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#to clarify i most definitely did read the book when it first came out
uglypastels · 10 months
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i have to say this, eddie love fucking you when you’re in a messy bun and your glasses almost falling down your nose. Chef’s kiss
Chef's kiss indeed and i hope this is ok, but this gave me major librarian!reader vibes, and I meant to make this pure filth, but as I started writing, I realised that I adore these two wholeheartedly, so please enjoy the fluff fest around it.
warnings: 18+ only MINORS DO NOT INTERACT. p in v sex. sex in a public place. unprotected sex (dzon't dzo it). swearing.
masterlist // inbox //
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Working in the Hawkins Town Library, you got to be in the presence of almost everybody who lived there, from the youngest readers to the eldest. Everyone needed books for one reason or another, let it be homework research, recipes or just some entertainment. There were the quiet readers who settled themselves somewhere in a corner to spend the rest of the day with their noses in between the pages; the ones who search for hours for the one book they had their mind set on the moment they walked in; the ones that, for whatever reason, forget to stay silent. There were fans of fantasy as well as historical non-fiction, philosophy and romance. There was a place for everybody here. 
With such a variety in patrons, it was only natural you grew to have favourites. Some might be more self-explanatory than others. Of course, your heart doubled when Julie came in with her daughter, Sandy [who just turned six!], to pick out a new book every few weeks. Or old man Farrell who already knew all the facts in the books he checked out and was more than happy to share with you.
It could come to most people as a shock then that the person you looked forward to seeing the most was none other than Eddie Munson.
Surprisingly, he could be the definition of the perfect library patron. Besides the fact that he had never been late with book returns, when you started working there, the first few times Eddie came by, he scared you to death—so quiet was he, sneaking around the aisles and up to the counter to check his stacks of books out.
‘Sorry, didn’t mean to scare ya there, sweetheart,’ he said as he put the books on the desk. 
‘It’s alright.’ You started picking up books from the pile, stamping in the date on the inside sheet. ‘Might have to consider getting a bell.’ You smiled, ‘that way I could hear you coming.’ 
‘Hmm, too bad I don’t have a bell.’ Eddie clicked his tongue but reached into one of his pockets, ‘but… would these do?’ He pulled out a handful of thin metal chains. They rattle around. 
‘Why do you have those in your pocket?’ You asked curiously as you gave him back the books. 
‘Always have them on me– I mean, on my jeans, but I take them off when I’m hear. Don’t want to disturb anyone.’ And with that, he gave you a shy little smile that made your heart melt. 
‘That is, actually, really sweet of you.’ If only more people were so considerate. ‘Thank you.’ 
‘Yeah, well, I have my moments.’ He shrugged nonchalantly. ‘I’ll see you around.’
‘See ya.’ You waved as he walked away, barely able to contain the smile on your face that the metalhead had caused. 
Not a lot changed since that day, but your and Eddie’s conversations did begin to grow. You’d keep on talking while you checked out his books, sometimes for so long that another patron would have to interrupt to get their books. Then, Eddie would pop by your desk to ask for the location of some particular book— one you had never heard of, in all honesty, but he probably easily could have found it if he bothered to look through the cards. 
‘Excuse me, sweetheart,’ he’d clear his throat, ‘do you have any idea where I could find Carrots Love Tomatoes?’ 
‘Sorry?’ You must have misheard the title.
‘Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening. It’s for my uncle.’ Eddie would clarify, reading the title out from a scrap of paper he had scribbled on. 
‘Right. Do you know who it’s by, perchance?’ 
‘I’m surprised you don’t.’ He reread the paper. ‘Louise Riotte– shit, I’m definitely mispronouncing that.’ He quickly spelt it out for you.
Well, you had to admit, you weren’t personally familiar with Miss Riotte’s work, but you knew this library inside-out and told Eddie to follow you into the section you thought it most likely to be. The non-fiction section was off in the corner of the library, with only rectangular windows blocks near the ceiling, letting in barely any daylight. The light was, instead, coming from the lamps above you; they flickered and buzzed on the off-moments. 
Eddie stayed a step behind you as you navigated through the shelves, muttering the alphabet to yourself repeatedly as you tried to find the RI– shelf. Once you finally found it, you realised it was on the top of the bookcase, where you couldn’t reach it. 
‘It’s up there.’ You pointed, thinking that maybe Eddie would just get it himself now. But instead, Eddie offered to pick you up. A bit flustered, you accepted the offer and tried to ignore the feeling of his hands on your hips, the way his rings dug into your soft skin. He picked you up, and you grabbed the book quickly. Once back down on the ground again, you handed it over to him. Eddie thanked you with a large smile as he looked at the book. 
He frowned. 
‘Something wrong?’ You asked. 
‘No, no, it’s all good, thanks. It’s just that…I don’t know…’ He looked at the book a bit longer. ‘Oh, you know what? I think I must have read it wrong.’ He looked down at the scrap of paper again. ‘...yeah. That definitely says Catcher in the Rye. Well, thank you anyway, sweetheart. Really ‘preciate it.’ 
‘You’re an idiot, Eddie Munson.’ You laughed. 
‘Uhm, I’ll have you know,’ he leaned against the bookcase by your side, ‘that this had actually all been an act of sheer brilliance.’ 
‘Oh?’ You were leaning against it, too, your shoulders almost touching. 
‘Yes. I would say that the way I got you here with me, away from all those people, is MacGyver-level brilliance.’ 
‘Don’t you think it might have been easier to just… I don’t know, just ask me to meet you here.’ You would have been going on a break soon anyway.
Eddie grinned as he leaned forward to you, ‘Now, what would be the fun in that?’ You could feel his breath on you. The scent of excessive bubblegum chewing greeted you. 
‘Fair enough,’ you tried to act cool, ignoring the hot flashes he was causing all over your body. ‘So, why did you want me to come out here? What couldn’t wait until my lunch break, Munson?’ 
‘Just wanted to say how cute you looked today.’ Eddie smiled, then, as if he remembered something– ‘Oh, and this–’ he leaned in, cupping your face in his hand, kissing you softly. 
So, perhaps, some things had changed over time. Smalltalk and jokes at the front desk turned into stolen kisses and hushed laughter in the dark corners of the library. Just as with everything around, Eddie was gentle and soft. His grip on you was there for support, to make you feel how much he wanted you near him. 
You pulled away with a small gasp, chest-beating fast, eyes fluttering open.
‘But I suppose I could have waited with that.’ Eddie said afterwards, his hand still on your cheek. 
‘I’m glad you didn’t.’ Your voice was hushed, but you kissed Eddie deeply instead of breathing in the air you needed. You pulled at his shirt to bring him closer, and his other hand reached for your waist, tugging at the hem of your shirt. 
‘You should probably get back,’ he muttered between kisses. 
‘Probably,’ you replied. Neither of you meant any of it, and you both knew it. You had no idea why you only saw each other at the library. Maybe because you always knew to find each other here; it was a certainty. Outside, it would be a mere coincidence to bump into Eddie. Here, you knew he would be here every week.
Maybe because it felt like a haven for both of you and it felt like a different reality—an escape from the real world. But it was precisely this that made everything else so fragile. Who knew what it would be like outside of these bookshelves? You didn’t want to know, so why risk it? What you had now, it was an unspoken agreement. One you both were more than happy with. It was special—a rarity. 
Everything- the kiss, the hold, the emotions, the heat- all intensified the longer you kept going. It was getting messy and rough. Eddie had locked you in between him and the bookcase. You could feel him all over you. His hair tickling your face, his cold rings on your skin, his clothes pressing into you, his— fuck, he was huge. You could feel him against your thigh, no hiding it. 
‘Fuck, I’ve been thinking about this the whole week.’ He breathed against your neck. ‘Haven’t stopped thinking about you.’ You would have told him the same if you could form an entire sentence. It was hard to concentrate daily when you had the memory of his touch plague you every day, and everything around you at your job was a heavy reminder.
‘Need… I need you, Eddie,’ you gasped out as he kissed your neck, right on the spot that made your knees go weak. ‘Please.’ 
‘Hmm, need you too, sweetheart.’ He was roaming his hand over your bare thigh underneath your skirt. Sometimes you wondered if anyone around had noticed that you really only wore them on days of Eddie’s library visits. Perhaps Eddie hadn’t picked up on that specifically, but he certainly enjoyed your style. ‘Drive my fucking wild in these short skirts of yours.’ The words rolled out of his mouth as he began unzipping his jeans. ‘Look so fucking good.’ 
‘Thank you,’ you moaned, giggling about how giddy you felt that he was complimenting you while preparing to thrust his dick in you. It was all so silly, so stupid. You were doing something incredibly risky, most likely illegal, but you couldn’t care one bit. All you could think about was how good he made you feel. How happy you felt with him. 
‘C’mere,’ Eddie groaned, pulling you up by your thighs, holding you against the shelves. Luckily, they were pretty sturdy, bolted to the ground, so his force pushing you against them barely mattered. On you, however, it was another story. 
‘Oh, fuck,’ you whimpered, trying to stay quiet at the feeling of him inside you. After letting you adjust quickly, he started thrusting in you hard and deep. The way he was moving against you, it made your whole body shake. You could feel your glasses slip down your nose. In the haze of it all, you had forgotten to take them off but were about to do so– when Eddie interrupted. 
‘No, keep them on.’ He kissed your cheek.
‘Why?’ you didn’t see a reason for them. 
‘Want you to see me fucking you.’ His smile was airy. ‘Besides, it’s hot as shit. The way you get so messy for me. And your hair,’ he punctuated each sentence with a deep thrust. One of his hands brushed some of your hair out of your face, ‘I wish I could take a picture of you right now. Would cum to it like every day.’ 
‘Gross.’ You joked, and in return, Eddie grazed his teeth over your collarbone, nipping at your skin slightly. 
‘Calling me gross as if you’re not getting fucked in the middle of the library.’ Eddie’s smile was contagious. As he continued, your glasses were falling again, but he quickly pushed them back over the bridge of your nose. ‘You’re fucking filthy, sweetheart.’ 
‘I’m–’ you gasped as he went deeper. 
‘Yeah, baby?’ 
‘I’m– I’m close, Eddie.’ You tried to whisper as best as you could, biting down on any noises that could be heard from afar.
‘Mmm, I know, you’re so tight. So perfect.’ he moaned through his last hard thrusts. You could feel your climax coming, knew how it would come, and quickly hid your face in the nape of his neck to muffle your scream of pleasure as it washed over you. Eddie rode it out with you, only moments behind. 
He held you briefly, letting you come down and stabilise your breathing. You smiled at eachother sheepishly and kissed deeply once more. There was nothing else to say.
Eddie pulled out, the emptiness hitting you immensely. It was a strange sensation, and you still didn’t feel quite yourself as your feet touched the ground again. But Eddie’s hands stayed on you for stability. 
‘You’re a dream, sweetheart. Just… unbelievable.’
Eddie brushed the loose strands of hair from your face again while you readjusted your glasses. There was nothing else to say.
Now came the awkward part where you timed your exit from the aisle and hid the guilty sex-glow look on your face. 
It was a slow day at the library, so no one awaited you at the front desk. You took your place and tried to shake off all your emotions, and it worked for the most part, except for the giant smile. That you just could not get rid of. 
It was still there when Eddie returned to you twenty minutes later, now accompanied by a new stack of books. 
‘Found everything you were looking for?’ You asked as you took the books from him. 
‘That and more.’ He leaned his elbows on the wood, grinning like an idiot. You had to tell yourself not to look at him, or you would get lost in those big brown eyes. 
‘I’m happy to hear that.’ You stamped the date into all the books and returned them to Eddie. ‘Here you go.’ 
‘Thanks, sweetheart.’ Eddie grabbed them under his arm. ‘Same time next week?’ He winked. Once, the words really were only meant for this little exchange. That had been all you were looking forward to—the small chat at the desk. Back then, you would have never imagined the things you would get up to with the metalhead in the barely visited sections of the library. 
‘See you, Eddie.’ You shook your head, still smiling, of course. And that was that. There was nothing else to say. 
At least, there wasn’t before. All those other times, that really would have been it. Eddie would have walked away, and you would have watched him do so while already awaiting his comeback. Yet this time…
This time, Eddie stayed in his place. 
‘Can I… help you with anything else?’ You raised a brow. 
‘Uhh–’ Eddie cleared his throat. ‘Yes. Yes, you could. See if I have these… these two tickets for this thing— a concert… and see, I have no idea what to do with this second one, so maybe you could help me with that.’ He spoke fast and like he was stumbling over an uneven pavement instead of words, but you followed it nonetheless.
‘Concert?’ You asked. 
‘Yes.’ He expanded with the name of a band you had never heard of before. ‘This weekend.’
You thought for a moment, or at least pretended to, as you already knew your answer. ‘I might have a friend who would be interested in taking that ticket off you.’ 
‘Any chance this friend of yours wears cute glasses, short skirts and works at my favourite spot in the city?’ 
‘She just might.’ You bit the inside of your cheek. 
‘Then it’s deal, sweetheart,’ Eddie slammed his hand on the table in excitement, then immediately cringed at the noise he made. That same noise seemed to have awakened a quick realisation in him: ‘Wait, we were talking about you, right?’
‘Yes, Eddie. I would love to go to the concert with you.’ You rolled your eyes at the needed clarification.
‘Cool, just checking. Great.’ he started walking away now. ‘Great. I’ll pick you up– wait; I don’t even know where you live.’ 
‘You can pick me up here.’
‘Do you live at the library?’ he asked quickly, and you were sure he was being serious.
‘No, Eddie, I do not, but I work weekends too. But you can bring me back to my place afterwards. Stay the night, maybe?’ Was that too much too quickly? You started to panic for a second, thinking you took it too far, but then Eddie replied, repeating his previous words.
‘It’s a deal, sweetheart.’
the end
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thank you so much for reading!! please consider supporting with comments and reblogs <3 (maybe leave a review??) I would love to hear your thoughts
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DP x HP Crossover Prompt
Okay so I don’t know why I need this but I do and have been thinking about it a lot.
There aren’t that many fics where Draco and Danny are brothers but I am so here for it. Hear me out. Not twins per say , a couple years apart and Danny is most likely younger. Listen…
Danny stolen as a baby, hired by someone who lost much in the war and wanted to give the Malfoy’s what they ‘deserved’. As a way to teach then a lesson the hired kidnapper decides to leave them with muggles, but not just any muggles, witch hunters. That’s right, the Fentons continue their ancestors work of hunting the supernatural, specifically witches.
