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kopfkino-o · 11 months

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The Seer’s Stone - Chapter Five

Summary: Elain Archeron is tired of being the “lovely, sweet gardener” everyone wants her to be. After losing her beloved, her humanity, her life, she’s ready to claim her own path forward with the help of her friends, Nuala and Cerridwen, as she searches far and wide for the mysterious Seer’s Stone: an ancient artifact of old rumored to once belong to an ancient Oracle. But will fate itself step in to stop her? Or will Elain defy the strings of destiny that bind her and forge her own path forward, choosing her own fate, friendships, future, and love, along the way.

Pairing: Elain x Azriel

Timeline: Post-ACOSF

Wordcount: 3800

Taglist: @downingg2001 @gracie-rosee @nivem565 // Let me know if you want on (or off) the tag list for future updates! Thank you all for reading <3

Read:

Chapter One | The Crone’s Trade

Chapter Two | The Oracle of Seraphyros

Chapter Three | Last of Our Kind (Azriel)

Chapter Four | An Empty Seat

THE SMUTTY STUFF - A PREVIEW

Author’s Note: Not saying I’m going to write a Tarqwyn fic, but also not going to say I’m not gonna. Writing Elain and Azriel together on page was so fun and I can’t wait for where their story here is headed 👀

Thanks for reading, y’all!

- Court

Cassian teased Elain the entire flight up to the House of Wind. He tickled the extra sensitive spot between her collarbone and neck, sought out only the hard updrafts of cold wind that ripped at the skirts of her pale purple dress, and pretended he was about to drop her not once. Not twice.

But thrice.

Elain was pale and wobbling by the time he all but dumped her onto the terrace of the House, his laughter so loud and rich it echoed off the red stone walls that made up the private home and stirred a flock of blackbirds perched amongst the rocks to flight. She would have thrown up right then and there on her brother-in-law's shiny leather boots if she wasn't half as much a proper lady.

“Rhys would have never done that to me,” Elain insisted, stumbling as she tried to make for the wide-open terrace doors.

Cassian’s laughter deepened further. “Well I’m not Rhys, and this is no Riverhouse. Best leave your expectations at the door, sweetheart.”

“I suppose I should expect nothing less from the couple who allows a magic house to cook and clean for them.”

“The House is our friend, thank you very much.”

“My point.”

Cassian cracked a smile. “Is it just me or have you grown some claws, Lainey?”

“Always had them," Elain said, throwing a smile at him. "You all just never bothered to notice.”

With that, she snickered at the look on his face and strode proudly into the House of Wind.

Elain found Emerie and Gwyn sitting inside, both women were slick with sweat and panting heavily, their Illyrian leathers and sheathed weapons somehow perfectly at home amongst the casual décor and sunny interiors. The former waved weakly at her, clearly exhausted, while the latter sprung up to her feet, teal eyes sparkling and a wide smile spreading across her freckled face.

“Elain! Cauldron spare me, I’ve been waiting to talk to you.” Gwyn grinned, bounding eagerly over to her. “I tried that recipe from baking club, the one with cinnamon and cardamom. I browned the sugar and left the butter out to melt overnight, just like you suggest, and well, the dough looked fine. But then when I put them into the oven, well, things sort of took a turn for the worse—”

“What she means to say is she almost set our new apartment on fire,” Emerie said plainly, the Illyrian woman's hazel eyes bright and clear.

“Almost, and did, are two very different words. Linguistically speaking.”

Emerie shrugged. “Schematics.”

Gwyn stuck her tongue out at the other Valkyrie. “If I wanted a grumpy opinion I would have just marched down to the Library and asked Merrill."

Elain cocked her head at the mention of the High Priestess, the woman and her moods all too familiar to her as of late.

“I thought you’d finished your last shift at the Library ahead of your trip down to the Summer Court.” She said.

“Oh, I have, but I still like to visit my friends there to catch up on the drama every now and then. Plus, I just... wanted to spend a little more time there before I depart for Adriata." Gwyn shifted nervously on her feet, her teal eyes flicking toward the wide expanse of widows. “I’ll be away from Velaris for two whole months if you can believe it. Apparently, learning the art of the spear is, apparently, no easy feat.”

Elain nodded, remembering the priestess's mention of her plans to travel south to the Summer Court to learn the art of the three-pronged spear from the southern court from their time spent working together on the details of Nesta's mating ceremony a few months prior.

All of the Valkyries who were comfortable with leaving Velaris were soon due to travel far and wide across Prythian to expand their knowledge of different weapons, fighting styles, and battle strategies. Gwyn amongst the ranks of them, and, apparently, the one who came up with the idea for the journeys in the first place.

“I hear Adriata is beautiful, though. Feyre often speaks highly of the city” Elain said. “And the High Lord who rules it."

Cassin coughed pointedly from where he leaned against the doorway.

."I've always wanted to travel south and see the white-sand beaches and bright blue water of Summer. And the Spear-Daughters of Summer are amongst the fiercest warriors in all of Prythian. Save for us Valkyrie, of course. But,” Gwyn shook her head, teal eyes dropping down to her feet. “ I mean, Mother bless me, I’ve never even left the Night Court before. The idea of traveling so far is just so... new.”

Elain blinked and a lovely, hope-filled image shimmered in her mind's eye.

Yes, so very new but how very beautiful.

She couldn't stop herself from reaching across the space between them and taking Gwyn's hand in her own, squeezing it once and offering a smile she knew was not her place to explain but one she could not suppress.

"I have a feeling you're going to be happy there, Gwyn. Truly happy." She said.

The priestess quirked a copper brow, her freckled lips parting as if to question the statement further, but then Nesta was sweeping into the room, her beautiful face fixed with a general’s hardness and a goddess’s grace, sword flashing silver at her side.

She paused in the doorway, straightening at the sight of her little sister, and raked Elain over with a critical eye that saw everything and missed nothing. Nesta’s lips twitched at the sight of Elain’s unruly hair, her wrinkled and wind-tousled clothes, the flush of green still on her face.

Then frowned.

“Why do you look like you’ve just survived a tornado?” Nesta asked.

Elain threw an accusatory look at where Cassian was leaning in the doorway, smiling smugly as he cleaned his nails with a hunting knife, wings splayed wide and haloed by the sunny terrace beyond.

If Nesta was iron and frozen flames, then he was steel and crackling fire. Two sides to the same coin, honed and tempered by sheer grit and determination. A perfect match.

"Bumpy ride," Elain answered sweetly.

"You're green. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Nesta. Just a touch... flight sick."

Her older sister’s eyes narrowed further. “Well, if you’re going to be sick, try not to lose your lunch on the carpets. The House is willing to do much and more, but cleaning up vomit is not one of them.”

Cassian barked a laugh. Emerie merely rolled her eyes.

But it was Gwyn who leaned in close and whispered to Elain, “She found that out the hard way.”

Nesta scowled. "I can hear you, Berdara."

"Perhaps that's the point, Nes," Gwyn said sweetly, tossing a curtain of copper-brown hair over an armored shoulder before turning to Elain and gently patting her arm. "I'll send you those spices you asked for as I find them. But, until then, best of wishes, Elain. The next time you see me, I'll be good and properly trained on how to drive a spear thrown a grown male's gut."

With a wide smile and dramatic flourish, Gwyn scooped up a wooden stave from the corner of the room, brushed past Cassian as if he were nothing more than a mere stalk of wheat, and sauntered out into the blinding light of the terrace and training ring beyond.

"Mother spare me," Nesta rolled her eyes, though even she couldn't hide the smile turning up the corner of her lips. "A few months out of the Library and she's got enough confidence one might think she's the future Princess of Adriata."

Elain only smiled.

A lapse of silence settled between them and Elain used it to glance around the room, noting the changes that had been made to the House since the last time she visited. The once heavy velvet curtains were replaced with light linens that billowed in the wind and light bright, natural light pour into the space. The old, dusty furniture had been replaced with more modern, but still comfortable, outfittings and nearly everywhere she looked a bookshelf lined the wall.

Even the marble of the hearth was new, the stone simple but chic and, above it, hung a portrait of Nesta and Cassian clad in armor and proud atop the high peak of Ramiel, swords raised and heads haloed with writhing crowns of silver flame.

Something in Elain's heart tightened. It felt strange to see this place, this home, filled with so many things that reminded her of her sister. And the new healing and happiness she’d found within it.

"What?" Nesta asked, the question almost self-conscious.

