#so long story short i wish you a happy holiday season and talk to you soon

[weemsfreak]

Midnight Miracle

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟMerry Christmas/Happy Holidays to those who celebrate! I wish you all a midnight miracle this season :) ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ

Jane Murdstone x Named fReader

A short Christmas story with our favorite victorian red flag ~2k words

Warnings: Talk of religion and the Anglican church (not in detail)

Wrapped in your ebony cape, you shielded yourself from the biting winter breeze that sent shivers down your spine. Usually the cold didn't bother you, but the wind was extra frigid tonight.

This Christmas Eve, the gaslit streets were adorned with an extra twinkle, buildings and shops aglow with an abundance of candles and festive decorations.

You weren't avoiding spending Christmas Eve with your family; rather, you sought a way to keep yourself occupied, and organizing your books provided a diversion.

The care of your books in your quaint store was where you spent your days. You assumed no one would venture to your store at this hour, dinner time on Christmas eve, still, you left the door unlocked. Amidst the aromatic embrace of cinnamon and pine, you immersed yourself in the quiet world of rearranging décor and organizing shelves, the dim light casting a serene ambiance.

Yet, your thoughts were consumed by a mysterious presence, a certain someone lingered in your mind despite the attempted distraction.

You couldn't stop yourself from wondering about her, you never could. Does she share your passion for books? Does she delight in the written word, perhaps poetry or prose? If so, what about? Does she spend her time writing like you?

You wondered what she could be occupied with now. You envisioned her partaking in a familial feast, while you longed for her presence, a wishful dream in the quiet corners of your mind. Your heart carried the weight of unspoken admiration for her, alas, you couldn't bring yourself to say a word to her, her cold yet enchanting demeanour both unsettled and exhilarated you.

You knew her through shared pews and hallowed hymns at the church, you observed her movements as she entered, sat, listened, prayed, sang - captivated by her every blink and breath.

She was a dark enchantress, her aesthetic seamlessly entwined with yours. Curiosity stirred as you wondered about the facets of her life that mirrored your own and the untold tales hidden behind her mysterious gaze. Perhaps she liked books, perhaps she lacked a husband, perhaps she preferred the company of women.

But alas, such thoughts remained in the realm of wishful thinking, your desires weaving through the fabric of a Christmas Eve both magical and elusive.

✧✧✧

You recollected the first time you saw her. Freshly settled in Blunderstone, you decided to venture to the Anglican church. Running late, you had no choice but to occupy a seat in the back. You leaned awkwardly to the side, nearly falling into the pews edge in an attempt to see the presider.

To your astonishment, a far superior sight unfolded—a raven-haired woman draped in black.

In the midst of prayer and hymns, you found your gaze drawn to her graceful figure, an enigmatic figure. Her dark curls were nestled beneath an even darker bonnet, adorned with silk ribbon. Instantly enchanting, her alabaster skin and, as you later discovered, azure eyes captivated your being. Despite the allure of her elegant stride and the way the corner of her mouth would occasionally turn up into a small smile, you dared not approach the subject of your admiration.

Yet, you dared to indulge in stolen glances, each soft gaze kindling a warmth within your heart.

Sundays held newfound anticipation for you, a shift from previous motives of seeking solace in the congregation.

However, on a recent Sunday, you were left devoid of joy and motivation when she failed to grace you with her presence.

✧✧✧

The ticking of the clock echoed in the shop, and before you knew it, the hands pointed to nearly 11 pm. A sense of joy and fluttering anticipation filled your stomach as thoughts of the impending midnight mass danced in your mind. The magic of Christmas enveloped the church, casting a spell that you could feel.

Heading to the back of your store, you stole a glance out the window, greeted by a gentle snowfall that blanketed the world.

You began extinguishing the candles one by one when the bell on the door rang, breaking the stillness and signalling an unexpected visitor.

You froze, who could be seeking books at this hour?

Slowly peaking through the shelves, it was far too dark to see. Creeping closer, you heard the soft shuffle of someone exploring the books.

You peered around the shelf and there she stood- the woman of your dreams, adorned in a black talma.

A gasp escaped your lips, prompting a swift retreat to the safety of the opposite shelf.

Memories of a previous encounter flooded your mind. Before one Sunday service began, you had ventured out early to pray. You stopped dead with trembling hands when you caught her kneeling with a grace that matched the intricately stained-glass windows. The flickering candlelight cast shadows on her profile, enhancing the allure that captivated you and lived in your imagination.

As she navigated the shadows of the books, you swooned, waiting with bated breath. Why had she chosen your shop? Shouldn't she be with her family, joining the congregation? Then again, you should have been with your own.

"Hello? Are you open for business?"

Her voice, a demanding melody, reverberated in the void of your shop. Your heartbeat quickened, torn between fleeing and standing your ground. This was your shop; you had to summon your strength.

Carefully, you stepped out from behind the bookshelf and surveyed the dark. When your eyes met hers, the unspoken connection between you became a silent dance, a tapestry woven with stolen glances and the shared sanctity of the church pews. You noticed the lack of warmth in her eyes and the metaphorical wall that she had up changed when she saw you. Your heart swelled with agony of unexpressed emotions and the delicate joy derived from the mere proximity of her ethereal presence. In a way, you mourned the unspoken connection, for there was no other option but to abandon it.

"Hi, I-I am open. How can I assist you?" you squeaked, attempting to mask any uncertainty or fear. The woman looked down at you, tilting her head in surprise.

"Amelia? This is your bookstore?"

You opened your mouth to answer, but your words eluded you. She spoke with less arrogance and gentler than you had known previous, but even more, she knew your name?

Of course, you were well aware of who she was, she and her brother were somewhat known in this town as the Murdstones—or, as some whispered, the Murderstones.

Perhaps she could be cruel, perhaps she was deceiving, yet she exuded a sickly sweetness, a captivating beauty in your eyes.

"Well I, yes I do" you nodded.

Jane stood tall, her eyebrows raising. You watched as a smile stretched across her face, and you couldn't help but think that this was the first time you saw her smile, a real smile; it was glorious.

"I must express my relief. I had no doubt that I would be greeted from behind the literature by a man." Jane released a small huff of laughter, and you suppressed a giggle.

"No, it's solely me" you replied with a smile.

Jane continued her exploration of the works, her long, slender fingers delicately wrapping around the spine of each one, caressing them lightly. You were entranced as she moved, perhaps she was a lover of literature after all.

Suddenly, Jane turned to you, furrowing her brows.

"Why are you open at this late hour?"

It was a valid question, why were you open at this hour? Well, for her, of course. But you pondered the same about her—why was she out so late?

"I sought fresh air after dinner, and I found myself here. I've been here for several hours" you chuckled, shrugging in embarrassment.

Jane smiled once more, averting her gaze and running her hand over the cover of a book.

"I'd love to spend several hours in a bookstore."

Silence enveloped you as she opened the book and flipped through its pages. Caught up in the enchantment of her presence, you failed to notice the book title, as your attention was wholly absorbed by the proximity of her features. She stood closer than ever before, her lips twitching as she silently mouthed the words her azure eyes scanned. The soft glow from the festive decorations cast a warm hue upon her, accentuating the grace of her features.

Jane's gaze shifted from the book to you, pulling you shamefully out of your trance.

"Do you plan to attend midnight mass?"

You nodded your head yes. "And you?"

Jane closed the book, cradling it against her chest.;

"Indeed. May I purchase this work?"

As Jane placed the book on the counter, revealing the cover and title, you paused. Running your hand over the leather, memories flooded back, reminiscent of the first time you read it. Unpopular, not for the story's shortcomings, but for its rather...unique allure—it was your favorite.

"Is this title familiar to you?" you questioned.

Jane shook her head, "I have not perused it, no."

You collected her payment and passed the book to her, long fingers grazing against yours. "Thank you."

You smiled and bowed your head, "Thank you for your purchase."

Jane's teeth shone through her smile, and genuine amusement sparkled in her eyes.

"Would you care to accompany me to the midnight mass?" she unexpectedly proposed, catching you off guard.

You blinked with surprise, was she serious?

Jane heard no reply, but she didn't budge, and you hopefully determined that she was.

✧✧✧

You and Jane embarked on a walk down the snow-covered cobblestone streets. You thought about the birth of Christ, the miracle of the season. You thought about the Anglican church and worship, you thought about Jane.

Your eyes sought out Jane's, the only eyes that captivated you, and you realized how lucky you were, for she was your sole companion in this moment. Her gaze met yours, a subtle recognition sparking between you. Jane fluttered her lashes, holding the book against her body with both hands. As you walked side by side, the snowflakes seemed to dance around you, and you longed to hold her gloved hand in yours.

As the midnight hour approached, the distant sounds of Christmas carols reached your ears. The Anglican church awaited, its doors open to those seeking solace and celebration. Together, you and Jane entered the sacred space, the flickering candlelight casting shadows on the ancient walls.

As you knelt in prayer, Jane's presence beside you added an unexpected grace to the sacred ritual, it embraced you. The air was charged with a sense of belonging, a connection that transcended the unspoken desires of wishful thinking.

✧✧✧

After the mass concluded, the two of you stepped out into the crisp night air, the world adorned in a fresh blanket of snow. Jane's gaze met yours under the glow of the moon, and a shared understanding lingered between you. The magic of Christmas had intricately woven a fabric of connection, and the possibility of your souls uniting felt more real than ever.

"This selection is commendable. It happens to be my favorite," you whispered, the words carrying a warmth that defied the winter chill.

Jane's eyes gleamed with a quiet delight, and a genuine smile played on her lips. The church bells chimed, marking the arrival of Christmas Day.

"Perhaps you'd like to take another stroll?" Jane asked, her voice soft against the stillness of the night.

As you and Jane navigated the mysteries of the night, she took a chance and let go of the book with one hand, carefully reaching out for yours.

In that moment, as the world held its breath in anticipation, you realized that the enchantment of the season had not only brought you a magical Christmas Eve, but also the mysterious beauty of Jane Murdstone. It was a midnight miracle.

#gwendoline christie #gwendolineuniverse #jane murdstone #jane murdstone x reader #the personal history of david copperfield #merry christmas #edward murdstone #victorian lesbians #victorian era

[findingmypeace]

Did you and BS/D work things out?

Sort of. I reached out to them and re-established contact (via text). It took them awhile to respond but when they did we mostly worked things out. I sent a text saying I didn't think we should talk about my eating disorder at all and that upset them. DI said that if we're real friends we have to talk about the hard stuff and be honest with each other. BS agreed with DI and said that she doesn't want the ed to be the center of our friendship but she does still want honest updates on the eating disorder. I sent a text apologizing for upsetting them and agreeing to give them honest updates and explained that they only reason I didn't want to talk about it was that I didn't want it to be the center of our friendship. After that text I didn't hear from them for over a month. Two weeks ago I reached out again just wishing them a happy holiday season. BS took a week to respond. DI took a week and a half to respond. Both responses were pretty superficial. I was going to respond but then the whole thing with my job ending happened so I didn't respond until yesterday. My response was also superficial. I said nothing about my job ending or my eating disorder.

Long story short: We're communicating again but it's not the same and I don't think it ever will be. Things are superficial now. And I think if I'm honest about the ed they'll probably tell me they've had enough.

[sequinsmile-x]

Winter Nights

Three holiday seasons with the Hotchners.

Part of the Whatever Tomorrow Brings universe

Words: 4.2k

Warnings: mentions of infertility/fertility treatment

Read over on Ao3, or below the cut!

Let me know what you think <3

December 2001

She loved the holidays.

He had always been indifferent to the time of year, memories of his childhood too vibrant to ignore. Images of his father sat in his armchair drinking, the lights of the Christmas Tree shining off his vacant gaze, his mother pretending she didn’t see it.

Emily changed that, like she had done with so many parts of his life. Her joy was infectious. She told him stories about how she had celebrated all over the world throughout her childhood, saying it was the only time of the year her parents acted like parents. Taking time out of their busy schedules to spend time with her, even if it still felt like it was mostly for show, diplomats roaming through their home at the annual holiday party.

Aaron remembered the first year they were together, how she came alive in the winter. The usual apathy he felt for the short days and long nights was replaced by a pull in his belly when he saw the snow reflected in her dark eyes. A smile he could never cover when she pulled him outside into the cold, using the chill as an excuse to stick closely to him, their joint hands buried in his coat pocket.

This year was different. Her smile did not quite reach her eyes as they went through their usual traditions. The hormone medication she was on was setting her on edge, everything sharper than usual as her body prepared itself for the treatment she was having between Christmas and New Year, and the transfer in the first week of January. She was emotional, unable to keep herself tightly in check outside of their home like she usually could. He kept spotting moments when she’d drift off, inevitable worries that it wouldn’t work again clear on her face.

He couldn’t stop thinking about last time, the failed round of IVF they had lived through in the summer. The way she had barely been able to look at him as yet another test came up negative.

Emily didn’t want to talk about it, not in any depth, her fears simmering just below the surface, obvious to anyone who cared to look. She was pushing on like it was a normal year when it was anything but. She spent a bit too long choosing the tree like she did every Christmas. She insisted she could get the decorations out of the attic by herself, like she did every year, ultimately relenting and asking him for help. All the while he acted as if he couldn’t see the underlying sadness, or the way her hand would drift to her abdomen when she thought he wasn't looking.

“Are you going to help?”

He snaps out of his thoughts only to look up at her, her corner of her mouth twitching upwards as she continues to hang ornaments on the tree.

“Sorry, love.” He says standing up, walking up to her. She laughs when he stands behind her, his arms tight around her as he kisses her shoulder. She hangs the decoration in her hands on the tree before she turns in his arms, her smile somewhat dimmer than usual, the blinking lights from the tree making her shine with what he knew was more than the happiness she was trying to portray. Aaron wished for nothing more than to take her sadness away, the melancholy that had settled into her bones and taken residence in her smile.

“You’re not making this any easier, Aaron.” She says, an eyebrow raising at him as she wraps her arms around his neck. “You’re supposed to be helping.”

“I am helping.” He replies, leaning down to kiss her. “I’m motivating you to decorate the tree.” He kisses her again and she chuckles dryly against his lips as he pulls away.

“Your motivation seems an awful lot like distraction to me.”

“Good.” He smiles, his hands trailing up the back of her sweater, his fingers tracing the clasp of her bra. She seems more relaxed than she had been in days, and he takes it as his chance to say something, to check in with her. “You need distracting.”

“I’m fine, Aaron.” Tension immediately returns to her body, making her stiffen in his arms.

“Em.” He says firmly, with so much love for her in his eyes it makes her look away, her already frail nerves on edge. His unbidden affection that usually made her feel light, like she could float away with nothing but a dimpled smile and the sparkle in his eyes that only she saw, made her feel heavy. His love settling somewhere in her chest, constricting her lungs, all of her insecurities bubbling up and threatening to drown her. “You’ve said that so much the last few days that it's lost all meaning.”

“Please.” She replies, her voice cracking, far too close to begging for her own liking. “Just leave it.”

“No.” He says simply, his refusal making her eyes snap back to his. “We need to talk about it. I can feel you pulling back, turning in on yourself.” He cups her face, his thumb tracing over her cheekbone.

“Aaron,” she blows out a breath, leaning her forehead against his, “all we’ve done is talk about it. I just want something to feel…normal.”

He wants to argue with her, tell her that the sorrow in her eyes makes him ache, but he doesn’t. Instead he nods, moving so he can kiss her forehead before he pulls away, cool air replacing her in his hold as he reaches behind him and pulls a small wrapped gift from behind the couch cushion.

“This is for you.” He says, handing it to her with a smile on his face. She takes it from him, her smile genuine as she tears the paper, revealing a glass christmas ornament for the tree. It was in the shape of a snowflake, rainbows of light bouncing off of it as she held it in her hand, letting it swing slightly.

“I love it.” She says, as she looks up at him.

It had become a tradition during their first Christmas together. They weren’t living together, not officially, and she had wrinkled her nose in distaste at his poor excuse for a tree on a rare trip to his apartment, their time usually spent at hers. Aaron had tried to pass it off, explaining that he wasn’t even sure why he had put the tree up in the first place, his excuse that he barely spent any time there anyway. Two days later she had let herself into his apartment, a smile on her face and a quick kiss against his lips, laughing at his confusion at her being there so early, his morning barely beginning. She pulled a small gift bag out of her purse and handed it to him, insisting he opened it immediately. It was a sparkly thing, shaped like an icicle, and she had rolled her eyes and taken it from him, walking past him to hang it on his tree.

Every year since then they bought a new decoration, usually completely mismatched from the others, and they hung it on the tree last. A finishing touch that they both found simple joy in.

“Do you want me to hang it up?” He asks, taking the wrapping paper from her hand and disposing of it for her.

“Well you might as well, you haven’t helped with the rest of it.” She replies, mischief shining in her eyes as she winks at him.

She had made his life more magical since the moment she had stepped into it, and he was determined to do the same for her this year.

________

They were curled up on their couch, Emily’s head in his lap as his hand trails through her hair, It’s A Wonderful Life on the tv, when the idea comes to him.

“Come on,” He says suddenly, breaking the silence they had settled into, the hand that had been trailing through her hair landing on her back, encouraging her to sit up, “we’re going out.”

Emily lifts her head out of his lap and sits up next to him, his hand on her back slipping down to her hip. “What? Aaron,” She sighs, tucking her hair behind her ear, “we’re watching a movie.”

“We’ve seen it hundreds of times, and will no doubt watch it hundreds more.” He cups her chin and pulls her in for a kiss, stamping his affection against her lips. “It’s your favourite.”

“It’s our favourite.” She corrects, narrowing her eyes at him.

“Sorry, our favourite.” He stands up, turning back to her and offering her his hand, pulling her to her feet as she takes it.

“Where are we going?”

“That’s a surprise.” He says, laughing when she frowns at him. “Come on, you trust me right?” He tugs her closer, his hand coming to rest at her waist.

“Fine.” She replies, “But we’re starting the movie from the beginning when we get back.”

“Whatever you want sweetheart.”

________

He knows he has made the right decision the second they arrive, her smile widening as he pulls the car up as close as he can to the winter markets in downtown DC.

She excitedly pulls him by his gloved hand, both of them wrapped up warm against the winter chill, as they go from vendor to vendor, her eyes lighting up as the live music around them almost pulls the sadness out of her. They share a hot chocolate as they wander the streets, and

happiness rolls off of her almost as obvious as her warm breath against the cool air.

“Thank you.” She says, smiling at him fondly as her gloved hand cups his cheek. “I needed this”

He pulls her slightly closer, his hands meeting at the small of her back. “You don’t have to thank me for loving you sweetheart. It comes naturally.”

She rolls her eyes, her smile widening at him. “You really do say the cheesiest shit sometimes.”

Aaron joins her in her laughter and leans in to kiss her, the tip of her nose cold against his cheek. They get lost in it, in each other, only breaking apart when someone disgruntledly brushes past them. They both laugh when they remember where they are and they start to walk down the street, Emily’s hand finding his before he manoeuvres them to his pocket, seeking additional warmth beyond their gloves.

They walk in silence, finding comfort in it and in watching the other people around them, the joy of the holidays almost as obvious in the air as the winter chill. Aaron looks at Emily and catches her looking at a family, a woman walking in the opposite direction with a bundled up baby strapped to her chest. He sees the smile on her face falter slightly as she looks away, her eyes downcast.

He thought of all the things he could say, all the reassurances that the family she had seen would be them next year, walking these same streets with their own baby, but he knows that’s not what she needs. She just needs him, his unwavering love and support no matter what the next few weeks would hold.

“We’ll be ok, Em.” He says, squeezing her hand in his. She looks up at him, a soft smile on her face. “No matter what happens.”

Her smile wavers a little, but she nods, bringing her spare hand to grip his tricep, anchoring herself closer to him.

“Yeah. We’ll be ok.”

__________

December 2002

Emily wakes alone, groaning as she rolls over in bed, her arm hitting cold sheets next to her instead of her husband's chest. She sits up muttering to herself under her breath when she sees the time.

3.23am

She turns on the lamp on her nightstand and she looks over at the bassinet on her side of the bed and sees it is empty. The usual flash of fear runs through her, a momentary concern about where her son was, before logic sets in, knowing he would be wherever her husband was. She gets out of bed, pulling on Aaron’s bathrobe that she had taken ownership of as she leaves the bedroom to seek out her boys.

She pops her head into Jack's room on her way past, the young boy fast asleep in his bed. As she clicks the door closed behind her she smiles, able to hear her husband’s voice floating up the stairs. She walks downstairs quietly, the noise of her feet against the hardwood dulled by the sound of the socks she had stolen from Aaron.

He’s standing in front of the tree, the lights back on after she switched them off on her way to bed earlier. He’s swaying side to side slightly, Theo against his chest, looking impossibly small in comparison to him. His voice is still gentle, and if he notices her entering the room he doesn’t show it. He turns slightly, so Theo is facing a specific part of the tree.

“This one is the first one ever that Mommy gave me,” he says pointing to the icicle ornament with his elbow, one hand firmly on Theo’s back and the other under his bottom, “she just walked straight into my apartment and gave it to me.”

Emily watches as Aaron kisses the top of their son’s head and she feels love for them both swell in her chest, making her lungs feel cramped with it, forcing out a breath. Aaron turns to look at her, a smile on his face before his attention is back on their baby.

“Mommy loves Christmas, but not as much as she loves you.” He kisses Theo’s head again and Emily finally closes the gap between them, joining them both over by the tree, her arm wrapping around Aaron’s back as she looks at the little boy in his arms, his wide eyes seeming like they were looking at the bright lights of the tree. She’d always loved Christmas lights, the way they shone, the extra radiance they brought thrilling something deep inside of her.

They had never looked as beautiful as they did in her son’s dark eyes.

“Is he ok?” She asks, her hand resting over Aaron’s on the infant's back. “You could have woken me up.”

“He’s ok, just wouldn’t go back to sleep after I changed him.” Aaron answers, kissing his wife as she looks up at him. “I thought you could do with the rest until he needed feeding next.”

“He does seem to hate sleep doesn’t he?”

“He loves you. He wants your attention all the time.” Aaron says, handing the baby over as he started to fuss with his mother being so close but still so far. “Not that I can blame him.”

Emily laughs as she settles Theo against her chest, the way he immediately settled against her making her protest die in her throat.

“I got you something.” Aaron says, drawing her attention back to him. A gift he seemingly pulled out of nowhere in his hands. His smile widens as he looks at her. “Shall I open it for you?”

She nods her response, her hand rubbing up and down Theo’s back as she watches Aaron open the gift, unable to hold back her gasp as the ornament was revealed. It was round, a tiny reindeer painted onto it, the words ‘Baby’s First Christmas’ written on it in a fine print.

“Aaron…”

“We didn’t get a chance when we decorated the tree.”

They had let Jack do the majority of it, the young boy patiently sitting on the couch as Aaron untangled the tree lights and put them on, letting his eldest son loose the moment he was done. Jack had been struggling, the knowledge that it was his first Christmas without his mother hanging heavy in the air. Their usual traditions blended with his, Aaron taking him to look at the neighbourhood lights because Haley always used to, the smile on his face as he hung the ornaments sporadically worth every thing that felt different.

“It’s lovely.” She says, her eyes flooding with tears, her emotions still all over the place from having a ten week old and not very much sleep. “When did you get it?”

He smiles sheepishly as he hangs the ornament on a nearby bare branch. “I actually got it a couple years ago. Hid it in my sock drawer ever since.” He turns back and sees how her smile has faltered, her eyes filling with the guilt he recognised all too well. “Oh no sweetheart,” he pulls her into his arms, Theo nestled between them, “I just never gave up hope, that's all.”

She does cry at that, tears spilling down her cheeks that he wipes away with his thumb.

“I love you so much.” She says, smiling against his lips as he leans down to stamp a kiss against them.

“I love you too.”

__________

Going to the markets was her idea this time, seeing the melancholy on Jack’s face as the days passed, Christmas Day looming right ahead of them.

It does it’s job, his smile returning for a few hours as he convinces Aaron to buy him all sorts of candy. Aaron insists he stay close by, his hand in his son’s as they walk together, the atmosphere around them soothing something in Emily’s soul.

It had been a hard year, harder than she had expected when it began. Haley’s sudden reappearance, Jack in tow when Emily was so sure she’d never have a child of her own. Life had changed in an instant and it had kept changing. Looking back, even though she knew they still had so far to go, she was grateful they were starting to come through. Jack was starting to be a little brighter. He was a doting older brother to Theo, always asking her how he could help. Aaron was slowly coming back to himself, the distance Haley’s appearance had put in between them closing, the love that had never left somehow stronger.

Emily presses a kiss to Theo’s head before readjusting the hood of his snowsuit, ensuring he was keeping warm. She turns to her husband and smiles, her eyes briefly flicking to Jack who was happily walking alongside his father, eating cotton candy that was sure to keep him up past his bedtime.

“Of course he’s sleeping now.” She jokes, her gloved hand coming to rest on Theo’s back through the baby carrier she was wearing. “He refuses to sleep in his bassinet in our nice warm room, but strapped to my chest in the middle of a busy Christmas Market out in the cold? Sure.”

“He’s in his favourite place.” Aaron says, unable to stop the way his smile widens as he looks at his wife and youngest son. “We both know he’d crawl right back inside you given half the chance.”

She grimaces, swatting at his shoulder affectionately. “Just for that you can get up with him in the middle of the night.”

“Emily?” Jack asks, interrupting Aaron’s retort.

“Yes sweetie.” She says, a smirk on her face as she looks past her husband.

“We should do this every year!”

_____

December 2027

“Dad. Hurry up.”

Emily laughs, turning to look at her husband next to her as Theo looks back at them, his arm linked with his boyfriend’s as they walk ahead of them.

“Yeah, Aaron. Hurry up.” She says, her laughter not even disguised as he raises an eyebrow at her.

“I’m not as young as I used to be.” He says, readjusting their granddaughter on his hip, the almost 3 year old grasping at his winter coat. Jack and Sara were ahead of the group, enjoying a few childfree moments.

“You’re 64 Aaron. Not an old man.”

He turns his head to the little girl. “Do you hear this Charlie? She’s making fun of me.” He pokes her in the belly, making her giggle.

“Don’t turn her against me!” Emily exclaims, her arm linking through his spare one. “You’re already the favourite.” They carry on walking, following their sons and their respective partners through the streets of the winter markets. “It just doesn’t feel right.”

“What doesn’t?”

“Being here without Amelia.” He answers, his lips set in a firm line. “I hate that she’s not here.”

Emily squeezes his arm, her heart constricting in her chest. Amelia was in Australia, working in a bar to make some money and taking every opportunity to tell her parents stories about all the creatures she had seen in her time there, each more horrifying than the last. She had made the decision not to fly home for Christmas, nerves all over her face as she told them when they FaceTimed. They had told her it was fine, holding their own feelings back, wanting her to do whatever was best for her.

“I miss her too honey.” Emily says. “She’s having a Christmas in the sun. You know she hates the cold.”

“I know.” He replies, sighing. “It’s just…she’s my little girl, Em. And she’s on the other side of the world.”

She knows there isn’t anything she can say to make it better, so she kisses his cheek instead, and as they walk they point things out to Charlotte, the little girl's eyes full of wonder as she takes it all in.

They get to their favourite vendor, the place they have bought hot chocolate from for years, and Aaron hands his granddaughter back to Jack, the little girl immediately settling into her fathers arms.

Emily and Aaron stand next to each other, their hands linking together as they wait for their drinks to be made.

“Do you remember the first year we did this?” She asks, resting her head against his shoulder. “Feels like a lifetime ago.”

“It was a lifetime ago.” He says, turning his head to kiss the side of hers. They stand and watch their sons, smiling as they laugh together, Jack mocking Theo for something he had said. “We got old.”

“Speak for yourself.” She scoffs, she lifts her head to look at him, and her smile fades when she sees the lingering sadness in his eyes. “Honey, cheer up, we’re speaking to her on Christmas Day.”

“Yeah Dad, wasn’t it always you who said we can’t be sad at Christmas.”

They stop in place at the sound of the familiar voice, turning quickly to see the beaming face of their daughter, miraculously standing in front of them as if she wasn’t supposed to be thousands of miles away.

“Amelia?” Emily asks, tears already gathering in her eyes as she lets go of her husband's arm, the gasps of surprise she can hear from him and their sons fading into the background as she takes a step towards the teenager.

“Merry Christmas, Mom.” Amelia says, her own voice cracking as she closes the gap between them, throwing her arms around her mother.

“What are you doing here?” Emily asks, still holding her tightly, unwilling to let go as if she was going to disappear.

“I wanted to surprise you.” Amelia replies, her voice shaking. She pulls back from Emily, both of them close to tears.

“How are you here?”

“Aunt Pen picked me up from the airport, she said you were here so I had her bring me.” Ameila laughs, wiping tears off her own face. “You’re predictable. We do the same thing every year so I knew I’d find you.”

Emily laughs, although it sounds more like a sob as she places her hands on her daughter's shoulders, looking her up and down. The freckles on her cheeks brought out by her time in the sun, her smile wide.

“You should probably hug your dad before he faints.” Emily says, readjusting Amelia’s hat down over her ears like she used to when she was small.

Emily watches as Amelia bounds over to Aaron, both of them throwing their arms around each other tightly, her husband's joy evident. He was hesitant to let go of her but he did, letting her get picked up off the ground by Theo, Jack pulling her into a hug as soon as her feet were back on the floor.

“You ok love?” Aaron asks, his hand slipping into Emily’s. She looks at him, sees the same unshed tears in his eyes she knows are in hers.

“Yeah.” She answers, squeezing his hand. “I just love this time of year.”

“Oh god.” Amelia exclaims, rolling her eyes as she crosses her arms across her chest. “I’ve been back 5 minutes and you guys are already being disgusting.”

Theo laughs, linking his arm through his sisters as they grab their drinks and turn to walk away.

“Mills, they never stop being disgusting.”

Emily makes an outraged noise and lets her husband pull her along, and they walk behind their children as they continue down the street, their favourite family tradition warming them better than the hot chocolates in their hands ever could.

#hotchniss #hotchniss fanfic #aaron hotchner x emily prentiss #family fluff #fluff #holiday fic #winter vibes #overall #very fluffy #WTB Universe #tw: infertility

[viastro]

they were pretty | chwe vernon hansol

ミ★ synopsis: the moment you lock eyes with your soulmate is when the world will become bright and colorful, but it’s only when the two of you hold eye contact. [dedicated to @memesolvernonchwe​ ! surprise, i’m your secret santa <3]

ミ★ genre: soulmate!au, fluff, some humor

ミ★ warnings: none !

ミ★ word count: 2,116

ミ★ pairings: vernon x gender neutral reader

ミ★ notes: merry christmas everyone ! and to those who don’t celebrate, i hope you’re having a great day ! especially to my friend, mia. i’m your secret santa !! i hope you enjoyed this, i wanted to make it as fluffy as possible hehe. hope you’re doing well <33 as to everyone else reading this oneshot, i hope you guys enjoy it ! make sure to give vernon lots of love, and to also be safe this holiday season !

“I’m so excited for you to be able to see colors, yn.” You nod your head aimlessly at Nayeon’s comment, knowing that she’ll eventually stop talking about meeting her soulmate once a month passes by. You bite the inside of your cheek at a particularly long paragraph in the textbook, trying to scan through it to find what to take note of. 