Due to some spell or artifact, Danny is unable to be tracked and the Malfoy’s are forced to believe their second son is dead. It isn’t until their son’s name is written on the envelope for his Hogwarts letter because magic. Danny is eleven and Draco is in his fourth year.
The Malfoy parents, Severus Snape who is also the boy’s godfather, and a Ministry official all go to the address on the letter and find the Fenton’s. As a whole they are not impressed with the Fenton parents or their eccentricities.
They establish they are there to talk about the boy that lives there and the Fentons are confused but sure “oh you mean our son Danny!” Both of the Malfoy’s and Snape sneer at the plebeian name which of course the Fentons don’t notice.
They call him down and Danny slows to a stop as soon as he looks over the ‘guests’. Because yes he’s made friends with the local clockmaker who is kind of a grandfather to him and is a squib. He confined in the older man about the weird things that happen around him sometimes and Clocky has answers and explains about magic. Danny knows that these people are wizards and witches. Was this about his Hogwarts letter Clocky told him he should be getting? Do they know what his parents do for a living?
Narcissa and Lucius on the other hand are staring at this boy in recognition. The coal colored hair and jawline were unmistakably from the Black side of the family. The straight nose and body shape however came from the Malfoy side. A perfect mix of both parents.
Introductions are made and they can see the understanding in the boy’s eyes when Snape says he’s the potions master at Hogwarts. The Fentons don’t catch it, but they were studying the boy with hawk-like attention.
“Potions?” The large Fenton asks suspiciously.
Before they can start explaining why they were really here, the boy, their boy speaks up nervously.
“He means chemistry! They call it differently because Hogwarts is a special school,” he lies without remorse.
Yes, this was their son.
“Special school? Like for gifted students?” The woman Fenton clarifies.
Danny glances at them anxiously.
“Yea! Like that.”
The parents don’t ask him how he knows about Hogwarts even though this should be his first time hearing of it. Instead the woman turns to them in confusion.
“Then why did you ask for Danny? Did you mean our daughter?”
“Oh! Jazzy-pants is super smart, already reading college books I tell ya!”
They don’t notice Danny’s face crumble and his confidence wither right in front of them. Narcissa wanted to tear these people apart for being responsible for the bright light in his gorgeous crystal blue eyes dimming in self-doubt.
“Actually, it is different than you are thinking, we are wi-“
“Mom, Dad, did you tell them what you do?” Danny interrupts urgently.
“Young man-“ the Ministry official continues.
“That’s a great idea, Dann-o!”
Which leads to explaining they are witch hunters and they all just stand there processing what they were just told and figuring out how to go about this. And they look at Danny who gives them a ‘see?’ look that explains the interruptions. He was protecting them.
Oh he was definitely their son.
Danny eventually goes with them because duh and he finds out the name he was born with.
“Corvus? Like the constellation? The crow?”
Narcissa is so proud of her son, he already knows the stars and the story to his name.
There are some bumps in the road with Draco and him getting along, and yelling at Lucius for mistreating the elves because they have feelings too, and adjusting to wizarding life in general.
Danny (Corvus) mets Tucker, a squib who was kinda in the same boat as him with learning this whole world, and Sam, a pure blood witch who’s parents were both Hufflepuffs but her grandmother is a seer and she might have inherited that gift.
Danny on the other hand seems to have gotten a gift from his mother’s side as well. Necromancy. Thus starts their adventures of skirting around the professors to learn magic for each of them that are not encouraged. Danny with necromancy, Sam with her seer abilities, and Tucker finds an interest in runes and arithmacy.
Don’t know about an actual plot but I think the idea could have potential. It’d also be funny if all three of them get sorted together in either Slytherin or Hufflepuff. And Draco trying to be a good brother, has warned him about a bunch of things before going to Hogwarts, one of them being Harry Potter and the golden trio. The first time Danny and his friends meet the golden trio, Ron makes a comment about him whether it’s about him being another snake or another Malfoy. Danny just blinks and they just look at each other.
“My brother was right about you. You guys are bullies.” And walks passed them, Sam shoulder-checks him and Tucker gives them the stank eye.
“WHAT”
Draco just being fiercely protective of his little brother he thought was dead. Danny being the baby of the family and the parents actually trying to do better to make him happy.
I just really enjoy this for some reason.
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kamidukki · 1 year
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AKNK's Jessica (?)
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I honestly don't know where I'm going when I write this, but just to be safe I'm going to put the following warning: spoiler, complaint(s), half-baked analysis
Okay. Let's just get straight to the point.
Does anyone know where the name Jessica possibly come from? I don't mean the origin of the name in real world, rather I'm asking [if you have an idea] why akuneko writers picked that name specifically.
All butlers (or the demons they're contracted to) in AKNK have names that could be traced to The Lesser Key of Solomon, or demonology in broader aspect (as well as angelology if you include Serafim and Cherubim), while the name of the four nobles plus the witch of the north (Elvira, if I remember correctly?) fall into either difficult-to or easy-to track category. None others rendered me speechless like Jessica's.
I mean, this definitely isn't the first time a JP mobage use a feminine name for male character and it usually works (TWST's Leona and Lilia are the only ones I could recall at the top of my head for now). I never complained about this before because it never mattered. Some did take me a while to get used to, but none has ever baffled me like Jessica has.
(no offence to any Jessica reading this, your name is great) 👌
If you look up the name Jessica on internet, it tells you, usually, the male equivalent would be Jesse. While the origin itself, in most search results, is as following.
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So, biblical reference. Not too far-fetched, but still. Is there a reason why that particular name?
In Episode 2 ch. 06 part 14, a new character named スローン appears. I can only guess its romanization as Sloane. If so, his name relates closely to the butlers since we can find connection to Key of Solomon and Sloane manuscripts.
A probe into the meaning shows you this results:
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I'm not sure if name's meaning is actually important when we analyse the names of akuneko's characters. In case it doesn't, that would mean I just need to look for Iscah (or any possible alternative spelling) mentioned somewhere in referenced books (The Lesser Key of Solomon, The Key of Solomon, and the Sloane Manuscripts) or ones related to it.
The easiest solution is to consider the possibility that the writer(s) did take a random name just like that, and to be honest, I can't say I like this solution.
So. In conclusion: I'm stumped.
The reason why I'm writing all this is because I need to understand the reason Jessica's name came to be. The reason why I need to understand it is because, brace yourself for pettiness, I can't for Pete's sake, take Bastien's arc seriously when the dude's name is... well, Jessica.
Okay. I got them out. I'll just clarify here that I still think it's a great arc (and that I have nothing against Jessica) ✌
Now while I'm at it, it's interesting to look into the name Teddy Brown too...
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opinated-user · 2 years
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I said it was slightly problematic at worst, but that’s because it is. You’re completely neglecting to look at what Lily actually did. She made a few jokes at the expense of weebs, which is a mockery of anime fans, not Japanese people. She made a remark about how it was weird to call ramen noodles as such, since that’s really no different than calling something like rigatoni “rigotani” instead of just “noodles”. She supposedly read and liked a book with racist stuff in it, but that’s not something with any evidence to it. To say what she actually did was racist or even bad could only come from arriving at a conclusion before seeing what actually happened.
I said that “at worst” statement before any evidence of her fetishizing black women was brought in, and I’m writing this before any evidence was brought in because it doesn’t actually exist. However I am sorry that I didn’t clarify I wasn’t talking about her supposedly fetishizing black women in that statement, I should’ve clarified more. Unlike their other accusations, saying Lily’s fetishizing black women is an extreme and broad accusation and to take them at their word without any actual quotes or clips or any actual reason to believe Lily did anything wrong would be immoral. What they gave wasn’t evidence, it was a testimony that doesn’t come close to aligning with reality. If Lily actually was fetishizing black women I’d completely agree, but she isn’t.
I don’t dismiss the proof unless it’s completely incongruous with reality. Saying someone did a thing isn’t evidence, it’s a statement that should be followed by evidence. Also I already knew about most of what she was talking about, and those which I didn’t are things I looked for proof on and asked for actual proof on. Given that whenever I did ask for actual proof they said “find it yourself” (which you can’t because the proof isn’t real), I’d say it was justified for me to not always take them at their word.
Finally, I should add one extremely important addendum. In her video on internet stalking, she mentions she’s been involved in some horrible takes in the past and holds nothing against people who remain angry with her because of them. Speaking as a non binary person myself, I found it alienating when she said “non binary people are, by their very definition interesting, and you (Rebecca Sugar) managed to make that boring.” since it treated enby identities as this fascinating and alien thing rather than just a normal thing people can be. I’m not angry with her about that, but I certainly wouldn’t blame anyone who was angry at things she’s actually said and done. Lily’s said some bad things, I’m not denying that, but what happened here had nothing to do with anything Lily actually said. It had to do with people wanting her to be the bad guy and finding every excuse to paint her as such. Everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt, and she deserves better than the rumors so many people propagate.
LO is a predator with multiple allegations of sexual misconduct that include, but it's not limited to:
-catfishing in order to coerce someone into sexual activity under false pretenses.
-getting nudes of a person without their informed consent.
-threatening to publish revenge porn.
-openly cheating an ex.
-pushing against the boundaries of her ex to do sexual art for her.
-taking advantage of a mentally ill disabled artist to make more sexual art of her.
-make a whole smear campaign about said artist when they came out about the situation.
-flashing on YouTube not one, not two, but three times. the first time wasn't even age restricted. the last time MO joined in.
-try to expose herself in front of a friend who didn't want that.
-seeking to invite a fan into her house to have sexual relations during a stream.
-not tagging lewd or NSFW content on her blog, where she knows minors follow her because they tell her, only after a lot of people asking her over and over to do so.
-sexualizing Ace characters specifically with non human creatures.
-sexualize shows meants for children with no warning, tagging or age restriction.
-expose her audience constantly to her incest fetish without warning.
-treating black women as "exotic zoo animals" and then dismiss it entirely in order to pain herself as the victim of the black people who expressed those feelings.
i'm sure there's more but this is what i thought off the top of my head.
if this was just one person i'be skeptical. but not when two of them have been presenting screenshots of what they went through with LO for years now, having zero previous relationship between each other, and the other LO is desperate to smear with a new awful claim that contradicts everything she said before, wishing death upon her in public.
i can't on good conscience chalked it up to a coincidence. not after seeing myself the way LO constantly crosses boundaries, abuses her audience and dismisses even the most valid complaint about her attitude with the ease of someone that is used to make excuses for themselves. you might feel comfortable dismissing entirely such claims without bothering to do proper research. i'm not.
if you came to know about LO and think the only reason we have these blogs is because of her bad takes and that you're going to help her defending her ignorant remarks, you'll be severely dissapointed and she won't appreciate whatever is that you're attempting here.
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I posted 2,985 times in 2022
That's 1,767 more posts than 2021!
23 posts created (1%)
2,962 posts reblogged (99%)
Blogs I reblogged the most:
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@thekidsfromyestergay
@cttrajan1206
@discardedcandywrapper
@greenbeany
I tagged 1,232 of my posts in 2022
#mcr - 290 posts
#ofmd - 79 posts
#art - 65 posts
#toh - 41 posts
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#prev tags - 13 posts
Longest Tag: 74 characters
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My Top Posts in 2022:
#5
HELP ITS ME SUMI
The londoner in ur birmie squad sjdhhdf
i am so sorry bro i dont think i am who u think i am 😭😭
8 notes - Posted June 11, 2022
#4
aras have you seen the Joan of Arc outfit yet
I HAVE NOW KSKDKLEODJ DKDOEOL I AM GOING RVEN MORE INSANE GOING TO WATCH THE STREAM NOW
10 notes - Posted November 19, 2022
#3
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3000 posts!
ashamed 😔
16 notes - Posted July 31, 2022
#2
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clownwife
19 notes - Posted August 25, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
I love the energy and all and I don’t want to offend but as a Muslim girl i can tell you that it is literally haram to identify as anything other than your god given gender. Like I’m not trying to be rude and I’m glad that there a respectful supportive people out there but if you’re looking at the Quran and other islamic book you’ll find stories about how its considered haram. Accepting the islam religion means accepting everything and dedicating yourself to it you can’t just pick and choose.
omg my first anon hate hahaha
i know im not obligated to answer hate but im going to anyway bcuz of i have things to say (sparkle emoji) (im on pc and dont have the energy to find an emoji keyboard)
okay first of all nowhere did i say that I identify as Muslim. i get that it was ambiguous tho so its cool. to clarify,, I am personally not Muslim but I kind of have to act like one so I don't get kicked to the streets or some shit lol and maybe I'm a bit of a coward idkkk but anyways
I would be interested to know what other Islamic books ur talking about btw, but I'm pretty sure the quran doesn't mention being trans anywhere at all. in fact I'm pretty certain, I've read it multiple times with translation and commentary interpretations and anyway being trans wasn't really a 'known' thing back then? bcuz obviously patriarchy and gender roles n segregation blah blah was wayyyy more yk. shit I forgot the word. uhhh yk like prevalent?? ofc the quran does mention a shitton about gender roles,, so yk men r the breadwinners, women raise the kids and keep house and be good wives etc. and also remember the big important fact:: GENDER AND SEX R DIFFERENT THINGS!!! meaning technically u cant be 'born' a gender (omfg my keyboard hates me imagine a question mark here) ur born with certain genitals and society assigns u a gender based on that . sounds a bit fucked when u put it like that actually but anyway back when the quran was being revealed this wasn't a known thing cuz yk they didn't have studies on this stuff,, and yea ur probably gonna say 'but the quran came from allah and he knows everything' well the fact of the matter is he either forgot or smth idk I don't speak for God but trans people definitely exist that's a fact we know so yeah. oh I should come back to my point which was, even with the quran saying those things about what ur supposed to do based on whats in ur pants which is crazy outdated anyway it doesn't take gender ≠ sex into consideration either soo ye that's the most it could've said about being trans and that not very valid anymore rip and that's not even mentioning non-binary people
and anyway Islam is literally all about acceptance and respect and everything so idk it would probably be better if u didn't go around telling ppl they're 'literally haram' for being trans or gay or any typa queer bcuz its literally not our choice (insert question marks) believe me I would fucking love to be comfortable in my 'female' body but I cant no matter how much I try to force myself so I'm sorry dude. no one would choose to be stuck in a situation like this. personally, I believe Islam needs a super massive reformation. well not Islam exactly, but a lot of things said in the quran r outdated wildly now, while a lot of it will also always be relevant, eg. everyone being equal and yk give to the poor etc. i have absolutely nothing against Muslims (I have it against my family for being so forceful about religion - different thing) yall r super cool and ik being a Muslim girl isn't easy believe me, but genuinely seeing Muslim people around and yk, just existing in wider society outside of Islamic spaces makes me feel so proud of where I came from even if its not been the best experience. have u seen the show We are Lady Parts (question mark) its about an all female Muslim punk band and there's only six episodes I literally watched it all today but the message of it is what I'm trying to get to you. u don't have to be the perfect pious wife to be considered a 'good Muslim',, there are so many ways u can show faith. you don't have to be a big strong man who can handle all pain with ease while single-handedly providing for a family either.
anyways peace out that sure was a journey lol and I definitely have forgot some of the things I wanted to say but yea that's all don't forget to like and subscribe &lt;3
(colours r to make it easier to read for people with shorter attention spans,, they don't have any other significance)
36 notes - Posted February 9, 2022
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fistsoflightning · 2 years
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stories told along the way
ffxivwrite2022 17: novel n. an invented prose narrative that is usually long and complex and deals especially with human experience through a usually connected sequence of events.
a’dewah & @blackestnight‘s haruki. post-6.0, no spoilers. 561 wc.