Elain shrugged. "Nothing. I just like what you've done with the place."

"You came all the way here to assess my interior design tastes, then?"

"No."

Nesta glanced over at Emerie and Cassian and gestured with a slight jerk of her chin toward the open doorway. Leave us, that gesture said. The former groaned as she rose and trudged, albeit slowly, on muscular legs for the door, collecting a longsword and wooden shield as she went. The latter merely winked, blowing Elain a kiss and offering Nesta a look that would have had anyone else blushing red before swaggering out to the training ring.

Finally alone, Nesta let her guard down, the hardened general softening to a concerned older sister. Even the hard glint in her blue eyes seemed to ease up.

"Is everything okay? Your head, the visions?" She asked softly.

"Yes, Nesta. I'm—"

"And Feyre, the babe?"

"Everything is fine, Nesta. I swear it.” Elain assured feverishly. “I've just come to fetch a book, that's all. No need for any worries. Everything is perfectly fine. ”

Nesta blew out what very well might have been a sigh of relief but then the worry furrowing her brow turned hard one more and the thin line of her lips became a scowl.

"You came all the way here for a bloody book?"

Elain nodded. "I need it for a gardening project. The collection of the local flora and fauna is far more impressive in the library here than in the one Rhys and Feyre keep at the Riverhouse."

The lie came so easily it felt almost as if it were the truth.

Elain's gut twisted at the realization, twisted and withered at the utter lack of suspicion in Nesta's eyes. Nesta, who she had shared every secret with. Nesta, who had always been there and always understood. Nesta, who was her older sister and closest friend. Elain had never lied to her, never had a reason to, until now.

Until these last few months.

A clash of steel on steel drew Nesta's gaze out towards the veranda. Once that might have hurt her, might have made Elain feel small and overlooked, but she understood more now, could See more now. She and her sister had different purposes now, new lives and relationships that demanded more focus, more attention. Nesta had her Valkyries and her mate. Elain had the twins and her gardens and her ugly little secrets.

"Alright," Nesta said finally, nodding slowly. "Ask the House if you need help. It can find just about anything, anywhere, but only if you're polite. Come find me before you depart. We can take the stairs together if you're feeling up for it."

"I'm not sure my body could physically handle that," Elain chuckled.

"You'd be surprised what your body can do when you put your mind to it."

Oh, but Elain did know. Perhaps a little too well.

But she merely smiled, grabbing her sister and hugging her tight, before bidding Nesta goodbye and watching, lovingly, almost enviously, as her older sister strode out to the training ring and her new life that waited within.

Alone and unwatched, Elain wasted no time getting down to business, hurrying at once for the stairwell.

The floor above was occupied by House of Wind’s library at the end of the hall with private bedrooms lining the narrow space on either side. Elain moved swiftly past them on silent feet, checking every other heartbeat over her shoulder until she stood before the closed door of the last bedroom on the left.

She wasn’t sure how she knew this particular one was his, only that she could feel it. Could scent it. She’d never been inside, never even been close, but she knew it in her bones.

Heart in her throat, she knocked once.

And waited.

When there was no answer she knocked again, louder now.

Again, no answer.

So Elain rallied her spirits, forcing down every worry and fear that warred within her and tried the doorknob. Unlocked. She glanced one last time down the hallway towards the stairwell before slowly pushing the door open.

The space beyond was well-lit, the linen curtains thrown away from the wide panel of windows that illuminated the meticulously neat and utterly empty room.

The worn leather couch was unoccupied and the nearby neat column of books was seemingly untouched. No cloak hung from the iron peg in the entryway and her delicate ears caught no whisper of movement within.

“Hello?” Elain called out anyway, nerves a maelstrom in her stomach.

But, again, no answer came.

So she gathered her skirts and slipped quietly into the Spymaster’s bedroom.

The scent of mist and cedar and something more floral hit her at once. It was so familiar, yet the space around her so foreign. Elain couldn’t stop herself from taking in her surroundings, feeling as if she'd d stepped into another realm, a world entirely of his own that gave her the chance to steal an intimate look into his personality.

The unlit heart was completely devoid of ash or burned logs as if it’d been a long time since a fire had been lit within it, if ever at all. Nearly every visible surface was lacking even a speck of dust and every single thing within the room seemed to have a methodically dedicated place.

Artwork hung on the walls, some pieces clearly done by Feyre’s hand, others older, more classic. A long bookshelf occupied the western wall and was stuffed full of books and greenery and trinkets from worlds Elain could only ever dream of visiting. Whirling golden instruments from the Dawn Court, fur-trimmed masks from the Winter Court, and tiny, carved wooden bobbles that could only hail from the Human Lands.

A potted Kingsflame flower bloomed in the corner, healthy and vibrant as if it’d been tended to both night and day, while a collection of seedlings were just now greening on the window sill. A star-sphere and a looking glass sat upon a nearby table, a bushel of carefully dried flowers and a worn hunting tapestry hung carefully above it.

And the books, Mother bless him, there were so many books. Perhaps even enough to rival the collection in the Library just down the hall. They occupied every spare space, all neatly stacked with obvious care.

Elain drifted further into the room, rounding a cutout in the wall and mounting a small set of stairs up to where a large, four-poster bed occupied most the space. It was made, clearly long-since slept in, but the bedding was surprisingly worn, the cobalt and amethyst quilt threadbare and bearing the hallmarks of something obviously handmade.

She found what she was looking for just beyond the bed.

The large, elegant desk was framed perfectly by a cascading beam of sunlight as if it’d been waiting just for her.

The stacks of papers atop it were neat, the collection of scrolls and tomes in the cubby nearby even neater. A large ale glass that reminded her of the one her father used to drink from held a collection of quills and writing utensils, a fresh pot of ink capped and waiting beside it. Even the small astrolabe resting at the desk’s edge was clean and neat, the interlocking golden spheres polished so thoroughly they shined in the sunlight.

Elain approached it as if she were in a dream, her attention clouded by her plan.

Find a map of the Prison, commit to memory, and bring it back to Kalla and the Twins so they could help her design a plan for infiltration. Find the fragments of the Stone, find the Staff.

Easy enough, Elain thought sarcastically.

She opened the unlocked center drawer and began to shuffle through the papers inside. Her eyes flew over the papers, drinking in different codenames and dossier titles and reports from spies in any and every court. If there was a secret, it was here. If there was any kernel of hidden knowledge, it was here. None of it mattered to her, though. Her course was set, her mind decided.

The Prison, the Middle, the Autumn Court. The Stone, the Staff, the—

"I never took you for a snoop."

Elain jumped at the low, soft voice and her hand immediately fell away from the map of the Prison she'd wriggled free, flashing instead to the dagger concealed at her side, and whirled.

Only to find Death standing in the doorway.

Azriel was dressed all in black: black knee-high leather boots, black leather breeches, a black tunic with black iron fastenings, black scaled pauldrons with matching black gauntlets, and a black cloak that flowed from his shoulders like smoke, even his hair was fully black in this light, but his eyes were bright gold and his face was flushed with life and color, as if he'd just come off a cold wind. Shadows swarmed around him, snakes twinning and whispering around his hands and shoulders, already murmuring her secrets.

Beautiful. Terrifying. A face she’d seen in countless dreams.

Elain snapped her hand behind her back, straightening at the sight of him, and forced a demure smile, steeling herself against his assessing gaze until she was nothing more than a trembling fawn. Innocent, unaware, and entirely unassuming.

"Cassian asked me to fetch something," She said sweetly.

Azriel only cocked his head. "Did he?"

"Training plans. For the Valkyrie’s afternoon drills."

Azriel took another step into the room, shadows swirling. One in particular curled around his neck and murmured in his ear, whatever secrets it whispered drawing a small smile across his lips.

“They tell me when you lie, you know.” He said softly.

Cauldron spare me.

Elain swallowed hard, racking her brain for an excuse. “Nesta asked me to help find your travel long. She wanted to know if you'd be back before the Valkyries head out for their trips abroad."

"That's not it either, is it."

He took a step.

"Mor was worried about you."

Another step.

"You lie again."

They were so close now she could smell the wind on him, could see the veins of emerald in his hazel eyes. Could see the pale smattering of freckles that graced his cheeks, tiny constellations dusting his golden skin as if the Mother herself had tossed them there.

“I needed a map.” Elain breathed.

Azriel hummed. “That’s more like it.”

