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#louis has better taste than that
hellotailor · 2 years
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In IWTV, Lestat wears several pairs of trousers where the belt loops are below the waistband. I've never seen/noticed that in anything else before. Is that a historical style? What is it called? Google is giving me nothing and I'm dying over this detail.
these are known as "drop-loop" trousers! i love this detail - it's very distinctive, although i'd associate it a bit more with the 1940s/50s than the earlier decades of IWTV season 1.
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IWTV's costumes really embrace the high-waisted silhouettes of menswear in early/mid-20th century america, something that some historical dramas tone down to fit in with modern tastes. (21st century suit pants tend to be tighter and sit lower on the hips, aiming for a "swimmers build" aesthetic.)
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sam reid has the perfect figure for 1930s/40s fashion: a narrow waist and wide shoulders. pleated suit trousers have extra fabric around the hips/ass and are cinched in at the natural waist, which a) is comfortable and b) makes the waist look narrower, creating an almost hourglass shape depending on the cut. to modern eyes it can look more feminine than contemporary men's suits, which plays into lestat's Whole Deal.
one pair of lestat's drop-loop trousers (i wish i could find a better pic!) create even MORE emphasis on the waist by leaving a cummerbund-like waistband of fabric above the belt. it's the kind of finicky tailoring detail that makes it obvious that lestat is a real clotheshorse. he and louis clearly spend a ton of money on tailoring.
i also suspect that lestat's american wardrobe was influenced by the fact that he socialized with and lived alongside black people in the new orleans jazz scene. the most exaggerated styles of drop-loop trousers are something i'd associate with Zoot Suits, which were not a white/anglo style and would presumably have been worn by young black men in early 1940s new orleans. (in ep 1, louis is extremely fashionable and accessorized to the hilt, whereas lestat looks like he's wearing a historical costume.)
on a final note, i love that louis continues to wear high-waisted trousers in the present day. his modern outfits are quite soft, vulnerable and minimalist - close to the kind of simple-but-expensive clothes we'd expect to see on one of the cooler young tech billionaires, but with a silhouette that calls back to his youth.
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dewdropdinosaur · 3 months
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Hazbin Having Blues
ALASTOR x READER
Summary: You and Alastor hate each other in every respect. But what if something did help you get along?
Warnings: NONE.
This is kind of a backstory for my fic 'Only for You' based on the line "how you get got along in the first place" and inspired by @anon-of-the-void
Requests are still open!!!
The Hazbin Hotel was a bustling haven for lost souls seeking redemption, but amidst the chaos and colorful characters, a particularly unique dynamic brewed between Alastor, the Radio Demon, and the new arrival…you. 
The animosity between you and Alastor was palpable since day one, with every interaction echoing with sharp, witty remarks that cut through the air like daggers.The constant banter between you both created an uncomfortable atmosphere within the hotel, much to the dismay of the optimistic and ever-hopeful Charlie. Despite the young Moringstar’s best efforts to foster a sense of unity and camaraderie, the stalemate in this war of words persisted.  Alastor, with his charismatic and devilish charm, found himself enjoying to harp down upon what he saw to be a gross naivety and unmannerly conduct. Meanwhile, you were a soul unafraid to stand up to the radio demon's antics, viewing him as nothing more than a pompous and insufferable presence. 
Simply, Alastor and yourself had developed a fierce dislike for each other. The verbal sparring matches were legendary within the walls of the hotel, often leaving other residents uncomfortable and seeking refuge from the bickering.
Insulting conversations include but are not limited to: 
“Well, well, if it isn't the radio demon himself. Did you run out of jazz records to torture people with?” “Ah, my dear, I always save the best tunes for special occasions. Unlike your taste in humor.”
“Look who decided to join the conversation. Are you here to dazzle us with your sparkling personality?” “Better than your attempt at a fashion statement. Monochromatic stripes, Al? Even Hell has standards.”
“Heard you like to play games, Alastor. How about a round of ‘Guess What My Expression Means’?” “My, my, how thrilling. I'll start: my face means I'm thoroughly unimpressed by your attempts at banter.”
“You know, Y/N, they say laughter is the best medicine. Too bad it can't cure your lack of charm.” “And they say pride goes before a fall. How's the weather down there, high and mighty?”
One evening, however, something changed.
As Alastor wandered the halls, his keen senses picked up on a faint sound emanating from your room. The unmistakable notes of a trumpet played with soulful precision, and a voice as smooth as molasses crooned lyrics that resonated with a timeless elegance. Intrigued, Alastor pressed his ear against the door. Deciding that was not enough, he slunk into the shadows and appeared in the room behind you. 
Inside, you sat alone(you thought you were alone at least) immersed in the soothing melodies of Louis Armstrong's "West End Blues." and Etta James “Bye Bye Blackbird” on LPs for the record player you had thrifted. The soulful and jazzy tunes seemed to transport you to another world, away from the chaos of the hotel. Unbeknownst to you, Alastor found himself captivated by the same enchanting spell. 
Alastor found himself captivated by the soulful notes. He couldn't help but appreciate the musical talent behind the song. He couldn't deny the care and emotion woven into each note, and for the first time, Alastor recognized something within you that transcended the ongoing feud. That something he wasn’t quite sure what it was but it was…different. Yes, the songs had come out in 1928 and 1926 respectively, he was alive when they graced the radio waves for the first time. Often finding himself tapping along to a beat in Mimzy’s lounge back then. How did you come to know something of such class when he found you to be a peasant in most respects? 
But instead of announcing his presence with a snide remark, Alastor leaned against the doorframe, silently appreciating the moment. When the final notes faded away, he couldn't help but admit with a slow clap, "Not bad, Y/N. Not bad at all."
You, startled by his unexpected appearance, yelped and eyed him suspiciously. "What are you doing in my room, radio head?!"
Alastor smirked, his usual air of arrogance softened by a newfound appreciation. "Just thought I'd acknowledge the good taste when I hear it. That Armstrong fellow knows how to play a mean trumpet."
Raising an eyebrow, you were surprised by the change in tone. "Yeah…what about it?"
“Nothing my dear, simply acknowledging. You may not be such a ducky afterall.” Slinking back into the shadows, Alastor disappeared as quickly as he had come. 
You were taken aback but managed a nod of acknowledgment. The tension between the two of you began to ease as Alastor, in his own peculiar way, had found common ground through music. 
From that day forward, the interactions shifted. While the witty banter persisted, there was a newfound respect lingering in the air, as if the shared appreciation for timeless jazz classics had bridged an unexpected connection between two souls trapped in the chaotic tapestry of the Hazbin Hotel.
Over time, the insults became less frequent, replaced by a begrudging mutual respect. The other residents were astounded by the change, especially Charlie, who believed her intervention had led to a surprising connection between two seemingly incompatible souls.(My apologies dear Morningstar, trust falls and all…simply not the case.)
As Alastor and you had found a shared appreciation for music, discovering that beneath demonic exteriors, there was more to each other than met the eye. Alastor often found himself up in his radio tower, listening to the jazzy tunes he knew would draw you in. And like a very good little pet, as he liked to call you, you would climb the stairs and sit next to him in silence. Listening and tapping your foot along to the beat, only to leave a few hours later. As the time went on, a few weeks or so, conversation slowly filtered into the listening sessions. Turns out…maybe both of your distastes for each other might not have completely founded. Not that you would ever admit that to his face, nor him to yours.  
The Hazbin Hotel, once filled with discord, became a place where even the most unlikely friendships could blossom. And maybe, just maybe dear reader, that friendship could be something more. Alastor did look good in monochromatic stripes anyway. 
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bunmurdock · 2 months
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spotted pigeons and telepathic dog walkers | matt murdock x oralfixation!reader
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summary: combined three inbox requests! (1) “sucking matt’s fingers for comfort” + (2) “having a bad day; matt lets you curl up in his lap while he whispers sweet nothings” + (3) “matt x oral fixation!reader; he would love how needy/clingy she is and oblige her with his fingers.” tags: humor, fluff, daddy!matt, use of a pet name (“pup”) word count: 918
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“shh, there you go, sweetheart,” matt whispers. 
you're curled up in his lap. his thumb nudges its way between your parted lips, a gesture so deeply rooted in your shared moments of comfort. his skin tastes of the day's work, a hint of soap and something uniquely matt, and it grounds you, pulls you back from the edge of your anxieties.
“someone was a little firecracker today, hm? got all worked up, and now look at you, quiet as a mouse.” you suckle on his finger, cheeks puffing adorably. 
he laughs softly. “ah, there's that pout. knew it wouldn't be long.”
matt shifts, caressing your cheek with his other fingers. “let's see if we can't find a better use for that pout, hm?” his free arm reaching over to the nearby bluetooth speaker. soft, instrumental music fills the room.
“music to soothe the savage beast,” he quips, the laughter around his eyes crinkling with something more tender. he rocks you gently, the movement subtle but comforting. “or in our case, to soothe the sweetest pup in the world.”
~
“you know, i was thinking. maybe we should go birdwatching like you suggested. you and me, out in the park at dawn, and you can tell me when you see the rare... spotted pink pigeon.”
the absurdity of the statement, delivered with such faux seriousness, is enough to draw a reluctant smile from you.
“spotted pink pigeon doesn't exist, pup, but if it did, i’m sure it'd be as unique and lovely as you.”
he leans back against the couch, taking you with him. the question he's been pondering dances at the tip of his tongue, a gentle inquiry meant to bridge the silence that has settled between you.
“which, speaking of, we’ve been debating at the office. how would you feel about a little office mascot? foggy and kar—”
before he can continue, he feels your body tense slightly, the shift so subtle only someone as attuned to you as matt could notice. the question hangs in the air, unfinished, as he tunes into your reaction. there's a stillness about you, a hesitation that speaks volumes to him.
“ah,” he whispers, a gentle kiss pressed to the top of your head. “not the time for decisions, huh? that's okay. let's get your mind off of things.”
he shifts slightly, making sure you're nestled comfortably against him. 
“so. you’re not going to believe this. today, foggy brought in this client—mr. boetticher. a guy who claims he's developed a 'revolutionary' method to walk dogs telepathically. says he can control up to ten dogs at a time with just his mind.”
“and karen decided we should test this guy's claim. so, there we were, in the middle of central park, with foggy holding onto five leashes, more scared than i've ever seen him, and this guy concentrating so hard i thought he might burst a blood vessel.”
“of course, nothing happened. well, nothing except for the dogs deciding it was the perfect time to chase after a squirrel, taking foggy on a little unexpected adventure.”
matt pauses, feeling the vibrations of your giggles against his chest. “and then later, there's frank castle,” he continues, the smile evident in his voice. “dropped by today. turns out he has a soft spot for old jazz records,” he smirks. “walked in on him and karen having an impromptu dance session in the middle of the office.” 
“really?” you murmur around his thumb, eyes wide.
“mhm. when i walked in, never seen someone jump up so fast. tried to act all tough, like he hadn’t just been serenading karen with louis armstrong's greatest hits.”
your giggle fills the room, warm and hearty, as he continues. “but the highlight of the day? the office itself. ever since we moved to the new place, it's been one adventure after another. and today was no exception.”
“we've been dealing with this... let's call it a 'haunted' coffee machine. turns out, foggy was convinced it had a mind of its own. would randomly start brewing in the middle of meetings.”
you let out a soft snort, the image of foggy arguing with a coffee machine too vivid in your imagination.
“so today, karen had enough. she declared war on the coffee machine. it was a scene to behold, pup. karen, armed with the user manual, foggy providing moral support from a safe distance, and me, well, enjoying the show.”
your laughter is muffled against his chest, the silly image of the trio taking on an inanimate object a welcome distraction. 
“guess what?” matt's voice drops to a conspiratorial whisper. “took them three days to figure out foggy had been accidentally hitting the delayed start button with his elbow every time he leaned on the counter.”
your laughter bubbles up again, filling the room with warmth, and a look of pure fondness crosses matt’s face, a look reserved only for you. 
“but you know, the best part of today?” he continues, “was coming back to you, knowing that no matter how crazy the day gets, i've got a crazier little pup waiting for me—”
you bite down on his finger.
“ouch! alright alright. ah—no teeth.”
~
“so, how about we plan a day out? just you and me,” he teases gently, tilting your chin up to meet his smile with one of your own—even if he can’t see it, he feels it. “think of it as our little adventure, away from the stress and chaos. what do you say, pup?”
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nalyra-dreaming · 2 months
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Can’t wait for people to flip when they meet “Privileged French White micro-aggression compilation”’s mentor, Mr. macro-aggression colonizer superiority complex Marius “I married a thirteen-year old former sex slave and adopted him as my son” de Romanus. Marius is his own trigger warning. Wait until they hear about Marius’ disciplinary methods involving whips and willow switches. Or the fact that Marius sent his son-wife to a brothel to learn “important skills”. Or that when he told Lestat about Those Who Must Be Kept, Marius literally framed Akasha’s genocidal tendencies as “taming savages”. Oh boy, it’s not gonna be good.
Like… Who do you think Lestat learned his skewed world view from? Moving to America was probably a bucket of cold water to Lestat. I would like to give Lestat the benefit of the doubt, as his father was an asshole aristocrat. Lestat quickly learned how privileged he was, even as a disgraced marquis’ son. His genuine horror at how the racist fat cats treated Louis said everything to me. I don’t think anyone understands that Lestat is interested in doing better. He is. He’s working through it. He will fuck up, because nobody ever gave him a look outside his little world.