"I'm back!"
A'dewah jolted awake as the door to his Annex room swung open and Haruki stumbled through, his voice interrupting the soothing music pouring from the table orchestrion. “Welcome back,” he said after a moment’s delay, shifting the pillows beneath him so he could sit up. His eyes widened when he saw the pile of books Haruki set down on the table. “Thought you were just going to the Last Stand…?”
“I had one more errand to run at the markets and Noumenon,” Haruki said, lifting up one book to squint at the title. “You know, I don’t remember the titles on your bookshelf being so hard to read.”
“It’s the script they use for the titles,” A’dewah sighed. His tail was definitely stiff from sleeping on it; if only the bench were a little more comfortable. “I can’t read it well either.”
After a few seconds of staring at the title, Haruki shrugged, gathered a few more books into his arms, and came over to sit down beside the bench, setting down the stack of books within A'dewah's reach.
He eyed them curiously, even as he was leaning over to kiss Haruki’s forehead. “Once I start on those…”
Haruki laughed and reached up to rest one of his hands on A’dewah’s knee. “That’s kinda the point, isn’t it?” he said, because it wouldn’t be the first time A’dewah had ravenously gone through a stack of novels and tomes. “Since your medicine keeps you stuck in here most of the day anyways.”
“You’re the best,” A’dewah sighed; he picked up the topmost book and flipped open the cover to read the summary before he recalled something Haruki had said and looked back over at the spines of the stack. "You said you went to Noumenon?"
Haruki nodded, taking a tome out from the stack. "Before she left for Ala Mhigo, your mom strongarmed me into lunch and hinted that she might have written a few books," he said, holding up the book so A'dewah could see his mama's name embossed on the front, "so I thought I'd look for them, but I was only allowed on the first floor?"
A'dewah gave a small grimace, remembering his disappointment when he'd seen Noumenon's endless shelves only to be restricted to the topmost floor. "Books are restricted based on content and your status in Sharlayan," he replied, trying not to feel bitter about that. "Visitors stay on the top floor. And since she helped with the improvement of spells like the Forum's silencing one…"
"They were pretty far down," Haruki said. "So, I had to get some help."
"Help," A'dewah said dubiously. Maybe he was becoming paranoid after Tataru had taken advantage of his mandatory rest to grill him for details about his 'thing' with Haruki, but this felt suspicious.
"Sneaking in," he clarified, smiling. 
A'dewah pressed a hand to his forehead, eyes going wide. "...Did you get one of the Scions arrested, Ruki??"
Thankfully, Haruki laughed and shook his head. "No, he's completely fine! Didn't get caught or anything," he said, which was relieving up until he leaned towards A'dewah's ears and whispered, "So, was that the G'raha Tia whose arms I'm competing with?"
He was going to die the second Lunya heard about this.
"I—well, yes, that was that G'raha, but no you're not competing with him for anything he's married!"
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geekfanficwriter · 1 year
Note
Thanks for clarifying babe!! May I please get a ship for stranger things? I'm a female, she/her and I'm 20! I don't really have a gender preference, and I was wondering if I could please get matched with a male and female? No worries if that's not possible!
I'm fairly introverted and it takes me a while to warm up to people. I love reading, my room is filled with stacks of books. I especially enjoy true crime, poetry and Russian literature!I adore adventures, witty and playful banter, pulling harmless pranks, joking around and having indepth discussions on anything and everything. I love helping out and people come to me to vent or for advice and comfort. I'd consider myself really smart and I'm very ambitious; I love being the best at everything I do. I daydream a lot and I'm a hopeless romantic! I enjoy all forms of art and I have quite a few creative hobbies! I'm 5'9 and I have long and curly dark brown hair and brown eyes. I dress mostly in relaxed suits, blazers and coats and I love the occasional dress or sweaters layered over a white button down! I'm a taurus sun, gemini moon and scorpio rising!
Thank you very much! I hope you have a lovely day <3
Of course, I can do both a male and female ship for you!
First for the female ship, I ship you with…
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Robin!
Judging from Robin’s taste in movies, she’s definitely someone who’s big into art and I definitely think she’s a huge reader as well. I can judge imagine her eyes going wide when she first sees all the books you have and running round excitedly, looking through all the various books you have. She would tell you about all the ones she’s read and which one are her favourites. I could just imagine the two of you talking for hours about books but I can also see the two of you just reading in silence all cuddled up.
I think an ambitious girlfriend would be great for Robin. She’d be so supportive in everything you did and would want to see you succeed more than anything else. She would help you in any way she could and would celebrate all your achievements in anyway she could thing of. She would especially be excited to help you when it came to art. I can imagine when you were struggling to figure out how a certain body part would look in a drawing, she would pose for you in order to help you. She would just love to watch you focus on your art and find your concentration face so cute.
On the flip side, I think Robin would really appreciate having a partner who could help her out with her problems. Obviously she has Steve but let’s be honest, that boy just has terrible advice so she would come to you when she needs help with anything. It didn’t matter if it was big or small, she would know she could reach out to you. She would just curl up into you and tell you about everything that was going on in her life, while you listened and comforted her.
And for your male ship, I ship you with…
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Steve!
Much like Robin, Steve would be such a supportive partner. Steve might not be the smartest guy out there but he would definitely be a boyfriend who would help you study or be there for you when you needed support with anything. He would make sure you were focusing on your studies or at least he would try but he would eventually get bored and bother you which you would have to remind him that you were trying to focus.
As Steve isn’t the most intellectual he probably wouldn’t be able to engage with in-depth discussions about books or anything else but he would listen to you talk about your topics for hours. When he saw your book collection he would be in awe at just how smart you were and definitely ask for your favourite so he could go out and read them to talk to you about them. Every time you mentioned a book to him he would buy it and read it. He would eventually be able to talk to you about these books just because he would want to improve himself for his partner and be involved in their interests.
We all know that Steve is the mom of the group but that boy just needs someone to comfort him. He’s not used to being comforted or cared for and I genuinely think he believes he’s not worthy of care and it would take a while for him to let you comfort him. However, once he opened up, he would just absolutely love having someone there to comfort him. You’d be the only person he let his persona drop for and let you see his weak side.
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crybabylisa · 2 years
Note
Okie I have come to the rescue and we’re both whores for one piece character now
Do Zoro sfw + nsfw
YESS THANK YOU!!
the sfw selfship ask game
-> send me a character out of my selfships and i'll answer these questions <3 please clarify if you want me to do the sfw or nsfw version!!
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ZORO X LISA
who is the grumpiest in the morning?
definitely zoro🥲 this man gets even more sleep than me and still is grumpy as fuck when he needs to wake up
who worries more when the other is sick/hurt?
he worries about me a lot but HE IS ALWAYS IN TROUBLE... i need to worry about him every second day because he an idiot and you never know what he's gonna do next >:(
who plays pranks on the other?
usopp and i always prank him and if he falls for it (which happens rarely😔) it's the funniest thing ever!!
who is always the first to suggest cuddling on the sofa?
mhhh probably me? i just lay myself on top of him when he's sleeping and he always wraps his big arms around me and won't let me go anymore. he would never admit it, but he loves cuddling almost as much as i do.
who insists on creating nicknames for the other?
me💀 he claims to hate them but when i don't use them, he's offended.
who says "i love you" first?
surprisingly zoro said it first. he was getting jealous because i spend so much time with the "pervert cook" when i could also just spend time with him instead. he was blushing so hard when he dragged me out of the kitchen to yell at me and tell me that he loves me🤧 let's just say usopp and my plan to make zoro jealous by spending more time with sanji worked >:)
who's the messiest one?
we both are but it's me ig😔
who feels the most uncomfortable about pda?
zoro! he just likes everything a little more private (also to keep me safe). but when someone tries to hit on me, he gets jealous and immediately shows that person that i'm his.
who's the funniest drunk?
ohh definitely zoro!!!
who texts the most?
me.. he almost never texts me and his answers are always so short :')
who has the most embarrassing taste in music?
definitely zoro!! he listens to some weird shit sometimes when he's training...
who reads the most?
i don't think zoro ever held a book in his hand🧍🏻
who's better with kids?
did you guys see that one filler episode where he helped that mother with the children? or how he treats chopper? it's zoro.
who's the one that fixes things around the house?
zoro could fix it, but he's too tired to do so. franky or usopp do it for us lmao
who cooks and who cleans up?
sanji cooks..... zoro and i eat :) but we help to clean everything up!
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the nsfw selfship ask game
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ZORO X LISA
who is the loudest?
oh me!!! there's no way i can stay quiet with him..... he barley makes any sounds though, only some deep and super hot groans :(
who is the more submissive?
100% me.... listen, i'm a switch normally, but with this man? i want and need zoro to manhandle me, mark me up, breed me, choke me, overstimulate me and fuck me stupid until i'm a crying mess :)
who is the most experimental?
i bring up new things sometimes and we always try them out but it doesn't happen too much. we love the things we're used to.
do they fuck or make love?
both, it really depends on the mood ..but i would say rather make love. he's a softie for me🤧
lights on or lights off?
lights on most of the times. i need to see his perfect body and his mommy milkers😩
who likes sexting the most?
me but he sucks at it so i barley try it :')
who is more likely to be caught masturbating?
me😔 when he's training for 637846282 hours and i'm needy, i don't want to wait that long and he caught me a few times when he finally came back home from all the training. but zoro always makes it up for me!! he doesn't masturbate that much and always asks for my help if he needs it. if i don't want to, he does it himself but he couldn't care less if i watch him.
who is better at oral and who prefers it?
i think it's pretty equal? we both love to give and receive it, he's just a little better than me. (not my fault that he has a horse cock that can't completely fit in my mouth....)
who usually initiates things?
i do because i'm a needy whore for him and get horny super fast :( but he never says no to me lmao
who has the most/weirdest kinks?
probably me. i want to peg him for one time but he won't let me🥺
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plus-size-reader · 3 years
Text
Somebody Else
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Jace Wayland x Plus size!reader
Word Count: 1978 words
Warnings: none
Summary: Clary really hurts Jace after they kiss  which leaves you to pick up the pieces, which doesn’t exactly go how you’d think
—————————————————————————————————
You knew that something was wrong as soon as you saw him in the hallway, stalking around in the dark.
Jace was always moody, but this was something different.
He looked hurt.
It wasn’t a look you were accustomed to seeing on his face, as he normally wore that stoic frown, but you weren’t blind. You could tell that something was definitely wrong, it had to be.
Knowing Jace, it could have been anything, from an argument with Alec to Isabella getting the best of him during training. You couldn't tell right off the bat but unfortunately, even if you asked, he may not ever tell you what happened.
In all the time that you had known him, Jace had always been secretive with his emotions. He didn’t want people to know that he had them, or that they could be exploited, but if you paid close enough attention, you could always tell.
If you were looking, you could read him like a book.
What he was going through might not have been the most obvious with no context clues but if you had to guess, it likely had something to do with Clary.
There was just something about her.
Since she arrived at the institute, Jace had been acting strangely, worrying about what could possibly happen to her and talking more about her than you’d ever heard him talk about anyone in his entire life.
It was obvious that he cared about her, and if something had happened between the two of them, that would more than explain the mood he was in. Even a look from her could make a clear impact on him.
Frankly, there was no telling how bad it could get.
The worst thing was that he probably was going to ignore whatever he was feeling, which would only make it worse.  Jace hated to feel things, no matter how important they were, or how much more difficult it would make it if he buried them.
It just wasn’t who he was.
Still, you knew better than to just let him go on that way like nothing happened. You knew better than to leave him to his own devices, because that would be a disaster. If there was any chance you could make this easier on him, you would.
“What’s going on?” you asked, hoping that he would just tell you the truth, all while knowing that he wouldn’t. He’d been in pretty good spirits since Clary got to the institute but there was no proof of that now.
You hadn’t seen him this upset in a really long time.
“Nothing” came Jace’s grumble in reply. He hoped that you would be in bed by now, already fast asleep, but he would never be so lucky. Of course you were here, after everything else that had gone wrong today, now you wanted to talk.
You always wanted to talk.
Asking was a long shot to begin with, you knew that, but you just hoped he’d be honest with you. You were his best friend, and you loved him, so if something had happened, it seemed like something you should know about.
This was important to you, even if he didn’t want to talk about it.
“Tell that to your face” you sighed, eyeing him incredulously in the way you so often did. You had this way of dealing with him that no one else did, and right now, it wasn’t something he wanted.
All he wanted to do was go back to his room and sit in silence for a while, staring at the wall.
He didn’t want to talk about his feelings, or what had happened between him and Clary. He didn’t want to tell you about how stupid he’d been, thinking that he’d actually have a shot with her. Not only would it be a huge bruise to his ego but you would do that thing you did.
You would tell him that you were sorry, and that it was okay if he was upset. You always supported him, even when he was being an idiot, and right now, it was only going to add insult to injury.
Clary didn’t seem to care whether or not he was there at all.
If she had, that mundane wouldn’t have been in her bedroom to start with. He thought they had something special, but clearly, he was wrong.
No matter what he did, he was never going to measure up to him, and that was something he’d have to come to terms with.
The two of you walked in silence for a while, your plan to go bed long forgotten in exchange for whatever Jace needed. Right now, you didn’t want to leave him alone because no one wanted to be alone when they were upset.
Though, Jace would have surely had you believe that was false.
He wanted nothing more than to be by himself, but if he had to be with anyone right now, he was glad it was you. There was a reason you were so important to him, and a reason you’d been friends for so long.
