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bowieandqueen11 · 4 years

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Luke Crain Headcanons

Request: Hi🥺I’m usually not to good about making request but I’m trying to breakout of my shell on that cause you are an amazing writer and I love everything you write!! But can I request a Luke Crain headcanon where you guys grew up together but distanced while he was in rehab but you came back together after what happened with Nellie! Thank you so much you’re an angel🥺💛

Thank you SO much @cathrinexxxv I LOVE LUKE CRAIN! Also I’m so ready to binge watch all of Bly Manor tomorrow!! <3

You and Luke first met when you were very young. As in, really really little. To this day, you’re still constantly teasing him and making him blush smile about his huge magnifying pair of glasses and his obsession with bowler hats.

You and your family used to live in the small village which was a fifteen minute walk away from the looming heights of Hill House, so when a rumour started spreading down the houses that a new family full of children were moving in for the summer, you, naturally, were intrigued.

One night, when you had heard from your mother that the new family had moved in, you sneaked out your back garden on a warm afternoon before dinner, cutting through the dark and dingy forest until you reached the outskirts of the property. Seeing a boy around your own age sitting on his own on the burnt grass, you waved to Luke from behind the branch of a nearby, crooked oak tree. He was startled, to say the least, but as he watched you hide slightly behind the bark, he was surprised to find he wasn’t scared in the slightest.

He felt as if he almost knew you already. As if this was always meant to happen, that you were meant to find each other here.

Nudging his glasses back up the bridge of the nose, he shyly waved back. Once he finally realised that you weren’t going to budge from your hiding place, nervous from the stories your neighbours had told you about this house, he decided to pick up his crayons in one fist and his paper in the other, before he sets off half stumbling, half stomping along the uneven ground towards you.

When he finally reaches the trunk, he stops and looks at you kind of funnily, tilting his head slightly before he decides the right reaction was to smile at you.

‘My name is Luke Crain. Do you want to play with me? All my siblings ignore me and they don’t want to draw with me.’

The two of you spent the rest of the afternoon huddled under the shaking leaves, sitting on the roots of the tree, Luke tracing out a picture and you giggling as you tried to bump his hand out of the way to colour it in.

From then on, the two of you were inseparable. Nellie loved you of course, and saw you as her honorary best friend as well, as did the rest of the siblings (even though Shirley would never admit it, and Theo was too stubborn to), which meant constant sleepovers at Hill House.

Hugh would always chuckle and shake his head when he peeked into Luke and Nellie’s room, seeing Nell asleep on a red bean bag with a half open bag of sweets lying deserted by her feet, and you and Luke sprawled out on the mat by the iron railings of his bed, snoring.

You were also the only one he allowed up into his treehouse. Although, sometimes he was too embarrassed to let you, or his siblings, in, because he had stuck pictures up on the wall of the drawings he had tried to do of you.

Growing up with Luke also meant having to calm him down after he starts seeing the tall, floating ghost. Sometimes you would try to climb up the ivy outside of his bedroom window, only to topple into the house headfirst when you start to hear Luke’s high pitched screaming coming from under his bed. Although Olivia would come running in, she would always end up comforting sobbing Nellie, as Luke would only grab onto you, the two of you sitting on the edge of his bed as you remind him the rule.

‘Breathe in and out Luke, that’s it. In and out, seven times - that’s what keeps you safe.’

‘Eight’, he would say with a trembling breath. ‘Eight times. You’re my family too.’

The two of you were gutted when Luke had to move away, but your parents could already see how close the two of you were, and so decided that a move away and a new school for you, perhaps, wasn’t the worst idea. Especially, they decided, since you had been there that night as well.

Although the two of you were close for the whole of your childhood, it takes Luke until he’s eighteen years old to realise just how long he’s really been in love with you. It takes some nudging on from Nellie, pointing out how you would run up to his locker during breaks between classes and just fill him in on how your day was going - each break, no matter how long it had been, without fail. Luke was the only person you wanted to talk to, and from the look of pure delight on Luke’s face as he leans against his locker door and gives his full, undivided attention to you, you’re the only person he wants to listen to.

Or how, Nellie would continue, you would come round to their house for dinner, and although Aunt Janet tried to separate the two of you by sitting you opposite each other, you would just spend the whole dinner ignoring whatever Theo was talking about and giving each other funny looks as you kicked each other in the shin.

Or, when the two of you got a bit older, and you would sneak out of your dorm to visit him in the middle of the night, throwing little rocks at his window until his curtains would rustle and the window latch would be thrown open, his grinning face peering down at you. Despite having spent the whole weekend together, reading to each other in the town’s local library, or just lying shoulder to shoulder watching movies, the two of you would sit out in his garden, on the dewy grass, constantly craving each other’s company. You made him blush one night, when you suddenly grabbed his hand and intertwined his growing fingers over your smaller ones, pointing up at the moon, and the glowing stars, not realising the little side eye, euphoric look he would give you.

That’s when he finally realised how immensely, and terrifyingly in love with you he was.

It scared him, to realise this, but deep down he knew it had always been you.

He has so many nightmares though. So many nights are spent with his head lying heavy in your lap, as you brush through his golden hair, trying to shush him and calm him down, or rocking him as he cries into your shoulder because of the nightmares he has about his mother, or about Abigail.

As the two of you start to escape your teenage years, and the wishful chasing after each other that came with it, your relationship becomes slightly more strained when he starts using. You choose to move in with Nellie for a while, once he finally goes to rehab. When she gets married, and you're forced to find somewhere new to live, you think you'll never hear from the Crains again - you get the odd visit from Nell, or Theo, but they're so busy enjoying the newly wed life, or studying for their degree that it's not enough - nothing fills the hole that comes from missing Luke.

It hurts that he never comes to see you, but little did you know that he used to sit at his little beige desk every night, underneath the barred window, just staring up at the moon as he bit on the edge of his pen, a feeling of such wistfulness and loneliness and longing weighing down his chest.

He used to write you a letter, every day, just pouring out all the feelings he was too afraid to tell you, but he always crumples them up and throws them away, too scared to send them.

When Steve phones you up to tell you the news about Nellie’s passing, you told him to immediately come and pick you up.

You're terrified when you open the door and walk out into the bone chilling night to hug him, your heart thumping in your chest when he tells you about how Luke has left rehab again and is somewhere out on the streets, probably using. It breaks your heart, but you know you have to be the one to find him, to bring him back.

When you reach him, and see the man you've loved since you were a child wandering, shoeless and shivering along the freezing, cracked pavement, muttering to himself, you can’t help a tear slip out as you unbuckle your seatbelt and hop out of Steve’s rental.

Luke is so terrified, he doesnt recognise you for a second. It’s only a second, though, before his eyes widen and he pounces on you, wrapping you into him so familiarly, his frame looming large above you but yet feels so fragile in your grasp as he buries his head into the side of your neck and starts crying.

‘I’m so, so cold, Y/n, and my arms are s-s-so stiff, and I’m s-so sorry, I’m so sorry-’

You can’t bear to tell him the news, so you just hold the nape of his neck and pull him tight against your chest, hating the way his whole body shakes in your hold.

On the day of Nell’s funeral, he doesn't leave your side once - it’s as if the two of you had never been separated at all. As everyone files in through the main door, ignoring the sour face on Shirley as they wander into the reception area, you and Luke just sit knee to knee on the couch opposite the entryway.

‘I tried to write to you,’ he starts, as he fumbles a cigarette from out of his breast pocket and tucks it away behind his ear, trying to busy himself with anything so he doesn’t have to meet your confused eyes, and so you don’t have to see the guilt ridden in his. ‘I want you to know that. Nellie kept on telling me off, but i just didn't know how to say what i needed to say to you.’

‘Luke, its okay, i understand how difficult it was for you-’

‘No-no, Y/n, no more excuses! You mean so much to me and i- i cant... i can't lose anyone else. Just-’

He's so gentle when he finally reaches over and kisses you, trying to shake off his fear and just show you what he meant instead. His suit rumples against your chest as he smooshes himself against you, cupping your cheeks softly with his large hands as he tilts you to the side to meet him in a needy, a desperate, a long anticipated kiss.

He doesn’t pull away - he can't - until you finally break for air, and only then does he finally concede and places his forehead against yours with a soft thud, just closing his eyes in both agony and bliss.

‘I’m sorry that took me so long to do.’

‘It was worth the wait. Although, I have to be honest, your timing has always been rubbish.’

He chuckles, his deep voice vibrating against your chest as he rests his head on your shoulder like a lost puppy, gazing up at you with those wide, lost eyes, and for the first time you can finally see the adoration and awe and just pure love that’s always been in them.

For the rest of the reception. before he tells you of his plans to go back and burn Hill House to the ground, is spent with the two of you escaping from his siblings by stepping outside and sitting on Shirley’s porch. Your arms stay linked tightly together, as if afraid to let go again, and his coat is wrapped around both of your shoulders as he rests against you, just content to be surrounded by your presence.

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khaoticallykat · 4 years

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◇The Prince and The Punk◇

Summary: you and Ransom get to know each other.

Word count: 2,139

*Warnings: physical abuse

A/n: sorry for the delay, I'm trying to update this every sunday or monday, thanks for the support and likes. ♡

Chapter 2: Clarissa

You ignored Ransom as you talked to Harlan, it was amazing how much tension was in the room, Marta shifted uncomfortably around, fiddling with the books, Harlan tapped his fingers against the velvet chair, doing his best not to pry in the business of the both of you. You sat on the loveseat, facing Harlan with a smile on your face as you talked about your research paper, Ransom was burning holes in the back of your head, he chewed loudly on the biscuits he got from his coat pocket, doing everything in his power to think of a way to make you leave, or just torture you.

"Excuse Grandpa," Ransom said getting up, "may I have a word with Y/n? Please? Alone?"

You gave him a look like he had five heads, about to protest, Ransom took your hand and pulled you to a door that lead into a different hallway from where you came in at.

"You wanna tell me what you're doing here?" Ransom asked, "and you can't run this time honey."

"First off, don't ever call me honey in your life again or it will be short." You waved a finger in front of his face, "second off, I'm here because it's the main priority of my class, like I said to Harlan, it's my research literary paper, that has to be twenty pages and I don't see you doing any sort of work Hugh."

He clenched his jaw, "I don't have anything, my main priority is the football team,"

"Of fucking course it is, and what girl you sleeping with?"

"She's my girlfriend, not some girl, it's love, her name is Clarissa."

"Clarissa Monroy? That insanely too happy cheerleader?" You cringed

"She's the captain, and I'm working on being the football captain."

On the other side of the door, Marta and Harlan listened closely, mainly Harlan.

"Harlan, you shouldn't do that!" Marta whispered, trying to pull him away from the door.

He shooed her off, "This is my house I can do whatever I want."

"Just stay out of my way and we won't have a problem, honey." Ransom smiled

"Whatever you say Hughie, it seem like you're always in my way though." You turned around and grabbed the door handle, Ransom had his hand blocking you from leaving.

He leaned down, close to your face, "get your paper done and go, I don't want people thinking I have anything to do with you."

You rolled your eyes and pulled open the door with all your strength, making Ransom stumble slightly. Harlan was sorting in the same chair smiling at you, Marta was facing the bookshelf.

"Everything alright Y/n? I hope Ransom isn't giving you a hard time." Harlan knew exactly what was going on, he had a plan that would be put into action very soon.

"I'm good, me and Ransom were just catching up." You smiled, looking back at Ransom in the doorway, looking a little peeved. "Let's get back to work shall we?"

Over the next few months you were between, school, work and Harlan's house. You started to see Ransom more around, whether it was a passing glance at school or walking around Harlan's. Harlan often invited you over for lunch and would ask you to stay and use his study for your paper. You were happy to take the offer of course, but that offer also came with Ransom who would creep over your shoulders while you typed.

There were a few incidents with Ransom and you, the first was when you were in the bathroom, he took the opportunity to take your items and place them on the top shelf of the library and taking the ladder, leaving you to look around, panic and finally trying to climb up the shelf to get your stuff. He stood in the next room laughing, watching you dismay for about half an hour until Marta begged him to help you.

Another incident happened, this time it was from you, you waited around a corner in the house with the dog's toy, Ransom sat outside on the patio by the pool smoking until get finally got up and began walking back in, "Hey Ransom, catch!" You yelled before throwing that toy at him, he caught it with ease and rolled his eyes, until he saw the face of two dogs jump him and fall into the pool.

The last incident that happened was just about the same, except you were talking to Harlan by the pool, "Hey Y/n! Catch!" He yelled, you fumbled with the football but was able to catch it, you looked at Harlan, confused.

"Ransom, you know there's no throwing-" Harlan was cut off by your shriek as Ransom tackled you into the pool, he had to admit, it was rather funny, but he kept a stern face.

Marta came running out, gasping at the situation, "Harlan is everything ok?" She asked rushing to the edge of the pool, "are they ok?"

You and Ransom came back up, you were pissed and you swam over to him and began splashing water at him, "YOU PIECE OF SHIT!"

Ransom laughed, blocking himself from your attacks, "that's what you get!"

"Every is going smoothly" Harlan assured Marta, smiling at the two of you fight in the pool.

Another two months passed without a fight from either of you, Fran, the maid, made sandwiches for the both of you in the kitchen, Ransom always called her "The Help".

"You really shouldn't call her that," you said one day, taking a bite of the sandwich Fran made for you, it's been about 5 months since you first came over and the tension between the both of you was normal, you both welcomed the challenge of fighting with each other. "she'd probably stop calling you Hugh if you did."

Ransom huffed, sitting across from you at the table in the kitchen, trying to ignore you by playing on his phone.

"Don't you have homework? What the hell is end your Major? All you do is play football and fuck-"

"Shut up!" He slammed his palm down on the table "are you always this annoying?"

"Are you always a little bitch?" You smirked

"Why does my grandpa even let you come here? You're always annoying with that loud music in your headphones." He pointed to the headphones around your neck, the music was just loud enough for you to hear without putting them on.

"It's called metal, you should look into it instead of listening to all the same rappers," you turned down the volume, "you look like the guy that says he listens to everything, but once any kind of rock or metal plays, you're crying like a bitch."

"I do listen to everything," he said, turning his phone to you, showing you his music library, "I listen to rock."

You couldn't hold back the laughter, tears were coming from your eyes as you pushed his phone away, "oh Hugh, you can't be serious, your library is mainly trap, and not the good kind. Not to be rude, but you listen to shit."

Ransom took his phone, furrowing his eyebrows "If you mean all that screaming and growling shit, then no, I don't listen to it."

"What a shame, you should try it sometimes."

You and Ransom talked a bit more, learning more about each other, he lived on his own while you still live with your parents. You told him that your mom was a doctor and your dad was a realtor, that you still work at the bakery, even though you could live comfortably off of them. He even offered to buy you an apartment, you politely declined. You wanted to work for what you needed, even if it was a part time job. He told you that his major was engineering, which made you laugh, you could never see Ransom living a finger to do anything. He said that football was his main goal, though, engineering was to fall back on. You applauded him for his plan, at least he was smart enough to have one.