The thing is, vampires do end up in ruin when they stay behind as the world around them goes forward. Just like humans, when we get stuck in outdated ideals. It’s heavily implied at the end of the Blood Communion novel that Marius is slowly going mad. All vampires do, at some point, go through a period of madness. Some just come out of it better than others. In the IWTV novel, Louis eats grass and mopes around his brother’s rectory for a while after Armand hesitantly leaves him. Armand kills his own coven. Khayman loses his memories for a while and wanders the world, snacking on mortals’ bone marrow. Daniel becomes mute and obsessive, luckily finding an outlet in model trains. Poor Lestat lost an eye and had to be restrained, before he slept for a long while. Thorne got tied down for a while. Benji and Sybelle. Unm. Well, Benji ended up with a podcast and Sybelle delved into the piano. And Louis, of course, tried to kill himself once— but it changed his relationship with Lestat for the better.
Okay, so I went on a meta tangent, but the point is, Marius is an even bigger fuck-up than Lestat, and covering him is going to get pretty ugly. And even more existential. I hope viewers stop and philosophize, you know? Everyone stops to question the nature of mankind and how we fall if we don’t move with time.
And as far as Marius goes, hope Justin Kirk is prepared. 😅
P.S. I swear I’m not high, just tired. 🥱
:))
(For those who think the "eating grass" is an euphemism here: "I was picking at the grass, and tasting it, though the taste was bitter and unnatural. The gesture seemed natural.":))
Marius... is going to be something. Which is part of the reason why I keep saying that Justin Kirk will be perfect if he is, because it needs a very seasoned actor with a lot of thick skin to pull him off (and, I mean, Justin does not shy away from difficult characters as we know *nods at Succession*).
It will be interesting to see what kind of wounds they will put their proverbial fingers in.
Like, the casual racism and superiority complex Marius employs has to clash with Armand's recast, too. Not necessarily with the choice (of Amadeo) per se, but with the circumstances. I am betting real money that there will be some very uncomfortable meta commentary on sex slave trade in combination with racism coming up right there (and I for one want them to make that commentary! Even though it will probably lead to more fandom drama.).
These vampires are children of their times, and they do change/adapt/grow, but... slowly. (I am not so sure about Lestat getting his world view from Marius, I think there is a reason why Lestat never became the pupil Marius wanted him to be, and I do think that Lestat might be willfully ignorant at times, which can come off a certain way, but his own backstory is more to blame here than Marius, imho.)
I do not need Marius to be a good character to enjoy the fuck out of him, on the contrary.
I am not sure if the show will go the "whip" way. They might insinuate. I think they will, as with other scenes let the mind of the audience do the rest, which will be more than enough, too. I mean, the audience can read up on it all in the book *coughs*. There's no need to go more explicit than needed.
But yes. I hope Justin Kirk is prepared :)))
And... I hope the audience is prepared as well.
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i-cant-sing · 1 year
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Just thinking about domestic vibes for different fandoms/AUs. So, let's begin with Todoroki Clan:
I'm thinking about yandere parents Enji and Rei, and their teen reader (who they definitely kidnapped as a baby). It's summer break, which means Rei won't have the urge to burn down your school so that you stay at home. No, now she has you all to herself! And despite Rei being Suffocating and smothering, reader does love her mom. Rei is just so soft and kind and sweet, it doesn't sit right with reader to break her heart by saying "no, mom. I just wanna be alone than watch you cook." At least Rei let's you be her little helper, taste the frosting for her, will you?
And summer also means that Rei gets to take you for shopping without you bringing up excuses like "sorry mom, I can't go. I need to study for a test." Now she gets to drag you along to as many shops as she wants, you can literally beg her to stop because you're tired but she'll just give you some homemade onigiris and off you go and change into the clothes she chose for you. Luckily for you, there aren't many luxury shops near you, and they take a lot of time to make Rei's custom orders because your mom never buys off the rack. (Yes girl, you dressed in Chanel and Louis Vuitton because daddy Enji's credit cards buy everything)
Summer vacations means time off from school to reward yourself for all of your hardwork. That's why Rei is making you take daily afternoon naps with her. And you can't say no, mostly because Rei has been mixing melatonin in your food so you tire out easy.
Enji won't lie, but he definitely enjoys your time off from school as well. He gets to see you more often, especially after exam season is over. He gets to take you out on a lot of daddy-daughter dates, which you absolutely enjoy because you get to eat a lot of food without your mom reminding you that she can make so-and-so dish at home and better than Michelin starred chef.
But now that you have holidays, instead of Enji just going around the world on missions and bringing you souvenirs, you now get to go with him and Rei to anywhere you want! Rei is happy because she gets to dress you up in more clothes and do your hair and APPLY SUNSCREEN ON YOU (DO NOT TAKE THIS AWAY FROM HER). Loads and loads of pictures are taken and memories are made, and it's good that Enji's there to hold Rei back from doing normal teenager stuff that she deemed "too dangerous" for you.
Also, Enji and Rei feeding reader together, no matter how old you are. Rei makes the food and serves it to you, Enji keeps on picking out all the good stuff from his plate (sausages, sashimi, eggs, etc) and using his chopsticks to feed it to you🥺🥺🥺
Or or when Rei is doing your hair and you're doing dad Enji's hair, maybe you're just applying a hair mask and massaging it in because Enji works so hard for all of you🥺🥺 of course, he returns the favour by painting your nails (he has gotten better over the years with practice, but it's still funny to see how small the nail polish brush looks in his gigantic hands.
Also thinking about Dad Enji and reader waking up early to make breakfast in bed for Rei for mothers day and Enji's soul leaving his body when a little bit of oil splatters on your hand. And no matter how much you convince hum that you're fine, Enji thinks you're not and now he has you sitting in the corner far away from the stove while he finishes off cooking. And when you two go and surprise Rei, she is so touched and is almost moved to tears until her eyes land on the smallest splatter on your hand (its a surprise she was even able to see it) and now you're wrestled into bed next to her as she ices your hand while scolding Enji for risking your life because "You're the adult Enji. You should know better!" And poor dad Enji is just nodding along🥺🥺🥺🥺
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pop-punklouis · 6 months
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I feel it's not fair at all, poppunk is not my type, On the other hand, I love Louis's voice in 1d songs, and back to you , and couple songs from walls album. And that's it, I don't have anything new to listen to from him. I know this is my problem and my musical taste and it's not Louis's fault. But come on do something like back to you that more people loved it, what's wrong with that? If we want to be logical pop punk has its own fans but they are in the minority.
I know his prejudice fans always says, that's fine, he'll be fine, don't worry about him, let Louis be for us, we don't want to share him, becoming number one is not his goal, but isn't it? Wasn't he happy when he was number one in the UK? I know the fans made it , but it's not like Louis said I'd be upset if I became number one and I don't want it and I refuse to accept it.
He says he doesn't care about commercial success, but who wouldn't want that. When you have the ability and talent, what's wrong with using it and singing a song that will bring everyone's attention to you? I really don't understand why Louis doesn't want to sing something that is popular with the majority of society?
1) this is such a weirdly self-serving ask of an artist like: “create music i want to listen to. if not, i cant listen to it and you’re not going to be successful.” perhaps, louis isn’t making music for you but for himself and if that isn’t for you, that’s fine. but that doesn’t mean he isn’t successful…..?
2) louis made mainstream pop music with one direction for five years. and tried his own hand at it for the first half of his solo career. he’d been in that world for a decade. and for his solo career, it wasn’t really that successful. and most importantly he wasn’t happy??
3) louis has made it abundantly clear that he didn’t want to make pop music. that his heart belonged in the indie rock/pop-punk scene. and always has. there’s been remnants of that in his style, his interests, and some of his music for years. he’s given countless interviews and talked himself about the pressure that was put on him to dress up as someone he wasn’t with these major record labels. to hide his accent. to create radio friendly music. to be a puppet on a string for them. he wasted years of his career dealing with that pressure and those contracts.
4) FITF, an album that was created as the most authentic body of work he’s released yet, is what got him the number one. it wasn’t walls. it wasn’t any of the strictly EDM work he released. it was FITF. it was an album that featured the sound that he loves and wants to strive towards going forward. it was louis clear vision babe.
5) louis has seen a growth in his career and his venue sizes that is exponential in just one year. and this isn’t because he’s releasing mainstream pop music. it’s because he’s being authentically him. his music is better. his tour is bigger. his presence is brighter. it’s gravitating so much good his way because of the content he’s creating and how it’s translating to his crowds and him as an artist. he’s a much more confident person than he was just a couple years ago. he’s a much more self-assured person.
6) FITF is part of the reason he’s being booked for these festivals now. it allowed him the growth in his fanbase and live shows to attract fests. if he was still creating music like Walls, i’m not sure if it would be shaking out the same way. and with how his music sounds now, it is open to attracting new fans especially in these big festival settings. most of the songs from walls don’t have the capacity to do that. and that’s just the reality.
7) there isnt just one metric of success. success has many different forms. numbers and charts aren’t the only way to succeed. and louis has lived in that world of success. he’s done all of those things. he’s hit those milestones. they feel good, but they aren’t a driving force behind why he does what he does. he does what he’s doing now because he’s finally being able to show who he is sonically. who he is as a lyricist. who he wants to continue growing into going forward in his career. he’s succeeding through his own journey in the industry. and he’s doing a damn good job controlling that for himself.
8) there’s nothing wrong with pop music. i love pop music. there’s a reason why pop music is popular. but asking your favorite artist to reshape who they’ve steadily been building themselves to be all because you don’t like the sound and you think they need to follow a one-dimensional version of success is….. sad lmao he has worked so hard to be where he is. to feel authentic in the music he’s putting out. and for someone to be like “um anyways i don’t like this. go back to what you were trying so hard to not be. i liked your music better that way” is just ????
9) indie-rock isn’t unsuccessful. it isn’t dead. it’s very alive and successful. genres don’t have to be pop or mainstream to be successful. give music much more credit than that, please.
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heliza24 · 3 months
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Daniel, Armand, and Keats???
Ok so the incredibly grainy footage of the new teaser has me spiraling! Devils minion on screen! But even more exciting, is Armand describing himself as “easeful death”, presumably to Daniel. Ok Rolin Jones, listen up. I don’t know a ton of literature by heart by I WAS a depressed and then chronically ill teen and early twenties person, who identified maybe a little too hard with romantic poet John Keats. Some of his poems are permanently tattooed on my brain. So I see what the writers are doing here. “easeful death” is from Ode to a Nightingale. The full line is: “Darkling I listen; and, for many a time/I have been half in love with easeful Death”. I mean. Come on.
I reread the poem after watching the trailer last night, and it’s actually SUCH a clever reference. It could practically be written by Daniel about Armand. We already know the writers room is familiar with and willing to reference other classic poets (Emily Dickinson absolutely is a vampire) so I think this is 100% intentional.
The narrator of the poem is tired of the difficulties of life and is longing for death; he speaks to the nightingale as a kind of immortal figure who is free from all cares. He is able to momentarily accompany the nightingale, at least mentally, as it flies and forget all troubles, but must come back to earth by the end of the poem. It’s pretty easy to read this as Daniel talking about Armand.
In fact, the first thing the speaker longs for is not death or the nightingale, but wine to take his mental pain away.
O, for a draught of vintage! that hath been
         Cool'd a long age in the deep-delved earth,
Tasting of Flora and the country green,
         Dance, and Provençal song, and sunburnt mirth!
O for a beaker full of the warm South,
         Full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene,
                With beaded bubbles winking at the brim,
                        And purple-stained mouth;
         That I might drink, and leave the world unseen
And we know that Daniel was numbing himself with drugs when he first met Louis and Armand. In fact the voiceover in the trailer almost feels like a pitch to Daniel; Armand is saying “I’m better than the best drug you’ve ever had”, effectively.
The speaker is determined to forget what the lucky nightingale (or Armand) “hast never known”:
The weariness, the fever, and the fret
         Here, where men sit and hear each other groan;
Where palsy shakes a few, sad, last gray hairs,
         Where youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies;
                Where but to think is to be full of sorrow
The nightingale doesn’t know about the trials of living and aging, just like Armand. The speaker wants to forget about the inevitable “palsy shakes” that arrive with age. which could easily be a reference to what we now diagnose as Parkinson’s Disease.
At this point in the poem, the speaker tells the nightingale that he will join him in forgetting life not with the help of “Bacchus and his pards” (wine) but with “posey” (poetry). Which makes me think of Daniel using his writing to get closer to the vampires.
The fact that the speaker calls the nightingale “Darkling”! I mean what a perfect name for Armand. In fact I think this whole section is just perfectly about a vampire if you want it to be:
Darkling I listen; and, for many a time
         I have been half in love with easeful Death,
Call'd him soft names in many a mused rhyme,
         To take into the air my quiet breath;
                Now more than ever seems it rich to die,
         To cease upon the midnight with no pain,
                While thou art pouring forth thy soul abroad
                        In such an ecstasy!
         Still wouldst thou sing, and I have ears in vain—
                   To thy high requiem become a sod.
Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird!
         No hungry generations tread thee down;
The voice I hear this passing night was heard
         In ancient days by emperor and clown
Armand was not born for death; he’s seen many an emperor and clown and in fact been both (leader of the coven, pretending to be Rashid). There’s also an emphasis on the nightingale’s song. I don’t know if Armand will be a musician at all in the show, but he and the coven are definitely performers.