You didn’t push too hard, but you also didn’t give in completely when he asked for space. It was a good balance, one he felt safe in.
Safe enough to let you in, just a little bit.
“He was in her room” he decided finally, not really explaining much about his situation. It was hardly an explanation at all but at least it was a start. You could build off of that, and it was more than you’d been expecting.
Normally, ‘nothing’ would be all Jace cared to give you when you asked about his feelings.
You had no idea who he was referring to, of course, not at first. However, going off of your Clary assumption, it only tracked that he must have been talking about Simon.
Simon was a mundane, and Clary’s childhood best friend who she seemed to value more than anyone else in the world.
It was no secret to you or the other Shadowhunters that Jace and Simon didn’t have much in common, and they weren’t exactly each other's biggest fans.
Seeing him there must have been difficult for Jace, especially considering how he felt for her.
You couldn’t help but briefly imagine what that must have been like for him, and what it would be like if you were in his shoes. If you had to see Jace and Clary in such a way, it would put you in quite the sour mood too.
You really couldn’t blame him for being so grumpy.
“And you know this because you were going to be...in her room?” you clarified, ignoring the tinge of jealousy in the pit of your stomach at the idea.
You thought that you had come to terms with his feelings for her, as you didn’t have much of a choice, but for some reason, that was much more hard to hear than you’d been expecting.
That reason, of course, being the fact that you were in love with him.
You had been in love with Jace for quite some time, as pathetic as that was, but it wasn’t until Clary showed up that you felt the need to be honest about that. You had kept it a secret for so long, content to bury your feelings as he did, but now that she was here, it was different.
It just wasn’t right.
Jace would do anything for her, and his love knew no bounds but Clary didn’t seem to even notice. Surely she must have noticed how important she was to him, though maybe the difference in his actions wasn’t as obvious to her.
They had just met recently, after all.
She didn’t have much to build off of, not like you did. She didn’t have years and years of getting to know him, and of falling for him in the strongest way. She didn’t see the way his eyes sparkled when he talked to or about her.
She didn’t have any idea just how much he’d fallen for her, but you did.
You could see it, even now as you walked beside him in the dark corridor, how much this new development was hurting him.
“I kissed her, and I thought there was something there but-” he started, only stopping when he realized just how much he’d said. This wasn’t his plan, of course, but he really cared about her.
It hurt to see Simon there, standing in her doorway, and the way she acted afterward did little to make him feel better.
She didn’t even bother to come after him.
It didn’t help that you were so easy to talk to, offering as much support and care as you possibly could without giving him advice he didn’t need, or forcing him to share more than he was comfortable with.
You were the perfect person to open up to, even when he didn’t want to.
“But it hurt to see someone you cared so much for with someone else?” you filled in, going out on a limb to try and get him to share just a little more. Any more insight into what he was going through would help you make it better, or so you hoped.
Really, you were going off of pure instinct right now.
You knew exactly what Jace was going through, not that you would ever admit that to him, because what he was going through was what you had gone through every day since she’d come to your home.
Watching the person you loved fall in love with someone else was worse than anything else you’d ever experienced. It wasn’t a demon to slay or a foe to be vanquished. It was real, and unavoidable, and painful.
There was nothing you could do to change it.
“Yeah, I guess it did” he allowed, thinking back to the way his heart had sank when Simon opened the door, and the way Clary backed away from him as if nothing had been going on the moment before the other male made himself known.
It sucked.
“Maybe it was a misunderstanding, maybe she didn’t know he was there” you tried, not able to bring yourself to make him feel any worse. Even if you didn’t necessarily believe that was the case, you weren’t about to tell him that.
Jace cared about her, a lot, and if she was going to make him happy, you wanted it to work out. It didn’t matter if it would make you unhappy, or if it would be hard for you, because as long as he was happy, that was all you cared about.
He deserved to be happy.
He deserved the world, if that's what he wanted.
“Maybe”
Jace didn’t sound fully convinced, of course, but you didn’t need him to be. All you had to do was get him not to give up on her, to not give up on anything, because then you would be worse off than you started.
He’d really started to open up as of late, and the difference in him was one anyone could see. You didn’t want him to start taking strides backwards because of what had happened tonight.
“Just go see her in the morning, and I’m sure everything will be fine” you smiled, doing a really convincing job of hiding just how much your heart was breaking at the idea of it. Somehow, you had ended up trying to convince the man you loved to be with someone else.
Somehow.
Still, as you considered the way you’d found him, moping around like the world was out to get him, and how he was now, nothing else mattered. If Jace was happy, you were happy, and it was as simple as that.
It had to be.
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ncssian · 3 years
Text
A Favor: Part Twenty-Seven
Nessian Modern AU
Masterlist
a/n: working a full time job + part time job tutoring english + applying for scholarships + still having free time left is a lot harder than i thought it would be. which is my way of saying this chapter should've been done a week ago lol.
i call this my goodbye chapter b/c goodbyes are made.
***
As Nesta brings the last of her things into the cabin, Azriel takes the last of his stuff out.
Standing beside Cassian, Nesta watches Azriel shut the trunk over the final box of his belongings. With all the extra stuff he stole from the cabin, it almost seemed like everything wouldn’t fit into his tiny car, but here he is. Ready to go.
He dusts off his leather jacket and approaches her and Cassian. “This is goodbye,” he says, coming to a stop before them.
Nesta once thought this would be the happiest day of her life, second to her wedding day. She should have predicted that her rightful joy would be extinguished by sentimentality.
Cassian claps Azriel on the shoulder, the two brothers having already said their goodbyes in private. Still, Nesta can see a little sorrow in Cassian’s eyes, as if he also got too used to having Az around all the time.
Azriel, the dick, reveals nothing through his eyes. Neither does Nesta.
The two of them look at each other awkwardly for a moment, and then he comes in to hug her. Nesta hugs him back, arms crossing around his broad back, but it has the same stiffness as two Barbie dolls being made to kiss each other.
When Azriel tries to pull away, Nesta clutches him to her with surprising strength. “I know about the picture,” she says lowly in his ear.
“Too late to take it back now.” She might feel him smile on top of her hair.
Nesta lets go of Azriel swiftly, having had enough physical contact with him to last a year. “Drive safe, so Elain can find you in one piece,” she orders.
Azriel grimaces at that, reminded of what waits for him in Velaris. Whatever Elain decides to give him, it’ll probably be deserved.
“I’ll get going then.” Az starts backing away, and Nesta hears Cassian sniffle. She looks toward her boyfriend in concern, but he circles his huge arms around her shoulders and pulls her back to his chest before she can catch him getting teary-eyed.
They watch Azriel get in his car and drive away. Nesta waves until the car disappears fully into the thickness of the surrounding trees, waves until her arms are too tired to keep going.
Once Az is gone, she turns in Cassian’s embrace and jumps up into his arms. Her legs hook around his hips and his hands fit themselves under her thighs. She smiles and tells him, “Let’s go home.”
Ten minutes later, they find themselves sitting in the silence of the kitchen. It’s the quiet of a house adjusting to a missing person, and Azriel’s absence is tangible.
Cassian is the first to break the silence. “Do you think he’s past city limits by now?” he asks as he stirs his coffee.
“No.” Nesta turns the page of her book, focused on reading. “Not if he stopped by Gwyn’s before leaving.”
She hears Cassian stop stirring. “What does that mean?” he says.
Nesta looks up at him and shrugs. “It means he probably wants to say goodbye to her.”
***
“One charge of assault, one for battery, and one huge lawsuit against my company,” Rhys reads aloud from the file in front of him.
Cassian waves a hand in dismissal. “Just make it go away like you always do.”
Rhysand’s near-violet eyes narrow with barely restrained rage. “Cassian. You shattered an employee’s hand.”
“Hey, O’Connell.” Cassian strolled up to him early last Monday morning. The underground parking lot was near empty at this hour, since most workers wouldn’t come in until nine. “How was the rest of your weekend?”
O’Connell looked up from getting his bag out of his car, clearly surprised to see Cassian willingly make small talk with him. “It was good,” he answered lightly. “You left Velaris early, though.”
“Yeah, about that.” Cassian came to a stop by O’Connell’s car and held out his hand, catching the car door before it could be shut. “I had to take my girlfriend home.”
O’Connell looked confused, but nodded along. “That’s nice. Can you—?” He gestured at the car door, indicating to Cassian to let go.
Cassian didn’t. “What hand did you use?”
“Excuse me?”
“When you touched her,” Cassian clarified. “What hand did you use when you touched her?”
O’Connell’s look of confusion morphed into one of contempt. “What the hell are you talking about, man?”
“Nesta Archeron.” Cassian straightened up, hand tightening over the top of the car door. “Your old college friend.” Realization dawned across O’Connell’s face, but he still hadn’t answered Cassian’s question.
“If you don’t tell me now, I’ll have to take my pick.” Cassian clicked his tongue in disappointment. “You’re left-handed, aren’t you?” He snatched up O’Connell’s left hand, and in a flash O’Connell was pressed up against the car, his hand pinned to the doorframe.
“Hey, wait, what are you—” O’Connell protested.
The sound of a car door slamming shut on a hand was louder than Cassian expected. It was the crunch of bones and muscle followed by immediate screaming.
“It could have been worse,” Cassian said flatly over O’Connell’s cries of pain. “It could have been your tongue, since you like talking shit so much.”
Cassian blinks out of the memory. “So what if I did?” he shrugs in response to Rhys.
“You are a member of my inner circle,” Rhysand fumes. “Keith O’Connell is a respected figure in our industry and a higher up from Vanserra and Co., and the head of our Milan outpost, but you saw fit to take out justice on him without asking me first.”
“You had nothing to do with it.”
“That is not up to you!” Rhysand jabs a finger at Cassian. “What will our shareholders think when they hear about this? What will the board members say?”
Cassian is starting to get irritated now. “They won’t find out, because you won’t tell them,” he says firmly. “We both know you’ve covered up worse things to fit your agenda, but it’s a problem if I don’t want a creepy bastard working under my jurisdiction?”
Having learned most of his business tricks from his father, Rhys is no perfectly clean CEO himself. He would’ve done far worse to O’Connell if it was Feyre in Nesta’s place, and he would have ended it all with a speech about how abusers and their sympathizers have no place at Night Court Inc.
The thought only inflames Cassian more; maybe he’s still riding off the anger of O’Connell making Nesta cry.
Tempering his feelings, he tells Rhys, “When you’re done shutting O’Connell up,” because Rhys would do it no matter how angry he pretended to be, “make sure Nesta never finds out about this.”
Rhys sits back in his chair, a bitter smirk pulling at his mouth. “Afraid she’ll be horrified of what a brute her sweet boyfriend is?”
Cassian nearly snorts at the image of Nesta recoiling at a broken hand. She’d probably call him weak for not shoving O’Connell into a ravine. “No,” he answers tiredly. “It’s not violence that offends her, but if she finds out it was in her name… I don’t want to put that on her shoulders.” Which is a shame, because in any other situation Nesta would love to hear about the unfortunate circumstances that led to O’Connell quitting his job.
Rhys lets loose a long sigh. “Damn, you both scare me.” After a few moments, he asks, “Now what are we going to do about Milan?”
***
Life after moving in with Cassian passes by quickly, and before Nesta knows it, she’s completed her second year of law school.
As for the boys who were some of her first friends and drinking companions, back when Nesta barely knew the definition of a friend—today they complete their final year of law school.
Nesta fans herself with the pamphlet she was handed at the beginning of the graduation ceremony, trying to stop the harsh morning sun from melting the makeup off her face. The audience is packed like sardines onto one huge field, and the announcer on stage hasn’t even reached the last names that start with D. Eris, Justinian, and Isaac are all near the bottom of the alphabet.
“Do we really need to be here today?” Nesta murmurs to Emerie, squirming in her metal foldout chair.
Sitting at her right, Emerie throws her a scolding look. “Don’t be like that. We’re never going to see these guys again.”
Nesta sincerely doubts that, considering how none of the guys are moving more than a few hours away. But her uterus is raising hell right now, even though her new meds have put a stop to her periods. Paired with the ache in her back from these terrible chairs, she’s about to call it quits and go straight home.
“Nesta!”
She whips her head to the left, finding Elain striding through the row of chairs to reach the empty seat beside her.
Like watching the Red Sea part, everyone in the row pulls their feet back and makes themselves as small as possible so Elain can have a clear walkway.
Nesta moves the purse she used to save Elain’s seat aside, and Elain drops her butt onto the little foldout chair like it’s a throne.
“A little warm for an outdoor ceremony, don’t you think?” Elain fans her face.
“You didn’t have to come all the way here, you know,” Nesta says.
“Eris made me. I haven’t talked to him since I broke up with his brother, but I think he wants to look like he has a lot of friends here.”
“Yeah, that checks out,” Emerie mutters from Nesta’s other side.
Elain seems to take notice of Emerie for the first time, and her Southern charm turns on like a switch. “Oh my, I don’t think we’ve met.”
Elain introduces herself and Emerie does the same, smiling and nodding politely, and Nesta can’t even decide if she likes this crossover because she’s too busy massaging her aching abdomen.
A string of “Excuse me, sorry!”s go up in the row they’re sitting in, and a moment later a familiar face plops down on the chair to Emerie’s right.
Gwyn leans over Emerie and holds a bottle of Advil out to Nesta. “This is all I could find in my car, babe.”
Nesta releases a sigh of relief and snatches the bottle. “It’s perfect, thank you.”
Elain’s gaze moves to the medicine, then to Gwyn. “You must be Gwyn.” She offers a smile. “I’m Nesta’s sister, Elain.”
Gwyn’s eyes widen imperceptibly, and Nesta realizes she should have warned Gwyn that Elain would be here.
Going off how Gwyn’s been acting the last few weeks, Nesta can only assume that she influenced Azriel’s final decision to move away, whether directly or indirectly. Nesta doesn’t even know much about what happened between the two of them during their weird sex deal, considering that she and Gwyn promised to never discuss such horrible things with each other.
All Nesta knows is that Azriel is Gwyn’s closest male friend, and close friends that have also slept together probably don’t want to bump into each other’s exes without warning.
“Are you here to see Eris graduate, too?” Elain asks.
Gwyn looks like a deer caught in headlights. “Who? Oh—no, I’m just here so we can drive to brunch together after.” Her voice gets quieter with each word, and she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “Nice to meet you,” she adds in a murmur, her face a furious shade of red. She quickly looks forward at the stage as if the graduation ceremony is the most fascinating thing ever.