“It’s truly so beautiful, I wish everyone would be able to experience it. I can’t wait to go and see her again so that I can see the color of the sky.” Glancing up from your notes, you see Nayeon staring longingly out the window of the library. You let out a breath, before deciding to close your textbook, causing her to turn to look at you. Giving her a smile you say, “Let’s head back to the apartment, mm? So that you can go see Jeongyeon.” 

You watch as Nayeon’s face practically lights up as she nods her head, and the two of you begin to pack up your things. You listen as she continues to ramble about how she can’t wait to look at the color blue again, and you nod your head calmly as the two of you walk out the library. 

“I feel like you’ll like the color pink a lot.” Nayeon tells you when you both reach the crowded crosswalk. Raising an eyebrow, you turn to glance at her as you wait for the crosswalk signal to show that it’s your turn to cross the street. She smiles, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. 

“Pink is like a sweet and delicate color. It tastes like bubblegum or cotton candy. And it makes you feel… love. I guess.” Nayeon explains in a soft voice, and you nod your head. You glance at your surroundings that are in black and white, the world that you’ve grown used to seeing. 

You wonder if you’ll ever be lucky enough to be able to see the world through Nayeon’s eyes.

The crosswalk signal turns green, and the two of you begin to cross the street. You look at the ground as Nayeon speaks animatedly beside you about how excited she is to see her soulmate, while you half-listen as you walk past all the people going to their own destinations. 

You glance up from the road, and make eye contact with a few people passing by. You’re about to look back down at the crosswalk again when you lock eyes with someone for a brief moment, and you feel your breath get taken away. 

Your world isn’t black and white for a fleeting second. 

“Yn? Are you okay?” Your breath hitches when you see that everything is black and white again. You glance around in panic as you see the normal different shades of grey when the two of you finally cross the street. Nayeon shakes your arm to try and get your attention, but you stare with wide eyes at the other side of the street, heart beating wildly against your chest as you realize your soulmate just walked past you.

and you don’t know who it is.

“WHAT?!” You grimace at Nayeon’s screech as you watch her pace around your bedroom, trying to process the rather unfortunate information that you just bestowed upon her.

more unfortunate for you rather than her but alas…

“So you’re telling me, that you locked eyes with your soulmate as we crossed the street, saw color for one second, then LOST THEM?!” Nayeon asks, stopping in her tracks to turn and face you with an incredulous expression on her face. You slowly nod your head, and she raises a hand to her forehead out of stress. 

“Do you even remember what they looked like? Distinct facial features? Anything?” You stare at Nayeon for a moment, knowing that your answer to her question is going to absolutely destroy her sanity. And so, out of love for your best friend, you slowly shake your head, no. 

Nayeon stares at you, before sinking down to the floor and resting her head in her arms. The two of you stay like that in silence for a moment, and you bite the inside of your cheek. You briefly remember the brilliant colors you saw, but there’s one that stood out in particular to you that you can only describe as being pretty. 

It was a pretty color.

“What are you gonna do now, yn? You met your soulmate and yet you don’t remember anything about what they looked like.” You glance down at your hands, wondering whether or not fate is on your side. You met your soulmate on a busy street for the briefest moment, and you have no recollection of what they may look like other than the color you saw. 

Turning back towards Nayeon, you give her a smile, and her eyes squint in confusion as to how you’re able to muster such a happy smile when you’re in a rather terrible situation. Shrugging your shoulders you look up towards the ceiling, “I’m just happy to have seen colors in that short moment.” 

Nayeon groans and reaches out to slap your leg, making you yelp out in shock. You give her an offended look and she wiggles her finger at your face, “How are you so carefree? I both despise and envy that feature of yours.” 

You grin, reaching out with your foot and nudging her so that she topples onto her side. She turns and glares at you, making you giggle. Running a hand through your hair you mutter, “If fate allows it, I’ll find them again.” 

“You found your soulmate?!” 

“Ah, Seungkwan you’re too loud.” Vernon says with a wince, making the latter squint at him. Seungkwan rolls his eyes, “How can I not be loud? You met your soulmate a week ago and yet you don’t remember what they look like?!” 

Vernon rubs the back of his neck, wondering the exact same thing. He only remembers the burst of color that appeared in that brief moment the two of you locked eyes, but is unable to recall what you looked like. The color of your eyes is all he can remember, as it was what stood out the most to him. 

He thought it was pretty.

The two continue to walk through the park, with Vernon listening quietly as Seungkwan creates a very intricate plan on how to find you as they do so. Vernon glances up at the cherry blossom trees, watching as the petals fly through the air. He’s heard that the color of cherry blossom flowers are magnificent, and he’s dreamt of the day that he’ll be able to see them in their true beauty. 

“Vernon, are you listening? I’m telling you that if we just get Gong Yoo to listen to your story and he likes it, then we can broadcast to the world that you’re looking for your soulmate. All while Gong Yoo plays you in the drama adaptation of your situation. It’s a win win scenario!” Seungkwan explains with a look of certainty on his face, and Vernon bites his bottom lip to stop himself from laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. 

“I think Gong Yoo is on a whole other playing field when it comes to visuals.” Vernon tells Seungkwan, to which his friend scowls, slapping Vernon’s arm. “You’re both handsome.” 

“Yeah but Gong Yoo is something else.” Seungkwan purses his lips at what Vernon said, before nodding his head in agreement. “He do be really handsome at 41 years old.” 

The two converse as they walk around the park, trying to decide where to eat lunch when Vernon hears someone’s loud voice. Seungkwan and him turn towards the direction of the voice, finding two very pretty people laughing underneath the cherry blossom trees.

“Nayeon! You’re so loud, please!” You laugh, and Vernon tilts his head at the sight of you. He takes note of the crinkle to your eyes as you laugh, finding the sight to be rather pretty. Seungkwan raises an eyebrow at Vernon’s silence as they pass by you and Nayeon, wondering what Vernon finds so enticing. 

It’s only when you feel someone staring at you that you turn your head, and your mouth falls open when a burst of color appears right before your eyes. Vernon’s eyes widen when his world is no longer the black and white that he’s known his whole life, and the two of you just stare at each other in a shocked silence.

“Why are you so quiet?” Nayeon asks with a bright smile, only to pause when she sees how flabbergasted you look. Her eyes follow your line of sight, only to gasp when she finds the handsome guy staring at you with an equally shocked expression on his face. 

“I found you.” Vernon breathes out as he stares into your beautiful eyes.

Seungkwan glances between you and Vernon multiple times, waiting for either of you to make a move, only to let out a sigh when he realizes that neither of you are planning on moving. And so, out of love for his best friend, Seungkwan says, “Bitch, go and talk to your soulmate!” and shoves him in your direction. This promptly snaps Vernon out of his daze, and you feel warmth rush to your face when he smiles shyly at you.

Vernon walks towards you, not breaking eye contact, only to stop once the two of you are a foot apart. He grins, reaching his hand out towards you and saying, “Hi. I’m Vernon, your soulmate.” 

A smile breaks out over your own features as you extend your hand and grasp his warm one, “Hi, I’m yn. I think I’m your soulmate.” 

Vernon chuckles, tilting his head at you, “You think?” 

To which you giggle back, nodding your head. “I think so.” 

You’re about to ask Vernon if he’d like to go and get food so that you can get to know each other, only to pause when a soft cherry blossom petal falls directly onto your nose. Vernon smiles softly at the sight, reaching out to pick it off your nose. Your eyes widen slightly at the contact, only for your mouth to fall into an ‘o’ shape when you realize the cherry blossom petal is similar to the color of Vernon’s lips. Without thinking, you take the petal from his hand, and hold it up beside Vernon’s mouth, making him pause at the close proximity between you two. 

Cheerfully you say, “The cherry blossom petals are similar to the color of your lips. It’s pretty.” 

You glance back up into his eyes after staring between the cherry blossom petal and his mouth, only to also physically pause when you realize how close the two of you are. You take notice of the color rising to Vernon’s cheeks, and you bite the inside of your cheek when you realize how pretty he is. 

Nayeon and Seungkwan watch from the side, and Nayeon lets out a happy sigh. She nods her head peacefully, patting herself on the back when she overhears you say that the color pink is pretty. 

Called it, Nayeon thinks to herself with a grin. 

“Do you wanna go and get food together? Get to know each other, maybe?” You ask after a moment of you and Vernon just staring at each other, and he promptly snaps out of his daze. He takes a step back, and you finally exhale the breath you were holding in. He nods his head with a grin, “I’d love to get food. Where do you want to go?” 

You put your finger to your pursed lips as you think, and Vernon hides his smile behind his hand at how cute he thinks the gesture is. After a moment of thinking, Vernon watches as your eyes brighten when you finally come up with where to eat. “Let’s get tteokbokki!” 

He nods his head in agreement, unable to stop himself from smiling at you. You grin, and the two of you begin your descent towards the tteokbokki restaurant, completely forgetting that you both came with a friend as you converse.

Seungkwan and Nayeon let out a sigh, before turning to glance at each other. Seungkwan gestures to you and Vernon’s shrinking figures as you get farther and farther away, “Should we go and get tteokbokki with them even though they forgot we existed?” 

Nayeon turns her head to glance at you and Vernon, letting out a smile when she catches the way you and Vernon turn to look at each other with happy expressions on your faces. Nayeon nods her head after a moment of thought, “Tteokbokki sounds good.” 

#caratwritersclub #vernon x reader #vernon scenarios #seventeen scenarios #seventeen x reader #seventeen fluff #seventeen angst #seventeen crack #seventeen x you #seventeen oneshot #seventeen oneshots #seventeen vernon #vernon au #vernon fluff #chwe vernon #chwe hansol #hansol vernon chwe #vernon chwe x reader #chwe hansol x reader #vernon chwe imagines #seventeen hansol #hansol scenarios #hansol oneshot #hansol x reader #hansol fluff

[wayward-dreamer]

Life’s Lessons - Part 10

Title: Life’s Lessons - A Lesson in Love and Hope

Pairing: Mechanic!Dean x Female!Teacher!Reader

Other Characters: OFCs: Jill (Y/N’s sister), Evie and Mia (Y/N’s nieces), OMC: Brian (Y/N’s brother-in-law)

Word Count: 6,385 (notes in bold, thoughts, texts, song lyrics in italics). 

Part Summary: As Christmas time approaches, Y/N and Dean are sad they can’t spend this time together as she goes home to New York for the holidays. However, their Christmas presents to each other prove that they have a future together.

Warnings: Slight angst, brief mention of reader’s exes, Dean’s self-deprecation rears its ugly head (slightly), Dean being sweet (yes, that’s a warning), Fluff (yes, it’s true, you read that correctly lol)

Music: It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas by Jason Manns (Y/N at the airport scene), Let It Snow by Bing Crosby (playing in the background of Y/N and her sister girl talk scene), Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas by Jensen Ackles and Jason Manns (Christmas Eve scenes)

Life’s Lessons Spotify Playlist 

A/N: It’s a Christmas chapter! Yay! Great timing as it’s the first day of the holiday season! Thank you to everyone who has been reading and loving this series. I never thought it would get as much love as it has, and I’m so grateful to every single one of you! There’s only 5 parts and an epilogue left after this, I can’t believe we’re almost at the end, but there’s still quite a bit of story to tell. I’m so excited for you guys to see what happens! Happy reading and enjoy! :)

Life’s Lessons Masterlist

Dividers by the wonderful @firefly-graphics! Check her out for all your AU needs, and for festive themes!!!

Y/N smiled as she watched the kids rushing out the front doors of the school. It was officially the end of the day and the start of the holidays. She pulled her coat a little tighter around herself, as she called out to some students to be careful on the sidewalk, as it had snowed overnight. It was December 22nd, and school had let out early. In a few short hours, she was flying out to New York to spend the holidays with her family. She was nervous about the weather and was praying that her flight wouldn’t be grounded. She was also nervous to be headed home but considering Ethan had made the permanent move to L.A. she doubted he would be there.

She went back into the school and quickly packed up her things. She said goodbye to all the teachers and to Chuck and walked out with Cas and Charlie.

“Alright, here” Charlie said, as she handed her a small present in the parking lot.

“Oh Charlie, thank you” Y/N smiled, as she took it and handed one over to her as well. Y/N opened the gift, smiling as she saw the earrings she wanted during a time when she and Charlie had gone shopping, but didn’t buy.

Charlie hugged her after opening hers, a beautiful scarf that had her favorite colors.

Cas and Y/N exchanged gifts too, a new tie, white with little books on it for him because “blue may be your color, but you can branch out” and a leather-bound journal for her.

“Merry Christmas” all three of them hugged and called out to each other before they drove home.

Y/N hurried to get home as she still had a few more things to pack before she left in the evening. She had messaged Mark a few days after the incident with him, telling him that it was really over and to never call her, ever again. So far, it seemed like he had gotten the message, having not tried to contact her at all in the last few weeks. She was incredibly thankful for that. She was also thankful that in that time, she and Dean had been hanging out a lot, too. It was all very innocent and simple, just watching movies and making dinner together, or ordering take-out if they didn’t feel like cooking, after they both finished work. After that first night when they slept in her bed, they hadn’t done more than that. She was beginning to wonder when Dean would ask her out, and whether she should just ask him. Though she knew that maybe they just needed a little more time.

When she got home, she unzipped her boots and walked around in socked feet. She picked her suitcase which was half packed already and put it on the bed. She started putting some clothes and shoes and other items that she would need, including a few last-minute presents for her nieces.

Once she was finally finished packing, Y/N got changed into the clothes she’d be wearing to travel. A loose, grey, high-neck sweater and dark grey scarf, black pants and her grey coat, and white sneakers to make it easier on her feet in the airport. She had her carry-on and check-in bags ready by the door, needing both for this trip as she had to carry so many presents with her. She couldn’t wait to see her family after so many months away from them.

Dean shrugged on a thicker plaid shirt, wrapped a scarf around his neck and then his brown leather jacket. He picked up the rectangle shaped present he had wrapped horribly (he had never been good at that) and opened the front door, leaving the house and closing it.

He walked down the porch steps and across the path in his front yard, where he had cleared the snow off to the sides. He walked across the street and down the path of Y/N’s yard, which he had cleared for her, walking up her porch steps. He stood in front of the door and let out a big breath, pushing the doorbell. He had her present in his hand and he wanted to give it to her at that very moment. He had enlisted Dorothy’s help in finding it for Y/N, after an idea popped into his head and he couldn’t get rid of it. Considering Dorothy had connections, she had managed to get him a decent price on it; it was expensive but at least it didn’t cost him an absolute fortune once she haggled the price down.

The door opened, and Y/N was shocked to see Dean standing there. She stood at the threshold and admired how adorable he looked all rugged up to protect himself from the cold.

“Hi” she smiled, softly.

“Hi” he smirked, walking in when she stepped aside. “You leaving soon?”

“Yeah, my cab should be here any minute” she said, shutting the door.

Dean nodded, as he handed the present over to her. “Here.”

“Oh, Dean” she smiled at him, as she took it from him. “I was going to leave yours at your door, but-” she stopped herself as she tucked the present under her arm, gesturing for him to wait and walked into her office.

Dean watched as she came back, carrying a large, thin, rectangular shape wrapped up in silver wrapping and a giant red ribbon, tied into a bow.

“This is for you” she smiled, handing it over to him. “But you can’t open it until midnight, after Christmas Eve is over.”

“Okay. Wow. Thanks” he said, looking over it and wondering what the hell it was. “You can’t open yours till then, either.”

“New York’s an hour ahead” she laughed.

“Doesn’t matter. We both open them on our midnight. Deal?” he asked, smirking.

“Deal” she nodded, with a smile.

“So… New York. I’m glad you’ll get to see your folks for the holidays” he said, his smirk fading away knowing that she’d be so far away. He was happy for her, though. She deserved to see her family after so many months away.

“I can’t wait” she beamed. “Just to see them all, hug and cuddle my little nieces, soak up the holiday spirit.”

“That’s great.” He smirked. Seeing her love for her family made him positive that his own would love her, and she would love them.

He looked down at the present in her hand and smirked. He really hoped that it would let her know what he felt for her. Y/N looked at the present she got him and hoped that he’d like it. It was something for his new building where he was going to have the restoration garage. It would look amazing in his office, there.

A car horn honking pulled them out of their thoughts, and Y/N glanced down at her watch. She looked up at him smiling brightly.

“Merry Christmas, Dean” she said.

“Merry Christmas, Y/N” he smirked.

She moved in and wrapped her arms around his neck. His automatically came around her waist, pulling her into the hug. They held each other for a moment, basking in each other’s touch, their eyes closed. They jumped apart as the car horn sounded again.

Y/N laughed as she gathered her things. “I’ll see you when I get back.”

“Yeah” he agreed. “Here, let me help.”

Dean placed his huge present outside on the porch as Y/N walked out and closed the door to her house, locking it securely. Dean walked down the porch steps, with her check-in suitcase, putting it in the trunk of the cab. Y/N walked down and opened the door to the backseat, as Dean took her carry-on and put that in the trunk as well.  She waited for a moment, as Dean walked over to her after closing the trunk. She really wished she could stay back and spend time with him, but she had to see her family. She was really looking forward to it, but she couldn’t help but feel sad that she wouldn’t be with Dean.

He looked down at her, looking as beautiful as the day he first saw her. He hated that he wouldn’t get to see her over Christmas and New Years’, wishing that she could stay back, and they could spend the holidays together. He wished he could see the look on her face when she opened the present from him, but he would have to settle for hearing whether she liked it or not. He was really going to miss her. Kiss her! He thought to himself as he continued to look at her. Before he could think twice, he leaned in, pressing his lips against hers, softly.

It didn’t take long for it to deepen, as Y/N wrapped her arms around his neck. She smiled into the kiss, as he pulled her closer, their lips moving against each other’s. They were finally in each other’s arms again. There was so much behind the kiss; a promise of more to come, a promise of their future together, a promise of things being better for both of them. Y/N was the one to pull away, regretfully, but she had a plane to catch. “I really have to go” she said, frowning as she looked up at him. “But um… it’s about time you did that” she said, biting her lip.

Dean groaned when he saw her do that. “Don’t, sweetheart, or I won’t let you get on that plane.”

She laughed as she stopped. “Bye.” She leaned in and pecked his lips.

“Bye” he said, returning her smile.

With one last glance at him, she got into the cab. Dean watched it drive away with a smile on his face. He suddenly couldn’t wait to see her again.

Y/N eyes scanned over the crowds at the airport, trying to spot her dad. She had shoved her way through baggage claim and picked up her check-in and was now trying to find her father through the throngs of people embracing each other, excited to get their holiday celebrations underway. By the time they had a quick lay-over in Atlanta and flew into New York, it was 8.30pm, which was the scheduled time, and she was incredibly thankful to whatever higher power there was that got her there. It was still a 2-hour drive to Rhinebeck, and her family would most likely be sleeping by the time she got home, but at least she’d see them properly in the morning.

As the crowd around her cleared, she spotted her father and beamed as he saw her too, waving frantically. She rushed over to him and launched herself into his arms, hugging him tightly. She felt tears prick her eyes as she laughed, happy to finally see him again.

“Oh sweetie, let me look at you” he said, pulling away from the hug and holding her at arms’ length. “You look different.” He eyed her, his brows knitted together.

“I’m still the same me, dad” she shrugged, laughing slightly.

“It’s so good to see you” he smiled, his eyes glistening. “Come on, let’s go.”

As they walked out of the airport, a bearded man with glasses was jamming “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” on his guitar. His case was open in front of him, and Y/N quickly walked over, dropping a 20-dollar bill in.

“Thanks” he smiled. “Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas!” she called back and then hurried over to her dad, who was wheeling her bags to the parking lot. She smiled as she walked beside him; Christmas was her favorite holiday, and it was already off to a great start.

The drive back home was filled with Y/N catching up on everything she had missed. Her dad told her that her mom was going crazy with excitement of her being there soon and was making sure everything was perfect. Y/N laughed; her mom didn’t need to do anything extra to make things special considering it always would be no matter what, but she wouldn’t be her mom if she didn’t.

When they arrived home, Y/N gasped as she saw the house decorated so beautifully. The lights and decorations on the house were as stunning as always, and she was glad she got to see them again. As they went in, Y/N laughed quietly to herself as saw her mother, fast asleep on one couch, and her brother-in-law asleep on the other. Her sister and the kids were most likely asleep upstairs.

“I’ll get them up, you go upstairs” her dad whispered. “Brian can carry that up.” He gestured to her large suitcase.

“Thanks, dad” she whispered, as she quietly walked up the stairs with her carry-on.

She walked to her old bedroom and flicked on the light. She laughed slightly as she saw it still hadn’t changed at all since before she left for college. All her Backstreet Boys and NSYNC posters were still up on one wall, her Led Zeppelin ones still up on the other. She really had an eclectic taste in music. She heard a soft knock on the door and turned, seeing her brother-in-law, Brian, walk in with her suitcase. She smiled as she walked over, hugging him tightly.

“Jill’s gonna freak in the morning. I tried waking her up but Evie’s practically sleeping on top of her” Brian said, laughing slightly.

“I’ll catch them in the morning” she said, folding her arms across her chest.

Brian nodded, smiling at her. “It’s good to have you home. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight” she said, watching him leave and shut the door behind him.

Y/N quickly got changed for bed and slipped under the covers. As she drifted off, she couldn’t wait to see everyone else in the morning.

It was great to be home.

“Auntie Y/N!” a little voice yelled as it barrelled through Y/N’s room and bounced up on the bed.

Y/N gasped and flinched as a little body flung itself over her. She relaxed when she realized where she was, and held her 5-year-old niece, Evie tighter.

“I’m so happy you’re here” she smiled down at Y/N.

“So am I, sweetie” Y/N smiled, rocking her side to side as she didn’t let go.

Y/N looked up at the door when she saw her sister standing against the doorframe, holding her 8-month-old niece, Mia on her hip.

“This one wants to say hi, too” Jill said, smiling.

Y/N got up from bed, Evie stuck to her leg as she walked over to her sister. She hugged her tight, feeling a few tears escape down her face.

“I missed you, so much” Y/N said, holding Jill tighter.

“I missed you too” Jill said, pulling away and smiling at her.

Y/N smiled as she saw the baby. She was so big now, having only been 4 months when she left for Lawrence. She reached for her, but little Mia scrunched her face up, squirming into her mother.

“This one needs to be fed, so you get cleaned up and come downstairs. Mom’s making breakfast” Jill said, kissing Y/N’s cheek and taking the girls out of the room.

Y/N quickly brushed her teeth and threw her robe on over her pyjamas. She raced down the stairs and into the kitchen, smiling when she saw her mom’s back as she stood at the stove.

“Mom” Y/N said, as she walked over.

Her mom turned around and nearly started crying on the spot. She rushed over and took Y/N in her arms, hugging her tight.

“Oh, I’m so glad you’re here” her mom said to her as she pulled away, wiping her eyes.

“Me too” Y/N smiled.

“Alright, the pancakes are almost done. So, sit down and help yourself, and everyone else will down soon” her mom said, gesturing to the table that was already set.

“Can’t I help with something?” Y/N asked, frowning.

“No, you just got here, honey. Relax, we’ll put you to work tomorrow” her mom laughed, as she playfully shoved her towards the dining table.

Y/N laughed and shook her head as she walked over, licking her lips at the sight of the delicious breakfast.

After a great breakfast with her family, Y/N helped Evie decorate another gingerbread house, because the two she did with grandma yesterday weren’t enough. Jill sat with Mia on her lap, across from Y/N at the dining table, as Let It Snow played in the background through the house. Brian had gone back to their house to get some more bottles for the baby, and her parents had rushed out to deliver some homemade Christmas cake to their friends. So, Y/N was glad she and her sister were alone for a while, to have some proper girl talk.

“So…” Jill trailed off, as she distracted the baby with her toy, and tried to ice a piece of the gingerbread house with one hand. “How are things with Mark?”

Y/N smiled, sheepishly, feeling guilty she hadn’t told her sister yet. “Things are… over.”

“What?” Jill asked, wide eyes looking up at her.

Y/N shrugged, as she iced one part of the roof for the gingerbread house. “Things got a little… complicated.”

“Well, considering I only know whatever you told me up to the third date, I need the specifics” Jill said, shifting Mia when she started to fuss.

“I know, I’m sorry I haven’t talked to you in a while” Y/N frowned, looking up at her sister.

“It’s okay, Y/N. Don’t apologize. I mean, we’ve both been busy” Jill laughed slightly, gesturing her head between her two daughters.

Y/N looked at Evie sitting next to her and smiled, seeing her niece in full concentration as she decorated, her tongue sticking out.

“This one has to leave, though” Y/N said, looking at Evie and then Jill.

Jill nodded in understanding. “Evie, honey. Can you stop what you’re doing for a second?”

“What is it, mommy?” Evie asked, her big eyes looking at her mom.

“Can you make sure all the presents are kept neatly under the tree?” Jill asked her in return.

“Okay” she replied, simply, not understanding why she had to go but doing it anyway.

Once she was out of earshot, Jill turned to Y/N. “Okay. Spill.”

Y/N took the next few moments to tell Jill everything that had happened with Mark.

“Fuck” Jill remarked, not knowing what to say.

“Yeah” Y/N nodded.

A short pause fell between them as Jill thought about everything her sister just told her.

“Why didn’t you say anything sooner?” Jill asked, her eyes teary.

“I didn’t want you guys to worry about me” Y/N replied, shaking her head. “And don’t tell mom and dad, they’d freak out. I’ll tell them myself at a later stage.”

Jill sighed, but nodded. “Okay.”

“Thank you” Y/N smiled, softly. She bit her lip, wondering if she should tell her sister about Dean too. Maybe it was too soon?

Jill tapped her fingers on the table as she watched her sister, her face looking like her brain was overloaded with thoughts.

“There’s something else” Jill said, knowingly. “Isn’t there?”

Y/N looked at her sister, tentatively. She wasn’t sure if she should say it or not.

Jill cocked her head to the side, a smile gracing her face as she understood. “Who is he?”

Y/N scoffed, impressed with her sister’s intuition.

She spent another couple of minutes telling Jill everything about Dean. She felt a smile tug at her lips as she talked about him. After everything she had been through in the past, and then with Mark, she thought for minute back there she’d never be able to think of dating someone again, but things were different with Dean.

“So… when you get back, what’s going to happen?” Jill asked, curious about what she was thinking of doing.

“I… don’t know, but… I know that he’s it now” Y/N replied, her smile growing.

Jill smiled. “I gotta say, I’ve never seen you like this. Yeah sure, you’ve been with a few guys, but this is different.”

“It feels different this time” Y/N nodded. “I don’t want to get my hopes up, but… it feels like this is it. And I know he’s some years older than me, but that doesn’t matter to me.”

Truth be told, men who were slightly older than her were a turn on for her. Plus, she had only ever been with guys her own age. Maybe it was time for a change.

In that moment, Y/N’s baby niece started to fuss in Jill’s lap.

“Oh, honey. You can’t be hungry, I just fed you” Jill said, frowning as she didn’t know what was wrong.

Y/N got up and walked over to their side of the table. She slowly picked up the baby and held her close, lightly bouncing her. Little Mia smiled and Jill smiled, too.

“She just needs a little lovin’ from her aunt” Y/N smiled, kissing her niece’s chubby cheek.

Jill admired her sister with the baby. “You look good like that.”

“Stop” Y/N laughed, shaking her head. She didn’t need those thoughts in her head at that moment. She had always loved children, and couldn’t wait to have her own, but she wondered if Dean was the one who she would have them with. Did he even want any?

The doorbell rang and interrupted them. Y/N gave little Mia back to Jill and walked to the front door. She screamed when she opened it and saw Katie smiling at her. The friends hugged tightly, laughing.

“I’m so glad you’re here!” Katie said, swaying them side to side.

“Me too” Y/N tearfully told her, letting go of her and letting her into the house. “You just missed girl talk, though.”

“Well, catch me up. I’m all ears” Katie said, walking into the house, taking off her coat.

Y/N laughed as she followed behind her, ready to divulge everything she told Jill to her best friend as well.

The next day brought a whirlwind of familial chaos, as Y/N’s family got everything ready for Christmas Eve dinner. Christmas carols were playing in the background, as her mom worked on the ham, her dad helped with all the sides and her sister was in charge of decorating the rest of the house, the table and setting it. Brian was keeping the kids entertained and Y/N was making pudding and few other treats for dessert.

It took all day, but they finally got everything ready and in time for dinner. As everyone got dressed and ready, Y/N took some time to admire the house. The lights were dimmed, the candles were lit, and everything was bathed in a beautiful glow. The lights on the tree were shining, and the fireplace crackled, adding to the ambience of the room. She was so glad to be here with her family and to spend this time with them.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,

Let your heart be light

From now on,

Our troubles will be out of sight

She quickly had a shower, and then got ready for dinner in a red, A-line dress, with sleeves that came to her mid-forearm. She pinned her Y/H/C hair into a bun, a few strands framing her face. She put on her nude heels and then went downstairs to join her family.

Dinner was absolutely divine, and her mom had outdone herself, yet again. Everything from the ham to the pudding for dessert was perfect, and everyone was absolutely stuffed by the end. They all relaxed on the couch and sang some carols, drank eggnog and enjoyed the fact that they were all together again. For the first time in a long time, Y/N had no fear about Ethan or Mark, or any of the other troubles she had had in the past. All she needed was her family and hoped that the man who she had fallen in love from the minute she saw him, would also be a permanent figure in her life.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,

Make the Yule-tide gay,

From now on,

Our troubles will be miles away

It was pretty much the same vibe over at the Winchesters.

Mary had assigned jobs for everyone, stating to the boys that they weren’t getting out of it just because they didn’t live at home anymore. She made Eileen and Sam come early as well as Dean, so that they could all do their assigned jobs.

Once everything was ready before dinner, everyone put on their ugly Christmas sweaters, a Winchester tradition that was something silly but fun. Bobby, Ellen and Jo arrived, and they all greeted each other. They sat around talking and laughing as they ate, and afterwards sat around on the couches, listening to carols while drinking eggnog. No one trusted Sam with it anymore, so it was Eileen’s job to mix it since she joined their family. Dean smiled as he looked around at his family, content for the first time in years.

Here we are as in olden days,

Happy golden days of yore

Loving friends who are dear to us,

Gather near to us once more

However, Dean was the first one to notice when Eileen wasn’t drinking any. He gestured to her and then signed “are you okay?”, which was just one of the things of what little he knew, but he was trying to get better at it. She nodded and then smiled at Sam. They had a small conversation between themselves, before Sam turned to everyone with a huge smile on his face.

“Well, now’s as good a time as any to tell you… we’re having a baby” he said, beaming. “Eileen’s 16 weeks in.”

Dean’s eyes widened but his smile grew as he got up, and hugged his brother first, Mary and Eileen hugging as Mary cried. Everyone hugged the expecting parents, before they all sat back down.

“Congratulations, guys” Dean said, as he returned to one side of the couch. “That’s awesome, seriously.”

Sam smiled as he kissed Eileen’s cheek. “Thanks, Dean.”

“Oh, I can’t wait for my first grandchild!” Mary exclaimed, as John kissed her head.

Dean’s mind wandered off as Eileen and Sam were talking about moving into a bigger place. Mary was listening intently, but Dean couldn’t focus on the conversation. He couldn’t have been happier for his little brother and sister-in-law. They were going to make great parents; he knew that to be the absolute truth. However, he couldn’t help but feel an unexpected sadness wash over him. He never thought of himself as the “having kids” type of guy, hell, he never pictured himself in a serious relationship. That was when he was younger though. As he got older, he realized he wanted those things, and even though he was happy for Sam, he felt a little jealous sometimes that his little brother would have all of that before he did.