You both were so deep into conversation that his phone ringing surprised you both, he looked at it and held up a finger.

"Clarissa, babe, how are you?" He smiled, "oh? Really? Ok, I'll be right out." Ransom got up from the table and began making his way to the front door, "Clarissa is here." You got up and followed him, he opened the door and waited on the porch.

Clarissa had been over a few times with Ransom, you've never ran into her before, she was the exact image of what a rich white girl would look like. Petite, long, blonde hair and blue eyes, had plans for plastic surgery to get her boobs and ass bigger. She drove up in a newer model BMW and parked right next to Ransom. She stepped out of the car with a gift bag, still dressed in her cheer uniform. Normally the dogs would run up to people, but for some reason they stayed by you in the foyer with you.

"Ransom!" Her high pitched city girl voice called out, running up to him and jumping in his arms, "I got you a present." She winked, holding the bag out for him.

"I can't stand that damn girl," a voice from behind you said, it startled you but it was only Harlan, "she's sweet but so disrespectful."

"Thanks sweetheart" Ransom dropped her and opened his gift, Clarissa walked in, seeing you and the dogs.

"Aww," she smiled, reaching her hand out to pet the dogs, but they snarled and growled, "guess your still getting used to me, it's ok." She turned her attention to you, "and you must be Y/n, Ransim told me that you were a high friend of his."

Friend? Yeah, right.

"Yeah, something like that, he told me a bit about you, even though I've seen you on campus." You held out your hand to shake but she didn't seem to care.

"That's right, we go to the same college, you must be really smart, it's like, really hard getting into a college like that, it's very expensive."

"I worked hard to get into it, unlike some people who can just buy their way in."

You could already tell that she was looking down on you and you didn't like it. Ransom came up from behind her and held her, almost like he could tell the tension in the room, "hey, we're gonna go, we have dinner plans tonight."

"It's at the restaurant on 5th, The Wine Bottle," She winked and held on to Ransom, "maybe you could try it one day."

Ransom looked at you with sorry eyes as he started to drag her out, "see ya, gramps, Y/n."

The door closed behind, leaving you, Harlan and the dogs alone, "I told you, she's rude, I don't see what Ransom sees in those women."

You sighed and shrugged, "I guess if they look like a sex doll, it works for him." Harlan let out a hearty laugh. "I should get going, thanks for having me over again Harlan."

Packing up your stuff you headed for the front door, but could hear two people arguing on the other side.

"You didn't have to act like that Clarissa, I'm trying to make my grandpa like you, ok?" Ransom said, clearly aggravated.

"Be like what? Did I hurt the feelings of that bitch in there?" Clarissa, not sounding like the squeaky city girl she was earlier.

"Be nice." He seethed, "I'm doing this because I want to, not because I have too."

"Be nice? So you're taking up for her after she was rude to me?"

"No. I'm saying that you can't treat everyone like dirt, if you want to be part of my family you need-" SMACK!

"Miss goodie two shoes making you act nice all of a sudden? You fucking idiot, you're lucky that I'm still choosing to date you." She said, "you told my parents that you wouldn't be a problem, remember?"

"Yeah."

"Good, let's go to dinner babe."

You held your breath, hand covering your mouth. It made you angry, a rage burned all over your body, she can't just do that, she can't treat someone like that!

"Something wrong Y/n?" Harlan said walking up behind you, the dogs coming up to you and whining.

You swallowed the lump in your throat and turned to Harlan, all smiled, "yeah! Of course! See ya!" You said, rushing out the door behind you, both BMW's were gone as you ran to your car taking a moment in the driver's seat to breath, punching the steering wheel out of frustration. You couldn't let that happen again, not to Ransom.

#ransom drysdale x reader #Kat writes #TP&TP #The Prince and The Punk

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ionlycareaboutyou · 4 years

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prompt: kind of a niche ship but could you write some richie n seth fluff pls? i love your fics!!✨

omg i love this ship. i’ve written them vaguely (richie/seth/stefon threesome fic) but never on their own? so this was a v fun challenge for me. i hope u like it, u’ve inspired me to write more for them!

cw for this being set in IT ch 2 canon, so eddie is like. dead and gone for good, unfortunately, and it is discussed. i picture this fic being set around 2017. i promise this fic isn’t just richie angst, there’s fluff! just gotta get through some sad parts first.

When he moved back to New York City, Richie felt like his 29-year-old self again. He still does sometimes. The NYC comedy scene and the LA one are distinctly different, despite all the NYC expats who move to LA to star in films or do voice acting or settle down and have a few kids. It didn’t feel right to go back, though. LA was all shine and sun, several layers of sky blue paint over decades worth of grime. At least NYC was honest in its grime for the most part. At least New Yorkers were able to joke about their greasy ass pizza and subway rats instead of all trying to be Instagram influencers.

The real truth was that Richie had friends in NYC. In LA, he had none. And what he needed was friends.

The funny thing about reconnecting with an old friend is that sometimes, even though it seems like a lot has changed, they’re still the same person, deep down.

Seth is still a workaholic--the same workaholic who Richie met back when he hosted SNL for the first time. He still stays up til 4 AM sometimes, drinking dark, bitter coffee for the caffeine rather than the taste, darting in and out of cubicles, asking if anything new has cropped up in the past few hours that’s monologue worthy. He still wears those ratty sweatshirts during the day and changes into suits for the evening. He does shave more consistently, Richie will give him that. He still laughs high pitched and loud when a joke really gets him, and he still laughs at his own jokes, even, stumbling through them sometimes with tears welling up in his eyes. He still loves to drink tequila and whiskey and anything really that brings heat to his cheeks and more of that laughter bubbling out of his chest, though he tells Richie he doesn’t drink as much as he used to--he’s far too old for it now, and the hangovers are intense.

(“I do wanna do a day drinking segment with Rihanna, though,” he confides in him once over lunch. They’re eating greasy pizza, and Richie feels like he’s in heaven, because the shit in LA doesn’t even begin to measure up.

“Rihanna? Do you have, like, connections to her or something?”

“No! I wish,” Seth frowns at his slice of pepperoni. “Do you?”

Richie hoots out a laugh. “Dude, you are severely overestimating me if you think I know Rihanna. Good luck on your quest, though.”

“Hey, maybe Rihanna’s got a thing for raunchy comedians who wear the same shirt three days in a row and own like, two pairs of sneakers and refuse to buy new ones. I don’t know her personally, either.”

Richie flicks a piece of mushroom right at Seth’s face. He laughs in that way he does, and Richie’s chest flutters.)

And maybe it’s the fact that Seth is still Seth--still blue-eyed, New Hampshire, toothy grin Seth--that makes Richie fall for him. And he’s not even surprised by it. He thinks he’s always sort of had a piece of his heart reserved for Seth, even when he moved to LA. He was the first one to send him a congratulatory text when the news broke that he got Late Night, and he was always happy to wander around his too-empty LA apartment and shoot the shit with him for hours long phone calls about everything and anything and nothing at all. Seth was the first to welcome Richie with open arms back to NYC. They were the sort of friends that never truly fell apart, even when they went a while without speaking to each other.

It all comes tumbling out eventually, why Richie is back in NYC. Seth never really poses the question, but when Richie calls him one Tuesday night at 3 AM, eyes unfocused and hot with tears and chest heaving with hyperventilating sobs, the answer becomes clear to him.

He’s still awake, of course, sitting in his office and staring at the writers’ Slack chat when the phone rings. “Are you awake, man? I’m sorry if I woke you,” Richie says into the phone, warbly.

Seth manages to talk him down from it when Richie admits he had a pretty vivid nightmare. He doesn’t judge him for a second or wonder why a 40-year-old man is so shook up by one. He simply talks slow and soft into the phone, telling him it’s okay and grounding him as best as he can. “You can tell me anything, Rich, you know that, right?” His voice is so goddamn sweet Richie wants to sob all over again.

So he tells him everything--well, rather, a condensed version of everything. He tells him he had friends as a kid back in Maine, really close friends, and they met up again after drifting apart, and he tells him that he saw his best friend in the world die right in front of his eyes. He’s careful with his words, but something tells him that even if he did explain all the clown shit, Seth would listen and comfort him all the same, even if he was confused by it. “I feel so bad for dumping this shit on you, dude,” Richie says, fighting back the tears that he’s finally managed to quell. “It’s just--”

“Shh, hey, it’s okay,” Seth assures him, “I can’t fucking imagine. I’m so sorry. I know that sounds really lame, to say I’m sorry. I know it doesn’t really fix anything.”

“It’s okay. I haven’t--no one really knows. I mean, my friends know, they were there, too, but...God, it’s so fucking complicated.” He lays his head back down on his pillow and exhales a shaky sigh, feeling mostly back down to earth. “I guess I just. I picked up my phone and dialed you because I needed to know everything was...you were okay and I wasn’t still in that fucking dream.”

“I get it. You don’t have to worry about that. You know I keep crazy hours anyway.” They manage to get a chuckle out of that. “I hope this doesn’t sound insensitive, but I’m glad you were with him in his final moments, I’m sure he was very glad to have you there.”

Richie swallows the baseball-sized lump in his throat. “God, I sure fucking hope so. He was…” he stops himself. He hadn’t told the other Losers what he wanted to say about Eddie and how he felt about him, but he was certain they knew. Seth is completely detached from this whole situation, but maybe putting out what he’s been harboring in his chest for so long will take some weight off it. “He was the first person I really fell in love with.”

“Oh, Rich.” Seth’s voice is soft and sad.

“I know that’s a lot to tell you, and like, I haven’t even really told you, or anyone that I’m gay, but I guess here it is, this is so damn...ungraceful,” he rambles with a shaky little laugh, “But I guess I’m not really graceful anyway.”

“It’s okay. You know it doesn’t bother me at all, right? God, I sound like--every straight dude in the world right now. I’m totally cool with gays!”

“Well, maybe a little,” Richie says, unable to not give him a little shit, and he’s happy to hear Seth laugh on the other end. “But thanks. I’m glad you were the first person I told.”

“Well, when I tell you about the dudes I hooked up with in college, I know you’ll be chill about it, too.” Seth says, then adds, “Oh, guess I just did.”

“You what? Seth middle-name Meyers.”

“It’s Adam.”

“Not the point. You what?”

“Dude, haven’t I told you like a million times about my crush on James Spader? Do you know how many times I’ve watched Pretty in Pink? Too many times. That’s not even the best Hughes film.”

“I thought that was like--a joke! You always said you wanted to grow your hair out like that!” He’s smiling against the phone, really truly grinning at this whole mutual coming out situation, and he’s so happy to be smiling again.

“Well, yeah, I do, but also, like, he was hot, okay? Him being bald now is the greatest tragedy of my life.” Seth says, laughing even more.

“You know, I haven’t gone bald yet. I’ve got plenty of hair. It’s unwashed right now, but feel free to run your hands through it. We can roleplay. I’ll be...fuck, what was his name? The Pretty in Pink guy?” Richie hasn’t seen that movie since it came out.

Seth answers very quickly. “Steff.”

“That’s it! I’ll be Steff, and you can be...Andie! That’s her name.”

“Steff wasn’t the love interest, though, remember? He was the love interest’s asshole friend.”

Richie hums. “I’m kind of an asshole. Not as pretty of an asshole as Spader, though.”

“I think you’re perfectly pretty.”

“Thanks,” he smiles again. His stomach knots itself up, then un-knots. Seth Meyers, the man who’s all blue eyes, New Hampshire, and salt-and-pepper hair is calling him pretty. What a world.

After he hangs up and manages to catch a few hours of sleep, he’s not surprised when he gets a call from Seth a few days later asking if he wants to grab a drink, and there’s a different tone to his voice. He can’t quite place it, but it almost sounds nervous, like he doesn’t want to screw this up. He doesn’t screw anything up, though, and when they make their way back to Seth’s apartment, pleasantly buzzed, and end up on his couch, lips on lips, Richie isn’t really surprised, either. He smiles into each one.

They seem to divide their time in between either apartment, not quite ready to have the “hey, let’s move in together” conversation. It’s only been a few months, and they’re taking their time. Richie’s never let himself take his time before.

Most nights, they’re tangled up in whatever bed they’ve fallen into--tonight, it’s Seth’s, and Richie has managed to get him home at a reasonable time, around midnight, even though the show filmed several hours before. (“The news and the president don’t stop,” Seth has explained to him before, “But God, I wish they would.”) He’s running his fingers through Seth’s hair, which is surprisingly soft once all the product is washed out. Richie never gets tired of touching it. “You’re halfway to Spader, I think.”

“Yeah? I’ll see if makeup and wardrobe approve of me growing it out any longer, or if they’ll force me to cut it.” Seth sounds sleepy, but even in the dark Richie can tell he’s smiling.

“I’d like it,” he says, and presses a kiss to the line of Seth’s jaw. “Isn’t that enough?”

“For me? More than enough.” Seth brings him in for a proper kiss, long and deep and warm, hands wandering and stroking skin, unhurried and sweet.

When they pull apart, it comes tumbling out, as things seem to do. “I love you.” It’s the first time Richie has said it. He’s known it, without a shadow of a doubt, for a while now. And he thinks Seth knew it, too, even if it went unsaid. He understood that Richie was working up to this sort of thing, to opening himself up and allowing himself to cry and feel and say things like that. Like I love you. And now it’s come out, like it was always bound to, and Richie feels Seth smile against his temple.

“I love you, too.”

“More than James Spader?”

Seth laughs. “Much more.” He pulls him in for another kiss, and they say “I love you” many more times that night, and almost every night afterward.

#my writing #thank you so much for this prompt! i went a little wild #i kind of woobified richie a bit but what i can i say i love to project #and the james spader thing is the result of seth always talking abt him in monologues and ACNs #he wants to 'grow his hair out that long'#but he needs that 'spader confidence'#lmao #Anonymous

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starrystarrybabe · 5 years

Text

Oh, How the Mighty Fall [In Love] CHAPTER FIVE (OC x Ben Hardy)

CHAPTER ONE, CHAPTER TWO, CHAPTER THREE, CHAPTER FOUR

Lily Anne Mercury is brought in to help with Bohemian Rhapsody at the request of her Uncle Bri and Uncle Rog, and along the way, she might meet someone to share her life with. The only problem with this is that while their friends and the world can see that they’re perfect for each other, they’re going to be fully blind to this for a while.

Hello, everyone! Sorry this took so long to write. I’ve been bombarded with work and I’m just sort of drowning rn and I’m not sure what I’m doing anymore. I sort of spiralled, but writing this helps me stay grounded. I’m glad that everyone likes the fic so far, and if anyone wants to message me about the story or the characters, that’s totally fine. I love talking with y’all! This is a fun chapter, so please, enjoy!