In the last stanza, the speaker comes back to himself. He knows that he does not get to escape the burden of life for the ease of death, or at least not yet. It makes me wonder if Daniel will eventually turn down the gift at some point in the devils minion timeline. We know that he rejects Louis' mocking offer to give him the gift in the Dubai timeline.
Forlorn! the very word is like a bell
         To toll me back from thee to my sole self!
Adieu! the fancy cannot cheat so well
         As she is fam'd to do, deceiving elf.
Adieu! adieu! thy plaintive anthem fades
         Past the near meadows, over the still stream,
                Up the hill-side; and now 'tis buried deep
                        In the next valley-glades:
         Was it a vision, or a waking dream?
                Fled is that music:—Do I wake or sleep?
The last line and the confusion about whether the time spent with the nightingale is a dream or not makes me think of Daniel waking up from the dream of Polynesian Mary’s.
In summary, Rolin Jones what the fuckkkkk. I’m so so excited about this season and all the Armand/Daniel content we’re about to get.
Oh also, as a bonus, if you want to hear Ben Whishaw recite the entire poem, and you definitely do, here you go:
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chicgeekgirl89 · 3 months
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Rating: T Characters: Carlos Reyes and T.K. Strand Summary: In the early days of their budding relationship, T.K. and Carlos discover some of each other's more adorable characteristics. Or, five times T.K. learns adorable things about Carlos and one time Carlos learns something adorable about T.K. A/N: Thanks to @bluenet13 for the title help on this one. It's been on the back burner for a while and it was time for it to fly free. Also working on a reverse 5+1 companion for it, so keep your eyes open for that...someday... Tagging: This is more than seven sentences, but please accept it anyway. Thanks to @strandnreyes, @bonheur-cafe, @carlos-in-glasses, @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut, @ladytessa74, and @lemonlyman-dotcom. Tagging @liminalmemories21, @welcometololaland, @carlos-tk, @louis-ii-reyes-strand, @im-overstimulated-and-im-sad, and anyone else who would like to share your Seven Sentence Sunday! Read on AO3
Glasses
T.K. is brushing his teeth in Carlos’ bathroom. Usually his daily oral hygiene wouldn’t be a notable event, but today it feels monumental. Because it’s Carlos’ bathroom. And T.K. is brushing his teeth. Because he’s staying over. Because they’re together. Like really together. Officially. 
He smiles goofily at his reflection in the mirror, his mouth still full of white paste and toothbrush. He’s happy. Really, truly, deeply happy.
He opens up Carlos’ medicine cabinet one handed as he continues brushing away and realizes that while he remembered to bring a razor he did not remember to bring shaving cream. “Hey babe,” he calls around his mouthful as he turns around and pokes his head back into the bedroom, “can I borrow—“
His eyes find Carlos on the bed and he immediately chokes on his toothpaste and has to rush back to the sink to spit it out. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand before turning and marching back through the open doorway. 
Carlos looks at him, amusement on his face. “You okay over there?”
“Since when do you wear glasses?”
Because he is. Carlos is sitting in his bed, shirtless, hair soft and wildly curly after his shower, a paperback in his hands, and a pair of glasses on his face. Glasses that T.K. has definitely never seen before in his life. Glasses that are kind of knocking the wind out of him.
“Since the fourth grade?” Carlos says. 
“But I’ve never…you’ve never worn them when I’ve been here.”
“I haven’t?” Carlos scrunches up his nose in thought and it makes him even more freaking adorable. “Are you sure?”
“I think I would remember my boyfriend morphing into Clark fucking Kent,” T.K. retorts.
Carlos chuckles. “I only wear them at night when my contacts start bothering me.”
“You should wear them more often.” The words are out of T.K.’s mouth before he even realizes it. He feels wildly out of control of himself right now and who could blame him? His already incredibly fucking hot boyfriend now looks like an incredibly fucking hot librarian and it is making T.K. think some very, VERY dirty thoughts.
Carlos raises his eyebrows. “Why?” A slow, lazy, self-satisfied smile spreads across his  face. “You think they’re sexy?”
“God yes.”
T.K. is across the room in two seconds flat, scrambling onto the bed and pulling Carlos’ face to his for a bruising kiss. Carlos immediately drops his book and responds in kind, mouth open and inviting as his hands grip T.K.’s hips and pull him close. “You called me your boyfriend,” he says when they finally break apart for air.
“I did,” T.K. says, diving back in for another taste of Carlos in glasses. It’s completely different than regular Carlos. It’s nerdy. And hot. He loves it.
“You’ve never called me your boyfriend before,” Carlos says breathlessly, grinning so wide it’s like the sun has come out. “I like it.”
T.K. grins back at him. “Me too.”
Socks
“Oh my god,” Carlos says as T.K. collapses onto his chest and presses kisses into his sweat sticky skin. “How does it just keep getting better?”
“Because we’re amazing,” T.K. mumbles against his pecs, his eyes already heavy with sleep. “So. Freaking. Amazing.”
He takes a few breaths and feels his body relaxing as sleep pulls him down. He snuggles deeper into Carlos’ chest, eyes drifting shut. He’s nearly out when he feels Carlos shift beneath him.
“Where are you going?” he asks, tightening his hold on Carlos’ torso to keep him from moving.
“I’ll be right back. I just need to put some socks on,” Carlos says, pressing a kiss to his hair. 
T.K.’s eyes pop back open and he props himself up to look at Carlos’ face. “I’m sorry, what?”
“I’m going to put some socks on,” Carlos repeats.
Things still aren’t computing in T.K.’s brain. “…why?” he finally asks slowly.
“Because if we’re going to sleep I need to wear socks.”
He was looking for clarity, but now he’s even more confused. “I don’t understand.”
“What is there to understand? I’m putting socks on to go to bed,” Carlos says, looking equally as confused.
“But…why?”
“Because otherwise I might catch a cold,” Carlos says with a laugh, gently pushing T.K. off so he can get to his feet.
T.K. blinks a couple times trying to get his bearings and then rolls over, sitting up with the sheet wrapped around his waist. “That is not how colds work. Like not even close.”
Carlos returns and sits on the bed to pull his socks on. “I know that,” he says.
“And yet you’re still putting the socks on,” T.K. says.
“My mom always made us wear socks to bed when we were kids.”
“Is she coming over?” T.K. asks incredulously.
“No.”
“Then why are you wearing them?!”
“Because she always made us!”
T.K. takes a breath. “Let me get this straight. You are going to get into this bed with me, fully naked, except for socks that you’re going to wear because your mom made you do it when you were seven?”
Carlos pauses. “Well when you say it like that it sounds stupid.”
“Your words, not mine.”
“I just like it okay? I’ve done it forever. I can’t sleep without them,” Carlos says defensively as he slides back into bed beside T.K. “Is this some kind of a dealbreaker for you?”
“Nope,” T.K. says. “Just trying to understand. If wearing socks to bed is what does it for you, then by all means wear the socks.”
“Thank you,” Carlos says, giving him a peck on the lips and turning out the light before pulling T.K. close and snuggling in to go to sleep.
T.K. gets comfortable and closes his eyes, but he can’t stop the thoughts running through his mind in the dark and quiet of the room. He sits up and turns the light back on. “I really need you to tell me that you understand that you can’t catch a cold from not wearing socks though.”
Romance
T.K. loves being in Carlos’ condo without him. He likes it better when Carlos is around obviously. But he feels so special that Carlos has given him a key and invited him to share his space. It means he trusts T.K. enough to let him be here alone where it’s peaceful and calm, unlike his dad’s house which somehow feels crowded even though there are only two of them there most of the time.
Carlos’ place feels more like home than anywhere else has in a long time.
He takes his shoes off when he arrives and dutifully puts them away, then grabs a mineral water and a yogurt out of the fridge before collapsing onto Carlos’ couch. “Ouch,” he says with a frown as something pokes into his back from behind the throw pillow.
He reaches behind him and pulls out a book. It’s not unusual to find books around the condo, Carlos is a big reader, but the brightly colored cover on this one makes T.K. pause and raise his eyebrows. The Spanish Love Deception is the title and when he flips it over to read the back he learns that Catalina Martín is in desperate need of a date for her sister’s wedding and her mortal enemy at work seems to be her only option.
He’s rifling through the pages when the door opens and Carlos walks in. “Hey,” he says, smiling as his eyes meet T.K.’s. “When did you get in?”
“Like fifteen minutes ago,” T.K. tells him as Carlos slips off his shoes and then comes over to press a kiss to his lips. “I found this behind the throw pillow.”
He holds up the romance novel and Carlos takes it from him. “Francesca must have left it here,” he says, referring to his sister. “Looks like her kind of book. I’ll text her and let her know you found it it.”
T.K. doesn’t think about it again for a couple of weeks until one night when his dad cancels their dinner plans and he spontaneously heads to Carlos’ instead. “Hey, it’s me!” he calls as he pushes the door open.
“T.K.?” Carlos appears at the top of the stairs, one hand behind his back, looking a little frazzled. “I thought you were going to dinner with your dad.”
“He bailed,” T.K. says, adjusting his overnight bag on his shoulder as he takes the stairs two at a time, giving Carlos a peck on his lips when he reaches him. “You okay?” he asks, taking in the weird expression on his boyfriend’s face.
“Yeah, yeah, of course,” Carlos says, even as a minor amount of panic is flickering through his eyes. “I just didn’t know you were coming.”
T.K. looks him up and down. “Do you have some other guy in your bedroom?”
“What?! No!” Carlos says quickly.
“Were you watching porn?”
“Of course not!” Carlos says, but there’s a deep blush rising up in his cheeks. 
“What’s behind your back?” T.K. reaches for him, but Carlos steps away out of his reach.
“It’s nothing,” he says.
T.K. raises his eyebrows in amusement. “You know you are so freaking bad at lying, right?”
“Can we just drop it?” Carlos asks, desperation creeping into his voice.
T.K. takes a step forward so that Carlos is forced to back into the wall and then reaches around him and plucks the hidden object from his fingers. It’s another book, the cover bright blue with the title The American Roommate Experiment on the front. T.K. recognizes the name of the author as the same one from the book he found behind the couch cushions and his eyebrows rise. “Oh. You were reading porn.”
“It’s not porn,” Carlos says. “It’s a book.”
“Are you telling me there’s no sex in this book?”
“I…don’t know yet,” Carlos says, dropping his eyes. “I haven’t gotten that far.”
Delight is spiraling through T.K. as he fully realizes what’s going on. “That was your book a couple weeks ago. Not your sister’s.” He can feel his eyes start to sparkle with mischief. “You like smutty romance novels.”
“I don’t like them because they’re smutty,” Carlos says quickly. “I like them because…I like them.”
“You like them because you’re a big old softy romantic,” T.K. says, poking him gently in the chest. “Do you watch Hallmark Christmas movies too?”
The silence that follows tells him all he needs to know. “You do,” T.K. says happily. He could not be more thrilled about this new discovery.
“I grew up with four sisters,” Carlos defends himself.
“Please tell me you read Fifty Shades.”
“I would never,” Carlos scoffs. “Those books are not an accurate depiction of the BDSM community.”
“Oh my god you’re adorable,” T.K. tells him. 
“No, I’m, no don’t call me that,” Carlos says, clearly embarrassed.
“You are,” T.K. tells him, wrapping his arms around Carlos’ waist. “You are the most adorable boyfriend the world has ever seen.”
“Are you going to let this go, or is this something you’re going to talk about forever?” Carlos asks.
“Mmm definitely the second thing,” T.K. says as Carlos sighs with long suffering. “Now how about you take me to your bedroom and teach me some of the things you’ve learned from these books?”
Scaredy Cat
Sharing new things with each other has become a complete delight for T.K. So when he finds out that Carlos has never seen a single one of the Halloween movies, he declares the need for a marathon during the month of October and immediately goes over to his dad’s to dig out his DVD’s. No way is he dealing with ads breaking up the masterpiece that is Michael Myers. 
He’s popped popcorn, pulled out all the throw blankets, and even gone so far as to make up a bloody looking mocktail to really get them in the spirit of the movies. Now he’s just eagerly awaiting Carlos who has gone out to fetch their pizza.
He’s pulling down plates from the cupboard (Carlos refuses to eat pizza straight out of the box like they’re “college frat bros”) when the door opens and his boyfriend returns, pizza in hand. 
“Perfect timing!” T.K. says, eagerly taking the box from him and handing him the gory looking cocktail in return. 
“Oh, wow,” Carlos says. “This is…something.”
“I found a recipe online,” T.K. tells him excitedly as he dishes out pizza slices onto plates. “I thought they would be fun!”
“So creative,” Carlos says, poking at the gummy eyeballs that T.K. ordered online and added for extra pizzazz.
“Okay,” T.K. says as they settle onto the couch, his excitement at an eleven. “So, John Carpenter and Debra Hill wrote this in like ten days, which is crazy, and Carpenter got paid ten thousand dollars to write, direct, and score it. They built a cinematic masterpiece, the go-to film for horror, and they did it in ten days for ten thousand dollars. Can you even believe that?”
“Sure can’t,” Carlos says with a shake of his head. 
“We’re starting with the original Halloween,” T.K. tells him as he flicks on the television. “1963, Michael Myers versus a bunch of teenage girls. We’ll skip a few in the middle, Halloween: Resurrection isn’t worth anybody’s time, and while Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers does feature a young, fresh faced Paul Rudd, it has too many flaws to be worth watching.”
