary for the telling of this story. One thing this episode was criticised for was how the writing felt off. Everything seemed rushed and none of the characters felt in character, and while I don’t recall anyone outright saying it, it’s likely that perhaps the team felt pressured to get this video out on time, and thus might have skipped out on other elements in order to make up for the time spent working on the animations.

Whether that was writing the script, filming, or editing, we don’t know. All I know is that the general consensus for this episode was that it was just okay. As a Logan and Roman fan though, it was kinda disappointing for their first episode with them taking the spotlight together to just be viewed as “okay” and isn’t a favorite of mine.

Things picked up a little after Crofters: The Musical was released only a few days after WDWGOOBITM (that title is a monster to type no matter how ya do it) and it featured a song as its gimmick. The mood was a bit lighter, we got to see Logan having fun, and hey we even got our first main Roman angst foreshadowing! Good thing that wouldn’t be dragged out for several episodes, right?

All in all, things were definitely looking up for Sanders Sides. From the looks of it, we were going to start getting more frequent updates!

Then the Drought happened and we had to wait almost six months for a new episode.

At least that would be the longest we ever had to wait for something.

Before I get into the beef of this post I wanna bring up three more episodes, Embarrassing Phases, Selfishness vs Selflessness, and Dealing With Intrusive Thoughts.

Like the other episodes throughout Season Two, each of these episodes have different gimmicks. In Embarrassing Phases, it’s the Halloween costumes. In SVS, it’s a location change plus costume change, and in DWIT we get the introduction of Remus along with a musical number and a few props.

I’d say each of these episodes does a good job at incorporating their gimmicks into the story. Embarrassing Phases involves them talking about Halloween and using costumes as metaphors or something like that (This may be one of the few times I say something positive about this episode don’t get used to it)

With SVS, thanks to some clever acting, we can see Janus get the idea of using the courtroom scenario to try and get his point across. He first does this by suggesting that Thomas may not be as innocent as he seems, and after Patton defends him, that’s when Janus switches to the courtroom in order to put Patton to the test and literally defend Thomas as a lawyer.

Then in DWIT, given that Remus is a very outgoing character, it makes sense that he’d use a song to explain who he is and make a dramatic entrance. Plus, the series has used songs before so it’s not surprising to see this here. And seeing as Remus is creativity, it’s only fitting that he’s able to conjure random things throughout the episode. Okay, that was a long prologue, onto the actual reason most of you probably clicked on this post. Part One: The Puppets

Learning New Things About Ourselves also does a good job of handling its gimmick and incorporating it into the story. Like the three I just mentioned, there’s a set up and a pay off. We get an idea of what’s to come with this moment:

“I don’t feel content,”

“With my content.”

Which is obviously a reference to some random children’s educational program (most likely Sesame Street) by showcasing how two words that are spelled the same can have different meanings. Great now I sound like some educational children’s program.

Then later on, we get the actual set up that comes from Thomas becoming frustrated that he can’t figure out what the problem is that’s causing this whole dilemma. He says, “We’ve got an issue. Something that I’m not aware of yet, something that may be unlocked with the right question. This is like... fundamental learning!”

After he says that, he gets an idea and asks the others how he used to learn things and each one responds accordingly:

Logan: Textbooks!

Roman and Virgil: Mistakes.

Patton: Puppets!

And of course, initially, Thomas questions this and no one really understands what Patton means by this. But he explains and makes a case for it, “Thomas used to learn all kinds of new and helpful things from puppets when he was younger! Like how to count and his ABCs. Maybe it’ll be easier to work through issues when puppets are involved.”

We see Thomas consider the idea, and then Logan sets up a joke with him saying Thomas has outgrown that kind of stuff only to have him express his love for the idea.

After that, the Sides (excluding Logan) change into their respective puppets and continue on the episode.

One important thing to note (which I will bring up later) is that this scene takes place around the 15 minute mark. At least by that point, everyone except Logan has changed into a puppet. With the video being 38 minutes long, this is about halfway through the episode, and by the 31 minute mark the Sides begin turning back to normal.

Which means the puppets roughly take up only about 15 minutes of the video, slightly longer if you count Logan’s puppet, but you get the idea.