-- casey

DISCLAIMER: I’m fully aware that it would’ve been physically impossible for Jim and Freddie to have a child even with this method during the time they were alive, but the idea of Freddie as a dad and the idea of how his child would turn out to be was just too sweet for me to not write.

TRIGGERS: hint at sexy times and scene in rehab

FACECLAIMS:

Kelly Gale as Lily Anne Mercury

Sira P. Kante as Ezichi Adebayo

Erika Linder as Bronwyn Ryan-Hughes

Bree Kish as Madigan Ryan-Hughes

October, 2018

Lily Anne drives to the filming studio after months away from her BoRhap boys, and the excitement she feels is threatening to bubble over. She’s missed them so much, and even though Joe would facetime her or send her pictures almost every day, it still hurt not to be with them in person.

She steps out of the G Wagon and walks across the parking lot to the set, smiling. The sounds of a bustling crew can be heard, and as she approaches the set, she smiles as she sees that it is a perfect recreation of the one from I Want to Break Free, which is one of her favorite music videos of all time. She can’t wait to see the boys dressed up in drag.

Roger and Brian walk in behind Lily Anne, and she almost jumps when she feels a hand clap onto her shoulder.

“How was the tour, love?” Roger asks, grinning at his goddaughter.

Lily Anne smiles and hugs her uncle, closing her eyes. “It was great. I could’ve done with something bigger than a twin bed, though. It was barely big enough for me.”

Roger lets her go after a moment, ruffling her hair. “You’d be surprised how many people can fit on a single bunk when you try hard enough.”

Lily Anne lets out a disgusted noise before hugging her Uncle Brian, smiling. He hugs her back tightly, smacking Roger’s shoulder.

“Ignore him. He’s just being himself,” Brian says, laughing. “We missed you, but you seemed to be having fun from what we could tell.”

Lily Anne smiles up at the man after they break apart, nodding. “It was fun, but I missed my boys and Lucy. How have they been?”

Brian nods after thinking for a moment, satisfied. “They’re doing great! They did miss you, though.”

Roger smirks, looking down to clean his sunglasses. “Especially Ben. You should’ve seen his face the first day you weren’t at set. The boy looked like a hurt puppy.”

Lily Anne scoffs and crosses her arms. “You’re being ridiculous. Quit it.”

Roger shrugs, looking smug. “I’m just saying. I don’t know what you did to that boy, but I’ve never seen anyone look so sad.”

Lily Anne rolls her eyes and looks up at Brian, waving one hand dismissively at Roger. “Whatever. Now, where are they? I need to see them before I do anything.”

Brian points to a red door and smiles. “Right through there, getting their makeup done.”

She smiles and kisses his cheek before turning to leave. “Thank you! I’ll see you both later.”

As she leaves, Brian looks over at Roger and sighs heavily. “What did I say about letting them figure it out for themselves?”

Roger puts on his sunglasses and shakes his head. “If we don’t make it clear to them, they’ll never figure it out.”

Brian looks down, rubbing his temples. “Just be patient, Rog. It’ll happen eventually.”

Roger shakes his head. “I want to see them produce a child and walk her down the aisle before we become senile or croak. If I need to speed up the process, I will.”

Brian shakes his head, and the pair walks off to check with the director what they would be doing that day.

All they want is for Lily Anne to be happy. Ben can make her happy, and he knows it. But it will happen at their own pace, and however long he has to wait, he will.

---

Lily knocks on the door of the large trailer, smiling. She can hear Joe inside, going on about something, and recognizes Rami’s laughter immediately.

The door is opened by Ben, with his makeup on and wig pinned back, and her jaw drops.

She always knew Roger looked pretty in this music video, but Ben is on a whole other level, and she’s just-- wow. He’s already pretty, but in this makeup, with the wig, and the skirt--

Holy fuck.

“Lily! I didn’t know you’d be back today!” Ben exclaims happily, bringing her inside and hugging her. She’s silent, and when he pulls back, she’s just looking over him in awe. “Words, Lil. I need to hear words. What’s going on?” He frowns, concerned.

She blinks and shakes her head furiously, backing up. “This--” she gestures wildly to Ben’s get up, “--should be fucking illegal. Who gave you the right to look this good as a girl, Hardy?”

Ben laughs, shaking his head and heating up. “It’s just the outfit, really.”

Lily Anne scoffs, looking up at Ben with an offended gleam in her eyes. “No, it isn’t. It is absolutely disgusting how fucking well you’re pulling this off and you know it, Ben. Don’t be fucking humble about it, that’s even worse!”

Joe has been recording this, and snorts, prompting Lily Anne to look towards him and his camera.

“That’s what I was saying!” he says, just as insistent as Lily Anne.

She nods, putting down her purse and pointing to Ben. “Look at this shit! Just take it all in, and tell me that this isn’t the prettiest woman you’ve ever seen.”

Rami and Gwil can’t form words, they’re laughing so hard.

Lily Anne puts her hands on her knees, slouching over, and catching her breath. She regains her composure before straightening up and doing a deep cleansing breath. She faces Ben again and smiles.

“I’m sorry. I needed to get that out of my system. You look good.” She smiles and hugs him, before moving to greet the rest of the cast.

She hugs Joe from the back and grins. “I missed you all so much on tour.”

“We missed you too,” Rami says, smiling and squeezing her hand as his makeup is touched up.

Lily walks over to Gwil and gives him a hug, smiling.

“How was the tour?” he asks, smiling up at her.

She stands up straight and smiles, moving out of the makeup artists’ way. “It was great! We sold out almost every stadium, and the fans were super receptive to the new music. I had a great time meeting some of them as well. The only downside was sleeping on a tour bus. It wasn’t exactly easy to sleep with the movement.”

Ben speaks as the hair person begins to finesse the blonde wig he’s wearing. “What was your favorite gig?”

Lily Anne purses her lips, tapping her chin. “That’s a good question. I think… probably Madison Square Garden. Especially since my Papa performed there as well. It meant a lot that I was carrying on his legacy and returning.”

Rami smiles and nods, turning around in the chair as the wig is adjusted. “I loved the song you wrote that you debuted on tour.”

Lily Anne looks down and laughs nervously. “Thanks, Rami.”

Joe looks over at Ben, who’s making it a point not to face Lily.

“It had some really beautiful lyrics,” Gwil says, keeping still as the makeup artist reapplies his eyeliner. “Your performance of it was amazing.”

Lily Anne smiles, rubbing the back of her neck. “I hated it while I was writing it, but I couldn’t sleep until I got it out of my head and onto paper. Thought it sounded bloody pathetic at first.”

Rami frowns. “I didn’t think it sounded weak. If anything, it was brave. You were just putting it all out there, and that’s incredible.”

Ben nods, and speaks quietly. “It takes a lot of balls to perform something like that.”

Lily turns to look at him, and smiles. “I guess it does.”

The trailer falls into a comfortable silence as the makeup artists and hair people finish up, and pretty soon, the boys are escorted to begin the shoot for the day. Lily Anne sits back and watches as they replicate the music video, smiling to herself as she thinks about how Freddie would always take her to his video shoots.

1991

The set of I’m Going Slightly Mad

Freddie bounces a two-year-old Lily Anne on his lap as he gets his makeup done for the video, trying not to smile as she lets out high-pitched giggles and waves her arms around. Eventually, he cracks, and the makeup artist huffs, shaking her head.

“Freddie, we don’t have time to waste! I can’t keep redoing this because you keep smiling!” she exclaims, putting down her supplies. “Let someone else take Lily Anne. She’s very cute, but right now we need to work.”

Freddie sighs, regaining his composure after cooing and hugging his daughter. “Alright. I’m sorry, darling. She’s just too much sometimes.” He kisses her cheek and looks over to see Deaky reading a book in his chair. “John, darling!”

Deaky looks over to his friend, closing the book. “What is it, Fred?”

“Could you take Lily? She’s making me laugh,” he asks, gesturing to the two-year-old with her hair in pigtails.

Deaky grins and walks over, plucking the baby from her father’s lap. “Of course! Hello, Lily Anne! We’re going to have plenty of fun, aren’t we, love?”

Lily Anne giggles, clapping her hands and cuddling into her uncle. “Unca John! Unca John!”

Deaky smiles, kissing the girl’s cheek. “Good girl! What’s that, darling?” He points to the penguins.

“Penguin!” Lily Anne exclaims, clapping.

“What about that thing on Uncle Roger’s head, love?” he points to Roger, who’s wearing his teapot hat.

When Roger sees Lily Anne, he sticks his tongue out at the girl, causing her to giggle.

“Kettle!” Lily Anne responds, sticking her tongue back out at her uncle.

“What’s the best instrument in the world, Lily?” Roger asks, smiling at the girl.

Lily Anne purses her lips before saying, “Guitar!”

Roger pretends to cry, sniffling and wiping away fake tears. “Not the drums?”

Lily Anne reaches for her Uncle Roger, and Deaky hands her over. She immediately begins patting Roger’s face with her tiny hands, pouting.

“No cry. Drums okay, guitar better,” she says, looking at Roger seriously.

He smiles and kisses her cheek, smiling. “I’m just joking, love. I’m not crying.”

Lily Anne huffs, hitting his chest with her little baby fist. “Not funny!”

“What do we call Uncle Rog when he’s being bad, darling?” Freddie calls out, smiling.

Lily Anne pokes Roger’s nose and grins. “Wanker!”

Roger cackles, leaning back and holding the little girl close.

To say that Lily Anne is confused by Gwil asking her to meet him in his trailer is beyond true. She has no fucking idea what he could possibly want from her alone, and he’s shown no attraction towards her, so she doesn’t quite know what all this is about.

Brian 2.0: Hi, Lily. I need to talk to you about something.

Lily Anne: sure thing. what is it, gwil?

Brian 2.0: Can you come to my trailer later? I need to tell you in person.

Lily Anne: of course. should i be concerned?

Brian 2.0: No, not at all! I think you’ll like what I have to say, but I don’t know for sure. Just come over later and everything will be cleared up.

Lily Anne: alright. will do!

Brian 2.0: Thank you so much. I really appreciate this.

After the shoot is over, she does as she’s been told to, and knocks on the door of Gwil’s trailer. He opens the door, looking nervous. She walks inside, frowning.

“Gwil, are you sure you’re alright? I’ve never seen you this nervous before,” Lily asks, looking up at the tall man.

Gwil takes a deep breath and fiddles with his fingers, trying to compose himself. “I’m alright, I swear. Just… sit down, please. On the couch.”

Lily does as she’s told, and when Gwil sits next to her, he turns to face her and clears his throat.

“I know I’ve made a rather… well, a strange request by asking you to come here alone, and it’s even stranger that I did it over text since you’ve been here all day,” Gwil says, fiddling with the cuffs of his sweater sleeves.

“Yes, that’s true. You’ve been off all day, really. I noticed that you were quieter than usual on set, less engaged than I’ve seen you be with the boys,” Lily says, looking back up at him.

Gwil nods, gulping. “I know, I know. I just… how do I say this?” He runs a hand through his hair. “While you were on tour, I couldn’t…” He moves his hands, trying to articulate. “I couldn’t stop thinking--” He huffs and drops his head. “I’m sorry, I’m usually so much better with words. You know that.”

Lily Anne nods, resting one hand on Gwil’s knee. “I know. Take your time.”

After a moment, Gwil lifts his head again, taking a deep breath. “I couldn’t stop thinking about Ezichi. I missed her so much, and even though we talked almost daily, it was still so hard to be away from her for that long. I never want to feel that way ever again, and I’ve most certainly never felt so strongly about someone as I feel about her.”

Lily Anne’s smile grows as he speaks, spreading across her entire face. “You love her.”

Gwil nods, smiling nervously. “I do. I love her more deeply than I’ve ever loved anyone. I don’t think this feeling will ever go away or fade, and I have to express it to her.”

Lily Anne laughs, leaning back. “Go ahead and do it, Gwil! This is great! Why did you want to tell me about it first?”

Gwil smiles and holds Lily’s hand. “I wanted your permission. She’s your best friend. You know her better than anyone, and if you didn’t think that I was the best person for her to be with, who could love her fully and make her happy for the rest of her life, I wouldn’t make a move.”

Lily puts her hand over her heart, touched by Gwil’s words. “Gwil, I… I don’t think anyone could love her more than you already do. You should go for it. She loves you just as much.”

Gwil’s face lights up, and he squeezes her hand. “Did she tell you that?”

Lily nods, smiling. “Yep. The entire tour, you were the only man on her mind. You had her listening to Stevie Nicks she missed you so much!”

Gwil pulls his hand away and smiles, nodding. He hugs Lily, and she hugs him right back.

“At the wrap party, I fully expect you to tell her everything you told me,” Lily says, rubbing his back.

“Don’t worry, I absolutely will,” Gwil responds, squeezing Lily.

---

Lucy and Lily are walking through London, enjoying their girl’s day. They had decided to go to brunch and shop, and as they walk by a boutique, Lily grabs Lucy’s arm and points to two outfits in the window.

One of them is a red velvet suit with an embroidered sheer collared top, and the other is a Twiggy-style dress with a scalloped collar and leather accents on the bell sleeves. They look perfect.

“Lucy, if you don’t try on that dress, I will literally kill you,” Lily says, looking over at her friend. “You’ve got legs for miles. They would look fucking fabulous in that dress.”

Lucy points to the suit, grinning. “Your skin against that color red? C’mon, we have to try it.”

The pair walk inside and are tended to by a store employee, who immediately starts changing rooms for them.

“What’s the event?” another employee asks, smiling.

Lily Anne smiles back at the employee. “A party. It’s going to be at the Ritz, and we intend to look just as classy as the ballroom we’re going to be in.”

Lucy smiles at her friend, nodding. “It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

The employee seems impressed, raising a brow. “The Ritz. Wow. Well, we can pull some more outfits worthy of the Ritz if you’d like. There are plenty here.”

Lily looks at Lucy, who smiles and nods. She turns back to the employee and nods. “Sounds great, darling. We’d love that.”

The employee walks off, and the girls go in to try on their outfits.

Lily Anne loves the fit of the suit, and walks out to see Lucy looking at herself in the mirror, checking out the different angles of the dress.

“Damn, Lucy! That looks amazing on you!” Lily exclaims, grinning.

Lucy turns to her, nodding. “I really like it. But I’m not sure if it gives off the right vibe.”

Lily frowns, crossing her arms. “The right vibe? What is that supposed to mean? You look hot, is that not what you want?”

Lucy blushes slightly. “Well ideally I would like Rami to ask me to be his girlfriend--”

Lily scoffs, rolling her eyes. “Don’t worry. He would date you no matter what dress you wear to this party. He’s been in love with you since you started filming!”

Lucy nods, looking back in the mirror. “I know I probably sound ridiculous, but it’s not screaming ‘I’m ready to be your girlfriend!’ to me.”