“So we’re skipping two out of…”
“Thirteen,” T.K. tells him.
“I guess I should have taken the month off of work,” Carlos tells him, sending him an odd, tense sort of smile.
Come to think of it, Carlos’ whole body feels a little tense too. If T.K. didn’t know any better, he’d think Carlos was nervous. But he chalks it up to worry over getting pizza grease on the couch and hits play as he snuggles into his boyfriend’s side.
They’re still snuggled together as Michael takes a knife to his teenage sister and T.K. doesn’t miss the way Carlos stiffens even further over the bloody scene. Or the way he seems to get more and more tense as the movie progresses. “You want another drink?” T.K. asks after Michael murders the Wallace’s dog.
Carlos shakes his head, his lips pressed together in a firm line, eyes a little wider than normal as he stares at the screen. He gasps audibly when Michael appears in Annie’s car and when T.K. looks down he finds that Carlos is gripping the edge of the couch cushions so hard that his knuckles are going white. 
By the time Michael starts going after Laurie, Carlos’ breathing has gone rapid and T.K. carefully slips his fingers under the edge of his sleeve to find his pulse racing. Not a surprise given the contents of the movie, but Carlos’ face has gone almost white and and he’s sitting so rigidly T.K. is afraid all of his muscles are going to lock up. 
“Carlos,” he says quietly, but Carlos doesn’t respond, eyes glued to the screen, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down as he swallows hard.
“Carlos, are you okay?” T.K. asks again, reaching for the remote.
He’s too late. Michael appears out of nowhere and Carlos jumps to his feet with a shout, hands going to his hips as he paces a couple agitated steps back and forth. 
T.K. finally gets his finger on the button to pause the movie. “Carlos, hey, look at me,” T.K. says, feeling legitimately concerned.
“No I—it’s fine. I’m fine,” Carlos says, hand making chopping motions as if he’s trying to convince himself as much as T.K. “Go ahead, turn it back on. I’ll just um, I’m just going to—“
“You’re shaking like a leaf,” T.K. says.
“No I’m—it’s good,” Carlos says even as a car honks outside and he flinches violently.
“It’s not fine,” T.K. says. “You hate it. Let’s watch something else.”
“We can finish—“
“Carlos, you look like you think Michael is coming after you personally. We’re not watching anymore,” T.K. says with a chuckle, using the remote to flip over to live TV, Bobby Flay declaring loudly that he will not be beaten at his own culinary game this time.
“Thank you,” Carlos sighs, collapsing back into the couch.
“When were you going to tell me you hate horror movies?” T.K. asks.
“Never,” Carlos says, running a hand through his hair. “You were so excited and I thought maybe it would be okay.”
“But?”
“I begged my parents to let me watch It with my sisters when I was ten. I didn’t sleep for like a month after that and ever since…” he shivers, “I just don’t get why people like them.”
“It’s pretty cute you know,” T.K. says with a fond smile. “My big tough police officer being scared of horror movies.”
“Cute or pathetic?” Carlos says with a roll of his eyes, finally starting to look like himself again now that it’s vegetables being chopped up instead of people.
“Cute,” T.K. tells him definitively, pulling him close. “Now come here. I promise I’ll keep you safe.”
Paparazzi
The radio is blaring when T.K. walks in from his shift, so loud that for a second he thinks he’s walked into the wrong condo. A quick glance around reveals that no, this is indeed Carlos’ place, although there’s no sign of Carlos anywhere, and it takes him another moment to realize the music is actually coming from upstairs.
He climbs the staircase, the music getting louder with each step and by the time he’s reached the top it’s changed from something in Spanish to Lady Gaga and is blasting so loudly that it feels like he’s at a live performance rather than in his boyfriend’s bedroom.
That’s when he finally hears the singing. Not Gaga herself, although she’s hard to ignore. No. Someone is belting out the lyrics from behind the bathroom door, slightly out of tune, but with the most passion T.K. has ever heard.
He opens the door quietly, the sound intensifying as the spray of the shower joins the fray. 
“I’M YOUR BIGGEST FAN, I’LL FOLLOW YOU UNTIL YOU LOVE ME! PAPA-PAPARAZZI!” Carlos bellows from behind the semi-frosted glass of the shower door.
T.K. crosses his arms and leans against the wall, a grin on his face as he watches the blurry silhouette of his naked boyfriend scrubbing away at his hair while he sings along. He makes it through the rest of the chorus and another verse before he turns around and lets out a yell. “Jesus Christ!”
The water turns off immediately followed quickly by the music as T.K. laughs. Carlos opens the shower door, poking his sopping wet head out. “What the hell? How long have you been standing there?” he says, clearly torn between fury and embarrassment.
“Long enough,” T.K. says, handing him a towel before returning to his position against the wall, watching appreciatively as Carlos pulls it around his waist and steps out, water glistening on his skin.
“You realize that’s really fucking creepy, right?” Carlos asks as he double checks that his towel is secure.
“I can’t believe you didn’t invite me to the concert,” T.K. says fully aware that he is smirking and enjoying every second of watching Carlos squirm.
“Yeah, well, there’s a reason for that,” Carlos says, looking down at the floor, his cheeks flushed from more than the heat of his shower.
“Do you always sing in the shower?”
“No.” But he doesn’t meet T.K.’s gaze when he says it.
“Yes,” T.K. says gleefully. “Why don’t you ever sing when I’m here?”
“Because some things are better left in private,” Carlos tells him with a glower.
“Babe, come on,” T.K. says, taking a step forward and putting his hands on Carlos’ hips just above where the towel is sitting. “I love knowing stuff like this about you. It makes me feel like you’re mine. I get to see these little parts of Carlos Reyes that other people don’t.” He quirks an eyebrow. “Unless you also put on performances in the precinct showers.”
“Definitely not,” Carlos scoffs. His hands come up to rest on T.K.’s biceps. “You really don’t think it’s weird? I know I’m not a good singer.”
T.K. kisses the tip of his nose. “It doesn’t matter. It makes you happy. And that’s all I care about.”
+ 1: Ticklish
Waking up with T.K. had been his dream for months, but he wasn’t completely surprised when it turned out not to be a reality. It turns out T.K. doesn’t wake up with anyone. In fact he barely wakes up at all. He has to be dragged out of bed and plied with coffee and a shower before he’s even remotely functional. 
When questioned about how he can wake up and immediately go to work when the alarm bells go off at the fire station, T.K. looks at him like he’s crazy and says, “That’s different.”
So Carlos contents himself with waking up beside T.K., pressing a kiss to whatever part of him is poking out from under the blankets, and then greeting him more officially when he finally stumbles out of bed usually an hour or two after Carlos.
He’s just finished his workout when he hears T.K.’s alarm going off followed quickly by a muffled thud as T.K. predictably sends his phone flying to floor in his attempts to turn it off.
Carlos smiles and wipes a towel across his forehead before stowing away his weights and jogging back upstairs. T.K. is buried under the blankets, only the top of his head poking out. “Morning,” Carlos says softly, bending over to kiss his forehead.
T.K. reaches up and catches his arm, tugging him downward. “Come back to bed,” he mumbles. 
“I’m all sweaty,” Carlos says with a laugh. “I need to go take a shower.”
“No staaay,” T.K. groans, tugging more insistently.
Carlos rolls his eyes but he concedes, sitting down on the mattress and pulling the blanket down enough to reveal T.K.’s face. “Are you going to get up?”
“It’s our day off,” T.K. tells him, eyes still tightly shut.
“It is.” Carlos leans closer, a fond smile on his face. “And if you don’t get up soon it will be over.”
He pokes T.K. in the ribs good-naturedly and immediately receives a sharp backhand across the face. “Ow!” he yells, rearing back and clutching his nose. “T.K. what the fuck?!”
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” T.K. yelps, and Carlos can feel him scrambling to get upright in the tangle of their sheets. “Oh my god! Are you okay? Let me see!”
He reaches for Carlos’ face, but Carlos pulls back. His nose feels like it’s been smashed into a thousand pieces, but he rubs at it experimentally and it seems to be intact. Another check shows no blood on his fingers, so he’s probably all right, but damn. It hurts. “What the hell was that for?” he asks grouchily, sending T.K. a glare.
T.K. looks sheepishly down at the sheets. “Um, well, I might be just a little bit ticklish?”
Carlos blinks at him. “No you’re not.”
T.K.’s forehead wrinkles in confusion. “Yes I am?”
“T.K. we’ve been together for like four months. I would know if you were ticklish.” He knows T.K.’s body intimately. Where he can touch to make him moan, to make him gasp, to make him arch his back. If T.K. were ticklish, it would have been revealed long before now. 
“It’s just that one spot on the left side of my ribs,” T.K. tells him. “If your hands start to go there I just take them and move them somewhere else. You’ve never noticed?”
Huh. Carlos sits with that for a second replaying as many of their sexual encounters as he can remember. “I guess…I guess not. Why did you hit me though?” he asks with a frown.
“Ah.” T.K. blushes. “I always move your hands because I can get a little…violent when I get tickled. It’s kind of a panic response.”
“And instead of telling me this you just waited for me to discover it by accident and nearly broke my nose in the process?”
“I kind of forgot honestly. It’s just become a habit to move your hands,” T.K. tells him.
Carlos snorts out a laugh. “Oh my god.”
“Oh my god what?” T.K. asks warily.
“Oh my god…that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,” Carlos says, full on laughing now. 
T.K.’s face breaks into a smile and runs his tongue over his bottom lip. “It is kind of dumb.”
Carlos leans forward and cups his chin, pulling him in for a real kiss. “You’re cute,” he says. “You and your ridiculous ticklish spot.”
“You’re cute too,” T.K. says, then wrinkles his nose. “But you kind of stink.”
“Oh I do?”
“Yeah you do.”
Carlos wraps his arms around T.K. while he yells in protest, holding him tightly as they fall onto the mattress together. It’s disgustingly adorable. And Carlos wouldn’t trade it for the world.  
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blouisparadise · 10 months
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Here are some amazing bottom Louis fics that were posted or completed during the month of July. We really hope you enjoy this list. Happy reading!
1) Louis' Wish / Harry's Daydream | Mature | 1987words
Louis and Harry are best friends. Louis is in love with Harry. Harry is in love with Louis. Neither of them knows it. What will happen if Harry catches Louis masturbating and screaming his name? Come and find out
2) It Was Worth The Wait, I Think You Deserve A Taste | Explicit | 1945 words
Louis wants to be fucked but Harry has something else planned for him.
3) To Walk Out of My Life | Mature | 1981 words
This time it was Niall and his stupid group chats that had gotten them in this situation. Harry and Louis have had a multitude of "one last times," they always end up the same, two men panting on the bed using their bodies to convey the words they'd never say.
4) A Messy Show | Explicit | 2,094 words
“Need you now, yeah. Bathroom?” Harry reached into his pocket and shook his head. “Nah. Niall has a girl in there. And Ed’s with someone in our room. And-,” “I get the picture,” Louis said, glaring up at Harry and palming his dick. “You have room here,” Luke said, causing them to both snap their heads his way. He gestured at the people lazying around their living room. “What? It’s your space. Besides, everyone is so high if anyone notices, they won’t care. Or they’ll find it hot and watch. Like me.” Harry combed a hand down his face, and when Louis squeezed his dick, he made the decision for them both. “Sure. Lou, take off your pants.”
5) Can't Believe You | Explicit | 2096 words
Barricade has always been hot to watch. Seeing the fans grab and caress Louis as if they own him. But this barricade went a little too far. “Ripping his entire fucking shirt,” Harry mumbles angrily to himself, bringing up the messages with a certain ginger. 
6) Doctor | Mature | 2378 words
Harry and Louis are best friends that like each other but are too afraid to say anything. Harry is an ER doctor and one day Louis has to go to the ER because he couldn't pull out the sex toy that he was using to get off as he thought about Harry. What happens when Harry is his doctor? Maybe it will turn out better than Louis thought.
7) Except It Wasn’t | Explicit | 5469 words
It was a normal day, except that it was their five-year bonding anniversary. It was a normal day, except that they were going to finally start trying for pups. It was a normal day, except something awful happened to Louis. It was a normal day, except it wasn’t.
8) On That Note | Explicit | 6237 words
Louis’ office job on an omega only floor would be absolutely fine, if not for the alphas he and his friends have to deal with in the building. But although they’ve never met face to face, the friendly notes sent between him and Harry in Purchasing help him get through the day.
9) Your Right Now, Your Forever, Your Last Call, Your Whatever | Mature | 6361 words
“We should kiss.” So they kiss.
10) It’s Only Sunny Cause The Planet’s Dying | Explicit | 13643 words
The man leans back in his chair and looks down at the tarot cards in front of him. “Wow, that was really impressive. How long did it take you to memorize all this bullshit?” He raises a brow and that challenging look is back on his face, but he’s not even bothering to mask it this time. It makes Louis’ blood run cold. “I beg your pardon?” The man chuckles, but there’s no humor in it. “If you take a peek in my wallet that you just stole, you’ll see there’s a detective’s badge in there. Why don’t you come on down to the police station with me and you can explain your methods to me there?”
11) The Boy In The Café | Mature | 14624 words
Where Harry serves Louis his morning tea while writing him silly jokes and dropping his Number there too.
12) This Could Either Break My Heart, Or Bring It Back To Life | Not Rated | 18349 words
Harry never really cared for love: he has two children he needs to care for, and a Country to rule. Love is just not in his cards. Enter Louis, who spins his children's lives but most importantly Harry's.
