We are the weirdos, mister.

i remember when putting a lot of effort into themes, mutual theme "ratings", complimenting users on their pages, proudly announcing theme changes/customizations, and appreciating theme makers for their work was a norm on this site. it's how many young people got into html.

I agree this fandom needs way more TSwift-inspired Ten/Rose AUs 😂

Song: Ivy

AU Idea: Another somewhat angsty song and idea, also with themes of infidelity due to the nature of the song.

This would make for another good ye olde time piece where James and Rose are each in an arranged marriage/betrothal to other people, but neither of them particularly ever wanted to get married, and they especially didn't want to be forced into a marriage. Both their marriages/betrothals are loveless and as a result, they're each miserable and depressed and want to burn the world down.

James is taking his betrothed out on the town, chaperoned of course 'cos God forbid anything untoward happen if he and his fiancée are left alone, even though everyone is aware of how much James hates being engaged. Perhaps Rose is a barmaid or something at the little pub James and his partner are at, and while she isn't his server directly, they keep locking eyes from across the room. James had never seen anyone so beautiful, and he's enchanted by her easy smiles and bright eyes whenever she interacts with a customer. Rose, meanwhile, thinks he's gorgeous and it's the first time she ever considered wanting to corner a stranger in a dark hall and kiss him silly.

Rose's shift ends before James and his fiancee finish their meal, and James sees her leaving and panics, because even though it's stupid and irresponsible, he wants to know her name and wants to see her again. He pretends he needs the toilets, and he follows her out the back door of the pub.

"Excuse me!"

She turns, and a delighted smile crosses her face to see the man she's been lusting over for the past hour. She smooths her hair back, and James's stomach sinks to see the wedding band on her finger. He nearly stutters out an apology, because surely she's a better person than him and doesn't despise her husband, but Rose saw the way he went a little dumbstruck at the sight of her ring, and she grimaces. He's confused, so he oh so loquaciously asks, "Er... married?"

She sighs. "Unfortunately. Earlier this year. Never met him 'til my wedding day."

Part of him aches that someone as seemingly lovely as her seems so unhappy, yet another part of him rejoices that he's not the only terrible person that hates their soon-to-be spouse.

"Yeah, I know what that's like."

"Oh? Miss blonde in there...?"

"Arranged. Parents need me to "carry on the bloodline"."

Rose giggles a little, and she holds out her hand. "I'm Rose."

"James." He shakes it, and it's like electricity shocks through him, stealing his breath and making his heart stutter deliciously in his stomach. "Say... I know this is odd and improper... but d'you... d'you maybe want to... take a walk with me sometime?"

Rose considers, and he's almost certain she's going to decline, but then she nods and says, "I take morning walks through the farm fields. I like watchin' the cows. I start my route on Henrick's street. Maybe I'll see you there?"

And she walks away, leaving him feeling giddy but so, so wretched.

And so a routine is borne. James and Rose regularly take morning walks together. Not every day, and not the same routes, because they're trying to avoid being noticed. It takes all of a week for James to tentatively reach for her hand while they stroll, and another week before he braves kissing said hand. They're each sick with guilt that they're essentially courting each other while they're promised to someone else.

But they can't seem to stop.

After the first month, they share their first kiss.

After the second, they make love in the shadow of an unoccupied barn.

That's their new routine. Walking and kissing and making love. But one day they're caught by the farmer whose barn they regularly commandeer, and word gets back to Rose's husband. He beats her to within an inch of her life.

James only finds out through whispers going 'round the town that Rose cuckolded her husband, and that she deserved the punishment she got, and that really, it could have been a lot worse.

He runs to her house to check on her, but she dismisses him and slams the door in his face when she sees him. It wasn't quick enough, because James hears a man shouting down the hall, asking who it was, and soon this hulking mass of a man is on the porch and takes a swing at James. The two of them skirmish, exchanging blows, with Rose pleading for them to stop. But all James sees in the swollen, bruised mess of her face and the arm she's got cradled in a sling. James punches her husband right in the nose, knocking him out.

James holds out his hand for Rose. "Run away with me?"

"Run away? Where are we going to go?"

"Does it matter? Anywhere is better than here. I know this is mad, but I'm in love with you, and I can't bear the thought of you staying in this house a moment longer. I can't bear the thought of not being with you, of not falling asleep and waking up beside you. Sod the rules and sod the expectations, and especially sod this horrible brute of a man you call a husband."

Rose wavers for a few seconds, eyes filled with tears, but she nods. She wiggles her wedding band off of her finger and slips it onto her husband's pinkie.

James almost collapses with relief, but he takes her hand and ushers her away into the morning. James has a bit of money saved up, so he sneaks into his house and grabs it all, leaving behind all of his material valuables. After all, he's got Rose. What else could he possibly need?

adania shibli, touch

shahrnush parsipur, women without men

fae myenne ng, bone

gwendolyn brooks, maud martha

theresa hak kyung cha, dictee

nawal el saadawi, woman at point zero

jamaica kincaid, a small place, lucy, annie john, my brother

mariama ba, so long a letter

maryse conde, i tituba, black witch of salem

kopano matlwa, coconut, evening primrose

suzette mayr, dr edith vane and the hares of crawley hall

tanya tagaq, split tooth

michelle cliff, no telephone to heaven, abeng

buchi emechata, second class citizen, the joys of motherhood

hiromi goto, chorus of mushrooms

tsitsi dangarembga, nervous conditions

yvonne vera, nehanda

emma perez, gulf dreams

etel adnan, sitt marie rose

jaqueline woodson, red at the bone

akwaeke emezi, freshwater

nella larsen, passing

laila lalami, hope and other dangerous pursuits

naomi fontaine, kuessipan

vi khi nao, fish in exile

shay youngbloood, soul kiss

bessie head, a question of power

han suyin, winter love

le thi diem thuy, the gangster we are all looking for

oyinkan braithwaite, my sister the serial killer

zinzi clemmons, what we lose

janet campbell hale, the jailing of cecelia capture

kim thuy, ru

sahar khalifeh, wild thorns

suniti namjoshi, the conversations of cow

gayl jones, corregidora

tamai kobayshi, prairie ostritch

gloria naylor, the women of brewster place

terri de la pena, margins