Lily Anne takes a moment to analyze the dress before nodding. “I get what you mean. Do you think this outfit would be good for the party?”

Lucy looks over Lily Anne and smiles, nodding. “I mean… you look stunning.”

The sales assistant from earlier comes back holding two dresses, and gasps when she sees Lily Anne. “Holy shit! Pardon my language, but that looks amazing on you!”

Lily Anne smiles at the sales assistant. “Thank you, darling.”

The assistant hands off the two dresses to another worker to put in Lucy’s changing room, examining the suit. “It looks very glam rock. I would wear the shirt with a nude lace bra, or just pasties if you’re brave enough. However, it’s a really good look either way.”

Lily Anne smiles as Lucy goes back to change, and examines herself in the mirror. She takes off the blazer, revealing the tattoos on her arms, and the worker gasps.

“Oh my god, you’re Lily Anne Mercury! I didn’t recognize you without all the glam when you walked in.” The worker turns red, shaking her head. “I’m so embarrassed! I listened to your music all the time in 2012, and I love the new album. I’m a huge fan, really.”

Lily Anne smiles, putting a hand over her heart. “Thank you, darling. It’s alright. I can be very lowkey when I want to be, and not many people recognize me on the streets unless I’m wearing something outrageous. I appreciate that you like my music.”

The worker’s smile is so wide and bright, and Lily Anne is touched that she could brighten this retail worker’s day with her presence. “It’s so cool to have such a powerful group of women to look up to. My niece loves you too. Her greatest wish is to go to a Room 301 concert and become a songwriter.”

Lily Anne nods, thinking for a moment. “What’s her name? I can get her a ticket to the next concert we do, and if she wants to go backstage afterward and meet the band, she can do that as well.”

The worker gasps, and covers her mouth. “That’s so sweet of you! Her name is Evelyn Kensie Wells, and I can give you her mom’s name and number.”

Lily Anne nods, and plugs the information into her phone. “What’s your name, darling?”

“Caroline Lewis, miss,” the worker responds, smiling.

Lily Anne grins. “I expect to see you there with Evelyn, alright?”

Caroline hugs her, and she smiles, hugging her back. She loves helping people and giving them nice things, and especially women and children. When Caroline pulls away, she’s slightly shaking.

“Can you ring up this suit, darling? I’m taking it.”

Caroline goes to ring up the suit and Lucy exits the changing room in a silky black gown with a turtleneck and a thigh-high slit. The sleeves hug her arms, and the backless detail just adds another layer of glamour to this look.

Lily Anne is speechless, and Lucy looks at herself in the mirror.

“What do you think, Lily?” Lucy asks, smiling.

“Rami is going to lose it and so will I,” Lily says excitedly. “You look like a goddess, Lucy. I love it. I’m getting it for you because you need this dress.”

Lucy frowns, shaking her head. “Lily, please--”

Lily shakes her head, cutting Lucy off. “Take that off and get into your casual clothes, because we’re getting shoes next.”

Lucy mumbles affirmatively, and the girls leave the store with their outfits for the party.

---

Lily sits back in an armchair, checking her phone as she waits for Lucy to finish getting her makeup done.

“Do you really think Rami will make a move, Lily?” Lucy asks, nervously playing with her rings.

Lucy looks over at the woman looking up at the ceiling as her bottom lashline is smoked out. “Look at yourself in the mirror, Lucy. You’re a five-course meal, darling! I’d marry you on the spot if you weren’t already emotionally involved with someone.”

Lucy smiles, letting the makeup artist do her other eye. “You say that as if you’re not also emotionally involved with a certain man.”

Lily rolls her eyes, and hears a knock on the door.

“Who is it?” she asks.

“Room service,” Bronwyn answers, causing Madi to laugh.

Lily opens the door, smiling. “I don’t remember ordering two raging lesbians.”

Bronwyn shrugs. “Sorry, love. We don’t come with a return policy.”

Lily grins. “Eh. I didn’t pay too much for you two, so I’ll keep you.”

Madigan smiles, and they walk inside, closing the door behind them. Bronwyn looks over at Lucy, raising a brow.

“Damn, Lucy. If I weren’t already married, I’d wife you the fuck up,” she says, smiling.

Madigan looks over and wolf whistles, joining her wife. “If it doesn’t work out with Rami, you can always come to us.”

Lucy blushes. “Thank you. You’re both very sweet.”

Lily smiles, and there is another knock at the door. “Hello?”

“My tit is about to pop out of this dress. Open up before I give someone a show,” Ezichi says, sounding panicked.

Lily Anne opens up the door and lets her friend, whistling at her ensemble. “We’re going easy access tonight, aren’t we?”

Ezichi examines Lily’s sheer top and raises a brow. “You’re basically flashing everyone. Don’t be a hypocrite.”

Lily Anne scoffs and looks in the mirror. “You can’t see that much with the embroidery, really. If it’s actually too much I can just wear the blazer over it.”

Ezichi rolls her eyes, picking up a piece of fashion tape from the box on the table and applying it to her dress. With Lily’s help, they manage to stick the fabric down, and Ezichi jumps for good measure, testing it out. The tape stays, and Ezichi smiles.

Lucy stands up from the chair and walks over to the mirror, and Ezichi’s jaw drops. “Holy crap, Lucy!”

Lucy’s eyes widen in panic and she immediately begins to look over herself for anything off. “What? Is there a stain on the dress?”

Ezichi shakes her head, laughing. “No! Not at all. You just look really good, that’s all. I’ve never seen you in a dress like this! I love it!”

Lucy smiles at Ezichi. “Thank you so much! I love yours too!”

Lily Anne frowns as her phone buzzes, and looks down at the device.

blind bitch: Help

She responds to Roger, sighing.

Lily Anne: what is it?

blind bitch: Can you sign tonite ?

Lily Anne: … sign?

blind bitch: Sing*

Lily Anne: what’s in it for me?

blind bitch: Are you kidding mr?

blind bitch: Me*

Lily Anne: nope.

The text bubble appears, disappears, and appears again over a span of ten minutes.

blind bitch: I’ll buy hte food for the after party.

blind bitch: The*

Lily Anne purses her lips, thinking for a moment before responding.

Lily Anne: sure. what songs are we doing?

blind bitch: Thank u !! Just we are the champions, dont stop me now, we will rock you, and borhap.

Lily Anne: got it. will warm up now.

blind bitch: Love ya, Lily !

Lily Anne: love you too, uncle rog.

Lily takes a sip of water and begins to do vocal exercises, causing Ezichi to frown.

“We’re not performing tonight, why are you warming up?” Madi asks, voicing what the band is thinking.

“Roger just texted me asking if I could perform with him and Brian tonight, and he’s buying us after party snacks if I do,” Lily explains, shrugging.

Bronwyn answers her phone as she gets a call, smiling. “Hello, Brian! What’s up?” She leans back against the bed she’s laying on as he speaks. “Alright. I’m down to perform if you have the bass. Which songs?” She nods as the songs are listed. “Got it. Easy enough. Bring up the bass so I can practice and we’ll be good to go! Thanks! Bye, Brian!” She hangs up and looks over at Lily Anne. “Sarina is bringing up the bass.”

Lily smiles, pausing her singing. “Sounds great.”

Ten minutes later there’s a knock on the door, and Ezichi opens it to reveal Sarina Taylor carrying a bass and wearing a low cut dress that fits her body like a glove.

“Hello, Ezichi! I love the outfit!” she says as she walks inside, kissing Ezichi’s cheek.

“Thanks, Sarina! I love yours as well,” Ezichi responds, smiling.

Bronwyn walks over and gets the bass from Sarina’s hands. “Thanks, mum,” she says jokingly.

“You’re welcome, love. You look dashing,” Sarina says, pinching Bron’s cheek.

Lily Anne smiles and hugs Sarina, grinning. “You look stunning, mum,” she says, smiling.

2013

Rehab

Lily Anne reclines in her bed, writing down the lyrics to one of her new songs when she hears a knock on the door. She looks up tiredly. “Who is it?”

A nurse responds to her. “You have a visitor, Miss Mercury.”

Lily Anne puts aside her paper, frowning. Nobody has come to visit her since she got here two months ago. “Who is it?”

“Sarina Taylor. She says that she’s your aunt. Do you want to meet her at the front desk?” the nurse asks.

Lily Anne blinks in confusion, biting her lip. Roger took it particularly harshly when she overdosed for the second time, but as a small gift, she received sequin slippers from the Taylor clan as a collective whole. She didn’t anticipate Sarina or any of the Taylors actually wanting to see her.

“Miss? Do you want to meet her? It’s up to you,” the nurse prompts.

“Y-yeah. Sure, just let me put on some shoes and a sweater,” she responds, clearing piles of paper off her bed.

“Take your time, Miss. I’ll tell the front desk that you’ll be down soon,” the nurse says before leaving.

When Lily Anne heads down to the front desk with a messy bun, gray sweats, and her slippers on, Sarina spots her and perks up, sitting up in her seat. Lily Anne walks over to her and the woman puts aside the bouquet she has in her lap to stand up and tightly hug Lily Anne.

There are no words that come out of Sarina’s mouth, but the love and relief she feels radiates from the warm hug Lily Anne recieves. When Sarina pulls away, she hands her the bouquet, smiling. “They’re from your garden. Mary helped me collect them.”

Lily Anne nods, smiling weakly at the flowers. “Thank you, Sarina. They’re gorgeous.”

Sarina picks up her purse and smiles at the girl. “Do you want to put them in your room and then go for lunch?”

Lily Anne raises a brow at the word lunch. “Lunch where? I can’t leave the facilities.”

Sarina nods. “I know. Jer and Kashmira made you some food, and I have it in my bag. We can eat it near the pond and have a little picnic of sorts.”

Lily Anne gulps back emotion and nods, smiling. “Sure thing. Let’s go to my room first.”

---

When Sarina sees the papers all over, she frowns. “Love? What’s all this?”

Lily Anne places the flowers in a plastic pitcher and puts them near her window. “The papers? They’re song lyrics.”

Sarina nods and leans down to pick some up off the floor. “Can I look at them, or are they not done yet?”

Lily Anne hesitates before nodding, helping her to pick up the papers. “I’m most likely gonna produce them, so I guess it really doesn’t make a difference, does it?”

Sarina smiles and nods, and as they leave the room and walk over to the elevator, she looks down at Lily’s feet. “I’m glad you like the slippers. Lola picked them out for you.”

Lily smiles, looking at her aunt. “Tell her that they’re a very good gift.”

Sarina nods, satisfied. “I will.”

---

Lily Anne smells the Indian food when Sarina pulls it out of her bag and nearly begins to cry. She can taste the love when it reaches her mouth and closes her eyes. A single tear falls because she can barely handle all this emotion she feels. Sarina squeezes her hand, and she squeezes it back, looking over to see the woman barely holding back tears.

“We all just want you to be okay, Lily. We’re here for you always, no matter what,” Sarina says.

Lily nods. “I know. I appreciate it.”

“They why don’t you take it?” Sarina asks.

Lily Anne takes a deep breath. “Sometimes I don’t think I deserve it. I’ve hurt so many--” She wipes away a tear. “So many people, so badly. I know that I’ve wounded Brian and Anita more times than I can count. My bandmates are so loyal, and I just don’t understand why. But the worst hurt has always fallen on Roger.”

Sarina nods, looking down. “He loves you so much. We all do.”

Lily takes another bite of her food. “I know that. He’s like a third father to me, which is why he can’t stand to see me destroy myself.”

Sarina takes a deep breath. “He’s hurting so badly. We all are. I offered for him to come, but--”

Lily Anne furiously shakes her head. “I don’t want to see the hurt in his eyes.”

“That’s why I’m here. He wants to know that you’re doing better.”

Lily passes Sarina a song she’s written. “Bring this to him.”

Sarina nods. “Can I read it?”

Lily looks over at her and nods. “Yeah. I want him to write this one with me.”

Sarina looks down and begins to read it, smiling. “Lily, you’ve never written anything this… this vulnerable.”

Lily takes another bite of her food and nods. “It’s my own form of therapy. I tried the group stuff, the meditation, the art therapy, but this is the only thing that really works for me.” Sarina nods, looking at the scrawled out lyrics. “Does it make you feel better?”

Lily nods, smiling. “Yeah. It helps me out a lot. I think I finally found a good coping mechanism.”

Sarina’s smile only grows as she reads further. “Oh, Lily… he’s going to love this. He’ll be so happy that you’ve found something that works for you!”

Lily smiles as her aunt kisses her forehead, closing her eyes.

Lily Anne leads the group of ladies downstairs, walking into the lavish ballroom and smiling as she sees the BoRhap boys together. As soon as she walks inside, Ben is the first to notice her, and smiles when he sees her, beginning to walk over. Gwil and Rami follow, and Joe tags along behind them.

Lily Anne looks over Ben’s suit, nodding in approval. “Black velvet with a red cufflink. I approve.”

Ben smiles at her and nods. “I see we both got the memo.”

She nods, laughing before looking over his cufflinks. “Are these real rubies?”

He nods, and Lily Anne’s jaw drops. “Wow. How boujee of you, Benjamin.”

He grins down at her. “What can I say? You’ve influenced my style.”

Her lips quirk up into a smile, and as he offers her his elbow to walk to their table, she takes it, walking away with him.

Joe looks like he wants to kill both of them. “How are they so blind? How? They even dressed the same fucking way without consulting each other!”

Gwil sighs, patting Joe’s back. “Just be patient, Joe. You’ll be his best man someday.”

Ezichi nods, agreeing with Gwil. “It will be a long time before she puts me in a bridesmaid’s dress.” She looks at Gwil, smiling. “I love the suit.”

Gwil smiles back at her, nodding. “I think that’s a gorgeous dress. You look amazing.”

She smiles as Gwil offers her his arm, and she takes it, walking off with him.

Bron looks over at Joe and sighs, offering her own arm. He takes it with a smile, and she grins.

---

Brian taps the microphone and the room quiets down, everyone turning to look at the man.

“Hello, everyone! Do I have your attention? Good.” Brian pulls out a piece of paper from his suit jacket. “First of all, I would like to say thank you to everyone who worked on this project, which is so important to Queen, to Lily, and to everyone who knew and loved Freddie.” He smiles at the audience fondly. “This project has been in development for so long, because we knew that it had to be absolutely perfect for Freddie. Everything, from the script, to the cast, to the set, to the timing. Everything just had to be perfect. I’m very pleased to say that Roger and I found that it was the best it could possibly be, and our goal of making sure the world knows Freddie and the band as more than just another rock band was met.” Brian wipes his eyes, smiling. “Queen is a family for me, and it has been since 1970, when we first got together. Just like a family, some people have decided to be less directly involved, but that doesn’t change that we love them unconditionally, and hold our arms open for them if they choose to return to the forefront. Also, just like a family, we take care of one another, no matter what.” Brian looks down at Lily, who blinks away a happy tear. “Everyone in this room is now part of the Queen family, and I’m so glad that we could extend our love to all of you talented, dedicated, wonderful people.”