Elain doesn’t note the odd behavior, instead refocusing on the Advil pills that Nesta pops into her mouth and swallows dry. “Are you still hurting?” Elain says, furrowing her thin brows. “I thought you got that problem fixed.”
Nesta tries not to snort as she accepts the bottle of water that Emerie wordlessly passes her. “You can’t ‘fix’ endometriosis, Elain. That’s not how it works.”
“Oh. Well how was I supposed to know that?”
Nesta slides unamused hooded eyes to her sister. Before she can retort anything, Emerie elbows her hard. “Look, it’s Isaac!”
She refocuses on the ceremony, cheering and clapping half-heartedly as Isaac takes the stage. It’s not that she doesn’t care about her study buddies; it’s just that she feels like shit right now.
Justinian follows suit a few minutes later, grinning and waving when he spies Emerie cheering for him. Gwyn is distracted on her phone through all of it.
The Advil has finally started to kick in when Nesta murmurs to Elain, “How is Azriel adjusting to being back in the city?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” Elain answers innocently. “I haven’t seen much of him since he returned.”
“Just spill it,” Nesta says. “Azriel wouldn’t tell me anything, so I’m assuming he’s humiliated about it.”
Elain sighs, delicately pushing her hair behind her shoulder. “He came to me to talk. I heard him out, and then we went back to his apartment for coffee, and then I took my fabric scissors and cut out the crotch from all his pants.”
Nesta raises a brow. “All of them?”
“All of them.”
Nesta shrugs, turning back to face the stage. “It’s good enough. I could have done worse.”
“Then it’s a good thing you’re not me, isn’t it?” Elain snips.
Nesta won’t say it, but she supposes she is a little happy for Elain. In fact, she thinks this might be the first time Elain has stood up for herself instead of letting Nesta handle it.
After the ceremony is over, Emerie goes off to congratulate Isaac and Justinian. Gwyn follows so she can get away from Elain, and Nesta, being sweaty and overstimulated and more than ready to leave, settles for waving her arms and grinning at the boys from across the field.
She’s about to say goodbye to Elain and make a beeline for the parking lot when she spots a head of shining red hair approaching her. No—make that two heads.
Eris looked unbearably snooty as he received his degree, likely smug with the fact that he has a comfortable job at a family friend’s corporate law firm lined up for him after he passes the Bar. Nesta admits that she’s a little disappointed in him: after all his talk of working hard and being the smartest person in the room, he ended up riding his father’s coattails to a disgustingly high salary. But maybe that is hard work for him, considering that there was such a ruckus in the Vanserra family when he chose to go into law instead of business.
As for Lucien… Well, Nesta really has no idea what the kid does, but she knows he looks good, better than the last time she saw him. An early summer tan makes him glow in comparison to his brother, while lean forearms are revealed under the rolled up sleeves of his dress shirt. He looks comfortable in a way he wasn’t at Thanksgiving all those months ago.
Even with his ex standing just a few feet away.
“Elain,” Lucien greets her with a foxlike smile.
Elain rolls her eyes in response and turns to Eris. “Congratulations on graduating, hun. Now that we’re even, kindly delete my number from your phone and never call me again.”
Even? Nesta raises a brow, wondering what that could possibly mean.
“I take it this is goodbye?” Eris tells her.
“I’m already leaving,” Elain says sweetly. She blows a kiss at Eris, then Nesta. “Feel better soon,” she chirps at her, before striding away in her pastel pink heels.
Very jealous of Elain getting to escape before she can, Nesta calls after her, “Hot date to catch?” She’s wearing the signature perfume she usually does when meeting with a man.
Elain tosses over her shoulder, “Something like that.” Her purse swings as she disappears around a corner to the parking lot.
Nesta watches her go with envy, and when she turns back she finds Eris already looking at her. Meanwhile, Lucien still has his eyes glued to the spot where Elain disappeared.
“You feel sick?” Eris asks her.
“No thank you, I have a boyfriend,” Nesta replies on instinct.
Eris scoffs once in indignation, then twice. “Don’t flatter yourself,” he says with disbelief. “I can care about my friends, you know.”
“You want her,” Lucien mutters.
Nesta’s eyes snap to Lucien, who seems to be acknowledging her presence for the first time today. “And what do you want?” She tilts her head at him, intrigued at having a new playmate. He’s less predictable than Eris, at the very least.
Lucien looks at her and offers a sheepish smile. “Nothing you can give me.”
Eris rolls his eyes at the both of them, clearly regretting bringing his brother along with him. “I’m already bored of this conversation,” he laments. “I’m out; the D.A. is here and I want to say hi. Find me when you’re done, punk.” Eris bonks Lucien on the head with his rolled up diploma and starts walking away, only pausing to extend a mocking bow to Nesta. “We’re not over yet, Archeron,” he calls as he leaves.
Now it’s Nesta’s and Lucien’s turn to roll their eyes.
With only the two of them left, Nesta feels obliged to ask awkwardly, “So… how’ve you been?”
Lucien’s gaze slides to her. “I didn’t know you were Elain’s sister,” he says.
She huffs a laugh. “I didn’t know you were her ex at first, either. Does it matter?”
Lucien’s mouth turns down in thought, but he doesn’t answer her question. “I’m doing good,” he says in response to her former question instead. “I’ve been living the nomad life, traveling around with friends, roadtripping in a van.”
But would you come home for Elain? Nesta can’t help but wonder.
She didn’t know Lucien had dated Elain until after her first meeting with him, but even then it had been something of a throwaway detail. Elain dates lots of guys, and falls in love with even more of them. She seemed to barely remember Lucien’s name when Nesta first brought it up in front of her.
But for some inexplicable reason, Nesta genuinely likes Lucien. A part of her recognizes something similar in a part of him, and it makes her sad to imagine him being stuck on a girl who won’t think about him twice.
“Take my advice,” Nesta tells him bluntly, “and move on if you haven’t yet. Staring after Elain when she already broke up with you will get you nowhere.” Elain isn’t the type to ever look back, and she never falls for the same man twice.
Lucien just looks at Nesta with a blank face. “I broke up with her,” he says.
Nesta’s mouth falls open.
“And,” he adds, “I was staring at her ass.” He starts walking backwards to his brother, giving Nesta an innocent grin as he leaves. “It was nice meeting again. See you in another six months.”
Nesta is dumbfounded watching him go, not knowing what to do with this new knowledge. As far as she knows, no one has ever broken up with Elain except for Azriel—and that ended in Az losing all of his pants.
It only occurs to Nesta that she shouldn’t have let Lucien get away with that ass comment when Emerie and Gwyn suddenly appear at her side, each of them interlocking an arm with hers. “You feeling better?” Emerie inquires cheerfully. “Ready to go?”
Nesta nods slowly, forcefully putting Lucien Vanserra and his too-sly demeanor out of her mind. He isn’t her problem right now. Summer is already here with a vengeance, and she’ll only have so much free time with the people she loves most. So she chooses to focus only on them.
Tugging her friends closer and squeezing their arms, Nesta asks, “Where are we eating?”
***
a/n: this needs sooo much more editing lol i could have done a lot more with this chapter if i wasn’t constantly tired and pressed for free time. sorry y’all :/
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favoniuscodex · 3 years
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ataraxia - ch. 3 [ diluc x reader ]
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ch. 3 - questionnaire pairing: diluc x gn!reader warnings: mention of injuries, mentions of murder, mentions of familial passing. not beta read. words: ~2.7k words fic masterlist [ prev ] - [ next ]
chapter summary: your newest companion, diluc, fulfills his end of the bargain. you’re not quite sure what you’ve gotten yourself into. a/n: not sure how long this fic is going to be in its entirety. guess we’ll just see what happens! it’s starting to have a very different writing style from most of my stuff ;;; but that’s ok!
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diluc rests within the spare bedroom of your cottage, across the hall from you. with the threat of infection eliminated, his wounds sutured, and his broken bones properly set into casts, his recovery is but a waiting game at this point. sure, he likely has several months to go, but your main priority is getting him walking once more. you would have to head into the city within the next few days to retrieve a pair of crutches for him, but until then, diluc would have to rest.
he’s finally, thank the archons, wearing a shirt. the redhead is also far less grumpy now than your previous encounters, albeit a bit drowsy when he speaks due to the influence of the far stronger pain medication that the healer prescribed him. while diluc mostly insists on managing himself, he is still unable to walk long distances, if at all, and likely wouldn’t be able to move around for the next few days.
which, of course, left diluc dependent on you.
the urge to ask him to cough up mora in exchange for your undying attention (aka, y’know, not letting him die in the midst of your daily activities) is awfully tempting, but the presence of your parents still lingers heavily in your house. while they’re not around to influence your actions anymore, the nostalgic décor of the spare bedroom diluc rests in serves the world’s worst purpose: it forces you to have good morals. therefore, out of the goodness of your heart and definitely not because you’re worried that you’ll unsettle the spirits of the dead, you ultimately decide not to ask diluc for repayment.
what you do ask him for, however, is to uphold his end of the verbal contract you two had made. sure, you’re not in liyue and under the jurisdiction of morax, but you still expect diluc to follow through. you have far too many questions for the redhead, but elect to let him rest for a bit. he had had the courtesy to thank you when you placed another glass of water, a book, and an apple with some cheese by his bedside, but had gone quiet for the rest of the day.
you now stand in your kitchen, making yourself dinner for two in silence. you have no idea if diluc will even have an appetite or if he’ll even like what you’re making, but you crack the eggs onto the skillet nonetheless. the dish in question is rather simple: toast, ham, poached eggs, and mayonnaise. within minutes, you’re serving up the plates of food and you decide to leave your own in the kitchen.
despite the door being cracked, you knock slightly on the door to diluc’s temporary room. you cringe internally as it swings open from the gesture, but diluc, who is surprisingly awake and in the middle of reading the book you had left him, doesn’t seem to mind the sudden intrusion. his head perks up upon seeing the food in your hands and you feel guilt swirl in your stomach. had he been hungry this entire time? oops.
“hi, i... uh... made food,” you awkwardly greet, holding out the plate to him. diluc takes it with his uninjured left hand and sets the plate in his lap.
“thank you,” diluc says and the words are strangely genuine. much to your behest, in the short encounters you’ve had with him since the healer departed this morning, he has been nothing but polite. it’s irksome. you want a reason to hold a grudge against him due to his crankiness yesterday. however, it’s proving to be hard.
“adventurer’s breakfast sandwich,” you explain, gesturing to the dish. “hopefully you don’t have any dietary restrictions.”
“i do not,” diluc confirms as he cuts into the poached egg with the side of his fork. you watch as the yellow yolk oozes out. “are you an adventurer?”
you shake your head. “nope. just grew up with some in the family.”
“ah.” diluc says and silence falls between the two of you. you shift awkwardly as he begins to eat and diluc makes no effort to engage you in conversation. great, you think. we’re both awkward.
“are you an adventurer?” you finally ask, unable to think of a better conversation starter. you know your food is getting cold, but it can wait. if you do this little chit-chat with diluc right, you’ll be able to get the answers you need.
“not quite,” diluc says after swallowing the bite of food he’s chewing. you await an elaboration. he does not provide you with one.
you quickly realize that talking to him is going to be the equivalent of prying teeth. you’ve never wanted to be a dentist. this isn’t going to be fun for either of you and he’s certainly not going to make it easy, even if the two of you did have an agreement. so, you decide. i’m not going to make it fun for him either.
“so, diluc,” you sing-song, sitting down in rocking chair in the corner of the room. you hastily shove the quilt that rests upon it to the side. “how’d you get your ass kicked?”
diluc sets the fork down on his plate, having finished his meal after scarfing it down. he narrows his eyes at you, unamused, but decides to indulge you with an answer anyways.
“i got in a fight. i did not get my ‘ass kicked’,” he explains. it’s a rather awful explanation.
“you got in a fight with your enemies.” you clarify dully, unimpressed with his answer.
“correct,” diluc says. silence falls between the two of you. it’s only interrupted by the rumbling of your stomach, which diluc can thankfully not hear. you stand from your chair, take his plate from him, and pad into the kitchen before returning with your own plate. you sit back down in the rocking chair and begin to eat as diluc stares at you warily.
“i have questions for you,” you say before he can bury his nose in the book you provided him once more.
“such as?”
“your ‘enemies’. do they know you’re here?” your safety is your first priority. while you don’t want diluc to die, you’re not about to sacrifice your own life for the man who brought trouble to your doorstep.
“no.” he responds after a brief moment of thinking. his tone is rather sullen, yet it reeks of honesty. yuck.
“how do you know that?” you ask, poking at the runny egg yolk that bleeds onto the bread underneath it.
“we would both be dead if they did.”
you have half a mind to kick him out for that response, but choose to swallow another bite of your sandwich once more. what a relaxing, polite answer from the stranger lying in your bed. for all you know, he could be a murde- holy shit. is he an enemy of the state? am i housing a fugitive?
“diluc,” you begin and he tilts his head inquisitively, surprised by the sudden desperation in your tone. “just who are you running from?”
the panic in your voice is evident and it causes diluc to actually consider your question. after all, you could have the fontaine government knocking at your door tomorrow morning and arresting you because of this weirdo. you weren’t too worried about his ability to stick a knife in your neck either. thanks to him somehow fracturing one of the strongest bones in his body, he likely wouldn’t be able to do that yet. yet.
“oh. i am not a fugitive or anything, if that’s what you’re concerned about.” diluc says. it provides you little relief.
“answer the question.” you demand and diluc parts his lips to speak, before closing them once more. his brows furrow slightly as he thinks of a response.
“i did agree to answer your questions. although i can’t necessarily say i trust you yet, i am indebted to you for your hospitality.” diluc’s answer still manages to evade the question, so you ignore his platitudes and instead stare at him pointedly. he seems to get the hint as the corner of his lips threaten to twitch upwards into a smile, but he quickly returns to his typical stoic expression.
“my enemies are the fatui.”
your fork clatters against your plate and you bite back a groan. so, diluc is an enemy of the state. just not your state. while you certainly wouldn’t get in any legal trouble for housing him, especially since fontaine’s relations with snezhnaya were tempestuous at best, it would inevitably bring trouble knocking to your door. but you knew enough of the fatui to know diluc is telling the truth. if they knew of his location here and he was a great enough enemy to have sustained such injuries from them, then the fatui would have arrived to kill him already. for now, only two other people besides diluc knew of his arrival to the farm: you and the healer.
as much as the healer loved mora, she hated the fatui more. you weren’t too concerned with her involvement in the situation. you, on the other hand, were the biggest concern. if the fatui came knocking at your door asking for diluc, you would hand him over with little to no hesitation. after all, they rewarded compliance with hefty amounts of mora and you were no fool. such an amount would truly be life changing.