Also I’m bad at math so if I got this wrong sue me. There’s a reason I’m sitting here writing this instead of doing something with my life.

From then on, the conversation continues with everyone still trying to figure out what the question they need to be asking is. Of course, plenty of references to other educational kid shows are thrown around, but that now makes sense seeing as they’re fully embracing the puppet idea. Patton furthers the conversation along by finally getting Thomas to start asking “Why” and uses another reference to do so, which starts the next part of the conversation and brings us the next major conflict in this episode, Logan.

He gives his opinion, stating that no one takes Thomas seriously and that he should switch careers in order to obtain that status instead of devoting his time to making silly videos.

This of course, causes dissension within the group, and leads to Roman once again insulting Logan before realizing that he’s been going too far. After being prompted to apologize, Roman attempts to express his feelings to Logan and say sorry, but it doesn’t exactly help him feel any better which is when Patton suggests he try a different way.

And, Roman being Roman, decides the best way to do this is through song. A song that’s reminiscent of those one might hear on Sesame Street (there’s probably others but I’m rolling with this one) so it fits with the puppet thing. Again, it’s justified.

The episode ends with Logan finally understanding where the others are coming from and Thomas finding the right question to ask, which he is able to answer and it solves the dilemma.

Logan turns into a puppet, there’s another Sesame Street reference, and Roman is finally gonna start addressing his issues!

Good thing that won’t be brushed under a rug by the other characters for three more episodes right?

All in all, in case you couldn’t tell, I adore this episode and it still remains one of my favorites to this day. It doesn’t beat you over the head with the references, which are used cleverly and in a fun way that also keeps the story moving along. The designs for the puppets are cute and match each of the characters, and the puppetry is amazing!

Plus the song is an absolute bop and it still makes me emotional sometimes.

Which begs the question, was the sixth month wait worth it? Well, after hearing all that went into making this episode and seeing the final result, I’d say it was worth it.

It’s also nice that we got a behind the scenes video where we got to see the full story on how this episode was made and all the difficulties Thomas, Joan, and Talyn faced when trying to make it a reality. Did they need to use puppets? No, but what matters is that they were able to take the idea and incorporate it into a story in a way that was fun and felt justified for existing.

Not saying this episode is perfect, there are a few problems here and there, but overall this remains one of my top Sanders Sides episodes and one I’ve watched repeatedly since it came out.

Now that all that positive stuff is out of the way, let’s get to the fun part….

Part Two: The Video Games

I’m gonna be blunt, Putting Others First does not do as good of a job with incorporating video games into its story like LNTAO does.

However, I can’t exactly talk about this episode without talking about the extremely long wait we had in between episodes. The last official episode (that follows the main storyline, so not Asides) came out on June 25, 2019. POF came out May 1st, 2020.

Almost 10 months, the longest we’ve ever had to wait for an episode. And if you wanna go further, remember that POF was meant to be the follow up to SVS, a part two if you will, SVS came out March 31st 2019, so by the time POF came out, it had already been a year since this set up the conflict for wedding vs callback.

By that point, some people were no longer interested or as excited about the new episode, but that changed briefly when a trailer for the episode dropped after a new Bloopers video was released a few months before POF was finally released.

Keep in mind that up until this point, we weren’t entirely sure what the hold up was for this episode. We’d only gotten the vague answer of “There’s a special sequence for this episode and we’re working with another artist in order to make it, which is why it’s taking so long.”

Okay, fair enough, and the trailer revealed what exactly that sequence was, animation!

Now I’ve already explained in another post why I have problems with how vague Thomas and co. are when it comes to giving information about upcoming videos, so I won’t get into that here.

What I am going to bring up since it relates to some of my points is this, remember when they said it was a “special sequence” they were working on? Well, after the video is released we find that it isn’t one, but 10.

I’m not counting each time a sequence was used (For example, the opening segment which is later followed by Roman imagining a different outcome in the same style or every single one of Logan’s low-down’s, and the two trolley problems are counted as one sequence for this post specifically) because I really don’t wanna go through and count every single time Logan popped up on screen, but tell me, why in the heckity heck did they feel it was necessary to include 10 of these animated segments?