He reached behind her and gently plucked up the documents she'd discarded between scarred fingers. Elain watched anticipatingly, heart hammering in her chest, as he unfolded them and studied the various maps of the Prison Isle with eyes that gave away nothing. A beautiful, tortuous face that gave away absolutely nothing.

“Why?” He asked after a long moment.

Elain straightened. “It’s none of your business.”

“Is it not?" Azriel countered. "You are here in my bedroom, uninvited, trying to steal from me after all."

“I wasn’t stealing, merely borrowing. And your door was unlocked besides.”

Azriel leafed through the maps again, hazel eyes churning. Unable to bare the tension between them, Elain eached for the map and tried to snatch it from him, but he was too tall, too fast, for her to even come close. Instead, she found her fingers curling over the strong expanse of his forearm, his burnt skin warm beneath her grip. Their eyes met over the sparse space between them.

This was a mistake.

Elain yanked her hand away, fumbling as she took a step back. The edge of the desk pressed into the column of her spine but the dul pinch was a welcome reprieve from the heat building in her blood. Mother spare her, why did he have to have this effect on her?

"Why?" Azriel asked again, voice softer this time.

Elain sighed. "I just...I need to see if something's there. If something I thought might not be real is, in fact, very real after all."

"You saw something."

I wasn't a question. And Elain certainly wasn't about to answer. She tried to draw further away from him, desperate to put space between them, if only to stop the strange feeling that swirled in her belly whenever he was near, but Azriel only drew nearer.

"The Prison is not to be considered lightly," Azriel said. "The Isle itself is largely uncharted. The land is just as much a monster as the creatures locked away on it. It's law unto itself, unchecked and untamed."

"Right, because I'm utterly incapable of taking care of myself. I suppose you've forgotten it was me who stabbed the King of Hybern just like everyone else."

Elain could see the blow land. Something in Azriel's eyes flickered out at her words, the harshness with which she spoke them, but Elain refused to let herself feel guilt over them.

Desperate to be away from her, from the weight of his sad hazel eyes, Elain moved to shove past him. She didn't need the physical maps to navigate the Prison's vast isle and complex passageways. The mere glimpse of documents was all she needed. Her magic could help her recall them later, and in near-perfect detail too.

Azriel's hand flashed out and caught her wrist. A bolt of static skittered up her skin from where their bodies touched. "I don't doubt you, Elain. I never have." He said gently. "But you just can't wander into the Prison without a plan. There are residents there who scare even Rhysand. Who scare even me. I won't let you go alone."

"I'm not going alone. I do have friends, you know."

“The twins might be privy to a lot of things, but access to the Prison is not one of them. Rhys has only granted myself and a select other few the ability to bypass the wards there. No one else could ever even dream of getting past that sort of magic without his knowledge. Or his approval." Azriel released her wrist. Her skin felt cold without the warmth of his touch. "And something tells me you don't intend to ask Rhysand for that."

"Rhys would grant me a palace amongst the stars if I asked nicely enough. Feyre too, for that matter." Elain said defiantly. She wasn't going to back down on this, not now that she'd finally spoken her mind. "Besides, I don't need Rhysand's permission. I don't need anyone's."

Azriel chuckled, the sound sending his shadows skittering and warmth radiating through her bones. "I’m not sure I’d call that spelllspinner you’re hiding away in the Library a friend. She’s far from trustworthy from what I’ve gathered.” He said and Elain did not fail to note the sly little smile that curved his lips. He knows about Kalla then. She did her best to master herself, unwilling in letting him know he’d surprised her with that reveal. “It’s not like she’ll do you much good, either way,” He continued. “One mere tug at the threads of those binding the spells to the Prison and your spellspinner will scramble her mind so thoroughly she'll forget her own name.”

Elain had been afraid of that. While Kalla was confident within her own abilities to manipulate and break the threads of magic, the twins hadn’t been so convinced, both Nuala and Cerridwen afraid of something exactly like this. The Prison was old, they’d warned her, and it’s magic older still. Breaking past those wards would be no easy task, especially not without Rhys or someone who carried his expression permission to step foot on the Prison Isle.

But Elain had hoped, Mother had she hoped…

Closing her eyes, Elain drew in a long, steadying breath and loosed it on a slow exhale. "Are you going to try and stop me?" She asked him finally.

“No. Never.”

“Then what do you want, Azriel?”

Now it was the shadowsinger who drew in a deep breath of his own. Azriel met her eyes when he finally answered, his voice soft but resolute. “Let me help you, and Nuala and Cerridwen, with… whatever it is you’re trying to do. I won’t ask questions, won��t pass judgment, only lend help where I can.” He said. “You want on the island without Rhys or Feyre knowing? Fine, consider it done. The Prison is no place for recklessness. I won’t stop you, Elain, but I’ll be damned if I don’t do everything in my power to try and keep you safe.”

Azriel extended the maps he’d caught her with as if he were offering an olive branch. Elain could only stare at him. His words were both hope and heartbreak.

“You don’t have to face the darkness of that wretched place alone. Let me help you, Elain.” The spy master of the Night Court, the man who they claimed was Death given form, pressed. “Let me face that darkness with you.”

Elain eased the maps from his burnt fingers and tucked them into the pocket hidden in her cloak lining before meeting Azriel’s hazel eyes. She offered him only one word in answer before brushing past him and striding from the room.

“Fine.”

#The Seer's Stone #The Seer's Stone fanfic #elriel fanfiction #acotar fanfiction #elriel #pro elriel #elain archeron #azriel shadowsinger #acotar fanfic

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the-lavender-creator · 22 days

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Hi! I’m new too tumblr. But I like Toradeen and Lagoona and DracuClawd and I’ve seen a lot of your stuff on Ao3! I am absolutely in love with them! I hope you are the same person I just typed it in like it was on Ao3 and nothing came up so I just tried it with - instead of _ ? I think the other one also had some purple logo but I ddont remember.

Sorry! I hope I’m not talking your ear off. I just wanted to say I really like your fanfics! And I was wondering off you took requests? Sorry! I didn’t see anything on your Ao3 but your writing is so nice and I just wanted to ask pls don’t feel like your obligated too. I’m just horrible with writing but I have so many ideas you know?

Also I don’t have an official Ao3 account so I thought I’d try tumblr since I’ve just used it to look at stuff for a while!

I hope you have a marvelous day!

-Lainey

Hello, Lainey! You've got the right guy.

I'm very very happy that you enjoy my fanfics, and I do take requests! I have a writing blog (@vwritesawholelothm) and I take prompts on the form of asks there.

Also, I highly recommend you take a stab at writing!! The only way you can get better at something is if you try, even when you feel like you aren't doing great at it. A good idea would possibly be to hang onto some of your favorite ideas and write them on your own. You can still send those ideas to me if you'd like (I fully understand wanting to read something rather than write it yourself) but you shouldn't let your inexperience or the lack of "quality" in your work deter you from writing! You don't have to share anything that you write until you think you've improved of course, but I really hope you get there one day if writing is something you'd really like to do.

Anyways! Yes I take requests, and thank you very very much for reading ^-^. Also I recommend going ahead and going through the process of creating an AO3 account. I like gifting prompted fics to the people who asked for them, and it would allow you to create bookmarks and have a reading history, you know?

#virgil rambles #toradeen #letters from lainey

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gaygryffindorgal · 4 months

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A Christmas Prince; The Royal Wedding

Chapter 1: Back to Alderly

Summary: It's been a year since Dawn helped Quincey keep his throne. Now the pair's wedding is fast approaching, but unrest is stirring both in Alderly and in the personal lives of our heroes...

A/N: The second installment in the movie trilogy makes even less sense plot-wise than the first but Annie and I wanted to try our hand in this anyway. I expect this one will be a little shorter than the first fic was, because I'm cutting the stupidest parts from the movie script entirely, lol.

Words: 3k

Characters:

Dawn and Evan Harvelle @potionboy3

Quincey, Olympia, and Isabella Alderly

Tess Brandon

Lainey Bell by @gcldensnitch

Beginning | Next Chapter

Want to read the first fic in the series, A Christmas Prince? Click here!

Chapter 1: Back to Alderly

Dawn’s Blog, December 15th

Post title: Big Event!

