âCloser, please,â the photographer says. âCardan, if you could put your hand on her waist.â
Jude holds her breath. Warm skin and plush velvet brush against the exposed skin of her back. He settles his fingers in the dip of her waist. One simple tug across the soft loam soil and sheâs flush against the side of his chest. His inhale pushing against her stomach.
Jude wrangles some semblance of composure on her face. She has a job to do, after all.
Two can play at this game.
Or:Â
Itâs photoshoot time.Â
âCloser, please,â the photographer says. âCardan, if you could put your hand on her waist.â
Jude holds her breath. Warm skin and plush velvet brush against the exposed skin of her back. He settles his fingers in the dip of her waist. One simple tug across the soft loam soil and sheâs flush against the side of his chest. His inhale pushing against her stomach.
Jude wrangles some semblance of composure on her face. She has a job to do, after all.
Two can play at this game.
Or:Â
Itâs photoshoot time.Â
Hey there! So, I know it's been a hot minute (what do you mean 2022 was 4 actual years ago???), but I missed writing, and writing these 2 hopeless idiots specifically, so here we are!
If you're still reading this, thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for sticking with this story and taking the ride with me, it truly means the world.
Come yell with me about these 2 dumbasses in very-dramatic-loathe-to-admit-it love with each other! I've gotten into a whole host of other fandoms as well so who knows where that might lead đ
Ok, so I really want someone to write Jurdan being friends with benefits and developing feelings for each other when theyâre in college. Like they already had feelings but it turned serious over time, that kinda thing. I really wanted someone to write this and I feel like youâd do a great GREAT job. Iâd like it to be a series but one shot is just fine as well. Your fics are amazing so thatâs why I asked. No pressure though. Feel free to ignore this request. đ
Ps : LOVE THE NEW CHAPTER OF GETAWAY GIRL!! It was amazing!! đ
Dear anon, those kinds of fics are some of my favorites! I will definitely, definitely keep this in mind when I finish writing getaway girl đ Thank you so much for the request!
In the meantime, given that trope list, might I point you towards one of fandomâs finest, Fine Line by @slightlyrebelliouswriter23? No matter what the question is, this fic is always the answer.Â
Yâall. Ik Iâm mainly a Hinny account, but stop what youâre doing and read this fic. Idec if yâall have no idea who these two bitches are, it donât matter. Itâs too good to pass up oh my lord.
HEYYYY huge fan of your work and while reading your Gateway girl??? Fic Juardan AU I couldnât help but think you would be a great fic writer for the Nancy Drew tv show! Especially for Nancy and Ace! Great show! Total fav! Just got renewed for a season 4 with seasons 1-3 on HBOXMax! I just thought Iâd drop it to suggest that BUT ANYWAY! Adore your fics and CANNOT wait for the next chapter of Getaway Girl I was literally screaming into my pillow while reading that last chapter!! â¤ď¸
The way I am Respectfully Looking at the Nancy Drew tv show I didnât know about until now??? Thank you, dear anon!
It would be most kind of you to bless us with another sneak peak of getaway girl, please 𼺠sincerely love your work â¤ď¸ that line of cardan saying âI never thought she was youâ has been living in my head rent free
I believe will be a whole lot more than a sneak peak coming in, oh, a few hours? đ
hey! i was just reading âdevilâs fineryâ andâŚ
âWhat will you do while Iâm away?â Itâs a leading question, because she knows the right answer. And he does, too, even if he doesnât like it.
âAwait your return.â
âAnd after?â
âAwait your return.â
ITâS LITERALLY THAT ONE MEME THAT GOES âwhat do you normally do when Iâm gone?â âwait for you to come backâ aaaaaa I love this!!!! đ
Not Cardan slacking off on all kingly duties just to wait for Jude after that one time she didn't come home right away when he exiled her đ
I just read glitterlight!!! and i canât stop imagining cardan reading alice in wonderland to his little alice đ¤đťđĽş
Cardan: "I see!" said the Queen, who had meanwhile been examining the roses. "Off with their heads!"âand here, Alice mine, is a model example of a queen from which your mother takes great inspirationâ
Since writing is taking a bit longer than expected, here is a little sneak peek of Chapter 2!Â
[Read Chapter 1 Here]
âOn the contrary. Youâll find my attention is exactly where I want it to be.â
That voice. It almost tips her over, hearing it again. The first words heâs spoken to her in two years. How is it that he sounds exactly the same? The shape of his vowels, the cadence born only of well-paid tutors and summers abroad. How is it that he sounds like not a day has passed since he said the words that changed everything?
I never thought she was you.
âHello, Jude.â
A jolt runs through her when she sees that heâs looking at her. His eyes trace the length of her body, a lazy pass from her loosening ponytail to the scuffed toes of her shoes. Sheâs sweaty and flushed with the rush of a good fight. She doesnât look anything like a glamorous, pampered, A-list movie star. She doesnât look like anything that belongs in his world.
With that one disdainful look and the clear insinuation of his words, her mistake is glaringly obvious. She gave him an opening. She let her guard down.
She slams them back up. He wonât be getting in again.
Easing her face into a neutral position, Jude raises her practice sword. âGreenbriar.â
Thatâs when it happens. Like witnessing a car crash you canât look away from, Jude watches as the corners of his lips curl into a smile she knows so well. A smile she has thought about, has dreamed about wiping off his face for too many years.
i loved glitterlight!!! my headcanon is that jude and cardan have a babygirl and later when she's old enough they take her to the christmas village again and sammy is there and they meet and become buddies <3
This headcanon warmed my cold, dead heart, Anon. Please take this flufftastic drabble as a thank you â¤ď¸â¨
_______
afterlight
700 words, short continuation of glitterlight
There is no putting it off any longer.