“that sucks.” you finally respond before stuffing your mouth with another bite of food. 
“for them.” diluc says. his tone lacks any haughtiness, leaving you perplexed. you swallow the food in your mouth before staring at him quizzically.
“they broke your femur.” you remind him and diluc seems nonplussed about the confession.
“i’ve maimed twenty of their agents. potentially killed, but i typically do not stick around to view the results.” diluc says. yup. there it is. the murder confession. of course. although, you had to hand it to him. despite how bad you wanted the fatui’s mora, if you were capable of kicking their asses, you would do the exact same thing. therefore, you bite back your judgment.
“why? i mean, apart from the fact that the fatui suck. everyone knows that,” you wave your fork lazily in the air. “but why specifically risk your own life to... aggravate them?”
diluc’s eyes break away from yours and it appears you’ve hit a sore subject. you brush it off. the man can confess he beats up fatui agents for fun but can’t easily say why? that wasn’t your fault. the redhead could sort out his problems on his own time. you were just curious, that’s all.
“they’re a nuisance where i’m from,” he explains, although his voice appears to be rather distant.
“mondstadt, right?” you ask and diluc looks up at you with wide eyes, startled by your accuracy. “i can recognize the accent. it’s not very discreet. gonna have to change that if you don’t want to stick out like a sore thumb.” his expression settles into a slightly sheepish one at your words.
“you’re new to this, aren’t you? the whole espionage thing?” you ask, moving your now empty plate off your lap and setting it on the floor next to you.
“how could you tell?” diluc asks cautiously. you can almost see the walls around his personality reinforcing themselves with each spoken word.
“you didn’t have a game plan for what you did if you got injured. if so, you wouldn’t have showed up on my doorstep. you also asked for a healer long before you knew anything about me besides my name. you didn’t hide your accent. and, no offense, but your appearance sticks out like a sore thumb. red hair and such a distinctive black jacket don’t exactly help with keeping a low profile,” you explain and diluc just stares at you blankly, folding his hands in his lap.
“you are very thorough.” he says and you flash him a smirk.
“i’ve had all day to think. but, trust me and i’ll trust your words, even though i probably shouldn’t. this is just a farm and i’m just trying to make ends meet. i don’t really care to get involved in politics or any of that, but, unfortunately, i can’t just let you die,” you lean back in the rocking chair. the tips of your toes graze the ground lightly, preventing you from swinging back and forth.
“thank you for that,” diluc says and the two of you fall into silence. his eyes glance at his book, but it appears as if he’s trying to be respectful. the redhead seemed to be fairly awful at small talk, but you were going to force it anyways.
“what are your next plans?” you ask. “you’ll be walking in a few days. are you going to go challenge the tsaritsa herself?”
much to your surprise, diluc laughs quietly at your question. “no. i... still need to figure out what i’m going to do. despite how much i want to, i cannot simply throw myself back into the thick of things.”
ah, so the fatui vanquisher did have some basic preservation skills. what a surprise.
“well, you’re more than welcome to stay as long as you need to,” you offer. you’re not quite sure why you do, but the words exit your lips before you can rescind them. 
“in exchange for payment, i presume?” diluc asks as a formality, but you shake your head no.
“you’ll have to pay for your food. i’m no bed and breakfast, after all, but... hm. let’s just say i have some family that would want me to support those who made enemies of the fatui.” your words are intentionally vague, much like his earlier ones. diluc’s eyes soften in understanding found within the words not spoken between the two of you. you can relate to him on his fatui hatred, even if you would sell diluc to them for the price of a single corn chip.
“but overall,” you continue, burying your grave even deeper. “you can stay here free of charge. however, i do expect you to help out around the farm once you’re able to.”
“that is... quite generous. thank you.” diluc praises you and you shake your head, waving his words away with a flick of the wrist.
“i’m not doing it for you.” you stand up and walk to the doorframe, your back now turned to him. “the fatui killed my parents. you kill the fatui. it only feels correct.”
you turn to look at him over your shoulder and flash him a faux smile. it doesn’t quite reach your eyes. diluc stares at you expressionlessly, yet you can see the sympathy in his eyes. the same pity in his eyes is the one you see in most of the townsfolk. it’s why you keep to yourself. it makes you feel small and insignificant. but you don’t snap at the redhead because of it. instead, you just sigh, before glancing at the bedside table to make sure he had enough water.
“i’ll be in my room. don’t hesitate to let me know if you need anything.” your voice is softer than before, but you don’t await an answer from him. instead, you shut the door behind you, before letting out a sigh and running a hand over your face.
jeez, you really know how to overshare, don’t you? you chastise yourself, but before you can beat yourself up too much, your dog trots up to you and nudges you gently. the gesture pulls you out of your negative thoughts and you walk over to the back door, opening it up for him to go outside.
your dog pauses for a second, glancing up at you and wagging his tail for a brief moment, before bolting out the door. this time, the night is filled with clear skies and little to no threats.
“be quick.” you call after him. you hear a soft bark in response and, staring out into the vast expanse of green grasses before you, you feel a churning in your stomach. you’re unsure whether it’s trepidation or excitement for what’s to come. 
you aren’t sure you want to know.
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tag list (send in an ask to be added/removed!):  @quixoticmirror​ @fishyfish-y
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elriell · 3 years
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Some jumbled up thoughts about Elain, Lucien and Azriel + Mating Bonds
There have been a lot of conversations regarding this topic and I thought I’d flesh it out a bit myself, but these are facts/observations that as a fandom many have noticed, discussed, analysed. I just wanted to dive in myself fully.
I want to talk about each of them individually as well as, as a whole. Their emotions and mindsets, as someone who loves all three characters and wishes for all of them to get a happy ending. I will preface this with saying I will be discussing why it is very likely Elain will reject the bond and such things, so along the lines of Anti-Elucien. If you are a fan of them, thats cool, just skip this one if you happen upon it. 
We are going to dive in to the following;
Lucien & Elain  (their choices)
Lucien & Azriel  (contrast)
Rejecting the Bond
New Bonds
Fate & THE POV 
and why the writing is basically telling us everything we need to know...
Lucien 
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Lucien is noble male, he has a good heart and has suffered his plenty, and this is why people want what is best for him, to be the happiest he can... Unfortunately I think that in this case Elain is not it. 
He is right to feel that way, just as Elain has a right to feel as she does. I think it is incredibly interesting that when we finally see from his POV we see that in a way he feels as though this has been thrust on them. 
That with his last love he had a choice and so did she.
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It reminds me very much of this line about Rhysand’s parents, who were an example of an unhappy mating bond.
We will deep dive in to wrong matches further down, but the fact is that mated couples are not always indicators of true paired souls, that they very well could be the couple that do not end up happy together.
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I speak on Elain and her agency a lot because I feel like a large portion of the fandom like to discard it as if it means nothing, and even judge her for it but if we actually take a look at Lucien’s behaviour he is not all that more happy.
There are some key differences between them though, Lucien as a male feels their bond to a different degree than she does, and he also has been raised to believe and respect the bond. And thus he feels a certain obligation to honour it in the best way he can. 
This doesn’t mean he thinks she is right for him, any further than his attraction to her (which like same dude same), he hasn’t displayed any signs that they actually aline as a couple. And I feel like SJM clearly highlights this when she sets examples of his gifts not being... well right for her. 
The gloves we know she never wears show us how little they know each other as she loves to get dirty [which Feyre had told him] and the pearl necklace is then contrasted by Azriels which was very personalised to Elain. 
(The rose, the secret beauty of it hitting the light etc...)
These are all deliberate moves by Sarah to showcase their misaligned bond.
And during Elain’s section I will also be pointing out some Lucien moments that really don’t read well for him. I genuinely believe he is much happier amongst the Band of Exhiles than he is when he is seen with The Inner Circus.
Elain
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Here is the thing, this situation isn’t any easier on him that’s true but people need to respect Elains feelings, and the fact is she does not like him. Not only does she not like him but she shrinks in on herself, she looses all the progress and confidence she has made since the Cauldron. That is not a good sign of anything healthy.
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If this is suppose to be a romance we root for why is she doing everything in her power to make it seem the opposite? If she genuinely was playing the long game she would have at least started to make them comfortable around each other, goodness they don’t even have to talk, but she does the opposite.
She emphasises that he brings out the bad in her. Again, no bueno. She quite simply does not want to be around him and with SJM’s writing I think this is highly deliberate on her part. 
[And let’s be clear there are countless quotes from the other books that do NOT reflect well on their relationship but I am trying to stick to ACOSF, as it is her most recent work, otherwise I would be here all day.] 
Rejecting the Bond
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We have almost a two page discussion on why mating bonds are not an exact science, and that they can be more harmful than good. We are given two examples of it, with both Rhys’ and Tamlin’s parents. And then we get a very subtle hit at Azriel. This is all in the book Sarah said she began planting the seeds for the sisters journeys.
We also know from this there is a choice. But that many force it, because they feel it it right, (much like Lucien is probably doing right now, because he feels a duty and hope that it will work out.)  
Then we have the fact thrown at us that a lot of males believe that their mate belongs to them and will challenge the other male, which we now have a call back to with Rhys’ mentioning “The Blood Duel”. 
There is literally not one reason Sarah would put this in TWICE only for it never to happen or come close too happening. How anyone can question at this point that Elriel will happen is confusing to me, she has laid all the groundwork for it.
Now I don’t believe for a second that Lucien wouldn’t respect her choice, I think it will most certainly come down to Beron forcing his hand to wage the war we know he wants.
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I think despite what Rhys said in Azriel’s POV under immense stress, TNC will protect Elain and ultimately stand by her decision. 
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Not only does ACOSF spend a great deal of time creating a further divide between Elain & Lucien it also add a shockingly large quantity of easter eggs about “Elain choosing bonds” “Other Mate” “What if it chose wrong?” and again in this book like in ACOMAF we bring back up a failed mated pair to remind you of it’s existence.
All possible signs lean towards them breaking the bond.
And frankly from a storytelling perspective having three perfect bonds that are basically the same overarching love story (enemies to lovers) is boring, she would want to shake it up and throw a little curveball.
Lucien + Azriel  &  Why I think Azriel will have a bond with Elain.
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“If anyone can sense if something is amiss, it’s a mate” And low and behold it is Azriel who figures out what was going on with her. Not to mention in the reveal SJM further displays that Lucien has no clue what was going on with her.
I don’t know what bridge holds their bond but I wouldn’t trust crossing it personally... :/
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Further still, Lucien cannot hear her heart. Their bond is definitely not strong but you could also argue that is not an element of the bond at all but rather of her abilities perhaps. Since we know she could hear the sea too though it was nowhere close by.
But Azriel did hear her, he did pay attention and he figured out what was amiss. 
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It is interesting to me that people took such issue with this when I believe very few have issues with Rhys or Cassian fighting for their respective partners. Now I have gone in to it in depth about how I think that this was pure emotion and illogical on Azriel’s part, and I don’t believe he would kill Lucien so carelessly.
I think it speaks to the same blind emotion a lot of them have displayed for their mates, Lucien may have wanted to see if she was worth it but Azriel knows she is worth the fight.
And for all intensive purposes in that moment he was willing to fight for someone he believes shares his feelings.
Now let’s tackle the whole “Possessive” crap.
First of all, all of the male pairings in this series have shown moments like this, so if it is bothering you here why isn’t it bothering you at other points?
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Lucien has been just as instinctively possessive from their bond, and let me clarify, I am not shaming him for that anymore than anyone else. What I am pointing out is the double standard, if anything Azriel has more reason to feel like he can fight for her because she has actually shown him care, interest and attraction. 
They have actually bonded a lot more than she has with Lucien thus far.
And if they truly do have an upcoming bond then judging him on three paragraphs when we don’t know what the heck is going on is just ridiculous.
On the same note of that scene, let’s talk about “deserve”
First of all he never said he deserved her, Rhys implied that is what he was gleaning from the conversation and that it is just lust, which we know is not the case. Clearly Rhys perception is not accurate at all so to take his statement at face value and call it fact is a bit disingenuous.
Azriel wasn’t claiming he deserves her, did you read his POV at all?? He didn’t even feel like his hands should touch her let alone deserve her. Please go back and read that chapter again if you can’t see that.
Not to mention I think that the idea of FATE, and believing in hope even when the odds are stacked against you (AKA her having a mate) is actually very consistent with SJM storytelling and Az. Remember this;
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The fact that he is hopeful despite the despair of his situation is exactly what people have valued about him. Not to mention after Rhys says this to Azriel he says to them;
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So Rhys too believes they were brought in his family for a reason, some sort of fate.
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Amren too thinks they are blessed by fate. Why is it so shocking and offensive that Azriel have a little hope that there is a reason they came in to their lives? Because he isn’t with your fav?
Let’s be honest he didn’t exactly get over Mor in ACOMAF, ACOWAR and then even ACOFAS there are slight moments, thats over a long period. Three sisters didn’t just arrive and he went TAG “I want one.”
No, he genuinely grew to care for Elain, and let go of his past, and in watching Elain not find any connection with her mate he saw it as a sign that the Cauldron was wrong, which we know it can be. 
I don’t know if people are selective readers but if you think that he doesn’t care for her as a person beyond being a “sister” I don’t know what to tell you, we are not reading the same books.
ANYWAYS back on topic.
I think Sarah has laid a lot of groundwork for her breaking the bond and perhaps choosing a new one. I know not everyone is keen on another bond as they feel her free will and choice is enough, that’s fair and I agree to a point. 
I just wanted to analyse the data at hand, and I do believe after ACOSF (I never thought it prior really) that they are mates in some capacity, whether that is because of the Cauldron or something that will occur... I think she has laid enough groundwork for them being Soulmates at the least. Hence why I love the idea of a Carranam bond.
There are so many parallels between Rhys, Cassian & Az that could be taken as little signs but honestly this is long enough I am sure you all want to kill me already for making you read all that hahaha 
One last little morsel, it very well might be nothing but Az shouting after they take Elain is an interesting choice, it’s ambiguous enough that you can take it to mean the pain but it could also be another little crumb.
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Basically with all said and done I think she will give Elain her agency back and break it.
And potentially something will occur with Azriel as a result but thats certainly more grey than the rest of it.
Thank you for coming to my ted talk!
Obviously, to each their own opinion, have fun and ship whatever you want these are just my thoughts on the text at hand!