Dear all, It's been three hundred forty-nine days, eleven hours, twenty-three minutes, and seven seconds since I said “yes” to the love of my life, Quentin Christian Alexander, King of Alderly. But who's counting? Other than me and millions of people around the world. Needless to say, it's been a whirlwind year. There's been a lot of back and forth between Bristol and Alderly. The long-distance engagement hasn't always been easy, but it's always been interesting. Somehow through all this insanity, I'm still me. Even though I'm about to become royalty of a small country. Thank you for all your love and support this past year. Sharing my writing with all of you means more than you'll ever know. I promise to keep you posted on all my adventures to come, especially our wedding on Christmas day in Alderly.

“What’s with the sunglasses?” asked Evan Harvelle when he, Dawn, and Dawn’s aunt Teresa exited the airport.

“We’re in disguise, dad,” Dawn explained.

“You’d think that they would send someone to escort the future prince consort,” Evan mused quietly. The airport was bustling, as usual. Alderly’s tourism had seen unprecedented growth since Dawn and Quincey’s engagement announcement. Of course, there were also those that firmly opposed the marriage, but Dawn felt like nothing could dampen his spirits.

“I think they did,” said Tess, pointing towards a line of cars heading towards them.

“Oh, they’ve sent the royal motorcade,” said Dawn, surprised.

“Did you think they were going to make you take a taxi?” joked Tess.

“I mean we took one to the airport back in England so...”

The motorcade naturally drew people’s attention, and it wasn’t long until someone shouted: “Look, it’s Dawn Harvelle!” Several faces turned to look at them and Dawn and his family surely would have been swarmed, had the royal chauffeurs not managed to get to them and escort them to the car. As Dawn was about to get in, a reporter approached him through the crowd.

“Mr. Harvelle, any comment on the King’s new initiative? Will it affect the wedding?” she asked, thrusting her recording device towards Dawn. He had been prepared for this.

“I’m very happy to be back in Alderly,” he said. “And excited for the wedding, and Christmas of course.”

The reported didn’t look pleased with Dawn’s reply but before she could ask anything more, Dawn was ushered into the car.

“That was intense,” said Tess. She was already sat in the limo looking a bit hackled. Tess was Dawn’s mother’s sister and only five years older than him. Dawn had asked her to join them, since the two were quite close, especially since the passing of his mum.

“Are you okay?” asked Evan.

“Yeah…”

“What was that initiative that reporter was talking about?” his dad continued.

“I…” Dawn paused. “Actually, I don't know the details. I’ve been so busy I’ve barely managed to catch up with Quincey in weeks.”

“I can’t believe you’re going to be living in here,” said Tess, peering out the window.

“That makes two of us,” said Dawn.

“Three,” corrected Evan. “When you shipped off all your stuff here, it was one thing, but now…”

He looked a bit stricken and Dawn had to admit that his own chest felt suddenly tighter, too.

“Dad, I’m going to come visit Bristol all the time,” said Dawn. “And you can come here anytime you want. Remember, they’re making you a count or something.”

Every time Dawn thought about his father as a count, he felt the urge to giggle. Evan Harvelle was the most normal man in the world. Not to mention it would be infinitely amusing to have both Count Evan and Count Evander.

The motorcade weaved its way through the city. There was snow everywhere, because of course there was, and when the palace first showed up behind the snow-covered treetops, Tess actually audibly gasped.

“Not bad, huh?” asked Dawn.

“You’re so posh now,” she teased.

They all filed out and headed inside. Dawn was expecting to see a certain face among the welcome committee, but Quincey was conspicuously absent. Instead, he was greeted by Queen Isabella and Olympia, the latter of whom immediately wrapped him into a big hug.

“Dawn!” she exclaimed. “I’m so happy to see you again!”

Dawn hugged her back. “Damn right,” he said. “I missed you.”

Olympia let go of him and smiled.

“This is my dad, Evan,” said Dawn.

“Your majesty, your highness,” said Evan, only a little clumsily.

“And this is Tess, my aunt.”

Tess echoes his dad’s formalities.

“It’s nice to meet you both,” said Olympia and Queen Isabella nodded. She didn’t seem openly hostile, but Dawn could tell she wasn’t happy about how everything had turned out.

“Mr. Harvelle, welcome back to Alderly,” said the queen. “And I’m most pleased to meet you both.”

“And you,” Tess said with a smile. Isabella regarded her for a moment. Tess was dressed in her usual manner in a flowy, colourful dress and knee-high boots. It was quite the contrast to Isabella’s prim and proper pantsuit and immaculate bun. If Tess noticed the queen rating her outfit quite low on the scale of 0 to 10, she gave no indication.

Behind the royal family members was Dawn’s old friend, Miss Pince.

“Pince!” he said when the introductions were out of the way. “How are you? Has it been awfully boring here without me?”

“It has been quiet, Mr. Harvelle,” Pince replied, and it was quite evident she had vastly preferred it. “And I have been promoted to the head of Palace Office of Press and Protocol.”

“Oh, sweet,” said Dawn. He wasn’t exactly sure sweet was the right word, though.

“Come on, I’ll show you to your rooms,” Olympia said cheerily.

“That is hardly appropriate,” said Pince.

“Oh, Irma please, let it go,” said Olympia and headed towards the stairs. Pince sighed. Dawn, Evan and Tess followed the princess.

“See you all at the reception,” the queen called after them.

Dawn almost choked of laughter when Olympia announced loudly that he was to have the bridal suite until the wedding. He then also understood why Olympia had wanted to take him personally. They’d left his dad and Tess to settle into their own rooms.

“Pince did this on purpose,” said Dawn, more amused than anything.

“Oh Dawnie, it’s tradition, it’s protocol,” Olympia laughed.

“It’s very… frilly,” he noted. “And pink.”

“Nothing wrong with a little pink,” said Olympia, a known appreciator of pink.

“I love pink,” said Dawn, who didn’t really have a strong opinion for or against.

“I had hoped I could simply share a room with my fiancé.”

“That’s entirely impossible, and worst of all, common.”

“Where is he, by the way?” Dawn asked.

“He’s been busy with all kinds of kingly duties,” Olympia explained. “I’ve barely seen him, and I live with him.”

Dawn couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy with this new information.

“But I’ll let you settle in now, you must be exhausted,” Olympia said. “We must catch up as soon as possible though, I have so much to tell you.”

“Of course, thank you O.”

Once left alone, Dawn looked around the room. It looked straight out of one of those early 2000s animated Barbie movies. On one of the nightstands Dawn noticed a note, written on familiar hand. He took the paper and read:

“To my love, with all my heart.

From this day forth,

we shall not be apart.

Poetry can be a challenging art.

If not yet mastered, here's a start.”

He couldn’t help but laugh at the corny little poem, when a voice from the door behind him said: “It’s a limerick. Of sorts,” said Quincey.

Bad limericks be damned, Dawn all but ran to hug him.

“Sorry I wasn’t there to greet you,” said Quincey, hugging him back. “I had to finish my poem.”

“Next time, maybe you could forgo poetry and come greet me instead?” Dawn suggested.

“Hey,” Quincey protested. “It wasn’t that bad, was it?”

“Yes. It most definitely was.”

Quincey laughed and Dawn kissed his stupid face.

“I can’t believe this is finally happening,” Quincey said.

“You’re telling me,” Dawn laughed. “A year ago, I was working a shitty job in Bristol, worrying about writing an article about a ridiculous playboy prince.”

“Ridiculous, maybe,” Quincey mused. “Definitely not a playboy.”

“I guess that’s true–,”

Dawn’s sentence was cut short, when Quincey’s new equerry showed up at the door.

“Excuse me, Your Majesty,” she said.

“What is it, Lainey?” asked Quincey.

“An urgent call from the Minister for Economic Affairs and the Prime Minister,” the equerry said, eyeing the both of them. She seemed to be around the same age as Quincey, with her blonde hair up on a ponytail and a tablet in her hand.

Quincey sighed. “Can’t it wait?”

“I’m afraid they insist.”

Quincey turned back to Dawn. “I must take this. We'll have more time this evening at the reception.”

He kissed Dawn’s cheek quickly and followed Lainey out the door. Dawn sat on his bed and dug out his phone. He typed in a message to the group chat he had with his friends: just saw my husband-to-be for the first time in months for all of 5 minutes.

Not long after came a reply from Jimmy: abolish the monarchy.

Two hours later Dawn had unpacked his meager little bag (most of his other belongings had been handled earlier by palace employees) and gotten ready for the reception. It was to be a party of importance, with government officials and foreign ambassadors. The thought might have spooked Dawn once, but now he was slightly better prepared. He met up with Quincey before the double doors that lead to the banquet hall.