13) Blue Moon | General Audiances |20351 words
Note: This fic is locked and can only be read by AO3 users.
What happens when Louis moves away from the busy city life to a small village in the middle of nowhere and meets Harry, the sweetest and most understanding Alpha? Will Harry be able to get Louis' walls down? Will he be able to adjust to the slower pace of life in the village and open up to Harry's love? As they navigate their new relationship, will they be able to overcome the obstacles from Louis’ past?
14) Not Safe For Work | Explicit | 23295 words
I want to drown myself in Harry’s scent until I smell like him. “I think I'm open to trying that too. Sounds very good.” Louis shakes his head a little to get out of the Harry’s-scent-spiral. “Huh?” “The dish your finger's pointing at. I thought that might be what you’re choosing?” “Oh. Yeah.”
15) 'Cause I Want You (For The Worse And For The Better) | Not Rated | 26375 words
Note: This fic is locked and can only be read by AO3 users.
When Louis gets invited along to Anne's wedding, Harry is prepared to let people think whatever they want about their relationship. That's what Louis said -- let people think whatever they want. That changes when Louis sees his ex, who turns out to be Anne's future husband's son. Now, Louis wants to prove that he's an omega that an alpha could want, and Harry wants to get through this weekend without letting his best friend figure out he's in love with him.
16) Deep Sea, Baby | Explicit | 28170 words
“Bunny, what’s wrong? Did something happen?” And just with that, Louis knew he wasn’t kidnapped or being pranked. He really was in his personal hell where the ex-love of his life still cared for him enough to make him breakfast, call him pet names and worry about him. And let’s not forget the part where his best friend apparently  was no longer his friend. “I’m…” ‘You’re what??’ He thought. He couldn’t tell his mother he didn’t have any idea how he went from having a nice apartment in Hampstead to wake up in a “Didn’t Know I was Fucking Married and had a Distasteful Taste in Sheets.” episode. She was just going to worry and think he just lost his marbles. No one would believe him—to be frank, he wouldn’t believe himself either.
17) The Property Girl | Explicit | 31428 words
"YOU'RE THE PROPERTY GIRL!" Property what?!
18) Home Calls The Heart | Mature | 44091 words
A series of unfortunate events lands Louis Tomlinson in the heart of Texas. After running from his life in London and a performative marriage, he leaves a scandal in his wake. Home calls the heart, as his Nana always said. Though her words couldn't be truer when he decides to take up her offer to watch over Hyacinth ranch while she travels abroad. He figured the worst he'd have to deal with would be the meddlesome goats, some repairs and an errant spirit or two. That is, until the gorgeous Cowboy next door makes his presence known.
19) Men of Steel, Men of Power | Explicit | 58849 words
“You’ve been watching me,” Styles said. Louis swallowed around nothing. He tried for light. “You’re the newest addition, people are bound to be curious,” he said. “Sure,” said Styles, in a somewhat condescending tone. “I’m not that daft, I do notice the curiosity regarding my clothes. That’s not what you’re doing though, hm?” Styles’ gaze was intense, and Louis could feel it burn on the side of his face, but kept his eyes stubbornly on the coffee cup. “I,” he said, licked his lips. Took a deep breath, tried to look open, confident, dominant. Alpha.
20) The Habit I Can't Break | Explicit | 63140 words
While searching for a healthy alternative to fill the void that one habit left, Louis gets hooked on something and someone totally different. This new experience pushes him way out of his comfort zone, making Louis realize he’s capable of so much more than he could’ve ever imagined.
21) King Of My Heart | Explicit | 83712 words
Harry shrugged, his shoulders brushing against Louis’. “I think since I was young, I craved that feeling, though. I didn’t always hate being a prince, but over time, certain aspects of it just bothered me so much. I remember being four years old and realizing that every person in the world knew my name, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted that. I told my mum as much and she tried telling me that being a prince is not a punishment. That it was a privilege that I should be happy about it, but no one asked me if I was. But looking up at the sky, I remember that all of this will one day mean nothing, and neither will I. All the pressure will then disappear and I could just be.” Louis stayed quiet, allowing Harry the space to open up because he knew Harry wasn’t looking for advice, but just someone to confide in. What he wished he could tell him was that in the short amount of time that he’d known the prince, in Louis’ eyes, he couldn’t be insignificant if he tried. He was brighter than every star up there in the sky. He was all Louis could look at and think about.
22) Wind Beneath My Wings | Explicit | 93131 words
“You shouldn’t be here,” Harry gritted out, wild-eyed. “You should be scared of me.” Louis opened his mouth to speak, to cut him off, to disagree, but Harry was pushing. “I could hurt you.” “You won’t hurt me,” Louis said, simple and assuredly. Calm. “I’m capable of hurting you.” “But you won’t. That’s not who you are, Harry. I trust you,” Louis whispered. As an omega carer that works at a rescue and rehabilitation centre for feral alphas and omegas, Louis has experienced all sides of ferality. So Harry- a cold, near mute, non-receptive alpha- was a challenging case for everyone at Phoenix Rehab Centre. Louis wasn’t expecting to feel drawn towards an aloof Harry, or to form a slow bond with him. He certainly was not expecting for his entire life to change in unforeseen ways.
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theywhoshantbenamed · 5 months
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Florida is a picky eater sorry I’m claiming him for this one and he’s very vocal about it. If he doesn’t like it, he won’t eat it.
California has a set list of things Flo can eat in case someone besides him or Loui decides to make him food. Gov has had to request it more than once because he keeps losing or forgetting it
Loui loves to cook for him, despite the fact that most of his food isn’t a hit with him. He is always happy when Florida actually enjoys something he made(some successes were alligator nuggets, dirty rice, and only the crawfish out of a crawfish boil). One time, Florida asked Loui to make him beignets because he saw it in Princess and the Frog and Loui was over the moon that he liked them
If he’s fed something that doesn’t look or smell or taste quite right to him, he would gag in response
One of his food icks is mashed potatoes because he hates the mushy feeling in his mouth. It’s only made slightly better if he mixes it with corn because he at least likes the crunch. He also doesn’t like tomatoes and barely tolerates ketchup. Mayonnaise also gives him an ick
Y’all have any like food icks??
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havenroyals · 11 days
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It has finally happened... and the people are not happy.
Prince Leonard, lovingly known as Prince Max, has gone public with his new partner. The notoriously private youngest son of the King and Queen of Haven has never shown off a partner. Despite reportedly dating everyone from Prince Gulino of Selvadorada to rock star Mia Khains, he has never stepped out with anyone publically.
Until today that is.
Prince Max stopped by Family of Tomorrow - which he is a patron of - with his girlfriend, Dr. Alanna Lynn. The organization provides a safe space for LGBTQ+ youths. The Prince - as we all know - is pansexual, and has often praised founders, Tatianna Louis, for "[giving] them a home and family when, sadly, many do not have one so loving."
The Simerican doctor reportedly met the Prince during a ski trip last year. The doctor was enjoying her luxurious vacation when the prince came across her on the slopes - Prince Max is a devoted skier. Sources say it was love at first sight.
While their story seems beautiful, the internet does not find the doctor as beautiful. While the royal family's official site praised the outing - not truly mentioning Dr. Alanna but focusing on Prince Max - the public is viciously attacking the photos.
Commenters have stated she's not "princess material". Cruder comments have said the doctor looks like a man, and Prince Max should have better taste.
"Like, dude! Seriously, she's a dude. WTF?" "I know love is blind, but is Max legit blind?"
A recent poll on Loved&Famous shows the Prince is now lower than his brother, the Duke of Harkne, in popularity. Yeah, the brother who had kids with his sister's girlfriend is more popular than the young Prince who has found love. The internet is crazy, right?
Stay tuned to Gossip Queen for more Royal news.
GQ | Previous | Next
*This is to mock how crude tabloids can/have been. This is in no way meant to harm or hurt anyone. We love and support all here.
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cc-horan28 · 3 months
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The Little Things You Do for @wishingforloushair <3
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Written for the @1dlibrary Valentine's exchange!
“What’s that supposed to mean, then? I’m romantic, aren’t I?!” His voice went up an octave with indignation and Harry couldn’t help but giggle at the offended look on his face.
Harry sat back up from where he was snuggled up with Louis, careful to not spill any of his wine onto the older man as he leaned forward to peck his cheek. “Sure you are, Lou,” he grinned.
OR
The one where Harry makes a throwaway remark about Louis not being a romantic, and Louis is desperate to prove him wrong.
Read on AO3 or under the cut <3
Long note incoming:
Oof so this one was... Yeah, I had it all in my head from the start but i questioned all of it so much. It was fun to write but it turned out WAYYY crack-ier than I'd intended so hehe
I added the stalker bit WAYYY before the actual thing happened with H and I thought it was in bad taste for so long but I couldn't figure out a replacement for it :') . (I apologise if you find it in bad taste I really m sorry)
Huge huge huge thanks to Liv for staying crazy with me while I worked over this (also the moodboard ily). Nashie, Coco ily guys ty for everything. Also everyone in the 1DLibrary server, I could not have finished this without y'all sprinting with me. Much love <3
Louis is like Murphy's Law personified idk man lmao <3
So yeah, this one's for Loz
They were both amazing prompts! Much love and I hope you like this <3
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“Okay, Haz, babe- That’s the third time you’ve sighed in the last five minutes. Something has to be on your mind. What is it, love?” Louis stopped short, fingers still tangled in Harry’s hair, the other wrapped awkwardly around a crystal glass Harry had insisted on pouring his beer in, finding the can ‘unromantic’. Louis thought the can had arguably been the better option while they cuddled, but, oh well.
Harry met Louis’ eyes, face expressionless for a moment. “I mean… I’ve just been thinking- It’s about to be Valentine’s day, soon…” he trailed off, smiling up cryptically at Louis. 
Louis raised an eyebrow, utterly confused. Valentine’s day… What did that have anything to do with what they were talking about. Was he forgetting something? Had he forgotten something? He waited for a few moments, trying not to panic. A few moments later, he tilted his head slightly, motioning for Harry to continue, unable to wait any longer.
“See, it’s exactly this,” Harry blew out his cheeks and sighed again, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’ve been wondering-” he paused, before blurting out the rest of the sentence with the words all meshed together, “It’s almost been a decade and a half and I still haven’t managed to turn you into a romantic,” He watched Louis from the corner of his eye warily.
Louis’ jaw worked up and down for a few moments, trying to make sense of Harry’s rushed words. “ Turn me into a romantic!?” Louis exclaimed, realisation hitting him with the force of a train, “What’s that supposed to mean, then? I’m romantic, aren’t I?!” His voice went up an octave with indignation and Harry couldn’t help but giggle at the offended look on his face.
Harry sat back up from where he was snuggled up with Louis, careful to not spill any of his wine onto the older man as he leaned forward to peck his cheek. “Sure you are, Lou,” he grinned.
“Hey- I’m not a child! Don’t just say it for the sake of it! It’s- I’m-” Louis sputtered, “That’s not going to convince me! Say it like you mean it,”
Harry’s lips curled up with amusement and he pouted exaggeratedly at his husband. “Well, Louis… I mean, what’s the last big romantic gesture you made that you remember?” he asked with a small, crooked smile, tilting his head as he watched Louis gnaw at his lower lip. He felt almost bad for Louis, how seriously he was taking this, but Harry would be lying if he said he didn’t find it all just a bit funny.
“Thought so,” Harry said after a pregnant pause, choking back a laugh at the look of concentration on Louis’ face. “You look like you’re gonna blow a nerve, babe,” he said, reaching out to gently run his thumb along Louis’ jaw, “It’s not that big of a deal-  I was just wondering. Don’t stress yourself out,” 
“You can’t just say something like that and expect me to forget it!” Louis motioned helplessly, forehead still scrunched up, “You’ve got me all worried now, I- Be honest, have I been a bad husband all this time?”
Harry couldn’t help but giggle at that. “Never, Lou. I love you. So so much. You’re the best husband I could’ve ever asked for. You’re just- It was just an observation, that’s all,”
“Oh no no no. It’s you who’s got to have got it all wrong- I mean- I am romantic, aren’t I?” Louis turned to frown at Harry, folding his legs up and looping his arms around his knees.
“Sure you are, Lou. I said that ages ago, didn’t I?” Harry said with the long-suffering patience of someone who had been dealing with this for a long time.
“Not like you meant it. I- You know what, Haz? I’ll prove it to you. Keep your eyes peeled-”
“Don’t generally need to carefully look for grand gestures,” Harry interrupted with a chuckle, ducking away when Louis made to swat at his arm.
“Just you watch, you’re not going to be that mouthy when I’m through with you,”
Harry bit the inside of his cheek and was just about to say something when Louis rolled his eyes, sighing as he turned further towards him. “ Don’t say it. I know what you’re thinking and just- Don’t,”
“I didn’t say anything!” Harry burst out, palm pressed over his mouth as he tried to stifle his giggles.
“But you were thinking it!” Louis mumbled, fake cross with him as he made to pour out the rest of his beer into the glass “And you say I’m the unromantic one,”
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Louis smiled smugly to himself as he cut the call, lifting his phone to check the time until the delivery. 
He’d stocked up on roses the previous day, placing them throughout the house one at a time in places where Harry could find them, even putting one in Harry’s car before he left for the studio that morning. The younger man hadn’t mentioned them yet, however. 