The audience claps, and Brian nods, waiting for them to calm down.

“As a thank you, we’d like to perform a few songs for you all. On the bass, we’ll have the talented Bronwyn Ryan-Hughes, and in place of Adam and Freddie, the lovely Lily Anne Mercury.”

As the crowd roars, Lily Anne sheds her blazer, putting it on her chair before stepping on stage. She walks over to Brian and gives him a tight hug, smiling. He reciprocates, and when he pulls away, walks over to his Red Special. Roger gives Lily and Bron thumbs up, and the girls nod, heading over to their instruments.

Lily Anne takes her spot at the baby grand piano, angling down the microphone with a smile.

“I must admit, I was informed of this just thirty minutes ago, so I have no idea what the order of the set list is,” Lily Anne laughs, waving dismissively. “But I think it’s only right to start off with a song that truly encapsulates the legacy of this amazing band.” She begins playing We Are the Champions, and as the room claps, she lets the music take her, infusing all the heart and soul she can into the lyrics of the song.

She imagines that Jim and Freddie are watching her from the back of the room, smiling and holding hands as their baby girl sings, knowing that they raised a strong, independent, confident woman. In a way, she thinks they are watching her, and she could swear that she feels her Papa behind her, performing alongside her. As the song closes, she takes a bow before returning to the piano.

Don’t Stop Me Now gets her moving around the stage, at one point headbanging to Brian’s guitar solo. She owns the song, and as she begins the stomp stomp clap of We Will Rock You, she prompts everyone to stand up, causing the whole floor to shake. The power of the song causes the air around her to buzz with energy, and she sighs deeply, taking a sip of water and sitting down to catch her breath before the last song.

“You’re an amazing audience, truly.” She says, smiling at the people in the room. “I can’t help but feel like Freddie is watching this all from above. I’m sure he’s forcing Jim to sing along to all of it, and playing with the cats.” She lets out a laugh. “How about we close with a little Bohemian Rhapsody?”

The audience yells, and Lily Anne stands up to finish off the set. The song goes perfectly, and everyone screams once the song is over. Lily Anne feels a spark on her forehead and a hand on her shoulder, and knows that it’s Freddie, and he’s proud of her. She takes a bow with Bron, and hugs Brian and Roger, smiling.

---

Ezichi smiles and hugs Lily Anne as she sits down, grinning. “You were perfect, Lily! That was amazing.”

Lily Anne smiles at Ezichi and returns the hug, leaning against her friend. “Thank you, Ezichi. I appreciate it.”

Bron sits down and Madi kisses her cheek, grinning. “You looked so happy up there, B! I loved it!”

Bron wraps an arm around her wife, kissing her on the lips. “Thanks, Mads. I must admit, your dancing did encourage me to continue on. It was adorable.”

Madi blushes and shakes her head. “I dance like a chicken without a head, Bron. I’m so bad at it.”

Lily Anne frowns. “Madi, you’re a great dancer!”

Madi looks over and scoffs. “Not when it’s anything but Irish dance.”

Joe smiles, looking over at her. “You did Irish dance?”

Madi nods, smiling. “Yep. I’ve done it since I was five.”

Bron ruffles her wife’s hair. “She dances and I play Welsh fiddle.”

Gwil perks up. “How Welsh were your parents?”

Bron looks over and raises her brows. “My father had the flag tattooed across his back and my mother was a Welsh clog dancing champion. I grew up only speaking Welsh in the house.”

Gwil leans back, nodding. “I did clog dancing as well. I was pretty good at it, actually.”

Ezichi grins at Gwil. “No way. I have to see that.”

Gwil smiles at her. “I’m sure I can find my clogs somewhere in my closet.”

Just then, a slower acoustic cover of You’re My Best Friend begins playing, and people start to go to the dance floor in the center of the room as couples.

“Speaking of dancing,” Gwil begins, standing up and offering Ezichi his hand, “would you like to join me out there?”

Ezichi’s smile grows, and she stands, nodding. “Of course.”

Bron soon sweeps Madi to the floor, and Lily Anne, Ben, and Joe are left sitting there. The tension is thick, and Lily Anne sighs, sipping her virgin margarita. She clearly expects Ben to ask her to dance, but that’s not going to happen, so Joe steps in, standing up and offering her his hand.

“M’lady, could I have this dance?” he asks in a silly accent.

Lily snorts, putting down her drink. “I suppose so, my good sir. Please, sweep me away with your dance moves!”

Joe smiles and takes her hand, and as they walk to the dance floor and begin dancing, his hand on her back and hers on his shoulder, she sighs.

“Listen,” he says, becoming serious. “I know you were expecting Ben to ask you to dance. I get that I’m not him and this is a bit of a disappointment, but I will get that man to dance with you by the end of the night.”

Lily looks down, shaking her head. “It’s alright. I get it.” She looks up at Joe, concerned, and whispers. “Did I come on too strong with that song I wrote? I know it wasn’t subtle, but it wasn’t meant to scare him away.”

Joe sighs, looking down at her. “No, you didn’t. It was a good thing that you wrote that, because he called me up after he watched the video of it and asked me if you loved him.”

Her eyes go wide and she squeezes Joe’s hand. “What did you say?”

Joe smiles. “I asked him if he loved you.”

She squeezes his hand more tightly. “What did he say?”

Joe winces. “Lily, could you--”

She lightens her grip. “Sorry. I’m just really nervous.”

Joe shrugs, smiling. “It’s alright. To be honest, it’s pretty damn cute. Instead of saying yes or no, he said maybe, and before you say anything-- listen to me. I asked him to talk about you.”

Lily raises a brow and nods. “And?”

Joe smiles. “He praised you for almost ten minutes straight.”

Lily nods, pursing her lips. “Okay. But that’s not a yes or no answer.”

Joe nods, twirling her. “I then asked him that if you asked him to give you the world, would he do it?”

Lily looks up at Joe and presses her lips together nervously.

Joe leans in and whispers, “He said ‘Of course.’”

Lily smiles and sighs in relief, hugging Joe tightly. “Oh, thank God.”

Joe pulls away after a moment, looking down at her. “He’s scared. You’re scared. But I think if you asked him to dance, he would be less scared.”

Lily nods, smiling. “Alright. Thank you, Joe. You’ve been a great dance partner.”

Joe salutes her playfully. “Go get ‘im, tiger.”

Lily Anne walks off, going over to Ben, and the smile that lights up his face makes Joe want to squeal. Maybe, just maybe, he’s sped up this long and grueling waiting process.

---

Gwil is by far one of the best dance partners Ezichi has ever had. The height helps, but the firm hand on the small of her back and confident steps he takes are truly a wonderful combination. She lets Gwil guide her around the floor, smiling.

“You look really amazing, Zichi,” he says, looking into her eyes. “Truly gorgeous. I didn’t want the boys to tease me about it there, but I needed to get it off my chest.”

Ezichi smiles, letting out a little laugh. “I was going to say that your suit looks incredibly good on you, but I know Lily and Madi would have a field day going on about that. I’d never hear the end of it.”

Gwil smiles, but looks slightly confused. “I would think that Lily and Bron would be the ones making a big deal about it, not Madi.”

Ezichi nods, grinning. “I get that. Nowadays, Madi tries to contain her chaotic, nosy tendencies. She knows that Bron will immediately say something that gives away what she thinks, and she has to act like an adult to prevent that. But she’s a drummer. Drummers are inherently chaotic.”

Gwil lets out a laugh, and spins Ezichi. “All the chaotic energy is taken out on her drums?”

Ezichi nods, snorting. “Basically. She tries to be calm and collected and make sure Bron isn’t making a mess of things, but the one area where she’s still a teenager at heart is when it comes to gossip. She loves it.”

Gwil smiles and lets out a puff of laughter, shaking his head. “As a band, you all just work so well.”

Ezichi tilts her head to the side, shrugging with a fond smile on her face. “We have our fights, but we love each other. I couldn’t imagine life without them by my side. It would be so lonely.”

Gwil takes a deep breath, and looks down at Ezichi. “I understand the feeling. This project has been truly amazing, but I’m not sure how I’m going to get on once it’s all over. I’ll miss them all so much.”

Ezichi squeezes his hand, smiling. “Ben and Lucy will still be in London, and Rami and Joe both live in New York. It won’t be that hard to visit.”

Gwil shakes his head slightly. “I’ll also miss seeing you, Ezichi.”

Ezichi smiles fondly at Gwil, her stomach full of butterflies. “I’m in London. Lily’s in London. Bron and Madi are in London. We won’t be far at all.”

Gwil tilts her chin up so she’s looking in his eyes. “I know that, but I think I’ve become far too attached to you in particular, Ezichi.”

Ezichi’s eyes widen, and she begins to blush. “I-I… I’ve enjoyed your company as well, Gwil.”

Gwil smiles nervously. “If I’m being fully honest with myself, I’ve never felt so close to anyone before in my life. While you were on tour, I was so lonely. Every picture I saw of you just made me want to be with you, and I’ve never felt that kind of loneliness before, Ezichi. When you came back, I was just so indescribably happy. It was like a hole had been filled, but instead of making me simply content, it made me…”

Ezichi responds for him. “Happier than I’d ever been before.”

Gwil’s eyes light up. “Yes, that’s exactly it. Did you--” he turns red. “Did you feel the same way?”

His voice is so hopeful, and Ezichi is glad that she can make his hopes come true.

Ezichi nods, smiling. “I felt the same exact way, Gwil.”

Gwil nods, and as the song ends, he dips her, their faces mere inches apart. “I was so confused as to why it hurt so much, but I figured it out.” A new song starts up, and he lifts her out of the dip, his hand on her back beginning to shake. “I need you, Ezichi. You complete me in a way that nobody else can, and you make me want to be the best person I can be, because you’re my better half, and you deserve the best I can give you.”

Ezichi smiles widely as she’s twirled, and lets one hand rest on Gwil’s cheek, thumb stroking his stubble slowly. “I would’ve taken a simple ‘I love you,’ but I do love your monologues.”

Gwil smiles and kisses her gently, to which she reciprocates immediately. When they pull away Ezichi is flushed, and smiles as she move to wipe her lip gloss off of his face. After she does, he dips her again, holding her flush as his lips are at her ear.

He leans in to whisper in her ear as they keep dancing. “Now, as gentlemanly as I would like to be, and as much as I would like to treat you like the goddess you are, I am a mere man, and this dress is absolutely begging to be ripped off of your body.”

Ezichi smirks, leaning in to whisper in his ear. “Gwil, let’s get a few things cleared up.” She’s twirled again. “I appreciate the gentleman, but right now I want an animal.” They sweep across the floor, and she smiles as they turn. “I am your goddess. My body is your temple, and your temple only.” Finally, she’s pulled in again, and looks up at him with a wicked grin. “I want people to know that you worshipped me.”

Gwil looks down at her, pupils dilated. “Get your purse. We’re going to my room now.”

---

Roger watches as Ben and Lily dance, and Sarina sits down beside him, smiling and wrapping an arm around his shoulders. He turns to face her and smiles. “Hello, love. Enjoying the party?”

Sarina nods. “Very much. You sounded great up there, love. Everything was amazing.”

Roger smiles, sipping a glass of whiskey before kissing her hand and looking back at the dance floor.

Sarina watches with him, grinning into her glass of wine. “Lily and Ben aren’t going to admit their feelings for each other tonight, Rog.”

Roger looks over at Sarina, frowning. “Why not? They’re dancing. Lucy and Rami left earlier, and so did Ezichi and Gwil. How is it not going to happen?”

Sarina shrugs and holds his tattooed hand. “The timing isn’t right. They’re almost there, though. Be patient.”

Roger huffs and leans back, and Anita and Brian sit down next to them.

Brian smiles, sipping his water. “I know. I wanted it to happen too, but it won’t tonight.”

Roger shakes his head. “They’re so blind. It’s ridiculous that it’s taking this long for them to tell each other how they feel.”

Anita shakes her head. “They know how they feel for each other.”

Roger scoffs. “Then what’s taking so long?”

Brian smiles fondly. “They’re scared and cautious. They want it to work so badly that they’ll wait it out until it is fully clear that they won’t be rejected.”

Anita smiles and squeezes Roger’s hand. “When it happens, it will happen fast.”

Sarina nods, looking over at her husband. “Stop stewing, love. You’ll walk her down the aisle someday.”

Roger finishes his drink, sitting up. “I better.”

TAGLIST: @andtheytoldustotellyouhello @plethora-of-things @borhap-socials @everybodyplaythegame @i-the-fangirl @deakydeakydeaky @shisterfackisback @samanthadegaro @lv7867 @fatbottomedcurls @redspecialty @haisimsim @peterparkeroos @teenwolflover28 @ixchel-9275 @alessandra-elle @onexlittlespark @queenficarchive @leah-halliwell92 @rrrogah-tayluhh @maddistudiess @queen-fam @evrsncnewyork

#starry writes #ben hardy x reader #ben hardy #joe mazzello #gwilym lee #rami malek #lucy boynton #borhap cast #borhap imagines

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wolfgangamaderik · 5 years

Link

Okay, I watched this video, and I decided to write down my opinion about the high notes and interpretations I saw. Please note that these are only MY opinions about This One Performance in the video. I don’t mean to insult anyone here.

Michael Crawford: The original, well- known performance. Love it :) His hand gestures just adds to the show. Clear notes, not forced.

Norm Lewis: I like how he sounds. I was a bit of distracted by the “Where you long- gasp- to Beeeee” part, but the high note was greatly held and resonant enough, maybe this is why he took that noticeably deep breath. Great job.

Mario Frangoulis: Nice sounding voice, precisely sang notes, I lack the “something special “ in his voice, but maybe this is just me.

Brad Little: A bit of too much over exaggerated for my taste, and his voice isn’t that gentle as I would expect it from Erik. Also, I hear he presses his throat back at the high note which makes it a bit of too much forced and more high-pitched than I would like it to. In this performance I don’t really like him, maybe he is better other times.

Earl Carpenter: Wow! That is it! His voice in general, is pleasant, and I hear some otherworldly resonance and gentleness during the high note. I love it!

Ben Forster: A great job! Unique voice, clear intonation. His body language before the high note is a bit funny, but it is a great performance.

Andrea Bocelli: “long to” are on wrong notes. This ruins the whole, otherwise well- done singing job for me. Tsk-tsk... expected better from him.

Geronimo Rauch: Pleasant voice, good singing. The snarl at the end is a bit funny to watch, but whatever makes him sing the note.

Hugh Panaro: Oh, love him :) His small bow towards Christine is very Leroux-Erik-y, he has a nice and soothing voice, he does not yell the high note, but softly sings it. Perfecty clear, enchanting and gentleman like.