“Hi,” said Quincey in a low voice.

“Hi,” Dawn replied. Quincey offered his arm and Dawn took it.

“Ready for this?” asked Quincey.

“As I’ll ever be.”

The doors were opened, and the pair entered, with a herald calling out: “My lords, ladies, and gentlemen; King Quentin and the guest of honour; the future Prince Dawn!”

As they entered, at least fifty pairs of eyes turned to look, among them the prime minister but most of the faces completely unknown to Dawn. He hadn’t had any official duties as a royal spouse yet, as their circumstances were rather unusual, and Quincey’s advisors felt it was best to move slowly and respect traditions. Dawn didn’t want to cause any more trouble than he already had but he wasn’t sure how much tradition and protocol he was going to be able to handle without complaint.

“Oh wow, this is–,” he started but suddenly a man in an expensive looking suit and a serious look on his face appeared and whispered something to Quincey.

“Dawn, find Olympia, I’ll get away as soon as I can,” he said as the man whisked him away and Dawn was left standing alone in the middle of the room, feeling more awkward by the second. He was approached by several people with greetings and congratulations, he recognized the Minister of Internal Affairs, as well as Magister Malinda, but some he only pretended to recognize, as he had been advised to do.

“Mr. Harvelle, here,” said the queen’s voice to his left and Isabella introduced him to some more dignitaries, such as ambassadors from Penglia and a president of the Council of Women in Alderly.

“I should go save Quiney…” Dawn mused as he saw him still talking, or rather, arguing with the same man.

“Best, I think, to leave him to it,” said the queen.

“What’s going on?” asked Dawn.

“Nothing you need to concern yourself with,” Isabella simply said. “You should focus on the wedding. Most of it is well in hand but Quentin insisted we leave some breathing room for you, despite the short notice.”

And the Queen's objection, Dawn thought but only said: “Well, that’s nice."

He had pretty much resigned himself to having no say at all with the wedding.

“To that end, I have hired a wedding planner to help you.”

“What?”

“A wedding designer, Your Majesty, but yes,” a woman said, walking up to them.

Dawn recognized her. Rosa Yaxley, the girl who had been briefly engaged to Count Evander, Quincey’s throne-stealing cousin.

“You’re a wedding designer?” Dawn asked.

“Yes, and now I’m here to help,” she said, though Dawn couldn’t be sure if she was all too happy about this prospect. “I hope there’s no bad blood between us?”

Dawn looked from Rosa to the Queen and back again and then said with a note of humour in his voice: “Well, if her Majesty found it in her heart to forgive you, then I suppose so can I.”

Rosa smiled. “Glad to hear it Mr. Harvelle. We’ll get to work tomorrow.”

Dawn finally found Olympia, chatting with his dad of all people.

“Well Dawn and I call them meat jelly, they’re pretty gross,” Olympia was saying to Evan, who examined a suspicious looking block of meat that a passing waiter had offered to him.

“Don’t eat that, dad,” said Dawn.

“Thanks for the tip, kiddo,” Evan said and deposited the meat jelly on a nearby table.

“Oh, Dawn, I was just telling your father about how I’m part of organizing a charity event!”

“You are?”

“It’s a play,” Olympia continued. “The Tale of Princess Froon, an Alderlian folk tale. I was asked to play the titular role to draw in the high society crowd.”

“Oh my god,” said Dawn.

“Hey, it’s a beautiful tale,” said Olympia with a grin.

“Oh, I’m sure.”

“Anyway, all the proceeds will go to helping those affected by the current depression.”

Dawn had read the newspapers, of course, and knew of the rather terrible financial situation in Alderly. “That sounds pretty awesome,” he told Olympia.

“I’d sure like to see some Alderlian culture in play,” said Evan.

“You’re most heartily invited, Mr. Harvelle,” said Olympia.

“Isn’t this the one where Princess Froon gives Santa his magic powers?” asked Dawn. He remembered Quincey talking about it last year.

“Yes, just the one.”

“Oh, I can’t wait.”

A tap on his shoulder made Dawn turn around, ending up face to face with Miss Pince.

“In my new capacity as the head of Palace Office of Press and Protocol, I’d like to have a word with you.”

“Of course,” said Dawn. “See you later dad, Olympia.”

Olympia gave him a thumbs up, as Dawn followed Pince to a less crowded area.

Once they were safely out of earshot of any visiting dignitaries, Pince said: “It's clear that you've had a very laissez-faire attitude concerning your image over the past year; magazines, television, blogs…”

“Blogs, that's what I do for a living,” said Dawn. Ever since his successful article about Quincey, he had run a blog focused on his journey into learning all about Alderlian politics, customs, and of course, details about his own personal life all mixed into a neat little package. He was quite proud of it. “I’m a professional write–,”

Pince interrupted him: “But now that you're a part of the royal family, we must be careful of the image that you project. Consider me your protector.”

Dawn wasn’t a fan of where this conversation was headed. “Look, Miss Pince, I know that my life is about to change in a major way, but I’m not going to quit my job.”

“The goal is to see you and the crown in the best possible light.”

Dawn sighed, and said: “Well, nothing shines quite like the truth, right?”

“I'm glad we see eye-to-eye. Please wait here and I'll have the King and you pose for the photographs.”

After their photo-op, Quincey led Dawn out of one of the doors lining up the outer wall into a beautiful little courtyard.

“Irma didn’t give you too much trouble, did she?” he asked.

“Just wants me to delete my blog,” said Dawn.

“Yes, we’ve had words about that before,” Quincey said. “She’s just passionate about protecting the image of the royal family. She feels like it is needed now more than ever, when we’re already breaking about a dozen ancient customs just by being together.”

“I know,” said Dawn and took Quincey’s hands in his. “It’s important to project an image of continuity even through this massive change.”

“Yes.”

“Has it been difficult?” Dawn asked.

“Well, not everyone is as on board with a gay monarch as I had hoped but it was to be expected. I can’t change people’s decades held beliefs overnight, but I know I can make a change over time.”

“You’re doing a great job,” said Dawn.

Quincey smiled, but it was a tight smile. He was hiding something, but Dawn didn’t feel like pestering him about it tonight. He was exhausted too.

“You have a new equerry,” Dawn noted.

“Oh, yes, her name’s Lainey Bell,” Quincey replied. “We met in uni. She’s about the only thing keeping me afloat right now.”

Dawn gave him a look and Quincey laughed. “Aside from my everlasting love for you, of course.”

“We should get a Christmas tree up in here,” Dawn just said, observing the tree-less courtyard.

“Oh, a good idea!”

“We could go look for one tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow’s no good, I’m going to town to give a speech.”

“What kind of speech?” asked Dawn.

“Well, you know how I’ve been trying to implement the initiative to bring Alderly into the 21st century? Strengthening infrastructure, schools, tech…”

“It's smart.”

“That's what I thought but instead of strengthening the economy, the country is bleeding money,” Quincey explained. “And nobody can tell me why.”

Dawn frowned. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Do you know any genius economists?”

“I can’t say that I do.”

“I’m having a meeting on Friday, trying to figure this out. Something’s not right.”

“Can I come?”

“I would really appreciate it if you did.”

Dawn smiled and squeezed his hands. “We will figure this out.”

“I hope you’re right,” Quincey said. “But I also have a feeling like Irma and Miss Yaxley are going to keep you quite busy with the wedding preparations.”

“Oh, for cock’s sake…”

tag list: @lifeofkaze

(ask if you want to be included or removed)

#fic: the royal wedding #a christmas prince au #dawn harvelle #quincey alderly #dawncey #here we are girls and gays!!!#*my writing #yes dawn's blog is called 'dawn's blog'#*tess is FIVE years older than dawn NOT FOUR #i can't count

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thethistlegirl · 1 year

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Character Playlists Masterpost

So I have a thing whenever I get into a new fandom about finding songs that match the characters. I have...a few different current ones, as might be rather evident, so I'm going to make a list of songs I associate with the characters! If I've made an edit already associated with that song I'll link it to the song title. And this is going to get YouTube playlists made specifically for each one (Right now they're all jumbled in one big playlist called 'Write Things Heather', yes I am passive aggressive to myself in playlist naming) that I'll link to the character name!