When Louis had checked later, the flowers were gone, so Harry must have seen them, but his husband was nothing if not unpredictable, so he chose to ignore it for the time being.
He’d called and practically begged Mitch to not let Harry anywhere near his car until it was time. He was doing his best to keep the plan under wraps, not wanting to make it obvious and so, had decided to restrain himself from asking Harry to come home early, barely able to contain his excitement. Later, they’d had a little conversation over text during lunch, and Harry had promised to be back by dinner.
Louis was holding Harry to that.
Glancing at his phone again and scrunching up his face when he noticed only a few minutes had passed, Louis strode to the kitchen, turning on the kettle to make himself a cuppa before peering into the fridge, unsure why he was relieved when he saw the cake was still intact. It wasn’t like anything would happen to it still in the fridge, but he’d been anxious all day. He wanted it all to be perfect for Harry.
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Louis perked up as soon as he heard the door swing open, quickly stubbing out his cigarette and throwing his phone off to the side, turning around to grin at Harry. “Evening, love,” he smiled, watching patiently as Harry shucked off his coat, throwing his shoes off to the side before practically falling onto the couch beside Louis, looking tired and frustrated.
“So…” Louis started, watching Harry intently “Did you like the flowers?” he asked expectantly, the other man’s reaction not what he had in mind when he had sent the flowers. He had been expecting more… Well- Anything but this.
“Oh my god, Louis,” Harry said with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose as he turned towards him.
“That’s not the ‘Oh my God’ I was expecting, if I’m being honest,” Louis deadpanned, picking some imaginary lint off his t-shirt, feigning nonchalance while his mind reeled with what could have gone wrong to make Harry react this way.
“I almost called the cops here, Louis- To the house. Mitch had to intervene. He stopped me,” Harry paused, a smile betraying the strict tone he was trying to adopt, “ And I still made them go through hours of footage at the studio to confirm who put the flowers there,”
Louis sputtered incoherently, brow creased in confusion “But Mitch told you, didn’t he?” he asked weakly.
“He did but- I thought I had a stalker, I- I mean- The flowers were everywhere! By the door, yesterday? In the car, this morning? And I- The whole car was covered right now, babe. What was I supposed to think, it’s not like you sent a card saying they were from you,” Harry said, holding back from dissolving into a fit of giggles at how ridiculous the whole situation was now that he looked back at it.
“Who else would know you’re at the studio? How did your mind go straight to fuckin’ ‘stalker’?!” Louis asked, a smile creeping onto his face, “They were just flowers!”
Harry leaned into Louis’ side, full-on belly laughing now as he tried to speak coherently. He nearly called the cops on Louis, for sending him flowers. When he was the one who asked him to be romantic. It was all a bit crazy, he couldn’t lie. 
“I’m- Sorry. But I mean- You could’ve added a note,” He managed to choke out, grinning up at Louis, having somehow ended up with his head in his lap.
“I just wanted it to be a surprise! So much for being fuckin’ romantic,” Louis sighed dramatically. 
Harry decided to skip replying, choosing to pull Louis down for a kiss by the neck of his t-shirt.
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“No incidents this time,” Louis promised a few hours later, giving Harry a sheepish smile as he drew his chair for him. He’d planned on making his date night usual chicken-parma ham but then decided not to take any chances. He’d ended up ordering in and impulsively getting a cake as well.
He sat down across from Harry, taking in the sight of his face bathed in the flickering light of the candle and reflecting back to when they’d had their first proper date. It had been something similar, dinner he’d made, with just the two of them giggling over nothing the whole time, giddy at the novelty of it all.
“ ‘M never gonna get used to this,” he said, voice slightly thick with emotion, “All of this. You’re so pretty, my love. You look fuckin’ gorgeous in this lighting,” he smiled shily, “I don’t know how I was lucky enough to end up here. I’ve said that for years, I know, but I just- I look at you, at us- And we’ve come so far. It’s- I just love you so much,”
“The season’s getting to somebody,” Harry joked weakly, sniffling in what he hoped was an inconspicuous manner. “We’ve barely started and you’ve already made me all emotional,” he said, the look on his face despite his playful tone telling Louis all he needed to know. “I love you too, my soppy fool,”
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Louis stood up, rubbing his hands together like a little kid just about to be let loose on Christmas morning. He tried not to overthink it, this was his chance to make it up for the roses. Harry had to love the cake. 
“Don’t look back,” he reminded, keeping the nervousness out of his voice. He had made Harry sit on a barstool with his face away from the refrigerator, once he’d gotten the plates cleared away. He was standing in front of the fridge himself and tried not to bounce too much as he carefully got the cake out, biting his lip in concentration as he crossed over to the kitchen island.
“Don’t peek,” he repeated, bending over Harry’s shoulder to place the cake in front of him. He smiled to himself as he stuck the little heart-shaped candles in, getting them centred on his first go. He went through the drawers, looking for a lighter, swearing under his breath each time he shut a drawer he didn’t find it in.
“Try by the couch?” Harry suggested, “And I didn’t look, Lou, before you ask. I mean- It’s pretty obvious,” he added, turning towards what he thought was Louis’ general vicinity to show him his still-scrunched-close eyes.
Louis, however, was in the living room by then, groaning as he snatched up the lighter innocuously lying on the centre table.
“What would I do without you?” He asked dramatically as he walked back into the kitchen, lighting up the two heart-shaped candles. “Even with your eyes closed you’re more competent than I am,” he mumbled, stepping back to survey the setup.
The pink of the candles almost clashed with the colours of the cake, but Louis had a feeling Harry wouldn’t mind. His husband was a sucker for anything blue and green.
“What are we blowing out candles for?” Harry asked from behind him and Louis jumped slightly. 
“Well, I dunno-” Louis said, cracking his knuckles anxiously, “I just thought-” He trailed off. Maybe this was a stupid idea, he thought with a sting of doubt passing through him. Who blew out candles when it wasn’t their birthday? And even if it was one of their birt-
“Oh, I’m not complaining!” Harry exclaimed, “I was just curious, is all. Can I open my eyes now, Lou?” he added, sounding apologetic. 
Louis hummed, perching on the stool beside his, watching Harry’s expression as he took in the blue and green house shaped cake. It was simple, but in the dim lighting and with the candles on, it looked rather good. Plus, it was the sentiment that mattered. Despite all the teasings, they both knew Harry was the soppy one.
“Two hearts in one home…” Louis trailed off, motioning vaguely to the cake, “Since we’re going for big romantic declarations- Nothing more apt,”
“Wait- There’s sparklers as well,” Louis mumbled, fumbling with the lighter again as he lit them up,  
“Happy Almost-Valentine’s Day, Harry,” he said, leaning in for a kiss.
“We’re definitely making this a thing,” Harry smiled when he pulled back, “Happy Almost-Valentine’s, Lou,”
The sparklers had died down and Louis pulled them off, crossing over to throw them into the bin. When he came back he was met with Harry sitting in front of the candle, palm slapped over his mouth.
Louis stood there, staring at the cake and back at Harry, a sinking feeling of realisation heavy in the pit of his stomach. 
“No incidents, you were saying,” Harry grinned, nodding towards the cake, “Watch,”
He gave Louis a significant look before pursing his lips, blowing hard on the candles. Louis was strongly aware of the blush creeping up his neck as he watched the candle go out, only to come back to life a second later.
“One more time,” Harry giggled, blowing out the candles and snorting out a laugh when they jumped back to life. 
“This wasn’t the plan,” Louis groaned, slumping onto the stool beside Harry.
“I don’t mind, they’re fun,” Harry chuckled, blowing out the candles again. Louis couldn’t help but smile at the look on his face. Maybe this incident wasn’t all that bad.
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Harry opened the door, shucking his coat off and hanging it on the hooks over the table, dropping his keys into the little bowl. He then stopped short in his tracks, staring dumbfoundedly. There were petals. Forming a path. Leading up the curving glass staircase. Presumably to the bedroom.
He scoffed lightly in surprise. It was all a bit over the top, even by his standards. Perhaps he had truly made a romantic out of Louis. If just asking him was all it took…
Barely aware of it, he followed the trail, stepping lightly on the petals, smiling when he felt them give a little beneath his feet. He could imagine Louis laying the petals down, crouching with his tongue caught between his teeth. He smiled to himself at the image, turning to glance back down the stairs to take in how it all looked.
He pushed the bedroom door open, the generally silent snick of it connecting with the magnet on the wall echoing across the closed space. “Lou?” he called out, lingering awkwardly in the doorway as he stared around the room. The floor here was covered with an even thicker layer of petals, and in the back of his mind, he wondered how they would clean them up.
There were also several candles dotted around the room, most of them unlit, but the low scent of something spicy was undeniably present in the room. He had the feeling he was a bit early, and- Well, he had thought Louis would appreciate it, he never stopped moaning about how long Harry spent in the studio, but- From the sight of the room, it seemed like Louis would’ve appreciated a bit more time.
He considered returning to the living room, wasting a bit of time, and pretending he hadn’t seen any of this. Maybe Louis wouldn’t have heard the main door open. Maybe he could act like he’d just gotten home. Maybe-
“Haz!” Louis exclaimed, stepping out of the en suite with a towel clasped between his hands. He threw it carelessly off to the side and crossed over the room to where Harry was standing, and Harry flinched a little, detachedly thinking about who would pick up the towel.
He shook himself mentally, realising Louis was saying something. He hadn’t registered a single word. Hopefully, Louis wouldn’t notice. “ -And I mean, you weren’t supposed to be home early- I’m not- Don’t take this the long way, I love that we can get a head start, but I would’ve liked to have at least gotten all the candles lit,” he rambled,  chuckling lightly before placing his hands on Harry’s hips and stepping closer. 
Harry bit his lip sheepishly, giving him a small shrug. “It really just isn’t meant to be,” he teased, “Every time you try to pull an extravagant gesture, someth-”
“Oi! Watch it, then. Don’t get all cheeky on me,” Louis reprimanded, smiling despite himself. 
“Just stating the facts,” Harry grinned, leaning down for a kiss. 
“I love you so much,” Louis sighed dramatically when Harry pulled away, getting on his toes to peck him, “But now that you’ve seen the surprise already, help me with the candles, yeah?”
“Yeah, I… could…” Harry cocked his head to the side, smiling smugly “Or… we skip the candles,” he teased, cupping Louis’ jaw and running his thumb over his cheekbone, “And we get to whatever it was you had planned in the bathroom?”
A flush crept up Louis’ neck from the sudden change in Harry’s demeanour. It wasn’t like Harry to take the reins, and Louis liked to pretend he would rather be the one in charge, but they both knew he loved it when Harry got like this. “Oh- I wasn’t- It… Um, later?” Louis squeaked.
“Yeah, the candles can wait for later-” Harry smirked, dipping his head down to peck Louis’ lips, then moving to press kisses along the line of his jaw. He placed his hands on Louis’ waist, barely aware when Louis took a step towards him, guiding him to the ensuite door.
Harry instinctually took a few steps back, letting himself be guided by Louis. He barely registered something nudging the back of his calves, and then heard a dull thunk. He broke off, swearing under his breath, and whipped around.
It was one of the candles. Oh-
“Fuck,” Louis hissed, grabbing the candle and blowing it out, setting it upright before looking around wildly for something to clean up the wax with. “Haz, where’s that fuckin’ towel I- Fuckin’ hell,”
Harry didn’t even stop to think, throwing the towel over to Louis and standing awkwardly over his shoulder as he mopped up the spilt wax. It wasn’t until later that he realised the better option would have been to let the wax harden and scrape it out.
At the time, all he was focused on was the small black singed circle on the carpet. Right in front of the window. 
“Oops?” Harry bit his lip as Louis turned to face him, grimacing apologetically, “It’s um- The carpet is… yeah. And the candles, I mean- I’ll light them again, later?”
“Forget the candles, the cinnamon was getting on my nerves anyway. Too fuckin’ strong,” Louis smiled back, and Harry was internally grateful for the offhand way he was taking this. He knew Louis must’ve wanted it all to be perfect, and he nearly would have gotten it right this time, if not for Harry’s clumsiness.
“I love you, Lou. Thanks for doing all this,” Harry said in a small voice, feeling warm and fuzzy as he watched Louis go around the room and blow out the candles one by one. 
“No need to thank me, Harry. Y’know that, babe,” Louis smiled, eyes crinkling up as he leaned against the table, crossing his arms and gazing fondly at the younger man. “I won’t lie… All of this- All that I did” he motioned vaguely, “Could’ve gone better, but- That would’ve been boring, at best. I mean- At least we’ll make more memories this way. No fuckin’ way to forget your husband almost calling the cops on you because you sent him flowers,” he giggled.
“You’re never gonna let me live that down, are you?” Harry sighed.
Louis just shook his head in response, cracking into a wide smile and holding out his hand towards Harry. “Last surprise,” he motioned towards the slightly open bathroom door and Harry grinned back, intertwining their fingers together.
The scene that greeted them when Louis cracked open the door was not the one Harry had been expecting.
Suds. Suds everywhere.
Harry watched expressions flick over Louis’ face, his own jaw hanging open. Surprise. Bewilderment. Confusion. 
Harry understood the flood of emotions Louis must have been feeling. It really was a lot of bubbles. The bathtub in the corner was nowhere to be seen, completely engulfed under a mountain of suds. Harry bet it would’ve at least come up to his knees if he waded all the way to the bathtub.
He could actually see when the realisation of how this all happened hit Louis. He watched his expression change as it dawned on him.Harry bit the inside of his cheek, suppressing his giggles at the look on his face.