And okay, there’s actually 12 (maybe 13? The Pokemon reference uses two different styles) but why are there so many? How are they necessary and what is their reason for being in this episode?

Remember earlier when I mentioned that the puppet stuff didn’t start until the 15 minute mark? Well, POF literally begins with a video game sequence, and then the game references just keep coming. The intro gets a retro remix along with the rest of the music, and once Thomas enters the picture his curse words are covered by a gold coin and the “mario coin” sound effect.

And then, not even three minutes in, we get yet another video game sequence recapping the last episode, after we already had a recap of the last episode less than a minute ago!

To be fair though Rhythm Redux is a bop and I’m not sure why they felt the need to include a “flashback” after the intro when they were going to include this song anyway since it does a better job at explaining things than the random shots and dialogue from SVS.

With LNTAO, none of the “puppet bits” began until after the Sides changed into puppets, besides that one bit of foreshadowing with the “Content with my content” line. There was no change to the intro’s music, nothing besides that one bit to foreshadow the puppets coming into play.

Another thing LNTAO does that POF doesn’t is establish a set up, and pay off for the video games. Right off the bat, we get the video games, then later we get Patton’s line about how “Life isn’t like one of your video games” just a few minutes before the next video game sequence takes place, which just felt out of place to me the first time I watched it and I felt like that line was put in there just to remind the audience “Oh yeah, this is a video game themed episode!”

Which, okay, there actually was some bit of set up before this back in SVS. Thomas mentions that he planned to spend his time at the wedding playing “Word Crush” on his phone, then as POF begins, that’s exactly what he’s doing.

And there are certain instances where the sequences work.

The beginning sequence ties back into Thomas’ comment from SVS and, in a way, sets up the video game thing (even if it does make me somewhat cringe but that’s mostly Lee and Mary Lee’s characters) and I wouldn’t have as much of a problem with how “Rhythm Redux” was incorporated if they hadn’t included the flash back after the intro. Again, why did they need two different recaps? They only needed one and it did a good job of explaining everything on its own.

I will also say the Trolley Segments work due to the discussions being held, they’re talking about “Morality” so why wouldn’t you bring up one of the oldest moral dilemmas out there? It also ties in with my favorite part of the video, the “Final Boss” fight with Lilypadton vs Janus. I was not expecting it, and adding Janus’ reveal on top of that just made everything even better. It was dramatic, and I loved how the health bars that were used for Patton and Janus changed to represent Thomas’ deteriorating mental health.

All in all, there was potential here with the video game theme, and there were scenes where it was used well. But all the others that I didn’t mention? They just felt forced and out of place to me and honestly, took me out of the moment.

Another episode I want to compare POF to is Logic vs Passion (I am not typing either the title or the acronym out again) where they both incorporate their gimmicks in a similar way.

Logan and Roman both use their respective animations to illustrate their points of view, and throughout POF all the characters use different video games to illustrate their own points.

The issues I have with these episodes is that these conversations could have been had without the use of any of these things. The Sides have had discussions and used examples to elaborate their points in the past without the use of visuals.

Now, can visuals help with storytelling? Yes, and I mentioned several instances where POF does this. But honestly, the whole video game theme seemed out of place for this particular video. Compare it to SVS which only had a location change, the episode focused almost entirely on its dialogue and still manages to be dramatic and engaging. You can easily follow along with the discussion without the need for fancy visuals.

With POF, it seems like they just try to rush from one video game reference to the next, leaving little room to breathe in between before another video game is thrown into your face. What could have been a simple discussion like in SVS (which still managed to balance humor with its more serious themes) we got a rather bloated middle section which, honestly, I don’t remember much about.

I’ve watched the video several times and without fail, I always find myself spacing out throughout a good chunk of the middle until the whole Lilypadton scene takes place. That’s when I became interested, especially when Janus entered the picture to bring in his points and act as a bit of an “anti-hero” in the whole thing.

I simply believe this video could have been a lot simpler, and probably more cohesive if they’d left a lot of the video game stuff out. The last thing I want to be when consuming any type of media is bored, and honestly if it wasn’t for me making all these analysis posts on the episode, I probably wouldn’t have watched it again save for my favorite parts.