Bill Cage (Edge of Tomorrow):

How Far We’ve Come - Matchbox Twenty

I Melt With You - Modern English

Must Have Done Something Right - Relient K

Joan of Arc - Arcade Fire

Love Don’t Die - The Fray

Sugar You - Oh Honey

The Proof of Your Love - For King and Country

Star Sky - Two Steps from Hell

Spin - Lifehouse

Meet Me on the Battlefield - SVRCINA

Ethan Hunt (Mission Impossible):

Touch - Sleeping at Last

Let Her Go - Passenger

Renegades - X Ambassadors

On Top of the World - Imagine Dragons

Carry On - Fun

Flares - The Script

Eight - Sleeping at Last

Back in Black - AC/DC

Jack Reacher:

Mercury - Sleeping at Last

Take it Easy - The Eagles

Bless the Broken Road - Rascal Flatts

Desperado - The Eagles - Fic: All Your Highs and Lows

Heart Like a Truck - Lainey Wilson

Ramble On - Led Zeppelin

Fast Car - Tracy Chapman

Life is a Highway - Rascal Flatts

Here I Go Again - Whitesnake

Heads Carolina, Tails California - Jo Dee Messina

Still the Same - Bob Seger

May I Miss You - Family of the Year

Hit the Road Jack - Ray Charles

Wait in the Truck - Hardy

Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day - Fic: My Shallow Heart's the Only Thing That's Beating

Devil's Backbone - The Civil Wars

Broken - Lifehouse

Hero - Family of the Year

Oh What a Life - American Authors

Jack Harper:

Nine - Sleeping at Last

Earth - Sleeping at Last

Pluto - Sleeping at Last

You Wouldn’t Like Me - Sleeping at Last

Rocketman - Elton John

(Why all my Jack Harper songs are Sleeping at Last I have no idea other than that the whole band's sound just basically has Oblivion vibes-edit: now it's just most of them)

(Edit 2, I got sucked into DC Titans and have feelings about Hank so have another playlist...)

Hawk & Dove:

Shadows of the Night - Pat Benetar

Kids in America - Kim Wilde

Brighter Days - Blessing Offor

Battlefield - Jordin Sparks

21 Guns - Green Day

And if you want a feel for what my playlist for Top Gun and Maverick would be, go check out @nade2308 's gifsets because the song vibes are ALWAYS spot on!

note: @malewifebillcage I blame you entirely for how many times I listen to a song and go "oh no it's Bill and Rita"

#edge of tomorrow #bill cage #mission impossible #ethan hunt #jack reacher #jack harper #oblivion #oblivion 2013 #dc titans #hank hall #dawn granger #character playlists #playlist

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lurkingshan · 1 year

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Inspired by @waitmyturtles and @nieves-de-sugui, sharing my journey through BL! Putting this under a read more because I really found a lot of words on this topic. Feel free to skim at will - now that you got me going I have a lot to say!

First, a bit of background. Three big interests of mine really converged to make BL kind of a perfect storm for me:

Romance: I have been an avid consumer of romance stories as far as back as I can remember. When I was a kid I would read several books a week and before I even hit my tween years I always gravitated to the romance genre. Add in film and television and it's safe to say I haven't gone a week of my life without consuming some form of a story about two people falling in love. It is absolutely my shit.

Asian dramas: More recent but no less intense an obsession for me. I watched my first kdrama in 2019 - my favorite gossip blogger (shoutout to Lainey) was constantly posting about a drama on Netflix (It's Okay Not to Be Okay). So I decided to try it out and I instantly fell in love. Kdramas are written nearly exclusively by women, they respect romance as a genre, and they cater to female audiences. It was unlike anything I ever experienced watching Western media. I started watching them more frequently, then when the pandemic hit I found myself with a ton of time at home and a fun new focus issue, and watching dramas with subtitles was a huge help.

Fandom: Since I was a teen I was always kind of hopping in and around internet fandom. When I like something, I like to enjoy it with others and find community around shared interests. And when I'm frustrated with media, I really like to dig into that and explore ways to fix it, so I became an avid fanfic reader, as well. Fandom to fandom my level of involvement varied - sometimes I just lurk around fandom spaces, sometimes I actually develop a presence, and in one instance I even got deeply involved in a fandom community to the point where I was posting meta, writing fic, and leading fan activities.

ANYWAY, after that long preamble, I come to the point: Because I was so into kdramas, and had watched/read a lot of Western QL romances, when I saw Where Your Eyes Linger pop up on my Viki recommendations I clicked on it. I liked it, and immediately wanted to understand more about it, because it was the first kdrama I had ever seen with a same sex pairing, and the format was so different. So I did a bit of research, and that was the first time I ever heard of BL. I was a little mind blown - there's a whole genre of QL romances in Asia??? So of course I set out to find more. I did a general search and the first thing I found was 2gether. This was June of 2021, so it was already about a year following the initial frenzy of that show, but it was still hugely popular and there was fan content about it everywhere. So I journeyed to YouTube to watch it, and that was my introduction to Thai BL and the wider genre.

From there I started looking for guidance on what to watch, and because of my time in various fandoms tumblr was always a go-to place where I knew I could find other people watching whatever obscure thing I was into. I found @absolutebl quickly and started reading their history and analysis posts on the genre. That was when it really sunk in for me how much culture and history there was to dig into, and I was really intrigued by the different styles and industries of each country. So I started working my way through their lists of the top 10 BLs from each country and it all just kind of spiraled from there.

I will not go into detail about every show I watched, but a few highlights:

TharnType: This was the first high heat BL I ever saw, and because I came over from kdramas, the first high heat Asian show I had seen, period. This show is messy and the writing was a hilarious hodgepodge of strong character work alongside absurd plotting and what I came to learn was typical Mame problematic content, but the chemistry between the leads was off the charts. It really set the bar for me in that respect, and got me looking for other examples (which at that time were mostly from Taiwan).

Theory of Love: This one inspires mixed opinions in fandom, but for me it was the first time I realized a Thai BL could not only be fun, but also good (no disrespect to other early Thai BLs but... yeah lol). There was a coherent emotional narrative arc! Smart story structure! Believable character development and earned redemption! Good actors! This one set me on a path to find the good stuff.

I Told Sunset About You: Which led me to ITSAY, the drama that convinced me BL could also be high cinema and art. This show blew me way, honestly. And got me more interested in finding the other more cinematic entries in the genre, which I mostly found from Japan.

The Untamed: When I saw this one on the list for China, I was like wait why have I heard of that? The Untamed/Mo Dao Zu Shi is one of those fandoms that is so big and ubiquitous, anyone who spends time online will have heard of it long before they know what it actually is. This show opened up a bunch of new fixations for me - a new all-time fav character, an introduction to cdramas and the xianxia/wuxia genres, and the discovery of Chinese web novels. It's a very expansive universe with a lot going on outside the romance, unlike most BLs. Which I guess can be good or bad, depending on your perspective.

Bad Buddy + Semantic Error: These are the shows I credit for fully sucking me into the BL fandom on tumblr. Before BB aired, I was just kind of lurking about (it’s right there in the handle, fam) checking a few blogs periodically for recommendations and watching shows at my own pace. But BB and then SE caused such a frenzy that I decided to start watching them live and checking tumblr every week for reactions. I found more excellent blogs (like @bengiyo @negrowhat @laowen @liyazaki) that were posting not only BB and SE content but also commentary about other shows. Eventually I gave in and created a new tumblr account so I could actually follow them instead of going to their blogs on web browser like a weirdo, and my participation in fandom escalated predictably from there.

By early 2022 I had pretty much caught up on most of the history of the genre (though not everything - I refuse to watch Waterboyyy, I do have some standards) and developed a fairly solid understanding of the cultural context around it. I then started trying to keep up with new shows. As a cishet, it wasn’t the thrill of representation that drew me into the genre as much as the thrill of finding a genre that brought together so many of my favorite things, combined with the excitement of seeing the community grow and getting the chance to learn so much from the brilliant people who were watching these shows. Checking reactions to airing shows became a weekly habit, and my watchlist kept getting longer and longer. I learned about which platforms I should be watching on and where to direct my $$ to support the genre. And I heard about so many shows I never would have known existed without this community.

So that’s me! If you made it to the end of this post you are a true champion. Thanks for inviting the conversation @waitmyturtles - it was fun to reflect!