“Best Valentine’s Day ever,” Harry said seriously. Louis rolled his eyes at him, looking entirely unimpressed.
“No I- For real, How did you even manage this?” he asked incredulously.
“A bit too much bubble bath?” Louis offered, still staring incredulously around the bathroom.
“A bit more than just ‘a bit’, I’d say,” Harry chuckled.
“Stop it,” Louis giggled, shooting Harry a fake-offended look, “Or there’ll be no bath for you,”
“What? You’re going to actually bathe in that ?” Harry raised an eyebrow coolly.
“Well since all the bubbles are already there , I figured- Might as well use them, yeah?” Louis grinned, stripping off his clothes as he walked into the foam, wiggling his eyebrows at Harry.
Harry shook his head and tugged his own shirt off, discarding it off to the side carelessly. He laughed out loud when Louis stepped into the bathtub, disappearing under the bubbles, apart from his head. 
Louis really was such an idiot. But he was his idiot.
“I’m not an idiot,” Louis exclaimed, sounding offended. Harry realised he said the last part out loud. Well, oops.
“I love you, Lou,” Harry giggled, getting in the tub with Louis, reaching for his shoulder when he slightly lost his balance. Maybe it hadn’t all gone according to plan, but Harry wouldn’t have had it any other way. Louis was always there for him. There was nothing more he could ask for.
All that mattered was Louis. And all the little things he did.
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olderthannetfic · 6 months
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Just like a small question based on that one ask, but... might the lack of brown/black men in popular M/M ships have to do with people trying really hard not to be racist so they just... never feature black/brown men? Because I know several F/F ships with brown/black women, but I can't remember a single M/M or even M/F with a black/brown male love interest... well, maybe Link/Gan or Zelda/Gan? But besides that one... nothing rings a notable bell.
--
There are more than that, anon, even if there aren't a lot.
If we're talking about AO3, Link/Gan has 785 works. Finnpoe has 8,636. Sam/Bucky has 10,591. Do you just not watch live action media?
--
Part of it is "I don't know. I just don't find them hot for some reason..."-style racism. That can shift with time and exposure but there's no instant fix even if someone is interested in changing their own tastes.
Part of it is being instantly screamed at and held to higher standards. (And yes, no matter how much people want to whine and say this isn't true, it is true, and anyone who goes ahead and writes despite the haters will tell you so.)
Part of it is fear of messing up above and beyond fear of reactions. Personally, I think this is toxic white guilt-flavor time-wasting and it's better to try and fail than not try, but it's a massive factor in what some people choose to write.
A lot of it is simply the composition of the mega-franchises that tend to generate the ships with bajillions of works. If we're looking at AO3 circles, the biggest f/f ships are not that big. If you look at m/m ships of the same size, there are some with some guy who is not white and not a pale-skinned Asian.
Here's the AO3 f/f tag where you can directly see what's big in the sidebar.
Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor (20389)
Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan (15516)
Original Female Character(s)/Original Female Character(s) (14062)
Clarke Griffin/Lexa (12661)
Minor or Background Relationship(s) (11492)
Adora/Catra (She-Ra) (10855)
Amity Blight/Luz Noceda (9751)
Sirius Black/Remus Lupin (7913)
Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long (7205)
Korra/Asami Sato (6866)
If we exclude nonspecific tags and misplaced dudes, we add:
Alex Danvers/Maggie Sawyer (6127)
Robin Buckley/Nancy Wheeler (6120)
Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught (5738)
Luz Noceda and Korra have darker skin. Lana Parrilla is Latina, but is Regina Mills? This isn't exactly some paradise for the diversity you're talking about.
Here's the M/M tag:
Castiel/Dean Winchester (107699)
Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski (68231)
Sherlock Holmes/John Watson (65757)
Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter (64761)
James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers (59546)
Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens) (48169)
Minor or Background Relationship(s) (47119)
Steve Rogers/Tony Stark (43665)
Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson (41631)
Sirius Black/Remus Lupin (40374)
Let's exclude some things and see what we get as we head towards the 5-20k range.
Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku (38445)
Jeon Jungkook/Kim Taehyung | V (36025)
Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn (35907)
Keith/Lance (Voltron) (31634)
Dean Winchester/Sam Winchester (30488)
Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood (29568)
Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin) (28959)
Jeon Jungkook/Park Jimin (28191)
Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter (27775)
Bakugou Katsuki/Kirishima Eijirou (27193)
Well, we've got Lance. (*shudder*) He's one of the most distasteful and useless stock character types in episode one and is the reason I never bothered to touch Voltron again, but his fans are certainly loud enough about him being Latino.
Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov (26087)
Dazai Osamu/Nakahara Chuuya (Bungou Stray Dogs) (26058)
Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF) (21900)
Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson (21897)
Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV) (21296)
Original Male Character/Original Male Character (21035)
Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion (20224)
James T. Kirk/Spock (18810)
Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru (18703)
Min Yoongi | Suga/Park Jimin (18147)
Eddie Diaz is Latino.
Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel (17787)
Levi Ackerman/Eren Yeager (16950)
Dan Howell/Phil Lester (16818)
Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier (16229)
Blackbeard | Edward Teach/Stede Bonnet (16193)
Harry Potter/Severus Snape (15551)
Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich (15539)
Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki (14990)
Keith/Shiro (Voltron) (14816)
Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio (14780)
We've got the Taika Waititi thirsters in this cohort.
Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier (14413)
Rodney McKay/John Sheppard (14209)
Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto (13135)
Tartaglia | Childe/Zhongli (Genshin Impact) (13016)
Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know (12962)
Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shouto (12878)
Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead/Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic (12817)
Loki/Thor (Marvel) (12767)
Armitage Hux/Kylo Ren (12391)
Frank Iero/Gerard Way (12146)
Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams (12050)
Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou (12002)
Jung Hoseok | J-Hope/Min Yoongi | Suga (11898)
Jeon Jungkook/Min Yoongi | Suga (11352)
Kim Namjoon | RM/Kim Seokjin | Jin (11101)
Levi Ackerman/Erwin Smith (11088)
Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones (11083)
Loki/Tony Stark (10699)
Enjolras/Grantaire (Les Misérables) (10523)
Kim Taehyung | V/Park Jimin (10415)
Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield (10312)
Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard (10211)
Miya Atsumu/Sakusa Kiyoomi (9950)
Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne (9944)
Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee (9763)
Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington (9686)
Getou Suguru/Gojo Satoru (9625)
Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol (9471)
Peter Hale/Stiles Stilinski (9367)
Clint Barton/Phil Coulson (9359)
Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist (9347)
Nico di Angelo/Will Solace (9317)
Roronoa Zoro/Vinsmoke Sanji (9186)
Wang Yi Bo/Xiao Zhan | Sean (8973)
Jim Ellison/Blair Sandburg (8785)
Dabi | Todoroki Touya/Takami Keigo | Hawks (8710)
Alhaitham/Kaveh (Genshin Impact) (8657)
Peter Parker/Tony Stark (8607)
Bakugou Katsuki/Todoroki Shouto (8588)
James "Bucky" Barnes/Sam Wilson (8522)
Only here are we finally getting down to the range where a lot of the big f/f ships on AO3 hang out, and here's Sam/Bucky, which is frankly not a small pairing at all unless you only mean in comparison to Stucky.
I'll stop there for m/m since these numbers are getting pretty distorted by me filtering out everything higher up, but you get the idea. Even that wretched Old Guard fandom couldn't completely kill off its ship, though then we get into how you're defining your terms and how much actual skin tone matters.
Here's f/m on AO3:
Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug (32122)
Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy (26417)
Original Female Character(s)/Original Male Character(s) (23498)
Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren (23403)
Minor or Background Relationship(s) (18497)
James Potter/Lily Evans Potter (18142)
Kylo Ren/Rey (15915)
James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader (15200)
Pepper Potts/Tony Stark (14547)
Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley (13843)
Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin (13551)
Fox Mulder/Dana Scully (13145)
Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak (11318)
Captain Hook | Killian Jones/Emma Swan (11031)
Castiel/Dean Winchester (10851)
Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth (9236)
Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski (9152)
Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson (9141)
Other Relationship Tags to Be Added (9108)
Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper (9046)
Bellamy Blake's actor is Filipino, isn't he? I remember race wank.
I don't see anything particularly significant until we get further down the listings, but there are definitely smaller fandoms like Leverage where everybody loves and ships the black guy.
I mean, yes, clearly, media does have a bias against darker skin, and the darker the skin, the bigger the bias. This bias may be exacerbated by fandom, but in a lot of cases, it just seems to be replicated at about the same level.
That pattern notwithstanding, it seems like you just haven't heard of a lot of ships.
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i-want-my-iwtv · 3 months
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I will be delusional as I want BUT I'll pretend that tom cruise going back to Warner Bros means we'll finally get the deleted scenes from the iwtv please please manifesting
🙏🙏🙏 Anon, embrace being delusional! I wish! If anyone's connected with Warner Bros please please tell them we want the deleted scenes!
Anyway since we're on the topic... over the years I've talked about wanting the cut scenes, and I wanted to reflect for a moment on why we want them. I think we want them because, like a delicious cake, once it's all consumed, we still look at the serving plate, hoping we can still lick the icing off the knife, or maybe the baker has some leftover cake back in the kitchen?? Or maybe they can tell us that the secret ingredient to intensifying the chocolate is ESPRESSO... We just want another taste so badly! We want to know the secret ingredients that set it apart from other cakes. And some filmmakers know that, and sometimes they're happy to share the cut scenes on a DVD release, maybe with commentary as to why the scenes were cut, like:
"Here's a scene were Louis kills a priest and ultimately we had an overall run time limit of 2 hours, but it was otherwise a perfectly good scene."
"Here's part of a set of scenes we shot early on where Lestat shows mortal Louis what killing entails, and although we loved it, we ended up improving the Lestat makeup & hair a few weeks later, and for the sake of continuity we had to cut it bc we couldn't go back to that location to reshoot, or it would have taken too much time to fix in post, etc."
Giving over the cut scenes is a little like an artist showing the scrapped versions of a painting composition, and that's fine when the creator wants to invite the viewers into their artistic process, but I think the IWTV filmmakers at the time (and for years after) really wanted the '94 movie to be serious* to the point that releasing cut scenes could have undermined their overall vision... maybe they simply didn't want to invite the audience into their creative process.
(*Serious, BUT there was certainly plenty of beauty, charm, dark humor, intimacy, desire, so much more! Maybe the filmmakers cut scenes that THEY felt didn't mesh well with the overall story they wanted to tell, like putting together an outfit and choosing accessories that go better rather than others... you know?)
WITH THAT SAID... What cut scenes would you have liked to see? That's what fanfic and fanart are for, so tell us and maybe someone will be inspired to create it for all of us 💝
IF Tom was still part of VC at all... one of my personal fantasy casting ideas was to have Tom play the Marquis in TVL, and now he's really old enough to do it! 😅 Can you imagine?? Tom playing his own horrible father! Cast younger actors to play kid!Lestat, teen!Lestat, etc.?? Tom!Marquis showing obvious preference for his two older brothers and being horrible to Gabrielle... it could be amazing.
Obviously it wouldn't be adorable like this but... I've always loved Tom Cruise characters when he interacts with kids and teens, he's always seemed very in touch with his inner child, even when that inner child is more of a 12 yo brat. Whole novels could be written on his layered performances with child and teen actors, but for now, just a few thoughts...
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^From Jerry Maguire. I can't quite articulate why this was so compelling... iirc, maybe because his character is really frustrated/demoralized in this scene, and there's something comforting about a kid naively telling you that "the human head weighs 8 pounds," as if to say, "Your problems are not really as big a deal as you think they are; live in the present moment." And Tom in this character seems to absorb that deeper meaning and it gives him some relief, it's a step towards his character's growth.
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When Tom played Ray in War of the Worlds, he had a teenage son, and there was a heartbreaking scene where Ray had to choose between protecting his son or his daughter. From That Moment In:
Desperate to keep his family together, Ray is forced to leave the terrified Rachel alone for a moment as he puts his weight on Robbie and forces him to the ground as the air around them lights up with smoke and tracer fire. Meanwhile, another couple, fleeing the madness, sees Rachel standing by herself and attempt to rescue her, not knowing that her father is nearby. Looking back, Ray sees this and becomes torn between his children, not wanting to lose either but forced to choose. Robbie assures his father that this is what he wants, “I want to see this,” and to please let him go, which Ray finally, achingly, submits to, seeing that Rachel is being whisked away. Father and son say goodbye as Robbie runs over the crest and Ray rushes down to get his daughter as a hellfire of explosion overtake the hills, giving us the impression Robbie has met his end.
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I just love the idea of Tom playing the very character that had caused so much pain for Lestat, that Lestat was always on defense from that man, looooong after he died. Despite all the torment the Marquis inflicted on Lestat, Lestat still gave him a comfortable place to live out his last few years, the roles pretty much reversed as happens with aging parents, Lestat actually nurturing this man (not always in the kindest way but still!) in his feeble old age... and couldn't bring himself to even kill him out of mercy.
Nature & Nurture, Lestat was damaged by his father genetically and emotionally in his formative years, and so much of Lestat's bravado and verbal attacks seem to be a shield for the awful feelings of growing up unloved, unwanted, and beaten for expressing his own desires. So much so that even in canon he often expresses the intensity of his desires far more eloquently and frequently in the narration than he's able to do verbally, even with the characters he cherishes the most. Because to express his love exposed himself to losing it.