Chris Mann: Sweet voice, weird accent. The accent ruins it a bit for me.

Han Ji-sang: Powerful start. I don’t like when he stops after the “soul” and how he finishes that note, it is a bit of too pop-music like turn for my ears. he high note is well-sung, and he seems to have no problems with it. Body language indicates he is comfortable. Good job in general.

David Cook: Very nice voice, I am more into operatically more trained voices, but his rings just fine. Very clearly intonated notes, love his smile.

Sarah Brightman: I did not know she sang this Very well- done, nice to hear it sang by a lady other than Susan Boyle and Barbara Streisand. She did all of it professionally. The lyrics are slightly changed, she sings “where you want to be”, and it is a nice touch.

Colm Wilkinson: He has a good voice in general, though his accent bothers me sometimes, especially he says “baaaeeee” instead of “be”. Also he seems to be a bit of more dramatic than he should be, Brad Little syndrome.

John Owen Jones: Very powerful and unique voice, the final note has enough power and held long enough to make Christine noticeably swoon at the recording. :) I like it too, very much.

Yang Jun-mo: Operatically trained, very nice sounding voice, the Korean language adds to the awesomeness.

Kris Phillips: Nothing outstanding, does a good performance.

Luke Murgatroyd: Same as Kris Phillips. Does his job perfectly, but nothing special.

Paul Potts: They could have serched a better recording of him, but I like the altered lyrics and that he goes a bit up in the end of the final note. I have never heard such an interpretation before and appreciate it. What ALW made high enough, he puts it even a bit higher :)

Peter Hoffmann: Strange, but good to hear Poto in German. He has a deeper voice which suits both him and Erik, and he sings clearly but powerfully at the same time.

Jackie Evanche: Another female performer, with a higher-pitched voice, sounds very good. :)

Anthony Warlow: Another deeper voice, similar to how I picture Erik’s voice in my mind, maybe this is why I love him so much. Also I love his hand gestures. He sounds great and does not force or yell the high note.

Matt Corby: Nothing too special.

Josh Groban: Nothing special until the high note. The final note seems to be too much forced to me.

José Carreras: A very beautiful operatic tenor, would be 10/10 without his accent. It takes away the magic for me.

Young Seok Yoon: A unique performance because of the language, but his voice is just too ordinary again.

James Barbour: Weird accent, too dramatic, overused vibrato, says “Beee-uh”

Stig Rossen: I love his clothing, poses, and VOICE! What a special, nicely sounding voice he has and sings this without any difficulty and over dramatizing the part. Great job! Love you.

Robert Guillaume: A unique sounding, pleasant voice here, nicely performed.

Caleb Hyles: Nice. Well- performed.

Peter Jöback: His voice is special, again I like it. He sounds a bit younger than other Phantoms though, but it isn’t a con.

John Cudia: Wow! What a nice operatic powerful “Be”! Genius! Also the other parts are crystal clear and well- played.

Michael Crawford: Why is he doubled? Anyway, awesome, just as always.

Gerard Butler: He isn’t as horrible as I remembered, yet I still am not a big fan of his MOTN.

Ramin Karimloo: What an over-excited fellow with those hand gestures, and following Christine! :) His voice is also flawless, I love how he makes it desperate and enchanting at the same time. :)

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cursebreakerhawk-blog · 5 years

Text

A not so Brief History of the Hawk Family (+family tree)

(hope you can see something in this terrible pic)

Summary: Backstory of a family of Slytherin purebloods, how the oldest son fell in love with a muggle, ran away with her, and made all the wrong choices in his life. A brief description of their sons, and their fate. Please don’t ignore, I know it’s long, but it’s not boring, I promise.

The Hawks, not unlike the Gaunts, the Malfoys, and the Blacks, were a long lineage of pureblood Slytherins, which would not have been very good for Finn’s character, if he had actually met any of them.

Let’s elaborate. Finn’s dad, Cordelius Hawk, was the oldest of the Hawk boys. Him, his little brother Evander and their parents, Gertrud and Marcellus, lived in an enormous mansion in the south of Scotland. Gertrud and Marcellus were unemployed, living of their family’s fortune. While Marcellus, who was much older than his wife, liked to spend his days out in pubs, Gertrud was always at home, taking care of the boys. (not a very functional marriage, but who said they were functional people?)

They were not the nicest of folks: Marcellus got into numerous fights with other wizards at pubs, having even killed one, once, with a very nasty curse he invented himself. Gertrud, on the other hand, had the unfortunate habit of hexing anything that came remotely close to their gigantic garden, including poor, unaware birds and squirrels, and a child’s kite. They both were supporters of Grindelwald during the first wizarding war.

While Evander was fascinated by watching their mother hex everyone, Cordelius found it disgusting. Without their mother’s knowledge, he would even take some of the wounded animals back to his room and try to nurse them back to health. He was always very peaceful, very tactful, good enough to bother his parents. That said, Evander was too dumb and brutal to win their afection as well.

One morning, the Hawk parents were out on a meeting with their fellow Grindelwald supporters, and Cordelius (who was 26 at the time) was taking care of Evander (who was 16), and while their parents usually let him use magic at home, despite being underage, Cordelius wasn’t fond of bending the law to let him practice dark magic in the garden.

A few minutes past 11 AM, a curious muggle kid walked by the fence, and, channeling his inner Gertrud, Evander charmed a large rock to fly in her direction. Cordelius had left his wand in his bedroom, and had no way of stopping his brother from seriously hurting the kid other than jumping in front of the rock and catching it. That’s what he did, after taking a murderous glance at his little shit of a brother.

‘Are you alright?’, he asked the kid, while Evander ran back into the house.

‘I am.’, she answered, ‘Could you explain to me what happened?’.

‘My retarded younger brother thought it would be fun to throw a rock at you.’, he said, carefully, to avoid mentioning magic.

The kid turned red with anger.

‘Well, I hope you tell your parents about that!’, she said.

‘I’m afraid they would take his side. I would end up being punished for helping you.’, he confided, ‘I think the best thing you can do is not walk by this house ever again... For your own safety.’

‘Can I at least know your name?’

‘Cordelius Hawk.’

‘Thanks for defying your family to save me, Cordelius Hawk. I’m Amelia Watson.’

Cordelius noticed that Evander was coming back to the garden.

‘It was nice to meet you, Amelia. Now, run!’

She did. Cordelius knew his parents would never let him hear the end of it if they found out, so it was time for a desperate measure. He flew past his little brother, who was now out in the garden, got into his room, grabbed his wand and pointed it at Evander, through the window. ‘Obliviate!’, he muttered, and the incident was never spoken of, at least for the next 14 years.

It was really late, one night, when the doorbell rang at the Hawk mansion. Gertrud came downstairs, in her night robes, her concealed wand in one of the pockets. Cordelius was carefully watching through his window, but he couldn’t really tell who was downstairs.

‘I demand to see Cordelius Hawk!’, said the fierce brunette at the door, who was now much taller than Gertrud.

The witch cussed, reaching for her wand, but Cordelius was already jumping down the last flight of stairs.

‘Amelia?’, he asked, and she grinned.

‘You know this muggle?’ questioned Gertrud, in a high pitched scream, astonished.

The way Amelia pulled Cordelius into a passionate kiss gave her the answer. He kissed her back. Gertrud felt like she had been hit by a stupefy.

‘Now, run!’, Cordelius whispered in her ear.

‘Is that your catchphrase?’, she laughed.

He had already grabbed her arm, and they were running into the night, Gertrud too paralyzed by shock to do anything. The next morning, when Marcellus heard of what happened, he ordered his wife to snap their son’s wand in half, and ban him from the house. Gertrud quietly agreed, but she kept his wand hidden in her secret locker. She had just found out in the hardest way that even the coldest hearts can break.

Cordelius and Amelia never got married. Every wedding had to be publicly announced back in the day, and they were too afraid that his parents would find out. Cordelius never told her that he was a wizard, either. He had left his wand at the mansion, and even if he hadn’t, showing his true nature to her would be breaking the law. And the law would have way more severe consequences than some stupid family rule. They moved to London, and lived with Amelia’s parents, Isabella and Hugh Watson, who were much younger than Cordelius’s parents, and much warmer: they understood he was hiding from his family, and treated him like a son.

One year later, Jacob Hawk was born. He was perfect: his parents and maternal grandparents loved him like he was the best boy in the world. The Watsons had a small garden with a swing, and he spent most of his childhood in there, never lonely, always loved.

Even though he was finally happy, and finally at peace, Cordelius would feel his heart sink sometimes. He missed magic, the world he had lived in for fourty years. He missed being special, and being powerful (because, yes, he was one of the most powerful young wizards at Hogwarts when he was a teenager, and still very gifted as an adult). In some twisted way, he even missed his abusive family. Whenever those thoughts began to creep into his mind, usually in the middle of the night, he would hug Amelia closer, and try to let go of them. Sometimes he succeeded, sometimes he failed.

(We don’t know how many years passed between Jacob’s and Finn’s births, and I’m still waiting for Jam City’s canon version of this. However, it makes sense that Jacob was not a toddler whan his younger sibling was born. This is important to the next part of the story.)

Cordelius and Amelia had another son, Finn, a few years later. He got just as much love as his older brother, from the whole family. He had his dad’s black hair and blue eyes, but Amelia’s kind expression.

On the day of his first birthday, 23rd April 1974, Amelia asked Cordelius to go get a birthday cake at the local bakery. He reluctantly agreed: he was still scared of running into his parents, although the thoughts about them and magic were much more frequent.

It was certainly probably not a coincidence when he found Gertrud standing outside the shop. She had always been a wonderful legilimens, also with a gift for divination. She would have known. Cordelius was expecting harsh words, curses, hexes... The last thing he expected was a hug.

Gertrud, now a widow, seemed much older and smaller than her son remembered. She pulled him in for a long time, and after she finally let go, she revealed his old wand, that she had brought in her purse.

‘You left this at home.’, she murmured, ‘I’ve been missing you terribly. Your father passed away not long after you left. Your brother got himself killied in a duel at a pub, four months ago. He was never too bright...’, she sighed. ‘Please, come home. I love you, and I know you love me to. Also, you’d be able to use magic once again.’

Wether she meant those words, or was just blatantly trying to manipulate him, Cordelius never knew. The only thing he knew was that it worked: his youngest son never got his first birthday cake.

Since the Watsons were muggles, the two boys grew up without knowing anything about magic. Hagrid had to come to their little house in London to explain to young Jacob that he was a wizard. As Finn was obviously too young to remember his father, and none of the Watsons ever told him anything about him, Jacob resented him badly. After hearing Hagrid’s declarations, he immediately deduced that his father must had been a wizard too.

When he got to Hogwarts, Jacob was determined to get his revenge: he was going to find a type of magic more powerful that the one his father possessed, and use it to punish him for abandoning them. First, he had to study about his own origins. He spent all the time at the library, and it didn’t take him much time to find out the Hawk family in some books about purebloods. Then, during his research, he came across the Cursed Vaults, and knew he had found what he wanted.

It was not until Jacob’s third year that he realised all the Hawks were dead. Gertrud got sick and died one year after her encounter with Cordelius. Now completely alone, and regretting every life decision he had made, Cordelius had sunken into a terrible depression, combined with magical drunkness and failed attempts of enchanting himself into being happy again. He took his own life, being one of the only few wizards to successfully Avada Kedavra himself.

However, Jacob was now too deep into the search of the vaults to give up. And we all know how that worked out for him.

All of the Hawks’ malice and the Watsons’ remorse did not darken Finn’s heart, against all the odds. He was always too sweet, too kind, too peaceful, not unlike his father. The difference, however, was noticed by Amelia when she asked her youngest son not to disappear like the other men in her life. He hugged his mom, and promised that not only would he never leave her, he would also bring his brother home. She wiped away a tear. Finn was, in fact, different. Finn was loyal, against all odds.

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warenerd · 5 years

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100 Days of Graphic Novels

Subtitle: “Working 70 Hour Weeks and Commuting Means Reading But Not Writing.”

I am trying for more accountability, but, when my idiotic work schedule gets even more idiotic, sometimes it’s just my judgmental calendar of doom that’s keeping me on track. Also my cat. He judges me - harshly.

Look on my missing leg, ye Mighty, and despair!

Ahem. Anyway. So many books:

Day 1: The Umbrella Academy vol 1: The Apocalypse Suite Day 2: CatStronauts: Mission Mars Day 3: Apannine War Diary Day 4: Alex + Ada vol 1 Day 5: Alex + Ada vol 2 Day 6: Visitations Day 7: Another Day of Life Day 8: Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller vol 1 Day 9: Punisher: Welcome Back, Frank Day 10: Scarlet Witch vol 1: Witches’ Road Day 11: Jessica Jones vol 1: Uncaged Day 12: Infidel Day 13: The Deep Blue Good-by Day 14: City of Illusions Day 15: Mockingbird vol 1: I Can Explain Day 16: Ms. Marvel vol 1: Best of the Best Day 17: X-Men Gold vol 1: Back to the Basics Day 18: Kaptara vol 1: Fear Not, Tiny Alien Day 19: Eclipse vol 1 Day 20: Defenders vol 1: Diamonds are Forever Day 21: Hellcat vol 1: Hooked on a Feline Day 22: Chosin Day 23: Elektra vol 1: Bloodlines Day 24: They’re Not Like Us Day 25: Multiple Man vol 1: It All Makes Sense in the End Day 26: Captain America: Sam Wilson: Not My Captain America Day 27: A Russian Journal Day 28: Iron Patriot vol 1: Unbreakable Day 29: Divinity Day 30: Jessica Jones: Alias vol 1 Day 31: Tales of Suspense: Hawkeye and the Winter Soldier Day 32: The Fuse vol 1: The Russian Shift Day 33: Jessica Jones: Alias vol 2 Day 34: Into the Tunnel Day 34: Jessica Jones: Alias vol 3 Day 35: A-Force vol 1 Day 36: Edge of the Spider-Verse Day 37: Descender vol 1 Day 38: Descender vol 2 Day 39: Black Panther: World of Wakanda Day 40: A Farewell to Arms Day 41: I’m Not Leaving Day 42: Green Arrow: Year One Day 43: Daniel’s Story Day 44: Aurora’s Motive Day 45: Jessica Jones vol 4 Day 46: Symmetry Day 47: Afar Day 48: Morning Glories vol 1

Day 49: One Way Ticket

A math professor at a nearby university related her escape from WWII to England. Interesting not just for the political trials and hoops through which she had to jump to get herself and her family out of Europe, but also for the way that retelling, rather than primary recording, has influenced the main thrust of the story. Also: illustrated. Adorably.

Day 50: The life of Captain Marvel

I’m not saying I hated this book – I’m just saying that I’m opposed to it on a cellular level.

Day 51: Captain Marvel vol 1: In Pursuit of Flight

Did I need a mind-bleach of what I’d read the day before? Yes. Yes, I did.