#shan’s journey through BL #more than anyone wanted to know #shan shouts into the void

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janfraiser · 8 months

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'I Miss Who I Used To Be' is so beautiful for its insights into the siblings relationship and, perhaps more special to me, Shiv's love for Genevieve. Reading that made it clear why she would go on to be a mama of three precious little girls. Do you have any specific headcanons for Gen, Lainey, and Marla?

thank you so much anon you're gonna make me cry 🥺

sorry it's been a moment since you sent this, I've been traveling and busy with other irl things. but yes, I do in fact have many many headcanons for the tiny Roys that live in my head! under a cut because these got longggg

Gen and Lainey are both nicknames. Gen's full name is Genevieve Siobhan Roy and Lainey's is Elaine Cambridge Roy. Along those lines, Marla's middle name is Ettalie 💗

There's just about a three year gap between both Gen and Lainey and Lainey and Marla, which speaks to the amount of time it takes for Shiv to agree to Tom's nagging just to shut him up oop

Marla's birthday is on Valentine's Day. somehow Tom cannot for the life of him remember both the holiday and his daughter's birthday. From the time she turns one onward he always forgets one or the other so Shiv is Always pissed off

this definitely does not impact Marla's young psyche At All /s

(usually as soon as she opens presents she and Gen and Lainey run off to play with them in the playroom or another place they know their parents are unlikely to follow. Marla is only seven or eight when she ends up too overwhelmed and crying on Karolina's lap while Karolina explains that her mother is only upset because she loves her)

despite the age gaps, the three girls are usually pretty close. Shiv, determined not to be Logan, always welcomes the girls wherever she is. this has the opposite effect and usually ends up with the three of them getting into mischief around Waystar

one time Gen tells a man who owns a company Waystar/GoJo is trying to buy exactly what she thinks of him when left unsupervised at a dinner party

(she's not even ten. she's absolutely parroting what Shiv says behind closed doors)

Gen is a mini-Shiv, right down to the hair

Lainey is quieter and more content to follow her sisters around because she always needs to be included in everything. she's a nosy little thing 💗 the first of the girls to find out exactly Why Karolina is always around thanks to her overdeveloped sense of curiosity

Marla is the Baby bc when she's born Shiv knows she's done so she def coddles her. Marla is absolutely spoiled AF but like. not a brat because she's so spoiled that she literally always gets what she wants so she doesn't even have the space to react badly to 'no'

i have so many headcanons about these three from birth all the way through adulthood so like. send more asks if you wanna hear something specific! you might even make me write a fic 👀

#succession #shiv roy #The Shivlings #oc: genevieve roy #oc: lainey roy #oc: marla roy #shivlina #(i had to sneak some in there)#tomshiv #mom!shiv is so beloved it me...#trying her hardest to break the cycle!!

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pjunicornart · 7 months

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October Plans

So for October I've decided to do my own little day to day thing like Inktober. I have made "Songtober".

Basically I have chosen 31 songs to inspire me to write one shots for AO3. I was originally gonna do all horror based songs, but then I realized it would be more interesting if I didn't. I'll be writing for the Meet the Robinsons fandom, and hey... If I feel like this is something I can continue to do, I'll write for another fandom next year.

The songs are: 1. MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT by Loveless 2. Like The Movies by Laufey 3. ANTONYMPH by Vylet Pony 4. space girl by Frances Forever 5. Glitter by Benee 6. Patchwork Staccato by toa 7. dumb dumb by mazie 8. Heart Shaped Bed by Nicole Dollanganger 9. rises the moon by Liana Flores 10. Butterfly's Repose by Zabawa 11. Coffee Baby by Nataly Dawn 12. Dance in the Living Room by NVTHVN, Park Bird, Ok2222, and Forrest. 13. Binu by BiBi 14. summer depression by girl in red 15. 1980s Horror Film by Wallows 16. Anxiety Angel by Elita 17. I'd Rather Sleep by Kero Kero Bonito 18. Raincoat by Studio Killers 19. Toothbrush by DNCE 20. FAERIE SOIREE by Melanie Martinez 21. Come Here by Sabrina Claudio 22. More Than a Friend by girli 23. Alone by Lund 24. warm nights in tokyo by Yusei 25. Off the Wall by Chenayder 26. Brain Soup by Nasty Cherry 27. Cruel by Mercy Necromancy 28. My Room by Forrest. 29. La La Lainey by Forever the Sickest Kids 30. Saccharine by Jazmin Bean 31. O.D.D. by Hey Violet

If you wanna partake in this too - whether it be writing fics as well or drawing - go ahead. I don't really care, lol. You can do this for any fandom, I'm just doing Meet the Robinsons because we need more MtR content in the world.

@ me if you do actually do this, I'd like to see that.

#rosey rambles #meet the robinsons #ao3 #ao3 fanfic #fanfiction #songtober

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whoslaurapalmer · 2 months

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okay so, lindsay lohan was on the tonight show with jimmy fallon, but more importantly, she did a parent trap skit to announce her guest star status, which led me to rereading your parent trap au, and well, here i am to sing your praises — ahhhhhh i adore it !! it’s so good. better than oreos good. the dynamics between so many different characters, dynamics that you’re able to explore !! not constrained by canon !! (three favorites : the standouts, kit and bernadette 💕, and bertrand and klaus, but specifically when klaus is really violet, AND THE ATLAS, and then there’s something so sweet and lovely about b,r, and o as a trio and i love them omg) but also stay true to their original characterizations. i always like how you write lemony, your voice for him fits just right, like a favorite pair of shoes, but he’s particularly good in this. i love the image of him in a theater, doing a book reading. it’s so mr snicket. and b and b and l ??? all together ??? the candy grams ??! the censored candy grams ?!!? iconic. i love how bertrand couldn’t be as horrid as meredith blake, so there’s no other way but a happy ending, and i love how violet and klaus would accept nothing less. i love how it is bits and pieces and asides, it feels right, like a scrapbook of the summer their parents got together, and stayed that way. 💕 lovely work all around !!!

awww thank you lainey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i always love hearing about people rereading parent trap au 💖💖 any fic. all of my fic. but especially parent trap au. it warms my heart. my soul. i gain many levels of power when people want to talk about parent trap au. it is so silly and so so precious to me and was such a rambling whim and is so unstructured but so many people have seen the heart i wanted in it. yes i DID just watch it again the other day. i love that people still find it as delightful as i hoped!! and oh that skit was fun!!

i am always very very proud of how i made bernadette in this alt universe 💖 i always think i did a great job there and no regrets at all on the most cryptic, most determined little bean. and getting to write kit as a mother....................

THE ATLAS IS A PARTICULAR FAVORITE OF MINE TOO i love the intent behind the atlas. bertrand just wants to be considerate and respectful of his girlfriend's small child. i love how violet is impressed. i love how you could kill a man with it. i myself like to look at heavy objects and wonder if you could, in fact, kill a man with it. also it's really funny that bea shares the sentiment. anyway i was imagining it as like, a deep navy blue with gold and silver???? like in little sparkly sections on the cover but also the pages!!!! with fancy borders and shiny spots and just. fun maps.

i do have regrets that ramona and olivia kind of drop out of the fic at the end bc they're so good and deserve to be part of this family still, i just couldn't imagine them leaving california. maybe they visit, though......and honestly the three of them raising klaus was something i did NOT do enough with. or ramona's mother. or olivia's eclairs!!!!!!!! klaus should've brought some of the eclairs anyway. packed them with a couple ice packs so they'd keep. eat them the first night of camp, in the dead of night, joyously.

i frequently and fondly think of 'they censored my loving sonnet about your ass but they still sent it!' with bea's candygram. teenagers with candygrams is such a hilarious mess. just, the commitment. the shenanigans. it's delightful and deeply embarrassing to look back on.

lemony is one of my favorite povs to do and i don't really like to say that he comes very easily to me bc. i mean, uh, technically, at the end of the day, he is not mine, and i will of course never get the perfect lemony voice that danhan has (and actually when i'm not in his head i struggle a lot to get his dialogue right) but i do think i do a very good lemony voice and he is one of the easiest character voices for me to write (bc he has a structure! he has a vibe! you know where you stand with him!!!!! you get to do neat things in his narration!!!!) and he's very fun to do. characterization is something that, AS ALWAYS i say this so much but god it's just always very big on my mind, i work very hard on and stress a lot about, especially on the occasion i Do Stray A Little Far From Canon, and it's something i am very critical about, so when people think i do it well it's very 💖💖

also i frequently and fondly think of 'haircuts are things that happen, at one time or another, to all of us.' speaking of lemony. god what a guy.

oh i LOVE the idea of it feeling like a scrapbook oh that's so perfect!!!!! what a homey and cozy thought!!!!!! like the pictures of nick and elizabeth's wedding in the credits.......oh i love it so much. violet and klaus put the taped-up wedding photo at the beginning of the book and then at the end is the new lemonberry ice wedding photo. although i don't actually really like the wedding gown elizabeth designs in the movie that has the photo shoot, bea is DEFINITELY at least wearing that veil/top hat combo in the new photo. that's so her vibe. it's an outside summer wedding. color scheme is lots of reds and pinks.......lemony and bertrand both wear white. bea's dress has a red waist ribbon. oooo wait or maybe it's one of those dresses with all the embroidered flowers all over??? i love those kinds of wedding dresses. bertrand cries through the whole thing. kit actually, genuinely cries too, once.