The last year of his life had been a waste, as he tried to salvage a relationship with Lisa. He couldn’t help but think where he would be if he had broken up with her a year ago. Mostly likely with Y/N as soon as she got to Lawrence he thought as he tried to concentrate on the conversation his family was having. It was no use though, as his mind continued torment him with the possibilities that could’ve been, if he had just claimed his freedom sooner.

Dean silently excused himself and walked out to the back porch of his childhood home. He let out a long breath, seeing it cloud up in the cold. He sipped the eggnog, feeling the kick of the alcohol warm him up. He smiled sadly as he thought about Y/N, so far away from him, in New York with her own family. He wondered what she wanted from life and whether their wants would align, whether having a family was something she wanted or not. He really hoped so.

“Merry freakin’ Christmas” he mumbled to himself. He never had a problem with being alone, but as he got older it had started to become a fear for him. Maybe that was why it took so long to see the whole truth with Lisa.

“Sure is” he heard someone say behind him. He turned and saw his mom standing behind him.

“I’ll be back in soon, mom” he said, turning away from her.

“Actually” she started as she stood next to him and faced him. “I was thinking we could talk.”

“About?” he asked, staring down at his eggnog.

Mary was quiet for a moment before she spoke. “Who is she?”

Dean scoffed as he closed his eyes. Of course his mom had figured it out.

He opened his eyes and looked at her, his jaw clenched. “She’s… she’s the best person I’ve ever known and… I have no idea if I should do anything about this because honestly, she deserves more than me.”

“Isn’t that up to her?” Mary asked, knowingly. “If you’re spending so much time with her, and I know you have because I’ve hardly seen you over the last few weeks, then doesn’t that mean that she wants to give you a chance?”

Dean blinked a few times as he took in what Mary just said. “I guess.”

“Then all you have to is take the leap” Mary smiled.

Dean nodded slowly, scrubbing a hand down his face. “Yeah.”

Mary nodded. “Just know, you have to bring her here because we need to meet her.”

Dean groaned and laughed, shaking his head. “Great.”

Mary smiled, leaning over to kiss his cold cheek. “Come inside soon, it’s way too cold.”

“I will” he promised as he watched her go back in.

Dean smirked as he thought about how Y/N would actually fit in with his family. He knew he needed to muster up the courage and just ask her out. Let go of the fear that had developed because of everything that had happened with Lisa. Maybe it was too soon after, but the truth was, he didn’t want more time. He was ready to be happy.

Through the years

We all be together,

If the Fates allow

Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.

At midnight, Y/N and her family all wished each other a Merry Christmas, before they cleared everything up and each of them headed to bed. They would be up in several hours again, to open the presents anyway. As she went upstairs, there was one thing she needed to do before she headed to bed. Walking into her room, she shut the door and walked over to her carry-on bag. She opened it and found the present from Dean. She moved the bag back to the floor and then sat down on her bed, the present in her hand.

She laughed a little as she saw the envelope on it had her name but also “READ AFTER OPENING” in Dean’s all caps writing. She opened the wrapping, frowning when the thing was wrapped in brown paper as well. She unwrapped the brown paper, noticing that it was a very old but beautiful, hardcover book. She frowned again, but as she turned the book around and saw the spine, she gasped loudly.

In her hand, was an early edition of her favorite novel of all time, Jane Eyre. Y/N’s eyes widened as they started to well up with tears. She remembered telling him it was her favorite at dinner with him. It was yet another thing he remembered about her, the Led Zeppelin album being the first. She felt the tears rolling down her face as she opened the book, slowly flicking through it. She closed it and hugged it to her chest. She couldn’t believe he had done this for her.

She put the book in her lap and picked up the envelope, opening it and sliding the card out. Opening the card, she smiled through tears as she read his words.

Merry Christmas, sweetheart.

I hate that you’re not here with me, but I can’t wait until you’re back. There’s a lot that I wanna say, but I’ve never been good with words. So, I’m just gonna do my best.

I’ve never been surer of anything, than I am that you’re the greatest person that I’ll ever know. You’re beautiful, smart, strong as all hell, and have the kindest heart of anyone I know. I know how freaking lucky I am that you’re in my life.

I hope this present lets you know how much you mean to me. How much you’ll always mean to me.

Y/N, this is it for me. You’re it for me. I need you to know that.

Have an amazing time with your family and I’ll see you as soon as you get back.

Dean

She laughed through her tears, shaking her head. She had never been surer of anything either; that he was the greatest man she had ever known. That she was so madly in love with him, and she couldn’t wait to tell him that someday.

And have yourself a merry little Christmas

When it reached midnight in Kansas, Dean said a quick “Merry Christmas” to everyone, but everyone kept wondering why he was heading off so quickly.

“You know, you can just stay the night to open presents in the morning” Mary told him as she handed out warm cider to everybody.

“No, there’s uh… something I gotta do” Dean said, putting his jacket on.

“Something or… someone?” Jo asked, smiling suspiciously.

“Shut up, Jo” he groaned, glaring at her.

Jo laughed as she and Sam looked at each other.

“Seriously, what’s the rush, kid?” Bobby asked, curiously.

“Can a man not have a little time to himself anymore? Jeez” Dean grumbled, shaking his head.

“Alright, everyone leave him alone” Mary said, calming everyone down. “He’ll be back soon anyway.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek, patting his shoulder.

He would be back in several hours anyway to open presents with everyone, but at that moment he had to see what was awaiting him.

When he got home, he walked over to the big present from Y/N, resting against a wall in his living room. He chuckled as he looked over the size of it, wondering what the hell she had gotten him. He opened the large bow, letting it fall away. He dug his finger into the edge of the wrapping and ripped it open, at every side to see the present more clearly.

“Holy shit” he gasped as his mouth open in awe.

The present was a large black frame, with a black and white photo of his beloved Baby, shining away in the sun. It looked like his backyard in the background of it, and he had to wonder how she took this photo. On the corner of the frame was an envelope with his name written on it. He took it and opened it, smirking as he saw her handwriting.

Merry Christmas, Dean!

I took this photo for you to hang in your new office at the restoration site. There’s nothing better to convince the customers to bring their cars to you than a picture of Baby.

I’m so proud of you for everything you’re working towards. It’s going to bring so many amazing things your way; don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

I hope that the new year brings you everything you wish for, because if there’s anyone who deserves it, it’s you. You’ve been an amazing support to me, and I’ll never forget everything you’ve done for me. Ever.

I can’t wait to see you when I get back and just be near you again.

Y/N xx

He smirked as he read over the note a few times. She really was something else. He couldn’t believe that someone like her would want someone like him, but he knew how lucky he was that she was in his life.

And have yourself a merry little Christmas

He looked at the clock and saw that it was ten past midnight, which meant it was ten past 1am in New York. Y/N was probably asleep, but he really wanted to speak to her. He sent her a quick text, asking if she was awake. When he got a reply instantly that she was, he dialled her number. In New York, Y/N sat up instantly when her phone rang and picked it up.

“Hi” she said, smiling. “Dean, I… I don’t even know what to say.”

“Did I make the English teacher speechless?” he teased with a smirk on his face.

“Yes” she admitted. “Dean, it’s… thank you. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”

Dean smiled. “Well, it’s like I’ve said before, sweetheart. You don’t ever have to thank me.”

“Did you… did you mean it? What you said?” she asked. She already knew it was the truth, but she just needed to hear it. She just needed to know for certain.

“Yes” he replied. There was no pause. No hesitation.

Y/N felt tears welling up in her eyes all over again. “You’re… you’re it for me, too.”

Dean smiled, feeling like his heart would burst from her confession that she felt the same.

“Thanks for the photo. It’s so freaking awesome, Y/N” he smirked as he looked over at it.

“You’re welcome” she said, smiling. “But Dean, now our presents are totally uneven. This would’ve been so expensive-” she said as she picked the book, but Dean cut her off.

“Hey, no. It’s not about that, okay? I knew… I knew that I wanted you to have it. Plus, with Dorothy’s help it wasn’t too expensive, so we’re good” he reassured her.

“Okay” she said, nodding.

Dean looked up at the time and knew he should end the call. “I should let you go. Merry Christmas, Y/N.”

“Merry Christmas, Dean” she smiled as they both hung up the phone.

That morning, as they fell asleep for a few more hours before they had to wake up again, even with miles and miles between them, they fell asleep with dreams of each other. They fell into a peaceful slumber, knowing this was the start of something magical for both of them.

And have yourself a merry little Christmas now

-x-

Tags: @flamencodiva @deanwanddamons @winchest09 @katehuntington @akshi8278 @hobby27 @michellethetvaddict @spngirl05 @kyjey @halesandy @440mxs-wife @stoneyggirl @deanswaywardgirl @wonder-cole @that-one-gay-girl @redbarn1995 @marianita195 @babypink224221 @deans-baby-momma​ @parinarain​ @thoughts-and-funnies​ @mandalou29​ @castiels-a-winchester @ellewritesfix05​ @jerkbitchidjitassbutt​ @supraveng​ @roonyxx​ @supernatural-love14​ @vicmc624​ @prettyboyswow​ @lunarmoon8​

#Life's Lessons #Dean x Female!Reader #Dean x Female!Reader Series #Dean x Female!Reader Fanfiction #Female!Reader Insert #Mechanic!Dean #Teacher!Reader #Dean x Reader Fanfiction #Dean Winchester Series #Dean Winchester Fanfiction #Dean Winchester Fanfic #Supernatural Fanfiction

[flamehairedwritings]

Happiest Season Of All

Characters: Chief Jim Hopper x Female Reader

Rating: M, 18+ ONLY

A/N: Happy Holidays! Phew, it’s been a while. Here is a kind of drabble, and also kind of a sequel to Pain In My Heart? Set the year before S1, there’s no mentions of family, no use of Y/N, and it’s just a gentle, kind of angsty little story.

This story contains broken hearts, swearing, alcohol and embarrassment.

I hope you enjoy and have a lovely week!

Summary: Broken up with just before Christmas? Fantastic. The only thing that can help is returning to your home town, old friends... and an old love.

Masterlist

Please don’t copy, steal or repost my work; credit does not count.

—

23rd December 1982

‘... There'll be parties for hosting, marshmallows for toasting, and carolling out in the snow...’

You quietly hum along absent-mindedly to the cassette someone’s playing from a boombox, gazing out of the window. Usually, you’d have been annoyed but, hey, it’s the holidays.

Besides, you haven’t had much of a chance to get into the festive spirit or mood recently. With the classic Christmas song playing, the train rumbling gently and the twinkling lights in the darkness slowly growing brighter, you’re finally starting to feel it. Inhaling a breath, you lean your temple against the cold glass, your fingers lacing together in your lap as you gaze at the lights.

Hawkins, Indiana. Your hometown.

It’s been a few years since you were here for longer than a weekend but, oh, boy, this year you just need to be here. You’re retreating, you’re not too proud to admit, coming home to lick your wounds and be surrounded by all things familiar, cosy and boring.

You almost laugh. You’d left this place because it was so damn boring and now here you are, craving it. If teenage you could see you now. She’d be giving ‘that’ look which you’re told you still give to this day. 

Ah, well. Time’s a bitch, baby.

The train slows as it pulls into the station and you start to gather your things while a few others around you stand and pull their bags down from the overhead racks. You pull your suitcases down as the train comes to a stop, all three of them, with their different colours and patterns. Pulling on your scarf, coat and rucksack, you haul the suitcases down the aisle as best as you can single-file, muttering under your breath as they catch every few steps against chairs.

The wheels clatter onto the concrete of the cold platform when you step down, one suitcase twisting onto its front and tangling with the others as it nearly falls from your hand. Muttering under your breath again, you right it and continue walking down the platform, two small groups of people reuniting having to part for you. Making eye contact with a grateful smile, you’re relieved you don’t recognise any of them; you’re really not in the mood for your own reunion right now.

“There she is!”

Well, just the one.

A smile spreads across your face as Karen Wheeler trots down the platform in her heeled boots, grinning and her arms open wide. The suitcases drop from your hands as you throw your arms around one another, rocking from side to side slightly.

“Oooh, hello, sweetheart,” Karen murmurs, pressing a big, wet kiss to your cheek.

“Hey, Karrie.”

Your smile lingers, and it’s the first genuine one you’ve had in a while. Karen has worn the same perfume since high school and it puts you at ease instantly. God, you just love her. You talk on the phone every other week and have done since you moved out of Hawkins; she’s been the most consistent friend in your life and you love her with all your damn heart.

“C’mon, give me those, let’s get out of here, it’s freezing...” Pulling back, she takes two of the suitcases from you before you can protest and starts striding down the platform.

You have to do a quick little jog to catch up with her, marvelling, not for the first or even fortieth time, how she can go so quickly in those heels. It’s a short walk to the exit, made shorter by Karen’s pace, and she’s parked right outside. Wonderful. Opening the trunk, you both bundle your suitcases in, tossing your rucksack on top of it, and then do a speedy little walk to the doors, yanking them open.

“Oof, coldest winter we’ve had in years,” Karen shivers dramatically in her seat as she rubs her gloved hands together before buckling her seatbelt.

Buckling your own as she eases out onto the road, you blow out a breath. “Yeah, definitely feels that way.”

“So, how was the journey?”

“Oh, the usual, long but fine. It was a lot emptier than I expected.”

“Well, we keep hearing there’s gonna be a blizzard, so some folks have come home a little earlier.”

“Well, that’s smart.”

“Yeah. Means I keep bumping into people at the store that I wish I could avoid, though, and on the street.” She snorts as she glances at you. “Ugh, I bumped into Peggy Dawnes the other day, remember her? She would not stop talking about her perfect life on her perfect farm with her perfect husband and her perfect kids and her perfect lawn. Well, there were ten bottles of wine in her cart and I know for a fact her mother doesn’t drink and her perfect husband only likes neat whisky, so, there.”

“Oh.”

You cringe internally at your short reply, but you really can’t think of what else to say. Karen glances at you again, pausing. You look over at her and find the sympathy you’ve only been able to hear during the last few weeks. She reaches over and pats your knee gently before returning her hand to the wheel.

“Oh, sweetheart... How are you doing?”

You release a breath, raising your eyebrows slightly. “Better for being here, already. But, y’know...”

She gives you a sympathetic smile as she pats your knee again. “Don’t worry, toots, like I said you can stay as long as you want, it’s no trouble at all.”

You return her smile, relieved that you find you don’t have to force it. “Thank you.”

“No worries.” Her smile widens as she tilts her head. "The kids are looking forward to having you with us, you know how much they love you. It’ll do us all some good.”

You don’t ask about Ted because you know not to.

“I can’t wait to see them, too. How have they been?”

You gaze out of the windshield as she tells you how Nancy and Mike are doing at school and how many words Holly can say now, your eyes flitting from house to house. Decorations are out in full force, as they should be, they’ve probably been up since the 1st of the month, and it makes you smile to see them, remembering how you and Karen would go from house to house when you were younger and rate them out of 10 candy canes.

Ah, the simple life.

She’s still chatting about Mike and his friends when she turns down onto their long drive. It’s lined with various Christmas lawn ornaments, most lit up. Lights line the inside of some of the many windows of the house, too, making it look gorgeous and cosy and warm. A curtain is yanked back suddenly and Mike’s face appears, grinning. He waves frantically and you smile instantly, waving back with your eyebrows raised.

My favourite, funny little kid.

He’s already at the wide open door when Karen parks, still grinning. Unbuckling your seatbelt, you open the door and step out only to have him nearly slam into you before you can straighten, hugging you tightly.

“You’re here!”

You laugh, wrapping your arms around him just as fiercely. “Hey, buddy. You okay?”

“Yeah. C’mon, I wanna show you this book I got...” He’s already out of your arms and waving you towards the door, which Karen is muttering about the heat being let out of.

Chuckling to yourself, you help her with your suitcases and rucksack, feeling vastly different to how you did ten minutes ago; they never fail to raise your spirits. Nancy greets you as you enter, smiling widely and also ready for a hug. You give it gladly and just as fiercely as you had with Mike, asking her how she is. She shrugs and just says “Fine,” with a smile as you remove your shoes and coat, and you marvel at how she’d once been as talkative as Mike when she was younger. You hear the boy himself calling from the basement, telling you he can’t currently find the book but it’s around here someone and you’re gonna love it! You follow Karen up the stairs to the guest room with a wide smile, calling back your thanks to him.

Passing walls lined with family photographs, it’s a short walk down the hall to the room you’ll be staying in for... well, who knows. Karen opens the door with a trilled, “Ta-da!” and you laugh as you take in the sight before you. It’s completely decked out in Christmas decorations; tinsel on every bit of furniture, snow-globes on the window sill, a polar bear stuffed toy on the bed, fairy-lights around the headboard. You’d roll your eyes at the excessiveness of it if it wasn’t so damn sweet.

“Wow, it’s like Santa’s Grotto in here...”

“Eh, close enough, I wanted fake snow on the ground but Ted vetoed that idea pretty quick.”

You snort, hauling the suitcase you’re carrying onto the bench at the end of the bed and dropping your rucksack onto it before sitting on the bed, your fingers running over the blanket Karen’s mother had crocheted. Nancy lingers in the doorway, and after leaning your other suitcases against a chest of drawers, Karen turns to her, making a shooing gesture.

“All right, go on, Nance, us hot young things need to get ready.”

“Ugh, Mom...” Nancy just about manages to stop herself from rolling her eyes as she turns away and heads back down the hall while you stare at Karen.

“Uh... Ready for what? Bed?”

“No,” Karen laughs, and you suddenly notice she’s going through your suitcase on the bench, rifling through and pulling various items out. “We’re going out, to the bar.”

“The bar?”

“Yes, the bar.”

You’re still staring at her. “Where everyone we know goes?”

Karen shrugs, looking at you like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “Yeah, ‘cause it’s still the only good bar in Hawkins.”

“I thought you wanted to avoid everyone.”

“Eh, yeah, but... y’know, only good bar in Hawkins. And...” Oh, no, she’s looking sheepish, her head bowing slightly as she glances from you to some of your clothes she’s pulled out. “... Uh, we’re kinda having a party here tomorrow, anyway, so...”

“What?”

Her eyebrows shoot up, her hands raising. “It just kinda happened. It’s been years since we’ve had one and Ted and I were talking about it and then I saw Mary-Lou at Mike’s school and I just happened to mention it and she got so excited and then I got excited and it just, it suddenly happened.”

Your lips press together as you exhale a short breath. “Well, they were fun...”

“Yeah, they were, weren’t they?” Karen sits beside you with a nostalgic sigh, shaking her head. “We had some of the best times of our lives at ‘em.”

“Yeah... I remember the one after you gave birth to Nancy, I thought I was gonna have to take you to the hospital.”

“Ha! Thank God my Mom came over to look after her. What about the one where you set fire to the tree?”

“Oh, please don’t remind me, and that wasn’t actually my fault, you know,”

“Ha, yeah, sure, that was great...”

You both sigh together, a smile finding its way onto your lips at all the memories that come flooding back. They had been fun. You hadn’t been able to attend every one over the years but the ones you had had been so great they’d almost made you want to stay in Hawkins. Maybe... Maybe a return to a beloved tradition is exactly what you need.

Turning your head to her, you arch an eyebrow. “You didn’t think to tell me it was happening, though?”

Karen shrugs as she smiles. “I didn’t want you to talk yourself out of enjoying it before it had even happened. Same as tonight.”

“Oh, Karrie...” You huff out a breath. “... You know me too well, it’s so annoying. Ugh, I was so looking forward to just curling up on the couch, drinking and watching some of the classics.”

“I know.” She pats your knee, nudging her shoulder against yours. “And we’re gonna do that the day after Christmas, and every day that you want to while you’re here. But tonight, we’re gonna get fancy and go out and get a little bit drunk. It’s Christmas, c’moooon.”

You just can’t help but smile. “All right. All right! Fine. How long have I got?”

“An hour.”

 “What—”

She’s already on her feet, pointing at you as she heads to the door. “Take a shower while I cook us and the kids something up, and then we’ll get ready. okay?”

You know you have absolutely no choice in the matter. “Okay, fine.”

 “Great!” she beams, reaching for the door handle to close it behind herself. She pauses, though, resting her weight on one foot as she clears her throat. “Oh, and uh... he’s probably gonna be there.”

You don’t have to ask who she’s referring to.

Staring at her, you manage to keep your features expressionless. “Oh. Really?”

“Yeah.” She’s watching you carefully, teeth grazing over her lower lip. “He is nearly every night, apparently, according to Marian.”

Raising your eyebrows slightly, you smile. “Well... maybe he won’t be.”

“Yeah, maybe he won’t be...” She’s still watching you, a gentle smile pulling at her lips. “Shower, toots.”

“Okay, okay...” You wave your hand as she pulls the door closed, hearing her move down the hallway.

The moment you hear her heading down the stairs, you release a long breath, lying back on the bed.

Oh, shit... 

Well.

You stare at the ceiling as the realisation suddenly dawns on you.

I might see Jim Hopper tonight.

James Hopper. Jim. Hopper. Hop. Chief, also now, not that you’ve ever been around to call him that.

You’d been friends since you were kids, best friends actually, at one point closer than you and Karen had been, and then feelings had developed when you'd become teenagers and then you’d taken the leap and had started dating and then...

You’d broken up.

And you’d been the one to initiate it.

And you’d done that because, well... It was because of a lot of little things. Mainly, though, you hadn’t known what route you wanted to take, college or work, you hadn’t even known what you wanted to do, but you knew you wanted to get out of Hawkins. And Hop... hadn’t known what the hell he wanted to do either, but he hadn’t even thought about it. He’d spoken once or twice about joining the military, or just starting a job, too. College hadn’t even crossed his mind. The conversation had come up and, well, it hadn’t ended well. 

In fact, when it ended, that has been the last time you’ve spoken to him. As you’ve returned home over the years you’ve heard he did join the military, fought in Vietnam, came home, married, and lived in New York the same time you had. You’d been heartbroken to hear from Karen that his daughter had died, and he’d divorced and moved back home.

Now, he’s Chief of Hawkins Police and, well, you’d love to avoid seeing him at all costs. There can come a time when, having not seen someone in decades, you can’t even have a casual conversation because all both parties are doing is screaming in their heads.

Well. Like you’d said yourself. He might not be there.

Hey, as Chief of Police this is probably a very busy time of year and he’ll be off doing something.

It’s gonna be fine.

Absolutely fine.

After showering, you throw on some clean, comfy clothes and head downstairs to eat with Karen and the kids.

Holly sits at the table in her highchair, silent as ever, well, being two years old she only knows a handful of words, but she just stares at you as she has done since she was a baby. Mike talks non-stop about school and his friends while Nancy chimes in every now and then to talk about her own friends, saying names of people in her class that you take a moment or two to remember, and to mutter insults at him while he mutters them back.

Karen half-heartedly tells them to stop in between telling you what she might wear, and you somehow manage to keep up with all conversations. Frankly, it’s also quite nice after being surrounded by mostly silence for the last few weeks.

Whipping your plate away from you seconds after you finish, Karen is up and striding to the kitchen, calling over her shoulder.

“C’mon! Let’s get sexy!”

Your lips twitch as Mike and Nancy groan, the only thing they can agree on right now being that their Mom is a complete and utter embarrassment.

She practically shoves you up the stairs, trying to get you to move faster, and from then on the next 30 minutes feels like a whirlwind. She tries on six outfits before settling on her usual favourite, and changes in your room while you rifle through what you’ve brought. Luckily, even though you can’t really remember packing, you’ve brought some of your own favourites, and, after scrambling to find some shoes to go with them, she helps you decide on an old classic.

Gazing at you, her hands on her hips, she beams with delight.

“Well, look at you, huh! Fancy lady!”

You give a twirl as she whoops, and then her arm is looping through yours and she’s practically dragging you towards the door.

“Bye, guys, we’ll be back late!” she calls out, though no one answers, too busy doing their own thing. 

You haven’t seen any sign of Ted and, once again, you know not to ask.

“Late? How late is late?” you ask with an arched eyebrow as she hurries you down the stairs.

“Oh, come on, not that late, we’re not gonna get wasted, we’re not teenagers anymore.”

—

“... God, I hate it...”

The stall door slams against the cubicle wall as you pull it open a little more forcefully than you had intended. Holding it for a moment, you exhale a short breath before moving towards the sinks, only swaying a little. Washing your hands, you glance up at Karen, watching her try to reapply her lipstick as neatly as possible.

“And did you hear Julian is engaged? And Andrea has a new boyfriend? Is it me or is everybody getting into a relationship?”

She snorts, rubbing her lips together. “It’s that time of year, folks hate being lonely at Christmas.”

You scoff, turning the tap off and drying your hands. “Just sleep with people, then, doesn’t mean you have to get into a relationship and hog someone all to yourself.”

She laughs, slipping her lipstick back into her bag before turning to you, a hand on her hip. “Oh, babe... C’mon, let’s find you someone to have meaningless sex with it.”

“Okay.”

The bar has been heaving from the moment you’d arrived. It usually is, but tonight the place is rammed, perhaps because of the time of year, but maybe more because, it turns out, there’s an offer on drinks, it being the holiday season and all, and happy hour has lasted more than one hour. More than two. It’s nearing three now.

Each sip has helped you relax, even as Karen gasps and points out old high school classmates, filling you in on every detail of their lives she’s learned. So far, incredibly gladly, she’s not pointed out a certain Chief.

Returning to your table, which a guy you don’t recognise has been guarding for you, as in literally guarding, he has his hands behind his back and is saying, “Nah, move along, this ain’t free...” to anyone who looks like they’re going to swoop in. At spotting you both, he grins and holds his arms out wide, gesturing at the table.

“All free for you, m’ladies.”

You’re unable to stop a smile because there’s something so weirdly charming about this absolute goofball of a man. He takes a seat beside Karen as you sit, the two of them having been exchanging small talk that verged on flirting. Heck, it was flirting. Sipping from your drink as you watch them, you feel a small, familiar twist in your stomach.

Karen is more like her teenage self when she’s with you, but when you see her with Ted, no longer Teddy as he had been in high school, and the kids, she’s Karen the mom, like she’s caged her personality in and doesn’t quite know how to bring the two parts of herself together. When she’d come to visit you once last year, you’d gone out to a bar and you’d watched her flirt with a couple of the men there. You’d thought it was harmless at first, just a bit of fun for her, she’s a charismatic lady, but then something had changed and, as a guy had held her hand, stroking it, and she hadn’t pulled away, you’d felt a twist in your stomach.

She’s gonna have an affair one day.

The thought had come to you so suddenly and so sharply that you’d shoved it away with all your might, horrified with yourself. No, Karen wouldn’t do that... Would she? Since then, you’d become more and more unsure. You’ve stopped asking about Ted when you talk because she’d just sigh heavily and spend the next ten minutes pointing out every flaw he has, how the romance has gone, how she’s tried and nothing happens. You know she’s unhappy, but you just can’t see her doing it. You hope not, anyway.

Looking away from them, you watch a few people dancing, Christmas music flowing out of the speakers above.

Karen laughs at something the guy says, and in the corner of your eye you see her place a hand on his arm.

“Oh, that’s too funny! You’re really funny... Sorry, what’s your name again?”

The man is unfazed, still grinning. “Callahan. Phil Callahan.”

He says it with such an atrocious Sean Connery accent, making Karen burst out laughing again, and it makes you smile, too.

“Oh, big James Bond fan, huh?” she says, her elbow on the table, chin in her hand.

“Oh, yeah, it’s why I became a cop.”

Your gaze darts to him. “You’re a cop?”

He raises his hands as he laughs. “Yeah, but, hey, you go on and drink as much as you want, I’m off duty now.”

Karen laughs and you make yourself join in, but your heart has started to beat a little faster.

Oh, stop it, he’s not here.

You take a quick sip of your drink again to cover the fact you aren’t laughing anymore, and then Callahan looks up, his grin widening somehow as he waves his hand frantically.

“Hey, boss, over here!”

Boss?

Boss.

The entire room seems to slow down as you turn your head and see a man, who’s stopped for a moment to shake hands with someone, with brown hair and a neatly clipped beard, wearing a brown leather jacket, plaid shirt and jeans, his eyebrows raised—

Oh, God.

Oh, shit.

Oh fucking Lord in the manger.

Callahan is slapping his hand against the vacant seat at the table, that happens to be close to you, practically shouting, “Hop’, here, saved ya a seat!”

You swiftly turn back around, staring at Karen. She’s frozen, staring at you, and for the next three seconds you somehow communicate an entire conversation with just your eyebrows and eyes.

Both of you seem to agree on fuuuuuuck.

You can’t just get up and leave, that would be the most obvious thing in the entire world. What if he doesn’t recognise you? Yeah, maybe you’ll be so incredibly fucking lucky and it’ll be a Christmas miracle and you’ll somehow have just disappeared from his memory.

Swallowing hard as you hear him move past a group behind you with an “Excuse me,” you rest your hands on the table, gripping them together.

“Hey, Callahan, where’s everybody else?”

Oh, his voice has changed. It’s deeper, rougher.

“Oh, well, Powell said he and his wife are gonna come later when he finishes his shift, and Jones, Davids and Williamson are over there, they’ve been waitin’ to get a drink for ages.” Callahan laughs delightedly, and Karen joins in, giving a slightly nervous one.

It draws Hopper’s attention and you don’t dare look up to see his expression but there’s a note of surprise in his tone.

“Karen, hey, you doin’ okay?”

“Yes, thank you.” And then she panics. “We’re just having a night out.” And then she panics more when she realises what she’s said, and that she’s gestured at you, her eyes as wide as her now somewhat manic smile.

Oh. God.

Lifting your head, you automatically smile, your features frozen.

“Hi.”

Hi.

He looks from Karen to you, and you’re suddenly subject to the full force of Jim Hopper’s gaze for the first time in decades.

Oh. God.

You can’t help it; the memories of the last time you saw him flood your mind.

“Hop’, are you even listening to me?”

He swiftly puts down the ball of rubberbands he’d been picking at on your desk, his eyebrows raised as he looks to you.

“Yeah, yeah, course I am.”

Your own eyebrows rise even higher, your hands lifted. “What, then?”

He tilts his head slightly, grazing his teeth over his lower lip. “’What’, what?”

“You weren’t fucking listening—”

“No, I was,” he quickly says at your weary sigh, leaning forward in the chair and resting his elbows on his knees, an easy smile pulling at his lips. “C’mon, just repeat the last part.”

You’d once found this all charming and endearing.

Your hands going to your waist, you exhale another breath before folding your arms, managing to calm yourself.

“What are you gonna do after school?”

Hop’ shrugs, leaning back again. “I don’t know. What are you gonna do?”

It was just the answer you’d feared, and expected. Licking your lips, you glance down at the carpet before steeling yourself and meeting his gaze again.

You can do this.

“I’m thinking of moving.”

He nods, his smile returning. “Okay, where?”

“I don’t know. New York, maybe. There’s jobs there and I have a friend there, I could stay with her for a bit.”

“Or we could get a place together.”

You stare at him, feeling your stomach twist.

“So... you’re, you’re just gonna follow me where I go.”

“Yeah.” His brow dips slightly, the smile still there, though it’s hesitant. “Aren’t girlfriends supposed to be happy when their boyfriends say that?”

“Yeah, but... What do you want to do?”

Hop’ shrugs again. “I don’t know. I know I wanna be with you, though.”