(Also I am sorry I got like 20+ messages to get to in my inbox, yeah I kinda ignored everyone and worked on this today, sorry!!! I’ll be back tomorrow)
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I love the energy and all and I don’t want to offend but as a Muslim girl i can tell you that it is literally haram to identify as anything other than your god given gender. Like I’m not trying to be rude and I’m glad that there a respectful supportive people out there but if you’re looking at the Quran and other islamic book you’ll find stories about how its considered haram. Accepting the islam religion means accepting everything and dedicating yourself to it you can’t just pick and choose.
omg my first anon hate hahaha
i know im not obligated to answer hate but im going to anyway bcuz of i have things to say (sparkle emoji) (im on pc and dont have the energy to find an emoji keyboard)
okay first of all nowhere did i say that I identify as Muslim. i get that it was ambiguous tho so its cool. to clarify,, I am personally not Muslim but I kind of have to act like one so I don't get kicked to the streets or some shit lol and maybe I'm a bit of a coward idkkk but anyways
I would be interested to know what other Islamic books ur talking about btw, but I'm pretty sure the quran doesn't mention being trans anywhere at all. in fact I'm pretty certain, I've read it multiple times with translation and commentary interpretations and anyway being trans wasn't really a 'known' thing back then? bcuz obviously patriarchy and gender roles n segregation blah blah was wayyyy more yk. shit I forgot the word. uhhh yk like prevalent?? ofc the quran does mention a shitton about gender roles,, so yk men r the breadwinners, women raise the kids and keep house and be good wives etc. and also remember the big important fact:: GENDER AND SEX R DIFFERENT THINGS!!! meaning technically u cant be 'born' a gender (omfg my keyboard hates me imagine a question mark here) ur born with certain genitals and society assigns u a gender based on that . sounds a bit fucked when u put it like that actually but anyway back when the quran was being revealed this wasn't a known thing cuz yk they didn't have studies on this stuff,, and yea ur probably gonna say 'but the quran came from allah and he knows everything' well the fact of the matter is he either forgot or smth idk I don't speak for God but trans people definitely exist that's a fact we know so yeah. oh I should come back to my point which was, even with the quran saying those things about what ur supposed to do based on whats in ur pants which is crazy outdated anyway it doesn't take gender ≠ sex into consideration either soo ye that's the most it could've said about being trans and that not very valid anymore rip and that's not even mentioning non-binary people
and anyway Islam is literally all about acceptance and respect and everything so idk it would probably be better if u didn't go around telling ppl they're 'literally haram' for being trans or gay or any typa queer bcuz its literally not our choice (insert question marks) believe me I would fucking love to be comfortable in my 'female' body but I cant no matter how much I try to force myself so I'm sorry dude. no one would choose to be stuck in a situation like this. personally, I believe Islam needs a super massive reformation. well not Islam exactly, but a lot of things said in the quran r outdated wildly now, while a lot of it will also always be relevant, eg. everyone being equal and yk give to the poor etc. i have absolutely nothing against Muslims (I have it against my family for being so forceful about religion - different thing) yall r super cool and ik being a Muslim girl isn't easy believe me, but genuinely seeing Muslim people around and yk, just existing in wider society outside of Islamic spaces makes me feel so proud of where I came from even if its not been the best experience. have u seen the show We are Lady Parts (question mark) its about an all female Muslim punk band and there's only six episodes I literally watched it all today but the message of it is what I'm trying to get to you. u don't have to be the perfect pious wife to be considered a 'good Muslim',, there are so many ways u can show faith. you don't have to be a big strong man who can handle all pain with ease while single-handedly providing for a family either.
anyways peace out that sure was a journey lol and I definitely have forgot some of the things I wanted to say but yea that's all don't forget to like and subscribe <3
(colours r to make it easier to read for people with shorter attention spans,, they don't have any other significance)
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sarahreesbrennan · 3 years
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You wrote on twitter that you were too young to be published and did fool things you later regretted. I'm curious about those regrets - is there anything you'd be willing to elaborate on?
I do want to clarify I meant I personally was probably too young, and I wasn't a babe in arms when I was published--I was 24, which is an adult! S.E. Hinton was 18 when her first book was published and she arguably invented young adult fiction. Jennifer Lynn Barnes was a teenager when her first book was published and she's always been a genius rock star. Some people are married and having kids and doing great at their jobs at 24, but some people are in college, or learning the ropes of their jobs and full-time work life in general and messing up because it still feels unfamiliar. Most of us, me included, will be making messes until we die, though we can hope for better messes.
My regrets aren't super secret--I would've conducted myself differently online and offline. One thing I've said before: I wouldn't link up my real name and my fanfic identity the way I did back when. That means having your juvenilia out there and judged, and yourself judged in a very particular way! It is hard to sit in the doctor's office and ask him for written proof you have cancer, because the internet will accuse you of faking it. (Yes that did happen. That poor man's face was like, 'Girl, why do you not live your life right.') As I've said, I have an assistant-with-antis who filters my social media and email so I don't have to come upon hostile stuff, and I do wonder if there are ways to inspire less hostility.
But to be clear regarding that example, I think fandom is awesome in many ways, and it's valuable to say you wrote fanfiction, just don't get too specific. One of my most cherished facts about a (fancy, brilliant, very bestselling) writer friend is that she wrote Sonic the Hedgehog fanfiction once. Many of my writer friends used to or still do write it! (Fanfic in general... I'm not outing a bunch of writers as avid Sonic fans...) And being open about my identity did mean I had some beautiful supportive readers from the jump, who were sweet to me and made friends with each other (Marmalade fish shoutout). I love that people connect over fiction, and that they connected over mine. My advice to others is to do it like Oscar winner Chloe Zhao, and be like 'yes I write it, yes the call is coming from inside the building, yes creative engaged people engage creatively in many ways, no you'll never know my online name!' And that's mostly how it's done these days--there are masses of fanfiction writers in TV, in movies, working as editors and agents in publishing, and who are writers, because people who are passionate about creativity are passionate about creativity in many ways. A decade ago and nobody was sure how it was going to go: I do think it went well generally, if uneasily for test balloons like me.
Overall, as regards regrets, if you're alive, you're making mistakes, and if you're growing, you're learning from them. Often the more you care, the more mistakes you make. There are some things only life experience can teach you, and I've seen people who came into writing with experience from being, for instance, lawyers which they were able to use in many ways, and there were times I wished I'd acquired experience or lost naivety in a job that wasn't my dream job. Sometimes I really didn't know what was going on, and later I was like 'Ohhh! Oh Lord.' I would say a few things I wish I'd known: How to draw boundaries like circles of salt that others couldn't cross. The personal and the professional are going to blur, but it's still important to try and differentiate them. How to pick your battles: recognise the unwinnable, find the most likely strategy for victory with the winnable ones. Know that people won't like you just because you're making life more convenient for them, so don't do it for that reason. OMG abide by contracts and make sure the contracts cover every eventuality. Learn the art of standing your ground calmly. (One day, I'll get it.)
But getting published at any age is complicated: I have one friend who was sure she was going to die after she got her publishing contract because it was her dream accomplished, and what was left? I have more life experience in my 30s, but I also had most of those years totally slain by cancer: my writing went off a cliff long before I was diagnosed, and then I couldn't write, and since then I've been scrambling. If I'd been published first at 30 I might have handled myself in style, but there definitely wouldn't have been two trilogies before the long pause. One very lovely, very talented lady who was first published in the same year I was died shortly after. You don't know what's coming: Margaret Mitchell was hit by a speeding drunk driver and we'll never know if rumours she planned to write a sequel to Gone with the Wind are true. The people whose first books were out in 2020 had a tough time, and I would've freaked out if I'd been in their position and am glad I didn't have a non-tie-in novel out--it was very strange to have two tie-ins out that year as it was! People were reading books in 2020, but it was harder for new books to get on their radar.
I didn't write the tweet to alarm anyone, or say there was a magical time it was best to be published at. Lots of amazing writers aren't published, are published feeling they're too young, are published feeling they're too old. I think my tweet was really to say, there's no precise right time, and no way to execute your dreams exactly right. I do look back on stuff and think, oh lord, me at 30 might have handled THAT better. I hope that I'll look back at me now from 50 and go, I'd crush the stuff that crushed her!
Are there things I would change, sure. But I probably would make different mistakes if it had all happened differently for me. Humans constantly torment ourselves imagining the magic way we could've got everything right, a task exactly nobody has accomplished. I've never lived a perfect life or written a perfect book, and I don't know anyone else who has. I'm really glad I was published, and really proud of all my books. If you've never done something you've regretted, how much have you done? Keep going.
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Treat People With Kindness (The BAU)
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Summary: Garcia gets Reid into Harry Styles and everyone subsequently loses their minds over it.
Content: Honestly just funny I’m not sure what to call it
MC’s name/pronouns: No alternate main character, just Spencer.
Word Count: 1706
A/N: This whole fic was inspired by the fact that a fan gave Matthew Gray Gubler a Treat People With Kindness pin, which then sparked my friend Emily and I to theorize that Spencer Reid would absolutely be a Harry Styles stan. So yeah, this is literally just the product of one fan interaction lmao
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“I got a good feelin’.”
“... What’s he doing?” Emily leaned over and whispered to JJ, who just shook her head.
“I’m just takin’ it all in.”
“Ok, what happened to Reid?” Morgan joined them, and they both shrugged, watching Spencer walk through the doors of the office. 
“Floatin’ up and dreamin’.”
“You know, maybe I need to add him to my drug test list too.” Hotch had stepped out of his office, trying to hide his grin as they saw Spencer making his way to his desk, headphones in and practically dancing over to his seat, mouthing every word of the song he was listening to. He plopped down in it with a little spin, opening a file on his desk without ever taking his headphones out. 
“Try ‘Dancing with the Stars,’” Emily laughed, and JJ broke away from their group, heading over to his desk. 
“Hey Spence,” She rested her arms on the divide between his desk and Emily’s, tapping on it to get his attention. 
“Maybe we can find a place to feel good.”
“Spence!” She tapped his arm this time, and he practically jumped out of his skin, turning to face her.
“And we can treat -”
He quickly tore the headphones out of his ears, setting them down on his desk and looking up at her, clearing his throat.
“Sorry. I was listening to something.” He gestured to the headphones still connected to his phone, as if that wasn’t already obvious. 
“Yeah, I noticed,” JJ laughed.
“Do we have a case?” 
“Nothing yet, you’re good.” She tried fruitlessly to hide her grin, and he gave her a strange look.
“Ok…”
“So,” She plopped down in Emily’s chair, rolling it over to sit near him, “What were you listening to?”
“Oh!” His face lit up, and he grabbed his phone, holding it out for her to see. She put the headphones in her ears, hearing the final moments of the song he’d been jamming to.
“And we can treat people with kindness, find a place to feel good.”
“Harry Styles?” JJ laughed incredulously, handing him back his phone. 
“You’ve heard of him?” He asked, taking the phone and sitting it back on his desk and turning back to her.
“I’m pretty sure most people have heard of him, Spence.”
“Ok, well, I hadn’t. But on Saturday I was speaking at the University of Mary Washington with Rossi, and one of the girls gave me this, after the lecture,” He grabbed his bag off the back of the chair, pointing to a round pin clipped on the strap. It was enamel, with light pink on the inside and a red rose in the center, encircled by the phrase “Treat People With Kindness” in black lettering. “And you know, naturally I thought it was a good message so I put it on my bag and I thought that was all it was. But then I ran into Garcia.”
“Oh god.”
“I was walking in yesterday and she saw it and kind of freaked out a little bit, and pulled me into her office and played me the song - the one you just listened to - and it was amazing and so I told her I thought it was amazing, which made her freak out even more and then you called with a case so I left, only to receive a a YouTube playlist a few hours later that she told me I had to watch every video on or she’d stop printing the case files for me.”
“You know she loves you too much to actually do that, right?”
“I mean, the odds were low, but I wasn’t going to risk it. Either way, I sort of listened to every single song on Fine Line and Self-Titled in one night and also a whole bunch of interviews that she sent me and he’s really funny and his music is great and the moral of the story is I kind of love him.”
JJ sent back in her chair, dumbfounded. “Dude… you mean to tell me Garcia made you a Harry Styles fan?”
“Pretty much, yeah.”
“I - Penelope!” JJ left without another word, making her way into Garcia’s office. Spencer just shrugged, returning to the file he was looking at - and his music - as Garcia spun to face JJ.
“Jennifer, my love, to what do I owe the pleasure? New case?” She asked. JJ just shook her head.
“You broke Reid.”
“I did not break Reid!” She defended with a grin. “I merely helped him reach his true form.”
“He willingly used technology, and he came into the office today practically dancing to Treat People With Kindness. So yes, you did break Reid.”
“JJ, dear,” Garcia got up from her chair, taking JJ’s hands in the doorway, “Do you remember when Reid got that adorable little shaggy haircut?”
“Despite the fact that he changes his hair like every month, yes, I do.”
“And do you remember what Hotch said?”
She thought for a moment, then her eyes widened in shock. “You did all of this… because of the boyband joke?”
“Like I said: true form.” Garcia returned to her chair, spinning around with a laugh. “In my defense, I didn’t know he was going to get a Harry Styles pin. I just took advantage of the opportunity when it presented itself. I already failed at teaching him to worship Lady Gaga, I could not miss another chance to try and pull him out of the dark ages.”
“You are ridiculous, you know that?”
“That’s why you love me!” 
JJ laughed, leaving Garcia’s office and heading up to hers, ruffling Spencer’s hair on her way by.
“You should grow your hair out again.”
“You think so?” He reached up and fussed with his hair, just as Garcia emerged into the main room. 
“Spencer Reid, my beautiful boy genius, did you do what I asked?”
“Garcia, I figured out how to download music to my phone because of you. So yes, I did what you asked.”
“You are officially my new favorite person.”
“Hang on, what is this all about?” Emily asked. Garcia grinned, hardly able to contain her excitement. 
“I’m finally bringing the lovely Dr. Reid here into the 21st Century.”
“Penelope,” Emily raised an eyebrow at her, “What did you do?”
“Garcia thinks she did something revolutionary by getting me into Harry Styles’ music,” Spencer clarified. Emily immediately clapped her hand over her mouth, about to respond before Derek piped up from his desk.
“Oh, she converted you too?”
“‘Too’ - you mean to tell me that you, Derek Morgan, are a Harry Styles fan?” Emily was looking between the three of them now, practically in shock. Derek just laughed, holding up his hands.
“What can I say, the guy’s got an incredible voice.”