#THANK YOU AGAIN IT MEANS THE WORLD TO HEAR THIS ESPECIALLY ON MY TERRIBLE NO GOOD VERY BAD EYE DAY it does not really hurt now so. yay. :)#i didn't mean to like. spout more thoughts but i somehow always have parent trap au thoughts. and i always go 'i must return nice words #with more of my thoughts...................' idk. there's really so much IN parent trap au. so much. so many ideas so many stories. so much

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hopefulrefrain · 11 months

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thank you for the tag, @stierhai! And now I'm tagging... @drmajalis @iaiamothrafhtagn @ailelie @promisedfall i forget who else writes here (also include your origfic if you have it and want to!!)

Rules: Share the first line of ten of your most recent (fan)fics (or origfic) and then tag ten people. Don't have ten? Not to worry, just share what you have.

I found Lainey smoking on the remains of the southern parapet—more or less what I expected. (Goodbye to Wizard School, "Original Work," T)

Liza could say that she more than suspects Basilisk (who is Desolation, who is her girlfriend) is trying not to get into the "trying to destroy Old Molder" thing. (Wicked Action, Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine, E)

"I almost didn't recognize you," she says, finally, breaking the long silence between the two of you—now that Theresa's gone on ahead to the war room. (Not Even Into Another Eternity, Arknights, M)

The thing about mirror magic is that it must always be balanced. (Unbalanced, Discworld, G)

“I’m going to need to speak to your guardian,” was, theoretically, a simple request. (It Takes a Village, Arknights, G)

Shiho taps her foot to a beat that's just in her head; she can feel the music in her bones. (Metronome, Project Sekai, G)

Estelle was starting to think (not for the first time, not for the last) that maybe she'd made a mistake, standing in the dressing room behind the thin fabric curtain, looking at an intimidatingly-large pile of outfits that had been thrust into her arms. (Coronation, Arknights, G)

There is something wrong tonight and Yelena knows it. (Fire's Found a Home in Me, Arknights, E PLEASE MIND THE TAGS)

Kal'tsit, in spite of herself, can't help but look a little exasperated. (King and Lionheart, Arknights, E)

The kidnapping became awkward very quickly. (Paradox of the Arrow, Arknights, G)

#fanfic #ao3 #writing meme #arknights #cmwge #discworld #project sekai

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queen-of-boops · 1 year

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Couldn't sleep last night and whipped together this short fic for this month's reddit prompt: write a soulmate fic.

Summary: Lainey has always been different. She has no soulmate tattoo, no person she's meant to be with forever. Which just makes it even harder when she meets the person who's everything she's always wanted.

Pairing: Tai x MC

Word Count: 1864

Rating: Teen

Read on ao3.

Tag List: @0shewrites0 @future-mrs-suresh @kunepie (let me know if you want to be added!)

#litg #litg ff #litg fanfic #litg fanfics #litg fanfiction #litg tai #love island the game #love island the game tai #litg reddit prompt

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kopfkino-o · 1 year

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The Seer’s Stone: An Fanfic Preview

Hi friends! I’ve been working towards writing my own fantasy series for nearly two years now, but have found fanfiction to be such an amazing outlet for growing myself as a writer and am so so excited to share some experts from my upcoming Elriel fanfaction I’ve been working on! It’s very much still in the works but I’m so stoked about it so I wanted to share some of my favorite experts. I hope to have some of the first few chapters out ahead of Elriel week, buuuut I’m a super slow writer so please be patient if you care to follow along!

(PSA: This if my first fic I’m publishing and always want to grow in my work so please feel free to give me any suggestions, editing tips, etc etc. I love constructive criticism)

Thank you for taking the time to read!

Summary: Elain Archeron is tired of being the “lovely, sweet gardener” everyone wants her to be. After losing her beloved, her humanity, her life, she’s ready to claim her own path forward with the help of her friends, Nuala and Cerridwen, as she searches far and wide for the mysterious Seer’s Stone: an ancient artifact of old rumored to once belong to an ancient Seer Queen. But will fate itself step in to stop her? Or will Elain defy the strings of destiny that bind her and forge her own path forward, choosing her own fate, friendships, future, and love, along the way.

Word Count: 711

Timeline: Post-ACOSF

Pairing: Elain x Azriel (with Lucien x Vassa hints)

I. (From Chapter One)

Elain Archeron slipped down the back alleys and side streets of Velaris on silent feet, the pale sliver of moon the only witness to her midnight movements, the low hum of summer insects her only companions. The scrying stones in her pocket rattled softly with each step and her newly acquired dagger–a gift from the twins–wrapped gently against her hip.

Nesta would freak out if she ever saw me with these, Elain thought to herself as she followed the flow of the Sidra through the city. Feyre and Rhys too.

A pang of guilt bloomed in her chest.

The dagger was one thing, but her being out, alone, at this hour was a whole other. Especially when both her sisters no doubt expected her to be back at the Riverhouse, tucked safely in bed.

She knew it was wrong to keep this new part of her life from them, but something stopped her each time Elain considered telling Nesta or Feyre about her evening. Whether it was her better judgment, or simple commonsense, Elain didn’t know. She knew they would understand, would welcome this new “hobby” of hers even, and yet… she couldn’t bring herself to tell them.

Not because she didn’t trust Feyre or Nesta, but because they wouldn’t understand. No one understood.

Elain was breathless by the time she reached the city mance tucked away on a sleepy street only a few blocks off the water. Thick tangles of ivy crept up the sides of dark-stone façade and golden candle light glowed behind the panes of crystal windows.

She swept up the front steeps graceful as a shadow, dark cloak stirring behind her, and knocked once on the worn rosewood.

A silence, then the lock clicked and the door creaked open.

Nuala’s beautiful face appeared in the shadowed doorway. The wraith’s full lips pulled up into a pleased smile. “About time.”

“I couldn’t get away any earlier. It would have been too weird.”

Her friend pulled her into a tight hug, the wraith’s familiar scent of evening mist and spiced amber wrapping around her. “Well, you’re here now. Everything is ready, Cerridwen and the others are inside.”

“And Desmaya?”

“She said she would come, didn’t she?”

“I’m sorry, I just wasn’t–”

Nuala held up a hand. “What did we say about apologizing? No one is mad at you, Lainey.”

Elain nodded once. Right, no more apologizing unless she absolutely needed to. It was something she was still trying to work, an old habit she was trying to break. She found it easier to do so around her friends, but old habits died hard and life back at the Riverhouse made her feel like she was…regressing.

She felt a sense of guilt for even daring to think so in the first place. Feyre had done so much, had given so much. Rhys and Cassian and Nesta too. Lying to them felt like a betrayal, an insult to all they had done for her.

Elain shook her head, exhaling a nervous breath before following the half-wraith into the semi-dark of the entry hall.

II.

“The shadows tell me when you lie, you know.” Azriel said.

Elain cocked her head. “Is that all they tell you, Shadowsinger?”

III.

The dark void of his magic yawned open. He let himself plummet into it. Shadows whispered around him, swelling and ebbing as the familiar cold of the shade between realms rose up to swallow him whole.

And then—

Silence, darkness. He was nothing here, he was everything here. A hundred pieces of him thrown into the Void, a hundred pieces scattered wide.

“I don’t know how to be good. I don’t know how to make my pain beautiful, I don’t know how to make my anger kind,” Azriel seethed, “They gave me a knife when all I needed was a friend, they made me into a weapon and told me not to weep. How do you come back from that? How do you find your absolution?”

Cassian merely put a warm hand on his shoulder, his brother’s eyes filled with an understanding that nearly broke him.

Nesta grabbed her wrist. “Then you will die.”

Elain pulled herself free, her chin still held high. “I’m getting him back.”

#elriel #The Seer's Stone #Court's Court fanfic

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