Day 52: The Boy Who Reversed Himself True story: William Sleator was my favorite author for about a year in middle school. I read every one of his books that our libraries had, and then I read them all again. Six or seven times each (to the shock of absolutely no one who knows me). This book has forever changed the way I consider catsup. And it wasn’t nearly as racist as I’d expected, flipping back through. Hooray?

Day 53: To Fight Alongside Friends

My best friend roped me into doing an online werewolf game based in WWI. I role-played as Charlie May, the author of this diary, and refused to respond with anything but direct quotes from his book. If nothing else, I entertain myself.

Day 54: Operation: Broken Wings

Day 55: My War Diary

This one is by Dov Yermiya and is about Lebanon from June 5 – July 1, 1982. I have about six books within easy reach called “My War Diary.” This could prove problematic later. (Also, despite writing about Waltz With Bashir in grad school and for my dissertation, I still don’t know enough about this conflict)

Day 56: Descender vol 3 Day 57: Morning Glories vol 2 Day 58: The Drowned and the Saved Day 59: Jessica Jones: Pulse

Day 60: Zlata’s Diary

I read this when sitting in the jail on a Friday night. There’s nothing quite so jarring as reading a firsthand account of the absolute disruption of life (and childhood, in a lot of ways), while listening to drunk sorority girls sob on their phones to their mothers and then scream about their Uber.

Day 61: Captain Marvel vol 2: Down Day 62: Avengers: The Enemy Within Day 63: Captain Marvel: Higher, Further, Faster, More Day 64: Captain Marvel: Stay Fly Day 65: Captain Marvel: Alis Volat Propiis Day 66: Carol Danvers vol 1: The Ms Marvel Years

Day 67: One Week in the Library

Please give me more weeks, Image Comics. Please.

Day 68: The Troop

Noel Clarke, I love you, but this feels like well-trod ground at this point.

Day 69: Bitch Planet

I legitimately squealed, out loud, when Kelly Sue DeConnick was on screen during Captain Marvel. High pitched. And then, because I have no game, I whacked my BFF on the arm and whispered (er, “whispered”?) “THAT WAS KELLY SUE!!” No one else was impressed by my mad comic knowledge, but, eh.

Day 70: Jessica Jones vol 3: Return of the Purple Man

Guess which superstar never read volume 2? That’s right - THIS superstar.

Day 71: Mr. & Mrs. X

Basically, I love Gambit. I’m okay with Rogue, but I’ve lived in the Deep South for too long to be completely okay with the extremes of character. And I also don’t really like Deadpool. At all. Despite all of that, I still enjoyed this.

Day 72: Secret Avengers vol 1: Reverie

Unlike this, which did NOT get better with age. Ooooof.

Day 73: Avengers AI vol 1: Human After All

Did I buy this simply for this picture of Vision holding a kitten? Yes. Do I regret that? No.

Day 74: Tet Day 75: Iron Fist: Rage Day 76: Zero vol 1: An Emergency Day 77: Faster than Light

Day 78: Descender vol 4: Orbital Mechanics

I sent my BFF a copy of Descender because it’s gorgeous. Because she has even worse impulse control than me, she bought all of the other volumes and has already finished the series. I can’t even be mad.

Day 79: Lost Dossiers: Super Spy

AKA: This would have made way more sense had I realized that this was a supplement to another work… which I don’t yet own. Womp womp womp. Maybe tomorrow I’ll read the From Hell companion, just for kicks.

Day 80: Carnet de Voyage Day 81: Hype Day 82: Dancer Day 83-85: Day 86: Wonderful World of Oz

Day 87: Port of Earth

Know what I love about Zack Kaplan? He creates immersive worlds that aren’t just one thing – there’s not just one neat storyline wrapped up by the end of the trade, and there isn’t just one type of story at work.

Day 88: Material Day 89: Captain America: the 1940s Newspaper Strip Day 90: Peter Panzerfaust vol 1: The Great Escape Day 91: Cowl vol 1

Day 92: Ministry of Space

That ending, though.

Day 93: X-Men Gold vol 2 Day 94: The Winter Soldier vol 1: The Longest Winter Day 95: The Winter Soldier vol 2: Broken Arrow

Day 96: Graphic Classics vol 22: African American Classics

I yelped when I saw that Afua Richardson, Personal Hero, had worked on this. I have a panel from her illustration of Langston Hughes’ “Rivers” (done for NPR), and it is one of my very favorite things.

Day 97: New York: The Big City

Day 98: A Wexford Childhood

You would think that a memoir covering 1915-1930 might touch on some rumbling of war. You’d be wrong. But, it was an interesting view of the changing world, nonetheless.

Day 99: Winter Soldier vol 3: Black Widow Hunt

Brubaker, why must you hurt me so?

Day 100: X-Men Rarities

There are few things that bring me such joy as the stiff pages of a 90s era Marvel trade – and, when those trades include comics with Chamber? I am so in. Now, someone explain to me how they always smell like cigarettes and wet dog, regardless of origin, and I’ll be all set.

#365graphicnovels

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disregardcanon · 6 years

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fma 03 au where tucker decided to make the kid that was staying with him into a chimera instead of nina

strangely, this au has a happy ending? what?

tucker’s test is approaching. he has a few fucked up animal hybrids in the basement that won’t be enough to give the military and a few bits of research even more laughable than the crock he turned in last year. he needs a breakthrough and he needs it now. he knows that his only chance at all is making another chimera with another human.

he’s already done it before, and he did it with his own wife. he’s not afraid to do it again. he hypothesizes that the reason that the chimera he made of his wife failed was that she was an adult. she was too old to fully adjust to the transmutation. he needs someone younger. really, it just comes down to how young?

nina is a preschooler. she’s already learned a fair amount of human speech and she still has the neuro-plasticity that comes with that age. but she’s also far from fully-formed. if this goes wrong and she’s not able to adjust to the change and gain knowledge beyond what she already has, she will be mentally a preschooler forever.

hell, if it goes WRONG ENOUGH, then she will be completely lost. and, even if he won’t admit it to himself, he doesn’t want to lose her, at least not when he still has a week before the inspection to get together another plan. he can direct his science elsewhere and still keep his daughter, so he decides to try someone else.

it seems wisest to go with someone in the middle of a grown woman and a preschooler. someone in the midst of developing. someone half-way grown. someone that he has easy access to. and someone that still has a physical form.

so the genius twelve year old he’s housing who already suspects him of committing some sort of atrocity, even if he’s not sure what it was? he seems like the perfect option for this attempt. he knows that ed is snooping around, and he fits all the qualifications that tucker has set in his brain.

al is out of the house visiting the hugheses and ed is pouring over some text or another, and it’s easy enough to trick the kid into the basement by promising to let him see his research from the first chimera experiment.

then, shou tucker creates his chimera. this one can talk too. hughes insists on escorting al back to the tucker estate. al is very surprised to see that neither ed nor nina is with tucker when he greets him at the door. hughes insists on staying for a while. maybe getting a tour, because he can tell that there is something UP and he's not leaving al to that alone.

tucker shows them every bit of the mansion and promises that they'll find ed and nina in the basement, which, ya know. not ominous at all. they get down there, and they find glowing eyed abominations in cages and a large, wolf looking beast lying down beside nina, who's gently petting it.

"it's alright," she promises, "it's okay."

"nina," it says, in a voice strange and deep to be human. it sounds a bit like a dog's bark if that dog learned to talk.

"it can talk?" al asks, his eyes widening. tucker runs a hand through the creature's mop of golden hair between its bright white ears.

"al?" it asks. al feels a terrible dread set on, and he realizes he still hasn't seen his brother.

"this is a perfect talking chimera, alphonse," tucker says, "it's an immense improvement on the first. the first one was too old to make the change, but this one? it was in the glow of adolescence. the perfect time for the change."

"how the hell did you make that?" hughes demands. al doesn't miss how his hand ghosts over his gun.

"i will reveal all those secrets at my inspection," tucker says, "i'm sure you will have clearance to view those documents, lieutenant colonel." tucker tries to run a hand through the chimera’s hair, but it flinches away. then seems to glare at tucker.

“bastard,” the chimera growls. strange. that’s not what al expected to hear come out of its mouth. though, it’s probably softer than the “i want to die” that the first talking chimera managed before it did so. it doesn’t set al’s sense of dread at ease, though.

al looks closer at nina, still working her hands, gently, through the creature's fur. it nuzzles closer into her. then he looks closer at the chimera itself.

it's fur is bright white, but it has a mane of golden hair cascading down it’s back. if that weren’t enough, when al examines it a little closer, he can see that it only has three legs.

"where is alexander?" al asks. he thinks he knows what happened here. why ed and alexander aren’t here. why the chimera said bastard. why it called him by name.

"probably running around somewhere up stairs," tucker says dismissively.

“why is it missing a leg?” al demands, the dread in his gut only growing. tucker smiles at him, sadly.

"oh alphonse," he says, "i wish you weren't so observant." then he looks al dead in the eyes as he adds, “alexander had four limbs. edward had two. i suppose you can say they met in the middle.” al feels sick to the stomach he no longer has. tucker made that thing using his brother and the dog.

hughes draws his gun.

“call the police, al,” he orders.

"do you really want to get them involved?" tucker says, "they'll cart him off to experiment on. you won’t even get to say goodbye.”

"change him back," al demands, "fix my brother!" tucker laughs.

"oh alphonse," he says, "a chimera is a perfect transmutation. you can never separate them.” he gestures towards the brother-dog chimera. “it’s not your brother or my dog anymore. this chimera is its own entity.” he looks gleeful as he says it. and al wants to shout that his brother is IN THERE and he wants to beat him bloody with his metal hands that won't even feel it, but nina looks up at him with wide, terrified eyes.

"big brother," nina says, "what's happening?" she bites her lip. "where's little big brother?"

"he's right here," al says, and his voice cracks a little. he gently touches his brother-dog on the head, and he looks up at al with eyes that are somehow both absent and pleading, both far off and intensely in the moment.

"al," the brother-dog-chimera says, "please. it hurts."

"i'll save you, i promise," al says, working his metal fingers through his brother's fur, "i'll get your body back. i swear." the noise of response isn't quite a bark but isn't quite a scream, and al wants to cry but doesn't have the proper parts anymore. tucker made his brother into this. they might have sinned, trying to bring back their mother, but it wasn't like this.

it wasn't anything like this.

"so," tucker says, "what will you do, elric the eldest?" al clenches his fist. he wants to punch tucker so hard that the man’s head breaks against the weight of his hand, but that won't bring his brother back. it won't spare nina from whatever the aftermath of this will be. it won't actually help.

"i'm leaving," alphonse says. he doesn't know where he'll go, but anywhere has to be better than this. then he can gather his thoughts. nina and ed will be safe, and he can figure out how to save his brother from this abomination tucker has made of him.

"take them back to my house," hughes orders, "i'll take care of this." al scoops nina up, and threads his fingers through his brother's fur (hair, he reminds himself hair).

"come on," he says, "we have to leave." the being that both is and isn't both ed and alexander pads behind him, and they make their way to the hughes's residence.

so hughes calls in the military, and they come to arrest tucker for human experimentation and the murder of edward elric. the chimera, as far as anyone knows, died after its creation. hughes and roy had ed declared legally dead along with it so that the military won’t be searching for him to be a lab rat. it wasn’t that hard, either, with ed’s bloody automail just sitting around in tucker’s basement.

al gets to the hugheses, and gracia thanks god that elicia is already asleep for the conversation that they have to have. al is soft with nina and explains it all in a way that she can understand, and nina does not let go of edxander the whole time. edxander doesn't seem to want her to either. a few hours later, hughes finally gets back and tries to pitch his (and roy’s, of course, hughes and roy tend to be a package deal) idea for what should happen now.

"look, al," hughes says, "i can take nina, but i can't take your brother. he's safer with roy."

"look i promise, roy has your best interests at heart. he cares too." al doesn't know if he believes that.

"brother thinks he's a bastard," al says instead. hughes laughs.

"i'm sure your brother’ll let roy know that, too." al realizes that this is a battle he'll lose, and it's probably not worth fighting, as long as his brother is safe. so he agrees to let edxander stay with roy on the condition that the hugheses will take him whenever al is in town staying with them. nina will be able to visit whenever she wants.

nina stays with the hugheses, and al agrees to take on ed's post as a state alchemist to continue their research on the philosopher's stone and ensure his brother's safety. he actually worries what will happen to edxander if he does not agree to take his brother's position.

so we have alphonse elric, eleven years old, soul sold to the military in order to keep his brother from becoming a lab rat.

we have edward elric, melded with alexander. his body is in constant pain but he tries his hardest to stay lucid. and on occasion, he’s there. sometimes he fights through it and he’s just ed. and being just ed includes all the cursing that comes with it. but sometimes it’s just alexander in there. and sometimes it’s just two beings shoved together into a body that doesn’t work right, howling in pain because ed was still growing and their body knows it and tries to accommodate.

1. winry makes edxander an automail dog leg like den’s, and takes it upon herself to braid his mane because no one else in his life knows how to braid, apparently. she knows that’s the way ed would want it.

2. mustang takes edxander in but hawkeye ends up taking him a lot of the time. much to roy's chagrin, he much prefers staying with her.

3. sometimes, edxander will bite mustang or knock him down. sometimes it's when he's in pained, unconscious chimera mode. sometimes it's when he's in dog mode. sometimes it's when he's in ed mode because ed is a little shit.

4. nina loves on al whenever he is in town and calls him big brother and loves on ed at least four times a week. she's the one that coins the term edxander.

5. nina is the BEST big sister to elicia guys you have no idea.

6. al does not make a philosopher's stone in lab 5, but god. he considers it. he thinks his brother would be disappointed in him for even thinking about it, but he dares not tell ed about it himself. if he is disappointed he might try to bite al and then just hurt himself. he might break all his teeth on his armor. and like, being a chimera is bad enough. he doesn’t want ed to be a chimera that can’t even eat.

7. nina insists on learning alchemy from al because alchemy isn't evil, just that thing her dad did with it was. she wants to help get al and ed's bodies back.

8. by the time that liore happens nina is seven and al is fourteen, and by the time that hughes dies she’s just turned eight. nina wants to help, desperately. she’s good at alchemy and big brother’s always galavanting around the countryside trying to figure out how to fix himself and ed and she wants to help. he doesn’t let her and he doesn’t let her and he doesn’t let her, until he makes a stop to see her and ed and gracia and elicia before he sets off for liore and the Scar and Rose and Philosopher’s Stone nonsense.

9. nina stows away on his train and really, it’s probably more dangerous to try to send her back on her own and he doesn’t have time to take her back himself so he decides that he can protect her, just this once, on this one mission. he buys her a bright red marker to carry around in case of emergencies to draw a transmutation circle and that will probably be good.