You’d once have quietly swooned at that and given him a fond smile. Now, though... You want more.

“Hop’, I don’t... I don’t wanna be one of those high school couples that just sticks together because they’re together. I want you to actually want this.”

He’s frowning again, confusion starting to set in. “I do.”

You say it quietly. “I don’t think you do.”

He stares at you, all traces of his smile gone. Then, he scoffs, leaning back in his chair a little more as he folds his arms.

“So now you’re tellin’ me what I do and don’t feel?”

“No, I just, I want you to have some drive, some ambition, not just go along with what I say and do.”

“I go along with it because it’s what I want.”

You can feel tears stinging at your eyes but your mind has also been made up.

“I don’t think it is, I just think it’s easy and safe for you.”

“Stop tellin’ me what I’m feelin’!”

His voice raising makes yours, too.

“Am I wrong?”

He looks at you like he has no idea who you are, and for some reason that really pisses you off because you don’t really recognise him anymore, either.

“Why are you pushing me away?!”

“I’m not, I—”

“Where has all this come from, then?!”

“I don’t know if I want this!”

Silence falls.

You swallow thickly as he stares at you, your voice cracking slightly.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, but... y’know, Karrie and Teddy, they... I look at them and at Joyce and Lonnie and they’re so happy, they know what they want, and they can’t wait to get married and settled down, here, but...”

“You don’t want that,” he finishes for you, quietly.

You speak after a moment, your tone matching his. “I don’t.”

“You don’t want me.”

That sends a knife through your heart because honestly? You have no idea. 

Shaking your head, you close your eyes for a moment. “No, yes, I... I don’t know. I care so much about you, but... I just think we’re on different paths.”

His gaze drops as your words linger in the air. Clearing his throat, he glances up at you again.

“What if we just take a break, for a bit. Or I can come up and visit you, in New York.”

He’s just a boy, you suddenly think, your heart breaking.

Biting at your lower lip to stop it from trembling, you give a small shrug. “I think that wouldn’t be fair on us both.”

He nods slowly, his jaw moving, and you’ve never seen him this distant. Raising his eyebrows slightly, he stands.

“Seems you already had this all figured out.”

“No, no, I didn’t, I just don’t want to be unfair to you—”

“Could I have said anything that would have changed your mind?” His quiet words silence you, and you have to stifle a sob.

“... No.”

Hop gazes at you, and after several moments he nods. “Good luck with everything.”

You’d burst into tears the moment he’d left your room. The front door had slammed shut and as you’d sat on your bed and cried and cried you’d heard his car door slam, too. You’d cried for days, going between telling yourself you’d made a huge mistake, and then that you’d done what was best, that he didn’t appreciate you like he used to and it wasn’t your job to fix him and coach him through life and that... yeah, you’d fallen out of love with him.

You hadn’t just lost a boyfriend that day, though, you’d also lost your best friend.

You loved Karen but there was just something different about Hop’, something that made you feel safe and like you could tell him anything and he wouldn’t judge. As you’d moved away and the months had gone on, several triumphs and bad days had happened, and all you’d wanted to do was just pick up the phone to call him and tell him. You’d stopped yourself every time.

Then, at some unremarkable point, you’d just stopped getting that urge, and life had moved on.

Oh, it certainly had moved on.

You stare at him, trying to look without looking. You can still see the face of the teenager you once knew, though with the beard and the lines at the corners of his eyes he’s very much a man now.

God, is he a man.

He was tall when you’d known him, but is he taller now, somehow? Had he had another growth spurt in his twenties? His hands are huge, too, and he’d been confident back then but it had come from cockiness whereas now he just seems quietly so, more sure of himself.

And you have absolutely no idea what he’s thinking. He’s staring at you so expressionlessly that you believe for a moment or two he actually has forgotten you.

Then, he speaks

“Hey. Been a long time.”

Hey. Been. A. Long. Time.

Said like you didn’t once whisper “I love you” to each other and share every single secret you’d ever had.

Then again, all you’d been able to muster up was a ‘Hi’.

You’re still smiling and you don’t know how to stop.

“Yeah, it has.”

“How are you?”

“Fine, thank you, you?”

“Yeah, good. You home for the holidays?”

“Yep.”

He runs his fingers over his mouth as he nods, and oh my God, he’s attractive. Is he, or is it the alcohol?

Wanting to banish the thoughts from your mind and distract yourself, you quickly continue.

“I’m staying with Karen.”

“That’s nice.” It’s said absolutely expressionlessly. “Just ‘till the new year?”

“Uhm, indefinitely. I’m, I’m working, uh, going through, uh, I’m moving, at the moment.”

“Okay. Well, I hope it goes okay.”

Oh my God, he’s winding down the conversation. He’s gonna go.

And you’re still smiling.

“Thank you.”

Nodding, he glances at Callahan. “I’m gonna go and check in with the others, see how they are.”

Callahan just nods once, his gaze flicking from you to Hopper and back again with utter confusion.

Rising, Hopper glances from Karen to you.

“See you around.”

“Yeah, bye, happy holidays,” you answer, Karen possibly unable to speak.

His lips move slightly, possibly into a faint smile. “Yeah, to you, too.”

And then he walks away, heading for the bar. Staring at where he’d just been sat, a slightly strangled sound releases from the back of your throat.

“Oh my God, oh my God...”

Looking to Karen, a whole range of emotions are flashing across her face as she tries to find the most comforting one. She fails.

“Oh, babe, oh God, that was horrible.”

“I know, I just, I forgot how to have a conversation, my voice got so high.”

“It did, I don’t know why you did that.”

“Neither do I, oh my God...” Putting your head in your hands, you then quickly lift it after a moment, pressing your lips together as you raise your hands. “Whatever. It’s fine. Let’s just, please, move past it. It’s over, I got it out the way, it was civilised, it’s done.”

“You’re right, you’re so right, please let’s forget it. Let’s drink.”

“Yes, please.”

You tap your glass against Karen’s as she raises it, and both take a long drink.

Oh, God.

That had been... so uneventful you don’t quite know what to do with yourself. In all the times you’d thought about how this exact moment might go, you’d never thought it would be uneventful. You’d imagined yelling, or crying, sometimes even laughing, but this...

Well. It was really like it had meant nothing at all.

You don’t know why it’s getting to you so much. You broke up with him. Of course he’d have moved on and left it all behind, God, you have as well. You’ve both lived your lives, gone through so many things and come out the other side and... A break up when you were teenagers kind of pales in comparison.

Yeah. It’s all fine. In fact, you know what, you’re relieved. It’s mature. It’s done. That’s it. You don’t have to be best friends with him again, for fuck’s sake.

Lowering your drink, you don’t realise your internal monologue has played out on your face, eyes widening and narrowing. Looking up, you find Karen and Callahan staring at you.

Licking your lips, you shrug. “It’s fine. It’s fine. Who wants another drink?”

You’re out of your seat and heading to the bar before they can respond. Karen sits back in her chair as she blinks, watching you stride away.

“Can someone just please tell me what’s going on?” Callahan bursts out, his hands raised.

“Oh, God, sweetie...” Karen sighs, reaching for her drink again. “... I have no fucking clue.”

—————————————————————————————————

24th December 1982

“Ughhh... Oh, God...”

It’s not your own groaning that wakes you, but that of someone else.

Cracking open an eye, you stare up at the ceiling as the groaning continues.

Uh, my mouth is so dry...

Licking your lips, you turn your head and find Karen on the other side of the bed, her hair bedraggled and spilling across the pillow, mascara halfway down her face, lipstick smeared. Turning her own head, she looks at you and groans again.

“Am I alive?”

“I think so,” you rasp, and she groans mournfully.

“Ughhhh... I don’t even remember how we got home...”

Closing your eyes, you scratch at your forehead, trying to remember yourself.

You’d gone to the bar, drank, drank a lot, maybe danced a little, spoken with your old classmate, Jessica? Justine? and then... Oh, what was his name again...

“Callahan,” you murmur, your throat aching. “Callahan brought us home.”

“Oh, yeah... Didn’t we ask him to turn on his lights?”

Your lips twitch as you recall how you’d both screamed with joy and whooped and cheered as he’d turned on the lights, waving your arms from side to side.

You snort and she glances at you. A laugh escapes you as you think about the absurdity of it all, and then she’s laughing, too, her cackle loud and delighted.

“Oh my God... Ugh, that was fun...” she sighs, her smile lingering.

“Yeah...” you murmur, stretching your legs out.

“We’ll have fun tonight, too.” She pats your hand, exhaling a breath. “If we just... If we just sleep ‘till noon, and then we can start preparing the house... Maybe even two, it won’t take long...”

You hum, closing your eyes, and, yeah, sleeping a little longer does sound like a good idea... Besides, when you’re unconscious, you don’t have to think about a certain embarrassing event that happened... 

Perfect.

You focus on the softness of the bed as Karen snores lightly beside you, already fast asleep... Yeah... the joy of unconsciousness...

—

“... Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock... Jingle bells swing and jingle bells ring... Snowin' and blowin' up bushels of fun... Now the jingle hop has begun...”

Adjusting a plate on the table, you straighten and blow out a breath, trying to stifle a yawn.

I really can’t handle a night out anymore.

Brushing your hands together, you turn, surveying the party that’s in full-swing. It’s only a couple of hours in but it’s already a success. People are talking, laughing, dancing, singing, eating, drinking, having a merry old time in general really. You feel more proud than you would have thought as your gaze drifts across the room.

You’d had to shake Karen awake at half one, both of you practically dehydrated and feeling not so fresh. After drinking copious amounts of water, showering, changing and finally eating, realising you were both starving, you’d flown around the house together, tidying, cleaning, cooking up food, putting drinks out and decorating. It had been another whirlwind but a wonderful whirlwind. You’d had so much fun, and hadn’t thought once about The Incident. An hour before the party was due to start, you and Karen had gotten ready, selecting slightly more festive outfits than the ones you’d worn last night.

Now, she’s in the kitchen, laughing at something a neighbour is saying, while Mike and Nancy talk in separate corners with some of their friends who have turned up, and Ted, who’d you’d finally bumped in to and greeted, was sat in his armchair, talking with a guy who looked slightly desperate to get away.

The doorbell chimes and you catch Karen’s eye, waving your hand and mouthing, “I’ll get it,”, as you’ve done so for the last few chimes.

You have to carefully push your way past people on the way to the foyer, which is surprisingly empty. Moving to the door, you grip the handle and pull it open, a smile already on your lips.

“Hey—”

You cut yourself off, pausing as you stare up at the man.

Hopper stares back at you, shoulders slightly hunched from the cold, hands in his pockets.

"Hi,” he says, glancing behind you briefly.

"Hey,” you repeat, your heart pounding.

... Whaaaaaat is he doing here?

As if he’s somehow heard your thought, he clears his throat and raises his eyebrows a little. “Uh, Callahan said we were invited.”

Oh, fuck, yes, you’d forgotten Karen had insisted he come, and you, jokingly, had said, ‘Hey, why not invite Hopper, too?’

Haha. Ha. What a hilarious joke. What a hilarious little joke that Callahan clearly hadn’t taken as a joke so it is now real.

Just as you realise you haven’t answered him, he clears his throat again. “Should I—”

“Oh, no, God, sorry, come in.” Holding the door open, you step back, gesturing with your other hand into the foyer.

He steps in, glancing at the party beyond before he turns to you as you close the door, looking up at him.

You’re staring again.

Swallowing, you point at the stairs. “Uh, coats are up here, I’ll show you.”

Before he can answer, you stride to the steps and ascend, gripping the bannister.

Ooh... Ooh, what’s happening... What am I doing...

You’ve shown the last few people up to where the coats are being kept, just in case you can’t see them out, but this is... This is rather intimate.

You hear him behind you, following you up, and you make yourself exhale a long breath to try and calm your heart.

Be an adult.

The coats are being kept where they usually would at a Wheeler party; the guest room, AKA your room. It’s one of the reasons you’ve been basically escorting people up to it, not wanting them to linger in there or have a stranger possibly go through your things.

Pushing the door open, you step in to the dimly lit room and gesture at the bed that’s piled high with coats, scarves and jackets.

“Just here, leave it anywhere.”

He stands in the doorway, hands back in his pockets.

“I’m actually not stayin’ long, I’ve got a shift soon.”

Your hands drop. “Oh. Okay...” You can’t stop a slight frown from crossing your features. “Why did you come up, then?”

Hopper meets your gaze, his jaw moving minutely. “‘cause I want to talk to you.”

“Oh.”

Oh.

You’re sweating, your fingers flexing by your side.

Okay, here we go, he’s gonna yell at me and tell me everything he’s been holding back, here we go...

Shifting his stance, he leans against the doorframe, his gaze holding yours. “Listen, last night, I... I’m sorry I left so abruptly. That wasn’t, uh... polite of me.”

... Well, that’s not what you’d expected.

Your lips parted, you gaze at him. “Uh, no, no, no, it’s fine, I, I completely get it. It’s, uhm...” You pause, swallowing. Then, you smile faintly, and just say it, your voice dropping slightly. “... It’s weird, isn’t it.”

“Yeah. Fuck, yeah, it is.” He lets out a laugh, and for some reason the sound of it warms you. “I was a little taken aback when I saw you, I was totally unprepared.”

“Oh, me, too.” You exhale a laugh, your smile easing. “I wanted to say so many things but my brain wasn’t quite connected to my mouth.” You laugh again, though it’s more nervous this time, because you know if you don’t say it now, you never will. Your tongue gliding across your lips, you raise your hands a little. “Look, Hop, I...” Fuck, it feels strange saying his name again. “... I’m sorry for how things ended between us.”

Hopper’s already shaking his head before you’ve finished, a slight dip to his brow. “Don’t be. I think it was the kick up the ass I needed, and I knew you were right. Took me a little while to admit that, but, yeah.”

“Still, I could have given us a chance—”

“We were kids,” he cuts you off gently with a light smile, shrugging. “Neither of us knew what we were doin’ or how to handle somethin’ like that.”

You snort. “I still don’t.”

A corner of his mouth lifts a little higher. “Yeah, me, too.” Grazing his teeth over his lower lip, you watch him as he seems to consider something, your cheeks heating slightly at his intense gaze. “... Stop me if I’m, uh, treadin’ where I shouldn’t, but, and I’m just connectin’ the dots here, you said you’re stayin’ in Hawkins indefinitely, is that because something similar has happened?”

You give a faint smile, pointing a finger at him as you raise your eyebrows. “Yeah, you got me. I, uhm...” Here we go... “... I broke up with my fiancé. Or, he broke up with me, actually.” Your smile widens a little more. “Good connecting, you must be a great Chief.”

“Well, I do my best.” He looks sympathetic in a way that is mercifully not pitying. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Thanks. I feel like shit every day, but, it was for the best. He was an asshole. I just didn’t want to see it.”

“How come he did the breaking up, then?”

You fold your arms, exhaling a breath. “He met someone else. Didn’t even bother to hide it or save my feelings. Just told me.”

“That sucks.”

“Yeah, it really did.”

“Still,” he nods his head at you, “you seem much better off.”

You feel a little proud at that, because, actually, you feel like a mess. “Thanks. Karen’s letting me stay here until I figure out what I wanna do. I don’t even know if I like my job anymore or if it’s just everything that’s going on making me feel like I hate it, or maybe I have hated it for a while and I just don’t want to admit that to myself either.” You catch yourself from continuing, releasing a sheepish laugh. “I’m sorry, I’m just rambling on now, you can go back down—”

“Nah, it’s okay, I like listenin’ to you.”

He says it so sincerely, holding your gaze, that you don’t quite know what to do. Biting at your lower lip briefly, you look away for a few moments, your fingers twisting together.

“Well... Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

You can hear the smile in his tone, so you look up, and God...

You’ve missed that smile.

His expression is so soft, too, so gentle and...

No, no, no, no... No, it’s just because you’re sad and it’s Christmas and—

Clearing his throat, he leans an arm against the chest of drawers beside the door.

“Y’know, I... I’ve thought about you over the years, thought about reachin’ out. I heard from someone years ago that you were in New York and I... I told myself I was gonna look you up but... I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Didn’t know if you’d even want to see me.”

A smile pulls at your lips, your chest aching slightly. “I think I would have.” Biting at your lower lip again, you take a breath. “... I’ve thought about you, too. Sometimes I think about if I made the biggest mistake of my life in leaving you.”

He blinks, before quickly smiling, shaking his head. “Like I said, we were just kids. We didn’t know any better.”

“I know.”

You’re gazing at each other again, quietly.

Don’t.

Clearing your throat, you make yourself smile. “I’m so sorry, I should have offered you a drink, I—”

“Would you like to go out for a drink?” he asks, so swiftly that it’s as if he’d been waiting to. “So we can catch up properly?”

Staring at him, you feel something quietly ignite within you. He looks somewhat nervous, and for some reason it calms you instantly.

A softer smile returning to your lips, you nod. “I’d like that.”

One corner of his mouth lifts a little higher than the other as he straightens, his hands falling to his sides. “Good. Okay. I’ll call. I gotta head out now, sorry, I just wanted to drop by before my shift.”

He wanted to drop by... to see me.

Trying to contain your smile, you move towards him, heading for the door. “It’s okay, I’ll walk you out.”

“Thanks.”

You head down the hallway and stairs in silence, your heart fluttering wildly. You’re suddenly very aware of your body, and of his right behind you, and oh my God, when was the last time I felt this way?

Pulling the door open, you hold it for him as you smile.

“Well, I hope your shift goes okay.”

“Thanks.”

He’s stood before you, a hand in his pocket, and he doesn’t move.

Then, his other hand moves to rest on your arm gently as he lowers his head and presses a soft kiss to your cheek.

Oh, fuck.

His lips brushing against your skin makes your heart stop and every inch of your skin warm. It’s brief, far too brief, and when he pulls his head back to look at you, you desperately hope you don’t look as flustered as you feel.

Giving a slightly breathless smile, you hold his gaze. “Merry Christmas, Hop’.”

The smile he gives in return has you feeling a way you know you haven’t in years.

“Merry Christmas, sweetheart.”

—————————————————————————————————

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Masterlist

Tagged: @herb-welch, @punkpascal @davidkharboursex, @jobean12-blog, @warmbeardsandredwine, @mademoiselle-black, @scrunchinn, @flames-bring-a-ton-of-ash, @divadinag, @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan, @deepsouth, @neganslittlebae, @ashphoenix105, @alahmorah, @daughterofthebrowncoats, @letsby, @tbkc, @kiwiphroot, @ashmely, @sistasarah-sallysaidso, @unicornsandgliiitter, @lucifer-in-leather,  @heyjudeinthesky, @sleepylunarwolf, @ambeazyyy, @countryfire22, @sithlordslut, @mondsafari,  @norcula, @earinafae, @beltzboys2015-blog, @jinxiejenna, @justsimplevicky, @hellosupernaturaldoctor, @ginasellsbooks, @dwarvenbunnyears, @vale0413, @mrslydiaholden, @kimberliinabox, @thoughtsmeander2tumblingblindly, @allylupin, @cant-shake-this-feeling-off, @the-bitch-gotham-deserves, @warriorqueen1991, @thesurestthing, @zuni21798,  @quietlovelovely, @maddieisaboredable, @windinyoursnail, @happy-hopper, @yedi16, @negansdirtygirl22, @slipperywhenwetsstuff, @my-rosegold-soul @madkskillz, @im-not-great-at-making-up-names, @sergeantangel, @bitchinsinclair, @dewy-biitch, @focusonspn, @wearethebrokenones, @sarcasm-is-my-native-tounge, @thatprettymvthafvcka, @pulplorrd, @gifsbysimplysonia, @opalsandlacemain @geordiequeen, @gothackedalready, @ayatimascd, @missaudreyhorney, @chiefharbour, @l0ve-0f-my-life, @saltandroot

Apologies to those Tumblr won’t let me tag!

#jim hopper x reader #jim hopper x you #hopper x reader #chief jim hopper x reader #stranger things fic #hopper x you #my writing #flamehairedwritings #pheeewwww #just a lil something to ease back in

[teabooksandsweets]

All Creatures Great and Small

Facts, trivia and corrections of common misconceptions

As you probably know, I love James Herriot’s books and the BBC series All Creatures Great and Small. But reading posts online, from random comments on social media to actual newspaper articles, made me realise that not everything said about the books and especially the series is exactly correct, or at least not complete. And then of course, there’s also the usual questions askwed and answered (not always correctly) over and over again. So this post will address some of these things, simply because I care about it all.

James and Helen, Chris and Carol

The most common untruth spread about the series is that Christopher Timothy, who played James Herriot in the BBC series, left his first wife for an affair with Carol Drinkwater, who played Helen in the first three seasons, and that she was fired from the show because of it.

It was actually quite different. First of all: Carol was never fired! The show was cancelled after three seasons, as the books had finished at that time, and Carol returned for two following feature-lenght specials. It was only when, due to the books’ and the show’s popularity, Alf Wight (the real Herriot) decided to write new stories that the show was revived, and Carol, unhappy with a role that she liked but thought to limited, chose not to return.

As for the affair, that was different as well. There was a lot of bad press, especially for Carol, but Chris Timothy never left his wife for her. In fact, they didn’t even like each other at first: Carol had a mild crush on Robert Hardy, which she never pursued because he was married at the time, and didn’t get along with Christopher Timothy at all. Then, near the end of the first run of the show, they had to wait together in a car for a scene to begin filming, and they started to talk. His married had just ended at that time and he was very distraught, though he was not yet formally divorced, and she had just gone through a painful break up herself. They bonded over that, and got together. Chris was still married at that time, but seperated, and she was never the reason for his divorce. The press painted a different picture, one that is still spread nearly fourty years later, but it’s not true at all.

The Yorkshire farmers

Were all actors. People like to claim otherwise, but it is not true. Many people like to say that the farmers look too authentic to be played by actors, but that isn’t true. The actors were just very good at playing farmers, and not so famous as to be instantly recognised. Many were regional actors, from little theatres and comedy troupes, others were rather familiar, but not too well-known faces from television shows. They were not real farmers, they just did their work and did it well.

What about the vets?

The big question of the arms inside the cows. Did the actors really do the dirty work? Long story short: Yes.

But they didn’t do things on their own! No, no. The BBC hired to veterinarians, one for pets and studio scenes, one for farm animals and outdoor filming. The real vets trained the actors, helped them, and sometimes traded places with them for close ups on their hands. They even found sick animals to be treated for the filming, either by the actors under their guidance, or by themselves, depending on how difficult or serious the respective procedure and ailment were.

Some things, such as stitching wounds and helping with the calfing and lambing (the latter being rather normal for “country bumpkin” Robert Hardy, who was used to a lot of the work he had to do on screen) were done by the actors, including the (in)famous arms in the cows’ backsides. But never anything that could harm the animal! In fact, many animals were saved by the show, as the BBC paid for all treatments on set, which caused the real evts to take the pets of poor clients to the tv sets, even if they were never used for filming, and made the BBC pay the bills.

Fun fact, though: There’s a scene in which Peter Davison literally screams with his arm in a cow’s backside. That’s because his arm was tightly squeezed inside and he was in real pain. But don't worry, he got out alright, and the cow was okay too.

Science and progress

The illnesses and treatments were very accurate. People also like to claim otherwise, but that isn’t true. Many things, of course, are outdated now (and, ironically, many things that were seen outdated back then have become rather common again!) but the medical treatments are absolutely accurate for their time, and so is the portrayal of the scientific progress from the 30s to the 50s.

There are, of course, very individual cases, and unconventional treatments, but that happens if you base things on real life and memory, rather than textbooks. Those special cases are either things that really happened and worked a bit different than usual, or things that are very similar to real happenings (like real cases “blended” to make one fictional one, etc.) and not, in fact, pure invention. The books are, after all, written by a real vet, based on his own memory, and the show adopted all these cases very accurately.

Fact and fiction

Alf Wight still chose to make things up for his stories. Many details are changed from real life, such as changing Helen’s background very much from Joan’s and putting aquaintances from different decades into one setting. He also kept things from his perspective—things he didn’t know about his friends, were things he didn’t know, at least at that time, and that is how things stay.

Now the writers and actors of the show dug a bit deeper, and talked to Joan (Helen), the Sinclairs (the Farnons) and other people who play necessary parts. They added details that could give more depths to the stories, but also respected specific wishes for privacy, especially coming from Donald Sinclair.

Which brings me to:

What happened to Caroline?

Siegfried marries Caroline in the first Christmas special, but she is only mentioned (and sometimes briefly seen) in later episodes. Many people wonder if that means that their marriage ended or wasn’t good, but it’s very much different.

Caroline is based on Donald Sinclair’s real wife Audrey, whom he loved incredibly much. They had two children, which are also sometimes mentioned but never shown in the series. That is because Donald valued his privacy very much and wanted to protect his family from public attention.

Alf Wight first met Donald Sinclair as a young “bachelor” (actually widower, but he also kept that to himself) with many flings with pretty young women, and that’s how Siegfried was portrayed at first. But it couldn’t be kept like that always—it would have been silly for a middle-aged Robert Hardy to always invent visits to his mother to cover up various dates, and a character based on Donald, whose world revolved around his wife, could only be a bachelor in the very first few years of his acquaintance with Herriot. Donald Sinclair was unhappy with being shown dating various women, which he did before he married Audrey, even after three seasons, and he also didn’t want Audrey to be used for the show.

So it was decided that Siegfried were to have a wife, and children, and be very happily married in the later (initially unplanned) seasons, and that there were not to appear in television storylines. They lived off-screen, in their own big mansion, while Siegfried was working in Skeldale House. A woman-who-could-be-Caroline was sometimes seen when a partner was needed, and that’s it.

Donald’s first wife was never mentioned, also out of respect to his privacy, but Siegfried was portrayed to have a severe fear of loss and separation, and to cling very strongly to all his loved ones, as well as to have strong depressive and maniac episodes, which is said to be accurate to Donald Sinclair’s personality. This portrayal was, however, done very subtly.

Character and actor

Alf Wight said to Christopher Timothy that he was the Herriot that he wrote about. They got along very well, and Chris Timothy was considered the perfect actor for the part by him.

Donald Sinclair was, true to Siegfried’s character, always unhappy with the way he was portrayed, and the better and more accurate the portrayal got, the more dissatisfied got he. Robert Hardy was, according to people who knew Donald, absolutely perfect at playing him, and Donald himself was of a very different opinion. But he liked Robert very much, they became very close friends, and Robert actually worked as assistant in his surgery and sometimes their families lived together for filming and holiday periods. Both Alf Wight and Robert Hardy insisted that they “toned him down” while writing/playing him, even people who didn’t know him thought him “too much”.

Brian Sinclair was very happy about the way he was portrayed, and about the books and the show in general, and very relaxed about it all. He also really liked Peter Davison.

Joan was very critical of Carol Drinkwater at first, and thought she made her look like a tart, but warmed up to her later and talked well of her performance in retrospect.

The second girl to play Rosie Herriot, Alison Lewis, was friends with Rosie’s real-life daughter Emma. Rosie didn’t expect her to play the part, and was very surprised to see herself played by her daughter’s friend on tv!

Marjorie Warner, the inspiration for Mrs Pumphrey, was one of the first people to recognise herself on the page while reading the books, and was very happy about the way she was portrayed. It is, as far as I am informed, unknown whether she liked the tv series, but she was still alive when the first seasons were made.

As for the actors

It was Robert Hardy who made much of it all possible. His fame allowed the BBC to cast the relatively unknown Christopher Timothy in the lead role, which they first wanted to cast a famous actor for, and it was him who insisted on making Tristan a larger character, because he greatly enjoyed Peter Davison and set his mind on making the young man a star. He also threatened to leave the show if it were filmed anywhere but Yorkshire, and he also forced the BBC to treat the actors and animals better, and insisted on the necessary safety around the animals. After Chris Timothy’s accident, he insisted that he shouldn’t be re-cast and took up some of the work he couldn’t to, and made Peter and Carol do the same. That aside, he edited, revised and changed some of the scripts, and wrote some of his own scenes. When some younger writers messed up Siegfried in the later episodes, he largely took over himself.

Robert Hardy and Peter Davison actually grew extremely fond of each other. Robert insisted that Peter looked exactly like one of his brothers at that age, and he loved the way Peter tried to impersonate his mannerisms to make them feel more like a family.

Christie the whippet was Robert Hardy’s real dog, the other dogs belonged to producers and other crew members. Some sources claim that all dogs were his, but that isn’t true. SIegfried’s horses were usually actor-horses but he sometimes rode his own on screen.

Mary Hignett was the balancing force between the actors. Everyone loved and admired her, and whenever there was a bad mood between the others, she quickly got them all calm again, just as Mrs Hall used to do. Her sudden death shortly after the (original) end of the show was a great shock to all of them, and Mrs Hall died with her. She was greatly loved by everyone.

Margaretta Scott was also very respected and beloved. She always insisted on carrying the various dogs who played Tricki-Woo on set, and she would only have her make up done by the chief make up artist.

Robert Hardy’s was usually called Tim, as his real first name was Timothy, which he was also occassionally called, and which caused some confusion on the set.

Christopher Timothy had a car crash at the end of the filming of the first season, in which he broke his legs, which is the reason he walked on a stick and had a very stiff walk for some time.

Robert Hardy’s daughter Emma has a very serious riding accident before the filming of the first season, in which she was badly injured, and which made her father rather sensitive to the horse-related safety on set, and insist that everything must be done right and no risks taken. She fully recovered, and actually played the small part of Rosemary Brocklehurst in the series, thirteen years later.

Lynda Bellingham was pregnant during the filming of season five, which is the reason for the slipped disc storyline. Andrea Gibb, who played Deirdre, was also pregnant at that time, but her part was smaller and was simply away for some episodes, and wore some covering clothes.

#all creatures great and small #acgas #james herriot

[ex-silent-reader]

Happy Holidays fic recs

Happy Holidays everybody!  I haven’t been commenting on posts individually like i normally like to so it’s kind of backed up a bit. I still really want to thank all the authors who have been sharing their stories with us and leave a lil itty bitty comment before I can expand on them for their own post so here’s that! Also I’ve seen a lot of undeserved negativity being spread to a lot of authors and I just want to thank you all for sharing your work on this platform FOR FREE and remind you that you literally owe us nothing and I’m super grateful that you continue to share with us. These are just some stories that I’ve read this week, i’d def like to do another of these soon :)

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own any of these stories, each story is owned by the author tagged next to the title and the summary is pulled verbatim from their page, in quotation marks. The only thing I own is gratitude towards these authors for sharing their work with us.

Also all stories are rated M 

Also, a loooot of stories have come out lately and I haven’t had a chance to get to a lot of them yet but i hope to soon so I’ll hopefully make another one of these soon, but yea pls know that I’m not purposefully ignoring or excluding anything or anyone.

Jin;

last christmas | ksj x reader - @xjoonchildx

“ summary: it was bound to happen, eventually. after months of near misses at barbecues and birthdays, there’s no avoiding your ex-husband at hoseok’s annual christmas bash. but it’s fine, totally fine, because you’re both adults – and you’ve both brought dates and booze. what could go wrong? “

This story was amazing! First of all, I love the comedy surrounding the entire situation, Hobi with his 8 trees and instigator Yoongi who also wants them to get their shit together for Hobi’s sake. I love all au’s but sometimes exes to lovers is difficult for me to side with because I don’t see how people can bounce back from so much hurt but in this story it felt very natural how they were able to find their way back together and I really enjoyed the insight to their relationship, especially near the end.