Tom could for sure pull off a performance that would capture the Marquis, because he essentially played Lestat with the qualities of a victim perpetuating some of the abuse he suffered from the man who was supposed to be (and was!) his role model for becoming the man he became. 😭
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sleepdeprivedsimp234 · 4 months
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Texas angst?
Why of course :)
Despite what he might tell you, his immune system is absolute sh*t and he gets sick a lot, though he usually works it off and there’s a 50/50 chance as to whether it gets better or worse.
^sorta related to the hc above: heat exhaustion. Yeah. He’s suffered from it on more than one occasion yet he still works outside when it’s boiling hot for WAY too long.
^oh yeah he also has asthma but refuses to use his inhaler cuz he’s afraid of being seen as week. Same goes for his iron supplements and meds that his therapist gave him.
If he gets into a serious fight that’s going too far, either the person he’s fighting has to give up, or someone has to separate them. There’s no other way for it to end. Texas is going to fight till his very last breath, and would rather die than accept defeat.
poor baby is insecure about the little bit of pudge on his lower belly 😔
(this is sorta happy but also sad-ish) whenever Texas is missing his mom, who’s name was Maria, he’ll go sit down on the beach and just stare out onto the ocean for hours since it reminds him of her (not to mention, the name "Maria" means "of the sea"). He also named his chihuahua Maria, after his mother.
He hates that he has to listen to what his government tells him to do, but if he doesn’t, his handlers will hurt them. One of the worst parts is, is that Texas thinks that they’re allowed to do this. The State Handlers are NOT, under ANY circumstances, allowed to harm the states. Texas doesn’t know this. Even if he did, he’s too scared to tell anyone.
Texas cannot handle seeing any animals die. He can’t. He will cry. Even if it’s a movie. Oklahoma tried teasing him about it and Louisiana nearly strangled him for it. Everyone needs a Loui in their life. (TW: s3lf h4rm and dr^g and 4lcoh0l mention under the cut, but I’m also gonna include some normal hc’s cuz why the hell not)
Texas does alot of stuff that he doesn’t know counts as self harm (ex: taking REALLY hot showers, biting himself, pulling at his hair, not eating for extended periods of time, etc…).
I’m not gonna say he smokes weed and cigarettes, but I’m not gonna say he doesn’t.
Yes he does in fact drink alcohol to numb the pain.
Normal-ish hc’s!
If you decide to ask what’s in his cup, prepare to be mildly horrified (or not). What’s in his cup? Well dear reader. Straight up whiskey, at least 10 shots of caffeine and espresso, a few red bulls and a C4 (the energy drink). This man is not okay (i promise) /ref
To the surprise of pretty much the whole statehouse, Texas does in fact listen to hyperpop, ESPECIALLY Odetari and 6arelyhuman (fun fact: they’re both from Texas. Yeah.). Sometimes you’ll hear him muttering under his breath: "hey scene sl*t we’re still cutting tonight, that’s why my wrists are so sore-". The only state that wasn’t surprised was surprisingly Louisiana. Cuz him and Texas make song recommendations to each other and they have the same music taste (except Loui doesn’t listen to country alot-).
Texas👏Does👏Trickriding👏. It👏Terrifies👏The👏Others👏.
He also makes knives and daggers out of random rocks his finds and he’s (not)surprisingly good at it.
^he makes slime too and you can pry that off my dead cold hands.
Me when,, me when I torture the blorbos,,, 👉👈 (I’m so notsorry):
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hahafixon · 10 months
Text
The Contract ~ *Park Seonghwa*
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Summary: You love Seonghwa and he loves you. However he thinks that love needs a contract. And you’re a little insulted…
Pairing: Park Seonghwa X Fem!Reader
Genre: Fluffyish Oneshot
Word Count: 1915
Warning: Misunderstanding that gets resolved in the end
Masterlist
Taglist: @roslyn-tsuki​ @soulangel​ @rai-scutum​ @nuggetsofgems @imagine-a-life-like-this @mxnsxngie @maeleelee
A/N: Inspired by the song The Contract from Gigi
The air was tense as you sat between your two aunts. Across from you sat Seonghwa, between two of his lawyers. This was a big deal. You didn’t quite understand all the logistics behind it. But according to your Aunt Elise, you were to leave all the negotiation to her. Your Aunt Ava, on the other hand, said to be wary of your aunt and the plans she had in place.
One of the lawyers handed your Aunt Ava a stack of papers with a flourish. You were not allowed to look. “Madames, we have been designated by the Park family to notify you of their son Seonghwa’s passion for your niece.”
“And further,” The other lawyer interjected. “Without her elegant companionship, the family feels Seonghwa’s happiness will cease. So in the customary gentlemanly fashion, we have been authorized to implement his passion-”
“As these documents confirm.” The first lawyer finished, tapping the papers with his pen.
Your Aunt Elise rolled her eyes, snatching the papers from her sister’s hands and passing them to you. “Yes, yes of course. Let’s hear the terms. I like the horse before the cart, you know. Besides, our niece should be informed of the conditions of this arrangement.”
“Elise!” Aunt Ava gave a scandalous gasp. “Please show some respect!”
Her Aunt Elise rolled her eyes as the second lawyer spoke up. “Madames, these are documents of love, the tender declaration of a man whose aim is spreading sunshine, nothing more.”
“A contract with the most generous conditions he has ever offered anyone before.” The first lawyer added, with an encouraging smile.
“Charming.” Aunt Elise muttered.
The first lawyer continued. “Such are his feelings for your niece that he’s provided for her as Louis for Du Barry in Versailles did, a paradise where romance blooms!”
You blinked in shock. Did that man just insinuate that you were to be Seonghwa’s mistress? That wasn’t the plan that he had told you before this whole charade. When he was first courting you, and managed a moment away from all the prying eyes, he told you how much he loved you and wanted to marry you. That’s why he asked you to go through this whole rigmarole in the first place. But if you were only supposed to be his mistress… And with Seonghwa staying silent through this whole affair?
You were beginning to feel insulted.
“How many baths? How many rooms?” Your Aunt Elise demanded of the lawyers.
“She’ll view a lovely world henceforth-”
“The view had better not be north.”
“Elise…” Aunt Ava trailed off, trying to calm her hot-tempered sister.
Her sister shrugged off her comforting hand, before explaining, “It’s simpler to imagine Wonderland if you have a little floor plan in your hand.”
“It’s all here.” The second lawyer tapped the documents in your hand, which you started to read through. If you were to only be his mistress, you were determined to make sure you got a good deal out of all of this.
“Then do begin.”
The first lawyer cleared his throat and began to explain the contract in your hand. “Seonghwa will pledge to Miss. Y/n a flat of choice in which to dwell. A Taj Mahal, if you will, where love may thrive. The rooms of which will number five.”
The second lawyer then spoke up. “The flat’s superbly decorated in perfect taste and understated. All this to her Seonghwa will give as long as their romance will live.”
“Indeed!” Aunt Ava sounded impressed.
Like you, Aunt Elise was less than thrilled at the proposition. “Indeed. And when romance expires, how much has she got?”
“Elise, hold your tongue! He’s offered quite a lot!” Aunt Ava snapped.
“There’s one thing I’m firm in: what he’s given her is permanent, whether love endures or not.”
You glanced at Seonghwa. He didn’t look happy or angry at the squabbling between the lawyers and your aunts. If anything, he looked like he was avoiding eye contact with you. It made your heart hurt. Did he not love you as much as he used to? Is that why he was putting you through the ringer with all of this? You just couldn’t understand why this was happening to you. You still loved him with all your heart and you would do anything for him. But he seemed to just be treating you like someone he could buy their love from. It hurt more than you thought.
“Elise, please!” Aunt Ava begged. “You don’t know Seonghwa like I do. There’s nothing mean in him! Decency is all I’ve ever seen in him! To you it’s just a question of: how much money equals love?”
“Thank you very much.” Aunt Elise smiled at her sister’s question. 
While the corner of your mouth lifted slightly, you still felt awful. You were beginning to believe in your Aunt Elise’s skepticism and harsh negotiation. Apparently Seonghwa thought the same thing your Aunt Elise thought.
“Madame, please, why?” The second lawyer asked. “All this and it’s not compulsory for her to accept. Madame, please try to understand that legal matters needn’t be so complicated.”
“Sit down and speak your mind.” The first lawyer encouraged her.
“A little softer too.” Aunt Ava added.
The first lawyer handed his fountain pen off to your Aunt Elise with a dramatic flick of the wrist. “I have my pen in hand. Madame, it waits on you.”
Taking the pen, she spun it between her fingers a few times. She was thinking. It was her habit when she was thinking very hard. You were curious to see what she had in mind for you. Taking the contract gently from your hands, she gave you a wink.
She had a plan.
And with that, she started to cross things out. The lawyers yelped in surprise and even Seonghwa’s eyes widened. His stoic posture, arms folded in front of his chest, dropped into something akin to defeat and shock. Your lips curved into more of a small smile. At least you managed to catch him off-guard like he did when you found you were nothing more than a mistress to him.
“Seven rooms.”
“Seven rooms?” The second lawyer squeaked.
“Not including the staff and chauffeur, seven rooms in a townhouse signed over to her.” Aunt Elise continued, adding her addendums. “Crimson and damask will panel each wall. Velvet chairs, quite ornate, in each room. Only those who have no taste at all understate interior design.”
Both lawyers kept glancing at Seonghwa, but he didn’t say anything or indicate at all what he wanted them to do. Instead his eyes were trained on the contract your Aunt was fixing. A small flutter of hope coursed through you.
“S-seven rooms,” The first lawyer laughed nervously, snatching the second lawyer’s pen in an attempt to stop your aunt. But no ink came out. “Oh dear, WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PEN?!”
Aunt Elise snatched the papers roughly away from him, and through gritted teeth she snapped, “Seven. Rooms.”
“Seven rooms.”
“That’s right.” A self-satisfied smile graced her face. “Not including the staff and chauffeur in a townhouse signed over to her. And-”
“What, more?” The second lawyer yelped like a kicked puppy.
She nodded, her truly devious side showing. “Uh huh, a lot more. You see, love is all a woman needs to be content, but the bonds of love are best at, um, six percent.”
Seonghwa gasped. Now, you didn’t know much about money or stocks or bonds, but considering the reaction he gave, it had to be a big deal. Your smile continued to grow. At least your Aunt Elise had a secure future in mind for you. Even if she seemed to be too much, she always had the best intentions for you.
“My job is legal counsel!” The first lawyer snapped, as if he suddenly grew a backbone. “Listen to me please! What you’re doing-”
“Your job is making copies and magnifying fees.” She shot back, making you gasp this time.
“Elise, how insulting!” Aunt Ava finally shouted, over the shock of her sister rewriting the contract. “Seonghwa has been so good to us! He wanted us to trust him! I really wish you would.”
But you couldn’t. Not after what he was putting you through, insulting you to your face and the like. You couldn’t take it anymore. So you silently encouraged your Aunt Elise to keep going. Anything to make him pay for what he was letting happen.
The second lawyer spoke up in a shaky voice, “May I suggest-”
“No you may not.”
“I thought you’d like-”
“But I did not!”
Aunt Ava shook her head. “Elise, you’re unfeeling.”
The second lawyer looked at the first one. “Well, we could-”
“Madame, please, it’s stealing!”
Everyone gasped at what he blurted out. The lawyer clutched his mouth, as if he could swallow the words he just said. Seonghwa fixed him with a harsh glare and you placed a delicate hand in front of your own mouth so no one could see your smile. Your Aunt Elise narrowed her eyes.
“She’ll have maids from Milan and frequent gifts of jewelry! Stocks and shares in her name, and a darling Rolls Royce of her own.” She explained as she wrote it all down in the contract. “If not, Seonghwa is all alone.”
Seonghwa finally looked at you. If you didn’t know any better, you would have thought he was pleading with you. You couldn’t understand what he was trying to tell you with his eyes, but you weren’t going to say a word. You weren’t adding to this situation whatsoever.
“Please sign on this line.” Aunt Elise handed the contract back to the three men before you, a new signature line under all of her corrections.
Both lawyers looked at each other before looking at Seonghwa. He sighed, took the pen and signed his name. The lawyers did the same.
As they packed up the papers, you heard them say, “Miss Y/n is finally, securely, divinely in love.”
When they left, your Aunt Ava instructed you to wash up for dinner. After cleaning your hands and face, you sat on your bed and allowed yourself time to wallow in your misery. You were now only as good as a mistress to him, someone he could toss aside at a moment’s notice. It hurt like hell.
A tap at your window scared you. There was Seonghwa, asking you to let him in. Which you did, against your better judgment. In his hand was the contract.
Tears in your eyes, you shoved him. “How dare you do that to me! I thought you loved me! That wasn’t love! That was humiliating! I don’t want to be your mistress! I don’t even want to see you again!”
“What? Mistress?” He shook his head and took your hand gently. “No, you misunderstand. I was asking for your Aunts permission to marry you.”
“What? But your lawyers said-”
“They’re idiots.” He rolled his eyes and showed you the contract. “Look closer. It’s a marriage contract. My parents had me draft it last night.”
You read through everything again, and the last page detailed the proposal and wedding. Your Aunt Elise had left that page clean of any changes, save for one note that made your heart flutter:
If he does not complete a proposal by the end of the week, I will be having a very stern conversation with him about letting good things get away.
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