Not only that, but we waited 10 months for this episode because of the video game sequences, and again you have to ask yourself, was the wait worth it?

I have to say, unlike with LNTAO, it wasn’t worth it to me. They could take the video game sequences out altogether (even my favorite ones) and I wouldn’t really care. This episode just doesn’t need them, they don’t justify their use in this episode. Whereas in LNTAO, I love the use of puppets and if they were to be taken out, I would miss them.

Now is this to say I hate the episode? No, there’s actually a lot I like about it. Patton’s development, Janus, and the ending with Roman are all amazing on their own. But really, who’s to say Janus couldn’t have confronted Patton in person instead of a video game world?

Logan didn’t need to appear via little “Pop ups” and could have been called upon by Patton for help only to be brushed aside when what he says doesn’t help his case at all. Then when things start getting out of hand, “Logan” comes back to try to fix things but it doesn’t work, which is when he reveals himself only this time everyone, including the audience, fell for it because Janus has stepped up his game when it comes to disguising himself.

Of course, the same could be said about LNTAO, they didn’t need to be puppets, right? Well, considering that the message of the episode was that you can use unconventional methods to express different ideas using different mediums, and Logan spent the whole time seeing the puppets at nothing but silly and childish only to come to this realization himself, it makes sense why puppets were used.

However, you can actually apply that same message to POF, where they used an unconventional method to get their points across.

The only problem, like with Logic vs Passion, was that the gimmicks alone couldn’t carry the episode.

Logic vs Passion wasn’t as good as other episodes (and I may do a full review of this in the future) and in POF, it just felt like there was too much being crammed into this one episode. We went from discussing different types of morality and why people do good things to Janus suddenly beginning his “acceptance arc” with Roman having a breakdown at the end. Honestly, the point where Janus enters the conversation feels like a completely separate episode from what we’ve had thus far. Not only that, I have my own issues with how Janus’ character seemed to suddenly do a 180 (which I already talked about in another post) so while I love the ending scenes on their own, I admit that maybe they should have been handled differently.

Of course, at the end of the day, all of this is just a matter of opinion. Lots of people loved the video game segments, and others didn’t like the puppets. Some people love all the gimmicks used in the videos, others wish for things to go back to the simpler formats of the older episodes and honestly, I agree.

It seems like with every new episode the team is trying to outdo themselves and take things up another level each time, which is something I can admire, but it is something that can be overdone. Just look at Sanders Asides, it was supposed to be this simple little thing, but it might as well just be another episode. There’s nothing to distinguish it from any of the other main episodes, and if the rest of Asides is going to be the same way, then what’s the point of making it a separate series at all?

Now, Thomas and Joan have said that after this episode, they’re going to start using more practical effects and make things simpler, which I take as a sign of them learning to step back from all the gimmicks they use and just let the characters shine on their own for a while. Which, if that is the case, good on them.

We don’t come to this series for the effects and flashy scenes, we come for the characters. They’re what we love and want to see more of. If you want more proof, just look at what people mostly took from POF, they took the character moments. It wasn’t the video game references that resonated the most with people, heck, people outright seemed to ignore the fact that Leslie Odom Jr. made a cameo.

What do you think that says?

Not saying people didn’t love the video game references, because a lot of people did, but it wasn’t the main thing people responded to.

It’s okay to explore different mediums for storytelling. But sometimes, as a creator, you have to stop and ask yourself, “Is this really necessary for the story?” And believe me the hardest thing to do is cut out something that I spent hours working on because, when I viewed the story as a whole, that particular thing just wasn’t necessary for the story. Maybe I enjoyed it, and perhaps others would too, but at the end of the day, I’d be glad that I made the decision for the betterment of the story.

Okay, now this got way longer than I meant for it to be (how ironic) but you’ve all been waiting for this post for awhile and I didn’t want to postpone it further.

I do hope you enjoyed reading this jumbled mess and, as always, feel free to let me know what your opinions were! Regardless of whether you agree or disagree, and I’ll see y’all next time!

#sanders sides #dukeofonions #episode criticism #patton sanders #logan sanders #roman sanders #virgil sanders #janus sanders #remus sanders

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