Yoongi;

CREAM & SUGA -  @snackhobi

“summary: yoongi is your favourite regular. he’s patient, polite, and predictable, a-large-black-coffee-to-go-please, no cream, no sugar, thank you. rinse and repeat. the seasons might change, but yoongi’s order stays the same.

and then one fateful day in winter, yoongi asks about the weekly specials, orders a cup of christmas and sugary sweetness, and everything starts changing.”

Ya’ll. Yoongi fics just truly hit different. The plot of this was so adorable and him going out of his way like that to keep her engaged was so cute and just very Yoongi like. I also just really loved the descriptions in this, like how oc described making the drinks, it just made everything seem so real.

universe | myg drabble - @personasintro

                           “❥𝒔𝒚𝒏𝒐𝒑𝒔𝒊𝒔; you’re his whole universe, you just don’t know it yet – or him” 

ASDFGHJKL! Like, I really have no words for the way this made me feel. Like, ik it’s not a super healthy dynamic but the thought of a fixated Yoongi is.. I loved reading Yoongi being so fixated with oc and doing everything i his capability to meet her. I also was v interested in the part where he bumped into her and she didn’t react the way he expected because it made me think about how he (or any character’s with his mindset) cope when the fantast and reality don’t match.

Hobi;

 A Holly, Jolly Crisis (M) -  @kpopfanfictrash

* Blog doesn’t allow copy/paste and I wanted to respect that*

This story made me feel so many things. Like there’s so many layers to it and both of their hurt, her visiting him and feeling betrayed while he felt pushed aside. This story was so complex and both characters had so many layers to them, but it’s still sooo well written and I was invested the entire time. Like, I genuinely can’t get my feelings out in a brief way so I’m looking forward to screaming about this in it’s own post.

Joonie;

 my only wish - knj | m - @ppersonna

“✹ summary- There are few things you hate most in this world. Hornets, unnecessary fruit pieces in otherwise perfectly good jello, certain shades of orange… But nothing takes the cake more than two simple things. Christmas. And Kim Namjoon. So why did you agree to pretend to be Kim Namjoon’s girlfriend at his family Christmas party? Bah-Humbug. “

UM! Absolutely adored this story, of course it would be a fellow cream suit enthusiast who can bring so much justice to dreamy Joon. I loved how he was portrayed here and getting insight to both his and oc’s feelings made me root for them soooo hard.

new parent syndrome - @1kook

“ SUMMARY You love Namjoon, honest. But you love your daughter Hyejoo even more— it’s not a controversial sentiment when you know he’s the same way! —and going back to a regular adult life sans kids absolutely sucks. (Or so you thought.)”

The tag “dreamy husband joon” is extremelyyyy accurate. This story was just so cute and their relationship truly felt so intimate and lovely. Her being on the phone with Jimin while Joon was smash SENT me but it was also so hot like ASDFGHJKL that man can do no wrong tbh.

  laundry day - @snackhobi

“summary: You’ve been letting your laundry pile up for a little too long. Fortunately, your neighbour Namjoon is there to lend you a hand. “

Pls this was so hot. Like, I’ve made it very clear thus far that I’m a total simp for Joon, the thought of that man going strawberry picking and thinking to grab some for oc genuinely makes me SWOON. He’s an actual heartthrob.

   The Sweet in Sweet Potato - @sahmfanficbts

“ Summary: You’ve been roommates for years. Now that you’re catching feelings, it’s time to run away. “

This entire series has had me so invested but this chapter!!! I’m always a sucker for Joon but the way he was so clearly in her feels (for OC) but wanting to respect her need for distance, what a man. And I was so happy to see oc working through her feeling towards Joon.

Last Christmas (M) - @jjungkookislife

* Blog doesn’t allow copy/paste and I wanted to respect that*

Damn, I really love when a misunderstanding is such a big catalyst for a bunch of drama/angst. It just really ups the tension for me because as the reader I know it was a misunderstanding but clearly the character’s don’t, so it just makes me really eager to see how they make amends. I really enjoyed seeing them slowly make amends and grow. Also the buildup to them deciding to give the relationship another go made the ending soooo satisfying.

Jimin;

 picking petals｜pjm - @taestybae

“ summary ↣ you asked for a baby, so a baby is what you’re going to get. “

I really have no words for this, like it was so asaifgjhhkc. First of all, I really enjoyed that it was through his pov, i don’t typically read stories like that (I just don’t often come across them) but this still felt so natural that I didn’t even realize until right now, writing this comment. Also, the imagery was so well described and the anticipation built made this story so enjoyable.

Taehyung;

 Deepest Indulgence  - @scribblemetae

“ Description/Summary: The world is a mess, gangs, violence and rates of poverty are at an all time high since corporations took over everything. You built your Sex house to be a safe place and a sanctuary for those in need, promising to protect anybody who needs it. What happens when an extremely attractive and very rich man walks through the door begging for a job at Deepest Indulgence? The one sex house that wasn’t meant for men like himself. “

I AM SO EAGER FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER TO COME OUT. Like, idk how I can even describe this correctly but this just feel so much like Tae...???? Like idk if that makes sense but just Tae being this v sensual man, but there still being more to him than that, just makes so much sense and even the word “indulgence” is just so sensual and reminiscent of him. Also, the storyline so far is something I’ve personally never seen before and I’m super invested in this world and story already. Very eager to see how their relationship progresses.

 let it snow | kth - @suga-kookiemonster

* Blog doesn’t allow copy/paste and I wanted to respect that*

It’s the way I read this last night, it took me exactly an hour (3am to 4 am cause I’m a CLOWN), and I was so invested that I kept putting off sleep to finish it. Man, i’m a simp for this Tae (just like he is for oc lmao). I really enjoyed reading it and the mention of Jisoo earlier in the story had me on the edge of my seat the whole time wondering when things were gonna blow up. Everything was just so sweet and fluffy, and the confession really made me feel so soft for them both cause they both were so in their own heads and feelings they couldn’t see what was in front of them so I really enjoyed the confessions.

Jungkook;

Thank you, baby - @scribblemetae

“ Turns out the boy whos been stalking you for years has decided its about time he shows his face in the form of a picture, and decides its time to talk to you for real, in the form of a phone call. “

I genuinely don’t know how I can simp over this story in a short way but I’ll try my best. The characters are so complex and the storyline is twisted so many ways that make this so interesting to read and easy to become invested in. The way Jk is written, I understand why OC is lost on how to feel for him. Like, his actions are wrong, but actually meeting him and even seeing his though process, it’s hard to make him out to be the villian that his actions have categorized him as. I can’t wait to continue reading and write a full length comment about this!

FEED ME, FIGHT ME.  @yeojaa

“ What do you get when you mix a pissed off girlfriend with a neglectful boyfriend?  (Aside from trouble, that is.) “

I really enjoyed this, I love how aware of Jk and his boundaries the oc is and how she is cautious to walk the line and not push him too far while also letting him know how his actions make her feel. This just genuinely felt like a glimpse into a very real, very intimate relationship/moment and I loved that. I also just really love how this is written and I think you have a beautiful way with words. 

Chapstick - @softyoongiionly

“based on the time Jungkook said he needed someone to scold him so he’d remember to put lip balm on. Or Jungkook’s had a really long day and the only that can make it better, is seeing you. “

Idk if I’ve ever said it before, but I just love how you write relationships. Like, I can feel how comfortable they are with each other and how natural being together is for them. With your stories generally it just never feels forced and I really love that. I also really liked that we got Jk’s pov in the beginning, getting to see how tense he was really made me eager for their interactions and for him to feel comfortable and calm with her. Their interactions just felt so cute and natural and the end, assdjfhi, jk really deserves to be cherished and I loved seeing oc get him to the point of relaxation.

#bts fic #jin #kim seokjin x reader #yoongi #min yoongi x reader #hobi #jung hoseok x reader #joonie #kim namjoon x reader #jimin #park jimin x reader #tae #kim taehyung x reader #jk #jeon jungkook x reader #fic #Idk how to format these sorry #also i hope the tags are working #these are just ones i've recently read more #I plan to do another one once I read some more #This took an embarrasingly long time to do #embarassingly #can anybody guess who my bias is

[canonicallysoulmates]

🎃Halloween themed wincest fic rec🎃

This fic rec is, primarily, Halloween themed but you’ll also find some horror as well as just in general autumn themed fics all to, hopefully, get y’all in the spirit of the spooky season!

There’s all sorts of ratings, some weecest, a non-related Hocus Pocus AU, hopefully you’ll find something to your liking among all of these fics.

As always please head all warnings and tags as some of these fics do contain graphic and heavy topics. 

Happy reading, and Happy Halloween my fellow wincest shippers! 🎃

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Halloween 

Eight-Legged Freaks. by anniespinkhouse

Sam/Dean (Wincest) Outsider POV. Takes place early in season 8 but no particular spoilers except for Sam’s hair. Biddy owns a candy store. She also talks to spiders. When FBI agents Sam Smith and Dean Jones investigate a possible haunting, on Halloween evening, the consequence of Dean eating too much candy is disturbing. It’s a race against time for Sam to find a way to return Dean to normal.

The Rocky Horror Sam Show by RockSaltandCherryPie *

Sam goes to a Halloween party and dresses up like Frank N. Furter but ends up looking more like a girl than anything else.

the one that lives behind his heart by Addie_D_123 *

Dean is the spark, Sam is the fire.

The Witch's Dance by brimstonegold and virtualpersonal *

It's either coincidence, or irony, but Sam and Dean find themselves hunting for a witch at The Witch's Dance, a party being given at the local haunted mansion on Halloween. What they find is not the kind of dance they expected.

hell is empty; all the little brothers are here by bellaaanovak

Dean just wants to make the rundown house they’re squatting in look cool for Halloween, but Sam isn’t so excited about strangers in corny costumes knocking on the door for candy. Not when there’s a gang of ghouls wreaking havoc in the neighborhood, anyways.

Greaspaint and Fairy Dust by Syls Darkplace (sylsdarkplace)

It’s Halloween. Sam’s least favorite holiday, and what should be the investigation of a simple salt and burn goes awry when Dean gets caught with his hand in the candy cauldron.

Here is where you’ll stay by belyste

Sam, Dean, and haunted hayride. Halloween!fic. 

A Winchester Halloween by ello_kitty *

 A short story about how the brothers spend the holiday.

Triple XY Or The Hunter, His Bitch And Their Offspring by mpregloveranon

This is the answer to this Halloween!Prompt over at the spnkink_meme. Without reveal to much already I’ll just keep the summary really short. After being cursed Sam is knocked up by his brother. On Halloween he is heavily pregnant with triplets and completely miserable. Dean feels sorry for his baby brother, especially because he pissed the witch off who cursed Sam, and takes good care of him.   Throw in raging hormones, some schmoop, some angst and cute little kids and you’ll get the idea what this fic is about. ;)

Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) by Ignited *

It’s Halloween, and the locals aren’t clued in to the fact that those things going bump in the night are much more than fabric and latex. Sam and Dean learn this fact the hard way as the clock winds down and a town’s about to be overrun by monsters.

The Witches of Salem by Revenant 

There's a legend in Salem, of three sisters accused and hung for the crime of witchcraft, but not before they had killed several of the local children and placed another under a terrible curse. It is said that on Hallowe'en night, when the moon is full, the witches will rise again when a virgin lights the Black Flame Candle.

A little over three hundred years later, Sam Winchester is passing through town trying out his newly awarded independence on what he suspects will be a simple salt-and-burn; why can’t things ever go like he plans?

Why not stay and be caught? by deirdre_c *

Sam wishes to go to The Palace.

Pretty Princess by orphan_account *

Sam is excited to go to a Halloween Party… And then his first heat hits.

Take a Good Look by BewareTheIdes15 *

Sam, Dean, and a haunted house with a mirror maze - sounds like pwp to me!

Kids These Days by Magz (sparklepocalypse) *

Halloween parties are never simple when there are Winchesters involved.

Thy Back to the Forest (and Thy Front to Us) by PetraPan *

For the last three years in Stillwater, Oklahoma, children have disappeared—always five young girls, always on consecutive days, and always during the week of Halloween. By the day the Winchester's pull into town, Sam is enrolled for school, he’s stuck once more on research duty, and Dean already has a date. Sam juggles his new schoolwork, the case, and the ever-growing bitterness at the desire he feels for Dean as best as he can, but at some point he can no longer manage all three. With their father constantly absent and a nasty time constraint, Sam and Dean struggle to figure out who—or what—is taking young girls, just as they struggle to find the balance between brothers and something more.

Sugar Sweet by fallingintodivinity

“What’s all this stuff?” Sam asks warily. He gingerly picks up a bottle of red fluid and squints at it.

“Fake blood!” Dean says cheerfully. “It’s cherry-flavored,” he adds helpfully.

“But why,” Sam says, bewildered.

“Dunno,” Dean says. “It was on sale. Tastes pretty good, actually. Here, lemme show you.”

Halloween by EasyTiga *

Sam and Dean go to a Halloween party for a case and at least one of them can't keep their mind on the mission because of the outfit choice.

Hush Little Baby by hellhoundsprey *

Together with his friends, Sam visits a haunted house. It's Halloween. (Sam is 16, Dean is 20.)

Halloween and High Schoolers by onesillygoose *

I'm realizing how bad my summaries are. Anyway... Sam gets invited to a Halloween party. Dean tags along. Things never go as they should for the Winchesters.

Pumpkin Patch by KissingWinchesters

It's Halloween and Dean decides to steal a giant pumpkin.

VII - One candy left by KissingWinchesters

There’s a piece of melting, sticky caramel pressed into the centre of Sam’s back.

Candy, Pumpkin Spice, And Orgasms by KissingWinchesters

Dean takes Sam to a quaint town on Halloween. Their relationship develops.

He Never Saw the Look by orphan_account

Sam's got a secret. He's in love with his big brother. Little does he know, Dean shares the same dirty little secret.

Pretty Little Thing by Miss_Lv *

Teenager Dean goes to a Halloween party for some fun, he spots a pretty little thing and chases her all evening, flirting, and eventually cornering her. Once his got his hands on her though he realizes she is actually a he, but he's fine with that. Sam snuck out after Dean just because he could, he picked a costume he knew Dean would never recognize him in. After spending the evening being chased by his brother Sam ends up in a semi public place with Dean all over him. Sam's stupid crush on his own brother is not helping matters either.

this way comes by estrella30 *

Written for spn_halloween based on prompt #127: Sam goes to a Halloween party his first year at Stanford and gets dragged off by a guy in a mask who makes out with him. He discovers it's Dean, and the making-out continues with a vengeance.

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

Horror

Diamond Dogs by kassidy *

Prompt: Supernatural, Sam/Dean, werewolfism - one turns and takes the other down (interpret as you will) for dark_fest LJ comm

A Silent, Creeping Killer by lily rose (annabeth) *

Not long after Dean picks Sam up from Stanford, Sam and Dean go undercover as an engaged couple to investigate the murder of a lesbian hockey player in small-town Connecticut. Along the way, they meet dedicated lovers, frightening ghosts, and the possibility that their ruse might be becoming all too real. How will they handle their changing feelings for each other? Who will protect the lovers and tenants of the Windsor boarding house? And what does all this have to do with the play 'Arsenic and Old Lace'?

darling by allwellandgood 

Dean is dead. Sam has a theory that nothing will ever hurt again.

I Wonder as I Wander by dollylux

Bobby sends Sam and Dean to investigate a strange town.

Let Me Take You Far Away by orphan_account *

Season 10. It's exactly what they need. A vacation. That's how Dean can make everything else go away. Cas was right. That's all they need. A nice, little vacation.

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Fall/Autumn themed

Death of the Petals by doctor__idiot

Dean has always thought that fall held some sort of magic.

Where You Are [Is Where I Belong] by non_tiembo_mala

Sam is stuck in class on a beautiful fall day. His mind wanders and it always ends up on Dean.

Hazy Hunter's Moon by GhostlyVoid *

Sam saves a hunter who got attacked by a werewolf, knowing exactly what trouble he's inviting into his home. The hunter, Dean, is predictably less than thrilled owing his life to a witch.

Delicious Autumn by sammichgirl

Dean just wants to give Sam a great day full of some favorite things.

Autumn Leaves by dragonspell *

In the weak light of early morning, the autumn leaves are starting to paint the woods in reds and golds and a burning orange. On some level or another, Dean knows that it’s beautiful; he does. He's just got to find Sam first.

#wincest #wincest fic rec #mine #this was supposed to be up on monday but life hapened #so...it's still halloween in places it's fine #this is probably the longest fic rec i've done

[pregnant-piggy]

Secret Summer - part I

George Weasley x reader

Words: 7600+

Warnings: none

A/N: Ah, I want the summer so bad. This is my first George fic and I fell in love with him. I know this one’s long but the next one is shorter. Oh and happy pride month, my loves! 

---------------------------------------------------------------

Summer had always been your favourite season. The sun and heat were not your enemy. You loved tanning at the beach and diving into the cold water afterwards. Eating ice-cream three times a day, reading a book in the shadow of a tree and staying up late to look at the stars. The late, hot nights were your favourite.

The only downside to summer was the break from Hogwarts and more specifically the break from your friends. Of course you would try to meet with them, but it was hard to find a moment that everyone was available. A lot of your friends went away on vacation to countries far away and when they got back, you were gone with your family.

Nothing was any different this summer, except one thing. Last year you had missed your friends, this year you missed your boyfriend.

You and George had been together for five months now and you had never been away from him for so long. At Hogwarts you were always around him, in class, going on dates or just studying together. Now he was home and so were you. It killed you. Your parents had decided to go on a holiday with just the two of them and you were supposed to go to your aunt and uncle.

Now that was something you were not looking forward to. Your uncle and aunt were... different from you. They were very strict, always following the rules. And of course it wouldn't just be your aunt and uncle, they also had children. Three. Three little, snitching children. The oldest one was eight years younger than you, so there was not much to bond over.

However, everything would change the day before your parents’ departure. You were packing your bags for your stay with your family when your mother called you downstairs.

‘What's the matter?’ you asked when you entered the living room.

Your father was sitting on the couch browsing through a book called Ten Things To Know When Travelling Through Canada. As an answer to your question he gestured to the kitchen where your mom was busy making dinner.

‘An owl arrived for you,’ you mother said and she pointed at an old brown owl. Around its leg a letter was tied. You tried to untie the letter without hurting the owl but the owl didn't even seem to notice you were touching it.

‘Who is it from?’ your mother asked while stirring in a pan.

‘George,’ you answered.

‘Ooh, what did he write?’

Your mom knew of your relationship with George. As soon as you came home for the summer, you couldn't help but tell her. She was really excited for you and with every owl that came from George she wanted to know what he had written.

‘I remember when your dad used to write me such things,’ she had sighed when George had sent you a letter saying how much he missed you in the first week of the vacation.

You quickly read the letter and a smile broke on your face.

‘He is asking if I can spend the summer at the Burrow,’ you answered your mother's question.

Your mother dropped her spoon and clapped her hands excited. She began to dance around the kitchen. Her squeaks made your dad come into the kitchen, looking suspicious from his wife to you.

‘What is going on?’ he asked.

‘Our daughter is spending her summer with her boyfriend!’ Your mother sing-sang and pulled you into a hug.

‘Mom!’ you giggled and tried to free yourself from her embrace.

Your father looked at your mother and tilted his head.

‘What about Margaret and John? They are expecting (Y/N).’

‘Oh, I'm sure they will understand,’ your mother said and you sent her a thankful smile; she knew how much you hated staying at your aunt and uncle's.

Your father said nothing else for dinner and also kept his mouth when you sat with your parents in the living room. The TV was on and even though your father was staring at it, you knew he was having an inner debate. He knew that you didn't like to spend with his brother’s family and if he let you go, you would have a much happier summer. But then you would be staying with your boyfriend.

It was not like you were actually waiting for your father's approval. You were going anyway, whether he wanted it or not.

‘Dad, it won't be much of a difference than the time we spent at Hogwarts for the past half year,’ you pointed out to your father. ‘And his whole family is there.’

That seemed to do the trick because before you went to bed your dad told you that he would drop you off at the Burrow when he and your mom left for their trip.

- -- -

The next morning was hectic. Now you knew you were going to your boyfriend you had to make some changes to the clothes you were bringing. Your mother helped you pick out some stuff.

When you were packed and ready to close your bag your mom slyly slipped a pack of condoms in it. But she failed to hide it from you.

‘Mom! What?’

‘Oh, come on! You're staying at your boyfriend!’

‘And his family!’ you pointed out. ‘They don't even know George and I are dating. They just think we're friends.’

‘Oh,’ your mother said and she sat down next to you on your bed. ‘You didn't tell me.’

‘It's nothing,’ you shrugged. ‘Actually it is kind of exciting, isn't it?’ you added with a small smile.

Your mother kissed you on your head and closed up your bag.

‘Don't tell your father, he’ll have a heart attack,’ she said before taking the bag and walking downstairs.

- -- -

The ride to the Burrow took forever. It was still early and not many people were awake yet. The roads were almost completely deserted.

The song on the radio didn't reach to you and neither did the conversation of your parents. The trees on the side of the road flashed by and your mind dozed off to the last day of school.

It had been the hottest day of the year and everyone was outside looking for some shade. Some seventh year Hufflepuffs had charmed the greenhouses so that it was cooler there. They had only let a few people in and you and your friends belonged to those people. The sun had shone bright on the glass roofs and lit up the plants around you. The morning you spent with your friends but the afternoon was reserved for George. He had wanted to show you something. He took you to the furthest edge of the school grounds. You had never been there before and was surprised with what you found. There, far beyond Hagrid's hut was a small pond. The sun was reflected by the water and all around the edge of the pond there were pink and blue flowers. You had spent the rest of the day there with George and returned late, almost too late for dinner.

A smile appeared on your face as you thought back of that day. You couldn't wait to see George, though it would be hard not to kiss him in front of his whole family.

After an hour your father drove his car in front of the Burrow. Nervously he looked at his watch. This had not been his plan. He had planned to be at the airport by now.

‘You only have to drop me off,’ you reassured him. ‘Say hi to Mr and Mrs Weasley and that's it.’

Apparently the sound of the car had aroused the Weasley household because Mrs Weasley was walking towards you, followed by Ginny and Ron.

‘(Y/N)! Good to see you! I am happy you could make it on such a short notice!’

Mrs Weasley embraced you and then turned to your parents. You let them talk and said hello to Ginny and Ron.

This wasn't your first time at the Burrow. You had been there quite few times now, but every time you stepped foot on the Weasley's property you were amazed by their house. It was completely different from any house you had ever been in and that’s why you loved it so much.

You said goodbye to your parents and wished them a happy and safe trip. You waved them goodbye until you couldn't see the car anymore and then turned to the house.

‘Fred and George are still in bed,’ Mrs Weasley said while she began with breakfast. ‘Ron, go wake up your brothers! Have you eaten yet, dear?’

‘Oh, yes. I had a quick breakfast before I left,’ you answered and watched Ron ran up the stairs to wake the twins.

‘Do you want something?’ Mrs Weasley asked. She was busy with four pans at the same time and you saw eggs, bacon and sausages.

‘Just tea, Mrs Weasley.’

Mrs Weasley pointed with her wand at the kettle and the water started to heat.

You chatted with Ginny about how her vacation had been so far and you discovered that she, just as you, missed her friends. They were all away for the summer.

‘I'm lucky to have you here now,’ Ginny said and you smiled at her. The age difference between you and her had never been an issue. You got along very well with Ginny.

Ron came back down followed by Fred and George. When you met eyes with George you felt butterflies in your stomach. He sat down next to you at table and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

‘I didn't know you would be here so early,’ he admitted, suppressing a yawn.

Under the table his hand found yours and he squeezed it. You hummed softly as a reaction and from the corner of your eye you could see the smile on your boyfriend's face.

Meanwhile Mrs Weasley had finished breakfast and with her wand she placed the plates on table. She gave you a cup of tea.

During breakfast stories of the vacation so far were being exchanged until the conversation was interrupted with Mr Weasley entering the kitchen.

‘(Y/N), good to see you!’ the man exclaimed when he saw you. ‘George has begged us for the past two weeks to invite you!’

Next to you, George's face turned red. Fred laughed into his plate with eggs and his twin kicked him under the table.

Fred was the only Weasley that knew about you and George. Hiding something this big from your twin brother is impossible. You knew that it would be a tough vacation with Fred's dubble-meaning jokes. They had been there at Hogwarts too and you were surprised not more people knew about George and you.

 - -- - 

‘I missed you,’ George said after he checked the door. He was showing you your room, you were staying in Bill's old room, that had been turned into a guest room, but actually just wanted to be alone with you.

‘I missed you too,’ you replied and placed a soft kiss on George's lips. His hands slid to your back and he pulled you closer. You wrapped your arms around the boy you had missed so much these past weeks.

‘So you haven't told them yet?’ you asked after parting. George laughed a bit nervous.

‘No, I'm sorry,’ he said against your skin.

‘No need to apologise, babe,’ you said and placed a small kiss on his nose. ‘We'll tell whenever we are ready. Until then we just have to be careful.’

And like it was planned, Fred burst through the door. You and George quickly let go of each other and Fred laughed at your shocked faces.

‘You're not gonna keep this a secret longer than a week,’ Fred grinned. George threw a pillow at his brother, who ducked away letting the pillow fall on the ground with a thud.

- -- -

You spent most of the day with Ginny. She had claimed you at breakfast and you didn't want to disappoint her. Besides, you would have the whole vacation to spend with George, one day less wouldn't hurt.

Majority of the day was spent outside in the hot sun. The activities included teasing the gnomes and playing board games in the grass. Mrs Weasley brought you lunch halfway through the day and Ron joined you and Ginny in a game of exploding snap. Fred and George were nowhere to be seen. You slyly asked Ron about them but he said he hadn't seen them.

When it got colder you went back inside. The sun had shone brightly and you could already see the light tan lines on your legs.

After a short shower it was time for dinner. Mrs Weasley had done her best to create the best welcome-dinner you had ever seen. She made all the things you liked and even more.

‘We have to celebrate your stay here!’ Mr Weasley said when you sat down at the table and a sheepish smile grew on your face.

As you started your dinner, conversation quickly changed to plans for the rest of the summer break. You listened mostly; you had nothing to add. You did find out that Harry and Hermione would arrive in two days and would, just as you, spend the rest of their vacation at the Burrow.

‘Harry will sleep with Ron and Hermione with Ginny,’ Mrs Weasley explained.

‘Why not with (Y/N)?’ Fred asked and you could see the mischievous glint in his eyes. ‘She's got much space in her room. Not like she has someone to share it with.’

There it was, a joke that made you want to sink into the ground. George's face turned red and he kicked his brother under the table. But his family didn't understand the joke. They didn't even notice it. Molly just went on to explain that Hermione would be perfectly fine in Ginny's room.

‘Fred is just worried he won't be able to visit Hermione like that,’ you teased Fred. He turned red and his brows frowned; he would take revenge.

Fred was not the only one to react to your joke. Mrs Weasley frowned curious and Ginny chuckled into her chicken. But the most remarkable reaction was from Ron. He had choked on his food and his face was as red as his tomatoes.

‘Wha- what do you mean?’ he asked you in between coughs.

‘Nothing,’ you laughed and patted his back. ‘I'm just kidding.’

Over the table you shot a look to George who shrugged. Was it possible that Ron was jealous at your lie?

You had watched him and Hermione over the past years whenever you were in the same room as them and you had to admit that there was chemistry. But when you asked George about it he said that Ron always denied he had feelings for Hermione, or anyone. Maybe that was not the truth.

Without any more jokes that people could misinterpret dinner finished. You offered to help with the dishes but Mrs Weasley pointed out that you were on vacation here and told Fred to do the dishes.

‘I'm on vacation too!’ he sputtered but his mother already left the room. You laughed and that delivered you an angry glare and a hit with the dishcloth.

- -- -

In your pyjama shorts and sweater you lied in bed. The sun had set a while ago already but you couldn't fall asleep. You had left the curtains open and was staring at the night sky. The little, white dots shone luminous on the dark blue canvas.

Above you the floor squeaked. Someone must have left their bed. You listened to the sound of the soft footsteps that disappeared quickly. A shiver ran over your spine. You knew you were safe but still that feeling of slight fear filled your head. There is nothing to be afraid of, you said to yourself. It was probably just someone who had to go to the bathroom or maybe it was that stupid ghost.

But the feeling didn't decrease as you now heard footsteps on the floor your bedroom was on. And they got louder and louder. You sat up in bed and your hands clasped the bedspread.

The handle of your door went down to reveal a dark silhouette. Your eyes were focused on the figure and you didn't move.

‘(Y/N)?’ the dark figure whispered and you recognised George's voice. ‘Are you awake?’

You relaxed and sighed as you reached for the light next to your bed. It popped on and revealed George in his pyjamas.

Apparently the scared look was still on your face because George said: ‘Are you alright?’

‘Yes, you just scared the living crap out of me,’ you said and turned your face into a smile.

George hurried over to your bed and sat down. He cupped your face with his hands and placed a kiss on your nose.

‘I'm sorry. I didn't want to wake anyone. Maybe I should've warned you.’

‘Yeah, maybe you should have,’ you chuckled and let George kiss you. ‘Now to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?’

‘I missed you.’

‘You just saw me two hours ago!’

‘I know.’

‘How have you survived the past two weeks?’ you asked giggling.

‘Barely,’ George breathed in your ear.

His hands slipped from your face to the bottom of your sweater, pulling it over your head to reveal a tank top. In the small light you could see the surprise on his face, but he recollected himself and again reached for the hem of your top. This time nothing was covering your naked chest as he pulled your tank top over your head.

At the sight of you half-naked in his hands, George moaned softly. You could feel the excitement rushing though your body when you pulled the boy closer kissing him passionately. You had missed him. You had missed this.

The night was filled with moans and giggles, so soft no one else in the house heard them. And when you fell asleep, peacefully in the arms of the boy you loved, you mentally made a note to thank your mother for her addition to packing your suitcase.

- -- -

The bed was empty when you woke up the next morning. You knew George had to wake up in his own bed to not raise suspicions but it still made you feel sad.

Silently you got dressed, letting the impressions of last night wonder in your head. In a daze you walked down to the living room. There, Ginny was sitting on the couch in front of the fire, still in her pyjamas, looking just as tired as you. You sat down next to her and said nothing. Together you watched Mr Weasley get ready for his work with the help from his wife.

‘See you tonight, girls!’ he said before stepping into the fire saying ‘Ministry of Magic' and disappearing.

Ginny went upstairs to change and Molly gave you a cup of tea. She looked at with piercing eyes and for a minute you were afraid she had heard you and George. That she knew everything and you had to spend the rest of your summer with your stupid aunt and uncle.

But Mrs Weasley said nothing and walked away, leaving you alone in the living room. You stared at your tea, a bit shocked by your own paranoia.

Before you could finish your tea, Fred entered the room. He sat down opposite of you with a smug smile on his face. You rolled your eyes at him. Of course he knew about last night, but some part of you had hoped that George had managed to escape his room without his twin noticing.

‘Fun night?’ Fred asked and you shot him a dark look but you couldn't answer because Ginny walked in.

She looked a bit more awake now she had changed and probably freshened up. Still the bags under her were clearly visible.

‘Didn't sleep much?’ you asked.

‘No,’ Ginny yawned, like your question reminded her of how little sleep she got. ‘Probably because we did so much yesterday.’

‘Hey, that's funny! (Y/N) didn't sleep much last night either!’ Fred exclaimed.