Itâs been five years since they started coming to the Christmas Village after Jude gave birth, and every year has been inching closer and closer to this inevitable outcome.
In Cardanâs arms, their daughter perks up. Itâs the exact same thing sheâd done last year, and theyâd had to spend the whole day distracting her with toys and sweets because she was still too young. The upturned little nose is all Jude, but the way she wrinkles it and looks down at her father is imperiously Greenbriar. âI want to go there.â
Cardan casts a wary glance at the ice skating rink that has just come into view. âSurely you would rather visit with the large red man again, instead?â
She shakes her head, long black ringlets bouncing at her back with her fervor. Jude had thought to cut her hair soon, but right now itâs long enough to hide the delicate points of her ears without glamour, and so she had left it alone for now. âGo,â she says, pointing. âThere.â
Hello!! I was wondering⌠do you ship Nicaryn?đđťđđť
As someone who ships anything that moves (it's a disease with no cure, unfortunately), I am mighty intrigued by this ship. Please tell me more! Any fic recs to share, good and kind anon? đ
hi!!!! i wanted to tell you that something I absolutely adore about cardan is that he speaks in a very like archaic way (?) i donât know how to put it, but it sounds old and elegant, like someone out of the 18th century, like straight out of an old classic tale about kings and kinghts and balls (which I guess he is, in earnest) and so his way of speech is very peculiar and it makes me melt. i have seen a little amount of other fics that successfully portray him that way, and yours are the best in my opinion. you capture him PERFECTLY. i love your cardan as much as I love canon cardan. you are a wonderful writer !!!
An anon after my own heart! I, too, melt thinking about the way Cardan talks. Reading this absolutely made my day, thank you so much! â¤ď¸
A very much delayed conclusion to the TCP reread for @wornpagelibraryâââs January Book of the month! Every single scene in this last set of chapters could easily make my favorite moments list. But just like Cardan and Jude, I too have endeavored to repress myself and my raging feelings:
1. âI smile a lot when Iâm nervous. I canât help it.ââI love how this radically recontextualizes Cardan as a character. Up until this point, Jude has consistently narrated Cardan as powerful and scornful. He is always smiling mockingly at her. But this one line demolishes that veneer and exposes him for what he truly is: a dramatic, drunk, problematic hot mess with a crush on a pretty girl that he doesnât know how to act around. Aka, the simp we knew he was all along.
2. The whole first kiss scene is a momentâItâs as much a kiss as it is a fight: with each other, and with themselves. And when they give up and give in, itâs both a sweet loss and a wicked victory. My favorite part about this whole scene and the conversation that precedes it is Cardanâs self-aware embarrassment about it all. Heâs this combination of resigned and self-deprecating as his feelings are dragged out of him by the ruthless object of his affections. Makes me laugh every time. Also: heâs imagined kissing her!
3. The following very interesting duality of Jude Duarte đ
I could go on and on. Instead, here are more lists because these two are idiots, and just like them, I couldnât keep myself restrained, either.
More things Jude notices as she swears she absolutely hates Cardan:
his deft hands splitting the deck of cards, even as his glittering eyes stay on her (glittering eyes count total: 4)
how he is sickeningly handsome, stretched out on a cot
his bed-messy hair that makes her hot with shame
his long fingers curling against hers
his long fingers tracing over the paper (Jude thirsting after his long fingers count total: 5)
the way he looks at her through dark lashes
his lazy grin and the sick thrill it gives her
the memory of his mouth on hers stealing into her thoughts, so that the possibility of kissing hangs over everything (Jude thirsting after his mouth count total: 17382014486)
Moments when Cardanâs feelings were way too obvious:
when he knows her so well that he knows she already has a plan
when he lets his guard down to greet his Door Friend even though his sworn-enemy Jude Duarte⢠is standing right there
when heâs powerless to resist tracing the curve of her ear
when he grabs her wrist and tells her to take care before talking to the other Courts
when Nicasia comments that he finally slipped from Judeâs bonds and he goes, âDid I?â
when he admits to his depraved tastes, aka his sworn-enemy Jude Duarteâ˘
when he tucks her arm firmly through his before entering the throne room
when he canât help but parade her around on his arm
when he notices the bruise on her jaw after her fight with Madoc
when he lets her sit on his throne because one day heâs going to give Jude her own throne
Moments when I felt physically and emotionally attacked by this book:
Pages 1 to 370
In short: I should reread books I love more often, itâs so much fun.
The Cruel Prince reread hosted by @wornpagelibraryâ!Â
This set of chapters was packed with character development for Jude (and I love that for her, bye Valerian) but the whole time I was just so aware that THE KISS was coming. Sorry, Greenbriar family. Iâm just here for the kithy kithy with a side of crossbow to the throat.Â
1. Cardan getting kissed while staring at Jude during Lockeâs partyâThis will never not be iconic pining, oh my God. Holly, if youâre out there: bless us with a Cardan POV of this and reap the harvest of our undying gratitude.Â
2. The dance! Cardan straight up cutting in during her spin with Locke!âIâm just imagining Cardanâs restraint snapping and him just finally allowing himself to cut in and getting his hands on Jude. This is the most forward and direct with his actions heâs been all book. Case in point, once he got her in his arms, boi really didnât waste any time, did he?Â
3. The two of them working together after the coronation massacreâJude, honey, if Cardan really hated you, do you think he would:Â
(a) look for you under the tables despite being drunk off his ass,Â
(b) explicitly worry about your safety multiple (!) times,
(c) lose his breath the moment you let your hair down?
BONUS:Â
An indeterminate tally of the things Jude has noted, observed, or remarked on about Cardan:Â