11.. NOPE NOT GOOD AT ALL! the liore nonsense TM occurs and then al becomes a philosopher’s stone and dante kidnaps nina. she brings her to the homuncu-hideout. nina is fine, but a little freaked out all the time. she surprisingly hits it off fairly easily with wrath, and they bond over their alchemy and she makes him question what it is he’s fighting for. if he even needs to be made human when he already feels everything and can do alchemy and his mother loves him. al, on the other hand, finds chimera tucker. again.

12.. tucker, obviously, doesn’t want to make a doll of nina. because nina is living and breathing and very much not a chimera. he wants al to let him see her. so, his brilliant idea is to offer to make one of his human dolls of so that he can give it to al in "exchange" for the brother he ruined. then he thinks al will let him see nina again. al doesn't know how to explain to this man that humans are their SOULS not their bodies, and no matter what, his brother is melded with alexander... because of tucker himself. it reminds him of majahal in all the worst ways. body over soul.

13.. al leaves. tucker is not able to knock him out.

al runs into lust after this, and she demands that he make her a human. al being Fed Up and just not giving a shit and not seeing the harm in it, actually tries the thing. it does not work.

“i’m sorry,” al says, “i don’t think i can do it. i don’t think it’s possible.” lust laughs.

“of course it isn’t,” lust says, “i served that woman for ten years, for nothing. nothing at all.” but al convinces her that being alive is something and that now that she KNOWS she can leave and go find her way in the world. maybe she does find herself, maybe she doesn’t. but she does leave and he does not see her again.

after just deciding that a human is a soul and not a body, al is a lot less likely to believe that sloth is their mother (this isn’t necessarily better or worse, just different.) he does, however, believe that getting sloth off of dante’s side is a smart idea. he lets her convince him to come to dante (which isn’t hard at all, considering that dante still has nina) and then he convinces her to hightail it as soon as he gets there.

if you count greed, that’s three homunculi down. if you count pride because killing pride is roy’s responsibility, that’s four down. that just leaves envy the pseudo-sibling, wrath who’s already kind of friends with nina and probably won’t fight them, and gluttony. and of course, dante herself, the body-snatching, baby threatening to kill, could be his step-mom if she and hoho never got divorced demoness that she is.

“well hello, alphonse,” dante says as he walks into a great room, “welcome to my abode.” al would roll his eyes if he had any. abode? who says abode? apparently, body-stealing alchemists who wear pink ballgowns in the middle of the day, along with other beautiful women in other beautiful ballgowns. what does she want with rose anyway? and why does the other woman seem so out of it? she doesn’t even seem to notice that al is here. al knows that he should ask about that, but the first thing he demands is

“dante. where is nina?”

“envy,” dante orders, “go fetch the girl. our collateral’s no good if he can’t see her.” envy comes back a minute later, holding nina, who is flailing and shouting, “let me down!” wrath trails behind, looking on with what looks like... worry? what would he have to be worried about right now?

“nina!” al shouts. nina’s eyes widen as she looks over to the sound of his voice.

“big brother!” envy sets nina down, but doesn’t let go of her wrist.

“you can have the brat back after we get what we want,” envy says. al glares. he knows that they can’t tell that he’s glaring, but it makes him feel better.

“i see that sloth didn’t accompany you,” dante says, “such a shame. i was going to make her human.”

“you can’t make a homunculus human,” al says firmly, “i tried with lust. it didn’t work.” dante laughs.

“what?” wrath asks, “that’s what you promised us all?!?!” he looks like his name. dante ignores him.

“oh alphonse,” she says, “you really think that you already know how to wield that stone. learning how to wield a philosopher’s stone properly requires practice. if you allow me to, i can teach you.”

“you already have me here,” al says,”why don’t you just use it yourself?” al doesn’t actually want dante to reach into his chest cavity and rip the stone out, but he doesn’t understand why she WOULDN’T. he knows that she’s a stronger alchemist than he is. she can transmute without a circle. if she really wanted to, he knows that she could take it from him without breaking a sweat.

“well the thing is, alphonse,” dante says, “it’s merged to your armor. it seems that only you can use it. scar ensured that.”

“you’re going to steal rose’s body, aren’t you?”

“not if it truly offends you so much,” dante says, “if you wish, i can find a different host. one who isn’t your friend.”

“but then someone else has to die,” al says. he doesn’t want rose to die, but he doesn’t want anyone else to either. he can’t choose between a friend’s life and a stranger’s. it isn’t right.

“isn’t that just an equivalent exchange, the way that you two always claimed?”

“that’s not equivalent,” al says. he doesn’t know what it is, but it’s not equivalent.

dante laughs.

“equivalent exchange is a ruse, alphonse. a bed time story to tell little alchemists to help them sleep at night. do you think it was equivalent that your brother lost a leg and an arm you lost your entire body? do you think it was equivalent that you two passed that state alchemist exam when you were children, when some people study their entire lives for it? nothing in this world is truly equivalent, alphonse. sometimes we can give far more than we get.”

“but you never give anything,” he says, “you take and you take and you take from people. “

“yes, alphonse,” she says, “because i found the way to cheat the system. why shouldn’t i do whatever i need to get whatever i want? didn’t you promise to do whatever you had to to get your own body back? don’t you desperately want a body?”

“that body isn’t yours.” al doesn’t even know how many bodies that woman has worn through, how many lives she’s stolen for her own greed and vanity. “i want to get my own body back, not steal someone else’s.” dante laughs then, like his mother did sometimes when he said something hopeful but naive.

“your body is gone, alphonse. disappeared through the gate. you will never get your body back, but you can have a body. an organic form, all to yourself. i can even help you pick it out, all for yourself.” she smiles.

“we can find you a boy your age, or perhaps a dashing young man. someone with similar features, or maybe someone with looks you’ve always envied. when you shop for bodies, there really are endless possibilities.” alphonse feels sick to his stomach just listening to her talk like that, even sicker than he did when she suggested that his body might be gone.

maybe it’s impulsive. maybe it’s stupid. maybe it’s selfish, but al needs to know, one way or another. he needs to know if this has all been for naught. if he can get his body back or if the the choice will be between staying in this armor forever or stealing another person’s body, like dante wants him to. he knows what he’ll choose, but he doesn’t want to HAVE to. he opens his chest plate up, and the red light bursts forth from his insides. then, he touches the stone and focuses.

bring me back my body. he thinks. give it back to me.

the world goes white, and then, suddenly, al opens his eyes. he feels the hard ground under his back. he sees dante looking over him, laughing.

“you know,” she says, “i didn’t actually think this would work.” then, she scoops up the philosopher’s stone from his chest.

wait- chest? that’s a human chest. and he feels the ground against his back, and he lifts them up, and- are those his arms? they are they are they are they are! he has his arms back!

dante clutches the philosopher’s stone, and then her hair shifts from black to pink to match her dress.

“ah,” she says, “looks like it works.” al pushes himself off the ground. his body feels weird, being made of flesh and actually feeling things.

“big brother!” nina shouts. she finally breaks free of envy’s hold and she runs over to him, engulfing him in a hug. it feels so warm and right and real after years and years of feeling nothing, but he can’t even feel happy about that. dante has the stone. she’s going to steal rose’s body. she’s going to kill her.

“it appears you were right, alphonse,” she says, “you could get your body back all along. but now that you have it, i don’t need you.” she turns towards rose, and al knows that once she walks the six or seven feet between them, it’s all over. dante will steal rose’s body. this will be the end.

“nina, do you still have that marker?” nina pulls her red marker out of her shoe and draws a quick transmutation circle, then al grabs part of his discarded armor and throws it on the circle. they transmute a knife, and then he throws it directly at dante. somehow, it hits. the knife lodges itself in the rotting skin near dante’s collar bone.

dante seems unfazed as the blood starts to squirt out.

“it seems that i was not clear,” dante says, “if you and miss tucker wish to leave now, you are free to-”

“no! you can’t let him go!” envy screeches, “that’s the son of hohenheim! if i can’t kill him, at least let me kill his son!”

“you will do as i tell you, envy,” dante says, then she sends a fake smile to alphonse and nina, “you can leave unharmed if you do not get in my way any further.” envy shifts into chimera ed, and al feels a stab of pain.

“he wasn’t your only brother, alphonse” envy seethes, and then he shifts into an adult body with long, blonde hair. just like ed’s. “i was your brother- i was SUPPOSED to be your brother. hohenheim made me, years ago! but he called me an abomination. he hated me and he loved you-”

“envy, you are causing a scene,” dante says, sending envy a toxic glare.

“i don’t care, MOTHER! all i wanted was to kill hohenheim, but you won’t even let me fuck with his precious sons!” envy shakes their head.

“lust was right. you don’t give a fuck about us.” dante rolls her eyes, and pulls something out of her bag. then, she throws it at envy, who recoils.

“my- my-”

“it’s your remains, envy,” dante says, “i am tired of your whining. and i am tired of taking care of you. i have what i want. this ends today.” then, she snaps her fingers, and envy’s body disintegrates.

“so,” dante asks, with a fake smile, “what do you say? will you leave?”

instead of answering, nina launches a knife she must have transmuted while al wasn’t looking at dante. it doesn’t hit, but it sends their message loud and clear. they will not go quietly out of this fight. that does not, however, mean that they will fight well.

al doesn’t know how to fight without his armor, and nina has never NEEDED to fight. neither of them knows how to do this. there is a fight, violent and bloody, with lots of improbable alchemy. wrath gets rose out of the line of fire, and al thinks he might, surprisingly, be on their side? they are saved when the elevator door behind them opens and mustang and hawkeye step out, mustang might be bleeding from a wound to his chest, but he still looks raring to fight. hawkeye looks even more so, considering that she’s not even wounded.

al would take a moment to wonder how tf they knew to look here, but he will take this for what it is: a blessing.

“dante,” mustang says, clutching a skull in his hands, “guess who we just killed?” hawkeye holds out her guns, daring anyone to move against her.

“pride too?” dante says, “it appears i’m running out of homunculi.” she drawls this, as if she’s not at all concerned.

“looks like you won’t be a threat, then,” mustang says, snapping his fingers. he produces a large spark. dante snaps her fingers, and the philosopher’s stone glows brightly. then, rains starts pouring from the ceiling. mustang’s flame goes out. he won’t even be able to produce more.

“you really think you can move against me in the rain, general mustang?” she asks, laughing as the rain soaks through her hair and her dress. then, she makes a move to transmute something- but no one will ever know what it would have been.

hawkeye puts a bullet in the middle of her eyes. dante’s body falls down to the ground, dead, just like any other human. the philosopher’s stone falls right along with it. the rain stops, and it gleams right there, on the floor beside her.

mustang’s eyes widen, “is that?”

“the philosopher’s stone,” al says. both hawkeye and mustang’s eyes turn towards him, and their faces light up. apparently, they hadn’t noticed that he was there yet.

“i got my body back,” al says sheepishly.

“he got his body back!” nina shouts. she goes to grab the philosopher’s stone, then shoves it in his hand.

“come on,” she says, “we have to go save little big brother and alexander.” al nods. he hears the stomp of gluttony’s footsteps and then he eats dante’s corpse in one gulp. then he runs away.

“we’ll probably have to deal with that at some point,” mustang says.

“at some point,” al concedes, but there’s NO WAY that he’s waiting another second to go save his brother. (the author is NOT dealing with it. gluttony can just go be a cryptid for all she cares)

14. they go directly to mustang’s house, where he has a few of his guys on edxander duty. luckily for them, edxander doesn’t tend to torment anyone who isn’t named mustang.

al uses the philosopher’s stone and focuses on ed and alexander, as individuals. he tries to remember all the best times that he had with his brother. he tries to remember alexander trailing after nina, barking happily. he tries to remember them in the same room, as different, distinct entities. (after being fused for so many years, it’s harder than al would like to admit to call those memories to the surface without being tainted by the others)

but, thankfully, al is able to do it. when he’s done, ed is lying on the ground, his pink, fleshy body with two stumps, and alexander is lying above him in all his furry white glory. alexander wags his tail. ed moves his good arm.

then, al hears ed’s voice, properly, for the first time in ages. he opens his eyes, irises glinting gold against the white of his eyes.

“am i?” he looks down at his hand in wonder, “am i- back?” his voice cracks a little at the end, like he can’t believe.

“yes, brother,” al says, “you’re back.” then he picks alexander up and moves him, gently off his brother’s body. then he scoops him into a hug.

“al,” he says, eyes widening, “you got your body back?” nina has gone to pet alexander, to let him know that they’re happy to have him back too.

“yeah,” al says, “it’s a pretty new development.” he still feels weird in his body, a little like a colt that’s just learning how to walk. he wonders if ed will feel weird being back in his body.

“get in here, both of you,” ed says, to nina, and then the hug pile gains two new members.

“hope i’m not interrupting anything,” mustang says, “but the team wanted to check on you.” alexander barks, and it sounds like “bastard!” mustang’s looks shocked as the rest of his team follow him into the room.

“did alexander just?” ed tries to say yes, but a bark comes out instead.

“we’re not fixed,” ed says, “i don’t feel- i don’t feel the same. as i did back then.” al wants to say that of course he doesn’t, because ed did manage to grow a little since he was twelve. since he used to be human. but al knows that’s probably not the case. he can’t imagine that he and alexander spent so many years fused together without it actually rubbing off on each other.

nina takes his hand.

“but you’re better, right? you’re better, little big brother?” ed nods.

“yes nina,” he says, “i’m better. thanks to you guys. all of you. except the bastard.”

“excuse you?” mustang says, with feigned insult.

“alright,” ed says, smirking, “bastard included.” al didn’t trust the guy, back when he had to leave ed with him, but he really proved himself. he cares about them in his own smug way. even enough to come yell at al for not letting him know what his plan was earlier back in resembol.

15. ed isn’t the same. not really. spending that long as a chimera changes some of a person’s behaviors, and it seems like it might have changed his makeup a little too. but he’s not in pain anymore, and he’s always ed, without alexander or seething mass of pained chimera thrown in the mix. it’s not perfect, but it’s so much better.

16. winry makes him new, human automail for the first time in years. she doesn’t even complain about it. then, she moves to rush valley to study with the best automail mechanics out there and to make out with paninya.

17. ed and al and nina all make the decision that they want to try to help other people affected negatively by alchemy like in the end of brotherhood. they travel around, researching and having great adventures and loving each other.

18. wrath makes his way to the curtis’s and stays with them, and eventually he meets up with The Gang TM to help them with their quest and be friends. because i love wrath curtis and he deserves nice things okay

19. nina eventually changes her name to elric because fuck her dad

20. thank you for coming to my ted talk

#fma aus #alphonse elric #nina tucker #fma 03 #fma 2003 #edward elric #the elric brothers #maes hughes #roy mustang #wrath curtis #dante fma #shou tucker #sunkelles writes #i wrote an entire fic here guys jesus christ #chimera edward elric #i might make this into a real fic at some point #but chances are pretty slim

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