‘How do you know that?’ Ginny shot back at him, despite her lack of sleep still sharp as always.

‘I heard-' Fred started but you cut him off.

‘I came across him on my way to the bathroom.’ You gave Fred another angry glare and smiled at Ginny hoping she wouldn't notice you were lying.

‘Okay,’ she said and changed the subject of the conversation. ‘What do you want to do today?’

‘I dunno,’ Fred mumbled sinking into his chair. ‘We could play some Quidditch, we don't have even numbers though, maybe (Y/N) can be the referee.’

‘I'm fine with that,’ you said, knowing that your Quidditch skills count for half a person, if not a quarter.

- -- -

After breakfast you and the Weasleys walked to the open field behind the house. The morning sun was already shining radiant and the five minute walk left everyone sweating.

Two hours of Quidditch later everyone was melting away under the heat and the game was stopped. You walked back to the Burrow to find some shade under one of the trees that surrounded the house. Fred disappeared into the house and came back with bottles lemonade kept cold in a bucket filled with ice cold water.

The lemonade was quickly finished and when Ron grabbed the last bottle, Fred took the bucket and emptied it over your head.

Though the cold water was a refreshing and actually quite nice, you quickly turned around and started to cast spells on Fred, wetting him with water jets.

Your attention was on Fred but from the corner of your eyes you could see George looking at you. Or better said, at your shirt. The water had not only made your head and hair wet, it had left you completely soaked. Your shirt was sticking at your body and you were aware of it showing your bra in a not-so-concealing way.

Fred had fled to the house and Ron and Ginny had followed him afraid of also getting wet if they stayed any longer. You were left alone with George and he was not even trying to hide his looks by now.

After quickly looking around and seeing no one he took two steps to stand in front of you, lifted you and pushed you with your back against the tree. His mouth caught yours and his hands squeezed your thighs. You wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him closer.

God, you loved everything about this boy. His kiss tasted like lemon and toffees and after a while his mouth opened and his tongue slid into your mouth.

Now, you were only vaguely aware of your surroundings. Anyone could have stood next to you and you wouldn't have noticed. All you could focus on were George's hands and his lips.

After what felt like a way too short time, you had to break apart to both catch your breath. You lowered your legs but stayed locked between your boyfriend and the tree. The bulge in George's pants could be felt through your own shorts and you captured his lips in a sweet kiss.

This moment could have lasted forever if it was up to you, but unfortunately Mrs Weasley's voice broke the comfortable silence. You were hidden behind the tree and she could not see you but at the sound of her voice George took a step back. His face expression changed so fast you were afraid someone had actually caught you but when you looked around the tree you only saw Mrs Weasley in the door frame far away.

You turned back to George but he was already walking towards the house. You ran after him, shirt still sticking to your body and your shorts wet and uncomfortable to walk in.

‘What happened to you?’ Mrs Weasley asked when you stepped foot into the kitchen through the backdoor.

‘Fred and I had a water fight,’ you said and smiled to show her there was nothing to worry about. ‘It'll dry.'

Mrs Weasley pointed her wand at you and you felt your clothes dry. You thanked her and sat down at the dining table. On it there were sandwiches, the reason Molly had called you inside.

You looked around to find George but he had disappeared. Maybe to freshen up?

You spent the rest of the afternoon in the backyard, with your attention in a book. Ron and Fred were playing with a ball, throwing it back an forth. Mrs Weasley was working in the part of the garden that wasn't terrorised by the gnomes.

After a few hours in the sun, you felt like your skin was burning off your body and you decided to go inside. You hadn't seen George since before lunch and you were wondering what he was up to.

‘George? Are you in here?’ you asked and knocked on the door of the twins' bedroom.

‘Yeah.’

The door opened and George came to your sight. He let you in and you sat on his bed.

The floor of the room was scattered with laundry and papers. Just like his dorm at Hogwarts. But here the walls were bright green instead of the dark red of the Gryffindor Tower.

‘Are you alright?’ you asked trying not to sound too worried.

‘Yeah, I'm fine,’ George answered and he sat down next to you. His hand quickly found your hip and he pulled you closer. You rested your head on his shoulder.

‘Okay, you just disappeared and I was wondering if I did something wrong,’ you admitted.

George chuckled. ‘Believe me, you did nothing wrong. I just needed a break from my family, that's all.’

You nodded understanding; you loved the Weasleys but they were a lot to take. Always around and in for a talk. It was nice, but if you wanted some time alone it was not.

‘You want me to leave?’ you asked and already got up but George put his arms around you and pulled you closer to him.

‘You're not going anywhere,’ he whispered in your ear.

 - -- -

‘Do you really have to go?’

George wrapped the sheets over you and placed a kiss on your forehead, in a way only he could. In the dark you could see the regret in his eyes. He didn't want to leave you, but he was, just as you, scared that someone would find him in your room in the morning.

‘It's only-' you looked at the clock on your nightstand ‘-five,’ you grumbled.

‘(Y/N), if I don't leave now, I'll never. I don't want them to find out like that,’ George said, referring to his family.

He got up and walked to your door. You sighed but didn't ask further; you knew this was no discussion. George made his point and the conversation was over.

‘I love you,’ you whispered in the dark.

‘Love you too,’ was the answer before the door closed.

With closed eyes you listened to the footsteps that walked back upstairs. You heard a squeak when George stepped into his bed and then everything got silent again.

But no matter how hard you tried, you couldn't fall asleep anymore. You tried everything: meditation, counting sheep, just closing your eyes and thinking about happy things. Nothing worked.

The sun came up and lit up your floor. The curtains were open; you hadn't closed them last night. Usually you slept with the curtains open. At night you loved to gaze at the stars from your bed and you liked waking up with the sun shining on your face. However, not when it was this early.

‘I thought this was vacation,’ you grumbled to yourself when the rooster crowed.

When after ten minutes you really couldn't lie in bed anymore you got up. While you got dressed your eyes fell on an empty piece of parchment on the desk. Your parents must have arrived at their destination by now, maybe you should write them. Merlin knows how long it would take before your letter got to them.

Hesitantly you started to write. What should you tell? You knew your mother probably would want every juicy detail, but your father would read the letter too and you didn't want to give him a heart attack.

After you finishing your letter, the house was not so silent anymore. Mr Weasleys wouldn't go to work today. Instead he would pick up Harry at his aunt and uncle's. Hermione would arrive somewhere in the morning.

‘(Y/N), good morning!’

As you walked into the kitchen, you were greeted by Mr Weasley and George. They were both sitting at the dining table. Arthur was reading the newspaper and George was staring outside.

‘You're up early!’ Mr Weasley exclaimed when you sat down opposite of George.

‘Yeah, I couldn't sleep anymore.’

‘Is it that rooster? I have tried everything to make him stop, but he just won't,’ Mr Weasley said and looked over his shoulder outside.

‘No, it wasn't the rooster,’ you mumbled and over the table you felt two eyes on you.

Mr Weasley turned back to his newspaper and you dared to look at George. He shot you a worried look and mouthed: ‘me?’ You shook your head and averted your eyes from him.

Yes, actually it was because of him, but he didn't need to know that.

‘There is a post office in the village, right?’ you asked.

‘Yes, but you can use our owl,’ Mr Weasley said.

‘No, my father doesn't appreciate owls. Or birds in general,’ you added and thought back of that one time your friend had sent a letter with a dove that wouldn't leave your father alone. ‘I think I'll post it the muggle-way.’

‘I'm sure George will take you,’ Mr Weasley said, already turning back to his newspaper. ‘Right, George?’

‘Yes, of course,’ George quickly said when he saw his father's look.

- -- -

‘I'm sorry about this morning,’ George said and bumped your shoulder.

‘It's fine,’ you mumbled; you didn't feel like talking about it now.

George put his arm around your shoulder after looking around suspiciously.

You held the letter tight in your hand and thought about what you wrote. Even though you had written only about innocent things to save your father from any harm, you had thanked your mother for helping you pack. She would get the meaning behind it, while your father just would think it was a sweet compliment.

The village was still asleep and only a few people were awake. The baker, the postman and a few people on their way to work. On your way to the post office you stopped for coffee and muffins at the bakery.

‘Sweets for my sweet,’ George said when the baker gave him the muffins and you cringed at the cheesy words.

Around people he didn't personally know, George had no problem showing his affection. But once he was around familiar faces that attitude changed and the most affectionate thing he would do was his hand on your back, after making sure no one could see it. At first you hadn't mind it, you had thought it was cute and exciting to have a secret relationship. But as the months passed by, and George still didn't show his affection in public, you feared that maybe you were something he was ashamed of. You had never talked about it with him and just brushed it off every time the thought entered your mind. But now, with his family, it suddenly came closer than ever before and you couldn't ignore the feeling anymore.

A bell tinkled when you opened the door of the post office. It was an old building on the outside and the inside matched the exterior. With wood on the floor and the ceiling the room was dark and felt cramped. Behind the counter stood an old woman.

‘George! How are you?’ the woman crowed.

‘Good, Mrs Mavisson,’ George answered. ‘How are you?’

‘Well, my knees hurt more every day and Craig-' she gestured with her head to the door opening behind her ‘-claims we should modernise our system.’ You bowed forward a little bit and saw a mature man in the shadows. ‘Who is this beautiful lady you brought with you?’

A blush crept on your face and you stared at your hands that were wrapped around your letter.

‘This is (Y/N),’ George said and placed his hand on your shoulder. ‘She's my girlfriend.’

Your cheeks turned even more red and you looked up at George. His cheeks were pink but he looked confident.

‘Well, isn't that wonderful!’ the old woman exclaimed and she took your hand. ‘Look at you, you're gorgeous! Craig! CRAIG!’

The man from the shadow stepped in the light. He was younger than the woman. Young enough to be her son.

‘Craig, this is (Y/N). George's girlfriend!’

Craig was way less impressed than his mother. He glanced at you, conjured a forced smile on his face at George and stepped back in to the darkness.

‘Oh, don't mind him, sweetie,’ Mrs Mavisson said and she waved her hand. ‘What can I do for you?’

You gave her the letter for your parents and explained where they were. It was quickly taken care of and after a jovial goodbye, you stepped outside the office into the sun.

‘Mrs Mavisson has worked her entire life in that store. The only way she'll leave is in her coffin,’ George chuckled and he took your hand.

Maybe you were wrong, but it felt like a weight had been lifted of George's shoulders. On the way back to the Burrow he talked happily and smiled, a lot more than this morning.

However, when the Burrow came in sight he let go of your hand and his smile faded. You immediately missed the convivial boy but you understood it too. Though George would never admit it to someone, home was not his favourite place. It was the place where his mother would scold at him for not doing his best at school or for not cleaning his room. The place where he was one of the Weasleys, the other twin. He was not George, he was a son.

‘If you liked this morning, we can do it more often,’ you suggested.

‘That would be nice.’

‘It would.’

A small smile returned on George's face and this time it stayed there, even when he stepped inside the kitchen and was surrounded by the whole family.

- -- -

The fire was burning and the heat spread through the whole living room. How wonderful the weather had been the past few days, so bad was it now. Though you didn't mind, there was something cosy about the rain and thunder outside while you sat in a sweater and woollen socks in front of the fire.

Ron and Harry were playing chess, with the help from Fred and George, on the floor at your feet. Mrs Weasley was darning socks in a rocking chair in the back of the room and Mr Weasley had disappeared in his garage. Hermione, Ginny and you were sitting on the couches talking.

‘Did you know Pansy is dating that Ravenclaw with the big eyebrows?’ Ginny asked.

‘But I thought she and Malfoy were a thing!’ you said.

‘No, I thought so too, but Luna said that the boy had confirmed it the last day of school.’

‘How awful must it be to date Pansy,’ Hermione sighed and you agreed with her.

‘Speaking of dating,’ Ginny started and you felt like she had been wanting to tell this for a long time. ‘I heard our sweet George is dating someone.’

A high pitched sound escaped your mouth but you hid in behind a cough. George looked up when he heard his name, not knowing what Ginny had said. Fred however had been following your conversation and was staring at you with an expression you didn't trust.

‘What's with me?’ George asked and you tried to sign to him not to. But he didn't see you and now turned to Ginny.

‘I heard you're dating someone,’ Ginny repeated.

George's eyes widened and he turned red. ‘I'm not dating anyone,’ he muttered and stared at the ground.

‘Come on! We're family! Tell us!’

‘There is nothing to tell.’

George got up and rapidly left the room. You felt bad for him, but figured it would only add to the rumours if you went after him now.

Fred got up too and walked after his brother. When he passed you he whispered, but so soft no one else heard him: ‘Don't tell.’

Nothing in Fred's behaviour showed he had said that and you almost thought you had imagined it, but before he disappeared you made eye contact with Fred and nodded.

Maybe Fred wasn't such a joker when it came to you and George after all.

‘I don't care what he says,’ Ginny said after Fred had gone upstairs too. ‘Amy saw him with someone on the last day of school. She didn't see who, though.’

‘Maybe it was just Fred with a wig,’ you joked and hoped Ginny would drop the subject.

‘Well, he must write her,’ Ron said from his position on the floor. He had beaten Harry at chess and was now involved in the conversation. ‘What if we got one of his letters?’

‘Or one of hers?’

You smiled at their plan that was doomed to fail.

The clock stroke eleven and Mrs Weasley, who had fallen asleep, scared up. She sent everyone to bed, but not before scolding at them for letting her fall asleep.

- -- -

You wanted to lie down in your bed, but there was already someone in it.

‘George!’ you whisper-yelled and George put his hand on your mouth.

‘I thought this was easier than waiting for everyone to be asleep,’ he explained.

You lied down next to him and breathed in his scent. The rain was slamming down on the window and muted the other sounds of the house. Everyone once in a while the room lit up and five seconds later the house shook from the thunder.

In silence you lied thinking about the conversation earlier in the living room. You were tired but you wanted to talk to your boyfriend. At night was usually when you and him caught up on each other's day. You had missed talking to him. Of course you had missed the romance, but in the two weeks at home you had realised how big of a deal George was in your life. At Hogwarts he was always around and you could talk to him any moment of the day. It was at home that you realised how much those little moments meant to you.

‘We don't have to talk,’ George said like he could read your mind.

You smiled sheepishly and buried your face in his neck. There was something about doing that that was comforting. You felt like the whole world disappeared for a moment when you hid in George's neck.

His hand was caressing your hair while you dozed off. The thunderstorm was still going on but you didn't even hear it anymore.

- -- -

A loud banging on your door woke you up. You slowly opened your eyes. That hollow feeling of loneliness filled your heart when you reached for the empty space next to you.

The banging continued and you felt the sound in your chest.

‘Who's there?’ you asked and the door opened.

Ginny was standing in your room her face glowing with excitement. She ran to you and dropped herself on your bed. Hermione appeared as well and she closed the door.

‘Gin, it's seven in the morning!’ you groaned and rubbed your eyes.

‘No time to be tired!’ Ginny exclaimed and she sat up straight. Only now you noticed the letter in her hand. She was waving her arms but you could read to who is was written.

‘Oh no, Ginny!’

‘It must be her! Who else would write him?’

‘His friends?!’ you asked and lifted yourself up.

‘I already woke up Harry and Ron,’ Ginny spoke, ignoring your comment. ‘They should be here any minute.’

And not long after she said that the two boys entered your room. The room was not big and with five people there was not a lot of space left. Ron sat down at the foot end of the bed and Hermione on the edge of it. Harry kept standing.

‘Ginny, what is so important you have to wake us this early?’ Ron grumbled at his sister.

She held up the letter and waved it in front of Ron's face.

‘She wrote him! I waited for the mail this morning and this letter was addressed to George!’

Ron's expression showed exactly how you felt.

‘Ginny, it could be one of his friends. And it is definitely not worth getting up for this damn early!’ he said.

But Ginny didn't listen to him. She ripped open the letter with excitement on her face. That didn't last long though. As she read more of the letter her face turned less happy and more into a frown. After she finished it she dropped her hands and stared at it.

‘And?’ Harry asked, but Ginny didn't answered. Ron took the letter from her hand and searched for the sender.

‘Lee,’ Ron said plain. ‘It's a letter from Lee. Not his girlfriend.’

‘It could have been his girlfriend,’ Ginny said with a low voice.

‘But it's not. Nice job, Gin,’ Ron said and got up. He left the room with Harry. Hermione placed her hand on Ginny's shoulder.

‘Don't listen to him. You are right; it could have been his girlfriend. Right, (Y/N)?’

‘Yes,’ you lied and put the letter back in the envelope. With your wand you closed it and gave it back to Ginny. ‘You might want to put his back before he notices.’

Ginny nodded and left your room swiftly. Hermione stared at you and you felt like you knew what was coming.

‘It's you, isn't it?’ she asked and squeezed her eyes.

‘Yeah,’ you smiled. ‘But please don't tell anyone. George- I mean, we haven't really told anyone, so...’

Hermione just smiled back at you and left you alone. Your groaned and fell back down on your bed. Great way to start a day.

- -- -

Your mood didn't get any better as the day went on. Ron apparently decided not to communicate with Ginny in any way but shooting her angry glares and George was silent the whole day, sitting in the corner of the room with a book in his hand. However, not once did you see him turn his page. And on top of it all, it was still raining.

You wanted to talk to him, tell him that there was nothing to worry about. Ginny would get bored by it within a few days and everything would turn back to normal.

However you couldn't talk to your boyfriend until the end of the afternoon. Mrs Weasley had asked her son to go to the store because she had forgotten something and you had offered to join, under the excuse of wanting some fresh air.

So now you were walking with George under an umbrella, arms hooked as soon as the Burrow was out of sight.

‘I love the smell of rain,’ you said. ‘And how everything looks right after it has rained.’

‘Hmm,’ George hummed and you looked at him.

‘Are you alright? Please, don't feel bad or forced to do anything because of Ginny's comment. Don't worry, she'll get sick of it in a few days.’

‘I know. I just don't think I am ready to tell them,’ George confessed.

‘Can I ask why?’ you asked insecure.

‘You saw how Ginny reacted! I can't tell them anything without it being blowed up. And then it is you!’

You held still and looked at George sharply.

‘What do you mean?’ Your voice was demanding and not as soft anymore.

‘They would freak out! (Y/N), I have been hiding our relationship for seven months! If I told them now they would- they would- I don't know! They would laugh at me, at us.’

George's words hurt you. You were standing in front of him with tears welling up in the corners of your eyes. It didn't matter, it shouldn't matter what his family thought. But now it just sounded like you were not enough for his family.

‘So you are just never going to tell them?’ you snorted. ‘I don't care what they think George, you know that. I love you and that is all that matters.’

‘I love you too but-'

‘No, apparently not as much I do. Guess I am an idiot for not noticing after all this time.’

You stepped away from George into the rain. For seconds you stared at each other. The cold rain drops wet your shirt but you didn't care. You were focused on George's eyes and tried to read the expression in them. But you saw nothing. His eyes were empty.

The hot tears mixed with the cold rain on your face. The dark sky was lit up by a strike of lightening and thunder immediately followed. You turned around and started to walk away, back to the Burrow, half hoping George would run after you, the other half of you wanting to be left alone.

And he let you go.

#george weasley #george weasley x reader #george weasley imagine #george weasley x y/n #harry potter x reader #harry potter #george x reader #weasley twins

[popculturebuffet]

Top 12 Christmas Episodes!

Merry Christmas Eve Everybody! We’ve reached the end of my christmas reivews and what not on this blog. 

But as a wise barrel chested canadian man once said, I fucking love christmas, So if i’m finishing up the holiday on my blog I want to go big and stay home. So in honor of the holiday, my memories of it and just how GREAT it makes me feel i’m counting down my top 12 christmas specials! After last year’s worst of list I really wanted to do the oppsiite.. but it was naturally a lot harder. Shows usually put a LOT of effort into their christmas outings, even the ones who do so once a year, so the good FAR FAR OUTWEIGHS THE BAD. To show the contrast I could only find like.. 8 I was comfortable with putting on the worst list and even some of them aren’t that bad just not good. With the best of list? I had over 60 considered and even once I started narrowing down.. it was still around 30 or 40 REALLY GOOD specials I had to work down into this list. It took a lot of work and up to the last one it was really HARD to cut it down this far. But this is the best of the best of the best of the best of the.. you get the bit. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover and this review was already supposed to come out on christmas eve, so, since I won’t be able to use this for another year...

Er. Top 12 Christmas Specials.

12. Merry Christmas Johnny Rose (Schitt’s Creek) So I finally watched all of Schitt’s Creek this year.. and i’m kicking myself for not powering through it’s terrible starting decent ending first season earlier because the show is easly one of the best comedies of the last decade and rightly earned it’s emmy sweep this year. Heartfelt, hilarious, and starring some of the best names old and new in comedy, the show is really great and I recommend checking it out.. just again be aware the first few episodes are not very good and if it wasn’t vital to the rest of the show story wise, i’d just recommend skippping season 1. While the characters minus patriach Johnny are insuferable at first... it’s their growing from self absorbed assholes to still self abosrbed but really good and decent people that is the beating heart of the show. And no where more is this heart on the show’s sleve than at christmas time as this episode is baked in just how far our cast have come.

The episode centers on Johnny Rose, played by Eugene Freaking Levy who co created the show with his equally talented son Dan who desrves the lion’s share of the credit for the show’s upturn in quality. Since the Roses used to have big lavish christmas parties once a year, Johnny decides to throw the equilvent of what they can do on a budget at the Motel they all live in. But his family all has other plans with daughter Alexis, now happily with Ted again, meeting his friends for the first time, son David, played by Dan Levy, busy at his store with his partner, in both senses, patrick and his wife Moira having a performance with her acapella group. At first it just comes off as something typical of johnny: Something well meaning and what not but ultimatley just not something his family is into or that he planend well for.

It’s only when Johnny finds himself alone at the local diner with Moira coming to see him we find out why he’s REALLY doing this: the old lavish parties, which we see one of at the start.. ultimately ended up with him alone, sad and everyone off to their own corners. WIth the family having actually come together over the past 4 seasons, Johny simply wanted to celebrate that and says such in one of the best moments in the entire show and with one hell of a line.

"I just thought, in spite of all the hardship, we found ourselves coming together, the kids, you and me, as a family. And it just seemed like the perfect day to celebrate that. The perfect day for a Rose Family Christmas Party." But Moira has already taken care of it and thus takes JOhnny home to find all their friends and the rest of the family gathered, wtih the Jazzagals serandading eveyrone with a beautiful rendition of silent night. It’s just a warm, well done character piece that really fits the holiday while also really cementing what the show had become: a show not afraid to make dirty jokes or humilatie it’s cast but one that has a true sweetness to it. It’s only that the first half’s jokes don’t quite pop all that well and feel a bit at johnny’s expense that holds it back. Otherwise this is one i’ll be coming back to every year.

11. Father of the Bob (Bob’s Burgers) Bob’s Burgers is a damn great show i’m season’s behind on. Warm, charming, weird and with an expansive side cast played by a whos who of whose in comedy today. It’s a damn fine show and i’m happy it seems to have manatained it’s quality long after the simpsons and family guy lost theirs. And the show really loves christmas.. and halloween.. and valentine’s day.. and thanksgiving. Oh god does it love thanksgiving. Point is, the shows good at holiday episodes and loves doin em and has produced some stellar ones and I had a lot to pick from here.. but I ended up going with my gut and my personal faviorite. It’s not the most christmasy despite the trappings, but the character work is just too good to leave it out in the cold.  It’s Christmas Eve and the Belcher’s are visiting Bob’s Dad. As you can tell by the fact the most we’ve seen of him is a picture of his restraunt, big bob’s diner in the belcher’s living room and a flashback where he told bob to work instead of play as a kid that set off an episode’s plot, they don’t have the best relationship. Bob has a firm rule about not spending more than 15 minutes with his dad, as that’s the point they run out of things to talk about and his dad starts getting overcrytical and making jabs at bob’s life and restraunt. Linda, being Linda, decides to meddle and when she finds out Big Bob’s short order cook is missing, has our Bob fill in.  But as we see in flash backs it’s not THAT easy to repair things, as there’s a long, bitter history between the two: When a youngbob made his first unique burger and served it to a customer, his dad threw it out without even letting anyone taste it. He then offered bob a partnership when bob was a young man but Bob snapped at Big Bob in front of his friends and left to make burgers his own way, leading to where we are now. And honestly i’ts the perfect origin story for Bob and adds a lot of shades to his character. He’s obessed with the restraunt not just because he genuinely loves cooking but because it’s HIS. His place, to create creative burgers, his family and his regulars. It’s his corner of the sky. It makes the restraunt’s existance and surivvial that much more heartwarming to know the meaning behind it.

Naturally things end up blowing up with Bob pointedly serving the burger to make a point and Big bob walking out angrily and sadly. It takes bob’s gift from the kids, who had their own neat subplot of making gifts for bob in the basement, a snowglobe wrapped in newspaper.. to find out hsi dad kept the newspaper with the review of his first restraunt and kept ALL reviews of Bob’s Burgers. Despite being a stone faced critical ass on the outside, Big BOb STILl cared.. and bob relizes he needs to make amends and actually make an effort instead of just avoiding his dad or gettin gback at him. And through the power of gay club next door line dancing, and nick offerman whose a wonderful guest star here, the two reconcile with Bob admitting he shouldn’t of humilatied his dad even if he had to go his own way, and Big Bob admitting he’s hard to work with, the loss of his wife hit him hard, and he was a bit too much. The two hug, and it’s genuinely just a good, well done story of father and son that somehow gives even more dimension to Bob, an already pretty damn fleshed out character. Just a really great episode whose holiday timing makes it better.. though not being AS much a holiday episode as a really good bob’s burgers that’s enhanced by it is why this one’s so low. Next!

10. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (MST3K) I”m honestly surpised i’ts taken me THIS long to get to something MST3K related. I’ve loved the show since high school, first exposed to it thanks to a dvd from the library and continuing from there to present day. I love the show’s combination of riff’s on perfectly cheesy movie and fun skits with really good puppets especially for the budget. It’s just good comfort food in show form and no where is comfort food more welcome than christmas, and each era of MST3K, so far hopefully the show will come back again eventually, has had i’ts own damn good christmas special, with this being my faviorite out of the three. 

The other two are good: ironically I have a poster for the santa claus over my computer, or rather crow and tom as santa and pitch aka satan respectively. Yes really, that’s the premise. IT is as awesome and batshit insane as it sounds. Point is I like that one and year without a santa claus, this one just has more personal warmth to me. I jus tlove the holiday feeling of joel and the bots readying for christmas in the host segments. It just feels like christmas and it’s wonderful to see the bots act like kids.  That being said.. it’s still also fucking hilaroius, with the mad’s hilariously petty wish squisher, a device that turns good gifts into socks and other unwanted presents, the best Crow T Robot quote of all time as he gives joel his santa wish

And of course, one of the best and most patently insane christmas songs ever: Have Yourself a Patrick Swayze christmas, which has become oddly sweet after his death and got me to watch road house for the first time last year... and it’s as awesome and wonderfully rediclous as this song inspiried by it and even better once you get the refrences

But while the host segments are what push this film into the list, the movie is still a delightful bit of 60′s cheese as, to restore their children to being children, a couple of martians kidnap santa to bring christmas to mars. Fights iwth robots, an asshole martian and an obnoxious sidekick named droppo, yes really, insue. IT’s just some fun cheese for the holiday and a staple of my holidays. 

9. The Three Wise Men (Letterkenny)  It’s no secret Letterkenny has quickly become one of my faviorite shows. After watching it last January, it’s become part of my being and one of my go too feel good shows, a funny as hell, uniquely weird slice of life show set in rural canada. While like it’s fellow recent legend of canadian television Schitt’s creek it’s first season CAN be a bit rough.. but it’s not as rough and getting through it is worht it as the show immiedatly picked up and became one of the funniest things to ever exist. It’s also uniquely tied to christmas as every year a season of the show has dropped on that day on it’s home streamer Crave TV in canada, and on boxing day here in the us. So it’s only fitting the show also has a REALLY great christmas special. 

It’s Christmas eve and our heroes the hicks, are having a christmas party. For the uniniated the hick’s aren’t really all that “hick” ish just hardworking farmers who still accept everybody and work damn hard. Leading man, terse talker and certified badass Wayne is suprisingly really into christmas, as he spent pretty much every holiday spouting out inacuracies about it but this day? He genuienly enjoys, even insiting on awful holiday drinks only and a midnight toast, the titular three wiseman (Canadian, irish and American Whiskeys, one shot of each). “It’s tradition”.  And thanks to tradition we get the main gag of the episode: most of the episode is wayne calling in various members of the town, most of whom he dosen’t like very much and some who deeply annoy him, to give them presents. And  while i’ve admitted to being a guy who dosen’t like a plot that basically repeats itslef.. it works here.. mostly because while the setup is the same, each member provides something new and hilarious: while it starts innocently enough with Bonnie Mcmurray, local fanservice, nice lady and fangirl of wayne, getting a camera and offering to be an elf, an offer wayne is forced to take up, it soon becomes a parade of weirdness and bullshit Wayne really dosen’t want to put up with and that really makes me laugh hard: Local loveable sex maniac and bar owner Gail goes on for a good minute about her sexual antics with Wayne’s beloved departed uncle eddie after Wayne gives him a picture of the guy, Glenn, another of wayn’es unwanted admirers and local pastor, obsesses over a christmas themed digeredoo, local druggies and emos the skids intitally refuse to open their gift out of prinicpal until wayne simply asks “What if theres drugs in it” (It’s insted vitamin d), the local hockey coach sings a hilarious and gloriously cringe song about having sex with his wife when they were alive and the hockey players make wayne uncomfortable both by crying a bit. Also tanis gets an apron. 

But even if the reactions horrify or piss off our hero into needing his elf’s help, the heart is in the fact that despite hating most of these people, he still got them a gift and one that’s hearfelt and well meaning. And naturally the sweetest is saved for his family of choice with the hicks: Squirrely Dan gets a pencil case for his oft talked about women’s studies class, Dary gets some clonge since he wears his barn clothes everywhere, and Katy gets an obscure korean christmas movie since her subplot that episode had been spent trying to get a christmas movie going, only for everyone to pick it apart: from the racisim of santa and co towards rudolph to pointing out how profoundly fucked up the premise of the santa claus is (including the fact various serial killers could’ve gotten the suit), which I agree with, it’s just a sweet gesture that shows how well he knows his friend. Overall it’s just a fun hangout of an episode that feels like a real christmas party and in these troubling times we could all use that. Now let’s all have a spit.