“And the make up of his songs is so interesting as well; I mean, when you look at the music he’s produced in the last few years in comparison to what he performed while he was a part of One Direction -”
“Oh my god please tell me you’ve also listened to One Direction,” Emily said, laughing when Spencer nodded. 
“I don’t understand why you guys are making such a big deal out of this. He’s a singer, it’s not like he doesn’t have fans,” He defended. 
“Reid, two months ago you didn’t even know who Lady Gaga was. This is kind of a big deal.”
“Conference room in five,” JJ walked through the group, heading upstairs as everyone else got up to follow her. 
“Do not think I am dropping this,” Emily pointed at Derek and Spencer before jogging to catch up with JJ. Derek laughed, falling in step with Reid. 
“So, what all did Garcia make you watch?”
“Oh, just a bunch of interviews. I did some of my own reading though -”
“Of course you did.”
“- and what I found really interesting was One Direction’s actual rise to fame. Because the thing is, they didn’t even win X-Factor. They came in third, and yet they became the most famous group to come from that season of the show. In Forever Young - their book - they talked about their time on X-Factor, but it was so strange to me because their first album - Up All Night, that came out not even a full year after they finished the X-Factor live tour - sold 4.5 million copies within the first year. And they just kept growing… Morgan why are you laughing?”
“I’m sorry,” They’d walked into the conference room by now, sitting down next to each other at the table while Derek tried to stop himself from laughing, looking at Reid in disbelief, “You read their book?”
“And their Wikipedia page - I told you I did my own reading!”
“You said you did some of your own reading, you didn’t say you’d memorized everything about their career!”
“Eidetic memory, remember?” He tapped his forehead, and Derek rolled his eyes.
“You never let me forget. I’m assuming you know everything about their solo careers as well?”
“Well I got into Harry’s stuff first, but I ended up reading all of theirs since I didn’t have anything else to do last night. It’s just so interesting to think about what One Direction’s situation reveals about human nature and celebrity culture. I mean, a lot of their fans are dictionary definition erotomaniacs, and yet -”
“I shouldn’t even be surprised that you read this all in one night.”
“Like I said: didn’t have anything else to do.”
“As much as I’m glad you boys are bonding, we have more important things to worry about than Reid’s newfound love for a British boy band,” JJ interrupted.
“Niall Horan’s actually Irish -”
“Spence. The case.” She pulled up the photos on the screen, and Spencer nodded, opening the case file in front of him as JJ began to review everything they needed to know. She finally closed out, and Hotch grabbed his tablet and rose from the table. 
“Alright, wheels up in thirty.”
Everyone nodded, gathering up their things and vacating the room. Spencer and Derek trailed out after everyone, Spencer picking up the conversation as soon as JJ finished. 
“You know, I’m considering learning how to knit - there’s this cardigan that Harry wore...”
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mel-the-fangirl · 3 years
Text
Toss A Coin to Your Witcher
Henry Cavill x Reader
Words: 2,362
I am so so so nervous to post this because this is my first time writing a Henry fic and I know that the Henry Cavill fandom is such a tightknit family, I hope you guys have room for one more hopeless Henry stan. I know this isn’t even half as good as the other Henry fics out there but I had this idea stuck in my head for a very long time.
Please like and reblog or leave me some replies if I should do a second part! Thank you!
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The makeup brush swept precisely along your cheekbone, covering it in a subtle shimmer. Production staff milled around behind you, testing sound, testing lights. Being an actor, these things were nothing new. 
"Now remember, say it with me," 
"Don't say or do anything stupid." you recited with your long time agent and friend, Marge.
You thanked the makeup artist and made your way to the set. 
"When have I ever said or done anything stupid though?" you asked
Marge looked at you appraisingly before replying, 
"There's always a time for everything. Now go on." 
The vibe on set dialled to a hundred when you stepped on. It was really flattering how they cheered as you plonked your butt down on the wooden chair, a red tarp was set up behind you and the studio lights surrounded the area.
"Ready when you are Y/N!" the producer aka the ring leader of this whole operation flashed you a thumbs up
You nodded, feeling the nervousness bubble up your throat. 
Surprise, surprise. You still got nervous in front of the camera. It wasn't hard to handle though, you took a couple of deep breaths and you were good to go. 
"Hey guys, gals, and non-binary pals! I'm Y/N Y/L/N. I'm here with Buzzfeed and we're gonna be playing Twenty Questions." you winked at the camera with your arms wrapped around the little jar that had your questions in it
 "Let's get started, shall we?" 
Eager to begin, you stuck your hand into the jar without a second thought. 
"I freaking love Buzzfeed, really. Especially Tasty, I mean, I don't cook. But," you shrugged, wiggling your fingers, hearing the tiny bits of folded paper move around in the jar. "I love watching people cook. Then I love eating."
Scattered chuckles broke out through the crew. 
After a few minutes of rustling around, you figured you’d just come clean, "Okay. Small problem." 
You lifted your hand, the jar coming along with it. The pieces of folded paper crowding around your encased wrist as you waved your arm. 
Another round of shocked giggles started up as a couple of assistants rushed to you and tried to yank the jar off. 
"This is too good," the producer chortled, "Mind if we keep this in?"
"Fine by me!" you watched intently as Marge rolled up your sleeve so one assistant could pour oil all over it. Eagle eyed, she watched as a drop of oil landed on the bottom hem of your sweater.
"Great job, Y/N. This sweater was a gift from that designer you met last week, he said he made it just for you." she scolded, taking charge by grabbing the jar with two hands
"It was an accident, Marge. It's not like I planned on getting my hand stuck in a jar today!"
With a tug and a pop, your hand was free and slick with olive oil. Marge landed on her butt on the floor.
"Marge!" you howled with laughter, helping her up
She straightened her blouse, all business but her cheeks were stained red with embarrassment. 
"Can someone help Y/N wash the oil off her hands? Let's get this show on the road, people!" she barked marching orders at the staff, clapping her hands as she went. She wasn't in charge here but no one dared to question her. 
You chuckled, knowing that this was a cute little anecdote you’d be sharing with anyone who was willing to listen.
A few minutes later, you were back in your chair, having a laugh with everyone. The jar incident already stripped away the majority of your anxiety so you were ready to go.
"Okay! First question!" you squinted at the strip of paper, "What is the most expensive thing you’ve stolen from any set you’ve been on?" 
“Well!” you widened your eyes at the camera, “Bold of you all to assume that I’ve ever stolen anything!”
Marge scoffed rather audibly, making everyone raise their eyebrows at you.
“Okay, fine!” you held up your hand. The stunning ring you had on sparkled underneath the lights, nearly blinding anyone who looked.
“I did a period movie a while back and they had these drop dead gorgeous, and I mean gorgeous pieces of jewelry. I wore this piece,” you gazed down at the ring fondly, “for the whole of the film and I just pinched it after we wrapped, I couldn’t part with it, okay? I’m like a fricking magpie, I love shiny things.”
The crew burst into fits of laughter, making you laugh along with them.
“To clarify! This is the replica the props department had made, a very expensive replica. I can see you freaking out, Marge. And no, you don’t have to call the insurance company.”
You were a big hit, to say the least. You had them in stitches every time you opened your mouth but all good things had to come to an end, right?
It didn’t matter how carefully you dipped your hand into the question jar, this next one was going to make things very messy for you. 
"What do you like to do in your free time?" you read out loud, tapping a finger against your chin
"There hasn't been much free time lately,” you chuckled, “Let’s see… I play video games, yeah. I am so obsessed with the Witcher, it's borderline unhealthy. I’ve read all the books and played the games so many times." 
"What do you think of Henry Cavill as Geralt?" the producer asked you
Henry Cavill.
Just hearing that man's name was enough to make the blood rush to your cheeks. You brushed an imaginary hair out of your face. From behind the camera, Marge raised a knowing brow.
"Well," you cleared your throat and sat up straighter
"To be honest, at first I was really skeptical about his casting. I mean, he is way too good looking. Like way. Way. Too good looking. But…"
"But?"
Your mind drifted to the first time you saw a picture of Henry Cavill in full costume. The white hair, the golden cat eyes, the intense gaze and all that leather? It definitely made you feel… Certain things.
You cleared your throat, propping yourself on the table with your arms. To be honest, your head was still in a Henry Cavill haze so you had zero control of what came out of your mouth next.
"I'd definitely toss all my coins to that Witcher. Toss a few other things as well."
Everyone in the room ooh'ed and whistled, delighted by your saucy reply. The ruckus snapped you out of it and your hand immediately flew to your mouth.
“Please tell me I didn’t just say that out loud.”
“You did.” Marge mouthed at you, trying but failing to contain her laughter
"So you enjoyed his performance as Geralt?" the producer pressed on, hoping to get more audience-raking answers
How many times were you going to blush during this interview?
"Oh, well, about that, I haven't really gotten around to actually watching it.” you admitted sheepishly, “But I've seen photos and some clips. Very impressed by what I've seen so far."
"You will watch it though, right?" 
"Oh, absolutely. No way I’d miss out on that! Henry Cavill is an incredibly wonderful, talented actor. I think he’s also a fan of the franchise so I have no doubt that he played Geralt to perfection as with all his other roles." you nodded solemnly, putting a hand to your heart
Everyone in the room with you caught on that you were gushing over the actor, the sly looks they all exchanged with one another were a dead giveaway. Too bad you didn’t notice before you could try and play it cool.
“Alright! I think it’s time for the next question!” you declared, swiftly plucking another question out of the jar
By the time it was all over, you had convinced yourself that your little crush-related blunder wasn’t even a big deal, it would probably just be a little footnote in that video. No biggie.
But, Jesus Christ were you wrong.
The video took a couple of weeks to edit and in that time, you were busier than ever. A movie you had just done was getting a lot of attention, your performance in particular had critics singing your praises. At that point, you were definitely getting noticed a lot more when you stepped out for coffee.
So, the timing was just perfect.
The second the video went live, your phone was going off non stop. Twitter mentions, Instagram tags, and articles. A few notable entries being:
“WATCH: RISING STAR Y/N Y/L/N GUSHES ABOUT HENRY CAVILL IN CHARMING BUZZFEED VIDEO”
“@geraskier-rights: Y/N Y/L/N REALLY SAID SHE’D TOSS ALL HER COINS TO HENRY CAVILL’S GERALT AND WE ALL KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS”
“@geralt-of-vengerberg: Y/N The Fond™ is showing👀👀👀”
Marge sat on your sofa with your phone in hand, absolutely thrilled while reading tweets out loud. You scheduled a panic session with her over lunch once everything blew up.
“Oh my God.” you groaned, massaging your temples. “Marge, what do I do?”
“About what?” she didn’t even bother to look up at you
You plopped yourself down next to her, laying your head in her lap, “All that. It’s everywhere.”
“And? There’s nothing wrong with it, they all think you’re charming and funny. A true Relatable Queen.”
Was it your sanity slipping through your fingers? Or the overpowering embarrassment? You had no idea but whatever it was, it had you laughing until your stomach hurt.
Marge tugged at your hair, “Get it together, bitch. Jeez.”
“What are you so worried about anyway?” she asked, placing your phone on your stomach
You swiped through your emails absentmindedly, “I’m not worried about anything, it’s just that what if…”
You left the words hanging in the air, you might as well have been dangling from a cliff from how much colour drained from your face.
“What if what?” 
Marge shoveled some pasta into her mouth before noticing that you essentially turned into a statue right next to her.
“Y/N!” she shook your arm with a grip you were sure would leave some bruises. “What’s the matter?”
Wordlessly, you passed your phone to her, the comment from a certain verified account displayed prominently on Buzzfeed’s Instagram post of a little snippet from your video, the “I’d toss all my coins to that Witcher” part, naturally.
“@henrycavill: Dear Y/N, how many coins are we talking about here? Let’s talk about my reward.”
It was all Marge could do to not throw your phone across the room. Her eyes went wide, following your every move as you paced back and forth, a thumbnail in your mouth.
“That did not just happen, I did not just see that right now. I didn’t.” you babbled, your heart beating thunderously in your chest
There it went. Your very own ticking time bomb finally went off. Number of casualties? Just one. You.
“Okay. Just calm down, Y/N.” Marge caught you mid-pace, squeezing your arms
“Maybe it was a fan account. Tell me it was a fan account, Marge. Henry Cavill did not just hear me imply what I implied.” you grasped at her hand with your clammy one
“Well if he has a fan account that’s verified and has fourteen point five million followers?”
“Oh god.” you groaned, sinking to the floor and hugging your knees
“Oh, Christ.”
Marge hauled you to your feet and thrust your phone in your hand. She looked you hard in the eye, “Stop your whining and answer him. You’re Y/N fucking Y/L/N, one of the hottest people on the planet, start acting like it.”
You stared at her, eyes wide. Your chest rose and fell rapidly. Marge’s words started to make sense in your mind and adrenaline started surging through your veins. You nodded fervently, psyching yourself up.
“Fuck yeah.” you breathed, clicking ‘Reply’
“@yourinstagram: @henrycavill I know you take orens, crowns, and florens but maybe we should discuss further?”
Before you could even stop yourself (did you even want to?), your fingers already landed on the blue paper plane.
“I did it.” you exhaled, staring as the likes and overly enthusiastic replies started pouring in
“Fuck yeah, you did. Now, come on. Leave your phone. We’re getting drunk.”
More weeks passed and you actually ended up forgetting about that little reply you left Henry Cavill. You were busier than ever. Guestings, endorsement deals, and awards shows left and right. So, when you finally had a couple of days free, you decided you would set up camp on your sofa and finally watch Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia.
You even threw on your Superman pyjamas, “What the hell.” you shrugged
If you were going down this road, you might as well do it right. Maybe you would even watch the Man from U.N.C.L.E after or would it be Night Hunter? The decision would have to wait.
You watched, absolutely riveted as the White Wolf battled against the kikimora, his silver sword hacked at the creature with unmatched expertise. You were only a few minutes in but you already knew you’d be stuck on that sofa for hours.
When the kikimora had Geralt pinned underwater with his trusty sword just beyond arm’s reach, you found yourself on the edge of your seat, one of your cushions in a chokehold.
“Come on, come on, come on.” you muttered as Geralt reached for his sword
You wouldn’t find out if he got it or not. A knock on your door literally made you fall off the sofa.
“Fuck!” you exclaimed, your hip was already smarting from the impact
Whoever that asshole was, you swore you were going to give him a piece of your mind. You stomped to your front door just as that idiot started knocking again.
You huffed and threw the door open then your mind immediately went blank.
“I am so sorry. Are you alright? I think I heard you fall?”
Oh yeah. You were definitely falling.
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You can find the second part here!
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