8. The Feast of Alvis (Sealab 2021) Another Christmas staple for me.. and a gloriously strange one at that. This time we’re checking under the sea with Sealab 2021, one of the earliest adult swim shows and the blueprint for the abriged series format, it took a dry hannah barbara show about an underwater research station and remixed it into the antics of a bunch of idiots and lunatatics throughuly unequipped for the task. Except Dr. Quinn, the only sane person aboard.. most of the time. It was comedy gold courtsey of Adam Reed, creator of the later Frisky Dingo, a throughly underated show, and Archer, which is like Frisky Dingo but refined into it’s truest and most sucessful form. It was magical and just talking about it makes me want to talk about it again at some point, probably in a best of list.  So naturally this madcap energy was perfect for the holidays. Originally the crew planned to use ACTUAL religions for this, but were forced by network to change it.. which ended up being one of those cases where the network ended up actually making the right call as the creators instead created thinly veiled substute for the various religions... and centered it around Alavanism, which is christianity.. but if christ was instead born in the us at some point, and instead of being a pacifist, was a drunken beligernt gun loving redneck who shot a guy in the face, has “vengance is mine” as one of his quotes (from said face shooting) and still had pomp and circumstance as part of his holiday.  Helping this though is our Alvian for the evening is Captain Murphy, the series best character and often the center of it’s best moments, played by the wonderful and sadly late Harry Goz, a half crazed half chidlish cloud cuckoolander who often comes off like a demanding child in an old man’s body. So naturally this holiday is for him and even more naturally he’s holding a massive alvis day cermeony that’s as batshit as he and his religion are in the main deck: he’s got buffalo, a buffet that’s deeply unsanitary, and a hallogen light mimickign the alvistide star that he wants to plop a baby under.  Naturally no one else is happy about this. Well Stormy, local hilarious dumbass, is as the only other alvian on board for this, and a general sucker for dumb shenanigans but he’s so plastared he’s even less coherent than usual and can mostly muster the desire to kick something’s ass or a weak “shut up” Most of all Quinn and his girlfriend debbie, who point out religious tolerance is a part of the sealab charter and that this kind of grotesuqe celebration really isn’t in season. I’ts also a nice dig at “War on Christmas Assholes”, long before that was as big a problem with Muprhy very much being the asshole and his cleebration rapidly crumbling. He also attempts to fire Sparks for being a wiccan stand in so yeah he deserves it. It’s all capped in Muprhy getting visted by a drunken halucination of his lord. All in all easily one of the best and most insane christmas specials ever put to film. If you have HBO Max watch it today or tommorow you will NOT regret it. 

7. Arnold’s Christmas (Hey Arnold)  A classic of my childhood, Hey Arnold is one of the best animated shows period. It’s something i’m not shy about saying, I bleivie I said it in my thanksgiving list and i’ll say it quite a bit. It’s not PERFECT, it has it’s flaws.. but it’s still damn good and the golden standard for slice of life shows. 

This episode naturally is one of it’s best and, while I didn’t catch as a kid the signifigance or what this was about, touches on of all things the vietnam war and the children who were helicoptered out. In a heart destroying story, Mr. Winn, one of Arnold’s boardinghousemates, reveals he has a daughter he has no idea where she is as to give her a better life, he made sure she got on one of those helicopters as an infant. While he was able to immigrate later, he never found her. Arnold being our own personal jesus, refuses to let this stand and goes out of his way to figure it out and goes on a quest that seemingly ends in failure. It falls on Helga to save the day as Helga actually gets what she wanted from her parents, a pair of nice boots, and gets the rare moment where they actually acknoledge her.. but loving arnold and seeing the noblility in his quest.. she gives it up. Just to make someone elses’ dream come true. He may never know who did it and tha’ts okay. An utterly heartwarming and heartbreaking episode. Nuff said. 

6. Santa Claus is Comin To Town  Speaking of classics this is how you do a santa origin story. Not the first or last i’d see, and we’ll get to one of those in a moment. While i’m not a huge fan of Rankin Bass’ other big hit with Rudolph, this one really hits the spot for me and is only this low because it’s pacing is really slow at points. Otherwise this special is near flawless, looks good and holds up today.  As I said this is a good Year One for santa establishing how he became immortal, how he met the elves, he was raised by them, how he started giving out toys, how he met mrs claus you know all the stuff you’d ask about.  To me what really sells it the best though is Mickey Rooney as Santa. While I had no idea who played him till literally writing this article in my mind his earnesness, kindness and genuine nature just.. fit the old elf to me even as a young man and everything from his humble beginings to his wanting to help children just out of kindness to his teaching an old man to dance to his romance just feels.. genuine and warm like christmas should. It just makes me feel good and like others on this list.. FEELS like christmas if that makes any sense. Not a lot else to say. Burger Meister Meisterburger isn’t the best vilian, but it was the early 70′s and we weren’t quite to diamond levels of complex interesting villians just yet so fair enough. Baiscally I don’t have a TON to say about this special in short, I may review it next year, we’ll see, but  it’s really good, really fun and sometimes simple just works I guess? Speaking of stop motion..

5. Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas (Community) I love a good sitcom. I haven’t shared that love enough on here, I should try and change that at some point, but I do, as a fourth of this list should make crystal clear. So while sadly some of my faviorites like Brooklyn Nine Nine, Parks and Rec and Roseanne didn’t make the cut, Community thankfully did. Community is a show that’s really damn good and had THREE awesome Christmas episodes. All three, all winners and all in contention for some time. Regional Holiday music just barely didn’t make the cut. But ultimately I went with the best of the best, the most creative, most character driven, and most intresting. And the one that in Community’s traditional style, decided to take a spin on an old genre.  In this case Abed, the study groups resident pop culture junkie, guy who thinks in tropes and future Huey Duck, is seeing everything in stop motion and may get thrown out of school as a result. With his friends deeply worried, they turn to Greendale’s local psychologist and british areshole Professor Duncan, played by my spirtual father John Oliver. ALL HAIL THIS MAN

Duncan takes the two into Abed’s fantasy and thus into a rankin bass special where Abed slowly weeds out his friends and tries to get rid of Duncan, whose naturally only intrested in proving a case. It’s a fun, chaotic ride including christmas pterodactyls, and the cast all in bizzare forms based on what Abed thinks of htem. it’s really damn creative and beauitfully animated at that.  Naturally like most of these what clinches it is the heart and soul. We find out towards the end WHy this happened: Abed’s mom is spending christmas with her new family instead of him and it’s broken him to not be able to watch specials like they do> Thus the group rally behind their friend, beat duncan in a wonderful christmas number and watch specials with their buddy, as the weird ass family some of whom have or will make out, they are. 

4. A Charlie Brown Christmas With my love of comic strips and sentiment, it should suprise absolutely no one this is on here. I love peanuts and have only grown to love it more over hte years for it’s mealancholy, finely constructed cast and weird bits people forget about like Snoopy’s disco phase, that really damn good arc where his house burned down, his brother stealing his fiance only to have her stolen from him, the fact Lucy threw Linus out once, that peppermint patty was once held back a grade and her snores took her place at her desk, the fact there was a character named 5, Charlie Brown and Linus’ friend roy who introduced peppermint patty to the cast, the fact a character named crybaby boobie exists, the fact there are specials devoted to a pastiche of call of the wild, a friend of linus’ getting cancer, and Flashbeagle. Just flashbeagle. 

It is glorious. And I really need to add that to my review queue.. maybe for late january. Seriously, tis glorious. And I OWN this one. So yeah. What were we talking about? Oh yes the special that made all the specials, especially flashbeagle, possible: A Charlie Brown Christmas This one has always been part of my life, but even beyond it’s signifigance to me, having grown up with it and grafted it to my soul, it’s just .. good. It has some good commentary on the consumrisim of the holiday with Charlie Brown rightly a bit upset about it and ending up roped into directing a christmas play. Great gags, and charlie brown trying to stick up for a scragly tree no one enlse likes insue. Oh and scripture as this is probably the only overtly religious special on the list. Not that ther’es anything wrong with not being religious and celebrating christmas: i’m not anymore but I still do and while I respect people who celebrate the holiday int he spirit of christ I have none for people who bash anyone who dosen’t just see it religiously and whose over zealous about it. Your just as bad as war on christmas people and you should feel bad.  But yeah overal it’s just an inconic special whose clunkyness in production and audio just adds some charm to it. It shows it’s age.. but only in the animation and production values, which is just.. charming. It’s message is timeless, it’s characterization is perfect as you’d expect from peanuts in it’s prime, and i’ts ending is truly heartmelting. If you’ve never seen this one.. just go do that. I can wait. 

3. How Santa Stole Christmas! (Ducktales)  I”ll be brief on this one as, since it only aired a few weeks ago, i’ve already done a full review on it. But I will justify why such a recent special is this high up: because it’s just that good. It may of JUST been aired, but it’s as good as anything else here and age dosen’t matter. Quality does. There will likely be future specials worth this list i’m sure but for this moment in time this one earns it. It has Santa perfectly charactrized and tells an utterly heartrending story of friendship that ends up ending simply because the two are moving in opposite directions and of Scrooge learning the meaning of christmas. Not thorugh the ghosts, they already brilliantly messed with that one. It’s just really fantastic, gets the christmas spriit perfectly and uses the characters just as flawlessly. I will defintely be watching this one every year. Just a warm, creative, funny as hell special. 

2. Comfort and Joy (Justice League) Speaking of reviews I held off reviews of my final two so I could save more thoughts here. I probably still will review them eventually, especially this one, I just felt i’d be repeating myself or have to be brief like the last one. But yeah this one slaps. The Justice League cartoon is easily one of the best superhero cartoons, if not superhero properties, period. Taking the base already built in from the previous three dcau cartoons, this one builds out the world and expands it , and introduced a young me to my lifelong loves of Martian Manhunter, The Flash and especailly the green lanterns with John Stewarts badass reciting of the oath easily etched in my brain. The only reason he isn’t my faviorite lantern is because mogo exists.. aka the lantern that is a living planet. 

You can see why. But yeah Jon stuck in my mind. So it’s probably no suprise that the christmas special heavily featuring all three. It’s Christmas Time and after the league stops it’s usual disaster, they head off for their usual holiday activities. Batman and Wonder Woman are missing, but it’s fine. While I love both, especailly DCAU Batman, the episode is probably better off not trying to shove them in there just for the sake of it. One of the show’s greatest strength’s was character ballance, not forcing EVERY member of the big 7 into every episode and just using whose needed and shuffling them in and out FAR BETTER than say, Ducktales. Point is this, much like being loved by anyone, was not unusual and it makes the episode tighter. Even more so since this is the ONLY half hour episode in the first two seasons, the rest are basically hour long episodes split into two parters, though still paced for being two episodes so it’s good.. and three movie length three parters for the premire, and the season finales. Fun Fact: As a kid I missed starcrossed and thus had to find out second hand, and barely at that, why hawkgirl was gone at the start of unlimited. I still have not seen it. I will correct this eventually. It was a diffrent time. 

So yeah this episode not only has a main character cast of 6, with 3 other major supporting characters, but is handily split into three amazing plot lines. The first has Green Lantern try to teach Hawkgirl how to have christmas fun by playing on a snowy world, while Hawkgirl takes him to a bar to show how she celebrates.. i.e. getting hammered and starting a fight. Nanananana, she’s gonna start a fight. It’s a fun really sweet segment, and some nice ship tease between the two.  The other two though are what make this special.. not that the first one is bad these two are just really inspiried for the characters involved: For the Flash, who in this series is both Wally and a bit of a smug quipster.. we see beneath the ego and flirting he’s really a sweet, caring guy and spends his christmas finding a toy for the orphans in this case a rapping duck. 

Not QUITE as embarassing btu close. He runs into the Ultra Humanite whose destroying the toys because he hates the comercialism and how it dumbs things down for the kids. Have I mentioned that I love the Ultra Humanite? Because I do.. the animated version. The comics version is REALLY fucking creepy but this version? He’s fucking great, an intellectual whose a formidable threat.. and honestly sympathetic. His motive here, while misguided, is well meaning and his price for selling out the injustice gang and going back to jail quitely? one of the best gags in human history. Getting PBS to say “This program was supported by viewers like you.. and the ultra humanite” He’s just awesome and i’ts a shame he never returned for unlimited. His comic version, while not BAD is just.. not NEARLY as intresting or deep and I wish the comics would have him take after this version.  And that depth shows as once he learns what was going on, he willingly helps flash and simply reprograms the duck to recite the nutcracker. It’s a really nice gesture, that flash returns by giving his foe a christmas tree. Really good stuff.  And I saved the best for last. Heading home for the holidays, Clark takes Jonn with him since otherwise he’d be stuck at the watchtower and batman was apparnetly “Begging” for duty. Granted one wonders what his surrogate dad and adopted sons think but odds are alfred would just drag them up there anyway no mater how much Dick protested. And of course Alfred has watchtower clearance, he’s alfred: he’s the only one besides Diana looking out for bruce.. and no I don’t buy the bullshit from the batman beyond comics that never happened. And Clark too, this is true... but it takes a village to get bruce to go the fuck to sleep and most of that villiage is alfred. And if your wondering “wait won’t he be in danger”... the only thing that can kill this man is apparently bane. He’s survivied earthquakes, poisonings, turning into a supervillian via radaition induced crazies, yes really, apparently dying leading to the supervillian thing, being stabbed, being shot at, having to help raise damien... my point is the guy’s been through a lot in comics, I doubt the dcau version is any less resilent and god damn I miss this old man. Salute alfred, salute.  Where was I oh yeah, Clark insists on taking John home. And it’s stuff like this why I freaking love superman. Many dismiss him as corny, unrelaistic or boring.. all untrue. Sure he’s a boyscout, but he’s meant ot resprsent the best in mankind, what we can truly be powers or no, what we can achieve and the kind of moral, kind person we can be. He’s an inspiration for us all. And this kind of act is what shows that: his response to one of his friends having nowhere to go on christmas and not having been around the holiday? Take him to his house to share in the warmth and love.  And Clark’s parents here show WHY he’s the hero he is and why I freaking love them in all flavors.. except Zack Snyder flavor and even then tha’ts only for Pa “Letting people die is the right thing to do now i’m going to throw myself into a tornado to prove that” kent. But it’s christmas so i’m not here to bitch about zack snyder and if you want that in full, you can pay for it.  My point is they show, as they should how he became the moral paragon he is: they meet a man from mars, who they’ve never met and their son just invited.. and welcmoe him without a thought. While this isnt’ their first alien obviously, and they say so, it’s still really sweet they just warmly welcome the man in and give him their surrogate daughter/their sons’ biological cousin’s room while sh’es away. Oh Kara’s away conveniently skiing with barbra. Also she lives with them in this continuity. Also maybe that’s where dick is. I dunno, but I hope so. Dickbabs for life.. depending on the continuity. I”m still dick and star for life in the titans cartoon.  Point is we get nice of sweet, and hilaroius, holiday stuff: Jonn is suprised to see this side of clark: while he’s always warm and inviting as Clark.. he can also be relaxed, enjoy the holiday and get real spirited. For one day he dosen’t have to be superman. He can just be clark. Evne superman can take a day off.. and he’s superman, he desrves one. Let Bruce and Diana take care of it after they finish marathon sex and Diana finshes with Cheetaah and Maxwell lord.  But yeah as I was saying hilarious as we find out clark used to peak and they had to, and still do, line it with lead foil to make sure he can’t peak, and Martha gives John a sweater, saying his company is all they need for a gift and when it’s a bit big he charmingly grows into it. Jonn also walks among the humans a bit and we get a great little bit of him sneaking down a chimney after hearing the thorughts of a girl whose worried santa isn’t real. It’s just all great stuff that cumilates in Jonn joyfully singing a song in his native tounge while stroking Kara’s cat Streaky.. who sadly does not have a cape or super powers in this universe. Yet. Just a really good superhero story, a damn fine christmas story and one of the best episodes of a stellar show that thankfully is still remembered in this new age of heroes. 

1. It’s Christmas You Dorks (Harvey Beaks) Yup not probably a lot of people’s first choice but fuck it. I’ve loved this one since i saw it a few years ago shorlty after the series ended, having grown far behind and caught up just as it was ending... and regretted it as Harvey Beaks is easily one of my faviorite shows from the wall to wall hit parade that was the 2010′s. It’s charming, hilaroius, heartfelt, and creative.. and really weird if not as weird as CH Greenblaht��s previous show chowder.. but still weird enough.Thankfully Big City Greens is carying the banner for this kind of show, as is Craig of the Creek, so the kind of gentle, slice of life stuff hasn’t gone away, but this show was still it’s own thing and i’m sad it’s gone.  But while it was here it was spectacular and this is one of the best of em if not the best. And naturally for a show like this it has a neat approach: The episode is dialouge free, only having some singing in the last act and that’s diagetic, the characters singing a christmas song. We’ll get to that. This isn’t the FIRST silent christmas special i’ve seen, Courage the Cowardly dog did it’s own take on the nutcracker, but it’s still the best. And given Courage the Cowardly Dog is one of my faviorite shows, that’s high praise. Each segment is charming, unique, and well done. 

As for what each are: The wraparound is a gorgeously animated bit of stop motion or something like it where the spirit of winter goes around and turns fall to winter or helps the kid with winter fun. It’s a bunch of really adorable stuff. The first proper one is the kids having a snowball fight when a bunch of asshole adults interupt, and hte kids end up getting even by hiding in some snowmen. Again just some really fun, really well done stuff.  But the first one that really makes it follows Technobear, local wannabe ladies man in training who has a crush on Harvey’s mom and fantasies about giving her some lovely read shoes and skating with her. His hopes are dashed when instead her daughter michelle, the horrifing baby child pictured above, takes them instead. But not only is it heartwarming to see the stone faced future rule of the world crack a smile, Techno instnatly realizes whats’ improtant and takes the bby ice skating.  The next segment is just some goofy googus with the squirrels, the local crooks who are also squirreels, but it’s still pretty good. We then get Jeremy trying to be santa which is both funny but genuinely heartwarming and finally the best bit as Dade, local killjoy, gets annoyed at everyone singing a popular new christmas song instead of the old standard he likes and being a dick about it before softening a bit when Harvey genuinely offers him camradere. It’s just.. good stuff that’s hard to put into words, and given putting it into words is my thing, it really speaks to just hwo good this special is. it just, makes me feel nice, and really gets the spirit of the holiday in all it’s forms. It’s gorgeously aniamted, well paced, and never stops being entertaining and that’s why it’s both my faviorite and why every year.. i’ll be coming back to little bark. And if nothing else.. it’ll keep this warm, great show alive in my heart.  So with that I end this list. If you didn’t like it tha’ts fine, this is my opinon. But I wanted to share my faviorites with you and hope you’ll check them out this or next chirstmas. Until we meet again... Merry Christmas to all,and to all a good night. 

#christmas #lists #reviews #animation #schitt's creek #justice league #bobs burgers #mst3k #mystery science theater 3000 #harvey beaks #a charlie brown christmas #charlie brown #santa claus is comin to town #community #alvis #sealab 2021 #adam reed #letterkenny #hey arnold #ducktales

[aqvarius]

Top 5 fav hlitf cgs?

thanks for this ask!! ahh it was so hard to narrow it down to 5 but i will try my best (with some bonuses bc... how could i not). i’m not going to include vip room CGs here even tho there are a couple of them that i adore too. also i can’t believe i’m not including the soma coming out of the shower CG that i love enough to have made my icon for a very long time now... but that just goes to show how much i love these ones. 

5. are you bullying my aide?

okay so i’m cheating right off the bat and decided to group these two in one category bc they’re like conceptually the same CG lmao. i made a post before about loving instructors getting furious at people trying to hurt you in the sunset. and the fact that two of my absolute fave LIs of all time get these gorgeous fury CGs makes me infinitely happy alskdfls. the sad thing is that there’s an error in soma’s route so the CG doesn’t actually appear in-game...  anyway you know i love seeing cool love interests get mad so these two CGs are a perfect depiction of that.

4. i’ll take compensation

who doesn’t love this scene and CG!! and the in-game version as well where his eyes are open bc he was surprised. i love it so much. that entire ending was so good, with the mc being the Best Senpai Ever? and she tries to blow his socks off with a kiss but then he just grabs her butt and goes in deeper? we stan a tie-grabbing mc. i only wish there was a CG for that elevator kiss too in the sequel(?). 

3. it reminded me of ugly cat

honestly i love all of goto’s s3 CGs bc they are all just so pretty and i love the one as well where tsugaru is joking about him and usa being a couple and goto gets pissed. but this one is just so... pure and soft???? it’s so rare to see goto all relaxed and smiley and i just love it soooo much. also does anyone else find that his smile in this CG is so similar to chiba’s smiling sprite? ughhh this is so freaking cute i physically can’t look at it for too long otherwise i get overwhelmed with feelings. oh and also that cat is so weird looking lmao

2. please... let me be with you

one of my favourite moments of all time. look how stunned kaga looks (but also... how pretty is he here... and how pretty is she.... season 3 CGs are so top quality). the fact that she’s hopped up on painkillers but they’re just fading off so she’s already starting to feel pain again and kaga is already kind of angsting over everything that happened on the case and then tsugaru is taking her home while kaga can’t even speak to her bc of office rules. and she just runs back to the office by herself even tho she’s already starting to feel the pain in her gunshot wound and just bursts into the office and yanks his cigarette out of his mouth and kisses him? and says even if you don’t want me, i want to be with you. honestly this whole moment is like freaking kdrama level dramatic and romantic and i love it so much. it’s like... the perfect moment combined with the prettiest CG. kaga’s pov of this scene makes it EVEN BETTER because he’s literally smitten with her, like he wants her so badly and then she just magically appears in front of him and kisses the life out of him, just as he was thinking about how much he needs her. right at the moment when he’s feeling the most empty, the most hollow, like his entire career in public safety amounted to nothing, she comes back to him. and then there’s that line of his, where he talks about love so fierce that he can’t breathe around it filling his chest and honestly it gets me every single time (also bc i can relate to that feeling lmao) but basically kaga/mc is my favourite couple and this moment and CG are just like... exactly what i love the most about them as a pair. ALSO i love her hair and that gold pin hahaha i want it. 

1.5 did i or did i not say you were forbidden from acting rashly?

how could i not include this one as a bonus? i’ve been in love with this CG from the very first time i laid eyes on it back in 2018. no context (at the time i think soma’s graduation hadn’t even come out in l365 so we hadn’t even seen his short hair sprite in the intl app), no idea what was even happening in this scene, and yet i was immediately struck by the dangerous look in his eye and that little smile, and also just like... getting to see him in a tshirt and hoodie is so rare? i’m p certain that outfit is just recycled ayumu sprite’s casual clothes. anyway, knowing the context behind this CG makes it 10000x better for me. i wrote this in my unpublished review of soma’s battlefield route but i genuinely believe we’re seeing this CG from his mc’s eyes and that’s what tokito really looked like in that moment - with soma’s face, his hair, his expressions, his hands, his voice. our poor, sweet mc had been suffering for so long to the point where even toru and ayumu noticed that she hadn’t smiled in forever and were trying to cheer her up (and momose too later!!). for me, this CG represents the absolutely heartbreaking sense of delusion that soma’s mc feels in this route, and the way that she keeps trying so hard to project soma onto tokito because of her grief. i genuinely felt like in that moment, she physically saw soma coming to her rescue, like her desires manifest into a delusion. also, this CG comes at an absolutely amazing time bc we had been deprived of seeing soma for like 60% of the route and then we get this CG and suddenly everything is better for a short moment, and then everything goes back to normal and you really get a sense of how upsetting life has been for his mc.

1. come now, love. tell me what you desire

i love this CG. i love it so so so so so much. firstly, i love the look of it. both soma and his mc just look so attractive?? soma’s muscles?? in his shoulders and back especially?! his mc has commented on his shoulderblades and back muscles before which have been honed through kendo practice so i’m very happy to get to see them. the actual text says that the mc is naked but here she’s still wearing a sundress, but she just looks so pretty and like she’s feeling unbelievably good? anyway i scream bc even soma’s hands look good and they still kept that one piece of hair that he has that sticks up lmao what’s gravity anyway? anyway, beyond the sensuality of the image (and also his tongue... and his sweat...), there’s just so much meaning behind it? like yes, it’s very hot and sensual and the dialogue that goes with this scene is unbelievably sexy, but this scene is just super meaningful bc it’s part of their recovery as a couple. they’re on this secret holiday in okinawa and they’re reconnecting after their trauma and idk it’s just so intimate. we really get to see the mc from soma’s eyes and we get to see how he is the only one who can see her weakness behind that strong face of hers, but also how he sees her strength in recovery? the way he describes that scene where she’s in this gorgeous white swimsuit with a sheer coverup and then picks a brown swim float so she can sit atop it on the waves and say “don’t i look like a doughnut?” despite having a literal near-death experience in the sea not too long before honestly had me falling head over heels in love with her, and it really made me understand exactly what he loves about her, and how much he just adores her. anyway this is me gushing over that special story, but what i mean is that the ending of his battlefield in combination with this special story sets up the beginning of soma and his mc’s healing as a couple, and it culminates in this scene. soma is kind of similar to kaga in the sense that they both actually demonstrate their feelings the most honestly through physical means, and here you can just see how palpable the desperation is. they desire each other so intensely and intimately and having this moment for the two of them to share is so significant for their recovery. you can just see how much soma needs to show her that he’s here, he’s really, physically here with her, and he’ll never leave her alone ever again, and he’s so sorry for all the pain she’s had to go through. you can see the way he’s telling her that with his body and with the way he talks to her and is just so himself in bed. there are really parallels between their first night together and this scene (mostly like... him asking her to tell him what she wants lol) and it just makes me so EMOTIONAL. 

YOU THOUGHT THIS WAS THE END? 

no, that was just my top five solo (or li/mc) CGs. i also need to give my top five fave group/multiple character CGs lmao.

in no particular order:

what can i say? it’s just so beautiful, and every single expression and pose is just so suited for each character i’m in love. 

frankly no real reason for this one aside from the fact that we get to see goto and subaru in yukata and subaru always looks soooo freaking good in hlitf CGs and also goto’s hand is on subaru’s chest and you know we ship gobaru in this house

the third anniversary substory CGs are just amazing (you’ll see the full one in a bit and it’s WILD) but honestly i just need everyone to see this one bc it’s just gorgeous. look at ishigami and kaga and look at how inhuman they look, all sweaty and tired from being in panda mascot costumes. kaga with his sleeves rolled up literally has me salivating. look at PRETTY their faces and muscles are... anyway, this CG has me as thirsty as ishigami guzzling that bottle of water.......... 

i said it was in no particular order but i just need to say that this one is my actual favourite bc it has EVERYONE. and look at how gorgeous they all look.... every single one of them with their hair pushed back ;alskdjfalsk WHO??? WHO LET THIS HAPPEN? NAMBA’S GLOVE? KAGA AND GOTO’S MATCHING SCOWLS? THE ANGLE OF SOMA’S HEAD? TSUGARU’S TONGUE? and also the way his legs are positioned?!?!?! also i love swishy hair ayumu and hide with his leg crossed the other way from kaga and also i’ve never seen toru look this attractive it’s very unfair. 

the sheer amount of chaotic energy in this one is just wonderful and i love all the details. you all know namba is DAY DRUNK. goto and toru in that signature headlock position, ayumu being a lil shit and putting wasabi in all the cupcakes and ISHIGAMI AND KAGA FALLING FOR IT AND SUFFERING??? LOOK AT THEIR SUFFERING FACES JUST LOOK. and you just KNOW that soma is going to suffer the same fate oh sweet mercy this is like “famous last pictures” level of good. also they’re all wearing new clothes which i love sooooo much. i wanna see ayumu in that orange sweater more often and also army green shirt kaga with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms with that look on his face. have i ever been more in love? no. 

finally, here’s my ultimate favourite favourite group image of all time! not a CG but it’s the header that i use on the mobile version of my blog:

they’re all looking so happily/fondly over at YOU (hlitf mc who fell asleep) and wondering what you’re dreaming about/saying that you’re dreaming about them. and they all just love and adore you so much. the amount of affection in this one image is unreal and also momose is in it ialskfjsd i just.............. am the SOFTEST for this one. 

anyway sorry that (1) it took so long for me to answer this, bc i had to spend ages thinking about it alongside being busy with life stuff and (2) that i went on for so long and did not pick 5 CGs but rather... 12....... but these are my faves!! thank you so much for the ask! 

#her love in the force #hlitf #seiji goto #hyogo kaga #hideki ishigami #shusuke soma #ayumu shinonome #jin namba #toru kurosawa #takaomi tsugaru #takeru momose #snow answers #Anonymous #voltage inc #otome game #voltage otome #otome romance #love 365 #at times like this i really miss my tag bundles

[midnghtcities]

cherry flavoured / chapter 3

Christmas. A time of celebration, joy, and cookie-induced food comas. Hazel Shaw needs this holiday season to be the best one yet, but a neighbour by the name of Harry Styles could completely destroy that ideal.

An enemies-to-lovers Christmas mini-fic about old mistakes, new prospects, and those cherry flavoured conversations you wish could be forgotten. 

Written for the 1DFF discord server fic challenge.

read on wattpad / story page

(A/N: yes i know christmas was almost a month ago but i am terrible at keeping schedules!! anywho, just a short epilogue after this part!)

! TW: brief description of a seizure !

Friday, 25 December

Alcohol the night before Christmas is never a good idea if you want to have a good night sleep. Pair that with a boy who you once upon a time thought you could be in love with admitting to something relatively shocking, then you’re definitely not in for a good night sleep.

My alarm chirped happily at seven and I unhappily dragged myself out of my cocoon of comfort. I don’t think I had roused myself this early on Christmas morning since I was 10 years old, but I wanted today to be perfect. Normally, mum would take on the duties of preparing Christmas Day but I had insisted on her taking as much rest as she needed. It was my turn to take charge. I promptly forced all lingering thoughts about last night to the back of my mind and began to get on with the day. 

Once downstairs I busied myself with arranging our presents under the tree, switching on the Christmas lights, and setting the table for our traditional Christmas breakfast. I grabbed the supplies I had stashed in the cupboard earlier and got to work on our breakfast gingerbread house. 

I knew to many it would seem pretty silly that we indulge on something so sweet for breakfast, but it was our tradition. As a kid, I was always half excited to see the presents under the tree and half excited to see what gingerbread monstrosity my mum had created. Some notable mentions include the 30cm lighthouse she had somehow erected in 2005 and her infamous attempt at the Buckingham Palace in 2011. This year, we would have to do with a simple house though. Time constraints meant I had to use a simple store-bought kit.

It was just past half nine when I put the finishing touches on the gingerbread house and I finally called up to mum, telling her she was permitted to come downstairs to begin our festivities.

“Happy Christmas, mum!”

“Happy Christmas, Hazel.”

I immediately wrapped mum up in a hug once she had fully descended the stairs. Both of us held on a little longer than we normally would.

“This looks fantastic!” Mum beamed.

It was nothing compared to what mum used to do back in the day but I appreciated the sentiment. I pulled mum over to the sofa and we began exchanging gifts, both of us laughing at how we seemingly got all the gifts so perfect for once. After the wrapping paper had been stashed away, I proudly brought out my gingerbread creation. The roof was barely hanging on and I had to make extra icing in order to hold the walls up, but all in all it was a decent effort. Mum had the honours of smashing the whole thing apart and we both dug in, a full pot of tea accompanying our sweet escapade.

It was almost midday. We had packed the remains of the gingerbread house away before we made ourselves sick and we had both donned our garish Christmas jumpers. I had set mum up with some corny Christmas movie that was on Netflix whilst I busied myself with preparing our lunch. A typical roast dinner, but for lunch obviously.

“Are you feeling hungry yet? I think the food is pretty much ready,” I peered into the oven, the golden skin of the chicken confirming my suspicions. I gave the mashed potatoes on the stove another stir, making sure it wasn’t getting gluggy at the bottom.

“Mum?” I called over my shoulder again.

I turned around, finding her lack of response strange.

She was standing rigidly near the dining table, her right hand clasped over her mouth. Her gaze was fixed on the wall.

“Mum…” I felt my heart leap into my throat. I had seen this before. I dropped the wooden spoon I was holding and immediately walked over to her.

In the six steps it took for me to get to her, it all happened. The glass I didn’t even realise she was holding fell from her left hand and shattered. She crumpled and fell, knees collapsing beneath her. That guttural groan I had hoped I would never have to hear again. Eyes rolling. Jaw locked. Shaking. Jerking. She was having a seizure.

I dropped to my knees beside her, rolling her onto her side as best as I could. I checked her airway like the paramedic had shown me last time. It was clear thankfully. With surprisingly steady hands, I grabbed my phone from my back pocket and dialled 999.

It didn’t even feel like it was me speaking. A voice so even and calm couldn’t possibly be coming out of my mouth right now. I relayed the personal details with ease, told the lady on the other end of mum’s condition without a stutter over the big medical words. Who am I?

“Paramedics are on their way to you now. You’re doing a great job, love.”

I blinked. Mum had stopped shaking, but her eyes were still closed.

“They should be right outside love,” the call takers voice interjected. 

I thanked her and hung up, mystified at how they had arrived in seconds. When I looked down at my phone screen I realised that the phone call had been going for more than five minutes. I blinked again. Blue flashing lights slicing through the living room blinds. A firm knock at the door.

I was walking underwater. My legs were not moving fast enough. I held my arms out as though I was about to lose balance. I made it to the door, let the paramedics in. 

Now I was sitting on the sofa. Look at me. Take a breath. Tell me what happened. How long was she out? You did a great job. She’s going to be okay. 

“Hazel?!”

I was pulled out of the water. My senses ignited, the scene before me truly unfolding. Two paramedics, one assessing mum and one crouched before me. I could hear a steady beeping, mum’s heart on the monitor I’m assuming. And Harry. He was standing in the doorway, eyes wide with horror. Anne and Gemma were behind him, with similar looks of panic. They were all wearing those crappy paper Christmas hats.

And it was as if that’s what tipped the scale. It was Christmas day. My mum just had a seizure. I burst into tears.

I launched myself off the sofa and towards Harry. He had already begun moving towards me so he caught me immediately. I sobbed horribly into his jumper, my chest heaving and throat almost instantly becoming raw as I let it out. I cried for Christmas Day being ruined. I cried for the pain my mum has had to endure. I cried for the fact that mum would most likely not be here this time next year. I cried for my mum being diagnosed with glioblastoma at the age of 52.

“You’re okay…” Harry continually whispered into the top of my head, his hand rubbing circles on my back. I clinged to him like he was the only thing to keep me afloat right now.

I wasn’t sure how long we had been embracing, but I eventually calmed down. I carefully pulled my head back from his chest, bringing my arms away from his waist to rub my eyes clear. He kept his arms locked around me though, like he wasn’t sure if I was ready to be let go. I was glad he kept them there.

“You’re bleeding,” he said worriedly.

“Oh…” I looked at my hands and realised he was right. I must’ve leant on the glass when I was beside mum. As soon as I realised the cuts were there, I felt the throb of pain. “I think… I might’ve gotten blood on your jumper…”

“Wha--” Harry spluttered, like he was lost for words. “I-- I do not give a fuck about that! Come here.” He pulled me back over to the sofa.

I took the moment to glance around the room. Anne was talking to the paramedic. Gemma was distributing glasses of water. And then there was Mum, sitting up on one of the dining table chairs. She looked so tired, but despite that, when I met her gaze she sent me a smile. It was the same look she gives me after every medical episode she’s had in the last year. It was her way of saying all was fine, no need to worry. What she didn’t realise was that all I had been for the past year was a pit of worry.

“Is it alright if you check to make sure there’s no glass in the cuts?” Harry’s gruff voice pulled me back in the moment.

“Of course,” the paramedic bobbed down in front of me and asked to see my hands.

Harry immediately took up the space beside me, his arm snaking around my waist once more. I leant into him almost automatically. I didn’t care that it felt so right to be like this with him. I didn’t care that he pressed his lips to the top of my head when the disinfectant the paramedic applied caused me to wince. I especially didn’t care that he kept me entwined with him even after the paramedic had finished tending to the cuts.

“We’re gonna take her upstairs,” the other paramedic addressed me a few minutes later. “Her vitals are good and we’ve given some pain relief for the headache she's sporting. Seeing as this isn’t her first seizure we don’t need to bring her in. But if anything changes in her condition, ring and we’ll come straight back.”

I nodded mutely and despite my protesting heart, I pulled myself up and out of Harry’s arms.

“It’s alright Hazel,” Anne jumped in quickly, “you stay there and I’ll show them where your mum’s room is.”

“No, it’s okay,” I finally found my voice. “You’ve done so much already, I don’t need to spoil your Christmas anymore.”

“Hazel… Don’t say that…”

“Please, go back to your Christmas lunch. I promise we’re okay now.”

I could tell Anne wanted to fight me on this but Gemma grabbed her mum’s hand and began leading her towards the door.

“Thank you…” I said quietly as they passed. Anne pulled me into a hug, whispering that I could call if I needed anything.

Harry stood from the sofa, his expression somewhat unreadable. As suddenly as I had felt at ease with him, it all slipped away and I felt the frostiness of our current relationship seep back in. I had broken down in front of and clutched onto the man that I had promised myself five years early that I would have nothing to do with anymore. How do you move past that?

“I… Uh-- Thank you, as well,” I said lamely.

It looked like he was about to say something in response, but instead he swallowed thickly. Clearly, the moments we had shared earlier have officially passed.

I motioned to the paramedics to assist bringing mum upstairs. I knew the Styles’ would be able to show themselves out. I tried not to wince each time mum took a laborious breath as she came up the stairs. However, I felt a strange lightness when they finally settled her in the bed.

I thanked the paramedics profusely, which they accepted graciously. They promised to close the front door behind them, urging me to stay with mum for a bit to make sure she’s comfortable.

“I’m so sorry Hazel,” mum spoke as soon as they left.

I went and sat beside her. “Please don’t apologise, you can’t control these things.”

“Yes, but I know how much effort you had put into today. You deserve to have a special day.” A soft but sad smile graced her features. I knew she was skirting around the big issue that we always tried to avoid. The impending end that her diagnosis was going to bring. 

“We have lots of time for a special day,” I said quietly, bringing her hands into my own. “And even if we don’t… I am so thankful for the countless ones we’ve already had. Never feel guilty that you’re taking something away from me.”

Mum’s eyes turned glassy with emotion. She tugged on my hands, signalling that she needed a hug. 

“Get some rest,” I spoke after pulling away a few seconds later. “Maybe we can still have some Christmas dinner if I can salvage the chicken.”

She laughed but agreed. I wanted to stay and watch her fall asleep - to be sure - but she assured me that she felt fine and told me to go. I begrudgingly agreed.

 Carefully, I closed her bedroom door and walked gingerly back downstairs. I knew I needed to clean up the mess. And try and rustle up something edible for us.

“Is she alright?”

“Jesus Christ!” My heart almost leapt out of my chest at the unexpected sounding of a voice. Harry was standing in my kitchen, arms crossed and eyebrows furrowed in what looked like concern. “You scared the shit out of me. What are you still doing here?”

“I wanted to make sure you were okay… And your mum. Is she?”

I was shocked that Harry hadn’t left. After what had happened earlier I was sure he would’ve wanted to put as much distance between us as possible. “Uh… yeah. She seems to be,” I managed to get out, “she’s just resting at the moment.”

“Good, good,” he said softly. I kept forgetting what it was like to have him talk to me like this, like we were before.

“You cleaned up,” I noticed that the shards of glass had been surreptitiously swept away and the floor wiped clean of any evidence of what had happened. I suddenly felt my throat tighten and that telltale pinch behind my eyes. Harry had literally held me together a mere hour earlier and yet this small act of kindness was sending me over the edge again. I didn’t want Harry to see me like this once more. I quickly walked over to the cupboard to grab a glass and filled it with water from the sink.

“Least I could do,” he replied, seemingly not noticing my change in demeanor. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t save your chicken. Mum made you both a plate though from our leftovers, I put them in the fridge. I can heat it up for you if you’re hungry now…”

He was being so nice. It felt so jarring. One day he was all eye rolls and words filled with venom, and the next he was offering to get me food. With the absence of my earlier heightened emotions, his sudden concern felt like he was trying to portray some act.

“I’m alright for now,” I finally spoke after a few beats of silence. I turned from the sink to face him again. His eyes held that look of pity - poor girl with a sick mum. I hated it.

“Okay then… Do you wanna just watch a movie then? Get your mind off things?”

It was like a switch had flipped in my mind. I had enough of fake niceties and acts of kindness formed out of pity. I slammed my glass down onto the counter, water sloshing out the side. “God, why are you here?” I said sourly.

“What? I told you, to make--”

“To make sure I’m okay, yeah, I heard that. But why do you even care?”

I watched Harry’s gaze harden. “You… Seriously? What is your problem? I’m trying to do the right thing.”

I clenched my hands into fists, my nails pressing deep into the palms of my hands. I was desperately trying to prevent myself from exploding at him. “Why? Cause you feel sorry for me?”

“No, of course not!”

“Then why do the right thing now? After all these years?”

Harry shook his head in disbelief and began to pace across the floor. He ran his hands through his hair. “You know, a thank you would be nice,” he spat after a few moments.

“A thank you? A thank you?” I could feel my face heating up, not in embarrassment but in anger. It was getting harder and harder to keep it together. “You should be thanking me!”

“What the fuck are you on about?”

“For helping you to get back with your girlfriend.”

Harry stopped in his tracks and faced me, eyes wide in bewilderment. “Hazel, I have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about.” His frustration was palpable as he threw his hands up in the air. “I thought this was about your mum!? Or me apparently helping you too much today.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose and squeezed my eyes shut. I forced myself to take three deep breaths. I reopened my eyes to see Harry staring at me expectantly. 

“It’s about the fact that we have barely spoken to each other for the past five years and now you expect us to sit on the sofa and watch some bloody movie?” I said in a surprisingly even tone.

“It’s not my fault we haven’t spoken in the last five years,” he replied icily.

“Excuse me…”

“I’m sure you remember the last summer before uni?” Harry crossed his arms across his chest, an eyebrow raised expectantly.

“How could I forget,” I said darkly. I could feel that my hands were shaking ever so slightly.

“So you remember that--” he swallowed thickly, “--that last night.”

I nodded mutely. This was the first time we had ever spoken of that night.

“So then you definitely must remember how you moved across the country the next day without saying goodbye to me and have ignored me since.”

My mouth fell open. That is not what happened. My body flushed as I tried to process what Harry was telling me. Memories of that night flooded back, it had been so long since I had allowed myself to think of them. 

I remember the heat - we had been suffering through a heat wave all week. Someone from our form was having a final hurrah before we all went off to uni. Harry and I went together - as we always did - and we drank. A lot. Those god damn cherry vodka sours. As we stumbled home, he kissed me. I’ll never forget the look that clouded his eyes when he pulled away. And next thing I knew we were in his bed, all fervent mouths and quiet moans.

“You slept with me,” I spoke as I finally pulled out of my reverie, “and the very next day run right back into the arms of Lucy, who you told me you had ended things with…”

I watched as Harry’s eyebrows knitted together in what looked like confusion.

“All I was to you was a quick fuck to help sort out your feelings,” I said quietly. It had taken me a long time to accept the truth of Harry’s actions but admitting it outloud was almost harder. A tear suddenly slipped down my face. I hadn’t even felt myself well up.

“So yes,” I continued on when I realised Harry was just going to keep staring at me with a look of dumbfoundedness, “I did leave for London without saying goodbye. But I think I had a pretty good reason to.”

Harry continued to stare at me, his eyes wide. I waited a further few seconds, expectant of a response, but nothing came.

“I think you should leave,” I finally spoke.

He didn’t move.

“Fine then,” I stormed past him not even taking care when my shoulder careened into his own. Just as I was about to climb the stairs, I felt his hand around my wrist. He pulled me to a stop.

“I wasn’t talking to Lucy to get back with her. I was telling her… that she was right.” His voice was raspier than earlier.

I begrudgingly turned to face him, “Right about what?”

“She was the one who actually ended things…”

“What? You told me you did.”

“I know, I didn’t want you to know the real reason why she broke up with me.”

I raised an eyebrow, “And what was the real reason?”

Harry drew in a shuddering breath, “She thought… Well she insisted on the fact that I was actually in love with you.”

It felt like someone had sucked all the air out of lungs. My vision swam for a moment. I placed my left hand on the wall as though my legs were going to give way. “And… You went to tell her that she was right…”

“I thought maybe you felt the same, especially after… But with you leaving so suddenly, it made it pretty clear that I had come to the wrong conclusion.” Harry’s gaze shifted away from my own, he clearly was feeling uncomfortable.

His admission made me view the last five years in a new light. His actions did match those of a scorned lover. In fact, it matched my own.

“You weren’t wrong,” I breathed out. I reached forward, my hand landing on his chest. Even through his jumper I could feel his heart beating erratically. 

He met my gaze once more and all I could see was that look - the one he held all those years ago. 

Without another second of hesitation, our lips crashed together. My hands immediately found their way into Harry’s hair, fingers curling around the tendrils as though to keep us locked in this place for eternity. I felt Harry’s own hands dig into my waist, pulling me flush against his chest. Heart to heart as we should be - something I never thought would happen again. Something that I hadn’t realised I had been longing for all this time.

Against my better judgment, I pulled away. Harry gave a small noise of protest which I smiled at. “Wait…” I said whilst trying to catch my breath. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions so easily when I saw you--”

“Don’t you dare apologise. We were both arses. I should’ve reached out, found out what was wrong.”

I captured his lips with my own again. “Agree to both be sorry then?” I spoke after pulling away.

He laughed softly, “Alright then.”

I rested my head against his chest, glad to have Harry’s arms around me. “I can’t believe we wasted five years…”

“Might’ve been for the better, you would not have enjoyed my long-haired phase in my second last year of uni.”

I looked up at him, both of our eyes crinkled with laughter. “And I suppose you wouldn’t have enjoyed me in my last year where I was determined to hit up every bar in London.”

I watched his expression drop ever so slightly. “Right, London.” He loosened his grip on me, pulling away. “I suppose you’re heading back there tomorrow?”

The reality of real life crashed down like a bucket of water had been tipped over me. How could I forget that Harry and I have crafted full lives in completely different cities.

“It’ll be hard to say goodbye to you knowing how we both feel now,” he said quietly.

I chewed my lip, “You know… I could extend my leave. Maybe until after New Years. I’m sure I could get some special considerations.”

Harry raised his eyebrows, “Are you sure?”

“We’re not fucking this up a second time.”

He grinned and wrapped me in his embrace once more, his lips making quick work to find my own.

“You know,” I pulled away.

His groan cut me off, “Stop bloody doing that.”

I shushed him with a laugh, “I was just going to say that in case my leave doesn’t get approved that we should make the most of the time we have left.” I looked fixedly over to the sofa.

“Fuck, I love the way you think.”

Without a second thought we tumbled over to the sofa, our legs becoming entangled, clothes discarded, and hands roaming - eager to find what had changed in the last five years. And as Harry peppered kisses down my torso and brought forth feelings so intense I hadn’t thought possible - I knew I wouldn’t be leaving any time soon. Even if that meant quitting my job or moving halfway across a country. 

Harry and I. This was it.

#1dff #harry styles #harry styles fanfic #harry styles imagine #one direction #one direction fanfiction #fanfiction #ao3feed #wattpad

[madlymiho]

Hi! ✨ For the spooky event i'd like to ask for Shanks and Mihawk with the alphabet letters: D, Y, G, P and T! (They can be nsfw, but i don't mind, be free with whatever you come up with ☺) Thx so much! And for this event too!! 😍💕✨

Hi there! 🌛 and thank you for participating to the spookyvent! 👻 I'm super happy you picked my brand new alphabet! 😱

I hope this will suit you! ❤️

SPOOKYVENT #1

Shanks

Dress-up: What are their favorite costume to wear and what kind of costume do they enjoy? Would they put on a costume or are they reluctant to do so? Do they put effort in their costume or are they doing the minimum?

Shanks is among the people who definitely loves to dress-up for Halloween but religiously sucks at it for sure, at the edge of embarassing people for his lack of efforts in what he believes to be an awesome costume... He definitely understands the mood during this period of the year, and he particularly enjoys the fact he can be someone else, but unfortunately, Shanks isn’t the fanciest guy in town, and he’s not particularly focused on the details. A simple rippd cape he found somewhere and some tomato at the corner of his lips would do the job, and since he’s almost certain to ruin his costume by the end of the night (yeah, Halloween is about partying), he doesn’t need to put a lot of efforts in his wardrobe. His favorite thing remains to actually pretend to be someone else, someone he knows to copy his mimics and behaviors, and when he has the occasion, he steals a piece or two of clothes at Mihawk’s place and have fun pretending he’s that spooky vampire... Otherwise, don’t expect him to do much more!

Yeet: A random halloween little story about them

When he was a bit younger, Shanks loved to appear on various noble islands during Halloween night, pretending that he was a ghost captain from a ghost ship, and he was thoroughly frightening the nobles, because it was always terribly funny to see their look on their faces (and don’t demand a lot of money to calm his wrath). Unfortunately, with the years, the nobles built an impressive armada to protect themselves from the dangerous ghost, to the point that one day, they had to escape at least 6 war ships from the Navy. Since when, Benn Beckam made it clear with his captain: if he ever pretends he’s a ghost captain one more time, he will throw him overboard and leave him to his fate!

Grim Reaper: What are their relationship to death? Are they afraid, open to it? How do they accept it or not?

Shanks isn’t afraid of death and believes it’s the most natural and logical thing in this world. We all born to die one day, there’s no trick to actually fight the end, and there’s no point to be afraid of it. As a pirate, and a Yonko, he has witnessed a lot deaths among his friends and enemies, and somehow, it became a part of his nature. He saw Gol D Roger on that scaffold one day, ready to die, with the brightest smile on his lips, and somehow, despite his sadness, despite his fear to be left alone one more time, Shanks also understood that life worths something because of death. Since when, he believes he has to welcome her as a friend rather than an enemy. As long as he enjoys his life and his adventure... he’s all good with the idea to leave this world one day. He’s just afraid of his emotions when he will lose the members of his family, the Red Hair Pirates... 

Prank: Are they up to some mischief during halloween night or do they prefer to keep things casual? Do they like to be pranked, or prank in return?

Better run the hell away if you don’t like being pranked! Here comes the mastermind of prank, the little red-haired devil, and all his crewmates are already tired when they discover that it’s soon to be spooky season! Shanks is one of the filthiest pranker, and he clearly doesn’t wait for Halloween night to be up to some mischief! He has already prepared his ideas for a few weeks, because he knows exactly how to piss off his crewmates, especially the most serious one, like Beckam. Though, he wouldn’t mind to be pranked as well, and will recognize his defeat is someone ever prank him better than him! Shanks is all about having fun and messing around, his pranks are genuine, and it’s a good way to bond with other people!

Trick or treat: What kind of trick-or-treater are they? Do they appreciate the tradition? Do they prefer to stay at home? Did they prepare a bowl of candies or on the contrary, do they have nothing at all ready?

When he discovered the “trick and treat” tradition, he was like a kid in a candy shop! Shanks finds this tradition particularly cute, especially when he meets some children on his journey, and has the privilege to escort them, and he always pushes them to ask for more candies, or throw eggs if the person doesn’t have anything to offer. He forgets a bit about his position in the world, and it’s the best way to offer some pleasant moments for kids who don’t have the chance to have an easy life. Probably he will share his loots with all of them when he would find a way to steal everyone’s house in the neighborhood, telling ghost stories around a bonfire, stuffing their bellies with all the candies and snacks they have been able to find.

Mihawk

Dress-up: What are their favorite costume to wear and what kind of costume do they enjoy? Would they put on a costume or are they reluctant to do so? Do they put effort in their costume or are they doing the minimum?

If Mihawk eventually decides to dress up for Halloween, you better be sure that he would put a lot of efforts in his costume! He particularly adores whatever comes from the Victorian era, using all the fanciest accessories to turn his costume into something absolutely magnificent. Cape, jewels, sharp nails, fake teeth, but also corset, silk shirt... He believes that if you decide to do something, you need to do it with your best skills and attributes, and there’s no excuse to be lazy. Though, there’s also this inner part he won’t clearly talk about... but Mihawk just loves to be dressed-up like this!

Yeet: A random halloween little story about them

One time, only one time, he accepted to celebrate Halloween with Shanks and his crewmates. Only once he lowered his guard, finally indulging his weird and uncommon friend to have a night of celebrations. It ended-up in the most unpleasant party for Mihawk. Too many drinks have been involved, leading the captain of the Red Hair Pirates to mess around with the Navy, putting Mihawk in such an awkward position that he has preferred to abandon Shanks on a virgin island, sailing back to his lonely place, irritated as hell and cursing against his red-haired friend.

Maybe he was also pissed off because he had a good time... but as the numerous legends during Halloween night, these stories are only stories...

Grim Reaper: What are their relationship to death? Are they afraid, open to it? How do they accept it or not?

As many pirates on the sea, Mihawk is pretty detached to the idea that death can be something terrible, or frightening. There’s a certain peace and quietness coming with it, probably because death isn’t something he finds awful, but natural, and perfectly understandable. We all borrow time to the big clock of the universe, one day you have to leave this world of yours behind, and for him, there’s no taboo about it. Probably, he has already accepted that his life could be short because of his activities, and as a swordman, the best one in the world, he wishes to die with the best honors. He’s also quite open to the idea of ending his own life if he needs to, completely aware of the warriors’ tradition. He’s perfectly comfortable with the idea of dying one day, whether it be in a near future, or in a long time, universe will see how much time he can have anyway.

Prank: Are they up to some mischief during halloween night or do they prefer to keep things casual? Do they like to be pranked, or prank in return?

Obviously not the best person to prank someone, or to be pranked in return! If he believes the spooky season is perhaps the most enjoyable holidays, and that he appreciates a few traditions relied to this particular period, he doesn’t believe that pranking people is on the list. Mihawk remains someone utterly serious, he doesn’t care about activities he finds utterly childish. Surely, kids can have fun between them, but those pranks need to stay away from him. He doesn’t have the patience to deal with that, he’s a busy man.

Trick or treat: What kind of trick-or-treater are they? Do they appreciate the tradition? Do they prefer to stay at home? Did they prepare a bowl of candies or on the contrary, do they have nothing at all ready?

Mihawk doesn’t participate to this tradition and wouldn’t hunt for candies or other snacks, especially when you see what kind of island he appreciates to live on. He’s more a solitary individual, enjoying the silence of his castle, far from the mad crowd and its everlasting passion for hubbub. He doesn’t have candies to offer either, Mihawk preferring to keep a healthy life’s hygiene most of the time. He might have some cakes here and there, but it wouldn’t be very convenient to hand them to kids, and even more, they wouldn’t appreciate the rich aromas of his favorite dishes.

No, for sure, Mihawk prefers to open a bottle of a refined wine and enjoy a good reading, his own communion with the spirits and the undeads surrounding this world.

#one piece headcanons #shanks one piece #dracule mihawk #shanks #mihawk one piece #spooky season #spooky writing #spookyvent #one piece writing #one piece event #one piece #spooky alphabet #lirulee #queued

[loved-lefthaunted]

What are your thoughts on all the evermore songs?

oh my god. this is such a hard question for me so brace yourself. it’s taken me nearly 2 months to write this out and i still don’t think i’ve managed to encapsulate all my thoughts.

So, I have very strong feelings about evermore. I immediately loved it three times as much as folklore, for a variety of reasons. I can do a song-by-song breakdown alongside my general thoughts of the album below:

Firstly, I want to preface this by saying that I do not disregard the impact that folklore had on me prior to evermore’s release. I am not oblivious to the fact that folklore likely primed me for the sound that evermore had and that my mind was set up for a similar sounding album so was willing to receive it with more open ears.

That being said, I think that evermore is the superior album. The overall emotional range and sonic variety of the album is wider and more thought out. The different songs provide a more well-rounded listen in my opinion and give me much more emotional investment than folklore. Each individual song feels strong and there are far more songs with single potential than folklore.

So let’s get down to it:

1. Willow - iconic. The big sister that cardigan deserves. The song that I wish the Lover album had been. A song so fully devoted in such a soft and sweeet way without feeling sickly. A mature way to dedicate a song to the person that you can’t live without but in a way that doesn’t throw pink confetti at your face and tell single people to fuck off. TAKE MY HAND? OKAY TAYLOR. WRECK MY PLANS? FOR SURE BABES. THAT’S MY MAN? 100% FEEL U GAL.

2. Champagne Problems - LOOK. I AM CLAIMING THE NAME SAMPAGNE PROBLEMS FOR ALL FUTURE CONTENT. I want to be proposed to just so that I can reject them and then get wildly drunk on overpriced alcohol. It’s heartwrenching in a way that Taylor hasn’t been since the likes of Treacherous. It doesn’t throw sadness at you, overwhelm you with tears. It hides heartbreak within a soft piano riff and gorgeous imagery.

3. Gold Rush - a sapphic daydream. i cannot believe this is real. The return of a heart-thumping drumbeat and the most lovely, pure song that just describes the infatuation with someone beautiful and how you can wonder about them and be so happy about them and jealous of them all at once.

4. ‘Tis The Damn Season - this christmas song makes me wish i had a boy next door in my hometown that i could randomly sleep with. why don’t i have a fluffy hallmark holiday film based upon this premise? why isn’t there a christmas music video to show me how their interactions work during the holidays and how it differs so vastly with their normal lives? Why can i feel both the distance and the closeness that these two people feel? the cutest dedication to a very un-cute casual relationship. a bittersweet shout out to the people who make us happy for a few fleeting moments spread out over the long haul.

5. Tolerate It - i have very VERY strong feelings about this one. it feels like it both encapsulates romantic and non-romantic love so perfectly. It pairs perfectly with the likes of Closure (more on that later). We all deserve to be celebrated. In a world of people settling for less than they deserve, we should reach for those who deserve us. We are worth it. Find someone who will show us how worthy we are. It’s aching and slow and painful and just....everything. Just because someone has always been there doesn’t mean they deserve to continue to be there. Tolerating you is not the same as deserving your loyalty.

6. No Body, No Crime (feat. HIAM) - IT TOOK 14 YEARS BUT TAYLOR FINALLY MURDERED A MAN IN COLD BLOOD AND I AM HERE FOR IT. MEN ARE TRASH, LADIES. REMEMBER THIS. ENGRAVE IT INTO YOUR TOMBSTONES. TATTOO IT ON YOUR FOREHEADS. MEN AS AN ENTITY DO NOT DESERVE US. MURDER THEM. A YEEHAW DREAM. (I have no strong feelings about HIAM but the existence of Este’s name is a blessing in itself, their backing vocals are a lovely addition and a true testament to their friendship as we know how protective Taylor is about mixing business and friendship through collaborations)

7. Happiness - this song is HURTFUL. a song about growth, a song about finding yourself amidst the loss of a partner, a friend, a family member. a loss so deep that it will hurt you for years to come and take a piece of you away forever. but a loss that you have to be resigned to and grow from and let go of. the slow build of the backing is something i haven’t heard since Holy Ground. Both songs talk about loss and moving on in such starkly different ways but still encompass the feeling of reminiscing on something good and pure and perfect whilst battling the knowledge that it’s over and trying to be happy for the person now that they’re gone.

8. Dorothea - the sweetest girl in the neighbourhood. a childhood friend that we all miss having. a person we watched grow into something massive and successful and we’re so genuinely happy for them. the song encompasses the feeling of a distanced joy. a joy that has nothing to do with you, everything to do with this person that you’d be happy to accept again with open arms but will be equally as happy to watch succeed from a distance. a bouncy backing track and lovely vocalisations that really build a sense of a warm hug and the feeling of soft morning sun on your skin.

9. Coney Island (feat. The National) - alright. so i’m sat on a bench in the cold, wrapped up in a winter coat and a hat and gloves and a massive scarf that covers half of my face. i can see the air when i breathe out. there’s an empty ferris wheel at a deserted fairground and i can remember when it was alive and bustling and when i was surrounded by all of the people closest to me on a late summer’s day. and i miss them. i yearn for that to be back. the way we yearn for a time before covid, before masks and elbow touches and sanitising everything. a time when you could sit around a table with your friends and welcome someone with a hug and visit your family for the holidays. a time of joy that was so overlooked until it was gone. The presence of The National is also a breathtaking addition and truly deserved after Aaron’s input on both folklore and evermore. I’m glad they saved it for this song.

10. Ivy - this song just radiates GREEN. Am I in a forest? Am I just in a greenhouse, watering the plants? The guitar/banjo sounds make me so horrifically nostalgic for Speak Now era. The male backing vocals remind me that Taylor has evolved so far from the girl we used to exclusively listen in conjunction with Caitlin Bird and Liz Huett. 

11. Cowboy Like Me - one of the only songs I don’t really care about? it’s not bad, it’s just not great. it’s yeehaw without the accompanying passion. It’s the end of a sad, sad wild west movie. It’s a backing track in a scene of a TV show when someone is going on a journey alone to find themselves. But it’s nothing special.

12. Long Story Short - DO NOT FUCKING TOUCH ME. THE BEST SONG ON THIS ALBUM IN MY OPINION. THE STRONGEST BEAT, THE NOSTALGIA OF 1989, THE LYRICS OF RED, THE FUCKS GIVEN OF REPUTATION. THE PERFECT IMMERSIVE TAYLOR EXPERIENCE. TRULY A 10/10 ENTITY. I WILL HAVE THIS PLAYING AT MY GRADUATION. I SURVIVED.

13. Marjorie - the loss of a grandparent is always a lot. i’ve lost 2 due to Covid and it’s cut me deeper than I ever imagined. Marjorie is the 50′s sepia toned daydream that sends you flying back to being a child and being taught life’s most important lessons when you were far too young to understand them from someone so much wiser than you. It feels like I’m being taught to live again. Another build up backing track, but in such an uplifting way? A way that makes you think of the sun slowly coming out of the clouds. Of the end of a rainstorm and the start of a new day. Optimism and innocence. Peace and hope.

14. Closure - right, the return of sadness. The use of the clatter and discord in the background. The death of a Big Machine (subtle and perfectly done). She’s doing better. We all are. It reminds me of the friends I’ve lost and crave to have back but know I’m better off without. We have to let go of this. Close the chapter. You don’t even need the epilogue, it’s over. The production makes me so uncomfortable and it’s SO NECESSARY because lack of closure is UNSETTLING. It’s horrifying. It’s devastating. But the lyrics and the power of the song show how strong you can be and how important it is to push through the discomfort and continue to live.

15. Evermore (feat. Bon Iver) - the titular song. The return of Bon Iver’s vocals and the lone piano background are truly something to be commemorated for years to come. Although it lacks the painstaking hurt of Exile, this is one of her most simple pieces of artistry on this album and it’s BEAUTIFUL. Something that feels bare and raw. A song that cuts deep and shows us the true core of what she’s currently feeling right now: that although pain might feel forever, it’s not. all pain, much like joy, is fleeting and we have to feel it but we need to remember that it’s only a piece of our experience and place it into context. The song veers on self-pity and wallowing in hopelessness until the latter third, where suddenly hope rises out of the ashes alongside a slightly padded out production from Bon Iver’s vocals. A strong end to the album. This song sets us up for future albums on a note of optimism. It’s a new dawn. 

#ask #asked #answered #answer #anon #anonymous #evermore #folklore #taylor swift #willow #champagne problems #gold rush #tis the damn season #'tis the damn season #tolerate it #no body no crime #happiness #dorothea #coney island #ivy #cowboy like me #long story short #marjorie #closure #haim #the national #bon iver #opinion